The McGill Tribune Vol. 17 Issue 19

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P u b lis h e d

b y th e S tu d e n ts ’ S o c ie ty

o f M c G ill U n iv e r s ity

TRIBUNE

17 February 1998

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V o lu m e 17 Iss u e 19

No holds barred at CKUT B y A shley H a ll

“No playlists, no morning men, no traffic reports, no corporate asskissing.”

Sound refreshing? If you’ve been listening to the majority of Montreal radio lately, it should.

While many students may be aware that McGill has a radio station, they may not realize that the station is a well-needed alternative to the Céline-infested stations of this city.

CKUT (which is found at FM 90.3) features over a hundred pro­ grams and broadcasts twenty-four hours a day. The program list includes such shows as Positive Vibes (Primetime Reggae), 3rd Ear M ovement (A m bient-Techno G roove), U nderground Sounds (M ishM ash Canadian & L ocal M usic), Pure P op f o r Twisted P eople , Celtic Communion, Latin Time, Dykes on Mikes, and Hersay.

The programming of CKUT is extremely diverse, so of course, no one will enjoy everything. However, as Adrien Harewood, the ex-McGill student turned full-time program director, told the Tribune, being popular is not the idea.

“We want to reflect the diversi­ ty of the community,” he explains.

“We reflect reality.”

Sin ce C K U T ’ s founding in 1987, it has remained faithful to the campus/community radio tradition of providing a service, a venue for anyone to share their interests, ideas and music. “We provide a voice for the voiceless,” Harewood adds. The station is a forum for those who are typically neglected by mainstream media. When one looks at the pro­ gram list for CKUT, it seems that Montreal radio has been doing a lot of neglecting.

CKUT does a fairly thorough job dealing with the various com­ munities within the city. They offer shows for the Latin, Black, Jewish, Haitian, Muslim, Caribbean, Gay, and, of course, Francophone popula­ tions around us. And the best part is, if anyone out there feels ignored, you can suggest your own show to the programming committee who

C ontinued on p a g e 77

Pulling strings: student activists take puppetry to the streets to draw attention to rising b an k profits a n d high student debt loads. Please see story on p a g e 4.

R e b e c c a C a tc h in g

Capitalists may replace lawyers in tuition fight B y C a t h e r i n e M c L e a n __________________

Lobbying the business commu­ nity is all that’s left for SSMU after the Quebec courts ruled Thursday that the government’s differential tuition fee policies are legal.

SSMU President Tara Newell has launched a new campaign to fight d ifferential tuition fees at M cG ill by seeking financial and political support within the business community.

Her latest initiative stems from a study detailing McGill’s economic impact in Quebec. The report, enti­

tled “McGill University: Creating Intellectual and Economic Wealth for Our Province,” was commis­ sioned by Vice-Principal of Planning and Resources François Tavenas last year. The study was conducted by economics professor Jagdish Handa in mid-Januarÿ and presented im pressive figures regarding McGill’s role in Quebec’s economy.

The report makes a clear argument in support o f out-of-province stu­ dents and the McGill community, and the numerous economic benefits they bring to the province.

“McGill makes a very substan­

tial contribution to Quebec’s eco­ nomic health, in terms of employ­ ment and tax revenues, in addition to the benefits of McGill-related expen­ ditures in Quebec originating outside the province,” stated Handa in the report.

Newell intends to use this report as a starting point to illustrate the impact out-of-province students have on the Quebec economy and then to show the business communi­ ty the extent of its interests in the economic well-being of the McGill community.

Newell stated that according to

Asian market turmoil affects students

By T em o C halasani

What started off as heavy spec­ ulation in South East Asian curren­ cies last summer led to one of the greatest financial crisis Asia has faced in recent tim es. W ith the devaluation of these currencies — most by more than 50 per cent — M cGill students from South East Asia are now battling their own financial difficulties.

Weoi Peng Lim, a U1 Electrical

Engineering student from Malaysia, said that the crisis in his homeland has taken such a serious toll that he is considering discontinuing his edu­ cation at McGill and returning to Malaysia.

“Before the crisis one Canadian dollar was worth 1.8 Malaysian dol­ lars; now $1 Canadian is worth about $3,” he said. “It is not easy for our parents to continue supporting our education anymore. Before they never asked me to even work on

the report, McGill brings a total of $616 million into the province, 27 per cent or $173 million of which is

C ontinued on p a g e 4

F e a t u r e d I n s id e SSMU election preview:.... Pgs. 6-7 Bath H ou ses: treat........................

a

M ontreal

............ Pg.11

Theatre: Arcadia a winner.....Pg. 17 Sports: Martlets and Redmen score crucial victories........................ Pg.20 What's On:.

campus to make a small allowance, but now they want me to consider the option of returning to Malaysia.”

“The financial situation has undermined my confidence in my future,” said Abbigaile de Vries, VP External of the MASSA, a club with more than a 150 members consisting of Malaysian and Singaporean stu­ dents at McGill.

“Two years ago it was a very

C ontinued on p a g e 14

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Page2 News

17February1998

UBC ancillary fees struck down by British Columbia court

By John Salloum

Although SSMU failed to overturn the government’s differ­ ential fees policy, a recent decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that ancillary fees being charged to students at the University of British Columbia were illegal.

UBC attempted to impose three new fees for the 1997-1998 school year. The fees were to pay for a Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund, a Student Aid Fund and a technology levy.

BC has had a freeze on tuition for Canadian students for the past two years. Under the economic strain caused by recent cuts in goverment transfer payments and by a provincial requirement that more students be admitted to the university, UBC attempted to impose ancillary fees above and beyond tuition charges.

certain fees were allowed to be students sitting in the hallways of charged to students and that these these lecture halls...you witness fees fall under those guidelines. the Economics 100 class that used The judge ruled that the guidelines to be held in a 150 person lecture had no authority or statutory force hall now held in the 450-500 per­ and as such, the fees were in viola­ son lecture hall.”

The AMS tion of legisla­ tion. He also “Y o u w i t n e s s t h e s t u ­ recently passed a ruled that the fees d e n t s s i t t i n g in t h e h a l l ­ motion proposed collected must be w a y s o f t h e s e l e c t u r e by Foroutan to address these returned to stu­ dents or credited h a l l s . . . y o u w i t n e s s t h e concerns which to their accounts. E c o n o m i c s 1 0 0 c l a s s supports the cap­ The judge­ t h a t u s e d to b e h e ld in a ping of tuition at the inflation rate, ment in the case, which cost the 1 5 0 p e r s o n l e c t u r e h a ll as opposed to an AMS less than n o w h e ld in t h e 4 5 0 - 5 0 0 all out freeze.

Quebec, like $18,000, forced p e r s o n l e c t u r e h a ll.”

B r i t i s h UBC to return Columbia, has fees collected in had a tuition excess of one freeze for approximately a year million dollars. “[Tjhe tuition freeze has been and a half. McGill students cur­ so detrimental to this institution rently pay ancillary fees in the because of the cuts in funding,” amount of $78 per semester.

Asked if the SSMU would argued Foroutan. “You witness the

The Alma Mater Society, UBC’s undergraduate student soci­ ety, protested against the new fees.

Armed with letters of support from the Minister of Education urging consultation with the student body on the matter, the AMS succeeded in having the fees put to referen­ dum. Students voted three to one against a $90 technology fee, while passing the remaining $12 Student Aid Fund and $24 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund.

Some students who objected to the imposition of the fees, in addition to the raising of interna­ tional graduate student fees, filed suit against the university for breaching the Consumer and Rate Freeze Protection Act. According to Shirin Foroutan, external affairs co-ordinator for the AMS, the university argued that the Ministry of Education had published guidelines stating that

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Achievem ent Information/Applications: SSMU Front Desk 3480 McTavish 398-6800 D E A D L IN E

February 20, 1998 at 5:00 p.m.

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ever consider taking McGill to court over ancillary fees such as “Administration Overhead Recovery” charges that are cur­ rently billed to students, President Tara Newell replied that “we can only take on so many legal cases at one time, but that it is some­ thing the students’ society should consider.” At the same time, Newell stated that the university would not be proposing such dras­ tic action as privatization if its budget were not in critical condi­ tion as a result of the freeze. If the university were able to raise tuition to the national average, it would mean an increase of $40 million for university budgets.

Both McGill Vice-Principal of Finance Phyllis Heaphy and UBC Manager of Public Affairs Paula Martin were unavailable for com­ ment on how the freeze and budget cuts are affecting their respective universities.

(514)398-7490

Letters must include author’s name, signature, identification (e.g. U2 Biology, SSMU President) and telephone number and be typed double-spaced or submitted on disk in Macintosh or IBM word processor format. Letters more than 200 words, pieces for ‘Stop The Press’ more than 500 words, or submissions judged by the Editorin-Chief to be libellous, sexist, racist or homophobic will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit letters for length. Place submissions in the Tribune mail box, across from the SSMU front desk or FAX to 398-7490. Columns appearing under ‘Editorial’ heading are decided upon by the editorial board and written by a member of the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

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20 février, 1998 at 17:00

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News Page3

17February1998

Deal with Alouettes may kick Molson Stadium into shape

By A ndrew Ross M c G ill’ s M olson Stadium could be getting a face-lift with the arrival o f the C F L ’ s M ontreal Alouettes, but an existing deal with the City of Montreal is standing in the way.

This $7 million plan is a long­ term development proposal by the A louettes to renovate the aging M olson Stadium beginning in 1999. But although it is still in its early stages, the plan has already run into trouble.

Last November, because of a scheduling conflict at the Olympic Stadium, the Alouettes were forced to play a C F L p lay o ff game at Molson. The event was so popular that the team immediately began negotiations with the university, resulting in a one-year rental deal.

Now, however, the Alouettes are looking for a long-term solution to their attendance troubles and have been seeing Molson Stadium as the solution.

“Fans want a stadium down­ town and they want a stadium out­ side,” explained Mark Weightman, game operations manager for the Montreal Alouettes. “[Fans] want to be where the action is.”

Outlined in this new proposal is a plan to increase stadium seat­ ing from 17,000 to 23,500 using

moveable bleachers and by bv reconrecon­

exDlained. to go 20 throuRh explained. “It has to through the

live,” McGill’s university relations

Stadium is still unknown.

structing the stadium ’ s north stands.

However, the proposal con­ flic ts with a previous co n tract between M cG ill and the City o f Montreal. In 1993, in exchange for the right to co n stru ct the Fieldhouse extension of the Currie Gym on city land, the university agreed to the demolition of 5,000 seats in the upper north stands of the Stadium. According to city offi-

municipal council.”

Yet there is still the possibility for organized opposition to the plan. A group devoted to protecting M ount R o y a l, L es A m is de la Montagne, may choose to oppose the change when it comes up for discussion in council in late March.

At this point, though, the chances for such opposition seem small. If M cG ill is forced to maintain the agreement and demolish the stands, the Alouettes would have severe problems at Molson Stadium. “[T]he viability and the health o f the A louette fran ch ise in Montreal is extremely important,” explained Athletics Director Bob Dubeau. “For them not being able to use that area would severely limit the Alouettes, and they proba­ bly could not play here [in Montreal].”

Furthermore, renovations to M olson Stadium would ben efit M cGill, as well as the Alouettes.

Molson Stadium is in urgent need o f long-term rep airs, w hich Alouette money can provide. The university does maintain, however, that the proposed renovations are beyond its budget, especially in light of recent cutbacks.

“The university is responding to the Alouettes; it is not our initia-

director Kate Williams explained.

“However, the university and the students would benefit in the long

The Als’ first game is a June 25 exhibition match-up, when they play host to the W innipeg Blue Bombers.

“F a n s w a n t a s ta d iu m d o w n to w n a n d t h e y w a n t a s ta d iu m o u t s i d e ” — M a rc W e ig h tm a n , A lo u e tte s ’g a m e s o p e r a tio n s m a n a g e r cials, the removal o f those seats would give nearby residents a bet­ ter view of Mount Royal.

As a result o f the Alouettes’ proposal, McGill has put forward a request to change this agreement, which, according to Serge Carreau, associate director of city planning for the City of Montreal, should be accepted without much difficulty.

“There is no problem with the zoning by-laws; it’s just a matter of changing the convention,” Carreau

“[ T ] h e v ia b ility a n d t h e h e a lth o f th e A lo u e tte f r a n c h i s e in M o n tr e a l is e x tr e m e ly im p o r ta n t. F o r t h e m n o t b e i n g a b l e to u s e th a t a r e a w o u ld s e v e r e ly lim it th e A lo u e tte s , a n d t h e y p r o b ­ a b ly c o u ld n o t p l a y h e r e [in M ontreal]. ” — B ob D ubeau, M cG ill a th le tic s d ire c to r term by having a first-rate football stadium.”

“M cG ill wants to be a good community citizen and help out as much as we can,” added Dubeau.

Regardless of the decision of the City of Montreal, the Alouettes have already vowed to put at least $100,000 into the Stadium in 1998.

That money w ill go into urgent repairs to be done for the upcoming C F L season. Beyon d that, the future of the Alouettes at Molson

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17February1998

Helicopters and police dogs circle Day of Action protest

By Megan G raves Seventy five protesters occu­ pied the Conseil du patronat du Quebec, Quebec’s largest employ­ ers’ organization, while over 150 others demonstrated in downtown M ontreal for Q u ebec’ s Day of Action, held February 11.

A collection of students, the unemployed and precariously employed and other concerned citi­ zens joined together to exercise their “democratic right to express dissent” enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Q uebec chapter o f the Canadian Federation of Students and the Popular A ction to Free Education, a coalition made o f CEGEPS, university student unions and human rights groups, organized Quebec’s Day of Action. Protesters marched through the downtown business core. Quebec chairperson of CFS Anna Kruzynksi planned the march through the city.

“We passed many strategic corporations that take the power from the people,” said Kruzynski.

The Day of Action demonstrat­ ed for free education and protested

the Quebec government’s neo-liber­ al id eology. D em onstration demands ranged from calls for free tuition to the dropping of charges against anti-hunger protesters.

The Popular Action to Free Education voted in general assem­ bly not to leave the occupation until they had received responses from both the federal and provincial gov­ ernm ents to their g rievances.

During the Day of Action, 75 peo­ ple successfully occupied the sixth floor of the Conseil du patronat du Quebec from 1:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Police decked in full riot gear, including dogs, then sawed down the walls of the Conseil du patronat du Quebec and arrested all occu­ piers under the charge o f “m is­ c h ie f.” ,A11 the activ ists were released, but a meeting will be held to decide whether or not to contest the charges.

Meanwhile, outside the occu­ pied building, eight police cars, four television cameras and a heli­ copter patrolled the peaceful demonstration. Accompanied from beginning to end by this entourage, protesters remained at the occupa­ tion site until 2 a.m.

Business Support ception that the university’ s not underfunded, that M cG ill’s rich. generated by the spending of out-of- There are some positive reactions, province students, on items ranging but we can’t change perceptions from housing, to banking, to enter­ overnight,” Newell said. tainment. Newell went on to cite that Drummond approved Newell’s out-of-province students bring in as efforts to secure support for McGill much revenue as some export firms, in the economic community. offering the example of BioChem “The university has to lobby Pharma, which generates $182 mil­ everyone. Concerning the state of lion in Quebec. funding in Quebec, people have “This [report] is a way of hav­ remained strangely silent. They ing the public real­ don’ t know ize the importance how much it o f having out of affects them,” province students he said. “The — not only intel­ university as a lectually, but also whole adds a e c o n o m ic a l ly ,” lot to the busi­ Newell explained. ness communi­ “This is an angle ty. It is very we have left impacted by untouched. The the number of [Quebec] govern­ students and ment does things staff.” that are popular.

Ha n da Business has influ­ also lauded the ence. If they under­ S S M U stand, they can put President’s ini­ political pressure tiative. on the govern­ “ I ’ m N ew ell r e c r u itin g D i a n a A n d e r s o n ment.” pleased to hear Vice-Principal corporate support. it. These are of Alumni difficult fiscal Relations Derek Dmmmond echoed times. We need all the support we the impact out of province students can get. A closer amount of co-oper­ have on the Quebec economy. ation in Montreal and Quebec is “I believe the report. It’s clear highly desirable,” he said. that people out-of-province live here Handa also pointed out some for three to four years. This is their less obvious incentives for the home. They spend a lot of money. Quebec business community to help Everyone benefits from it,” stated combat differential tuition.

Drummond.

“Out-of-province students are Although the project is in its extremely important to the economy early stages, Newell has already of Montreal and Quebec. But they taken initiatives in developing also enrich the cultural and intellec­ greater contact with the Montreal tual mix at M cGill. It’ s not only business community. She has sent about dollars. It’s their experience out press releases, contacted busi­ and background that [provide] a ness leaders and the Board of Trade valuable contribution. The links that of Metropolitan Montreal. She says are formed have consequences for that up to this point, responses to her future interactions.” initiative have shown curiosity and interest.

“There’s a strong public per­

C ontinued from page 1

Protesters fight neo-liberal government agenda The Popular Action to Free Education coalition proposed a panCanadian referendum on the M u ltilateral A greem ent on Investment. The MAI gives multi­ national corporations the right to sue governments for loss of profits if they have invested in institutions such as universities and social pro­ grammes. Many agree with the PAFE coalition, that this agreement essentially ensures the supremacy o f the corporate world at the

R e b e c c a C a tc h in g

expense of humanitarian ideals. To illu strate this point, Kruzynski remarked that representatives of Scotiabank who sit on the Board of Governors of M cGill earn over 2 million dollars a year. “ [The fa ct that Scotiab an k CEO s sit on M cG ill’ s Board of Governors] is even more repulsive in light of the fact that cutbacks to McGill last year amounted to over 1 1 m illion d o lla rs,” stated Kruzynski.

Many others are weary with the lack of progress in fighting the “neo-liberal” policies of institutions and governments. Mike Brophy, a sociology student at UQAM , expressed frustration with the tradi tional, passive means o f demon­ strating.

“Confronted with the dominant rhetoric emphasising a legitimisation of privitization, deregulation and savage cuts in social programs in the name of competition, what power is left for citizen s when political parties and the media alike portray these m easures as in ev itab le?” asked Brophy in a press release issued after the occu­ pation.

Grievances are definitely not subsiding as tuition hikes and stu­ dent debt afflict Quebec residents.

Non-violent protest is protected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Popular A ction to Free Education intends to see this provi­ sion put to use. As Kruzynski stat­ ed, “The fight has only just begun.”

Students make Black History Month a diverse cultural experience

By Laura Mac N eil W h ile M c G ill’s A frica n Studies program is burdened with the responsibility o f researching its own fund-raising options, the B la ck Students' Network orga­ nized Children's Day for over 400 elementary and high school stu­ dents to educate a broader com ­ munity about black history.

Student clubs and services created events, concerts and focus radio program m ing in order to educate and raise awareness o f past and current topics within the local and international black com­ munity.

The Black Students' Network is the service which draws mem­ bers from other M cG ill student associations including the African Stu d en ts' S o cie ty and the Caribbean Student's Society but Will Thomas, the finance execu­ tiv e o f B S N , a sserted that its m em bership is much more diverse.

"I think that [BSN] is a net­ work focusing on communities in general and a lot o f them aren't black but they're interested in top­ ics and subjects in the black com­ munity — and the improvement of it,” said Thomas.

BSN worked with the African Students' Society and the National Society of Black Engineers to cre­ ate the activities for the 400 stu­ dents participating in Children's Day on February 5 — activities that included traditional African dancing and triv ia gam es. The M cG ill chapter o f the National Society o f B la ck Engineers has helped organize Children's Day since its inception in 1994 and also serves as a social club and service with professional contacts for black students in science and

engineering.

W hile Children's Day is the largest organizational effort of the year for BSN, the service also col­ laborated with the Daily to create the B la ck History M onth issue published February 9.

Black History month culmi­ nates in 2 0 hours o f focus pro­ gram m ing on M c G ill's C K U T February 22. W hile B SN is not actively involved in the organiza­ tion o f the audio ev en t, the Africana Studies Committee will host a live panel discussion from ISA RT debating the importance of African studies and the ethics of fund-raising for its academic secu­ rity. C om m ittee m em ber Hirut E yo b co n tested the general assumptions o f the African Studies program.

"The African studies program is alive," Eyob stated. "W e're on the list to get a permanent depart­ ment chair — once we get that it's not likely that it's going to be cut."

Students created the Africana Stud ies C om m ittee in 1993 to defend the program from the administration's efforts to reduce the major to a minor and now is in the process of fund-raising 1.5 to 2 million dollars for the capital upon which the program would then fund itself and a departement chair permanently.

"The problem is that there are sev eral other program s on the waiting list to receive their own [department] chairs, so we’re try­ ing to push the process by helping raise funds for the ch air," said Eyob.

To increase awareness o f the program , the A frican a Studies Committee organized a party at ISA R T January 30 that included traditional dancing and live music.

W h ile none o f the student

clubs or services are exclusively 'b la ck ' in m em bersh ip, the C arib b ean Stu d en ts' S o cie ty actively branched out this year, from its previous strong associa­ tions with BSN. "We don't target black people to join our club," asserted Ouimet "W e're trying to change the pre­ conception that everyone from the Caribbean is black-Indian. We're a lot more diverse."

Ogochukwu Okpala, the pres­ ident of the African students' soci­ ety, echoed Ouimet's sentiments and remarked on the same precon­ ceptions "W e encourage people o f all nationalities to join and are trying a ctiv e ly to d isp el stereotyp es about A fric a ," stated O kpala.

"This is a club for Africans, but that does not n ecessarily mean they are black."

A lthough the A frica n stu­ dents' society did not plan any events for B lack History Month, their annual club event showcas­ ing African culture is set for April 6.

"W e promote our culture by showing it off through this annual show," said Okpala. "As a minori­ ty group that suffers from stereo­ types, we do this."

The Black Students' Network is campaigning fo r books to sup­ p le m e n t its r e s o u r c e lib ra ry .

Donations in the form o f literature o r money a re ap p reciated. Call 3 9 8 -6 8 1 5 .

The C a r ib b e a n Students' S ociety hosts its next part Friday M arch 13. F or more information call 398-1519.

B la c k Talk, the fo c u s p r o ­ gramming on CKUT will be heard February 22 starting at 7 a.m. on 90.3 FM.

NeWS Page5

17February1998

Law Students Association renegotiating contract with SSMU B y R e b e c c a R o s e n b l u m ______________

Negotiations began last week on a new fee contract between the S S M U and the Law Students Association o f McGill. The nego­ tiations reflect concerns o f law students regarding the fact that they are required to pay fees to the SSM U for activities that are, in fact, duplicated by the LSA. L SA president Steve K elly first proposed these negotiations to the SSM U president Tara Newell in a letter dated February 6, 1998.

Both Newell and Kelly, however, noted that the feelings behind the letter have been around for years.

“I’ve been here for four years and I ’ve been hearing about this issue since I got here,” Kelly com­ mented.

L SA council members o ffi­ cially raised the concerns in ques­ tion at a recent meeting. K elly’s letter indicates that the discussion cu lm in ated in “a unanim ous m otion in stru ctin g the L S A President to begin negotiations with the SSM U in order to restruc­ ture the student fee that law stu­ dents currently pay to the SSM U.” Currently, law students pay 72 per cent o f the regular student fees to SSM U — a discount which takes into account their lesser par­ ticipation in campus-wide events.

However, most L SA councillors believe that 72 per cent is still too high.

Kelly’s proposal is that a per­

“[If the contract goes through] “E v eryon e is in terested in centage of this fee be turned over to the LSA — either through the bringing us closer together,” said L S A w ill actu a lly be more involved [with SSM U ] because SSMU or directly — to fund their Newell.

According to LSA members, they’ll be happier with the situa­ own activities. the d istan ce betw een the two tion,” commented Kelly.

A c tiv itie s s p e cific to L S A However, if L S A ’ s requests groups has resulted largely from a include co ffe e-h o u se s, parties, are not ad equ ately clubs and orientation. responded to by SSM U , Law students pay fees the LSA will take action. towards the S S M U ’ s Kelly stated in his let­ orientation week along ter that “[i]f no agreement with all other under­ is reached by April 1st, the graduate students, co u n cil h a s...a g re e d to despite the fact that vote on the initiation o f a they participate almost referendum recom m end­ e x c lu siv e ly in the ing withdrawal from the LSA version.

SSM U.” K e lly explained The possibility o f an that law students tend L S A se cessio n from to p refer a c tiv itie s SSM U co n tin u es to be geared s p e c ific a lly debated by law students, tow ards them . but Kelly stressed that it is Furthermore, because most law students are Kelly considers secession as a last resort C a t h e r i n e F a r q u h a r s o n highly unlikely.

“W ithdraw ing from old er and a p ro fe s­ the SSM U as a student association lack o f communication.

Specific sional program is substantially dif­ problems mentioned include: the is not our first option but our last,” ferent from an undergraduate one, Kelly wrote. scarcity o f information on SSM U Kelly believes that most SSM U “At the moment, things look a c tiv itie s a v a ila b le in the law events “don’t relate to the law stu­ very positive,” he remarked after dents’ everyday liv es.” He sus­ building, the fact that no polling pects that this is because “most booth was set up in the law build­ his meeting with the SSM U coun­ students in the faculty o f law have ing during the day-care referen­ cil.

Newell declined to comment dum and sched u lin g c o n flic ts already had the undergraduate on the possibility of an LSA with­ between activities organized by experience.” drawal. She shared K elly ’s opti­ In addition to creating a more the two councils. mism about the negotiations.

Kelly is optimistic that both realistic fee arrangement, Newell “I ’m very happy with how the current and future discussions with hopes that these negotiations will [L S A / SSM U ] m eetin g w ent, SSM U will improve the situation improve the relationship between by creating a reinforced partner­ although everything is still up in LSA and SSM U. LSA councillors the air,” she stated. ship and decreasing the hostility have noticed a sense in the faculty Both councils seem to agree o f “alienation from low er cam ­ some law students feel towards that it will be possible, if not easy, SSMU. pus.”

to reach a mutually satisfactory compromise.

“I ’ m confident that we can build something a lot better than we what we have now ,” K elly concluded.

VERMONT'SFINEST•ICECREAM&FROZENYOGURT

7 5 0 a n y

oh

r e g u la r

SUNDAES with th is ad.

I n c lu d in g : H ot F u d g e B a n a n a S p li t W a ffle C o n e C o o k ie D o u g h & B r o w n ie .

W e lc o m e to o u r lo c a t i o n a t 1316 De M aiso n n eu v e W T e l: 2 8 6 -6 0 7 3 E x p ire s M a r 1 5 /9 8 _________

fm f» E le c tio n s S S M U

The following student-initiated referendum question will appear on ballots during the Spring 1998 elettion and referendum period: "Do you support an initiative by McGill Students for Organic Food requesting that a fee of two (2) dollars per student per semester be added to the McGill University fee statement as of September 1998 to subsidize the establishment and subsequent operating costs of a not-for profit organ­ ic food store near or in the McGill ghetto, provided that any student who does not wish to support this store shall have the opportunity to obtain a refund directly from McGill Students for Organic Food?"

E le < tio n

a n d

R

e fe r e n d u m

P o llin g

T im

e s

a n d

March 3 (Advance Poll) S h a tn e r 1 0 a m - 5 p m

Marth 10-11 -1 2, Open 10am ■5pm daily F .D . A d a m s • A r t s • B r o n f m a n • B u r n s id e • N e w C h a n c e llo r D a y H a ll • S t e w a r t

Open 10am -6pm daily B is h o p M o u n t a in H a ll • L e a c o c k • M c C o n n e ll E n g in e e r in g • R e d p a t h R o y a l V ic t o r ia C o lle g e • S h a t n e r

P

O n ly m e m b e rs o f th e "Y e s" o r " N o " com m itte es m a y b e in v o lv e d in the c a m p a ig n o f the co m m itte e . "Y e s" o r " N o " c o m m itte e s m a y be fo rm e d b y s u b m ittin g a p e titio n to this e ffe ct. The p e titio n s h o u ld b e s ig n e d b y a t lea st o n e h u n ­ d re d (1 0 0 ) S S M U m e m b e rs . The n a m e a n d p h o n e n u m b e r o f th e c o m m itte e c h a irp e rs o n , as w e ll as a s ig n e d list o f c o m m itte e m e m b e rs s h o u ld b e a tta c h e d . The p e titio n s h o u ld be s u b m itte d to a m e m b e r o f the S S M U E lections s ta ff p r io r to 1 O am o n 3 M a rc h 1 9 9 8 . To c o n ta c t S S M U E lection s, c a ll 3 9 8 - 8 2 2 2 .

la t e s :

Page6 NeWS m

What other student governments offer sion station, a campus newspaper

Queen's University and yearbook and a student security force. at Kingston Q U EEN S U N IV ERSITY Name of Institution: Alma Mater Society (AMS)

Mission Statement: To serve and represent the diversity of students at Queen’s, to represent Queen’s within the univer­ sity, to provide services and activi­ ties and cultivate a sense of sociàl awareness

SSMU VS. AMS The number of services offered at Queen’s is directly on par with those offered at McGill. However, the services that AMS provides are more targeted at the university pop­ ulation at whole, while with the exception o f G ert’s and Sadie’s, most of the services that SSMU pro­ vides are more specific. For exam­ ple, under its heading of services, SSM U lists the B lack Students’ Network, L B G T M and M cG ill Students for Literacy.

Fees: In total, Queen’s students pay $520 in ancillary fees, with a portion of these going to the AMS

Government: The Government consists of a President, a V ice President o f Operations, a V ice President o f University Affairs and representa­ tives from all of Queen’s faculties.

Other Facts about AMS: The Alma Mater Society has two sides. The Government side ful­ fils the more traditional roles of campus government with six distinct Commissions. These Commissions include Academic Affairs, Campus A ctiv ities, Com m unications, Internal Affairs, Municipal Affairs, and Social Issues. The Corporate side helps operate the fourteen AMS Services, including 2 campus pubs, a copy centre, a bus service, enter­ tainment agency, a student televi­

DALHOUSIE U N IV ERSITY Name Institution:

of

D alh o u sie Student Union (DSU) Mission

Statement: To promote artistic, literacy, educational, social, recreational, charitable and sporting activities for the advancement of the interests of its members and others. To act as the official organization of the stu­ dents of the university. To co-ordi­ nate, promote and direct the activi­ ties of the students of the University.

To encourage an awareness of responsibilities in local, provincial, national and international communi­ ties.

Fees: Dalhousie Students pay a total of $110 per semester in student soci­ ety fees. These fees are allocated towards the maintenance of the stu­ dent union building, the radio sta­ tion, the newspaper and other funds.

Government: The DSU government consists of officers and a council. The exec­ utive officers are the President, the Executive Vice President and the Treasurer. The Council is made up of a Vice President of academic and external affairs and a Vice President of Community Affairs, as well as representatives from all of Dal’s fac­ ulties.

Other Facts about the DSU: The Dalhousie Student Union also offers a student health plan at a premium o f $199.00. The plan is optional for students.

The President, Executive Vice President and Treasurer receive an honorarium of $1 8 ,0 0 0 per year.

The two other V ice Presidents receive $12,000.

In running for office, the presi­ dent and executive vice president run as a team, while all other offi­ cers run individually.

SSMU VS. DSU: The DSU is much cheaper than McGill in terms of the fees they col­ lect. SSMU fees are approximately $230, but also include a health plan.

However, the services that DSU provides seem limited in scope.

They conduct course evaluations, run a copy centre and manage a

campus pub. On the other hand, the D SU is much more involved in community affairs than SSMU and run a number of charity events over the course of the year.

U N IV ERSITY O F TORONTO Name of Institution: Students’ Administrative Council (SAC)

Mission: To serve and represent full­ time undergrad­ uate students at the University of Toronto in order to ensure the best possible undergraduate experience.

SAC strongly believ es that an undergraduate education is more than just academics.

Fees: Depending on the college with which a U of T student is affiliated, student fees can range from $107 to $234.

Government: The Council is made up of a seven-m em ber execu tiv e and a Board of Directors. Each College and Faculty that SAC represents elects representatives from the members of their Constituency to sit on the Board. The number of stu­ dents enrolled during the previous academic year determines the num-

ber of seats per Constituency. The five Commissioners, who make up the m ajority o f the E xecu tive Committee, are first elected by their constituents to represent their College or Faculty on the Board of Directors, and can then be elected by the Board o f Directors to the Executive position.

Other Facts about SAC: Student fees are allocated to maintain a few campus services but more activities at U of T. SAC puts on a number of events throughout the year such as barbecues, club days, awareness weeks, a homecom­ ing week and several other large parties. They also run a copy centre and a campus pub.

The SAC also has a health plan, with a premium cost o f $ 3 0 .0 3 , which can be refunded. The plan provides 80 per cent coverage.

SSMU VS. SAC: The SAC is not as centralized as the SSMU. U of T is divided into 9 separate colleges, each of which has their own student union who provides services. More emphasis is placed on involvement within one’s own college as opposed to the uni­ versity in general. M cGill on the other hand, while comparable in population with U o f T, has only one student government which is responsible for student affairs as a whole. Consequently, the SAC does not involve itself in student affairs to the same extent as does SSMU.

—compiled by Stephanie Levit:

Eighty per cent of students don’t care where their $223 goes

By D'Arcy Doran Would you give $223 to just anyone?

At least 12,651 McGill students — about 80 per cent of the student body — did just that last year when they didn’t vote in the students’ soci­ ety elections.

Every year M cG ill’ s student accounts office automatically col-

W h o g e t s e l e c t e d to r e p ­ r e s e n t s tu d e n ts d e te r ­ m in e s th e a g e n d a a n d h o w w e ll p r o j e c t s w e ill b e e x e c u te d . lects mandatory student society fees with your tuition on behalf of the Students’ Society o f M cG ill University. SSM U in turn is sup­ posed to use your money to improve the quality of student life.

This year, the student accounts office collected $223.03 in SSMU fees from each full-time undergradu­ ate student, according to Tracey Berman, the student accounts office supervisor.

One person, elected by under­ graduate students, decides how the money is spent: SSMU’s vice-presi­ dent finance. He or she decides how much cash goes to clubs ranging from Amnesty International to the Esperanto Klubo, and special pro­ jects like the new Black Students’ Network library. The VP finance

also decides how much money his or paid went to SSMU’s student health her fellow elected executives have to plan. In fall, full-time students paid work with so they can do things like $ 48.18 for health coverage from fight the Quebec government on differential tuition, help McGill create academic pro­ grams such as first-year semi­ nars, or put on “Four Floors” parties and “Spirit o f the W est” concerts. The VP finance’s budget and all other executive decisions have to be approved by SSM U’s council of elected club and faculty rep­ resentatives.

Why should students care about M cG ill student elec­ tions? For SSMU’s current VP Finance Duncan Reid the answer is simple.

“I t ’ s their m oney,” he said. “And it’s their represen­ tation.”

What has SSMU done fo r you?

The $223 collected from each student makes it possible for SSMU to try improve students’ September to December 1997. Last lives academically, politically and month with their tuition, students socially, but who gets elected to rep­ each paid $96.35 to be covered until resent students determines the agen­ the end o f August 1998. SSM U da and how well projects will be keeps three per cent of the health executed. plan money to administer and pro­ mote the plan.

Unfortunately, few students Students can opt-out if they can vote in the SSM U elections. Last year’s poll results show that only prove they’re covered by another 3,172 students out of 15,823, about health insurance plan. Last week, 20 percent of full-time undergradu­ SSMU’s chief returning officer dis­ ates, cast votes. Even fewer students qualified a student referendum ques­ seem to know how much they pay tion seeking to make it easier for stu­ the student’s society or where their dents to opt-out of the plan. His money goes. decision was based on fears that an Most o f the money students easy opt-out procedure would endan­

ger the plan.

The students’ society decides which insurance company to deal with and what kind of coverage students need. For example, earlier this month, SSM U council voted to add an eye care package to the health plan.

A small portion of the fees pay for S S M U ’ s services: W alksafe and the sexual assault centre receive one dollar each, while 50 cents goes to the latenight referral ser­ vice, Nightline.

Twenty dollars is put in to the S am eer F arooq SSM U Library Improvement Fund which the students’ society adminis­ ters. R ecen tly, SSM U donated $800,000 to McGill’s libraries.

The remaining $56.00 helps pay for the students’ society’s operating costs, but Reid said the amount col­ lected from students accounts for only 40 per cent of SSM U ’s total operating budget of about $2.2 mil­ lion dollars.

“The other 60 percent of our budget comes from self-funding operations” such as the cafeteria, G ert’ s and Sadies, Reid said.

“They’re paying for themselves.”

In this year’s budget, $72,000

was set aside to fund SSMU’s more than 120 clubs which are a central part of McGill life for thousands of students.

Another large contribution SSMU makes to student life is orga­ nizing social activities such as the “Four Floors” parties, which Reid said draw more than 4,000 students — events like last September’s “1 Mother Earth” concert and Frosh Week, students’ first exposure to McGill social life.

Another service that Reid has been promoting lately is SSM U ’s $20,000 Special Projects Fund. The fund was set up to provide students who have ideas on how to improve McGill student life with the money they need to get their project started Reid refers to the fund as “seeds” money. SSMU will give a student money to start their project, leaving it up to the student to make the pro­ ject “grow.”

Successful projects this year have included the expansion of the M cGill Black Students’ Network library so that it can loan books out to the student community and fund­ ing U n icef M cG ill’ s Halloween charity campaign. Reid continually promotes the special projects fund because he believes McGill students have plenty of ideas and talent that haven’t been tapped.

Last year’s voter turn out sug­ gests he’s right. When 80 percent of students don’t bother to vote, it’s likely a lot of ideas aren’t being expressed.

NeWS Page7

17February1998

Low voter turnout a perennial problem for student society

By Jason Sicurdson Steve Larin is a U1 political science student and part of the 20 per cent of McGill undergrads who vote in student society elections.

Although he’s part of the minority, he still wonders what drives him to the polls.

“I t ’ s kinda strange. Even though I know there isn ’t much effectiveness in SSM U — except for clubs — I ’m going to vote any­ ways,” Larin said. “I can’t com­ plain about it unless I do.”

Genviève Fortin, a U2 political science student, also feels motivat­ ed by a sense of democratic respon­ sibility, but she has a hard time deciding who to vote for in a cam­ paign based largely on personali­ ties.

“I feel like if I don’t vote, who will?” Fortin stated, “but I have dif­ ficulty choosing because I feel that [the candidates] all look smart and kind — but I don’t know if after the election they will be so smart and kind.”

Last year, 3 ,172 undergrads voted in SSM U electio n s — approximately 20 per cent o f the student body, which is consistent with the levels of participation over the past few years.

Jeff Scanlon, a U3 philosophy student, isn’t surprised that turn-out is so low. He has never voted in a McGill student election.

“You come from high school where student government has little real power, to a situation that is

T M

posters as a result of an amendment substantially different where SSMU has real power. Unfortunately the to SSMU election by-laws. Linder doesn’t see this as interfering with posters and the political messages of those running for positions here the visibility of campaigns. seem the same as the ones you hear in high school.”

“There are so many opportunities to do meaningful work in stu­ dent governm ent but most of the issues raised seem cliché or they are so sp e cific that they alienate the majority of v o te rs.... [The can d i­ dates] are speaking an audience that d oesn’ t understand the inner workings o f the SSM U institutions,” he said.

L arin shares Scanlon’s concern about the lack of information on what the student soci­ ety does.

“I ’ ve never been given any literature on Fortin feels campaigns are based on R a c h e l O n g [SSM U ] — I keep personality, not issues m y self inform ed as “I hope it will be a campaign well as I can, but I’ve never really been told formally what they do,” about ideas and what students want, not about how many trees we can Larin said.

SSMU Chief Returning Office kill,” he stated. “Hopefully this will Glen Linder hopes that this year’s push candidates to get out and talk campaign will be a means o f edu­ to classes, to actually meet stu­ cating students about what the stu­ dents.”

Linder also explained that dent so ciety can do for them.

Campaign literature will be limited polls will be open longer this year so that students will have more in this y ear’ s race, how ever.

Candidates will have their paper opportunity to vote.

The U n iversity o f W estern consum ption lim ited to 1 ,000

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Ontario Students’ Council is look­ ing at ways to make voting more accessible to students and improve upon their 25 per cent voter turnout.

Last year they implemented an on­ line voting system. Tim Gibson, deputy returning officer, explained that the compu-vote system was not designed to compete with the regu­ lar paper ballot.

“It works well, but it isn’t an alternative to on-campus voting,” he said. “If you know you won’t be on campus, you can register for the program so you can still cast your ballot.”

W estern’s USC election fin­ ished last Friday, and Gibson did not know how many people used the compu-vote system this year.

He did point out, however, that the USC is looking at other ways to make the democratic process more accessible to students.

“The...most expensive option would involve installing voting machines. A student would swipe their [student] card through the m achine, and then they would touch the screen to select the candi­ dates they want to vote for,” Gibson explained.

Voting machines could cost upwards o f $ 2 ,0 0 0 each, and Gibson admits that the price tag would be a factor when the USC decides to implement any changes to voting options.

For students like Nathan Richards, U2 law, changes like that wouldn’t matter much. Going to the polls isn’t about voting in itself —

it’s about the campaign. He doesn’t vote in SSM U elections, although he helps elect members of the Law Students Association.

“I vote for my faculty associa­ tion. It’s more relevant to me as a student. I have a fairly good idea of who is running and what their qual­ ifications are,” Richards said. “You look at [candidates] as a resource — who is more accessible to you as a student.”

Richards feels the faculty level is the most important because it is where important academic changes can take place. He relies on student representatives to dissem inate information as well as get feedback from the student body. This is what makes voting for the LSA worth­ while, in Richards’ opinion.

“A SSMU election just doesn’t have the same flavour.”

o c ie t y

o f

n iv e r s it y

A

1998 SSMU candidates President: Duncan Reid, Paul Ruel, Andrew Tischler

VP Internal: Titia Holtz, John Ki, Karen Pclley, Nick Redler

VP Finance: Adam Giambrone, Sarah Glinski, Lorenzo Pederzani, Rich Retyi VP External: Jeffrey Feiner, Samantha McGavin, Jam Murphy

VP University Affairs: Margaret Antler, Sam Johnston, Andrew Kovaks. Omar Samji

w a r d s

Every Year the Students ' Society o f M cG ill University gives a num ber o f awards to individuals a n d organizations who have demonstrated innovation , leadership a n d outstanding service to the students o f M cG ill. Anyone is welcome to subm it a nomination fo rm fo r any o f the awards list­ ed below. Nom ination form s can be p ick ed up at the fro n t desk o f the S S M U office.

• Councillor o f the Year • Campus Group o f the Year • Activity o f the Year • Publication o f the Year • Service o f the Year • Club o f the Year • Committee Representative o f the Year • Senator o f the Year S S M U A w ard o f Distinction • Volunteer o f the Year • Faculty o f the Year

All subm issions must be presented to the front desk of the SSMU office on or before Monday, February 2 0 th , 1 9 9 8 .

For more information please contact Sarvesh Srivastava at 3 9 8 - 6 7 9 9

17February199É

Page8 Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University

E d i t o r i a l

M c G I L L T R I B U N E Taking the spin out of SSMU elections “l think that I shall never see/ A billboard lovely as a tree./ Indeed, unless the billboards fall/ I’ll never see a tree at all.”

—Ogden Nash S ara J ean G reen Editor-in-chief F ranklin R ubinstein Assistant Editor-in-chief

E lizabeth W asserman Assistant Editor-in-chief

E d i t o r i a l

Canadian or Rootsian?

By Aron Tonon Watching sports is an escape from reality; people scrutinize the results in order to forget their wanes and to remind themselves tiiat there arc still some things left in the world that we do tor fun.

The Olympics bring this idea to an international level; countries compete against each «her in sports like cross-country skiing a luge because, in theory, sport is something that everyone in the world can still compete at on a level playing Do you remember the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta? Therc woe few competition sites that ««re not pasted with the advertising of major American cor­ porations. The Olympics lost some of its purity and innocence in those games because organizers made it so blatantly obvious that the Olympics were now big business and subject to the fiscally obsessed world in which we live.

Athletes compete for the love of their sport and a feeling of personal accom­ plishment; at the same tin» they instil a sense of pride in the countries they repre­ sent Watching a Canadian athlete, decked out in our national colours, receive a medal while the Maple Leal' rises to the top of a flag pole is a scene that for many people, evokes a sense of national pride.

In Nagano, this scene, as well as the parade of athletes, has been tarnished in my Canadian eyes. I wonder if people watching in other countries are just a little bit confused by who our athletes represent based on their official Canadian Olympic team outfits— are they from Canada or from Roots?

For whatever reason, the Japanese decided that in Nagano advertising would be restricted to certain areas. It seems ironic that during an Olympics where adver­ tising has been deliberately kept to a minimum, our athletes parade around in uni­ forms that have a corporate sponsor logo which is as big as the Canadian Olympic team logo. Roots should not be criticized for their sponsorship of the Canadian team; in fact, it’s great that they did so. But they eoukl have been mure tasteful in choosing how to advertise themselves.

There is no question that sponsorship logos are seen on the uniforms of com­ petitors; for instance Nike and Bauer are printed on the hockey jerseys, but you really have to i<x)k closely to notice them. Free style skiers let us see the make of their skies as they await their marks at the bottom of the hill — but they don’t cany their skies with them during the parade a onto the medal podium.

Roots should have tried to advertise themselves along these lines. Maybe they could have made the team warm-up uniforms a something of the sort, upon which they could have made their logo as big as they wished.

Although the Olympic spirit advocates a balanced playing-field, it is pretty obvious that at the international level therc is a clear distinction between those coun­ tries who can and canna field competitive athletes. You can rely on the same coun­ tries to finish atop the medal count — the vast majority being well-to-do nations.

Countries like Belarus know that as Canadians, our athletes have access to topnach facilities, coaching and financial backing. The fact that all Canadian athletes have the logo sprawled across the right side of their chests and across their heads mbs the faces of athletes from less fortunate countries in the mud.

Any Canadian who has made it to the Olympics and earned the right to walk in the parade of athletes has put in enormous amounts of time, effort, sweat and tears in order to be able to do so. It is tremendously commendable that Roots would offer their support to these individuals.

Roots, however, has not been with these athletes during their years of training and sacrifice. Roots does not belong on the podium with our Canadian athletes when they win their hard-fought Olympic medals.

Entertainment Editors

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Network Editor

Photo Editors

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Matthew Wyndowe

By Jason Sigurdson Matt Zimble always got a few laughs when he said he was calling from M u ch M u sic’ s p o litical bureau.

As M uchMusic’s director of political programming, he saw a need for a new type of election cov­ erage in 1993. He told politicians that they were entering a “spin-free zone” — if they tried to spin an issue, Zimble promised to catch them. It was an attempt to hold party leaders to the issues that viewers were talking about. The format was so successful it won them a Gemini that year for best special event coverage.

MuchMusic wasn’ t the first media form to question the way p o litics are covered. Som e American newspaper editors identi­ fied a growing apathy and cynicism towards politics in the early 1980s, and they took some responsibility for those sentiments by including the press as part of the problem.

Their response to public apathy formed the basis of the public jour­ nalism movement.

In his book B reakin g the News, Jam es Fallow s described how the public senses “that it is not engaged in politics, public life, or the discussion that goes on in the

press.” Coverage needed to become focused on the reader, not the can­ didate.

In the spirit of public journal­ ism, the Tribune is changing it’s approach to SSMU elections — and it’s about time. The McGill student body, like many others across the country, is far from immune to sen­ timents of apathy and indifference towards student p o litics. V oter turn-out in student society elections is barely over 20 per cent. It is hardly surprising when one consid­ ers the scope of SSMU politics.

Look at election coverage over the past few years and you’ll find that the Tribune has often been guilty of coverage that panders to the horse race — who has the inside edge that will put them over the top. If it doesn’t look at the horse race, it regurgitates bland platforms produced by executive hopefuls. Who really cares if a can­ didate thinks they’ll “make McGill a better place?” Lets hear about what they’ll do and how they’ll do it.

The Tribune has already begun to do some research to find out what the issues are heading into this year’s election. We already know what the inside track is but we’ve explicitly tried to go past the “insid­ ers” and SSM U spin-doctors in

order to find out what students real ly care about, or what needs to be talked about in order to make them care. We know that our research isn’t perfect and it doesn’t claim to be entirely representative. But it will hopefully put us closer to the issues.

Candidates can change their campaigns, journalists can change their coverage, but it’s up to the individual to engage in the political process. An Angus Reid study pub­ lished last year found that only six per cent of our generation see poli tics as a valuable career. It takes a certain investment of faith to follow an election and show up to the polls without thinking that you’re wast­ ing your own time. We also have to remember, however, that we have something at stake in a SSMU elec tion. Each year we pay $223 to the students’ society and each execu­ tive we elect is going to be earning $15,000 of our money.

We hope that you’ll find our coverage this year more accessible and more relevant. Stories will focus on voters and issues — not just the SSMU insiders’ game and the spectacle of an election. At the end of the day, it will still be stu­ dent politics but we hope to do our part to make election coverage use­ ful and relevant.

Stop the Press

Exec committee defends KPMG Unfortunately, we are forced to agree with your article’s assess­ ment that the appointment of the consulting firm KPMG has caused confusion, both in SSMU Council and in the community at-large.

What is even more unfortunate is that many very important details of this situation have been clouded by the controversy surrounding the appointment.

There are two very separate issues at hand. Firstly, is the KPMG choice the right one? Is this process necessary? We firmly believe, and hope that Council will as well, that a consultant-directed overhaul of the SSMU is of immediate necessi­ ty. Without a clear, defined set of goals and the means with which to achieve them, your Society could risk becoming obsolete in its mis­ sion of student service. There are, without doubt, some very real chal­ lenges on the horizon.

Secondly, there is the question of how this consulting process was initiated. Although there are many com plex details involved here, there are a few points that absolute­

ly must be made. In terms of the relevant procedural matters, it is vital that Council, as well as the community, understand that this decision to appoint KPMG was not brought to Council as a fait accom­ p li. The E xecu tiv e Com m ittee approved the proposal from KPM G , and then put it before Council in the Executive Report of September 25. At this point, no confirmation of any sort had been given to KPMG. But the question has recently been posed as to why the Executive Committee did not seek a more explicit approval of the appoint­ ment in C ou n cil. The sim ple response is that the speaker-estab­ lished procedure at that time stated that this was not necessary; silence on any matter within an Executive Report was to be considered as offi­ cial approval. (In other words, if no councillor sought to question an executive, then it would stand as if formally ratified.) This is exactly what happened in the Council meeting of September 25, and thus KPMG was subsequently informed,

Staff Manny Almela, Diana Anderson, Chris Allen, Margaret Antler, Mila Aung-Thwin, Temo Chalasani, Mike Colwell, Josh Dolgin, D'Arcy Doran, Sameer Faroog, Brian Gabor, Megan Graves, Ashley Hall, Tyler Hargreaves, Céline Heinbecker, Sajit Karson, Micah Knapp, Christian Lander, Mark Liszkowski, Catherine McLean, Shirley Ong, Karl Raudsepp-Heame, Andrew Ross, Rebecca Rosenblum, John Salloum, Chris Seily, Konstantine Stavrakos, Rahil Suleman

on October 8, that their proposal had been accepted.

It is perfectly legitimate for Council to now alter such procedur al policies. Should Council desire that important executive decisions be more explicitly decided upon than in the past, we will do every­ thing possible to create a suitable regulatory structure. There is no question that it will be highly bene­ ficial for all to have clear rules for such matter so that no confusion of this nature will arise again.

In learning from this experi­ ence, if we were going through the same process again, we would actively solicit Council’s input by posing questions to councillors for their ideas. We know full well that such actions would have helped prevent the current situation.

However, the fact remains that no protocol of Council procedure was breached by the VP Finance or the Executive Committee.

In the final analysis, perhaps this debate will have positive con­ sequences in the long term. We now have the opportunity to estab­ lish better procedures for the future, and students will be more knowl­ edgeable about the re-evaluation project than they otherwise would have been. L et us seize the moment, and act with vision to carry the SSM U strongly into the twenty-first century.

—Tara Newell President Chair, Executive Committee — Duncan Reid VP Finance and Operations

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17February1998

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A warning to prospective wankers-elect We’re watching you.

You emerge from your bur­ rows, eyes darting to new targets, noses twitching for the fear of an enemy. If we look deep into your green eyes, we can almost divine the spark of primeval neurons, the ripple of ancient synapses, as you ready yourself for the grand yearly contest: the Running of the Wankers.

You calculate reflexively, make your choices, then wait, coyly, to strike.

We grimly await your ban­ shee wails, the shrieks and cries that end only when the ritual slaughter does — when only a handful are left alive. Alive and each standing with a prize: the presidency or vice-presidency of a student society. Your orgy of self­ promotion is about to get underway.

We’re suspicious of you. Don’t tell us we shouldn’t be because we’re experts in unmasking poseurs.

Those among us who have not wit­ nessed the stained glory of the battle

have heard the stories. We can tell when you don’t know what you’re talking about. We can sense your lies, and we don’t like them. We know when you’re inventing issues, trying to make a big deal out of something we’ve never heard of.

Student politics are buried in non­ problems that seem important only

W an k er W a tch D a vid Reevely because generations o f vice-presi­ dential candidates have insisted they are. Sometimes manufacturing an issue works — occasionally you can make us think that what you’re talk­ ing about is important and we’ve somehow missed it. More often, we figure that you have an agenda we can’t relate to. Or that you’re mak­ ing it up as you go along.

D on’ t claim you’ re a good choice because you “know the sys­ tem” or “have connections.” W e’ll assume you’re out to increase your own status in the system and expand your web of contacts, not to do any damn good for us. Student societies need people who don’t know the system too well, who don’t have old alliances and favours owed. People who aren 't creatures o f the system we want them to control.

Listen up, Duncan Reid — you might be V P Finance, but if you want to move a link up the food chain, we’re going to need reassur­ ing that you’re a real person and not an SSMU drone.

We’re especially suspicious of candidates w ho’ ve run before.

You’re seductive because you’ve learned from your failures and are much stronger campaigners the sec­ ond time around. Being a better

campaigner is not the same as being a better candidate. We tmst you less, because we expect you to be more practiced in deception. Our belief in you is inversely proportional to the square o f the number o f offices you’ ve sought. Are you paying attention, Adam Giambrone? With your year as a clubs rep on SSMU, your failed run at the SSM U VP Finance job last year, the debacle of your short term as VP Finance of AUS, your bizarre sacrificial-lamb candidacy for the New Democrats last summer and your new run at another v ice-presid ency, w e’ ll require some convincing that your Arts Building and ours are the same colour.

And we won’t go near a candi­ date who overestimates his or her importance in our lives. Anyone who tries to schm ooze us while we’re getting some reading done between classes is out of touch with what most of us are really here for.

Hint: it isn’t to practice our political

skills. It’ s also plain rude and it won’t help you. If we want to listen to you proclaim your own virtues we’ll come to debates, where you can savage each other in a controlled environment. The more you demand of our attention, the more desperate your campaign seems to be, so fol­ low the rules and stay on your side of the bars. On some preserves in Africa, they arm visitors with big electric prods in case the fauna get rowdy — don’t assume you’ll be on the phone list when it happens here.

My message to you candidates is this: We don’ t much care what you’ve done. We don’t care what you want to do. We don’t care at all who you’re friends with. We want to know that we can trust you to do the right thing by us. Make us feel in our hearts that we can, and we’ll vote for you. If we doubt it for one blink of an eye, your crazed, halfdrunk Gert’s grin will not be on the front page the next day. Get it?

Bouchard doesn’t have a monopoly Pierre Trudeau was poised to make a unilateral declaration of independence if British parliament refused to recognize Canada’ s autonomy in 1982, Lucien Bouchard says.

Bouchard quoted Trudeau’ s memoirs in his speech to the University o f M ontreal’ s facu lty o f law last Thursday. More than 800 students listened as Bouchard came out swing­ ing against the Supreme Court of Canada’s hearings on the legality of Quebec seceding unilat­ erally from Canada — hearings which begin this week.

The Parti Québécois foundingmember turned federalist crusader, Guy Bertrand started the UDI case.

He contends the Quebec govern­ ment is holding the province hostage with recurring referendums on Quebec separation is seeking to have them declared illegal. The fed­ eral government incorporated the case into its “Plan B ” strategy to get tough with separatists.

Bouchard called “Plan B ” itself a unilateral move by the federal governm ent to “intim idate Quebecers who are undecided on the question of Quebec sovereign­ ty-” Let’s hope “Plan B ’ gets better because right now it looks like its aggressive tactics will only alienate Quebecers further. Already, both of the leaders of the federalist forces in the 1980 and 1995 referendums, Claude Ryan and Daniel Johnson, have urged the supreme court to abstain from making a ruling. A Sondagem poll released last Friday said 59.9 per cent of Quebecers con­ curred. Bouchard stands to be the biggest beneficiary of the Supreme Court’s dilemma.

He can’t lose. If the Supreme Court decides in the Quebec gov­ ernment’s favour, it will add legiti­ macy to the Quebec separatist pro­ ject. If the Supreme Court rules that a unilateral declaration of indepen­

protect French culture.

If Quebec were given the right to hold referendums on Canadian constitutional amendments affecting Quebec’s French culture, we know Quebec voters would act with the same amount of responsibility as in the past three referenda.

Bouchard em braces Quebec democracy; Canada should make it clear that it does too. The foundation of “Plan A” should be to D 'Arcy Doran acknowledge o fficia lly the faith we have in dem ocracy in and the PQ to the higher moral Quebec. ground as champions of democracy.

“If Quebecers want, there will Darcy Doran can be contacted be another referendum in which by e-mail at: they can decide, democratically, ddoran @ po-box. megill, ca with a minimum of 50 per cent plus one, to create a sovereign Quebec state,” he said, neglecting to men­ tion the people o f Quebec have already twice democratically decid­ jj ed to stay in Canada.

Which brings us back to “Plan A .” Bouchard d oesn’ t have a monopoly on Quebec democracy.

Anyone who has spent time with VERMONT'SFINEST•ICECREAM&FROZENYOGURT Quebecers knows that they do have a sense of belonging to a Quebec culture — a sense of nationalism that is unique to the privince of Q uebec. Y o u ’ ll never hear an “Ontarian” folk song. But this brand a n y r e g u la r of Quebec nationalism doesn’t nec­ essarily include a need to separate from Canada. M ost Q uebecers would like their Quebec national with th is ad . identity recognised in the Canadian I n c lu d in g : federation.

Perhaps Quebec’s most contro­ H ot F u d g e versial demand during the 1982 B a n a n a S p li t round o f constitutional talks was that Quebecers must consent to any W a ffle C o n e constitutional changes that alter C o o k ie D o u g h Quebec culture before the amend­ & B r o w n ie . ments are made. Under the current constitution, Quebec has successful­ W e lc o m e to ly protected the status of French; o u r lo c a t io n a t immigrants are adopting French as their public language and almost all 1316 De M aiso n n eu v e W young anglophones are bilingual.

T e l: 2 8 6 -6 0 7 3 It’s hard to imagine what more an Expires Mar 15/98_______ independent Quebec could do to dence is illegal, Bouchard can pass it off as the latest proof that Quebec is a prisoner in the Canadian federa­ tion. Canadian “im perialism ” is becom ing a prominent word in Bouchard’s nationalist vocabulary.

Bouchard is jockeying himself

D ecisive M o m e n t

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B r i n g a f r i e n d and w i n

a p r iz e

17February 199

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Bus riding in bliss the human contact free way Y o u ’re five minutes out o f M ontreal on a bus bound for T o ro n to , and the guy sitting next to you is d eter­ mined to strike up a conversa­ tion.

He seem s p l e a s a n t enough. Maybe he’s interesting, you th in k , and in te llig e n t and funny — m aybe he’s worth getting to know . B u t then you rem em ber the last party you w ent to , and the one

before that, and you ask yourself, what are the odds? And, more importantly, is a seven hour bus ride the best place to find out?

If you are willing to take the risk, if to you every stranger is just a friend you haven’t met, I wish you well. The world needs people like you. If, however, you would sooner chew your way off the bus than deal with this guy, read on.

With a little planning and a little luck, a hum an-contact-free bus ride is a possibility.

The traditional tools o f the misanthrope are helpful: walkman, sunglasses, a book — preferably o f an inflam m atory political or religious nature, or in another lan­ guage, or both. These are social

S P H O N E D IR E C T O R Y ® A L T O 'S P I Z Z A .............................. . 3 9 8 - M A I N R E P P A T H L IB R A R Y .................. . 3 9 8 - M A IN T IC K E T M A S T E R ........................... . 3 9 8 - M A I N

cues, however, and the people you most need to discourage are those upon whom even the broad est h ints — feig n in g sleep/illness/death — are lost. The key to a s u cce ssfu l ride lie s , instead, in strategy.

As you wait for the bus, get to know your company. Ask yourself the follow ing questions: is any party travelling with a baby or small child? (If so, wait the two hours for the next bus.) How many people are riding? Will I be able to get two seats to myself?

Let’s assume for the moment that your bus is travelling light and that some people, at least, w ill score double seats. The rule, here, is to snag a seat at the front of the bus. Every student will remember from grade school that only nerds sit an the fron t, and w ill head straight for the back. By the time the last ones realize that they will have to sit next to someone, they will be out of your territory.

This plan does, however, have one potentially ruinous flaw: the elderly. The elderly sit at the front o f the bus. The elderly are often — but, sadly, not always — less likely than young riders to have romantic intentions, but are more likely to carry pictures o f their

loved ones. And contrary to po culture representations, old peopl do not nap. At least not on buse: Ever. So if there is an elderly pei son in line, take your chances i the vehicle’s middle section.

If it looks as though the rid will be packed, you want to plac yourself in the middle o f the lim ideally about 24th. This way, yo enter the bus ju st as people ai beginning to double up and ai able chose your own seat partne Y ou then sit b esid e the moi sullen, unfriendly person you ca find. Better yet, if you can identil him, you sit beside the painfull shy guy, the guy we all hope wi one day come out o f his shell, bi who — with a little luck wi stay in it for the next 6 1/2 to 7 hours.

Or, this reading w eek, yo can sit beside the girl in the blac co a t w ith the sh o u ld er-len g t brown hair, walkman, and sur glasses, the one pretending to rea “D as K a p tia l” ; she ab so lu tel promises to ignore you.

—Hilary Cameron U3, Arts

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NEED A NUMBER? C A L L ...

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7 DAYS A W E E K

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17February1998

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Shvitz like me: everything you wanted to know about the Colonial Baths but were afraid to ask

By Mila A unc -Thwin

Montreal, serving the city’s poorest residents who did not have hot water in their homes. Public bath­ houses were a necessity but they also continued a social tradition brought to North A m erica by European immigrants.

It takes some time to adjust to rampant nudity.

T here are many places in Montreal which seem to have their own set o f complex customs and rules, written by no one in particular, but con­ stantly re-written with tim e. They are bu si­ nesses open only to a special circle o f savvy customers and auras of secrecy seem to emanate from the very architecture.

There are multiple reasons why these places seem to have imaginary boundaries around them: over the years, I ’ ve struggled with the form er (and more sinister-seeming) Foufounes Electriques (I could see that there was dress code but could not mimic it and I could never find the door), the Jean Talon Market (which I could never quite find at all), W ilen sk y ’ s Light Lunch (weird customs Early blueprints f o r bath houses — they only serve two fo resh a d o w ed m o d em usage? things and they have a Brightly lit in the middle of a specific policy against cutting their quiet residential area, with a large fried bologna sandwiches in half).

But nothing in Montreal repre­ pipe exhausting steam from the sents the mystique created by our building’s side, the Colonial Baths palimpsest of a city better than the stand out especially at night. But the building reveals nothing to out­ Colonial Baths. Located at 3963 C olonial, the 84-year-old bath­ side observers, and upon entering, it seems bent on keeping people house is a particularly d ifficu lt out. At the top of the stairs there is place for an outsider to understand, a massive metal turnstile and the especially since its function has attendant buzzes you in after you changed sig n ifican tly over the y e a r s .

O rig in a lly established as a tradit i o n a 1 E u rop ean s t e a m house, most o f its cu r­ rent cu s­ tom ers are gay men.

But unlike the rest o f M o n treal’ s bathhouses, the new clien tele at the Colonial B ath s has not com - No towels n eeded at the Baths p 1e t e 1y usurped the older one; there is a co­ pay.

“They put up Fort Knox there ex isten ce o f those who use the facilities for sexual encounter and because the workers would pocket those who carry on the traditional the money and let their friends so cial and therapeutic ritual o f jump the turnstile,” said Randall, who was on duty the night I went going for a steam, or shvitz.

The Colonial Baths were built by. Randall served as my insider in 1914, becoming the first steam guide, crucial in deciphering the inner workings of an establishment house in Canada. In the 1940s, with a confusing history. He first there were 16 public baths in

Clients who come to the Baths like its discrete location since many of them are bisexual and some of them are married.

Barry Lazar, a Gazette editor who chronicles city life, says that “[t]he older crew recognize that without gays, the place would not m e a ls , d r in k v o d k a , a n d A pprenticeship o f be able to exist financially.” The traditional shvitz crowd tends to go t h e n gy o u rp to t h e b e d s Dudd\ ' * r“vitz: a crucial fund-ratsing on Wednesday and Sunday after­ a n d h a v e a g o o d s c h l u f attempt takes place noons, still with big meals and vodka, followed by naps upstairs.

— th a t is, p a s s ou t. in the sauna and But Randall has noticed anoth­ the movie version er trend: a new crowd of younger __________________________ o f the scene was shot in the Colonial Baths.) Randall immigrants have started coming on Bathhouse has three gave me a fairly extensive who’s- Monday nights when it only costs flo o rs. The main who list of regular customers from ten d ollars to get in. M ost are floor has lockers and over the years, which he advised recent immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as from a massage parlour, as me not to print. some o f the Arab countries. He The secon d -g en eration well as a side-room says they with tables and a s h v i t z e r s , “only com e o ff- Wm*=ME telev isio n . The top the T M o n d a y s .” spring of the flo o r has private Randall chats immigrants rooms. The showers, with ev ery ­ who found­ hot tub and saunas one and ed the baths, are downstairs. seem s to were less T here are two know all o f lik e ly to saunas. I went into them by the well-lit room; it continue the name, mostly sm elled slightly o f tradition and because all eucalyptus oil which so the num­ the customers ber o f cusis poured on the are regulars, rocks to help you t o m e r s gay and breathe easier in the d r o p p e d straight alike. d rastically. intense heat. “ P eo p le a Although the room is T od ay, get hooked hundred opaque with steam, the air still on the steam, tastes hot and dry in your throat. c u s to m e r s which is quite Putting a wet towel on your head could pass therapeutic. It through dur­ helps you endure the heat longer. opens your Most o f the men there were ing an entire pores and middle-aged. A few conversations day, while a drains out all sprung up, all relating to the topic few decades the to x in s ,” ago it would o f heat. One old man sat on the R an da l l not have well-worn cedar bench and tugged C a th e r in e F a r q u h a r s o n So unassum ing fro m explained. at his penis distractedly while com­ been unusu­ N e x t menting, “c ’est chaud ic i...c ’est al to see 200 the outside... time I come, people there chaud ici,” until Randall tells me, I should learn someone urged at any one tim e. D uring heat him to open the waves, writes local author William how to use the oak broom, a long sauna door for a Weintraub, huge lineups of people handled clump of oak leaves which replete with body odour were a is used to lather soap over one’s little while. common sight and smell at all of body. I can also get a very good Randall m assage for 12 d ollars from a the city’s bathhouses. told me later recen t Russian W h ile i t ’ s _____ that bathhouse traditionalists, hard to pinpoint c l i e n t s a t B a t h s lik e its imm'g rant wl; o ’s exactly when the .. . . .. . trained as a docafter enduring the sauna for as Baths becam e a d i s c r e t e l o c a t i o n S in c e tor. But perhaps long as possible, meeting place for m a n y O f t h e m a r e b is e x - the one thing you will pour a few gay men, it was u a l a n d s o m e a r e m a r ­ learn about the place that makes buckets o f cold in the early ‘60s you feel like a water over their when the upstairs ried. genuine insider is was divided into heads.

--------------------the lo cation o f private “ M ost o f sm all j||| the guys down­ rooms. Previously, the upstairs was the laundry chute: in the locker row stairs now won’t a wide-open room containing wall- near the exit, the third locker from to-wall beds. Older Jewish, Russian the le ft has no bottom . T hat’ s be doing that. and Polish men would come to the where you throw your towels.

You only do C a th e r in e F a r q u h a r s o n baths, eat large meals and drink that when you’re a ‘professional.’ The present vodka all afternoon, and then go up customers don’t really follow the to the beds and have a good schluf traditions that much,” my guide — that is, pass out.

Nobody I spoke with could explained.

Beginning in the 1950s, hot think of any animosity between the water in urban housing became the older im migrant crowd and the norm and the immigrant population younger gay one. “Everyone here is that fostered the steam baths began very discrete and everyone gets to migrate to greener neighbour­ along,” said Randall. “There are no problems.” hoods. Nonetheless, the Colonial

came to the Baths with his father in Baths retained many o f its cus­ 1968 and didn’t like the experi­ tomers for whom the Baths were a ence. But he began coming on his place o f relaxation as well as a place where busiown and started ________________________ w orking there J e w i s h , R u s s i a n a n d ness anc* p°iiticai _ .. , , , m eetings took six years ago.

P o lis h m e n w o u ld c o m e place (fn Mordecai T h to t h e b a t h s , e a t l a r g e R ic h ie r’ s The

Page12 Features

17February1998

Solutions to the education crisis: a medieval proposal I think I’ve got it. Call princi­ on the hog” for way too long. So brace yourself — the honeymoon is pal Shapiro. C all the Prim e OVER. Minister. I ’ve found The Solution.

I think w e’ re all ready to L e t’ s fa ce it, the days o f affordable post-secondary School­ accept that (as members o f a just ing are over. (Sorry, that means no society) it’s our turn to pay. W e’ve been taking advantage of the poor more McGill Degrees for $29.95, sweetheart). Taxpayers are sick of tax payer for so long (can you paying for us — so sick that they please stop fondling that diamond seem to think the number one pri­ necklace! I’m trying to talk to you), ority in the federal budget should and now we must pay. I t ’ s our be revitalizing health care — and moral duty. And I know how we can go about it. the universities (read: M cG ILL) The first step is, obviously, a either can ’ t afford to or simply don’t want to help a few poor stu­ substantial tuition increase (dou­ dents out. S o , in case you haven’t been keeping track, Dirk, that’ s two o f them T h e L o w T a lk e r against one of us. Who do you think is going to be left holding the bag?

M ica h Knapp Yup, you know it...

Vile, greedy, corrupt, and selfish students lik e you and me are a bling or tripling the current tuition loathsome burden on the poor tax­ would probably do the trick ). payers — and we’re going to have However, because a reasonable to start paying for ourselves even­ number o f le ss-rich students wouldn’t be able to maintain their tually.

W e’ve been getting away with lavish, free-spending life styles and this for way too long...we’ve been pay the extra university fees — some o f them might not even be living the Good Life on the little man’s coin — what with our four able to pay the fees! — steps would have to be taken to ensure that month, beach-bathing-beer-swillthese students are not denied access ing m ega-sum m ers, our lavish spring trips to G uatem ala, our to education (this isn’t the USA, unlimited lunchtime access to Chef you know, affordable p o st-sec­ Robert’s “Festival du Homard” in ondary education is som ething the Shatner cafeteria... Let’s face it, Canada prides itself on, and we’re we’re spoiled. You and me and all not going to let it slip away). So, students. W e’ve been living “high with this in mind, I propose the

introduction o f a student C lass System.

An “Executive Class” student is, obviously, the first class. He is able to pay for his entire tuition, his cost o f living, his books, his Kangol hats, his trips to Mexico — everything (actually, his parents will do most o f the paying). He places no burden on the taxpayers, and he is of no concern to the uni­ versity. He is entirely “self-suffi­ cient.”

By contrast, Working Class Student (or “s e r f’) is not able to pay for the entire cost of his schooling. Actually, he ca n ’ t even afford the tuition charges and he is forced to account for his own living expen ses (usually through student loans or summer savings). Because he can’t pay the entire, massive tuition, he will participate in a new kind of “Work Study” program that will help to ease the burden he places on the taxpayers while at the same time making his school a more attractive, efficient, friendly place.

W hen h e’ s not in cla ss, W orking C lass Student will be busy working on campus — pick­ ing garbage out of ditches, scrub­ bing toilets, buffing floors, clean­ ing windows, shovelling ice off of roofs, painting classrooms, banging the dust out of curtains — all the things that a university operating

on a limited budget can’t afford to do.

Se n io r W orking C lass Students will even be able to take over som e o f the library and administrative positions, thereby allowing expensive, attitude-laden non-academic staff to be replaced by free, dispensable serfs.

With the right kind of supervi­ sion — a few paddles across the backside ought to do it — these serfs could be moulded into an effi­ cient, friendly army of workers (at least as friendly as the people who work in Dawson Hall). As a result, a school like M cG ill would be turned from a debilitated, depress­ ing, poor, dirty institution into the kind of clean, friendly, well-main­ tained, reputable, affordable, and (most importantly) wealthy univer­ sity that all o f us would love to attend.

Best o f all, the healthy divi­ sion between the rich and the poor that the entire capitalist empire was built on will be restored...and, oh yeah, students will finally start to pay for years of their vicious leech­ ing.

So pick up that toilet brush, friend, things are about to get a lit­ tle messy.

Tribune Wine and Cheese (and annual general meeting) Wednesday February 18th 5-7 pm.

News 5:15 Features: 5:30 Entertainment: S5:45 Sports: 6:00 Photo: 6:1 5 Production: 6:30

On b reaks in betw een filin g n ew sp a p ers at M cLennan, Mr. K napp can b e fo u n d in the Johnathan Swift stacks.

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Features Page 13

17February1998

Body image forum promotes holistic approach to women’s health

By Renée D unk In the spirit of next month’s national focus on women’s issues, McGill Peer Health in conjunction with Health Promotions w ill be holding a forum on body image featuring guest speaker Judy Norsigian.

Norsigian is one o f the people who helped oversee the writing and editing o f Our

Our Bodies, Ourselves, a col­ laborative effo rt by the B oston Women’s Health Book Collective, first appeared in a newsprint format in 1970. The first commercial edi­ tion was published in 1973 and has

B o d i e s , Ourselves — a book “by and for w om en.”

She explained that this com ­ prehensive book “tries to look at w om enhealth in the broadest sen se” and includes se c ­ tions on body im age as well as nutrition, re p ro d u c tio n and sexually transmitted dise a s e s .

Norsigian explained how

Using the example of female smokers, Norsigian explained that “it is not the weight issue that moti­ vates women to smoke in the begin­ ning. But once they start smoking, women see tobacco as an appetite suppressant. Women prob­ ably w ill gain a few pounds when they quit smoking but they were probably thin to start out.”

N orsigian ’ s lecture will focus on the relation­ ship between eating disor­ ders and body im age, backing up her claims with statistical evidence.

“Unhealthy cultural images ...leads one to star­ vation diets and mutilating surgery. These draconian measures cause one to hurt one’ s health,” she com ­ mented. “[The lecture will examine] the relationship between changing cultural norms and what women will do to attain these goals.”

N orsigian will also promote progressive femi­ nist-oriented magazines that are trying to reverse myths on body image. As well, she will be offering

ward that is naturally attained by five per cent of the population. Even if most of us ate well and exercised regularly we would [still] end up at a body type that wouldn’t match women in advertising. Most women are not meant to be skinny like that,” she stated.

Although there are no hard and

will be made to improve the situa­ tion.

“What we need is more women in public policy...who understand these issues. Then, more money would be made available to national women’s organizations in the form of internships and public health.”

“A n id e a l b o d y ty p e is p u t fo r w a r d th a t is n a tu r a lly a tta in e d b y fiv e p e r c e n t o f th e p o p u la tio n . E v e n if m o s t o f u s a t e w e ll a n d e x e r c i s e d r e g u la r ly w e w o u ld [still] e n d u p a t a b o d y t y p e t h a t w o u l d n ’t m a t c h w o m e n in a d v e r ­ tis in g . M o s t w o m e n a r e n o t m e a n t to b e s k i n n y lik e th a t."

— J u d y N o rsig ia n

Judy Norsigian will speak on Thursday, February 19th at 7 p.m. in the P alm er Theatre, McIntyre Medical Building. For more infor­ m ation on the B oston W om en’s H ealth C ollective or to obtain a copy o f Sacrificing Ourselves for Love, write to the collective at 240 Elm St., Somerville, Mass., 02144.

fast solutions to the problem o f w om en’ s negative body im age, Norsigian is hopeful that some steps .

Sacrificing Ourselves fo r Love, a book that covers

Our B od ies, O urselves takes

a “h o listic approach” to women’s health.

“You can’t only take into con­ sideration the disease o f the month...you have to consider the interrelationships [of health issues] that mass media often doesn’t,” Norsigian said.

since been updated every few years.

The newest edition will be available in April and will include a racially inclusive body image section as well as a chapter dealing with com­ plex relationships like the intercon­ nection between tobacco use and body image.

the main themes o f her upcoming lecture, at a spe­ cial student price.

Norsigian believes that the main cause of negative body image is the result of mass media images — through television, magazines and billboards — that promote an unrealistic ideal of how a woman should look.

“An ideal body type is put for­

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Under Scrutiny is a forum for personal observations on current issues

Arab-Israeli discourse group provides forum for discussion W hen I dropped in on M cG ill’s A rab-Israeli discourse last week, I did not know what to expect. I felt that my knowledge of the Arab w orld and the peace process was patchy and confused, lik e that o f many W esterners.

Would expletives and insults be hurled back and forth? How would conflict be handled?

The discourse was amazingly open with a broad scope of topics and an air of mutual respect. The value of it seemed to lie in the dis­ tinct backgrounds o f the partici­ pants. In fact, many issues emerged from personal anecd otes. The group is student-based, and meets weekly at a different m em ber’ s apartment with an appointed medi­ ator.

The d iscu ssio n began by addressing the status of women in the Arab world. Only a quarter of the members present were women, but most participants agreed that the views of women are less influ­ ential in the Middle East than in the West.

Som e people spoke o f the introduction of women into the air­ force in Israel as an indication of the increasing status of women in that society. Another contributor brought the debate to another level

if you talk politics in the Middle Israeli discourse is Danya Cohen. to prom ote the ra cist agenda. by posing the qu estion: “Can women promote peace — rather Someone else agreed that “there’s East, they just kill you. You cannot The idea for the group evolved six than fight — better than men [have this underlying sentiment in years ago out o f a class on Arab-Israeli done so far]?”

Israeli and Jew ish minds c o n flic t at M cG ill Much of the debate revolved that we’re somehow dealing where students felt around negotiating religion with with a less able group — the issues needed to modem society and finding a polit­ who are less able to make a be addressed on a ical sphere that is representative of dem ocratic agreement — more personal level. and, th erefo re, both. A more d elicate T o p ics include the petition that question was posed: everything from the the Palestinians “What are our stereo­ status of refugees to signed in O slo types o f each other, and the peace process. w on’ t be fu l­ how do they a ffe c t any At the same filled . I t ’ s very political compromise that time, the group has damaging.” we m ight m ake? W hen received some criti­ we’re negotiating with the Others ques­ cism. Some ask what tioned why there Israelis, we say that there was so little Arab-Israeli discussion group are a lot of divisions. What Mike C olwell, good a group o f W estern Jew s can are those divisions?” rem orse from know about a problem that is so far One person said thatj== ■Jewish rabbis follow­ go against the government.”

Indeed, one participant voiced removed from them. But Cohen ing recent slaughters Under Scrutiny in Israel, his grandfather his concern over how government m aintains that the discourse is o f Arabs in refugee used to tell him that

By C hris A lle n actions shape foreigners’ opinion effectiv e and that it serves as a cam ps. A llu sion s “you can never trust an model fo r groups in the ArabArab because they always have a were then made to the idea of the of a country: “To understand each other, Israeli world.

Ju st W ar, having God on one’ s knife stuck behind their back.

“As far as I’m concerned, this you cannot really judge [people by] They’ll shake your hand with one side.

The direction of the discourse a government. People are com ­ has never happened there,” she hand, and have a knife ready with said. gradually shifted into heated politi­ p letely d ifferen t. I have many the other.” cal debate, whereby some voiced friends who are Iraqis who are The group then delved into Anyone wishing to join one o f against Saddam Hussein. That’ s what m ight have led to such a their distaste for their leaders: “I lived in Kuwait and I lived what we have to understand about the group's meetings can contact stereotype, and the grandfather’s Danya Cohen at 289-9957. background. A participant asserted in the G u lf regions. I hate that the P alestinians and the Arabs. that people do not speak out even region. I think the leaders are stu­ D on’t look at our governments. though they are allowed to, and pid; I think they are idiots, and I Look at the people.”

The co-ordinator for the Arabthat stereotypes act as a mechanism think: ‘Get rid of these guys.’ But

South East Asians feel financial crunch on their studies C o ntinued from page 7

dents do go back to home to contin­ ue their education, they may not even be able to gain admission because of the limited spaces offered through their home universities.

Because of his decision to leave Malaysia to study at McGill, Lim is now frustrated with the prospect of returning home to finish his school­ ing.

“First I’d have to apply to a pri­ vate university and then if there isn’t enough space there, I’ll have to try a public university. It isn’t easy to get admitted to these universities,” he said.

Since the effects of the financial

optimistic climate, my parents want­ ed me to get a good education at any price and I had absolutely no doubts about my future,” de Vries contin­ ued.

“It’s not the same anymore. I’m not sure about doing my B.A . in English because it won’t fetch me a job when I go back. Now I ’m not even sure if I want to go back after my degree. The situation is very scary.”

Students like Lim and de Vries came to Canada because of the lack of adequate educational resources in their home countries. If these stu­

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crisis were not felt until October, students did not have the opportunity to prepare for it over the summer when they were back at home.

“In the summer there wasn’t a hint of the crisis,” Lim stated. “As soon as we returned [to Montreal] it struck like a bolt. The Malaysian dollar has been going down ever since. If I knew things could go this w ro n g ,'I would probably have applied to a local university when I was back home.”

Both Lim and de Vries, who previously had excellent academic records, feel that the financial crunch has greatly affected their academic performance.

“There is great pressure to save as much money as I can — I’m also looking for a job on campus,” Lim said. “I cannot concentrate on my education like before because of these factors. As an international stu­

dent, I’m not supposed to work offcampus and there aren’t many jobs on campus for non-bilinguals.”

Judy Stymest, the director of M cG ill’ s Financial Aid o ffice, asserted that “in view of the extreme financial difficulties faced by stu­ dents affected by the crisis,” the office will be doing everything pos­ sible to help them out.

“Students may apply to us for assistance due to the crisis. We will help students on a case-by-case basis to the extent that our resources per­ mit. Students may also apply for need based bursaries through our office.”

Despite the frustration of stu­ dents like Lim who want to find offcampus jo b s, Mary Kane o f the Canadian Board o f International Education explained that Canadian Immigration officials are monitoring the situation of South East Asian stu­

McGill Vice-Principal (Inform ation System s a n d Technology) Bruce P ennycook P a s t, P r e s e n t a n d F u tu re : C o m p u tin g a t M cG ill

McGill's new (and first ever) vice-principal (information systems and technology) will discuss the nature of his job and his priorities for the year ahead. How well equipped is McGill to meet the technological challenges it currently faces? What steps should the University take in the months to come?

Thursday February 19 Stephen Leacock Building, Room 232 Cookies and coffee: 12:00pm Presentation: 12:15 pm c o -s p o n s o re d b y M a n a g e m e n t F o ru m a n d th e C o m p u te r U sers C o m m itte e

dents.

“At this point, despite the cri­ sis, no special provisions are in place to allow students to work offcampus. For destitute students or those in ‘dire need’ who apply to work off-campus, each situation will be looked at on a case-b y-case basis,” Kane said, indicating that an exception to the law that preventing international students from working off-campus could be possible for students affected by the financial crisis.

But Kane pointed out that “immigration o fficials have not received many inquiries to date” from students in financial need.

Stym est added that even though she was unaware of any spe­ cial student loans or bursaries spon­ sored by the governments o f the affected countries, she would keep students informed if anything “might arise to help ease the situa­ tion.”

Other universities like Stanford in C alifornia and B rita in ’ s Nottingham University have devel­ oped schemes and aid packages to ease the blow for their students. For instance, Stanford has delayed fee payments for students unable to meet the deadlines due to the finan­ cial situation in their home countries and Nottingham University issued student loans to those affected by the crisis. McGill has no such aid packages in place. To make matters even tougher, the rules for interna­ tional students deny them eligibility for bank loans making jt extremely difficult for affected students to raise funds outside of their home countries.

“It would have helped if our fee payment deadlines had been post­ poned,” Lim said. “Now, as a last resort, I ’m going to look into the prospect of applying for student aid or a McGill student loan.”

Features Page 15

17February1998

From the Bronx to the Alps breakdancing returns to the mainstream

By Karl Raudsepp-H earne

stop when he changed records.

B-boys would seriously battle each other at these old-school par­ ties and dance-floors often erupted into physical violence. Eventually the gang mentality faded out as breaking grew in popularity; in the early ‘ 80s artists such as Michael Jackson borrowed dance moves (James Brown called the

Even if you’re a good McGill kid who drinks Molson and listens to the Hip, there was probably a time when you wanted to spin on your head to the sounds of A frik a B am baataa or maybe Michael Jackson.

For a while back in the ‘80s, break-dancing was big for everyone, from M r* the inner city to the sub­ urbs.

For the mainstream, however, breaking was a fad and most people Moonwalk seem to remember it today the way his “Goodfoot” they rem em ber p et-ro ck s and dance years before) Cabbage Patch Kids. So where did and brought elements it go? For a hard-core minority of of breaking to the attention breakers, it didn’t vanish anywhere o f an enorm ous m ainstream except from the eye o f the main­ audience. NYC’s legendary break­ stream, continuing instead to quiet­ ers Rock Steady Crew appeared in the film Flashdance and the Robot ly evolve.

For W alken Chariot, break­ and the Wave swept through subur­ dancing has always been part of a ban school-yards across the conti­ way of life. On a Sunday afternoon nent.

Far from the South Bronx and in a loft on Ste. Catherine Street, he supervises the proceedings at his many years later, Walken takes a rest and behind him the other M ontreal Breakers school. The room is painted in reds, purples and breakers who, ranging in age from yellows, and speakers in the cor­ thirteen into their twenties, take turns stepping in and out. ners pump out hiphop. Two TV “I started this school because screens show Tupac Shakur rap­ I ’ ve been breaking for thirteen ping and Honey R ockw ell from years and I wanted to make a future R ock Steady Crew breaking. out of what I love doing,” says the Posters line one w all and fu lllength mirrors another, while ten tw enty -tw o-year-old W alken. lithe breakers in low-cut sneakers W hile pondering b ill-p ay in g and track pants stand together, sur­ careers in sales or as a hospital rounding the empty hard-wood orderly, Walken met Crazy Legs, a floor. The atmosphere is friendly member of the Rock Steady Crew in 1995. Meeting the RSC had been but full of energy and anticipation.

Then W alken steps in. He moves slow ly at first, bouncing around to the beats of Eric B ., then co n torts his body into a series of painful-looking posi­ tions before landing on the floor, spinning into a flip and freez­ ing into a handstand.

The m ovem ents gracefully combine “uprock” which can look like Hong-Kong action-flick Kung-Fu when done right, “floor-rock,” powerm oves such as the head-spin or the w ind -m ill, and “freezes.”

The movements that define modern breaking originated with ‘60s New York and L.A. gangs who learned martial arts to beat down rival gangs in street fights.

R hythm ic m artial arts such as the B razilian Capoeira fighting style were blended with kung-fu m oves à la B ru ce Lee and then mixed in with music rangMontreal Breakers School student practises ing from Jam es Brown to D J Kool Here. In the a childhood dream for Walken and ‘70s, Kool Here coined the phrase he now says that Crazy Legs con­ b-boy, or breaker-boy, when he vinced him to “open the school first put two turntables together at now while breaking was getting big parties so that the music wouldn’t again.”

Today, hiphop and breaking are inextricably linked and hiphop — mostly in the form o f rappers and DJs — has exploded into the w orld-w ide m ainstream . Once again, artists like the Fugees are doing what M J did before; that is, bringing hiphop culture into the mainstream.

In the last year or two m a j o r

sch o o l b rea k -b ea ts lik e Grandmaster Flash, back to James Brown.

The people who show up are d iv erse; b la ck , w hite, A sian , French and English.

“This is one o f the few places in M ontreal where I see people from both sides o f the language barrier hanging out together,” says Walken.

Jamie Moore, a

W e s t Is la n d

hiphop figures such as rapper KRSOne have also com e into the

stream , defining hiphop as a combination o f four elem en ts: m c-eein g (rapping), DJing, break-dancing and graffiti art. Local breakers Tactical Crew have performed with acts such as Bran Van 3000, and several hiphop artists have put young b-boys in their videos.

Given the resurgence o f hip hop culture with a cro ss­ over audience, W alken felt the tim e was righ t; after working sev­ eral jo b s and saving up, he o p e n e d Montreal B reak ers in M arch 1 997.

He continues to work fu ll­ tim e outside the school but teach es and breaks seven days a week.

While business was slow at first, a p p e a ra n ce s on M usique Plus with rap­ pers such as MC So laar have helped raise the school’ s pro­ file. Now, the studio is often packed on weekends and W alken has many regular students durR e b e c c a C a tc h in g ing the week.

Lesson s are offered and for a small fee, anyone can show up to dance, chill, play video games and listen to music.

Guest D Js spin hiphop non-stop, from the latest releases to old-

the only female breaker in the studio on this, her firs t Sunday at the sch o o l.

Practicing different moves in front of a mirror, she says she intends to get really good so she can “battle all the guys.” Although breaking has traditionally been male domi­ nated, more and more fem ale breakers are show ing up at W alken’ s school, some com ing from as far away as the Laurentians to learn breaking techniques.

M eanwhile, L ’il Freeze and Outlaw, age 14 and 16 respective­ ly, are taking a rest and watching one o f the older breakers spin six times on his head before flipping back up and stepping o ff. The young breakers recently formed F irst C lass Crew , one o f many crews that compete in local break­ ing circles, and both come here to p ractice every w eekend. W hen asked if they’ll soon be ready to b attle T a c tic a l C rew , one o f M ontreal’s premier break crews, L ’il Freeze laughs. “Maybe next year,” he says but adds “we’re not going to stop practicing.”

Break-dancing competitions such as the prestigio u s B -b o y Sum m it in San F ra n cisco draw crews from all over North America who battle each other on the floor

until w inners are d eclared by judges. These events usually com­ bine other elem ents o f hiphop, from scratch DJ competitions and rapping to graffiti art exhibitions.

The best crews world-wide, how­ ever, don’t come from New York these days but from Switzerland, Italy and Japan. The Battle o f the Year is held annually in Germany and as

explains, “hiphop and breaking have com e a long way since the days o f Kool Here and the Furious Five. It’s interna­ tional now.”

Back at Walken’s studio, the m usic h asn ’ t stopped.

Breakers keep moving in and out of the Circle, working on new moves; the more experienced bboys flex their own styles in front o f everyone while newcomers prac­ tice on their own o ff to the side.

For Walken this is a dream come true, a place where everyone can com e and exp ress th em selves through the culture that he loves.

“Nowadays kids give up easi­ ly,” he says. “If they see something requires hard work they back down. W ell I ’ m working harder than ever but for me, all this is like heaven.”

The beats don’t stop and the other breakers step back, ready to watch and learn as Walken keeps moving and hiphop culture contin­ ues to ev olv e righ t here in Montreal.

Montreal B reakers is located at 372 St. Catherine St. West (loft 223), Metro Place des Arts (Bleury exit). F or more info, call 921-3069.

Career and Placement Service McGill University, Powell Student Services Bldg., Suite 308, 3 6 3 7 Peel Street Tel: (514) 398-3304, Fax: (514) 398-1831

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Page 17

17 February 1998

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E n t e r t a in m e n t

Mainlining the written word in an unpretentious atmosphere

By Konstantine Stavrakos________ Founded in June o f 1997 by Dean Irvine and M arta Cooper,

Mainlines: Poetry Readings on the Main is developing into a Montreal institution.

The series em erged from a need to discover and create a broad­ er literary com m unity in the Montreal area. Irvine recalls that when he first came to the city, he wasn’t familiar with the local writ­ ers. With Mainlines, he wanted “to cut out a space in which I could find other writers and provide an open forum for different writers to come, meet and listen to one anoth­ er. I feel like I ’m part of a literary community now, by having created a space that didn’t exist for other people, but also didn’t exist for myself or Marta.”

Mainlines began with strong support from M cG ill’ s creative writing community and gained a broader base over time. As Cooper

notes, “one of the things that has been successful for M ainlines is that we’ve worked hard at bridging gaps between M cG ill, Concordia and Montreal in general. Through Mainlines I ’ve met so many writ­ ers, from Concordia and the rest of M ontreal, and to hear so many other people’s work is exciting.”

Each reading focuses on three writers who are given twenty min­ utes each to read their work. The readings are drawn from both wellknown and unpublished works. One upcoming w riter is G overnor G en e ral’ s Award w inner Erin Mouré. There has also been signifi­ cant interest from out-of-town writ­ ers, the first of whom to read was Stuart Ross from Toronto.

Irvine and Cooper select the writers for the readings to provide a mutually complimentary atm os­ phere and a stim ulating show.

Cooper says that keeping the audi­ ence interested is a key factor for her. “I wouldn’t want to organize

McGill drama’s double whammy Arcadia an admirable follow -up to f a ll production

By Tyler Hargreaves Hot on the heels of the muchacclaim ed Tooth and Nail, Tom Stoppard's A rcadia, the latest pro­ duction from the English Drama and Theatre students, is a phenomenal piece, rich in dialogue and theme.

The story is set at an English manor in two different time periods, April 1809 and the present. The story begins in 1809 with the sexual escapades of Septimus Hodge and the havoc they create. Hodge’ s actions have gotten him entangled with Ezra Chater (Daniel Mate).

Chater wishes to face Hodge in a duel to restore his wife’s name, who was on the receiving end of Hodge's favourite extra-curricular activity.

Amidst an adulterous tryst, Hodge is tutoring a young girl who is on the brink o f an incredible m athem atical breakthrough.

Thomasina Croom (Lisa Bird) is a teenage girl struggling to join the adult world. Hodge also has to deal with the meddling of Thomasina’s mother Lady Croom (Sarah Mack).

Lady Croom is unwilling to give Hodge much freedom in the teach­ ing of her daughter and won’t stop looking over his shoulder. Mack effectively con­ veys the poise and attitude of the typical preVictorian English lady with remarkable ease.

In the pre­ sent, Bernard Ni ght e ngal e (Phillip Graeme) is struggling to

solve the mystery of what happened at the estate in 1809. It seems that Lord Byron was staying at the Croom manor that weekend in April and Nightengale is trying to impli­ cate him in the alleged duel.

Nightengale comes off exactly as he should, thanks to Graeme’s extraor­ dinary performance, as the charac­ ter’s audacity and pompousness eas­ ily endears him to all.

Complementing him is Hannah Jarvis (Anne-Catherine Lebeau), who does not believe Nightengale’s account of the past and struggles to come to her own conclusion. She is aided by the sage and technically accurate advice given to her by V alentine C overly (M ichael Wheeler), concerning the work of Thomasina. W heeler’ s character ably conveys the young, knowledge­ able expert, without falling into either extreme o f socially inept mathematician or ultra-hip “num­ bers guy” à la Je f f Goldblum in Jurassic Park. By treading the fine line, Valentine elucidates the intrica­ cies of mathematical theory without losing the scientifically-handicapped

C ontinued on page 79

Hodge (Phil Pace) always the gentleman

som ething like M ainlines if I weren’t thrilled to go to it myself.”

She says the readings have consis­ tently drawn between 40 and 80 people, with as many as 30 regu­ lars.

To some of the audience mem­ bers, a poetry reading is a new experience. Cooper explains “there are a lot of people who are intimi­ dated by the reading o f poetry or consider it snobby, but when they actually hear it, they enjoy it a lot.

You can always tell someone who’s never been to a reading series before because they’re somewhat tentative, but about five minutes into the show they’ll get this look on their face [that says], ‘I’m enjoy­ ing this and I didn’t expect to.’”

The venue for Mainlines is BSide, located just off St. Laurent at 9 Duluth East. It takes place on every third W ednesday o f the month. The next reading will occur this Wednesday the 18th at 8:30.

The show featu res K athleen

Frederickson, Tess Fragoulis and R obert A llen. Fred erick son , a M cGill student who will be pub­ lished in the upcoming issue of Scrivener, possesses an admirable body o f work. F rago u lis, a Montreal-based writer and a power­

ful reader, is presenting a selection from her new book, Stories to Hide From Your M other. Allen is the editor of Matrix and Chair o f the C oncordia C reative W riting Department. He is reading from his new novel Napoleon’s Retreat.

Robert Allen Tess Fragoulis Kathleen Frederieksor 8:30 W ed n esd ay

F e b r u a r y 1£ $3

Poetry Readings on the Main B -S id e 9 D u lu th E a s t

Linking McGill to its communities C ontinued from page 1 often depend on outside proposals.

In the over ten years since its debut, CKUT has become one of the largest, if not the largest campus sta­ tion in Canada. The station utilizes over 300 volunteers, including both students and non-students, and has one of the country’s highest listener followings.

Campus radio has been designed to link universities and their com m unities by inform ing students about the city they live in while relating issues within the university to the greater community.

It seems rather appro­ priate for an educating body to offer such a diverse product around which we can wrap our minds. Isn’t that what higher education is about, after all?

The “no corporate ass-kissing” aspect of CKUT comes in to play every year during the annual fund raising drive (this year from March 26-April 5).

The station is funded by a combina­ tion of commercial sponsors, dona­ tions and SSMU fees. Although this cornucopia of backers is imposed by the CRTC, it allows the station to yield a more intelligent product.

“People are smarter than marketers think...[they’re] tired of being sold products,” Harewood insists.

The fact that corporate funding is not its exclusive source of money allows CKUT a remarkable amount o f freedom. In other words,»the advertisers do not control program­

ming. “It gives us the opportunity to speak about issues that others won’t touch," Harewood maintains.

One such issue w ill be dis­ cussed on Sunday, February 22 when CKUT pays tribute to Black History Month. The special day of programming entitled “Black Talk” will air from 7 a.m. to the wee hours of the next day. There will be a vast

range of forums addressing issues of the black community — ranging from “hair politics” and portrayals of blacks in the media, to the global­ ization of hip hop and the enfeebled Africana Studies program at McGill.

Of course there will be a vari­ ety of music shows, many of which will be broadcast live from Isart.

If you are trapped under a rock on Sunday and unable to listen, you can tune in to one o f the many shows CKUT airs regularly that cel­ ebrate black culture, such as Friends (...In the Black Community), Cha

Cha Cha in Blues, Mind Soul and Spirit (a Gospel line-up) and

U top ia’s P a ra d ise (A fricanAm erican Club M usic from Underground).

When speaking of his station, Harewood is emphatic on the oppor­ tunities CKUT and McGill students have to offer each other. “We really want to encourage [student] partic­ ipation.” Besides the obvious roles students can take, such as volunteer­ ing as writers, music librarians and broadcasters, Adrien and the other board members love to entertain new ideas.

As exam ples, he mentioned radio dramas and writing radio documentaries instead of papers for class. Who says M cG ill is n ’t pro­ gressive?

So now that you know more about CKUT, why don’t you give it a listen? Even if you aren’t interested in the talk of culture and politics, they air some amazing music at regular intervals. Blues, jazz, techno, reg­ gae, bluegrass, punk and real rock ‘n’ roll call CKUT home. You won’t like everything, but you’ ll like something.

Harewood promises a radio sta­ tion where “you won’t hear Mariah Carey ten times a day.”

For more information or a pro­ gram list, stop by the office Monday thru Friday at 3647 University, or call 398-6787.

Pageis Entertainment 1

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Volker Schlondorff is a director of con­ siderable acclaim; his recent film The Ogre, with John Malkovich, was widely praised but seen by few. However, if even one additional set o f eyes casts its hopeful gaze upon Palmetto, which opens February 20, it will be a grave injustice.

This is bland and predictable tale about Harry Barber (Woody Harrelson), a recently released ex-con who took a fall for the gener­ ally corrupt in his home town o f Palm etto, Florida. After returning to the open arms of his overly generous girlfriend Nina (Gina Gershon of Bound), he takes another wrong turn and gets hooked up with Rhea Malroux (Elisabeth Shue), the “wife” of a millionaire who wants to kidnap her stepdaugh­ ter Odette (Chloe Sevigny of Trees Lounge) and collect the ransom.

Already you may be wondering whether you haven’t seen Palmetto before. The film “borrows” from a vast catalogue o f great movies and noir clichés. The Big Sleep is the most obvious, but by no means the only, source among the classics of the genre. The kidnapping plot smacks of F argo, while Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave is unflatteringly referenced in both Harry’s position as press liaison to his own crime and in the (here pointless) cutting up of newsprint to resemble cash.

P alm etto 's numerous and cryptic twist endings further complicate matters, and the fdm ends, not with a whimper, but ■ more of a “huh?” as Harry pre­ pares to meet his untimely Batman-esque end. Hoping per­ haps to modernize the film noir genre, Schlondorff has instead created an absurdly derivative and instantaneously forgettable fdm.

rilMHTl

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By Rachel O ng Boy meets girl under extenuat­ ing circumstances and at first, he doesn’t notice her. When he finally realizes that the woman o f his dreams is right under his nose, she’s making wedding plans to marry another man. What will our protago­ nist do?

The Wedding Singer offers the usual romantic comedy narrative with an added plus. It also depicts an era which popularized the colours turquoise and fuschia, plastic bracelets, acid-washed jeans and overdone make-up. Adam Sandler (a.k.a. Robby Hart) is a would-be rock star turned wedding singer who is jilted at the altar for the very rea­ son that he is a wedding singer.

Enter Ju lia (played by Drew

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ingly dangerous and terrifying episodes as their subconscious fears are physically manifested.

The highlight of Crichton’s book is the interplay between the characters as the events unfold. Although this comes through to some extent in the movie, action seems to be the fdm’s driving force, barrelling into a scene just when character interaction is about to tran­ scend its otherwise superficial level. This makes for some average performances from an otherwise above-average cast.

However, this being a Sunday-aftemoontype Hollywood flick , you don’t mind so much. You’re just enjoying the suspenseful, tense, fast pacing of the plot, the cool special effects and the fact that you don’t have to use your brain.

We're gonna party like it’s 1985

S U P P O R T G R O U P S

1

Sphere, the latest Hollywood offering based on yet another novel by M ichael Crichton, is one of those fdms you go see on a Sunday afternoon because you’re bored and you want to be entertained without having to think too hard.

Dustin Hoffman stars as a psychologist who is summoned by the government to inves­ tigate a “plane crash” in the middle of the P acific Ocean. He quickly learns that the “plane” is in fact an enormous submerged spacecraft and that he is part of a team assem­ bled because of a report he wrote for the gov­ ernment on his dealings with a sim ilar encounter.

Other members of the crew include Samuel L. Jackson as a mathematician and Sharon Stone as an em otionally unstable biochemist. The team descends on the spacecraft, in which they find a huge, golden orb. This sphere appears to have intelligence and it’s not long before it begins exerting its influence on the unwitting human w elcom e wagon.

Isolated in their high-tech, claustrophobic habitat, the crew is subjected to increas­

I f

E D U C A T IO N

i

By Brian G abor

R E F E R R A L S P U B L IC

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Barrymore), a woman who fancies one else knows that he’s all wrong notions of true love and is unsure for her. But what is a love story about her current beau. They meet, without a little bit of a chase? Don’t plan her wedding together and fall in worry, they find each other. love somewhere in between.

Go watch this movie, but not Given these circumstances, it’s for its love-stricken storyline — go not hard to imagine what will hap­ for the one-hit-wonders and fluores­ pen in the end. Robby Hart strays cent fashion sense that was the«'80s. from Sandler’s usual array of annoy­ People to watch for: George, Hart’s ing characters because he just wants Madonna look-alike keyboard playto be loved.

Tacky w ise­ cracks are traded in for cliché acts o f kindness — case in point: he com forts a recently wedded couple by replac­ ing the best m an’ s drunken speech with mushy assertions that true love does exist.

O bviously, The ‘80s: it’s an attitude Ju lia com es in during Hart’s recuperation period. er; Jon Lovitz, who plays a rival Drew Barrymore hasn’t been this wedding singer; Steve Buscemi as adorable since E.T. As the girl next the drunken best man; and last but door, she remains oblivious to her not least, Billy Idol as himself, re­ fiancé’s sleazy nature while every­ living his decade-long hangover.

Celebrating Quebec film

By C éline H einbecker R ecto V erso, V ero B on com p agn i’ s photography exhibit currently at the Maison de la Culture Frontenac, is a quirky set of about thirty black and white pho­ tographs of Québécois film direc­ tors.

The only recurring prop in the pictures is a small wooden-framed blackboard with which directors were required to sum up their past and forecast their future careers.

Some chose to scrawl cryptic wis­ dom on their board, others to scrib­ ble zig-zags on it, others ju st to

break it entirely (not a stellar out­ look on life, maybe?). The project, which Boncompagni came up with in honour of Les Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois, is called Recto Verso because the photographer juxtaposes two shots of the same person facing the camera and then turning their back to it, or revealing two sides of the blackboard in the same frame.

O verall im pression?

Interesting concept, beautifully crisp studio photographs and some deep thoughts by Québécois direc­ tors to toy with if you’re in the mood. Oh, and it’s free.

Entertainment pagei9

17February1998 S O N IC Yvette Michele My Dream (Loud/BMG) New York’s famed Hot ‘97 DJ Funkmaster Flex begins his first album as executive producer with what has become a bit of a rap tradi­ tion: the boastful shout-out pro­ claiming the magnificence of the album the listener is about to hear.

For people like Dr. Dre, Ice

T,and even the repetitive MC Eiht, these boasts are then backed up with butt-shakin’ beats and rhymes; but for the unhappy listener of Flex pro­ tégé Yvette Michele, the phatness is thinner than you’d hope.

This album can only really boast some of the worst R and B keyboard soul possible, consistently bland and mind-numbingly trite.

Full Force (a cheezy rap collective that once produced James Brown’s unfunky attempt at a hip-hop record) provide some interesting production for tunes like “D J. Keep Playin’,” one of the disc’s few decent jams.

The Flex-produced “I’m Not Feeling You,” a catchy number about absti­ nence, is another notable exception to the drabness that pervades the album. Finally, the D J’s scratching

D IS C

O F

Pearl Jam Yield (Epic)

*

PEARL JAM

yj 1—

E x -S e x Pistol John Lydon once said, “If you don’t want to be a pop star, just stop. It’s the easiest thing in the world.” Eddie Vedder’s rock ‘n roll niche has been to stretch this theory to its limits.

Every new album is a battle between Vedder and his own unstoppable charisma. Witness the band photos in Yield's liner notes.

(Vedder is invisible at first glance, a small head bobbing near the ocean’s horizon.) Furthering the singer’s vanishing act, four songs on Yield were written by sidemen Stone Gossard or Jeff Ament with­ out Vedder’ s lyrical input. They are, not coincidentally, the album’s weakest cuts.

V edder's charisma remains P J’s greatest strength. Coming to terms with this fact, rather than struggling with it, would be the band’s best move. As it is, Vedder allow s him self to shine on the

R O O M

throughout the disc is indeed “on.”

If you want to hear great New York scratching, however, forget about this forgettable diva wannabe and save your shekels for the X-ecutioners (see last issue).

strings, acoustic guitar and earnest vocals. Most songs follow in the same vein as the first: a heartfelt appeal to a girl with low s e lf­ esteem. You won’t find miracles here, but you might find a new best friend.

— Laura MacNeil

—Josh Dolgin

The Datsons

James Iha

The Datsons (independent)

Let It Come Down (Virgin)

Think of a field of sunflowers filled with sim peringly sincere singers on electric and acoustic gui­ tars and you’ll have a glimpse of James Iha’s music on this, his first solo album.

The “second string” o f the Smashing Pumpkins emerges from under the shadow of renowned ego­ maniac Billy Corgan to release a m ustard-colored album which reminds me of my grandmother’s home decor and my aunt’s vinyl col­ lection of fuzzy, folky songs.

Iha’s album is a conscious reac­ tion to having played distorted gui­ tar all the time while on tour with the Pumpkins. W arning to all Pumpkins fans: if you expect any of that same sound here, don’t. Relax and enjoy this easy combination of

TH E W E E K achingly personal, self-penned con­ fessional "Wish List” (the title says it all). Another standout track, “Do the Evolution” continues the dia­ logue with the American right wing that Vedder started on 1 9 9 2 ’ s “Glorified G.” The self-righteous song’s narrator is a demented social Darwinist who dismisses various social ills with the unholy mantra, “It’s evolution, baby!”

It’s rare for listeners to warm to a new Pearl Jam record quickly.

Each new album sounds, on first

listen, like the end of their career.

By the second time around, you’re tapping your feet. If you get around to a third listen, you’ll start to rec­ ognize bona fide cla ssics like “Given to Fly,” “In Hiding” and “MFC.” These off-kilter anthems are saturated with the sincerity that make Vedder and friends achingly unfashionable in this age of irony.

It’s that same unabashed honesty that will eventually land them their place in rock lore.

A rcadia runs in Moyse Hall from February 18-21 at 8:00.

Admission is 12$ fo r adults, 6$ fo r students.

Recruiting McGill students from all faculties to participate in study on Canadian T.V. news, no background required. Must be available

March 14th-15th, 1998. Pay is $8.00 per hour. c o n t a c t

J u lia

3 9 8 -4 8 0 5 e - m

U n iv e r s ité d e

V o y a g e

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M o n tré a l

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E u r o p e

à P aris (R ive G au ch e ) (u n e sem ain e) et à Lyon, m étro p o le e u ro p éen n e (2 sem ain es ) a ve c une visite à G en ève, sièg e d e l'O M C Du 10 a o û t au 30 a o û t 1998

Études

N EW S STU D Y.

ig u h a @

members of the audience.

The direction ensures that this show is near seamless. The action progresses logically and fluidly towards the conclusion. The transi­ tions are at times a little rough, with dialogue being obscured by music, but this can be chalked up to open­ ing night jitters. The script is plenti­ ful in humour and intelligent dis­ course on philosophical and scientif­ ic notions.

The only area where this pro­ duction falters is how it seems to be closing for the last thirty minutes, but keeps going. Otherwise, there is little lacking in this amusing specta­ cle.

This production is astounding in

its depth and complexity of plot.

Add to this the beautiful stage, the incredible costumes and the fact that the production was put together dur­ ing such a trying time. The Ice Storm closed the university for rehearsals, but also made more diffi­ cult the general organization of pro­ duction. Rehearsals were held at home during this time and the entire production banded together to stay the course and hold to the schedule.

The quality of this production, natur­ al disasters aside, is remarkable and it is well worth a viewing.

Kris Michaiui

C A N A D I A N T .V .

o r

C ontinued from page / 7

Montreal rock is about to make it’ s ressurgence, and independent rockers the Datsons could lead the way.

This young Montreal threesome deliver bass driven melodies ripe with sarcasm, performed with beau­ tiful pop sensibility. Songs “Next Week’s Millionaire” and “Curse of the Rich and Famous” are biting commentaries on the music industry while (anti)love songs like “Dear Rosalyn” and “She’s Unavailable” reveal that sensitive side.

The production of this album screams professional. The sound is crisp and tight, and even the packag­ ing shows a standard that all indie bands should follow.

Keep an ear out for this band.

— Dom Michaud

G E T P A ID F O R

P le a s e

The show must go on (and on)

a t

a il

p o - b o x .m

c g ill.c a

Dans le cadre de deux cours de trois crédits chacun (POL. 3851 - Intégration européenne et POL. 3904 Travaux pratiques) Ce voyage d'études s'adresse aux étudiants de diverses disciplines (droit, histoire, sciences économiques, science politique, etc.) des universités canadiennes et québécoises et à des auditeurs libres

Visites - activités culturelles notamment dans le Beaujolais

Coût de participation: 1,450$ (pour le voyage, le logement et la demi-pension)

Sélection sur la base du dossier académique ou professionnel

Date limite d'inscription 17 avril 1998

Renseignements: Prof. P. Soldatos

Chaire Jean Monnet: (514) 343-6586

Program m e organisé conjointem ent par le D épartem ent de Science politique de la Faculté des Arts et des Sciences et par la C haire Jean M onnet de la Faculté des Études supérieures.

S po rts

17February1998

Page20

Basketball Martlets defence dominates in win against rivals M c G ill grabs critica l victories in basketball p la yo ff run against their arch riva l Queen’s Golden Gaels

By Rahil Suleman “It came down to some great defensive stops to hold a team as good as Queen’s to 48 points,” said an elated coach Lisen Moore after the w om en’ s b ask etball game Friday.

In front of a loud and energetic crow d, the M cG ill bask etball Martlets beat the Queen’s Golden G aels 5 5 -4 8 , im proving their record to 6-9.

“W hat you saw today was what this basketball team has,” Moore added. “We stole a game from a top ten team in the country and we’re very pleased about that because we believe, in our hearts, that we belong in that criteria.”

The Martlets took a large step towards making a playoff run with the aggressive victory. Coupled with Bishop’s loss over the week­ end, the Martlets now stand only

two points out of a spot in the show.

The game was a good one right from the opening tip. M cG ill fought to a 26-23 lead at the h alf, led again by Anne Gildenhuys, who had 16 at the intermis­ sion. The Martlets came out very strong in the second half, with a 14-5 run in the opening seven m inutes, including an eight-point outburst in a two minute span.

The tenth-ranked Queen’s team would not give up, changing their defence to the half court trap; they kept the M artlets sco reless for seven minutes and took a 43-40 lead.

But the M artlets

would not take defeat lying down this time. They fought back with point guard Alison Schafer, hitting five of ten from the free-throw line, and Gildenhuys, hftting her third trey of the game. An 18-foot jump shot, with 1:10 left in the game by Gildenhuys, dashed any late game heroics planned by Queen’s.

Gildenhuys added another 16 in the second half, increasing her total to 32 and her league leading average to 2 2 .9 PPG. A fter the gam e, she praised point guard Schafer on the way she played. “I think Alison, with her three steals on d efen ce and then the free throws, helped us immensely.”

“It was a great win — we played very well when we were down by three; we pulled together as a team and brought it back up,” Schafer said.

After the game, coach Moore placed the game in the season’ s

context.

“I still think that anytime we go in a new d irectio n , we may stumble a little bit, and against the half court trap, we stumbled,” said Moore. “The difference was that we had enough confidence in our abilities to make great defensive stops. W e made great defensive stops at our end of the floor.

“One thing that I am really proud o f is the atmosphere this team brought to the night. Last week made this week very impor­ tant.”

The M artlets will take their two-point deficit to Bishop’s into a critical game at Concordia tonight.

When asked about tonight’s game, Moore said “we feel we match up well against Concordia over 40 minutes.”

Look for a tough fight from the Martlets as they scramble for the last spot.

The gloomy reality of small market teams in Canada Alouettes president La rry Smith speaks at M c G ill on the pressures o f keeping sports viable

By Paul C onner

Turner and Jerry Riensdorf sing

Footloose.

For Montrealers, money and professional sports are always a touchy subject.

In the last 12 years, Montreal has lost two football teams and one sem i-pro Canadian B asketball League team. The Expos and the present-day Alouettes continue to play the small-market blues, living off shoe-string budgets and testing the patience o f weary investors, while south o f the border, Ted

For Larry Smith, this is a reality he has had to wake up to every day for more than six years. As president of the Montreal Alouettes, keeping the club alive has been his biggest challenge. Before taking the reigns a year ago, Smith worked as commis­ sioner of the CFL for five years.

Needless to say, he has plenty of experience working with fledgling sports teams.

Last Wednesday, the former

©SJIXD© © 9 i i i i j R edm en H o c k e y vs, the C o n co rd ia Stingers

Sunday, 7:30 p.m., McConnell Arena The teams The Stingers have had the Redmen’s number of late as they handed McGill their seats with a 8-2 victory at Loyofa Arena earlier this month. This cross-town rivalry has heated up as the teams are jostling for playoff positions down the stretch run. Intense action can be counted on as these two teams butt heads for the last time in the regular season.

Key A ctors For the Redmen, both Mathieu Darche and Dave Gourde have been hot.

Both scored a pair of goals over the weekend in Toronto. Carl Charland was also starling to find the range, connecting for two clear breakaways, although he was stoned on both opportunities. Concordia's strength has been their team play. They work a strong system which, when on, can dominate a period. Just ask the Ryerson goalie.

The Records McGill now stands at 12-8-3, after a 5-4 overtime victory against Ottawa last Tuesday, a 4-4 finish with U o f T, and a 3-0 loss to the Guelph Gryphons over the weekend. Concordia moved past the Gee-Gees for the first time this season by winning both their games. They took over third place and the final playoff position. The Stingers now sit two points behind the Redmen for second place, and home ice advantage in the playoffs. Both teams have two games left in the regular season.

A louette travelled to M cG ill to speak about what he knows best — small market viability — as part of the Institute for the Study o f Canada’s lecture series.

From the start, he threw it out to the floor to ask what we thought defined a small market versus a big market team. An Als fan sitting at the back quipped, “New York and Montreal.”

Simply put, Montreal is a sec­ ondary city of three million. New York is the world’s financial capital and one of its largest cities.

“Sport has got itself in a posi­ tion where television is a critical ele­ ment of revenue,” Smith explained.

“New York has eight million people; New York has its own cable compa­ ny situated in New York which has subscribers just in the New York area. In New York, the Yankees have what they call a local television contract. In US dollars, [they] get somewhere in the vicinity of $50 $60 m illion for local television rights; my understanding is that the Expos get about $ 2 .4 m illion Canadian.”

That, he said, is the primary source of fissures in pro sport. No matter how well the Expos do at the gate, it will not be enough to com­ pare with the TV contracts generated by a US market ten times that of Canada.

“95 million people have televi­ sions in the United States, 9.5 mil­ lion have televisions in Canada...you can see immediately the issue is scale.”

Smith continued, however, to argue that the gap need not be so large, but that the owners must look beyond the short-term profits to solve the problem. The NFL, in the 1960s, found the solution. So did the NBA, in the early ‘80s. The CFL has finally gathered up the pieces and figured it out. The NHL? Not yet.

Larry Smith speaks out passionately M ajor League B aseball — they know the answer, but the owners are too self-involved to try it.

“In the Canadian Football League, for example, all of our TV and licensing revenue that we get nationally, we split equally oneeighth.

“Why don’t we have [revenue sharing] in baseball? You own the NY Y ankees and I own the Montreal Expos, and you’re saying to me T bring in $50 million US, you bring in $2.4 million Canadian, why the hell am I going to share with you?”’

Because a league can’t survive without com petition. The NFL shares its television profits equally — th at’ s how Green Bay and Buffalo continue to thrive. The NHL and MLB, so far, have been reluctant to undertake these drastic measures.

MLB has survived because many of its owners have very deep pockets and have not yet sucked the well completely dry. The NHL, Smith argued, is living off borrowed time.

Like the CFL, hockey has man­ aged to stabilise itse lf through expansion fees. But Smith stressed that this is only a bridge to stabilise

the league; it cannot help long-term.

Therefore, in the C FL, the money gained through the short­ lived US expansion helped to settle the Canadian teams, which are now able to work together under a strong,

C ontinued on page 23 Coming up this week Redmen hockey: Sat vs. U Q T R 7 :3 0 p m S un vs. C o n c o rd ia 7 :3 0 p m a t M c C o n n e ll

Track & Field Sat a t th e F ie ld h o u s e

Martlet Volleyball D iv is io n s e m i-fin a l Fri vs. U d e M 7 :0 0 p m at C u rrie G y m

SpOrtS Page21

17February1998

Golden Gaels get their kilts beaten by the Redmen hoopsters

By C hristian Lander “If you only win one game this year,” said the alumnus in address­ ing the team , “ make it against them.”

This sentence can be heard on campuses wherever a great rivalry liv e s; p laces lik e Ann A rbor, C olum bus, South B end , and M ontreal. I f you win only one game a season at McGill, make it against Queen’ s, and make sure you hide the sheep before they get here.

Going into the game, the odds favoured Q ueen’ s as they came into Montreal with a better record and a one game advantage after they beat the Redmen in Kingston earlier in the year. But odds mean nothing when the game hits the court, and McGill handily beat the odds and the Golden Gaels 73-61.

Queen’s would score first in this gam e, but the Redmen answered quickly as Andrew Bier hit two free throws to tie the match early on. The Redmen forward was recovering from an ankle injury sustained earlier in the season; after

sitting out some tough losses it seemed only fair for Bier to score M cG ill’s first points against their bitter rivals.

“This was a big game for us — we wanted to come back and redeem ourselves,” said Bier after the game. “It felt great to play after the in ju ry. I was glad to co n ­ tribute.”

With taped ankles and some pent up energy, Bier contributed a great game. He scored 15 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and was a per­ fect three for three from the line.

The forward proved his value to the Redmen basketball program, but more importantly he proved it to his teammates.

“Andrew’s back, and that’s a huge lift for us because he’ s an offensive power h cH L as you can see [by his s t a t i s t S l , ” said Ari Hunter in praise o flfis recovered teammate.

Following B ier’s two points, the remainder of the first half was a welcome change from past Redmen games. Instead o f digging them­ selves a hole, M cG ill came out strong and played terrifically on

ed all other facets o f the game as they rolled on to an impressive 73-61 victo­ ry“W e Knew ex a ctly what we had to do on d efen ce and we got it done,” said an excited Ari Hunter a fter he led the Redmen with 18 points in the game. “O ffensively, we got it done. The mental attitude was an aggressive one and it showed.

Everyone went to the boards hard, everyone played hard defence, and we found ways to score.”

While the victory was d irectly chalked up to great play by names like Watson, Davis, Pearlman and M urphy, it seem s Davis goes f o r the layup Diana A n d e r s o n unfair to neglect the indi­ rect facto rs that helped their way to jumping out to a 41-28 win the game. A trio of loud, excit­ lead at the halftime buzzer. ed McGill fans livened the game.

W hile the Redmen did have Led by a m asqueraded Sean d ifficu lty con tain ing Q ueen ’ s Sheppard, the threesome heckled Derek Richardson in the second the Queen’s players and generally half, who scored 27, it didn’t mat­ got the crowd into the game. ter as the Redmen simply dominat­

The hecklers not only helped keep the crowd entertained but they actually assisted the Redmen. With two minutes left in the first half, the contingent o f troublemakers started a premature countdown of the shot clock, the result of which was Peter Stelton forcing a shot that he thought he had to make to beat the shot clock buzzer.

“W e love the support — it helps us on the bench and on the floor,” said Hunter in recalling the fan involvement in shot clock man­ agement.

W hen the fin al buzzer did sound, the M cG ill Redmen had played two full halves of competi­ tive basketball against Queen’s and truly proved what they are capable of as a team. The game was espe­ cially sweet for the M cG ill fans and athletes who love nothing more than to harass the Queen’s Golden G aels and cheer on the M cG ill Redmen.

Hunter summed it all up sim­ ply, “it’s just a great rivalry.”

F rom the B leach ers

Canadian fans prepared to do anything to bring home the gold

By Manny A lmela T h ese O lym pic gam es o f Nagano have been circled on calen­ dars across the country ever since Canada’s defeat at the hands of the Americans at the World Cup of Hockey.

This team w ill not only be playing for the gold medal, but also to reclaim its thrown as the world’s hockey leader. Unfortunately if Brendan Shanahan’s acting ability is any indication, this could prove to be an arduous task.

The ex citem en t w hich this rivalry has generated in both nations cannot be denied. This inaugural Olym piad involving NHL players has armed the event with a unique flavour. It regrettably has also meant that the remainder o f C anada’ s ath letes, with the exception of Elvis Stojko, may sim­ ply get lost in the shu ffle. The hoopla surrounding this Olympiad has focused alm ost entirely on hockey, and for many, the other events have subsequently been reduced to a type of halftime festiv­ ity for the U.S.-Canada rematch.

The feeling that I have been left with by both the media and Canadians in general is that we simply must win. The notion of this star-studded roster simply doing their best is virtually non-existent.

As Canadian as the game of hockey is, the w in -a t-a ll-c o st attitude which most o f us have adopted seems like another result of the fine print at the bottom of the U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Yet another side effect of our country’s anti-U .S. sentiment is being felt by our women’s hockey team. Here we have an event enjoy­ ing its first ever appearance as a medal sport, but undue pressure has lessened the athletes’ experiences.

They have found themselves in the precarious position o f being the undercard for the men’ s hockey final. Instead o f savouring their participation in these Olympics, these women seem overwhelmed by the tremendous burden which has been thrust upon them. It would be tragic if a silver medal for these pioneers would be seen as a failure when what these women have already accomplished by simply being a part o f the Olympics is immeasurable.

What I am about to suggest may be considered blasphemy, but let’ s ju st say that the rest o f the world decides not to simply hand us the gold medal and we come up short once again. I honestly believe that the entire Olympiad would be deemed a failure according to an alarming number o f Canadians.

Admitting to this means that we are prepared to let professionals who are not actual Olympians by defini­ tion possibly tarnish the achieve­ ments of our true competitors.

I am alluding to the countless number o f athletes who pumped gas or waited on tables in order to make their Olympic dreams a reali­ ty. As a nation, what right do we have to not grant these Olympians the recognition they so richly deserve?

I t ’ s all too common to find ourselves patting each other on the back for how different we believe we are from Americans. These 18th Winter Games may prove to be a testimony o f ju st how much we have changed in this regard. I am all too conscious of the fact that I will be the first to flip to a repeat of Seinfeld in syndication in lieu of watching an event like the biathlon and then promptly set my alarm for 4:45 a.m. the next day to watch our Canadian hockey team embarrass Belarus.

The fact remains that the spec­ tacle that is the Olympics exist to be enjoyed in any way individuals see fit. By that same token, one’s Olympic experience hinges on what we choose to make of it. If some­ one is content to focus exclusively on who wins the hockey gold medal, then that is their prerogative and at their own expense. I am not suggesting that someone should force themselves to watch an event that means nothing to them. Such a response can prove to be as futile as attempting to coerce a young child to eat their vegetables, in that a true appreciation can rarely be formed in this manner.

When the medal round games finally do take place, their effect on both casual and die-hard fans alike

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should be nothing short of incredi­ ble. Hopefully this “win or else” attitude is only temporary and not a sign of what is on the horizon for our country. I think it’s great we are united as a nation in our efforts to show the States that the sport of

hockey is still our game; however it is unfortunate that we are going about it by their rules.

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17February1998

B rie fs

McGill squash ends successful season

By Saiid Karsan T he M cG ill m en’ s squash team has much to be pleased about after their third-place finish in inter-university play.

The squad managed to edge out fourth-place Q ueen’ s, their arch rivals, for the first time in recent memory. Led by captain Thomas Wilson, the ten-man team ended their season two weekends ago in Ontario.

What is perhaps most impres­ sive about this team is that it is an alm ost com p letely student-run org anizatio n . M cG ill does not fin an cially support this varsity sport and the team does not even practice at the university. Instead, the squad trains at squash courts just off-campus where the students are members. The reason behind this is that M cGill’s squash courts are A m erican style, but league competition takes place on intemational-sized courts.

As a result, it isn’t feasible for M c G ill’ s squash team s to host tournaments and consequently, many matches must be played on the road. Basically, the only rela­ tionship this team has to M cG ill university is its student players, organizers and its name.

The team survives financially with sponsorships from various businesses, fund-raisers and some alumni support. Frank Chan has held the position o f director for the last few years and has done an adm irable jo b o f keeping the amount of money the athletes have pay to a minimum. This was his last year as director and he will be replaced by Lyle Goldsmith at the start of next season.

About thirty hopefuls try out for the men’s varsity squad at the

beginning o f each year. After the first day of tryouts, this number is cut to include only those players who are serious varsity prospects.

Finally, the team is trimmed to ten com m itted p layers, with the remainder of players usually com­ peting at the junior varsity level.

Traditionally, the team finish­ es in the middle of the standings — but this year was different. Team member Thomas Wilson attributes it to an increase in the squad’ s focus this year.

“We basically had the same co re players as la st y ea r,” he explained. “But we had more expe­ rience and a couple o f strong char­ acter players who kept the team focused.”

The team p ractices tw ice a week, with one o f those practices devoted to building up stamina and endurance by running and biking, and the other practice devoted to drills. Most o f the team members play at clubs outside of McGill as well.

W ilso n , how ever, d o esn ’ t believe any o f the team members | have what it takes to make a career in squash as the university circuit isn ’ t indicative o f professional level squash in Canada.

“If they did have a future play­ ing squash,” W ilson stipulated, “they wouldn’t be playing for us.”

School always comes first for the squash team, as undergraduate students will often miss tourna- j ments and practices for exam s, | papers or assignments. Many o f the players this past season were grad­ uate students and upper level undergraduates; as a result, next season will have many openings for fresh faces on the team.

Volleyball women lose tune-up against U de M

points up on third place Concordia, for the final playoff spot with two games to play. Concordia moved into the third spot for the first time this season, passing Ottawa by one point in the standings. The final two games of the season will be critica l, with con tests at McConnell Arena against UQTR Saturday night and C oncordia Sunday night. After that, the sec­ ond place team will play the third place team in a twp-game series (if there is a tie, a 20 minute mini­ game will be played). The winner of that mini-series will play UQTR in a best-of-five division final.

The M artlet volleyball team hosted a pair of important games last weekend, splitting contests with l’ Université de Montréal and Concordia.

Saturday, the women lost a tight, fiv e-set match to les Carabins. The match between McGill’s fifth-ranked squad and U de M ’s number eight team was a preview o f Frid ay’ s upcoming division semi-final sudden death game at Currie Gym. The winner of that will go on to play a best-of-five series against Laval.

Wendy Whelan and Anouk Lapointe led the McGill attack, with 17 and 14 kills respective­ ly, while Marie-Andrée Lassard and Michelle Van Houtte held the defence with 27 and 21 digs each.

Sunday, the Martlets made short work of Concordia, win­ ning 3-0. Whelan and Lassard provided the bulk of the attack, while M arie-E v e Bergeron played a well balanced game.

The sudden death playoff game against l’ Université de Montréal will take place Friday night, 7 p.m. at the Currie Gym.

Ski teams place second, third in slalom competitions The Martlet and Redmen ski teams drove to Mont Gabriel last weekend.

The women’s team finished in second place Saturday and fourth on Sunday in the slalom competi­ tions. Saturday, the league-leading B ish op ’ s team took first place overall; Sunday, Laval, U de M, and Bishop’s all topped McGill.

C atherine Owen had a strong weekend, finishing in fifth and twelfth places. Saturday, Janice Hatch cam e in eighth and on Sunday, Suzanne Owen took the bronze.

On the men’ s side, M cG ill finished third on both days, behind U de M and Bishop’s. Bishop’s remains first overall; McGill is in second. Nicolas Robichon placed best among the Redmen, taking eighth and tenth place results.

Mark Schindler finished fourteenth on Saturday; Scott Wotherspoon took thirteenth on Sunday.

The team travels to O w l's Head in two weeks time to com­ pete in a pair of giant slalom com­ petitions.

Redmen hockey earn only one point in Ontario

ATTENTION!

The Redmen blew a 4-1 lead Saturday at the University of Toronto as the Varsity Blues’ Peter Andrikopoulos scored three in a span of 5 1/2 minutes.

M athieu Darche and Dave Gourde scored the four goals for M cG ill. The game was a high-flying affair, with McGill outshooting the Blues 42-39.

Sunday, the Redmen trav­ elled to Guelph and came away with a disappointing 3-0 loss to a team they had previously beaten. Carl Charland missed on two clear breakaways, and the powerplay was 0 -fo r the weekend.

The Redmen are only two

Study requires university students to help develop a new personality questionnaire. Participation involves completing several questionnaires. Subjects receive $20 for one and a half hour participation, j- Contact: Dr. Zuroff’s Lab.

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Women’s hockey bows out to UQTR Under the new league format, the McGill Martlet hockey team had an opportunity to compete in the d ivision sem is for a spot

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against C on cord ia starting Sunday.

U n fortu n ately , a strong UQ TR Patriotes team stood in their way and prevented a major upset. UQTR took the one-game semi 10-2. Kathleen O ’ R eilley and Johanne Beaudoin scored the only two goals for McGill in the league-season finale.

A thletes of the w eek Wendy Whelan Martlet volleyball Whelan played a key role in the Martlets’ match-ups against l ’ U n iv ersité de M ontréal and Concordia last weekend. In the M artlets 3 -2 loss to U de M, Whelan led the challenge with 17 kills, 10 digs, 6 stuffed blocks and 1 ace with a 2 .2 4 passing ratio. In M c G ill’ s 3-1 victory over C oncordia, W helen once again set the pace with an out­ standing 20 kills, 8 digs and 4 stuffed blocks.

Andrew Bier Redmen basketball R eturning from an ankle injury sustained in the earlier part of the Redmen’s season, Bier led the charge in the Redmen’s 73-61 blowout of Queen’s Friday night.

The dom inating forward co n ­ tributed 15 points, 7 rebounds and was a perfect three for three from the line.

Smith talks C ontinued from page 20 effective marketing campaign. In the NHL, no such plan for sharing exists and the teams are only surviv­ ing through continued expansion. “[In the NHL] the union guys are pushing the salaries up, because they don’t see the big wall coming,” Smith said. “One day they’re going to crash into the wall, because hock­ ey thinks it will get the big televi­ sion dollar,” which Smith contends will not happen.

Throughout his talk, Smith exposed the realities of professional sports. Canada is a small market; taxes are higher and television con­ tracts are lower. On a larger level, some sports are in real trouble.

Baseball and hockey are teetering on the edge — their losses are sim­ ply less publicised than those of the CFL. “Is it all gloom and doom?”

Smith asked as he closed out his talk. “No, because the sports will all survive. Sports may, however, have to reinvent itself. It’s going to crash into the wall, and everyone’s going to throw their hands up and say ‘what aré we going to do?’ and that’s when everyone will start to participate, because right now you have polarisation and people not wanting to share.”

I wanted to ask him what would happen to Montreal before sports hit the wall. All I can picture, though, is a steamroller rolling over the Expos and everyone else in its path.

SportsAchats On Page23

17February1998 Tuesday, Febraury 17 Dr. Ronald Rompkey from Memorial University of Newfoundland will speak on “Cultural Interventions in Northern Newfoundland: The G renfell Mission, 1882-1908.” Hosted by the Institute for the Study o f Canada from 4 to 6 pm in Leacock 232. Free admission.

McGill Players’ Theatre is proud to present a double bill of “The Seven Deadly Sins” and “Mahagonny Songspiel.” This original and engag­ ing cabaret performance combines opera, dance, mime and more. The production runs from February 17 to 21. Admission by donation.

Information at 398-6813.

The McGill Student Soloists will perform works by Turina, Gershwin, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Brahams at 5 pm at Pollack Hall. Admission is free.

Wednesday, February 18 The M cG ill Symphony Orchestra and Choirs with the F.A.C.E. Treble Choir will perform at the St-Jean-Baptiste Church at 8 pm Iwan Edwards conducts. Tickets are $20/$ 12 (students and seniors).

Rachel St. comer Henri-Julien.

Thursday, February 19 Body Image Forum. Speaker: Judy Norsigian, “Body Image and Women’s Health.” Food feast follows lecture. Palmer Theatre, MacIntyre Medical building, 7 pm.

The M cG ill Black Students’ Network will be having a general meeting at 6 pm in room B-9/B-10 of the Shatner building.

Coffee House for the Quebec Heart and Stroke Foundation at Thompson House, 9:30 pm. Open mike. Cost of admission is $3 or 3 cans of food. Hosted by the Women’s Union.

The Canadian Institute for the Study of Canada presents “Canada’s Political Origins: B ritish or American?” with guest speakers Janet Ajzenstat from McMaster University and Elizabeth Mancke from the University of Akron. Arts 255 from 4 to 6 pm. Free admission.

series. Scott Bradford, organ, will play at 12:15 pm in Redpath Hall.

Admission is free.

Call for submissions! The Sexual Assault Centre o f M cGill Students’ Society is accepting prose, poetry and visual arts for our annual journal of survivors of sexual assault, Fire with Water/ Combattre le Feu par l ’Eau. Submissions from the wider community as well as survivors welcome, French and English, anonymity respected, deadline is Feb. 20, 1998. Information/Helpline 3982700/8500.

Upcoming and Ongoing Every Wednesday: M cG ill Improv performs live improvisational comedy in the Alley Cats Bar (base­ ment of Shatner building) 8:30 pm, free admission.

Every Saturday: Free improvisa­ tional workshops with M cG ill Improv. Come and play games for 2 hours! Meet at noon by the kiosk in the Shatner lobby.

A FREE support group for women who are involved, or have been involved in a violent relation­ ship (dating or marriage). Meetings are informal and confidential. The place is safe and secure. Individual counselling services are also avail­ able for women and their children.

For info, please contact M elissa Goldband at M cG ill Domestic Violence Clinic - 398-2686.

Sun Youth inaugurates a Senior’s Wish Project! People aged 60 or over, regardless of income, who are interested in benefiting from their program, or persons who know a senior who can, are invited to write them a brief letter including the per­ son and a brief description of their wish (ie. meet a particular star who might be in Mtl., see a professional athletic event from a good seat, spend the day in a relatively close city...)

Send letters to Sun Youth Organization, 4251 S t.Urbain St. Mtl., Quebec, H2W 1V6, attention: “A Senior’s Wish Project.”

The M cGill Debating Union meets twice weekly, Monday at 6 pm in Shatner rm. 312 and on Friday at 5:30 pm in Leacock rm. 15. Come to watch and/or participate in exciting debates on a variety of issues and events.

Friday, February 20 The McGill Faculty of Music hosts its noon-hour organ recital

The McGill Domestic Violence Clinic offers a treatment group for men who abuse their partners. The

Sports Quiz Here are the results of last week’s tackle of questions.

Non-McGill 1. The city o f Toronto is preparing to bid for the 2008 sum­ mer Olympics.

2. Canada last won the Olympic hockey gold medal in 1952. The Edmonton Mercuries hold that honour.

3. The last three silv er Canadian male figure skating per­ formances at the Olympics were turned in by Elvis Stojko (’94,’98) and Brian Orser (Calgary ’88).

McGill 1. Soccer is home to McGill’s brother-sister varsity combo. Peter Bryant competes for the Redmen; Jackie for the Martlets.

2. Steven G eogh, speed skater, is the last winter Olympian from McGill.

3. Anne Gildenhuys is cur­ rently the scoring leader for the Martlets and is third in the coun­ try.

Get those? If you did, you lie like a rug. Here are this week’s questions.

Non-McGill

group meets weekly on Tuesday evenings from 6 pm - 8 pm. There is a small fee. For info, please contact Keith Hecker or Beverly Sabourin at 398-2686.

Toastmasters International’ s Moderator Club presents, every Tuesday at 6:15 pm a chance for you to learn and practice techniques of effective public speaking. Admission is $5. Seminars to take place at 2070 Peel St. For more info, call 528-8659.

The Elder Abuse Info-Line, sponsored by the CLSC Rene-Cassin University Institute o f Social Gerontology of Quebec, is recruiting bilingual volunteers to operate a lis­ tening, information and referral tele­ phone service for seniors who are victims of abuse or neglect. Free spe­ cialized training is offered. Contact Katherine Macnaughton-Osler at 488-9163, ext. 360.

The Accompaniment Program of the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students’ Society can provide infor­ mation, support and accompaniment services to members of the McGill community who have been sexually harassed or assaulted in a McGill context. For more info, please call 398-2700 (daytime) or 398-8500 (evenings).

GAY LINE: Information and help for lesbians and gay men.

Confidential and free. We can help with a personal crisis or simply help find a bar. 7 - 1 1 pm, 365 days a year.

(514) 866-5090 in Montreal or call us toll free at 1-888-505-1010.

FR E E M cG ill Bereavement Support Groups are being offered through the McGill School of Social Work for adults, children/adolescents, young adults, and family sur­ vivors of suicide. New groups for 1997 include “Motherless Daughters” and “Loss o f an Adult Child.”

Anyone who is experiencing any type of loss including the loss of a family member or friends, please contact Estelle Hopmeyer at 398-7067.

Going for an HIV test? Peer Health Education is looking for indi­ viduals for an audio broadcast project that would be comfortable sharing their experience. Please call Darrell at 398-6017.

and open atmosphere.

6243.

LBGTM (Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Students of M cGill) are seeking volunteers to facilitate our Womyn’s and Bisexual discussion groups. If you are interest­ ed, please call the LBGTM office at 398-6822 or stop by Shatner 429 in person.

The Maison de Jeunes de la Côte-des-Neiges is seeking volun­ teers to help youth between the ages of 11 and 18 with their homework (French, English, chemistry, biology, history and especially math). This will be a good opportunity for future teachers and social workers to gain experience. For more information, call Sandra at 342-5235

The M cG ill Eating Disorder Unit is a multi-disciplinary unit that includes: individual/group coun­ selling, medical assessment, nutrition consultation, psycho-educational groups and support groups. Call 3983601 for info about fees and appoint­ ments. Support groups are free of charge to McGill and non-McGill students. Call 398-1050.

Come to the McGill Christian Fellowship. We believe in building meaningful relationships, having fun and having honest and open discus­ sion. Every Friday at Shatner Cafeteria. 7:00 pm Please call Josh at 484-3480 for more information.

Questioning your sexuality?

Looking for info on LBGT issues?

Queer line is a confidential, nonjudgmental peer support and referral phone line which runs MondayFriday 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm Give us a call at 398-6822. We are here to lis­ ten to you.

The Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students’ Society offers a number of free, facilitated support groups open to McGill students and the wider Montreal community.

Infoline 398-2700, Mon.- Fri. 10:00 5:30. Helpline 398-8500, every night 6 :00 - midnight. All calls are confi­ dential. SACOM SS also offers a number of support groups. Call for info.

Free support groups for adults living with loss. A confidential bimonthly opportunity to meet with others who have experienced loss of relationships, career, health, finances, etc. Please call Estelle or Sandy at 398-7067

IB EK & i

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The Yellow Door “Elderly Project” has been helping seniors in the downtown area for the past 25 years. We are in urgent need of vol­ unteers to accompany seniors to and from appointments, to help them with their shopping or to have a “friendly visit” once a week. For more infor­ mation, call Leah or Danielle at 398-

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