The McGill Tribune Vol. 18 Issue 14

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Jonathan Colford

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Elaine O'Connor

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ISSUE 12,

14

1999

Lost luggage and long waits

By James G rohsgal

Hundreds of McGill students were stranded in airports or left w ith o u t th e ir lu g g ag e as they returned to M cGill because of a snow storm th at h it the eastern seab o ard and th e G reat L akes region.

The storm grounded planes as landings and takeoffs at Pearson International Airport in Toronto came to a virtual halt. Snowfall at airp o rts acro ss N orth A m erica caused over 180 flights to be can­ c e lle d at D o rv al and M irab el.

McGill students were left without their luggage while others missed classes because of delayed, can­ celled and re-routed flights.

Scott L evine, a U0 student who flew from Newark to Dorval on S unday, fe lt th e serv ice he receiv ed from C o n tin tie n ta l Airlines was sorely lacking. "[They] managed to get one of my bags on the flight, while royal­ ly misplacing my other personal effects," said Levine. "Continental agents were condescending in their treatment of me, and provided no su b stativ e in fo rm atio n [about] when I would receive my bags. I was not offered any compensation, m onetarily or otherwise, for my inconvenience, nor did they apolo­ gize to me. It took them three days to get my bag back."

Continental was unavailable fo r com m en t. A cco rd in g to a source at Dorval airport, hundreds o f bags th a t a rriv e d at D orval A irport rem ained undelivered to M ontreal addresses for several days because of problems with the delivery system. As a result, bags with identified owners could not be delivered until the backlog was cleared.

P eter L aF leu r, a b aggage agent at Dorval, said on Tuesday that he had never seen so many delayed bags in his entire career.

The Tribune swimsuit issue features three SUS Carnival bikini contest participants. Other carnival events included physics Catherine Farquharson and chemistry experiments, luau, semi-formal, winter sliding, and Gert’s lock -in.______________________________________________________________________

CCA photo exhibit exposes industrial casualties

By Rebecca C atching

With more than 230 photographs of industrial wasteland, the latest offering of the Canadian Centre for Architecture is not the sexiest exhibit around. It does, however, yield an insightful experience to the patient viewer who is willing to ponder the significance of a bunch of old build­ ings.

Venzia-Marghera is an island off the mainland of Venice. It was once a thriving industrial port, the brainchild of Italian Count Guiseppe Volpi in 1917. In the 1970s, long after Volpi's death, industry began to perish due to severe pollution and the higher costs of adopting cleaner practices.

Marghera's present-day situation has been explored by 17 different photog­ raphers who reflect upon different issues raised by industrialization. The photographers touch upon historical, social, environmental and even archi­ tectural aspects in their treatment of the subject.

Nature reclaims historical site The photographs of Guido Guidi contain the vestiges of an industrial

C o n t in u e d o n p a g e 5

Mimmo Jodice conveys a feeling of transience in his photographs through the use of a blurred motion effect which implies movement. The images move out from the centre, cre­ ating a feeling of motion in the work.

As viewers are visually projected into the ominous atmosphere of the aban­

Industry and you: a human context Despite the deserted atmosphere of these works, the photographers make attempts to draw the viewer in.

This illustrates the principle that industry does not act in a vacuum from society. Guido Guidi incorpo­ rates blurred objects to create a sensa­ tion in the viewer of being part of the landscape. Photographer Paola de Pietri demonstrates industry’s reliance upon consumerism by incorporating common household goods into her work. She juxtaposes these seemingly benign products with the multisyllabic

days a week 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

T m iili) f aam li pun re s ta u r a n t S in c e 1 9 8 1

s e r v in g e x c e lle n t m e a ls w it h c o u r t e o u s s e r ­ v ic e . W e a r e i n v it i n g M c G i l l S t u d e n t s to t r g o u r L u s c io u s b r e a k f a s t s ,

Perils of economic development

doned industrial park, barbed wire, clawed machines and the menacing face of a bulldozer are only the most obvious hazards we are forced to con­ sider. We are confronted just as often with such frustrating dead ends as dilapidated walls. This "chamber of horrors" provides a powerful visual simulation of the human experience of industrialization. Industry takes on a demonic, destructive and haunting presence which is represented by the ghost-like images o f unmanned machinery.

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utopia. These fossils of optimism are evident in the dynamic zigzagging lines and rocket-like forms — emblems of technological progress.

The works of Marina Ballo Charmet hearken back to an era of naïve opti­ mism with her depiction of materials such as railroad ties and cobblestones.

These materials helped construct the arteries of industrialization but are now relics of an economic boom long past. These artifacts are being reclaimed by nature, as weeds and lichens creep in to begin the transfor­ mation of this post-industrial site. The natural world maintains a precarious and transient position in many of these works. Giovanni Chiaramonte repre­ sents its latent image in his photo­ graph of a distorted shadow of a tree.

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names of toxic chemicals involved in their manufacturing, thus illustrating the consumer's role in the industrial process.

The human element is also dealt with in terms of the people who now inhabit the uninhabitable wastelands of Marghera. Giovanni Chiaramonte illustrates the sad existence of VenziaMarghera residents who grasp at nor­ malcy through everyday leisure activi­ ties such as sunbathing and fishing. A photograph of people sitting on plastic lawn chairs, casting rods into the murky waters, represents industrial interference in traditional ways of life.

One shudders to think at what sort of Simpsonian three-eyed fish might be caught.

Industrial Architecture The beauty of Venice helps to contrasts the aesthetic deterioration of the landscape. Giovanni Chiaramonte alludes to the great tradition of Venetian architecture in his pho­ tographs of a freighter. This particular commercial vessel features a series of arches which form an arcade on the upper deck. This type of arcade was C o n t in u e d o n p a g e 1 6

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Page 2 News

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

Shatner's new electronic sign awaits final stamp of approval from city B y Karen K elly

dent traffic compromised safety.

“There had to be a different way,” Slachta explained.

Joe Frade, a porter in the SSMU building for 11 years, recalled climbing ladders to put up or take down signs "som etim es

electronic sign. The next step was to take the idea to the city of Montreal.

The addition of an electronic According to Slachta, the initial sign to the front of the Shatner response was a firm no. building will not only facilitate the The city would not approve the advertising of Students’ Society sign, claiming that scrolling elec­ events, but will also make the build­ tronic signs posed a danger to ing’s porters’ job safer. motorists as the flashing messages “The purpose of the sign is a could be distracting. The decision safety factor,” said Paul Slachta, was made despite the fact that the advertising and marketing manag­ traffic on McTavish is one-way er for the Students' Society of and m otorists on Dr. Penfield McGill University. Slachta is the drive away from the Shatner man responsible for the 22’-8” by building.

23” sign on the front of the build­ However, when Slachta iden­ ing. tified the concern for porters' safe­ In previous years, large plas­ ty, arguing that the current system tic sheets were used on the front of was an accident waiting to hap­ Shatner to advertise upcoming pen, the city agreed to temporarily SSMU events. The building's SSMU's new scrolling sign Mike Coldwell approve an electronic sign as a porters were required to climb up displays first message test case. ladders in order to tie the cumber­ On December 10, the new some advertising banners above the twice a day. "The porters had to deal sign displayed its first message: entrance to the building. Given the "not only with the wind, [but] the "Welcome to SSMU / Bienvenue à number of trips up a ladder required [pedestrean traffic] too," he noted. l'AEUM." and the conditions of a Montreal "When it was [really] cold, I could­ The digital sign, flanked by winter, the procedure was often a n't tie the rope on the sign." opposing SSMU logos, is the "only dangerous operation, especially In July of last year, Slachta one of its type in the Montreal area," when high winds threatened to tear went to the McGill administration according to Slachta. signs from porters’ hands and stu­ and received clearance to put up an Although the nine inch-high red lettering of the new sign is ideal for advertising, it will be restricted.

Slachta has already been contacted about putting up ads by a wide array of groups and companies.

"I do not intend to make [the A R E T H E sign] a commercial vehicle for pro­ moting outside advertisers," he com­ mented. There will be "six [advertis­ ers] at the most.

T H A T W E ’V E "It's not there for profit making purposes...[but] it’s going to pay for EVER MADE itself," he continued. "Like every­ thing else, it has the SSMU philoso­ phy on it," he explained.

For Frade, the new system is "just so good." To change the sign, a new message is simply typed into a computer — a marked improvement from the previous method.

Slachta feels that the electronic sign and its red lettering adds new character to the building on M cTavish. “A esthetically, it enhances the building.” said Slachta.

“Red is a McGill colour, a powerful colour.”

City officials are expected to visit the Shatner building sometime in the next two weeks to evaluate the sign and make a final decision on its fate.

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B E S T TH IN G

N E T W O R K b rie fs L aptops to becom e m an d a ­ Q u e e n 's comm erce

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also hoped for more than simply replacing those who opted to retire on reduced appointment at 69," said Goldstein. "[It's] not thé comprehen­ sive renewal we had hoped for through our proposal of early retire­ ment incentive plans."

Other concerns remain over whether the University will work to ensure replacements are found for faculty who decide to leave the school.

— with files from the Manitoban

Starting next fall, students enter­ ing Queen's Commerce programme will be required to own laptop com­ puters.

Several buildings, including commerce's home, Dunning Hall, have already been wired to for com­ puter hook-ups. According to Tom Anger, Chair of the programme, the Queen's Business School has made plans to make $400,000 available to help students pay for the units.

Anger argued that the move to U of C Student U nion in require laptops is a positive one LE G A L FIG H T W ITH R E F O R M which will benefit students in the Party student wing long run despite the initial costs.

"It will provide required com­ puter skills... giving Queen's com­ The ongoing dispute between merce students a competitive edge the University of Calgary Student's over other schools in the job market," Union and the Reform Party on explained Anger.

Queen’s joins a handful of campus intensified on November 28 Canadian universities which make when the RPOC filed with Alberta laptops mandatory. Back in 1995, C ourt o f Q ueen's Bench for a Mount Allison University in Nova Judicial Review of the Student's Scotia was the among the first to Union's decision to deny their orga­ require all entering students to carry nization club privileges at U of C. a laptop.

The RPOC is seeking a rever­ — with files from the sal of decisions by the Clubs Queen’s Journal Committee on October 29 and on N ovem ber 3 by the Student Factulty association at Legislative Council to suspend club U M anitoba settles on benefits such as office space, events NEW A G REEM EN T funding and equipment rentals from the political group. They are also A ten-month long negotiation seeking to force the SU to allow period between the University of pamphleteering by the RPOC on M anitoba and the University's Faculty Association ended in late University property.

Both groups, however, look to November with the UMFA voting 92.9 per cent in favour of a new col­ continue the out-of-court dialogue.

A meeting between the SU's execu­ lective agreement.

The results of the new agree­ tive cabinet and executive members ment have given the faculty most of o f the RPOC was scheduled for what they sought after, among them December 3. A legal decision in disallowing the termination of mem­ favour of the RPOC may force the bers for academic reasons and a stip­ SU to cover legal fees incurred by ulation that performance evaluations the RPOC, who are currently fund­ will not be used as a method for ed by the Federal Reform Party of eroding status incurred by faculty Canada. A dditionally, Vicepromotion or tenure.

President Operations and Finance One issue of contention for the Amanda Affonso estimated that the UMFA remained unresolved, accord- SU’s defense will require "between ing to association President Jay $6,000 and $10,000 of students' Goldstein — the issue of age-related retirement policies. The new agree­ m oney." A ffonso accused the ment stipulates that members must RPOC of "not taking other students begin a half-time status at the age of into consideration."

— with files from the Gauntlet 69.

"I do regret the fact that we had to have an age-based policy... We

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T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

Ice storm 98 statistics ram:

Lo o kin g b ack: Ice Storm 98 and M cGill

• Ottawa 70 mm • Kingston 67 mm • Montreal 41 mm

University to subm it insurance claim for dam ages by the accumulation of ice on tree branches will be visible for some

B y Jo n a t h a n C o l f o r d __________

O ne y e a r an d c o u n tle s s anecdotes later, eastern Ontario and Quebec have almost recov­ ered from Ice Storm 1998.

M o st o f th e d e v a s ta tio n w ro u g h t on M c G ill by la s t y e a r ’ s ice sto rm h as b e e n repaired, and its insurance claim — totalling betw een $1.5 and $2 m illion — will be filed by the end of February 1999.

Three successive waves of freezing rain w hich hit south­ w e ste rn Q u eb ec and e a ste rn Ontario between January 5 and January 9, 1998 caused w ide­ spread damages to hydro-elec­ tric d istrib u tio n system s and deprived up to 1,800,000 house­ holds o f electricity , som e for more than a month. Businesses and schools were forced to close and many people were forced to ta k e s h e lte r aw ay fro m th e ir h om es. D e sp ite the u n iv e rsity h a v in g h a d its p o w e r su p p ly reduced from 14,000 kilowatts to 1,000 as part of Hydro-Quebec’s load -sh ed d in g p ro cess, M cG ill crews managed to prevent major damages to the university’s infra­ structure.

T he only m ajo r dam age at M cGill occurred when windows in the M acd o n ald E n g in eerin g b u ild in g th a t had a c c id e n ta lly b een le ft

time to come.

"Our trees were considerably d a m a g e d [d u e to th e sto rm ].

W e’ve done all the pruning and will do some more in the spring, but it w ill be five years before th e y a re b a c k to w h e re th ey were," said Hayes.

T h e u n iv e rs ity has tak en steps to be more prepared in the event o f another d isaster. M ost notably, McGill refurbished all of its g e n e ra to rs an d w a n ts to acquire some more. So far, two portable Kohler generators which can p ro v id e tw e lv e h o u rs o f p o w e r to a s m a ll b u ild ­ ing on a single tan k o f diesel fuel, have been purchased.

A ccording to Ja n ic e McGraw, man­ a g e r o f th e

o p e n , caused forty radia­ to rs in M acdonald and in the a d jo in in g M cC onnell building to burst. They were subseq u e n 11y replaced.

McGill

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l i mi t i ng d a m a g e to ro o fs by re m o v in g su b sta n tia l ice a c c u m u la tio n s, which in some places were over one foot thick. Crews also pruned back many o f the trees on cam ­ p u s. A c c o rd in g to M c G ill Maintenance Operations supervi­ sor Tom Hayes, dam age caused

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chan g es w ere n ecessary to the university’s budget as a result of the storm, either for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1998 or for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1999.

"W e b e lie v e [the co sts] w ill all be covered by insur­ ance and the provincial govern­ ment," said Heaphy. Although the damage at McGill was sub­ s ta n tia l, H ay es sa id th a t it co u ld have been w orse. She c ré d ité s th e cre w s fo r th e ir com m itm ent to safeguarding the university’s physical struc­ tures during the storm, som e­ th in g w h ich w as e sp e c ia lly challenging as m any o f them were also experiencing stormrelated difficulties at home.

"We had incredible com ­ m itm ent from all our people, as fa r as how Rebecca Catching They worked around the clock, much it will cover, and I believe said Hayes, the reim bursem ent w ill be fair and e q u ita b le ," said M cG raw .

M cG ill V ice-P rin cip al F inance P h y llis H eap h y sta te d th a t no

has been made. W e are negotiat­ ing with the insurance company

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Damages to Hydro-Quebec infrastructure: $896

Physical damages: • 600 km o f transmission lines needed to be • 500 steel towers needed replacement • 2,500 wooden structures needed replacement • 16,000 wooden poles needed replacement Resistance of transmission lines: • 45 mm of ice (quadruple the Canodkm standard) Accumulation of ice on some lines: 90 mm Costs incurred by McGill relating to the ice storm: •betw een $1.5 and $2 million

with files from the Ottawa Citizen and Hydro Quebec web sites

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M anagem ent and Insurance D e p a rtm e n t, the final costs o f the cleanup w ill n o t be k n o w n u n til th e en d o f F ebruary. She e x p e c ts th a t Rebecca Catching the u n iv ersity will submit an insurance claim for its storm-related expenses which is large enough to recover a sub­ stantial am ount o f the m oney it spent in cleaning up the aftermath of the storm. "W e’re still working on the final costs and no decision

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Page 4 News

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

Preparation key to beat Y2K chaos B y K ellie Sw iatocha T he D aily U niverse (B righam Y o un g U.)

(U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah — The year 2000 bug is everyone's hot topic. It's the bug many want to squash.

But Margaret Wheatley looks at Y2K as an o p p o rtu n ity .

W heatley, a PhD from H arvard U niversity and form er Brigham Y oung a ssis ta n t p ro fe sso r, addressed students last Thursday in a le c tu re sp o n so red by the Department of Communications.

W heatley's philosophy deals not with the bytes and bits of Y2K, but with the individual and society. ”Y2K is not a technical prob­ lem, but a social problem ," she said.

W heatley said it's a so cial problem because people have put Y2K in a box — a computer box.

They have trapped it inside think­ ing it w ill not affect them . But Wheatley emphasized the only rea­ son this world works is because of computers.

T here are 30 to 50 b illio n microchips in the world. They con­ trol everything from security to ele­ vators to the heating of a building.

It is estimated that humans come in ed building up a food storage to contact with 70 m icroprocessors last at least two weeks — and to before noon every day. make sure there is enough food Wheatley described this sce­ storage to support a neighbour, too. nario: each railway bed contains "If your neighbour's not pre­ microchips. Trains deliver food to pared, you're not prepared," she the stores and coal to the power said. plants. If those microchips aren't Wheatley feared many people Y2K compliant, then food may not have become apathetic to the situa­ get to the stores and there may be tion, thinking it does not apply to no coal for power plants. Stores them. resupply food every two to three 27-year-old Dan Peterson, a days while power plants only carry graduate communications student enough for tw o w eeks. B ut no at B righam Y oung is a case in transportation equals no food or point. power.

"I admit I d id n 't think that There is a cycle of dependency much about Y2K," said Peterson. within the world where everything "I'm a little m ore open-m inded is interconnected; one small chip with the issue now. It seems much could bring down the whole sys­ more important." tem, Wheatley said.

W heatley stressed preparing W heatly p ointed to a 1991 and educating. She said not to lis­ example, wherein American long ten to one person's advice on Y2K, distance telephone service went but to cultivate an understanding down. There were 30 million lines and becom e involved in getting of code in the phone systems. Just read y fo r the end o f the year. four lines caused the failure.

Wheatley suggested Web sites for The future is unclear. No one those interested in obtaining more know s w hat is going to happen information. Y2K.today.com and when the year changes to 2000. C assandraproject.com were two W heatley brought a message that sites she offered. people need to come together.

"You don't have to know the "There is no individual sur­ future in order to prepare for it," vival," she said. Wheatley suggest­ concluded Wheatley.

To all Tribune News writers, weekly news meetings begin next Tuesday, January 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Trib office.

T E C H N O L O G Y , SCIEN CE, A N D E N G IN E E R IN G G R A D U A T E S

Trib u n e Streeter “I think w e’ll go on and live our lives and another year will be picked for the world to end.”

— Meak Chhuom U1 Microbiology

Given all the hype about the new Millennium, the Tribune asks “What do you think will be the biggest problem in the new millennium?”

"I’m worried about Doomsday cults.”

— Benji Shomair U1 Biology

Wi'fïjsÆSL

1

:tif - « 6 I H L - yM

Tremendous depression People think there’s going to be som e major m o m e n tu m h i

nothing is going to happen.”

Andrea Unikowsky U3 Religious Studies

“I just don’t know enough about it to form an intelligent opinion” — Aaron Peters U1 Polical Science

‘Total riots" — Alana Rosenfeld U2 Cultural Studies and Philosophy

T m worried about mass stock­ piling and prices going up. It could be mad — it could be riots. No one can tell how people will act in a situation like this.”

— Josh Eisen U 1 Political Science

H

“The c o l­ lapse o f the American empire — and I won’t be able to use my playstation."

—Genevieve Chiu U 1 Polical Science

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This program is supported by the federal government's Youth Initiative; participants must be 30 years o f age or under.

M cG ill

Residences ASSISTANT DIRECTORS FLOOR FELLOWS • DONS STUDENT ANIMATORS T he M cGill Residences are accepting applications for the above staff positions for the 1999/2000 academic year.

Applicants should be M cGill students at the tim e o f the appointm ent.

Interested persons m ay pick up application forms at the office in Bishop M ountain Hall or call 398 - 6363 (Andrée) for inform ation.

The deadline for submitting applications is __________ January 28, 1999.

News Page 5

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , W e d n e s d a y , 2 S ept em b er 1998

No room in Shatner for Four Floors

Travel d elays cont'd "We always had at least one runway open if the airlines wanted Peter LaFleur, a baggage agent at to take off or land," said Reid. "By Dorval, said on Tuesday that he had one o' clock on Sunday afternoon, never seen so many delayed bags in we had our two main runways oper­ his entire career. ational."

"I've been w orking here for Because the storm hit at a peak over thirty years, and this is the travel time, delays and congestion worst it's ever been," said LaFleur. at the airport were compounded, "We haven't even been answering Reid added. the phones because it's so busy." "[The delays] were a combina­ John Simpson, a U1 student tion of a great deal of snow in a who flew A ir C anada from short period, and the busier than W ashingto n , D .C . on T uesday, normal holiday weekend," he said. claims that his property was dam­ "This added about ten to twelve aged by poor handling. thousand passengers to our normal "I had to wake up at four-thirty total." a.m . to catch my flig h t from Reid added that weather-relat­ Washington to Newark. I was sup­ ed delays and cancellations in the posed to catch a connecting flight at United States caused further prob­ noon, but we didn't take off until lems. four p.m.," said Simpson. "When I Diane Roch, a spokesperson got to Dorval, both my bags were for Aéroports de Montréal, said that ripped beyond repair....[T]hey did Dorval was open during the storm. not offer to repair my bags..."

“Dorval and Mirabel were at A ir C anada sp o k esp erso n operational capacity throughout the Priscille LeBlanc, explained that storm,” said Roch. “Dorval airport the storm was unusual. has never been closed.”

"Our hub was at a standstill for Ben Slater, a UO student, lost the busiest day of the year," said his bags Sunday on a Canadian LeBlanc. “The disruption was mas­ A irlines flig h t from C algary to sive; we were incapable of handling D orval. "I d id n 't even change so many customer service calls.” planes and they still lost my bags," A ccording to B ruce R eid, said Slater. "It took three days for Manager of Corporate Relations for Canadian to deliver them. I called the A irport Authority of G reater up and tried to get information, but T oronto, at least one runw ay at the line was always busy. Even the Pearson Airport was operational at message machine was full, which all times during the storms. Dorval really ticked me off." and Mirabel Airports also remained Operations at major Canadian open, although at a much reduced and American airports returned to capacity. normal by Wednesday.

C ontinued from page 7

MONITOR. COMPANY

By A aron Izenberg

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As a new semester begins, stu­ dents can party like it's 1999, but not in the Shatner building.

The safety and accessibility of the Shatner building have become increasingly pressing issues in the past few months. In late October, the Students' Society of M cGill University and the McGill adminis­ tration released a report that outlined a recent study on the operation of the building. Many problems with the building have rendered it unsafe for large gatherings, such as SSMU’s mega-party, Four Floors.

SSMU Vice President Internal Affairs Karen Pelley explained that Four Floors is probably the most risky of all the events that take place in Shatner.

“There are limitations on this building which prevent us from host­ ing exceptionally large numbers of students. For now, Four Floors is just too big of a crowd.”

The average Four Floors can attract up to 2,500 people. Poor light­ ing and blaring music contribute to a dangerous situation. Pelley explained that the main problem is stairwell capacity. In the event of an emer­ gency requiring the immediate evac­ uation of the building, there would be too many students on the stairs push­ ing toward the exits located on the main floor. The report recommends that more exits be added throughout the building, especially on the second and third floors.

Four floors was to be replaced by a party originally organisedby Sam and Ilker Productions at Club Amsterdam on January 14.

The “Four Rooms” party was subsequently cancelled when Pelley was informed that the official maxi­ mum capacity of the club was signif­

icantly less than she was led to believe.

The reasons for this misunder­ standing are still unclear. Yanick Poitras, spokesperson for Club Amsterdam, explained that although the legal capacity of their club was downgraded by the city of Montreal, he believes his club is still appropri­ ately equipped to handle large crow ds. An Inspector with the Prevention Office of the Montreal Fire Department, however, noted that during a visit last week, the Office verified the club’s maximum capaci­ ty — and he does not recall any recent changes.

Poitras claims that a misunder­ standing in the translation process with Sam and Ilker Productions led to the current mix-up. Sam Khullar of Sam and Ilker Productions refused to comment on Poitras’ statement.

Sam and Ilker Productions are planning to reschedule “Four Rooms” independently of SSMU. “SSMU is a bureaucratic associ­ ation...[T]hey don’t work in a busi­ ness-like manner but in a very politi­ cal manner,” said Khullar. “W e’d rather just do [Four Rooms] without them.”

Pelley noted that the loss of rev­ enue for SSMU by the cancellation of Four Floors should not affect the financial affairs of SSMU too heavi­ ly"We've had two [parties] and we've only budgeted for three. The last one was [to be] for the faculty associations... I consider whatever money I get from these as what I have to spend on other events...but that's okay because I have nowhere to do [other events] now," said Pelley.

But the Shatner building will not be totally out of bounds to other activities. According to Pelley, most

of the usual events will still be able to take place.

“The building is adequate for smaller groups, provided that the necessary precautions are taken on behalf of the event organizers.”

Simple safety measures such as hired security, cutting down on numbers, and paying closer attention to build­ ing policies will be among the types of precautions taken.

Activities day is one of the larg­ er upcoming events that is to take place at Shatner. In order for the day to happen, some minor changes have been made in its planning. For exam­ ple, the line-up for the SSMU mini courses that usually crowds the main floor is being split-up in order to reduce traffic around the stairway.

Action is also being taken to see to the long-term improvement of the building. In order to make sure that the necessary changes are made, SSMU has formed a building plan­ ning committee consisting of three executives, four councillors, and two members at large. In a recent council meeting, a motion was passed to obtain a loan to proceed with some safety renovations over the summer.

Half of the cost of the construc­ tion will be paid for by the universi­ ty, and half by SSMU. In order for SSMU to cover their share of the cost, the money most likely will be raised via referendum this spring.

The Shatner building is expect­ ed to be up to code by next fall and Pelley shares an optimistic attitude with the rest of the council. “In gen­ eral, we understand that this situation is an inconvenience to everyone. We are hoping that the changes that will happen this summer will do the job.”

— with additional reporting by John Salloum, Nilima Gulrajani

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Page 6 O p / E d

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

EDITORI AL Intelligence cannot be present without under­ standing. N o computer has any awareness o f what it does.

__________________ — Sir Roger Pemrose

Don't Fear the Y2K Reaper

By C hris S elley

The Y2K bug has quickly risen from the status of a technical concern to that of an insidious media presence. Companies small and large have spent millions on having their computer programs re-written to accept four digit dates. The government, eager to appear on top of things for once, has spent hundreds of millions itself on trying to clean up the mess, and has even used the taxation system to compel laggard companies to address the problem. The Y2K phenomenon, however, is an issue that has less to do with computers than with our society as a whole, with our desire for monolithic societal change and our dependence on the media.

Why, for instance, has the year 2000 "crept up" on us? Until very recently, the idea of "The Year 2000" conjured up thoughts of a future more distant in conception than in years. For decades, pop culture over­ flowed with images of floating buildings, rocket cars and the like. Deeper than these technological artifacts was the belief that the world as a whole would be a better, kinder place to live. O f course, this phenomenon never made any real sense. There was no logical reason to believe that the fif­ teen years between 1985 and 2000 would yield change more significant than those between 1970 and 1985. The lack of technological and societal progress made us forget that the millennium was so close at hand. And it Panhellenic S ociety was only a few years ago that we even considered the possibility that our C O N D E M N S P A R TY A T G e R T ’ S lives on January 1, 2000 might be resoundingly similar to our lives the night before. The Y2K bug might be a real issue, but it is also an ideal As the president of McGill's prosthesis for the long-since-amputated cause of massive global improve­ council for so ro rities, the ment.

Panhellenic Society, I was quite dis­ It is not surprising, then, that the media took firm hold of the issue. tressed to read two recent articles in They have, nonetheless, done us a great disservice in their coverage. The ! the Tribune: "Controversy results dozens of "experts" that appear on television and in print are, in almost after Gert's party goes bad" and every case, in a direct position to benefit financially from the world Sarah Kim's "Stop the Press." Both believing in the possibility of computer generated Armageddon. of these articles focussed on a bikini The question, then, is this: why has no one in the government or j contest held by the Kappa Kappa media earnestly, scientifically questioned the seriousness of this problem?

Gamma sorority at G ert's. The Employees o f home security companies aren't considered experts on i behavior of this sorority is certainly crime, yet the bias of the computer industry has been allowed to hijack reprehensible and in no way sanc­ rational thought. The role of counterpoint to the doomsday scenario has j tioned by our organization. fallen squarely on the shoulders of scientifically unqualified columnists.

Panhellenic attempts to better The skeptical view has thus become the calling card of neo-Luddite life on campus for women while crackpots, when it might more appropriately be the other way round. promoting a positive image of our So the necessary and expensive process of prevention continues accomplishments; this event marks apace. The government has signed away roughly $1 billion of taxpayer I a major set-back for the individual sorority and our organization. I will money to companies that have successfully preached the worst case sce­ not apologize on behalf of sororities nario. It likely believes that it is appearing modem, decisive and methodiat McGill because there can be no cal to the average Canadian voter; and maybe it is. But for the sake of our excuse made for this event. In the own minds, shouldn't we take a step back and consider that even if the future, hopefully Sayde Torre's first Y2K bug is a genuine threat, its swift ascent to the status of cultural impulse will not be to have any con­ obsession might stem chiefly from our lingering and quite natural desire test degrading to members of either for something — anything — to be the slightest bit different the morning sex the next time she wishes to have of January 1, 2000? "a contest designated to attract an In the Defence 2000 News, a paranoid Canadian Armed Forces bul­ audience and for people to have letin about Y2K preparedness, Heather Buschert offers the following fun." Jeannine Hamilton, advisor to insight: "almost everything we do relies on computers." This ubiquitous the Panhellenic Society, and myself platitude is not altogether true: eating, drinking and breathing are just a guarantee that no other sorority at few examples of activities that do not directly require any computer input. | McGill will run a contest of this sort This kind of thinking is both frightening and strangely appealing, howev­ and that there will be severe reper­ er, especially to those who did not grow up with computers. We should all cussions for Kappa Kappa Gamma realize that even if a few things go wrong — even if planes do fall from from our council. the sky and the banks lose all our money — the world will still be run by [ human beings. Ultimately, the Year 2000 bug isn't about the bug itself; it Zoe Lang is about the cultural ideas that used to accompany the Millennium, ideas j President o f Panhellenic that we have now accepted will not come to fruition.

Society, McGill University U3, Music

T i - l i P X /IiT ’lT'' T I I T T R T1RT I T V Ï F *s an editorially autonomous newspaper published i I t i £. 1 VJLv -N j JI JL/JLj 1 JE\ i JD L J 1 N jC by the Students' Society of McGill University EDITOR N-f* M IF F E d ito r -- Iin -C hief

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W atch

your words

Wr i ti ng fo r the M cG ill Tribune obviously has no real cri­ teria for who composes articles for distribution, on campus and wher­ ever else this newspaper may cir­ c u la te . I w as em b a rra se d and astonished upon reading volume 18, issue 5, Tuesday Septem ber 29, "D e stin a tio n P la n e t Hollywood" by M aria Simpson.

Although this may seem to be a late response, it is an topic that needed to be brought to attention now rather than never. In her arti­ cle, she m akes re fe re n c e to a crowd of people contemplating as to why her friend was blindfolded outside of Planet Hollywood. She enters the minds of the pedestrians, and gives possible conclusions, one being that he was "perhaps a retarded sibling taken out on a spe­ cial evening."

For a University student, the w ord retard ed is b etter used to describe her article. The correct word for a person with a mental d isa b ility , w ould be "mentally challenged."

On a personal note, someone dear to me is 16 and mentally chal­ len g ed . H e has not once been blindfolded for a "special evening" out. He goes wherever any other family member goes; skiing, vaca­ tioning, dinners, etc., and it is not considered the treat of the week.

I am shocked, appalled furious at the low aptitude of a fel­

low McGill student. This type of article is not positive imaging for the Tribune or the University.

I am in agreeance with free­ dom o f speech, and b eliev e in holding ones own opinion, but am surprised and dim ayed that this article made it past the editor-inchief.

Nicole St. Jean Arts, U0 T W O S ID E S T O E V E R Y S TO R Y

It was with a mixture of fasci­ nation and disgust that I read all the letters written in response to Aaron Feinstein’s LETTER (not a rtic le as so many in c o rre c tly pointed out). I was fascin ated because not one letter mentioned the shameful actions Arab govern­ ments have perpetuated against the Palestinians such as the massacres in Jordan in 1970 or the expulsion o f h u n d red s o f th o u sa n d s o f Palestinians from the G ulf states following the Persian Gulf war in 1991. T h ese are i nd is put a bl e facts, neither of which were men­ tioned in any of the letters.

My disgust surrounds the use o f "h isto ria n s" such as Israel Shahak and Noam Chomsky (who is a linguist by training) in order to substantiate the authors' claims.

Both these men have their own and

Continued on page 7

Letters must include author's name, signature, identification (e.g. U 2 Biology, SSMU President) and telephone number and be typed double-spaced, submitted on disk in Macintosh or IBM word processor format, or sent by e-m ail, letters more than 200 words, pieces for 'Stop The Press' more than 5 0 0 words, or sub­ missions judged by the Editor-in-Chief to be libellous, sexist, racist or homopho­ bic w ill not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit letters for length.

B rin g su b m issio n s to th e T rib u n e o ffic e , FAX to 3 9 8 - 1 7 5 0 o r send to tribune@ssmu.mcgill.ca.

Columns appearing under 'Editorial' heading are decided upon by the editorial board and written by a member o f the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions o f The M c G ill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

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O p / E d Page 7

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 19 99

Circle the wagons! Why SSMU's defensive politics are dangerous and dull The SSMU com puter co-op store has been replaced by some­ th ing called U n iv ersity B ytes.

There wasn't anything necessarily inappropriate about the way the University Bytes folks got the con­ tract, but when these things aren't put out to tender, usually an alarm bell goes off somewhere. At least som ebody asks why things hap­ pened the way they did. Why? Who are the people who run it, how does he know them, and how did he pick them? And why, more importantly, didn't any councillors ask him those questions in an open meeting?

G overnm ents m ake mistakes. Most governments make a lot of them.

O rdin arily w hen this happens, there's somebody all too eager to make sure th at the w hole w orld fin d s out about it — the deal usually is that if you’re talented enough at point­ ing out the existing government's errors, you'll eventually get elected to replace it.

G overn m en ts don't lik e it when their m istakes get pointed out; more often than not, the strate­ gic response is simply to deny that they w ere, in fa c t, m istak es.

Sometimes, if the official in ques­ tion is exceptionally stupid, this fa ils, as w hen th e n -S o lic ito rGeneral Andy Scott denied that he'd had a significant conversation with an airline seatmate about the APEC pepper-spray inquiry, and was immediately determined to be a b ald -faced lia r and fo rced to resign. More often than not, though, the government issues a denial that nobody really believes but doesn't care enough about to contest. Life goes on.

When the number o f those denials starts to rise, though, the government in question starts get­ ting into trouble. That's what hap­ pened to the exhausted Trudeau governm ent when he lost to Joe Clark in 1978, and likewise to the scandal-ridden Mulroney Tories in 1993.

It's not a great system, but it tends to work out in the long run. If it is to work at all, though, without those people who act as profession­ al watchdogs — who have a vested interest in accurately pointing out the government's mistakes because they'll get to take over. And there's

only so much that the press can do without political figures with inside information — and opinions differ­ ent from those of the government — willing to answer questions hon­ estly and fully.

But SSMU has no such watch­ dogs. Student political careers are not made by casting oneself as crit­ ic for the opposition. The only way to get elected to a senior position in the Students' Society is to work your way up from the inside, and the only "inside" that exists in this

out w ith in your dow n tim e.

C ouncillors' disinclination to be forthright and aggressive in criticiz­ ing each other makes perfect sense when you realize that they'd in fact be attacking their buddies which, if you're a properly adjusted human being, is something you probably don't do in public.

There's an awful lot that you'd put up with in your friends that you wouldn't accept in a professional acquaintance. Errors. A certain level of malicious intent, provided it's directed at a target who probably deserves it. Even corruption, assuming it doesn't get wildly out o f co n tro l.

Likewise, if you're in a position of public author­ ity, you should be will­ ing and able to accept criticism of how you're doing your job— and to act on that criticism, when it’s justified, by changing the way you work. Making changes based on other people's criticism isn't evidence of weakness or inferi­ ority — to the contrary, it's evi­ dence of strength and maturity in a leader.

There's a real disinclination among councillors to examine each other's conduct. In the classic teen book D on't Care High, Gordon Korman writes about classes where anyone who asks a question gets drowned out by a quiet but unmistakeable and ceaseless murmur of disapproval from his classmates.

When Mario Nigro, a law council­ lor last year and the ultimate out­ sider (but who had heaps of student political experience with the stu­ dent society at the University of Toronto, which is apparently run like a professional organization) challenged the process by which the executive hired KPMG's con­ sultants to advise SSMU on how to im prove itself, the reaction was much the same.

The problem is purely one of culture — modifying the institu­ tions by which SSMU is adminis­ tered wouldn't fix it. What's needed here is for the co u n cillo rs who make up the board of directors of a multimillion-dollar corporation (and especially those among them who are paid for the task) to behave like the professionals we need them to be.

L etters

continued

Continued from page

6

personal agendas, and to cite them as experts in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has as much merit as refer­ ring to D av id Irvi ng or Ernst Z unde l as e xper ts on the Holocaust. Shahak is a notorious self-hating Jew who has written voluminously on the inherent evils of the Talmud, one of Judaism's most sacred texts. To make mat­ ters worse, Chomsky has written the f or wa rd to S h ah ak 's book, lending his distinguished name in order to offer the author a sem ­ blance of legitim acy. Chomsky has also written the forward to a

book by Robert Faurrisson, one of F ra n c e 's m ost voc if er ous Holocaust deniers, again offering moral and academ ic support for the perpetuation of lies.

There is no denying the pain and anguish o f the Palestinians.

They have lost land, lives, and dig­ nity. But for intelligent people like Mar k Ze it ou n and Zei na Awad to quote one lie in order to counter another is neither wise nor productive. It simply adds to the hurt.

Richard M eloff U3, History and Political Science

S littin g T h ro a ts D avid R eevely

1 context is within the clique of the people who already have the power.

You need only look at the cur­ rent crop of executives to see this in action. They're all adequately com­ petent, to be sure, but they all got there the slow-and-steady way, by putting in time and paying dues.

None of them champions anything, or has any obvious principles on which to stand, or any targets he or she can be relied upon to attack.

Last year's presidential candidate Paul Ruel at least stood for some­ thing concrete — equal tuition rates for Canadians, whichever provinces they came from. It wasn't exactly a complete platform, but at least it was something. In contrast, the sec­ ond-year SSMUites on the execu­ tive, Duncan Reid and Jeff Feiner, have styles so relentlessly nonconfro ntational that it's difficult to im agine either of them fighting much for anything.

D iplom acy and negotiation have their place, but they shouldn't be the only tactics in a politician's playbook. They're also, incidental­ ly, rather boring to watch; a council that had the occasional fight when it was necessary, instead of subli­ mating its conflicts, might well find its e lf the object o f som e actual interest on campus.

The real issu e here is the ex te n t to w hich SSM U and its Council double as a social club. It's very difficult to be combative, even when it’s appropriate, if the people with whom you'd have to be com­ bative are also the people you hang

Looking to pad that résumé?

Come meet the TRIBUNE brass at ACTIVITIES NIGHT Wednesday, January 13 from 4:00 to 9:00 in Shatner (and schmooze your way to the top.)

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Page 8 O p / E d

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , Tu e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y , 1999

So rtin g o u t th e ch aff from th e ch aff in th e Trib u n e m ailb ag The fierce battle for the media's ear means that companies, PR agen­ cies and flak generators will send out a press release to just about any­ one who will listen — even a campus paper with a circulation of 12,000 ttenlion McGill students, the faucet buyers of tomorrow! The Masco Corporation wants you to know that their corporate life is in good hands with John Wills.

Never heard of M asco? Could care less about John Wills? That's what we said when we received a p ress p ack ag e from the M asco hea dq u ar te rs in Taylor, M ichigan, announcing Mr. W ills' appoint­ ment to the position of corporate vice president of sales and m arketing. The package came com plete with nicely em bossed letterhead printed on 40 lb stock, and a 4x5 black and white photo of Mr. Wills.

W hoever heads up their m edia relations obviously has their finger on the pulse of us spunky young kids today.

A

If Masco has anything going for it, at least it knows who's working for the Trib.

The same can't be said for the communications branch of the Quebec government.

We recently received a pack­ age of stand-up desk calendars addressed to

t ja$on Sigur<k °n

Canada

som eone who has long escaped the in stitu tio n al memory of our office. Most likely she was a former editor-in-chief, but there's no way to be sure. We sent our archivist digging through back issues just to satis­ fy our curiosity — he made it as far as 1984 before giving up. For a place evidently operating in the era of E.T., greed and flash-dancing, at least they man­ aged to send out 1999 calendars. Thanks a lot, guys.

Melaine Commu*i«at»c*s»Ciroup seems to think that the Tribune has an extensive interest in travel journalism. Sure, we've run a piece on Iceland and an Under Scrutiny on the importance of taking on the world... but do they really think our readership wants to know about the opening of the Dutch St. Maarten office in Canada? They're trying to boost the number of snowbirds spending time on the island's 37 beach­ es, and gorging themselves in any one of 300 restau­ rants. “From luxury resorts to quaint guest houses, a c co mmo d at io n s on St. Maar ten are m ore than enough to make Columbus wish he'd stayed the night.” With talk like that, it makes the place sound like just as much fun as getting sand stuck in your bathing suit.

Scarlet Key Award | FUTON PE MQ.NT-ROW] M cG ill has a vibrant and active student body. Each year, the Scarlet Key Society seeks to recognize the achievem ents o f outstanding leaders on this campus. Students who build and create change. Students who leave their m ark on M cG ill long after they have left.

The Scarlet Key Society has been around M cGill for alm ost 75 years. In 1971, the Scarlet Key Award was introduced with a view to recognizing the achievem ents o f M cG ill’s outstanding student leaders. Since that time, the contributions o f over 1,500 student leaders have been recognized.

Scarlet Key Awards are only given to students who have attended the University for at least one academ ic year. Thus, the award is not available to students in their first year at M cGill. The Scarlet Key Society is not affiliated with the S tudents’ Society o f M cGill University.

The application procedure is simple. Pick up an application package at the SSM U front desk. G et two letters o f reference

Wfrrif/

from your peers or anyone that you feel is appropriate; list your m ain contribution to M cGill and tell us how you dem onstrated leadership in the M cGill community.

B etter yet, pick up a package and nom inate a friend or a peer who you perceive as a leader at M cGill. Past w inners include a wide range o f student leaders at M cG ill — artists, athletes, politicians, journalists and many, many others who defy categorization. If you have questions, please d o n ’t hesitate to

email or call Cara Cameron, the selection committee coordinator, at: 288-7666 camero_c@lsa.lan.mcgill.ca.

DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 1 9 ,

The Scarlet Key Society

O p/Ed Page 9

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y 1999

Horror at the Mall: The unbearding of the man we thought was Santa say that the line to see Santa was W ith o n ly d ay s le ft u n til year old son that indeed he was stairs, five steps from the ground.

W arning: the follow ing is a unm istakably shorter that after­ The scene w hich follow ed, true story and contains graphic C hristm as, it was tim e to shop. the real Santa. I say "well-mean­ noon. th o u g h it la s te d o n ly a b rie f images of the man we thought was Dressed appropriately in layers to ing" now because I am sure in ret­ Christmas rolled around four m om ent in tim e was enough to Santa which may be inappropriate combat the so-called wonders of ro sp e c t th a t th is m o th e r now days later void of the magic I had scar hundreds of tiny children for children under the age of five clim ate control, I headed to the w ish e d she had ju s t k e p t her known since childhood. Little did who looked on in amazement at mouth shut. (or regressed university students mall with a friend.

I know that an innocent trip to the the horror.

Parents stood helpless At about three o ’clock with My shopping experience was clinging to their childhood). as their wee ones suddenly took an mall would change Christmas as I Like most students, I finished just like any other I'd had before. I only one gift left to pick up, I unexpected and prem ature step knew it forever. Despite the deco­ my exams ready for a cold Molson paced through stores, w aited in approached the stairs to the second towards adulthood; their rations, despite the happy songs, Ex and a long nap. The first few line ups and bought pretty beliefs in the man in red C hristm as from now on w ould ' ? days of my holiday were spent on much whatever I saw in an only serve as a painful reminder of lost forever. to e scap e the couch w atching w hite trash a tte m p t "the incident."

The giant man top­ m id d le A m e ric a n s fig h t on unharmed from the crazed I reluctantly opened my gifts p led fro m th e sta irs Springer, cry on Mantel, and win cesspool of commercializa­ under the tree, rem inded only of sending his white beard 1 backyard Jacuzzis on The Price is tion. Just as my shopping and his red felt hat full the bleak fact that they had obvi­ Right. Allowing my brain to rest was drawing to a close, my o f w h ite h a ir so arin g ously not come down the chimney 1fcÉÉ/ and recuperate for next semester, I life as I knew it took a turn into the horrified crowd. W ith a this year. Despite the fact that I vow ed to m y self that they only tow ards d isaster; only seconds floor to battle the crowds at HMV. bellowing breath of profanity that had given up hope for any magic decisions I would make for two later I was witness to perhaps one As I started up the staircase, who m ade even the lo ite rin g m all this C hristm as and hadn't even was on his way down, but Santa full weeks would be, what chan­ of the greatest Christm as horror teenagers cringe, he came thump­ made an effort to try and promote himself. Taking a break from the nel? In a bottle or on Tap? Or, my scenes of all time. ing down into a huge lump of red my good behaviour, I was pleas­ The day was December twen­ arduous task o f listening to the place or yours? This was pleasur­ velvet on the mall floor in front of antly surprised as I opened a gift wishes of thousands of little chil­ able for a while, but eventually the ty -firs t. It w as b itte r co ld and a group of forever scarred children marked "from Santa." Although it dren, S anta was now retu rn in g windy that afternoon (actually, it reality of the coming holidays hit whose chins fell to the ground in w a sn 't the P la y s ta tio n I w as me. I realized, having purchased had yet to snow, and it was pretty back to his centre court palace of disbelief. For a fleeting moment dream ing o f (w hich was under­ tacky m all decorations ready to no gifts and with only three more w arm , but I'm try in g to create no one in the m all m oved. standable since I hadn't really been continue his wish granting. shopping days left until Christmas, some dram atic effect here). The E v ery o n e sto o d sp e e c h le ss as that good anyway) it was a Sporty E v er p o p u la r as u su a l, all I c o u ld no lo n g e r a v o id the m all was packed w ith children Santa rose to his feet and gathered Spice "action figure" which not w aiting anxiously in line to see eyes, both young and old, were inevitable...I had to go to the mall. up his facial hair which had come only sings the full four minute ver­ fixated on the jolly soul as he glid­ Just as an aside note I should Santa. It was the final chance for to rest on the head of a bewildered sion o f "S pice Up Y o u r L ife," mention that as a general rule, I most to try and convince the big ed with grace down the mall stair­ child standing in the crowd. He (d ig ita lly m a ste re d to ex clu d e case towards his throne and wait­ hate the mall. I would be happy cheese that their good behaviour only looked around in astonish­ G inger Spice’s voice, of course) ing fans.

It was quite a m agnifi­ enough to never visit one again, all y e a r m e rite d a P la y s ta tio n m ent before heading up the red but also, with one quick swipe of but since the Gap seems to have under the tree. My friend and I had cent scene; Santa descending in all rug to his suddenly unreal tinsel her Kung Fu legs, kick Barbie's no plans for starting a mail order watched earlier as a few children o f his glo ry a m id st a song o f ass. palace. happy ho-ho-hos to his admirers catalogue, I've come to the accept spilled out their Christmas wishes M aybe the magic isn't dead The rest o f the d etails you below.

A magnificent scene that to th e m an in red , and a w ellthat I'll have to visit one now and after all. don't need to know, just suffice to meaning mother assured her four is, u n til S an ta slip p e d o ff the then.

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Page 11

T he M c G ill T r ibu n e , T u esd a y , 12 J an u ary 1999

B u y th e B o o k In a world o f corporate takeovers and shrinking govern­ m ent support o f culture, creating the Canadian literary superstar is the favoured strategy for big pu blish in g h ou ses. N ew authors, however, are fin d in g a w ay to fight the “Canadian celebrity m achine.”

B y Elaine O 'C onnor

anadian culture is a contra­ diction in terms. In the past we have rarely listened to our own artists and as a result have often been defined by an increas­ ingly Americanized entertainment industry. Now, however, Canadian literature is coming of age in what ap pears to be a p o st-c o lo n ia l renaissance. It's hip, it's hot, and by some strange m iracle it's finally getting the recognition it deserves.

N atio n al au th o rs are fa st becom ing internationally recog­ nized; M a rg a re t A tw ood and Timothy Findley are now as widely read in France as they are at home.

Carol Shield's 1993 Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Stone Diaries has paved the way fo r a num ber of international awards including the 1997 nomination of Atwood's Alias Grace and R ohinton M instry's A Fine Balance for Britian’s Booker Prize.

But international appeal is not only fo r th e old g uard. A nne M ich ael's 1996 n o v el F u g itive Pieces (McClelland and Stewart) catapulted her from an acclaimed but obscu re p oet to a ren o u n author. Her first novel won her the Trillium Award for best fiction, the Chapters/BiC First Novel Award, Britian's prestigious Orange Prize, and an international audience — the book has since appeared in over 19 co u n trie s. In 1995 G reg H o llin g sh e a d was aw ard ed the Governor General's Award for The Roaring Girl (Sommerville House), and this year Lisa Robertson, an experimental poet from Vancouver, won the Governor General's Award for her book of poetry.

C

author has left the show we start g e ttin g c a lls for the book. An Oprah novel w ill sell 600-1500 copies for us, which is proportion­ ally re a lly g o o d ,” H ouston explains.

Canadian book sales have also become dependent to some extent on the personality of the author or the assurance of quality conferred by a literary award. Sales of Alice Munro’s collection of short stories, The L o ve o f a G ood W om an, (M cC lellan d and S tew art) for ex am p le, in c re a se d d ra stic a lly w ithin tw enty-four hours of the announcement that it had won the Giller Prize for fiction this year.

Corporate Takeover

Despite the fact that Canada presently seems to be a hotbed of literary activity, our international rise to the head of the literary class is the result of years of nurturing our w riters. The near infam ous generosity of the Canada Council grants of the 1970’s allowed writ­ ers like Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, and Leonard Cohen to hone their literary talons. Today, emerging Canadian writers aren’t as lucky.

The reality is that although it may seem like publishing is a booming industry, Canadian publishers are being squeezed as the result of cut­ backs to the nation’s cultural pro­ grams.

Government publishing grants that the industry relies on for sup­ port have dropped rapidly over the past several years, from $18.9 mil­ lion in the 1994 fiscal year to $12 million in 1995. In 1997, federal H eritage M inister Sheila Copps, after reading a report on the "per­ ilo u s" sta te o f the in d u stry , announced an extra $15 million in Oprah phenomenon support which will go to bolster the P u b lish in g Ind u stry If the n u m b er o f p rizes B ook Canadian authors have been col­ Development Program.

Yet spending the grant accord­ lecting over the past several years is any indication, we are producing ing to the BPIDP formula also cre­ an increasingly sophisticated body ates p ro b lem s w ith reg ard s to o f national lite ra tu re . A nd yet, developing new literary talent. The amidst all the glowing accolades, it balance of funding is allocated to can be easy to forget that this sys­ p u b lish e rs in p ro p o rtio n to the tem of awards is used as a market­ num ber o f titles printed so that large companies like Knopf Canada ing tool to sell books.

Canadian publishers' need to or Random House who work with agressively m arket their titles is an established roster of authors get related to the lim ited size of our more support than small presses d o m estic m ark et; a m ark et in like Insomniac and Mercury who w hich a book th a t sells 7,0 0 0 take risks on newer writers and are copies is considered a bestseller. more likely in need of financial This may be one reason that pub­ support.

T he 1998 c lo su re o f L ittle lishers are so intent on creating a bullpen o f literary superstars, a Brown Canada by Time Warner, its phenomenon Chris Houston, direc­ p a re n t com pany in the U nited tor o f m ark etin g at a M ontreal States, is testament to the difficul­ b ran ch o f C h a p te rs c a lls “the ties publishers are facing in keep­ ing fin a n c ia lly so lv en t. It also Oprah Book Club” bandwagon.

"O prah has co m p letely stands as an indication of the fact changed books. Even before the that the Canadian sector may be

fo llo w in g the tren d tow ards monopoly that already exists south o f the bo rd er, w here increased competition over the past decade has left the market dominated by five top publishing houses. This kind o f corporate stranglehold, most clearly illustrated in Canada by recent bank m erger n eg o tia­ tions, becomes especially danger­ ous in an industry where a few businesses control not only the market sector, but also determine national literature.

CI TY

OF F O R G E T T I N G

Celebrity Machine This concern is shared by con­ temporary writers who are quick to no tice the im p act o f fin an cial restraint and corporate control on the literary scene. Robert Mazjels, a M o n treal n ativ e and the author of City o f Forgetting (Mercury Press) which was nominated this year for the QSPELL award for fiction, is increasingly wary of what he terms the "strategy of Canadian publishing."

"The C anadian p u b lish ers want to monopolize and merge to resist the big American publishers," he states. "They m onopolize by focussing all the attention on a very sm all n um ber o f w riters who become our big stars. It's a celebri­ ty machine. And the result of that is that it excludes a lot of work that never gets heard. It limits what is possible in writing to what is pub­ lishable, and in the long term it's not a really good strategy."

Mazjels also suggests, perhaps somewhat surprisingly considering his nomination, that the nature of the literary prize system can in fact be detrimental to the quality of the work produced in this country. "[Awards] tend to put pressure on writers because if you win you feel like you have to keep in the same form or censure yourself, and if you don't win you tend to think; 'what should I do to win?' These are pressures that are not good for writing," he insists.

In dependent book retailers which offer an alternative to this commercial book marketing strate­ gy are also under fire as they strug­ gle with increasing com petition from bookstore mega-chains, on­ line shopping services, and book clubs. As a remedial measure, the province has prom ised Q uebec booksellers between three and four million dollars over the next three years, funding aim ed at making these local stores more com peti­ tive. Montreal has lost some of its own bookstores to this force, most notably Nemo on St. Laurent. Such closings can have serious repercus­ sions for the literary community, as it is prim arily these local book­ stores that encourage the develop­ ment of new writers by stocking less commercial titles and taking the authors’ self-published chapbooks on consignment.

Ian Ferrier, local literary pro­ moter and independent publisher of the Wired On Words series, which has just released a CD compilation of Montreal poets, sees this as a cause for concern.

"What we ran into this time,"

explains Ferrier of his attempts at distribution, "in giving books and CDs to stores, was that some of those stores now have to check with their head offices in Toronto which can take five to six weeks."

This time lag is repeated in the publishing process, where a lack of funding and resources means that it takes an averag e o f tw o years before the work hits the market.

Ferrier asserts that "the only reason this scene hasn't extended further is because of money. No one has the budget to travel and get the work out there."

Next Generation In light of the fact that it now appears more difficult for younger writers to get published via tradi­ tional m ethods, Ferrier, M azjels and others are noticing that the emerging generation of writers are taking a new approach to publish­ ing their work.

"What I see right now is that the mindset is turning much more t o ‘m ulti-m ed ia and w riters are much more inclined to cut through the hierarchy, rather than trying to

s ta rt at the bo tto m and w ork th e ir way up," Ferrier points out. "So instead of sending out poems to a lite ra ry m agazine th e y 're m ore inclined to put it on a poster, put it on the internet, or self-publish. And it has made for an incredible start for a lot of people in the Montreal scene, like Catherine Kidd, Heather O 'N eil, and A nne Stone, who I think are going to be the next gen­ eration of writers."

Indeed, these veterans of the Montreal spoken word scene that has sprung up over the past five years have begun to see their work reaching a wider audience in print.

Both Kidd and O'Neil appear on the Wired On Words CD, and all three have books out now with small presses.

A rguably, some o f the best new writing in the country — writ­ ing in te re ste d in p u shing the boundaries of literature through experimentation — will continue to come from these sectors, indepen­ dent o f the influence o f literary awards, publicity hype, or celebrity manufacturing.

Features Page 13

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 1 2 J a n u a r y 19 99

Ear to the Ground Abrief look at the latest patterns, trends and developments And the old folks wished them well: marriage and teenage celebrities

Recovering from holiday trauma

Cosmopolitan, ever at the leading edge of investigative journal­ ism, examines the issue of why so many hot Hollywood stars are getting married young. Jenna Elfman and Scary Spice Mel B. each tied the knot at 23; Uma Thurman married Gary Oldman at 20 (and divorced him two years later); mad Macauley Culkin married Rachel Miner at 17; Mel Gibson married at 24; and millions of teenage hearts were shattered when Kirk Cameron got hitched at 20.

The stunning Jennifer Love Hewitt, 19, is widely rumoured to be headed to the altar with MTV veejay Carson Daly, who’s only 24.

What, Cosmo asks, is going on? One theory is that it’s easier now than ever before for stars to develop full-blown careers before they’re old enough to drink legally, and that leads naturally to an inclination to pursue other adult things, like stable homes and families. The other major theory is that "young stars spend so much of their lives surrounded by suck-ups that their romantic rela­ tionships may be the only part of their lives untainted by BS.”

Shocker: Glamour readers perfectly normal!

Glamour, God love 'em, decided that what the women-oriented magazine industry needed was another sex survey. They set out to discover — or rather confirm — women's opinions "on the makings of blockbuster sex, and what bombs in their bedrooms."

To save you $3.95 and the trouble of finding the results amid the advertising, Ear to the Ground summarizes the results. 80 per cent of Glamour's readers are into role-playing in the bedroom. A full two-thirds prefer sex without condoms (demonstrating that per­ haps Glamour s other pieces on things like chlamydia and abortion will fall on deaf ears). 77 per cent say that sex in the great out­ doors has a strong appeal, and 69 per cent say that the messier and sweatier sex gets, the better. 83 per cent are fans of receiving oral sex, though only 72 per cent are prepared to provide it. Finally, in a finding starkly different from what one might assume from read­ ing Montreal's various sex columnists, 55 per cent "wouldn't dream" of watching a pornographic movie as a part of foreplay. And perhaps most interesting of all the facts that Glamour turned up, the responses that the magazine included indicate that it has no readers younger than 23, and none older than 31. Odd, that.

It goes without saying that the holidays are often stressful times for families and loved ones.

Many students may feel more strung out upon their return to school in January after spending close to a month home on the range.

According to Psychology Today, although tension may run rampant during what have traditionally been family time, there are ways of both avoiding and recovering from holiday pain. In an article entitled "Surviving Holiday Hell," author Hara Estroff Marano states that we go through a great deal of trouble to ensure that the holidays are as perfect as possible and therefore, our expectations are "heavily tin­ selled." When spending copious amounts of time with family, expect tension and be ready to take it in stride. Be forewarned that you may be expected to revert back to your traditional role in the family.

Although you may be a changed person, your family may not see the new you. Don't buy into the promise of a perfect family and don't plan family transformations. The holidays may not be the best time to hold an intervention.

Christmas, Chanukah, Thanksgiving and birthdays all fall into the holiday category. When men­ tally preparing yourself for your next trip home, remember that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Hopping on the Buddhist bandwagon Make it a resolution in 1999 to get into the meditation craze.

According to Fitness magazine, meditating is a simple way to keep both your body and your mind healthy. When meditating is done properly, all the time it requires is a couple minutes here and there throughout your day. Fitness's "do-nothing-technique" instructs beginners to sit down and clear your mind. Then, let your brain take you wherever it wants to go. Concentrate where your subconscious is taking you — this is an easy way to control your thought process.

Sounds crazy? Essentially, you are "tuning in to doing nothing," which is way different than being a "couch potato." You'll know if your meditating minutes have been successfiil if you feel restful and at ease.

—compiled by Renée Dunk and David Reevely

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Page 14 Features

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

IN,

Facing the music in prime time

By D avid Reevely

One of the very first things taught in any fiction writing class is to not tell the reader how to feel. In fact, it's best not even to tell how the char­ acters feel. It's far better to describe the circumstances alongside the char­ acters' actions and thoughts.

From these features of a narra­ tive, any halfway competent writer can make it very clear how the charac­ ters feel w ithout having to get hamhanded about it. A competent writer can also arrange to make a reader react the way he/she wants; this has the additional effect of affecting each reader in a slightly different way, and also more profoundly.

This is the difference between, for example, describing a magnificent vista from a mountain top as ''the most beautiful view she had ever seen," and going into true detail about what the vista is actually a view of. It is the dif­ ference between schlock and art.

It is, furthermore, the difference between My So-C alled Life and Felicity. The target audience for both is much the same, and is the same demographic pursued by the makers of similar shows such as Dawson's Creek and Party o f Five. These shows are about the final blow-out party at the end of high school that so many of

us anticipated but that never actually happened. All of them attract modest but fiercely loyal followings — not enough to shoot to the top of the rat­ ings or the box office, but enough to keep the producers in cell phones.

It isn't that hard to think of Felicity's Keri Russell as playing a sort of grown-up version of Clare Danes' A ngela Chase on My SoCalled Life. After all, Angela would

be about that age now. Felicity has Angela's confusion about romance, her restrained eagerness to succeed, and her desperate need to try to do right by everyone, unless serious peer pressure gets in the way. She even has some of the same friends — the unitalented Devon Gummersall, the nerdy-but-lovable mopheaded Brian from My So-Called Life, plays the nerdy-but-lovable crew-cut film buff

Zack in the sequel. tant?

What Felicity doesn't have, how­ Even more alarming than this ever, is something resem bling extraordinary lie is the extent to which Angela's plausible life. it, and other shows of its type, rely on That was the beauty of My So- silly production devices to express Called Life. It dealt, for the most part, sentiments that their writers are appar­ with things that a typical teen viewer ently too inept to get across on their could reasonably relate to — agoniz­ own. ing over the m inutiae of every The most frequent tactic is the encounter with a love interest, fighting use of pop songs as backgrounds to with parents over stupid things and long, otherwise silent scenes — often not even really knowing why, con­ montages of particular characters get­ flicted fear/desire emotions about sex, ting on with their lives after some and desperation to act and be treated hugely traumatic event has run its like an adult without even knowing course. This has the effect of making for sure what that meant. Most of all, each episode seem as current as MTV entire shows could go by without any­ and, therefore, slightly edgier, but it thing of any real significance happen­ also smacks the reader in the forehead ing. Felicity's characters glide through with the emotional overtones of each something that bears only a superficial scene. resemblance to a university student's Sometimes it gets absurd. Recent existence, purely as a backdrop to the episodes of Felicity and of Dawson's wildly melodramatic plots the writers Creek both ended with lovingly lin­ somehow get away with week after gering shots of various pairs of char­ week. My So-Called Life's Rayanne, acters with their arms around each for instance, used to drink more than other's shoulders while Heather the entire cast of Felicity does put Nova's toothachingly saccharine together (except when they're engag­ "Heart and Shoulder” played over it. ing in morality plays about rape, or Surely they can't both have the rights trying to differentiate between Good to put that song on their soundtrack People and Bad People). So which is a albums. more realistic portrayal? Which is Even more mainstream dramas more entertaining? And which is more are not immune. Ally McBeal, whose artistically valuable? Which, from a plots are rarely what might be called cultural point of view, is more impor­ subtle, went so far as to build in its

musical accompaniment by making Vonda Shepherd and her torch singers a permanent feature. To its credit, on the other hand, it did not run music over a long, silent staring contest between the lovelorn Ally ahrf her exbeau Billy. It was almost mined by Calista Flockhart's duckish pouting, but the fact that there was no music at all made it seem almost brilliant by comparison. Even ER lost its locus last season by repeatedly using Green Day's "Time of Your Life" to make the chief of staffs son's dying seetn more poignant. As if the agonizing cancer death of a ten-year-old ts insuf­ ficiently wrenching on its own. A recent episode had Noah Wyle climb­ ing out of a bed also occupied by some sort of cute young blonde thing, while Sheryl Crow’s “My Favorite Mistake” played in the background.

The ridiculously overwrought plots and persistent use of overblown dramatic devices to exaggerate the importance of the events in allegedly realistic entertainment suggest that the writers have no confidence either in their own abilities as dramatists, or in modern viewers’ abilities to under­ stand the situations as they're written.

The consistently decent ratings of the shows that use those tactics suggest that they're right.

Stanford U. scientists search for extraterrestrial life B y Joanne W u_______________________

The Stanford Daily (Stanford U.) (U-W IRE) Stanford, CA. — The human thirst for discovering extraterrestrial life may finally be quenched as explorations of Jupiter's sm allest moon, Europa, provide increasing evidence that suggests the existence of a liquid ocean.

In 2003, NASA is planning to launch its $250-m illion Europa Orbiter mission to collect further evidence that may determ ine whether water does flow beneath Europa's icy surface. Christopher Chyba, consulting professor of geo­ logical and environmental sciences at California's Stanford University, will chair the science definition team for the mission.

So far, Earth is the only plane­ tary body in the solar system known to harbour liquid water, which is considered crucial for the develop­ ment of life.

Much data supporting the exis­ tence of water on Europa has been

gathered from previous missions. In the late 1970s, information from the Voyager missions raised the possi­ bility of an ocean under the frozen crust of Europa. This theory was strengthened by images of Europa's surface taken by the Galileo space­ craft in 1996. "[Since thenj there has been a convergence of evidence that sup­ ports the existence of a liquid ocean on Europa," said Chyba in a previ­ ous interview.

A three-dim ensional map of Europa's Pwyll Crater provided by G alileo images reveals a unique structure that may have formed due to water present below the moon's crust.

U nlike m ost young, deep impact craters, the Pwyll crater has a floor at the same level as the exteri­ or, revealing that the crater has been filled in from the bottom. Other evi­ dence indicates that the crater col­ lapsed during or immediately fol­ lowing the meteorite impact, which might result from water or soft ice

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underneath the moon's exterior.

Debris from the impact also suggests that a material different from the surface ice exists below Europa’s crust. Furthermore, some areas in the crater appear to show localized melting near the surface.

At some sections, the crust may be no thicker than 150 kilometres.

Exploration by G alileo also showed the existence of iceberg-like areas on Europa. The terrain of the moon contains large fractured and rotated chunks of crust the size of several city blocks. The ice floes appear to be either sliding on soft glacier-like ice beneath the surface or floating like icebergs in a more fluid material.

Images reveal rough and swirly m aterial betw een the separated plates of crust, which may be slush that later so lidified. Any w ater exposed to the surface o f Europa would immediately freeze in the minus-260-degree Fahrenheit tem­ perature, creating this land texture.

An elaborate com plex of

wedges criss-crosses the ice crust of the moon, formed as new crust wells up from below. The wedges consist o f narrow ridges and p arallel grooves, similar to new crust formed at mid-ocean ridges on the Earth's sea floor. This suggests plate tecton­ ic activity, since tension in the crust can cause two plates to pull apart slightly, allowing warmer material from below to push up and freeze, forming a ridge. The warmer materi­ al in this hypothesis would be water.

Another theory indicates that the ridges are created when tidal heating, caused by the pull of Jupiter’s strong gravity, melted or cracked Europa's surface. The cracks in Europa's terrain are remarkably similar to the surface of the Earth's Arctic Ocean.

D iscoloration of the ridges, along with the presence of ice floes, suggest ice volcanoes or geysers may once have been active on the moon. The majority of the moon’s surface lacks cratering, suggesting that it is constantly resurfaced, pos­

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sibly by frost falling from liquid w ater geysers as they encounter frigid surface temperatures.

M agnetic fields on Europa, recorded by a m agnetom eter on Galileo, have measured fluctuations that are consistent with the magnetic effects of currents flowing in a salt­ water ocean.

"All these lines of evidence point to a liquid w ater ocean," Chyba said.

Three elements essential to the support of life include the presence of water, organic compounds and sufficient heat. Water does exist on the planet at least in ice form, and organic compounds also exist on the moon, with sufficient oxygen creat­ ed by water vapour to form a tenu­ ous atmosphere.

One m ajor question that remains to be answered is how much heat is generated in the moon's inte­ rior, and whether that temperature is high enough to create a fluid ocean.

Theoretical estimates of the amount of heat produced by the force of gravity exerted on Europa by Jupiter's other moons suggest that it should sustain liquid water.

To search for evidence that might ascertain the existence of a liquid ocean on Europa, the science d efin itio n team o f the Europa Orbiter mission has proposed tech­ niques such as imaging, altimetry, gravity measurements and subsur­ face radar soundings. Infrared spec­ trometry may also be used to exam­ ine the chem ical com position of Europa's surface, determining the presence of possible organic mole­ cules.

"If the orbiter confirm s that Europa has a liquid ocean, then it w ill becom e one o f the hottest places in the solar system, along with Mars, to search for life," Chyba said.

Arts L Entertainment

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Page 15

M c G ill T r ib u n e , TUESDAY, 12 JANUARY 19 9 9

A C ivil A ction n early keep s H o llyw o o d ism at b a y — n early

By C hris S e ii .ey________ ___________ _ A Civil A ction did not look promising from the start. The trail­ ers prom ised m elodram a and a whole lot of John Travolta furrow­ ing his brow. It is the story of East W oburn, M assach u setts, w here eight children died of mysterious immune system disorders in the late 1970s. The townsfolk suspect that two local factories contam inated the water supply, but the nature of personal injury law (profit is king) has im peded them from getting anyone to take the case. When per­ sonal in ju ry law y er Jan Schlichtmann (Travolta) drives to Woburn to tell them that his firm won’t take the case he, naturally, takes the case.

The film’s script avoids, how­ ever, the many pitfalls that await the screenwriter with a story like this. W riter and director Steven Zaillian, who won an Oscar for his adapted screenplay of Schindler’s List, has managed to create some very funny, poignant and believable situ atio n s b etw een the law yers involved in the case. The in ter­ office dynamic at Schlichtm ann, Conway & Crowley presents three law yers stra d d lin g a fin e line between idealism and professional ruin. Jan, as ringleader, battles con­

stantly with the firm ’s financial advisor (another flawless support­ ing perform ance by W illiam H. Macy) over the firm ’s new found and to ta lly u n ex ­ pected altru ism .

T h ese scenes are some of the film ’s best moments.

The exchanges between Jan and the d efen se law yers are, at times, equal­ ly b rillian t. Legal strateg y is at the core of any court­ room dram a, and the c o rp o rate lawyers are at first sup rem ely c o n fi­ dent that they can outmanoeuvre some no-name ambulance chaser. But this story wouldn’t be a story unless Jan was smarter than that, and he is — way smarter.

Y et th e se ex changes are spoiled somewhat by the character of Jerry Fâcher, played by Robert Duvall. Every movie like this has to have the cagey, oddball legal veter­ an; confident, arrogant, unflap­ pable, enigmatic. Duvall’s charac­ ter, however, is nothing but a com­ posite of these adjectives. He wiles away his lunch hours with the same

brown-bag meal every day, listen­ ing to the Red Sox on his portable radio (who, oddly, seem to have playing at Fenw ay every single

weekday that particular summer).

He goes to meetings and doesn’t say a thing: he just steals croissants from the breakfast table, coughs and strokes his chin. The course that he teaches at Harvard might appear in the calendar as Pithy Legal Advice,” since that’s all he dispenses to his pie-eyed charges.

A nd once he starts in w ith the g ran d fath erly w isdom — “The courtroom is the last place to look for the truth” — you really have to

wonder why this guy’s opponents can do no better than soiling them­ selves and falling down in fits.

The Holly wood-brand treacle bubbling just under the surf ace of A Civil Action erupts in its inevitable geyser near the film ’s completion. An utterly d isastro u s cam eo by Cathy Bates as a small town tax lawyer is punc­ tuated by her asking Jon, now p en n iless, w hat happened to his m oney, his p ro p erty , “the th in g s by w hich one m easures o n e ’s life.” Criminy! Imagine oratory of that calibre languishing in tax court!

This story is so much deep er than th at o f a jaded personal injury lawyer losing all his money for the sake of this cause, but it’s tough to notice when the audience’s hand is held so firm­ ly-

The film ’s ending is also marred by a bizarre and completely over-the-top epiphany scene. As the movie nears its completion, what begins as a spattering of bone-chill­ ing close-ups of glasses of water becomes a steady stream of bonechilling close-ups of glasses of

water. Then, while standing in line at the local diner in East Woburn, to where he has now moved if you can believe it, Jan observes some little brat spill his ice water. Slow motion. C hildren’s voices in the b ackground. Brow furrow s.

Furrrowwwsss. The waitress begins to clean up the water. And then, out of the clear blue yonder, Jan real­ izes how to save the case — the solution’s relationship to the spilled ice water is sketchy at best. The film begins to unravel.

Zaillian, who wrote and direct­ ed the acclaim ed Searching fo r Bobby Fischer, is smarter than this movie. The direction is far inferior to the story, the acting and the script. Those stupid, stupid closeups of the water glasses are just one example of melodrama rearing its ugly head in a movie that is other­ wise subtle and witty throughout.

There is a strong, interesting story here, but not much else. If you want a thorough and profound examina­ tion of personal injury law and its relationship to gut-wrenching emo­ tional loss, you need look no further than Atom E goyan’s The Sw eet Hereafter. A Civil Action is what might have happened to that movie had it been made in California.

U n fo rtu n ate en d in g sp o ils th e b est laid Sim p le Plan B y M ark D evitt

Sam R aim i’s latest tilm A Simple Plan takes a simple impetus and m anages to m ake it work.

Three men find $4.4 million in a crashed plane and decide that they will split it between them. It isn’t surprising that Raimi is so success­ ful when one considers his back­ ground. In his Evil Dead trilogy he com bined the gore and dialogue necessary to make a healthy horror pic in the same way he uses sus­ pense and strong characters to make this crime thriller both textured and powerful — a rare accomplishment these days.

Hank M itchell (Bill Paxton), his b ro th er Jakob (B illy Bob Thornton) and friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) are pitted against each other when they decide to steal the money and sit on it until they can­ not be linked to its disappearance.

Raimi takes their plan and uses it not only to show the morality of their crime but more importantly to show the confines and pressures placed upon the characters by their world.

H ank and his w ife Sarah (Bridget Fonda) are expecting a child and Hank feels that he must take the money in order to escape his nine-to-five job and to properly provide for his family. Jakob, his slow-witted brother, wants to buy back his family’s farm and to get a girlfriend. Lou, an unemployed and

abusive drunk, needs to pay his can also see that this basis for their bills before the bank takes his truck bond is som ew hat unfounded. and home. These simple desires and Jakob, while stupid, is also sincere, needs allow the viewer to and feel honest and lovable. He protects sympathy for the characters and to Hank in much the same way that be able to situate themselves within Hank protects him and even though their plight.

One of the film ’s strongest features is that it does not sim ply pit each character against the other, but manages to cre­ ate strong bonds between them . The film has the tw ists and turns w hich one expects in a thriller but it also has hum an affiliations which show that there is decency in their hearts. It is refresh:ng to see a movie which doesn’t offer mere greed as the only reason for actio n . O ne sees th at Hank M itchell does not lust for money because he wants his own life to be better, but because he A sim ple plan fo r a sim ple man w ants secu rity fo r his newborn daughter, and to give his half-wit brother a chance to each feels guilty for hurting the escape his dreary, w elfare exis­ other they cannot seem to quell tence. It is difficult to see Hank as a their own desire to protect each criminal and he becomes entrapped other. This is a testam ent to the by his own need to protect those work of Billy Bob Thornton. It is only at the end of the film that the whom he loves.

While Hank feels that he must audience really understands the rescue his brother, the audience can complexity of his thoughts and the turmoil which his life has become. see a very strong co n n ectio n between them. The audience, too, His performance as a man who is

not only confused but also tragical­ ly critical not only of himself but of those who he feels do not appreci­ ate and understand his humanity gives a depth to the thriller that the viewer can appreciate.

Press Photo

It is not simply Thornton’s per­ formance that sets this film apart from others of its ilk. Paxton is solid as the “Joe Everyman” who has a m enial jo b and som ehow wasn’t quite able to get everything that he wanted, and believes that he needs. Bridget Fonda, as his wife Sarah, is convincing as the sweetnatured young mother who trans­

form s into a m an ip u lativ e and greedy anim al who com pletely loses control when confronted with wealth.

H aving said th is, the film comes to a tragic end which is dis­ turbing and somewhat disappoint­ ing. The viewer, after having sym­ pathized with the characters for two hours, is suddenly left feeling rather empty and unfulfilled. I suppose that, in the end, Raimi’s conclusion is obvious, but in the case of this film the viewer longs for something more. The film is reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave, in which three characters must cope with a downward emotional cycle brought on by a pile of stolen cash.

In Boyle’s film each character is morally reprehensible — even if they are also very, very funny — w hereas R aim i’s characters are kind, regular people who happen to do evil th in g s b ecause o f the promise of curing their hopeless lives. Why, then, does the evil char­ acter in Shallow Grave get away with it and these good people in A Sim ple Plan suffer? Is it the inevitable role of the “good person to get stuck with the burden while the evil prosper? Raimi’s view pre­ sen ted in the co n clu sio n o f A Simple Plan is not one that I am w illin g to accept and one that, unfortunately, sours a well acted, written and conceived film.

Page 16 E n t e r t a i n m e n t

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y 1999

T h e ivo ry to w er m yth o lo g y o f C lub 737 W hen I firs t a rriv e d in Montreal as a young, fresh-faced, first year student, I was puzzled.

Not because I seemed to have met hundreds of people in residence in a matter of hours, not because I had yet to figure out that my McGill baseball cap was uncool, and not because I was peer pressured to drink alcohol at an institution of learn in g ’s freshm an o rientation p rogram . N o, I w as p u zzled because the first time I gazed out at Montreal’s formidable skyline (all of five tall buildings) I noticed a light sweeping around and around the city from the tallest building.

Where did it come from? What did it mean?

P re lim in a ry in v e stig a tio n s am ong o th er first years proved fruitless. Some believed it was an airplane tower, guiding flights into the airport. Others believed it was akin to the Bat Signal, but instead of calling Batman it called some

hero native to Montreal. One per­ son even th o u g h t th at it w as a searchlight seeking out miscreants who tried to breech the city limits.

None of these explanations satis­ fied me as I watched the light spin hypnotically around and around.

F in a lly , a fte r som e m ore hypothesizing, someone clued me into its real function. The revolving lig h t com es from a dance club called 737 at the top o f one o f downtown’s tallest buildings. The club is known for its high cover charge and dress code. After the puzzle of the lig h t’s origin was finally solved, rumours spread like wildfire throughout residence about

its exclusiveness and the upscale nature of its clientele. Friends of frien d s had been tu rn ed aw ay because they were not 21 or were dressed inappropriately, people were chosen out of the line based on attractiveness, etc. Club 737 soon entered the annals o f le g ­ end, in my mind and o th ers.

H ow ever, it would be sever­ al years before I set foot on that hallowed ground.

On a whim, two years later myself and two friends decided that we had waited long enough. As we climbed into the elevator destined for the 32nd floor, I allowed myself to get a bit caught up in fantasy. I had always wished to be discov­ ered, be it for fame or fortune, and perhaps this would be my night.

My ears popped as the elevator

raced to the top and I contemplated just more expensive and at the top my pleasant daydream. o f a skyscraper. This knowledge A fter paying for coat check crushed my hopes of being discov­ and a ten dollar cover charge, I ered, not to m ention my entire finally entered the fabled club. world view. If my fantasy of Club A lthough 737 has a v en eer of 737 was untrue, what other dreams exclusiveness, it took very little did I carry that were false? time for us to realize that almost To its favour, Club 737 has a everyone were students like our­ fantastic view of the city from two selves. Where were the celebrities? open air terraces that are open all The beautiful people? The lawyers summer. The club also has w in­ and other high wage earners? The dows all around the perimeter, giv­ only th ing d istin g u ish in g this ing the club goer any number of crowd was that every person was stunning vistas. However, unless w earing som ething shiny. Some you are interested in spending large guys tried to pick us up by pouring quantities of money, you might be Scotch into our mixed drinks with­ better off buying a postcard of a out asking. At this point the situa­ M ontreal skyline and looking at tion seemed eerily familiar, but I that th ro u g h o u t the ev ening at couldn’t put my finger on it. Then, Gert’s. Regardless, Club 737 is not I began paying attention to the a place to be discovered, ju st to music. The DJ played a danceable show off your latest shiny top. mix of “Let Your Backbone Slide,” “Sexual Healing,” “Busta Move,” and “The Boy is Mine.” It finally clicked — Club 737 is like Gert’s,

Art in industrial architecture at the CCA p ic tu re s h em isp h erical holding ta n k s o f v a ry in g siz e s w hich of th e la te R e n a issa n c e . appear to be sprouting out of the Chiaram onte’s piece laments the landscape. Some o f these stru c­ sacrifice of architectural beauty to tures even take on animal form as cost effiency. Industrial sites often they have supports which shoot display an abysmal sense of archi­ out of their rounded sides like the tectural aesthetics but this exhibit legs of a spider. uncovers an unconventional, archi­ By h in tin g at n atu re th ese tectural beauty. photographs amplify the artifice of The petrochemical and other in d u s tria l la n d sc a p e s. F u lv io in d u strie s o f V en zia-M arg h era O rsinigo's landscapes m ock the have manifested themselves archi­ c la s s ic c lic h é o f tw o g lo rio u s tecturally in surprisingly beautiful m ountains re fle c ted in p ristin e forms. Although we cannot imag­ water — his mountains are made ine Renaissance masters painting out of chemical powders and his frescoes on cooling towers, there lake is a pool of toxins. Basking in is a subtle beauty in these func­ the shadow of Mount Royal's nat­ tional pieces of architecture. This ural beauty, it is hard to see the unconventional aesthetic is illus­ exhibit's connection to our lives. trated by V incenzo C a ste lla in The ex h ib it could have m ade a works which depict rows of cylin­ g re a te r im p act had it m ade an drical oil-holding tanks set out like effort to situate itself within the cakes on a bakery shelf along the c o n te x t o f M o n tre a l. V en ziabanks of the canals. Another work M arghera contains no bells and C ontinued from page /

Nature begins to reclaim industrial wasteland

whistles such as the rotating lawn m ow ers o f C C A 's "A m erican Lawn" exhibit, but for the serious view er interested in the greater so c ia l im p lic a tio n s, V en zia-

Press Photo

M arghera packs a lot o f unique content.

The Venzia-Marghera exhibit runs from December 9 to April 25 at the C a nadian C entre f o r Architecture.

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This challenge involves extensive travel, visiting client sites to set up point-of-sale displays and materials and to ensure their ongoing prominence, professional appearance and well-stocked nventory. Regular ladder-clim bing and lifting of heavy product will be necessary, and you'll need to be handy with basic tools.

Excellent com m unication skills in both English and French are essential. These skills, in addition o your business-building interpersonal style, will be very important in order to effectively hnthdc !f ff new products, participate in custom er events and provide ongoing product training to Doth staff and their customers.

A university degree, preferably in a business-related field, is mandatory. In addition, we seek experience and keen interest in custom er service, sales promotion and construction products. The flexibility to represent Owens Corning durinq retail hours - evenings and weekends - is key.

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Entertainm ent Page 17

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 ia n u a r y 1999

A su b je ctiv e ren d erin g of th e to p five m o vies o f 1998

By A ndrew D avidson

According to the Internet Movie Database, 4017 films were made and released in 1998. Among the gem titles on the IMDB, my two favourites were Stripping for Jesus and How to Get Laid at the End o f the World (actual movies, I kid you not). The obsession to reduce the year that was 1998 into a compact series of lists, ranks, and hierarchies has dominated the newsprint throughout the past month, both before and after the ball was dropped. One need not look fur­ ther than the crisp and shiny new issue of Entertainment Weekly on the next visit to the dentist or OBGYN’s office to find the top ten everything of 1998, from film to music to a laugh­ able attempt at a fiction ranking. So to keep up the good work, the Tribune offers a hack’s humble attempt at the films that shone in the past year, just to get people fighting in the streets more. The only iota of expertise offered as authority on the film world is the sad truth that I watch a ridicu­ lous number of movies and once met a woman who claimed to have slept with Gene Siskel. Yet fret not, the list should be enough to anger someone out of pity for those with chronic back

.

problems from cursed movie seats.

The ability to tell a story, to create characters and events that both enter­ tain and emotionally affect the audi­ ence is a rare and precious element that has been displayed in the follow­ ing films.

had to be presented in order to be faithful to the environment of modem battle and its effects on all who are immersed in it.

1. Saving Private Ryan

You ju st gotta see it. David Mamet’s latest is a film with a brain.

Pay attention to details when watch­ ing and be prepared to be confused in a good way. Campbell Scott has a great face for a character over­ whelmed by the shifting, dangerous people and events surrounding his disintegrating fife. Also, the casting of Steve Martin in a serious role is a bril­ liant coup. The Spanish Prisoner is by far the most intelligent movie in years. I won’t say much more, except that nobody notices a Japanese tourist.

The first and last 25 minutes of Stephen Spielberg’s movie are phe­ nomenal and unlike anything ever done before on film. Ever.

Spielberg’s intense version of the Normandy invasion is so painfully immediate and epic at once that it serves as a necessary testament to those who fought and died in such a rem arkable and horrific event in human history. This film depicts war in an honest manner, not through the rose-coloured shades of American Heroism as previous War movies have generally descended into, but by showing ordinary men thrown into a slaughter that stirs the paralyzing fear in all of them. Spielberg helps us imagine the unimaginable face of human conflict that those of us with­ out direct experiences cannot even begin to fathom. I am still haunted by the graphic images of violence that

2. The Spanish Prisoner

3. Your Friends and Neighbors Neil LaBute’s second film con­ tinues the depravity the director explored in In the Company o f Men with more vivid characterization and a solid combination of the hilarious

and hideous faces of relationships.

Jason Patrie’s performance as a mis­ anthrope-misogynist extraordinaire is salivatingly evil. I accidentally rec­ ommended this movie, before actual­ ly seeing it, to a friend going on a date. Big mistake. Don’t bring your significant other to this one.

4. Last Night Last Night is a well-constructed and amusing film about the last six hours of the world and deserves the international recognition it received at Cannes. The characters are hilarious and human, with traits that writer/director Don McKellar has captured successfully in his debut film. Yet the most intriguing element in Last Night is McKellar’s utilization of Toronto as a location and con­ tributing character. The barren and obscure locations he films advance an understanding of the ambiguous event of doom and how the story unfolds in the characters’ environments. Anyone who has been stuck in a red rocket will appreciate the derailed streetcar.

5. Life is Beautiful

Benigni has been billed as the Italian Mr. Bean by the North American press, yet such a label denies his tal­ ents illustrated in Life is Beautiful.

Benigni plays a Jewish waiter who pretends that the concentration camp in which he and his family are impris­ oned is all a big game in order to pro­ tect his child from the horrific reali­ ties of the Holocaust. This is a film that is wonderfully rich in humour and tragedy. Although the concept of amusement over the Holocaust is troubling to many, Benigni’s comedic gift enables the film to work the emo­ tional spectrum to show a beauty of humanity evoked amidst genocide.

Instead of renting Armegeddon to watch Paris get flattened — although I rather enjoyed that — check these five films out. As for those who think they know better because they took Trevor Ponech’s classes and read all those special arti­ cle packages on Brigitte Bardot’s chest size, send in your letters, rant, rave, rent Cat People and gratify your special zones whilst viewing screenstills of Rudolph Valentino. Just shut your cake-holes while the movie’s playing.

Florentine Comedian Roberto

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Page 18 Entertainm ent

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y 19 99

What's in a name? Lord Menuhin to Sir McCartney This colum n is dedicated to th e p ro p o s itio n th a t, th ro u g h o n e ’s friends, fa m ily and c o n n e c tio n s , it’s possible to get ju st about anyone on the phone. No one is m o re th a n six d e g re e s aw ay fro m anyone else. In the sordid and in cestu o u s w orld o f the m usic in d u s tr y , p lo ttin g s o m e o n e ’s chart can yield interesting results.

Just before W inter B reak, I received an e-m ail requesting a m atch -u p b e tw e e n S ir Y eh u d i M e n u h in an d S ir P au l M cC artney. T he first thing we have to get straight is that he’s no lo n g e r S ir Y e h u d i M e n u h in , h asn ’t been since 1996. On his eightieth birthday, the classical v io lin is t w as e le v a te d to L ife P e e ra g e by Q u e e n E liz a b e th , becoming Lord Menuhin.

Both men are no strangers to title s and aw ard s. P au l, alo n g w ith th e r e s t o f th e B e a tle s ,

became an MBE (M ember of the British Empire, the lowest of the British titles, usually re s e rv e d fo r C a n a d ia n s ) s h o rtly a f te r c o n q u e rin g N orth A m erica. The aw ard w as ju s tifie d to an outraged British A ristocracy as being a reco g n itio n o f the s u b s ta n tia l tax re v ­ enue the lads had been bringing into the B ritish Isles. Ju st last year, Paul was finally elevated to

i________

C o n n ec tio n s K idd M ira c le

knighthood, joining such illustri­ o u s c o m p a n y as S ir R o n a ld Reagan.

In terms o f sheer title mass, M en u h in b e a ts his riv a l hands d o w n . H e h as b e e n a w a rd e d Knighthood in both Great Britain and H olland’s O rder o f O ranje-

f McGill B

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AVOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

T h u r s d a y J a n u a r y 1 4 th , 1999 M A C K A Y L. S M IT H

Nassau, and is a Grand Officer in France’s Légion D ’Honneur. The A m e ric a n -b o rn M en u h in p o s ­ se sse s h o n o u ra ry B ritis h and Swiss citizenship, as well as an honourary Doctorate at France’s p re s tig io u s S o rb o n n e. He has also b een a w a rd e d the N eh ru A w ard fo r I n te rn ta tio n a l Understanding based on his com­ m itm ent to hum anitarian work, w hich has included recitals for Holocaust survivors in the aftermath of World W ar II as well as a recent series of benefit concerts f o r

5 :0 0 p .m . in th e C a fe

Cajroi V «7

Palestinian refugees.

A n o th e r re a s o n fo r th e N eh ru A w ard w as M e n h u in ’s importance in bringing the Indian classical tradition to th e a tte n tio n o f W estern liste n e rs.

M enuhin, who cul­ tiv a te d a life lo n g in terest in E astern culture and religion, in itia te d a frie n d ­ sh ip and m u sic a l p a rtn e rs h ip w ith sitar virtuoso Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was to becom e the m ost recog­ nizable Indian m usician in the West. The meeting o f the minds is best captured on EM I’s recent reissue M enuhin Meets Shankar, w hich en co m p asses a g ro u n d ­ breaking series of duets original­ ly released in 1966 and 1968.

S hankar’s next “great” col­ laborator was G eorge Harrison.

W hen the Beatles quit touring in 1966, H a rriso n and his m ates w ere a llo w e d th e lu x u ry o f g re a te r tim e an d m o n ey fo r research and developm ent. The

Ï

Third Beatle’s interest shifted to Indian m usic. H arrison studied the sitar with Shankar, by then a fam iliar face in the concert cir­ c u it and s o c ia l sc e n e o f “Swinging London” (See Austin Powers). A series of Indian/rock fu s io n s on B e a tle s a lb u m s achieved mixed results. Shankar him self despised his student’s use o f the sita r on John L e n n o n ’s “ N o rw e ig a n W o o d ” (R u b b e r Soul), although he adm itted his own kids dug it. Shankar’s influ­ ence is stamped all over G eroge’s work with the Beatles, although he never appeared on an album by the Fab Four. H arrison and Shankar have remained friends, if not m usical peers. T heir m erci­ fully in freq u en t co llab o ratio n s have never displayed the inspira­ tion evident on M enuhin M eets S h a n k a r. U s u a lly , th e le ss H arriso n is allo w ed to do, the b etter the results. S h ankar’s In C e le b r a tio n : T he H ig h lig h ts (1 9 9 6 ) re le g a te s the m uch-less tal­ ented H arrison to a place in a large c h o ir, w h e re he can do th e le a s t damage.

The wrap-up

M e n u h in

1 M e e ts

Shankar 2. In C eleb ratio n : The H ig h lig h ts (R avi S hankar with George Harrison 3. Any Beatles album. I reco m m en d R e v o lv e r (G eorge Harrison with Paul McCartney) P lease drop o ff yo u r ch a l­ lenges at the Tribune offices, or ju st e-m ail them to the K idd at k m ic h a @ p o - b o x .m c g ill.c a .

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Unfortunately, holiday hang­ overs make for a slow start to the new year, so here’s an in-depth pre­ view of some concerts coming up a little further in the future than usual.

Saturday. January 23

All Out War with Shutdown at L’X. Monday. January 25 The self-described “kings of Stoner rock” are, oddly, called the Queens of the Stone Age. Jailhouse Rock can lay claim to some pretty funny band names, if nothing else.

Men O Steel, Bald Vulture and Pulley at L ’X, and we won’t claim to know anything about any of them.

Tuesday. January 26 C erebral m etalheads unite!

Fear Factory is at the Medley, with System of a Down and

Spineshack.

Wednesday. January 27

Number One Cup has drawn com parisons to Pavement. The Cure, Sex Pistols, Television and Nirvana. Just what the world needs — another unhappy rock band. At Café Campus.

Thursday. January 28 When Big Sugar played the Spectrum in the fall, my ears rang for a solid week afterwards — and I was in the balcony. Now, even if the Cabaret somehow manages to main­ tain its structural integrity during the band’s virtuosic sonic assault, it would be very advisable to bring some earplugs along. You’ll thank me later.

Saturday. January 30

Reggae Cowboys at the Medley.

Friday. February .5 Folk-rock-country composite Fred J. Eaglesmith, who’s appar­ ently really good, at location to be announced.

The Tragically Hip, with by divine right at the Molson Centre.

Tuesday. February 8 Blanks 77 at Foufounes. The Cardigans at the Spectrum.

March 1

Lenny Kravitz with New Radicals at Metropolis.

March 7

Eagle Eye Cherry, who d o esn ’t seem w illing to release another song, at the Spectrum.

McGill U niversity is co m m itte d to equity in em ploym ent.

N o m in a tio n s a n d a p p l i c a ti o n s w ill b e m o s t u s e f u l if acco m p an ied by a d etailed cu rricu lu m vitae a n d th e n am es of th ree referees, a n d sh o u ld b e su b m itted to:

co iffu re tor men

Dr. T.H. Chan, V ice-Principal (Academic) McGill U niversity 845 S herbrooke S treet W est M ontreal, Q uebec H3A 2T5 The deadline for receipt o f ap p licatio n s is 31 January 1999.

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Sports

Page 19

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y 1999

K inda h ap p y N ew Year: R edm en sp lit g am es over w eeken d Crushing 84-67 defeat to Laurentian avenged by a 72-68 win over York

By C hristian Lan de r

The Redmen basketball team had a true Jekyll and Hyde week­ end. S atu rd ay , they w ere scorched by Laurentian 84-67, after which the team apparently ingested some sort of elixir and came back to down York 72-68 the following day.

A gainst the Voyageurs on S atu rd ay , M cG ill s ta rte d the game with its usual ball control offence, which the team used to keep the game close for the first couple of minutes. As the contest progressed, however, it was clear that the Redmen were putting up a front, and Laurentian, the #9 ran k ed team in th e co u n try , quickly found a way to expose an unprepared and m istake-prone team.

McGill had trouble finishing baskets, found rebounding next to impossible and made careless errors like throwing passes which caromed off the rim.

“We needed to execute our press break better,” said second year forward Ari Hunter after the gam e. “T h ere was a span between the three point lines, the h alf court trap, that we d id n ’t han d le w ell at all. We lo st it b ec au se of tu rn o v e rs.

E x p erie n ce, age, and d ealin g with upcourt pressure will even­ tually help us to cut down on them.”

M cGill’s 25 turnovers, nine more than their opponents, can

certainly be pointed to as the main reason why the team lost the game. However, rebounding and a lack of post defence are two other fundam ental weak­ nesses that McGill showed in the loss. The red and white had ten few er b o ard s than Laurentian, including eight less on the offensive glass.

As far as post defence goes, the game was best summed up by a paraphrasing o f a “Bad Boy” mantra; “It’s all about the Dongelmans.” Laurentian’s star c e n te r Ted D o n gelm ans exposed the R edm en’s w eak­ ness down low by scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 boards in the victory.

Redmen storm back Sunday T he 17 p o in t loss m ust have re so n a te d in th e team w hen they to o k the co u rt against York on Sunday. The Redmen jumped out of the gate with great energy and a stifling defence in the first half. They passed well, avoided turnovers and actually forced them in the opponents. But the most notable changes in the first half game plan w ere M cG ill’s increased usage of the three point shot and their ability to play physically without the fouls.

“We came out soft the night before, we wanted to come out

strong today,” said guard Kirk Reid, who scored 19 points in the win. “We were just more pumped than we were last night.”

M cG ill showed their new­ found enthusiasm by grabbing a 35-33 half time lead. The score w as som ew hat d ec eiv in g as Y ork’s D ean L abayen h it a buzzer beating three to keep the Y eom en w ith in reach . For McGill, the second half saw the

team prove that the tight­ sh o u ld have e n e rg iz e d the ness o f th e h a lf tim e Redmen, it seemed to only fire up the York players as they used score was an aberration.

The Redmen contin­ a press defense that they hadn’t ued to convert turnovers show n all gam e to m ount a into baskets and started strong comeback with under two to show sig n s o f the m in u tes to go in the gam e. scoring power they pos­ Yeoman star Dean Labayen, who sess as a team. But again scored 22 on the afternoon, hit a it was in the second half clutch three to bring his team M cG ill show ed its within striking range of McGill. extremely physical play, Then a costly Redmen turnover highlighted by two par­ followed by a strategic foul put ticular incidents midway York’s Chris Peskun to the line through the period. First, w here he h it b o th sh o ts and fo llo w in g a M cG ill brought the score to 68-67 for turnover, Yeoman Derek McGill.

“The lead collapsed because M cG raftan ran dow n co u rt alo n e and was we were turning the ball over in headed for an apparent the end. They were showing us a easy tw o. B ut H u n ter press that we weren’t ready for.” hustled behind him and said R eid. “ B ut in th e gam e was able to swat the ball team s go on runs and unfortu­ away from the York for­ nately for us their run came late ward. The referee blew in the game.”

With the game on the line, the whistle and called a the Redmen were given a gift as d isp u ted h ard foul on the Hunter was fouled with 18.2 Hunter. seconds left on the clock.

Two m inutes later, “I calmed down, I closed my Redmen forward Brady eyes and visualized just shooting Murphy was under the Yeomen around and then made the shots,” b asket and fo llo w in g a pum p said Hunter who scored 36 points fake found a York player on top over the two games this w eek­ of him, seconds later it appeared end. as thou g h team m ate Joel The York win boosted the Pearlman angrily dropped one of Redm en record to 2-5 as they the Yeom en in re ta lia tio n . head to Laval and Bishop’s this D espite a long argum ent from weekend. The team could face Y ork co ach B ob B ain , the another night and day situation as Redmen were able to get off with Laval is 0-7 and B ishop’s, the reigning national champ, is 5-2. a warning.

W h ile p lay s lik e th ese

M artlets b asketb all stru g g lin g to find its rhythm Young squad's growing pains evident in 70-61 OT loss to mediocre York Yeowomen.

B y J eremy K u z m a r o v ___________

No matter how you slice it, there’s nothing pretty about the Martlets season to date — a 1-6 record in league play and ju st two wins overall.

The M artlets fo llo w in g a sluggish perform ance in their Saturday 60-44 loss versus the Laurentian Voyageurs continued th eir losing streak on Sunday afternoon against a York team which M cGill felt that it really should have beaten.

“I ’m at a loss for words, it was a really disappointing loss for our team,” said Martlet point guard Cynthia Santamaria, who shot just 2-9 from the field. “We missed a lot of free throws early on, and didn’t rebound well.”

“We didn’t execute well at all today,” ad d ed h ead coach L ise n M o o re. “ O u r h ea d s weren’t in the game. We’ve got to find a way to win ball games like this.”

T he sole b rig h t spots fo r M cG ill on the afternoon were v e te ra n g u a rd s J e n n ife r De L eeu w and C o le tte A n d eres,

n o tc h in g 15 p o in ts a p ie c e . of strength for McGill through­ A n d e re s, a so p h o m o re fro m out the seaso n th u s far, w ho G land, S w itzerland was solid spotted an unguarded De Leeuw from the foul-line h ittin g 7-9 under the basket with just under free throw attem pts, w hile De 20 seconds on the clock. With Leeuw was impressive from the the game tied at 51, York for­ outside, knocking down a trio of ward Laurian Palmer was fouled three pointers.

Overall, howev­ er, the M artlets per­ fo rm a n c e w as fa r fro m g lo w in g .

Turnovers and poor sh o t se le c tio n p la g u e d the sq u ad th ro u g h o u t the match.

M cG ill w as d o m in a te d on the b o a rd s th ro u g h o u t th e g am e, ta k in g dow n on ly 14 reb ounds to Y ork’s M a rtle ts f i g h t f o r p o s s e s s io n 31.

Despite sluggish play throughout, the M artlets under the M cG ill basket with w ere able to extend the gam e just 3.5 seconds to play.

T h e gam e in h e r h a n d s, into overtime by overcoming a second-half deficit which at one Palmer bricked both shots, forc­ ing the game into extra time. point reached over 10 points.

Turnovers immediately cost Capping the comeback was forward Caroline Malo, a pillar McGill in the extra period, and

York capitalized by hitting the majority o f its shots. Down by five points three minutes into the fram e, M cG ill w as fo rced to foul the York players. Versatile p o in t gu ard L eslie R ich ard s, w ho led all s c o re rs w ith 25 points on the a fte rn o o n , was especial­ ly c lu tc h d ow n th e stretch , co n ­ v e rtin g on h er fin al six fre e -th ro w attempts.

D esp ite th e d is c o u r­ ag in g re s u lt on S u n d ay an d th e te a m ’s lack Micheiie natpan lustre record, M o o re is adamant that the season is not a w rite -o ff an d m a in ta in s th a t everything m ust be put in its proper perspective. With many of the first and second year play­ e rs b e in g fo rc e d to assu m e f r n n t -lin p

r n lp ç

r n f lr h

M o o rfi

believes that it is only a matter of time before the tides turn for the Martlets.

“You can’t expect first and second-year players to perform under pressure when they’re up against more experienced play­ ers, and that showed for us today with some poor-decision making and m issed lay -u p s dow n the stretch ,” she ex p lain ed . “O ur young players are improving all the tim e. W e’ve com e a long way since the beginning of the season, and should start to see some success soon.”

Coming upthis week Martlet hockeyvs. UQTR, Wed. 13, 7:30 p.m.; atMcConnell Winter Arena.

Redmenhockeyat Concordia, Fri. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Martlet hockeyvs. Brebeuf, Sat. 6:30 p.m.; atMcConnell WinterArena.

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Page 20 Sports

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y 1999

Playing w ith f ir e — to rtu rin g th e p rim a ry reso urce Despite lockout's resolution, much-deserved tough times ahead for the league and its spoiled players

By Paul Futhey

The N a tio n a l B a sk e tb a ll A ssociation’s six-month lockout, resolved at the eleventh hour after a clandestine all-night negotiating session, has done more than “stain the game.” The fan apathy, which accompanied the work stoppage, was at its strongest for any sports labour dispute and could prove to be an om inous sign of things to come interms of the fans’ relation­ ship with the game.

U n d o u b te d ly , an g er and incredulity also ran high during the lockout, but unlike previous sports work stoppages, the pleas to save the season w ere m uted, at best.

M ost fans and o b se rv e rs w ere indifferent throughout the ordeal, frankly sick and tired of the unpar­ alleled idiocy expressed by both sides in the negotiations.

A d m itted ly , a reason som e fans could afford to be so indiffer­ ent to the labour woes of the league stems from the fact that a strong college game exists as an alterna­ tive to those who needed their bas­ ketball fix. The NBA should never­

theless be frightened about the very that any time progress was made in real possibility of erosion of its fan negotiations, it was with sparse or base. Since view ership for last no media attention. Many a time year’s finals was one after a nego­ o f th e h ig h e st ev er tia tin g se s­ recorded, the league sio n , both is b lo w in g a prim e sides w ould opportunity to main­ p ro ceed to tain its popularity. the m ic ro ­ It’s easy to point phones and out reasons why fans s u m m a r ily —w ould w ant to turn slag the other th e ir b acks on the side, em bar­ sport. Actions of both rassing them­ sides during the lock­ selv es and out were nothing less the sport than public relations even further. disasters. The “chari­ The player’s ty game” established union — in with half of the pro­ name only — ceeds earm arked for had to deal the lo w er-in co m e Long road ahead fo r Commish with rumours earners of the NBA, of dissension w as m et w ith an ap p ro p riate in the ranks. avalanche of derision by fans and It’s not only a difficult time to scribes alike. Those lower income appeal to a growingly distrustful earners, scraping by on a meagre fan base but the NBA has never $232,000 annually, minimum, were before endured a work stoppage, viewed with as much contempt as which was a factor in the unmiti­ their richer union brothers. gated public relations follies. In It should also be pointed out contrast, baseball is a grizzled vet­

eran of the bargaining table, having halted play eight times in the last 22 years.

M ost experts agree that the resolution to this particular dispute has, in the opinions of many, ended in a victory for the owners. A rari­ ty, so I’m told. Picking sides in this situation, however, is ludicrous. On one side, there are rich guys. On the other side, there are even richer guys. Together, they attem pt to divide a pie which will make them all even richer. Make sense? Not when the average player salary — $2.5 million — is expected to dou­ ble by the end o f this new deal.

With losing like this, who needs winning?

Amongst the smiles and hand­ shakes at the p ress co n feren ce announcing the work stoppage’s resolution were vague references to bringing the game back to the fans.

Such talk, attempting to sweep the mess of the past six months under the carpet, is hollow and contrived.

Laughable examples of generosity like “free exhibition games” and “family nights” fall far short of any reconciliation.

I t’s possible that the league can recover from this disaster — not that there exists a single reason for any involved to m erit such a reward. Many — a number of play­ ers, agents and ow ners — have expressed supreme confidence that the fans w ill return. One player agent, by tacit admission, said the fans’ gullibility ensured they’d be back in droves.

So what does this all mean?

The lesson has not been learned.

Players still possess cases of severe amnesia when it comes to remem­ bering why it is they play the game.

Agents will continue to leech off the sport, and ow ners w ill still grouse about paying the salaries — all of them making boatloads of money in the meantime.

The ultimate irony is that after all this careless dickering, the sides now must work together if they have any hope of restoring any kind of faith in their prom ise to bring the game back to the fans.

H e re ’s ho p in g it w o n ’t be easy.

SPORTS briefs R edmen

keep hockey

STREAK ALIVE IN KINGSTON OVER WEEKEND

On Saturday, McGill downed the Q u een ’s G olden G aels 4-2.

The most notable goal came from Louis-Simon Ferland, who scored an empty net goal from behind his own net. Goalie Jarrod Daniel got an assist on the play, the eighth of his career. He also made 29 saves in the w in. O n S u n d a y , the M cG ill R edm en extended their unbeaten streak over RMC to 27 years and their lifetime record to 21-0-3 against the Ontario school

w ith a 6-4 win on Sunday. The Redmen peppered the RMC netm inder w ith 54 shots w hile the defence allowed only 19 on goalie B enoit M enard. The win brings the Redmen’s league record to 93-3 which places them only two points out o f first, but also two points out of last in the ultra-com­ petitive OUA far-east division.

M artlets

S arah L o m as and S o p h ie A cheson. In net, Kim St. Pierre played another great game upon her return from the Three Nations Cup in Finland where she backsto p p e d C a n a d a to th e ir g o ld m ed al. W ith th e v ic to ry the M artlets im proved th eir league record to 5-3-1 and have clinched second place in their division.

clinch home ice

ADVANTAGE WITH WIN OVER

Field

hockey star finishes

CAREER WITH PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

Beth Robertson, a sweeper on M cGill’s field hockey team, won the O U A ’s O u tsta n d in g C o n trib u to r aw ard o v e r the D ecem ber holiday. It m arks the first time that a McGill player has w on the aw ard. R obertson was captain of the team this year and

UQTR The hockey Martlets downed UQTR 3-1 on Sunday. The team saw goals from Cindy Gosselin,

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was also among the three nom i­ nees for the Gail W ilson CIAU player of the Year award.

S hotput

record shattered

Paul Drogaris broke M cGill’s shotput record throw of 14.89 pre­ viously held by Samir Chahine by m an ag in g a th ro w o f 15.93m .

Drogaris also won a silver medal at the Don W right Invitational at W estern in the process.

M c G ill-adidas athletes of the week David Burgess* a 19-year-old science freshm an from C rystal C ity, M an., scored four points, in c lu d in g tw o g a m e -w in n in g goals in a pair of road victories for the M cGill Redmen in Kingston as they im proved th e ir reg u lar season record to 9-3-3.

Kim Barrette, a 22-year-old m athem atics freshm an from StLéon-le-Grand, Que., was named to the tournament all-star team at th e U n iv e rs ity o f M o n tre a l In v ita tio n a l v o lle y b a ll to u rn a ­ ment.

January 13th A ctivities N ig h t 4 p.m . - 9 p.m. (just in case you d id n 't see it b efore because all you do is read th e Sports section)

Sports Page 21

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 Ja n u a r y 19 98

H ockey lives at W orld Ju n io r C h a m p io n sh ip s Canada's second place finish truly has silver lining as tourney does wonders for game

By M anny A lmela

H ockey-starved fans in Winnipeg found quite a gift stuffed into their stockings this Christmas — the best hockey since the Olympics.

As hosts of this year’s W orld Junior Hockey cham pionships, the Manitoba capital, a city still reeling from the loss of their beloved Jets, put on quite a show.

D espite C anada’s disappointing defeat in overtime at the hands of the Russians in the gold medal game, the tourna­ ment was a resounding success. The Sports Network can attest to the excitement generated by this year’s tourney as they eclipsed their ratings high during the Canada/Russia final which was seen by over 1.8 million Canadians. The paid attendance for the games also created a new bench­ mark as 173,453 fans took in the action, surpassing the previous record from the 1986 Junior Championships in Hamilton.

On the heels of last year’s disas­ trous eighth place fin ish , the Canadian team, which had won five consecutive junior championships between 1993 and 1997, had more than the usual pressure on their shoulders heading into this year’s edition. Coach Tom Renney had his team playing its best hockey heading into the final and the team ju s t seemed to be a step behind the

Russians all night long. They really played their hearts out and amid the disappointment of the home crowd a tremendous ovation from across the country awaited the team following their silver medal finish.

Those who managed to see any of the games either live or on televi­ sion were treated to some fantastic action. Hockey fans now accustomed to the lethargic pace of NHL games must have undoubtedly been caught off guard by the relentless end to end action which typified this tourney.

This obvious contrast begged the question of why this was so? The only rule change in this tournament was the elimination of the red-line which meant that normally illegal two line passes were now permitted.

This change in the rules has been mentioned as a potential addition to the NHL rule book. If this tourna­ ment is any indication then this mod­ ification should be at the top of NHL official’s “to-do” lists in the near

future.

The lifted two-line pass provi­ sion deserves some of the credit for the brand of hockey w hich was played in Winnipeg, however it is not the only reason why the games actually resembled the sport which Canada as a nation has embraced for generations.

For one thing, the games actual­ ly mattered. With the exception of football, all professional sports suf­ fer the reality of regular season w hich are sim ply too long. The result is a lack of urgency or impor­ tance night in and night out until playoff time nears and teams begin to suddenly come to life. This fact coupled with the virtual elimination of any type of true rivalry in sports today makes for a very ordinary backdrop once the games are played.

Another undeniable factor is tal­ ent. Even with some NHL teams refusing to allow their sparingly used young draft picks to take part in the festivities in W innipeg, the best junior players in the world were on hand. The dilution of talent crisis which has recently plagued the Gary Bettman’s twenty-seven ring circus had no part in this tournament.

Aside from the enjoyment of the games themselves, fans were able to sneak a peek at some the NHL’s future stars. The Canadian squad alone had a roster filled with NHL draft picks from the last two years with only two players not yet being affdiated with an NHL club.

A quick scan of the various lineups at this year’s junior champi­

onships reveals that help is on the way for a number of teams. At the top of the list has to be Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo who was brilliant in each of Canada’s games.

On the strength of his 1.92 goals against average and .942 save per­ centage including a pair of shutouts, the Montreal native went on to earn top goaltender honours. In the process he also silenced those who may have questioned why he was the highest goaltender selected in NHL

Luongo stops pucks, not tears

draft history last summer by the New York Islanders who chose him fourth overall in the 1997 entry draft.

As far as which NHL club led the way on the prospect front, the Calgary Flames seem to have some much needed firepower heading their way in the near future. They own the

rights to Canada’s most dominant forward in Daniel Tkaczuk, their first pick in the 1997 draft. The youngster finished second in tourna­ ment scoring with six goals and four assists in seven games and was his team’s leader throughout the tourna­ ment. Rico Fata, the Flames top pick from the 1998 draft, played on T kaczuk’s line and was one the quickest skaters in the tourney and he should be a permanent part of Calgary’s lineup in no time.

These budding stars could not have com e a better tim e for the Flames who seem to be poised to lose future unrestricted free-agent Théo Fleury this season. Canada’s newest dynamic duo may find them­ selves with some big shoes to fill when they reach the NHL. Of the non-drafted players who turned their share of heads at this championship are the incredibly tal­ ented identical Sedin twins on the Finnish team. Henrik and Daniel have NHL scouts foaming at the mouth as the pair amassed nine and ten points respectively good enough to rank among the tournament’s top five scorers. Both are expected to be high draft choices this summer.

This very successful event not only restored faith in the game of hockey in the hearts of Canadians from coast to coast, it also proved that although hockey may have for­ gotten Winnipeg, the prairie city has shown that absence only makes the heart grow fonder.

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Page 22 Sports

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

From

the Bleachers

G reat Season now a fading m em ory B y M ichael H azan

The past year was an incredi­ ble one for sports, with legendary stories ranging from the Denver Broncos improbable Super Bowl v icto ry to the McGwire-Sosa home run derby. It was M ajor League Baseball which made this year in sports memorable. The season was full o f h ig h lig h ts that elevated the game to its former ranking among the pantheon of sports.

People came out in droves to w atch M ark M cG w ire and Sam m y Sosa duel it out for the rig h t to assum e R oger Maris’ crown as the single season home run king. Night after night, this story led o ff the evening news because the continent was infatuated with the record that many, including my father, felt

th at w ould never be broken.

When all was said and done Big M ac finished the year with 70 home runs and scores of fans who will cheer him until his last day on the diamond.

Sadly, a fte r that celebration, it did not take too long for baseb all to p ra c tic a lly erase the inroads they had m ade over the co u rse o f the p ast year.

For all they did for the sport, you would think that McGwire and Sosa would be the top paid players in the game. However, baseball, like a Charlie Hough knuckleball, can appear to be

headed in one direction and then sharply break in another. The biggest names in baseball should be the highest paid, but in reality team s such as the A rizo n a Diamondbacks are opening their deep pockets for aging players praying to squeeze some wins out o f these once g re at ath letes.

Pitchers Randy Johnson and Todd Stottlemyre have been rewarded with large contracts with the team in the d ese rt as they hope to bypass expansion era woes and try to win a championship within five years of inception. Both of th ese p itch ers are in th eir mid-thirties and do not have their best years in front of them.

So far, this offseason proved baseball’s wealthiest franchises have found a way to buy their team s to the top ra th e r than investing in quality young play­ ers. The sport is a buyer’s market and the rich teams often get what they pay for. For example, three out of the last four teams in the

post-season were among the top five payrolls in the league.

Unless baseball com es out with a salary cap or increased benefits for small-market teams, we w ill c o n tin u o u sly see the same teams in the post-season.

A solution to baseball’s woes may be found by watching the National Football League. The NFL has shown, particularly in the case of the Falcons and Jets, that money is not the most impor­ tant factor in fielding a winning team. This season has proven that scouting, coaching and develop­ ment are integral in establishing winning teams. But in baseball, the alm ighty dollar is the only reason why the Yankees and the Braves keep making the playoffs.

They can afford to have at least three aces on their staff while most teams can barely afford one.

Baseball is out of hand and the only way to build on the success o f last season is to find some m ethods to prom ote econom ic

equality.

There is no reason why play­ ers such as Kevin Brown, Albert Belle and Bemie Williams should be making more money then the entire Expos and Twins organiza­ tions. B aseball w ent from the depths of the strike to becoming the national pastime once again but if select owners keep with their free-spending ways then it w ould be im p o ssib le to avoid another w ashout like the 1994 season.

U n less M ajo r L eague Baseball finds a way of curtailing their urge to reach into their bot­ tomless cookie jars, small market teams could be extinct by the turn of the millenium.

This is an open forum for opinions on sports Interested writers contact Manny or Chris at 398-6789

M cGill w in s vo lleyb all b ro n ze

By T he M inh Luong

The McGill Martlets volleyball team had a busy weekend, playing four matches over two days in the Université de Montréal Invitational volleyball tournament. They split their four matches to place third place out of four teams.

Thirty minutes after losing a tough decision to eliminate them from the championship game, McGill had to face Sherbrooke for the bronze medal on Sunday afternoon. The smaller Vert et Or team is not considered to be one of the contenders in the tough Quebec conference, but put on a scrappy per­ formance in extending the match to five sets. McGill had easily beaten Sherbrooke in their first meeting of the tournament the day before, 15-11, 153, 15-4.

After claiming the first set 15-7, it looked as though McGill would cruise to another victory. However, some errors at critical moments of the second game prevented them from widening the gap; Sherbrooke was able to take it 15-13.

After the Vert et Or won the third game 15-9, it appeared that the Martlets had run out of gas. However, McGill clearly dominated the fourth game, winning 15-6 to force the fifth

and deciding set.

The nail biting final frame had Sherbrooke up by a score of 9-7, but after a time-out, McGill was able to rattle off six straight points to shift the momentum for good.

Some key hits by Marie-Andree Lessard and Marie-Claude Ferland, as well as several big blocks up front by Anouk Lapointe, Anne Mullin and Kim Barrette enabled the Martlets to pull out a ( 15-11 ) victory.

“They were much tougher today than they were yesterday,” said Ferland. “We really wanted to win this match. After playing for six straight hours, we absolutely didn’t want to finish with another loss.”

The M artlets fell to the Université de Montréal Carabins in five sets in Saturday morning’s open­ er. The decision was particularly heart­ breaking since the Martlets held two match points in the fourth game but failed to convert them.

The loss was also the Martlets’ fifth straight against Montreal this sea­ son, but after losing 3-0 in their first two encounters, the match indicates the strides the team has made in the past few months.

“They [Montreal] played too fast for us at the start of the season, but w e’ve improved a lot,” explained McGill coach Rachele Beliveau. “I’d

say we’re equal to them right now, but we’re still making some mistakes that can be attributed to inexperience.”

Needing a win to advance to the gold-medal match, McGill lost a tough decision to the Club Celtique, a club team composed mainly of former uni­ versity players.

“We played a very good match; we had one of the best defenses we’ve played in a long time,” commented Beliveau. “However, we’re going to have to learn to have more variation in our offence when it’s tight like it was against (Celtique).”

Coach Beliveau is satisfied with the progress of the team, which has lost a number of key players from last year. This has forced some of the younger players into prominent roles on the team.

“Everybody has been playing well lately,” added Beliveau. “Our set­ ter [Shauna Forster] never played set­ ter before this season and is improv­ ing, and the addition of Marie-Andree [from the pro beach volleyball circuit] this weekend adds some stability to our team.”

They stand third in the four-team Quebec conference behind Laval and Montreal, but are looking to move up in the standings after playing some close games with them recently.

“We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t play in the gold-medal game, but this weekend was a good chance to gain some experience,” said Ferland. “We’U play Montreal again next weekend; hopefully a win there will put us on the right track for the rest of the year.”

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Sports Page 23

T he M c G ill T r ib u n e , T u e s d a y , 12 J a n u a r y 1999

S teeeerik e: co lleg e fo otball d o es so m e p erfect bow ling

By C hristian Lander

For the first time since 1951, th e T e n n e sse e V o lu n te e rs are cham pions o f U.S. college foot­ ball. Led by coach Phil Fulm er and quarterback Tee M artin, the Vols w ere a b le to c a p tu re th e national title on the strength of th eir u n d efeated season, w hich they capped o ff by th e ir 23-16 victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.

The gam e itself was poorly played on both sides w ith both team s fie ld in g sq u ad s w ith o u t some key stars — Tennessee was m issing running b ack Jerm aine L e w is, an d F lo rid a S ta te w as playing without quarterbacks Dan Kendra Chris W einke. Forced to s ta rt M a rc u s O u tz e n , th e S e m in o le s la u n c h e d an a tta c k b ased a lm o st e n tire ly on tric k p la y s . T h e V o lu n te e r d e fe n c e never got caught and played com ­ paratively m istake-free football.

T h e g am e s e rv e d n o t o n ly to m ark T ennessee’s rise to a true national collegiate power, but it revealed the astounding success o f th e f ir s t ever B ow l Championship Series.

T h e B o w l C h a m p io n s h ip S e rie s en c o m p a sse s a to ta l o f four bowl games; the Rose Bowl, th e S u g a r B o w l, th e O ra n g e B ow l, and the a fo re m e n tio n ed F ie sta B ow l. T h ese fo u r bow l games have traditionally been the la rg e st w a tc h e d and th e re fo re larg est p ay in g bow ls and have only now been united under one system.

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The last bowl to join was the Rose Bowl, which this year saw the Big Ten Champion Wisconsin Badgers pull out a miraculous 3831 victory over UCLA, who until the last w eek o f the season had

_:____ 1, . end of the year. Rut ince w K ansas S tate, tate a n atio n al apiece at_ .the But csin u n d e r a lo n g s ta n d in g po licy , championship contender until the W isconsin had gone a longer time la s t d ay o f th e s e a s o n , w as without a Rose Bowl appearance, in v o lv e d , m o st o f th e c o lle g e and since they didn’t play a head football world was paying atten­ to head game against OSU, they tion. A big win would prove that were given the trip to Pasadena. the BCS was flaw ed and that a So the Buckeyes didn’t go to the worthy team was shafted out of Rose Bowl, but their strong sea­ playing in a big gam e. B ut the son ensured them a bid in the Wildcats fell 37-34 to Purdue in a Sugar B ow l against the Texas stunning upset that proved they were a team not yet ready to play A&M Aggies.

T h e g am e lo o k e d to be with the big boys.

T h e B ow l th e W ild c a ts a n o th e r o p p o rtu n ity fo r the Aggies to prove them selves as thought they should play in, the giant killers. After already dis­ Orange Bowl, featured a top ten p o s in g o f c o n fe re n c e fo e s Florida team against a mid-twenKansas State and Nebraska, an upset did not look im possible.

B u t th e B u c k e y e s, e a g e r to prove that their only loss of the season (a crushing late season defeat by Michigan State) was a flu k e , b e a t A & M 2 4 -1 4 in a game where the score was much Ron Dayne celebrates Wisonsin win closer than it seems.

T h e A g g ie s trip to the been a serious contender for the S u g a r B o w l w as se a le d w hen national title. The gam e further they downed previously unbeaten highlighted the amazing talent of Kansas State in the Big 12 cham ­ Bruin quarterback Cade McNown pionship game. The loss not only and the amazing lack o f talent in meant that the Wildcats wouldn’t the UCLA defence. On the other w in th e B ig 12, b u t th a t th ey side o f the ball, W isconsin won w o u ld n o t g et an A llian ce bid the gam e the w ay they w in all because their defeat would pre­ Vols' Fulm er celebrates title their games, by running the ball v e n t th e m fro m g o in g to th e w ith star ta ilb a c k R on D ayne, F ie sta B ow l. A t th e tim e , the who looks to be returning for his fourth ranked K-State team was f r u s tr a te d and fe lt th ey had ties ranked Syracuse Orangemen. senior year.

Even though they played in earned a spot in the BCS. W hat The latter got into the prestigious the Rose Bowl, the Badgers were they got w as a c h an ce to face gam e via the autom atic bid that th e B ig E a s t re c e iv e s in th e actually co-champions of the Big Purdue in the lowly Alamo Bowl.

O range Bowl. The gam e was a N o rm a lly th is b o w l gam e Ten, since b o th they and O hio decim ation as F lorida squeezed would be almost meaningless, but S ta te h ad one c o n fe re n ce loss

1999

w

z!

Orangemen 31-10, and there­ the Oranaemen by earned the G ators a top five ranking in the year end polls.

The only other bowl with any re a l sig n ific a n c e fe a tu re d the Tulane G reen Wave against the Brigham Young Cougars. At first glance this Liberty Bowl matchup looked to be about as im portant as the M otor C ity Bow l. B ut a quick look at the team ’s records revealed that Tulane was unde­ feated and ranked in the top ten.

P la y in g in th e c o m p a ra tiv e ly w e a k M A C , th e G re e n W ave rolled to an 11-0 regular season under since departed head coach Tommy Bowden (son o f Florida State coach Bobby). Their oppo­ nent, B righam Young, has long been an offen siv e pow erh o u se and the matchup looked to finally p ro v e if T u la n e w as th e re a l thing. Barely into the first quar­ ter the game turned for the Green W ave as th e y c o n tro lle d a ll aspects o f the game. By the time the final gun sounded the Green W ave left no d o u b te rs as they pounded the Cougars 41-27 and finished seventh in the nation.

There was an abundance of outstanding gam es played over th e ‘9 8 /’99 B o w l se a so n , b u t w hat w ill m ake this year stand o u t is th a t it sh o w ed th a t th e Bow l C ham pionship Series is a legitim ate m ethod for determ in­ ing a n atio n al cham pion. O ne can only hope that this trem en­ dous bowl season will squash the desire for a playoff system that w ould be the ruin o f the co lle­ giate game.

IN T R A M U R A L S P O R T S : R E G IS T R A T IO N CLOSES

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