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Moshe Safdie online Students design architect a home on the web By C hris Velan_______________ If you have ever caught a glimpse of the space-age-buildingblock apartment complex known as H abitat ’67 on your drive towards île Notre Dame, you have seen the work that has made Israeli born architect M oshe Safdie a household name in Montreal. Now, through the establish m ent of the “M oshe Safdie Hypermedia Archive web-site,” it is possible to browse through a digital collection of Safdie’s archi tectural creations on the web. The site was launched last Thursday at the B lackaderLauterman Library of Architecture and Art before a gathering that included C hancellor G retta Chambers, Réjean Frenette from the office of John M anley, M inister of Industry, Mr. John Rae, Executive Vice-President of Power Corporation and Mr. Safdie him self. F eaturing over 2000 images, the “Hypermedia” web site represents the efforts of over a dozen McGill students who have been working since June to com pile the selection from one of the most extensive individual collec tions of architectural documenta tion in Canada. Safdie, who donated his col lection to McGill in 1990 and who attended the M cGill School of Architecture, provided a humble contrast to the praise he received from the reception’s guest speak ers. In a modestly short speech he admitted that he still feels disbelief when he thinks of how, as a young architect with very little experi ence, he was able to get his famous design off the ground. “I took it for granted that Habitat would be built,” he said. C o n tin u e d o n p a g e 2
M c G ill a lu m n u s W illiam S h a t n e r (C a p ta in J a m e s T. K irk o f S ta r T re k fa m e ) re tu r n e d to c a m p u s la st w e e k e n d for the first tim e s in c e h is g ra d u a tio n . Stu den ts'S o ciety President D uncan R eid a cco m p a n ied S h a tn er on his to u r of... Shatner, the S tu d en t Union bu ilding ren am ed in h is h o n o u r fo u r years a g o by a student-initiated referendum . A lth ou gh U niversity officials h ave y e t to recognize the na m e change, S h a tn er exp ressed th a t the stu d en ts'd ecisio n "m eans a g rea t dea l" to him . D uring the sh o rt tour, Reid info rm ed S h a tn er o f the sa fety a n d accessibility issues th a t currently p lag u e the S tu d en t Union building. Students return to the polls this w eek fo r the S h a tn er Centre, a sked this tim e to fina nce its ren ovation costs through the M cG ill Stu d en ts'Fu n d . photo: Refaecca C3tchms
MSF protestors occupy Students' Society offices Claiming that the proposed McGill Students' Fund "violates stu dent rights," close to 20 members of the Namby Pamby Positive Action Committee of McGill occupied the Students' Society offices for almost twelve hours last Thursday. Namby Pamby was protesting against the proposed McGill Students’ Fund — a $38 per semester fee that will go towards renovations in the Shatner building, the library improve ment fund and an access bursary if approved at this week’s referendum. They were also demanding Reid’s res ignation. “Having a student president and his council propose and approve this sort of fee sends the government the message that McGill students support and are ready to compensate for cuts to public education,” said protestor Andrea Schmidt. “We aren’t and we can’t.” Occupiers maintained that the McGill Student Fund could only bring more cuts to education. “The fee may seem to help stu dents, but is deceptive,” stated occupier
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VP External Jeff Feiner also told council of his disapproval of both the group’s occupation and the flyers they were distributing. “[This] kind of literature really disgusts me. As Bill Clinton would say, this is the politics of personal destruction.... Even if it were Duncan who single handedly came up with every idea contained within the MSF, it still would not be right to chop his head off for...proposing an idea democrati cally. If you want to argue against an idea, argue against the idea, but don’t argue against the messenger.” The motion supporting the MSF passed by a vote of 21 to 1, and was based on the unanimous approval of the MSF by council, council’s support for the referendum process and their support for Reid. The motion further condemned the activities of the illegal “No” campaign against the MSF which violates election regulations. Current SSMU regulations state that “Yes” and “No” committees can be formed by students in support of or against a referendum question. If the committees are formed, they are enti tled to equal funding by SSMU for campaign expenses of at least $300.
lors and office workers from entering their offices. Senate Rep to SSMU Brock Macdonald questioned the necessity of the protest. “These kinds of tactics are not in the best interests of students. They do not allow students to make an informed decision. And the fact that they are demanding Duncan Reid’s resignation over an idea is wrong.” Reid attempted to hear their point of view, but was reportedly ignored. “I asked them if they wanted to speak with me in a practical way and they refused,” said Reid. “If they think they are going to get me to resign or get the question rescinded, it’s simply not going to happen.” During the occupation, council held its regularly scheduled meeting where it passed a motion overwhelm ingly in support of Reid and the MSF. Faculty of medicine rep to SSMU Shahin Zanganeh supported the group’s right to oppose the referen dum, but disagreed with their methods. “Demonstration is one thing, that’s okay, that’s democratic. Occupying offices is not okay... that’s disruptive,” Zanganeh stated.
Julien Lapointe. “In fact, what the fee ends up doing is transferring financial burden onto students.” When questioned as to the effec tiveness of occupying SSMU offices as opposed to forming an official ‘No’ side committee opposing the MSF question, protestor Reid Alloway pre sented occupation as the only option. “We felt this act was necessitated by the scale of SSMU’s plans. The amount of money they asked for is jus tification enough,” Alloway said. “We just want to draw attention to it..” The group posted anti-MSF and anti-Reid posters while distributing lit erature asking, “Who’s been Dunkin’ into the corporate agenda?” Although reminded by several councillors that the fund was approved unanimously at council, and that coun cillors were representing student opin ion, organizer Anna Kruzynski remained adamant that student rights were being violated by the fee. “It’s a student union and I pay dues to defend my rights. These are disguised tuition fees and this is a pres ident that is violating my rights.” Over the course of the occupation, occupiers prohibited SSMU council
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