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T uesday, N o v e m b e r
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Issue
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Patrick Fok -design Mike Bargav
Co-captain and All-Canadian Eva Melamed side tackles during the team ’s second round game against U. Ottawa; Jessica Emard, Melamed, and Ashlee Gentry celebrate th e irlst Gold Medal gam e appearance since 1992; Megan O’Reilly, left is comforted by Olga Chernosvitova after a 2-1 defeat by U. Alberta in the Gold Medal game
M artlets se ttle for silver a t n atio n al ch am p io n sh ip s McGill edged by Alberta 2-1 in final gaining first women's soccer medal since 1992 The Minh Luong
OTTAW A - A fter dom inating their com petition in Q uebec all season, the M cG ill M artlets soccer team left O ttaw a w ith a silver m edal at this w eekend’s C anadian In teru n iv e rsity S port C ham pionship T ournam ent host ed by C arleton University. T hough the M artlets fell short o f their ulti m ate goal o f capturing their firstever national cham pionship, they claim ed their first podium finish since 1992 after w inning and tying once in the prelim inary round. In a tension-filled gold medal final, the A lberta Pandas edged the M artlets 2-1 thanks to a late goal in the second half. "We had our eyes on the gold from the beginning o f the season, b u t som etim es things don’t w ork out," said a visibly disappointed M a rtle t co-cap tain and Eva
M elam ed after the game. "They were the better team today." A lberta failed to capitalize on a couple o f clear shots on net in a tentative first half w ith few scoring chances. In a m ore w ide-open sec o nd half, the Pandas opened the scoring in the 52nd m inute when m idfielder N icole Liboiron snuck a direct free kick just over the o u t stretched fingertips o f M artlet keeper Jessica W hite an d u nder the crossbar. M cG ill responded five short m inutes later, thanks to a superb effort by striker A m ber Allen. After receiving the ball in m idfield, she weaved her way around a Panda defender and ham m ered the ball into the opposite corner o f the net to tie the game up. T here were several near-misses from both teams in the following m inutes to keep the pro-M cG ill crowd on their toes. W h ite robbed
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P anda m idfielder K am i W iebe w ith a diving stop on a partial breakaway. Allen just missed the co rn er o f th e n et after Josée Busilacchi set her up w ith a pass from th e M cG ill half. Later, M a rtlet m idfielder A lanna M aloney was alone in front o f the net b ut couldn’t handle a hard cross from Allen. Finally, in the 7 6 th m inute, Alberta broke the deadlock w hen Pandas forward Cheryl C orm ack tipped in a cross from speeding team m ate D ena Raim undo. "We had to play 90 m inutes to win this game," said A lberta strik er, A ishatu Alfa, who was nam ed to u rn am en t MVP. "We knew we had to execute all the small things an d be patient. W e kept on plug ging away, and it finally paid off." A lberta kept pressing for the rem ainder o f the game, though M cGill did have some chances to
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tie the score, including an op p o r tu n ity in w hich defender Julia Scrase missed an open net. T h e gam e ended sh o rtly after the M artlets were unable to capitalize on a couple o f corner kicks. "T hey had m ore chances than we did, b u t it’s frustrating. You feel helpless w hen you see those balls go over the net," said M cG ill coach M arc M o unicot. "Som e o f our players seemed to ru n o u t o f ener gy an d d id n ’t have th e ir best games. T h ey gave these little flicks th a t were really hard for us to deal w ith ," ad d ed M a rtlet d efender Ashlee Gentry. "They had an extra zip th at we d idn’t have. We d idn’t have enough gas in the tank." A lberta coach Kelly V andergrift was nevertheless im pressed w ith the caliber o f play o f the M cGill M artlets during the final. "It was a very h ard-fought
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gam e,” she noted. "It was the best game o f the tourney, we played a very good team . I give [the M artlets] a lot o f credit, we were fortunate to get the two goals to w in it." D espite losing the cham pi onship game, the M artlets dom i nated in opening round. "W e played phenom ally, I th in k we were the best team in the to urnam ent," said Allen. "We did n’t have m uch to give [against Alberta] after the two tough games we played earlier." Several M artlet veterans were looking to redeem themselves after disappointing outcom es in the pre vious three national tournam ents, w here M cG ill was kept o ff the p o d iu m , fin ish in g fo u rth each year. T h e M artlets successfully advanced to the gold-m edal game by posting the best P lease s e e SOCCER, page 1 6
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2 News
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13, 2001
A c c r e d i t a t i o n is b e t t e r t h a n c u r e EUS passes referendum to become independent body as preventative measure Jean Mathews
The Engineering Undergrad uate Society (EUS) has just passed a referendum in favor o f accreditation, making it the second organization on campus with the status o f an independent body. Jeremy O ’Hara, president of EUS and head o f the Yes committee for accreditation, was very happy with the results. This referendum follows the Law Students’ Association’s accreditation. "The referendum was about whether the students wanted us to become an independent society. It went through. We had exacdy 25 percent o f the students vote yes. T hat made us feel really good. We are in the process o f having everything rat ified now." T he voter turnout for the refer endum, at 29 percent, was certainly impressive for M cGill standards, wherein most faculties get turnouts o f about 22-25 percent. O f the 557 ballots cast, 482 were yes, 61 no and 14 spoiled. Victoria David, U1 m ining engineering student, was on the YES committee, and felt that the passing o f the referendum was very crucial for the EUS. "Accreditation legalizes the EUS in front o f the M inistry of
office space, a telephone, bulletin boards to distribute information, all o f which we already have. "The right of free collection of student fees, we might talk to the university about. They have been collecting until now, and charging a small fee," O ’Hara said. Meryl Sponder, U1 electrical engineering student, was on the N O committee and saw university ani mosity as one o f the potential prob lems with accreditation. "Basically, the problem is that accreditation may create animosity with McGill. W hen the US built their missile defense system, some people felt threatened, because the US is on the defensive. Theoretically they won’t hurt anyone with it. But people were still threatened. It’s the same with the university and us. McGill sees us getting accredited, and they will ask w hat we are defending ourselves from?" O ’Hara mentioned in response that the LSA had received no com plaints or problems from the McGill Administration since it had been accredited. He emphasized the fact that there was no ulterior motive behind the EUS referendum, and that it was merely a safeguard against any future problems involving Engineering students. "Law [Students’ Association]
Education o f Quebec, and it also protects us, because M cGill University cannot ever withhold our student fees. I’m not saying that this will happen, but prevention is always better. “W ith the accreditation, we also have a mandatory one-year waiting period, and another referendum next year, to see if the students want to keep the accreditation permanently. Being accredited also gives us control o f our offices and our cafeteria. O ther faculties have lost their cafete rias, but we won’t lose ours" O ’H ara echoed those senti ments and stressed that he did not expect relations between EUS and the McGill administration or the Faculty o f Engineering to be strained in any way. "The Engineering department and the Student Affairs office helped us a lot. I talked to the Dean of Engineering about it before we start ed the project. I think they will be happy for us because it will provide us with better representation for the students. Everything that accredita tion provides legally, we are already doing, not illegally, but w ithout the backing o f the law. T he accreditation grants us the right to have senators represent us, it grants us legal repre sentative power o f the engineering students, it grants us the right to
has been accredited for about 15 years now, and they have no problem with it. I know that SSMU is also looking at this possibility. T he uni versity hasn’t given us any reason to have to take action against them. Accreditation is a preventative meas ure. Last year, there were problems with various student groups and the University when they had to renew their letters o f agreement. Ours is coming up in a few years. But we don’t perceive anything happening." Another major issue raised by the C oncordia Student U nion (CSU) scandal. Sponder explained that this problem o f perm anent accreditation and accountability o f student unions was addressed in the referendum debates and that once EUS is accredited, it cannot be dis solved. "In the event that we end up with a poor executive one year, and they start abusing funds and privi leges, its going to be harder to replace them. Basically, the argument was that we should avoid the CSU situation at all costs. The CSU could not be dissolved, and if something like that happened with the EUS, the university can’t step in and say the EUS doesn’t exist." O ’Hara argued that the value of the EUS to the Engineering students far outweighed the potential harm
that could be brought on by one bad council. "The structure o f the EUS is still a valid and im portant form of government. W hy should the stu dents suffer from lack o f representa tion because o f one bad group of execs?" T he outcome o f the vote held little surprise for Sponder. "I wasn’t expecting too many students to vote no, because it won’t change the day-to-day life o f most engineers here. They saw it as an executive council m otion and they will think the EUS know w hat’s best for the them." Regardless o f the arguments against accreditation, O ’H ara encouraged other student groups to follow their lead. "I don’t see why other student associations don’t act on this, as well. It does provide a certain level of pro tection that they should capitalize on." Jeremy Farell, President o f SSMU, is also in favor o f accredita tion. “I think SSMU should get accredit ed, not because it would offer us any extra protection that we don’t already have, but because it would give us a clear docum ent that says that SSMU is the legal representative of McGill students.”
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News 3
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, 13 November 2001
T h o se h o td o g g o n e d a y s a re g o n e Jean Mathews
No picture o f lower campus w ould be com plete w ithout the Three Bares Statue, the McGill flag on top of the Arts building, the James McGill statue, or the hot dog stand at the corner o f lower field. This may all change next week. Claude Smith, the manager of hotdog stands on campus, felt betrayed when he found out last week that this could be his last year with McGill. "We’ve been here six years. Last year, food services was taken from SSMU and given to a private con tractor called Chartwell. I finally got an agreement with Chartwell saying that I would provide the same service this year. Instead o f three carts, I would have only two. I agreed to that.” Although no written contracts were signed, Smith was under the impression that if he did a good job, he would probably get a long-term contract. O n October 31, Smith was told that he wouldn’t be coming back. N o reasons were given. "I told Jean Francois Dagenais,
manager o f Chartwell, that I’d been doing a good job, and that it was unfair to take my livelihood away. Dagenais and M cGill Ancillary Services will meet next week to talk about my case. W hen I tell some of
the students about this, they are angry. We want to stay here." Dagenais insisted that Smith had been given prior warning o f the expiry o f the contract. "Right now, I can’t sign any con tract with Smith for next term. But he knew last year that the contract
was for one year with the possibility of an extension. We are looking at improving food facilities on campus. There are many issues with his serv ices, like uniform s and washing hands. They are not in accordance with food handling codes." D avid Strutz, associate director of Ancillary Services, mentioned that there were a few disadvan tages to keeping Smith. "Smith’s business is a seasonal business. We can probably make better use of staff by having them outdoors on sunny days and indoors on rainy days, as opposed to Smith, who has to close down for bad weather. This isn’t something person al against Smith. I know this is a sig nificant part of his livelihood, but he knew that his position wasn’t certain and he should have planned accord ingly. Having said that, we haven’t made any decision yet."
Smith however, was convinced that this was a conspiracy and that he was being treated unfairly. "I see this as a typical small fish versus big fish story. Chartwell says that they w ant to build a terrace con necting the Redpath cafeteria to the lower field. They probably think that I will take business away from them. But I am still willing to increase the am ount of rent that I pay them." Dagenais recognized the dem and for hotdogs on campus and was considering several business options. "We m ight do the hotdog stands ourselves, instead o f having subcontractors. We know there is a dem and for hotdogs on campus, and we want to give the students whatev er they want. I know its sad, but I’m not playing unfair with the guy. It’s not a financial decision. It’s about doing the business ourselves, instead o f through a third party." Sabastien Larcher, the regular hotdog vendor on lower field, is known to most as the cute hotdog guy. He was outraged that this was going to happen and that he was going to have to leave McGill. "It’s a shame that a company
with so much money can’t ask for more money instead of shutting us down. The students love us. I haven’t received any complaints except once for playing Nine Inch Nails really loud." Smith was not content with pas sively waiting for the result o f the talk with Dagenais and Charade, and took things into his own hands. "I am going to have a "Save the Hotdog Stand" day next week, prob ably on Wednesday, weather permit ting. I will pass around a petition for the students to sign, and there will be free hotdogs for everyone. I want as much ground support as I can get." Larcher explained that the hot dog stand had a history with McGill. "You know this is the only place in M ontreal with hotdog stands. Now there won’t be any. W hat are you going to do w ithout hotdogs." I
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In n o c e n t b y s ta n d e r h u rt in th e fig h t o v e r p rin c ip le s Jean Mathews
The recent referendum for the Sexual Assault Centre o f McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) fund ing has former Students’ Society of McGill University VP Finance Kevin McPhee bringing issues o f proper electoral procedure to the table. Judith Rae, co-external coordi nator o f SACOMSS, went to SSMU at the beginning o f the fall semester to talk about the referendum to col lect fees for the sexual assault center. She said that they followed all the
rules on their side. "O ur fee with SSMU has to pass a referendum every three years. We approached SSMU in September 2001, and VP Clubs and Services M artin Doe created a timeline that we had to follow for the referendum. He did a great am ount of work for us. We followed all the rules o f the elec tion and we won. We found out the results on November 2 from [Chief Returning Officer] M artin Leibman. T hat same night we found out that Kevin McPhee had filed a petition to invalidate the referendum.”
McPhee had been concerned with some of SSMU’s actions dealing with the referendum, and wanted to ensure that democratic process was being followed. "About two weeks before the advanced polls opened, I heard about the referendum and started research ing council documents and bylaws, because I believed that SSMU was not following the democratic process. T he week of the advanced polls, I started preparing a petition, which I had com pleted by the day of advanced polls, which was Friday,
T h e S S M U Stu d e n t Eq u ity W o rk G roup p re se n ts...
“D a y s o f D iv e rs ity ” N o v . 1 4 th :
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Educate yo urse lf! Different groups such as BSN, QPRIG, Women’s Union, M ISN , Queer McGill have volunteers who have information booths at 3 different locations: Arts, Engineering, and the Library. SEWG and Legal Information Clinic will be available as well to inform you of campus resources.
“Ra c ism in the 2 1 st C entury” co-sponsored by the McGill Canadian Ethic Studies Program and SSM U. Leacock 26, 5pm - 7pm.
October 26. I held on to the petition until November 2, which was the day after the election polls closed. This was because I didn’t want the petition to become a huge story and affect the outcome of the elections." McPhee commented. Rae explained that while they were concerned about the petition and its implications for SACOMSS, there was nothing they could do but wait for the Judicial Board to make a decision. "We obviously want the results o f the referendum to hold. We are very concerned about the outcome of the Judicial Board, but it has nothing to do with us. There is nothing we
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can do but wait," said Rae. "Several students came up to me and said that they wanted the referendum to hold. W hat people should see is that the most important thing in all this is how many people came out and sup ported us. Over 4200 students voted, and 97 percent voted yes. It’s the vote of the students that is important.” McPhee felt that there were two areas in which SSMU had clearly vio lated the dem ocratic process as described in the constitution. He stressed that this must not be allowed to be a precedent for future cases. He also explained that the opportunity to raise opposing viewpoints is crucial to P lease s e e SACOMSS, page 4
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4 News
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, 13 November 2001
A,ctivism
SACOMSS funding
de-activated
Carly Johnson
A new subsection o f the Campus Life Fund, which would open the door to increased funding of student activism, has been given the thum bs down by Students' Society o f M cGill University (SSMU) council. T he m otion to create a "Campus Activism Fund" as a third section o f the Campus Life Fund, failed by a count o f 12 votes to eight at last Wednesday's council meeting. The Campus Life Fund, as it exists now, is a discretionary fund "intended to promote campus life," and it is the first resource students can turn to fund special projects or initiatives. In the past, it has been the financial backing for summer camps, Diversity Days, and similar events. Although activities commonly considered “activist” could conceivabbly be eligible for funding under the existing Campus Life Fund, there is no explicit provision for, or defini tion of, “activism.” For example, the N -17 coalition o f students going to O ttaw a to protest the G-20 and World Bank summit in Ottawa on November 17 has been granted $400 from the Campus Life Fund. But according to Vice-President O perations Raoul Gebert, who put forward the motion to amend, the coalition was being evaluated according to existing provi sion for “educational events,” and not as an activist activity per se. “People confuse two different things. T he N -17 do has a certain am ount o f educational relevance, but that’s no the main point. They aren’t
continued from PAGE 1 any democracy and this opportunity was not given to the council. "There were two attacks on democracy. First, a notice o f motion must be given one meeting prior to the meeting in which a motion is voted upon. In this case, the motion for the referendum was introduced and voted upon on the same day. "The second issue was that the CRO had rejected the first wording of the referendum question because it was unclear. Thus SSMU needed to amend the question and instead of calling an emergency meeting, they form ulated a new question, and passed it around for councilors to sign their names. W hile there is noth ing wrong with using a proxy vote instead of voting in a council meet ing, SSMU didn’t follow the regula tions on proxy voting. Specifically, they didn’t start a listserv to facilitate debate among the councilors. Once again, this doesn’t conform to the democratic process." McPhee stated. Leibman felt that the question that was initially proposed was biased, but was unsure about how the CRO was being implicated in the petition. McPhee mentioned that SSMU VPs also violated some o f the rules of the electoral process. "Some o f the SSMU VPs were carrying the new referendum ques tion around and going after the councilors. They would then know how the people were voting, as they were voting. This is a gross violation. We are guaranteed confidentiality." McPhee had come under a lot of criticism directly after filing the peti tion. Most people were angered by the bad timing of the petition and felt that he should have brought it up
going to Ottawa to lobby for educa tion. W hy they got funded is because they organized campus groups to organize the views o f that campus group,” he said, adding that an activist cause should be evaluated as such. M any student representatives felt the amendment was unecessary, as the Campus Life Fund already includes a provision for funding “[p] rejects, events, conferences, pub lications, and productions o f an aca demic or social nature.” Nursing Representative Glenn Allan was one representative who argued the amendment would be superfluous. “They have the opportunity to apply through existing channels rather than rather than creating a new section,” he said, noting that political events and activism can be considered under the existing defini tion “events... o f an academic or social nature.” Gebert is standing by his sug gestion, and says that he would be support further discussion on the topic. “Representation o f academic matters is something that SSMU takes care of. But there are a lot of student groups who organizee events that benefit campus themselves, with or w ithout [SSMU’s] funding or sup port. Basically the Campus Activism Fund was designed to reach out to those students.” “I can’t raise the issue again myself, but a councillor who voted against it can, and I know there are some councillors I struck a chord with who might bring it up again.”
earlier. McPhee felt that he did try his best, and there were no regulations in terms of when a petition should be filed. "Some people have said that I should have brought the petition up earlier. W hen I found out about the violations, I started researching the bylaws and requesting documents right away. This took a while, and I am a student. This sort o f thing can’t be done overnight." McPhee realized that some might misconstrue this as some sort of fight against the sexual assault cen tre. He emphasized that SACOMSS was not at fault and that the petition was filed to check the actions of SSMU. He was also confident that funding for the sexual assault centre would not be affected in any way by his petition. "I have worked on SSMU coun cil for 2 years, and I managed the budget. I know that SACOMSS isn’t going to be affected as far as financial support. T hat is why I wasn’t reluc tant to approach the Judicial Board. It isn’t Kevin hates SACOMSS. The principle is that the constitution must be upheld. I am sorry that SACOMSS is in the middle o f this. But I will reassure them that they will have the money they need. T hat’s the biggest part that people need to get over. After that, they should consider whether my attempts to clear up exactly what happened are right or wrong." VP Clubs and Services Martin Doe could not com ment on the specifics o f the petition, since the decision by Judicial Board as to whether it would be heard or not was still pending. "I cannot comment on anything to do with the petition, because the Judicial Board has not made a deci sion on whether to hear it or not. Until a decision is made later this week, we have to keep on acting like there was no such petition and that the referendum holds. I cannot
respond to any o f Kevin’s allegations about improper democratic process. All I can say is that its wrong for Kevin to assume that SSMU has the $23000 needed to fund SACOMSS. How can he know that? H e is not working in SSMU. But it’s a shame that SACOMSS is caught in the mid dle of all this, and that they are made to go through this extreme anxiety.”
New president elect ed for the PGSS Joe Marin is the new President o f the Post-Graduate Students' Society (PGSS). T he position was voted on at a PGSS council meeting last Thursday at Thomson House. M arin ran unopposed, meaning the vote was called to either accept or reject his nomination. T he final count produced 59 votes in favour o f Marin’s bid and three opposed. Jonathan Salzberg vacated the position o f PGSS President due to personal reasons, though he had declared that he would remain in office until the election o f the new president. During the council meeting, Marin was asked about his stance towards the relationship between the PGSS and the Canadian Federation o f Students (CFS), but Marin said he would reserve judgement on that matter until after the CFS national meeting he will be attending at the end o f the month. At the CFS meeting, Marin hopes to have a motion passed for a provincial issues researcher who will explore issues pertinent to Quebec university students such as the dif ferential tuition policy.
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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13, 2001
News 5
D TF a p p r o v e d b y Q u e b e c j u d i c i a l r u l i n g A Supreme Court appeal lies ahead for SSMU after provincial court loss John Sciascia
Q uebec’s provincial court has rejected the appeal o f the Students’ Society o f M cGill’s (SSMU) against the Differential Tuition Fee (D TF) for out-of-province students attend ing Q uebec universities. T h e judgem ent stated that the M inister o f Education is allowed a certain am o u n t o f discrepancy w ithin their departm ent. T his gave the D T F ’s creator, former Q uebec M inister o f E ducation Pauline Marois, the ability to define and categorize citizenship in creating the D T F policy. T he policy levies a tuition fee o f $3,438 on Canadian students and perm anent residents
from other provinces com pared to the $ 1,668 fee for Q uebec students. According to Vice-President o f C o m m u n ity and G overnm ent Affairs Danielle Lanteigne, SSM U ’s main argum ent about the unconsti tutional nature o f the D T F was not suited to the provincial court level, and was intended to eventually reach the C anadian Supreme C ourt regardless o f the decision. “W e’re passing th ro u g h the necessary stages,” said Lanteigne, who explained that it was necessary to file an appeal on the provincial level before reaching the Supreme Court. She revealed how renow ned constitutional lawyer G uy Bertrand was highly recom m ended by
M cGill Law professor Julius Grey in 1998 w hen the first case began. “M r. Bertrand’s controversial stature helped bring attention to the case,” com m ented Lanteigne. A Supreme C o u rt appeal will require m ore funds than the previ ous appeals however. “W e’ll proba bly need ab o u t $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,” said Lanteigne, who made note o f an agreement Bertrand had made with former SSM U VP executive Jeff Feiner to take the provincial case at a reduced fee o f $20,000. W hile SSM U could draw m oney from its reserve funds to help pay for the Supreme C ourt appeal, it does n o t w ant to use this source o f fu n d in g because the reserve is only in ten d ed to be
tapped in the event o f a budget cri sis. Lanteigne also felt that outside contributions w ould be m ore sig nificant to the cause. “It sends a stronger message if we can get help from parties who believe in o u r cause,” said Lanteigne. Law Faculty SSM U representa tive Boris Savoie-Doyer expressed dissatisfaction w ith the procedure that has been taken to fight the DTF. Lie strongly suggested that SSM U should ask th e Q uebec Federation o f Students for assis tance. “T his is a lobby group that had an instrum ental role in the freezing o f regular fees and im portant gains in education. T hey w ould at least
bring us closer to defeating the dif ferential tuition given their media exposure and lobbying expertise.” Savoie-Doyer showed skepti cism towards a possible Supreme C o u rt appeal. “It takes too long...it’s n ot as com pelling a case or blatantly con stitutional as say, for example, the same-sex marriage case.” Doyer claimed that the case w ould also be highly expensive and also expressed d oubt towards Mr. Bertrand’s abili ty to handle the case, saying that SSM U “should seek alternative rep resentation.”
T h r e e s t r i k e s a n d y o u 'r e o u t SSMU council's attendance policy draws criticism from council representatives John Sciascia
T h e attendance policy o f the S tudents’ Society o f M cG ill University (SSMU) council m eet ings was questioned by a num ber o f faculty representatives during coun cil last Thursday. T h e policy states that any rep resentatives who miss three council meetings will be asked to resign. O pponents o f this rule feel that it is anti-dem ocratic and unnecessary. SSM U V ice-President of Com m unications and Events Brian Ker stated his belief that SSM U councilors are supposed to act as student leaders w ho reach out to the students through class speeches and other initiatives, and that part o f this overall com m itm ent includes regular council attendance. “SSM U councilors have a responsibility and an obligation to attend all meetings. It’s inexcusable that some councilors have already missed two meetings so far this » year. Ker stressed that there have only been four meetings at this juncture o f the year, and that coun cilors w ho have already missed meetings need to give the meetings higher priority in their schedules. “T h e policy is anti-dem ocrat ic,” insisted SSM U Law representa tive Boris Savoie-Doyer. H e stressed that SSM U council is a political body w ith elected representatives from university faculties that need guaranteed representation. “T h e faculties say w ho they w ant to represent them ,” stressed Savoie-Doyer, w ho felt th at the atten d an ce policy is som ew hat paternalistic. “If a U N representative missed three meetings, this w ouldn’t be the case,” said Savoie-Doyer. H e also m entioned how the
policy comes into conflict w ith the Law Students’ Association’s (LSÀ) Constitution. “T he LSA C onstitution states that the VP External shall represent the LSA to SSM U C o u n c il,” revealed Savoie-Doyer, w ho m ain tained that this provision ensures continual representation to SSM U council, thus placing it in conflict w ith SSM U ’s constitution because o f the council attendance policy. “I understand the motive, but a little more faith in the student associations is required,” argued Savoie-Doyer. A ccording to Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) rep resentative D aniel Kapeluto, the m ajority o f people that are elected to SSM U council m ust represent their respective faculties, b ut felt that councilors should be elected in a different manner. “I was saying at the meeting that SSM U councilors should be elected during SSM U elections,” explained Kapeluto, who felt his opinion was m isconstrued during the discussion on the attendance policy. However, Ker disagreed with this proposition. “It doesn’t matter, it’s the same thing,” stressed Ker, who firmly expressed his opinion that if a coun cilor is not present to do their job, they should not be on council. Kapeluto introduced an exam ple where the attendance policy could be problematic. “If a faculty boycotts SSMU, the councilor is directly affected. A meeting is docked against us, and it if we miss three meetings, then we’re o u t,” said K apeluto. H e pointed out that councilors have to respect the wishes o f their faculties, and if th a t includes boycotting meetings to protest certain actions or decisions against SSM U, the
councilors will be removed for such action. Ker conceded th at a boycott w ould be an exceptional situation, b u t m ain tain ed th a t the threeabsence rule is rationally founded. “T he spirit o f the policy is to ensure that SSM U councilors do their job.” Savoie-D oyer also criticized the direction that recent council meetings have taken. “SSM U has to be a little more professional. It should be discussing m ore im p o rtan t issues, w hich I
believe isn’t being done enough.” “W e have to start pu ttin g the m ajor issues at the beginning o f every m eeting,” Ker adm itted. H e felt th at the allotted meeting tim e needs to be used m ore efficiently, and that im portant agenda items need to be brought to the forefront sooner. According to SSM U VP o f C o m m u n ity and Affairs D aniel Lanteigne, former Arts representa tive M ichael Hershfield was a stu dent senator w ho allegedly violated the three-absence rule, b ut was not
asked to leave council. “N o m otion was ever m ade to have h im dism issed,” said Lanteigne, though she agreed that he raised criticism on the issue of accountability. Nonetheless, she felt that the attendance policy is primarily in place to encourage regular atten dance from all councilors. “N o one has ever been rem oved from SSM U council because o f the attendance policy.”
McGill Hillel in conjunction with the Canada-Israël Committee, Quebec Region invite you to attend this month’s Isra e l E d u c a tio n a l P r o g r a m
Monday, November 19th, 2001 Leacock Time:TBA S c re e n in g o f “ T h e L o n g W a y H o m e ”
was the recipient o f the 1997 Academy Award fpr best feature documentary. The film examines the critical Post World War II from 1945-1948 and the plight o f tens and thousands o f refugees who survived the Holocaust and their often illegal attempts to get to the Jewish Homeland. It explores how much o f the world turned its back on the tragedy o f these forgotten people and the world events that led to the creation o f the State o f Israel.
The L o n g W ay H om e
Tuesday, November 27th, 2001 3:00 p.m. Shatner C lu b L o u n g e L esso n s fro m
F a ile d M id d le E a s t P e a c e E ffo rts
P ro f. G e r a ld S te in b e rg
Gerald M. Steinberg (Ph.D. Cornell University) is a Professor of Political Studies at Bar-llan University. He specializes in Middle East arms sales and arms control, in non-conventional, strategic and space-based weapons (includina missile proliferation), and in US and Israeli defense policy.
fJf 6 Op/Ed
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13, 2001
O p i n i o n
E d i t o r i a l
EDI TORI AL “ W h e n w e s a y W a r is o v e r i f y o u w a n t it, ’ w e m e a n t h a t
Letters Double the power of your degree
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i f e v e r y o n e d e m a n d e d p e a c e i n s t e a d o f a n o t h e r T V s e t,
To the editor,
w e 'd h a v e p e a ce . ” — John L en non
Redefining R em em berance Omar Sachedina
Every year, beginning in early November, schoolchildren from across the nation memorize and recite John M cCrae’s epic poem , In Flanders Field. A nd this year, as w ith others, teachers ask their students about the significance o f Remembrance Day. Answers such as "It’s to rem em ber the soldiers who died in the wars" are n o t uncom m on. Remembrance D ay was originally conceived shortly after W orld W ar I, to com m em orate Canadian soldiers w ho died in com bat —in the battles o f Passchendaele (1914) and V im y Ridge (1918), am ong others. For the students w ho grew up in the post-W orld W ar 1 era, Rem em brance D ay took on special significance. T hey were able to relate to the events follow ing the devastating batdes o f 1914-1918, as the tragedy h it very close to home. But w ith the passage o f tim e, the connection to the events o f W orld W ar I is slowly being severed. O n the 83rd D ay o f Armistice —November I I , 2001 —students could n o t have grasped war’s disastrous effects as m uch as their counterparts did shortly after W orld W ar 1. Remembrance D ay is still im portant, yes, b u t each year, it’s becom ing harder and harder relate to w hat soldiers in the First W orld W ar w ent through; we seem so farremoved. O u r observance o f the day, if we observe it at all, is, in large part, perfunctory. Today, Remembrance D ay’s significance is less centred on W orld W ar O n e focussing as well on lives lost during m ore recent conflicts. Remembrance D ay 2001 was as m uch about trying to appreciate those who sacrificed their lives for ou r nation as it was about those w ho die because o f war generally. A nd it needed to be. Relating to the past is m uch easier w hen you observe it through the lens o f the present. Yet, as Rememberance has brought new meaning, the way we rem em ber has remained the same. We still wear poppies, recite In Flanders Field, and bring in war vets to discuss their experiences to students across the country. By doing this we expect - naively - th at the horrors o f going to war will be conveyed adequately. I f the m eaning has changed, then the way in w hich the message is disseminated m ust be altered, as well. Poems are pretty, and poppies are decorative, b u t they’re n o t as effective as they m ight have once been. T he m eaning o f Remembrance D ay was expanded because it was eas ier to relate to it. Similarly, the way in w hich that m eaning is enforced m ust be altered — done in such a m anner that it is actually understood and appreciated. T h a t’s how a connection will be built, and change effect ed. O ne o f the ways o f doing this by sharing experiences — b u t n o t just from vets. In school situations, at least, there is m ore power in having a child from a w artorn country speak to other students her age. T here’s more im pact to that message than a vet’s message. T h a t’s because there’s a sense that ‘that kid’s really like me, and I don’t go through that, so w hy should she?’. T he times, they are achangin’. T he significance o f the day has clearly been modified, and w ith that, society m ust change the way it remembers it. By presenting the message in a m anner in which it can be related to, stu dents may be able to better understand — really understand — the words o f John McCrae.
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Sincerely, Seth O ffenbach Vice President Financial Affairs Arts Undergraduate Society
Carly Johnson Omar Sachedina John Sciascia
Rhea Wong
W ork in the G lobal V illa ge
I would like to clarify several exaggerated points from the article "Budget oversight puts pressure on AUS", from November 6, 2001. First, the statem ent, "departm ental journals, special program s and Stepsmagazine are left scrambling for funding elsewhere" is n o t accu rate. Based on enrollm ent, half o f each A rt’s student fees go direcdy to departm ents. Furtherm ore, AUS has been able to m eet the additional funding dem ands o f all dep artm en ts th ro u g h Special Projects and Supplem entary Funding, programs that provide extra m oney to depart m ents in order to run events. In addition, m any departm ental jour nals receive funding direcdy from AUS and we have yet to turn down a journal for funding. W ith regards to Stepsmagazine, the current editor only applied for the job in mid-September. D ue to this late start, the editor chose to p rin t only one issue this semester. T hus, AUS is allocating Steps more money per issue than any previous year. AUS even had enough money to create new initiatives this year, including the Arts Agenda. It is also im portant that it be understood that some o f the quotes that I said were m eant in a lighthearted m an ner and n ot to be taken as straight forward fact. I can assure every Arts student that AUS is under no financial or legal trouble. Furtherm ore, it is im portant to note th at AUS is ru n ning a balanced budget, w hich was approved by Council. C ontrary to the title, there was no budget over sight; hence AUS is u n d er no financial pressure.
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M edia: th e perception of panic
There’s no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation o f it." -Alfred H itchcock "In politics, w hat begins in fear usually ends up in folly. " -Sam uel Taylor C oleridge "People react to fear n o t love," Richard N ixon, o f all peo ple, once observed, "T hey d on’t teach you th a t in Sunday School, b u t it’s true." Collective fear is a crazy and pow erful phenom enon. R ecent studies d o n e th ro u g h H arv ard U niversity an d H u n te r C ollege illustrate th a t the news m edia, rath er th an personal experience, provide people w ith their predom in an t fears. It seems im possible to w rite a current article on the ways the news m edia perpetuates panic, w ith o u t focusing o n terrorism . B ut I will try it anyway, because
journeying back to see w hat shook people up shortly before the events o f th e eleventh is all b u t irrelevant to the present. T h is is because it illustrates ju st w hose political agendas are m ost typically for w arded by a culture o f panic. An apt example, is the US m edia’s treatm ent o f ‘the crim e epidem ic’ th ro u g h o u t th e 9 0 ’s. Interestingly, from 1990 to 1998, w hile America’s m urder rate declined by 20 percent, the m u r der coverage on netw ork newscasts increases by 600 percent. As a result, through the 90s, 62 percent o f Am ericans believed crim e was soaring, and described o u r society as ‘truly desperate’ ab o u t crim e. In order to relieve th e ir anxiety, argues sociologist Barry Glassner in his book The Culture o f Fear, cit izens m ore readily em braced capi tal punishm ent, m ore jails, an d individual handgun ow nership for protection. T his is n o t the only way th a t a m edia constructed fear o f crim e has served to m eet radically con servative ends. G lassner also w rites th a t "h o m o p h o b ia is a recurring elem ent in journalists’ coverage o f mass m urderers," con tin u in g , "the m ed ia ro u tin e ly em phasize the supposed hom osex uality o f m en w ho co m m it m u lti
ple m urders." In such a way, the ‘sexual d efiancy’ th e far rig h t w orks so h ard to ‘correct,’ is conse quently equated w ith im m orality and monstrosity. Likewise, as Phillip Jenkins at Penn State University observes, the m edia’s "em phasizing th a t such individuals were gay serial killers tended to con fo u n d homosexuals w ith pedophiles and su p p o rt con tem porary claims th a t hom osexu ality represented a physical and m oral threat to children.” Perpetuating a sim ilar fear o f th e marginalized, black victim s o f violent crim e are routinely u n d er represented in th e news, although they are often spotlighted as the perpetrators o f such crim e. A s a result, the conclusion o f a study d o n e by H u n te r C ollege o n w om en’s concerns " reinforce(s) a vision o f society in w hich black m en are forem ost am ong w om en’s fears." T his is all in spite o f the fact th at a black m an is eighteen tim es m ore likely to be m urdered th an a w hite w om an. T h e welfare o f children is also an im p o rta n t aspect o f p u b lic paranoia. In fact, 3 /4 o f parents fear their child will be kidnapped by a stranger. Such panic appears to be a reaction to a d au n tin g sta tistic, w hich has appeared in Time
m agazine am o n g o th ers, th a t 8 0 0 ,0 0 0 ch ild ren are rep o rted m issing in th e US every year. However, w hat the article neglects to m en tio n in th a t th e vast m ajor ity o f these kids are runaways, "throwaways" (rejected by their p aren ts), o r k id n a p p e d by an estranged parent. C rim inal justice experts affirm th a t 200 to 300 children are abducted by no n fam i ly m em bers and kept for long peri ods o f tim e or m urdered. W hile these events are no d o u b t tragic, G lassner com m en ts th a t "while fortunes are being spent to protect children from dangers th a t few will ever encounter, approxim ately 11 m illion children lack health insur ance, 12 m illion are m alnourished, and rated o f illiteracy are increas ing." W hile 48 percent o f the nation’s leading newscasts dedicat ed to children deal w ith violence, only 4 percent concern health and econom ic issues. In sum , as a result o f our m edia constructed paranoia about crim e, we have a pop u latio n that favours capital p u n ish m en t an d guns, fears already m arginalized groups, an d is less w illing to spend m oney o n social services. Fast forw ard to the present, N o rth Am erica after the fall o f the Twin Towers, an d again we are
scared. To continue the saga o f the reborn US nationalists form erly know n as m y family, m y m other told m e o n the p h o n e from N ew York the o th er n ig h t th a t "Every tim e it seems th a t things m ight have settled dow n, som eone gets on th e air an d tells us to expect ano th er attack." O n e can argue th a t this tim e o u r fears have m ore o f a basis in reality th an m any o f the b latan t fabrications ab o u t the crim e ep id em ic I ’ve described. H ow ever, th e degree to w hich politicians are capitalizing on our anxiety is m ore th an p ro p o rtio n ate. Now, w ith th e m u ch p u b li cized clam pdow n on civil liberties, a cross-ow nership ban o n m edia concentration lifted by th e F C C , the President’s insistence on ‘fast track’ powers allows the President to n eg o tiate trad e agreem ents w ith o u t approval by Congress, an d the setting aside o f th e P atient’s Bill o f Rights, it seems th a t T h e R ight W in g is g ettin g its w ay again. I ’d argue th a t these parallels are n o t coincidental.
w here everything else in tow n is. W h e n directions are required, they are done so in term s o f geographi cal lan d m ark s o r w ell k n o w n buildings. For example, to get to M cD onalds (a very recent addition to th e Beamsville skyline) you drive along O n tario Street towards the lake. If you cross th e highway, you’ve gone too far. To get to m y house you tu rn o ff K ing Street o n to the road w ith a church on one corner, an elem entary school on the other. D rive towards the m o u n ta in (really th e N iagara Escarpm ent) an d tu rn ju st past the cemetery. It’s easy as pie. N o n o rth or south required. W h e n I came to th e city I realized th a t acq u irin g a m ore acute sense o f direction was essen tial to successful navigation. Trying to plan m y way aro u n d the city on the bus d em anded know l edge o f m y desired d irectio n . A sking the bus driver if he is head ed towards the street w ith a church o n one corner an d a school on the o th er does n o t get m e very far. So, I ’ve tried d iligently to o b tain a sense o f direction. W hile the acquisition o f an intuitive feel ing o f n o rth an d so u th is im possi ble for m e now, I am w orking towards a better u nderstanding o f them . T h is m ission has been suc cessfully com pleted as long as I rem ain w ith in th e confines o f the island o f M ontreal. But, here’s an o th er secret, I h ad to cheat a little. I still define d irectio n s in
term s o f landm arks, ju st as I d id in Beamsville. T h e difference is th at now, I have n o rth an d west associ ated w ith certain landm arks so th a t th in k in g o f one autom atically evokes the image o f th e other. I know th a t w hen I am dow ntow n the m o u n tain is n o rth an d th at west is towards the w est island. T h e oth er directions fall in to place by default. I have to be careful w h en o u tsid e o f d o w n to w n because, although west is always tow ards the W est Island, n o rth is n o t always towards the m ountain. I have to take this in to considera tion. W h en I leave th e island, I am confused once again. I am d rip p ing green w ith envy o f those peo ple w ho autom atically know w hich direction they are driving. I am in awe o f those w ho can see m aps in th e ir head, d eterm in e th e best routes an d alter those plans im m e diately should unexpected events arise. O n ce I have endured the painstaking ordeal o f determ ining a route for myself, any deviation from it is often a disaster. O n e o f these days, as m y citysaw y continues to rise, I will be able to give directions w ith o u t having to pull m y hands from m y pockets to determ ine w hich w ay is left an d w hen m y room m ate Sarah asks m e to m eet her o n the south west corner o f an intersection, I will be w aiting at th e correct place. Hopefully.
City living is unkind to th e confused
P sst...h e y you, com e here. Lean in close— I have a secret for you. I am n o t asham ed to unveil this secret although I m ust adm it th a t it is m ildly em barrassing. I have b ottled it up for so long that th e th o u g h t o f this confession is m aking m y stom ach dance w ith nervous butterflies. Just little b u t terflies th ough— m oths perhaps. Okay. E nough stalling, here it goes: I can’t tell m y right from m y left. T here. It’s o u t in the open, p art o f the public record, there’s no tu rn in g back now. A wave o f lib eration has w ashed over me. N ow th a t I’ve relieved m yself o f this b urden let m e tell you the trick I use to m anage this small personal flaw. In fact, you can play along. H o ld o u t b o th your hands in fro n t o f you, palm s dow n. Keep your fingers straight and locked together. Stick o u t your th u m b s so th a t they are perpendicular to your fingers, p o in tin g tow ards each other. Now, if you look closely you will see th a t o n one h an d the shape o f your th u m b and fingers form an
L. T h is is your left h an d . By process o f elim ination, the oth er is your right. M y problem w ith left and right further m anifests itself as an inability to orient m yself in term s o f com pass d irectio n s, th a t is north , south, east an d west. In other w ords, I never know w hat direction I’m going. W h e n I was little I rem em ber adam antly telling m y m o th er th at n o rth changed as I changed direc tion. I was certain th a t w hichever way I happened to be facing was north, behind m e was south, west to m y left and east to m y right. Regardless o f the long, h ard hours m y m o th er spent explaining to m e the tru e ways o f the w orld, I, a stubborn child, refused to listen. Since then, I have learned the error o f m y ways. I now recognize th a t n o rth an d so u th d o n o t revolve around me. U nfortunately, I have n o t shaken m y p o o r sense o f direction. Som e people, m aybe even a majority, have an intuitive feeling about w hich way is n o rth. T hese lucky people, unaw are o f how lucky they truly are, can usu ally arrive problem -free at their desired destination. I am n o t so lucky. Being directionally-im paired never affected m e greatly un til I m oved from sm all tow n Beamsville to big city M ontreal. In the past, I was able to survive w ith m y h an d trick alone. Now, w ith m y m ove to th e city, m y handicap has reared its ugly h ead an d
throw n m e brutally in to reality. T h e "L m eans left" trick is no longer a sufficient tool to get me w here I am going. In M ontreal, every address has an east o r west attached to it. G ettin g directions to any location usually involves a detailed listing o f the o p tim u m route, including a vast array o f norths, souths, easts an d wests. C om prehension o f the bus schedules an d m aps dem ands at least a basic u nderstanding o f th e com pass directions. As far as I know, this is the n o rm o f big city life. T h e m ajority o f N o rth A m erican cities are org an ized in term s o f blocks, streets ru n n o rth /s o u th an d east/west. C ity living requires th at one know an d utilize these direc tions on a daily basis. It’s a fact o f city life th a t m any people take for granted. It is assum ed th a t direc tio n a l know ledge is a n eatly ingrained feature o f b o th u rbanite an d suburbanite brains, one th a t is ready and w illing to be called u p o n at a m o m e n t’s notice. Let m e take this o p p o rtu n ity to burst this shiny bubble. A sense o f direction is n o t an intrinsic fea ture o f h u m a n beings. It does n o t course th ro u g h th e veins o f every one strolling along the sidewalk or zoom ing dow n th e highway. A m I th e only one w ho suffers from this problem ? A m I th e only one w ho doesn’t know w here she is going? In Beamsville, getting around is simple. Everyone already knows
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13, 2001
T h e fla m e th a t w o u ld n o t b e e x tin g u is h e d 56 years after the Holocaust, the themes are as relevant as ever Josh Scheinert
T here is an inscription in the M ajdanek concentration cam p in Lublin, Poland th a t reads: "O u r Loss is Your W arning." From the tim e A dolf H itler rose to pow er in G erm any in 1933
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until the end o f the Second W orld W ar in 1945, he systematically m urdered six m illion E uropean Jews sim ply because o f their eth nicity. T h e H olocaust is rem em bered tw o tim es d u rin g the year. The first, H o lo cau st R em em brance Day, or Yom H ashoa as it is called in Hebrew, takes place each spring. T h e second is The H o lo ca u st E d u ca tio n Series th a t began N ovem ber 8 and co n tin u es th ro u g h to N ovem ber 22. In a global co m m u nity obsessed w ith tech nology, m aterial posses sions an d the future, it alm ost seems paradoxical th a t society w o u ld devote so m uch tim e to rem em b erin g historical events th a t to o k place over 50 years ago. B ut the lessons th at can be derived from th e H o lo ca u st tran scen d nationality an d tim e. T h a t is the goal o f The H o lo ca u st E ducation Series — to
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A TASK FORCE OF THE JorNT SENATE-BOARD COMMITTEE ON EQUITY
Invites staff, students, and faculty to a Town Hall Meeting on
Homophobia and transphobia at McGill? L is t e n . S h a r e y o u r sto r ie s . O f f e r s u g g e s t io n s fo r c h a n g e .
e n tre n c h th e lessons o f th e H olocaust to ensure th at n o thing o f such a m agnitude ever happens again. T h e E ducation Series began w ith a co m m em o ratio n o f the 6 2 n d anniversary o f Kristallnacht, the N ig h t o f the Broken Glass, a N az i-G o v e rn m en t sp o n so red attack on E uropean Jewish com m unities on N ovem ber 9, 1938. Shlom o, Avital, th e C o n su l G eneral o f Israel an d Rabbi Sidney S h o h am o f th e B eth Z io n C o n g reg a tio n , am o n g oth ers, atte n d e d th e m em o rial. R abbi Shoham m ade an interesting par allel between N ovem ber 9, 1938 an d Septem ber 11. H e said th at ju st as th e heart an d soul o f the N ew York skyline burst in to flames an d th en fell to n o th in g b u t ru b ble, so d id Jew ish synagogues, T orah scrolls, and businesses. T h e cerem ony also saw the reading of testim o n ies by teenagers. T h is illustrated the younger generation as a key aspect in further H olocaust education. T h e series will be m aking a stop at M cGill, w ith two events taking place on cam pus. T onight, 62 year-old H olocaust survivor A nn Kazimirski will lead a book reading and share parts o f her sur vival sto ry at th e M cG ill U niversity Faculty C lub. Tomorrow, N ovem ber 14 at 6 pm , the Faculty o f Law will be hosting a discussion an d lecture on the role o f the Vatican an d the H olocaust at C hancellor D ay H all led by Professor M ichael M arrus. T h e events at M cG ill give stu d en ts an o p p o rtu n ity to get involved w ith H olocaust educa tion. T his cam pus is diverse, and h o lding some o f the series further illustrates the fact th a t this in stitu tio n n o t o n ly accepts, b u t
For information on other events in the series please call (514) 3 4 5 2605.
Bacteria and chemicals lurk in your hallways
W endy Patrick Room G round Floor W ilson H all 3506 U niversity at M ilton Refreshm ents p rovided
For m ore inform ation, please contact Estelle H opm eyer at 398-7067
an d Eva Seltzer stress th a t th e pres en t generation is the last genera tio n th a t will be able to talk to and hear first h a n d th e stories o f H olocaust survivors. T h ey say th a t it is up to th em to carry on the torch o f rem em brance, u n d er standing, an d com passion. B ut there are those w ho feel th a t the H olocaust is over, it is in the past and th a t its m em ory is over stressed. "E nough already," says one Jewish U 0 stu d en t w ho w ished to rem ain an onym ous because his o p in io n has faced strong co n tra diction in his social circle. "T he H olocaust has been in every movie countless books and on television. You can n o t keep living in th e past. M ove on an d get over it." D esp ite its critics, T h e H olocaust E ducation Series will strive to equip as m any people as possible w ith th e know ledge to carry on the torch w ith as m uch d ig n ity as H o lo c a u st survivors have for the past 56 years.
F o re ig n a g e n t s a t h o m e
W ednesday, N ovem ber 14, 2001 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Alternatively, send your comments or stories to homophobiaoncampus@yahoo.ca
em braces m ulticulturalism . M em b er of P arliam en t Irw in C o d e r, in th e b ro ch u re for th e H o l o c a u s t E d u c a tio n Series, w rites th a t "th e H olocaust d id n o t beg in in th e gas cham ber — it began w ith words." T h e H olocaust serves to rem ind us w hat happens w hen racism is taken to its extreme. Shai Bregm an, a U 0 Arts stu d e n t, th in k s th a t H o lo ca u st rem em brance is extremely im p o r tant. H e cites all the racism, in to l erance an d ignorance in todays w orld as his reasons for th e neces sity o f H olocaust rem em brance. "We m ust never forget the H olocaust or w e will be doom ed to repeat it," he says. "If we forget how easy it was for the G erm an people to lose their sense o f in d i viduality and conform to the views o f the N azi party w ith o u t th inking twice, th en we ru n th e risk o f a second H olocaust.” Bregm an’s view is n o t exclu sive to the Jewish faith. M any d e n o m in atio n s feel th e im p o r tance o f preserving the m em ory o f the H olocaust. A dina Nivonly, a U 3 student, contends th a t nonJews need to be equally aware o f the H olocaust. "T h e H o lo ca u st for arg u m e n t’s sake m ig h t have been in ten d ed tow ards Irish Catholics, o r B u d d h ists," she says. "T h e p o in t is th a t racism can escalate to u n thinkable heights." E d u ca tio n Series C oC h airp erso n s M iriam S chuster
Andrea Grant, Becky Gluskin and Claire Stockwell
M ost o f us like a newly reno vated abode, b u t that new pink shag has a nasty side to it.
O ur com fortable indoor havens are made o f materials that threaten our health. Indoor pollu tion can cause ‘sick building syn d ro m e,’ w here in d o o r airborne chem icals can cause dizziness, headaches, coughing, sneezing, nausea, b u rn in g eyes, chronic fatigue and flu-like symptoms. Take carpets for example: they have been found to contain 120 known toxins, formaldehyde being the biggest culprit. L ong-term exposure to formaldehyde can lead to respiratory ailments, abdom inal pain, anxiety, coma and even con vulsions. Add such special features as stain guard, and the num ber o f chemicals just increases. T h e worst
part is that these toxins can take decades to ‘gas o u t’ o f the carpet, m eaning we are likely inhaling them on a daily basis for m ost o f our lives. W h at about paint? In the spir it o f typical life as an undergrad, it seems like we move apartm ents every four m onths or so. As much as we adore those pencil sketches o f sheep and dem ons on the wall, m ost o f us always feel the need to paint. Even lead-free paint contains a host o f such dangerous chemicals as toluene, which is not only a m utagen, b u t can affect b o th hum an reproduction and develop ment. P lease s e e NASAL, page 11
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ h e J ^ c G ill^ T n b u n e ^ J u e s d a y ^ N o v e m b e M 3 ^ £ 2 ]_ _ i_ ft3 çh ^ re^_ _ jJp |i
■fcr o s p e - M c G ill a n d S o u t h A f r i c a T his year, The Tribune cele brates its 2 0 th anniversary. T h e following article appeared in The Tribune o n January 17, 1984 and was w ritte n by C am p b ell M orrison.
Part of our education is paid fo r through invest m ents made by McGill University in corporations operating in South Africa. These corporations profit by the oppressed labour force in th a t country. As investors,McGill U nive rsity is p a rtia lly responsible fo r the oppression of the black labour force: and, as stu dents, we are also p a rtial ly responsible. The South A frican governm ent has created an economic atmosphere
in which the w orst ele ments of capitalism can operate freely. By keeping the black Africans in a state o f se rvitu de , the g o vern m e n t has e ffe c tive ly created a continu ous source o f cheap labour. Through various laws, all in the name of the racist apartheid sys te m , the Blacks have been excluded from gov ernm ent, stripped o f th e ir rights as citizens, moved about the country in any way the governm ent and the corporations see fit, and given no protection against the evil aspects of the m arket-place. They are continuously paid the low est wages, and are persecuted as if th e y were inferior. The situation in South
D E A N O F G R A D U A T E A N D P O S T D O C T O R A L S T U D IE S Dr. M artha C rago w as appointed in an interim capacity as D ean o f G raduate Studies and R esearch until such a tim e as a dean could be appointed. In accordance w ith the Statutes o f the U niversity, an A dvisory C om m ittee has been struck for a D ean o f G raduate and P ostdoctoral Studies (the new title recently approved by Senate). In order to assist in its deliberations, the A dvisory Com m ittee w ould w elcom e any com m ents w ith respect to the possibility o f confirm ing Dr. C rago in the D ean s position for a term o f five years. A ll com m ents w ill be treated in the strictest confi dence b y the C om m ittee, and they should be addressed to:
Africa is appalling, and shows no signs of im provem ent. There is really very lit tle we can do about South Africa, but w hat little we can do we m ust; it is our obligation to hum anity. The only ways in which we can influence South Africa is th ro u g h b oy cotts, which have been nearly futile in the past, o r th ro u gh dive stm en t. W herever possible we should insure th a t money over which we have some control is not used by those who perpetuate the status quo, as it exists, in South Africa. As students, we have virtu a lly no money d ire ct ly under our control which we could easily d ivest from oppressive corpora tions in South Africa. But, we have, indirectly, the money of the university, with is controlled by the Board of Governors. This money is owned by McGill University, and w hat is a
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u n ive rsity but a collection of stu dents; therefore, ind ire ctly, the money belongs to the student body. This, however, also forces us to accept some o f the responsibility fo r the continuous oppression in South Africa. As we realize our connection w ith the oppression, and recognize ourselves to be oppressors, we also realize th a t this is a tim e o f penance, a tim e of shame fo r acts done in our ignorance. By doing w hat little we can, by divesting our funds away from oppres sive corporation in South Africa, and reinvesting in those corporations which are tryin g to change the s itu a tio n , we w ill be cleansing ourselves of the auilt.
R ad io M c G ill will be holding its
A n n u a l G e n e ra l M e e tin g Wednesday November 21,2001 at Thompson Hall 3650 McTavish between Penfield & Pine. Food and Music start at 5 pm. Meeting starts at 6 pm. Reports & elections of volunteer representatives to committees All students & Members Welcome. Visit us at ckut.ca info (514) 398-6788 or admin@ckut.ca
D ear citizens o f 1984, You m ay feel th at your actions are futile, b u t know th a t eventual ly apartheid was bro u g h t to an end. Pressure was m o u n tin g from the international com m unity. In 1986, U .S. Congress over rode President R onald Reagan’s veto an d im posed strict econom ic sanctions against S o u th Africa. T h o u g h ap a rth eid o n ly en d ed eight years later, know th a t you did, somehow, m ake a difference. Freedom is a w onderful thing, dear citizens, and we take o u r own for granted. W e also forget the im pact o f a collective voice. W h en th e citizens o f the w orld band together for the purpose o f liberty, great things can be accom plished. You will be witness to this, tim e an d again. Futuristically yours,
Dr. Luc V inet Provost and V ice-Principal (A cadem ic) M cG ill U niversity 845 S herbrooke Street W est M ontreal, QC H 3A 2T5
Raauel
‘T w o s a m o n th b e f o r e C h r is tm a s
I w ould appreciate receiving your input by N ovem ber 3 0,2001
A n d a l l th r o u g h M c G ill
Position Description effective June 1, 2002
O u r c a te r in g e lv e s H a v e o r d e r s to f i l l
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will have academ ic and adm inistrative responsibility for graduate program s and postdoctoral experiences w ill share academ ic responsibilities for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars w ith the deans o f the discipli nary faculties w ill oversee a G raduate and P ostdoctoral Studies O ffice that w ill be responsible for the adm inistration o f graduate adm issions, registration, fellow ships, theses, and gradua tion as w ell as postdoctoral registration and fellow ships w ill be responsible for handling graduate student and p o st doctoral affairs (e.g., discipline, grievance, inform al p ro b lem -solving) w ill chair the Council on G raduate and Postdoctoral Studies
T he Council w ill report to Senate through A PPC w ith a m andate to: u
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develop, revise and approve the regulations, guidelines and policies on graduate and postdoctoral studies and so recom m end to Senate follow ing consultation w ith the relevant disciplinary faculties participate in strategic planning for initiatives to prom ote and enhance graduate and postdoctoral studies review and approve proposals for the creation o f new graduate program s
We h a v e p a s tr ie s a n d sw e e O r h e a r ty b u ffe ts
M c G i l l R e s id e n c e s \ * /
C a t e r in g D e p a r tm e n t
A l l p r e p a r e d b y o u r c h e fs I n b e a u tif u l d is p la y s W e a r e M c G ill's c a te r e r T h e b e s t o n e in to w n R e s e r v e y o u r d a te e a r ly S o y o u w o n 't b e l e t d o w n N o w p i c k u p th e p h o n e A n d g iv e u s a c a ll W e 'll m a k e s u r e y o u r p a r ty I s th e b e s t o n e o f a ll!
Call Milva Salera: 398-3732
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10 Features The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Canadian Veterans: mixed emotions of pain, pride and hope
November 11th, 2001: Montreal’s sunny Dominion Square set the mood for the morning’s solemn Rememberance Day ceremonies, attracting a collection of citizens joined in mourning, gratitude and retrospection. A flurry of emotion and patriotism joined forces to create a service that moved many to tears.
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The McGill Tribune. Tuesday. November 13. 2001
Features 11
T hat d a rn c a t Panthea Lee
A re there tim es in y o u r life w h en you feel th e p ain o f lo neli ness p en e tratin g y o u r soul? You are ju st dow n a n d o u t w ith no on e to tu rn to? I f so, th en you are in luck. Japan-based O m ro n C o rp o ratio n has recently unveiled its latest p ro d u c t, N eC o R o , a cat-like ro b o t w ith th e ability to u n d e r sta n d h u m a n behaviour. O m ro n , a g ian t in th e au to m ated factory system s industry, has b een rese arch in g sen so ry te c h n o lo g y fo r years, and N eC o R o em erged as a side p ro j ect. T h e com pany claim s the p ri m ary goal o f th e endeavour was to develop a p ro d u c t to facilitate n atu ral h u m a n -m ach in e co m m u n icatio n an d im prove th e rap p o rt betw een them . T h e result is a ro b o t th a t u n d e rsta n d s an d responds to h u m a n needs. O m ro n believes the im p ro v em en t o f co m m u n icatio n betw een m an an d m achine is a vital step in attain in g w h at it d eem s th e ‘O p tim iz a tio n Society,’ one in w hich all citizens can live harm oniously. T h e p u rsu it o f this u to p ia n society was w h at p ro m p te d this lab o u r o f love nearly three years in th e m aking. O d d ly enough, it bears an u n can n y resem blance to M r. B ig glesw orth o f A u stin Powers fame. Realized th ro u g h artificialintelligence technology, N eC o R o possesses th e ability to sense an d react to h u m a n em otions by sens ing its ow ner’s em otions th ro u g h th e in to n a tio n o f his o r her voice. Conversely, it has an expansive v ocabulary o f its ow n 48
noises to express its em o tio n s — alongside actio n s th a t in clu d e blinking, tiltin g its head, stretch ing a n d perking its ears. Internally, th e tab b y possess es a central nervous system com posed o f pressure sensors and a c tu a to rs, w h ich c o n tro l its m ove m ents an d reactions. W ith th e aid o f its learning an d grow th fu n c tio n , it w ill learn the so und o f th e o w n e r’s voice an d his o r her pecu liarities, an d adjust its actions to them accordingly. N eC oR o is capable o f expressing six em otions: satis fa c tio n , anger, u n easiness, dislike, fear a n d surp rise, generated th ro u g h a feedback system th a t stores all the in fo rm atio n it gathers over its lifetim e based on how it is trea t ed. For any situation w h ich m ay arise, th e ro b o t will recall past experiences, th en choose how it should react, relative to all previ ous incidences. T h is enables the cat to develop a distinctive per sonality w hich com plem en ts th a t o f its ow ner’s. T h a t's right folks — A .l. is no longer the flu ff restricted to S pielb erg flicks; H a le y Joel O sm o n t is now a creepy-lookin’ pussy cat. W ith ta ctile sensors an d m ic ro p h o n e s in its h ea d , th e ro b o t is endow ed w ith three o f th e five senses — to u c h , sight,
a n d hearing. N eC o R o can o rien t itself an d take up n u m ero u s posi tio n s com fo rtab ly a n d im itate a cat b ein g crad led , cu d d led or even p o u ncing.
w ere aim in g at so m eth in g differ e n t th a n A ibo. W e w a n te d a ro b o t th a t can facilitate co m m u n ic a tio n betw een h u m a n s an d m achines. W e w an ted to satisfy a
T h e ev o lu tio n o f virtual-pets has clearly been h ead in g dow n th is p a th , fo re sh ad o w e d by N e C o R o ’s pred ecesso rs: Ban D ai’s T am atg o tch i an d th e Sony ro b o -d o g A ibo. First egg-shaped keychains, th e n th e canine ver sion o f R o b o -C o p an d n o w k it ties th a t lo o k like th e y ju s t stro lled o u t o f “Pet C e m e tery 4 ”...w h at's next? W hen asked w h e th e r N eC o R o was inspired by A ibo, C h ris U dell, a spokesperson for th e p ro d u c t asserted th a t there defin itely is a difference. "O m ro n h ad been w orking o n a previous ro b o t cat before A ibo was released. W e co n tin u ed to im prove it an d eventually it becam e N eC o R o . B ut also we
need in society." T h e im p lic a tio n s o f th is research can have far-reach in g benefits to society. T h e co m p an y is cu rren tly lo oking in to practical ap plications o f sensory te ch n o lo gy in c lu d in g em b ed d in g it in to A T M m achines. T h e m ach in e w o u ld th e n be able to recognize individuals an d assess th e ir fam iliarity w ith th e sy stem , sk ip p in g u n n ec essary g u id an ce steps to speed u p th e tran sactio n , o r sense fru stratio n o r c o n fu sio n th ro u g h s o u n d reco g n itio n an d th e a m o u n t o f pressure bein g ap plied to its keys. "T h e ability to process in fo r m a tio n ab o u t a user's em o tio n s in o rd er to u n d ersta n d th e user's goals m akes [N eC o R o] an excep-
tio n al sym bol o f a m ore n atu ral h u m a n -m ach in e interface," says O m ro n . T h e p ro d u ct, U dell explains, is n o t targeted tow ards a specific dem ographic. "We th in k N eC o R o w o u ld be ideal for som eone w h o loves cats b u t c a n 't keep o ne at h o m e fo r w h atev er reason. N eC o R o w o u ld also be great for old er peo ple living alone or people w ho feel lonely a n d need a co m p an io n ," th e co rp o rate w ebsite elabo rates. "People p o u r th eir affection in to this ro b o t an d feel attach ed to it as th ey w o u ld a pet. By liv ing w ith each o th e r day after day, th e perso n becom es a t ease w ith th e ro b o t as it enriches th e per son's life." W a n t y o u r life en rich ed ? T h e real M cC o y can be yours for th e n o m in a l price o f 185,000 yen, w h ich equates to ap p ro x i m ately $ 2400. Japan will co m m ence sales N o v em b er 2 0 , p u ttin g o u t 5 ,0 0 0 units. A C a n ad ian release date has n o t been set, as it hinges o n th e reaction to an d th e success o f th e p ro d u c t dom estically. H eck, w h o w o u ld n ’t m in d a frien d w ho actually u n d ersto o d th em for once, never m in d on e th a t ad ap ts itself to th e ir needs an d feelings. Sensitive, attentive an d affectionate? H m m ...g o tta w o n d er if th ey ’ll com e o u t w ith a boyfriend m odel. T im e to dip in to th e savings account.
N a s a l-p a s s a g e -b u rn in g a ir a h a z a rd con tin ued fro m PA G E 8
O u r furniture and the founda tions o f our buildings can also con tain toxic pollutants. C abinetry m ade o f pressed wood, furniture
stuffing, and foam insulation can contain formaldehyde. Additional sources o f indoor air p o llu tio n include com bustion sources, house hold cleaning products (that m oun tain-fresh scent may be less pleasant when you realize that the m anufacturer’s chemicals can be toxic), tobacco smoke, non-stick cookware, and even dry-cleaned clothes. Such out door pollution as radon, pes ticides and ozone can also accumulate indoors. Overall, experts estimate that indoor air pollutant levels are 25-62 percent higher than outdoors. T h e list o f sources o f in d o o r pollution is over whelming, just like the dan gerous health effects. But you m ay think, is this really a problem? Surveys show that the general public does not consider indoor air pollution a
low-risk health problem . O u tdoor air pollution, nuclear power-plant accidents and radioactive wastes seem more pertinent. However, sci entists from the US Environm ental Protection Agency rate indoor air pollution as one o f the m ost press ing high-risk health problems for N o rth Americans. Considering that we spend an average o f 80-90 percent o f our tim e indoors, how should students react? O ne m ajor solution is to improve indoor ventilation. But for a starving student in M ontreal in the winter, either installing a venti lation system or opening windows can be unrealistic. Instead, one could be a sm art consumer. Use sec ond-hand rugs (that have lower chemical content), or choose n o t to carpet your ap artm en t at all. Consider w hether your walls really need to be painted — that m ustard yellow m ight n o t be so bad for a
semester. I f you really cannot take it, choose w ater-based paints, and check their ingredi ents for dangerous chemicals. T h e classified ads on InfoM cG ill are also a good resource to help you redo your living space. O lder fu rn itu re will generally have lower formaldehyde content, as it has had longer to gas-out. Also, a switch to "green" cleaning prod ucts is better for your health, and the environm ent. U nfortunately, indoor air pollution is impossible to avoid for m ost students. From newly carpeted co m p u ter labs, to stuffy window-less classrooms and to "lemon fresh" nasal-passage-burning washroom air, we cannot breathe clean air all the time. T h e key is to minimize it: choose your living space wisely, be a sm art consumer, or just spend more
tim e outside. I f you have any questions or com ments, e-m ail us at: themobiusstrip @hotmail. com
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a r t s 0 ; entertainment Tu e sd a y, Nov embe r 13, 20 0 1
A utum n D ancefloors: Alex A ttias, O sunlade, Greyboy Dan Zacks_____________________
It has been a very sweet sound ing autum n. W hile early letdowns like the Soul Manifesto no-show and the Bassment Jaxx rip-off suggested the season was destined for musical disappointm ent, the diversity o f tal ents that have recently played to our dance floors is nothing short of impressive. Lets review the high lights. Because o f Alex Attias’ twohour set at Q uartier Latin, during the early hours o f the 28th, O ctober ended with a bang. A small bang, m ind you, since at the peak o f his set there were perhaps a half-dozen peo ple in attendance. W hile it is true that the absurdly small Q uartier Latin dance floor is hardly con ducive to dancing and the venue itself is more pub and than club, it is nonetheless embarrassing and thor oughly disheartening when so few people make the effort to see a DJ of such skill and importance. Originally o f Switzerland and now based in W est-London, Alex Attias is at the vanguard o f the bro ken-beat sound. Difficult to define and as ridiculous as m ost genre labelling, broken-beat is the name given to electronic music, generally dance floor oriented, characterised by fractured rhythms. Because o f this rhythmic complexity, brokenbeat is far removed from traditional 4/4 house. So removed, in fact, that the m ore forew ord-thinking ele ments o f the jazz establishment are paying attention to its major players. Broken-beat is, in short, one o f the more im portant progressions in con-
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Eric Warwaruk
W atching the preview showing o f Life As A House, one phrase kept screaming in my mind: American Beauty Rip-off! Why? Both stories are about middle-aged men finding o ut they ain’t im m ortal and are g onna die; throw in a resentful/alienated son, a lusty six teen-year old female neighbour; caramelize, and fold in the need for fulfillment after finding the subur ban promise o f the good life an illu sion; stir in alienated/estranged wife and perhaps a re-kindling o f past love and rom ance coupled with flirting w ith precocious sexuality o f said lusty young teen neighbour; pop in oven and BING! Formulaic Baby-Boom moviecake. H ow ’s the icing? Bald. However, a few details are changed: single suburban architect Kevin Kline-Dad gets fired, destroys office in a rage at finding out he is fired because he "will not change"— pre sumably because he still designs his models w ith sticks and glue rather
temporary music and w hether as result o f his recently released longplayer Life Mirrors under the Beatless moniker (Ubiquity— easily found in any music store) or his older output as part o f the Bel-Air Project or Plutonia, Alex Attias is one o f broken-beat’s foremost devel opers. Attias is not only an excellent producer, but as his set dem onstrat ed, a highly talented selector. He threw down a terrifically eclectic mix o f broken-beat craziness, deephouse, nu-jazz and fusion rarities. W hile it was admittedly fascinating to hear as-of-yet unreleased WestLondon gems mixed by someone intimate with their production, it was the half-dozen or so fusion tracks that really impressed due to sheer obscurity. In particular, Attias laid down a samba-jazz cut from some unheard-of Japanese album (com plete a picture o f the C N Tower on the back cover, no less) with Flora Purim on vocals that was borderline transcendent. It is an absolute shame that in a city like Montreal Alex Attias would play to a near em pty house, particu larly since over five hundred people paid five times the price to see him in Toronto. Nevertheless, to his great credit and to the benefit of those few hard-core types in atten dance, it was an exceptional per formance. Fortunately, there was a proper attendance for the stellar set selected by producer and DJ extraordinaire O sunlade at the N ovem ber 1 Therapy. Osunlade is a fascinating
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than on the com puter— then col lapses on the ground outside after his victorious expulsion from the business. Reason? H e’s got a slight case o f inoperable cancer. Thence, he conceives o f a plan to live the ‘Fulfilled Life’— a life w ithout any pretension or bullshit, where it is now easy to w ant to hug the drug-addled, pill-popping gashuffing and especially dad-hating Son— future D arth Vader Hayden Christensen— or love the Kristin Scott Thomas-ex-W ife fully, w ith out the fear o f pain. T he plan is to tear down the old, crappy house in which he lives (yet sits on a beauti ful bluff overlooking the ocean) in w hich he wasted tw enty o f his years, and build a new house, much as he— drum roll— tears down his old life and builds a new one. Ergo, the title, Life As A House. BEST SCENE: D ad looking at his messy, long-used cubicle after being told he’s fired, and then tak ing a roll o f drafting paper and withdraw ing the hard metal inner tube. He then proceeds to smash
musician. W hile he has produced for decidedly mainstream artists like Patti Labelle, India Ayrie and Lauryn Hill, he is also a major force in the dance music underground. His recent Soul Jazz long-player
Paradigm is justly recognised as fouron-the-four brilliance and his 12” releases on the Yoruba im print, which he founded, continue to fea ture on influential alternative charts. W hat does he prefer? T he under ground, o f course. "I love the underground. W hen I produce for major artists it’s strictly political, it’s strictly major label, it’s strictly about money as opposed to creativity." Based on the response o f the sizeable crowed (including proper M cGill representation) it w ould seem that the underground (to the extent that anybody at the Jelo Bar can be considered part o f any under ground) loves O sunlade as well. W hen he stepped up to the decks replete in a draping African-print shirt and trademark piercings at a
little past two in the morning, there was a palpable energy and when the needle touched the groove o f the first track, pandem onium broke put. T he dance floor shook: breakers breaked, dancers danced, capoeira students did capoeira. T he more the crowed grooved, the thicker, deeper, more percussive and soulful Osunlade laid it on. From classic Rainer Truby to H erbert’s sublime Audience’ and new 4H ero to the Fela reworking that ended the night, every mix was perfect and, as is the case with only the very best DJs, the resulting set was vastly greater than the sum o f its individual tracks. As an added bonus, the very beautiful and talented Nadirah Shakoor, who provides the vocals on several Osunlade singles, performed ‘Tree o f Life’ to a passionately receptive throng o f males. Interestingly, while no one is com plaining about O sunlade’s house music, as the people who danced to it at Therapy can attest, he forecasts a change in the aesthetic o f his sound. "W ith m y next album I’m going to have a different view. It’s going to be all live and a combina tion o f worlds. It’s going to be a lit tle more soul, more jazz, and dance. I don’t even think there will be any thing four/four. It’s going to be strictly live with my band." This is in part a reaction to what Osunlade feels are problems w ithin the underground house scene, and while m any a DJ is inclined to wax philosophic on the strength and weaknesses o f their
scenes, given his success in both mainstream and alternative spheres, Osunlade’s ruminations should not be discounted as mere ramblings. If anybody understands alternative dance floor culture, it is he. "[The scene is] always on the break o f the next level, but it never gets there. It’s definitely further than it’s ever been because the world’s getting smaller thanks to computers and the influx o f all the dance musics. But there’s no com paring it to the techno-rave scene as far as sales, money and those kinds o f things are concerned. I think this scene can get to that point, b ut the problem, in my per sonal opinion, is that there’s not enough celebrity statuses. Because we do this for the love o f it, a lot o f us are not so keen to jum p out and say "take my life, I’m a commodity" which is a great thing, but I think it’s necessary for a few because people need some identities to say: "Well that’s that type o f music.” You still have these different genres because there’s no one person about who you can say "That his scene." A nd I think we need a few." W ho will com m odify them selves? Osunlade, o f course. Does this, coming from a man who has professed his love o f the under ground, present something o f an inconsistency? W ill he prove suc cessful and elevate his scene to the dubious level o f techno and rave? Some things, as a very wise woman once said, are impossible to know. Nevertheless, should you be interest ed in following his career, Osunlade P lease s e e GREYBOY, page 13
i t 's n o t w o r t h l i v i n g his cubicle and all these fragile architectural housing models in the firm while people run and scream in terror, his face a mask o f stone.
yet-H urting Teen, is apt, although in the beginning th e depiction moves dangerously to resemble an almost perpetual pout.
R U N N E R -U P: Son, in the beginning, wakes up from sleep, immediately grabs a plastic bag, hangs him self in a tie from the clos et hanger-bar, then proceeds to sniff a toxic substance from the bag; col lapses when he goes lim p and bar can’t support weight. M other dis covers his sprawled out-of-it body and walks away, shaking head in an almost desperate don’t-know-whatto-do.
BEST D IA L O G U E : Son, after finally getting to the point of trusting the old man: "H ow do you w ant to be somebody you’re not?" G ood question; som ething every one ponders while buying on-sale frozen concentrated orange juice. A nother classic line, about w hy son uses drugs: "I like how it feels n ot to feel." Ah, those delightful contra dictions that em otions can only provide.
BEST A C TO R : Kevin Kline’s n ot bad; a little stiff in the ol’acting joints, b u t as he moves through the film he works o u t those kinks, as does Kristin Scott-Thomas, whose small character flourishes enhance an overall thin ex-wife-falls-in-lovewith-ex-again part. T hus H ayden Christensen, by default o f being the only other really m ajor character, gets the award. His depiction o f that classic paradox, the Rebellious-
W O R ST ACTOR: H ands dow n, Jena M alone (which the press kit describes as "the m ost prom ising young screen talent w orking today") as the lusty yet vir ginal sixteen-year-old next-door neighbor— another paradox, as you will notice. W hy the fascination w ith young girls who ooze sex yet are virgins? W hy reduce such a character to gazing in lust w ith the odd sexual know-it-all smirk for
novelty— yet never flesh o ut her character w ith such script standards as ‘lines’ or ‘character develop ment?’ I shrugged my shoulders as well. O V ERA LL IM PR E SS IO N : T h e film kinda grows on you— like a mold. T h e beginning seemed awkward, w ith its utilitarian lines and scene development necessary to drive the plot— b u t soon, I have to adm it, the story sucks you in, in another simile, like a Hoover. In this type o f movie, the script is stru ctu red by th e story, w hich sometimes necessitates constraining actors to their lines w ithout m uch subjective embellishment. But if the story idea itself drives well, and it seems sincere in trying to convey its central them e— w hich is the fear o f death and trying to find some m eaning in this G o d forsaken world— then there’s not m uch really w rong w ith the film, although you may n o t like that redring m ark after you wrench the vac uum hose off the skin.
A&E 13
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13 2001
A N ig h t w ith E m b e r S w ift a n d P a in tin g D a isie s Sage ruminations on punk, life and rock n roll Eric Warwaruk
W h en I review ed E m ber Swift’s live C D , The Wage is the Stage, I concluded th a t in terms o f the live perform ance, Em ber w ould please her fans. After last Saturday at the Jupiter Room , a small sec ond-floor club on St. Laurent, it is confirm ed: Em ber’s live perform ance traces out her narrative o f self individuality and alternative liv ing— either evoked via an atm os pheric punk-folk style or the fusion o f elements o f jazz in between short bursts o f bubbly-synth pop— quite satisfactorily. Playing to m ostly an all-female audience, who by the end o f the perform ance were en-masse danc ing in enjoym ent in front o f the small stage, E m ber strum m ed— sometim es violently— her acoustic guitar and exhibited her quasiyodeling/wailing m odulating voice, while backed up by her energetic and active bass/electro-fiddle player and drum m er. T h e thing th at struck m e m ost about the perform ance, however,
was a clearer explication o f Em ber’s oft-described and repeated "burn ing furnace o f social activism.” For some reason, th at phrase, w hich perplexed m e in m y review o f her live C D , has become con nected to m y reception o f Em ber’s music like honey to a bear’s ass,
mostly because my brain will N O T connect an acoustic guitar w ith the w ord ‘punk,’ w ith all o f its baggage o f meaning. But can an acoustic guitar— really, now — figure in punk music? T h e th in g I realized w hile w atching Em ber’s perform ance that I did n o t in listening to Wage is the
Stage, was the im portance o f the audience in defining the difference between ‘good’ p u n k and ‘bad ’ punk. These term s are n o t descrip tive o f the quality o f the music, but rather the sub-type o f the music. "W hatcha talkin about, Willis!?" Shaddap, I’m gettin to it! In this case, h ad p u n k , in m y PreC am b rian term inology, is p un k th at’s bad-ass (at this point, make a fist and curl your lip) where the definition o f ‘alternative living’ is usually u n d ersto o d as throw ing em pty beer bottles through ironbarred dow ntow n grocery stores at three in the m orning while crying o u t "ANARCHY!"— an d /o r any th in g else o f this behavior th at can be further deduced by th at exem plar concluding phrase o f com pres sion "and w hat-not." G ood p u n k , on th e o th er hand, is positive: some kind o f M o th e r E arth -G aia th an g th a t positions itself opposite to consum erist shark-lawyer middle-class office-w orker-m ass-culture-establish m en t-m en tality by evoking images o f w ild-haired prancing and dancing through meadows o f flow
ers and where everyone lives in free love and harm ony— while still giv ing the F-finger, o f course. After surveying the audience at E m ber’s perform ance, and noting the vast m ajority o f w hich were w om en, o f w hich half-to-threequarters were stroking their girl friend’s back, I experienced a sud den epiphany— or at least, the faint spark o f my tiny, wee one-w att bulb over m y head. I recognized in E m ber’s perform ance and music the creation o f a space for others w ho feel they don’t fit into or w ant the d o m in a n t J-L o ideology: a space defined as anti-establishm ent by the feel o f a warm, femalefriendly environm ent that seems to say, "bring yourself to a place where no m an will feast on your sight, and you can feel com fortable and dance in th e pleasure o f oth er females!" Sort o f like Cheers if it was run by the W om yn's Centre. In th a t sense, I w ould have to say th at Em ber’s acoustic perform ance was quite punkfully successful. A fter E m ber Swiff was the Painting Daisies, an all-female hard blues/rock b and from E dm onton,
w hich was like w atching anti-socie ty p u n k tagging its partner— hateyet-envy-high-society rock— for th e next ro u n d in a tw o-team wrestling m atch o f this evening’s en tertain m en t. T h o u g h the singing was pretty incoherent, as the sound system was n ot in the best o f shape, the two guitarists traded ripping Jim i Hendrix/Page solos, w ith some broken-glass brit tle rough-w ork T horogood slide by th e lead sin g er/g u itarist, an d plucky unw ashed-haired hillbilly banjo by the other guitarist mixed in. T h e bass player looked as if she was slapping and wrestling w ith the bass rather than playing it— w hich is a good thing-—and the drum m er pushed the music w ith a pulsation o f th at classic four/four rock beat, sprinkling in boom ing hits on the tom s where appropriate. Overall, an excellent counter-exam ple that shows up anybody w ho says that girls can't rock, or th at girls should be nice and quiet and n ot do hash in Belgium while on tour.
Greyboy im p resses d e sp ite aw kw ard m ixing continued from PAGE 12 is now a monthly resident at the Shifting Gears party in Toronto and as such, will hopefully be spinning w ith a greater frequency in Montreal. Finally, N ovem ber 7 th saw Greyboy mix up a set o f dusty rari ties for an admiring university crowd at Le Swimming. There was much anticipation surrounding this
show— Greyboy, despite a long and prodigious career and a very success ful 2000 release, Mastered the A rt (Ubiquity), had yet to make an appearance in Montreal. Overall, he didn’t disappoint. T he man knows his way around the cross fader and he scratched into tracks w ith a finesse and confidence that was utterly impressive. T he selection was also tight— it has no d oubt been some tim e since a
M ontreal dance floor has heard D eodato laid down. People responded appropriately, packing the dance floor so tight that dancing became quite impossible. Nevertheless, there were problems. Several times the sound cut out abruptly, angering the crowd and exasperating Greyboy, and because some mixes were so deft, the ones th at were merely mediocre were awkwardly so.
N ext week, look for a review of the Kenny Bobien and Ivana Satnilli show at Therapy and keep your eyes peeled for sets from Toronto’s bril liant M oonstarr and N ew York’s Nickodemus. Also, this Wednesday the world’s greatest synth-pop band,
•Don't forget your breakfast card! •Hamburger cards
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Aide à l'enfance Save the Children Canada
Freezepop, plays at the Lotus Eater’s Café. D id you know they call Freezies ‘Freezepops’ in the States? Crazy.
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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13 2001
A ereogram m e A Story in W hite M atad o r Records A ereogram m e is a Glasgow b an d th a t started in 1998, an d is carried by the M atador label, the sam e label to w hich Belle and Sebastien, Pavem ent, an d Yo La T engo belong. A n d w h a t is A ereo g ram m e's schtick? L ight pop? Classical? Funk-Jazz? I f you said yes to any o f the previous, th e n you m ight have th e reaction I d id w hen I first pushed 'play' on th e C D ... ME (reading M a rk K ingwell's T h e W orld W e W an t’ w hile w aiting for song to cue): D u m -d e-d o o -d a h -d a y ... SON G : AAAAAAHHHHH H H H H H H H H H H !!!!!!!! (sud d en pause. T hen-) A A A A H H H H H H H !!!!!.... M E (su d d en ly scream ing at b ook): M A R K K IN G W E L L —you're n u th in but a P O P -P H IL O S O P H Y C O R P O RA TE W H O R E ! T h a t was w hen, in shaking a n d u tter fury, I h urled m y copy o f The World We W ant against the w all an d proceeded to bang m y head in tim e w ith the screams and g ru n chy guitars (that's a com bina tio n o f ‘grungy’ and c ru n c h y — I ju st m ade it up!) th a t alm ost oblit erated th e sou n d o f th e drum s. Proceeding w ith such behavior, on e m ight expect two results: 1) T h a t cursed k in k in m y neck th a t's been the bane o f m y young ad u lt life m ay finally be w orked o u t, an d 2) a very persuasive argu m en t th a t m usic C A N drive one insane. H ow ever, w h a t h ap p e n ed next stym ied b o th o f these expec tations. A new layer o f sound effect-loops, acoustic guitars and soft singing were th en suddenly dro p ped in an d juxtaposed, w ith th e result being the form ation o f an. antithesis to the thesis o f fran tic shrieks and ear-bleed-inducing digitally-fuzzed-distorted guitars. A co m m on them e to th e rest o f th e songs? To a m ore o r less degree. T h e result? A synthesis o f aesthetic desperation th a t m ade m e pick up m y previously-tossed b o o k and press it lovingly to m y face w hile cooing soothing sounds o f tenderness an d apology— yet at th e next instan t throw ing it vio lently back at the wall à la Ike T urner as the thesis reared its ugly an d very shrieky head. W h a t's going o n w ith the m o o d swings? A ereogram m e is attem p tin g to answer th a t preva le n t q u e stio n in these p o stgrunge-pop-punk-ska-rock times: ho w do w e tackle the standard three-chord and four-chord struc tu re o f the typical rock song— and m ake it sou n d new? T h e answer is, rath er th an adding com plexity to th e song ‘horizontally’— th a t is, to th ro w in m ore an d unexpected chords in to th e song brew; pro duce com plexity Vertically’— th a t is, have th e sta n d a rd tw o /th re e /fo u r c h o rd changes w ith a b ackground o f atypical
sound effects/loops, an d break up th e co n tin u ity o f th e song via the structure itself or how the in stru m ents are played. T h e consequent sou n d m ay inspire a variety o f reactions, causing either th e good folks o f A ereogram m e to be p atted o n the back for th eir successful p o st-m odern experim ent,’ o r to defend against charges o f being a
w onderfully vile vituperations, the best o f w hich being ‘Leech’s "I’m just a n o tch on your lipstick case/ C an’t help p u k in g w h en I see your face.” M oreover, Jesse Luscious utilizes the Influenza vocal tech nique, singing as if ab o u t to vom it w hile nu rsin g a severe case o f nasal congestion. The F risk’s Rank Restraint E P serves as a w icked sh o t o f acidic espresso to tide prospective fans over u n til th e band h o p efu lly delivers an absolute grande Red-eye o f a fulllength LP. -Leah K Ncham a
S o le x a t La S a lla R o s s a b an d o f Sm ashing Pum pkins, Tool or R adiohead w annabes. Personally, however, I fo u n d th e delicate balance betw een rage an d fragility to be w ell-straddled by A ereogram m e, even th o u g h th e ir n am e rem in d s m e o f a chocolate bar for som e reason. T h e said lo o p /so u n d effects are sparse, functional, an d well in co r porated into the disto rted pow erplays, an d (som etim es im m ediate) transitions to a soft, mellow tone o r vice-versa are d o n e in an alm ost sm o o th o rg an ic m o v e m en t o f o rd e r/fra g m e n ta tio n . O v erall impression? Music-wise, n o t rocket-E no science, b u t m ore like a personal hobby rocket m ade o f balsa w ood an d glue an d launched from the back-yard: a com forting, small explosion. -Eric Warwaruk T h e Frisk R ank Restraint A deline Records In early 2000, three-quarters o f T h e C rim inals arose from the ashes o f th a t b an d to form the original line-up o fT h e Frisk. O ver the past year, th e group has played b u t a few opening slots in th e East Bay an d engaged in a severe game o f personnel m usical chairs, leav ing vocalist Jesse Luscious, the o n ly ex -C rim in al still in th e group. Even so, at one p o in t this past sum m er th ey m anaged to cohere as a q u arte t long enough to m uster an excellently audacious eight-song EP, R ank Restraint. T h e outfits m usical aura is rem in isce n t o f th e sneering, brazen U .K . p u n k o f old, su m m o n in g up fo n d m em ories o f snotty-nosed rogues w ith chiclet teeth, rolled-up sleeves, an d no future, corning bobbies an d booz ing o n the Tube. T h e Frisk are n o t asham ed to pay trib u te to th e old m asters either, sp o u tin g o u t a bratty cover o f T h e Clash’s ‘K now Your R ights’ w hile th e rem ainder o f the album kicks fo rth in the sam e energetically m elodic, goober-filled vein. It seems th at w hen T h e Frisk are n o t busy fos te rin g reckless an g st against hom ogeneous co rp o rate society, they are taking th eir bad-assed (p ro n o u n c e d ‘ay-yassed’) selves cru isin g p an -A m erica in black C hevy Novas. T h e w hole ordeal is quite cheeky, b u t T h e Frisk are far to o g en u in e to m e an d e r in to im m ature novelty. Still, in the spirit o f British brassiness, th e E P boasts som e
M J . Frassica
Elisabeth Esselink is a slight w om an from Amsterdam. She does n’t speak m uch French. She brings to the stage a sampler and tam bourine. H er samples, culled from the worst and m ost obscure corners o f her used music store, C ‘n D , pro vide the prim ary m elodic interest in her music. T he sampler blows like a carnival calliope, churning o ut retro organ, slide guitar, ratty harmonica, piano loops, horns. H er vocal deliv ery falls som ew here betw een G insberg chant and Sleater-Kinney projective shout. But her lyrics are virtually indecipherable as heard because o f her intentionally un n at ural stress patterns. As a dem onstra tion, here is a brief stress analysis o f three lines from the tune "Comely Row": "the sai-‘lor-m an he/m ade a co-‘m e-ly/row of ‘trees ‘on ‘each/side o f the coun-‘try/road so that ‘a ‘dai-‘ly" &c. Imagine this as a staccato ejec
Three good shows in one week is heaven sent an d so this w eek only live reviews. N ote: Ted Leo and the Pharm acist played on the same n ig h t as Preston School o f Industry. We caught 3 / 4 o f his set after the first show an d it was good. T hanx. Radio Berlin, Femme Fatale, a n d One. Candle.Power O ne.C an d le.P o w er has em ployed only their dead pan heart felt em o rock for ju st a few shows since their form ation a short tim e ago. However, they have already appeared w ith such large acts as the W eakerthans. T h in unprocessed guitars beat against each other cre atin g periodic dissonance w hile bowed double basses cut through w ith clear m elodic lines. Songs were rather straightforward, graced w ith female vocal and passionate unam plified harm onizing supplied by other and all members o f the band. In the least negative sense, M ontreal’s O ne.Candle.Pow er are an entry-level em o band, m eaning
tion o f sounds, stresses falling on beats n o t corresponding to the nat ural cadence o f the phrases. T he effect is rather like taking a melody w ritten in one key signature and transposing it to another. C om prehensibility trades o ff for melodic abstraction and vocal inno vation. It’s n ot a bad trade, either, since m ost o f Solex’s lyrics border on cryptically dadaist nonsense. Esselink clearly fronts this act. In an interview , Esselink com plained about collaborative music writing. "There are egos and every one wants to do their own thing, w hich is understandable, b u t it always ends up in com prom ised music." Esselink credits total in d e pendence w ith her productivity as the one-w om an Solex. O n e prob lem; in live format, she needs back up. A drum m er and a guitarist fill o u t her stage team, b u t these are squandered on mere parroting o f the recorded material. Because so m uch o f the music relies upon sam pled sounds, the presence o f live
m usicians could allow for the show ’s only organic variability. U nfortunately, Solex doesn’t take nearly enough advantage o f her com petent guitar/drum m er back up, so her live act ends up sounding like her C D set on random play upstairs at La Salla Rossa. In w hat appeared to be a gesture o f apolo getic show -w om anship, Esselink pulled o u t a harm onica and m im ed the blues harp sample from the title track o f her latest C D , "Low Kick and H ard Bop." This bit o f play acting was com pletely unnecessary; none o f her other samples had the pretense o f live musicianship. If seeing Solex live is rather like listening to her C D , there is one consolation: it’s a pretty dam n good C D . Low Kick a n d H ard Bop deliv ers eclectic sample wackiness yoked to avant-garde songwriting. It is intelligent post-pop, salvaging frag m ents o f w asted an d w recked recordings in M adm axian brico lage. D ance music for vintage-store floozies with pixie cuts.
they are extremely easy to like, even if your ear is train ed fu rth er towards m elodic alt. rock. Join th e ranks o f u niform w ork shirts and tie hardcore-gonenew wave bands w ith T o ro n to ’s Fem m e Fatale. ' c f These guys decided that they didn’t w ant to be exact copycats so they added an extra drum m er, kewl! I bet they even publish m an ifestos instead o f lyrics. O h well, at least they played a short set. Radio Berlin is C anada’s best an d darkest new wave band that has the hair to back the sound. F rantic dancing, harm onically blurred industrial keyboards, the som ber sounds o f two bassists, and m any a tom beat kept the crowd pleased. C heck o u t their latest C D on Ache Records.
I f frat boys weren’t such losers, they w ould form a band like the Shins. N o th in g to complicated,! G ross-out could play drum s, a beef shirt wearing guy w ith baseball hat could play bass and drive the van, the hyperactive nerd could play some sort o f crazy keyboard and effects and the cute one could strum guitar and sing sweet songs o f personal ‘feelings.’ T h e best part is th at they w ould actually be goodj and for once, people w ould like them . P reston School o f In d u stry was the perfect follow up to the! Shins, college music for the slight ly older generation. O n e may w ant to th in k o f them as the brothers and sisters to the aforem entioned frat boys. Led by ex-Pavem ent m em ber Spiral Stairs, the band rocked through a set o f solid classic early 9 0 s indie rock disrupted only by occasional burst o f noise com plem ents o f the faulty bass amp. Rather th an ju st straight com par isons to Pavem ent, PSO I is better com pared to influences shared w ith early P avem ent records, m ost notably T h e Fall. Each song made everyone feel good about them selves. Jangly rhythm guitar and melodically fuzzed lead set on a beat that can make one nod their head characterized P S O I’s regular indie rock, void o f aggressiveness or any other em barrassm ent.
Preston School o f Industry, The Shins, a n d The Standard T h e Standard were so typical P ortland, O regon. T h ey played long intricate songs th at bordered sim ultaneously on academic tech nicality and casual jam m ing. T he keyboardist treated all w ith some w onderfully com plex lines backing apologetically scream ed vocals. Truthfully, although T h e Standard was a fun listen, they ju st had too m any guitars and d idn’t use them to rock, b u t rather to noise.
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13 2001
Montreal Insectarium starts tasty exhibit Mosquito Jean Matthews_______
It’s a co m m o n trad itio n in S o u th e rn A frica, M exico, S o u th w e ste rn C h in a , a n d in S o u th East Asia. A n d now, it’s com e to M ontreal. O n T h u rsd ay N o v e m b e r 8, th e M o n tre a l Insectarium served insects to one an d all. T h e In se c ta riu m la u n c h e d th e ir an n u al ‘Insect T astings’ exhi b itio n last week. T h e atm osphere in th e In se c ta riu m was q u ite u n iq u e, w h at w ith its b le n d o f w ell-dressed M ontrealers, profes sional chefs, A frican drum m ers, a n d th e feeling th a t 5 0 ,0 0 0 insects were n o ticin g every m ove y o u m ade. Present at th e show, w ere such celebrities as renow ned in se ct-h u n ter G eorges Brossard, o ften th o u g h t o f as D iscovery C a n a d a ’s answ er to D iscovery A ustralia’s croc-hunter. T h e m en u was w o rth a big h e lp in g o f cu rio sity in itself. B oasting such alleged delicacies as T unisian m ealw orm s, M adagascar m orsels, an d leaping locusts, one was stru ck w ith a m ixed sense o f in cred u lity an d anticipation. A fter do w n in g a few glasses o f th e c o m p lim e n ta ry w ine, I w o rk ed u p the courage to pick up a plate an d stand in line for the insect buffet. A t th e en d o f the buffet, m y plate had, o n it, one spicy g rilled sc o rp io n , tw o locusts, m opane w orm s, crickets, honeybees, an d to w ash it all dow n, a refreshing glass o f an t nectar. It m u st be said th a t there is a d efinite correlation betw een the appearance an d appeal o f foods.
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T h e fact th a t th e scorpion was staring at m e as if q u estio n in g the eth ics b e h in d m y in te n tio n s , w hile stoically aw aiting co n su m p tio n , m ade it th e hardest o f all to chew. I suppose th e fact th a t it was h a lf th e size o f m y h a n d d id n’t help either. M o p an e w orm s m e rit a trial, as gross as th ey appear to be, an d th e an t nectar sh o u ld be avoided, as sweet as it sounds. W h a t m ust be rem em bered w hile eating th e cricket basbousa, is th a t cricket legs m u st be chew ed carefully. Speaking from personal experi ence, it is n o t very pleasant to w alk a ro u n d w in k in g at cu te fem ale insectivores, o nly to have th e m laugh at you as tw o o f those legs are stick in g th ro u g h y o u r teeth. T h e "Insect Tastings" exhibit has been ru n n in g at th e M o n treal In sectariu m since 1993, an d every year it attracts aro u n d 2 0 ,0 0 0 people. T h e insects being served are raised an d prepared w ith care, m eeting q u ality standards set by th e Q u e b e c D e p a rtm e n t o l A griculture, Fisheries an d Food. The
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Cultural exhibitions about Arabic countries, costumes, Books, Posters, Music, Food from different Arabic Countries, SheeSHa, Henna (Tattoo), Movies, Documentaries, and Performances (Dances, Dabkeh). T h u rsd a y N o v e m b e r 15th, 2001 T h e Ball R oom , S h a tn e r B uilding A ll D ay From 11:00 am t o 6 :0 0 pm
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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 13, 2001
L a v a l r u n s o v e r M c G ill
Game notes:
Rouge-et-Or amass 336 rushing yards in 42-14 victory over Redmen
W as th a t Perm in Zubriggen?
Neil Schnurbach
kick, w hich gave Laval excellent field position. Laval q u arte rb a ck M a th ie u B ertrand was quick to capitalize, throw ing a beautiful touchdow n pass to Jean-Francois Turgeon. It
O n c e again th e M cG ill R edm en saved their w orst for last. A year ago, M cG ill ended th eir season w ith a 50-3 shellack ing at the hands o f Phil C ôté and th e O ttaw a Gee-Gees. T his year it was u n h era ld ed tailback Jessy G ag né w ho help ed his Laval R ouge-et-O r han d the R edm en their w orst defeat o f the season, a 42 -1 4 w hooping in front o f over 12,000 fans at a snow y PEPS sta d iu m in Ste-Foy. G agné rushed for 153 yards on 13 carries against the R edm en w h o were ju st overpowered by the R ouge-et-O r offensive line. All to ld Laval runners accounted for 336 yards on the ground, while M cG ill m anaged 124. “T h e credit goes to ou r play ers,” said Laval head coach G lenn C o nstantin. “T h ey cam e o u t and executed the gam e plan. O u r ru n ners were just great today. M cG ill was our Achilles heel and we m an aged to conquer them today.” C onstantin was referring to the fact th a t prior to this game, M cG ill had beaten Laval in tw o o f The Redmen were outplayed by a Laval th eir three previous encounters, including a last second 29-23 w in was a lead th a t th e R ouge-et-O r ju st two weeks ago. w ould never relinquish. T h in g s w en t from b ad to Laval sets to n e early worse for M cGill. A fter a tw o-ando u t o n th e ir n ex t possession, It looked like it w ould be a P illa is p u n t was blocked. A long afternoon right from the start D m itry K iernan field goal m ade for the Red n W hite. After pick th e score 10-0. ing up only one first dow n on A few short m inutes later it th eir first possession, M cG ill was was 21-0 for Laval and it appeared forced to p u n t th e ball away. as if the ro u t was on. P u n ter A nand Pillai flubbed his
W ith tim e w inding dow n in the first half, however, M cG ill m ade a game o f it. T ailback N ick H o ffm a n n capped o ff a 14-play 88-yard drive w ith a one yard touch d o w n plunge
team they’d beaten twice this season to m ake the score 2 1 -7 for Laval. H o ffm an n rushed for 67 yards on the day. “T h e touchdow n looked big,” said the Greenfield Park native. “It gave us some m o m en tu m w hich was w hat we were looking for at the tim e.” H offm ann’s w ords could n o t ring m ore tru e as p u n t returner A ndrew C o o k ran back a p u n t 98
yards for a touchdow n to bring the score to 21 -1 4 at the half. M cG ill n o t w ith o u t chances T h e real tu rn in g p o in t in the game for M cG ill cam e in the sec o n d half. W ith the R ouge-et-O r lead ing 28-14 in the th ird quarter, the ho m e side en co u n tered a real b o u t o f fu m b litis. In three straight possessions, Laval fum bled the ball an d M cG ill recov ered the fum ble each tim e. Two o f those tim es it was defensive linem an Ryan G rad w ho came away w ith th e pigskin. T h e offense, however, could n o t m atch th e success o f the defense an d failed to score in all th ree possessions. M c G ill’s defense seemed to lose confidence after th a t an d was obliterated by Laval’s offensive line. T h e decisive blow was a 38yard ru n by Laval quarterback B e rtran d se ttin g up a 2-yard to u c h d o w n ru n by tailb ack M athieu Brassard to give Laval an in su rm o u n ta b le 3 4 -1 4 adv an tage. “W e lost intensity at the end o f the first half,” said Bertrand. “T h e n th ey m ade a defensive adjustm ent in th e locker room and we k ep t tu rn in g the ball over. But th at was o u r w ake-up call an d we were able to pick up o u r intensity in the second half.”
O ne thing that we can say about Laval fans is that they are definitely a wild bunch. O n e gen tleman decided th at bringing his skis to the stadium on a snowy day w ould be a good idea. After the game, the guy skied on the field, m uch to the delight o f the crowd. Pillai lays dow n the law A n an d Pillai is m ore well know n for his right foot than pow erful stature. But the dim inutive kicker made a huge tackle in the second q u arter w hich alm ost caused the Laval returner to lose his helmet. I’m sure Mr. Pillai will tell his grandkids about that one. W as th a t the basketball coach? I thought that there may have been a conspiracy at the beginning o f the game. T h e head referee looked rem arkably like M cG ill basketball coach N evio M arzinotto. Judging by the ref’s partisan calls towards the hom e team, I don’t th in k that could have been the basketball guru though. W here was th e blocking? M cG ill had som e special teams problems in terms o f p u n t ing the ball. T here were two occa sions where p unter Pillai looked up and had Laval defenders on top of him before he could kick the ball. Those punts were both blocked, of course, leading to crucial Laval points.
S o c c e r M a rtle ts to lo s e k e y v e ts n e x t y e a r continued from PAGE 1 record in their pool during the opening round after tying tw o-tim e defending champions, Dalhousie 11 and defeating hom etow n O ttaw a 4-1. “We were hungry. A bunch o f us came to Nationals for the fourth tim e around, and we didn’t w ant to bow out early,” said Melamed. “We had trem endous games against Dalhousie and O ttaw a, we came out w ith all our firepower. W inning a medal was som ething we felt had to be done,” added Gentry. In the tournam ent opener on Thursday, M cGill had to face off against a D alhousie Tigers team th at eliminated them from goldmedal contention the last two years, and beat them in the bronze medal game in 1998.
M cG ill co-captain Sophie Labrom opened the scoring in the 40th m inute. Dalhousie evened the score on a disputed goal by Stef Finateri in the 7 8th m inute on a scramble in front o f the net, w hich ended the tourn am en t for firststring M cGill keeper Sacha Liben. O n the play, Liben collided w ith team m ate A lanna M aloney and was knocked unconscious. M cGill coach M ounicot asserted th a t a D alhousie forw ard had pushed M aloney into Liben and should have received a foul. Needing a win on Saturday to advance to the cham pionship game, M cGill came ou t firing against the hom etow n O ttaw a Gee-Gees. Rookie m idfielder N icole Shepherd put the M artlets on the board in the 10th m inute when she tapped in a loose ball. After missing
a num ber o f subsequent chances, M cGill doubled their lead in the 53rd m inute on a goal by fellow first-year player Sabrina D ufour off o f a free kick. O ttaw a got back into the game in the 7 8th m inute after Melissa M acD onald redirected a free kick into the net. However, the m om en tu m was short-lived, as Eva M elam ed found the goal with a shot from just outside the box to make the score 3-1. Sophie Labrom p ut the game away in the 89th m inute w ith her second goal o f the tournam ent. “T his was the best game I have ever seen this team play in m y four years [coaching the M artlets],” said M ounicot. “T hey did everything you could w ant from soccer play ers. T h e technical, physical and m ental effort was outstanding.”
Last h u rrah for six veterans Eva Melamed, despite playing w ith an injured toe for the whole week, was nam ed to the tourna m ent all-star team along w ith team mates Ashlee G entry and Amber Allen. Earlier, M elamed won the Chantal N avert Award as the coun try’s m ost valuable player and also was a first-team A ll-C anadian. G en try and Allen, the n atio n ’s leader in scoring for the second straight season, were chosen as sec ond-team all-Canadians. “T his was by fat my favourite team I’ve played w ith,” reflected Allen, w ho played for the Vancouver Breakers o f the W om en’s League this past summer. M ounicot will have a tough job on his hands replacing those
three, as well as form er AllCanadians Sophie Labrom and Julia Scrase, who played in the tourna m en t despite recovering from a knee injury. T h e sixth graduating player is midfielder Jessica Hawker. “Playing w ith players like A m ber and Eva was a really good experience,” co m m ented Busilacchi, one o f three M cGill rookies who were conference all stars, along w ith Sabrina D ufour and Nicole Shepherd. “It was a real ly good year for us, there is a lot to learn from w in n in g th e silver m edal.” “T h e veterans will be very dif ficult to lose because o f their talent and experience,” added the coach. “I’m thankful for all the hard work they p u t into the program .”
A li-K h a n 2 n d a t N a t i o n a l s Mark Kerr The cross-country course in Sherbrooke m ight be five kilom e ters in distance, but it took the last few metres to decide the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) w om en’s cross-country cham pi onship last Saturday.
Sarah Ali-Khan, hot on the trail In what was one o f the most exciting finishes in recent years, the top three finishers were sepa rated by a mere three seconds. M cGill’s Sarah Ali-Khan captured the silver medal, just behind Beth
W ightman o f Queen’s University. Ali-Khan passed the Ontario U niversity A thletics cham pion Michaela McLure from Guelph University in the dying seconds. For her efforts, Ali-Khan was named a first team All-Canadian. Her teammate, N icole Portley, fin ished tenth overall and w on a berth as a second team AllCanadian. Cross-country coach Dennis Barrett was especially impressed with the two runners. “We had some very tough runners this year w ho placed very high on a regular basis,” said Barrett o f Portley and Ali-Khan. Because Ali-Khan finished in the top four, she earned the opportunity to com pete at the World University Cross Country C ham pionships this com ing April in Spain. Barrett is not sure whether she will cash that ticket. In the team portion o f the w om en’s event, the Martlets took hom e the bronze. Beside the strong races from Portley and AliKhan, Nadia Morin finished in 28th place. Equally important for the team’s bronze accomplish ment was Zein Odeh’s 49th place finish and Leslie Marcott’s 61st place finish. Their strong show ings were vital as the Martlets came in third by only a point over
the University o f Guelph. “W e had a good crack at sec ond on the day, but we are happy to com e hom e with a medal,” said Barrett. In the men’s race that fol lowed, Benoit Lebeau was the top M cGill runner with a placing o f 33rd. Brant Carson, w ho accord ing to Barrett showed marked improvement throughout the sea son, followed just a few seconds back, com ing in 42nd. Other notable runners for the Redmen team were D anny Lennox in 64th and Yohsuke Hayashi, perhaps starting a little too strong, in 80th. D espite show ing som e im provem ent from last year’s Nationals, coach Barrett felt that the men’s team did not put in a consistent effort over the entire season. “W e were up and down all season long,” said Barrett. “We never seemed to get on a track as a team. H olding your position is very important. N o one seemed to hold their position on the team.” Looking ahead to the next season o f cross-country com peti tion, Barrett said the outcom e will depend solely on off-season work. “As for next season, the team’s success will depend on the effort put in on the off-season.”
Alison Ticmanis, right, is tripped by a Carleton forward. The Martlets won the game 8-1, followed by a 16-1 thrashing of Bishop’s on Sunday
M athieu Darche scores: The first of many This past Saturday saw the former McGill hockey star Mathieu Darche score his first official National Hockey League goal. The Columbus Blue Jacket forward's goal at 10:57 o f the second period helped secure a 5-1 victory over the home-town Boston Bruins. W hile it may yet prove too soon for bold predictions, the Tribune feels it perfectly safe to say that Darche will not only stick with the team for the rest o f the season, but that he will lead them in scoring. N ow that he has found the back o f the net once, Darche should have no problem doing it many times in turn bringing respectability to a franchise that has struggled in only its second season. When asked for comment upon Darche's momentous tally, Tribune editor-in-chief Rhea Wong is quoted as saying: "Matt Darche in my humble and unbiased opinion is probably the best hockey player I've ever seen play. I hear he's single too." While Darche's availability has yet to be confirmed, there is no doubt that for the clean cut young man and one time recepient o f the J.P. Metras trophy, the future looks bright indeed. Career National Hockey League Statistics EVENTS Mathieu Darche Gordie Howe Wayne Gretzky
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15 nov: Evergon Presents Wotds 4 Images totFacing Queer I Th30- ARTS-230,853 Sherbrooke W.
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18 Sports
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, 31 October 2001
R e d m e n h o c k e y t e a m c a n ’t b u y a w i n Y
o u n g
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Michael Liew After a disappointing 5-2 loss last Friday against the Ryerson Rams, the McGill Redmen hockey team bounced back the next night to tie the University o f Toronto Varsity Blues 3-3 . Toronto came out o f the gate quickly and scored a goal. The Varsity Blues held a 1-0 lead through the first period. Both teams played a relatively clean peri od, with only four penalties being assesed in total. The action-packed second period was an em otional roller coaster for both squads. The Redmen were hit with two penalties early on, Bruno Lemire for board ing and Daniel Jacob for slashing. Toronto pinned McGill in its own end with several rapid-fire shots. Goaltender Luc Vaillancourt, a for mer Anaheim Mighty Ducks draft pick, was quite impressive making
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several key saves. An accidental collision in the middle o f the period provided a scary moment. The crowd heard a yell from Blues forward Tristan Senior o f “watch out” before bull dozing Redmen Mark Debusschere into the corner boards o f the home end from behind. Debusschere was down for a while, as the crowd stood looking on in silence. Finally, Debusschere got up slowly and was helped to the bench to a round o f hearty applause. Senior was sent to the box for five minutes for check ing from behind and unsportsman like conduct. Play resumed and thirty sec onds later, the Redmen avenged the nasty check when centre Bruno Lemire scored McGill’s first goal, tying the game 1-1. H e was assist ed by captain Dave Burgess and alternate captain David Lizotte. The Varsity Blues promptly responded with a goal o f their own. George Trifon scored the goal with
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Ben Barrett marking the assist. The Blues were now leading 2-1 but before the period drew to a close, McGill would even the score once again. Daniel Jacobs scored his first goal o f night with the help o f Patrick Bilodeau. The third peri od began with some sloppiness. There were missed passes and loose pucks on the part of both teams. The boys in red Redman forward snapped out o f it quickly on a powerplay. W ith Toronto’s Mark Cooper o ff for hooking, defender Daniel Jacob scored his second goal unassisted, putting McGill up 3-2. Things were looking good for the Redmen but the pressure o f holding the lead proved to be too much. The Varsity Blues put one past Vaillancourt late in the period to even the score. The game went into a five-minute overtime and
d u e
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ended with a M cGill tripping penalty at the buzzer. Toronto
Chad Blundy aims high for the peanut
could not take advantage o f the power play and both teams walked away with a point apiece. “We gave another good effort tonight,” said Redmen coach Martin Raymond. “Unfortunately, we had some untimely mishaps in our own end and it wound up cost ing us a goal there at the end. We’re pleased with the effort o f the guys but we have work to do.” The match brings the boys
la c k
George Hadjis
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record to 4-5-2 overall. The some what disappointing start to the sea son could be due to a struggling powerplay. The Redmen have scored only seven powerplay goals in 66 chances. “It’s a rougher start than w e’re used to ,” stated Raymond. Raymond went on to say that he was happy that his team was able to score three goals against Toronto. T he coach hopes butter ja r that it will help boost the players’ confidence. The Redmen are on the road next weekend, when they play Brock and Wilfred Laurier. Coach Raymond is ready but knows that wins against these two teams will have to be earned. “Every game is a tough game in this league right now so we’ll have some good challenges there."
Volleyball 'Red and W hite' left blue by Sherbrooke L o s s e s
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The Université de Sherbrooke soured a day that could have been sweet for McGill. T he Martlet and Redmen volleyball teams both lost to the Vert-et-Or last Sunday at Love Com petition Hall. The wom en’s side lost by a score o f 23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-
o f
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Béliveau. “T he girls played the best game we’ve seen them play this year.” The first set was a messy affair with both teams com m itting plen ty o f errors. T he hom e team came back from a four-point deficit to take the first set, thanks in part to num erous blocks up front by Taryn T h om pson and Shauna Forster. The wom en won the set with a tremendous smash from Anne Robitaille. The Martlets continued their inspired play in the next set but could not muster enough strength to hold on to a one point lead late in the set. The Vert-et-Or showed why they are ranked seventh in the country according to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport's top 10. W ith the sets tied at one apiece a late M cGill push wasn’t enough to win the pivotal third set from the visitors. McGill showed good team effort, keeping it close for a w hile before Sherbrooke broke free and put a stranglehold on the match by going up two sets to one. T h e final set saw M cG ill squander a four-point lead, drop ping the match to Sherbrooke. “They were lucky with some bounces o ff o f blocks,” coach Béliveau said. T he score was somewhat mis leading because the Martlets had an opportunity to win every set. The turning point in the match was when the score was tied at 23 in the second set and Sherbrooke took the next point. Instead o f M cGill taking a two-set lead, the wom en in green and white tied it, swinging the m om entum in their
p r e s s u r e
permanent favour. T he next test for the Mardets w ill be a tournam ent in Sherbrooke in two weeks. Béliveau is looking forward to the practice the team will get in Sherbrooke. “T he tournam ent doesn’t mean so much for us anymore. We will use it to try new things and prepare for our final game o f the calendar year against Sherbrooke. I feel we will be a better team when W endy W helen and Elizabeth Jamieson are back in our line-up early next year,” she said in refer ence to two important Martlet veterans, including former AllCanadian W helen. Redmen no more successful In men’s action, the Redmen were looking for their first league victory o f the year. In a nail-biting contest, the Redmen came close to victory before falling to Sherbrooke by a score o f 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 25-27, 13-15. The first set saw the hom e squad fired up, despite making a couple o f mistakes early on. They redeemed themselves with some great smashes by Jonathan Faucher. The team was also given a boost by an energetic effort by Andrew Royer and rookie Douglas Stevenson. For the first half o f the second set, there was no letdown from McGill. T he fans erupted after Regan Morris’ smash gave his team a four-point lead. T h ey struggled, however, to put the road squad away w hen they had a Please s e e VOLLEYBALL, p 1 9
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, 13 November 2001
Sports 19
How to win one for the Gipper T h e
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in some cases it just makes them more nervous." W omen’s basketball coach Lisen Moore shares Smith’s philoso phy. "At half time we want to reassess our plan we outlined before the game." In regards to content, Moore continues: "Sometimes kids are so pumped you don’t want to make
James Empringham
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executed the speech can propel a team to a level it would not have otherwise attained. A bad one, however, can have disastrous conse quences. "As a coach one o f the worst things you can do is try and do too much because then it gets stale and the team will tune out," explains Moore.
Vince Lombardi he wasn’t. "If you don’t beat Graydon, the season is over! There’s no practice on Monday, and the coaches are quitting! Dammit!" My own personal introduction to the art o f the locker-room speech was provided to me by my high school football coach Mr. Dyce. Tied at half time in a game against the lowly Gordon Graydon Gryphons, having lost our first three games o f the season, and doing ''■: our best to lose another one, coach Dyce’s mes sage was clear: This isn’t a football game boys, it’s a freakin’ mid-life crisis! Thankfully, at : McGill, the locker-room speech is a trade plied : with a little more dignity. The content and style of the locker-room speech is usually predicated upon the personality o f the coach. At McGill, coaching styles vary, but a recurring theme among Redmen football coach Chuck McMann encouraging his team to win.....or else the approach favoured by the majority o f coaches places stress upon the importance o f prepara tion. "When I played football and hockey, almost every coach I had would yell and scream," admits cur rent McGill women’s hockey coach Peter Smith. "But I believe that a team doesn’t need to be hyped up,
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them more high or they’ll be jump ing off the walls. Other times if they’re pensive you need to remind them that it’s only a game, to keep a sense o f humour." Clearly the locker-room speech is a high wire tight rope act. A good speech needs to be specific to the context o f the game. If properly
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Are you thinking about the next academic year yet? If you like people and are interested in a challenging and rewarding student leadership position, why not apply to be a Floor Fellow, Don or MORE Fellow at McGill Residences? Watch for our ads in this newspaper in January inviting application for the 2002/2003 academic year. Questions??? Call the Residence Life Coordinator at 398-1218
Moore’s player Sara Gagné says that Moore "will get mad but she won’t scream." "I've had both kinds o f coach es," Gagné explains. "Coaches who scream and those who are usually calm. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but because our team is so young, coach Moore's approach helps us to focus upon the game better." That is not to say that the good old fashioned, table flipping-family cursing-look me in the eye style o f delivery does not live on in some form at McGill. Coach Chuck McMann o f the Redmen football team says that he will "challenge his players in a tough football game. I'll ask to them to check their mental tough ness, to check their gut." Still, McMann contends that he isn't normally a "rah-rah” type o f coach. "Different situations call for different approaches. Sometimes you may just need to get them refo cused, other times you need to get some adrenaline flowing again."
O ne o f McMann's players, wide receiver Stefan Kohaykewych, says that in McMann's case, "It's not so much the words he uses, but it's more the look in his eyes. We know that he's won Grey Cups, so he knows what it takes to win." An inexact science W ith the evolution of video recording, statistical profil ing, and airtight strategic plan ning, the locker-room speech becomes a rare occasions when raw, unfiltered em otion is allowed to enter into the athletic equation. Smith says that is when the emo tion is most heart-felt and the most effec tive. "The last couple o f years we've been lucky in that we've known when our last game o f the season was going to be," says Smith in reference to the Martlets’ medal round finales. "In both sea sons we've had graduating veterans
move to address the team regarding what the team has meant to them as part o f their university career. It can get quite tearful, and it's very mov• it mg. T he genuine spontaneous locker-room address or comment is the most effective. It is also one that cannot be planned ahead o f time, meaning that often it is a matter o f the right circumstances presenting themselves. "At this level it's rare that a player doesn't understand the importance o f a game,” concludes Smith. "It's the athlete's job to play the game. Though even now I still get nervous in the locker-room if we're playing an important game." Tribune’s Top 5 Motivational Speeches 5) Knute Rockne “W in one for the Gipper” 4) Martin Luther King “I have a dream” 3) Vince Lombardi “W inning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” 2) John F. Kennedy “Ask not what your country can do for you...” 1) Matt Foley “In a van down by the • I” river!
V o lle y b a ll s tr u g g le s continued from PAGE 1 8 chance and ultimately faced the consequences o f their inability to close. In the third set, McGill again came out energized. T hey wasted a three-point lead early but retrieved it later on. Sherbrooke could not find a spot where setter extraordi naire Brian Choi was not. For his part, whatever Choi lacks in size, he makes up for with his speed and quickness. A
botched serve by the visitors thwarted their attempted com e back and secured the Redmen a lead o f two sets to one. The fourth set was a nailbiter. M cGill came within a hair o f ending it with two consecutive match points but were denied. It also saw them come storming back from a three-point deficit to take the lead, a lead that looked safe until the very end. Slowly, the side wearing the green and gold gained the advantage and stole the set
from under M cGill’s nose. T he tiebreaker had Sherbrooke com e out w ith an early lead and never look back. Andrew Royes tied it up at 13 but it was not enough on this day. T he Redmen dropped to 0-6 in league play, despite outplaying their opponents. A w in was deserved and needed. T he team will now have to wait for their next match in three weeks against Sherbrooke once more where they will be looking for revenge.
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