The McGill Tribune Vol. 21 Issue 25

World Cup 2002

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P u b lish e d by th e S tu d e n ts ’ S o ciety o f M cG ill U n iv e rs ity sin ce 1981

T uesday, M arch 2 6 , 2 0 0 2 Issue 25

The envelope please Award season for McGill athletes Mark Kerr

Just in time to cure your Oscar hang over: the McGill athletics awards gala.

The 25th annual ceremony takes place April 4 at the Sports Centre. Several individual trophies are handed out; in addition, the most valuable players of all McGill’s 43 intercollegiate teams are announced.

The Intercollegiate Council, co-chaired by Chase Robinson and Kristine Fenney, organizes the event.

According to Ken Schildroth, the Intercollegiate Director at McGill, it is a great opportunity for peer recognition.

"I think that it means a lot to the athletes," said Schildroth. "It is the big year end event that gives them (student athletes) a chance to recognize the accomplishments over the year."

The most coveted honour is the Gladys Bean Trophy for female athletes, and the D. Stuart Forbes Trophy for male athletes. Both awards go to the Redmen and Martlet who garnered the most credit to the university due to ath­ letic accomplishments.

Sarah Ali-Khan has won the Gladys Bean Trophy the past two years, and she stands nominated again this year.

Redmen football player Randy Chevrier won the D. Stuart Forbes Award last year.

See the article for the accom­ plishments of all the athletes nomi­ nated in the two main categories.

Dan McClean captured the Richard Pound Trophy last year, awarded to the graduating male athlete that combines proficiency and leadership in athletics.

Please see AWARDS, page 16

McGill Tribune: promoting a culture of excess since 1981

Disputes at M cG ill Daily arise James Grohsgal

Members of the Daily Publications Society Board of Directors and the McGill Daily are reconsidering aspects of their orga­ nizational structure in light of diffi­ culties between the Board and McGill Daily Coordinating Editor Jaime Kirzner-Roberts.

DPS Board of Directors atlarge student-elected representative Nicholas Little alleges that an “elite of Ed Board members who are not democratically elected are making decisions not in the students’ best interest.” Little believes KirznerRoberts, who resigned from the Board of Directors but remains the McGill Daily Coordinating Editor, should resign from that position as well.

“My attitude is that Jaime Kirzner-Roberts should go alto­

gether,” said Little.

He cites several occasions where the Board of Directors and the Daily editorial board clashed, including confusion about a limit on the number of pages per issue.

“There was no confusion [about the number of pages] and they completely disregarded it.

They were irresponsible in using all their special issues... Jaime tried to buy a digital camera when it had been made clear there was no inter­ est from the Board,” said Little.

“She gave go-ahead for around $3500 in printing equipment. She took it on, and has no jurisdiction.”

On January 21, the Board of Directors wrote to Kirzner-Roberts to ask her to resign from the Board.

Board Member and Le Délit editor Anne-Marie Rollin signed the let­ ter.

“There have been minor prob­

lems, and I don’t think that what Nicholas and [Board member] Margaux [McDonald] are trying to do is justified.” Rollin commented, “Sure, I signed the letter to ask for Jaime’s resignation. It was not per­ sonal at all. I thought a bad attitude was there, and I thought it was bet­ ter to have someone else on the board.”

In Kirzner-Roberts’ February 19 written response, she explains why she would not resign: “I offered my resignation from my position as editorial board rep­ resentative to the DPS Board of Directors to the McGill Daily edito­ rial board on January 21. My offer was refused. As such, I will be stay­ ing in my current position until the end of my term.”

Little, who argued for KirznerRoberts’ resignation at the Board, spoke to her after she declined to

resign.

“I said I’d go public with this if she didn't resign from the Board, and minutes later she did,” said Little.

Kirzner-Roberts uses stronger language to describe the exchange that caused her resignation: “Threatened is a nice way of putting it, but yeah, that was the reason why [I resigned],” said Kirzner-Roberts.

She also believes the Board’s resignation request has no merit.

“Half the board walked out before that vote could be taken,” said Kirzner-Roberts. “I don't feel at all that the board asked me to resign... The board has no power to ask for my resignation. It was a token gesture.” Kirzner added, “All the words in the letter are [Little’s] and it wasn't approved by the Please see BUDGET, page 4

ATTENTION G R A D S 2 0 0 2

LAST CALL SEE BACK PAGE...

2 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Human rights dilemma in the Middle East A m n e s ty

In te r n a tio n a l

Mark Sward

Human rights violations are at the root of the conflict in Israel, according Marty Rosenbluth, Amnesty International USA’s expert on Israel and the Occupied Territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

“A resolution to the problem will not come when Arafat and Sharon meet at the bargaining table, but when the Israeli and Palestinian people demand change,” he said, speaking to Montrealers at a lecture sponsored

by Amnesty McGill on Wednesday night.

Rosenbluth spoke alongside John Abbott College professor Jim Joyce, who is currently Amnesty International Canada’s expert on the region. The two spoke and fielded questions for over two hours, stressing the scale of human rights violations that Amnesty has observed in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

They acknowledge that the acts are committed by Israelis and Palestinians alike, giving their lis­ teners a view of the conflict in terms of the rules set down by the Geneva Convention.

“The North American press

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and governments have ignored the many are actually looking for an flagrant violations of International alternative to expensive city living.

“A fourth-story apartment in Law by the Israeli Army,” accused Rosenbluth, citing the deaths of an alley in Tel Aviv can cost the hundreds of Palestinian civilians at same as a beautiful villa in the the hands of Israelis armed with West Bank,” he said.

Rosenbluth and Joyce also American-made helicopters, fight­ referred to cases of torture in er jets, and machine guns. “The use of these weapons is in fact Israeli and Palestinian prisons, and against U.S. law, since American- how in some cases Palestinian tor­ made weapons sold abroad are turers learned their techniques only to be used for a country’s when they themselves were tor­ defence,” he added, noting the tured in Israeli prisons.

When asked how McGill stuAmerican government’s choice to fully ignore violations of interna­ tional law on Israel’s part.

“The key is the principle of ; universality,” said Rosenbluth.

“We have to equally apply our standards to both sides of the issue.”

Although some believe that people living in occupied land Roberta Yeo have the right to defend their land Women’s issues were the logi­ using any means possible, cal topic of choice last Wednesday Rosenbluth explained that under and Thursday during the second international law, that is simply annual McGill Women in House not true; killing civilians is under event. The event, which allowed no circumstances acceptable 14 female political science stu­ behaviour. Rosenbluth, who lived dents to shadow women MPs for in the region from 1985 until a day, gave the students a unique 1992, explained that although it opportunity to experience life on may be construed that Israeli set­ Parliament Hill from a woman’s tlers in the occupied territories are perspective, and to share concerns not civilians, but armed criminals, about the continuing lack of

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dents could contribute to the reso­ lution to this situation, which seems to have been in stagnation for years, Rosenbluth responded that Canadians need to pressure their government to send represen­ tatives to Israel and the Occupied Territories to simply watch for human rights violations. He added that the European Union has sta­ tioned people in offices adjacent to Israeli/Palestinian clash points, and fighting has subsequently sub­ sided at those locations. Amnesty

International’s main activity has been lobbying politicians with let­ ters, and Rosenbluth recommend­ ed that McGill students write let­ ters to the Government of Canada urging it to pay closer attention to violations of international law tak­ ing place in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Lack of women in the House motivates Women in House

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female representation in govern­ ment.

Co-ordinators Chi Nguyen and Karen Born, working under the auspices of the Political Science Students’ Association, organized the event with such aims in mind. Nguyen, who also co-ordinated last year’s trip, stressed the necessity of Women in House.

“I knew it would be enlight­ ening.” Said Nguyen. “We live in a representative democracy and if 80 percent of our officials come from one perspective, that’s not representative.

Events like Women in House are absolutely essential, because they really give you an incredible perspective on what it takes to pursue this career.

Seeing women who’ve done it and learning from their perspective, you really experience what it’s like to do this job.”

This year’s politicians includ­ ed opposition members from the N D P (Libby Davies, Vancouver East) and the Canadian Alliance (Betty H inton, Kamloops, Thomson and Highland Valleys).

Bloc Québécois and Progressive Conservative members declined invitations to participate.

Reflecting the balance of the House of Commons, however, the event was dominated by Liberals, including Marlene Jennings (NDG-Lachine) and Dr. Carolyn Bennett (St-Paul’s). Dr. Bennett, who gained notoriety after a strong reprimand from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for speak­ ing out about the lack of women in cabinet, pointed to the nomi­ nation process as a possible reason for the dominance of men in the House.

“If women get on the ballot, people will vote for them, because

frankly they’re not voting for me, they’re voting for my boss and my party,” she said. “The problem is in getting the nomination, and in getting the money to fight for the nomination which is a real prob­ lem. In safe Liberal seats there’s a real war.”

The event also included a pri­ vate visit with the Governor General Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson on the first day.

Participant Amanda Beatty, who was also interviewed about the event for the CBC Radio Program “The House,” singled out the visit with Her Excellency as a high point of the trip.

“For me it was awe-inspiring listening to her speak. I just real­ ize how well-versed she was in everything and that she had worked for that— it was incredi­ bly motivating.”

Beatty also suggests that while concern for women’s issues pervaded the event, they are not the only areas of interest of the female MPs they visited.

“I sat down with [Liberal MP] Maria M inna and we talked about everything from poverty and international development to voter apathy. They’re so busy, if you look at their schedules— they have to be multi-faceted people.”

Dr. Bennett’s parting words reflected the sentiments of this year’s students.

“There’s nothing better than first hand experience. The most important thing we do at this event is build a real relationship, and so you see behind the politi­ cian is a real person.”

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

News 5

The Strathcona lab cancer mystery M ike Catherall

Did a faulty ventilation system in the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building give McGill researchers and students cancer? So far, as many as six former medical students have contracted leukemia since working in the labs almost ten years ago, and they have linked the cause of their disease to the poor ventilation of the Anatomy and Histology laboratories in the build­ ings East Wing. One of them, Dr. Barry Mishkin, 34, launched a $12.85 million lawsuit against McGill on February 12th. And last week, Dr. Lome Aaron, 36, fol­ lowed suit with a $2,249 million claim.

On February 15th, McGill released a reaction to this state­ ment.

“There is no credible link between his leukemia and the time he spent in the Strathcona (build­ ing)... coincidences are not evi­ dence of cause and effect, either sci­

entific or legally. There is no proof of fault or responsibility on the part of the University.”

“The statistical probability of a thirty-year old contracting leukemia is in the order of .7 per 100,000,” the plaintiff’s statement reads. “The probability of (these) young men all working in the same place and all contacting leukemia is so low that it is infinitesimal.”

Mishkin was diagnosed with acute lymphatic cancer in March 1999, four weeks after the birth of his son, Jason. Between March and November 1999 he underwent intensive chemotherapy. It was then that he discovered that he had a mutual friend who was also under­ going bone marrow treatment.

When Mishkin realized that they had both done research in the Strathcona building, between 1991 and 1992 it seemed too unlikely to be coincidental. And when he dis­ covered another young physician had contacted leukemia after hav­ ing been a lab preceptor in the

Frustrated students kid­ nap garbage bins Andrea Grant

If you think you can get away with throwing recyclables in the garbage on the Macdonald campus, you’ve got another thing coming. At least when CERES is around, that is.

The incomplete recycling pro­ gram at Macdonald, McGill’s ‘envi­ ronmental’ campus, is proving to be an important example of how McGill lacks organization and policy on the environmental front. To show their concern and to raise awareness of the problem, students from Mac’s Committee for Environmental Responsibility, Education, and Sustainability (CERES) conducted a wasteaudit/demonstration earlier this month.

CERES students started by arriving on campus at the crack of dawn to “kidnap” every garbage bin in Macdonald-Stewart (MS), one of the main buildings on campus.

They left a note in place of each bin.

“We put up posters saying that the garbage cans had been kid­ napped, so people would have to come down to the MS foyer if they wanted to throw something out,” explained Jessica Forrest, a key organizer of the demonstration.

Later that morning, the MS foyer, which is usually inhabited by students lounging on couches or chatting between classes, was trans­ formed into a waste-sorting center.

Volunteers sorted through kid­ napped garbage as well as the previ­ ous day’s cafeteria waste.

“We’re separating the waste into compost, and what is recyclable in Ste Anne’s, namely glass, cans, and hard plastic, paper milk cartons, and juice boxes” said Forrest.

Students who wanted to throw something out that day had to put it in the appropriate container.

According to a CERES hand­ out, the main academic buildings at Mac only have boxes for paper recy­ cling and collecting some materials that can be returned for refund.

“We have no facilities to deal with non-refundable recyclable

materials; consequently, they get thrown in the garbage.

“CERES feels that this is inap­ propriate for any respectable univer­ sity in the 21st century, but particu­ larly for a faculty of agricultural and environmental sciences,” stated the handout.

Students question why funds are not available to extend the fullscale recycling facilities of the adja­ cent Laird Hall building to the rest of campus. Peter Knox, the director of Mac’s Facilities Management, explains that the problem is with a current lack of appropriate institu­ tions at McGill.

“Everything regarding the envi­ ronment is under discussion —there’s not much physical motion right now, but a lot of motion on paper.

I’m hoping the impetus will be there to move forward in the fall.”

This partly explains why it remains unclear who is in charge of recycling at McGill.

According to Forrest, “The Macdonald administration has been supportive of this effort to drag our campus, belatedly, into the l990s, but Facilities Management down­ town has not responded to our requests for information or assis­ tance.”

With the ongoing hype about McGill’s lack of a complete environ­ mental policy - so far only the poli­ cy statement and not the six accom­ panying principles have been passed

by Senate - one may wonder if hav­ ing strong policy would help prob­ lems like recycling at Mac. According to How-Sen Chong, a member of Greening McGill, such a policy would not necessarily make a difference without student action.

“A strong environmental policy would, without a doubt, aid in improving the management of wastes at Macdonald and the rest of McGill. But without the full partic­ ipation and cooperation of students, staff and faculty, the policy state­ ment and principles are nothing but sheets of paper.”

There will be a waste-sort for the Shatner building downtown on Wednesday, March 27

building during this period, the warning flags went up.

Mishkin contacted McGill in December 1999. “I told them I think there is something wrong. I think that people are getting hurt,”

he stated. “But they basically told me that I have a good imagination, there is nothing wrong here.”

In January 2000, McGill sent Mishkin e-mail messages stating that they wanted to set up meetings to take a look at what was wrong and to put his concerns at ease, but he never heard from them again.

So Mishkin went back to work. He received daily to weekly chemotherapy treatments, but by August 2001 he was too weak to

4

continue. Not having heard back from McGill, he did some research of his own.

“I came across two documents I found very shocking,” Mishkin related. “One was a 1995 testimo­ nial from Dr. Norman Osmond, chairman of the Cell Biology and A n a t o m y Department to the Dean of Medicine at the time. It stated: ‘There was an annual litany pleading the case for upgraded and expanded research space, safely ventilated teaching la b o ra to rie s ...th e Strathcona Building is beset by problems of deteriorating fab­ ric, flooding and electrical break­ down’.”

Mishkin noted that the testi­ monial has since apparently van­ ished.

“I have the hard copy of this statement, but I don’t know if you will be able to find it. After looking for it later, it seems to have disap­ peared.”

The testimonial also states that, ‘in the East Wing a major ven­ tilating system was installed in the Gross Anatomy and Histology lab­ oratories, thus avoiding the- risks of

S T

being closed down as health haz­ ard.’

“Everyone who got cancer worked in that East Wing...they had their anatomy and cell biology labs there. They use formaldehyde and other chemicals to preserve the bodies, and with a poor ventilation system this is very dangerous” Mishkin claimed.

Although renovations to the ventilation system were made in 1993, a second document that Mishkin found leads him to suspect that McGill knew about the haz­ ards in the laboratories before then.

From the Anatomy and Cell Biology Chronology of Events he found a small caption stating ‘1990-91 Facilities: Ventilation sys­ tems for Anatomy and Histology discussed in an on-sight visit with Dean Cruess and S. Kingdon’ “I think McGill knew at the time that there were some prob­ lems. . .there was a high rate of mis­ carriages at that time, and women, if pregnant, were asked to leave sooner than later.. .day by day more things are coming forward.. .1 won’t be surprised if there are other suits and more sad stories” Mishkin spent all of February in the hospital. During the past three years he has undergone intense chemotherapy. At one point surgeons were forced to drill a hole in his head so that the chemotheraPlease see MISHKIN, page 5

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This position will require a minimum of 35 hours of work per week shared between the manager and assistant manager for a full year term; the candidate should consider her/his course load accordingly.

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4 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Labour strike looms Clare M cIntyre

One of McGill’s largest labour unions is threatening to take deci­ sive action if it cannot reach an agreement with McGill’s adminis­ tration.

Christina Cabral, spokesper­ son for the union, said the union was prepared to take action if its concerns were not addressed in an

4 4

The university is not interested in creating permanent positions that carry with them job security for life —

R ob er t Sav oie McGill Director of Human Services

upcoming round of negotiations.

“We’ve decided that pressure tactics will take place.”

The Service Employee’s Union (SEU) Local 800 represents approximately 550 support staff at McGill, including those in charge of residences, the Faculty Club, the computing centre, and printing services. Many of those who fall under the union’s representation are casual student employees. The union’s members have been trying

to renegotiate their collective agreement with McGill since November of 1995.

In specific, the union feels that McGill is treating casual workers unfairly. Casual workers are presently paid at only 70 per­ cent of the normal rate, even though they perform the same functions as permanent employ­ ees.

“The old agreement is still in effect, although obviously with the years it urgently needs to be renewed,” she said.

Cabral pointed to several grievances that have been fded by employees— that is, complaints of violations of the existing collective agreement.

“There’s a total of 275 griev­ ances [...] we have a lot of prob­ lems with working relations. Just look at the number of grievances there are in proportion to the number of people there are in the union,” she said.

“McGill is abusing that article [of the agreement],” said President of McGill Printing Pierre Champagne.

The SEU is also upset over the treatment of temporary employ­ ees.

“Instead of creating perma­ nent positions, they are putting casual employees all over the place,” Cabral stated. “One of our major demands is for them to have the same salary as regular, perma­ nent employees.”

Robert Savoie, McGill’s direc­ tor of Human Resources, stated that McGill kept these employees on a casual basis because the University is not in a financial position to create more permanent

positions.

“The University is not inter­ ested in creating permanent posi­ tions that carry with them job security for life,” he said. “We do not know the financial future of the university to commit ourselves to that.”

In addition, the union is unhappy with McGill’s attempt to remove a clause from their con­ tract. The so-called “clause remorque” guarantees that union members’ salaries will increase on par with salaries in the public sec­ tor.

Union president Marcel Wery felt that the university’s attempts to remove that clause were the most im portant issue for the union.

“The salary policy is the big issue,” he said.

“If they take that clause out, it basically means we’ll never get a raise,” agreed union vice-president Véronique Dailey. “Because they wont give us a one.”

Robert Savoie disagreed.

“That doesn’t mean we would not negotiate raises— the other unions did, they are on par with the provincial level,” he claimed.

“Comparable unions all got a 2.5 percent salary scale increase in December.”

Presently, the union is looking to pressure the university to con­ cede to some of its demands, and is anticipating a return to the bar­ gaining table with McGill.

“We have been asking since the beginning of the year to have a negotiation session,” Cabral said.

“This morning they confirmed that they would give us their avail­

ability on different dates for nego­ tiations.”

Savoie was open to a new round of negotiations, but warned that the union would also have to make some concessions.

“Recently the SEU contacted us to negotiate. We are available, and we’ll meet with them,” he said. “But negotiation is a two way street.”

Union members, meanwhile, are tired of ineffective rounds of negotiations, and are hoping for a new contract and a resolution of their grievances.

“Members are fed up. They want a contract,” Cabral said.

“They’re sick of having McGill stall, and they want to negotiate.”

In addition, union members

are concerned about the almost 300 grievances which remain unresolved.

“They have so many griev­ ances on the actual contract that we have, that they really want things to move and to be resolved,” Cabral said. “And they will do everything necessary for McGill to move [on these issues].’

While union representatives did not rule out the possibility of a strike, Cabral emphasized that it was not their first choice of action.

“A strike is a last resort because it affects students,” Cabral said.

Champagne added, “But if it comes, it won’t be during the summer.

Budget constraints pable of doing that we took control back on November 6,” but the board.”

Daily “completely disregarded” the Direct control of the Daily’s Board’s authority. budget began last November 6, Little also commented on what he perwhen the Board of cieved as a Directors passed motion to install an problem of tra n sp a re n c y ad/copy ratio on the and communi­ Daily, effectively taking cation. control of the Daily’s “The Ed finances. Board mem­ Board runs the ber Margaux paper day to McDonald commented day and proba­ on the matter. bly knows a lot “There was the more about straw that broke the what goes on camel's back on there, and the November 6, but it was Board of a number of issues [that Directors and led to the decision],” students at said McDonald.

“That's when the Board large don't,” said Little. took control back into their own Kirzner-Roberts views the hands, which constitutionally they same problem from a different per­ have [the right to do]... There had spective. been a tradition of letting the ed “People on the Board have board decide for themselves. It was absolutely no experience, and the assumed that they’d be doing that way it is right now, they know less than anybody else in the organiza­ tion about the needs of the news­ paper business, which is just ridicu­ 4 4 lous,” said Kirzner-Roberts.

“When we talk about needing a There had been a tradi­ printer, needing a camera, they tion of letting the ed have no understanding of technical or journalistic aspects of the job.” board decide for them­ Rollin seeks reform, but does­ selves. It as assumed n’t think there is a big problem.

“Our Constitution was writ­ that they’d be doing ten a long time ago, and we have a that in a way bothmade subcommittee to try to change it,” said Rollin. “But the problem is fora good paper and a people are so busy they have to do financially sustainable a job they don't have time to do.

Everyone can be reproached, but paper. nothing bad happened this year.

— Jaime K i r z n e r There were just bad arguments.”

Rober ts The Daily Publications Society Board of Directors is com­ McGill Daily posed of six members-at large, Coordinating Editor elected by the students of McGill, two representatives elected by and from members of the Daily Editorial Board, and one represen­ tative from the Délit Français. in a way that both made for a good Minutes of the DPS Board of paper and a financially sustainable Directors Meetings were unavail­ paper. able at press time, after two weeks “They proved that they were of attempts to access copies of these unable to balance those two. When public documents. it was obvious that they were inca-

continued from PAGE 1

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

News 5

Faculty renewal, fundraising tops Shapiro's list Peter Koven

The annual McGill and the Millenium speech, in which McGill principal Bernard Shapiro addresses the university’s current and future outlook, took place last Wednesday in front of a mostly-student turnout in the conference room of the Shatner Building.

Accompanied onstage by Student s’ Society of McGill University VP University Affairs Jennifer Bilec and VP Clubs and Services Martin Doe, Shapiro seemed to enjoy the opportunity to address the students for what will be one of his last presentations before turning over his position to the new McGill principal (still unnamed) on September 1.

The bulk of Mr. Shapiro’s speech, rather than looking ahead to the challenges of the incoming prin­ cipal, served more as a reflection on his time in office than a look for the future. He referred to the “starting

conditions” that his successor would face. He took a broad look at his term in office, commenting on both the positives and negatives of his illustrious campaign.

Shapiro singled out a number of key positives that emerged during his eight years in office. The first involved applicants—McGill now has more applicants, a higher quali­ ty of applicants, and far greater geo­ graphic dispersion of said applicants than they did when his term began.

Other positives included stronger recruiting practices, support arising from new Federal funding, develop­ ment of new physical infrastructure at McGill (the Law Library, the coming Life Sciences building), and major success in fundraising from the private sector, which now amounts to $65 million per year.

“We need to show [the private sector] that the future can happen here,” he said. “[We] have needs so large that [private sector funding] feels like a drop in the bucket.”

As much as he praised the suc­

cesses of McGill in recent years, Shapiro was quick to point out many of the problems currently fac­ ing the university as well. First on his list was the continuing shortage of operational funding. To keep

facilities reasonably up to date, Shapiro believes that we need $80 million more every year from the government.

Shapiro then looked at some of the biggest challenges he faced in his

term as principal, and how much success he has had in dealing with them. First on his list was McGill’s huge debt. He claimed that he had “modest success” in dealing with this issue, as the debt is now one quarter of what it had been before his term. He also talked about difficul­ ties encountered in what he called “developing a new structure of knowl­ edge” for the professors.

His solution here was what he called his “new research paradigm”— in other words, finding new ways of bringing people together as opposed to publishing individually, which he sees as a thing of the past. In the future, he would like to see this change the student-teacher relationship as well.

University Affairs Committee member and U1 Political Science and Economics student Naomi Woods saw the event as a chance for

everyone to get to meet the admin­ istration in an informal setting.

“It’s probably the only time I’ll ever hear the principal speak,” she said.

Finally, Shapiro looked at the challenges facing the incoming principal, and what this individual will have to do to overcome them.

He believes that the actual transi­ tion will depend largely on whether the new principal is currently with­ in McGill, and how people perceive this.

Similarly, the principal’s rela­ tionship with the government and community in Montreal will depend largely on how these people perceive of him/her. He clearly feels that the effectiveness of the transi­ tion lies in the individual them­ selves, although he plans to make himself available to this individual to the fullest possible extent.

— with files fo m Raquel Kirsch

Dr. Mishkin blames lab carcinogens for recent cancer cases continued from PAGE 3

py would be administered through a tube directly into his brain. His bone marrow is falling apart, and although they had bone marrow drives in Montreal, New York and Boston they cannot find a perfect match for him. He goes into treat­ ment this week.

“I’m pretty scared...but I am optimistic that I will pull through this” Throughout the summer of 1992, Mishkin worked as a lab technician in the laboratory, he also pursued his B.Sc. at McGill. Dr. Aaron was in the lab as an under­ graduate, medical student and demonstrator between 1985 and 1991. They know of 4 other doc­ tors who have also contacted leukemia in this time. Mishkin’s statement claims that, “(McGill) failed and neglected to monitor the levels of such carcinogens...to ensure that they met applicable reg­ ulatory standards.”

Is McGill University responsi­ ble? Mishkin’s statement also claims that “(McGill) knew or ought to have known that because of the presence of such known carcino­ gens as formaldehyde and benzene in the laboratories__a proper func­ tioning ventilation system was essential.”

Bruce Lennox, Chair of the Department of Chemistry at McGill commented on the chemi­ cal storage procedures.

“The way (chemicals) are clas­ sified determines how they should be handled and in what environ­ ment. . .if they are carcinogenic they should be used with caution and proper safety and ventilation....how they are classi­ fied is the government and manu­ facturer’s responsibility.”

Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the National Toxicity Program (NTC) and is listed in the MSDS as a health hazard. Benzene is consid­

ered a known human carcinogen by the IARC, NTP and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association).

The University of Maryland Department of Environmental Safety states that formaldehyde is one of the most common chemicals in use today because of its use as a preservative in medical laboratories as an embalming agent. It has cited studies that indicate that formalde­ hyde is a potential human carcino­ gen. Long-term respiratory expo­ sure is reported to be associated with an increased risk of cancer.”

Dr. Noel Buskard, a Vancouver Medical and Safety officer, and pro­ fessor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia commented on the way that students in the Anatomy rooms are exposed to these chemicals while working with the cadavers. “The concentrations of formaldehyde are too low, by the time you see a cadaver most of it has evaporated.. .a mask would not be necessary...ventilation is impor­ tant of course, but for other rea­ sons... to keep the air clean and to eliminate the smell,” Buskard explained, but added a cautionary statement. “However, with pro­ longed exposure, yes, you need ade­ quate ventilation.. .we do not know if formaldehyde leads specifically to leukemia, but we know that ben­ zene does...these are highly flam­ mable hydrocarbons used for dis­ solving, as solvents...if the ventila­ tion is poor, and you are exposed to this all day long, this definitely rais­ es the stakes for malignancy” The University of Maryland has implemented a UM Formaldehyde Plan where researchers undergo monitoring for all employees who may be exposed at or above the Action Level of 0.5 parts per million (ppm) in an 8 hour shift... with monitoring repeated every six months.

“Activities where exposure to formaldehyde is possible are during the preservation, examining and storage of specimens,” the policy

states.

McGill University Relations stated that they were unable to comment at this time about the lawsuits. Wayne Wood, Manager of the Environmental Safety Office also regretfully expressed that he was unable to comment on the state of the building in the early 1990s.

“The Anatomy room was ren­ ovated last year. It was repainted, and the ventilation is perfect. Ten years ago, I can’t tell you, but right now there is nothing to worry about.” Said Dr. Hojatollah Vali, the new Building Director for the Strathcona Building, “I don’t fore­

see any problems. Every year 150160 medical students and other students use that room and I’ve had no complaints. Everyone is happy.”

Today dental and medical stu­ dents working in these same rooms are warned about the dangers of the formaldehyde. They are instructed not to wear contact lenses because of the effects of the chemicals.

Students spend more than nine hours a week in the room, but they are confident that McGill is look­ ing out for their best interests.

Dr. Eugene Daniels, Associate Professor of the Anatomy and Cell Biology Department, declared the

current state of the Gross Anatomy Room is “completely safe” and that “the bodies are treated with absolute respect.”

“The ventilation is adequate for us to feel safe,” said first year Dentistry student Julie Boudreault “It is cold in there and it never smells...But I would love to know if there were any problems. It is the university’s responsibility to make sure that we are safe...You don’t have to come here, if there were a risk, we could wear masks, or buy the book...If you are in medicine you don’t play with your students’ health.”

Of MCGILL UNIVERSITY ^ P o s itio n s A v a ila b le

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Letters

EDITORIAL "Who rigs every Oscar night? WE DO."

— The Stonecutters

Oscars: making up for years of oppression Raquel Kirsch and Justin R e n a r d __________________________

If it is true what they say, then biases tend to level themselves out over time. We often try to overdo one thing in order to make up for our inadequacies in another. O f course, this assumption rests on the laurels of a memoryless society. Perhaps this sounds far off.

But is this not true?

Welcome to the 74th Academy Awards. O r should I say the Overdone-Sorry-African-Americans-for-the-tri-century-shaft awards.

Thought one Academy member to another: "Let's give a bunch of African-American actors awards and no one will remember that we have typecast them and ignored their performances for decades.” It is like burning your neighbour's yard and buying him new grass the next day.

To say that Halle Berry, Denzel Washington and Sidney Poirier did not deserve their awards on Sunday night would be a fallacy. All three are accomplished actors and deserve recognition as such. But between the tears, the W hoopi jokes and the constant cuts to African-American actor-spectators in the audience, one could not help but wonder: how long has the Academy been saving up for this night?

And just like a boyfriend who is really sorry for forgetting your birthday three years in a row, the Academy has come as close as it ever will to saying it is sorry. In a twisted scheme of kiss-and-make-up, the Academy has attempted to compensate for the years of ignorance and racial slighting by going over the top.

The African-American acting com m unity w ithout a doubt deserves recognition for its achievements. But is it better for this recog­ nition to be contrived in an orchestrated, televised hullabaloo or to have it come when it is due? The self-serving praise bonanza that became of the Oscars was a slap in the face to all the forgone talent and racial struggles that occurred in the name of acting.

And to exacerbate the matter, Whoopi continued to make the night a racial joke extravaganza. By continuing to put what was sup­ posed to be a 'none-issue' in the spotlight, “the little blobbet from south central middle Earth” only delegitimized her cause. The horse is dead, honey. Put down the stick.

Showbiz mouthpiece and lover of all things Hollywood Leonard Maltin commented that “one reason the Oscars matter is that they rep­ resent continuity”— a true sign that he has been sniffing Mary Hart s hair dye. W hat the Oscars proved Sunday night was a blatant disregard for the natural and timely recognition of its professional community.

The emergence of an acting community does not happen in any one single year, nor does it deserve the kind of attention that belittles its value.

Oppressed and ignored communities do not forget. The act of rolling out the black carpet on Sunday only magnified the Academy's stupidity and self-absorption.

Now that they have done their good deed for the year, which aban­ doned group is next?

th e

M c G IL L T R IB U N E

Assistant Editor-in-C hiff

Carly Johnson John Sciascia Jean Mathews

Mike Bargav

Features Editors

îhea Wong

A ssistant Editor-in-Chief

Neil Schnurbach Production M anager

Ian Speigel

Staff:

Raquel Kirsch Justin Renard

Entertainment Editors

Peter Koven Dan Zacks

MDF errors

Accreditation information sparks anger Contrary to Students’ Society of McGill University President Jeremy Farrell's assertion that dis­ senters of the accreditation referen­ dum question "robbed the students of something vital,” voters of the ‘No’ side had good reason for vot­ ing the way they did. In the opin­ ion of many students, our apatheti­ cally elected student ‘leaders’ (the current SSMU President-elect gar­ nered votes from about 6.5 percent of McGill's approximately 17,000 undergraduates) have neither the qualifications nor the experience in comparison to the members of the McGill Administration to make decisions regarding our fees, and voting ‘No’ is a valid means for stu­ dents to send such a message.

Even putting the issue of qual­ ifications aside, either the SSMU executive are some of the few peo­

I'm unsure as to why my name appeared before the names of the candidates in your article about the presidential debate (3/12/2002), but I do know that Carly Johnson needs to pay closer attention if she's going to continue to call herself a reporter.

The first sentence of the piece reads, "Halfway through the presi­ dential candidates' debate last Wednesday, Red Herring Editor-inChief D.J. Waletzky asked the aspiring SSMU leaders what they would be wearing to his (imagi­ nary) costume party.”

I must point out that this year's election was pretty boring, and so I got up to ask my question, not out of civic duty, but because

the Red Herring is in fact having a costume party. It will be held at Le Swimming on Friday, March 29th, and there will be a $50 prize for best costume. I stated that explicit­ ly at the beginning of the question.

I mean, who really cared about the candidates' lame answers, anyway?

So, since I assume Ms. Johnson was at the debates, we are left with two options: either she wasn't listening, or she intentional­ ly misrepresented me. It’s shoddy journalism, and it's a disservice to your readers.

D .J. Waletzky Editor-in-Chief The Red Herring

Gettin’ it on with the alleged Love Doctor Dear "Dr. Jones"; Your article published 'Singledom explained' in the March 19 Tribune struck a note of empa­ thy in me. A sad fact: Nice girls and smart guys do get left in the dust!

Immediately, I thought it might be fun to meet and talk with you so I called the Tribune office. It is ironic that you write so insight­ fully of your realizations, yet I think you do not even exist! One of the staff at the Tribune informed me that the person behind Jade Jones is

Sports Editor

James Empringham

Advertising and Marketing Manager

Paul Slacnta

Assistant Sports Editors Ad Typesetters

Naeem Datoo Siu-Min Jim

Photo Editors

Patrick Fok Jenny George

Sajid Karsan B. Eng. (McGill Class o f '01) IXHL Commissioner

Waletsky’s mad and wants you at his party

is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of McGill University

Mark Kerr Sarah Wright

ple on earth who believe that theirs is only one side to every issue (high­ ly improbable), or they chose to leave students in the dark with regards to this referendum ques­ tion. This is evidenced by, in the time leading up to the election, their lack of education of students with regards to possible negative ramifications of accreditation, in sharp contrast to their poster and oral campaigns for the ‘Yes’ side that we've seen and heard over the last month. Can students be blamed for mistrusting their ‘lead­ ers’ who choose to educate them selectively over such issues?

Layout Editor

Mike Liew

privileged info at the office. I won­ der now if the fraud is the person or the article?

I am single and all I meet are "Veronicas" so I also have a theory to explain why so many beautiful and intelligent girls are single: They are hiding at University!

George Anthony

First, thank you for the kind and detailed review of the play as a whole, and the writing and acting in particular. However, there were some significant errors that should be corrected (I have only read your internet version, and do not know if the errors made it to print).

Please note the following: 1. the play is set in P.E.I., not Nova Scotia, as mentioned in paragraph two 2. Alec Cameron was played by Jason Finucan (me), not Jason Tinnean as you first mentioned in paragraph two.

3. Pat was played by Jason Manzano, which you correctly note in paragraph 4 but then in the final paragraph you mention that "Finucan plays his role of the brutish Pat..." shortly after (accu­ rately) mentioning "Finucan's ... doctor.”

4. There are several grammatical errors and strange placement's of question marks (?) throughout the review that seem unintentional.

It is possible to have these mis­ takes corrected on the internet ver­ sion? A great deal of work was put into this production, and while the review was appreciated for being so favourable, it is of course very important to get the names correct.

Jason Finucan

Farm boy messes up I would like to see a correction appear regarding an article in the March 12th issue of the Tribune: Episode V of Eric Warwaruk's “What a Farm Boy Loves".

He writes "some doctors, like those in the Canadian Medical Association, [...] want to privatise".

I am an active member of the CMA and for the last few years extraordi­ nary efforts have been done by the CMA and its representatives to defend ourhealth care system from privatisation tendencies. Action has been taken on many levels and in many forms,and I am proud to be a member of this organisation, pre­ cisely because it defends the very ideals the majority of my colleagues and I believe in.

P.S. D on't waste time and dump the losers! Fear of something real is just that.

Alexandra TcheremenskaGreenhill McGill Graduate 1995 & 2001 Attending staff Jewish General Hospital

Lette rs m u s t in c lu d e a u th o r's n a m e , s ig n a tu re , id e n titic a tio n (e .g . U 2 B io lo g y S S M U P re sid e n t) a n d te le p h o n e n u m b e r a n d b e ty p e d d o u b le -s p a c e d , s u b m itte d o n d is k in M a c in to s h o r IB M w o r d p ro c e s s o r fo rm a t, o r s e nt b y e -m a il. Letters m o re th a n 2 0 0 w o rd s , p ie c e s fo r S to p th e Press m o re th a n 5 0 0 w o rd s , o r s u b m is s io n s ju d g e d b y th e E d ito r-in -C h ie f to b e lib e llo u s , s e xist, ra cist, h o m o p h o b ic , o r so ey p r o m o tio n a l in n a tu re , w i l l n o t b e p u b lis h e d . T h e Tribune w il l m a k e a il re a s o n a b le e ffo rts to p r in t s u b m is s io n s p r o v id e d th a t s p a c e is a v a ila b le , a n d reserves rig h t to e d it le tte rs fo r le n g th . B rin g s u b m is s io n s to th e Tribune o ffic e , FAX to 3 9 8 -1 7 5 0 o r se nd to trib u n e @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a .

C o lu m n s a p p e a rin g u n d e r 'E d ito r ia l' h e a d in g a re d e c id e d u p o n b y th e e d ito ria l b o a rd a n d w r itte n b y a m e m b e r o f th e e d ito r ia l b o a rd . A ll o th e r o p in io n s a re s tric t­ ly th o se o f th e a u th o r a n d d o n o t n e c e s s a rily re fle c t th e o p in io n s o f The M cG ill Tribune, its e d ito rs o r its staff. Please recycle this new spaper.

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

U mmmmmm

O pinion

The trees w ill have the last laugh is not determined, it is difficult for experts to hypothesize anything other than the “Greenhouse Effect.” It’s been about a year since the Bush Administration formally rejected the Kyoto Protocol, isolat­ ing the US from the international effort to combat global warming.

But if you read American newspapers, you wouldn’t think so.

“George Bush isn’t mean. He For example, during the Hague just ain’t too bright. ” conference in November of 2000, —salon.com attempts to negotiate the Kyoto Pact failed miserably, largely due to I interrupt your regularly the US’s obstructionist stance. On scheduled broadcast of evildoer November 20, international head­ zapping and corporate-sponsored lines read the likes of: "Gashappiness, to remind you that the Guzzling US Under Fire at Global polar ice caps are melting. No, like Warming Talks" (Agence France for real this time.

Presse), "US Blamed for Climate Recently, The Larson B ice Treaty Talks Deadlock" (London shelf, formerly located on the east­ Daily Telegraph), "Climate Talks ern side of the Antarctic peninsula, Fail to Close Rift with US" (London broke off the continent and disinte­ Guardian), "US Blocks Attempts to grated. The glacier, which is the Cut Global Warming" (London size of Rhode Island, probably has Independent), and "Pollution Pact not budged since the last ice age.

Under Threat as America Is Scientists tell the media that: Accused of Con Trick" (London “there’s no evidence of any period in Times). the last 12,000 years where there The New York Times, on the was open water in the area that has other hand, assured Americans that now been exposed,” and that “the day that "U.S. Move Improves speed of it is staggering.”

Chance for Global Warming Though the precise reason that Treaty." To clarify, the "new stance" the area’s temperature has risen 4.5 that the Times touts, was the US's degrees (F) in the past five decades new willingness to compromise on

Op/Ed 7

■ ■ H H V ....... ......... ......

its highly controversial demand, which essentially would allow the nation to increase its carbon diox­ ide emissions.

To be fair, a satellite image of the ice shelf’s disintegration did make the cover of The New York Times last Wednesday. Instead of being the front page story, however, the tiny article on the ice cap was relegated to page A ll, where it occupied about 1/10 of the space on a page otherwise occupied by a gigantic Lord & Taylor advertise­ ment (“the signature of American style,” if you hadn’t heard).

Better yet, the brief-sized arti­ cle was quick to reassure us that “The loss of floating ice does not contribute to rising sea levels, just as melting ice cubes floating in a glass do not cause it to overflow.”

This is very accurate. At the same time though, experts worry that the dismantling of this shelf will trigger masses of ice to slide from the mainland into the ocean; this will cause the sea levels to rise. The US media, which has little problem implying the end of the world as the only alternative to racial profil­ ing, shields us from this fact.

An ex-boyfriend of mine is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in evo­ lutionary biology. We argue a lot, and when I drink too much I tend

E d ito ria l

T h is w e e k on T V M cG ill

to cry and yell at people about the dire state of humanity. Well one night I was doing just that, when he interrupted to tell me that humans will become extinct relatively soon anyway. “And,” he continued, “no matter what happens to the planet, the environment will most likely bounce back. We, on the other hand, will not.” Oddly enough, I had no reply.

Queer McGill Cabaret Jessica Wolfand Evan Veroni Highlights from last week's Queer McGill r - Cabaret, as part of Pride E Week o See interviews with o■ Queer McGill executives, 0) and be amazed by the tal­ c ent of the Lesbian Tango -J Girls. (this is seriously _Q ■MM what is on the story) *-»

Have something to say?

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COLUM NIST Submit three column samples, a CV, and a cover letter

'

B)

o The Gondoliers £ ■ Amber Sessions and John Philp £ £ If you missed the per­

Deadline: April 15 4:00 pm in the Tribune Office Shatner Rm 110

5

formance of the Savoy Society's Gondoliers, check out TvMcGill’s wrap-up.

Tantalizing scenes and compelling interviews with the performers and crew of this operatic delight.

Savoy for all!

Exactly why philosophy kids have bad name Two: I thought that philosophy would help me learn to learn. I did­ n’t know what I wanted to do with my life, I still don’t. To tell you the truth, I hope I never do. If I knew that I wanted to spend the next forty years doing one thing, no mat­ ter how interesting, I think I might just give up right here and right now. I know that regardless of what I start doing when I graduate, ten, This week, Our Girl Next Door even five years later, I won’t be doing has fallen ill. In her place, the Other the same thing. So why should my Girl Next Door has stepped in. undergraduate career be spent preparing myself for one thing?

So... what are you going to do That’s why I chose philosophy. when you graduate? Ah, the one It doesn’t prepare you for anything. question that all undergraduates At the same time, it is kind of like a dread. mind-expanding drug. It lets you The thing that amazes me most see the world from new perspec­ about that question is that it usually tives; it brings up questions other­ comes from someone who was once wise ignored in the process of dayan undergraduate in the same posi­ to-day existence. Sure, it’s not a tion as I. By that I mean, someone very practical field, but that’s what’s who should know better. so great about it.

For me it’s even worse. I’m a Last summer, I was having a philosophy major. The standard discussion with some friends who response to that one is, “Oh, well, also happen to be philosophy what are you going to do with that?” majors. Somehow it came up that it What I want to know is why there is highly likely that the majority of has to be some end beyond the sim­ the world’s population never even ple pursuit of knowledge. Maybe thinks about the questions that I that’s the philosopher in me coming will spend at least four years of my out, but I truly believe that everyone life agonizing over. This came as a would be a whole lot happier if we shock to me. How can you live could all get over the preoccupation your life without ever considering if with doing things as means and not the mind and body are separate as ends in themselves. things, or whether means justify I chose philosophy for a few ends? The answer is simple: easily. reasons.

These are questions like so many One: I couldn’t find any other that are raised in philosophical dis­ department that had enough cours­ cussions that don’t need to be es that I thought were interesting. answered in order to lead a happy

and peaceful existence. So, then, what’s the point?

My view is that the point is exactly that. They don’t need answers. It’s a fabulous luxury to be able to contemplate them. It’s what separates us from the animals (or so we think). So if you can do it, why not do it? Some of the best moments of my life come when I find myself removed from my daily existence and something so basic about life strikes me as being amaz­ ing.

The other day I looked outside and saw an apartment building.

Not an unusual sight, not very exciting either. But it made me stop and think that it is truly amazing what people have done with the Earth. What we have built, created, destroyed, and discovered is phe­ nomenal. Sometimes the little things are truly mind-boggling when you stop and think about them. Think about indoor plumb­ ing, or the internal combustion engine, or even dental floss, things that we take for granted so much that we rarely think about how amazing they are. But they really are amazing, and that is something that philosophy has made me real­ ize. It has taught me to think about the things that often get glossed over, and to appreciate daily what rarely gets appreciated.

This is not meant to sound preachy or flaky (does anyone ever mean to sound flaky?), nevertheless I implore you to think about some­ thing that you use or see everyday that you never take the time to con­

sider. It’s a version of ‘stop and smell the roses’, but more of a ‘stop and think about the roses and how truly cool they are’. I think it will change the way you think about life.

Almost everyone who once was an undergraduate looks back on these years as the best and most carefree of

their lives. What’s the point of spending them getting ready for the rest of your life? Let the rest of your life start now. And let it start by thinking about the wondrousness of Ziploc bags, or something.

lent of English Prizes and Awari The KAY MacIVER MEMORIAL PRIZE w orth $275, fo r the best English essay by an undergraduate on a subject in the field o f English C anadian o r French C anadian literature, to be nom inated by instructors.

CREATIVE WRITING »MONA ADILMAN PRIZE IN POETRY w orth $ 6 5 0 ~ o r $325 fo r tw o students, is open to undergraduate or graduate students registered in th e Faculty of Arts fo r the best poem or group o f poem s relating to ecological o r e nvironm ental concerns.

The CLARK LEWIS MEMORIAL PRIZE w orth $250, is open to major or honours students in the Department of English. The prize is aw arded a nnually or from tim e to tim e fo r original plays staged in the co urse o f th e academ ic year.

The CHESTER MACNAGHTEN PRIZES IN CREATIVE WRITING_____

Y N

(tw o prizes, one o f $500 and a no the r o f $350) are open to undergraduate students of the University fo r the best piece o f creative w riting in English, i.e. a story, a play, a poem , an essay, etc. Printed com positions are ineligible if they have been published before A pril 16, 2002.

The PETERSON MEMORIAL PRIZE___________________________ w orth $1,500, is open to undergraduate or graduate students registered in a degree program in th e Department of English w ith distinction in English Literature (CGPA 3.30 o r above) w ho has also show n creative literary ability.

(

The LIONEL SHAPIRO AWARDS FOR CREATIVE WRITING_________ th re e prizes o f $1,000 each, to be distributed if possible am ong the genres o f poetry, fiction, screen-w riting and playw riting. Each prize to be awarded on the recom m endation o f the D epartm ent o f English to students in the final year of the B.A. course w ho have dem onstrated outstanding talent. (A note from yo ur acad e m ic advise r verifying you will have com pleted y o u r program requirem ents and th e m inim um credits required by the Faculty o f A rts (by A pril 2002) M U S T accom pany yo u r subm ission.)

These competitions are restricted to students who have not previously won the First Prize.

Forms to be completed (for creative writing prizes and awards) are available in the Department of English General Office, Arts 155. Submissions must be in triplicate

DEADLINE: Tuesday, April 16, 2002

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

The tim eless battle: sleep and the student Markus Schoefert None of my previous relation­ ships have ever been this trouble­ some. Schooled in the ways of rear­ ing its ugly head at the worst moments, and with a persistence that would make any Olympic ath­ lete blush, the snooze button is public enemy number one. The average student is forcefully removed from any pleasant aspect of these early morning hours in order to physically abuse and shout obscenities at such an abomination.

Sleep deprivation, whether self-induced or due to external cir­ cumstances, really is a form of tor­ ture. Loaded down with more work than can be accomplished in any given day, giving up on a few hours of sleep is often the only option to ‘get more time’ out of the day. The optimal amount of uninterrupted sleep lies between eight and nine hours per night, according to sever­ al sleep research studies, in order for the body to function as best it can; a surprisingly small amount of stu­ dents actually manages this.

In a survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 1998, 47 per­ cent of Canadians admitted to restricting their amount of sleep in order to accomplish what they did not have time for in their normal waking hours. Even on the week­ end, when a lot of students plan to catch up on missed sleep during the week, they often have to follow a

schedule that does not permit them one does not sleep enough. In other is felt: the first peak being between words, going over the formulas for 1 and 4 am, the second exactly 12 to mend this backlog of sleep.

There are multiple conse­ an exam at 4 am the night before hours later. As researchers at the Stanford Sleep Disorder quences of this extended lack Clinic examined, a nap dur­ of sleep. One of the most obvi­ ing this second period can ous being that victims of such significantly increase per­ sleep deprivation become more formance when there has irritable. If you have ever been a lack of sleep during walked through the library the night. A 45-minute nap during exam time with supposedly improves alert­ squeaky soles, you will know: ness for the following six suffering the wrath of the hours. insomniac is hardly pleasant.

Shifting your sleep pat­ But an increased risk of more tern to the hours between 3 serious health problems, and 11 will not be as effec­ including depression, is also tive as the sleep gained in the among the consequences of first peak of sleepiness. In insomnia. effect, many students are cre­ Recent studies by Harvard ating an artificial jet-lag by University have provided evi­ trying to shift their sleep pat­ dence that sleep is an integral terns; the consequences are part to any learning process. By that one feels a constant level restricting this element, the of tiredness at the times ability to perform any “visual when the rest of the popula­ discrimination task,” which tion is at its peak of alertness. involves differentiating and Physiologically, it is not choosing between given alter­ possible to fully compensate natives, is impaired as well. for hours missed. Research Dr. Pierre Maquet at the done on night shift workers University of Liege in Belgium shows that once a routine of is currently researching at the sleeping ‘at the wrong time’ Wellcome Department of has been established, they Cognitive Neurology. have trouble in social situa­ “The first night after tions with people who follow Drool freezes in sub-zero temperatures training is crucial for skill a more conventional pattern. acquisition, and both early and late sleep are needed to reach opti­ might not prove to be the brightest The findings of this research can easily be transferred to students idea after all. mal performance,” he explains.

In any given day, there are two who follow a similar sleep pattern as Anything learnt in a day will not be remembered nearly as well if periods that collectively, sleepiness the night shift workers.

Ian Johnson, a U2 Economics major, agrees.

“After a week of studying for exams, it’s impossible to wake up in time to run any errands. By the time you’re awake, all the shops are closed.”

Thomas Edison deemed sleep to be a highly unproductive time and was convinced that his invent­ ing the light bulb would provide the world with hours of further pro­ ductivity while revolutionizing social as well as the economic pat­ terns of the time. But, the human body never kept up with the tech­ nological advance— it seems sleep­ ing patterns have not changed since 1878.

Almost everybody experiences conflicting social and academic schedules. Focusing exclusively on either is to the detriment of the other. Even moderate sleep leads to reaction times that are slower than observed in those people who ,by legal definition are “impaired from alcohol,” as observed by the Canadian Social Trends journal in its Spring 2001 issue.

Participating in field studies has just become more attractive.

“No, Sirr, I believe I am not lelagy impurred yet; could I have anotha three shods of vadga?”

So the next time you nail that snooze button at an ungodly hour of the morning, chill out and enjoy your sleep. Physiological evidence tells us we need it.

2001 : The m yth o f th e g re a t recession Chris Booth-Morrison The business story of 2001 was the economic bust that wasn’t.

Sharp plunges in the manufacturing and technology sectors coupled with the events of September 11 seemed destined to sink and destroy an already floundering economy, but information released recently suggests otherwise.

According to most market watchers, the Canadian economy began its fall into recession in March, 2001, and many saw the financial doldrums lasting for quite some time. According to RBC Deputy Chief Financial Economist John Anania, “a confluence of fac­ tors” was responsible for the sharp dip.

“Slumps in the manufacturing and high-tech sectors and vanishing venture capital combined to send the US economy, and in turn the Canadian economy, into a down­ ward spiral,” said Anania.

However, figures released recently by both the Canadian and American governments offer a dif­ ferent perspective on 2001. The American economy actually grew by 0.1 percent last year, down from

the 3 percent seen in both 1999 and 2000, but is certainly not indicative of full-blown recession. In fact, the Canadian economy grew by 2 per­ cent in the fourth quarter of last year, fuelled by low interest rates and increased consumer spending.

Zero percent financing on cars and rock bottom mortgage rates pushed both the automotive and housing industries, while one-time offers on household goods boosted retail sales. This increased activity has interested many analysts, including Anania, labelling the financial woes of 2001 as “a mild economic downturn. » Recent job losses and a rising unemployment rate — which hit 8 percent last month and is forecasted to go as high as 8.5 percent by mid­ year — may make it more difficult for graduating students to find work. This is true especially for sec­ tors where hiring trends travel with the market, such as finance and consulting. And with very little happening abroad, it may be a while before this trend is reversed.

So what does this all mean for students? (About as much as it means to the average consumer.)

According to Joel Ernes, Senior

Research Economist at the Fraser Institute.

“Low interest rates make it a good time to borrow money, and there are plenty of great deals to be had in the automotive and retail sectors,” confirmed Ernes.

Still, news that the economy fared better than expected in 2001 and upbeat predictions for the future have come as welcome relief for worried investors. The TSE 300 Composite Index, the usual gauge of economic health, has risen by 3 percent since the beginning of March in response to positive state­ ments issued by the Bank of Canada.

“The overall pace of economic activity has been stronger than expected, con­ firming that a return is underway,” reinforced the Bank.

The one thing that must not be lost in this sea of good news is the fact that our economy did take a hit last year. Anyone who owned stock in Nortel could testify to the billions of dol­ lars of investor wealth that

seemed to evaporate overnight. The question on most peoples’ minds concerns what lies ahead.

Forecasters are being wary in their predictions for 2002 as low inflation rates, increased debt and the threat of international conflict could cut recovery short. The Bank of Canada remains optimistic.

“The bank expects the econo­ my to gather strength as the year progresses,” said Anania. “Things

will pick up over the summer and we should finish the year on a good note.”

The one bit of comfort we can take from all this is that the worst is over. Economists predict the next recession won’t start until 2010. But with the Federal Reserve in the US hinting at rising interest rates, it is still unclear how long we will see the effects of the recession that never was.

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Features 9

Psst... guess w ho likes you?!?

Panthea Lee

Too shy to talk to that hottie in Poli Sci? Curious about the exciting world of anal beads? Need a course that won’t bring your GPA down two points? And, while we’re at it, who was the handsome stranger at the bar and what’s his story?

Fret not my wretched friend, for the creators of McGillGossip.com have found the solution for the clas­ sic student woes that plague us all.

Launched last spring, the website is striving to become a one-stop shop­ ping source for indispensable stu­ dent information; namely, all the latest who’s who, who’s sleeping with who and who hates who in our beloved school. Essentially, it’s more gossip than you can probably handle.

As the website explains, the site is “McGill's number one hookup [pun intended?] for news you can't prove. If you've got a story to tell, we've got a place for you to put it.”

The brainchild of two McGill students, Alec Tallman and Nicole Bechard, the site describes itself as “a place to vent, a place to talk, and a place to hang out online.” The creators are quick to add that they are in no way affiliated with the school and any official organiza­ tions.

The site features discussion forums, a columnist named Dick McGill, an advice column by resi­ dent sexpert Naughty Natalie, a picture gallery, an events calendar, course reviews, chatrooms, polls, and uncensored message boards.

The latter seems to have attracted the most attention, and consequently, the most controversy.

Visitors can leave anonymous mes­ sages on all aspects of university life, but discussion mainly centres

around the lives and loves of fellow peers on the three uncensored boards, aptly named “Total Gossip”, “McGill Matchups” and “The Wall”.

Surprising? Hardly.

These three uncensored boards have raised several eyebrows, with upset students writing in to protest the nature of the boards and select comments. Despite detractors’ claims that the site is a defamation tool, Tallman maintains that the site is merely an online student hangout. He sympathizes with those who have been offended, but maintains that individual users of the site can be neither predicted nor regulated.

“Considering that we like to think of ourselves as the last bastion of uncensored free speech, I try to let individuals post what they like until someone complains. The one thing that bugs me most is when people just yell rude things.. .those get pulled in a second,” Tallman explains.

When a complaint is submit­ ted, the objectionable comment is removed at once in order to protect individuals from character denigra­ tion.

“Justifiable criticism of people in the public eye is one thing, out­ right defamation is hurtful, and allaround pretty pointless,” he says.

The site attempts to discourage perceived abuse in their “Rules and Disclaimer” section stating, “this site was not created for character assassination, directed and cruel criticisms, maliciousness or other nasty goals...Information in your submissions must be kept anony­ mous. Names are not anonymous.”

This, however, has not pre­ vented users from using full names in their posts. Threats of lawsuits

A fe w fre e w o rd s from h u m a n ity And just how do they hope to The International Festival for Humanity 2002 (IFH), kicked off get their message across? Through this week, bringing with it what the strength of statement, art, drama and speakers. All media will looks to be a packed repertoire.

The Project, as it is also either feature works created by referred to, is an internatioiml stu- i members of the project or will dent organization/movement that express the main views of their miswas founded in réponse to a 1997 sion.

The three-day festival began event which took pace in Lima, Peru, called the Youth Festival for yesterday with a speaker on Iraq Democracy. It provided a non-vio­ and international law and pre­ lent setting where students could viewed the well talked about movie voice their views about their world Promises. Ill, “y Highlights for today include a and their desired freedoms.

Already in its'fourth year at coffeehouse that will last for the McGill, the Project is an organiza­ most part of the day and a feature tion which encourages today’s presentation of the movies youth to think independently, to CMckpoint and S.P.I.T. {Squeegee Punks in Traffic). question, to discuss and to act.

TomOpow will feature the They cite their overall goal as being the estblisbtuenr of a univer-.’ keynote speakef Felipe de Jesus who sal network of youth in creating and will discuss indigenous peoples in promoting awareness and knowl­ Mexico.

There wi II also be art exhibi­ edge on both local and global scales.

This year the IFH hopes to tions at the McGill Bookstore until communicate their desire for tomorrow.

For ffiore information on this change through the inspiration of others. They will be addressing six ’‘project, visit their website at areas which will include interna­ http://humanity2002.tripod.com, or tional law, technology, social visit the Adams auditorium and inequality, identity and conflict, Clubs Lounge for events. media and marketing and the envi­ — Elissa Marcus ronment.

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have been brought up, but the editors have retained their jovial outlook and remain unfazed.

“In the beginning, before people saw what the site was really about, they got pretty nervous about the name,” notes Tallman.

“But as for a team of lawyers and a class-action lawsuit, well, let's just say I'm still waiting.”

The creators want to stress that the site isn’t merely about gossip, as its name would suggest; but should also be utilized as a form of communication amongst students. With such a big student popula­ tion, it’s often difficult to maintain active discourse, and the creators hope that this will become an avenue for lively discussion and debate about issues pertain­ ing to McGill student life.

The site also boasts an You will never guess who I saw working at 281 last night... not that I was there anti-calendar, a unique fea­ Response, for the most part, ture where users can discuss the students would eat it up, but the has been positive, assert the cre­ response hasn’t been overwhelming. courses they’ve taken and compare notes about the good, the bad and With only 40 registered users at ators.

“Once people get over the fact the ugly. It is organized according present and an average of 350 hits a that the site has the word gossip in week, the site is still struggling to to faculty, and then by respective find its niche amongst students. its name, people like it. The name subjects. Currently, there are less New content is never lacking, how­ McgillGossip.com is meant to be than a dozen courses that have been ever, and the small staff maintains provocative and fun. We provide reviewed.

“What drives me nuts is that the labour of love by absorbing the our share of gossip, but that's really upkeep costs. In the future, they not the point,”’ says Tallman. “The the structure is complete,” laments hope to have expenses covered by point is that someone who wants to Tallamn. “People just need to fdl it have some fun reading and in. I really think it’s a great service, advertising.

Monika Dygut, a U0 responding about McGill related and I want it to rock.” issues now has the chance to do Tallman definitely recognizes Management student, laughed that.” upon first seeing the site. the inane nature of gossip, though So if you’re ever wondering “I don’t know what to say—the has no intention to stop it. how to initiate contact with that boards seem to be cluttered with a “Gossip suffers from being cutie in Moral Issues, or whether mostly untrue, and often exaggerat­ lot of silly gossip; a lot of it is pret­ ty immature. I’d appreciate it more you’re more of a Jerome or a Jeremy ed. As a source of information, it's if there was more relevant, practical Farrell— a burning question in the way down there. But that doesn't life of any normal student—mosey make gossiping any less fun. After information on there...but things like the anti-calendar are great on over to McGillGossip.com. Its got all, everyone does it!” the market covered.

This truism led him to believe ideas!”

The SSMU is seeking students from April 3 0 thuntil June 3 0 thto sell adver­ tising space for the student handbook and other publications. These posi­ tions are proven money-makers for tal­ ented, dynamic, articulate individuals who can close sales.

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Features 11

M ayor Tremblay's fountain of youth Martin Dumont believes he can make a difference in dirty games of municipal politics mistic about improving the daily lives of younger Montrealers.

“I always wanted to defend my Amidst noted opposition ideas and the interests of my com­ against the city merger, Mayor munity. Some might think I’m Gérald Tremblay’s Montreal Island naive, but I still believe that every Citizens’ Unions (MICU) became person who has beliefs can the first administration of the new help change things in soci­ mega-city of Montreal on January 1 ety,” says Dumont.

Although many this year. In the months prior to their election, MICU stressed the accused the new mayor of importance of youth involvement in creating well-paid jobs for municipal politics and repeatedly his defeated candidates stated that they were the first such as Dumont, the new municipal party to create a youth administration felt it neces­ sary to address youth wing.

Many saw this move as a polit­ needs.

When Dumont, ical strategy to attract younger vot­ ers to the party while the MICU whose only time off from insists that this new wing will the election campaign hap­ encourage youth to get involved in pened to be the night of a the merger of the former cities of U2 concert, was asked the island and ensure the success of what he sees as the biggest the new mega-city. It now remains priorities of his portfolio, to be seen if various youth issues his answers were fairly pre­ really are at the top of the MICU dictable: increasing the number of affordable stu­ agenda.

The youth wing, led by 24- dent housing units and year-old Hugo Morissette, held its improving the accessibility first convention last August at of public transportation.

As a newly elected CEGEP Rosemont. Many proposi­ tions made by its members were political organization in of credibility, accepted into the official party plat­ search Tremblay’s team was quick form in the following months.

The wing is open to all youth to introduce the reduced between the ages of 16 and 30 and bus and metro fare for full­ is said to have approximately 1000 time students aged 18 to members from various backgrounds 25 years, within days of and fields of interest as it begins to entering office. After years take its place in the municipal land­ of waiting and being fed broken promises, 61,000 scape.

In a recent interview at City students now save $300 a year each Hall, Martin Dumont, a dynamic on bus and metro passes.

Subsequently on February 19, 28-year-old Political Science gradu­ Tremblay administration ate, outlined his role as a direct link the between the youth in Montreal and expanded this policy to include all the mayor. His passion for politics is full-time students regardless of their obvious, and he seems very opti­ age, making an extra 20,000 stu­ dents eligible for the reduced fares.

Adam Lukofsky and Nilimini de Silva

Dumont adds that although there are no concrete plans of keep­ ing the metro open until the closing of bars and clubs, plans are in the works to extend the hours of opera­ tion of the blue line and to increase

the number of reserved bus lanes throughout the island—good news for many students.

The new city administration plans to promote Montreal as a dynamic and exciting place to pur­ sue a university degree in order to attract students from the rest of

Canada and to bring up the overall Tremblay sees the summit as “a percentage of out-of-town universi­ far reaching meeting that will bring ty students to 60 per cent. together all partners of the city, to To do this, Dumont says that publicly debate the objectives and the new city will keep closer ties priorities for economic, social and with the four Montreal universities, cultural development, as well as especially through their strategies for implementing policies, student groups and asso­ and directions for municipal institu­ ciations. Although con­ tions.” tacts have been estab­ This statement may look very lished between the newly sharp in the party platform book, reformed city administra­ but many are questioning whether it tion and the student asso­ is really worth one million in tax ciation of the Université dollars. Dumont claims that this de Montreal, plans will be a unique opportunity for remain to be made to various student groups to get their meet representatives of voices heard.

McGill.

However, among the 13 pro­ Regarding the short­ posed themes, none are specifically age of affordable housing dedicated to youth issues. Instead, in the downtown core, the youth must present their ideas plans are in the works to and concerns within the context of develop a “student city”, the proposed themes. also referred to as a “cité Holding this summit from étudiante”, a concept June 4 to 6 was seriously jeopard­ employed in cities such as ized recently as mayor Tremblay Boston and Paris. faced the first real controversy of his Instead of the mandate: being accused of being in McGill Ghetto’s high a conflict of interest with IPSE, the rents, groups of publicly- firm hired to organize the summit. owned buildings concen­ At this point, it appears that the trated in a given area will dates of the summit will remain be transformed into unchanged. approximately 2,000 In the future, the Tremblay affordable student hous­ administration wants to increase the ing units over the next number of municipal employees five years. With the open­ under the age of 30 from the cur­ ing of new super-hospital rent rate of 2 percent so as to better complexes within a few represent the needs of youth by years, soon-to-be vacated making employment contracts infrastructures such as the favourable towards candidates new Hotel-Dieu Hospital at the corner to the working sector. The current of des Pi and Saint-Urbain are being administration inspires hope for considered as alternatives for afford­ adequate treatment of issues relating able housing. to youth in Montreal. They are off One of inconsistent Tremblay’s to a promising start, though it biggest electoral promises was hold­ remains to be seen if they can han­ ing a summit within the first 100 dle the rocky road of politics. days of entering office.

Taco Bell tomatoes leave farmers in poverty Shannon Dunker

(U-WIRE) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Students, farmers and commu­ nity activists join in the Taco Bell Truth Tour to fight for human rights for immigrant farmers in Immokalee, Fla. The tour consists of a group of people from various organizations who go cross-country from Tampa, Fla. to Irvine, Calif, and back, hold­ ing protests at local Taco Bells with a massive protest in front of the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, Calif.

They are in support of the boycott that began a year and a half ago by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

"I thought the tour was a really great idea because it actually inte­ grates the workers fully in the process of demanding their equal rights," participating student Kelly Bohlander said. "It s not just people fighting for them; it’s them fighting for them with other people's sup­ port."

The tour aims to show the con­ nection between Taco Bell and the

tomato pickers’ economic situation — poverty. Another goal is to spread awareness about the boycott and send the message to Americans that they have the power to influence major corporations.

Immokalee is an unincorporat­ ed settlement of farmers. They work for the company Six L’s Packing Co., Inc., which still pays its workers the same wages as in 1978. Workers must pick two tons of tomatoes to make only $50.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers say that if the company were to pay only one more cent per pound of tomatoes, the earnings of the farmers would be doubled. Taco Bell is the company's largest buyer of tomatoes.

The boycott has been in place for a year and a half and Taco Bell is finally starting to show interest.

"Taco Bell has begun talking with Six L’s Packing Company who owns the fields, telling them that something must be done about the boycott," Student/Farmworker Alliance member Steve Payne said.

"Also, Taco Bell agreed to talk with

the shareholder activists who are involved with the campaign."

Shareholder activism is when wealthy people use their money to fight for human and worker rights by investing in companies so they have the power to pressure and influence them.

Some Florida State University students have decided to take a stand for the rights of these workers.

Bohlander, Payne and a few others have started making a difference right here in Tallahassee.

The first step they took was a teach-in on Feb. 6 to educate people about the Taco Bell boycott. On Feb. 9, they held Taco Bell Action, which was a boycott at the local Taco Bell in Tallahassee.

"We protested outside the Taco Bell," Bohlander said. "We made signs and stayed there for about two and a half to three hours. It was actu­ ally really good because we had a lot of people who came by and asked for information and we got to talk to a lot of interested citizens in Tallahassee."

FSU students have gotten

involved in protesting Taco Bell through the Student/Farmworker Alliance and are looking to make a difference. Some even went as far as joining the tour over Spring Break in California and in many other cities to protest.

"I hope this to be a real learning experience so that I can come back to FSU and use that knowledge to help empower more students here and effect more a change here in Tallahassee," Payne said.

Before the major protest at the

Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, the FSU students will participate in workshops and presentations spon­ sored at the UCLA campus. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people are expected to attend the daylong protest that will feature musicians and guest speakers, among other events.

"People from FSU will be tak­ ing part in the protests as it happens and everyone on the tour is expected to join one of the committees for the tour and take an active role in organ­ izing work," Payne said.

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McGill

Tribune, Tuesday

March

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2002

Phassion propagates culture of excess AIDS benefit offers shamelessly tacky clothing for materialistic management types Rhea Wong

The moralflabbiness born o f the exclusive worship o f the bitch-goddess success. That— with the squalid cash interpretation put on the word suc­ cess— is our national disease.

-William James It’s the time of year again when hormones are a-ragin, skin is aflashin’ and the cell phones are aringin.

Spring fever? Nope, just some good old Phassion (say FUH-passion) brought to you by your friends and mine at the Management Undergraduate Society.

Indulge me as Ye Olde humble reviewer, for a moment, to reflect upon my long and tumultuous his­ tory with Phassion. Ah, Phassion has been a bitch goddess; fickle, unpredictable and cruel. How well I remember the days of my first Phassion review where I was subse­ quently burnt in effigy in the Bronfman building for a less than glowing article. The second review the year after? Despite every attempt on my part to applaud the efforts of the hard-working folk at MUS, I was still scorned. You can

please some of the people some of ened by what no doubt would be come out to play again.

The designs of Catherine Brulé the time, but you can’t please all the referred to as “thumping techno were all about being almost naked. beats,” the show began. people all the time.

Flesh coloured lycra Yet, this year, I was dis­ wrapped themselves mayed to see that for my last around young lithe bodies. hurrah chez Phassion, the direc­ The finishing touch was tors chose to take the worst ele­ the eyeful of ass furnished ments of the two past shows and by a spandex shift dress rid­ incorporate it into one. Oh, the ing high. humanity.

A particularly visually Call me a sucker for atmos­ exciting segment was the phere, but the threadbare setting fashions of the Institut of Metropolis (home to this Supérior de Design. Those year’s Phassion show) lacked the wacky design students stark elegance of La Gare graced the stage with Windsor (2000) or the warm Pochantas type shifts, coziness of the Just for Laughs shower curtain capes and Museum (2001). Save for the spaghetti garnished gowns. drunken schmoozing, darkened One Technicolor dream lighting and the laptop generated coat had my compatriot graphics on stage, I could have squealing, “What is that? been in Leacock. And, unfortu­ Crayola?!” nately, my Shiseido freebies were A particularly viva­ swiped long before I got to my cious reprieve came with seat. Damnation. the dance stylings of Needless to say, I was ready McGill’s own Mosaica. The and waiting for a hefty dose of jjj' the end, Rhey just ain’t a fashionable girl. modern dance ensemble Phassion to get me through — The first segment featured FLY graced the stage just before the another year. Accompanied by two very fashion (or should I say designs, which started with epic intermission. Their hip-hop moves Phassion) savvy cohorts, we began music and dissolved into techno. and wide grins injected some fuel the countdown. After a very The clothing was an attempt at into an otherwise sedate show.

Phassionable 30 minutes later, deconstructed 80’s punk chic. Kudos to Mosaica for reminding blinded by excessive and flagrant Imagine my joy to realize the 80’s everyone that Phassion should be abuse of a fog machine and deaf­ are back and my leg warmers can about phun.

Amidst the Village Peopleesque fashions of C’est Pas Grave and Marie & Martin, I can only applaud the MUS’s nod to Queer Culture. Here’s a note MUS: hire more drag queens to lend your show some theatricality and come­ dy-

Clearly, this year’s MUS chose not to learn from the follies of two years ago and continued the tradi­ tion of interpretive dance style vogue-ing down the runways.

Anything could have salvaged this.

In parting, all future Phassionable people heed my* advice: stop taking yourselves so seriously—embrace being a student and loosen up. It would be way more fun for everyone. And, ending the show with the exuberant Americana of “Beautiful Day” is always a bad idea when Bono did it better at the Superbowl.

PS. Don’t think I didn’t notice the FOTD (Friends of the Director) pouring drinks over my coat.

Phassion is staged to raise money for the Farha Foundation o f Montreal which helps people living with AIDS in Montreal. This year’s event raised $8000for the foundation.

Punk is in just about politics In two concerts NOFX and friends remind that it's all about a good time Kiera O rm ut-Fleishm an M elissa Fink_______________

November, when ‘punker than thou’ NOFX announced that they would be gracing Montreal with not one, but two live appearances in March, we were giddy little schoolgirls, stoked that after five years of Warped Tours and a repeat­ ed cycle of 30-minute recordings, we would finally get to see our favourite band headline two shows.

And so the childhood fear of getting to the ticket line-up to find a million kids, with greater dedica­ tion and more piercings than us, buying the last of the tickets moti­ vated us to get out of the ghetto and down to Ste. Catherine for 12 noon— sale time— to claim our space in the mosh pit. We reached the Spectrum in the height of the Santa Claus parade, which we fled through to cross the street, trying not to collide with elves, or floats, or kids with balloons. We then entered the ticket booth to find just one 14-year-old kid, sporting a NOFX toque, waiting, alone, since 9AM, and disapointed that we were the only ones with whom he could share the commencement of four months of dire anticipa­ tion that accompanies any good punk show that falls on a weeknight.

This takes us to March 19, in the front row, squished up against

the metal barrier in front of the stage with some sweaty bikers, where with boots in your face, and spikes in your eyes, it becomes harder and harder to breathe but still worth it.

The bands were great; Aussies Frenzal Rhomb played a solid set (after coming onto the stage wear­ ing a long blond wig mockingly playing the classic metal riff) combining songs from their latest album Shut Your Mouth with other albums like (my favorite) Meet The Family. NOFX were everything one could want play­ ing parts of The Decline, White Trash Two Heebs And A Bean, So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes, Punk In Drublic and other classics.

The next night we caught up with Linsay (the guitarist from Frenzal Rhomb) before his set and he enlightened us on such issues as vegemite (a popular vegan spread), “I love vegemite... I’ve got a jar of it in our RV and I’ve only used it about twice. It’s really hard to find vegan margarine in this bloody place. Vegemite... Let me tell you, you know the way Americans have this big thing for patriotism and for God and all that sort of stuff and bombing third world countries? Well, we have sim­ ilar feelings of love and respect towards vegemite... it’s that strength of feeling.”

Frenzal Rhomb (whose name stems from an ancient Algerian tribe that castrated boys if they had­ n’t proved themselves by maturity so that only the strong would sur­ vive), are on Fat Mike’s (of NOFX) label, Fat Wreck Chords in the US and Canada. In Australia they’re signed to Bad Religion’s label

Epitaph Records but it has not always been that way. As Linsay explained, “we’re signed to Fat Wreck Chords for the rest of the world and we’re on Epitaph in Australia, which is a pretty good sit­ uation and they’re both distributed through Shock Records, which is the biggest independent in Australia, so that’s probably the equivalent. We used to be on Shock, so we’re friends with every­ one at Shock, everyone at Epitaph,

everyone at Fat, and also everyone at Sony, who we were on for one year, so we can get lots of free CDs and free beer out of everyone.”

Although taken at face value Frenzal’s lyrics seem inconsequen­ tial, they do have a political side that can be seen in such songs as “All My Best Friends Are Racist” (a song that focuses on the problem of racism).

However, insightful lyrics don’t always get the message across especially with the recent trendiness of pop-punk; “A lot of kids are like “racists, yeah I’m a racist, cool!” and then jump up and down. But hopefully people are listening. It’s good that the kids actu­ ally are listening to the lyrics sometimes, which I guess is why bands, (especially punk bands) dress their politics up with humor. We try to do it, NOFX do it very poorly, they’re just not very good at making jokes, and the Mad Caddies sing about chicks in beards, and so it’s good because then kids can go “oh, that’s pretty funny” and then they actually might read a little further and go “oh yeah, yeah, that’s good,” and then there’s bands like Propagandhi, who are just the best lyrical music project in the world

and they can just say whatever the fuck they want.

In the end what it all boils down to is fun. Afterall, while punk was founded with political ideals/change in mind, there was always that lighter aspect to it. “The punk scene’s great, as long as you don’t take it too seriously and try to act all holier than thou, and most people that I know don’t, so it’s awesome.”

After Frenzal Rhomb’s set we stayed backstage and watched the Mad Caddies and NOFX (who opened with “The Moron Brothers” and put on an a show as entertain­ ing as the night before). Afterwards, we headed down to Bifteck, and we ran into none other than our good friends from Frenzal Rhomb, the Mad Caddies and Eric Melvin from NOFX. Everyone agreed that Canadian beer was better than American and were upset that they couldn’t stop to snowboard since they hauled their boards all the way from California).

By 2:45 AM it was time to leave as Melvin had to be back by 3 for the bus for Toronto (NOFX were leaving early) and Frenzal Rhomb and the Mad Caddies were going to take NOFX’s hotel rooms for the night “we’re going to have two or three a piece!” an excited Linsay let us know. We too, decided it was time to end the 48-hour NOFX-rush and left.

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

A&E 15

High-fidelity in everything he does Prof. Dan Levitin makes music, teaches cognition, marks easily and drops names Michal Zilberm an

Musician, sound recording artist, US Navy consultant, humancomputer interaction specialist— these are only some of the labels available to describe Professor Daniel Levitin. For his students who rush into an exploding Leacock 132 to hear him lecture, Professor Levitin is, very simply, the new Cognition prof. It doesn’t take more than a few Levitin lectures to realize that this witty and charis­ matic professor, who makes hip-hop references in his midterms, is a very cool guy. To stop the fast spreading rumours about this hip mystery music man, I sat down with Professor Levitin for an interview.

Growing up in sunny San Fran, Levitin began experimenting with sound recording at a young age. By junior high school, he was recording his school jazz band of which he was the conductor and musical arranger, and by high school he was making demo tapes for singer and song­ writer friends. Postponing his sound recording career, Levitin originally went to MIT, where due to an unfortunate incident he never received a degree.

In 1990, after over a decade of

producing and recording albums, Levitin returned to the academic life, first graduating with Honours from Stanford University with a BA in Psychology and Cognitive Science, and later receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in Cognitive Psychology. Even later, Levitin conducted post-doctoral research on cybernetics and robotics at silicon valley’s Interval Research Corporation, a company founded

by Bill Gates former partner, Paul Allen. Levitin frequently con­ tributed to Gràmmy and Billboard magazine, including his interviews with renowned artists Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and k.d. lang.

Talking with Daniel Levitin, surrounded by psychology books, music awards, and a framed and signed gift from Stevie Wonder, I was struck most by how easy it was to speak with this accomplished individual. Unlike other movie or music professionals I’ve met, Levitin was not egotistic but hum­ ble, not fake but genuine and refreshingly honest and candid.

Levitin doesn’t talk at you, he talks to you. I realized that it is this per­ sonable character trait in particu­ lar— the ability to connect with his students, to remember their names,

Reading across the divide: music and prose Ric Lambo

Last Thursday afternoon the Canadian Studies Graduate Students’ Association of McGill presented ‘Reading Across the Divide,’ a session of music and prose with Alistair Macleod (No Great Mischief) and Antonine Maillet (Madame Perfecta) as the opening for the CSGS’ seventh annual conference— ‘Canada: Rupture and Continuity.’ Even if that sounds academic and intellec­ tual, th,e event was really just an opportunity to see writers reading their own work, and to enjoy the kind of story-telling most of us haven’t heard since we were chil­ dren.

The theme, cultural differ­ ences and literature, quickly became apparent in Antonine Maillets lively speech. Speaking in French, she was keen not to be sim­ ply identified as a francophone or French Canadian, but as an Acadian—one of the francophone community of her birthplace in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. After admitting that the lunchtime champagne might have made her a bit a tipsy, she told the story of how she once applied at McGill for a position as a professor of French Literature. Unfortunately, or fortu­ nately, the preference was given to a French speaker from France, and having no other employment, she sat down to write La Sagouine (The Slattern): a play about an Acadian woman, which made Maillets name in the early 70s. ' In the Moyse theatre she read to us the beginning and ending of her most recent novel, Madame

Perfecta. The unlikely heroine of the novel is a housemaid, which was inspired by a housemaid Maillet had employed over a decade ago. Like the real maid, the fiction­ al maid is a Spanish immigrant who establishes herself in strange new home of Canada, and leaves behind her the tumults of Spain’s last cen­ tury—such as Franco and the civil war.

Afterwards, Alistair Macleod read from his novel No Great Mischief, which presents a very dif­ ferent story about immigrants.

Amongst other things, No Great Mischief is the story of a Scottish family in Cape Breton whose histo­ ry began when the narrator Alexander’s great-great-grandfather landed there in 1779. Macleod read the chapters describing an icy acci­ dent in which Alexander’s parents die. Although the story was sad, as orphan’s stories generally are, it was made even more moving by the way in which Macleod read. His deep and resonant tones created a rich atmosphere for the story—in goodstory telling is probably as impor­ tant as the story itself.

During the interludes, Kenneth and Miriam Macleod, on fiddle and piano respectively, played Scottish reels and folk music, and the session was very relaxing and informal. Considering all the experts that are invited to McGill to lecture us on the great literature of the past, it seems a shame that more contemporary prose writers are not invited merely to read their work. Judging by this presentation, that is much more inspiring and impressive than any lecture could be.

and to sincerely care about their issues— that has made Levitin so popular among McGill students.

saxophone, and I picked up the gui­ tar for the first time. A year later I moved to Oregon where I did noth­ ing except practice for a year. I cooked pancakes every Sunday, and I made enough money doing that to just practice. I would also take rock songs that I liked and tried to repli­ cate all the parts on a little fourtrack tape recorder and try to understand how arrangements came together. Then I moved to San Francisco and joined a punk band.

We were one of the big punk bands in the city.

TRIB: What was your band name?

DL: We were at various times

TRIB: We’ll start with the ‘Abbey Road Incident’ at MIT. You never got your degree from MIT, could you explain what happened?

DL: It was winter time, and Abbey Road was a relatively new album back then. I was listening to it really loud, and the speakers caught on fire. There were flames shooting out of the speaker. We were in a dorm room, and we didn’t know what to do. So my friend opened up the window and pushed the speakers out of the third floor window into the snow and the pedestrians below.

When it hit the snow, the snow put the fire out, and the pedestrians scram bled.

Luckily, no one was hurt. And...

I prefer to think of it as a negotiated withdrawal.

T R IB : Dan Levitin: The Tribune endorses his marking system.

So you left MIT, and went to Stanford, where called the Mortals, or when we were once again, you left without a most well known we were called degree. This time because you Judy Garland. ‘couldn’t major in the saxophone’?

TRIB: Inspired by?

DL: Right. Right before my DL: Our lead singer was gay senior year, this jerk administrator and he had this thing for Judy said ‘you’ve done all your proficien­ Garland. cy exams, now you have to do your Bands around the city had proficiency exam on your main heard the tapes we had made; our instrument.’ I said, ‘great.’ He said, music was played on the radio quite ‘what instrument do you play?’ I a bit. After we broke up, people said, ‘Well you should know, I’ve asked me if I’d go into the studio been taking saxophone lessons every and help them with their tapes. I quarter.’ ‘Yeah, but saxophone isn’t don’t know how, but people some­ an approved instrument at how knew I was the one who had Stanford, you can’t get a degree produced the tapes. So I did. I pro­ playing the saxophone, you have to duced other bands. I produced an play an orchestral instrument.’ This all girl band of lesbians called was non-negotiable. I had no Permanent Wave. They did really choice, I left with no degree, noth­ well in radio. ing.

One thing led to another, and TRIB: Is that when you moved next thing I knew I was working for to LA? a record company as the house pro­ DL: No. I went to Berkeley ducer. It was an independent record College of Music, where I did study company, and after some time we

sold half of it to Columbia Records (which later became Sony Music).

For that time we were with this big company with offices in New York in LA, but we still had our office division in San Francisco. I was traveling a lot to the head offices and working for some of the corpo­ rate artists.

Trib: Would you say it was easy for you to ‘break into the music scene’?

DL: I wouldn’t say that.

Practicing for a year in Oregon was­ n’t easy. Joining the band and play­ ing gigs where no one would show up or people would boo initially wasn’t easy. Rehearsals weren’t easy.

Playing to a room full of drunk, cokeheads wasn’t easy. Being in a band with a bunch of heroine addicts wasn’t easy. Also, there was never any money in it. The most money we ever made when we packed the biggest club in town was $75 each.

Producing was never easy because although I’d work with a well-known artist or make a really good recording, it could be months before another call would come in. You never know if you’d be able to pay your rent.

TRIB: I noticed your interest in modified guitar ampli­ fiers. Tell me about that.

DL: Guitar sounds are a big deal. If you’re a record producer or guitar player, there is so much ener­ gy put into getting the right guitar sound. People don’t tend to notice, but if you pull out a record by Rolling Stones, and by Nirvana, and Sheryl Crow, Wes Montgomery, you’ve got five com­ pletely different guitar sounds.

They’re like completely different instruments. Every guitarist wants to have a sound that’s uniquely his.

Jimmy Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton; they all want their own sound.

There’s a story that George Harrison actually cut the speakers with a knife during a Beatles record­ ing in order to get a particular sound. People were always experi­ menting. I always had guitar amps, Please see LEVITIN, page 15

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14 A&E

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Various Compilation Vol. 9 Trésor Records/ Fusion III Is your knowledge of techno music limited or nonexistent? If so, then sit down and shut up, ‘cause class is now in session.

Today we’ll start off with a lit­ tle bit of geography. Trésor Records is a Berlin-based label, home to many of the finest artists this genre has to offer. Although the majority of the names featured on this album do not actually hail from Berlin (DJ Rush, Ben Sims, and K. Hand spring immediately to mind), the city can nonetheless lay claim to being one of the two most important centres for the produc­ tion of quality techno beats. The other, by the way, is Detroit.

Next up is the history portion of the lesson. Trésor has played a tremendously important role in bringing electronic music, and par­ ticularly techno, to the attention of the world. In 2001 it celebrated ten years of operation by putting out a consistent string of criticallyacclaimed albums and singles, con­ tinuing a pattern of excellence that began with its very first release. To date, the label’s catalogue boasts some 200 volumes, and it contin­ ues to grow and develop with each passing day.

The psychology segment will conclude the lecture. In an attempt

to attract those consumers who cringe at the thought of purchasing a “greatest hits” package of tracks with nothing new to tickle their pickle, Trésor decided to include on this compilation a number of exclu­ sive new tunes from the likes of Matthew Herbert, Cristian Vogel and The Advent. At the same time, the label chose to present a diverse range of styles so that the average yet informed listener might expose themselves to at least one producer who they are currently unfamiliar with. A smart move, to say the least.

The grade for the exam will be based entirely on how quickly you can run to your friendly local record store and buy this album.

Good luck!

—Chris Little

T H E CLIENTLE Lost Weekend CDEP (Acuarela) Billowy and relaxed, The Clientele combine passion and pas­ siveness—in a minor key. Perhaps akin to a sleepy Zombies, the Clientele has remained focused on song writing, leaving out any tricks of timbre or production. Built on well thought out and wonderfully picked guitar parts, the rhythm sec­ tion willfully takes a back seat with shuffling brushed drums keeping time and low passed casual bass. The vocals, also the job of guitarist Alasdair Maclean, appear mostly as whispers with the ability to acutely rise to dramatic climaxes, or more often faux dramatic climaxes. This is all then fed through what I assume is vintage gear, or at least a simula­

tion of such equipment, producing reverberated mellowed tones with popping wonderfully distorted high notes and filtered muffled vocals.

The overall is effect is one of rainy day sadness and Sunday morning tranquility. According to the band, the record was inspired by the essence of the hangover, which is fit­ ting of their step lightly and softly tone. The centrepiece “Emptily Through the Hallway” is, as indicat­ ed by the title, classic Clientele, summing their long list of 7” into their best effort so far.

Xiu Xiu Knife Play LP/CD (Absolutely Kosher) Knife Play is an entire record of haunting darkness, a study of silence and isolation through any technique beside introspective song. The most notable aspect is the quality of tim­ bre. Throughout the disc, the creepy percussion of gongs, bells a simply unidentified sounds are forever sur­ prising. A healthy amount of pro­ gramming went into the more con­ crete appearance of samples as well as the ultimate final edit which blurs

any notion of order on the wax copy. Many subtle click-pro­ grammed beats layout each piece although the thick layers of acoustic instruments take precedence.

Synthesizers appear for mostly per­ cussive or rhythmic reasons along with a few classic ethereal lines.

Baritone sax, harmonium, violas and cellos all make contributions to richness of natural tone. All this without sacrifice of very well written catchy songs which, for the most part, fall on a mix of technological minimalism, and half hazard mas­ sive acoustic arrangements. The pinnacle of the disc Homonculus has the most wonderful element of destroyed piano falling in between passionate verses of swashes of accordion, bass pulses, synth mad­ ness, limping guitar and grand piano. Meanwhile, the lyrical con­ tent stays somewhat private, although evidently emotional and mostly painful. Despite the immense darkness of Knife Play, it remains a very interesting disc to take in and enjoy with a wide range of musical affect.

Montreal not their for Chodair Nicholas Newhouse-Ameille

On tour promoting his latest effort, Memoirs o f Blake Savage, Choclair was coming to town ready to rock the mic for a minute and “bring the Tdot to Mount Real.”

I had been fortunate enough to see the Toronto MC on a previous occasion in a totally different set­ ting, as he was opening for Rahzel in Paris in the summer of 1999. That night, in front of an unfamiliar crowd, and with no prior hype whatsoever, Choclair conquered the audience and represented Canada to the fullest on the demanding French scene. It was these two-year old memories that I took with me to Club Soda, ready to see some more of the “Chiz-nock’s” potent skills, only this time in his home country.

With Baby Blue Soundcrew as well as newcomers Bishop and Harpoon Missile on hand for the

evening, expectations were justifi­ ably high.

The Ontario emcees had defi­ nitely made it a point to bring a strong and sizeable delegation to Montreal. What a disappointment it was to discover a pathetic turnout at the chosen venue. There must have been 200 people in the audience to greet a performer who is undeniably Canada’s foremost MC (Choclair made The Source’s “Unsigned Hype” column back in 1997, and has since landed a major record deal with international distribution). To make matters worse, it seems that this did not come as a surprise to the pro­ moters, as the whole top floor of the venue had been shut down in advance. This was a telltale sign of the state of the Montreal Anglophone hip hop scene. As a fel­ low concertgoer and aspiring MC aptly remarked that evening, “this would never have happened at a French hip hop concert of this mag-

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nitude.” The answer to a lot of ques­ By this time, the audience had tions as to why hip hop hasn’t truly turned into more of a concert blown up in Montreal was to be crowd, and was ready to welcome the man of the night. Choclair found right there in the audience.

The show must go on, regard­ bounced on and immediately less, and Bishop knew this. The up- jumped into some material from his and-coming T.O. lyricist was given sophomore effort. Things have changed the thankless task of since the warming up the alldays of Ice but-dead crowd with Cold, and the first set of the Choc’s Blake night. He actually Savage alter started off with one ego seems a person at the front whole lot of the stage, and a grimier than distant, vaguely what we were interested audience used to. A sitting on the sides. s e l f Nevertheless, a _________________ d e s c r i b e d freestyle session We prefer smores “recent con­ livened things up, as Bishop asked members of the crowd sumer of the green eggs and ham,” to pull what they had out of their Choclair brought his marijuanapockets and delivered on-the-spot induced experiences to the forefront rhymes about these random items. on the appropriately titled “When I This routine was quite effective, and Get High,” which saw Bishop get the crowd was growingly present back on stage for a verse. “Funk Yard and involved in the show as Bishop Dawg” got a good reaction from the made his way to a moody love song crowd, as did the first single off geared around a sped-up sample of Memoirs of Blake Savage, “Light It Up.” But it was definitely the classic No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.”

If the Baby Blue Soundcrew Ice Cold tracks “Let’s Ride” and the couldn’t liven things up, no one slammin’ hit “Rubbin” that got the could. C-Boogie, Kid Kut, KLC crowd jumping.

There was no better way to end and Singlefoot eagerly stepped on the stage ready to work the crowd. the show than the posse cut ‘Love This they did, with the help of a ‘Em All,’ a tricky beat for an MC slew of the usual-yet-effective fresh that further highlighted Choclair’s tunes and phat beats. The smooth, super-discernable flow. The Soundcrew, quite apparently under live delivery of this track was a sight the influence of some funky sub­ to behold, with most of the artists stance, delivered a set that got the present that night storming the stage audience nodding their heads, but for the final bash. As Choc let us this was far from the frenzied wel­ know, the show was over but the party was not. Baby Blue Soundcrew come they are used to.

Perhaps the most surprising act were getting ready to keep it moving of the night was Brampton, for the rest of the evening, with Ontario’s Harpoon Missile. Singlefoot even coming into the Although overwhelmingly energetic, crowd to get his groove on. the duo (Warchild and MC That night, the T-Dot definite­ Harpoon), did not manage to move ly gave Montreal a good show, the crowd, who was simply not feel­ Montreal did not reciprocate, how­ ing their rap-rock vibe. There is no ever, and most certainly disappoint­ denying Harpoon Missile gave it ed the Ontarian hip hop delegation their all, but they simply did not by turning out in such low numbers. connect with the somewhat per­ If Montreal does not come to him, one can only wonder whether, with plexed audience.

When hype-man-turned-emcee the status he has now acquired, Solitair took to the stage, he was let­ Choclair will see fit to come back to ting us know that the arrival of the Montreal. star of the evening was imminent.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

L e v it in : h e 's m e t S te e ly D a n ! continued from PAGE 13

improbable events, the people in and I was always experimenting the band and their engineers didn’t with them. At some point, some of know about it. Six months go by, my guitar amps had a particular and they still don’t know about it. sound that people liked. They’d The reason they don’t know about it hear it when I was playing guitar, is they were given copies of the CD and they’d want it. Usually I’d be in from the record company that were the studio, and Tori Amos or made from the correct master tapes.

Santana might be in the adjacent When the record company went studio room, and we’d all listen to into production, they used the what each musician was doing. Joe wrong ones. So the band got CDs Satriani and Chris Isaak[subtly pointing to a plaque on the wall] the award I got for the Chris Isaak album for example— they heard the guitar amp coming from my room, and asked if they could use it. For a while I made some money renting out my amps. What I would do most of the time is rent it out and in return ask for studio time.

TRIB: You’ve worked with many musicians.

What’s your favourite recording session or who’s the artist you most liked The man who took down MCA! What a rebel! working with?

DL: The favourite artist that I that sounded great, and the con­ worked with would be, without a sumers, like me, got crummy ones.

I thought it sounded crummy. doubt, Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder was just great. Really great. I could tell that something was He’s warm, funny, open and very wrong. In fact, I could tell that focused, but not too serious, which something was wrong in a Billy Joel is a nice combination. We worked album and a George Harrison on putting together a greatest hits album as well, and I called the album. We didn’t actually record record companies and told them. anything new unfortunately. The record company said that no Though I have friends who have else had complained. The company been in the studio with him who’ve knew me as a producer and engi­ said that that’s not so fun, but being neer; I wasn’t the typical consumer, out of the studio with him and just but they wouldn’t admit that any­ talking about what songs should be thing was wrong. So I called Steely in the collection was great fun. I Dan’s engineer. He [who had the also had fun doing that with the good copy of the CD] said, ‘you’re Carpenters. I knew the music and I crazy, your ears are going to shit. It sounds great, what’s the matter with could talk about it; that was great.

TRIB: Can you tell us about you? You’re getting old.’

Anyway, we got together, and the Steely Dan controversy?

DL: How did you know about he realized there was something wrong. He called the record compa­ that?

TRIB: They were recently ny, who said they would fix it after inducted to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of they had sold out what was already Fame, and you’re on their ‘thank in stores. I called a guy at the record company and said ‘you really need you’ list.

DL: Oh yeah. The background to fix this, you can’t just let con­ for this is that Steely Dan is this sumers listen to all of these CDs.’ band, that among other things, is He said they’d issue a recall. Well, known for the high technical quali­ nothing happened.

So. I published an article on ty of their recordings. They’ve won all kinds of awards for having the the front page of billboard quoting best engineered recordings ever. him as saying he was going to issue They’re fabulously produced a recall. While I was at it, I men­ albums. You can hear ever instru­ tioned the problem with the George ment very clearly, everything’s in its Harrison disc and the Billy Joel own place. Even if you don’t like the disc. So now the guy really had to music, there is something very nice issue a recall. And they did. It cost the company millions of dollars. going on at a technical level.

When it was all over, I called They had seven albums that they were known for, from Cant him up and asked for a free copy of Buy a Thrill up to Gaucho, which the new CD, and he yelled at me, were recorded from 1972 to 1980. “are you crazy? Do you have any In 1990 people had CD players, but idea how much money you’ve cost Steely records hadn’t been put on this company? People’s jobs were on CD; you could only get them on the line for this, my job, my boss’s vinyl or on cassette. At some point job, you cost this company 6 or 8 the label decided to make them million dollars’”— TRIB: They cost the company available on CD, and everybody that money, not you. wanted them.

DL: Right, but he didn’t want But, the record company used the wrong tapes to make the CDs. to take responsibility. He said that They used tapes that were not the he had sold 8 million copies of the master, but copies of the copy of the CD, and no one complained, no master that sounded really crummy. one noticed, so why were they even There was all kinds of hiss, and the doing this? The answer I told him instruments weren’t clear, and it was was for history. The audience muddy sounding. Basically, they deserves to get the real thing. So that’s the Steely Dan story, and my used the wrong tapes.

Through a series of unlikely, name is still mud over there at

MCA. TRIB: But Steely Dan thanked you specifically. Moving on, why did you go back to academia in 1990? What inspired you to leave the music business and study music cognition?

DL: I left the music business because I was looking for new intel­ lectual challenges, and I wanted to better understand the cognitive basis for musical expertise, and the cognitive struc­ tures that underlie memory for music.

TRIB: Since you’ve been teach­ ing at McGill, you have experimented with different grading policies, in an attempt to cre­ ate a fair and just evaluation scheme.

Your grading poli­ cy this semester is that the exact same midterm is given twice, and stu­ dents have the opportunity to take it twice, and only the second of the two grades is recorded. This is con­ troversial for many reasons, what are your thoughts on this?

DL: I know that there are some people who appreciate the evalua­ tion scheme I’ve been using, and others who don’t. I am not trying to employ an evaluation scheme that will please everyone, rather my goal is to do whatever I can to motivate people to learn the material, to become engaged with a very diffi­ cult literature, and to be able to demonstrate that they have learned it... It’s not my goal to gain a repu­ tation for being an easy grader, but I would like to have a reputation for being a fair grader and someone who makes difficult material seem easy.

In sum, for a good time take Cognition with prof. Levitin.

A&E 15

Show Strikes Gold at the Lion D'or Eric W arwaruk

On Friday evening, March 15, at the Lion D’or, Sienna Dahlen, a local freelance singer/songwriter, arranger and musician of pop, folk and jazz artist, and video artist Nadine Bariteau collaborated in an impressive and audience-packed multimedia show called “Past, Present, Future: A Fusion,” with a sublime video piece presented between musical sets entitled “Vision Nomade.”

The purpose of the show was to be a “journey of experimentation/exploration as the two mediums collide and combine to form one multi-medic, polyrhythmic entity, live before your eyes.” For instance, while perched on a stool in front of a large screen backdrop, and with the help of her own band plus a nine-piece string ensemble, Dahlen presented music from her first full-length CD “Little Temptations,” which was being launched the same night, as the group was videotaped live. This footage was then manipulated stylis­ tically and broadcast on said screen (called scratch video, or video improvisation) and/or combined with random video images, thus bathing the viewers in an ethereal bombardment of iconic images, schizophrenically spliced with the live performance.

An experienced performer and exceptional singer, Dahlen finished with aplomb her first set of wellwritten and catchy pop/folk/jazz music, accompanied by her personal four-person band, to an appreciative crowd. Notable stand-outs were “Slide”, a sexy and parodie come-on to a fantasy that exemplified Dahlen’s emotive and throaty voice, and “Ambrosia”, an empathie folknarrative of loss and yearning hope.

After a brief break, Nadine Bariteau’s piece “Vision Nomade” was introduced by a ten-minute Australian didgeridoo-playing duo.

The sight and sound of two males breathing into the undoubtedly physically exhausting Australian

aborigine spiritual instrument was admired, and set the perfect myste­ rious, mystical and transcendent tone for the first images of the video piece.

The scenes consisted of footage shot from the first-person perspec­ tive of driving on a road in a desert; then images from a Montreal sub­ way, of people moving and swaying to the motion of the train; then of a child in a pool: all cut and pasted, transformed and manipulated underneath a rhythmic and hypnot­ ic instrumental/synth music track, to form an evolution and fusion of images and emotions.

A visual artist who for the past eight years concentrated on print­ making, specifically the transposi­ tion of her own photographic images via silkscreen techniques, Bariteau had recently begun to experiment with video media, and the exhibition quite successfully explicated her interest in combining these two approaches to self-expres­ sion, judging from the positive reac­ tion of the awed audience.

After the conclusion of the video piece, Dahlen stepped back upon the stage with her original band, plus the nine-member string ensemble, to begin her second set.

Accompanied on some tracks with electronic drum loops, the synthesis of the strings with Dahlen’s artistic vision proved subtly majestic, creat­ ing an organic backdrop that had the overall impression of a profes­ sional and deft performance.

Called back by an enthusiastic audience for an encore, Dahlen pre­ sented a solo and personal piano piece about the tragedy of September 11 that effectively juxta­ posed with the previous full strains and tone of the strings and electronica. In the end, the show, made pos­ sible from grants provided by Le Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, was a resounding success for both talents of Sienna Dahlen and Nadine Bariteau. These are two artists to watch for in the future.

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Awards ceremony to honour best of McGill Finalists for Gladys Bean Trophy (top female) and D. Stuart Forbes Trophy (top male) DOMENICO MARCARIO

EVA MELAMED

Domenico Marcario led the Quebec University Basketball League in scoring with an average of 18.7 points per game and was named as the conference player of the year.

In speaking with the Tribune at the end of the 2000-01 season Marcario made his goals for this past season clear.

"Personally, I’m going to work even harder than last year," he promised. A man of his word, this past season Marcario was named a second-team All-Canadian, a feat not achieved by a McGill eager in 25 years.

Profiled by Mark Kerr, March 27, 2001.

“The anchor of our team.” That is how Eva Melamed’s coach Marc Mounicot has described! the two-time All-Canadian star striker. Voted asj the most outstanding player in Canadian universi- j ty soccer, she has been a corner stone to the Martlets as a leader and player.

In 10 regular season games, Melamed scored 16 goals and was responsible for almost twice that amount of assists. As the team’s co-captain, she led her team to a silver medal finish at the national championship this season. The QSSF has named Melamed to rhe conference all-scai team every year that she has worn the McGill jersey (she took a sabbatical in the 2000 season) and even other league teams took the time to include her on another awards list; she was named game MVP four times by opposing coaches.

DAVID BURGESS David Burgess is easily one ol the most laidback and affable athletes currently at McGill.

The all-star centre from Crystal City, Manitoba was fourth in the league in scoring with 12-2840 in 24 games and moved into second-place among the school s all-time assist leaders.

“Like all of our past leaders, Dave is an extremely selfless player,” extols Redmen coach Martin Raymond. “He definitely has his own style though. He’s very offensively talented, but he’s totally committed to the defensive side of the game as well.”

Memo to Dave: The Tribune knows that you still have another year of eligibility. It would be great to see him play another year.

Profiled by James Empringham, January

JESSICA YOUNG You’d think it was the Quebec university record of 35 tries in 15 games that made her stand out in the crowd. Perhaps the time that she touched down the ball five times in one game or how she could break tackles of mul­ tiple opponents that pique your interest.

What Young remembers most fondly from the season, however, has nothing to do with statistics.

“A perfect game for me would be one where I get to nail everyone!”

The 5-foot-10 winger was voted player of the year in the CIS women’s rugby leagui also received All-Canadian status after one of the most successful seasons the Martlets have ever produced. Luckily, McGill has two more years of eligibility fron Young, who has been described as the female Johna Lomu. She has thrown up sever al gauntlets in her short tenure with the Martlets and her coach believes her greatesi attribute is that “she’s a real team player.” Good thing she’s on his team.

22 , 2001 .

JOHN MACDONALD Judging by the reaction of his most recent coach, John Macdonald can be best described as tenacious.

“He never quits, and keeps coming at you until the job gets done,” first year McGill coach Chuck McMann told the!

Tribune earlier in the year. ^ was Macdonald’s grit and determination that K 4 impressed many over his five years at McGill. The second­ ly: team All-Canadian and All-Conference lineman over the recent season became the all-time McGill leader in tackles for| a loss.

Macdonald, along with middle linebacker Mike Mahoney, led the Redmen defence that lost standout Randy Chevrier to graduation. Before going down with a season ending knee injury in late October, Macdonald compiled 28 tackles. He had five quarterback sacks, second in rhe conference in only six games.

He will be looking to add to the trophy case April 4 after winning two major |awards at last Saturdays Redmen football banquet.

Profiled by Jeremy Kuzmarov, December 4, 2002

LISE-MARIE ACTON The latest in a long line of dominating female McGill skiers, Lise-Marie Acton of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario was the Quebec league’s individual champion this past season. She excelled at both slalom and giant slalom events, finishing in the top 10 in eight of her 10 races, winning two gold medals and five silver medals. Her consistent performances helped McGill retain the Quebec womens individual championship for the third consecutive season. Acton's chances fori the award may be hampered due to the lower profile status of her sport. The selection committee has over-i looked ski-team candidates in the past. Profiled by Mark Kerr, February 6, 2001.

SHAUNA FORSTER As only rhe second Martlet vollyball player to win first team All-Canadian status, Shauna Forster seems to be making a habit of claiming positions on all-star teams. She was also voted player of the year in the Quebec conference and made the all-star team at four tournaments (Montreal Carabins Invitational, McGill Invitational, Sherbrooke Omnium Vertet-Or and Ottawa Gee-Gees Invitational) this season.

In addition to being a Quebec conference all-star for each of the past three years, Forster, a quiet and humble setter is a four-time Academic All-Canadian and a four-time member of the McGill Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll.

Forster has taken the team’s most improved player award twice and now is at the top of the league.

“Consistency is her best attribute,” said her coach Rachele ___ Beliveau. “From one game to another, she brings stability to our team.”

MVP, Beliveau said her talents go beyond her setting abilities. “She’s league, she makes our team competitive.”

SARAH ALI-KHAN The perennial running star of McGill cross country and track team once again had a stellar sea son. She was an All-Canadian in both sports.

For cross-country and track and field coach| Dennis Barrett, Ali-Khan is a special breed of runner.

“She has a good combination of speed and endurance that enables her to be at the top of rhe country in both track and cross-country,” said Barrett.

In the fall she put on her cross-country uniform and won the silver medal at the national championships. She was just short of the gold medal with Beth Wightman from Queen’s winning the gold.

In the recently completed track season, Ali-Khan won a gold and a silver medal |at nationals in Sherbrooke, one half of McGill’s medal count.

I

« The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Sports 17

Injury can't slow down track star Sarah M illar Keen Martlet returns to team and sets personal best in 600 m race John Bowden

Sometimes an injury requires months of rehabilitation before an athlete can return to an expected level of performance. Sometimes that athlete will never achieve that level ever again. Such was not the case for Sarah Millar, one of the key members in McGill’s track and field program.

Millar, a fourth year Psychology student from Ottawa, has been a middle distance runner for the track team since her second year. That was until a stress fracture to her foot in a December meet forced her to the sidelines for over nine weeks.

Originally, she thought she’d only be out four weeks, but it turned out to be a much longer agonizing wait.

“I worked hard on the bike, in the pool, but I couldn’t run. It was tough,” said Millar.

Millar chose McGill for a vari­ ety of reasons, including the indoor track program not offered in many Canadian universities. However, in

her first year here, she played volley­ If someone goes down, there are oth­ minute, 38 seconds (set before her a result of my injury.” ball before track coach Dennis ers who can fill in. But I really miss injury). She shattered that time by The team managed to qualify Barrett convinced her to join the going on the trips, because the team four seconds, finishing in a time of 1 their 4x400m and 4x800m teams for running team. Millar said he’s had a is really supportive and a lot of fun.” minute, 34 seconds. At the begin­ the recent CIS national track and huge impact on ning of the sea­ field championships held earlier in her perform­ son, her goal was March. Millar was able to return to ance, by being to finish in the the team in time for the meet, but easy to talk to, top 10 in the the squad could not crack the top supportive, and 600m, but it three. However, she placed 10th in stressing quali­ seemed nearly the individual 600m race, a ty outings and impossible once respectable finish considering it was workouts above she was injured. only her second time out since her c o m p e titiv e ­ “It was really injury, but a bit disappointing after ness. phenomenal for her remarkable time a week earlier.

Millar has Sarah to do so “I was a bit tentative with my been a key well,” commented foot in the relays, but just getting to member of the track and field the nationals for the 600m was a M a r t l e t ’s coach Dennis huge accomplishment,” said Millar.

4 x 2 0 0 m , Barrett. “A lot of “She trained quite a lot away 4x400m, and other people from the team,” added Barrett. “But 4x800 teams in would have quit because she was so keen on compet­ recent years, for sure. Her per­ ing, she was able to remain focused but had to formance was a on her event.” watch the team huge team high­ Millar intends on continuing to Millar races back from injury “a lot of other people would have quit from for most of the light this year.” run next year when she moves to year. Asked if the injury has been A week before the nationals, Her time at the provincials Toronto to further her education in tougher on her or the team, Millar Millar competed at the provincials, ended up putting her in the top the homeopathic medicine field, and was quick to respond. her first race in over two months. eight in Canada, which she said was hopes to join a local track team.

“We’ve got a really strong team. Her previous best in the 600m was 1 unexpected. “I had a lot of doubts as

So w hat's the deal w ith the juniors? t > es Doug Stevenson

I remember watching a Seinfeld rerun where Jerry says, “So what’s the deal with airplane peanuts?” O f course, this very line immediately led me to think that most of you are probably asking yourselves, “So what’s the deal with the McGill Junior Boys’ Volleyball team?” On the other hand, the other 25,000 or so students at McGill are probably asking a question more along the lines of, “We have a Junior Volleyball -i?” Well, the answer to the latter team?’ question is “yes” and it’s the most outlandish team this side of New Brunswick.

The team is officially made up of nine of the finest young lads to grace the court, but we’ll take as

many as we can scrape togeth­ er to run a decent practice. In fact, I wouldn’t say its unusu­ al for someone to pass by gym No. 1 on a Monday or a Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 and see our coaching staff outnumbering the players.

But what we don’t have in numbers, we make up for in our junior-boy brotherly love.

Most of you ate probably wondering how the junior team can even come close to rockin’ when the varsity team didn’t even win a league match all season. But I’m not talking about the rockin’ that has to do with winning games here. If I was, then we would not be all that impressive, although we have won games here and there. I’m talking about the rockin’ that has to The quintessential farm team do with just plain old beating the other team, the one with two weekencT"we had a tournament in Sherbrooke and let me tell you, we capital Z’s: ‘riZZockin.’

For example, just this past ‘riZZocked’ that good. Slippery roads, a snow storm and a rental van

Tribune's selection for Athlete of the Year Drum-roll please. The McGill Tribune selects Demenico Marcario of the Redmen basketball team, and Eva Melamed of the Martlet soccer team as McGill athletes of the year.

Marcario was an All-Canadian, something McGill basketball has not had in 25 years. As well, on a team full o f great athletes such as Denburk Reid, Kirk Reid and Fred Benard, Marcario managed to dif­ ferentiate himself from the rest after being recognized as the Quebec Conference basketball player of the year in addition to his AllCanadian honour.

Burgess and Macdonald are strong candidates but for a Quebec athlete to achieve recognition at a national level is extraordinary.

While Burgess is an excellent candidate because of his strong leadership skills and playmaking touch, and Macdonald's positive influence on the football Redmen is well-documented, Marcario's over­ all worth to the basketball team pushed him ahead in the informal balloting conducted at the Tribune.

Selecting Melamed over Sarah Ali-Khan is a difficult choice for sure. Both were All-Canadians; both won medals at the national championship level; both have been

recognized as one of the best in their particular sports.

T he decision comes down to leadership with Melamed having the slight advantage. The soccer player had the extra responsibility of being co-captain. She rose to the task by leading the Martlets to a sil­ ver medal at the national champi­ onships. A good case, however, can be made for Ali-Khan being athlete of the year after excelling in two sports that span the entire school year. The commitment to excellen­ cy by both should be praised.

— Tribune staff

that only working wind­ shield wiper was on the pas­ senger side, all translated into an arrival no more than 10 minutes before game time. With a genuine case of van bed head from the 6AM wake-up call and unstretched muscles just waiting to be torn, we were doing more killing than a minefield. Unfortunately though, out of a total of 25 possible points each set, 5-7 of ours were usually taken hostage, so we could never really get’em. We figured that the whole “not having enough time to warm up” thing was the reason for our defeat.

Nevertheless, by about 6PM, we found out that we wouldn’t chalk up all that many points throughout the rest of the tourney regardless. Not that we didn’t play like men at times though.

From about points 9-18, we’d be on fire and you’d never know we were just boys, however, at the beginning and end of sets, we were a bit shaky, but still competitive. I’ve heard some describe us as “not the best, but good!” — a complement that brings a tear to my little junior volleyballing eye.

Being a member of this junior

Wfiy p a y

squad makes me feel as if I’m not just some old 12 pack of Wildcat empties, sitting out on the curb, waiting for some guy in a jumpsuit and work boots to come and pick me up, just so that I can clank with that hottie of a bottle beside me. It makes me feel like I’m part of a rev oludonary new nine pack— unopened and full of about 5.5 percent’s worth of action. Only I’m ready to multiply that 5.5 by about 18.1818 repeated so I can give whoever wants some the full 100 percent!

And what a great looking team We’ve got a professional tag along in Mike Sackville and a special driver/trainer/coach for tourna ments and more liberos than bench players. At this pace, I don’t know if it can even be physically conceived where we’ll be stopped.

With the rest of the season ahead, I feel as though we’ll contin ue to ‘riZZock’ as hard as we have been, building the future of McGill volleyball to new heights. All in all, I would have to say that we have become one firm morsel of a team and that any volleyball fan should come out to next year’s games, cause you just might see more than just a crew of great now non-rookies. And if we don’t happen to play, we’ll make sure to give you one hell of a warm up!

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18 Sports

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, March 2 6, 2002

Euromania revived

WORLD CUP 2002

Stamina and glory motivate teams Ed Glucksman

O ne of the most watched, most exciting and most scrutinized sport­ ing events in the world is just around the corner. Soccer is the most widely played sport on the globe, and now in Canada, its popularity is greater than ever. George Hadjis and Ed Glucksman provide insight into the upcoming World Cup this summer in Japan/South Korea.

Often overlooked in the hype of South American excellency are soccer teams hailing from Europe.

European teams so often reach the heights of the world stage and this year should prove to be no excep­ tion.

Hosted by Asia, the 2002 World Cup is taking on a new dimension of competition.

Without home support from either South American or European fans, timeless, almost-perfectly pre­ dictable patterns of victory will bear no consequence in this year’s event.

Predicting that a European team will win this year’s World Cup of soccer is a choice more riddled with uncertainty than one could possibly imagine. Only once since 1930, the first year the World Cup was held, has a team from the host­ ing side of the Atlantic Ocean failed to win the coveted trophy. The exception was 1958 when a domi­ nant Brazil, featuring a 16-year-old Pelé, defeated host country Sweden to go against the historic odds.

Held for the first time in Asia, this year's 17th installment of the World Cup presents soccer fans with perhaps the first truly objec­ tive test of virtue, differentiating the two powerhouse landmasses once and for all, as teams will final­ ly compete on neutral ground.

The qualifiers from Europe have been far from dominant, mainly after the elimination of starstudded Netherlands for the first

time since 1986. Drawn into a group with among others Ireland and Portugal, the Dutch failed to convince in their weighty matches, tying the Irish and losing to the Portuguese at home. The early dis­ missal of one of the worlds most entertaining teams is sure to devas­ tate the neutral fan and diminish the chance of a European team grabbing victory. . This year’s favourites from across the pond’ remain reigning champions France, Germany, England, Italy and to a certain extent, Spain and Portugal. The outcome is rather bleak for the remaining United European Football Association (UEFA) teams such as Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Croatia, Russia, Slovenia or Turkey. The teams sim­ ply don’t have the talent required to survive an intense month-long competition.

France has been dominant recently, winning both the 1998 World Cup and the European Championship hosted jointly by Belgium and the Netherlands in 2000. The deep roster and ability to win when it counts makes the French early favourites for this year’s title even though question marks loom over their defensive ability and their capacity to contin­ uously win at major events. Star player Zinedine Zidane has been confident in the media, explaining that his country is now stronger than ever before and that worries or doubts about the team’s defence are

S. Americans looks to recapture glory George Hadjis Every four years, countries from around the globe compete in the grandest of soccer tournaments: ■the World Cup. Although there are 32 teams competing, the favourites reside from two continents, Europe and South America.

South America have five repre­ sentatives in this year’s edition: powerhouses Brazil and Argentina, Paraguay, once-mighty Uruguay and surprising Ecuador. These five nations have combined to win eight World Cup crowns over the 16 times the event has been held.

The other eight champions have been from Europe.

The Brazilians, third in the world according to FIFA rankings,

will be looking for revenge after a bitter defeat at the hands of France in the last World Cup final. Brazil certainly has the talent with Barcelona star Rivaldo leading the charge and the return of Inter Milan great Ronaldo.

Despite their apparent strengths, Brazil struggled in the preliminaries. The team lost six of their 18 matches. They did manage to show flashes of their strength, beating Argentina 3-1 on home soil, good enough to qualify third out of a 10-team group.

In the first round of the World Cup, Brazil is grouped with Turkey, China and Costa Rica. They are expected to steamroll through to the next round with their toughest “challenge” coming from the Turkish team.

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The four-time World Cup champion Brazilians are considered by many to possess the most natu­ rally gifted athletes of all countries.

Most of their players come from poverty-stricken towns and have used their talents to escape. The stars do not have the training the Europeans had in their youth, yet still field a competitive team year after year.

Argentina looks to end its 16year World Cup drought by captur­ ing their third title. They were clearly on a different level than the competition in the qualifying phase, winning the CONMEBOL group by an astonishing 12 points.

The Argentineans rely on Manchester United midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, a highly creative player that is beginning to hit his stride.

Goals should come in bundles for Argentina with AS Roma star Gabriel Batistuta looking to redeem himself after a poor cam­ paign this season by his standards.

Striker Hernan Crespo should be in form by the time the tourna­ ment begins after recovering from a recent injury.

Argentina’s depth at every position and electrifying play will prove too much for the Europeans.

They should mystify many and

defeat all. After a few years of play­ ing second fiddle to the Brazilians, Argentina appears to be ready to conquer the world once again.

Amongst the remaining teams, Ecuador surprised many in qualify­ ing; furthermore, look for Uruguay to also turn a few heads. Uruguay can easily sneak into the next round by beating Denmark and Senegal, the latter representing an easy three points. France rounds off the group and should advance as well.

Paraguay faces Spain, Slovenia and South Africa in the opening round and should vie with Spain for top position in the pool. Spain has been known to choke in big competitions, leaving the door open for Paraguay to win the group and face an easier opponent in the second round.

For entertainment purposes, an Argentina-Brazil final would be optimal. The match of two South American soccer superpowers would likely produce the most exciting game in recent memory.

The Argentineans will make it to the finals and emerge victorious, regardless of the opposition. The final should be an offensive match, as long as Italy is not Argentina’s opponent.

unwarranted.

England looks to win their iirst title since 1966. Although they have the talent, the intense media pressure and frequent lapses in con­ centration could see them fly home earlier than expected. Placed in what has been termed the Group of Death, England faces Argentina, Nigeria and Sweden, all teams that are bound to make life difficult for England. All three are fully capable of defeating the English, exempli­ fied by the Euro 2000 qualifying run where the Swedes beat them in Stockholm and held them to a 0-0 stalemate on their renowned Wembley turf.

Although the Italians consis­ tently churn out positive results in most major soccer tournaments, the situation around their team eternally remains a mystery to any­ one trying to accurately predict per­ formance. Behind the mask of their often dull, defensive style and play­ ers’ whimsical attitudes lies a team capable of winning the ultimate glory. On the other hand, the team could struggle to advance out of their pool which consists of Ecuador, Groatia and Mexico.

Although they have a tendency to over-dramatize events and blatantly dive upon the slightest touch fr >m an opponent, they often make it deep into important contests due to their innate talent.

Although Spain has not made a semi-final appearance since T>50, they look more impressive than ever before. The country’s : irst Division produces some of the finest football players worldwide and although some of the success is owed to foreign players, local talent is far from lacking. Backed so pas­ sionately by their nation, this team has unlimited potential if they only can overcome a constant propensity to flounder whenever the pressure becomes too heavy.

In today’s modern age, failure to mention not just another coun­ try but a whole continent in the soccer scene would be inexcusable.

Although Asian sides still have decades of development ahead of them, Africa has over the past few years become a reliable supplier of both world class players and enter­ taining soccer. As a gesture of acknowledgement, FIFA has recently increased the number of World Cup spots allocated to mem­ bers of the African Football Confederation. As a result, Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia will be travelling to South Korea and Japan this sum­ mer. All five could cause night­ mares for South American and European teams alike.

Europe certainly has more true contenders than their South American rivals but whether they will shine on the main stage remains as great a mystery to fans in the bars of Buenos Aires as it does to those walking the cobble-stoned streets of Paris.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Dave Cheng

Babes

on

Hogan redeems himself

Blades...

McGill Figure Skating’s exhibi­ tion last Friday at McConnell Arena.

Peter Koven

ABOVE Lauren Hershfield skates to “Peel Me a Grape.”

RIGHT Airina Rodrigues spirals her way through her Senior Silver Competition Program.

Dave Cheng

Mahoney honoured as Redmen Football MVP All-conference linebacker Mike Mahoney won the Students Society trophy as most valuable player and the Friends of McGill Football tro­ phy as most outstanding defensive player at the annual McGill football awards banquet held at the down­ town Omni Hotel last Saturday evening.

Mahoney, a 21-year-old U3 Management student, led the league in total tackles with 97 and in solo tackles with 57, including three quarterback sacks. He was the team's top tackier in each of their eight regular season games—a McGill record—won the conference player-of-the-week award three times and became the first defensive player in Canadian university foot­ ball history to earn national player of the week honours on consecutive weeks.

John Macdonald also received two major awards, garnering the Touchdown Club trophy as the team's most valuable lineman and the Willie Lambert trophy as most dedicated player for the second straight year. The 23-year-old U4 English literature major earned allconference and second-team AllCanadian honours. He was credited with 28 tackles in six games and was second in the league for QB sacks

with five despite suffering a season­ ending knee injury in practice on October 17. Macdonald has been invited to the upcoming CFL com­ bines camp in Montreal, April 5-6 and is expected to be selected in the upcoming Canadian Football League Canadian college draft.

The emotionally-charged evening was capped with the presen­ tation of the inaugural Dan Pronyk memorial trophy to running back Nick Hoffmann of Greenfield Park as the team's most outstanding offensive player.

The 23-year-old U3 Mechanical Engineering led the Quebec conference in scoring and was third in the nation with nine touchdowns in eight games. The award was named in honour of the late Redmen and Hamilton Tiger Cat fullback who tragically died last December in Thailand of an appar­ ent heart-attack at the age of 26.

Co-captain Josh Sommerfeldt was presented with the Fred Wigle memorial trophy as most sports­ manlike player. The 23-year-old general arts senior led the QIFC in passing yardage with 1,657.

Co-captain Marc Freer won the Northern-Telecom Charlie Baillie trophy as best team player.

Jason Manzano won the Lois Obeck trophy, as most improved player.

Robert Leblanc, a 6-foot-1, 188-pound slotback from Vancouver, won the Fred Dupre memorial trophy as rookie of the year.

Members of the 1994 edition of the Redmen, which initiated the Pronyk memorial trophy and paid

Sports 19

Everyone who knows me knows I love wrestling. Like, a lot. Those uninformed “marks” who either do not follow the business with the same passion as me or not at all usually fol­ low that up with some inane com­ ment like “you’re a Hulkamaniac, right?” or something along those lines.

Well, actually I detest Hulk Hogan and have for the virtual entirety of my wrestling-viewing career (16 years, give or take). I booed when he body-slammed Andre the Giant in front of 93,000+ screaming fans at Wrestlemania III. I booed when he dethroned the vastly superior Randy “Macho Man” savage at Wrestlemania V. I even booed when he defeated the “Iraqi Sympathizer” Sgt. Slaughter at Wrestlemania VII (Vince McMahon’s shameless effort to cash in on the Gulf War, in case you were wonder­ ing)In short, I have despised virtual­ ly everything the man has done and represented throughout his career. for the Pronyk family to make the trek from Winnipeg, were also hon­ oured.

Western Mustangs are Canada’s hockey champs For the first time in 39 years the Western Mustang hockey team are Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) hockey champions. The ’Stangs won the championship by

And the reason for this has nothing to do with being opposed to his famous “American Hero” gimmick— it simply derives from the fact that even the most casual of viewers can see that his matches REALLY SUCK! The pointing to the crowd, the shak­ ing of the head, the hand rake, the legdrop, the “Hulk Up” and subse­ quent no-selling of his opponent’s offense—not acceptable for anyone who has seen Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada trying to break each other’s necks with sick suplexes in sixty minute matches.

For all these reasons, I was prob­ ably even more disgusted than most when, in a desperate attempt to reclaim the WWF’s once-dominant television ratings, Vince brought Hulk Hogan back into the fold for the first time since 1993 last month.

Not only that, but he booked him into an ultra-high profile signature match at Wrestlemania X-8 against your hero and mine, the Rock! Billed as the ultimate meeting of wrestling icons of yesterday and today, anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Hogan’s limited wrestling prowess, his age and his steroid-burned-out body was dreading this meeting. Not even Rocky’s awesome skills could save it.

And then there was the match.

Yes, the match. The match that will probably go down as the biggest in wrestling history. Hogan, despite being the villain in the storylines attempting to dethrone the virtuous “people’s champion” The Rock, defeating the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes 4-3 in triple overtime last Sunday.

Stacey Britstone scored the win ning goal for Western three minutes and 17 seconds into the third over­ time period: Western goalie Michael D'Alessandro was choosen the MVP for the six-team tournament. He made 37 saves as the Stangs outshot UQTR 48-40.

received a rather strange introduction from the 68,000+ crowd in the Toronto SkyDome. He was cheered loudly. More accurately, every single person in that audience, including those who have hated Hogan as much as I have throughout the years, were on their feet screaming as the match progressed, completely sup­ porting Hogan and all his pathetic 1983-era offense, even booing the Rock, simply because he stood between Hulkamania and destiny.

And was I actually enjoying this?

Yeah, in some sick way I was. Not because I actually now admire Hogan or respect his wresding in any way, but simply because I was reminded of a more innocent time, before the days of guys yelling “Suck it!” or jumping off of the top of cages to captivate our jaded imagination. Hulk Hogan, much like Michael Jackson, GWAR, and so many others, is a byproduct of the eighties, a time when foolish excess processed into sheer entertain­ ment value was not only acceptable but welcomed into our culture. There is a certain appeal of this that can never be replicated today, which is possibly why wresding will never be as fundamental a part of our popular culture as it was then.

The match itself was okay.

Hogan hit Rocky, Rocky hit him back, Rocky eventually got the win.

Afterwards, they chased off the bad guys and hugged as the crowd saluted them both, and all was right in the wrestling world once again.

I can live with that.

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