The McGill Tribune Vol. 22 Issue 12

Management middle-mania News 4 T

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No Vanier Cup for Redmen

Honesty and relationships

Sports 20

Features 9

www.m cgilltribune.com

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M cG IL L Vol. 22 Issue 12

R IB U N E

Published by the Students' Society of McGill University since 1981

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Shapiro: Undergrad education forsaken Jam es Grohsgal Kate Rhodes

Principal Bernard Shapiro said that student and government expectations have created a “cult o f market value” that causes research­ intensive universities to forsake their core mission o f educating undergraduates.

In his last speech to the Students’ Society, on Monday after­ noon, the outgoing principal out­ lined two conceptions o f what an undergraduate education should provide, and argued that McGill did not accomplish the desired out­ comes. Students, he said, should have an understanding o f political economy and the natural world, and should possess the logical rea­ soning skills and writing ability to communicate their ideas effectively.

“I am not satisfied with the students crossing the stage at con­ vocation. I do not believe that we systematically provide the sort of education to produce that result. It isn’t that there aren’t any students like that. We have not systematical­

ly and clearly designed the kind of program to produce that result. The question is why not?”

He argued that, while research­ intensive universities in N orth America face different challenges than small liberal arts colleges, they have lost sight o f their main pur­ pose: educating undergraduates.

“If you’re at a place like McGill, the University of Toronto, Harvard or Yale... in addition to producing appropriate undergradu­ ate outcomes, you also have to pro­ duce an enormous corpus o f new knowledge and understanding. The idea of the late 19th century was that this kind o f university is a good idea, that somehow the research program and teaching program would interact in such a way that each would benefit the other. ... It has certainly worked in a number of respects... [but] the question is what they are doing with under­ graduates. Undergraduates have, in a sense, been a leftover.”

A research university, he said, should give undergraduate students JENNY GEORGE

See SHAPIRO, page 3

Who is he? Cast of Real Inspector Hound are faithful to Tom Stoppard’s play within a play. See page 14 for review.

Muggles out in droves for Potter 2 Karen Kelly

It’s that time o f year again —the time for all us muggles’ to forget our ordinary, mundane lives and fork over 12 bucks at the nearest cinema for admission to a world of fantasy, where we can all be kids.

Yes, it’s Harry Potter time again.

The second Potter movie, based on J. K. Rowling’s best-selling series o f children’s books, hit theatres on Friday. T he buzz o f excitement sur­ rounding the release o f Harry Potter and the Chamber o f Secrets was not surprising, considering the success

of the last year’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The movie got into high gear quickly. Director Chris Columbus, also at the helm of the first film, skipped all the explanation— like introducing characters and initiat­ ing the audience into the world of magic and wizardry— that bogged down the original movie.

In this, Harry’s second year at Hogwarts School o f Witchcraft and Wizardry, terror is unleashed when a message left in blood indicates that “the Chamber of Secrets has been opened” and students begin to fall prey to a mysterious monster,

rumoured to live in the chamber.

Harry and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger rush to find the culprit behind the attacks before someone is killed.

Meanwhile, Harry is tormented by his own rare abilities when he finds out he shares them with the evil Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents when he was a baby.

Daniel Radcliffe, as Harry, proves a more capable actor in the sequel, showing more emotion as he discovers new and frightening things about himself. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson co-star as Ron and Hermione. Grint is the best of

the three, as was the case in the original; as Ron and Harry get themselves into various predica­ ments, Grint’s reactions provide all the laughs, while the stiff Radcliffe is lost in the background. Both actors experienced some voice­ cracking but, since they’re playing 12-year-olds, it can be overlooked.

Kenneth Branagh adds neces­ sary comic relief, contrasting the dark storyline. He plays Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, author o f the autobiography Magical Me, five­ time winner o f Witch Weekly’s

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See HARRY POTTER, page 18

“A GOLDEN NIGHT—A SPECIAL MOMENT” “Be th e re on a ve ry sp e c ia l even in g , Friday, N ovem ber 2 9 , a s M cG ill U n iversity s a lu te s Kim StP ie rre , th e g o a lte n d e r fo r th e M a rtle ts, who led C an ad a to w om en’s g o ld in th e 2 0 0 2 S a lt L ake C ity O lym pics. On a n igh t w here M cG ill fa c e s th e ir b itte r riv a l, th e C o n co rd ia S tin g e rs, m ake p la n s to atte n d th e fe s tiv itie s ho no uring one o f th e fin e s t w om en n etm in d e rs to e ve r p lay th e gam e.

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“I t is b e tte r to be q u o ta b le th a n h o n est. ” — Tom S to p p a rd

2 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Bookstore m anagem ent contract to expire Student groups argue that in-house control will speed repayment of building loan Laura Saba

Student groups are asking the McGill administration to resume in-house management of the McGill bookstore after the universi­ ty’s contract with Chapters Campus Bookstores expires in May. The bookstore has been man­ aged by Barnes & Noble Inc. since the American bookseller bought a 49 per cent interest in Chapters Campus Bookstores in April 2001.

The contract will expire next spring, and McGill has accepted bids from a number of bookstores.

The main contenders are Barnes & Noble Inc. and the Follett Corporation, both American com­ panies.

McGill’s other option is to manage the bookstore itself, which would return all profits to the uni­ versity and could speed the repay­ ment of a $4.5-million loan used to construct the bookstore building on McTavish Street. The Students’ Society has an agreement with the university that will see profits o f the bookstore returned to SSMU after the mortgage on the building is

paid off.

The Post-Graduate Students’ Society, the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill and the Medical Students’ Society are circu­ lating an open letter opposing cor­ porate management of the book­ store. The letter maintains that the bookstore’s workers, all employees of McGill, are responsible for improved service and should be allowed to continue in that capacity without a corporation reaping the increased profits the McGill work­ ers have created.

Outsourcing management was once seen as the solution to the bookstore’s problems.

“Things were getting worse every semester rather than better,” according to Professor Sam Noumoff, member of the Senate and McGill bookstore committee.

In 1996, McGill sought bids from outside companies for a manage­ m ent contract because many believed that outsourcing would solve the bookstore’s financial woes and ameliorate its poor service.

The result is the existing con­ tract with . Chapters Campus

Bookstore.

“This decision was taken by the Vice-President (Administration) at the time with the enthusiastic

support of SSMU,” said Noumoff.

However, financial problems within Chapters led to long checkout lines and poor service. Also, many course

texts arrived very late because other Chapters stores failed to pay pub­ lishers.

Since April of last year, there have been significant improve­ ments, after Barnes & Noble Inc took over management. During the first few days of this semester, when the store was at its busiest, there were 15 cash registers working to ensure that students did not have to wait in line for more than 15 min­ utes. There have been far fewer complaints about delayed delivery of course texts and communication between faculties and bookstore management has improved.

In-house management may provide greater benefits to students, according to SSMU Vice-President Operations Kathleen Morrison.

“We would like to see book­ store prices become more reason­ able,” said Morrison. “There is no reason why students should have to look elsewhere for better prices.”

The Senate will discuss the future of the bookstore’s manage­ ment when it meets next month.

— W ith files from Jason Sigurdson and James Grohsgal

SIS says online student records are secure Jennifer Jett

The accessibility and security of student records posted on M IN ­ ERVA were discussed at a Senate meeting earlier this month. The security measures programmed into the BANNER system meet indus­ try standards, but are still depend­ ent on the personal integrity of the academic staff that access student information.

At the meeting, freshman sena­ tor and Engineering professor Ralph Harris raised concerns about the security of student records on BANNER, citing that, as an aca­ demic advisor, he has access to 450,000 records available on the database of student transcripts.

“I was just surprised that I had

so much access,” said Harris. “My feeling is that I don’t need to know a lot of that information and I was surprised that I was able to access it.”

Harris raised the question to Vice-Principal (Information Systems and Technology) Anthony Masi about the security of these online records.

“T he question I asked was ‘W hat were the McGill policies on the ubiquitous web access to the student transcripts and what were their procedures to ensure that peo­ ple followed those policies?”’ Harris said.

The transfer of student infor­ mation to the BANNER system from an older mainframe system is part o f a general overhaul of McGill’s h u m a n reso u rces, financial

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and student information systems.

MINERVA is the Web interface created using the BANNER soft­ ware. This year, MINERVA replaced the previous MARS and SATURN systems for registration and student information. As with the MARS and SATURN systems, administrators, as well as students, are required to provide an ID and PIN number before gaining access to information online.

“It’s not all that different from the past,” said Sylvia Franke, the Student Information Systems proj­ ect manager.

The transition to BANNER, however, has not been w ithout problems. Earlier this year, a pro­ gramming error resulted in a period of a few hours when students could look up the ID numbers, though not the records, of other students.

“We got it offline within a minute of becoming aware of the problem,” Franke said. “We’ve also installed a software patch so that won’t be able to happen again, even inadvertently.”

At no time has grading infor­ mation been available to unautho­ rized people, said Franke. “[MINERVA] is a secured site and there is a check on each web­ page with an encrypted, unique

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number to make sure the session remains secure,” she said.

BANNER may in fact increase the security of student transcripts, according to Franke, by decreasing the number of paper copies avail­ able.

“I’d like to think there will be less paper records floating around,” she asserted, as records are accessed online more often.

In Senate, Harris suggested some kind of access request proce­ dure in which faculty would have to justify which students’ records they need to access, rather than have the entire student body at their finger­ tips. However, Masi believes the implementation o f such a program would be too complex and time consuming, especially with the stu­ dent fluidity each semester.

“We would need an entire sup­ port office just to manage the requests,” he said.

Masi does concede, however, that lapses are possible, but security features are in place to minimize their probability.

“We use industry-standard security,” Masi said. “It means that you have to authenticate yourself to the system in order to have access and that we can trace all of the indi­ viduals who have accessed a stu­ dent’s file.”

This surveillance can be used to detect abnormal patterns o f use, Harris said.

“Once you log in to M INER­ VA, they know exactly what docu­ ments you’re accessing, and what time you’re accessing them and, to some extent, what machine you’re accessing them from,” Harris said.

One way students can keep their records private, Franke said, is by logging out o f MINERVA at the

end of their sessions, especially at public computer terminals in cafés or student lounges. The system also automatically ‘times out’ if left idle.

After investigating, Harris is confident that student records will remain private.

“The system, to my knowl­ edge, is completely secure,” Harris said, partly because the people who have access to student records “are most likely to be involved in the protection of student information anyway.”

“Academic advisors, by nature, are oriented toward helping other students,” Harris said, but the secu­ rity of the information is dependent upon the integrity of its users.

Franke concurred, adding, “The advisor has always had access to a student’s record and does have a responsibility to use it for appro­ priate university purposes.”

A brochure will also be distrib­ uted, rem inding professors and advisors o f their obligation to respect student privacy and confi­ dentiality, as listed in M cGill’s Computer Code of Conduct.

“Professor Harris raised a very good point about the need to emphasize that,” Masi said.

O ne suggestion that Harris discussed with Masi is a warning displayed on the computer screen at the beginning of advisors’ online sessions, reminding them that their activities are being monitored.

“It’s clear that the administra­ tion is highly aware of these issues and deeply concerned about the potential for abuse,” Harris said. “I got the impression they’re doing as much as they can, within the limits of budgets and the systems, to make the system secure.”

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

News 3

McGill to take over EUS cafeteria in May Defiant engineers exploring how to retain student control of food service operations Mark Sward

After long-standing rumours o f more cafeteria takeovers, the McGill administration has formally told the Engineering Undergraduate Society that Ancillary Services will take control of food services in the McConnell Engineering building at the end of May 2003.

At a meeting Friday afternoon, Ancillary Services Director Alan Charade told EUS President Philip Carpenter that the takeover was “non-negotiable.” The university plans to amalgamate nearly all cam­ pus food services, including resi­ dence cafeterias, in the coming years, but is not seeking control over Students’ Society-run cafete­ rias in the Shatner University Centre, according to David Strutz, associate director o f Ancillary Services. Although university offi­ cials have not announced it, student leaders believe the administration is unwilling to negotiate cafeteria repatriations because o f an exclusiv­ ity deal McGill signed with Chartwells, the food service corpo­ ration, that will eventually operate all cafeterias under University con­ trol.

Kathleen Morrison, Students’ Society vice-president operations, stressed that elsewhere in Canada, students are consulted before exclu­ sivity deals are signed.

“The [Concordia Student Union] was invited when that uni­ versity signed with Chartwells,” she said.

Morrison also wondered about the potentially lucrative signing bonuses that McGill would receive in signing a contract with Chartwells. “The $90,000 bonus received by Memorial [University in St. John’s, Newfoundland] was put directly into student services... where is that money going at McGill?” she asked. Ancillary Services Director Alan Charade was unavailable for comment.

Despite the adm inistration’s decision to take over the EUS cafe­ teria, C arpenter is hopeful the takeover will not come to pass.

“This year’s mandate will prob­ ably be to explore all the possibili­ ties [for keeping the cafeteria],” he said, noting that Engineering stu­ dents showed overwhelming sup­ port for the EUS retaining control o f food services in a referendum, which passed with 90 per cent approval last year, with more than 25 per cent o f students voting.

Even if he fails, Carpenter hopes to make people aware that the EUS stands to lose its largest single source of income— the Good Bytes Café brought $47,000 to the Society in the 2001-2002 school year.

Carpenter said that the admin­ istration has asked the EUS to sub­ mit a proposal for financial com­

pensation.

“Assuming th a t... the University gives us a grant equal to what we’d be expecting, and contin­ ues to do th at... it would just great­ ly reduce student input,” he said,

noting that 75 per cent of the cafe­ teria’s clientele are students. If McGill does not provide the EUS with satisfactory financial compen­ sation, however, Carpenter worries that the Society’s services could be greatly reduced.

“We wouldn’t be able to offer our students other activities in the current fashion, [such as] our grad­

uation ball and our engineering competition, and we wouldn’t be able to participate on such a large scale in national engineering events,” he commented.

Financial issues aside,

Carpenter also expressed concern over the variety of food that would be available in McConnell Engineering with a Chartwells-run cafeteria. Carpenter also noted that EUS may not be able to keep its administrative manager Dianne Ferguson, a well-liked personality among engineering students, whom he considers an invaluable asset.

McGill’s food service plan calls for increased variety of food ven­ dors to be placed around the cam­ pus; this would, however, mean that each location would have a limited number of meal options. “In order to get variety, you’d have to walk all the way across campus,” said Carpenter. He said, however that he was “led to believe that [the EUS] might have some input” in selecting new providers in the cafeteria.

CBA resurrection?

The McGill administration is negotiating a deal with Coca-Cola to give that corporation exclusive access to beverage services on cam­ pus, according to student leaders involved in food and beverage negotiations. It is the university’s practice not to discuss details of corporate contract negotiations.

Shapiro speaks to SSMU for the last time Continued from page 1

the chance to engage with their professors.

“How do we take up the other

own” instead o f being a “watereddown Ph.D .”

“It has resulted in... over-specialization. They don’t get exposed to range o f things they ought to

school. O n the other hand, I’m going later on tonight to accept gift o f $2-million to establish a chair in Social Studies and Medicine, to move away from the sheer question of technique. Technique is crucial, but if that’s all you need, a universi­ ty is a contradiction in terms, and it just becomes a social institution we use in order to get the vocation we want... Undergraduate education in the School of Management — that is a drastic mistake, a contradiction in terms for a university. It isn’t that the courses aren’t valuable, but it’s the wrong idea...”

Shapiro said that McGill must deal with the reality that govern­ ment spending on education has declined in the past 30 years. He attributed the decline to the “com­

peting agendas” of health care, edu­ cation and social assistance, in which education has lost out.

“W hether it’s access or quality, they don’t have enough money to fund both. The access agenda is paid for and nothing else, a slide into mediocrity.... The portion pro­ vided by the private sector will go up, and the governments portion will go down and I don’t advance that as a good thing in principle... [but] it is willful ignorance or selfindulgence to pretend that some­ thing else is at hand. Universities are not meant to be for the rich, but students at university are not a ran­ dom sample o f 19-year-olds.

Relatively speaking, they’re a welloff group of students... [Funding] needs to be dealt with sooner rather

Floor Fellow,

than later, but there isn’t much time...”

He argued the university com­ munity must make a better case for itself.

“Students, faculty members, and universities are regarded as whiners. O ur public image leaves a lot to be desired.”

Shapiro’s vision rests on the expectation that students will pur­ sue knowledge for its own sake.

“The student has a responsibil­ ity here, as long as I stick with what I said earlier, if you treat a universi­ ty like McGill as vocational, you’ll get one. There is a cult of market value in the outside world. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s not the only thing, and we don’t need to choose.”

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JENNY GEORGE

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Over 50 students attended the SSMU leg of Shapiro’s farewell tour Monday.

issue dealing with research? This is a real problem because, in theory, the experience of a student at McGill should [include] some exposure to the research enterprise ... We need to revisit the undergrad­ uate program in such a way as to make it stand on its own, to pro­ duce the objectives I’ve outlined, and graduate schools have to worry about it themselves.”

Shapiro said that undergradu­ ate education should “stand on its

know about...” He said the separa­ tion of the faculties o f Arts and Science exemplified this trend.

Shapiro said a focus on techni­ cal or professional skills with a par­ ticular job in mind distorts the pur­ pose of an undergraduate educa­ tion.

“If what you’re looking for is to turn the university into vocational school, there’s nothing wrong with it — it’s just different. T hat’s what medicine is. It’s a great vocational

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4 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Staff trend: more m anagers, few er profs Matt Saunders

Class sizes at McGill have been growing in recent years because of a steady increase in enrolment and a decrease in the number of profes­ sors. According to a report present­ ed to Senate by Provost and VicePrincipal (Academic) Luc Vinet and Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) Morty Yalovsky in May, the total number of full-time aca­ demic teaching staff dropped from 1498 in 1994 to 1,327 at the begin­ ning o f this year.

The report also suggests that, despite slight increases over the past three to four years, the number of administrative and support staff,, executive staff, library-assistant staff, technical staff, service staff, and clerical workers are all much less than they were in the early to mid-90s. The direct consequences of these cuts are longer lineups and poorer service for students on cam­ pus.

In contrast with decreases in academic and support staff, the report indicates that the number of middle-management staff—those with the least amount o f direct con­ tact with students—jumped from 595 in 1993 to 841 at the end of last year.

Robert Savoie, the executive director of human resources, cau­ tions that the numbers are mislead­ ing- _ “There is a need to qualify these figures,” he said. “The mid­ dle-management staffing category

includes professionals hired on a contractual basis.”

Savoie further explained that these professionals fall mainly into three areas, the first being informa­

Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham was scheduled to give a Liberal McGill-sponsored talk Thursday morning, but the minis­ ter cancelled to attend a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Some would-be attendees did not find out about the cancellation until they arrived at Stephen B. Leacock Building room 232, where the Students’ Society’s Canadian Alliance Club used the opportunity to hold a press conference to criti­ cize Liberal foreign policy.

In a prepared speech, Canadian Alliance of SSMU President David Anber, who was tabling for his party in the Shatner student centre lobby last week, spoke to a group of sever­ al dozen students and community members. He accused the Liberal government of conducting a “dan­ gerous and reckless” foreign policy, and argued that the government hesitates to take a firm stand on pressing international issues, leaving Canadian security at risk.

Anber asserted that Canada has not been vigilant enough in pre­ venting terrorist groups from work­ ing in the country, citing the exam­ ple of Hezbollah, a militant Islamic group that, according to Graham, has both military and social wings.

positions.

“These individuals work under the VP Development and Alumni Relations and help with raising funds,” he explained. “The number

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MCGILL SENATE

McGill has hired more managers to implement BANNER, increase fundraising and handle research grants.

tion technology.

“These IT professionals have been working on various stages of the development and launch of the new BANNER system,” he assert­ ed.

Bill Graham out.

Alliance McGill in Mark Sward

BANNER, currently in the implementation phase at McGill, is a system that integrates the University’s administrative systems and gives clients (students, faculty,

Although the military wing is not allowed to operate in Canada, the social wing still exists. “In reality, neither wing is banned and both should be,” said Anber.

He also accused the Chrétien government of “fence-sitting” on issues such as Iraq.

“In the event that Saddam Hussein breaks his promise [to end unconventional weapons programs] as he has in the past, what will Canada do? W hy is this not clear?

The minister should take a stand at once,” he implored.

Anber also blamed the Liberals for stalling on important issues in the past, including softwood lum­ ber trade dealings with the United States. “They knew the contract [on softwood lumber] was running up five years in advance, but they did nothing.” He called this “policy after the fact,” and warned that the Liberals’ current approach could create serious problems for Canada in the international arena.

Politically, the Liberal govern­ ment is in “disarray,” Anber argued.

He claimed that the Canadian Alliance is the “only party in Ottawa preparing for the next elec­ tion,” and noted that the other fed­ eral parties still have not decided who will lead them in elections that will be called by Liberal leadership sometime in the next few years.

researchers and the public) more access to information and the abili­ ty to serve themselves.

Large number of contractual employees have also been hired in what Savoie called development

of these employees has increased substantially over the past three to four years.”

The final area named by Savoie as having a significant effect on the inflated number of middle-manage­

ment employees is the management of research grants.

“McGill has been receiving a large amount of money in research grants, which has required an increase in the number o f people to manage them,” he said.

As many of the positions classi­ fied as middle-management are temporary, it is expected the num­ ber of McGill employees in this cat­ egory will decrease in the future.

“There will be a reduction in the number of such professionals over time, as projects end or are implemented,” said Savoie.

However, Savoie also suggested that these contractual employees represent a potential source of future full-time staff.

“As regular positions open up, these professionals will be consid­ ered for such positions. The process has already started,” he said.

Yalovsky also pointed out that the number o f staff in other posi­ tions is on the rise. “[Middle management] is just one of the categories in the univer­ sity classification of administrative and support staff, which has been on the increase over the past four years,” he asserted. “[T]he 2002-2003 budget book indicates that while $2-million will be invested in academic renewal, about $5-million will be allocated for administrative and support infrastructure, with nearly all the funding going to support administrative personnel.”

Democracy in Quebec: Where are we headed?

Adam Klevinas

Citizens o f Quebec are often left out o f the political decisions that affect their lives. To alleviate this democratic deficit, the Quebec governm ent has been holding Citizen Empowerment town hall meetings across the province to ask whether or not the present demo­ cratic system is the best for citizens o f Quebec.

The Quebec government has challenged citizens to respond to this question in local forums and surveys. C om m unity members from various ages and backgrounds had a chance to bring to attention what they felt was most important.

In a session held in the Shatner Building at McGill last Monday, students and local resi­ dents discussed the institutions and modes o f operation o f Quebec democracy. Bernard Shapiro, McGill’s principal and vice-chan­ cellor, participated w ith fellow panel members including Claude Béland, the chair o f the Citizens’ Committee and guest professor at l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Panel members Brenda Paris, Emanuelle H ébert and Michel Laflamme also handled questions and comments.

Ian Bayly, a resident o f Pointe Claire since his arrival in Canada in 1937, voiced his opinion on the topic o f strategic voting, which focuses on eliminating representa­ tives whom voters do not want to see elected, as opposed to those whom voters want. His solution was to use a “runoff voting system”

“Students are not necessarily interested... because it’s difficult to effect change.”

— Nick Vikander VP Community and Government where, in the absence o f a majority winner in the first stage o f an elec­ tion, the top two candidates run against each other in a second round. Bayly said he would like to see Quebec be a “front-runner” for runoff voting.

N ick Vikander, Students’ Society vice-president community and government, said that voter turnout among young people was too low.

“Students are not necessarily interested in electoral politics, on the muncipal, provincial or federal

level,” said Vikander. “There’s a lot o f apathy, and for good reason, because it’s difficult to effect change in the political process.

Vikander believes that all citi­ zens’ voices would be better repre­ sented with a proportional repre­ sentation system, in which voters choose from a list of candidates, rather than the riding-based firstpast-the-post system.

“The general idea I’d like to see put forward is some form o f proportional representation so people can vote for the people they believe in.”

The Citizen Empowerment tour continues across Quebec for the rest o f November. O ther topics under discussion include a shift to the American presidential system, reform o f the electoral system, First Nations representation and the inclusion o f more women in poli­ tics.

Vikander said the forums help increase political participation.

“This is a good example of how citizens can com m unicate directly with their representatives.”

The committee’s conclusions will be discussed at the Estates General on the Reform of D em ocratic Institutions, which will take place in February 2003.

News 5

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

SSMU proposes broad reforms to CASA Student unions from McGill and U. of Alberta want lobby group to expand activism Seth Offenbach

The Students’ Society is debat­ ing the merits o f membership in the Canadian Alliance o f Student Associations, the federal student lobbying group founded in 1994

by SSMU and four other student unions.

SSMU Vice-President C om m unity and G overnm ent Affairs Nick Vikander is quick to point out the benefits o f member­ ship in CASA, which has 300,000 members, strong political connec­ tions and a relatively small budget, but says the groups focus is too narrow.

“CASA has had a great effect on the Canadian Student Loan program and the Canada Health and Social Transfer fund... and they’ve succeeded in getting direct access to policy-makers,” said Vikander. “But mobilization done in appropriate ways at certain times can make our representatives respond more strongly.”

Historically, CASA has only addressed educational and funding issues, but Vikander believes CASA should address other student needs.

He also said that CASA needs to improve its coverage by the media to put more pressure on the gov­ ernment.

W ith these problems in mind,

recom m endation,” SSMU and the University o f in the Free Trade Area o f the tentious Alberta Student Union presented Americas. Still, SSMU hoped because many CASA supporters “Fighting for an Effective CASA: CASA would take a more active feel that student protests would The Winds Are Changing Again”, a stance. reduce CASA’s access to politicians.

The document also seeks an This recommendation was sent to controversial document including com m ittee for further 10 specific recommen­ review. dations to improve SSMU’s recommendations to CASA SSMU also recom­ CASA. SSMU 1. Organizational review of CASA by external mended that CASA President M artin Doe sources begin lobbying on the said CASA’s response to 2. Make accessibility and affordability of education provincial level, some­ the docum ent “was key tenets of CASA more open and well thing that it has never 3. Speak out about all basic principles of done before. Vikander received [than antici­ privatization believes that “CASA pated].”

4. Address provincial issues cannot continue to N ot all 10 points 5. Address the overarching issues surrounding ignore provincial issues.” were well-received by tuition CASA, however. CASA He seemed satisfied that 6. Encourage membership mobilization CASA was beginning to Communications 7. Actively build coalitions with other lobbying address his concern.

C oordinator Erin groups Finally, SSMU rec­ Stevenson believes this 8. Recognize the effect of international trade ommended an external was because “CASA agreements on education review of the association, was surprised by the 9. Research models of education from other which CASA rejected last-m inute presenta­ nations because o f the $20,000 tion of the document.”

10. Address student issues rather than exclusively Still, Stevenson claims cost o f doing so. While educational issues that CASA has an open SSMU would prefer that mind and “the under­ CASA find the money Source: “Fighting fo r an Effective CASA: for a thorough review, standing that there are The Winds Are Changing Again' CASA plans to hold an some great ideas there.” internal review confer­ SSMU and the Alberta Student U nion asked increase in “membership mobiliza­ ence in March.

CASA to take positions on tuition tion.” Vikander said that, while The pull-out method increases, differential tuition, and “membership m obilization does the privatization of education. In not necessarily mean protest” and CASA’s easy in/easy out’ policy response, CASA took stances includes letter-writing campaigns, allows student councils to secede against differential tuition and protest is a kind o f mobilization. from the organization without a against the inclusion of education Vikander called this “the most con­ referendum, which means that

SSMU Council could pull out of CASA any time this academic year.

The University of Alberta students are openly considering this option and plan on making a decision by the end o f December. While at least one student executive there favours pulling out o f CASA, Alberta’s stu­ dent executive does not favour joining the rival organization, the Canadian Federation o f Students.

T he differences between CASA and CFS are stark. CFS has fewer contacts within the govern­ ment and is far more active in protests. They organized five major ‘strikes’ in the last seven years, according to their website, while CASA has organized none. CFS has far higher student fees because it lobbies at both the provincial and federal levels. Finally, CFS has a broad conception of ‘student issues’ that SSMU Council wants CASA to adopt.

This is not the end of the road for the CASA/CFS debate. The C om m unity and Governm ent Affairs Committee o f the SSMU plans to bring a fact-finding docu­ ment to Council by the end of January with information on both CASA and CFS. Immediately after the report, Council will likely begin debate on the merits o f staying with CASA.

Solin Hall resident robbed at knife-point Lynne Hsu__________________________

A Solin Hall resident and three friends visiting from out of town were mugged at knifepoint on the 150-metre bike path between Solin Hall and Lionel-Groulx Metro sta­ tion on Saturday, November 9, at 10:30 pm. This is the only reported assault with a weapon on a student in the Solin Hall area in the past 11 years.

Three men approached the stu­ dents and demanded their money while threatening them with knives.

The assailants took both the cash in their wallets and their bank cards, and then forced them to divulge their PIN numbers. Two of the men then held the students while the third aggressor went to an automatic banking machine and withdrew money from their bank accounts.

The attackers returned the bank cards, but the students had lost a total of $500 to $600.

The assailed Solin resident, who wished to remain anonvmous. said

that he had been concerned for his safety on the path in the past. “In groups I’ve always felt pretty safe, but whenever I was walking by myself, I felt uncomfortable on the path... There are some lights... but it’s not great.”

Shortly after the incident, the victims spoke with Flo Gagnon, a Solin Hall security guard, and police were summoned. Officers from Station 18 arrived within half an hour and interviewed the students until late into the night.

At 9:00 am the next day, the students went to the police station to examine mug shots in the hopes of identifying their attackers. The police also tested their bank cards for fingerprints. Neither effort resulted in a positive identification. The police are now reviewing the video­ tape from the ABM’s security camera for an image of one of the attackers.

Many students report feeling unsafe in the area around Solin Hall.

“Everybody at Solin feels pretty concerned about what’s happened.

We’ve had our security taken away from us,” said the McGill victim.

“After this happened it shakes every­ one else up a bit.”

John Selkirk and Myrna Wyatt Selkirk, directors of Solin Hall for more than 11 years, expressed their concern. “This is the first time weapons have been used,” Wyatt Selkirk affirmed.

According to the Selkirks, there have only been a few occasions where money has been stolen. The last known crime near the building occurred two years ago, when a woman was pushed down and her purse stolen.

The Selkirks, in conjunction with the Montreal police and McGill Walksafe, are planning a series of safety lectures for residents. They are also planning to appeal to the city of Montreal to improve the lighting on the bike path between the residence and the Metro station, because they say that the existing lamps do not shed enough light on the path for security cameras to work.

JAMto CKUhbCAL Dim street lamps illuminate the bike path between the Metro stop and Solin.

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6 Op/Ed

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Opinion

Editorial

E D I T O R I A L

Letters

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a lit­ tle temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ” — Benjamin Franklin

Svend lends voice to the speechless Jenny George________________________________________________________________

Concordia University was once again a site of political unrest on Friday afternoon. In an attempt to circumvent the University’s moratori­ um on Middle East issues, the Concordia Student Union hosted New Democrat MPs Svend Robinson and Libby Davies, and political activist Judy Redick at its campus to speak about the emotionally charged subject.

The University responded by obtaining a court order to stop the guests from giving their speech “Peace and Justice in the Middle East”, and the event subsequently occurred on de Maisonneuve Boulevard West in front o f the Concordia edifice.

The moratorium was initially implemented in response to the September 9 riot at the University, triggered by a scheduled speech by for­ mer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which was cancelled fol­ lowing violent demonstration. The moratorium was initially for all polit­ ically related activities on campus, but was amended to include only activ­ ities involving the Israeli-Palestinian Middle East conflict. The moratori­ um will come under review on December 15.

Universities are bastions of learning, enlightenment and higher edu­ cation; free speech and debate are necessary for universities to retain this status. We depend on the knowledge founded in our institutions of high­ er education to help us progress as a society.

Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints and the need to look attractive to the public, universities are climbing down from the ivory tower and turning away from their traditional stance of political inde­ pendence. Liberal education has been sacrificed, and career training is now deemed more valuable. The result is that institutions of higher edu­ cation are aiming for the political middle ground at the expense o f their societal function. W hen censorship becomes acceptable, how can our society progress?

Thankfully, Robinson, Davies and Redick assumed, even if tem­ porarily, the burden o f upholding fundamental rights. For his part, Robinson has been a federal government watchdog for years— an active voice among a sea of compliant backbenchers. As the first openly gay member of Parliament, he has faced strong opposition to both his per­ sonal and public political convictions. A refusal to sell out on his beliefs has characterized Robinson’s 23 years o f political service. Robinson’s rea­ son for approaching the CSU and offering to speak was because he was horrified at the thought of Concordians being deprived o f their funda­ mental right to free speech.

Was Robinson adding fuel to the fire by offering to speak for the CSU, in what was really an attempt to gain shameless personal coverage?

Perhaps. Regardless of his stance in the Middle East conflict, Robinson has served a useful purpose by calling attention to the role from which the University is shying away.

Concordia insists there is a limit to free speech— when it sparks vio­ lence and threatens bystanders— and has attempted to prevent further vio­ lence by imposing the moratorium as a pragmatic solution. Robinson is an idealist, in both political and constitutional terms, who is willing to tackle issues that other politicians would normally brush aside.

Robinson is not endorsing violence by breaking the mandate, but rather bringing the inappropriate nature of the moratorium to the media’s attention; freedom o f speech is a basic human right, irrespective of specif­ ic situations. Concordia University has attempted to find a practical solu­ tion to the outbreaks o f violence, but in doing so, has abandoned its duty as an institution o f higher learning that advances knowledge through debate. th e

M c G IL L T R IB U N E

Editor -In -C hief

James Empringham

P ro du ction M anager

Michael Liew

This letter goes o u t to J. Roberts, with regards to his cute little article in the November 5 issue o f the Tribune. It’s funny that you write about the M ontreal experience and the need to step outside o f the box when, by dissing the Santropol the way you did, you just stepped inside one: a jaded, critical box. I’ll have you know that the Santropol is my uncle’s restaurant that he got start­ ed about 25 years ago with some help from my dad— and may I be damned if I let you get away with that childish opinion, cause [sic] my family is where it’s at, and I protect what I feel is right. My uncle Garth, one of the three own­ ers o f the restaurant, knows more about Montreal than you will ever know, even w ith your little

“McGill Fresh” theory that you th ink people will care about.

Santropol offers a really chill atm osphere, good music and good, unconventional eats. Sure, it’s not exactly pogos and poutine, which by all means you can have if you want a “true” Quebec experi­ ence. Whatever. W ho is who to say what a real experience is anyway?

W ell... me. Kids out there: the best way to have a “true Montreal” experience is BE YOURSELF, eat where you w ant— and, by all means, don’t listen to this fool.

Andrea Gilker U3 Art History PS: I live in the (gasp!) McGill G hetto... and I love it.

Transcript delays caused by understaffing I am writing in response to your article on recent transcript delays and the Direct Services Office’s claim that the delays are due to technology transition (no doubt implying that BANNER is to blame). I dropped my transcript request off at the registrar’s office last Wednesday the 6th. O n the 14th (six working days later), I returned to pick them up and, nat­ urally, they weren’t ready.

However, according to the atten­ dant, they had been printed on the 12th (after four working days), but hadn’t been stuffed into an enve­ lope because they were still stuff­ ing transcripts printed on the 10th.

W hile I was at the counter, one o f the attendants in the office was sitting at a table, stuffing tran­ scripts into envelopes. W hen the

lineup got long, she’d stop to take someone at the counter. If, as the D SO claims, the problem is a technology issue, then why weren’t my transcripts ready by the 12th or 13th, shortly after they were printed?

Based on these observations, a far more plausible explanation is that there is not enough staff on hand to stuff envelopes. Perhaps the special registration and adm in­ istration charges that have risen steadily over the last six years would be better spent on hiring a student part-tim e to stuff envelopes at peak periods than on remodelling the Registrar’s office on a regular basis.

Robert Sim PhD 6

The clicking sound of ignorance

Although last week I had the pleasure of reading le Quebecker’s excellent editorial on the genocide in Rwanda, which was both wel researched and written; I was once again appalled with the lack of sen­ sitivity and bad taste of whoevei put the title of the editorial (“The legacy o f clicking sound coun­ tries”). Far from being funny, found it nearly insulting.

I believe “clicking sound coun­ tries” is incorrectly attributed to the countries mentioned in said article Although some languages do make extensive use of click sounds, these are essentially of the Khoisan fami ly of languages which are mostly it Southern and Eastern Africa. As fa as I was able to find out, there are no such languages in Rwanda.

Had the editorial referred te the Holocaust, and the title te include some (false) stereotyp about Jews and qualify th Holocaust as their “legacy”; I thin] the Tribune would receive mor then [sic] a fair share of complaints Whoever put the title is defeating the message the editorial attemptee to send, and so I ask that whoeve did it, please TH IN K before yo write. Any human being, especiall in the context of genocide, must b treated with certain respect.

Alvaro José Castro Rivadeneir U3 Biochemistr

Want to get involved a the Tribune ? Call us at 398-6789 or drop by Shatner 110. We look forward to your vist.

Matt Dellinge One more outburst from you mister, and I’ll remove % your opposable thumbs!

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Opinion

Op/Ed 7

Editorial

Im partial not in m edia's job description toll US Air Force— Nicaragua 30.000, Guatemala 200,000, Iraq 600.000, El Salvador 20,000, Vietnam 4,000,000.” Careful not to get distracted, I zipped up and began thinking about this.

It was a fresh perspective in an otherwise stifling environment of pro-US, post-September 11 bandwagoning. It made me realize that there is no such thing as impartial journalism; everyone’s got an agen­ da; everyone has a perspective. The louder someone professes objectiv­ ity, the more biased they are.

Case in point: the American mainstream corporate media. By the time information has passed through this system, it has been digested beyond reality. Anything you read in a newspaper, hear on the radio or see on T V has been skewed, filtered or manipulated in some manner or another. I’m not saying that the media are a bunch o f liars, but I am saying that truth­ telling is not the only part o f their

JO S H W ILN E R W hy is it only called terrorism when it happens to the United States? This was the question I was confronted with in the bathroom o f a friend’s apartment. T he poster had been strategically placed like a urinal advertisement which, inci­ dentally, I think is the most sure­ fire way to subject some poor drunk guy to a marketing cam­ paign. From the Russian, to the Quiet, to the American, to the Scientific, to the Industrial, to the French, revolutions all started with some guy urinating. But that’s another column entirely.

The rant on the poster contin­ ued, the w riting superim posed over raining B-2 bombers: “Death

CASCO kids take stage by storm

job description.

W hen I come upon self-criti­ cal debates about w hether the m edia is too free, I w onder whether the media is too restricted and controlled. Never believe any­ thing until it’s officially denied. I like to think that university stu­ dents (when sober) are good judges o f reality: We’re too old to be naïve and we’re too young to be reactionary. I also like to think that the m ajority o f us are sm art enough not to take everything at its face value.

Noam Chomsky, a linguist, political scientist and philosopher at MIT, has done highly critical studies o f the American m ain­ stream media. Fie makes three (what he calls) “bloodbath predic­ tions” about media coverage of international massacres.

If ideologically serviceable, the bloodbath will be construed as constructive. A good example is Indonesia’s slaughter o f 300,000 (a

C h eck out the full story in next week's

Tribune

One more letter Cheers to theatre review for keepin' it real, even if irony is dead Kudos on the review of Dancing at Lughnasa. This year has ;een an influx of poorly written and jninsightful theatre reviews, much :o the dismay of those of us who :are about and participate in theitre at McGill. I would rather see a

mainly negative review of a show than a nonexistent or unintelligent one. Paul Bredesen’s review was a breath o f fresh air. Good job, Tribune!

Sarah Steinbock-Pratt U2 History

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Chomsky argues that media are often more concerned with supporting the power elite, be it a large corporation or the govern­ ment, than truthfully informing the public. Ah, the spoils o f being on the big guy’s team— a little nepotism from Uncle Sam. T he media responds to Chom sky’s controversial work with either blind eyes or indigna­ tion. The former dignifies his stud­ ies with an official denial for fear o f validating them or appearing defensive. The latter brand him un-American.

A proud Canadian myself, I have lived in the States and seen the culture. To have a dearly held, unpopular conviction and to nonetheless scream it boldly from the rooftops is what free speech is all about. Chomsky is not unAmerican; he epitomizes America.

Cold, w et November really sucks big time

JENNY GEORGE

From evening gowns to red vinyl pants, tighty whities to the latest urban gear, the CASCO Fashion Fusion show on November 16 was an impressive evening of glitz and glamour. The show saw models shaking their booties and showing off the latest fashions. Proceeds went to the Montreal Children's Hospital.

CIA estimate) P.K.I. in 1965-66.

In this case, the US media viewed the killings in a positive light because the victims were Communists.

If ideologically neutral, the incident w ould be viewed as benign. The some two-to threehundred thousand killings by Indonesian soldiers in Portuguese Tim or in 1975, when the country declared its independence as East Timor, are good examples.

Finally, if ideologically count­ er-productive, the bloodbath would be interpreted as nefarious.

Refer to Pol Pot’s regime in Cambodia, starting in 1976 when he became prime minister, during which time some three million Cambodians were executed, or died from forced labour or famine.

In all cases, unconditionally evil events occured, but the American media interpreted them by trans­ lating the country’s political agen­ da into a dubious moral agenda.

This time o f the year blows. It’s cold, rainy and grey. You’ve some­ how managed to drag yourself up and over that m ountain of midterms only to be shuttled like a fat kid on a G-T Snowracer into a brick wall of finals. Hallowe’en is over, the festive season is still far away and the only ‘holiday is a day dedicated to remembering those who died in war, during which legitimate drinking isn’t even encouraged. Plus, it’s not like we even get a day of school off, any­ ways.

N ot that I actually attend school on a regular basis anymore.

At first, it was just the useless and nerd-fest nature of conferences that I avoided. Now the very idea of being stuck in a classroom beside some guy with a case of Black Death, coughing up blood because he’s too lazy to drag his sorry ass to McGill Health, makes my skin crawl.

From frosh to victory-lappers, everyone just seems a little more edgy these days. I find myself losing it over things that, under normal circumstances, would only mildly annoy me. It is for this reason that I decided to conduct a survey (and by ‘survey’ I mean I asked my drunken

friends), to find out what really gets under people’s skin at this most ter­ rible time o f year.

Not surprisingly, crimes com­ mitted at the library ranked high on the list of annoyances, since it’s around now that the place becomes a surrogate home to many of us.

High on the offending list are those who mistake the library for M C Mario’s Ultimate Dance Party, dressing and acting accordingly.

Related infuriating characters include those who are convinced they lead such crazy-sexy-cool lives that they just can’t bare to turn off their cell phone in the study areas or, at the very least, opt for the vibrate mode. Even worse are the VIPs who decide that the normal ring on their cell phone is far too common for their crazy-sexy-cool lives and insist on using either a) digitalized classical music, b) cute, recognizable jingles à la “Yankee Doodle”, or c) specially down­ loaded songs. Note to guys: there is a direct correlation between these alterna-rings and the ability to score chicks.

Then there are those o f you out there (this is the one category I can confidently exclude myself from) who, apparently, didn’t get enough of junior high the first time ‘round and relive it on a regular basis by playing touchy-feely on campus. I understand you’ve man­ aged to find love in this emotional­ ly barren wasteland— my sincere congratulations. I understand that those budget-busting mini Christmas lights strung from the trees give lower campus a slightly romantic feel, but please don’t ruin a brief moment of reflection for the rest of us with your sucking faces.

Ditto for those of you who play molest-a-fest at either G ert’s or Four Floors: grow up. Unless your parents live with you in Rez, you have some place to go, so use it.

Third on the list are people who take their sweet-ass time walk­ ing along Milton Street to get to and from campus. It may seem as though I’m making a mountain out of a molehill here, but there is noth­ ing I hate more than getting stuck behind someone simulating grand­ pa’s Sunday drive as I’m trying to book it to class. Personally, I think they should separate pedestrian traffic along Milton into fast and slow lanes to alleviate the problem, whereby those who aren’t keeping pace receive a stern electric shock.

Between the crappy weather and the onslaught o f schoolwork, it’s really no wonder that everyone seems stuck in a perpetual state of misery. I guess all we can do is keep things in perspective and take it all in stride. Last week I witnessed a guy go ape-shit at a drink machine when it dispensed the wrong bever­ age. Whoa.

Ultimately, I think the secret to coping with life lies in the ability to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously. I sincerely believe that laugher is the best noncarcinogenic way to deal with a stressful or unfortunate situation.

So next time you trip and/or bail when walking through campus, don’t mini-rage and glare in utter disbelief at an imaginary obstacle— lighten up. If you haven’t yet mas­ tered the basic motor skills of walk­ ing, at least have the good nature to laugh at yourself. God knows the rest o f us will.

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

The perils of unrestricted free speech Can freedom of expression and other fundamental rights co-exist in Canadian society?

Russell Seidle

Free speech is one o f the cor­ nerstones o f Canadian society. In fact, it is such a deeply ingrained aspect o f our social fabric that it is hard to imagine living in this country without the right to unre­ stricted freedom o f expression. O r is it?

W hile free speech is codified in the C harter o f Rights and Freedoms, individual expression seems to be increasingly proscribed in the interest o f what is perceived to be the greater good o f society.

Are there times when free expression m ust be curbed in order to serve some higher ideal? O r is freedom o f speech an inviolable right that should never be com pro­ mised under any circumstances?

T he C anadian C harter o f Rights and Freedoms states that, “Everyone has the following fun­ damental freedoms... freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media o f com­ m unication.” Among other things, this right allows for the uncen­ sored expression o f the various news outlets in this country. It also provides a means for dissenting voices to make themselves heard in a m anner free from manipulation

and control by the interests being targeted for criticism. In short, freedom o f expression ideally gives a voice to all individuals and insti­ tutions, not just the most power­ ful, in Canadian society.

Historically, universities have been am ong the m ost active organizations engaged in the exer­ cise o f freedom o f expression.

Students and professors in Canada’s post-secondary establish­ ments have typically enjoyed an ability to opine on political, eco­ nomic and cultural issues with rel­ atively free reign. Even in these bastions o f intellectual nonconfor­ mity, however, free speech seems to be facing increasing barriers.

Perhaps the most telling case o f this seemingly restricted free­ dom is reflected in the recent events at Concordia University.

After a September speech by for­ m er Israeli Prime M inister Benjam in N etanyahu . was can­ celled when dem onstrations by pro-Palestinian protesters turned violent, Frederick Lowy, the rector o f the university, imposed a mora­ torium on political activism on campus. T he decision was met w ith opposition from students, who felt their rights to free expres­ sion were violated.

W hile it is tempting to con­ clude that the decision made by

Concordias administration was a m atter of extreme overreaction to student protests, this interpreta­ tion may be overly simplistic. Free speech, after all, is not exercised in a vacuum. The rights o f expression in a democratic country such as

o f History at the University of Western Ontario, makes a similar argument in his assessment o f the actions o f Concordia’s Rector.

“W hen expression influences passion to the degree that people don’t feel safe, it puts the universi­

Canada must, by necessity, be bal­ anced against other freedoms, such as the rights to life, liberty and security o f person, which are also enshrined in the Charter.

Jonathon Vance, a Canadian research chair in the D epartm ent

ty between a rock and a hard place,” he explains. “It is a kind o f censorship, but there seemed to be no other way to ensure that the violence didn’t continue.”

To argue that freedom o f speech always supercedes any and

all other rights places one on tenu­ ous moral ground, especially when the notion o f democracy is being invoked.

Another example o f conflicts that can arise between free speech and other social rights is the phe­ nom enon o f cyber-bullying.

According to a CBC documentary, an Ontario student was recently targeted by an abusive website that made several hateful comments against the boy and his family. The site also invited other visitors to the page to post similar senti­ ments.

Although the service provider in question eventually took down the website, some free speech advocates were quick to defend the page creator’s right to express him ­ self (or herself; the originator has never been identified) freely on the Internet.

“W hen a person in a position o f authority says ‘Look, you say this and I don’t like it and there­ fore I’m going to censor it,’ we are sending students really the wrong message,” says Jeffrey Shallit of Electronic Frontier Canada, an organization dedicated to ensuring th at freedom o f expression is maintained as new technologies such as the Internet continue to See DIVERSITY, page 12

Leftist politics make campus life more vibrant

It wasn’t so long ago that a leftwing student government at McGill was about as probable as the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup. Oh, how things change. After years of lan­ guishing on the filthy couches of QPIRG, a robust progressive ele­ ment has returned to campus.

The change is a welcomed one.

For too long, the campus social environment has been seen only as a forum for boozy dalliance and social-climbing. W hat’s happening instead is a re-emergence of the concept that campus is a place to debate the politics and ideas with which we can improve our society.

Can the current wave of activism actually succeed in sustain­ ing a broad-based progressive movement on campus? O r will it flounder and be relegated to its for­ mer marginal status? At this point,

either outcome is possible.

W ith No Logo, Naomi Klein gave the left newfound intellectual credibility. She highlighted issues, such as corporate malfeasance, around which widespread and diverse elements of society could rally. This provided a welcome change from the quagmire of iden­ tity politics in which the left had wallowed for much of the 80s and 90s.

Student leaders such as SSMU Vice-President Com m unity and Government Affairs Nick Vikander have followed Klein’s playbook to resurrect the student left. Vikander and others will continue to succeed by focussing on issues of genuine popular concern such as NAFTA’s Chapter 11 or the environment. At the same time, local issues must remain paramount.

Solidarity with Latin America presents a sexy (and legitimate) cause, but there is no shortage of environmental and labour injustice right here in Montreal. It is here, on campus and in the city, that McGill students have an opportunity to actually effect change. Let’s cut our teeth here before saving the rest of the world. This is how to transform

left-wing politics from an elitist stu­ dent hobby into a broad popular movement.

Effective leadership has given the campus left a new respectability but already there are troubling signs that this momentum will come undone. Should this occur, it will not be the work of conspiring capi­ talists. Instead, it will be the result of student leaders succumbing yet again to the arrogance and cliqueishness that has repulsed a generation of would-be comrades.

This tendency has manifested itself already. The Pravda of the campus papers has offset strong reporting with patronizing bias and the aggrandizement of its own staff. In another shining example of “pro­ gressive” modesty, Vikander has kindly sent out a letter reminding us not to make him the subject of a cult of personality. Such behaviour is not clever, funny or professional.

Rather, it is precisely the reason why many potential lefties run screaming into the arms o f the Fraser Institute.

A new wave o f progressive ideas has arrived, but it is unfortu­ nate that the movement’s argot and aesthetics continue to lag behind.

Consider the former, first. The lan­ guage of the left is much the same as it was in the 1960s, and that lan­ guage has become clichéed and ineffective. A new vocabulary is needed.

Much of the right’s success in the 1990s was rooted in the babblespeak (think “down-sizing”, “teamplayer”, “paradigm-shift”), with which they dazzled the Canadian public. These new phrases entered the popular vocabulary and helped give a positive spin to the previous­ ly unpopular notion of lowering wages and taking jobs away. Perhaps the left could come up with a simi­ lar trick of refashioning language to further their own ideals...

Aesthetically, too, the left must reinvent itself. Unlike the 1960s, there is no strong harmony between politics, fashion and music present today. If a new student politic is to be effective, it must somehow dis­ cover how to fuse No Logo with Eminen and Tori Amos. Likewise, the arts and music community must stop perpetuatirig the belief that dissent consists merely of pur­ chasing alternative clothing labels.

Artists like Moby offer some hope in this regard. Still, little progress

will be made until this generation ceases to equate coolness with apa­ thy. This is admittedly a tall order for campus-level activists, but it nevertheless represents an avenue that should be pursued.

But finally, if the campus left hopes to achieve any degree of long­ term success, it must refuse to be dragged into foreign policy. Passing resolutions on the United States or the Middle East is presumptuous, distracting and misplaced.

Specifically, it is presumptuous to assume that world leaders pay any attention to the resolutions passed by 20-year-old McGill students.

The divisiveness that such debates will engender among students will inevitably distract student leaders from the business to which they should be attending.

Finally, to introduce foreign policy discussions to SSMU council is misplaced because it is simply not the forum in which to advocate political views on these issues. A robust student interest in world affairs is essential to a vibrant uni­ versity, but the place to express opinions is in the classrooms and in the political parties, each o f which has a branch on campus.

Features 9

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Three final exams in two days? No problem!

T h e a lm ig h t y e x a m Christina Heyding________________

Every year, the tim e and place o f our final exams magically appear on the McGill webpage and on sheets posted in Leacock. And every year, we com pare exam schedules and curse friends who finish two days earlier than us.

But we never seem to ask what goes on behind the examination scheduling process. W hat factors determine whether we will be here until December 20 at 5:00 pm or have all four exams crammed into the first week?

W hat is considered a conflict?

Sharon Bezeau, the chief invigilator, and Karen Baxter, the exam coordinator, begin schedul­ ing exams once course enrolment is finalized. Their first priority is to limit the num ber o f exam con­ flicts. There are several exam com­ binations that are considered con­ flict situations. T he m ost frequent conflict occurs when a student has two exams at one time. O ther sit­ uations considered conflicts include having four exams within a two day period or having three exams in a 24 hour period, which can occur if a student is taking reg­ ular courses as well as night cours­ es.

Three exams in a two-day period, however, is not considered a conflict. This is to the dismay of many students, including Adriana Pastor, a U2 Biology student, who finds herself in this situation.

"Trying to focus on three dif­ ferent subjects at the same time causes a lot o f stress. Your capacity to do well on all three exams, under that am ount o f stress, is very small," she says.

Bezeau and Baxter recognize this type o f exam stress as a hin­ drance to student performance.

"We know [conflict situations are] tiresome," Bezeau says. "It’s very tiring for someone to be in a room from nine to five [which occurs if students have two exams at the same time]. We understand that.”

Although limiting the num ­ ber o f exam conflicts is the top priority, doing so has become more and more difficult, as stu­ dent registration has increased and the num ber o f courses that stu­ dents are more and more varied.

"The greater the variety o f courses that students are taking across faculties, the harder it is to schedule students w ithout con­ flicts,” Bezeau says.

T he range o f students that have two exams at the same time can vary from one to 30 students per day. O ther conflict situations, such as having four exams in a two-day period, do not occur very often. W hen they do, the student in question will be contacted by phone and special arrangements will be made, such as having them

a u t h o r i t i e s r e v e a l t h e in s a n d o u t s o f f in a ls s c h e d u l i n g

write an alternate exam for one o f the courses on a different day.

Are courses doom ed to certain exam slots?

A lthough factors such as marking systems and prerequisite courses can influence scheduling, no course has an exam with a pre­ determined slot in the exam sched­ ule. If a fall term course is a pre­ requisite for a winter term course, the exam will most likely be placed earlier in the exam period. Courses such as Introduction to Psych Stats 204 and Introductory Physics 101, which both have continuing parts in the winter semester, will often be scheduled for the beginning of the exam period to allow time for

“The greater variety of courses that stu­ dents are taking across faculties, the harder it is to schedule students without conflicts.”

— Sharon Bezeau M cG ill’s C hiefInvigilator

marking and course re-registra­ tion.

M anual versus electronic marking can also influence exam dates. Scantron exams are more likely to be placed at the end o f the exam period. Thus, for first year science students, the General Chemistry 110 exam will almost always be near the end o f the exam period because it is marked by Scantron.

M arking systems, however, do not take precedence over limiting the num ber o f exam conflicts. If a professor would like an exam placed early because it is handmarked, but doing so would create a num ber o f conflicts, the exam will not be placed early, as conflict considerations take priority.

professors teaching the course. Dr. C hristian H ardtke, the course coordinator, was unable, however, to make alterations.

“I tried to change the date but, conceivably for BIOL 200, this would result in a whole suite o f related changes in other exam dates. Therefore, nothing could be done w ithout a major disturbance o f the overall schedule,” he remarked. Hardtke, like many of his students, would have liked the holidays to start sooner, but he is maintaining a light-hearted out­ look. He jokes that he will refrain from complaining “[as long as] the taxi driver makes it to the airport quick enough after the exam.”

W eekend exams?

As a solution to exam schedul­ ing problems, exam coordinators have brought up the possibility o f weekend exams w ith student groups several times. Each time, students have responded that they consider weekend exams a last resort. Students at G uelph University and Queen’s University already write exams on the week­ end, and many o f them don’t find it an inconvenience. Stacey Hickson, a third year Biology stu­ dent at Queen’s, is among this group o f students.

"W hen you’re in the exam mode, you don’t notice what day it is anyway," she says. McGill’s main deterrent to weekend exams is the religious conflicts they would cre­ ate. Bezeau admits, however, that if the term cannot be shortened or the exam schedule extended, week­ end exams may be the only viable option in the future.

ADAM SHAM00N

Think studying for three subjects at once is unfair? Not according to McGill.

Different m ethods o f scheduling McGill has considered various different methods o f exam sched­ uling. O ne suggestion made to Bezeau and Baxter was to prepare the exam schedule in the spring, when students are choosing their courses for fall. W ith this method, students would be able to ensure that the courses they chose did not have conflicting exam times.

Last spring, Bezeau and Baxter created a mock exam sched­ ule, comparing it in the fall to course registrations. They found that this method only increased the num ber o f conflicts and thus, would limit student course choice.

The University, therefore, decided to continue scheduling exams as

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T he power o f professors In the exam scheduling realm, professors do not have a great am ount o f power. Bezeau notes that in the past, a professor’s per­ sonal request could be taken into consideration. Now, however, due to other constraints, professors have very little influence.

“10 years ago, if the professor had a conference, for example, we could schedule the exam [for his or her course] before or after the con­ ference date. Now we can’t take those types o f requests into account,” she says.

This can create several prob­ lems for the professors. The exam for M olecular Biology 200 is scheduled for the last possible time in the exam schedule this year, which has caused problems for the

they do now, which means waiting for students to register and then building an exam schedule around students’ schedules.

“This method allows students academic freedom to choose the courses that interest them rather than being constricted by an adm inistrative exam schedule,” Bezeau says.

So who’s to blame for horrible exam schedules? We can choose from the following: cross-faculty hoppers, Scantron exams, class size, chance... the list goes on. But the situation could be worse— we could be writing an exam at 9:00 am on a Saturday morning.

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10 Features

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Sex, lies and lullabies: In the bedroom and beyond Liars take note: Harmless levels of deception may be part of successful relationships Carly Hoffman____________________

Let’s imagine a relationship w ithout lying. At first the picture seems really pretty: Girlfriend goes to dance club and doesn’t dance with other guys because she said she wouldn’t. Boyfriend goes out with friends— and it really is strict­ ly ‘the guys’— because that’s what he promised.

U nfortunately, in real life, happy imaginings have bound­ aries: “Yes, now that you mention it, you really do look exceptionally fat in that dress,” and “M m m hm m , you’re right. I faked it.”

N o one wants to hear that.

In fact, after careful examina­ tion, it’s becomes apparent that lies are essential to propagate satisfac­ tion, and are part of a solid basis for keeping the peace.

Hum ans absorb relationship lies at a surprisingly early age.

Irwin Adam, a U1 Immunology student, believes that patterns of lying can be inherited by children from their parents. Parents often lie to the kids simply to protect them , b u t the action occurs regardless and children do take note.

“Lying is a cultural thing,” says Irwin, with our parents push­ ing us onto the school bus of

u n truths— holding lunch boxes affectionately packed with their own examples. “W hen kids grow up, you don’t tell them that m om m y and daddy are having sex,” regardless o f the fact that children probably do notice the abnormally long ‘alone time’ in the master bedroom. I know you don’t want to think about your parents having sex, perhaps you still don’t believe it; but the stork theory, although comforting, isn’t exactly true.

Stephanie Ericsson, a San Francisco writer, would define shifty answers to “W hat were you doing in there, dad?” as lies o f

omission. In The Ways We Lie, she describes such lies as something that “involves telling most of the truth minus one or two key facts.”

Ericsson maintains that this type o f misinformation can “make a difference in how a person lives his or her life.” In this case, she’s right.

We all reach the parental-sex-reve­ lation at some awful point or another, and seemingly harmless relationship lies, when exemplified by parents, can become our life­ long paradigm.

Since children can imitate and be socially educated by their par­ ents, they grow up learning that it’s okay to lie as long as it keeps

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everyone comfortable. Alexandra, a U2 Psychology student who chose not to give her last name, agrees that people lie in attempts to please that ‘special someone’.

“We w ant everyone to be happy,” she observes. For example, if he’s spent a lot o f money for that romantic anniversary dinner, she just wants him to believe sex was great. As a result, both parties achieve complacency.

But w hen does the lying become harmful?

M alcolm Gladwell, a writer for The New Yorker, provides several examples o f people intuitively knowing when another is lying in his article “T he Naked Face”. They simply observe their partner’s counte­ nance.

“M ost o f us aren’t very good at spotting it,” he states, “ [but] all of us, a thousand times a day, read faces. W hen we meet someone new, we often pick up on subtle signals, so that even though he or she may have talked in a normal and friendly manner, afterward we say, ‘I don’t think he liked me,’ or ‘I don’t think she’s very happy.

The same holds true for rela­ tionships. Obvious untruths, which may be betrayed by some­ thing as simple as a facial expres­ sion, can be devastating. Everyone has come to the realization that perhaps they’re not adored, as they were led to believe.

But we overcome the resent­ ment, and we continue to lie to ourselves. C ourtney, a U2 Biochemistry student, confidently supports the art o f lying.

“I believe in completely dif­ ferent things than my boyfriend. I am attracted to other boys, I am smarter than him, [sometimes] I don’t enjoy sex with him ,” she notes. She explains that lies merely “keep the relationship healthy.’’

Girls aren’t the only ones who lie about relationships and sex. A male McGill student, who franti­ cally insisted upon anonymity, claims that men can take equal blame when it comes to deceit in the bedroom.

“Sometimes girls can be bru­ tally painful [at sex]. Guys can fake just like girls can,” he shares.

Pardon the cliché, but one learns to take the good with the bad in order to make a relationship work. And taking the good can be m uch more enjoyable when one doesn’t even know about the bad. “[Lies] keep the relationship interesting,” asserts Adam. So if everyone is content under this sys­ tem o f convenient dishonesty, why take on the righteous task o f inces­ santly spewing out truths?

“I think [lying] helps a lot,” states a U1 Political Science stu­ dent. “I mean, it can save you a lot o f trouble. If you tell the truth in a relationship, [your partner] may not be happy about it... lying is safer. D on’t p u t my nam e on there!”

W hite lies are defined by Ericsson as those lies that “assume

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See WHITE LIES, page 12

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Features 11

Student entrepreneurs roll in the bling bling McGill students fuse sharp business savvy with creativity in order to rise to the top Elisha Siegel

lenges, but I didn’t sacrifice any­ thing. I remember studying for exams and my breaks would be time when I managed the busi­ ness,” Shlien recounts of his days as an undergrad. “This was real world learning. I could always associate lectures and my studies with what I was doing with Mad Science.”

The Shliens’ perseverance has paid off, as they have been awarded the distinction of Entrepreneur of the Year by the Business Development C orporation of Canada. O ther McGill students are following in the Shliens’ footsteps.

Peter McFarlane, U2 Environmental Development, had a vision of bringing high school stu­ dents face to face with issues of human rights, the environment and social justice. He used that vision, and a strong disdain for the class­ room, to initiate an organization with human rights activist Peter Dalglish, the founder of Street Kids International. The pair designed Schools W ithout Borders, a sum­ mer travel-adventure and leader­

W hen I was in grade 10, I had a best-friend named Josh. One day in April, his mother made us an appealing offer.

“Elisha honey, come here,” she said. “There’s a thousand bucks in it for you and Josh if you two can get off your lazy butts and come up with a decent idea for starting a business.” Needless to say, it was an intriguing offer for us red-cheeked, bright-eyed hustlers trying to make it in the big city.

Josh and 1 put our heads together to come up with a concept that would give birth to our inter­ national empire. We saw ourselves diversifying, going public and light­ ing our Cuban-rolled blunts with hundred dollar bills. But being in grade 10, we quickly got preoccu­ pied with super-sizing our Extra Value Meals, passing driving tests and, of course, getting high.

The entrepreneurial spirit is not fueled by half-baked ideas and afternoon cruises in M om’s ’88 Volvo station wagon. True entrepre­ neurs require a keen business sense, a high degree of mental toughness and, most importantly, vision.

McGill boasts several successful entrepreneurs, past and present, whose perseverance and willingness to take risks turns half-baked ideas into booming enterprises.

“If you ask someone off the street what an entrepreneur is, they will tell you it is someone who just wants to make money,” says Professor Peter R„ Johnson, director of the Faculty of Management’s Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies. “But ask an entrepreneur and he or she will tell you that they got started because o f a need for independence. Money is just the report card. Being independent is what it is all about.”

Johnson himself has owned two business and estimates that he assists approximately 50 Quebecbased entrepreneurs launch their own ventures annually.

Ariel Shlien’s need for inde­ pendence prompted him to take his small business from the basement Josh Kroo and Raffi Schieir, of Student to the boardroom.

“W hen you are an entrepre­ neur, you are in complete control,” ship program which takes teenagers he notes. “All entrepreneurs have a to remote destinations to learn personal vision, and running a busi­ about the world’s social and envi­ ness is all about making that vision ronmental ills.

“We try to get idealistic stu­ a reality.”

He and his brother Ron head a dents from around the globe who successful entertainment property want to change the world,” says McFarlane. “Traditional schooling called The Mad Science Group.

The Shliens started their business is removed. I’ve always preferred in 1985 when they were in high hands-on learning and I wanted to school, performing science shows make learning fun and important.”

McFarlane takes a lot of pride for birthday parties. Today, the company boasts 133 franchised in what he does, but also realizes offices, giving science-related per­ the commitment involved in his formances in schools and birthday venture. “Being a student and run­ ning an organization takes a lot of parties in 20 countries.

But before he turned his boy­ work. You need to organize your hood experiments into a national time efficiently, and sometimes the entertainment brand, Shlien was a schoolwork suffers.

“But 1 have lots of free time at student of Johnson at McGill.

“Managing a company and school,” McFarlane continues, “I studying at McGill had its chal­ choose to use it doing something

good that helps the world.”

H.A. Matthew Fishman is the president of the McGill chapter of the Association o f College Entrepreneurs (ACE), a non-profit, campus-based organization dedi­ cated to providing potential student entrepreneurs with the necessary support, resources and education needed to launch business endeav­ ours. Surrounding himself with aspiring entrepreneurs, Fishman has seen first-hand what it takes to succeed.

“An entrepreneur is someone who not only has an idea, but

[someone who] implements it. It is someone who goes with their gut feeling and trusts themselves,” he asserts. Fishman says that he doesn’t take the advantages of the McGill environment for granted.

“Balancing school with the rest of your obligations is a tough job, but there is an enormous wealth of resources that can be tapped to help make decisions and receive sup­ port,” he notes. “We are lucky to be at the stage in life where we have fewer responsibilities. Taking a chance is not as risky now as it will be later in life. It’s all about trying.

If you fall flat on your face, get up and do it again; but make sure you understand why you fell.”

Josh and I failed to start our business in grade 10. We never real­ ly came up with an idea that sparked our entrepreneurial spirit.

In truth, neither of us were ready for the incredible commitment of being student entrepreneurs and we lost interest. Besides, there wasn’t time in our schedules. We had to concentrate on passing our driving tests so we could get high and cruise to McDonald’s.

Two students market the Student Passport You might have seen those lit­ tle magnetic books of discounts known as Student Passports around campus; what you might not have known is that they were

worked once or in one location, but one that worked in a bunch of places again and again. It was sim­ ple, but had never been done before at McGill.

For these two, money has always been an asset, but what was really important was creating a

JENNY GEORGE

Passport fame, are following in the footsteps of great McGill entrepreneurs.

produced by two McGill students.

It was in Vol de Nuit almost a year ago that the idea was bom.

Two friends thinking about the future were looking for answers: the question was how to leave all options open while work­ ing with friends and making money. Then, the answer came.

Friends Rafifi Schieir, a U3 Political Science student, and Josh Kroo, a U3 Com puter Science major, remembered something they saw in Europe: a book of discounts for students.

The issue then became about creating a business strategy and an exact plan for how this Student Passport would work. The idea was simple: get a series o f businesses to offer discounts to students who present a card. Not a card that only

great product and watching it suc­ ceed. This meant popular business­ es offering great deals.

“The toughest part was get­ ting the balls to solicit ourselves to the businesses,” Schieir admits.

T hey got the courage, though, and almost half the places they went to were interested. There were some exceptions, remembers Schieir, like at Balia St-Louise, where a drunken manager grabbed at him and belligerently spouted: “All McGill kids are trouble makers! They trashed my bar last night. Lucky for you, you’re alright; you have a cute face.”

Despite a couple o f setbacks, there was more than enough inter­ est, leaving Kroo and Schieir with the task of learning how to draw contracts and make receipts. The

only problem was they were on a 30-day schedule and were working 12- to 16-hour days to get every­ thing worked out.

The hard work did not pay off immediately, however. W hen they went to McGill to try to sell them their Passport idea, they were met with a firm “No”. Officials did offer to let them advertise the pass­ ports as McGill cards and put them in Frosh packs. But where was the profit in that?

In the end, this was all they needed. The duo went back to the businesses and found they were more than willing to pay for the j promotion they would get through j McGill. It was just a matter of I designing the cards, getting them approved, and sending the specifi­ cations to Taiwan, where they were to be made. With a little more work, it was all taken care of; the cards were made and every fresh­ man got one .

Josh and Raffi are still hard at work making sure that the busi­ nesses are honouring the contracts.

And honouring them they are.

These deals— like 15 per cent off at Soto Express for dinner, free entrance to Gert’s on Thursdays, five dollars off hair cuts at Tonic, rent-one-get-the-second-ffee tick­ ets at Movieland— are great stu­ dent deals. The Student Pass is still on sale at Snax in Leacock, Sadie’s in the basement of Shatner, EUS in the McConnell building, and Chapter XI in the Bronfman build­ ing for five bucks... but the deals are worth hundreds.

So what are these two guys planning for next year? Since the Student Passport was such a suc­ cess, they’re going to try expanding to other schools like Concordia and Albany, while at the same time trying to improve the product here.

Before they do any of this though, they have been saving one per cent of their profits in a jar so they can take all their friends out for a night at Super Sexe.

For more information on the Student Pass, email Josh and Raffi at studentpass 1@hotmail. com

12 Features

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Diversity in opinions define Canada

White lies may be harmless

Continued from page 8

Continued from page 10

develop. “We are saying free speech isn’t a value that we sup^» port.

This stance, however, is met with contention.

“There’s a difference between free speech and ignorance,” states U3 business student D ena Haddad. “This issue has less to do with free speech than with bully­ ing, plain and simple. Free speech supporters w ouldn’t be rallying around this case if the harassment was taking place in the school yard; why is it any different online?”

Freedom o f expression can also be brought to bear in unex­ pected ways on some issues. Last m onth, several large Canadian tel­ evision companies filed a lawsuit against so-called grey market satel­ lite system-dealers over the issue of signal piracy. The lawsuit claims that these dealers, who sell equip­ ment that allows users to decrypt satellite programming, are contra­ vening the federal Radio-commu­ nications Act and taking revenue and custom ers away from the companies.

In their defence, the dealers argue that Canada’s broadcasting laws are unconstitutional, and that freedom o f expression is violated when television companies and the governm ent essentially decide what programs citizens can or can­ not watch.

Some see this case in more straightforward terms than might be suggested by the defence’s recourse to the ideal o f free speech.

“These systems should be ille­ gal if they are designed for no use other than stealing satellite sig­ nals,” claims U0 Science student Daniel Goodfellow. “W hen the V CR was first introduced, Sony was sued by companies arguing copyright infringement, but non­ commercial uses provided by video recorders were not considered ille­ gal by the courts.”

Grey market-dealers may be able to make their case for freedom o f expression along similar lines.

This is one situation in which free speech and financial interests are obviously at loggerheads.

T he proponents o f free speech believe that the proper functioning o f Canadian society is best served by an atmosphere in which all are free to weigh in on matters o f sub­ stance, no m atter how controver­ sial their opinions.

“For dialogue to be truly pub­ lic, open and equitable, resources m ust also be distributed more equitably to ensure that the social­ ly, economically or politically mar­ ginalized in our society are also able to enjoy their right to free­ dom o f expression,” adds McGill Political Science Professor Catherine Lu. “Freedom o f speech doesn’t mean much when you have no access to the corridors o f expression, such as the media,

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ownership o f which is increasingly concentrated in a few hands in Canada.”

“Free speech is the bedrock o f our society,” argues Jay Badiani, a McGill MBA student. “If there is ambiguity in terms o f whether an issue is libelous or not, we should still err on the side o f freedom of expression. This allows the public to decide the issue for themselves, based on the inform ation at hand.”

But while the right to free expression is fundamental to our notion o f Canada as a democratic society, it may be argued that per­ sonal positions are most credible when they are based on a reasoned, educated argument and buttressed by an understanding o f opposing viewpoints. If one is to make a truly significant contribution to the political, social and cultural dialogue, education and tolerance are o f param ount importance.

Any society that values free­ dom o f expression must therefore, as a m atter o f course, support the acceptance o f diverse views and the encouragement o f continuous interaction o f beliefs. W hile free speech and other fundam ental rights will n o t always be in absolute harmony, we can never­ theless further the development o f institutions and individual m ind­ sets that will ensure that conflicts can be used as building blocks to encompass the diverse viewpoints that define Canada today.

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TNT @ Gerfs

Butterfly Concert Gert’s Bar - 9pm

The Real Inspector Hound Player’s Theatre - 8pm Tickets - 398.6813

E ve ry T h u rsd ay Night Sad fes T tta g fe O pen fOpm - 2am Outsfete G e rfs B a r

the truth will cause more damage than a simple, harmless untruth.”

Inherently, the intention o f this breed o f lies is good, and they are commonplace in everyday life, as many can attest to. W hen asked whether he told white lies in a rela­ tionship and if he thought they were im portant, a McGill student responded affirmatively.

“Yeah, o f course, because they are a way to avoid troubles.”

W hen asked to elaborate, he con­ tinues, “Well, my girlfriend does­ n’t smoke, right? A nd she’s always like, ‘How much did you smoke today?’ I smoke fifteen [cigarettes a day], but I’m always like: ‘well, three or four.’ I smell a lot. But it keeps her happy. T h at’s the point, right?” W hen I asked for his name, he underwent a seemingly strenu­ ous thinking process before he fur­ rowed his eyebrows, and said, “put Lorenzo, or something. Say man­ agement, U3. T h at’s good. She’ll probably find out anyway, b u t...”

An obvious network o f lies, from examples, to anonymity, to fake names. But these are white lies, and will not result in the world crum bling down to our ankles. And a tragic relationship failure due to ‘Lorenzo’s’ fabrica­ tions isn’t particularly eminent.

W hite lies are intimate, gener­ ally involving no one and nothing else outside o f the person’s thoughts, or individualistic actions. ‘Lorenzo’ isn’t polluting

his girlfriend’s lungs. H e’s not forc­ ing a cigarette between her ips.

H e’s smoking on his own, and that could be construed as entirely his business.

Many agree that little white lies here and there really don’t hurt anyone. Perhaps they can even be described as automatic. If a girl­ friend’s trendy new pixie cut ren­ ders her ecstatic, chances are the boyfriend won’t inform her that he will miss running his fingers through her hair for more than half a second.

“A man who won’t lie to a w om an,” as English language expert Bergen Evans once said, “has very little consideration for her feelings.” This attitude is by no means gender-biased. It can be applicable to wom en as well, because if a girlfriend loves her boyfriend, she probably w ont tell him that she intensely hates it when he wears his favourite mesh high-school football jersey around town, when doing so truly makes him happy.

Elliot, a U1 Political Science student, disagrees. W hen asked whether he thought lying was an elem entary mechanism o f rela­ tionships, he replied, “N ope.”

Yet after a bit o f reflection, he began to fidget. Perhaps he was uncomfortable with being inter­ viewed. A nd he almost seemed to be talking to himself, when he added, “Keep in m in d ... you’re talking to a guy who doesn’t have a girlfriend right now.”

T h u rs d a y I SSMU Council Meeting Bukhman Council Room Shatner Building - 6pm

C S S Party Shatner Ballroom - 10pm

Arts Tavern

SUS/EUS Talent Show

Shatner Ballroom - 10pm

Where??????

Religion & Social Change Player's Theatre - 8pm

The Real Inspector Hound

The Real Inspector Hound P la ye r’s Th eatre 8pm

A Capeila Concert D io cesan College

5pm

I s u n .F E I The Real Inspector Hound Player’s Theatre - 8pm Tickets - 398.6813

Player's Theatre - 8pm

_________ __

| m onday

tu e sd a y I

T h u rs d a y I

East of 9 Concert

Butterfly Concert

Gert's Bar - 9pm

Gert’s Bar - 9pm

SSMU Open Meeting

Commerce Games Party Gert's Bar - 10pm

SSM U Student Lounge 6;00 pm

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MUS Ballroom Party Shatner Ballroom - 10pm

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Last Day of Classes!

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Exam Period Begins

SADIES TABAGIt 3 L O C A T IO N S

SH A TN ER LEA CO CK S T E W A R T B IO

OPEN DULY For more detailed listings, see www.ssmu.ca - If you would like your event posted in next week’s listing . email cc@ssmu.mcgiti.ca

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What is it that m akes a rock-opera rock?

The history, reinvention, redemption and return of The Who's Tommy course. W hen Tommy is put in front of a pinball machine one day as a joke, he becomes the famous “Pinball Wizard”, and is hailed as a “Sensation”. People are mesmerized by this autistic anomaly, now played by Adam Blanshey, and see him as a panacea and in some ways, a messiah.

Sophie Guité_______________________

The Who’s Tommy is a loud, energetic rock-opera which, with­ out the help of straight dialogue, must rely on choreography and set design to narrate a story around Pete Townsend’s original music and lyrics. As I sat in the café on the second floor o f the McGill Bookstore, facing a small, elevated, carpeted area that was to serve as a makeshift stage for the preview of this play, I was quite unsure of what to expect.

As I watched a guy in a t-shirt play the overture on his synthesizer, pausing intermittently to turn the pages of his sheet music, I braced myself for disaster, thinking back to countless middle school plays from my childhood, their inevitable mis­ fortune crystallized by strict policies of mandatory attendance. “This, is a pathetic operation,” I said to myself, but I was in for quite a sur­ prise.

The talent and the energy of the cast alone made up for the shortcomings of the decidedly awk­ ward and unglamorous venue.

Despite acoustic limitations, the actors’ powerful voices and readily obvious talent shone through, and as one incredible number followed another, they lit up the room, trans­ forming it into quite an outstand­ ing performance. If the cast can perform like this in the bookstore with a synthesizer, I can imagine what lighting, choreography and a

IN M IM M IY L L B I U U r t

Recently rescued Messiah-figure Tommy saves fan Sally Simpson in this editor’s favourite of the play’s scenes.

nine-piece orchestra will add when the full-length production pre­ mières on Thursday.

The cast performed several musical numbers during the short preview, and director Raymond Zilberberg gave an overview of the basic plot. The beginning o f the play is set in London during World War II, when Mr. Walker, played by Steve Kenedy, leaves his pregnant wife to fight in the war. Soon after, Mrs. Walker, portrayed by Erica White, learns that “It’s a Boy” in the one of the first songs, which is sung beautifully by White and Danielle Lemon. It then skips to four years later when the war has been won and Mr. Walker, presumed dead, returns to his wife to find her cele­

brating her twenty-first birthday with her new lover.

Mistaking the lover, played by Liam Brewster, for an intruder, Mr. Walker promptly shoots him, and the lover falls dead with a very per­ suasive thud— which was definitely one of the highlights of the preview; it was so convincing that several audience members gasped audibly in response.

The Walkers’ son Tommy, played by Clare Killikelli, who was up until this point a normal, healthy child, has witnessed this murder through the reflection of a mirror. In an attempt to cover it up as a matter of self-defence, his par­ ents tell him, “You didn’t hear it, you didn’t see it,” which jars his

fragile mind and renders him autis­ tic and generally unresponsive to verbal, visual or physical stimuli for the next twenty years or so.

Mr. and Mrs. Walker then make several attem pts to cure Tommy: when neither doctors nor priests are able to help, they turn to the next obvious solution, sex. But when the Gypsy’s (Jackie Aquines) healing abilities do not seem prom­ ising, Tommy’s parents lose hope.

In the following scenes, a neglected Tommy is abused (on separate occa­ sions) by a pédophilie uncle and a physically abusive cousin, but he still shows no signs of any feeling.

Just when it seems like things could not get any worse or any more bleak, the play dramatically changes

Who Are You, Tommy?

Tommy began as a concept rock ‘n’ roll album created in 1969 by Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon o f the British rock group, The Who. In 1974, Ken Russell directed a film based on his somewhat more hallucinogenic interpretation of the music, which differs considerably from the play, and which Zilberberg adds is, “Actually quite scary.”

In the late 1980s, The Who took Tommy on tour, and its result­ ing popularity contributed to what would prove to be a ready-made fan base for the play when it opened first at the La Jolla Playhouse in Southern California. The rockopera play, which was directed by Des McAnuff with the help of Townsend, was an immediate suc­ cess and, in April of 1993, it moved to Broadway, where it ran for 899 performances and won five Tony Awards.

Zilberberg chose Tommy as the third play that O ne Foot Productions has put on in associa­ tion with Hillel Jewish Student Centres. Last year, they produced See TOMMY, page 18

In Hound, all the world's a stage ^ c h a n tf This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching The Real Inspector Hound, the latest endeav­ our from the Players’ Theatre, writ­ ten by Tom Stoppard and directed

by Sarah Yaffe. Players’ continues its comedy-heavy season with one of Stoppard’s best. If you’re not famil­ iar with the name, you’re probably familiar with the work. Stoppard has written for the stage as well as for the screen, m ost notably Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, performed at T N C Theatre three years ago, and Shakespeare in Love.

Yaffe does a darn good job in bringing this modern work to the McGill stage. If you know nothing of this play, be forewarned it is not a whodunit, but rather a comical and self-reflective look at the who­ dunit genre— complete with fog, isolated manor, and of course, the meddling maid. Two self-absorbed theaprgcptifS pound .OMI ;he. çaX 4S.

A successful production of Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound they sit, opposite the audience, in critical anticipation of the who­ dunit about to unfold before them.

A n n i e

Halfnight and M att Goldberg, respectively. Halfnight’s brilliant portrayal of the pompous Moon is in wonderful opposition to G o l d b e r g ’s emotionally

Ritz’s wonder­ fully designed explosive and aesthetical­ Birdboot.

As ly pleasing set they sit, occa­ first catches sionally cri­ your eye as you tiquing the play walk in. And as but mostly you sit, with the bem oaning theatre critics their own lives, directly oppo­ they are remi­ site you, it pro­ niscent of vides for an Stradler and introspective Waldorf in the moment. balcony of The M o s M uppet Show. entertaini JENNY GEORGE As comical as and definite spotlight-steal­ Inspector Hound set to solve the crime. they are when they speak, ers are the crit­ their silent exchanges are priceless ics themselves, Moon and Birdboot, p lay ed __hysjericajly _ _by_ _ Drew and had me laughing uncontrol­

lably.

The gem in and amongst the whodunit cast is Susan Spratt, who portrays the Lady of the Manor, Cynthia Muldoon. It is Spratt’s ability to grasp and cleverly mock the melodramatic acting style for which the w hodunit calls that makes her stand out from the rest of the play-within-a-play cast. In gen­ eral, the entire play is well acted. I only wish the rest of the cast of the play-within-the-piay were more aware of the self-reflective nature of Stoppard’s work and took greater risks with their acting. Comedy is not only in the written text, but also in how it’s delivered.

Perhaps my only concern was with the lighting of the theatre, a difficult space to light.

Unfortunately, the result washes out Ritz’s hard work. I could feel my pupils contract as I yearned for the melodramatic lighting that would have been more fitting and flatter­ ing to the actors onstage.

After all is said and done, this is a comedy, and a good one at that.

Laughing out loud is encouraged: the louder, the better. Nothing is more rewarding or more energizing to a cast then to hear amused guf­ faws filling the theatre space. In comedy, it is necessary for the audi­ ence to be ‘on’ just as much as the actors.

Overall, the night was not only visually, but also intellectually entertaining. A good quality show, guaranteed to make you laugh. At only an hour and fifteen minutes in length, it is well worth the time to take a break from essay writing and enjoy a fun, worry-free night out.

The Real Inspector Hound runs until November 23. Call 398-6813 for more information.

Players’ Theatre is accepting oneact, student-written plays !or the 2003 McGill Drama Festival.

Check the drama board or contact Players’ for information.

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Trembling Before

A&E 15

G -:dA true test of the h

Shatner packed for Hillel, Queer McGill-sponsored Dubowitz screening Daniel Chodos

It was a packed Shatner Ballroom last week that waited for the epic sneak preview of Sandy Simcha Dubowitz’ directorial mas­ terpiece, Trembling Before G-d.

Coordinated by McGill Hillel, in conjunction with Queer McGill and several other organizations, the event drew hundreds, m ost o f whom remained behind following the film for a Q&A period with three distinguished members of both the Jewish and gay com muni­ ties.

W ith compelling and often humourous characters, along with the melodious genius o f renowned saxophonist John Zorn, Tremblings one-and-a-half hours flow as smoothly as a kaddish prayer. The tone is set immediate­ ly: prior to the opening scene, an excerpt from the Torah explicitly pronounces that “a man lying with a m an, as he would w ith a woman,” is punishable by death.

The documentary is at once moving and disturbing, as it uncovers an aspect o f Jewish life that m ost staunchly O rthodox Jews look upon with scorn and dis­

gust. The film is shot in a very modern setting, spanning several different regions, from Israel to London to N orth America. It depicts the valiant struggle o f sev­ eral highly devoted and religious gay or lesbian Jews, whose friends, families and even com m unities have turned their backs on them simply because o f their lifestyles.

M odernity is a central argu­ m ent for the acceptance o f hom o­ sexuality in O rthodox Judaism.

W hen the laws were created, cul­ tural values and everyday circum­ stances were a great deal different.

Even in the 20th century, values have changed so much so that the concept o f a bat mitzvah (the entrance into w om anhood), shunned by the Orthodox commu­ nity in 1922, became common­ place by 1978. This model gives hope to gay and lesbian Jews for the future.

T he film shows th at it is wrong to refer to being gay or les­ bian as a lifestyle ‘choice.’ Consider David: upon realizing he was gay, he went to see a rabbi in Los Angeles, who recommended aver­ sion therapy. After 12 long years of failure in this endeavour, David came back to inform the rabbi that

his counsel, though well-meaning, was utterly impossible. “I was try­ ing to purge my homosexuality... and it was horrible.” People involved in this unimaginable dilemma are indeed given a choice: abandon your religious beliefs or face a life o f celibacy and loneli­ ness. N either seems a pleasing alternative.

But not all Jews in this predicament have adopted David’s hopeless view. Israel, a psycholo­ gist, adamantly believes the G-d that (supposedly) scorns a gay per­ son is not the same G-d that led the Jews out o f Egypt so many years ago. Later, in a poignant moment, he reconciles with his estranged father over the tele­ phone, but is told he still cannot come back to his home, for fear of hum iliation and alienation. It seems his father forgets that his devotion should be to G-d, knower o f all secrets.

However, there certainly is hope. As Rabbi Michael W hitm an o f Adath Israel synagogue in the London suburb o f H am pstead remarked after the film, his role as an Orthodox rabbi is simply to teach people about the lessons of scripture and welcome everyone,

regardless o f any other factors. As well, there are Jewish clerics con­ stantly seeking to discover an inter­ pretation o f the Torah that allows for homosexuality. U ntil then, there are organizations to help gay Jews cope with their quandaries, such as “Orthodykes” and many Yeshivas (schools for higher Jewish learning).

Joanne Cohen, author o f Queer Jews and a lesbian herself, praised the film for its efforts to bring people together and applaud­ ed the city o f Montreal for its tol­ erant attitude toward oppressed groups. Lara Braitstein, professor o f Religious Studies at McGill, also spoke.

While many homosexual Jews struggle with their strict interpreta­ tion o f the Torah’s teachings, those who approach their scenarios with the belief that Jewish law’s primary

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objective is to preserve life may side with Rabbi Harold Schulweiss. He alludes to the love and passion he feels for his wife, and then doubts that G-d can be so cruel as to deprive any Jew o f such basic human pleasures.

Trembling Before G -d is a mag­ nificent film that examines the true nature o f the hum an soul.

Dubowitz draws from very limited resources (many gay Jews refused to appear in the movie for fear of alienation from their communi­ ties) to create a cinematic tribute to the progress o f the cause, from the perspective o f those who are affect­ ed most heavily. W inner o f Best Documentary at the 2001 Chicago International Film Fest, the 2001 L.A. O u t Fest and the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, Trembling can be seen locally at Cinema du Parc until November 28.

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The return of Roxy M usic

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Bryan Ferry kicks off North American tour Matthew Shogilev

A mêlée o f sophisticated muso’s, slicked-up clubbers and loyal fans with mullets packed Theatre de Maisonneuve in Place des Arts to see Bryan Ferry kick off a North American tour promoting his new album Frantic. Ferry, who burst onto the scene in the 1970s with the innovative pop band Roxy Music, fed off the crowd and deliv­ ered an emotionally charged, but technically brilliant performance.

He played not only with an authority that can only emanate from the stereotypically seasoned British rocker, but also with a fer­ vour usually reserved for the ener­ getic newcomer, thereby proving that he had yet to suffer the fate of many of his contemporaries (think Keith Richards). Simply put, Ferry was at the top of his game, both on the keyboard and at the mic. O n top of that, he was accompanied by an equally capable supporting cast.

His band featured a wide array of instruments, ranging from harpists to guitarists, many o f whom were relics from the original Roxy Music band.

Most o f the songs Ferry played came from his new album. He start­ ed the show, rather unconvention­ ally, with a series of slow tunes, as opposed to the more traditional upbeat opener. However, this phase of the concert was short-lived.

During a saxophone solo Ferry dis­ creetly walked off stage. O ne song later he returned in dramatic form, galvanizing the crowd with a

thrilling performance o f one of Frantics biggest hits, “A Fool For Love”. From that point on, Ferry was on fire. He riled up an already enthusiastic crowd by dancing about the stage like a 50-year-old

WWW.BRYANFERRY.COM

An older, more dignified Ferry than in the good ol’ Roxy Music days.

version of Elvis. W ithout question he was goofy, but he was also unmistakably cool.

Ferry covered two Dylan songs, “Don’t Think Twice” and “Its’ all Over Now Baby Blue”. The latter was a masterful take that fused Dylan’s always compelling lyrics with prolific guitar solos and a wicked harmonica. At one point, Ferry broke into a whistling solo that was reminiscent o f Otis Redding’s infamous performance in “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”.

Frantic had a definite contem­ porary feel to it that clearly depart­

ed from Ferry’s past musical style.

“I’m an adult,” he explained, “who strived to make an age-appropriate piece of music.” If there was any disappointment over this metamor­ phosis in style, however, it was drowned by a sea of approval. After three encores— each one better than the last— a moshpit of 30- and 40-year-old respectably dressed men formed directly in front of the stage. Businessmen, lawyers and accountants batding one another for an autograph, or even a hand­ shake. It was truly inspiring.

Even the oft-smug reporters for some of Montreal’s bigger news­ papers— those who had actually heard of Bryan Ferry before attend­ ing the show— could not hide their enthusiasm. The best part of this was that they were sufficiently elat­ ed to allow me to sneak the occa­ sional peek at their notes.

There was a creative genius in Ferry’s music that words fail to describe, although ‘saturated’ would come close. The fullness of his sound is overwhelming— it hits you like a ton of bricks. Some songs featured as many as 13 instruments, but none were superfluous.

While Frantic cannot be con­ sidered typical student fare, it’s def­ initely worth checking out. If you are anything like me, you’re proba­ bly getting a little tired o f the tal­ ent-starved, run-of-the-mill rock that radio stations are playing these days. You may not like Ferry, but he’s definitely none o f the above.

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Post rock: A movement of the 90s, still kickin' So É

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Ian Weinberger________________

All music is a rehash or com­ bination o f themes and motifs already used in the past. Nirvana was a rehash of Black Flag wearing flannel. Pearl Jam was a dead-on ringer for Bob M ould and Husker Dii. A nd, according to W ill Ferrell, Oasis is the best band in England since the Beatles.

T hen there is the idea of the post rock movement. This critical­ ly acclaimed and oft-hated genre is made up o f music that in itself is a pastiche o f previous works o f music, following post-m odern ideals in literature and art. Instead o f copying old ideas, it takes them and adds an apocalyptic spin or message to it. The music itself is not always the centre o f the com­ position, as several bands employ film projectors to play along with live performances. This gives the audience the feel o f an art display rather than a concert. O f the influ­ ential bands in post rock, about two o f them make life out to be happy. T he rest have the same out­ look that Nirvana or Joy Division had on life: it’s over before it starts.

Post rock was the dom inant form o f experimental rock during the 90s, a loose movement that drew from greatly varied influ­ ences and nearly always combined

standard rock instrum entation with electronics. It fused music such as Kraut-rock, ambient, prog rock, space rock, math rock, tape music, minimalist classical, British ID M and dub with some elements o f rock music.

Instead o f using traditional song structures and motifs, the music was centred around creating m oods and textures through experimental ideas. The music was often droning and instrumental, im itating such previous acts as Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine. Post rock was some­ thing o f a reaction against rock, particularly the mainstream’s co­ opting o f alternative rock; much post rock was united by a sense that rock ‘n’ roll had lost its capac­ ity for real rebellion, that it would never break away from tired for­ mulas or empty, macho rock-out w ith-your-cock-out m om ents.

Thus, post rock rejected (or sub­ verted) any elements it associated with the rock tradition.

T he landm ark album that started the post rock movement was by Louisville, Kentucky, band Slint. They released Spiderland in 1991. It was full o f deliberate, bass-driven grooves, m um bled poetry, oblique structures and extreme volume shifts, all mixed together to create, as iiber-producer Steve Albini put it, “the best album o f all tim e.”

In 1996, the Chicago produc­ er-supergroup Tortoise released their second album entitled, M illions Now Living W ill Never Die. Produced by drum m er John McEntire, this album combined elements o f free jazz, noise rock,

electronic minimalism, dub and Kraut rock, and came to be known as the most accessible post rock album o f the era. These two albums gave way to a handful of acts in the later 90s such as Mogwai, M ontreal’s own Godspeed You Black Emperor!, June of ‘44, Trans Am, Labradford, Flying Saucer Attack and Sigur R6s.

O ne o f the major problems with post rock is that there is a stigma associated w ith being labeled a “post rock band.” Most critics discount current post rock as repetitive and unoriginal. To them it seems as if the genre has reached a crossroads where no original ideas will arise. By the prevalence o f new bands in the genre, however, the music has become more diversified than ever.

Bands are expanding into new realms and adding deeper influ­ ences from other genres o f music, especially in the jazz or dub area.

Montreal has one o f the best, if not the best, post rock/experimental/avant garde music scenes.

From hom etow n labels Constellation and Alien 8 come acts such as Do Make Say Think, Le Fly Pan Am, Hrsta, Shalabi Effect, Acid M others Temple, Merzbow and Set Fire to Flames.

All o f these bands have put out some incredible releases that are worth picking up and if you are lucky, you may get to see some of these great acts in concert.

‘Twos a month before Christmas And all through McGill Our catering elves Have orders to Jill

McGill Residences Catering Department

We have pastries and sweets Or hearty buffets AUprepared by our chef's In beautiful displays

Here are a list and description of some recommended albums to get you right into the “post rock” genre: Slint Spiderland Touch and Go 1991

Godspeed You Black Emperor!

F#A#oo Kranky(CD)/Constellation(LP) 1995-98

This album rocks. It may be post rock but it manages to be loud­ er and more abrasive than any other album I’ve ever heard. They do the quiet-loud thing so well it makes me want to crawl into the fetal position because they are able to toy with my emotions so perfectly. Standout tracks include “Nosferatu Man”, “Washer” and “Good Morning, Captain”.

Tortoise M illions Now Living W ill Never Die Thrill Jockey 1996

Tortoise is definitely accessible to everyone. If you like free jazz or dub or electronic music, this is the post rock album for you. The first track, entitled “Djed”, which man­ ages to blow my mind every time I hear it, comes in at about 20 min­ utes. There is one part during the song where it sounds like the CD is scratched and you feel like your stereo is broken. But don’t fear, it’s just Tortoise messing with your mind and soul. Other standout tracks include “The Taut and Tame” and “Dear Grandma and Grandpa.”

Mogwai Rock Action and M y Father M y King Matador 2001

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hand, doesn’t rock as much as their previous releases (ironic, ain’t it?). It does, however, encompass more gen­ res and influences than any of their other albums. Standout tracks include “Sine Wave”, “Take Me Somewhere Nice”(w/ex-Tortoise member Dave Pajo on backup vocals), “You Don’t Know Jesus” and the beautiful yet apocalyptic “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong”.

This is actually a composite of two CDs, the full length Rock Action and the Steve Albini-produced EP, My Father My King. “My Father My King” is a 21-minute song that is an addition to the already brilliant Rock Action. It takes a Jewish hymn and turns it into a full-blown rock anthem. It’s the kind of track that will cause you to sit up straight in your seat and learn the hymn-like you were in Hebrew School all over again. Rock Action, on the other

This album, in my opinion, is their finest release to date. It takes tape loops of bums and crazy preach­ ers and combines them with beauti­ ful apocalyptic guitar rock. The CD version of this album is three tracks, each clocking in at roughly 20 min­ utes. Each track is divided into songs of about seven or eight minutes. The LP only has two tracks, with a per­ petually spinning groove containing an annoying, repeating ending on the second side. The CD was released after the LP and has an extra track, which is worth the extra bucks. The LP artwork is all hand­ made and includes a penny crushed by a train near where GYBE! prac­ tices in Mile End. Set Fire To Flames Sings Reign Rebuilder Alien 8 Recordings 2001

Set Fire To Flames is a 13-per­ son collective made up of members of GYBE!, Le Fly Pan Am, Hrsta, and the Shalabi Effect. This album combines musical elements of GYBE! and Le Fly Pan Am along with the electronic and dub sounds of Exhaust and 1-Speed Bike, both side projects of Aidan, the drummer of GYBE!, who is also a member of Set Fire To Flames. This album is kind of a be-all, end-all guide to the Montreal post rock/experimental scene because of the number of dif­ ferent people involved. Standout tracks include the third track, “Steal Compass/Drive North/Disappear”, the fifth track, “Omaha”, the eighth track, “Love song for 15 Ontario” and track number 11, “Shit-heapGloria of the new town planning...”.

Best places to buy these CDs are: Cheap Thrills, 2044 Metcalfe, 8 4 4 8988; CD Esoterik, 1841 St. Catherine O., 937-5192; LlOblique, 4333 Rivard, 499-1323

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

A&E 17

Roger's a Dodger, but this movie is not Roger Dodger serves up gritty reality through a man who can't deal with it Julie Peters

In the first scene o f Roger Dodger, first time director Dylan Kidd introduces us to Roger Swanson through a cloud of smoke and jerky camera movements. He is in the middle of one of his favourite pastimes: philosophizing about the nature o f women and the eventual superfluous role of men with evolu­ tion and technology in our society.

‘Roger Dodger’ can talk his way out o f any situation, into any woman’s bed (or so he thinks) and analyze a complete stranger accu­ rately at a glance. Unfortunately, he seems to lack any insight into his own tortured mind. He doesn’t even know he has a lesson to learn until his 16-year-old nephew, Nick, comes for a surprise visit.

Dylan Kidd wrote this script about a corrupted man and a cor­ ruptible boy. Roger, played by Campbell Scott, is not a likeable character and is often hard to watch in a compelling way. As Scott says,

“I think you like watching Roger as you would a train accident. He’s a fascinating wreck of a person who’s obviously in pain. You never know what he’s going to do next.” When paired with the ultimate innocence of his nephew Nick, however, the audience goes from feeling distantly interested to feeling involved.

Between them lies a battle bigger than the both of them: the blasé and cynical Manhattan singles’ life versus the honest search for true love and adulthood.

If it weren’t for Nick, this movie would be unbearable. None o f Roger’s redeeming characteristics show even a hint of existence until N ick comes into his life. Jesse Eisenberg, whom you may remem­ ber from a small show called Get Real, steals the show as Nick. He looks like a boy from your high school. For a relatively inexperi­ enced actor of 18, Eisenberg plays Nick so honestly that the audience has no trouble relating to him as he sways precariously between being an innocent boy and a corrupted

man. However, Eisenberg’s portray­ al o f Nick and his character’s grounding effect on the script negate any residual pretentiousness.

Campbell Scott also serves up a surprise as Roger. The character is a far cry from his usual ‘nice guy’

Roger Dodger Directed by Dylan Kidd Starring Campbell Scott and Jesse Eisenberg ★ ★ ★ out of ★ ★ ★ ★ character, and he relishes the chance to play a jerk for once. He does it well. So well, in fact, that without the balancing influence o f Nick, this movie would be more irritating than touching, with a pretentious and unlikeable main character and headache-inducing camera work.

The hand-held camera jolts us so close to the actors that we can virtually see inside Roger’s pores.

Even when the camera backs up, it insists on keeping constant with the close-ups. This unoriginal cliché of

a technique was ‘invented’ by direc­ tor Dylan Kidd’s college friend Joaquin Baca-Asay for the film, and is a large part of what makes the film a dread to watch. To afford it its due merits though, at times the camera work is an effective way to portray the confusion and darkness felt by Nick and sometimes even Roger, in some of the more intimate scenes o f the movie.

Another o f this film’s successes is the honest portrayal o f the women in Roger’s life. As Nick and Roger try to navigate the world of the opposite sex, they find real, original, human women, not one­ dimensional stereotypes who are set in their path to teach them a lesson.

The women all hold small parts but they radiate throughout every scene. For Nick and Roger, cynical or not, women are like magical, mythical creatures. Some, like Joyce, played by Isabella Rossellini, hold all the power and know it well.

Perfecdy cast in the role of Roger’s boss and sometime lover, Rossellini exudes feminine control

even when just in her bathrobe.

Others, like Sophie and Andrea, played by Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkeley, are warm, beau­ tiful women in flashy clothes and makeup, who understand Nick’s need for a first kiss. Sophie grants it in one o f the most gentle and inti­ mate scenes o f the movie.

Although it’s his first attempt at directing, Dylan Kidd still man­ ages to pull off an intelligent, gritty and touching film. Roger and Nick make the most unlikely and perfect pair: Roger is a kid inside who’s seen too much, while Nick is a naïve boy with a mature instinct. They have a lot to learn from each other. This movie hands them each a revela­ tion, and Dylan Kidd is trying to hand his audience one, too.

If you are a girl, you may have had no idea how nervous you make men. And if you are a guy, you may re-evaluate those locker room ses­ sions on who’s gotten more play, because maybe, like Nick, it’s your virginity itself that will get you a kiss from Jennifer Beals.

Caroline Adderson reads at McGill L'Echange is an overdramatic exchange of words Sam Goffman

Caroline Adderson, author of the celebrated collection o f short stories Bad Imaginings and novel A History o f Forgetting, read her work to an audience o f mostly English students in the Arts Building Council Room Friday morning.

Her readings, taken from A H istory o f Forgetting, her first novel, demonstrated the smooth and effortless flow o f her writing style. Rich in description, her writ­ ing depicts setting and characters in striking detail.

A History o f Forgetting features a num ber o f im portant characters, a fact that many in the audience found impressive. According to Adderson, having many characters allows us to “see a main character from many different angles.”

The novel, she said, was pri­ marily an examination o f the loss o f history in our memories, and of the intricacies o f compassion.

“The core o f the novel for me was an exploration o f compas­ sion,” remarked Adderson after the reading. Genuine compassion, she said, requires an individual to be able to form an image o f what peo­ ple have really gone through in a particular situation. “There’s a nec­ essary link between compassion and the imagination.

“I believe that even if you’re dealing with a historical figure... essentially we all feel the same way,” she said. “Emotionally, things couldn’t be that m uch dif­ ferent [in various historical set­ tings]. T h a t’s how I always approach it.”

For the last passage o f her reading, Adderson chose to read a passage describing the Auschwitz museum in Poland. H er descrip­ tion o f what it has become is poignant: an American economics student describing w hat Poland

needs to do to thrive in a market economy; an image o f a tour bus, pulling up in the parking lot, spilling eager tourists who wander through the museum, chatting and laughing; and then Alison, one of Adderson’s main characters, imag­ ining what the Holocaust could have been like as she tries to take it all in.

Indeed, Adderson explained, a m ain them e in A H istory o f Forgetting is the tendency to forget uncomfortable events in our histo­ ry. She uses Alzheimer’s disease as a metaphor for society’s view o f the Holocaust.

Despite the sobering subject matter o f her book, Adderson uses hum our throughout. She stressed that hum our is sometimes the only way we can handle terrible things that have happened.

“We have to laugh,” she said.

“It’s how we survive things. It’s how Malcolm [a character in her book who goes through many tribulations] gets by.” She added that, though hum our is necessary, combining it with a serious subject like the Holocaust requires walk­ ing a very fine line.

Adderson said that although she does not use events from her own life in her writing, she does use emotions that she has felt to describe situations.

“For me, it’s more o f an emo­ tional autobiography,” she said. “I tend not to write from my own experience... most exciting things happen in my head.”

Adderson, who lives in Vancouver, is working on a new book due for release in the fall of 2003. H er book of short stories was nominated for the GovernorG eneral’s Award and Commonwealth Writer’s Prize and w on the Ethel W ilson Fiction Prize. Her first novel was nom inat­ ed for the W riter’s Trust Fiction Prize.

Isabelle West

L’Echange by Paul Claudel, playing at the Théâtre Du Nouveau Monde, is a play about a French married couple in the late 19th century who come to America to settle down. W hen they eloped, the couple barely knew each other, and soon enough wife Marthe discovers that her husband, Louis, is really unable to provide for her.

Nevertheless, Marthe is head-over­ heels in love with Louis and even though he wants her to leave him, she is willing to stand by her man despite all his faults.

The basic plot is interesting enough, but the play seemed long and a bit tedious at times. The main problem with the play is that Claudel’s script presents the story

in a very intense and overdramatic manner, with few complementing lighthearted moments. In addition, the play is minimalist and so there are very few stage props to go with to the small cast.

L’Echange, directed by M artin Faucher and starring M acha Lim onchik and M axim Gaudette, is playing a t the Theatre du Nouveau M onde u n til November 28.

Despite the limitations o f the script, the direction o f the play is first-rate and director M artin Faucher succeeded in expressing the sheer intensity o f the action and directed the main actors beau­ tifully. Another redeeming feature o f the play is that M acha Limonchik, who plays Marthe, is

simply outstanding in her role. She communicated M arthe’s utter sim­ plicity and strength splendidly.

Limonchik’s performance is so powerful that even when she is not the centre o f the action on stage, she still seems to hold the audi­ ence’s attention. Maxim Gaudette, who plays her husband Louis, is very convincing as the husband who is utterly flawed.

These two were the best actors in the play, and made the othesr appear as if they were overacting during most o f their scenes.

Normally, if there is some comic relief, a serious play can be very enjoyable. Sadly, this play overdoes it, and anyone who goes to see it should make sure first that they are in such a good mood that a three-hour depressing play will not bring them down.

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Before Le Swimming, there w as a lak e...

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musical tastes to form their debut album. Over the past year, the band members have been working on recording the album and making preparations for its official release this Friday night at Le Swimming.

The sound o f Jai G uni is extremely diverse, as the band members come not only from var­ ied geographical backgrounds, but musical ones as well. Mark Tetrault (vocals, guitar) comes from Vancouver and draws his influences from Billie Holiday to Bob Marley.

This is especially tacit on the album’s first track, “All is Not Lost”, which rose to number 39 on the Quebec charts this past summer.

“Stranger” seems to draw heavily from the inspiration of Fadi Dagher (sax, guitar), who hails from Lebanon and brings with him his passion for musicians from Paul Simon to Cat Stevens. “I guess my job is to bring in the cheese,” he jokes. The third founding member is Pablo Samuel Castro (guitar, keys), from Ecuador, who brings an acid-jazz/progressive dynamic on songs like “Feed My Lust”.

“Overall, we try not to stick to just one style of music, but base it all on a rock foundation,” Tetrault

Spencer Ross_____________________

“Two years ago, at the end of my family reunion at the lake, we took out our guitars and had a singa-long. I was playing some of my songs and this guy paddles up in a canoe and says that he could hear us across the lake in his cabin,” recalls Mark Tetrault as he pon­ dered Jai Guru’s momentous step towards the release of their debut, self-titled album. “So he asked me to play a few songs for him, and it turned out he was a producer who was interested in signing us to his label.”

The last time that Jai Guru played at Le Swimming was almost a year and a half ago. During the hiatus since that last show, Jai G uru’s three founding members have gone through their ups and downs— from replacing band mem­ bers to signing a recording contract with Hello M usique Records.

However, their focus has remained consistent: to make music that peo­ ple enjoy listening to.

Since their inception at McGill in 1998, Jai Guru has been evolving their sound and exploring their

explains. “As we progress into the future, we try to expand our own musical tastes in order to keep it interesting.”

Victoriaville and Thetford Mines.

Responding to their success as anglophones in francophone com­ munities, Dagher explains that he

While the new album consists of some newer material, other songs have been written as far back as the band’s beginning. “All is N ot Lost” was one of those songs. As far as musical diversity is concerned, Jai Guru do not fail in their mission to create songs that please the ear.

Interestingly enough, “All is Not Lost” had been the number one song in small Quebec towns such as

“thought it would be a problem, but apparently reggae is extremely popular in Quebec.”

The reggae theme is one that is extremely recurrent in Jai Guru, combined with world beat, flamen­ co and a bit of the blues. Songs such as “Feed My Lust” showcase the jazz aspects of the group while “Meant to Be” shows a bluesy side of the music.

The band’s show at Le Swimming marks a new point in their careers, having recently found a more perm anent bassist and drummer, as well as another new member from Burkina Faso, JeanSimon Diallo, who will open the show for Jai Guru. Tetrault explained that, while jamming was limited due to space constraints on the album, their live show will allow them to showcase their diverse range of musical sounds and abili­ ties.

As for it being their first show in a year and a half in front o f the hometown crowd, the band looks forward to getting people involved in the music and hopefully eliciting positive feedback.

“We’re scared that people may have forgotten about us, but we hope that people will come out to the show,” Tetrault comments. “If all else though, we really just want to have a good time performing.

Jai Gurti celebrates the release o f their first album this Friday at 9 pm at Lc Swimming, 3643 St. Laurent, 282-7665. Opening is Jean-Simon D ialb.

Tommy: "See Me, Hear Me, Feel Me" Newest Potter delivers Continued from page 1

Continued from page 14

Cabaret and Falsettos, and they “Like to think of [them] selves as the musical theatre company at McGill.” Their success has since attracted the attention o f the Montreal Athletics Association.

The only thing perhaps more incredible than the performance itself is the fact that it has been pulled together in only a little over two months. Zilberberg attributes this feat to the fact that the majori­ ty of the cast has worked together previously, and has built relation­ ships that indeed make the process run more smoothly. (It also proba­ bly hasn’t hurt that they’ve been

working for three hours a day— four on Sundays— since the first week in September.) W hen watch­ ing the musical numbers performed Performances are at 8 pm on November 21, 23, 24, 27, 28 and 30 at Moyse Hall (inside the Arts Building). Adults: S i5, Students and Seniors: $10. Tickets can be reserved at (5)4) 845-9171.

by W hite and Blanshay, the musical dynamics between the two on stage are astounding, and their duets are quite possibly the strongest point of the play.

One of the things that attract­

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ed Zillberberg to The Who’s Tommy was the fact that “there’s such a his­ tory behind it,” both in its produc­ tion and in its music. W hat started as a rock ‘n’ roll album has taken on a life of its, own, and it is no small feat for such a young production company to put on a play that is so historically significant to both music and theatre. One Foot, how­ ever, has stepped up to the chal­ lenges that such a production pres­ ents with an amazing amount of confidence. Their enthusiasm and energy are truly remarkable, and this is the driving force behind the play. “It will be physically impossi­ ble,” Blanshay has promised, “for anybody in the audience to leave in a bad mood!”

Actor/producer/rock legend Kelly Wiles once said, “W hat sets Tommy apart from other plays is that it’s larger than life; what mat­ ters is strong voices. Rock-star voic­ es. Even if they’re a little bit harsh­ er, it’s important that each voice has it’s own character.” If nothing else, the voices must have power, and the lyrics must be delivered with confi­ dence, because the actors need to be able to project their voices over extremely loud music, which they have already shown that they can do without the microphones that they will have for the show. “It’s going to kick ass,” W hite says, brimming, “It’s gonna be so loud.”

“The first thing that drew me to this music was the energy behind it,” Zilberberg emphasized, “It’s all based on this energy that’s so strong in the music.” It is true that the music makes this play, but what makes the music is the ability of the cast to bring it to life. The cast of One Foot Productions certainly has the potential— the confidence, energy, and talent— to put on a

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Golden Snitch and outrun a “rogue” Bludger out for Harry’s head. The Most-Charming-Smile Award series of in and out zooms and close and the new Defence Against the calls with the Bludger led to anxious Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. cries from the audience and a mild The greatest disappointment in sense of motion sickness. It easily this sequel is the absence of screen topped the Quidditch match from time for the talented supporting cast. the first film and the next film’s Alan Rickman, as the brooding director, Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Professor Snape, and Maggie Smith, Mama Tambien), may be hard as Griffindor head Professor pressed to improve upon this thrill ride.

McGonagall, were Columbus great in the first did not stray at all Harry Potter, so it from Rowling’s was disappointing novel. While this to see them reduced will please most to near-cameo sta­ Potter fans, it does tus this time make for a long around.

Richard movie (over two Harris, as the wise and a half hours). and gentle wizard Some smaller Dumbledore, gave a plotlines could convincing per­ have been have formance. It will be been minimized interesting to see or skipped alto­ fans’ reactions to a WWW.CLIPPHOTO.COM gether. Harry and new actor for the Ron’s adventure third film, after He’s single, ladies! with a large spider Harris passed away named Aragog in the forest, for last month.

The new batch of special effects example, while displaying more cooked up for this edition of Harry incredible special effects (picture the Potter are, themselves, worth the ground wriggling, quite literally, price of admission. A completely with eight-legged creepy-crawlies of digital character, Dobby, the house- all sizes), was a 20-minute diversion elf - a dusty, green-skinned, wide- that added little to the main story­ eyed and hunched over servant —is line.

Although the subject matter of introduced. The quidditch match, however, steals the show. the second book-to-screen Harry Quidditch is the sport of choice Potter is darker and more serious in the wizarding world. It is a game than in the first film, it is not with­ played on brooms, high above a grass out laughs. Dobby’s self-deprecating pitch, with four balls, two Bludgers, antics and Professor Lockhart’s dedi­ a Quaffle and one elusive Golden cation to himself, as well as his Snitch— and involves trying to get female fan base, serve to lighten the the Quaffle through large goalposts mood. Fans of all ages should find at either end of the pitch without something they enjoy in Potter. getting your head ripped off by a Harry Potter even teaches us Bludger. There is a chase scene of something. The moral of the story, sorts, where Harry is weaving at as Dumbledore explains to Harry, is breakneck speed through support that: “It’s not our abilities which columns under the stands, trying to show us what we truly are, but our simultaneously beat his rival to the choices.” Hey, muggles, listen up.

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FOOTBALL

HUSKIES 22, REDM BI0

H uskies take a bite out of Redm en's hopes McGill ponders what might have been, while Saskatchewan heads to the Vanier Cup “I told them that it wasn’t the first time we’ve been behind, and we’ve come back before. [I said] it was going to be a tough, uphill bat­ tle, but you’ve got to fight, you can’t give it up.”

Andrew Segal

Like all good things, the McGill Redmen’s fantastic run had to come to an end. It’s only too bad it wasn’t w ith a N ational C ham pionship and a bus ride home from Toronto, Vanier Cup in tow.

The Redmen had their ninegame winning streak snapped by the determ ined Saskatchewan Huskies, falling 22-0 in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport semi-final M itchell Bowl, at Percival M olson Stadium on Saturday.

Saskatchewan’s quarterback Sheldon Ball led the way, going 16 of 23 for 142 yards. Ball was named the game’s most valuable player.

W ith the win, Saskatchewan advances to the Vanier Cup this Saturday in Toronto against the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

T he fourth-ranked Huskies had little trouble with the secondranked Redmen, scoring three touchdowns in the first half, and then effectively running out the clock over the final quarter to pre­ vent McGill from staging a come­ back.

McGill head coach Chuck McMarin was philosophical about the disappointing end to his team’s season.

“The unfortunate thing about athletics is that if you don’t win the Championship, it always ends on a bad note,” a disappointed McMann said.

Despite the anti-climactic end, M cM ann had praise for both his team and its opponents. “I’m proud o f the guys. They were 9-2, it was a great year and we had a lot o f fun,” M cM ann continued. “I take my hat off to Saskatchewan.

They did a great job and didn’t make any mistakes.”

The Huskies’ came out very strong on both defence and offence, holding McGill scoreless for the first time in 35 games, while scoring a touchdown before the first quarter was out. The T D , a three-yard toss from Ball to receiv­ er Aaron David, was the culmina­ tion o f a nine play, 64-yard drive.

The Huskies’ march down the field was aided by three McGill penalties that totaled 25 yards for the oppo­ sition.

The Redmen were prone to penalties and unforced errors much o f the day. The home side was penalized seven times, for 55 yards, fumbled twice and had two passes intercepted, among other miscues.

Q uarterback Josh Sommerfeldt, who played the second half o f the game with a broken collar-bone, said that the errors really hurt the

NATHAN LEBIODA

McGill’s special teams were kept under wraps all afternoon by the Huskies.

team’s chances.

“There were a couple inoppor­ tune dropped balls and a couple sacks and, in three-down football, th at just kills drives,” noted Sommerfeldt after his final game as a member o f the Redmen.

Rush end Steve Young, howev­ er, refused to say that the offence was entirely at fault.

“You can’t blame it on the offence. As a defence, we gave up 22 points, and that shouldn’t hap­ pen in a playoff game,” Young said.

“Maybe if we didn’t make so many mistakes, [the offence] would have had more chances on the field, and they could have broken some­ thing.”

T he Redmen allowed 14 points in the second quarter, while the Huskies, led by their two­ pronged rushing attack, broke the game open. Tailbacks Tyler Siwak and David Stevens scored touch­ downs in that quarter, with Siwak’s com ing on Saskatchewan’s first drive.

The Huskies were helped out by a 15-yard face-masking penalty that allowed them to gain posses­ sion at the Redmen’s 45 yard-line.

Nine plays later, Siwak plunged in from two yards out, and a Brett Czarnota kick made the score 14-0.

Stevens’ touchdown came after another McGill blunder, just when it seemed as if the Redmen might have a shot at turning the game around. The Huskies started a drive at their own seven yard-line, and quickly moved the ball down to the McGill 35. Once there, however, the Redmen defence buckled down and forced a 37-yard field goal attem pt from Czarnota. The kick was wide left, but Andrew Cook fumbled the ball trying to run it out o f the end zone. Saskatchewan recovered on the McGill one yard­ line. O n the next play, Stevens found the end zone, giving the Huskies a 21-0 lead.

Heading into the half trailing by that same score, M cMann tried to rally the troops.

M ahoney and Young step up The defence, led by Young and President’s Trophy nominee Mike Mahoney, responded in the second half, shutting out Saskatchewan.

Young, the nation’s sack leader, recorded another against Saskatchewan, and Mahoney had 18 tackles, including 11 solos. The Huskies’ only points of the half came on a 55-yard punt single by Czarnota.

Unfortunately, the offence was unable to capitalize on the frigid conditions. Despite starting the second-half drive on their own 41 yard-line, which has been a com­ mon occurrence this season, the Redmen were unable to put any points up on the board, and held the ball for only 12:15 in the half, as opposed to Saskatchewan’s 17:45. The Huskies’ time-of-possession advantage came in large part from the play of Siwak and Stevens. The duo combined for 230 yards on the ground, 103 in the fourth quarter alone.

O n the other side o f the field, the McGill running game found it particularly difficult to get any momentum, as Nick Hoffmann and Danny Tai combined for just 10 yards on six carries for the game, with just one of those carries com­ ing in the final two quarters.

H offm ann tried to explain what Went wrong.

“The holes just didn’t seem to be there. We tried [to run] a couple times, and it didn’t w ork,” Hoffman said. “We got down early in the game and we were forced to pass. Once you’re forced to do only one thing, to only pass, you

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become one dimensional, and things just don’t work out.”

The fact that the Huskies were expecting a pass-oriented attack was reflected in Sommerfeldt’s numbers for the day. He completed only 14 of 30 passes, for just 137 yards and two interceptions.

Adding to the difficulties in passing was the fact that Sommerfeldt broke his collar-bone in the third quarter, but didn’t tell anyone and stayed in the game.

An em otional Sommerfeldt didn’t let his less than stellar per­ formance get him down when sum­ ming up the Redmen’s season and his McGill football career.

“I’ve been very blessed to play here for five years, to experience the cameraderie of the guys I’ve met here and the family we’ve created,” Sommerfeldt said. “More than any­ thing, it’s about the team and fam­ ily, and I’m just proud o f the guys.

We had a great season. It’s my last one, and I’m proud o f each guy I played with this year.”

Nonetheless, Sommerfeldt and his teammates were extremely demoralized by the way their sea­ son ended. Hoffmann summed up his feelings about his final game with the Redmen.

“It’s a pretty ugly way to go out. Both as a team effort and on a personal level, I don’t think I played up to my- potential, and I don’t think our team did. So it’s a pretty bad way to go. It’s not the most fun way to end your career.”

Despite losing the game and many key players from this year’s squad, not all is lost for the Redmen in the future. Young felt that the game could be used as a learning experience for future sea­ sons.

“There are some things 1 still have to work on,” he said, “and hopefully we’ll get a shot next year at something more.”

McGill LB M ike M ahoney and Saskatchewan QB Sheldon Ball '

Looking at where the Redmen went wrong on Saturday, no one can point a finger at Mahoney, who was all over the field in an attempt to help stop Saskatchewan’s prolific running attack. In his final game wear­ ing a McGill jersey, Mahoney recorded 18 tackles, 11 of them solo, with 2.5 stopping the Huskies behind the line of scrimmage, for a total loss of nine yards.

Ball, who was named the game’s MVP, got the Huskies on the board early with a three-yard T D pass, and completed 15 of 18 passes for 133 yards in the first half, when the outcome of the game was still in the bal­ ance. He also converted two crucial third downs on the drive that led to Saskatchewan’s second TD.

________

QUA HOCKEY

MARTLETS 8, PATRIOTES 0

_______________ The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Sports 21

MARTLETS 8r RAVENS 0

Roy, St-Pi erre leave opponents shooting blanks Mark Kerr

Marie-Andrée Joncas Following save on Geneviève Beauchamp. before the final buzzer Lomas’ marker, Beauchamp got a chance for McGill Martlet Sarah Lomas sounded.

Katherine Safka redemption in the third when she Joncas’ counterpart, came up just short of the Gordie scored on the back­ went in alone on St-Pierre. The Howe hat trick Sunday afternoon St-Pierre, made 20 saves hand to give the McGill goalie made a kick save to before a sparse crowd at McConnell for her fifth regular sea­ Martlets a two-goal keep the Patriotes off the scoreboard. son shut-out.

Arena. cushion. Safka fin­ Hadd scored her first o f the In action Saturday, The feisty captain of the fourthished off what was game 11 minutes into the second. ranked Martlets scored the first goal McGill defeated Carlean excellent rush Joncas made two initial saves on on a power play before the game was ton also by a score o f 8-0. by linemate Ach­ shots by Cindy Anne Carufel before seven minutes old. T hat was all the Delphine Roy made 21 eson.

Hadd knocked home a rebound. offence the Martlets would need, as saves for the shut-out, Early in the Carufel scored a goal o f her own they rolled to an 8-0 victory over her first o f the regular second period, in the wide-open third period. The ’Université du Québec à Trois- season. rookie Véronique fourth-year Accounting major blast­ W ith the weekend Rivières.

Sanfaçon banged ed a shot that hit a U Q T R stick Lomas failed to record an assist wins, McGill occupies home a loose puck before eluding Joncas. The powerhat would have earned her the feat first place in the Quebec in the slot. play goal made it 7-0. tamed in honour o f the former Student Sports Federa­ Sanfaçon, with a Hadd, Sanfaçon and rookie tion, one point up on Detroit Red W ing great. third period tally, Brittany Privée all scored in the final Centre Audrey Hadd paced the both Concordia and pushed her total to frame.

VlcGill attack with two goals and an Ottawa.

11 goals in 10 The contribution early in the “Four points is four issist. games. season from many players has In addition to the winning goal, points, regardless of who Against Carl­ impressed Lomas. n m as roughed it up with Patriotes you play,” McGill head eton, Sanfaçon had “We have a much more bal­ :aptain Melanie Corbeil in the sec- coach Peter Smith said three goals and an anced team this year than we have >nd period. The tussle after the Sunday. “U Q T R and assist, her second had in the past,” Lomas said. “We vhistle was the result o f Corbeil Carleton are not at the hat trick o f the are going to have more of a four-line ;oing hard to the net and into top of the heap but you year. Her effort attack, where in the past years we still have to beat them.” vlcGill goalie Kim St-Pierre. earned her McGill have had a one- or two-line attack.

Smith praised his “N ot so sure it was a fight,” co-athlete o f the The rookies have definitely helped after Sunday’s xunas remarked about the incident. team week honours. scoring goals, and it’s good to see.”

I was just defending my goalie. She game.

“She’s doing The line o f Acheson, Safka and “I was pleased with ook offence to that, and just blew a well,” Smith said of second-year left winger Justine ;asket. W hat can you do? It hap- today’s game, all o f the Sanfaçon, an Edu­ Keyserlingk was strong against NATHAN LEBI0DA coaches were pleased, iens, just part of the game.” cation major. “She’s UQTR. Keyserlingk and Acheson Véronique Lapierre blasts a slap shot on the UQTR goaltender.

In addition to a two minute and I think the girls were a hard worker. She found each other numerous times linor penalty, Corbeil was handed a happy with their effort,” said Smith, past few outings. really wants to learn. She asks ques­ with dazzling passes.

“Everyone was up on the bench, tions and she is the first one on the ross misconduct penalty. She who is in his fourth year with the “She had a good game today,” matched the rest of the game from Martlets. “We didn’t play a great positive on the bench. There’s been a ice, last one off the ice. She still has a Smith said o f Keyserlingk. “She con­ game [Saturday]. We missed Sophie lot o f times where we’re scoring lot to learn but she is going to be a trolled the puck, moved it quickly. le stands.

The captain could not have Acheson a little bit, [who] didn’t goals, but it seems that not everyone real strong player on this team.”

They have good chemistry on that is in there. [Today] it was more o f a ked what she saw. Leading by four play.”

U Q TR had a great chance seven line.”

Lomas agreed with Smith’s team effort than individual effort,” minutes into the second period with oals after two periods, the Martlets The Martlets hit the road this ut four more past Patriotes goalie observation that Sunday’s game was said the fifth-year Kinesiology stu­ defenceman Peggy Donohue in the weekend to play Toronto on McGill’s best collective effort in the dent. penalty box. St-Pierre made a glove Saturday and York on Sunday.

UA HOCKEY

REDMEN 4 , RADGERS 1

REDMEN 2, GOLDEN HAWKS 2

Records tied and broken in busy weekend for red-hot Redmen amie Hull

Over the cold November weekid, a long-standing McGill hockey :cord was broken. Yet it was not a layer on the ice who was setting :cords; rather, it was the man ehind the bench.

Coming off a 5-2 thrashing at le hand o f Ryerson the previous eek, the Redmen rebounded to sfeat the Brock Badgers 4-1 Friday rening.

The win was head coach Martin aymond’s 138th behind the McGill ;nch. Raymond, age 35, is in his ghth season as Redmen coach and ions a 138-104-18 record overall, e moved ahead of the legendary r. Bobby Bell, who was inducted to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame 1997. Bell racked up 137 wins 'er three coaching stints spanning ne years with the Redmen: 19297, 1942-43, 1944-45.

“All the credit goes to the plays, ” Raymond responded modestly, hen asked about the record. “I’ve id some great players play for me iring my career here as a coach. It’s privilege to be able to coach such hletes, have great success, and it’s i honour to break a record owned ' such a great former player and

coach.”

The celebration did not last long for the coach, however, as he was behind the bench Saturday night against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. The Golden Hawks battled the Redmen to a 2-2 draw, securing McGill an undefeated weekend.

We don’t need no stinkin’ Badgers The Badgers entered Friday’s game in second place in the Ontario University Athletics Mid-West divi­ sion. Right from the puck drop, the game was a fast-paced, wide-open spectacle.

The Redmen struck first when sophomore Mark Debusschère tal­ lied midway through the first period on a great solo effort. The Redmen added another just before the end of the frame when sophomore Greg LeBlanc, McGill co-athlete of the week, potted his first of the evening on a set o f beautiful passes from linemates Joel Bergeron and Bruno Lemire. This line continued to be a dominating force in the second peri­ od when LeBlanc added a pair to complete the hat trick.

W ith the Redmen up 4-0 going into the third, it seemed as though the win was secure. Yet the Badgers were given more scoring opportuni-

ties due to an excessive amount of Redmen giveaways. Consequently, netminder Luc Valliancourt lost the shutout, as the Badgers managed to put one past the consistent goalie late in the final frame.

Raymond was not discouraged by the late goal.

“Although it seemed as though tonight was about offence, Valliancourt’s play was just outstand­ ing,” Raymond said after the game.

“We couldn’t have done it without him or LeBlanc tonight.”

LeBlanc was quick to pass on the praise.

“It’s all about Lemire and Bergeron. They’re the stars tonight,” responded the unassuming LeBlanc.

“They set me up so well, all I had to do was get my stick on it.”

NATHAN LEBI00A

Joel Bergeron executes his patented drop step, eyes focused on his target.

Tough O T tie The Golden Hawks grinded down the Redmen with a trap sys­ tem throughout the opening min­ utes. The Redmen squandered their first opportunities to open the scor­ ing after two unsuccessful power plays.

The Golden Hawks took advantage o f the missed McGill opportunities and found the back of See BURGESS, page 22

22 Sports

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 19, 2002

INTRAMURAL D-LEAGUE CHRONICLES

Bad Mamma Jammas can't get no satisfaction

Mohit Arora

The Bad M amma Jammas were riding a wave of confidence as they took to the ice last Monday to face team Puck You. The only thing missing was goaltender M ohit Arora.

Though the two teams boast similar records, Puck You had outscored their opponents 29-6 in the previous three games, and had trounced the Bad Mamma Jammas 11-1 last year. Arora, who had recently won the goaltending job outright, was starting to wish the job was not his. Q uite frankly, he was close to soiling himself.

Arora wasn’t counting on having his best game of the year, and couldn’t expect his team to play any better in front o f him than they had previ­ ously, but he was wrong. Both did happen, as the two teams slugged it out on the way to a tension-packed and thoroughly unfulfilling 4-4 tie.

T he Bad M am m a Jammas opened the scoring when Ben Kaye, now officially the backup goal-

tender, netted his first of the year.

Puck You tied it up after producing a flurry o f shots that left Arora scrambling. The puck was shoved in just under the netm inder’s out­ stretched glove.

Just before the intermission, W in Sheldon, making his D H L debut, put the Bad Mamma Jammas ahead with a merciless wrist shot that one would least expect from a self-proclaimed rookie-on-skates.

The Man From Maine, however, looked very comfortable. O ne would think he had played the game for years.

The second period saw Puck You flex its considerable offensive muscle, keeping the puck in the Bad M am m a Jam m a end for several minutes at a time. Though they dom inated the play, the Bad Mamma Jammas’ defence displayed incredible toughness. Kaye, Casey Johnson, Nili Isaacs and Dave Macnee all courageously blocked shots with their bodies, preventing the puck from getting to the Bad M amma Jammas’ biggest liability...

Arora. Kaye’s hard work paid off when he blocked a shot in his own end, which set him off on a break­ away. Kaye beat the Puck You goalie, extending the lead to 3-1.

T he Bad M am m a Jammas knew that a two-goal lead wasn’t a very solid safeguard against Puck You’s juggernaut o f an offence, so

the team tried desperately to add a fourth goal. Andrew Brown had sev­ eral chances but was stymied, as was Mariam Karimeddiny, playing in her first game o f the season. The left-winger from Boston had several scoring chances denied by the Puck You defence, but was able to draw defenders towards her to open things up for Elie Wolfe on her right wing. Wolfe, however, was unable to find the back of the net.

Puck You tied the game at three, while stifling the Bad Mamma Jammas’ attack. One Puck You play­ er in particular took things over and single-handedly turned Arora inside out on successive goals. The Puck You centre almost had a third break­ away right after tying the score. As he was about to spring loose, how­ ever, Isaacs stripped him of the puck in the neutral zone.

Get the suck out Isaacs, in her final year as a Bad Mamma Jamma, plays the role of “Team Den M other” to perfection.

Often called the Mamma Jamma Mama, or the Nice Mamma Jamma, Isaacs is the founder of the team. It was her idea to form a Gardner Hall D-league team last year, the genesis of the ‘Jamma.

Isaacs also thought to put Arora in net just before the start of the team’s first game last year. Luckily, the team doesn’t hold that against

her. She was the one who recruited much of the team’s nucleus, and doubled as our favourite floor fellow last year. Though we don’t live in Gardner anymore, she still has ears for us when we need them, and just might possibly be the single nicest person in the world. The Guinness Book o f World Records is looking into this as we speak.

O n the ice, though, it’s a differ­ ent story.

Isaacs, acknowledging her lack o f offensive prowess, concentrates on playing sound defence and stick­ ing up for her teammates.

Opponents who see her as “just a girl” are quickly corrected when Isaacs pins them against the boards and digs the puck out o f a corner.

‘Nails’, as her team so affectionately calls her, isn’t so nice to those wear­ ing a different colour.

Isaacs’ play reversed the momentum to the Bad Mamma Jammas’ favour, and Derek Smith made it a 4-3 game. The Bad Mamma Jammas sought to ice the game from this point on. Despite some nail-biting attempts by Scotty Mao and Andrew Brown, they weren’t able to put up a fifth goal on the scoreboard.

Breathing a sigh o f relief, Puck You put the puck back in the hands of their superstar. He was able to find open ice, and was left one-onone with Arora, who had actually

played rather well up to this point.

Still, given the scenario, what do you think happened? If you guessed that the Puck You player made Arora look really stupid while beat­ ing him in embarrassing fashion for the game-tying goal, you’d be right.

W ith 34 seconds left, it was a brand new game. Needless to say, not much happened in that short time period, and the two teams had to settle for a tie. Disgusting. A damn tie!

After the game, coach Matt Corning had nothing but praise for his team.

“These kids are battlers. They went toe-to-toe with a great hockey team and deserved to win. I’m just so proud of these guys,” said the coach, fighting back his tears.

Unnecessary melodrama aside, the team was quite pleased with their performance, and maintains their second place standing. T hat the team survived this battle sets up what looks to be the semester’s showcase event, when they face off against the Molson Canadians, a team that sits atop the D H L stand­ ings. First, however, the Bad M am m a Jammas m ust play the M uppet Raiders, an expansion team that has taken its lumps, but has shown great promise. No word yet on how far the Jammas are looking past them.

Burgess one helper away from becoming assist king Continued from page 21

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the net first, at 13:02 of the first period, banging home a rebound past helpless Redmen goaltender Murray Cobb.

The Redmen responded with a goal of their own by the sizzling LeBlanc. The goal came during a short stint of wide open, four-onfour hockey.

“His play has just been out­ standing o f late,” said Raymond of LeBlanc. “He really stepped up for us tonight.”

The Golden Hawks took the lead on the power play four minutes into the second period. The Redmen responded quickly and evened the score at 11:28 of the peri­ od, with one o f the most beautiful goals scored by the Red ‘n’ White early this season. Lemire received a picture perfect backhand pass from captain Burgess and beat the Golden Hawk goalie Justin Day. The third period saw outstand­ ing saves by Cobb, who was pep­ pered throughout the frame. Neither team could find the back of the net and the game carried on into over­ time.

W ith O T just underway, LeBlanc found himself on a partial breakaway but was stopped on a solid shoulder-save by Day. That was the closest either team would come to winning this one.

The Redmen realized after the game that they squandered an

opportunity to gain another point.

“We came out slow tonight; they played a low risk, sound game,” explained Raymond after the game.

“The difference though, to me, was special teams. O ur power play strug­ gled this evening, and theirs didn’t.”

Yet something positive can be taken from the game as Burgess tied the McGill all-time assist record.

“It’s all about teamwork,” insist­ ed the veteran captain. “I’ve played with some excellent linemates dur­ ing my career here. There’s no way this could have been accomplished without them. But it truly is an hon­ our to share this record with such an outstanding coach [Raymond] and player. The key for me has been con­ sistency. After a while you think, ‘Hey, this record may actually be attainable.’”

The Redmen, undefeated in their last three matches, play next Saturday at York.

Stat of the week Dave Burgess’ 144th issist, coming on Lcmire’s goal, tied the all-time assist record at McGill. The current co-holder o f the title is Redmen head coach Martin Raymond, who graduated Irom McGill in 1992. Not only have the two hockey players scored the same amount of assists throughout their careers, but both also reache 1 that number in 154 career games.

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Born in the water

PATRICK FOK

The swim team has now qualified eight women and five men for the Canadian National Championships this February. McGill hosts the Quebec Cup meet Saturday at the Currie Pool.

VOLLEYBALL

REDMEN AND MARTLETS STRUGGLE

AROUNDTHE HORN

Where did that winning recipe go?

Sarah L. Wright

McGill volleyball has seen better days. This weekend, the Martlets were swept 3-0 by both Sherbrooke and Laval. The Redmen managed to steal a game from the powerhouse of Laval, but were still defeated 3-1 by the Rouge-et-Or and 3-0 by Sherbrooke.

Even though it is still relatively early in the volleyball season, both teams, who in the recent past have enjoyed winning seasons, are strug­ gling to play consistently.

Redmen head coach, Jose Rebelo credits his team’s slump to momentary lapses in focus.

“It is always a question of momentum,” he said without hesita­ tion. “If you don’t have momentum, you make more errors.”

The Redmen were able to main­ tain momentum in the second set versus Laval, which they won 25-12.

“We just started blocking really well,” Rebelo commented. “Their offence just started to fall apart.”

The balance of power in volley­ ball, however, is easily swayed, as each game is a fresh start with a fresh mindset. McGill was unable to pro­ duce anything more than a single *ame win this weekend as Laval Dounced on the young team that dresses eight rookies.

“Laval was really mad after that,” said Rebelo, referring to the 5ame won by his team. “They decidd that it was their turn and our team ust didn’t feel as strong.”

The Redmen went on to lose 25-18, 12-25,25-11 and 25-15.

Sophomore Adam Kouri, playng for the first time this season, had t great game with five kills, four ruffed blocks and two digs.

“He started out really slow this

year,” said Rebelo of Kouri’s play.

“But in the last three games, he’s been really hot and blocking really well.

“He was able to shut down Mathieu Lajrandeur [National team player for Laval] for a combined 25 points over the week­ end.”

W ith the help of solid

blown away in competition, but they are lacking a really strong force that can seal wins or create the momen­ tum for comebacks.

“We really need to improve on our hitting,” said Béliveau, offering a suggestion for her team’s improve-

blocking

from Kouri and other defensive players like A n d r e w

Royes and U 1 setter, Dan H old en, R e b e l o

believes his team can be c ompe t i t i ve in the league. “ W e ’r e scared to make errors.

We have the NATHAN LEBIODA potential to Ohh... denied. The men's volleyball team is due for a win. give Laval a good game, we just have to be more aggressive.” ment. “It has to be stronger, it’s always the [most difficult] thing to Missing their captain do against tall blockers.”

The Martlets fell to Laval 25-20, Anne Robitaille, who had 16 25-19 and 25-23 and to Sherbrooke digs, nine digs and two aces last 25-17, 25-20 and 25-11 in a disap­ weekend is stepping into a leading pointing pattern of overcoming role, while Christine Borisov and obstacles. Fifth-year captain Liz Julie Heroux are consistently adding Jamieson is out for an undetermined multiple numbers to the board. period of time due to a back injury.

The Martlets are playing at a “[It] would really help us a lot to tournament in Sherbrooke this week­ have her back,” said head coach end. They are now 1-5 on the season Rachele Béliveau referring to and in a tie for third place in a very Jamieson’s absence and the affect it competitive conference, as they trail has had on her team’s success.

Laval (6-0) and Sherbrooke (3-2).

The Mardets are not getting

Swimming in need o f different strokes The McGill swim tram trav­ elled to O ntario for a dual meet at m e University o f Toronto on .Saturday, where two more female swimmers qualified for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships. As a team, both the Martlets and Redmen came up short in total points, losing 120103 and 141-93 respectively.

C aptain Carolyn McCabe Wish the 50-metre freestyle and the 100-m butterfly while anchoring the 4x50-m freestyle and 4x50-m medaliv relays. T he other firstplace finish for the Martlets came front Catherine Schaefer, who won the 800-m freestyle.

New CIS qualifying times came from Kristina Hassell in the 50-m free with a time o f 27.72 sec­ onds, and Jessica Warren in the 400-m freestyle in 4:34.38. " O n the men’s side, Doug McCarthy won the 100-m and 200-m backstroke and was on the w inning 4x50-m medally relay.

David Allard won the gold in the 200-tn breaststroke.

7g|:‘ Sylvain Lemieux swam a qual­ ifying time for Nationals in the 200-m butterfly in 2:08.9 and was a member o f the 4x50 medal relay.

M cGill has now qualified eighr women and five men for Nationals, to be held in Victoria, BC, February 21 to 23. This com­ ing weekend, they will host their first major meet o f the season in the third Quebec C up for the entire province on Saturday in the new and improved Currie Pool, which now has bleachers and bet­ ter deck space.

Basketball comes up big across the border

M cGill

basketball

left

L.t, «, A.

Montreal last Wednesday en route to the Washington area for a threegame road trip. The Redmen were 2-1 on the weekend, while the Mardets shut down the opposition with three wins in as many games.

The wins brought the Martlets out o f an early-season slump as they only had one win under their belt before last weekend.

The Martlets now have four wins this season, combined with five losses.

The only Redmen loss came at the hands o f Catholic University of America, a division three team that finished third in the US last season.

Dominico Marcario had 19 points on the day, while Hidesh Bhardwaj had 12.

O n Friday, they defeated Gallaudet University, a school for the hearing impaired, 65-56 and then, after trading leads for the entire game against Marymount University, McGill got the extra basket that was needed for the win, 58-56.

Federic Bernard scored 16 points, Marcario had 15 and D enburk Reid had 13. The Redmen now have an overall record o f 6-3.

T he women, on a scoring rampage, beat Gallaudet an impressive 81-44.

Sophmore Shannon Howard had 12 points and Marie-Eve Beaulieu-Demers scored 11.

The big win of the trip came against the division three final-four team o f M arym ount. After an intense overtime, the Martlets wo 81-80 with Maude VaJlieres scor­ ing a career-high 37 points.

The regular season officially starts this coming weekend for both men and women versus Concordia on Friday and Bishop’s on Satruday.

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