The McGill Tribune Vol. 22 Issue 13 by The Tribune

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Features 9

Dirtiest team, you say? Sports 1 9 w w w .m c g illtr ib u n e .c o m

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P u b lis h e d by t h e S t u d e n t s ' S o c ie ty o f M cGill U n iv e rs ity s in c e 1981

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M c G ill b e v e r a g e Administration announces exclusive campus-wide distribution deal Mark Sward

NATHAN LEBIODA

McGill swimmers competed in the fourth leg of the Quebec Cup over the weekend. See page 18 for inside story.

The Board of Governors Executive Committee announced at its meeting yesterday that the University is negotiating a 10-year agreement to give the Coca-Cola Company distribution rights for cold beverage services on campus. This will not exclude other beverage brands; although campus cafeterias will sell mostly Coke products, some variety will still be available. Since this contract is solely between McGill University and Coca-Cola, it will not effect stu dent-run food and beverage servic es, such as the Shatner Building cafeteria, operated by the Students’ Society, and the Thomson House, operated by the Post Graduate Students’ Society. The exact amount that Coke will pay McGill for this agreement has not been made public, but VicePrincipal Administration and

Finance Morty Yalovsky states that funds from the deal will be used to improve current food and beverage services, including those in Residence dining halls. Pros and cons Yalovsky believes that a deal including all campus food services would give the University the upper hand in negotiations. “We don’t want to give them the opportunity to pick and choose [among cafete rias]... the whole is larger than the sum of individual components,” he said. Although McGill hopes to make significant improvements to campus dining services with money made from this agreement, other universities have seen some negative effects from similar contracts. According to SSMU President Martin Doe, beverage deals on cam puses generally include sales quotas. “In some cases, [these quotas See COKE, page 4

Students' Society Council reacts to n ew sp aper article Med m ould grow s on News

Le Q u é b e ck e r O pinion /E ditorial

R o h y p n o l at M cG ill F eatures

J o s h S o m m erfeld t S ports

“N e v e r g e t a n g ry . N e v e r m a k e a th r e a t. R e a so n w ith p e o p le . ” — M a r io P u z o , “T h e G o d fa th e r ”

Kate Rhodes

Students’ Society Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday night condemning a November 14 article printed in the M c G ill D a ily that alleged links between the Muslim Students Association and the A1 Qaeda ter rorist network. In response to stu dent action, the D aily printed an editorial apology in its paper yester day. Both the MSA and the writer of the article, D aily News Editor Rob Salerno, are exploring possible legal action. “The purpose of this motion is

to express our belief that the article was irresponsibly written, has no business appearing in a student publication of any kind and only served to single out an attack on a student group that did absolutely nothing wrong,” Medicine Councillor Hossein Samadi said to Council. The motion was moved by Samadi and seconded by Senate/Board of Governors Representative Haissam Daham. “What happened at Council was a powerful message. [On Friday,] the editorial board sat down and examined what it had printed in a critical way,” said D a ily Coordinating Editor Phil Todd.

SSMU President Martin Doe spoke in favour of the resolution. “I wasn’t surprised that there was a sizeable gallery at Council [in sup port of the motion],” he said. DPS Board of Directors Chairperson Jason Rehel said mem bers of the DPS Board did not attend Council, as, “In my mind, it’s still an editorial issue,” he said. The D aily had a “two hour edi torial board meeting, where we sat down and we looked at our coverage and reconstructed it, applied an analysis to what we’ve printed, through the optic of the statement of principles, and realized a lot of the mistakes we’ve made. It was a

case of obscuring the facts of the story with sensationalism. I think we spoke to that in the editorial,” said Todd. “It was extremely important for us in that editorial meeting, in our response, to show that we have reflected on our coverage and that we understood the impact it had and to acknowledge that, [to] let McGill's Muslim community know that we had very deeply considered the way our coverage had impacted them,” Todd explained. Council debate focused on whether it was within its jurisdic tion to pass a resolution concerning See SSMU, page 3

“A G O L D E N N I G H T - A S P E C I A L M O M E N T ” “Be there on a very special evening, Friday, November 29, a s McGill University salu tes Kim St. Pierre, the goaltender for the M artlets, who led Canada to women’s gold in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. On a night where McGill fa ce s their bitter rival, the Concordia Stingers, make plans to attend the festivities honouring one of the finest women netminders to ever play the game.

M c G ill F R ID A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 9 M c C o n n e l l A r e n a 7 : 0 0 P .M .

2 News

The McGill T rib u n e, Tuesday, N ovem ber 26, 2002

C S S T in s p e c tio n s r e v e a l M c In t y r e h e a lt h V e n tila tio n

a n d

Je re m y Dietz

After McGill’s long denial of air quality problems in the McIntyre medical building, Quebec government inspectors have confirmed workers’ com plaints and are making the University fix the building’s ventila tion system, replace mouldy ceiling tiles and clean dirt and debris. Faculty and staff complaints led to an inspection by the Quebec Work Safety Commission (CSST), which, on November 7, found that the ventilation ducts did not main tain a healthy air supply. According to CSST spokesperson Daniel Legaux, the problem is that the ventilation system merely recycles old air, and does not expel and replace it.

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a ir c o n d itio n in g Legaux added, “The main problem with this building is that it is not geared towards lab activities and they have to find a way to deal with this.” Consequently, the CSST issued a directive to stop the use of chemicals such as chloroform and potassium hydroxide until ventila tion improves. A surprise inspection by the CSST one week later revealed that toxic chemicals were still in use in the building. According to a McGill press release, “the directive was mis understood, and some researchers thought they had two weeks to stop using the products.” Following the failed inspec tion, Dean of Medicine Abraham Fuks took immediate action to stop the use of the chemicals. Despite this effort, the CSST threatened to seek an injunction from the superi or court of Quebec. Just prior to appeal for an injunction, a McGill official assured the CSST that the University would suspend all toxin

re n o v a tio n s

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use until a new ventilation system was implemented. The commission assured McGill that it would con tinue legal action if its demands were not met by the November 22 inspection. Legaux, expressing his dissatis faction with the way McGill han dled the issue, said, “... ignoring the Novemeber 14 order presented a grave situation. It was unaccept able because we had already warned McGill in 2000 to try and find a solution [to the health risks of the building] by themselves and imple ment it.” Legaux was referring to an incident that occurred on the 12th and 13th floors of McIntyre. According to Legaux, animal testing had resulted in contaminat ed liquids seeping from the drain tank of the 13th floor through to the ceiling of the 12th floor. The CSST inspected the situation and informed McGill of the health risks that the building posed as a whole. Evidently, little was done to correct

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the problem. Following the November 22 inspection, McGill officials announced that the CSST was sat isfied with modifications made to the ventilation system. Hélène SteCroix, chair of the Technical Council of the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association and the representative to the CSST for McGill staff, indi cated that the modifications were an inexpensive, but only temporary, solution. “Now the fun begins because we have to find a way of heating up the system so that [McIntyre] isn’t —25 degrees in the winter,” she explained. She noted that the temperature in the building was being temporar ily maintained by heating coils, but that the current ventilation system is not designed to work in tempera tures below -5. She added that the air conditioning system would have to be overhauled before the sum

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mer. Ste-Croix expects McGill to make renovations costing millions of dollars. In August, a graduate student’s collapse on the eighth floor raised concerns about air ventilation prob lems. Later, a Tribune investigation yielded that as many as 25 people experienced symptoms such as nau sea and headaches while working on the 13th floor of McIntyre. This was allegedly the result of a mal functioning laminar flow hood that had spewed toxic fumes into the air. To prepare for the follow-up CSST inspection, McIntyre’s interi or was cleared of debris and dirt, and decaying and mouldy ceiling tiles were replaced. The CSST also inspected the outer envelope of the building and evaluated McGill’s plans to eliminate mould found growing in cold rooms.

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University, explained the value of seeing hard science applied in industry at a speech in Leacock 132 Thursday evening. “[I am] doing something for real, and doing physics at the same time,” mused the German physi cist. “Nanoscience is something that is in everybody’s newspapers nowadays. The fruits of this [are] now what we are eating.”

the car exits the garage in the morning without damaging the door, the tunneling effect has occurred. Atoms can pass through thinly veiled material, so thin and effective chips that are difficult to design. The trick, he explained, is to make that garage door just thick enough. Scientists are developing methods to work on a scale small enough to move one atom at a time. “The biggest challenge in

The 10-gram car Stormer explained that the communications indus try has progressed so quick ly because of steady advancements in transistor technologies; the number of devices that can fit on a chip grows exponentially, by a factor of two every 18 months. This trend, called Moore’s Law, after the Intel scientist who first described it, means that while transis tors were the size of an egg when they were first invented, they are now so small that 42 million of NATHANZILBERT them can fit on a single Stormer envisions a nano-powered future. Pentium chip. Compare the transis tor, Stormer said, to the less pro nanotech is making small things,” gressive car industry. He noted that he contended, “but we’re far from if the automobile had progressed to finding a way to put it together.” The best hope for this, he said, the same degree as the transistor, the 2001 Ford Taurus would weigh is building on displacement tech 10 grams, travel at a speed of eight niques found in nature, such as a million miles per hour and cost DNA tweezer. He also sees poten tial in a type of artificial self-assem $10. Rapid technological develop bling crystal which arranges atoms ment, he believes, has caused the into patterns. He conceded that, current tech slump, because indus while the basic concepts are float try does not yet need the full trans ing out in the scientific communi mission capacity of data networks; ty, we really have no idea how to do the glass fibres used to transmit this. To remind the audience of the data are “too good.” danger of naysaying, he ended his lecture with several anecdotes Challenges ahead One obstacle to making things about technologies that were smaller, he explained, is combating thought doomed to fail, among the effect of tunnelling. Stormer them: the computer, the telephone asked the audience to imagine a car and the television. parked in a garage at night. When

The McGill T ribune, Tuesday, November 26, 2002

S S M U r e a c ts t o a r t ic le Continued from page 1

an independent newspapers article. Law Councillor Jeff Roberts said that a motion in which “this government condemn [s] a journalist and a newspaper is fundamentally undemocratic.” Other Councillors pointed out that, while the D a ily is an autonomous body, democratically governed by the DPS, all under graduate students are both members of the DPS and SSMU, and it is within SSMU’s mandate to speak on the undergraduate body’s behalf. “We can convey our sentiments on behalf of the students, as a just channel, in an appropriate way,” said Doe, who added that the motion against the article was “in keeping with the motion that was passed post-September 11 con demning racism and intolerance.” Rob Salerno spoke in defence of his article. “[Council’s debate] seems to imply that any sort of coverage involving coverage of Muslims at all is necessarily going to cause a racist backlash, and it implies that [Council] thinks it is not news. I strongly disagree with that state ment. ... [The events in the article] affects the McGill community and it is within [a campus newspapers] mandate to cover, and bring to light of the McGill community,” he said. MSA President Isam Faik countered this comment, stating, “Anything against Muslims will not be considered racism. We are not against constructive criticism. This is the abuse of a sensitive issue in a sensational manner, just to have a hit.” Three of the four resolution statements were amended and an additional resolution was added affirming the importance of inde pendent university press. “No one is in favour of censor ship,” said Samadi, “but what we are doing is sticking up for a student group, specifically targeted for [their] finances, [and though] other groups have [financial issues] too, we’ve been singled out, we’re a hit.” MSA treasurer Sarah Elgazzar said, “we were targeted because we were the only group with a financial issue where A1 Qaeda could be splashed across the cover—it was covered because we’re Muslim.” Salerno believes that financial irregularities in any club are news worthy. “I ask for the accountability of SSMU for all the financial irregular ities that are so rampant in all of these other clubs,” Salerno told Council. SSMU Vice-President Clubs and Services Rachel De Lorie explained that the total financial management of all 150 SSMU clubs is beyond its accounting office’s capacity. “[Critics suggest] we should be trying to figure out where every sin gle penny is going, but we don’t completely subsidize our clubs, so every single penny isn’t our money,” said De Lorie. Clubs, unlike services, are financially autonomous and are sub ject to SSMU audits twice a year.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” De Lorie explained. “We’d like to know where every single penny of undergraduate student fees is going, but, at the same time, there is a bit of human error involved,” she said. The D aily article questioned two separate MSA actions. The first concerned three donations totaling $4,268.48 made to the internation ally accredited charity Benevolence International Foundation in July and November 2001. BIF has since been shut down by the US govern ment on allegations that it con tributed money to the A1 Qaeda ter rorist network, thus victimizing donors, who were told the money was for relief projects and humani tarian aid. MSA submitted receipts from the charity to SSMU in its financial report. The second financial issue was the donation of approximately $6,880 to families whose houses were destroyed in the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, hand-delivered by Osama Kishta, an MSA member. Salerno drew Council’s atten tion towards this half of the article. The money “may or may not have been given to charity. There is no proof that it ever arrived any where, that it was given to an organ ization, and SSMU has done no work to prove that this money has gotten there. It’s ignoring the fact that this article has shown SSMU in dealing with what may or may not be a serious financial mismanage ment,” he said. MSA collected the money at Friday evening prayer meetings to be donated in this manner, accord ing to Faik. The money was trans ferred to Kishta’s personal bank account. He then delivered the money in person to needy families. It was argued that this method of transferring money direcdy to a club member was an unorthodox donation method. “As donations were handed out in sums of $100 and $200 in cash, families were unable to produce receipts,” explained Faik. Kishta submitted a detailed financial report listing the names and situations of the individuals who received the funds, and included reference phone numbers and contact infor mation. MSA, therefore, had no receipts to prove the donations. “I am the receipt,” said Kishta. “I met the people we helped and handed them the money myself,” he said. “We have complete trust in Osama and no reason whatsoever to believe the money did not go where it was supposed to... Refugees don’t worry about their income taxes, so they didn’t write receipts. That’s not how things work over there; it’s a war-torn country,” said Elgazzar. SSMU Vice-President Opera tions Kathleen Morrison said a lack of receipts does not mean the money was misspent. “The money was not misspent because it was spent the way it was said it was [going to be] spent. It’s an issue, but if the people who money was col lected from are satisfied with the efficacy, then they are satisfied.” SSMU Treasurer Colin Valeri concurs. “We don’t believe it was fraud,

simply because they made it appear on the bank statement. They deposited the money on the bank account and it was automatically transferred the same day. They show the transaction, they even gave us the receipt of the transfer. If they wanted to fraud, if they wanted to hide the money or anything, they would not have put it on the record, they would have left it to their members, and we would have never, ever known about it,” he said. Valeri met with MSA over the summer to review their financial records and suggested that they adopt a policy to donate only to charities that can provide receipts. They have since done so. Morrison also stated that MSA is among the most charitable of the SSMU clubs. “A lot of religious clubs have a lot of fundraising activ ities for charities, but I would say MSA is one of the only ones that actively solicits from its members, but that’s why they are able to raise so much,” she said. MSA’s account ing balance sheet from last year lists donations totaling $30,150.38 of a $38,110.48 club balance. Council and MSA took partic ular issue with the graphic that accompanied the article and the conceptual cover design that fea tured a synthesized SSMU docu ment listing A1 Qaeda as a $4,000 miscellaneous expense. The D aily subsequently printed a retraction, stating that the cover was a misrep resentation. “It’s pure circumstance that [the SSMU subsidy of] $4,000 went to MSA and $4,000 went to BIF,” said Morrison. The money that was donated to BIF was also collected at Friday prayer service. Todd emphasized that Salerno was not the coverage’s sole contributer. “The D aily put out the paper [as a collective],” said Todd. “Rob’s reporting of the story was 100 per cent solid. It was a case of, as the story expanded, in terms of the cover, headlines, graphic—that's where the most serious errors were,” he said. Many students responded to the article by writing letters to the editor of the D aily, many of which were published in the November 21 edition. Harsha Walia, a QPIRG Board Member and MSA member, co drafted a letter demanding an apol ogy from the Daily. The letter, which was circulat ed on several email listservs and endorsed by 25 organizations, including the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples and the Montreal Muslim News, was in yesterday’s commen tary section of the Daily. Salerno declined to comment because he is pursuing possible legal action against the groups that wrote the letter. MSA is pursuing legal action, having met with McGill Student Advocacy and a private lawyer. They also plan to contact the SSMU Judicial Board this week, which, “is also the official ruling board of the DPS for their constitution and can also act as a court and rule on this,” said Doe. Student Advocacy Director Aamna Afsar said that, as the D aily is not an internal University organi

News 3

zation, Student Advocacy can only act as a moderator between the two par ties and encourage dialogue. Dean of Students Bruce Shore said he would play a similiar role. “It’s my job to keep a civil dialogue going,” said Shore. “If a group cannot lift their heads with pride, I feel comfort able calling [the par ties involved]... When I met with MSA, I said I would tell [the Coordi nating Editor] that I had a visit and [MSA] felt hurt when they looked at the D a ily ... Any time a student feels uncom fortable, the quality of life needs to be nourished... I am committed to two important principles: one, the quality of student life should be good, and two, that JAMESGR0HSGAL dialogue must be Medicine Councillor Hossein Samadi presents a motion civil,” he said. responding to the Daily article at SSMU Council.

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The McGill T rib u n e, Tuesday, N ovem ber 26, 2002

C o k e to b e o ffic ia l M c G ill b e v e ra g e A d m in is tra tio n a n n o u n c e s c a m p u s - w id e d istrib u tio n d e al McGill have not been released. Some students worry that the presence of Coca-Cola on campus will have a harmful effect on the learning environment, including increased advertising in campus buildings. “A contract like this is a chal lenge to... the morals of the University—it becomes in the University’s [financial] interest to promote Coke consumption on campus,” says Doe, stressing that promotion should solely be CocaCola’s job. In some cases, universities have also had unexpected increases in beverage prices after signing exclu sivity agreements. Students at the University of Manitoba, for exam ple, saw the price of a botde of Coke rise from $1.20 to $1.50 in early 1999, not long after that university

Continued from page 1

are] unreasonable... and Coke has tried some pretty nefarious things,” he says, citing the example of the University of British Columbia, in which Coca-Cola imposed quotas that required the sales of a precise number of units as cans and larger bottles. If a university is unable to fulfill the quota by the end of its contract, the beverage vendor can and, in the case of UBC, did unilat erally extend the term without fur ther compensation to the university. Doe noted, however, that UBC has enjoyed a “positive [financial] expe rience with Coke.” At yesterday’s meeting, Yalovsky stated that he finds the dis cussed quotas to be “reasonable, given the large size of the campus.” Details of possible sales quotas at

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signed an agreement with CocaCola. York University in Toronto has had similar problems—the price of bottled water increased by 76 per cent after the school signed a con tract with the Pepsi Corporation. Memories of CBA This contract is similar to the Cold Beverage Agreement proposed in the summer of 1999, which students voted against in a referendum in the spring of 2000. At the time, most campus food services were operated by student societies, and the University needed a society’s consent to sign an agree ment. SSMU, acting on behalf of undergraduate fac ulty societies, agreed to an 11-year exclusivity deal with Coca-Cola that would include SSMU as a party to the contract, allowing stu dents to have a direct link to the corporation. The ques tion was defeated with 56.4 per cent of the vote. Many students argued that corporate sponsorship was a quick solution that would hide a more serious funding problem from per manent solutions, and were concerned that they were unable to access the terms of agree ment documents. For competitive reasons, the details of such deals are generally kept secret and Doe does not expect these negotiations to be made public. “A big problem with the CBA was that students couldn’t see the contract—you can bet that we’ll never see this one either,” he noted Why not exclusive? Many university deals with

beverage vendors stipulate exclusivi ty, meaning that only drinks made by that company can be sold on campus. Yalovsky stresses the fact that this deal will indeed allow for some additional selection: “When you open the refrigerator, most of the drinks will be from Coke, but there will be a few other choices.” He estimates that 80 per cent of beverages for sale will be made by Coca-Cola. After the failed Cold Beverage Agreement, the adminis tration realized that students were

not interested in a campus-wide exclusivity deal. “There is not a sufficient amount for the administration to gain if there have to be constant batdes. We understood [the students’] concerns and tried to address them—we found that they could be addressed with a non-exclusive agreement,” said Yalovsky. Doe argues that non-exclusivity will not solve the problems of exclu sive contracts; “students are con cerned with the quotas that Coke

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No more student input Over the last two years, the administration has repatriated con trol of most campus cafeterias. SSMU, Arts, Management, Education, Music and Law have all seen food services revert to the control of the Ancillary Services depart ment. With the impend ing takeover of the Engineering Student Society’s Good Bytes Café, the University will control almost all food providers at McGill, allowing the administra tion to negotiate a cold beverage agreement with out the input of students. Immediately after the failure of the CBA, administrators began to redesign the letters of agreement they hold with student societies. These letters, which are renego tiated every five years, define the societies’ right to space owned by the University, including cafe teria space. As letters have come up for renewal, the administration has removed food service from student societies’ jurisdiction. This consolidation of services is intended to offer students more effi ciency and greater choice in oncampus dining. The main concern of the student societies is that they no longer have a say in the dining services in the buildings they occu py, or collect profits from cafeterias they once operated. — w ith files from Rhea Wong

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can impose, and with the fact that these negotiations are done behind closed doors.” He sees the move toward non-exclusivity as the University’s way to appease students without really addressing their con cerns.

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AUS to vote ‘no’, Offenbach told the Tribune that “If the United Nations can wait to make a deci sion on Iraq, the SSMU should be able to wait as well.” Indeed, Offenbach believes that “SSMU shouldn’t take sides on international issues, unless students are clearly behind them,” a consen sus that Offenbach does not see in this case.

After lengthy, confidential deliberation Tuesday night, the Arts Undergraduate Society Council elected former AUS Vice-President Finance Seth Offenbach as one of the society’s three representatives to the Students’ Society Council. Offenbach replaces former Arts Representative Nick Buccelli, who resigned in October. Offenbach ran against five other candidates in a debate immediatly before the confi dential council session. “I’m very glad to have the opportunity to represent Arts students to the McGill com munity,” said Offenbach. He added that he will use his pre vious experience in SSMU pol itics to “provide a good check on both councils.” AUS Council gave Offenbach recommendations on several resolutions that were debated at Thursday’s SSMU Council meeting, including one condemning the use of force in Iraq. Urged by the Seth Offenbach,

JENNYGEORGE AUS rep to SSMU

The McGill T ribune, Tuesday, November 26, 2002

N E W S B R IE F S

J a m e s G ro h s g a l

“The Evolving University: A Colloquium in Honour of Bernard J. Shapiro” was held in Redpath Hall on Wednesday, from 9 am to 7 pm, as a send-off celebration for the departing principal. The event hosted four panel discussions on topics Shapiro considered of great significance to the societal and academic future of universities. The event began with opening remarks from Vice-Principal (Academic) Luc Vlnet and Past Graduate Students’ Society president Ron McTaggart-Cowan and concluded with speeches by McGill Chancellor Emerita Gretta Chambers, Shapiro and Students’ Society President Martin Doe. Tribune staffers James Grohsgal, Jennifer Jett, Seth Offenbach, Ayse Gauthier, Kate Rhodes and M ark Sward report on the event’s highlights at www.mcgiJltribune.com. SSMU after accreditation again Council has been presented with a notice of motion to set up an accreditation referendum. If the referendum passes, the Quebec government would recog nize the Students’ Society as the

SSMU Councillors could not agree on the wording of a resolution con demning potential US military action in Iraq. Instead, the resolu tion was sent back to the Community and Government committee to make the language less divisive.

JAMESGROHSGAL A larger than average gallery sat through a six-hour Council meeting Thursday.

official representative of McGill University undergraduate students. Accreditation would also legally require the McGill administration to collect student fees for SSMU. SSMU President Martin Doe said a yes’ vote could lead to a stronger student voice. “One issue that we haven’t seemed to be able to come up with a good proposal yet is increased representation on University gov ernment bodies like the Senate and the Board of Governors... If we’re accredited we can propose changes to the accreditation law to the gov ernment,” he said. Doe is asking that the accredi tation referendum be held from February 3 to 21, when the Arts Undergraduate Society and the Science Undergraduate Society plan to hold referenda to be accred ited as official faculty associations. The Engineering Undergraduate Society has already been accredited. “I think that time is of the essence because, now that we’ve seen EUS accredited, we will hope fully see some benefits with University issues, the cafeteria being one of them, even though accreditation doesn’t guarantee cafeterias,” said Doe. The accreditation question on the ballot last year failed because it did not make quorum. Former SSMU President Jeremy Farrell was criticized for not adequately explaining how provincial recogni tion of SSMU would benefit McGill students. World awaits SSMU’s Iraq resolution After a long debate and numerous proposed amendments,

News 5

The gallery in the back of the Lev Bukhman Council room, mostly members of McGill Students Against War and Racism and the Muslim Students’ Association, sat through six hours of a marathon Council session before the resolution was discussed. Some Councillors questioned whether SSMU should pass a reso lution that calls for no concrete action on an issue over which they have no control, while others said that Ottawa would recognize McGill students’ concerns if SSMU spoke with one voice. There were also calls for more specific declara tions on weapons inspections and human rights violations. Earlier in the evening, while two guest speakers explained why they opposed the Bush administra tions’ bellicosity, noted Council critic Rod DeCastro muttered that Council should not be wasting its time on issues irrelevant to SSMU. He said he would bring his grand father to the next Council meeting to discuss retirement policy because, “Hey, everyone grows old someday, right?” Dumont’s doublespeak Before giving a speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on Thursday afternoon, in which he advocated removing all public service monopolies, Mario Dumont, the leader of Action Démocratique du Quebec, said he would increase government fund ing to post-secondary education. McGill Post Graduate Students’ Society President Ron McTaggart-Cowan asked Dumont, “Will the ADQ remove the tuition freeze?”

“We will lock it to the Consumer Price Index and make it much more difficult to unlock— write it into the provincial regula tions to prevent another quick decision,” said Dumont. “Will you then increase public funding?” McTaggart-Cowan asked. “Yes,” Dumont responded. “More money will go to the univer sities with a new formula.” In his speech, Dumont said that he was against raising taxes and argued that the “government should stay in its place.” After the speech at a press con ference, in which Dumont was dogged by questions about the res ignation of a political advisor, McTaggart-Cowan asked Dumont if his proposed privatization of healthcare would mirror the future shape of public education. Dumont, who believes that social services will take up more than 50 per cent of the provincial government’s budget by 2010, responded by saying that healthcare reform must be accomplished. In front of the television cameras, Dumont refrained from repeating the private promise he made to the PGSS president, but did say hé supported public funding of educa tion. Students’ Society President Martin Doe followed Dumont out of the press conference and asked the Concordia alumnus if he would give a speech to McGill students, but for now Dumont has declined to accept an invitation. Blind student fights OSD move The Quebec Commission on Human Rights is now investigating a claim that McGill University has violated the rights of disabled stu dents. Education student John Doyle sent a letter to the Commission on Friday to request an investigation of the administra tion’s decision to relocate the Office for Students with Disabilities in

January from its location in Burnside Hall to the Brown Student Services Building. “Such a move would violate our rights to accessibility to the building,” wrote Doyle, who believes that the topographical location of the building, atop a steep hill, is inappropriate for

Valeri isn’t so sure. Steps was initial ly denied funding from the SSMU Campus Life Fund because it was classified as a faculty publication, but, according to Telch, this was an error. “It is not a publication owned or operated by AUS,” said Telch. “Just because the editors and writ

NATHANLEBI0DA Workers finish installing a new, wider wheelchair ramp to the Shatner building.

wheelchair-bound students. Kateri Morin, a spokesperson for the Commission, said, “an investigation is now under way. “The role of an investigator is to determine if discrimination is occurring. An investigator will meet with Mr. Doyle and decide how to proceed,” said Morin. Doyle said his goal is to stop the OSD’s move. “The people who ultimately suffer here are the students,” he said. “It is their rights that must be protected. They must come first, regardless of what address the University wants us to have.” The University has already completed most of the renovations necessary to make the interior of the Brown Building accessible for disabled students. — K ate Rhodes

SSMU scrutinizes Steps status Is Steps an Arts Undergraduate Society publication or not? AUS President Rachel Telch says no, but Students’ Society Treasurer Colin

P h a rm a c y :

ers are in the Faculty of Arts doesn’t mean that it’s the AUS’s paper. “We don’t dictate what they can or can’t print, but if what they run violates their funding proposal, funding can be revoked and subsequent funding not allocated, but our jurisdiction doesn’t extend beyond that. For Steps to be a faculty publi cation, governed by AUS, it would mean that AUS would edit the magazine in its entirety. Valeri says it is unclear whether or not Steps is an AUS publication. “That’s the question to ask,” he said. SSMU wound up giving $500 from the CLF to Steps, of which $300 will be in advertising pay ments. The AUS contributed $1500 this semester for two issues of the magazine. If Steps is not an AUS publica tion, then Arts students, unlike stu dents in Engineering, Management and Science, do not have an official faculty newspaper.

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B OS T ON ^ W O R C E S T E R

6 Op/Ed

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, N ovem ber 26, 2002

Op i n i o n

Editorial S to p th e P r e s s

EDITORIAL “T h e g r e a t th in g a b o u t d e m o c ra c y is th a t it g iv e s e v ery v o te r a c h a n c e to d o s o m e th in g stu p id . ” — A r t S p a n d e r

U N says "S S M U w h o ? " Raquel K irsc h and Sco tt R . Medvin

At Thursday night’s Council meeting, SSMU brought a resolution to oppose the (not yet occurring) war on Iraq. Although the resolution was not passed and was subsequently sent back to the Committee on Community and Government for modification, its appearance on Council’s agenda brings with it implications of the expansion of the scope of student government, as well as questions as to the appropriateness of SSMU’s intended actions. When SSMU elections were held in March for this year’s representa tives, the issues facing the candidates were clearly McGill-o-centric: differ ential tuition, corporate influence on campus and student rights. We, the voters, selected our candidates based on their student agenda. I don’t recall voting for any VPs because I liked their position on renewable energy pol icy or gun control. Yet it seems that the SSMU executives have decided that issues of inter national import are within their jurisdiction. This is false. SSMU has done many great things for students in the past, and will continue to do so in the future. But when they believe that international weapons inspections and covert military operations are within their purview, they have clearly strayed from their core purpose. Will a war in Iraq affect us, as both students and residents of Canada? Absolutely. But by this token, must the SSMU now pass resolutions on nearly every event that affects the student body? The Lev Bukhman room is not the UN Security Council. Student government is not about picking sides on every international issue. Student government is for the advance ment of the student body, not the advancement of the personal political beliefs of those who hold positions. SSMU politics are not about the inva sion of a country; they are about making McGill a better environment in which to learn. It is not readily evident what the proposed resolution aims to accom plish. Officially condemning a conflict in Iraq would be nothing but lipservice paid to anti-American and pacifist personalities on campus. Promising to support anti-war groups—as the resolution intended—is a clear case of pandering to the side whose views are synonymous with your own, and is bound to create an even more divided atmosphere. Committing to write letters to the Prime Minister or the UN’s Secretary General is nice in theory, but in all honesty, what is another semi-informed voice when the tracts of distinguished academics and activists are already ignored by both. The reason that this resolution was sent back to committee was in order to make it less divisive. How can a resolution dealing with a divisive issue be made less divisive? No matter what stance SSMU takes on the pos sible war in Iraq, there will be a dissenting voice. Representatives to Council did not hear that voice last Thursday, as the two guest speakers presented both came from the same side: the one that feels a conflict in Iraq should be avoided at all costs. Even though an article in the Leadership section of Preamble of the Students’ Society of McGill University’s Constitution makes the commend able commitment to demonstrate “leadership in matters of human rights [and] social justice,” Article 22 of the Council by-laws states the SSMU will not take a stance on an external political issue—such as a far off war—that is deemed to be extremely divisive amongst McGill students. Although pre senting only one side of the issue may make it seem that student opinion is unanimous, there is no way to poll the personal beliefs of the student body in order to show unanimous, or even majority support, for this resolution. The SSMU-endorsed protest against the inclusion of education in the FTAA was an example of a student society rallying for its constituents; as students, we would all be affected by tuition hikes. In the future, SSMU should consider sticking its nose where it belongs, not just where it appears to fit. If our student government is busying itself with an international agenda, who will be there to protect our interests here at home? t h e

M c G IL L T R IB U N E

Editor-In-Chief James Empringham

Production Manager M ichael Liew

Martin Doe President, SSMU For a list of your councillors, visit www.ssmu.mcgill.ca or www.mcgilltribune.com A full listing will appear in next week’s Tribune.

Centre universitaire de santé McGill McGill University Health Centre

ASTHMA TREATMENT RESEARCH People with asthm a needed to paticipate in a clinical project be between 18 and 64 years old ->- be a non-smoker -»- use a reliable method of birth control ( women only) be taking medication to control your asthma on a regular basis have symptoms such as : cough, wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath C om pensation for your expenses is offered for qualified participants If you are interested in participating please contact Alexandra Hassan, RRT Resaerch Coordinator, Asthma Unit Montréal General Hospital of McGill University Health Centre

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Matt Dellinger

i £ OKwise guy. I'll make a miracle that you can't create with mere sticks and stones!

is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of M cG ill University

News Editors James Grohsgal Kate Rhodes

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Assistant Editor-in-Chief Raquel Kirsch

I’d like to dispel a myth. Contrary to popular belief, I am not intent on purchasing a plasma screen against students’ wishes; a plasma screen is certainly not the legacy I’d like to leave after my year in office is done. The inten tion was never just to acquire an expensive TV and run commer cials. It was to examine possibili ties to take advantage of the visi bility of the Shatner lobby area and use it to improve communica tion between the SSMU and the student body. However, if there are more effective (or more cost-effec tive) ways to achieve the same goal, then I welcome them. That is why I would like to thank those students who have noted their opinions (mostly in opposition) on this proposal. Writing letters to the editor of the campus media is a good way to make your individ ual voice as a student heard. I can assure you that I read the Tribune, D a ily and Le D é lit meticulously and pay special attention to feed back in letters. The point of THIS letter is to bring to your attention to other ways to produce change at the SSMU. On Thursday at 5:30 pm in the Shatner Student lxtunge there will be a SSMU Open Meeting. It is a meeting where any student can come and ask, say, request, demand, declare, or suggest any thing to/from their SSMU execu tives. I have entitled this Open Meeting, “Looking Beyond the Plasma Screen.” Thus, I’d like to personally invite all interested stu dents to come voice their concerns and propose better ideas of how the SSMU can improve two-way

communication with undergradu ate students at large. In fact, I’d challenge those who have already voiced concerns with “Project Plasma” to bring your enthusiasm and help come up with better ideas on how to achieve this goal. Better yet, take advantage of a seldom-used resource. Each and every student (that means YOU) is represented by the SSMU Executives and at least one coun cillor on the SSMU Council. Furthermore, if you happen to be a first-year Arts student, live in res idence, play intramural hockey and a member of the Snowboard Club, you would have nine differ ent councillors you could approach with your concerns. Find your councillor/s, email them and let them know what you want to see from SSMU. If you’re not satisfied with just emailing, show up to a Council meeting and make sure your point is made (the next one is Thursday, December 5, at 6 pm). You might see results faster than you think. As I have said before, SSMU s biggest resource is the energy and ideas of students themselves. So, write letters, come to Open Meetings, email your councillors, or do all of the above. By sharing your thoughts, you help to come up with not only better ideas, but a better Students’ Society as well.

Staff : john Bowden, Brody Brown, l.exie Buchanon, Matt Dellinger, Jeremy Dietz, Ayse Gauthier, Melanie FHerscovitch, Christina Heyding, Dany Horovitz, Dannie Lin, Ben Madgetl, Kristen Mallory, Jeremy Morris, acob Nerenberg, Julie Peters, Evan Placey, Josh Scheinert, Andrew Segal, Tomoko Shida, Nadia Suiistiono, Mark Sward, Liz Trucanowicz, To-Ching Yeung.

letters must include author's name, signature, identification (e.g. U2 Biology, SSMU President) and telephone number and lx> typed double-spaced, submitk d on disk in Macintosh or IBMword processor formai, or sent by e-mail. Letters me>• than 200 words, pieces for Stop the Press more than 500 words, or submission, judged try the Editor-in-Chief to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic, or solc!\ promotional in nature, will not be published. The Tribune will make all reasonablr efforts to print submissions provided that space is available, and reserves the rig u to edit letters for length. Bring submissions to the Tribune office, FAXto 398-1 i ' 1 or send to tribtme@ssmu.mcgill.ca. Columns appearing under 'Editorial' heading are decided upon by the editori.il board and written by a member of the editorial board. All other opinions are strie l ly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper. Subscriptions are available for $30.00 per year. A dvertising OfFict: Paul Slachta, 3600 rue McTavish, Suite 1200, Montn. Quebec H3A1Y2 Tel: (514) 398-6806 Fax: (514) 398-7490 T r ib u n e O

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, N ovem ber 26, 2002

■ ■ llllllllIM

Op i n i o n

Op/Ed 7

Editorial

Xe q u é b e g ^ .

T h e w a itin g J^myMôrn5 This tale of woe afflicted my poor, supple body last April, and was thusly composed in an appro priate state of indignation and hys teria. Also, as you read this, bear in mind that former Premier Roy Romanow is about to unveil his booster shot for the public medical system. I offer him some further symptoms to consider. So in honour of all my friends who are becoming Freudian neurotics due to essay overdrive, and are subsequently bubbling up and out with horrible physical manifestations of their inner turmoils (His boils were as big as a small mouse!), I offer you some comic relief at someone else’s mis ery— namely, my own. Recendy, I have had a series of medical problems involving my bowels. Yes, my poopie, for those still taking general arts and who have yet to discover the wonder of polysyllabic words. This, of course, has entailed repeated visits to the McGill Health Clinic and the gra cious care of the staff there. My doctor, the concerned indi vidual that he is, prescribed for me some miracle pills that would remove that burning sensation... well, I shouldn’t get into further details. Nonetheless, being universi

ty students means that we are a busy lot. Should I take the pills that could prevent hours of pain and dis comfort or watch Survivor*. And I really wanted to see them eat bugs, honest. Well, unaddressed bowel prob lems tend to lead to bigger problems involving one’s colon. One beautiful Saturday morning, nay afternoon, I emerged from my protective sleep cocoon. I was wearing my South Park “I want Cheesy Poofs” T-shirt, the birds were singing and my hair was messy. It was bliss. But wait, what was that faint pressure on my left flank? Could it be the remnants of last night’s boozathon at StSulpice? Or the fact that my week end diet is comprised entirely of Mr. Noodles and Tang? Was it con stipation? Appendicitis? Or dysen tery? I simply did not know. A day later, my left flank felt like it was the scene of a drunken Mexican revolution involving a bat tering ram. I decided that no selfadministered university student medicine (read a quart of rum) could solve my predicament. It was time to resort to the miracle that is Canadian Socialized Medicine. As it was a Sunday and the beautiful province of Quebec would never avoid an opportunity to frolic in the sun, my particular dilemma left me with a single option for medical treatment: The Royal Victoria Hospital. Oh, hallowed neogothic healing institution in

ro o m

whose loins I was born, grant me a speedy recovery. I know that I am not worthy, but I offer Thee two interns for ritual sacrifice. Thank Thee, all mighty Royal Victoria. I felt this was a sufficient gift and I was told by a secretary enshrouded behind a foot of plate glass to sit in the aptly named wait ing room. I wondered if she had tear gas ready, so as to disperse unruly patients. I sat down and gazed around the room. I chuckled to myself, “Only twenty people are waiting, this is a good sign; how long could the lineup possibly be? An hour, naa, two at the most.” Little did I know, but I was begin ning an odyssey. Hour one passed by with litde interest. I read Fortune magazine (a free market magazine in a socialist institution?) and watched an over weight Italian man and his mom argue. She probably still did his laundry and scolded him about girls. Hour two, read two chapters of my political science textbook, two Time magazines and an Esquire. Between pain spasms, I felt a burn ing desire to update my wardrobe. Hour three and four mingled together. Around hour five and a half, I began to panic. Fantasies crossed my mind involving painful appendicitis and bloody death on the floor. “Yes, that’s it! If I spontaneously combust right here, I could provoke a major controversy. Yes, and I would be a

o f th e

d a m n e d

symbol for the hospital revolution! People would march down the street chanting, Avenge Jeremy! Down with Medicare Cutbacks!”’ I pre dictably became increasingly dis traught with my doomsday imagery. Around hour six, I began fanta sizing about giving campaign con tributions to the Canadian Alliance, the Republican National Congress or just about anyone who would privatize this hospital and deliver me to some Tylenol 3. Then I had a vision or hallucination, whichever you prefer. Canadian Socialized Medicine Man appeared before me wearing a red cape and yellow tights. Esquire would approve. He said to me, “Jeremy how can you even consider selling out to the forces of free market darkness and doom? Think of all the struggles of the late great Tommy Douglas.” I replied, “Look Canadian Socialized Medicine Man, I realize that a pri vate system would be far worse, but politicians have been inefficient at delivering medical care and the pub lic has refused to elect a government that will increase taxes to pay for the needed services.” Then he replied, “Yes, but they still have long waits in the US and only the ultrarich profit from a private system. Besides, look on the bright side—at least you’re not the girl over there who needs stitches on her ass for sitting on a beer can.” The beer can remark inspired me, and I decided to take action.

Yes, I complained! And in less than two hours later I had my very own room. SCORE! It even had alcohol swabs—a source of luxury. Three hours later, three x-rays, some push ing and prodding and a friendly chat with the doctor and I was free. So for a total of 10 hours, five mag azines and a whole textbook of political science, I was told that I had “Irritable bowel syndrome.” Which basically translates into, “We don’t know what’s wrong with you.” I should have yoinked the hospital gown as a bonus. In conclusion, at least I didn’t get a colonoscopy, which the doctor described as, “Making you scream like a little girl.” As well, I learned some valuable lessons about the Canadian medical system. Number one: never enter a hospital unless you are on a stretcher or bleeding profusely. No, internal hemorrhag ing will just not suffice. Number two: the staff in an emergency room doesn’t care about you. You are just another patient who will pass through the system and disappear. This is the saddest effect of medical cutbacks. It has turned disciplined caring professionals into cynical, overworked clerks filling people in the ‘makes it’ or ‘completely screwed’ drawers. If we, the voters, don’t take action soon, there will be a tragedy in a waiting room and it just might be you.

S m u t o n t h e w a lls , t e r r o r in t h e s t a lls

A door opens. Slowly, foot steps limber across the tiled floor. I draw a deep breath and listen to my heartbeat race. My muscles tense as sweat trickles down my brow; I wait in complete silence. Helplessly, I sit on the toilet. With my pants pulled down to my ankles, my situation couldn’t be more dire. Evidently, Montreal’s terrorist network has targeted me as its next unsuspecting victim. How did I get myself into this mess? For the past month, I had infused my body with “alternative” fluids, generally consisting of Smirnoff Vodka, Molson Export, and/or Goldschlâger. But, enough was enough; I had schoolwork to attend to. Earlier that day, I packed my backpack and marched into Redpath Library. I was a man with a mission—I was going to study. The alcohol that had ruthless ly incapacitated my brain since late August began to dissipate. Gradually, I absorbed the “Coase Theorem” from my economics text book. At this rate, I could finish my work and inebriate myself before dinner! Engrossed with my studies, I had disregarded the perpetual nui sance bubbling and emerging in my abdomen. For lunch, I had gratified

my appetite with a colossal bowl of stacked up on extra toilet paper, I Stagg Chili; con carne, of course. A locked the door, and I cleaned the few short hours later, I was going to seat. My preparations complete, I resolved to make myself comfort pay the price for my idiocy. My apartment, located in the able. Thus, I perused the literature heart of the Ghetto, is usually a common to every public restroom’s short walk from campus. Naively, I wall. But, to my dismay, the prose thought I could toddle home and was highly offensive. I was sur enjoy the comfort of my very own rounded by vulgar insults, attacking private washroom facility. I exited Jews, Arabs, Americans and Spice the library carefully, so as not to Girls fans. I was traumatized; I disturb my delicate condition. couldn’t comprehend how McGill, Within seconds, my stomach exe a highly regarded institution of cuted a “shifting” motion, adding a higher learning, could have these degree of urgency to my situation. convictions on display. Who would do such a thing? My fate became painfully clear: I was never going to make it home in Is it possible that a constipated time! individual of middle-eastern With clenched fists, I briskly descent carved these blasphemies sauntered into the Arts building. on my stall’s wall? That’s when it hit Gathering all of my strength, I me. McGill was losing the global clutched to the railing and hobbled War on Terror. Our school is inca down the stairs. Wavering in an out pable of taking a stand against hateof consciousness, I was just able to mongers and fanatics. These men, decipher the “Men’s Room” caption attempting to spread their propa on the door. Gripping my stomach ganda, freely harass morals, ethics and rational thought. Then, the in agony, I entered the washroom. A flash of fluorescent radiance entrance door to the washroom flooded my eyes. Cautiously, I unexpectedly opened. I sit in horror as the man stops stepped forward, maneuvering my way around puddles of dank water. in front of my stall. Obviously, a At the far end of the room, the terrorist has been sent to dispose of lights flickered, illuminating the me. Naked from the waist down, torrent trickle dripping from the my prickly leg hairs quiver. I wait in ceiling. It had the aura of a Turkish silence as the man stands there. After a brief pause, the man contin sauna. I zeroed in on my target, ues towards the urinal. Then, he selecting the third stall to my right urinates, zips up and leaves. So all as my headquarters. I prepared all without the faintest notion of the necessary accommodations: I washing his hands. Quickly, I finish

my business and exit the wash room. I consider myself lucky to be alive. We are all susceptible to racism, discrimination and vio lence. If McGill can’t protect me, then I’ll watch my own back and

poop at home. Life would be so much easier if these intolerant, bigotted militants swallowed some Pepto-Bismol and saved the wall space for sleazy talk and sex-chat numbers.

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Features

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

D a te r a p e d r u g s m a y b e r e s u r fa c in g o n M c G ill s c e n e F e m a le s tu d e n ts d e s c r ib e K ate Rhodes

Undeserved and unexpected, date rape drugs are being used to victimize campus party-goers across North America. The alleged druggings of eight females who attended parties host ed by McGill students has raised suspicion over the use of date rape drugs by members of the student body. Usually unknowingly ingest ed by a victim in an alcoholic bev erage, such drugs often cause the victim to lose consciousness. “The threat of being drugged at parties is very real,” said Chip Arnaldo, U2 Physiology student and director of the McGill First Aid Association. The descriptions of several women’s symptoms after attending different parties parallel the effects of date rape drugs suspi ciously well, said Arnaldo. Signs of drugging include memory loss and drowsiness. Among the victims, three women, Deena*, Kara* and Maureen*, attended a party and believe they were drugged by their classmates. The women were discouraged from drinking beer and instead given a homemade punch drink which, as Deena explained, was “just for the girls” and free. “The ‘girl’ punch [was] essen tially... frozen concentrated fruit punch with vodka and added blue berries and raspberries,” said Kara. “We watched them fill up pitchers from a garbage can, and pour directly into plastic cups.”

th e ir n e w fo u n d

Drugs can easily be added to punch drinks or drinks in open communal containers, like bowls or pitchers, according to Arnaldo. The girls never left their drinks unattended. “I did not feel drunk, but just a little heated and bloated by all the juice. So I went up and asked the two guys pouring the punch if he could maybe add a little more alcohol to my drink,” said Maureen. “He asked me, ‘How many have you had?’ and I told him four. He then replied, ‘Oh, you will feel something shortly. Here's another glass.’” The girls did not necessarily feel “pressured, but the hosts encouraged us to ‘drink up’,” said Deena. Each woman described similar symptoms after consuming rela tively small portions of alcohol on full stomachs. “We were all feeling very tired, sluggish and bloated for no appar ent reason,” said Kara. “One girl was practically falling asleep.” She felt this was strange because, “We didn't feel drunk in the least... Rather, our consensus is we felt ‘weird’; no other word sums it up. “Later that night, I was physi cally sick even though I felt com pletely sober, had not eaten any thing unusual and was not feeling ill [otherwise],” added Kara “I couldn't really walk straight, and felt funny. [One of us] joked that maybe the drinks were drugged, and we all sort of thought about it, but dismissed

fe a rs fro m

re c e n t p a rty -g o in g

e x p e rie n c e s

Women’s Health Information Center, the side effects of Rohypnol and other common date rape drugs, such as GHB (gammahydroxybutrate) and Ketamine (horse tranquillizer), include “impaired judgment and impaired motor skills and can make a victim unable to resist a sexual attack.” As these drugs are legally used in other countries as sedatives, victims often pass out. “Disinhibition (losing your social inhibitions) is another wide ly reported effect of Rohypnol,” said a report on the centre’s web site. “Adverse effects of Rohypnol use include decreased blood pres sure, memory impairment, drowsi ness, visual disturbances, dizziness, confusion, gastrointestinal distur bances and urinary retention.” Another female student, Marissa*, attending a different social function this month, also WWW.STOPDRUGS.ORG believes she was drugged. Rohypnol: A pill with many social, medical and psychological consequences. “My friends said that I just stopped dancing and pretty much it... I was also very emotional on the women said they would never just stopped functioning. I said the way home, and felt sort of again attend a similar party. “ [I feel] very vulnerable. It can that I didn't feel drunk, but like I numb, but not at all drunk,” Maureen noted. “At the time, I dis happen to anyone. I even spoke to was on drugs... I don't remember missed it as hormones or some guys who went to that party and much from the party but, accord thing, but all my friends had simi they said they felt weird too,” said ing to my friends, I just kinda started swaying while we were lar feelings, so we speculated that it Deena. “The guys were incredibly dancing,” she said. “All of a sud could have been a drugging.” Deena lost consciousness that clueless, bordering creepy most of den, I couldn't walk or barely night. She was convinced she’d the time,” Kara observed. “They talk—I practically stopped func been drugged “when I started get blocked our way into the wash tioning. They took me to sit on the ting really drowsy. We were sitting room, making suggestive com stairs, where I began to fall asleep, on the couches [at the party], and I ments about our going in together, pass out. [When I got home], I got was literally falling asleep... which was primarily because the [When I got home], I passed out.” door didn't lock.” See DATE RAPE DRUG, page 9 According to the US National As a result of the experience,

W e d r a n k ; w e cu ssed e a c h o th e r o u t; w e g o t o u r n a ils d o n e

It’d be a bit of a downer if I only wrote about serious subjects, so let’s lighten it up this week, shall we? On the one hand, I was worried about delving into this topic for fear of being labelled “too gay” or perpetuating a stereotype. But on the other, I’m thinking, hell, this is something everyone should be savvy about! It’s about presentation, pepple! And let’s be honest—it’s hard being a boy in this city, straight or gay. You have to look damn fine, especially if you are hitting up the St-Laurent scene. Sweatpants, socks and sandals—leave ‘em at home, ladies and gents. You know all those little pag eant secrets I’ve been divulging

every once in a while? The ones your mother/father should have taught you—rubbing Vaseline on the teeth for a shiny smile, opening your eyes like they’re burning with acid to look excited for the camera, conditioning with a homemade egg yolk and mango paste, and not eat ing solid foods for five days pre pageant? Okay, so maybe I haven’t been consistently doling them out, but I have a new one, and apparently they’re already doing it in Hong Kong and New York. Here, in good ol’ Monty, Tonic (the salon) and Sofia (the restaurant) have teamed up to create “Martini Manucure” where you can chat over classy drinks and get your nails done. That’s right, your prayers have been answered! Good times, good drinks and good looking nails! Four of us went and it was so Sex a n d the C ity that it was embar rassingly cliché. ‘Charlotte’, my coy, skinny blond friend with his Tiffany’s bracelet; ‘Samantha’, the friend who screamed across the

table—and into my quiet mani curist’s ear—that I was a (rhymes with “mucking sunt”); ‘Miranda’, the friend with eyebrows that look like they belong on a confused drag queen; and then of course, ‘Carrie’—I got that role, well, just because. So the Fab Four marched into Sofia’s and sidled up to the bar for some martini madness. Two of us had ‘manly martinis’—straight up, throat-searing vodka—while the other two chose from the wide range of options on the martini menu. A digression, if I may: Try the Peach Kiss or Almond Joy, they’re mmm-mm good! After guz zling them down on empty stom achs, we were giggling like a bunch of school girls—and ready to throw our paws out onto the table for some hardcore hand primping. Each boy had his own mani curist, who filed, clipped and then batded the cuticles. At first, the boys and I were concerned that some Sofia customers would end up finding some of our nail clippings

in the salad or some filings in the soup. Rest assured, the manicure tables are far from the dining clien tèle. The ladies who wrestled with our hands were extremely sweet and accommodating. In fact, we had so much fun with them that Tonic’s head honcho came over to urge them to hurry up because there was a long line of people, from welldressed dames to dashing dudes in business suits, eager to get their nailwork done. We laughed it off, but I shot my manicurist a look that said: “If you rush this and mess up, I’ll use my newly sharpened claws on that pretty face of yours.” Pre-finale, we each received an amazing hand massage with Aveda lotion. Oh god, if my hands could have orgasms, they would have! Finally, we were able to choose a polish. (Don’t worry boys, if you don’t want polish you don’t have to get any.) I chose a natural coat, while ‘Samantha’ and ‘Miranda’ went with the clear. ‘Charlotte’ requested the red, noting it was fes

tive for the holiday season. When his manicurist tried to suggest a dif ferent colour, I backed the boy up, supporting his desire for lady fin gers—I mean, for his courageous colour choice. It looked great, we felt good. We tipped and staggered out the door, pushed by the evil stares of the other customers, bitter we had monopolized so much man icurist time. There’s a reason the Spice Girls didn’t let poor Posh sing: She may have had the glam thing going for her, but the cuticles on her man’s hands were out of control—and that was so not okay. (Yes, that’s a dirty, rotten lie, but I’m trying to make a point.) Don’t be a victim. The number of men getting work done to improve their appearance is on the rise, so jump on the trendtrain! Go out there, get your drink on and get pampered while you’re at it! Call 2 8 4 -0 0 9 2 to make a reser vation or visit www.sofiagrill.com

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

Features 9

Rule : No jerk in g off in th e show er! #

C o m m u n a l sh o w e rs a n d

u rin a ls :

T h e p o litic s o f c o - e d w a s h r o o m s This is the common trend among residents; now, it is just part of our normalcy. I expect that when I enter the washroom for whatever occasion, there will be a girl stand ing there—I almost look forward to it. KRISTEN MALLORY

Evan Placey

After having spent three hours helping me unpack my belongings into my new room in Molson Hall, my mother entered and immediate ly left the washroom, upon spotting the young man at the urinal. She refused to go back to the bathroom while there was someone of the opposite sex in there with her. If those of us living on a co-ed wing followed this same mantra, we’d find ourselves with some seri ous bladder problems. For co-ed Rez kids, it is per fectly normal for a girl to enter the washroom while a guy is casually taking a whiz at the urinal or for a guy to enter the washroom while a girl is changing her tampon in one of the stalls. This is what comes with sharing a bathroom with 18 other people of both sexes. But it wasn’t always this normal. Peeing with friends Many residents will admit that they were a bit uneasy at the begin ning. Pat Shoniker, a resident of Molson Hall, remembers his initial discomfort, but says he has now fully adjusted. “It was awkward. You come from a home where you have your own washroom, where you could shut the door,” he explains. “ Now you’re brushing your teeth and some half-naked guy or girl walks in. It takes time getting used to but you start to get the hang of it... you stop thinking about it.”

Urinal understanding Life within the tiled walls of the unisex washrooms does have its problems, which require setting up some ground rules. The most obvi ous manifestations of a co-ed wash room are the urinals, and there are rules to the man-toilet. People assume that because guys are out in the open when using it, it’s perfect ly okay to start up a conversation with them while they’re peeing. Wrong. Many residents find this to be the first rule of urinary etiquette: No talking to a guy at the urinal. “If a guy’s at a urinal, make quick eye contact and then look away,” is Rachel Marcuse’s tactic, based on her experiences thus far. Jordana Kapeluto agrees, adding that the guy sets the tone. “If a guy talks to you first, then it’s okay to talk to him.” A guy may feel uncomfortable talking while he pees, since a urinal doesn’t provide the privacy of a stall; he may also have trouble with his ability to pee if someone is standing beside him talking to him. Some, however, disagree and feel that a man has given up his right to privacy by choosing to use the urinal as opposed to a stall. Regardless, should a man choose to use a stall, there are rules that fol low. The female remarks most often heard throughout the building are: Put down the lid and if you pee on the seat, clean it up. Yet, even in the confines of a stall, awkwardness may still arise for both men and women. Just last week, I was in the bathroom when a girl using one of the stalls asked

Upper Rez guys and gals get cozy in co-ed bathrooms, claiming the environment encourages floor bonding.

me if I could turn the tap on because she was having trouble pee ing while I was in the room. Poo problems I certainly remember the first time I sat in a stall in the co-ed washroom, praying no one would enter while I was doing my busi ness, but now I don’t care. One thing you learn from co-ed wash rooms is that everyone does it and there’s really nothing embarrassing about it. Most residents have found they’re no longer humiliated if they make a noise in the bathroom. It is important, however, to remember that urinary rules apply here as well. In fact, it is perfectly acceptable to outright ignore someone who is on the john as this will make it less awkward for both of you. Still, as with all rules, this one is flexible. Victor Feret is one of few residents who finds it “more com fortable” to talk to others while he is in a stall. “I’m always talking,” he explains. “I have shitting partners.” Shower shenanigans Across from the toilet area are two stalls and a bathtub shower with a door that locks. I have found the showers to be the most fun place for conversation: I enjoy mak ing shower dates with my floormates, so that there is someone in the next stall keeping me company. It truly enriches the bathing experi ence. According to the bathing rule, shower dates and conversations are

perfectly acceptable. It should be noted that your shower date should have good vocal abilities and har monize well with you, especially for shower duets. In residence, the co-ed showers thus become a social bonding space where floormates can sing together and have fun in the water—think of it as a day at the beach. However, showering with the opposite sex demands respect and understanding from floormates. A resident,of one of the upper resi dences, who chose to remain anonymous, describes the shower behaviour of her floormates. “People steal other people’s towels, the shower curtains, pour cold water over the side of the stall while someone’s showering. They make a nice mix with different stuff and pour it over you while you’re showering,” she confides, adding the rule: “Don’t shit in the shower. Don’t laugh. It’s happened.” Still, besides such pranks, resi dents have found the showers to be a comfortable and considerate envi ronment. But there are limitations. Banging and beating Let’s get straight to the point: Sex or masturbating in the shower or toilet stalls is disrespectful. This rule is pretty self-explanatory, but there is an understanding among residents that it can be broken, as long as no one knows about it. “If I don’t know about it, I don’t care,” states Ian MacDougall. Shoniker, who was initially petrified by the idea of having to

share a bathroom with 18 strangers, is now more comfortable. “If people want to have sex in the shower or beat off, all the power to them!” he exclaims. “Doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable.” Marcuse agrees. “If you want to do stuff like that in the grimy showers, go ahead,” he states. “Just make sure to clean up after yourself.” Bathroom banter So what is the advantage of the co-ed washroom? The social aspect: Since there isn’t a common room on each residence floor, the bathroom has become the social hotspot. “It’s our common room!” announces Stephanie Hodsoll, who shares a washroom with toilet-talk er Feret. In fact, most floormates would never see each other were it not for the washroom. It’s central and there is no getting around using it. So the co-ed washroom, instead of proving to be problematic, as many initially thought it would have, proves to be instrumental to the blooming of co ed floor friendships. In general, the rule system is founded on trust, common sense and, primarily, respect. And should you want to experience the phe nomenon that has become our everyday life, come on up: We’ll make sure your shower, shit and shave are a sensational experience. Remember to flush and you’ll do just fine.

Date rape drug possible threat in McGill students' cocktails Continued from page 8

sick, threw up for about an hour...” At 2:00 am, concerned for her safety, her friends insisted she go the hospital, where she waited until 5:00 am. “A nurse came to see me but told me I would probably have to wait until the morning, like 8:00 am or so, to even see a doctor,” Marissa recalls. “She told me that whatever I had had already passed out of my system since I was com pletely coherent right after I got sick, so I went back home without even seeing a doctor or getting test ed... [The next day] I had a really bad headache and was really grog

gy... and slept almost the entire day.” According to Arnaldo, the McGill First Aid Association has responded to many emergency

were found unconscious. Last year, MFAA responded to six suspicious incidents, four of which resulted in unconscious victims. “At parties, watch your drink.

“The threat of being drugged at parties is very real... At parties, watch your drink. Don’t drink mixed drinks.” — Chip Arnaldo Director o f M c G ill First A id

calls for drunkenness, but this year, four incidents that occurred at par ties on campus have led to suspi cions that guests were drugged. In two of the four reports, the victims

Don’t drink mixed drinks. Go for drinks in bottles. I can’t stress enough that girls need to watch their drinks. I see girls put their drinks down at parties, to hug or

talk to people, all the time. You need to be careful,” cautions Arnaldo. “Drugs are often in punch or homemade drinks. Don’t drink the punch.” The US Department of Health and Human Resources reports Rohypnol is a low-cost drug, sold in small white tablets that dissolve quickly in liquids. Once ingested, the drug can take effect in as little as 10 minutes, and often peaks between two to three hours of taking it. Pharmaceutical companies are now manufacturing special coast ers and urine test strips people can use to determine if they’ve been drugged. The coasters function similarly to litmus paper tests: a

drop of a drink is rubbed in the coaster’s test area and, should the area change colour, the drink con tains a date rape drug. While many Canadian universities are passing out these coasters for students to take to parties, the legitimacy of the test is being questioned by sci entists. Marissa expressed sadness over her new distrust of men. “I’m really sorry for all the women who this has happened [to]. Hopefully, by bringing this to more people's attention, it will happen less frequently.” * For matters o f privacy, names have been changed.

10 Features

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

C a m p u s r a d i o CKUT: Is a n y b o d y l i s t e n i n g ? Christina Heyding____________

Although all full-time McGill students contribute four dollars each term to CKUT 90.3 FM, few take an active interest in it. In a survey conducted in a recent tutorial for Survey of English Lit I, 83 per cent of students reported that they never listen to CKUT, while only 17 per cent reported that they listen to it “once in a while”. No student admitted to listening to it regularly. Another survey showed that the lack of interest resulted from a variety of factors. Some students reported that they had never heard of CKUT, that in general they never listen to the radio, and that they would rather lis ten to stations that play top-40 songs. The question is, are students missing out on something valuable or is CKUT really not worth their while? Community radio à la carte Most stations are defined as commercial, meaning that they function on a for-profit basis. CKUT, in contrast, is a community radio station and, as such, is non profit. Of its income, 50 per cent comes from the student and com munity membership fees (the four dollars per term), 30 per cent comes from fundraising and 20 per cent is advertising revenue. All of the money goes back into the station. In addition to being non-profit, com munity radio has a mandate of giv ing a voice to communities that are not given one in mainstream media. In a recent program, Fortner Anderson, chairman of the CKUT board of directors, discussed the objectives of community radio and CKUT. “Our goal is to open up the programming as wide as possible and to give diverse number of voices

access to the airways. CKUT func tions as a free space, a place where communities can speak to [their] members,” he explained. In contrast to com mercial stations, Anderson says that CKUT has a reciprocal relationship with the community. Since there are only eight full-time employees, volunteers play an essential role in the stations functioning. In return for their dedica tion, the station trains volunteers in various areas of the radio industry. Reggy Klemz, the music librarian, teaches volun teers how the library cata logues music. From there, volunteers can follow var ious training paths, including learning radio engineering skills. Prym Tym, CKUT’s produc tion coordinator, organiz es the off-air studio train ing program. It requires six hours of training dur ing a two-week period, after which volunteers will have the skills to' engineer a radio session. This includes being able to use the mixer, setting up equipment for phone interviews and producing special effects. Gretchen King, the news coordinator, says that in addition to providing training sessions, commu nity radio empowers volunteers. “Media itself has become very professionalized. It seems that you either have to have the looks or have to have the education and it just seems far out there,” she notes. “That kind of training and profes sionalism is not required here and people need to be told that it is not

required.” With so many transient volun teers and such a diverse number of communities using it, many ask how

a community station maintains a united mandate. This question was put forward to Anderson in the dis cussion on community radio. He believes that all the members of CKUT, from the hundred volun teers to the eight full-time employ ees, work with the same central goal. “Ideally, [everyone] works towards a similar ethic and that is the notion of the primacy of com munication, the need for open com munication, [the need for] commu nication that is not perverted by the profit motive,” he asserted. Some students, however, are

skeptical of whether CKUT’s good intentions translate into a good product. William Urquhart, a U2 Biology student, says that in his lis tening experience, CKUT has sometimes seemed unprofessional. “[When I’ve listened to CKUT], it seems that the volunteers had prob lems running the equip ment because there was dead air time,” he com ments. Other listeners believe that, although the station has on-air blem ishes, the content makes up for it. James Renihan, a CKUT volunteer and a U2 Philosophy student, says students can’t expect CKUT to be as polished as the mainstream media. “The focus you get on community radio is more about the material being played and less about the person playing it. So it’s very likely that you aren’t going to get the amount of professional ism you would get on dif ferent radio stations,” he says, “but I don’t think that’s as much at issue [as good quality con tent].” McGill over the airwaves Shurid Manchanda, a recent graduate of McGill’s Faculty of Management, is CKUT’s fundrais ing coordinator and acts as a liaison between the station and the McGill community. His main goal is to inform McGill groups about CKUT’s resources and how collabo ration between student groups and the organization can be arranged. In addition to offering special advertis

ing rates to McGill clubs and servic es, the station organizes co-prest ntâ tions, which are reciprocal arrange ments formed between event coordi nators and the station. CKUT advertises the event on air for two weeks prior to the event date In return, it asks that their logo be placed on all of the event’s publiciz ing material. One of its most recent co-pre sentations was with the “Our Home on Native Land” conference In addition to airing advertisements for the conference, CKUT highlighted interviews and features related to the event on shows such as Native Solidarity News. In addition to offering packages for McGill events, CKUT also pro duces a show devoted entirely to McGill News. The M cG ill Ledge, airing every Wednesday at 11 am, ran its first show at the end of August. The half-hour show includes features and interviews about current events, McGill sports coverage and announcements about what is going on at McGill. Ted Strauss, producer of The M cG ill Ledge, says that the show has gotten off to a slow start but he is nonethe less confident in its future. “We hope that eventually we will have every group at McGill sending us their press releases and telling us what they are doing, he says. “Hopefully, people will know that at this time of the week they can turn on the station and hear what is happening at McGill all week.” The McGill Ledge

can be con

tacted a t mcff.U@ckut.ca Check out next week’s Tribune fur coverage on C K U T ’s award-u ■li ning news a n d diverse music p n gramming.

R a s ta fa ria n is m a n d N e o -p a g a n is m o n th e rise ? Alternative beliefs are displacing traditional religious beliefs in contemporary society Josh Scheinert

In his book,

A H istory o f the

historian Paul Johnson reiterates the goals of the first settlers o f the United States. One of these original aspirations was the creation of a “city on a hill”. Not to live in a ‘New York’ but, rather, a ‘New Jerusalem’, where the purity of religion reigned free from the corruption of abso lutist Europe. What has happened to this socalled “city on a hill”? In a society that escapes from scares of terror ism, serial-snipers and immense poverty into Christina Aguilera music videos and individualism, has the city moved from a hill to a valley? Why has religion fallen from the priority ladder of society? And what exactly is so attractive about the alternative? Liberalism seems to be the doctrine of the day. The liberal the ories of Locke and Rousseau, that took charge during the enlighten ment to free Europeans from abso A m erican People,

lutist rule have been reapplied today to free society from ‘neo absolutism’—mainly, all that is conventional and that imposes unnecessary, or perhaps unpopular, restrictions on individuals. The term ‘simulacrum’, a copy of a copy—something that has lost its original meaning through time— comes to mind. Society has taken the original cause for liberalism and reapplied it to fit modern grievances. In the process, it has made liberalism the excuse for not having to subject oneself to imposed restrictions. Dr. Terry Metherell, a former Australian Minister of Education, defines today’s liberalism as based on five primary assumptions. The two most pressing are “the supremacy of the individual in society” and “the freedom of choice”. Liberalism today has created a crisis of meaning: actions and deci sions have been transformed so that people can find meaning in their everyday lives.

The growing popularity of alternative religions or lifestyles is amongst people who in past gener ations would have never dared to explore their ‘self’ as they do now.

traditional religion. “I think it’s a rejection of reli gion as formalism, but I think a lot of it is also very much a result of the materialist, self-seeking trend,”

BEN MADGETT

Many today see the Bible as an outdated set of rules that inhibit freedom.

Reverend Gwenda Wells of the McGill Chaplaincy service acknowledges the trend away from

she observes. “A cult of the self, centred on ‘what will make me feel good?’ not, ‘how can I be part of

something greater than myself?’ has emerged.” Rastafarianism, Druze and New Age philosophies are soaring in popularity. Madonna has made Kabbalah trendy. Even mainstream religions have grown to suit indi viduals. The Reconstrucüonist per spective in Judaism encourages its members to experiment with their Judaism and find how it can best be synthesized with modernity. Some believe that this surge in experimentation is not necessarily a bad thing. “There is always that urge in people to seek, and people now are just finding different ways that work for them,” observes Erica Crawford, editor of R adix , a multi faith newsletter published by the McGill Chaplaincy service. “People are being more critical of what they’re being told, and com ing to their own understanding of spirituality and what’s important to them.” “Religious behaviour is just a See EROSION, page 12

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12 Features

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

Erosion of traditional religion evident in today's m aterialistic world Continued from page 10

broader image of today’s societal behaviour,” notes a Religious Studies teaching assistant who wishes to remain anonymous. “Whereas liberalism used to imply rights and obligations, today it just implies rights.” Conventional obligations are the big fa u x pas of today’s liberal ism. And religion has come to rep resent conventional obligations. There appears to be nothing liberal about being born into Orthodox Judaism and growing up an Orthodox Jew. “Today, the interest is in spiri tuality, not in religion and in God. Institutional religion and the search for God are secondary,” adds

the TA. A cafeteria of religion and spir ituality exists today. To be liberal, one cannot just take Protestantism on a plate, but rather, a smorgas bord of some Torah, a little bit of Buddha and a dose of Dr. Phil to bring it all together. The obsession with individu alism has profoundly affected reli gion in society. Religion is seen as archaic. In its traditional form, it is seen as unnecessary. Prayers are standard and impersonal and its models have largely gone unchanged. It is not that people are too lazy to practice religion; it is seen as not being worth the effort. ‘What good does it do me?’ Obviously not

much, if it means missing a golf game that could make or break an upcoming business deal. “In general, the importance of religion has been declining in the developed world. Whereas in coun tries experiencing economic stag nation and political uncertainty, religion has remained strong,” says Ronald F. Inglehart, director of the World Values Survey, which moni tors levels of religious faith in 60 nations. Less-developed countries are faring differently than their devel oped counterparts. Nigeria boasts the highest church attendance rate at 89 per cent. Latin American countries, concerned with the decrease in religious faith, have sent

missionaries to their former colo nizers in attempts to reignite the spark of traditional faith. Are people replacing the com fort they traditionally derived from faith with modern-day luxuries? Are we seeking solace in tangible goods and documented assets instead? “[In today’s society,] one gauges his/her success not by faith in God, but by the success of one’s business. And because of these suc cesses and stresses of the outside world, individuals often overlook the peacefulness and tranquility of religious services,” says U1 Management student Jared Faust. According to a study done by the University of Michigan, 38 per

cent of Canadians regularly attend religious services. Many people see the Bible as a set of rules that inhibit one’s freedom. Online file sharing, GAP commercials and reality TV are the new obsessions of the day—all of which are sanc tioned by the new religion of liber alism, atheism, whose followers do not believe in God—a brand of thought that has gained popularity, along with one of its main pillars of reason, evolution. But what remains most puz zling is that if anyone were to ask whether Christianity, Judaism or Islam permit file-sharing, apprecia tion of catchy marketing and fanta sy TV, the answer would most like ly be yes. The most harmful effect of the simulacrum of liberalism that prevails today is not how it has eroded religion out of society but, rather, that it has painted religion as something that is incompatible with society. As a result, many have chosen to adopt atheist or agnostic viewpoints. “I know a number of people that may be in a category of atheist or agnostic, but they are spiritual people. They seek meaning, reflect, and live aware lives,” says Crawford, explaining that the rise in spirituality and decline in reli-

“ [In today s socie ty], one gauges his/her success not by faith in God, but by the sucess of one’s business.” — Jared Faust U1 M anagement

Avoid th e re-gift. A sk for a co o l p h o n e .

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gion isn’t necessarily negative. “University encourages people to follow different perspectives. People can come to university and find other ways of seeing the world that may appeal to them. I see a lot of people [with] questions and re examining whether they want to live a spiritual life.” Wells agrees that there is more diversity on today’s spiritual platter, but she believes that those who are still religious are unwaveringly so. “There has been a falling away from a conventional adherence to religious beliefs,” she notes, “but along with that, there has been a freeing up—if people are going to believe, they are going to believe with conviction rather than by going with the flow. If people are going to believe, they are doing so by conscious choice.” This greatest irony of abso lutist reign of liberalism is that it is dictating the course of religion, and not vice versa. Perhaps religion and liberalism could try to work together to get the best of both worlds. History has proven that every era has a fad that has come and gone, but religion has remained a constant—perhaps because it is religion that is most compatible with any type of society. After all, who wouldn’t want to live in a City on a Hill? Just imagine the view.

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T h e M c G i l l T r i b u n e , T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 26, 2 0 0 2

r i g h t y w h i t i e s t o m ig h ty E

u x e s : CASCO a s p e c t a c l e >f f a s h i o n a n d d a n c e

’anthea Lee

The Commerce and administration Student Charity )rganization benefit fashion show, idd on November 16, was a smashig success. Aptly named Fashion :usion, the glitz, glamour and xcitement took place at Club Med */orld. The venue’s bright palm tees, multicoloured walls, high aroque ceilings and festive atmoshere all added a whimsical element a the CASCO evening. The efforts of approximately 00 students culminated in a dazling show of sight and sound, charcterized by upbeat dance remixes, npressive choreography and the itest fashions from stores including )ff the Hook, Fly Boutique and CUK. Kooky hair creations and old, daring makeup done by stuents of Inter-Dec College added a ramatic flair to the evening. The 14 different scenes showased numerous designers, from riple Five Soul to Ben Sherman, pace FB to Groggy. Clad in everyling from red vinyl pants to vening gowns, shirts that said

“Who the fuck iz u” to silk boxers and pajamas, student models skipped, strutted, bounced, pranced, frolicked, tap-danced and sashayed their way down the run way. Sporting smiles all around, the models were obviously enjoying themselves, and their positive vibes spilled off the stage and rubbed off on the audience, who clapped and cheered enthusiastically all night long. The second sequence, profes sionally choreographed by dance instructor Maryse Beaudoin, flaunt ed the talents of vinyl pant-wearing tap dancers. Meticulous footwork complemented an assortment of songs, including a lively rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”. A number sponsored by Via Brazil featured feminine, flowing tops as well as a saucy dance routine, complete with booty-shaking'from three femme fatales. The scene featuring the Management Undergraduate Society executives was a crowd favourite, as the audience cheered on their student representatives. As “Da Dip” blasted over the sound

system, the 12 executives showed their fans exactly what they were made of. Achieving the near impos sible, this ensemble actually made spirit fingers (à la Bring it On) and The Wave look cool. Yes, the same Wave that was last seen circa 1989. A fabulous sequence was the eighth scene, sponsored by Waxman Formal Wear and local designer Nevik. The girls donned sexy formal gowns as their male counterparts redefined ‘pimpin’ in penguin-style tuxedos, canes and mesh baseball caps. Strutting their stuff with a woman on each arm, the guys wielded their canes so skilfully and were so slick with their footwork, that rumour has it Michael Jackson called afterwards asking for his moves back. The scene sponsored by Groggy was a high-energy perform ance featuring logo tees and comfy sweatpants, that saw light-hearted jesting and playful rapport between the models. Some seemed to be merely bobbing to the music with little regard to choreography, prefer ring to grab each other’s butts instead, adding an air of mischie-

JENNY GEORGE

The Groggy showcase: watch out for the ass-grabbers!

vous spontaneity to the sequence. The finale was an energetic tribute to all the work that had been put into the affair. Models spilt out from the wings and took over the stage for the final number, a vibrant, dynamic collage of fashion, music and dance. Tyra better watch her

Dawson serving up S hakespeare ju st la u n c h y , s e x y , h ila rio u s v e rs io n ulie Peters

Under normal circumstances, Ten reading a flyer for a hakespeare play that says ‘The rofessional theatre of Such-andtch College presents’ on it, the rst thing you think of will probaly not be how professional the play lust be. In fact, school shows, no tatter how hard they try to make leir show look good, are often rife 4th things that are not very profesonal. Well, if you thought that about )awson College’s production of As ou Like It, playing now at the )ome Theatre, you would be horri fy wrong. Dawson College man ges to overcome every obstacle and ven use some to their advantage. Obstacle #1: They are doing hakespeare. As You Like I t is one of hakespeare’s comedies, and wolves the usual run of kings, rincesses, best friends, lovers, a iol and a forest. Rosalind and her ousin are banished from her ncle’s kingdom and decide to go loking for Rosalind’s father, also a ing and also banished, in the orest of Arden. They bring the fool

o f th e

along and, on the way, Rosalind dresses up as a man, plays a trick on the (also banished) man she loves, and they meet a whole host of other characters along the way. As You Like I t is a very fun play, but a lot of student theatre groups have trouble with it just because it’s Shakespeare. The language alone is hard enough to understand, remember and say, but the cast of this show did all three so adeptly that the audience had no problem at all following the story. Not only that, but as anyone who has taken a Shakespeare class knows, these plays are very open for interpretation. Dawson College took the sexiest, raunchiest and most physical inter pretation they could find and pulled it together in full colour. If the audience misses an outdated sexual reference in the text, the pelvic thrusts and suggestive expres sions will more than make up for it. Obstacle #2: Usually in a drama class situation, there are approximately 90 per cent girls to fill up a cast that requires 50 or 60 per cent boys. Most schools resort to using girls in the parts of boys. Shakespeare did it the other way around, so why can’t they? The cos

b a r d 's w o r k p r e s e n t e d

tuming and makeup were so good that at first glance you probably wouldn’t realize that there was a woman underneath that wig and wrinkles. And the acting was so well done that when you did realize it, you wouldn’t think about it again for the rest of the show. Obstacle #3: Also as a result of this limited casting pool, while the main characters are often good, there is usually someone whose hair is covering their face, or who can’t enunciate Shakespeare’s English, or who insists on standing with their back to the audience. Or, often, is just plain bad. None of these things happened in this production of As You Like It. The two main female characters, Rosalind (Denise Paquet) and Celia (Cindy Busby) were so clear, so physical and had such a stage presence that they were incredibly compelling to watch. They never missed a beat with the text or the cues from the other actors and they really pulled the show together. Orlando (Matthew Kabwe), the man Rosalind loves, was so good that surely every girl in the audience was also swooning for him! His nerves, courage and

back, ‘cuz these kids can work it. With her faithful crew around her, CASCO Co-president Tamara Tenenbaum announced that a whopping $11,000 had been raised for the Montreal Children’s See CASCO, page 14

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earnest and brave face fit the exact prototype of what a Shakespearean romantic hero should be. Far more impressive, however, were some of the minor roles in the play. Sometimes the smaller roles can actually be much more fun to play than the main ones because there is less restriction on the inter pretation of the lines. Minor char acters can sometimes steal the show, and this definitely happened in more than one case here. Audrey, the fool’s lover, played by Caroline Howard, is the epitome of trailer trash and the actor’s puffy hair and short skirt made the audience gig gle. But not half as much as when she swayed her hips and sang her songs in raunchy delight. Also outstanding was the inter pretation of one of the king’s men as flamboyandy gay. This was no subtle suggestion of a possible other interpretation of the character that the actor took on himself—the company actually incorporated a kiss into the show between the text. Victor Knight, the director, must have been awfully fun to work with. Finally, obstacle # 4: This is school, not play. The cast was all students, not doing this just for the

fun of it but to learn. Even profes sional actors often do plays to make a living or to get prestige, and it’s not always about doing what you love. Again, Dawson College comes out on top. The whole cast seemed so liberated in their carefully con structed characters that they all seemed to be having a blast. By extension, the audience had a lot of fun too. The actors were all willing to take risks with their words and characters onstage and they even seemed to be connecting some of the characters with the old stereo typical characters of Commedia Dell’Arte, such as the pompous doctor, the lovers and the classic fool, Arlechino. It’s a show that Shakespeare lovers, theatre lovers, complete ignoramuses and especial ly students will find themselves enjoying. It’s A s You Like It, just the way you like it. As You Like I t runs at the Dome Theatre until December 1. Call 931-8731 ext. 1229 for more information or to make reserva tions.

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

Eminem gets one shot, makes the most of it Lexie Buchanon

Elvis did it. Britney Spears and Whitney Houston tried it too. So why not Eminem? The said “it” is the leap from singing to acting, and although to compare Viva Las Vegas to Crossroads would be considered blasphemy by some, one must admit that there are similarities. In the semi-biographical film 8 M ile, Marshall Mathers III (a.k.a. Eminem) follows Elvis’ lead and crosses over, in his case from rapper extraordinaire to actor. Directed by Oscar-winning Curtis Hanson, 8 M ile stars the multi-platinum recording artist Eminem as Jimmy Smith Jr. a.k.a. Bunny Rabbit, an aspiring rapper in 1995 Detroit. The similarities between Rabbit’s and Eminem’s lives are striking and one cannot help but draw comparisons. As a side note, the comparisons being drawn between Eminem and Elvis are also interesting, as several times throughout the film Rabbit’s rivals refer to him as Elvis. In a nutshell, 8 M ile (the road that delimits the urban from the suburban and the rich from the poor in dark grey Detroit) is the story of a twenty-something guy, trying to break into the rap indus try. Surrounded by a tight “crew” of four guys from the ‘hood, referred to as the Three One Three crew,

Jimmy finds in them his support system. The group is made up of Future (Mekhi Phifer), no doubt the leader and most respected of the group; DJ Iz (De’Angelo Wilson), a determined activist who never miss es a moment to try and build con sciousness in his peers; Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones), the joke of the group; and Sol George (Omar Miller), always first to mention how once they are discovered they will “get all the bitches.” Wink (Eugene Byrd), although not in their inner circle, claims to be Rabbit’s ‘in’ with the record execs. All Rabbit’s dreams are resting on this, but he never fully gives into Wink, wanting to make it on his own. Rabbit lives at home with his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and kid sister Lily, in the trailer park where he grew up. This isn’t easy on his pride and he swears that this is just for a while, until he makes enough money at the steel factory to get his own place. He meets a girl, Alex (Brittany Murphy) who tells him she is going to leave the “D” (Detroit) to go to New York and model. She tells Bunny “You’re going to be great, I’ve got a feeling about you,” while Bunny tells his friends that Alex isn’t like the other girls. In the first scene, Rabbit walks out onto the stage to participate in a “battle.” These battles are the one-

WWW.MOVIES.GO.COM

A pensive Eminem playing a small strech of a role: in 8 M ile , he plays a white rapper wannabe from Detroit.

on-one rap-offs of sorts between two rappers, and are at the centre of the film. Taking place in clubs, bat tles give each rapper 45 seconds to freestyle and gain the support of the audience. This is the first instance in which we see the racial tension and what this man must endure in a world where he doesn’t seem wel come. Rabbit is booed, then freezes and walks off the stage, much to the disappointment of his friends who are cheering him on. At this moment the viewer is made aware that this is not going to be a story free of effort or struggle. The battles are the best moments in the film, when one tries to comprehend how it’s possible to come up with these witty, impromptu zingers, all the while rhyming and respecting the beat. Comedy wise, Future and Rabbit freestyling to “Sweet Home Alabama” definitely had me crack

ing up. And there is, of course, the much talked about sex scene between Rabbit and Alex in the steel factory. It is just as intense as every one says it is; the only noises being those of the machines working and of the two lovers. Also, almost seem ing like a publicity ploy (due to his previous controversial lyrics and comments), is a scene in which Rabbit defends a homosexual co worker in the form of a rap. The central conflict of this story is the struggle of this white boy trying to break into the AfricanAmerican culture. Rabbit’s ego doesn’t get bruised and he doesn’t give up. No matter how many times he is pushed down or freezes at the mic, he uses the support of his crew to bounce back and show the world what he is made of and to take each moment as another chance to prove himself. It is in doing this that he becomes a hero, one who rises in the

CASCO r a i s e s $

face of opposition. Eminem does an incredible jo in this role. There is the fact of ai imitating life, but the audience rea ly isn’t watching Eminem here, the are watching his character Rabbi What we see is a much softer, mild< version of the real Slim Shad However, although I was impresse by his performance—he shows tru brilliant colours and great potei tial—I wonder whether Eminei will be able to succeed in futui roles not based on his own life. E does a great job, but how much of range does he have as an actor? I at not saying he couldn’t do it, but would like him to play other roll and see the result. What’s important here thougl is his strong embodiment of tl character at hand, and his chari matic supporting cast. Couple the aspects with the killer soundtrac and, my friends, we have a winner 8 Mile

Directed by Curtis Hanson Starring Eminem, Mekhi 'hifei Kim Basinger and Brittan Murphy ★ ★ ★

out of ★ ★ ★ *

There is an Oscar buzz su rounding Eminem’s notewortl performance, and although I dot know if I would go that far, there definitely more to this guy thi some good rhymes and catcl tunes. I went in expecting entertaii ment, and left impressed and wan ing more. This is a gritty movi with a message that rings clear: you take chances, put yourself oi there, even when everyone is laug] ing, and don’t give up, you 11 ha the last laugh.

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c h i l d r e n 's h o s p i t a l c h a rity Continued from page 13

Hospital, in addition to proceeds from the marketplace and silent auction that had taken place earlier that night. For Tenenbaum, who is graduating this semester, this was her third and final year of involve ment with CASCO, and it was a touching farewell. “I have to say that this, by far, was the best year. The day went very smoothly; there were very few errors,” beamed a cheery post-show Tenenbaum. “Everyone really put in their all.” She had bittersweet emotions regarding the concluding year of her CASCO legacy. “There was a great group of people involved this year... every one became friends,” maintained Tenenbaum. “Hopefully when they think of this [in the future], it’ll be something they remember forever.” Final gems of wisdom for her successors? “Keep up the good work. I know I left [CASCO] in very capa ble hands,” she asserted. For Tenenbaum, affectionately known as T-Bomb by her CASCO crew, life after Bronfman includes plans to pursue acting and eventually mar

keting. Comedian Gerry Dee of Toronto, the master of ceremonies, entertained the crowd between scenes with tales of his childhood and his experiences as a phys-ed teacher. Between model impressions and strutting his own package down the runway, Dee tried to ensure that the crowd was having a good time. “I know the amount of time that must have gone into [the show]. It was an impressive show, and I was glad to be a part of it,” commented Dee after the show. As the show wound down, the evening was just beginning at Club Med. While employees led the crowd through their signature “Hands Up!” song and dance routine, organizers and vol unteers were getting ready for a night of celebration. Spirits were high as they reflected upon the impressive product of their efforts. “With any show you do, before it starts, you wish it never will. And when

it ends, you wish it never did noted model Ivan Wanis-Ruiz, L Management, whose moves onstai easily qualified him as a contend to be the next Usher. For this journalist, who h always had trouble keeping up wi what exactly the latest trends are fashion, the ‘new black’ if yc will—black is black, don’t try to t< me it’s now grey or brown—d evening was a godsend from fashit heaven. Although I went home st confused as to what this seasoi ‘new black’ was, I did pick up a fe tips. (Apparently camo hasn’t bee cool since 1999. Like, duh.) f fashion police, bring it on. CASC taught me well.

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

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sh in es a t Tuesday Night Café T heatre

River of Immortality, a quest bequeathed unto her by a dying soldier. In her journey she finds a strange breed of chimpanzees, the epic poet Homer and an awe inspiring city. And, only once she has found immortality does she learn that what it brings is not free dom, but hopeless isolation and despair. Death becomes her next quest. The directors’ effort is obvi ous. A physically demanding play, the players seamlessly move between their roles as actors and dancers and back again. They take on inanimate forms; one minute they’re human, the next they’re ani mal. One of the most intense moments during the show is when Woertendyke is left on stage. He is masked; he is one of the chim panzees and he is mesmerizing and unnerving at the same time. The freedom with which he moves across the stage is impressive. Wilson and Zarankin say that their play relies just as much on the poetry of the human body as it

does on Borges’ work. This is quite apparent throughout the entire show. All five of the actors move gracefully, with ease and purpose. When they take on animal forms they move through the space

boxes and an ever-morphing multi the actors to move readily and coloured sheet, allows the actors to unrestricted through the action of w /„ move about the space unencum the story. bered by permanent structures, able The most spellbinding aspect to transform the stage just as much of this entire production was the as the story transforms them. music, composed by Ted Strauss vN As the and Adam Blinick. The passion and sheet changes intensity of the story is accurately ^ ^ T ic h a n o ^ over the captured and released again course of through the music. It has been about an hour since time and As it comes to the foreground the show ended and I am still becomes the and then recedes into the back awestruck. How do I put into River of ground, the music propels the per words what I have just seen? What Im m ortality formances and takes the characters I have just experienced? Unlike any and then the from the stage into their own other theatre at McGill in recent River of world. The music is a wonderful memory, The Im m ortal is breath Mortality, the accompaniment to the engaging taking. m ovem ents storytelling of Borges. Based upon the short story by Wilson and Zarankin have are graceful Jorge Luis Borges, The Im m ortal and I had no done a wonderful job in bringing a was adapted for the stage and reservations short story to the stage. We can directed by James Wilson and liana ELISE NEWMAN about sus only hope that they will continue Zarankin. The final product only Multitasking actors play people and animals in The Im m o rta l. pending my to collaborate on future endeavors. came about after a collaborative disbelief. And in the meantime they have effort with their five performers: like they own it. Masked, their The lighting, designed by inspired me to read up on Borges’ Kellie Celia, Lara Chatterjee, Leora bodies are expressive and free. The Mike Hegenbarth, was an asset to other works. Morris, Emma Sheppard-Lanza level of comfort with which they the production. The contrasting I feel that my words have not and Max Woertendyke. move is refreshing for student the warm and cool tones merge and done this play justice. Just how do The play tells the story of a atre. flow with the actors on stage. The you successfully put emotion into Roman legionary in search of the The simple set, three black final effect was unhindered by the words? My only suggestion is that slight electrical problems experi you go see this show; you will not enced during the night’s perform regret it. And don’t forget to bring D ia m o n d s a r e f o r e v e r , a n d s o is J a m e s B o n d ance. another six dollars because CDs of The costumes, designed by the musical score are available. I L a t e s t i n n e v e r - e n d i n g f r a n c h i s e d e l i v e r s t h e g o o d s Kate Hahnen, were simple, flowing already have my copy. and effective. They hint at the The Immortal runs from fact that Odd-Job had a razor-hat scenes, the explosions, the hot girls Roman past of the principal char Dany Horovitz before you had seen Goldfinger. All or the martinis that make this a acter Rose (Celia) and, at the same N ovember 2 7 -3 0 . Show begins a t 8 pm . Tickets are $ 6 students a n d $ 8 James Bond is a great tradition anyone needs to know is that the great film. It’s the fact that they all time, differentiate the 20th century for adults. C all 3 9 8 -6 6 0 0 fo r more in modern cinema; he has become head bad guy is an evil maniac bent work together in a kind of collage. character Isabelle (Sheppard-Lanza) on world domination, or destruc The Bond girls aren’t just side- from the rest of the cast. They allow information or to make reservations. the quintessential spy and the man tion—whichever comes first—and kicks; they’re trained just as well as that everybody wishes they could be. D ie Another D ay not only lives only James Bond can save us all he is, and match up fairly well up to the name and the franchise, from a horrible and certain doom. against him. Even the explosions And this time, it’s personal. and gun fights aren’t overbearing as but it also brings something new to •Don’t forget your Bond just wouldn’t be Bond they are in most other action the table. The film reaffirms Bond breakfast card! without some help from the Q-lab; as the greatest secret agent ever, but • Hamburger cards ^ also alludes to his being a full- the gadgets in this movie are cre ative, and incidentally work just fledged superhero by dropping sub when Bond needs some help, tle hints for the viewer. Br e a k f a s t & M ore another trademark. It’s these doohickeys that seem to give him Die Another Day super-powers. H o u rs He’s also been blessed with an W eekdays 7 a m - 4 ;3 G p m Directed by Lee Tamahori 8 a m - <4:30pm 2 2 4 rue M ilto n unmatched fighting ability, which H d M m v 8 h » - 3pm Mo n t r é a l (Q u éb ec ) H2X 1V6 Starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle T : (514) 285-0011 he demonstrates by showing his Berry, Rosamund Pike, Judi considerable skills in a sword fight. Dench and John Cleese In many ways, with the gadgets, the fighting and rich sophistica B ite in to s p r i n g b r e a k ! |_ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of ★ ★ ★ ★ tion, he’s like Batman with a gun. Bond is known for being hav Pierce Brosnan returns as Ian ing a great wit as well as being a Fleming’s Bond, and does another great spy, and in D ie Another D ay , great job. His Bond is tough and the case is no different. The onefunny; he’s charming, has comic linefs are cheeky and funny, exact timing and says the right things at ly what the audience expects. Case the right moment in a way us com in point, Bond is introduced to a mon people only wish we could. man who calls himself Mr. Kill. His portrayal of James Bond is sec MGM PICTURES ond only to Sean Connery, the “Now there’s a name to die for,” he Allow myself to introduce... myself. observes. original film Bond. Slurpslurp The sets are exciting and exot There are certain clichés ic, from Korea to Cuba, to an ice movies. That’s not to say that this expected of 007, and this movie castle reminiscent of Superman’s film is in anyway slow moving, delivers them all to a tee. Of D o n 't k n o w w h e r e t o g o f o r Fortress of Solitude. There’s that quite the opposite. It’s just that the course, there are two Bond girls, superhero motif again. action is well executed, the dia one of them good, one of them s p rin g b r e a k ? The chase scenes are very well logue is well written, and the over bad. One such Bond girl is Halle executed and the vehicles range all experience was well directed. C om e se e us fo r so m e Berry, one of the world’s most This movie is not just the best from hovercrafts to rocket cars. beautiful women and the feature in ju ic y s u g g e s tio n s ! There is one truly fantastic scene, of the Brosnan films, it’s also the what might be the greatest bikini in which Bond and his adversary best action/adventure movie so far scene in all of cinematic history. are blasting rockets at each other this year. Other franchises like X X X She is also the only Oscar winner to while their cars are sliding across a and Mission Impossible will pop up be a Bond girl. field of ice. In a truly unique chase now and again to give commend The bad guys are memorable scene, he even manages to outrun a able efforts, but long after they The only agency for student travel and have their own special glitches massive laser beam sent from a have faded away, James Bond will that are a necessity in all the great live to D ie Another Day. satellite in outer space. 3480 McTavish 398-0647 Bond villains. But to give those But it isn’t just the chase away would be like giving away the 2085 Union bur: L-8 284-1368

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www.voyagescampus.com

16 A&E

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

classic Haiti, from his Tropicalia days. True to form, Veloso created music both raw and articulate. The sometimes-harsh drumming was the perfect complement to the vulnera ble sweetness of his voice. Thankfully, for those who were having serious trouble staying seated and sane, the sound mellowed out when everyone but Veloso left the stage. He sat with his guitar, strum ming simple, beautiful bossas while enveloping us with his voice. The jewel “Manhata” (Manhattan) may have been the highlight of it all. The implicit 9/11 tribute made this sweet, eerie melody all the more haunting and evocative. Veloso’s cellist/arranger friend Jacques Morelenbaum soon rejoined him and contributed some soulful, med itative playing. The set re-energized as the rest of the band returned. The sound took some surprising turns, evoking the dubbier incarnations of sparse 80s rock without losing that raw samba drive, and culminating in the anthemic “Rock ‘n’ Raul”. From then on, new and undiscovered musical ground was charted. Sweet vocal lines accompanied by guitar and droning bass sounds were juxta posed with jarring, effects-laden cello hits over very hard beats. For an encore, the band pumped out some more of the bubbly Afro-pop that had started the night. Veloso was recognized as a hero when he arrived in Montreal; his performance merely confirmed this status. With any luck, his visit will inspire local musicians to follow a path of soulful honesty and social consciousness.

M a n -m y th V elo so ro c k s t h e h o u s e The sixties were turbulent times in South America. Military regimes were stifling dissent over the entire continent (of course, this had nothing to do with Dr. Henry Kissinger and the protection of American interests). Dictators were well aware of the revolutionary power of music. Caetano was never one to hold his tongue in the public arena. He and Gil soon got in trou ble with the authorities, who arrest ed them and shaved their heads. A few months later V was in exile in London. He kept making music and returned to Brazil a few years later. A bomb exploded outside his house after he criticized the local mayor. He hosted TV shows, played wild concerts and wrote an article about Carmen Miranda. Just your average life of a Brazilian superstar/folk hero. So that brings us to his show at a packed Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. The crowd’s adulation welcomed Veloso onstage. Without wasting a second, the band launched into the uplifting Afro-pop “Two Naira Fifty Kobo”. Backed by a guitar-bass-cello-drums quartet and four excellent percus sionists, Veloso writhed and danced awkwardly as he sang. The first halfdozen songs skirted an AfroBrazilian pop/samba reggae line brilliantly, with a hint of rap in the

Jacob Nerenberg

For those who don’t recognize the name Caetano Veloso, last Sunday came and went like so much November snow. For the rest of us, the Montreal Jazz Festival’s yearround component offered a chance to catch a rare Canadian perform ance by a legend of Brazilian music. In North America, we generally don’t expect much from our musi cians when it comes to social involvement. Those uncomfortable with individualist middle-class secu rity generally resort to punk rock to yell about their angst. Even then, the record labels walk in and turn protest music into teen-dating pop. In Brazil, things seem to be differ ent. Caetano Veloso grew up in the Bahia region of northern Brazil, the birthplace of samba. He witnessed the bossa nova wave that took the raw samba beats and blended them with a smooth jazz/pop aesthetic to create a loungy sound that Stan Getz and Joâo Gilberto used to seduce the world. Veloso was a big fan of Gilberto Gil, with whom he eventu ally collaborated. With Gil, Gal Costa and Tom Zé, he started the Tropicalism movement. Some important stuff came out of that era; its influence in the music of artists like Beck is well documented. * .* *

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C o rp o ra tio n s te a ls th e sh o w Panthea Lee

After an initial meeting in 1985 where the two expressed their mutual adoration of 60s bossanova, Rob Garza, a private eye, and Eric Hilton, a house and hip hop DJ, decided to put their two cents into today’s musical platter and formed the Thievery Corporation. They cite influences from every corner of the musical spectrum, from early punk rock to hardcore to neo-mod revival outfits. The result is a dis-

from Mirror Conspiracy made the crowd wild, and Lou Lou reflected the positive energy back. During “Illumination”, the barefoot accompanist, who had been sitting cross-legged and inert, picked up his sitar and fused its exotic sound with the song’s pot pourri of influences from rolling African bongo drums to thumping Asian frame drums. Rastafarians Roots and Zee of the See Eye collective followed Bricker’s rendition of crowd

NATHAN LEBIODA

Pat Bricker takes centre stage, and a hit of “Lebanese Blond”.

tinctive sound characterized by drowsy ambience with undertones from every which direction. The Thievery Corporation’s show at the Rialto Theatre on the night of November 15 was a specta cle of dazzling sights and even sweeter sounds. Void of predictable loops and breaks, the show was filled with synthy atmospheric sounds, warm, euphoric chords, and introspective, organic trip hop. Fresh off their fourth CD release, The Richest M an in Babylon on their own label, Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, the duo of Garza and Hilton blew the crowd away. Hailing from Washington, DC, this is the first time they’ve brought an entourage with them on tour, consisting of a three-piece band and five vocalists. Opening for the group was DJ Bliss,, a resident at Blizzarts’ Thursday night breakbeat weekly. Bliss warmed up the crowd with an impressive selection of tracks and skills to boot. At the top of his game, he spun an eclectic set that spanned various genres, blending downtempo, house, nu skool breaks and trip hop. Deep, funky basslines kicked off the night. As the musicians took to the stage, a vast screen behind them featured images of shifting cloud formations. Throughout the night, this canvas would showcase vistas from the world over, snap shots of films commissioned by Thievery to complement their act. The stage saw three rotating songstresses: Emiliana Torrini from Iceland, Lou Lou from France and Thievery familiar Pam Bricker. The gracefully shy Torrini was the first to perform and eased the crowd into the musical journey that would follow with sweet melodies and psychedelic rhythms. The opening notes for “Shadows of Ourselves”

favourite “Lebanese Blond” and abrupdy brought the crowd back down into reality as they took to the stage in white safari suits Bad, bouncy hip hop beats were puréed then seamlessly blended with old school dub flavours as they per formed old favourites “38.45 and “Assault on Babylon” off their 1997 debut album Sounds fro m the Thievery H i-Fi, as well as more recent offering “Focus on Sight”. “This vibe, this energy in the house, is beautiful,” exclaimed Roots and Zee. Irrepressible cheering followed the end of the set, as the audience pleaded for just another truffle of music. To their relief, the band gave in. Torrini’s sweet, fragile voice wafted through the first song of the encore “Heaven’s Gonna Burn Your Eyes”. The crowd, hypnotized by her chilling stage presence and engulfed by the downtempo beats, compressed bass and enchanting string arrangements, greedily devoured the song. The night’s final track was a high-energy offering with a salute to fanfare with bold, braying trum pets. As one of the Rastas made his way into the frenzied crowd, the other urged fans to get up on stage to get down, and get down they did. As the band cleared the stage, spirits were high and contagious delight spread through the crowd. “That was so fucking awe some,” enthused a sweaty dancer as he stepped off the stage with an earto-ear grin plastered on his face. The incredible cabaret climax looked like a scene straight out of M oulin Rouge.

The Thievery Corporation’s recordings do not do this group jus tice. As I left the Rialto, I couldn’t suppress the my own giddy grin, satisfied for having seen a such a deliciously gratifying show.

IOTBALL

END OF AN ERA

S o m m e rfe ld t h a n d s b a ll o ff a f te r fiv e y e a r s »un sets on the storied career of McGill football's all-time leading passer ued to progress in later seasons, despite the difficulty of having to learn three different offensive sys tems, first under former Redmen coach Charlie Baillie, who had two different offensive coordinators during Sommerfeldt’s tenure, and then under current head coach Chuck McMann. For Sommerfeldt though, the transition wasn’t partic ularly tough. “We put in enough time and meetings, and practiced a lot, so

ndrew Segal

Sommerfeldt’s superb adjust ment to McMann’s new offensive schemes doesn’t surprise assistant coach Marc Schryburt, now in his second year. “He’s so calm. It didn’t matter what happened during the season or what difficulty we had during the game, but the guy stays calm,” praised Schryburt. It was during the past two sea sons. under McMann, that Sommerfeldt truly began to shine.

When Josh Sommerfeldt rived on the McGill campus as a eshman late in the summer of 198, the thought hadn’t even ossed his mind that when his otball career finished, five years ter, he would be departing as the hoofs all-time leading passer, with 294 yards. “My first year, I didn’t expect play at all,” said Sommerfeldt. “I pected even for a couple years just learn university football and get ed to it, and then maybe play as a nior.” However, it didn’t take long for immerfeldt to make his mark. His st career game came as a freshan, an incredible accomplishment itself. “I was excited to be starting, iviously, and I was probably really rvous,” recalled Sommerfeldt. Still, as great as that thrill was, was matched by his performance i the field in only his second reer start. The Redmen pivot rew a touchdown pass, and also a for an incredible 152 yards on i carries, scoring twice. From that lint on, the McGill football brainNATHAN LEBIODA tst probably had a pretty good :a that they had a budding star on Josh Summerfeldt “didn’t expect to play at all.” Sure Josh, sure. hands. The six-foot, 197 pound, learning the system isn’t too big of a Last year, he set the McGill career imbridge, Ontario, native contin deal when you do it every day,” he record for completions and yardage, noted. breaking the records held by Vic ICKEY

Pywowarczuk. Always putting his pressure out there, but he led us to team first, Sommerfeldt said he a touchdown. Ever since that game, wasn’t even aware he had broken I’ve believed in him. When your the record until a couple days after leader thinks he can do it, the 11 the game. other guys on the field will follow. I “I tried not to focus on it too will always remember that game, much, because we had a team-ori because he thought that game was ented goal, and that was number won even if we had to drive the one. entire field.” “Looking at it now, it’s some Another person wowed by thing I’m very proud of. It’s defi Sommerfeldt’s heroics, which nitely a very humbling accomplish included a 32-yard completion on ment. I’m really blessed to have third down from the Laval 50, fol been able to do that,” Sommerfeldt lowed by a 17-yard run to bring the continued, admitting it was special Redmen to Laval’s one, was to have set the record at a universi Philippe Cantin. Cantin has been ty replete with football tradition. Sommerfeldt’s backup for the past Perhaps Sommerfeldt’s most two seasons. awe-inspiring moment came last “I was just really impressed by season, in the Redmen’s final regu the way he handled the situation. lar season game, a homecoming That last drive, the way he took the match-up against Laval. Not only team on his shoulders—he made did Sommerfeldt throw for a career- his reads, made the plays and high 348 yards, but, with the brought us to victory,” recalled Redmen trailing by a point and Cantin. starting at their two-yard line, Cantin says he has picked up a Sommerfeldt engineered a 108-yard lot from Sommerfeldt, the third game-winning drive, which culmi most efficient passer in the country nated with a Nick Hoffmann this year, who threw for 1,837 yards touchdown with one second left. In in leading the Redmen to a a situation that could have rattled Dunsmore Cup victory and an even the most professional veteran appearance in the Mitchell Bowl quarterback, Sommerfeldt dis National semi-final game. played nerves of steel. “I’ve learned tons from him. “He said on the sidelines just Josh has taught me really well. If I before he went on the field, ‘Just ever had a question about the reads give me the chance to call the plays. I had to do, and making the right I’ll make it happen,”’ remembers See REDMEN, page 18 Schryburt. “Sometimes he faced

WINNING ROAD TRIP

ta rg e ss an d St-Pierre e n te r McGill record b o o k s ark Kerr * 1

McGill’s hockey teams were defeated during a weekend swing rough Southwestern Ontario. The No. 10 ranked Redmen feated York 1-0 Saturday, bastien Langlois got the winning al for McGill, while Luc illancourt recorded his second atout of the season, the third of i career. The fifth-year veteran ide 27 saves in the winning ort. “We had a really solid effort,” d captain David Burgess. “It was rat not to allow any goals against eally good team. We played a typ1 road game.” McGill traveled to Guelph on nday and defeated the Gryphons 5. Joel Bergeron had a hat trick, Juding the game-winning goal, array Cobb made 23 saves for the :tory. According to Burgess, the twoalie system has been working rat. “Luc played really well iturday], and Murray kept us in

the game Sunday when we were not playing well early,” Burgess said. “They’re both competing against each other. They both know that if they slack off in a game, they could lose an opportunity to the other goalie.” Burgess assisted on Bergeron’s winner, giving him 145 helpers over his career. Burgess moved one assist ahead of coach and former Redmen Martin Raymond. In Sunday’s match, Raymond not only lost the record, but also some blood. An errant puck hit the coach in the forehead with 10 min utes remaining in the game. He received several stitches to close the gash. “That typified the game,” said Burgess of the injury to his coach. “We had a lot of injuries. Scott Giroux might have a broken toe and several other guys played with leg injuries, but I was impressed with how the boys fought through and played with injury.” Jocelyn Perreault and Burgess scored the other goals for McGill. McGill (8-2-1) sits four points behind l’Université du Quebec à

shutout of the season. Justine Keyserlingk scored the winning goal for the Martlets. St-Pierre continued her hot streak by blanking York 3-0 Sunday, in a game also played at U ofT. St-Pierre’s total of seven shutouts is good for a new team record. She currendy holds an 8-01 record, with the only goals against coming in a game versus Guelph November 2. The Martlets record in the QSSF is now 7-1-1. McGill plays host to Concordia Friday in a battle for first place. Puck drops at 7:15 pm after McGill honours St-Pierre for her Olympic gold-medal effort last winter. The team travels to Ottawa on Sunday to play the Gee Gees, which will end the semester’s competition.

Trois-Rivières for first place in the Quebec Student Sports Federation. McGill plays the Gee Gees in Ottawa Saturday and returns home Sunday to play against UQTR. Game time is 7 pm.

St-Pierre sets another record The No. 5 ranked Martlets upset No. 2 ranked University of Toronto Saturday by a score of 1-0. McGill was outshot 32-17, with Kim St-Pierre recording her sixth

McGill hosted the synchro swimming Team Preliminary Competition on Saturday, winning three of four categories. Visit www.mcgilltribune.com for photos o f the event.

18 Sports

The M cG ill Tribune^JTuesday, November 26 , 2002

___________

R e d m e n q u a r te r b a c k jo b w id e o p e n n e x t y e a r Continued from page 17

iecisions under any circumstance, re would always answer me,” Cantin ;ommented. It was in the Mitchell Bowl that sommerfeldt, who threw 12 touch

downs against six interceptions this season, provided a new level of inspi ration to his teammates. Sommerfeldt broke his collarbone during the course of the game, but remained on the field in an attempt to lead a Redmen comeback. One

For a moment of peace and renewal

Come and discover a Sacred Place

player who was especially impressed was President’s Trophy-nominated linebacker Mike Mahoney. “I think breaking his collar bone in his final game and continu ing to play, that pretty much sums him up. He’s a great guy and team player,” Mahoney said. “Seeing him after the game, in that much pain, knowing he played two quarters after breaking his collarbone—that was a pretty inspiring thing.” Adhering to Mahoney’s descrip tion, Sommerfeldt was more than willing to heap praise upon his team mates for what they accomplished this year, even though they fell short of the Vanier Cup. Sommerfeldt had especially kind things to say about

his receivers and backup quarter backs, the latter of which will be competing for the now-vacant starter’s role at training camp next season. “We had a great core group of veterans and that, I think, was a major part of our success this year, especially our receivers. We had a really deep starting four, and all of them could have all been all-stars,” said Sommerfeldt. “[Quarterbacks] Cantin and [freshman third-stringer Dave] Campbell are talented, have a good attitude and are willing to work hard. I think there will be a bright future with their work ethic and attitude.” As for his own future,

Sommerfeldt plans to graduate ii December and then get married ii June. Playing professional football ii Europe may be in the cards, bu Sommerfeldt is also interested i working for the Canadian govern ment in Ottawa. Either wa; Sommerfeldt said he will miss life s McGill. “It’s going to be hard next yea not coming here in late August an getting ready to play,” he acknowl edged. “But that’s part of life, an hopefully Ell keep in touch with a of the guys, and be part of McGi football in a different way. I guess T be the number one fan now.”

AROUND THE HORN

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the 1981 and 1992 teams. McMann wins Frank Tindall Trophy Redmen upset Sherbrooke For the first time since its inau The volleyball men travelled to guration in 1969, a McGill coach has his name on the Canadian Sherbrooke this weekend to play the Interuniversity Sports top coaching University and Senior teams twice. award. Chuck McMann, in only his The Senior team consists of former second year as head coach with varsity players. After being swept 3-0 McGill, brought his team to a 7-1 by the Unversity tram on Saturday record, finishing atop the Quebec (25-16, 25-14' and 25-15), the Conference standings for the first Redmen answered back, beating them in five sets (25-23, 11-25, 25-23, 20time in 21 years. The trophy is named after the 25 and 17-15). Chris Garrett, who was later legendary Frank Tindall, who coached at Queen’s University for 29 named tournament all-star team, member had 20 kills, three aces and seasons. McMann has posted a career 17- nine digs in a strong offensive match. 5 overall record with the Redmen. Andrew Royes was also named an allHis offensive expertise led to the star, amassing 17 kills, four digs and highest-scoring season in McGill his one stuffed block against the Vert-ettory with 299 points in eight tegular Or. Adam Koui also had a strong season games, for an average of 37.4 game with eight kills, three aces, three stuffed blocks and five digs. points per game. The Senior team swept the McMann joined the Redmen in 2001, after nine seasons in the Redmen in both contests, although Canadian Football League as the the scores were very close: 25-23, 25Calgary Stampeders’ assistant coach. 21 and 25-21 in the first match, and There, be coached in four Grey Cups, 25-14, 25-22 and 31-29 in the final winning the championship in 1992 match. The Redmen will host and 1998. He also played 10 seasons Montreal on Friday and Sherbrooke in the CFL as a receiver and running on Sunday in hopes of recording back for the Montreal Alouettes and another win before the holidays. Concordes from 1976 to 1985. His Martlets lose heartbreakers first season in 1976 with the The Martlets also travelled to Alouettes, McMann was named rook ie of the year. He also played in three Sherbrooke to play Queens, Kingswear (a club team) and a senior Grey Cups, winning in 1977. team from Lasalle, the Otions, in the Five McGill football players named Omnium Women’s Challenge. In five set games on Saturday, the Martlets All-Canadian Jim Merrick, a fourth-year offen lost to the Golden Caeles (13-25, 25sive lineman from Simcoe, Ontario, 22, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-7) and and linebacker Steve Young earned a Kingswear (20-25, 22-25, 25-21,25berth on the first All-Canadian defen 21 and 15-10). The senior Orions sive team, while senior running back took the brunt of McGill’s frustra Nick Hoffmann, senior kicker Anand tion, coming off of two tough losses Pillai and middle linebacker Mike and were defeated in games 3-0 and Mahoney were named to the second 3-1 on Sunday. Heroux was named a team. McGill ended up with five tournament all-star with a total of 48 football All-Canadians, breaking the kills, one ace, 65 digs, eight stuffed single-season team record of three on blocks and a 2.30 passing ratio out of the 1973 Redmen and matched by 3.00. Rookie Catherine-Anne Murray

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had solid games on Sunday, with total of 20 kills and one act. Tb Martlets finished fifth overall n tb tournament and now look rowan Montreal and Sherbrooke this weel end to finish the semester on big note.

Playoffs near for squash team The McGill squash tear \ ha two wins and a tie in the Oniari University Athletics sectional t un; ment held in Kingston over the weel end. McGill defeated Ryerson 6-1 Toronto 4-2, and tied Queens 3-3. The weekend puts McGill in position for a playoff berth. Captain Owen Watson won i three of his matches, all by sc<>res i 3-0. Fourth seed Sherif Shake; swe| all three of his matches. The team will compete J.inuai 11 in a crossover tournament hosts by Ryerson.

So close... what a rimim r In their 100th seasor . tl Redmen are looking strong. Aft being down by 12 points at the half Friday’s game against Concordia, tin came back to win 73-67 after takit the lead in the last minute of tl game. The turning point canu off steal from the Stingers follow; d by three-point shot from ;cr; Denburk Reid. Dominoco M.ircar had 24 points and seven rebounc while Frederic Bernard scored 1 points and stole nine rebound.-,. On the women’s side, Concord got the better of the Martlets in tl final minute of play in the fir; i gan of a double header for McGill, lies ing them 49-47. “Hopefully we will be ,l>le rebound quickly from this,” said he; coach Lisen Moore. “Our last tv minutes weren’t very strong. ’X'e jt need to talk the game and w. re n there yet. That is a sign of a voui team.” With seven rookies this year, t: Martlets have experienced a ice-1 from the 2001-02 season. “We need to let the strengt within the offence come through wi more patience,” said Moore rcferrii to the main problem facing the you; team. “The shooting percentage is t one area that we are consistently It *ing. » The Martlets hope to produ the extra flare that is needed to w games as they face Laval. Tip off 6:00 pm for the women this S urd; and the men will follow at 8:( Kt pn

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

NHL SHOWDOWN

Sports 19

LEAFS VS THE REST

S t a r t r a k in g t h e L e a fs Y o u 're j u s t j e a l o u s 1 have never met the Toronto Maple l.eafs. Nor have I ever played against them. I am not, therefore, in a position to verify or dispute the claims made by Sports Illustrated writer Michael Farber about Toronto being the most hated team in the NHL. But as an Ottawa Senators fan, 1 feel per fectly qualified to add my two cents to the con troversy which engulfed Farber’s article as it hit newstands across the country. For too many years, Toronto has eliminat ed Ottawa from the playoffs. It has become a rite of spring. Fans of the Senators have suffered another loss to the ultra-cocky Maple loafs, and once again are trying to explain the Curse. The only solace last year was that Ottawa’s captain Daniel Alfredsson put Darcy Tucker out for what many thought was the rest of the playoffs. It was sweet revenge, after Tucker’s hit tore out the knee of the New York Islanders Mike Peca earlier in the post-season. But low and behold, the pest returned against the Carolina Hurricanes. Thankfully, Tucker and his team-mates did not last long, as Toronto was eliminated in the eastern confer ence finals. I rejoiced as the Ixstfs were sent to their respective golf courses. My friends couldn’t understand my desire to see an American team go to the Stanley Cup final over a Canadian club. My answer: I would love to see any Canadian team get to the final... any team besides the leafs. While Farber wrote about the players, he could have penned a column about how Leafs fans are the worst in the league. These narrow-minded men and women can find an excuse for anything that goes wrong with the team. What about those 10 losses early in the season? Just adjusting to a new goalie, they say. The loss of Cujo? Don’t need him: he’s now in the twilight of his career. What about Toronto not having won a Stanley Cup since 1967? Made it to the second round of the playoffs six years in a row. Leafs fans are relentless. Don’t try to pin them down. You’ll get tired trying. Leafs Ians, an obsessive bunch, are the biggest bandwagon-jumpers around. They jeer

the league today, teams have become so homog enous that it’s difficult to distinguish between the Sharks and the Panthers. So, Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated Thankfully, the Leafs are no patsy Ottawa thinks the Toronto Maple Leafs are nothing but Senators. With personalities like the enigmatic a bunch of “whiners, divers and cheap shot Eddie Belfour in goal, the “Bruise Brothers”, artists,” eh? Shayne Corson and Tucker, the feisty Domi, Farber calls the Leafs the most despised and outspoken coach/GM Pat Quinn (a mean team in the NHL, citing as evidence Darcy S.O.B. during his playing days... remember Tucker’s and Tie Domi’s recent cheap shots dur that hit on Bobby Orr?), it’s no wonder that ing the previous two playoff campaigns, along other teams from coast to coast want to kick with Domi’s sucker punch in 1995. Toronto’s ass. As a diehard Leafs fan, born and bred in the Make no mistake, we’re not as dirty as the centre of the universe, I’m proud that my boys Flyers of the 70s, but with NHL commissioner are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Gary Bettman trying to tone down the sport It’s about damn time that this lame-duck league and sell it to Americans who still think the pro has a team with a fighting personality. fessional product is equivalent to the Charlestown Chiefs, my boys are doing their best to preserve a healthy level of aggressiveness and edge in the great Canadian game. True, Toronto may have gone from being English Canada’s favourite son prior to expansion to its most vilified since, but I see that as a benefit in a league where rivalries are no longer what they used to be. Toronto versus any Canadian team is more than just a game. It’s a forum where fans of these teams can vent their frustra tion against the machine that runs our country. The Blue and White play a chippier game than most, if not all, other teams in the league, and may be pegged with a suspension or fine here and there as a result. But what’s the big deal? So far, it S U M ! PHOTO GALLERY seems to work, as we’re the only It seems that every story in the NHL dur team in Canada who has won a playoff round in ing the past few years has been Lindros-this, each of the past four seasons. Lemicux-that. A couple years ago, headlines and Too bad the Sens won’t stop whining about front pages were dedicated to a certain violent us bullying them around in the post season and stick-swinging incident for weeks (does Marty actually do something about it. McSorley ring a bell?). Teams have lost their But come to think of it, I’m more than identity in the explosion of expansion teams happy to see us send them home each season to since the 90s. Remember the good of days of lick their wounds and complain that God’s team the Broad Street Bullies, the superpower is a bunch of inbred bullies. I’m sure Don Edmonton Oilers, or the legendary dynasties of Cherry, Gino from Woodbridge and anyone else the Canadiens? With a ridiculous 30 clubs in who bleeds Blue and White would agree.

M a rk K e rr v s. J o h n a struggling Eddie Belfour early in the season. But when he records his second shut-out in as many games on Saturday, he is the toast of the town. If he falters later in the season, Leafs fans are sure to be all over him again. And it is not like they are isolated to the Greater Toronto Area. Leafs fans are everywhere. I blame this on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Back in the days before the 500channel universe, the CBC was the major source of NHL hockey for most Canadians. On occasion, there would be another Canadian teams game broadcasted on Saturday night, but it was a rare occurrence. The result of this biased coverage? The Leafs became Canada’s team, with a strong following across the nation. And we are still living with the effect. Go to a Habs game when the Leafs are in town and the Blue and White is out in full force. In Ottawa’s Corel Centre, the trend is even worse. The Senator’s ticket base is small enough that 2,000 tickets are usually available. Leafs fans snap these seats up, and as a result, Ottawa fans are subject ed to Leafs-mania in their home arena. Trying to stop the Leafs jug gernaut is impossible. Last year in the playoffs, a rumour circulated that Ottawa tried to block Leafs fans by putting a password on Internet sales. T his failed miserably as a sea of Blue and White was seen at all three games in Ottawa. While there is no escaping the leafs fan, those of us who can’t stand Toronto must fight back. The next time that you see a dreaded Leafs fan, just mention 1967. Pretend to cheer for the Canadiens, who, of course, won in 1993. Not that it will do any good. That hoser wearing the out-of-date Gilmour jersey will always have an excuse.

B ow den

M cGill holds sw im m eet, w aits for Laval to show up

Melanie Herscovitch

Like any individual sport, at times it is hard to stay motivated. We train up to 10 times a week. Since the beginning of the season, I’ve woken up for over 40 early morning practices and, in total, gone to about 100 workouts. All in all, we’ve swam to China and back five times. We’ve trekked up the mountain on numer ous occasions: in the broiling sun, before dawn, at sub-zero conditions and in the snow. I even took part in a weight-training circuit my coach likes to refer to as the “death circuit.” But competitions like the one hosted by McGill this weekend make it all worthwhile. It’s hard to explain when everything just comes together. In all my years swimming, I’ve never felt that I was a part of a team—until this past weekend. It was a perfect example of a team finally finding its groove and reaching its potential.

Kerry Cregan’s performance was an excellent example of such fulfill ment. Along with the team captain, Carolyn McCabe, the two amassed a total of 24 points each, helping the women to take victory over Laval with a score of 191 to 174. We started off the meet with a bang. It began with a win in the woman’s 4x50-metre freestyle relay and a school record to boot. Carolyn McCabe, Janice Tijssen, Genevieve Grégoire and Kristina Hassell set the team off to an excellent start. And the ball just kept on rolling from there, with each race feeding off the last. “It wasn’t just a few people that stood out, but everyone in their own little way helped us win this,” said captain McCabe with a beaming smile. In the 400-m freestyle, Caitlin Allen-Black took off an impressive six seconds from her best time, destroy ing the five-minute mark and making a personal best swim. “Before the race, I was visualiz ing how I was going to swim it. But then I was just like—you’ve got to do this because the team wants you to.

So I did,” remembers Caitlin. The men’s side had its share of impressive swims as well. “I think what was really indica tive of our domination was the 4x200-m relay,” says Jamie Desjardins, a second-year veteran who helped the men’s team take five of the top eight places in the 400-m freestyle. But the 4 by 200-m men’s relay was the defining moment of the meet. Taking the top two spots, the McGill A and B teams crushed both of Laval’s teams and helped finish the meet with another excellent race, giving the men a total of 200.5 points versus Laval’s 122. Benoit Dalpé became the latest qualifier for Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships. He finished the 50-m breaststroke with a time of 30.09. Dalpé’s addition to the list now brings the total number of qual ifiers to 10 females and six males— an excellent tally for this point in the sea son. “This is the most ever qualified in the first term,” said coach François Laurin confidently after the meet.

“Things are shaping up for us to take home both titles this year and the overall title. What’s even better is that all swimmers participated in the scor ing, making it a team effort. All the work from September on has definite ly paid off. Now, we’re focused and ready for exams and our training camp in South Africa should help to qualify even more swimmers for CIS.” A few notable swims on the women’s side included McCabe’s first leg of the 4 x 50-m relay, in which she got her national standard by one mil lisecond and shone to victory in the 50-m butterfly with a time of 29.45. Heather Bell once again won the 200m breaststroke, now unbeatable since she came to McGill a year and a half ago. Jennifer Paul came to terms with the butterfly, destroying her seed time by almost three seconds, coming in with a 33.78 in the 50-m competi tion. For the men, Doug McCarthy, a third-year veteran, showed his rival competitor Steve Preston from Laval what it means to swim backstroke with two wins in both the 50-m and

100-m distances, good enough for two CIS qualifying berths. To round off the wins on the men’s side, captain David Allard finished up with two first-place finishes in the 200-m med ley and 200-m breaststroke; team mate Ryan Tomicic took the 100-m freestyle and taller teammate Sylvain Lemieux rocked the 400-m freestyle. And finally, Neal Durling was the outside smoke in his 50-m butterffy, swimming his final meet for McGill after five years on the team. Victory tasted especially sweet against our Laval rivals. A month prior to this meet, at the second Cup Meet of the season, we found our selves stuck in a bus for half the com petition due to a snowstorm. Unfortunately, Laval proceeded with the competition, and in doing so, obviously accumulated enough points (without us there) to win the meet. What made this victory even sweeter was that they had the audacity to boast about beating us in their school paper. Oh well—more fuel for our fire. Here at McGill, we like to make things fair and square—but we’ll kick your ass in the pool.

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