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M cGILL Vol. 22 I s s u e 2
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Anthrax scare forces evacuation of Stewart Bio James Grohsgal and Kate Rhodes A chemical analysis of white powder found in an envelope at the Stewart Biology Building last Wednesday has revealed that the substance did not contain anthrax. “The results of the analysis are negative: no anthrax,” concluded Dr. Lucie-Andrée Roy of the Institut national de santé publique. The discovery of the envelope by a staff member opening mail precipitated the evacuation of more than 500 students, professors and staff. Those closest to the potential contaminant were confined in the building until late that evening, in order to assess the substances threat. The envelope, with a hand written address to the “Department of Biology,” was delivered to the Administrative Office of the Department of Biology, NonAcademic Affairs, on the fourth floor of Stewart Biology’s west wing. The only other identifying mark on the letter, according to Katherine Peterson, Administrative Officer for the Department of Biology, was an Illinois postmark. There was no note inside, Montreal police said. When Randy Montour, Petersons administrative assistant, opened the envelope at around 2 pm, the powder made contact with his hands. Susan Botci, head of graduate studies for the Department of Biology, who shares room W4-5 with Montour, was the only other person present when the envelope was opened. The office, responsible for approximately 150 graduate and 450 undergraduate students, had never received any threats in the 18 years Peterson has
been with the department. After security was notified, six McGill safety officers sealed the office and the fourth floor. At around 2:30 pm, Montreal police arrived, and began to evacuate the building. However, many students attending the first day of lectures were not alerted until nearly an hour after the envelope was discov ered. “I was in class, but I never heard a fire alarm. Then I looked out the window and a fireman saw us and indicated, through hand ges tures, that we should get out,” said [the Tribunes] Scott Medvin. “That was around 2:50 pm. There were 60 of us in there.” Mike Elie, president of the McGill Biology Students’ Union, was also in the building at the time. “There was some confusion cordoning off the area,” said Elie. “I had a cop knock on the window and tell me to get out. It wasn’t like the building was evacuated right away, but once it got going it went pretty smoothly.” By three o’clock, Rue Docteur Penfield was sealed, and police had deployed seven vans, one truck, one bus, 12 officers, eight riot and crowd control police, and four offi cers on bicycles. The Fire Department had one bus and five trucks parked in front of Stewart Biology. Public health officers arrived later, at around 5:30 pm. Despite the blaring sirens and mass exodus from the building next door, the McGill Law Students’ Association began their Orientation Week barbecue for around 75 peo ple, as scheduled, at 4:30 pm. “We were told by the police there were no problems and that we
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See Story, page 2 NATHAN LEBIOD/
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Students enjoy the last days of summer at OAP on lower field. Two dollar beers are always in style
T h e N e w D e a l w o w s S S M U Fro sh c ro w d F ro s h 2 0 0 2 d e c la r e d a n o v e r - a il s u c c e s s Scott R. Medvin This was not the normal set ting for a New Deal show. This past summer, the band slowed down their touring, opting to play single sets at music festivals to large crowds, rather then perpetuating their image as road warriors, tire lessly touring day in and day out. These summer shows allowed the band to showcase new material that is being perfected in their new stu dio for a new album. Fans that have been around for a long time were
See ANTHRAX, page 4
pleasantly surprised by the new songs, while virgin ears delighted at the slamming breaks that have become the calling card of these three regular guys from Toronto. For the New Deal, the Frosh concert at the infamous le Dôme was a win-win situation. Tickets had already been paid for out of the Student Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Frosh budget. A whole hoard of the uninitiated awaited their aural assault of live progressive breakbeat house. See NEW DEAL, page 13
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2 News
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Police tear-gas protesters; speech cancelled Royal Canadian Mounted Police. After the speech was cancelled, Netanyahu was whisked in a black Montreal police in riot gear limousine to the Ritz-Carlton used tear gas and pepper spray to Hotel on Sherbrooke Street to give control a crowd of several hundred a press conference. demonstrators protesting the “Ils ont peur de la vérité,” said appearance of Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu. “The rioters... have at Concordia University’s Henry F. failed, because through you I’m Hall Building Monday, where the going to speak to three million former Prime Minister of Israel was Montrealers and 30 million scheduled to give a speech. Canadians.” Forty minutes after the event While two metal detectors was scheduled to begin, Canadawere set up at the main entrance to Israël Committee President Tommy the Hall Building, where ticket Hecht announced that he had some holders entered, the side entrance on Mackay Street was open for students attending morning classes. Protestors trying to prevent the speech “streamed through the doors” before, during and after the vio lence, said Amir, a Concordia student who did not give his last name. “I saw a barricade, but I cut across.” Ticket holders going through the front entrance were confronted by angry crowds of protesters. “People felt really threatened,” said McGill stu dent Elliot Glussenberg. “Several rabbis walking in were spat on.” According to ticket holders and protesters, a security guard was stationed at a table set up in front of l e b io d a the escalators leading from Student, police view damage NATH the mezzanine to the lobby, “very where a dozen Swiss Army knives sad news.” The speech was can were confiscated from spectators celled due to safety concerns shared before they entered the auditorium. by Netanyahu’s security and the James Grohsgal and David Anber
T o m o r r o w ’s
p r o f e s s io n a ls
But the cordon did not hold, as protestors inside the Hall Building crowded onto the two lobby escala tors. They had assembled before the speech, scheduled to begin at noon and postponed several times. “We held our ground on the escalators, shouting slogans,” said Amir. “The cops held the first two steps of the escalators. There was an initial push by the police, trying to push us up. We managed to hold on. Then some people in the crowd were causing havoc, and the police got tough. They were pushing up on the right side, hitting people hard. One guy fell down and the police started hitting him on the back with batons. He was resisting, and two or three cops tied his hands behind his back.” Around this time, according to Amir and other demonstrators, people began throwing chairs, tables and newspapers from the mezzanine onto the police below. One protester was using a fire extin guisher to hold back police. When a window on de Maisonneuve was broken, police used pepper spray to block protest ers trying to enter the lobby. Then tear gas was fired into the crowd. Ahmed El-Badri, a Concordia computer science student from Gaza, was protesting in front of the Hall Building when he felt the gas. “I gave my kafeyah to someone who was choking,” said El-Badri. “She really needed it, so I used my bandanna to breathe.”
um that a riot had taken place out side and urged everyone to stay in their seats. MUC police kept the agitated spectators inside. “A group of people who deny freedom of speech have prevented a former Israeli Prime Minister from coming here today,” said Hecht. “This is an insult to the Jewish community—to Canadian democ» racy. “We were all trapped in the room because of the tear gas and protestors in the hall,” said Glussenberg. “People felt really threatened.” Student leaders speak ing over the microphone called the attendance of so many a show of solidarity, despite Netanyahu’s absence. “I got tear gas in my eyes,” said Concordia student Mara Wolman, who was in the auditorium. “They turned down the ventilation in the room to stop the gas from coming in. I was scared off my ass.” A Concordia history student, who called herself T , was sitting in protest by the doors on Bishop Street right after the tear gas canister was fired. “We were chanting, and then someone knocked on the door and couldn’t get out, since the fire exits
While the violence escalated outside, Hecht told those waiting for Netanyahu inside the auditori-
Matthew Saunders and Chryssi Tsoupanarias
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were apparently locked,” she said. “Had someone not opened the door, they wouldn’t have been able to get out.” El-Badri claimed that tickets to Netanyahu’s speech were given to a hand-picked audience. He came to protest what he calls Netanyahu’s war crimes. “Netanyahu is an oppressor to Palestinian human rights. He’s a war criminal,” said El-Badri. “I tried to get a ticket a month ahead and I couldn’t, simply because of my background.” Alex Kemeny of Hillel McGill pointed out that many signs were posted with contact information, and that while some tickets were set aside for organizers and friends, the rest were given out on a first-comefirst-serve basis. Kemeny said that the atmos phere is charged at Concordia. “You don’t want to go to Concordia if you’re Jewish,” said Kemeny. “Were outnumbered by Arabs there.” Netanyahu is no stranger to protests. In November 2000, demonstrations prevented him from giving a speech at the University of California at Berkeley.
G h e tto s ta rts y e a r w ith lo st o p p o r t u n it y In the air above the stone and brick houses near campus, the scent of summer roses has mingled with sour spilled beer and sweet burning vegetation. This is autumn in the McGill Ghetto, after all, time for an infusion of new residents to wake up their neighbours. To most students, the sound of laughter on the street is the back ground noise of youthful fun. “I like living in the Ghetto,” said Miguel Fernandez, a U3 stu dent who has lived on Lome Street for two years. “Maybe it’s because everyone in my family used to yell a lot, but I really don’t find the Ghetto disruptive in terms of noise. The only time it gets really loud is when there’s a football game at Molson Stadium.” But not all share this opinion. What some call exuberance their neighbours call impoliteness. Danielle Quiniou, a permanent resident of the Ghetto, says the ruckus dies down after September. “The noise level gets really bad at this time of year,” said Quiniou. “Although it doesn’t last all year, the noise, the students drinking and the sight of broken botdes are dis ruptive during these first few weeks.” Constable Nelson Marshall, of Station 19 at the corner of Hutchison and Prince Arthur, understands that partying is a part of the student life but stresses that there are rules to respect. “We have received many com plaints regarding garbage in the
lanes. The City of Montreal has >et specific times for garbage collection which the students do not always follow." Fernandez agrees. “When students move out of their apartments, they tend to iust throw furniture and stuff they don’t want anymore in the street,” - lid Fernandez. “It can be annoying. ’ Even though Frosh W rk made lower campus the focal point of parties and alcohol distribution, Louise Savard, manager of Mc< nil Security, says student behaviour has not been a problem on campus. “Frosh Week went very will,’ said Savard. “The students were very well behaved and it made for a very pleasant environment.” When the partying spills >tit into the streets, however, long-time Ghetto residents begin to voice their disapproval. Constable Marshall has received complaints about students drinking alcohol on the street. “The students have a tendency to wander the streets with their opened bottles of alcohol, whic 11 is illegal,” said Marshall. “We h a\. a zero-tolerance policy, and will ri ket offenders with a $136 fine.” Resident complaints blot k planned street festival Concerns about unruly behav iour may have been the cause of Quinious doubts about the Street Festival, which was scheduled to take place September 7 on Miiion Street, but had to be cancelled late last week because some residents Continued page 3
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
News 8
Washington prepares a path to war against Iraq T h e
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to
loana Luca___________________________
The one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks is being commemorated in Washington with war drums. Member of Congress Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was willing to bet (in an address given on July 18 to a group of Washington interns) that a full-scale invasion on Iraq would be on its way by February 2003 to create enough pro-Bush momentum for the 2004 presiden tial elections. And on Sept. 4, after a much anticipated White blouse briefing, many members of Congress seemed convinced that war is in the air. Two months after the events of Sept. 11 President Bush said, “[I]f anybody harbours a terrorist, they’re a terrorist. If they fund a ter rorist, they’re a terrorist...if they develop weapons of mass destruc tion that will be used to terrorize nations, they will be held account able.” Kinza Qalmash, a Muslim stu dent in McGill’s Faculty of Continuing Education, believes that the American anti-terrorism campaign has become too biased against Arab nations as a result of its extension to Iraq, and that it pur posefully ignores other countries that possess weapons of mass destruction. She believes the American rhetoric sends the wrong message. “The general public in America thinks that it’s Islam that they’re against,” said Qalmash. “Muslims in general are against the events of 9/11.” Iraq’s neighbours, along with Russia, China and most of Europe, Continued from page 2
objected. “I don’t like the idea,” said Quiniou. “Parties should stay on the campus.” The Street Festival, conceived by SSMU Vice President of Communications and Events Naeem Datoo, was to he anything but a horrific display of beer guz zling and ceaseless chanting. The event was to happen between noon and seven o’clock, with the aim of drawing people of all ages to differ ent activities, including face paint ing for kids. “We wanted to address the complaints which residents had at the beginning of the school year,” said Datoo. “Having it on Milton Street and off campus would also include non-students in the events. Everyone could get to know their neighbours and develop respect for each other.” Even after gathering the neces sary 75 signatures of people living on Milton to gain permission to hold the event, some Ghetto resi dents opposed the idea. Datoo was eventually forced to cancel the event just days before its realiza tion. “Some residents felt that we were having a street party and not a community event,” said Datoo. Still, this setback hasn’t turned
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say the Bush administration hasn’t given an unambiguous justification for the proposed war. They see no proof that the Iraqi government gave comprehensive support to the Taliban or to al-Qaeda for their attacks against the American gov ernment and its people.
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Saideman. “The UN has a history of being reluctant to act and not making decisions fast enough, just like it happened in Srebrenica. The special UN forces might turn into hostages. The second problem is that Bush will not agree with it.” Yoni Petel, President of Hillel Montreal, thinks something should be done to stop the proliferation of “One thing is for weapons, and believes that if diplo certain: I’m not going macy fails, a military response is necessary. He is cautious about pos to change my view.” sible UN involvement. —G eorge W. B ush “I doubt that the UN will act for peace or security, despite the undeserved peace prize given to These countries hope for a Kofi Annan. Just look at what hap diplomatic resolution to the threat pened in Rwanda and Somalia,” of Iraqi chemical, biological and said Petel. “On the other hand, nuclear weapons. Some of Saddam European countries are concerned Flussein’s recent actions, like his re about oil prices and security, while invitation of UN weapons inspec the US is dependent on less oil tors to his country, have reassured exports from the Middle East. The the anti-war camp, who seek solu job of the UN should be to move tions from organizations like the towards democracy in the region. Carnegie Endowment for Dictatorships don’t fall and move International Peace (CEIP). towards democracies overnight.” CEIP has recently devised a US officials maintain that since “third approach” that includes a sanctions and arms inspections have UN-led multinational military unit failed, Iraq continues to pose an which would give teeth to the immediate danger to American Inspection Implementation Force, interests and the Middle East. stand by for military action in case They remind the public that of non-compliance, and replace a not too long ago Saddam Hussein unilateral US intervention with a thought it reasonable to annex multilateral effort. Kuwait as his 19th province, to Professor Stephen Saideman of deploy missiles on Israel and Saudi the Department of Political Science Arabia without a declaration of war, specializes in American foreign pol to engage in the deliberate cleansing icy and pursued a Joint Staff of Iraqi Kurds in the North and of Fellowship for the Pentagon last Shi’a Muslims in the South, to ter year. He is skeptical of the CEIP minate UN arms inspection mis proposal. sions and to deprive the Iraqi popu “The plan is interesting, but lation of sustenance in favour of not terribly realistic,” said building an arsenal. This history, the US argues, Datoo off from trying to make justifies a military intervention to peace. oust Hussein’s regime. “We want responses from peo Qalmash thinks Bush will seek ple in the area and suggestions allies, but she doesn’t believe that about what events can be held in the US really needs to justify itself. the future,” said Datoo. “Bush will do his best to get The police are also trying to [international] support, but it help students, by posting a link on wouldn’t make a difference. If the the SSMU website to a page out US thinks of doing something, it lining party regulations. does it,” said Qalmash. While the issues o f noise, alco “After 9/11 Bush has a blank hol and garbage need to be taken cheque and can do anything. He more seriously by students, has a crisis on his hands, too. He Marshall is optimistic. needs to remain popular and... he’s “Since we started devoting hunting for a second term. There’s more attention to the issue five nothing in his favour: the economy years ago, there has been an is depressed, his prompt reaction to improvement in student behaviour the al-Qaeda and helping civilians in the Ghetto area,” said Marshall. in Afghanistan was popular, but it As long as the noise in her neigh wasn’t enough. He needs something bourhood is kept to a subtle roar, for the next campaign.” Quiniou wants to stay in McGill s Many analysts have argued that backyard. the US government doesn’t under “I love living in a student area. stand the regional consequences of It’s very lively,” said Quiniou. a military invasion. “Even still, there is a limit.” They take issue with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz’s optimism about an invasion, and A brush with the party police propose that the sort of “clean” intervention carried out in For information about noise Afghanistan cannot be replicated in regulations, alcohol vending per Iraq. mits, exits and maximum capaci In Afghanistan, the US had the ties, and fines for common Northern Alliance to facilitate infractions, log on to: ground combat, but in Iraq they lack a real ally within the opposi ssmu.mcgill.ca/safety/ tion. Some have looked to the
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Kurds, but their involvement intro duces new complexities. The northern Kurds are split into two factions: the Kurdish
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Organization of the Islamic Conference have resolved to oppose “any unilateral action against any Islamic country under the pretext of combating international terrorism,” while Russia has become a staunch lobbyist in the UN for diplomacy over war. Yoni Petel believes groups like the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League are more prone to words than action. “[They’re] all about proclamations and decla rations,” said Petel. “If they truly cared about the lives of people in the region, they would have been involved before.” Qalmash disagrees, however. “Saddam will be sup ported by the Arab world because he is the only leader who has been able to confront the super powers,” said Qalmash. JENNYGEORGE “The Muslim world Professor Saideman doubts UN sucess will forget about what Saddam has been doing to Democratic Party (KUD) and the his own people and back him. Only Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Iran might not support Iraq because (PUK). Both are both fighting for of their previous war.” an independent Kurdish state, but Saideman argues that if the US differ on the means to achieve it. waits too long, there will be no The KUD is suspicious of US point in claiming that an American intentions and prefers to continue attack on Iraq is preemptive. On negotiations with the Iraqi govern Sept. 12 President Bush will be ment, while the PUK is tentatively making his case in a speech to the willing to offer their support to the United Nations. Senate Majority US, knowing that Turkey (who is Leader Tom Daschle (D-South the US’s strongest ally in the region Dakota) and House Minority after Israel and has an active Leader Richard Gephardt (DKurdish minority) will be vehe Missouri) have warned that mently opposed to any assertion of Congressional support will be con Kurdish rights. ditioned on international approval, In the south, the Shia Muslims but as Prof. Saideman points out, would like to regain the power President Bush has very good taken from them by Hussein’s pre chances of getting Congressional dominantly Sunni regime, but the backing. US is wary of their relationship “In terms of Congressional with the Shia government of Iran. pressure, Daschle is going to lose,” The unstable situation con said Saideman. “The Republicans vinced the former President Bush have a majority in Congress and not to pursue Saddam after the there is only a one-seat lead for the Gulf War, but the current President Democrats in the Senate. Bush Bush is adamant. As a senior need only recruit some Southern administration official put it, “Bush Democrats and he will get talks a lot about the oppression of Congressional approval.” the Iraqi people, and liberating President Bush has made it them from this madman. He talks clear that he is not looking for a about democracy in the region.” compromise with the UN. Neither the potential fragmen “I look forward to the debate. I tation of the Iraqi opposition nor look forward to the American peo the regional situation bodes well for ple understanding the threats we face,” said Bush. American involvement. As opposed to the Afghanistan “But one thing is for certain: campaign, where the US had I'm not going to change my view. Pakistan to provide a safe and quick And it's this: We cannot let the exit out of the fray, they have no world's worst leaders blackmail neighbouring country to count on America, threaten America or hurt in the Middle East. Iraq is engaged America with the world's worst in an active rapprochement strategy weapons.” in the region, having signed six free With this attitude from the trade agreements with Arab states in American president, and without a 2001 and having completed a com resolution to the ever-burning prehensive economic agreement Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the rest with Russia. of the world wonders: What is left In exchange for this coopera to debate? tion, the 57 countries of the
4 News
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Anthrax scare Continued from page 1
should just go ahead as planned,” said Jessica Finklenberg, head of the Law Students’ Association. Students and residents trying to walk along Rue Docteur Penfield between Drummond and Peel had to go to Sherbrooke to avoid the barricades set up by Montreal police. Mr. and Mrs. Cherry of the Cartier Apartments were unable to enter the building’s parking garage beyond the police barricades. They said they have lived on the corner of Peel and Sherbrooke for 20 years and had never before been con cerned about living close to a bio logical research center. A couple visiting from New York City com mented they were reminded of the chaos of Sept. 11 and the anthrax scares that followed. While the two professors pres ent when the enveloped was aopend, Montour and Bocti, waited with the six security officers, Peterson stayed in contact with them via mobile phone. “They’re doing quite well now,” said Peterson at 6 pm. “They’ve calmed down a bit.” Charles, who did not give his
last name, was standing with sever al concerned spouses at the yellow tape perimeter on Penfield and Drummond. His wife was inside. “Probably they’re going to give them antibiotics,” said Charles at 7
pm. “She’s OK. She’s not alone. They got a doctor in there, so they’re not feeling too worried.” Jean Sebastien Doyon, a police officer on the scene, guarded the western barrier. “When we’re here we’re not elsewhere doing our job,” he said. “I really hope the substance doesn’t turn out to be sugar or powder. If
pants entered Stewart Biology, and at 7 :2 0 reemerged with the enve lope, which was taken to a lab for analysis. Before the victims were released, public health officials determined that the powder posed no immediate toxic threat. Montour was given a decontami nating shower. None of the eight near the powder were given antibi otics, according to Roy of the Institut national de santé publique. By 10:30, Montour, Bocti, and the six security officers were cleared to leave the building. While Biology Department Chair Professor Paul Lasko was impressed with the response to the threat, he will talk to his staff about safety concerns. “I think we reacted profession ally and calmly,” said Lasko. “Once Montour returns to work, we’ll dis cuss procedures for handling mail,
to remind people what a suspicious package looks like and what to do if they get one.” Lab results from the Public Health service confirmed that the powder did not contain anthrax bacteria. The Stewart Biology building was open Thursday morn ing. Police say they have no grounds for,an investigation. The last major threat made to the Biology Department was in the 1970s, from animal rights groups organized against lab testing on ani mals. The last time men in biohazard suits cleaned up at McGill was February 1999, when drunk stu dents stole boxes of biomedical waste sitting on a cart in a court yard of Royal Victoria Hospital, and dropped bags of contaminated blood on the steps of McConnell Hall.
ICKFur Biohazard crew work feverishly to extinguish concern
P ro f. JO S E P H
W E IL E R ,
a noted authority on the European Community and pro fessor of law at New York University will be the guest of the Jean Monnet Chair, University of Montréal. Professor Weiler will present a lecture in French on the “European Constitution” in room E-310 of the Main Building, University of Montréal, on September 18th at 16:30. The admission is free, all welcome.
this is a student prank, they’ll be charged with public mischief. I really hope this is not a dumb stu dent prank for initiation week. It is dumb and stupid for tomorrow’s leaders to behave this way and threaten the safety of others. There were hundreds of similar post 9/11 emergencies and pranks in the city of Montreal.” At about 6:00 pm, a biohazard team arrived. At 6:40 three men in masks, blue plastic suits and bright orange boots duct taped to their
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A fee hike introduced by L’Université Laval is facing serious criticism from the Students’ Society of McGill University and other members of La Fédération des Étu diantes Universitaires du Québec, the provincial student lobby group. Last May, L’Université Laval imposed a $180 increase in ancil lary fees for all students due to a rise in the cost of student services. “The money is actually going towards paying off the university’s deficit,” said SSMU Vice-President of Community and Government Nick Vikande. “FEUQ members resolved to write letters of support on behalf of the students of the university,” Vikander said, “But the university ignored the lobby group’s protest and the fee increase went through.” FEUQ played an instrumental role in securing the tuition freeze
that has stabilized the cost of post secondary education for Quebec students over the last decade, and will now turn its focus towards sta bilizing ancillary fees. “FEUQ wants [ancillary fees] regulated too,” added Vikander, who hopes that FEUQ wil make deferental tuition fees a major cam paign issue. He also hopes that the campaign will incorporate the issue of differential tuition fees. Vikander will table his study on the economic impacts of out-ofprovince students on Quebec. “Out-of-province students have spent billions of dollars in this province over the last few years, so it is unfair to see them as a financial burden.” FEUQ members have not adopted the SSMU’s position that differential tuition fees should be abolished, but may change their views after further research and dis cussion.
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
News 5
Do you know where your children are? S S M
U
D a y c a r e
Brodie M. Ramin
It made for a refreshing con trast. Outside, legions of McGill students braved the first day of classes to listen to euphuistic profes sors chat about their postdoctoral research, while inside, below the West Wing of the Brown Building, a small group of 23 children played, ate snacks, and changed their own diapers. It was the childrens first day at the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU) Daycare, an undergraduate-funded daycare now beginning its second year. And while the children may not know it, their parents, mostly McGill stu dents, realize how lucky they are to have a place for their children amidst an inordinate demand and an evanescent supply of daycare spaces. The demand stems from the Quebec governments five-dollar-aday subsidized daycare program, which has made full-time care almost universally affordable. This also means that students pay as much as their professors for childcare. The concomitant lack of supply this system has created results from the government’s inad equate funding to the program, leading to what have been deemed ‘Soviet style shortages.’ Carina Gordon tells a common story. Two years ago, when her son Junan was six months old, she and her partner moved to Montreal. They immediately put him on the waiting list for the McGill Childcare Centre, the University’s daycare, expecting that he’d have a spot by the time he turned two. Eighteen months later he was still on the waiting list. Now Junan attends SSMU Daycare, despite the price of $10 for a half day, twice the $5 rate for a full day available only to those lucky enough to find a governmentsubsidized spot. Apparently the extra money for SSMU daycare is worth it . “The quality is great here,” Gordon said. Despite high standards and an excellent record, the centre’s appli cation for full-day certification from the government was denied last year. The reaspns for the denial, while uncertain, are thought to involve the government’s lack of funds, policy imperatives and poli tics. The implications of the denial are clearer. It means that SSMU Daycare can provide a maximum of four hours of care per child per day —a restriction that prevented the centre from fulfilling its mandate of serving McGill undergraduates, and thereby allowing parents to com plete their undergraduate studies without the added worry of finding adequate childcare. As undergraduate students tend to be full-time students, they require full-time daycare. They also have less money, and often lack relatives in the Montreal area who could take care of their children
h o p e s
to
p r o v id e
while they attend class. That is why beginning in 1998 SSMU fees included a $3 per student contribu tion. The proceeds allowed the cre ation of the daycare. This fee will stay in place indefinitely to keep the centre running, as SSMU has given up hope of receiving a full govern ment subsidy, and are now applying for a non-subsidized permit. They are more confident that this time their application will be approved, and they hope to be contacting the
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hundred or so undergrads on their waiting list before the end of the year to offer them spots for the win ter semester. The extra care is sorely needed. Cynthia Dezso, coordinator of SSMU Daycare, paints a Malthusian picture of the daycare situation in Quebec. Spots are few, waiting lists are two to three years, quality is low, teacher-pupil ratios are high, and parents are desperate.
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“Whatever the government thought was going to work isn’t working,” said Dezso. “I think they should go back to the old system where people who could afford to pay did, and those who couldn’t pay, were subsidized. They make the new system sound great, but it isn’t.” Dezso says that the govern ment simply does not have the money to pay for the number of spaces required.
Kathleen Morrison, SSMU Vice President Operations, who has been involved in establishing the daycare, echoes the sentiment. “They have good hearts, but they ran out of money,” said Morrison. While one more full time day care won’t satiate the demand, it is, as a start, a palpable anodyne.
W h a t Is th e
McGill S tudent Fund? Created in 1999 by a student referendum, the McGill Student Fund (MSF) combines several fees collected by the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU) on behalf of various McGill organizations to address three needs on campus: better libraries, more student bursaries and a more accessible stuwith more stu< McGill Alumni donors match the Bursary and Library Improvement Fund dollars. SSMU Bursaries are forwarded to Student Aid, which administers the fund on our behalf. The Library Imporvement Fund now comprises a signifi cant portion of the McGill Libraries budget and contributes to needed items such as the 24-hour study space, greater computer access and purchases of books, journals and equipment requested by particular faculty associations. • N eed A ccess Bursary Fund $12 full-tim e/$6 part-tim e p e r sem ester • Library Im provem ent Fund $14 full-tim e/$7 part-tim e p e r sem ester • Shatner Building Renovations $12 full-tim e/$6 part-tim e p e r sem ester
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6 Op/Ed The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002 O p i n i o n
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A w a r w ag ed on u s Jam es Grohsgal_________________________________________________________
Last week, a Senate committee called for the legalization of marijuana in Canada. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, pursuing his own investigation to be released in November, said Thursday that decriminalizing marijuana would be a first step before full-scale legalization. One Canadian dissenter, Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper, having never indulged in pot, said he’d rather see his children booze up than smoke up, and then argued not against the Senate committee’s find ings but for reform of the Senate itself. Ottawa is in a fix. When intimations of progress in the law appeared on the horizon this summer, geopolitical reality reared its head. While most Canadians recognize that the war on marijuana is untenable, Washington doesn’t want any more Québec Gold to be rolled in American joints. Any change to Canadian drug laws depends on concessions from the United States that will not come from the current President. The Bush administration, shielding in the smoke of September 11a realpolitik moralism born of blinding fear guided not by the dimness of light but by the shadows of darkness, shouts justification yet heeds no jus tice save self-interest. American unwillingness to reform their draconian marijuana laws, the cause of over 700,000 arrests in 2 0 0 0 , halts the efforts made here to wipe clean the records of 300,000 to 600,000 Canadians convicted for simple possession, a tarnish that often prevents them from travel or work in the United States. Opposition to medical marijuana from the American government may have contributed to Health Minister Anne McLellan’s reversal this August, when she called for further study before government-grown pot could be distributed to sufferers of AIDS, cancer and other illnesses. In June, American drug czar John Walters attacked the Senate’s pre liminary report, saying that legalizing pot in Canada would increase smug gling across the frontier. Once the longest undefended border in the world, the line between our two countries is now protected by armed National Guard soldiers. South of the border, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Drug Enforcement Agency Director Asa Hutchinson, and drug czar John Walters unveiled a new United States Drug Enforcement Administration exhibit last week, “Target America: Traffickers, Terrorists and You.” This exhibit, an attempt to link the evil embodied by international terrorist networks to the entertainment provided by recreational drugs, is open to the public today. Narco-terrorism, the Bush administration stress es, funds the promotion of evil political ideology. The production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics to support political movements is an old game for the United States, who shipped opium with Air America in Laos in the 1960s and provided support for the muhajedeen’s opium production efforts when they fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the 1980s, Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign inspired American elementary students to decorate their denim jackets with dozens of slogan-emblazoned green buttons. Soon this generation discovered the secret their parents dared not disclose: pot is fun. Canada, following the Netherlands and Britain in sane re-evaluation, wants to free its people from an arbitrary fetter, but the United States, compensating for lack of reason with the influence of power, continues to stand in Canada’s way.
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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002 O p i n i o n
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The daily affirmations of a Polish junglist B e c a u s e I’m g o o d e n o u g h , s m a r t e n o u g h a n d g o s h d a r n it, p e o p l e l i k e m e
■WkeJarzyna Before I even begin, I wanna thank you because you could be anywhere right now, doing any thing, but you’re here, reading this. A thanx to Jay-Z, aussi. But before we get underway let me tell you a little about myself, and perhaps that may aid in your understanding of the proceeding material. I was born in Poland, moved to Germany for a year at the influ ential age of eight, immigrated my now 140-pound white ass to the
T-dot in 1988, attended a private Catholic high school for boyz only, heard jungle for the first time in 97 (my life hasn’t been the same since) and here I am majoring in finance, minoring in philosophy, drinking, bunning ill spliffs, pop ping pills and all that other fun stuff. I love women, jungle, sports, and all my incredible friends. I’ve been in love twice with two incred ible ladies and can’t wait till it hap pens again. But enough about me, lets get to the point. And the point is this: we, the McGill massive, should all be really, really, really glad. Be glad that your penis works. Be glad you get to have multiple orgasms. Be glad that you are young. Be glad that you are young at heart.
Be glad that when you pass out on the 737 dance floor in your fine Italian suit your friends are there to take you home. Be glad you live in one of the world’s great est cities. Be glad you get to share space with all the beautiful people of this great city. Be glad your not at Queen’s, and what is with Queen’s alumnus Mike Lindsay bitching and whin ing about how Newsweek's com parison of McGill with Harvard would be a “devastating blow” to its students. If your students can’t handle that, how are they going to handle the real world, jackass, it must be all of that time with sheep. Moving along, be glad you can dial a number and have a dude at your door 30 minutes later with numerous kinds of ganja, hash and
shrooms. Be glad that you don’t have to worry about starving to death, be glad you gotz Busta and Friends comin out ya boombox. Be glad you have a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister, a grandma, a grandpa, an uncle, un aunt, a cousin. Be glad that you’re in love, be glad that you can love, be glad you can see, hear, be especially glad you can touch and feel, be glad you can walk, be glad you can think, be glad you have all your limbs. Be glad you don’t have AIDS, be glad you don’t do “those crazy kinds of drugs that stupid people do” according to some penis wrin kle, who wrote the review on Club Stereo for the SSMU handbook. Be glad you’re getting your drink on, be glad you can choose,
especially not to watch any reality T.V. shows, and shop at GAP. Be glad we have indoor plumbing, be glad we have Sports Illustrated, be glad Kournikova decided to play tennis, be glad Jordan decided to play ball, be glad Gretzky decided to play hockey. Be glad this article only has to be 650 words long, be glad Conan O ’Brian is on television, be glad Bob Marley decided to sing, be glad we have Minerva and con doms especially the ones from Bar St. Louis, it’s like it’s not even there. Be glad you can pick up your phone and spread love worldwide. Be glad you are who you are and if that’s not much to be glad about, do something about it! Finally, be glad you’re reading this, cuz we bring forth a litde bliss, as we good-bye kiss.
Some things I'll just never understand W h a fs
w it h
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se c re t p a ssa g e w a y
Anna Bretzlaff *I
As I enter my fourth and final year here at McGill, I reflect upon my experience at this grand school. Although I recall spending more time along St. Laurent than in Stewart Bio, surprisingly enough, I’ve put in enough hours to soon earn a degree. And while McGill is an extraordinary establishment with more prestige and reputation than I probably deserve to be associated with, there remain many internal happenings on this campus that just don’t make sense to me, even after all these years. Or at the very least, things that I haven’t managed to figure out that leave me both puzzled and mystified. Firstly, that damned “under ground passageway” everybody seems to be buzzing about. Supposedly, there is a system of underground tunnels connecting McGill buildings together. Apparently, I am not clever enough to figure it out. I’ve there fore opted to conclude it does not exist. If you insist on investigating it for yourself, I’d strongly advise to bring a buddy (preferably a Fraggle), canned food and signal flares. Secondly, why do students at
to
n o w h e re ?
McGill repeatedly submit them selves to studying in McLennan library, knowing the following three things to be certain: a) you will sweat like a fat hog in the sti fling heat, b) there has never been and will never be any toilet paper in the girls washrooms, and c) the one book you need has either been ‘lost’ since 1978 or was never there because it exceeds McGill’s annual book budget of $3.95. In addition, “thieves” appar ently “lurk” there, so security may well be an issue. Now, I’ll admit, I do visit McLennan from time to time despite these glaring draw backs, though my reasons are purely superficial and entirely related to checking out guys. Speaking of which, where the heck are all these quality, available gentlemen I keep hearing about on this campus? While by fourth year those girls like myself who find themselves still single have either given up all hope or decided to give the same sex thing a whirl, those relatively new to McGill are still searching for their Mr. Wonderful. I’ll save everyone the suspense— he probably does not exist. Or maybe initially you think he does, but it turns out he has the mental stability of Stalin in his later years and/or the maturity of an Olson twin. I am convinced that there is a whole slew of guys that belong to some secret faculty to which I do not have access. Either that, or they are congregating in that damn underground passageway. I also find myself wondering why some students insist on get ting decked out for class like it’s junior prom. True, Montreal is a cosmopolitan mecca for style, but I find it highly unnecessary to dress like first-round rejects from
M c G ill g u y s ?
M cLe n n an ? T h e
American Idol when attending Environmental Geology. Finally (and perhaps most trivial), what exactly do those snail symbols located around campus mean? I have been told they mean “cafeteria”, but I am skeptical. Call me an ignoramus, but I fail to see the connection between a snail and a cafeteria. I guess someone figured that
lib r a r y
pictures of crustaceans were the obvious choice when choosing a symbol to indicate where one can grab a bite to eat between classes. Unless McGill gets some serious funding from our friends at Red Lobster, I fail to see the correla tion. While the above inquiries are not pressing issues, I’d still like some answers before I graduate
b o o k
b u d g e t?
this coming spring. It bothers me that I will leave McGill with unan swered questions after spending almost 1/5 of my life roaming this campus. In the meantime, if any you have answers to these burning questions, please care to share. I’ll be the sweat hog in the library combing rare books for Romeo.
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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
S e x a n d t h e C it y : T h e
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fo r
M o n tre a l a s th e h o tb e d o f sm u t a c c e p t a n c e
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In the city’s depths, Montreal surges with energy, amidst latenight crowds, lurid lights and puls ing beats. Sex is everywhere— racy, tantalizing and in your face. Along Ste. Catherine Street, every second storefront seems to be a strip club, fronted by a burly bouncer and shiny, airbrushed pic tures of the dancers. A prime bachelor party destination, the neon-lit street teems with drunken packs of males, whose origins range from Toronto to New York and everywhere in between. The city hardly sleeps, and the bars don’t close until three in the morning, the longest hours of operation in Canada. Compared to modest Toronto and staid. Vancouver— dubbed the No-Fun City— it’s no wonder Montreal was voted Smuttiest City among sex trade workers. Dubbed City of Sin
Montreal first officially earned its reputation as the Sin City in the 1920’s, while doing business with the many wealthy, pleasure-starved Americans during Prohibition. Once in Montreal, these men embraced an indulgent lifestyle, visiting flourishing gambling hous es and brothels. The nightclubs were lively, gangsters thrived, and authority figures adopted a laissez-
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conditions: they will work for cheap wages and give blow jobs without condoms. There is always a fresh, inexperienced girl willing to perform acts that please the client but compromise safety. And there are definitely McGill stu dents working as escorts in order to make ends meet.” Indeed, indebted students who work as prostitutes and strip pers can earn money quickly at night, leaving time for classes dur ing the day. A professor at McGill’s med ical school, who chose to remain anonymous, gets a wicked glint in his eye when the topic of sex and Montreal is brought up. He emits a throaty chuckle and declares: “Smut is my middle name.” He proclaims that Montreal has long held the reputation as a sin city. “The French have always been open about sex. Rather than repress its sexuality, the French cul ture integrates it into daily life.” This contrasts with the typical stereotype of the prudish AngloCanadian attitude towards sex: human sexuality should be kept under wraps, behind closed doors and never mentioned in polite company. Alex McKay, a research coor dinator at the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, believes the general body of
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faire attitude. Politicians like former mayor Jean Drapeau tried cleaning up the city in the 50’s, but Montreal’s rep utation as the capital of sin still persists today, with statesmen turn ing a blind eye to activities in strip clubs, bathhouses and escort serv ices. Recent laws contribute to this, notably the Supreme Court ruling of 1997, permitting contact with strippers during lap dances. In the small cubicles of strip clubs, cus tomers are allowed to fondle dancers for 10 minutes, with prices ranging between $10-$ 15. Furthermore, Montreal has a booming business in escort servic es, with over 300 agencies employ ing over 3 ,0 0 0 escorts. These agencies advertise beautiful, dis creet companions, and usually tar get businessmen. This aspect of prostitution has allowed Montreal to become a ver itable playground for American businessmen, with prices for escorts beginning at $ 1 0 0 an hour, considered much less expensive compared to what Toronto and large American cities have to offer. Pascale, a sexology student at l’Université du Quebec à Montreal, has discovered a great deal about the Montreal sex trade working at Stella, an organization and safe house representing sex trade workers in Montreal. “New girls accept the working
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What you don't know won't hurt you Melanie Herscovitch
Your mom always said you shouldn’t go outside in the winter without a hat on or you would catch a cold. Your grade five teacher told you that drugs were bad. Your ex-boyfriend used to insist he knew where he was going when you went skiing up north. O f course, it always took him at least three hours to make it to Tremblant. Your pen pal from Texas used to coastantly ask about your igloo and if you’d ever gone ice fishing. Without question, you blindly assumed they were correct, and while it sometimes annoyed you to ruin your perfectly-styled hair by wearing a tuque, you did what you were told was right. O f course, it turns out that bacteria-free snow will not make you sick, and drugs are being used every day worldwide to help alleviate suf fering. And it just so happens that even on a wintry day, you can prob ably take your best friend’s ’89 Civic and make it to Tremblant in less than two hours. Plus, as it turns out,
there are bylaws against iglo >s on the corner of Sherbrooke and University. All four reactions described above are symptoms of cpistemophobia, the fear of knowledge. It explains why you might be do iding the dawn of first semester, or why you feel frustrated when certai i peo ple just don’t want to see filings from your perspective. You’re chink ing to yourself, is it really so difficult for them to open their eyes a id see what’s going on? McGill Sociology professor Morton Weinfeld explains its not only on a personal level that people react this way: “From a global stand.mint, there exists a fear of knowing or in some cases, of knowing too n ich.” With genetic engineering in the spotlight, many people find themselves fearing what lies d ead. Alarmed by where new discoveries will take them, they qu tion whether they want to head down unknown paths. Historically, there are many examples of epistemophobes lake See
PHOBIA, page 9
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Features 9
Drug decriminalization: a once drastic concept becomes increasingly popular Ashley Zurawel
Public service announcements tell us not to do it. So do our par ents, teachers and communities. We are all taught that drugs are bad, but does that mean they should be ille gal? Presently in Canada, a progres sive approach is underway to dimin ish the usage and traffic of illegal drugs and to separate these two notions in an effort to finally win the war on drugs. The legalization of illicit drugs has been at the forefront of Canadian politics since the Liberal government passed the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 1996. The CDSA, which toughened Canadas drug laws, was less than popular with activists favouring a shift towards tolerance and away from prohibition. The CDSA reaction eventually lead to the legalization of industrial hemp, and three years later, prompt ed Senator Pierre Claude Nolin to create the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs to study the effects of prohibition. Nolin’s efforts were countered by Canadian Alliance MP Randy White, a well known anti-drug cru sader, who is aiming to start a coun try-wide debate on drug laws. “The focus would be the fac tors underlying or relating to the non-medical use of drugs in Canada,” was Nolin’s proposition, one that was unanimously approved by the House of Commons. In a country torn by such opposing views on drug policy, extensive research seems to be the most acceptable method to begin tackling decriminalization and law
Phobia Continued from page 8
the Luddites, a group of English from the early 1800 s, who were so opposed to new technology that they broke machinery in protest of the Industrial Revolution. They refused to see any good in new innovations. Many of us live by the old say ing: “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” We’ll avoid telling people the truth in order to spare their feel ings; we’ll refuse to listen to those who disagree with us. We feel com fortable being ignorant. After all, ignorance is bliss, is it not? I’d much rather take a nap in the afternoon than crack open a textbook. Take Adam and Eve: they ate from the Tree of Knowledge and were punished. Bliss indeed. Yet, would they be so popular had they disregarded the apples? Doubtful. Yesterday, knowledge-fearing folk were thought to be stubborn and naïve, but now it’s clear they’ve simply been stricken by a phobia, which keeps them from truly under standing the world around them. Funny, didn’t we used to call that stupidity?
reforms. In October of 2000, the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs began to hear testimonies from experts ranging from health care profession als and university professors to politicians and the Canadian Police Association. The committee released a paper in August summarizing their findings, hoping to persuade the Canadian government to decrimi nalize illicit drugs, or at the very least soft drugs, namely marijuana, which has been prohibited in Canada since 1923. “In many ways, prohibition is a cop-out. . . . I would like to say to the government, 'The ball is now in your court,'” remarked Nolin in a recent statement. Tolerance of marijuana for
pot for recreational and therapeutic purposes is considered to be quite a different matter. Best known for its ability to ward off the nausea and extreme discomfort caused by major life-threatening illnesses, marijuana is gaining a safe reputation as a pain killer and is becoming an increasingly popular drug choice among cancer and AIDS patients. Still, the effectiveness of cannabis as a painkiller continues to be a subject of debate. Health Canada financed a study that began at McGill in January of last year, which hopes to help to clarify the ambiguous effects of smoking pot. The study is described as “the world’s first peer-reviewed clinical trial examining the effects of smoked cannabis in a non-HIV or multiple sclerosis population.”
raise crime rates as users become increasingly desperate. While prohibition costs approximately $442 million annual ly, a decrease in drug use has yet to be seen. It has been proposed that changing the focus to quality con trol, prevention, education and rehabilitation will not only result in a decrease of criminal activity, but also reduce the number of addicts, essentially achieving the same goals as prohibition. For some, it is as much a philo sophical debate as anything else. Professor Christopher P. Manfredi, the chair of McGill’s Political Science department, has document ed his opinion about the drug decriminalization issue. “In a society that depends upon its government for leadership and
medical purposes has increased throughout the years, though its effects remain ambiguous. Among those who testified for the commit tee was McGill psychiatrist Marc Zoccolillo who shared the results of his research. His findings include that cannabis is a gateway drug and leads to other drug use. “Coherent trains of thought become impossible and addiction can occur if the drug is used fre quently over several months,” he said. The Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, however, dis agrees. “The minimal negative health effects of moderate use would be attested to by the estimated 1.5 mil lion Canadians who smoke marijua na for recreation purposes,” wrote the journal. A recent study by the World Health Organization concluded that marijuana poses less of a threat than either alcohol or tobacco. The Senate Committee released a discus sion paper in August of this year contrasting the conclusions of Zoccolillo’s research about marijua na. “There is no scientific evidence that cannabis leads to the use of harder narcotics. Most recreational users smoke pot only temporarily and irregularly, with only 10 per cent becoming chronic users, and 5 10 per cent becoming addicted.” However, the legalization of
Many are counting on this study to contribute a substantial amount of information about the use of marijuana as a painkiller. Perhaps the issue at hand is not whether or not Canadians should use marijuana and other drugs, but whether or not the law should con trol these substances. Advocates of decriminalization point to the eco nomic factors and crime rates relat ed to drug traffic. The Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs released a bold 600page report this past month calling for the legalization of marijuana, recommending it be made readily available to persons over 16 years of age. It also calls for amnesty for all those previously convicted of mari juana possession, which amounts to approximately 600,000 Canadians. The underground economy, fueled by the illegality of drugs, sup ports the crimes related to drug use. A study conducted by the American Research Triangle Institute claims that 90 per cent of drug-related crime results from drug illegality. It is estimated that the street price of cocaine and heroin is 50 to 100 times the pharmaceutical cost, meaning despairing addicts are will ing to take much higher risks to get their fix. It has also been argued that anti-drug laws, which reduce the supply of illegal substances, actually increase the street value of drugs. Consequently, both invite more people into lucrative business and
entrusts its politicians with the task of formulating character-forming laws, the principles of governing should include the prohibition of drugs, as it involves a virtuous, or non-virtuous choice.” Others believe drug policies involve too much governmental power, meaning individual rights are the real price of prohibition. Drug decriminalization seems like a drastic step compared to the widely accepted notion of a war against drugs. This so-called war, however, is a losing battle in the United States, with 50 per cent of all American prison inmates being drug offenders. Further, with the U.S.’s Plan Colombia, an anti-drug strategy in which the less-thanfriendly Colombian government fumigates cocoa crops, facing con demnation by both the European Union and South American coun tries, Canadian policy makers are beginning to look for other ways to reduce their drug problem. While an increasing number of European countries are looking to reduce or eliminate penalties for small amounts of possession, Canada’s Health Minister Alan Rock has proposed a type of trafficoffence approach, where the offend er is ticketed and fined, but not charged with a criminal offence. He has also expressed his views concerning drug decriminalization by supporting the construction of a $5 7 million giant greenhouse to
grow marijuana plants for medical use in an abandoned nickel and copper mine shaft in Flin Flon, Manitoba. The project, nicknamed “The Rock Garden,” is expected to produce 450 kilograms of marijua na in the next four years. Health Canada has also recom mended the opening of four safe injection sites in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, in an effort to mimic successful endeavours imple mented in Frankfurt, Germany, where a dramatic decline in HIV and overdose cases has been achieved. British Columbia’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, has also endorsed “heroin prescrip tion” trials, as such trials have seen tremendous success in Switzerland. The influence of countries with lenient drug laws is reflecting the possible outcome of drug decrimi nalization in Canada, a step citizens view as drastic. Yet, the reality is that an increasing proportion of Canadian youth is becoming more tolerant of drug use, specifically marijuana. While full legalization remains a controversial approach, Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark has mirrored the opinion of many youth. “I believe the least controversial approach is decriminalization,” said Clark, “because it’s unjust to see someone, because of one decision one night in their youth, carry the stigma to be barred from studying medicine, law, architecture or other fields where a criminal record could present an obstacle.” Marissa Salmon, a U1 McGill student, agrees with Clark’s view. “It would be ignorant to fail to acknowledge that the criminal con sequences of drug use is a risk for so much of our student body. The prospect of decriminalization may be in the better interest of our long term futures.” As an increasing number of people are becoming aware of this debate, more questions concerning decriminalization are appearing. While issues such as availability, purchase, taxation and driving under the influence are still to be addressed, Canada is sure to see attempts from both sides of the drug policy spectrum to improve the situation. And with influential authority figures supporting major aspects of drug decriminilization, it might not be too long before Canadians are smoking up freely.
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10 Features
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Sex sells alongside haute couture and magazines Continued from page 8
tend to be more aggressive and vocal towards women than south ern American men.” Many students are humiliated by the highly public nature of sex in the city. Shopping with a visit ing parent on Ste. Catherine Street alongside explicit strip clubs and sex shops proves an embarrassing situation, especially when dads share past college experiences with their unsuspecting and happily ignorant children. Others take advantage of the situation, sched uling visits to Super Sexe and Chez Paré as part of their itinerary when younger, naïve brothers are in town. Many women object to, or at least feel uneasy around, all of this sex for sale. A common perception is that strip clubs objectify and exploit women. In fact, even lap dancers are known to complain about being coerced into contact dancing, knowing they risk being fired if they do not submit to cus tomers’ whims.
research shows a great deal of dif ferences in sexual attitudes across Canada. “W ithin Quebec, attitudes toward sexuality tend towards the liberal. In the wider context of Canada, there is growing accept ance towards sex but there is a dif ferent degree of acceptance among Quebeckers. Attitudes towards prostitution are largely attributed to differences between the fran cophone culture and the wide spread, dominant anglophone cul ture in the rest of the country.” New McGill students may find all this blatant sex slighdy bewildering, many coming from small Canadian towns or the United States, where the legal drinking age is 2 1 . Meghan Gahr, a U1 Management student who hails from Richmond, Virginia, is among this group. “I was never exposed to this much at home. Men in Montreal
Jane Braithwaite, a U0 Arts major, disapproves of their whining. “Stripping is their job— they shouldn’t work there if they don’t want to be treated like a piece of
“Montreal is all about pleasure: people love to eat out, go out and shop. They just don’t repress their sex ual side." — Kelly McBride Nursing student meat. If there were no strippers, there’d be no strip clubs.” Escort services raise their own concerns, with controversial dis course regarding the respect of legalization of prostitution. Yet those women who feel comfortable about their sexuality
have many opportunities to enjoy experimenting with their own brand of sensual stimulation, including discrete sex toys. Sex parties, old-fashioned Tupperware party style, have become popular. At these parties, sex toys are dis cussed and sold, and women can sit and learn with their friends, chuckle about vibrators and pur chase sex toys in a casual, discreet setting. From a sociological stand point, female activist Melanie Cishecki, the Executive Director of Media Watch, an organization try ing to diminish blatant sexual con tent in the public scene, wishes to improve gender portrayal in the media, focusing on girls and women. “My goal is to make the media more accountable, and concentrate on the way violence is portrayed in the media and how women are sexualized,” she said. The young and hip are not the only ones with progressive atti
tudes. Even middle-aged couples are embracing sex and experimen tal lifestyles, with swingers clubs being allowed, even sanctioned, by police. These so-called “bawdy houses” have taken off with cou ples seeking to spice up their rela tionship by trading partners in a club environment. Kelly McBride, a Masters stu dent in Nursing, commends this kind of outlook. “Montreal is all about pleas ure: people eat out, they go out, they love to shop. They just don’t repress their sexual side.” Montreal’s reputation as a smutty city makes it rather notori ous with tourists and sex trade workers alike, but the city itself surges with a youthful, sexual ener gy and tolerant, liberal citizens. Residents may take in the seedy strip clubs as part of the scenery, but most seem to adopt healthy, natural attitudes towards sex and its many complexities.
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arts&entertainment The M cG ill Tribune, T u e s d a y , S e p t e m b e r
10,
2002
Displaying the beauty of the blue collar T h e M
e c h a n ic a l C a r d e n
Ric Lambo
Although The Mechanical Garden photograph exhibition has been running for longer than McGill College’s The Earth from Above, it has received much less attention from either the public or the media. It is obvious why: The Earth from Above collection consists of 130 photographs, each measuring 1.20 by 1.60 metres and displayed in full colour. The Mechanical Garden is a collection of about 50 small black and white photographs of working-class life in Montreal and Barcelona that are displayed in the small gallery of L’Écomusée. There is a limit to how moving Arthus-Bertrand’s pictures of mountains, rivers and the like can be compared to the human struggle portrayed in The Mechanical Garden. Most people will find L’Écomusée photographs of bluecollar workers more interesting however less wondrous. The Mechanical Garden is divided into two parts: photographs of nineteenth century factory-life in Barcelona, and those of factory workers in the Centre-Sud of Montreal. Interestingly, the photo
e x h ib it d e p ic ts
graphs do not portray factory work as it is commonly depicted—haz ardous and drudge-worthy— but rather as safe, decent work, even by today’s standards. One of the nicest photographs
ECOMUSEE in the first part of the exhibition depicts a group of boys between the ages of eight and fifteen standing outside the glass-blowing factory where they work. There are about 100 boys in the picture arranged in six ascending rows, one behind the other. They are clothed in necker chiefs, waistcoats, belts, braces and
w o rk in g
caps which make them look just like miniature adults. A few have cigarettes hanging from their mouths, others have their arms around their neighbours’ shoulders and some are holding the small glass bottles that they make in front of them. Although they look grimy, coal-blackened and tired, the pho tograph gives a general impression of the boys as cheerful and proud of their work. Another interesting photo graph is the one of a brick-making factory in La Focsa. In the photo graph two men are standing at a mechanical saw which cuts slabs of clay into bricks. The surprising thing about the picture is that the workers are sur rounded by lots of empty space. The setting looks more like that of a warehouse than a factory with workers standing side by side in a production line like hens in a bat tery cage. While the expressions on the workers’ faces appear sanguine, a plaque placed at the side of the photograph briefly describes what the work was really like. “The working conditions are hard: tasks are often executed in basements, the noise is constant
life
in
tw o
s e ttin g s
with their trophy for that year. There aren’t many pictures of the inside of Montreal facto ries, and the ones displayed are meant to be cute — such as the photograph of the mother and her daughter working alongside each other in the production line of a rubber factory. One of the ideas behind the exhibition was to compare a working-class neighbourhood in Montreal to one in Barcelona. That can’t really be done because of the large differ ence between the time periods and subjects of the two parts of the exhibit. However, it’s a noble intention in that it makes ECOMUSEE us take an interest in others hours are very long,” it says. who live differently from us. “Accommodations are usually shod Photographs such as these deserve dy, epidemics are frequent and the to be displayed on the streets just as political situation restricts workers’ much as Arthus-Bertrand’s photo rights.” graphs of wide, empty people-less The pictures of the life of landscapes Montreal factory workers gives one a more cheerful impression. They The Mechanical Garden exhibit show workers spending their timeruns until September 15 at off at company sponsored events; L’ Écomusée, 2050 Amherst. the Molson Brewery’s 1921 baseball team, the company picnic of S. For more information see: Davis and Sons Ltd (ca 1920), and www. ecomusee. qc. ca. the 1926 Molson Brewery’s Champion Tug of War Team along and deafening, and the working
Burning out has rarely looked so appealing 2 4
H o u r P a r ty P e o p le
Dany Horovitz
When punk was big, nobody was bigger than Factory Records. The Manchester record label of much repute is the subject of Michael Winterbottom’s latest proj ect, 24 Hour Party People. The movie documents the evo lution of the punk scene and Factory Records itself, including the inevitable demise of both with the rise in popularity of the rave scene in 1992. Steve Coogan plays Anthony (Tony) Wilson, a television news journalist working in Manchester. After attending the historic first concert of the Sex Pistols, Tony is convinced that this new form of music represents the next big thing. Quickly, he decides to open up a nightclub known as the Factory, for punk bands to display their talent and the rest as they say is history. Soon, Tony and his friends open up Factory Records, a label where the artists have the freedom to do whatever they want, includ ing the right to leave at any time with no contractual obligations.
e x p lo re s
M
a n c h e s t e r 's
m u s ic
have some great arguments which have nothing to do with the plot, but are enjoyable nonetheless (like how broccoli contributed to the creation of the James Bond movies). There are several laugh-outloud-moments too, like one scene that I won’t ruin for you, which 24 Hour Party People involves the simultaneous deaths of many pigeons (don’t worry; no ani Directed by Michael Winterbottom mals were harmed during the film Starring Steve Coogan, Shirley ing)The movie, like the music it Henderson, Paddy Considine, Danny documents, includes some interest Cummingham, Enzo Cilenti, Lennie ing social commentary. Tony James, Peter Kay, Shirley Henderson, believes that only in failure can you Paul Popplewell and Ron Cook. truly succeed. When only 30 people show up at the club one night, he Rating: * * * 1/2 out of * * * * reminds the band playing that only 42 people were at the Sex Pistols’ 24 Hour Party People is shotfirst in concert and only 12 were in quasi-documentary style and at attendance at the Last Supper. The times, especially in the beginning, more spectacular the failure, the the camera is unsteady—an effect greater the legend, he believes. which is slightly annoying. With Some of the other ideas explored time, however, the quality of the includes the explanation of what film becomes sharper, to keep pace genius is (at least in Tony’s world), with the idea that this is a docu the existence of God, and the evermentary recorded over the course of so Shakespearean theme of the many years. wheel of fortune. The dialogue in the movie is Michael Winterbottom, the witty and at times, the characters director, does a good job of creating
s c e n e
fro m
p u n k
to
ra v e
Tony even signs a contract in his own blood, figuring that with noth ing to sell, there is nothing to sell out. Factory is of course a hit, devel oping bands like Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays.
UNITED ARTIST FILM INC.
Factory records godfather Tony (Steven Coogan) looks oh-so-punk
a sense of confusion during the scenes when his characters are on dope. At times the drug use fea tured in the film threatens to take over the movie’s focus, though in some sense, drugs and the label are synonymous as they were both a large part of the punk scene. The acting in the movie is good, and in the true spirit of punk music, none of the actors “sell out” by making their characters more
likeable or sympathetic than they deserve to be. Tony does some things which aren’t very hon ourable, but he’s still a likeable guy because he regrets them all, and because he sticks to his principles where the music is concerned. The history of punk music is complicated, but 24 Hour Party People does a great job of summing it up and revealing to the audience the tragedy of the revolution.
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
T h e
n e w
fa n s
The New Deal
Scott R. Medvin
Continued from page I.
One of The New Deal’s newest fans was Students’ Society of McGill University VP Communication and Events Naeem Datoo, the man ultimately responsible for organizing the Frosh events. “I was just amazed by Darrens hands! Since we had the concert in a small space, it was the type of show where you can actual ly feel the beat.” Previous Frosh concerts, specifically last year’s fiasco, have been staged at larger venues. Rather than aiming small, former VP C&E Brian Kerr held the Frosh concert at Molson Stadium, resulting in a too-small crowd and a low energy show from the Rascalz and Kardinal Offishali. “Brian tried to do something awe some,” Datoo said. “But, it just didn’t work out.” This year it did work out, however. 1300 Froshies attended the New Deal show. In addition, 230 other McGill Students paid $15 a pop to attend, lx Dome’s capacity is approximately 2 2 0 0 , thus the not-quite capacity crowd had room to dance or to just hang out and watch the show. Preliminary numbers also show that this Frosh may well be suc cessful in another way: financially. “We planned on 2000 people going to La Ronde at $20 each. Instead, 1400 showed up,” Naeem offered. “We budgeted for a sur plus of $300, instead we are look ing at saving almost $ 12 ,0 0 0 . Some incidental costs aside, SSMU should make money on this year’s Frosh, for the first time in who knows how long.” T he show was a success all around. Frosh enjoyed themselves and became acquainted with a Canadian band that will be rockin’ Montreal for many years to come. For the members of the band, playing a Frosh concert was more fun titan attending one. “I think our Frosh concert was Kim Mitchell. None of us went,” laughed Dan. But the Froshies came out for the New Deal, and the seed of live progrès sive breakbeat house was planted in the malleable minds of the Froshies. The New Deal returns to Montreal on October 3 to rage Club Soda with one of their famous ‘Sound + Light Nights’, complete with visual screens and intease lights, as well as two full sets of music.
The band was also celebrating their triumphant return to Montreal, a city that historically has supported them well. Just ask any one who waited in huge lines out side Le Swimming in the past; in just two years, they have gone from playing that tiny stage to selling out the much larger Club Soda. The New Deal’s Montreal roots run deeper than their careers as musicians. Two members of the band have prestigious McGill Arts degrees; keyboardist Jamie Shields is an honours history graduate and drummer Darren Shearer studied English literature. Bassist Dan Kurtz, while not a McGill grad, made his mark on the city as a member of the Bus Company, a collective who threw the first rave ever in Quebec: Solstice, featuring Richie Hawtin, John Aquaviva and Robert de la Gauthier. So in a way, techno spun off turntables is in the genes of the New Deal, a band that now strad dles a delicate divide between jamband and live electronic act. Fans of jambands such as the Disco Biscuits and Sound Tribe Sector 9 like the New Deal for their improvisation and varying setlists. Those involved in the rave scene enjoy the cyclical nature of the band’s tunes, as well as the moments when the beats break and the dancing frenzy commences. The New Deal is part of a new scene that is being born from the overcommercialization of both jambands and electronica. “I think many fans in both scenes have been ready for this kind of musical fusion for quite some time,” com ments Kurtz. Most of the people attending this concert, however, were four long years away from a McGill degree, and cared nothing for the
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levels to the delight of the dancing crowd. Certain Froshies were unaware of the impending boom, for once the New Deal starts to jam, a break in the action is a long way away. The New Deal does not have songs in the normal sense of the word. What they play can be better described as movements or progres sions. These movements are often slamming hooks, meant to up the pulse and bring out the dancing fool in all of us. Though as quickly as they reveal themselves, the hooks
able keyboard and synthesizer setup covered the left side of the stage. Bassist Dan Kurtz occupied the centre: his new six-string bass in his hand and his older, four string on a stand behind him. Directly in front of me was Darren’s drum kit, com plete with two kick drums, a set of bongos and an overhead micro phone for his beat-boxing inter ludes. After a brief introduction from Darren, the New Deal started a slow, ambient progression. This opening progression slowly meandered its way into one of the New Deal’s big, bad breaks. There are three songs that lift the crowd off of their feet every time they are played. All three—
A&E 13
JENNYGEORGE Darren Shearer bangs the beat
back into a song’s main theme. Darren also treated the band to some of his soon-to-be-famous beat-boxing: at a show in New York City last month, he played a duet with Rahzel of the Roots, known as the Human Beat Box, and master of the art of mouth manipulation.
JENNYGEORGE An askew view of a band on a mission
disappear, and the band is back in unknown territory until they wan der to the next hook. What else can you expect from a band whose selfreleased first album is a recording of
’’Technobeam”, “Receiver” and “Back to the Middle”—were played in this first set. These are the big guns, reserved for the most oppor tune moments, designed to bring the house down. These tracks from their selftitled Jive Electro debut were inter spersed with new tunes that will make their way onto the next album. Upbeat numbers slowed to a silent standstill before exploding
All in all, this was probably the best set that I’ve seen the New Deal play. The crowd had no expecta tions, as most of them had never heard of the Toronto trio. In Kurtz’s words: “People seemed to be having a good time. I would imagine that for some of the crowd there, we were not the focus of the evening, but there were defi nitely some new fans there by the end of the night.”
•Don’t forget your breakfast card! •Hamburger cards 0
B reakfast & More JENNYGEORGE Dan Kurtz busts a groove
politics of this or that scene. The cages atop Le Dome’s rising and falling hydaulic dance platforms were filled with fresh-off-the-boat Froshies dressed to impress and determined to get their drink on. I myself was assaulted by Froshies who were not yet smokers bumming cigarettes from me as other overly aggressive 18-year-old testosterone sacks grabbed for female Frosh with equal abandon. Before the New Deal began their first set at a little after 11 , commercial R&B, hip hop and house played at deafening decibel
the first time they performed together? Improvisation leads the band, and the fans, into the great musical beyond, where anything can happen. In the midst of jams, Shields often plays the melody to super-hits of the seventies and eighties: songs where you know the tune but the name escapes you. As the band took the stage, I manoeuvred myself to the usual spot— front row, stage right— and did a little stretching. The band came out and took their regular positions on stage. Jamie’s consider
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14 A&E
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Bling, bling, where's the pride? S u p e rs ta r
N e lly
Jam es Empringham
It is not that the ‘ice’ of which Nelly was flossing was unpleasing to the eye. It is neither that the size nor craftsmanship of the “rims” he had couried to Montreal did not meet any personal standard. It’s not that his new Air Jordan sneakers weren’t fly, or that his rip pled abs didn’t turn me on, or that his golden smirk wasn’t capable of capturing my impressionable ado lescent heart. It was none of these things that made Nelly’s performance at the newly renamed Bell Centre last August 31 so incredibly weak. It was that along with his crew of St. Lunatics, the proverbial spot was rocked for all of 45 lip sync’d min utes of artistic void. It was that the wait between Nelly and previous act Slum Village was longer than his actual performance. It was that the actual performance succeeded only in advancing the growing sentiment that the state of music today is crap. “It’s good to be in Canada,” Nelly hollered at the crowd. “Do y’all have malls up in Canada!? Do y’all have a Foot Locker up in Canada!?” Malls? Foot Locker? What ever happened to taking pride in the live show? What ever happened to the triple encore, Please, Please, Please, bring the crowd to their knees, live
965
d e liv e rs
s a d
s p e c ta c le
show? Say what you want about the dismal state of rock ‘n roll in the 2 1 st century, but let’s not pretend that Bruce Springsteen or the
Tragically Flip or even the geriatric Rolling Stoners don’t provide the audience with their money’s worth. The concept of taking pride in a live show, while completely for eign to Nelly, is not a phenomenon restricted to rock ‘n’ roll. The Roots, the veteran hip hop collective from Philadelphia, are said to possess the best live show in music at the moment. Perhaps that’s exactly the prob lem. Neither Nelly nor his band of
Curé-Labelle,
w h ile
S lu m
Lunatics are hip hop. Ja Rule’s not hip hop. Puff Daddy’s not hip hop. Dr. Dré is sometimes hip hop and same goes for Snoop. Nothing ever
associated with Master P is hip hop. What each of these bling Wing ing charter members of our cash money generation are is hip pop. Hip pop is catchy, well produced material, hook, chorus and verse neatly packaged in three minutes and sounds great on the radio. Hip pop requires enormous talent on the post-production end of things (see Dré, and the Neptunes), mar keting and promotional end of things, no doubt. Hip pop: Where
L a v a I,
Québec,
V illa g e J u s t p la in
most of the time, money and ener gy is thrown into a video featuring hot ladies and phat rides and all is right in the world because once I get those things in the video I will be forever happy in my life. What’s that you say? Don’t hate the player, hate the game? Nonsense. Do not try to argue that something the nature of Nelly’s summertime smash hit “Hot in Here” is descendant in any way from the work of KRS, Tribe or Grandmaster Flash. Nelly’s hip pop heritage, how ever, is not to be blamed for his poor showing at the Bell Centre. Admittedly, hip pop, a guilty pleas ure as timeless as say the cell phone, can be entertaining. If cable television and a healthy amount of free time has taught us anything, it’s that Britney Spears and ‘N Sync concerts (both Neptunes-produced, like Nelly) can be quite fantastic, complete with outrageous light shows, trapeze choreography, and buff dancers prancing the stage. Nelly’s August 31 show offered little more than what’s available on a typical Friday night at le Dôme, in short, screaming pre-teens, pitch black, and an 11:30pm curfew. To his credit, Nelly did play just about all of his hits, “Ride With Me,” “Country Grammar,” and the like. His ability to do so in 45 min
Tel:
(450)
d e liv e rs
utes, however, is testament to the creative energy he poured into his set, being zero. “The whole w orld’s in love with the S ”
So just what exactly is hip hop? Hip hop is Slum Village, the Detroit-based group of three rela tively fresh faces to the scene. Dropping rhymes mainly from their two most recent albums, Fantastic/Vol.2 and Trinity, Slum Village played a tight 50 minute set to the clearly partisan Nelly crowd that had congregated at the Bell Center. Having only recently achieved their first taste of mainstream suc cess with the single “Tainted,” a particular lyric from the same song was especially relevant to the pro ceedings which would follow later that night. “Tainted love in the music business/ People they lose they brain just to get in up in this/ Let’s be a star for a day, everything in life is just o.k.” While Nelly waved farewell to his audience after having seemingly only just begun, it was clear to any critical thinker in attendance that merely o.k. is exactly what the stan dard for the once exalted live show has become in the business of mak ing music.
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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
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H a v e a n o p in io n ?
A r ts & E n t e r t a in m e n t
A p a ssio n ? A m e ssa g e to send? The Tribune is looking for writers and layout taff. Writing opportunities are available in our tews, opinion, features, arts & entertainment and ports sections. Graphic design and layout assign a n ts are available as well. Drop by the Tribune Office, Shatner 110, right of iafe Rama, behind the stairwell, or email us at tribinef&ssmu.mcgill.ca. Questions? Give us a call at 98-6789. We look forward to meeting you.
J
Party Pop Music A
David Barclay
The following is a compilation hat 1 made throughout the summer vith some of my favourite records >f recent days... Beat Happening - Teenage Caveman (K) The recently released box set Crashing Through covers the entire ecorded output of Beat lappening, from the alley shows of i blooming Olympia, Washington o current self-sustaining, d.i.y cenes in tiny surrounding towns ike Port Townsend (Shipwreck Vhat-the-Heck festival!) and \nacortes (The Microphones!). ‘Teenage Caveman” checks in just >ver four minutes —twice the averige length of a Beat Happening Gambling punk rock classic—and ippropriately delivers twice the reqlisite amount of inspiration and notivation to do it all yourself. Television Personalities - Part Time Punks (Kings Road/Seed) In North America they called it :uddle-core while in England it was >etter known as Twee. “Part Time kinks” ridicules the booming punk icene of a worn out Oxford street vith a wicked combination of limit:d instrumental skill, a total lack of tgressiveness, a 10 -person singilong chorus and cutting lyrics. Heavenly - Cool Guitar Boy (Sarah/K) The current project by these guys is called Tender Trap, a mix of soft dancey keyboards and dual pop vocals. However, 2001 saw the re issue of their original record Heavenly vs. Satan, which used to fetch ample amounts of money on eBay. Now suckers like me who were less than 10 years old when the disc came out can finally enjoy the perfect mix of punk rock attitude and tempo with a love for melody and pop genius.
s u m m e rtim e
Freelance Hell Raiser - A Stroke of Genius At first, only message board geeks were into bootlegs. Then Freelance Hell Raiser took “Genie in a Bottle” and set it on a Strokes backing track and made a song superior to both originals. Now there’s finally a reason for cool peo ple to download MP3s. Hella - Hold Your Horse Is (5 rue Christie) It would be impossible to pick a track from this overly mathemati cal group’s dual guitar opus. I would, however, select the two-bar disco break from track four as the best math rock cell ever written, performed and/or recorded. Jim Gutherie - Don’t Back Down on Me Now (Three Gut) Every city has one guy who makes 20 copies of a bunch of songs he recorded on his four track and sells them to his friends at shows for a buck. Jim Gutherie did that at least four or five times before Toronto’s Three Gut records decid ed to release the compilation of such works entitled 1000 Songs. “Don’t Back Down on Me Now” has the best ‘self-backed up’ chorus of all bedroom pop time. Lullabye Arkestra - Soul #2 A minimalist combination of relaxed rhythm and blues drum styles, occasionally fuzzed out bass guitar and trumpet dirtier than any thing Seal ever touched gives you Lullabye Arkestra’s hardcore. The vocals are rough and screamy while the song writing is all classic jazz riffs, as if cabaret song brids were singing about murdered lovers. Dressy Bessy - If You Should Try to Kiss Her (Kindercore) Straight from the soundtrack of But I ’m a Cheerleader. These guys also put out a new record this sum mer on Kindercore but this classic track just fit a little better. It all kind of sounds the same anyway (just like every day at the beach is the same!) Creeping Nobodies - State (Kosher Rock) Razor thin guitars in a repeti-
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S tin k y F is h : th e R ed H e rrin g C o lu m n
is looking for writ ers. Seeing an awe some concert? Heard an awful CD? Write a review. Stop by the Tribune Office at 5:30 on Mondays or call 398-6789. V
A&E 15
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tive state are held together with crumbling and gasping drums by a steady solid bass. Each member of The Creeping Nobodies falls des perately through “State” like each bloody and gory note is their last. Reminiscent of early Fall and Birthday Party except, oddly enough, a little less creepy. Sick Lipstick - Teenage Robots (oLTD) Square wave keyboard bass and the most naïve little girl vocals give this ex-Black Cat #13 outfit the credit of instantly adorable. The song remains simple in form. The drums follow something of a slower polka while the guitar does off kilter lines mixed with art rock wankyness. Then they kick into a throwdown chorus and it gets stuck in your head all day. Best Friends Group - Sweet Ray (Magic Marker) Australia’s super group answer to the Reindeer Section. The group is comprised of members of the Magic Marker Records lineup, while the record was recorded in the space of no more than a week. The music is all about hanging out with your best friends and recording some music together.
T h e m
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a in s t r e a m
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a n d
M elissa Surach
This is a story about pubes. I spent much of the summer on the beach trying self consciously to cram the remains of my pubes into my hot little bikini. I shaved, I plucked, I depilated, and after all that effort all I got in return was a scabby red rash. I am anti-wax, because I have enough respect for my body and my threshold of pain to not pour hot, scalding wax on my genitals, and then rip off two layers of skin and follicles in the name of paedophilia. When you fuck with your biki ni line, you get a bloody, pussy (as in oozing pus) rash for a reason. You shouldn’t mess with that area of your body. It’s very sensitive. Everyday my pubes would look at me and say, “Melissa, why are you so ashamed of us? Why do you shave us, pluck us, burn us, treat us so bad? We are so pretty. We have red and blonde highlights.” I feel so guilty. It was my body or my bathing suit. I went shop ping for an old lady bathing suit with a skirt and ruffles and culottes,
g o e s s o
d o
m y
p u b e s
but it did nothing to help my pube situation. Old men walk around in baby-sized Speedos with grey poo dles of ass hair floating in the breeze behind them like a great geezer pube cloud, but even old ladies are expected to show some pube-free ass. Just let the old ladies have their pubes. We come from hairy ass apes, so what’s the big deal if our pubes get a little bushy some times. The bush is where we’re from. I wish we were still hairy as apes. I wish I were still that hairy. Sometimes I wish my entire body were covered in pubes. Then I would never have to pick out outfits. I would wear a perennial pubic jumpsuit. In the summer, I would shed my pubes, I would molt and grow out a new bushy coat for the next season. These days everything has to be neat and trim and prim and plucked and baby-ass-smooth, which is unnatural, irrational, and inefficient. Being a late bloomer, I especially wear my pubic hair with pride. It’s like a diploma I never went through the torture of school for, I just earned it by being me. I hope that someday my McGill BA will do as much for me as my Pubic BA has done, but I doubt it. Email us at info@redherring.hm. The preceeding Is the work of the Rred Herring and does not express the pubic preferences of the Tribune Editorial Board.
W ELCO M E!
Little Wings - Queen of Valencia (Know Yr Own) This was the sound track to summer: Dual female and male vocals, slightly strummed classical guitar, brilliant song-writing and the greatest emotional affect possi ble towards an popular orange juice brand’s logo. Arcade Fire - Headlights A shitty live recording of this dance pop instant classic can be downloaded from arcadefire.com. Arcade Fire is out of Montreal and will make you remember how much you used to like going to shows.
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Je Cherche wants to answer your musical questions! e-mail david.barday@mail.mcgill.ca
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First win of year comes in grand fashion D e fe n c e
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Mark Kerr
Before last Saturday’s game, head coach Chuck McMann gave his football team a brief history les son. “I reminded them that McGill was the first team to lose to Laval when they came into the league as an expansion team (in 1996),” said McMann. With their skipper’s words in the back of their minds, the Redmen went out and crushed the expansion Université de Montreal Carabins 41-0 before 3,847 fans at CEPSUM Field. With McGill up by 29 points at the half, it was evident that histo ry would not be repeated. During the 1996 season, McGill lost 10-2 to the Laval Rouge et Or, giving the first-year team its only victory of the season. The Carabins did not even threaten to duplicate that feat on this day. “I was very pleased with how
fo r
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the team played,” said McMann. “We played with a lot of emotion.” Quarterback Josh Sommerfeldt led an offence that accumulated 525 net yards on the day. Sommerfeldt completed 13 of the 16 passes that he threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns. His accomplishments came in just under three-quarters of play. Standout receiver of the day was slotback Rob Leblanc. The sophomore had five catches for 135 yards, including an 83-yard touch down reception in the second quar ter. Sommerfeldt praised his offen sive line after the team’s first victory of the season. “It all starts with the o-line, and they were great today,” said the history and political science major. “They were giving me time all day to make plays, and they were creat ing holes for the running game.” McGill established a running game early on, something that was virtually non-existent in the season’s
Veteran team aims for championship Rebecca Foster
With the Canadian Football league season past the halfway mark, it is time for McGill’s own CFL hopefuls to take to the field and inject some school pride into Molson Stadium. With the commencement of the Redmeris 128th football sea son, hopes are high for a Quebec Intercollegiate Football Confernece title. With the awarding of the Dunsmore Cup to McGill after Laval was forced to forfeit, the boys in Red ‘n White are out to prove that they can also win the trophy on the field. Last season the Redmen fin ished with a 5-3 record, four points behind the cross-town rival Concordia Stingers. The playoffs proved tough for the Redmen, as injuries finally caught up with them. An 11-8 win over Concordia advanced the Redmen to the Dunsmore Cup for the first time since 1996. In the conference championship, a lopsided 42-14 loss to Laval came while playing with a decimated lineup. McGill went into the game without five starters. This year the schedule has been rearranged to make room not only for the expansion Université de Montréal squad, but also two inter-conference games with the
Atlantic conference. Key Departures
The squad only lost four starters, one from the offence and three off defence. All-Canadian defensive lineman John Macdonald, who now plays for the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL, defensive back Strachan Hartley, fullback Marc Freer and defensive back Nicholas Longval are no longer available to McMann. "Although Macdonald has been difficult to replace, a couple of the veterans have stepped up to do so," said McMann. Key Returning Veterans
The Redmen have 54 return ing players this season. Veteran fifth-year quarterback Josh Sommerfeldt is a strong point, according to McMann. Also returning are all-conference receivers Patrick Lanctôt and Steve Céolin. The Redmen’s running game remains undiminished. Leading the way is running back Nick Hoffman, who was first in the league last year with nine touch downs. Tailback Danny Tai looks to be assuming a greater role in McGill’s ground attack. Steve Young and Ray Rashed, two veteran rush ends, anchor the defensive line. The duo has a solid backup, as there are seven other returnees. The linebacker position See FOOTBALL, page 18
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opening loss to Laval. Tailback Danny Tai had 76 yards on 16 car ries and one touchdown. Teammate Nick Hoffman added 57 yards on 10 carries, and he also scored a touchdown off a one-yard dash in the fourth quarter. “It feels great to get the first win. It was hard to sit on the loss (to Laval) during the bye week,” remarked Sommerfeldt on the 10day lay-off between games. “We were anxious to get back out there.” Lost perhaps in the dazzling display of offence was the stellar defensive play of McGill. McGill’s last shutout came Sept. 6 , 1996 ver sus the Concordia Stingers. “We had a goal to shut them out,” said defensive back Greg Shink. “It feels really great to accomplish that. The defence was just clicking today, and it was great to see the offence go down and score.” Shink said that leading up to the game the defence addressed some of the glaring problems evi dent after the first game. “We didn’t tackle at all in the first game,” admitted the fifth-year physical education student. McGill wreaked havoc on Carabins’ starting quarterback David McKinnon all day. The for
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mer McGill student who trans ferred to Université de Montréal this year completed only five of 18 passes for 84 yards. The Carabins only had seven first downs as they were also hampered by penalty trouble. The team was whistled 12 times for a net loss of 90 yards. With the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, McMann substi tuted many of his starters to give other players some time. Backup quarterbacks Phillipe Cantin and Dave Campbell both took snaps. Cantin threw a nice pass to Steve Céolin to put the Redmen inside the red zone early in the fourth quarter. Hoffman completed the drive to put McGill up 36-0. Despite the impressive per formance, Shink believed that there was room for improvement and pointed to the first series of the game as an example. McKinnon threw a 60-yard strike to set up first and goal with the game not even a minute old. Fortunately for McGill, a penalty erased the play and essen tially took the wind out of the sails of the Carabins. “We have to keep working as a team and trusting ourselves. On defence we have to work on closing the seams,” said Shink. “We won’t change a lot,” said
JOSH SOMMERFELDT McGill quarterback Sommerfeldt, a native of Cambridge, Ont., showed his veteran leadership skills last Saturday. He sparked an offence that was anemic in the previous loss to Laval. In addition to posting superb stats, Sommerfeldt continually showed that he was willing to take the hit to make the play. On the first touch down of the game, Sommerfeldt waited until the last possible moment before hitting Steve Céolin in the endzone. He was awarded for his patience by being pounded into the turf by a Carabins defender.
McMann in preparing for nex week’s game against St. Franci Xavier (0-1). “We will be lookin to perfect what we’re doing.” S co rin g Sum m ary M cG ILL 41 at M O N TREA L 0 First Quarter
McG - TD Patrick Lanctot 21 yd pass from Josh Sommerfeldt (convert by Anand Pillai) 5:37 McG - FG Anand Pillai 30 yds 13:13 S eco n d Quarter
McG - TD Rob Leblanc 83 yd pass from Josh Sommerfeldt (convert by Anand Pillai) 2:58 McG - SFTY (conceded in endzone by punter Michel Lavoie) 4:32 McG - FG Anand Pillai 35 yds 9:01 McG - TD Danny Tai 6 yd run (convert by Anand Pillai) 11 30 Third Quarter
(no scoring) Fourth Quarter
McG - TD Nick Hoffmann 1 yd run (convert by Anand Pillai) 5:14 McG - SNGL Anand Pillai 53 yds 10:46 M cG-SN GL Anand Pillai 41 yds 12:52 McG - FG Anand Pillai 17 yds 15:00 S C O R IN G B Y Q U A R T ER S M cGill: 10-19-0-12 - 41 Laval: 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 A ttendance: 3,847
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
~Sports 17
PREVIEW : SO CCER
Redmen soccer redefines training program Ed Glucksman Teams talk of rebuilding phases with the goal of renewed competi tiveness several years down the road. The Redmen soccer team, however, expects to compete now after last year’s difficult transition. When Adam Mar became head coach last year, he faced the daunting task of quickly molding a group of athletes composed of no less than 12 rookies into a team with the ability to compete alongside the elite teams of the Québec conference. Furthermore, his coaching techniques differed enough from his predecessor that it was difficult for the players and staff to adjust. Some transition, indeed. Although the Redmen qualified for their 22 consecutive post-season berth, their run quickly ended with a loss to Trois-Rivières in the confer ence semifinals. This year Mar believes he has a more talented and experienced roster, a combination that should improve McGill’s chances of making the
National championships. “We have a lot of great recruits this season and it will be tough for me to make final cuts,” said Mar last Friday. “Hopefully, the old and the new will mix well together.” Returning Players
The less-experienced Redmen will have much to learn from return ing players like Jeremy Lawson, Kevin Shea, Justin Kerr, Kyle Graham, Mathieu Harding, Brian Tobin, Philippe Lazure and Redmenlegend Gino Lalli. The goalkeeper job will most likely be awarded to 6 -foot5 Connecticut-native Dustin Diedricksen who enters his fourth year of eligibility. “People who have followed us for years say that things are looking better than ever, especially with the proliferation of young talent that seems to be happening on our team at present,” said co-captain Mathieu Harding. Harding, a fourth-year comput er engineering major, explains that the present campaign has already dif fered from past ones in terms of both
Perennial contenders shift focus after off-season losses
its physical and mental preparation. “Last year’s early practices were very physical to compensate with what was a clear lack of skill and experience. Our practices this year are not only longer but also more bal anced, giving us a greater opportuni ty to show our skills.” Harding believes that successful preseason results such as a 2 -2 draw with the University of Massachusetts have brought the team together both on and off the field. Defensive pillar Gino Lalli, a native of Ile-Bizard, is a surprise and very welcomed return to the Redmen. Lalli enters his sixth season with the team. “It looks good so far. We have a tremendously potent mix of young and old, a mix of youth and experi ence. I’m excited,” said Lalli, who will be pursuing a post-graduate degree in electrical engineering. Versatile midfielder Brian Tobin also shocked his coach and former teammates by returning to the Redmen lineup after spending a year away in Dublin, Ireland. The native of North Vancouver, playing his third year with McGill, is happy to be back with his old team. “It is wonderful to be back in Montreal and to be playing again with these guys. The team looks good, and it looks like it’ll be hard for Adam (Mar) to make these final cuts. Things can only get better from where we are today.” Rookies
The McGill coaching staff has a wealth of new recruits to draw upon. young,” said Finney after practice last week. Lowerson, returning from a semester in Australia, has already seen improvement. “We’re getting progressively bet ter,” the all-star said. “There’s been a noticeable improvement from game
Andrew Hennigar Imagine for a moment that you coach a varsity sports team. Now, what would you do if the players that accounted for 80 per cent of your goal scoring the previous year no longer played for you? That’s right. You return from summer vacation to realize that in addition to this poten tially massive drop-off in scoring, you are also losing seven starters from a team that finished second in Canada last season. Have a headache yet? This is the reality currently fac ing Marc Mounicot, head coach of the Martlet soccer team. After dom inating the Quebec Conference last year, the team finds itself in what the fifth-year head coach calls “a transi tion.” The difficulties of the transition have been all too apparent this pre season, as the squad has not shown the same quality of play Mounicot has come to expect. O f greater con cern to the coach than the losses is the reason they have been losing. “Several of our veterans did not come back fit. Because of that, we have had several injuries that have prevented girls from getting comfort able with each other,” he said. The coach considers the early going as a learning experience and remains confident about his team’s
NATHANLEBIODA Redmen soccer will be displaying such ball handling skills this Friday night
Prospects for this upcoming season include first-year students Alex Scott and Fernando Daluiso. Scott, a mid fielder from Kirkland will be trying to fill the hole in the lineup created by the departure of Camerounais midfielder, Guy Anaba Anaba. “It is an honour to be on this team. I’ve played with many of these guys before but never on this level,” said the humble Scott. “The older guys are welcoming and all of us youngsters look up to them knowing what they have been through in the past.” Dalusio, a forward, hopes he can make a difference in the position where last year’s team was weak. “We have absolutely all the ingredients to win this year: good leaders, good team players, a mix of young and old. I am happy to be here leaders this season. “We have a lot of young players who need to fill holes, and it’s up to the veterans to help them along.” Key Departures
McGill made famous many of the Martlet soccer stars as not only team leaders, but league and national standouts. Gone are 2002 CIS Player of the Year Eva Melamed, two-time CIS leading scorer Amber Allen, 2002 CIS all-Canadian Ashlee Gentry, as well as perennial confer ence all-stars Sophie Labrom and Julia Scrase. Assistant coach Gayle Noble pointed out that the absence of all the big name players changes the dynam ic of the team. “It’s a different kind of training camp. Rookies can come out and just play, not being in awe of anybody,” she noted. “There are no more stars on this team. What we have is a group of girls who are willing to work hard and come together to win,” said Mounicot. Ro o kies and Young Players
changes on the field, the attitude coming out of training camp is one of excitement and promise. Returning Veterans
The Martlets are led by a quartet of fourth-year players: 2001 Quebec conference all-star Victoria Lowerson, 1999 Canadian Interuniversity Sport Rookie of the Year Alanna Maloney, midfielder Meghan O ’Reilly and sweeper Christie Finney. Lowerson and Finney, both nursing injuries but expected to return the first or second week of the season, have a similar view of the season ahead. “It’s exciting because we’re so
to game; rookies are starting to get their feet under them. It’s encourag• » mg. Another key returnee is goaltender Sacha Liben. After a winter semester in Kenya, she is looking for ward to a new role where she will be depended upon much more. “Quite honestly, it’s boring as a goaltender to win 11 -0 ,” she laughed, referring to the many lopsided matches last season. “This season will be a chance for Jess (White) and I to really feel as though we’re an equally important part of the team.” Mounicot made it quite clear that all of the veterans need to be
In keeping with his “no stars” theme, Mounicot was reluctant to boast any new faces this season. The team will likely feature 11 first-year players. “We have a few recruits,” said Mounicot. “Some of them have played at elite levels but many are not quite ready for this level yet.” Several second-year players will undoubtedly play a bigger role this season than sophomores have played in the past. Conference all-stars Nicole Shepherd and Sabrina Dufour are back as is third-year defender Catherine Lumsden. Expectations
“There are no expectations for
and help this team out,” said Dalusio. Expectations
The McGill coaching staff has worked hard in the off-season, and they share the optimism many of the players harbour. “I have been following these guys for a while, both at the club level and here. In a sense this is a young squad with much to learn, but we expect the rookies to be greatly helped by their older teammates. With some hard work, we could easi ly be in contention come November,” said assistant coach Vishal Puni. With promise and hopes high, the Redmen open the regular season this Friday at Molson Stadium. The team hopes that strong fan support at home will help move them back into contention once again.
this team,” said Mounicot. “Laval has to be seen as the team to beat, and we have to see ourselves as the underdog this season.” For the players the story seems to be the same. “Last year our goal from day one was Nationals and everyone knew it,” said Maloney. “This year our goal is to play as a team and get better every game.” The new-look Martlets, assum ing the underdog role as they strive for Nationals, play their first home game September 13 at Molson Stadium. Kick-off is 7 pm.
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18 Sports
The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002
AROUND THE HORN McGill linebacker named QIFC Defensive Player of the Week
Andrew Garven, a fifth-year veteran of the McGill Redmen foot ball team, started his final season with some impressive numbers dur ing the 41 -0 shutout over the Université de Montréal Carabins last weekend. Garven helped hold the Carabins to just 94 net yards, with three solo tackles, including one for loss, a blocked punt and a fumble recovery.
from one try for Queens. Rookie winger 'less Kelly scored a trio of tries including the game winner, and both Lindsay Hunt and l-eigh-Anne Barlow had a pair of tries. Kicker Stephanie Lynam, with a very con sistent kick, nailed four conversions. The Martlets hope to continue on the same note they finished tast season with several shutouts and 50point-plus games. The regular season opener is scheduled for this Wednesday, 8 PM versus Concordia at Macdonald Campus.
And the tries just keep cornin’
A double, double header
The score in the Martlet’s first game of the season against Queen’s Golden Gales was no surprise: 48 points from eight tries and four con versions for McGill, to five points
The McGill Redbirds emerged from the past weekend with a 1-3 record and mixed reviews on the quality of play. On Saturday, they
faced Concordia and were defeated in both games of the doubleheader, 6-1 and 13-4. Paul Bonner and Drew Reid were the losing pitchers against the Stingers. The team’s offence was mounted by veterans Jason Katz, who went two for three with a walk, while centrefielder, Craig Bettz went two for four with a run scored. McGill had a split decision ver sus Laval on Sunday, with a 2-1 loss in extra innings and an 11-0 blow out win. Kabeer Burman was the losing pitcher for McGill after nine solid innings of play in the first game. Graeme Thomas got the team’s first win of the season, pitch ing five innings, allowing no runs and striking out four. Drew Reid, Jason Start and
Chris Habib each had a pair of RBI’s and all batted over .500. Now with a 1-3 record, the Redbirds look to add to their win column as they face John Abbot College this Thursday. Middlebury defeats Martlet soccer
The face of womens soccer at McGill will look very different this year with the loss of 11 veteran play ers. The Mardets were also hit with some bad luck this weekend when starting goalkeeper Sacha Liben had to leave the game with a bad knee injury. Catherine Lumsden, who is usually seen on defence, stepped up to fill in for Liben. She allowed two goals in the second half. Nicole Sheppard and Daniel Day had the Martlet’s goals in a 4-2 losing cause.
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Football preview Continued from page 16
is one of the strongest areas for the Redmen with team MVP Mike Mahoney and nine other veterans leading the way. Greg Shink and Andrew Cook, who both had a solid first game versus Laval in McGills home opener, lead a group of seven returnees at defensive back. Up-and-com ers
With the loss of only four starters, the up and comers of the Redmen squad had some fierce competition to deal with to fill those precious spots. Sommerfeldt is backed up by second-year pivot Philippe Cantin, a native of StLeonard. "Cantin has improved greatly over the summer and should prove to be a strong back-up to Sommerfeldt," said Young. Another standout recruit is linebacker Jimmy Rogers, who showed McMann some great prom ise in training camp before going down with an injury. New slotbacks Greg Hetherington and Andrew Dodd are also turning heads early on. Safety Curt Dewan is expected to gain more responsibility in the absence of Hartley. It is a challenge McMann feels the fourth-year play er can successfully meet. "As the season goes on, I think he has the potential to become as good a player as Strachan [Hartley].” Early in the season, rookie cor ner back Addley Dufour-Monice has seen some playing time. His coverage of the Carabins receivers last weekend was impressive. Expectations
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According to both McMann and Young, one of the biggest strengths of this Redmen team lies in its defensive unit. With three of the four starters returning, the experience of the unit will be a big advantage over opponents. A concern for McGill is a lack of depth at the offensive line posi tion and the kicking team. If the injury bug strikes, there may be the same problems that the team expe rienced near the end of last season. The possibility, though, does not occupy the thoughts of Coach McMann. "We’re a veteran team that should be able to perform well this year," said McMann, who went on to say that the early loss to Laval did not reflect the Redmen’s true capa bility. Blessed with a schedule that only has them meeting Laval and Concordia once each, and not being put up against 2001 Vanier Cup champion Saint Mary’s in the regular season cross over games, the Redmen should have little difficulty reaching the playoff round. With all the experience and tal ent on this team and ;a little luck, there is a real possibility that the Redmen will carry the Dunsmore Cup off the field.
The M cGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 2002 .... . ....
REVIEW: RUGBY
Sports 19
tedmen rugby quad seek evenge and espect les Scarfone *I
Nearing the end of last year, the [men rugby team figured they salvaged their season after dropg their first two games in the 1er short Quebec rugby cant on. The team, however, surprisperhaps even themselves, almost ed off the storybook ending, losby one point in the conference il to cross-town rivals, the icordia Stingers. From the ashes rises the >enix and the heart-breaking loss given the Redmen new life and a r attitude as the players prepare the upcoming season. “We’ve definitely got something irove to Concordia and ourselves :r the last game,” said fourth-year ker and team president, Andrew rkentin. The tenacity required to suci in this league is possessed by group as they look to extract îe vengeance at the expense of ir Concordia foes. With that orgettable game etched in their ids, the Redmen are prepared to deep into the playoffs. “We had a great turnout at ip this year, and we’re more fit n we had anticipated,” said rkentin. “I’m really looking ford to getting things going.” I think this team has a great t at going all the way,” echoed md year player Fred Gauthier, eve got the size and the speed; we need to come together as a » 1. Gauthier is just one of the y young talents on this year’s w that coach Sean McCaffrey >es can make a difference on the d. At least four players from last r’s squad are fighting to retain ir spots. A large influx of mg players has :ed the Redmen to y more of a teammted strategy, lerienced players sit frequently in order accommodate the of the team. The
players seem enthusiastic about this scenario despite the prospect of decreased playing time. “This crew has a lot of young guys that are ready to make an impact and many veterans that are always willing to go out and give everything they’ve got,” said Warkentin. “These guys constantly have the feeling of not wanting to let their team down, and we want to do everything we can to bring our sta tus up at McGill.” McCaffrey, who is now in his fifth year of his coaching tenure with McGill, feels that his crew can get over the hump that halted advance ment last year. “We have a great chance,” said McCaffrey. “We’re not out here every day just to lose, we have the ability and the confidence to do any thing we want.” The Redmen look to improve significantly on last season’s 7-4 campaign but say the regular season success means nothing unless they get back what they feel rightfully belongs to them, the Quebéc cham pionship. “Concordia is our only obstacle right now, and they’ve handled us pretty well the last few years. They are what’s stopping us from getting what we want,” said McCaffrey. McGill’s first shot at the arch rivals, the Stingers will be this Wednesday at Rutherford Reservoir. Returning Notables: Simon ’••aber, Pat Weldon, Robin VlacLachlan. Young Guys to Watch: Graham rlnaiiw, Dave Rapley. Key Departures: Jonathan Lrago (MVP 2001-2002), Steve Lomanchuk Home Games; Forbes Field and Rutherford Reservoir.
JENNY GEORGE
Rookie winger Tess Kelly makes a break against Queen's during last Sunday’s action.
Coach deG randpré: "We could be even better" M
a r t le t
r u g b y
lo o k in g
Sarah Wright With several 100-plus score games last season, the Martlet rugby team proved to be one of McGill athletics’ most dominant teams. The team brings their regular season undefeated streak of 25-0-1 over the past four years into the 2 0 0 2 season. The numbers the Martlets pro duced last season speak for them selves. McGill scored 50 points or more in 11 of their 15 games; they set a Quebec conference record for most points in a regular season and outscored their opponents by a 63722 margin. The Quebec Student Sports Federation this year has implement ed a dynamic scrum, which adds a full extra row of forwards to the drive. Vince deGrandpré, head coach of the Martlets, likes to refer to the scrum as “big and mobile.” After a tough loss to Alberta in the semifinals of the 2001 Canadian Intercollegiate Sport (CIS) champi onships, the Martlets claimed the bronze medal in a 39-0 shutout of University of Guelph. With a gold medal in mind this season, deGrandpré went out during
to
w in
g o ld
the offseason and did his homework. “We did some serious recruiting for this season and I think we will be just as good, if not, better than we were last season,” said deGrandpré with confidence. Departures
It is always tough to lose a cap tain. Julie Brisbois held the CIS record for most tries in a season with 2 2 in just 13 games until her team mate Jessica Young surpassed it last year. Her spot as a versatile centre will have to be replaced. All three members of the Martlet team who were named to the CIS All-Tournament team in 2001 have departed. The group includes Mandi Brunet, who is now teaching in England, Michelle Pearlman and Anita Boray, who is currently coaching McGill’s develop ment squad. Candice Patterson, who joins the team after transferring from Concordia last year, believes that los ing five veterans is not a great con cern for the Martlets. “McGill always has many great players; more importantly, the team has a tremendous amount of depth to work from when people leave,” said the winger who is currendy completing her second degree in ele mentary education. This depth will be the crutch for the team, as it will have very lit tle rebuilding to do. “Those girls will be missed,” said deGrandpré. “But every year, the program gets stronger and more and more girls continue to impress » US. Veterans
y may look genteel clean cut but when y step on the field, by players will rip ir head off. Gill rugby continues tradition this irsday at Rutherford evoir.
McGILLATHLETICSARCHIVES
Patterson joins a team full of veteran stars. Two standouts are the league MVP Jess Young at centre, and last year’s QSSF rookie of the year, Leigh-Anne Barlow, also a cen tre who now captains the team. There are four returning AllCanadians playing for McGill this year. In addition to Young and Barlow, Stephanie Lynam, the team’s kicker and flyhalf, who possesses one of the most consistent conversion kicks in the league, and Patricia
a t
N a t io n a ls
Jaworski, on wing, round out a strong starting lineup. “With the strength we’ve got with our returning players, we have the ability to be even more offensive this season than last,” said deGrandpré. Rookies and New Recruits
Aside from a full 22-player squad, the Martlets boast one of the only complete development pro grams at McGill. Another team of 20 athletes, mostly in their first year of university, serve as a feeder to the starting team “We don’t really do any cuts because we don’t want to get rid of anyone who wants to improve,” said deGrandpré of his second team. Aside from players stepping up from the development team, McGill has a new open side flanker in Patterson who will start. Arada Chintoh, referred to as “Roo” by her teammates, is also a new addition to the team. Both Patterson and Chintoh have two more years of eligibility. Two first-year stars that deGrandpé is excited to have with the team are Erica Leonard and Tess Kelly. Kelly played for the Canadian National Junior Team last season and will start for the Martlets. Expectations
What can you expect with a team that has a future as bright as its past? “We want to win Nationals,” said DeGrandpre when asked what the goal was for his team. Within the QSSF, Concordia is the only school that poses any real threat to McGill. That does not mean that the coach dismisses out of hand the other teams in the league. “We always have to keep our eye on Ottawa and Bishop’s because they are getting bigger and better every year and could pop up at any moment. “But we can’t look too far ahead in the season yet,” cautioned deGrandpré. “We have to concen trate on our regular season games and take one step at a time.”
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