The McGill Tribune Vol. 24 Issue 19

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1 VL

NEWS: Trans-gender issues highlight university shortcomings.

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Curiosity delivers. Vol. 24 Issue 19

T rib u n e

PUBLISHED

BY T H E

K is s in g

STUDENTS'

SOCIETY

tr o u b le s

M o n tre a l

le s b ia n

la s t w e e k

r e g a in

p u lls

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

UNIVERSITY

"g a y -b a sh e d "

th e ir s e n s e

O n Friday afternoon, p o lic e vans w ith flashing blue lights s topped traffic fo r the la rg e g ro u p g a th ­ ered on the corner o f rue St-Denis a n d avenue du M ont-R oyal. It w a s a peaceful protest, o f sorts— a "kiss-in." A b o u t 2 0 0 p e o p le c o n g re g a te d o n the street c orner to kiss an d dem onstrate a g a in s t homop h o b ic violence. Som e o f the supporters thrust signs th a t re a d "C h o q u a n t? Pour les h o m o p h o b e s " (Shocking? For the hom ophobes) into the air. The signs bore pictures o f tw o w o m e n kissing.

A w e e k earlier, the c ro w d w a s not there, but a lesbian co u p le w a s. P\S they shared a kiss on the s id e w a lk, B rook M o rriso n w a s struck from b e h in d by a "g a y basher," a n d c o llid e d into her partner, Joëlle Perras. The im p a ct broke Perras's nose.

Perras still bears d a rk purple bruises beneath both o f her eyes a n d stitches on the b rid g e o f her nose. But she d id n 't look distressed.

"I really feel e m p o w e re d right n o w ," she sa id , though M o rriso n adm its that w a s n 't h o w they felt a

MCGILL

SPORTS: H oly guacam ole, it's Super Bowl Sunday! (Bad joke.)

g o o d b y e

c o u p le

GENEVIEVE JENKINS

M c G ill

OF

OP/ED: A n g ry academ ic ape arbitrarily asserts asinine answers.

o f s e c u r ity

w e e k a g o . " W e w e re just shocked for a b o u t a day, W e d id n 't even tell a n yo n e a t first because it took a b o u t 2 4 hours fo r us to d e c id e w h a t to d o ."

They d e c id e d to hold a kiss-in, M o rriso n sa id , to m ake p e o p le a w a re o f the incident. M o re im por­ tantly, the co u p le had a personal g o a l o f re cla im in g security in their Plateau n e ig h b o u rh o o d.

Brit Lucus, a U 0 student a t M c G ill, said she turned up a t the kiss-in b ecause she thought it w a s an im p o rta nt response to such a d is p la y o f brutality.

"V io le n ce is o b vio u sly a b ig p ro b le m right n o w ," she sa id . " W e 're w o rk in g to c o m b a t genderb a se d v io le n c e , e s p e c ia lly th ro u g h V -D ay [a t M c G ill]."

V-Day M c G ill presents its third annual benefit p e rform ance o f "The V ag in a M o n o lo g u e s this w e e ke n d .

Lucas a g re e d w ith M o rriso n that raising a w a re ­ ness o f the problem is cru c ia l, a n d that the kiss-in w o u ld help bring the. issue to the attention o f a w id e r public.

See K IS S -IN , p a g e 6.

G a m e s

b id

University loses out on potential windfall ANDREW SEGAL A venture that w o u ld have seen M c G ill sub­ mit a b id to co-host the 2 0 1 l Summer W o rld University G am es has been d e ra ile d because the city governm ent w ith d re w its fin a n cia l support. As a result, M c G ill w ill be d e prived of millions of dollars in subsidized improvements to its athletic facilities.

"The project that w as put together by the five M ontreal universities has been put to sleep, said a disappointed Robert Dubeau, M c G ill's director o f athletics.

The city inform ed Dubeau and the Athletics departm ent in w ritin g on D ecem ber f 3 that it w as reneging on its com m itm ent to sponsor a bid

b y M c G ill, C o n co rd ia , Université du Q u é b e c à M on tré a l, Université d e M on tré a l, a n d Ecole Technique Supérieur to bring the Universiade — the second-largest sporting event in the w o rld in terms of number of participants, be h in d -o n ly the O ly m p ic s — to M ontreal, and also that it w o u ld not subsidize the G am es themselves. The provin­ cia l Liberals soon fo llo w e d the city's lead, saying that they w o u ld no longer contribute a portion of the G am es' $ 8 0 -m illion budget.

A lthough Dubeau tried to convince the g o v ernment to cha n g e its position, it w a s to no avail, and he w a s forced to announce to the Athletics B oard on January 2 5 that no hope for p la cin g a b id rem ained. The tw o levels of governm ent

See B L U N D E R S , p a g e 21.

Ancient history comes alive this month at the Museum of Fine Arts. See page 18.

I Ra ra Bush. Boo to gay m arriage. Being right of centre is hardly a popular political stance in a city like M o n tre a l... but is it really all black & white? Hardly. | Some M cG ill students w ho hold dear their conservative beliefs and refuse to jump on the liberal bandw agon.

Call us crazy, but a lot of them m ake pretty good points.

T h i s W e e k in M c G ill A t h le t ic s =ri., Fe b . 4 R edm en H o ck e y v s R y e rso n 7:30pm S a t., Fe b . 5 R edm en H o ck e y v s Toronto 7pm S a t., Feb. 5 B asketb all (W) 6pm (M) 8pm v s Laval S u n ., Fe b . 6 (W) 1pm (M) 3pm v s M ontréal (G a m e s a t M c C o n n e ll A re n a & M c G ill S p o r t s C e n tre )

news C A M P U S

NEWS ANALYSIS

No tw o ways a bout it Trans students face daily obstacles

NEW S

Free Burma Coalition seeks university support Petitioning against a military dictatorship A Z A D E H TA M JEEDI The M c G ill c h a p te r o f the Free Burma C o a litio n is lo b b y in g the adm inistration not to d o business w ith the Southeast A sian country. C o a litio n m em bers h o p e such a m ove w ill contribute to a la rg e r student m ovem ent in C a n a d a pressuring the g o v ­ ernm ent to im pose sanctions on Burma's m il­ itary regim e.

S im ilar student pressure in the U nited States led the A m erican governm ent to im plem ent full sanctions on Burma in 2 0 0 3 .

Last w e e k the c o a litio n m et w ith S ecretary-G eneral Robin G e lle r to discuss the subm ission o f their p e titio n to the C om m ittee to A dvise on M atters o f S ocial Responsibility. W ith m ore than 1 ,1 0 0 sig­ natures, the petition asks that M c G ill request c om panies in w h ich it has invested to be tra n s p a re n t a b o u t th e ir in vo lve m e n t in Burma, a n d that the university itself divest from Burma.

"Som e o f the m oney that gets invested in Burma eventually goes to the governm ent, w h ic h uses it to su p p o rt th e ir m ilita ry re g im e ," e x p la in e d M ic h e lle Lee, a m em ber o f the c o a litio n . "Sanctions a re im portant because in places like South A frica sanc­ tio n s a n d d iv e stm e n t le d to the a n ti­ a p a rth e id m ovem ent."

M a n y Burmese p o liticia n s in e xile have also c a lle d for divestment, o n the p a rt o f c om panies that havé fin a n cia l assets in Burma. As o f August, 2 0 0 1 , M c G ill had investments in five c o m pan ie s w ith ties to Burma, a m o n g them M itsubishi a n d the

NEWS

French te le c o m m u n ic a tio n s com pany A lcatel.

G e lle r sa id she a d v ise d the c o a litio n on the process o f p e titio n in g . The com m it­ tee w ill co n sid e r the petition in late February before m aking a recom m endation to the B oard o f G o ve rn o rs in M a rc h .

C o a litio n m em ber Elena S eiffert said that the com m ittee c o u ld d e c id e to c o m p ly w ith the resolution, take an activist share­ h older a p p ro a c h , o r take no a ctio n a t all.

Free Burma hopes that M c G ill w ill choose to divest c o m p le te ly from Burma o r take the activist sh a reholder a p p ro a c h .

Both the Students' S ocie ty a n d the PostG ra d u a te Students' S ociety have supported a resolution c a llin g on the adm inistration "to refrain from investing a n d to divest a n y M c G ill U niversity funds from stocks, bonds, securities, o r other o b lig a tio n s o f a n y co m ­ pany, b a n k o r fin a n cia l institution w h ich does business in B urm a."

S S M U has a lso resolved not to invest a n y o f its o w n funds in banks o r fin a n cia l institutions in c lu d e d in th e Investor R esponsibility Research C enter's Report on Burma.

In a d d itio n to possibly re ducing fin a n ­ c ia l support fo r Burma's m ilita ry regim e, Seiffert sa id , the resolution is a d is p la y o f s o lid a rity w ith the Burmese p e o p le .

"It show s that there a re those interna­ tio n a lly w h o support their cause a n d a re try­ ing to a ctive ly p rom ote it," she sa id . "It is o ur responsibility to m ake sure that our tuition dollars a re not g o in g to a repressive m ilita ry re g im e ." ■

BRIEF

M cG ill makes presence known in large crowd A fter a last-minute scram ble fo r fu n d in g, fo u r M c G ill E n g in e e rin g students a tte n d e d the C a n a d ia n U nde rg ra d u a te Technology C o n fe re n ce last w e e ke n d for the first tim e a n d w o n a business p la n n in g co m p e titio n , d e fe a tin g team s o f m ore than 3 0 .

Tw enty-tw o universities across the co u n try sent 5 0 0 delegates to C U T C , w h ich to o k p la c e from J a nuary 2 0 to 2 2 a t the King St. H o lid a y Inn in Toronto. The summit on innovation a n d te c h n o lo g y consisted o f keynote speeches, sem inars, an d interactive com petitions.

"It w a s a v e ry re w a rd in g e x p e rie n c e ," sa id U 4 C o m puter E ngineering student Farah Q a s e m i, o n e o f the delegates. " W e not o n ly g o t a c h a n ce to interact and c o m m u n ic a te w ith o th e r u n d e rg ra d u a te sch o o ls in C a n a d a , but w e also g o t a c h a n ce to g e t e d u c a te d a b o u t all the recent developm ents in the w o rld o f te ch n o lo g y a n d entrepreneurship o f te ch n o lo g y."

The team o f four w o n a co m p e titio n in the Technology Business Plan c a te g o ry b y sub­ m itting an id e a for o n lin e coursepacks.

"O u r business plan w a s v e ry d e ta ile d a n d co n cre te ," said Q a s e m i. " W e w o rk e d ve ry hard to m ake sure our presentation w a s e ffe ctive ."

Prizes w e re p ro vid e d b y M icro so ft, a n d included so ftw a re p a cka g e s a n d w ireless m ouse devices. In a d d itio n , the team w a s invited to subm it their business plan to the Im agine C u p com petition to b e held b y M ic ro s o ft later this year.

-S h e e ra G e n d z e l

IM A G E S

DAVE BRODKEY

S lo w -m o pain: A d a y in th e life o f a M c G ill s tu d e n t in January.

LA U R A SABA

t's not just a b o u t the bathroom s. Transgend e re d students a t M c G ill run into e v e ry d a y ch a lle n g e s that w o u ld n 't cross most stu­ dents' minds.

M o s t p e o p le w h o ca n e a s ily identify them selves as m ale o r fem ale d o not fa c e a p o te n tia lly unsafe c h o ice w hen entering a b a throom , nor d o they have tw o separate id e n titie s— o n e identity in their d a ily lives an d an o th e r on o ffic ia l d o cu m e n ts— a t M c G ill.

M o reover, problem s w ith g e n d e r identifi­ c a tio n d o not sim p ly extend to transsexual m ales o r fem ales. Tw o-spirited p e o p le identify w ith both genders, a n d others feel they are ne ith e r— their identities a re fluid from on e to the other.

The trans-gendered p o p u la tio n a t M c G ill is relatively sm all, yet it faces potential hurdles on a d a y-to -d a y basis.

I

W hat's your nam e again?

B ro d y G ia m b ro n e has been studying S o c io lo g y a n d A n th ro p o lo g y a t M c G ill for m ore than three years. His friends a n d fam ily have know n him as B ro d y since his first year, but the university know s him b y the nam e he registered u n d e r— a fe m ale-gendered given nam e.

This means that he w rites exam s an d signs onto M c G ill W e b m a il a n d W e b C T as so m e b o d y he is not. Instructors a n d teaching assistants have him on their class lists as a fem ale.

H e sa id that g o in g to conferences con­ stantly "outs" him as a trans-gendered person.

"As a rule, I have g e n e ra lly a v o id e d co n ­ ferences fo r the most part, o r tried to talk to teachers b e fo re h a n d ," G ia m b ro n e sa id . "But p e o p le a re n o t a lw a y s u n d e rs ta n d in g .

They're not a lw a ys a w a re o f g e n d e r issues."

From a nam e n o b o d y uses anym ore to a n a ssigned g e n d e r on a M c G ill ID card, trans-gendered p e o p le a re usually stuck w ith p a p e r identities that no lo nger b e lo n g to them.

"As it turns out, to c h a n g e a n y sort o f docu m e n ta tio n you have to have a legal nam e c h a n g e , w h ic h fo r me is pote n tia lly pos­ s ib le b e ca u se I'm a n O n ta rio resident," G ia m b ro n e said.

In Q u e b e c , how ever, it is extrem ely d iffi­ cult to c h a n g e le g a l nam es under a n y circum ­ stances.

M o s t provinces' a llo w trans-gendered p e o p le to c h a n g e their names a n d genders as they a p p e a r on le g a l d o cum entation, but o n ly after a ce rta in a m ount o f physical transi­ tio n in g has taken p la ce . The law s differ d e p e n d in g on h o w much surgery o r horm one th e ra p y a person has u n dergone. These law s d o not a cco m m o d a te p e o p le w h o identify as a g e n d e r other than o r in a d d itio n to the one they w e re assigned a t birth, but a re unable or u n w illin g to transition physically.

"O n e o f the m a jo r c a tc h -2 2 problem s trans p e o p le in M o n tre a l fa c e is fin d in g an d k e e p in g e m p lo ym e n t," sa id Tynan Jarrett, c o ­ c o o rd in a to r o f Project Ten a n d Project M a x , a M o n tre a l su p p o rt netw ork fo r queer peo p le . "[If] p e o p le w a n t transitions, they need m oney but they c a n 't g e t a jo b , o r if they w a n t to transition on the jo b , they often lose the jo b b ecause o f lack o f a w a re n e ss."

Jarrett said that trans-gendered p e o p le have a hard tim e in the w o rk in g w o rld in M o n tre a l. M o re often than not, the problem is d u e to a lack o f aw areness, w h ich can som e­ times be rem edied. " W e o ffe r a d v o c a c y ," Jarrett s a id .

"Som etim es w e w ill m e d ia te betw een trans p e o p le a n d their em ployers, o r p ro vid e infor­ m ation to em ployers to help sensitize them to the situations."

M cG ill m ay soon use commonly-used names, too The M c G ill Equity S ubcom m ittee on

Q u e e r People is a university Senate w o rkin g g ro u p that aim s to m ake a ll aspects o f life a t M c G ill fa ir a n d safe fo r its qu e e r com m unity.

The subcom m ittee has been pressuring the Registrar's O ffic e to include names o f com m on usage on tra n s g e n d e re d students' university docum ents. There has been some progress: starting in the fall, M c G ill ID cards w ill no longer include honorifics.

"As it rests a t the mom ent, the Registrar is com m itted to continuing to use the full legal nam e o f the student on class lists, ID cards, a n d other M c G ill docum ents," said G re g g B lachford, c h a ir o f the subcom m ittee. "W e are lo oking to continue to w o rk w ith the Registrar to find w a ys in w h ich the nam e o f com m on usage c ould be used on som e d o c ­ um ents— esp e cia lly class lists— w h ich still sat­ isfy the Registrar's need for a c c u ra c y w ithin the record-keeping system."

W h a t about this gender-neutral washroom thing, then?

Last year, a pro p o sa l to build a genderneutral w ashroom in the Shatner University C e n tre g a in e d n a tio n a l m e d ia attention, although the plans for the w ashroom ha d not y e t been fin a lize d . The id e a w a s d ro p p e d after the cost o f the Shatner renovation p roject ran unexpectedly high.

G ia m b ro n e said that w h ile the issue o f a n o n g e n d e re d w ashroom in Shatner has g a r­ nered much p u b lic ity over the past tw o years, there is still a real need for m ore-such w ash­ room s on cam pus. Few exist, a n d most are spread so w id e ly across cam pus they are not re a d ily a v a ila b le betw een classes.

"For a lot o f trans p e o p le w h o are n 't s p e cific a lly transitioning o r w h o a re per­ ce ive d as either gender, you run into a lot o f b a th ro o m v io le n c e or ha ra ssm e n t," G ia m b ro n e said.

G ia m b ro n e him self has exp e rie n ce d runins w ith security over the issue o f w h ic h bath­ room he should use. In his first year, he w e n t into a w om en's w ashroom a n d w a s ordered out b y a fem ale security e m ployee. H e e x p la in e d to her that he w a s using the w ash­ room assigned to him b y his M c G ill ID card.

Eventually, the issue w a s d ro p p e d , but he has since m ainly used the n o n g e n d e re d w a sh ­ room s on cam pus.

H ow ever, back-to-back classes can pose problem s fo r students w h o a re o n ly com fort­ a b le entering gender-neutral bathroom s.

"W h ile this m ight not seem like a huge issue, it can cause serious d iscom fort an d b la d d e r prob le m s," G ia m b ro n e sa id . "I'd like e veryone to im a g in e w h a t it's like not to pee fo r 12 hours a day, d a y in a n d d a y out."

G ia m b ro n e stressed that this is not nec­ essarily an issue for all tra n s g e n d e re d pe o ­ ple, but that som e p e o p le w h o a re genderv a ria n t o r p erceived as such a re not a lw a ys safe from viole n ce o r harassm ent in a gen­ de re d w ashroom .

The S ubcom m ittee on Q u e e r People is currently w o rk in g to install non-gendered w ashroom s in most com m only used M c G ill b u ildings. A list o f the ones currently a v a ila b le can be fo u n d at w w w . m cgill. c a /q u e e re q u ily /w a s h ro o m s .

A lth o u g h university environm ents a re often seen as m ore a c ce p tin g o f trans peo p le , M c G ill has a long w a y to g o before members o f the tra n s g e n d e re d com m unity can c a ll their school hom e.

"Like the w o rld a t la rg e ," G ia m b ro n e said, "the M c G ill com m unity is h a rd ly sup­ portive o f trans identities." ■ As part of QPIRG's month-long film festival, there will be a screening of Southern Com fort tomorrow at 7pm at 3475 rue Peel. For information on gender issue-related support networks, contact the Trans/gender Alliance at t_galliance@ hotmail.com.

the mcgill tribune j 1.2.05 | news E X C L U S IV E

IN TE R V IE W

Canada's Green Party can grow Leader Jim Harris on the environment and sustainability JAMES GOTOWIEC G re e n Party o f C a n a d a Leader Jim H arris w ants to s h o w p e o p le his p a rty is alive, kicking, a n d lo oking to w a rd a sustainable C anada.

H a rris a n d D e p u ty L eader Lynette Trem blay w e re in M o n tre a l fo r Environment W e e k a t l'U niversité d e M o n tre a l, a n d visited a re a universities to e d u ca te students a b o u t the G reen Party.

A form er m em ber o f the Progressive C onservative party, H arris d e c id e d to join the G reen Party in his last y e a r o f university after he learned that a species go e s e xtinct o n ce every 2 5 minutes. “ I shifted from b e in g a fiscal conservative to bein g an e c o lo g ic a l conservative, first a n d forem ost,” he said. “ I've been a G re e n ever since."

S ince fie ld in g c a n d id a te s in the e arly 1 9 8 0 s in British C o lu m b ia 's p ro vin c ia l elec­ tions, the p a rty has seen e xp lo sive g ro w th . In the most recent federal e lection the G reen Party o f C a n a d a received m ore than d o u b le the total num ber o f votes they had received in a ll previous fe d e ra l e le c tio n s c o m b in e d , a c c o rd in g to H arris. " N o w w h a t w e 're b e g in n in g to e xp e ri­ ence is the mom entum g ro w th ," he said.

"It w a s an h is to ric e le c tio n ," s a id Tremblay.

W ith a m inority governm ent in O tta w a , H arris a n d the G reens a re a lre a d y p la n n in g fo r the next election.

H arris g a v e som e o f the c re d it for this gro w th to form er Prime M in iste r Jean C hretien, w h o se governm ent passed Bill C -2 4 , w h ich gives fe d e ra l fu nding to a n y p a rty that gets m ore than tw o per cent o f the vo te in a fe d e r­

a c c o rd in g to fuel e co n o m y d a ta from the fe d ­ a l election. eral governm ent. W h ile a s ize a b le am ount, it "B efore I b e ca m e le a d e r the p a rty had w o u ld take m ore than three years for these $ 2 5 -th o u sa n d p er y e a r in base fu n d in g, w e savings to p a y fo r the $ 3 6 ,0 0 0 Prius. had no o ffice , a n d w e had no e m p lo ye e s," Electoral reform is a nother im portant he sa id . " [N o w ] w e have a $ 1 .8-m illion p la n k on the G re e n platform . The party w o u ld b u d g e t. W e have full tim e o rg a n iz e rs ... w e like to see a n e w p ro p o rtio n a l representation have a professional m e d ia te a m ." voting system, sim ilar to the o n e recom m end­ W h ile the G re e n platform has a large environm ental co m p o n e n t, it focuses on sus­ e d b y the Law C om m ission o f C a n a d a , c a lle d a M ix e d M e m b e r P roportional system. ta in a b ility in a ll areas.

"Two-thirds o f MPs w o u ld be elected in The a im o f the p a rty is to create a "green the sam e system w e have now , a n d one-third a n d clean e c o n o m y" said H arris. H e pointed to Denmark's focus on w in d turbine technolo­ from lists," s a id H arris. " H a d this system o p e r­ a te d in the last fe d e ra l e le c tio n ... right now , g y as an e xa m p le o f h o w to cre a te environw e w o u ld have nine M Ps in O tta w a . A nd w e m entally-friendly "g re e n c o lla r" jobs. m ight even b e p art o f a c o a litio n govern­ "O v e r the past 2 0 years they've created 2 0 ,0 0 0 jobs d ire ctly a n d in d ire ctly in that m ent."

H arris is optim istic a b o u t the future. industry," he sa id . " W e w ill have over a m illion votes in the H arris a p p la u d e d Q u e b e c Premier Jean next e le c tio n ," he sa id . H arris a d d e d that C harest's com m itm ent to b u ild a $ 1 -billion a c c o rd in g to the estim ate o f form er Tory p oll­ w in d farm in the p ro vin ce , but sa id that a lo n g ster A lan G re g g , "o u r vote w ill d o u b le or w ith that should com e an e ffo rt to create a trip le in the next fe d e ra l e le ctio n , w hen w e w in d turbine industry in C a n a d a . In a d d itio n , a re in clu d e d in the d e b a te s." he sa id he w a n ts to see m ore governm ent H arris a d d e d that the g ro w in g support investm ent in h y b rid v e h icle s, c o n ve rtin g a n d mom entum o f the G re e n p a rty w o u ld C a n a d a 's taxi fle e t to h yb rid cars such as the push m ore 18 to 2 4 -year-olds to vote.

Toyota Prius a n d g e ttin g h y b rid buses o n to city In the 2 0 0 0 election, 7 6 per cent o f roads. yo u n g C a n a d ia n s d id not vote, he said, "If the 2 5 , 0 0 0 ca b s on C a n a d ia n roads because "they d o n 't see their values, their w e re all Priuses, w e w o u ld b e saving 5 0 0 -m ilethics, reflected in a n y o f the o ld line parties. lion litres o f g a s o lin e e ve ry single ye a r."

The G re e n p a rty p ra ctice s a different A c c o rd in g to H arris, this translates into g a so ­ kind o f politics, sa id H a rris — o n e he hopes line savings o f $ 3 0 ,0 0 0 e ve ry 1 8 months for w ill keep a ttracting p e o p le to their cause. ea ch c a b on the ro a d , enough to p a y fo r the " W e a re the p a rty o f the future a nd for cost o f the car. the future," he sa id . ■ H o w e v e r, H arris's num bers m a y be so m e w h at optim istic. D riving a Toyota Prius, To learn m ore a b o u t the G reen Party o f instead o f a D o d g e Intrepid, 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 kilo­ C anada, visit w w w .g re e n p a rty .c a or meters per y e a r results in g a s o lin e savings o f w w w .p a rtive rt.c a b etw een $1 1 ,0 0 0 a n d $ 1 3 , 0 0 0 per year,

Better than a go-cart How do fuel costs stack up?

intrepid • C ity fuel e co n o m y g iv e n as 1 1 .0 1 / 1 0 0 km for small e n g in e m odel.

• D rive 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 km p e r year, use 2 2 , 0 0 0 L o f gas A t 8 0 cents p e r litre, that am ounts to $ 1 7 ,6 0 0 .

• B ig e n g in e m odel is 1 2 .5 L / 1 0 0 km, so 2 5 ,0 0 0 L o f gas, cost o f $ 2 0 ,0 0 0 .

• W ith 2 5 , 0 0 0 Intrepids on the ro a d , w e use 5 5 0 m illion L o f gasoline.

Prius • C ity fuel e co n o m y given as 4 . 0 L / 1 0 0 km. Drive 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 km per year, use 8 , 0 0 0 L o f gas. A g a in assume 8 0 cents per litre for gas, cost is $ 6 ,4 0 0 dollars • W ith 2 5 , 0 0 0 Priuses on the ro a d , w e use 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 |2 0 0 m illion).

D ifferen ce: S avings o f 3 5 0 m illion L o f o il, vs c la im e d 5 0 0 m illion. $ 1 1 , 2 0 0 do lla rs betw een small e n g in e Intrepid a n d Prius. $ 1 3 ,6 0 0 be tw e e n b ig e n g in e Intrepid a n d Prius. S ize a b le , but hardly enough to p a y for your 3 6 ,0 0 0 c a r in 1 8 months, [w h ic h is w h a t Toyota's W e b site says the Prius costs in Q u e b e c).

SO UR C E: F ederal Fuel C onsum ption G u id e

The Students1 Society of McGill University Awards of Distinction T h e

3

S tu d e n ts ’ S o c ie ty

o f

M c G ill U n iv e r s it y

H a v e y o u l e f t y o u r m a r k ? he Students' Society of McGill University invites applications for its Awards of Distinction. Two (2) scholarships of $2000 for full-time undergraduate studies at McGill will be awarded to students who show evidence of outstanding leadership in the McGill community through significant contributions to student activities coupled with excellent academic performance.

T

To be eligible you must have been a full-time (minimum of 24 credits) undergraduate student at McGill University during the 2004-05 academic year. Scholarships will be paid upon presentation of proof of full-time (minimum of 24 credits) undergraduate registration at McGill University during the 2005-06 academic year.

Please note that the application requires an official transcript to be sent directly to the Selection Committee to be received by the application deadline.

Applications are available as of January 31,2005 at the SSMU Front Desk or online at http://www.ssmu.ca

C a ll f o r A p p lic a t io n s

C o n ta c t:

A p p lic a tio n

A n d re w B ry a n V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ( U n iv e r s ity A f f a ir s ]

F e b ru a ry

u a @ s s m u . m c g ill. c a 3 9 8 -6 7 3 7

D e a d lin e :

18, 2 0 0 5

4

news I 1.2.05 j the mcgill tribune

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Up to Speed

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The Arts Undergraduate S o cie ty Im provem ent Fund (A U IF) allo cates funds on an annual b a sis to projects that primarily or partially benefit stu dents in the Faculty of Arts. The fund provides financial a ss is ta n c e in the acquisition of capital g o o ds and other durable reso urces.

P a s t e x a m p le s o f p r o je c ts in c lu d e :

• Visual projection equipment • Additional Teaching resources (Slides, recordings) • Student Lounge Space • Start up Project Costs .Ail projects, regardless of scope are acceptable. Funding has ranged from a few hundred dollars to in the tens of thousands of dollars for individual projects.

Applications are due on February 11th 2005. Early applications are recommended.

Application forms can be downloaded from: www.ausmcgill.com/docs.php All inquiries, including questions regarding project eligibility, should be directed to the attention of the AUS VP Finance, Andrea Navin by e-mail (finance@ausmcqill.com) or ■phone (398-1993).

S u b m is s io n s s h o u ld b e s e n t to : A rts U n d e rg ra d u a te S o c ie ty

F u n d in g p r o v id e d t h r o u g h :

/4USlMCG! 8

c /o A n d re a N av in ( A U IF ) L e a c o c k B -12 855 S h e rb ro o k e

Thanks to the generous assistance

?f i o f U x p0 |jce jn M o s c o w have assumed adm inistrative duties /s ? ; o f a public school an d set up a detective departm ent w here < • /* n ilrlrn n t~tr .n n ---------- 1 children as young as six can get an education in sleuthing. • tealth care com pany W e y c o instilled a ban on smoking in and i î f t t I V# p u t o f the w . . orkplace, — . .J—. — w hich costIWCM fourV^Iemployees 1 ■> their I C I I jobs. IThe I 1C W workl^ l P\ 4* f i W i t t p ® rs ^ f'rm a ^er refusing to take a test to check whether they w ere » si'll smokers after the January 1 deadline. • Doctors in Italy report that | < t . * p l0 t o o much text messaging on cellphones can cause acute tendonitis in »teenaaers. Telefono Azzuro, a children's rights group, says that 3 7 per cent of Italian teenagers are cellphone addicts. • A man in Bismarck, f v f p f N orth D akota, had his Ford stolen three times in six days. Each time, the doors w ere locked, the w in d o w s w ere closed, and local police brought it . back. • A g o a t w a ndered into a Veneta, O regon, home an d refuses to ■«, »? leave. The hom eow ner says that w hen he called anim al control, he w as told i p ® '° c a ^ sheriff. The sheriff told him to call anim al control, w hich finally gave him an em ergency number for loose livestock— there w as no an sw e r • Toy ' * c o m pany H asbro Inc. is releasing a Darth Tater version o f its popular Mr. I p ! . Potato H ead toy to coincide w ith the final instalment o f the Star W ars film series, due in theatres in M a y. • Earlier this month, the Romanian d a ily ** Libertatea published a story about a Transylvania couple w h o had nam ed their sif t son Yahoo as a sign o f their gratitude for meeting over the Internet. The paper later fired the reporter w hen it found out he had invented the story and altered u his o w n birth certificate as "proof." • O n Saturday, M a c d o n a ld campus c s played host to the C a n a d ia n Intercollegiate Lumberjack C ham pionships. • A trio o f thieves in M a c e d o n ia w a lked into a bank w ith the intention to rob its vault, but instead took a m oneybag that w as lying on the counter and ran off before looking inside it. The bank m anager had been using the ba g to carry .s. his groceries, and all they ended up w ith w as five kilogram s o f sausages. fty l | • A M ic h ig a n w om an pleaded guilty to driving under the influence... of mouthwash. She rear-ended a car after drinking three glasses of ■ p i i: » Listerine. ■ 1 f»3H

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SOURCES: A N A N O V A .C O M , A SS O C IATE D B B C .C O .U K , C N N .C O M , M C G ILL.C A, REUTERS

of the Students of the Faculty of Arts

PRESS

A N G L E S M ic r o s o ft

E X C E L

We're gonna hunt us some dem ocracy REBECCA C RA BER

e r s io n 2 0 0 2

ADVANCED E X C E L S p o n s o re d

b y

S S M U

H a n d s - o n T r a in in g - 1 0 s e s s io n s

Further your skills in Excel, like using custom ized functions a n d doing statistical analysis for F R E E .

C ourse takes 2hrs starting February 10 2005.

R E G I S T E R online a t

www.library.mcgill.ca/edrs/excel or call 3 9 8 - 1 4 2 9 For co u rse d a te s & times, visit w w w .lib rary.m cgill.ca/ed rs/excel

Location: Electronic Data Resource Service EDRS Room 23, Redpath www.mcgill.ca/edrs

A ll w e care a b o u t n o w is our living conditions. W h e n S addam w as gone, w e s a id life w ill g e t better. A lla w i cam e, an d nothing happened, a n d after the elections nothing w ill h a p p e n ."

—A lliy a al-Hussien, 6 0 , fish seller IB B Q

E

lections are not neutral mech­ anisms o f popular expres­ sion, as anyone follow ing the Iraqi election can conclude.

Heck, d id n 't M exico's PRI w in every election for, like, 8 0 years?

Their success w asn't because they m ade a w inning salsa, my friends, but due to the devious m achina­ tions o f a corrupt hegemony.

Iraq's is an election that is remarkable, less for a carefully detailed orchestration o f victory, but for a carefully detailed orches­ tration o f disaster.

Even for a post-war dem o­ cratic exercise, this one is pretty puny. O n Sunday, those Iraqis w h o chose— or w ere a b le — to participate, cast their ballots for the Transitional N a tio n a l Assembly, 18 district councils, and an Iraqi Kurdistan N ational Assembly. The main task o f the T N A w ill be drafting a new consti­ tution. Prominent Sunnis expect to participate in this process, even though m any Sunni insurgents boycotted the election. This may seem undemocratic, but generally Sunni participation is essential to the consolidation o f a legitimate government, and hopefully w ill dif­ fuse post-election tensions.

An estimated 14- to 15-million Iraqis w ere eligible to vote.

(M ore than 2 8 0 ,0 0 0 Iraqi citi­ zens living a b ro a d registered, including 1 1 ,0 0 0 in C anada.)

Voters in al-Anbar and N ineveh w ere permitted to register and vote on the same d a y — only because registration centres have

been set aflam e and pounded w ith mortar fire. .

Iraq's interim President, G h a zi al-Yawir, noted that "there are areas w here no one has been able to give out even one voter registration sheet." A nd I thought the US absentee ballot process w as com plicated.

Even with over 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 troops present— a number w hich, w hile impressive, is insufficient— this election does not meet the "freedom and fairness" standards C anadians are used to. A side from the violence plaguing elec­ tion officials and potential voters, voters remain uneducated, and candidates fear publicly naming themselves. O n e Decem ber poll found that 13 per cent o f Iraqi respondents did n 't know w h a t the election w as for, w hile 41 per cent thought they'd be electing a president rather than the T N A .

W ith no sign o f the insur­ gency abating, n o w m ay be as g o o d a time as ever for Iraq to take its first b a b y steps tow ards dem ocracy. But I doubt it— the multinational forces' inability to enable free, fair, and safe elec­ tions represents just h o w little fore­ thought w ent into peacebuilding in Iraq.

This m ay w ell be a farcical dem ocracy, w hose operations are as polarizing as they are unifying.

I only hope the g ro w in g pains of these elections w ill neither provide the template for future votes, nor portend the inauguration o f a state unprepared to govern. ■

SPEA K ER S

O N

the mcgill tribune | 1.2.05 | news

C A M P U S

A cadem ia Week gives students perspective Lecturers prove scholastic risk-taking can pay off C L IO P IT U L A To give Science students insight as to h o w they can make their degrees p a y o ff a fter g ra d u a tio n , the S cience U n d e rg ra d u a te S ociety hosted A cad e m ia W e e k, a week-long speaker series, from January 2 4 to 2 8 .

A cadem ia W e e k w a s the result of four months o f planning, a cco rd in g to C hristopher Lee, SUS vice-president (academ ic).

"The purpose o f A ca d e m ia W e e k is to show undergraduate science stu­ dents h o w their degree can help them in the real w o rld ," said Lee. "O b ta in in g your degree is a long and difficult process, and it's reassuring to know that it w ill p a y o ff in the e n d .”

A t M o n d a y s keynote speech, Dr. M o n a Loutfy, an infectious diseases spe­ cialist w h o w as instrumental in treating SARS, em phasized the im portance of looking a t education as an end in itself.

O th e r presentations in clu d e d C areer and Placement Services w o rk­ shops, a Princeton Review m edical school symposium, a presentation by Doctors W ith o u t Borders, and lectures

by several notable scientists.

Lee introduced Dr. Brenda M ilner, one such scientist, as a pioneer in neu­ roscience research.

M iln e r spoke on Tuesday, recount­ ing how, after a "horrible realization that I w o u ld never be a great mathemati­ c ia n ," she turned to psychology a t the University o f C a m b rid g e . M iln e r said she w as initially surprised b y her interest and talent in psychology.

"D on't be afra id to change your fie ld ," said the psychologist, w h o has devoted decades o f research and w o rk at the M ontreal N e u ro lo g ica l Institute since her a p p o in tm e n t in 1950.

Sharing her personal story as w ell as aspects o f her research, M ilner's mes­ sage w a s a realistic one. "[You] d o have to w o rk very hard," she said. "It's a very com petitive w o rld ."

Lee said that M iln e r personified the goals o f A ca d e m ia W e e k.

"She accom plished so much as a young scientist, and that w o rk remains influential to this d a y," he said. "Brenda M iln e r is really the epitom e o f w h a t m any research-minded scientists aspire to." ■

5

Do you sometimes feel like a w hole person in a broken world?

You are not alone.

W e t o o a r e s im p ly tr y in g to in c r e a s e o u r u n d e r s t a n d in g o f w h a t i t m e a n s to b e a w h o le p e r s o n , b y d o i n g w h a t w e c a n to f i x

JULIA SHONFIELD

M iln e r: Psychologist an d role m o d e l.

For in fo rm a tio n on summer research o p p o rtu n itie s, visit w w w .re se a rch .su s.m cg ill.ca . To learn a b o u t field-specific gra d u a te schools, visit w w w . red books.sus. m cgi 11.c a .

s o m e o f t h e w o r l d ’s b r o k e n b its .

T h a t ’s w h y w e r e m o r e c o n c e r n e d w ith t h e h e r e - a n d - n o w t h a n t h e h e r e a fte r .

W e a p p r e c ia t e t r a d it io n , b u t w e liv e in t h e p r e s e n t . L e t ’s t a lk a n d l i s t e n to e a c h o t h e r t h is S u n d a y a t 1 0 : 3 0 a m .

S T U D E N T

N EWS

The Unitarian Church

Unions clash a t Concordia Student government violates labour agreem ent ROBERT C H U R C H C onco rd ia students are up in arms over the suspension and subsequent reinstatement o f the C o n co rd ia Student U nion's la b o u r union president.

Christina Xydous, coordin a to r o f the C o n c o rd ia O ff-C a m p u s Jo b and H ousing Bank, w as suspended for tw o months w ith o u t p a y fo r sta g in g a N o v e m b e r press confe re n ce that accused the C SU o f hiring supplemen­ tary em ployees in violation o f em ploy­ ment agreements.

Xydous also serves as the presi­ dent o f the C a n a d ia n Union o f Public Employees Local 4 5 1 2 , w h ich repre­ sents em ployees o f the CSU. D uring the press co n fe re n ce , Xydous claim ed that the C SU had ignored the collective b arga in in g agree­ ment negotiated betw een the C SU and CUPE w hen hiring early in the semester.

A long w ith a fe llo w C SU councillor, she alleged in a press release that the CSU executive had established a $ 2 1 ,0 0 0 "secret" fund to hire em ployees outside o f the agreements m ade betw een the CSU and the staff union.

"I called the press conference to denounce m any things, am ong w hich w ere numerous contradictions to the col­ lective agreem ent, the most onerous o f w hich w as hiring at least 6 0 em ployees w ith no notice to the union," said Xydous. "As w ell, for the p e o p le that w e re hired, none o f them w e re p a id at the app ro p ria te minimum salary."

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ing procedures, the press release by Xydous d id not focus on this issue.

"The allegations had nothing to d o w ith the hiring procedures, and that's w h a t w e had a problem w ith ," said Telbum. "The allegations concerned dis­ crepancies, and the existence o f a $ 2 1 ,0 0 0 secret fund, and d id n 't look for evidence. They w e re libelous state­ ments."

The relationship betw een C SU and CUPE has historically been poor, she said.

"The CSU has consistently and repeatedly acted in b a d faith. It is not only the fact that they seem to be inca­ p a b le o f fo llo w in g the rules o f the col­ lective agreem ent, but they d o n 't seem

WHO...

WHEN...

C oalition of Concerned Students

Jan. 3 1 -Feb. 3, 6 :3 0 -9 Feb. 4, 2 :3 0 p m

M cG ill A A A Fencing Competition

M cG ill Fencing Team

Feb. 6, 8:30pm

Eating disorder Awareness W eek

Liberated bodies

Jan. 3 1 -Feb. 4

Forgotten G enocide Awareness W eek

3

Q.

"I a m utterly disgusted by the actions taken by the C S U ... I have no faith in a 'union' w hich engages in union-busting."

— C oncordia g rad u ate student A z iz C houdry

WHAT...

cn

to care w hen they are caught breaking the rules," she said. "[W ith previous executives] I certainly never felt as pres­ ident that there w as no desire to find a solution to our problems, but I feel that w a y w ith this executive."

Xydous returned from the suspen­ sion last W e d n e sd a y and is seeking repaym ent of lost w a g e s and a public a pology.

The issue has becom e a con­ tentious one w ithin the C o n co rd ia stu­ dent body. Letters to the cam pus press illum inate both sides, and have many

W h ile the C SU has previously adm itted to hiring some workers outside of normal hiring procedures— w h ich requires it to inform the workers union — and to paying them less than the mini­ mum w a g e stipulated by the collective agreem ent, the C SU executive has denied the more incrim inating a lle g a ­ tion that they operated any kind of secret fund.

W h ile CSU Vice-President (Finance) Lauren Telbum said that the executive w o u ld have had no problem w ith allegations concerning illegal hir­

questioning the effectiveness o f the stu­ dent government.

"I am utterly disgusted by the actions taken by the C SU a g a in st...

Christina Xydous for her union activi­ ties," w ro te g ra d u a te student A z iz C houdry. "I have no faith in a 'union' w h ich engages in union-busting."

W h ile the issue has evidently raised public d ebate over the role o f stu­ dent and w orkers' unions a t C o n co rd ia , M c G ill's Students' S ociety hgs little to w o rry ab o u t from its em ployees. SSMU Vice-President (Operations) Anthony Di C a rlo confirm ed that SSM U em ployees are not represented by a union, and all em ploym ent agreements are handled directly w ith SSM U. ■

WHERE...

CONTACT...

Leacock 2 6

spac@msamcgill.com

Leacock 1 32 M cG ill M ain Gym

tara_park@hotmail.com

M ainfloor Leacock

1iberated bod ies@g ma i 1.com

.... .............

For only a toome, you can get a listing in the print and online editions of the Trib. Drop by the SSMU office (Brown Student Building.

Suite 12 0 0) to pick up a form. Deadlines are Fridays at 3:3 0p m , For more information, e m a il caiendar@ tribune,mcgiil ca.

5035 de Maisonneuve W. (Vendôme Metro) (514) 485-9933 www.ucmti.ca Children’s program every Sunday, also at 10:30 am.

McGill Town Hall I t ’s

o u r

L e t's

u n i v e r s i t y .

ta lk

a b o u t

it.

P rin cip al H e a th e r M u n ro e -B lu m invites students, faculty and staff to an open forum to discuss issu es of relevance to the M cG ill community

Friday, February 4, 2005 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm Bronfman Building Room 151 1001 Sherbrooke St. West

?

news | 12.05 j the mcgill tribune

C A M P U S

C IT Y

N EW S

NEW S

Kiss-in draws hundreds

Honking for financial aid Students protest CÉGEP debt X IA N G G U M otorists passing b y the JacquesC a rtie r b rid g e T h u rsd a y m o rn in g c o u ld see the w o rd s "A g e n e ra tio n in d e b t b e c a u s e o f C h a re s t" a n d "C harest bleeds students d ry " w ritten in French on b ig , b rig h t banners.

A ro u n d 3 0 students g a th e re d for a sm all but v isib le dem onstration as p a rt o f o n g o in g efforts to pressure Q u e b e c Premier Jean C harest's g o v ­ ernm ent to reinvest the $ 1 0 3 -m illio n d o lla rs it cut from student bursaries last spring. The protest w a s m a in ly an in i­ tia tiv e o f the C o a litio n ré g io n a le des étudiants d e M o n tré a l, an inform ai g ro u p in vo lvin g various CEGEP a n d university student unions. " W e w ill not b lo ck a n y th in g , w e w ill not b reak a n y th in g , but w e w a n t to s h o w the governm ent that w e 're still hurt b y the c u t," s a id Jo n a th a n P la m o n d o n , v ic e -p re s id e n t o f la F édération é tu d ia n te c o llé g ia le du Q uébec.

FE C Q is on a tour o f Q u e b e c , inform ing CEG EP a n d university stu­ d e n t unions a b o u t its plans to co n tin ­ ue the c a m p a ig n , initia te a c tio n , a n d g e n e ra te support.

D a n ie l F rie d la e n d e r, S tudents' S oc ie ty v ice-president (com m unity a n d governm ent), sa id that the JacquesC a rtie r protest w a s just the b e g in n in g .

"The g o a l to d a y is to rem ind the

g o ve rn m e n t that w e a re here, a n d that w e still c a re a lot a n d that w h a t they d id is w ro n g ," he s a id . " W e h a v e n 't lost steam in the h o lid a y s."

A c c o rd in g to P lam ondon, the event a t the b rid g e w ill be fo llo w e d b y a series o f " b ig g e r a n d m ore a g g re ssive " a ctio n s until the p ro vin c e a n n o u n c e s its b u d g e t in M a rc h .

FE C Q hopes that m ore d ra stic a ctio n s w ill influence the g o ve rn m e n t to rein­ vest the m oney.

"It's c le a r that civil d is o b e d ie n c e is in the p la n , a n d it's c le a r it's no lo n g e r a tim e fo r sym b o lic a ctio n s ," he sa id .

Things a re softer on SSM U 's s id e . F rie d la e n d e r s a id protesters should be careful to m a in ta in the cur­ rent level o f p u b lic su p p o rt a n d sym­ pathy. " W e have to b a la n c e g iv in g the g o ve rn m e n t a strong m essage [w ith ] lo o k in g b a d in p u b lic a n d d o in g som ething s tu p id ," [ < — is b a la n c e the rig h t w o rd here? I k n o w it's a q u o te but it d o e s n 't m ake sense to m e .] he sa id . " M c G ill is on e o f the schools that is a little less ra d ic a l. W e 're m ore c o n c ilia to ry ."

N ic k V ika n d e r, v ic e -p re s id e n t (university affairs) a t la Fédération étu­ d ia n te universitarie du Q u é b e c , p o in t­ e d ou t that, even if som e d is cre p a n c y exists b e tw e e n CEGEP a n d university attitudes a n d b e h aviours c o n ce rn in g

protests, the g o a l is the sam e, a n d e a ch has its o w n strengths.

"O u r a c tio n p la n fo r this semester w ill a p p e a l to p e o p le w h o a re g o in g to b e m ore lo w k e y — like the tele­ p h o n e c a m p a ig n [to M e m b e rs o f the N a tio n a l A ss e m b ly ]— a n d ones that a re g o in g to b e m ore c o n fro n ta tio n ­ a l," he sa id .

O n e o f FEUQ's m ain c o n trib u ­ tions is the su p p o rt it p ro vid e s to CEGEPs w h o se student unions a re often smaller, a n d have a h igher turnover rate a n d fe w e r resources.

Frie d la e n d e r a d d e d that the g o v ­ ernm ent is conscious th a t the fin a n c ia l cuts a re p ro b le m a tic. The g o a l is to put e n o u g h pressure on the M N A s to fo rce the g o ve rn m e n t to co n ce d e .

"It's v e ry c le a r they a re g o in g to m ake ch a n g es to the e d u c a tio n sys­ te m ," he s a id . “The fa c t is yo u d o n 't start b y cutting the m o n e y fo r the most needy."

F rie d la e n d e r s a id that w ith the p ro p e r n e g o tia tio n s a n d the rig h t a m o u n t o f pressure, the gove rn m e n t w ill m ake concessions.

V ika n d e r sh a re d this o p in io n , a n d s a id that the c a m p a ig n w ill g o on. " W e h o p e the g o ve rn m e n t w ill see the lig h t b e fo re the b u d g e t a n d reinvest in fin a n c ia l a id ," he sa id . " W e a re g o in g to ke e p on w o rk in g until w e g e t it b a c k ." ■

C o n tin u e d from cover.

A le xa n d re C o rb e il, a student a t the M o n tre a l C onservatory, w a s p a rt o f the g re a te r p u b lic that b ecam e a w a re o f the problem because o f the kiss-in. H e attended the dem onstra­ tion because he w a s passing by, s a w som e friends, a n d d e c id e d that the cause w a s a g o o d one.

"I sto p p e d because I really a g re e w ith the exh ib itio n a n d w h a t [Perras a n d M o rris o n ] are trying to d o ," he said.

N e ith e r Perras nor M o rriso n e x p ected the high turnout. M u c h o f the c ro w d lingered for m ore than an

hour.

"This is just an a m a z in g am ount o f s upport," M o rriso n said.

She a n d Perras had expected the kiss-in to be a m ore personal event.

"It w a s really a b o u t d o in g it for us," M orrison a d d e d . " W e had to choose h o w to respond, an d w e w e re not g o in g to be v ictim iz e d ."

M o rriso n said that the violence o f on e man is not representative o f the entire com m unity.

"H e is an a n o m a ly ," she said.

Perras s econded the thought as she surveyed the c ro w d .

"A c tio n s s p e a k lo u d ly ," she sa id . "Look a ro u n d ." ■

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the mcgill tribune j 1.2.05 | news C A M P U S

7

N EW S

Where's the party?

M em orial S e rvice

Students' Society Programming Network regroups

The Faculty of Music will hold a Memorial Service for Chris Driscoll at Christ Church Cathedral on Friday, February 4, 2 0 0 5 a t 2 :0 0 p.m.

M IR IA M M A R T Z Follow ing the postponm ent o f last months traditional 4Floors party, the Students' S ociety P rogram m ing N e tw o rk hopes to end the semester on a positive note after a y e a r o f losses.

SSPN failed to meet costs in tw o events last term — the School D aze con­ c e rt a n d N o v e m b e r's 4Floors-style CultureFloors party. School D aze, a n e w event, d re w fe w students, w h ile CultureFloors lost m oney a g a in this fall after a t least six unsuccessful years, says P addy Scace, SSPN commissioner.

"It [w a s ] just a tough year," said M a rk S w a rd , S S M U vice-president (com m unications an d events).

S w ard set the event schedule last spring, b ooking the Shatner University C entre for CultureFloors on the recom ­ m en d a tio n of his p re d e ce sso r Kim berley Zell. SSPN a g re e d to plan the event, a lb e it w ith reservations.

S cace recom m ended that SSPN not throw the event based on his previous experience.

"I w a s under the impression it w a s­ n't a b ig problem ," said S w ard.

SSPN lost some members fo llo w ­ ing the tw o events.

"These peo p le left because o f per­ sonal reasons an d because they could­ n't com m it the tim e," S cace said.

S w ard s a w this as a positive c h ange for the com m ittee, m aking it "less diluted w ith peo p le w h o d id n 't ca re ."

O rg a n iz e rs a ttrib u te d CultureFloors' financial failure to lack o f p ro m o tio n , the u n p o p u la r "culture

theme, a n d the event's in a b ility to fill the Shatner b uilding. Parties in the Shatner building require a minimum attendance o f 1 ,2 0 0 in order to b reak even because o f high overhead costs.

"It's tough to ge t p e o p le out to

regulations lim iting the number o f peo­ ple a llo w e d inside have been more strictly enforced.

S w ard sees the Shatner building regaining som e o f its glam our, howe\A er.

A reception will follow immediately afterwards in Christ Church Cathedral's Fulford Hall.

Please join us in commemorating the life of this extraordinary young musician who contributed so fully to life at McGill and befriended so many.

Christ Church Cathedral 635 Ste. Catherine St. West (Corner of University St.)

YASEMIN EMORY

■

A fte r financial pro b lem s, th e fu tu re of 4Floors in in do u b t.

S hatner," s a id SSPN F in a n cia l M a n a g e r Donny M a c M illa n .

G e rts Pub has also been suffering a fin a n cia l slump this y e a r due to the a p p a re n t unpopularity o f its Shatner build in g location.

If SSPN members d e c id e to g o a h e a d w ith another 4Floors p a rly it w ill likely be an "allyou-can-drink" affair.

SSPN acquires tne beer fo r events ch e a p ly enough that ticket prices w ill help cover the high cost o f renting sound systems a n d h irin g security guards.

The peripheral costs o f holding a party in the Shatner b u ilding have increased over the last tw o years as fire

"SSPN and G ert's w ill have a chance to recover next year," he said.

CultureFloors w ill likely be m oved to a smaller venue next fall. SSPN is also considering inviting high-profile musicians to g ive c h e a p concerts for M c G ill students sim ilar to those hosted b y C o n co rd ia .

S cace remains optim istic abo u t this year's fin a n cia l possibilities. "I believe that the com m unications and events p o rtfolio w ill be in the black. ■

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

Fire w ith W ater A rt Exhibition The Sexual Assault Center of McGill Student Society (SAC0MSS) is looking for submissions for its annual Fire with Water Art Exhibition.

A fan o f 4Floors? Think its a waste o f time a n d money? W ish M c G ill had better school spirit? Send your comments to oped@ tribune. mcgill. ca.

O Jills.

The Fire with Water Exhibition shows artists’ works exploring gender based violence.

We are accepting visual, textual, audio, 2-D and 3-D works.

Deadline for Submissions is February 14th 2005.

LSAT

GMAT

GRE

To Submit, please email or mail a photo or description to:

MCAT

specialprojects0405@yahoo.ca or SAC0MSS Box Y06 Shatner University Center 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC, H3A1X9 Attn: Special Projects A n o n y m o u s S u b m is s io n s a re a c c e p te d .

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opinion

Big Brother is reading LA U R A SABA

O brother, where art thou?

"Secrets d o n 't m ake friends."

— From First To Last, u n o rig in a l e m o /p u n k LA b a n d

raternities a n d sororities a t M c G ill a re not exact­ ly cam pus treasures. C o m p e tin g a g a in st pe rva ­ sive stereotypes a n d the bustling m etropolis that is M o n tre a l, fe w have m a n a g e d to attract the kind o f attention e a rned b y their A m e rica n coun­ terparts. Last w e e k, the confession o f Edw in Frank, an alum ni m em ber o f the the Phi K a p p a Pi Fraternity's M o n tre a l chapter, cast m ore sh a d o w s on the university's G reek community. In an e m ail sent to both the M c G ill D aily an d the Tribune, Frank c la im e d he sought help from Phi K ap p a last w e e k, o n ly to g e t kicked out o f the house on "one o f the coldest evenings this w in te r" after the brothers realized he w a s on d is a b ility fo r severe depres­ sion. In response, Phi K a p p a m em ber A le x San G re g o rio sent letters to both student new spapers, stating Frank's accusations w e re e x a g g e ra te d a n d "d e m o ­ nized" the Frat.

W h a t's the casual student re a d e r to believe? O n the one hand, brother a n d sisters infiltrate SSM U's Activities N ights, singing the praises o f their o rg a n iz a ­ tions as guarantors o f the best university experience a v a ila b le . O n the other, negative m edia attention sug­ gests belo n g in g to a brother- or sisterhood w ill o nly d a m ­ a g e student careers a n d futures. Students w h o d o not instantly dismiss G re e k life a re left w o n d e rin g w h a t a fra­ ternity o r sorority ca n offer b e yo n d w h a t they can a lre a d y g e t out o f an afternoon spent netw orking o r an evening w ith close friends. W h a t a re fraternities and sororities contributing to student life? H o w can a frat house, brotherhood, o r kegger co m p a re to M c G ill's a lre a d y vibrant student scene a n d M on tre a l's plethora o f cultural an d nightlife sites?

The answ er: it cannot. The reasons, how ever, d o not confirm the classic frat stereotypes. Fraternities a n d sororities d o not lack p o p u la rity a t M c G ill because o f som e unspoken understanding that they a re "u n co o l," nor because o f the w id e sp re a d assum ption that becom ­ ing a brother or sister is a n a logous to be co m in g a d ie ­ hard social conservative. M c G ill's G re e k com m unity lacks general student a c ce p ta n ce due to stigm as associ­ ated w ith the purpose o f fraternities a n d sororities. The campus's lo w ly attitude to w a rd s G re e k brotherhood and sisterhood stems la rg e ly from myths a n d a n d from the secretive nature o f such o rg a n iza tio n s. S how s like MTV's Fraternity Life, memoirs like Brad Land's G o a t a n d b a d p u b licity like Frank's story o n ly reinforce the id e a that fra­ ternities a n d sororities a re h id in g som ething that is a n y ­ thing but student-friendly.

But w h a t is really know n a b o u t fraternities a n d sororities a t M c G ill? Princeton re vie w has tw e lve fraterni­ ties an d four sororities registered on C am pus, yet rarely are they d e p ic te d as anything but caricatures o f

F

4 _ o ff th e b o a rd

d e b a u ch e ry a n d depravity. W e k n o w a b o u t KA's H a llo w e e n party; w e k n o w a b o u t G re e k W e e k, the O lym pic-style a lc o h o l fest a n d the last bastion o f G ert's d e g e n e ra tin g im age. W e know n little, however, a b o u t the G re e k com m unity's d e d ic a tio n to charities. K a p p a A lp h a Thetas, for instance, have been p raised for rais­ ing m oney for H IV /A ID S relief, w h ile A lp h a Epsilon Pis have been com m ended fo r their 2 4-hour o u td o o r stunts to fund ca n ce r research. Despite som e la u d a b le efforts to im prove cam pus life, most fraternities a n d sororities a re obscured b y the antics o f fictio n a l antiheroes like A n im a l H ouses John Belushi a n d O ld School's W ill Ferrell. Yet it's a little to o sim plistic to b lam e p o p culture for G re e k life's shortcom ings. The standing reality is that M c G ill is not a w e lco m in g setting fo r fraternities a n d sororities. Prior to the seventies, M c G ill's G re e k com m u­ nity essentially ran student life. D eclining m em bership, sexual offense accusations a g a in st the Zeta Psi fraternity in 1 9 8 8 , a n d a lack o f support from M c G ill o fficia ls like form er p rin cip a l Bernard S ha p iro forced some chapters to c lo se a n d others to a ffilia te them selves w ith C o n c o rd ia to g a in popularity. The G re e k com m unity on cam pus has not been a b le to restore the stability o f its g lo ry days.

The problem lies in the p ra ctica lly nonexistent rela­ tionship betw een these o rg a n iza tio n s a n d the public.

Due to strict policies g o ve rn in g m edia relations, a num­ ber o f national fraternity o rg a n iza tio n s a re not perm itted to com m ent on the inner w orkings a n d the goings-on o f their a ffilia te associations. As a result, m edia c o ve ra g e has been sparse a n d skew ed, w ith reporters turning to speculation to fill the b la ck holes s w a llo w in g up the rep­ utations o f fraternities a n d sororities. In N o ve m b e r 2 0 0 2 , three fem ale students a p p ro a c h e d the Tribune to confess they had been d ru g g e d a t a p a rty hosted b y the Phi K a p p a Pi. In O c to b e r 2 0 0 3 , student Kim berly Johnston w ro te a letter to the Tribune urging universities to ban fraternities, w h ich she felt created "a society o f inflat­ e d egos, excessive hedonism a n d m ale entitlem ent." In January 2 0 0 3 , the Phi Delta Theta frat house burnt d o w n , a lle g e d ly because o n e m em ber left a jo in t lit near a couch, though those present d e c lin e d to g ra n t the Tribune com m ent. C learly, the student b o d y is skeptical. _Once the social elite o f the school, brothers a n d sis­ ters n o w struggle to restore their g o o d nam e. A re stu­ dents w ro n g to assume that G re e k life is w e a ke n in g their university's im age? Is there no longer room nor a need fo r fraternities a n d sororities? M c G ill's G re e k com m unity must restructure itself a n d its m edia relations if it intends to fit the university a n d city's style. The ag e -o ld frat has be co m e an e n d a n g e re d species on cam pus a n d it seems fe w students ca re to salvage it. ■

ecret S ervice agents s h o w in g up a t a cam pus p a p e r as a result o f a student's e d ito ria l m ight m ake you think you are living in the M c C a rth y era, but as it turns out, it happens in the D ubya era, too. W h ile w e all deserve our right to free speech, w e ca n n o t fo rg e t that everything w e say, w rite , a n d print is subject to consequences, even if the consequences b o rd e r on the ridiculous.

A lm ost W o w eeks a g o , The Echo, a student p a p e r a t M in n e s o ta s Rochester C om m unity a n d Technical C o lle g e , pu b ­ lished an e d ito ria l in w h ich the author said he w a s p re p a re d to kill G e o rg e W . Bush' to protect his rights as an A m erican. "Even in this fake d e m o c rac y ," Shane S olom on w rote, "the p e o p le o f this country have som e rights. Just betw een you a n d me, I'd g o as far as killing the President o f the U nited States if that's w h a t it took to protect them ." Shortly thereafter, a Secret S ervice a g e n t p a id the p a p e r a visit. Even though the paper's adviser said that the statem ent w a s a "th eoretical" one, serving to m ake the colum ­ nists point, the a g e n t insisted that it w a s w o rth investigating.

H a vin g a v o ic e in print, ho w e ve r m odest the circulation, means that every thought o r o p in io n that is expressed is g o in g to be heard b y m ore than just a small c irc le o f frie n d s— it is the prom ­ ise o f an a u d ie n c e that rem inds editors a n d colum nists to w atch the stances they take a n d the w a y they phrase their ideas. A ll w riters a n d p ublications say they w e lco m e criticism , even though they d o n 't tend to foresee criticism in the form o f an investigation b y the President's b odyguards.

A t M c G ill, the cam pus press has seen its fa ir share o f the repercussions o f over-enthusiastic o r untested journalism . O p e n the Tribune a n y g iven w e e k an d you w ill find a letter o r tw o accusing a n y on e o f its contributors o f b e in g unfairly biased, ignorant, o r factu a lly inaccurate. Be it university-w ide d is a p p ro v a l for se nsationalizing a story a b o u t a club's missing funds, o r disci­ p lin a ry action a g a in s t editors w h o published the nam e o f a pro­ fessor a letter-writer sexualized, the M c G ill D a ily has co m e under serious flak in the past fe w years fo r sim ple errors in judgm ent.

N e v e r has either p u b lic a tio n been investigated b y an o rg a n iz a ­ tion responsible fo r the safety o f a w o rld leader. It shouldn't com e as new s that student new spapers like to have an im p a ct on their re a d in g p u b lic a n d push their o w n limits as fa r as they can.

Learning environm ents foster a sense o f d a rin g , a n d student jour­ nalists can sometim es feel that they d o not need to be conserva­ tive w ith their w o rd s . Even the professional adviser o f The Echo d id not see a n y harm in printing the e d ito ria l in its o rig in a l form .

H ow ever, recent incidents such as this on e o r the em ergence o f a W e b site c a lle d "C am pus W a tc h " — w h ich reports a n d black­ lists university professors w h o m ight lean a little to o fa r to the le ft— serve to suggest that perhaps learning environm ents in the US should foster a sense o f conservatism for a w h ile . Their right to free speech seems to be getting som e students a n d their teach­ ers into trouble w ith the v e ry p e o p le responsible fo r protecting this right.

Last w eek, S olom on w ro te another e d ito ria l in w h ich he a p o lo g iz e d for the w a y his com m ent w a s interpreted, and stressed that he d id not m ean to threaten President Bush. If is a sad d a y in student journalism w hen a colum nist, ho w e ve r brash o r unseasoned, has to an sw e r to the US governm ent because o f the la n g u a g e he chooses to illustrate his point. It o n ly seems a p p ro p ria te that his in itial e d ito ria l d e a lt w ith the right to free speech an d w a s entitled, "C ensor this." ■

S

Finding the value of a dollar

t's only a dollar, com e o n !" "But you d o n 't need it, a n d it'll prol a b ly fall a p a rt in a w e e k.""S o w hat? You'll ge t your use out < it! It's o n ly a dollar, rem em ber?" "I guess."

M e e t the internal m onologue I have w ith myself every time g o to D ollaram a. There is a certain love-hate relationship I feel st dents d evelop w ith this a typ ica l store. Let's talk love. O n the on hand, they've g o t a large assortment o f ridiculously inexpensiv household items that a re g o o d enough to d o the jo b — there is n

I

Nothing like Dainty Rice with simulated bacon bits and candy necklaces soaked in gelatin to throw a good shindig. doubt that they offer the best value for their price. D ollaram a is a real no-nonsense d o lla r store, unlike those D ollar B azaar o r Buck O r Two imposters w here there are items p riced a t $ 7 .9 9 . C a n you im agine something more sublime? The fake floral assortment, broom handles, polka d o t flip-flops, and Jesus figurines a re actu­

a lly a d ollar!

D ollaram a also seems to com e out w ith inexpensive knock­ offs faster than C a n a l Street coughs up Louis Vuitton handbags.

M onths after the S w iffer cam e out, D ollaram a put out the Static M a tic . For the Z ip lo c Snap n' Seal, D ollaram a's answ er w a s the Snaptite. A nd I ask, w h y have real b la ck p e p p e r w hen ypu can have Imitation b la ck pepper?

You d o n 't find D ollaram a-type consideration often. H o w a b o u t those recent g ra n d pleas for forgiveness over the nine cent increase on chocolate bars? "The Recent Price Increase W a s Due To A C h a n g e in Costs By S uppliers— W e A p o lo g iz e fo r the Inconvenience." I w a s touched. As if 5 9 cents isn't a steal com ­ pa re d to the $ 1 .2 5 w e are forced to p a y at vending machines on cam pus. Sigh. Such responsibility a n d com m itm ent to their cus­ tomers.

D ollaram a alleviates boredom as w e ll as fosters procrastina­ tion. You can clean your bathroom , p a in t your room , install a shelf, have a séance, fram e some pictures, start a veg e ta b le gar­ den, d ye your favourite p a ir o f pantaloons, w ra p a present, dec­ orate your house for a n y holiday, and outfit your hamster. As if that w e re n 't enough, D ollaram a helps you host dinner parties!

H E A T H E R K IT T Y M A K

N o th in g like D ainty Rice w ith simulated bacon bits and c a n d y necklaces soaked in gelatin to throw a g o o d shindig. Your guests w ill surely be impressed by your new chintzy floral table cloth, g o ld napkins and forks, and sparkly fish glasses. Classy.

H owever, D ollaram a does have its dark side. They've recog­ nized ours as a th ro w a w a y society, and know that w e can and w ill toss out most o f the things w e purchase there. Does anyone really need a lO fo o t long rope, bungee cords, 5 0 0 elastic bands, stones, 5 0 clothes pins o r a spring form cake pan, much less a glass squirrel a nd m ini-needlepoint kit? (I thought I d id too.)

There are also no refunds o r exchanges. "Pah, it's only a d o l­ lar," you say, w a v in g a hand in dismissal. But if I had a d o lla r for everything I have ever purchased from D ollaram a that hasn't since broken, w e ll... let's say everything w o u ld be p a id for. Then a g a in , if customers w e re to request refunds on all their broken items, the c om pany w o u ld have disa p p e a re d faster than you can say, "Foiled a g a in !" You know w h a t they say, though. The best things in life are a dollar. You can never have one too m any princess crow ns or potato squashers. A t D ollaram a, greed is a ffo rd a b le — the buck stops now here. ■

The

. . .

IVIcGill T rib u n e Curiosity delivers.

Editor- in -C hief

Natalie Fletcher editor@tribune.mcgill.ca M anaging Editor

James Scarfone seniored@tribune.mcgill.ca N ews Editors

Jennifer Jett Laura Saba Lisa Varano tribnews@tribune.mcgill.ca Features Editors

Liz Allemang Panthea Lee features@tribune.mcgill.ca A&E Editors

Daniel Chodos Lise Treutler arts@tribune.mcgill.ca

the mcgill tribune [ 1.2.05 j opinion

D econstructing th e facade

9

Learning lessons from Sesame Street BRETT SCHREWE

brett.schrew e@ m ail.m cgill.ca p agne in luxury b y night; Porto A legre is a place w here those calling for change are better at articu­ lating a vision o f w h a t they d o n 't w ant.

All communities have their weaknesses and strengths; the form er are m inim ized and the latter d e lo ca lize d w hen they network w ith others. Just as Picasso needed.B raque to bring Cubism to life, the interaction betw een the Econom ic Lords and Com m ons is absolutely crucial to the health o f the w h o le . Their dance manifests itself in very subtle snapshots.

From the roll: Leftist Brazilian president Lula d a Silva urges the crow ds a t the W S F to w o rk "to change the w o rld s econom ic and social g e o g ra ­ phy" b y uniting together poorer countries— this on his w a y out the d o o r to Davos. Blair announces the usage o f the UK's presidency of the G 7 to target poverty, w h ile Bill G ates donates U S $750-m illion to GAVI for infant vaccination. W ith o u t civil socie­ ty and activists turning up the volum e on the voice o f justice, it is hard to im agine m any o f these sce­ narios developing.

Yet, w h ile the essence o f the deeper con­ sciousness emanates from the yearly conflagration in Porto A legre, its transforming fire is still largely doused b y the current political value system that places more emphasis on econom ic health and prowess than the d ig n ity o f the human being.

Sadly, it is often such that to be understood, one

uring these frozen days, it is a time given to reflection, both personally a nd systemically. O v e r the past fe w days, the latter has been o n g o in g in tw o very different forms in tw o very different places.

W h ile the W o rld Economic Forum in Davos, S witzerland reads like a contem porary version of the guest list a t Louis XIV's Versailles, the W o rld Social Forum in Porto A legre, Brazil is a modernd a y m élange o f the lyPe ° f grassroots and civil society forces that have brought the French monar­ chy to heel time and time a g a in . The barricades are up once more; although em blem atic this time rather than the real FTAA fence in 2 0 0 1 that trans­ form ed Q u e b e c back into a fortress city, the ageo ld dem arcation o f establishment haves from anti­ establishment have-nots is nonetheless present.

This tension continues to serve as a dom inating fac­ tor as to w h ich direction the human prospect flows.

In the W estern w a y o f thinking in disconnect­ ed opposites, a t first, glance it appears that these forums are representative o f tw o mutually exclusive philosophies. The W EF has been seen as the m onolithically static think tank o f glo b a liza tion , w h ile the W S F has stood out in sharp contrast as the dynam ic, inclusive, and incredibly disorgan­ ized v o ice o f anti-globalization. Davos is a place w here Tony Blair bem oans the wretchedness of poverty by d a y and the attendees drink cham­

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must make herself like the system she wishes to change, so much so that she is often irreversibly com prom ised. Former union organizer Lula w as burned in effigy w h ile he spoke in Porto A legre, the activists w a rn in g the sheep g oing into the w olf's den to remember the w o lf suit is only that and noth­ ing more. W h y there is an econom icallyidependent need to lose identity to be heard serves as metaphor for the entrenched im balance between the developed and developing w orlds.

To exam ine the very terms "developed" and "d eveloping" smacks o f p o w e r differential; further, to label the paradigm o f sustainability, spirituality, and community "anti-globalization" denigrates its voice to junior partner status. Vocabulary, like the selective listening to the w isdom o f the majority w o rld , is in the hands o f those w h o ultimately make the decisions im pacting g lo balization.

Sesame Street taught m any o f us the im por­ tance o f single letters. Just as a single letter change in D N A gives us a different protein, the emphasis on E rather than S continues to create a w orld incom patible w ith our moral code. W h ile discus­ sion goes on w ith equal fervour in both S witzerland a nd Brazil, the im balance o f im plem entation remains. Sim ply put, the ideas are g o o d , but con­ cepts o f justice enacted by a system that derives its pow er from inequality w ill never be adequate to am eliorate the problems they purport to solve. ■

S ports Editors

Mohit Arora Andrew Segal sports@tribune.mcgill.ca

Radically respectable

A right is a right is a right? N ot quite.

P hoto Editors

KIM D'SOUZA

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C opy Editor

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N a th a n A p p le b a u m , G e ra ld in e A n a n ia , M ik e Bick, Lise Bondy, D ave Brodkey, Robert C hurch, Susan C o o ke , Trevor C ra ig , Sim one C ruickshank, Kim D 'S ouza, V la d im ir Eremin, Tony Esteves, K atherine Fuglër, Sheera G e n d z e l, Joseph G ilg o ff, Paul G o e rtz e n , James G o to w ie c , R ebecca G ra b e r, A m a n d a G re e n m a n , X iang G u , G e n e vie ve Jenkins, M iria m M a rtz , Dan M c Q u illa n , Devin M o n tg o m e ry, C lio Pitula, M elissa Price, Erica Reade Brett S chrew e, Julia S honfield, Elisha S iegel, Zenah Surani, A z a d e h Tam jeedi, Steve W a ld m a n T ribune O ffices Editorial. Shatner University Centre, Suite 110, 3 4 8 0 McTavish, M ontreal Q C Tel: 514.398.67 89 Fax. 514.398.1750 Advertising. Brown Student Building, Suite 1200, 3 6 0 0 McTavish, M ontreal Q C H 3 A 1Y2 Tel. 5 1 4.398.68 06 Fax. 5 1 4.398.74 90

out a n y lim itation due to race, nationality or reli­ gio n , have the right to m arry and to found a fam i­ ly." If w e cha n g e the understanding o f m arriage on w h ich the right is based, then w e have to build the case from scratch. It's not enough to argue that b ecause the current d e fin itio n isn't inclusive enough, there's a human right to a more inclusive definition.

This, I think, is w h y Courts in Belgium and the N etherlands ruled that homosexual m arriage is not a human right. W h ile they expressed lim itations w ith the traditional definition, they ruled that it w as up to society to d e c id e h o w to achieve the inclu­ sion it desires. Both countries subsequently enacted same-sex m arriage w ith popular support. The Dutch and Belgian decisions to legally redefine m arriage w e re genuinely dem ocratic. They w ere m ade w ithout the ju d icia l edict claim ing that samesex m arriage is a human right. H owever, in C a n a d a , precisely such a judicial diktat has been in place since Jean C hrétiens governm ent accept­ e d the faulty court rulings, and passed over the chance to a p p e a l.

H olland and Belgium remind us that liberal d em ocracy requires a m eaningful consensus in order fo r fundam ental debates to be resolved. The claim that same-sex m arriage is a human right clos­

ast w e e k Toronto's C a rd in a l A loysius A m b ro zic sent a letter to Prime M inister Paul M a rtin urging that the notw ithstanding clause be invoked to a llo w us to g a u g e the social im pact o f same-sex m arriage in the other countries— like Belgium a n d H o lla n d — that have enacted it. In a press conference, Justice M inister Irwin C otier replied to A m brozic w ith the profound a n d singu­ larly inspired w ords, "A right is a right is a right.

But the C a n a d ia n situation is not quite so sim­ ple. In certain jurisdictions in C a n a d a , a right to same-sex m arriage has been claim ed and recog­ nized b y the courts. If same-sex m arriage is a C harter right and a human right, then w e w o u ld be hypocrites not to uniform ly recognize that right across the country. There can be no question of denying fundam ental human rights.

Yet the id e a o f same-sex m arriage as a human right is a novel claim foreign to the human rights tradition. The historic human right to m arriage is premised on an understanding o f m arriage as the union o f tw o individuals o f the o pposite sex.

For exam ple, the Universal D eclaration o f Human Rights, w h ich refers throughout to the rights that "everyone" should have and "n o one" should be denied, makes a singular exception in A rticle 1 6 to specify that, "M e n and w om en o f full a g e , w ith ­

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Breaking news slow er than th e Times W h e n I read the A&E section o f the Tribune on January 18 , I felt a little con­ fused. I fell upon a re vie w o f the A rc a d e Fire's Funeral. H a d I inadvertently picked up a Septem ber b a c k issue o f the paper?

N o , the d a te w a s right. A re these guys com pletely out o f toucn?

Timeliness o f record review s is not som ething that seems to p reoccupy a n y o f M c G ills publications. I frequently read review s o f records released months earlier.

But the A rc a d e Fire?

N o t o n ly is this b a n d from M o n tre a l, but it is fronted b y recent M c G ill gra d u a te W in Butler. Their record release show, held a b o u t five minutes w est o f your office a t the Salvation Army, w a s sold out w eeks before a n d w a s a rg u a b ly the most hyped event o f the M o n tre a l scene this year.

Funeral m a d e countless a p p e a ran ce s in

The M c G ill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society o & Thrust and Reaction Engine must include contributors name, program and year, and contac info

.

es the d o o r to debate by unfairly portraying some citizens as opponents o f basic human rights.

Because o f the abuse o f human rights terminology, w e 'v e hardly considered some reasonable options other than redefinition. For exam ple, w h y d o n 't w e , as small-L liberals, resolve the d e e p debate by replacing m arriage w ith some neutral w a y to accord benefits to couples? A censored debate m ight look like consensus, but it's a p oor substitute.

Shortly after A m brozic's letter ap p e a red , a G lo b e a n d M a il editorial responded that the bar should be set high for the use o f the notwithstand­ ing clause. The same-sex m arriage issue falls short, the editorial m aintained. But this makes no sense, as it is not only the social im pact o f m arriage that is at issue. Indeed, w e must also question whether the dem ocratic d ebate is being curtailed by a judi­ cial im position that breaks massively w ith the human rights tra d itio n , a n d stigm atizes any C a n a d ia n com m unity that dares dissent.

There cannot be a full an d open debate w hile the specious cudgel o f "a human right to same-sex m arriage” is enforced. The grave step o f using the notw ithstanding clause seems, therefore, to be the only a ppropriate w a y to stem the dem ocratic deficit. To d o any less w o u ld be mere lip service to dem ocracy. To put it simply, it w o u ld be w rong. ■

rock critics' year-end lists. W orst, the band a p p e a re d in M o ntreal papers, a n d the venerable but not too e d g y N e w York Times. To to p it off, M c G ill's W e b site fea­ tured Butler as o n e o f "M c G ill's N ew sm akers o f 2 0 0 4 ." Just a tip: w hen you miss a story, d o n 't w aste p a p e r to catch up months later.

— G uillaum e N o lin , U I Economics Editor's-note: The frequently published CD, DVD, a n d book reviews are not neces­ sarily meant to be time-sensitive; they are distinctive from event reviews.

T hou ghts fro m O n tari-ari-ari-o Section 15 o f the C harter o f Rights a n d Freedoms w a s in force in 1 9 9 9 w hen the H ouse o f C om m ons overw helm ingly a p p ro ve d (2 1 6 -5 5 ) a Reform Party bill d esignating m arriage to be "the union of

one man an d one w o m a n ." A t that time, the Liberal Party, w ith its large majority, d id not believe that this definition o f traditional m arriage violated the rights o f homosexu­ als.

N o w , six years later, a Liberal m inor­ ity governm ent strongly believes that this traditional definition o f m arriage violates the rights o f homosexuals. W h y ? N o rights have been taken a w a y from anyone. As the state has the p o w e r to authorize social benefits a nd also protect individual rights for a n y o f its citizens, there is no need to c h ange the la w on m arriage. This tradition­ al structure o f m a rria g e — the union o f one man an d one w o m a n — w a s designed to procreate, nurture, a nd protect children. It is a structure shared b y C a n a d ia n s o f dif­ ferent cultures an d faiths, a n d it has served C a n a d a extrem ely w e ll for countless years.

— G o rd N ixon, Barrie, O ntario

f f e Æ reserves the riaht to edit all contributions Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board.

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10 opin ion J 1,2.05 j the mcgill tribune SH EEP'S

C L O T H IN G

T h e Dose

Portrait o f a McGill student

G im m e som e M o

as a young man

elisha.siegel@ m ail.m cgill.ca

m ohit.arora@ m ail. mcgill. ca

Buried alive in a humourless coffin M O H IT ARORA ’ m horribly claustrophobic. I ge t nervous in eleva­ tors, am miserable in a w ay-too-crow ded bar, and the Texas funeral scene in Kill Bill Vol. 2 almost brought me to tears.

The only w a y to make myself feel better w hen I'm uncom fortable is to diffuse the tension with humour. But my escape route is quickly b e ing closed o ff from me. M y safety net has developed a hole in it. I'm sorry to report, ladies and gentlemen, that the sense o f humour is a d yin g breed.

You m ay think I'm being som ew hat m elodram at­ ic here, but I exaggerate not. People aren't funny anymore. People d o n 't "get" my jokes, a n d I'll tell you something: it's not the jokes' fault.

I'll give you an exam ple: I w e n t out on a date w ith a g irl— w h o w e ll call Betty— sometime last year, an d the discussion turned to the latest movies that w ere out in theatres. Betty mentioned the Ben Affleck vehicle o f the time, a sci-fi flick called Paycheck, and asked if I w anted to see it. I'm not much o f an A ffleck fan, so I q u ipped, "I think every Ben A ffleck movie should be called Paycheck." You w a n t to kn o w her response? She said "I d o n 't know. I d o n 't think the movie is goin g to d o w e ll enough for a sequel." W e d id n 't have a second date.

But it gets w orse. M y friends and I w e re com par­ ing our view s on prenuptial agreements one night last semester, and the discussion ranged from serious points to silly comments. N o w , one o f my favourite expressions to describe something I feel strongly about is to say that if it w e re a w om an, I'd m arry her.

For exam ple, I love ice cream so much that, if ice cream w ere a w om an, I'd m arry her.

This is an absurd w a y to describe something, I know, but it is usually effective in conveying h o w strongly I feel about the subject in question. So, my contribution to the deba te raging in my living room w as to say, "If a prenup w as a w o m a n , I'd m arry her... but I'd make her sign a prenup."

N o w , forgive me, but I w a s pretty proud o f this joke. Irony is tough to master, but I nailed that sucker on the head. But alas, one o f my friends burst my humour bubble b y com pletely missing the point.

Instead o f a more encouraging response— like laugh­ ing, perhaps? — he asked me, w ith a gravely serious expression, "But w h a t if she doesn't w a n t to sign a prenup?" That w a s w hen I knew w e w ere in trouble.

O u r society just doesn't understand funny any­ more. Look a t h o w popular D o d g e b a ll w as. People think that's funny? Are w e so unfam iliar w ith w n a t humour really is that w e ll just laugh w henever Ben Stiller tells us to d o so? Even he used to be funny. But j he's smart enough to realize that there's no point in m aking a smart com edy anym ore, so he sim ply offers gimmicks like ba d moustaches and endless ball-on- i balls violence.

I'm telling you, it's getting harder and harder to j laugh w ith each passing day. If w e d o n 't snap out o f j this unfunny funk w e 're in soon, I w o rry that this | cram m ed elevator I'm riding in w ill descend further ! and further d ow n tow ards a humourless hell. ■

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E L IS H A S IE G E L

N o te from the author: Irish author James Joyce w as born on February 2 , 18 8 2 . This p ie c e is written in stream o f consciousness style in honour o f his birthday. unatics lunatics lunatics lunatics the lot o f you kindly refer to m y crotch a n d suck me d o n 't stop your insults hurling in every direction you fucking pricks you pom pous asses no I w ill not help I refuse to hold hands a n d look a w a y both w a ys I refuse absolutely I stand resolute resolved to be unm oving because if you d e c id e to look you a re a suck­ er a n d if you reach d o w n in your p ocket you a re an even b ig g e r sucker sucker you sucker D o not g iv e that loon a d o lla r he has no jo b a n d w ill buy b o o z e w ith that d o lla r from your pocket I have no jo b a n d I w ill buy b o o z e w ith that sam e d o lla r either w a y M o lso n gets its due a n d C a n a d ia n s can remain proud proud proud to b e C a n a d ia n to

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drink beer a n d skate d o w n the streets drunk a n d laughing Just stay a w a y from the bums a n d the p e o p le w h o m ight w a n t your help an d the p e o p le w h o think they put you in harm's w a y be safe you a re strong you man you self-made w o m a n man a re you an impressive specim en I digress a g a in w a tch out for his semen it car­ ries disease a n d ba b ies d o n 't love be afra id because that is G o d 's w ill that one should be scared because G o d is scary a n d the b ig ba n g doesn't w o rk but the D ead d id and Jimi d id and B ob a n d the other mystics d id Listen to their music or d o n 't just d o not sin d o not ever slip up to heaven n o b o d y gets there w ithout a pass on this g e t a baptism fast w e fly though life teasing the infinite and feign­ ing innocence just d o not be a fra id to laugh at me laughing a f you laughing a t you and I w e both look silly standing up here on this soap­ b o x sp e w in g view s w e m ight not believe w e

F o u n d e r’ s D a y

4sfepatch box

A smile wouldn't hurt ERICA READE a yb e I'm out o f the loop, but is being unfriendly sud­ d enly the n e w pink? Is being a fem ale student at M c G ill an unwritten co d e for being a bitch?

I know that this m ay sound a little harsh, but as my time here a t M c G ill draw s to a close, I w o u ld really like to enjoy my last semester. But it's hard to d o so w hen so m any girls : are so blatantly bitchy. O f the numerous girls I've encountered : in my classes, seen on a w eekly basis in conference, met at parties, or passed in the library, I've noticed that most o f them have an uncanny aversion to returning the friendly smile I give. I am more likely to receive a blank stare, an icy glance, or a snobby "w hat-is-shew earing?" look than anything that resembles a smile o f recognition or friendliness.

A nd I'm not the only one w h o has noticed this. A num­ ber o f my nice, friendly, smiling friends feel just as confused and hurt b y the girls w h o act as if they have never seen one before.

M a y b e a lot o f girls here are perpetually unhappy, m aybe others are pissed off, and m aybe some are general- : ly anti-social people. W h a te ve r it is, girls a t M c G ill aren't particularly friendly, and I ca n 't figure it out. I've never been m ean to anyone here, never purposely offended or insulted j anyone, and yet I d o n 't feel the love. So, I've b o ile d it d o w n to this: 1. Some girls never actually learned h o w to smile.

2. O ther girls d o n 't know it actually burns calories.

3. I d o personally offend everyone I meet, a n d I just d o n 't : kn o w it.

4 . "G irls" a t M c G ill is synonymous w ith "snobs."

I'd like to think number four isn't true, but from the m any : girls I've com e across, it seems the most accurate. I hope the I next time you see someone you know or recognize, w h ile it I m ay be an over-exertion o f your personality, try out a simple : smile, and be surprised that your face w o n 't actually crack.

O n c e you make it through one successful smile, you m ay find | it easier as each d a y comes. A nd remember, smiling releas- : es serotonin— the h a p p y horm one in your b ra in — so not only w ill you make my d a y that much brighter, but yours as w ell.

Turn that frow n upside d o w n !

— Erica Reade is a U 3 International D evelopm ent Studies student

W H E R E IN T H E W O R E D IS T H E W O RED H EA D ED ?

Stephen Lewis Special UN Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa

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t MEAN, P o o L f l AtA NOT J U S T A MONKEY. I P o s s e s s Do c t o r a t e s tN MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES AND CAN SPEAK OP TO TWELVE d e fer e n t la ng uag es.

most definitely d o not share these sam e beliefs because w e w e re not raised b y the same clansm en w h o m ade fire to build a b ig g e r fire W e a re . still friends w h o both see the w o rld but not the sam e thing because w e w e a r different prescription glasses a n d I d o n 't o w n contact lenses an d I d o n 't have mouth­ w ash my mouth stinks from talking this shit at least m y toothbrush still has some muscle a nd it bristles in the co ld M o ntreal w in d I miss in the summer I think o f the rope sw ing they cut d o w n w hen he d ie d because w e d o not live forever sw inging from the trees that release sunlight w h ile burning The days are rarely long enough to stare a t the stars o r the w aves so size her up and take her to be d fuck her you w ill be g o n e in the m orning but g o on im personate perfection scares peo p le I insist flaunt your scars share your secrets an d take pleasure in being ridiculed. ■

Feb ru ary 10, 2005, 10:00 AM Centennial Centre Ballroom, Macdonald Campus (Macdonald classes cancelled from lOhOO to 13h00) For information: 514.398.7707

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SI L H O U E T T E

Professor Selkirk takes centre stage

Southern Baptist, b u t not like in A la b a m a

M o n d a y m o rn in g at Im p a c t C h u rch , th e chairs a tte m p t to re c o v e r fro m Sunday's C hristian rock rockin' serm on.

LISAVARANO tudents m eander into the space Im pact Church's Bible rents from the Salvation Arm y on rue Stanley on Sunday and greet their friends. The pastor, clearly a twenty-something himself, is w e a rin g sneakers. A full band kicks o ff the service w ith a song that sounds more like Christian rock than a hymn.

Lyrics are projected onto a screen. Some students sing along w h ile others sway.

"Lord, thank you, G o d , for filling us w ith Jesus. You re holy, G o d — you're aw esom e," prays a band member during w o r­ ship time. A fe w people close their eyes and hold u p their right hand, palm extended, as the music continues. H eres a church that knows h o w to a p p e a l to our generation.

In the land o f lapsed C atholics that is Q u e b e c, a packed church is hard to com e by. Staring at w o o d e n pew s and a fe w elderly congregants on Sunday mornings, m any priests may w o n d e r h o w to d ra w a younger c ro w d . Traditional churches could take a p a g e from Impact, w here services are standingroom only ana the averag e a g e is around 2 1 . Established as a Southern Baptist church by an A m erican m issionary in 2 0 0 0 , Im pact attracts a range o f M c G ill students, from Protestants to those searching for a religion. “ [Im pact] goes out o f its w a y to present C hristianity and our faith in a w a y that is relevant and m eaningful to university students," said M usic Leader Chris Cotty, U 3 C om puter Science. "For exam ple, the music that w e d o here is all modern music written b y artists from the last five or 10 years. W e use m ultim edia— current movies and such— to illustrate points in the serm on."

The 5 pm evening time slot doesn't hurt either. "Its a church for students, and students d o n 't necessarily operate on Sunday morning, nine o 'c lo ck ," pointed out U 2 C ivil Engineering stu­ dent Jared Steingard.

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M on treal isn't the Bible Belt Although the church receives funding from the Southern Baptists, it is w a ry o f using that title.

"There's been some stereotypes o f Southern Baptists, in general, in the States," explains Pastor Luc A ube, a Masters stu­ dent in Religious Studies. "It's a large movement; there's 5 5 ,0 0 0 churches there. W h ile w e w a n t to respect them, because they

help us in m any w ays, here in M ontreal, being a Southern Baptist is very different from w h a t it w o u ld look like in A la b a m a ," M o st students w h o attend Im pact are not Southern Baptists.

Think o f it as the Protestant equivalent o f the C a th o lic N e w m a n Centre. Im pact has no intention to link more form ally w ith M c G ill, in part to continue attracting students from other local universities. However, the pastor estimates that 9 0 per cent of the students w h o attend his church are not native to M ontreal.

Dem onstration effect, Christian-style "A lot o f our students are w h a t w e call 'seekers,' just check­ ing it out," Pastor A ube says, explaining that in a d d itio n to Sunday services, the church offers cam ping, skiing and mission trips.

Through those events and experiences, he maintains, seek­ ers are exposed to people w hose lives have been cha n g ed by Christianity and often becom e Christians themselves. Instead o f having a system o f h o w to get people to becom e Christians, w e encourage [our students] to live the Christian life out naturally be a Christian at school, be a Christian at w ork, be a Christian w hen you g o out on w eekends— and naturally people see the difference and they ask questions," says Pastor A ube.

Christina N eundorf, U 3 Psychology, w a s not a Christian before she met the Im pact community. "I've had friends w h o are not Christian, a n d they've seen my transformation from being the partyer, non-Christian, d id n 't care really ab o u t a n y spiritual stuff, to w here I am no w ," she confesses. "M y life has taken a com plete 1 8 0 ."

M a n y students w h o attend Im pact learned abo u t the church through their friends in cam pus clubs, nam ely Athletes in A ction and the M c G ill Christian Fellowship. From an initial m em bership o f 15 to 2 0 students, Im pact has g row n to over 1 2 0 members. The c ro w d e d Sunday evening service attracts approxim ately 1 0 0 people. Three years a g o , the church began offering a French service after the English one, and the fran­ cophone congregation n o w has about 2 0 members. W ith membership on the rise a n d projects in the w orks, this church has definitely m ade an im pact.

A church that caters to university students naturally has a W e b site. C heck out w w w .eglise-im pactchurch.com . ■

STREETER

Conversing on conservatism Students weigh in on religion, diversity among friends, and becoming their parents Do you see yourself ending up like your p a r­ ents, ideologically?

M y d a d m oved here from the US, a n d w henever President Bush is on TV, he keeps telling m e a b o u t h o w h a p p y he is to have m oved here. W e share the sam e vie w s now , so I'd b e d is a p p o in te d in m yself if, w h e n I m older, I think se parately from w h a t he thinks now .

—M ik e W ilso n , U 2 H istory

rofessor M yrn a W yatt-Selkirk is a dram a professor with the English departm ent. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of A lberta and later, her M .F.A . from University of Illinois. She specializes in acting and directing, honing her theatrical craft at The Vancouver Playhouse Acting School.

Bush's reelection makes me feel... oh, a touch fre a ke d out, I d say! But a fe w o f m y A m e rica n friends a re talkin g a b o u t m oving north, w h ic h w o u ld be nice.

If I could direct or perform in any production in any city, I would choose... yikes. I'm m ore o f a present tense kind o f person. I look for­ w a rd to the next rehearsal.

G row ing up, I always w anted to b e ... I never had a spe cific vision o f w h a t I w a n te d to be. I d id p la y a lot o f dress-up. I spent a lot o f tim e in front o f the m irror teasing m y ha ir into strange shapes, d o in g interview s w ith m yself an d p la y in g d ifferent characters, so that p ro b a b ly speaks o f a d esire to perform . W e p la y e d c o w b o y s , w a g o n train, school, hospital, a n d w e built forts, a n d som etim es christened our dolls. (I co m e from the B ib le belt!) M y m om still teases us a b o u t this because she overh e a rd either my sister o r me s a yin g , I b a p tiz e you in the nam e o f the father, the son, a n d the holy g o a t."

The biggest advantage of being Hall Director at Solin is... shar­ ing the jo b w ith m y husband John a n d the a m a z in g com m unity o f flo o r fe llo w s a n d directors that w e have w o rk e d w ith a n d b e co m e life­ long friends w ith over the years.

A disadvantage of being Hall Director at Solin is... I m not sure if "d isa d v a n ta g e " is the right w o rd but the hardest tim es have been w h e n students in the hall a re struggling w ith d iffic u lt life issues a n d w e have h ad to fa c e the fa c t that there is no q u ick fix.

W om en's Studies is im portant because... a n e glected p a rt o f our history a n d culture is b e in g c a re fu lly loo ke d a t a n d studied.

Something I have w anted to do for years, but have not yet done is... b ird ie a g o lf hole.

M y worst experience with acting w a s ... w h e n m y slip fell o ff w h ile I w a s o n sta g e d u rin g a p e rfo rm a n ce o f P layboy o f the W estern W o rld .

The thing that drives me to go to w ork every day is... my jo b is a g ift. H o w m a n y p e o p le g e t to g o to w o rk e v e ry d a y a n d play?

M y favourite thing to pretend as a child w a s ... i loved pretend­ ing to be an "o ld fa sh io n e d la d y ." This usually m eant a long skirt an d a sh a w l. The c o w g irl version w a s w h e n I cut fringes on the bottom o f an o ld skirt o f m y mom's a n d w o re a red c o w b o y hat that my d a d found b y the river w h ile he w a s fish in g . W e w e re re a lly pleased w h e n m y frie n d c o u ld sneak her w in te r boots out o f the house to stand in as c o w b o y boots. W h a t can I say! There w e re a lot o f W esterns on our tw o TV channels. G unsm oke, The V irginian, H a ve G un, W ill Travel, M a v e rick , W a g o n Train— a lso I m from A lb e rta !

If I could teach everyone in the w orld one skill, I would teach them ... com passion.

The best 1 0 0 dollars I have ever spent w a s ... w h e n I w a s in g ra d school, w e d id n 't have m uch money. For alm ost a year, John put all o f his quarters in a ja r a n d he used it to take m e out to d in n e r on my birthday. I g o t to s h a re in the s p e n d in g o f a v e ry hard e a rn e d $ 1 0 0 .

If I had to declare a new national holiday in honour of someone famous, I would declare it in honour o f... Tommy D ouglas.

The best piece of advice I have ever received is... I d o n t rem em ­ ber an e x a c t m om ent o r the e x a c t w o rd s but the b a sic m essage I g o t from m y parents w a s to trust in m y instincts a n d fo llo w m y bliss. A nd their actions in life to ld me to su p p o rt y o u r loved ones in w h a te ve r they d o no m atter h o w w a y out it m ay seem a t the tim e.

In 10 years I see m yself... sitting around a table with John and my mom and d a d eating a medium-rare rack of lam b on a beautiful sprinq day. I envision them all in great health and good humour.

— C o m p ile d b y M ik e Bick

P

Student church attracts Protestants a n d "seekers"

A re your parents m ore or less conservative than you?

I w o u ld say that m y parents a re m ore conservative than me. This is most likely d u e to the fa c t that they a re first g e n e ra tio n im m igrants here. H ow ever, I w o u ld still con sid ­ er myself rather conservative in co m p a rison to most p e o ­ ple I know .

— Lisa K., U1 B iochem istry

A re you religious? Does this belief affect your other beliefs?

S om ew hat. I d o n 't g o to mass, a n d I d o n 't b e lieve everything the [C a th o lic ] C hurch says, but I b e lie ve in G o d a n d fe a r I w ill b e ju d g e d , a n d thus try to be a g o o d person. It's not a b ig p a rt o f m y life. H ow ever, it do e s a ffe c t m y other beliefs in that it is a co m p o n e n t o f my m orality, w h ich is w h a t shapes m y beliefs.

— Liz A4., U 2 P olitical Science

W ould you be w a ry of making friends with someone w ho holds beliefs that aren't similar to yours?

N o , o f course not. Unless their beliefs a ffe c t o ur relationship, o r the person him self is g e nuinely corrupt­ e d , then I d o n 't see w h y w e w o u ld ­ n 't b e friends.

— D ave V , U1 Physiology

-C o m p ile d b y G e ra ld in e A na n ia

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n .W H

O n the air with © f t U T February 3, 5 , 6 —CKUT/V-DAY MCGILL PRE­ SENTS THE VAG IN A M O N O L O G U E S -8 p m , Leacock 132. Tickets $ 10, sold on campus and at w w w .vday.m cgill.ca.

February 4 - C K U T PRESENTS FO O D 4 FUNK BENEFIT—9pm @ the C abaret M usic Hall. Tickets $ 15 or $ 12 + 4 non-perishable food items February 5 - C K U T BENEFIT C O N C E R T -D o o r @ 9pm , M issy Bar, 2 5 0 Mont-Royal E. Tickets $6.

February 6 - C K U T PRESENTS PALESTINIAN BEN­ EFIT C O NC ERT— 7pm @ Peterson Concert Hall, 7 1 4 1 Sherbrooke St. Tickets $ 2 0 , call 5 1 4 -5 9 1 3171.

im ages 1

Study Italian Language in Florence, Italy, June 2005

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O B T A I N P E R M A N E N T R E S ID E N C Y I N

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H ave you q u e s tio n e d th e B u ild on y o u r d e g re e w ith o n e o f th e s e d y n am ic , p ra c tic a l, g ra d u a te c e rtific a te e n v iro n m e n ta l p ro g ra m s to e n h a n c e y o u r q u a lific a tio n s in to d ay 's jo b m a rk e t.

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he task o f w riting abo u t conservatism is not the stuff o f dreams for your average C he-loving student. From the outside, the idea o f conservatism seems.rigid, impersonal, and unsympathetic. As w e p repared to w rite about conservatism at M c G ill, w e g ig g le d at the prospective answers w e m ight ge t from our n e w conservative friends— "D ow n w ith universal health ca re !" "O n ly men and w om en get m arried!" To our disappointm ent, dreadfully rational responses cam e instead.

True, conservatism is not the popular b o a t to b o a rd if you're a student in C a n a d a , but it is surely not the inflexible cluster o f suits m any m ight im agine. In fact, it w a s d o w n rig h t challenging to find a stereotypical devil-horned, soul-buying conservative on our dear campus.

M c G ill seems to some as fiercely d ivid e d , w ith left-leaning lib­ erals in the ripe majority. The mantras o f the most militant left-wingers swirl ab o u t cam pus— in the press, on the chalkboards, and at Activities N ig h t. Their cries? Fair trade, not free trade. People before profit. Anti-Bush, a nti-W TO . P ro g a y m arriage. Anti-corporate, anti­ privatization. Aggressive protest a n d activism. S olidarity w ith Palestinians. S ocial justice, an end to social inequality. M c G ill app e a rs to have tw o sides, one inhabited by bean-soaking, pot­ smoking activists in o rg a n ic cotton, the other w ith religious text-clutch­ ing conservatives in sweater vests and Ralph Lauren chinos. W h ile the lines aren't this clear-cut, most students seem to lie on the side of the cotton-clad h ippie. They feel safe a t M c G ill, c o co o n e d in a swathe o f know ledge, secure in their dem ocratic debate. The others seem very far a w ay, in their red states a n d blue provinces.

Conservatism's T f ne nuances Can we'rationalize conservative youth against such a liberal backdrop?

B Y LISE B O N D Y & J U L IE T E L Y O N S -T H O M A S

Conservative conversion The average liberal student m ight w a n t to take a long hard look

W

doesn't m ean

hen most students hear the phrase "m o ral conser­ v a tiv e ," they usually stare o ff into sp a ce, w ith thoughts o f p o litica l stances rather than personal id e o lo g ie s running through their heads. M a n y likely think o f statements m a d e b y m em bers o f the C hristian right, notably M ic h e l C oren's infam ous w o rd s: "M a n y so cia l conservatives— a m o n g them la rge num­ bers o f C hristian b e lie ve rs— b e lieve that a n e w d a rk a g e m a y be upon us unless w e rethink our w a ys. The state is b e in g used to end human life rather than to save it. It is b e in g used to o p e n our borders to d a m a g in g a n d obscene literature rather than g u a rd in g them a g a in s t such m aterial. Its le g a l arm a p p e a rs to be intent on d ism antling the c iv iliz e d o rd e r rather than s a fe g u a rd in g it."

Yikes.

W h a t's a m orally-conscious student to d o ? Living in the centre o f a v ib ra n t c ity a n d g o in g to a progressive school in

close-minded

University students with morais?

Yes, they do exist

BY KATHERINE FUGLER

a t the beliefs they hold so dear. A small, entrenched, fiercely active, and intelligent conservative minority a t M c G ill is doin g its best to change the student body's mind about its beliefs, its politics, and its ballot choice in the next election. They rally at C onservative M c G ill meetings, w ith 4 0 active members and a greater membership of 120 or w ith groups like "C onservative M c G ill... the few, the very fe w " and "4 M o re Years— Let's Elect Bush!". They w o rk alongside Stephen H arper as he tries to w o o the skeptics w ith his solution to the post-secondary education problem ; they back SSM U in its deci­ sion to a pproach budget cuts protests cautiously. They gather on the W e b 's The Facebook, that beloved tool o f procrastination— heck, they're even on TV M c G ill. So, you ask, is TV M c G ill the next Fox N ew s? N o t quite, but certain contributors d o identify as conserva­ tive. Truth be told, conservatism is alive and w ell on our campus, and it has increasingly more faces.

But w h a t motivates young conservatism? Some m ay say reli­ gious values, others say parents' political beliefs. Daniel Stern, a U 3 Political Science student and conservative, says it's about m aking independent choices. "People becom e conservatives w hen they real­ ize they w a n t to makè their ow n decisions for themselves."

The untrendy trend M a n y claim it's the fashionable thing for youth to drift to the left w h ile a t university. Yet the increase o f young convervatives begs the question, are youth becom ing less or m ore conservative? It's difficult to gather facts about conservatism because most polls taken o f youth relate to social issues, not political stances. Stereotypes abound, but h o w much can w e really deduct from the fact that m arijuana use am ong youth has doubled since 1 9 9 4 , according to the C a n a d ia n A ddiction Survey? In the United States, a 2 0 0 2 poll conducted by

a country that is a t the forefront o f civil a n d human rights, the m odern y o u n g churchgoer faces quite the conundrum . But rather than ask 'W h a t w o u ld Jesus d o ? ," m any M c G ill stu­ dents have m a n a g e d to uphold their m orality w h ile still live ing the university life.

G re g M c K e n n a , a U 3 civil engineer, d o e s n 't exactly see himself as m oral conservative; rather, he thinks o f himself as a m oral liberal. "W h e n I think o f b e in g m oral, I think o f k n o w in g right from w ro n g ," he says. "W h e n I think o f con­ servatism , I think o f b e in g C onservative [in the p o litica l sense].”

If anything, he credits university for m aking him a m ore lib e ra l person, though not a t the expense o f his morals. "I have C a th o lic morals, [I believe in] d o in g unto others, as you w o u ld have d o n e unto y o u ."

Brian W a ls h , a M c G ill g ra d u a te student a n d author o f "C hristian + U niversity = ?," published b y the Inter-Vasity

the mcgill tribune | 1.2.05 | feature 15

Not just

bowties

&elephants B Y E L IS H A S IE G E L

ith the Liberals losing their m a jo rity in p a rlia ­ m ent last summer a n d G e o rg e W . Bush getting reelected in the fa ll, N o rth A m e rica a p p e a rs to be d o in g a tw o-step to the right. H ere a t M c G ill, it m ight be harder to tell. The student b o d y is la rg e ly left-w ing, anti-Bush, a n d blissfully uninterested in C a n a d ia n politics.

But w ith Paul M a rtin 's g rip in O tta w a seem ingly slip p in g a n d Bush's g rip tightening south o f the border, it behooves us to take a g o o d hard lo o k a t the other w h ite m eat : conservatives.

A c o m p a riso n o f the tw o parties' p rio ritie s shows that they h ave q uite a b it in com m on. The C o n se rvative Party lists a c co u n ta b le governm ent, co n tro lle d spe n d ing, universal health ca re , tax relief, a n d increased defense sp e n d in g a m o n g its to p priorities. The G O P 's platform focuses on the W a r on Terror, so cia l security p riv a tiz a ­ tio n , a n d reform o f the ta x c o d e . Both p a rtie s ' o ffic ia l W e b sites stay mum a b o u t controversial issues like a b o r­ tion, same-sex m a rria g e , a n d the role o f re lig io n in p o li­ tics.

But is it fa ir to sp e a k a b o u t the C onservatives an d the R epublicans in the sam e breath? C o n se rvative M c G ill President M a tth e w K enny thinks so, "R epublicans a n d C onservatives a re sim ilar g ro u p s," he asserts. “There is a te n d e n cy to g e t a lo n g . Their id e o lo g ie s o v e rla p ."

W h ile they m ig h t subscribe to som e o f the sam e d o g m a s , th e ir ta c tics d o d iffe r. In N o v e m b e r, R epublicans w e re a b le to d ra w voters to the polls in la rg e pa rt b ecause o f their o p p o s itio n to both a b o rtion a n d same-sex m a rria g e . D espite the R epublican victory, p o litic a l science professor Eric B elanger believes that, g e n e ra lly s p e a kin g , this ro a d is not a n effective m eans to

W

University o f C alifornia at Berkeley suggested that students m ay be leaning further to the right than previous generations. O n issues like prayer in schools, abortion, and support o f faith-based charities, for instance, A m erican youth w ere more supportive o f the conservative stance.

This reality challenges the age-old a d a g e that people are re\c olutionary w hen young, conservative w hen old. Though perhaps true o f W ordsw orth and C olerid g e, C a n a d ia n s just d o n 't seem to fit the bill. Some say this shift in political perspective is related to finan­ cia l security— w hen w e com e into a bit of money, w e start to becom e more conservative. Since university students to d a y are more financially secure, perhaps their politics are becom ing similarly safe.

James Loss-Wells, a U 1 Political Science and Italian Studies stu­ dent, and the vice-president (external) o f C onservative M c G ill, dis­ agrees. G iven the trendiness o f liberal-niindedness in students, he argues, it can be difficult to hold the conservative banner through­ out one's university years, regardless of financial status.

W h e n asked to com m ent on the rise o f youth conservatism, he refers to the g ro w in g emphasis on personal freedom am ong our generation. "W h e n peo p le have a certain am ount o f life experi­ ence, they value personal freed o m ,” he maintains. "They realize that things that, in principle, sound g o o d are unrealistic."

The new and im proved face of conservatism M o st conservatives a t M c G ill, including Loss-Wells, tend to describe themselves as libertarian fiscal conservatives, not as stereo­ typical social conservatives. They have pragm atic view s on environ­ mentalism and human rights, and have sound reason to believe that the kind o f mild socialism em braced b y left-wing students is tragical­ ly misguided. Unfortunately, libertarian approaches to conservatism

C hristian Fellow ship, has much to say a b o u t the role o f reli­ g io n on cam pus. "W h a t h a p p e n s w h e n w e take a C hristian a nd a d d him o r her to the secular university?" he asks. In his view , four equations a re possible. O n e o f p a rticu la r interest is w h a t he calls the isolationist o p tio n : C hristian + University = C hristian + University. "M o s t C hristian students see no real connection betw een their studies in a n th ro p o lo g y or e n g ineer­ ing an d their faith in Christ. They isolate their faith from their studies, a nd their C hristian presence on cam pus is lim ited to a ttendance a t a Varsity C hristian Fellow ship ch a p te r m eeting, personal B ible study a n d m a yb e a little eva n g elism ."

H ayd n Jensen, a M c g ill staff w o rk e r a n d Inter-Varsity C hristian Fellow ship mem ber, m akes the d ilem m a clear. " H o w d o w e 'p re a ch the g o s p e l' in a p la c e w h e re preach is a d irty w o rd ? " he asks. "D oes Jesus C hrist have a p la c e on our cam pus together w ith Tim H orton's? Yes!" M o s t universities la ck cam pus religious o rg a n iza tio n s

and social conservatism are often conflated, w hich dam ages pub­ lic perceptions of the id e o lo g y as a w hole.

As M c G ill political science professor Lee M acLean points out, com parisons betw een A m erican and C a n a d ia n conservatism must be m ade w ith caution since the tw o are considerably distinct.

"Ideologies in society are based on im m igration patterns," explains M cLean, w h o believes the character o f a country's population deter­ mines the nature o f its conservative principles. Since the US and C a n a d a 's im m igration policies have differed, their brands o f conser­ vatism have likew ise diverged.

So w h a t is a social conservative? In the immortal w o rd s of Stockwell Day, a social conservative is an individual w h o values tra­ ditionalism . "You talk to som ebody w h o maintains that parole should be a privilege that's earned, and not a right that's d e m a n d e d — that's a social conservative," he says. "Social conservatives w a n t secure borders and a common-sense im m igration system. Social conserva­ tives say the fam ily is the cornerstone o f society."

Although there are certainly social conservatives a t M c G ill, they seem to be overshadow ed by a m ajority o f fiscal conserva• fives.

A n e w breed o f the conservative id e o lo g y has em erged on earn pus, one that is based on the principles o f freedom , self-deter­ mination, and the rights o f the individual. The w o rk o f fiscal, and lib­ ertarian conservatives a t M c G ill is proving h o w diverse an id e o lo ­ g y can becom e w hen it adapts to changing social circumstances.

Conservatism gets a b a d ra p a t our school because it is defined in stark opposition to liberalism. Perhaps it is time for students to real­ ize that theirs is a choice not betw een tw o political extremes, but am ong a range o f political principles tailored to suit their specific beliefs and values. ■

d e sig n e d to serve the student body. A t M c G ill, how ever, reli­ gious services ra n g e from B ible m eetings a n d B uddhist chant­ ing to casual conversations a b o u t life a n d future plans.

Though it is up to ea ch student to choose his o r her o w n uni­ versity e x p e rie n c e — w h ich m ore often than not m eans m ore beer than B ib le — most M c G illite s like M c K e n n a have it both w a ys.

"E ngineering W e e k is m y w e e k o f b e in g a n a lc o h o lic ,' he exp la in s. "I d o n 't think my m orals have ever stopped me from [h a v in g fun]. They just keep on the straight a n d n a rro w [the rest o f the y e a r]."

W h o w o u ld have thunk it? M o ra l conservatism a n d fun a re n 't m utually exclusive after a ll, c o n tra ry to w h a t the stereo­ ty p ic a l im a g e o f an "id e a l" university e xp e rie n ce m ay sug­ gest. Then a g a in , w e d o n 't all live in a H o lly w o o d fantasy land w h e re b in g e d rin kin g a n d casual sex reign suprem e.

W e lc o m e to the real w o rld . ■

g é t a m ajority. "To g e t into governm ent, they have to build a n a tio n w id e a p p e a l," he explains, reasoning that the diversity o f the country requires a b ro a d e r platform .

W e 're seeing the C onservatives g a in in g ground o n c e a g a in in O tta w a , but w h y is there so little conser­ vative representation a t M c G ill? O n e possib le reason m ay be tne stereotypes associated w ith the right.

A m erican history professor G il Troy w a rn s a b o u t the d a n g e r o f p a in tin g issues w ith b ro a d strokes. "Students a re pro n e to sim plistic stereotypes,” he says. °l hap p e n to b e lie v e that c o re issues such as m orality a n d c ivil rights should transcend left-right divisions a n d I mourn the over­ sim plifica tio n a n d p o la riz a tio n ."

W illia m Palum bo, a U1 International Business stu­ dent, has e x p e rie n c e d this phen o m e n o n firsthand.

P alum bo is the p re s id e n t a n d c o -fo u n d e r o f the C on se rvative S ociety o f M c G ill University. A lthough not a ffilia te d w ith the C o n se rvative Party, the c lu b w a s creat­ e d to p ro vid e a sanctuary in w h ic h likem inded conserva­ tive students c a n s o cia lize a n d share ideas.

P alum bo expresses concern over the la ck o f a c o n ­ servative v o ic e on cam pus a n d is displeased a b o u t w h a t he feels is a n anti-conservative p re ju d ice . H e recalls b e in g v e rb a lly attacked b y students passing b y his table a t SSM U 's A ctivities N ig h t e a rlie r this semester. "P eople w o u ld say that w e re hom ophobes, racists, a n d fascists," he recalls. "It's like conservatism has this terrible stigm a."

Palum bo a n d the C onservative S ociety h o p e to increase the d e b a te a m o n g M c G ill students a n d to disp e l som e o f the myths associated w ith conservatives. "M c G itl stu­ dents o w e it to themselves to stand up for w h a t they b e lieve in no m atter h o w u n p o p u la r it is." ■

a&e Are we losing our panel heroes?

Exploring the branches of the com ic world LISE TREUTLER em em ber the g o o d o ld days w h e n the phrase "co m ic books" im m ediately brou g h t to m ind a trip to the lo ca l dusty base­ ment, hours spent selecting w h ich flim sy p a g e s fille d w ith a ctio n to buy, a n d a run hom e w ifh p o l^ b a g g e d purchases prim ed fo r rea d in g late a t night w ith a flashlight under the covers?

If w e judge b y the success rate o f the b o x o ffic e in the past fe w years a n d the eve r-expanding m ultiplexes, then yes, I am a lone. W h e th e r you co n sid e r the phenom enon recent, o r d a tin g b a c k to the e a rly days o f C h ristopher Reeve's Superm an, co m ic b o o k heroes a re continuously b e in g p la y e d b y H o lly w o o d 's b ig g e s t names a n d attracting long lines o f a ctio n fans w ith their prom ises o f total entertainm ent— a n d the films a re d o in g q uite a jo b o f raking in profits. A cc o rd in g to Y ahoo! s m ovie g u id e , four film s— S piderm an 2 , H ellboy, C a lw o m a n , a n d The P u n is h e rgrossed over U S $ 5 0 0 -m illio n in 2 0 0 4 a lo n e . This is n o surprise, c o nsidering that the top-grossing c o m ic b o o k m ovie o f a ll time, 2 0 0 2 's S piderm an, has c o lle cte d a p ro fit o f U S $ 4 0 3 .7 -m illio n to date. C o u ld this be du e to Tobey M a g u ire a n d Kirsten Dunst's rainfille d kiss? O r d o the a c tio n /a d v e n tu re fans re a lly like seeing their heroes on the b ig screen?

D on't think fo r a m om ent that w e 're finished w ith the live action updates yet, either. G e t re a d y fo r m ore advertisem ents for Fantastic Four, Sin C ity, Batman Begins, a n d the H e llb la ze r spin-off Constantine. Elektra, a lre a d y w e ll-p u b licize d , proves that the co m ic b o o k m ovie enterprise is bent on m ilking a lready-grossing form u­ las.

A lo n g w ith the endless rem akes a n d spin-offs a re the inevitable sequels— a n d prequels. D id yo u notice that B atm an, our knight in tight b la c k leather, w ill soon be "b e g in n in g " d e sp ite the fa c t that he has a lre a d y "re tu rn e d ," a m o n g other activities? Batman Begins, slated for release in June, prom ises to tell film fans h o w Bruce W a y n e re a lized his villa in -fig h tin g destiny. W ith C hristian Bale p la yin g the le a d , a n d a sup p o rtin g cast that includes M o rg a n Freeman an d C illia n M u rp h y, the film looks prom ising, though d ie h a rd c o m ic fans are not entirely thrilled b y the contin u in g trend.

As on e classic c o m ic b o o k fan w ro te o n an a ll com ics, a ll the tim e m essage b o a rd (w w w .th e co m icb o o km o vie sto re .co m ), "Even though it's a prequel, B atm an Begins looks the least sucky o f the bunch." A h, optim ism .

R

HA N D S

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THE

GRAPHIC COLLAGE BY BEISJI FELDMAN

Even a b rie f lo o k to the fa n review s a n d m essage boards fille d w ith laments a b o u t their favourite superheroes a n d villains b e in g plucked from the d ra w in g b o a rd a n d throw n into 3 D live a ctio n proves that not a ll favour the w a lk in g a n d ta lkin g heroes.

There's d e fin ite ly som ething to b e sa id fo r the g id d y fe e lin g so m any o f us rem em ber e xp e rie n cin g as w e ca re fu lly slid our mintco n d itio n issues out o f their plastic fo r that first suspenseful read.

It's a rg u a b le that the panel-to-pixel transform ation is hardly w o rth c o n sid e rin g next to som e o f the tra g ic film a d a p ta tio n s o f classic novels. But fo r o u r g e n e ra tio n , c o m ic books w e re e levated to that sam e pedestal, a t least d u rin g o n e p o in t in our lives. They w e re p a rt o f our c h ild h o o d .

M o s t im portantly, how ever, w e must not fo rg e t the art a tta ch ed to the craft. Like a w rite r o f picture books, c o m ic w riters must fo llo w a strict pattern o f panels a n d p a g e numbers, w h ile at the sam e tim e b e in g as inventive as possible. O n c e a story is la id out a n d w ritten, the artists sketch, d ra w , ink, a n d re d o e very panel until the b o o k is ready. Each team must create single-panel visuals

illustrating often com p le x scenarios to keep readers interested.

A nd they d o — m ore often than not, fans praise the intricate details o f the art a n d w o rs h ip their favourite g ra p h ic artists. Yes, the co m ic is an art, a n d w e are in d a n g e r o f losing it.

The d e b a te on c o m ic b o o k films ca n n o t be settled easily.

M a n y loved Spiderm an, a n d m any hated D aredevil, a n d there are even m ore fans hold in g a w id e variety o f o p in io n s in betw een W h a t is clear, how ever, is that the a rt o f the classic c o m ic b o o k is b e com ing m ore an d m ore v in ta g e : com ics are collectors' items today, not w e e kly re ading.

O n the positive side lies the ra p id ly-g ro w in g gen re o f g ra p h ­ ic novels. W h ile not the sam e as the dusty basem ent co llection d o w n the street, the g ra p h ic novels sold in bookstores to d a y are o f much higher q u a lity than the "let's m ake a blockbuster" ca m p w ill ever aim for. C o m ics have e volved, a n d in this case the evo­ lution is not a b a d thing. Explore the w o rld o f N e il G a im an 's The Sandm an. A p p re c ia te the a rt behind it— not all w ritin g has to co m e in cha p te r form , a n d not all visual a rt com es in a fram e. ■

C A N V A S

Kneeling a t the altar o f the d e a d rockstars en ye a rs a g o to d a y , e a rly in the m o rn in g , Richey E dw a rd s o f the M a n ic Street Preachers left the London hotel w h e re the b a n d w a s s ta yin g , d ro v e o ve r the Severn B rid g e to W a le s , a n d d is a p p e a re d o ff the fa c e o f the earth. His c a r w a s fo u n d a t a se rvice station near the b rid g e tw o w e e ks later, but a p a rt from vario u s unsubstan­ tia te d s ig h tin g s, he has no t b e e n seen since, g o u g in g ou t a p la c e fo r the M a n ie s in the Rock 'n ' Roll M a rty r

T

These were private deaths for private reasons, but with millions of bereaved who'd never even been in the same country as them, it's easy to lose sight of that.

M y th o lo g y .

E d w a rd s h a d , b e fo re a n d a fte r his d is a p p e a ra n c e , a c q u ire d a p la c e in the c a n o n w ith a ll the o th e r tortured g e n iu s e s — yo u k n o w the list. They w e re to o b e a u tifu l o r to o tra g ic fo r this w o rld , they liv e d to o q u ickly, felt to o

intensely, a n d left to o so o n , a n d there a re w a y to o m any phrases like these scattered thro u g h o u t m a g a z in e tributes.

The drugs, the g lo ry, the fre q u e n t flye r m iles, a n d the fa c t that the m ore a n g u is h e d the lyrics are , the m ore the ta rg e t m arket eats them u p — is it a n y w o n d e r th a t w e 'v e g o t a roster o f m usicians stretching further b a c k than B uddy H olly's p la n e crash w h o d ie d w e ll b e fo re th e y hit 4 0 ?

U nfortunately, the myth o f the d e a d rockstar is so inherently m a g n ific e n t that to a v o id it w o u ld be next to im p o ssib le . For som e m usicians, it c a n a lm o st be seen as v a lid a tio n : the p e rfe ct p u n ctu a tio n to a c a re e r o f p u b lic ly w re stlin g th e ir p riv a te dem o n s. Joy D ivision's g lo o m y exis­ te n tia l crises o f songs sound even b le a k e r w h e n y o u hear th a t frontm an Ian C urtis h a n g e d him self just tw o album s in; Elliott Smith pu t an e n d to his a c h in g a c o u stic intro­ s p e ctio n w ith tw o s ic k e n in g ly ro m a n tic sta b w o u n d s to the heart. These w e re p riva te d e a th s fo r p riva te reasons, but w ith booklets o f their u n n e rvin g ly p e rso n a l lyrics scattered in b e d ro o m s across the w o rld a n d m illio n s o f b e re a ve d w h o 'd never even be e n in the sam e c o u n try as them , it's a ll to o e a s y to lose sig h t o f that.

M E L IS S A P R IC E

This is not to say it's u n re a so n a b le to put on your fa vo u rite A lic e In C h a in s a lb u m a n d d ig out the m ourning flannel on the a n n iv e rs a ry o f Layne S taley's d e a th ; as c lic h é d as it is, if th e y 'v e a ffe c te d us w ith their m usic, that's w o rth som ething. W h a t is u n re a so n a b le is full-out hero w o rs h ip . D eath should not be a c la im to fa m e , nor should it b e a reason fo r m a u d lin a d o ra tio n . The fam ous a n d d e a d seem to be e le v a te d a b o v e liv in g legends in our eyes, but w h e n it com es d o w n to it, w e 're not talkin g a b o u t "d y in g fo r y o u r a rt" o r a n y such lofty, unlikely id e a ls. W e 'r e ta lkin g a b o u t p e o p le , w h o m m ost o f us never k n e w a n d never w ill. They d ie d , a n d that's really sad, but it's not a reason fo r d e ific a tio n .

E dw a rd s has never been fo u n d , a liv e o r d e a d , an d it d o e s n 't re a lly m atter w h a t that m eans. S everal fans c o m ­ m itted s u icid e w h e n he d is a p p e a re d ; several m ore keep the fa c t that he m ig h t b e a liv e as the central reason for their co n tin u e d survival. I think that is a ll bullshit. W e should stop to think that our v ie w o f the artist as "m y suf­ fe rin g h ero" d o e s m ore harm than g o o d , fo r both musi­ c ia n a n d lis te n e r.*

the mcgill tribune j 12 .05 j a&e ] 7

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PREVIEWS

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Bright Eyes, burning like fire Conor Oberst shares his heartbreak with the young & the lost

ROLLINGSTONE.COM

MELISSA PRICE o r a guy w h o tends to sing like he's g o t a ro p e around his neck an d is w o n d e rin g w h ether to kick the ch a ir a w a y, C o n o r O b e rst is lo o k in g pretty g o o d . G o o d in an angst-ridden w a y, o f course, w h ich created a beautiful night o f heart-w renching soul searching w h e n B right Eyes p la y e d Le Spectrum (3 1 8 rue S te-C atherine O .) on January 22.

The man w h o is B right Eyes a n d his o d d ly assorted c re w o f b a c ku p m usicians ca m e to to w n to p rom ote the release o f his tw o new est a lb u m s — w h ic h , presum ably, as a nod to all o f us ruthless m p 3 thieves, w e re n 't a ctu a lly released until three da ys after the concert. O b e rst g a ve everyone, even those w h o a lre a d y kn e w the w o rd s, a thor­ ough preview : I'm W id e A w a ke , It's M o rn in g is B right Eyes a t their fra g ile best, w h ile D ig ita l Ash In A D ig ita l Urn offers starkly contrasting electronic sounds, but keeps the lyrics effective.

B right Eyes has been a ro u n d since 1 9 9 5 a n d O b e rst self-released his first d e m o b e fo re he hit g ra d e eight.

H ow ever, the set focused alm ost en tire ly on n e w m aterial, w ith fe w songs d a tin g from e a rlie r than 2 0 0 2 's break­ through album , Lifted.... W h ile that m ig h t have been d is a p ­

F

p o in tin g fo r long-term h a rd co re fans, the n e w m aterial is pretty da m n g o o d . O berst's trem bling vocals a n d w eight-ofthe-w orld lyrics a re as p o w e rfu l as ever, a n d the strippedd o w n g u ita r o r sam pled drum beats o f the n e w album s keep things interesting.

N o t that O b e rst needs help w ith that. Even w ith a b o u t seven assorted guitarists, keyboardists, trum pet players, a n d a g u y w h o se sole jo b seem ed to be d istracting a u d i­ e nce m em bers, it's im possible to keep yo u r eyes o ff the lit­ tle g u y a n d his guitar. S w ig g in g red w in e from the bottle b e tw e e n songs, he m e a n d e re d through a beautiful set o f w a v e rin g murmurs, tortured scream s, ca re fu lly p icke d m elodies, a n d s w e e p in g orchestration. C a ll him a w h in y e m o angst-m onger if you w a n t, but he ca n stom p all over yo u r heartstrings like you never im a g in e d possible. Its not a ll w istful introspection, though, as bitterness has its p la c e — O b e rst g o t his p o litica l jabs in w ith the scathing “W h e n The President Talks To G o d ," w h ic h w a s introduced b y a shriekind u cin g announcem ent that he's lo o kin g fo r a C a n a d ia n w ife .

The hig h lig h t, how ever, w a s that quieter songs like the stunning "Lua" ca m e w ith som ething in c re d ib ly rare a t most concerts: total silence. It w a s a little e e rie but a m a z in g to see an entire c ro w d focused intently on o n e g u y po u rin g his heart out. The fe e lin g it left defines "a m om ent." ■

ART - — Sub V G a lle ry — 1 1 2 9 rue de M aisonneuve E .— starting February 3 W h e n alleys w o n 't d o , m ove to the street. W h e n the street w o n 't d o , m ove to ... trains? G raffiti artists are constantly under fire an d on the run from city officials, w h o m ay deem their w o rk as vandalism , leading them to such obscure canvases as o ld train cars. But there are those out there w h o feel they produce legitim ate works o f art. O th e r— a M ontreal graffiti w riter w hose w o rk has been shown in art galleries in the US, London, and A m sterdam — returns hom e for a d isp la y a t the Sub V G a lle ry (as w ell as a t M assive Riot G a lle ry (5 3 9 2 boul.

St-Laurent). To find out m ore about O ther's w o rk and associated "h o b o conventions" com ing up in the future, visit his photo b log a t w w w .fo to lo g .n e t/n o th in g in s id e .

M U SIC . Cham pion C D Launch— Club S o d a 1 2 2 5 boul. St-Laurent— February 4 @ 9pm The d e e ja y /b lu e s m usician form erly know n as DJ M a d M a x recently attached a brand n e w m oniker to represent himself to the public: C h a m p io n . A surprising­ ly modest m an, given his pseudonym , C ham pion has d ra w n on his years o f experience to put together his lat­ est album , C h ill 'Em All. W h e th e r he's using his guitar or his laptop, C ham p io n (officially M a x im e M orin), a M o ntreal native, has had success so far throughout his career. After a p p e a rin g a t the O scars a couple o f years a g o , C ham pion is a t the to p o f his gam e, com ing out w ith blues-biased, co e d , guitar-laden techno tracks that m erge m any styles into one gutsy p iece o f w ork. H e is jo ined on Friday b y M o le , Leo C ruz, a n d M aüs. Tickets cost $ 2 1 , c a ll 2 8 6 - 1 0 1 0 for details.

C O M E D Y . Just for Laughs S how case— Ernie Butler's Com edy N est— 2 3 1 3 rue Ste-Catherine O . 3rd floor— February 2 @ 8:30p m Every July, M o ntreal is host to over 1 5 0 o f the fun­ niest pe o p le in com edy. This W e dnesday, catch a sneak p re vie w o f w hat's to com e, an d a llo w yourself to be co n ­ vinced this is the y e a r to stick around the city for the sum­ mer. Hosted by M ik e Paterson, a veteran character actor an d savvy c om edian, the Just for Laughs com edy show ­ case w ill feature plenty o f local talent. Included in the lineup is part-French C a n a d ia n , part-Am erican, black com ic Jocko Alston (an ethnic background that is a can'tmiss for humour), N e w York c o m ic /w rite r A dam G ro w e , a nd recent M c G ill g ra d Ryan W ilner. The show is free, but g e t there early to reserve your spot. C a ll 9 3 2 - 6 3 7 8 for inform ation.

THEATRE. The G o a t o r W h o is Sylvia?— Centaur T h eatre— 4 5 3 rue S t-François-X avier— begins February 3 Threé-time Pulitzer Prize w inner E dw ard Albee's highly a cclaim ed play, The G o a t o r W h o is Sylvia?, leaves its B ro a d w a y roots for M ontreal's slightly less green pastures. Playing all month at the C entaur Theatre, this p la y tests the limits o f a c ce p ta b ility in a society that all too often thinks inside the box. Starring Centaur's Artistic Director G o rd M c C a ll, this Tony A w a rd w inning production tells the tale o f a fam ily ripped a p a rt because o f o ne member's unhealthy obsession w ith a goat. A witty, satirical portrayal o f m odern A m erica, The G o a t w ip e s its ass w ith fam ily values and leaves the vie w e r on the floor w ith laughter. C a ll 2 8 8 -3 1 6 1 for tickets.

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18 a&e | 12 .05 j the mcgill tribune

© rt usic P re v ie w Where celery represents virility

Food 4 Funk a worthwhile fundraiser V o o d o o Jazz h e a d lin in g th re e -b a n d bill PAUL G O ERTZEN 'm excited: an opportunity to cle a r m y co ld w in try con­ science, and absorb som e quick-clipped ja z zy funk on a Friday in February. To accom plish such a m agnificent aim , there is only one solution: Food 4 Funk— a charita­ ble concert to be held a t C a b a re t (2 1 1 1 b o u t StLaurent), on February 4 . Three m arquee bands w ill fill the bill: V oodoo Jazz, A frod izz, a n d D ibondoko.

Three dollars from every ticket ($ 1 3 in advance, $ 15 a t the door) w ill g o to Santropol Roulant, a mealso m vheels service located a t the corner o f rue Duluth and rue St-Urbain. M oreover, b y bringing in four canned goods, you w ill be refunded three dollars, a n d those cans w ill be given to Sun Youth, an o rg a n iza tio n that pro­ vides m any different services to the community, including fo o d baskets an d em ergency a id .

V oodoo Jazz, an eight-m em ber b a n d , has a superbly dynam ic an d mellifluous sound— som ew here in the range o f punk, jazz, a n d hip hop. A fro d iz z puts forth a sim ilarly arranged gro u p , w ith a harder afro-punk sound, but chilled b y the influential style o f the late N ig e ria n m usician Fela Kuti. D ib o n d o ko offers a purer funk, often fast, yet light a n d upbeat.

N o w that V oodoo Jazz has released tw o albums an d played countless shows, M c G ill music g ra d Jesse M eyer, a saxophonist a n d Voodoo's unofficial band leader, figures the octet could use their nam e to create a funk show for charity.

"A lot o f the time, bands like us d o n 't ge t asked to d o [charity s h o w s],” he says.

It seems funk fans are n 't renow ned fo r their charita­ bleness.

I

AFRODIZZ.COM ,

"W e 're a ll out to m ake it an event, rather than just a co u p le o f bands p la y in g ," said M eyer. W ith three g re a t bands, an em cee, a d e e ja y to pum p up the c ro w d betw een sets, som e nifty visual effects, a n d a g o o d char­ itable cause, it is certainly an event w orth yo u r $ 13.

G e t m ore inform ation a b o u t the festivities a t w w w .fo o d 4 fu n k .c o m . ■

K A T H E R IN E F U G L E R Egyptian art is all about the dead. It's taken from tombs, from graves, from tem­ ples that w ere created for the w orship of deceased leaders. The stares o f the statues, whether m ade from w o o d or stone, look straight ahead and through you, as if see­ ing something just beyond your line o f sight.

W h a te ve r the case, the Fine Arts Museum's Egyptian show is a stunner.

The pieces w ere selected from the col­ lection at the British Museum, and have been touring N orth A m erica since 2 0 0 1 .

M ontreal is the last stop on the trip before the pieces head ba ck to the UK. C h ronologically displayed in lo w light, they can start with w h a t w e consider simple dolls— w o o den figures w ithout adornm ent that represent passed leaders. Then as the ages g o on, they develop into more com ­ plex figures like the guardian demons taken from the tom b o f H orem heb w ho, instead o f human heads, one has a gazelle head and the other a turtle head. These figures sit in contorted poses, and are there to w a rd o ff evil spirits o f the A fterw orld, a scary job indeed. Too b ad they couldn't w a rd off tom b raiders.

N o n e o f these pieces have "stolen" written on them, but quite a fe w have "provenance unknown," w hich unlike the Rosetta Stone (yes, they have a replica, much better than the one that Redpath Museum has) w ere obviously not w on in battle.

The touring collection w as chosen to show the evolution o f influences o f Egyptian art from the pre-dynastic period (about 5 0 0 0 B.C.) to past the Com m on Era when Roman O ccupation began to influence the

VLADIMIR EREMIN

works (3 0 B.C . to 6 4 2 A.D). Viewers can see the developm ent o f detail, and the addition o f jew elry and pom p to the char­ acters depicted. The use o f g old and pre­ cious stones in the jew elry found in the tombs could pro b a b ly be found in upscale stores now. Particularly, the shell amulet w ith the a d d e d name o f Sesostris w as beautiful. I w ill be looking for one, o f per­ haps less historic value, to w e a r this sum­ mer. But by far the most stunning pieces are the heads o f statues, placed on pedestals above the view ers line o f sight, or singular­ ly lit, their youthful features a t odds w ith the seriousness o f their stares.

The excerpts from the books o f the dead are exquisite examples, but lack the translations to the abundant hieroglyphics.

Viewers miss out on the finer details o f these pieces because they see it through a 21 st century interpretation, rather than know ing their contexts as described in hieroglyphics O verall, the show is obviously put together for the aesthetic view er and not the inves­ tigative; that isn't to say that the pieces themselves lack beauty and depth. Review some of your history before you go, other­ w ise you w ill only be seeing the art and not truly understanding its significance. ■

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the m cgill tribune

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REVIEW

Love's Labour is not entirely lost Sexual in-jokes and phallic trees for hours of laughter S U S A N C O O K E & S IM O N E C R U IC K S H A N K ove's Labour's Lost is not a m o n g Shakespeare's bestknow n w orks. The p la y is unlikely to a p p e a r in a n y liter­ ature class, but w ith g o o d reason: Love's Labours Lost lacks conflict a nd much o f a plot. These im pedim ents aside, D aw son C ollege's professional theatre p rogram has man­ a g e d to craft an earnest, entertaining perform ance. The story follow s the king o f N a va rre a n d his m ilitary buddies, w h o have collectively d e c id e d to spend three years as serious scholars, eschew ing the vulgar a n d sh a llo w elements o f life, such as copious feasting, drinking, a n d — naturally— w o m e n .

H ow ever, the princess o f France a n d her saucy consorts arrive for a visit, an d it doesn't take a Shakespearean schol­ a r to p redict w h a t happens next.

For this production, the p la y has been set in 1 9 1 4 , w ith an atm osphere redolent o f the e arly 19th century's inno­ cence. O f course, the burlesque pieces o f stage business most definitely d o not claim innocence, but this is theatre, a n d anything goes.

The c a s tw id e level o f professionalism w a s impressive a n d m uch-appreciated, as the a u d ie n ce w a s spared the bar­ ren stares a nd foot-shifting motions that often a c co m p a n y stu­ dent productions. The skilled players rem ained d e e p in char­ acter throughout, essential w hen pro d u cin g in such an inti­ mate space as the D om e Theatre. Jam ie M e n d e lo vich stood out as a charism atic, hilarious Berow ne; he is a m o n g the class o f actors w h o let a m odern a u d ie n ce forget that they're h e a rin g — a nd understanding— Elizabethan English. Despite his success in this production, the unfortunate decision to por­ tray Boyet, the French princess's consort, as an effem inate, 19 7 0 s "p im p d a d d y " fo p w a s com pletely out o f p la c e in the p re -W W I setting. W h a t w a s surely m eant to be entertaining instead w a s a t first distracting a n d later irritating.

As the play's set an d p ro p designers obviously realized, dirty jokes a nd obscene allusions— the p la y is rife w ith botn — are worthless if not d e p lo y e d in an environm ent filled w ith tall, pointy, an d yes, rather p h a llic set pieces. To this end, the stage design centred on the trees dotting the fields

L

D AW SO N CO LLEG E.Q C .C A

o f N a va rre , w h ich w e re used to hilarious effect throughout the course o f the play. O n the m ore obviously b a w d y side o f things, a w a lkin g stick, a full com plem ent o f swords, a p a ir o f on-display bloom ers, a n d , in particular, a very naughty tel­ escope m a d e the physical side o f the co m e d y entertaining throughout.

In a d d itio n , the costumes themselves d id a g o o d jo b o f enhancing each ch a ra cte rs p articular personality, a n d , on occa sio n , physical attributes, a d d in g to the fun-filled rom p w ith o u t distracting from the a ctio n . The staging w a s excel­ lent— the lim ited num ber o f set pieces w a s not an issue, as they w e re inventively rearranged to m ake full use o f the given space a n d create visual variety.

The b ackstage design c re w deserves as much cre d it as the excellent performers, for their creativity perfectly rounded out the light-hearted tone o f the com edy, w h ile a llo w in g for a series o f running jokes— for exam ple, the blustering Don A rm ado's h a b it o f flourishing his feathered tri-corner hat, much to the horror o f everyone around him.

Although refreshing a n d entertaining, D awson's produc­ tion o f Love's Labour's Lost is a lengthy one, clo ckin g in at alm ost three hours. Keep this in m ind if you a re still keen on checking out o n e o f Shakespeare's least perform ed works.

Love's Labour's Lost runs until February 6 a t the Dom e Theatre [3 9 9 0 rue N otre-D am e O .j, near metro Place-StHenri. Tickets are $ 6 for students. For more inform ation, call the b o x office a t 9 3 1 -5 0 0 0 . ■

B O O K . A bso lu te Friends b y John le C a rré S om ething a b o u t John le C a rré s books elevates them a b o v e the "spy p a p e rb a c k s " th e y p u rp o rt to be.

A irp la n e thrillers by the likes o f John Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, o r the dreadful Tom C la n c y a p p e a l m ore to the H o lly w o o d shock an d a w e o f c h e a p suspense than le C a rré s c o m p lica te d characters an d nuanced, intricate plots.

W ith A bsolute Friends, le C a rré tran­ scends the a rtific ia l d iv id in g lines that historians often g iv e to ages: this is w hen the C o ld W a r b e g a n , this is w hen the S oviet U nion fell, etc. Le C a rré wrestles w ith post-C old W a r com plexities but rem em bers w h e re w e ca m e fro m — the history that s h aped us before the rise o f terrorism a n d the advent o f a single w o rld superpow er.

Absolute Friends fo llo w s O x fo rd d ro p o u t Ted M undy, an a c tiv is t/p ro v o ­ cateur in 19 6 0 s Berlin a n d later British spy. In his d e p ic tio n o f M u n d y as a d o u b le a g e n t le C a rré is on firm g ro u n d — after a ll, he's been w rtin g a b o u t British C o ld W a rrio rs fo r over forty years. Though the fa m ilia r themes o f do u ­ bleness, d o ubt, an d uncertainty as to w h o is "g o o d " a nd w h o is "b a d " are on full d is p la y in this C o ld W a r d ra m a , w h e n the S oviet U nion falls som e­ thing quite strange happens: le C a rré gets lost, an d readers are lost w ith him.

W ith the w a r in Iraq com es n e w em otions fo r the co n flicte d M u n d y: anger, frustration, incertitude. "S o w h a t had h a p p e n e d to him that h a d n 't ha p ­ p e n e d before?" le C a rré asks. "The lies an d hypocrisies o f politicians are nothing n e w to him. They never w e re . So w h y n o w ? " In his o ld a g e , Ted M u n d y, like John le C arré, is a llo w e d som e e x tra va g a n c e , hostility, an d a n g e r tow ards w h a t he's ha d to d e a l w ith for tim e im m em orial.

Like le C a rré s previous w orks, A bsolute Friends is not uplifting. Despite the plot's im p ro b a b ility, the book's final pages a re so gru e lin g , an d so expert­ ly d o n e , that their im p a ct m ay drive you to a n g e r as w e ll— not a t w h a t anyo n e has do n e , but a t w h a t a certain s u perpow er m ight be c a p a b le o f d o in g .

Le C a rré s best g u id a n c e com es from M un d y's co m p a n io n , on e o f the absolute friends o f the title: "So w h a t are yo u p ro p o sin g to d o a b o u t it?"

M u n d y asks him . "Resist it, Teddy. W h a t else is there to d o ? " Such sound a n d sim ple a d v ic e in these d a rk da ys seems w e lco m e in d e e d .

— Sam G o ffm a n

25 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN IMMIGRATION

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V-Day McGill presents

$10 students, $1

1DAY

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T R A C K

&

FIELD

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M cG ILL

TEAM

C H A L L E N G E

McGill can't keep pace with Canada's best R e s u lts

s o m e w h a t d is a p p o in tin g

ZENAH SURANI The d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n the M c G ill track a n d fie ld squad's per­ form ances on Friday a n d S atu rd a y a t the M c G ill Team C h a lle n g e w a s like the d iffe re n c e be tw e e n n ig h t a n d d a y — literally.

O n Friday evening, both the men an d w o m en turned in e xcellent finish­ es, but w hen the com pe titio n resumed S a tu rd a y m o rn in g a t Tom linson Fieldhouse, som e team m em bers w h o w e re e x pected to m edal e n d e d up w e ll back in the pack.

The men's a n d w om en's teams each p la c e d sixth overall in a field co n sis tin g o f 1 5 m en's a n d 1 6 w o m e n s team s, w in n in g o n ly nine c o m b in e d m edals; the result is a step b a c kw a rds from last w e e ke n d 's Laval Invitational, w h e n 1 7 athletes w e a rin g the Red 'n ' W h ite took hom e hard­ w a re .

H e a d C o a c h D ennis B arrett a c k n o w le d g e d that som e M c G ill com ­ petitors c ould have turned in better show ings d uring the event, a n d ca lle d on the athletes on his squad to m ake im provem ents themselves.

"A t a level like this, they have to be a b le to m otivate themselves, a n d m otivate each other," he sa id . "As a co a ch , I'm just here as a g u id e , and the athletes should take a d v a n ta g e o f that. They w ill obviously o n ly g a in w h atever they put in. It has to be up to them to som e extent."

Barrett's re a ctio n w o u ld h ave been entirely d ifferent h a d the entire m eet g o n e like F riday night, w h e re the team turned in a solid p e rform ance.

The meet started o ff w ith a b a n g as the men's 4 x 2 0 0 -m e tre re la y team o f D avid Faille, B rendan Rehel, A aro n W h ite , a n d D an St. M ic h a e l brought hom e M c G ill's o n ly g o ld m edal in a tim e o f 1 :3 0 .5 6 . The 4 x 8 0 0 m team o f Jeff M c C a b e , Stephen D ouglas,

THE

RED

a fte r

s tro n g

p e rfo rm a n c e s

L av a

M a rty Fox, a n d Pat M c A u liffe then fo l­ lo w e d that up w ith a se cond-place result. Both finishes pleased assistant sprint c o a ch T.K. W o o . " W e pulled together w e ll even though w e 're m issing our tw o to p ath­ letes, O m a r G ia n fra n c e s c o a n d A n d re w B ro w n , d u e to ham string injuries," he sa id .

O n the w om en's side, rookie A n d re a W h ite to o k silver in the 6 0 m hurdles, c o m p le tin g the race in 9 .3 4 seconds, just 0 . 0 4 seconds behind U niversity o f Toronto's A m a ra G ossin.

W h ite — w h o a t o n ly 5 '3 " is a lre a d y a t a d is a d va n ta g e fo r ju m p ing o ve r 3 3 inch high hurdles— has further had to d e a l w ith the lin g e rin g effects o f an injury she suffered last y e a r to her left fo o t w h e n she w a s a c c id e n ta lly run o ve r b y a friend's car. Luckily, it w a s her trail rather than le a d leg, but it still poses a problem fo r W h ite . " M y fo o t gets really sore som e­ times, a n d there a re g o o d days a n d b a d d a y s ," she sa id . "But I think that w h e n yo u g o through som ething like this, it makes you stronger."

The w o m e n , le d b y Troye C a rrin g to n on the a n ch o r leg, also ca p tu re d b ro n ze in the 4 x 2 0 0 m relay Friday night.

Jessalyn O 'D o n n e ll a n d th e rest o f M c G ill's track an d field te a m u n d e rw h e lm e d a t this w e e k e n d 's m eet.

M c G ill larg ely silent on S atu rd ay In the men's 1 0 0 0 m race, the men's team had a c o u p le o f close calls but no po d iu m finishes, as D ouglas a n d Fox finished fourth ( 2 :3 4 .4 0 ) a n d fifth ( 2 :3 4 .7 4 ) , respectively. D ouglas felt that, in retrospect, he c o u ld have run a stronger race.

■"When y o u 're out there you just have to focus on running those five laps hard, a n d keeping it sim p le ," he sa id . "But I c o u ld have run a lot hard­ er a n d d o n e a lo t better."

A ttention then turned to the high jum p, w h e re St. M ic h a e l w a s intent on fo llo w in g up his g o ld m edal a t the

Laval event. H ow ever, the c o rn e rb a ck fo r the Redmen fo o tb a ll team c o u ld o n ly p la c e sixth, w ith a h eight o f 1 .9 0 metres.

"In high school, I used to b e a b le to jum p [heights o f] 2 .0 5 [m etres], 2 .1 0 easily," he sa id . "But n o w that I'm p la y in g fo o tb a ll, it's hard because I'm not as lig h t a n ym o re."

B ack on the track, M c G ill met w ith m a jo r d isa p p o in tm en t, as 1 5 0 0 m favourite M c C a b e p la c e d 2 2 n d in a tim e o f 4 :0 9 . 4 6 . M c C a b e , w h o fin­ ished first last w e e ke n d w ith a tim e o f 4 : 0 5 . 1 1 , w a s extrem ely frustrated w ith his p erform ance.

VIADIMIR EREMIN

"I just lost track o f w h e re I w a s ," he sa id . "I ha d 5 0 0 [m etres] to g o , a n d I thought I had 7 0 0 to g o . I w as jo g g in g a t the end; I just d id n 't know w h e re I w a s. W h e n y o u 're out there, it's to tally different. I d id n 't g o over it enough in m y m ind."

H ow ever, the d a y w a s not all lost fo r M c G ill, as the team d id co lle ct five th ird -place finishes. T iffany D iR ico in the w e ig h t throw , p o le vaulter . H annah M o ffa tt, the w om en's 4 x 4 0 0 m relay team , an d a p a ir o f 3 0 0 m runners— C a rrin g to n a n d rising star ro o kie A a ro n W h ite — all a d d e d to M c G ill's m edal haul, but c o u ld not help the Red

V W h ite o v e rc o m e S h e rb ro o ke , w h ic h to o k the men's title , o r D a lh o u sie , w h ic h c a p tu re d the w om en's cro w n .

W ith precious fe w meets left to attain the n ational q u a lifyin g standard, a n d w ith o u t another c hance to record a tim e on M c G ill's fast track until the Q u e b e c c ham pionships on February 2 5 , it is understandable w h y Barrett w a s u n h a p p y w ith m any o f the per­ form ances. If the track team is to send a s ize a b le c ontingent to W in n ip e g for the C a n a d ia n Interuniversity S po rt cham pionships in M a rc h , M c G ill has to g e t itself m otivated quickly. ■

ZO N E

Mantle, Gretzky, MJ... Brady? t's a m a z in g h o w fast things c h a n g e in the NFL. For instance, I rem em ber w h e n the N e w E ngland Patriots w e re sim ply o n e o f several co m p e titive team s in the A FC East, all o f w h o m seem ed to c a n n ib a liz e e ach other in tim e fo r the eventual d ivisio n w in n e r to have nothing left to g iv e in the playoffs. I rem em ber D re w Bledsoe a t the helm o f the N e w E ngland offe n ce, a n d b y extension, the franchise.

But oh, h o w things have c h a n g e d . As the Patriots attem pt to w in their third S uper B ow l in four years, a w o rd is b e in g tossed a ro u n d that is g e n e ra lly reserved for a cheesy 19 8 0 s TV s o a p a n d the o c ca s io n a l Yankee o r C e ltic t e a m dynasty.

W a s it o nly three seasons a g o that Bledsoe struggled to a 1-3 start, a n d then suffered a c o lla p se d lung after b e ing body-slam m ed to the turf a g a in s t the N e w York Jets?

S eem ingly, things c o u ld n 't have been w o rse fo r N e w E ngland, but from that d e s p a ir e m e rg e d the team's saviour, in the ro syche e ke d form o f Tom Brady. N e x t thing w e knew, the Pats had taken ou t St. Louis to w in the ch a m p io n sh ip .

O n Sunday, B ra d y takes the helm lo o kin g to w in his record-tying ninth consecutive p la y o ff g a m e , a n d the A FC cham ps look to a c co m p lish w h a t o n ly the D allas C o w b o y s

I

a t

o f the e a rly 1 9 9 0 s d id — co lle ctin g three V ince Lom bardi tro­ phies in four years.

W in n in g ch a m p io n sh ip s y e a r in a n d y e a r out isn't easy.

N o t even Joe M o n ta n a 's 4 9 e rs o r Terry B radshaw 's Steelers w o n w ith this level o f consistency. Even in M a jo r League B aseball, a le a g u e w ith fa r less c o m p e titive b a la n c e than the NFL, o n ly tw o franchises have w o n the W o rld Series three times in four years since 1 9 5 6 .

W h a t makes the Patriots' exploits even m ore im pressive is that they p la y in the a g e o f the s a la ry c a p , w h ich a llo w s such a stounding p a rity b etw een team s that a jum p from w orst to first in back-to-back seasons is no lo n g e r seen as an anom ­ aly. In such a co m p e titive la n d sca p e , it is unthinkable for N e w E ngland to have o ve rco m e e ve ry o b sta cle throw n its w a y since B ra d y b e g a n c a llin g the shots— in clu d in g a w rath o f injuries the past tw o seasons that has fo rce d a w id e receiver to p la y co rn e rb a ck, a m o n g other irregularities that a lw a y s seem to w o rk fo r C o a c h Bill Belichick's crew .

So can w e put B ra d y in that s p e cia l c a te g o ry reserved o n ly fo r the M ic h a e l Jordans, W a y n e G retzkys, D erek Jeters, a n d Troy A ikm ans? The com m on d e n o m in a to r a m o n g these athletes is that a ll w e re catalysts fo r their respective dynasties

DANIEL CHODOS

over the past 2 0 years. C o n sid e rin g the od d s stacked a g a in s t Brady, his p la y o ff success, a n d his classy dem eanour on a n d o ff the fie ld , a trium ph in Jacksonville on S unday should ice his status.

But d o n 't tell that to the Pats' c o a c h in g staff. Last off-sea­ son, to help his team rem ain m otivated to w in it all a g a in , B elichick brought in m em bers o f the Boston C eltics' squads that w o n ring after ring in the 19 8 0 s to speak w ith his p la y ­ ers. So far, it seems his fig h t a g a in s t c o m p la c e n c y is w o rkin g as w e ll as eve ry other a sp e ct o f the team .

But the Patriots had better rid e the w a v e o f success w h ile it lasts. The Yankees have not w o n a W o rld Series since 2 0 0 0 , the Bulls are o n ly n o w em e rg in g from the hang­ over o f their re peat three-peats, a nd the Islanders an d O ilers never really re-surfaced after w in n in g a ll those Stanley C ups throughout the "m e" d e c a d e .

N e w to n said that w h a t goes up must co m e d o w n , and dynasties are no e xception. But b y e xcelling consistently every y e a r in the level p la y in g fie ld o f the NFL, Brady, B elichick, a n d the Patriots a re d o in g a fine jo b a t staying at the to p o f a league d e signed to acce le ra te their fall ba ck to Earth. ■

HOCKEY

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REDMEN

8,

OTTAWA

the mcgill tribune | 1.2.05 | sports 21

4

Shewchuk, Redmen corral Gee-Gees Second-year winger scores six points in McGiil romp dan

M cQ u il l a n

Blunders jeopordize future city events AD Dubeau disappointed by missed opportunity pulled their support even though M o n tre a l w a s regarded as a front-runner to host the event if it submitted a proposal.

A cc o rd ing to Dubeau, b y m aking plans to host the Fédération Internationale d e N a ta tio n A m ateur w o rld cham pionships in July, the city b e cam e overextended in terms o f providing funding to athletic events, a n d the W o rld University G am es w a s put on the ch o p p in g block.

"The city d id not feel it w a s opportune to take on a large international event that could cost a significant am ount o f m oney that the city co u ld n 't offer," he said. "The a q u atic gam es nad proven to b e difficult, w ith the costs increasing significantly, an d the city could not continue to offer funds."

Bernard Larin, a spokesman for the mayor's office, said that he w a s not even a w a re that the city had pulled its funding, and w a s otherw ise unable to comment.

Ironically, FIN A declared last w e e k that M o n tre a l had fallen short o f the requirements to host the a q u a tic com peti­ tion this July, but Dubeau said that it w o u ld still b e impossi­ ble to revive M c G ill's bid.

"The [C a n a d ia n Interuniversity Sport] d e a d lin e fo r bids to be submitted to be considered as the C a n a d ia n entry is in mid- to late-M arch, and that does not leave us w ith enough tim e," he said. "Also, a lot o f m oney that the city com m itted to the a quatic cham pionships has a lre a d y been spent. They have to com plete the three pools they started b u ilding, an d they've signed contracts that they m ay not be a b le to get out o f."

W h ile M o ntreal w a s the likely victor a m o n g the C a n a d ia n cities submitting proposals a n d the city's intent to b id w a s w ell-received on the international level, D ubeau noted that fo llo w in g the FIN A d e b a c le , even if M ontreal

THE

BEATEN

PATH

A yoga initiation,

m B m m rn

C o m in g o ff a b ig w in last w e e ke n d a g a in s t C o n c o rd ia , the Redmen lo o ke d to keep the ball rolling a n d put som e sp a ce b etw een themselves an d another O n ta rio University Athletics Far East d ivisio n rival Friday night a t M c C o n n e ll A ren a . After a bit o f a rough start, M c G ill d id just that, scoring five unansw ered g o a ls a n d d o u b lin g u p the O tta w a G ee-G ees 8-4.

S haw n S hew chuk led the Redmen in ro p in g up a tough O tta w a squad, tallying tw o g o a ls a n d four assists in just his fourth g a m e back after m issing the entire first semes­ ter w ith a broken hand. S hew chuk noted that h e 'd ha d som e scoring chances d u rin g the previous gam es, in w h ic h he w a s held w ith ­ YASEMIN EMORY out a point, but that things fin a lly p ic ke d up fo r him Friday night.

P ie rre -A n to in e P acquet n e tte d o n e in th e R e d m e n 's 8 -4 rout.

"S ince I've been b a c k, I've been close, but tonight I s a w the holes instead o f the [d e fe n ­ M c G ill w e n t 2-for-7.

"The p o w e r p la y really helped us out to n ig h t," sive] players on the ic e ," he said.

S hew chuk's linem ates, B enoit M a rtin a n d D oug Orr, Raym ond sa id . " W e had som e p o w e r p la y opportunities also helped a c co u n t for his breakout g a m e , e a ch notch­ a n d w e a djusted w e ll a n d to o k our chances. It g o t us ing a g o a l a n d tw o assists. For his part, M a rtin , w h o had g o in g a g a in a n d g a v e us some jum p." missed his team 's last three gam es w h ile p la y in g fo r H ow ever, M c G ill also to o k a num ber o f penalties, C a n a d a a t the W o rld U niversity G a m e s in A ustria, d id a n d O tta w a used a tw o-m an a d v a n ta g e to tie the score not take long to signal his return, p otting the o p e n e r just up a t three m id w a y through the second p e rio d , befo re minutes after b e in g b a c k on hom e ice. O rr scored less taking the le a d a t 4 -3 just tw o minutes later. But though than three minutes later to g iv e M c G ill a q u ic k 2 -0 le a d , the G e e G e e s had the a d v a n ta g e , M c G ill w a s never out a n d S hew chuk a d d e d his first o f the g a m e just 1 8 sec­ o f the g a m e . The Redmen fou g h t b a c k m e th o d ica lly a n d onds before the end o f the p e rio d to g iv e the Redmen a to o k a 5 -4 le a d after tw o pe rio d s, w ith G re g LeBlanc get­ 3-2 a d v a n ta g e . ting w h a t w o u ld prove to b e the gam e-w inner. " M y linem ates picke d m e u p ," S hew chuk sa id o f the In the end, the Redmen p ro ve d to be just to o disci­ players w h o co m b in e d w ith him to record seven points in p lin e d in the b a c k a n d to o o p p o rtu n istic on a ttack fo r the the first p e rio d . "D o u g a n d Ben w e re g re a t."

G e e G e e s , a n d they put O tta w a a w a y b y scoring three But Shew chuk's a chievem e n t on this night transcend­ unansw ered th ird -p e rio d markers, th e final g o a l ca m e o ff ed O rr a n d M a rtin . The man they c a ll "S h e w ie " w a s so the stick o f C harles G a u th ie r— w ith a n assist g o in g to hot that H e a d C o a c h M a rtin Raym ond p la ye d him on S he w ch u k— a t 1 9 :2 4 o f the final fram e; Shew chuk's sixth alm ost eve ry second shift, a n d he w a s slotted on several p o in t o f the contest m a d e his p e rfo rm a n ce the highest lines to try a n d g ive som e other players a boost, as w e ll offensive output b y a M c G ill p la ye r in over e ig h t years. as to take over from som e M c G ill players w h o h a d d is a p ­ N e x t up fo r the Red 'n ' W h ite a re tw o hom e gam es a g a in s t Ryerson a n d Toronto, o p p o n e n ts from the w e a ke r poin ted the co a ch . " W e had on e fo rw a rd [Ken D avis] out, a n d some M id East d ivisio n . But if the gam e's first star has anything guys w e re p la y in g better than others," Raym ond said. to d o w ith it, there w o n 't b e a le td o w n from a team on a " W e had som e [guys w ith ] d is cip lin e problem s, so I let high after tw o strong w in s a g a in s t d iv is io n a l opponents.

"These a re tw o team s w e have to b e a t in o ur tight them sit a n d recollect."

The bench boss a ls o attributed the team 's offensive ra ce fo r first p la c e ," sa id S hew chuk. " W e c a n 't lose those success to its a b ility to score on the p o w e r play, w h e re kinds o f g a m e s ." ■

Continued from cover

OFF

w e re to tender a proposal, it w o u ld b e unlikely to succeed.

"The M o n tre a l situation ch a n g e d ," he said. "People think there is no chance o f M o n tre a l getting anything for quite a w h ile , so even if the b id w e n t fo rw a rd , its chances w e re dim inished."

M cG ill's- failure to land co-hosting rights for the G am es means that the university a n d athletic departm ent w ill lose out on a b o u t $ 2 - to $3-m illion that w o u ld have been used to im prove infrastructure a t a num ber o f sites around M c G ill. As the University G am es includes volleyball, bas­ ketball, a n d soccer com petitions, plans w e re in the w orks to install a n e w FieldTurf surface a t M o lso n Stadium , resur­ fa c e the volleyball courts a n d a d d n e w lighting, a n d build a pra ctice facility near Tomlinson Fieldhouse. All o f these improvements w o u ld have been p rovided a t no cost to M c G ill a n d represented a significant w in d fa ll fo r the athlet­ ics program .

Despite the setback, Dubeau is not w o rrie d that M c G ill's reputation w ill take a hit because M o n tre a l is not hosting the FIN A cham pionships o r the University G am es.

"It's not g o in g to affect M c G ill in a n y w a y, in its attempts to attract students or athletes," he said. "The m ajor effect o f the loss o f the b id is to the city, as it continues to lose international recognition as a m ajor city."

D ubeau w a s particularly saddened that the city shut d o w n the University G a m e s bid after so much preparation had taken place, a n d said that M o n tre a l is missing out on a g re a t opportunity.

"I've been w o rkin g on this for over a year, a n d been to hundreds o f m eetings," he said. "The b id docum ent w a s 9 5 per cent ready to g o , and a t the last minute, because o f unforeseen circumstances, w e had to close the file.

"I'm d isa p p o in te d that this w o n 't h a p p e n ," he a d d e d .

"This w a s our cha n ce to show the w o rld tnat w e could have d o n e an extremely g o o d jo b hosting the event. ■

Montreal Kripalu style :' s o m e n , - , JOSEPH G IL G O F F O v e r the years, I have seen p e o p le a ro u n d me succum bing one b y o n e to the m a g ic a l pow e rs o f y o g a . O n c e som ew hat obscure, y o g a is n o w a trendy activity, but since m y brain still generated im ages o f a cre a m y d a iry fo o d upon hearing the w o rd "y o g a ," I fin a lly d e c id ­ ed to enlighten myself a n d fin d out w h a t the c ra z e is all about.

I turned to tw o certified y o g a teachers, C e c ily D iver a n d m y sis­ ter, Julie G ilg o ff. A fter just on e afternoon w ith these tw o , I ca m e a w a y w ith a rem edy fo r m y a c h y legs, a n e w perspective on fitness and o ve ra ll health, an d a picture o f a h a p p y p a n d a h olding a C o k e bot­ tle.

Julie is 2 4 years o ld a n d recently returned from N ic a ra g u a , w h e re she served for over tw o years as a Peace C o rp s volunteer. In this fo re ig n setting, she used y o g a to stay energetic a n d m entally g ro u n d e d , a n d she eventually secured a jo b as a part-tim e y o g a instructor. She n o w show s o ff her skills in N e w York C ity y o g a centres.

Julie led me to 19-year-old C ecily, a M o n tre a l native w h o teaches classes on rue S herbrooke.

M y first y o g a e x perience g o t o ff to a shaky start, as C e c ily dis­ c o ve re d that she lacked the key to the m ain y o g a studio w ith in the cen­ tre w h e re she teaches. C o n fin e d to a small b a c k room , C e c ily had to a b a n d o n her p lanned lesson a nd instead led us through a m editation in w h ic h w e im a g ine d a situation involving staircases, w ater, a n d spir­ itual beings, a m o n g other things. A t the e nd, w e d re w the im ages in our he a d . M y picture involved a panda-guru figure h o ld in g green leaves a n d a C o k e bottle, his k a n g a ro o assistants a t his feet a n d a sea o f w a te r a n d c o la o ff to the side.

F o llo w ing the class, I w a s extrem ely thirsty, an d still unsure o f the full benefits o f y o g a . A thorough conversation w ith Julie a n d C e c ily c le a re d up a lot o f m y confusion. For these tw o , a nd m any others, y o g a is not m erely an activity, but a w a y o f life. They a re trained in the K ripalu technique, w h ic h em phasizes the spiritual aspect o f y o g a m ore than the physical.

"The type o f y o g a that w e d o is such an e xce p tio n a l, alert type w h e re y o u 're a ctu a lly a w a re o f every m ovem ent that y o u 're d o in g . It's m ore conscious a n d slo w ," e x p la in e d C ecily.

Julie w a s q u ic k to p o in t out that all different types o f y o g a have their benefits, a n d it is m ore im portant to just g e t started than w o rry a b o u t w h ich kind is perfect fo r you. She also em phasized the versatil­ ity o f y o g a 's benefits.

"S om e p e o p le d o y o g a fo r the spiritual outlook, other p e o p le just g o fo r a w o rk o u t," she noted. "It c o u ld just fo rce you to s lo w d o w n sometim es, but other times it does the o p p o s ite ; you feel inspired to g o out a n d d o som ething p ositive."

Both w o m e n said that since getting into y o g a , they not o n ly feel fitter, but m ore c o m fo rtab le w ith their bod ie s a n d their m inds. They can a lso attest that p ra cticin g y o g a can also fa c ilita te p e o p le in their efforts to help others.

"S o m any p e o p le a re out in the w o rld trying to c h a n g e things, a n d they're not even c o m fo rtab le w ith them selves," said C ecily. "O n c e yo u a re a b le to help yourself, you w ill be m ore a b le to help others, just the sam e as h o w you c a n 't truly love others b e fore you love yourself."

By the end o f the lesson, I w a s truly im pressed w ith the w id e ra n g e o f positive effects that y o g a has for its follow ers. Julie a n d C e c ily recom m ended y o g a to me to help relieve the soreness that I often feel after p la y in g basketball, a n d suggested that it c ould be perfect for stu­ dents w h o are lo oking fo r an alternative w a y to stay in g o o d mental a n d physical shape. To re a p the benefits o f y o g a , on e doesn t need to d e vo te hours o f tim e ea ch d a y either; Julie sometim es does y o g a for o n ly 1 0 minutes a t the end o f the d a y to help u nw ind a n d release som e built-up stress a n d tension.

A las, y o g a is a b o u t m ore than c re a m y snacks o r even pictures of p a n d a s; it is a p ra ctice a n d a w a y o f life that's w o rth a trying, no mat­ ter w h o you are. ■

2 2 sports I 1.2.05 ; the mcgill tribune

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Giving the Super Bowl its props Wacky wagers abound at football's big game NATHAN APPLEBAUM ith the end o f the NFL season com es the Super B ow l, a n d for the numerous viewers w h o d o n 't fol­ lo w the g a m e all that seriously, proposition bets— props for short— are right up there w ith the com m ercials w hen it com es to keeping p e o p le interested.

For those w h o w a tch fo o tb a ll regularly a n d w a n t to p la ce a w a g e r on Super B ow l Sunday, betting on the point spread w o u ld b e a much better idea. Props— m oney line bets w here gam blers choose one from a num ber o f specified out­ comes, each w ith different o d d s — a re really for those w h o have little k n o w le d g e o f either team, but still like to put some cash d o w n on the single largest sporting event o f the year.

Or, for those w h o a re sim ply com pulsive gam blers.

W h ile choosing w h a t side the coin w ill land on and w h ich team w ill w in the toss a re both potential p ro p bets, your o dds o f p icking correctly a re no better than a blindfold­ e d chickens. Here, however, is a collection o f some o f my rsonal favourite p ro p bets for S undays gam e that g o yo n d ca llin g heads o r tails.

W hich QB will Troy Aikm an mention first after the open­ ing kickoff?

Tom Brady— 105 (bet $ 1 0 5 to win $ 2 0 5 ), Donovan McDonald's— 1 40, Subway Even M c N a b b — 105 M cD onald's is a slam dunk here. W h ile I'm not lovin' the W h ile this bet could be seen as a g lo rified coin flip — "I'm lovin' it" ca m p a ig n , I think I speak for the m ajority w hen as w hichever team receives the ball first w ill have its quarter­ I note that— as w ith Janet in last year's halftime s h o w — w e 'v e backs discussed im m ediately— I feel that Brady has the better definitely been overexposed to Subw ay's Jared. chance. Even if the Eagles nave the gam e's first possession, But w h ile you can w in legitim ate m oney from p ro p bets, the form er C o w b o y s ' signal caller a n d one-time Super Bow l m any are m ore ab o u t having som ething to talk ab o u t w hile M VP m ay w ell mention the Patriots' signal caller and 1 9 9 2 a t the bar o r Super B ow l party. W ith that in m ind, here are Super B ow l MVP. N o te : this rule also holds if you're ever som e ridiculous props that could be fun to put a fe w bucks faced w ith od d s reg a rd in g w h ich Q B w ill get the first men­ d o w n on, just to say you d id it: tion on Rush Limbaugh's ra d io show.

• Paris Hilton will attempt a "dress malfunction" of her own W hich receiver will Cris Collinsworth mention first after on live TV, + 5 0 0 0 the opening kickoff?

• W illiam Hung will be caught on TV shaking his stuff, Terrell Owens + 5 0 0 (bet $ 1 0 0 to win $ 5 0 0 ), LJ. Smith +2000 + 7 0 0 , three other Eagles receivers + 8 0 0 ; Troy Brown + 7 0 0 , • A person will be so drunk that he will fall onto the field dur­ four other Patriots receivers + 8 0 0 ing gam e, + 5 0 0 0 W h ile sim ilar to the a b o ve bet, the sheer num ber o f • Osam a bin Laden will be apprehended during the game, options makes this one difficult to predict. H owever, O w ens +5000 w ill likely get mentioned, regardless o f w h ich team receives • Paul M cCartney will perform Nirvana's hit "Smells Like the kickoff. O w e n s is the only gam e-breaking receiver in the Teen Spirit" during the halftime show, + 1 5 0 0 0 g ro u p and could merit a reference right o ff the bat, w hether W h ile these bets have no real chance o f payin g off, they show him in uniform o r in street clothes. O n e thing is for they could m ake fo r a g o o d laugh, an d isn't that w n a t prop sure, though: thanks to T.O .'s injury, w e need not w o rry about bets are all about? For me, the best bet o f the Super Bow l C ollinsw orth b ringing u p — o r even w orse, the cam era showw o u ld be the Eagles + 7 , w ith a small side w a g e r on a drunk­ in g — Eagles' H e a d C o a ch A n d y Reid w e a rin g S pandex. en guy falling out o f the stands. After all, to quote an old slo­ W hich Super Bowl commercial will have a higher rating ga n from my predicted com m ercial p rop bet w inner: hey, it on USA Today's annual A d Meter? could happen. ■

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It's a shame to think that Super B ow l XXXIX is g o in g to ride on one player's le g — N e w England kicker A dam Vinatieri notw ithstanding — but it really could com e d o w n to the health o f P hiladelphia receiver Terrell O w ens.

W ith O w e n s at full strength, the Patriots secondary could finally be exposed for the banged-up, underm anned unit it is.

Sure, it handled Peyton M a n n in g and C o . pretty easily, and it's true that it handed Ben Roethlisberger his first loss since his junior year in college. But take a closer look. Indianapolis's receivers m ay be talented, but they aren't the toughest bunch, and the Pats sim ply sm acked them around until they w e re too scared to hold onto the ball. A nd Roethlisberger w as far from the Big Ben o f the regular season.

N o w the Pats fa ce a hungry Eagles team is finally in the S how after three years o f frustration. Donovan M c N a b b , w ith his accuracy, mobility, and p layoff experience, is more dan­

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gerous than any quarterback N e w England has fa ce d this season. In O w ens, P hiladelphia has a receiver that the Patriots' schemes cannot account for, as he is simply too strong and too g o o d for anyone to cover effectively. H e w ill require extra help, w hich w ill create just enough room for shifty back Brian W estbrook to get open and make some plays. O f course, if O w ens can't go, all bets are off. Philadelphia's other receivers, Todd Pinkston and Freddie M itchell, as w ell as W estbrook, are all pretty soft, and the Pats can shut them d ow n w ith ease.

O n the other side o f the ball, N e w England faces the league's best secondary an d a fearsome pass rush, but a shaky run defence. Philly d id im prove against the run when they inserted linebacker Jeremiah Trotter into the m iddle, but his lack o f m obility opens up interm ediate zones to the pass.

Though the Pats' air attack w o n 't pile up huge numbers, Tom Brady w ill d o w h a t he does best and find soft spots in the zone to open things up for C orey Dillon on the ground.

M y guess is that O w e n s w ill play, □ Don't forget your but he w o n 't have the breakaw ay breakfast cards!* speed or leaping ab ility that w o u ld nor­ m ally make him so dangerous. W ith o u t that, the Eagles w ill have a tough time moving the ball, and the Pats w ill dom ­ □ Hamburger cards inate time o f possession; look for Brady to pick at the seams o f the Eagles' defence so that Dillon can run a w a y HOURS w ith the Super B ow l MsVP in a 2 7 -1 4 W eekdays 7a m to 4 :3 0 p m W eekends 8am to 4 :3 0 p m Patriots win —M o h it A rora Holidays 8am to 3pm

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| B-BALL (W ) PLAYOFF Q U ALIFIC A TIO N S : M en s nocKey top two reams in ea cn aivision a n d the tw o next-best teams, w ith o u t re g a rd to division W om en's hockey— to p three teams Men's and women's basketball— top four teams

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R E D M E N H O C K E Y — T oronto @ M c G ill, S atu rd a y, 7 p m a t M c C o n n e ll A rena The Red 'n ' W h ite take on the O U A M id East-leading Varsity Blues in this potential p la y o ff preview . As if yo u needed a nother reason to hate Toronto.

MARTLET H O C K E Y - O tt a w a @ M c G ill, S unday, 1pm a t M c C o n n e ll A rena The G e e G ees w ill look to a v e n g e their 7 -2 d e fe a t a t the hands o f M c G ill on Friday, a n d the M a rtle ts w ill try to le a p fro g O tta w a in the standings. As it stands now , the team s a re tied in points, w ith O tta w a h o ld in g a g a m e in hand.

REDM EN BASKETBALL— Laval @ M c G ill, Saturday, 8 p m a t Love C o m p e titio n H all A fter p la y in g an im portant g a m e in Lennoxville, the Redmen return to fa c e the third-ranked Rouge et O r w ith their p la y o ff lives on the line. A lso, this w ill a hom ecom ing o f sorts for D enburk Reid, w h o is expected to bre a k the university's c a re e r scoring record on the roa d .

S W E D IS H ELITE LEAGUE— Brynas @ M o d o , Thursday, 7 :3 0 p m on Sportsnet This is likely the best hockey y o u 'll see all year, as M o d o features M arkus N a slu n d , the Sedin tw ins, a n d Tommy S alo. Think o f this as a c h a n ce to see the bre e d in g g ro u n d fo r the talented h ockey coun­ try that a lw a y s seems to suffer a le td o w n in international play.

Q U I C K HITS

M cG ill Redmen 8 , O ttaw a G ee-G ees 4 Friday, January 2 8 @ McConnell A rena S C O R IN G SUM M ARY First Period 1. M c G ill - B. M a rtin (S. S hew chuk ) - (PP) 1 :5 7 2 . M c G ill - D. O rr (B. M a rtin , S. Shewchuk) - 5 :2 6 3 . O tta w a - P.A. LeBlanc (). Lagace, S. Seguin) - 6 :5 4 4 . O tta w a - j . Robert (B. M cL e o d , M . N ic o le ttij - (PP) 1 7 :1 5 5 . M c G ill - S. S hew chuk (M . D ebusschere, D. O rr) - 1 9 :4 2 PENALTIES: O tta w a - N . Tennant (Rough), 0 :3 3 ; M c G ill - D. O rr (Slash), 7 :3 3 ; O tta w a - R, R ideout (Interfere), 1 1 :3 3 ; M c G ill - C .

G a u th ie r (Interfere), 1 2 :3 3 ; M c G ill - T. Kyfes (Interfere), 1 7 :3 3 Second Period 6 . O tta w a - j. B riere (N . Tennant, C . Boucher) - (PP) 7 :3 3 7 . O tta w a - P.A. LeBlanc (S. Seguin ) - 9 :3 5 8 . M c G ill - P.A. Paquet (L. M a d tll, S. Langlois) - 1 2 :3 4 9 . M c G ill - G . LeBlanc (S. Shew chuk, M . Debusschere) - (PP) 1 4 :2 5 PENALTIES: O tta w a - S. Seguin (Board), 1 :3 3 ; M c G ill - T Kyres (Hook), 6 :3 3 ; M c G ill - C . G a u th ie r (Unsportsm anlike), 6 :3 3 ; O tta w a - P.A. LeBlanc (H ook), 1 0 :3 3 ; O tta w a - M . N ico le tti (Cross-check), 1 3 :3 3 , M c G ill - E. L Italien (H it To H e a d M in o r, M isco n d u ct), 1 6 :3 3 Third Period 10 . M c G ill - S. S hew chuk (B. M a rtin , D. O rr) - 0 5 : 3 8 11 . M c G ill - E. L Italien (S. Langlois, A . Page) - (SH) 0 9 :4 0 12 . M c G ill - C . G a u th ie r (S. Shew chuk, M . Leclerc) - 1 9 :2 4 PENALTIES: O tta w a - N . Verneili (High-stick), 1 :3 3 ; M c G ill - D. J a co b (Rough), 6 :3 3 ; M c G ill - P O . G osselin (H ook), 8 :3 3 ; O tta w a - M . N ic o le tti (Knee, Rough), 1 7 :3 3 ; M c G ill - D. J a c o b (Rough), 1 7 :3 3 SHOTS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 Total M c G ill 12 11 1 5 3 8 O tta w a 1 1 9 7 27

IW O N A UNK/TARA PARK

Tara Park ♦ U1 M icrobiology & Immunology ♦ Fencing ♦ C algary Q : H ow did you get involved with fencing?

A: I w a s in g ra d e eight, an d I w a s in betw een sports.

M y step-dad w a s flip p in g through a m a gazine a n d sa w som ething on fencing, so he suggested I try it.

sabre a llo w s for slashing.

Q : So is fencing as danger­ ous as you just made it sound?

A : It's really no different than a n y other contact sport. 1 have bruises everyw here, but it's essentially safe. The sw o rd has a blunt tip, w e a re h e a vily Q : W h a t is McGill's fencing sea­ p a d d e d , a n d have a metal son like? W h o do you compete mask a n d Kevlar b ib . If it's g o o d enough fo r bulletproof vests, it's against?

A : W e have a y e a rlo n g fine for us. season, a nd w e com pete o n the Q : W h a t is it like being a open circuit. .So w e fa c e other universities, but also local clubs competitor and the head coach?

A : It w a s kind o f a w k w a rd that w ish to com pete. a t first. But the w a y w e have it Q : Tell us something about set up, I handle the adm inistra­ tive duties, a n d w e split up the fencing w e m ay not know.

A: Fencing is actually three actual c o a ch in g based on our different sports. Foil, epee, and talents. Some o f the other guys sabre refer to the different types a n d girls have been taking class­ o f swords used. In foil and es to b e com e certified coaches, epee, you can only strike w ith a n d w e 're currently lo oking fo r a the tip o f the sw ord, w hereas regular co a ch . ■

THE

HORN

18

10

i 1M cGILL

ROUND

G O A LTE N D IN G : M c G ill: M a th ie u Poitras (W , 6 0 :0 0 , 4 G A , 2 3 saves) O tta w a : M a th ie u B lanchard (L, 6 0 :0 0 , 8 G A , 3 0 saves) A tte n d a n ce : 6 1 2

SUPER TRIVIA

Test your k n o w le d g e on the big g e st sports spectacle in the : % w o rld b y answ ering the fo llo w in g five questions:

R e d m e n cagers let lead slip a w ay against Stingers In an all-too fa m ilia r pattern on the basketball court this season, the Redmen led fifth-ranked C o n c o rd ia for much o f the g a m e b e fore squandering the lead late an d d ro p p in g a 7 9 - 7 0 decisio n a t Love C o m p e titio n H a ll S aturday night.

The g a m e turned p a rt w a y through the second half, as an eight-point M c G ill lead w a s q u ic kly erased a n d turned into a d o u b le -d ig it de ficit. The Stingers u p p e d the tem po to a run-and-gun p a c e , inducing a num ber o f costly Redmen turnovers. A fter bein g held to 3 9 per cent shooting in the first half, C o n c o rd ia converted on 5 6 per cent o f its attem pts after the break.

"I just think that a lot times there is a five-minute stretch w here other teams raise their intensity a n d w e c a n 't m atch it," noted veteran Derek Arm strong, w h o turned in his regular solid perform ance w ith 1 9 points on seven-of-10 shooting.

The Redmen e m p lo ye d a b a la n c e d scoring attack in the first half, but as the pressure m ounted, the o ffence fell on the shoulders o f A rm strong an d gu a rd D enburk Reid. A t times, the rest o f the team m erely stood a n d w a tc h e d as Reid tried to create his shot.

"C o n c o rd ia w a s a b le to take certain guys out o f the g a m e ," assessed H e a d C o a ch C ra ig N o rm a n . "They execut­ ed d o w n the stretch a n d w e m a d e som e costly errors w ith the basketball a t costly tim es."

Reid w a s the focus o f much attention on the night, as he needed 2 5 points to break M c G ill's all-tim e scoring record o f 2 ,1 2 6 points. The 5 '7 " gu a rd led the Redmen w ith 21 on the night, le aving him just three short o f the record currently held b y W illie H inz.

A ll proceeds from the g a m e are bein g d o n a te d to the tsunami relief effort.

—Joseph G ilg o ff M a rtle ts ta k e tw o fro m O tta w a foes o v e r w e e k e n d The M c G ill w om en's hockey team had itself a pretty g o o d w e e ke n d , as evid e n ce d b y a 7-2 upset in O tta w a Friday night a n d a hom e blan kin g o f C arleton to a tune o f 4 0 S unday afternoon.

Sixth-ranked O tta w a o p e n e d the scoring e a rly in the first p e rio d , but C hristine H artnoll tied the score w ith her first o f tw o g o a ls on the night. The M artlets e nded the first p e rio d up 2-1 before e x p lo d in g fo r four markers in the second fram e.

S hauna Denis rounded out the scoring w ith an em pty net g o a l that g a v e her three points on the night. Denis had set up each o f H artnoll's -goals in the g am e. C a therine H erron s topped 3 0 o f 3 2 shots on the night to earn the w in in net.

M c G ill traveled b a c k hom e to square o ff a gainst C arleton a t M c C o n n e ll A rena, an d w e re just as sharp, p ilin g up 4 0 shots w h ile lim iting their opponents to just 1 3 in the shutout victory.

Laura Ruhnke's g o a l a t 2 :4 2 o f the first p e rio d held up as the gam e-w inner, an d K alie Tow nsend turned a s id e all 1 3 shots she fa c e d to earn the goose e g g .

S w im team s each ta k e second place a t T o ro n to m e e t The M c G ill swim team s en jo ye d a m odicum o f success in the p o o l this w e e ke n d ,w ith each p la c in g second in a meet a t the U niversity o f Toronto on Saturday.

The men am assed 1 3 5 points in the meet, a distant sec­ on d to fourth-ranked Toronto's 2 8 3 . A ll the M c G ill m edals w e re silvers: from the men's 4 x 5 0 -m etre relay, B enoit D alpé (1 0 0 m an d 2 0 0 m breaststroke), Jam ie D esjardins (2 0 0 m a nd 4 0 0 m freestyle), an d M a th ie u Roy (1 0 0 m butterfly).

The w o m en totaled 1 8 3 points, behind third-ranked Toronto's 2 4 0 . H eather Bell w o n g o ld in the 10 0 m an d 2 0 0 m breaststroke, a n d C a ro ly n M c C a b e took hom e the 5 0 m an d 10 0 m freestyle races. The tw o also led a M c G ill v icto ry in the 4 x 5 0 m relay.

H eil d o m in ates th e hill M c G ill student Jennifer H eil w o n the d u a l m oguls S aturday a t a W o rld C u p freestyle event in Park C ity, Utah, m aking her the first moguls skier to capture three W o rld C u p events this season.

By b e a tin g A m erican H annah K earney in the fin a l, H eil c o llected her fourth W o rld C u p m edal o f the season, an d rem ains the overall m oguls le a d e r w ith 4 6 6 points.

INTRAMURAL CORNER O n c e a g a in , it is tim e to id entify the best nam es M c G ill intra­ m ural team s have to offer.

i; 1 .W h o holds the Super B ow l record fo r receiving yards in : a g am e?

2 . W h ic h team has m a d e the most a p p e a ra n c e s in the | Super B ow l?

3 . W h o holds the Super B ow l record for longest run from § scrim m age?

4.

W h ic h city has hosted the most Super Bowls?

I 5 . W h o holds the Super B ow l record for longest field g o a l?

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Buck Fush FC: M en's in d o o r soccer A — But h o w d o they real­ ly feel a b o u t US politics?

M athderplan: M en's in d o o r soccer B — Thom e thort o f lithp joke ith in o rd e r here.

Soccer Moms: W o m e n 's in d o o r soccer A — N o t to be co n ­ fused w ith ...

Soccer Mam m as: W o m e n 's in d o o r soccer A — C-c-c-catfight!

Bring Back the Hi5: Co-Rec inner tube w a te rp o lo B — Tribune Sports Editor M o h it A ro ra a lre a d y brought it b a c k in high school. N o lie.

Blue Bailers: M en's basketball 8 — These guys need a w in really badly.

Montreal, January 25th, 2005 - McGill Idol is a contest in the form of a "Talent Show” which will be held for a period of 8 weeks at Gert’s Bar in the SSMU Building. The undergraduates will be competing against each other in order to win up to $1,200.00.

The contest will be held each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 7h30pm at Gert’s Bar from February 7th until March 30th, 2005. Each night, 6 to 10 performers will be invited to show off their particular talent and the audience will vote for their favorite performance. All variety of talents are welcomed : All talents full speed ahead!!!.

Single or groups. The first 180 registered undergraduate students will be eligible to show off their talents in the McGill Idol contest.

The winners will receive a cash prize of $100.00 and will be eligible for the semi-finals.

The winners of these semi-finals will receive a second prize in the amount of $100.00 and will participate in the grand finals. The winner of the finals will win a grand prize of $ 1 ,0 0 0 .0 0 .

A link will be made to promote the McGill Idol contest in order for all students to follow up on the activities related to this contest. An advertising campaign will be made by email, to inform and keep the performers and the audience up-to-date.

Posters and flyers will be distributed to promote the McGill Idol contest.

For the next few w eeks be prepared to swirl around the McGill Idol contest. W e encourage the undergraduates to com e and support their peers in a fun-filled event that will lead to laughter and surprises.

Note: There will be no activities during the school break week (February 21st to February 25th, 2005)

For m ore information, please contact: Anthony Di Carlo V ice-president (Operations) of the S tudents’ Society of M cG ill University 5 14 -3 9 8 -6 8 0 2 operations@ ssm u.m cgill.ca