The McGill Tribune Vol. 25 Issue 18

H U T E X H IB IT COMES HOME, 16

GET C A U G H T BY R U N N IN G , 12

Ban threatens campus business Bill 112 to halt tobacco sales KATHERINE SPIRGEN May 31 will see smoking out­ lawed in all public venues in Quebec as Bill 112 comes into effect. The ban covers all bars, pubs, restaurants and school cam­ puses and was passed by Jean Charest's Liberal government last year. It will put Quebec in line with most other provinces in restricting smoking to private and outdoor space.

While many are thrilled at the idea of spending a night out without coming home smelling of ciga­ rettes, the new law may cause some problems for on-campus stores. Bill 112 makes the sale of tobacco products illegal in school buildings, which could severely reduce sales in some university stores that have depended on such sales for previous years' profits.

In particular, Sadie's, which is run by the Students' Society, and SNAX, which is run by the Arts Undergraduate Society, may see serious declines in business when the law comes into effect.

In the 2004-2005 school year, 16.1 per cent of Sadie's total rev­ enue came from cigarette sales.

SNAX also relies on cigarette sales for a significant portion of its profit every year.

"SNAX was opened primarily for cigarette sales," said AUS VicePresident Financial Téo LerouxBlackburn. "People come in to buy cigarettes and then pick up other things while they're there. But now, hopefully, they'll come in just to buy other things."

Part of the challenge for cam­ pus stores will be to find other products to fill the empty space left by the disappearance of cigarettes.

"We're diversifying our sales," said SNAX manager Eva Vanek.

"We're looking into other options, like selling baked goods, more school supplies and maybe even clothing starting this summer."

Leroux-Blackbum said AUS had been preparing for the provincial law for some time.

"We've known about the com­ ing law for a while, and we've been using this year to experiment with selling things like muffins and cof­ fee, which has gone really well," he said.

Sadie's is also looking to stock its shelves with new products, according to SSMU VP Operations Eric van Eyken.

"It will be next to impossible for Sadie's to stay open without the money from cigarette sales," said van Eyken, who stressed that the lost revenue would have to be com­ pensated through additional sales.

Both SNAX and Sadie's are crit­ ical sources of revenue for AUS and SSMU operations. Sadie's makes between $4,000 to $5,000 in a standard year, while SNAX generally nets between $16,000 and $17,000.

Leroux-Blackburn, however, remained optimistic about the future viability of on-campus con­ venience stores.

"I definitely think we can make it without cigarette sales," he said.

While on-campus shops will undoubtedly see consequences as a result of the provincial law's upcoming implementation, the ban on university cigarette sales seems unlikely to have much of an effect on the smoking habits of McGill stu­ dents themselves. Tobacco sales off See STUDENTS, page 4

Smokers' attitudes toward thé impending ban on smoking in indoor

need no explanation.

F r a n c o f ê t e g e t s f ir e d u p French immersion w ithout leaving the G hetto N O R A WEBB There's more to Montreal culture than lower StLaurent and Ste-Catherine, but instead of having students make the trek to NDG or St-Denis, Réseau des Francos is making it easy for McGill students to get in touch with the language and culture of French Montreal. Francofête, the on-campus French culture festival that runs until Feb. 1, aims to expose students to a diverse cross section of French culture from around campus and the world.

According to former McGill student and Francophone Faiz Abhuani, "If s often difficult for francophone students to be socially assimilated into the anglophone majority."

Flowever, the language barrier is not simply a francophone issue. Anglo students armed with only a few French pick-up lines and swear words can feel cut off from the French

Montreal cultural scene. Zhaleh Afshar, a U3 Political Science student and native English speaker, said that lin­ guistic differences pose problems for anglophone students as well.

"With little or no knowledge of French it is intimidating for anglo students to venture out into largely francophone social and cultural settings," Afshar said.

This double isolation is being tackled by the Réseau des Francos, an organization striving to facilitate campus life for francophone students as well as promote French culture on campus.

The first Francofête took place on a lonely day in October 2004, when students visited nation-themed booths in Three Bares Park. This year Réseau des Francos

This week in Athletics Fri., Jan. 27 Redmen Hockey vs QUEEN’S zpm Sat., Jan 28 Redmen Hockey vs RMC 7 pm Fri., Jan. 27 & Sat., Jan. 28 McGill Invitational Track Meet Sat., Jan. 28 Swimming host QSSF Meet 1:30 pm www.athletics.mcgill.ca * advance student tickets at Sadie’s check website for start time of track meet

See FETE, page 4

n e w s E X C L U S I V E I N T E R V I E W — J US TI CE MINISTER IRWIN

COTLER

W h y is this man smiling?

Irwin C o tier visits Faculty of Law global phenomenon, where the media is engaged, one, in the celebrity culture, so they will focus on those kinds of statements by political leaders, and second by the politics of scandal, rather than what in fact was said by the fact-finding commission of inquiry about the scandal.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotier brought his campaign to the Faculty o f Law on Thursday, holding a press conference in which he excoriated Conservative Leader Stephen Harper for comment­ ing that “activist Liberal judges" and the civil service would be a check on a Conservative government. He also found fault in Harper's desire to change the legal definition o f marriage through the notwithstanding clause. "Harper is living in a legal Disney World," Cotier said. He spoke with the Tribune afterward about his campaign, the role o f the media in politics and how the govern­ ment can help stop the growing number o f gun crimes in our cities.

One of the main features of this campaign has been vio­ lence in our society, specifically gun violence. What role does the federal government have in combatting gun violence?

This has been the first election in a while that hasn't taken place in the summer, and many students have been in school and able to mobilize. Have you seen more involve­ ment by students in the various campaigns?

I have found that across the country, there has been greater involvement of young people. That is true in my riding, and I just was in Victoria, BC, where there was a large turnout of young people. So yes, there has been more involvement of young peo­ ple—they form an important core of the volunteer group in any campaign, and I would hope that they just don't get cynical by what they see and what they hear, but that their involvement will in fact improve democracy and the exercise of that democracy.

You have expressed frustration with media portrayals of your party, the "driveby headlines" as you called them. Do you feel that the media have been giving the Liberals a hard time in this campaign?

No, I'm not saying that they're giving the Liberals a hard time. I think what has happened is that we have a kind of info­ tainment in the media. What happens is that instead of people really taking a serious look at what the Gomery commission said, they report allegations made in the course of the commission, or they report what the politicians said about what the Gomery commission said.

What did Justice Gomery report? Two things: One, he said

COURTESY USHERBROOKE.CA

Delay graduating long enough, and you may see him around. that leaving aside the sensationalist headlines about allegations, "the vast majority of public servants and politicians emerged from this inquiry free of any blame." And then on page 430 he said, 'The Prime Minister and his government and caucus are entitled to exoneration of any allegations of carelessness, let alone misconduct."

How does that dovetail with the ongoing allegations of cor­ ruption and scandal and criminal conspiracy? There's a discon­ nect between what Justice Gomery said, and what Mr. Stephen Harper has alleged, and what the media has reported. And I think that is unhealthy for a democracy when that kind of thing takes place. But that's not just a Canadian phenomenon, it's a

There are no easy answers, there is no single answer. What we need is a multi-pronged strategy [that] is comprehensive, conclusive, balanced and fair. I summarized in the National Post that five-point strategy. One, a handgun ban, because there is no right to bear arms in this country, and we want to take illegal weapons off the streets. The second one is tougher laws and proportionate penalties, where the penalties are proportionate to the gravity of the crime and the responsibility of the offender.

That's why you have, with respect to gun-related crimes, existing mandatory minimum sentences...

The third is more effective law enforcement, the fourth was victim-related considerations, and the fifth is what I call the "hope and opportunity package," [which] we wanted to address the root causes of the crime as well as the crime itself. This part was particularly recommended to me in all my encounters with young people, my encounters with young people in at-risk neighbourhoods and communities, and recommended to me also by former gang members with whom I spoke in various parts of the country.

Before getting into politics you were a law professor here at McGill. Do you see yourself returning?

I'm on leave as a professor of law. I'm continually character­ ized as a former professor of law, yet another media mischaracterization. This was my home for 30 years as a student [sic] and then some 26 years as a law professor. It remains my home, and I guess at some point, yes, I will return. ■ —Compiled by James Cotowiec

CAMPUS

Canadian poli sci students converge on McGill CPSSA conference arrives on campus for first time ROBERT C H U R C H Last week political science students frorn across Canada converged on McGill for the annual meeting of the Canadian Political Science Students Association, attending a conference with themed days that included Quebec separatism, aboriginal politics, youth in politics and foreign policy.

According to the CPSSA Web site, the conference, which ran from Jan. 18 to 22, was convened to "examine Canadian diversity in the context of issues that will confront Canada in coming decades to see where tension will exist and how we can equip the next generation of Canadians to tackle these issues."

Over 160 students had registered for the conference, approximately 110 of whom ended up attending. Conference participants were able to attend a wine and cheese with McGill political science professors, a student debate between the vari­ ous campus political groups, and lecture sessions with invited speakers such as L. Ian Macdonald, author of Mulroney: Making o f a Prime Minister, and Daniel Turp, a Parti Québécois mem­ ber of the Quebec National Assembly from the Montréal-area.

Other speakers included military officers, representatives from non-governmental organizations, authors and academics.

The CPSSA was formed in 1996, and has been holding conference for at least five years. Past hosts have included the University of British Columbia, York University, Concordia and McGill. According to CPSSA President Gillian Prendergast, who is

also the vice president communications of the Arts Undergraduate Society, the conference is the biggest and most important of all CPSSA events.

"The main purpose of the Canadian Political Science Students Association is the organization of the national confer­ ence, and it fosters debate and discussion internationally with political science students on Canadian-themed issues," said Prendergast. She said that the current turbulent political climate in Canada helped make the conference more active and excit­ ing.

"The conference was absolutely fabulous," said Prendergast. "We got one of the highest turnouts of the past couple years. Because it was before the election, I think that everyone was thinking about politics anyways. In a non-election year, if you have people from the Maritimes and people from the prairies then you'll know one will be right and one will be left, but this time of year the political affiliations come out more.

It's easier to see."

Prendergast said that one of the highlights of the confer­ ence was the speech by PQ MNA Daniel Turp, who she said has been described as 'Canada's favourite separatist.' "[Turp] spoke to everyone on the first day, and he's a real­ ly charismatic speaker. It was valuable because people from other provinces were given a look into what the whole separatist cause is about. He's very eloquent... when he's speaking, you're thinking, 'Wow, separatism is a really good idea,' and

when he's done, you're thinking wait a minute, this can't be right.'"

Conference organizer Dévora Winston agreed that Turp drew one of the strongest responses from delegates, estimating that during the Q&A following his talk, about 90 of 110 students raised their hand to ask a question. Winston said that she and Prendergast wanted to hold the conference in Quebec partly to help students from other provinces understand the issues in Quebec politics, noticeably the separatist movement.

"Gillian Prendergast and I really wanted to hold it [at McGill] out of personal motivations," said Winston. "We really wanted to have McGill hold it because we wanted to deal with issues like Quebec separatism and diversity in Canada, and we thought that the diversity of students in Montreal would make it a really great place to do that."

According to Winston, this fits into the CPSSA's mandate of encouraging discussion between politically-inclined students from across Canada.

'The goal of the CPSSA is to foster dialogue between undergraduate political science students across the country and the conference acts as a forum for that," she said. "It builds social capital and it's a tool to have vital discussion on different political issues that come up each year." ■ To get published in the CPSSA journal, Expressions, e-mail your papers to cpssajournal@gmail.com.

the mcgill tribune | 2 4 .1.06] news

INTERNATIONAL

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Visiting Tulanians head home, start to rebuild Students enrolled at McGill decide half of Montreal winter is enough TRA CI JO H N S O N As their former McGill class­ mates skated to campus on ice-lined sidewalks last week, Fred Augonnet and Daniel Ostroff-Moskowitz returned to sunny New Orleans for the first day of classes at Tulane University since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August.

Augonnet and OstroffMoskowitz enrolled at McGill for the fall semester, along with seven other Tulane students, after being evacuat­ ed from New Orleans just hours into their freshman orientation program.

McGill offered to enrol anyone from Tulane as a visiting student and allow them to pay Quebec tuition rates.

Initially, school officials were unsure if Tulane would reopen at all this year, but administrators employed some creative strategieslike housing students on a cruise ship anchored in the Mississippi River—to compensate for the flood damage that affected two-thirds of the campus.

Augonnet said that while the decision to leave Montreal was diffi­ cult, he ultim ately felt that he belonged back in New Orleans.

SPEAKERS ON

Tulane officials have been for returning Tulane students would "It was a hard decision to make be difficult, especially for non­ forced to actively re-recruit students, because I had a great tim e at natives, because all "services, includ­ fearing that freshmen with less affili­ McGill," he said. "But I felt like I was ation to the school—like Rodeck—will ing postal, are limited or extremely needed more in New Orleans rather choose not to go back. President slow." than Montreal, and even a tiny con­ Scott Cowen travelled to many uni­ David Rodeck, a first-year stu­ tribution to the rebuilding process is versities across North America, dent from Delaware, also decided to worth coming back to Tulane." where 80 per cent of Tulanians reg­ continue his studies in Montreal.

Ostroff-Moskowitz, a first-year istered as visiting students for the fall Rodeck said McGill was the most student from New York, cited small­ semester, and implored his er class sizes and less "red former student body to return tape" among his reasons Tulane officials have been forced to actively to New Orleans. for returning to Tulane.

According to Tulane However, two other visiting re-recruit students, fearing that freshm en w ith Michael Tulane students decided to less affiliation to th e school will choose not to spokesperson Strecker, 82 per cent of the forgo a return to post- go back. According to a university spokes­ freshman class decided to Katrina New Orleans in favour of Montreal and said person, 8 2 per cent of the freshman class return, and over 90 per cent of the McGill administration's decided to return, and over 9 0 per cent of total the 6,700 total undergradu­ ates returned, numbers that quick response and atten­ undergraduates returned. vastly surpassed earlier esti­ tion throughout the semes­ mates. ter encouraged them to And while Ostroff-Moskowitz receptive to accepting him after he remain in Canada. reported that most of the places stu­ left New Orleans and noted that he 'The McGill administration was dents go to eat and hang out were received phone calls throughout the extraordinarily helpful and allowed undamaged, the university did not semester from concerned McGill me to obtain all of the appropriate escape Katrina unscathed or staffers. paperwork to cross the border and unchanged. Tulane im plem ented "It was a tough choice between to transfer my student loans within extensive budget cuts, including McGill and Tulane," he said, "but you seven days," said Tiara Pilisi, a firstplans to phase out all but two engi­ year law student whose husband is get really attached to the first school neering majors, consolidate gradu­ you go to and the people you meet. from Quebec. ate programs and eliminate half of Plus, my parents weren't too crazy Pilisi, a native of New Orleans, the school's sports teams. The uni­ about me going back." said she expected the adjustment

versity, which is the largest private employer in the city, also laid off more than 200 workers and sus­ tained over $200-million in property damages.

Despite these cuts, the Tulane Admissions Office said applications for the 2006-07 school year are up by 15 per cent. Officials noted that many students seem to be attracted by the opportunity to participate in rebuilding New Orleans. Tulane plans to institute a public service requirement for graduation next fall, but students have already started to pitch in, and Strecker stressed that they are doing so as volunteers.

"We currently have students building homes with Habitat for Humanity, painting and fixing up New Orleans public schools, clean­ ing up debris from neighbourhoods, repairing parks, visiting sick children, and more," he said. 'These students are volunteers. They are not required to do this and are not getting class credit. They just want to help."

Augonnet offered one m ore reason why students are returning to New Orleans in force.

"It's 18 degrees Celsius, and the sky is blue." ■

CAMPUS

Airline exec flies into Bronfman Robert Milton shares some life lessons and management k n o w -h o w JAMES G O T O W IE C Many students probably haven't heard of Robert Milton, but if their parents don't live within VIA Rail distance of Montreal, chances are they have helped to pay his salary.

As CEO of Air Canada since 1999, Milton has run th e airline company through September 11, the SARS crisis and bankruptcy pro­ tection. He came to the Bronfman building Friday as part of the Faculty o f Management's CEO Speaker Series to share his thoughts about airlines and management strategies with students and faculty.

The session followed a ques­ tion and answer format, with MBA student Joy Bennett interviewing Milton for half of the one-hour talk and the rest set aside for Milton to answer students' questions."That's why we moved from giving speeches to more of an inter­ view [format]," said event organizer and marketing professor Karl Moore.

"If CEOs give a speech, it's typically written by one of their employees, which is perfectly reasonable but much more wooden. When they're just having a conversation, it's much more relaxed and I think much more interesting."

Milton began by talking about his early life, growing up in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. He said that he had been fascinated by planes and airports for as long as he

could remember.

"A big part of my existence in growing up was flying on airplanes, so I became consumed with these things," he said. "And it's unfortu­ nate, because it's a pretty tough business. I wish I had been con­ sumed by writing computer software or something."

Milton told students that one of the keys to business success was pursuing fields about which they felt particularly passionate.

"It seems pretty basic," he said, "but some people get into jobs because they think the money is great, or it's going to be an easy existence, versus what they really want to be doing."

Milton may also have inadver­ tently dashed the hopes of any stu­ dents trying to break into an indus­ try.

"Some of the adages in life you hear are true—for example, it's not what you know; it's who you know," he said, discussing how he first became involved with Air Canada.

From there the talk moved into the experience of running a troubled airline through tough times. Milton pointed out that Air Canada is the only airline in the world to have sur­ vived having its airspace shut down (after September 11), as well as the SARS epidemic that swept through East Asia as well as Toronto.

"At that point," he said, "it was very easy for me to go to the employees and say, 'Look, the jig is

up. We have to change this thing. The Internet has changed the busi­ ness, low-fare carriers have changed the business and there are no passengers on our airplanes. We have to adapt."

Adapting included radically renegotiating Air Canada's aircraft leases—which Milton said was relatively easy in a climate in which no one was flying and no company wanted to buy airplanes—and changing the carrier's relationship with its employees.

M ilton acknowl­ edged that the moves were probably unpop­ ular among employ­ KIYOKO GOTANDA ees, but said they were necessary Robert Milton is smiling because he knows he won't be flying home in coach. nonetheless.

"I am categorically about him previously," said Andrew "At the end of it, all the employ­ not calling our employees children," Uyeno, U3 Honours Economics and ees [that were laid off] have been he said, "though it is an appropriate Management. "But I thought he was recalled," he said. "They took a lot of analogy. Sometimes for your chil­ very friendly, very personable, very tough medicine, but th e /re a lot dren you do things and they open to all kinds of questions." better off for it. Even with your kids absolutely do not understand why Moore agreed. you don't expect them to thank you, you're doing it for their protection "He gave an excellent talk. He but in their heads they know that and well-being. You can only hope was personable and interesting, and daddy was right." that one day they will understand." he answered the questions at some Students seemed to be recep­ Milton said that today, the wis­ length, so I think it was very good tive to Milton's messages. dom of the downsizing and restruc­ from that point particularly." ■ "I did not know very much turing is self-evident.

4

CAMPUS

news | 2 4 .1.06 | the mcgill tribune

@ MAC

Students not deterred

Carnivalling in Mac style

Cigarettes still available off-campus

Mac students ready to finally celebrate

Continued from cover

campus will be unaffected by Bill Competition," she said. "It's a long tradition."

Both Lemieux and Cobitz Amidst all the attention that denied that Carnival Week would Carnival activities receive on the main encourage alcohol consumption in campus, few downtown residents are the same way that some contend the aware that Macdonald students are downtown winter carnivals do. celebrating their own version of the "People don't drink that much winter welcome-back only a bus ride on our campus," Cobitz joked away. before adding, "[The adminis­ Generally held around the "[Carnival has] always been held between tration] gets mad when we last week of January, Carnival the Canadian Intercollegiate Lum berjack advertise for beer. It was a bit Week has been a popular event and th e M acd o nald of a problem during Frosh." at Mac for years. However, for at C o m p e titio n Based on the pending least its past two incarnations, Intercollegiate Judging Com petition. It's a schedule—MCSS is still accept­ the week has come and gone long tradition." ing ideas fo r activities—the with little more than a Casino council has a variety of non­ —Lise Cobitz, M C S S vice-president internal Night and some free hot choco­ alcoholic events planned, late for students. This year, the including a pancake brunch, an Macdonald Campus Students' main organizer of the event, said that outdoor barbecue, a snow volleyball Society is changing that. the Carnival Week was not post­ tournament and a movie night com­ "We want to make it bigger than plete with ice cream and popcorn poned, but there was in fact a mislast year and include all students as communication. machines. much as possible," said MCSS presi­ "For sure we'll have activities at "It's always been held between dent Marie-Ève Lemieux. "I wasn't the Ceilidh (the campus bar)," the [Canadian Intercollegiate part of the executive council last year, Lumberjack] Competition and the Lemieux said, "but that is not our but I think the budget and student [Macdonald Intercollegiate] Judging main focus." ■ participation were problems, Even V IN C C I T SU I

with great ideas, you need volun­ teers."

This year's Carnival Week is scheduled to be held from this Saturday to Feb. 5. The dates indicat­ ed on the university calendar—Jan. 21 to 27—are incorrect. Lise Cobitz, MCSS vice-president internal and the

CAMPUS

Fête continues ail month ’Phones and ’philes gather for music and dance

112.

"I question how effective this law will be," said Vanek. "People are just going to go down the street and buy [cigarettes] somewhere else."

Bill 112 is also unlikely to have a significant impact on campus buildings, as smoking in most McGill facilities is already forbidden. The smoking rooms in the McLennan Library were closed in 2004, and all classrooms and administrative units are all officially smoke-free. However,

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the smoking lounge currently located on the first floor of Shatner must be removed to comply with provincial law, and Gert's must also be desig­ nated non-smoking.

Keith Meyers, U1 Political Science, said the changes would be only a minor inconvenience.

"It's a little irritating to me," he said, "because I'm used to just drop­ ping by Sadie's whenever I run out.

But I can just get them on my way to or from school instead. All this means is that I have to plan ahead a little." ■ —With files from Niall Mackay Roberts

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Student Services Leaderskip Training Interactive Workskop Series Are you a student in a position of leadership (executive or coordinator) with a McGill club, service or faculty association? Do you want some tangible skills to help you in your day-to-day leadership roles? Guess what?!

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Continued from cover

Recruiting Students to Your Organization President Sophie Zhang, along with her dedicated team and the Students' Society francophone com­ missioners, has revived 2004's Francofête and come up with a diverse and stimulating schedule of events.

The second edition of Francofête is a month-long on-cam­ pus collaboration among several stu­ dent groups which the Réseau des Francos oversees and coordinates.

Working closely with Théâtre de la Grenouille, McGill African Students' Society, Black Students' Network, McGill Debating Union and the Classical Music Club, Francofête aims to represent a cross section of McGill's diverse francophone com­ munity, with events designed to attract francophone and anglophone students alike.

Events have ranged from a film festival—featuring classic French film­ makers from Clouzot to Godard to Chomet—to "La chanson Québécoise," Francofête's only Québécois-themed event. Held at Gert's, the concert featured not only a free first round of beer but also the music of iconic Quebec talents like Jean Leloup.

Francofête continues Thursday at Gert's with African and Caribbean music and dance, including tam-tam drumming reminiscent of summer Sundays on Mount Royal.

Despite varying attendance at Francofête events this year, the festi­ val is still young. Leon Mwotia, SSMU vice-president clubs and services, commended the event as "a unique

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We hear this was better than French music night at Café Campus. opportunity for francophone students to celebrate a culture that forms a vibrant and ultimately indispensable part of the McGill social fabric." ■

For a detailed schedule o f events and reservations, e-mail Francofête organ­ izers at reseaudesfranco@yahoo.ca.

* Note: Attend 5 workshops during the year and receive certification of completion.

Registration, in person, is on a firstcome, first-serve basis, one week before the workshop date, at the Fi rst-Year Office Suite 2100, Brown Student Services Bldg.

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the mcgill tribune | 2 4 .1.06

CAMPUS

Design on a dime

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U p to Speed

Engineering students converge for competition DAN IEL A M IN Last week, for the first time since 1989, McGill and the Faculty of Engineering played host to the Quebec Engineering Competition.

The competition, which drew more than 200 students from 12 Quebec universities, began Thursday and continued over the weekend, concluding Saturday night.

After the contestants were treated to a wine and cheese meetand-greet on Thursday, the Senior Design contest began in the evening. Contestants had 16 hours, overnight, to complete their projects.

Students participated in six dif­ ferent competitions at McGill and the Montreal Science Centre.

QEC com m ittee co-chair Andrea Linsky said that organizers chose to hold part of the competi­ tion at the science centre so people from outside McGill could attend the event.

"We thought it would be nifty if we could have people from around Montreal come see it," she said.

Bringing the event to McGill was a year-long process. Linsky and fellow EUS exec Egbert de Groot decided last year that McGill should make a bid to host the QEC. According to them, putting the bid

together wasn't easy.

"We had to get the faculty's support for the bid," Kausel said.

"Then we had to go present to the QEC committee. In May, we started to get things like the hotel and the science centre." Linsky began organ­ izing the event after McGill beat out Université du Québec à TroisRivières for the right to host.

"Egbert and myself spent the next 12 months working on it, find­ ing a team, putting together spon­ sorship packages, contacting schools. We have a team of 26 peo­ ple working on it."

This year's QEC is unique in that it is the first fully bilingual con­ ference.

As for McGill's representation at the QEC, Kausel said that a group of 75 students who tried out for the com petition was eventually nar­ rowed down to about 20. According to her, many participating schools accept any student who chooses to compete.

Expectations were high for the McGill contestants after several strong showings at the QEC last year.

"It's becoming a more recog­ nized event at McGill," Linsky said.

Kausel echoed McGill particpants' optimism.

"The last couple of years at the

McGill Engineering Competition, there's been a lot more enthusiasm about it," she said. "More people are interested in QEC. The event is growing."

For Jonathan Dionne, who pre­ sented his omni-directional platform at the competition, it was a chance to enter a project he had worked on in school.

"It was the final project of my degree, and afterwards, they approached me to be in it," he said.

"It's a chance to make a presenta­ tion and to get oneself noticed."

Jean-Philippe Dery, a student at Université de Sherbrooke, presented Tablomatik, a device that controls hockey scoreboards and connects them to referees' whistles.

"It was our session project last autumn," Dery said. "We had the opportunity to come because there was still place in mid-December. So we improved it a little more for this competition."

Like many competitors, Dery said he and his partner were not there to be recruited by corpora­ tions.

"We don't have a precise goal," he said.

QEC winners will go on to com­ pete in the Canadian Engineering Competition in March. ■

It's been a wacky week even for wacky news, so let's delve right in: Actor William Shatner, of Shatner building fame, has decided to sell the kidney stone he , u recently passed. Online casino Goldenpalace.com agreed to pay him $25,000 for the honour of displaying * r > •*‘i ;• the stone alongside such other collectibles as the famed half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich bearing the face of the j\<rp Virgin Mary. Only a McGill alumnus would be financially savvy enough to market something passed through his ure­ thra. • On to Japan now, and to an unusual relationship If ill between predator and prey. It has been reported that a rat snake and the hamster it was offered as food last in October have become friends, and the snake has refused to eat the rodent. The’ hamster was initially offered to the lonely snake because it refused to eat frozen mice. No word_yet on whether the two plan to marry. • A bottle-nosed whale was spotted for the first time since 1913 swimming up the River Thames in London. The whale, which appeared to be disoriented and injured, died during a rescue operation the BBC estimated may ■IIIlift have cost as much as £100,000. Two other disoriented bottle­ Ik i nosed whales were reported off the coast of Scotland, causing scientists to speculate that something was causing bottle­ licit «J nosed whales to become confused. • The world heard again Ik from Osama bin Laden last week, in a tape aired on the Arab TV network Al Jazeera. In it, bin Laden claims that new secu­ fir* i;j Rii! rity measures in the US will do nothing to safeguard the country, and that the only reason more attacks haven't H ! taken place is that they take time to plan. He did offer Americans the prospect of a long-term truce, provided that their government pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

IW Klffij ! ’ Needless to say, US officials were unreceptive to the ■ »« ■s Q'. offer 'ï t o A t a l H Sources: bbc.co.uk, globeandmail.com,

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nytimes-com

JttfûitrfÉSKtfi®®.

This year, the SSMU w ill w ork hard to inform you o f the latest developments in M cG ill's undergraduate com m unity. Expect a SSMU half-page every second week in the Tribune, on page 5.

SSMU is looking for a Safety Commissioner The role of the safety Commissioner is to: -Serve as a link between the VP Clubs and Services and the Safety Network (First Aid .Drivesafe, and Walksafe) -Work on new initiatives concern­ ing safety issues at McGill -Chair the Safety Network Committee This individual will: -Be motivated and looking to get involved in Student life at McGill -Have a background in safety work (ideally with one of the safety groups here at McGill) -Be independent and goal-driven Please e-mail Leon Mwotia at cs@ssmu,mcgill.C3 or drop off your CV’s at the SSMU front desk.

SSMU

Social Justice Week -Peoples’ History of McGill University: A Discussion with Madeleine Parent Tuesday, January 24, 6:00pm Lev Bukhman room, 2nd floor,Shatner

-“ Burning Down The House” A Party Saturday, January 28, doors open at 10pm, Thomson House, 3650 McTavish Street

Wednesday, January 2 5 ,12:30pm Lev Bukhman Room, 2nd floor, Shatner

-When Campus Resists: Reflecting on the Practice, Theory and Lessons of Student Activism - A Panel Discussion

-Feminism Now: A Panel Discussion

Monday, January 30, 5-7pm Lev Bukhman Room, 2nd floor, Shatner

-Vegan Baking 101 : A Workshop

Thursday, January 26, 3 - 5:30pm Lev Bukhman Room, 2nd floor, Shatner

-Tea and Discussion with on the Intifada from North America Friday January 27, 3pm First People’s

-Breaking Down the Canadian Immigration System: A Presentation Tuesday January 31, 5:30pm Lev Bukhman Room, 2nd floor, Shatner

house

-Trial: A Play

-Doing Immigration Support Work: A Workshop

Friday, January 27, doors at 5pm, play starts at 7pm, Gert’s

Wednesday February 1st, 5:30pm Lev Bukhman Room, 2nd floor of Shatner

B IL L B O A R D

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the mcgill tribune

CAMPUS

j 24.1.06

| news

7

Equity W e e k morphs into something new SSMU joins forces with new progressive coalition to promote campus activism JENNIFERJETT and NIALL M A C K A Y ROBERTS

In a switch from the traditional Winter semester Equity Week, activism-oriented students have organized Social Justice Days, 10 days of events that aim to foster an alternative political culture.

Social Justice Days began Thursday and continues through Feb. 1.

"We thought that in the past Equity Week has been kind of a tokenized thing that SSMU does, just one week dedicated to issues around equity and that's it," said Equity Commissioner Aruna Krishnakumar. 'We wanted this to be more of a continu­ ous process—we're going to have these days now and then have another set at the beginning of March.”

Unlike Equity Week in the past, Krishnakumar added, Social Justice Days was a joint effort between the SSMU Equity Committee and the Campus Coalition of Progressive McGill Students, a QPIRG McGill initiative formed late last semester.

"Whereas in the past the equity commissioner usually goes up to groups and just asks, 'Do you want to host some kind of workshop?,' they've been involved in the whole process," she said, "so it's very diverse this time."

Events this week include panel discussions, a vegan baking

“Cha-ching! No more need for sperm bank deposits”

workshop, a play and a presentation by Madeleine Parent, a 1942 McGill alumnus involved in the feminist and labour move­ ments.

Students Taking Action in Chiapas, Gorilla Composting and Le Frigo Vert were among the groups present Thursday at Activist Night, an opportunity for students to sample the wide range of social justice organizations at McGill and in the Montreal com­ munity at large.

"It's a little more relaxed than the hordes of people at reg­ ular Activities Night," said Caitlin Worrell from Rethink McGill, a campus environmental group.

Events such as Activist Night are useful for organizations that want to collaborate, Worrell said.

'They have so much work in common, they have common goals," she said, "so it's a nice forum for people to share their ideas."

Having so many student groups involved in the planning process has increased communication and cross-promotion between them, Krishnakumar said. Mostly, however, events dur­ ing Social Justice Days are designed to raise awareness among students not already involved.

"I'm hoping people realize how many different groups there are at McGill and how there are a lot of services that are provid­ ed but are sort df ignored," Krishnakumar said. "I'm also hoping that people realize how the administration has been attacking a lot of these groups, displacing them from their spaces, things like that."

The Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society, QPIRG and community radio station CKUT are all in negotiations with the McGill administration-over space, lease or other issues. "[At] the first meeting a lot of the groups that were there realized that they had the same problems and that they could brainstorm and discuss different strategies for talking to the administration and talking to' SSMU, [having] some sort of support system," Krishnakumar said.

Last Friday, Adrian Bondy, U3 Linguistics and a

- Chad Regan, Arts III

member of the Campus Coalition of Progressive McGill Students, presented a discussion on "AIDS and Blood."

Participants were treated to a series of short documentaries on the history of ACT-UP—who 1988 takeover of the US Food and Drug Administration is widely credited with bringing the HIVAIDS epidemic to the attention of the US public.

Bondy attempted to frame Héma-Québec's controversial exclusion of gay blood donors in the context of the past two decades of AIDS activism.

"ACT-UP's tactics should be an inspiration," he said. "This is not about discrimination so much, and not about public health.

This is aobu the way AIDS functions in society as a discourse."

Bondy was equally critical of campus groups for what he characterized as a cursory attention to HIV-AIDS problems. In particular, he demanded Queer McGill dedicate greater resources to the issue.

Misty Malott, a Master's student in Nursing, tabled for the Indigenous Peoples' Solidarity Movement, a working group of QPIRG McGill and QPIRG Concordia that engages in fundraising and education activities. Looking around the room at Activist Night, Malott saw mostly familiar faces.

"It seems partly that most of the people [here] are the peo­ ple who are already involved in the McGill activist community," Malott said. "I'm not sure how well the word got out to other stu­ dents who are not involved but who might want to be."

However, Krishnakumar said the event drew community groups and students from outside McGill.

'There were actually a lot of faces I didn't recognize, which made me quite happy," she said.

Malott advised aspiring activists to find a cause they are pas­ sionate about.

"A good first step would be to decide what your interest is, because there are so many different groups that focus on differ­ ent things," Malott said. "Then look and see what's out there— we're around, we're here." ■ For a complete schedule, visit www.ssmu.ca/en/home/social-justice.php.

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Abunimah to discuss Palestinian-lsraeli conflict JENNIFERJETT Pro-Palestinian activist Ali Abunimah will speak at McGill this week as part of Social Justice Days, a series of student-organized events that encourage activism.

Abunimah is the co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a Web site devot­ ed to covering the Palestinian-lsraeli conflict.

"It deals not only with politics but with arts, music, culture and just about every aspect of these issues that you could want to know about," he said. "We have a lot of personal writing, diaries of people in Palestine, photography and that kind of thing."

Abunimah chose the name for his Web site—which is the first to appear in a Google search for the term "intifada"—before the current intifada began. He said the word "intifada" has been wrongly equated with terrorism in the West. "[Intifada] just means uprising, it means standing up for yourself," he said. 'The weapons that we fight with are words and pictures. ...

Simply the act of having a news site that dealt with these issues directly felt like standing up to the prevailing situation. It is a name that does pro­ voke discussion and we think that's

a good thing."

The writer and commentator will discuss media coverage and the future of the Palestinian-lsraeli con­ flict at a tea on Friday at 3 p.m. at First Peoples' House, 3505 Peel.

"There's a lot of talk about dif­ ferent developments with [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon leaving the scene and Palestinian elections and Israel leaving Gaza," Abunimah said. 'There's a lot of optimism that this all adds up to something. I'm much more skeptical."

Hillel McGill Co-President Yael Pfeiffer said Social Justice Days should expose students to a broader range of opinions.

"If it's meant to be a discussion, I would think it would be more valid if they brought in more journalists from m ultiple perspectives, as opposed to just one journalist," she said.

Abunimah contends that main­ stream media misrepresent the con­ flict and the actors involved.

"I think from looking at the gen­ eral media coverage a person who wasn't an expert on this issue would be forgiven for coming to the con­ clusion that the biggest perpetrators of violence are Palestinians and the biggest victims are Israelis," he said.

"Absolutely opposite is the case. By

far the vast majority of the people killed in the conflict are Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli violence."

Abunimah claimed the media celebrated the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last year while ignoring the flow of settlers into the West Bank. He also criticized the media for downplaying the alleged crimes of Sharon, "somebody whose career is stained with the blood of literally tens of thousands of inno­ cent civilians over 50 years."

Abunimah said he hopes the event will be an informal discussion in which students raise their own questions.

"University is a great opportuni­ ty to become informed about these things," he said. "It's a privileged position where you sit there on your lovely campus and people from all over the world come through. You have a chance in university to meet people famous and obscure from all over the world that you really never have again."

Students are in an ideal posi­ tion to pursue social change, Abunimah said.

"Maybe they don't realize it, but they will after they're through with college and they regret the days when they had that kind of free­ dom." ■

opinion

W hip it

Stop worrying, start drinking

The helpless Romantic

Smoking stinks (but so does the ban) RICH TSENG his is a tale of two coffee shops, standing right across the street from one another on Milton. One has a smoking ban, serves nothing but sweets, is politically correct, main­ tains a bilingual staff and is part of a global guar­ antee for great coffee. The other is a smaller café staffed mostly by one crotchety old French guy and his friends that delivers hearty canned soups, crusty quiche and sandwiches, which clients claim have bitten back. On top of this everyone, in café No. 2 hides behind a fog of nicotine. Naturally, as a non-smoker, you can probably guess which coffee shop I'm writing from.

Café No. 2 in all its smoky splendor.

Why? Because it has character, dammit!

I've never placed anything between my lips and set it on fire in my life, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the intimacy of a cozy room veiled in smoke or the extra scent of sin layered over the puke, sweat and beer of a dive bar. Mind you, it doesn't mean I don't find the sight of addicts puffing away in the biting cold around the corner pathetic, either.

Let's face it: Smokers are among the most discriminated minorities in Canadian society today. Not only are they prohibited from sitting with the rest of humanity in public, they are also among the most heavily taxed citizens. And now it's going to get worse in Quebec, formerly one of the most liberal provinces in Canada. Apparently, just because you've fallen for one of the most addictive and poisonous legal habits around, you will now be confined to the icy outdoors.

What's worse, those of us who prefer the smell of smokes over the stench of vomit, BO and stale suds (and compared to the reek com­ ing out of SnoAP, Marlboros are an air-freshener)

T

have no say in this matter. Neither do the own­ ers of establishments like Biftek, who know that the spice of cigs makes their popcorn more palat­ able. Never mind if these places are willing to incur the risk that offended non-smokers would go elsewhere, or the added repair and mainte­ nance that come with allowing this filthy habit on the premises; even if the owner wants to grab a puff on his own property, smoking, say officer hardass and the legislators, best be done outside.

Smoking, as we've been told by all those concerned children's mindwashers, isn't cool, but a smoke-filled Upstairs at two in the morning sure as hell is. When the trum pet hits those pre­ cious few notes hissing into the mists of your subconscious, smoke provides the perfect visual accompaniment. A non-smoking dive can be described like the karate commando action villain that never swears: lame. Unless the Man is going to provide these joints with dry icé machines when the ban comes into effect, He should butt out.

"But the Man wants to protect us from haz­ ards to our health!," says the PC wuss. We know this, but we also know that the same holds true for high-stakes poker, drag-racing and hanging out at biker-owned dive-bars after hours. Nobody needs to be protected from any of these things; they just need to choose to not do them. If you don't walk into a room filled with smoke, you avoid the risk of cancer.

It may be our fascination with fire, our love of mystery, or the fact that the more you stigma­ tize a "fringe" activity the cooler it seems.

Regardless of why, it's obvious that our society is attracted to smoking. And our right to enjoy the company of those who light up make the idiocy inherent in a smoking ban crystal clear. ■

B R A N D O N C H U D L E IG H ithin ptere minutes of receiving my high school diploma, vari­ ous adults who felt the need to play ap excruciating round of 20 Questibns mobbed me. Amid a bar­ rage of inquiries about majors, minors and career paths, I could feel the rum­ blings of a projectile vomiting episode.

I promptly snatched up all greeting cards stuffed with grad money, went out and got bombed.

Four years later, I find I am taking a similar approach to coping with looming decisions, vehemently deny­ ing the doom that is post-grad life. I have many friends who have spent four years getting a BA only to realize that in the midst of embracing the wonders of student life—heated beer tents apparently being first and fore­ most among them—they forgot to actu­ ally contemplate the future. Apparently, though, they (and I) are in the minori­ ty. Most people here seem to be hard­ core keeners, actually acknowledging and fretting about the nagging ques­ tions of "From where will I be bringing home the bacon?" and "How can I avoid living in a box once I'm done with my degree?" These people, like my relatives did post-high school, make me ill.

My problems with those prepared enough to stress about not being pre­ pared enough are twofold. Firstly, it reminds me of how disorganized I am, something I would much rather contin­ ue to ignore (hey, it's worked for me so far). Secondly, they never shut up. As future guilt sets in, these students are nary able to hold a conversation that doesn't involve internship applications, CRE scores or the dim prospects of job fairs. They regale you with self-involved

W

tales of fake optimism, designed to convince the listener that the storyteller isn't useless and does indeed have some marketable qualities. Mostly, they remind me of why I don't like my friends.

This strain of worry wart-ism isn't so much contagious as it is annoying; I manage to keep my aloof cool in spite of being surrounded by graduating bas­ ket cases. But I find it frustrating that so much energy is exerted in chasing these romanticized versions of the future. These students are a little too turned on by the thrill of the chase: Just as it's often more fun to get a girl into your bedroom than it is to actually bed her, the reality of entry-level workforce will inevitably be a comparative let down to going after that first job.

In sending off applications and arranging job interviews, they can still maintain that hope that all life's pieces will fall into place. It's therefore reason­ able that emotions run so very high, because their life depends upon secur­ ing prospects before commencement.

But these students are so stupidly naive (I blame the adrenaline endor­ phins). Anyone who has actually worked any job knows that once you have one tethered in place, you imme­ diately begin to look for ways to untie yourself from it.

There is a reason that old people always weave yarns about university being the best time of your life. They know the secret—that it's all downhill from here.

I never expected to be quoting from the Bible, but there's actually a nugget or two in there. So stop obsess­ ing, and take this to heart: Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. ■

Kleinium

Courting science a valuable SC O TU S strategy J O N A T H A N KLEIN uick... who was the last American President not to appoint a Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States? If you answered Jimmy Carter, you're either extremely knowledgeable, or you at least glanced at the Trivia Club's sample quiz during Activities Night (full disclosure: I'm on their exec).

Even those who didn't know that esoteric presidential factoid surely are aware that appointing justices is one of the most important and most scrutinized duties a President has, one that can ensure a Commander-in-Chief's legacy long after his term has expired. President George W. Bush has certainly tried to leave his mark, appointing John Roberts as Chief Justice and selecting the soon-to-be-confirmed Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.

Amid much senatorial grand-standing and pomp during Alito's confirmation hearings, a few Judiciary Committee members actually managed to ask Alito some questions.

Many of these focused on trying to get Alito to declare whether or not he favours overturning Roe v. Wade and a handful of other issues. This is not a legal column, and I am here neither to parse Alito's answers nor to comment on his fitness for the bench. I do take issue, though, with the type of questions typically levied toward Supreme Court nominees and public figures in general.

Q

Obviously, a candidate's views on the legality of abortionare of critical importance and must not be ignored. But abor­ tion is likely to be the subject of only a fraction of the cases that will come before a Justice during his career. With the growing number of hot-button issues dealing with science and technology, shouldn't we make sure that candidates are versed not only in relevant law, but also the underlying scien­ tific ideas?

Let's make sure nominees understand what a stem cell is, what it does and why it's important—beyond the fact that some people consider one equal to a living, breathing human while others don't. Let's make sure they have a rudimentary understanding of evolution, so that even if school boards are swayed by the unscientific but often convincing-sounding arguments of creationists, Justices will not be. While a justice's legal views may not equate with those of the all the members of scientific community, it does a disservice if the legislative branch does not understand the issues at the heart of sci­ ence-related cases.

A major problem that has become evident in recent hearings is nominees stonewalling committee members and refusing to answer questions by insisting that they will simply abide by legal precedent. A different tactic—one which could take a candidate by surprise and possibly even elicit (gasp!) a

substantive response—would be to ask for an explanation of the differences between a zygote, an embryo and a fetus. If candidates know and can explain the scientific definitions, this knowledge will be invaluable to their reasoning and judg­ ments on cases dealing with the unborn. If candidates are unable to explain the difference, or if their answers expose certain biases, committee members may be able to gain important insights into a nominee's understanding and opin­ ion of the issue.

I am in no way suggesting that we should stock the bench with Chemistry PhDs. It is clearly much more important that judges have sound legal minds rather than scientific train­ ing, and depositions from experts can help explain topics with which judges may not be intimately familiar. I think, however, that Justices should have at least a rudimentary understanding of major scientific ideas, especially those likely to impact their work.

Questions about a nominee's scientific literacy don't attract much attention from senators who want to play it up for their constituents. But given the proliferation of science and technology in our society and the number of legal issues which rely heavily on those topics, even non-trivia whizzes should know that such questions ought to be routine. ■

the mcgill tribune | 2 4 .1.06 | opinion

I M cG ill T rib u n e

9

EDITORIAL

A question of Equity and Social Justice

E ditor-in-C hief Liz Allemang

The challenge o f social justice is to evoke a sense o f community that we need to make our nation a better place.

—Marian Wright Adelman

editor@mcgilltribune.com M anaging E ditors Jennifer Jett A n d re w Segal seniored@mcgilltribune.com N ews E ditors Robert Church James G otow iec Niall Mackay Roberts news@mcgilltribune.com Features E ditors Genevieve Jenkins Cristina Markham features@mcgilltribune.com A&E E ditors Ben Lemieux Melissa Price arts@mcgilltribune.com S ports E ditors David Blye A dam Myers sports@mcgilltribune.com Photo E ditors Lukas Bergmark Vladimir Eremin . photo@mcgilltribune.com C opy E ditor Traci Johnson copy@mcgilltribune.com D esign E ditors M att Campbell Tiffany Choy Genevieve Friesen design@mcgilltribune.com O nline E ditor M arco A v o lio online@mcgilltribune.com A dvertising M anager Paul Slachta advmgr@ssmu.mcgill.ca PUBUSHER

Chad Ronalds

ell, it's late January, and that can only mean one thing: Equity Week, the Students' Society's much-vaunted cele­ bration of tolerance, inclusiveness and progres­ sive social education is finally entering its muchanticipated full swing. No end of anxious, sweatyhanded delight greets the annual festivities on the part of McGill's student body, which has come to see Equity Week events as an embodiment of all that university life is capable of and all that makes it worthwhile. Exposure to alternative worldviews, to the richness and diversity of human experience and to new and intellectually challenging ways of interpreting the social context in which we live— this is at the heart of any real education, and this is the mission of Equity Week.

The Tribune would very much like to be able to present this year's Equity Week in exactly these saccharine terms, but without the obvious irony.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been feasible in the past because of students' ignorance and lack of sincerity in pursuing their own education. It's not possible this year because the event has been reborn as Social Justice Days—replete with an unpalatable new focus.

A degree is more than 120 credits appropri­ ately divided between departments and gar­ nished liberally with blunts and beer. Students who routinely pass up the opportunity to involve themselves, either on campus or in the city, are denying themselves of an experience that will never return. That was the case with Equity Week in previous years, where student-friendly movie screenings and lectures were sparsely attended, and students should be faulted—although the Equity Committee's attempts to market itself were by no means fantastic.

Unfortunately, turning Equity Week into Social Justice Days is a bizzare way for the Committee to show its concern with attracting greater student participation. This year's produc­ tion, which runs from Jan. 19 to Feb. 1 and was planned in conjunction with the recently formed Campus Coalition of Progressive McGill Students,

OFF THE

seems to have adopted radicalization rather than moderate discussion as a means of reaching out to students.

CCPMS and the Equity Committee apparent­ ly feel that students will respond better to stri­ dence than persuasion. Sick of years of anemic student attention, the Equity Committee has decided not to broaden its scope or better publi­ cize its intentions, but simply to get louder.

Such a tactic mischaracterizes campus disin­ terest as a lack of awareness, while the problem is really one of approach. Feminists need little incentive to attend the Jan. 26 panel on the movement's modern relevance. Middle East activists have already prepared their arguments for the Jan. 27 discussion on journalism and the Intifada. The people who need convincing are the ones who know next to nothing about refugee policy, anti-terror abuses or queer theory—that is, the silent majority that rightly feels itself unwel­ come at events where participants' political loyal­ ties are taken for granted before the discussions have even begun.

Last Friday's "AIDS and Blood" event is a case in point.

McGill stud e nts-and Queer McGill in particularhave justly questioned the policies of Canadian blood banks, which refuse donations from sexu­ ally active gay men on the basis of outdated stereotypes. This was an opportunity to edu­ cate fellow students about the experiences of their peers, which is how the old Equity

BOARD

I can totally beat up your kids MELISSA PRICE

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Daniel Amin, Mohit Arora, Stephanie Baudhuin, Dave Brodkey, Charlie Blore, Elizabeth Campbell, Brandon Chudleigh, Julie Collins, Lauren Consky, Erin Fagen, Kiyoko Gotanda, Jamie Goodman, Ricki Gurwitz, Jonathan Klein, Vicki Lean, Chris Maclean, Oliver Nguyen, Katherine Spirgen, Rich Tseng, Vincci Tsui, Nora Webb T ribune O ffices Editorial. Shatner University Centre, Suite 110, 3 480 McTavish, Montreal QC Tel: 514.398.6789 Fax. 514.398.1750 Advertising. Brown Student Building, Suite 1200, 3600 McTavish, Montreal Q C H 3A 1Y2

Week would have handled it However, Social Justice Days' approach was to advocate an explic­ it political agenda, turning off students who aren't already engaged in the activist community. The former method may be less glamorous than a manifesto, but it is the surest way to win new sup­ port.

Those who dedicate their time to organizing and participating in Social Justice Days deserve credit for their commitment to an education out­ side of the classroom. However, the Equity Committee in particular must remember that the audience it serves comprises some 19,000 undergraduates, and not just the vocal few with a predetermined stake in equity issues. The vast majority of students knows and cares little about Social Justice Days, and this should be regarded as a failure. Future events must take this better into account, or risk further isolating the socially conscious from the mass of society they sincere­ ly wish to serve. ■

hen I was a kid, my neighbourhood play­ ground was one of the best for miles around. It was made mostly of wood, iron and old tires; there were countless escape routes for use in even the most brutal games of tag; and—here's the clincher—different areas of the structure were connected by wooden beams sus­ pended seven feet off the ground.

Despite the waist-level arcs of metal embed­ ded in the wood, crossing these things instilled a delicious sense of vertigo. The speed at which we'd scurry around, seven feet in the air, prompt­ ed many a parent to panic about the future intact­ ness of our skulls.

Well, maybe some unfortunate kid did fall off the thing, because at some point the beams were taken down, leaving three sad, disconnected islands of equipment. Not long afterwards, the whole playground was replaced. Now, it's mostly made of closed-in colourful plastic and looks very, very safe.

Among the exciting ways of ascending the structure is a flight of stairs—like, thanks, but I've

got one of those at home. There's one of those clanky bridge things, but it barely clinks, and the handrails surrounding it resemble those things at rehabilitation hospitals for people learning how to walk again. The only vaguely dangerous item is the fireman pole, but frankly, the entire apparatus is built so low to the ground that you couldn't even get hurt by hurling yourself face-first into the sand. And this is the big kid playground.

I'm all for trips to the park not ending in trips to the hospital, but this is ridiculous. It's boring.

And it's happening everywhere. Remember those cool dome-shaped things made of bars that were like a giant alien pod jungle gym? You never see those anymore, presumably because it freaked certain parents out to see dozens of kids simulta­ neously suspended in mid-air like flies in a metal spiderweb. Hell, even finding a regular see-saw nowadays is next to impossible. They've mostly been replaced by those lame ones with springs,.

This means you can only bounce up and down a few inches and can't get back at your ex-best friend by jumping off mid-saw, causing her to

crash painfully to the ground.

The thing is, these new playgrounds make it really hard to fall on your head, but th e /re worth­ less at teaching kids techniques to avoid falling on their heads. Real life doesn't always have guardrails, you know? By making playgrounds so safe that they require only the most basic motor skills to navigate, we're in danger of raising a gen­ eration of kids who will fall and die the second they try to climb a tree (and then dolphins will conquer the world, but that's another story).

I was a scrawny weakling of a kid whose idea of a fun afternoon was reading three originalseries Nancy Drew bobks in a row, but I somehow managed to emerge, unscathed, from a child­ hood of hanging from metal bars. This is because I did stupid things, got hurt, and learned not to do those things anymore. In the new parks, if you do something stupid, you tend to either crash into a plastic wall or fall approximately one fo o t It's like learning to drive in a bumper car.

Seriously parents, if you're that worried, just put your kid in a bubble already. ■

Tel. 514.398.6806 Fax. 514.398.7490

The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of McGill University, in collaboration with the Tribune Publication Society. Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@mcgilltribune.com, and must include the contributor's name, program and year, and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic, or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

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opinion j 2 4 .1.06

| the mcgill tribune

Guest soap

Roz responds to

Letters to the editor

beer brouhaha

that chased the Liberals away. It was rudeness on the A plea for assistance part of McGill staff.

I am Elaine Lumley. Aidan Lumley, a third-year I wish I had a dollar for every story I've heard physics student at Trent University, is my son. Aidan about sick students being nearly reduced to tears by was shot in the back and killed outside of the Vinyl an individual at the Health Services reception desk— Lounge on Bleury Street in Montreal on Nov. 27,2005 I've personally been berated by a kind manager at at about 3 a.m. Aidan was celebrating the birthday of Student Accounts and a lovely lady at Dawson Hall, one of his McGill friends. both while trying to resolve errors created by their Aidan's killer has not been found. I understand office. many McGill students frequent the Vinyl Lounge and Room bookings are only the worst example of other clubs in the area. I also understand that there the mistreatment doled out daily by McGill staffers were a number of people and potential witnesses on towards students and unsuspecting members of the the street at the time Aidanpassed away. public. We are treated as a nuisance or as idiots for I am appealing to anyone who may have seen asking questions, requiring help, or simply needing the incident, that may have been in the area at the someone to do their job. For the past few years, at time, that may have seen any suspicious people run­ multiple clubs, I've watched people draw straws to fig­ ning from the scene, or ‘ who may have any informa­ ure out who gets the challenge of dealing with the tion whatsoever. If you have any information please room booking nightmare. contact the Montreal police, 280-2056.

This case in particular is not a question of bureau­ Aidan was my only son, and I was so proud of cracy—which also needs to be dealt with—but of a cul­ his achievements at university. He was a top speed ture of rudeness among certain McGill staff. I don't swimmer, a loyal friend and an amazing human being. want to give the impression that all staff are like this— I know it is difficult to come forward, but it has been we all encounter hardworking, efficient and friendly difficult for me to come to terms with the loss of my McGill staff on a regular basis. What bothers me are boy.l know many of you are afraid, but good has to tri­ the awful and well-known few who are dreaded by umph over evil. We have to catch Aidan's killers so countless students for the rudeness and mistreatment you as students do not have to feel afraid or unsafe. they consistently send our way. It makes it hard not to Please help. pull the "I'm paying your salary" card (which I know is I wish you all the best with your studies. obnoxious and rude in itself)—there has g o t to be a Live well, better way.

Aidan's Mom Kimberly Bowman Elaine Lumley U3 International Development Studies Awareness of other people—what a concept Ignoring Arts is also rude More and more I am in agreement with Sartre: When I was a McGill student, I could not help "Hell is other people." Working part-time in the service noticing how often the Arts faculty seemed to get the industry, I have become accustomed (unfortunately) short end of the stick. Working as the German Studies to rude, self-absorbed people. representative to the Arts Undergraduate Society for Now, however, I have experienced these people three years, I saw up close some of the budgetary and at McGill. I don't think it's solely McGill but rather the structural problems affecting the faculty and especial­ gathering of thousands of self-involved people who ly its students in an environment more and more believe they know everything about *insert interested in money-making endeavours, namely pro­ major/minor here* and have either forgotten or grams in the sciences and business. deemed themselves above the use of the words I just visited the McGill homepage not too long "please," "thank you," "sorry" and/or "excuse me." ago, and thought to check out the photo collage Here are a few requests: 1. Please, don't stand in selected for this month. Almost every picture has to the middle of the hall to chat. 2. When you come into do with the sciences, excepting a few general campus class late, make yourself as inconspicuous as possible.

3. Holding the door open for the person behind you scenes. Is the university's largest faculty really so would be nice. 4. If you're going to eat in class, don't worthless as not to be showcased even on its homepage? Little things like a missing picture make me as eat granola bars with crinkly wrappers (they're not as healthy as you think anyway). 5. When there's a line­ an alumnus worried that the Arts at McGill may soon be consigned to the dusty annals of history. Oh, I for­ up, remember personal space—attaching yourself to got. Nobody cares about that. my ass will not get you in any sooner. 6. Finally, there Christoph Sprecher is no need to talk on your cellphone so loudly it Classics/Cerman Studies BA '03 sounds like you're speaking through a megaphone—I don't need to know that the gym downtown is WAY PM for PM better than the gym in the West Island. (VolumeAm I the only one who watched the Your Turn awareness is also necessary for iPods and discmans. If segments on CBC and thought that Peter Mansbridge I can tell which song you're listening to, it's too loud!) would make a better Prime Minister than all those That being said, I'm not saying you need to appearing? Let's start a national campaign now, in devote your entire existence to thinking about other people, but at least stop once in awhile and ask your­ time for the next election after the Conservative gov­ ernment falls, pushing "PM for PM: Peter Mansbridge self: "Am I being an asshole today?' Thanks! for Prime Minister." I don't think it matters what party Melissa Wiebe he runs for—I'm pretty sure he'd get elected either U3 Religious Studies way. I mean. I'd vote for him—wouldn't you?

Kennedy Nolan Rudeness: our theme of the week U2 Political Science Your article "McGill shuts out Martin" (17.1.06) mentions repeatedly the problems of "bureaucracy" or You, too, can send us letters. They can even be "red tape" at McGill, and how these prevented the about articles we've written!

Prime Minister's Office from making an announce­ Ietters@mcgilltribune.com. Do it now—you don't ment at McGill. It seems to me that, while the room want to be rude, do you? booking process (like many things at our fine school)

R O Z FREEMAN understand that some students miss the presence of Molson on our cam­ pus—that they miss long nights of chugging back beer that tastes maybe a little better than the shit they brew in the US. And change is hard; I get it!

What has to be addressed here is why Molson no longer has a relationship with the Students' Society and the various faculties. I feel as if this information will help guide you along the path towards appreciating a world of better-tast­ ing beer and better corporate relations.

The reason we made the switch is quite simple, actually: Boréale (and McAuslan) gave us a better deal and were more committed to building a rela­ tionship with us. When I took over negotiations from my predecessor, all Molson had brought to the table was an unsigned copy of our old contract.

Boréale and McAuslan, on the other hand, made us offers we simply could­ n't refuse. We gave Molson the entire summer to step up to the plate and come back with something new, but their representative to McGill left the city for a number of months, leaving no one behind to continue negotiating. The decision was a no-brainer.

As for the allegations that the faculties and departments were forced or coerced into signing the contract, it pains me to think that someone could actually believe that.

I provided all the faculties with all the offers, meeting and negotiating with each of them, and the decision to go with Boréale was a choice made by elected representatives across campus. I will admit that it is true that if a faculty did not sign these contracts, they would have had problems using the Shatner building. However, this is not because we would have refused them entry, but because they would have reneged on their own contracts by hav­ ing to serve SSMU's choice of beer.

SSMU is extremely pleased with our choice, and we have never experi­ enced better customer service. Ask any of the faculty representatives how enjoyable it is to work with Paul the Boréale rep or Brian the McAuslan re p how much more support we receive from them and how dependable they are. And then ask an old faculty executive who had to work with Molson the same questions. I guarantee you that Boréale and McAuslan will win by leaps and bounds.

I trust that students have faith in an executive to make good decisions rather than ones that are poorly thought through or negligent. We worked very hard for a long time to bring students a refreshing change and an increase in product quality, not to mention a better price and a keg deal which is even cheaper for student-run events. All in all, we are in a win-win situation, and I hope that those who were skeptical now have a clear explanation. If you want to get involved with beer contracts, I urge you to run for office and undertake the renegotiation. ■

I

Roz Freeman is SSMU's VP Communication and Events. If you want to whisper sweet nothings in her ear over a glass o f Blonde, she can be reached a t ce@ssmu.mcgill.ca.

® McGill Master of Science o r a G rad u ate C e rtifica te in

is definitely overly bureaucratic, it wasn't "red tape"

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CHATTERBOX

campus

Paging Dr. T V English professor shares her

S I L H O U E T T E - T H E ASA

love of Buffy and nerdy words

Jonesing for culture

Andrea Braithwaite, an instructor ■in the English pro­ gram, is currently completing her PhD at McGill. Here, the cul­ tural studies 'pert dishes on Veronica Mars, the importance o f an English degree, and why some poetry just makes her think o f vampires.

T h e r e ’s more to the ASA than sushi and sexual in n u e n d o CRISTINA M A RKHAM

ndiana Jones is not an anthropolo­ gist. He's a treasure hunter." Alison Before I came to McGill...

Herr, president of the I taught at Brock for three years.

Anthropology Students Association, I also earned my MA there and debunked the myth that all anthro­ did my undergrad at Carleton. pology students secretly worship Harrison Ford’s fedora-wearing char­ My favourite aspect of acter and yearn to one day work side Cultural Studies is... television, CRISTINA MARKHAM by side with him in the field. "You're specifically popular television. I not going to see him on a field decided to teach it because I Braithwaite is all smiles for teaching TV. assignment for 40 days, crouching in was essentially looking for a the dirt and dusting off bones." way to build a career out of the fact that I watch a lot of TV. My interest goes Unfounded stereotypes aside, Herr beyond my favourite shows, though, because I think that television is such an also pointed out that Indie is in fact interesting medium. The format itself affects people in a way no other media an archaeologist, which is only a tiny can; it's much more civic than books or movies or radio. aspect of anthropology.

Dispelling rumours is fortunately My favourite aspect of television to teach is... Buffy the Vampire Slayer. not the sole MO of the ASA. Herr When I taught at Brock, I actually taught an entire class on Buffy. I think it lends explains, "There are two sides to the itself to being taught because it's so many different things at once; it's a teen organization—the political side and show, it's a drama, it's a comedy, it's a monster show. There are so many dif­ the fun side." The fun side is easily ferent ways for different people to respond to it. the more visible—events such as meet and greets, movie nights and If there were one show I could teach in my class, it would be... cultural dinners not only give the stu­ Veronica Mars—Us actually the subject of my dissertation, and I'm writing a CRISTINA MARKHAM dents the opportunity to get to know chapter on it for an anthology on teen television. I'm drawn to it for a few rea­ one another, it gives them a chance Show your support for the ASA and get lucky, all with one magical shirt. sons. I'm really interested in crime (my MA thesis was on Law & Order), and to hang out with their profs in an I'm especially interested in female detective characters. When I was younger, they bring more attention to the votes. We try to get as much student informal setting. Professor André I read all kinds of detective novels with female protagonists and female department, even better." With the opinion on it as possible. That way, Costopoulos, a well-liked professor in authors, so when this show came out that not only had a female protagonist exposure they're getting, hopefully the professors who have had a posi­ the field, has been known to host but was a teen show, I was obviously really excited. they can eventually dispel those | tive impact on students will be recog­ quite the movie night. Students gath­ Indiana Jones rumours. Although nized for it." er to watch the film Costopolous has I think it's important to get an English degree because... these kinds Lately, the majority of the ener­ Alison did sheepishly admit to want­ chosen—generally a mainstream of courses encourage people to express themselves in a way that you don't ing her own fedora. ■ gy of the ASA execs has been devot­ 1970s flick-and discuss an aspect of find in other fields like social sciences. I remember I was taking a poetry class ed to their upcoming film festival. the film. For extra geek credit, the stu­ in university, and the professor told us that we could see whatever we want­ The festival is a great opportunity for dents order take-out relevant to the ed in the poems, as long as we could explain it. Like we could read a poem McGill students for several reasons. location of the movie. If it's set in about flowers and say that we saw vampires, as long as we could explain why.

Wanna bone your very own The inter-university event includes New York, they go for deli food, while As long as you could say why it was there, you could take whatever you want­ anthropologist? You can start students from Concordia, Laval and a Japanese film clearly calls for sushi. ed from it. by checking out the ASA Université de Montréal. The inter­ The political side, while less vis­ film festival, which runs from university festival, which shows previ­ ible and lacking in location-themed If I were to have any other job... I'd be a writer-that's assuming I can Jan. 27 to 30. ously un-screened ethnographic food, is arguably the coolest aspect give my ideal answer, as opposed to a feasible one that would actually earn 4 films, is a great opportunity for McGill of the club. While sitting on commit­ me money. I don't want to say that I want to write the Great Canadian Novel 4 Here are the locations of the students to talk to other members of tees and discussion boards may not because I don't want to write about nature. But my dream is to take a year their field. "One of the best things sound riveting, members of the ASA off, hole up in a cabin, and write the Great American Novel that was actually about the film fest is that it gives take part in these events to effect sig­ written by a Canadian.

Friday at McGill McGill students the chance to talk to nificant change in the department.

Saturday at U de Montréal visual anthropologists. It's a field we Herr explains: "We're members An ideal Saturday night is spent.... one of two ways, depending on the Sunday at Concordia don't yet offer, so it's great for us to of the Anthropology Undergraduate week I've had. It either includes a bottle of wine, girlfriends and some good Monday at Laval be able to ask film makers how they Committee, which means we get to TV, or a bottle of wine, girlfriends and dancing. were able to visually represent a cul­ discuss what worked the previous For more information, visit ture." semester, what didn't and how we My favourite word... is epistemophilia, which means love of knowledge. http://www.anthro. umontreal.ca Apparently, both members of can change it. What's most important I don't get nearly enough opportunities to use it. /varia/ssem06/index. the faculty and students from other is the voting power we're given— disciplines have been clamoring for when the department is looking to My favourite quotation is... 'The only true currency in this bankrupt If you want a t-shirt, you can these shirts, bringing in a lot of fund­ hire a new professor, or promote one world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." (Almost reach Alison at ing for the festival. "I love the shirts, who is already a member of the Famous) alison.herr@mail.mcgill.ca they're hysterical!" says Herr. "And if department, the ASA is given two —Compiled by Cristina Markham

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♦Election day

Hopefully you

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Soon, hopefully

Shatner building lobby

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♦Empowering Non-Dairy Vegans

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***See how these listings are just TOO good to be true? To avoid showing up for an event that doesn't (sigh) exist... Submit your listings! Advertise to the masses! Give us your money!

Advertise your event! For only a toonie you can get a listing in the print and on-line editions of the Trib. Drop by the SSMU Office (Shatner building, Suite 1200) to pick up a form. Deadlines are Fridays at 3:30 p.m. For more information call 398.6789 or e-mail calendar@mcgilltribune.com.

features The Cult(ure) of Running C ro s s in g th e lines between s p o rt ecstasy and obsession GENEVIEVE JENKINS

"Running isn't a sport" sk almost anyone if running is a sport and they'll tell you it's less of a one than golf, cheerleading, ping pong and chess. For some runners, this comes as no surprise—in fact, it barely qualifies as an insult Running has long been put down as an "activity," a "hobby," a "pastime," but for some runners, stretching well-toned legs in a 10k road race or a 60m sprint is anything but a hobby.

who train hard is to alternate running with less damaging activities, such as biking or pool run­ ning, which cut down direct impact to the legs.

Says Barrett, "Runners should do as many dif­ ferent things as they can."

A

Sprinter subculture Some of the problems that addle dis­ tance runners aren't as prevalent among sprinters. In fact, the opposite problems can occur: Often, in an attempt to bulk up and gain muscle mass that will presumably propel you to the finish line most quickly, sprinters will over-consume certain foods or take muscle-enhancing drugs. While you won't find many distance runners indulging in Creatine or steroids-, sprinters sometimes see them as a way to gain a competitive edge. A whole different body type ideal dominates sprint culture: Bigger muscles mean more speed.

Barrett notes that sprinting is more power-based than is distance running, so sprinters sometimes feel the need to gain body mass. He says, "Sprinters need to have strength and power. Sometimes they will lift weights, and in some extreme cases they will take steroids."

When you've run too far Doctors who deal primarily with athletes often fight the uphill battle of getting runners to take time off. Running is not something you can do well without constant training (with occasional breaks to keep the body strong). "Running is cumulative and to get better you can't take too much time off," notes cross country and track head coach Dennis Barrett. 'You need about four to six weeks off every year." Although most serious runners will acknowledge the need for short breaks between training periods, they also have trouble knowing when to take down time.

Dr. Fallenbaum from McGill's Sports Med Clinic says, "Like most athletes, runners tend to be disciplined and committed. If the athlete overtrains or is excessively driven, this may have serious physical and psychological repercussions."

So what happens when runners go too far? There is the problem of eating disorders—the lighter the runner, the faster the runner, or so the thinking goes. Barrett notes that the prevalence of eating disorders in runners varies from year to year on his teams. "We haven't had any major problems of late," he says. Even the casual idea of being able to eat whatever you want while train­ ing can be problematic. For example, you may be comfortable eating a piece of chocolate cake when you're in a training period, but what happens when you need to take time off? The mental­ ity that it's ok to eat only if you're running is often the beginning of unhealthy eating patterns for runners. Dr. Fallenbaum says, "Among female athletes, disordered eating behaviour is between 1560%. It is most commonly seen in sports select for lean body weight such as swimming, cross­ country skiing and cross country running. It is also seen in sports that are scored subjectively like gymnastics, figure skating and diving. It is pres- ; ent in every sport."

Eating problems aren't the only ones that can plague runners.

Often, it is simply the fact that you have overtrained and damaged yourJ self in the process. Many runners experience shin splints, but it's the \ stress fractures that can follow shin splints that really ruin the runner. ** Long-time runner and varsity cross country and track athlete Jeff McCabe suffered from multiple stress fractures at the end of his cross country season this year. McCabe, who has taken more than seven weeks off of running, says, "When I found out, I didn't believe it at all.

I thought, 'This radiologist has no idea what he's talking about. Other people get injured, but not me.'"

Staying in touch with running and his fellow runners has been really important to McCabe. He says, "Now I bug people about what happened in workout, I watch the workouts, and I exercise on my own; I try to keep in shape and keep in touch with what's going on. I'm not studying more—I can't replace running with something better."

Not being able to run has affected McCabe's life in more ways than one. "It's weird, because not running affects my mood a lot," he says. "I run and feel happy after I run; it's a lot harder to get that feeling of accomplishment doing other things—it's totally not the same."

The bottom line: even the best runners hit roadblocks in their running. The best idea for those

Run for fun Despite the many problems that can accompa­ ny competitive running, most runners are loathe to part with the adrenaline rush that comes with step­ ping to the start line and crossing the finish. This is why road racing has such a tremendous following.

Magazines like Runner's World and Running Times have whole sections devoted to listing road races; spe­ cialty running stores such as A Snail's Pace and The Running Room offer their customers handouts for local road races. A culture of active participation in the running social scene has sprung up even among casual runners.

Those who have yet to participate in a road race may question the viability of the running "social scene," but it is indeed an accurate term. Some of the best races in which to partake are those that involve a little more than just running. Any one race in the Muddy Buddy series in the US, for example, can be more fun than a whole lifetime of Frosh. For the race, you and a partner alternate biking and running sections of trying terrain, switching means of transportation when you come to certain ■ obstacles—haystacks, mud pits, tires, you name it. The final ^ stretch is a mud pit with wired stretch low across the top, which means you get really, really muddy, and you have to do it with your buddy. When the

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Running a risk C RISTIN A MARKHAM Running is easily one of the best forms of exercise—there's very little equipment involved, it's not difficult to find a location, and aside from cross-country skiing, running burns more calories per minute than any other form of exercise. However, despite its innumerable health benefits, there are certain risks associated with pounding the pavement (or treadmill).

Running is a high-impact activity, so it is understandable that one of the most common injuries runners complain of is joint pain. The shock that the body absorbs with each step can wreak havoc on the ankles and knees if proper care isn't taken. One of the easiest ways to avoid damaging these joints is by buying the appropriate shoes, ensuring that they are designed especially for run­ ning. Be sure that they have both sufficient support and shock absorbers. Also, pounding the pave­ ment can be a perpetrator of joint problems-if this is the case, try running on dirt trails (such as those on the mountain), or on an indoor track.

Muscle strains and sprains are two more common ailments among runners. Stretching before and after each run is extremely helpful in deterring these injuries. It loosens up muscles that will be strained during your workout and will increase blood flow to the areas that will need it Be sure, however, not only to do the right kinds of stretches, but to do them correctly. Forcing your body

into a stretch it cannot yet handle can cause just as much damage as running without stretching Another health risk associated with running is that of dehydration. Water accounts for 50-60 per cent of the body's weight, so if s vital that the fluids lost through sweat are replaced. Symptoms of dehydration include cracked lips, dry mouth and—obviously—thirst. Mild dehydration can cause headaches and nausea, while extreme dehydration can lead to hypovolemic shock or tissue dam age. As ifs easy to become mildly dehydrated, be sure to bring a bottle of water or sport drink fo outdoor runs lasting longer than 20 minutes, or bring cash and stop in at a dépanneur.

Much less common but equally dangerous, some runners have been known to suffer from overhydration. Just as its name suggests, this occurs when a person takes in more water than thei body can handle. This dilutes the body's sodium levels, which are important for maintaining tissue health. It can also cause electrolyte imbalance, which can cause disorientation or seizures.

Fortunately, the risk of becoming overhydrated is small, as a healthy adult would need to consume close to two gallons of water before reaching "water intoxication."

While there are some risks associated with this sport, the benefits far outweigh the risks Health benefits aside, there are few things that can make you feel as hardcore and primal as a good long run. So lace up your shoes and grab your water bottle. Icy streets be damned, go kid the mountain's ass! ■

the mcgill tribune ) 2 4 .1.06 | features 13

Run for fun Running for more than ju st exercise C RISTIN A MARKHAM

race is over, you and your partner can get dowsed off with fire hoses and/or jump in the outdoor showers with everyone else who just ran. Most road races finish up with a post-race party: Bands play, beer is sold for next-tonothing and everyone basks in after-run euphoria.

Loving life Most runners say that running makes them feel "good"; they can't necessarily describe it any better than that, but they know that something is missing in life if they aren't running. This is partially why it becomes so difficult to take a break from running and why running can become more of an obsession than anything else. In 2001, the Journal o f Anthropological Applied Human Sciences published an article about the psychological ben­

efits of running: "It seems reasonable to conclude, based on this study, that exercise between 10 and 15 minutes results in similar psychological benefits [namely, "pleas­ antness" and reduced anxiety] for the person exercising."

Endorphins, those amazing chemicals our bodies release when we exercise, are the cause of this good feeling, but somehow the running happiness seems to last for longer than a normal endorphin kick.

Though beginning runners often say the pain of run­ ning isn't worth the good feeling, they still keep running.

The reasons for this are manifold: running can make you feel more comfortable with your body; it makes eating more fun because you're hungry more often; it provides a great way to de-stress; and it helps you meet other run­ ners. Says Dr. Fallenbaum, "Once an athlete is commited to any cardiovascular activity of moder­ ate intensity they will reep the many positive physical and psychological benefits of exercise.

Along with improved body and self image, there are feelings of well-being, increased self-esteem and of course, weight loss.

Most athletes strive for peak perform­ ance and therefore make healthier food choices monitoring both nutrition and calories."

Instant friends Doctors may be right in claiming that running contributes to a healthy lifestyle, but it's not all about the health benefits. In fact, one of the major reasons that runners run is to meet other runners. Frequent runners typically have Type A personalities, which makes them more motivated, ambitious and competitive, according to a 2001 article in the Scandinavian Journal o f Medical Science in Sports.

Type As appear to get along well with other Type As, and the bonds formed between runners can be extremely strong, even if the two runners have only known each other for a short while.

Whether you consider running your sport of choice, your favourite pastime or the most painful activity you have ever endured, it is a thing that has taken on a strange culture of its own, attracting food lovers, masochists and Type A personalities alike.

Interested in finding a nearby road race when the snow finally melts?

Check out www.runningroom.com or www.runnersweb.com for when and where to run in Canada. ■ ALL PHOTOS BY LUKAS BERGMARK

Although they are homophonous, one of the last words one would usually associate with "run" is "fun." Running—as a form of exer­ cise or a means of escape—generally brings to mind hard work, fatigue and sore feet. But some people are absolutely determined to find the fun in anything. People such as this are responsible for the events known as "hashes."

The original hash group, the Hash House Harriers, was formed in 1938 and was named for the restaurant where the members started their runs. The rules are relatively simple: One member of the group is made the "hare." He's given a head start and takes off, making up his path as he goes. As he runs, he leaves bits of paper along the trail so that the other members might find him. When they reach the end of the trail and the race is completed, they are always met with a giant tub of cold beer. This is how the Harriers came up with their slogan, "A club for drinkers with a running problem." While this kind of exercise probably is not the most effective, the mad dash through the woods will at least cancel out the calories in the beer.

The tradition of “hashing" gave birth to the infamous Red Dress Run. The wildly imaginative name says it all—if you want to take part in the race, you must wear a red dress. While the chance to sashay through the streets of San Diego in a sassy cocktail dress is probably enough to entice most of the participants, most of the runners come for the party. While a tiny disclaimer on their Web site states that they encourage responsible drinking, the pictures make clear that, for many of the runners, this is the party of the year.

Another event that has a bit less booze involved, but is no less fun or strange, is the Wife Carrying Competition. The race originated in Sonkajârvi, Finland, and is supposedly based on an old form of terribly romantic courtship—a man would run into town, pick up a woman of his choosing, and run off again. While the main requirement of the event is that everyone has fun, there are a few rules that participants must abide by. If the wife weighs less than 49 kilos (which would be unfortunate, since first prize is the wife's total weight in beer), the hus­ band must be encumbered with extra weights. Also, each time the wife is dropped, the team is penalized 15 seconds. The most entertaining couple, the best costume and the strongest carrier are also awarded special prizes.

Clearly, the promise of beer, funny costumes and men in cocktail dresses is enough to get these would-be couch potatoes out of the house, albeit only for one day. ■

Facebook junkies share their fix Students speak: McGill students who listed "running" as an inter­ est in their Facebook profiles were selected randomly to answer the question: In one sentence, why do you run? Here's what they said: "While running I can think or listen to music without distractions, not to mention that it's a great way to keep in shape." Julie Collins, U 1, Art History and Communication "I run because I'm an endorphin junkie." Caroline (Heinbuch) Butler, UO "I run to get rid of stress, and it generally just gets be me into a way better mood." Skeena Haider, alumna "I run for adventure, for exercise, and for me. I get into a rhythm and the matrix of my anxieties and thoughts slowly dissolves, allowing my mind to drift and daydream. Running is my temporary escape; all I have to do is keep moving, no thinking or talking, just movement.

Sometimes a run is just routine, exhausting and painful. But most of the time I can't help succumbing to the endorphin high and feeling a corny sense of exhilaration, like I'm really alive." Dia Austin, U1 Biomedical Sciences and World Religions —Compiled by Genevieve Jenkins

»»»/ *

“t r

student living WELL-BEING

SAD makes you sad V

But JOY can bring you back up to snuff JULIE PETERS ou have just returned from a blissful holiday full of sunshine, food, family and/or friends.

But the honeymoon stage of the Winter semester is over, and that big smelly tent known as SnoAP is gone 'til next year. Now, getting out of bed in the morning has become a battle of wills between you and your snooze button that can last for many nine-minute intervals. You can't bring yourself to even look at your books. You have a headache, you feel sick, your skin itches and your ass hurts from falling on the ice so many damn times. Worse, it's only mid-January.

Don't worry, though: you're not just imagining this malaise, and there are legitimate physiological reasons for feeling this way. Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a really scientific term for the winter blues. Apparently, animals do things like hibernate and get really fat during the winter, but humans refuse to give in to their primal urges. We also may produce more of the depressive sleep hormone melatonin in the dark, which is why it becomes so hard to wrench yourself out of bed on cold January mornings. According to the National Mental Health Association, common symptoms of SAD are:

Y

• Regularly occurring symptoms of depres­ sion (excessive eating and sleeping, weight gain) during the fall or winter months.

• Full remission from depression occurs in the spring and summer months.

• Symptoms have occurred in the past two years, with no non-seasonal depression episodes.

• Seasonal episodes substantially outnum­ ber non-seasonal depression episodes.

• A craving for sugary and/or starchy foods.

According to the NMHA, phototherapy—bright light therapy—may help suppress the brain's secre­ tion of melatonin; the most common phototherapy technique involves a bank of white fluorescent lights on a metal reflector and shield with a plastic screen. But for mild symptoms, spending time out­ doors during the day or ensuring your work and liv­ ing spaces receive more sunlight may be helpful.

One study found that an hour's walk in winter sun­ light was as effective as two and a half hours under bright artificial light—that is, if you can take the slush.

If phototherapy doesn't work, an antidepressant may prove effective in reducing or eliminating SAD symptoms.

However, according to JOY (Julie's Operation for sanitY), there are more fun ways to kick SAD

OUTDOOR

than phototherapy. Logically, our bodies need more from us in the winter: more sleep, more food and more cuddling. So stay in bed that extra hour if you can afford it. Get some bread and butter into that skinny belly and do not, I repeat DO NOT freak out about an extra pound or two gained: you burn more calories in the cold anyway. Don't go over­ board, though: starches and sugars give you a high, but they also make you crash, so use in modera­ tion.

If you see the sun at all, run outside and soak it up, preferably on your way to see a friend. Friends are key elements in the JOY system. Get some buddiesjogether and sit under some really bright lights with* a bag of chocolate and a bottle of wine between you, and tell each other non-winter-related jokes (example: What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back? A stick). A good laugh will scare away those blues, and a good cuddle will keep them at bay. Though coursepacks provide cold comfort in the winter, one good spooning ses­ sion will make even the library seem a little warmer.

So, in sum, JOY is an excellent, non-scientific system that will leave you happy and full with a fol­ TIFFANY CHOY lowing of friends who love cuddling with your soft, If cupcakes don't cure yo u r w inter starch-filled body.

Now someone go get me some cake. ■ blues, nothing w ill!

FUN

Walking in a W in te r W onderland Mont-Royal makes fo r an ideal w inter playground GENEVIEVE JENKINS If you've ever walked north on Parc, you know that the Montreal wind doesn't blow anywhere with such force. Though you may have vague memories of summer sun and tam-tams in Parc Mont-Royal, the statues there now seem frozen, as if the Wtch from Chronicles of Narnia cast her spell and solidified the soldiers and angel.

Even if it's not exactly the most pleasant place to stand around during the wintertime, Parc Mont-Royal holds more opportunities for winter sport and entertainment than anywhere else in Montreal.

On your feet Once you make it past the open ground at the bot­ tom of the mountain, the trees provide good protection from the wind if you want to venture a winter walk or run.

The snow-covered ground makes for comfortable ter­ rain-just don't get there before the gravel truck on an icy day. If you persist uphill, you'll find the trek to the top doesn't take very long: A set of stairs near Upper Rez will take you a bit of the way and another, newly completed set can take you as far as the chalet.

For those who have never seen it, the chalet is a big building on the top of the mountain. There are tables and chairs (and heating) indoors, if you're looking for a new place to study. If you want a mid-walk warm beverage or

The cross, epitome of Mont-Royal. Watch it for Pope health updates.

snack, you can hit up the cafeteria for hot chocolate, candy, coffee and baked goods.

In the snow To rid yourself of the feeling that winter here is inter­ minable, take advantage of the six-month snow by cross country skiing or snowshoeing up the mountain. Beside the main road there is a special path carved out for skiers, and many smaller trails through the trees afford a unique perspective of Montreal's winter terrain. If you don't have skis or snowshoes, you can rent them from the Outdoors Club or McGill Athletics.

Of course, if you're up for a more thrilling winter sport, get a toboggan, sled or cafeteria tray, and hit the hills. You can save yourself a walk if you toboggan down the hill at the north end of Parc Mount Royal; if you want to make a day of it, you can hike the mountain and sled the upper slope just above Beaver Lake.

On the ice Again, to take advantage of Mount Royal's Beaver Lake, you'll have to get there first Once you do, you can rent skates and a locker and spend hours whirling and racing on the ice. It is much more picturesque than the outdoor hockey rinks in every Montreal park, and you'll have the perks of nearby bathrooms, sledding hills and hot chocolate. ■

H O W TO

There once was a man

Human Resources Management t a K£t h e n e x t LEVEL Take your degree to a whole new level of success.

from Nantucket Mastering the fine art of limerick-writing C R IS T IN A M A R K H A M

The limerick, while never the most respected or revered form of poetry, seems to have completely disap­ peared from the literary scene. Whether because of the oftpervy content, or the non-existent room for interpretation, limericks have been excluded from poetry anthologies, neglected at poetry readings and left untouched by univer­ sity professors for too long. It is time for this much maligned format to make its comeback. Hone your limer­ ick writing skills now, and you'll be ready to leap onto that bandwagon the second it comes by.

While you can choose any subject matter for your poem, the best limericks are generally written about specif­ ic people. The best limericks among those are those that mock those specific people. So the first step is obviously

After just two semesters, you’ll be able to apply your knowledge, skills and management tools to any human resources department.

coming up with a highly mockable subject Not only should this person be an easy target, he or she should also be able to take a joke. Nothing ruins a completely genius limerick better than a hissy fit.

Once your victim is selected, try to find something about them that is easily rhymable. If you're lucky, they will have a monosyllabic name like Dan, Roz or Mike that will offer you a wealth of rhyming possibilities. If, however, you have selected someone with a completely un-rhymable name, you'll be forced to dig a little deeper. Try for nick­ names, last names or cities of origin. If you find yourself stumped and trying to write a poem about your friend Penelope from Saskatchewan, do yourself a favour and pick a new target.

If you're lucky, your subject will have a few obvious characteristics that are easily picked up on-maybe you have a friend named Garret who loves his pet ferret! List as many traits as you can, then get writing. It's often easiest to start by writing the first and last lines, then filling in the middle. The first few you churn out will likely be choppy, awk­ ward and unfunny, but keep practising! Once you've mastered this skill, there are innumerable instances where your limerick-writing deftness can come in handy. Break-up limericks are the new bitter break-up poetry-nothing says "I'm over him" more effectively than a hilarious fiveline verse mocking all his flaws. Too broke to buy a birthday present? Write a sassy tribute to your friend. Want your grad school application to stand out? Write the whole thing in limerickform!

With our forces combined, we can bring the limerick back to where it belongs, at the forefront of the literary scene to be admired by all. To inspire you in your writing endeavours, I have included a love poem I penned for Wayne Campbell of Wayne's World fame:

Humber can prepare you tor professional designation/ accreditation by the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario (HRPAO).

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Oh why won't you love me, Wayne Campbell?

Why into my life have you ambled?

You give me such fever! vse.cape.com I'll be your Dream Weaver This man from Nantucket certainly doesn't mind the rumours.

Please don't leave my poor heart in shambles! ■

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From 0 to 60 in 10 seconds flat: A five gear mix by ERIK CA RLSO N ,

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manager of the McGill bookstore cafe A p p ly Tomorrow comes today - Gorillaz Roses and bluejays - Buck65 Wipe that smile off your face - Our Lady Peace Tonight romanticise the automobile - Hawksley Workman Like the angel - Rise Against Untitled - Social Distortion Every night's another story - The Early November Understanding in a car crash - Thursday Insomniac meat - Finch Bleeding mascara - Atreyu —Compiled by Cristina Markham

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It’s not just the SUS and EUS that need fresh blood.

Features wants some, to o (It’s a reference to last week’s article— go back and read it, punks).

E-mail features@mcgilltribune.com, you know, if you want. We’re cool and aloof, so we don’t really care.

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the mcgill tribune | 24.1.06 [ student living

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ART

Gimme shelter Installation artists put a H ut over our heads MELISSA PRICE It looks like a mistake, like I've walked into the wrong room or something. It is the first thing that hits the eye when you walk in the door, and it is puzzling yet oddly inviting: a sort of makeshift tent, smack in the middle of the room, that appears to be built from scraps and rags of colourful garbage.

I am pretty sure there is a law of physics somewhere that explicitly states that in this sort of situation, it is fundamentally impossible to do anything other than go explore the inside of the structure. You just have to. It's like moths to a flame, and artist Mareike Lee is well aware of this. She also finds it hilarious, which is perhaps the reasoning behind her inclusion of a flicker­ ing slideshow projecting photographs of lightbulbs on the tent's inner wall.

"I noticed that there was a very typical way that people would move through the room," she said of an earlier exhibition that featured a wall of paper sewn to airport wire dividing the area. "You know, like, 'Hey, I wonder what's on the other side of that,' and then they'd look back. ... I like how I can control the way people navigate a space and the meaning of that space."

The idea of space is crucial for Lee and co-exhibitor Adele Chong, as are the substance of materials and the indelible and inexorable effects of human touch and the passage of time.

Chong and Lee have just returned from the Netherlands, where they were involved in art residency programs in Arnhem and Rotterdam. Hut, now showing at the gallery at Montreal Arts Interculturels (3680 Jeanne-Mance, under that huge piece of graffiti that says "mai"), is their homecoming exhibition, the cul­ mination of all the art they have collected and created over the course of their extensive travels.

As a consequence, the work of both artists is firmly rooted in its context and history. The two create their exhibitions instal­ lation-style, incorporating elements of earlier shows and working them into the structure of the room. Lee's "hut" is, in fact, made of what could be described as "colourful garbage": They are materials like plastic bags, cloth, paper, string and tape that she's collected from places, stolen from construction sites and received from friends.

"It's funny when people start to find out you collect this stuff, because they send you things," she said. "I'll be in, say, Germany and get a package, and it'll be someone mailing me string or something."

Luckily, all this stuff rolls up pretty small, which allows Lee to easily lug it around in a suitcase. It's almost like a tangible scrapbook of memories, which she arranges in different ways to achieve different effects at shows. Chong1s work is more tradi­ tional in that she primarily produces paintings and drawings that can be moved as a whole, although several of her works are inked directly on the walls.

The two are not strangers to exhibiting together, having shared both studios and exhibition spaces at the Slak and Duende galleries in the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, then, their works complement each other very well. The most striking shared feature evident in Hut is an almost obsessive attention to subtle detail in changes caused by human hands.

Chong has been exploring this theme for a while now, say­ ing, "I've always been compelled to take my paintings out of the gallery and get them dirty." An earlier project of hers involved causing mild degrees of mayhem by painting small canvases a solid colour and then just leaving them places. She'd hide out nearby and videotape their fate.

"Some people look at them, some people avoid them, COURTESY OF MAI some people kick them," she laughed. "The best was when two guys picked one up and started using it as a drum." Another can­ Hut displays the work of Mareike Lee (top) and Adele Chong. vas, left in Montreal's Eaton Centre, ended up under investiga­ with tiny "O's" of various colours and intensities, for pages and tion by a confused and suspicious security guard. pages.

Like the solid paintings, the room surrounding the crazy "It's something I got into the habit of doing, any time I felt central tent at Hut looks rather plain and colourless at first—as if like I had left one place but hadn't yet arrived at another," Lee there's not much there. But that's only until you look closer. explained. "It was like... I could put my whole day into that cir­ Chong's works are mostly black and white, pencil and ink, and cle, or put everything I was worried about into it, and it became appear as insubstantial as shadows on the wall from a distance. more than just the shape."

From close up, however, it becomes clear that these ephemeral Hut is an exploration of the unexpected that can be found shapes are made up of a network of intricate painting and care­ in the mundane, as well as finding the familiar in the foreign. It's ful line-work, the details combining to form the seemingly organ­ a sort of travel album of an art show, pulling together bits and ic figures seen from far away. pieces of people and places into something that's a little bit like In a similar series entitled "All My Paper, All My Pens," Lee home. covered a mind-boggling number of sheets of paper with ball­ "The word 'hut' denotes the most basic kind of shelter, built point-inked zigzags. After using up—you guessed it—all her writ­ by people sort of making do with what they have," said Lee. "It's ing implements, she ended up with an enormous curtain that also a temporary home. That's what we wanted to build, what looks like both a net and a chain-link fence and creates the illu­ we wanted to share." ■ sion of undulations where her hand has moved unevenly.

"I'm really obsessed with things that all look the same at first Hut is showing Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 6 p.m., through April glance, but when you get closer there are these little differ­ I. Admission is free (sweet, eh?). Call 982-3386 for more informa­ ences," she said. Furthering this theme is a piece she's been tion. working on for ages, throughout her travels: her passport, filled

HANDS OFF THE CANVAS

In defence o f Z o o m M edia ERIN FAGEN

s I understand it, the "cool" thing to do since the six­ ties has been to fight The Man and declare yourself anti-corporation, anti-logo, anti-meat, pretty much anti-every mainstream-ism there is. But Zoom Media? Yes, they provide us with the lovely little posters on the bath­ room stall that we stare at while pinching a loaf. And apparently, people hate them. In many restrooms I fre­ quent, I see the aforementioned commercial signs with rants in black Sharpie next to them asserting how wrong it is to advertise in the bathroom and how it is a horrific inva­ sion of privacy. And what I want to do more than anything is whip out my red Sharpie and write, "Crow the fuck up."

Sweet mother of pearl, look around you. You are whining about a relatively tiny square of funky graphic designs defacing your crapper, when the entire McGill metro has been plastered with iPod ads, and a giant TV attracts public attention all day long. You are bitching about a surface area in front of that you spend less than five min­ utes a day—maybe 10 if you're low on fibre—while com­ mercial advertisements take up a quarter of any hour-long

A

television program and people know more about Brangelina than our own federal candidates.

At least Zoom paid for their space. You seem to think that your faux-elite righteousness makes it okay for you to graffiti any bathroom stall you choose with inane state­ ments like, "All I want from the world is charm and beau­ ty." These ads at least provide something quasi-interesting to look at once I've read all your pearls of wisdom scrawled across the stall.

And since when is the bathroom stall such a sacred place? If Pepsi started advertising in your local mosque, that would be an invasion of privacy—but the john? These aren't hidden cameras, people, just images. If you feel they are truly inescapable, either close your eyes, or hold it until you get home.

And what is so offensive about the content? The bulk of this advertising is for graphic design companies, along with the occasional condom ad. This is not akin to promot­ ing the Hitler Youth League or the new Simple Plan album.

I understand people are terrified that major corporations

are hypnotizing our nation. And while, at times, I share that concern, it is also important to acknowledge that commer­ cialism is one of the major driving forces in our country, and without it we would not be living the shiny little lives we do today. You go to McGill, you use its facilities, and at the end of three to 12 years you will have a framed piece of paper that tells the world exactly how smart you are.

Why throw a shit fit about the way McGill chooses to make its money? Every dollar Zoom spends at McGill is one less dollar your daddy has to pay the administration. Why argue with that?

If you have taken it upon yourself to make a stand against consumerism, that's great. Seriously, more power to you. But at least take on a worthy opponent, someone who actually deserves the wrath I'm sure you could unleash at any given moment. And do it properly, instead of choosing a wall to enshrine statements that most cou­ ples don't think twice about while they’re having sex in the stall said wall belongs to. Otherwise, sit down, shut up and enjoy the damn view. ■

the mcgill tribune | 2 4 .1.06 | a& e 17

FI LM

PREVIEWS

About bloody time

'

Underworld: Evolution ties up loose ends BEN LEMIEUX

com piled by Melissa Price

Seemingly ridiculous plotline set aside, this film is a tremendous success vis-à-vis its predecessor, or even as an independent addition to the horror/fantasy genre.

Most importantly, Underworld: Evolution delivers in all the ways that the original didn't. The action sequences are all thoroughly exciting, a thrilling brand of monster vs. monster physical combat now at the forefront of the clashes between Lycans and Vampires. The narrative explores the convoluted, medieval history between the two races, while simultaneously chronicling the person­ al annals of several of the main characters, all of which offer satisfying answers to questions lingering in the minds of audiences after the first film.

Additionally, great turns by Beckinsale, the bloodchilling Curran and dramatic heavyweights Nighy and Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, Brannaugh's Hamlet) bring touches of class and solid acting that are sorely absent from the horror genre. And, since Evolution is basically an amplified, ameliorated version of Underworld, there's lots and lots and lots of bloody violence. Lots.

This movie is utterly fantastic. Packing several killer action sequences, meaty, spooky performances, metic­ ulous set design, an ominous, nerve-jangling atmos­ phere and enough blood to keep FEMA stocked for the next hundred years, Underworld: Evolution is a must-see for any fan of the horror/fantasy genre. And Beckinsale gets down this time. ■

There was a lot of anticipation around the release of Underworld three years ago. The prospect of Vampires and Werewolves beating each other to bloody heaps of dismembered carcasses and of watching Kate Beckinsale walk around in a tight leather catsuit for two hours lured in droves of horror, monster and booty enthusiasts. But newcomer Len Wiseman's directorial debut never paid off. What many had hoped would be a film filled with epic mêlées between the two breeds, action scenes worthy of Blade (hell, even Buffy), would be sorely disappointed by a series of lame, awkwardly paced and derivative gun battles. Those who expected to see Beckinsale get down went home with frowns on their faces as well. Underworld had a gorgeous Gothic production design and standout performances by Beckinsale and veteran Bill Nighy going for it, though lit­ tle else.

Judging against the minimal standards set out by the original picture, Underworld: Evolution is a saving grace, and, independently, stands as one of the most promising and entertaining action pics of the year.

The sequel picks up where the first film left off.

Blood-sucking Death Dealer Selene (Beckinsale) and her badass, shapeshifting hybrid boyfriend Michael Corvin (Felicity's Scott Speedman) are on the run from an internally divided Vampire clan and the even more dangerous and unsympathètic Lycans (werewolves).

Meanwhile, as the cliff-hanger end­ ing of the first film suggests, Vampire elder Markus (played by sciencefantasy mainstay Tony Curran—Blade II, League of Extraordinary Centlemen) is awoken from a threecentury slumber by Lycan lifeblood, transforming him into a huge, winged and singularly unsightly killing machine with singularly bad intentions. For reasons unknown, he's after our attractive, eloping cou­ ple and he's mighty pissed. There is more deceit and centuries-old bad blood here than Selene was aware of, and before she knows it, she's in the middle of a devastating innerclan struggle which has been raging HORROR-ASYLUM.COM for nearly a millennium and threat­ ens the sanctity of innocent humans I'm Lycan it—Beckinsale reprises her role of Selene in Evolution. around the Earth.

HR

Opera. Candide—Pollack Flail—555 Sherbrooke O —Jan. 25-28 An opera by Leonard Bernstein based on a book by Voltaire, Candide is a bit of an oddity. The book itself is a satire of 17th century philosopher Gottfried Liebniz's writings, portraying its namesake protagonist as a foolishly blind opti­ mist clinging to the belief that we live in the best of all possible worlds, despite steadily mounting evidence to the contrary. Bernstein's opera has undergone numerous revisions over the years, but the version chosen for Opera McGill by stage director Guillermo Silva-Marin is thought to be the one closest to the orig­ inal vision. The best part? It's in English, so you'll actually be able to understand it without the aid of a translation dictionary. Call 398-4547 for ticket information.

Curtain rises at 7:30 p.m.

Music. The Walkmen—La Tulipe—4530 Papineau— Jan. 27 Hey, remember that car commercial from a while ago? It had this really pretty tinkly song called "We've Been Had" in it I forget what else happened, because I hate car commercials and how they keep convincing bands I like to sell them their music. The point is, that song is by the Walkmen, and it is a very good song, because they are a very good band, and they make lovely compositions that are well arranged and soothing enough to stop me from kicking my steel-toes through the television when yet another company tries to sell me a car that I don't even know how to drive. Call 529-5000 for ticket information. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Film. Transamerica—now playing Felicity Huffman, of Desperate Housewives fame, plays Bree, a male-to-female transsexual who is about to take the last step toward complete gender reassignment That is until she discovers that—surprise!—she has a teenage son, and her therapist thinks she might want to sort out that baggage before moving on with her life. There are about a million cheap jokes that could be made here about Huffman playing this particular role, but let's grow up and commend her for her bravery, sensitivity and skill in what, by all accounts, is likely to turn out to be one of the most intriguing performances of the year. See tribute.ca for showtimes.

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18

a& e | 2 4 .1.06 | the mcgill tribune

MUSIC MUSIC

The house that beer built

Just a small­

Habitat benefit concert raises money, homes

town girl...

JULIE COLLINS

K.T. Tunstall sings into the lonelyg w o rld BEN LEMIEUX By her own admission, singer/songwriter K.T. Tunstall comes from a background that could best be described as a bubble. Adopted at birth, Tunstall grew up in the small university town of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her musical efforts since early adolescence have been a way for her to break out into the rest of the world.

"The dream has always been to play music and travel," Tunstall said to a jam-packed Cabaret audience last Monday. 'Thank you for making it possible."

Tunstall may be a newcomer to international music consciousness, but onstage she appears to be an old pro. Showing up with nothing more than a percussionist, a guitar and a short golden dress that sparkled as much as her performance, Tunstall quickly made known why EMI and producer Steve Osborne (U2, New Order) jumped at the chance to back her debut album like a portly child homing in on a Mars bar. She just plain rocks.

|

With hardly a seat to spare, it seemed more like a Friday or Saturday than a Wednesday at Brutopia (1219 Crescent) last week.

McGill's chapter of the not-for-profit housing char­ ity Habitat for Humanity held its first benefit concert, entitled Gimme Shelter, on Wednesday, with the line­ up including popular Montreal band The Dust Jackets and blues strummer Dale Boyle. They had audiences out of their seats and crowding closer to the stage to watch the performance. Although many people seemed to be there for the cause rather than the music, one enthusiast remarked, 'The music is awe­ some."

Melissa Gaul, the social outreach coordinator for McGill's Habitat, organized the event and was pleased with the turnout. The $5 suggested donation, which bought patrons a hand stamp and happy hour prices all night long, will help subsidize two club trips over Reading Week. Twelve students will head to York, Pennsylvania, where they will help build several hous­ es in different stages of development. Another 10 McGill students will participate in the Global Village pro­ gram, which sends volunteers to impoverished areas to build homes and learn about local culture. They will meet up with students from around the world in

Puebla, Mexico, about 130 kilometres southeast of Mexico City, and will take part in a "Blitz Build," mean­ ing that they will build 50 houses from the ground up in five days. The money raised at Brutopia will help lift some of the financial burden of the trip off the stu­ dents.

In addition to the building trips, Habitat members also organize local events. Act, Speak, Build Week takes place at McGill in March and consists of a series of events including speakers, movies and a popular art show. The art comes from St. James Mission's art ther­ apy program, where the homeless can go for the day and use art as a form of release. Students in the club also volunteer at the Old Brewery Mission, a soup kitchen in Montreal, and others spend their time assist­ ing at 10,000 Villages, a fair trade store. Although there are no building events taking place in Montreal in the near future, there is a build in Winnipeg planned for May. Overall, the Gimme Shelter event seemed like a success.

- "It's great to the see the turnout of McGill students and to see how people do actually care about housing issues," commented one dub member clad in her red Habitat shirt. Whether people were there for the music, the cause or the cheap beer, everyone seemed to be having a great time. ■

Judge this book by its cover Ain’t no dust on these jackets STEPHANIE B A U D H U IN

SWR3.DE

Tunstall, back before Montreal cost her the use of her nose.

Bounding onto stage with vivacity and charm, Tunstall bellowed heartily into the microphone, "Bonjour Montreal!" Slinging a guitar over her shoulder, she subsequently asked, "Was that right? I asked the cab driver on the way here. He could have told me anything. ... I came to Montreal expecting this beautiful place... and then my nose fell off."

Humour and a smokin' dress aren't the only things Tunstall has going for her. She settles into the show immediately, banging out lively, accent­ ed guitar chords with distinctive heart 'n' soul and tracking pitch-perfect vocal melodies into her loop machine before launching into "Another Place to Fall," a fan favourite from her 2005 debut, Eye to the Telescope.

Immediately, one realizes that this woman's command of her instrument and own voice is unparalleled. Tunstall never falters, hesitates or lets the energy of her set slip even just a tad. She keeps on rolling like a train run­ ning on dilithium crystals. Her voice, weaving between tones soft and vul­ nerable as Sia Furler and commanding as Aretha Franklin, reached every person in the audience with clarity, sincerity and emotion that few artists manage to convey accurately, or even consistently.

"We took off for North America leaving three very upset band mem­ bers back in London," Tunstall admitted mid-set. Though her album is graced with gorgeous bass, Wurlitzer and string work, her live set does not suffer from the lack of these sonorous touches. A self-taught musician, Tunstall hammers away at her instrument with the all the passion and zeal of a small-town girl eager to venture out into the bigger, broader world, while looping guitar percussion and vocal takes, blending every sound and harmony she can muster from her Gibson and herself. And then she launches into song, after song, after song.

All along, music has been Tunstall's ticket, one which will take her very, very far. It's a guarantee. ■

"Rock and roll hallelujah!" frontman Adam Kagan of The Dust Jackets sang Jan. 14 at Petit Café Campus (57 Prince-Arthur). Thank God for rock and this band for bringing it back to its roots. The Dust Jackets is a band that, I'm proud to announce, is made up entirely of McGill alumni and current students in Medicine, English and other disciplines.

Kagan, the lead singer and songwriter, explained in an interview that the band wants the crowd to experi­ ence a literal rollercoaster of emotions aroused by their varied tunes, a ride smoothed with occasional rock bal­ lads that eventually reach a climax of fast and hard funky rock beats-a quasi-sexual trip.

Their unique name was revealed to Kagan in a dream. It is easy to discern that the term "dust" in Dust Jackets stands for their ragged, classic rhythms inspired by the likes of Mel Davis and Bob Marley, as well as

some indie contemporaries. As for "jackets," those are exactly what everyone who filled up the floor was tak­ ing off as they danced to the funky rhythms.

What makes the band unique is that they comple­ ment this mélange with versatile members who are all capable singers and make use of these talents by weaving stunning harmonies. It seems that their secret is the unspoken connection and complicity real musi­ cians develop.

The bottom line is, The Dust Jackets know what they're doing. Luckily for all of you who crave more, Kagan confirms that the band will last "as long as I can possibly sustain it." Given that they have played 41 shows to rave reviews, released an excellent nine-track album, regularly fill rooms with audiences of around 300 people ranging from teenagers to baby boomers, and possess both a lot of potential and genuine love for music, it is safe to say they'll be around for quite a while. ■

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the mcgill tribune | 24.1.06 | a& e

House: not just for living in

19

REVIEWS

Mile End Records label showcases Montreal DJs LAUREN C O N S K Y Few are aware of the extent to, which house music and serial clubbing are still alive and happening in Montreal today. It appeared that the genre hit its peak at the millennium due to its commercialization, the growth of hip-hop and people becoming bored with the scene.

Nowadays, it's hard to disassociate house from the main­ stream plays.

But Patrick Dream, a well-known Montreal DJ, assures us that this chapter in clubland's history is not closed. Although house music has become either radical­ ly commercialized—like the stuff you hear while shopping in Club Monaco—or fairly underground, it is far from the fringes of Montreal's reputed music scene. "House music in Montreal has phenomenal reception," says Dream.

"There's a huge local market for it." He declares he wouldn't be in business as a full-time DJ if the demand weren't there.

Dream has helped to carve out Montreal's music scene as a former owner of dance label Bombay Records. He has been around the city since 1994, when he moved to Montreal and started Liquid Fridays at Metropolis (59 Ste-Catherine E.), a 2,500-person club housed in a restored Victorian theatre. Since then, Patrick has held many high-profile residencies, including one at after-hours club Stereo, where he used to draw upwards of 1,500 people for his five-hour Saturday night sets. He currently spins at a Sunday residency at Parking (1296 Amherst).

Last year, Dream helped launch Mile End Records with fellow DJ Mike Meurin. The label just released Chez Nous: Montreal House Vol. 1, a compilation of Montreal artists, to showcase local talent. It is the first release for the record company, which hopes to build on Montreal's unique electronic sound and release more records in the future.

"When I send out this music [to other DJs] it's inde­ finable," Dream says. "They're like, 'What is this music?

Where is it coming from?"' Through this album, he hopes to capture the sound he claims is unique to Montreal.

The album features artists like Angel Moraes, founder and a resident DJ at Stereo, and other local acts

c

BLENDER.CA Dream, doing w hat he does best. like Frederic Jay and Sean Kosa. Dream says the CD is a compilation of techno, electro, clubhouse, deep jazz and other styles, rather than an all-encompassing generic "house." Missing from the line-up, however, are more high-profile Montrealers like Max Graham.

It warms the heart to see Montreal artists grouped together under one label, but putting a predilection for Montreal aside, the compilation ought to be pumping with stronger baselines, like on Angel Moraes' 2005 track "You Should Have Said (I Love You)." The album's open­ ing track, "Ca Va Bein Merci" (Frederic Jay), and "No Ride" (KidFreq) are compelling, but the rest of the album fails to offer depth or delicious rhythms to grip the listen­ er. To the casual listener, Chez Nous regrettably sounds a lot like what's already out there.

What makes house music so special, according to Dream, is its ability to project sheer musicality with a three-note baseline. "At its core it's rebel music," he says.

"It's never really had a mass format." Unfortunately, while listening to Chez Nous it's sometimes hard to distinguish what makes the Montréalais sound truly unique. ■

Television Series DVD. Earth 2. In 1994, this lit­ tle NBC program broke a lot of ground in the realm of high-brow, socially- and politically-minded futuris­ tic fiction. Sadly, as with most audacious and stellar TV shows (see Firefly and The Family Guy), Earth 2, despite coming from the producers of ER, The Wonder Years and Law & Order, was cancelled just before the end of its first season. Its abrupt end came even though it garnered heftier first-season ratings than another inventive sci-fi show known as The X-Files.

The premise involves, as the title suggests, the colonization of a second Earth; an inhabitable planet 22 light years away from humankind. In 2192, humans have all but abandoned their heavily polluted and dismal planet in favour of clean, sober and disease-free space stations built around Earth's orbit. Unfortunately, the years of recycled air and artificial lighting have taken their toll, and more children are being born with congenital afflictions that prevent the healthy growth and development of their bodies and immune systems. The lack of "life" on the stations are said to be the cause; a new, clean planet the cure.

Devon Adair, the mother of one of these unfortunate children, organ­ izes a colonial flight to planet G889 in hopes that a return to nature will save her boy Ulysses. For complicated, Big Brother-ish reasons, the govern­ ment sabotages her voyage, and Adair's space ship and its crew crash land on Earth 2, thousands of light years away from their landing destination. As the small band of castaways try to make their way to New Pacifica, they encounter the results of the former colonial attempts on the planet, native species, government interference and a slew of other blockades.

What sets Earth 2 apart from so many other shows of its epoch is the intelligence of the writing. Each episode involves discussion of some man­ ner of class conflict, historical or political allegory, commentary on medical ethics, and symbiotic relationship between a people and its land. The char­ acters are layered, mysterious and always compelling, given glorious life by elegant performers such as Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, The Hurricane), Tim Curry (Legend, The Three Musketeers), Antonio Sabato Jr. (The Big Hit) and Jessica Steen (Armageddon). The Emmy award-winning visual effects were well ahead of their time, and for a rela­ tively low-budget show that was only allotted one season, Earth 2 accom­ plished quite a bit.

The DVD contains four double-sided discs comprising the entire first season—including two unaired episodes. Despite the fact that the bonus features are atrocious, the re-release of Earth 2 is a testament to the fact that fantastic TV shows, like movies, are truly timeless.

—Ben Lemieux

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H O C K E Y — R E D M E N 4, C O N C O R D I A

2

Power play name of the game as Redmen ice Stingers Going four of nine on PP surges McGill past bitter rivals CHRIS MacLEAN When your power play and penalty kill are as reliable as those of the Redmen hockey team's, calling them "special" teams is not even close to adequate. They are nothing less than spectacular.

McGill netted four power play goals and the penalty kill turned away nine Concordia man advantages, as the Redmen's specialists propelled the team to a 4-2 victory over the Stingers in front of 972 rowdy home fans at McConnell Arena on Friday.

While the stellar power play will get even more attention fol­ lowing its most recent outburst, leading point-getter Shawn Shewchuk—who notched two more goals on the night—was quick to point out the strength of the team's penalty killing unit, which has been successful over 94 per cent of the time.

"Everyone talks about our power play, and I have it lucky being on such a great line with Dougie [Orr] and Bennie [Martin]," Shewchuk said. "But our PK is the best in the country as well. They deserve a lot of credit. Our penalty kill is what takes the momentum out of the other teams."

Hard hitting early on The game didn't get off to such a special start for the Redmen, though, as second-leading scorer Doug Orr was hit hard along the boards in the first minute of the game. Much pushing and shoving ensued in response to the bodycheck, with seven penalties assessed on that play alone. The nasty nature of the game resulted in many 5-on-4 situations for both teams, and McGill made sure to take advantage.

"When we play them, they play very physical; they try and chip away at our game," said Head Coach Martin Raymond. "And when our power play struggles, they can take advantage of that.

But tonight our power play was solid, and we didn't let them take liberties with it" As for Orr, he returned to the ice briefly just after the inci­ dent. However, the injüry forced him to the sidelines for the remainder of the game. Raymond would not comment on the extent of the injury.

"He was hurt during the game, and our medical staff decid­ ed as a precautionary .measure that he stay off the ice," said the coachAll the big guns gonna shoot out the light Charles Gauthier opened the scoring for the Redmen, streaking down the right side and going five-hole on Concordia goalie Patrick Lepage 3:13 into the first period. It would be the only goal of a penalty-filled first period.

THE

Special teams factored in heavi­ ly again in the second period, as Concordia tied the game on a shorthanded goal at 5:39 of the frame, the result of a spectacular individual effort by forward Karl Gagné. But McGill responded almost immedi­ ately as alternate captain Benoit Martin banged in a rebound on the same power play a minute later.

The numerous man advantage opportunities really served to inter­ rupt the flow of the game, with nei­ ther team being able to find an evenstrength rhythm.

"It's been like that pretty much all year," said Raymond. "Forty out of 60 minutes of every game is being played on special teams. It is impor­ tant for us to continue to prepare it in practice and improve it, it has a huge impact toward the ending result."

McGill seemed to get some breathing room in an otherwise tight Winger Benoit Martin put the Redmen up for good with a goal in the second period. game early in the third, when Shawn The place will be rockin' on Friday night Shewchuck snapped one in the top left corner of the net from With eight games left in the regular season and Université the centre of the circle. But Concordia responded 16 seconds later as Trevor Blanchard scored a diving goal, slipping the puck du Québec à Trois-Rivières only three points behind in the Ontario University Athletics Far East division, the Redmen are past Poitras among lots of traffic in front of the net. intent on making sure they are playing well down the stretch, This led to some nervous moments for the Redmen as they clung precariously to a 3-2 lead. But Shewchuck would close out which will lead into the games that matter in the playoffs.

"All these games are like a build up," Shewchuk said. "It's the scoring with his second of the game at 15:29 of the period. nice to win, but to win playing hard is the best. Because we've The goal that put the Stingers away for good came as a result of some beautiful tic-tac-toe passing by the Redmen. Shewchuk got to step it up in the playoffs. That's where it counts."

McGill, however, still has much to work on before they're was named the game's first star for his efforts. ready for Canada's best. Despite the impressive power play Redmen goalie Mathieu Poitras, boasting a CIS-best 1.63 numbers, the team failed to score an even-strength goal for the goals against average, was again sharp against the Stingers. The second straight game, and McGill must fix that deficiency in former CIS Rookie of the Year made 23 saves to improve to 10order to have a shot at winning the national championship.

1-1 in league play.

Raymond, however, does not see his 5-on-5 play as a problem. "[Poitras] is always focused and he always brings his A "I think that we are playing well 5-on-5. Our [even-strength] game," said Redmen captain Pierre-Antoine Paquet. "He gives us the confidence to take risks knowing he is back there. We try to play is forcing other teams to take penalties. Often times what happens is that, if team would not take the penalties, we would keep the shots to the outside and take away the middle, he does have scored." the rest."

A lot of credit must also be given to McGill's young defence.

The Redmen will get another chance to work on 5-on-5— while keeping the special teams exceptional—on Friday, when They kept the front of the crease clear and ensured that most of they take on long-time rival Queen's at McConnell Arena. ■ the Stingers' shots came from outside.

RED Z O N E

Bertuzzi will give Games a black eye ierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic movement, once said, "Olympianism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the edu­ cational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." But apparently Wayne Gretzky and the rest of the brass at Hockey Canada do not espouse this vision. If they did, they probably wouldn't have chosen Todd Bertuzzi as one of the 23 players on Canada's national hockey team, which will be travelling to Italy for the Olympics in just a few weeks.

It's been almost two years since the night Bertuzzi sucker-punched Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore.

The punch, followed by Bertuzzi breaking Moore's neck by driving his head into the ice, likely ended the 27-year-old Moore's career. Bertuzzi, meanwhile, was suspended for the balance of the year, which amounted to a total of 21 games.

Those who defend Bertuzzi's inclusion on Team Canada do so on the grounds that he served his time and has shown remorse over the incident. So what? Last week Columbus Blue Jackets and Team USA defenceman Bryan Berard was suspended for two years from international

P

competition after testing positive for steroids. So apparent­ ly Berard's actions garner a two-year ban, while Bertuzzi almost kills another athlete in a brutal assault and the Canadian Olympic Committee is satisfied that a 21-game suspension and an apology is sufficient punishment. Am I the only one who sees a discrepancy here?

I think the assault is most aptly compared to a case of drunk driving, where a person acts in a way that shows reck­ less disregard for the life and security of others. What's important here is not what Bertuzzi actually meant to happe n -it's that he didn't take into consideration the possible consequences of his actions. When Bertuzzi blindsided Moore, he no doubt didn't intend to break the Avs' for­ ward's neck; however, Bertuzzi certainly meant to ambush a defenceless person. Clearly, this is not the best example of "respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."

What makes Bertuzzi's selection all the more perplex­ ing is that it doesn't even make sense on paper. The Vancouver Canucks forward has struggled this year, collect­ ing just 44 points through the first 47 games of the season.

Meanwhile rising stars Eric Staal (61 points), Jason Spezza (51 points in 33 games) and Sidney Crosby (53 points)

CHARLIE BLORE

were all left off the squad.

Presumably, Bertuzzi was chosen not just for his offen­ sive prowess, but also for his toughness and experience.

The first problem with that is toughness has generally been overrated in international competition. The larger ice sur­ face puts a premium on skills like speed and passing, and doesn't lend itself well to physically powerful forwards like Bertuzzi.

Secondly, while experience will play a crucial role in the tournament, it is something Todd Bertuzzi has very little of. The selection of players like Rob Blake, Adam Foote and Kris Draper were justified by the fact that, despite having slowed down in recent years, they are all champions at both the professional and international levels. Bertuzzi, on the other hand, has participated in only 24 playoff games and has won nothing after nine seasons in the NHL. In the end, Bertuzzi is more likely to serve as a distrac­ tion than anything else. Even the slightest slip-up on his part will draw criticism and scorn from the media and fans alike.

Meanwhile, the Olympic spirit that de Coubertin fought so hard to resurrect over a century ago will take another hit—a Todd Bertuzzi sucker punch, to be exact. ■

PROFI LE — R E D M E N

the mcgill tribune | 2 4 .1.06 | sports 2 1

HOCKEY

Leading scorer eShewing

Gimme some Mo

An open letter

the spotlight Team success more important than personal stats for winning winger

to my new hockey skates MOHIT ARORA

RICKI GURWITZ Hockey is like a religion in Canada. It is practically a constitutional convention that young boys will grow up to become skilled players in the good ol' hockey game.

Few prove this axiom better than Shawn Shewchuk.

Shewchuck, starting at the age of four in Lloydminster, Alta., his father taught him the game in their backyard rink. Playing all through his childhood, he learned from both his peers and his father how to excel at Canada's game.

Now, as the leading scorer on the number two ranked team in the country, Shewchuk's talent cannot go unnoticed. His skills, which have developed from many years of practice and unwavering enthusiasm for his favourite sport, have helped the Redmen become a force to be reckoned with.

Shewchuck has become a leader for McGill both on and off the ice. Yet, modestly, he maintains that it is the Redmen's ability to work together that is the key to their success.

"My success is due to my linemates and my team­ mates, especially my lineman Doug [Orr] and Ben[oit Martin]," Shewchuck says. "Ben works hard and Doug is always there to get me the puck."

Working together has been a key for the Redmen during their unbelievable run to open the season. Every player deserves credit for the Redmen sitting atop the Ontario University Athletic conference standings with a record of 13-1-2; after all, they are the ones who make the passes that allow Shewchuk to use his uncanny abil­ ity to find the back of the net.

But for his part, Shewchuk has not let them down.

He has come through with several clutch goals this sea­ son, including two power play markers in the third peri­ od of Friday nighfis 4-2 win against Concordia. That leaves Shewchuk with nine goals and 15 assists on the season, good for a tie for sixth place on the OUA scor­ ing charts. A leader even without a letter Being a team's leading scorer brings greater expec­ tations from teammates and coaches alike. In Shewchuk's case, however, being given greater respon­ sibility has meant taking on a more prominent and pro­ nounced role on the team, improving his play and encouraging his teammates to do the same. This job is a bit of a strange one for the third-year left winger, though, because he's traditionally been solely a scorer and only played half of his second season after sitting out with a broken arm which he suffered in training camp. But Shewchuk is quick to note that Head Coach Martin Raymond's expectations have helped with his confidence and knowing where he fits in. "[My role] has been the same the whole time I have been here; [Raymond] has always expected me to score," Shewchuk says. "Now, he has put more on me as I get older, and I am one of the older guys on the team, to play a more responsible complete game."

Raymond agreed with Shewchuk's assessment.

| ~ - ^ ear new hockey skates,

COURTESY McGILL ATHLETICS Shewchuk is doing his part to help McGill place first in the conference.

"He has got some leadership responsibilities in terms of modelling and showing the way to our younger players. Other than contributing offensively, he needs to be examplary in terms of his effort."

And though he feels pressure to score, the man they call "Shewie" knows how to handle the puck with patience and when to pass it to one of his linemates to put it in the net.

"I think I am pretty smart with the puck,” Shewchuk says by way of assessing his own play. "I know what to do when I have the puck, and I am patient with it. I know how to find the open guy. Doug can score and Ben can score so they make it easy on me."

Shewchuk, though, is not solely there for the points. He is also a well-rounded player, contributing both offensively and defensively, blocking shots and killing penalties. Therein lies his greatest strength—con­ tributing to all aspects of the game.

"I am good both ways, I am good defensively and in the offensive zone," he says. "If I am having a bad night offensively, I will still be able to contribute in our own end. On other nights I will be able to score some goals but I will still have strong defensive play all the time."

But there's no need get answers from Shewchuk himself. His teammates are always happy to sing his praises.

"Shawn is always the most intense player on the ice," says Orr, the fifth-year standout who centres Shewchuk's line. "His all around game and teamwork are the most important qualities in a defence-oriented team." • There is no I in team Much can be said not only of Shewchuk, but also of the entire atmosphere of the team and the coopera­ tion central to their season's success. Orr maintains that all the Redmen players are friends before teammates, a harmony that translates into chemistry on the ice and goals on the scoreboard.

"The camaraderie, straight off the bat, you could tell everyone has been able to get along. We have team outings and everyone is there."

The Redmen are hoping to finish first in the OUA and parlay that success to a gold medal at the CIS championsips in Edmonton in March, and the team's results thus far bode well for fulfilling these goals. Shewchuk would like nothing better than to help his team get there.

"All I really want is to win this year and go as far as we can," he says.

Indeed, Shawn Shewchuk's success lies not in his ability to score, but rather in his energy on the ice and approach to the game. Shewchuk excels while following through on what was seemingly his destiny: Starring at hockey, using an attitude and skills forged over a decade ago on a backyard rink. ■

I remember the first time we met like it was yesterday. There I was, minding my own business at a SportChek by my house, when I spotted you by the back wall of the store, or rather, on the back wall of the store. You were leaning back, striking a pose, and you looked like the reason God invented ice. You were beautiful.

I remember looking away, thinking you were way out of my league. I figured you were used to a smoother, faster kind of guy, not some hack like me who'd probably trip over the blue line in your mere presence. I couldn't imagine actually approaching you, but I kept thinking about us scoring goals and winning games together, and it just seemed so right Heads would'tum. People would see us and say, "They look so great together, don't they?" We'd be the talk of the McGill Intramural ice hockey league, men's D division.

And from what I'd heard about you, there was a lot more to you than fetching looks and sleek build. We had a mutual friend, the Bauer Web site, which had nothing but great things to say about you.

In addition to looking fantastic, you had a reputation for being respon­ sive, comfortable and great at shedding water weight—the total pack­ age, if ever there was one.

I snuck a peek back in your direction, and there you still were, gazing at me, inviting me to come over and introduce myself. And I saw something different about you this time. There was a look of vul­ nerability. Maybe it was because you were trying to stand out from all the other attractive and available models around you. Maybe it was that personal ad you put out in the "SportChek Holiday Blow-out" flyer, telling the world about all that you had to offer. Beneath that hydrophobic microfibre exterior hid a pair of skates just looking to be loved by that special someone. I just knew / was that someone.

I finally worked up the nerve to approach you, and it was magic.

We clicked on every level. You stuck your tongue out at me in that cute way of yours, and I could see that you were perfect, a "10”—or actually, a 10.5. Normally, I worry about letting things move too quick­ ly, but I don't regret the fact that we went home together that day.

It really seemed like the start of something special. I introduced you to all of my friends, and they loved you instantly, constantly telling me how great it was to see how happy you had made me. I'd pam­ per you with lavish $4 sharpenings, or see a pair of skate guards in a store window and imagine how great you'd look in them.

But you know, the honeymoon can't last forever, and we've had our tough moments, too. Sometimes, I feel that you're not as flexible as I thought you'd be. Why is it that, even after a month, my feet still howl in agony after every time we're together? Where's the compro­ mise? My feet are what they are, and they can't be expected to change for you, new hockey skates. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask you to accommodate them.

In the end, though, I think I owe you the benefit of the doubt.

This is just as new for you as it is for me. I know you're trying to change, but it takes time; You're built a certain way, and it's hard for you to adjust to fit the one you're with. Hey, there's a reason why they say "love hurts." I guess I think about our future together, and I want it all to happen right away, so I rush things. And for that, I'm sorry.

I guess what I'm trying to tell you, new hockey skates, is that I'm in this for the long haul. After having gotten to know you as intimate­ ly as I have, I realize what I was missing all those years I spent wast­ ing time with those cheap skates I'd meet at garage sales or used sporting goods stores. I didn't really care about them. It was just meaningless skating.

My happiest moments are when you and I are gliding down a fresh sheet of ice, hand-in-hand, or maybe foot-in-boot. You give me the confidence to try to stop rather than bounce off the boards or another player. Thanks to you, I don't have a turning radius of 37 feet anymore. I know you say I've accomplished these things by myself, but if s only because of you that I've even tried.

You're all that Bauer, Ilya Kovalchuk and Dwayne the 16-year-old SportChek salesman say you are... and more. You really do help me "perform at my peak level." I'm a changed man because of you, and I consider myself lucky that, whenever the mood strikes me, I'm the guy who gets to tie you up in lace(s).

Sincerely, Mo ■

22

sports | 2 4 .1.06 | the mcgill tribune

DEBATE

Stands-ing up: is Davis defensible?

W ith just o ver a minute left in overtim e during W ednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, N e w Y o rk Knicks fo rw ard A n ton io Davis rushed into the stands after seeing his wife, Kendra, apparently threatened by another fan. Though th e re was no physical confrontation, Davis was immediately ejected fro m th e game, and th e N B A later handed dow n a five-game suspension. Editors D A V I D B L Y E and A N D R E W S E G A L discuss w h e th e r Davis’ actions w e re acceptable.

Segal: Just as it's not tolerated when fans run onto the field, we shouldn't put up with players running into the seats, for a couple of significant reasons.

First of all, Davis was on the court, far removed from the area of the "distur­ bance." He wasn't close enough to truly know what was going on in the stands, and indeed, whether his wife was actually threatened is still in dispute (it appears she may well have been the agressor); as such, Davis' reaction may well have been entirely unnecessary. But even if Kendra was in peril, Davis can't be dishing out vig­ ilante justice. The arena and teams employ security guards to deal with this type of incident, and Davis should have left them to do their jobs.

Secondly, in the post-Ron Artest era, there's always the threat that things could get out of hand. Sure, Davis may have been going into the stands just to help his wife, but once he's up there adrenaline can take over and logic can go out the win­ dow. Say the fan, with the Brawl at the Palace fresh in his mind, sees Davis charg­ ing at him. Feeling threatened, he throws a punch—how will Davis react? Can we count on a 6'9", 245-pound behemoth, juiced up from playing in a tight game, to not start swinging every which way? The risk of both a player and security losing control in this sort of situation is too great. That's why players should stay on the playing surface, where they belong.

------fry-

Blye: To compare what happened on Wednesday to the Brawl at the Palace is absurd. In that situation, you had Ron Artest, one of the biggest loose cannons in the NBA, charge the stands full speed ahead, his fists swinging at whatever they could find—let's not forget, Artest didn't even hit the man who threw the damn beer. But here, notorious good guy Antonio Davis—acting rather calm under the circumstances—entering the stands at almost a snail's pace, deliberately keeping his arms at his sides.

Also, unlike Artest, whose sole thought was vengeance, AD was thinking only about the well-being of his wife. And from his vantage point, she was in immediate danger from a clear|y drunk and disorderly fan trying to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Davis back to Chicago in his own special way—Davis, of course, being a former member of the Bulls franchise.

And you mention security. Well, where was. the security? Rule one of working security is to stop a situation from occurring before it occurs. If you see something, do something about it. But in this case, what happened? The United Center security allowed this situation to degen­ erate to the point that Davis was left with no other option. And let me ask you something-did I mention it was his wife?

/ Segal: I'm sorry it had to come to this, but your continually bringing up Davis' preoccupation with his wife leaves me with no choice but to make a Doug Christie reference. Of course, Mrs. Christie would be the one to go after someone fighting her husband, but I digress.

The point here is that, unlike Christie, NBA players shouldn't be paying attention to their wives while on the court. Davis is earning over $ 150,000 for just 21 minutes of work a night, and during that time, he has a responsibility only to the Knicks. He shouldn't be looking up at his wife in the stands when he should be concentrating on a game that's in overtime.

Kendra Davis is a grown woman. She can handle herself. Too bad we can't say the same about Antonio.

mm

Blye: Doug Christie? Ha! Come on Segal, the only thing these two have in common is that they both played for the Toronto Raptors.

Doug needed Jackie to defend his ass. Kendra never had to come to Antonio's aid. But enough on them, you're cutting into my rebuttal.

The fact remains that United Center security did nothing to stop this altercation. What's more is that just prior to Davis getting tossed, Chris Duhon and Maurice Taylor had themselves a little scuffle, which resulted in them getting the boot. With the situation rapidly spinning out of control, security should have been beefed up around the court, just in case someone decided to get fresh.

Enough, I win. ■

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Last call

the mcgill tribune | 2 4 .1.06 | sports 2 3 compiled by D A V ID BLYE and A D A M MYERS

A RO UND

STANDINGS HOCKEY (M)

W

OT

PTS

HOCKEY (W)

McGILL*(F-East)

13

1

2

0

28

RMC*(M-East)

7

McGILL

8

1

0

16

9

5

0

19

CONCORDIA

5

3

1

| 11

UQTR (FE)

12

5

1

0

25 OTTAWA

4

4

1

9

CARLETON

0

9

0

:o

L

T

OTTAWA (FE)

10

6

1

1

22

CONC'DIA (FE)

4

8

3

3

14

QUEEN'S (ME)

6

13

1

1

14

TORONTO (ME)

6

11

1

0

13

RYERSON (ME)

1

15

1

1

4

ON

W

L

T

PTS

V-BALL (W)

W

L

GF

GA

LAVAL

17

0

. 51

McGILL

15

2

45

13

MONTREAL

14

3

45

14

11

6

41

22

7

12

27

45

^Represents division leaders OUA hockey ranks the two division leaders SHERBR'K first and second, and then ranks the remaining six teams according to total UQTR points. Six teams make the playoffs.

4

BOX SCORE

DECK

Redmen Hockey—Queen's @ McGill; Friday, 7 p.m. at McConnell Arena At first glance, this game seems much more important for Queen's than it does for McGill. While the Redmen are enjoying their best season in team history, the Golden Gaels are struggling and risk missing the playoffs. If anything, it could be said the Redmen might be looking past this game. Except for one thing... this is still a Queen's-McGill game. And just like Harvard never wants to lose to Yale, McGill never wants to lose to Queen's.

Expect fireworks.

Redmen/Martlets Track and Field—McGill Team Challenge Meet; Friday & Saturday at Tomlinson Field House After last weekend's record-setting performance in London, Ont, both the Redmen and the Martlets should be fired up, especially as they're competing on their home track. Both sides are full of veteran athletes who are hungry for a big showing. In addition, both the men's and women's 4x800m relay squad are top-class, with each coming off a win at last weekend's meet.

Redmen/Martlets Swimming—Quebec University Cup Meet; Saturday, 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Pool This one is a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions.

The Martlets, with stars Victoria Poon, Allison McCabe and Lauren Crawford, are a force nationally, ranked fourth in the country. On the other hand, the Redmen are struggling this year, with victories few and far between. Either way, this will be the last home meet of the year and these teams could always use some support.

NHL—Vancouver @ Colorado; Saturday 10 p.m. on CBC Tensions will be high as these rivals clash in Denver. As always, both teams will want to take two points out of this one to keep pace in the extremely tight North West division. But don't think points are the only thing these men are playing for. With the Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi incident still fresh in everyone's mind, there will be a lot of pride on the line in this clash.

Friday, Jan. 20, 2006 McGill Redmen 4 vs. Concordia Stingers 2 McConnell Arena SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: McGill - Charles Gauthier (D. Orr ) - PP 03:13 SECOND PERIOD: Concordia - Karl Gagne (F. Faucher ) - SH 05:39 McGill - Benoit Martin (G. Demers, K. Morin) - PP 06:34 THIRD PERIOD: McGill - Shawn Shewchuk (M. Leclerc, D. Urquhart) PP 06:29 Concordia - Trevor Blanchard (M.A. Rizk ) - Reg 06:45 McGill - Shawn Shewchuk (C. Gauthier, S.Pearce) - PP 15:29 SHOTS BY PERIOD: McGill 13 15 12 (40) Concordia 9 6 10 (25) GOALTENDERS: McGill: Mathieu Poitras (W, 10-1-1; 60:00, 2GA, 23 saves) Concordia: Patrick Lepage (L, 2-9-3; 60:00, 4GA, 38 saves) MOLSON CUP THREE STARS: 1) Shawn Shewchuk, McGill 2) Patrick Lepage, Concordia 3 ) Charles Gauthier, McGill ATTENDANCE: 972

THIS WEEK IN McGILL SPORTS HISTORY Saturday, Jan. 30, 1999 The Redmen Hockey team was iced twice on the weekend in OUA East action. On Friday night, McGill fell 3-2 to Concordia after the Stingers scored twice in the second period to take a 31 lead. The Redmen responded in the last minute of the game, but by then it was too late. Saturday saw the Redmen lose again, this time to UQTR. Going into the second period, the Redmen led 3-1, but like Friday, the Red 'n' White played a flat second frame, allowing the Pats to even the game. The third period saw UQTR score twice more to win 5-3.

Sunday, Jan. 26, 2001 The Martlets cagers stunned the home crowd in Lennoxville, defeating Bishop's 75-66. McGill opened the game down 18-5 after just five minutes, but the Red 'n' White respond­ ed quickly, going on a 28-16 run to close the half down by just one. The second half saw some excellent play from guard Cheeka Mitchell, who scored 16 of her game-high 19 in the sec­ ond period. She also added six boards and five assists.

Saturday, Jan. 30, 2004 The Martlets hockey team beat the Carleton Ravens 7-1, improving to 8-2-3 on the season. The game, which was relocat­ ed to Montreal from Ottawa at the last minute, was an absolute blowout, with the Martlets outshooting the Ravens 43-18. After the two sides exchanged a pair of first period goals, McGill took over, scoring six straight. Foward Véronique Lapierre led the charge for the Martlets with a goal and four assists. The only knock against McGill was its lack of production on the power play: the tean failed to score on any of the its eight chances.

WHA T ' S Y O U R BEEF? What's the deal with the betting line in Super Bowl XL? How is Pittsburgh, a sixth seed, favoured over the top seed in the NFC? If the NFC is really that bad compared to the AFC, the NFL needs to rework its playoff form at... Kobe Bryant dropped a bomb on the Toronto Raptors Sunday night. Kobe scored 81 points, including 55 in the second half, more than the entire Raptors squad. Kobe should be charged again after the way he assaulted the Raps... The Toronto Maple Leafs stink. Not that this team was ever that great to begin with, but there was one thing we could always count on. They would beat the Senators. Maybe they would get outplayed, but they would still somehow found a way to beat their provincial rivals. Now, it's not even a challenge for Ottawa. The Leafs just get mur­ dered every time they step on the ice. How the mighty have-fallen... The members of the Baltimore Orioles organization couldn't be happier about acquiring Kris Benson in a trade this past week. Just in case Benson ever has an affair, his unbelievably hot wife Anna has declared that to get back at him she would sleep with everyone on his team. Maybe Peter Angelos has an ulterior motive.

THE

HORN

Redmen bailers finally get one Last week, we predicted the Redmen basketball team would get its first conference victory. On Friday, they proved us right.

Foward Sean Anthony scored a game-high 19 points, including 17 in the second half, as the Redmen rallied to edge visiting UQÀM 69-65. The win, played at Love Competition Hall, ended their eight-game losing streak in the QUBL. Anthony also recorded five rebounds as McGill moved to within two points of the Citadins for the fourth and final playoff spot.

Trailing 65-64 with 10.2 seconds remaining, McGill rookie Yannick Chouinard took an inbound pass from Nickolas Pronovost and sank a three-pointer from 21 feet out to put the Redmen up 67-65.

The Citadins had a chance for one last shot, but Samuel Johnson missed a three-pointer of his own.

McGill's Olivier Lamoureux sealed the deal by grabbing the rebound and hitting two clutch free throws to ice it for the Redmen.

Playing with a soft cast on his fractured left hand, Lamoureux finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Chouinard also had an big night, netting 16 points, three rebounds and two steals. He also shot an impressive 4-for-7 from beyond the three point line, including the aforementioned game winner.

The Redmen shot 42.9 per cent from the field (24-of56) and 82.3 per cent from the foul line (14-of-l 7).

Unfortunately, the Redmen could not keep up their winning-ways on Saturday, falling 77-54 in a game against conference leaders Laval. McGill held its own in the first half, and only trailed the Rouge et Or 37-32 at the break.

However, in the second half, the wheels came off for the Redmen, with Laval putting up 40 points.

McGill, which managed to out-rebound Laval 28-19, was plauged by a lack of touch from the field. The Redmen hit just 19 of their 46 shots (41.3 per cent), compared to Laval, which sunk 26 of its 48 shots (54 per cent).

The Redmen are off until Feb. 3, when they travel to Lennoxville to take on the Bishop's Gaiters.

Last minute heroics sink Martlets Mireille Karangwa exploded for 12 second-half points and sank a free throw with no time left in regulation as UQAM squeaked out a 51-50 upset over McGill in women's basketball at Love Competition Hall on Friday.

The win improved UQÀM to 3-4, putting them into third place in the QUBL, ahead of the Martlets, who fell to 3-6.

UQÀM and McGill traded leads throughout the match, neither leading by more than five points. But both teams stalled in the last five minutes of the game, managing only one basket between them and setting the stage for a nailbiting finish.

The Martlets led 50-48 as late as the 17:20 mark after rookie Catherine Parent sank one of two free throws. But Karangwa tied the game at 50-50 with only 47 seconds remaining.

After the Martlets failed to score on the ensuing pos­ session, a jump ball was called and the possession arrow gave the ball to the Citadins with only 0.8 seconds remain­ ing. On the in-bound play, Karangwa caught the ball, turned to shoot and while hoisting a 12-foot desperation shot from inside the key, was fouled by Sarah Gagné on a hotly-disputed call. Karangwa then made her free throw to win the game.

For the Martlets, Catherine Parent tied a career high with 18 points. She also led the way on the glass with seven rebounds. Rookie Nathifa Weekes added 10 points, but the rest of the Martlets had a tough time from the field, as the team hit just 38 per cent of its shots.

Martlets go five for five in weekend tourney Power hitters Catherine-Anne Murray and Jennifer Thomson paced McGill to an easy 3-0 win over St. FrancisXavier in interlocking women's volleyball action at Sherbrooke on Sunday.

The Martlets needed just 70 minutes to earn the win, completing a five-match sweep of AUS opponents. McGill, ranked fourth in the country, improved its current winning streak to 12.

Murray had 10 kills, three digs, two service aces and a pair of stuff blocks. Thomson posted eight kills, eight digs, three stuff blocks and one ace.

McGill opened the tourney on Friday with identical 30 wins over Acadia and Dalhousie, followed by a pair of wins on Saturday, defeating St. Mary's 3-2 and Memorial in another straight sets win.

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