The McGill Tribune Vol. 26 Issue 15 by The Tribune

T”

f M

OPINION RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR, PAGE 9

K M W l

HOT GADGETS AND GIZMOS FOR 2007, PAGE 12

___ The McGill

T ribune

Volum e 26 Issue 15 • January 9,2007

w w w .m cgilltribune.com

Published by the Students' Society o f McGill University

Winter Carnival shakes and stirs Five more years

Munroe-Blum gets reappointed K en S u n S tu d e n t n e w sp a pe rs w ill keep p u ttin g HMB in th e ir h e a d lin e s fo r a t least th e n e x t fiv e years. W h ile s tu d e n ts w e re h o m e fo r w in te r break, M cG ill a n n o u n c e d th a t Prin cip a l H e a th er M u n ro e -B lu m has b e e n u n a n im o u s ly reap p o in te d b y th e Board o f G o ve rn o rs t o serve as p rin c ip a l a n d v ic e -c h a n c e llo r o f th e u n iv e rs ity u n til th e e n d o f 2012. Her se co n d te rm is set to b e g in in Ja n u ary o f 2008.

A re a p p o in tm e n t c o m m itte e , m a d e u p o f C h a n ce llo r Richard P ound, a lo n g w ith fa cu lty, s ta ff a nd tw o s tu d e n t representatives, had b e e n c o n s id e rin g th e issue fo r th e last p a rt o f th e fall sem ester. T h o u g h M u n ro e -B lu m is s te a dfa stly s u p p o rte d b y th e M cG ill a d m in is tra tio n a n d th e Board, her ap p ro va l a m o n g s tu d e n ts is varied. A n u m b e r o f s tu d e n ts v o ic e d th e ir critic is m s in a le t te r fro m S tu d e n ts 'S o c ie ty V ice -P re sid e n t U nive rsity Affairs Finn U p h a m to th e re a p p o in tm e n t c o m m itte e . T h e le tte r q u o te d o n e a n o n y m o u s s tu d e n t w h o said "I fin d h e r co ld , plastic, c o m p le te ly inaccessible a nd u n in te re s te d in u n d e rg ra d u a te students."

Jam ie Bond captures a m o m e n t o f Carnival excitem en t she w ill likely have fo rg o tte n by th e n ext m orning. Arts students will have a chance to jo in in on th e fun this year, see page 4 fo r th e co m p lete story.

Stop refreshing, start waiting

s tu d e n t body." A rts S en a to r Jake Itz ko w itz, w h o served asSSMU Rep re se n ta tive t o th e Board o f G overnors u n til his re sig n a tio n

Minerva adds new function to course registration history, re lig io n , p s y c h o lo g y a n d p o litic a l science t o le t M in e rv a ke e p th e ir p la ce in

J e s s ic a S h a p ir o S tu d e n ts m a y s o o n g e t re lie f fro m

line, in ste a d o f h o p in g fo r a lu c k y break

th e m a d dash t o c h e c k M in e rv a a n d sign u p fo r courses in th e firs t w e e ks b a ck to sch o o l. A fte r e ffe c tiv e ly s h u ttin g d o w n C ourseA lerts.ca, a. p riv a te W e b site set u p t o d o th e sam e th in g last year, M cG ill is

d u rin g th e a d d /d r o p p e rio d . W a itlists are

n e x t s tu d e n t o n th e list. T he g ra ce p e rio d is g e n e ro u s d u rin g th e s u m m e r m o n th s a n d th e n g ra d u a lly re d u c e d o n c e sch o o l begins. A ssociate R egistrar A n n a W alsh, w h o h e lp e d fin e tu n e a n d im p le m e n t t h e w a itlis t

g e n e ra lly c a p p e d a t 15 places. T he syste m sends w a itlis te d s tu d e n ts e m a il n o tic e s t o le t th e m k n o w o f th e ir

system , said th a t th e p ro je c t b e g a n as a

progress. W h e n a s p o t in th e d e sire d co u rse

response t o p o p u la r d e m a n d a n d th a t th e

e x p a n d in g a w a itin g list fe a tu re o n th e co u rse re g is tra tio n syste m in an a tte m p t to

o p e n s up, an u p d a te is e m a ile d a n d th e s tu d e n t is g iv e n a lim ite d a m o u n t o f tim e

stre a m lin e re g is tra tio n a n d relie ve system

t o lo g o n a n d g ra b th e sp o t. T he d e a d lin e varies fro m

system w ill im p ro v e M inerva's e fficie n c y . "I k n o w fro m ta lk in g a n e c d o ta lly to students," said W alsh, "th a t s o m e tim e s

s lo w d o w n s

fro m

th e

huge

num ber of

s tu d e n ts lo g g in g o n t o register. T he fe a tu re w a s a c tiv a te d fo r th e arts a n d scie n ce fa c u ltie s in D e ce m b e r, and c u rre n t

a llo w s

s tu d e n ts

b io lo g y , a rt

24 h o u rs

w h e n th e y are rea lly d e sp era te , th e y w ill

t o t w o w e e ks a fte r th e s p o t b e c o m e s available. If s tu d e n ts m iss th e o p p o r tu n ity th e y are a u to m a tic a lly re m o v e d fro m th e w a itlis t a n d th e p la ce is o ffe re d t o th e

lo g o n m a n y tim e s in a d a y t o g e t in to a course. O n ce th e y 'v e g o t th e m s e lv e s o n a w a itlis t, th e y w o n 't n e e d t o d o th a t so th a t

BASKETBALL tr

w p

I « VSj

See PROJECT on p ag e 4

VOLLEYBALL

Friday Jan. 12th

6PM (W) & 8PM (M)

6PM (W) 8c 8PM <M)

vs. Bishop’s Saturday Jan. 15th

vs. U. de Montreal

6PM (W> & 8PM (M) vs. Laval Mc<kU Sports C om plex

M cG ill Sports C om plex

McGill

* Red 8c White Game $2 on all concessions with your Red 8c White T-shirt

"There is a fe e lin g o f a h u g e d is ta n c e b e tw e e n her a n d s tu d e n ts a n d s tu d e n t life," a d d e d U p h a m in an in te r v ie w w ith th e T ribune. "It d o e s n 't feel like she's lis te n in g t o s tu d e n ts a n d th a t e n d s u p b e in g so a lie n a tin g t o th e

in late N o ve m b e r, fe lt U pham 's rem arks rep re se n te d th e g e n era l fe e lin g o f th e s tu d e n t b o d y to w a rd th e p rin cip a l. "S tu d e n ts in g e n e ra l d o n 't k n o w w h o [M u n ro e -B lu m ] is b ecause she is n e ve r o n cam pus," Itz k o w itz said. "The b ig g e s t g e n e ra l c o m m e n t is, 'I have n o idea w h o she is b e cause I have n e ve r seen her.'Traditionally, th e p rin c ip a l is th e g u id in g fo rc e o f th e u n iv e rs ity w h o gives d ire c tio n a n d th e o n e th a t presents a v isio n o f th e u n iv e rs ity and carries o u t th a t v isio n b y b e in g p re se n t o n ca m p u s. If th e p rin c ip a l isn't o n ca m p u s, th e n she is d o in g a bad job." D e sp ite s tu d e n t c ritic is m , M un ro e -B lu m 's re a p p o in t m e n t w as h a rd ly su rp risin g . "H er re a p p o in tm e n t n e ve r fe lt

like a question,"

U p h a m said. "The u n iv e rs ity as a w h o le is v e ry h a p p y w ith h e r e n e rg y a n d th e v isio n th a t she has b ro u g h t." Itz k o w itz a d d e d th a t re a p p o in tin g M u n ro e -B lu m to a se co n d te rm is a lm o s t o b lig a to ry .

See U N A N IM ITY on page 5

REDMEN HOCKEY Friday Jan. 12th 7PM vs. Concordia McConnell Arena *M a nagym ettf G ttftlv a ! T icket* sold h i advance aft G iil C l a t Services - M ccQ fl Sports Com plex

EXPECTED TO SELL OUT

N ews

COVER PHOTO BY LEE TIPTON

cam pus

Deadline approaches for GA motion entries Students' Society hopes early advertising will lead to higher turnout w e re successfully passed: o n e th a t m a n d a te d SSMU to c o n d e m n a nd red u ce th e c o rp o ra te in flu e n ce o ve r M cG ill a nd a n o th e r th a t m a n d a te d SSMU to p ro m o te w o rk e rs 's o lid a rity and

w as th a t p e o p le d id n 't k n o w th e process. T h e y d id n 't k n o w a n yo n e c o u ld s u b m it a m otio n ." To h e lp solve th e p ro b le m , S hefm an has a rra n g e d fo r h a lf-p a g e ads to be p u b lis h e d in

p ro te c t s tu d e n t rights.

th e T ribune, th e D aily a n d Le D é lit th is w e e k to

m an said he e xp e c te d su b m ission s to c o m e in

GRASPé m e m b e r D erek L a p pa n o said th a t th e process o f h a vin g th e g ro u p s 'm o tio n s b ro u g h t fo rw a rd a t th e GA was relative ly easy. The g ro u p fo rm e d tw o c o m m itte e s to d ra ft th e

e n co u ra g e s tu d e n ts to s u b m it m o tio n s . Ads w ill also be placed b e fore th e assem bly w ith th e fu ll te x t o f th e s u b m itte d m o tio n s in o rd e r to e n c o u ra g e stu d e n ts to g o to th e GA a n d vote. In

th is week. "There has been s o m e sp e c u la tio n over th e m o tio n s th a t are g o in g t o be su b m itte d ," he said, " b u t n o th in g has been c o n firm e d . It's

V in c c i Tsui T he S tu d e n ts' S ociety is lo o k in g to s tim u late in te re st in s tu d e n t d e m o c ra c y again w ith its second G eneral A sse m b ly th is year, w h ic h w ill be h e ld o n Feb. i. S tu d e n ts are e n co u ra g e d to s u b m it m o tio n s th a t th e y w a n t on th e a g enda to SSMU Speaker o f C o u n cil C orey S hefm an by n e xt Thursday. Potential m o tio n s m u s t be sig n e d b y fo u r c o u n cillo rs, o r b y

100 u n d e rg ra d u a te s

m o tio n s a n d th e n w e n t o u t and g o t

fro m at

th e req u ire d n u m b e r o f signatures.

least fo u r d iffe re n t faculties, w ith no m ore th a n fro m a sin g le fa cu lty. In a d d itio n ,

"The o n ly hard p a rt was th a t w e w e re in a b it o f a cru n ch , w e had t o d o

50 signatures

m o tio n s m u s t a b id e b y th e C o n s titu tio n and

it w ith in a w e e k o r tw o because SSMU w a sn 't ve ry o n to p o f th in g s a t th e tim e," he said. Like Lappano, m a n y s tu d e n ts have

c a n n o t a m e n d it, n o r a ffe c t SSMU's fin a n cia l m atte rs o r its staff. Shefm an, w h o is in ch a rg e o f re vie w in g th e m o tio n s , said th a t as lo n g as th e g u id e lin e s

v o ice d th e ir co n ce rn s o ve r th e last GA,

are m et, any m o tio n s s u b m itte d w ill m ake th e

T here is an a rtic le in th e C o n s titu tio n th a t deals w ith c o n te n tio u s a nd e x tre m e ly d ivisive issues a nd in th o s e cases I have to fo llo w ce rta in p ro cedures." Last semester, the. GrassRoots Association fo r S tu d e n t Pow er ta b le d tw o m o tio n s th a t

'W e started planning fo r this next GA as soon as th e first one was over. I th in k one o f th e prob ems was th a t p eop le d id n 't kn ow th e process.They d id n 't kn ow any one could subm it a m otion." — SSMU Speaker Corey Shefm an

b een m ore o f a w o rd -o f-m o u th ,'a little b ird ie to ld m e 'k in d o f thin g ." L a p pa n o said th a t GRASPé w ill n o t be s u b m ittin g any m o tio n s th is semester. "W e're n o t d o in g a n y th in g d ire c t ly," he said. "R ig h t n o w we're fo c u s in g o n accessible e d u c a tio n , like lo w e rin g tu itio n and m ayb e e v e n tu a lly h a v in g

c itin g a lack o f a d ve rtisin g a nd lo w a tte nd a n ce .

an e ffo rt to increase a tte n d a n ce , th e assem bly

n o tu itio n . I th in k NDP M cG ill is p la n n in g to s u b

SSMU e xecutives fa ile d t o a d h ere to th e C o n s titu tio n last sem ester w h e n th e y n e g le c te d to p u b lish a d ve rtise m e n ts in th e sch o o l n e w sp a

has b een m o ve d to later in th e day. D e spite th e a d d e d p u b lic ity , Ka Yee Lau, U 2 science, said th a t she w o n 't be a tte n d in g th is

m it a m o tio n d e a lin g w ith th a t issue." Erica M a rtin , c o -p re s id e n t fo r NDP McGill, c o n firm e d th e group's in te n tio n , b u t e x p la in e d

pers d e ta ilin g th e GA m o tio n s th a t w e re to be

sem ester's GA d u e to a lack o f tim e . She also

th a t th e y are still w o rk in g on th e d o c u m e n t.

v o te d on. S hefm an rem a in e d h o p e fu l th a t this tim e th in g s w ill be d iffe re n t.

expressed co n ce rn th a t SSMU had n o t a cte d on

"It is [based] o n a cce ssib ility to e d u c a tio n b u t th e re s o lu tio n isn't y e t final." ■

a g e nd a and th e re is no lim it on th e n u m b e r o f m o tio n s th a t can be discussed a t th e GA. "I d o n 't have any special p o w e r o ve r th e m otions," he said. "I ju s t fo llo w Robert's Rules o f O rd er and any o th e r rules in th e C o n s titu tio n .

a b le on th e SSMU W eb site. A t press tim e , Shefm an had n o t y e t re ce ived a n y subm issions. H ow ever, stu d e n ts have u n til Jan. 18 to s u b m it a m o tio n a nd Shef

th e m o tio n s passed in th e fall. S hefm an e xp la in e d th a t fo r th e tw o GRAS

"O ne o f th e m ain p ro b le m s last sem ester was th a t th e y d id n 't have a speaker,"he said. "We sta rte d p la n n in g fo r th is n e x t GA as soon as th e

Pé m o tio n s, SSMU has a m e n d e d th e ir p o lic y b o o k a cco rd in g ly. U n fo rtu n a te ly , o n ly th e Sep

firs t o n e w as over. I th in k o n e o f th e p ro b le m s

te m b e r

2005 version

o f th e p o lic y b o o k is avail

If y o u w o u ld like to s u b m it a m o tio n o r h a v e questions a b o u t the process, e m a il

speaker@ ssm u.m cgill.ca.

NEWS ANALYSIS

Are Francophone rights being respected? Some claim unfair evaluation of papers submitted in French K ayvon A

fshari

o m e w h e re b e tw e e n th e ca m p u s to u r,

to ta ke care o f this," U p h a m said. "B ut th e re

th ro p o lo g y d e p a rtm e n t. "A lm o st all o f o u r

that,” W atson said. "If a co lle a g u e gives m e

Discover M cG ill a nd th e ir ve ry firs t day

isn't so m e kin d o f service p ro v id e d by th e u n ive rsity and so if y o u r ch a ir hasn't set it u p in y o u r d e p a rtm e n t, th e n yo u're kin d o f screw ed if yo u d o n 't read French. It's s o m e

professors a t th e m in im u m read French and I d o n 't e ve r re m e m b e r h a vin g a s tu d e n t c o m p la in t c o m e to m e a b o u t a p ro b le m w ith an exam th a t ca m e in in French."

a [French] p a p e r to read, I m ay n o t p ro vid e

th in g th a t is n e g le c te d in patches." M e n d e lso n said th a t it is d iffic u lt to ju d g e w h e th e r w o rk w ritte n in French is

C o m m u n ic a tio n s Professor Jona th a n

as m a n y n o tes and c o m m e n ts as I w o u ld if it w e re m y o w n stu d en ts. I'm n o t sure h o w yo u w o u ld c o rre c t th a t th o u g h . But it m ig h t be a v a lid c o m p la in t."

Sterne, w h o sta rte d le a rn in g French since he ca m e to M cG ill th re e years a g o and is

Sterne said th a t th e u n iv e rs ity s h o u ld be d o in g m o re to re g u la te th e situ a tio n .

c o m fo rta b le e n o u g h to eva lu a te w o rk s u b m itte d in French w h e n necessary, m o s tly

d e p a rtm e n ts s h o u ld be responsible. There

o f class, m o s t s tu d e n ts have p ro b a b ly

b een to ld th a t th e y have th e rig h t to s u b m it all th e ir te rm papers, assig n m e n ts and exam s in e ith e r English o r French. B ut so m e s tu d e n ts w h o have trie d to ta ke a d va n ta g e o f th a t rig h t are fin d in g th a t it's n o t always

c o n s is te n tly re tu rn e d m o re slo w ly and w ith

available to th e m in a fa ir m anner.

fe w e r c o m m e n ts th a n su b m ission s m ad e in English.

A t a Dec. 6, 2006 Senate m e e tin g , E d u ca tio n Senator Carl Eric-Bouchard p re se n ted a q u e s tio n p ro b in g th e a d m in is tra tio n o n its a b ility t o fu lfill th e re q u ire m e n ts

"This is n o t th e kin d o f th in g fo r w h ic h

laid o u t in th e C h a rte r o f S tu d e n t Rights.

p ro b le m is. But I can im a g in e th a t a t least

agreed w ith Bisson's c o m m e n ts a nd n o te d th a t in te a c h in g his course, he usually has a t least o n e fu lly b ilin g u a l TA. He said th a t th e c o m m e n ts o n papers are o f th e same le n g th and quality, a d d in g ,"If I'm c o m m e n t

T he q u e s tio n a lle g e d th a t assig n m e n ts p re

in so m e circu m sta n ce s it has happened," he

in g o n a French paper, I have n o business

d e p a rtm e n ts w ith an a d -h o c a p p ro a c h to

se n ted in French are ty p ic a lly re tu rn e d w ith fe w e r c o m m e n ts th a n English assignm ents o r n o n e a t all, w ith a c o n s id e ra b ly lo n g e r

said.

c o m m e n tin g o n th e w ritin g [style] itself" a d d in g th a t th e tim e it takes to re tu rn pa pers is th e sam e w h e n he has a b ilin g u a l TA b u t lo n g e r if he is resp o n sib le fo r th e m ark ing.

g ra d in g a ssig n m e n ts s u b m itte d in French th a t m ay w o rk b e tte r in so m e d e p a rtm e n ts th a n in others, a lth o u g h it appears to a ffe ct

tu rn a ro u n d tim e w h ic h c o u ld c o n s titu te an u n fa ir eva lu a tion . M o rto n M en d e lso n , d e p u ty p ro vo st

"I d o n 't k n o w th e d e g re e to w h ic h th a t is a system ic p ro b le m and I d o n 't have any m e tric to te ll m e h o w w id e sp re a d th a t

SSMU F ra n co p ho n e C o m m issio n e r M arie G agné said she has faced a real p ro b lem a nd d isa d va nta g e as a F ra n co p ho n e s tu d e n t w h o s u b m its w o rk in her m o th e r to n g u e .

s h o u ld be so m e kin d o f ce n tra l o ffic e on c a m p u s th a t can h e lp professors w h o d o n 't k n o w French to b e tte r serve s tu d e n ts w h o s u b m it th e ir w o rk in French." In d ee d th e status q u o has le ft m o s t

a v e ry sm all p e rc e n ta g e o f stu d en ts. Bisson e s tim a te d th a t fiv e to 10 per c e n t o f papers

D e p a rtm e n ts d o seem t o a p p ro a ch

w e re s u b m itte d in French in his o w n e x p e

(s tu d e n t life and le a rn in g ) fie ld e d th e q u e s

"I w rite all m y w o rk in French and

e va lu a tio n o f F re n ch -su b m itte d w o rk o n a

rience as a te a c h e r w h ile Sterne said th a t

tio n a t Senate a nd n o te d th a t, "W h e n a s tu d e n t s u b m its w ritte n m ate ria l in French, it is in c u m b e n t u p o n th e in stru cto r, w ith his or h e r ch a ir o r d ire c to r o f th e u n it, to deal w ith

it barely h a p pe n s th a t I g e t fe e d b a ck in French; it's a lm o s t always in English. A n d s o m e tim e s th e re are a lm o s t n o c o m m e n ts, w ith n o real feedback,"she said.

French subm issions o c c u r "ve ry rarely." U p h a m said th a t w h ile a ce n tra l o ffic e to deal w ith papers s u b m itte d in French m ay be im p ra ctica l, th e m o n ito rin g o f th e

O n th e o th e r hand, so m e have n o t n o

case-by-case basis w ith o u t a set p o lic y or standard o p e ra tin g procedure. C hair o f E conom ics W illia m W atson said th a t his d e p a rtm e n ts a p p ro a c h is "adh o c" b u t th a t th a t d oes n o t necessarily

SSMU Vice-P resident U nive rsity Affairs Finn U p h a m was d is a p p o in te d w ith th e e ffe cts o f th e d e ce n tra liza tio n o f responsi b ility o n th e issue, n o tin g th a t it leads to a n o n -s ta n d a rd iz e d a p p ro a ch th a t can leave

tic e d a p a rtic u la rly pressing p ro b le m w ith

m ean th a t it is a b ro ke n system . N o n e th e

th e un it-b a se d , case-by-case a p p ro a ch to g ra d in g w o rk s u b m itte d in French. "I have been ch a ir fo r a lm o s t te n years

less, he a d m itte d th a t so m e o f th e c o m p la in ts m ay be valid. "It m ay take a little w h ile to arrange

a nd I can th in k o f o n ly o n e sessional lec

fo r a co lle a g u e to read a p a p e r and a c o

im p le m e n te d a t th e u n iv e rs ity level, n o t at th e u n it level. "This was s o m e th in g th a t was set b y th e u n iv e rs ity fo r th e w h o le u n iversity; th e re s h o u ld be s o m e kin d o f system o r at

p o te n tia l p ro b le m s in ce rta in units. "M o rto n [M e n d e lso n ] basically said th a t it's th e d e p a rtm e n ts th a t are su p p ose d

tu re r th a t cam e to m e asking fo r assistance g ra d in g because he received a French te rm

lle a g u e m ay have th e ir o w n exam s to read be fore th e y g e t to s o m e o b d y else's exam so I w o u ld n t' neecessarily be surprised by

least a w a y o f m a k in g sure th a t it is m e t b e cause it is th e re s p o n s ib ility o f th e u n iv e r sity o v e ra ll."*

th e subm ission appropriately."

paper," said M ichael Bisson, ch a ir o f th e a n

process a nd a sta n da rd p o lic y s h o u ld be

09.01.07 • The McGill Tribune • 3

NATIONAL

McGill student could be named Canada's 'Next Great Prime Minister' in CBC contest Former heads of campus political parties compete for $50,000 prize M

att

tions. "Producers c o n ta c te d M ax Silverm an and

C am pbell

T he Shatner b u ild in g c o u ld soon prove a s te p p in g sto n e to w a rd s th e Prim e M inister's O ffic e

sh o u ld

M cG ill s tu d e n ts

Daniel

King,

Erica M a rtin o r a lu m n u s Oliver-Jarvis Lavoie be c ro w n e d Canada's N e xt G reat Prim e M inister.

The

th re e have q u a lifie d , a lo n g w ith

o th e r y o u n g Canadians, to be co n te sta n ts on th e CBC te le visio n special, The N ext G re a t Prim e M inister, w h ic h w ill air in M arch. T he c o m p e ti tio n , h o sted by c o m e d ia n Rick Mercer, takes as p irin g p o litic ia n s a nd showcases th e ir ideas and p h ilo s o p h ie s fo r th e c o u n try .

H u n d re d s o f s tu d e n ts a p p lie d th ro u g h v id e o a u d itio n s fo r a ch a n ce to win- a s p o t on th e p ro g ra m . Last w eek, th e c o n te s t a n n o u n ce d th e to p 25 a p p lica n ts. T he p o o l w ill e ve n tu a lly be n a rro w e d to fo u r co n te s ta n ts w h o w ill c o m p e te in fro n t o f a n a tio n a l a u dience. T he w in n e r w ill be a w a rd e d a $50,000 cash prize. H ow ever, it isn't th e c o n te s t cre a to r Frank S tronach w h o w ill be d o in g th e fin a l ju d g in g . Instead, fo u r fo rm e r p rim e m in isters w ill c o l la b o ra te t o p ic k th e w in n e r. T he ju d g in g panel consists o f Brian M ulro n e y, Jo h n Turner, Kim C a m p b e ll and Joe Clark.. A rts Senator A d ria n A ngus, w h o also a p p lie d fo r th e te le visio n show , e xp la in e d h o w s tu d e n ts g o t in v o lv e d in th e D e ce m b e r a u d i

he e m a iled e ve ryo n e asking th e m to a u d itio n . He p a rticu la rly u rg e d Dan, Erica and myself,"said A ngus. "B ut because I t w as d u rin g exam p e rio d w e w e re a b it re lu c ta n t in d o in g so." In d a rin g fashion, a m u tu a l frie n d created a g ro u p on F a ce b o o k ca llin g o n stu d e n ts to d ra ft A d rian A n g u s as th e N ext G rea t P rim e M inister.

his speech. "In m y case I said th a t it's iro nic th a t Cana dians c o n sid e r th e m se lve s o p e n m in d e d and yo u w o u ld th in k th a t ha vin g a c o s m o p o lita n so cie ty w o u ld g e n e ra te tru ly o p e n policies," he

"I was happ y to hear th a t w e m ade it. The country w ill be disgusted, b u t it w ill be great fun." — D aniel King

n o te d a p a tte rn a m o n g s t th e M cG ill a pplicants. Each w e re pre sid e n ts o f th e m a jo r p o litic a l p a rty clu b s o n c a m p u s d u rin g th e last a ca d em ic year. Lavoie served as p re s id e n t fo r Liberal McGill, King fo r th e C onservative b ra n ch a nd M a rtin fo r th e NDP. "To see [th o s e th re e ] m ake it was hilarious," A n g u s said."It really is a h u m o u ro u s situation." But d e s p ite th e ir p o litic a l differences, M ar

h a d n 't p re pared a n yth in g , and e n d e d u p g iv

said. "H ow ever, th is isn't th e case. For exam ple,

tin has n o th in g b u t respect fo r her colleagues. "Dan and OJ are b o th v e ry p o litic a lly kn o w le d g e a b le , fu n to d e b a te .and all a ro u n d g re a t guys,” she said. "It w o u ld be a w e s o m e if w e c o u ld all m ake it to TV. A n d w h o know s, m aybe

in g an in c o h e re n t speech. I spoke w ell, b u t m y

m a n y C anadians cla im th a t alte rn a tive s to a

th e y 'll c o m e a ro u n d p o litically?"

speech m a d e n o sense a nd had no substance." W h ile A n g u s h a d n 't fo rm a lly p re pared any th in g , Erica M a rtin , w h o sits o n c o u n c il as th e law representative, prepared a speech p ro m o t

p u b lic h e a lth care system are n o n-C anadian. So I a rg u e d th a t C anadian n a tio na ls o fte n g e t in th e w a y o f Canadian p u b lic p o lic y solutions." H ow ever, his a u d itio n d id n 't e xa ctly g o o ff

W h ile all h o ld p a rty m e m b e rsh ip s, it re m ains u n cle a r w h e th e r th e se articu la te , p o litica l s tu d e n ts w ill e ve r p u t th e ir n a m e o n th e ballot. "I'm d e fin ite ly n o t o n e o f th o s e 'in law

in g a sustainable eco n o m y, gre a te r g o v e rn m e n

as pla n n ed . A c c o rd in g to King, w h o s e fa v o u rite

s ch o o l to e n te r p o litic s ' people," a d m itte d M ar

tal p a rtic ip a tio n a nd e n g a g in g y o u th in p olitics.

p rim e m in isters are Brian M u lro n e y and W ilfred

"I w a n t to see a g re a te r d ia lo g u e b e tw e e n

Laurier, he m a n a g e d to o ffe n d o n e o f th e o th e r

tin . "But m y s tro n g desire to m ake a Canada a b e tte r c o u n try has so fa r m e a n t a lo t o f p o litic a l m

th e provinces," she e xp la in e d. "I feel to o m a n y p o liticia n s have fa ile d to realize th a t na tio na l u n ity c a n n o t be im p o se d fro m above. It's th ro u g h discussion w ith each o th e r th a t th e

in vo lve m e n t.” Sim ilarly, King h in te d th a t ru n n in g fo r p o litical o ffic e w ill always rem ain an o p tio n . "I was h a p p y to hear th a t w e m a d e it," he

p rovinces can really recognize th e ir c o m m o n a li

M o n tre a l a p p lica n ts in his speech. "After th e speech th e ju d g e s w e re su p p o se d to ask a series o f questions, w h e n all o f a su d d en o n e o f th e p e o p le a u d itio n in g w h o was o ffe n d e d by m y c o m m e n ts b e g an to fire q u e s

ties, and b u ild a stronger, m ore u n ite d Canada." King h o p e d to to u c h o n so m e th in g s th a t

tio n s a t me. All o f th is was c a u g h t on tape." W h ile it w o u ld a p p ea r th e h e c k lin g fa ile d

it w ill be g re a t fun." T he fin a l e p iso d e se le ctin g th e w in n e r w ill

d id n 't received th e a tte n tio n th e y deserved in

air Sunday, M arch

Soon after, th e th re e M cG ill s tu d e n ts d e cid e d th e y w o u ld d o th e a u d itio n to g e th e r. "Even o n th e d a y o f th e c o m p e titio n , Dan and I co n sid e re d b a ckin g out," A n g u s said. "I

shake

King's co n fid e n ce , m an y stu d en ts

c o n c lu d e d . "The c o u n try w ill be disg u sted , b u t

18 a t 7 p.m. o n

CBC. ■

INTERNATIONAL

Prof: Ice-free Arctic by 2040 NASA simulation predicts rapid decline in sea ice during coming decades Fa r id u d d in R ifai The rece n t release a nd success, o f m ovies like A n Inconven ient Truth a nd H a p p y Feet has p ro p e lle d th e issue o f c lim a te ch a n g e in to o u r c o l le ctive conscious. A n e w s tu d y by NASA suggests th a t c o n tin u e d in a c tio n o n th e issue c o u ld result in th e c o m p le te m e ltin g o f A rctic sea ice b y 2040. Professor B runo T rem blay o f McGill's d e p a rtm e n t o f a tm o s p h e ric and o ceanic sciences te a m e d u p w ith M arika H o lla n d o f th e U.S. N ational C enter fo r A tm o sp h e ric Research a nd Ceci lia Bitz o f th e U nive rsity o f W a s h in g to n to c o n d u c t th e

th e n e xt 100 years. T he te a m fo u n d th a t even a gra d u a l decrease o f sea ice by e ig h t p e r c e n t per d e ca de w ill likely cause in s ta b ility in th e region's c lim a te system . Surface ice is an im p o rta n t p a rt o f th e c lim a te system because th e rce, especially w h e n co ve re d in snow, reflects th e s u n lig h t th a t strikes th e

b y 2040, w ith sm all rem n a n ts o f ice fo u n d o n ly in th e n o rth e rn coastlines o f G reenland and Canada d u rin g th e sum m er. "There w ill be a steady d e clin e a n d th e n b a n g , yo u lose everything,"

cem ber. T re m blay e xp la in e d th a t if th e c u rre n t rate o f w a rm in g in th e earth's a tm o s p h e re does n o t slow, A rc tic ice w ill u n d e rg o a p e rio d o f gradual, d e

to react, a n d m ay be co stly fo r us to react. W e'll like ly lose th e fu ture, w e sea ice co ve r o n th e A rctic O cean, b u t o n e th in g you w o u ld n 't w a n t t o

lose is

th e ice o ve r G reenland. You w o u ld n o t w a n t t o cross th a t threshold." M e ltin g A rc tic ice w ill n o t cause changes in te rm s o f sea level because, like an ice cube, m u c h o f it is al

pole. This keeps th e ice co o l and stops a lo t o f th e sun's e n e rg y fro m b e in g a b so rb e d in to th e g ro u n d . But as th e ice be g in s to sh rink it exposes m o re o f th e ocean. T he o p e n w a te r is w a rm e d m ore q u ic k ly b y th e sun,

c lin e a nd th e n ra p id ly retreat, leaving

c o n trib u tin g even m o re to c lim a te

th e A rc tic O cean c o m p le te ly free o f "W h e n w e lo o k a t th e fu tu re , w e see th a t th e ch a n g e is n o t linear

ch a n g e and causing fu rth e r m e ltin g . "This is w h è n th e system starts to b e c o m e in sta b le and yo u e n te r a c o m p le te ly n e w state w h e re th e re

[and] it's n o t gradual. T here co m e s a

c o u ld be n o m ore ice u p there," he

tim e w h e n it reaches a th re s h o ld and

said.

ice.

H ow ever, th e ice on G reenland is o n land a nd a cco rd in g to Trem blay,

disastrous. "The lik e lih o o d o f flo o d in g in ce rta in areas, a lth o u g h th e y are a b o ve th e sea level, w ill be m u ch h ig h e r and it w ill be im p ra ctica l to live in ce rta in areas." T re m blay w a rn e d

th a t

som e

ers used satellite data to m a p th e g radual retreat o f A rc tic ice since 1979 a nd d e v e lo p e d a c o m p u te r m o d e l to

re n t state o f clim a te ch a n g e d isrup ts th a t process a nd does n o t a llo w ad e q u a te recovery o f surface ice. C o m p u te r s im u la tio n m od e ls s h o w th a t a t th e c u rre n t m e ltin g rate,

ecosystem . "M a yb e th e A rctic n o w is se n d in g us a signal: let's d o s o m e th in g n o w . M aybe w e're g o in g to lose it. But w e sh o u ld be a c tin g b e fore w e lose

p ro je c t th e ice co ve r in th e re g io n fo r

th e A rc tic w ill be all b u t o p e n w a te r

th e G reenland ice s h e e t."*

he said. T re m blay and h is fe llo w research

11:30 am - 1 :00 pm Redpath Museum 859 Sherbrooke West

w h e n it m elts, th e w a te r w ill flo w to th e ocean a n d cause th e sea level to rise. If th is occurs, he believes it w ill be

m er a nd th e n recovers, b u t th e cu r

A rctic sea ice m e lts e ve ry su m

JAN. 8-12

ready flo a tin g o n to p o f th e ocean.

th in g m u s t be d o n e so o n in o rd e r to p ro te c t th e balance o f th e earth's

past th a t p o in t yo u lose all o f y o u r ice and it can h a p p e n w ith in a decade,"

science

T re m blay said. "It can h a p p e n so q u ic k ly th a t p e o p le w ill n o t be able

"W hen w e look at th e see th a t th e change is no t gradual. There comes a tim e w h en it reach es a threshold and past th a t p o in t you lose all o f your ice and it can happen w ith in a decade." — Professor Bruno Trem blay

study, w h ic h was p u b lis h e d in D e

THE THIRD EDITION OF

Undergraduates: Leant about cutting-edge research over lunch with cool profs For the schedule of speakers see:

www.mcgill.ca/science/

McGill Faculty of Science Office for Undergraduate Research in Science

4 • News • 09.01.07

The McGill Tribune

CAMPUS

Project met with success

Starting the year with a shot AUS joins other faculties in the Carnival tradition tra c t w ith Boreal in w h ic h th e y receive cases

K a t e S p ir g e n

Arts stu d e n ts w ill have th e ir ve ry o w n carnival fo r th e first tim e in m o re th a n a d e cade in an a tte m p t to give A rts stu d e n ts th e ir o w n p a rty to sta rt th e sem ester o ff w ith a hangover. A lth o u g h

th e

A rts

beer based on p revious years' c o n s u m p tio n at n o co st a nd are th e n able to sell it a t lo w prices. This e ve n t is a p a rt o f AUS's c o n tin u in g ef fo rts to e xp a nd th e ir d e p a rtm e n t a cco rd in g to AUS President RJ Kelford.

Carnival,

ch a n ce to c o m p e te ag a in st each other. "The plan rig h t n o w is to create a VP Events p o s itio n n e xt year a nd so Carnival w o u ld be u n d e r th e ir ju ris d ic tio n ,''M e rla n o said. AUS w ill have a lo t o f w o rk to d o to live up to th e hype o f o th e r fa c u lty carnivals like Sci ence Carnival, w h ic h had o ve r 500 p a rticip a n ts th is year and

k n o w n as Carnival Lite, w ill o n ly

T he

be fo u r hours long, AUS executives are h o p in g fo r a g o o d tu rn o u t. A t th e b e g in n in g o f th e year th e y had p la n n ed o n h o ld in g a fu ll fle d g e d

19 team s.

James

Bond-

th e m e d , fo u r day lo n g beer fest, e n title d 007: License to Chill, in clu d e d a trip to O t taw a fo r a R edm en hockey

carnival, b u t d u e to th e resignation o f AUS Vice-President Internal Franny Karlinsky, u n d e r w h o se ju ris d ic tio n

g a m e fo llo w e d b y a m ys te ry bus to u r e n d in g a t a clu b o u tsid e o f M ontreal.

th e e v e n t w o u ld fall, th e e xte n d e d version had to be p o s tpo n e d . "Carnival Lite is o u r a tte m p t

A lth o u g h o n ly 7 o u t o f th e 15 categories invo lve alcohol, th e p a rticip a n ts are g e n e r ally in it fo r th e booze. "It was all Boréale and

u n d e r th e circum stances,” said AUS VP C o m m u n ic a tio n s Phil H olds w o rth . "We are try in g to g ive th e m

all gross, b u t it was still free,"

s o m e th in g th a t is th e ir o w n , and

said

h o p e fu lly o p e n th e d o o r fo r m ore in th e future." 50 c e n t beer and a ga n gste rrap th e m e c o m p le te w ith a freestyle

tic ip a n t M ichal Shavit, U2 Chem istry. "This year th e y ran o u t o f beer early, so I

Science Carnival

par

WÊÊKKÊÊKÊÊtÊÊÊÊÊÊ th in k n e x t y e a rth e y 're g o in g

c o m p e titio n a nd a p e rfo rm a n ce by

LUKAS BERGMARK

a M cGill rap p e r are th e h ig h lig h ts o f James Bond doesn't go to school. He schools people. th e event, w h ic h also in clu d e s th e usual c o m p e titio n b e tw e e n te a m s th a t can be fo rm e d e ith e r b efore th e e ve n t o r o n ce par tic ip a n ts arrive. "It was a b o u t tim e w e sta rtin g d o in g th is again," said e v e n t c o o rd in a to r A ndrea M erlano. The so c e n t beer is th a nks to AUS's c o n

to reevaluate h o w beer th e y have."

m uch

She w e n t on to say th a t

"AUS has been u n d e r-p e rfo rm in g in m u ch o f th e last decade," he said. "We are ta k in g a d va nta g e n o w o f o u r in cre d ib le ro o m fo r g ro w th . It's a b o u t tim e AUS lived u p to its p o te n tia l and e x p lo d e d th e status quo."

she w o u ld d e fin ite ly p a rticip a te in th e e ve n t n e xt year, as w ill m an y n o w h u n g -o v e r p a rtic i pants. "It's a fu n w a y to g e t back in, because as science stu d en ts w e d o n 't g e t to p a rty d u rin g

A lo n g e r A rts Carnival is in th e w orks

th e semester, so you can g e t it o u t o f y o u r sys

fo r n e x t year to g ive A rts stu d e n ts th e ir o w n

No plans to extend feature to all classes C ontinued fro m COVER s h o u ld h e lp p e rfo rm a n c e tim e." C u rtis Dollis, U2 P olitical Science, said th a t he is u n h a p p y w ith th e c u rre n t syste m a n d th e a m o u n t o f tim e re q u ire d t o k e e p tr y in g t o g e t in to a course. "I fin d it e x tre m e ly fru s tra tin g th a t I Jiave to g o back a n d ch e c k th e co u rse a v a ila b ility all th e tim e," D ollis said."The fa c t o f th e m a tte r is, I ca n 't ch e ck e ve ry fiv e m inutes. If a space o p e ns u p and so m e o n e else checks rig h t b efore I g e t to a c o m p u te r, th e n I'm o u t o f luck. If th e re was a w a itlis t fo r all courses I w o u ld d e fin ite ly use it." Walsh, w h o re p o rte d n o b u g s in th e system th u s far, said th a t th e system has b een w o rk in g success fully. V é ro n iq u e Bélanger, associate dean o f th e Faculty o f Law, has had e xp e rie n ce w ith th e w a itlis t system fo r a fu ll sem ester. She said th a t th e system has b e e n b e n eficial to w a rd s s tu d e n ts and th e fa c u lty a d m in is tra tio n in tw o m a jo r ways. "It helps to ensure th a t s tu d e n ts aren't s p e n d in g tim e 'c o u rs e -s w a p p in g ' w ith each o th er, a n d relieves th e a n x ie ty to ch e ck M in erva o n a c o n s ta n t basis," Bé la n g e r said. "The o th e r g re a t a d v a n ta g e to th e system is th a t it a llo w s us to d e te rm in e th e precise n eed fo r a p a rtic u la r course, w h e th e r are required."

3 o r 15 a d d itio n a l

spaces

Walsh said th a t th e re w ere n o plans to a d d w a it lists to e v e ry course a t M cG ill, b u t a d d e d th a t b y n e xt fall m o s t d e p a rtm e n ts w o u ld be a b le to e n a b le th e fe a ture fo r th e ir courses. ■

te m a nd g e t it d o n e ." *

—Additional reporting by Kayvon Afshari

Sign-up w ith a friend and pay only S27.50/m onth*per person for a 5 m onth membership. Take advantage of this great promotion and come see our high-tech facilities and th e w ide selection of courses available. Moreover, if you sign-up before February 15, 2007, you w ill save on joining fees**. This offer is exclusive to full-tim e students 18 years old+.

Y MCA

We build strong kids, strong families, strong communities www.centresymca.ca

* Fee could vary from one location to another. * * Th is offer is dedicate to new members only. Details are available in every YM CA center.

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09.01.07 • News* 5

www.mcgilltribune.com

Unanimity questioned Students had no vote in reappointment Continued from COVER 'To not reappoint a principal to a second term is a huge slap in the face," he said. "Generally, principals are given at least two [terms] before they are removed." Announcing the reappointment as a unanimous decision on the part of the Board of Governors has also been criticized by the SSMU.

"We don't currently have a rep resentative on the Board of Gover nors, so it feels a little weird when they go on about how great it was that it was unanimous," Upham said. "You don't know if it would have been unanimous had there been an undergraduate on the board." The Students' Society did not take an official position on the reap

pointment. Itzkowitz said that, had he re mained on the Board, he may have voted for Munroe-Blum's reappoint ment. “I think sometimes she forgets that her purpose here is to serve stu dents, but overall I think she is doing a good job," he said. ■

CAM PUS BUZZ What's your New Year's resolution? "My resolution is to laugh at myself more often because I don't do it enough. I'm a pretty funny person. I sort of took myself too seriously last semester which was sort of a mistake." — Forrest Barnum, Ui Arts "I actually haven't even thought of it. I'm sorry I'm boring. Well, I guess to make more time for myself, so I can think of New Year's resolutions." — Alexandra Meikleham, Ut science "I want to stay healthy as much as possible. I subscribed to a gym. I know that everyone does that but I have done it every January for the last three years." — Meghan Robertson, Ui Education "I want to get a job. Maybe in an African restaurant or in sales. If I can get the money together I'm thinking about moving out in March or April." — Clelia Chasen

CAUGHT ON CAMPUS

"I didn't make any resolutions. I don't know, it just never crossed my mind." — Gloria Kung, U3 Biochemistry "My resolutions are to exercise and focus on school. I should also go to church more often. I've been doing them last year, but not as much." — Angela Chiu, Uo Management "I didn't make one this year. Often I make them and they don't work out." — Amanda Malaro, Uo Arts — Compiled by Matt Campbell

I LUKAS BERGMARK Despite a lack of snow, SnowAP staff works hard to help attendees forget about impending schoowork.

-F

n t e r

a c u l t y

n t e r n s h ip

n f o r m a t io n

s s io n

Thursday, January 11, 2007

v* McGill

1:30pm - 2:30pm Leacock B u ild in g , ro o m 232

The Departm ent of Jew ish Stud ies

M A CH ER AND GLASROT FAMILIES M EM ORIAL AWARD FO R H OLOCAUST RESEARCH

learn about internship opportunities for

s ta b lis h e d in 2 0 0 0 b y M r. a n d M rs. J o s e f G la s r o t , s u r v iv o r s o f th e H o lo c a u s t a n d r e s id e n ts o f M o n tre a l. O p e n to a n y s tu d e n t a t

H e a r p a s t s tu d e n t in te rn s sh a re th e ir

returning McGill students

internship experiences

M c G ill U n iv e r s it y , th e a w a r d is p re s e n te d fo r e x c e lle n c e in re s e a rc h in H o lo c a u s t a n d re la te d s tu d ie s , a n d p a r t ic u la rly o n th e h is to ry o f th e g h e tto s o f W a rs a w a n d K o v n o [K a u n a s ]. E s s a y s p re p a re d in a n y c o u rs e o r in d e p e n d e n t re s e a rc h m a y b e c o n s id e re d . T h e a w a rd is a d m in is te re d b y th e D e p a rtm e n t o f J e w is h S tu d ie s in c o o p e ra tio n w it h th e J e w is h C o m m u n ity F o u n d a tio n . T h e a w a rd w ill b e p re s e n te d d u rin g th e C lo s in g E x e r c is e s o f th e D e p a rtm e n t o f J e w is h S tu d ie s in J u n e , 2 0 0 7 . T h e v a lu e o f th e B la c h e r a n d G la s ro t F a m ilie s M e m o ria l A w a rd is $ 1 0 0 0 .

The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students at McGill University. Students must submit 2 typed copies o f their essays together with full contact information. Essays can be based on primary or secondary materials and work in all related disciplines w ill be considered. Essay submissions must reach the Department o f Jewish Studies Office, 3438 McTavish Street, no later than April 13, 2007.

R e c e iv e in fo r m a t io n o n h o w to fin d

summer internships in your field

R e c e p t i o n to F o llo w O pen to M c G ill Students & Faculty L im it e d sp a ces a v a ila b le P le a s e R S I L

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R E C R E A T I O N McC o n n e l l

a ren a RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

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te r

Starting January 3, 2007

SH IN N Y H O CKEY /Monday through Friday 12h00-13h20 $2.00

Snowshoe, cross-country ski or trek on Mount Royal's fun and challenging trails.

RECREATIONAL SKATING Wednesday 13h30-14h50 Sunday 10h30-l 1h50

Every Friday afternoon during the w in te r m onths guided tours w ill enable you to explore and experience the great outdoors in McGill's backyard!

$ 1 .0 0

*Additional sessions will be added in February

Friday 14h00-16h00 • $2.50 per person (equipm ent provided) * Activities w ill be determ ined by w eather conditions.

PAY-AS-YOU-GO ~ F IT N E S S ~ January15-April 29 • Only$2.50/session PurchaseaRecActivitiesCardandsave20% STEP TAE BOX BOOT CAMP BODY DESIGN CONQUER THE MOUNTAIN (NEW)

18h00- 18h55 17h00-17h55 Wed 18h00-18h55 Thurs 17h00-17h55 Friday 14hOO-16hOO Mon Tues

SPIN

Fri

POWER YOGA

Fri Sun

AEROBICS

Aerobics Room Aerobics Room Aerobics Room Aerobics room Equipment Counter

18h00-18h55 Spin Room 17h30-18h25 Aerobics Room 12h00-12h55 Aerobics Room

W interEquipmentRentals Sam e Day

O vernig h t

2 N ights

3 N ights

4 N ights

W eek

Ski Package $10.00

$12.00

$15.00

$20.00 $25.00

$30.00

Poles

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00

$7.00

Boots

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00

$7.00

$8.00

$9.00

Skis

$5.00

$7.00

$9.00

$11.00 $15.00

$19.00

Snowshoe Package

$10.00

$12.00

$15.00

$20.00 $25.00

$30.00

Study Break Package $30.00 Feb. 16 to Feb. 26, 2007 Equipment rentals for winter activities rj, can be purchased at Client Services (Office G-20C). Equipment fitting and returns are made at the new equipment room (G-48). For more information: Phone: 398-7011 or visit www.athletics.mcgill.ca

M cGill

ATHLETICS

IN F O R M A T IO N : 3 9 8 -7 0 1 I

W I N T E R FITNESS AND RECREATION COURSES DAY & TIME

COURSE

COST

WKS

KIDS' AQUATICS Olympic Way - White (3 -14 yrs) White Adv (3-14 yrs) Green (3-14 yrs) Blue (3-14 yrs) Bronze (3 - 14 yrs) Silver (3 - 14 yrs) Gold (3-14 yrs)

R EG IS T R A T IO N IN FO R M A TIO N

f 1

Saturday

10:30-11:15

36.85/54.41

2 0 0 7 Register in the Client Services Office of the Sports Centre - Monday through Friday 08:30 - 20:00 hrs. • Non-members registered in courses may use the facility only during their designated class times. • Most classes begin the week of January 15, 2007 • Pay-As-You-Go classes begin January 15 and run until April 29 , 2007 • Classes will not be held April 6, 8,9 2007 • Full-time McGill students may register at the member's rate • Prices do not include GST & PST

COURSE I MARTIAL ARTS Aikido

Saturday

11:15-12:00 Capoeira Judo Karatedo Kendo

AQUATICS Adults Learn To Swim (Level 1 Beginner) Adults Learn To Swim (Level 2 & 3 Intermediate) Swim (Private) Swim (Semi-Private) Swim Fit

Monday Saturday Wednesday Saturday by appointment by appointment Tues 8 Thurs

18:30-19:25 11:15-12:10 18:30-19:25 11:15-12:10

18:30-19:25

36.85/54.41

15.80/20.18 11.41/15.80 32.46/67.57

Kickboxinq Kickboxinq - Savate I Kickboxinq - Savate II Tae Kwon Do Shaolin

1/2 hr 1/2 hr 8

Wednesday

18:30-19:25

23.70/41.24

Friday Friday Monday Wednesday Wednesday Tuesday (beginner) Tuesday Thursday Friday Thursday Tues. 8 Thurs. Tues. 8 Thurs. Monday Tuesday Friday Thursday Tuesday Thursday

16:30-17:25 17:30-19:00 17:00-17:55 17:00-17:55 19:00-20:25 18:00-18:5$ 19:00-19:55 19:00-19:55 18:00-18:55 20:00-21:25 17:00-18:25 18:30-19:55 19:00-20:25 19:00-20:25 19:00-19:55 19:00-19:55 20:30-21:55 18:00-18:55

48.26/70.20 78.97/122.85 36.86/58.79 36.86/58.79 49.14/71.08 36.86/58.79

10 10 10 10 10 10

Mon. 8 Wed. Mon. 8 Wed. Mon. 8 Wed. Mon. 8 Wed. Saturday Tues. 8 Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed. Sunday Tues. 8 Thurs. Tues. 8 Thurs. Friday Mon. 8 Wed. Saturday Sunday Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs.

I DANCE

Fencing 1 Fencing II Hockey 1 HocCëÿli Skating

Ballet - Beqinner Ballet - Intermediate Belly Dancing Flamenco Hip Hop

Irish Dance Jazz Intro Jazz Inter Latin Dance

Middle Eastern Dance Social Dance Swing Dante - Lindy Hop 1

48.26/70.20 78.97/122.85 78.97/122.85 48.26/70.20

10 10 10

36.86/58.79 48.26/70.20 36.86/58.79

10 10 10

18:00-18:55 17:00-17:55 19:00-19:55 12:00-12:55 12:00-12:55 18:00-18:55 17:00-17:55 11:00-11:55 17:00-17:55 18:00-18:55 16:30-17:55 18:00-19:25 11:00-11:55 11:00-11:55 18:00-18:55 18:00-18:55

36.85/80.72 36.85/80.72 36.85/80.72 36.85/80.72 18.43/40.36 42.12/85.95 36.85/80.72 29.83/51.77 36.85/80.72 59.66/103.54 44.75/66.69 89.50/133.37 18.43/40.36 18.43/40.36 40.36/84.23 40.36/84.23

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

18:00-18:55 17:00-17:55 12:00-12:55 18:00-18:55 17:00-17:55 18:00-18:55 17:30-18:25

2.19 2.19 2.19 IT 5 2.19 2.19 2.19

19:00-22:00 09:00-19:00

43.87/48.26 43.87/48.26 219.35/250.06 75.59/83.36

1 1 14 1

09:00-17:00 08:00-08:55 16:00-16:55 18:15-19:25 19:30-20:40 08:00-08:55 16:00-16:55 17:15-18:25 17:00-18:10 18:30-19:40 17:00-17:55 13:00-14:15 19:00-19:55 14:30-15:45 13:00-13:55 17:00-17:55 20:00-21:25

48.26/57.04 32.46/67.56 32.46/67.56 50.89/94.76 40.36/75.46 40.36/84.23 32.46/67.56 40.36/75.46 40.36/75.46 50.89/94.76 40.36/84.23 50.89/94.76 40.36/84.23 25.45/47.38 40.36/84.23 40.36/84.23 40.36/57.91

1 8 8 10 8 10 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8

Skatinq (Private) Skatinq (Semi-Private) Squash Intro

1(1

1 FITNESS 8 WELLNESS Aerobics - Retro Cardio Abs, Back & Bootie Body Works Body Design Boot Camp Cardio Jam De-Tox Cycle Kick, Punch, Jive & Jam Pedal Jam Spin & Trim Spin 8 Trim Step Train Your....Off Yoga For Athletes Varsity Yoga

Squash Inter

Squash (Private) Squash (Semi-Private) Tennis Intro

Tennis Inter

Tennis Advanced

1 FITNESS & WELLNESS (PAY-AS-YOU-GO) Monday Tues Sunday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday

Step Tae Box Aerobics Boot Camp Body Design Spin Power Yoga

Tennis (Private) Tennis (Semi-Private) Cross Country Skiing

Equestrian

CPR Re-Cert Hatha Yoga i

by appointment by appointment Wednesday Saturday, TBA Sunday, TBA Sunday, TBA Mon. 8 Wed.

Tues. 8 Thurs.

Hatha Yoga II Pilâtes Pilâtes Pilâtes Pilâtes 1& Il Power Yoga Tai Chî

Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs. Tues. 8 Thurs. Friday Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs. Thursday

WKS

Tuesday & Friday Mon., Wed., Fri. Mon. & Wed. Mon. 8 Wed. Tuesday & Saturday Mon. 8 Wed. Tues., Thurs., Fri. Tues., Thurs., Fri. Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs.

18:00-19:55 17:00-19:55 16:30-17:55 17:30-19:25 19:30-21:25 20:00-21:55 09:00-10:55 15:00-16:25 20:30-21:25 19:00-20:25 19:30-21:25 20:00-21:55

78.97/122.85

70.20/136.01 63.18/107.06 63.18/107.06 63.18/107.06

10 10 10 10

48.26/114.08 48.26/114.08 70.20/136.01 63.18/107.06 63.18/107.06

10 10 10 10 10

Tues. 8 Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed. Mon. 8 Wed. Friday Friday Wednesday Saturday Saturday by appointment by appointment Monday Monday Tuesday Tuesday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Thursday Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Thursday Saturday Sunday bv appointment by appointment Monday Monday Thursday Friday Friday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Tuesday Wednesday Friday bv appointment by appointment

08:00-08:55 19:00-19:55 20:00-20:55 13:30-14:45 15:00-16:15 15:00-16:15 10:30-11:20 11:30-12:20

41.24/76.34

41.24/76.34 48.26/65.81

8 8

48.26/65.81 32.46/50.01

15.80/20.18 11.41/15.80 22.81/35.98

1/2 hr 1/2 hr 6

22.81/35.98

16.67/21.06 11.41/15.80 29.84/43.00

45 min 45 min 6

20.18/24.57 14.04/18.43

1 hr. 1 hr.

18.43/22.81

127.23/136.01 127.23/136.01 65.81/70.02 40.36/44.75

6 6 1 1

$13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16

13 13 13 13

$13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16 $13.16

13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

16:00-16:45 17:30-18:15 16:45-17:30 17:30-18:15 12:15-13:00 13:00-13:45 16:00-16:45 16:45-17:30 08:30-09:15 09:15-10:00 14:30-15:15 15:15-16:00 16:00-16:45 10:45-11:30 11:30-12:15 16:45-17:30 17:30-18:15 11:30-12:15 12:15-13:00

13:00-13:55 15:00-15:55 16:00-16:55 09:00-09:55 11:00-11:55 14:00-14:55 16:00-16:55 13:00-13:55 15:00-15:55 16:00-16:55 16:00-16:55 14:00-14:55 10:00-10:55

I OUTDOOR PURSUITS

I FITNESS 8 WELLNESS Fitness Appraisal Weiqtht Training (Private) Personal Trainer Development CPRXFirst Aid

COST

I SPORTS

(Cardio-Respiratory Endurance)

Stroke Improvement

DAY & TIME

Ice Climbing Snowshoeing

Sun., January 21 Sat., January 27 Sun., January 28 Saturday Sunday Sun., February 11 Sat., January 20 Sat., February 3 Sun., February 18 Sun., March 4

12:00-15:00 10:00-13:00 12:00-15:00 13:30-15:25 13:30-15:25 All Day All Day

Mon. 8 Wed. Mon. 8 Wed. Mon. & Wed. Monday 8 Friday Tues. 8 Thurs. Tues. 8 Thurs. Tues. 8 Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs. Tues, a Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed. Tues. 8 Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed. Mon., Wed., Fri. Tues. 8 Thurs. Mon. 8 Wed.

12:15-13:00 12:30-13:15 13:00-13:45 12:00-12:45 12:30-13:15 12:15-13:00 13:00-13:45 12:30-13:15 13:00-13:45 13:00-13:45 12:00-12:45 12:15-13:00 12:15-13:00 12:00-12:45 12:15-13:00 12:30-13:25 13:00-13:45

STAFF FITNESS Aqua Fitness Badminton Basic Traininq Belly Dancing Body Design Body Desiqn Dance Aerobics Spin Hatha Yoqa 1 Hatha Yoqa II Pilâtes - Intro Pilâtes - Advanced Power Yoqa Lite Recess Tennis Tai Chi

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ATHLETI CS

O pinion

JUMBO SHRIMP

Heather Munr0wn3d

UNCOMMONLY THOUGHTFUL

What's wrong with girly men? J esse C haser JESSE.CHASER@GMAIL.COM

hy is it acceptable for women to be masculine, but never for men to be feminine? Over the past 60 years, women's roles have ex panded immensely to the point that in 2007, it's now alright for a woman to be a firefighter, police officer or doctor. These women are seen as strong members of society, making a positive contribution to their communities. There are so many women in university now that they out number men. But while women have increasingly been allowed to challenge supposed gender norms and push the boundaries of gender appropriate behaviour, men's roles seem to be stalled in the 1950s. Men who are kindergarten teachers, nurses or daycare workers—traditional female occupations—often have their sexuality questioned or are, in extreme cases, thought to be sexual predators. Women have been allowed to expand beyond just caring, but men do not yet enjoy the freedom to move beyond Why can women flirt with manli ness but men, straight men in particu lar, can never be far enough from any thing remotely feminine? Maybe it is because women are no longer confined to the private sphere and are increas ingly entering the public one and men feel threatened. They worry that fewer and fewer things are separating them from women so in order to combat this they shore up their defences and become even more "manly." Men's roles are changing and men are increasingly allowed and allowing themselves, to

J. F. K ostuck JFKOSTUCK@GMAIL.COM aybe it's my inner masochist shin ing through, but I often (read: conI stantly) make bad decisions. Fur thermore, I do it deliberately. Lately, these bad decisions have mostly revolved around my academic career and have resulted in my ass getting handed to me on several occa sions. Advanced Latin? Carpe Diem\ Deduc tive logic? It would be illogical not to take it. Declaring a theatre major? I'll tell my parents at graduation, at which point they'll prob ably beat me with my diploma. Continuing on this streak of self-flag ellation, I began to brainstorm ideas for my first column of the new year. I spent 2006 ragging on freshmen, gamers, the undead, Lucy Liu, engineers and the entire female population. Who was left to piss off? Thé answer was, quite literally, staring me in the face as I chose my (horribly unsuit able) course load: our newly reappointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Heather Munroe-Blum. Let me begin by stating that I have nothing personal against HMB, having never met her in person. Therein lies the rub— I've never met her in person. I couldn't pick HMB out of a police line-up if you paid me. The only interaction I've had with the ruler of our post-secondary world has been via the Mc Gill home page—-a site so overloaded with photographs of Munroe-Blum that it could double as her MySpace page. With each refresh displaying another pose, one would think that HMB spent all her time on the Arts Building steps, shaking hands and going blind from the constant onslaught of camera flashes, but this is not the case. Heather Munroe-Blum finds time in her day not only to play McGill's Next Top Model, but also to appear as a guest lec turer, serve as a Specially Elected Fellow in the Academy of Science of the Royal Society

become more involved in the private sphere and stray more from their tradi tional roles. Gay men and women seem to operate under different rules. Gay men who are feminine are lauded, given TV shows and have cult-like status among many straight women (e.g. the beloved "gay boyfriend"). On the other hand, gay women who are masculine are mocked and derided by society. I'm being slight ly unfair, as feminine gay men have cer tainly gone through and continue to experience their fair share of mockery and discrimination but currently in pop culture, they are pretty popular. As someone whose gender has always been in flux, it makes perfect sense to me that a sizeable proportion of women would embrace what was previously out of their domain. But I'm dumbfounded that men haven't em braced what was previously off-limits as well. Far from embracing womanly pur suits, they seem to be the ones enforc ing their manliness and keeping them selves behind this barrier. Why don't they want to have more options? Just because men can be stayat-home dads doesn't mean they have to be; they can still choose to be doctors or lumberjacks. Why? Because women have managed to successfully bridge this gap. Women can now be doctors or even lumberjacks, but this doesn't mean they can't choose to be stay-athome moms or nurses. Women get to choose and it's about time men had more choices too. ■

of Canada and routinely screw over the arts faculty. Surely, there are not enough hours in a day for one person to accomplish all this. Therefore, I am left to draw but one conclu sion: Heather Munroe-Blum is a Cylon. Straight from the universe of Battlestar Galactica to the James Administration Building, Cylons are futuristic machines that have stealthily integrated themselves into human society. Humanoid Cylons can per fectly mimic all aspects of the human form, projecting emotions, personality and in this case, strong leadership skills. Several copies of a Cylon can exist at any moment, allowing a Cylon the advantage of being in more than one place at the same time. These aren't Roombas zipping around after fallen potato chips; these are highly intelligent warrior robots that have risen against their former masters and are now hell-bent on the total destruction of the human race. Not to say that Heather Munroe-Blum is one of the 12 Cylons of the Apocalypse, but if it happens, don't say I didn't warn you. The only known Cylon weakness is Lym phocytic Encephalitis, a virus to which hu mans have developed immunity. A vaccine that cures the disease is yet to be discovered, but is most likely being researched by Cylon epidemiologists— Cylon epidemiologists like Heather Munroe-Blum, who received their PhDs in epidemiological psychological disorders. Cylon psychological disorders. By all means, don’t take my word for it— test my theory out for yourselves. Perform an in-depth psychological and biological analy sis on Heather Munroe-Blum. To get her in your reach, simply set up a photo-worthy tableau, preferably on or near a McGill Uni versity monument. I guarantee that she will be front and centre before the first, camera flash. HMB can't miss a photo-op— it's in her programming. ■

B.T. PHONE HOME

Forget Big Brother, what about Big Daddy? B yron T au BYRON.TAU@MAI L.MCGI LL.CA

aced with a pile of credit card debt and the suggestion from my parents that I visit a loan shark, I spent most of December driving back and forth between my native Boston and my adopted Montreal. Desperately in need of cash, I chose to make the trek three times between the two cities, dutifully resuming my old summer job. With hours to kill in the car, I found myself staring down at the white lines on the pavement. North of the 49th, it seems that every few kilometers, at a particularly sharp turn or hill, the dashed white lines that in dicate that passing is safe suddenly turn into the solid white lines meaning "Thou shalt not pass."Whoever is responsible for the autoroutes in Quebec has taken the time to examine each and every turn, hill and underpass and decided when it is and when it isn't safe to pass. In America, however, the interstate lanes rarely forbid you from passing, even on the most harrow ing hairpin turns. All those little dashed and solid white lines got me think ing about governments looking out for you, which got me thinking about the amount of paternalism in the news re

cently. Not trusting people to make smart food choices them selves, Denmark banned trans fats a few years ago and Canada has severely regulated them. Just weeks ago, New York City fol lowed suit, ordering all trans fats out of its restaurants. Boston and Chicago are considering similar bans. Meanwhile, the Spanish and Brazilian governments have issued bans on fashion models with unhealthy body mass in dices and Italy is considering a similar provision. A harmless private industry is now under government regulation, all in the name of protection and safety. France recently considered a bill banning the denial that Armenian deaths atTurkish hands constituted genocide. Across the European world and right here in Canada, even insinuating that the Holocaust didn't happen is an offence punishable by jail time. Information and even serious scholarship are now offlimits, all in the name of cultural sensitivity. In America, despite being allowed to pass whomever you want on the interstate, young people are expected to serve in the military at 18 if duty calls, but forgo drinking alcohol for three more years. A recent bill that failed to pass Congress would have re-defined "minors"

as up to 21 and hampered their ability to get access to credit cards (among other things), without a parent co-signer. I don't mean to make a libertarian statement for complete deregulation of everything, but the forces of paternalism in government are growing ever stronger. Liberalism was never about erecting barriers to protect individuals from themselves and their own bad choices; it was about maximizing liberty in order to allow people to find their own path to personal selffulfillment. Political scientists bemoan the lack of political participa tion and the decline in trust in government in recent years. Less noted is the decline of governments' trust of their own citizenry. A fashion model tragically dies young? Regulate body mass index. Citizens eating unhealthily? Ban trans fats. College students spend too much? Take away their plastic. It never ends. George Orwell feared an all-powerful authoritar ian state intruding 24/7 into the private lives of its citizens. He was clearly wrong. Modern governments aren't Big Brother. They're Big Daddy, here to protect us, personal responsibility be damned. ■

09.01.07 •The McGill Tribune • 9

EDITORIAL

r ib u n e

A wish list for 2007

www.mcgilltribune.com E d ito r - in - C hief

James Gotowiec editor@mcgilltribune.com M an agin g E ditors

David Blye Traci Johnson seniored@mcgilltribune.com P ro duction M a n a g er

Tiffany Choy production@mcgilltribune.com N ew s E ditors

Kayvon Afshari Matt Campbell Kate Spirgen news@mcgilltribune.com O pinion E ditor

Adam Smith opinion@mcgilltribune.com F ea tu res E d itors

Rachel Melnik Elizabeth Perle features@mcgilltribune.com A rts & E n tertain m en t E ditors

Crystal Chan Ben Lemieux arts@mcgilltribune.com S po rts E ditors

Charlie Blore Aaron Sigal sports@mcgilltribune.com P hoto E d itors

Lukas Bergmark Lee Tipton photo@mcgilltribune.com C o py E ditor

Terri Alderfer copy@mcgilltribune.com D esign E d itors

Samantha Chang Andrew Frankel Jessica Shapiro design@mcgilltribune.com A d vertisin g M an ager

Paul Slachta advmgr@ssmu.mcgill.ca

lthough many of you may be disillusioned or taken aback by the resounding lack of win ter here in Montreal, make no mistake; it is indeed the second week of January. While the ma jority of you are likely still reeling or recovering from New Year's Eve, 2007 sadly has a two-week head start on you. We all know what this means: It's reso lution time, baby. To many of you, resolutions may seem like a stupid, misguided idea (look about six inches down the page). At times, it is indeed difficult not to feel this way.There is a general tendency to hold out for the majority of January, the first week of-February (give or take a few days) and then irrevocably re gress into a self-destructive lifestyle involving binge drinking, overeating, generally surliness and whole host of other vices that would be inappropriate to mention unless we want a visit from the equity commissioner. While the vast majority of our demons are just too bloody persuasive, we here at the Tribune are proponents of world peace. Granted, it may sound cliché, but it's more than a stone's throw farther ahead than the miserable, war-ridden, grief-stricken world we are faced with today. The year 2006 was one of carnage, death, car-bombings and Lance Bass coming out of the closet, leaving most of the civilized world understandably shaken up. In our infinite wisdom, we have devised a topdown solution: We will simply select easy-to-use New Year's resolutions for trend-setters and head honchos around the globe (and on our own cam pus) in the hopes that our inimitable savoir vivre will trickle down the grapevine like pearly drops of holy water falling from the heavens. Heather Munroe-Blum: A couple of things. Foremost, come to the realization that SnoAP is not your only chance to schmooze with the students. One of the. greatest things about universities is the plethora of interesting, vivacious young people you can find in various buildings around campus— of any given time! Make us feel loved—that's all we re ally want. Aaron Donny-Clark:The superhero advertise ment videos you ran during your campaign pro vided students with an ambiguous portrait of you and it's possible you have been more the secret identity and less the hero over the past semester. Increase your visibility around campus; let the stu dents know who you are. Go to a few sports games and join the hype squad, not the flying squad. George W. Bush:Take a page from Jet Li's playbook—start every morning with a four-hour private English lesson. Perhaps this way the right hand will know which side of your body it's on (the right side). And it's nuclear. Nu-clear.

Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears: Wear some underwear, please. Spreading democracy across the globe—which has noth ing to do with you spreading your legs— means you have to maintain the golden standard of class and sophistication at all times. Unless you'd rather your nation earn its reputation from trailer-park fire crotch. O.J. Simpson: Move to Bahrain. It's a fantastic safe haven for people who are justifiably afraid of having their houses firebombed— and may or may not be guilty of a heinous crime in the court of pub lic opinion.That and you could establish football as yet another way to spread the vast American Em pire. Plus if things get too hot to handle and you manage to get yourself in another "If I did it" situa tion, you can flee the country in a white Bronco. Eric van Eyken: Quit suing SSMU. Donald Trump: Before you launch into any more diatribes in which you fault others (Rosie) for being fat, ugly, arrogant and generally disgusting, consult the nearest dictionary for the word "irony." We promise that it will be a truly revelatory experi ence. Kevin Federline (given that we ripped on KFed's ex-wife, it would be downright unfair to let him escape unscathed): Since you're, well, white,

the only way for you to establish any kind of noto riety as a rapper would be to die. Ideally, you'd be looking for a drive-by shooting with a hail of bul lets. Our suggestion would be to haul ass to either Jackson, Mississippi or North Philadelphia and just behave the way you normally do. It should only take a few minutes. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Get some Jewish friends. Sure, there will be some awkward moments, but it will work wonders for your public image and at least you will be able to sit around and talk about how ham is for losers. Pope Benedict XVI: Get some Muslim friends. Mark Foley: Become a Catholic priest. You'll fit right in. Mel Gibson and Michael Richards: Do lunch. Stephen Harper: You've been in power for a year now, so quit saying "Canada's new govern ment" and stop criticising the Liberals for the mis takes they made; it's time to get busy making more of your own. As for you, dear McGillians, you're not perfect either: Turn off your damned cell phones in class and only raise your hands if you have something interesting to say. But Happy New Year to you any way. We here at the Tribune wish you and yours a peaceful and prosperous 2007. 1

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OFF THE BOARD

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Enough with the resolutions, already

Chad Ronalds C ontributors

David Campana, Jesse Chaser, Matt Chesser, Mallory Dash, Jonathan Katz, J.F. Kostuck, Joanna Reznick, Fariduddin Rifai, Cole Ryan, Matt Segal, Paul Schwartzmann, John Semley, Ken Sun, Byron Tau, Josh Touyz, VincciTsui, Mike Vallo,Trip Yang

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A dam S mith

hate this time of year. Every January, without fail, shortly after we return from our (far too short) winter break, the gym gets ridiculously busy. It gets hard to get the bench, machine or dumbbells that I want without a long wait because there are just so damned many people there. As someone who is there day after day throughout the year, even during exams, this bugs the hell out of me. Oh, sure, in theory those people have paid their $15 for the semester and have the same right to the equipment that I do, but let's be realistic. Why should I be patient with some 98 pound weakling who is trying to start out his brand new workout regime using weights that even Arnold Schwarzenegger might have trouble with? As satisfying as it would be to snap twig-boy in half, it's not him that I should blame.The real cul prit is New Year's or more specifically, new year's resolutions. Admit it. Like just about everyone else, you probably made at least one last week. Again like everyone else, you probably haven't started to

tackle it/them or have given up already. If you have managed to persevere for the week, then con gratulations, but don't pat yourself on the back too much yet. We all know that you will probably give up long before reading week. I can sense the arguments forming in your brain: "He's so wrong, I can definitely quit smoking cold turkey,""No, I really am going to hit the tread mill five times a week" and "So what if I didn't stick to my resolutions last year, the year before or the year before that?This is the year it's finally going to happen."Don't kid yourself. You didn't really plan on keeping those resolutions anyway. You see, no one really does. If those resolu tions were so important, why wait until Jan. 1 to make them? Sure, there's all of that nonsense about a new year and a fresh start, but I don't buy that. If you're really committed to getting over your nymphomania or quitting drinking, you will do it whether it's the end of the school year, Thanksgiv ing or the middle of summer.

The only reason we continue to make new year's resolutions is that they have become a part of the holiday season, like eggnog, Christmas carols and New Year's Eve debauchery. Why else would we continue to make ourselves promises that we know we will break soon enough anyway? It's a real shame, though, because new year's resolutions tend to be good things. People tend to make resolutions like being nicer to their family or giving up one of their vices— be it booze, drugs, or whatever— and the world would undoubtedly be a better place if people followed through on them. Sadly, we know that most of those worthy resolutions will soon fall by the wayside— if they haven't already. So here's my advice: If you're really serious about accomplishing something in 2007, just decide that you're going to follow through, then do it. But be honest with yourself; if you're not actuallygoing to do it, don't bother making a reso lution and leave me in peace in the gym. ■

The M cGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of McGill University in collaboration with the Tribune Publication Society. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Students'Society or McGill University. 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 theTribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tr/bune 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 M cGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

10 • The McGill Tribune • 09.01.07

VOX POPULI

Letters to the editor No war on Christmas There is a spectre that haunts McGill's campus and that spectre is imaginary conflict. In Kate Spirgen's Off the Board, "The War on Christmas,"several points are made that appear to invoke some sort of crusade against Christmas, a crusade that appar ently is keeping a myriad of religious, non-religious and social de mographics apart. Spirgen begins by alluding to militant groups around North America that are keeping the Christian Christmas from being enjoyed. However, she makes no reference to any concrete example of "Christmas bashing" and instead relies on the age-worn fal lacy that Christmas is seen by various groups as insensitive. The problem here is that while there are instances of loonies who believe that there is some sort of conspiracy to have Christmas supplant all other forms of winter holiday, actual critics are simply contending that alternate forms of the winter holiday should be made visible in the public eye so that people can be reminded' that this is a holiday of many creeds and nationalities. The editor then seems to skip the traditional argument's ac cusation that Channukah fanatics and militant athiests are be hind this and instead relying on the argument that Christmas is a consumer extravaganza, which seems very evident and this capitalistic frenzy is prehaps the true enemy to what Jesus would have wanted for the holidays. My main gripe is that instead of the editor writing a lazy hit piece that appeals to conservative and out-moded criticisms of the Christian holiday, the editor should instead promote a celebration of the holidays that extols a humanistic reaching out to all creeds. I feel that the Tribune should have editors who encourage positive role modeling dur ing stressful times, such as exams, by doing something for the community and maybe making an effort to do something nice for someone of which you wouldn't normally think. — Stefan Perrier U 1 Political Science

The importance of Darfur activism J onathan Katz JONATHAN.KATZ2 @MAIL.MCGILL.CA

ike Valo's Dec. 5 Vox Populi "Raising awareness: Feeling good about doing nothing" was way off the mark. As an active member of Students Taking Action Now Darfur, I can confidently assert that events aimed at raising aware ness about the crisis in Darfur are by no means futile attempts by “educated middle and upper-class white kids to feel good about themselves." By dis crediting a Darfur awareness event, the article misrepresents the importance of such events to our campus commu nity. Through his claim that "we, the well educated student body, know what is happening in Darfur," Valo re veals the arrogance of some McGill students who assume that a BA and perhaps the occasional bathroom scan of The Economist qualifies them as ex perts in global affairs. The crisis in Dar fur is complex and multifaceted and our activism is aimed at learning more about it while making that knowledge accessible to our peers. By discrediting an event with such an end in mind, Valo is undermining a basic function of our university: its role as a forum for idea sharing and discourse. Furthermore, contrafy to Valo's as sumption, my experience with STAND has revealed that the McGill student community is not sufficiently educated about even the most basic dimensions

of the current catastrophe in Darfur. At each one of STAND'S events, new stu dents come forward and reveal that they had previously known almost nothing about the crisis in Darfur, but having gained awareness, they resolve to take subsequent action on the issue. It is no coincidence then that, with a rise in grassroots activism, the crisis in Darfur is gaining the attention of the national media and policy-makers. Three years ago, it scarcely received any newspaper attention and was treated as an afterthought to policy-makers. Today, Darfur is featured constantly in the news and is often the source of debate on Parliament Hill.This growing prominence is indirectly related to ac tivism on college campuses. In recent months, two parliamentary debates have been held on Darfur, a multi-party parliamentary coalition for genocide prevention has been established and Canada has increased its aid in con fronting the crisis. These actions are a response to rallies and petitions, such as a student petition that was present ed to Parliament, with over 2,000 McGill signatures, in May 2005. This petition was initiated by students who originally became concerned about the situation in Darfur as a result of campus aware ness events like the one Valo criticized. To the defeatists and cynics among us, I need only point to Samantha Powers' book America in the Age of Genocide,

which revealed that US legislative in action during the Rwandan crisis was not the result of indifference among policy-makers to the genocide but rather because of ambivalence on the part of their constituents. Perhaps with a few more letters, rallies and aware ness events, more policy-makers would have had a premise to push for an end to radical aggression in Rwanda. The same message has been delivered to student activists by the likes of Romeo Dallaire, Irwin Cotier and Keith Martin, the leading Darfur advocates on Par liament Hill. The message is clear: As students, our task in the fight to save Darfur's voiceless victims is to advocate and educate in order to show policy makers that resolving the crisis is a top priority to Canadians. Central to this task are awareness events, however small they may be. In the 1980s McGill students proudly stood at the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement. Today, cyni cism and defeatism are prevailing on this once-active campus. Sadly, our in difference does not bode well for the people of Darfur, who face a new year of displacement, sexual violence and death. ■ Jonathan Katz, U3 Political Science, is a member ofSTAND McGill. He wants to make sure that you know what's happen ing in Darfur.

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Not everyone owns an iPod E lizabeth P erle Last year, students Ross Margulies, U3 Politi cal Science and IDS, and Najeed Kassam, U2 Po litical Science, were enthusiastic members of the popular charity organization Make Poverty His tory McGill, a satellite organization of the Make Poverty History Canada campaign in Montreal. While they supported the association's focus and effects, they felt that its mandate was limited in scope. "We wanted more flexibility," Kassam re flects. So, Margulies and Kassam did what any keen McGill student would do in the same situ ation: They put their heads together, gathered resources and started up their own charity. They called the organization "End Poverty Now.” This youth-run NGO and non-profit orga nization, though only one-year-old, has quickly become a well organized, well funded and soonto-be national endeavour. "EPN has students from other universitites across Canada interested in the organization and the possibility of becoming involved," Kassam as serts. McGill, however, will remain the End Poverty Now national nucleus, in a manner of speaking. Today, with more than 1.2 billion people liv ing in abject poverty and more than one million of these people living Canada, the scope of the organization may seem broad, but to Kassam and Margulies, it is necessarily.so. The organiza tion stresses that poverty is a gross violation of human rights and that it is every person's respon sibility, as a global citizen, to take action. “We operate based on three pillars,"explains Kassam. "Education and information, lobbying and grassroots development initiatives." These grassroots initiatives are perhaps the most exceptional aspects of the organization; End Poverty Now has partnered itself with numerous organizations across the world doing develop mental poverty work. Through fundraising and publicity, Kassam and Margulies'project provides many of these organizations with monetary sup port they may not have otherwise been able to receive. Moreover, as an organization founded by

students, all of End Poverty Now's redistribution projects are coupled with an internship available to any member of the group, while also offering scholarship opportunities to students taking in dividual initiatives in poverty-related fields. Among a plethora of fundraising event initiatives coming up in Montreal, Kassam also points to some behind-the-scenes work the ex ecutive of nine people (the organization boasts around 60 members total) are initiating. For ex ample, the group is currently working to make arrangements with various hotels in the city that will introduce an extra, optional, charge to guests upon check out. This money would go straight into the End Poverty Now reserves. More importantly, however, is the first (unof ficial) launch of the campaign itself, in the form of a huge benefit concert happening Wednesday, Jan. 10 at the student-beloved club, Café Cam pus (57 Prince Arthur). This fundraising event will not only feature the popular McGill-based band Moksa, but also two bigger Canadian names in the industry: Grady (a band featuring Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar) and rock band The Sins. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online and at the door. "I've been planning the event for a few months now," reveals Jordan Safer, U2 Political Science and chair of the committee behind the event. "The most important part of the organi zation is that we attempt to facilitate dialogue about global poverty," he says. "In order to come to any sort of action, you need to get people talk ing, first." After a weekend of promoting the event on both Montreal radio stations and the CBC, Kassam is confident that the benefit (and consequently the organization) will prove hugely successful. "This evening is going to be about more than just music and charity, it's a fusion of the two," he affirms. "It is an opportunity to make a difference in our community, city and even world, by having a good time!"* To get involved email info@endpovertynow.ca or visit www.endpovertynow.ca.

He likes metal, McKibbins and Jesus Religious studies prof lets loose his wild side or, at least, his hair Jim Kanaris is not your typical conservative theologian: as a former member o f a metal rock band, Dr. Kanaris has flowing eighties-style hair that causes his students to ques tion his religious background. However, his passion for the philosophy o f religion is evident and his eloquence helps to mask his hard rocking past, at least a little bit.

What types of career opportunities do you sug gest to your religious studies students? As an Honours adviser in the faculty of religious stud ies, I usually consult students who have their sights set on graduate school. While varied, the options are pretty clear-cut. Doing a Master's degree usually helps to decide whether the field or profession is for them. Whatever the decision, students in religious studies acquire skills valued and transposable in the "real world." Religion majors and minors in law, business, education and medicine is ample proof.

Who is your hero or role model and why?

LEE TIPTON

Kanaris: Born to be wild.

Self-transcendence is a quality I value. Anyone evinc ing some aspect of it is something of a hero in my books: my late parents, for example, who consis tently went out of their way to ensure the well-being of their children; my wife and kids who daily put up with me, etc. On a grander cultural scale, there's the usual: the Buddha, Ghandi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Archetypal for me has always been Jesus. I never tire of the symbol of transcendent love taking sacrificial interest in the world. Its historical underpinning in the person of Jesus exer cises a powerful hold on me.

What is something your students would be surprised to know about you? That I'm a high school drop out might surprise some. I awoke to academics relatively late in life, at about the age of 21. As a result I had to do 18 extra credits when I entered university as a mature student. My work was cut out for me. My peers were leagues ahead of me academically— at least that was my perception.

Anyone who has taken a class with you knows that you adore weekends. What is your favourite place to party in Montreal? I adore weekends largely because I get to wind down. The academic profession can be quite hectic and so I get zealous about bouts of calm. "Living for the weekend" in my world usually means merrymaking takes a back seat to convalescing. Still, I enjoy the good things in life as much as the next person. You may find me at a local pub now and then enjoying a cold draft with family and friends; McKibbins comes to mind. Going to movies is also a favourite past time.

In class you once said that your hearing was slightly impaired because you played in a band. What type of music did you play, and are you still into music? In the early eighties I played drums in a hair metal club act that toured eastern Canada. I often kid students that my lengthy hair is a holdover from youth and not because of a mid-life crisis. When I get nostalgic I'll plop down on the drum kit for a few rounds. Initially it feels good but I quickly lose interest. At any rate, I suspect that my hardness of hearing, which doubtless gets tiresome to students in class, is due to persistent exposure to ear-piercing rock. I've never had it checked out, so I don't know for sure.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? As a kid I enjoyed all media superhero related. However, wanting a superpower is not some thing I give any thought to. It's enough trying to negotiate my limited powers for good, let alone those always ready for ill. Not even superheroes escape the tension. In fact, the tension is exacer bated in them. Why would I want to further complicate my life? In answer to your question, then, if I were to have a superpower, it would be the superpower not to have or want one. ■ NEJEED KASSAM Ending Poverty, one bake sale at a time

cc < Q

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F EATURES Technology in 2007: Finding a new fruit Are Apples and Blackberries on the way out? E lizabeth P erle First-year student Hailey O'Donovan is perched outside of the Redpath library complex, laptop on lap, preparing for her first week of classes this term. She is logging on to McGill's campus-wide wireless system to check her email and WebCT announcements, while simultaneously sending a text mes sage to her roommate from her cellphone. She soon realizes that she needs to remove her earphones from her ears (which

are connected to the iPod Shuffle in her pocket) in order to fully concentrate on doing so. At home, she explains, she also has an iHome speaker dock. While O'Donovan may not represent every student on campus, she certainly stands for the "university student"image most tech companies have been panting after for the past five years. Though certainly not the most financially propitious pop ulation, students are the target age group for many of the big

It's an iWorld after all "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower," says Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. Currently, the iPod is the market leader in MP3 players precisely because of this idea. It features what has become an iconic design (the "click wheel," for example, is unique from every other music player on the market) and more impor tantly, boasts eminent software in the form of iTunes, which, upon its launch, allowed users to access legal music and videos in a way that no other product had before. This year (if you can believe it), iPod-mania seems to have intensified. The news leading the Applejront this week is the unveiling of the highly antici pated iPod phone at the Macworld Expo 2007, which beginning today. Or, at least, this is what all Apple-aficionados across the Web are praying to the computer gods for. MacWorld is held in San Francisco between Jan. 9 and 12 every year and has long been the venue for Apple's major product announcements. At the 2005 expo, for ex ample, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPod nano. Last year it was the MacBook Pro. Body parts are crossed that the mythic iPhone will strike the market this week, but if this is not the case, tech market analysts still seem certain that it will be officially born in the late first quarter to early second quarter of this year, at the very least. Apple, however, is emerging late in the market for music-enabled mobile phones, something which is actually quite characteristic of the company. Before releasing iPods, for example, Apple waited until the MP3 market had already developed and subsequently released them as a seemingly perfected version of the products that were then on the market. Hearing new voices Another major cell phone innovation this year comes from Samsung, which an nounced its newest model will pick up television signals and allow the user to watch ! TV channels on their cell phone screens. This is a separate development from the cur1 rent ability to watch jerky TV programs supplied by cell phone providers. Prototypes [are being demonstrated this week and the company is in the process of working out (arrangements with TV stations. This means that the future of procrastinating during boring lectures lies not in [bulky laptops, but rather in soon-to-be music and TV accessible cell phone technol-

fogy.

And it's not just the face of phones that could see a complete remodeling this year: There is now a free messaging service that is attempting to combine voicemail with e-mail and cell phone text messaging. Established by Pinger Inc., a Silicon-Valleybased company, this service works by sending messages from user to user via a quick back-and-forth voicemail system. How does it work?The user dials a number, says the recipient's name, leaves a mes sage and hangs up. The recipient is then notified of the message and sender through a text message and email. They can then access a Web site to hear the voicemail. When text messaging is too time consuming, this service could be very conve nient, especially if one wants to ensure that they leave a message, rather than actually speak to the person. Questions about the actual demand for the service remain: is the concept of voicemail, in general, already an outdated one among the younger generation? And is the concept of text messaging to receive voicemail too new for the older one?

technology trends continuing to emerge on the market. Last year was the year of the Wii, the You (Tube) and the evolving i (Pod), all digital phenomena that quickly became absorbed into the everyday vocabulary of Generation Y. Though technological predictions are often fruitless, es pecially when attempting to target a younger generation that seems to have the attention span of a goldfish on aderol, there are some major technology trends to be on the lookout for in 2007.

Re-furnishing the Office It is likely that shock will be a general feeling among longtime users of Microsoft Of fice when the new version hits stores on Jan. 30. Practically everything familiar about Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other programs has been completely revamped in this new suite.The most observable new feature is a "command ribbon," which is a super-duper-toolbar that shows all commands related to the specific task at hand, for example, entering text, an il lustration, reviewing a document, etc.This means that the previous"file"and "format" menus will no longer exist. Moreover, for the first time since 1997, Microsoft has changed the way Office programs store their data. Instead of thefamiliar".doc"ending, documents will now be saved as".docx." The new format makes it easier for programs from other companies to read and write Word, Excel or PowerPoint files. The downside? If you use Office 2003 or XP, you will have to download a converter from Microsoft before you can open, edit or save files that somebody sends you in the new format. In this same vein, if you do upgrade to the new Office, you may have trouble sharing your files with people who have not done so. Goodbye, Google Not only will the way we write documents change this year, but the way in which we search for them will likely be transformed, as well. Jimmy Wales, the man behind Wikipedia (which ranks among the top 15 online destinations worldwide) plans to launch a new search engine in the first three months of2oo?.The project is called Wikiasari: "Wiki" being the Ha waiian word for"quick,"and "asari,"the Japanese word for"rummaging search." Wales believes the project could someday overtake Google as the leader of Web search. "Search is part of the fundamental infrastructure of the Internet. And, it is currently bro ken." He maintains. "It is broken for the same reason that proprietary software is always bro ken: lack of freedom, lack of community, lack of accountability, lack of transparency." Wales believes Wikiasari will be the mechanic of Internet searching, in a manner of speaking. Wikipedia revolutionized the way the world approached knowledge and many believe that a search engine centered on community intelligence, rather than algorithms, will only continue this trend, but on a larger scale. Techno Music The record label behind artists such as DJ Logic, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Medeski, Martin &Wood has announced that it is moving online— completely. Ropeadope, a competitive record label in the industry for seven years now, will make every release avail able on their Web site in MP3 format, as well as at the major online music retailers.This digital “program" is set to start in February with releases from seven of their artists, with at least 18 more to come over the course of the year. Andy Hurwitz, the label's founder, explained his decision in a recent interview with CNN: "I almost feel like this is what they asked Rykodisc back in the eighties when they started going exclusively with CDs over vinyl. [Digital is] not just the future, it's the present... We've seen our traditional sales plummet and our digital sales skyrocket.” Not only are the industry's executives turning to their computers, but recording studios are also starting to follow their lead. The company Hammacher Schlemmer now offers a PC Recording Studio Guitar, which is a six-string electronic instrument that comes with a USB port to connect it directly to a PC or Mac. Once plugged in, the computer's sound system serves as an amplifier and the USB cable provides the guitar with all the power it needs. A stereo headphone output allows the user to hear their session while connected to the computer.

J 51

Wii may be a gamer's wet dream, but nothing beats old school Nintendo.

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09.01.07 «The McGill Tribune • 13

High-tech hunches While some analysts claim that predicting the omni present "future of technology" is futile (after all, 10 years ago could anyone have predicted the colossal forces of Youtube or Myspacel), the public listens to techno-wizards, market research firms, futurists or pseudoscientists who furiously at tempt to do so, anyway. Here are a few earth-shattering predictions meant to pop up in the next, say, 10 years: - LCD screens in supermarket carts will explain what products might inter est you as you peruse the food aisles. - As you stroll down the street, billboards will address you by name be cause of radio frequency identification. - Paraplegics will be able to walk because of sensors embedded in their legs, which will receive directions from a computer. - People will be able to talk to animals— in their languag-, - Artificial gametes made from female eggs will be sold/ over the Internet and thus make fathers biologically irrel-^ evant.

c o m P lle d * * E liz a b e th P erle

M A S T E R

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F IN A N C IA L E C O N O M IC S

Thé Master of Financial Economies Program at the University o‘f Toronto is a small enrollment, collaborative program between the Department of Economics and the Rotman School of Management The Program equips talented students with the tools required for successful careers in the financial sector by merging the theoretical, analytical and quantitative components of an MA in Economics with the practical and applied case-based studies of MBA finance courses.

CPR for your chugging cornpy

The MFE program is at the forefront of the new trend towards increased specialization in graduate programs, in addition to the core course requirements, students are able to choose electives from both economics and management to individualize their program and more closely match it with their career objectives.

What to buy to give your old machine new life A dam Smith If you're in your third or fourth year, you may well be thinking that the shiny new computer you pur chased at the beginning of your uni versity career is pretty dated right now. Unfortunately, you're right: As Ferris Bueller once said, "life moves pretty fast" and so does technology. "My computer is so slow," com plains Michelle Wu, U3 Civil Engi neering. "Maybe I need a need bat tery?" Nicole Wang, U3 Economics, acknowledges that her laptop has a hard time getting on the internet. Wang and Yu are probably not the only students who would jump at the chance to trade in their old PCs for one of those pretty new iBooks or feel tempted by Dell's ri diculously low prices. Before ditch ing that old machine, consider giv ing it some TLC, in the form of an upgrade or two. This should be a lot cheaper than splashing your hardearned cash on something brand new, not to mention that you get to avoid the hassle of transferring all your files and so on. If your computer is running slowly, adding some RAM might help to speed things up: As pro grams get more advanced, they require more memory to run. More RAM also helps you to run more pro grams at once—your computer may finally stop chugging every time you try to watch a TV show while surfing the Internet, downloading music and chatting on MSN at the same time. The price of RAM varies widely depending on your system, but it shouldn't cost you more than a couple of hundred bucks. Whether you add more RAM to your existing system or buy a new one, you will want at least 512MB, or even iGB if you want to eventually upgrade to Windows Vista. If your screen is too small to see things properly or your giant CRT takes up too much space on your desk, upgrading to a new flat panel monitor should help. Although they once cost thousands of dollars, it's now possible to get a 17" LCD moni tor for under $200. Some 19" models can be had for that price as well.

Those who like to download a lot of TV shows, movies or music may find that they are running out of space on their hard drives. A few years ago, most computers came with 40GB or 60GB hard drives. Today it is possible to add a 250GB drive to that for only $150. That's enough to hold about 60 full DVDs or 60,000 songs. If you have a laptop, don't worry. You won't be able to fit another hard drive inside the tiny case, but it's possible to get external hard drives that do the same job for only slightly more. Your data will be slightly less portable, but externals are handy for file backups. If your desk is too cluttered with cables, why not go wireless? Wireless keyboards and mice now cost about the same as wired ones do and they can help clear up some of the mess around your computer. Speaking of wireless, if you're jealous of the kids who spend all of their class time checking out hotties on Facebook because your old-school laptop doesn't have wireless capability, you can pick up a wireless network card for as little as $50. Improvements aren't limited to hardware either; installing new software can make life easier as well. If you don't have any anti-virus or firewall software, make sure to get some, it will help protect your com puter from viruses, which often slow your computer down. If you already have those programs, make sure that they are up to date. Download ing Mozilla Firefox for free can make your Internet browsing experience much more pleasant: pages usually load faster and it's a lot less vulner able to crashes and malware than Internet Explorer. While these upgrades won't extend the life of your computer forever, they may help to prolong its existence through your grad school career. Of course, you could always avoid the hassle and just take out a loan for a $leek new MacBook Pro, price tag $2,499. ■ All upgrades are available for purchase at Future Shop, Best Buy or Staples. Shop around at (sometimes) shady Web sites for better prices.

MFE graduates have been employed in a variety of areas in the financial system including: banking, economic research, portfolio management, risk management, consulting and the public sector. Applicants must have completed or be in the final year of completing a four-year or Honours Degree in an undergraduate program. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed advanced level courses in economics, mathematics, commerce and statistics. Application deadline: February 1, 2007 For additional program, admission and application Master of Financial Economics Program

information, please visit the MFE W eb site or contact the

University of Toronto

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A rts & E ntertainment FILM REVIEW

Yo Adrian, we did it! (again) Rocky Balboa somehow manages to go the distance John S emley

The Italian Stallion in the blue corner, one last time.

There was really only one great Rocky movie. John G. Avildsen's 1976 Oscar-winning original, a story about a fourth-rate club fighter who gets a shot at the heavyweight title was, despite all its Cinderellaesque feel-goodery, a resonating evocation of the rags-to-riches spirit of Americana. The subsequent four films, while all relatively entertaining in their own right, failed to capture the guts-and-glory essentialism that made Rocky a classic. In 2006, it seemed that the Rocky franchise was bereft of any last wheezes of life—with The Simpsons driving the final nail into the coffin with that "Rocky VII: Adrian's Revenge" joke. Well, in a cinematic epoch of criminally subpar and equally unnecessary Star Wars prequels, it should be no surprise that Rocky Balboa came back for one final round. Sylvester Stallone steps back into the ring (his fourth bout as franchise writer-director) in Rocky Bal boa and no matter how tempting it is to begrudge such a seemingly obvious cash-grab, damn if it isn't a decent movie. The gist of the plot is as well-worn as a pair of old sparring gloves: Philly's over-the--hill favourite son, now a widower who whiles away his days as a res taurateur, is offered the chance to throw on his mitts in an exhibition match against reigning champion Mason "The Line” Dixon (former real-life light heavy weight champ Antonio Tarver). Following a computer simulated fight on ESPN, where former two-time champ Rocky Balboa (Stallone) makes short work of the skilled but unchallenging Dixon, the interest of promoters is sparked. Dixon sees it as a chance to prove he is a compassionate fighter, and one who has heart enough to take on the famously determined former champion. Rocky sees it as a chance to prove his worth to himself and quell the "beast" that lurks in his emotional basement. Along the way, Rocky mends relationships with his son (Milo Ventimiglia), a business-sawy yuppie who looks like he stepped out of a Bret Easton Ellis novel and his brother-in-law, Paulie (Burt Young). SONY PICTURES, INC. There's a lot of sappy sentimental overkill, quasi-liter ate attempts at self-expression and, of course, a train

ing montage. But hey, that's what Rocky movies have always been about. After a 16-year hiatus, Stallone revisits, his most cherished character and his emotional attachment shows. More transparent (and more forgivable) than the film's stabs at cashing in on the tested popularity of the name "Rocky" is Stallone's attempt at exploring his own late-life crisis through the endearing guise of Rocky Balboa. At 60, the state of his own middling acting career parallels his character's fall from glory in ways that are not merely ancillary. Rocky deals with the loss of his wife, estrangement from his son and general malaise in ways that, while at times accom modate ample eye-rolling, are often poignant and never arrogant. Rocky Balboa serves more as a final glimpse at a well-loved figure of American cinema than any sort of legitimate sports movie. The actual fight itself is bogged down by indulgent quick-cuts, sporadic flashbacks and monochrome slow-motion and is it self rather anticlimactic. Bill Conti's score is comfort ing in its familiarity, but, in rarely straying outside mel ancholic variations, on the "Rocky Theme," does little to detract from the film's already abundant dose of schmaltz. Nevertheless, the film, carried almost entirely by Stallone's believable performance, emerges from the shadow of Rocky //through y and succeeds in captur ing that essence of the so-called "American Dream" that made the first Rocky a success. Rocky Balboa moves out of the mansions and customized TransAms of the other films and return to the streets of Philadelphia where he belongs, complete with porkpie hat and weathered black leather jacket. In doing so, it provides a closure that Rocky V lacked. In this sense, Rocky Balboa serves more as an epilogue than a final chapter. Sure, it's not the film of the year and it's not even really a great film (the absence of actual box ing in favour of further character development and at-times contrived sentiment will likely polarize audi ences), but it succeeds in shaking the spirit of gratu itous pointlessness that haunted the other sequels. If anything, by merely transcending its own superfluity, Rocky Balboa does what so many sequels fail to do. ■

FILM REVIEW

History with a cinematic allure Screen adaptation of stage favourite is just as enthralling C ole R yan Nicholas Hynter's screen adaptation of Alan Bennett's highly successful play, The History Boys, is a well-executed and delight fully intellectual story of coming-of-age male teenagers who struggle with all the trials and tribulations of growing up and self-discovery. The film, set in the early 1980s, depicts the story of a pack of eight exceptionally bright teenage boys from northern England who, having received excellent marks on their grammar school exams, must now prepare for the entrance examinations to the country's best universities, Cambridge and Oxford. However, their hopeful headmaster observes a flaw that he fears might lessen their chances in England's proper post-secondary system: "They're clever, but they're crass." Recognizing the opportunity to beat the prep-schools that traditionally place their students at the country's best universi ties, the headmaster hires a new, young teacher named Irwin to help prepare the boys for their exams. However, given the strict timetable that has been laid out for their studies, Irwin's lessons are slipped in whenever an opportunity arises. Irwin, who is heav ily critical of the students, their current style of thought and their inattentive antics, soon clashes with the "general studies"teacher, Hector, an overweight but loveable professor who teaches the boys French, music, poetry and whatever else he deems useful to their intellectual growth. The conflicting professors and their respective teaching methods only serve as background for the boys'stories of struggle with life's issues: girls, homosexuality, reli gion, sports and the pursuit of higher education. The most impressive aspect of the acting isn't the amazinn rn h p sin n am n nnst the students with their teachers: rather.

it's that although none of the actors had any extensive screen-acting experience, it doesn't show in the least. The stellar cast works and interacts as though they re ally have been together since grammar school—which is no surprise, since the cast is literally the same as the Na tional Theatre's production of the play from a few years ago. Their acting and dialogue, al beit a bit rough since it was originally written for stage, is nearly flawless and smoothly delivered, something crucial for a movie that relies on quality plot development rather than action sequences and omnipresent narrators. Hynter was the director of the National Theatre's stage pro ALLMUVItFHUlUyCUM duction of the play and his decision to oversee the tran Lessons about life— The History Boys aligning intellectual growth with life experience. of a disillusioned post-imperial world. The theme, while exempli sition of the entire cast to film fied in the contrasting teachers, is nearly lost due to the attention results jn the excellent chemistry between the characters. The biggest drawback to what is otherwise a great film is the that is given to the students and their teenage struggles. An entertaining and charming production, it would be a lack of context. One of the underlying themes that runs through out the movie is the transition in British education during the late pity to miss this film, given its intellectual quality and the superb adaptation to screen it achieves. ■ 1970s from a reverence for great British writers of the past to that

09.01.07 • The McGill Tribune • 15

OPERA

Tan Dun's opera premieres The First Em peror to play in Montreal cinema

Previews

COMPILED BY CRYSTAL CHAN

Concert. A Concert for Change: Darfur, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m.; u B w B S I 8 S P Clara Lichtenstein Hall, Strathcona Music Building (555 Sher brooke O.). A fundraising concert by STAND (StudentsTaking Action Now: Dar fur) promises a feast for both your ears and conscience. Classical, contemporary and jazz pieces will be performed by members of the faculty and student body as well as musicians outside McGill. One hundred per cent of the donations from admission will go straight to two organizations, Physicians for Human Rights and Oxfam. Theatre. Pentecostal Wisconsin, Jan. 9 to 20,-The CentaurTheatre (453 St. Francois-Xavier). A literally pitch-perfect one-mart spectacle. As part of the Wildside Festival of fringe theatre, Ryan Paulson's come dy about coming to terms with the rigidity of a religious upbringing is mixed in a blender with Swedish teenage girls, song segments and voilà! You have yourself an ironic farce. Tickets are $10 for students. Call (514) 288-3161 for tickets and showtimes. Music. Reset, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m.; Club Soda (1225 St-Laurent). The local punk-rock outfit plays this Saturday night. Reset is better known as the band whose members created pop-punk chart topper Simple Plan. The concert follows the Nov. 2006 release of an amalga mation CD of their two former ones, No Worries/No Limits. Tickets are $13 at the door. Film. Freedom Writers, opens Jan. 12. Screenwriter/director Richard LaGravenese (The Horse Whisperer, The Bridges o f Madison County) brings another weepy inspirational drama to screen with Freedom Writers. Hilary Swank plays a new, young idealistic English teacher who inspires at a high school crippled by sudden racial integration. Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey co-stars as her long suffering husband. Some how mixing the genders up doesn't mask the jumble of clichés that make up the plot, but the film is a heartfelt attempt nevertheless.

JOSHTOUYZ Dun's uncoventional opera receives a standing ovation from the Lincoln Center's gentrified audience. J osh T ouyz The Dec. 21 world premiere of Tan Dun's latest opera The First Emperor, the fruit of 10 years'labour, drew a capac

ity crowd to the Metropolitan Lincoln Center in New York City. Many in the Hermès-dressed, port-sipping audience eagerly anticipated "The Voice" of tenor Carmino Do mingo, the creativity of neo-traditionalist director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House o f Flying Daggers, Turandot in the For bidden 'City), the elegantly elaborate costumes of Emi Wada (Kurosawa's Ran) and the presence of Dun himself, who conducted the opera himself. Dun, renowned for his score in Crouching Tiger, Hid den Dragon, did not disappoint and delivered a colourful cdmposition incorporating traditional Eastern cultural ele ments with modern interpretations of dynastic China. The opera regales the audience with dramatic tales of love, brotherhood and duty, Chinese cultural emphases that reverberate clearly throughout the opera. The epic begins with Emperor Qin (Plâcido Domingo) arriving home from a glorious battle and promising his daughter Princess Yueyang (Elizabeth Futral) to General Wang (Hao Jiang Tian) as a gift for his loyalty in combat. But one last mission is demanded before the wedding: the Emperor requires Wang to find Qin's childhood friend Gao Jianli (Paul Groves) and to prevail on him to compose a national anthem for the people of China. When Gao Ji anli enters the story and tells his tale, the audience quickly discovers the spurious spells woven during Qin's rise to power. From here on the opera unfolds, focusing on the dilemmas of duty versus love and the oppressive tradition of class responsibility. Dun asserts that The First Emperor"\s first a voyage of self-discovery" and strays from classic operatic format. Or chestral dissonances with seemingly noisy nuances paral lel character oddities. Dun claims that the "idea that one plus one equals one is my philosophy." He stresses that he "wants to break free from cultural boundaries and find cul tural connections."

Those unaware of the differences between Eastern and Western musical traditions and patterns may take slight offense,.having paid affluent Met-Opera prices for intermittent melodic tunes. It's a combination of "chro matic scales and indeterminate pitch," Dun explains. The dissonant chords, however, do provide musical unity for comprehension of the piece as a whole. They act as a foil, emphasizing the tumultuous period (300 B.C.) in which the opera is set. Irregular but perceptible melodies pro vide some sense of order in the chaotic and mystical musi cal map through which Dun guides listeners. Domingo certainly meets the challenge of such, an unconventional score with an inventive breakthrough performance. "You never really get these operas under your skin until you start rehearsing," he notes. Paul Groves, Susanne Mentzer, Elizabeth Futral, Hao Jiang Tian and Dou Dou Huang give equally excellent interpretations, their characters and voices blending to gether seamlessly to create credible and memorable per formances. Dun's presentation, while novel, follows Babittesque tradition with its ultimate appeal-to a certain audience— a select one. Dun's grandiose production of The First Em peror, while appealing, will take quite some time to digest before occidental ears can appreciate it. The complexities Dun paints are exceedingly elaborate and ears condi tioned to Western music and those with a taste for Grand Opera may be confused by less familiar Eastern music, symbolism and culture. Many moments of joy and musical miracles exist in Dun's opera, but it would demand a great leap of faith (and a bulging wallet) for the student-age population to purchase a ticket, unless one was an ardent opera fan fa miliar with both Chinese and Western musical systems. But now cash-strapped students can get a taste of Dun here in Montreal, A live broadcast of the opera's Jan. 13 show will play at the Paramount (977 Ste-Catherine 0 .), as part of the Metropolitan Opera goes to the movies initiative. Visit www.cineplex.com for tickets and more information. ■

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16 • Arts & Entertainment • 09.01.07

MUSIC

FILM REVIEW

Thursday singalongs at Bru

Honouring its namesake

Patrick Lesyk is a hit for listeners of all genres J essica S hapiro Rue Crescent is a long-standing party central in Montreal. Among the ravishing clubs and happening bars resides the spirited student enclave, Brutopia.This hole-in-the-wall, famous for home-brewed beer that comes in unique flavours (raspberry, honey and apricot, to name a few), is also known for its energetic music performances and friendly atmosphere. The venue is graced with a two-storey patio, three bars— one on each floor—and two coveted balcony tables overlooking Brutopia's small, swelter ing stage. Every Thursday, this stage is Pat Lesyk's home. There is nothing extravagant about Lesyk's show, just a guitar and a man singing into a mike. Yet there is something effortless about his performance and something arresting about his voice that causes even the rowdiest stu dent in the audience to take a second listen. Lesyk principally performs covers of classic pop songs, though never straying from his personal style and sensibilities. He has a gift for empha sizing the stronger elements of all the pieces, his renditions simultaneously authentic and true to their roots. His talent is further exemplified by his ability to gracefully shift genres, demonstrating a repertoire that, by the end of the night, is bound to reach everyone in the audience. Among his favourites are Tracy Chapman, Pink Floyd and the Barenaked Ladies. Lesyk has been playing at Brutopia for five years. Although he has three original CDs and continuously works on his own music, Brutopia provides him with an arena to reinvent old classics and find common ground with an audience. "I like playing for university kids,"comments Lesyk enthusiastically."Every now and then I can get the whole place singing along with me and it's a re ally nice thing." Lesyk also plays at other bars in Montreal, including Ye Old Orchard, Hur leys and Clada. And while one would think that this milieu could often prove trying for a performer, what with disembodied, drunken howls originating from the top floor often threatening to break his concentration, he never misses a beat and the songs are sure to suit anyone's fancy. ■

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B en L emieux Everyone knows of Edward Zwick's films, yet his name has yet to attain the household familiarity of su perstar directors such as Quentin Tarantino or James Cameron. Perhaps not the media savvy icon that the two former have shown themselves to be, Zwick has a num ber of epic cinematic efforts to his credit, Glory, Legends o f the Fall, and The Last Samurai among them. Through out his directorial career, which now spans over two de cades, Zwick has focused on the political and ideological downfall of societies; a prevailing loss of innocence that leads to a population turning inward and committing violence against its own. His latest installment, Blood Diamond, could thus thematically be among the most important movie milestones in his career. As one can surmise from the title, Blood Diamond is a gruesome, picture of Sierra Leone's incredibly brutal and lucrative diamond trade. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is at the forefront of the business, incarnating the self-serving, apolitical, nihilistic Rhodesian anti-hero who smuggles conflict diamonds across the Liberian border. In a stroke of bad luck, Archer is captured and thrown in jail alongside the drifting Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounson), a fisherman from a small village who has been ripped from his family by revolutionary militants and forced into arduous labour in one of Sierra Leone's many desolate jungle mining camps. In prison, Archer hears talk of a remarkably large, invaluable stone that Vandy managed to hide in the jungle outside his camp. The diamond is potentially valuable enough to provide a lifetime of security for Vandy and family and to allow Ar cher an escape from the hellish and psychologically tax ing smuggler's world that he has miraculously survived for so long. Once outside of prison, the two form a mu tually dependent relationship and enlist the aid of the idealistic yet weary Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist who has the means to lead the two men to the buried diamond, but wants to use Archer as an inside informant in a breaking, conceivably explosive in-depth storyon the Sierra Leonean diamond trade and its ties with the apathetic, economically powerful West ern jewel merchants.

ALLM0VIEPH0T0S.COM Blood Diamond presents previously unknown peril.

As can be expected of a Zwick film, Blood Diamond showcases some epic action sequences, as Archer and Vandy move through a war-torn Sierra Leone and a chaotic jungle strewn with soldiers of innumerable al legiances. Zwick's tone is more discernibly political and moralistic than in his other films, yet appropriately so, given that conflict diamonds still account for a substan tial portion of the international market. As with The Last Samurai and The Siege, the pacing is effortlessly vigorous, yet still allows ample room for character development and self-actualization. DiCaprio— whose performances here and in The Departed denote a manifestly competent actor at the top of his game— plays Archer with equal parts vitriol and empathy. He seamlessly internalizes the conflict raging within the African continent and offers a gleam of redemption from a formerly guiltless soldier and smuggler capable of great misdeeds. The up-andcoming Hounsou provides noteworthy, spellbinding onscreen intensity; his portrait of a man of heartbreak ing simplicity and soulfulness and his struggle to reunite with his family tells the story of millions of Africans who have lost their lives and loved ones to civil war, never once verging on cliché or appearing insincere. Blood Diamond is a breathtaking opus of humanity and hopefulness in a world that is sorely lacking both. It incontestably ranks among the best films of 2006, as well as among Zwick's finest efforts. ■ .

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Sports

HOCKEY— MARTLETS 3, OTTAWA 1

Martlets take Theresa Humes Tourney McGill trounces tenth-ranked Ottawa despite injuries M att C hesser Playing their second game in less than 24 hours and having to cope with a makeshift defence, one could have forgiven the McGill Martlets for backing down in the face of a physical Ottawa Gee-Gees squad that was fresh off an upset of the fourthranked Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks. But that wouldn't have been an effort befitting the number one team in the country. On the strength of a gritty game-winning goal by freshman forward Alyssa Cecere and a sparkling 27 save performance by goaltender Charline Labonté, the Martlets eked out a 3-1 victory over the Gee-Gees in semi-final action at the Theresa Humes Tournament on Saturday. "Ottawa's a real battling kind of team—that game wasn't going to be decided on skill. It was all about hard work," Head Coach Peter Smith said. "But that's two games in a row we've played only four defensemen the whole way and they've just been superb." Out-manned but not out-played The Martlets entered the tournament without the services of three of their six blueliners: Kayla Hobday, Lisa Zane and Catherine Ward. Hobday and Zane are both nursing undisclosed injuries, while Ward is overseas in Germany playing for the Canadian under-22 National Women's Team. With only three defenders remaining on his de pleted roster, Smith was forced to pair Kailey Robert son, a second year forward, with veteran rearguard Gillian Merrifield. While Robertson was solid in a role she was clearly unaccustomed to, Merrifield shone, dominating play in her own end while also scoring the opening goal for McGill. "It's tough, when you're down to four defensemen. It's a lot of ice time," Merrifield said. "But con ditioning has been a focus all year and this is good preparation for the end of the season." Labonté steps up yet again Merrifield and her teammates were aided by yet another excellent performance from freshman goaltender Charline Labonté, who has lost only one game in a McGill uniform. The Gee-Gees outshot the Martlets 28-20 but Labonté turned away her opponents from the nation's capital on all but one occasion. "My defence played absolutely amazing in front of me today," Labonté said. "I don't know if I've ever seen them play that well, and they just made

my job very easy. There may have been a lot of shots, but almost all of them were from the outside. They gave up so few quality chances." Labonté was beaten only on an odd goal by Ottawa forward Ashley Burrill that deflected off a Martlet stick and snuck over Labonté's shoulder, just barely crossing the goal line before being swept away. The best save of a stellar night for Labonté came with less than three minutes remaining in the game, when she used her glove to bat down a Sarah Balch shot that was labelled for the top corner. "Ottawa is. such a hard working team that never quits on a game," Labonté said. "Coming back to hockey so soon after Christmas, I felt like it took us a while to get our timing back and Ottawa gave us a big challenge." Power play and getting to the net generate goals The Martlets took advantage of Ottawa's pen alty woes to notch two goals, including the gamewinner. With the game tied 1-1 in the first period and the Martlets on the man-advantage, Cecere picked up a rebound off a Vanessa Davidson slapshot, spun away from an Ottawa defender while parked in front of the net and managed to jam the puck past goaltender Megan Takeda. Centre Brittany Privée would add to the lead in the third period, corralling a Rebecca Martindale shot that clanged off the post and beat Takeda through the five-hole. Like Cecere's goal, the insur ance tally was scored by a forward who was willing to take a beating in order to stand in front of the net. "We all play a physical game," Cecere said. "Against a team like Ottawa, that never quits, you have to be willing to pay the price." Despite posting a loss, Ottawa's Takeda came up with several spectacular saves to keep her team in the game, none better than when she flashed the leather on a Shauna Denis top-corner shot with less than two minutes to play in the game. The win for McGill was preceded by an 8-3 shel lacking of fifth-ranked Queen's in the tournament quarter-finals on Friday afternoon. Forward Chris tine Hartnoll had three goals and an assist to power the Martlets to victory in their first game since Dec. 3.They would go on to cap off the weekend Sunday with a 3-1 come-from-behind win over host Concor dia to take the gold medal. Davidson scored twice as McGill scored three goals in 80 seconds midway through the second period to claim the mid-season tournament. ■

LUKAS BERGMARK

The Marlets skated circles around a hapless Gee-Gee defence.

THIRD MAN IN

Sometimes numbers lie hen the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl last year, many were in disbelief—a six-seed win ning the championship had never appeared to be possible. However admirable the Steelers' performance in the 2006 playoffs was, it certainly should not have been so shocking. The wins over the third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals, the second-seeded Denver Broncos and the top-ranked In dianapolis Colts were thought of as "upsets," but when look ing at Pittsburgh's strength of schedule as opposed to simply its regular season record, it can easily be seen that in 2005, the Steelers were just as strong, if not better, than the socalled "superior" teams. The victorious Steelers had the fifth most difficult schedule in the NFL as their opponents had a winning per centage of 53-1 per cent. Of the six AFC teams who made the 2006 playoffs, only the Bengals endured a tougher road to the postseason. Pittsburgh's victory over the Colts in the divi sional round was automatically termed an historic surprise as the once infallible Colts boasted a 14-2 regular season record. However, while Manning and Company may have been tear ing apart defences around the league, the Colts did not have much of a journey to earn the number one-seed. Indianapo

lis ranked 22nd out of the 32 NFL teams in terms of strength of schedule with its opponents having won only 48.4 per cent of its games. Thus, it can easily be seen that, based on their opponents' records, the Steelers' march to Super Bowl XL wasn't so astounding. As we entered the 2007 NFL playoffs this past week end, many pundits continued to laud teams with impressive regular season records despite obviously pathetic schedules. The Chicago Bears are the prime example.The Bears own the NFC's best record at 13-3 and began the season with seven straight victories, prompting many analysts to declare the Bears to be "the best team in football." While the Bears may have bolted out of the gates, Chicago only played one play off team during that span— an injury-ravaged Seattle Seahawks who were without Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and 2006 NFL MVP running back Shaun Alexander. To say that the Bears are overrated would be an understate ment: Chicago has clearly benefited from a cream-puff NFC North schedule that was the softest among all NFL playoff teams. In fact, the Bears only played four playoff teams—the New York Giants and Jets, the New England Patriots and the Seahawks— during the entire regular season.

P aul S chw artzm an

The AFC is no different than the NFC in terms of over rated squads. Many have tabbed the San Diego Chargers to win this year's Super Bowl but everyone suffers from a col lective amnesia in regards to San Diego's schedule—they benefited from playing the Oakland Raiders twice and being matched with the NFC West this season. If seedings are based purely on raw records without consideration for schedules and opponents, how can we term any one play off game as an "upset?”We can't. Football fans and analysts have become so wrapped up in the standings that they have forgotten a crucial axiom in sports—a team should not simply be judged on how they've performed but rather on who they have had to perform against. If we judge only on standings, why not predict a San Diego-Chicago Super Bowl right now? Why even bother with a playoff system? If based purely on records and wins, then the top two teams in the NFL should advance directly to a final showdown for all the marbles; after all, they have proven to be the cream of the football crop. If we don't employ this type of system, then we need to start taking into account factors other than how many crappy teams are beat up on. And right at the top of the list is strength of schedule. ■

The McGill Tribune

18 • Sports • 09.01.07

NFL PLAYOFFS— SECOND ROUND PREVIEW

Get your work done on Friday... Chicago Bears vs. Seattle Seahawks

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens

They say "defence wins championships."The Bears, had better' hope that maxim is true. Chicago looked absolutely dominant early in the season, with both the offence and defence performing at a (high level. But since then, conditions have soured considerably for the Bears: Quarterback Rex Grossman has struggled mightily and: the defence has come back down to earth with the losses of safety Vi ike Brown and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris. That being said, the Bears should still be favoured here.The de fence has the playmakers in Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Nathan Vasher to generate enough turnovers and points to carry the team while home field advantage could be the decisive factor. Winning football games in Chicago after Christmas is all about running the 'ball and while the Bears have two capable backs in Thomas Jones ■ and Cedric Benson and a top five run defence, the Seahawks have struggled to stop the run while Seattle's own running back Shaun 'Alexander is currently suffering from a bad case of the Madden jinx. Seattle, for its part, lucked its way into the second round. I he Cowboys had them on the ropes in their wild-card matchup only to watch Tony Romo cough up the game on a play Bill Buckner and Patrick Stefan thought was a gimme. The Seahawks have struggled; all season long with an injury-depleted roster and erratic, play on ■ both sides of the ball. Barring a Rex Grossman clinic on how to throw interceptions,: (the Bears should be able to once again beat a crippled and under-' (performing Seattle team— having pounded them 37-6 in week four) (of the regular season.

Indianapolis heads into Baltimore after an impressive win over the Kansas City Chiefs in which they held mercurial RB Larry Johnson to a paltry 32 yards on the ground. The Colts, however, countered with a strong running game of their own as rookie Joseph Addai rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning won the game despite throwing three interceptions in yet another mediocre playoff performance. While Indianapolis was dominant over the Chiefs, the Ra vens pose a much different challenge. Baltimore gave up the fewest number of points during the regular season with LB Ray Lewis leading the charge on defence. Manning will also have his hands full through the air as the Ravens boast the number one-ranked defence against the pass spearheaded by a Pro Bowl secondary featuring defensive backs Chris McAlister and Ed Reed. On the other side of the ball, Steve McNair returns to the postseason along with a veteran offence featuring the power running back Jamal Lewis and tight end Todd Heap. This game will be close and low-scoring, with the winner being the team that makes the fewest mistakes. McNair must provide the Ravens with mistake free offence, as the Baltimore defence will have their day with Manning who always seems to wilt under the pressure as he advances deeper into the play offs. Also, with the game being played outdoors, Indy's high flying offence will be further neutralized by the grass surface and cold temperatures not encountered in the friendly con fines of the RCA Dome.

Prediction: Bears 20, Seahawks 9 — Trip Yang and Charlie Blore

Prediction: Ravens 17 , Colts 10 — Paul Schwartzman

New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints

The top-seeded San Diego Chargers secured a bye to the sec ond round on the strength of their league best 14-2 record. The key to their success this season has undoubtedly been the NFL's Most Valuable Player, RB LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 1815 yards and produced a record 31 touchdowns. Head Coach Marty Schottenheiemer has created a powerful offence around Tomlinson featuring rookie Philip Rivers at quarterback and stand out Antonio Gates at tight end. On the other side of the ball, San Diego fields a punishing defence with Shawne Merrim-an, Donnie Edwards, Randall Godfrey and Shaun Williams forming the premier linebacking corps in the NFL. It would be foolish, however, to overlook the winners of three of the last five Super Bowls, the New England Patriots, who have flown under the radar for much of this season despite posting a 12-4 record. Football mastermind Bill Belichick and his-team have a vast amount of playoff experience and know what is necessary for a successful run as displayed in their 37-16 hammering o f the New York Jets on Sunday. QBTom Brady is the heart of the New England offence and is one of the most reliable postseason performers in sports history. Brady will look for ground support from the running back tandem of Corey Dillon and rookie Laurence Maroney while relying on a solid, unspectacular defensive unit to keep the Chargers at bay. The key to this game, of course, will be the performance ofTom linson. If Belichick can somehow do what no other coach has done and concoct a plan to shut down the running back, the Patriots can pull off the upset; if not, however, they will have no chance against the Chargers' potent attack.

The Eagles travel to New Orleans, where a fast and restec Saints team is ready to host its first playoff game since 2000. Philadelphia is coming off an emotional 23-20 win at hom e| over the New York Giants and will have a short week to pre pare, so look for them to start sluggishly on Saturday. If they; can keep the game close in the first half, their balance on both: sides of the ball could frustrate New Orleans into turning the ball over and creating lapses in coverage. The Eagles have been the hottest team in the NFC since 1 quarterback Jeff Garcia took over for the injured Donovan; i Mcnabb. Throw in running back Brian Westbrook and wide ! receiver Donte Stallworth and the Eagles will have ample op portunity to score points against a weak Saints defence. The Saints will therefore need to fire quickly. New Orleans has waited a long time for a real playoff contender and the highly emotional crowd will be a big factor to start the game. ■ It's been a tall task for opposing teams to come into the Bayou (land win since the Saints returned to the city after playing a | season in San Antonio in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. If they* jfcan keep the fans in the game, early success will snowball I throughout. The Eagles can win any kind of game, but the Saints will only win if it's a shootout. Reggie Bush can be explosive, but' his impact is often overstated. In reality, the Saints'fate lies in ■ the hands of quarterback Drew Brees. If he can avoid costly : turnovers but still spread the secondary, we could see a 300: yard day from him.

Prediction: Saints 34, Eagles 20

Prediction: Chargers 24, Patriots 21 -Mike Vallo

— David Campana |

Floor Fellow , Don, M O R E Fello"'

2 0 0 7 -2 0 0 8 A re

you thinking about th e next academic year yet?

I f you like people and you are interested in a challenging and rewarding student leadership position, why not apply to be a Floor Fellow, Don or MORE Fellow at McGill Residences? The deadline fo r submission o f applications is Monday, January 29th, 2007 before 5:00 p.m. Please check our website: www.mcaill.ca/residences/floorfellow on how to apply.

FROM THE CHEAP SEATS

Matt S egal

Wishful thinking for a new

I doubt I will ever have the clout to affect real change in I our world. If you find my outlook a tad jaded, just reI member that I don't write for the other campus news paper or major in International Development. So at the dawn of 2007, I'm much more interested in New Year's Resolutions than New Year's Revolutions. In a similar vein, I doubt I'll ever be able to change the way that sports are played; instead, I'll focus on how they are covered. And armed with my very own column, I have some recom mendations for the upcoming 12 months. I suppose 2006 was a decent year for athletics. Alongside the quadrennials, like the World Cup and the Winter Olympics, there were the annuals: the doping scandals, March Madness buzzer beaters, the Super Bowl and the hundred or so inane college bowl games, the Tiger fist-pumps, basket-brawls and of course, the all-too familiar urge to bludgeon JoeTheismann. Yes, the sports media has a lot of room for improvement, but it will be difficult. First, I hope the press will acquire a new sense of perspective in 2007. Remember Barbara? You know, the horse with four legs— one leg of the Triple Crown and only three healthy ones of his own? How could anyone forget, considering the monthly'horsey health updates' appearing in the national media. Perhaps this is just pan dering to fan reaction—according to various reports, Barbara has received quantities of holy water from both Lourdes and the Jordan River to help heal his broken leg. Never before has such a cult of personality formed around a creature with no personality. Might I remind you that the horse won jpst one big race? This is a new year, though and hopefully the pony express ended on Dec. 31. The media in Canada could benefit from turning over i new (maple) leaf too. This year, there should be no more over-hyping Steve Nash. We know thatTSN is tickled to have a star Canuck in the NBA and Nash is nice enough to play along during interviews. But the guy is neither an ambassador of our values nor is he every young Canadian athlete's idol. The Nash-ional identity angle is insulting to the audience's intelligence. On the same note, if Canadian networks are guilty of over-hyp ing Nash, the American networks are equally guilty of selling him short; they must learn to deal with the fact that the stocky white dude is the two-time Most Valu able Player because he has been the single greatest dif ference-maker over the past two years. In 2007, 1 hope the NBA analysts appreciate Nash's substance, even though his style is less marketable then a LeBron or a pre-rape Kobe. Back on our side of the border, 2007 should be the first year of absolutely no hockey talk during the months of July and August, as well as most of September. Lead ing off Sportscentre on 32 degree days with commenta tors prattling on about The Frozen Game — emphasis on frozen— is just unacceptable. Do they not have any sym pathy for poor Bob McKenzie, who never gets to spend any time at the buffet anymore? With his heavy offsea son workload, the Insider is looking as svelte as ever. This new annum is, like always, filled with "no mores": No more sexed up stoues about Terrell Owens's misbehaviour— if there was a fire every time reporters thought they smelled smoke, the entire state of Texas would still be smoldering. No more Chevy, Mellencamp or'This Is Our Country." No more rationalizing Gil Meche contracts or calling it a good move when a team guaran tees more than four years to any pitcher, for that matter (see Zito, Barry). No more CFL. Ever. No more watching soccer or figure skating until 2010. No more "chasing history" in game cutaways for Ryan Howard nearing Maris's 61 homeruns—face it FOX, the record is 73. No more Bob Cole, Bill Walton, Suzy Kolber or Raiders games on Mon day night. No more making excuses for Brett Favre's di minished play or touting the genius of Phil Jackson... I could go on. But by now, the elusive question is obvious: If I find that so much is wrong with the way sports are presented, why can't Ijust look the other way? Unfortunately, that's one resolution I stand no chance of keeping, so I don't even bother. ■

09.01.07 • The McGill Tribune • 19

www.mcgilltribune.com

L ast C

Sports Briefs

a ll

compilëd by C harlie Blore and A aron Sigal

STANDINGS Hockey (W)

OTL p

McGill

Hockey (M)

OTL

Volleyball (M)

McGill

Laval

Montreal

Ottawa

UQTR

Carleton

Ottawa

Sherbrooke

Concordia

11 2

McGill

ON DECK Redmer Hockey— Concordia Stingers at McGill Redmen; Saturday, 7 p.m„ McConnell Arena | | They're back! They're finally back! After not having played in front of a home crowd since November, the Redmen finally return to the comfy confines of McConnell Arena. It's been a . brutal stretch for the team who has won just two of their last eight games.They'll look to rebound against a Stingers squad who they hammered 8-3 early in the season. Redmen Basketball— Bishop's Gaiters at McGill Redmen; Saturday, 8 p.m„ Currie Gymnasium ^ The regular season starts up in earnest. After playing in a " number of pre-Christmas tournaments and exhibition games, the 3-2 Redmen return to playing some games that matter, f : The team is currently sitting in second place in the Quebec division of the CIS. They will look to put some distance * between themselves and their rivals from Laval with a win 11 over the Gaiters who are struggling at 1-5. Martlets Basketball— Laval Rouge et Or at McGill Martlets; Sunday, 6 p.m., Currie Gymnasium 1 The Martlets are also kicking off the more serious portion of their regular season.They currently sit in third place with a 11 respectable 2-3 record and hold a game in hand on the other I teams in the division.They will be in tough against the 6-0 I Rouge et Or though. Consider this a measuring stick game. NHL Hockey— Hockey Day in Canada; Saturday, 12 p.m., CBC ;. HDIC returns for the seventh installment of what is rapidly becoming an annual tradition. This year's host city is Nelson, f B.C. which was the birthplace of NHL stars Danny Gare, Pat Price and Greg Adams, not to mention Lester and Frank Patrick who revolutionized the game by introducing the blue f ! lines, the forward pass, penalty shots and the playoff system. * * The day features an all-Canadian triple header of Montreal at Ottawa, Vancouver at Toronto and Edmonton at Calgary. NFL Football— New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers; Sunday, 4:30 p.m., Qualcomm Stadium, CBS ! Is this the real Super Bowl? The old standard will take on the I new kid on the block in what could be one of the hardest ; games to handicap in the history of pro-football. Will Phillip Rivers continue his strong play or will Bill Bellichick's schemes J make him go Peyton Manning? Will LaDainian Tomlinson | deliver the goods in his first postseason game? Well all have j to tune in to find out.

If you made a resolution to get involved in an important school activity, do not read the rest of this ad. For the rest of you, write for sports! Email us at sports@ mcgilltribune.com or drop by Shatner 110

BOX SCORE Saturday, January 6,2007 McGill Martlets 3 vs. Ottawa Gee-Gees 1 Ed Meagher Arena SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: 1. McGill - Gillian Merrifîeld (K. Robertson, A. Soberano) 9:36 2. Ottawa - Ashley Burill (K. Kerr, S. Balch) 11:45 3. McGill - Alyssa Cecere (K. Elzinga, V. Davidson) 16:28 (PP) SECOND PERIOD: (no scoring)

Basketball Redmen get swarmed by Stingers Guard Dwayne Buckley scored 28 points and pulled down seven boards as Concordia defeated McGill 67-59 in Quebec men's university basketball Saturday. Buckley hit io-of-18 from the field and was 6-for-n from the line as the first-place Stingers improved to 7-0 in Quebec conference play. McGill, which fell to 3-2, got 21 points from senior Sean Anthony and 13 from sophomore Louis-Philippe Lagredelle. Anthony drained 8-o f-i 6 attempts from the field and was 5for-8 from the free throw line. He also had a team-high six re bounds to go along with a pair of steals and one assist. Lagre delle was 4-for-ii from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe while notching four rebounds, three stealsand an assist.

Redmen storm the capital Winger Marko Kovacevic scored a goal and added two assists as McGill shook off the rust from a 33-day exam-holiday layoff to post a hard-earned 4-2 victory at Ottawa in men's university hockey on Friday. Four sophomores scored for the fifth-ranked Redmen, who won for the sixth time in seven road games this season. With the victory, McGill improved to 9-3-3-1 and moved into a first-place tie with idle UQTR (92-1-3). Kovacevic gave the Redmen a 1-0 first period lead, and later added a pairof helpers in the second when the Redmen exploded for three goals in a span of four minutes and eight seconds. Sam Bloom, Daniel Pharand and Guillaume De mers all tallied for McGill as they outshot the Gee-Gees 31-24.

Redmen rewarded for soccer excellence Three members of the McGill Redmen have earned all conference honours in voting conducted by the Quebec conference men's soccer coaches. In addition, McGill head coach Philippe Eullaffroy was named as the league's Coach of the Year. Redmen striker James Scholefield was selected to the first team along with teammates and midfielders Olivier Brett and Vaughn Richards. Eullaffroy became the team's first Coach of the Year recipient in six seasons. After missing the 2005 playoffs with a 5-6-1 record, the sopho more head coach guided the Redmen to a 6-3-3 mark this season, good for third place in the seven-team division.

THIRD PERIOD: 4. McGill - Brittany Privée (unassisted) 9:19 (PP) GOALTENDERS: McGill: Charline Labonté (W, 1GA, 28 saves, 60:00) Ottawa: Megan Takeda (L, 3GA, 25 saves, 58:40) Empty Net (oGA, 1:20) SHOTS BY PERIOD: TEAM 1 2 3 - - Total McGill 14 4 10 --2 8 Ottawa 10 910 - 29

BOX SCORE Friday, January 5,2007 McGill Redmen 4 vs. Ottawa Gee-Gees 2 uOttawa Sports Complex

PENALTIES (No./Mins): McGill: 5/10 Ottawa: 8/16

SCORING SUMMARY

POWER PLAYS (Goals/Chances) McGill: 2/8 Ottawa: 0/5

FIRST PERIOD: 1. McGill - Marko Kovacevik 2 (K. Morin, S. Bloom), 4:28 SECOND PERIOD: 2. McGill - Sam Bloom 7 (E. L'Italien, M. Kovacevik), 9:53 (PP) 3. McGill - Daniel Pharand 1 (Lambert, Arsenault), 13:38 4 . McGill - Guillaume Demers 6 (E. L'Italien, M. Kovacevik), 14:01 (PP)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Christine Hartnoll, McGill REFEREE: Sonia Clement

SACK OF THE WEEK The Holiday Season's Winner: Nick Saban — Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide Football Program There were so many excellent nominees for this award that just to be named in this category should truly be con sidered an honour— read disgrace. From first time offenders like Alexander Ovechkin for his cheap shot on Daniel Briere and Carmelo Anthony for his sucker punch (if you can call it a punch) during the Knicks-Nuggets brawl to old stand-bys like Mike Tyson getting arrested for drug possession and Ter rell Owens spitting in an opponent's face. Amidst all this wayward behaviour one man managed to separate himself from the rest: The ex-Dolphins' bench boss. It's not the fact that Saban abandoned a sinking ship in Miami that won him this prestigious award though; rather, it's the way he,did it. Just days before accepting the Alabama job and with rumors of the move swirling through the sports world, Saban faced the Miami media— presumably with his pants already on fire— and told them that he would "never be the coach of Alabama." How close the coach and the pro gram were to reaching an agreement at that point is unclear but it's safe to assume that they were already engaged in se rious negotiations. So why deny the reports so unequivocal ly? He could easily have chosen from a wide variety of other clichés like "I'll consider my options at season's end" or "That's not something I'm considering at this time" or simplest of all, "No comment." Instead, Saban went out of his way to hit Dol phins fans with the door on his way out. ■

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THIRD PERIOD: 5. Ottawa - Sean Grady 1 (J. Smith, P. Bilodeau), 3:56 6. Ottawa - Corey MacDonald 3 (C. Priolo, P.A. LeBlanc), 15:12 GOALTENDERS: McGill: Jean-Michel Filiatrault (W, 3-1-1; 2 GA, 22 saves, 60:00) Ottawa: Martin Bricault (L, 4-6-1; 4 GA, 27 saves) SHOTS BY PERIOD TEAM i 2 3 --Total McGill: 1 1 1 3 7 - 3 1 Ottawa: 5 811 - 24 POWER PLAY (Goals / Chances): McGill: 2/9 Ottawa: 0/5 PENALTIES (No./Minutes): McGill: 10/20 Ottawa: 14/36 REFEREE: Coleman MOLSON CUP THREE STARS: 1. Marko Kovacevic, McGill 2. Louis-Simon Allaire, McGill 3. Sam Bloom, McGill

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S S M U M in i-C o u rs e s : F u n , in e x p e n s iv e , n o n - c r e d it c o u r s e s h e ld in th e S h a tn e r a n d b ro w n B u ild in g s . C h e c k th e w e b s it e a t s s im i.m c g ill.c a / m in i o r c o n t a c t u s a t m in i@ s s m u .m c g ill.c a . Argentinean Tango

Breakdancing

French

Freedom, grace and elegance through Argentinean tango. Explore a centuries old dance that has enthralled nations around the globe. Quickly gain basic knowledge to be able to dance Argentinean tango the way it was meant to be: free of constraints and of strict boundaries. Come mix and mingle, and learn faim an easy -going professional enthusiast. No partner required; just you, your good humour, and your feet. This program promotes superior physical health for your body and mind. Cost and Schedule: $45 Beginners: Tuesdays 8-9:30pm Intermediate: T uesdays 9-1 Opm

This course is an introduction to the wild style of breakdance. As we leam the foundations of toprocking, footwork, and freezes, we will explore the essential elements of style rhythm and movement invention. Bring your knee pads! (Although the class is for beginners, some moves may be physically challenging.) Cost and Schedule: $45 Wednesdays 8-9pm

Want to travel to France but cannot speak the language? Or are you just having trouble getting around outside the McGill Bubble? Get a grip on all the French you need to get around in ary Francophonecity around the world. The beginner’s I class is a complete introduction to the course, while beginner’s I and intermediate are for students who still remember their high school French, Cost and Schedule: $45 Beginner I Section I: Tuesdays 5-6:30pm Beginner II Section 1: Mondays 4-5:30pm Beginner II Section 2: Wednesdays 4 :15 -5:45pm Intermediate I Section I: Tuesdays 745-9:15pm Intermediate I Section 2: Wednesdays 6:00-7:30pm Intermediate II: Mondays 6:45-8:15pm

Flamenco Dancing Flamenco is a highly rhythmic art form that originates from Spain. This dynamic and original dance course involves learning basic rhythms, highly musical footwork, and the artful movements of this electrifying dance. Buying special footwear will NOT be required for the purposes of this class. Cost and Schedule: $45 Tuesdays 4:30-5:45pm

Ballroom Dancing Add a new dimension to your life! Enhance your appreciation of music and awaken your dancing genes. Ballroom dancing is not only fun, it a great way to get active and meet people (no partner required I). This course focuses on the Viennese Waltz, Slow Waltz, Foxtrot, and Tango. It's a wonderful stress reliever exactly what the professor ordered. Cost and Schedule: $45 Wednesdays4:30-6pm

Salsa Everybody likes to say ‘Salsa!" Just like the music, the dance is also a wild mix of everything - emotions, tempos, spins, dips, drops, syncopations, a little Mambo here, a little Cha Cha there, perhaps a pinch of Argentine. Cost and Schedule: $45 Beginner Section I: Tuesdays 7-8pm Beginner Section 2: Thursdays 6:30-7:30pm Intermediate: Thursdays 7:30-8:30pm

Intro to Bartending Think your drinks could use a bit more creativity? Be the best host around with this new found skill. During this amazing-value class, you will familiarize yourself with shaking, equipment set up, fruits and garnishes, glassware and of course preparation (and tasting!) of various classic cocktails and drinks. This is meant to be an introductory bartending course - you will not receive an official certificate for having participated. Cost and Schedule: $60 From 6-9pm on the following dates: Section I : Friday Jan 19,26 Section 2: Thursday Jan 25 ,Feb 1 Section 3: Friday Feb 2 ,9 Section 4: Thursday Feb 8,15

Wine Tasting Appreciation Feel helpless when a waiter has you sample your bottle of wine at a restaurant? Here’s your chance to leam why you swirl, what to smell for, and where the best wines of the world come from. Taught at the Masters School of Bartending, enjoy our 3 hour course taught by an experienced sommelier. And don't worry, you’ll get to taste the wines as well. Cost and Schedule: $60 Section I : Fri. Feb9'h4-7pm. Section 2: Fri. Feb 2nd4-7pm

Guitar Have you always wanted to master this instrument but never got the chance? Even got a guitar, but private lessons were so expensive that you decided to forget about it? Our extremely popular Guitar class is the solution - here’s your chance to leam all those popular songs that you love to sing to. Get your roommate’s guitar and leam guitar at a fraction of the price of private lessons! Cost and Schedule: $45 Beginner Level 1: Monday 6:30-8pm Beginner Level 2: Wednesdays 7:30-9pm Intermediate: Mondays 8-9:30pm

Pilâtes (Mates is a wonderful exercise system focused on improving flexibility and strength for the entire body without building bulk. Watch as your body becomes toned throughout the semester as you leam a series of controlled movements engaging your body and mind. Cost and Schedule: $50 Wednesdays7-8pm

Yoga Kripalu Yoga calms the body and calms the mind, creating inner stillness. This hatha yoga practice tones and strengthens muscles, increases flexibility, oxygenates the blood, improves the immune response and integrates mind and body. You will leave energized yet relaxed, ready to face whatever else is going on in your life. Cost and Schedule: $45 Thursdays 4-5pm

Kick-boxing Take advantage of our brand new kickboxing equipment and get fit in the process! This course offers a unique opportunity to be introduced to the dynamic techniques of kickboxing, to leam a practical mean of self-defense and to workout a complete regimen of physical conditioning. Footwork, kicks, flying-kicks, punches, spinning-punches, blocking and weaving techniques are all taught. In addition, practical techniques from other martial arts - especially Thai-boxing and Tae Kwon Do, will be taught when necessary . Cost and Schedule: $45 Section 1: T uesdays 6-7pm Section 2: Wednesdays 6-7pm

Self-Defense Seminar Walking home alone at night? Make sure you have the tools to protect yourself in any potentially dangerous situation. This course will teach you to heighten your awareness and accurately read your intuition in order to avoid violence, aggression and confrontation. This course will also teach you to evaluate potentially dangerous situations and do what you can to avoid problems. Cost and Schedule: $30 Saturday January 201>11-3pm

Cooking Tired of eating canned food?? In this class you will prepare Italian risottos, gnocchi, and some Tunisian dishes as well as a dessert class. Pasta dishes and meat dishes will be included in the menu. You get to take home left-overs if there are any!! Cost and Schedule: $65 (5 week course) Section 1: Tue. 5:307:30pm Section 2: Wed. 6-8pm

Massage Think your loved ones love you? They’ll love you more when you finish this class; this is one skill you just have to master! Swedish Massage is one of the oldest types of oil based massage. Its origins go as far back as Egypt and are as young as the Swede who developed it. Leam the basics of this popular massage in a relaxing and fun environment. Partners recommended. Cost and Schedule: $65 Section I : Tuesdays 5 -7pm Section 2: Tuesdays 7 :15-9:15pm

Reflexology Leant the basics of Integral Reflexology. Experiment where and how to apply massage on you (or others) to get quick relief of pain or reduce tension and discomfort in your daily life. Knowing that reflexology is based on map representation of the body in hands and feet, a self-massage can stimulate zones that correspond to glands, organs or systems to induce beneficial effect into the body itself. Get easy tools and tricks, that you can use anywhere at anytime, to lead you towards wellness. All of this the natural way in a relaxing and fun environment! Cost aid Schedule: $55 Wednesdays 4:306pm

Mandarin Have you ever wondered how over one billion people can communicate via pictures instead of letters? Take this beginners class and leam all about the Chinese language and culture! You don’t need any prior knowledge of this language to register. Cost and Schedule: $45 Mondays45:30pm

Arabic Don’t miss out on learning this beautifully scripted language! Our beginners class, taught by our very experienced instructor, will teach you the basics of spoken and written Arabic. ‘Cause you never know when that too- good-to- be-true job will pop up in the Middle East! Cost and Schedule: $45 Beginners: Tuesdays 4:30-6pm Intermediate: T uesdays 6-7:30 pm

French Conversational Do you already understand the majority of everything you hear but just want to practice speaking? Then take advantage of our French Conversation course, which has a tiny class size to maximize your speaking practice. Cost and Schedule: $50 Section I: Mon. 5:30-6:30pm Section 2: Tuesdays 4 -5pm Section 3 : Tue. 6:45-7:45pm

Spanish Need to brush up the Spanish skills for your next vacation to Mexico or Spain? We’ve hired an extremely experienced teacher with first hand teaching experience in Mexico who will make sure you fall in love with the Spanish Language and Culture! Cost and Schedule: $45 Beginner: Wednesdays 5:45 -7:15pm Intermediate: Wednesdays 7 :15-8:45pm

Capoeria Capoeira, a martial art, is an amalgamation of fighting style, dance, rhythm of body and spirit. It has evolved within a particular historical and social context, in conjunction with varied cultural influences within the vast country of Brazil. It was created by the Brazilian people but adapted for the entire world. Capoeira is considered by many as a fight disguised as a dance and by others as a dance hidden within the fight. Cost and Schedule: $50 Thursdays 5 -6:30pm

Speedreading Run by the Harris Institute, this extremely popular speed reading course is once again being offered at McGill. This 1-day class always gets rave reviews and regularly has students improving 50150% in reading speed, while also helping them improve comprehension and retention. Cost and Schedule: $55 Section 1: Saturday Jan 27s' 9:30-4:30pm Section 2: Sunday Feb4"' 9:30-4:30pm

**P lease note that course schedule is subject to change; please refer to the website for final details.

Sign up for a mini course and get the chance to win a brand new cellphone handset worth 500!!! (Supplied by authorized Rogers Wireless dealer, Wireless Zone Communications). Come check out their booth at Activities night and at Snow AP on January 11 and January 12 for amazing McGill exclusive cellphone deals! Or get the chance to win 1 of 3 $30 gift certificates for photocopying and printing for use at Konica Minolta! (Supplied by KONICA MINOLTA Konica Minolta)