The McGill Tribune Vol. 26 Issue 19

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O P IN IO N LAYS T H E S M A C K D O W N , » S TA R TIN G O N PAGE 8

O N T H E C H E A P : S A N D W IC H E S , W IN E A N D V A C A T IO N S , PAGE 11

V olum e26 Issue 19 • February 6,2007

www.mcgilltribune.com

Published by the Students' Society of McGill University

Direct democracy back on campus Go with the bloodflow G e t t in g y o u r v a m p ir e fr e a k o n Jo hn S emley Following the success of 2005 's sell-out sleeper hit,

Johnny Canuck and The Last Burlesque, Mainline Theatre

returns with another theatrical display of carnality, the carnivalesque and all things camp. In a noble effort to shake you out of your midwinter malaise, Mainline presents the Montreal premiere of Vampire Lesbians o f Sodom, Charles Busch's revisionist off-Broadway classic.

The story follows the rivalry of two blood-thirsty vixens as they traverse space and time, seeking fame, fortune and of course, the precious plasma of unspoiled virgins. From a sacrifice gone awry in the Old Testament landscape of ancient Sodom to the roarin'twenties back­ drop of Hollywood, where the two have become com­ petitors for roles on the silver screen, to the unseemly Showgirl lounges of mid-eighties Las Vegas where the See BABES on page

16

"Wait, w hat are we voting on?" General Assembly participants raise their ballots to vote on this semester's hot topics.

K ate S pirgen Last Thursday's General Assembly saw blood drives return to the forefront of student debate. Some motions, such as one mandat­ ing that Students' Society executives report to the GA on their progress implementing previous motions, one directing SSMU to proclaim February Black History month and another adopting a sustainability policy, were passed with little dissent. But others, such as a motion requiring SSMU to stand for free ed­ ucation and two motions concerning blood drives, were the subjects of heated debate.

The free education motion was even­ tually passed after a somewhat lengthy de­ bate, but the last motions on the agenda, one of which would have opened the Shat-

ner building to blood drives run by student groups other than SSMU and the last calling for a campus-wide vote on the issue of blood drives in the building were both declared un­ constitutional by Speaker Corey Shefman.

While the decision angered quite a few attendees, some of whom had waited hours specifically to vote on the motions, Shefman was confident in his decision to wait until the motions came up at the assembly to make the declaration of unconstitutionally.

"There was no function to allow me to explain that it was unconstitutional until it was addressed by the assembly," he said.

"Robert's Rules says that if a decision will be controversial that the speaker should make the ruling and ask for an appeal and that's exactly what I did."

Evan Singer, who put forward the mo­ tion to allow blood drives not run by SSMU into Shatner, did have some idea that his motion would be declared unconstitutional on the basis that any function in the Shatner building can be considered a SSMU endea­ vour.

"The understanding before the GA was that one way or another, it was going to go to the Judicial Board," he said, adding that he intends to appeal the decision. "It was going to have to happen one way or another. This way the J-Board gets the final say” Marc-Andre Rousseau, whose call for a vote on blood drives was declared unconsti­ tutional, was disappointed at the ruling beSee LOW on page 6

Unfortunately, the vampire lesbians were unable to attend the GA because it was held before sunset.

m is w e e k in M c G ill A th le tic s .. www.atiri rks.mcgUi.ca 0

Basketball Martlets & Redm en

H ockey

Volleyball

Red men Fri. Feb. 9th Sun. Feb. 11th -7P M M ardets 5»PM (W ) & 8PM (M ) Saturday Feb. 10th - 6PM vs. U Q T R at McConnell Arena vs. Concordia u McGUI 5 port* C o tu p ia

PLAYOFFS

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COVERPHOTOS BYLUKAS BERGMARKANDJESSICA DISMONT

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campus

Ten years and counting without a contract M c G ill w o r k e r s w a n t w a g e s t ie d t o g o v e r n m e n t e m p lo y e e s ' p a y J ames G otowiec

After being without a contract since November 1995 , work­ ers in residences, the Faculty Club and McGill's printing, mail de­ livery and network services divisions followed the advice of their union and overwhelmingly rejected the terms of McGill's latest labour agreement two weeks ago.

The workers, represented by the Service Employees Union, Local 800 of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, are holding out for a clause to be included in their agreement that will tie wage increases to public-sector wage policies. Known as a tow, or trailer, clause, it compels McGill to give workers covered by the contract wage increases equal to those given to government workers.The clause is included in the expired agreement.

"The current contract normally would have expired Nov. 30 , 1995 ,"said Jacques Sztuke, associate director of human resources at McGill. "However, it has a clause in it that says it remains in ef­ fect until a new collective agreement is negotiated."

According to Sztuke, McGill negotiators wanted to bring the contract into line with recent agreements concluded with the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association and other groups on campus represented by SEU. This would have involved eliminating the trailer clause.

"McGill wants that clause to be out of the contract," said Cristina Cabral, SEU representative. "That's the major point at the negotiation."

According to a union document, the SEU recommended that workers reject the offer, as accepting the contract would have meant eliminating Christmas Eve as a paid holiday and los­ ing two summer Fridays. In July and August the university tra­ ditionally shuts down on Friday, though this practice is being changed.

Sztuke acknowledged the proposed changes to the con­ tract.

"McGill wants [the trailer] clause to be out of the contract. That's the major point at the negotiation."

— Cristina Cabral, SEU representative "Dec. 24 is a holiday," he said, "but all other staff are at work on that day, so we feel it's important that they are there as well."

He said that McGill would compensate the workers for the changes to days of work and increase their wages as well.

"What we're proposing is that the salary rates would be al­ most 10 per cent higher than what they would have been with the trailer clause,”Sztuke said. "The offer is very generous."

A worker with building services, who did not want to be identified because he is not yet entitled to job security, said that union members had other concerns in the new contract.

"They want to have the option to send you to [Macdonald]

campus if you're working downtown," he said, explaining his un­ derstanding of the contract. "If they abolish positions for printing, they can put you in cleaning. You'd retain the same pay but you'd lose seniority, which means you'd lose vacation."

Sztuke said that since workers rejected the offer, negotia­ tions were finished and the current contract would stay in place.

"We put the best offer we could on the table, it was on the table until Jan. 21 and they rejected it," he said. "We don't have an offer on the table. For us, it's the end of it."

He added that McGill would be open to mediation if re­ quested by the union.

Jose Rego, union local president, said that he was confident continued negotiations would result in an agreement.

"There's good faith on both sides for getting an agreement," he said. "We're on our way to getting something good."

Cabral agreed and said workers wanted the union represem tatives to keep talking.

"At the assemblies,"she said, referring to the union assembly where workers voted on the contract, "the vote was to go back to the table and continue negotiation with McGill."

Cabral said that the union was not considering job action to pressure McGill to change the terms of the agreement.

"We're not at that stage now," she said, adding that union representatives would be meeting Feb. 7 to decide on a course of action. ■ — A dd ition al reporting by Kayvon Afshari

IN T E R V IE W — H E A TH E R M U N R O E -B L U M

The buck stops here: HMB gives us the scoop T h e P r in c ip a l p u ts d o w n t h e s c e p te r t o d is c u s s e v e r y t h in g M c G ill tion of our student body. The notion that the average student at McGill gets to meet with the principal doesn't happen as often simply be­ cause of the size.

The idea [of the Town Hall] was to have people who wouldn't otherwise interact with me, have the chance to interact with me.

If there was a difference to [last semester's On Town Halls and their usefulness to Town Hall], it was that whatever the process students...

I don't do them as a public relations exer­ was, nobody but students spoke. And that a cise. There is something about being principal majority of the students had pre-organized col­ that turns just about anything I do in public lectively what their presentations would be and into a public relations exercise because people presented them, in my subjective experience, in make it that— photographers show up, journal­ a way that did not allow room for discussion but asserted a lot of oppositional 'facts'that weren't ists show up.

As principal of a university that has over facts in my view. And that's quite different than 30,000 students, I get to see... a very small frac­ the other town halls where I think that people W ith five moreyears a t McGill secured, Heath­ er M unroe-Blum sat dow n w ith cam pus m edia to talk a b o u t some h o t topics on cam pus a n d to explain her position on Town Halls, academ ic a m ­ nesty, environm ental sustainability a n d corporate funding.

Principal Munroe-Blum says that students are a key force for campus sustainability.

came genuinely with questions.

I found it less productive because there was truly less opportunity for give and take and having a consistently oppositional politic... doesn't leave a lot of room for either informa­ tion sharing or discussion.

In effect, a long statement is made with a whole lot of assertions in it and the only ques­ tion is 'don't you associate yourself with these evils?'as they were presented. It's a little bit rhe­ torical. So the only opportunity there is to say 'thank you, you've made your point.'

On Senate's refusal to grant academic amnesty for the upcoming Day of Ac­ tio n ...

I think it's important for students to make representation on the policy issues that they care about and clearly whatever else we do or don't agree with, I think we all agree that more funding for universities would be helpful. We may differ on the means, but on that we agree.

It has been a long standing view [in Senate...] that there is not academic amnesty for getting out on political issues. If you have responsibili­ ties, you have to make a judgment about how you're going to spend your time, whether you're an employee or student of the university. The particular request at Senate was for amnesty couched in the context of a cause that we all agree with. I agree with the senators who said that saying 'we'll support academic amnesty when we like the cause, but we won't when we don't' is not a principled approach to making these decisions.

On making McGill a leader in environ­ mental sustainability...

I think we have a lot further to go on epvironmental sustainability and good environ­ mental practices. I don't want to make the case that there is perfection at play here because I think we have a long way to go.

While I think that some steps have been made over the last couple of years to get us more engaged in some good practices in this regard. I'm really happy with just appointing the Associate Vice-Principal of University Services

[Jim Nicell] who comes from the faculty of engi­ neering and whose only research is in environ­ mental work and is a deep environmentalist. He will be the person who will actually work with us and with students and faculty and support staff to advance our practices towards what I hope will be a best practices model.

The theme that young people care most about in my view, and that I hear about even more than tuition fees, is environmental sustain­ ability. If you want to know what young people care about, it's the environment. I think that stu­ dents were the initiators of McGill coming into the modern era in thinking about environmen­ tal issues in the last five, six or seven years and [students] have a powerful role to play.

On corporate funding at M cGill...

We've worked very hard to develop both policies and procedures that protect the aca­ demic mission of the university no matter where the money comes from. You can imagine that federal, provincial, international and municipal governments also have an interest in steering their money. People who give money tend to think— government more than any that I've ex­ perienced— that maybe they should be telling us what programs we should be offering or not offering and how we should be offering them.

We've set up a range of policies over time to ensure that when we're going out after money, we know what it's for and it's coming for something that is at the core of our academic mission. We don't accept money that we view to put us in conflict with our academic mission freedom or values.

Government has a very strong interest in making sure that where our research can have benefits to industry and the economy and Can­ ada; they'd like that to happen.

We don't have a censure at all on where we get money, it's what it's for and Viow we get it that matters, and we work very hard to protect our academic freedoms when we get money from any source. ■ — C om piled by Kayvon Afshari a n d Kate Spirgen

06.02.07 -The McGill Tribune •3

CITY

Elizabeth May speaks to future of the planet S p e a k e rs a d d re s s w h e t h e r c a p ita lis m p r e c lu d e s e n v ir o n m e n t a lis m S onya B ell Elizabeth May, leader of the federal Green Party and former director of the Canadian Branch of the Sierra Club, spoke on Canada's past and present environmental policy, to an enthusiastic audience of about 300 in down­ town Montreal last Wednesday.

May began by recounting the afternoon she had spent with her young daughter at the House of Commons, watching MPs discuss cli­ mate change during Question Period, which she described as no more than a public rela­ tions exercise.

"They are discussing climate change, dis­ cussing and debating Kyoto, but there is no sense of urgency," May said. "They are playing political games with our future. The whole spectacle is dismal, devoid of content."

Collin Potter, an active member of the Green Party, supported what the party leader had to say about MPs in the House of Com­ mons.

"I .tend to agree [with May] that what we're seeing is a lot of infighting. Talk is cheap and what really counts is action."

May contrasted Canada's current envi­ ronmental record with its former position as a world leader in the area. Back in 1989 , it co­ hosted the very first international conference on climate change, titled "Our Changing At­ mosphere: Implications for Global Security", a name that May praised.

"It's unfortunate how climate change is pigeonholed as an environmental issue," she

of the agreement known. She speculated that said. "We should have kept the emphasis on style," Dougherty said.

May ended the evening by reiterating the environment issue might dissolve Stephen security; security threats get attention. Then, no one asks 'How likely is this to happen?'or her commitment to the Kyoto Accord and ex­ Harper's minority government.

"I'm all for compromising," she said, "but pressing her hope that members of the audi­ 'How much money will it cost?'"

May shared the stage with Dimitri Rous- ence would continue to make their support not on the future of this planet."* sopoulos, founding president of the Urban Ecology Centre of Montreal. The viewpoints of these two environmentalists clashed at sev­ eral points. Roussopoulos'was openly critical of May and the Green Party for attempting to work within the established capitalist society and economy, whose structure he views as ultimately impossible to reconcile with envi­ ronmental reform.

"We don't have time to get rid of capital­ ism before we start doing things," May said.

She believes that introducing price modi­ fications, such as the implementation of a car'b o n tax, is a way to reduce pollution within the capitalist system and force market signals to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

In another heated exchange, Roussopoulos advised the audience to "forget the federal Green Party, forget the provincial Green Party and concentrate on your neighbourhoods and cities."

May encouraged individuals to address their own human greed and consumerism tendencies.

"We must be responsible creatures; it is our moral duty to try,"she said.

Megan Dougherty, a Concordia student with no political affiliation, was impressed LEETIPTON with May's presentation.

"She's incredibly sassy; I really like her May encourages listeners to avoid wastefulness by making lifestyle changes.

N E W S A N A LYS IS

Are we on the path to darkness?

S h e d d in g lig h t o n c a m p u s e n e r g y c o n s u m p t io n K ristin M aich cGill recently received a C+ grade from the Sustain­ able Endowments Institute, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on its current state of environmen­ tal friendliness. Despite recent efforts by numerous green groups to make the campus more environmentally sustain­ able, improving the grade will require the cooperation of many different groups at McGill, which could stall progress on the file.

The institute conducted a survey of 100 leading uni­ versities in North America and produced individual report cards for each. Grades were based on each school's "green­ ing practices and endowment policies," taking into consid­ eration energy use, recycling, "green" buildings and invest­ ment priorities.

American schools like Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth and Williams took the highest grades. In Canada, the Univer­ sities ofToronto and British Columbia also outshone McGill, though over half of the schools were found to be C students in the school of sustainability.

The report card points to the lack of a formal green building policy as well as "climate change and energy con­ sumption" as two of McGill's weaker areas.

Rethink McGill, the Senate Subcommittee on the En­ vironment's green campaign, points to the advances that McGill has made in energy efficiency. The "sleep" function on campus computers has 'drastically reduced the energy used by computers" and the geothermal exchange system that has been installed in the Lady Meredith House building saves 40 per cent of its heating and cooling costs.

However, McGill's Environmental Officer Kathleen Ng said that there are still structural obstacles towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"A working group of the SCE is also assessing the feasi­ bility of measures that could be undertaken as part of hope­ fully a global [greenhouse gas] emissions reduction strategy for campus," Ng said. "However, Facilities is responsible for

M

the infrastructure. As such, their collaboration is required for energy consumption data and associated audits."

Despite these goals, Greening McGill co-coordinator Sophie Zhang pointed out that such measures are drops in a bucket compared to what is wasted. She said that one of the problems is a lack of awareness of measured energy usage.

"McGill wastes a lot," Zhang said. "They emit around 40.000 tonnes of CO2 per year. That's roughly equivalent to 1.000 tonnes per McGill community member. There are en­ ergy meters in the large buildings but they are not always checked and very rarely publicized, so users are not made aware of their energy consumption."

Due to this, exact emissions and consumption num­ bers are uncertain.

"I [attempted] to hold an energy audit for [last] week's Week of Action activities," Ng said, "but have not received any response. Apparently they are short staffed and unable to divert much efforts outside of simply keeping this place running." ’’’ Saima Sidik, another coordinator of Greening McGill, is uncertain that McGill would be able to do an audit, even if they wanted to, since "they don't even meter most of their energy use."

The Natural Resources Canada Web site emphasizes the importance of performing an energy audit on buildings as the first step toward energy improvements, stating that, "You cannot manage what you cannot measure."

"I haven't heard of any plans for McGill to do an energy audit and I would be surprised if they decided to," Sidik said.

According to the University Master Plan, McGill has taken steps to ensure that the campus incorporates “state-of-the -art sustainable design criteria" into every new building and major renovation.

"It's important to keep in mind that the Master Plan is only a plan, not a binding document... it can still be modi­

fied," Zhang said. "Therefore, it is crucial that students push for the parts of the plan that they want to see concretized."

Ng said that much wasted energy on campus can be mitigated by students.

"What community members are less aware of is that while on campus, infrastructure problems should be report­ ed to the Facilities Call Centre-as soon possibfe to mitigate resource loss like leaking faucets, malfunctioning toilets and doors that won't close properly."

Sidik believes that the administration could do more to avoid squandering energy resources.

"There are lots of small actions that could be taken [by the university] to reduce energy use, for example ... turning down the heat in rooms that are currently ridiculously hot," Sidiksaid."Unfortunately, in orderto dramatically reduce our energy use, I think the McGill administration would need to re-evaluate its priorities."

As a university, McGill must pursue energy conserva­ tion. However, preserving our energy resources+s not a job that can be relegated solely to the administration; students must do their part too.

Last year, the Sustainable McGill Project released an as­ sessment of the McGill campus based on over a year of re­ search. The energy assessment concluded by recommend­ ing several actions that could be taken by the university ad­ ministration in order to improve the campus'sustainability, including a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and the implementation of a plan to reduce emissions.

The Sustainable McGill Project assessment could serve to guide McGill students, staff and administrators in the fu­ ture.

"A new attitude towards energy use must be adopted," it said. "We must carefully evaluate our consumption pat­ terns, attempt to make more efficient use of the resources we have and work .consistently to decrease fossil fuel use as much as possible."*

4 •News •06.02.07

The McGill Tribune

CAMPUS

SSMU in 60 S

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Harm Reduction Centre gets its fix by preventing pain W it h f u ll s ta tu s , g r o u p p r o m o t e s d r u g s a fe ty

Attendance was low at Council this week after the lengthy General Assembly, which was also poorly attended. Councillors are gearing up for election season already. New election by-laws were passed lowering limits on the number of posters candidates can put up, adding rules for Facebook and e-cam­ paigning and allowing TVMcGill an official stance on the election.The rules were passed with little debate and no contention. Let the mud-slinging begin! • 4 Floors may be gone for good now that the Shatner Ballroom is no longer the biggest party room on campus. Capacity has been lowered by the Fire Department from 620 to 250 due to the size of fire exits in the building. If they can't find a better way to evacuate, maybe they can move the scheduled par­ ties to Aaron Donny-Clark's house. • Although Sen­ ate has refused to recommend academic amnesty for the Feb. 7 Day of Action, the McGill Association of University Teachers has moved to support students in their struggle to freeze tuition rates. Unfortunately, they aren't officially granting amnesty, so you can't take the day of and tell your profs that you went to protest rising tuition rates.* Tired of Facebook and want a new way to stalk your favourite SSMU exec?

You're not the only one! SSMU execs are now re­ quired to create and maintain an executive blog to update constituents on their "activities, views and accomplishments at their discretion." Hopefully they won't use them to update us on their dating habits.

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E mily B arca

Conceived at the beginning of the year, the Students' Society's Harm Reduction Centre aimed to ensure the safe use of drugs and alcohol among students. Named an official SSMU service in November 2006 , the centre is now aiming to promote more awareness of its budding services by spreading word-of-mouth and maintaining regular office hours.

Although originally conceived as a club, SSMU Vice-Presi­ dent Clubs and Services Floh Herra-Vega decided that the HRC should be developed into a service.

Over the summer, it was given "interim status," a designa­ tion not typical of the process for establishing new groups.

"Interim status doesn't actually exist, but we didn't feel it was fair to create a new service without Council during the summer. We didn't want to make that decision on our own," Herra-Vega said.

Herra-Vega said that while she is involved with the centre, she is not in charge of its daily responsibilities.

"I communicate closely with them and I meet with some­ one who is involved with running them once a week, but I don't run the day to day stuff," Herra-Vega said.

The ones who do run the show are organizers Eric Rumi and Mahmud Naqi who began to develop the concept'of the centre last April when they felt the need for more accessible information on drug use for students.

"Education about drugs usually comes from on high, from teachers, professors and public health officers. There's a dis­ tance between the average user and the public health officer," Naqi said.

The possibility of setting up a phone line and a peer-topeer counseling service are being explored.

Located on the fourth floor of the Shatner building, the HRC is also planning to host a conference in March, where

McGill

discussion will center on alternative drug policies and devel­ opment of a Canadian branch of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.

During the fall semester, the HRC focused on making con­ tacts with other groups involved in harm reduction.

"There's a lot happening in Montreal at the moment,"said Ariana Carella, an HRC member. "We're networking with other people working in this area like the Cactus Centre needle ex­ change."

In order to spark a dialogue, the HRC hosted a panel dis­ cussion during which Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier, director of student affairs in the faculty of medicine, spoke about the Black and Blue Festival, which promotes safe drug use among its partici­ pants.

During frosh, the centre distributed a guide to safe drug use to freshmen. A more comprehensive guide, compiled from textbooks, online resources and drug user testimonials, has been made available to Other services at McGill, including Queerline.

"It contains information on ways to safely use drugs, tips on how to react if something goes wrong and on how to keep yourself grounded if you're involved in these types of activities," Carella said.

Herra-Vega said that she would like to see the HRC coop­ erate with other groups.

"I'd like to see them collaborate with the other safety ser­ vices in this building, which is already starting to happen."

Both Carella and Naqi have found a positive reaction to the HRC within most of the McGill community. However, Carel­ la admits that there's still some reluctance for people to admit that there are drugs at McGill.

"A lot of the students, if not supportive, are very accept­ ing," Naqi said. "They recognize that if someone is going to do something harmful we should reduce their pain.">

M c G ill T h e

D e p a rtm e n t o f Je w is h

S tu d ie s

B L A C K E R A N D G L A S R O T F A M IL IE S M E M O R IA L A W A R D F O R H O L O C A U S T R E S E A R C H E

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stablished in 2000 by Mr. and Mrs. Josef Glasrot, survivors of the Holocaust and residents of Montreal. Open to any student at McGill University, the award is presented for excellence in research in Holocaust and related studies, and particularly on the history of the ghettos of Warsaw and Kovno [Kaunas], Essays prepared in any course or independent research may be considered. The award is administered by the Department of Jewish Studies in cooperation with the Jewish Community Foundation. The award will be presented during the Closing Exercises of the Department of Jewish Studies in June, 2007.

The value of the Blacher and Glasrot Families Memorial Award is $1000.

V ;

X W IN T E R

M onday, Feb ru ary 1 2 , 2007 1 2 :0 0 - 1:30 p.m . fa c u lty and s ta ff to an o p e n fo ru m to discuss issues o f relevance to th e M cG ill c o m m u n ity

Strathcona A natom y and Dentistry Building 3640 University Street Room M-1

It's our university. T o g eth er w e <

T h e co m p etitio n is o p e n to undergraduate and graduate students at M cGill U niversity.

Students m ust su bm it 2 typed co p ie s o f th e ir essays to g eth er w ith full co n ta ct in fo rm atio n .

Essays ca n b e based o n p rim ary o r secon d ary m aterials and w o rk in all related d iscip lin es w ill b e consid ered .

Essay su bm issio n s m ust re a c h th e D ep artm ent o f Je w ish Studies O ffice, 3 4 3 8 M cTavish Street, n o la ter th an A pril 13, 2007.

06.02.07 •News •5

www.m cgilltribune.com

SPEAKER O N C A M P U S

N e w s B r ie fs Patent system may stifle medical provisions in developing world Doctors Without Borders brought a group of experts to McGill Thursday to stimulate interest in the fact .that an estimated one third of the world's popula­ tion lacks access to essential medicines.

Dr. Richard Gold, director of McGill's Centre for Intellectual Property Policy, explained that the patent system, which gives patent holders a twenty year mo­ nopoly over drug production, was designed to stimulate innovation.

"If we were content with the products we have today, we would get rid of patents; we have them because we're concerned about the drugs we'll need five or ten years from now," he said.

The patent system, Gold explained, is designed to work in the markets of North America and Europe and is not suited for the small markets of developing countries. As a result, a persistent problem is the lack of innovation in addressing diseases unique to the developing world. Of the 1,035 drugs developed since 1989 , one per cent address diseases afflicting the developing world.

"An understanding of the patent system revealed the complexity of the ac­ cess battle," said Nandita Perumal, Ui nutrition. "It definitely changed my one­ sided viewpoint of evil pharmaceutical companies."

For Perumal, developed countries have the responsibility to commit re­ sources and investigate alternative pharmaceutical structures. Such a task de­ mands innovative solutions to funding obstacles.

To obtain essential medicines at lower prices, many developing countries have utilized mechanisms such as parallel importation and compulsory licens­ ing, which forces pharmaceutical companies to allow generic manufacturers to market their drugs. As a result of such practices, "triple cocktail" anti-retroviral therapy for HIV is now available for $132 a year in developing countries, com­ pared to $10,000 in the U.S. Public pressure has also forced drug companies to donate drugs and set up treatment programs in developing countries.

Dr. Greg Matlashewski, professor and chair of virology and parasitology, pointed to France's imposition of a $5 tax on airline tickets as an example of a creative mechanism that governments can adopt to raise money for funding.

Such mechanisms, however, are only short-term solutions to a larger structural problem.

— Nora Coghlan

Breast cancer crusaders encourage you to think pink Think Pink, a McGill club that raises money and awareness for breast can­ cer, recently held an awareness week from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 to raise money for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. The event began on Wednesday with “Know Pink"; a day dedicated to raising McGill's knowledge about breast cancer through the distribution of pamphlets and the signature pink ribbons.

This year, the club began working with Rethink Breast Cancer, an organiza­ tion geared to informing young adults about breast cancer issues. Thursday was all about "Eating Pink," with simultaneous bake sales held in the Bronfman and McConnell buildings.

The three days culminated on Friday with "Wear Pink", an invitation for all students to wear pink and show their solidarity for the cause. The event's orga­ nizers were pleased with the turnout, stating overwhelming support from the student body.

"The feedback about this party has been extremely positive and everyone had a great time while wearing pink or sporting a pink ribbon to show their sup­ port,"" said Amy Shnier, Think Pink co-chair.

"We had a great week raising awareness and moneyfor breast cancer and are looking forward to our gala in March"said’Jessica Smuskowitz, the other co­ chair.

The gala "Paint theTown Pink" will be held Mar. 11 at the Omni hotel and will include speakers, a silent auction and many performances.

"The goal of this gala, aside from raising money for breast cancer research, is to create awareness amongst the McGill community and young professionals and that we are all able to contribute support in some way or another," Shnier said.

"We have been working really hard to establish ourselves as a well, known club amongst the students,” Shnier said. "People have come to expect great things from Think Pink as our bake sales are always delicious, our parties are a lot of fun and the gala is an inspiring event that raises thousands of dollars for a good cause."

— Stephanie Tombari

Honing the Quebec nation D u c e p p e ta k e s ja b s a t C o n s e r v a tiv e s C harlie B lore

It was billed as a speech on the institution of McGill in Quebec, but Gilles Duceppe seemed to have other things on his .mind last Thurs­ day: namely, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his policies bn the envi­ ronment, foreign policy, the fiscal imbalance and what's best for the Québécois nation.

The leader of the Bloc Québé­ cois, and as such the leader of the broader sovereigntist 1movement in Quebec, spoke last Thursday at a function organized by the McGill Sovereigntist Students Association in conjunction with the McGill Bloc Québécois Students Association and the McGill Political Science Students Association.

Duceppe took advantage of the opportunity to hammer the Conser­ vative Party and Prime Minister Harp­ er on a number of topics.

"Last year in Nairobi at the in­ ternational conference on Kyoto, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper made us ashamed," Duceppe said. "The Harper govern­ ment sent the worst possible signal to the world about Canada obey­ ing its international engagements.

The Conservatives'Clean Air Act wasclearly conceived in Washington and written in Calgary."

Duceppe didn't stop there though, continually drawing links between the Conservative Party and the U.S. government.

"The warrior rhetoric of the Con­ servative government is frankly stu­ pid," Duceppe said. "In the past, the Bloc has had disagreements with the Canadian foreign policy as Quebec's interests are not always taken into ac­

Between -throwing haymakers at the Conservatives, Duceppe did manage to work in some words on McGill's role in Quebec's future. The Bloc leader singled out McGill as a world leader in research, a grand in­ stitution and a part of the Québécois nation.

Charles LArrivé, McGill Sovereignist Students Association Presi­ dent, agreed that both communities would benefit from provincial sover­ eignty.

"In a sovereign Quebec, a special place for McGill and the anglophone community will be preserved and even improved". ■

count. But never have our common values and interests been so far from the actual policy."

Duceppe didn't miss the op­ portunity to address a big issue on students' minds: impending tuition hikes. He pointed to the fiscal imbal­ ance and cuts made by the Liberals in the early 1990 s as the real culprits.

Students were pleased to hear this novel viewpoint from Duceppe.

"I thought it was great that he came to McGill to give an anglo­ phone university the chance to hear a sovereigntist perspective because I think it's rare here,"said Michael Hackett, U3 linguistics.

STEVENCAMPBELL

Duceppe shows the way forward for a sovereign Quebec.

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Low turnout still causing trouble V o te r s w a n t h ig h e r q u o r u m continued from COVER

"At the first one nothing really hap­ pened and it was really redundant.

This semester's had amendments; it was functional. I've heard that the left dominates these things, but if they bring their people out and the other side doesn't, that's the way it's going to be."

Both Church and Singer have suggested an online vote in order to make GAs more available to the stu­ dent body.

"The GA is a way for the extrem­

cause he had not come prepared to fight the constitutionality of his mo­ tion. According to Shefman, the mo­ tion would have in effect mandated councillors to call a referendum on an issue, and a General Assembly does not hâve the power to force SSMU Council to vote a certain way. Rous­ seau is considering submitting a ref­ erendum question to Elections McGill to appear on the spring ballot.

"GAs can't mandate a referendum and I specifically avoided the word referen­ dum," Rousseau said. "There's nothing in the constitution that says you can't have votes that are binding at GAs. I asked Shefman before and he said there's nothing in the constitution against this."

SSMU Clubs and Ser­ vices representative Rob Church, who voted against the ban at Council, was also disappointed at the ruling.

"I wanted something else heard besides what the president pushed through on a Thursday night when it was voted on 20 to 6," he said.

The low attendance of the assembly became an issue toward the end of the GA when quorum was al­ most lost and a count was called numerous times.

"They were almost incit­ ing people to leave," Rous­ seau said. "What they were LUKAS BERGMARK essentially saying is that if 11 people didn't agree with the Donny-Clark takes part in the GA fun. motion all they had to do was leave." ists to get what they want passed— to This has been a consistent criti­ get their group out and push some­ cism of the GA, as low attendance thing through," Church said. "This is and a lack of debate were also cited the only way they can get that done. last semester as areas with room for They need to increase the quorum. improvement.

We have the means for online vot­ "It's hard to top the lack of de­ ing for these things and we should. bate at the last GA but this one gave it If these questions went to an online a run for its money," Church said. "The vote they would have-failed misera­ past two GAs were both hijacked by bly," he added, referring to the motion GRASPé and the far left. Speaking as on accessible education. a leftie politically, they don't speak for Shefman stated that a bet­ me and they don't speak for the stu­ ter outline of the structure of pow­ dent body." ers of a General Assembly is need­ Others, like Shefman, thought ed and that the process needs to that this semester's GA was a step become more accessible and more forward. democratic.

"There was a lot more inter­ "Quorum is half of one per est in this GA and a lot more people cent and that's a serious problem," knew about it beforehand," he said. he said. ■

Q UOTABLE "In w h a t I b e lie v e is t h e spirit o f th is m o tio n , I m o v e to a m e n d t h e m o tio n to a d d th a t SSM U lo b b y all lev els o f g o v ­ e r n m e n t: fed era l, p ro v in cial a n d m u n icip a l fo r fre e n u g g , fre e b o o z e a n d fre e c a b le te le v is io n w itn th e a p p r o p ria te s p o rts p a c k a g e .. .T h ey 're a sk in g fo r s o m e th in g fo r n o th in g ; I'm a sk in g fo r t h e sam e."

— A d a m C y try n b a u m , Lh m e c h a n i c a l e n g in e e r in g , a t la s t T hu rsday's GA o n t h e m o t i o n a s k in g t h e S tu d en ts' S o c ie t y to s t a n d fo r f r e e e d u c a t io n .

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Humanistic Studies and the Marx Brothers

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T h e w a r o n h u m o u r a t M c G ill E lizabeth P erle The Red Herring has been thrust­ ing itself upon the McGill literary publication scene four times every year since its conception in 1988 . The only humour magazine on campus (though n o t affiliated with McGill, as it will necessarily assert at the top of every issue), we've all heard of it, seen it around, probably read it and maybe even heard about the severe budget problems it has faced over the past few years.

Despite this, one of the major criticisms the magazine reaps from the student body is the fact that sometimes, it just isn't funny.

"I personally think that The Red Herring is hilarious, but a lot of people don't get it," admits Blake Gregory, U3 history and cultural studies and vicepresident of administration at the Herring. "But if the writing was read aloud to you, you would find it funny. I think that, in a lot of ways, that's been the Herring's downfall. People just see it and think'oh it's too crass, it's too this, it's too that,' without taking the time to read it and to appreciate it.''

'The Herring's current Editor-inChief, Daniel Oettl, U3 Political Sci­ ence and History, is inclined to agree.

"Forming a joke is so different in writing," he notes. "We appeal to people who are used to reading com­ edy. I read the Onion; it's super high profile. I looked for other magazines [similar to ours] at Queen's, Toronto, Columbia. All of them are surprisingly crass, base and verbose."

Oettl has headed up the maga­ zine for three years now, though he unofficially took on the job in March and April of his first year. During this time, he has taken the magazine in a visibly new direction.

"It is not only less crass, but also just cleaner looking and less 'alterna­ tive culture,"'he explains."But the big­ gest thing has been to just make it funnier for more people."

■When The Red Herring was first established at McGill in the late eight­ ies, the publication had a discernibly literary quality to it— a quality, the current Herring staff will suggest, lost in later generations.

Oettl asserts that he is trying to move away from thè Herring's previ­ ous "cult-kind of readership" to the magazine's earlier days, while working to expand its audience to encompass more of the general student body.

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C H A T TE R B O X

The is funny, but not necessarily crass R

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T e a c h in g is in p r o fe s s o r R o b e r t M y le s ' b lo o d Like m any o f us, H um anistic Studies professor Robert Myles loves the M arx Brothers, reads on the couch a n d hails from Ontario. Yet, m ost o f us don't analyze a n d catagorize Western C ivilization for a living. Here is some insight on one o f our favourite Arts professors:

I teach...Western humanistic studies I and II as well as writing for gradu­ ate students. I am also head of humanistic studies department, which was founded in the 1970 s and has only has required courses since I got on board in 1997 and dreamt up western humanistic traditions I and II (along with a III and IV that have not yet been implemented).

I am originally from... Pembroke, Ontario.

I think that teaching is.. .in my blood. My mother was a teacher, my two sisters and my brother are teachers... you know I never really, I kind of gravi­ tated that way. I enjoy teaching a great deal."

In my free time I like to .. .do a lot of reading... I just reread Kuhn's book on the scientific structure of revolutions, I just read a book called Occidentalism and some mystery novels. I'm presently reviewing a whole bunch of books that try to analyze and categorize western civilization because I would like to write a book like that myself.

An interesting fact about me is that.. .I usually have three orfour books going at once. I mark them upas I go and read a chapter of one then a chapter of another (and so on).

My favourite place to read is...my couch.

LEETIPTON Herring Chief Daniel Oettl stands next to his most prominent writer.

Guess which one's which.

"The jokes do not exactly require any kind of prior knowledge from the reader, but they do depend on the reader to sort-of'play along'with the jokes," he says. "I think its very under­ graduate. It really appeals to our spe­ cific age group."

Besides a sharp re-modeling of the magazine itself, the Oettl-era of the Herring has also brought one or two stand-up comedy events to cam­ pus every year.The 2007 installment is happening at Gert's on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. and will feature a hand­ ful of Montreal comic-pros, such as Deanne Smith and Kevin Gasior.

"Montreal has a very high level of professional comedy— Just for Laughs, for example," remarks Oettl.

As far as McGill comedians are concerned, “The Red Herring is on par with how Montreal is in the comedy world. For what we are, I think we are

doing pretty well," Gregory adds.

Comedy events aside, the maga­ zine remains the first— and a criti­ cal-priority for the staff, especially considering this is the year of the publication's lowest budget to date: $.1 ,500 , down from what was once $2,500 plus.

Oettl, however, maintains that the content will not suffer, even if, admittedly, every joke fails to reach every student.

"If you're an educated readerand read a lot, you'll get it," he muses. "You need to get the references. Some­ times, you need to be educated in the realm of comedy to 'get' comedy." ■

U N E

I watch movies... occasionally at home. I like the Marx Brothers. I think they're geniuses. I like film noir.

Myfavourite Marx Brothers film is... DuckSoup — C om piled by M aria Ford

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U N C O M M O N LY THOUGHTFUL

A matter of trust

J. F. K ostuck

JFKOSTUCK@GMAIL.COM

*

J esse C haser JESSE.CHASER@GMAIL.COM hy are men so mistrusted? It seems to me. that a great number of women are socialized to fear men.

Thus, men end up being mistrusted. I've noticed this because when I present myself as a man, women look at me differently— and not differently in the checking me out kind of way. I seem to become suspicious in their eyes. I could chalk it up to something about me, but when I present myself as a woman, these suspect looks suddenly disappear.

I too must plead guilty to being wary of men. Even when I'm dressed as a man, I'm still on guard. It's something I can't shake. Obviously, this fear— or wariness— is dependent on the context. I have virtually zero concern about the many men whom I pass daily in class, on campus and on the way to and from school. But at night when I'm on an empty street or in a nearly-empty metro station, my guard definitely goes up.

Of course, there are legitimate reasons for women to fear men— or more precisely, some men. Acts of domestic and sexual violence are predominantly, but not exclu­ sively, committed by men and experienced by women. However, not all men are the problem..

I know a lot of great guys. They are non-violent and are more likely to get beat up protecting a woman than beat up a woman themselves. Yet, it seems that the sins of some men have been visited upon the whole gender.

If women, are truly wary towards all men, even the good ones, this must have consequences. I am a big believer in sym­ bolic internationalism, which says that people are products of social interactions.

If a person is always viewed as a violent criminal and treated as such, they may start

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believing that this is who they are and act as such— perhaps one of the many reasons I believe prisons are ineffective as reform in­ stitutions. But I digress.

Most women do not treat men as violent criminals, but fearing males may.affect men's self-perception. Do they start to feel that maybe they really are threats to women?

I suspect that in most cases this is un­ likely. I am certainly not suggesting that be­ cause a woman crosses an empty street at night to avoid a man that this leads him to commit rape, but maybe it makes him think about why she crossed the street and why she felt that she had to.

Being wary of men because men are more likely to be abusers than abu­ sées also raises other issues. In the United States, blacks are more likely to be in jail than whites. Does this mean that it is okay to cross the street to avoid them? Do they feel marginalized, hurt, confused, judged or angry?

While this typing and avoidance be­ haviour may seem justified and merely a way of protecting oneself, it can lead to a society that lacks trust and dangerously judges people based on appearances. For instance, Arabic-looking men always seem to get picked for "random security checks" and black people sometimes get pulled over for driving nice cars or being in afflu­ ent neighbourhoods. I don't think this can ever be changed completely. Appearances will always be a basis for judgment because appearance is out there for everyone to see.

I just hope that the next time you cross the street to avoid someone on a dark night, you think about what's going through their mind and not just yours. ■

y roommate is a hypochondriac of on-screen diseases could become conta­ I the highest order. When it comes gious?

I to illness, all of our friends have to Cyberchondria is quickly becoming a watch what is said around her. If she hears buzzword in the medical community. Cyeven the slightest whisper of a cold or talk berchondriacs are hypochondriacs with an of the flu, she immediately begins to feel internet connection. With resources such as joint pain, fatigue and a mild to moder­ WebMD, W ikipedia and Diagnose-me.com, ate fever. An even more dangerous topic endless lists of symptoms are but a click around Roommate is exotic diseases, for away. So often was Roommate convinced she has thought herself to have had every­ that she was plagued with the plague, that thing ranging from malaria to leptospirosis for both my own sanity and hers, one day (organ failure due to a parasite found in I hijacked her computer and installed Netbat dung). I recently found out that shortly Nanny, blocking as many diagnostic sites after I moved into residence last year, she as I could. She has yet to discover how to thought that she had come down with disable it, as her computer abilities are so severe acute respiratory syndrome. Yes, poor that she thinks that USB is a venereal SARS. disease.

I like to think that the two incidents Still, every so often, Roommate will are completely unrelated. But with medical burst into my room, convinced that some­ dramas dominating prime-time television, thing is terribly wrong with her and that one cannot help but wonder what effect the end is nigh. Last week, she decided this fascination with health and healing is that her hangover was not simply a hang­ having on real life. over— she was sick. Really sick. Life-threatIn the early 90 s, Eft gave audiences eningly ill, even. So, being the good room­ an inside look into the health care industry mate I am, I offered to Google her symp­ that had not been seen in prime time since toms. Each new symptom I described, she M*A*S*H. The presentation of certain cases suddenly began to embody. Vomiting, was questionable, however, with the limit­ fatigue and paleness were already pres­ ed technology available at the time. As en­ ent, but now that I brought it up, she did tertaining as it was to see babies get pulled feel soreness in her neck, rapid changes in out of a C-section rosy pink and smiling, i behaviour and irritability. I can personally don't think that any future child-birthing vouch for the latter two. experiences I have will be as clean-cut.

Steadily getting more panicked, On the other hand, today we have Roommate finally exploded and demand­ shows such as Grey's A n a to m y that have ed to know what horrible ailment would teams of medical fact-checkers and spe­ steal her from.this world at the tender age cial effects experts working cohesively to of 19 .The answer? Shaken Baby Syndrome. provide viewers with as realistic an expe­ I don't know my roommate's family rience as possible. NBC would sopner air very well, but (think it's safe to say that her another Matt LeBlanc spin-off than have parents haven't placed her in a rapidly os­ a septicemic rash miss even one welt. Do cillating swing or gone jogging with heron these graphic displays of skin lesions, shat­ their backs as of late. I mean, I'm no expert, tered bones and spilling internal organs but whatever she's got, House has taught solely entertain? Is it possible, thatthese me one thing— it's never lupus. ■

M!

BT P H O N E H O M E

A difficult GRASPé on democracy B yron T au BYRON.TAU@MAIL.MCGILL.CA here must be something I've missed concerning this anti-corporate tantrum of washroom desecration a few weeks back. The last time I checked, a small group of students defacing property that they rightfully have no con­ trol over was called vandalism, not democracy. Yet, a spokes­ person for the Grassroots Association for Student Power was quoted in the Tribune as saying, “GRASPé supports these types of actions where students are able to go into public space and put up their own art or their own messages. We feel it's a very dem ocratic and effective way of going about getting these corporate spaces off our campus." [emphasis added] Where to begin? First of all, the washrooms in question aren't a public space. Rather, they're controlled by an orga­ nization that regularly holds elections to determine officers to make policy. Previous elections installed an administration that was willing to sell ad space in order to bring in revenue and this exec decided to keep it that way. That is represen­ tative democracy: decision-makers, properly elected, who do their jobs by signing contracts, making agreements and

T

governing.

What isn't representative democracy is a self-appointed group of vandals, acting to impose their vigilante version of justice on the entire student body with reckless disregard for "the system." It is shameful that an organization like GRASPé would step up to defend their actions as the dem ocratic thing to do.

Unfortunately, GRASPé's difficulty in understanding the notion of democracy doesn't stop at defending this recent fit of anti-corporate property damage. Back in the fall, GRASPé pushed an anti-corporate resolution past the student body at a small forum, at an extremely inconvenient time. When oth­ ers charged them with violating democratic principles and enacting mob rule by using a venue where only the most ardent supporters of a given motion would turn out, GRASPé dismissed their claims, instead, its members argued that the General Assembly was democratic because it allowed live debate, whereas referendums allow no such luxury.

Additionally, two years ago, before GRASPé emerged as the unfortunately loud-mouthed force that it has become on

our poor campus, its ideological brethren pushed SSMU into a strike that most students didn't support and proceeded to block any sort of motion that would have allowed a direct student plebiscite on the issue (which actually would have constituted democracy in its purest form).

GRASPé has managed to confuse apathy with democ­ racy. In its Ahab-like quest to rid our campus of the influence of corporations (which, apparently are a ll simply evil in the purest sense), GRASPé is willing to employ or defend the em­ ployment of the lowest form of common thuggery and the cheapest, most Machiavellian of legislative tactics.

The fact that most of the students on this campus simply don't care enough to either condone or condemn anti-corporate rabble rousing should not make it the policy of the body politic as a whole, nor are General Assemblies a good way to make policy since they are not particularly democratic. Democracy certainly isn't defacing property to advance a particular set of ideological objectives, the rest of the student body be damned. Frankly, this shouldn't be so hard to GRASPé. ■

06.02.07 -The McGNITribune •9

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r ib u n e

E D IT O R IA L

GAs make a mockery of democracy

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hen the General Assembly was made into a regular occurrence last year, those in favour of direct, participatory democracy had every right to raise a glass in celebration. The Students'Society would be required to hold, once per semester, a meeting where students could pro­ pose and debate policies that would be binding on SSMU councillors and executives. SSMU mem­ bers would finally be able to have a say in how it is governed and operated. Or so we thought.

The events at the most recent General Assem­ bly cast serious doubt on the commitment of the students, councillors and executives of the Society to the spirit of the GA.The actions of Speaker Corey Shefman concerning the two motions on blood drives and the subsequent debate over his rulings were particularly distressing.

For those who didn't decide to wait around for the two and a half hours before the blood drive motions were taken up, a. quick summary is in order: They weren't even discussed, amended or voted upon. True, there was heated discussion about whether they should even be debated, but that was about all.

The motions.were ruled unconstitutional for two separate reasons. SSMU Councillor and Engi­ neering Undergraduate Society blood drive coor­ dinator Evan Singer's bid to allow other interested groups to hold blood drives in Shatner was said to violate (if it passed) the preamble of the SSMU constitution, which says that "all Society endeav­ ours shall be undertaken... without discrimination on the basis of irrelevant personal characteristics."

Marc-Andre Rousseau's motion, which would have mandated Council to hold a referendum on the issue, was declared unconstitutional because a GA motion apparently cannot commit SSMU Council to a specific course of action. This, of course, is not spelled out anywhere in the constitution or the by­ laws of the Society.

The whole issue of banning blood drives hinges on a particular interpretation of the Soci­ ety's constitution. This is clear from the fact that holding blood drives was never a problem in the past. If the EUS holds a blood drive in the Shatner building with no monetary support from SSMU, is it a SSMU. endeavour? Is Health Canada's decision to not accept blood from men who have had sex with men based on an irrelevant personal charac-

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teristic?

We're not here— nor are we qualified— to answer those questions. But neither is Corey Shef­ man. His reading of the SSMU constitution may in fact be correct, but nowhere in the Society's by-laws or in its constitution is the Speaker em­ powered to make such a decision. In fact, a plain reading of Robert's Rules of Order shows that he was wrong to insist on a two-thirds majority vote to overturn his ruling on the question; all that was required was a simply majority. Only if a student at the assembly had objected to the motion being considered would a two-thirds majority have been required to sustain that objection.

Moreover, it is unclear how Shefman came to his conclusion. Did he consult the latest scientific studies ahd figures, to determine the risk, if any, to the blood supply? Did he ask law professors or SSMU's lawyers about the meaning of "endeavour"?

Unfortunately, he waited until the last possible moment to declare that students wouldn't even be able to address the topic at all.

The manner in which this was done may have been technically correct, but it wasn't in keeping with the spirit of the GA. If Shefman knew that he was not going to allow the motions to be consid­

ered, why were they allowed on the agenda? Why was ink wasted on printing the advertisements in the campus press to get students to come out?

Many students showed up and sat through two hours before they learned that they wouldn't be able to vote on the issue. For those not normally involved with the Society, it was an excellent intro­ duction to the democratic process, SSMU-style.

The simple fact is that the constitution is open to interpretation by students as well as councillors.

This year, executives have interpreted the constitu­ tion in a way that forbids the Society from hosting blood drives. Why, then, should the general stu­ dent body not be able to do the same thing? Why should the student body not even be allowed to debate the decision in a forum where real change can be made?

The students at the assembly did themselves a disservice by not voting to overturn the ruling. In effect, their actions send the signal that we don't want to talk about this issue. Surely considering and then voting down the proposals would have sent a much stronger signal that the Society mem­ bership does not want blood drives in the Shatner building. Instead, it sets a much more troubling precedent: Don't agree with us? Go home. ■

M A L DE TÊTE

by

M allory D ash

design@mcgilltribune.com

Online Editor

O FF T H E B O A R D

Hike for the hike

Casey Collins

online@mcgilltribune.com

Advertising Manager

B en Lemieux

n seemingly selfless and noble fashion, mem­ Power and everyone with social-democratic lean­ Empty socialist rhetoric is all well and good, but you Paul Slachta bers of the student community recently took to ings these days want to have their cake and eat it can't argue with math (don't even start the "hidden advmgr@ssmu.mcgill.ca lower campus in shorts and T-shirts as part of an too. They want more academic advisors, smaller ancillary fees"debate because they do not enter into informative campaign directed at undergraduate class sizes and profs who are more attentive to stu­ the equation— you'll be paying those one way or AdTypesetter students to bolster popular support for the Quebec dents than research grants. In an ideal world, stu­ another).

V ladim ir Eremin Some still maintain that raising tuition will dents would not have to worry about any of these tuition freeze. "Freezing for the freeze,"they called it. cripple students from lower-income backgrounds things.

Naturally, in this same ideal universe, money Everyone prefers to pay as little as possible; Publisher would grow on trees or the Quebec government or result in unmanageable student debt. Fine. De­ that's a given.

However, a pervasive sense of entitle­ Chad Ronalds ment has been breezing through campus recently would simply pony up all the cash universities need spite the fact that Quebeckers have the fourth-highContributors and the wildly naïve views of a narrow-minded, (this province's post-secondary education system is est median per capita income level and the lowest Magda Gonçalves Baptista, Emily post-secondary tuition fees in.the country, let's play haughty minority have been largely unopposed.This running an $85-million deficit).

Barca, Sonya Bell, Linda Bourenanni, devil's advocate and say that they do require a boost A tuition freeze might save students a few dol­ is why I have decided to take a stand in an equally Steven Campbell, Jesse Chaser, lars, but it will not save our schools. However, even a to be able to attend. cavalier manner.

Matt Chesser, Nora Coghlan, Clarice If Quebec universities receive additional tuition On Mar. 21 , the day of the vernal equinox— a minuscule tuition increase (say from $1,668 to $2,500 Connors, Mallory Dash, Jessica fees and government funding to universities does per year), when multiplied by 165,000 full-time Que­ day of renewal and reinvigoration— I'm going to Dismont, Pamela Fillion, Maria Forti, congregate with as many like-minded McGillians as bec university students would result in a net yearly not change— which, both logically and normaEzra Glinter, Valerie Gordon, Judah possible and throw down the gauntlet before the gain of $i32-million, which doesn't even include in­ tively, it shouldn't— it will allow both the provincial Issa, J.F. Kostuck, Nadine Lessard, and federal governments to dedicate more of their pinko freezies: I'm going to trek up to Mount Royal creased revenue from out-of-province students.

Kristin Maich, Blair Mestel, Matt Segal, If properly allocated, this cash could reduce spending to bursaries for academic excellence or and "Hike for the hike."

John Semley, Byron Tau, Stephanie Hiking for increased tuition fees may seem stu­ the strain on our post-secondary system. Universi­ students from low-income households, or low-inter­ Tombari, Carolyn Yates pid, perhaps even belligerent, but it's about time ties could take steps towards self-sufficiency, pro­ est, long-term student loans. Universities will thus Tribune Offices we Quebeckers called a spade a spade. Though it viding better services on campus, improving their dodge the moral debate on sliding-scale tuition and Editorial Shatner University Centre is painfully repetitive to hear Heather Munroe-Blum existing facilities, building new ones and attracting students with greater financial needs will receive the Suite no, 3480 McTavish blame underfunding for most of McGill's problems, professors of greater renown, thereby gaining pres­ aid they require.

Montreal, QC H3A1X9 None of these solutions are ideal for everyone, it's the truth. Quebec universities are short approxi­ tige and ultimately bringing .more students to their T: 514398.6789 but I believe them to be more realistic, pragmatic E: info@mcgilltribune.com mately 900 professors and $375-million. Along with campuses.

Such a tuition increase would be nothing more and utilitarian than freezing your ass off in the dead Ontario, Quebec offers the lowest level of per-stuAdvertising Brown Student Building dent support in North America. It's all that our prov­ than a pen-prick for students, as $600 per year at a of winter. Thus, on the first day of spring, I'll be trudg­ Suite 1200,3600 McTavish ing up Mount Royal in support of our universities. I $9 per hour wage would take 66 hours to work off, ince can afford to do.

Montreal, QC H3A1Y2 encourage any and all of you to join me. ■ a grand total ofi.

2 8 additional work hours per week.

Freezies, the Grassroots Association for Student T: 514.398.6806 F: 514398.749Q The McGill 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 Submissionsjudged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tr/bune reserves the rightto edit all contributions.

Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

I

10 •The McGill Tribune •06.02.07

^

Letters to the editor Not all nukes are bad While Leron Vandsburger's suggestion that some countries cannot be trusted with nukes is sound ("The state of the union is strong," 30 .01 .07), dragging secular and democratic France, India and the United States down to the level of Iran and North Korea was unnecessarily demeaning. Having a nuke at all ought not be taboo. It's having one under a fanatic dictatorship that's a cause for concern.

offending Oprah and her followers, believ­ ers and devotees in a way that would be considered insulting if applied to other tra­ ditions. While I realize that to discuss pop culture and religion in the same breath is considered problematic by many within our more well-known religions, and that there is a tongue-in-cheek journalistic style involved here, but I believe that as intellectuals and ethical human beings we need to treat all manifestations of religion, spirituality and popular devotion with the same critical rigour, scholarly concern and respect.

— Manosij M ajum dar U0 Chemical Engineering

Oprah: more than quasi-religious I read with interest your recent article discussing Oprah Winfrey, her followers and contemporary religiosity ("Oh, Oprah!

Hallow be thy name," 30 .01 .07). However, I was somewhat concerned with the way in which you discussed it without reference to the large amount of scholarly literature discussing Oprah and religion. The article was intelligent and interesting and includ­ ed some seemingly relevant sources, but it failed to account for the fact that Oprahism has been a focus for scholars in religious studies for some time.

Having taught a course on religion and popular culture here at McGill for several years, I know that there is a large amount of academic work in sociology of religion, psychology of religion, general religious studies and even cultural studies discussing Oprahism and other manifestations of con­ temporary popular spirituality. We also have members of her faith teaching and studying here at McGill. This signifies that Oprahism and other popular religions such as Harry Potterism, deserve to be discussed with the same academic and scholarly rigour and seriousness as any other religious faith or tradition.

I think that, by not doing so, you risk

— Richard Walker PhD Candidate & Faculty Lecturer Faculty o f Religious Studies

• To answer the question of wheth­ er Oprah is the Jesus of daytime TV, I would have to say a definite yes! Oprah leads by example and has shown the entire world that we all have the power to make change.

I know that many people go overboard with regards to putting Oprah on a pedestal (like me, I admit it!), but I can honestly say that I think there's nothing wrong with that.

I grew up watching Oprah with three sisters and I think that she is a phenom­ enal role model for young girls and older women alike. She's strong, independent, hard working, opinionated, unbelievably generous and most of all she's passionate.

Those are all amazing qualities and values I hope to instill in my future children one day.

The one thing that worries me the most is that she will be retiring in five years and our "Jesus" will be no more! Who will the young girls of the world be left with as role models, apart from our wonderful mothers? Paris Hilton? Tori Spelling? The girls who shake their butts in the Snoop Dogg videos?

— Nadine Lessard Admissions Counsellor

G end er parity is an insult to w om en K ate S pirgen n the wonderfully diverse that just because I'm a woman coaxing while racial and reli­ world of McGill University, I need special treatment? Am I gious minorities aren't? we seem to pride ourselves not equal to a man? If that's the That's why the reasoning on acceptance, tolerance and point being made here, differ­ behind this motion is so deeply all the other buzzwords that ential treatment is the last thing flawed. This is a step backward go along with them. In our I want. Separate but equal isn't in the name of progress. If the crusade to make everyone feel really equal— even the United point is that the arguments of welcome and equal, we fight States Supreme Court agrees women are just as important oppression, prejudice, bigotry with me on this one. as the arguments of men and and racism against blacks, Jews, This is insulting to the we should be allowed to voice homosexuals and anyone else male community as well. Not those opinions, we already have who might feel that their rights only does this proclaim that the that right. This just draws atten­ aren't defended by society. men of McGill are chauvinists tion to the fact that the speaker Conforming with this ideal, who would inhibit women from is a woman, which is the last last week's General Assembly participating in debate, but this thing that we want. passed a motion that calls for allows women to essentially The arguments of both debate in future GAs to follow cut the line. It's obvious that genders should be heard as ra­ the rules of gender parity. While more male than non-male stu­ tional debate, not as a woman's I had no idea what that meant at dents showed up to the GA, but argument or a man's argument, the time, it was explained to me whose fault is that? If girls want which is exactly what will hap­ that this would mandate that to get involved and have their pen when someone is speaking arguments for and against a voice heard, all we have to do is at a gendered microphone. By motion would have to alternate show up and get on stage— no drawing attention to the issue, boy, girl— or more accurately, one is stopping us. the patriarchal society that this male, non-male. At first I was What's to stop us from policy claims to be fighting is puzzled. Why on Earth would having racial parity too? With actually reinforced by showing someone want to do that?- Isn't an alternating white, non-white that women aren't as strong that just needlessly complicat­ structure, minority races would as men and need help to be­ ed? Then it was proclaimed that feel welcome to participate come their equals. I know that this system is needed in order in debate. Or a Christian, non- I'm equal to any man and that's to make female participants in Christian structure that would why this whole notion of gen­ the GA feel more welcome on make people of all religions der parity is so offensive. stage. feel like they belong on stage.

Women, just like men, I, as a member of the "op­ It's the same idea, but it isn't have the right to participate in pressed majority," was person­ done— probably because it debate. We have the right to ally insulted. I don't need a spe­ would be ridiculous to have make our voices heard. We also cial mandate to allow me to feel that many microphones. But have the right to wait in line welcome to debate. Why is it why are women in need of with everyone else. ■

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T O P 10

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iv in

Most underrated TV shows Back off, bitch, and get Let r u b y o u h a rd a ll your own sandwich! n ig h t lo n g

g

S T U D E N T S A V IN G S

S c r u b s

While there is a lot of overrated crap on TV these days (and let's be honest, there always has been, no matter how much we may long for the "glory days"), every now and again there are a few good programs that are actually worth watching. Sadly, they don't always get the praise that they deserve. Here is our attempt to right some of those wrongs: 1 . Scrubs:

Like Rodney Dangerfield, this show gets no respect. Unlike him though, it's actually funny.

H u n g r y f o r a n a lt e r n a t iv e t o C h a rtw e lls ?

R e a d o n t o f in d a b e t t e r e s t a b lis h m e n t J ames G otowiec

Sandwiches are beautiful, sandwiches are fine. I like sandwiches, I eat them all the time. Well, not me so much as Bob King, the songwriter who came up with that won­ derful classic, "Sandwiches." Bob would have felt right at home on the McGill campus, where.there are sandwich­ 3 . Arrested Development: Everyone seems to have loved this show, yet Fox can­ es available around nearly every corner. If you've been celled it because no one watched it. Go figure. trudging to the same Tim Horton's for the past semester, you don't know what you've been missing. While a lot of 4 . The Simpsons: Lately it has become cool to bitch that this classic isn't what it the options on campus are owned by Chartwells, there once was. No, it's not the same show it was 10 years ago, but it's still a damned are alternatives to paying too much money for cardboard funny show. quality.

5. Law & Order. The spin-offs have mostly been terrible and it now lives in the If you're over on the McTavish side of campus, there's shadow of CSI, but the original is still going strong. always the Shatner building. Shatner is home to many choices for the sandwich seeker: Caferama, Cultures 6 . M agnum , PI: Tom Selleck and his sweet'stache solving crimes while driving (aka Veggierama) on the second floor, as well as Franx around Hawaii in a red Ferrari. What more could anyone want?

Supreme, which makes a mean club sandwich. Unless you're desperate, or have a huge wad of cash from your 7 . Futurama: Cancelled by Fox, this funny, fu­ student loan burning a hole in your pocket, try to avoid turistic animated comedy will be back on the the first and second floors of Shatner. As a rule, the ser­ air again in 2008 after a full-length movie hits vice is awful, the lines are long and the food is expensive. the big screen.

Expect to pay around $7 for the privilege of a sandwich, a 8 . Friday N ight Lights: With indie-style direct­ side and a drink from Shatner. ing, sharp dialogue and politically charged Of course, there's always AITaib, famous for its $2.25 plots, this new series is anything but your falafel. We can go into the philosophy of wrap vs. sand­ hackneyed underdog-football-team-triKILLBOTS.COM wich vs. pita later, but this place does certainly qualify as umphs series. cheap. The only problem is that at lunch time the lineup It got cancelled, for shame. is out the door (no one seems to have realized that it 9 . Dexter. Cop by day, serial killer by night: This might be a good idea to hire an extra person at lunch) new Showtime series is creepy, gritty and addictive as hell. and by the time you get to the front, inevitably they are 10 . K night Rider: Hasselhoff. Talking car. Crime-fighting. Enough said. out of what you want. I've never heard them say sorry.

For those closer to the Bronfman building, or willing 2 . Everybody Hates Chris:

It's not so much that this show is underrated as no one in Canada has ever heard of it because it airs on a third-rate U.S. cable network.

to walk five minutes, there are two options within easy reach. The MACES café, accessible from the alley behind the bookstore, offers a triple-decker sandwich with your choice of meats plus a large helping of chips (either regular or BBQ) for $4 .50 . Many enthusiasts would argue that this deal pales in comparison to Super Sandwich, a dep in the basement of the Cartier building at Peel and Sherbrooke. Super Sandwich offers lots of different sand­ wiches, all served on slightly warmed sub-style rolls.They range in price from $2.75 for egg salad up to $4 for turkey.

The temptation to eat them right in the store is hard to resist. The only downside is that there's nowhere to sit.

What are those stuck on the science and engineer­ ing side of campus to do? Unfortunately, there are only a few Chartwells-free options. The small shop in the Burn­ side basement provides mediocre sandwiches if you're in a bind, but they are slightly mushy and Wonderbreadesque.

Which leaves the Architecture Café. Yes, it's suppos­ edly secret and the lines can be long, but it does have good sandwiches. Try the cajun chicken, which, contrary to the sign, is certainly not new, but for $3.75 it is possibly the best deal on campus. It comes on a kaiser roll with a big chunk of chicken and a nice slathering of creamy cajun sauce. The Café has other wraps and sandwiches as well for around the same price. You can order a cajun chicken and an "extreme brownie'for $5 and get the sat­ isfaction of supporting the little guy. Everyone wins!

So next time you head out the door without pack­ ing a lunch, don't trudge straight to Chartwells in des­ peration. There are plenty of other options, if you know where to look. ■

— com piled by Adam Smith

H O W -T O

Feel classy on a budget: a guide to cheap wine G e t t in g d r u n k w it h s ty le is e a s ie r t h a n it lo o k s a n d c o s ts le ss t h a n $ 1 3 , ta x in c lu d e d A dam S mith

Alcohol is a staple of the university student's diet, but as much as we enjoy getting trashed on cheap Boréale at events like SnoAP and AUS Pub Night, sometimes the night calls for something a little bit classier. This is where wine comes in. Not only does it make you seem more sophisticated than a 40 of Black Label, it packs a decent punch (wine's alcohol content is typically about two or three times most beers'). Montreal also abounds with bring-your-own-wine restaurants, so being able to pick out a decent cheap wine is a useful skill to have.

Essentially, there are three places to buy wine: the Quebec Liquor Corp. (a.k.a. the SAQ), grocery stores (e.g.

Metro, Provigo) and the omnipresent dépanneur. The first— and most important— trick to finding drinkable wine on a tight budget is to avoid the dep at all costs because they tend to sell crappy wine at ridiculously in­ flated prices.

The SAQ is your best bet, but many of stores close early (frequently by 9 p.m., even on Friday and Satur­ day nights), so try to plan ahead by a few hours. If worst comes to worst, the grocery stores are usually open until after they have to stop selling alcohol at 11 p.m. The SAQ has by far the widest selection and the prices are usually better too. For instance, Yellow Tail Shiraz, a decent Aus­

tralian red, sells for $12 .85 . The Little Penguin Chardonnay (Australia, white, $12 .95) is also not bad.The SAQ also sells a number of wines for under $io a bottle that are better than what is available for the same price at the dep. At the SAQ, you generally get what you pay for: personal pref­ erences aside, the higher the price, the better the wine tends to be.

The grocery stores stock wine whose quality falls somewhere between that of the bottles at the SAQ and deps. Pretty much anything at Provigo (or Metro) will be okay. However, none of them are really fantastic and you're probably better to stick to something cheaper like a Barzoli (Italian, red, $9 .69 ) or (Oro de Chile, white, $10 .69 ).

Last but not least, we have the dep. Since they're everywhere, they're usually closer than any of the more attractive options, so it's important not to rule them out entirely. Prices vary from dep to dep, but pretty much ev­ erything is priced from $9 -14 . The same price/quality re­ lationship tends not to exist at the dep though, so you're usually best just to get whatever is really cheap. Many of the best wines at the dep are the ones with really cheesy graphics like Porte d'Enfer (French for"gates of hell"), Enig­ me (it has UFO on the bottle) and MonkeyTrail. Beware of the ones that try to look classy, because no matter how LEETIPTON much lipstick you put on them, they're still pigs. ■ The wine may be cheap, but you'll feel wealthy after enough glasses.

12 •Student Living •06.02.07

S T U D E N T S A V IN G S

Montreal is great, but get me out of here!

T h r e e R e a d in g W e e k itin e r a r ie s g u a r a n te e d t o c u r e t h e w in t e r b lu e s T raci J ohnson

As Reading Week approaches and Montre­ al's winter drags on in its bone-chilling glory, it is difficult to resist daydreams of sun and sand, or even just a trip outside the dreary city limits.

Students looking to expand their horizons be­ yond the McGill ghetto, depart on a weekend jaunt or skip off the island for the duration of February break may wish to consider one of the following itineraries. Warning: The Tribune does not take responsibility for property lost or stolen at the following destinations.

Itinerary 1: Operation ski frolic A ski weekend at MountTremblant cannot compare with a trip to B.C., but it beats tray sledding on Mount Royal.

A one-day lift ticket costs $6o 3nd equipment rentals range from $30 to $40 . Jay Peak in Vermont is a better deal: $40 lift tickets for students plus a $35 rental, but be sure to bring a passport and if you're not from North ■America, the chances of obtaining the required tourist visa in less than two weeks are roughly equal to the likelihood of McGill Cancelling finals ' due to inclement weather— slim to none. A coach bus to Jay Peak der parts from the Roddick gates every Saturday and Sunday at 7 a.m. and leaves the resort at 4 p.m. Book seats online at JayPeakresort.com at least 24 hours in advance for $15 .

After a day at the slopes, plan to crank the heat and throw a Hawaiianthemed bash. Stock-up on provisions at the

SAQ Depot, which sells liquor in bulk quantity at a 15 per cent discount. The Depot is located in the Marché Central shopping centre. To get there, take the orange line to the Cremazie metro, board the no. 100 bus heading west and get off at the corner of I'Acadie Boulevard and Cremazie.

Itinerary 2: Beantown or bust New York City boasts Broadway and a taller skyline, but Boston has its own charms and a shorter travel time . from Montreal. Buy bus tickets at least seven days in advance at Station Centrale (Berri-UQAM metro) for $iio roundtrip.

Crash a friend's dorm room— Boston claims the most college stu­ dents per square mile of any city in the United States— or book a bunk bed at Hostelling In­ ternational (12 Hemenway), a few steps from the Red Sox's Fenway Park. Make reservations for $28 per person, per night online at Hostels, com.

Boston is the perfect city to see in three to four days because its compact downtown is chock full of historical sites, shopping and hearty food all in walking distance. After the obligatory visit to colonial-era Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, head to the North End for treats

at Mike's Pastry (300 Hanover Street), a sweet tooth's paradise and a Boston institution. Stay and eat dinner at Francesca's (150 Richmond Street), one of the many quality Italian restau­ rants in the North End, or wander back down­ town through twisting side streets for Irish pub food at the .Green Dragon Tavern (11 Marshall Street), rumoured to be a haunt of revolutionary Paul Revere.

Students on a budget should take time to visit the Garmet District (200 Broadway) acrossthe river in Cambridge. The grungy, vintage cloth­ ing store houses moun­ tains of threads from the past five decades and a buck-a-pound floor on which cost is calculated by weight. Avid readers may want to stay in Cam­ bridge to indulge in in­ tellectual perusal at Har­ vard Square, where they will find 25 bookstores in walking distance. Shop­ pers with more high-end tastes should make their way to the boutiques on Newbury Street and check-out the Pruden­ tial Centre, affectionately known as the "Pru," where make-up afficianados can drool over Sephora's mega selection. Top off a day of sightseeing at with a drink at one of the bars on Landsdowne Street near Fenway, a popular destination for coeds from MIT, Boston University and Boston College.

The McGill

Itinerary 3: Last chance to visit Castro's Cuba Yes, Reading Week is less than two weeks away, but it's not too late to book a last-minute trip to the Caribbean. Cuban resorts offer some of the best deals and immigration officials there are kind enough to stamp the tourist cards, in­ stead of the passports, of Americans defying the U.S. embargo. Log onto Flightcentre.ca or Redtag.ca to search for all-inclusive packages; at press time the cheapest packages still rang in

YAHOO.COM

Vacay in Cuba before he kicks the bucket.

under $700 , after taxes. Be sure to check how far the hotels are from the beach and click on flexible dates to get the best prices.

If you have your heart set on visiting Cu­ ba's cultural mecca and capital city, Havana, look for resorts in nearby Varadero, but cheap­ er deals can be found on the eastern side of the island in Holguin. Pack light: a swimsuit, a pair of shorts and small toiletries that can serve as tips for hotel staff will suffice. Leave room in your suitcase for cigars to appease envious friends and the two 750 ml bottles of liquor the Cuban government allows you to take out of the country. ■

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LITERATURE

Montreal author delivers powerful debut N e w c o m e r N e il S m ith o n t h e u n iv e r s e a n d e le m e n t a r y s c h o o l d is a s te r of The Lord o f the Rings he produced some years later). Opting for a degree in translation at Laval University and subsequently Some people are born writers, storytellers, fable-weavers. moving to Quebec City, it wasn't until recently that he rediscov­ Others are like Montreal-born Neil Smith. Though it took him ered his passion for writing. Smith began "reading voraciously," much of his life to discover his talent for fiction writing, he has attended a writing workshop and began committing his own creative fancy to paper in short story form. recently come into his own.

Now 42 — though he doesn't appear a day older than "My first writing goes back to grade one or two," recalls Smith. "I used to do a lot of illustrations so I did a comic book 26 — Smith has published Bang Crunch, his second book. A col­ on my classmates. It was like a period disaster film. So, there lection of nine short stories told from a variety of perspectives, was this disaster at the elementary school and everyone died. I narrative voices and styles, Bang C runch is an unpretentious, wasn't in it. I took myself out, but all my classmates died in vari­ soulful work and ought to be considered a staple of contem­ porary Canadian fiction writing. ous ways. So that was my first book; I was seven.”

Making up in wit and wisdom what he lacks in writing ex­ Though Smith evidently never lost his dry, at times som­ bre sense of humour, he did end up taking a 35 -year hiatus perience, Smith's stories are infused with deeply moving emo­ from writing after penning his elementary school graphic tional undertones, consistently maintaining a tone that feels novel (with the exception of a condensed, illustrated version highly personal and, refreshingly, devoid of narcissism or nag­ ging self-awareness. "I'm not a writer who likes to capture his own life in his writing," Smith comments. "It's true that there are some aspects of me in these characters and I think even the more bizarre stories, like Extremities [which features a character named Larry the Foot— an actual foot], the anger in that char­ acter and the extreme hate, all these are feelings that I've had."

A large part of Smith's gift, and of the originality and fluid pacing of Bang Crunch, lies in his eclectic repertoire of distinc­ tive narrative voices. His endless creativity allows the reader to enter into the mind of a 55 -year-old alcoholic woman who converses with a curling stone containing the ashes of her pre­ maturely deceased husband and to read the diary of a young girl with "Fred Hoyle Syndrome," whose rapid mental and physi­ cal aging and ensuing reversion mirrors the evolution of the universe.

On his abnormal and frequently comedic practice of animating inanimate objects— like calfskin gloves, the curling stone and the acerbic Larry the Foot— Smith explains, "When you're trying to describe objects in writing and you have no visuais and you have to use words to create these visuals, you're giving life to these objects. So I've just taken it one step further and these objects come to life, quite literally in certain cases.

When I wrote Extremities, I'd gotten to the point where I'd writ­ ten from a girl's point of view, an older woman's point of view, a straight guy, a gay guy,-an older man, so I wanted to do some­ thing that was outside of that."

Though Smith has rather bewilderingly not been enrolled in a literature course since late high school, his prose is mature, competently expressive, direct, and, above all else, delightful to read. In particular, Smith takes pleasure in outlining the impact of faith and fate in our lives, despite the fact that Fred Hoyle, an BENLEMIEUX early 20 th-century British astronomer and the creative spring­ Natural environment— Smith uses Montreal as a colourful board for Bang Crunch's titular story, once opined,"there are no backdrop in four of his stories. blind forces worth speaking about in nature."

B en Lemieux

"I think it's worth talking about faith,"Smith asserts,"even if you're an atheist. I don't know if I'd agree with Hoyle complete­ ly. Is love a blind force? Is it visible to the naked eye? Even in the

LEETIPTON Bang Crunch — incisive modern fiction for modern times.

last story, Jaybird, this guy who, unbeknownst to him, is playing a part in this sketch that's going to be put on— much differ­ ent from the sketch that he'd originally imagined— he's playing along, he thinks he has the control but in the end he doesn't.

And it helps him. It becomes a realization about his life."

Aggregating issues of identity, purpose, attachment and detachment with appropriate degrees of wit, wordplay, sorrow and warmth, Smith, with Bang Crunch, offers a collection of breathtaking beauty and humanity. ■

PO P RH ETO R IC

Potter is the shit ast week, the release date for H arry Potter a n d the D eathly Hallows (July 21 , 2007 , at 12:01 a.m.) was quietly announced. For those who have been living under a lit­ erary rock, D eathly H allows is the final book in J. K. Rowling's seven-book series. I, in tune to the news like any good H arry Potter fan, found this out a mere two hours after it was re­ leased. I was in a lecture.

And started laughing maniacally.

People gave me weird looks.

Unfortunately, members of the Harry Potter fandom have been getting a lot of weird looks lately, mainly from those self-righteous literary pricks who are too good to pull themselves away from their grocery-store smut or the com­ plete works of Hemingway to invest in what is quite pos­ sibly the greatest literary phenomenon of all time. Many think, why bother? It's just a children's book, nothing good in there.

Well. Not quite.

While many of us grew up on a nutrition-free diet of Disney happily-ever-afters, H arry Potter is a shot of vitamins.

Not everything is okay and not everything .will work out all right in the end. People die, people are betrayed, people don't get away with murder, sometimes the good guys lose,

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sometimes the monster in the closet is dressed in a ridicu­ lous hat and is most definitely out to get you. That's life, and yes, life sucks. But what better age to start telling people that than when they are children? If my hopes had been crushed as a child, I'd probably feel a lot better about life now.

Many people have something against Harry Potter. If not just as a general principle, then for a variety of other reasons: J. K. Rowling is a hack, Potter promotes witchcraft, it's not high-quality enough, it's fantasy, it's too long, it's too short, it's popular and therefore must be shit.

A book is a book. And so it may seem like shit. But it's the shit.

So what if Rowling is a hack? Maybe after achieving vast commercial success she d id whore out the series to single-handedly create the billion-dollar enterprise that it has become, but she is also the first billionaire author. Can you blame her or honestly say that if any other author had the chance, they wouldn't do the same?

That Rowling is even allowed to interact with the fan base in the way that she does is part of the magic. Never before has the release of a book garnered such media at­ tention and never before has an author specified the date of her book release down to the minute and been taken com­

C arolyn Y ates pletely seriously. Never before have people analyzed inter­ view transcripts from years before a book is released as they try to predict which characters will live or die.

For those who think that the pleasant tale of an abused child who goes off to magical boarding school to try to de­ feat evil is obviously trying to promote satanic rituals and human sacrifice, please find something better to do with your time and stop wasting everyone else's. That means you, Laura Mallory. There is a reason you are the Washing­ ton Post's Idiot of the Year. And hey, let's say Harry Potter is banned. Excellent. There is nothing more enticing than a banned book. Please, make Harry illegal so your children will do everything they can to read it and see what nasty big­ oted rodent people you are.

So say it is a waste of time, a waste of paper, an insult to every other author alive or dead. Say it promotes witchcraft, say it's hack writing, say it's fluff, say it's too childish, too long, too mainstream, too clichéd, too empty (it may not be a conventional children's book, but Rowling did not intend to pen W ar a n d Peace). Say what you like about it: you're prob­ ably wrong.

Stop beating on the fans and enjoy it while it lasts.The magic will be gone in 164 days anyway. ■

14 •Arts &Entertainment •06.02.07

The McGill Tribune COMPILED BY CRYSTAL CHAN

P r e v ie w s

Theatre. The Vagina Monologues, Feb. g to ti at 8 p.m.; Leacock 132 (855 Sherbrooke W.). V-Weeks culminates in the fifth staging of The Vagina M onologues here at McGill. Originally an off-Broadway M c G ill one-woman show by Eve Ensler-based on 200 ~interviews with women about anything and everything to do with female sexuality and sexual violence, the show continually evolves to incorporate monologues on current issues. Over the past 10 years, It has become a global phenomenon and is per­ formed at V-Day benefits worldwide. Tickets are $10 for students and can be pre-purchased at AUS Snax or the Brown Building lobby.The money raised will go directly to local organizations working to end gender violence. Last year's staging raised over $20 ,000 .

DAY

UNPlrHEViOUNCtSTOP5

C P S tu d y

Literature. Withwords Winter Launch, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; Zeke's Gallery (3955 St-Laurent). Authors Gillian Sze, Cait Kennedy and Bradley Benninger will be reading from their new works for Withwords, a local chapbook press that finds and promotes innovative local poetry and fiction.

Warm up with some literary sparks for the cold season while enjoying some good suds. Visit www.withwordspress. com for more information.

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You have the choice of living in an apartment with other students, or with a Florentine family.

Also available, painting, sculpture, cooking classes and photography.

Music. Billy Talent, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.; Coli­ sée Pepsi (250 Boul Wilfrid-Hamel). The Juno award winning punk rockers are in town tonight on one of the last stops on their National tour. The tour follows the June 23 release of their second album. Although the band may be short of any unique talent, the Talent group has become wildly popular for their fun-filled,Jive shows.

Rise Against, Anti-Flag and Moneen open for Billy Talent.

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T e rry C re w s o n th e NFL a n d E d d ie M u rp h y J udah Issa Whether large, small, skinny or tall, people come in dif­ ferent shapes and sizes. And Eddie Murphy once again sets out to expose the ridiculous in each and every body type.

Norbit, the actor/writer's latest comedy, highlights the rela­ tionship between a man (Murphy) and his very large, very mean wife (also Murphy). Rasputia, the afore-mentioned wife and her equally nasty brother, Big Black Jack (Terry Crews, Everybody Hates Chris) wreak havoc on Norbit's life, while the poor man struggles to find hi$ way into the arms of his true love, the beautiful Thandie Newton.

"Everybody knows a Rasputia," Crews admits with a laugh.'This woman is at the customer service, this woman is at the airport...she is the bane of your existence. Every time you try to do something, she's there, in your way."

Murphy, in his inimitable way, hones in on that type of Everywoman and blows, her flaws out of the water, quite literally.

"In an Eddie Murphy film," Crews explains, "you get the way he sees things and people. Fie uses his interpretation of life."

In addition to Rasputia and Norbit, Murphy plays Mr. Wong, the man who discovered baby Norbit on his doorstep and raised him. Called the "Leonardo Da Vinci of makeup" by Crews, eight-time Oscar winner Rick Baker created the pros­ thetics that morphed the actor into an enormous woman and an 80 -year old Asian man. The rest was all Murphy.

"Eddie is a master at becoming whatever he tries to do," says Crews. "When he was Mr. Wong, I even treated him dif­ ferently. It was like being with a brittle old man."

Crews's own character is a repulsive muscle man— small on brain, big on brawn— whose sole ambition is to own a strip-club. Playing a stereotyped role does not bother the actor.

"I'm a big black man,”says Crews."I'm not going to play a small white woman. The key though is to provide differ­ ences and nuances to the various characters you play."

Given the strong supporting talent in the movie, in­ cluding Eddie Griffin, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Marlon Wayans to name a few, the atmosphere on set inevitably veered into a comedic competition. Following Murphy's, example, few of the cast members stayed on script, making Crews occa-

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Jo h n S emley In 2002 , writer/director Joe Carnahan stepped out of relative obscurity and into the nurturing bosom of both critical acclaim and (at least for an indie) financial success with Narc. In the wake of Narc, it seemed he was a filmmak­ er to watch. Well, it appears that in the five-year interim between Narc and his new film, Carnahan has spent less time honing his skills and more time sitting around watch­ ing Guy Ritchie movies.

In Smokin' Aces, Carnahan mixes watered-down Tarrantino-esque stylistic excess, fashionable Nietzschean nihilism and a bunch of contrived, predigested twists and turns that seem as if they were ripped from the pages of Screenwriting For Dummies.

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Com e P lan t With" Us! J p L B r in k m a n & A s s o c ia t e s R e f o r e s t a t io n L td .

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to observe another comedic talent at work.

"Chris deals with real life issues and politics and turns everything on its ear," says Crews. "It's funny, because Eddy Murphy discovered Chris Rock, so [working with both of them] is kind of like working with your father and Grandpa!"

In fact, several of the actors on the set of N orbit owe part of their success to the comedic giant. "We were all doing this for Eddie,"Crews admits."We wanted to make him proud." ■ The result o f this heavyweight collaborative effort hits the­ aters Feb. 9.

ain't so hot

W h y y o u s h o u ld n 't see

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ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM Murphy brings multi-tasking back in a big way.

FILM S

Don’t be a Baby.

sionally question the projected PG-13 rating of the movie.

The actor credits director Brian Robbins for managing to stay in control.

"He reeled it all in and put it in a nice package,"Crews acknowledges. "But the ad-lib made it-better."

For his part, Crews mostly tried to follow direction.

"I'm a football player, so I go with the coach," he laughs.

The former NFL linebacker admits that football taught him some invaluable lessons, which have served him well as an actor. Having played for several teams in a span of six years, he learned the hard way how to persevere even in the face of rejection. Following his retirement from foot­ ball, Crews made the move to Hollywood with the thought of becoming a special effects artist. Fate intervened in the form of an audition and the rest, as they say, is history. His big breakthrough came with Everybody Hates Chris. Playing Chris Rock's father on the hit TV show gave him the opportunity

It's really too bad, because the plot has so much po­ tential: a dying Mafia Don puts out a million dollar bounty on the head of Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), a Vegas entertainer-cum-mob informant. A throng of hired kill­ ers— whose combined personalities constitute a virtual smorgasbord of one-dimensional eclecticism— travel to Nevada to take Israel out, and two FBI agents (Ryan Reyn­ olds and Ray Liotta) are assigned to extradite the marked man from his compromised hideout in a Lake Tahoe pent­ house suite. With the promise of cartoonishly violent overindulgence looming large, the job of the filmmaker would seem easy: assemble all these characters in a room .and have them fire bullets at one another. It i$ in his attempts to meander from such a True Romance-style dénouement that Carnahan overextends himself.

Unlike Guy Ritchie, who is able to manage and de­ velop a large cast of characters, imbuing them with a believability and dimensionality that extends beyond quaint stereotyping, Carnahan's ensemble cast falls flat. While each character, especially the hit men and women, has certain defining traits— one is a master of a disguise, one is an expert in torture, two speak fluent Ebonics and three are trigger-happy, chainsaw-toting Neo Nazis— such bland

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characterization serves only in distinguishing the charac­ ters from one another. With so many people on screen and so little time for their development (the film clocks in at a paltry 108 minutes), all the displays of emotion wrapped up in so many people getting killed comes across as insin­ cere at best.

There are a few worthy displays of acting in Smokin' Aces— most notably from Piven, who is animated (clearly channeling his persona from HBO's hit Entourage ) and con­ vincing in his portrayal of a cut-rate lounge act who bit off more organized crime than he could chew. The better per­ formances, from Liotta, Ben Affleck (playing a greasy bail bondsman) and Jason Bateman (who plays a very funny lawyer who is as venal as he is venereal), are all cut pain­ fully short. Ryan Reynolds, for all his smarbalecky amiabil­ ity, cannot hold a movie and Andy Garcia, playing some FBI superior or something, speaks with a vaguely dictato­ rial inflection that is simply laughable.

In trying to merge action flick with mob flick with comedy flick, Smokin' Aces oversteps its bounds. It tries to be too many things at once and as a result, never gains the awareness of its own sadistic silliness that would be required for this film to work. As bullets rip, blood splat­ ters and the body count mounts, even the appeal of the violence wears off, as the action never achieves a pal­ pable climax. This film tries far too hard to measure up to the hip violence of the Tarrantino/McGuigan school, while at the same time attempting to conscientiously im­ pose the elaborate narrative structures of Scorsese's and Coppola's mob classics. As a result, Smokin' Aces comes out as little more than the malodorous afterbirth of the classifiably cool crime movies of the last decade and Car­ nahan comes across as some self-important cinematic sophomore who can't seem to get over the fact that he's making a movie. ■ Smokin' Aces is playing a t the Param ount dow ntow n.

D on't go see it.

06.02.07 •Arts &Entertainment •15

www.mcgilltribune.com

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N o te d s c re e n w rite r discu sses th e m o v ie b u sin e ss, s u b c o n s c io u s c re a tiv ity a n d y o g a Ezra G linter

When Heather Munroe-Blum got her PhD from the University of North Carolina, it was on the back of M eat­ balls, a 1979 comedy starring Bill Murray. The movie was her husband's first successful screenplay and it allowed her to quit her job as a social worker and pursue her aca­ demic career.

"I'm a big fan of my wife's" says Len Blum, who mar­ ried McGill's current principal and vice-chancellor at the age of 19 . "I've really enjoyed watching her grow over the years."

Blum, who spoke at McGill last Friday as the English Department's Reynolds visiting artist, has written, in addi­ tion to Meatballs, movies such as Stripes, Beethoven's Sec­ ond, Private Parts and the 2006 rendition of The Pink Pan­ ther. He is also a yoga instructor and co-owner of United Yoga of Montreal, a studio on Ste-Catherine St. "I'm not writing anything right now," said Blum in a recent telephone interview, "I'm taking some time off and just focusing on yoga."

Though Blum has, according to his own account, become "Canada's most successful screenwriter," it was a late and unexpected development in his life. Until the age of 29 he had been a "not-particularly successful musician," supplementing his wife's income by playing small gigs and arranging music for television commercials. It was only through two of his friends, Danny Goldberg and Ivan Reitman, that he got involved in the movie business.

"They came to me because I was available," he said. "I would just help out— stop traffic, mix blood, make sound effects."

"When you commit to a life in the arts," he added, "it means that you have a lot of time to get involved in the creative projects of other people whom you like."

Eventually Blum discovered that he could write

as well, and with the success of Meatballs, launched his screenwriting career. Currently, Blum says, he gets paid about a million dollars per project, plus royalties.

As a creative artist, Blum is conscious both of his own creative needs as well as the need to sell his work and please audiences.

"My reader," as he described Friday, “is an over-forty year old male studio executive who hates to read."

To get a film executive through his script, Blum em­ ploys techniques such as ending each page with a joke or a compelling question. He also tries to simplify his lan­ guage as much as possible. . "Think of every word you leave out," he explained, "as thirty dollars in your pocket."

■While working on a project, Blum immerses him­ self as much as possible in his own creative process. He doesn't answer the phone during the day and only opens his mail once a month.

"When I'm writing a screen-play," he said, "my mind is totally taken up with that developing story and trying to hear the voices of characters that don't really exist.'"

Though he maintains a regular nine-to-five writing regimen, he emphasizes the importance of subconscious creativity.

"The unconscious is very important," he said. "I never sit and stare at the empty page. When I was younger, I used to try harder but now I just know it's going to come and often it comes when I'm asleep. I'll wake up and real­ ize that some part of my unconscious was working on the problem and something popped from my unconscious to my conscious and woke me up."

Despite his successes, Blum has no plans to go back to writing anytime soon.

"Doing yoga is probably better for people than going to movies," he said."I feel very good about my current em­ ployment." ■

COMPILED BY JEREMY YOUNG

R e v ie w s

J.F. Robitaille— The Blood In M y Body. Montreal-born, Brook­ lyn-based J.F. Robitaille wonders "what we're made of" and apparently you make him feel the blood in his body. This singer/songwriter once headed the Social Register, and now he's taking the high road all alone, blood and all.

Robitaille's somewhat monotone voice has an inex­ plicable ability to put together the loveliest melodies. His. style resembles that of Leonard Cohen, whose "Famous Blue Raincoat" he bor­ rows to close out this short— but sweet— EP. And it's hard to admit but, fortu­ nately, he does it justice. ' These six ballads sway between themes of his New York lifestyle, his rela­ tionships and his vulnerable memory. But the brilliance of Robitaille's songwrit­ ing comes from his honest simplicity. A nice change; complexity is overrated.

Dave Macleod— Strange Biology. It seems Dave Macleod is the new New Gentlemen's Shuffle.Timber never died, but instead transformed into a power rock combo that aban­ doned its folk roots almost immediately after it got off the bus back from Nashville. Macleod picks up right where Timber left off, with the entire Ships At Night recording collective present in the studio lending a helping hand.

Strange Biology is Macleod's first solo venture, but these songs are as mature as they come. Here is an album that practically defines the Mile End songwriter's musical gift. Playing acoustic guitar on every track, Macleod plants his songs within the folk tradition and experiments with thoughtful, personal lyrics. Biol­ ogy is also dripping with lush vocal harmonies. “One By One,""Books About The. Past" and "Long Goodbyes" stand out as the most melodically unique and, holy crap, they're catchy.

G o o d Lookin'?

P ut t h o s e o b s e v a tio n a l skills to w ork: jo in t h e Tr i b un e d e s ig n te a m .

C on tact design@ m cgilltribune.conn for m ore information.

"I earned my undergraduate degree, n o w i w a n t to

stand up for the public”

THEATRE

Of arias and eras

In te rw a r te n s io n jo in s d a n c in g fro g s o n sta g e R aphaelle P einado

From Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, McGill Opera staged Maurice Ravel's benfant et les sortilèges and Giacomo Puccini's G ianni Schicchi. Upon first glance, putting both these one-act op­ eras in one performance seems arbitrary, but an emphasis on the two's thematic and historic links produced a new and insightful opera experience.

In benfantetles sortilèges, a disobedient and lazy child goes on a destructive rampage, breaking everything in his path. He refuses to conform to that which his mother and society expect of him— he would rather play than learn his lessons. Similarly, the characters of G ianni Schicchi do not follow societal norms— they tamper with Buoso Donati's inheritance despite the illegality of this act, in order to assüre themselves a portion of his fortune.

Although G ianni Schicchi is traditionally set in 13thcentury Florence, director Guillermo Silva-Marin chose to set both shows "in the years immediately following the First World War when matters of life and death rang po­ tently true for both Ravel and Puccini."

The set design, costumes, blocking and plot lines of these operas would have rendered these operas enjoy­ able even to audience members who are not particularly drawn to opera or to classical music.The production em­ phasized the light and comedic nature of these operas.

Costuming the opera in i 92 os-style dress complimented the directorial vision of the production's early-modernity time period, while at the time channelling the freedom and frivolity of the epoch.

The black and white art deco likewise draws inspira­ tion from the prominence atthe time of cubism, construc­ tionism, modernism, Bauhaus and even art nouveau. The set consisted of giant black and white rectangular panels, on which various geometric shapes were painted, with doorways from which characters would fly in and out.

This hectic mood was emphasized through the operas' dynamic blocking: characters were in constant motion across the stage, entering and exiting from the door­ ways, dancing and Switching places with one another. In benfant et les sortilèges, a child's bedroom is transformed into a magical garden of singing plants and animals.

The animals' dances, especially the frogs' dances, across the stage were nothing short of exceptional hilarity. . These creative theatrics kept the performance con­ sistently lively and true to the disorientated sensibility of the plot and time-a comedy of corruption. Silva-Marin pointed out that both operas deal thematically with "the apparent disruption experienced when humans dismiss their ties to the social contract or disregard basic ethical considerations for the sake of personal gratification."

Julian Wachner was at the musical helm of the pro­ duction, a conductor who was able to mold these two "fantastic masterpieces of the 20 th century" successfully, believes Sean Waugh, U2 Music: Performance and vocal­ ist in both pieces. "Some people think the two couldn't

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This two-for-one was no second-rate production. be more opposite: Italian and French; Ravel and Puc­ cini;" Waugh asserts, however, that the two scores, "mesh strangely well together, and both's beautiful music draws on the same magical realism."

Combining the operas was fresh and appealing. It provided the audience with variety without confusion.

The success of this double-bill owed itself to the binding colours, themes and moods of these two operas— com­ bining the best of both worlds.* — A dd ition al reporting by Crystal Chan

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16 •Arts &Entertainment •06.02.07

THEATRE

Babes, blood and Broadway Blank slate theatre A c o m m e d ia d e ll'm o d e rn a rt at Mainline Theatre Valerie G ordon

B u rle s q u e g o o d n e s s a n d c h e e k y c a m p in V a m p ir e

L e s b ia n s

o f S o d o m

continued from COVER

two hatch a plan to take Broadway by storm, Mainline's latest production is a hilariously depraved approbation of B-movie (and theatre) decadence.

It is difficult, if not impossiblè, to go wrong with a play entitled Vampire Lesbians o f Sodom, but direc­ tor Jeremy Hechtman and his cast (Catherine Bérubé, Stéphanie Breton, Joel Fishbane, Patrick Goddard, Dan Jeannotte, Patricia Summersett and Paul Van Dyck), suck every last sanguine drop of potential from Busch's ab­ surdist script. Whether it be in the set design (especially a decidedly vaginal cave that looks like it was lifted from an episode of the original Star Trek series), the period cos­ tumes or the healthy smattering of playful "fourth wall" jokes, Hechtman and Co. evoke the boffo silliness of Ed Wood and The Rocky H orror Picture Show to create a oneact play that is as well-stocked with laughs as with cul­ tural capital.

The play starts strong, with two Biblical soldiers de­ bating the relative merits of the "Twin Cities" of Sodom

and Gomorrah, and the humour is consistent through­ out. While the theatre often suffers from being, well, too theatrical, the cheeky and self-consciously silly subject matter of Vampire Lesbians o f Sodom benefits from the brazenly histrionic and borderline-vaudevillian perfor­ mances of its cast.

Despite some minor set hiccups with between scenes and a few ambiguous plot elements (are the starlets vampires or a pair of succubae? Is there a differ­ ence?), there is enough wit, kitsch-appeal and Kids in the H all- style cross dressing (which is progressive now, and not just funny) to keep even the most hesitant patron of the theatre entertained. And while $17 may seem a bit steep for a one-act play, especially considering the disap­ pointing lack of tangible displays of lesbianism, Vampire Lesbians o f S odom is the most fun you can have with your scant negligee still intact. ■ Vampire Lesbians of Sodom plays a t Mainline-Theatre (3,997 St-Laurent) u n til Feb. 17, Wednesdays to Saturdays a t 8 p.m.

*>

Who among us has the right to decide what art is good art what is not? If we think that we are able to immediately observe the subtleties found in "good" art, then we are obviously too.smug and self-absorbed to even begin to com­ prehend what art is. If, however, we thinkthat no one has the right to determine good from bad, then why should we even bother trying to make such distinc­ tions at all? In international playwright Yasmina Reza'sArf, modern art is simul­ taneously torn to shreds and unabashedly praised in a comedy of egos. This Tony-award winning play was translated to English from it's original French.

Under the directorship of Mylissa Falkner, McGill's TNC Theatre has put to­ gether an extremely entertaining show with only three performers and a white canvas, proving that sometimes less is more. The production was no easy feat, however; rehearsals began in October and the actors took on very large and therefore challenging roles. The carefully thought out blocking was ultimately crucial for success.

"Comic timing is extremely important when working with this play, be­ cause of the many ways each scene can be interpreted,"explained Falkner. "Even a simple facial expression can change the dynamic between characters."

Serge, the art "coinsurer," is played by Tanner Tillotson, who sets the play in motion with the purchase of a $200,000 piece of white art. Serge becomes perturbed when his best friend Marc (Peter Hibbs) calls his purchase a "piece of shit" and refuses to admit that his buy was powered by anything other than a desire to own a "great" piece of artwork. Saul Goldberg plays Yvan, the third friend in the trio and the monkey in the middle of two short-tempered intel­ lectuals. What ensues is constant, impassioned squabbling about what is good, who is right and who is obviously wrong. What else is new in life and the con temporary art world?

Throughout this comedy, Goldberg— the friend who finds himself used as a punching bag— is the most solid actor. His amusing delivery and range of comic reactions consistently drew the audience in, but it was his ability to speak in double time when delivering a monologue about his upcoming wedding that stole the show.

Hibbs has a very strong stage presence as well, and his overly self-impor­ tant laugh causes a knee jerk reaction in the audience members that keeps them doubled over in laughter right along with him. The quick-witted humor flies with ease between Hibbs and Goldberg. At times, Tillotson's performance was a bit jarring due to a few too many overly acted hand gestures and a lack of concentration, but overall the three work well as an ensemble.

• TNC Theatre's latest show is undeniably enjoyable and extremely funny, complete with egocentric and bickering characters that we can all relate to, even if we would rather not admit it. In fact, it is almost as difficult as admitting that a $200,000 art purchase is not exactly justifiable. However, the audience will not be asking for a refund on A rt tickets anytime soon because this pur­ chase is worth keeping. ■ Art runs Feb. 7 to Feb. 10 a t 8 p.m. a t TNC Theatre (Morrice Hall, 3485 McTavish).

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"Warn people, they may get slightly wet!" explains director Zak Rose to the box office clerk before the opening of Players'Theatre's latest endeavour, Beyond Therapy. The warped comedy written by Christopher Durang plays this week on the third floor of Shatner.

Beyond Therapy chronicles the events following Prudence's (Francesca An­ derson) response to a personal ad by Bruce (Ariel Lefkowitz), a bisexual who al­ ready has a boyfriend. Each a slightly cracked nut with more than a few quirks, their story is all comedy, romance, therapists and confusion as the two try to find happiness within themselves and with others.

When asked to describe the play in five to seven words exactly, Lefkkowitz, Ui philosophy and first time actor, responds quite naturally: "Hilarious com­ edy, confused bisexual, therapists."

Anderson's response: "extreme, exaggerated but truthful, orgasmically funny."

All these descriptions and more, Beyond Therapy is an incredible experi­ ence bound to remind audiences of the magic of the theatre, so easily forgot­ ten since the advent of multiplex movie theatres. Debut actress Anderson, Uo arts, explains that Players'Theatre's black-box type of theatre allows for more subtle acting and a more intimate space. For the audience, the experience is made more appealing as one finds herself within arms reach of the actors and the action and the venue allows the audience to be entirely captivated by the ongoing performance.

Lefkowitz explains that in contrast to large-scale productions, such as Little Shop o f Horrors, Beyond Therapy's cast is much smaller and thus allows for a more intimate experience. One of the more notable performances is that of Jessica Hill, U2 English, who plays the loony therapist Dr. Wallace with ease and all the necessary comedic eccentricity.

A great cast, a great space and a great time are awaiting those who attend Players'Theatre's latest production. Beyond Therapy delivers beyond expecta­ tions, beyond insanity and beyond the average theatrical experience. ■ Beyond Therapy plays a t Player's Theatre (3480 McTavish, 3 rd Floor) Feb. 8 -to a t 8 p.m. a n d on Feb. 11 a t 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 for students.

------------------------------- S po r t s HO CKEY— REDM EN 11, T O R O N T O 1

R e d m e n t h r a s h h a p le s s V a r s i t y B lu e s M

id - w e e k

lo s s

in s p ir e s

D avid B lve Having allowed a tw o goal lead to slip away against University of Q uebec at Tjpis-Rivières on Wednesday, the McGill Redmen cam e into Friday's clash against the University o f Toronto with redemption on their minds. When the final buzzer sounded, McGill had seen the light.

In front of a crowd of over 5 0 0 spectators, the Redmen pumm eled the Varsity Blues 1 1 -1 , outshooting the visitors 3 3 -1 9 .

"We thought a week and a half ago that w e needed to improve our work ethic and to ­ night w e had the effort w e wanted," said Head Coach Martin Raymond. "Unfortunately, w e didn't have it last Wednesday but if w e had, it probably would have been a different outcom e.

When w e work hard, we're a pretty tough team to beat."

McGill opened the scoring less than tw o minutes into the gam e on the power-play when winger Marko Kovacevic picked up the rebound on a shot from Mathieu Leclerc. The Redmen would go. on to score tw o more times in the frame, opening up a 3 - 0 lead highlighted by a short-handed goal from winger Shawn Shewchuk. The goal was the first of tw o for Shewchuk, both com ing with a team m ate in the box.

Shewchuk ech o ed his coach's sentiments on a need for improvement from their performance against UQTR. "We were shown last night on tape how w e played and I don't think anyone wanted to be embarrassed like that again,"Shewchuk said.

"There were a few times where w e weren't backchecking, weren't fore-checking, weren't doing any of the small things and I don't think anyone wanted to repeat that."

The only sour note of the first period was U ofT breaking goaltender Mathieu Poitras'shut­ out attempt. With less than five minutes to play in theframe,-the Redmen took tw o penalties in nine seconds, resulting in an Andre Robichaud power-play goal. The goal snapped McGill's streak of 1 8 -straight penalty kills and left the Redmen up only 3 - 1 after 2 0 minutes.

Five star second frame Rather than allow the late goal to kill their momentum, the Redmen exploded in the sec­

d o m

in a n t

w in

ond period, out-shooting U of T 1 5 - 8 and scor­ ing five unanswered goals. McGill was paced by first star Leclerc, w ho scored back-to-back goals to open the frame, bringing his season total to seven. Having snapped an 1 1 -gam e goalless streak last w eekend against Queen's, Leclerc managed three goals in as many games.

Emphasizing the play of the team, the red-hot centre was quick to point out the strong play of his line.

"My line-mates played very well," Leclerc said. "They drove to the net and created a lot o f space on th e ice. After w e played poorly on Wednesday, the w hole team needed to raise their level of play. That's what w e did tonight.

It was a better balance on our side, with a few more goals."

Leclerc's pair were followed by goals from centres Benoit Martin and Daniel Pharand as well as a second marker for Kovacevic. All five goals were scored at even strength, an area in which Raymond had hoped the team would improve.

"Our penalty kill has done great and our power-play has been great but I really liked our five-on-five play tonight," Raymond said. "It was one thing that w e didn't have on Wednesday.

Tonight, w e played aggressive, w e played solid, w e played hard and the goals cam e five-on-five as well."

Martin's goal cam e just 1 3 seconds after Leclerc com pleted his double and knocked To­ ronto goaltender Ryan Grinnell out of the game.

Grinnell, w ho hadn't left a gam e before Friday, came in owning an I8 -5 - 0 record and a CIS-best 1 . 8 9 goals against average. On Friday night how­ ever, he surrendered a season-high six goals on just 1 6 shots.

o v e r T o r o n t o

a Shewchuk blast.

"I think w e just g ot lucky tonight," Shew­ chuk said. "The puck hasn't been bouncing for us all year. All o f a sudden w e got som e breaks and things started to happen for us."

Poitras didn't have to deal with much after the opening frame, turning aside 1 8 shots and improving his record to 9 -5 -2 .

The Redmen com pleted the w eekend sw eep o f the Toronto schools, pummeling Ryerson 9 - 2 on Saturday. L'Italien led the way for

McGill, notching his first hat-trick as a Redman.

He joined Martin and winger Charles Gauthier as the only Redmen with hat-tricks this season.

The wins improved the Redmen to 1 5 -6 -3 -1 , keeping them five points back of UQTR in the OUA Far East division. They will close out the regular season this week, playing all three divi­ sion opponents one more time. McGill will need to win all three o f these gam es and hope that the Patriotes lose to Concordia if they hope to win a second straight division title. ■

No let up in the third The men in red and white continued the onslaught in the third, with freshman winger Vincent Lambert scoring less than a minute into the final frame. Lambert cradled a Leclerc pass from the point and wired on e past backup Neil Clelland. McGill kept the rout going, scor­ ing tw ice more in the period, including Shewchuk's second shorty of the gam e tying a school STEVEN CAMPBELL record for shorthanded markers in a single match— and winger Eric L'ltalien's deflection of On a rare occassion Friday night, Redman Mathieu Poitras is forced into making a stop.

T H IR D M A N IN

Can there be the best of the best? ylvester Stallone's latest installment of the Rocky fran­ tive Buick Invitational. Fond too of chasing records,Tiger has won 1 2 major championships and is in striking distance of chise— which sees America's iconic pugilist lured back into the boxing ring after ESPN simulates his vic­ Jack Nicklaus's career mark o f 1 8 . Keep in mind that Tiger's tournament streak has been plagued with sadness and dev­ tory over a contemporary boxing powerhouse— irrevocably astation following the recent death of his mentor, idol and proves that the age-old debate o f comparing great athletes not Only makes for a slow, agonizing screenplay, but an im­ father, Earl Woods. . Such unrivaled specim ens do not com e along very practical discussion which attempts to offer a bona fide an­ often, let alone simultaneously. As a result, the stage has ■ swer to an unreasonable question. been set for the media and public to begin the debate over Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, the royalty o f the which athlete, Tiger or Federer, is most worthy of the famed world's most recognizable country club pastimes, are the epithet "World's Greatest Athlete." Many experts have recent­ most dominant athletes at work today. The achievem ents ly w eighed in on this conundrum, offering intricate analysis of both are not only tremendously impressive but also strik­ but inevitably failing to give sporting fans an adequate, ful­ ingly similar. In the midst of a 3 6 -match win streak, Federer filling answer. Why? Because a satisfactory answer does not recently won the Australian Open to becom e the first player exist. To begin with, the Woods-Federer debate is automati­ since Bjorn Borg in 1 9 8 0 to win a grand slam title without cally underpinned by the arguer's personal bias. Try catching dropping a single set. The owner of nine majors, the Swiss a die hard, Wilson, headband-sporting, Arthur Ashe stadiumphenom needs only five more slams to equal Pete Sampras's trespassing tennis fan even hesitating at not proclaiming Fe­ record of 1 4 . Not to be outdone. Tiger Woods is currently on derer as the most dominant athlete of all time. From discus­ a seven-tournament PGA Tour winning streak after he tamed sions of Crosby and Gretzky to tangents on Lebron and MJ, Torrey Pines tw o w eekends ago to capture his third consecu­

S

B lair M estel

it seem s built into the human condition to compare gr.eat athletes across or witbin sports the minute they begin to seem superhuman. Is this an evolutionarily-based tendency?

Did Neanderthals in the Ice Age sit around fires and discuss w ho the best hunters and gatherers were?

One m ethod to win a debate is to stress a superior point of view by highlighting the w eaknesses and shortcomings of your opponent's side. Alas, these tw o sporting kings have no weaknesses. Furthermore, to laud the achievem ents of one at the expense of another is simply illogical. Every pro­ fessional sport has a separate hall of fame to ensure that the great achievem ents of particular athletes are recognized first and foremost within their own sport.

This truly is a special era in sports. Let's do ourselves a favour, put away our critical bi-focals and simply bask in Tiger and Roger's awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping performances pro­ vided fans every week. If w e w aste all of our time analyzing, probing and comparing athletes, their careers will quickly pass us by— unless you're Rocky Balboa and "comeback" is your middle name. ■

18 «Sports *06.02.07

The McGill Tribune

HO CKEY— MARTLETS 3, C O N C O R D IA 0

FR O M TH E CHEAP SEATS

Just so natural H a r t n o ll

p o t s

M att C hesser The McGill Martlets headed into Sunday afternoon needing only tw o points to guarantee a first place finish in the QSSF. Thanks to Christine Hartnoil, they can safely take their foot off the gas.

Hartnoll registered a natural hat-trick and Charline Labonté made 1 3 saves for her CIS-leading seventh shutout of the season as the Martlets defeated the Concordia Stingers 3 - 0 at McConnell Arena on Sunday. The hat-trick was Hartnoll's second of the season but marked the first time she has scored ail three goals in a row, a rare accomplishment in hockey.

"Hartnoll played pretty darn well tonight,"Head Coach Peter Smith said.

"I thought that line did a great job keeping the play deep in the offen­ sive zone and had great puck support down there. Ithought that was one of the strongest gam es they've played in the last little * while."

PP and PK domination Special teams were once again a key com ponent of the Martlets' suc­ cess, as they successfully killed off all . 1 0 Concordia power-plays and went 2 -for-i2 with the man-advantage.They also notched their 1 2 th shorthanded marker of the season— a new school record.

“Our special teams were huge again for us," Smith said. "With the new standard of officiating in place this season, you better b e able to kill penalties and you better be able to create on the power-play.”

Labonté, the Martlets rookie goaltender and Olympic gold m ed­ alist, continued to sparkle in net, im­ proving her record to an astounding 2 5 -1 - 2 in overall play. She leads the CIS in wins (1 3 ), shutouts (seven), save percentage (.9 5 8 ) and goals-against average (0 .7 7 ).

With the win, McGill now boasts a perfect 1 3 - 0 record in conference play and sits eight points ahead of second-place Ottawa with a gam e in hand. That means that the final five gam es of the regular season are es­ sentially meaningless for the Martlets, w ho will enter the playoffs as the top

t h r e e

in

a

r o w

seed from the QSSF regardless of the outcom e o f their remaining contests.

"We've spent 1 3 weeks in a row as the number on e ranked team in the country," said team captain Shauna Denis. "We know that people are train­ ing to beat us and w e don't want to let up with the playoffs so close. It's our goal to be on top o f our gam e when it counts."

Denis had an assist on Hartnoll's third goal, while leading scorer VanesSa Davidson and standout blueliner Catherine Ward each chipped in with tw o assists. Davidson needs only one point to tie the club's single-season record, set by Paula Mailloux in 2 0 0 2 .

She currently sits first in QSSF scoring with 2 6 points.

Martlets don't look back The Martlets opened the scoring late in the first period, capitalizing on their third power-play opportunity of the game. Despite shooting from a sharp angle while stationed at the hash marks nearest the boards, Hart­ noll managed to squeak the puck betw een the left pad and glove of Audrey Doyon-Lessard, w ho was screened on the play.

"Things were just happening for Hartnoll tonight," Denis said. "It was on e of those gam es where everything she threw at the net seem ed to g o in."

As the Concordia penalties began to pile up— they took eight of the first 1 0 minor penalties— McGill's powerplay continued to roll, opening up a 2 - 0 lead less than on e minute into the second frame. With Concordia's Devon Rich in the box for hooking, Hartnoll was the recipient o f a beauti­ ful cross-ice feed from Davidson and only had to tap the puck into a wide open net for her second marker of the night.

Hartnoll com pleted her hat-trick som e 1 4 minutes later, this time with a shorthanded tally, following up on a Denis breakaway and banging the rebound past Doyon-Lessard.

The Martlets now head on the road to continue their quest for an un­ defeated season, with a gam e against the fifth-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday. McGill has outscored its rivals from the nation's capital 1 8 - 2 in three gam es thus far this season. ■

"I earned my u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e g r e e , n o w

i w a n t to

t a c k le th e

tough stuff’

Omnipotent and incompetent

0

M att S egal fter the New York Knicks started last season on have a slash in their job title. Glen Sather's early years a five-game losing streak, President and Gen­ in Edmonton were am ong the most successful at dou­ eral Manager Isiah Thomas suggested that Head bling up. ButGather failed in his second coach/GM go ICoach, Larry Brown, try a more up-tem po offense round, like lasting only tw o seasons behind the New York the on e used by the Phoenix Suns. Brown— w hose pro­ Rangers'bench before hiring Tom Renney as coach and pensity for more measured, team-oriented possessions retreating to the luxury suite to watch the games. Mike is well known— had a piece o f advice for the legendKeenan was simultaneously the head coach and gener­ cum-executive peering over his shoulder. al manager of the Florida Panthers, as was Mike Milbury "Why don't you fucking coach the team?" Brown in Long Island. And what did they receive for putting in reportedly quipped. all those overtime hours? Pink slips. Darryl Sutter, Doug That rejoinder may not have been poetic, but it was MacLean, Bob Gainey, John Muckier and Pat Quinn have prophetic. Shortly after the end o f what would be Larry also held both duties at various points in their lengthy Brown's most disastrous season in 3 3 years of coaching, careers. In all these cases, they were wise enough to Thomas relieved the veteran coach and installed him­ give up on e role rather than get fired from both. self as its successor. Running out of patience—Thomas Instead of being scared straight by hockey's hor­ was to be the Knicks'fifth head coach in a three year rific history of wearing both hats, perhaps Thomas drew span— team owner James Dolan stated publicly that inspiration from his own sport's Don Nelson and Pat Thomas had just on e year to g et the Knicks on som e Riley, tw o of the most successful at handling the double kind of upward trajectory. At seven gam es below . 5 0 0 position. But even they too have periodically given up this season, it is hard to believe that this is the type of their coaching responsibilities for the more stable at­ progress Dolan envisaged. mosphere in team headquarters. It's safer up there. The No on e will be surprised when Thomas gets old adage goes, "You can't change all the players, but canned after the regular season and New York's players you can change the coach." If phraseology means any­ are watching the playoffs from their living rooms. We all thing, the GM's job is safe— the saying doesn't mention saw it com ing— and not just because Thomas has been that firing the executives is the best way to change all a disaster wherever he has gone. Yes, the sports world the players. So when IsiahThomas sauntered into James winced w hen Dolan hand-picked him to revive the sto­ Dolan's office and told him he wanted to double down, ried Knickerbockers franchise in 2 0 0 3 and cringed again any sane observer knew that it was going to end in ig­ as the owner proceeded to give additional powers to a nominy. How pathetic it is for Isiah, acting like a d egen ­ man w hose post-athletic career can only be described erate gambler— deeply in the red but still reaching into as an abject failure. his pocket for those last crumpled dollar bills, deludedly Still, Isiah never stood a chance. Being both head thinking that this next hand will be his. With the Knicks coach and general manager just doesn't work. Other languishing at 1 0 th in the East, it's time for Dolan to pull than Bill Romanowski and fine china, head coach/GM Thomas away from the table. must be the most dangerous combination in sports.

Owners, GMs and coaches take heed: delegate.

Famed former NFL coach Bill Parcells once sought Having an om nipotent voice in the organization rarely more say in personnel matters by telling his employers, yields anything but dismissal and discontent. Doing "If they expect you to cook the meal, the least they can only one job means you are just a cog;.you are insulated do is let you buy som e of the groceries.'TheTuna may against som e of the criticism should things g o awry. It have had clout on draft day but it's probably a good isn't only about avoiding the negatives— having many thing he never officially held the title of general man­ specialists will always be more effective than one dilet­ ager. History has shown that those pulling that kind of tante. Or, in a metaphor that Bill Parcells might appreci­ double dutyjust don't last. ate: a master chef should only worry about the kitchen.

Hockey seem s to have the most men w ho dare to Let som eon e else handle the grocery shopping. ■

A

3 4 8 0

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06.02.07 • Sports • 19

www.mcgilltribune.CDm

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Sports Briefs

compiled by C harlie B lo re and A aron S igal

Redmen fall to Bishop's on the court

S T A N D IN G S L

GW

GL

P

13

5

44

22

2 6

Montreal

12

6

40

27

24

Hockey (W)

W

L

T

OTL

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Hockey (M)

W

L

T

OTL

p

Volleyball (M)

McGill

13

0

0

0

26

UQTR

17

4

2

3

39

Laval

3

1

34

W

Ottawa

9

5

0

0

18

McGill

15

6

Carleton

4

9

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8

Ottawa

9

12

3

2

23

Sherbrooke

7

11

29

36

14

15

2

1

17

McGill

0

18

5

54

0

Concordia

1

11

0

2

4

Concordia

7

ON D ECK

BOX SCORE

Redmen Basketball— Concordia Stingers at McGill RedSunday, Feb. 4,2006 men; Friday, 8 p.m., Currie Gymnasium McGill Martlets 3 vs. Concordia Stingers 0 ' Friday's gam e will be an important test for the 5 - 7 Redmen. I McConnell Arena I Concordia is one of the top team s in the country and currently } ; sit atop the Q uebec division at 1 0 -1 . The tw o teams clashed a SCORING SUMMARY couple of weeks ago and McGill cam e up on the losing end of an 8 6 - 7 9 score. McGill will look to avenge that loss, this time on FIRST PERIOD: j their hom e court.

1. McGill - Christine Hartnoll 10 (C. Ward, V. Davidson) 18:52 (PP) Martlets Basketball— Concordia Stingers at McGill Mart­ SECOND PERIOD: lets; Friday, 6 p.m., Currie Gymnasium 2. McGill - Christine Hartnoll 11 (C. Ward,V. Davidson) 00:21 (PP) The Martlets (5 -8 ) are going through a bit of a rough patch— having lost three in a row and four of their last five, including s 3. McGill - Christine Hartnoll 12 (S. Denis ) 14:39 (SH) gam es against Laval, Bishop's and UQAM; all three of which are , THIRD PERIOD: J : teams McGill is fighting with for a playoff spot. They will look (no scoring) to rebound against lowly Concordia (4 -7 ) before going on the road for a big gam e against UQAM (5 -7 ).

GOALTENDERS: McGill: Redmen Ice Hockey—The Corey Cup: McGill Redmen at Charline Labonté (W, 13-0-0; 0GA, 13 saves, SHO-7,60:00) Concordia Stingers; Friday, 7:30 p.m., Ed Meagher Arena McGill is com ing off a weekend o f dominant performances Concordia: that saw them whip the University ofToronto 1 1 -1 on Friday and Audrey Doyon-Lessard (L, 1-4-0; 3GA, 35 saves, 60:00) Ryerson 9 - 2 on Saturday. They travel to Ottawa on Tuesday and then back to Montreal for the 2 0 th annual challenge cup named for former Montreal Canadiens' president Ronald Corey. McGill GOALS BY PERIOD is still in the hunt for the top spot in the OUA Far East division I < but must win out and hope for som e help to take the title for a j TEAM: 1 2 3 -T otal Con: 0 0 0 - 0 I j second year in a row.

McG: 1 2 0 - 3 NHL Hockey— Ottawa Senators at Buffalo Sabres; Wednesday, 7 p.m./ TSN I One of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference right now, I SHOTS BY PERIOD TEAM: 1 2 3 - Total the Senators, clashes with the top team in the conference. It Con: 3 7 3 - 13 ’ should be a fast-paced and high-scoring affari w hen the two McG: 16 10 1 2 - 3 8 star-studded line-ups m eet in Buffalo. Ottawa winger Dany Heatley is currently fifth in league scoring with 3 1 goals and 3 6 assists in 5 4 games. The Sabres will counter with centre Daniel I Briere and his 6 5 points.

Boxing— Luis Collazo ( 27 - 2 ) vs. Sugar Shane Mosley (43 4 ); Saturday, 9 p.m., HBO

SACK OF THE W EEK

This Week's Winner: Brett Favre— Quarterback, Collazo is right in the mix in the extremely com petitive w el­ Green Bay Packers terweight division. After dropping a close decision against an­ other top contender Ricky Hatton almost a year ago, Collazo So ol' boy, you think you still g ot a little som ething left | took an extended break. It's time to g et back to work and if he j to give? wants another shot at Hatton or an eventual shot at Antonio That has been the question on the minds of PackMargarito or Floyd Mayweather, Collazo will need to dismantle j || ers fans since Green Bay's season ended sans playoffs for | i a declining Sugar Shane.

1 the third straight year. Favre finally put any speculation to 1} rest earlier this week when he announced that he will in fact be returning for another year with the green and gold.

BOX SCO RE It's a move that demonstrates tremendous arrogance and— J com ing from a seem ingly team-first player like Favre— a surFriday, Feb. 2,2006 f prising amount of selfishness.

McGill Redmen 11, Toronto Varsity Blues 1 I don't pretend to know what'reason or reasons are b e­ McConnell Arena hind # 4 's decision to com e backfor another kick at the can. But I what is certain is he isn't doing what's best for the future o f the SCORING SUMMARY 1 franchise. Whether or not he has b ecom e a liability is arguable but there are tw o things that are certain. First, he has shown FIRST PERIOD: you what he can do with the talent around'him, which is to 1. McGill - Marko Kovacevic (M. Leclerc, L. Madill) -1 5 1 (PP) say, not much. He simply doesn't have the ability to carry this 2. McGill - Louis-Simon Allaire (M. Leclerc, V. Lambert) - 5:15 I team on his shoulders, as the last few seasons have dem on­ 3. McGill - Shawn Shewchuk (D. Urquhart ) -10:15 (SH) strated. Second, he will not be around when this team makes 4. Toronto - Andre Robichaud (S. Barg ) -15:31 (PP) its way back into the post-season. It will probably take at least tw o years for the team's young stars like linebacker A.J. Hawk SECOND PERIOD: and w ide receiver Greg Jennings to com e into their own in the 5. McGill - Mathieu Leclerc (S. Pearce, L.S. Allaire) - 00:58 league and in tw o years it seem s unlikely that Favre will still be 6 . McGill - Mathieu Leclerc (M. Kovacevic, V. Lambert) - 09:59 slinging footballs for a living.

7. McGill - Benoit Martin (S. Shewchuk, S. Bloom) -10:12 No position takes longer to settle into for a young player 8 . McGill - Daniel Pharand (G. Demers ) -12:48 jj1 than quarterback. Favre's heir apparent, Aaron Rodgers, will 9. McGill - Marko Kovacevic (V. Lambert, D. Pharand) -19:52 ! now be going into his third season— having thrown a total of 3 1 passes in his first tw o campaigns. In effect, Rogers remains a THIRD PERIOD: I rookie and that won't change until Favre steps aside. The lon10. McGill - Vincent Lambert (M. Leclerc, M. Kovacevic) - 0:39 p ger he hangs on, the more he stunts the growth o f the fran1 1 . McGill - Shawn Shewchuk (B. Martin ) - 5:00 (SH) ! chise. ■ 12. McGill - Eric L'Italien (S. Shewchuk, K. Morin) -12:24 (PP) I

Guard Emmanuel Nicholas Jr. scored 1 8 points as Bishop's held on for a 7 8 - 7 2 upset over the Redmen at Love Competition Hall in university basketball on Sunday. Guard Cam McDonald added 1 5 for the Gaiters w ho led 4 0 - 3 0 at halftime. Sean Anthony scored a gam e-high 1 9 points and added 1 0 boards in a losing cause for the third-place Redmen, w ho fell to 5 - 7 and sit just tw o points ahead of last-place Bishop's (4 -8 ). McGill, which had a 4 6 - 3 7 ed g e in rebounding, trailed 7 1 - 6 9 with 3 5 seconds remaining but ran into foul trouble as three Redmen players fouled out.

Olivier Lamoureux also contributed 1 4 points and four re­ bounds for McGill. Bishop's shot 4 9 . 1 per cent from the field, 3 3 .3 from the three-point arc and 6 4 . 3 from the foul line, compared to 4 0 .6 , 2 0 . 0 and 6 6 . 7 for McGill.

Martlets can't walk over Gaiters either Bishop's guard Laure Pitfield had 1 8 points and 11 re­ bounds as the Gaiters defeated McGill 6 5 - 4 8 in women's basketball, at Love Competition Hall, Sunday. As a result, Bishop's moved into a tie with the third-place Martlets as both team s are 5 -7 . Last-place Concordia is in hot pursuit at 4 -7 . McGill's forward Catherine Parent also recorded a dou­ ble-double with 1 8 points and 1 0 boards in a losing cause.

Bishop's, w ho led 1 5 -n at the quarter, 2 6 - 2 1 at halftime and 4 1 - 3 7 after three periods, broke open a close gam e by outgunning the Martlets 2 4 - 1 1 in the fourth quarter. Point guard Christine Kennedy added 1 3 points for the Martlets and w ent six-for-six from the foul-line.

Martlets gear up for playoffs with volleyball win Power hitter Jennifer Thomson scored 2 2 points on 1 9 kills, tw o aces and one stuff block as ninth-ranked McGill defeated the Sherbrooke Vert et Or 3 - 1 in a crucial women's volleyball match at Love Competition Hall on Saturday.The win, by set scores of 2 3 -2 5 , 2 5 -1 9 , 2 5 - 2 0 and 2 5 -2 3 , clinched third place for McGill on the final day of the season. The Martlets and Vert et Or both finished league play with identical 1 6 - 9 records but McGill won the head-to-head tie breaker and ended up in higher position. The Martlets will now m eet second-place and second-ranked Laval (2 1 -4 ) in a best-of-three semifinal series, slated to open in Q uebec City on Friday. The second match will be played at Love Competition Hall on Saturday at 6 p.m. If neces­ sary, the deciding match will be back at Laval, Sunday.

FITNESS TIP OF TH E W EEK - SQUATS

In order to increase the strength in your legs, try | I performing squats, an exercise that requires good ba J ance. An effective squat should start with your legs | spread at about a shoulder width apart and then bend f down as if you were sitting on a chair. This pushes | j your gluteus muscles backwards while maintaining j j an angle of approximately 90 degrees at your knees j | (perpendicular to the floor), while keeping your back j | as straight as possible in order to avoid lower back | I pain. In an upward motion, push with your heels and | | com e back to an upright position. Always keep your j J heels well grounded so as to not place too much pre s sure on the front portion of your feet and in order to J reduce the pressure on your knees. Repeat this motion j l a few times. As your endurance level improves you can j slowly increase the resistance by integrating the use j of w eights into the exercise. These w eights should be J 1 placed on each side of your upper body.

Just remember to always pace yourself— if the ex- j ercise is too hard, decrease the number of repetitions j I or decrease the am ount of weight. Always start slowly !

1 even if you find the motion easy and then gradually j increase the level by modifying one of these variables: j I For endurance, change the number of repetitions and j J for strength, alter the am ount of w eight used while \ I performing the exercise.

—Magda Gonçalves Baptista (Personal Trainer) '

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