The McGill Tribune Vol. 26 Issue 23

Published by th e Students' Society o f McGill University

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V o lu m e 26 Issue 23 • M arch 1 2 ,2 0 0 7

b r in g s t h e s p e c ia l s a u c e

"The bottom line of how our band operates," says Mute Math bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, "there is no o n e formula."The New Orleans electro-rock group brought its chameleonesque m o d u s o p e r a n d i to a cheering and receptive Montreal audience Saturday. Turn to Arts & Entertainment to see what thehot fuss is all about. See NEW NEW ORLEANS, page 16.

W a n n a b e S S M U s h ie s f i g h t t o E x e c u t iv e

d e b a te s

K ate S pirgen The Lev Bukhman room in the Shatner building was rowdier than usual last Wednes­ day as Students' Society election debates took place in front of an enthusiastic, vocal and di­ vided audience. Amidst discussion of personal ideology, environmental issues, the tuition freeze and administration relations, executive candidates fought to show each other up and sway public opinion.

Presidential hopefuls Floh Herra-Vega and Jake Itzkowitz responded in a surprisingly simi­

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lar manner to audience questions despite their distinctive platforms. Itzkowitz plans to make SSMU more visible and accessible to.students, while Herra-Vega laid out a vision of a more ac­ countable executive and an environmentally sustainable SSMU. After being accused of "flip-flopping" on issues such as the blood drive and fielding questions on statements made in his past three years at McGill, Itzkowitz claimed, "I don't think that my last three years of statements should be considered for my candidacy.That would be pre-campaigning."

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At the end of the long night, each candi­ date summed up the main reason to vote for them in a few words. "I'm competent," HerraVega said, while Itzkowitz pointed to a “breadth of experience"as his selling point.

The race for Vice-President External be­ tween Max Silverman and Geoffrey Hall saw a more heated debate. Hall contended that SSMU has become "too politicized", that more atten­ tion should be paid to the surrounding commu­ nity and that more student opinion should be heard on issues of representation.

Silverman attacked Hall's main platform

p e r s o n a lit ie s

point of ending the McGill adjustment, a policy under which the university has received less money from the Quebec government than it was entitled to. The administration claims the shortfall has amounted to $8o-million since

2000.

"I was surprised to see all of the end l'ajustement McGill posters since l'ajustement McGill is ending due to the work of this year's SSMU and the administration," he said.

Free tuition divided the candidates as well, with Silverman recognizing the mandate

See CVs on page 4

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Come see the new Redbltd Sports Shop and our new tine of products.

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COVERPHOTOBYJESSICADISMONT

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E X C LU SIV E IN T ER V IEW — DR. P A Y A M A K H A V A N

C o n s id e r in g t h e c la s h o f c iv iliz a t io n s R w a n d a

t r ib u n a l la w y e r d is c u s s e s t h e

With an interest in savoury subjects such as post-conflict peace building, international crimi­ nal justice and human rights, Dr. Payam Akhavan joined the McGill community lastyear in the faculty o f law. His work experience includes participating in the International Criminal Tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda as well as co-founding the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre. His work at the Documentation Centre led him to be selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2005. Akhavan sat down to dis­ cuss the coming apocalypse.

Is there a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West?

The clash of civilizations is a myth but it is a myth which, repeated enough times, will be­ come a reality. Many of these people, while they have their own cultural distinctiveness, aspire to the same basic human needs as those of us living in the West. People living in Tehran do not wake up in the morning thinking,'We should drop a nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv.'They wake up saying, 1 want a job with a decent salary so my children can have a future.' Much of the violence is not about some sort of monolithic civilization bloc against another. It's more about the dynamics of power in the Middle East that are going through a complex, volatile transition from tradition to modernity and to the extent that there have been democratic movements in these societies, the role of the West has hardly been progressive.

The role of the West in the Middle East has been support for corrupt authoritarian regimes. Until we begin to be a force for betterment and pro­ gressive change, we are only going to ensure that the only voices of dissent in these countries will not be moderate democratic voices, but the voices of militant extremism. In that sense, we are going to help ensure that the clash of civili­ zations, which is totally avoidable, will become an inevitable reality.

ly conscious public, you need to repress dissent and link that repression of dissent with imagi­ nary enemies and imaginary foreign conspira­ cies that allow you to cast indigenous calls for democracy and human rights as a foreign intru­ sion, which aims at weakening the fabric of the revolution and Islam. The worst mistake that the international community can make right now is to engage in a military confrontation with Iran on the nuclear issue, which is exactly what [President] Ahmadinejad seeks. Ahmadinejad is inviting Western condemnation because he can then cast himself as the champion of Islam standing up to the West in an epic struggle or clash of civilizations. The best course of action for the international community would be to isolate hardliners by imposing travel bans, freez­ ing assets and holding them individually ac­

fu tu re

o f in t e r n a t io n a l ju s t ic e

countable for crimes against the Iranian people while also empowering the reformists. We need both carrots and sticks and we need to avoid collective sanctions, which would end up hurt­ ing the ordinary Iranians very much while actu­ ally strengthening the hardliners.

Is structural reform of the United Nations necessary in order for it to be an effective po­ litical force in international relations?

Structural reform is less important than cultural reform and the two go hand in hand in the sense that structures only come into being when there is a political will to make them effec­ tive. We have to engage states and allow them to understand that the narrow pursuit of self-in­ terest in an inextricably interdependent world is anachronistic and counterproductive, and that

Last month, the International Criminal Court committed Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a Congolese rebel leader, in what amounts to the ICC's first tribunal. What does this event say about the future of international criminal justice?

What is the state of respect for human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and do domestic transgressions indicate a pressing need for external governments or organiza­ tions to get involved? _ In a context where you cannot deliver the goods to an increasingly educated and political­

a lack of vision could bring about catastrophic results in which case ail actors in the interna­ tional system will be losers. Interdependence is not an ideal; it is a reality, and when you don't have structures within the United Nations that can respond adequately to that reality, you are undermining the common interests that in the end will cost everybody equally. It's my fear that either we have courageous political leadership that is visionary and transcends narrow self in­ terest, or we have massive mobilization of civil society to force leaders to bring about the nec­ essary changes, or we are doomed to make the changes after an unimaginable catastrophe that visits us all whether it is global warming, nuclear terrorism or a new disease. The point is that ca­ lamity as a catalyst for change js the worst pos­ sible option.

NADINELESSARD

The image of a defendant is a powerful portrayal of this seminal attempt at demonstrat­ ing that the International Criminal Court is a practically functioning institution. However, we can't lose site of the enormity of the challenge before the ICC because it is tempting to reduce what transpired in the Congo to this single trial.

One has to ensure that the broader message of justice, of vindicating the suffering of the vic­ tims, of promoting historical truths and recon­ ciliation, is brought home to those most directly affected. It's one thing to deliver justice in the remote confines of the [ICC] in antiseptic legal procedures. It's yet another thing to do so in a way that will allow people to assume a sense of ownership, a sense that they have been par­ ticipants in this reckoning with their own past.

It's about sending the message to that element of society that may have been responsible for tolerating or encouraging these crimes, that the glory and the greatness of a people does not rest in brutalizing others, but that the glory and greatness comes in their expressions of com­ passion and humanity. ■

Dr. Payam Akhavan says that "calamity as a catalyst"for world change is the worst option.

— compiled by Kayvon Afshari

CAMPUS

M c G ill b u r s a r ie s t o O n e -t h ir d

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Ken Sun If the Liberal Party of Quebec has its way, McGill may soon be receiving some extra money. As a part of their election platform for March 23 , the LPQ has proposed an annual tuition increase of $ioo a year for five years. Principal Heather Munroe-Blum has always maintained that McGill would channel 30 per cent of any tuition increase into financial aid, meaning more money for stu­ dent bursaries.

Speaking before the Quebec Education Commission in January, Michael Goldbloom, vice-principal inter-institutional re­ lations, indicated plans for a new tuition policy integrated with a commitment to invest a significant portion in student aid.

"The freeze on tuition fees should be removed immediately and Quebec tuition should rise at least to the Canadian average within three years," Goldbloom said. "In such a re-regulated set­ ting, McGill would commit 30 per cent of the additional tuition fees to bursaries for students."

Morton Mendelson, deputy provost student life and learn­ ing, said that it was too early to begin allocating money.

"It would be premature to start spending the money or even specify details of how we might do that in the now-hypothetical case that tuition will indeed increase," he said.

Charest's tuition stance is part of a larger platform that com­ mits the government to invest in Quebec's post-secondary edu­ cation system.

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"[The LPQ intends] to invest $i-billion more in post-secondary education and the tuition hike is a means of bringing in 10 per cent of the overall total," said Liberal McGill President Simon Bessette.

The proposed $i-billion will be invested over a period of five years, with roughly $ioo-million provided by Quebec tuition in­ creases. By the end of the five-year term, there will have been an increase in approximately $5 -million per year, and McGill can ex­ pect to allocate about 30 per cent of that or $i.s-million towards bursaries and scholarships. Based on the number of francophone students at McGill university stands to garner about $s-million from the tuition increase. This means the finanical aid office will get $i.5 -million more for bursaries.

The Parti Québécois, the main contender against the LPQ in the election, has stood by a platform for maintaining a tuition freeze.

In a March 10 poll conducted by La Presse, LPQ support was placed at 33 per cent, four per cent ahead of the PQ, which sug­ gested that there may be a minority government in the Que­ bec National Assembly come March. Should the LPQ come out ahead, Bessette believes that Charest's government will have to make some concessions with the Democratic Action of Quebec party.

The DAQ has proposed more investments in primary and secondary school, which may divert some money away from the post-secondary funds. Bessette believes that Charest will deliver

s tu d e n ts

his platforms, despite PQ leader André Boisclair's description of Charest as a promise-breaker.

"When the LPQ took over [the National Assembly] in 20 0 3 , they had found a deficit of $4 .3 -billion, despite claims that the PQ had a balanced budget," Bessette said. "Charest's government was put into a lot of financial difficulties because the PQ fudged their numbers."*

BY T H E N U M B E R S $3,000— value of basic scholarship for which every McGill student is automatically considered 92% — Ontario average grade needed to be considered by McGill for an entrance scholarship $2,440— maximum loan given by the Quebec government in provincial assistance to a full­ tim e student $4,000— typical education costs for postsecondary education in Quebec Sources:Statistics Canada, McGill University

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12.03.07 «The McGill Tribune • 3

N E W S A N A L Y S IS

A d r ift o n th e c h a r tin g D e v o id

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o f r e p r e s e n t a t io n , S S M U

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J ames G otowiec ith a minority government in Ot­ tawa and an election in full swing in Quebec, lobbying efforts on behalf of students will be crucial to secur­ ing more funding for universities and more support for student aid. Unfortunately, the position and strength of the Students' So­ ciety in the broader student movement is currently in flux. Removed from its provin­ cial lobby group in the fall, and without any firm federal representation since its Novem­ ber 20 0 5 withdrawal from the Canadian Al­ liance of Student Associations, SSMU could be said to be adrift in the high seas of the student movement.

But if education is a provincial con­ cern, do we even need to be represented at the federal level? Are broad-based lobby groups necessary? And howsuccessful have the Society's efforts at lobbying been?

Over winter break, SSMU executives and two councillors drove to Ottawa to meet with members of Parliament from all parties. According to Vice-President Ex­ ternal Max Silverman, who was on the trip along with President Aaron Donny-Clark, the group met with the National Demo­ cratic Party education critic, NDP leader Jack Layton, Liberal education critic Mike Savage and the Prime Minister's special as­ sistant for British Columbia.

"It isn't Quebec," Silverman acknowl­ edged, "but it was the only'in'we had to the Prime Minister's Office."

Silverman said that the SSMU contin­ gent and their message was well received, but at times it Was evident that they didn't

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have a lot of sway with the people they held meetings with.

"To an extent it makes sense," he said.

"From a politician's point of view, when you're meeting with somebody, you're try­ ing to figure out whether supporting them will get you or your party more votes. So obviously a group representing 6 0 0 ,0 0 0 potential voters [like the Canadian FedT eration of Students] has a lot more weight with you than a group representing 18 ,0 0 0 potential voters [like SSMU]."

Despite the Society's apparent lack of influence on the federal scene, Silverman said that he hoped SSMU would continue to conduct its own lobbying trips in the fu­ ture, even if students choose to join a fed­ eral lobby group.

"I would hope that no matter what organization we choose to join or not join, SSMU stays independent in terms of what it does politically. Even if we are CFS members and even if we're very happy CFS members, I would want SSMU to be doing its own work anyway,"Silverman said.

Do we need representation?

The fact that most education policy is set by the provincial, rather than federal, government has left some wondering why students even need to be represented at all in Ottawa. Representatives from both na­ tional lobby organizations disagreed with that line of reasoning.

"I'm not necessarily convinced that a province is capable of solving its post-sec­ ondary issues by itself," said Phillippe Ouel­

lette, national director of CASA. "As a stu­ dent in Canada, you want to have the ver­ satility of going to each province. Is that re­ ally what we're looking for— an education system in Canada where the quality and ac­ cessibility of your education is dependent on the province that you're from?”

Brent Farrington, national deputy chairperson of CFS, took issue with the no­ tion that education is a provincial respon­ sibility.

"I would say that education is a pro­ vincial jurisdiction," he said. "That doesn't mean that there isn't a role for the federal government to play in post-secondary ed­ ucation, in fact quite the contrary. All that that means is that the rules and regulations set out for education should be set by the provinces."

If the important decisions about fund­ ing are made at the federal level, are McGill students losing out by not being part of a larger organization?

Both representatives said that one of the chief advantages provided by their re­ spective organizations was access to toplevel politicians.

"No other interest group in the edu­ cation sector has met with three prime ministers in the past five years," said CASA's Ouelette. "No education lobby group this year has met with the Prime Minister except for CASA. Our access is unmatched. Prob­ ably our biggest strength is our access."

Silverman acknowledged the difficulty in getting high-level meetings.

"It's very hard to get meetings with the

upper echelons of government and it takes a very strong political force to get yourself in there, which we as one association don't have."

Keeping power in the province Despite the fact that many crucial decisions on funding for post-secondary education are made at the federal level, provincial lobbying is important as well. Sil­ verman admitted that CFS-Quebec is weak in this area and said that If students vote to join CFS, it should not be seen as a solution to the Society's provincial lobbying needs.

Silverman said that the groundworkfor SSMU's future provincial lobbying strategy would be laid this summer with the found­ ing of a research centre together with the University of Laval student association.

"One of our biggest complaints when we were FEUQ members was the poor quality of research they were producing and the lack of any sort of arguments to back up what they were saying."

He went on to claim that the research centre would be the first in Canada to have a pro-education focus and would provide SSMU with a good base with which to move forward in provincial lobbying.

"While it's not a political force in and of itself, it provides the basis for a political force," he said, "it puts us in a really good position to be taking our ideas forward. In my mind, it's clear that we would be doing joint lobbying ventures and using the re­ search that we're producing together to lobby together." ■

CAMPUS

P o te n tia l s e n a to r s p u t u p t h e ir d u k e s f o r v o te s F e e -r e la t e d

re fe re n d u m

Ken Sun The annual Senate and referenda debates, hosted by Elections McGill last Tuesday, saw the absence of a number of candidates as well as a mediocre showing of about 40 students. Al­ though debates over fee referenda took place immediately after, when Senate debates ended, about 75 per cent of the original audience had already left.

"The debates were very well advertised.

Whether people come out or not is not our choice and we can't control whether people stay or not," said Bryan Badali, Elections McGill chief returning officer.

Three of the four candidates running for the two positions of arts senator, Daniel King, Yahel Carmon and Graeme Lamb, addressed key themes in this year's election, including environ­ mental protection and students'needs.

King portrayed himself as the candidate whom students "won't be able to avoid."

"I plan to be a visible senator," he said. "I will aim to consult with arts students as much as I possibly can."

Carmon emphasized the need for the 13 student senators to work as one, saying "no senator is an island.” He spoke of the need to act as a team player and to ensure that McGill's

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research-intensive focus doesn't sacrifice the needs of students.

Lamb argued that, though his background is in environmental advocacy rather than elect­ ed positions, he will be able to bring a better perspective on dealing with student concerns and environmental issues.

"It would be a mistake to believe that you need a student politician to come and tell you issues to advance in the Senate," Lamb said.

The fourth candidate for position of arts senator, Philip Holdsworth, failed to show at the debate as did the acclaimed senators for music, engineering and education.

Lewis and Aneerudha "Buda" Borkotoky, both vying for the position of management senator, presented platforms to address stu­ dents'needs, but in different ways. As Borkotoky showed off his political experience, Lewis fo­ cused on "making decisions through consulta­ tion with students."

A main theme among the three candidates for the two contested positions of science sena­ tor was academic advising. Starting off the de­ bate, candidate Ryan Luther suggested that ac­ cess to advisors is a common problem among science students. Mohit Pramaik proposed for part-time advisers that rotated departments.

Kyle Bailey wanted to give students a better idea

a fte r th e

h e a t s u b s id e d

at McGill has proposed a support referendum which, though it does not ask for an increase in student fees, asks to renew "student support" in QPIRG McGill.

"We are going to referendum to renew our $3 levy, which we've received from students since the early 19 8 0 's," Martin Lukacs, QPIRG 'Yes' Committee Chair said. "The ad­ ministration has asked us to prove "I w a n t to m ake sure students a ctu a lly our relevancy to the student body have som e clue o f w hat's g o in g on in through the referendum process.

Senate" We think students will agree that — Kyle Bailey, we are in fact relevant."

The Midnight Kitchen refer­ Science S enator candidate endum is asking for a $1.25 fee in order to hire more staff and pro­ crease by $2 .0 4 , aTribune levy of $0 .50 , Midnight vide more vegan meals five days a week, as the Kitchen fee of $1.25 and a Students'Society envi­ current volunteers are overworked, unable to keep up with the increasing demands and con­ ronment fee of $1 .2 5 .

Nithya Vijayakumar, from the CKUT 'Yes' sequently, disorganized.

"Ifwegotthis money,then everybody could Committee, hopes to use the student levy to re­ store and expand CKUT, both as a radio station eat more and everybody would be happier," said Gretchen Verkler, Midnight Kitchen 'Yes' Com­ and a larger presence on campus. mittee member during the debate, which was "A lot of our equipment has depreciated by 95 per cent and we have had no renovations moved forward to Wednesday night because of since 19 9 5 ," Vijayakumar said. "With this money, time restrictions on the previous night.

All referenda combined would potentially CKUT is going to have a McGill outreach coor­ increase students' fees by $6.54 per semester, dinator."

The Quebec Public Interest Research Group plus a renewal of the QPIRG levy at $3 . ■

of what Senate does.

"I want to make sure students actually have some clue of what's going on in Senate and give students a bigger idea of what this powerful de­ cision-making body is," Bailey said.

The fee referenda include the Daily Publi­ cation Society increase by $1 .50 , CKUT-Radio in­

4 -News *12.03.07

The McGill Tribune

@ MAC

C V s a n d tra c k re c o rd s to u te d

M a c d o n a ld c a m p u s h o s ts M u n r o e - B lu m

S t u d e n t in v o lv e m e n t le a d s P r in c ip a l a d d r e s s e s e v e r y t h in g to

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of SSMU to stand for free tuition and Hall claiming that the direction from the most recent General Assembly was not representative of the student body.

"The position that was taken is just too much of a change from the current situation to say that 130 peo­ ple at the General Assembly that was changed at the last second during class hours, is representative of the entire student body."

Adrian Angus and Malek Yalaoui had a somewhat more hostile de­ bate for the position of VP Univer­ sity Affairs. In her opening statement, Yalaoui claimed that "SSMU has not taken advantage of the seats it holds on McGill's governing bodies" and pushed for a more public portfolio, while Angus promised to make con­ crete advances on the state of librar­ ies and advising while underlining his experience.

Much of the rest of the debate focused on the personalities of the two candidates. Angus highlighted his perfect attendance at Senate and ability to maintain a good relation­ ship with Senators while standing up for student rights. "[The administration] knows when I'm serious and they know they can work well with me," he said.

Alison Verba and Marcelle Kosman had a scattered and somewhat awkward debate for the position of VP Clubs and Services. Verba empha­

sized her dedication and personal characteristics as a "workhorse," while Kosman highlighted her experience with the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students'Society and space al­ location as well as her environmental enthusiasm.

While Verba could not list any experience with the McGill admin­ istration or as a club executive, she claimed, that did not "negate her ex­ perience as a club member."

Genevieve Friesen and Kay Turner squared off in the debate for VP Communications and Events and both pointed to their experience as their strength. Turner highlighted her background with residences and SnoAP while Friesen, whose open­ ing speech was in both French and English, stressed her current status as Science Undergraduate Society VP Internal and subsequent experience planning and overseeing the science faculty Frosh and Carnival.

When asked to take a stance on a hot political issue of the year, Fries­ en supported the tuition freeze while Turner defended the ban of blood drives in the Shatner building.

Imad Barake, acclaimed to the position of VP Finance and Opera­ tions asserted that he was neither left nor right, but wanted to be a "prob­ lem solver.”

The debates stretched on until almost 1 a.m., but in a positive sign for those constantly wishing for more engagement from students, the Bukhman room remained full until the end of the night. ■

d is a b le d

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Last Friday, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum made the trek out to Macdonald campus to host a town hall.

Taking a cue from the success of the new format for the downtown campus discussion last month, Munroe-Blum addressed three broad themes: student centeredness in a research-intensive university, funding and sustainability.

The Friday afternoon time slot meant that very few undergraduate students were at the event. Most of the individuals making up the 50 who were in attendance were faculty, staff or graduate students.

Paul Schneider, U3 microbiology, who has a physical disability and is in a wheelchair, went M cG ill has been sta gn a n t in th e ir a b ility to the town hall to raise the issue of accessi­ to progress past th e status quo." bility on campus. He expressed his disappoint­ — Jon a th a n Pritchard, M.bc. e n to m o lg y ment at the fact that parts of the new library, which was opened in the fall, were inaccessible to him, even though he had spoken to the administration The only ripple in the town hall came from two before. students who are part of the Montreal LaRouche Youth "Last year, I talked to [Munroe-Blum] and she asked Movement and believe that the issue of global warming me to send the top five priorities of things to be changed, as a result of greenhouse gases is a hoax. so this year I gave her that letter because I wanted to see "What you have going on at Mac campus is a certain these things happen,” he said. "That way, there will be 'brainwashing'about certain ideas about environmental­ more equality and more involvement of students with ism," said Ivan Corpus, U4 political science."We're trying to disabilities and be more attractive to other students who give people, on [Macdonald] campus especially, a sense have disabilities who look at this campus now as inacces­ that the human species is not doomed in any real way, sible." unless they choose to be so doomed. We want to make However, Schneider was happy with the response sure that Munroe-Blum is doing everything she can to ex­ he received from Munroe-Blum, who said she would get pose the fraud of Al Gore's inconvenient lie."*

“ D u d e !

C a n

C O R R E C T IO N In the article "J-Board back in action" (0 6 .0 3 .07 ) it was stated that Aaron Donny-Clark had filed a petition with the Judicial Board. He had not actually filed his case.

It was also implied that the question, if passed, would reinstate blood drives in the Shatner building. In fact, the question asks only if students think the Society should reinstate blood drives. The exact ef­ fect of a yes vote is unclear. The Tribune regrets the errors.

him in touch with Vice-Principal University Services Jim Nicell to help collaborate on future projects.

Second year entomology Masters student Jonathan Pritchard, who voiced his concern over the lack of prog­ ress on issues that were raised at the last town hall, said that Munroe-Blum's response was hopeful, but he still did not think that change was moving quickly enough.

"McGill has been stagnant in their ability to progress past the status quo. Finally, they're beginning to see that things need to be changed slowly, that things don't hap­ pen overnight," he said. "At least it shows a positive view, not just for this campus, but for McGill overall."

ViNCCi Tsui

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CAMPUS

F a c u lty m a n a g e s t h e c o u r s e p a c k c o n u n d r u m M is s e d

fe e s

r e s u lt in

r e t r o a c t iv e

S teph an ie T ombari Due to a glitch in the Student Accounts system, those ènrolled in management courses were informed at the beginning of the month that they could see up to hundreds-of dollars in retroactive charges added to their March fee statements. The charges relate to royalty fees for coursepacks that were not properly added to students'bills. As a result, students are being billed now for fees they should have paid during the Fall 20 0 6 and Winter 2 0 0 7 semesters.

In an email from the Student Accounts Office, the over­ sight was described as the result of a "new process for record­ ing coursepack royalty fees on individual student accounts.'The new procedure was implemented to ensure that royalty fees are charged the semester they were incurred, but there was a major hiccup when the fees were received by McGill and not recorded on individual files.

Based on enrollment rather than an upfront cost through coursepacks, the new process was designed to reduce com­ plaints from the publishers providing the copyrighted material.

In the past, there have been major discrepancies between the number of students enrolled in a course and the actual number of coursepacks sold. To ensure that this was a one-time occur­ rence, new measures have since been implemented.

In an effort to increase transparency, a list of the royalty fees per course will now be posted outside of Management's convenience store and local shop for coursepacks, Dave's.

Dean of Management Peter Todd said that the faculty has been very timely and transparent with the issue.

"The fees were charged to Student Accounts once we real­ ized that an oversight had occurred. We did not want to com­ pound the problem for students by adding the amounts on next year's bill, nor did we want to hide the error," he said.

Aneerudha Borkotoky, Management Undergraduate Soci­ ety Vice-President academic, reiterated the Dean's sentiments. "[I'm] quite satisfied with the way its being handled," he said. "In fact, I'm quite encouraged by how open the faculty has been with the issue. I like the idea of posting the royalty amounts at Dave's."

c h a rg e s fo r m a n a g e m e n t s tu d e n ts

To date, no complaints have been received over the mat­ ter. Many students, including Simon Chauette, U1 management, were indifferent and "didn't mind the extra charge." Others, though they understood why the additional costs were being added to their bills,.were concerned with the delay.

"I was pretty much done paying but now I have to pay

more,” said Oscar Espeunosa, U3 management. "[It's] not good for students who didn't see this coming and have to re-budget."

Student Accounts is aware of the potential problems this might cause and arrangements will be made for individuals who contact the office. ■

The coursepacks at Dave's are even more overpriced than management students had previously thought.

S S M U S p rin g E le c tio n s 2 0 0 7

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The McGill Tribune

6 • News • 12.03.07

CAUGHT ON CAMPUS

News Briefs Leacock-Redpath tunnel injures pedestrian Frostbitten students looking to travel in the tunnel between Redpath Library and the Arts or Leacock buildings may have to trek above ground for the rest of the season due to frozen water from a leak in the Redpath Mu­ seum piping.

Worry over conditions in the tunnel erupted in early March when a stu­ dent slipped in the water that has infiltrated into the tunnel creating what Tony Martin from Building Services described as a "little river."

The caution signs that had been placed in the tunnel earlier in the year did not prevent the accident and after careful consideration, Facilities Man­ agement decided to close the tunnel last Friday until the problem can be resolved.

"It's a safety concern and it was acted upon," said Patrick Fiorelli of McGill Security..

The exact cause of the leak has not been determined, but Martin ex­ plained that the problem might not be resolvable until the spring if the cause is something such as a broken pipe that will need to be dug up.

"It's a terrible inconvenience, especially in this cold, but we'd rather see cold students than hurt students," Martin said.

— Sonya Bell

Speaker addresses inequality for women Distinguished women's rights advocate Louise Binder left her audience shocked at the horrors that women around the world still face as she gave a resonating speech in honour of International Women's Day last Thursday in Adams Auditorium. The conference, put on by the McGill Global AIDS Coali­ tion as a part of Women's Week. The week included a wine and cheese on gender and violence held by the White Ribbon Club and a panel on the need for feminism, held by Women Without Borders.

As the co-founder and Chair of the Canadian Treatment Action Council and Chair of Voices of Positive Women, Binder has also been adamant in fight­ ing for more treatment and less discrimination for HIV/AIDS victims. In her speech, she touched on other barriers that women face, whether through overt discrimination or societal norms.

"Women make up over 50 per cent of the world's population, yet the per­ centage of women involved in politics, where they can make a real difference for themselves, is far less," she said.

As the speech continued, the facts became more and more dishearten­ ing. Several members of the audience squirmed periodically, or shook their heads in disdain.

"The simple truth is that women face vast injustices in this world, espe­ cially in developing countries. It goes beyond an economic, political or social level: this is a moral issue," Binder said.

While women's rights groups and feminists have generally agreed on fe­ male equality, Binder and her associates preached another cause uncommon­ ly touched upon by feminist groups: HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

"The HIV/AIDS crisis preys on people in the margin and in many cases those are women," Binder said.

After presenting the injustices women face, Binder traced the problem to its roots. She identified female inequality as a result of a power struggle, largely dominated by men and a subsequent discrimination toward females who do manage to attain power. To minimize these disparities, Binder called for"female employment, female rights of property, inheritance, education and more stringent anti-violence laws."

Ultimately, she stressed that female inequality is something that can be overcome through the actions of"courageous men and women who recog­ nize the justice of our cause."

LUKASBERGMARK An arm y o f snow m en assem ble on low er field to d em o n strate th e ap p are n t u n fo rtu n a te genocide o f th eir kind th a t global w arm in g is causing. W ho w ill save this w o n d erfu l snow trib e, asks th e Lebanese Students Association and Social Context o f Businesses class, w h o o rg an ized th e event?

M cGill University Internship Offices N e tw o rk

A U C C Canada Corps S tu d e n ts f o r D e v e lo p m e n t D o yo u have an internship?

A re yo u lo o k in g fo r funding?

Inform ation on 2 0 0 7 aw ards With presentations from former AUCC award recipients Monday, March 19th 4 - 5pm Leacock 232 P le a s e R S V P t o a n n e . t u r n e r @ m c g ill. c a o r e - m a il u s f o r m o r e in f o r m a t io n .

A ssociation of Universities and Colleges o f Canada

Association des universités et collèges du C anada

— Trip Yang

Butting out on campus Colleges and universities across North America are flashing the red light to smokers lighting up on their campuses. According to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, at least 43 universities across the United States have gotten on board with the ban, a trend that is becoming increasingly popular. While Quebec has passed new laws banning cigarette smoking in bars and restau­ rants and requires a 9 -metre buffer between smokers and building entrances, a campus-wide ban against the habit has yet to enter the discussion.

Some are against any potential legislation limiting their right to light up.

"It doesn't accomplish anything, it's irritating for smokers and it creates a cer­ tain animosity between smokers and non-smokers," said Michael Andres, Uo management.

According to a 20 0 5 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 31 per cent of full-time college students smoke, compared with 25 per cent of the overall population in the U.S. Olivia Perdana, Uo arts, relayed an anecdote that indicated the animosity that ensues when smokers and non-smokers occupy the same campus.

"I was smoking on the steps of the Arts Building, when somebody who I see on a regular basis but never talk to came out of the doors," Perdana said.

"He proceeded to make a snide comment on the relative distance that I ap­ peared to be from the door on one of the coldest days of the year. It's ironic that somebody sees me every day and never says anything, but when they see me smoking they feel they have some superiority."

When asked what she would do if the campus were to go smoke-free, Perdana said, "I'd get all jittery!"

However, many non-smokers such as Leigh Bryant, U3 international devel­ opment studies and world religions, see the upsides of the possible change.

"Two thumbs up. By marginalizing smoking, more emphasis can be put on the awareness of the health risks associated with smoking," Bryant said.

— Kayvon Afshari and Thomas Quail

A rts Undergraduate Society of McGill University

A re yo u in te re s te d in being thes y e a r’s

V A L E D IC T O R IA N ?

The A U S is now accepting applications for Valedictorian for the Spring 2007 graduating class in the Faculty of Arts.

Application forms available at www.ausmcgill.com o r at the A U S offices in the basement of Leacock.

Deadline for Applications: March

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www.mcgilltribune.com

T h e T r ib u n e is w i c k e d - a w e s o m e . If y o u w a n t t o b e w i c k e d - a w e s o m e t o o , y o u c a n a p p l y t o b e a s e c t io n e d it o r .

W e ' r e l o o k i n g f o r e d it o r s i n a l l s e c t io n s . » T o a p p l y , p u t t h e f o l l o w i n g in a b ig e n v e l o p e : a c o v e r le t t e r d e t a i l i n g t h e s e c t io n y o u a r e in t e r e s t e d in a l o n g w it h a C V a n d t h r e e r e l e v a n t s a m p l e s o f w o r k . A d d r e s s it t o J a m e s G o t o w ic e , E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f .

B r in g a ll t h a t t o t h e T r i b u n e O f f ic e { S h a t n e r 1 1 0 - r i g h t b e h i n d C a f e r a m a ) b y M a r c h 2 3 , t h e n w a it f o r t h e f u n t o b e g in .

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A police officer inspected an abandoned cab in California only to find .a large quantity of marijuana worth $2 0 -million left in the car.

There are no suspects and no leads as to the owner of the drug stash.

"Somebody's going to be in some major trouble for walking away and leaving that quantity sitting on the side of the freeway," said a California highway patrolman. To the dismay of all, the police intend on destroy­ ing the cache. • While full-face ski masks have proven to be useful instruments to guard the anonymity of bank robbers, kidnappers and terrorists alike, a Connecticut man is trying to dispel the stereotype that all who don the head covering are mischievous, Kevin Lambert got the idea after he was sentenced to 15 hours of community service after a passerby was frightened by his ski mask and notified the police. He has launched a Web site dedicated to "Striving to keep America Warm

By Combating Ski Mask Discrimination." • A $25,0 0 0 diamond was re­ cently located in a shower drain in the prison facility housing the man accused of stealing it two years ago. Authorities said that the accused told them that he had swallowed and regurgitated the rock each time he was transferred from one facility to another. However, 14 months ago as he was about to be searched, threw the diamond down the drain. • Lucy, a io-month-old English bulldog, received mouth to snout resuscitation from her owner after pursuing geese and ducks in water that proved too cold for her. "Once you get a pet, it's truly part of your family,"said owner Randy Gurchin."You just tend to do whatever it takes to save their life." • When is $t worth $6 0 0 ? When it's one of possibly 50,0 0 0 George Washington dollar coins struck without the "In God we trust" inscription.The first flawed coin sold for $6 0 0 on e-bay but since so many have been discovered, the average price has dropped to $5 0 a piece. • '"Til death do us part" took on a whole new meaning for an Indian woman who married a corpse last week. The woman insisted on marrying her fiancé after he had taken a fatal fall down a well. The cer­ emony took place moments before the cremation of his body."The girl refused to give away the body of her lover for the cremation till she tied the knot with him," said a local police officer. • A Finnish MP is hoping to win the geek vote by translating his election Web site into Klignon, as used in the TV show Star Trek."Some have thought it is blasphemy to mix politics and Klingon,"said Jyrki Kasvi, an ardentTrekkie.

— Sources: BBC News, Yahoo! News, CTV.ca, USAToday.com

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th e SPC Card gets you exclusive d iscou nts’ a t hundreds o f C anadian retailers.

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Check out our online edition this Wednesday, March 14th for the results of this year's SSMU Elections. www.mcgilltribune.com

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The Students’ Society of McGill University is currently seeking an enthusiastic, dedicated person with leadership qualities to become the Editor-in-Chief of The McGill Tribune D e a d lin e t o a p p ly is 5 p .m . M a r c h 1 9 t h A ll a p p lic a tio n s m u s t in clu d e a CV, c o v e r le tte r, a n d th re e s a m p le s o f re le v a n t w o rk a n d ca n be s u b m itte d to th e

’Individual results vary. ” Offersvalidfrom08/01/06 until 07/31/07. Validat participating locations inCanada only, for Cardholder only. Offers mayvary, restrictions mayapply. Usage may berestrictedwhen usedinconjunctionwithanyother offeror retailer loyaltycarddiscountsCannot beusedtowardsthepurchaseofgiftcards or certificates. *Toqualify, student must present either{i) aT22Q2adocumenting4 or moremonthsof full-timeattendanceat a collegeor universityduring2006 or (it) a validhighschool identificationcard. ExpiresJuly 31, 2007. Validonlyat participating HSR Block locations inCanada. '*NO PURCHASE NECESSARYTOENTER OR W!N. Purchaseof HSR Block productsor serviceswill no?increasechancesof winning. Begins 2/1/07andends 5/15/07. Opentolegal residents of Canada(excluding Quebec residents) whoare 13or older andwerefull-timestudentsfor four or moremonthsduring2006at a highschool, collegeor university. Therewill be 1random drawtoawardthe prize. Skill testing question requiredfor awardof prize. See www.rockwitftfilock.ca for Official Rules and howto Play without purchase. Odds of winningvary basedonparticipation, voidinQuebec andwhereprohibited.

S S M U fr o n t desk, lo c a te d in th e B ro w n B uilding, 3 6 0 0 M cT a vish Street, to th e a tte n tio n o f A A R O N D O N N Y -C L A R K o r via e m a il to p re sid e n t@ ssm u .m cg ill.ca

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date's experience an d leadership ast year, for the first tim e in capabilities in m aking our picks, recent m em ory, th e T rib u n e as w ell as how he or sh e w ould d e cid e d to throw m o d esty po tentially deal w ith th e a d m in is­ to th e w ind an d a ctu ally tration on crucial issues. m ake our o p in io n s on th e SSMU can d id a te s know n. W e had so W e w ould like you to c o n ­ sider our th o u g h ts w hen voting, m u ch fun that w e ju st couldn't resist m aking it a tradition. Wbut ith th e im po rtant thin g is to cast yo u r vote. G o to w w w .e le c tio n that, w e present our picks for this s m c g ill.c a /v o te any tim e betw een year's races. now an d W e d n e sd ay at 5 p.m. to We cam e to these d ecisio n s m ake yo urself heard. T h e n , che ck after so m e intense d iscu ssio n s o u t w w w .m c g illtr ib u n e .c o m to be over a lot of pizza. O u r co n c lu ­ th e first to find out th e election sions w ere not based on id eo l­ results W e d n e sd ay even in g. ogy, instead w e looked to a c a n d i­

□ FLO H H E R R A -V E G A

L

V P EXTERNAL:

(3JAKE ITZKOWITZ

The race for SSMU president is admittedly a very dose one, yet the Tribune's editorial board strongly en­ dorses Jake Itzkowitz.

It is important to note that we are dealing with two very qualified candidates. Floh Herra-Vega has spent the past year in the SSMU office and on council as VP Clubs and Services and spent time before that serving on the Queer McGill executive. Jake Itzkowitz was briefly the student representative on McGill's Board of Governors, is an Arts Senator, has sat on SSMU council for the two past years, has organized a plethora of campus activities and served as a campaign manager in the last U.S. con­ gressional election. Both have shown themselves to be

motivated and hard-working, but we feel that Itzkowitz's experience is more diverse and shows a greater connec­ tion to the larger student body than Herra-Vega's.

Beyond that lies each candidate's anticipated gov­ erning style. Herra-Vega claims to be a "people person," yet in the past year clubs and services have found her to be frequently unavailable and unreachable via phone or email. While she has gone to admirable lengths to protect minority interests and rights on campus, she has accomplished little during her tenure this year to dem­ onstrate that she is in tune or concerned with the will of the general student body.

In stark contrast, Itzkowitz is always visible at and around campus events and shows an Adam Co’nteresque dedication to bringing SSMU politics back into the students' realm of interest. His political involvement outside of McGill will also bring a needed perspective to the tasks he. has ahead of him. He is a moderate and a pragmatist at a time when the SSMÜ executive is sorely lacking both. His resolve to reduce SSMU politicking and make council and General Assemblies more representa­ tive of student interests will be instrumental to integrat­ ing more students into the political process. Whereas Herra-Vega has had trouble separating ideology from policy, Itzkowitz turned in his resignation from BoGagainst his personal convictions-because it was asked of him. Itzkowitz is further committed to reaching out to students (through a SSMU help line and increased SSMU presence at club and campus events) and foster­ ing stronger relationships with the executive in the wake of an administration that has done nothing but burn bridges.

Although a strong candidate, Itzkowitz is not with­ out his faults. Last September, he dealt with the FEUQ issue unprofessional^ and, at times, childishly. He has a reputation for having a short fuse and making ill-advised comments, especially to the press. Itzkowitz also refused to take a firm stance on the blood drive issue, perpetual­ ly asking for greater debate but never leaving the fence.

Should he be elected, Itzkowitz will need to live up to his campaign promises for greater student integration and think before he leaps (or speaks). That being said, he is clearly the better option.

REFERENDUM QUESTIONS: Constitutional amendment 1 (VP Internal) - YES Despite the fact that a contradictory referendum took place eight years ago asking students to change the title from VP Inter­ nal to VP Communications and Events, the motivations behind this amendment are promising. Creating the position of com­ munications officer not only adds another paid student position, it also frees up precious time for the new VP Internal portfolio, enabling whoever holds the post to focus more on the relations between SSMU and its membership and continue in the role of events coordinator.

Constitutional amendment 2 (removal of BoG rep) - NO This question asks students whether they would like to eliminate the position of Board of Governors representative from the SSMU Constitution. They should not. Not only is there no language specifying that the president shall assume the posi­ tion, there is also no guarantee that the governors will allow the SSMU president to hold the undergraduate seat, which would leave SSMU without even the option of appointing a represen­ tative. Given that the lawsuit that SSMU Council has discussed filing could take years to work its way through the system, under­

Experience is key when it comestothe position ofVP External and Max Silverman definitely has it.

As the incumbent in this race, he has the strong advantage of per­ sonal contacts, general knowledge of Quebec student unions and an understanding of the various lobby groups across the country.

Although Geoffrey Hall proved to be a formidable opponent, Silverman provides continuity and will be able to hit the ground running.

Hall ran a passionate cam­ paign on a platform that was more focused on the Montreal commu­ nity and contained an admirable promise for more student consul­ tation. He was hurt by his general ignorance of the portfolio and plan to end the McGill adjustment,

grads could be without a voice on the university's highest deci­ sion-making botjy for some time. We feel that an elected BoG rep would be in a better position to lobby governors directly to get the SSMU president back on the body, and we encourage you to vote no to this amendment.

□ G EO FFREY H A LL

HIM A X SILVERMAN which has already been dealt with this year. This leaves us wonder­ ing whether he really knows what goes on around campus.

We would like to see Silverman take a page from Hall's book and show a greater interest in the Milton-Parc community as well as make more of an effort to bring SSMU issues to the students. Being vocal and passionate is essential to this position but it is important to make sure that the ideology of the general student body is repre­ sented.

We have criticised Silverman repeatedly throughout the past year for the poorly handled FEUQ fiasco, which left us without pro­ vincial representation and no plans to obtain it, the Flying Squad and SSMU's tendency to walk out of situations in which it isn't getting its way. Howev­ er, his dedication and deter­ mination have won the So­ ciety many allies and made McGill a noticeable force in the student movement. He has shown himself to be both proactive in events like the Feb. 7 Day of Action and cautious in our prospective membership in the Cana­ dian Federation of Students by recognizing that it is a weak organization provincially and reserving judg­ ment until more is known.

Hopefully, Silverman has learned from his mistakes and will build on this year's momentum.

matter. Without this affiliated status, these societies would lose their funding once McGill stopped collecting fees for them. The only option is to vote for it.

Constitutional amendment 3 (fee referenda in fall only) - NO The budgets of numerous clubs and services are in constant flux and in some cases, the only way to sustain them is to call for a fee referendum. This can-and does-happen in both semes­ ters, and it often takes a while for new club executives to get organized enough to recognize a need and then campaign for a fee. It would be extremely unwise to restrict this ability to the fall referendum period. While the members of the Yes committee feel that SSMU executive elections might overshadow spring fee referenda, we feel that this option must be kept open.

Daily Publications Society fee - YES The Daily Publications Society publishes both The McGill Daily and Le Délit Français and is asking for an additional $1.50 per semester (for a total of $6 .50 ) to cover SSMU-imposed rent increases as well escalating printing costs. We feel that having a variety of media voices on campus is important and students should continue to support both campus publications.

However, some of us are concerned that the inability to opt out of the fee is emblematic of a lack of transparency and accountability at the DPS. While the opt-out issue is a separate one, we would have liked for the DPS publish its audited financial statements prior to this referendum so students had a better idea of the financial state of the Society.

Constitutional amendment 4 (framework for affiliation status) - YES While we are concerned that affiliation might reduce smaller student associations' independence-such as their ability to con­ duct blood drives if they so choose-there is little choice in the

QPIRGfee - YES Since a no vote would cut all of QPIRG McGill's SSMU fund­ ing, we recommend that students vote in favour of this question.

This organization presents opportunities for students to become directly involved in social justice initiatives and supports a num-

12.03.07 • The McGill Tribune • 9

VP CLUBS & SERVICES:

IE)MARCELLE KOSMAN □ ALISON VERBA

It's worth noting that a sizeable portion, of our editorial board doesn't believe that either candidate deserves your vote. Marcelle Kosman's idea for a bike service is a good one, but one that is outlined in the clauses explain­ ing the SSMU environmental fee. Be­ sides committing to a greener Shatner building, which is certainly important, she doesn't seem to have any concrete plans. Her opponent, Alison Verba, didn't come prepared with many solid ideas either, though we liked her plan to make club funding more equitable.

Unfortunately, in what could have been a close race, Verba performed poorly at the debates, coming across as nervous and unsure of herself.

Unless you want to spoil your bal­ lot you have to pick someone, and we think that Kosman is the better choice.

Her involvement with the Sexual As­ sault Centre of McGill Students'Society, organizational skills and dedication to the tasks that she takes on are good preparation for the C&S portfolio. She has also been engaged in space allo­ cation issues, which could prove use­ ful when it comes time to decide what to do with the newly vacant University Bytes space.

While Kosman has valuable ex­ ecutive experience, it comes mostly

VP COMMUNICATIONS &EVENTS :

from one organization and we worry that she could have trouble relating to the needs of smaller clubs. She will also need to spend her transition time and the summer getting up to speed on the larger SSMU issues if she is to be an effective voice on Council. Still, we suggest that you vote for Kosman over the inexperienced Verba's good intentions.

Gen Friesen is the clear choice for VP C&E. Full disclo­ sure requires us to note that Friesen was a Tribune design editor in 2 0 0 5 -0 6 , but hasn't worked with this year's edito­ rial board. That being said, she is the more qualified can­ didate. She has experience running large events such as Science Frosh and Carnival, and will bring proven organi­ zational and leadership skills to the portfolio. She has prac­ tical ideas for making Frosh more environmentally friendly and is energetic and approachable-essential characteris­ tics for the VP C&E. Also, unlike her opponent, Friesen is bilingual and has pledged to make SSMU more accessible to francophone students.

While Kay Turner has been involved in campus politics-both as a SSMU Councillor and as VP External of AUSshe does not have experience coordinating large events.

She lacks the leadership qualities that Friesen brings to the table and at the debates she was unable to articulate any innovative ideas.

Friesen was attacked at Wednesday's debate for the questionable material in the SSMU Handbook that she was hired to design, but she admitted that she had dis­ played a lack of judgment. The Handbook fiasco concerns us, but we're encouraged that she has been willing to admit mistakes and learn from them. Friesen will also be able to apply the lessons learned working with SSMU-and the nuances of Quebec liquor laws-to the job next year.

Ultimately, Friesen's event-planning experience trumps Turner's less-distinguished Council experience. The VP C&E must be well prepared as she will be tested early come Frosh Week: Friesen has already traversed the pitfalls of communicating ideas effectively, planning non-drinking activities and spelling beer with more than four letters.

HADRIAN ANGUS □ MALEK YALAOUI

V P U N IV E R S IT Y A F F A IR S :

For the post of VP UA, students need a represen­ tative who possesses both experience in dealing with the McGill administration and an ability to communi­ cate in a thoughtful manner. Adrian Angus best exem­ plifies these attributes and we endorse him whole­ heartedly.

While serving as VP Academic of AUS and Arts Senator, Angus has worked consistently with the ad­ ministration on academic issues. His platform for bet­ ter advising services and improvements to the library is well thought out and should be easy to implement.

Also, the fact that he is a people person will be quite beneficial when he sits down with the McGill admin to act as SSMU's chief negotiator.

His opponent, Malek Yalaoui, doesn't quite mea­ sure up. She comes off as being stand-offish and not particularly skilled at building bridges. Her attendance record as an Arts Senator is disturbing and we are dis­ mayed that she would consider attending three out of seven meetings as positive. We are also disappointed with her organizational skills and while she was quite the presence in 20 0 5 -0 6 , she has done nothing to merit another chance since she was defeated last year in her bid for the same position.

While Angus is the better candidate, he isn't per­ fect. He could definitely strive to improve his French and is seen as being too chummy.That being said, the UA post is one the few places where schmoozing can be quite useful to student-admin relationships.

ber of worthy causes, including immigration rights, the environ­ ment and AIDS research. Students who do not wish to contribute to QPIRG can exercise their right to opt out of the fee.

Tribune fee-Y ES Currently, SSMU provides the Tribune with an office, as well as the service of SSMU accountants, just like any other club. This summer, for the first time in four years, the Society purchased three new computers for our use. Also, our advertising manager is a SSMU employee who divides his time between the Tribune, the SSMU Handbook and Old McGill. Besides that, our entire bud­ get is funded through advertising and while we occasionally run a small deficit that is covered by SSMU, in years that we make a profit, it goes back into the Society's general revenue.

This year, advertising revenue has taken a nose-dive. If the situation hadn't improved recently, we would have been forced

by SSMU executives to drastically cut the number of pages we print, limiting the amount of coverage that we could provide. This fee will provide the support necessary to ensure that the paper is not completely beholden to advertisers. Ideally, it will also allow for a slight increase in stipends, which are as little as $25 0 per semester for what can easily be a 2 0 -hour per week job.

(EIGEN FRIESEN □ KAY TURNER

V P F IN A N C E & O P E R A T IO N S :

(EIMAD BARAKE (ACCLAIMED)

We are disappointed that no one else ran for this position, as a campaign would have given us a bet­ ter chance to evaluate Imad Barake. At the debates, he spoke mainly in buzzwords and it was difficult to get a sense of what he actually wants to accomplish. He talks vaguely of what he will do once in office and preaches fuzzy concepts like his “constructive ap­ proach."

That being said, and while he didn't convey it very well on the campaign trail, Barake has experi­ ence on SSMU Council and should be qualified for the position. However, as with anyone who is acclaimed, he will have to work hard come May 1 to prove him­ self and show that he can translate his nebulous ideas into concrete results for stu­ dents.

CKUT fee - YES The proposed rolling increase from the current fee of $ 4 per semester to $6.04 is not unreasonable, considering that CKUT's funding from students has not increased since 19 8 8 . Supporting McGill's only campus radio station is a worthwhile endeavour, but many students may wonder what CKUT has done for them lately. The lack of McGill programming and student involvement must be improved upon, since a large chunk of the station's bud­ get comes from McGill students. Reservations aside, because stu­ dents can opt out of this fee, it's a fair one.

fees, the environment funds, if properly allocated, will go to a good cause. We have some concern that perhaps the money for the environment fund should come out of the substantial sur­ plus in SSMU's general operating budget rather than an added fee. However, this money would ensure funding for sustainabil­ ity projects and stop fluctuations in support for environmental endeavours that result from a continually changing executive.

It would organize the many campus green groups through the sustainability commissioner, allowing more projects to come to fruition and, hopefully, lead to a greener SSMU.

Midnight Kitchen fee - YES The Midnight Kitchen's service is unique, although the pro­ posed use of its student levy can be questioned. Though we agree that providing free and healthy vegan lunches is a worth­ while cause, using part of the fee to pay staff $15 per hour seems a bit excessive. However, as the fee is an opt-outable levy and up for renewal in four years, the Midnight Kitchen should be given the opportunity to prove that it can use the money to improve its service.

Blood drive constitutionality Not only is our editorial board divided on this issue, we also feel uncomfortable imposing our interpretation of the SSMU constitution on students.This affair will most likely end up before SSMU's Judicial Board, where it should have gone long ago. This is not to say that the question should be taken lightly.

This is an extremely serious issue that has been poorly han­ dled from the outset. Many students have asserted that blood drives were banned from the Shatner building without adequate student consultation. Students have never been given a legiti­ mate, SSMU-sanctioned forum to voice their opinions on the blood drive question. Students should vote their conscience.

SSMU environment fee - YES While we are reluctant to fork over another $1.25 in SSMU

The McGill Tribune

10 «Opinion* 12.03.07

U N C O M M O N LY THO UG HTFUL

J U M B O S H R IM P

I t a i n 't e a s y

I a m n o t C a r r ie B ra d s h a w

b e in g a w o m a n J esse C haser

J . F. K o stuck JFKOSTUCK@GMAIL.COM

JESSE.CHASER@GMAIL.COM

he other day I was chatting with a friend of mine— let's call her Beth—who self-identifies as a woman. She brought this fact up and asked me whether this was a problem.

Beth said, "I know that I'm enforcing the gender binary," but she really feels that identifying as a woman and being iden­ tified as such has profoundly affected her life.

I suddenly wondered whether men had a similar attachment to their gender identity or whether this was more of an issue for women. Being partofa'minority"that is actually in the majority is such an odd, but hardly anomalous, situation (e.g. the poor are much more numerous than the rich).

Beth is conflicted because she feels for me and understands how constrict­ ing I personally find the categories of woman and man. At the same time, she believes that it's a part of who she is. She has sometimes enjoyed being identified as such and at times loathed it but it has been something she has had to live with regardless.

"What should I do?," she asked me.

I replied honestly, "I don't know." Beth complained that she was confused and didn't know how to identify or what was right.

Not identifying as a woman ap­ peals to her belief that gender is a so­ cial construct and thus the categories of "man" and "woman" mean nothing, but throwing aside something that has been such a staple categorizing factor in her life is hard too."For god's sake,"she

T

said, "it's how I decide which bathroom to use!""Woman"is also how others see her and thus how others treat her— and she knows that this has affected her life and the person that she has become. It also seems wrong to pretend that some­ thing like gender does not matter when so many people are not only affected by it but suffer because of it. Unfortunately, either choice seems wrong, like she's betraying herself.

She looked at me, very sincerely, clearly desperate for me to tell her some­ thing, anything that would resolve her conflict. I was shocked that she became so visibly upset over this issue. I'm not sure why I found this so bizarre. Maybe it's because she's straight, white, smart, very attractive and has a great boy­ friend— in short, society's conception of normal. Don't get me wrong, she's cer­ tainly not average. She gets exceptional marks, is very involved in community and political organizations and is a kind and caring person. She's an uncom­ mon human being, just in a common way.That is something that I have often longed for and, in my weaker moments, .tried to be. I was surprised that some­ one who seemingly had it all could be struggling with the very same question that I wrestle with all of the time.

I briefly broke eye contact, looked down, gave an understanding half smile and replied with the only answer that I could. I doubt that it was helpful and I'm sure that it wasn't what she wanted but it was all that I had: "Welcome to my world." ■

on't get me wrong, I love Sex and the City. Miranda, Charlotte and Saman­ tha are my best friends, homegirls and role models. However, the one character that I simply cannot abide on that show is Carrie Bradshaw, the female protagonist around whom the entire series revolves. Carrie is a columnist who writes about love, sex, rela­ tionships and the lack thereof. She frequently finds herself monologue-ing, unable to help herself from wondering just what the world would be like without men, heels and Dior.

Her columns are thinly-veiled retellings of her personal life, expressing her thoughts, feelings and insecurities. She describes her romantic life in great detail, touching on such pertinent and hard-hitting issues as,"Anal sex: exit only?" How she has managed to keep a constant flow of men around while simul­ taneously publishing their faults and short­ comings in a statewide newspaper is beyond me. I know that my ex-boyfriend wouldn't have stood for it— probably because he has a small penis.

For all of these reasons, one can imag­ ine why I was most offended when I received what someone undoubtedly thought was high praise; this person called me, "McGill's Carrie Bradshaw." Instead of getting into the vast number of differences between Ms. Brad­ shaw and myself, I chose to examine the situ­ ation as a whole, trying to understand when it became acceptable to compliment people via fictional references and when the epitome of female journalism could be found on HBO. Are female writers forever condemned to be compared to Sarah Jessica Parker's greatest role? Surely, this can't be all that there is. I couldn't help but wonder whether this was the plight of the female columnist.

D

I don't expect every Tom, Dick and Harry to be brimming with relevant and accurate journalistic references when applauding my latest work, but surely there must be other comparisons out there. If I couldn't get real-life examples such as Margaret Fuller or Katharine Graham, then why not at least credible fictional ones, such as Lois Lane or Murphy Brown? These were strong, driven career women who were esteemed report­ ers, shining amidst their male counterparts.

Bradshaw, instead, moulded her work around her life and the men who happened to be of interest at the time. Her entire book and ul­ timately the series as a whole, told the story of one evasive relationship and the trials she had to undergo to find “true love."

Bradshaw survives many other disasters throughout the course of the show, includ­ ing shoe theft, bad hair and an embarrassing public stumble. The cancer, failure to con­ ceive and divorce that her on-screen best friends battled pale in comparison to the tragedies that Carrie faced. In what deranged world is it considered a compliment to be compared to a fictional character so clearly devoid of any merit whatsoever just because she happened to be employed in your cho­ sen field? Is society so deluded that any as­ sociation with a so-called celebrity should be regarded as high praise?

As famous and successful as the charac­ ter was, I don't think that any legitimate writer strives to be the next Carrie Bradshaw. Sure, she has a shoe collection that rivals the stock room at Marshall Field's, fierce fashion sense and a swanky New York lifestyle, but give me substance and artistic integrity any day— I was always more of a running shoe type of girl. ■

BT P H O N E H O M E

P e n n ie s f r o m h e a v e n ? M o r e lik e p e n n ie s f r o m h e ll B yron T au BYRON.TAU@MAIL.MCGILL.CA 'll be honest; I very often throw out pennies in the trash.

Women, with their ubiquitous handbags, don't have any grasp on how irritating coins are to a red-blooded Ameri­ can male like myself, weaned on American greenbacks instead of Canadian loonies. They'll never understand the experience of being positive that there is a toonie buried somewhere deep in a wallet and spending precious sec­ onds searching, while a line of caffeine-starved students waits impatiently. While my hatred for coins is a tad per­ sonal, it's time for both Americans and Canadians to face the hard facts and abolish the most wretched and vile of all coins: the cent.

The most basic argument against abolishing the penny is that it actually costs more than one cent for the U.S. Mint to mint a penny. Often, the ever-fluctuating price of zinc rises to the effect that smelted pennies sold as raw zinc could actually turn a profit. That's right, melted pennies are theoretically worth more than minted ones— if you play the zinc market right. Add to this the cost of actually making the coin and the mint loses .75 pennies per penny. Yet another study indicated that the cost of distributing the coins could also cost the government as much as $0.03 per penny.

Second, the penny has lost significant real value and purchasing power over the past 50 years. What a penny could purchase in 19 50 now takes a dime. Historically, there has never been a more worthless coin in U.S. economic his­

I

tory. New York Times columnist William Safire noted that the U.S. Mint nevertheless produces almost a billion pen­ nies a month, of which two-thirds drop out of circulation immediately. Why?.Because their purchasing power is so infinitesimal that they come out of wallets and purses and go straight into piggy banks and "take a penny" dishes or, in my case, the trash.

Further, Wake Forest University economist Robert Whaples notes that the average American hourly wage is $18 (U.S.) per hour, which comes down to one cent per two seconds. However, data show that it takes more than two seconds to use a penny at any given cash transaction.

Pennies are quite literally a waste of both your time and the time of business owners and employees. Whaples esti­ mates that pennies are used in approximately one third of the roughly 10 0 billion annual cash transactions across the U.S. economy and $6 oo-million annually are squandered in wasted productivity, all because of consumers using pen­ nies. Further, businesses are estimated to waste even more money on obtaining pennies to stock cash drawers, paying approximately 10 cents extra in wrapping charges for a roll of 50 pennies.

The cash drawers of American retailers traditionally contain just four coin slots. If pennies were gone, that would free up a slot for the dollar coin. It would replace the U.S. paper dollar, another inefficient currency relic that is esti­

mated to cost the mint $2 0 o-$3 0 o-million a year in reprint­ ing costs to replaced damaged bills.

The Canadian penny fares slightly better, costing only 0.8 cents to make and earning a profit for the Canadian Mint, but the productivity arguments still apply.

Penny apologists often cry,"Well, what's next?The poor nickel? When does it stop?" Little do they realize that Brit­ ish coinage units such as the farthing (one-quarter penny) and halfpenny once existed but were discontinued when the value of the metal exceeded the value of the currency and when the purchasing power of these coins became so negligible that their continued existence was futile.

Why does my government, as well Canada's, continue to mint these worthless coins? Part of the reason is that there is little public or Congressional support for the elimi­ nation of the penny. K-Fed recently embarked on a "save the penny" campaign for Virgin Mobile. There's even a lobbyist group, Americans for Common Cents. Republican Congress­ man Jim Kolbe, a political hero of mine for his heroic efforts to rid America of the scourge of the one-cent piece, has twice tried to introduce legislation— in 2 0 0 2 and 2 0 0 6 —to eliminate the penny, but to no avail. The truth is that there is no reason at all for preserving such a useless coin. It's high time for Americans and their northern brothers and sisters to stand up and demand that these pathetic coins be put away in the cash drawer of history once and for all. ■

12.03.07 • Opinion • 11

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www.mcgilltribune.com Editor-in-Chief Jam es Gotowiec editor@mcgilltribune.com

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E liza b eth P erle eople are always telling me to smile. Quite frankly, it's irritating as hell. I cannot count the number of times I have been walking down a city street, ordering a coffee or sitting on the sub­ way and have heard the words "Hey honey, gimme a smile!” come from the mouth of some man whom I have never met before.

Apparently, I am not alone in experiencing this grating phenomenon. When recently discussing the matter with some female friends, I discovered that being commanded to smile by random men is something they too experience on a regular basis.

JohnTierney, in an article in the New York Times, related male and female smiling to social class. He discussed the results of a social psychology study conducted at New Mexico University that, among other things, compared models' faces in ads and found that the more expensive the item being ad­ vertised, the less likely the model was to be smiling.

Other research compared pictures of football players, concluding that the larger in stature the player was, the less likely he was to smile for the camera.

The professor leading the study,Timothy Ketelaar, came up with an interesting hypothesis based

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friend of mine from a small town in South Carolina indicated that this was not the case there and posed the question, "Are we supposed to think that south­ ern people smile more because of a universal inferi­ ority complex?"

Ketelaar's study, of course, has a rather limited scope and some of the examples it draws upon are very overly-generalized. For example, he fails to take into account the fact that there are different kinds of smiles that mean all sorts of things, not all of which can necessarily be tied to such deterministic social baggage.

Although Ketelaar's study has its flaws, some­ thing about this interpretation nevertheless had a ring of familiarity to me. Being implored to smile out of nowhere is often a hostile interaction; if I try to ignore the man (old or young), he usually becomes indignant. If I do smile, men frequently respond with patronizing statements like, "See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Tierney's piece, however, may have finally pro­ vided me with an explanation:These men are not, in fact, asking me to smile, rather it is their way of say­ ing, "Demonstrate your subservience as a gender to me and be more aesthetically pleasing." :) ■

on these results: a person's smile can be directly linked with their economic and social status. In fact, he argued, the lower down on the societal ladder a person is, the more inclined they are to smile.

This could be related to the theory (whether legitimate or not) that asserts that women, on the whole, smile more than men. According to Ketelaar, this gender difference has been attributed to the perceived lower social status of women. He also notes that the gender gap shrinks when you con­ sider high status women, who apparently don't feel the need to smile as much.

There is something to these.assertions. For ex­ ample, primates use smiling to signal submission.

Outside of the animal world, some historians theo­ rize that the Japanese tendency to smile was a result of years of oppression at the hands of their feudal lords. For Japanese peasants, smiling, or placating the men who had free reign to kill them, was devel­ oped as a defence mechanism.

Of course, Ketelaar's theory fails to take into ac­ count important factors, such as regional elements, which renders the argument more than a little prob­ lematic. I've only ever lived in cities where smiling at strangers on the street is, well, frowned upon. A

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Primates are people, too Now, I'm not one to talk be­ hind people's backs. I prefer to scream to their face— when I'm mad, I'm Spittley. But lo, a problem has arisen and I cannot say it to the collective face that so richly de­ serves a dour dousing, so I turn to the pleasant pages of the Tribune to let my message be known: the Daily has no balls.

What proof, ask you, that they are ball-istically bereft? For starters, last week they neglected to print some painful truths about the Students' Society election that I sent to them. This sham election— which again refuses to acknowledge my candidacy— has dragged its bloated carcass through the press and not one major publication has called it out as the political cold sore it is!

What happened to the pro­ gressive press? At the Daily, the "free press" has become the "feer press." Not only does their opi­ ate opining serve to strengthen SSMU's cruel stranglehold on the minds of the student body, they can't even spell "fear" right! I now write to the last bastion of the out­ spoken bastard, theTrib, to tell the terrible truth: this election wastes not only pounds of paper, but students' minds as well! Fight the power, don't trust e-voting, keep the press vigilant and support the revolution, whatever it is!

— Gorilla Q. Everyman U3 banana republican

5

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. Submissions judged by theTribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribunereserves the right to edit all contributions.

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

F EA TU R ES Perhaps its better to ditch the D asan i M eghna M arjadi It is crisp, refreshing, slimming and usually free. However, the next time you sip a glass of water, swallow this: inside every litre of water you drink, you also consume o.o6img of Tylenol, 0.037 mg of Motrin and 0.037 mg of Amoxicillin (an antibiotic). % Although these values may seem rather small, tap water contains a number of drugs ■ that have the potential to cause damage to our bodies as well as our environment.

In 2 0 0 4 , environmental researchers in Vail, Colorado discovered fish that posM sess both male and female parts. This mutation has been attributed to the increasm ing levels of the hormone estrogen in North American water. Æ Estrogen is a naturally occurring hormone excreted by all female animals and humans, acting as the force behind breasts and menustration. At biologically natural levels, the hormone does not cause any harm. However, the rising use of birth con\ trol since the 19 6 0 s as well as the employment of hormones in the meat industry is k causing an unprecedented level of pharmaceutical contaminants to be secreted j into wastewater.These contaminants evidentally can have potentially harmful efM fects on our wildlife, but the guestion remains: Will this surge of estrogen in our M tap water lead to future health problems in humans? Scientists remain unsure. Æ Estrogen secretion is not the only concern that plagues water-drinkers. Pigs treated with antibiotics have the potential to excrete the same drug-resistant bacte­ ria from their guts into our water systems, meaning that these drug-resistant bacteria could potentially reach humans. Although the European Union has already banned the use of antibiotics in farming practices, Canada and the United States have yet to follow its lead. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit research group centered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a startling 70 per cent of all antibiotics prescribed in the U.S. are used in the animal industry.The overuse of antibiotics has been a longstanding concern in the scientific community due to the potential creation of drug-resistant bacteria and the excre­ tion of antibiotics by pigs, cows and other livestock. All of these antibiotic excretions result in a higher risk of pandemic from a drug resistant strain.

Despite the potential effects of pharmaceutical pollution on the environment, ingestion of contaminated water may not have direct implica^ tions on human health, says a Nov. 2 0 0 6 document released by the m Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. "Based on I \ preliminary human health assessments for about 26 pharmaceuti- 1 B cal compounds, we believe there is no appreciable risk to human \ I health from pharmaceuticals in the environment," explains the t organization's technical consultant,Thomas White. "More research is M necessary in order to make this same assessment for potential ecologi- a Æ cal impacts." ^

What they're not treating 1 Municipal water facilities are not opting to clean pharmaceuticals \ \ for one simple reason: they do not know how. In fact, according to Dr. 1 Chandra Madramootoo, Dean of McGill's faculty of agriculture, research I on pharmaceuticals did not begin until five or six years ago. Madramootoo, t who is actively involved in agricultural water treatment both in Canada and Æ overseas, maintains that there has been a sore lack of research on what, exÆ actly, the pollutants in our water are broken down into. m "Various metabolites and byproducts pass through our body and the 1 waste that is not used gets excreted out. It is further broken down once it gets to the water supply system," he explains. "The [research] to find these byproducts is an ongoing cause for concern."

The constant emergence of new products on the market makes such research even more difficult because it can never be complete. Once more information is uncovered about the byproducts that should be found in water systems, they can be targeted. Unfortunately, until then, nothing can be done.

Although not in general circulation, a molecule called Fe-TAML has the potential to solve estrogen pollution problems. Discovered by a group of researchers led by Terrence Collins at Carnegie Mellon University's Institute for Green Oxidation Chemistry, the molecule contains . iron, carbon and nitrogen and works with hydrogen peroxide to degrade estrogen. The degradation of estrogen using this compound is extremely fast and can break down .^ trace amounts of estrogen in mere minutes.

■ Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in North Dakota revealed other I uses for Fe-TAML,'such as the decomposition of deadly bacterial spores, sulfur, orm ganophosphorus pesticides, organic colorants and dyes. As the number of uses for

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this molecule increase, it seems logical that it should be released into the market sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, the molecule is still in the testing stage and has not bee tested for its actual performance in wasti ter—only in laboratory settings. Until tf only options for the masses seem to I water or filters.

The problem with the bottle in b However, bottled water may be ca than it is solving.

"I think in Canada, it's absolutely di uncertain about their water that we buy water than we do for gasoline," high pi David Suzuki told CBC in a recent intervit City streets are strewn with plastic ing, the extra money spent on bottled other places. With Dasani bottled water ml bottle and gas at $1.50 a litre, it is strar save money by using their taps.

Most McGill cafeterias are stocked choice. This so-called "pure" water comer mon water osmosis system referred to by process." Not only is the water basically t; you: according to the Business Guardian, was removed in 2 0 0 4 from shelves beca cancer-causing chemical.

Bottled water is at least as pc venient option in times where w; \ a study conducted in 20 0 6 by a 1 the Institute of Environmental G m in Germany, William Shotyk, sho m L the water in it. Shotyk founc J cause health problems in w However, the Canac \ problems unless the w; If bottled water is I According to Dr. Madra t won't remove pharmai and physical pollutant quality, but it does not s m stances have to be targe

Of course, banning b "We need to conserve ' put more effort into supporting Æ we are not going to have a saf< A simple way to reduce y gredients listed on some of your detergents that do not contain phosp necessary.

You can also donate money to resi Canadian government provide cleaner, s "I think that we've got to drink the v it, we ought to be raising hell about that, But don't get too scared of all those Suzuki" himself still drinks tap water and ; best water treatment facilities in the wor Moreover, according to Melanie Gr contamination may result in some cano has been indisputably proven. Meaning, morning with different organs.Too bad v k I

12.03.07 • The McGill Tribune • 13

PERSPECTIVE

Environmental rhetoric: Trend,yecosP?ak . . . , «, may do more harm ow much is too much? more than help E lizabeth P erle

water more problems ig that people are so 'ing more, for bottled nvironmental activist ; and realistically speakcould be better spent in for upwards of $1.50 for a 540 it the general public is not trying to Dasani, which may not be the best local municipalities and enters a com is"a highly sophisticated purification er, but it may actually be worse for sani water in the United Kingdom was contaminated by bromate, a ap water and, of course, is a connsportation is necessary. However, lian scientist and current director of mistry at the University of Heidelberg t the bottle may be more of a hazard than elastic has the ability to leech into water and is. tried Water Association denies any risks of such s been in the bottle more than six months, re way to go, perhaps Brita or pure filters are. d o , "a Brita filter is not really a filtration system. It als or heavy metal. It really removes sediments roving these sediments does improve water re problem of ingesting medicines. These subithe municipal treatment facilities. what are our risks? rntrol,Tylenol and antibiotics is not an option, keep pollution out, reduce contamination and icipal water facilities. Until we do these things, Die water system,"asserts Madramootoo. dividual impact is to pay attention to the in­ frequent purchases. For example, try to buy and avoid taking antibiotics unless absolutely and municipal facilities and demand that the ater. lat comes out of our taps and if we don't trust Javid Suzuki. )nes and antibiotics just yet: keep in mind that ing to Madramootoo, Montreal has one of the <en in the EHP Ecology Special Issue, estrogen J abnormal reproductive organs, but nothing Dn't have to worry about waking up tomorrow 't say the same for our underwater friends. ■

Climate change is real. Scientific evidence confirms that human activities have played a heavy hand in this change.

There is no question, even in the minds and mouths of Canada's political parties, that some sort of action must be taken.

That being said, over the last few years, a new environmental phenomenon seems to have developed in this country and in other western nations: the use of apocalyptic rhetoric to describe climate change problems. The media is not exclusively to blame; this language is coming from the mouths of politicians, social organizations and activists alike.

In an era of heightened environmental concern, enviro-political discourse is extremely important. However, are the environmental media depictions, which are characterized by overblown, non-scientific vocabulary and televised theatrics, necessarily going to have positive ramifications on the issue of climate change? Moreover, do these images of climate-related chaos distort scientific truth?

According to M. Jimmie Killingsworth and Jacqueline 5.

Palmer, co-authors of Ecospeak: Rhetoric and Environmental Politics in America,

the growing number of environmentally radical groups are creating what they dub an "Ectopia" in North America— an image of the environment constructed through

the manipulation of language in order to promote certain enviro-political views.

Social organizations have, historically, needed to cook up drama in order to grab the attention of the larger public, or even score a minute or two on North America's oversaturated media sources: Bono's AIDS mission with his media-adored Red Campaign, for example. Advertising Age magazine recently revealed, however, that the budget for the campaign itself ($ 100million) and the total funds worldwide raised ($ 18-million) were extremely disproportionate. Oprah, Steven Spielberg and iPods everywhere may have been drawn into the campaign by Bono's alarming rhetoric, but at the end of the day, it appears the glossy, global media blitz did little to support this important social cause.

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth won best documentary at this year's Academy Awards. The film itself presents Gore as a prophet/politician and in its trailer claims: "If you love the planet, if you love your children, you have to see this film."

Through a series of slideshows, graphs and speeches, Gore insists that if the world does not curb emissions immediately, we will suffer a catastrophic crisis and— following a picture of gold bars— asserts that it comes down to a choice between money and "the entire planet."

The documentary's emotional effect is certainly forceful, however, climate change problems may not necessarily benefit from simplifying, or essentially spoon-feeding,

this exceptionally complex issue to the population in such a way. For example, consider developing countries, for which this polarized choice is not so simple.

One of Britain's top climate scientists and the director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Mike Hume, discusses the issue in a Nov. 2006 BBC article, "The chaotic world of climate truth."

"The language of fear and terror operates as an ever-weakening vehicle for effective communication or inducement for behavioural change," he writes. "By 'sexing it up' we exacerbate, through psychological amplifiers, the very risks we are trying to ward off?

He then points to the current geopolitical repercussions of the "careless" translation of concern about Saddam Hussein's presumed military threat into the case for weapons of mass destruction.

"Why is it not just campaigners, but politicians and scientists too, who are openly confusing the language of fear, terror and disaster with the observable physical reality of climate change, actively ignoring the careful hedging which surrounds science's predictions?" Hume asks.

The fact of the matter is, while climate change is a pressing global issue and must be addressed, the rhetoric that has transformed it into the social cause flavourof-the-week may only foster a reactionary resolution, rather than the sort of long term solutions scientists are hoping for. ■

How green is Jean Charest's Quebec?

Quebec is widely viewed as Canada's "greenest" province, with their pro-Kyoto rhetoric and environmentally conscious political climate.

However, environmental scientists will be the first to note that Quebec's environmentally friendly record can be attributed to another cause: the fact that the vast majority of energy in Quebec is in the form of hydroelectricity, with only a small greenhouse gas-producing petroleum industry. As M ac lea n's columninst Paul Wells puts it: "Quebec has waterfalls!" That is to say, it is easier to be environmental when your main source of energy comes from water.

Who Killed the Electric Car? 30 - 9 p,m.t Room 232, Leacock If sustainable living is all the rage, then w hat happened to the elec-

THURSDAY MARCH 15: c o m m u n it y

Booth, 10 a.rn. 2 p.rn, sroads & Burnside Hall More info! More coffee! Come ASAP!

S

t u d e n t

L

iv in g

perspective

T h e K n ig h t s o f M c G ill

My sparring experience with McGill's chivalric fencing team extremely passionate about it. A beginner, Jean Phillipe Chicone, Ui political science, says he "loves the fact that it is an individual Fancy footwork, an iron mask and a sword: the three ele­ sport and therefore an individual accomplishment."

Fencing is a sport of intense one-on-one combat, where ments of the quintessential knight in shining armour. It just so happens that McGill is the home of a hodgepodge group your mission is to hit your opponent (in designated areas). Think of knights who practice three times a week and compete in a Lord o f the Rings fantasy brought to life, minus the blood and number of national tournaments. What's more, I got invited to gore.

"As this is my first year, I have gotten quite a few scratches practice with them!

When I told my friends that I was going to fence last Thurs­ and bruises, but fencing is one of the least violent sports," says Ali day night, they had mixed reactions. A few thought it would be Gilani, U1 economics, morphing my image of warriors in battle really cool, while some, knowing me quite well, thought I would to gentlemen in a courtyard. Fencing is, indeed, a gentleman's— fall on my face and/or get stabbed repeatedly. Others were sur­ and gentlewoman's— game.

Julia Barette, U2 biochemistry, started fencing last year and prised that McGill even has a fencing team at all.

The fencing team is small, but mighty; roughly 4 0 students loves it so much that she came to the practice directly from a belong to the club and about eight are on the varsity team. It midterm. "After practice on Thursdays, we go out drinking to may not be McGill's most popular sport, but all of the fencers are BDP afterwards," Barette explains. "It's the fencing team. We are nerdy, but we're not thatnerdy!'

Although it's not violent, fencing isn't for-the weak of heart.

Arrested Development George Michael Bluths of the world be­ ware: turning your back on the sword can't be done; believe me, I tried. Furthermore, it's an offence.

Who knew sword fighting had so many rules?

"Speed and agility are key," says Gilani. Unfortunately, these are things I lack. Nevertheless, the team suited me up with a mask, armour and sword and set to work teaching me the sport.

Surprisingly, it is mostly footwork.

"Some of the best fencers are fast on their feet and do very little with their sword," explains Andrew Frankel, Ui physics and math. Beginner fencers spend at least a week practicing foot­ work. I, personally, found the movements awkward and difficult, which quickly brought to mind visions of my past horrible expe­ riences with ballet dancing.

Soon enough, they put a sword in my hand— a foil to be exact— and I entered into combat, trying to hit a dummy on the wall. So much for an intense battle. Actual fencers pick their weapon: a foil, epee or sabre. They compete through the use of M A TTH EW CO U TU R IER an electrical system, which keeps track of the amount of times Think L o rd o f th e R in g s fantasy brought to life, minus the a player has hit his opponent. I practiced bouting with Frankel, blood and gore.________________________________ J oanna R eznick

M A TTH EW CO U TU R IER

Brian Wong shares some of the wisdom he has amassed during his 10 -year tenure on the team. one of the team's most experienced members.. .though I'm fair­ ly certain he was trying to withhold laughter at my clumsiness most of the time. His attempts at explaining how to block a hit seemed to go in one ear and right out the other.

I gave up my future with fencing a few minutes later—the story of my athletic career— and ended up watching everyone else practice.

But, on the bright side, I discovered that fencing looks prêt ty cool from a spectator's perspective!

The team is hosting this year's AAA circuit provincial tourna­ ment at the McGill gym on April 1 and admission is free. Speak­ ing from my experience, the sport is worth checking out. If not to try something new, considerthe lure of getting to sword fight with your friends. ■

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

FOOD FORTHOUGHT

"Man drives SUV through mall, then Leave those Eggos in the freezer .

Heat tablespoon vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pangets beat by cops" L F over medium heat. Do not use butter, as it will burn too quickly.

T h e b e s t p a n ca ke s e v e r indsay

rank

Do you have Eggos in your freezer? Pancake mix in the cup­ board? Throw them out the nearest window and get cooking!

This is a fantastic pancake recipe and although some of the cook­ ing directions may sound frivolous, they truly make a difference in the taste and quality of the final product. Unlike most pancake recipes, with this one you can freeze the leftovers (that is, if there are any). Simply wrap each individual pancake in plastic wrap and when you're ready to reheat, microwave on a sheet of paper towel (so that the pancake doesn't get soggy) until warm.

5

1

Cook pancakes until edges start to look dry and little bubbles pop in pancake surface; flip and cook other side for slightly less time. Do NOT press down on pancakes while they are cooking, flat pancakes are decidedly not fluffy. Serve with fruit, jam or maple syrup. ■

— NBC News, March 10,2007

Add some cream to your Tuesday morning coffee.

Yield: 4-6 super fluffy pancakes

Write for Features!

• ■ .• _ / . .?■

Ingredients: 1 1 / 2 cups flour 3 teaspoons baking powder salt 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 1 / 4 cups milk, slightly warmed 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg, at room temperature 3 tablespoons melted butter Steps: 1 . Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre; set aside 2 . Pleat milk just enough to take the chill off of it. In a sepa­ rate bowl, stir together milk, melted butter, vanilla and egg. Make sure the egg has been left out for roughly 30 minutes to reach room temperature; it is very important that the wet ingredients be slightly warm.

3 . Pour wet mixture into well in dry mixture. Stir as little as possible, just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy and thick. Do not overmix as this will make your batter tough and un-fluffy.

4 . Let batter rest for 10 minutes.

Meetings are Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. Gerts.

Or, you can e-mail features@mcgilltribune. com to get put on t|ie mailing list -

.

With this recipe it will be hard to resist making a stack of pancakes exactly this high.

.

•

12.03.07 • The McGill Tribune • 15

POD PEOPLE

WWW...

N e w

p o lit ic a l b lo g

la u n c h e d

SSMU Blogs: upholding the quality of fine Internet literature since 2007 R iva G o ld Howard Dean. William Shatner. Donald Trump. The SSMU executive. Thank Goodness. Now all of the most notable peo­ ple have published blogs for their eager readers.

The SSMU Executive Blog, launched in February 2 0 0 7 at ssmu.blogspot.com was originally conceived by Arts Councillor Yahel Carmon.The motion was brought to council and passed, much to the dismay of some SSMU executives, requiring our elected representatives to keep a weekly blog.

In the inaugural SSMU blog post, McGill's Vice-President of Finance and Operations David Sunstrum wrote that execu­ tive blogs are "an absolute waste of tim e... instead of taking the high road and fulfilling my constitutional duties, I will post about music, drinking, awards shows, peanut butter and pretty much everything else that is not related to my job."

All snark aside, the SSMU blog does have practical inten­ tions.

"The idea is to make the SSMU executive more accessi­ ble and transparent. You can reach us without having to read through longer documents. It's more user-friendly and we can also elaborate on things we don't include in our reports," ex­ plains Max Silverman, VP External.

What then, can students learn from reading the blogs?

There are constructive discussions of student issues such as poster problems, brutal meetings and the remnants of the Mike Harris government in Ontario.

"It's not edited," says Floh Herra-Vega, VP Clubs and Ser­ vices. "We basically get to write whatever we want."

From midterms and grad-school applications to being misquoted by newspapers, at least one thing is evident: SSMUshies are students. And people. Busy people, who probably don't have the time to be recording their every move in blog format.

As VP University Affairs Finn Heather Upham posts, "I am

tempted to try only working 4 0 hours this week, just to find out what it is like. I rarely keep track of how much time I spend on SSMU, but considering how I invariably have evening meetings and come in on the week end, my average is on the workaholic side."

Have the newly launched SSMU blogs enjoyed much suc­ cess? A simultaneous"uhhh..."is the response from Silverman and Herra-Vega.

"The problem is it's not widely distributed," Silverman ex­ plains. "And it's not being promoted right now, because our Web site is down, but it can be fixed."

Herra-Vega adds, "it has potential if we solve the IT prob­ lems."

Until then, the juicy gossip of our elected officials remains popular amongst those who, well, genuinely care about it. ■

C re e p e d o u t b y a m u s ic ia n ?

You're not alone R a c h el M elnik This iPod playlist evokes a feeling of nausea and not just because it contains songs by Celine Dion and Enrique Iglesias. If you feel like someone might be following you home in.the dark, be weary: your pursuer might happen to be Mariah Carey. Talk about some pretty disturbing stalkers.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Some execs take their blogging duties more seriously than others.

H IR IN

G

E V E N

• •

"Every Breath You Take," The Police "Invisible,"Clay Aiken "Everywhere," Michelle Branch "Escape," Enrique Iglesias "Never Let You Go,"Third Eye Blind "One Way or Another,” Blondie "Everywhere You Go,"Gin Blossoms "I Drove All Night,"Celine Dion "Thinking About You," Guns N'Roses "500 Miles (I Would Walk),'' The Proclaimers "Always Be My Baby," _ Mariah Carey "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," Diana Ross and the Su­ prêmes "Hungry like the Wolf," Duran Duran “Can't Get You Out of My HeadfKylie Minogue

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h o m e d e p o t .c a W e a re c o m m itte d to d iv e rs ity as a n e q u a l o p p o r t u n it y e m p lo y e r. A v a ila b le p o s itio n s m a y v a ry b y sto re .

A

&

r t s

E

n t e r t a in m e n t

music

N ew

N e w O r le a n s h e r o e s — liv in g

th e

Id o l lif e

Mute Math delivers monster magnetism; speaks on newfound fame B e n L e m ie u x

Listening to Mute Math's eponymous debut, one may not surmise that the group is anything special. The album is a strong—though not mighty— effort in the realm of electronically based Brit-rock, musically potent—though never earth-shatteringly so—with some adept, if never wholly compelling, vocal turns.

However, as evidenced by their thunder­ ing Saturday night set at an amply heaving Club Soda, their live set can be described with one word alone: Massive (with a capital M).

If rock bands were monsters, then Mute Math would be the biggest, hairiest, baddest-ass monster you ever saw and it would spend its days marauding around the land eating or squashing the smaller monsters. Men, women and beasts who happened to cross its path would marvel at its awesomeness, spending days, perhaps months on end wondering where such a big, hairy mon­ ster could ever possibly have originated from.

That kind of Massive.

Mute Math's sprawling, aggregate brand of alternative rock is a veritable potpourri, an unusual but heady mish-mash of Darren King's intricate, nuanced drum beats, Roy Mitchell-Cardenas' dub-infused bass lines and singer/songwriter Paul Meany's wailing keytar (yes, a keytar; and no, it has not been put to significant use since How­ ard Jones in the mid-19 8 0 s). However, as Meany reports, Mute Math is about more than thrilling an audience (which they must consistently man­ age to do).

"I think we had certain ideals when we started Mute Math," recalls Meany on Saturday afternoon before stepping onstage. "I felt that my involvement with music up until that point... the life was getting choked out of it. It was an ex­ tremely paralyzing atmosphere. I think, for one, the business side of it was a complete beatdown.

When we started Mute Math, it was just about creating music we loved, it's not about being any particular type of band or kind of genre, just getting back to that kid who got his guitar for Christmas and just writing songs because you're obsessed with it."

The project has existed since 2 0 0 1 , when King began sending Meany demo tapes of beats and loops he had been creating, but after years of songwriting and touring, Mute Math has been creating some major waves in the past year or so.

After garnering some serious attention on Craig Ferguson's and Jimmy Kimmel's late night pro­

grams (Meany trashing his keytar on the latter's set), as well as playing at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and the Vans Warped tour in 2 0 0 6 , serendipity struck. On Feb. 2 0 , 2 0 0 7 , during the top 12 elimi­ nation performances, American Idol (season six) contestant Chris Sligh belted "Typical," one of the opening tracks from their debut album.

"We were in Europe at the time," recounts Mitchell-Cardenas. "I heard about it from my wife and then we got floods of calls afterwards. We finally caught it [on YouTube] and it was really flat­ tering."

"The irony of the whole thing is that [the same night] we were in a little pub in Scotland singing that song for 150 people while he was back in the States singing the song for millions," Meany promptly adds with a chuckle. "But the ex­ posure was definitely appreciated."

And while Mute Math's zeal may mirror that of a teenage guitar slinger with a pocket full of attitude, the band's performance is everything but amateurish. As opposed to offering cookiecutter, carbon-copy-of-the-album concerts, this band delves into expansive, echoing, textural in­ strumental jam-outs. Its performances often yield the kind of balls-to-the-walls frenzy that finds Meany atop his Fender Rhodes bashing upon his stool with a drumstick, King and Mitchell-Carde­ nas flailing frenetically at all manner of percussion scattered across the stage and guitarist Greg Hill adding a reverberating, esoteric swirl of sound to the mix. The audience members, all.the while, with an airof"what's... going...on"perma-glazed across their faces. This was no moon. This was a space station.

Thankfully, passion is not the only sell­ ing point of Mute Math's set; these lads have some mad chops, creativity and flavour to boot.

Meany's keytar is a delightful retro touch in the midst of any electronically driven set, while Mitchell-Cardenas comfortably breaks out the double bass during the infinitely groovy "Obsolete" and the whole group aptly slides into Medeski, Martin &Wood territory.

In keeping with the group's onstage efferves­ cence, Mitchell-Cardenas says that spontaneity and maintaining a youthful passion is what keeps the band moving ahead full steam. "You prepare and you prepare, you practice... and then you forget it all in order to be in the moment and in the music," he describes. "Because if you get too analytical, it's not music. You have to let the music breathe, speak for the people and move the peo­ ple. And move you as well, as a musician." ■

JE S S IC A DISM O NT

Bringin'the keytar— fists-a-plenty were pumpin'Mute Math's second Montreal show.

P O P R H E T O R IC

S p r i n g t i m e f o r m u s i c a l s t e r e o t y p■ e s m

tJ f

hen a stroll down the Montreal streets doesn't in­ volve 4 0 -below wind chills and ice glazed sidewalks, you know change is in the air. Roaming outside sans winter jacket through a sunny, songbird accompanied environment made me want to break out into a rendition of "Sunny Side of the Street" on Sherbrooke street. The city's long-awaited seasonal thaw got me thinking about a musi­ cal I recently saw, which bears the uncannily appropriate title,

W

Spring Awakening.

The newest hit on Broadway, Spring Awakening is a mu­ sical version of the 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind. The play is still set in late 19 th-century Germany with lederhosen and crinolines, but the musical numbers in­ terjected into the play are, anachronistical, of the rock'n' roll order, ranging from rock ballads to mosh-pit worthy screamo pieces.

Unlike in Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge, Spring Awakening does not take modern music and rescore it to musical theatre conventions. In the latter, the composer/lyricist duo Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater rely on the very premise that mod­ ern rock has stylistic conventions that are appropriate to the themes and stories of the play. But unlike musicals like Rent, where the rock-as-angst fits perfectly to the time period it is

+

set in, or productions like Evita, where the rock-invasion-ofhistory ploy is stylistic rather than symbolic, Spring Awaken­ ing's creators claim that rock music's set of significations is the perfect emblem for the play's values.

Spring Awakening is a tale of teen angst. It deals fairly explicitly with sexuality and its effects on a group of 15 -yearolds at the end of the century, touching on such topics as homosexuality, incest, masturbation and S&M.The musical's creators espouse that with a maxim-like sex, drugs and rock'n' roll, there was only one musical genre suited for this play.

Why, then, is it that a musical genre has the ability to convey a stereotype— ultimately, a whole lifestyle— beyond just notes? Music is a medium of expression, but it seems that it has become a form of self-description more than self-ex­ pression. Every musical genre has its own set of conventions beyond the music. Take country, rap or any other label and you automatically connote a certain set of principles, a way of life.

Music, perhaps more than any other art form today, is one understood through a system of categorization. Of course a form like film has very broad and agreed-upon cat­ egories such as horror, drama and romantic comedy, but these associations tend to restrict themselves to describing

r

r

C r ysta l C han

the styles and formulae of the art and do not spread to every niche of the artist's and fan's lives. Fusion does exist to blur the boundaries; there is certainly a "cool" cache attached to co-opting musical ideas from other genres, but somehow with music, these experimental artists resist .completely defy­ ing their genres. Only in music has the term "indie"so success­ fully been transformed into a very narrow genre (unlike indie film) that denotes a stereotype, instead embodying the spirit of label-resistant song making.

A more creative and fruitful musical world would con­ tain artists whose goal is to be genre-defying rather than genre-defining. Is it necessary to the very genre itself that Emo musicians fail and wail? Would a country musician from a New England blueblood upbringing be an automatic musi­ cal hypocrite? I never thought I'd say this, but maybe those heavy metal Christian bands were on to something.

Who knows? Maybe tomorrow morning we will once again wake up to another foot of snow. Or, perhaps, just as it was "Springtime for Hitler," people might realize there is a chance for a creative springtime in the music world if the HMV down my street wasn't so keen on placing teen maga­ zines beside their Britney CDs and the Classical music section upstairs in the isolated attic. ■

12.03.07 «The McGill Tribune • 17

ART

F ro m

Previews

W a lt t o

W a rh o l

New Beaux-arts exhibit explores Disney only true American surrealists, alongside Cecil B. DeMille and the Marx Brothers). While the financial woes of the Last Thursday, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Second World War may have hindered the production of opened the doors to its newest exhibition, Once Upon a Destino in the 19 4 0 s, it was revived in 1999 by Roy Edward Time Walt Disney: The Sources o f Inspiration o f Disney Studios.

Disney (Walt's nephew) who unearthed early storyboards And while the exhibit's cumbersome title may not mellif- while he was working on Fantasia 2000. Six minutes long luously roll off the tongue like so many and 58 years in. the making, the alliance catchy Disney movie titles, it does offer of the Master of Soft Watches and the an expansive look at the earliest origins Master of Mickey Mouse results in a bi­ zarre and fanciful visual experience that of Disney animations: its inspirations, its genesis and its transformation. Com­ one might expect from this seemingly prised of three-quarters of a century of unlikely partnership. old sketches, scale models, marionettes Tucked away in the Museum's and film clips, the immense, 15 ,0 0 0 -sqabasement is the final leg of the exhibit, ure-foot exhibit traces the development which displays the influence of Disney's of Disney's animation from his first ani­ work on American pop artists such as mated short, 19 2 8 's Steamboat Willie, to Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and the Disney company's work following M IC K E YN EW S .C O M Andy Warhol. Experimenting with the his death in 19 6 6 and beyond.

Teatime done hallucinogenically. primary figures and Benjaminian indus­ The whole sprawling display is trial reproducibility of Disney's anima­ organized thematically into seven major sections: Origins, tion, the work displayed by these artists speaks not only Cinematographic and Literary Sources, Architecture and to their own talents as the eminent recyclers of existing Design, Anthropomorphism: Humanizing Animals and forms, but also to the permanence of Walt Disney's work Plants, The Art of Creating Characters, Dali and Disney: The within the American pop culture.

Destino Adventure and It All Started With a Mouse: Disney For many, the animated films produced by Walt Dis­ as a Source of Modern and Contemporary Art. ney studios constituted formative childhood memories.

Fans of animation, From the studio's earli­ art history and cinema est productions, such as will surely be interested Snow White and the Seven in the comparisons Dwarfs or Sleeping Beauty, drawn between the to more contemporary style of Disney films to classics like The Little Mer­ their earlier source ma­ maid and Beauty and the terial, be it a Victorian Beast, Disney movies have painting of St. George consistently captivated the and the Dragon, Albert imaginations of the young Dürer's"The Four Horse­ and the young at heart. men of the Apocalypse" And while for others the or a scene from Robert Disney name and the three Weide's The Cabinet o f concentric circles that Dr. Caligari, the 19 20 Ger­ comprise Mickey Mouse's man expressionist clas­ trademark silhouette may sic. Presented alongside speak more to cultural and M IC K tY N tW S .C O M early concept drawings Disney— now stressing the importance of art over artifice. corporate imperialism, this and storyboards from exhibit dutifully defers to Disney studios, this source material is as diverse as the Dis­ Disney's dubious politics, stressing the importance of the ney catalogue itself. art over the artifice. ■ Of interest to fans of more modern art may be the screening of Destino, a film originally conceived in 19 45 as Once Upon a Time Walt Disney runs from March 8 until a collaboration between Spanish surrealistic Salvador Dali June 24, 2007, at the Musée des beaux-arts— 1380 Sherbrooke and Walt Disney (whom Dali counted as being one of the W. Call (514) 285-2000 for more information.

J ohn S em ley

COMPILED BY JESSICA SHAPIRO

Theatre. / am My Own Wife, until March 2 5 ; Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre (5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine).ThisTony Award-winning produc­ tion tells the true story of a German transvestite who struggled to live openly as a cross-dresser beginning at the age of 16 . Her efforts for trying to keep her country intact by collecting miscellaneous ob­ jects was recognized with the Order of Merit, but the price she had to pay for this might not be worth it. Unlike many, she survives the Nazi regime as well as the Soviet-dominated Communist dictatorship.The play features more than three-dozen characters including the controversial figure herself, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf.

Literature. Montreal Zen Poetry Festival, March 16 to 18 . This is the very first festival of its kind to come to Montreal. The theme of the festival is "words have no meaning,"and poets, translators, story-tellers, scholars, musicians and Zen monks will take part in the event. It is open to all ages and promises a meaningful and entertaining line-up of events with lively and thought-provoking speakers.

Events are taking place all over the city, including at McGill. Visit http-J/www. montrealzenpoetryfestival.ca for more information.

Film. Shooter, opens March 16 . From the director of Training Day comes a riveting action film about an ace marksman who is framed as a Presidential assassin. Mark Wahlberg stars as the lethal and savvy long-range ballistics expert who soon discovers that the race is on to prove his innocence for this serious crime.

This non-stop action thriller proves to be a desperate battle as he puts everything he knows to the test to fight the men who want the secrets he has uncovered to be destroyed.

Do you care about Social and Environmental Sustainability at McGill?

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Then jo in us fo r o u r u p c o m in g C o m m u n ity C o n s u lta tio n e ve n t to discuss w h a t you w o u ld lik e to see in a S u s ta in a b ility C entre a t M cG ill

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The McGill Tribune

18 • Arts & Entertainment • 12.03.07

THEATRE

D r a m a t iz a t io n

n a t io n — M c G illia n s a c t t h e f e s t

Annual festival showcases student talent in the theatrical arts don't necessarily have much theatre experi­ ence," says Lauren Jane Heller, the coordinator for this year's festival and a recent English cul­ tural studies graduate. "There's a great miscon­ ception about anything artistic at McGill, that if you have artistic talent you would have gone to Concordia or somewhere else... It's a re­ ally great opportunity for McGill students who thought it didn't exist but actually have theatri­ cal talent to showcase it."

C arolyn Y ates Player's Theatre presents The .McGill Drama Festival, an entirely student written, directed and produced annual festival of.short plays that are sure to please (and if they don't, six out of seven are only 2 0 minutes long).

Central to the festival is promoting student theatre. "It's a great opportunity for McGill stu­ dents who are either just starting out or who Project Twenty-Six. Enter a world where chalk is "hairdryer," syno­ nyms reign and flowers are a leading cause of obesity. An absurdist piece exploring the effects of the restriction of lan­ guage, the difference between knowledge and belief and oink on the human psyche, Project Twenty-Six is not to be missed.

Written by Britney Tangedal, di­ rected by Jessica Mulvogue.

ments." Written by Claire Bea, directed by Brit­ ney Tangedal.

A Roman Knows A restoration comedy about elitist ancient Ro­ mans in their run-of-the-mill aristocratic do­ ings. Degenerate and hilarious; be sure to go to the washroom before seeing this riotous, rau­ cous, rip-roaring Roman romp. Written by John Noone, directed by Eric Rumi.

Outing Devon

Full of hormones and insecurities, Outing Devon follows John as he tries to date and lead a nor­ mal life at Devon - a prestigious Massachusetts high school - after realizing he's gay."It is kind of a cheesy teen drama, but it's autobiographical it's written by one of my friends - so it's kind of a weird mix between it being sincere and it being cheesy at the same time," says director Nina Pariser. Written by Jamie Pohotsky, directed by Nina Pariser.

Answered Prayers

Adam, a socially awkward writer, tries to defend himself against a lipstick list of flaws left by his girlfriend Lucy on her way out the door. "Where she has social confidence he has social awk­ wardness, but where he has the inward confi­ dence she has the inward insecurity, and it's just about how they need to have the relationship start, how it happens, how it goes farther, how it falls apart," says director Britney Tangedal. Win­ ner of the Colin Kirvy Award; Written by Claire Bea, directed by Britney Tangedal.

Secret

Based on the popular Web site post-secret.com, Secret follows the lives of five characters as all their secrets leak out and they realize the world is a lot smaller than they think. "I'm afraid that it's so dramatic that the audience will laugh.

And that's fine, because I think it's over-thetop dramatic too and I think that's kind of what we want. I hope [the audience is] on the same page,"says director Marie-Marguerite Sabongui.

Certainly dramatic and sentimental throughout, the end is definitely something to look forward to— but it's a secret. Written by Adrienne Graf­ ton, directed by Marie-Marguerite Sabongui.

The Metamorphosis o f Frank Katz

Filled with letters, shifting identities, strange characters and stranger obsessions, this play draws from both Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and personal letters to create a comedic farce on dilemmas surrounding isolation. "It's a com­ edy, definitely," says Tangedal. "It's about writing and being another person and perceiving com­

->

A Roman Knows, Answered Prayers, The Metamorphosis of Frank Katz, and Project TwentySix will run March 15, v and 23 at 8 p.m. and March 25 at 2 p.m. Hell is Other People Like You, Outing Devon, and Secret will run March 16,22 and 24 at 8 p.m. and March 78 at 2 p.m.

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Player's Theatre is located at 3480 McTavish on the third floor and is wheelchair accessible. Tickets are available at (514)398-6813. $8 for adults, $6 for students/seniors.

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Y o u ’ l l h a v e a n o p p o r t u n it y to t r a d e p l a c e s w i t h A n t h o n y M a s i to

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p o s it io n s a r e p r o v e n m o n e y - m a k e r s f o r t a le n t e d ,

d is c o v e r h is r o le b e h in d th e s c e n e s a t M c G i l l , H e ’l l s p e n d a m o r n in g in c la s s e s w it h y o u a n d y o u ’l l s p e n d

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These are NOT telem ark etin g position

M c G ill T r a d in g P la c e s .

T o g e t t h e lo w d o w n , c o n t a c t : D e a d lin e : W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 21

PAUL SLA G H TA

(514) 398-6806

12.03.07 • Arts & Entertainment • 19

www.mcgilltribune.com

F IL M

Reviews

D ie a n o t h e r d a y

Lynn Marie & The Boxhounds Party Dress. Squeeze Records (2 0 0 7 ). Strap on your lederhosen and polish yourfavourite stein, it's time for Lynn Marie &The Boxhounds! Just when you thought the state of contem­ porary music had been stagnating under a continued barrage of watered-down hardcore and ostentatious indie bands, Lynn Marie brings music back to its most unsullied roots: the hybrid of southern-fried folk and

Julian McMahon discusses Premonition, hurricane Katrina and Sandra Bullock the whole movie,"says McMahon, describing the nuances of European moviemaking."Butthe love story develops [in What would you do if your life got tangled in a time such a way that] you can't help but side with this guy. A hit warp and you discovered you might lose a loved one? man for God's sake!"

An equal attention to subtlety and detail prompted What if you could prevent it? For Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock), the central character in Premonition, the answer the actor to start with the small things in preparation for this role. The fashion­ is a frantic, mind-twist­ conscious McMahon, ing journey to save her a former model, re­ family and her life from quested special al­ utter devastation. terations to his suits Based on an origi­ to better showcase nal screenplay by Bill Jim's character. "The Kelly and directed by way that I prepared Turkish-German film­ initially was through maker Mennan Yapo, wardrobe and hair. the intense psychologi­ Once you look the cal thriller exposes the part you start fitting it tragiccomplacencythat a little bit," McMahon settles in the course of explains. "Jim's just a couple's everyday life. a normal guy with Julian McMahon {Nip/ a middle American Tuck, The Fantastic Four), A LLM O V IEPH O TO S.CO M family and middle stars opposite Bullock American values." as the unsuspecting P re m o n itio n has Bullock pondering both the future and past.

The filming in Louisiana forcibly brought those values husband puzzled by his wife's strange behavior.

"Jim and Linda have gotten to a place that's very stale to mind as the cast and crew came to grips with the afterin their lives," explains McMahon. "Their relationship is so math of hurricane Katrina. Originally scheduled to shoot in mundane, so consistent and boring. Then one morning, New Orleans, the set was moved to Shreveport when the [Linda] gets a knock at the door and finds out her husband former location was submerged underwater.

"It was an incredible time in terms of seeing a place got killed in a car crash. Throughout the week, her days are all out of order, and she spends her time trying to prevent that was so devastated and the support that was com­ ing from inside the the occurrence.” state," reveals Mc­ While Linda's Mahon. "The stoic, world is disintegrating, resilient mentality of Jim's life is progressing the people that I've in sequence. The result worked with who had is an exciting roller­ lost their homes, and coaster ride where the the beautiful willing­ lines between dream, ness to re-grow and and reality are blurred rebuild was pretty ex­ and the only certainty traordinary." is the emotional thread Despite the chal­ binding the couple lenges and the so­ together. The movie bering atmosphere, forces audiences to shooting the movie re-examine their own was not entirely de­ lives and pose ques­ A LLM O V IEPH O TO S.CO M void of humour. tions that shake the "Mennan [Yapo], Very foundation of McMahon— dolled up to utmost "middle American" potential. their daily grind. According to McMahon, that is the key Torsten [Lippstock] and Sandy [Bullock] all spoke fluent premise of Premonition. "If you can walk away from it and German, so there was a lot of.'Was ist das' and 'Flieven appreciate what you have, I think that's the important lavens' being thrown around consistently," McMahôn jokes. "I have no idea what that meant," he adds with mock message of this movie."

With a European director and cinematographer (Tor­ seriousness. "But it seemed pretty important to them!"B sten Lippstock), the movie acquires new depth and mys­ Premonition comes out March 16.

Watch for tery frequently Jacking in mainstream Hollywood thrillers.

"Yapo did a movie called Soundless in Germany, veteran Canadian actress Kate Nelligan in the role o f about a hit man who falls in love and hardly says a word in Linda's mother.

J u d a h Issa

Working and studying the best of both worlds !

Become a

-

the accordion.

Backed up by what sounds like a karaoke machine, Lynn Marie's infectious melodies bring the polka to exciting new territories. Move over, Buckwheat Zydeco! Miss Marie's nuanced blend of dust bowl sentimentality and Oktoberfest exuberance also brings an energy to classics like "Blue Moon,""Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone?” and "Oh Lonesome Me" that has been un­ precedented since that time you got really drunk at some dive bar, put them on the jukebox and started singing them really loudly while spitting on the floor.

Of special interest to fans of rock and roll music is the inclusion of a remixed version of Lynn Marie's cover of "Squeeze Box" (get it?! SHE PLAYS THE ACCORDIANI!) that will make you say "the Who?!"She sings this song half in German and even incorporates the guitar and keyboard riffs from "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" to really drive the point home. This is the kind of album insolent kids in the Midwest crank in their basement bedrooms; drowning out the unfashionable drones of their parents'dusty Lawrence Welk records in acts of triumphant defiance.

Oh, also, the cover of this album' depicts Lynn Marie wearing nothing but an accordion and a smile. If I could get this image printed on a comforter, I'd never have to get out of bed.

—John Semley

The Red Button. She's About to Cross my Mind. Luck Media & Marketing, Inc. (2 0 0 7 ). Seth Swirsky (song­ writer for Taylor Dayne, Al Green, Tina Turner and Celine Dion) and Mike Ruekberg (formerly of Rex Daisy) come together for the first time as The Red Button, combining sixties-esque vocals and guitar into just under 33 minutes of retro-pop-karaokestyle sound. Reeking Paul McCartney from every note, they draw heavily on the early Beatles (the opening chords for"Free"are from "Rain") with the result that the entire album sounds like the scrapped B-side to A Hard Day's Night as played by a tribute band that's forgotten the words and are making things up as they go. On the other hand, they have enough of an original modern twist that the true charm of the album begins when they stop trying to imi­ tate the past and allow themselves to be inspired by it. The result (especially in "Cruel Girl" and "I Could Get Used to You") is a step beyond the mediocre and into something good, with surprising emotional range and lyrical variety that, if it continues developing, will be getting better all the time.

— Carolyn Yates

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WOMEN'S HOCKEY—QSSF FINAL

M a r t le t s a im

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After capturing QSSF crown, McGill looks for first CIS title M a tt C hesser For the second consecutive year, the Mc­ Gill Martlets are QSSF champions and are the favourites to claim the national championship.

The Martlets swept the Quebec confer­ ence final, posting 2 -0 and 8 -1 victories over the fourth-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and advance to the CIS .National Champion­ ship Tournament in the nation's capital as the number-one seed. The Gee-Gees also advance to the national championships, receiving an automatic berth as the host team of the March 16 -19 tournament.

"I think winning the series is important on two fronts," said head coach Peter Smith, after Wednesday's 2 -0 victory. "First, I would assume we [will] be seeded number-one, which is very important in terms of scheduling and secondly, there's quite a psychological difference be­ tween going in as conference champions and going in the backdoor as an invitee."

Tight game one The series began with a hard-fought 2 o win for the Martlets at McConnell Arena on Wednesday night. Defender Gillian Merrifield had a goal and an assist, while Charline Labonté made 26 saves for her second post-season shut­

out, to lead the Red 'n'White to victory.

“I thought that we started kind of flat,” La­ bonté said."They came out flying in the first pe­ riod but we managed to get our game together in the second. Ottawa is such a hard-working team and they weren't going to give us an easy victory."

After a scoreless first period, Ottawa ran into penalty trouble in the opening minutes of the second frame. With Gee-Gees' winger Sara McLeish in the box for roughing, Merrifield opened the scoring by beating Julie Lalonde through the five-hole with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle. Merrifield, a veteran blueliner in her fourth campaign with the Martlets, had scored only three times in 37 games this season before she notched what proved to be the game-winner at 4:12 of the middle stanza.

The Martlets continued to press the GeeGees, out-shooting them by a 13 -3 margin in the second period. That pressure would pay off with less than a minute remaining in the middle frame, when top point-getter, Vanessa Davidson, doubled the score by banging in a rebound off of another Merrifield shot from the point.

A desperate Ottawa team dominated the third period by out-shooting McGill 16 -8 , but Olympic gold-medal winning netminder La­

bonté was equal to the task, making a handful of great saves to preserve her shutout. Her best work came with less than 30 seconds remain­ ing in the game, when she slid cross-crease and made a superb right-pad save to rob forward Kayla Hottot of what looked to be a sure goal.

Not game two...

The rematch in Ottawa set Friday night saw the Martlets rout their opponent from the nation's capital, scoring four times in the first period en route to an 8 -1 victory. Vanessa Da­ vidson and Valerie Paquette each tallied twice, in a game that was never within reach for the Gee-Gees.

Davidson, who shattered McGill's regular season scoring records this year, scored on a penalty shot late in the first period and tallied again early in the second to give McGill ample breathing room. After notching 15 markers in the regular season, Davidson has already found the back of the net five times in four playoff contests.

Paquette was credited with her sixth game-winning goal of the season early in the first frame and capped the Martlets' scoring with less than nine minutes remaining in the third. Captain Shauna Denis, defender Cath­ erine Ward, rookie Alyssa Cecere and winger

Rebecca Martindale rounded out the scoring for McGill.

Labonté was her usual stellar self, making 24 saves to improve her lifetime record to 33 -2 -2 in a Martlets jersey. In four post-season matches, the national team keeper has surrendered only two goals while making an incredible 8 2 saves.

"We [didn't] want to go to nationals with­ out a conference championship," Labonté said.

"We've played all year for this honour, we've been ranked number one for so long and there's no way we [wanted] to go to Ottawa as an invited team."

Davidson echoed her teammate's senti­ ments when asked about the importance of winning the Quebec conference.

"It's huge," said Davidson. "Ottawa's a good team that clogs up the boards really well but we had to have this win. We [didn't] want any­ thing less than a QSSF championship."

The Martlets depart for Ottawa on Wednes­ day, where after losing only one game to a Cana­ dian opponent all year, they will be prohibitive favourites to capture the national title. Despite making seven appearances at nationals in the past eight years, McGill has never captured the CIS crown but boasts a lifetime 12 -9 -0 record, including two silver and three bronze medal finishes at the tournament.»

LUKAS BERGMARK The Martlets used a relentless attack and stifling defence to frustrate the Gee-Gees. The two teams will renew acquaintinces during the CIS championship tournament in Ottawa.

THIRD MAN IN

T h e m a d n e s s o f m e d io c r it y A dam S mith here are a lot of things that I like about the "new NHL," —the speed and the scoring in. particular. Those are due to the rule changes implemented after the lockout that cracked down on obstruction, reduced the size of goalie equipment, etc. Overall, the game has become much better to | watch. No longer need we suffer through 60 minutes of the ; Minnesota Wild and the league's other dregs hooking and holdI ing the game's best players, hoping to sneak a goal somewhere and hang on for dear life.

That being said, there is one thing that worries me about the direction in which the league is headed. I'm concerned that within a few years, the NHL will become just like the NFL, ; where teams habitually go from being at the top of the league j one season to the bottom the next. Sure, parity leads to longer playoff races, but that's because the standard of play has been ; lowered and most teams are medicore.That's why I'm glad that TSN's hockey "insiders" Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger have j recently speculated that the NHL salary cap could go up to around $ 51- or $52 -million (all figures U.S.) for next season.

This would mean that smaller franchises could have trou­ ble spending close to the maximum allowed under the salary i cap, which is what most teams do now. While no one wants a return to the old days where three or four teams could spend | upwards of $70 -million and some struggled under $30 -million

T

leading to an unhealthy competitive imbalance, some flexibility would be good.

While money could not guarantee success in the old days (see the New York Rangers from 19 9 6 -20 0 4 ), we could count on there being some very good teams and some very bad teams.

Now every team has at least one glaring weakness and it is im­ possible to predict anything at the season's outset.

For instance, last year's Stanley Cup champions, the Caroli­ na Hurricanes, are currently struggling to make the playoffs and could well miss out on a chance to defend their title. This hap­ pened only twice under the old system since expansion started in 19 6 7 . If the Hurricanes do make it to the big dance, it will be tough for them to defend their title as so many teams have im­ proved while their team is weaker than it was last year.

This trend is only likely to continue. Thanks to parity, there are more teams in the playoff races and therefore fewer sellers at the trade deadline when it comes time to deal away rental players. With more teams in the playoff hunt, there are more buyers too.

This imbalance suggests that the price of rental players, should rise, a theory that was borne out by this year's deadline madness. The panoply of top-notch prospects and high draft picks that selling teams were able to acquire in return for play­ ers who they may well re-sign in a few months will allow them

to quickly become competitive again.

On the flip side of the coin, buyers have to mortgage a larger portion of their future for a shot at the Cup now, even though they will not be able to hold on to their rentals due to salary-cap constraints. Part of why the Hurricanes are struggling this year is that after renting players like Doug Weight and Mark : Recchi last year, they had little left in the bank to deal away for help this year.

Unfortunately, cap limitations also mean that it will be hard to build and keep together teams even if it's done through the draft.The Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot of phenomenal young talent right now and could be a joy to watch for years to come.

However, as soon as guys like Crosby, Malkin and Stall start to hit unrestricted free agency, the Penguins will be broken up as they simply won't be able to pay all those players what they could get elsewhere.

No longer will we see dynasties like the Edmonton Oilers of the 19 8 0 s or the 19 70 s Montreal Canadiens or even teams of the calibre of the mid-to-late 9 0 s Detroit Red Wings. The Stan­ ley Cup will be won on graft, luck and perhaps just a little bit of skill. It's a shame and that's why I hope that the cap will go up to a point that will restrain the excesses of the super-rich but allow a team like the Penguins to stay together, even if it might hurt the likes of the Oilers. ■

12.03.07 «The McGill Tribune • 21

TRACK AND FIELD—CIS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

SHOOTING OUT THE LIGHTS

H o s ts s t u m b le a t n a tio n a ls

I f y o u s m e ll t h e s a la m i E !^ J a n d cheese

McGill fails to medal, sets personal bests J ohn D ingle A fast track and an electric atmosphere contributed to a record-breaking weekend at Tomlinson Fieldhouse as McGill hosted the 2 0 0 7 CIS Track and Field Championship.

Two CIS and nine Fieldhouse marks fell during the first two days of the event as the top university athletes in the na­ tion convened for the four-day long meet.

"It was a great atmosphere with lots of spectators and really exciting races," said McGill runner Deborah Lightman. "There were a lot of really fast races, faster than at other championships."

Flowever, that excitement did not translate into suc­ cess for the host Martlets and Redmen as McGill was com­ pletely shut out of the medals with high jumper Keith Esch coming the closest, posting a fourth-place finish. Despite coming up short against very strong competition, McGill's athletes were satisfied, putting up a string of personal best times and performances.

"You hope for better, but as long as the athlete puts their best effort forward, there's not much more you can ask for," McGill coach Dennis Barrett said. "Some of the kids that came in with good times have run well and backed them up. I think the quality has really been elevated."

Medal hopefuls fall just short The Red 'n'White's lone representative on the first day of competition, David Faille, narrowly missed out on quali­ fying for the finals of the 6 0 m dash, his time of 6.89 was just four hundredths of a second outside the final qualifi­ cation spot.

"My strength, which is the start, was not there so I had to play catch-up at the end of the race," Faille said. "Aside from that, I had a pretty decent time, my second best time of the year, so I can't be too disappointed with it."

Stephen Douglas, who won bronze in the men's 1 ,0 0 0 m at last year's championship, was unable to match that exceptional performance. Douglas finished a disapointing seventh, well behind John Carle from the Uni­ versity of Sherbrooke. The Vert et Or also captured the

overall men's championship for the fifth time in the last 11 years.

"I was hoping to get close to [the bronze] again or I was looking to run a personal best time, which I did," Douglas said, who finished a distant seventh. "So overall I'm pretty pleased with how it went."

McGill's top hope for a medal was Jessica Warren, who entered the women's 1 ,0 0 0 m event ranked second in the nation. Warren looked strong, sitting in second place for much of the race, but couldn't hold on in the final lap and slipped back into fifth spot, despite running a person­ al-best time of 2 :5 1 .5 9 .

"My goal for the weekend was to run my best time and give it everything I had. If everything went well, then ideally I wanted to medal," said Warren. "I did run my best time so I'm content with how everything went."

Standout performance Jessica Zelinka of the University of Calgary turned in the most outstanding performance of the weekend.

Zelinka shattered her own CIS record in the pentathlon and took gold in the shot put, long jump and 6 0 m hur­ dles, powering her school to their first women's national championship in 16 years.

"I'm very happy, I couldn't have asked for more,"Zelin­ ka said. "It's my last nationals so I really wanted to have fun and just enjoy it because I love doing all these events."

McGill will host the CIS championship again in 20 0 8 and both McGill teams hope to use the lessons learned this year to improve their results the next time around.

"It's nice to host but it can be overwhelming and it's harder to get your athletes focused if they're not with you in a hotel somewhere,” coach Barrett said. "So the athletes still have to treat it as if they're going away for a national championship and that's something that we'll discuss for next year."

With greater focus and another year of training under their belts, the Redmen and Martlets aim next year, in ad­ dition to personal bests, to provide a few medals for the hometown crowd to cheer about as well. ■

BO X SCO RE March 8-10,2007 CIS National Championships Tomlinson Fieldhouse MEN'S (Total Points): i. Sherbrooke 2 . Windsor 3 . Western 4. Calgary 5 . Alberta 6. York 7. Saskatchewan 8. Dalhousie 9 . Guelph 10 . Toronto 14 . McGill

WOMEN'S (Total Points): 138

i. Calgary

103

109.5 56.5

2 . Windsor

86 76

1

Sherbrooke (5-5 -5)

4 Calgary (2 -1 -1 ) 5 Dalhousie {1 -2 -0 ) 6 Toronto (1 -1 -1 ) 7 Guelph (0 -1 -2 ) 8 Alberta (0 -3 -0 ) 9 York (0 -0 -3 ) 10 Lethbridge (2 -0 -0 ) 14

McGill (0 -0 -0 )

3 . Toronto 4 . Western

62

40

5 . Saskatchewan

36 34 31 30 29.5

8. Regina

58 35 31 30

9 . Manitoba 10 . Montreal

27 26

14

14 . McGill

13

Medal Count:

2 Western (1 -2 -3 ) 3 Windsor (4 -1 -0 )

*

43

6. Guelph 7 . Alberta

A d am H eller ou know you've made it in sports when you coin a catch-phrase.

It is a gift that does not come easily, but once developed, it guar­ antees its creator a spot in sports lore. Many have been tried and failed miserably, while some have caught fire— literally in the case of whoever turned "on fire" into a compliment.

The reason that this topic is salient is clear to anyone who has watched a Raptors basketball game in the past couple of years. The lovable and immensely entertaining Chuck Swirsky, the team's playby-play man over the years, has experimented with an array of catchphrases and to his credit has been very determined to make one stick.

The three that have most caught on are "You've got to be kidding me", "Onions baby, onions" and "Crack out the salami and cheese, this ball game is OVER!"This last one can be seen on t-shirts around the Air Canada Centre and has generated something of a cult following. It has gotten to the point where Chuck and his colour-men Leo Rautins and Jack Armstrong talk more about food products than the game for most of the fourth quarter. Some have observed that Rautins has made a deliberate attempt to steal Chuck's thunder by announcing salami and cheese prematurely.

Chuck may have struck gold with these gems but others have traversed that path before and with more success. The catchphrase is sometimes as essential to the game as the puck, ball or hoop. Most Ca­ nadians probably have heard Foster Hewitt's famous opening line on Saturday nights, "Hello, Canada and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland." That phrase is now embedded in hockey tradi­ tion and has carried on well past his broadcasting days; it still greets audiences during CBC's Hockey Night in Canada introduction. Other famous hockey catchphrases include the overused but popular "Holy Mackinaw” from Maple Leafs play-by-play man Joe Bowen, a phrase that has also crossed into the t-shirt business. Pittsburgh Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange has opted for one-liners that make little to no sense, such as "Scratch my back with a hacksaw" and "She wants to sell my monkey". Nonetheless, audiences wait in rapt attention after goals or big hits to hear Lange scream out another memorable line.

The success of catchphrases is undoubtedly tied to the context in which they are used. One attached to a team during winning years ("Ballgame over, Yankees win, theee Yankees win!") is likely to stick as a good luck charm. A catchphrase that is profoundly good at describing a recent play or scenario can also become embedded in the enter­ tainment aspect of the game. Dick Vitale referring to close basketball finishes as"Maalox mashers" or Darryl Walltrip yelling "Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! It's racing time!"before NASCAR races are good examples.

They are perfect verbal representations of the emotion of the game in six words or less. Reach into the Mecca of catchphrases, professional wrestling—though it is a reach considering it a sport— and it is clear that a good catchphrase has the ability to rile up the crowd or even dictate how they should act. When The Bock screamed "if you smellll what The Rock is cooking!"the crowd knew to rise in a deafening roar.

When Vince McMahon shouted "You're fired!" at a meagre wrestler, they knew to boo. It didn't matter what preceded that phrase, the re­ sult was still the same.

Not all catchphrases work, however. Case in point: the infamous "Boom goes the dynamite" clip which has made its way around the virtual world and into punch-lines whenever an athlete makes a play. It is heartbreaking because his broadcast is disastrous, but, in all fairness, we remember the catchphrase. ■

Y

Medal Count: 15 6 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 0

1

Calgary (6 -2 -3 )

11

2 Windsor (2 -3 -2 ) 3 Toronto (3 -2 -1 )

7 6 4 Western (0 -3 -1 ) 4 5 Montreal (1 -2 -0 ) 3 6 Laval (1 -1 -1 ) 3 7 Saskatchewan (1 -0 -2 ) 3 7 York (1 -0 -2 ) 3 9 Guelph (0 -1 -2 ) 3 10 Regina (1 -1 -0 ) 2

17

McGill (0 -0 -0 )

0

The McGill Tribune will be accepting applications for next year's Sports Editor position until March 24.

A C.V. and at least three relevant writing samples are required. For more information, email us at sports@mcgilltribune.com

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2 2 -Sports - 12.03.07

P R O F ILE — M A R T L E T S H O C K E Y

D a v id s o n

p o w e r s M c G ill a t t a c k

Talented Martlet has Olympic dream J ohn D ingle All young Canadian hockey players dream of pulling on a red and white maple leaf crested jersey and representing their country at interna­ tional competitions such as the Winter Olympic Games; there are very few, however, who have the rare combination of ability, passion and commitment necessary to make that dream a reality. Vanessa Davidson, the leading scorer for the Martlet hockey team, is one of those few talents.

"My ultimate goal is definitely to be on the Olympic team," Davidson said."So besides work; ing towards winning a national championship with McGill, I'm working towards that. I think Peter [Smith, the Martlets head coach] and Charlie [Team Canada and Martlet goaltender Charline Labonte] have really helped both on and off the ice to try and get me to that level."

Coach Smith, who served as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 20 0 6 Olympics, also believes that Davidson's goal is well within her reach.

"Certainly, those doors are going to open up for her," Smith stated. "She's just got to keep working and get more experience."

Drawn to a strong program It was Davidson's Olympic dream and her prior relationship with coach Smith which con­ vinced the Kirkland, Que. native to attend Mc­ Gill over other universities.

"My decision to come to McGill was definitely hockey-related," Davidson said. "I've

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known Peter for a long time. I knew he was a great coach, that he was the one to help me get to the next level.”

The coaching staff was as excited about bringing the talented sniper to McGill as David­ son was about joining the powerhouse Mart­ lets.

"Vanessa brings a lot of skill to our team," Smith commented. "Sometimes with a power forward, you don't appreciate the skills that she brings to the game but Vanessa is a very skilled player as well as a strong power player. She competes every time out and she plays with a lot of passion."

Fellow Martlet teammates are also quick to recognize how important the big forward with the deadly shot and natural goal-scoring touch is to the fortunes of the squad.

"She's a big piece of the puzzle, for sure," said Britt Privée, a five-year veteran. "It takes ev­ eryone on the team to win a hockey game but I think we can count on her to score big goals for us when we really need them. She's very driven and it pushes our team forward."

A year to remember Davidson's nose for the net and playmak­ ing abilities have helped lead the Martlets to the best season of their 111 year history, with a 17-1 record during the regular season. The second year physical education student made some history herself by tallying 32 goals, 2 6 assists and 58 points in 35 games to establish new McGill single season marks in all three categories. Her strong play also caught the attention of the Club

de la Médaillé d'Or, who dole out awards to top Quebec amateur athletes and recently named her the top female university hockey player in Quebec. However, Davidson knows that regular season success and her own individual achieve­ ments will mean little if the Martlets can't bring home their first-ever national title.

"Of course I'm proud of my accomplish­ ments," said Davidson, cracking a smile. "But right now I'm excited and concentrating on what our team is doing. We have to win a QSSF

championship and we have to win a CIS na­ tional championship. I think it would be a big disappointment if we didn't.”

After sweeping Concordia and Ottawa in the QSSF playoffs, the Martlets and their top scorer are half-way to achieving both these sig­ nificant goals. Along the way, her performance in the red and white of McGill suggests that we may one day be seeing her wearing the red and white of a different squad—that ofTeam Cana­ da. ■

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Last Call ON D ECK M artlets Ice Hockey— CIS National Championship Tournament; March 1 6 -1 9 , Ottawa I The McGill Martlets go into the tournament as the | | number one team in the country and the overwhelm­ ing favourites to come away with their first national championship in the tournament's nine-year history.

I ; Other teams in the tournament are: the host Ottawa I j Gee-Gees, #3 Alberta, #7 Queen's, # 2 Wilfred Laurier and I ( #8 Moncton.

NCAA Basketball— March Madness; CBS 1Let the games begin. The tournament kicks off Tuesday I with the play-in game, a.k.a. the why-do-they-even| bother game. Beyond that, the first few days of the tour: nament will be comprised of the frenzied first round, ; which is usually punctuated by a few big upsets. But I when the dust settles, look for Ohio State, UNC, Florida i and Texas to be a likely final four.

NHL Hockey—Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens; Saturday, 7 p.m., CBC I Habs vs. Leafs on St. Patrick's day, does it get any better I than this? Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot with each other so there should be no shortage of emotion i in this one. The Leafs are finally getting some injured i bodies back and it's helped.The Canadiens on the other

Sports Briefs COMPILED BY CHARLIE B l ORE AND AARON SlGAL

hand can't seem to find a way to snap out of the funk j that has possessed them since Christmas.

NHL Hockey— Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Pen­ guins; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.. Versus The future of the NHL go head-to-head in what may j end up being an Eastern Conference Championship.] preview. The Kid crossed the 10 0 point threshold for | the second straight year this weekend, becoming the j youngest player ever to accomplish the feat twice in an | NHL career. But the franchise's Off-ice future looks less : bright, as negotiations between ownership and govern- j ment officials to build a new arena in Pittsburgh broke | down for the umpteenth time this week.

Boxing— Marco Antonio Barrera (63-4) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (46-3-1); Saturday, 9 p.m., HBO Barrera says he only has two fights left in him and this j is one of them. Those of us who've watched him of late I disagree. Despite having 67 professional fights under j his WBC championship belt, Barrera is still near the top 1 of his game and still delivers entertaining fights. Mar- j quez, meanwhile, is moving up in weight for this fight j but should still be able to mount a serious challenge for Barrera's Junior-Lightweight crown.

SACK OF TH E W EEK This Week's Winner: Ron Artest- -Guard for the Sacramento Kings It seems as though there are some athletes that just can't help but get in trouble: Owens, Irvin, Strawberry and now Ron-Ron.Truly, Artest finds himself in illustrious company.

You'll remember Ron from such previous exploits as skipping training camp to work on his budding rap ca­ reer, climbing into the stands to fight Detroit Pistons fans and butting heads with teammates and coaches pretty much wherever he goes. Oh, and he's also found some time to play some basketball every now and then.

Now Artest finds himself in the middle of a domes-; tic violence case which reportedly has him slapping and generally manhandling his wife after she launched a fry­ ing pan through the windshield of his Hummer. You just can't make this stuff up, can you?

If there really is such a thing as a tragic-comedy, it has to be the lives of these players. They are so talented and at times it really does appear as though they genu­ inely don't want to be at the centre of these fiascos (see Artest's seemingly sincere remarks after being allowed to rejoin the Kings on Saturday). Yet they can't seem to get out of their own way. They can't get a hold on their wild behaviour. Meanwhile, there's certainly nothing funny about domestic violence, but how can one not laugh at the mental image of a piece of T-Fal being chucked at Artest's SUV or of Irvin trying to pass off his crack pipe as an accessory. These guys are so gifted and yet so flawed and that's what makes them so compelling. I just can't wait to see what they'll do next.

Nathifa Weekes becomes first female all-Canadian bailer in a decade McGill's Nathifa Weekes received second-team all-Canadian honours at the CIS women's basketball major award gala in St. John's, Nfld., Thursday.

The 5 ' / guard became the first McGill player to earn all-Canadian status since Anne Gildenhuys in 19 9 7 -9 8 . It marks the 13 th time that McGill has produced an all-Canadian basketball player but Weekes is just the seventh different McGill player to attain that honour. She led the league in both steals (3.2 per game) and assists (4 .0 ). Weekes was also second in scoring with an average of 13.3 points per game-. In 30 games overall, Weekes notched 10 6 steals, breaking the McGill single-season record of 99 set by Cheeka Mitchell in 2 0 0 0 -0 1 . She is also the first McGill player to reach the century-mark for steals, assists and rebounds in the same season.

David Urquhart named to OUA hockey all-stars McGill defenceman David Urquhart has been selected to the OUA East Conference men's hockey all-star team for the second time and also won the league nomination for the CIS Randy Gregg trophy as the player who best combines hockey with academics and citizenship.

Urquhart, a 6 'o”, 19 5 -pound junior, led all OUA rearguards in assists and finished second in points with 27 in 28 regular season games. He also earned academic all-Canadian honours for achieving an average of more than 80 per cent. Urqu­ hart has also spent significant time as a volunteer for numerous community service activities such as the McGill Skate-a-thon for Alzheimer's Research, the Raise a Reader Day and the Centraide March of 1,0 0 0 Umbrellas to name but a few.

Martlets dominate QSSF awards The top-ranked McGill Martlets hockey team ruled the regular season in Quebec and likewise, dominated the conference all-star and major awards in voting announced by the QSSF on Tuesday. McGill pulled off a clean sweep of all four major awards and took four of the six first-team all-star spots, in vot­ ing conducted by conference coaches and player representatives. The Martlets also had one second team all-star. Vanessa Davidson was voted player of the year as she captured the league scoring title by seven points, finishing with 15 goals and 16 assists in 17 games. Her teammate D Catherine Ward was selected rookie of the year. Ward, who missed two games while helping Team Canada win the Air Canada Cup under-19 world championship in Germany, was the second-leading defender in the nation— in 16 games, she posted 2 2 points, establishing single-season school records for most goals, assists and points by a defenseman. Both Davidson and Ward earned first-team all-conference status. McGill team captain Shauna Denis was selected to the second team and won the conference nomination for the CIS Marion Hilliard award as the student-athlete who best combines hockey prowess with academic success and community service. Joining Davidson and Ward on the first all-conference team were teammates F Christine Hartnoll and rookie G Charline Labonté.

Peter Smith rounded out the McGill landslide by earning coach-of-the-year honours for the third time in his eight seasons.

BO X SCO RE Wednesday, Mar. 8,2007 McGill Martlets 2 vs. Ottawa Gee-Gees 0 McConnell Arena SCORING SUMMARY

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