The McGill Tribune Vol. 26 Issue 6

FROM THE CREASE TO THE BOOTH, PAGE 18

T

r

i

b

u

www.mcgilltribune.com

Published by the Students'Society of McGill University

C o kestept,,tit. le m o n d e

n

e

Volume 26 Issue 6 •October 11,2006

All GA motions pass ^

^

SSMU policies undergo changes J osh S tark

The Students' Society held its first semi-annual General Assembly of the year last Thursday. Required once a semeseter after an ammendment to the Students' Society constitution made last spring, the GA is designed to provide a way for students to take part in active democracy on campus.

The Shatner Ballroom doors opened at 1130 a.m. and students poured in to vote on issues put forth by fellow under­ graduates. Roughly 170 students attend­ ed, exceeding the necessary quorum of 100 students and making any GA deci­ sions binding.

The agenda contained three mo­ tions. The first two, submitted by the Grassroots Association for Student Power, committed SSMU to take a stand against rising corporate influence on campus and to support workers in their struggles with McGill administration. A third mo­ tion was submitted by Midnight Kitchen

to guarantee the group access to the third floor kitchen in Shatner, which they claim belongs to the organization after a verbal agreement made with SSMU dur­ ing the 2003 renovations to Shatner.

The issue of kitchen space for Mid­ night Kitchen, a SSMU service that pro­ vides free vegan food to students, was the first to be discussed.

The motion called for guaranteed access to the kitchen in the form of a key ensuring that members could get into the kitchen at any time. Problems were cited with the current agreement in which other organizations were using the kitchen, interfering with Midnight Kitchen's operation.

"We're bringing this to the GA be­ cause the relationship [between SSMU and Midnight Kitchen] has disintegrated, and the SSMU has not been able to ac­ commodate the discussion," said one supporter during debate.

See GA on page 2

FEUQ membership on fall referendum SSMU reacts to secret meeting

! S

K ayvon A fshari and K ate S pirgen

Coke - now a part of the collective unconscious of 5,000 regional dialects. Advertising campaigns like the multinational giant's must be molded to diverse cultural norms, but bright lights and billboards have universal appeal. For more on innovative marketing strategies at McGill and abroad, see Features, an unincorporated and brand-free section since 1981. Turn to page 12.

For the second time in tw o years, Students' Society Council has taken steps to remove SSMU from student lobbying group la Fédération Etudiante Universitaire du Q uébec In a special Council meeting held Thursday, a m o­ tion was passed that will add the ques­ tion of SSMU's membership in la FEUQ to the fall referendum ballot. Students will now bé able to vote on whether or not SSMU should terminate its relation­ ship with the provincial student interest group in the October referendum. If stu­ dents vote to remain in FEUQ, another referendum question must be presented in March; should students elect to disas­ sociate, the question will not appear in

the next referendum.

The meeting, called by SSMU Presi­ dent Aaron Donny-Clark to be held 10 minutes after the regularly scheduled council meeting, was in reaction to a gathering held between two FEUQ Vice-Presidents, former FEUQ Secretary General Eric van Eyken, SSMU Board of Governors Representative and Arts Sen­ ator Jacob Itzkowitz, and McGill student Esther Benoit.

The meeting was described by Van Eyken as an initial campaigning attempt to evaluate opinions and resources on campus with regard to the upcoming spring FEUQ referendum.

The main concerns expressed by See FEUQ on page 5

RED BIRD CLASSIC FOOTBALL: Saturday, October 14thvs. Sherbrooke1PM- MolsonStadium Martlet &Redmen jkj| BASKETBALL: Saturday, October 14thvs.Windsor 1PM- McGill Complex(MARTLET) BASKETBALL P I BASKETBALL: Saturday, October 14thvs. Toronto3PM-McGill Complex(REDMEN) MartletVOLLEYBALL HOCKEY: Saturday, October 14thvs. UQTR7PM- McConnellArena(REDMEN) F ridayOctober13th:2PMSTART VOLLEYBALL: Saturday, October 14thvs. Dalhousie1PM- McGillComplex(MARTLET) SaturdayOctober14th:1PMSTART SundayOctober15th:2PMSTART nwnallday.S2oneverything.CW nftotn12î30on»rillthefinalhmmofthem en’shockey«ram e------

R E D

& W

H IT E B O N A N Z A

N ews

COVER PHOTO BY LUKAS BERGMARK

GA causes unrest among student body C o n c e r n s a r is e o v e r d e m o c r a t ic n a t u r e o f g e n e r a l a s s e m b ly

Continued from COVER The motion to allow Midnight Kitchen full access to the third-floor kitchen was passed to bouts of applause from Midnight Kitchen sup­ porters.

"It wasn't our last resort, but it was a step along the way and we needed it to show that we had student support," said Josh Pavan, Mid­ night Kitchen participant. "It shows that we have a student mandate."

Corporate influence on campus was the next issue discussed.The motion suggested that SSMU would "condemn corporate invasion of public space and interference in academic life, actively oppose increasing negative corporate influence on campus and support the publiclyowned and funded nature of the university."

Supporters of the motion cited the fact that one third of McGill's budget is from cor­ porate sponsors and questioned whether the money was funding student interests or those of the corporation.

Dissenters asked students to look at the loss of educational freedom that would come

with the cut funding that the university would suffer if corporate sponsors were done away with. They also noted that the loss of funding would most likely result in higher tuition.

Some also took issue with the broad nature of the motion's wording, requiring SSMU to take a stance against any form of corporate funding, regardless of the circumstances.

After almost half an hour of debate, the motion was passed.

The third and final motion up for discussion was the issue of Workers Solidarity. The motion moved that "the SSMU support, by whatever means at its disposal, the workers' struggles af­ fecting our campus and the greater McGill com­ munity" and that "when the rights of students anywhere are under attack, the SSMU use what­ ever means at its disposal to defend said rights."

This issue seemed to generate much less controversy than the previous two. By the time this motion came up, many students had left and after a short debate, the motion passed.

Students' Society Vice-President External Affairs, Max Silverman acknowledged that the GA could be improved.

MATT CAMPBELL

Prendergast welcomes students into the new General Assembly.

"The biggest problem I saw is that every­ one came with their minds made up and didn't have a desire to work towards something more acceptable for everyone. There's no point hav­ ing a debate unless you're going to change peoples minds or change the motion to be more acceptable."

The low attendance was also an area of concern for the GA, which in ideal circumstanc­ es is supposed to be representative of McGill's student body.

Silverman placed the blame of low atten­ dance on SSMU, claiming that while the event was well advertised in the week leading up to it, better organization would have been benefi­ cial.

"I think we could have started earlier and then we might have had more diverse conver­ sation," Silverman said.

He went on to say that students have a re­ sponsibility to come out and vote.

"If you choose not to vote, or not to come to the GA, then you're abandoning your right to have a say in that. I do think that's problematic and I'd love to see a GA with 18,000 students, I just don't think its going to happen."

Students had varying reactions to the re­ sults of the GA. Mike Jaricik, U3 Political Science, was critical of the Assembly. "[The fact that] fewer than 200 students can bind SSMU to broad positions is a clear sign that GA's are not democractic, but also that the only way for reasonable McGill students to get their government back is to attend these meetings and prevent the SSMU from being hijacked," he said.

Other students weren't as concerned with the possible results of the GA. "There are a lot of restrictions on [the mo­ tions themselves] and I think that it really acts as a balance,"said Alix Stoicheff, U1 English and History, who was pleased with the results.

Silverman cautioned those who were wor­ ried about the implications of 170 people bind­ ing SSMU to a policy by pointing to the minimal impact that the resolutions would have. He said the motions passed mandate policy and a gen­ eral framework, but do not require any specific action.

"None ofthem mandated any sort of course of action," he said, "but rather broad sentiment and policy, and so it will be up to the executive to interpret the mandate given to them."

However, many students were unaware of

the GA and were therefore unable to make their voices heard.

John Menzies, a member of Conservative McGill, helped to mobilize students who were opposed to the motions at hand.

"The GA was very poorly publicized right up until it happened. When SSMU sent out the email for the GA they never put the resolutions in them. So a group of friends and I got together and said,'you know these two motions are radi­ cal motions, we disagree with them strongly, and the student body has not been informed about them. And further,, the majority of the student population will not be able to voice their opinion."'

Both Liberal McGill and Conservative Mc­ Gill were involved in the movement. ''[Liberal McGill President] Simon Bessette and I had never met before, a friend introduced us. We got talking about this, and we were both on the same page. So we talked to our execs, and our execs agreed and so we sent out a mes­ sage on our listservs," Menzies said.

Though organized by two political groups, the opposition to the GA and the motions was non-partisan according to Menzies.

"The posters had no political party on them, it was not officially endorsed by any po­ litical party. It wasn't even our execs that came up with the idea. Of course people from the ex­ ecutives came out and helped, but it wasn't just Liberal and Conservative. It was non-partisan and it was from people of all ends of the politi­ cal spectrum," he said.

Menzies felt that the problem with last Thursday's GA was its execution, not necessarily it's concept.

"I think [the GA] is a very good forum for de­ bate. Some very good points were brought up for both sides. But I still believe that this is incred­ ibly undemocratic that th is* held during class time, when people have to choose between the GA.and going to class. I think it was a very poor decision to schedule it during that time. I think a better way of making it more democratic would be to, if a motion passes through the GA, then put it through an electronic vote."

Menzies believed the GA in its current form was not in accord with students'expectations.

"Nearly 80 per cent of students voted for the GA [last year],They did hot vote for one dur­ ing class time, unpublicized, during midterms, before thanksgiving weekend and almost under the radar." ■

CAMPUS

Former PM Joe Clark to join McGill staff But will students see him on campus?

Canada. He came to prominence again as Secretary of State for External Affairs in The McGill Centre for Developingthe early 1990s and again as the leader of Area Studies recently hired political activ­ the former Progressive Conservative party ist Joe Clark, who will begin teaching Oct. in 2003. CBC polls show that at the time 1. He will be taking the position of Profes­ of his retirement, he was the most trusted sor of Practice for Public-Private Sector political personality in Canada.

Partnerships and will be responsible for Students'Society Council Arts Repre­ helping build bridges between academ­ sentative and former Conservative McGill ic, public sector, private sector and NGOs leader Daniel King is thrilled by Clark's to real world issues. His position will help new position in McGill's Faculty. enable a greater exchange of information "He is an accomplished man with between what CDAS and similar faculties incredible experiences," King said. "It is in other universities are doing through­ ’ certainly advantageous for McGill to have out Canada. someone with international stature or In addition to being a professor for to have any former head of state teach.

Canadian foreign policy courses at the His experiences will make for a nice de­ graduate level, Clark will be travelling fre­ parture from the conventional lecture of quently throughout the world to address other professors, through his use of sto­ development issues, conflict resolution ries and anecdotes, to add colour to his and democratization of African nations. teachings and engage his students."

Clark, Progressive Conservative Clark's appointment is part of CDAS's Prime Minister from 1979 to 1980 , was the attempts to push to the forefront of the youngest man ever to hold the office in field of developing area studies, accord­ K en S un

ing to CDAS leader Philip Oxhorn.

Oxhorn had first met Clark in June of 2006, where CDAS co-spor^ored a panel with the Canadian International Development Agency on Democratic Governance, known as the Conference du Montréal. Clark, after meeting Pro­ vost Anthony Masi and Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, began communicating with Oxhorn about a potential position at CDAS. Alongside the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, Clark will also be work­ ing to build and improve relations with numerous English-speaking Caribbean nations. However, Clark's demanding du­ ties may prevent him from leaving im­ pacts on McGill's political culture.

"With all the duties and the great deal of travelling for him, it is unlikely that his presence will have any effect on Conservative McGill, or any other politi­ cal club. I don't think you will see him on campus very often," King said. ■

GLOBEANDMAIL.COM

Clark believes McGill is a community of communities.

11.10.06 •The McGill Tribune • 3

CITY

SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS

Exploring ethics

Montreal politician makes noise in library school

Famous Massey Lecture delivered by Somerville N ora C oghlan Renowned ethicist and McGill Professor Margaret Somerville will give the 2006 Massey Lecture at the Mount Royale Centre today. Present­ ed by CBC Radio One and McGill Uni­ versity, the Massey Lecture is a presti­ gious annual event designed to bring scholars to Canadian universities in order to discuss issues of political, cul­ tural or philosophical importance.

In a week-long, national se­ ries entitled The Ethical Imagination, Somerville will explore the ethical challenges presented by modern sci­ entific advancements including ge­ netic engineering, stem cell research and robotics. Somerville, the found­ ing director of the McGill Centre for Ethics and Medicine, emphasized the "enormous gravity" with which soci­ ety must approach such revolution­ ary innovations.

"If you consider that we humans are the product of 850 million years of evolution... it is a pretty dramatic power which we now hold in our col­ lective human hand,"she said.

A follow-up to her book The Ethi­ cal Canary, the lecture addresses the need to establish a common value system to respond to new scientific realities.

"We need to learn how to find a shared way to approach these things, otherwise we're just not going to suc­ ceed," Somerville said.

Somerville believes that a deep respect for all life and the human spir­ it is essential to this global process.

She also emphasized the need for discourse on the issue saying that be­ cause we "can no longer use religious language, we need a new poetry to address these issues."

In addition to examining the modern dilemmas presented by de­ velopments in fields such as, repro­ ductive technology and robotics, The Ethical Imagination will also explore ways in which society can utilize what she has named the "old virtues" of trust, courage integrity and com­

passion to respond to modern chal­ lenges.

Stressing that her goal is not to give her audience answers or con­ vert people to a specific set of beliefs, Somerville hopes that students who attend her lecture will come away from the lecture with more questions than they came with.

She detailed her duties as raising issues, spreading ideas and assisting in what she deems an ongoing jour­ ney that everyone needs to join.

Somerville holds the Samuel Gale Professor of Law position in the Faculty of Law and is also a professor in the Faculty of Medicine. An Austra­ lian-born Canadian citizen, Somerville has served as a consultant for interna­ tional institutions such as the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the joint UN program on AIDS and the United Nations Secretariat in Geneva.

She has been awarded many honours throughout her career, including the 2004 UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Eth­ ics in Science.

Somerville is the. forty-fifth Massey lecturer since the series' in­ ception in 1961. After speaking in Montreal, she will spend ten days lecturing in St. John's, Calgalry, Van­ couver and Toronto. Initiated by Uni­ versity of Toronto's Massey College, the lecture was originally held exclu­ sively at University of Toronto." In 2002 the event expanded into a traveling lecture series hosted by universities throughout Canada.

Famous past lecturers include Stephen Lewis, Noam Chomsky, Northrop Frye, Michael Igantieff and Martin Luther King, Jr. The lectures are broadcasted on CBC's Radio One show Ideas and can be purchased on cassette or in print through CBC. ■ The Massey Lecture will be held at 8:00 p.m. at the Mount Royale Centre, located at 2200 Mansfield Street. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, $15 for adults. They can be purchased either at the door or in advance by calling Ad­ mission Network at (514) 790-1245.

Borough mayor explains impact of municipal politics on library evolution E m ily B arca

Fotopoulos currently serves on the city's executive committee and is responsible for a variety of dossiers, in­ cluding green and blue space and the status of women.

As head of culture and heritage from 2001-2004, she es­ VILLE.MONTREAL.QC.CA tablished the cultural and heritage development policies Fotopoulos's library sure does get some generous and supervised the integration of the library system across funding. Political pork, anyone? the boroughs.

In her address, Fotopoulos explained the beginnings of her interest in libraries.

“I started off as the child of immigrants and my par­ ents were from the Soviet Union where libraries were the focal point of any community," she said. "I spent my child­ hood and my formative years in the library."

Fotopoulos went on to explain how municipal poli­ tics have impacted the evolution of the Montreal public library system. She also underscored .the importance of political involvement on the part of librarians. ' "Librarians have a responsibility to be defenders of the library, promoters of the library and educators of the public. The future of Montreal rests on accessing informa­ tion and the library is the centre of that information."

Fotopoulos also demonstrated what can happen when libraries have the support of the general public. She recalled a move by the former mayor Pierre Bourque's ad­ ministration to consolidate four public libraries. T h e pro­ posal was changed partly because several communities mobilized to stop it from passing.

Fotopoulos ended her speech with a message for the students.

"Get involved and don't wait until you have a job at the library. Get involved now."

Students in attendance were generally impressed to see a politician taking interest in the politically atypical topic of libraries.

"The presentation showed that someone political

cares about this, usually it's the last thing on their list," said Melissa Tomecz, a graduate student in the School of Li­ braries and Education.

Krista Woltman, president of the McGill Library and Information Studies Student Association, echoed her sen­ timents.

"As an emergent librarian I'm glad to see that what we're interested in isn't being forgotten."

Woltman also pointed out that many librarians and library students are already trying to make libraries more visible.

"We are becoming more actively engaged in the socio-political climate because we believe -in the work that we do, the contribution that we can make and how valuable we are to society. Once I land my first job as a professional, I fully expect to involve myself in the political process as it affects libraries."

The day after Fotopoulos'speech, it was clear that her words had struck a chord with audience members.

David Fontaine, a student in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, explained that because of the presentation he had taken a look at the schedule of public meetings for the borough of the library where he works.

"I may or may not go, but regardless, last night's meeting was an eye opener for me," he said. "I also looked at the minutes of past meetings and it's really obvious that if we're not present, we're not going to get the money." ■

VVhu N o rth w e ste rn ?

THE TRIBUNE WEB POLL In lig h t o f th e re c e n t c o n tro v e rs y , s h o u ld SSM U le a ve FE U Q ?

s

The importance of libraries as a political issue was stressed by Plateau-Mont-Royal Executive Helen Fotopoulos to the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies on Wednesday. Fotopoulos spoke about her ex­ periences trying to bring attention to the state of libraries in the Montreal area.

The event was organized by Diane Mittermeyer, pro­ fessor of Library and Information Studies, as a supplement to her Public Libraries class. It was also open to members of the public.

We’re Passionate A b o u t Your Future In N atural H ealth Care!

‘N orthw estern H ealth Sciences U niversity is com m itted to being the nation’s university of choice in natural health care education.

N orthw estern features an exceptional curriculum , outstanding faculty, groundbreaking research, and a wealth of clinical training opportunities for our students.”

- M a rk Zeigler, D C, President

J& L

mi Poll is not scientifically accurate and represents only the opinions of those who voted, not the entire McGill community. Sample size: 8 3

T h is w e e k 's q u e s tio n : Is th e G e n e ra l A s s e m b ly re p re s e n ta tiv e o f th e s tu d e n t b o d y? V isit w w w .m c g illtrib u n e .c o m to v o te .

A lso , c h e c k o n lin e to read F a rid u d d in Rifai's a rtiic le a b o u t th e Ja m e s L a x e r b o o k ta lk .

1. »k

L VJ n J I I Hc

u v ( “ /,ii n >>>;j

NORTHWESTERN HEALTH SCIENCES U N IV ER SITY 2501 West 84th Street, Bloomington, MN 55431 ( 9 5 2 /8 0 0 ) 8 8 8 - 4 7 7 7 , e x t . 4 0 9 • w w w .n w h e a lth .e d u

Northwestern Health Sciences University offers exceptional programs in CHIROPRACTIC, ACUPUNCTURE, ORIENTAL MEDICINE, MASSAGE THERAPY, and INTEGRATIVE HEALTH AND WELLNESS.

t ~c

The McGill Tribune

4 • News • 11.10.06

CAMPUS

SSMU prepares inaugural year for Faculty Olympics Contest to create inter-faculty relations T

rip

Yang

Have you always known that your faculty could beat the crap out of any other faculty on campus? You might have to put up or shut up this winter with the introduction of the first ever Faculty Olympics.

Although the idea has been around since at least last year, the Faculty Olympics have never been re­ alized. However, SSMU has been per­ sistent this year in making the Olym­ pics a reality, working with organizers Aneerudha Borkotoky, U 3 Finance and Marketing, and Sheera Gendzel, U 3 Marketing, to launch the event.

"We're still in the preliminary stages, but we already have a lot of ideas formed," said Students' Society Vice-President Communications and Events Gill Prendergast. "Now we need to select the best ideas and re­ alize them."

There are many possible events already and more to come.

"One idea is to have one activity within each faculty that is naturally inclined toward that faculty," Prend­ ergast said. "For example, we could have lighthearted scientific experi­ ments for Science and similarly styled trivia for Arts. Another example would be to have one huge immersive activ­ ity for all the faculties. Then again, it's

News Briefs

^

.!

Fasting For Darfur McGill's Students Taking Action Now on Darfur organization participated in a broader global initiative to raise awareness about the Darfur crisis on Thurs­ day. STAND members fasted for 24 hours and encouraged other students to give up a luxury for the day.

"We are fasting to show our solidarity with the people of Darfur, to show we know what they go through," said STAND member Gordon Nelson, U 2 Po­ litical Science and Anthropology.

Students on campuses all over North America fasted to gain political at­ tention.

"We are trying to get people to lobby and speak out to change Canadian policy with regard to the issue,"said Jordan Benadiba, U 2 Political Science and Anthropology. "It's such a big issue and should be much bigger in the media.

From a humanitarian view, it's scary that people don't seem to care that thou­ sands are being slaughtered."

Participant Severine Koen, U 1 International Development Studies and Po­ litical Science, received an outpouring of support from student sponsors.

"I managed to raise $120.74 dollars. I'm really proud of how generous and genuinely interested the people from my residence were," Koen said.

Current estimates indicate that 400,000 lives have been lost and an addi­ tional 2 million people have been displaced from their homes since the onset of the crisis in 2003 . STAND hopes to promote global awareness and provoke student action throughout North America.

— Kelly D aly

COURTESY IOC

If only SSMU had the budget for nice shiny medals like these. certainly plausible to combine both examples.”

The Olympics are hoped to cre­ ate camaraderie between McGill's faculties rather than competition.

"The main goal is to increase fac­ ulty interaction," Prendergast said. "A lot of times, students unconsciously interact chiefly with other students in the same faculty. What we'd like to do is to promote more interaction between the faculties, to stimulate more out-of-faculty relationships. Ul­ timately I think it'll be a really produc­ tive event."

The Faculty Olympics has been tentatively scheduled over a four-day period in mid-winter, possibly Janu­ ary and all the faculties have received invites.

The location of the event has not yet been decided, but everyone involved is working hard to make it a success.

T hope the event gets a warm reception," Prendergast said. "If we could get a strong start in the initial year and make this an annual event, all the hard work put in would have been worth it.">

QUOTABLE "I w ent from being the most proFEUQ person you can find on cam pus to supporting this motion before you today. It's been a long road, it's been a difficult road but if w e can put the end of it a couple m onths shorter... it would be the end o f gray hair in m y case and lack of hair in Max's case."

— S S M U P r e s id e n t A a ro n D o n n y C la rk e x p la in in g h is ra tio n a le fo r s u p p o r tin g a n e a r ly w ith d ra w ! fro m la F E U Q a t C o u n c il T h u rsd a y .

elections ft

mcgill Fall Electoral Period NOMINATIONS for FIRST YEAR COMMITTEE of COUNCIL

E le ctio n s McGill is now accep ting nom inations for the following p o sitio n s:

CALL FOR REFERENDUM QUESTIONS President VP Academic VP Communications

VP Internal VP Finance VP External

FIRST YEAR STUDENTS, this is your chance to GET INVOLVED and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Elections McGill is also accepting referendum questions from students.

Nomination kits and Student Initiated Referendum Kits are available online at www.electionsmcgill.ca or from our office in Shatner 405

DEADLINE for REFERENDUM Q’s: OCT 13th, 2006 @ NOON DEADLINE for NOMINATIONS: OCT 23rd, 2006 @ NOON Questions? You can reach us at contact@electionsmcgill.ca

www.mcgilltribune.com

11.10.06* News *5

FEUQ VP claims meeting was not subversive Dissenters call for a more*in-depth debate on the issue Continued from COVER SSMU executives were the undermining of the SSMU's local sov­ ereignty and the alleged unconstitutionality of the meeting or­ ganizers'intended actions.

To SSMU VP External Max Silverman, the urgency of the mat­ ter warranted the addition of the question to the October 2006 referendum.

"Given that we have this referendum four months away, why should we allow the FEUQ executive to continue to work in this very backhanded, very undermining, very subversive way that's going to undermine our democratic processes and really throw out the whole idea of fair campaigning on campus?"

FEUQ VP Federal and International Affairs Trevor Planna said that the meeting should not be cause for concern among SSMU executives.

"I think [the meeting] has been made a big scandal out of something that really is very small. It's a mountain that's been made out of a molehill," Flanna said.'l don't think there is anything controversial about FEUQ wanting to keep McGill as a member and there certainly is nothing controversial about four McGill stu­ dents and one non-McGill student getting together to discuss a campaign that is months away."

Some councilors were concerned that the decision was a rushed knee-jerk reaction and may take away from a longer, more in-depth debate.

"We're moving a little quickly," said Medicine representative Donal Finegan. "It's a little fast and all I'm suggesting is that we have a good debate about this issue."

Van Eyken made it clear that he takes full responsibility for the gathering and that the council should not go so far as to dis­ associate SSMU from FEUQ for his actions.

"I regret that I personally caused a rift between la FEUQ and

SSMU because of actions that I took by myself. This is not a de­ bate between la FEUQ and SSMU. The issue here is that I acted badly. I fucked up. Don't make this about punishing la FEUQ. Have a real debate on the issue."

However, Silverman was not convinced that Van Eyken acted alone in organizing the meeting.

"This idea that he was acting alone, that it was purely inno­ cent and that-the two VPs were there by happenstance or were there out of some sort of friendship for him— you'll forgive my language, but it's a load of horseshit," Silverman said, "the fact that these VPs would show up was problematic enough and the fact that they would be very active leaders of the discussion, as reported to us by the description of events, is unacceptable. And you [Van Eyken] can't justify that even by your own stupidity."

In an email sent on Oct. 4, former SSMU VP University Affairs Max Reed asked councilors to throw out the motion proposed by Silverman, addressing the hasty nature of the issue.

"Last year, SSMU left CASA, our formal federal lobby group.

This decision took us four years of debate. Now, this year's SSMU is preparing to leave FEUQ, which is 100,000 times more effective and efficient than CASA with four days'notice," he said.

According to Hanna, the benefits of membership outweigh the costs.

"It's $2.50 a semester. If you're a student who does four years, thats a total of $20 you're going to be spending. That's less than a case of beer," he said. "Look at all the accomplishements we've made. We've kept tuition frozen since 1994, we won international students the right to work off campus and we have a lot more work to do."

Reed asked councilors to consider the possible long term effects of leaving la FEUQ. "A provincial election is weeks away. W hy are we thinking of

leaving the most effective lobby group in North America? What are our alternatives? How are we going to fight for the tuition freeze for all students: international, out of province, and Que­ bec? FEUQ represents the vast majority of Quebec University stu­ dents: we should be fighting with them not against them in this time of crisis."

He went on to claim, that the executives' call for expediting the question was the result of recurring friction between SSMU and FEUQ. "This whole'scandal'nonesense with Eric van Eyken is just a pretense to act on long-standing ideological desires."

According to SSMU VP University Affairs Finn Upham, there have been recurring issues with the student lobby group that go beyond the recent subversive meeting.

"One of the problems over and over again was their unwill­ ingness to take into consideration the priorities that we put for­ ward, that we pressed and that we, in consultation and commit­ tee, had decided were very important."

SSMU President Aaron Donny-Clark echoed Upham's con­ cerns.

"The issues we needed to address in FEUQ weren't changing the constitution or changing the positions of la FEUQ," he said.

"It's a cultural problem and the members of la FEUQ refused to address these sorts of problems."

Itzkowitz said that considering all aspects of FEUQ, jt would be beneficial for the SSMU to end its membership.

"FEUQ has done good things but FEUQ has problems. Un­ fortunately the problems seem to outweigh the benefits," Itzkow­ itz said. "As we've shown in federal affairs, we can do things on our own that we maybe couldn't do with FEUQ. Maybe we'll lose some power, but I think that in the long run it's better for us to leave." ■

The Tribune wants YOU! We need a Webmaster to manage our online publication.

For more information, email seniored@mcgilltribune.com.

ave you been thinking University of Ottawa

►H

about pursuing an MBA?

Did you know that some of the best MBA programs

Two P o w erfu l D egrees

in the world are offered by Canadian universities?

in a combined four-year program

R ep resen tativ es from C a n a d ia n

B u sin ess an d Law :

M B A Program s will b e av ailab le

• a n M B A fro m th e S c h o o l o f M a n a g e m e n t; an d

to sp eak w ith you at an

* a n L L B f r o m t h e F a c u lt y o f L aw , C o m m o n Law S e c tio n .

M B A IN F O R M A T IO N S E S S IO N

«••••••••••••••••••••••••«••ft Information Session attendees will have the

nm u Ottawa L’Université canadienne ' Canada’s university

For more information visit: www.hennick.uOttawa.ca or call 613-562-5800, ext. 3288

O c to b e r 17 , 2 0 0 6 4 :3 0 -7 :3 0 p m

option to attend

M a r r io t t C h a te a u C h a m p la in

a Kaplan MBA Admissions

1 P la c e d u C a n a d a

Seminar

M o n tre a l

5:30 - 6:30 PM

Application deadline: November 1,2006

mmmÊMÊÊmm _____ __ ________________ __________________

KAPLAN) TEST PREP AND A D M IS S IO N S

C A N A\D D \A IA\N MBA FAIRS w w w .c a n a d ia n m b a fa ir s .c o m

O pinion THE HELPLESS ROMANTIC

Cogs of the Big Red Machine

SIMPLY SPOKEN

Canadian defence indefensible M iriam M artz SIMPLYSPOKEN@HOTMAIL.COM

I was

lying in bed last week, spaced out from migraine meds and depressed from feeling out of sorts and useless, when I fi­ nally found something that made me laugh: "Guards walk off job at four B.C. border cross­ ings." As you may already know— and as I quickly found out— Canadian border guards have the right to walk off the job if things get dangerous. In this case, the danger was yet another crazed American criminal suspect trying to run north.

I had a little cartoon picture running through my head of 60 Canadian border guards, standing strong, guarding the border and gossiping like old hens: "There might be an American coming our way with a gun!"

"That sounds scary!""Let's run away!"

Really though, the joke is on me. There have been two hot topics in the news late­ ly: Guns and the war on terror. This minor headline on the B.C. border guards, however, made me realize that there was only one hot topic, not two. The bottom line in every big news story lately is that Canadians don't like the idea of dying.

The New Democratic Party wants to pull Canada out of the conflict in Afghanistan be­ cause 40 people have been killed. Fourty.The outrage over one girl murdered in Montreal was nationwide. There were three school shootings in the US the week before last.

By the time the third one happened, most Americans had nothing more to say than "Again?" before going back to their normal lives. Canadians would not be able to take a week of school shootings so calmly.

Should Canadians have the legal right

R ichard T seng RICHTSEN@GMAIL.COM

I agreed to stand as a delegate to attend the

to run away from danger, even if it is at odds with their moral obligations?

To be honest, I am having a little bit of trouble understanding the issue. Guards are supposed to protect. In most countries, guards are armed. How are unarmed guards supposed to protect a country from some­ one with a gun? They can't, which is why the border guards in B.C. have run away from their jobs four times this year.

Should we give the border guards guns?

Looking a man in the eyes and shooting him is not something that average people can easily bring themselves to do; even sol­ diers— hired and trained to defend their country with their lives— sorpetimes have trouble firing when ordered to do so. Would arming the border guards really keep them from running away? Hopefully it would give them a feeling of safety and help them to stay at their jobs.

If the Conservatives were smart, they would revoke the law allowing guards to run away. But such a move might not go over so well with the ultra-cautious, safety-obsessed Canadian public.

Harper's plan is to arm and train half of all border guards over the course of the next decade. Guards have been pushing for the right to carry guns for years. Why doesn't the government speed up the process a little? Surely with an extra $i3.2-billion lying around— the amount of the most recent budget surplus— a little bit can be put to use to speed up the arming of the border guards in the interest of protecting those whose job it is to protect us. ■

Liberal leadership conference, so I found myself in church last Sunday. The service was well under way and so was the delegate selection meeting. Delegates get to pick the next Liberal leader and possibly the next Prime Minister of Canada. There was a big lineup full of old folks discussing who to vote for, which went along the lines of "If you vote for my brother, I'll vote for you," or “You can pick 14 delegates, so you can send Sheila, your uncle Ted and my sister too." With all the hard politicking right up to the election, it was clear that I didn't stand a chance.

Turns out that was exactly it. I had no chance because not only was everybody bet­ ter connected than me, I wasn't even on the ballot. I checked my wallet. It was five dollars lighter, so I had paid the fee to stand. Moreover, I did remember filling out and handing in the form. Apparently I wasn't the only one whose name was lost: Several other Young Liberals had been removed from the ballot in their rid­ ings with little explanation. Surely not reverse ageism, I thought, as I filled out my form like an obedient child who had been told he had to do homework instead of going to the cool party where all the grown-ups were.

Then I went over to the Liberal Mc­ Gill station and was frustrated to find McGill students who weren't club members vot­ ing as well. Didn't this somehow violate the club constitution— a constitution drafted by the club's members and supported by the Young Liberals of Canada in Quebec? It did, especially since the club had submitted the list of names for people who could choose the club's delegates well ahead of time and in accordance with the rules. Yet here I was, having paid good money to become a mem­

ber of Liberal McGill, standing in line behind strangers not in the club who were going to decide who the club's representatives at the convention were going to be. The poll clerks, picked because they were neutral in the com­ ing leadership race, had been forced to bend to the pressures of the older, more ignorant officials. They may as well have thrown their lists away.

To a non-Liberal or non-Liberal McGill member, this may be dull, but it affects all students— even those in the Conservative party, which doesn't have a youth wing. Stu­ dents make up a large number of eligible vot­ ers and could be an important interest group.

Politicians' platforms are always addressing education and other things of interest to the country's youth. They will always claim, as is undeniably true, that we are Canada's future.

Yet at the same time, whether it's the lead­ ers themselves or the hacks who work below them, somebody is screwing young people.

But it isn't just their fault. Few of my peers actually care about party politics or who to elect. Many pick who I tell them to pick come election time or get lumped with the radicals and trust fundTrotskyites who start riots or in­ effectual picket lines.

Voting in larger numbers isn't going to change anything either. The same old-timers who draft the delegate lists also choose the candidates for Parliament come election time.

Party politics, by all accounts, is an older man's game.

While it is infuriating how powerless I am right now, I can take solace in the knowledge that when I get to their age, I'll finally be able to take revenge by screwing over their grand­ children. ■

WET PAINT

Talking is just masturbating without the mess' D ominique Z ipper DOMINIQUEZIPPER@GMAIL.COM

I 've

recently noticed a change in the way people are talk­ ing. From the street to the metro and from the library to the grocery store, people everywhere are talking to them­ selves. While I encountered this widespread habit upon first moving to Montreal and tried to think of it as one of our city's endearing little quirks, the trend seems to have in­ creased of late. Though still somewhat alarming, I think I've come to terms with this penchant for public displays of inner monologue, for as a prof once so aptly put it, "We all have an identity and we all obsess over it, so w hy not just address it directly?"

An excellent point, but it explains neither the recent in­ crease northe public aspect. Speaking of interesting Montre­ al public phenomena, within my first week here, I happened to walk lay two separate guys masturbating on their door­ steps— one of them at four in the afternoon on a Sunday.

It all makes me think of a certain Our Lady Peace song hailing from our collective memory of grade nine, where Raine Maida proclaimed that, "Talking is just masturbating without the mess." Isn't it funny how people seem to be tak­ ing both— if Raine will let me separate the two for clarity's

sake— to the streets and common areas in general?

One of my summer subletters commented recently that she had masturbated one morning to ease some stress, which led to this exchange:.

A/fe:"But I was home all morning and you had your door open all morning. And... wasn't my door open?!"

Her: "Yeah, I know, (pause). What?! It's not like I made noise!"

I was taken aback. A creeping feeling, much like the one that gurgles up in your throat if your mom goes into detail about sex with your dad, started brewing; a classic facescrunching, sideways-squinting glance snuck onto my face.

It's not just my subletter who wields such a voracious appetite. You know those five minutes they give you after a professional massage to get your Namaste in check before sliding off the table and back into your cold clothes? Appar­ ently the massage was just too good for a friend who had to masturbate right in the middle of flickering tea lights and Enya.To think that I ponder whether to leave my underwear on during a massage.

So can I conclude from this that we're just not getting

each other off anymore? I think I might just have to. After all, a Facebook group called Masturbataholics (no longer anony­ mous) exists, which is slightly amusing considering that the idea of a closet masturbator is completely absurd. It is some­ thing you do in the closet, yet everyone does it in the'closet.

Cancel the two closets and you're left with something that's anything but anonymous. So why the redundancy of this re­ cent outpouring?

Perhaps we're not getting each other off figuratively anymore either. If talking really is just masturbating without the mess, we're clearly not making each other feel very good anymore, whether in conversation or in bed. Then again, maybe we are and we're just learning to listen to all of that in­ spirational, mass e-mail forward, Lululemon-manifesto type talk that instructs us to love ourselves.

Perhaps it sunk in to the point that we woke up one day and thought to ourselves, "You know, I do have a self. Why not address it and why not love it too? But shit, I'm late for my bus. I'll just have to do it on the way".

Hey, don't tell me; tell yourself. I'm sure you will, mess or no mess. ■

11.10.06 •The McGill Tribune • 7

T

r ib u n e

EDITORIAL

Our assemblies are dysfunctional

www.mcgilltribune.com E d it o r - in - C h i e f

Ja m e s G o to w iec editor@mcgilltribune.com M a n a g in g E d it o r s

D avid Blye Traci Jo hn so n seniored@mcgilltribune.com P r o d u c t io n M a n a g e r

T iffan y C h oy production@mcgilltribune.com N e w s E d it o r s

Kayvon Afshari M att C am pbell Kate Spirgen news@mcgilltribune.com O p in io n E d it o r

Adam Sm ith opinion@mcgilltribune.com F e a t u r e s E d it o r s

Rachel M elnik Elizabeth Perle features@mcgilltribune.com A r t s & E n t e r t a in m e n t E d it o r s

C rystal Chan Ben Le m ieu x arts@mcgilltribune.com S p o r t s E d it o r s

C h arlie Blore Aaron Sigal sports@mcgilltribune.com P h o t o E d it o r

Lukas Bergm ark photo@mcgilltribune.com C o p y E d it o r

Terri A ld erfer copy@mcgilltribune.com D e s ig n E d it o r s

Sam anth a C hang A n d rew Frankel Je ssica Shapiro design@mcgilltribune.com A d v e r t is in g M a n a g e r

Paul Slachta advmgr@ssmu.mcgill.ca

T

he Tribune found itself in a difficult position last year when deciding whether or not to support the constitutional am endm ent on general assemblies. Essentially, we supported the idea of having regular assemblies but believed it would be damaging, democratically speaking, to lower the quorum from 200 to 100 students.

Unfortunately, the ballot combined both ques­ tions and we decided that it was more important to have broad representation than it was to have regular assemblies. The am endm ent was passed last spring, meaning that twice a year, 100 stu­ dents can get together and make policy for the Students'Society.

O n Thursday we were reminded of w hy low­ ering quorum was a bad idea after several reso­ lutions brought forward by fringe groups were passed with fewer than 200 students present— less than one per cent of McGill's 22,700 under­ graduate students.

But that isn't the only problem with general assemblies. In their current form, they are severe­ ly dysfunctional and they need to be improved to better represent the will of the student body.

The motions debated at the GA were too broad in scope and poorly publicized. For example, al­ though the constitutional am endm ent that man­ dates the GA calls for the agenda to be publicized in the campus press, including the Tribune, this was not done.

The idea of a General Assembly is a good one. Students should be able to discuss, debate and pass general SSMU policy. However, it is not very meaningful to have a debate if everyone al­ ready has their mind made up before the event happens. Effectively what happened on Thursday was that motions were introduced, some people spoke into microphones and nobody listened.

The Midnight Kitchen brought a motion that claimed an agreement was in place between SSMU and the group to give it property rights to the third-floor kitchen. This was presented in the motion as fact, however, the claim was disputed.

"There was no formal or informal agreement be­ tween SSMU and Midnight Kitchen," said former SSMU President Martin Doe during the Assembly, "and I should know because I was the President the year the Shatner building renovations refer­ endum took place." Doe therefore proposed that the Midnight Kitchen issue be diverted to a com ­ mittee.

SSMU executives would have assembled a group of elected councilors and other students and sat dow n to work the issue out. Unfortu­

nately, those at Thursday's GA chose to ignore the person w ho had the most direct experience with the issue and voted dow n the proposal, mainly because everyone's minds were made up before the event was held.

Instead of a GA, what we have now is a m o­ bilization contest. It's a race between those w ho support the proposals and those w ho don't, where those w ho have proposed the motions have a much greater incentive to get them passed. It's not much of a contest. This adversarial element, which was clear as day on Thursday, hurts the democratic process.

But there is another problem with the GA— the motions were far too. broad. The Grassroots Association for Student Power proposed tw o of the motions that were debated. Their propos­ als, while well-intentioned, encompassed far too much to ever be reasonably implemented. In­ stead of being a general framework within which SSMU could work, the resolutions were more like omnibus bills containing many different ele­ ments.

For example, it made sense for GRASPé to propose a resolution condem ning corporations on campus, but the actual resolution had several aspects to it, including a demand that McGill hold a student referendum each time a major decision is made concerning corporate financing.

Students were persuaded to say "boo corpo­

rations," which is something many people could get on board with, but by doing so were also vot­ ing for SSMU to press the McGill administration to consult students each and every time an in­ vestment decision is made. The resolution called for a number of things and it's easy to conclude that many students were voting on the underly­ ing idea of the motion, rather than the complex plans that the motion set out.

Thursday's motions were either too broad, factually incorrect or extremely slanted. There should be some sort of body of rules to which a motion must com ply with.

Until the general assemblies are shaped into a forum where a dialogue can take place and a significant num ber of undecided students choose to show up, it will remain an illegitimate policy arena. In its current incarnation, hundreds of moderate students will have to show up at these general assemblies just to-make sure their student union isn't hijacked.

Lowering the quorum to 100 allows exceed­ ingly small yet vocal minorities to hijack the Stu­ dents'Society business.

The resolutions on the whole were gener­ ally unclear and not at all well thought out. We shouldn't be enforcing blind policy at the GA and there should be some sort of mechanism that en­ sures foolish motions are ameliorated before they are put to a vote. ■ by

J am ie G oodman

'AWfSo/^t: y eck fio ■rt\<S r-r* • gor,r\cs. be "\C t*\*aS+ 1t o p - d r iv e a

y c*rs Jf/lOW

A d T ypsetter

V la d im ir Erem in

OFFTHE BOARD

P u b l is h e r

Mac for President

Chad R onalds

E l iz a b e t h P erle C o n t r ib u t o r s

Saud Aldawsari, Emily Barca,Tessa Blanchfield, Nora Coghlan, Kelly Daly, Pamela Filllion, Ezra Glinter, Riva Gold, Jamie Goodman, Conor Graham, Miriam Martz, Liz McLaughlin, Rich Tseng, Nour Kteily, Joanna Reznick, Paul Schwartzman, John Semley, Josh Stark, Ken Sun, Mike Vallo,Trip Yang, Julie Zhang, Dominique Zipper

T r ib u n e O f f ic e s

Editorial Shatner University Centre Suite 110,3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 1X9 T: 514398.6789 E: info@mcgilltribune.com

Advertising Brown Student Building Suite 1200,3600 McTavish Montreal, QC H3 A 1Y2 T: 514.398.6806 F: 514-398.7490

T

hose stupid Apple commercials are every­ where. If you haven't seen the black and white Warhol-esque ads of people danc­ ing in a faux-minimalist frenzy, the towers of cds exploding into pretentious, post-modern music mayhem or even the latest iPod glow-in-the-dark graffiti kick, you are missing out on one wild ride of counter-culture appropriation.

The Apple ads that have particularly caught m y eye, however, are the "Hi, I'm a Mac" series.

Oddly, this is not because John Hodgman, the PC, is the coolest man alive and makes me secretly convinced that if I bought a Mac I would not only be personally offending him, but also letting down The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, the entire liberal left and maybe John McCain.

I admit it; this Mac/PC business really has me perplexed. O n the one hand, Mac users are per­ ceived as a bunch of wimps w h o sit and eat bags of jellybeans while listening to Coldplay and work­ ing their'user-friendly"functions. But on the other hand, these computers are really, really shiny. So,

with such a conundrum set before me, I must ask myself one question: W ho has the best platform?

Everything changed afterY2 K. Now, it appears that Macs are the only computer you can trust to protect you (and your children) from invading vi­ ruses in this topsy-turvy, out-of-control, globalized cyberworld we live in. I mean, really, the ads make it very clear that Mac stands for a strong American value system and that they "Think Differently"from their competitors (but c'mon, read the instruction manual, everyone knows that male cables can only— and should only— fit into female jacks).

Apple understands that people don't want to see the inner-workings and nitty-gritty of their oh-so-complicated operating system. Mac users don't get to see what goes on behind the screen, and for a good reason: Apple doesn't want the system's decisions to be transparent because they don't want their users to screw everything up with their own stupidity. Let's be honest, people can't really be trusted to make the right decisions, much less run their own lives and if people can't

afford to buy the basic Applecare extended war­ ranty, well, that is not Mac's problem.

Th e main PC-based software giants, however, have been less innovative as of late— and are pret­ ty damn corrupt if you look at them closely— but at least you can access them on every inefficient, bloated level should you want to. While this allows you, the user, to potentially fuck a lot of shit up with them internally, it's no big deal; they will just overcharge the hell out of you until the problems are fixed.

What it comes dow n to is this: Everyone loves smear campaigns and flash (Adobe Flash!) more than a substantial agenda— which is where Apple is succeeding in its campaign and Microsoft is fail­ ing miserably. Yes, Mac may be a benevolent ad­ vertising dictatorship blitzing the American media left, right and centre, but at the end of the day, being able to buy both a lifestyle and a computer at the same time is pretty damn irresistible. Plus, everyone knows that the PC disks are too flip-flop­ py, anyway. ■

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 onlyto the Tribune. Submissionsjudged bytheTribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions.

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

x

8 •The McGill Tribune *11.10.06

Letters to the editor Butt out I'm so happy that McGill is enforc­ ing the new anti-smoking legislation by implementing new policies. It's about time that non-smokers had some rights around here. Non-smokers are sick of breathing in second-hand smoke everywhere we go. If people want to smoke, they should do it in places where they are not affecting anyone else's health.

I think what's even more shocking than smokers wanting rights to smoke in front of entranceways is that McGill students actual­ ly smoke in the first place. It's not like these students are from a generation that didn't know smoking was so bad for your health.

Theseareyoung,vibrant,intelligentpeople making the conscious decision to smoke cigarettes. Why? I can't thinkof one good rea­ son to smoke cigarettes, but I can think of a hundred reasons not to smoke. Any idiot knows that smoking causes cancer, heart disease, bad breath, stinky hair, yellow teeth and not to mention a shitload of litter all over the place. I always think to myself as I'm enjoying my lunch hour walking through McGill's campus— this would be the most beautiful campus minus the cigarette butts everywhere. I'm not trying to go all "after school speciaf'on your ass.. ..but really peo­ ple, get with it.

I have a friend w ho works in the cancer ward at one of the hospitals dow ntown and

she says that seeing a person suffering from a life of smoking is like seeing a "fish out of water."The bottom line is I don't think any of us want to spend the last years of our life literally gasping for air. That especially in­ cludes us non-smokers. Oh, and one more thing, stop throwing your fuckin' butts all over the place— it's ignorant and disgust­ ing!

— Nadine Lessard Admissions Counsellor G ive C lassics its due At the SSMU General Assembly, during the debate over the motion concerning cor­ porate presence at McGill, some speakers chose to use Classics as an example of an area of study which is under funded in fa­ vour of other, perhaps more profitable areas of study. There are a few things about this which are problematic. First, it seems rather disingenuous of these speakers to even bring up Classics in this debate. If they were truly concerned about funding for Clas­ sics, then they would have been at the first general assembly of the Classics Student Association (which was held on Monday, October 2 nd).

Furthermore, Classics does not re­ ceive funding in the amount that certain departments do because it is not a de­ partment. It is a programme of the His­ tory Department. Currently, there are

68 students w ho are pursuing an Honours, a Major, or a Minor in Classics. The Classics programme has, however, seen some growth in the past few years, with new professorships being created with focus on classical subjects. Some of the funding for Classics scholarships and prizes, though, comes from outside organisations and foundations. Would the supporters of the motion concerning corporate presence at McGill have these awards taken away from deserving students?

— Timothy Gorta Ü2 Classics FEU Q g ate exp lain e d As a due-paying mem ber of SSMU and a FEUQ executive, these past days have been difficult for me. I am disappointed that SSMU Council has initiated a needless referendum that is not in the best interests of McGill's students, based solely on the testimony of Jacob Itzkowitz, without ever giving me the opportunity to state m y case and defend myself against these utterly false accusations.

The "secretive meeting"at the centre of this scandal was a gathering of four SSMU members and one FEUQ executive to pre­ pare for the impending referendum on re­ newing SSMU's membership of FEUQ. The fee is only $2.50 per student per semester, which is a bargain when considering what

SSM U

FEUQ accomplishes. Given the personal conflicts that existed between SSMU execu­ tives and FEUQ last year, I did not want 10 risk SSMU Council endorsing a non-renewal out of spite.

At no point did we break any laws of SSMU or FEUQ. Itzkowitz was present at the meeting because he is a skilled campaign organizer w ho claimed to be in favour of renewing SSMU's membership in FEUQ. Clearly we were duped, as Itzkowitz has since spread false allegations that we plan to influence SSMU Council and attempt to prevent an affiliation with the Canadian Federation of Students. SSMU.Council does not have the ability to renew the FEUQ membership, so I fail to see what would motivate the FEUQ executive to attempt to influence it.

There is no reason we would wish to prevent SSMU from affiliating with CFS. In fact, the Concordia Student Union is a m em ­ ber of both federations and FEUQ has en­ couraged other student unions to join CFS. I call upon all parties involved to let cooler heads prevail. It is in the best interests of students at McGill and across Quebec that FEUQ and SSMU return to the productive and respectful working relationship that ex­ isted before this incident occurred.

— Trevor Hanna U3 Physics FEUQ VP Federal and International Affairs

ùuntes

a ll students t

H EM A Q U EB EC

T O W N H A IT DISCUSSIO N W ED N ESD A Y, O C T O B ER 6 : 0 0 PM

1 8 , 2 0 0 6

L E V B U K M A N C O U N C IL R O O M

HÉMA-QUÉBEC TH E SSMU IS CURRENTLY SEEKING A SPEAKER O F C O U N C IL A

ll

in t e re s t e d a p p lic a n t s s h o u l d

t h e ir C V a n d

c o v e r l e t t e r t o t h e . a t t e n t io n / o f A a r o r c V o n n y - C la r h a t :

PRESID EN T@SSM U.M CG ILL.CA

---- C ampus

CH ATTERBO X

'I j u s t e n r o lle d T r u m p

S IL H O U E T T E

in a b a s k e t b a ll le a g u e '

D u d e , w h e r e 's m y

Apprentice star discusses life with the biggest name in business

p a ssp o rt?

Ra c h el M

el n ik

Lee Bienstock, runner-up on the hit reality series,

The Apprentice, talks about New York, the corpo­ rate lifestyle and hanging out with Donald Trump.

Speaking at the hlillel House, the recent college grad and high-profile business guru tells McGill students about his rise to the top o f the Trump Towers.

You have quite a strong friendship with both Donald Trump and with Sean Yazbeck.

The final challenge was pretty intense. Do you think the age factor contributed to your loss?

It might have been an age factor; it might have been an experience factor. I didn't know it at the time, but I think they kept me around because I was a good TV character.... I'm man enough to admit that I should have been fired at [earlier] times. Maybe Trump wanted me to stick around because he thought I was stronger [on TV].

Did you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement when working for NBC? Could you say anything about Trump, be it good or bad?

anything bad about him I'd be gone. The list of things that I was not allowed to do was so long....

I couldn't talk about anything. After I got fired and re-hired, things became a little more lenient.

Is the show a farce? How well does it mir­ ror an actual business environment?

The show is not a farce.... I think it mirrors a business environment incredibly well. There is a tremendous game aspect to it [the business world], ... I probably learned more...my eight weeks there [on The Apprentice] than I learned at Cornell. You learn so much in every path: adver­ tising, marketing, strategy, sales.

Did your New York upbringing help you out on the show?

Absolutely. I don't know how anyone could have been op the show, not having grown up in New York.... I knew how to get around, I knew... where things were, I knew the markets. If we were in a college town, I knew who we were selling to.

If we were in more of an affluent area, I knew who our customers were there.

I now work for the man [laughs]. If I said

What do you do in your spare time?

Probably the same thing as you guys. Go out with my friends.

I play basketball. I just enrolled Trump in a basketball league. I like to read.

What do you think of Canada?

It's really nice here. ... Of course, I've only seen two blocks.

But from what.l see it's gorgeous. ... I've skied up in Mount Trem­ blant with friends.

On M yS pace, you men­ tion that one of your favorite TV shows is A m e ric a n Id o l. If the whole business-man thing doesn't work out for you, do you think you'd have a shot at pop stardom?

If I could sing.

What about D a n c in g w ith th e S tars, then?

That would be even worse.

I like television shows that are very competitive, but are a test of will. If someone on American Idol can just get up on stage like that and. sing, I have enormous respect for that. ■

nr* <

Tuesday

Monday

Wednesday

McGill international students unite J u l ie Z

hang

When you live in a city where most of the homeless people can beg for money in three different languages, you know it's inter­ national. Out of the 19,000 undergraduates at McGill, 3,660 of them are from outside of Canada. Encompassing over 4,000 students, including graduates and part-timers, the Mc­ Gill International Student Network is one of McGill's most valued student organizations.

MISN helps foreign students adjust to Mon­ treal's icicle-esque weather with activities that do not usually involve the high intellect associated with Frosh. Chinatown dinners, crêpe-making, movie nights and potlucks are only a few of the countless activities that the organization hosts.

MISN lives up to its name by encourag­ ing students to explore life outside of Mon­ treal. Each year, the club organizes trips to Quebec City, Boston and New York. But, don't worry; it's not all just fun and games. If you're looking for someone to teach you that other language they speak in Montreal besides English, or if you just want to meet a cute Italian guy or gal, MISN offers free language classes in a self-described "very, very laid back setting," And if learning isn't your thing, you can join in hopes of receiving a free down jacket from MISN's "winter coat program" in Janu­ ary! The MISN lounge is always full of friendly

international students, all carrying different legal passports.

The breakdown of MISN this year in­ cludes French, Chinese, Dutch and Danish members. According to MISN execs, the Ca­ nadian group has the hottest guys and girls.

One of the major issues that MISN deals with is the continuous rise in tuition for in­ ternational students. It seems that the costs are directly proportional to the difficulty of getting a job off campus; students on a study visa have to wait months to receive an offcampus work permit. Not only do interna­ tional students struggle with the job search, but most of them come to Montreal from non-English speaking countries.

"Internationals usually don't know any­ one," explains Claire-Marie Messier, U2 Phys­ ics, Vice-President Events. "The first weeks are usually pretty hard." It takes a larger effort on their part to fit in, to understand all the beaver jokes, to get used to the unbearable winters and to learn how to wrap scarves for maximum protection.

Each year, a new batch of students ar­ rives from around the globe.The Internation­ al Student Services office directs all of them to MISN— no wonder it's so huge. So if you're from the Great White North realize that you are definitely not alone and maybe see what suite 1100 in Shatner is all about. And if you are from Canada, damn you for your lower tuition rates. ■

PO D PEOPLE

Pop-ilicious: sex, drugs and teen y b o p p er m usic A ^ n ii^ n lA u m J A n r\A Aching to boogie rdown?

Need rsome infectious tunes for a work out at the gym?

Features has you covered. This is a list of "absolute pop" hits mixed with some clas­ sics like Madonna and Britney Spears. Re­ member, if friends make fun of you while. scrolling through your iPod, they're just jealous of your impeccable taste.

l.

Justin Timberlake:"Sexy Back" z Jessica Simpson: "You spin me round (Like a record)" 3.

Pussy Cat Dolls ft Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"

Friday

Thursday

h ^ r~\ " 1 1i r~\ Madonna: "Jump" Fergie :"Fergilicious" Beyonce:"Déja Vu" Britney Spears: "Toxic" Nelly Furtado: "Promiscuous girl" Paris Hilton ft. Wisin and Yandel: "Stars are blind" 10. Rihanna :"SOS" ii. Christina Aguilera:"Ain't no other man" 12. Amber: "Flying above the clouds"

a 4.

5.

6.

78.

9-

— Compiled by Saud Aldawsari

Saturday

Sunday

D Z

LU < u

CO 3 CL S

< u

9 Films that Transform: Bonjour! Shalom!

7 p.m. Arts Building Moyse Hall, Oct. 17

10

11

12

13!

14j

15

3rd Annual Faculty of Arts Internship Event 4-6 p.m. Leacock 232 v Oct. 17

19 21 17 20 16 18 Want to advertise in the Campus Calendar? For just atoonie you can advertise your event up to two weeks in advance.

Email calendar@mcgilltribune.com for more information, or drop by the Tribune office in Shatner no.

22

S tudent L iving

PO P CULTURE

h o w

-t o

O ld s c h o o l a d s

P ra n k y o u r ro o m m a te Bored? Entertain yourself by driving your best friend/worst enemy insane J o a n n a R e z n ic k You will encounter many challenges throughout your university experience: making decisions about your daunting major concentration, dealing with significantother problems, answering the question "to drink or not to drink" and of Course, facing the quintessential univer­ sity roommate dilemmas. For those in residence, random roommate placement can be wonderful or disastrous.

After first year, however, when you finally get to choose your own housing companions, these guys/girls often become either your siblings or worst enemies and some­ times they're both, depending on the day. Regardless of whether your roommate is nasty or your best friend, there is nothing wrong with plotting sweet housemate revenge every so often. I mean, just look at all those unwashed dishes in the sink.

Place said pamphlets (particularly the ones about STDs) around your roommate's bedroom. This is particularly ef­ fective if the parents are coming up to visit, or if he/she has a significant other who stays over every night to dis­ turb your precious, precious sleep.

Chicken à la radiator Put a slab of raw chicken in your roommate's radia­ tor. The smell will pervade their room for months before they're able to find it! Warning: this is a stupid idea if the bedroom is shared.

Bye bye birdie? Hello birdie!

For the roommate with an extreme fear of winged creatures, sprinkle birdseed on her windowsill. Not only will your roommate be roused by the chipper song of the early bird, but if her bed is near the window, she will come face-to-face with a mortal enemy.

Shampoo that's to dye for Messing with shampoo is always key, especially if your roommate is of the female gender. Semi-permanent hair dye can be purchased at any drug store and strategically added to your roommate's shampoo. A personal favourite: black hair dye for the blonde roommate.

Inch by inch Got a roommate with Obsessive Compulsive Dis­ order? Use it to your advantage! Drive him/her crazy by shifting the furniture by a mere inch everyday; they'll think the room is slowly closing in on them. Note: also works for roommates with claustrophobia.

Stay healthy!

Feign sickness one day and take a trip to the health­ care centre... you won't be sorry! Within the walls of the Brovvn Building are a number of pamphlets on sexual identity, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Outdated commerical jingles stick in your head C

h a r l ie

B lo r e

Though now on the decline, the jingle was once king of the marketing tools, effectively sneaking into your everyday subconscious. But rest assured— the scars of those days remain, buried deep within your psyche. So without fur­ ther ado, sit back, turn on the mental television and take a tour of the marketing graveyard in your mind.

10 . SpaghettiOs -"U h Oh, SpaghettiOs!" What was so effective about those three little words put to music? Hard to say, but in the battle with Chef Boyardee this may have tipped the scales.

9 . Sugar Crisp - "Can't get enough of that Sugar Crisp."

Breakfast cereals have always been giants in the jingle department. Post hit a home run in this 1973 campaign. Bonus points go to this jingle for being referenced in a Simpsons epidode.

8 . Mazda - "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom."

Now you're probably thinking two things: first, I want to throttle that kid and second, that's not a goddamn jingle. But go back and-think about the ad, get past the kid with the big ears and the blazer and you will remember the word "zoom" is continually repeated over what sounds like an African tribal drum. This is one of those annoying jingles you just can't unlearn.

Flygiene intervention 7 . Tim Horton's - "Always fresh at Tim Hortons."

Is your roomie preoccupied with the size of his/her pores? Add rubbing alcohol to her bottle of facial toner and watch the breakouts begin. ■

Though catchy as hell, the real strength of this ad was that it under­ lined the key difference between the franchise and rival Dunkin Donuts: the freshness of its donuts. Only time will tell how far this tune can carry the emerging coffee and donut giant, as this campaign is still in circulation.

A W O RLD W IT H O U T

The country music, the truck driving over boulders that no sane person would ever attempt to surmount in a car...what's not to love? From its 1991 debut until its death at the hands of "An American Revolution," this little ditty reached well beyond the cowboy market and crossed over into the main­ stream.

B O R D ER S

5 . Zest -

"You're not fully clean unless you're Zestfully clean."

N EED S A

This probably wasn't the most creative jingle, but really, it doesn't take much to sell a person on one brand of soap over another. Sure enough, Zest experienced a spike in sales in the late 8o's and early 90's thanks to this gem.

G R A D U A TE

4 . Campbell's Soup -"mmm, mmm, good."

The soothing motherly voice that sings those three words really hammers home the message: it's warm, it's tasty, and when you can't afford real food, soup is your friend.

PRO GRAM

3 . Folgers - "The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup."

Sometimes you don't realize how good an ad campaign is until the next one comes along. Anyone who's seen the latest offering from the Folgers mar­ keting team knows what I'm talking about. "Tolerate mornings" is about as weak of an endorsement as you'll ever find, and the bizarre yellow circus-freaks that accost people as they wake-up don't help Folgers'cause at all. Bring back the best part of waking up!

W IT H O U T B O R D ER S MEET A YORK REPRESENTATIVE OCTOBER 18 1 2 :3 0 -2 :3 0 P M BROWN STUDENT S ER V IC ES BUILDING

2 . Raisin Bran - "Two scoops of raisins, in Kellogg's Raisin Bran."

It's wheat bran and raisins, Obviously, they had to do something drastic if they were going to promote this product. Using the catchiest jingle listed, Raisin Bran distinguished itself from a slew of com­ petitors in the ferocious raisin-cereal market.

Welcome to the interdisciplinary university.

York University’s graduate programs bring together thinkers from every discipline to tackie real world issues. At York, students and faculty are engaged in innovative research across 44 Masters and Doctoral programs. That and more is what makes York the inspired choice for graduate studies.

For more information visit www.yorku.ca/graduatestudents

1. McDonald's - "Bada Bap Bap Ba, I'm Lovin’ It." This

Y ORK umvus i i f ü

n

i

ï

u

r e d e f in e

s

i

i

t h e

y

IL

P O S S IB L E .

is a first-class,

modern

day jingle.

Launched in 2003, the tune was the centrepiece of a worldwide campaign targeted specifically at 15 to 24 year-olds. The fact that McDonald's would enlist a pop superstar like Justin Timberlake to sing seven words should tell you all you need to know about the power of the jingle. Today the campaign lives on in 15 different languages. ■

PO P CULTURE

WURZWEILER SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK PRESENTS

T o q u ie ro * T a c o B ell, y tü ?'

Watching televisian^ftee vintage ads priceless I f A dam S mith If you were like most kids, you probably spent substantial parts of your childhood in front of the TV watching many hours of fine pro­ gramming, which could have only done wonders to enhance your in­ telligence. A lot of this quality enter­ tainment was brought to us free of charge, thanks to the miracle of ad­ vertising.

Advertising is a wonderful thing.

Not only does it inform us about new products and remind us of ones that already exist, it also has the ability to delight and amuse us. Occasionally, this is because the ads are great, but probably just as often it's because they're so bad they're good.

Let's take a trip down memory lane to remember a few of those clas­ sics. Since most of you will probably be in the 18 to 25 range, well focus mainly on the gems from the 1990s.

Let's start with some Pepsi ads.

. In its never-ending battle to dethrone Coca-Cola as the king of the carbon­ ated beverage heap, Pepsi, spends lavishly on advertising, particularly at the. Super Bowl. During the nineties, Pepsi made a whole series of ads in­ volving duelling Coke and Pepsi de­ liverymen. in the first ad, they tasted each other's drinks. The Pepsi guy gave back the Coke after he had a sip, but the Coke guy liked the Pepsi so much that he wouldn't let it go. Hi­ larity ensued. In subsequent ads, the Coke deliveryman would plot to steal Pepsi, but would always fail spectacu­ larly in Wile E. Coyote fashion.

As much fun as blue-collar guys can be, sometimes using celebrities can be more effective. American Ex­ press hired comedian -Jerry Seinfeld to do a very funny series of ads in the late nineties in which he played an unbelievably happy American

W

Express cardholder. Seinfeld did a good job, but the ads were also a fun mockery of advertisers' traditionally over-the-top portrayal of how happy the products they're shilling will make you. American Express revived the concept a number of years later by having Seinfeld make a few long ads that were only posted on its Web site.

Some pitchmen become celeb­ rities by virtue of appearing in leg­ endary advertisements; for instance, who can forget the Taco Bell chihua­ hua? Canada's equivalent of the Taco Bell chihuahua would have to be Molson's Joe Canadian. If you hap­ pened to be out of the country or in a coma during the height of Molson's I am Canadian ad campaign, Joe was supposedly a typical Canadian guy whose patriotic rant began with “I'm not a lumberjack or a fur trader" and proceeded to debunk many Ameri­ can stereotypes of Canadians. The ad was a huge success and to this day, the guy who played Joe can still get a standing ovation when he stands up and does that rant in front of an audience.

Unfortunately, not all ads are good; some just plain suck. This cat­ egory is where you would find such gems as Budweiser's three frogs who croaked "Bud," “weis" and "er" for 30 seconds and Volkswagen's annoying commercial for its Golf that featured the eighties song "Da da da" as back­ ground music.

Of course, there are still a num­ ber of other classic ad campaigns that didn't get a full mention here, such as MasterCard's Priceless and Canada's Heritage Moments series. These nine­ ties vintage television ads provided hours of entertainment and for better or worse, ingrained themselves into society's collective conscience. ■

C A T A S T R O P H IC EV EN TS: T H E C H A LLEN G ES O F W O R K IN G W IT H P E O P L E IN C R IS IS

T u esd ay , O c to b e r 2 4 th , 2 0 0 6 7 :0 0

p .m . to

9 :0 0

F e d e r a tio n

p .m . a t:

C JA

G e lb e r g C o n fe r e n c e H a ll 5 1 5 1

R u e C o te S te . C a th e r in e M o n tr e a l, Q u e b e c

Dr. Jay Sweifach and Dr. Heidi Heft LaPorte, Assistant Professors at Wurzweiler School o f Social Work at Yeshiva University, have published and presented extensively on catastrophic events. They will discuss the impact of terrorism, SARS, and Hurricane Katrina on social work practice, highlighting ethical dilemmas in service delivery. Dramatizations, using case vignettes, will be presentedCelebrating its 50th anniversary, Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University has earned a narional and international reputation for its flexible study plans, dedicated faculty, and diverse student body. Over 250 Canadians have graduated from Wurzweiler’s MSW program. Our Block Program offers Canadian and other out-of-town students the opportunity

Budweiser finally had enough of these beer-guzzling froggies.

S tu d y M E D IC IN E in

E urope (|F)

w w w .n ie d ie a l-s o h o o l.c a

F e e l i n g

Please join us for this special lecture, followed by an informational session on Wurzweiler School

SEXY?

o f Social Work and our programs. R.S.V.P. wsswadmissions@yu.edu or call (212) 960-0810.

For more information about Wurzweiler, visit www.yu.edu/wurzweiter

C O M E W R IT E

FO R

FEA TU R ES! M E E T IN G :

caiiadittiii@ n ied ical-sch ool.ca

to attend classes in June and July in New York City, with fieldwork from September to Mid-May in their home towns.

T u e s d a y 5 :3 0 p.m .

A T G E R T 'S

Yeshiva University B R I N G

W I S D O M

©2006YeshivaUniversity.

T O

LI P

E™*

F

E A T U R E S

Is y o u r f a c e w o rth y of

Facebook ? Anting

R achel M elnik Think you're on Facebook to socialize?

Think again. With over 20,000 new members registering daily for the infamous friendship network, Facebook is known, first and foremost, as an efficient tool for the communicating masses. While eager stalkers interact via notes, poking and wall writing, they are also tuning into something much larger and essentially much vainer: themselves.

Undeniably, we value Facebook as a social networking service, but just as much, we use the Web site as a form of self-promotion, a can­ vas for self-advertisement, if you will.

This might come as a shock, but it's true.

If you have given yourself over to the virtual world of Facebook, you've turned yourself into a marketable product to be advertised, distrib­ uted and eventually sold. On Facebook, your profile— the image of yourself that you have created— communicates and delivers a partic­ ular message to a target audience; that is any one of the "friends" who stumbles across it.

"People use their profiles to cater to the crowd that they want," asserts Kinnery Naik, U2 Hispanic Languages and Literature and avid Facebook user. The marketing world has a formal, albeit simple, name for this behavior: "promotion."The ability to advertise oneself to a specific crowd is a marketing skill mastered by many Facebook addicts. The photos you post, the groups you belong to, the postings on your wall and even the personal details that you list all project a distinct image to everyone with access to your profile. And you thought that you were simply listing off your favourite movies.

In advertising, especially on the Internet, visual aspects stand out the most. "I notice the Do self-promoting college students confuse picture in the profile first,” says Eric Mutter, U2 themselves with limelight-seeking celebs à Biochemistry, who, despite a friend count of

about 150, claims that he "isn't into the whole Facebook thing." Mutter admits, however that people on Facebook "get judged by their pic­ tures." Well, who doesn't? When users know their face is going to be viewed by poten­ tial fans and/or stalkers, of course they want to— literally— put their best face forward. "I had a friend take off 75 per cent of the pho­ tos because she thought that she wasn't pretty enough," informs Lisa Santry, U1 Anatomy and Cell Biology.

With the "tag" feature, Facebook members have the ability to manipulate their public image. "I don't like it when my girlfriend sees me in pictures with other random chicks," says one loyal boyfriend, who, for the sake of his be­ loved, wishes to remain anonymous. "I usually take those photos off the site."

Once you post on Facebook, the "demand" for yourself, (socio) economically speaking, increases. "Sometimes you'll randomly meet people on the street, and they'll 'Facebook'you out," says Vikram Jayaraman, Masters Engineer­ ing. "I mean, I was totally flattered that the girl was hitting on me like that, but still, I hardly knew her!"

If people "Facebook you out," you know that you're a hot commodity; you've effectively created, communicated and delivered value onto yourself— a 'must-have' product out on the market. "I once got a date off of Facebook" exclaims Lopamudra Das, U3 Microbiology, who claims that she likes to convey herself as "a creature of mystery" in her profile.

Nearly every member on the site has en­ countered a form of "Facebook Disorientation,” in which a person cannot live up to his or her profile. It's sort of like a Diet Coke campaign, no matter how much the product is advertised as authentic, it never quite matches up to the real thing. Francesco Mariani, U2 Italian Studies, describes the Facebook profilé as a sort of well

photo-shopped magazine ad. "Facebook is a way to idealize yourself," says Mariani. "You can delete all of your flaws." An online profile can hide the fact that you're 20 pounds overweight and socially awkward.

Take, for example, an imaginary student by the name of Jane McGill. When you click on Jane's profile, you see a photo of a reason­ ably attractive female at a bar with a few of her reasonably attractive friends. If you find this in­ triguing, you can opt to see Jane in 220 more variations of the same photo; Jane at a bar, Jane on vacation, Jane dressed up as Marge Simpson on Halloween. Translation: Jane is a fun-loving social creature who appreciates The Simpsons. Wouldn't you want to meet Jane? If so, Jane is, knowingly or unknowingly, an ex­ pert at self-advertising.

In our society, advertising oneself has de­ veloped into an art form as well as an industry.

Open up any issue of People, Us Weekly, or even Newsweek and you'll find a plethora of celebri­ ties posing for the camera, assaulting readers with the constantly changing images of their attractive selves. Why shouldn't college stu­ dents do the same?

With News Feed, the latest addition to the high-tech stalking site, Facebookers can liter­ ally transform their daily activities into some­ thing similar to People's "Star Tracks." If you're curious-or even if you're not-News Feed will tell you that Jane McGill is attending Joe Mc­ Gill's 21st Birthday Extravaganza and that Joe McGill changed his status from "in a relation­ ship" to "single" at precisely 10:16 p.m.

While the stars generally try to keep the stalking paparazzi away from their personal lives, Facebook members transform themselves into, well, an open book. The site is, as Mariani puts it, "a willing invasion of one's privacy." But that's just a small price to pSy for those who have their own Facebook Fan Club. ■

la Nicole Richie?

M oney m a k e s the w orld go ‘round

^ INSIDER’S SCOOP

McGill’s donors imprint their names across campus C onor G raham Private donations constitute a bulk source of income for most post-secondary institutions. McGill is no different. In 20042005, total private funding for McGill was just over $55-million dollars. This may seem like a large number, but keep in mind that it's just under $1,700 per student and with tuition covering a minor portion of total university costs, gifts are a very necessary part of the income. And while McGill en­ forces a no-strings-attached policy on the donations it accepts, the university uses a variety of strategies to solicit much-needed dough.

Giving until it hurts Very little of the total buildings and land of McGill were purchased by the uni­ versity itself. In 1925, Lady Roddick donated the front gates that are now a quintessen­ tial McGill symbol.The most interesting and, some would argue, best gift to McGill, came from Commander Carlyon Bellairs in 1954 when he left his beach-front estate in Bar­ bados to the university.The Ballairs Institute is now Canada's only teaching and research

facility operating in the tropics.

Traditionally, McGill has had several pro­

grams in place to collect private donations.

The first of these programs, the Twenty-First Century Fund, raised over $205-million for McGill programs. Another program is the McGill Student Phonathon Program, which is run by the Alumni Association. While the Phonathon achieves excellent results with approximately $8-million collected annual­ ly, McGill walks a fine line between tasteful inquiry and blatant solicitation when con­ tacting alumni.

Please sir, I want some more...

The active pursuit of alumni donations is a thorny issue. On one hand, the universi­ ty needs funding. On the other hand, there is always some pressure associated with soliciting. In the case of the Phonathon, the explanation is that the students are calling to make sure information about the alum is up to date. Whether the phonathon uses this as a guise to its real objectives, or if the request for funds actually is a coincidental thing that happens in a normal conversa­ tion, the pressure to give is still there.

Mallory Dash, U3 Political Science, who currently works at the call center, explains one of the methods used to relieve the do­ nation pressure on the alums. "Whenever the Phonathon calls people, we do ask for a

certain amount to start out but it is always up to the grad himself. We take any sort of donation because really anything helps the university." Any donation is appreciated, but the students will always push, albeit gen­ tly, for a higher donation. "There is a lot of pressure involved with calling up complete strangers and asking for a lot of money, but you would be surprised at the amount of graduates who do feel like helping their alma mater out... people do tend to look back on their time at McGill fondly and give accordingly.”

One of the most questionable tactics used by McGill and many other organiza­ tions is the concept of special treatment for those who donate more. This is where ethical questions come into play. Special treatment can be a decisive factor when choosing to make a donation, especially if the reward is something like an invitation to the Chancellor's Dinner; an event, that only a large donation to McGill can get you into. Whether they are thinking of it or not, benefactors, just like all other people, are constantly wanting to be part of an exclu­ sive group. The solution to the question of generosity vs. ego? Donate anonymously.

Or, at the very least, decline to have your name published in the donations report. ■

C a s h in g in Advertising in bathroom stalls across campus R iva G old Generally speaking, the average student goes to the bathroom with one or two specific goals in mind; one of which is not to select a new social ac­ tion group to join. Or is it? Washroom stalls across campus are becoming increasingly more cluttered with advertisements ranging from club meetings to Vonage telephone service. It's a frightening trend that's creeping up and it is more than just awkward: it's pointless, invasive and simply inefficient.

Saunter into the washroom in the basement of Leacock across from the Arts Lounge and one will find a plethora of papers competing for attention. At the forefront of this race is a proactive French tutor.

While she'll “listen to your specific needs," she makes no promise to meet them. Amazingly, dozens of cop­ ies of her contacts have been taken.

Then there are the science and engineering

J) 11.10.06 • The McGill Tribune • 13

C itiz e n s of the w orld T h is a rtic le is a b o u t S E X !

MARKETING STRATEGY REVEALED!

See... sex sells. Or does it?

T erri A lderfer Let's be honest - the only rea­ son you are reading this article right now is because you were drawn in by its promise of some juicy sexual content, as was (perhaps not so dis­ creetly) advertised in the headline.

You may not consider your­ self to be someone with a particu­ larly hyperactive sex drive, yet you seem to always be attracted to the news stories, television shows and product ads that allude to sex in one form or another. Don't worry, there's no need to check yourself into rehab for sex addiction, you're just one of billions of consumers that advertising agencies seek to capture in their web of ad cam­ paigns in an effort to exchange sex appeal for dollars.

In fact, howfaryou get in read­ ing this article will actually help to determine the effect that sex in the media has on consumers - if you have already stopped reading, it is obvious that sex does not in fact sell, as the popular idiom goes, but merely attracts fleeting attention. If, however, you read the majority of it, the promise of sex has done its job in selling this newspaper to you (figuratively speaking, of course).

In one form or another, sex is used to sell just about everything, from underwear and sports cars to deodorant and even real estate. It is obvious that sex attracts the at­ tention of consumers, but what is unclear is whether this interest actually generates sales, or has the opposite effect of focusing so much on sex appeal that the actual product is soon forgotten.

In most cases, advertisers use a simple, quasi-mathematical for­

mula to get you to buy their prod­ uct: You, the consumer are sitting at point A. Sex, the ultimate goal, is sitting at point C .Th e product in question - say, Calvin Klein under­ wear - is marketed as the point B that, if purchased, will get you to point C. Capichel

Whether consumers buy into this logic depends on a number of factors, according to a study con­ ducted for McGill Professor Ashesh Mukherjee's Consumer Behavior course in 2003 by Nadine Djoury, Niki Do, Karine Doche, David Malan and Eric Reyes. The study found that sexual advertisements produce positive responses from consumers when they are relevant to the product in question. "Sexual advertisements for perfume are better received than sexual adver­ tisements for vacuum cleaners," the report states.

The study also showed that males, in general, "respond better to sexual ads than females" and that "Europe is more accepting of these [sexual] ads compared to North America."

Mukherjee supports these findings, yet expresses a few reser­ vations about using sex as a mar­ keting tool. He warns that the sex­ ual content of the ad can't be "so interesting that you overlook the brand name" and "if it's in bad taste or inconsistent with cultural norms, then people will have a negative reaction, which can transfer to the brand."

Seriously guys, how many times have you seen a beer com­ mercial with scantily clad, gor­ geous wom en in short-shorts, se­

ductively washing sports-cars on a golf course and 30 seconds later forgotten whether the ad was for Budweiser, BMW or Callaway?

Unilever's sexually-charged Axe Deodorant ad campaign, how­ ever, has attracted consumers with the promise of instant physical at­ tention from hot women and man­ aged to hold this attraction long enough to become the numberone-selling deodorant in the US, after just four years on the market.

In Unilever's most most recent commercial for Clix fragrance, even the skinny, quirky elevator opera­ tor received more female attention than heartthrob Nick Lachey at the end of the day, because he wore the yummy deodorant and Lachey did not. As a man, how can you not go buy this stuff?

It's clear that when somewhat relevant and appropriate, sex does indeed sell. To what new low have we stooped, though, when show­ ing a little skin is the only way to beat out your competitors for mar­ ket share?

More sex in advertising does not necessarily mean less cultural sophistication, says Communica­ tions Professor Jasmine Rault. "I think what's needed is more and better representations of sex... not less sex, so much as different sex," she says. Rault explains that a great­ er diversity of sexual orientations need to be explored by marketers and that sexual power in the media should be used in a constructive, rather than destructive way.

So if you made it all the way to the last line of this article, con­ gratulations! You're an advertiser's dream. ■

o n ‘a w k w a r d ’ m o m e n t s

buildings. Wong Chemical Engineering and Otto MAASS Chemistry's washrooms contain ads for SACOMSS, Helpline, Walksafe and McGill Nightline. But really, is anyone ever going to be sitting on a toilet thinking, "let me jot these numbers down" while pro­ ceeding to pull a pen out of his or her derrière? The same door has an ad about resisting privatization.

Never has a more ironic choice of words ever invaded a washroom stall.

The Shulich Science and Engineering Library does not have any ads in its johns. Maybe the adver­ tisers pity the poor overworked science students and realize they don't have time to read.

Sherbrooke 688, the building where languages are imprinted into the brain, also has some washroom issues. There aren't that many ads, but on one floor, each stall has a bold-print, bilingual sign reminding patrons to flush the toilet. These signs are also illus­

trated with a picture of a bear on a potty - in case the message isn't clear. Yet, the toilets remain unflushedan accident or a silent protest of bilingualism?

There are also posters encouraging social action.

Picture it: eager young students see the ad, and think "ah yes, now I'll change the world" and join their po­ litical peers to promote justice. Imagine the following awkward conversation between the leaders of the organization and the new members: Exec: "What in­ spired you?" Aspiring activists: "We saw an ad on the toilet." Exec:"Oh." Last but not least: James Administration's classy third-floor, single-stall, wheelchair-accessible wash­ room contains nothing more than a sign that reminds patrons to lock the door to avoid "awkward moments."

Thank you, administration. You have once again prov­ en your advice to be invaluable to the students you serve. ■

a p p re c ia te C o ke Coca-Cola masters the art of international advertising

M

eghna

M

a r ja d i

"Tadpole biting the wax." Not really an appetizing name for the sweet fizzy drink known as Coca-Cola, which is ex­ actly w hy the Atlanta, Georgia soft drink giant spent loads of money research­ ing a new name for Coke in China, one that would mean 'tasty and amusing."

Although "tasty" to North American populations, greasy burgers and chick­ en nuggets were not the ideal food to sell to the largely vegetarian population in India, so McDonald's catered to the public with a menu full of spicier dishes with less meat.

Unlike McDonald's, Coca-Cola has been able to find international mar­ kets without changing anything about the product itself. Coca-Cola's global success lies in the company's ability to create a flawless marketing campaign that molds to each different country, fit­ ting its culture like a glove. The newest Coke commercial in India, for example, features the Brad Pitt of India scarfing down a plate of unbearably spicy samosas, calling out for Coke and refus­ ing water while sweat runs down his tomato red face.

Chinese Coke commercials, on the other hand, are extremely flashy, featur­ ing a pair of male and female singers.

"They get people's attention," says Lor­ raine Wong, a McGill student from Hong Kong. Here in North America, Coke is advertised with the famous polar bear commercials and a slogan that en­ graves the brand name in the consum­ ers' minds: "Coca-Cola— Always."

When asked about the ads for Coke in her country, Panama, Denise smiled and replied,“I cannot remember, but they are always the best." Coke ads expertly cater to their target audience.

"What you do is take an idea and root in a cultural circumstance," says Professor Karl Moore of the Desautel's Faculty of Management.

By constructing customized Web sites for each and every country where it sells products, Coca-Cola has created an interactive wavelength through which customers can be more connect­ ed to the magical black fizz. The Chi­ nese Web site is flashy and advertises the latest gizmos and gadgets, ideally suited to a technology-loving culture.

European and Latin American Web sites have special links to football stats and

online games, so that football aficiona­ dos can check on the English Premiere league while drinking an ice cold Coke.

The Indian Web site has information on both current Bollywood blockbusters and cricket scores, appealing to a gen­ eration of young movie goers and older cricket watchers alike.

Coke, therefore, is a cultural symbol as well as a sugary soft drink. In India, the images of Coca-Cola and spicy food are inseparable. Meanwhile, in North America, Coke is "classic." Around Christmastime, people keep an eye out for the Santa Claus bottles, and the penguin ads, which are appealing be­ cause they are fantastical. What could be better than a relaxing sip of Coke in the midst of pre-holiday stress? Coke ads are so successful because they em ­ body the art of advertising at its finest; no matter what country you live in, the stuff in the red can has the capacity to make you smile.

The only problem with Coke's mar­ keting plans may be that people are not "region specific" anymore. With a world that is becoming smaller and smaller as each plane takes off at the airport and each email is sent half way across the world, global marketing is inevitable and much more cost efficient. But will the whole world eventually see the same commercials? Probably not.

"We are seeing more Indian faces in commercials in India, more Chinese faces in commercials in China," says Moore. W hy this change in the face of globalization? People, he says, are be­ coming "winged and rooted and multi­ cultural. As people become more global they are also becoming more local."

Coca-Cola has a plan to take the multicultural world by storm, globalize and yet somehow stay "local." There is only one slogan for the world, but there are unique commercials and Web sites that will continue to suit the cultures they serve. Coke's new slogan is "the Coke Side of Life," a global marketing effort asserting that life from "the Coke side' is more optimistic. "Coke is selling emotions," claims Moore.

Indeed, Coke is selling happiness in a bottle— the cure for all of life's problems. The execs at Coca-Cola have made a golden lifestyle out of carbon­ ated water, corn syrup and a little bit of artificial flavouring. ■

A rts & E ntertainm ent t e l e v is io n

P u t t in g C a n a d a b a c k o n t h e t e le v is io n m a p CBC's latest crime series addresses multiculturalism and moral foibles The Tribune spoke with Haddock and Scott last week about the new series.

B en L emieux Tuesday evening saw the debut of CBC's latest prime time original broadcast, the brainchild of Chris Haddock, nationally revered creator of decade-spanning Canadian success Da Vinci's Inquest. His new series, Intelligence, examines a new facet of West Coast criminality, this time turning the camera towards the per­ petrators rather than the victims and investigators. Ian Traceybest known for his work in the Canadian-produced film Milgaard and as Detective Mick Leary on Da Vinci's Inquest-portrays Jimmy Reardon, a third-generation crime boss and one of the major players on West Coast organized crime scene. During the advent of a burgeoning feud between his drug network and an increas­ ingly hostile biker gang looking to take over local trafficking, Reardon's life is made even more complicated when Vancouver's Organized Crime Unit falls under new management. Freshly-ap­ pointed director Mary Spalding (Klea Scott o f Collateral) presents OCU with a risky governing style, adopting Reardon as a star in­ formant, using him to pin other local undesirables while allowing him to continue his operations under the police's freshly blinded eyes.

Tribune: How did the concept for the series come about?

Chris Haddock: I'd talked to the CBC while I was still making Da Vinci and they had talked to me about if eventually Da Vinci might come to an end, I should start thinking about what kind of thing I might be able to replace it with. I wanted to work with Ian, and I said if anything, I wanted to develop a vehicle for Ian Tracey.

Some years ago, kind of between seasons, I had written a small movie idea and that was where the genesis began. [It was] about a smuggler, a third-generation, West Coast smuggler, and that script never went anywhere but I got me to thinking about the character for this and the family background he might have.

T: What made Ian Tracey ideal for this role, either in terms of physicality or the method behind his performance?

CH: Ian is a very graceful, athletic guy. He really is one of those, people who you can see very comfortably on a fish boat or chopping down a tree. And that's part of the character that I wanted: that West Coast, outlaw kind of feel. But as an actor, he's got a remarkable ability to attract empathy, he can come across as a very sympathetic character. And this character was going to be a bad guy, in terms of being a drug smuggler, and I knew he would make it an attractive and interesting character, and put people on a little bit of a tilt, because here we have a good guy playing a bad guy.

T: In recent years, there's been a rash of shows with a lot of stylistic and thematic parallels to this one. What do you think having a uniquely Canadian perspective and working with a Canadian crew add to the picture?

Klea Scott— challenging the hetero status quo Vancouver's Organized Crime Unit.

in

From the onset of this narrative, Haddock and his leads pres­ ent audiences with ethical challenges and conundrums seldom explored on prime time fiction television. At what point is it ac­ ceptable for lawmakers and enforcers to table morality (in abso­ lutist terms) in order to pursue more utilitarian-and occasionally opportunistic-ends? Can government structures be as counter­ intuitive and corrupt as some criminal organizations?

■

y

Klea Scott: Mostly that it's literally never been done. Every­ thing that you're familiar with in terms of crime procedural or government espionage programs, 24 or CSI or NYPD Blue, they are American. Simply by casting solely Canadian actors you're going to have a different sensibility, just in terms of dialect. We're not acting American and we're not trying to make Vancouver look like New York City. I don't think it's ever been explored really, Ca­ nadian government and how they deal with some of the global issues. You just get inundated with American media and what the Bush administration is doing. The characters [in Intelligence] are fascinating, they're complex and flawed and we a look like a reflection of the country's demographics. When I see Ameri­ can TV, it doesn't look like people who actually live in the States.

On every ensemble show you'll have no people and maybe you'll have one Black character. I think of Chris as a feminist in his writ­ ing and I don't think we've seen a Black Canadian woman leading

Tracey— putting a twist on conventional criminality. a bureaucratic law-enforcement agency like this.

T: It goes without saying women are underrepresented as CEOs or in government. Is this demographic imbalance some­ thing you took into consideration while building the charac­ ter?

KS: Well, I think it just plays naturally. I think that if you saw a woman of colour running this kind of agency, right away you'd have to attribute certain strengths: persistence, perseverance, a thick skin or excellent track record. I feel that when women do achieve these top positions, they have to be twice as excellent as a man. I love Mary because she's really unapologetic about her strength. Chris doesn't write her with a soft shell or have her pull any punches because she's a woman and the audiences won't like her because she's too strong and comes off bitchy, which is something I've heard quite often. Even my sister-in-law, she watched she show and commented, "I really didn't like you," and I found that interesting because I think the character scares people. I think that some people will feel really threatened by this character that Chris and I have created.

T: Your show speaks volumes on the duality of human be­ ings. Was this one of your primary springboards while writing the series?

CH: It's just the way I approach characters. People are many things and they have conflicting desires within themselves. All people do. It's just really finding that conflict and displaying it; that's where you get a juicy entry into the character. ■ Intelligence airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC television.

T A R G E T D E C O N S T R U C T IO N

Clix This!

T essa B lanchfield here is an excellent, clever and effective commercial in­ vading our airwaves, and it drives me freakin'crazy. Uni­ lever, the maker of Axe deodorant spray, has hired exNewlywed Nick Lachey as their flirtatious, dimpled spokes­ man for its new fragrance, Clix. For 43 seconds, Lachey walks around town, going about his mundane activities: grabbing a cup of coffee, picking up his laundry and shopping at design­ er stores. At every location beautiful women give him the eye (you know what I'm talking about) and for every come-hither gaze directed his way, Lachey "clix" his hand-held counter, tal­ lying his sex-appeal.

Now, it might be worth pointing out that when Axe de­ odorant was originally released in South Africa, it was named "Ego," with the tagline, "Get a girlfriend." Throughout its 32year history, the Axe marketing team has convinced millions worldwide that this deodorant will in fact help a geeky-looking guy get a girlfriend. And maybe it has. I've smelled the product, and while I was not instantaneously overcome with uncontrollable lust, I wasn't particularly repulsed by it either.

However, unless Axe bottles pheromones (though... who's

T

to say it doesn't), there is no way that I would ever give Nick Lachey the sex-eye.

He's just too smug. He is the manifestation of Ego, and maybe that is why he's perfect for the job. Every time his manicured thumb clicks his counter, I cringe. He is con­ ventionally hot and he knows it. Men want to be him and women (and certainly many men) want to do him. Or at least they should, according to the commercial. But honestly, what kind of modern-day female sits outside a coffee shop and se­ ductively licks her finger every time a tomcat saunters by? A whore, that's who!

In Nick Lachey's world, however, this animalistic display of attraction is not only expected, but it happens over 100 times a day! Yet Axe's atonement is swift, and this is where the clever part of the commercial kicks in. Nick, so proud of his "accomplishments" (wow, you can click a button on some daft fucking device), shows his high score to an unassuming, slightly gangly hotel employee. This Average Joe - that’s all of you guys who aren't named Nick Lachey - counters by re­ vealing that he clicked over 2,000 times that day. Hooray for

the Morlock!

Of course, this is only possible because he sprayed Axe's new deodorant, Clix, upon his skinny, unimpressive body ear­ lier that day, thus releasing the mojo-enhancing powers of the concentrated fragrance. And after 43 seconds of watch­ ing an inflated ego strut his stuff, it was refreshing to see the underdog win the proverbial pissing contest. But I was still put off from seeing such a display of arrogance and unde­ served airs. Lachey could be the hottest, sexiest man alive, but l,am too blinded by his vacuous cockiness to see it.

And thus I have discovered what it is that really makes men attractive: it is the lack of a clicker. Naturally, women will fantasize about an extremely attractive man, with a great body, good hair, soft eyes and maybe even a couple dimples, but they never dream of a cocksure attitude or of a conceited jackass. Women want gorgeous men who don't know that they are gorgeous. Humble hotties are a rare find, and girls, if you have one, don't let him g o ... and don't let him buy Clix for that matter eitTier. The last thing you want is your man clicking about town. ■

11.10.06 •The McGill Tribune • 15 M U S IC

P re v ie w s

B y r n in ' d o w n t h e s t a le r e c o r d in d u s t r y h o u s e The esoteric David Byrne steps inside Schulich, challenges corporate mentality J o h n S em ley

as a musician as well as a producer - he founded his own world music label christened Luaka Bop - Byrne stressed that due to the rise in digi­ tal home-recording as well as online music outlets such as iTunes, "things are changing really quickly and the record companies need to adapt."

Studying and an urgent need to pick up dry-cleaning in time for Thanksgiving may have deterred many from attending this year's Fu­ ture of Music Policy Summit, held for the first time away from its birthplace of Washington D.C., in McGill's own Schulich School of Music.

However, no classes were im­ portant enough, nor pants dirty enough, to excuse one from missing Talking Heads front­ man and nerd-rock icon David Byrne's keynote address.

The man could have been speaking on the socio-economic repercussions of the decrease in potholder sales or flipping through graphs forecasting the return of the tur­ tleneck and dedicat­ ed fans would have still given up their firstborn just to be in his presence. Al­ right, time to check the fanboy fawning.

David Byrne's presentation "Re­ Proposing views alternate to "the Man's"— Byrne. cord Companies: Who Needs Them?" took place last Byrne spoke with both author­ Thursday afternoon in Pollack Hall. ity and sincerity about the practical It addressed the emerging gap be­ ramifications of digital music on the tween artists and record labels in the "traditional" industry structure, citing digital music age. Lanky, timid and the fact that 1,200 record stores have endearingly awkward, the bespecta­ closed in the past year alone. He la­ cled Byrne tore through an analysis of mented the loss of such friendly and the relative benefits of the recording, intimate independently owned brick marketing and distribution of music 'n'mortar record stores and expressed for big label record companies as his hesitancy towards using iTunes to well as for digitally-armed do-it-yourpurchase albums; although he admit­ selfers. Drawing from his experience

ted to purchasing the latest Christina

Aguilera and JustinTimberlake singles online. Though reluctant to immerse himself totally in the unfamiliar realm of digital music, Byrne nevertheless touted the benefits of digital record­ ing and distribution for lesser-known artists who hold no ambitions of sell­ ing enough records to reach double platinum status. In the traditional structure, such artists would never reach their audience as record stores could not plausibly stock their albums. Now, Byrne stressed, underground bands can reach their niche audience via the Internet with relatively little costs.

E v e r-p ra g m a tic , Byrne also reminded the summit's entranced crowd that higher in­ comes afford musicians more freedom with which to make creative choices not motivated purely by financial re­ alities. While admitting, though not acquiesc­ ing, to the dissolution of more standardized and time-tested music industry models, Byrne appeared forwardMARK JOHANN thinking and quite re^ freshingly, for the man w ho penned "Once In A Lifetime," optimistic, "We don't have to go down with a sinking ship," Byrne quipped at the end of his presentation. Though perhaps not radically edifying for the music execs in the crowd (also known as "suits" or "The Man"), the presentation was certainly a fasci­ nating hour for meagre music fans, whose interests tend to gluttonously gravitate more towards product than process. ■

M U S IC — P O P M O N T R E A L

B o rn A R a m b lin ' M a n Ramblin' Jack Elliot brings cowboy flavour L iz M

c L a u g h l in

What does Ramblin'Jack Elliot, a 75-year °ld countryfolk guitarist, have to do with Pop Montreal, the city's ecstatic embrace of the "next big thing"? Perhaps the most significant asset that Elliot's Wednesday night set at the Ukrainian Center brought to the festival was authenticity. El­ liot shuffled onstage laboriously, but once seated on his stool he attacked tunes by the likes of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, among other clas­ sics, with the eagerness and zeal of a 16-year-old at a talent show, even though he has been performing for over four decades.

But Elliot never uses his old age as an excuse for hitting a false note here or there, despite admitting to

the audience that he has begun to have a harder time touring exten­ sively and is spending an increasing amount of time sleeping in his hotel rooms. As evidenced by his presen­ tation Wednesday night - just a man and his guitar on a stage - Elliot has always been a musician w ho tackles music his own way. We are, after all, talking abouta man w ho once played Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Al­ right" at an open rnic, only to notice Dylan himself, who happened to be present, stand up and shout "That's my song... but I relinquish it to you!"

Surely, a man to w hom Bob Dylan defers automatically pos­ sesses credibility, but Elliot is carried by more than just his reputation. His warm playing style infuses life and a

sense of humanity into every one of his songs. His voice has a plaintive, worn-in feel to match the cowboy hat he wears onstage. When asking for adjustments to his microphone EQ, he described his desired sound as "more Johnny Cash, less Tiny Tim." Elliot's lengthy between-song ban­ ter, which earned him his namesake, ranged from why he prohibits flash photography while he sings (it makes him forget the lyrics) to an experience involving him letting his dog drive his car (the dog drove too slowly, mak­ ing Elliot late for a show). Elliot's skill in melding dialogue with wistful American folk tunes is a throwback to an earlier musical era - here's hoping he'll be ramblin'on into the future for years to come. ■

COMPILED BY CRYSTAL CHAN Theatre: Peccadilloes, Oct. 11-28, Wednesday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Theatre Ste Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine E.).

Wendy Clubb directs a Whip Theatre Company presen­ tation consisting of a series of eight one-acts penned

by Jon Rannells under the temptingly sinful banner Pec­ cadilloes, or "sins" in Spanish. It features a diverse range of sensitively portrayed personalities who one by one reveal their outer and inner sins of modern living in the most unexpected ways. The theatre is closest to Metro Berri. Tickets are $15. Call (514) 284-3939 for tickets and more information.

Music: Barbra Streisand, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m.; Bell Centre (1260 Rue De La Gauchetière O.). Yes, Babs is in town.

This singing/acting/everything icon takes Montreal for the first time in her long, long career this Sunday. This follows the release (yes, she still records!) of last year's Gold-status album, Guilty Pleasures. Her first live shows following her purported Las Vegas "farewell" concert in 1999, Barbra tries to top it off with some unconven­ tional acts, including a reference to Canada in a highly discussed skit where a George Bush impersonator quips that he's "concerned about the national debt, so I'm selling Canada." Babs and her nose will also be doing a Funny Girl medley and a Q&A session with the audience in the second act. Pretty boys II Divo is sharing the stage with her. Call (514) 790-1245 for tickets and more information.

Literature: A.Spot o f Bother, released Sept. 5. This muchtouted and anticipated second attempt from Curious Incident o f the Dog in the Night-Time author Mark Haddon once again shines due to its stark painting of the uncommon mind's internalization. Haddon attributed part of his inspiration for the basis of Curious Incident's style that follows the autistic main .character's own mental flow to Jane Austen's novels due to their por­ trayal of feminine manners in exactly the format and stream-of-consciousness that those characters under­ stand and admire. In his second book, Haddon takes the idea further and tackles manners head-on in a dark comedy about an over-polite, restrained family man who must confront the possibility of a terminal illness.

Film: Infamous, opens Sept. 13. Better known as Ca­ pote redux, Infamous tells the behind the scenes story of writer Truman Capote as he attempts to finish his shocking exposé In Cold Blood, focusing on the eerie relationship that builds between the author and his specimens Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, the con­ victed murderers of a Kansas family of four in 1959. In an attempt to repeat or even overshadow Phillip Sey­ mour Hoffman's Oscar win just last year, Toby Jones of­ fers what many are saying is a more seductive and less technical portrayal than Hoffman's. It's up to you to judge, since this comes from the man best known for his voice-acting of Dobby the house elf in Harry Potter and the Chamber o f Secrets. Sandra Bullock stars as Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Capote's close friend and fellow write.r-in-crime. Daniel Craig, Sigourney Weaver and Isabella Rossellini also appear as supporting characters.

B O O K FAIR REDPATH HALL, 3461 McTAViSH (TERRACE ENTRANCE)

?

M c G ill

Prie» start at 25 rents

Cash Only!

ART | C A N A D IA N A | FICTION | CHILDREN'S HISTORY | TEXTS | FRENCH | TRAVEL | ETC W ednesday, O c to b e r 2 5 ,9 a m to 9 p m

All proceeds go towards McGill Scholarships and Bursaries

Thursday, O cto b e r 2 6 ,9am to 8 p m

FREE CANDY ATSUCRE BLEU!!

Get a 10Og. of free bulk candies with the purchase of 250g! (with remittance of this coupon)

1741 St-Denis,Mtl (514) 282-1440 3656 St-Laurent, Mtl (514) 543-1072 2015A Crescent, Mtl (514) 678-3125

16 • Arts & Entertainment • 11.10.06 R A D IO

S tra n g e n e s s a p p e a rs on th e n ig h t sh ift Late-night radio perpetuates insomnia Ezra G linter

t

A woman is calling in to talk about "some teeth that some men found.”

"One of them was six inches and one of them was seven inches,"she reports."They were some great big teeth."

The topic tonight is cryptozoology with guest Loren Coleman, who is a member of the International Society of Cryptozoology, the Brit­ ish Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club and the author of 17 books and more than 300 articles. He is, evidently, an authority on the subject. The show is Coast to Coast AM, a latenight talk-radio show, where both authoritative and not-so-authoritative views can be heard on many such paranormal topics, including reptil­ ian conspiracies, secret societies, UFOs, psychic energy and who really built the pyramids.

Currently one of the most popular shows in its time slot, Coast to Coast AM was created in the mid 1980s by veteran radio personality Art Bell. Since its 1990 syndication, Coast to Coast has spread from a single Las Vegas radio station to almost 500 stations across the United States and Canada. The show is carried in Montreal by The New 940 AM and airs every night between midnight and 5 a.m.

Over the years, the show has gone through various reincarnations and a number of different hosts. In 2002, Bell went into semi-retirement, leaving the show in the hands of George Noory, a fellow veteran of radio broadcasting and an enthusiast of the show's unusual content. On weekends, the show is still hosted by Bell from his home in Manila, where he lives with his wife, Airyn Ruiz. Ian Punnett, a popular media per­ sonality from St. Paul, Minnesota, hosts Coast To Coast Live, a four hour spin-off that airs on Sat­ urday evenings between nine and one o'clock Eastern time, in addition to filling in for Bell when necessary.

Despite Bell's absence, Coast to Coast has continued to increase in popularity. However, finding the right people to replace Bell has not been easy for the show's producers.

"They found it hard to find people with the right attitude," Punnett explains. "It wasn't that you had to be a believer in all things paranormal, or that you had to have been on ghost expedi­ tions, or seen a UFO. They were more interested in people that could bring the right attitude to the show - the spirit of open-mindedness, who could also be entertaining and informative."

It is that spirit of open-mindedness which is the show's hallmark. Despite the controver­

sies that paranormal phenomena are bound to irouse, the idea is to create a forum where these ideas can be freely discussed. As Punnett explains, "For me, it's all about the way in which the topics make me think.... I love the way that the topics put me out of what might be my usual intellectual comfort zone and I find myself really challenged."

"When I first started doing it," Punnett con­ tinues, "I couldn't quite tell whether the caller was brilliant or crazy. Sometimes a caller who sounded out of his head was actually brilliant and was just on to something that I couldn't un­ derstand and... sometimes they'd sound great and then after a few minutes I'd realize, no wait, this person is kind of unhinged."

While Coast to Coast1s hosts acknowledge the show's entertainment value, they also try to address serious issues.

"It is entertainment on certain nights," says Noory"and it's obvious."

But "on other nights," he adds, "it's irre­ sponsible just to be pure entertainment, when there's so much happening on this planet today, whether it's science, or terrorism or tragedies."

In the wake of the Dawson College shoot­ ing, for example, which was perpetrated by a self-identified member of the vampire com­

munity, the show featured Michelle Belanger, a writer, speaker and musician representing the vampire and goth communities.

And despite their objective role as hosts, both Punnett and Noory acknowledge a per­ sonal interest in some paranormal topics.

"I have seen a UFO when I was a teenager; I have been on Ghost hunts,"says Punnett."I have been down the road that the show goes down a lot," he continues. "We can't think that we know everything. It's all about keeping an open mind and enjoying the mystery."

Noory also professes some esoteric beliefs.

"A lot of the people that Fve talked to about near-death experiences and reincarna­ tion - they've had a pretty profound effect on me so far," he declares.

However, Noory, now 56, doesn't plan to reincarnate anytime in the near future.

“I want to take this through 2012," he says.

"That's when the Mayan calendar ends and I've always believed it's a period of enlightenment and change.

"I just want Coast To Coast to stay on the same steady path that it's on right now," he adds. "That is, provide information to people, breaking stories and create the mystery of the mind."B

M U S IC — P O P M O N T R E A L

F IL M

S p e k to r is s im p ly s p e k -ta c u la r

Little tra ile r p a rk ca lle d h o m e

Regina, sing us a story * P a m e l a F i l l io n

The National is a quaint theatre, the ambience a familiar one, ideal for Regina Spektor.The singer/songstress stepped onto the stage with a glittery shape in her hair and smiling red lips, her very presence giving the room a soothing glow. She began an acapella wonder and the crowd became entranced. Delivering an astounding Sunday show to close the Pop Mon­ treal festival, Spektor dazzled concert-goers with a voice from another world, one of times past: charming, captivating and, more than any­ thing else, enchanting in a way sing­ ing should be. Not only did she sing beautifully, but Spektor also turned her music into true entertainment, making fans laugh with her, sing with her and cry with her. The New York performer introduced the aver­ age person to a world of wonders by

TPB movie reeks of cult c!assic...and pot The rest of the film revolves around the attempts of Julian, Ricky, Bubbles and Corey/Trevor (Sunnyvale trailer park's dynamically dim-witted duo) to carry out the "Big Dirty" in order to get enough money to pre­ vent eviction from their beloved park.

Again, much like the show, the plot is largely ancillary, driven by charac­ ters as opposed to narrative.The bigscreen personas of the show's players are just as unassuming, endearing and candid as on the show - though it was lamentable that J-Roc and Ray, two favourite TPB characters, did not garner more screen time.

J ohn S em ley

Canada's favourite foul-mouthed trio hit the big screen last Friday after tapping the mic for rythmic effects, mixing classical influences with noise an excruciatingly long period of an­ effects and even simulating throwing ticipation for fanatical devotees. The up during one of her choruses. Her film, surprisingly, did not disappoint.

The "surprisingly" modifier is songs are musically innovative and used hesitantly because, let's face it, are a creative gateway into a potlatch of original short stories.Taking on her 90-plus minutes of rampant alcohol­ characters'emotions and quirks, Spe­ ism, recreational drug use, petty crim­ ktor acted out her stories, helping us inality and enough vulgarity to make Lenny Bruce blush has the potential to visualize the fruits of her particularly to get old fast. It did not. Trailer Park eccentric imagination. It was refresh­ Boys has all the charm, subtlety and ing to see an artist take such pleasure gut-busting hilarity that "Parkies" have in performing and interacting with her audience. Spektor invited her fans come to expect from the television series. to sing along with her and seemed Like so many seasons of Show­ to feed off listening to them. Also appearing that night at the National case's critically acclaimed television series, the film begins with the boys, was Only Son, a more than adequate Julian (John Paul Tremblay), Ricky opening band for such a great musi­ (Rob Wells) and Bubbles (Mike Smith), cal experience. A guy, a guitar and an ipod recording of a band was all it ham-fistedly botching a crime, result­ took to perform some really down to ing in Ricky and Julian being sent back behind bars for the umpteenth earth songs making Only Son a name time.

(Bubbles, as is usually the case, to be remembered. ■ somehow manages to elude the long arm of the law). As per the show's formula, Ricky thinks that jail is "no big deal" and happily whiles away 18 months smoking dope and playing ball hockey while Julian sculpts his bi­ ceps, sips on potato vodka and works out the details of the next felony that will subsequently lead to his early re­ tirement from a life of crime.

Smoke-free environment

Welcome to new and

returning students!

S in c e 1 9 6 4

B

r ea k fa st and m o r e

Hours:

MONTREALMIRROR.COM

Classing it up, honky style.

Director Mike Clattenberg suc­ ceeds in judiciously pacing the film, drawing from his veteran experience behind the camera on every episode of the show's six seasons. The hu­ mour is sharp and laughs are many,

Don' forget your bombur and breaokfost cards."

"Sept, to end of April

Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Weekends - 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Holidays - 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

„ T h e M c G ill I

usants'Societyof McGill Uoivon

*>ŸJft] B!U NuE 0

R e m

224, rue Milton, Montréal (QC) H2X1V6 Tel.: (514) 285-0011

e m 7

a t a

PLACE MILT0N...Where McGill Students and Friends Meet Daily

but Trailer Park Boys also features a handful of "serious" moments, which, though few and far between, are not completely insincere. Exchanges be­ tween Ricky and Lucy are especially poignant, adding further dimension­ ality to the characters and contribut­ ing to the film's cinema-verité style believability.

Though some of the comedic premises are rehashed from the show, the film in no way feels like it is tread­ ing water in a time-tested pool of de­ rivative TPB jokes. Granted, if people have failed to jum p onboard the Trailer Park Boys train by now, they're probably forever doomed to squan­ der Sunday night watching crap like the Fox Network's The War at Home.

The Trailer Park Boys movie is sim­ ply more of what fans love: Bubbles' sweetly innocent rationality, Ricky's acrobatic usage of four letters words, Ran Ran Bobandy's cheeseburger walrus gut (especially impressive on the big screen, where it is about 20 feet wide) and ample doses of Lahey's trademark shit-talk. It is a well constructed piece of comedy and a charming bit of Canadiana (watch for cameos by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downey) that deserves a right­ ful place in the canon of cult cinema, somewhere between stoner classics like Half Baked and comedies like The Jerk or The Big Lebowsk], ■

v e r y

b e r

d a y s lo w

y o u in

a d v e r t is in g

T h e

r a t e

T h e M c G ill T r i b u n e is t h e

-

IT WORKS! Call Paul at 398-6806

r u n s

f o r

M c G ill T r ib u n e b o o k

y o u r

s p a c e

m o s t w id e ly r e a d

n o w !

stu d e n t p a p e r

S ports

R E D M E N H O C K E Y P R E V IE W

R e d m e n h a v e C IS t it le in t h e c r o s s h a ir s Team has talent in all the right places Pa u l Sch w a r tzm a n

Speed and size upfront

Despite key personnel losses, the McGill Redmen hockey team is set to make a run at their third straight O UA East division title. More importantly, the Redmen hope to get another shot at the CIS Nationals after last year's cam­ paign ended in heartbreak.

Although the loss of star forward Doug Orr and last year's captain Pierre-Antoine Paquet stings, Head Coach Martin Raymond remains optimistic. Raymond (159-85-23 in regular sea­ son play) is returning for his twelfth season in charge and belieyes that the Redmen can look at last year as a learning experience.

"Last year we realized that we can do it, but at the same time we remember that it was quite a challenge," Raymond said.

While the players are eager to get another shot at a national championship, they under­ stand that all of last season's accomplishments have put pressure on this year's team to deliver.

Fortunately, pressure is what one makes of it and the Redmen understand that it can be used as a motivational tool.

"We can't sit on what we've done last year," said defenseman David Urquhart. "We're lucky that we're at the point now to be part of a win­ ning tradition."

McGill will carry 16 forwards on their ros­ ter— six centres and 10 wingers— including four rookies. The loss of Orr and his 21 points will certainly hurt but that's not to say goals will be hard to come by for this group. Veteran Shawn Shewchuck, who led the Redmen in goals (11) and points (33) in 2005-2006, returns for another year, as do fellow snipers Mathieu Leclerc (20 points), Benoit Martin (20 points) and Charles Gauthier (18 points).

The Red 'n'White will have speed to burn with players such as Martin, Eric L'Italien and Chris Churchill-Smith in the lineup. McGill's ex­ plosive offence also features some grit, in the form of third year forward Teddy Kyres, who's been known to send McConnell Arena into a frenzy with punishing body-checks. Rookies Leonard Verrili, Benoit Arsenault, Vincent Lam­ bert and Jeremy Burgess, meanwhile, will try to forge themselves a spot on this deep and tal­ ented unit.

New rules hamper defence The biggest challenge this squad will face is adjusting to rule changes. The CIS has decid­ ed to follow the NHL's lead in their strict enforce­

ment of clutch and grab penalties. Generally, this favors forwards over defensemen, w ho will have to play a much more disciplined game if they want to stay out of the box. While the new rules may not require the Redmen to change their defensive system, it will certainly change how one-on-one battles along the boards are fought.

McGill boasts a lineup of seven defensemen, six of which are returnees. Urqhart— who last year led all OUA defensemen with 24 points— brings his crisp passing and powerful slap shot back to quarterback what promises to be a potent power play unit. Joining Urqhart on the blue line will be fellow junior Steve Pearce along with sophomores Erik Stilling, Yan Tur­ cotte, Ken Morin, Louis-Simon Allaire and Benoit Lessard. Rookie Ben Gazdic joins the established defence that gave up a league low 29 goals against in 2005-2006.

Top goalie in the nation Also returning for his third year is CIS all-star Mathieu Poitras. In addition to winning the Bill L'Heureux Trophy in 2oos-'o6 as’the most out­ standing player in the OUA, Poitras also led the CIS in goals against average (1.40 ), save percent­ age (.947), and wins (14). Additionally, Poitras set

a CIS record for most shutouts in a season with seven.

Even when Poitras needs a rest, the Red­ men can still expect outstanding goaltending from backup Jean-Michel Filiatrault, a former Rimouski Océanique who recorded an astounding five shutouts in just seven starts. The.goaltend­ ing tandem combined to set CIS single-season records for both lowest goals against average (1.21)-and total shutouts (12). Rookie Jake Jarvis will be hard-pressed to earn himself anything more then.target practice duties this season.

Redmen to challenge for supremacy McGill should be able to repeat as division champions if last year's experience can be used as a positive learning tool. Despite the depar­ tures of a few players on offence, the Redmen still have the skill, size and determination to be a scoring machine in 2006-2007. However, while the forwards will benefit from the new CIS rules, the defensemen might find it difficult to adjust.

Even when mistakes are made, though oppos­ ing forwards will have a hard time putting the puck past McGill's stellar goaltenders. It is for these reasons that the fantasy of McGill win­ ning a national championship could very well become a reality in 2007. ■

M A R T L E T S H O C K E Y P R E V IE W

M c G ill's c r o w n j e w e l M a rtle ts h o p e to d o m in a te t h e c o m p e titio n A

LUKAS BERGMARK

Winger Shawn Shewchuck returns to lead the Redmen.

aron

S ig a l

It's an unfortunate circumstance of our society that female sports almost always get tucked away behind their male counterparts. Even here on the largely egalitarian campus of McGill, women's athletics still seem to lack the spotlight that Redmen squads receive. While the Redmen soccer, hockey and lacrosse programs will field extremely competitive, even dominant, teams, the gem of the entire McGill Intercollegiate Athletics line-up this season could very well be the Martlets hockey team— a powerhouse that will challenge for Canadian university supremacy.

Coming off a season in which the team went 12-2-1 in the Quebec Conference— yet missed out on the ultimate goal of a CIS National Championship— a revamped and retooled Martlet team has only one item on its agenda for this campaign: bring the elusive title to McGill's doors.

"I think that every team will tell you that it wants to win the national championship," said Head Coach Peter Smith."However, we feel that we have a pretty good team out on the ice and a team with a lot of potential. Obvi­

ously we'd like to come out of our conference and go to the national championship where McGill has a lot of rich history despite not’having won the title."

Top ranked team, top ranked goalie The Martlets are off to a quick start this season in their attempt to become part of the deep tradition that is McGill hockey. With their recent 3-2 victory over perennial powerhouse University of Alberta Pandas, McGill vaulted itself into the top seed in the national ranking entering regular season play. The players are aware, though, that success can breed complacency and the team is pre­ pared to fight this potential locker room demon.

"The feeling in-the dressing room is good right now, we're calm,'"said Captain Shauna Denis. "We have the top ranking right now but we know that it's not the first rank­ ing that matters but the last one. So we're excited but we know we have to keep working really hard. The competi-

See BALANCE on page 18

T H IR D M A N IN

CBC needs to pop its C h erry et me preface this by saying, I won't deny that Don Cherry knows his hockey, because he does. He's right when he says defensemen are costing their teams goals when they try to deflect harmless shots from the wing. He's right when he says that the NHL should switch to no-touch icing before another player suffers a career ending injury. He may even be right that if the NHL makes the wearing of vi­ sors mandatory, facial injuries will actually go up. Does that mean he should be employed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation? Absolutely not.

Cherry has been a controversial figure for quite some time now— most notably for his infamous affirmation that most players who wear visors are "Europeans and French guys." This past Saturday though, Cherry proved yet again that his bigotry goes well beyond ethnic stereotypes.

In the first of this season's installments of Coach’s Corner, Grapes asked co-host Ron Maclean if he and NHL Senior Vice President Colin Campbell had "kissed and made up", after the two had a heated on-air exchange last season. When

L

Maclean chuckled and said they had, Cherry proceeded to act like the Neanderthal he is, demanding his partner move over at one point and later telling him "Don't put your hands so dose to mine.'The insinuation was clear: Maclean may be infected with "the gay"and it might be contagious.

In all honesty I truly don't care about Grapes'biases. I dis­ agree with them and I think it's ludicrous that he sees Coach's Corneras an appropriate forum to share them with the world.

But what I do care about is that I'm paying this guy's salary.

Cherry's persona needs to be rethought. I'm sure many taxpayers couldn't care less about what comes out of his mouth, but they should. The problem is that he's not seen as a public servant, which is what he actually is. Statements like, "I've been trying to tell you people for so long about the Rus­ sians, what kind of people they are and you just love them in Canada with your multiculturalism. They're quitters and evidently they take a lot of drugs too," would not be tolerated from a politician. So why should Cherry get a free pass?

If Grapes was on a private network I probably wouldn't

C harlie B lore

be writing this. His views would be no less offensive, but if a private company wants to associate itself with him, that's their business. He would be another Howard Stern or Bill O'Reilly; people who have jobs because their broadcasters are willing to sacrifice class for ratings. That's a choice those networks make and it's entirely within their right to do so.

But the CBC is public property and, as such, is account­ able to the population that funds it. I'm quite certain that homosexuals, French-Canadians and the Russian commu­ nity don't appreciate paying to be belittled. Why should they have to pay the salary of a man who alienates them?

It's time for Coach’s Corner to be put out to pasture. Yes, Hockey Night in Canada will lose a valuable source of analysis.

But does that matter? Does anyone believe PBS would give Bobby Knight a weekly segment for the sake of ratings? Of course not.

The CBC must assume its role as a public broadcaster and stop alienating a sizeable segment of that very Canadian public. It must do the right thing and sack Don Cherry. ■

The McGill Tribune

18 • Sports • 11.10.06 E X C L U S IV E IN T E R V IE W — K E L L Y H R U D E Y

T h e m a n " B e h in d t h e M a s k "

S H O O T IN G O U T T H E L IG H T S

It's TSN's tim e

Hrudey on CBC, the new NHL and bandanas C

h a r l ie

B lo r e

and

A

aron

that run through your mind; Can I live up to the people that have been at this desk prior to me? It's not a lot different in that sense from when I first broke into the NHL with the New York Islanders and they had just won their fourth Stan­ ley Cup. There I was trying to live up to those standards, it's just like on Hockey Night. There have been a lot of great broadcasters that have been on before me and so I have to live up to that stan­ dard. What that does though is it makes you work harder; you do more research to make sure that you're prepared so that you can carry on that tradition.

S ig a l

This past Thursday, Hockey Night in Canada kicked off its 54th season on the CBC. This year's edition features a few fresh faces in former San Jose Sharks co­ lour commentator Drew Remenda and former Canadian women's national team captain Cassie Campbell as well as a new feature called "Think Hockey." We had a chance to catch up with former NHL goaltender and current HNIC'Behind the Mask"analyst Kelly Hrudey, about specu­ lation of HNIC moving to CTV, the new NHL, the challenges of broadcasting and of course, his famous bandanas.

Do you think there should be an extra effort made to keep HNIC at the CBC because of the historical ties, or should it go to the network that makes the best offer?

Well I suppose there are two thoughts on that.The first would be that you like the history and I know that's something that a-lot of Canadians have expressed to me, that it would seem odd if it weren't on CBC. The second would be that it should go to whoever does the best job because it is such an impor­ tant property. Having said that, I think that when I watch, whether it's TSN, Sportsnet orThe Score, I think they all do a great job and they all have terrific ana­ lysts, I think that we have a terrific show as well. I think we broadcast the game as it should be and we bring an impor­ tant difference to the broadcast, which is that we make sure to remember how the show was done 50 years ago and try to stay true to that.

What do you think of the new NHL and how do you expect it will evolve this season?

I hope that it continues to morph into how the game is supposed to be played and last year'was a good first step. I know it's not for everybody but I prefer the game as it was last year. It just seems to me that if they can continue along this path and make sure that they enforce all those penalties, well get rid of all that stuff that bogged the game down for the last five years. But the coaches are smart and if you give them a break they'll go back to it, so we have to make sure that the rules are enforced as they should be and that the product can Continue to grow from that.

COURTESY OF CBC.CA

Did you always see yourself be­ coming an analyst when you retired?

I had hoped so but honestly, I fig­ ured it was a bit of a long shot. When I first started playing in New York I really enjoyed the interviews that you do in a big city like that and you do tons of them, that's really where I got the inter­ est and my foot in the door. But it's one thing to have an interest; it's another to be hired. So I was really fortunate and I tell you what, I've learned from some of the best at Hockey Night. The presence that that show has and the people who work behind the scenes is just amazing.

Is there anything that as a player you think helped facilitate your transi­ tion into the booth?

Clearly. When everything's live there's nowhere to hide. When you're playing goal and you've got Mark Messier and Jari Kurri coming down on you tw oon-one you've got to react quick and de­ cisively and it's no different when you're in broadcasting. When the light is on it's live, you're in front of a million and a half Canadians and you're just asked a really tough question, you cannot answer with a cliché. You have to give a real analytical answer about what just happened and why, while sounding like you know what you're doing.

Not just as a former player, but as a Canadian, what does it mean to work for HNIC? Well it's an institution. I think when I had my first opportunity in 1994, the pressure of that was almost overwhelm­ ing. More so than anything I've ever done I think because of the prestige that the show has. When you're sitting behind the desk and you hear that HNIC music come on in your ear, just the thoughts

You found it more pressure filled then a Stanley Cup finals game in the Montreal Forum?

I'd probably say yes because, as silly as it sounds, I had a lot of experi­ ence playing hockey prior to that. When you're growing up and you're playing road hockey or you're in the rink, that's all experience and those are all things.that you can draw upon. But when you're an NHL player and you're thrown into a broadcast booth or behind a desk, I had no experience whatsoever, I didn't even know any of the terminology. So you're learning on your feet and hoping that you're doing the right thing but you're guessing in some cases too. So in that sense it was a lot more difficult than a lot of my playing experiences.

Finally we would be remised if we didn't ask about the origins of your fa­ mous bandana? [laughs] How did I know? It's pretty simple and I never intended it to be a trademark of mine but I guess it's kind of turned into one. I always had long hair and I wore contact lenses when I played.

I needed something to keep the sweat out of my eyes because as anyone who wears contacts knows, sweat and contact lenses don't mix very well. I tried a whole bunch ofdifferent things and finally I de­ cided to go to the t-shirt that you wear under your equipment. I tried that and it seemed to be pretty absorbent so I went with that and lo and behold over time it sort of became, I guess reluctantly to me, this trademark. After a while I even asked some friends if I should get rid of it and they said no, people recognize you for that. So I kept wearing it but I guaran­ tee you the day I retired those all went in the garbage. There are no more of the originals floating around. ■

B a la n c e t h r o u g h o u t t h e lin e u p Labonté to backstop a national contender Continued from page 17 tion is too good out there not to."

Undeniably, the foundation of any dominant hockey team is found in the cage and McGill's net is certainly very secure under the watchful eye of the Martlets' most prized recruit, Charline Labonté, the 2006 Canadian Olympic gold medal-win­ ning goaltender. Labonté, in her first season at McGill, has al­ ready raked in one QSSF player of the week award as well as a CIS national player of the week prize. With an Olympian guard­ ing the cage, the Martlets are expecting to improve on their already low goals against total (20) from last season.

While the rest of the team doesn't boast any international stars, its strength is in its speed and depth.

Although McGill will be fielding an extremely young team at both forward and defensive positions with nine new players on the roster, the squad has markedly improved in its balance and in team quickness.

"This is probably the first time I've ever said this, but we

have balance in all positions," Smith said. "We have 12 forwards, six defensemen and three very good goalies; all of our players can play and the balance is the strength of the team. The girls all want to play and because there is such depth, the girls will have to work even harder for ice time."

The Martlets, an extremely fast squad, will try to play an offensive style and push up the ice, beating opposing defensemen on the wings and then maintaining puck possession in the attacking zone. Players like Denis, high scoring power forward Vanessa Davidson and the speedy Valerie Paquette will be relied upon to score big Martlet goals and lead this overwhelmingly young squad.The defence will be anchored by another star re­ cruit, Catherine Ward, a very shifty defenseman who excels on both the offensive and defensive ends.

"We've got a bunch of young players on the team," Smith said. "We're good now, but there is so much potential. We're going to be a whole lot better."

Sage words of warning for the rest of the competition in the CIS. ■

H eller

N

ot that there was a contest, but with its new highdefinition studio, TSN has solidified itself as the su­ perpower of Canadian sports. In all realms of sports broadcasting, TSN is superior to its rivals at the CBC and Rog­ ers Sportsnet. But what does having sports-broadcasting he­ gem ony mean for the Canadian market?

Most significantly, it means that CBC and RSN might as well kiss the NHL goodbye after 2007-2008. Aside from the fact that the two have no hope of matching CTV/TSN's pro­ posed 10-year, $i.4-billion deal to add terrestrial rights to its cable package, the fact is that CBC and RSN don't deserve to have hockey. The consumer deserves the best product and TSN offers it. Aside from Don Cherry, Ron MacLean and CBC's hallowed tradition, TSN's coverage blows the competition out of the water. Judging each network's studio, in-studio personalities, broadcasters, analysts and in-game coverage only goes to strengthen this argument.

TSN recently upgraded its studios into high-definition and while most people still do not have HD, the sparkling studio still makes CBC and RSN lookfoolish. CBC's main studio is nice enough but it is only prominent during the playoffs, while the Coach's Comer booth is obviously set up in about 10 seconds. It is still better than RSN which is sticking with the 90s-era single desk format. The bottom line is that com­ pared to TSN's expansive set— there is even a hockey surface in it— CBC and RSN are decades behind.

In terms of in-studio personalities, it depends what kind of sports vieweryou are.The Hockeycentral crew at RSN— d e ­ fined by Bill Watters and Nick Kypreos— is goofy and disorga­ nized, yet mildly entertaining. Having dumped editor Scott Morrison and lost insider Darren Dreger to TSN, RSN has cho­ sen personalities over real insight. At CBC, Don Cherry obvi­ ously leads all networks in the personality department but after him and Ron MacLean, the in-studio talent drops off.

Kelly Hrudey is a very solid analyst, but alone, he simply can't compete with TSN's all-star panel of Dreger,, Bob MacKenzie, James Duthie and the recently retired Tie Domi. In terms of enlightening debate and insider information, TSN can't be topped.

In terms of national broadcasts, RSN is immediately dis­ qualified because it's a regional broadcaster, though I can say from experience that Senators announcers are so brutal that it's probably a good thing that this network is localized. CBC's main tandem of Bob Cole and Harry Neale are past their prime, and no one is debating that; they do, however, bring a sense of history and mystique to the games, which does count for something. Eventually, though, new broadcasting legends will have to emerge and TSN's Pierre McGuire may be the prime candidate. Despite what some "hockey fans" might say about him, Pierre is the best, hands down— he knows his stuff. Gord Miller is solid and is part of this great tandem. TSN's number two man, Chris Cuthbert, is a strong backup and an exile from CBC. In-game coverage is the closest of all the categories, as it should be. RSN isn't even in the race though— their broad­ casts seem to preclude ice-side reporters or inventive camer­ as. CBC's Scott Oake does an excellent job with player-interest stories and during HNIC playoff games, it innovated a great new feature where a camera follows the players through the tunnel and onto the ice during introductions. They also give the viewer a good feel for what is happening in the stadium by placing cameras inside the concourse and outside in the parking lot.TSN uses similar shots, but it also has Glen Healey in between the benches, which adds a good touch and has since been duplicated by the American networks. This cat­ egory is as close to a draw as any, but in my mind, Healey's bench-work is the tiebreaker and puts TSN in front.

Canadians should not be afraid of the imminent move of the NHL to CTV/TSN— if offers the best coverage and highest entertainment value. We need to accept that while Canada grew up with Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan, the CBC simply isn't worthy of holding on to Canada's game. It's time for substance to trump sentiment. It's time for the NHL on CTV. ■

COURTESY OFTSN.CA

www.mcgilltribune.com

11.10.06* Sports* 19

F O O T B A L L — C O N C O R D IA 4 1 , R E D M E N 1 3

R e d m e n s t u n g b y C o n c o r d ia in S h r in e B o w l M c G ill fa lls a p a r t in t h e s e c o n d h a lf M ike V allo The Redmen have struggled to put to­ gether a full 6o minutes of football this season, in recent weeks having held the lead at halftime against top-ranked Laval and keeping the score close at the break against Université de Mon­ tréal.

Last Saturday, the story was no different.

The Redmen were trounced 41-13 by arch-rival Concordia in the Shrine Bowl after trailing the sixth-ranked Stingers by just six points at the half.

Quarterback Matt Connell was 17 of 35 for 269 yards with one touchdown and one inter­ ception as McGill's air attack kept the Redmen in the game for the first half.

"I thought it was looking good and we would come back and win this but all of a sud­ den we just shut down again like we have in a few other games,"Connell said.

The Stingers also took advantage of anoth­ er problem that has vexed McGill this season: its inability to stop the run. Concordia's 366 rush­ ing yards propelled the Stingers to pull away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Redmen 180 in the period. Running back Andre Hamilton led the ground attack with 221 yards and three touchdowns.

Redmen hold their own in the first half The Red 'n' White opened the game strong, with a 77-yard drive early in the first quarter.

However, the offence was unable to find pay

dirt, stalling on the Concordia three yard line and forcing McGill to settle for a field goal by Robert Eeuwes to go up 3-0. It would be its only lead of the game.

Concordia would respond with a drive culminating in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Scott Syvret to Nicholas Saikaly.They would go to score again via a 30-yard touchdown run by Hamilton with 13:17 remaining in the second quarter. The Stingers were then gifted two more points on McGill's next drive, when the Redmen elected to take a safety rather than give their op­ ponents good field position— the first of three two-point surrenders by the Red 'n'White.

However, McGill roared back right before half time, producing a five-play, 74-yard drive ending in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Con­ nell to wide receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte.

"We had a pretty good passing day but we have to improve on the little things if we want to win,"Sinotte said.

The score was the freshman's third on the season and cut the deficit to 16-10.

to tire.

"We had a hard time finishing the game "and you can tell by the final score they just ran all over us," said defensive back Anthony Lucka, who enjoyed his second straight game with an interception on Saturday.

Hamilton added two more touchdowns for the Stingers, scampering in from three yards out late in the third quarter and rumbling for an impressive 69-yard dash two minutes into the

. fourth. Saikaly would also add a second touch­ down catch, this time from pivot Robert Mackay with 8:37 remaining in the game. The Stingers then scored four more points on safeties given up by McGill.

Next week the Redmen return home to Molson Stadium to take on the Vert et Or of Université de Sherbrooke. If the Redmen can manage to play a full 60 minutes they should be able to compete with the Vert et Or. ■

Hamilton leads the Stingers to victory McGill was again fastest off the block in the second half. Eeuwes hit a 42-yard field goal with 7:15 left in the third quarter to bring the Redmen within three.The field goal matched Eeuwes'ca­ reer long and improved his season total to eight field goals in as many attempts.

That would be the closest McGill would get, however, as the Stingers racked up 23 un­ answered points, as the McGill defence seemed

Andre Hamilton: Another member of the 200-yard club courtesy of the McGill defence.

BA SK ETBA LL— NY TECH 6 5 , RED M EN 5 9

D -ll s c h o o l t o o m u c h f o r R e d m e n McGill blows halftime lead C harlie B lore Ever wonder how McGill's basketball team would do in the NCAA? If you did, the answer came on Sunday afternoon in the Currie Gymna­ sium as they took on the New York Tech Bears of Division It's East Coast Conference.

Despite leading most of the game and hold­ ing their opposition to just 19 first-half points, the Redmen came out on the short end of a 65-59 result.The loss dropped the team's preseason re­ cord to a dismal 0-4.

"We played down to their level. That's a team we should have beaten,"said forward Sean Anthony. "It seems when we play a good team we're ready to go, but when we play teams at our level or below us we're complacent and we don't

play with that same edge."

That certainly wasn't the case in the open­ ing minutes of the game as McGill out-hustled the Bears all over the court, charging out to a 2219 lead at the half. While McGill was able to hold the lead, they weren't able to break out; rather, poor shooting was the culprit as the two teams failed to crack 33 per cent shooting from the field, with both squads missing open jump shots and lay ups.

Seesaw battle in the second frame The Redmen must have lost that hustle in the hallway on their way back from the locker room because they displayed none of it in the second half. New York Tech pounced on the lack­ adaisical McGill team to go on a 15-2 run and out-

rebound the Redmen 35-23 in the game.

"Slow starts coming out of the half seem to be one of our problems actually," Anthony said.

"There's no explanation for that. It's something we're working as a team to get over, but we've done that every game this year."

But to their credit the Red 'n' White didn't roll over in this one. Or at least Anthony didn't.

With his team down by 10 and just over nine minutes to play, the 6 '4 " forward proceeded to go to work. Anthony scored the game's next 11 points, including a couple on a circus lay up from the low post with two defenders draped all over him and two more on a slam dunk off a fast break. He would finish as the game's leading scorer with 27 points— 24 of which came in the second half—to go with four rebounds, two as­

sists, â steal and a block.

"I was playing in the system, a couple of shots went down and I started feeling it," Antho­ ny said. "These games happen every once and a while.”

But the Bears just didn't go away in this one.

Led by forward Kirk Stewart's 22 points, New York Tech made the most of their chances late, shoot­ ing 53.8 per cent from the field in the second half including 5-10 from three point land. McGill tried to draw even by fouling in the final minute, only to see their opponents hit five of their final six free throws.

The Redmen now host the thrée game Redbird Classic, starting on Friday against Dalhousie, before facing Toronto and Ottawa on Saturday and Sunday. ■

Needed t o h e lp S p e rm d o • n•• o r s ]p e r s o n s i n f e r t i l e Menbetween to yearsold Ingoodhealth All races Confidentialityassured 1

18

40

, asecaU(o/15(t0m Forinformation, ple ll ( ) ext.

514

345-9877

2237

©PRO CREA

C e n t r e d e C r y o c o n s e r v a t io n

S o w h a t ’s j f | th e

Id tol o

G

ill.- 0

7

b o o k a ll a b o u t ?

y e a r ■

!M »/-••

TY

Ire- » ''’' «wnMB! "

This is the only cam pus-wide yearbook...

T a k e th e g o o d

t im e s a lo n g

Don't miss out on your chance to be part of the McGill history books, while studying at the best University in Canada in one of the most beautiful cities in the greatest country in the world. $ 4 2 .0 0

p lu s

t a x

g e t s

y o u

a

p lu s

t a x

g e t s

y o u

a

p lu s

ta x e s

Y e a r b o o k

$ 2 5 .0 0 P h o t o

$ 6 7 .0 0 g e t s

y o u

Im

m

o r t a lit y

Jostens is an official supplier of graduation rings to McGill University.

Available at HF Photo Studio.

Photo sessions and faculties listed below...

E N G IN E E R IN G

W

P H Y S IO L O G Y

O c t .1 1 ,1 2 ,1 3

E D U C A T IO N

W

A L L

O c t .

3 0 -3 1

N o v .

1 ,2 ,3

N o v .

6 ,7 ,8 ,9 ,1 0

F A C U L T IE S

B I O C H E M A N A T O M

IS T R Y Y

P H Y S IC A L

&

C E L L

B IO L O G Y

E D U C A T IO N

W

&

k s .

o f

k s . o f

k .

o f

O c t . 1 0 -1 3

O c t .

H F

H F

O c t .

P h o t o

1 6 -2 0

a n d

N o v .

a n d

a n d

N o v .

P h o t o H F

1 3 -1 7

S t u d io O c t .

1 -2 -3

P h o t o

2 3

H F

2 0 5 7

S t u d io

P h o t o

M c C o n n e l

2 0 5 7

B r o w n

S t u d io

H F

1 6 -2 0

B a s e m e n t

S t a n le y

P h o t o

B u ild in g

S t u d io

2 0 5 7

# 1 2 0 3

S t a n le y 2 0 5 7

S t u d io

S t a n le y

2 0 5 7

S t a n le y

K IN E S IO L O G Y

P

h o to

a p p o in t m e n t s

c a l l

(5 1 4 ) 4 9 9 - 9 9 9 9 2 0 5 7

S

t a n ley

S

t r e e t

:

S t a n le y