The McGill Tribune Vol. 28 Issue 11

STANSTEAD: A BORDER RUNS THROUGH IT, PAGES 10 & 11

REMEMBRANCE DAY:THE ROAD TO REDRESS, PAGES 8 & 9

jb lis h e d by th e S tud e nts'S o cie ty o f McGill U niversity

w w w .m c g illtrib u n e .c o m

V olum e 28 Issue 11 • N ovem ber 11,2008

Ruqby triple crown VP Silverstein resigns Finance portfolio will be difficult to fill B ern a rd R u d n y

Students' Society Vice President Finance and O perations Tobias Silverstein tendered his resig­ nation yesterday, the Tribune has learned from a confidential source. Silverstein has held the posi­ tion since May 1, after b e in g elected this spring.

W hen reached by the Tribune, Silverstein refused to com m ent. SSM U President Kay Turner was not available for com m ent at press time.

It's been a tu m u ltu ou s year for the VP Finance and O perations portfolio. Silverstein w as elected in a special by-election this April, fillin g a vacancy left by Peter N ew hook. N ew hook had been ac­ claim ed in the regular SSMU elections in March, but resigned before assu m in g the post for per­ sonal reasons.

In the 2007-08 academ ic year, the finance portfolio was held by Im ad Barake. In an interview w ith the Tribune, Barake described the VP Finance and O perations portfolio as an extrem ely highstress position.

"You're the m oney man," Barake said. "You can't please e veryb od y and you have lim ited re­ sources."

U nder the SSM U constitution, w hen a vice president resigns, C o u n cil m ust elect one of its m em bers to serve in their stead for the rem ainder of their term. Selectin g a replacem ent m ay be dif­ ficult, given the dem an d s of the Finance and O p ­

erations portfolio.

"You need to have som e sort of ability to look at a budget, know w hat a bud get m eans, know how to put a b u d g et together," Barake said.

However, Barake said that having the ability to plan in the long-term is m ore im portant than having detailed financial know ledge.

"The councillor [assum ing the VP Finance and O perations portfolio] w ould have to know ev­ e rything about the society, w ould have to know about every sin g le budget, w ould have to know about how decisions are m ade in the society."

The tw o com m ittees that w ork m ost closely w ith the VP Finance and O perations are the Fi­ nancial Com m ittee and the O perations C o m m it­ tee. The Financial Com m ittee is chaired by the VP Finance and O perations, and counts three co u n ­ cillors, the SSM U Com ptroller, and VP Clubs and Services Sam antha C o o k as m em bers. However the Financial Com m ittee had their first, and so far only, m eeting o f the sem ester last week.

The O perations Com m ittee has m et tw ice this semester. Its m em bers include Arts U ndergradu­ ate Society Vice President External Hanchu Chen, Arts Representative Stas Moros, and Arts Senator Will John ston, am o ng others.

The Tribune will continue to report on the resignation and replacem ent as the story devel­ ops. ■

he McGill men's rugby team cruised to their third consecutive QURL hampionship with a 21 -0 victory over the Bishop's Gaiters. See page 18.

cGill admin reinstates travel directive

*\fter two-day Senate suspension, controversial policy is back in force T

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On Friday, the McGill adm inistration unilaterally overurned a Senate m otion to suspend the adm inistration's re­ lent directive banning som e international student travel.

"The travel directive, in its current form, still stands," D ep ­ ity Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton M endelson aid.

The travel directive, introduced in Septem ber, no longer illow s "students to participate in any university related acivities, be they curricular or co-curricular, in countries with a

level-three (avoid non-essential travel) or level-four (avoid all travel) warning." Students are prohibited from stu d yin g in 20 foreign countries, in clu d in g Afghanistan, Haiti, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. In addition, certain regions of 39 other countries such as China, Colom bia, India, Israel, Peru, Russia, and Th ai­ land are banned.

On W ednesday, Senate voted 42 to 18 to suspend the d i­ rective. At the m eeting, faculty and student representatives expressed outrage that they had not been consulted before the policy w as im plem ented. A ccord in g to Students' Society Vice-President U niversity Affairs Nadya W ilkinson, the univer­ sity m aintained that the travel directive was an adm inistrative

PINK RIBBON GAME - HOME OPENER

McGill ATHLETICS & RECREATION

responsibility, not an academ ic issue.

"This [m otion] was clearly within the purview of Senate," W ilkinson said. "The [university] statutes say that Senate shall exercise general control and supervision over the academ ic activities of the university. The travel directive affects curricu­ lar and co-curricular activities— these are academ ic issues."

The Senate m otion, put forth by Faculty of M edicine Sen­ ator Bernard Robaire, suspended the travel directive pending student and faculty consultation.

"The governance stood up — and it was a great triumph,"

See REGULATIONS on Page 2

VOLLEYBALL SUNDAY SET

Bishop’s vs McGill Friday November 14th

Montreal vs Martlet Volleyball, 13h00 Montreal vs Redmen Volleyball, 15h00 Sunday Nov. 16th, Love Competition Hall

Martlet B aske tb all 18h00

M A R TLET H O C K EY

R e d m e n B a ske tb a ll 2 0 h 0 0 R E D & W H IT E G A M E

Concordia vs McGill Saturday Nov. 15th, 14h30 $1 hot dog, $1 pop!

redbîrd SP«R TS S H «P Special of th e week:

Redmen Basketball T-shirts: $15

N ews

COVER PHOTO BY JOHN KELSE

PROVINCIAL

CAMPUS

Quebeckers heading to polls Regulations December 8 may disrupt finals schedule still in effect Austin del Rio

Q uebeckers will head to the polls on Decem ber 8 after Prem ier Jean Charest, leader of the Q uebec Liberal Party, called on Lieutenant G overnor Pierre D uchesne to dissolve the National A ssem bly last W ednesday. Charest claim ed he needed a stronger m andate and a m ajority go vern m en t to m anage the loom ing econom ic crisis.

"This election is g o in g to be very m uch about w h o has a plan for the econom y, how solid is that plan, and how are they g o in g to carry it out,” said Alexandra M andich, spokes­ person for the Q uebec Liberal Party.

The election announcem ent cam e one day after provin­ cial Finance M inister M onique Jérôm e-Forget delivered an e co nom ic update. Forget said that the go vern m en t w ould be m aintaining a balanced b u d get for the next tw o years.

She also scaled dow n last spring's provincial Gross Dom estic Product estim ates from 1.5 per cent grow th to 0.8 per cent.

Q uebec's exports, three-quarters o f w hich g o to the United States, account for approxim ately h alf o f its total GDP. A ccording to M andich, the province has several options for dealing w ith the econom ic trouble south o f the border.

"If the U.S. isn't d o in g well then, Q uebec really has to w ork on o p e n in g up its frontiers, and that m ay [happen] up north by de ve lo ping the natural resources," M andich said.

As part o f the Liberal plan to deal with the econom y, Forget announced $412 m illion dollars in additional public spending. In addition, Charest annou n ced last Friday that the Liberals w ould add four billion dollars to the 537 billion already com m itted for infrastructure sp en d in g, a plan the Liberals claim will generate as m any as 100,000 jobs.

Pauline M arais, leader of the rival Parti Québécois, claim ed that Charest was not b ein g com pletely forthcom ­ ing about the budget. A ccording to the PQ, despite Charest's claim s to the contrary, the Liberal go vern m en t has run a b u d ­ ge t deficit o f $2.3 billion over the past two years. Her claim

com es ju st five m onths after the Q ueb ec auditor general af­ firm ed last Ju n e that, as o f March 2007, the governm ent had understated its cum ulative b u d get deficit by $5.8 billion.

In an O ctober 28 CRO P poll published in La Presse, Charest's Liberals were leading in popular support with 38 per cent, w hile their m ain rival, the Parti Q uébécois was trail­ ing at 32 per cent. Mario Dum ont's relatively new A ction D é ­ m ocratique Party, w hich Q uebec voters nearly catapulted into go vern m en t in the 2007 election, was w an in g in p op u­ larity w ith only 17 per cent. "[Charest] is probably worried about the sam e thing Stephen Harper was worried about and w ould like to get this election over with before the e co nom y worsens," McGill political science Professor A ntonia M aioni said.

Maioni said that Charest's m otivations for the election m ay be tied to his recent spike in pop ular support.

Internal surveys by the PLQ indicate that, if the election were called today, they could possibly see a near repeat of the 2003 victo ry that won them 76 seats. O n ly 63 seats need­ ed for a m ajority in the 125-seat parliam ent.

U nfortunately for students, education issues m ay be put on hold for now.

"I'm not overly optim istic. I don't think it will be a par­ ticularly go o d election for education," said Students’ Society Vice-President External Devin Alfaro. "The Liberals are very m uch trying to m ake this a one-issue election ... about the state of the econom y, and I th in k that's som eth in g we're g o in g to have to w ork against."

A ccording to Statistics Canada, Q uebec un d ergrad u­ ate students will pay an average of $2,167 in tuition fees in the 2008-2009 school year, up 5-4 per cent from the previ­ ous year. This am ount is still far below the national average o f $4,724 per year, however. Th e Charest go vern m en t lifted the 13-year tuition freeze after the last provincial election in February 2007. ■

Wilkinson working to combat directive Continued from COVER

W ilkinson said.

On Friday afternoon, SSM U President Kay Turner, one of student representatives on Senate, received a call from Mend son. In a brief conversation, M endelson inform ed Turner ti­ the adm inistration had decided that Senate had acted outsi its purview. In addition, he said that the directive was still fu in effect.

"It is very clear [from the phone call] that Professor Mendson will not be b rin gin g the directive to Senate," W ilkinson sa "We are plan n in g to take action."

A ccording to M endelson, the guidelines did not need to I ratified by Senate.

"The university has a d uty o f care to its students e n ga ge d university activities,"he said. "We had every intention o f consu ing [Senate] on the developm ent o f the guidelines that we a currently w orking very hard on."

Most deans have already inform ed their respective faci ties that the regulations are still in effect.

"The deans, w ho are adm inistrative, understand the impc tance of this d ire c tiv e .... The rest [of the deans] will be inforr ing their faculties soon enough," M endelson said.

W ilkinson and the student Senate caucus met for an erne g e n cy m eeting on Friday to discuss initiatives. Neither she n any other cacus m em bers w ould disclose details.

"We're ju st ge ttin g our ducks in a row, but, expect for som thing in the near future," W ilkinson said. ■

CAMPUS

Economists, biologists debate basis of ethics

Annual Lome Trottier Science Symposium unites disparate fields Trip Yang For m ore than a century, philosophers and other acad em ­ ics have debated the origin of ethics: did hum ans evolve m or­ als through natural selection, like our physical organs, or are they a distinctly hum an feature unrelated to evolution? This year's Lo m e Trottier Public Science Sym posium , titled "Apes or A ngels: W hat is the O rigin o f Ethics,"assem bled an internation­ al panel o f econom ists and evolutionary biologists to tackle the roots o f our beliefs and behaviours.

The annual sym posium , in its fourth year, brou gh t aca­ dem ics o f different fields togeth er to debate thou gh t-p rovok­ ing issues. W hile econom ics and b io lo g y m ay seem different in scope, the tw o fields often overlap w hen d iscu ssin g the roots o f hum an behaviour. The stu d y o f the selfish interest of individuals in econom ics and the selfish interest of genes in bio lo g y com bine to give in sigh t into how hum an ethics are form ed.

"There is more overlap in econom ics and b io lo g y than m ost people tend to believe. Econom ics issues arise in biology, and bio lo g y issues arise in econom ics. There is a m utual ben­ efit w ithin the tw o realm s where hypotheses in one dom ain help answ er questions in the other,” said Theodore Bergstrom , an econom ics professor from the U niversity o f California Santa Barbara.

Bergstrom presented his fin d in gs as a gam e played by tw o com peting m axim s: "Thou shalt love th y n eigh b or as th y­ self,” and "Do unto others as you w ould have them d o unto you."Though the two adages m ay seem similar, the form er is an exam ple o f extrem e sym pathy w hile the latter of extrem e sym m etry.

Bergstrom , fam ous for his w ork in experim ental e co n o m ­ ics, tested out results of the tw o m axim s by playin g a sim ple gam e. In the Prisoner's Dilem m a gam e, tw o prisoners are each given the option o f confessing and not confessing, with dif­

ferent individual consequences for each o f the four com b ina­ tions. In general, the tw o strategies do not produce the sam e result.

"The logic o f sexual production favors the do-un to -oth ers rule. In repeated encounters betw een tw o people, follow ­ in g the do-un to-oth ers rule m ay prove to be m ost successful under evolutionary pressure," said Bergstrom .

Biologist M anfred M ilinski considered hum an ethics by e xam in in g the "Tragedy of the Com m ons" problem , where free access to a p u b lic go o d leads to the exploitation of that good. Because not cooperating and never con trib u tin g is the optim um e co nom ic strategy, hum an self-interest results in the collapse of public resources, such as the unlim ited em ission of CO2 resulting in clim ate change.

M ilinski then introduced the idea o f reputation, asking if that variable could ch an ge altruism . In an experim ent where preserving glob al clim ate was a p u b lic go o d s gam e, M ilin­ ski show ed that students w ould invest m ore m oney in the "climate public go o d s pool" if their contributions were p u b li­ cized. Milinski's fin d in g s show ed that hum an behaviour can be strongly influenced by the social surroundings.

"People are prepared to behave altruistically if they are b ein g evaluated. That's w hy we want to m ake don ations rec­ ognizable. The concept o f indirect reciprocity— give and you shall receive— applies w hen other people observe your b e ­ nevolent actions,"M ilinski said.

U niversity o f Toulouse econom ist Paul Seab righ t spoke last, a ckn o w led g in g that, like our brain and body, hum an eth­ ics have evolved over generations and centuries. Seabright proposed that w hile there are no concrete natural selection explanations for specific ethical characteristics yet, ethical ex­ planations can be divided into three groups.

"The properties o f our ethical life can be divided into those that have evolutionary explanations, those that have explanations we can speculate about, and those that m ay be pure evolutionary by-products,"said Seabright.

NATE VANDERWEER Economists and biologists debated ethics Thursday ii Leacock 132 Edinburgh U niversity b iologist Stuart West presented lasp ropo sing that hum ans are not special creatures from an evo lutionary perspective, but extraordinary from a m echanics perspective. By com paring us to other anim als, we can learr how our ethics evolved biologically, but we can't learn specifi catty w hy our ethics are the w ay they are.

Despite different presentation them es, all o f the academ ics agreed that ethical behavior has foundations in both bio logical natural selection and social influence. H ow we behav< and how we distinguish right from w rong derive from botl biological evolution and environm ental variables.

"There w as a consensus am o n g us that our ethics are ; com bination o f both evolutionary bio lo g y and social environ ments. Being evaluated by our peers changes our behaviour but we are hardwired in our brains to have certain innate re sponses to being evaluated,"M ilinski said. *

'w.mcgilltribune.com

11.11.08-The McGill Tribune-3

VIPUS

far-free campus timeline causes confusion ontrary to Covo's remarks, cars may remain at McGill past 2010 G reg O s a d e c j M iscommunication between the McGill administration and |dents'Society executives led to the belief that McGill was com ted to m aking its cam pus car-free within two years.

At a luncheon on October 18, following the Beatty Lecture during Jam es Gustave Speth, Dean of the school of forestry environmental studies at Yale University, McGill professor vid Covo stated that the university's downtown cam pus would |car-free within two years, according to Nadya Wilkinson, the <1Uvice-president university affairs. "[The statement was] not an announcement, not anything," Ikinson said. "He just said,'[The campus] is go in g to be car-free |hin two years because of the Master Plan."'

Yet Jim Nicell, professor and associate vice-principal of unifsity services, was quick to deny any such commitment.

"No decision has been made on any particular goal ortim e, but what we're now doing is planning to see what the reper­ d io n s are," he said.

Although Covo didn't respond to theTribune's request foran erview, Nicell said they had spoken recently. "[Professor Covo] hoped that the impression that he would ve created was that this was certainly som ething that was in works for consideration. Within a reasonable timeframe— a reasonable timeframe is a couple years— that we could

plan how this could happen," Nicell said. plan forfor how this could happen," Nicell said. those thoseparking parkingspaces, spaces,a anew newmmethod ethodfor forrece receiving deliveries, and According to Nicell, the idea of a car-free cam pus is support­ serious consideration of the financial implications. ed by both students and the administration.

Despite a 15 per cent hike in parking rates last year, as well as "The m essage I'm getting consistently across the university an additional three per cent increase this year, dem and for park­ is,'Make it happen,"'he said. "I think we probably can make it hap­ ing spaces has not diminished. pen, I think it's the wisest choice to make it happen, but how we "What we actually get is an annual incom e from those in­ do it and in what time-frame is still a bit of [an] open-ended ques­ creased parking rates of $200,000 a year," Nicell said. "It is funding tion." our Office for Sustainability that we're opening up."

"We're a parking lot surrounded by a lot of green space. I A transition strategy would also have to be developed be­ think the university has becom e more in tune with this, mainly fore any plans could move forward. because som e of the days that we now have where there are no "You can't just announce to the community, 'As of two cars on the cam pus— that’s when you start to realize what it could months.from now there'll be no more parking on the downtown be," he said. "Every tim e I send out the announcem ent about Car campus,' because [we'll have] 200 people who have been relying Free Day I get m ore and more positive responses to say, 'That's on their parking passes, m any of w hom m ay have waited for years wonderful!' But now the response is, 'That's wonderful, but can even to get their parking passes to start with," Nicell said. we do it over the course of the entire year?"'

While a car-free cam pus remains a future possibility, the ad­ The area in question is between the Arts Building and the ministration seems to have made a definite decision regarding a Roddick Gates, which currently provides roughly 200 parking bike path through campus. spaces. Although this is only 20 per cent of McGill's parking ca­ "We're not go ing to put a bike path through cam pus be­ pacity, the revenue generated by that area constitutes approxi­ cause of the dangers that that would create," Nicell said. "We have mately $600,000 annually, according to Nicell. no ability to police such a roadw ay.... The preferred approach, He em phasized that there is m uch to be done before McGill which we've been working very aggressively on, is to try to make could com m it to m aking the cam pus car-free. There would have sure that McGill is a destination for bikes, but not a thoroughfare to be a discussion between the university and drivers w ho rely on for bikes." ■

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Aussies w ho believed in Barack Obam a e nough to put m oney on it m ay have to wait a couple more m onths for their m oney. Australian bookies Sportsbet and Centrebet are refusing to pay gam blers w ho w aged that Obam a w ould w in the Nov. 4 U.S. presidential election for fear he will die before assum ing office. T h o u g h Sportsbet head Matt Tripp has said that the com pany sim ply fears that the president­ elect will have" a stroke or gets hit by a bus,"others believe that the com panies fear he will be assassinated. The Irish seem to have far m ore faith in Obam a's health than those pessim istic A ussies— an Irish bookie firm paid out on O bam a bets back in October.

Is it a crim e for a nine-year-old boy to w ant to visit his grandm other?

It is if he uses his parents' car to drive to her house. The Japanese boy, w ho attem pted to drive to his grandm other's house after fin d in g the keys in the ignition of his parents'car, was caught by police after a passing m otorist reported seeing a car w ith no driver."! learned from m y father's driving and at gam e arcades," the yo ungster told the Kyodo News.

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A form er British drug addict recently sent an a p o lo gy letter to a shop in Bristol he robbed seven years. The thief, w ho stole 4 0 0 cigarettes from Im ran Ahm ed's Raja Foods, enclosed £ 1 0 0 to atone for his actions.'At that tim e I was heavily using drugs and m y life w as in a mess, now I no longer use drugs and I strive to lead a decent and honest life," wrote the thief.

A hm ed plans to donate the m oney to a drugs'charity.

— Sources: BBC News, Yahoo

The McGill Tribu

4 • News • 11.11.08

NTERNATIONAL

Ex-Concordian one step closer to execution Saudi court rejects Canadian's appeal, upholds death sentence J a m e s G il m a n

A fo rm er C o n co rd ia U n iv e rsity stu d e n t on d e ath row in S au d i A ra b ia a p p e a rs to be one ste p c lo se r to p u b lic e xe cu tio n , after his se n te n ce w as u p h e ld by an a p p e a ls co u rt.

A d vo ca te s for M oh am ed Ko h ail, 23, in c lu d in g Lib e ral MR D an M cTeague, have ca lle d for in te rv e n tio n from th e C a n a d ia n g o v e rn m e n t to save th e life o f th e P a le stin ia n C a n a d ia n . O n M arch 3, Ko h ail w as se n te n ce d to d eath b y p u b lic b e h e a d in g for his a lle g e d role in th e d e ath o f 19-year-old M unzer H araki d u rin g a sch o o ly a rd braw l.

The d e cisio n o f a S a u d i a p p e a ls c o u rt to reject Ko h ail's a p p e a l m ea n s th a t o n ly in te rve n tio n b y th e n e w ly cre ate d S au d i S u p re m e C o u rt or K in g A b d u lla h can o v e rtu rn the ve rd ict.

"The re is o b v io u sly a g re a t co n ste rn a tio n for th e fate o f Mr. Ko h ail now , w h ich w ill req u ire e m p h a tic a n d a b s o ­ lute a tte m p ts by the C a n a d ia n g o v e rn m e n t to in te rve n e d ire c tly w ith th e S au d i k in g to sp are his life," M cTeague, w h o has w o rke d on the case for th e Ko h ail fam ily, to ld CB C N ew s on Friday.

T h e fate o f Ko h ail's y o u n g e r b ro th e r S u lta n , n ow 18, w h o w as a lso in vo lve d in th e braw l, is up in the air as w ell.

S u lta n Ko h ail w as se n te n ce d to one ye a r in p riso n a n d 200 lash e s on A p ril 5 in a y o u th co u rt, b u t a ju d g e has sin ce o r­ d ered he be re-trie d in an a d u lt co u rt, w h e re he too co u ld

face th e d e ath p en alty.

M oh am ed an d S u lta n w ere arrested Ja n u a ry 17 2007, after a braw l at Su ltan 's sch o o l in Je d d a h , S au d i A ra b ia. H a­ raki an d oth e rs co n fro n te d S u lta n , a c c u s in g him o f in s u lt­ in g H araki's fe m a le co u sin . Th e re are tw o c o n flic tin g a c ­ c o u n ts o f th e re su ltin g m elee, w h ich M o h am ed en te red to h e lp his brother. T h e p ro se cu tio n 's ve rsio n is th at th e tw o b ro th e rs b e at H araki to d e ath , w h ile th e K o h a ils' ve rsio n w as th a t he w as k ille d in th e m id st o f th e p a ck o f fig h tin g boys.

A n a u to p sy revealed th at H araki d ied from b le e d in g a b o ve th e b lad d er, lik e ly ca u se d b y a c o lla p s in g w all, c o m ­ b in e d w ith a h e art c o n d itio n , n ot a b lo w to th e head as so m e had cla im e d .

F o llo w in g th e se n te n c in g o f M oh am ed K o h ail in M arch, m an y su p p o rte rs a rg u e d th at he d id n 't receive a fair trial, a n d u rge d th e C a n a d ia n g o v e rn m e n t to ste p up its in v o lve m e n t in th e case.

M ah m o u d a l-K e n , a c lo se frie n d o f th e K o h ail fa m ily w h o h o sts an A ra b ic rad io sh o w in M ontreal, has b e en one o f th e K o h a ils' m ost vo ca l su p p o rte rs.

"H e d id n 't g e t a fair trial," a l-K e n to ld th e T rib u n e fo l­ lo w in g M oh am ed K o h ail's se n te n c in g . "We are n o t a sk in g th em to o v e rtu rn th e le g a l syste m th ere, [or] to c h a n g e e v e ry th in g . But w h a t w e're a sk in g for is a fair trial, w h ich is g u a ra n te e d in Saudi."

"I h op e th at th e C a n a d ia n g o v e rn m e n t w ill act on a h ig h e r level," a l- Ken a d d e d .

M oh am ed an d S u lta n K o h ail b o th b e ca m e C a n a d i­

an citize n s in 2005. T h e fa m ily retu rn e d to S a u d i A rab w here the b ro th ers gre w up, in 2006.

A lth o u g h a n u m b e r o f C a n a d ia n o fficia ls have raisi the issue w ith th e ir Sau d i co u n te rp a rts, th ere has be< no in te rv e n tio n yet to o v e rtu rn th e sen ten ce . M any o f K hail's su p p o rte rs are c la im in g th at now o n ly interventic at the h ig h e st le v e l— w ith K in g A b d u lla h and h ig h lev m in iste rs— can save th e K o h ails, as the S u p re m e C o u rt u n lik e ly to o v e rtu rn the se n te n ce . "[M cTeague] w ish e s th a t b o th M iniste r [of Fo reign fairs Law re n ce ] C a n n o n w o u ld raise it w ith his co unterpa th e S a u d i F o re ign M inister, a nd th at the Prim e M inist h im se lf u n d e rta k e e ffo rts to raise it d ire c tly w ith K in g A dullah," B ra d b u ry said.

Yet m an y o b se rv e rs p o in t o u t th at the K in g is une pressu re to a vo id in te rfe rin g in the ju d ic ia l system in ore to in cre ase its le g itim a c y , a nd the le g itim a c y o f the you S u p re m e C o u rt.

But Lisa M onette, sp o k e sp e rso n for the D e p a rtm e o f F o re ign A ffairs, said th at th e C a n a d ia n g o v e rn m e n t co tin u e s to su p p o rt the K o h ail's case, a nd p o in te d o u t th C a n a d ia n c o n su la r o fficia ls w ere in Je d d a h last w eek m eet w ith the Ko h ail fa m ily a nd th e ir le g a l team .

"Canada is p u rsu in g all a v e n u e s to a ssist b o th M oha ed a nd Su lta n Kohail," she said . "We c o n tin u e to strong s u p p o rt his c a ll— Mr K o h ail's c a ll—-for a fair a nd tra n sp ent revie w o f the v e rd ic t a nd th e se n te n ce b y the Sau courts." ■

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11.11.08 -The McGill Tribune *5

ELECTION '08

Obama redraws the American electoral map Wins in Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia turn long-time red states blue Theo Meyer Senator Barack O bam a w on the presidency of the U nit­ ed States last Tuesday after a gru e llin g cam paign that began more than 20 m onths before in Springfield, Illinois. O bam a, a Dem ocrat from Illinois, defeated Republican Senator Jo h n Mc­ Cain of Arizona to becom e the first African-Am erican elected president in Am erican history.

O bam a w on 28 states as well as the District of Colum bia, totalling 365 votes in the Electoral College, the b od y that for­ m ally elects the Am erican president. Each state has as m any votes in the Electoral Co lle ge as the sum of its senators and Congressional representatives. As all states have tw o senators and at least one representative, each state has a m inim um of three electoral votes. California, the m ost pop ulous Am erican state, has 55.

M cCain w on 21 states but only 162 electoral votes, as the states he won were, on ayerage, less p op ulous and thus had fewer electoral votes. O nly Missouri, a historic presidential bellwether, still rem ains too close to call, th o u gh the state and its 11 electoral votes appear to be leaning tow ards M cCain.

One o f Obam a's 365 electoral votes cam e from Nebraska, w hich, alo ng w ith Maine, is one of tw o states that split their electoral votes by congressional district. T h o u g h O bam a lost the historically red state to M cCain by 16 points, he won e nough votes in urban Om aha and its suburbs to carry Nebraska's Sec­ ond Congressional District. This election was the first tim e that a state has split its electoral vote in such a manner.

The Dem ocrats m an aged to break the relatively static electoral m ap o f the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, w hich Al Gore and Jo h n Kerry lost to G eorge W. Bush, respec­ tively. O bam a w on all the solidly Dem ocratic "blue" states ei­ ther Gore or Kerry won. In addition, he picked up m any tra­ dition ally m oderate sw ing states such as Florida and Ohio.

T h o u g h M cCain h u n g on to m an y states that Bill Clinton won in the 1990s, M issouri is the o n ly true sw ing state he has a chance of w inning.

The O bam a cam p aign also turned several traditional Re­ publican strongholds blue, w in n in g Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia by narrow m argins. North Carolina hasn't voted for a Dem ocratic presidential candidate since 1976, w hile In­ diana and Virginia haven't go n e blue since Lyndon Johnson's election in 1964. W hile O bam a trium phed in these states, how ­ ever, the results were quite clo se— H yde C o u n ty on the North Carolina coast, for exam ple, went for O bam a by a m argin of only 21 votes.

McGill Professor Gil Troy, a noted historian of Am erican politics and the presidency, credited m uch of Obam a's success in these states (as well as Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico) to a strong m inority voter turnout.

"We saw an incredible surge am o n g African-Am erican voters, [as well as] a m ajor shift in H ispanic voters w h o have alw ays been g o in g back and forth betw een the Republican and Dem ocratic parties. This tim e they went w ith the D em o­ cratic Party," Troy said. "The ch allen ge is g o in g to be, for the Dem ocrats, to hold on to them , and for the Republicans, to w oo them back."

W hile Obam a's victo ry m ay appear m assive in term s of the electoral vote, his m argin in the popular vote was m uch slim m er. O bam a w on 65,743,314 votes to McCain's 57,637,143, not including Missouri's outstanding votes. Troy argued that O bam a should not interpret this m argin o f victo ry as a strong m andate for change.

"You're talking about a shift o f m illions, not tens o f m il­ lions. A nd now actually, looking closer, we're seeing that a lot of it had to do w ith evangelical voters sim ply not show ing up," Troy said.

W hen he is inaugurated as president on Jan u ary 20, O bam a w ill becom e the first sitting senator to be elected pres­ ident since Jo h n F. Kennedy in 1960. This election was the first in A m erican history in w hich two sitting senators ran against each other for the presidency. O nly Jam es Garfield in 1880, Warren H arding in 1920, and Kennedy have ascended directly from the Senate to the Oval Office; in a trend that Obam a will hopefully reverse, all three also died during their first term s as president.

As the president-elect, O bam a has already b egun assem ­ bling his W hite House staff. He nam ed Congressm an Rahm Em anuel, the fourth ranking Dem ocrat in the House of Repre­ sentatives and a veteran o f the Clinton adm inistration, as his chie f o f staff last week. Troy w arned that O bam a m ust strike a balance betw een old Dem ocratic hands and new blood when choosing his staff, as retaining too m any Clinton veterans m ight m ake his adm inistration seem like a third term for the 42nd president. ■

r ----------------------------------------------- v

NEWS ANALYSIS

The future of Queen's Homecoming Multitude of injuries, arrests jeopordize annual event Alison Bailey Every year thousands o f yo u n g adults gather at Queen's U niversity in Kingston, Ontario, during H om eco m in g w eekend for w hat is som etim es called "the b ig g e st party in Canada." In the last few years, controversy has arisen over student co nduct du rin g H om ecom ing, and reports o f violence and irresponsible d rin kin g have put the event in d an ger o f cancellation.

The Queen's adm inistration is expected to m ake an an nouncem ent about the future of Queen's H om eco m in g next week.

D u ring H om ecom ing, people com e from across the cou n try to e njoy a w eekend of breakfast beer and pancakes, afternoon ke g ge rs,a n d (if they're still conscious), an infam ous Saturday n igh t party on A berdeen Street.

More and more people are atten ding the party each year with 2008 b ein g the m ost crow ded in recent history. A ccord in g to Mike Menor, a m edia relations officer with the Kingston Police, attendance at H om ecom ­ ing has skyrocketed.

"There w as an estim ate of 10,000 people [this year]— and that's the conservative number," M enor said. "There w as probably quite a few more than that."

M em bers o f the Kingsto n com m u n ity are concerned about the new tone the party has taken. Dr. G ordon Jones, an Em ergency M edicine d o c­ tor at the Kingston General Hospital, discussed the shift in attitude of m any participants.

"One them e we've seen in the last year or tw o is the violence," Jon es said. "People are not just co m in g to party, but to rum ble. The other thing that we're seeing is that there seem s to be a culture out there to drink until you're unconscio us— drink yourself into stupidity."

Arrests and adm ittances to the local hospital have escalated consider­ ab ly in recent years, and the general consensus is that it is only a m atter of tim e before som eone gets seriously hurt.

"Up to 30 unconscious people arrive by am bulance on each night," Jones said. "In addition to that we're seeing all sorts of assaults, facial in ­ juries, and lacerations from broken glass. It's ju st a matter of tim e before som eone suffers a serious assault, or som eone suffers serious injury from essentially being drunk."

M enor said the num ber o f arrests m ade over this year w as higher than ever.

"We m ade a grand total o f 138 arrests, and well over 90 per cent of them were intoxicated people," M enor said.

A ccording to Jones, hospital adm ittance rates are also sta gge rin gly high.

The w eekend cost the city ju st under $300,000 this year. M enor ex­ plained that the Kingston Police have to bring in officers from elsewhere in -

Ontario to deal w ith the event.

"I believe the total was in the area o f approxim ately 300-350 officers— from Belleville, Brockville, Cornw all and Sm ith Falls,” M enor said.

The Hospital has to adjust as well.

"It's very overw helm ing and we've had to put m ore physicians and nurses on," Dr. Jon es said. "We have to try to clear up the departm ent as m uch as we can both nights."

Maria Varlan, a U3 chem istry student at Queen's University, noted that alth ou gh m any people act irresponsibly, the m ajority know how to party sensibly.

"Sixty unconscious people from 10,000 is not that many. That's a pret­ ty small percentage,"Varlan said.

Varlan added that H om eco m in g is an o p p ortu n ity for people to get togeth er and have a go o d tim e before m idterm s.

"Everyone gets drunk, does som eth in g stupid but then laughs about it afterwards. It's all in go o d fun. I heard ab o lit this one g u y w ho was being fined by a cop, and w hen he found out he had to pay a $56 fine, he told the cop:'That's tw ice as m uch as your m om cost last night.'So they took him for ride around the block,"she said.

H om eco m in g is first and forem ost an event for Queen's alum ni. Jord an a Shell, a U i p sych o lo gy student at McGill, attended Queen's H om e­ co m in g and noted how m uch tradition is a part o f the w eekend.

"There is a lot of school spirit at Queen's. It's really interesting to see how m uch tradition there is. Everyone wears the "Gael" [a hat w ith the Queen's colors on it], everyone has a Queen's leather jacket. They also have these rituals where they pound their jackets in unison. These traditions have been around for decades," Shell said.

Varlan explained that the alum ni take tours around cam pus w ith stu­ dents from their old faculty.

"They have all these stories from w hen they attended Queen's. Their university experience w as such a b ig part o f their life. And then, som etim es, the alum ni com e drink with the students and share a few less-censored stories w ith us,"Varlan said.

At McGill, H om eco m in g has a w hole different m eaning. Shell said that the H om eco m in g w eekend at McGill seem s to be solely for the alum ni and not at all for the students.

"I didn't even know it w as h om ecom in g w eekend. I saw a big sign that said 'H om eco m in g' but other than that, I didn't know."

T h o u g h m ost people recognize that Queen's students aren't entirely responsible for the underage drin kin g and the acts of violence, they're the ones w h o are ultim ately g o in g to have to suffer the consequences. A tra g­ e d y at H om eco m in g w ould stain the University's hands, and not o f those directly responsible. ■

CORRECTION In last week's article "Amid controversy, SSM U Council ap­ proves Choose Life," the Tribune said that Carleton Lifeline, a pro­ life gro u p at Carleton University, displayed pictures of aborted foetuses on the Carleton cam ­ pus.

This statem ent was in error.

A lthough Lifeline at the Univer­ sity of British Colum bia m ount­ ed such a display in 2002, it was never brought to Carleton.

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O pinion YOU HAD AN OPTION, SIR

HISTORIA ME ABSOLVERA

Hit Milton (and me) with your best shot

Lest we remember the wrong things

T im o t h y M a k TIMOTHY.MAK@MAIL.MCGILL.CA

M a x S il v e r m a n MAXWELl.SILVERMAN@MA!L.MCGILL.CA

M

ax Silverm an seem ed to e n jo y d e ­ b u n k in g "Friedm anism " in his last colum n. In it, he lam ented that Keynesian e co n o m ics had been sw ept aside by free m arket ideas in the past few decades, but rejoiced that Keynes will m ake a co m e b ack soon, th an ks to the current g lo b a l e co n o m ic crisis. Finally, a problern in the m arket w ill allo w us to re­ m ove the d u n ce hat from Keyn esian ideas and return them to their righ tfu l place at the front o f the class! Hooray!

But I have som e reservations to ar­ ticulate before re sig n in g m yself to state p la n n in g and the g u la g s. First o f all, can we agree that it's in te lle ctu a lly d ish o n est to su gge st, as M ax d id , th at the failure of Chile's e co n o m y un d er P in o ch et is an in d ictm en t o f free m arkets everyw here?

Can w e also agree that th is exam p le has e xc e e d in g ly m isle a d in g im p licatio n s as to w hat Friedm anites desire in a society?

Let's su p p ly som e con text for Max's Ch ilea n case stu d y of free m arkets. Pi­ n oche t cam e to pow er in a co u p that u n ­ seated Salva d o r A llende, the first M arxist to be elected president o f any d em ocracy.

A llende's regim e saw a 508 per cent in fla­ tion rate, gro ss d o m e stic p ro d u ct co n tra c­ tion, and a m o u n tin g fiscal deficit. Max's Facebo ok profile d e scrib e s his b e lie f in "a rather ossified M arxism," so I can o n ly as­ sum e that A llende's C h ile is his ideal e co ­ n o m ic and p o litical arran gem en t. But, as as som eo ne w h o believes in M ilton Fried ­ man's ideas, is Pinoch et's C h ile an a cc u ­ rate e xa m p le o f m ine?

Se ttin g aside the s u g g e stio n that Friedm an w as one o f Pinoch et's e co ­ n o m ic ad viso rs (he w asn't), Max's co lu m n su g g e sts that follow ers o f Friedm an th in k th at free m arkets are b u ilt b y ro llin g over h e lple ss protestors w ith tanks. Or, as Max put it, th ro u gh "m ass m u rder and political intim idation."

In reality, the vast m ajo rity o f free

m arket p ro p o n en ts w o u ld fig h t for p o liti­ cal freedom to their d yin g breath. M ax is righ t to p o in t ou t the irony o f p ro m o tin g e co n o m ic freedom at the e xp e n se o f p o ­ litical liberty. That's the w orst kin d o f h y­ pocrisy. But the p e o p le w h o believe in the righ t o f in d ivid u a ls to trade freely alm o st u n a n im o u sly believe in th e righ t o f all to sp e a k freely.

My p e rsp e ctive on free m arkets is sim ilar to W inston C h u rch ill's view o f d e ­ m ocracy: it's th e w orst system o f e co n o m ­ ic o rg a n iza tio n — e xcep t for all the others.

Free m arket ideas are g ro u n d e d in reality, and th ey try to m ake the best out o f the hu m an te n d e n cy to act in a self-in te re st­ ed m anner. I know , it's a sham e that we can't m ake peop le m ore th o u gh tfu l, but th ese are th e facts o f life. Furtherm ore, free m arkets have p o sitive ly affected the w orld. Th e cou n tries that have ad op ted free m arket p o licie s a lm o st alw ays have m ore p o litical freedom and h igh e r stan ­ dard s o f livin g.

But M ax and I d o have one th in g in com m on : we vie w th e other's o p p o sin g id e o lo g y in a sim ilar way. We both argu e that our o p p o n e n ts' ideas are g o o d on paper, but have been d isp ro ved by "his­ tory, em p irical ob se rvatio n , and basic logic."

So w hat d o we really believe in? M ax b elieves in p la n n in g and interven tion (w hat I w o u ld call "coercion"), and I b e ­ lieve that go ve rn m e n t actio n com es at th e co st o f our personal freedom . Fried ­ m an a rgu ed that th e cen tralizatio n of p ow er b ro u g h t a b o u t by A llende's inter­ ve n tio n ist e co n o m ic m eth o d s led to Pi­ nochet's co u p and su b se q u e n t p olitical repression.

W hen e co n o m ic freedom is a b rid g ed , the d e clin e o f p olitical lib erty isn't far b e ­ hind. So, if you w ant to avoid a repeat of Pinoch et's Chile, take Max's ideas w ith a grain o f salt. ■

T

oday is Rem em brance Day, and I'm a little nervous. On the one hand, Rem em ­ brance Day is a great o p p ortunity to con­ sider Canada's role in the world, and question w hat we're "rem em bering" on a day like this.

On the other hand, we're com m em orating the deaths of m illions of w o rking people around the w orld, and we shouldn't m inim ize the horrors that these people endured. So let me b egin by saying that I honour and respect the m em ory of every last soldier w ho died in the boss's wars.

The problem is how we rem em ber. From a very yo u n g age, we're told that the World Wars and Korean War are outside the realm of criticism . These, we're told, weren't "political" or "questionable" wars, like the current w ar on Iraq, but were "just" wars to keep evil at bay and allow d em ocracy to flourish. But the First W orld War was a w ar betw een em pires, not a w ar betw een states (let alone peoples, or som ething m ore justifiable).The Second World War could have been a w ar against fascism , if the Allied pow ers hadn't spent years prop­ p in g up Hitler and M ussolini in an obsessive attem pt to underm ine the Soviet U nion. And the Korean War w as one of the m ost ideo lo gi­ cal wars in history. It was about nothing more than exp an d in g the Am erican em pire and un­ derm in in g Chinese sovereignty.

Canada has a lo n g history o f figh tin g for im perialism , be it our ow n financial interests, those o f the British em pire in years past, or those o f the Am erican em pire today. To make m atters worse, we continu e to describe these wars as “just" and (these days) "humanitarian," instead of callin g them w hat they really are.

The best exam ple is our"hum anitarian"assault, invasion, and takeover o f Serbia in 1999.

This war, we're told, was ju st and hum anitarian, and we should feel g o o d about it. It stopped the p sychopath ic despot Slobodan M ilosevic from fulfilling his gen ocid al am bitions, already well underw ay in the Balkans. Never m ind that Serbia had suffered through one o f longest and m ost coordinated cam p aign s of terrorism

(after Cuba) in m odern history, and that Serf an nationals living in contested territories wei the subject of ethnic cleansing long befoi their country fired a shot. Or that M ilosevic w. originally seen as a "good" despo t— one wor ing for Western interests. Also, the num ber ( Kosovars m urdered and displaced by Serbia 1998 (using NATO's figures, not Serbia’s) w as f< less than the num ber m urdered and displace by the Israeli arm y in 1948 (again, using Israe not Palestinian, figures). During the course c the Kosovo b om bing cam paign, we not on bom bed m any civilian neighbourhoods, bt also a hospital and a Red Cross building.Toda Serbian civilians continue to be m urdered i the territories that are still being contested.

Most recently, Canada rushed to the dr fence of Haiti, a supposedly failed state, whos (dem ocratically elected) president was be com ing a hazard. Never m ind that we facil tated a coup d'état to install an unelected rule supported by a small minority. To this da we don't know w hat President Jean-Bertran Aristide was accused of, or w hat exactly h did that was hazardous. But consider this: th invasion cam e on the heels of a project of ne tionalization (which hurt the Canadian m inin industry), a raise to the m inim um w age (whic hurt the Canadian sw eatshop industry), an Haitian dem ands for reparations (which woul hurt the colonial industry of w hich Canada i a part).

Canadians should stop th in kin g of oui selves as a benevolent force in the w ork Canada w as born out of empire, and continue its colonial le g acy every day, in every com e o f the world. From the blue helm ets brine ing "peace" to the victim s o f our wars, to th M ounties running a police state to ensur "stability," Canadians have no leg to stand 01 in de n o u n cin g Am erican im perialism w ithou our nasty a ctions— past and present— getting in the -way. This Rem em brance Day, I'll be re m em bering all the victim s of Canada's im peri alist wars, be they Canadians or citizens of thi world. ■

FRESH HELL

Zoe falls for Barack, and is hungry for the Wolf Z o e D a n ie l s ZKDANIELS@GMAIL.COM

L

ast Tuesday afternoon, a fellow A m erican asked me "W hat are you m ost excited for in Barack Obam a's A m er­ ica?” I had no answ er for him . I w as skeptical ab ou t the A m erican people's ability to rally togeth er and defeat greed, nepotism , and idiocy. After all, those are the p ervad in g fea­ tures of A m erican society, and the qualities that gave us G ossip Girl, Paris H ilton, and Larry the Cab le Guy. D espite all the e n co u rag in g Facebook status updates and the "08AMA" graffiti on M ilton, I still believed that m ed d lin g kids were no m atch for G eorge W. Bush's legacy.

I w as at another A m erican friend's house on election night. I was extrem ely tired, but I couldn't ju st sit at hom e w atching CNN by m yself.This was som eth in g to be shared. So I arrived at around eight, after a nap and som e coffee, deter­ m ined not to m iss this historic event.

CNN's election coverage w as d izzy in g . Th ey had graphs, charts, projections, touch-screens, and even hologram s, w hich th ey used to great prosodic effect. (A h ol-o -gram o f Wil.I.Am? Very funny.) CN N also flaunted their assets: A nderson C o o ­ per, the silver fox, and W olf Blitzer, w ho bears a rem arkable resem blance to Santa. Th e cam era w ould perio d ically cut to a Republican w om an in a w hite suit a rgu in g w ith a bald

m an, w hich never failed to confuse me. Thankfully, it alw ays returned to Wolf. W olf is m y rock w hen I'm w atch in g CN N. But, at 11 p.m., he becam e m ore than that. He becam e a prophet. It w as the sam e W olf on the screen, but su d d en ­ ly he w as sta n d in g in front of a floor-to-ceilin g screen with "BA RACK OBAM A ELE C T E D 44TH PRESID EN T OF TH E UNITED STATES" written on it.

O f course I knew that som e polls had o n ly ju st closed.

I knew that all the votes hadn't been counted. I knew that kn o w in g O bam a had w on w as im possible. A nd yet, I knew that W olf knew. Never m ind that the w ords "CNN Projection" were carefully yet d im in u tive ly written on the left side o f the banner. A nd never m ind that, had W olf been w rong, he w ould have been responsible for th ou san d s of deaths by cardiac ar­ rest.

W hen W olf w as proven right after a few m ore hours of projections, m y skeptecism w aned. Now, I'm im pressed that a n otoriously racist cou n try elected a non -w hite president.

I'm proud to have sent in m y absentee ballot, even if it didn't m ake a difference in m y state (w hich w ent b lu e — hooray, M innesota!). But I'm also a little w orried. Th e cyn ic in me re­ calls Dave Chappelle's stand-up from a few years ago: "If I was

the first black president, m y vice president w ould be M exican for a little insurance. Kill m e if you want, but he's ju st go n n ; open up the border. I su gge st you leave Vice President San tia g o and m e to our ow n devices." I don't w ant to fear for the lo n ge vity of this ch an g e in A m erican politics. Norm ally, see­ in g A m erican flags w aving at political rallies give s m e jin g o fearing nausea. But on Tuesday, I felt patriotic. I gained resped for the A m erican people.

With m y new found peace o f m ind, I laid on the couch drifting in and out o f consciousness. I w oke up for M cCain': concession speech, registering his supporters' catty boos at Obam a's nam e, and the A rizona senator's startlingly potato­ like head, before slip p in g back into sem i-consciousness.

Then, I opened m y eyes to see Barack and M ichelle O bam a leading their kids dow n a catw alk, and cursed myself. How could I have m issed this historic event— the 2008 acceptance speech? W hat w ould I say w hen people ask m e w here I was w hen O bam a w as elected? "I w as alseep on the couch" cer­ tainly w ouldn't do. But after w atching the speech on the In­ ternet, I realized that, regardless of w here I w as physically, I was w ith O bam a on election night.

And w ith W olf Blitzer, too. ■

’ww.mcgilltribune.com -T he McGill

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11.11.08 • The McGill Tribune • 7

Don't turn a deaf ear to Senate ccord ing to A gatha Christie, "Good ad vice is al­ w ays certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it." The McGill Senate can appreciate those w ords now.

Last W ednesday, Senate discussed the adm inistra­ tion's new travel restriction policy. The policy, penned

by D eputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton M endelson, was im plem ented in Septem ber.TheTribune editorialized again st he p olicy w hen it was p ublicized in m id-O ctober. We opp osed the blanket restrictions that are insensitive to individual students' travel proposals, and we disliked the adm inistration's lack of consultation w ith students or faculty in drafting the policy.

On W ednesday, Senate u n expectedly took action.

In a vote of 42 to 18, they decided to suspend im ple­ m entation of the travel policy, p en d in g am endm ent and approval. We couldn't have been happier. Finally, there would be an o p p ortu n ity for consultation. The travel policy could be am ended to address student and faculty concerns.

Or m aybe not.

On Friday, M endelson called Stu d e n ts'Society Presi­ dent Kay Turner and said that the adm inistration w ould ignore the Senate suspension. A lth ou gh Senate "exer­ cises general control and supervision over the academ ic affairs" of McGill, the adm inistration decided that the travel p olicy was not w ithin the purview of Senate..

Clearly, this is bad news in term s o f the travel policy.

But it's also a distressing display of high -h an d ed n ess on the part o f the adm inistration. Part o f M endelson's jo b description is to serve as a liaison to Senate, "with a view to ensuring that im pact on student life and learning is factored into decision-m aking."

But it's hard to reconcile that with M endelson's ou t­ right rejection of Senate involvem ent in w riting the new travel directive.

Even if the travel policy doesn't fall under the S e n ­ ate's purview, the adm inistration should consider their input. A 42 to 18 vote again st the travel p olicy isn't a m inor expression o f concern. It's a sign of m ajor p ro b ­ lems.

Clearly, som ething is w ro ng with the travel policy.

If only for their ow n sake, the adm inistration should pay attention to one of McGill's key go ve rn in g bodies. It's ju st com m on sense. ■

P ublisher C h a d R o n a ld s C ontributors Alison Bailey, Z o e Daniels, Austin del Rio, Jo h n Kelsey, Leanne Kilroy, Am rita Kum ar-Ratta, Justin M argolis, Tim oth y Mak, Carly rleach, Greg Osadec, Em m a Quail, Josh u a Rosenblatt, Diane Salem a, Vlax Silverm an, Shilpa Sitram, Nate Vanderweerd, M adeleine Werker, Y o n g m in g Xie, Sarah Xu, Trip Yang T ribune O ffices Editorial Shatner University Centre Suite n o , 3480 McTavish Montreal, Q C H 3 A 1X 9 T: 514.398.6789 E: info@mcgilltribune.com

An open letter on AUS bilingualism

J u s t in M a r g o l is JUSTIN.MARGOLIS@MAIL.MCGILL.CA

A

T

he following is an open letter to AdiI Katrak, vice president com m unications of the Arts Undergraduate Society: On behalf o f all of the Francophone students at McGill University, especially in the Faculty of Arts, I w ould like to say to you that your ap ologies regarding the er­ rors on the first ListServ are not sufficient.

An unprecedented num ber o f com plaints have been brou gh t to my attention regard­ ing bilin gu alism in the Arts U ndergraduate Society.

Article 22 of the AUS constitution stip u ­ lates that English and French are the official lan gu ages o f the society, that AUS m em bers m ay use either official lan gu age at all m eet­ ings and in all docum entation, and that the constitution and by-laws o f the AUS m ust be m ade available in both official languages upon request.

It is obvious to me, and to the entire McGill Arts com m unity, that you have not fulfilled these constitutional requirem ents.

Arts students are unable to view the AUS w e b p age in the lan g u ag e o f their choice, do not have access to d ocum ents in the official lan gu age of their choice, and council m in­ utes have not been bilin gu al (nor have they been published online in the first place, w hich is constitutionally required of you under Article 23).

Now, to the issue that has brought your lack of consideration for Francophones to the p ublic sphere: the ListServ. In the first ListServ, w hich was three weeks late, you prom ised that all future AUS com m uniqués w ould be in both languages. That did not happen. It was not until O ctober 29 that the ListServ was finally m ade available in French.

I am also very concerned that the French ListServ cam e out m ore than 24 hours after the English ListServ. I believe that it cam e out o n ly because I gave you an ultim atum that if a bilin gu al ListServ was not presented

Speaking up for Chancellor Pound May I respectfully agree w ith the McGill Chancellor Richard Pound's explanation of his rem arks m ade regarding Canadian A boriginals in an A u gu st 9 interview in the M ontreal Frenchlan gu age new spaper La Presse, as reported in the McGill Tribune on O ctober 28,2008.

Dick Pound's explanation o f his remarks m ade in French were clearly m isunderstood in translation. As Pound said "[Pays de sauvages] is the term that has been used in French, w hich m eans som ething entirely different than savag­ es in English, for close to 400 years ... It's fallen out of favour now."

Richard Pound also ap o lo gize d for"any un­ intentional intentional harm that was caused, absolutely."

D ick Pound is and has been a m ost sym p a­ thetic and fair-m inded person to every m inority grou p of Canadians and, in fact, every m inority in sports around the world. He is an exam ple of d e ce n cy and of cou rageo u sly stan d in g up for the "little guy." We should all be proud o f him and w hat he has accom plished in the last 50 years.

— W illiam Tetley, M cGill law professor

heart o f the matter. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say this, but I th in k that h avin g Provost A n th o ­ ny Masi as the head o f the selection com m ittee represents a conflict o f interest.

W hen Dr. Norm an Cornett was rem oved from his teaching post over a year ago, it was Masi w ho encouraged the om budsm an at the tim e, Norm an Miller, that it "was for the go od o f all students." W hen Miller discovered that Dr. Cornett's students were alm ost unanim ously opp osed to his being let go and that it wasn't, in fact, for the benefit o f the students, he was prepared to speak to a Q uebec labour tribunal on behalf of Dr. Cornett. Yet it was Masi w ho prevented him from sp eakin g at the tribunal.

My issue w ith this is that the om budsperson needs to be indep endent from both McGill ad­ m inistration and faculty, and from the students.

They need to be free to act as they see fit. The om budsperson is akin to the indep endent ju d i­ ciary in a state, but if the ju d iciary is in the p o ck­ et o f the rulers, how can ju stice com e about?

I'm all for having the selection com m ittee for the om budsperson, but I believe that having A nthony Masi heading it up is m ost certainly not "for the go o d of the students."

— A ly Jivraj, BA 2007

Justin Margolis is a U3 Quebec studies and Hispanic languages student and a m em ­ ber o f the SSMU Com m ission on Francophone Affairs. A French version o f this letter is avail­ able at mcgilltribune.com.

This is a follow up to the letter I sent two w eeks ago. It's g o o d to see that all three McGill papers are taking the issue o f the o m b u d sp e r­ son seriously, but now that they're advertising the selection com m ittee, it's tim e to ge t to the

students did appear in our O ctober 23 issue.

The Reporter is only published every fortnight and the notice was placed in the next available issue after it was subm itted to us.

— Joseph Heyw ood Editorial assistant, the McGill Reporter

Stop the circadian relativism

...but Aly didn't get his facts straight

Re: "M orning people and cultural im perial­ ism" (04.11.08) "It's tim e to re-evaluate how we treat in­ nate differences in the m odern world. The cul­ tural im perialism of m orning people is a h old­ over from a tim e before electric lighting, and m ust be challenged if we're to progress as a liberal society."

W hile an abhorring lack of curiosity is not uncom m on am o ng those of the relativist stripe, perhaps Ms. G old should have done som e re­ search before she railed against m y people as cultural im perialists. Studies have show n that hum an horm ones by nature rise in the m orning and set in the evening, follow ing the pattern of the sun. Artificial light m esses w ith these natu­ ral processes, and is w ont to m ake its w o rship­ ers g ro g g y and tem peram ental.

Ms. G o ld ’s biorhythm ic relativism should be a ppalling to any lover of world peace.

— R icky Kreitner, Uo hum anistic studies

In response to A ly Jivraj's letter to the e di­ tor on O ctober 28, 2008, the McGill Reporter w ishes to clarify that the advertisem ent for the position of an indep endent om budsperson for

TheTribune received more letters than could be printed this week. But keep sending them to letters@mcgilltribune.com.

Aly is still woried about the ombudsperson...

Advertising Brown Student Building Suite 1200,3600 McTavish Montreal, QC H 3 A 1Y 2 T: 514398.6835 F: 514.398.7490

that day, you w ould be publicly confronted at Co uncil and in le Délit Français.

The follow ing week's ListServ was bi­ lingual. However, the quality of French was unacceptable. In addition to the accent m arks being in an obscure font, there were num erous spelling errors, gram m atical m is­ takes, and other typographical errors. The docum ent looked as if had been processed by a free online translation program . This is absolutely ridiculous considering that part of students'fees are allocated for a transla­ tor. On behalf of all Arts U ndergraduate stu­ dents, I express m y concern that a portion of every student's AUS dues g o toward the sal­ ary o f a translator, yet the current translator's finished product is extrem ely improper.

The Francophone students o f McGill call on you to ensure that equal services are provided to Francophone students, ensure that the ListServ is bilingual in clean and proper French (the sole official lan gu age of the province o f Q uebec and the city o f M on­ treal), ensure that all docum ents o f Council are bilingual, and ensure that any m em ber of the AUS has the o p p ortunity to work in French. AUS m em bers cannot "use either official lan gu age at all m eetings and in all docum entation of the A U S” unless all d o cu ­ m ents and reports are provided bilingually.

I also call on you to update and translate the AUS website, and verify that the translation of all AUS docum ents is correct and proper.

Failure to respond to these dem ands could result in further action taken by m y­ self, including your possible referral to the Judicial Board for the violation of A rticles 22 and 23. ■

Letters to the editor

C opy E ditor Tori C ra w fo rd A dvertising M anager M att W ard cpm@5smu.mcgill.ca

VOX POPULI

EDITORIAL

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 if 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 joo words and submitted only to theTribune. Submissions judged by theTribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. TheTribune reserves the *-ight to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its taff. Please recycle this newspaper.

F eatures

PHOTOS COURTESY OFFULLOISCOVERNIKKEI.ORG, ASIANAMERICANMEOIA.COM, INFOUKES.COM, MICHAELLUCKERNER.COM

IN REMEMBRANCE:

TH E

JA PA N E SE C a n a d ia n IN T E R N M E N T M a tt C h esser

Like 22,000 other Jap an ese Canadians, Art and Roy Miki lost their land, their hom e, and m any of their basic hum an rights w hen their fam ily w as forced to leave Brit­ ish Colum bia du rin g the Second World War. But unlike m any others w h o faced the the sam e fate after the bo m b ­ ing o f Pearl Harbour, they m ade sure that the Canadian governm ent w ould be held accountable.

The Miki brothers were tw o of the central figures in the 1980s redress m ovem ent that so u gh t com pensa­ tion for the internm ent o f Japanese Canadians in WWII. Art was the charism atic and personable president of the National A ssociation o f Jap an e se Canadians (N A JC )— the m an w h o sign ed the redress agreem ent on the line b e ­ neath Prime M inister Brian M ulroney's signature. Roy, his yo u n ger brother and a G overnor General A w ard-w inning poet, was a leading scholar on the internm ent of Ja p a ­ nese Canadians and a keen intellectual w ho played a key role in the behin d-the-scenes negotiations with the Cana­ dian governm ent. Together, they m oved from a derelict farm house in sm all-tow n M anitoba to becom e m em bers o f the O rder of Canada and tw o of the m ost influential figures in the Jap an ese Canadian com m unity.

From berries to beets The M iki brothers were born only six years apart, but each entered a vastly different world. Art, born in 1936, w ould enjoy five peaceful years on the fam ily's 12acre berry farm in Haney, British Colum bia. His maternal grandparents, w h o cam e to Canada in 1903, were enjoy­ ing a rare stretch o f prosperity. But their luck changed for the w orse in Decem ber of 1941— w hen the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor.

In response to the attack, the Canadian governm ent created a 100-mile w ide "protected zone" that ran the length o f the B.C. coast, and in February 1942, an order-in­ council gave the governm ent pow er to intern the 22,000

R e d r e s s in g

persons o f Japanese origin in B.C. The Miki fam ily wa: given a choice: either m ove to internm ent cam ps in the B.C. interior, or w ork on sugar beet farm s in the Prairies They chose the Prairies, and fearing that he w ould nevei be allow ed to return to the Fraser Valley, Art's grandfathei sold the fam ily farm and both houses on the property for only $2,000.

"There w as a cruel p o licy at the tim e that split up fam ilies if they chose to m ove to the B.C. interior— one that sent husbands and fathers to road cam ps away from the w om en and children," says Roy. "This p olicy didn't last long, but d u rin g the uprooting process it was in play."

The fam ily m oved to a farm in Ste. A gathe, M anitoba, a small French-speaking town not far from W innipeg. The gro u p included a fam ily friend and Art's u n cle — six adults in total— as well as three yo u n g children— Art (age five), his brother Les (age four), and his sister Joan (age two).

The adults w orked for pennies an hour, w hile Art attend­ ed a francophone school (despite not speaking a word of French), and the fam ily was housed in an abandoned building on the farm lands.

"The living arrangem ent w as horrible," says Art. "The building didn't have running water or a sew age system ...

There w ere basically four room s in the structure, and you had the equivalent of three fam ilies living in it."

Roy Miki was born into this dire situation on O ctober 10,1942. His m other had to travel to W innipeg alone to give birth, since at that tim e M anitoba's capital city was off-lim its to those of Japanese descent.

With another m outh to feed, and with m oney al­ ready stretched thin, Kazuo M iki— Art and Roy's f a t h e r left the fam ily to find w ork at a lo g g in g cam p.

"It w as painful for m y parents to have to deal with the uprooting," says Roy. “They were extrem ely disap­ pointed in the Canadian governm ent's actions. I guess a lot of people felt a m ixture of a sense of betrayal and

in s t it u t io n a l iz e d M a tt C hesser

After the b o m b in g of Pearl Harbor on D e ­ cem ber 7,1941, public sentim ent tow ards Ja p a ­ nese Canadians living in British Colum bia q uickly b egan to sour. M any Canadians expressed con­ cerns that persons of Jap an ese origin living in B.C. were gath erin g intelligence for an invasion o f the Pacific Coast, and that the flourishing Ja p ­ anese Canadian fish in g industry w as being used to m ap the coastline for the Jap anese Navy.

"There w as a long history of institutionalized racism in Canada that preceded the bo m b in g of Pearl Harbor," says professor Roger Buckley, di­ rector of the Asian Am erican Studies Institute at the U niversity of Connecticut. "There was preju­ dice a gain st their success in the com m ercial fish ­ ing industry and in farm ing in the Fraser Valley area ... The internm ent o f Jap anese Canadians w as a result of overt racism , not the result of any legitim ate security threat."

Historians, in clu d in g Buckley, studied de ­ classified Royal Canadian M ounted Police re­ cords w hich show ed that Jap anese Canadians posed no threat to Canada and that a m ass relo­

cation was not necessary. Despite this inform a­ tion, on February 24,1942, the Canadian Cabinet passed an order-in-council that gave the g o v ­ ernm ent the right to intern all persons of Ja p a ­ nese descent.

"It was fear-m ongering on the part of the governm ent," says Art Miki, form er president of the National A ssociation of Japanese Canadi­ ans. "There was a lot o f resentm ent tow ards the 'Japs'w ho were starting to have som e success in several com m ercial areas. So it m ust have been largely race-motivated."

A pproxim ately 22,000 Japane se Canadians, 75 per cent of w hom were Canadian citizens, were ordered out o f the "protected zone" along the B.C. coastline. The Canadian governm ent seized houses, farm s, and over 1,200 fishing ves­ sels w hile fam ilies m oved to internm ent cam ps in the B.C. interior or farm s on the Prairies to pro­ vide cheap labour.

"We were literally treated like animals," says Akira Miyata, w ho w as e ight years old w hen his fam ily was forced to leave their hom e in Van­ couver. "We were kept in a [livestock] building

11.11.08 • The McGill Tribune • 9

www.mcgilltribune.com

a sense of sham e at b eing m arked as 'enem y aliens.' Being singled out in that negative w ay stuck with [my parents] for som e time."

In 1943, the Miki fam ily applied to the B.C. Security C o m ­ m ission and received perm ission to m ove out of the a b an ­ doned farm structure into a sm all house in North Kildonan— ju st m inutes outside of W innipeg. It w as there, ju st four years after having to sell his successful berry farm in Haney that Art and Roy's grandfather passed away in poverty.

"W hen m y grandfather died, he had nothing," says Art. "I th ink part of the reason he passed aw ay w as because he was heartbroken. He had a very successful berry farm that he was forced to give up, and after w o rkin g his w hole life to be able to relax as he grew old, he instead found him self w o rking on a beet farm ge ttin g paid next to nothing."

R oad to redress Both Art and Roy excelled at their W innipeg high school after the Miki fam ily w as finally allow ed to m ove in 1948, three years after the end of WWII. Art earned a Master's d e ­ gree in education from the U niversity o f M anitoba and b e ­ cam e a teacher and adm inistrator. Roy pursued his love of writing, earning a PhD in English literature from the U niver­ sity o f British Colum bia.

As the Miki brothers entered the adult world, the in­ ternm ent continued to shape their lives. Art becam e a com ­ m unity organizer and activist for Japanese Canadians, w hile Roy explored injustice thro ugh scholarly w riting and poetry.

Both brothers say that the governm ent "evacuation" policy that had created so m any difficulties for their fam ily m oti­ vated them to succeed.

"It perm eated m y w hole life,"says Roy. "In m y early tw en­ ties, I resented a lot o f the overt racism that w as directed to­ w ards Japanese Canadians w hen I w as grow in g up, and that created a lot of anxiety in me. There w as also a lot o f pres­ sure on Japanese Canadians in the 50s and 60s to assim ilate

and becom e w hat we used to call 'anglo-conform ists.' You had to w ork to retain w hat m ade you unique."

In 1984, Art was elected president of the N A JC. Alm ost im m ediately, he announced his intent to seek a form al a p o lo gy from the Canadian governm ent and to negotiate individual com pensation for Jap an ese Canadians w hose property w as confiscated by the governm ent d u rin g the m ass uprooting of the 1940s. A 1985 study by Price Waterhouse com m issioned by the N A JC estim ated that Japanese Canadians lost approxim ately $4 43 m illion in property and b elo n gin gs. N egotiations with Pierre Trudeau's Liberal g o v ­ ernm ent were fruitless, as Trudeau and his advisors did not believe in financial com pensation for past injustices. But with the election of Brian M ulroney's Progressive Co n serva­ tive governm ent, th in gs ch an ged . D u ring this tim e, Art Maki was both the public face of the N A JC and its m ost im portant negotiator. Roy, w h o had started one of the first redress re­ search grou ps in the mid-1970s, jo in e d him on the negotiat­ ing com m ittee.

"It was pretty neat to work a lo n gsid e m y brother on such a large movement," says Roy. "Art has different skills from m e— he's m ore of a natural com m u n ity leader and he had a great w ay of m ediating differences. I, on the other hand, am m uch m ore of a writer and researcher, so we com ­ plem ented each other quite well."

The N A JC reached a settlem ent ju st before the 1988 federal election. The Canadian go vern m en t agreed to pay $21,000 to each su rvivin g internee, issue a form al ap o lo gy for the unjust treatm ent o f Jap an ese Canadians du rin g WWII, and reinstate citizenship for Japanese Canadians w h o were deported to Ja p a n .T h e agreem ent also included $12 m illion for N A JC projects, and $12 m illion to establish the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

"This was a m om ent that we had dream t about, but never th o u gh t w ould actually come," says Art. "I th in k it let [Japanese Canadians] be proud of b eing Japanese. After the

R A C IS M at Hastings Park with only sheets separating us from the family beside us. It was terrible."

Miyata's family was one of hundreds that were fragmented by the euphemistically-named "evacu­ ation." He went to live with his mother and sister in a shantytown in the B.C. interior, while his father worked on a road crew in a different area.

Dick Nakamura was in high school when the government declared all Japanese Canadians to be "enemy aliensJ'To keep the family together, his par­ ents, who owned two small farms in the Fraser Valley, chose to move to Magrath, Alberta to work on sugar beet farms.

"I was one angry young man when we were forced to leave our home," says Nakamura. "I was a Cadet in high school, until one day the principal called me into his office and told a bunch of us that we could no longer be Cadets because the govern­ ment had decreed we were 'enemy aliens.' I'll never forget that day."

Nakamura's father im m igrated to C anada in 1907 and w orked as a fisherm an and a lo g g in g com pany superintendent until he m anaged to b u y tw o suc­ cessful m arket garden farm s that were subsequently seized and sold b y the governm ent.

"They were su p posed to keep that land for us, but they sold it," said Nakam ura. "It was really tou gh on m y parents. Not only w ere they having to d o hard labour— all of us were, in clu d in g m y sisters— but the land they had w orked so hard to purchase w as sold o ff by the go vern m en t for next to nothing."

In 1943, the Canadian governm ent succum bed to political pressure from B.C. politicians and sold the land and b e lo n gin gs of Jap an ese Can ad ian s— in clu d in g both Miyata and Nakum ura's fam ilies— for a fraction o f its worth.

After WWII, the Canadian governm ent rem oved all Japanese Canadians from British Colum bia, allow ­ ing them to m ove to the East or be deported to Japan, but not to return to their form er hom e province. It wasn't until 1949 that Jap an ese Canadians once again had the freedom to live anyw here in Canada.

"We have to look back at this horrific injustice and learn from it,” says Buckley. "Any dem o cracy can­ not hope to be a true d em o cracy unless it respects hum an rights, due process, and constitutional rights.

[Canada's] d em o cracy failed in the case o f Jap an ese Canadians, and that failure cuts to the heart of our dem ocratic ideals.''B

experience they had go n e through, after the discrim ination, after the hardship, I think Japanese Canadians didn't feel like equals. As one person said to m e after the agreem ent, 'I fi­ nally feel like I'm a real Canadian.'"

"Quite a lot of Japanese Canadians also felt that they were at fault for the treatm ent that they had received, and this agreem ent finally allow ed them to get rid of the guilt and a cknow ledge that they were mistreated. Their attitude before the a p o lo g y was t h a t ... the governm ent is suprem e, and if one w as m istreated by the governm ent it m ust have been because one did som ething wrong."

Moving into the future In 1991, Art Miki was appointed to the Order of Canada.

He led tw o unsuccessful cam paigns to becom e an MP for the Liberal Party, losing in the W innipeg-Transcona riding by o n ly 219 votes in 1993. Since 1998, he has served as a citizen­ sh ip ju d g e for Saskatchew an and M anitoba.

Roy earned extensive critical acclaim as a poet, most notably w in n in g the 2002 Governor's General Award for his book of poetry, Surrender. He is the author of several books, in clu d ing Redress: Inside the Japanese C anad ian C a ll for Jus­ tice, and currently teaches contem porary Canadian and Am erican poetry at SFU. He becam e a m em ber of the Order of Canada in 2006.

Despite their individual successes, the brothers both consider their w ork on behalf o f Japanese Canadians to be their greatest accom plishm ent.

"It w as an incredible m om ent to be a part of," says Roy. "It felt like we were dream ing, because we had been w ork­ ing b ehind-the-scenes on the agreem ent for so m any years.

I was both elated and relieved ... W orking w ith Art m ade the w hole thing even neater. He was m y older brother and our a ge difference alw ays m eant we were never really close grow ing up, but w hat we helped accom plish after all that our fam ily had been thro ugh w as really special.” ■

10- N e w s -11.11.08

The McGill Tribum

S t a n s t e a d - D e r b y L in e : A T o w n D i v i d e d T h e o M e y e r , T h o m a s Q u a il & B e r n a r d R u d n y When most people go to the library, they aren't travel­ ling to a foreign country. But life is different in Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line, Vermont. The towns share the Haskell Free Library an d Opera House, and the C an ad aU.S. border runs through the middle o f the building.

At first, the border separating Stanstead from Derby

The view from Stanstead David Gow, an accom plished Canadian playw right, has called Stanstead hom e for m any years. A ccording to Gow, the border, w hich was once little more than a backdrop, now loom s large over the town.

Residents cross the border on a daily basis to go to work, take their cars to a garage, or just to eat lunch.

Stanstead and Derby Line are part of a netw ork of tow nships that surround the border. The com m unities evolved based on free m ovem ent within the network, and Gow is concerned that the area has been cleaved in two by tighter border regulations in the wake of S ep ­ tem ber 11.

"Before 9/11, 1 would hit the border in an old, beat up Saab, and they w ould literally [wave] to me," said Gow. "They'd say 'Go ahead, we know w ho you are, we've seen you m any times.' And they'd ju st wave."

There has been a shift to strict enforcem ent of bor­ der regulations in the last seven years. Residents on the Am erican side of the aptly-nam ed Canusa A venue cross the border every tim e they pull out of their driveways.

They now m ust report to a border station, with their passports, every tim e they drive som ewhere.

W hile Gow understands the im petus behind tig h t­ er security measures, he feels they don't take the lives of residents into account.

"T h e b o rd e r is m e a n t to be in service o f th e p o p u la ­

Line can seem like a novelty. It's a strange collision o f the big and the little: the border between two massive, indus­ trialized nations, bisecting a picturesque comm unity in the Eastern Townships.

But the novelty is short-lived. Once you speak to town residents, or try to cross the border, the big starts to over­

whelm the little. Stanstead and Derby Line have formed a single comm unity straddling the Canadian-Am erican bor­ der for over 200 years. With dramatic increases in border security after the terrorist attacks o f September 11, 2001, however, the once-perm eable border between the two towns has become a barrier to life in the community.

tio n ,"h e said.

quire about his situation. He was put off of a pplying for a green card, however, by the long w aiting tim es and $2,000 cost, plus possible legal fees.

Blake has considered m oving back to Canada, where his son and ex-wife live in Saint-Hyacinthe, but has been dissuaded by the possibility of not being able to return to the U.S., and by the troubled econom y. His situation is even more frustrating because he lives m e­ tres away from the Canadian border, next to a side street that crosses into Stanstead.

For G o w a n d o th e r residents, th e m o s t tr o u b lin g d e v e lo p m e n t w as a g o v e rn m e n t p ro p o sa l to in sta ll b a rrie rs o n S tanstead's c ro s s -b o rd e r ro a d s .T h e re are a l­ re a d y s u rv e illa n c e cam eras in s ta lle d in D e rb y Line, b u t th e ba rrie rs a n d c h e c k p o in ts w o u ld b lo c k roa d access to so m e p a rts o f th e to w n .

"If [b o rd e r o fficia ls] have n o o th e r w a y o f s e cu rin g th a t b o rd e r, I can u n d e rs ta n d . B u t I d o n 't th in k th e y 'v e e xh a u ste d all th e p o ssib ilitie s,"sa id Gow. Like m a n y to w n residents, G o w is ske p tica l a b o u t th e g o v e rn m e n t's s e c u rity co n ce rn s. S ittin g in M illie 's Diner, a stone's th r o w fro m th e b o rd e r, he g e s tu re d o u t th e w in d o w a t S tanstead's serene m a in street.

"You can see th e v a n lo a d s o f p e o p le m a k in g a run fo r th e b o rd e r as w e sit here, rig h t? "

"I s it th e re o u t o n m y la w n a n d I lo o k in to C anada th in k in g , 'Geez,' y o u k n o w ? M y son lives u p in SaintH y a c in th e a n d he plays h o c k e y a n d th e re have been so m a n y tim e s I've ju s t b e e n te m p te d to go. B ut I'm n o t rea d y to tu rn m y b a ck o n th e U n ite d States," Blake said.

The Mayor from Quebec A trip down Main Street In a Derby Line diner just dow n the street from M il­ lie's, the border is also on Steve Blake's m ind. A Derby Line resident and editor o f the New port Daily Express in nearby Newport, Verm ont, he hasn't crossed the border into Stanstead since Ju n e 2007.

Born in S h e rb ro o k e to a C anadian m o th e r a nd an A m e ric a n fa th e r, Blake had alw ays a ssu m e d he w a s a d u a l c itiz e n a nd crossed th e b o rd e r w ith ease, s o m e ­ tim e s tw o o r th re e tim e s a day. C o m in g b a ck in to D e rb y

The border between Stanstead and Derby Line has a striking visual presence but, until a few years ago, it was just the backdrop for a single community.

Back in Canada, Stanstead's 61-year old Mayor Ray­ m ond Yates continues to figh t tooth and nail to keep the border open.

Before 2001, Stanstead's town hall was like any other. Yates fielded com plaints from constituents, spoke to local reporters, and balanced the budget. But after 9/11, his world turned upside-dow n.

In the days follow ing the World Trade Center at­ tacks, border surveillance in Stanstead increased dra­ m atically. Unm arked police cars roam ed Stanstead's streets. Derby Line border agents were visibly anxious.

And w ithin a m onth, the Royal Canadian M ounted Po­ lice had initiated 24-hour surveillance of the Canadian border.

"A t th e tim e , it was th e ir jo b to secure th e border,"

Line last June, h o w e ve r, he ran in to tr o u ­ b le a t U.S. Custom s.

The b o rd e r p a tro l o ffic e r to ld Blake he w as n o t A m e rica n .

"So I said,'G eez, am I g o in g to be a b le to g o h o m e ? ' She said, 'Yeah, yo u can g o h o m e , b u t d o n 't g o b a ck to C anada b e ­

Yates said. "B u t th e y w e re [o n th e stree ts] fo r an e n tire year."

cause y o u w o n 't g e t b a ck in to th e U n ite d States," Blake said.

In shock, Blake w e n t to th e im m ig ra ­ tio n o ffic e in S aint A lbans, V e rm o n t, to in-

However, according to both governm ents, the border still wasn't secure. In 2004, the Canadian g o v ­ ernm ent approached Yates with a new proposal. In an effort to secure the border, federal officials wanted to

They're in the same building, but these two library patrons are in different countires. The black line on the floor is the Canada-U.S. border, which runs through the Haskell Free Library and Opera House.

11.11.08 • The McGill Tribune • 11

w.mcgilltribune.com

PHOTOS BY ADAM SCOTTI close Church, Lee, and Ball Streets, two lane sidestreets that run between Stanstead and Derby Line. Closing them w ould have perm anently restricted vehicular access across the border. In m eetings w ith the RCMP, Departm ent of H om eland Security, and Canadian and Am erican intelligence officials, Yates fou gh t to keep the streets open.

The governm ent argued that the closures w ould keep illegal im m igrants and drug traffickers from cross­ ing the border. Yates m aintained that this did not vali­ date carving up the border's ge o grap h y— a view shared by both his constituents and Derby Line residents.

Eventually, Yates and governm ent officials reached a com prom ise. Instead of closing the streets, the RCMP installed gates and put up border-crossing signs.

The governm ent didn't stop there, however. Plans to build a physical barrier surfaced in Novem ber 2007.

A ccording to Yates, the RCMP had originally planned to finish the barrier by March 2008. M oving quickly, the m ayor and concerned residents fought to delay the pro­ cess.

On O ctober 6 , Q uebec Premier Jean Charest and Verm ont Governor Jim D o u glas met in Stanstead, at w hich tim e the physical barrier was brought to the pre­ mier's attention. A ccording to Yates, Charest said his of­ fice w ould look into the matter.

"N obody [in Stanstead or Derby Line] wants to see this barrier go up," Yates said. "For people that live out­ side the com m unity, it's not a big deal. But for people that g o through custom s every day, it is a big deal."

The Senator from Vermont The changes to the border are also a big deal for Verm ont State Senator Bob Starr.

"To be real frank about it, it's crazy," Starr said, d e ­ scribing the post-9/11 border. "There's five tim es more border patrol on our side o f the border. The [U.S.] Cus­ tom s [agents] that are checkin g people in, they've been real harsh and hard on our citizens."

Starr represents Derby Line, a part of the EssexO rleans district, in the Verm ont Senate, and his fam ily has inhabited the area for six generations.The new stric­ tures on border traffic affected him just as m uch as his constituents.

A ccording to Starr, unreasonable measures, like searching personal lu g g a g e and interrogating senior citizens, were the norm. The border w ent haywire after 9/11. In 2004, he o pposed the proposal to erect road bar­ riers in Stanstead and Derby Line, and in 2007, he and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders convinced the deputy sec­ retary of H om eland Security to visit the area.

"I'd call it harassment," said Starr, of U.S. border se­ curity until 2007.

"They're not harassing us like they were," Starr said.

"There have been im provem ents for the good. Prior to that, it was a nightmare."

Starr doesn't believe increased security has signifi­ cantly reduced crim inal activity across the border. He feels that border officials were doin g an adequate jo b in Stanstead and Derby Line before 2001, and additional resources should be focussed on ports and other w eak

points.

"If you're a terrorist and you've got 500 m iles of border, w hy would you drive into a great big border [crossing], where everybody has gu n s strapped to their sides?" he asked. "Why wouldn't you go through the woods, [over] the railroad tracks, across the lake?"

Starr h o p e s to see fu rth e r im p ro v e ­ m e n ts a t th e b o rd e r.

"T h e re s h o u ld n 't be a n y hassle fo r th o s e p e o p le w h o h ave live d [in D e rb y Line] fo re v e r a nd ever. T he y're to o scared."

Part of a bigger picture W hile Stanstead is an exceptional case, the border issues that affect the town aren't unusual. They're part of a fundam ental post-9/11 shift in Canadian-Am erican border relations.

A ccording to Victor Konrad, a pro­ fessor of ge ograp h y and environm en­ tal studies at Carleton University and fou n d in g director of the Canada-U.S. Fulbright com m ission, the ch an ges at the border are com ing from the top down.

But w hile W ashington and Ottawa form ulate national border solutions, they som etim es overlook local and regional repercussions. A ccording to Konrad, personal know ledge and re­ Clockwise, from top left: a house in America with its back yard in lationships in border com m unities are Canada; Bashar Shbib, owner of Millie's Diner in Stanstead; the being overridden by federal security Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which is shared by the towns; concerns. For a town like Stanstead, the and Mayor Raymond Yates of Stanstead. inflexible nature of new security m ea­ th a t th e re 's n o c o m p ro m is e . S e c u rity is first." sures can have devastating and unpre­ W h ile fe d e ra l s e c u rity a g e nd a s have cre a te d p ro b ­ dictable effects. lem s fo r S tanstead, th e y m a y also be p a rt o f a p o te n tia l "Agencies that previously worked som ew hat more s o lu tio n . independently, and adjusted to the situation in their "I th in k th a t b o rd e r p ra ctice s w ill be re v ie w e d own region and their ow n border concerns ... are now u n d e r an O b a m a p re sid e n cy, because th e A m e rica n s being required to w ork exclusively by the book," said are s p e n d in g b illio n s o f dollars," said D rache. "It's u n ­ Konrad. "And that book is still in the process of being cle a r w h e th e r th e m o n e y is w e ll spent." written."

K onrad agrees th a t a re v ie w is like ly. B u t fo r it to The guards w ho once waved David Gow or Steve succeed, he says, b o th th e C a n a d ia n a n d A m e ric a n g o v ­ Blake across the border are part of a chapter m issing e rn m e n ts n eed to u n d e rs ta n d th a t th e b o rd e r o p e ra te s from that book. They're part of what Konrad calls the a t a c o m m u n ity level. S tanstead m ay be an e x c e p tio n , "borderlands culture" that has developed over the last b u t it sh o w s th a t care m u s t be ta k e n w h e n fo rm u la tin g 200 years because of sym biotic relationships betw een n e w rules. border com m unities like Stanstead and Derby Line.

"T h e b o rd e r has e n te re d a n e w phase. I d o n 't th in k Daniel Drache, a professor of political science and yo u c o u ld e ve r g o b a c k to th e w a y th in g s w e re in th e associate director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian past," said K onrad. H o w e ve r,"a n e w [A m e ric a n ] a d m in is ­ Studies at York University, sees the sam e problem s at the tra tio n is g o in g to lo o k v e ry v e ry c lo s e ly a t w h a t needs border as Konrad. He cites the Am erican governm ent's unyielding focus on security as a key im pedim ent to co ­ to be d o n e , a n d I th in k th a t's o n e ray o f h o p e fo r a m o re b e n ig n b o rd e r— p e rh a p s o n e th a t goes b a ck to s o m e o f operation on border issues. th e m o re c o m m u n ity -b a s e d c h a ra c te ris tic s th a t it had "In m any instances, the problem lies with the Am ericans. They're not interested in arrangem ents that in th e p a s t." * w ould in any way dim inish their control over the policy m anagem ent of the border," said Drache. "Their logic is

At this intersection in Derby Line, a left turn leads to Stanstead, and the proposed location of a Canadian road barrier. A right turn keeps you in America, just a feet away from the border.

S tudent L iving

MINDFUNK

Intelligence marker or marketing gimmick?

Crayola's alternate IQ test shows the value of a healthy imagination C a r ly O r lea c h "But I'm ju st n o t a creative person," scoffed a friend of mine, after g la n cin g at the low score she achieved on'Crayola's 'other' IQ quiz, w hich tests im agination quotient instead of the traditional intelligence quotient. T h e notion that cre­ ativity is an innate gift is ch allen ged by Robert J. Sternberg, dean of the school of arts and sciences atTufts U niversity and one o f the authors o f the 'other' IQ theory. Even th o u gh the 14-question q u iz on Crayola's w ebsite is light-hearted and cites its ow n inadequacy as a definitive test, it em phasizes the im portance of de ve lo p in g creativity.

Sternberg's research dem onstrates that im agination is ju st as im portant as "traditional analytic skills." W hile tradi­ tional IQ tests tend to gro u p people into levels of smartness, Crayo la's'IQ 'qu iz aim s to further d evelop the skills it tests by e nco uraging teachers and parents to foster creativity in their children and students. Sternberg insists that creativity is one o f three intelligences necessary to all functional adults. He adds that w ith the right tools and education anyone can be creative.

"Y ou n e e d cre a tiv e in te llig e n c e t o c o m e u p w ith an idea, a n a ly tic a l in te llig e n c e t o k n o w if it's a g o o d idea, a n d p ra c ti­ cal in te llig e n c e to sell it,"says S te rn b e rg .

E d u c a tio n is an im p o r ta n t a s p e c t in c h ild h o o d d e v e lo p ­ m e n t o f c re a tiv ity . S te rn b e rg co n sid e rs th e c u rre n t s c h o o l system , in w h ic h s tu d e n ts are b o m b a rd e d w ith tra d itio n a l sta n d a rd iz e d tests, t o b e d e trim e n ta l t o im a g in a tiv e d e v e l­ o p m e n t. He a rg u e s th a t s ta n d a rd iz e d te sts o n ly a llo w a ce r­ ta in g ro u p o f p e o p le t o excel, since e v e ry o n e learns d iffe r­ e n tly a n d s ta n d a rd iz e d te sts d o n o t d o n o t c o n s id e r e v e ry le a rn in g style.

S te rn be rg 's research is fo cu sse d o n s tu d e n ts ta k in g th e S ch o la stic A p titu d e Test, a sta n d a rd iz e d te s t th a t co n su m e s m o n th s o f a n y A m e ric a n c o lle g e h o p e fu l's tim e . S te rn be rg 's research sh o w s th a t s tu d e n ts w h o a c h ie ve d lo w SAT scores sco re d h ig h e r o n his c re a tiv ity te s ts a n d e x p e rie n c e d g re a te r success in c o lle g e w h e n c o m p a re d t o s tu d e n ts w h o rece ive d h ig h e r scores o n th e ir SATs. Iro n ica lly, th e SAT w a s o rig in a lly d e s ig n e d t o p re d ic t c o lle g e success.

T h e v a lu e o f an im a g in a tio n spans b e y o n d e le m e n ta ry

ly is also im p o r ta n t la te r in life.

"C re a tiv e p e o p le are m o re lik e ly to be leaders, fu lfill re s p o n s ib ilitie s , a n d b e h a p py, successful, a n d p u rp o s e fu l in life," says Jam es K a u f­ m a n , a p ro ­ fe sso r

of

p s y c h o lo g y a t C a lifo rn ia S tate U n i­ v e rsity. ■

Visit w w w .c r a y o la. com to take the quiz a n d find out m ore ab o u t yo u r other IQ.

sch o o l a rt classes.The a b ility to a p p ro a c h s itu a tio n s c re a tiv e -

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11.11.08 «The McGill Tribune* 13

CASH AND CAREERS

FOOD GURU

Freedom fund

Compromise cookies

Work: the only answer

Relive the election, one cookie at a time

S arah X u Independence is part o f the allure o f g o in g aw ay for scho ol— but at what point is it really achieved? W hile in the past, it was more com m on to leave hom e earlier, today an increasing percentage o f students pu rsu in g post-secondary education are discovering that com plete financial in d ep en ­ d ence is no longer a reality. For m ost students, total in d e­ pendence com es second to academ ic success, but they don't have to be m utually exclusive.There are w ays to start b eco m ­ ing financially indep endent w hile still in school. Spread your w in gs and fly out o f the nest! The results could surprise both you and your parents.

G e t a jo b : W hile it's hard to w ork and study at the sam e tim e, it's not im possible. There are, o f course, individuals w ho pay their own w ay through university by ge ttin g jobs.

However, w o rking tw o or m ore jo b s on top of studyin g is not a sacrifice m ost students w ould choose to m ake for fin an ­ cial independence. C he ck if you are eligib le to a p p ly for the W ork-Study program through McGill Financial Aid. C r e a te a jo b : Mark Zuckerb erg started Facebook w hile he was still in college. U niversity is a great tim e to start your entrepreneurial endeavours. The w ork schedule is flexible, fellow students serve as your custom er base, and you m ay find other students w ho w ould like to help you. It m ay start sm all. For exam ple, an eBay business. A nd if it doesn't w ork out, you'll have your degree to fall back on.

S c o re a n in te rn s h ip : Internships are the best w ay to earn m oney w hile in school. They facilitate financial in d ep en ­ dence w hile helping build a strong CV for further education or future jobs. If it's not possible to w ork du rin g the school year, sum m er internships are the next best option. Meet with TAs, and professors to discuss w hat opp ortunities are avail­ able to you. ■

LEANNE KiLROY

In the spirit of President-Elect Barack Obam a's victo ry last week, this week's recipe is fashioned in the spirit of love and com prom ise. And what, I ask you, could be m ore o f a cu ­ linary com prom ise than m ixing chocolate and vanilla? Le g ­ end (read: W ikipedia) has it that these fam ous treats o rigi­ nated over lo o years ago in New York, w here they are called Black and W hite Cookies. In M assachusetts, w here I grew up, we call them H alf Moons, but for the sake of com prom ise, I'll allow them their original (but m uch less cool) name. The beauty o f Half M oons— I m ean, Black and W hites— is that one side is frosted with chocolate icing and the other with vanilla, so you never have to choose! It's a com pletely non­ partisan cookie, and even encourages sharing betw een d ie ­ hard chocolate, and vanilla lovers!

These cookies were alw ays a bakery treat for me, som e­ th in g I th o u gh t couldn't ge t any better even if m ade from scratch. But w hen I tried them last year to deflow er m y C a ­ nadian room m ates, they turned out to be easy to m ake and were alm ost as pretty as the bakery version. T h o u g h I'm not one to toot m y ow n horn, the last tim e I m ade them a native New Yorker (whose m om ow ned a bakery that m ade these things) told me they were the best Black and W hite Cookies she'd ever had. A nd if a Yankees fan can say that to a Red Sox fan, these cookies really do inspire com prom ise.

In g re d ie n ts

1/3 cup m ilk 1 tbsp. lem on juice iV i cup flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/3 cup butter, softened 1/2 cu p sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1egg

Icing 1V2 cup confectioners (icing or pow dered) sugar 1 tb sp corn syrup (if you don't have this, leave it out. You m ay need to use a bit m ore water.)

2 tsp lem on juice 1/4 tsp vanilla 2-3 tbsp water 2 tb sp cocoa pow der

Directions 1.

2.

GIZMOS & GADGETS

Politics forever A m r it a K u m a r - R a t t a

3.

For all you’ avid O bam a supporters, or you "McCainiacs," Jailbreak Toys has com e up with a creative com m em orative strategy for both presidential nom inees in the recent A m eri­ can election. The O bam a and M cCain action figures are sure to turn heads w hen placed on your shelf, each action figure sold generated one dollar for the candidate it resembles.

Both figures are six inches tall and are placed in w in d o w boxes with original artwork. O bam a bob ble-heads are also available if you w ant even m ore entertainm ent. With their b ig heads, large ears, and their lack of actual ressem blance to ei­ ther senator or the new president-elect, these action figures com e to the forefront as those with "the pow er to transform a nation." ■

4.

Preheat oven to 325°F (i6o°C). Grease a large baking sheet (or two). In a small bowl, m ake butterm ilk by m ixing the lem on ju ice and m ilk together and let­ tin g them sit for a few m inutes. In a separate bowl, m ix the flour, baking soda, and salt together. In a third bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for a few m inutes until creamy, then add the e g g and vanilla and beat a bit more. Now add about half the flour m ixture to this bow l and m ix well. Next beat in the butterm ilk, follow ed by the rest of the flour m ixture.

On your greased cookie sheet, spoon tablespo ons of batter about tw o inches apart (they spread a little).

Don't w orry if they don't look circular— they m agi­ cally spread sym m etrically in the oven. Bake until e dges are pale go ld and cookies spring back when touched, 15-17 m inutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

W hile cookies are cooling, m ake the icing by m ixing all the ingredients, except the water and cocoa, in a big bowl. Mix in one tablespo on o f water at a tim e until the icing is sm ooth. Next, divide the icing into tw o separate bow ls. Stir the cocoa pow der into one o f them . You m ay w ant to add a tiny bit m ore water to the black icing to give it the sam e consistency as the white.

W hen the cookies are cooled, flip them over so they're flat-side-up and ge n tly spread the w hite icing on half o f each cookie and the black icing on the other half. A llow the icin g to set a little before d e vo u rin g— or sh arin g— your cookies. ■

MISCELLANEOUS

Gourmet dining meets dépanneur wine

The best of the Plateau's student-budget friendly BYOW restaurants C a r o l y n G r é g o ir e O ne of the best th in gs about living in the M ontreal Pla­ teau is being surrounded by som e o f the best d in in g options the city has to offer: the bring-your-ow n w ine restaurants.

A venue D u luth— the Broadway of the b rin g-yo u r-ow n s— offers Greek, Italian,Thai, Indian, and upscale French options.

Or, if you don't w ant to stray too far from the ghetto, check out the plethora of BYOWs along Prince Arthur, betw een St. Laurent and St. Denis, to experience a con cep t that's distinct to Montreal.

W ining and d in in g can be a great alternative to pre­ d rin kin g and a classy substitute for beers at Biftek follow ed by m unchies at La Belle. W hether you'd like a single glass of chardonnay w ith your salm on or a bottle to yourself, these restaurants give you the option of leaving as drunk, or sober as you like. Not all BYOWs are geared tow ards students, and institutions such as La C o lo m b e and La Prunelle offer French cuisine and upscale d in in g best enjoyed when the parents are in town to foot the bill. However, students can enjoy a m ultitude o f affordable bring-your-ow n restaurants that are perfect for g o o d food, go o d (or at least decent) wine, and a

fun n igh t out. Som ew here in the Plateau, there is a bringyour-ow n restaurant to suit every palate and price range. You ju st need to know where to go.

L'Academie (4051 St. Denis) O ne of the m ore pop ular restaurants in M ontreal, trendy I'Academ ie is a spot that everyone should try at least once.

D inner w on't com e cheap, but it will be m em orable. The m enu features classic French and Italian dishes and a tem pt­ ing dessert cart, and I'Academ ie is actually less expensive and m ore casual than its upscale counterparts, l'Express and La Prunelle. Go for the lively atm osphere and great food.

Restaurant Eduardo (404 Duluth) Restaurant Eduardo is the closest you'll ge t to Little Italy south o f Jean-Talon. At this charm ing, tucked away little res­ taurant, e xpect red and w hite checkered tablecloths, baskets o f warm bread, h u ge bow ls o f pasta, and red w ine flow ing freely. Pasta dishes are delicious and fairly inexpensive, w hile m eat entrées can be quite pricey. If you're a calam ari fan, this is your place. Expect a long wait on w eekend even ings.

Buddha Buddha (3213 St. Laurent) My personal favorite. A gian t bronze Buddha greets d in ­ ers, and the pleasant atm osphere and convenient location

will bring you back again and again. Buddha Buddha offers incredible Thai food, from savoury vegetable d u m p lin gs with peanut sauce to delicious yellow curry w ith brown rice, at reasonable prices. Save room for dessert— fried bananas and coconut ice cream are icin g on the cake.

Le Gourmet Grec (180 Prince Arthur) W hen choosing from the cluster o f nearly identical Greek BYOW restaurants on the Prince Arthur walkw ay, your best bet is Le Groum et Grec. T h o u g h a bit pricey, the food is delicious, and entrées include soup, bread, and salad— there is no w ay you'll leave this place hungry. With a fireplace at the center of the restaurant and Greek m usic playing, the co zy and inviting atm osphere lends itself to long, lin gering dinners. The service is im peccable, and the ow ner George greets custom ers at the door and can o nly be described as jovial; he will see to it that all your needs are met. M oussaka accom panied by red w ine m akes for a satisfying meal.

Le Gourmet Thai Viet (3610 St. Dominique) A lthough the a m b ience leaves som ething to be desired (think fish tanks and bad lighting), this Thai restaurant offers dishes that are both delectable and eco nom ical— a filling plate o f chicken with peanut sauce and spinach is less than $10. The best place to g o on a budget. *

A rts & E ntertainment THEATRE

Four characters, all alike in dignity Player's Theatre gets closer to excellence with new production C ar o lyn G

r é g o ir e

Currently playing at Player's Theatre is Patrick Marber's Closer— the play that inspired the ep onym ous O scar-nom i­ nated film starring Julia Roberts, Ju d e Law, Natalie Portm an, and Clive O w en— w hich dep icts the tan gled w eb of love and deception betw een Anna the photographer, Dan the o b itu ­ ary writer, Alice the stripper, and Larry the derm atologist. The play speaks deeply about hum an nature and allow s its au d i­ ence to experience the pain, greed, self-deception, and desire that accom pany these intertw ined relationships as they are developed and subseq u en tly destroyed. Th ro u gh o u t Closer,

the audience essentially becom es w hat Larry, as a doctor, professes him self to b e — a clinical o b ­ server of the hum an carnival in all o f its sadness and hum our.

With a talented student cast w hose honest portrayal o f the play's com p lex characters makes the intense tale of love and deception com e alive, Closer provides a raw d epiction of the full range of hum an em otions. The Players' production su c­ ceeds th ro u gh brilliant student acting, w hich im ­ m ediately captivates and keeps the audience's attention for the play's entire tw o and a half hour duration.

Directed by Alice Hayward, student actors Danielle Boudreau, Will Skinner, M ackenzie Davis, and Mitch Boughs each present sensitive and honest portrayals o f these four equally fascinat­ ing characters. Closer is intrinsically ap p ealin g to its audience in large part because anyone can re­ late to one, if not all, o f these very real characters.

Like Anna's photograph portraits of sad strangers, there is a m esm erizing beauty in the characters' Emotions, and Alice, run rampant.

ADAM SCOTTlI em otional intensity and tireless strivings. It b e ­ com es im possible for the audience to take their look where I'm going,'' and says coyly that she know s what| eyes off the passionate scenes that unfold before th em — men want, w hen all she wants is ju st to be loved. These state­ we becom e intim ately involved w ith the characters as they m ents h igh ligh t the truth of all the characters— that none o fl becom e m ore intim ately involved w ith each other. With the them really know w hat they w ant, to the obvio us detrim ent of| audience closely surro undin g the stage, the small, co zy set­ their relationships. ting o f the theatre itself also helps to lend this d yn am ic to the M itch Boughs steals the show w ith his portrayal of Larry,| production. a character w hose honesty resonates strongly w ith the audi­ A lth o u gh the play deliberately focusses on d ialo gu e and ence. Larry declares, "we live the w ay we dream — alone,'' a| characterization, the black and w hite sets were sparse and line w hich high ligh ts the play's underlying m essage of the in­ contributed little to the overall experience of the production. herent failure in looking to others— either through loving or| The sam e set was present for every scene, but in sligh tly dif­ purely sexual relationships— in order to find oneself. ferent form ations. Frequent set ch an ges rather aw kw ardly disJust as the film's all-star cast m ade it the success that it I pupted the flow of the play. In addition, the m usic left som e­ was, the play's success is contingent upon the high quality o f l th in g to be desired— particularly du rin g the scene at the strip the four lead actors' perform ances and the connection that the | club where Alice works, w hen Jan is Joplin's "Piece o f My Heart" view er experiences w ith their characters. W hile m ore chem is­ was repeated three tim es in a row as Alice and Larry e n ga ge try betw een the actors could have im proved the production,! in a coy and sexu ally-charged dialogue. Th e repetitiveness of Marber's aw ard-w inning script alone guarantees a degree o f l the m usic distracted the view er from the em otional and sig ­ success. Closer is both an accom plishm ent for Player's Theatre | nificant conversation takin g place. The costum ing, however, and proof that the arts are still th rivin g at McGill. ■ was well done and appropriate to the characters.

Despite the play's technical shortcom ings, the four very capable actors deserve credit for ge ttin g these difficult char­ Closer plays at Player's Theatre on the third floor o f the Shat- \ acters right. M ackenzie D avis'portrayal of the coy but vulner­ ner Building (3480 McTavish) November 13-15 at 8 p.m, with a Sat­ able stripper Alice is both co n vin cin g and th o ro u gh ly captivat­ urday m atinee on November 15 at 2 p.m. ing. Alice is an o ft-m isgu id ed free spirit w ho professes, "I never

I

Sparks fly between Alice and Dan.

POP RHETORIC

P

ADAM SCOTTI

Ode to Vogue

ublishing gian t Co ndé Nast has recently announced the cancellation of Men's Vogue m ag azin e — w hich is now being folded into a biannual sup p lem en t to Vogue m agazin e — due to cost-cutting measures. The sualty o f Men's Vogue and shaky status of Teen Vogue in d i­ cates tou gh tim es ahead for the m agazin e industry, and m ay actually be hearken ing the end of days for Editorin-Chief Anna W intour's Vogue empire. Today's d ubious econom ic clim ate and the dem ocratization o f culture via the internet is proving to be a recipe for disaster for print journalism ; particularly h igh -e n d m agazines. In the d ig i­ tal age, is Vogue— once a pinnacle of high fashion and lifestyles— no lon ger relevant as a cultural authority?

Bad advertising sales have hit the print journalism world particularly hard, acting as a catalyst for consider­ able bud get cuts and layoffs at Condé Nast. The com p an y is cutting its staff by 17 percent and cutting five percent of every title's e xp e n se budget, as w ell as d ro p p in g Van­ ity Fair's ad pages by 17 percent. In addition to the m is­ fortune that has befallen Men's Vogue, Vogue Living been suspended indefinitely. And, as if that weren't enou gh , rum our has it that Teen Vogue— like its predecessors Elle Girl and CosmoGirl— m ay soon be g o in g under.

To survive in today's m arket— w hich has becom e in­

creasin gly unfriendly to print m edium s w ith the advent of the b lo g— Vogue m ust w ork even harder keep up w ith the tim es and offer som eth in g to today's cultured and Internet-savvy urban-dw eller, w h o know how to obtain ca­ virtually any inform ation they w ant on the web. W hen an incredibly w ide range of b logs can be accessed freely and easily, print m agazines will have an increasingly d if­ ficult tim e rem aining com petitive. The swift decline of print journalism has show n no sign s o f slow ing as m aga­ zines die off one by one, and consum ers choose free and accessib le fashion and culture b lo gs such as Jezebel, Fashionista, and The Sartorialist instead of sp en d in g five dollars on each of their m onthly fashion m agazines.

The events of the past w eek have show n us that the tim es, they are a-changin'. At a tim e w hen print m ed i­ um s are slow ly g o in g out of vo gu e, Vogue w ill need to keep itself ahead of the current to beat the b lo gs— and Anna W intour has been pu rsu in g this goal valiantly. W intour has been p u sh in g for M ichelle O bam a to grace an u p com in g Vogue cover with her presence, w hich could certainly brin g up the m agazine's dism al sales. Exclusive interview s w ith the new first lady and p hotographs by A nnie Lieb ow itz are the sort of features that set the m a g ­ azine apart from online m edia, and are likely w hat will

C a r o l y n G r é g o ir e allow Vogue to rem ain com petitive and relevant against the Internet.

The changes underw ay at Co ndé Nast are indicative o f a broader cultural trend of the dem ocratization o f p o p ­ ular culture via the Internet, the negative repercussions o f w hich are already m anifesting them selves in dism al m agazine sales reports. This b u rge o n in g phenom enon represents the b e gin n in g of an unfortunate m ovem ent tow ards the digitalization of nearly all print m edia. Yet no blog, at least that I've ever seen, has been able to ca p ­ ture the essence of Vogue's glo ssy pages, luxury ads, and im peccable design. Som ehow these elem ents ge t lost in translation to the online sphere.

Q uestions of authorial legitim acy are arising as any­ one with a com puter can profess them selves an "expert" and p u blicly p ublish their view s in an o nline forum, w hich is the d an ge r of Vogue's replacem ent by blogs. It's not so m uch that I'm disappointed about the disappearance of Men's Vogue— rather, I fear the eventual disappearance of a cultural institution that has long represented the height of style and sophistication. The w ay th in gs are looking now, soon the only m agazines left on new sstands will be trashy tabloids like US Weekly. Until, of course, they get put out of print by Perez Hilton. ■

11.11.08 - The McGill Tribune • 15

vww.mcgilltribune.com

/lUSIC

Canada's favourite Norweigan export iondre Lerche crosses the Atlantic with his changing musical styles Laura T

in d a l

Norw egian troubadour Sondre Lerche just m ight be re first Scandinavian m usician to becom e popular in North m erica since Bjork and ABBA. Currently perform ing at sm all venues th ro u gh o u t North m erica w hile traveling back and forth betw een New York and is hom etow n of Bergen, Norway, Lerche has been busy writig and recording his newest album on tw o com pletely differnt sides o f the world.

"I've been in New York w orking with the songs, and then g o to Bergen to record them," Lerche says. "It's com ing along ;ally nicely. It's very exciting, to me at least."

Born in Norway, Lerche started perform ing at bars and lubs w hen he was only 14, and w as signed by Virgin/EM I just wo years later. Now 26, he's released five studio album s, all of vhich were well received by audiences in both North Am erica nd Norway. Lerche feels blessed that his early introduction o th e m usic industry hasn't had m any negative repercussions m his career.

"It could have been a lot worse. A lot o f people w hen they tart out yo u n g have bad experiences and they, one w ay or inother, m eet the w rong people or they sign the w rong co n ­ tact, and all that sort of stuff. And I've been very fortunate in hat I've had a lot of great people w ho have helped m e m ake om e decent choices that I w ouldn't have to regret later on," ays Lerche.

H aving w orked w ith producer Tony Hoffer, w ho has m aniged acts such as Beck and Belle and Sebastian, Lerche recenty w orked on the soundtrack to the 2007 film , D an in Real Life. .erche wrote and perform ed each song on the soundtrack, n clu d in g "H e li No,"a duet with Regina Spektor. "[Dan in Real Life director Peter Hedges] was a big fan.

-le'd ju st discovered m y m usic and th o u gh t I w ould be the ight person to do it," Lerche says. "And I wasn't sure if he was ■ ight, but I sort o f said 'I'll give it a shot,' and it turned out it w as 3 fab ulous thing creatively. We had a lot of fun doin g it."

Université d'Ottawa

Most Am erican audiences first heard of Lerche through his 2004 album Two Way M onologue, a charm ing p op album that show cased Lerche's signature Euro-indie vocals and yo u n g-love lyrics. Yet Lerche doesn't have a specific signature genre w hen it com es to his album s. Where Phantom Punch was p op -y rock, 2006's Duper Sessions w as full of ja zz influences, w hile 2002's Faces Down was m uch m ore a folk-pop album .

"I g o in a lot o f directions with a lot of m y songs. So it all com es dow n to how I like to record them , or w hat kind of sound I w ant to try out at the time," Lerche says. "[On] m y two first records ... I w orked a lo t w ith b igge r arrangem ents. You know : strings and horns and really u sin g the studio space. And then for the next two, I wanted to strip th in gs dow n and just w ork w ith a sm aller ensem ble, ju st have a sm all band around me."

Lerche is h op in g that his new est album will be a co m b in a­ tion of all his records, but wants to try it out on fans before he com m its to a sound. "I'm g o in g to play a lot of the son gs that I'm w o rking w ith at the show in M ontreal. That's sort of w h y I w ant to d o a small round of solo dates, because I w anted to try out the new songs and see how they w ork in a stripped dow n, very intim ate setting."

Lerche is excited for his return to Montreal, a city he hasn't played in since 2004. "[The audience] is sort of like a m ixture betw een A m ericans and Europeans in a way. It's sort o f like the best of both worlds," Lerche says.

As for how a yo u n ge r singer from N orw ay m an aged to break into the North Am erican m usic scene, even Lerche is un­ sure. W hen his first album was released, Lerche received word from the North Am erican record label that Faces Down was d o in g really well, and they wanted to push it even more. "[The record] was sort o f a m inor success on its own," says Lerche. "So I had to com e over and do som e shows, and I kept com in g for a couple of years actually and it w as really great.

I never ever dream t that I w ould have an audience in North Am erica, but I was thrilled."*

Sondre Lerche plays with Sylvie Lewis Nov. 15 at the Just For Laughs Theatre.

Hotter than ABBA.

RUVAN WIJESOÛIRYA

University of Ottawa

When it comes to planning our future, we often think in general terms. Does being a generalist mean we can keep a broad perspective? Or will becoming a specialist allow us to focus on our talents and strengths?

It starts h 1 1 1 1

u Ottawa

seektoknow.ca

16

• A rts & E n te rta in m e n t • 1 1 . 1 1 .0 8

The McGill Tribun

FILM

Learning about boobies

CONCERT

Immature mentors get schooled by kids in Role Models L a u r a T in d a l O n e can o n ly c h a rg e d w ith c rim e s m e n t, d e s tru c tio n o f p o lic e o ffic e r are n o t

h o p e th a t p e o p le b e in g such as reckless e n d a n g e rp ro p e rty , a n d a s s a u ltin g a th e ty p e s o f p e o p le le ft to

m e n to r th e tr o u b le d y o u th in o u r society. Yet th is fo rm s th e p re m is e b e h in d Role M odels, th e n e w c o m e d y w r itte n b y D a vid W a in (o f "S te lla ” fa m e ) a n d Paul R udd (k n o w n fro m m o s t Ju d d A p a to w film s , as w e ll as Friends a n d Clueless b a ck in th e day).

Rudd plays Danny, who, along with his co ­ w orker and som etim e-friend W heeler (Sean Wil­ liam Scott), m ust serve 150 hours of com m u n ity service at a youth m entorship program . D anny is paired w ith a socially and physically aw kw ard teenager w ho is obsessed with m edieval roleplaying gam es (perfectly em bodied by C hristo­ pher M intz-Plasse, w ho continu es w here he left off with M cLovin'in Superbad), and W heeler with an adorable little black boy obsessed w ith curs­ ing and boobies (Bobb'e J. Thom pson). At first it looks like the gu ys will never connect w ith their little buddies, but low and behold, they bond and by the end, everybod y m atures a little bit.

B u t d o n 't le t th e c lic h é d p lo t fo o l y o u — th is m o v ie is h ila rio u s a n d s u rp ris in g ly o rig in a l. Fol­ lo w in g in th e v e in o f Superbad a n d Knocked Up, th e film is o v e rflo w in g w ith ru d e n e ss a n d sexual

innuendo. Th om p son steals m any scenes as the "fuck"-friendly,hyper-sexualized ten-year-old, but it's Rudd's cynical, d eadpan act that really steals the show. Playing a man constantly ju d gm en tal and unim pressed, Rudd is full o f w itty lines that he delivers w ith so little em otion that they m ake you w ant to cry with laughter. His yu p p ie rant on coffee cup sizes in a generic Starbucks-esque coffee shop, cu lm in atin g in the statem ent that they are "stupid in three languages," sets the cyn i­ cal, hilarious tone o f the film. Jan e Lynch (Best in Show) adds the great character of the m ildly crazy, od d ly sexual, addict-turned-program -leader, Gayle Sweeny, w h o is convinced she's constantly b ein g "B.S.-ed."

A h igh ligh t o f the film are the m ythical m e­ dieval role play scenes, where costum ed people gath er to battle each other w ith foam w eapons for control of a m ythical kin gdom . Hilarious in its ridiculousness as well as how into it they (and the audience) get, the final battle scene gives the film that little extra that it needs to take it from the realm o f your norm al and heartw arm ing to epic.

For fans of rude and ju ven ile hum our and in­ telligen t com ed y writing, Role M odels will be right up your alley. The heartw arm ing lessons and pre­ dictable friendships form ed in the film are well d on e — they're cheesy e n ou gh to be funny, yet they're still successful in m eltin g a little bit of the cynical ice around your heart. ■

Petals pour down on pretty popstress Feist at the Bell Centre last week.

There were some some hits and some misses as Feist brought her intimate style to a stadium setting.

CD Reviews Everest. Ghost Notes. Currently on tour with rock gian ts Neil You n g and Wilco, Los A n gelesbased Everest had better know how to rock'n'roll.

Luckily, their debut record show s that they do. A sim ple, unassum ing, m ellow -yet-foot-tapping rock album , G host Notes proves that basic is any­ th in g but bad. Relying on all types o f guitar and ______________________ Russell Pollard's vo ice — w hich is warm like the Southern sun— their m usic is clearly influenced'by the bands they're touring with, yet still fresh e n ou gh to avoid m onotony.

"Angry Storm" is a h igh ligh t on the album , w hich is anchored by an acous­ tic guitar and features a lulling yet optim istic chorus that will im m ediately m ake it your new favourite song. "Rebels in the Roses" follow s the classic recipe for laid-back rock love songs, and gets it so right with Pollard's heartw re n ch in gly sincere voice and catchy gu itar riffs.

It's still early in the gam e for this band, but their d e b u t show s that they have skill that could ju stify a place next to Yo u n g and Wilco. Great sound and enticing songs, w hich som etim es resem ble several different bands, show the diverse possibilities o f their sound. "Into Your Soft Heart" evokes snippets o f every m ellow -rock band that you love and also show s the b e ­ gin n in g o f a distinct voice for Everest, one that you'll have to watch out for. Buy the album or see them on tour. W hen a band can m ake such great m usic out o f sim ple, plain old rock 'n' roll w ithout so u n d in g boring, they deserve as m uch attention as the classics they're o p e n in g for.

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- Laura Tindal

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals: Cardinology.

The seem in gly bi-annual event of a Ryan Adam s release has com e this m onth w ith Cardinology, Adam s' third full album with his band, The Cardi­ nals. His last record w ith the label Lost Highw ay, w hom he's notoriously butted heads w ith over the years, C ardinology is also the second album that A dam s has produced since he stopped drinking.

--------------- ------------------This album sees Adam s w earing his alt-coun­ try boots, a lth ou gh hints o f his rock album s com e out in songs like "Magick," w hich show s his tw an gy snarl, rem iniscent of 2002's D em olition. The first track, "Born into a Light," is Adam s and The Cardi­ nals at their best, a rhythm ic cou n try tune w ith A dam s' honey voice on top, whereas "Go Easy" is more classic A dam s— a guitar-heavy, self-deprecating, lam ent about lost love. This song, as well as "Lèt us Dow n Easy," echo each other in their sound and lyrics, lending the album a them e of takin g th in gs easy, but also gives it a bit o f repetitiveness.

Like m ost o f Adam s' records, C ardinology needs to be listened to sev­ eral tim es before it kicks you in the face w ith Adam s' genius, but once it does, you can't help but sw ay to his m elodic voice. Som e o f the lyrics seem w eaket than usual for an Adam s piece, but it's possible that all his best stuff was used in his recently published book of poetry. Still, A dam s gives his au ­ dience an album that picks from the best sounds o f his past releases.

-Laura Tindal

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Win a trip to Europe For fu rth e r inform ation ab o u t th e Young Journalist Award Contact: (6 1 3 )2 3 8 -6 4 6 4 info@ eucanyja.ca w w w .eucanyja.ca

HYDE

11.11.08 • The McGill Tribune* 17

www.mcgilltribune.com

M U SIC

The Breakmen's new album makes a bluegrass breakthrough

The band won't be stepping on the brakes anytime soon

GOOD N o v e m b e r 1 1 -1 7

Emma Q uail U p-and-com ing V ancouver-based folk band The Breakm en are on the road prom oting their new album , When You Leave Town— they've com e a lon g w ay since em erging onto the Canadian folk and bluegrass scene four years ago. Born and raised on country m usic, Archie Pateman, Lee Wat­ son, Ben Rogalsky, and M atthew Law son com bine their m usical talents to produce a purely acoustic sound. This purity can also be attributed to their unique vocal harm onization, produced by the contribution o f vocals from all four m em bers. G o in g back to their folk ancestors such as The Old Crow M edicine Show and The B and,The Breakm en blend old folk/bluegrass sounds w ith new innovative harm onies to create their ow n unique sound.

With a strong em phasis on acoustics, their self-titled first album was w ell-received at a national and international level, rem aining on Canada's Roots M usic Review Chart for 10 m onths straight. The Breakm en album fea­ tures a prim arily bluegrass feel, stirring togeth er m usical ingredients from folk, old-tim e, blues, and Am ericana. The use of banjo, guitar, m andolin, and harm onica contributes to this sound.

When You Leave Town takes a step away from the bluegrass w orld and m oves m ore into the realm o f folk-roots.

“The them e of the album is a little bit m ore in depth than the first one.

I th in k there's a lot m ore depth lyrically. In [When You Leave Town] w e m ade a m uch more conscious departure from bluegrass. Th e instrum entation is a bluegrass instrum entation in that we have a stand up bass, a banjo, m an d o ­ lin, guitar. However, in this album , there's definitely less o f a bluegrass feel," says banjo player and guitarist Archie Pateman.

Despite their prim arily acoustic nature, The Breakm en enjoy experi­ m enting w ith different instrum ents.

"On all our album s, w e feature som e different instrum ents like piano. ... Perhaps there will be an electric guitar on a future album .There's a pedal steel on this album and a little bit of drums," says Pateman.

With the incorporation o f new and old instrum ents, The Breakmen's sound allow s them to appeal to a w ide audience. Each track on When You Leave Town is very different, but the m usical style rem ains consistent.

Tuesday: Film. Man on Wire.

Cinem a du Parc. Docum entary about Philippe Petit, w ho in 1974 set up an illegal wire betw een the Twin Towers in New York and tightrope w alked betw een them , d an cin g for nearly an hour 1,350 feet above the ground. The film looks at how Petit executed this feat. Probably not a great film to see if you're afraid of heights.

W ednesday: Music. Nine Inch Nails. Bell Centre. Trent Reznor

Dress your band in corduroy and denim .

"We've created w hat we feel to be our own style of song presentation but each song is definitely its ow n entity and its own different thing," says Pateman In the Canadian contem porary m usic scene, bluegrass is sw iftly ga in ­ ing popularity.

"I th in k it's playin g a b ig role in the indie scene as well. The indie scene is no lon ger ju st rock— there are a lot o f indep en d en t roots and bluegrass acts around the cou n try takin g som e national and international spotlights," Patem an says.

As The Breakm en continu e to achieve their ow n pure and raw brand of folk m usic, there is no question that they will be prom inent figures in the new w ave of indie bluegrass. ■ The Breakm en p la y Novem ber 15 at L'inspecteur Epingle with M ontreal band Lake o f Stew an d Novem ber 16 a t D ivan O range with M ark Berube.

ART

Art worth putting up on the fridge Student gallery experiences growing success in fourth year D iane S alema

The annual Fridge Door G allery is back to to provide an artistic outlet for M cGill students. Run by the Art H istory Students'A ssociation, the g allery will celebrate its fourth official vernissage this Tuesday night, show casing an exciting new selection of student artw ork and also servin g free w ine and cheese to com plem ent the gallery-view in g experience.

A s McGill's first and o nly student-run, student-curated art gallery, the Fridge Door is a forum for anyone w ho harbours an appreciation for the fine arts, or sim ply w ants an o pp ortu n ity to see som e o f the phenom enal artistic talent of McGill students.

O rigin ally inspired by the hope o f creating greater fine arts awareness on cam pus, the Fridge Door has had enorm ous success since it opened in the winter of 2007. Response to the galle ry has skyrocketed, w ith a huge increase in the num ber o f subm ission s for this year's u p com in g exhibition as well as a record num ber of expected visitors. Just last year, Fridge Door's success prom pted the form ation of the undergraduate Fine Arts Council, a gro u p that now helps fund the gallery.

But the increase in artistic recognition on cam pus takes a toll on fu n d ­ ing allocation. "It's a sham e that the b u d get is lim ited really, because we have to keep in m ind that every sem ester from now on we'll be ge ttin g decreased am ounts of funds from the FAC," says Fridge Door executive com ­ mittee m em ber Francois M acdonald. "They are also grow ing. Th ey are also fin an cing m ore fine arts projects at McGill."

Space is another issue that the Fridge Door com m ittee faces. W hile

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C O U L D BE

the gallery has m ade significant strides since it first op e n e d — m o vin g from tem porary u sage o f the AUS lou n ge where the first tw o exhibits were held and upstairs to a sligh tly more perm anent hom e in Leacock 111— space is critical as m ore and m ore visitors attend each exhibition.

O rganizers also hope to see the galle ry becom e a cam pus fixture in the future, som ething available to students year-round. "We w ant to m ake it perm anent,"says M arina La Verghetta, another executive com m ittee m em ­ ber. "Now it's a gro w in g thing, so hopefully, as people inherit the w ork of running the Fridge Door, it'll ju st becom e a perm anent event at McGill, a part o f cam p u s life."

D espite issues of fin an cin g and accom m odation, the A H SA m em bers couldn't be more thrilled w ith the Fridge Door's grow ing success. D evelop­ m ent also m eans new and exciting additions to each vernissage, w hich is exem plified this year in an interesting piece o f sound art: a live perform ance by the band Bodies.

Th e m usical presentation will help to create an atm osphere that reso­ nates w ith the exhibition's them e, "Som e of Their Parts.''This year's focus is on an exploration o f the hum an b o d y as represented in art. "It's a co m p ila­ tion o f various points of view s or perspectives on the issue o f em bodim ent, be it in parts or as a w hole,"describes M acdonald. "Our titles are often very com plicated because we choose the artw ork first," adds La Verghetta, "I feel like often it has to d o as m uch w ith the art as the process that we do, choos­ ing and w o rking on it. It's a conversation."*

brings his e nduring industrial rock band, ready to sm ash som e instru­ m ents and som e eardrum s. Ja p a ­ nese experim ental band, Boris, opens.

Thursday: Film. RIDM: Mon­ treal's Annual D ocum entary Film Festival. Taking place all over the city, the 11th RIDM will feature more than 100 film s from 30 countries. Fo­ cusing on the socio-political dram as o f our tim e, as well as "environ-m en­ tal" issues, the festival will provide a unique look into local and foreign lives you can't im agine.Tickets avail­ able at w w w .ridm .qc.ca.

Friday: Com edy. Stand Up/ Strip Down. Theatre St. Catherine.

A Burlesque/com edy show hosted

by D eA nne Sm ith. An unlikely co m ­ bination, but w ho know s— com edy and burlesque could be the next chocolate and peanut butter.

Saturday: Theatre. Down Dan­ gerous Passes Road. Talism an T h e ­ atre. In a story o f "eternal déjà vu," three brothersconfronttheirfather's drow ning three years before, trying to understand the tragic events as the last lines o f the last poem he wrote repeat in their heads.

Sunday: Theatre. Othello. Mc­ Cord M useum . Enjoy Persephone Productions' presentation of the Shakespearean tragedy, w hich in­ volves them es o f love, hate, desire, jealousy, and betrayal. If you haven't already read the play, you'll finally understand the cultural references to O thello that are everywhere.

M onday: M usic. Cuff the Duke.

Le National. A bout as Canadian as they com e, these yo u n g folksters have played with Blue Rodeo, Joel Plaskett, and Hayden. Fun, playful, alt-country m ixed w ith occasional forlorn indie song. O p e n in g for Ari­ zona band, Calexico.

Fridge D oor G allery w ill be held in Leacock 111 until Decem ber 2.

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LIKE W H A T Y O U S E E ON T H E S E P A G E S? T H E T R IB U N E IS L O O K I N G F O R A N E W A & E E D IT O R F O R T H E W I N T E R S E M E S T E R .

IF Y O U H A VE AN IN TER EST IN T H E ARTS, JO U R N A LISM , A N D G A IN IN G S O M E ED IT O R IA L EX P E R IE N C E, TH EN S EN D A CV, C O V E R LETTER , A N D T H R E E W RITIN G S A M P LES T O A R T S @ M C G ILLT R IB U N E.C O M BY N O V EM B ER 24.

Y O U D E C ID E , O T H ER S REA D .

S ports R U G B Y — R ED M EN 21, BISH O P'S 0

Redmen continue their QURL dominance

Win over Bishop's gives McGill third-straight rugby championship M att C hesser For the third consecutive year, the M cGill Redm en are Q uebec U niversity R u gb y Leagu e cham pions.

T hre e d iffe re n t R e d m e n sco re d trie s as M cG ill cru ise d to a 21-0 v ic to ry o v e r th e Bishop's G atiers in th e QURL fin a l on S a tu rd a y a fte rn o o n a t M o ls o n S ta d iu m . T h e R edm en w e re h e a v ily fa v o u re d p rio r t o k ic k o ff a fte r p o s tin g a 5-1 re g u la r season reco rd , d u rin g w h ic h th e y o u ts c o re d th e ir o p p o n e n ts b y an a v e ra g e o f 37 p o in ts p e r g a m e . T he p re d ic tio n s p ro v e d t o b e a c c u ra te as M cG ill d o m in a te d B ish o p ’s th r o u g h o u t th e c o n te s t.

“We were fitter, a bit m ore talented, and we wanted it more than Bishop's today," said McGill Co -Coach Craig Beem er. "Everyone only sees our varsity team: we have a clu b side that I honestly think w ould finish second in this league if they were allow ed to play. ... [Adm inistrative Coach] Sean Mc­ Caffrey has created a program where an yth in g less than the [Q U SL cham pionship] w ould be a disappointm ent, and we lived up to those expectations."

After w hat had been an uneventful first half, McGill scrum -half Jo sh Reznick opened the sco rin g w ith ju st tw o m inutes rem aining in the half, takin g the ball off a scrum at the five-m etre line and p low in g the Bishop's defence b ack­ w ards for the try. Reznick's try cam e after alm ost 10 m inutes of sustained pressure in the G aiters'end.

"I think this year we really cam e togeth er as a team," said Reznick. "In past years we've had a bunch o f All-Stars— som e great players— but I think this season it w as m ore of a com ­ plete team effort to w in the title."

Third-year prop Matt Edw ards scored on a bruising 10metre run early in the second h alf to d ou b le the McGill lead.

A ntho ny Nestei com pleted the scoring with an insurance try in the last tw o m inutes o f the contest. Rookie Sam Skulsky successfully converted all three tries.

The Q U RL cham p ion sh ip w as the fourth in five years for the Redm en, w ho were m akin g their eighth consecutive appearance in the conference final. In that tim e they have played the Gaiters four tim es, w in n in g three o f those gam es.

"We had the burden of high expectations on our shou l­ ders from the start of the season," said team captain Adam Som m er. "But I think, considering how yo u n g our squad is, that we handled it really well."

S o m m e r a n d R eznick b o th c ite d a 25-17 loss in th e last g a m e o f th e re g u la r season to th e th ird -p la c e S h e rb ro o ke V e rt e t O r as an im p o r ta n t w a k e -u p call b e fo re th e p la yo ffs.

"After the first few w ins this season we began ge ttin g pretty com placent," said Reznick. "You can som ew hat expect

JOHN KELSEY The Redmen front row (left) dom inated the Bishop's forwards in the wet conditions on Saturday afternoon. [that] from a team like ours that's beating som e team s by 50 points. That loss to Sherbrooke was som eth in g we really needed in order to ge t our focus back, so we could be ready for the playoffs."

Six Redm en were honoured in a postgam e cerem ony for earning spots on the Q U RL All-Star squad. Flankers Cayse R u ite ran d Peter Klestov, prop D aveTontini, lock Jo h n Phelan, fly-half Ian Turner, and R eznick all captured places on the con­ ference team.

For m any McGill players, Saturday's final was their last Q U RL gam e in front of a Red 'n'W hite crowd. Edwards, So m ­ mer, Phelan, Ja co b Chai, Jonathan Glancy, and Jesse Myers will all be lost to graduation, w hile Turner and Klestov w ill re­ turn to Q ueensland U niversity in Australia after sp en d in g a year on exchange. However, the team will regain the services

of star fly-half Alastair Crow, w ho m issed the entire season after having shoulder surgery in the summer.

The grad u atin g players will have tw o more chances to represent McGill as the Redm en will host the top tw o team s in A tlantic U niversity Sport this Saturday. M cGill will face the U niversity of New Brunsw ick Ironm en at 1:00 p.m., and the M aritime Cham pion Dalhousie Tigers at 2:30 in an "Eastern Canada Cham pionship".

"We honestly do n ’t know m uch about the M aritime teams," said Beemer. "With the exception of perhaps som e of the squads from B.C., I don't see too m any team s that could have m ore talent on the field than we possibly could. We can o nly field 15 players, but we have at least 25 or 26 that w ould be starting on any other Q uebec side. So I'm fairly confident we'll do well against Dalhousie." ■

TH IR D M AN IN

Change will come to the NHL R

egardless of your political affiliations, you probably felt a little different w hen you w oke up last W ednes­ day m orning. There w as som ething in the air w hen Barack O bam a uttered the words, "Ch ange has com e to America." It isn't m y place to say w hether or not Am erica needed change, but ch an ge is w hat it got.

It is m y place, however, to say that ch an ge m ust com e to the N H L in Am erica. (Calm dow n, Canadians: I'm not ril­ ing against the nature of your beloved gam e. But if you get so excited over Am erica's president, then you should be outraged at the state of the N H L in the States.) It's not easy to pinpoint w here it all w ent w rong, but the N H L has slow ly devolved into, at best,"the fourth professional sports league"— a league w hose broadcast netw ork ge t its h ig h ­ est ratings from fish in g shows, a league w hose attendance is dow n practically across the board, a league w hose beat writers have been laid off by their papers. Actually, it is pret­ ty easy to pinpoint w here it all w ent w rong: with the arrival of Gary Bettm an.

In his 15-year tenure as com m issioner o f the NHL, Bettman's pursuit of increased revenue has seen the addition of too m any team s (seven) and alienated too m any fans (m il­ lions) due to raised ticket prices.

Realistically, the league isn't low ering ticket prices any tim e soon. What was once à blue-collar gam e is now w rapped up in the billion-dollar sports industry, and there's no escape in sight. So w hat can the N H L do?

The league needs to m ake sure its best players are on the ice as m uch as possible. H ockey has to ab an d o n its pseud o -m ach o app roach — m ake visors m andatory and outlaw hits to the head. Legal, entertaining hits will not go away, and players will still have their eyesight, unlike Bryan Berard.

The league also needs to break into the superstar m ar­ ket. I am a casual hockey fan — m ostly because m y team was ruled by a tyrant w h o raised ticket prices to an average of $50 and refused to a llow hom e gam es to be televised: thank you, Bill Wirtz. But if I com e across a Capitals gam e when flip p in g channels, I'll stop to look for Alexander O vech kin.

Granted, he's a one-in-a-m illion player, but I'm w atching for more than his skills. He loses him self after he scores a goal.

He crashes into the glass. He ju m p s for jo y even if the gam e is w rapped up. He's m y favourite athlete that I know next to noth in g about. I know he wears "classy Soviet red" un­ derw ear (search for"O vech kin Russian TV" on YouTube). But m ore im portantly, he electrified W ashington last April.

For more players like O vech kin to break into the league, N H L purists need to em brace a new kind o f player: one that w on't be reserved after he scores, will disrespect his o p ­ ponents, and will bring in new fans. This m eans the league needs to em brace Sean Avery. He gets people talkin g about the NHL. At this point in the league's history, that can only be a go o d thing.

The league needs to get kids interested in hockey. Su­ perstars will go a long w ay tow ards d o in g that, but youth program s also need to be set up to get kids on the ice. The league attem pted to introduce kids to ice hockey through roller hockey in the m id-ços, but this venture predictably failed. Rollerblading doesn't necessarily lead to ice skating, and in Am erica, ice skating is a d yin g art form.

The league also needs a breakthrough in the televisual m edium — hockey loses more of its beauty on T V than any other sport— and HD m ay be that breakthrough. O nce casu­ al fans begin to see that with their ow n eyes, the N H L could be on the cusp of a com eback. But if the league doesn't w ant to go the w ay of boxing, the W innipeg Jets, and full service gas stations, then it has to em brace fundam ental change. Then one day, with a bit o f luck, N H L fans will feel a little different w hen they w ake up in the m orning. ■

11 .11.08 «Sports *19

ww.mcgilltribune.com

O C K E Y — R ED M EN 4, Q U EEN 'S 1 S p o r t s

McGill is kin of Queen's

B r ie fs

Second-place finish at Baggataway Cup

The M cGill Redm en w on the silver m edal at the Cana­ dian U niversity Field Lacrosse Association cham pionship in Ham ilton, Ontario, on Sunday. The Redm en travelled The Redmen cam e into the gam e with the worst power-play to Ham ilton as one of the final four team s in the nation, and penalty kill in the Ontario University Athletics league, but they after beating the Bishop's Gaiters 13-7 last Saturday. m ade strides in those areas on Saturday night. McGill went one for M cGill faced Brock U niversity in their national sem i­ seven on the power-play, and held the Golden Gaels scoreless in final gam e on Saturday afternoon. Attackm an Lukas eight chances with the m an-advantage.

LaCava led the Redm en with three go als and tw o assists, "Our pow er-play is starting to m ove the p uck really well and and M cGill shocked the top-seeded Badgers— w ho had ge t [us] a lot of scoring chances," said Raym ond. "We had a shaky w on the past six Baggataw ay C u p s— 13-9. LaCava and start. We were a little nervous at the start with our power-play, and Jake Safarik, w ho finished w ith one goal and one assist, we were fum bling pucks around the net too. But we settled in after, propelled the Redm en into Sunday's final a gainst the and I really liked the effort. We really played hard tonight, and that G uelph Gryphons. was go od to see."

The Redm en m ay have been em otionally drained McGill's success on the defensive end— the Redm en allowed after Saturday's upset, and they fell to the G ryphons 14-9. the fewest num ber of goals in any gam e this season— was largely LaCava scored four go als to lead McGill once again, but due to the play o f rookie goaltender Danny Mireault, w ho stopped their defence backfired against Guelph. M cGill led 4-2 26 shots. after the first quarter, but G uelph scored six go als in the "I'm satisfied with m y game,"said M ireault.'The gu ys played so second to seize control o f the gam e for good. well defensively, and I only received shots from the outside."

The Redm en have seen steady im provem ent under But despite McGill's dom inance in nearly all facets of the game, Head Coach Tim M urdoch, w ho guided McGill to its best the m atch-up w as marked by the draw n-out melees in the second finish in the program 's history. And the future appears and third periods. All 10 players on the ice were e n gaged in a scuffle even brighter, as the team will only lose three seniors early in the second period, which resulted in four 10-minute mis­ to graduation: Arthur Phillips, Ben M cBeth, and captain conduct penalties. From that point on, the crowd's exuberance and Dave Pinckney. The Redm en finished the season with a the Redmen's defence shut dow n the Queen's attack, and McGill record of 11-5 overall, and 7-3 in the C U FLA Eastern C o n­ coasted to its second victory in as m any nights. ference.

McGill went 2-0 over their men's hockey hom ecom ing week­ end, w hich saw dozens of ex-Redm en in attendance at the two Basketball gam es. The Red 'n'W hite go t their first victory of the season when After a successful preseason, the McGill men's bas­ they beat the Royal Military College Paladins 4-2 on Friday night. ketball team has been rewarded with a national ranking The w in over the Golden Gaels im proved McGill's record to 2-4-1, J for the first tim e in Head Coach Craig Norman's four years but they remain in last place in the OUA Far East division. at McGill. The first CIS rankings, released last week, had "The key word for the past two gam es was definitely con­ the Redm en at seventh, but they dropped dow n to tenth sistency," said Mireault, w ho had a .940 save percentage over the after an idle w eek before league play, w hich begins this weekend. "We played well in our first few gam es, but som etim es it week. didn't turn in our favour. But we wanted to keep w orking hard, and McGill's regular season tips off this week w hen the we knew it was eventually go in g to pay off. And it did over the past Redm en host the Bishop's Gaiters on Friday at 8 p.m. at tw o games."

Love Hall.

The Redm en and Golden Gaels face-off in a rematch in Kings­ ton on Friday at 7 p m. ■

edmen right their" ockey ship with two wins J a co b K an ter

After losing their first five gam es, it appears that all the McGill n's hockey team needed was the support of their fans and a visit m a fam iliar foe to get them back on track. The Redmen defeattheir oldest rivals, the Queen's Golden Gaels, 4-1 at M cConnell d iu m on Saturday night in front of 841 spectators— the largest w d of the season.

"It was awesome," said McGill forward Francis Verrault-Paul, 10 led the Redm en with two goals and one assist. "The crowd 1crazy. Last year, I played with the Chicoutim i [Sagueneens of Q uebec Major Junior Hockey League], and we had an average 3,000 people at every gam e. Tonight, we're in a small rink here, d it was the same kind of atmosphere."

That atm osphere, along with the 113-year-old rivalry between two teams, was largely responsible for the players' heightened gressiveness. Several fights broke out in the second and third riods. The referees handed out 18 penalties in the last 40 minutes play.

Though the referees struggled to control the gam e, the Red­ en never struggled to control the scoreboard. Verrault-Paul ored the game's first goal 15 m inutes into the first period, after <ing a redirected pass from defencem an M arc-Andre Dorion and ing a point-blank shot past Queen's goaltender Brady Morrison.

1e Gaels' M atthew Hill tied the gam e three m inutes into the secid period, but Verrault-Paul answered back 13 minutes later, firing hot past an unsuspecting Morrison. His second tally o f the gam e ive the Redm en a lead they would not relinquish.

With the score at 2-1 go in g into the third period, the outcom e the gam e still hung in the balance. But McGill forward Marko jvacevic converted on a pow er play only three m inutes into the riod, and the Redm en controlled the play for the rem ainder of e contest. Guillaum e Doucet added a marker to close out the oring four minutes later.

"The [initial] third period g o al— the power play goal right the draw— really gave us som e confidence from then on," said cGill Head Coach Martin Raym ond. "And with the way we were aying, we were able to close the deal."

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firs t fu ll-c o lo u r e d itio n yearbook delivered in - ay 2 0 0 9 ! Complete with photography by HF Photo.

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