The McGill Tribune Vol. 29 Issue 17

PLAYERS’ LOOKS BACK IN EURYDICE, PAGE 13

MISSED ACTIVITIES’ NIGHT? SEE PAGES 10-12

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Vol. 29 Issue 17 • 26 Janu

D elegates m eet in M ontreal to discuss future support for H aiti Conference organized by Canadian government TORI CRAWFORD N ew s Editor

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon greets U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Monday’s Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti here in Montreal.

A DA M SCOTTI

After a day-long conference yesterday at the International Civil Aviation Organiza­ tion in Montreal, members of the international community working along with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive put forward a general framework outlining future support for Haiti, the nation that was devastated by an earthquake on January 12.

The Ministerial Preparatory Conference, organized by the Canadian government and chaired by Lawrence Cannon, the minister of foreign affairs, brought together representa­ tives from many countries as well as delegates from the United Nations, the World Bank, and various NGOs. In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that the ultimate goal of the meetings was to agree on principles to guide the international community’s approach to Haiti’s reconstruction, and emphasized that any plan must be based on a long-range time­ line.

“Sustainability is key. We need to commit to Haiti for the long term,” he said. “It is not an exaggeration to say that 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti.”

See CLINTON on page 2

CAMPUS

Provincial governm ent clashes w ith M cG ill over M BA tuition rise Courchesne displeased with switch to self-funded model THEO MEYER N ew s Editor

The McGill administration’s decision to switch to a self-funded model for its Master of Business Administration program, which would forgo provincial funding by substantial­

ly raising tuition, has recently drawn criticism from the provincial government.

M cGill’s Board of Governors originally approved the switch to a self-funded program at a meeting in July. Under the current model, tuition and funding from Quebec City provide approximately $12,000 in funding for each student in the MBA program per year. The pro­ gram costs about $22,000 per student to run, however, leaving a large gap in funding.

“W hat that gap means is that students elsewhere at McGill are somehow subsidiz­ ing MBA students,” said Peter Todd, dean of McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management.

“We just view that as patently unfair.”

Quebec students enrolled in the MBA pro­ gram currently pay approximately $1,673 per year in tuition. Students from other Canadian provinces pay about $4,676, while internation­ al students pay $19,890. Under the self-funded

model, tuition for all students will increase to $29,500 in September 2010.

According to Todd, the administration notified the Quebec government o f the change after the Board of Governors approved it. In a letter to McGill Principal Heather MunroeBlum dated January 15, however, Michelle Courchesne, the provincial minister of educa­ tion, wrote in French that “this type of program See JUMP on page 5

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2 • 26 January 2010

NEWS

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C linton and H arper em phasize recognition o f H aitian sovereignty Continued from COVER Bellerive also emphasized the importance of long-term planning, and said that it will take at least five or six years for the country to even return to point zero. In addition, he identified three main reasons why he believes it was dif­ ficult for Haiti to respond 'effectively to the crisis on its own: the structure of the Haitian government, the country’s excessive central­ ization, and a lack of human resources.

In response to these issues, Bellerive called for increased co-ordination between governments, decentralization, and integration of the diaspora. All of the delegates agreed, however, that even though co-ordination is key, reconstruction efforts must always put Haitian sovereignty first.

“It’s important to see ourselves as part­ ners with Haiti, not patrons,” said U.S. Secre­ tary of State Hillary Clinton. “That is not only the right thing to do, but given what w e’ve learned over many years about development, it is the smart approach. We cannot anymore in the 21st century be making decisions for people and their futures without listening and without giving them an opportunity to make as many decisions as possible.”

In addition to sustainability, the delegates identified ownership, co-ordination, effective­ ness, inclusiveness, and accountability as the main principles to focus on. Despite reports that the Haitian government had established a sum of $300 billion as the amount needed for reconstruction, Bellerive denied that any offi­ cial estimate has been reached.

“The amount has not been finalized, but I will be receiving many reports from academ­ ics and other experts in the coming weeks,” he said. “There is still too much to assess to make any final estimates.”

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouch­ ner also emphasized the importance of patience in determining financial benchmarks.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I understand your impatience. I understand that of the Haitians ...

But we were already engaged in Haiti, some

of us for more than 40 years. The United Na­ tions has made immense progress. Security improved, as had governance ... Their country was taking charge. And then, the earthquake,” he said. “It’s impossible to say with precision how much [money] we will need now. But we know there are needs in terms of health, edu­ cation, construction, urbanization, and gover­ nance.”

“It is not an exaggeration to say that 10 years o f hard w ork aw aits the w orld in H aiti.”

—Prim e M inister Stephen H arper

The delegates also determined that they will meet again to continue discussion and planning at the United Nations headquarters

in New York City sometime in March. Clin­ ton explained that the upcoming conference will examine various historical examples of responses to natural disasters as models.

“There are some other examples that we will look to. One to mention is what happened after the tsunami, another large natural disas­ ter—particularly how the government of Indo­ nesia worked with the World Bank, the United Nations, and the executive committee of donor nations,” she said. . Clinton also explained that while these models can provide some positive examples, we can also learn from the mistakes that have characterized responses to previous disasters as well.

“We actually think it’s a novel idea to do the needs assessment first, and then the plan­ ning, and then the pledging. So it may seem different from what you’re used to,” she said.

“I think w e’re off to a cautiously optimistic start, given the extraordinary challenges w e’re up against, but w e’re going to work really hard to do this in a way that in the end people can look back and say they took their time, they did it right, they were as forcefully committed as it was possible.”

Cannon echoed Clinton's sentiment, and said he was confident that the Montreal meet­ ing had been a success.

“The United Nations is well placed, my colleague the Secretary of State Clinton, as well as the other partners, are all very well placed because in previous years gone by they have had quite a bit of experience in these kinds of disasters,” he said. “We have achieved what we set out to do today. We now have the beginnings of a roadmap towards Haiti’s long­ term reconstruction.”

A b o v e-P rim e Minister Stephen Harper talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton upon her arrival. B e lo w -F r o m left to right: Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive ADAM SO

Curiosity Delivers.

26 January 2010 • 3

CAMPUS

A rich tradition: experts speak in 14th annual M cG ill Pain D ay Harvard professor addresses trainees and researchers KAYAN HUI C ontributor

Over 150 pain researchers and specialists participated in the 14th annual McGill Pain Day on Thursday, which was organized by M cGill’s Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain and the Department of Anaesthesia.

Held in the New Residence ballroom, the day­ long event brought together students and re­ searchers to discuss our understanding of, as well as the treatment and curing of pain.

The Edwards Centre, the largest pain re­ search centre in the world, is composed of 39 researchers from the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, and Science in a community that promotes research for treatment and cures of chronic pain. In August, the centre will play host to the 13th World Congress on Pain.

“There are so many different laboratories studying pain on campus and in different de­ partments,” said Dr. Cathy Bushnell, a former director of the Edwards Centre who attended the event. “Every presenter here can finally get to know each other and share their research.”

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Rami Burstein, a Harvard University profes­ sor of anaesthesia and critical care specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre at Har­ vard. Burstein’s research on migraine pain and light exposure made headlines internationally earlier this month.

In his lecture titled “How Does Light Ex­ acerbate Migraine Headache in the Blind?”

Burstein explained how his research discover­ ies may provide an explanation for why light can worsen migraine headaches. Burstein’s team of researchers began with a study of blind subjects who suffered from migraines and found that, for those classified as legally blind, exposure to light worsened migraine headaches. His tests on blind subjects and then on rats revealed the existence of a light pathway that would explain how, for even the legally blind, pain receptors activated during migraines could be worsened by exposure to

N ew s

in

Pain Day brings together experts from various fields amd allows trainees to present their research. light.

“We are putting together a new pathway,” Burstein said.

The discovery of the pathway has opened a dialogue on the treatment of photophobia, a condition characterized by oversensitivity to light. For Burstein, and for participants and attendees alike, pain has been emphasized as an important field of scientific study, and ul­ timately as the starting point for finding treat­ ment.

“Pain is a brain function, and it is as subjective as any other brain function: love, hate, emotions, or feelings,” said Dr. Fernan­ do Cervero, Director of the Edwards Centre.

“There are important cultural, social, and reli­ gious influences with pain, but what we know is that it is an unpleasant thing we want to get rid of. We need to know more about the brain and its sensations, and translate what we find

in the lab to the patient. Ultimately we want to develop new pain treatments. Some are still very old, like morphine, and we need some­ thing with fewer side effects.”

Earlier in the day, event organizers facili­ tated a workshop for trainees, titled “Clinical and Therapeutic Implications of Peripheral and Central Sensitization during Migraine,” followed immediately by a poster session. The poster session enabled 39 teams of trainee re­ searchers to present their findings to colleagues and experts in their fields.

The Pain Day theme brought together dif­ ferent faculties in scientific research to explore pain in multiple and diverse ways, ranging from the connection between pain perception and long-term yoga practice to the study of anxiety caused by chronic inflammatory pain to the implementation of an acute pain service for the Montreal Heart Institute.

ALISSA FINGOLD

As the session drew to a close, prizes were awarded by the Quebec Pain Research Network and judged by Burstein for notable posters in clinical research and basic science research. A researcher from the University of Sherbrooke received the award for best clini­ cal research in his study of a rare neuropathic facial pain disorder. In the basic science cat­ egory, two McGill research teams received an award for their studies on lower back pain and on spinal cord inflammation.

“Pain is really fascinating,” said Melissa Farmer, a post-doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at McGill who attended the event.

“By definition, pain can be understood from constantly working with how the external body correlates with human experience. It becomes enhanced by our senses in ways that can’t be compared by our other sensations.”

Br ie f

SSM U VP internal happy with success o f W eek 101 Week 101, a SSMU-organized series of school-themed events aimed at getting stu­ dents excited to start the new semester held at Gerts during the first week of classes this January, met with huge success.

After SnowAP lost roughly $15,000 last year, SSMU decided to cancel the event.

Although there was a great deal of debate and discussion within the Student’s Society con­ cerning the cancellation of SnowAP, the final decision was made by Alex Brown, SSMU VP Internal. Brown also made the decision to es­ tablish Week 101.

“Week 101 was sort of a spontaneous idea that I had to try something new,” said Brown.

“There were a few reasons why I chose [Week 101], partially because it was something that didn’t require a huge initial investment but

was just creating a space and time where peo­ ple could get together and have a good time.”

Although Brown admitted that she was very unsure of how the event would turn out, she said that she is happy with her decision and pleased with the event’s success.

“We had no idea how it was going to go,” she said. “We were going out on a limb trying something new. But, people came and all the people I talked to had a really good time.”

“It went very well,” Brown added. “We brought in almost $8,000 in the course of four days. That’s about $6,000 more than an aver­ age week at Gerts. It was one of the highest grossing weeks for Gerts in years.”

—Matt Essert

Pain is tem porary.

Victory is forever.

Write for N ew s M ondays @ 5:30 Tribune O ffice Shatner Suite 110

mcgilltribune.com

4 • 26 January 2010

CAMPUS

Senate meets for first time in 2010 NEWS IN BRIEF Marshall raises concerns over ice, snow removal STEVEN H O FFER N ew s Editor

The McGill University Senate convened for the first time in 2010 last week to discuss pertinent issues affecting the university.

Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, the sen­ ate’s chair, offered her remarks prior to the questions and motions period. Munroe-Blum first discussed M cGill’s participation in an up­ coming research relationship between Quebec and India. McGill previously collaborated with Indian institutions three years ago through a similar program.

Munroe-Blum also reflected upon her ex­ perience at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, stating that she was both moved by the initiative and struck by the prevalence of economic, finan­ cial, and power politics at play.

Munroe-Blum also took the opportunity to acknowledge the recent earthquakes in Haiti and to recognize McGill alumnus and CIDA worker Guillaume Siemienski, who was killed in the disaster.

The first of three questions discussed dur­ ing senate—all of which were tabled by stu­ dent senators—addressed on-campus snow re­ moval procedures and information regarding snow removal. Arts Senator David Marshall raised the issue of staircases that are inacces­ sible during the winter, as well as safety con­ cerns, and the lack of information available regarding snow removal.

“The response that it is just a situation that we have to live with in Montreal [is the] sort of approach that what we would generally like to get away from,” said Marshall. “I know that it is the general view of the administration that yes, we live in Montreal, and yes, there is snow, and that it’s just something we have to live with. I know that there has been a lot of progress on it in the last couple years but I would definitely think that because it is such a big issue, more resources should be invested in it.”

Marshall’s second question addressed a long-standing issue regarding the shuttle ser­ vice between the Macdonald and downtown campuses.

According to a 2008-2009 survey of “shuttle-utilizing students” referenced by Marshall, “66 per cent of those surveyed had been denied access to a Macdonald-bound shuttle due to capacity at least once during the academic year, and 73 per cent o f students had been denied access to a downtown-bound shuttle during the same period.” The survey, conducted by the Macdonald Campus Stu­ dents’ Society, is being replicated for the cur­ rent academic year.

“I think that there is a real disconnect at this point,” Marshall said. “The university does quite clearly advertise this service ... as a free and easy way to get transportation between campuses, but for lots of students that very transportation service is what is prohibiting [them] from taking courses at both campuses.

The service is not there to meet demand.”

Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learn­ ing) Morton Mendelson responded that there are “no immediate plans to extend the service,” citing mainly budgetary reasons. However, Mendelson added that the university would be interested in both a more comprehensive study of which students are utilizing the shuttle, and the possibility of a user fee for the inter-cam­ pus service.

Because the concern has now been brought to Senate and the administration has shown more willingness to engage with stu­ dents on it, Marshall expressed optimism on the transportation issue and feels that in this regard students are “looking ahead to better things.”

Finally, Student’s Society President Ivan Neilson brought forth concerns over when the first meeting of the Athletics Board and its Fi­ nance Subcommittee will take place.

The Senate also passed a motion prohibit­ ing senators from recording sounds or images at senate. Senators will also be prohibited from “posting the deliberations” of Senate while the group is in session.

Ontario community college instructors may strike After five months of negotiations, 9,000 instructors at Ontario’s community colleges have voted to strike with 57 per cent of voting in favour of the action.

According to Tim Montgomery, a mem­ ber of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union bargaining team and the representa­ tive of faculty members, the union is mainly concerned with workload issues and academic freedom. The union is also requesting a 2.5 per cent salary increase a year based on a threeyear contract.

Though OPSEU’s members have given the union a strike mandate, Montgomery said that a walkout would not occur for at least a month.

“No one is in favour of a strike, but it is something you have to do,” he said.

In a letter to students, Robert Gillet, the president of Algonquin College in Ottawa, assured students that the earliest possible la­

bour disruption would be sometime in Febru­ ary. The letter also assured students that in the event of a strike, colleges would work to help students complete their semesters and receive credit.

A strike would affect at least 200,000 full-time students. John Milloy, the Ontario minister of training, colleges, and universities urged both sides to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

"I am very concerned that the ongoing contract dispute between faculty and colleges has the potential to interrupt classes for thou­ sands of Ontario students," Milloy said in a press release.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also said that he encourages both sides to work out their differences in a way that does not inter­ fere with students’ learning. Though discus­ sions have not been finalized, both sides have indicated that they would like to resume talks.

—Katrina Sieniuc

C a s t in g C a ll fo r N e w F o o d N e tw o rk S h o w Are you away from home for the first time?

Do you miss home cooking?

CO RRECTIO N________ Is there one dish your mom makes that tastes like no one else’s - perhaps her amazing lasagna, fiery chicken vindaloo or homemade pierogies?

L a s t w e e k , th e a r t ic le “ M o r e s tu d e n ts ta k e L S A T s , G R E ” m is t a k e n ly r e p o r te d t h a t th e L a w S c h o o l A d m is s io n s C o u n c il h a d r e c o r d e d a f iv e p e r c e n t in c re a s e in a p p lic a tio n s . I n fa c t, th e C o u n c il s a w a f iv e p e r c e n t in c re a s e in a p p lic a n ts a n d a 6 .5 p e r c e n t in c re a s e in a p p lic a tio n s .

T h e T r ib u n e r e g r e ts th e e r r o r .

Are you a novice in the kitchen?

If you’d like to learn how to duplicate mom’s special magic and do it for a TV audience, please contact us and tell us your story.

We want to know what makes your mom’s recipe the best (w e’ll also consider recipes from other family members).

Email us at info@onestone.tv

Registration thro u g h m yFuture (caps.m yfuture.m cgill.ca). Keyword search "Arts/BA" in th e Events/W orkshops tab.

26 January 2010 • 5

Curiosity Delivers.

CAMPUS

HPV found in over 50% of young adults in new sexual relationships McGill researcher led groundbreaking study SARAH CRA M ER C ontributor

Human papillomavirus has been found in more than half of young adults in new sexual relationships, a groundbreaking Montreal study has reported.

Led by Dr. Eduardo Franco—director of McGill University’s Cancer Epidemiology U nit—and a team of McGill and University of Montreal researchers, the study reported that 56 per cent of participants were infected with at least one type of HPV and 44 per cent of that group were infected with a high-risk type of the disease known to cause cervical cancer.

They also found that the prevalence of HPV in one partner was a strong predictor of HPV in the other partner.

The HPV Infection and Transmission in Couples Through Heterosexual Activity, or HITCH Cohort, study used a data set of 263 women aged 18 to 24 and their male partners, all from the Montreal area. It is the first study to focus on young heterosexual couples in new relationships, the period when most transmis­ sions of the virus occurs between partners.

“We have really focussed on the window where transmission of the virus is most likely to occur to know how common HPV is in those partnerships and to know the potential of its transmission when you have a new partner,” said Dr. Ann Burchell, project co-ordinator and former post-doctoral fellow with Franco.

Understanding transmission between partners is what makes this study so ground­ breaking. While most HPV studies focus on only one gender, HITCH looks at couples to understand and discover how easy it is for HPV to be transmitted, what factors make it easier to transmit, and what factors stop it from transmitting.

“Internationally, we are the only study of this kind,” Burchell said.

HPV is a very common group of viruses, most of which are asymptomatic and inconse­ quential. Generally, individuals who contract the virus will not have any manifestations, and the body will flush away the infection in 16 to 18 months. Only a few of the lower-risk strains can cause genital warts.

“You can compare it to the common cold,” Burchell said. “It’s hard to go through a whole winter in Canada without catching it.”

But as research has shown, some forms of HPV can cause cancer. High-risk types of HPV can lead to cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer site among women after breast cancer. Other cancers, such as cancer of the penis, the vagina, the vulva, and the throat, can be caused by the virus, but these are ex­ tremely rare.

Cervical cancer isn't particularly com­ mon, either. According to Franco, a woman who engages in sexual activity has a 0.5 per cent chance of getting cervical cancer in her lifetime.

“However, one case of cervical cancer is just the tip of the iceberg,” Franco said.

“Below the tip, you have 100 pre-cancerous lesions that need to be identified by doctors.

That is what needs to be discovered and pre­ vented.”

Currently, there is no need to test directly for HPV because there are no mandated clinical guidelines to do so. An HPV test is issued only if there is an abnormal pap test. Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier, director of the McGill Student Health Services, said that McGill can administer pap tests. However, an HPV test would be a cost to the patient. This is something that researchers on the HITCH study are trying to work on.

“We find, in our research, that testing for the virus is much more effective than testing

GABRIELA GILMOUR

Though HPV is prevalent among young couples, only a few strains cause cancer. through the pap test,” Franco said. “But this is all research in motion and the guidelines are not being rewritten yet.”

Both Franco and Burchell would like the study to promote prevention and awareness of the disease, whether through condom use, abstinence, or vaccinations. Canada has ap­ proved and is currently administering Gardisil, which protects against four strains of the virus, including two of those that are in the high-risk category. Although it is recommended for women to get the vaccination before they be­ come sexually active, it is not discouraged for older women or even men.

“The best bang for the buck is to vacci­

nate at the youngest age possible, before they have sex,” Franco said. “There are diminish­ ing gains over time as the vaccine will not flush out a virus that is already there, but acts as long-run protection.”

According to Tellier, getting the vaccina­ tion is routine and easy. The Students’ Soci­ ety’s health plan pays for $300 worth of vac­ cinations per year, which covers almost threequarters of the final cost.

“This is definitely something students should take advantage of,” said Tellier.

Proposal would bring M BA tuition in line with W estern, U o f T Confined from C O V ER or activity requires, under the budget regula­ tions that apply to universities, that the in­ stitution that wishes to offer this program must obtain authorization of the ministry.”

Whether or not this is true is unclear. Ac­ cording to the budgetary regulations issued by the ministry last year, universities with selffunded programs “must obtain authorization from the ministry.” This stipulation, however, does not appear in the new budgetary regula­ tions issued in October.

In her letter to Munroe-Blum, originally published last week in Le Devoir, Courchesne also expressed concern that the self-funded model’s higher tuition “violates the principle of accessibility.”

Todd, however, disagrees. Unlike other master’s students, he said, students who enrol in the MBA program typically have five to six years of work experience and make about $50,000 per year. After graduation, students can expect to make between $80,000 and $90.000 per year.

“It’s a lucrative thing to come and do such a program,” Todd said.

The administration plans to use the rev­ enue generated by the higher tuition to provide the equivalent of $4,000 in aid to each student in the program. That amount is set to rise to $6,000 in the next few years.

“We think that by charging a higher tu­ ition, we can actually make the program more accessible,” Todd said.

The proposed MB A program would not be the first to forfeit provincial funding and em ­ ploy a self-funded model. McGill introduced a self-funded master’s degree in manufactur­ ing management a decade ago with an annual tuition of $30,000. A self-funded executive MBA program run jointly by McGill and the University of Montreal charges $65,000 for the 15-month degree.

Other Canadian business schools also operate their MBA programs on self-funded models. The Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario charges $64.000 to $74.000 for its one-year MBA pro­

gram, while the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management charges between $74,936 and $94,286 in total for its two-year program.

Todd argued that their higher tuition en­ ables these schools to outperform McGill. Ac­ cording to rankings of MBA programs released yesterday by the Financial Times, M cGill’s MBA program ranks 95th in the world. The programs at Rotman and Ivey rank 45th and 49th, respectively.

According to a memorandum sent to members of the M cGill’s Board of Governors last week, Munroe-Blum was scheduled to meet with Courchesne on Friday to discuss the issue. Munroe-Blum has also been in contact with the office of Premier Jean Charest.

“We don’t view it as a confrontational situation with the government,” Todd said.

The issue has created some controversy within the Students’ Society, however. Last October, Vice-President University Affairs Rebecca Dooley and Vice-President Exter­ nal Sebastian Ronderos-Morgan introduced a

motion at SSMU Council condemning what Ronderos-Morgan called an “enormous tu­ ition hike.” If the administration successfully adopts the self-funded model in one program, he said, it is possible that McGill might make use of it in others.

Council narrowly defeated Dooley’s and Ronderos-Morgan’s motion in the face of strong oppostion from representatives of the Management Undergraduate Society. Unde­ terred, Dooley and Ronderos-Morgan intro­ duced a broader motion opposing the self­ funding tuition model at the Fall General As­ sembly, which failed to come to a vote after the GA lost quorum.

“We thought it was important for SSMU to have a clear policy against the self-funding tuition model for specialized programs,” Ron­ deros-Morgan said.

Dooley and Ronderos-Morgan are cur­ rently authoring a similar motion in prepara­ tion for the Winter General Assembly next month.

6 • Tuesday, January 26, 2010

O P T IN G

O U T O F Q P IR G

I refuse to hand over a penny of my money to the Quebec Public Interest Research Group.

The McGill chapter of QPIRG collects a student fee of $3.75 per semester from all McGill undergraduate students. They use those funds to support working groups who advocate for “social and environmental justice.”

Thankfully, however, students can choose to opt-out of the QPIRG fee and receive a refund through Minerva, and a coalition of McGill groups is advocating that we do just that. This coalition includes Free the Children McGill, PLQ McGill (an arm of the Liberal Party), and Conservative McGill (full disclo­ sure: I am a member of Conservative McGill), among others. It’s a testament to QPIRG’s radi­ cal politics that two of M cGill’s major political societies are so strongly opposed to it.

I decided to lend my voice to the opt-out movement after taking a glance at some of the working groups approved by QPIRG’s Board of Directors. Some questionable organizations receive student funding.

The organization Tadamon! is a “Montre­ al-based collective which works in solidarity with struggles for self-determination, equal­ ity, and justice in the ‘Middle East’” and is a working group of QPIRG. They explicitly ally themselves with organizations that are “anti-capitalist” and oppose the use of the term “terrorism,” which they say marginalizes “tar­ geted communities in Canada and engenders a climate of fear.” They oppose the “Apartheid” policies of Israel, comparing the conflict be­ tween the Palestinians and Israel to South Af­ rican Apartheid, a parallel that is inappropriate at best. QPIRG itself is one of the sponsors of Israeli Apartheid Week, featuring events “edu­ cating” the public on Israel’s “apartheid sys­ tem” and advocating for the “boycott, divest­ ment, and sanctions” strategy of direct action against the Israeli nation.

Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble is an anar­

F resh H ell Z o e D a n iels

/daniels@ mciiilltribune.com I S T IL L H A T E T H E S IT U A T IO N

I love Jersey Shore as much as the next well-educated Midwesterner—and with as much guilt. I also get a thrill seeing people get thinner on The Biggest Loser, and cackle with delight at every shot of Mary Murphy’s superBotoxed facehole on So You Think You Can Dance. I can’t help myself. Despite the obvi­ ous reasons why reality TV is cheapening our lives and corrupting our youth, I really like it.

Chances are you do too, so don’t get all selfrighteous on me.

In fact there are a few benefits to liking reality TV. It helps me bond with people I oth­ erwise have nothing in common with; it makes me aware of the humanity of the idiotic; and it

O pinion chist drumming group. They organize on anar­ chist principles, they support an anarchist phi­ losophy, and QPIRG gives them your money to do it. I have no fondness for the politics of anarchy, or its supporters; I am proud to say I support a limited political authority, and I don’t want to fund a group that says such authority shouldn’t exist.

QPIRG also sponsors the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui. The aspect of this organi­ zation that disturbs me most is the first of their goals: they demand the “immediate release” of all five Canadian security certificate detainees, a group that includes an alleged agent for the Vanguards of Conquest (a radical wing of Is­ lamic Jihad), an alleged senior A1 Qaeda op­ erative, and two suspected members of the Bin Laden Network.

QPIRG claims to use student money to work towards “environmental and social jus­ tice,” but in practice they support a number of angry fringe organizations. They themselves were the publishers of “School Schmool” — the activist handbook that detailed easy ways to vandalize advertisements and happily cel­ ebrated the invention of the pipe bomb.

Controversial groups like Tadamon! should go directly to McGill students to raise funds. They could hold a bakesale, ask for donations, or submit a referendum question asking for student funds. As it is now, I have a problem with letting QPIRG use student fees to fund groups whose radical politics would make many students cringe.

Let me be clear: I have absolutely no op­ position to people expressing their opinions and goals. Many of QPIRG’s working groups have admirable goals. Groups like Greening McGill and the Global AIDS Coalition are extremely worthy of student funding. But un­ fortunately, QPIRG also lets a small number of misguided lobby organizations dip into our pockets indirectly.

I don’t want my money to go to organiza­ tions that I disagree with. That’s why I opted out.

If an Anarchist drumming group ap­ proached you on the street and asked for your money, would you give it to them? If not, then you should opt-out of QPIRG until they stop supporting such unworthy groups. If the only way a group can get funding is through the backdoor of QPIRG, then they don’t deserve it in the first place.

helps me consider ideas of morality. What epi­ sode of House can do all that?

First and foremost, reality TV helps with the complicated business of making new friends.

Most people first changed social groups after elementary school when we were first becom­ ing aware of the strangeness of our family lives or reading the What’s Happening to My Body? book with a flashlight in our closets. We were insecure, and so, naturally, we talked about the flaws of others to make up for it. Gossip was the glue that masked our insecurities and held our new friendships together, and although we’ve figured out divorce and body hair, there is still an element of grade-eight gossip in university life. Shared stories are shared experiences, and if you’re just meeting someone, the lives of re­ ality TV stars are go-to gossip topics without the risk of betraying those close to you. Scripted shows aren’t as easy to bond over because the uniformly beautiful cast members with exten­ sive medical knowledge are too obviously fake.

At a fundamental level, reality TV features real people making real decisions (no matter how artificial it may seem after post-production). A discussion about reality TV can ignore the is­

A D IS IN G E N U O U S D E B A T E

The American health care “debate” has been doomed from the beginning.

Rooting their campaign in blatant lies, the American Right came out swinging the moment the massive profits of certain special interests—namely the Medical Insurance/ Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex—were put into question. These profiteers have for years been spending more on lobbying and bribing in Washington than even the oil and war indus­ tries. These select few who profit at the expense of millions have poured millions of dollars into spreading their lies and have successfully duped a large portion of the American public into believing that their best interests lie with those who have been profiting off of illness and poor healthcare for decades. Otherwise ratio­ nal people have come to believe that providing healthcare for the millions of working Ameri­ cans who cannot afford to buy in to the forprofit system will bankrupt the country, lead to government bureaucrats choosing life or death for every last patient, and be the harbinger of modern-day Bolshevism. These arguments come from on high (members of government), from below (right-wing protest groups), and even from those designated to moderate debate in our society (the media).

Of course, there is a debate to be had. The choice to provide health care or allow people to die and suffer en masse is a political one—al­ though it seems like a rather obvious choice to most people. Nonetheless, if one is truly con­ vinced that unnecessary death and suffering is preferable to empowering the state to restrict the profits of private insurance companies, let them say so. But please, let’s be upfront—such a position is not about stopping Islamo-Kenyan-Canadian-Communist-conspiracies, it is about prioritizing greed over human need.

On our campus a similar “debate” filled with half-truths and blatant falsehoods has been raging thanks to the “Opt-out of QPIRG” campaign. (Full disclosure: I am a member of

sues of education and class. It’s readily acces­ sible to anyone with an Internet connection, and no post-secondary education is needed to rag on Heidi Montag’s new face. If the conversation builds into a discussion of the patriarchy’s con­ trol over women’s bodies, then that’s great. If not, there’s still a sense of community fostered by mutual knowledge.

Reality TV also helps me be slightly more understanding of some of the idiots I come into contact with. I have a habit of being incredibly uncharitable in my character assessments. When describing people—even those who I like—I often tend toward the brutally accurate details, instead of toward the sympathetic version of the truth. However, I’ve found that I’m much more likely to recant my indictment of personality for a TV star than for a real person, simply because I know more about the things that made them who they are. I don’t want to sit through a fourhour monologue about an enemy’s childhood, sexual history, and genealogy to understand why they irritate me. MTV knows this. So they give me small slices of Snooki’s life to help me understand why she has such a vapid, grat­ ing personality. It doesn’t mean I grow to like

mcgilltribune.com

the QPIRG Board of Directors.)

Based on the principles of democracy and consensus, the founders of the McGill chapter of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group wanted to make sure that no student who dis­ agreed with QPIRG’s mandate of social and environmental justice should be forced to pay for its activities. To facilitate this mode of con­ scientious objection they created the opt-out mechanism—a procedure that allows students to obtain a refund of the $3.75 per semester student fee that they pay to QPIRG—that has subsequently been copied by many other stu­ dent groups at McGill.

Today that good-faith decision by QPIRG has come back to bite it—and all of us students who care even minimally about the world around u s—in the ass thanks to a campaign of misinformation and lies. Students are cur­ rently bombarded—on Facebook, via flyers in the library and in residence rooms, and on the email lists of otherwise respectable orga­ nizations—with blatant lies: QPIRG-McGill is all about radicalism, pursues an extremist agenda, and does not represent the majority of students on campus. This campaign began on high, with the administration’s questionably legal decision to take the opt-out system out of the hands of those who designed it—QPIRG— and place it under their control on Minerva. It has been pushed from below by a small group of students on the far right of campus opinion masquerading as “moderates.” And it has been reinforced by sensationalist commentary that is rooted in blatant falsehoods.

Of course, as with America health care, there is a debate to be had about the values of QPIRG. If you think that the McGill Global AIDS Coalition, Campus Crops, Greening McGill and KANATA (the Journal of Indige­ nous Studies at McGill) are truly representative of a fringe, radical agenda that disturbs you to the core, you should not be paying for them.

However, most classmates that I’ve spoken to who have opted-out did not know that these and similar groups are the recipients of the majority of QPIRG’s resources and time. Instead, these classmates were duped by M cGill’s far right into believing that the majority o f QPIRG’s time is devoted to smashing bank windows, making Jewish students (like myself) feel un­ safe on campus, and generally bringing about a new Russian Revolution. Rush Limbaugh and Bill O ’Reilly would be proud.

her, but it helps me stop dehumanizing her, and sometimes the other people in my life as well.

Watching reality TV “stars,” especially those whose lives are diametrically opposed to mine {My Super Sweet Sixteen, anyone?) also helps me form my own set of social norms. Be cause I don’t practice any religion, aside from the vague Christianity of “secular” North Amer ica, I ’ve cobbled together my views on personal decorum from the media, my mother, and Ayn Rand. Given its genesis, there are obviously holes in my guidelines and reality TV helps me find them. By putting “normal” people in real life situations, reality TV helps me figure out who I would ally with to stay alive on a desert island, whether an apprenticeship in New Yor City seems fun, and whether T-back binikis ar.acceptable beach wear (no, unless you’re on Elimidate). Deciding that I never want to be el) gible to appear on Half-Ton Mom nor Toddlers & Tiaras is a big help in terms of life planning Obviously, reality TV is stupid, manipula­ tive, and probably a sign of the Apocalypse, but at the same time, it’s doing me some good, so I’d rather rally behind it than bum Jeff Probst at the stake.

Curiosity Delivers.

26 January 2010 • 7

-Mc G ill ^ T

r ib u n e

w'w’w.mcf’illtribunc.com E D IT O R -IN -C H IE F Thom as Quail editor@ m cgilltribune.com M A N A G IN G E D IT O R S Jam es G ilm an jgilm an@ m cgilltribune.com C arolyn Yates cyates@ m cgilltribune.com P R O D U C T IO N M A N A G E R A dam Scotti ascotti@ m cgilltribune.com N E W S E D IT O R S Tori Craw ford Steven H offer T heo M eyer new s@ m cgilltribune.com O P IN IO N E D IT O R M att Chesser opinion@ m cgilltribune.com F E A T U R E S E D IT O R S Shannon K im ball Brahna Siegelberg features@ m cgilltribune.com A R T S & E N T E R T A IN M E N T E D IT O R S K yle Carpenter Laura Tindal arts@ m cgilltribune.com S P O R T S E D IT O R K ailan Leung sports@ m cgilltribune.com P H O T O E D IT O R S A lice W alker Julia W ebster photo@ m cgilltribune.com D E S IG N E D IT O R S A lison Bailey Zoe Brew ster design @ m cgilltribune.com C O P Y E D IT O R C arolyn G régoire O N L IN E E D IT O R A lexandr C artasiov online@ m cgilltribune.com A D V E R T IS IN G M A N A G E R Dallas Bentley cpm @ ssm u.m cgill.ca

-----------------------E D I T O R I A L S — --------------Common sense lacking in feud over MBA tuition hike The latest round in the McGill administra­ tion’s ongoing feud with the Quebec govern­ ment is much the same as the last. Predictable cries of “accessibility” are again pitted against claims of underfunding, as the sides face-off over a proposed tuition increase for McGill Master of Business Administration students.

Suffice it to say, it’s starting to get old.

Early this year, McGill announced that the MBA program in the Desautels Faculty of Management would switch to a “self-funded model” beginning in Fall 2010. The move will see the faculty forgo funding from the Quebec government and cover costs by raising tuition rates to $29,500 per year for the two-year program. The increase in tuition will affect all students. Currently, Quebec students pay an average of $1,672.80 per year, while other Canadian students pay $4,675.68, and interna­

tional students pay $19,890.

The 17-fold increase for Quebec students is admittedly gaudy, but those that oppose it on the basis of “accountability” are lacking com­ mon sense. The McGill administration claims that an MBA costs the school about $22,000 per student per year, which amounts to an annual shortfall of $10,000 per student after tuition and subsidies from the Quebec govern­ ment are collected. It’s unfair to expect other students—like u s—to make up that $10,000 when the average MBA student is 28 years old, works in private industry, and commands an average annual salary of $80,000 upon graduation.

Those who are outraged ignore the abscence of a convincing link between lower tuition and greater accessibility. They ignore the opinion of M cGill’s MBA Students’ Asso­

ciation, who wrote in an email to the Tribune that they “support the change as being in the best long-term interest of the program.” And they ignore that the new tuition rate would be comparable to, or cheaper than, most top MBA programs in Canada.

While we acknowledge that this move sets a precedent for other dramatic tuition in­ creases, the Tribune does not believe the MBA program can be accurately compared to the research faculties. An MBA is an investment that allows most businessmen to double their salaries—a benefit commensurate with the increased tuition. In a perfect world, a tuition hike wouldn’t be necessary. But if Quebec is unwilling to pay for the $10,000 shortfall, it’s time that they stopped opposing M cGill’s realworld solution.

A small step towards reducing doctor shortages In a province with a severe physician shortage, it is somewhat surprising that only 35 per cent of foreign-trained doctors who pass the exams required to practice medicine in Quebec are granted residency positions.

Last week, however, Quebec Health Min­ ister Yves Bolduc took an important step in ad­ dressing this issue when he announced that the province will reserve 65 residency spots per year for foreign-trained doctors. A successful residency in a Canadian hospital is a require­ ment for foreign doctors to receive a license to practice medicine in this country, yet 94 resi­ dency positions in Quebec were left vacant last year. The province also announced that they will fund a six-month retraining program in basic medicine for those whose residency ap-

plications are unsuccessful.

While we acknowledge that these changes will not resolve Quebec’s physician shortages entirely, any effort that can help the many peo­ ple living in Quebec who hold medical degrees to begin practicing is a welcome one. With thousands of Quebecers lacking a primary care physician, it makes no sense that so many resi­ dency positions were left vacant last year—es­ pecially when foreign doctors who have passed the required exams are available to fill these positions. Ontario, for example, accepted more than three times as many foreign graduates into residency programs last year than Quebec.

The issue is likely to become even more acute in the near future, especially if the current trend of Canadian students attending offshore

medical schools continues. The Canadian Med­ ical Association estimated in 2007 that there were 1,500 of these students. Those who wish to return to Canada to practice medicine will face the same process that has currently left 300 foreign-trained physicians in Quebec unable to find jobs.

The Canada Health Act, which forms the basis of the country’s health care system, in­ cludes equal access to medical care as one of its main principles. While the provincial govern­ ment’s recent announcements are an important but relatively inexpensive step in addressing the issue, making equal access a reality for Quebec residents who lack a family physician will take much more than 65 new foreign-trained doc­ tors.

Gaza, its population is still subjected to an in­ humane siege which restricts essential supplies such as food and health care. This prompted Gazans to rely on tunnel-smuggled goods from neighbouring Egypt, which has just an­ nounced its intention to build a wall which stretches underground with hopes of rendering the tunnels useless and in turn cutting off the invaluable lifeline to Gaza.

In the hope that we learn from this ongo­ ing human tragedy, take steps to end the suf­ fering, and prevent future occurrences, Gaza Remembrance Week will be held at McGill this year, from February 1 to 5. Activities will include a week-long exhibition at Redpath li­ brary, as well as a February 5 keynote lecture

by Dr. Mads Gilbert, a world-renowned Nor­ wegian doctor who was actively involved in emergency medicine in Gaza during the con­ flict. Dr. Gilbert was one of the few foreign doctors allowed into Gaza and his correspon­ dences were well documented on CNN, ABC, BBC and Al-Jazeera.

I encourage the McGill community to participate in Gaza Remembrance Week as part of a global effort to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people and the ongo­ ing tragedy that has befallen Gazans.

—Jamal Daoud PhD IV Biomedical Engineering

[your] petty whims.” There’s no way that they might take some advice—“integrate the lec­ tures more with the readings” or “spend more time on the anatomy section of the course and less on the functional part” —while disregard­ ing that kid who never showed up’s advice to “like, slow way down in lecture.” The people looking at tenure applications surely can’t fil­ ter the good from the half-cocked advice ei­ ther. And Professors should obviously treat us like their subordinates. As you rightly pointed out, this involves not giving a rat’s ass about how they teach the course, whether people get anything out of it, or if the information they offer is close to coherent. Being in charge means never having to listen to your subor­ dinates to get a sense that you’re on the right track. That’s how all the best leaders operate, and if there’s anything academia is screaming out for, it’s to further isolate professors from criticism and the outside world. After all, there are so many other methods by which students can make valid criticisms of their experience here that have the possibility of being heard.

Thanks, Ricky, for your contrariness and authoritarianism. What would we do without people defending the rights of professors to act with complete immunity from criticism?

And bless the coherence of your message as well. Students should definitely be angry that they’re not being treated as badly as they de­ serve because of their unwillingness to sub­ mit to academic rigor. Or something like that.

Whatever your message was, thank you for it.

—Alex Silver U3 Psychology

P U B L IS H E R C had Ronalds

C O N T R IB U T O R S M o rg an A b rah am , E m m a C ab re ra -A ra g o n , S arah C ram er, M a d e le in e C u m m in g s, Z o e D an ie ls, M att E ssert, A lis s a F in g o ld , G a b rie la G ilm o u r, G race G lo w ic k i, K ay an H u i, S am Jessu la, J o h n K elsey, A lex K n o ll, A d am L e v in e, Iain M a c d o n a ld , J a n e t M cM u lle n , B rittan y R ap p a p o rt, L o g a n S , A d a m S ad in sk y , M ax im e S aw ick i, K a trin a S ie n iu c , M ax S ilv e rm a n , B ren d a n S tev e n , H o lly S tew art, R yan T a y lo r

T R IB U N E O F F I C E S

EDITORIAL

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The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper pub­ lished by the Students’ Society of McGill University in collabora­ tion with the Tribune Publication Society. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Students’ Society or McGill Uni­ versity. Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@mcgilltribune. com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or sole­ ly promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

G aza R em em brance Week Our history books are filled with stained pages that compel us to criticize our predeces­ sors for their inaction and failure to implement changes, in the hope that we will not repeat our errors and allow for the recurrence of human rights violations. From Apartheid South Africa to the massacres of Rwanda, we have time and again failed to learn from history. The most recent and ongoing tragedy is that of the Pal­ estinian people, subject to the longest occupa­ tion in modem history.

Last year, from December 27 until Janu­ ary 18, Israel launched “Operation Cast Lead” a brutal military campaign against the Gaza strip and its 1.5 million people. This followed an 18-month siege on Gaza that left its popu­ lation in dire conditions. The operation cre­ ated a dramatic humanitarian crisis, leaving 1,417 Gazans dead, and 400,000 without run­ ning water, as well as 4,000 destroyed homes.

These actions were condemned by the United Nations, along with many human rights orga­ nizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Moreover, Israeli war crimes as well as numerous human rights violations were carefully documented in the Goldstone report, released as part of the UN fact-finding mission in Gaza in October 2009.

One year after the Israeli incursions into

O h Ricky you’re so fine

Re: “That evaluation you requested” by Ricky Kreitner (19.01.10) Yes, Ricky, the world is that simple.

Professors are desperately hanging on to the words of students so that they can “cater to

8 • 26 January 2010

Student Living

MOM’S RICE AND BEANS

Last week I went out for dinner with a group of friends and I got a serious case of nostalgia. We went to Delicias Colombianas, a Colombian restaurant on St. Zotique, to wish a friend bon voyage before a long trip to the Middle East. The restaurant was very accommodating for such a large group, the portions were more than generous, and the food was fresh and delicious. I asked some Colombian friends about it, and they gave the place a rave review in terms of authenticity

M y m om had a lot to say about rice, a subject that I had alw ays thought o f as straightforw ard. I t ’s not. In a Puerto R ican kitchen, perfect rice preparation results in p e g a o —toasted, crispy rice that sticks to the bottom o f the pot.

and flavour. They also recommended Cafete­ ria Las Palmas on Rachel and St. Dominique.

The source of my nostalgia was my steak, which was served with very typical Colombian sides—an arepa, tostones, and rice and beans.

Rice and beans are popular throughout Latin America and this particular batch, Colombian or not, instantly reminded me of my mother’s.

My mother makes the most delicious Puerto Rican rice and beans I could ever fathom, and I miss them terribly. Suddenly, a Middle East goodbye party became one of those moments where food calls to mind vivid notions of the comfort of home.

Arroz con habichuelas—or rice and beans—make a perfect winter dinner and to­ gether constitute a ‘complete protein,’ or a

nutritional super food. They also happen to accommodate a student budget quite well.

Rather than spending hours in the kitchen experimenting and testing recipes, I called my mom and asked for hers. Her recipe calls for recaito, a blend of onions, garlic, peppers, culantro and cilantro that serves as a cornerstone to Puerto Rican and Cuban cooking. Thankful­ ly, the Latin food giant Goya sells recaito in a jar. If you’re struggling to find Goya products, head to the Librairie Espagnole on St. Laurent and Roy. Or if you’re in a rush, just chop up some cilantro. Her recipe also calls for adobo, which is a spice blend (Goya again). The shortcut here would be salt, pepper, and garlic powder, but adobo is really delicious and use­ ful to have on hand to throw into nearly any dish (try rubbing it on chicken before grilling).

For the beans, begin by sautéing a small white or yellow onion, two cloves of garlic, and half of a bell pepper in olive oil. Sprinkle with adobo and cook until the onion is translucent.

At this point, add two cans of drained and rinsed black, red, or pink beans. Stir to com­ bine and add stock or water to cover. Add one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, and two heap­ ing tablespoons of recaito. Cover, and simmer on medium for 20 minutes.

My mom had a lot to say about rice, a subject that I had always thought of as straight­ forward. It’s not. In a Puerto Rican kitchen, perfect rice preparation results in pegao— toasted, crispy rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot. You always get to it at the end of the meal, and it’s more satisfying than any des­ sert I know. Begin by adding 1/8 of an inch of canola oil to the bottom of a saucepan, with two cups of white rice and two teaspoons of salt. Stir the rice over high heat until it chang­ es colour (my mom says you’re looking for it to become “chalky-white”). At this point, add enough water to cover the rice, with an extra inch. Stir once, and cook on high until the water has cooked down to the level of the rice. Stir once more, adjust the heat to low, and cover—don’t even look at it for 20 minutes.

Nearly every Latin cook has their own recipe, and regardless of the nuances in spice and seasoning, rice and beans of any style are hearty, satisfying, and perfect for student life during the Montreal winter.

mcgilltribune.com

GIZMOS & GADGETS

E xplore the Internet freely The browser you choose can change your user experience IAIN M ACDONALD C ontributor

Last week, Google was the victim of intellectual property theft at the hands of a group of sophisticated Chinese hackers. It is unclear who was responsible for the malicious attack, but Google is now considering exiting the Chinese market. Following the attack, the governments of Germany and France issued warnings to citizens to stop using M icrosoft’s Internet Explorer web browser. The notice was issued because the attack on Google was a result of a bug in Internet Explorer. This is not the first major security flaw discovered in In­ ternet Explorer’s code, and it probably won’t be the last. In addition to its security flaws, Internet Explorer has several other shortcom­ ings that make it one of the worst browsers available.

Internet Explorer currently has the larg­ est user base of any Internet browser. This is in part because it ships pre-installed with any Windows operating system, which controls about 90 per cent of the home computer mar­ ket. Many less-advanced computer users— like former senator Ted Stevens, who claimed the Internet is a series of tubes—view Inter­ net Explorer as the only way to access the Internet. Like all browsers, Explorer is only responsible for translating your requests into computer-level requests, and translating the Internet sites into something you can read.

Alternative browsers have different abili­ ties. Two main concerns are rendering (how accurately a browser displays what it is sent) and speed. The ACID3 test is a check of the browser’s rendering of document object mod­ els and JavaScript (two key components of website representation). While most browsers achieve a perfect 100/100 on the test, Inter­ net Explorer scored only 21/100. Opera Mo­ bile, the browser used on most smart phones, achieves a 98/100. Speed is also important for many people, and Internet Explorer 6 is signif­ icantly slower than most browsers available, while IE 8 does not fare much better. These re­

sults are surprising, considering about 60 per cent of Internet users are browsing on Internet Explorer.

The browser you use is your choice, but I would suggest thst you do a bit of research before deciding to make the switch.

Firefox: Firefox is best known for exten­ sive add-ons to let you do just about anything inside of your web browser, such as incorpo­ rate social networking directly into the browser and automate downloading tasks. Firefox was the first major web browser to feature tabbed browsing, as seen in any browser today. Fire­ fox currently has a 25 per cent market share.

Chrome: Chrome is blazing fast, due to custom JavaScript handling and document ob­ ject model bindings (which provide the transi­ tion from web content to computer display), and DNS pre-resolution (when you load a website, Chrome starts figuring out where all the links go before you click on them, while other browsers wait until you click a link to determine the appropriate address). The downside is that it has very few add-ons and extensions. About five per cent of people on the web are using Chrome. The German gov­ ernment warned its citizens against Chrome as well as Internet Explorer because Google col­ lects usage data from Chrome’s users during browsing. While there is no evidence to sug­ gest Google uses this data in any adverse way, its purpose is still unclear.

S afari: Apple’s web browser ships with all Mac computers, and was ported to Win­ dows in 2007. Like most Apple products, it focussed more on the user interface and good looks rather than strong performance. None­ theless, it is a strong browser, and easily pass­ es ACID3.

O p era: Opera is a very feature-rich browser, supporting chat and email clients, mouse gestures, themes, speed dial, notes, and turbo, to name a few. While Opera’s mo­ bile distribution is the most popular on smart phones, its desktop variant only has about one per cent market share.

K onqueror: Konqueror is one of Linux’s main browsers. Konqueror is fairly quick and it doubles as a fairly good file manager, simi­ lar to Windows Explorer.

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Leadership Skills Development Workshops

Celebrate the Sustainability Fund’s passing a student referen­ dum on sustainability-related re­ search and projects at McGill, and learn about how to apply for the fund, what kinds of projects qualify, and meet other students interested in sustainability on campus. Refresh­ ments will be served.

AIDS: the Moral and Political Economy of Epi­ demic in South Africa 12:30-2 p.m.

Leacock, Room 429 See a lecture by Antoinette Handley, a political science profes­ sor from U of T, whose research in­ terests take her back regularly to the sub-continent for research on statebusiness relations in Africa.

The Vagina Monologues Arts Building, W-120 8 p.m.

V-Day McGill invites you to attend the 2010 production of The Vagina Monologues. Based on inter­ views with over 200 women about their memories and experiences, the show sets the stage for an intro­ spective journey, guaranteeing that no one will ever look at a woman’s body in the same way again. Con­ tact m ed ia .vd a ym cg ill@ g m a il.co m to confirm your attendance.

If you are a student involved in campus activities as an executive, o rg a n iz e r or event p lan n er, you qualify for the Leadership Training Program ’s FREE Skills Development Workshops.

D e v e lo p and build your leadership skills. Attend a minimum of five workshops throughout 0 9 / 1 0 academ ic y e a r and receive a certificate of completion.

T h is F e b r u a r y , c h e c k o u t...

P u b lic

S p e a k in g

Pay homage to Lady Gaga while raising money for the Sense Project, a holistic sex education pro­ gram. Bring your wigs and body­ suits to the Playhouse for a night of dancin’ and bad romancin.’ For more info, see w w w .sen sep ro ject. org and w w w .h eadan dh an ds.ca.

Journalists for Human Rights Altitude 737 5-8 p.m.

Journalists for Human Rights —a Canadian NGO that works to spread awareness of human rights through the use of the media—is having a fundraising event to inform people about human rights and empowering marginalized communities to stand up.

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T r o u b le s h o o tin g Head & Hands’ Faggity Dance Party The Playhouse (5656 Av­ enue du Parc) 10 p.m.-3 a.m.

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m e ssa g e s you send a n d re c e iv e c le a r e r. You’ll se e the d iffe re n c e it m a k es in your volunteer positions a n d in your c a re e r !

R e g is tr a tio n n o w a v a i l a b l e v i a M in e r v a !

To access the site, go to our website at: w w w .m c g ill.c a

/

fir s ty e a r / le a d e r tr a in in g

/

For more info, drop by the First-Year O ffice in the Brown Build ing , Suite 2 1 0 0 , or call 514-398-6913 P.S. If s p a c e a llo w s , these w o rk sh o p s a r e o p e n to a ll students w h o a r e in te re s te d in le a d e rs h ip !

mcgilltribune.com

10 • 26 January 2010

M cG ill c lu b s h a v e s o m e th in g fo

Red Th u n d er

T h e M c G ill O u t d o o r s C lu b

Calling all fans of McGill athletics: Red Thunder McGill allows you to attend varsity games for free. The catch? None, if you’re a true fan. After paying a $25 fee, members get a Red Thunder Fan Pack containing a T-shirt, rally towel and bandana, and organized bus trips to the games.

With planned tailgating before games and after-parties to follow, Red Thunder is the ulti­ mate fan experience. Look around at any varsity game and you are sure to see the signature Red Thunder shirt. The only events that the shirts do not allow access to are Queen’s and Management Carnival Hockey games and Playoff games. In the words of Red Thunder, “GO RED GO!”

While going to school in Montreal might limit some of your outdoor activity, the McGill Outdoors Club is the university’s home for fostering and offering activities to outdoor enthusi­ asts. For more than 70 years, the group has been getting outdoors to snowshoe, ski, snowboard, ice climb, hike, kayak, and much more.

The Outdoor Club organizes trips throughout the year geared toward members of all dif­ ferent skill levels, from beginners to experts. In addition, the group’s listserv provides an excel­ lent venue for members to meet up with others who share their passion for the outdoors and for conjuring up their own adventures.

The R e d Thunder R oom is in the S A P E K Office in room 201 o f the A th letics C om plex. R ed

Visit w w w .m cg illo u td o o rsclu b .ca f o r m ore inform ation, o r d ro p by a m eeting, W ednesdays

Thunder can a lso b e fo u n d on F a cebook a n d Twitter.

a t 7 :30 in room 3 0 2 o f the Shatn er building.

X tre m e S p o rts

F a n t a s i a M c G ill

Xtreme sports, for those who don’t know, are activities associated with a certain degree of danger. Some of the better-known extreme sports are skateboarding, sky diving, and surfing.

Given Montreal’s location, it is unlikely that the Xtreme sports club will be outfitting their mem­ bers with surfboards or skateboards and sending them off to the beach.

The Xtreme sports club—which prides itself on “living life on the EDGE”—comes into its own as a SSMU club this semester. The club execs have their eye on a sky diving license for club members. The philosophy is not only about the sports themselves, but also about bringing people with all interests together in an extreme manner.

Fantasia McGill is a group of amateur performers who put on shows at residences and hospitals in the Montreal area. The club draws musicians, dancers, instrumentalists, singers, and jugglers from a wide range of disciplines, and they perform together once a month. Past venues Include Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal Association for the Blind, Westmount One, and Mon­ treal General Hospital, among others.

“The concerts usually consist of six to 10 performances, each that the performers have pre­ pared on their own time,” explains Lisa Palladini. a Fantasia McGill executive. “And we usually try to cater to themes when proper months permit, such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day.

E m ail x trem eclu b .m cg ill@ g m a il.co m f o r m ore inform ation.

F an tasia M c G ill’s next co n c e rt is a t M aim on ides h o sp ita l in C ote. St. L uc on Jan u ary 31.

To g e t in vo lved o r f o r m ore inform ation, e m a ilfa n ta sia m c g ill@ g m a il.c o m .

Curiosity Delivers.

26 January 2010 • 11

Sick of the usual sleu of political groups, theatre groups, or student media outlets?

Whether it'sjuggling at Westmount One, relaxingwith agame ofStrategoovertea, engaging inXtremesports, creatingacookbook, orgiving backtothe community in unique ways, here are some alternative clubs and organizations you may not have heard about before.

everyone

— C o m p ile d b y E m m a C a b r e r a -A r a g o n , M a d e l e in e C u m m in g s , J a n e t M c M u lle n , S h a n n o n K im b a ll, a n d B r a h n a S ie g e l b e r g

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

MLLENOELLE.WORDPRESS.COM

S a l s e r o s M c G ill

F r ie n d s W it h F o o d

If your dance routine includes fist pumping and the robot, consider trying something a bit more flavourful. Salseros McGill, a social salsa club, will teach you how to turn up the heat on the dance floor every Monday through Wednesday. Every Tuesday night, Salseros McGills hosts a Latin Social at 8 p.m. in Gert’s for both beginners and the experienced. A beginner’s salsa les­ son is also offered at the beginning of each social, so there’s no need to be intimidated.

Salseros McGill also offers Salsa lessons on Monday and Wednesday nights— you can purchase 10 lessons for only $25. The club’s motto of “dance first, think later” is sure to take your mind off of midterms. In addition to teaching you sensual Latin moves, Salseros McGill organizes trips to Montreal’s best salsa clubs.

Although relatively new on campus. Friends with Food has already been a hit among McGill students with a common interest in cooking. Friends with Food started last year by publishing a regular recipe column in the McGill Daily. This year, Friends with Food has taken on an ad­ ditional project—a cookbook for students by students.

The concept is two-fold. “We want to promote a healthy relationship with food,” say Olivia Hoffmeyer and Sophie Busby, editors of the Friends with Food Cookbook.

Their new cookbook project has received considerable support from the McGill commu­ nity. “This cookbook isn't meant to outline what we love to make, but rather is meant to bring McGill together in the communal kitchen by having everyone—of all levels—share what they love to cook,” says Hoffmeyer.

To learn m ore a b o u t S alseros M cG ill, visit th eir F ace book p a g e , o r sto p b y G e r t’s on Tues­ d a y nights a t 8 p.m .

I f yo u h ave a recipe to contribute, em a il fr ie n d sw ith fo o d @ g m a il.c o m .

T h e G a m e r 's G u ild

S T A N D M c G ill

If you’re one of those people that misses the days of good old-fashioned fun playing board games with friends, the Gamer’s Guild (aka the “Boardgames, Tea, and Cookies Club”) might just be for you. Whether you’re an ardent fan of Risk, Diplomacy, Stratego, Bang!, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly, Clue, Medici, Cranium, or RoboRally, this club offers you the chance to just relax and have fun.

Additionally, Gamers Guild has ties with the local gaming community, provides discounts to guild members shopping at specific stores throughout Montreal, including Tour des Jeux and Gamers’ World.

STAND (Students Taking Action Now at Darfur)—the leading youth-led anti-genocide group in Canada—lobbies members of parliament during elections to get Darfur at the core of its legislation, holds discussions and fundraisers, brings in keynote speakers to various events, and has pub crawls and other activities to raise money.

One of their recent campaigns, Stand for the Dead, is as simple as students wearing T-shirts with the name of a victim who disappeared or perished as a result o f the Sudanese genocide. As part of the campaign, STAND has screenings of the otherwise unreleased D arfur, a film from Uwe Boll that, while an interpretive account, reflects real destruction.

“The crisis in Darfur is heading into its seventh year and we fear that the public is for­ getting about it,” says Aoife Conlon-Martin, president of STAND McGill. “We want to remind readers through this campaign and film that the genocide has not ceased.”

C h eck ou t the G a m e r ’s G u ild in the Shatn er B uilding (room 4 2 7 ) ev e ry T hursday a n d F ri­ d a y a t 6 p.m .

The Blue Army invades Brazil in Risk, a game of global domination played in the Gam er’s Guild.

FLICKR.BRETZELMANN

mcgilltribune.com

12 • 26 January 2010

McGill clubs continued

T h e R a b b it H o le C a f é Much like Midnight Kitchen, the Rabbit Hole Café—located at the Yellow Door in the McGill Ghetto—aims to provide students with a delicious and healthy meal that is, best of all, nearly free. Whether you’re short on cash, sick o f eating the same food every night, or just look­ ing for inexpensive dinner ideas, the student run organization offers you food assistance.

With free, three-course vegan meals every Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., just drop by, pay a toonie, enjoy the company, and eat. All proceeds go towards maintaining the program.

The Rabbit Hole Café also runs a food bank that allows students to take eight items of groceries for free.

“We know students are on a low budget, but they always need food,” says member Susan Wang, U2 International Development. And if you are looking to get involved, the organization can always use more volunteers to put up posters, find cookbooks and recipes, and help out with anti-poverty initiatives.

F or m ore inform ation , em ail ra b b ith o le c a fe @ g m a il.c o m .

T h in k P in k M c G ill Among the countless advocacy clubs at McGill, Think Pink certainly stands out—and not just because of its colourful concept. “Our goal at Think Pink is to help put an end to breast cancer,” says Faryn Stem, vice president marketing. The club has made considerable progress toward achieving its objective through regular events aimed at raising awareness and funds for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.

The upcoming “Breast Night of the Year” nightclub event in February is one of many initia­ tives with wide appeal to the McGill community. The most important fundraiser, a gala themed “Paint the Town Pink” is yet to come on March 28. “The Gala is a fantastic event for McGill students and the community at large,” says Stem.

Think Pink McGill puts on a variety of events that are both fun and raise money. “Think Pink not only raises money and awareness for a great cause, but we also have a great time doing it. Being a part of Think Pink is a fun and fulfilling way to get involved on campus.”

F or m ore inform ation, em a il th in kpin km cgill@ gm ail.com .

B e s t B u d d ie s If you are looking to volunteer within the Montreal community, Best Buddies is a truly com­ mendable and worthwhile way to do so. Best Buddies—a program that pairs McGill students with adults in the community with intellectual disabilities—is a great way to both have a great time and to give back to the community. “[The organization] is important because it promotes interaction you normally wouldn’t have between these two communities,” says member Marline Armstrong, U2 philosophy. Going to hockey games, coffee, and movies, Best Buddies doesn’t require much of a commitment, but it does give back in an invaluable way.

To learn m ore, v is it b estb u d d ies.ca .

T h e M c G ill F e n c in g C lu b Fencing dates back to ancient Greece, and while the McGill Fencing Club is not quite that old, it has been around long enough to gamer its own group of fencing students and experts. All interested parties are welcome, from those who have never held a foil to those who are fully familiar with every coupé and parry.

Students will learn bladework and tactics as well as the rules of fencing. As advertised, these classes not only teach students to fence through drills and exercises, but also teach students “better balance and control over their bodies.” The next level up in classes, Fencing H, is offered to those who have prior experience with fencing, either at McGill or elsewhere. In the words of the club’s website, “Sometimes you just wanna stab people.”

M c G ill E a t in g D is o r d e r P r o g r a m Eating disorders have always been a sensitive subject, but are all too prevalent in university life. The McGill Eating Disorder Program offers students suffering from eating disorders the opportunity to get help on campus.

“We have about 30 patients, but each day we get more and more,” says Vanessa Matic, a former McGill Student and one of the program’s nurses. The program offers support at all levels, including psychoeducation, meal support, and therapy. Matic stresses that patients are all there voluntarily, which is not always the norm in eating disorder therapy.

Another important feature of the program is its clinical methods.

“After the assessment we meet with the student again and we tell them our recommen­ dations and they either go into the psycho-education group or the meal support or they start therapy,” says Matic.

While volunteers do not deal directly with patients, they have the opportunity to raise aware­ ness on campus and in residence halls. The program hopes to raise awareness even more in the coming weeks, as the first week of February is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

I f y o u ’d like to vo lu n teer w ith the M cG ill E ating D iso rd e r P rogram , sen d an em a il to edpc le r k @ m e n ta lh ea lth @ m cg ill.ca . I f yo u o r an yon e yo u know is suffering fro m an eatin g disorder, the p r o g r a m ’s h otlin e is 5 1 4 -3 9 8 -1 0 5 0 .

I f y o u r in terest is p iq u e d b y the ch an ce to w ie ld an epee, v isit w w w .m cgillfen cin g.com f o r m ore inform ation. C la sse s f o r b eg in n ers are h e ld a t the M cG ill g ym through cam pu s recreation.

There are 16 on e-h ou r cla sse s h e ld p e r session , teach in g begin n ers the b a sics o f fen cin g .

FLICKR.CRABSHACK

A&E

Curiosity Delivers.

26 January 2010 • 13

TH EATRE

Players’ E

u r y d i c e

puts a modern twist on a classic myth

New play takes Greek myth of Orpheus out of ancient times ALEX KNOLL Contributor

E u rydice, written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Rachel Paul, modernizes Greek mythology by setting the story of Eurydice in contemporary times. As risky as it sounds, Paul manages to pull it off.

According to Greek mythology, Orpheus (played by Marko Djurdjic) has a great mu­ sical gift and is known as the “chief among poets and musicians.” He struggles between his love for music and his love for Eurydice (played by Megan Stewart), a fondness that Eurydice recognizes but ignores. However, unlike in the classical myth, E u rydice is pre­ sented from Eurydice’s point o f view. “[It’s] a beautiful exploration of the con­ nection between our experiences of love and loss,” says Paul, whose past McGill directo­ rial experience includes H air and M iss Julie.

“At it’s simplest, E u rydice is about the depth of human connection.”

The audience steps into Players’ Theatre shoeless and is instantly transported into the Underworld. The theatre’s dim lighting and beautiful floor—which took 10 days to paint— create a wonderous effect.

The first scene of the play is reminiscent of the first scene in G re a se : two young lovers frolic together, oblivious to the world around them. This opening scene ties the audience emotionally to the two characters on stage— their raw affection is convincing and touching.

This connection between actors and audience carries on throughout the entire play.

As the myth goes, Eurydice dies and ends up in the Underworld, an afterlife ruled by a crazy evil little boy (played by Cory Lipman) and inhabited by whimsical stones (played by Amelia May Haskell, Ayla Lefkowitz, and Fiona Penny), who tell Eurydice that love and memories are forbidden among the dead. De­ spite these rules, Eurydice reunites with her father (Francois Macdonald), and is slowly re­ minded of the relationship they once had. This father-daughter love is beautifully acted—for

The Underworld is more than just fire and brimstone in director Rachel Paul’s newest production, Eurydice. instance, when he creates for Eurydice a room out of string, even though rooms are not al­ lowed in the Underworld.

Meanwhile, Orpheus grieves over his lost love. He learns that the only way to reconnect with his lost Eurydice is to retrieve her from the Underworld. He descends into it by play­ ing heartbreaking music, and meets the Lord of the Underworld, who—as in the original myth—tells Orpheus the only way to be re­ united with Eurydice is for him to walk away and not look back. Yet in this new version, in­ teresting questions and a deeper understanding of the characters arise from one final twist on the classic ending.

“The play itself is really well-written,” says Paul. “It’s quirky and weird and poignant and poetic. It’s a good play. [Ruhl is] an excel­

lent playwright.”

The most engaging aspect of the play is not the whimsical tone, but the deeper mean­ ing within the characters’ intricate relation­ ships; each character is so interesting that it’s truly hard to take your eyes off of any one actor throughout the play. Additionally, Djurd­ jic and Stewart have an undeniable chemistry that is only intensified by the script. For exam­ ple, Orpheus plays a song and asks Eurydice if she will remember it, to which she replies, “I will always remember your melody; it will be imprinted on my heart like wax.” Best of all, there is depth to each character and the actors seem to have imbued their characters with a sense of authenticity.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the play’s themes, the core of the story still re­

ALICE WALKER

volves around the struggle between life’s pur­ est pleasure and its related hardship: love and loss. Paul does an amazing job capturing these raw emotions in her characters.

E u rydice is an inspiring play that captures the most mysterious yet beautiful parts of life, shown through the imagination and creativity of the extremely talented actors and director.

Eurydice is p la y in g Jan u ary 2 7 -3 0 a t 8 p .m . a t P la y e r s ’ T heatre. Tickets are $ 6 f o r stu den ts a n d sen iors, a n d $ 8 f o r adu lts. F or reserva tio n s e m a ilfo h .p la y e rs @ g m a il.c o m .

P o p lÿ ie to r ic THE LATE WARS I’ve never liked Conan O’Brien. I always thought his jokes were mediocre and even though he made me smile on occasion, I thought his humour was more reliant on monkey-esque moves than on actual comedy. However, this past week I’ve been hurting myself laughing as his role as The Tonight S how host seems to be nearing its end. More importantly, like many people, I've actually been watching the show, which I sure hadn’t been doing since he took over. In this last week as he’s packing his bags, the ratings have been through the roof.

Why are the crowds suddenly tun­ ing in? Conan didn’t get any funnier just because he may be leaving the show. Ce­

lebrity wars have become the modern day equivalents of dog fights. Apart from cu­ riosity, the debacle also brought out un­ precedented sympathy for Conan, who is staring up with puppy eyes begging for the vote of the people. As emails, supportive articles, and rallies multiply, you can’t help but think that if half the people that claim “I’m with Coco” had simply watched his show in the first place, he wouldn’t be in desperate need of public approval. If you don’t believe me, just look at how many people’s Facebook profile picture is now a shiny redhead.

It’s time American audiences stopped rooting for the underdog and started ap­ preciating people for their talent—or lack thereof. We can’t feel too sorry for Conan.

Rumour has it that he will be walking away with a $45 million settlement and the near guarantee of returning to the air with a new

show in September. Perhaps they’ll call it, “Leave this one alone, Jay.” Leno, on the other side of the ring, is much more like the alpha dog. Who knew that late-night wars, just like the Gulf wars, were bound to repeat themselves every de­ cade? The only difference between this scenario and the Letterman vs. Leno fight is that is that Leno has no sympathy this time around. The issue is not that he lied to Conan, but more that he teased him like a cat plays with its prey. You can’t pass on the torch, realize you’re in the dark and try to steal it back. Viewers have moved on from Leno, and his ratings show it.

Hard times tend to yield good com­ edy, and this affair has provided virtually all the other late night shows with enough material to end the season. Letterman, happy to distract the public from his af­ fair and probably celebrating the fact he

is no longer the biggest jerk on late-night, joked about big-chin Leno’s big attitude.

Kimmel insulted Leno so much during an interview that Leno skipped half of his questions. Even The Tonight Show has be­ come more amusing to watch as the guests, rather than promote their own projects, prefer interviewing Conan about his own future—Tarantino even offered to film his revenge movie.

As late night shows begin to mimic soap operas that ran out of plot lines, we should stop provoking them and instead watch the shows with the best writers and guests, not the best catfights.

—Sam Jessula, A & E C on tribu tor

mcgilltribune.com

14 • 26 January 2010

FILM

P RO FILE

Bridges strikes sweet chords

Blood, sweat, and fact-checking

Actors and music harmonize in Globe-winner Crazy Heart

Former Gazette editor brings newspaper life to the stage

BRITTANY RAPPAPORT Contributor

C ra zy H e a rt mixes country charm with a feel-good storyline that stands out from many of Jeff Bridges’ other performances (yes, even in the Coen brothers’ The Big L ebow ski). As an unlikely and enchanting anti-hero, there is no doubt that Bridges is deserving of his recent Golden Globe win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. As an actor and musician him­ self, newbie director Scott Cooper has placed himself into “the one to watch” category, after writing and directing C ra zy H e a r t with lush Southern storytelling.

While sipping cheap whiskey to ease his lonely journey on the road, Bridges portrays Bad Blake, a has-been country star with a fleet­ ing gig lineup. After four divorces, ongoing alcoholism, and too many one-nighters, Blake has “never missed a show in his whole fucking life” and continues to howl his anguish at the world through his music. At a performance in a Santa Fe bar he meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a local newspaper reporter and eventual heart-mender. Although the relationship be­ tween Blake and Jean feels slightly awkward due to their age difference, Jean’s soft-spoken and alluring individuality supports Blake’s search for redemption and fittingly reveals his true, compassionate self. Gyllenhaal delivers a stellar performance as a single mother who’s had her fair share of hard times. Although some clichés are subtly slipped into the story, Gyllenhaal adds integrity despite Jean’s pre­

dictable ability to see through Blake’s rugged beard, open fly, and unruly appearance into his weary but crazy heart.

Cooper’s ability to round up a talented and genuine group of people to play refresh­ ing roles sets this film apart. Special mention goes out to Colin Farrell as Tommy Sweet, the up-and-coming young country hunk who owes Blake everything for influencing him and guiding him to stardom. It’s interesting to see Farrell smoothly execute a role that seems, at least at first, beyond his capability.

Robert Duvall is commendable as well, play­ ing Blake’s best friend and confidant, as he provides both wisdom (in terms of smoking, drinking, and women, of course) and an extra Southern spice to the scene.

Parallel to Bridges’ acting performance is the late Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett’s solid line up of heart-filled songs representing the chords of Blake’s rocky road life. A few classic country songs are included in the film for those devoted country music fans, mixed in with original ballads. It is the memorable soundtrack of C ra zy H ea rt that not only cre­ ates the foundation for Blake’s unforgettable character, but also stands alone from the plot, offering remarkable country tunes. “The Weary Kind,” the song that Blake eventu­ ally writes for Sweet (after a long hiatus from song-writing) is both original and passion­ ate, and plays a momentous role in the story.

Bridges adds an undeniably romantic element in his singing, leaving the viewer with a need to understand how a man so beaten up can be so brilliant. It must be the crazy heart.

Predictably, Bridges doesn’t disappoint; surprisingly, neither does Gyllenhaal.

W ANT TO SEE MOVES BEFORE THEY'RE RELEASED?

CAROLYN YATES Managing Editor

David Sherman has always been fasci­ nated by newspapers, and with his latest play, The D a ily M ira c le — opening January 26 at Infinithéâtre—he’s letting the rest of the world share his sense of awe.

“It’s a love story for newspapers and a tribute to all the people who work on the desk who are the unsung heroes of newspa­ pers,” says Sherman. “Usually in fiction we celebrate ... the work of reporters, but in this case we look at the people who actually put the paper out: the copy editors. They do a very difficult job and they do it very ingeniously.

They're people who love words and love newspapers.”

Sherman’s own love of newspapers began at a young age, when they appeared at the door like magic.

“I always thought newspapers were magical. I had favourite writers when I was very young; the fact that they were something that came every day and were always differ­ ent was mind blowing,” says Sherman. “I still look forward to the newspaper coming every morning.”

Sherman started writing fiction at age 12, and by 17 was a copy boy at the Montreal Star. After graduating from Dawson College, he worked as the circulation manager for the Star before becoming a freelance writer and later working at the Sherbrooke Record. He also worked as a music critic, features writer, and reporter before ending up as a copy editor for the Gazette for about six years.

In 2004, working at the copy desk by night and as the playwright-in-residence at Centaur Theatre by day, Sherman started work­ ing on The D a ily M ira cle. The play focusses on five people working on the news desk late one night: three copy editors, one reporter, and one former-typographer-turned-janitor.

At the same time, executives are meeting in the boardroom, and rumours are flying across the news desk as to what that meeting might mean for the paper and their jobs. Despite his experience, Sherman stresses that The D a ily M iracle is fiction, and not a documentary.

“I think it’s just safe to say that the play is a piece of theatre. It’s not a documentary; it’s a piece of theatre about five people working under extreme conditions and it’s my tribute to the newspaper business and to the people who keep it alive and work very hard and be­ lieve in it.”

This production of The D a ily M iracle

...A N D NOT ON A H A N D -H E L D CAMCORDER?

INFINITHÉÂTRE

David Sherman: editor-turned-playwright features Arthur Holden as Marty, who recently returned to work after a nervous breakdown, Ellen David as Elizabeth, who is trying to bal ance professionalism and motherhood, How­ ard Rosenstein as Benjamin, a womanizing night editor, Sheena Gazé-Deslandes as Car­ rie, an aspiring television anchor, and JeanGuy Bouchard as Roland, a former-typogra pher-tumed-janitor.

The play is directed by Guy Sprung, whom Sherman met a year and a half ago as a juror screening films for the Gemini awards.

When Sherman later entered The D a ily M ira ­ cle in Infinithéâtre’s Write-on-Q competition an independent board selected it as one of the top three, and Sprung leapt at the opportunity to run it. While the play is a piece of fiction, it still reflects on newspapers and their content in the light of a struggling industry.

“I think the future of print journalism is questionable. No one knows exactly what’s going to happen, but I do believe that it’s going to last,” says Sherman. “There are al ways going to be people who wish to read a newspaper that’s printed on paper, and there will always be people to put it out.”

In addition to The D a ily M ira cle, Sher­ man is currently working on Joe L ou is: An A m erican R om ance, a play about the former world heavyweight champion that is in devel­ opment for next season at Infinithéâtre.

The Daily Miracle is p la y in g a t the Bain S t-M ich el (5 3 0 0 St. D om in iqu e) fro m January 2 6 to F eb ru a ry 14.

WRITE FOR A&E. Meetings TUESDAYS, 4 P.M. AT GERT’S.

26 January 2010 • 15

Curiosity Delivers.

C

O

U

L

D

B E

G

JA N U A R Y 2 6 -F E B R U A R Y 2

Wednesday. Music. Guns N ’ Roses.

Like it or not, Axl Rose is Guns N ’ Roses.

Despite losing all other original members— who then banded together and released two medicore albums as Velvet Revolver a couple years back—Axl Rose released one of the best hard rock albums of the decade (2008’s C hin ese D em o cra cy) and is heading up a world tour to support it. Better late than never. @ Bell Centre.

O

O

D

Wednesday. Film. Race Across The Sky.

Thursday. Art. INT. STAGE DAY.

Saturday. Music. The Balconies.

Leadville, Colorado plays host to an annual cycling ultramarathon so gruelling that on average less than half of the competitors finish on time, if at all. This documentary focusses on the 2009 race, famous for its rematch bout between Lance Armstrong and six-time former champion David Wiens, who beat Armstrong in 2008. The course, set through the Rockies, forces competitors to climb and descend over 15,000 feet over the 30-hour time limit. Armstrong may be Tour champion, but Leadville is not rural France. @ Scotiabank Theatre, 7 p.m.

Finnish artist and filmmaker Eija-Liisa Ahtila has collected over 20 years worth of her work to create INT. STAG E D A Y (a title which plays on scriptwriting) which features what she calls thoroughly researched—yet fictional—“human dramas” on film. The exhibition is her largest ever shown outside of Europe, sprawling over three spaces: 451 St. John (DHC/ART main building), 465 St. John (DCH/ART new satellite space), and 745 Ottawa (Darling Foundry).

Originally from Ottawa, up-and-comers The Balconies have moved their mix of straight ahead rock with pop—not to mention a underlying a spacey sound that’s not easy to pin down—to Toronto with the release of their 2009 self-titled debut. The trio is made up of a classically trained couple (lead singer Jacquie Neville and drummer Liam Jaeger) and Neville’s little brother on bass. @ L’Absynthe.

Martha and the Muffins: Delicate D elic a te is Martha and the Muffins’ first album after an 18-year dry spell. The b a n d considered a top dog in the Canadian New Wave scene during the 1980s—is known for their debut album’s hit single “Echo Beach,” which became an international chart-topper.

Going on to release nine relatively unsuccess­ ful albums throughout the 80s and 90s, the band has since been fighting against the crush­ ing moniker of “one-hit wonder.”

At times D e lic a te sounds messy: the songs are cluttered with flat vocals, choppy lyrics, and aimlessly synthesized instrumen­ tals. One particularly difficult song is “One in a Million,” in which the line “one in a million” is repeated over and over. However, there are a few songs which pop out as potential silverliners. “Mess” is undoubtedly the best song on the album, seamlessly mixing chanting with a funky dance tune, demonstrating the band’s talent for catchy synthpop beats. “Blue Bed” and “Life’s Too Short To Long For Something Else” are slower songs void o f the band’s habit of excessive noise—they highlight Mar­ tha Johnson’s vocals, which are best suited to these nostalgic folksy songs reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair” with hints of a Joni Mitchell sweetness.

Perhaps the romantic history attached to this album is its most redeeming quality.

Throughout the three decades and many bandmates, Martha and the Muffins have dwindled to two remaining members: Johnson and Mark Gane. Over the years, Martha and her muffin have fallen in love, married, and had a daugh­ ter. This unusual relationship has survived 10 mediocre albums, countless band members, and a brief taste of fame.

Los Campesinos!: Romance Is Boring If We A re Beautiful, We A re D o o m e d was Los Campesinos! dimming the lights, then R om an ce Is B orin g is them living in the dark.

Billed by the band as “a record about the death and decay of the human body, sex, lost love, mental breakdown, football, and, ultimately, that there probably isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel,” RIB is not the Campesinos! of their H o ld On N ow, Y oungster... debut. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, they sound bet­ ter than ever.

LC! mine some serious lyrical territory on this album, but what may be surprising for fans is how often the music follows suit, the most extreme example being the discordant “Plan A.” Sounding like a long-lost Blood Brothers song complete with full-on screams and noise freakouts, it’s the most far-removed from any­ thing LC! have done in the past. Throughout the album they’ve added horns, samples, and drum machines to the mix. Those worried that the joyous Campesinos! of old have disap­ peared have nothing to fear with songs like “There Are Listed Buildings” and “We’ve Got Your Back” providing moments of pure pop bliss, regardless of subject matter.

Singer-lyricist Gareth Campesinos! hasn’t lost any of his bite for ironic and sar­ castic wordplay, whether “playing straight chicken with gay girls” or demanding “more post-coital and less post-rock.” Wanting to be “the one that keeps track of the moles on your back” is one of the best proclamations of unrequited love in recent memory, at once both completely unglamourous and wholly ro­ mantic. It’s finding the beauty in the grotesque that’s a Campesinos! trademark, and luckily for us they seem to know where to look.

— R yan Taylor

C D R EV IEW S

Vampire Weekend: Contra With their new album, C o n tra , Vampire Weekend had big shoes to fill: their own. The huge popularity and cult following amongst university students has raised expectations to almost unmatchable heights.

With their self-titled debut album, Vam­ pire Weekend came out with a unique style of music that was upbeat, cheery, and appealing to virtually everyone under 30. The ability to identify with the band members plays a large role in the overall appeal of a band, and the four young, vibrant, hyper-literate Columbia students make Vampire Weekend a favourite among university crowds.

C on tra, from the Latin root meaning op­ posite, clearly represents Vampire Weekend’s move against becoming mainstream music.

Indeed, the band does not hesitate to explore new musical forms. Some succeed, such as the whispered song—like “I Think You’re a Contra”—which comforts the listener like a lullaby. Others aren’t as gripping and are even rather disturbing, such as “California English,” which sounds like a fast-forwarded chipmunk on ecstasy. Don’t cringe too much, hardcore fans, they do stay true to their joyful music with songs like “Giving Up the Gun,” “Horchata,” and “Cousins.”

This album, like their previous work, is all about good vibes. Their sound echoes groups such as Phoenix, but the energy they produce is more reminiscent of The Beach Boys. Overall, despite a few disappointments, the album is successful in cheering you up, whether first thing in the morning or after a long stressful day.

— Sam Jessu la

—G ra c e G lo w ick i

Hawksley Workman: Meat Hawksley Workman is a Toronto singer/ songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released over 10 albums, not including his lat­ est two projects, M ea t and M ilk. M ea t was re­ leased January 19, while M ilk will be digitally released over the next few months.

After listening through the album in its entirety, I decided I wasn’t a fan. After going back to it a few minutes later I decided it wasn’t so bad. It’s not that the album doesn’t contain any good songs (it does), but rather listening through the entire thing in one sit­ ting is simply the wrong way to approach it.

This is because some songs are slow and re­ petitive, though not necessarily bad. In fact, the best song is the eight-minute epic “You Don’t Just Want to Break Me (You Want to Tear Me Apart).” Other standout tracks in­ clude “French Girl in LA,” which has a nice blend of distorted guitar and electronic effects, and “Song for Sarah Jane,” the stripped-down and vocal-based opening song.

Workman seems to approach writing lyr­ ics with a minimalist attitude—not in the sense that there are few vocals, but in that the same words are repeated over and over. However, Workman is able to make this, well, work. His changes in tone allow the minimal lyrics to be interpreted as heartfelt or tongue-in-cheek, de­ pending on the context.

While it may be best suited for a M a s­ te r o f P u p p ets get-a-taste-of-it listen instead of a D a rk S ide o f the M oon play-the-wholething listen, M e a t is still a decent release—one which the forthcoming M ilk will hopefully live up to.

— K yle C a rp en ter

mcgilltribune.com

16 • 26 January 2010

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Unmask your love of opera. Opera McGill is presenting The Rake’s Progress by Igor Stravinsky, January 27, 29 and 30, at Pollack Hall. Tickets are $22 for students.

W a n t to b e th e b a c k b o n e o f y o u r c o m m u n ity ?

Run for the Arts Undergraduate Society!

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26 January 2010 • 17

M A R T L E T H O C K E Y -M C G IL L 3, M O N TREAL 0

Martlets dispatch Carabins in physical, rough-and-tumble affair McGill extends record-setting 74-game winning streak ADAM SADINSKY Contributor

Typically a match-up between two na­ tionally ranked hockey teams would all but ensure an exciting and hard-fought match.

Nevertheless, the McGill women’s hockey team is far from ordinary. And on Friday, the Martlets further cemented their reputation as Canada’s best women’s hockey team, defeat­ ing 10th-ranked Montreal 3-0 at McConnell Arena.

Defenceman Stacie Tardif kicked off the scoring in the first period, firing home her sec­ ond goal of the season. (Interestingly, Tardifs first goal of the season—against the Carleton Ravens on October 31 —was scored in a simi­ lar fashion.)

“I was at the point, and the puck came back out,” said Tardif. “I took the puck across because I knew the goalie was going to have a tough time following me and I just fired the puck far post.”

Senior forward Amy Soberano and blueliner Jasmine Sheehan scored in the second period, rounding out the scoring in McGill’s record-setting 74th-straight win against CIS opponents.

Still, the Carabins fought hard, frustrat­ ing the high-powered Martlet offence all game long.

“I thought they did a really good job of containing us early, clogging up the middle and blocking a lot of our shots,” said Head Coach Amey Doyle. “We struggled to get some of our shots through as a result.”'

Friday’s contest was also a physical af-

JOHN KELSEY

Speed, skill, and defence characterized the Martlets win on Friday. Montreal fought hard, though, frustrating McGill at times. fair—referee Melanie Bordeleau handed out seven penalties in the opening period. Four of those penalties, including one for body-check­ ing, were issued to the visitors, who came out of the gates looking to send a strong message.

“It was a very physical affair, but that was to be expected,” said Tardif. “However, we have been getting mentally stronger and we responded well. We wanted it more. Right now it isn’t a matter of talent—it’s a matter of passion and the heart, and we have a lot of that.”

Despite the rough play, the Martlets still exhibited the skill and finesse that have made them the consensus number-one team in the

country.

“I thought that the pace of the game was really good,” said Doyle. “The speed was there. Anytime it’s a speed game, I think it works to our advantage.”

Speed, skill, and scoring weren’t the only factors that played a part in McGill’s victory on Friday. The Martlets’ defence stymied the Montreal attack for 60 minutes, helping goaltender Andrea Weckman record her second shutout in three career starts. Tardif acknowl­ edged that defending against the country’s best offence—in practice, day in and day out—is, in large part, why the Martlets’ blueline is so solid.

“We are always ready for [what] any of­ fence throws against us,” she said.

Montreal came into the match with two of the top three scorers in the Quebec League: Kim Deschene and Marie-Andree Leclerc Auger. Fellow winger Amanda Lalande was also on a four-game points streak—racking up 11 points in total. But these statistics had no bearing on what happened on the ice.

The Martlets will get some well-deserved rest as they take the next four days off before hitting the road for a two-game series away from home against the Carleton Ravens on January 30 and February 6.

TIIIKl) MAX IX GILBERT ARENAS’S FALL FROM GRACE Overflowing with confidence, talent, and charisma, Gilbert Arenas was the unof­ ficial darling of the NBA just two seasons ago. A cocky sharpshooter who worked hard to make his way to the top of the basketball world, Arenas captivated the league with his flashy smile and graceful style of play. While he was a cold-blooded killer during crunch time, he was a pure comedian off the court, and was one of the first professional athletes to connect directly with fans through his on­ line blog. Whatever nickname he was going by at the time—Agent Zero, Hibachi, G il—I once loved and respected everything Arenas stood for.

But that’s all in the past. The strange and startling events of December 24, 2009 led to possibly the quickest fall from grace ever for an NBA superstar. Inside sources from the Washington Wizards’ organization

leaked information regarding a gamblingrelated argument Arenas had with teammate Javaris Crittenton. While the details remain unclear, what we do know is that Arenas had been storing guns in the Wizards’ locker room, and used them to threaten Crittenton in the heat of their argument.

Arenas’s behavior was completely un­ acceptable for anyone, let alone a profes­ sional athlete. But what quickly made the matter worse was Arenas’s refusal to take the whole thing seriously. After the initial report of Arenas’s gun-related issues surfaced, he was seen dancing around in the Wizards’ pre­ game warm-ups with his hands in the shape of Glock 9s, metaphorically “shooting” his teammates. The morning after pictures of Arenas toting his “handguns” inevitably found their way to the internet, Agent Zero tweeted the following: “I wake up this morn­ ing and seen I was the new JOHN WAYNE. LMAO the media is too funny.”

The minimum punishment that Arenas should receive is a suspension for the re­

mainder of the season. But even that would not be strict enough. While the Wizards will attempt to void the rest of Arenas’s contract (four years and $78 million remaining), the NBA players’ union will probably use its extensive power to prevent the team from terminating their relationship with their star point guard. NBA Commissioner David Stem needs to set a precedent and overrule the decision of the union, terminating Are­ nas’s contract himself. He needs to teach Arenas a lesson—that the price for immatu­ rity and nonchalance towards gun violence costs about $80 million.

It was Arenas’s light-hearted reaction to the issue that really put me over the edge.

Gun violence results in thousands upon thou­ sands of deaths every year, and part of the problem is that many of today’s youth think it’s “cool” to own a gun. In the past, I’ve ar­ gued that it is important to forgive athletes for many of their errors, because they are human and will make mistakes. But Arenas’s reaction has caused me to lose all respect for

him. If he had apologized sincerely immedi­ ately after the incident, perhaps I would have forgiven him. But the fact that he showed no remorse and instead made light of a topic as dangerous as gun violence is pathetic.

When Arenas entered the 2001 NBA draft, he expected to be picked somewhere in the first round, ideally by his childhood favorites, the New York Knicks. But come draft night, Arenas watched every team in the NBA pass on him in the first round. Are­ nas chose to wear the number zero, because he felt that no one believed in him when he entered the league. Fans looked at his uni­ form number, and recognized it as a sign of motivation. But now, things are a lot less symbolic. Far from being a role model, en­ tertainer, and sports star, Arenas has become the definition of his jersey number: nothing.

—Jon R ubenstein F orm er S ports E d ito r

mcgilltribune.com

18 • 26 January 2010

SP O TLIG H T

Where do sports come from? McGill University, it seems How McGill has influenced football, hockey, and basketball MORGAN ABRAHAM Contributor

In a little less than two weeks from now, football fans around the world will be glued to their television sets as Superbowl XLIV kicks off in south Florida. Before the football hang­ over has time to wear off completely, w e’ll be turning our sights to the Canadian west coast, as the Olympic torch arrives in Vancouver to tip off the Winter Olympic games. Fast for­ ward a week into March, and w e’re smack dab in the middle of the NCAA basketball tourna­ ment. And as soon as the Madness comes to a halt, it’s time for the NHL and NBA play­ offs! February, March, and April are with­ out a doubt the most important and exciting months in the sporting year, and as all these momentous events approach, now is a good time to reflect on the extent to which McGill has helped shape three of the major sports we enjoy playing and watching today.

by other universities in the United States, and the game—which lasted a full two days—led to the birth of modem American football.

Gridiron genesis The game of football is a relatively new sport that only developed its contemporary set of rules in the last 150 years. Football origi­ nated from the game of rugby, which was de­ veloped in England during the 19th century.

The game was introduced to North America

by British soldiers stationed in Canada, and it caught on quickly at Canadian universities.

In its earliest days, the rules of football were incredibly fluid, and varied from school to school. As each school practiced different versions of football, disagreements about how the game was played inevitably arose. In the United States, the few Northeastern schools that played football attempted to establish a universal set of rules for the game. Harvard, though, refused to play by the proposed set of rules, which disallowed carrying the ball. Un­ able to find competition in the United States, America’s top school looked north of the bor­ der for a suitable opponent.

The 1874 game between McGill and Har­ vard is considered the first game of modem football. The two teams were able to compro­ mise on a set of rules which were soon adopted

History on ice In the early 1800’s, another sport was developed in Canada and came to fruition at McGill. The origins of this game came from an early version of lacrosse called dehuntshigwa’es, first played by the indig­ enous peoples of Nova Scotia. European settlers took a liking to the game, decided to play it on ice, and Canada’s national sport was bom.

As ice hockey gained popularity, Montre­ al became the sport’s epicentre. On March 13, 1875, the first indoor hockey game was played in Montreal between two nine-player teams.

Several of the participants were McGill stu­ dents, who eventually teamed up to draft a set of rules for the sport and introduce the use of a puck rather than a ball. In 1877, the McGill University Hockey Club became the first or­ ganized ice hockey club in history.

The first hockey world championship tournament took place at the Montreal Winter

Carnival in 1883, and the McGill squad came away victorious. Following the rise of hockey in Canada, the States and Europe soon adopt­ ed the game of hockey as well. Hockey was soon developed into a professional sport in the early 1900s, with the NHL appearing in 1917.

The real Dr. J Perhaps McGill’s greatest claim to sport­ ing invention, however, is the story of Dr. James Naismith. Naismith entered McGill in 1887, and lettered on the school’s foot­ ball, soccer, and gymnastics teams. After graduation, Naismith returned to McGill as the school’s athletics director. In 1890, he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts to teach at the local YMCA. Due to the long winters in Springfield, Naismith worked to develop a game that could be played indoors year-round, yet necessitated the athletic aptitude and skill of outdoor sports such as football and lacrosse.

One large ball and two elevated peach-baskets later, and Springfield was introduced to the game of basketball.

The first game of basketball was played in 1891 at Springfield College. Naismith later modified his original rules, incorporating backboards and allowing the use of a dribble to move the ball down the court.

Naismith would go on to coach basket ball at the University of Kansas, and later be­ came the school’s athletic director. Today, his name prefaces the basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, and is inscribed by the NCAA on the award given annually to the top player in college basketball.

So as we prepare for the best the sports year has to offer—by stocking up on beer and paying our cable bills in advance—let’s all take a moment to recognize and celebrate the part McGill has played in the development of modem sports.

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Redmen vanquish Lakers, reclaiming first place in OU A East The McGill men’s hockey team scored four special-team markers on Sunday in a 5-3 win over Nipissing University at McConnell Arena.

The result snapped the Redmen’s twogame win streak and improved their record to 17-4-0, reclaiming first place in the OUA East, one point ahead of idle UQTR (16-3-1).

McGill freshman Christophe LongprePoirier of Longueuil, QC, scored the Redmen’s first goal, netting his fifth of the sea­ son—a shorthanded effort at 19:10 of the first period. It was the third time in OUA play that Longpre-Poirier had scored while killing off a penalty.

The Redmen penalty-killing unit reg­ istered a clean slate, erasing all six Lakers’ power play chances. McGill has snuffed out 110 of 124 shorthanded situations in regularseason play this season.

McGill now embarks on a four-game road trip, with games at Carleton, Concordia, and Ottawa.

—E arl Zukerm an

26 January 2010 • 17

Curiosity Delivers.

IN TERLO C K IN G VOLLEYBALL TO U RN AM EN T

Redmen pick up win at tourney McGill tops Memorial—falls prey to UNB, Dalhousie MATTHEW CHESSER Opinion Editor

In the world of sports—where every team seems to think they have a chance at the play­ offs and every player parrots the same lines about winning on “Any given Sunday”—the honest and realistic goals of the McGill Redmen volleyball team are refreshing. The play­ ers and coaches talk about single games, not tournaments; about learning from mistakes, not about knocking off powerhouse teams like the Dalhousie Tigers; and about competing, not necessarily about winning.

That’s not to say that the team is content with mediocrity, but rather that the Redmen realize that they can’t suddenly go from los­ ing 85-straight conference games in 2002-09 to being a playoff team in just one year. It’s an.attitude that allows them to view their 1-2 record in the AUS-QSSF Interlocking Regular Season Tournament they hosted this weekend as somewhat successful.

“Our goals are not to beat teams like Dal­ housie and Laval [who are both ranked in the top three in the country], they’re to compete against teams like Sherbrooke and Memorial,” said McGill Head Coach Simon Berleur. “Our main goal this weekend was to get revenge on [the Memorial University Sea-Hawks] who beat us last semester, and to build good habits when we play against a very good team like Dalhousie.”

The Redmen accomplished their goal by opening the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Memorial on Friday night. The McGill back row was dominant, registering 55 digs to the Sea-Hawks’ 18, and providing great first balls for setter Jean-Christophe Campbell, who fin­ ished with a game-high 40 assists. Third-year right-side hitter Mark Hodge also had a strong game with 19 kills, to lead the Redmen to their second win of the regular season.

“It was a good win for us,” said libero Jeff Porter. “I think w e’re still improving, but we’ve got to compete like we did against Me­ morial every night.”

The outcome on both Saturday and Sun­ day was less positive for the Redmen, as the

University of New Brunswick Reds and the Dalhousie Tigers dominated McGill in a pair of straight-set victories. Both UNB and Dal­ housie physically outmatched the diminu­ tive Redmen, and both teams used their size advantage to dominate McGill at the net— overpowering Redmen blocks and gobbling up overpasses.

“It’s always a little intimidating going up against those teams—I guess you could call most of their players ‘monsters,’” said Porter.

“They’re big and talented, and they just wore us down over the course of the games.”

McGill’s height disadvantage—they have only one regular player who is over 6-foot-5—was exacerbated over the break by the departure of 6-foot-6 power hitter Yannick Pirali. Pirali spent the fall semester on ex­ change from a university in Belgium and his departure has increased McGill’s troubles on the front row.

“Pirali was a key player for us last semes­ ter, and it’s difficult to adapt and try to play the same type of game without the guy who was your best player in the first semester,” said Berleur. “We’ve had to try to find someone to play in his place, but obviously we don’t have another 6-foot-6 guy with his skills on the team.”

Despite his teams struggles in the tour­ nament, Berleur made a point of singling out libero Jeff Porter for his play in all three games. Porter had 37 digs on the weekend—at least a couple of which drew admiring mur­ murs from players scouting the Redmen from the stands.

“Since the beginning of the season Porter has been a guy who shows up and works hard every game,” said Berleur. “Unfortunately he can’t really be our go-to-guy because he’s a libero but defensively he’s so important to us.

I thought he was probably our best player this weekend.”

Porter and the rest of the Redmen (2-10) have a near-impossible task ahead of them, however, as they must win all four of their re­ maining games if they hope to qualify for the playoffs. They resume conference play with a game against the Montreal Carabins (7-7) on January 29.

PHOTOS BY MAXIME SAWICKI AND ADAM SCOTTI

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