The McGill Tribune Vol. 29 Issue 8

.

T

4

OUNV A

*

» C\ V TH E DODOS FLY H IG H W ITH NEW ALBUM, PAGE 14

sMCGlLL Published by the Students' Society of McGill University

RIBUNE www.mceilltribune.com

Vol. 29 Issue 8 • Tuesday. October 20. 2000

Bill Clinton receives honorary doctorate from M cGill Former US President addresses crowd of 700 at private ceremony JA M E S GILM AN Managing Editor

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton ad­ dressed an invitation-only crowd of 700 as he received an honorary doctorate from McGill last Friday.

The ceremony, which took place at the Centre Mont-Royal, was part of M cGill’s twoday Leadership Summit.

“While it is normally a custom of McGill University to confer honorary degrees at our spring and fall convocations, this special and unique event, as part of our leadership summit, allows us to —and w e’re delighted to —award this degree today,” explained Provost Anthony Masi.

Although Clinton usually charges hun­ dreds of thousands of dollars for speaking en­ gagements, he was not paid by McGill for his participation in Friday’s ceremony. The invita­ tion was made to Clinton by McGill alumnus Victor Dahdaleh, a wealthy businessman and Clinton family friend.

Before delivering his speech, a robed Clinton was honoured by McGill leaders, in­ cluding Chancellor Arnold Steinberg and Prin­

cipal Heather Munroe-Blum, and officially presented with his honorary degree.

“Both during his term in office and since leaving it [Clinton] has worked diligently, just as we do at McGill, to share knowledge and inspire others to achieve solutions to real world problems,” said Steinberg in his open­ ing remarks. “Today he joins an outstanding roster of influential figures who have been rec­ ognized with honorary degrees from McGill.”

Clinton is the second U.S. President to receive an honorary degree from McGill, the other being president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who received one in 1944 along with British prime minister Winston Churchill.

Other notable recipients of this honour in­ clude United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarsjold (1956), Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson (1959), and the writer Elie Wiesel (1994).

In her introduction, Munroe-Blum de­ scribed Clinton as “a global leader and human rights champion of extraordinary breadth and vision,” and highlighted his accomplishments in government as well as in the fields of humanitarianism and philanthropy.

“A simply brilliant communicator on the world stage, president Clinton has dedicated over 30 years to the highest form of public serSEE CLIN TO N ON PAGE 3

S n ow A P can celled for 2010 Event lost $ 15,000 last year M ATT CH ESSER Opinion Editor

ADAM SCOTTI

Bill Clinton leaves the C entre M ont-Royal after receiving his ho n o rary doctorate.

M cG i l l

Students’ Society Vice-President Internal Alex Brown announced in her report to SSMU Council last Thursday night that SnowAP will not be held this year. Brown cited the event’s escalating losses, negative environmental im­ pact, and declining attendance as reasons for her decision.

“The philosophy [of previous VP Inter­ nals] was that SnowAP was providing a ser­ vice for students and that it was an important

tradition,” said Brown. “But it’s not a respon­ sible use of student money when an event loses $15,000 in a single year ... The tent was practically empty for hours at a time last year, and we had to send back more than half the beer that we ordered—it’s not fair to spend all that money when people just aren’t showing up the way that they used to.”

SnowAP, SSMU’s winter beer tent, is typically held on lower field during the first week and a half of January. The 13-year-old event has seen dramatic increases in its oper­ ating deficit since 2007, when it lost $2,500.

In 2008, it lost over $8,000 despite a one-time SEE BROW N ON PAGE 2

so c c er

Friday, October 23rd Concordia V8. M cG ill Martlets 18I130 Redmen 20I130

M cG ill ATHL ETI CS & RECREATI ON

Sunday, October 25th. UQAM vs. M c G ill Martlets lyhoo Redmen îçhoo RED & WHITE GAME All games played at historic Molson Stadium

red bird

SP O R T S SH O P

Best Prices on Campus! w w w .m c g ill.c a / a th le tic s

(

M c G ill S p o r t s C o m p le x A 4 7 5 P in s A v e .

J

2 » Tuesday, October 20, 2009 I

News

mcgilUribunexom

NATIONAL

Deportations from Canada increase by over 50% in past decade Linked to immigration budget implemented following 9/11 D ANIEL O TIS SM ITH Contributor

Recently released federal government statistics show that the number of deporta­ tions from Canada has risen by more than 50 per cent in the last decade. In 1999, there were around 8,300 deportees, whereas in 2005-08, the number increased to about 12,700.

“We cannot speculate on the numbers, however, a removal can only be enforced once all due process before the law has been ex­ hausted. We can say the Canadian Border Ser­ vices Agency is committed to the safety and security of Canadians,” said Patrizia Giolti of the CBSA in an email to the Tribune. The CBSA handles border security and enforces deportation orders.

According to Janet Dench, executive di­ rector of the Canadian Council for Refugees, the increase in deportations is related to a “special budget” implemented after the Sep­ tember 11 attacks.

“The budget included monies for immi­ gration detention and deportation. The num­ bers of persons deported went up significantly

after that,” said Dench.

Dench was also worried that some indi­ viduals being deported will subsequently face persecution in their home country, and whether the system provides adequate due process for failed and pending refugee claimants.

“The CCR is very concerned that among those being deported are refugees whose de­ portation constitutes a violation of Canada’s most basic human rights obligation towards refugees,” said Dench.

Judging from statistics released by the Immigration and Refugee Board, the govern­ ment body that processes refugee status ap­ plications, the refugee acceptance rate has re­ mained steady, though the overall number of cases processed has gone down significantly.

In 2000, 13,996 refugee applications were ac­ cepted, representing 48 per cent of all claim­ ants, while in 2008 7,631 applications were accepted, representing 42 per cent. The back­ log of pending applications has subsequently doubled in 2001, reaching almost 61,000 in June of this year.

Dench noted the temptation to find a cor­ relation between refugee claimants and de­ portation numbers, but emphasized that gov­ ernment inefficiency both distorts figures and increases deportations.

“There is often a time lapse because when numbers of claims go up, the government is often slow to increase capacity to make deter­ minations, creating delays which affect both how long it takes for refugees to be recognized and get permanent status, and for those who don’t need protection to be removed,” she said.

Dench also questioned whether the ap­ peals system is adequate to protect refugees from unfair deportation. In the absence of an appeals process, the decision would rest solely with the IRB. “According to the law passed by Parlia­ ment, refugee claimants have a right to appeal, but since 2002 successive governments have failed to implement those sections of the law,” said Dench. “As a result, a refugees’ fate is de­ cided by a single decision maker, without ap­ peal, and errors go uncorrected.”

Robert Gervais of the IRB emphasized the role of due process following the refugee application process, noting that those who are rejected as refugees are not necessarily de­ ported.

“When someone claims refugee status and is rejected, there are other procedures to remain in Canada,” said Gervais.

These other procedures include an appeal

to the Federal Court of Canada, a “pre-remov­ al risk assessment” to determine whether the likely return location is too dangerous, and “humanitarian and compassionate consider­ ations.”

The government also keeps a “suspension of removal list” of countries deemed too un­ safe for anyone to be deported to. The list cur­ rently includes only Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zim­ babwe. Burundi, Liberia, and Rwanda were removed from the list in July.

Some people facing a return to these countries, however, still cannot avoid deporta­ tion.

“Dangerous criminals, security threats, war criminals or those who have committed crimes against humanity, do not benefit from temporary suspension of removals,” said Giolti. “Removals of failed refugee claimants and individuals with other immigration viola­ tions are also necessary to maintain the integ­ rity of Canada’s Immigration program.”

CAMPUS

NATIONAL

Brown cites issue of fixed costs

Inmates fight smoking ban

CO N TIN U ED FR O M CO V ER private donation from the McGill Alumni As­ sociation to cover part of the expenses, and in 2009 the 10-day event lost over $15,000.

“SnowAP was a pretty unique experi­ ence and it’s disappointing that they’ve had to cancel it,” said Dan Sacks, SnowAP director in 2006 and 2007. “There is a certain value you can place on a social event for the student body—especially such a fun tradition that was exclusive to M cGill—and maybe that’s not worth as much as $15,000, but perhaps the benefits are worth running a $5,000 or $10,000 deficit."

Brown claimed that she was unable to find a way to lessen the $15,000 deficit to a more acceptable figure. Shortening the event wasn’t an option, she said, since the fixed costs of the event are so high.

“It was kind of an [all-or-nothing] choice,” said Brown. “The fixed costs, such as the price of renting the tent, are so high that you need to be open for 10 days to try and bring in enough revenue to offset your expenses. For example, the floor alone costs $4,000.”

A number of increased costs, coupled with a slow decline in revenue and attendance, caused the event to finish further in the red in each of the last four years. The rental cost for the SnowAP tent doubled between 2007 and 2008, and security have increased steadily since McGill Security—rather than SSMU Security—began staffing the event in 2007.

Decreased tent capacity also played a role in increased deficits, as the Montreal Fire Pre­ vention Office cracked down on the number of patrons allowed to attend SnowAP. Capacity was reduced from 650 patrons four years ago

to 338 persons for last year’s event.

“I think more and more students are looking off campus to find events and enter­ tainment,” said SSMU President Ivan Neilson. “It’s disappointing that we had to cancel SnowAP, but maybe it’s a sign that we need to engage students and find out what type of events they want from SSMU.” Environmental concerns also played a role in the decision to cancel the event. SnowAP was heated by a number of gas-oil burners, which were heavily criticized for their C 0 2 output in the 2008 SSMU Sustainability Re­ port. The Report found that “a small car could circumnavigate the world almost twice before exceeding SnowAP’s [10 metric tonnes] of C 0 2 emissions.” It also referred to the event as a “little Exxon Valdez on the McGill front field.”

“For a society that is supposed to be a leader on environmental issues, it was really embarrassing to be burning that much oil heat in the middle of the winter,” said Brown.

While Brown said that she wouldn’t be creating an event of the magnitude of SnowAP as a replacement, she will probably plan a “welcome back” event at Gert’s in January.

She cited a proposed dance marathon event, a January film festival, and additional funding for Franco-fête and Black History Month, as potential uses for resources that would have gone into SnowAP.

Ban credited with increase in black market cigarettes ALISON BAILEY Design Editor

Quebec federal prison inmates appealed to a federal judge last Wednesday in the hope of overturning the May 2008 ban on tobacco possession in all of the province’s federal pris­ ons.

Lyle Stewart, media spokesperson for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, claimed that the ban was necessary because in­ mates have refused to comply with a previous rule about smoking indoors. “ [The Canadian Correctional Officers] simply followed the policy that was in place in eight out of 10 provincial jurisdictions which banned tobacco altogether, not just for inmates but for employees, including correctional of­ ficers and visitors,” Stewart said.

Although incarceration technically means the removal of certain rights to those who have broken the law, human rights lawyer Julius Grey said that only those rights that are neces­ sary can be removed from inmates.

“The issue is whether the right to smoke is part of your inherent personal liberty,” Grey said. “It’s not the right to smoke—it’s the right to liberty that is of issue. The right to make decisions concerning yourself like any other person could make.”

Stewart said the ban was enacted to pro­ tect the health of inmates and staff who are in­ voluntarily placed in a smoking environment.

“All the correctional officers are trying to do is ensure a safe and healthy workplace for workers and as well as for inmates,” he said.

Grey agreed with Stewart about the ne­ cessity of an indoor ban. However, he believes the union’s argument loses ground when it comes to banning outdoor smoking.

“A ban on smoking inside is [justified] because you’re in a communal place and the rights of others come into play,” Grey said.

“But why they shouldn’t be able to smoke out­ side is simply not reasonable.”

The ban has given rise to a tobacco black market in prisons, where cigarettes are being sold for as much as $6 each.

“There’s a black market in many other substances as well,” Stewart added. “But that’s one of the realities that we deal with, with the criminal population.”

According to a government study, about 79 per cent of inmates smoked prior to the ban.

Although actual incidents cannot be definitive­ ly attributed to reactions from inmates going through tobacco withdrawal, conditions such as insomnia, trembling, and extreme anxiety have been observed more frequently in many inmates since the ban. In addition, many of the inmates’ financial concerns have been altered by this ban.

“They have to spend just about their whole allowance on nicotine gum that the prison sells them,” Grey said. “They have no money for pleasure, distraction, or extra food.

It really has created a terrible hardship on most of them.”

Stewart believes that there is a balance that would accommodate the prisoners’ rights and those of correctional officers. “[The courts] have to judge whether the right to a safe and healthy living and work space is less important than the right to smoke.”

Tuesda^i^ c to b e r 2 0 ^ 0 0 9 ji3

Curiosit^JDelivers

CAMPUS

Clinton calls for a communitarian approach to global challenges CO N TIN U ED FR O M CO V ER vice, and to the advancement of social justice,” she said. “He has advocated powerfully and compassionately for progressive education programs and universal access to health care, [and] he has fought to end poverty, disease, and racial discrimination.”

Clinton began his political career after graduating from Yale Law School in 1973, losing a race for a seat in the Arkansas state legislature in 1974, before being elected the state’s Attorney-General in 1976 and then gov­ ernor two years later. In 1992 Clinton won the Democratic presidential primaries, and later that year his meteoric political rise was com­ pleted when he defeated president George H. W. Bush in that year’s election to become the 42nd President of the U.S. Since leaving the White House in 2001, Clinton has dedicated much of his time to philanthropy and humanitarian advocacy.

He founded the William J. Clinton Founda­ tion, which seeks to address global issues as wide-ranging as climate change, HIV/AIDS,

and global poverty. He has served as the UN’s Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and in May of this year he was appointed UN Special Envoy for Haiti.

Clinton began his talk by thanking McGill for the honorary degree, and praising the uni­ versity.

“I am profoundly honoured to be here at this magnificent university and to be honoured in the way president Roosevelt was,” he said. “I am particularly grateful for the priority McGill has placed on making serious commitments to broadly shared prosperity, sustainability in the face of climate change, reaping the progress and promise of science and technology, pro­ moting wellness and health, and trying to deal with the amazing array of diversity that exists in our countries and throughout the world that has to be both respected and reconciled.”

The former president also found time to praise Canada, noting that Munroe-Blum sug­ gested that he seems to share Canadian val­ ues.

“There were many occasions when lead­

ers of the Republican Party suggested I might want to move to Canada,” he said “And many when I thought it was not a bad idea.”

He even touched on the 1995 Quebec ref­ erendum.

“You [Canada] even have occasional votes about whether you ought not to be to­ gether,” he said. “I ’m glad you didn’t get a divorce.”

In his speech Clinton touched on a num­ ber of topics, but his main focus was on global challenges and how to respond to them. Clin­ ton called for a “communitarian conscious­ ness” in order to better deal with issues such as poverty, climate change, and disease, and emphasized the importance of “moving for­ ward together.”

“I ’m not calling for world government, I'm just saying we have to have a world con­ sciousness,” he said. “And in the absence of it we will not make good decisions.”

He added that “the reason that a commu­ nitarian consciousness is needed today is that the whole world is interdependent to an extent it’s never been before.”

Clinton also discussed the Clinton Global Initiative, and the many students that take part in the annual meeting. He also praised McGill student and science senator Andrew Ling—a participant in the CG I—who founded Niagara United, an organization that fundraises for the United Way and promotes charities associated with it.

“I had no idea at all that he was going to mention me,” said Ling. “My jaw dropped, I was really surprised.”

“I really enjoyed my time at the Clinton Global Initiative,” Ling added. “ I met a lot of fascinating people, and I enjoyed hearing about the many initiatives different students across the United States were working on.”

Clinton finished his speech with a call for everyone to strive toward a better world by embracing the communitarian men­ tality he had described.

“We should be proud of our own distinct differences, but our common humanity has got to drive every single important calculation of the 21st century,” he said. “We are going to have to stumble into the future together.”

CAMPUS

Eight motions on the table at upcoming SSMU General Assembly New promotion strategies target specific on-campus groups T O R I CRAW FORD News Editor

With eight motions on the table and sev­ eral new-attendance promotions in place, the Students’ Society executives are confident that quorum will not be an issue at tomorrow’s Fall General Assembly.

“The last time we really succeeded in get­ ting quorum, it was because of a hot-button issue, but I think that our effort this year has really been about targeting interest groups that care about certain issues,” said SSMU VicePresident Internal Alex Brown. “People listen a little better when you speak directly to them and their wants and needs.”

One motion, brought forward by Green­ peace McGill, would ban the sale in the Shat-

ner building of all seafood listed on the Cana­ da Seafood Guide’s “Red List” and encourage the McGill administration to impose the same regulations on all food vendors on campus and in residences. A similar motion calling for the elimination of styrofoam in the Shatner Build­ ing is also on the table.

A number of the proposals relate specifi­ cally to the Shatner Building. One motion, re­ garding space efficiency, calls for the instal­ lation of a hinged desk on the back of every bathroom stall door in the building. Another motion, titled Energy Usage in the Shatner Building, would set a goal for the building’s energy intensity at 2.04 GJ per square metre, which is the average for a Canadian university building, and would use a professional audit to determine which large-scale projects would need to be undertaken to reach this goal by September 2015.

Finally, one motion deals specifically with

the Shatner building lease, which will expire in May 2011. Put forward by SSMU President Ivan Neilson, if passed, the motion would see SSMU attempt to renegotiate their lease with the university and attempt to secure the longest possible term of lease. Neilson emphasized the unique opportunities that come from address­ ing this type of issue at a General Assembly.

“Of course we could always just bring something to council, but this year the exec wanted to take the opportunity to bring things to GA because it’s just a different kind of con­ sultative and representative body,” he said.

“This is sort of an operating decision that might not otherwise come to general students but I think it’s something, with respect to our building at least, that affects students almost the most, so we really wanted to get their input on that.”

A motion put forward by another SSMU executive, VP Clubs and Services Sarah Olle,

aims to remove an obscure part of the SSMU by-laws which bans SSMU from taking part in the marketing or distribution of pornogra­ phy. If the motion is passed, this article of the by-laws would be amended to prohibit only oppressive pornographic material for non-ac­ ademic purposes.

“When I was reviewing book three of the by-laws I was quite surprised to find this sec­ tion added on seemingly haphazardly at the end,” said Olle. “I’m unsure of historically why this was incorporated into our by-laws, but it seems that it is time for this policy to be revised, and I look forward to hearing what the general population has to say about it at the GA.” Additional motions call for the prioritiza­ tion of student employment for all future ten­ ants in the Shatner Building, and for SSMU to adopt a formal policy against the new selffunded MBA program.

4 • Tuesday, October 20, 2009

mcgilltribune.com

NATIONAL

Possibility of tuition at CEGEPs raises concerns from students Liberal Party launches proposal as part o f budget package MATT ESSERT Contributor

After offering free education for more than 40 years, there has been a recent push by the Liberal Party of Quebec to institute tuition for post-secondary CEGEP schools.

Provincial Finance Minister Raymond Bachand introduced the proposal, which would include ‘modest’ tuition at Quebec CEGEPs to help reduce the provincial deficit—a conse­ quence of the recent economic downturn.

Since the announcement at the end of September, there has been a great deal of op­ position to the plan from many students and student-activist groups. Xavier Lefebvre Boucher, president of the Fédération Étudiante Collégiale du Québec, is worried that tuition will limit accessibility to higher education and, in turn, will decrease the number of qualified individuals for technical jobs in the future.

“Our society and economy cannot afford

a decrease in the number of graduates when the industry urges for qualified and specialized workers,” said Boucher.

Natasha Caminsky, vice-president exter­ nal affairs of the Dawson Student Union at Dawson College agreed that a CEGEP tuition fee is not a viable solution to the province’s strained finances. “ [Students] are the country’s future and the government should be doing everything possible to ensure that education can be made available to as many students as possible, no matter the situation,” said Caminsky. “Stu­ dents shouldn’t be a quick fix for the govern­ ment during this deficit. The financial situa­ tion will eventually change, but the change in tuition fees will remain.”

The proposal would go into effect some­ time within the next few years. However, the current state of the plan is unclear. Boucher admitted this, but also stated that the FECQ would take action if the government institutes tuition fees.

“The Federation will not engage a fight on something that is uncertain,” said Boucher.

“We will see if a bill on the subject is brought to the parliament, but you can be assured that if the government goes that way, we will be there. For the moment, member unions are working on it and are sending letters to ask the premier to be clear on [the current situation].”

Caminsky also added that there could be unintended consequences involved in instating such a plan. Like Boucher, she fears that the province’s work force will encounter à num­ ber of problems in the future if tuition is in­ troduced.

“I definitely think that enrolment will drop if higher tuition fees are instituted,” she said. "And it won’t stop there. If there are fewer students that enrol to CEGEP, the level of education in Quebec will most likely drop and the average age of unemployment will probably decrease.”

A CEGEP, or a College of General and Vocational Education, is a post-secondary education institution and is required for en­ trance into university for all Quebec students, and also offers numerous vocational diploma programs. The system was established in 1967

by the Quebec provincial government with 12 schools initially, and now consists of 48 schools—five of which are English-speaking.

Public CEGEPs have never charged tu­ ition in their 42-year existence, making them the most accessible system of post-secondary education in Canada. This has led to 69 per cent of Quebec residents aged 24 to 29 secur­ ing a post-secondary degree.

Although several other ideas were pro­ posed by Quebec’s Liberal Party to stimulate the economy, including an increase in hydro rates and an increase in the excise tax on alco­ hol, the notion of tuition at the CEGEPs seems to have met with the most resistance so far.

“Tuition fees will create a divide between the government and youth,” said Caminsky.

“Fees are not the solution.”

CAMPUS

Harold Shapiro discusses role of universities as public citizens Part o f annual Phyllis Shapiro Memorial Lecture Series LAUREN HUDAK Contributor

This past Thursday marked the fourth an­ nual Phyllis Shapiro Memorial Lecture Series, named after the former McGill education pro­ fessor and wife of Principal Emeritus Bernard Shapiro who passed away on November 20, 2004.

Each year a guest speaker gives a presen­ tation in honour of Phyllis and two students are acknowledged as the recipients of the Phyllis Shapiro Award. The award is granted to two exceptional students, one for Elementary Edu­ cation and the other for Secondary Education.

This year, Harold Shapiro, Phyllis Sha­ piro’s brother-in-law, gave a Lecture titled “The University as Public Citizen.” Harold Shapiro received his Bachelor of Commerce (1956) from McGill University and has served as the head of the University of Michigan (1980-1988) and Princeton University (19882001).

His presentation focussed on the ethi­ cal nature and obligations of institutions. He began by noting the differences between insti­ tutions.

“Unlike individuals, institutions are not an end in themselves but are created by soci­ ety to fulfill certain public purposes,” he said.

Shapiro’s main objective was to draw a paral­ lel between the concept of the institution and the individual and to establish that they both play an integral role as public citizens.

“Institutions of higher education have a purpose well beyond themselves and these purposes, if we think about them carefully and properly, are their responsibilities as public citizens,” argued Shapiro. “Many others have suggested, for example, that the moral behav­

ALISSA FINEGOLD

Harold Shapiro, former principal of Princeton University, discusses the correlations between the invidiual and institutions. ior of institutions and persons are interdepen­ dent; so, one way to encourage the moral be­ havior of individuals is to focus on the ethical behavior and structure of institutions. Shapiro used the structure of government institutions, corporate institutions, and the structures of universities as the prototype for what he had in mind. He further argued that the institution is not an end but merely an instrument for ad­ vancing society. According to Shapiro, the role of a government institution is to help citizens define the type of society it wishes to create.

Despite Shapiro’s arguments, one audi­ ence member questioned the means through which an institution such as a university would be held accountable for their actions. Shapiro responded by stating the following: “Universi­ ties need to take the initiative and to explain why their policies are the way they are.”

After the keynote address, Principal Heather Monroe-Blum ended the memorial

by leaving a few sentiments of her own. She stressed the fact that Shapiro’s speech could not have been more appropriate since many universities, including McGill, are currently attempting to define the parameters in which a university acts as a public citizen. “We cannot be good public citizens if we are not educated, encouraged, and engaged,” said Blum.

The key points of Harold Shapiro’s mes­ sage echoed the legacies of his sister-in-law Phyllis. As a public citizen, she also envi­ sioned the university as a vehicle to serve the needs of the public by using the imperative of moral imagination to inspire students.

After receiving a Diploma in Education at McGill in 1954, Phyllis Shapiro moved to the United States where she earned both a mas­ ter’s (1963) and doctorate (1969) in education at Boston University. While most individuals at the memorial remember Phyllis as a role model and teacher, David J. Azrieli, both the founder of the Azrieli Foundation and a mem­

ber of the Order of Canada, has known Phyl­ lis for most of his life. His wife Stephanie and Phyllis were childhood friends. “[Stephanie and I] are extremely hon­ oured to be her friend. My wife and I went to school with Phyllis, and we maintained a close friendship throughout the years. It does not happen very often when people maintain such a strong relationship which started in child­ hood,” said Azrieli.

Irwin Cotier, member of parliament for Mount Royal and law professor at McGill, not only remembers Phyllis as a fellow colleague, but also as an inspirational woman who em­ bodied the ideals of care, compassion, and in­ tegrity.

“Phyllis was regarded by students as a model. She was not just a teacher in a peda­ gogical sense; she prepared students for life itself. Apart from serving as a role model, she was a wonderful combination of head and heart,” said Cotier.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 • 5

Curiosity Delivers

NATIONAL

NATIONAL

Tims goes to war Study says young women more prone to H1N1 Franchise opened at Fort Knox

Authors find no specific reasons fo r disproportion

M A RIE-JEA N N E BER G ER Contributor

KATRINA SIEN IU C Contributor

October 15 marked the grand opening of Tim Hortons at the Fort Knox military base in Kentucky. The base welcomed the Canadian franchise with a ribbon-cutting, bag-piper sol­ dier march and salute, as well as a tent with refreshments supplied by the famous coffee and donut franchise.

Fort Knox is best known as the gold de­ pository of the American government. Hous­ ing slightly less gold than the Federal Reserve located under Manhattan, the base claims to hold around 4,603 tons of gold bullion behind its fortified vaults. This Tim Hortons will serve the 30,000 soldiers, relatives, and tourists that live at, work on, and visit the base.

Dwight Marcus, a reporter and member of the United States Army and Airforce Ex­ change Services, attended the opening. “This will greatly increase the choice of foods on the base,” he said. “And it’s the only restaurant open 24 hours.”

O f the more than 500 Tim Hortons’s loca­ tions in the United States, the branch at Fort Knox is the first to appear on a military base.

However, for American soldiers who have served abroad, Tim Hortons can represent something familiar.

“Tim Hortons has a special relationship with soldiers not just in Canada, but around the world,” said David Moreli, a spokesperson for Tim Hortons. “Troops at the Fort Knox base may have encountered Tim Hortons if they served in Kandahar. The Tim Hortons there was like a little United Nations.” .

In 2006, the Canadian forces brought the franchise to the Kandahar air strip in the hopes of improving Canadian morale with a cup of Canadian coffee. The Tim Hortons in Afghan­ istan joined the American franchises Burger King, Subway, and Pizza Hut on the base, and even performed a similar form of the Roll-upthe-Rim competition, but with prizes more fitting for the environment. Camouflage Tim Hortons ball caps and handheld GPS global positioning devices were awarded in exchange for the winning cups.

For the brand, the ten-year contract with the Fort Knox base marks the expansion of Tim Hortons locations in the U.S. “If a soldier is coming from Michigan or New York, they’re probably already familiar with us,” said Moreli.

While Fort Knox may be the first Ameri­ can military base with the franchise, there are seven in Canada that are home to Timmies.

“From a business perspective, it makes sense,” said Moreli. “People instantly recog­ nize the name. It’s iconic,” said Moreli.

Fort Knox, well known in both the U.S. and abroad for its impenetrability and gargan- j tuan gold reserves, also receives a number of tourists a year. It is a marriage of two national j commodities. Outside the bomb-proof, blastproof, vault housing half of America’s gold now lies Canada’s most valued and popular coffee chain.

Research suggests that young women may be more vulnerable to the H1N1 virus. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tested and analyzed 168 patients admitted to an intensive-care unit be­ tween April 16 and August 12,2009. The study indicates that severe outbreaks and symptoms of the H1N1 virus are most prevalent among young, healthy adults, with an average age of 32 years. O f the patients studied, roughly 67 per cent were women, and of these, 98 per cent had co-morbidity—the presénce of one or more diseases alongside the primary flu—and 30 per cent showed major co-morbidity.

Overall, 17 per cent of the patients died, and of these deaths, 72 per cent were female.

Although the cause of this disproportion is still unclear, medical professionals have sever­ al theories. According to Dr. Anand Kumar of the University of Winnipeg, females generally have a lower lung capacity than males. Lower lung capacity, especially when coupled with obesity, is believed to leave women at greater risk of H1N1.

This reading offers some explanation of the other discoveries made during the study,

considering that—in addition to hyperten­ sion, history of smoking, and diabetes—lung disease was among the most common health problems linked to the infected patients of the study.

Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier, associate profes­ sor and director of McGill Health Services, stressed that although the study appears re­ vealing, it has not been conclusively proven that women are more susceptible to H1N1.

Rather, he suggested that, “there is an in­ creased number of women who had more seri­ ous diseases.”

In addition, the study’s authors could not offer a definitive reason for the disproportion.

They suggested that it may be linked to preg­ nancy, which could account for this increase in severity for females. In contrast, research from the Public Health Agency of Canada indicated that it is not specifically women who are more susceptible to the flu, but rather young people in general.

Tellier does believe, based on this study and other epidemiological data, that “a good number of young people will get sick.” He rec­ ommended various preventative measures that students should take, including proper hand­ washing and coughing into a tissue or a shirt sleeve to avoid spreading germs.

He also suggested practicing social dis­ tancing, meaning that students should stay at home if they experience any flu-like symp­

toms. Finally, Tellier strongly recommended vaccination as an effective way for students to protect themselves from the H1N1 influenza.

Overall, McGill is taking proactive and preventative measures against H1N1. A com­ mittee o f McGill staff, including a student rep­ resentative, meets weekly to plan in prepara­ tion for a potential pandemic. The health and wellness services website provides informa­ tion on influenzas, how to prevent and treat symptoms, and the policies that McGill has established concerning staff, faculty, students, and the flu in general. In addition, the Univer­ sity has launched the “D on’t Make Me Sick” campaign which provides information about the flu and directs people to the website.

A second campaign, called “The First One is On Us,” will be implemented soon, in which bottles of hand sanitizer will be given out to individuals around the university. Hand sanitizer stations have already been installed at select locations around campus, with more to come in the near future. Specific informa­ tion about vaccination will be released shortly.

Academic policies have been set in motion that will encourage students to stay at home if they become sick, making it easier for them to miss class and reduce their chances of infect­ ing other students.

A c c e l e r a t e y o u r s t u d i e s !

Choose from over 70 interactive online degree credit courses this

Winter.

Registration Is Easy...

1. Identify the course you wish to take.

2. Obtain a Letter of Permission from your university, 3. Send us your registration as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

♦ Registration Deadline: December 18, 2009 ♦ Courses begin: January 11, 2010 For further information, contact Mickey Smart at: Tel: 519-824-4120x56050 Email: msmart@open.uoguelph.ca

f*

E n r o ll t o d a y /

For a list of courses, visit:

w w w .o pe n uoguelph.ca

6 • Tuesday, October 20, 2009

THE LESS IMPORTANT DEBATE As the November 1 municipal election approaches, Montrealers have many important issues to consider before heading to the polls.

Which mayoral candidate would best deal with the city snow removal contract—currently a privatized mess that resulted in three deaths last winter? Who will extend the Metro, and when will transportation plans finally include the West Island? Can Gérald Tremblay over­ come the ethical scandals that have plagued his administration to become the first threeterm mayor since Jean Drapeau? But, above all, one question has dominated pre-election conversation: does the mayor of Montreal need to speak English?

The language debate has been sparked by the emergence of an unlikely mayoral can­ didate: Vision Montréal leader Louise Harel.

An influential figure in the Parti Québécois, Harel spent 27 years representing the riding of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (Olympic Stadium Area) in the Quebec National Assembly. Fol­ lowing Bernard Landry’s resignation in 2005, Harel served as interim leader of the PQ. She has also served as Minister of Cultural Com­ munities and Immigration, Minister of Em­ ployment, and Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Many Anglophone Montrealers may cringe at the mention of Harel’s name: she is an in­ fluential, outspoken sovereigntist and was the author of the unpopular provincial legislation that forced municipal mergers, including the 2001 “une île, une ville” campaign that merged 28 Montreal municipalities despite opposition from nearly every Anglophone-dominated borough in the city.

But Anglophone concern over Harel’s candidacy reached new heights when she declined to take part in an English-language mayoral debate last month. The outcry from Montrealers was predictable: if this city’s baristas, taxi drivers, and Tim Horton’s em ­ ployees are bilingual, how can we elect a mayor who isn’t?

I would like to make it clear, however, that Harel does speak English. In a recent televised

BE BOLD, M R. PRESIDENT As America’s first black president, Barack Obama is perhaps the most visible symbol of the civil rights movement’s success. His rapid rise to the presidency would have been impos­ sible if not for the tireless efforts o f Martin Lu­ ther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson, and count­ less marchers and bus boy cotters. Yet when it comes to the most important civil rights struggle of our generation, President Obama has been dragging his heels.

I ’m talking, of course, about the gay rights movement.

During his campaign, Obama came out in favour of ending the military’s “D on’t Ask,

Opinion interview on CBC, Harel responded to ques­ tions in English, without advanced knowledge of the topics. In fact, Harel claims that she is close to being functionally bilingual. However, she still doesn’t feel comfortable taking part in an English-language debate. I sympathize with her in that regard. This summer I attended a French-language Model European Parliament event. When I first had to take the microphone to argue in my third language, I was trembling, and made many uncharacteristic grammatical mistakes. Eventually, as I got used to the na­ ture of the debate, my French corrected itself.

However, through that experience I came to understand Harel’s hesitation. Just because you can speak a language doesn’t mean that you can debate in that language with ease.

I believe that the mayor of Montreal should try to speak English. Anglophones make up nearly 25 per cent of Montreal’s population, and the mayor should be able to respond to their needs. English is extremely important in Montreal, not only because Mon­ treal has a large, influential English commu­ nity, but also because English is the global lingua franca. Mayors of many world-class cities speak English in addition to their na­ tive tongue—and I believe that the mayor of Ottawa, Moncton, or any area with linguistic duality should be bilingual. However, I would never disqualify a mayoral candidate based on his or her difficulty with the English language, nor would I make bilingualism an official re­ quirement of the post. City Hall typically func­ tions in French and there are enough bilingual civil servants to ensure that English services are widely available.

I ’ve yet to decide which mayoral candi­ date I’ll support, but I urge all Anglophone voters to look past the fact that Harel is not fluent in English, and examine her plan for the City of Montreal. Since the mayor of Montreal can't launch a referendum, the fact that she is a pe'quiste also shouldn't matter. Given her ex­ perience in the National Assembly and service to this province, Harel is qualified to be the mayor.

In a city where we take language politics into consideration when choosing the head coach of our hockey team, bilingualism is extremely important. However, it’s unfair to bar someone from a post when the only of­ ficial language required is French. There are many issues that the new mayor must address, and the language in which he or she addresses them should be the least of our worries.

Most of us have grown up in the Age of Entitlement—as part of the so-called “Peter Pan Generation” that seems reluctant to relin­ quish the creature comforts of adolescence for the burdensome freedoms of adulthood. We generally assume illegal downloads, grade in­ flation, and the public airing of loud cellphone conversations to be part and parcel of our fundamental human rights. We’ve obviously never listened, really listened, to the immortal words of Mick Jagger, who crooned in 1968, “You can’t always get what you want.”

That idea—of which Jagger was, I admit, not the first to conceive—is an important fea­ ture of the social contract, to which we all implicitly agree by living in a society wherein we are afforded at least a modicum of protec­ tion from unemployment, crime, etc. The idea is that by agreeing to give up certain compo­ nents of our unlimited right to always get what we want, everyone mutually benefits. Though gross injustices should be fought at every step, good-faith democratic participation requires an attitude of Jaggerian acceptance.

This attitude has been noticeably absent throughout the recent Choose Life controversy at McGill.

While the university is’ not (and should not be) a completely democratic community, one of its most important responsibilities is to train its students, through both formal and informal channels, to be well-informed and well-intentioned citizens of a larger demo­ cratic society. The Choose Life controversy shows that McGill is failing to fulfill that re­ sponsibility, though probably through no fault of its own. Rather, I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of a society that has tended to overemphasize individual rights and almost entirely ignore political responsibilities. The reigning orthodoxy for two or three decades has been that, above all, students’ feelings must not be hurt. We’ve been told repeatedly that we are each so special that it’s hardly even fair. The frightening result of these over-inter-

Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, which bans openly gay men and women from serving in the coun­ try’s armed forces. The policy—a long-time target of gay advocacy groups—was one of a number of conservative statutes that Obama vowed to overturn if elected president.

After his inauguration, Obama made good on many of his campaign pledges. The president issued a staccato burst of executive orders and directives during his first week in office, ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, taking steps to raise emissions standards, and rescinding the Bush administration’s ban on providing foreign aid to international groups that provide informa­ tion about abortions.

Ending DADT, however, somehow fell by the wayside during that first week, and the Obama administration has been avoiding tak­ ing action on it ever since.

Two weeks ago, President Obama spoke at a dinner held by the influential gay advo­ cacy group Human Rights Campaign. The event, attended by some of the most prominent

gay men and women in the nation, offered the president a rare opportunity to announce a plan for dismantling DADT. Instead, Obama mere­ ly sought to placate his gay supporters.

“I will end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” ’ the president told his audience, some of whom had paid as much as $1,000 for a ticket. “That is my commitment to you.”As evidence of this, Obama detailed his continuing consultations with military and Congressional leaders.

With all due respect to the president, that’s not a commitment. As the American military’s commander-in-chief, Obama has the power to end DADT any day he likes. And he hasn’t done so.

In 1948, amid a difficult re-election campaign, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, forcibly integrating the United States military. Truman’s order declared it “to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed ser­ vices without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.”

THE PHILOSOPHY OF JAGGERJ YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

mcgilltribune.com

nalized lessons is an epidemic of entitlement complexes, with disastrous results for goodfaith political participation.

After protestors disrupted “Echoes of the Holocaust,” Ivan Neilson, Students’ So­ ciety President and recently self-appointed apologist for trespassers, wrote an open letter published in the McGill Daily that criticized M cGill’s response to the event. Neilson wrote that the university was wrong to allow the po­ lice to remove protestors who interrupted the event by singing nursery rhymes and block­ ing the projector screen, because “there were no other avenues through which [the protes­ tors could] stop this event, which they deemed victimizing, offensive, and stifling of educated debate, from happening.”

Sing it with me, friends: you can’t always get what you want. Sometimes you will lose, and when that happens, you have two options, both of which involve Jaggerian acceptance: you either accept the outcome as such, or ac­ cept the prescribed consequences of your civil disobedience. The self-appointed protectors of our collective virgin ears have done neither.

Neilson continues: “Furthermore, it is un­ fair to expect these student protestors to watch a presentation calmly and to engage with a speaker when such a presentation would make them feel violated, demonized, and silenced.”

But, as Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson noted, nobody expected those students to watch the presen­ tation, calmly or otherwise. It is not unrea­ sonable to expect a person to avoid injecting themselves into uncomfortable situations.

Moreover, it is quite hard for me to stomach the notion of defending a student who claims to be “silenced” by a presentation they volun­ tarily attended, fully knowing what to expect.

Quelle honte, Mr. President.

Choose Life and its detractors are similar in at least one respect: both have masochisti­ cally dedicated themselves to delegitimizing their respective causes—the former by hosting an egregiously offensive event, and the latter by managing to “ [cede] the moral high ground to a guy who compares abortions to the Ho­ locaust,” to quote an online response to Neilson’s article.

Indeed, who represents the rest of u s— who find the “Echoes” event gratuitously of­ fensive, but claim no right to not be offended, and who find equally objectionable those who refuse to stop shouting until they get every­ thing they want, like infants or terrorists?

Unlike President Obama, Truman acted boldly. “Give ‘Em Hell” Harry did not attempt to secure consensus before ordering integra­ tion, and faced opposition from military lead­ ers who fought for years against implementing the policy. But Truman prevailed, and the last segregated unit was dissolved in 1954.

For a man who won the presidency ad­ vocating bold reform, Obama has been sur­ prisingly unwilling to act boldly. Like many Americans of my generation, I was drawn to Obama’s candidacy by his willingness to seek consensus on important issues—something the previous president rarely attempted. And this strategy of patient compromise may well pay off on issues such as health care reform.

But there are moments that demand de­ cisive leadership, and this is one of those mo­ ments. Truman’s executive order promised freedom from discrimination for American soldiers of all races, faiths, and ethnicities. It’s time for this president to add sexual orienta­ tion to that list.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 • 7

Curiosity Delivers

E D IT O R IA L S 1 M c G il l S

t r ib u n e

www.mcgilltribune.com

EDITO R-IN-CHIEF Thomas Quail editor@mcgilltribune.com M ANAGING EDITO RS James Gilman jgilman@mcgilltribune.com Carolyn Yates cyates@mcgilltribune.com PRODUCTION M AN AGER Adam Scotti ascotti @ mcgi 11tri bune.com NEWS EDITORS Tori Crawford Steven Hoffer news@mcgilltribune.com OPINION EDITOR Matt Chesser opinion@mcgilltribune.com FEATU R ES EDITO RS Shannon Kimball Brahna Siegelberg features@mcgilltribune.com A RTS & ENTERTAINM ENT EDITORS Kyle Carpenter Laura Tindal arts@mcgilltribune.com SPORTS EDITO RS Kailan Leung Jon Rubenstein sports @ mcgil ltribune .com PHOTO EDITO RS Alice Walker Julia Webster photo@mcgilltribune.com DESIGN EDITORS Alison Bailey Zoe Brewster design@mcgilltribune.com CO PY EDITOR Carolyn Grégoire O NLINE EDITOR Alexandr Cartasiov online@mcgilltribune.com A D V ERTISIN G M AN AGER Dallas Bentley cpm@ssmu.mcgill.ca PU BLISH ER Chad Ronalds

CONTRIBUTORS Marie-Jeanne Berger, Johanu Botha, Matt Essert, Francesca Ferenczi, Alissa Finegold, Grace Glowicki, Lauren Hudak, John Hui, John Kelsey, Wayne Kerr, Ricky Kreitner, Adam Laidlaw, Justin Margolis, Théo Meyer, Gabe Pulver, Michael Sengara,

If SnowAP’s dead, Haven Books should be next With cheap beer, a warm tent, loud music, and a great location, it’s hard to see how SnowAP could have gone wrong.

But it did—as escalating losses forced Stu­ dents’ Society Vice-President Internal Alex Brown to cancel the 13-year-old tradition last week.

It saddens us to see SnowAP can­ celled—it was one of the few unique tradi­ tions that brought McGill students together in the winter semester—but Brown’s deci­ sion was likely the right one. After losing over $8,000 in 2008 despite a private dona­ tion from the McGill Alumni Association, SnowAP’s deficit increased to $15,000 in 2009. Losses in excess of $1,000 per day are just too great to stomach when atten­ dance figures for SnowAP have dwindled over the past four years.

SnowAP’s environmental cost also doomed it to cancellation. Gas-oil burn­ ers were used to heat the tent, and the CO, output of the burners was found to be com­ parable to those emitted by driving a car two times around the world. It would have been hypocritical for SSMU to claim to be a leader in sustainability—tackling smaller issues like bottled water, while hosting an event with such an enormous negative im­

pact on the environment.

The Tribune isn’t opposed to using stu­ dent money to subsidize events. If SnowAP had continued to run deficits similar to the $2,500 it lost in 2007, we would have sup­ ported it remaining open. But since money lost by SnowAP comes out of the general SSMU budget, we don't think it’s fair for SSMU clubs or services, for example, to lose out on $15,000 so that a couple hun­ dred students can drink on lower field.

That said, we would like to see the same practice of fiscal responsibility ex­ tended to SSMU’s biggest financial sink­ hole—Haven Books. Last year Haven lost $91,159—an amount that makes SnowAP’s deficit look like chump change. To put that number in perspective, over the last two years each McGill undergraduate has spent about $7.50 to subsidize Haven’s losses— and that figure doesn’t include the confiden­ tial purchase price paid by SSMU for the bookstore, or the startup costs incurred in its first year.

SSMU needs to make a plan to get out of Haven’s lease as soon as possible.

Although Haven and SnowAP aren’t exactly analogous, they highlight a need for discussion about the services or activités

that students want to subsidize. We would like to see some sort of dialogue at SSMU Council meetings about what students want their money to go towards—especially on the subject of Haven, which was a vanity project of previous executives that never received a mandate from students. At the very least, the Tribune hopes our represen­ tatives give the matter more thought than they did last year—when the decision to continue SSMU’s commitment to Haven Books passed with less than five minutes of discussion.

In our opinion, Haven Books does not provide a valuable service to students.

If SSMU wants to help defray the cost of textbooks, then offering book bursaries to deserving students would be a better use of student funds.

If given the choice, we would rather spend $15,000 on a kickass party than $90,000 on a consignment bookstore that few McGill students have ever visited. We already have an effective way to sell used textbooks without ever setting foot in the McGill Bookstore—it’s called McGill Clas­ sifieds, and best of all, it’s free.

Quebec’s hypocritical tobacco legislation When times are tough, an easy target is a politician’s best friend. And as targets go, Big Tobacco is one of the easiest.

After all, w ho’s going to take issue with the government picking on tobacco companies? Big Tobacco profits off of a product that contributes to the death of more than 45,000 Canadians per year, according to Health Canada. At least one company, and likely many more, suppressed evidence from studies conducted in the late 1960s through the mid-80s that proved smoking is harmful. These companies also deliberately targeted young and/or low-income consum­ ers through advertisements—until the gov­ ernment banned them from doing so.

That’s why it’s hard to fault the Quebec government for following in the footsteps of B.C. and Ontario in announcing their in­

tention to sue the tobacco industry. Quebec is the eighth provincial government to intro­ duce legislation designed to recover some of the billions of dollars spent on health care costs associated with smoking. The provincial movement is largely modelled after a similar US initiative that led to a $245-billion settlement between America’s four largest tobacco companies and 46 state governments in 1998.

However, we unfortunately find our­ selves agreeing with the Big Tobacco spokespersons that have called the provin­ cial lawsuits an example of “sheer hypoc­ risy.” Tobacco is a heavily regulated, heav­ ily taxed industry off of which the Quebec government collects more than $700 mil­ lion per year. It takes a twisted leap of logic for the government to endorse tobacco as a

legal product, yet claim tobacco companies should be responsible for Quebecers’ poor choices. The consequences of smoking have been known for decades—it’s just that in­ dividual smokers choose to ignore these health warnings.

If additional funding needs to be raised to offset smoking-related illnesses, then the government should do so directly—by raising the tax levied against cigarettes.

Consumers are going to pay for any money awarded in a lawsuit through higher ciga­ rette prices—the Quebec government might as well skip the hypocritical court case and increase the one tax that Canadians don’t seem to mind being raised. Taxing tobac­ co —now that’s an easy target.

Katrina Sieniuc, Daniel Smith, Holly Stewart, Ryan Taylor, Karen Wilson

C u r-riM G TRIBUNE OFFICES EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

Shatner University Centre

Brown Student Building

Suite 110, 3480 McTavish

Suite 1200, 3600 McTavish

Montreal, QC H3A 1X9

Montreal, QC H 3A 1Y 2

T: 514.398.6789

T: 514.398.6835 F: 514.398.7490

The Mc G

il l

T

r ib u n e liter a tu r e w e e k

T he M c G ill T r i b u n e

is c u r r e n t l y a c c e p t i n g

SUBMISSIONS FOR OUR FIRST-ANNUAL LITERATURE WEEK CURIOUS? YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS. 1) WRITE A STORY THAT’S UNDER 100 WORDS.

The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper pub­ lished by the Students’ Society of McGill University in collabora­ tion with theTribune 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

OR. 2) WRITE A STORY THAT’S OVER 1,000 WORDS. THE BEST STORIES WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE N o v e m b e r 24, 2009 is s u e , WHILE THE RUNNERS-UP WILL BE PUBLISHED ONLINE AT MCGILLTR1BUNE.COM. (NOTE: WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT FOR CONTENT AND CLARITY.)

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.

SEND YOUR STORIES TO EDITOR@MCGILLTRI BUNE. COM BEFORE NOVEMBER 18, 2009, AT 11:59 P.M. LATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

C O S T S : S ^

o u ja p

lo io

8 • Tuesday, October 20, 2009

WHY I LOVE BOOBS BUT HATE THE COLOUR PINK October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and for most people, that means one thing: more pink in the window displays. Pink, being the universal colour for breast cancer awareness, is everywhere. Laptops, shampoo, chocolate, nail polish, yogurt, suitcases, par­ ties, checkbooks—they all have little pink rib­ bons on them, and they all claim to support breast cancer awareness.

They’re also marketed almost completely towards women.

Pink soap? Pink vacuums? Pink choco­ late? I’m sure that there are people, regard­ less of their gender, who embrace the colour pink, down to having their magenta suitcases decorated with millions of tiny cancer-fighting ribbons—and more power to them. But per­ sonally, 1 like my suitcases black, my laptops white, and my checkbooks boring. And I don’t want to feel guilty because I’m not shopping for the cure.

D on’t get me wrong: I love boobs, and

mcgilltribune.com

anything that helps support keeping them can­ cer-free is excellent in my book. It wasn’t all that long ago that breast cancer was a fairly unknown disease, and the corporate publicity it has since received has at least created a more supportive—if also more pink—environment for patients. But while awareness is better than stigma, the ultra-feminine theme is problem­ atic. According to the Canadian Breast Can­ cer Foundation (whose website, it should be noted, is pink and features pictures of women exclusively), an estimated 22,700 women and 180 men will be diagnosed with breast can­ cer in 2009. The focus on what is typically a female-associated colour in awareness (read: marketing) campaigns alienates anyone un­ comfortable with fitting into a little pink box.

And while the pink ribbons everywhere may raise awareness, not all publicity is good publicity. Letting consumers buy something pink, feel good, and then forget about it, pret­ tifies and trivializes a disease that is anything but. And depending on the product, the amount donated towards breast cancer awareness or research can be minimal.

For instance, the pink Swiffer—an item which, if the commercials are anything to go by, is used exclusively by happy, dancing, middle-class w om en—features a small pink ribbon and the phrase “early detection saves lives” on the limited-edition package. This ar­ guably supports awareness, since any mention of breast cancer supports awareness. However, it’s unclear from looking at the label whether

any proceeds will actually go towards breast cancer charities. In fact, only two cents will be donated, and only if a customer flashes a coupon available in newspapers a few weeks before. Donations are also frequently capped, and in some cases unrelated to the sale of the product itself—Hershey’s will donate $300,000 regardless of whether or not you purchase their pink-packaged chocolate.

And make no mistake—companies do not use pink packaging out of the goodness of their non-gender-neutral hearts. According to a study by Cone Communications, 79 per cent of customers would switch to a brand that supports a cause, all other factors being equal.

And according to another test by Cone and Duke University’s business school, shampoo packaged to support a cause had a 74 per cent sales increase over the exact same brand pack­ aged without a cause. Whatever money a cor­ poration might be donating for awareness, it’s usually making far more from the goodness of customer’s wallets.

Congratulating yourself on doing some­ thing good when you’re not actually doing anything—the lure of all corporate causes—is a waste of masturbatory energy that would be better spent elsewhere. The solution? Read the fine print before you go pink. Because breasts are wonderful, but gendered marketing, cor­ porate deception, and cartoonish ribbons are something everyone could do without.

N

C O N E S C O R E A N D E IG H T Y E A R S A G O , O U R PRED ECESSO RS BRO U G H T F O R T H , U P O N T H IS C A M P U S , A N E W N E W S P A P E R , C O N C E I V E D IN T H E S H A T N E R B U IL D IN G , A N D D E D IC A T E D T O T H E P R O P O S IT IO N T H A T A L L STUDENTS ARE CREATED EQUAL.

O R S O M E T H IN G L IK E T H A T .

YOU M AY N O T BE AS ELO Q UEN T AS A B R A H A M L IN C O L N , O R E V E N B E A S E L O Q U E N T A S G EO R G E W . BU SH .

B U T T H I S IS Y O U R N E W S P A P E R ( S E R I O U S L Y , Y O U ’R E P A Y I N G F O R IT ), A N D W E ’L L G L A D L Y P U B L I S H Y O U R N A T T E R IN G S .

S O S E N D Y O U R R E M A R K S , K IN D O R C R U E L , T O L E T T E R S @ M C G IL L T R IB U N E .

COM .

O R , IF B R E V I T Y I S N ’T Y O U R T H I N G , S E N D A 5 5 0 -6 5 0 W O R D G U E S T C O L U M N T O O P I N I O N @ M C G I L L T R I B U N E .C O M .

V____________________________________ >

Clooney can’t save Darfur on his own.

W e—the generation that is in the midst of sorting out where we are going to stand in the adult world—are proving that when it comes time to step up to the plate, we are content to sit on our hands. Meanwhile, villages bum in Sudan.

In the same way that we eat meat without wanting any knowledge of how the meat was prepared, we have become experts at ignoring that which demands time and empathy. This lifestyle is not going to cut it when it comes to solving a very real problem like genocide.

We hold each other back by enforcing the notion that we couldn’t affect change if we tried. Discard such delusions. Believe that upon taking action you will be joined by oth­ ers who possess the same state of mind.

An initiative with the goal of harnessing the collective will of the students has begun on campus. The movement’s purpose is to make it clear to the decision-makers in this country that young Canadians want action on Darfur.

The initiative is made up of many volunteers with very different levels of participation. Our sessions include a brief breakdown of the cur­ rent situation and identification of the major players, followed by discussion of specific ways to confront this humanitarian crisis. Ses­ sions are every Tuesday at 7 p.m., in room 326 of the Rutherford Physics Building.

Leam about Darfur, leam about your re­ sponsibility to stand up for human beings in pain, and never fail to form convictions due to belief that you lack knowledge of the situ­ ation.

—Scott MacKinnon

Create a nationwide commercial for Herbon® and you could WIN BIG! We want you to get creative, get competitive, and get hyped! Just shoot, upload and share your video with friends to get the most views.

So go ahead, get your Herbon®!

80N.CA CHOCOMIWT CHOCOLAT IT M l NTH £

Check us out on

fa c e b o o k

You®

Herbon®, naturally...the BEST choice for your sore throat and cough!

STUDENT LIVING

Curiosit^^elivers

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 » 9

RECIPE

Sneakable snacks: chickpeas get a spicy tastelift Spicy chickpea nuts FRANCESCA FER EN C ZI Contributor

I have spent days sitting in the library lis­ tening to my grumbling stomach, and wishing I had something to munch on other than a gra­ nola bar or trail mix. I took this as a challenge and tried to make a filling snack that might be a little more exciting for my taste buds. I also wanted a snack that would be cheap and that could be eaten discreetly in the library to avoid any reprimands from security guards.

Chickpea “nuts” were my solution. Once roasted, the chickpeas dry out and are very crunchy, so you can eat them with your hands.

They are a great snack to take on the run and they can be seasoned in a variety of ways. This flexible recipe suggests a few variations; mix and match or come up with your own flavors based on what you like. Also, don't let the long cooking time deter you—it’s 95 per cent hands-off time. Try it once, and this flavourful and filling snack will be your new go-to in the library, class, or even at home.

Ingredients 1 14 oz. can chickpeas 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahren­ heit.

2. Rinse the chickpeas in a colander, mak­ ing sure the water is thoroughly drained,

can be replaced: • For a bright flavor, use 1 Tbsp. of lemon pepper.

• For a smoky depth of flavor, use 1 Tbsp. of ground cumin.

• For Indian flavors, use 1 Tbsp. of curry powder.

• For a different type of spice, mix 1 tsp. of wasabi with the olive oil before tossing with the chickpeas. Adjust the amount of wasabi depending on how spicy you like it.

and pat dry with a paper towel.

3. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well.

4. Spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 50 minutes, or until lightly browned.

5. Store in a sealed container in a cool, dry place for up to a week.

Variations • The chickpeas, olive oil and salt always remain the same, but the red pepper flakes

FRANCESCA FERENCZI

± 0 d a y s Lia,

P T

McGILL B O O K FAIR

FEB reading week

Wednesday & Thursday

Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor

October 2Ô-29 ÇAH t o 9 " * 1

$3300 Flight from Toronto, visa, hotels, breakfasts, daily transportation, entry fees (TEL) 416-727-1040 www.egvDtgrouDtours.com

Redpath Hall 346 1 McTavish Street • Gently used books in all categories All proceeds in support of McGill scholarships & bursaries

Arev Computers Ordinateurs Arev Contact; Ara

514-246-7575

Installation, repair, virus removal, new computer assembly.

Networking, laptop repair.

Computer parts sold on the web site.

Installation de logiciels et de composantes, désinfection de virus inform atique, assemblage d'ordinateurs, réparation d'ordinateurs portatifs.

Vente de pièces d ’ordinateur sur le site web.

W eb site: w w w .a r e v a r a n e t w o r k .c o m

Em ail:

arev@bellnet.ca

Features: Fiction Week

What I Remember

J

\

by Kailan Leung

What I remember most clearly about Matthias is that he loved to wear a giant ba­ nana leaf as a cape, and wrap vines around his peculiarly swollen head, so that if the light was just right it looked as if he were wearing a chaotic crown of thorns. I never said so, but I always thought Matthias’ vines looked stupid, like messy dreadlocks, or thin snakes emerg­ ing from the back of his skull.

On the day Matthias disappeared, the sky was cartoonishly red. The sun dropped like an egg into a frying pan, and its punctured yolk bled delicate ribbons of scarlet all across the horizon. We sat in our fort on the hillside over­ looking the abandoned tennis courts, throwing stones at the dirty weeds gasping for air under the weight of the cracked asphalt. There were twelve of us in total, all between the ages of nine and 11, and we were far enough away from our homes that we never had to worry about being discovered by overanxious par­ ents. Matthias stood up and began to pace slowly back and forth, kicking at the bug-in­ fested grass and sweeping stray vines out of his face with an impatient, stubby hand.

After a while, he stopped and turned away from us so that all we could see was the back of the banana leaf and the silhouette of his enormous head. Matthias spoke—his whiny voice incompatible with the rest of his bulky pubescent figure—and announced that we could no longer be content with playing tag and trading basketball cards. It was time for us to become soldiers.

We looked up at Matthias with ten-yearold skepticism. Playing fort had never been

about fighting. It had been about running and laughing and trying out swear words. But a crow n—no matter what it’s made o f—is a powerful thing, and soon enough we were beating jagged pieces of rock into arrowhead submission, and passing pocket knives around to sharpen the points of our wooden spears.

Matthias never worked himself, but hovered over us like a moon, checking and recheck­ ing our work with squinting eyes and bloated fingers.

We worked diligently until the sky was the color of a week-old bruise. It was around this time that Matthias spotted Vikram walk­ ing towards us, flashlight bobbing brightly.

We looked up when we saw the golden glow of Vikram’s flashlight, and we knew that Matthias must have invited him. We could hear Vikram moaning softly into the faded yellow blanket he clutched close to his face; he was always moaning, or groaning, or mak­ ing some other strange animal noise. He wore ancient, foggy glasses, with gold frames and thick lenses that magnified his dull green eyes and gave him a stupefied, feline look.

He was wearing a purple tee-shirt and faded red shorts. He removed the blanket from his face and began murmuring quietly to the air in front of him. Vikram was older than us by four or five years, and his arms, legs, and face were already covered with a thick forest of wiry black hair. The hair on his head hung down to his shoulders. He was older than us, but it never seemed that way because he didn’t go to school and he couldn’t speak properly. And at one time or another, we had all seen his moth­

V,

Illustrations by Zoe B rew ster

er wipe his face after eating, because crumbs and spittle were continually getting stuck to the hair around his mouth.

As he approached the edges of the fort, we began to hiss at him instinctively. We asked him why he was so stupid and ugly, and if his parents hated him. We inquired as to whether his family ate cats, and if he still shit himself in bed. Our twelve-person army bombarded poor Vikram with threats and abuse, but still he kept on murmuring to the air and walking forward with his flashlight in hand, cutting swaths in the gathering darkness. Matthias looked pleased.

I wish I could say with confidence that it was Matthias who struck the first blow, but I simply can’t be sure. Vikram was only a few metres away from us when the first stone smashed into his right shoulder. He spun in a half circle and dropped the flashlight, let­ ting out a squeal of panic and despair as more stones came hurtling through the night. Word­ lessly, Matthias urged us to pick up our clubs, whips, and spears. We converged on Vikram’s huddled form like flies buzzing to a rotting corpse, falling upon him all at once with the happy brutality found exclusively in attentionstarved children.

Vikram had curled up into a ball and was groaning loudly as he rocked back and forth beneath our slashes and jabs. Matthias sunk his fingers into Vikram’s shirt collar and at­ tempted to heave him upright. Following suit, we latched on to our victim’s hairy limbs and manhandled him over to the lone coconut tree at the centre of the fort. Propping him up against the termite-infested bark, we tied Vikram to the tree trunk with fussy vines and scrap pieces of string. By this point, the ex­ citement in our little army had reached a fever pitch, and we circled our trussed-up prize, hopping and chanting maniacally.

Someone found the discarded flashlight, and handed it to Matthias. He flicked it on and pointed it at Vikram’s face. The excitement died down immediately. His cheek was cut open and a thick, clear substance oozed from his swollen right eye. We shrunk back into the shadows, horrified. Matthias, though, began to wave the flashlight in our direction, seeking us out from our shameful hiding places and shouting that our work was not yet done. We

stood a few feet from the tree with our eyes glued to the sticky green grass.

Matthias produced a lighter from his pocket. His cape and crown had miraculously remained intact. For what seemed like a long time, Matthias looked Vikram in his one good eye. Then he proceeded to set his hair on fire.

Hair doesn’t usually catch fire very easily, but on that night, Vikram’s locks were ablaze in an instant. The rest of us screamed and scattered like broken glass. Matthias was laughing with his eyes closed, and he seemed to grow larg­ er and larger as Vikram’s hair dissolved into flame. Suddenly, though, the laughing stopped.

A loose tendril from Matthias’ leafy headdress had caught fire, and he began to emit a hor­ rible wailing sound as he beat at the top of his head with open palms. The fire on Vikram’s head, meanwhile, had vanished completely, leaving him perfectly bald but otherwise un­ harmed. We stared at Matthias as he danced his ugly, savage dance, but none of us moved to help him. The flames were licking at the rest of his head and within seconds, his entire body was alight. When Matthias’ screams could no longer be heard, the fire began to turn from orange to blue, and from blue to white. We turned away, our eyes blinded by the brilliance of the light, and when we dared to look again, Matthias was gone.

He had vanished. There was no sign of his body, only some charred vines, a lighter, and an old banana leaf lying on the ground.

Vikram had escaped his bondage and was sitting on the cool grass away from the coco­ nut tree, hugging his knees close to his body and humming softly to himself. An itching, burning sensation overtook my entire body.

It was at this point that I heard the screams of the other children, and realized that I was screaming as well. We looked up at the yel­ low moon and it began to rain. Still screaming, we fled the scene. We ran in the direction we knew was home, scrambling in pain and terror towards safety and light, but already under­ standing in our ten-year-old way the impos­ sibility of forgiveness.

T uesday^ctober20i 2009*JJ

Little Victories

by Kyle Carpenter

“Alio love, wut can I get you ta’day?”

That’s Janet, or Jane, or Janie when she’s having a real sunshine-and-puppy-dogs kind of day. She uses her bland pseudonyms like mood rings: it’s safest to assume she’s Jane (neutral) until told otherwise. She’s a for­ mer theatre major (that means dropout). She started at Smithwit’s as a part-timer, like yours truly, but settled into a full-time position when the call backs weren’t calling her back.

“Large coffee,” the man says, looking tired.

“Can I get you anyfing wiff that? Maybe a scone or a ...”

“Just a large coffee,” he interrupts.

“Are you sure, love? Because o u r...”

“Janie, the man just wants a coffee. Let me get that for you, sir.”

She shoots me a look with her eyes half­ squinting through her Buddy Holly glasses, and her nose slightly wrinkled. I hand him his coffee and she slides his change across the counter; her nails look like they were coloured

in with a faded Sharpie. He goes without say­ ing a word, leaving us alone in the store.

“You don’t have to up-sell every­ one who walks in here, you know?”

“And you don’t have to be such an asshole when I’m trying to do my job.”

I give her a slight nod and flash a toothy grin.

“And you must be doing it well, I heard Carmen’s moving you to full-time. It’s a shame to keep Hollywood waiting, don’t you think?”

“Fuck you.”

“Speaking of Carmen, when is that pygmy girl scout coming in?”

“Any minute now.”

That barely leaves enough time to down my second helping of coffee and blueberry muffins.

“I’m telling Carmen about those!”

“Go ahead, I ’ll tell her you’ve been talk­ ing to customers like a barmaid from Bristol all morning. By the way, if you want to be an actress so bad why don’t you keep the stupid accent on after the customers leave?”

“Do you know how hard it is to talk like that all day?”

“No, but I bet there’s a few people across the pond w ho’d disagree with you.”

She answers with a half-sigh, half­ growl and walks into to the storage room. 1-0 Chuck.

The doorbell rings and in scoots Car­ men, taking short, rapid steps with her eyes fixed on the floor. She glances up as she walks around the counter, and catches me tossing my coffee cup in the garbage.

“Good morning, Chuck. Were you ju st...”

“Cleaning up. Janie made a bit of a mess earlier.”

“Oh. Where is she?”

“In the back, changing the music I think.”

“Oh no she’s not!”

I saw that coming. Carmen shuffles off to the storage room. I give it ten seconds and counting before I hear the opening horns of "Buffalo Soldier” over the store speakers. I

knew this because she always plays the Bob Marley mix when she comes into work; it’s her only real abuse of power as a boss.

The bell rings and a pair of mid­ dle-aged joggers come in. One of them still looks like she’s catching her breath.

“Glad you made it out this morning, Kate.”

“Doesn’t it feel great? Oh hi! We’ll have two non-fat lattes, please.”

“Coming up.”

The reflectors on their sleeves glimmer under the store’s pod lights, making them stand out amongst the bags of pre-ground cof­ fee and soft rock CDs. It’s a little late, but sure enough the next thing I hear is a quick drum fill and a blast of horns. Carmen and Janie emerge from the back, looking into each other’s eyes and mouthing the words. Maybe they’re gay.

I wonder how I could find out without getting fired for sexual harassment.

“Your lattes, ladies.”

They say thanks and leave. Carmen turns to me, her Reggae-induced smile gone.

“Chuck, I need to talk to you,” she says.

“It’s about your appearance.”

“Really? I’m wearing underwear today.”

She doesn’t laugh. Even Janie’s still too pissed at me to crack a smile.

“It’s your shirt.”

“What about it?”

“It’s blue.”

“It’s black.”

“It’s blue.”

“It’s navy blue.”

“I hope I don’t have to remind you again how important proper uniform is when you’re working the floor. There are corporate stan­ dards that need to be followed you know.”

“Got it. Black it is next time.”

“Thank you. Also, from what I’ve seen your drinks have been looking great this morning.”

Smithwit’s conflict resolution 101: It is highly recommended to end constructive criti­ cism on a positive note by issuing a compli­ ment or other form of optimistic support. And thank God for it, because the harsh reality of a world free of arbitrary compliments almost

took its toll on me during those past few sec­ onds. If I ever make a big enough mistake I bet she’ll chastise me wearing a Care Bear cos­ tume, holding a sparkler in each furry purple hand.

“Don’t you just love Bob Marley?” Car­ men says.

“Actually I’m not a big fan.”

“What! You’re joking right? I mean it’s crazy, how could anyone not like Bob Mar­ ley?” Janie says. Apparently she had been waiting for an opportunity to even the score from earlier.

“I guess I'm just not into reggae.”

I’m still playing the good cop. Janie, however, has taken the argument as an oppor­ tunity to grease the wheels on her alleged act­ ing skills by turning a casual conversation into a bleeding heart soliloquy.

“It’s not all about his music! D on’t you understand what Bob Marley stood for? Don’t you know that he suffered closed-minded perse­ cution and unfairly died way before his time?”

Right, the guy who believed some Ethio­ pian king was the reincarnation of Christ and died because he refused to amputate his stupid toe?

“Guess I didn’t know that.”

She wins this round. I’m already on thin ice with Carmen, why push it? Just then a couple of preteen girls walk in and stare at one of the posters for frozen cappuccinos. One of them perks up as she hears the words, “Don’t worry about a thing...”

“I love this song!” she squeals.

“Me too! Who is it?” says the other.

“It’s that black reggae singer guy.”

“Lenny Kravitz?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think so?”

I butt in before Janie has a chance to cor­ rect her.

“No, you’re right. It’s Lenny Kravitz.”

And w e’re back at 2-1. My little game has one simple rule: if I’m up three points at the end of my shift, I win. Not a bad start for nine in the morning, “ ...cause’ every little thing, it gonna be alright.”

The McGill Tribune Literature Week The McGill Tribune is currently accepting submissions for our first-annual Literature Week. Curious? You have a couple of options.

1) W rite a s to ry t h a t ’s less th a n 100 w ords, or 2) W rite a s to ry t h a t ’s lo n g er th a n 1,000 w ords.

The best stories will be published in the November 24, 2009 issue. Runners-up will be published online at www.mcgilltribune.com. Send your submissions to editor@mcgilltribune.com before November 18, 8009, at 11:59 p.m. Late entries will not be accepted. Good luck!

The Fine Print: The competition is open to manuscripts of exactly 100

program, phone number, and email address. The contest is only open to current McGill students.

You may submit up to three entries for category one

kept online in perpetuity.

Entries must be dated by Wednesday, November 18,

and one for category two. All entries must be in English, orig­ inal, unpublished, and not submitted or accepted elsewhere

words or fewer (category one), or greater than 1,000 but no

Entries must be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com with

longer than 1,200 (category two). Entries outside the word

“ Literature Week” in the subject line or they will not be re­

at the time of submission. The McGill Tribune reserves one­

limit will be disregarded. Include the word count on the first

ceived. All entries should be single-spaced 12 pt. Times New

time publication rights to the 1st- through 10th-place winning

page of your submission along with your full name, year and

Roman and submitted in .doc or .rtf format.

entries to be published in an issue o f the McGill Tribune, and

2009 at 1 1 :59 p.m., or they will not qualify.

Winners will be notified by Saturday, November 2 1, 2009.

12 • Tuesday, October 20, 2009

mcgilltribunexom

X VS.Y

L aw School vs. M edical School The professional school debate We all know the kind o f parents that send their kids off to university with the hopes that they’ll land a job that requires a suit and will bring home buckets o f cash. Despite their differences in curriculum and requirements, many students find themselves in a two-way portal looking at law school and medical school to achieve what these parents dream of. So, if you ’re going to fork over several years o f your life to make your parents proud, then you should make an informed decision.

Medical School

Law School

Admissions: Extremely competitive, with many schools admitting students at single-digit rates. If you've ever been in an introductory science course, you know that the majority of students have their hopes set on medical school. While many forego their dreams for research careers (or transfer to Arts), the pool of applicants has, and always will be, through the roof. So start studying for those MCATs, do some research, and make sure your professors write glowing recommendations.

Admissions: Very competitive. Applicants must supply high LSAT scores, good grades, recommendations, and be able to write and argue well. However, provided you meet these require­ ments, there’s flexibility in the undergraduate curriculum, so you can major in almost anything.

Years wasted: Only three years of school. However, making partner at a major law firm after graduation can take a decade.

Years wasted: Four years of medical school and up to seven years of residency, after which you may also decide to do a fellowship. Tell your mom that you may have your own practice by the time you’re 35, if you’re lucky.

Workload: Professors teach the Socratic method, in which one student and a professor will engage in debate. The professor’s brilliant arguments, which use your own argument to w i k ip e d ia .c o m prove you wrong, will make you miss those organic chemistry problem sets. And you better enjoy writing papers.

SHELLYSCIENCESPOT.COM Physicians can’t afford to make mistakes, so the amount of studying to become one can seem infinite.

Workload:

Winner Social factor: Like many professions, law used to be domi­ Law School. If your primary motivation to pursue gradu­ nated by men. These days, however, most law schools matricu­ late equal numbers of men and women, giving you a decent shot ate school is linked to your parent’s wishes, you’re better off at law school. While a dispassionate student can probably gain at finding a date. entry into medical school, the intensity of study will be too Payday: Working in the private sector is profitable, while much for someone who is just good at science. Law school pro­ going into politics or public policy can be tough on your pock­ duces students who are verbally articulate and strong writers— et. Canadian law schools are all public institutions, so tuition is skills that are applicable to nearly every professional field. cheaper than in the United States.

—Shannon Kimball What to do with that diploma: Richard Nixon proved that you can get average grades in law school and run the most pow­ erful country in the world. That would certainly make your par­ ents proud. Lawyers can go into private practice, politics, busi­ ness, and even health.

Social factor: Medical schools are increasingly admitting students based on factors other than grades (people skills can actually come in handy when dealing with sick people). It may not have the best reputation, but medical school, while com­ petitive, could actually be a lot of fun given the right student body.

Payday: Good doctors—particularly those in private prac­ tice—generally don’t have trouble making money. The amount and level of malpractice insurance depends on specialties. Un­ fortunately, the bills for medical school—sometimes reaching over $200,000—will have you paying for years to come.

What to do with that diploma: Private practice, research, teaching.

M IN D F U N K

G etting o ff in the good o l’ days Sexpert/author Sundahl demystifies the G-spot BRAHNA SIEGELBERG Features Editor

Deborah Sundahl, author of Female Ejac­ ulation and the G-Spot, is determined to de­ bunk the myths surrounding the G-spot.

“The female G-spot is no mystery, and every woman has one,” says Sundahl.

Biologically, the G-spot is the female equivalent of the male prostate, and just as every man has a prostate, every woman has a G-spot.

And this knowledge is nothing new. Al­ though they debated over its function, ancient cultures knew about the G-spot—countless artistic depictions and personal accounts re­ veal that the Tantra cultures in India and China

worshipped it, and held rituals around it in the belief that it contained a powerful life force.

16th-century Japanese culture believed female ejaculation was linked to a woman’s chances of leading a long life—and even a form of immortality. They produced paintings, sculptures, and tapestries that highlighted the G-spot in the female anatomy, and depicted women in a state of pleasure. Margaret Mead, a sexual anthropologist, said that in many of these cultures, the act of sex could only begin when the woman was stimulated to the point of ejaculation.

According to Sundahl, recent research on female anatomy has confirmed that while female ejaculate does not, per se, signify a woman's road to immortality, ancient cultures were on the right track: there is a correlation between a healthy sex life and a long life.

The question is, what happened? How

have we gone backwards from the “the cult of the feminine” to the question of whether the G-spot exists, and whether female ejaculation is even possible?

While it’s always tempting to blame the Medieval Period and the Victorians, the issue goes even deeper (no pun intended). Sundahl believes that for women, pleasure and pro­ creation have become two opposing sides of a binary in which pleasure is considered less important.

By the 1970s, the sexual revolution did launch the term “G-spot” into public vernacu­ lar, though the actual appendage was misinter­ preted as a part of the urethral gland. By 2001, scientists officially claimed that the G-spot existed, but it was determined to be a vestigial organ.

Now, sexperts like Sundahl are dedicated to proving to women that there is nothing ves­

tigial about the G-spot. “To claim that pleasure has nothing to do with health is false,” she says. “Sex is an integral part of who we are as human beings, and yet doctors don’t talk about it as if it has anything to do with our health.”

For Sundahl, educating ourselves about the female G-spot is not simply a matter of correcting a long-believed mistake or revers­ ing the tenets of a patriarchal society. It is about reclaiming a fundamental piece of who we are as women—with the additional benefit of educating m en—and opening up a discourse that is better informed about the entirety of the female anatomy.

“We have been missing a part of our­ selves,” she says. “And just knowing that it’s there is the first step to getting that piece back.”

Curiosit^Delivers

Tuesda^_October20i 2009>M 2

MIX1N’ VIXEN S t i r r e d

n o t

s h a k e n :

Your taste buds w ill show you that James Bond doesn’t always have it rig h t CAROLYN YATES Managing Editor

The preferred drink of the Mad Men era, Ernest Hemingway, James Bond, and business lunches, the martini has an undeniable place in the cultural imagination. A classic martini is made with two ounces of gin and half an ounce of dry vermouth, stirred in a cocktail shaker, strained, and served with an olive or twist of lemon peel. Shaking a martini can dull the taste of the vermouth, but the prevalence of “shaken not stirred” means that proper preparation in a bar is a toss-up.

The vodka martini is one of the most common twists on the classic martini, and

t h e

r i g h t

w

a y

is made with vermouth and vodka instead of gin. One of its more high-end variations is the Grey Goose martini, which is made with three parts Grey Goose vodka, a quarter-part dry vermouth, two dashes of orange bitters, and three olives. Ordering one in a bar will cost around $16.50 before the tip. For most of the class and less of the cash, try the following: Ingredients 3 parts vodka 14 part dry vermouth 1 olive

t o

m

a k e

a

v o d k a

m

a r t i n i

a standard cocktail glass, add an olive, and serve straight up (no ice).

Notes • Olives, lemon twists, pickled onions, bay leaves, capers, and dill spears are all ac­ ceptable garnishes.

• All ingredients must be stored at room temperature to increase the subtlety of their flavours.

• Regular glasses, mugs, or coffee ther­ moses are all acceptable substitutes for a real cocktail shaker. Use a sieve or fork to strain.

Directions Pour vodka and vermouth into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir until condensation forms on the outside of the shaker. Strain into

LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

MR. PRETEEN DREAM, PART II

My first date ever was when I was 17, with my childhood crush who just happened to be my friend’s older brother. And it was awkward.

The date got off to a poor start after I de­ cided it would be a great idea to make him a mix CD. It got even better when we decided to go see the movie Borat. He didn’t come near me once during the movie—it was like he thought I was that fat, hairy, naked man that Borat wrestles with in the movie. Apparently I wasn’t even worthy of the cheesy arm-leanyawn move. To make things worse, our post­ movie trip to Starbucks consisted of him end­ lessly talking to his sister on the phone. The entire date had felt as if he had had some hor­ rible epiphany about us before he evçn picked me up, and had only gone through with it out of politeness.

So he told me he had a paper to do and he would drop me at home. It was 10:30 p.m. as he drove up to my house and I thanked him for what had been a “great time.” Then it hap­ pened: that moment where both of you don’t know what the other one is thinking. I leaned to the door handle not quite sure whether to hug, kiss, wave or high-five him as I left. It had been a horrible date, and a kiss wouldn’t have been fitting, but I still don’t think I de­ served what came next: the lean-hug.

As I gave us both a moment to decide how we’d end the failure that was our date, his body leaned forward. He didn’t turn. Heaven forbid he engage any full body motion. No,

instead he leaned his upper body in the di­ rection of my passenger seat and halfheart­ edly extended one limp arm in an attempt at a hug—the lean-hug, as I will always remember it. This awkward but socially acceptable meth­ od of ending even the most uncomfortable of encounters, ended my first and last date with Mr. Pre-Teen Dream. Truly puzzled, I walked up my driveway and heard him hit the gas like his life depended on it.

The next morning we talked on MSN and he told me that he felt like a hypocrite be­ cause he and his family constantly criticized his 22-year-old stepbrother for dating a high school girl. I wasn’t trying to fight him on the issue, but I wanted him to at least man up and give me a real reason for ending things. This is when the not-so-wise, and somewhat con­ ceited man-boy/boy-man told me I was “com­ plicated.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I am very much in agreement with him. But not so much with the connotation he meant by complications. I am complicated because of my intensity, my passion, my engaging neuroses, and what some would call my charming-but-cutting sense of humour. Complications make people interesting.

Be that as it may, I was still only 17—a fact he would forever dwell on. He had con­ veniently managed to overlook this while he stuck his tongue down my throat only a week earlier.

Although this was not the last I would see of Mr. Dream (or the last you will hear of him), even the optimism of my inner 12-, maybe 13-year-old self could not pretend that things had not ended before they even began. I only hoped this wouldn’t mean I was doomed to the lean-hug forever.

Leadership Skills Development Workshops

Leadership * McGill 3

Leadership Training Program First-Year office

If you a r e a studen t in vo lved in cam pu s activities as an e x e c u tiv e , o r g a n iz e r o r e v e n t p la n n e r, you q u a lify fo r the L e a d e rs h ip T raining P ro g ra m ’s FREE Skills D e v e lo p m e n t W o rk s h o p s .

D e v e lo p a n d b u ild yo u r le a d e rs h ip skills. A tte n d a m inim um o f fiv e w o rkshop s th ro u g h o u t 0 9 / 1 0 a c a d e m ic y e a r a n d re c e iv e a c e rtific a te o f c o m p letio n .

Th is October and November check out...

E v e n t P l a n n i n g a n d P r o m o t i o n s - M a k e it H a p p e n W e d n e s d a y , O cto b e r 2 8 , 5 :3 0 - 7 :3 0 p m

Red ta p e got you down? Learn the ins and outs of event planning at M cG ill. If you’re in a club or service planning on holding a fundraiser - m ake sure you’re there!

B a l a n c i n g A c t o f S c h o o l , W o r k & S o c i a l L ife T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 3 , 5 :3 0 - 7 :3 0 p m

Having a tough time juggling all of your differen t school, work and social commitments? Take steps towards a more balanced life by attending this practical workshop focusing on time m anagem ent tips and strategies.

Registration now availab le via Minerva!

To access th e site, g o to our w e b s ite at: h ttp : / / w w w .m c g ill.c a / f i r s t y e a r / l e a d e r t r a i n i n g /

For more info, drop by the First-Year O ffice in the Brow n B u ilding, Suite 2 1 0 0 , or call 5 1 4 -3 9 8 -6 9 1 3

A & E ------------------

14 • Tuesday, October 20, 2009

mcgill tribune.com

MUSIC F

a r

f r o m

e x t i n c t ,

S

a n

F

r a n

c i s c o

’ s

T

h e

D

o d o s

e v o l v e

T h ird album Time to D ie explores new sound RYAN TAYLOR Contributor

Death is never a particularly upbeat nor pleasant subject, but the meaning behind Time to Die, the title of The Dodos’ third album, is anything but morose.

“A lot of the songs on the record refer to death as a rebirth and a letting go of a lot of baggage that we had personally and as a band,” says guitarist and vocalist Meric Long.

“The approach that we were taking with this record was leaving stuff behind and starting new things.”

Having already released two albums of inspired, genre-bending music that draws as much inspiration from African Ewe drumming as it does from John Fahey finger-picking, the San Francisco band, formed with drummer Logan Kroeber, underwent plenty of changes following the release of 2008's critically ac­ claimed sophomore album, Visiter. These in­ cluded new management, a new producer, and a new band member. Despite the changes, they still somehow found time to slow things down when writing Time to Die. “This time things were kind of settled,” says Long. “We finished touring in January, we didn’t have day jobs to go back to, we got to sit around and write music and that’s basi­ cally what I did for two months in writing the record. It was just a sense of things slowing down rather than things picking up.”

Time to Die explores a new sound, but it’s not the often-dreaded “mature” album.

Instead, it’s more self-aware, assured, and ap­ proached with definite goals, mostly as a result of extensive touring. “After touring for Visit­ er for two years, we got tired of playing the songs. When that happens I feel like we need­ ed a break from the style of what was going on with those songs, so almost focussing on our flaws,” says Long. “I really wanted to focus on my singing for this next record and I wanted to focus on writing songs that were more melod­ ic and more structured and just spend time on the musicianship within the band rather than bombastically going for it, which is what we normally did.”

Though the album has been criticized for favouring a more calculated and polished

sound over the raw, dense arrangements of Vis­ iter, the progression was natural for the band.

“We knew that it was different because we’d be rehearsing and working on these new songs and stop and be like, ‘Oh, this is sound­ ing different from the stuff we’ve done before, it’s poppier and more structured,”’ says Long.

“It didn’t seem like a total leap away from what we’re doing before; it was just a little bit of a diversion.”

The major difference may be new vibraphonist-cum-percussionist Keaton Synder, who has been a seamless addition to the band.

“It’s been super easy,” says Long of re­ working the older songs to include vibraphone.

“There’s always that weird thing when you’ve been playing a song a certain way for so long and adding a different instrument. The thing about the vibes is the kind of sound frequency that the vibe produces, it’s kind of there on all of our older songs—it’s just there’s no instru­ ment producing it. It’s just kind of a feedback

sort of thing that happens with the acoustic guitar and the big toms.”

Even in the wake of a new album, the band is still drawing buzz from Visiter, not surprising considering it was released only a year and a half ago, making it a bit odd touring with new material.

“Our fans do attach themselves to the songs off of Visiter more than the songs off of Time to Die and it’s become apparent in our sets. But my hope is that’s just the delay that happens with records,” says Long.

But just as audiences are still discovering Visiter, touring in support of Time to Die has helped renew the novelty of the older mate­ rial.

“The old songs are much more fun to play now because we have this whole new batch of songs to spread out the old ones and they’re so different in terms of performing them. This is our first headlining tour where I feel like we don’t run out of steam,” says Long.

Anyone at their concert Friday night at La Sala Rossa would tell you the same. Playing an inspired hour-plus set, it was apparent from the beginning that the material off of Time to Die sees The Dodos at their best standing toeto-toe with the standouts of Visiter.

“The old songs are much more fun to play now because we have this whole new batch of songs to spread out the old ones.” —Meric Long While it’s far too easy to make reference to The Dodos “taking flight,” it’s not far off.

Time to Die is the sound of The Dodos coming into their own. It’s fitting that confetti occu­ pies the album art and falls from the sky in the video for the wonderfully catchy “Fables”— rebirth is, after all, a reason to celebrate.

GRACE GLOWICKI

LONG TIM E COMING Last Sunday I was feeling crazy-rebel­ lious and decided to treat my undeserving self to a matinee. I figured this would be a vast improvement over sitting at Schulich with the engineering folk, and became giddy at the thought that I would soon be slumped in a comfy theatre seat inhaling filthy pop­ corn and the ever-curious Maltesers. My accomplices and I arrived at the theatre and scanned the boards.

“Well, I haven’t heard anything about any of these.”

“Let’s see Whip It\” “No way, I hear Ellen Page is such a bitch.”

And then The Informant! caught my eye. Everyone loves Matt Damon, and, oh, look, Steven Soderbergh. What could go wrong?

The film started off great, and I quickly decided that I would totally respect Matt Damon forever. His character was hilarious and he didn’t even look attractive with all that intentionally gained weight, old-man glasses, and a dirty moustache. Isn’t it great how when sexy movie stars play unattract­ ive characters they always get mad props?

Like Charlize Theron in Monster—she was incredibly ugly; it must have been really hard for her.

The movie went on, and then it went on some more, and then some more. Even the old ladies in front of us left after 15 min­

utes—not because the ultra-cushiony seats hurt their aged bums, but because they had better things to do then sit through Soder­ bergh’s flaming pile of never-ending shit.

When it finally ended, I was shocked to find out that The Informant! was actu­ ally only 100 minutes long, because it felt like triple that. Ten minutes cut from the film would have changed its reception en­ tirely. Instead, it felt like an unbearably long birthday party, featuring boiled hot dogs and no loot bags. Films these days are too long. Who do these directors think they are?

They make one good movie and then their obligation to edit is forgotten. Does anyone remember The Curious Case of Benjamin Button! Of course you do, because it hi­ jacked three hours of your life. What about

the latest Transformers? Okay, cars are turn­ ing into robots—that’s great, but I shouldn’t have to endure three hours of “transforma­ tion.” I am positive that nobody bothered to see Coppola’s Tetro, but, oh boy, it was fun like an Ironman triathalon.

Films should clock in at a pleasant 90 minutes. Who can sit still for longer than that anyway? These directors need to get over their egos and slash away all the use­ less crap, because nobody wants to fork over money for a crummy victory lap. If your film is really brilliant (Godfather, Titanic, Sound of Music), then go right ahead and ravage me with three hours of viewing pleasure. If not, please let your editors do their jobs, or I’m going to call Charlize... and she will kill you.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 • 15

Curiosity Delivers

THEATRE

M iss Ju lie

p u t s

TNC runs scandalous p la y w ith a talented cast JOHANU BOTHA Contributor

Tuesday Night Café Theatre’s Miss Julie, written by August Striendberg and directed by Rachel Paul, is proof that students should take a second look at the McGill theatre scene.

The play opens with a richly decorated set, reflecting a wealthy, 1800s kitchen, with household servants Jean (Cory Lipman), and his wife (Rachel Penny). This domestic scene soon unravels as Miss Julie (Cece Gray), the upper-class Count’s daughter and Jean’s child­ hood fantasy, enters. In the past, there were sparks of sexual chemistry between Jean and Miss Julie, but social conventions and lack of opportunity had always curbed the inevita­ ble—until now that is. In an era where what happened under the covers was kept under the covers, this blunt portrayal of desire—instead of love—leading to sex was more than scan­ dalous, it was illegal. When it first opened in 1888, Miss Julie was banned in most of Eu­ rope.

The subject matter, though less controver­ sial today, is still relevant. According to lead actor Cory Lipman, students might not relate to the class struggle of the era, but the role that raw sexuality plays in our own social dogmas will certainly be familiar. We can always ask ourselves how sex affects our relationships, aspirations, and lives.

L u s t

o v e r

l o v e

In many scenes, Jean laments how his background should not hold him back, and he describes his dreams of success. In the same breath, he uses Miss Julie’s background to blemish every one of her motivations. Hypoc­ risy goes unnoticed when candy-coated with desire. And while that strict class system may no longer exist, the play shows that words be­ come meaningless where lust—not love—is concerned. This is, you might say, both the fun and responsibility of living in modem Mon­ treal. Miss Julie provides an opportunity to compare two fascinating characters’ lives to your own.

The play stands strong simply as a show to watch and enjoy, if just for the talent of those who put it on. Director Rachel Paul was at the helm of last year’s hit musical HAIR and the dark-themed Aalst. She has variety and ex­ perience under her belt and the actors’ work on stage show they are in good hands. However, it is perhaps the work of Gray’s Miss Julie herself who makes the piece come together.

In his notes on the play, Strindberg wrote that, “every tremor of the soul should be reflected more by facial expressions than by gestures or grunts,” and Gray does this exactly.

With a small stage and intimate auditori­ um—also to Strindberg’s specifications—TNC Theatre shows that when it comes to theatre, the greenest grass is in our own backyard.

C o u l d be G o o d :

y

O c t o b e r 2 0 -2 6 Tuesday. Music. In-Flight Safety.

The Halifax pop rock artists are stopping in Montreal on their cross-Can­ ada tour with Library Voices for a show at Le Petit Campus. Head over for a travel-free taste of the East Coast music scene at its best.

Wednesday. Theatre. Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Player’s Theatre presents a play about an East Berlin rock star’s quest for fame, love, and identity, after a failed sex change operation leaves them quite liter­ ally shortchanged. @ 8 p.m. Oct. 21-24.

Friday. Film. Amelia.

It must be hard to be best remem­ bered for disappearing mysteriously.

Amelia explores the life of Amelia Earhart, and automatically gets an Oscar for having Hilary Swank in a strong female leading role.

Saturday. Music. Intensive Care.

A self-proclaimed “progressive/pop/ psychedelic” band made up of McGill students and alums is performing at Casa del Popola this Saturday before heading to Ontario for a pair of shows in Kitch­ ener and Toronto in November.

Miss Julie runs Oct. 21-24 in TNC The­ atre in Morrice Hall. Tickets are $6 for stu­ dents and $10for adults.

BOOKS A

f i c t i o n a l

l o o k

New book is biker-approved CAROLYN YATES Managing Editor

Biker: Inside the Notorious World of an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang is the latest novel from Hamilton, Ontario-born Jerry Langton.

And while you won’t find the events or people featured in Biker anywhere in the news or on the streets, they nonetheless provide a look into the real world of a motorcycle gang.

Biker follows Ned “Crash” Aiken as he makes the transition from being a high school drug dealer considering a career in accounting to the rising star of a biker gang expanding its territory, connections, and death toll. Though choppy at times, it is an undeniably compel­ ling read which will have readers thoroughly engaged.

Langton started writing for McMaster University’s The Silhouette when he was still in high school. Later, he wrote for The Hamil­ ton Spectator, reviewing the events that no one else would cover, such as 16-hour heavy metal marathons and school plays. Later, he moved to New York and then to Toronto, where he currently works as a journalist. Despite his non-fiction background, Langton’s transition to fiction seemed organic. Biker is his first work of fiction—and while it is fiction, the events and characters draw heavily from fact.

“I think every non-fiction writer wants to try his or her hand at fiction. There was an idea floating around with my publisher after my first book, Fallen Angel... and they want­ ed me to go back into the biker world,” says Langton. “At first they wanted it to be a mem­ oir of some of the people involved, but that

a t

t r u e

t r o u b l e

evolved into a fictionalization of ... historical events, combined with some of the things I knew had happened or believed had happened but for reasons of corroboration or potential libel, couldn’t really say in a non-fiction book, so the fiction grew up organically.”

For Langton’s previous book, Rat: How The World’s Most Notorious Rodent Clawed Its Way To The Top, the author had to spend some quality time in a sewer doing research.

Luckily, research for his biker-focussed books is more traditional, and involved talking to re­ porters, judges, lawyers, cops, and bikers.

“Everyone has an agenda, so you have to get everything checked a few times over. The cops will tell you stories from their point of view, protecting what they need to protect, and the bikers will tell you stories from their point of view, protecting what they have to protect, and between the two of them, you can synthe­ size what actually happened,” says Langton.

His next book, tentatively titled Show­ down, is non-fiction and is due out early next year. The book details how Ontario frustrated the efforts of the Hells Angels for far longer than the rest of the country. And while it might seem that Langton himself would be shunned by the biker community for publicizing their illegal lifestyle, it seems that even bikers want to have their voices heard.

“What has surprised me is that a few of them have come to me wanting to tell more stories, hoping that I would tell their point of view later on ... One biker told me that the bikers that he knew didn’t have a grudge against me because I didn’t want to be a biker and I didn’t make up anything about them that wasn’t true, and if I can take that as a mark of respect, then I’ll go with it.”

ADAMscorn Emily Haines knows how to get a crowd going. At Metropolis on Saturday, Metric was met by a frenzied, packed crowd on their second of two sold-out Montreal shows in as many days. Haines seemed to feed off of the audience who couldn’t get enough of the Canadian band, singing and swaying along with songs mostly off of the band’s new album, Fantasies.

16 • Tuesday, October 20, 2009

mcgilltribune.com

F IL M

R

a n

F IL M

d

o

m

a c t s

o f

Law A b idin g Citizen makes choosing sides a challenge KYLE CARPENTER A & E Editor

In Law Abiding Citizen, Gerard Butler (300) plays Clyde Shelton, a man seeking ret­ ribution after his wife and daughter are mur­ dered. His motive seems simple enough, but after the Assistant District Attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) cuts a deal with one of the mur­ derers in a plea bargain, it becomes less about getting even with his assailants and more about taking out anybody who was involved in the trial.

One of the best aspects of the film is its Departed-like feel of constant anticipation and ability to keep the viewer on edge, constantly expecting something to explode or somebody to get murdered—and they’re usually right.

The film delivers enough brutally graphic scenes to make even devoted Saw fans cringe, and leaves little to the imagination. It is also peppered with unexpected—and sometimes even unintentional—humour, which is cer­ tainly not what you would expect from the trailers.

Shelton is a strange character. He is seemingly omniscient in his manipulation of others, not unlike Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs. He also changes from

v i o l e n c e

W

h y

t h e

w

i l d

t h i n g s

what seems to be an everyday engineer into Jonze captures childhood a criminal mastermind with a quick scene w orries and im agination in film jump to 10 years ahead. He is difficult for the viewer to understand. At first, you sympathize LAURA TINDAL A & E Editor with him and root for him, but once you get about halfway through the movie you realize It’s surprising that after so much hype and that you don’t really know whose side you’re on. Shelton's motive switches from rational to excitement for Spike Jonze’s film adaption irrational very quickly, as his targets become of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book less and less related to the trial. Essentially, , Where The Wild Things Are, nobody really he’s raging against the fallibility of the justice knew what to expect going into the theatre. system by murdering somewhat anonymous Was it going to be a children’s movie? A dark, lawyers and politicians. This makes the viewer adult retelling along the lines of Pan’s Laby­ question Shelton’s sanity, because he is basi­ rinth! And how the hell were nine sentences going to be turned into a full-length film? cally at war with an intangible idea.

As it turns out, Where The Wild Things Foxx’s character is also problematic, be­ cause even though he represents the closest Are is a children’s movie for adults—one thing to “good” in the movie, his character is probably too mature for kids—that reminds simply not likeable. It’s a tough call between us in perfect snapshot detail what it’s like to cheering on the charismatic psychopath or the be a kid again. But he doesn’t let you believe smarmy attorney. The rest of the characters are that things were so much better in every way expendable—something that Butler’s charac­ when you were a kid, because that certainly ter makes extremely clear. isn’t true. Jonze perfectly captures the worries After investing so much time into slow­ and fears and everyday troubles that children ly revealing how Shelton is unleashing his face—smashed snow forts, sibling rivalry, and master plan, the film’s climax and ending are the dying sun—that adults often forget about.

The first short part of the film, before disappointing and leave the viewer with un­ answered questions. However, up until that Max travels off to the land of monsters, is the point, the film is still a tense and captivating best part: it reminds us what it feels like to be ride even if you don’t really like any of the a kid, but doesn’t sugarcoat it in nostalgia. In­ characters you’re riding with. stead it makes you feel the childish sadness— almost enough to make you cry—at having a fort collapse, or taking a tantrum too far and not knowing how to stop it.

The film follows the same plot as the book, and just fills in the details. After a bad day at home, Max acts out and runs to the woods after a fight with his mom. Here, Max’s imagination takes over, and he sails off to a

a c t

w

i l d

land where a group of monsters make him their king.

The monsters, portrayed by actors in sixto-eight-foot-tall costumes, plus animatronics and computer animated faces, are expressive, realistic, and artistically beautiful.

But boy are they moody.

At times, each of the seven monsters em­ body different emotions and conflicts Max is trying to escape, but after the first half hour their fights, whining, and cruelness becomes grating. Sendak never did explore what con­ flicts may arise between the monsters them­ selves and the monsters and Max, and Jonze definitely delves into this, but it eventually sucks the fun out of the fantasy world Sendak created.

Beautifully shot, the cinematography alone makes this movie amazing, but beware of the bumpy camera. Cloverfield never gave me problems, but partway through this film I considered leaving the theatre due to nausea.

Anyone who gets motion sickness easily may want to consider waiting to watch this on a smaller screen, even though it might sacrifice some of the cinematic beauty.

Overall, Jonze has done an excellent job adapting a short but beloved picture book by creating a beautiful vision of the worried and imaginative mind of a child. He takes the story and fleshes it out, taking into account Max’s own inner turmoil that is making him act so wildly. Jonze reveals that the monsters had lives and problems before Max came, and will still have them after he leaves. Shorter would be better, and more fun and less conflict would be nice, but this is definitely a cute, funny, in­ trospective film that is worth a watch.

This is probably the only still shot in the whole movie.

allmoviephoto.com

C D REVIEWS Alberta Cross: Broken Side of Time Alberta Cross is one of those up-and-coming bands that remind obsessive music fans why they tirelessly sift and search for the next great act. Often compared to My Morning Jacket, The Raconteurs, and—if you dare go so far—Neil Young, the NewYork-based quintet and its 10-track full-length debut Broken Side of Time blends timeless guitar-rock an­ thems with spine-chilling ballads, all set at an authen­ tic, unique pace. From the opening track, “Song 3 Three Blues,” it’s clear that Alberta Cross possesses the unquantifiable x-factor that will drive a listener to head-nodding in the privacy of their living room.

Recorded in Austin, Texas, the record includes fast-paced, arena-audience-ready numbers like the title track "Broken Side of Time,” “ATX,” and “The Thief & The Heartbreaker” that explain why—despite this being their first proper release—the band scored invitations to several mon­ ster music festivals this past summer including Glastonbury, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. “Old Man Chicago,” with its warm, memorable chorus and serious sing-along potential, reveals a soul often concealed by heavier distorted songs on the album and teach that this is far from a one-dimensional rock band. A slight digression from their previously more folk-minded approach, lead singer Petter Ericson Stakee has called the album an emergence from living in the shadows of Manhattan and a project of “desperation.” In “ATX,” Stakee tells us, “I just want to feel, because I just can’t relate.” To Alberta Cross, we can indeed relate.

—Steven Hoffer

Girl + The Machine: Hello Earth After reading a biography and doing a YouTube scan of Girl + The Machine, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking the term “novelty act” over and over.

Let me explain: Girl + The Machine is a Toronto “electro-rock and space-pop” band, whose live show often features video projections on a semitransparent sheet in the middle of the stage, sometimes in front of campy-outfit-clad lead singer Jackie Liew (who goes by the stage name Girl). That said, I thought I was going to hate their debut album, Hello Earth, but I was wrong.

While some songs do strike one as pretentious in the avant-garde, weird-for-the-sake-of-weird sort of way—read: “Mermaid,” and “Eyes On U (Electro),” which is more or less a remix of one of the album’s best songs—there are a few that stand out. “We Take The Train” has the most obvious pop hooks, featuring both male and female vocals and kicks off the album beautifully. “Dharma” is one of the most upbeat and structured tracks, though I use the latter term very loosely. Finally, “Chill” is borderline lounge music, but the mix of soft vocals (though no actual words) and jazzy guitar makes it work.

As much as I hate gimmicks, the only thing that matters when you buy a band’s album is their sound. That said, it might be a good call to skip seeing Girl + The Machine live.

—Kyle Carpenter

Sp

Curiosity Delivers

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 • 17

o r t s

R E D M E N H O C K E Y - M C G IL L 5, C O N C O R D IA 2

H

o c k e y

R

e d m

e n

b r u s h

o f f

p e s k y

S t i n g e r s

i n

s e a s o n

o p e n e r

Physical, new-look Redmen dominate fro m sta rt to fin ish JOHN HUI Contributor

The McGill men’s hockey team came roaring out of the gates last Friday night, de­ feating cross-town rivals Concordia, 5-2, at McConnell Arena. The Redmen controlled the game’s tempo from the onset, maintaining the momentum from last season when they won their second straight OUA Eastern Conference Championship, and made it to Nationals for the third time in four years.

Despite a significant turnover in person­ nel from last year—including the loss of top sniper and current AHL forward Sam Bloom— the Redmen were able to dominate Concordia both on the ice and the score sheet. Although the Stingers were first to strike—scoring on a power play early in the first period—the Red­ men refused to give them time to celebrate the minor victory.

Second-year defenceman Ben Morse sparked the Redmen’s comeback with a wrist shot from the blueline, tying the game in the first period just 12 seconds after the Stingers scored. After failing to convert on a sloppy power-play, the Redmen shifted to a higher gear.

Sprung by lineman Alexander PicardHooper, McGill winger Guillame Doucet split between two Concordia defenders to score a dazzling goal with less than three minutes left in the first period. Doucet faked to his fore­ hand before being hauled down by the Sting­ ers’ defence, but still managed to poke the puck past the Concordia goaltender and put

JOHN KELSEY

A brutal combination of physical play and offensive precision allowed the Redmen to walk all over visiting Concordia. the Redmen ahead. Concordia tried valiantly to stay in the game, but failed to convert on two easy chances in the period. Despite their physical dominance, the Redmen held only a 11-10 advantage in shots on goal in the open­ ing stanza.

By the second frame, Concordia’s game plan had collapsed entirely, as the Redmen outhustled and out-shot the opposition. McGill compiled a 42-10 margin in shots on goal over the rest of the game. Ben Morse struck again with five minutes left in the second period, as­ sisting on the game winner by sophomore for­ ward Maxime Langelier-Parent.

Junior winger Evan Vossen and Redmen captain Yan Turcotte rounded out the scoring in a third period characterized by flaring tem­ pers. Turcotte’s marker held extra significance

T iiiin )

I’M SORRY MR. JACKSON Captain: one who leads or supervises; a leader of a sports team or side.

What does it mean to be the captain of a basketball team? For starters, they provide guidance for other team members. They also set precedent for on- and off-court behav­ iour. And, most importantly, the captain—in most cases—leads by example.

Stephen Jackson, a veteran guard on the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, needs to consult a dictionary, because the past few weeks have made it clear that he has no idea what the word “captain” really means.

Let’s take a look at the sad saga of a oncepromising individual who has reaffirmed the stereotype that athletes are overpaid prima donnas with inflated egos.

The story begins in 2006 when Jackson led the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors to a playoff series victory over the firstranked Dallas. It was, without a doubt, the biggest upset in NBA playoff history. Baron Davis, the team’s point guard at the time,

for the Laval, QC native, as he scored the goal while being guarded by Concordia captain and long-time playing rival Marc-Andre Element.

“I played with [Element] in junior tri­ ple-A,” said Turcotte. “He’s always been in my [face] whenever we play against Concordia, so it was a really nice feeling to have scored after that.”

As expected, numerous scuffles broke out throughout the game, with most of them occur­ ring in the dying minutes of the final period.

Turcotte saw the fights simply as a sign that the historic rivalry between the two schools is still alive and kicking.

“The rivalry is always pretty big,” he said. “The games are always very hard when we play against them [Concordia], because of [the physicality].’’

M a n

I n

was quoted as saying that Jackson was both eral manager Larry Riley, Jackson said he the “leader of this team,” and the “heart and no longer wanted to be the team’s captain, soul” of the squad. Next season, Jackson announcing that he simply didn’t want to be was officially named captain, along with a role model anymore.

Really, Stephen Jackson? Another Davis and Matt Barnes. Things were look­ ing up for Stephen Jackson and the Warriors word for you to look up: commitment. By signing a contract extension with the team as a franchise.

Skip ahead to this past summer when in the offseason, he committed to the War­ Jackson announced that he felt cheated by riors for the next four years. As an athlete— team management after the Warriors lost or as any employee in the real world—you Davis, A1 Harrington, and Jamal Crawford just can’t sign a piece of paper stating that to trades and free agency. Despite his pro­ you will be with your employer for almost a claimed disappointment, Jackson signed a half-decade, and then weeks later demand to four-year, $35-million contract extension. be moved for no legitimate reason.

Stephen Jackson, you are pathetic. You Don Nelson, the Warriors’head coach, made Jackson the team’s sole captain. Captain are the reason why society complains that athletes are overpaid babies. For every ad­ Jack’s reaction upon hearing the news?

“Coach, you’re going to make me mirable teammate, such as a Joe Sakic or a Derek Jeter, there is a Stephen Jackson lurk­ cry!”

A few weeks later, Jackson demanded a ing in the shadows. I can understand you trade from the Warriors. During a preseason wanting to leave the Warriors, but you should game against the Los Angeles Lakers two have made that clear before you signed on weeks ago, he got into a shouting match for another four years. Now you’ve dam­ with Nelson after picking up five fouls and a aged your own trade value and set a terrible technical in the first quarter, and was asked example for all the young players that the to leave the arena. After meeting with gen­ Warriors are trying to build around. What

Head Coach Jim Webster was pleased with his team’s effort in the opener and could only offer praise for the squad.

“I have been really impressed with the team,” said Webster. “From the very first day I saw them, I knew we [could be] a very good team. If [Concordia] didn’t have such a good goalie [tonight], it could have been 10-2. I thought we showed them how to play hockey from start to finish.”

McGill enjoyed a successful weekend overall, defeating Queen’s University 5-1 in Kingston on Sunday afternoon. The Redmen head south of the border for a two-game non­ conference swing, taking on Harvard and Dart­ mouth this week. They return home to face Queen’s once more on October 30 at 7 p.m.

—

JON RUBENSTEIN

kind of message are you sending to rookie Stephen Curry? What kind of message are you sending to the kid who has your jersey hanging above his bed at home?

It’s time you re-evaluate the opportu­ nity you’ve been given as a professional ath­ lete, Mr. Jackson, and recognize that being a role model is an obligation, not a choice.

Remember when—coming out of high school—you were as highly touted a pros­ pect as Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, but you weren’t able to go to college because you were ruled academically ineligible?

Remember when you floated around the world trying to stick with a team, with stops in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and even Australia? Remember the thousands of hours of hard work you put in to get to the highest level of basketball? Take a step back and realize that you are getting paid to play the game you love. You have one of the best jobs in the world. You owe it to yourself and everyone around you to make the most of it.

18 « Tuesday, October 20, 2009

mcgilltribune.com

I! MARTLETS BASKETBALL- MCGILL 75, ACADIA 77 M

a r t l e t s

c u t

d o w

Strong p la y fro m Lepine, Bibeau bodes w ell f o r re g u la r season MICHAEL SENGARA Contributor

Fresh off a two-point win over Queen’s University on Friday, the McGill Marlets took to the court against the Acadia Axewomen in their second game of the annual Redbird Bas­ ketball Classic on Saturday. Despite an im­ pressive start to the game, the Martlets were unable to come away with the win, losing a last-second heartbreaker, 77-75.

McGill came racing out of the gate en route to a 28-19 lead at end of the first quarter.

Freshman forward Helen Bibeau connected on three triples as McGill shot a blistering 60 per cent from behind the arc.

The second quarter was marked by McGill’s many turnovers, which swung the momentum over to the visiting side and al­ lowed the Axewomen back into the game.

Acadia cut the deficit to four midway through the quarter, but a quick flurry of buckets by the Martlets gave them a comfortable nine point lead heading to the break.

The match continued in see-saw fashion throughout the third quarter, with McGill lead­ ing by as much as 14 before Acadia embarked

n

a t

t h e

b u z z e r

on a 15-2 ran with less than four minutes left in the period. The Martlets sent Acadia to the free throw line time and again, and by the end of the third stanza were desperately hanging on to a one-point lead. By the fourth quarter, the Axewomen had become the aggressors, as the two squads traded baskets. Acadia’s Sondra Medley gave the visitors their first lead of the game on the opening bucket of the fourth, and the Martlets would never be able to get much closer.

With 27 seconds left, first-year guard Marie-Eve Martin hit a layup to put the Martlets up by one. Out of the timeout, the Axewomen called a play for Emma Duinker, who calmly drained a three to put Acadia on top, 75-73.

However, sophomore forward Elise Lepine was fouled on the other end with eight sec­ onds left, and managed to sink two clutch free throws to tie the game and seemingly force overtime.

However, Acadia got the ball into the hands of guard Alise Brown, who took the ball to the hoop and was fouled with only 0.8 sec­ onds remaining. With ice water in her veins, Brown drained both free throws to put the Ax­ ewomen back on top. With no timeouts and only less than a second on the clock, the Mar­ tlets got the ball to Martin, but were unable to score on a prayer from half court.

b y

A

x e w

o m

e n

Although McGill was unable to come up with the win, the Martlets received impres­ sive performances from many of their young players. Lepine led the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds, good for a double-double. Head Coach Ryan Thome will likely wish to address his team’s shooting, though, as the Martlets shot a measly 25 per cent from beyond the arc in the second half, compared to nearly 45 per cent in the first.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Mart­ lets were able to rebound the next day, dismiss­ ing the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, 62-52. Freshman guard Françoise Charest led the home squad with 12 points, while Lepine, Bibeau, and guard Stephanie Bergeron each notched 11 in a total team effort.

McGill’s loss to Acadia denied the home squad a perfect 3-0 finish to the tournament, but the Martlets still gained experience and confidence over the weekend, as Charest and Lepine were both named to the all-tournament team.

The Martlets have less than a week of rest before they hit the road for yet another preseason tournament, this time hosted by the University of New Brunswick. McGill returns to Love Competition Hall to open their season against the Laval Rouge et Or on November 8 at 1 p.m.

Q U I C K H IT S = — —

—

Redmen Rugby: The men’s rugby team continues to make its case for the title of McGill’s Most Dominant Men’s Team.

The Redmen remained undefeated in regu­ lar season action with a 41-13 thrashing of downtown rivals Concordia on Sunday af­ ternoon. McGill looks to continue its win­ ning ways when the Redmen play host to the Sherbrooke Vert et Or on October 24 at 1 p.m.

Martlet Volleyball: The McGill women’s volleyball team wrapped up their 19th annual Martlet Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, beating Dalhousie in straight sets to claim bronze. Power-hit­ ter Jennifer Thomson and middle-blocker Kelsey Irwin were named to the all-tour­ nament team. The Martlets head east for a four-game road trip before returning to Montreal to prepare for their regular season home-opener against the Laval Rouge et Or on November 6 at 6 p.m.

Redmen Volleyball: The resurgent Redmen finished third at a preseason tour­ nament in Kingston over the weekend.

McGill is looking to improve on a disap­ pointing finish in league action last year, and will get their first chance at respect­ ability when they open the regular season against the University of Montreal Carabins on October 29.

—Kailan Leung

REDMEN BASKETBALL- MCGILL 80, OTTAWA 102 G

e e - G

e e s

r u n

r o u g h s h o d

Lack o f size, experience dooms Redmen against Ottawa U

o v e r

s m

cent from beyond the arc in the first half, and went into intermission sitting on a comfortable 54-39 lead. Star shooting guard Warren Ward led the way for Ottawa with 23 points and KAILAN LEUNG Contributor eight rebounds in just 28 minutes of play, as the Redmen struggled to contain their bigger With seven new faces and a whole lot of and more athletic opponents. Senior forward youth on the McGill men’s basketball roster, Michael White once again led the home squad the Redmen are hoping that a trial by fire will with 18 points and was the only real post pres­ help them prepare for the upcoming season. ence for the Redmen. At six-foot-four, though, While the potential of the team is clear, the White was shorter than many of Ottawa’s Redmen showed that they still have a lot of guards, and the Gee-Gees took full advantage growing to do, suffering a 102-80 loss at the of their size by dominating the glass, hauling hands of perennial championship contenders down 42 rebounds to McGill’s 33. the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Satur­ For the majority of McGill’s new players, day afternoon. the Redbird Classic is their first opportunity Playing their second game of the annual to play against high-level CIS competition.

Redbird Basketball Classic, it didn’t take long Senior guard Matt Thornhill, who scored 15, for McGill to succumb to Ottawa’s constant was quick to point out the importance of these pressure at both ends of the court. The Gee- types of tournaments in building chemistry Gees opened up the scoring with a comer and introducing rookies to the grueling world three, then pounded the ball down low for a of university hoops. couple quick scores in the post. Ottawa con­ “Last year we had the same core of guys tinued mixing up their smooth perimeter play returning [to the team], so we came into the with impressive physicality in the paint all tournament pretty ready,” he said. “This year game long, and the home team simply could we’re still building ... so it’s definitely a dif­ not match their size, skill, and tenacity. ferent feel than it was last year. Overall, these “I think experience was the biggest [dif­ are some good games we’re playing. We’re ference maker],” said Assistant Coach Dan taking this experience and we know what we Martin, who helped fill in for an under-the- have to do to win now.” weather Head Coach Craig Norman. “That’s Despite the lopsided score, McGill a team that’s been together for a long time;, looked impressive at different times during the they have a fifth-year starting point guard who game, and the coaching staff has to be pleased is very good. They’ve played together longer with the play of their rookies. Point guard Ol­ [and] been through more wars together, and it ivier Bouchard once again exhibited his stellar court vision and poise, collecting seven points just showed as they made timely shots.”

The Gee-Gees shot a blistering 60 per and five assists in under 20 minutes of action.

a l l e r

R

e d m

e n

Six-foot-six freshman Nic Langley scored six points and showcased his ability to score in­ side and out. “[The rookies] are definitely going to help us,” said Thornhill. “Overall we’re pretty athletic and everyone’s getting minutes right now. The more these guys get minutes in the preseason, the more we’ll be ready to go in November and the second half of the season.”

Playing in the intensely physical Quebec conference, the Redmen will have to tighten up their interior defence if they wish to taste success this season. McGill had no answer for the Gee-Gees once they dropped the ball down low, continually getting sealed on the block. A sequence in the third quarter in which six-footeight Ottawa forward Louis Gauthier faked, spun, and dunked on two defenders typified McGill’s inability to protect the paint in this game. Martin, though, is confident that the team will take what it learns in the preseason and make the necessary adjustments by the time the regular season begins.

“This is the first time [many of the play­ ers] get to see what the CIS is like,” he said.

“Obviously, you try to replicate that intensity in practice, but it’s never the same. It’s a huge chance for everyone to play. We’re trying to win games in January, February, and March, and this will do huge things for us then, espe­ cially because we have such young players.”

McGill heads to Saskatoon this week for another three-game tournament, before return­ ing to Love Competition Hall to face Cape Breton University on October 31 at 2 p.m.

The Redmen open the regular season at home against Laval on November 8 at 3 p.m..

McGill Rowing: The McGill Univer­ sity men’s crew stunned the rowing world with a stellar gold medal performance in the heavyweight four at the 45th annual Head of the Charles regatta on Saturday.

It marked McGill’s first gold medal at that event—which attracts more than 8,500 rowers and is billed as the world’s largest regatta—since 1995.

McGill finished first of 55 boats en­ tered in the Club Fours category, complet­ ing the three-mile course in 17 minutes, 19.146 seconds. Notre Dame was second (17:23.353), followed by the Riverside Boat Club in third (17.23.687).

“This is truly an incredible achieve­ ment as this is the most prestigious rowing regatta in North America, with thousands of participants from all over the world,” said head coach Philip Hedrei. “Such a result only occurs once in a generation.”

McGill’s winning crew was composed of Eric Baumann, a third-year agricultural science student from Delta, Ont., Adam Hart, a third-year medical student from Montreal, Travis O’Farrell, a fourth-year chemical engineering student from Unionville, Ont., and John Willcock, a secondyear economics student from Vancouver, B.C. The coxswain was Jeremy VanSlyke, a third-year music student from Frederic­ ton, N.B. Up next for the McGill crew are the OUA championships in Welland, Ont., October 23-24, followed by the Canadian university rowing championships at the Olympic rowing basin in Montreal, Octo­ ber 30-31.

—Earl Zukerman

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 » 19

Curiosity Delivers

REDMEN FO O TBALL- MCGILL 23, ST. M ARY’S 39 T

u r n o v e r s ,

p e n a l t i e s

p l a g u e

R

e d m

e n

i n

H

o m

e c o m

i n g

full 60 minutes.

“We’ve come along way in a year,” said Wolfe, who prior to this season had not won a game with McGill. “Today we played great, [but only] for two quarters. We still have a long way to go.”

The prospect of a Redmen turnaround looked good in the third quarter when St. Mary’s pivot Jack Creighton fumbled the ball in the McGill red zone with the score at 29-23.

However, the play was called back due to “il­ legal procedure” after McGill recovered the ball. At times during the game it seemed as if St. Mary’s was doing their best to lose the game as well—the visitors had a problem with unnecessary roughness penalties, and gave away a crucial touchdown when Redmen re­ ceiver Bobby Mikelberg ran in a blocked punt from ten yards out. However, Hamilton’s cost­ ly fumble minutes later in the fourth shifted momentum back to St. Mary’s.

The home squad’s penalty problems were highlighted by a brutal stretch of downs early in the fourth quarter, in which St. Mary’s ran six straight plays within the Redmen ten-yard line, each one penalized. Wolfe was honest with the team about their mental breakdowns on Saturday afternoon, but remains optimistic about McGill’s chances.

“You have to tell them like it is,” said Wolfe. “Sometimes it’s tough, but this team plays hard to the end.”

Two bright spots in an otherwise forget­ table game were the performances of receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte—who caught five passes for 80 yards and is now tied for fourth place on the CIS all-time receiving list—and defensive lineman Ben Thompson, who fin­ ished with seven tackles.

McGill travels to Concordia on October 24 to take on the Stingers in a nationally tele­ vised game (SRC-TV) at 1 p.m. A Redmen victory would secure a spot in the playoffs.

“It’s about as important [a game] as it gets,” said Wolfe.

H am ilton fa ils to reach 100-yard m ark f o r fir s t time this season G A BE PULVER Contributor

Homecoming football fans could not have asked for better weather on Saturday af­ ternoon at Molson Stadium, but they certainly wish they could have seen better football. The Redmen football team leveled their record at 3-3 as they lost to eighth-ranked St. Mary’s, 39-23, in a game that seemingly had more flags thrown than footballs.

“We’re always disappointed when we lose, particularly this year where we’ve gotten to be competitive with most of the teams in our conference,” said Head Coach Sonny Wolfe.

The first quarter began in unusual fash­ ion, with two safeties and an early 5-2 score in favour of St. Mary’s. But McGill struck back late in the quarter, as starting freshman quar­ terback Jonathan Collin ran in a touchdown from one yard out. However, the home squad’s precarious lead—along with all hopes of an upset—was short-lived, as an atrocious second quarter gave away the game.

The Redmen were hampered by countless penalties in the second stanza, particularly on punts, which continually gave St. Mary’s ex­ cellent field position from which to score. Dur­ ing the period, it seemed as if every McGill punt was met with a frustrating no-yards penalty. McGill’s special teams players were unable to restrain themselves from jumping before the snap, and the end result was an un­ fortunate 29-9 deficit at halftime.

“They probably had half of their total yards produced within a seven to eight minute frame [in the second quarter],” said Wolfe.

McGill’s defensive frustrations were compounded by the inconsistent play of Col­ lin, who has been both spectacular and ordi­ nary at different times this season. The Green­ field Park, QC native ran for a touchdown, but threw three interceptions for the game, and

Ce

ADAM LAIDLAW

D esp ite a late su r g e , th e R ed m en c o u ld n ’t r eco v er fro m a d isa str o u s seco n d q u arter.

was replaced in the fourth quarter.

However. Wolfe isn't worried about his star quarterback. “He’s a freshman who has done an incredible job overall. The learning curve is just about where we expect it for this time of the year,” said Wolfe.

Collin was not the only Redmen star who turned in a disappointing performance. Run­ ning back Andrew Hamilton, arguably the team’s most valuable commodity, rushed for

l o s s

96 yards on 21 carries and failed to break the 100-yard mark for the first time this season.

Hamilton also fumbled the ball twice, losing the ball for the second time during McGill’s comeback attempt in the third quarter. The Redmen, who had cut the lead down to six points, promptly gave it back in a frustrating fourth quarter. Head Coach Sonny Wolfe ex­ pressed disappointment with the team’s inabil­ ity to remain focussed and competitive for a

X

Wa

n t to

d is c u s s

W ild W e d n e s d a y ’s

P O L IC Y

0

Student Night/Student Prices, 9pm till close

D IF F E R E N C E S BETW EEN SSM U ,

c t .2

Q P IR G ?

ALL THE TIME!

N E IT H E R D O W E. Sp o

rts

9

@

'u

m

.

Ste. Catherine A O 'H a

r a s

1260

M a c K a y s tr e e t, M o n tr e a l

T! « ;it. ••S a t

&

i

P la s m a S c r e e n s !

AT SPO RTS@ COM

pm

SH O GU N W a t c h it o n

E M A IL U S M C G I L L T R IB U N E .

9

MACHIDA

S tu d e n t s p e c ia ls

r it e f o r

. 0

H o c k e y N ig h ts

w ear a Habs jersey, receive a gift GO! HABS! GO!

GRA SPÉ, AND

W

4

44p pm•1, am, 4*~*~* pm 3am J m

5 1 4 -3 5 8 -2 5 8 5

General Assembly Students' Society of McGill University October 21st, 2:30pmShatner Cafeteria S tu d e n ts m u st bring their McGill IDs. M O T I O N S OF GENERAL A S S E M B L Y FALL 2 0 0 9 M o tio n R e: S e a fo o d o n c a m p u s Be it r e s o lv e d t h a t S S M U m o v e t o w a r d s t h e p e r m a n e n t e lim in a t io n o f t h e s a le

L'Assemblée Générale Association Étudiante de l'Université McGill le 21 octobre 14h30à la cafétéria du Shatner Les étudiants doivent apporter leur identification McGill.

MOTIONS DE L'ASSEMBLÉE GÉNÉRALE L'AUTOMNE 2009 M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : F r u it d e m e r s u r le c a m p u s

o f all "R e d List" fis h s p e c ie s w it h in t h e S tu d e n t U n io n B u ild in g ; a n d , Be it

Il est d o n c conclu q u e l'A É U M se d o it d e se d irig e r v e rs l'é lim in a tio n p e rm a n e n te

f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t S S M U p u t t h e ir b e s t e f f o r t in to w o r k in g w it h c a m p u s

d e la v e n te d e to u te s les es pèces d e poissons fig u r a n t su r la « Liste R ouge » da n s le

g ro u p s t o p r e s s u r e M c G ill a d m in is t r a t io n t o r e p la c e a ll o f t h e "R e d List" fis h s p e c ie s f r o m t h e m e n u s o f all c a fe te r ia s a n d fo o d v e n d o rs o n t h e M c G ill C a m p u s , as w e ll as in M c G ill R e s id e n c e s ; a n d , Be it f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t S S M U m e e t w it h all f u t u r e c o n tr a c to r s in t h e S tu d e n t U n io n B u ild in g t o in s is t u p o n a d h e r e n c e t o C a n a d a 's S e a fo o d G u id e , in o r d e r t o fa c ilit a t e p ro g re s s in

b â tim e n t d e l'U n io n É tu d ia n te ; e t, Il es t é g a le m e n t co nclu q u e l'A É U M d e v ra it c o n c e n tr e r ses e ffo r ts su r u n e c o lla b o ra tio n av ec les g ro u p e s du c a m p u s afin e x e rc e r pression su r l'a d m in is tra tio n d e M c G ill dans le b u t d e r e m p la c e r to u te s les espèces d e la « Liste R ouge » fig u ra n t sur les m e n u s des c a fé té ria s e t d 'a u tre s v e n d e u rs a lim e n ta ire s su r le c a m p u s d e M c G ill, ainsi q u e ceux qui se tr o u v e n t dans les résid en c es u n iv e rs ita ire s d e M c G ill; e t, Il est co nclu en d e rn ie r lieu q u e l'A É U M

s u s ta in a b le s e a fo o d c h o ic e s w it h f u t u r e fo o d v e n d o r c o n tr a c ts .

re n c o n tre ra to u s les fu tu rs e n tr e p r e n e u r s v is a n t le b â tim e n t d e l'U n io n É tu d ia n te

M o t i o n R e: S p a c e E ffic ie n c y in t h e S h a t n e r B u ild in g

le p ro g rè s v e rs des ch oix d e fru its d e m e rs é c o lo g iq u e m e n t d u ra b le s dans les

Be it f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t t h e S S M U in s ta lls a h in g e d d e s k o n t h e b a c k o f

c o n tra ts des fu tu rs v e n d e u rs a lim e n ta ire s .

e v e r y b a th r o o m s ta ll d o o r in t h e S h a t n e r B u ild in g f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f s tu d y in g

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : E ffic a c ité d e l'e s p a c e d a n s le b â t i m e n t S h a t n e r

p o u r in s is te r su r l'a d h é r e n c e au G u id e c a n a d ie n des fru its d e m e r, afin d e fa c ilite r

w h ile " ta k in g c a re o f b u s in e s s "; a n d , Be it f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t in s ta lla tio n b e

Il e s t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M d e v r a in s ta lle r u n e t a b le à c h a r n iè r e s u r le d o s des

c o m p le te d b y M a r c h 1 s t, 2 0 1 0 , so t h a t t h e s ta lls m a y b e u s e d f o r s tu d y in g f o r

p o rte s d e c h a q u e t o i l e t t e d a n s le b â t im e n t S h a t n e r d a n s le b u t d e p e r m e t t r e

t h e W i n t e r t e r m fin a ls .

a u x é t u d ia n t ( e ) s d 'é t u d ie r t o u t e n « e f f e c t u a n t le u rs b e s o in s p e rs o n n e ls » ; e t, Il e s t é g a le m e n t c o n c lu q u e l'in s ta lla tio n s e ra c o m p lé t é e a u p lus t a r d le 1 er m a rs , 2 0 1 0 , a fin q u e les t o ile t t e s p u is s e n t ê t r e u tilis é e s c o m m e lie u d 'é t u d e

M o t i o n R e: P o r n !

Be it re s o lv e d t h a t B y -L a w 111-8, P a r t V , a r tic le 2 8 is a m e n d e d t o r e a d :

p o u r les e x a m e n s fin a u x d e la s e ssio n d 'h iv e r .

"28.1.The Students' Society shall not participate in the production, funding, marketing or distribution of oppressive pornographic material for non-academic purposes.

28.1.1. Activities organized, endorsed, or funded by the Society, its clubs, or interest groups shall also abide by the above."

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : P o r n o g r a p h ie !

M o t i o n R e: E n e rg y U s a g e in S h a t n e r B u ild in g

o r g a n is é e s , e n d o s s é e s , o u fin a n c é e s p a r l'A s s o c ia tio n , ses c lu b s , o u ses

Be it re s o lv e d t h a t t h e S S M U a im t o lo w e r its e n e r g y in te n s ity t o to 2 .0 4 Gj p e r

g r o u p e s d 'in t é r ê t s s e r o n t é g a le m e n t t e n u e s d e r e s p e c te r ce q u i p r é c è d e . »

s q u a r e m e t e r , t h e a v e r a g e f o r C a n a d ia n u n iv e r s ity b u ild in g s 1, b y S e p t e m b e r 1,

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : U s a g e d e l'é n e r g ie d a n s le b â t i m e n t S h a t n e r

Il e s t c o n c lu q u e le R è g le m e n t 111-8, P a r tie V , a r tic le 2 8 d e v r a it ê t r e m o d ifié p o u r lir e c o m m e s u it: « 2 8 .1 . L 'A s s o c ia tio n É tu d ia n te n e p a r t ic ip e r a pas d a n s la p r o d u c tio n , le f in a n c e m e n t , la p r o m o t io n o u la d is tr ib u tio n d e c o n te n u p o r n o g r a p h iq u e o p p r e s s if à b u t n o n - a c a d é m iq u e .2 8 .1 .1 . Les a c tiv ité s

2 0 1 5 ; a n d , Be it f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t , in o r d e r t o a c h ie v e th is g o a l, t h e S S M U

Il e s t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M d e v r a it v is e r u n e r é d u c tio n d e l'in t e n s it é d e la

s e e k o u t a p r o fe s s io n a l a u d it o f its e n e r g y u s a g e a n d s u g g e s tio n s f o r re d u c in g

c o n s o m m a t io n é n e r g é t iq u e à 2 .0 4 Gj p a r m è t r e c a rr é , s o it la m o y e n n e p o u r les

it; a n d , Be it f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t , in o r d e r t o a c h ie v e th is g o a l, t h e S S M U

b â tim e n t s u n iv e r s ita ir e s c a n a d ie n s 2, p o u r le 1 er s e p t e m b r e 2 0 1 5 ; e t , Il e s t

u n d e r ta k e la rg e s c a le p r o je c ts w it h a s ig n ific a n t im p a c t o n e n e r g y u s a g e ,

é g a le m e n t c o n c lu q u e , a fin d 'a t t e in d r e c e t o b je c tif, l'A É U M d e v r a it

in c lu d in g b u t n o t lim ite d t o b u ild in g r e n o v a tio n s a n d r e m o d e lin g t h e lig h tin g

e n t r e p r e n d r e d e s p r o je ts d e g r a n d e e n v e r g u r e a v e c un im p a c t s ig n ifia n t su r l'u s a g e d 'é n e r g ie , in c lu a n t m a is p a s lim it é a u x r é n o v a t io n s e t r e m o d e la g e d e s

s tru c tu re s

s tr u c tu r e s lu m in e u s e s .

M o t i o n R e: S t u d e n t e m p lo y m e n t in t h e S h a t n e r B u ild in g Be it re s o lv e d t h a t S S M U E x e c u tiv e s b e m a n d a te d b y t h e s t u d e n t b o d y o f t h e S S M U t o p r io r it iz e s t u d e n t e m p lo y m e n t in all f u t u r e s u b -le a s e n e g o tia t io n s a n d r e n e g o t ia tio n s f o r all t e n a n t s in t h e S h a t n e r B u ild in g ; a n d , Be it f u r t h e r re s o lv e d t h a t S S M U e x e c u tiv e s w o r k t o e n s h r in e a c o m m it m e n t t o s t u d e n t e m p lo y m e n t in all f u t u r e s u b -le a s e s .

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : L 'e m p lo i d 'é t u d ia n t s d a n s le b â t i m e n t S h a t n e r Il e s t c o n c lu q u 'il d e v r a it ê t r e e x ig é d e s E x é c u tifs d e l'A É U M , p a r le c o rp s é t u d i a n t d e l'A É U M , q u 'ils r e n d e n t p r io r it a ir e l'e m p lo i d e s é t u d ia n t s d a n s to u t e s les f u tu r e s n é g o c ia tio n s d e s o u s -lo c a tio n e t r e n é g o c ia tio n s a v e c les p r é s e n ts lo c a ta ire s d u b â t im e n t S h a tn e r ; e t , Il e s t é g a le m e n t c o n c lu q u e les E x é c u tifs d e l'A É U M d e v r a ie n t t r a v a ille r p o u r in s p ir e r u n e n g a g e m e n t e n v e r s l'e m b a u c h e d e s é t u d ia n t s d a n s to u t e s les s o u s -lo c a tio n s fu tu r e s .

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : Le B a il p o u r le b â t i m e n t S h a t n e r

M o t i o n R e: S h a t n e r B u ild in g L e a s e

Il e s t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M d e v r a it r e n é g o c ie r son b a il a c tu e l a v e c l'In s t it u t ro y a l

Be it re s o lv e d t h a t t h e S S M U a t t e m p t t o r e n e g o t ia t e t h e c u r r e n t le a s e w it h

p o u r l'a v a n c e m e n t d e l'a p p r e n t is s a g e ; e t , Il e s t é g a le m e n t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M

R o y al In s tit u tio n f o r t h e A d v a n c e m e n t o f L e a rn in g ; a n d , Be it f u r t h e r r e s o lv e d

d e v r a it o b t e n ir le t e r m e d e lo c a tio n le p lus é le v é .

t h a t t h e S S M U o b ta in t h e lo n g e s t p o s s ib le t e r m o f le a s e .

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : L 'U s a g e d u s t y r o m o u s s e d a n s le b â t i m e n t S h a t n e r M'est c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M o e u v re à b a n n ir le s ty ro m o u s s e d a n s le p a v illo n d e

M o t i o n R e: U s e o f S t y r o f o a m in S h a t n e r B u ild in g

Be it resolved that SSMU move towards the banning of Styrofoam in the Student Union building by the fall, semester of 2010 and replace the disposable Styrofoam option with a healthier alternative, such as corn starch plastics; or be it even better resolved that SSMU moves towards institutionalizing the Plate Club and supporting them to run for all meals, five days a week; and, Be it further resolved that SSMU lobby McGill administration to follow suit and eliminate the use and distribution of Styrofoam on the McGill campus; and, Be it yet further resolved that SSMU distribute information to all clubs and services, and to the student body on issues pertaining to Styrofoam and the Plate Club's alternatives to it.

l'a s s o c ia tio n é t u d ia n t e a u p lu s ta r d à l'a u t o m n e 2 0 1 0 e t r e m p la c e les o p tio n s e n s ty ro m o u s s e j e t a b l e p a r u n e a lt e r n a t iv e m e ille u r e p o u r la s a n té , c o m m e les p la s tiq u e s e n a m id o n d e m a ïs ; o u , e n c o r e m ie u x , Il e s t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M œ u v r e à in s tit u tio n n a lis e r le P la te C lu b e t l'a p p u ie p o u r to u s les re p a s , cin q jo u r s p a r s e m a in e ; e t , Il e s t é g a le m e n t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M t e n t e d e c o n v a in c re l'a d m in is t r a t io n d e M c G ill d e s u iv re so n in itia t iv e e t é lim in e l'u s a g e e t la d is tr ib u tio n d u s ty ro m o u s s e p a r t o u t s u r le c a m p u s d e M c G ill ; e t , Il e s t é g a le m e n t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M d is tr ib u e d e l'in f o r m a t io n à to u s les c lu b s e t s e rv ic e s e t à to u s ses m e m b r e s a u s u je t d e s e n je u x liés a u s ty ro m o u s s e e t d e s a lt e r n a t iv e s p r o p o s é e s p a r le P la te C lu b .

M o t i o n C o n c e r n a n t : Le m o d è le d 'a u t o - f in a n c e m e n t Il e s t c o n c lu q u e l'A É U M a d o p te u n e p o litiq u e f o r m e lle à l 'e f f e t d e s 'o p p o s e r

M o t i o n re : S e lf - f u n d e d t u i t i o n m o d e l

a u m o d è le d 'a u t o - f in a n c e m e n t d e s d r o its d e s c o la r ité , p o u r g u id e r so n a c tio n

Be it r e s o lv e d t h a t t h e S S M U t a k e a f o r m a l p o lic y a g a in s t t h e s e lf-f u n d e d

p o litiq u e a u p r è s d e l'U n iv e r s ité a in s i q u 'a u p r è s d u g o u v e r n e m e n t p r o v in c ia l e t

t u it io n m o d e l t o g u id e its lo b b y in g o n t h e U n iv e r s ity , P ro v in c ia l, a n d F e d e ra l

f é d é r a l.

le v e l. *

*Quorum for a regular or special general assembly is one hundred (100) members of the association fro at least four different faculties or schools. No more than 50% from one faculty.

Questions or comments regarding this agenda m ay be directed to ores@ssmu.mcaiH.ca. 514-398-6801 www.ssmu.meg ill. ca/GA

* Le quorum pour une assemblée général régulière ou spéciale est de cent (100) membres de l'Association provenant d'au moins quatre (4) facultés ou écoles différentes sans ayant plus de 50% d'une faculté. Toute question devrait être envoyée aux présentateurs de l'AÉUM à

pres(S)ssrrm.mcgill.ca - 514-398-6801 www.ssmu. mcaill. ca/GA