The McGill Tribune Vol. 31 Issue 23

ribune

Published by the Tribune Publication Society Volume No. 31 Issue No. 23

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Thomas Mulcair Departmental GAs Editorial Explaining the heat wave

A Dream Play Men’s hockey wins CIS March 22 protest photos

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GERTS REN NOVATIONS (PAGES lO -n)

Hundreds of thousands protest tuition hikes

Students marched from Place du Canada to Place Jacques-Cartier in the largest protest in Quebec history. (Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune)

Carolina Millân Ronchetti News Editor

Over 200,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Montreal on March 22 to demon­ strate against provincial tuition in­ creases. The protest, the largest in Quebec history, came two days after the Quebec government released

Congratulations

its annual budget, confirming that university tuition fees are set to in­ crease by $1,625 over five years starting this September. According to some of the organizers, the protest spanned 50 city blocks at its peak.

Since February, 169 university and CEGEP student associations have voted to strike in protest of these proposed increases, forcing many universities and CEGEPs to

REDMEN

cancel class.

Over 500 McGill students gath­ ered at the Roddick Gates at noon before heading to Place du Canada, the meeting point for the protest, at 1 p.m. Thousands of students sport­ ing signs, wearing red clothes and red face paint met in the square. At about 1:40 p.m., the crowd started marching through downtown Mon­ treal.

Rachel Mulbry, a U2 Middle Eastern studies student who attended a similar protest against tuition fee increases on Nov. 10, emphasized the positive mood of the protest.

“There’s a really good energy, and it feels very positive and pretty inclusive,” she said. “It’s been a lot of time since November, and even speaking for myself, I understand what I feel more and how this issue

relates to me ... I think these inter­ vening months have been very good for education.”

Although the majority of participants were university and CEGEP students, there were many other protesters, including profes­ sors, high school students, unions, opposition party representatives as well families with small children.

See “ PRO TEST” on page 3

CAMPUS

MAUT releases report on implications of Nov. 10 Report addressing issues of governance, protest, free speech, and security was not discussed at Senate Carolina Millân Ronchetti N e w s E d ito r

The McGill Association of Uni­ versity Teachers (MAUT) released to the public its report “Governance, Protest and Security: Report of the MAUT Committee to Examine the Implications of the Events of Nov. 10,2011” on March 22.

MAUT is an organization of academic staff that aims to foster academic freedom, to involve the faculty in university activities and governance, and to improve the working conditions of teaching fac­ ulty and librarians. Its website notes that MAUT is not a union.

The MAUT report is the third to address the implications of Nov. 10 on the McGill community. These include the Jutras investigation, commissioned by Principal Heather Munroe-Blum to Dean of Law Dan­ iel Jutras, and a report authored by an Independent Student Inquiry (ISI) resulting from some students’ concerns with the objectivity of

Jutras’ internal investigation.

“The MAUT report was a sin­ cere attempt to respond to the call for consultation and input that was made by Dean Jutras’ report, as well as by other sectors of the university including McGill’s administration,” Daniel Cere, member of the report committee and assistant professor at the faculty of religious studies, said.

MAUT president and anthro­ pology professor John Galaty ex­ plained that in scope, the MAUT report was broader than that of the Jutras investigation.

“The MAUT report differs from the Jutras report as it broadens its purview to include the ‘context’ which led up to the events of 10th November, and it did not try to reca­ pitulate Jutras’ very thorough review of the course of events on [Nov. 10],” Galaty said. “Also, it included many specific recommendations to consider on university governance and the development of McGill’s se­ curity policy.”

The MAUT report consists of

several detailed recommendations which take into account scholarly research on protest, student protest, and security issues. Its first sec­ tion, on governance and collegiality, notes the initiatives of the 1960s Tripartite Commission on the Nature of the University, and suggests the creation of a “citizen’s council” as an independent forum for discussion of issues that affect all sectors of the university.

The second section, on civil protest and peaceful assembly, out­ lines twelve specific recommenda­ tions on what a protocol concern­ ing these issues should aim to do, emphasizing that a protocol should “safe-guard basic human rights to peaceful assembly and protest, not to constrain them.” The recommen­ dations include proposals to recog­ nize that “individuals at most risk of harm in civic protest will be protes­ tors,” and to consider the legitimacy of occupations or sit-ins as legiti­ mate forms of protest, among others.

The third section, on security

and policing, proposes the creation of an independent university civil­ ian oversight board on policing and security that reports to Senate. The report suggests that this board be part of the proposed working rela­ tionship between the McGill admin­ istration and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).

The report also states that “the es­ tablishment of good communication and collaboration with the SPVM should neither preclude nor prevent consideration of whether a formal complaint should be filed regarding police intervention on Nov.lOth.” In addition to members of the faculty, the MAUT report committee included two student representatives and the presidents of the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA) and the McGill University Non-Academic Staff Association (MUNASA).

According to a letter from Galaty to the university community, MAUT sent copies of the Report to the Principal, the Provost, the Secre­

tary-General, and to MAUT Coun­ cil two weeks ago, and now aims to circulate the report throughout the university.

The MAUT report committee originally intended for the report to be discussed at Senate on March 21.

Galaty noted that, although the re­ port was brought up in Senate Steer­ ing Committee, “it was said that Senate could not consider reports that were requisitioned outside of Senate.”

“What’s most frustrating is that we didn’t even get to discuss the MAUT report at Senate, and of course, we didn’t get to present the ISI report at Senate either,” Allison Cooper, SSMU representative to the report committee and ISI co-author, said. “[There’s a] feeling that some [reports] are seen as more legiti­ mate, or are more acknowledged by the administration, than others.”

—The MAUT report is avail­ able online at http://mautmcgill.ca

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Richard Schultz on new NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair Chair of the department of political science discusses the challenges Mulcair will face as Opposition Leader Erica Friesen N e w s E d ito r

At the New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership convention in To­ ronto last weekend, members of the NDP elected their new party leader, McGill alumnus and current Outrement MP Thomas Mulcair. On Mon­ day, March 26, the Tribune sat down with Richard Schultz, Chair of the McGill department of political sci­ ence and expert in Canadian poli­ tics, to discuss the challenges facing Mulcair and the NDP. What about Thomas Mulcair makes him a good leader for the NDP? What will he need to work on?

I think what will help him is his reputation, but what will hurt him is also his reputation. He’s a real fighter, determined and strong.

That is going to be absolutely neces­ sary to confront Steven Harper, be­ cause [Harper’s] government is the most vicious I’ve witnessed when it comes to dealing with their oppo­ nents.

The negative side of [Mulcair’s reputation] is that he’s said to have a temper, and if that is the case he will probably have to gain some control over it, especially [when] dealing with his fellow NDP members. He

maintained a very good, placid ap­ proach all through the campaign, despite some of the nasty comments that were made about him. So that’s a sign that he understands the dan­ gers of [his temper] and knows how to keep it under control, so I think the Conservatives should be ner­ vous. He’s going to be very effective as leader of the opposition.

The NDP is said to have gained much of its support in the last election because of Jack Layton. What challenges will Mulcair face as Jack Layton’s successor?

The major thing that he has to do is to maintain as many of the NDP’s seats in Quebec as possible.

I think [so many people in Quebec voted NDP] because the Liberals and Conservatives were so unac­ ceptable to the Quebec electorate, and people were fed up with the Bloc. I think Jack Layton’s image helped a bit, but people were just looking for an alternative to all three of the other parties. That will only happen once. It’s going to be very difficult in many of these ridings to maintain that support.

[The NDP] didn’t gain as many seats in the rest of Canada. They’ve got to prove that they’re the alterna­ tive party, not just in Quebec but in

the rest of the country too. They are going to have to fight very hard to maintain their role as the official op­ position.

What about the claims that Mulcair will move the NDP closer to the political centre?

I do that think they’re going to have to move closer to the centre in some respects, but I don’t think it’s a big step. [They’ve] got to do more than talk about taxing the rich.

While one could argue that the rich should be taxed appropriately for fairness’ sake, it’s not going to solve the problems of budget deficits. One of the big issues that they’re going to face is how to deal with union mat­ ters, because the unions are a strong component and strong supporters of the NDP. There’s popular support amongst the people against public servants striking, so the NDP under Mulcair will have to find a fine bal­ ance in terms of protecting wider public interests and not just the union interests. It’s not impossible, but it’s going to be demanding.

Do you think the NDP will face stronger competition from the Liberal Party now that Jack Layton is gone?

Yes, but that’s also going to

T h o m a s M u lc a ir, le a d e r o f th e N e w D e m o c r a tic Party, (th o m a s m u lc a ir .c a )

depend on their leadership. I think Bob Rae has performed very well [as interim Liberal leader]. If he doesn’t become the Liberal leader, I think that the NDP has a better chance of maintaining their posi­ tion as the number two party. Oth­ erwise it’s going to depend on how the NDP tackles some of the cur­ rent issues. I don’t see anyone other than the Conservatives winning the next election, but I think it’s going to be difficult for them to maintain a majority. [Harper] only has 39 per cent of the vote, [so] 60 per cent of the people don’t like the conserva­ tive government. Maybe the Liber­

als and the NDP will have some sort of informal arrangement, where the Liberals let the NDP be the only op­ position candidate in one riding and the NDP won’t run a candidate when there’s a strong Liberal candidate in another. They could focus the anti[Conservative] vote on one of the two parties. But I think [the Conser­ vatives] are working their way to­ wards another minority government Whether it will be the Liberals or the NDP who will be the opposition, I don’t know.

—This interview has been ed­ ited and condensed.

CAMPUS

Student leaders discuss role of Deputy Provost with Masi Portfolio of Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) undergoing review by McGill administration Jonny Newburgh C o n tr ib u to r

Provost Anthony Masi held a retreat with some McGill student leaders on Feb. 27, to discuss the portfolio of the Deputy Provost (Stu­ dent Life and Learning) (DP-SLL).

Student leaders identified their ideas and concerns for the position, which were briefly addressed in the Board of Governors meeting on March 13.

The retreat followed a meeting in December, where student leaders formally presented Masi with their concerns regarding the role. Discus­ sions like this are part of the Pro­ vost’s ongoing project to revise the portfolio of the DP-SLL. “This year, the Office of the Provost has been conducting the systematic, comprehensive con­ structive review of the scope and structure of the Student Life and Learning (SLL) portfolio in order to identify the most effective ways to deliver services that further enhance the student experience at McGill,”

the provost wrote in an email to the Tribune.

Masi also emphasized that the review is not of the current DPSLL Dr. Morton Mendelson’s per­ formance but only of the position he fills. As McGill’s first DP-SLL, Mendelson’s term was originally set to expire in 2011, but he accepted a two-year extension of the position in an agreement with the university last summer. “[This decision was] to allow for a comprehensive review of the portfolio and to allow the university sufficient time to launch an advisory committee to help search for his suc­ cessor once that review was com­ pleted,” Masi wrote.

Masi and student representa­ tives from the EdUS, EUS, PGSS, MACES, MCSS, MUS, MUSA and SSMU discussed areas of possible improvement or clarification within the portfolio during a six-hour meet­ ing. They spent the bulk of the time discussing student consultation, the administration’s hierarchies, and

frustrations over the recent limita­ tions to the use of “McGill” in stu­ dent groups’ names.

Josh Redel. EUS President and SSMU President-elect, said that while student life at McGill has al­ ways been important, the position DP-SLL was created only seven years ago. As a result, the last few years have been a test for what works and what does not.

At the meeting in December, student presidents gave Masi a document outlining concerns with the DP-SLL’s portfolio and possible areas for improvement.

“Looking at the university’s mission and what their goals were when they created the position, [the Provost] called us back for this re­ treat with a set of questions to ask us,” Redel said.

Redel pointed out that while the role has garnered a lot of negative attention, Mendelson has completed a number of projects on campus that have had dramatic impacts on stu­ dent life, such as the Service Point,

which opened in 2010.

A major point of contention in the discussions was the dual-func­ tion of the DP-SLL, as the point-per­ son between both the administration and students. While students argue that the DP-SLL holds a somewhat conflicting role, Masi said that the two roles are compatible.

“The Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) does, at times, refuse requests from student groups and communicates limitations or constraints that they face,” Masi wrote. “Nonetheless, the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) still advocates for students’ interests.

These functions are not contradic­ tory.”

“The Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) is not a disciplin­ ary officer and doesn’t play any role in the administration of the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures,” he added.

Andre Mayrand, VP Internal of MCSS, sought to ensure that in a re­ vised role the deputy provost would

have a greater presence among stu­ dents.

“Students should know what his job is and students should have access to go talk to him if they need help,” Mayrand said.

The provost will invite student leaders to comment on his final re­ port sometime in the next month.

According to Redel, applications for the revised DP-SLL role are sched­ uled to open sometime late this sum­ mer.

SSMU President Maggie Knight gave assurance that students will participate in the hiring process of the next DP-SLL. She said that student representatives will be in­ cluded on the advisory committee that handles the applications, just as student representatives sit on the principal’s advisory committee.

“What we are trying to do is figure out the final reshaping of this role,” she said. “It has grown a lot and in different ways.”

Largest protest in Quebec history remains peaceful continued from COVER

“I’m a primary [school] teacher and I wish my students [could] go to high school or, if they want, univer­ sity and CEGEP,” David Marquis, a first grade teacher in the South Shore, said. “I hope they don’t have to interrupt their studies because they can’t afford [the tuition].”

The march finished in Place Jacques Cartier in the Old Port and featured speeches by Helôise Moysan Lapointe, member of the Profs Contre la Hausse collec­ tive and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for the Coalition large de l’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (CLASSE), a Quebec-wide temporary coalition of students opposing tuition increases and one of the primary groups orga­ nizing the protest.

“It was an unbelievable protest [and] I think we just made history,” Nadeau-Dubois said after address­ ing the crowd. “It’s the biggest protest in the history of Quebec, so I think students of Quebec should be very proud of their generation.”

Nadeau-Dubois noted that rep­ resentatives from the student move­ ment have not been able to discuss tuition fee increases with the provin­ cial government.

“We’ve had no meetings with the government in the past year and we hope [we can meet] as soon as possible,” he said. “This govern­ ment systematically refuses to dis­

Hundreds of thousands gathered to protest provincial tuition increases. (Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune)

cuss tuition fees with the student movement.”

Previously, Education Minister Line Beauchamp has cited irrecon­ cilable views as a basis for not ne­ gotiating.

“The student associations are defending two options—one wants to talk about completely free [edu­ cation], the other wants to maintain the freeze and send the bill to other people,” Beauchamp told The Cana­ dian Press after the protest. “It’s a bit of ‘not in my backyard’ and that can’t be a basis for discussion.”

Moysan Lapointe cited the

“government’s intransigence” as a reason for the large turnout.

“The student movement has given many proposals for refinanc­ ing education, proposals that seem, to us profs, more interesting than those of the government’s,” she said in French. “The ball’s in the govern­ ment’s court.”

Despite the size of the protest, there were no injuries, according to Arnell LeBlanc, VP Operations for the Concordia Emergency Response Team, an organization that worked with the Fédération étudiante uni­ versitaire du Québec (FEUQ) to

provide security and first aid.

“There were some little fist fights but we managed to disperse them, and the crowd would just boo the people to the point they’d stop fighting,” LeBlanc said. “No one ac­ tually got hurt, it was a good day.”

Montreal police confirmed that there were no arrests or violent inci­ dents over the course of the protest.

“Everything was under con­ trol,” Yannick Ouimet, media rela­ tions officer for the Montreal police, said. “The students followed every street they told us they were going to go through.”

The protest ended around 5 p.m., when people started leaving the Old Port. Several individuals collected signs from garbage cans and placed them in flowerpots in Place Cartier as a reminder of the protest.

“The signs are valuable,” Steve Risdon, a special care counselor, said in French. “This is a non-vio­ lent, pacifist movement ... we de­ cided to gather the signs to [continue the protest’s visibility.]”

CAMPUS

Senate discusses future of education Governing body hears reports from teaching and learning services Anand Bery S c ie n c e a n d T e c h n o lo g y E d ito r

Last Wednesday’s Senate meet­ ing featured much discussion on improving teaching and learning at McGill, as well as a report from en­ rolment services on recruitment and retention.

While the meeting was closed to outside observers other than members of the campus media and incoming senators, the proceed­ ings were made available to the wider university community via a livestream to the Cyberthèque in the basement of the Redpath Library.

After a vote to approve the clos­ ing of the chambers and livestreaming of the proceedings, discussion moved to a question brought for­ ward by science senator Max Luke.

Luke’s question, which per­ tained to the sustainability of teach­ ing and learning at McGill, asked how the university is facilitating interdisciplinary projects focused on environmental sustainability.

In his response, Provost An­ thony Masi pointed to the section

of McGill’s Strategic Research Plan pertaining to the environment, which lists, for example, ecology and conservation biology, climate variability, and clean energy systems as priorities for collaboration across faculties, especially among agricul­ tural and environmental sciences, law, science, and engineering. He went on to note that environmental sustainability will continue to play a role in faculty renewal.

Law senator Ian Clarke asked whether McGill’s assessment of its performance includes a comparison of its activities with those of other institutions. In response, Masi men­ tioned the recent LEED certification of the Bellini Life Sciences Com­ plex, which is an objective certifica­ tion from an outside group.

In a special report, Prof. Cyn­ thia Weston and Dr. Laura Winer of Teaching and Learning Services up­ dated the assembly on developments in their department. Their presenta­ tion examined attributes of excel­ lence in teaching and learning at all levels of the university, from profes­ sors to faculties and departments to

the university as a whole.

Weston highlighted innovative strategies used by professors, like graded online discussion boards, in-class clicker questions that prompted peer discussion, and inter­ active writing assignments, which involved students improving their own work based on feedback as part of the course.

Nigel Roulet, a senator and pro­ fessor in the department of geogra­ phy, noted the value he has seen in McGill’s active learning classrooms.

“I have had students say the active learning classrooms were the deepest form of learning they had ever taken,” he said.

Senator Matt Crawford empha­ sized the key role teaching assistants play in fostering discussion in many classes.

“WebCT is not a direct sub­ stitute for discussion mediated by teaching assistants,” he cautioned.

Other senators noted the lack of availability of classroom space, particularly for midterm exams, as a barrier to giving good feedback to students.

Following the Teaching and Learning Services presentation, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson spoke on Enrolment Services (ES). The ES department deals with student recruitment and retention, and falls under the portfolio of the deputy provost.

Science senator Annie Ma asked if the university was taking steps to emphasise volunteer and ex­ tracurricular involvement as criteria for admission.

“One of the roadblocks to fullfile interviews is the time and re­ sources it takes,” Mendelson said.

Mendelson noted that the Uni­ versity of British Columbia has re­ cently announced it will consider more than just grades, and that while he can’t say McGill is moving in that direction, the administration is aware of the issue.

Mendelson also expressed con­ cern over McGill’s yield rate. The proportion of admitted students who accept an offer to attend McGill is one of the lowest among peer uni­ versities.

“[We] have been increasing ef­ forts to attract those students,” he said.

Following the discussion on en­ rolment, Dean of Students Jane Ev­ erett brought information to Senate regarding proposed changes to the Code of Student Conduct and Disci­ plinary Procedures.

The sections on disruptions and demonstrations have been a point of much contention in recent months.

Everett asked Senate to delay discussion of those articles until the release of Dean Manfredi’s report into the university community’s view of the meaning, scope, and protection of free expression and peaceful assembly on campus.

The next steps for the revision will be formal consultation with faculties and student associations via committees, and the production of a draft copy of the revised code, which will eventually be brought to senate for approval.

CAMPUS

Summit gathers student input on student-run café From menus to management, attendees brainstormed specifics of café set to open in 2013 Jimmy Lou C o n tr ib u to r

Following the SSMU StudentRun Café Competition Expo on March 14, SSMU’s Strategic Sum­ mit last Friday, March 23 addressed issues surrounding the student-run café, set to launch in September 2013.

In this preliminary phase, the planning committee primarily aimed to continue gathering as many ideas from students as possible to ensure a truly student-oriented, interactive café. Once there have been sufficient consultations and preparations, the committee will begin construction of the café in 2012.

While the planning committee will be adopting the design and busi­ ness plan of the Fireside Café, the team that won the SSMU Sustain­ ability Case Expo, co-ordinators are

still looking to incorporate as much student feedback as possible.

“The purpose of [the] Strate­ gic Summit is to engage students in the planning for a student run café,” SSMU VP Finance and Operations Shy am Patel, leader of the plan­ ning committee, said. “We hope to get more feedback [and] ideas in an interactive way. Instead of just ask­ ing [students] what [they] think, we want to make it more bi-directional.

This is really important because it’s going to be in the SSMU building and it’s going to provide job oppor­ tunities to students.”

In this meeting, moderator Flint Deita provided participants with five main topics to brainstorm: (1) Who will manage the student-run café?

(2) What food items will be included in the menu? (3) What do students want to see in the café? (4) How will SSMU finance the student-run café?

(5) What sort of ambiance do stu­ dents want to see in the café?

Many ideas immediately sur­ faced, leading to a lively group dis­ cussion.

“I was hoping for more people, but enough people showed up to give us enough feedback on the proj­ ect,” Deita said. “A lot of people are interested in offering their ideas, but of course a lot of them are not here and I’d love to see more come out in the future.”

Despite the small number of attendees, the committee was brim­ ming with ideas, proposals from the recent case competition, and mul­ tiple recent consultations. Some of the most popular ideas included stu­ dent managers to oversee the entire operation, casual meals made from sustainable and seasonal products, and a rentable space for performanc­ es or other events. Students also sug­

gested blackboard-like walls for ran­ dom artistic or promotional drawing and a well-lit and vibrant ambience that avoids being crowded or overly boisterous.

“This project has captured a lot of the students’ imaginations and is really exciting, but we still have a lot of work to do in terms of figur­ ing out the specifics,” SSMU Presi­ dent Maggie Knight said. “We have gotten to the point where we have talked a lot about the issue and have gotten a lot of feedback. We have to soon make a decision as to what it’s going to look like and how we are going to do this.”

In terms of challenges, the committee responsible for the new student-run café is seeking to en­ sure financial sustainability. The administration, according to Maggie Knight, is currently reviewing the project. However, there are still con­

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cents that the new café may face the same challenges as the Architecture Café or Haven Books, student initia­ tives that were closed due to finan­ cial difficulties.

Fortunately, although the pos­ sibility of financial failure still ex­ ists, the committee is being careful to avoid similar mistakes.

“We’re doing this so early mainly because of failed operations of the past,” Patel said.

In the near future, there will be a contest for naming the café and the committee encourages students to participate.

“Personally, I love this project and I love the idea of a student-run café, which I think is a great way to make people more social and to give more power to the students,” Deita said.

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CAMPUS

Redpath Museum celebrates 130th anniversary Museum club launches Behind the Roddick Gates, a research journal to honour the museum's exhibits and history Erica Friesen N e w s E d ito r

On Thursday, March 22, Mc­ Gill’s Redpath Museum celebrated its 130th Anniversary with the offi­ cial launch of the Redpath Museum Club's new publication. Behind the Roddick Gates. The event included presentations by student contribu­ tors to the journal and a retelling of the museum's history.

Completed in 1882, the Red­ path Museum is the oldest structure built as a museum in Canada, and was originally built to house formerprincipal William Dawson’s person­ al collection of artifacts. In the last 130 years, the Redpath Museum’s collection has grown considerably, and the museum currently receives about 10,000 visitors each year.

At the anniversary celebra­ tion, volunteers dressed as histori­ cally relevant figures like Principal Dawson and museum founder Peter Redpath explained the museum's history. Emily Bamforth, PhD stu­ dent and internal facilitator of the Redpath Museum Club, was dressed as Dawson’s daughter Anna. “[The anniversary is] signifi­ cant because the Redpath Museum [has] had teaching and research since it was open, and it continues to

be the only free museum in Montreal because that was one of its mandates when it was opened,” she said.

Although Munroe-Blum was not able to attend the event in per­ son, organizers played a recorded message in which she shared her thoughts on how the values of the museum have helped shape the val­ ues of McGill as a university.

“From its inception, the Red­ path Museum has been open free of charge to the public,” Munroe-Blum said. “Indeed, in many ways it is a powerful expression of the public mission of McGill as a university itself to learning, research, teaching, and the ability to have a hands-on experience with artifacts that enrich our understanding of the world.”

Masi praised the museum’s role in McGill’s history, including its role in research, the expansion of its collection, its outreach and public programming, and its pedagogical innovations.

“When this museum was first built, it was clearly a state-of-theart, scientific research facility that helped solidify McGill’s status and prestige as a world-class research university,” he said.

Part of the way the Redpath Museum Club is moving forward is with its new annual journal. Behind

the Roddick Gates. According to Bamforth, members of the Redpath Museum Club have been working on the journal for over a year.

The journal is a collection of research on interesting facts and features of the Redpath Museum, McGill University, and Montreal.

At the anniversary event, several student contributors to the journal briefly explained their research top­ ics, which included Dawson’s dis­ covery of an ancient lizard skeleton in 1852 and McGill’s conservation efforts for endangered species.

Natalia Toronchuk, a U6 Eng­ lish literature student and contribu­ tor to the journal, wrote an essay about the first Internet search en­ gine, “Archie,” which was devel­ oped at McGill.

“It’s been really fun,” she said.

“All the people who work at Red­ path Museum and the people that are in the museum club are really amaz­ ing, sincere, wonderful people, so it really wasn’t that difficult for me to do my research with their help.”

“Anniversaries such as this one give us an opportunity to re­ flect back, but also to look forward,” Masi said.

R e d p a th M u s e u m tu r n s 1 3 0 . (S a m R e y n o ld s / M c G ill T rib u n e )

LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM Leadership Skills Development Workshops

Leadership ^

M c G ill Leadership Training Program First-Year Office

•Interested in gaining skills in leadership?

•Involved in a student club, service or organization as an executive, organizer or event planner?

•Looking for ways to expand & build on your life skills?

There are two more chances to contribute this year!

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, then don’t miss this opportunity to sign up for the Leadership Training Program’s FREE Skills Development Workshops!

These workshops were created to give you the chance to develop and build on your leadership and life skills. Attend a minimum of five workshops throughout 2 0 1 1 / 1 2 academic year and receive a certificate of completion.

Com e and see these w orkshops on the dow ntow n cam pus:

Professionalism: Being Your Best Thursday, March 29, 5:30-7:30pm

News meetings are Mondays at 5:30 p.m. in Shatner 110.

Professionalism in group work and the workplace can be a pivotal part of your overall success now and in the future. Come and explore the process of learning and adopting values and attitudes that are key to being a professional in may careers. Being professional or unprofessional has many repercussions in interpersonal interactions - learn how to better navigate this fundamental terrain!

Negotiation Skills Wednesday, April 4, 5:30-7:30pm We all negotiate everyday with friends, other students, professors, landlords etc. In this experiential workshop, explore and expand your own negotiation skills by being involved in an actual negotiation simulation.

Be prepared to see that we can all be better negotiators and attain more win-win outcomes!

To register and for more info, visit: www.mcgill.ca/firstyear/leadertraining/workshops

you can also drop by the First-Year Office in the Brown Building, Suite 2 10 0 or call 5 14 -3 9 8 -6 9 13

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Curiosity delivers.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 |

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Student assemblies discuss possibility of strike

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French Literature

Thirty-one students from the French literature department gath­ ered in the Arts Building on Tues­ day, March 20, and voted on a oneday strike for the province-wide protest on Thursday, March 22. The motion passed with a near unani­ mous majority—30 students for, and one against. This represented nearly half of the department, which consists of approximately 75 major, minor, and honours students. The French literature department also decided, unanimously, to carry out an unlimited strike vote on Friday, March 30. If the department does agree on an unlimited strike, it will be effective starting the following Monday, April 2. The nature of the picket line will also be discussed at the upcoming meeting.

Due to the department’s size, the assembly was intimate in nature, taking the form of a small group discussion.

On thoughts of the unlimited strike, French literature student Habib Hassoun said, “If we go on a strike, I’m thinking that we could probably make some cultural ac­ tions, like creating a creative mag­ azine online with poems, small essays, and thoughts about social engagement.”

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Geography

On Tuesday, March 20, members of the McGill Undergrad­ uate Geography Society (MUGS) gathered on the fourth floor of Bumside to vote for a proposed one-day strike. The motion that students ulti­ mately passed at the assembly, how­ ever, was for an “indefinite general strike,” with 21 voting in favour of the strike, 15 against, and seven ab­ stentions.

Geography students were noti­ fied that their department was join­ ing the unlimited strike via a listserv the following morning, on Wednes­ day, March 21. The strike began today at 8:00 a.m.

As with many other GAs this week, the motion included a clause for periodic renewal every five school days. The next GA will take place today.

No additional details for the actual strike were provided, but in their listserv MUGS recognized that the vote may not have reflected the desires of the entire department.

“We ask that everyone please consider the potential for differing opinions to divide a community, and instead hope we proceed from here with the main goal in mind: educa­ tion,” the listserv read. “We need to educate ourselves, and allow others to do the same.”

—Kyle Ng

—Julia Chu

FACULTY G As

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Medical students

On Tuesday March 20, the Medical Students’ Society of Mc­ Gill University (MSS) voted against a one-day strike. The motion was defeated with 79 in favour of the strike, 117 against, and six absten­ tions.

Although the MSS will not be striking, students at the GA voted for the MSS to adopt a specific stance supporting accessible educa­ tion. While the MSS supports tu­ ition increases that are indexed to inflation, they oppose the Quebec provincial government’s proposed tuition increases over the next five years. The general assembly also voted for the MSS to adopt the posi­ tion that any tuition fee increase by the provincial government must be accompanied by an increase in stu­ dent aid through the Quebec Loans and Bursary Program.

—Erica Friesen

HSocial Work r students

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On Monday March 26, the Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA) held a General Assembly (GA) in which members renewed last week’s vote to go on unlim­ ited student strike. SWSA members have been on strike since March 14.

Yesterday’s motion passed 56 in fa­ vour of the unlimited student strike and 33 against. Quorum for the GA was 25 people.

The SWSA held soft pickets in front of Wilson Hall through last week, encouraging students not to attend class.

“Classes are being held, but we have a picket presence at the begin­ ning of each class,” first year social work student Leah Freeman, said.

“In classes that normally have 110 students, there are maybe 10 or 15 who come.”

—Carolina Milldn Ronchetti

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English

On March 26, the De­ partment of English Students’ As­ sociation (DESA) voted not to con­ tinue their unlimited general strike, following a vote with 74 for the re­ newal of the strike, 117 against and 12 abstentions.

DESA was on strike for one week, having declared a general strike of indefinite duration at an as­ sembly on March 19.

After the first day of the strike last Tuesday, many students criti­ cized the tactics used by picketers, which included drumming and yell­ ing to disrupt classrooms, as well as blocking classroom entrances.

“Some of the people said things that were really insulting,” an Eng­ lish student who wished to remain anonymous said. “They said in their [email] that they weren’t going to use any coercive measures ... how is barricading my classroom not co­ ercive?”

DESA executives said that the strike committee, which is open to all English students, worked to ad­ dress students’concerns about strike tactics.

“DESA’s goal is not to create noise,” DESA Literature Represen­ tative Julie Mannell said. “Our goal is to foster discussion and debate ... the important thing is that we’re talking and engaging in dialogue with each other.”

—Erica Friesen

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Music

On Wednesday, March 21, members of the Music Un­ dergraduate Student Association (MUSA) voted in a General As­ sembly (GA) in favour of a one-day strike on March 22, with 62 for, 46 against, and two abstentions. The motion further stated that MUSA is against the rise of tuition fees, and included a clause ensuring that the pickets would be soft.

“Any picket lines undertaken as a part of this strike will not pre­ vent music students from entering and exiting the music buildings or partaking in their activities by means of physical or verbal aggres­ sion,” the motion read.

In addition, the assembly de­ bated whether to ratify the vote to strike online until midnight of March 21, but the motion failed.

—Carolina Millân Ronchetti

Art History and Communica­ tions On March 26, members of the Art History and Communication Studies Students’ (AHCSSA) As­ sociation voted in favour of an un­ limited general strike in a General Assembly (GA). With a vote of 48 for, 41 against and two abstentions, the stirke vote passed. Quorum was set at 60 people.

Students voted on proposed amendments by show of hands, and on the final vote by secret ballot. If The strike began today, and will be renewable every week on a simple majority vote (50 per cent plus one vote) during another general assem­ bly. The next GA to renew the strike will be held on March 30, at a time and place to be announced at least 36 hours prior.

—Christos Lazaris

Anthropology A group of 30 anthropology students, of the 350 in the depart­ ment, met Monday, March 19, to discuss how the Anthropology Stu­ dents’ Association wanted to react to the planned Quebec tuition in­ creases. No informal or formal vote took place, but the students dis­ cussed the issues. In addition, stu­ dents in the anthropology graduate studies program explained how their own renewable strike is going, and gave advice to the assembly.

A general assembly on Friday, March 30, at 6 p.m. in Leacock 26 will determine if the ASA goes on a one, three, or five-day strike or an indefinite strike. Quorum for this as­ sembly is set at 60 students, 17 per cent of the department.

—Natasha Fenn

o

One-day strike

Q

No strike

Unlimited strike

Sociology On Tuesday, March 27, just over 20 sociology students gath­ ered independent from the Sociol­ ogy Students’Association to discuss how their department wants to re­ spond to the proposed Quebec tu­ ition increases. Since only three per cent of the faculty attended, in a de­ partment of 600 students, no strike vote took place, because it would have not been representative of the department’s stance. However, there was a lively discussion about the ef­ fectiveness of hard picket lines.

Students brought up the point that, although in the short term hard picket lines appeal to those pro­ strike, they have the potential to alienate students, and also that so few students cannot maintain the tactics of a hard strike in the long term. While the majority of opin­ ions presented at this meeting were pro-strike, students also agreed that such a strike could not be forced on the rest of the department if the majority of sociology students don’t agree.

There is a proposed referendum in a sociology General Assembly this upcoming Friday on the topic of the strike and hard picket lines.

—Natasha Fenn

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EDITORIAL

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Departmental GAs contravene the AUS constitution On March 13, the Arts Un­ dergraduate Society (AUS) held a highly-attended General Assembly (GA) in the SSMU building. Over 1,100 students voted on whether arts undergraduates should go on strike in opposition to the Quebec govern­ ment’s proposed tuition fee increas­ es. The result was close; but the at­ tendees ultimately voted against going on strike by a margin of 609 to 495, with 16 abstentions. Given that the quorum for the GA was 150, the result is constitutionally binding for the AUS. And yet, the crucial ques­ tion facing arts undergraduates this week is whether, by extension, the AUS vote is also binding for depart­ mental studentsocieties.

Student societies such as the Political Science Students Asso­ ciation (PSSA) have argued that the AUS GA’s result is binding and have consequently decided not to stage a strike vote. But the Depart­ ment of English Students’ Associa­ tion (DESA) held its own GA last ■

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Monday, March 19, attended by 85 students, and voted to go on strike.

As a consequence, there has been extensive picketing outside lecture halls, leading to numerous English classes being cancelled. Last night, the strike renewal vote failed, but other departmental student associa­ tions are set to vote on whether to join the strike or renew the mandate to strike later in the week.

These departmental strike GAs are unprecedented. When political initiatives are unprecedented, it does not mean they are without founda­ tion, but it does mean that its legiti­ macy can only lie in a close reading of the AUS constitution. There may indeed be faults with the AUS con­ stitution in its current form, and it could certainly be argued that the format of the AUS GA was far from ideal: a truly representative and fea­ sible GA is only possible once an on­ line voting system is introduced. But until the constitution is reformed, its stipulations that the GA is a politi­

f in a l

cally binding legislative body must be upheld in the meantime if student democracy is to remain credible.

And a close reading of the AUS constitution leads to the conclusion that departmental GAs are unconsti­ tutional in this case. Article 8.7 of the AUS constitution clearly states that “Departmental Associations shall recognize the supremacy of the AUS.” Since the AUS GA has already settled the issue that arts un­ dergraduates will not join the Que­ bec-wide student strike, continuing to propose striking at departmental GAs is a failure to recognise the AUS GA as a binding legislative body of the AUS. It is an undermin­ ing of AUS authority over depart­ mental societies.

The constitutional question is not one-sided. Departmental stu­ dent societies recognise the higher authority of the AUS in their con­ stitutions and the mandate for these organisations is supposed to be a promotion of educational and learn­

ing experience. The AUS’s broader mandate makes it a more appropri­ ate forum for organizing strikes.

The Tribune therefore believes that departmental societies do not have a right in this case to propose strikes after they were voted against in the GA. Furthermore, there have been instances of student groups holding strike GAs for their depart­ ments that are not even affiliated with that department’s student as­ sociation. The implications of these autonomous GAs further undermine the student democratic process.

It is also important to note that any picketing done by those who do strike should not go so far as to deny other students’ right to education.

That would be excessively hypo­ critical.

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Why I don't speak French

Speakm an

THbune Offices Editorial Shatner U niversity C entre Suite 110, 3480 M cTavish M ontreal, Q C H 3A 1X9 T: 514.398.6789

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I wish I spoke French. I really do. Back home in Ontario, everyone laughs when I tell them I’m study­ ing English and German in Mon­ treal, but yet can’t speak French and I have to be honest—I really don’t have a good reason for my apparent resistance to my country’s second official language. But let me get things straight: while it may ulti­ mately be my fault for not learning French, McGill and Montreal cer­ tainly did not encourage me to learn the language.

First of all, there’s the obvious problem of McGill’s “student bub­ ble.” McGill is an English-speaking

campus, cloistered in the (largely) English-speaking McGill ghetto, and surrounded by a hub of business­ es and cultural attractions that cater to English-speaking students and tourists. I realize that many of the people around McGill speak French in addition to speaking English, but it is difficult to break away from the stereotypical English-speaking McGill student when bilinguals im­ mediately switch over to English at the first hint of incomprehension. I really tried to speak French off-cam­ pus when I arrived at McGill armed only with my grade nine French skills, but the keen embarrassment I felt when French-speakers rapidly switched to English when speaking to me led me to abandon these at­ tempts in favour of the comfort of my native language.

My other serious attempt to learn French came in the form of a required language course for my program. I could have chosen any language—what a perfect chance to learn French—but once again, Mc­

Gill interfered. If you want to enroll in a French language course at Mc­ Gill, there is a mandatory placement test that you must complete before even registering for a class. Again, this was in first year. I was daunted by the online Minerva system course registration system, by the fact that I had to frantically refresh the log­ in page for half an hour in order to sign in and fight for the courses I wanted, and by the idea that, if I chose French, I would not even be guaranteed a place in a French class (plus the embarrassment of actually sitting through a placement test).

Needless to say, I chose a language that did not require a placement test, German.

So here we come to the real rea­ son that I have not bothered to learn French. Had I not taken German, I would probably have plucked up the courage and enrolled in a SSMU minicourse (or something of the sort) to improve my French. Now, how­ ever, German has taken over every vocabulary word and every verb

conjugation I ever knew (I some­ times give a friendly “Danke!” to a fellow Montrealer, only to realize with horror that I meant “Merci!”).

There is no more space in my brain for French, and I’m loath to give up my precious little German to ac­ commodate for it. I’m not ashamed of loving German, but it does make learning French that much harder.

I know it’s silly to try and jus­ tify myself for something that is fun­ damentally my responsibility for ne­ glecting. I feel selfish enough every time a waitress comes to take my order, or someone asks me for direc­ tions, and I stare at them with that blank expression that stamps “Eng­ lish” across my face and prompts them to immediately adopt the language that suits me. The funny thing is, I probably will get around to learning French at some point in my life, but it probably won’t be in Montreal, and it won’t be at McGill.

dent society o f McGill University. The content o f this publica­ tion is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views o f McGill University. Letters to the editor

The Tribune will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, April n .

m ay be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor's name, program and year and contact infor­

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ERRATA

Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those o f the author and do not necessar­ ily reflect the opinioas of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

An article in last week’s Tribune (“Josh Redel wins SSMU presidency by 23 votes” March 20, 2012) mistakenly states that CKUT Radio’s referendum question failed with 49.2 per cent of voters answering ‘No.’ The vote actually failed with 42.9 per cent of voters anwering ‘No.’ The Tribune regrets this error.

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jbotha@mcgilltribune.com

The gem that is Quebec theatre

Two Sundays ago, as the rest of the city reveled in the sun-drenched welcoming of spring, I found my­ self cursing Google Maps, lost in the depths of St. Laurent. Accom­ panied by fellow theatre lovers, I was searching for the entrance to Infinitheatre, a bath house turned per­ formance space. A matinee show­ ing of Quebec playwright François Archambault’s The Leisure Society was already starting. My frantic search was starting to manifest it­

amoussako@mcqilltribune.com

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The v ie w fro m Tuesda'

7

Safe space strife The latest flashpoint of tension at Queer McGill (QM) revolves around the dismissal of Brian Keast, the former treasurer of the club, after an equity complaint filed by Libby Bouchard, the club’s Political Action Co-ordinator. The complaint alleged that Keast, an executive of the group, had violated QM’s anti­ transphobia mandate. Some of the detailed aspects of the complaint included not being attentive enough to the complaints of transgendered members, scheduling a club event on the same date as a march com­ memorating the killings of transgen­ dered people, and not attending a

Com m unity? Community.

Community!

Sitting in on the Department of English Students Association’s General Assembly, where its members debated whether they should continue to strike, I came to a realization: the discussion centred around something far greater than the issues themselves. The debate

The Leisure Society is yet an­ other Quebec theatre gem, expos­ ing the dearth of meaning that can manifest itself in a Canadian upper

middle class existence. In the play, a rich and powerful couple fill their lives with anything and everything except for actual, vulnerable rela­ tionships. This leads to a whirlwind of unsatisfactory sexual excursions and unsuccessful suicide attempts.

The scary thing was how recogniz­ able this onstage reflection was to a broader 21st century Canadian au­ dience. This is becoming the stamp of a great deal of Quebec theatre; it may be conceived in this province, but it has implications for Canada as a whole.

Wajdi Mouawad’s Scorched is also causing ripples in the theatre world, echoing the cross border journey of its characters. Scenes are set in Montreal and Lebanon as cycles of violence, and the nature of identity, are tied together in ways that make Greek tragedy seem like an after-school special. And adding further to the Quebec literary canon

is The Seven Streams of the River Ota by Robert Lepage, which starts with the horrific Hiroshima bombing during World War II, and threads a visually stunning story that connects people from different times and places.

These are but a few contempo­ rary examples of something special happening in Quebec’s playhouses.

Its theatre scene—only half a cen­ tury ago mostly comprised of a ve­ hement reaction against the surge of American pop culture and the iron grip of the Catholic church—has come into its own in a way that is distinctly its own.

For the non-local, it might be tricky at first to find theatre created

by Québécois artists, but believe me, finding it is worth it. Even if it means looking for the back door.

“Trans Allyship” workshop for QM executives because, Keast claimed, he had to study. The SSMU equity commission, in their binding ruling, sided with Bouchard. Keast declined to speak on the record for this piece.

I visited Queer McGill’s offices to get a closer view of the situation.

I spoke to three of the remaining ex­ ecutives; the social co-ordinators, Lindsey Clark and Sasha Choupique, and publicity director Mona Luxion.

They all characterized the reality of the situation as being quite different from the Facebook wall. According to Clark, the contentious atmosphere surrounding the dismissal stemmed from incomplete information pro­ vided to club members at the time.

In addition, she characterized the de­ bate as a “few loud voices” magnify­ ing the issue.

All three current executives I spoke to agreed that this episode was reflective of broader debates that often occur in the queer community about how to approach transgender

issues. Luxion went as far as to note that the types of oppression that exist in the wider world also exist in the queer community as well. In ad­ dition, the three of them expressed confidence in both the equity com­ mission and its decision. In response to my inquiry about the (seeming) lack of transphobic intent in Keast’s comments, Luxion argued that while there is room in a “safe space” for misunderstandings, a refusal to ac­ knowledge the hurtfulness of one’s actions is almost as bad as actually trying to be hurtful.

The three executives also spoke with one voice when I inquired whether QM will move past the situ­ ation. Luxion noted that worse dis­ putes have occurred since the club was founded in the 1970s, but the current situation was far more trans­ parent thanks to the Internet.

The other, longer-term debate surrounding QM has been about the scope of its mission. Is it to be a “sup­ port service [for] queer students and

their allies,” or is it to take a broader role in on campus politics? Several weeks earlier, another rancorous de­ bate was triggered on the QM page

by Bouchard’s posting of a pride flag draped over the sign of the James Administrative Building, in support the sixth floor occupation earlier this year. To get an external perspective on this aspect of the story, I talked to Aliénor Lemieux-Cumberlege, who formerly served as QM’s First Year Representative and Volunteer and Discussion Groups co-ordinator.

She resigned from the latter position at the end of last term, citing stresses associated with being on the club’s executive body. On the subject of politics at Queer McGill, she noted that both “are strongly linked at the moment, perhaps to the detriment of the service mandate.” While, in her view, politics are not “irreconcil­ able” with the service mandate, she expressed worry that queer students would feel that they are not political enough to get involved with QM.

Luxion, meanwhile, struck a somewhat different tone, arguing that those who become executives on QM tend to be politically and socially involved on campus. The tension between what executives do in their official role and what they do individually, Luxion said, was healthy because it opened discussion on what sorts of things the organi­ zation wants to be involved with on campus.

Queer McGill will almost cer­ tainly survive Keast’s dismissal.

Lemieux-Cumberlege, Luxion, Clark, and Choupique all agreed to as much when asked. As to whether the club can minimize the impact of such incidents in the future is an open question.

was really about how to discover and maintain a sense of community, a sense of purpose, and a common cause.

Certainly, the issues mattered.

Students debated articulately— and thankfully with civility— whether the Quebec government’s proposed tuition fee increases would adversely affect accessibility; they spoke eloquently of what constitutes a strike and where a strike’s limits should lie.

But the desire for community and common cause underpinned almost every discussion of pickets and fees. Most speakers made this patently clear. One campus orator’s main justication for McGill students going on strike was because,

“Student strikes are the chance to build a community.” This was met with applause by the audience (or rather, with hands waving in the air to signify approval—a sensible custom to avoid the auditorium being routinely drowned out with noise). Another speaker excitedly spoke of a similar reason to strike, one which the crowd received with equal levels of approval as he boldly proclaimed, “we are part of the largest movement we will ever have the chance to be a part of.”

Such a desire to be part of something greater than the self, to share in a common fate with others, and to unify with a common ambition pervaded the discussion.

And it was telling to see how

exhilarated certain members of the audience looked, with many excited to convene and bond with their fellow classmates. One speaker fondly wished that students would meet more often like this anyway, and not just because there was controversy afoot. He went on to sum up the tolerant mood of proceedings, proudly observing that, “No matter what your stance, the opportunity to get together and talk has been great anyway.”

His point strikes an obvious chord. Many students were hearing their classmates open their mouths for the first time. Yet these were all people who shared a love for English, and as another speaker put it, “a shared love of education.”

This phenomenon pervades McGill. Too many students with shared interests do not get a chance to meet and talk because of a lack of community. What has made this year so exhilarating to many is that through the MUNACA strike, and through the Quebec-wide student strike, many McGill students—on both sides of the debate—have found a common cause which gives them the stability that comes with solidarity.

While tuition fee increases are the cause célèbre of the day, it is important to use the momentum it has generated to attain a longer term goal of a closer community.

self in increasingly blistering glares at the boisterous summer strollers all around us when, mercifully, one member of our crew suggested we swing on to St. Dominique and look for a back entrance.

The back entrance turned out to be the front entrance, and suddenly there we were; a now-cheery group of people entering the sleek, modem living room that was the set of The Leisure Society. As we settled into our seats my neighbour turned to me and—with eyes wide—said: “I used to think Quebec theatre wasn’t controversial enough.” An hour and a half later, it was clear why she had changed her mind.

I had discovered Quebec theatre the same way I found Infinititheatre: through the back door. Switching to an English major in my second year led to unexpected exposure to people making art in a way that I had never experienced before. Their raw

inspection of social norms and fresh approach at tackling old themes was different from the more famous of the 20th century pieces floating about in the public consciousness.

“My neighbour turned to me and said, 7 used to think

Quebec

theatre

wasn ’t

controversial enough.” ’

X VS. Y

Spring showdown: the battle of skirts vs. shorts The pros and cons of dressing for warmer weather

By Wendy Speakman

SKIRT Wind factor

In windy Montreal, the burdensome task of walking to school in a skirt can re­ ally ruin your morning. If you have to brave the vast tundra of JeanneMance Park or the inevitable wind tunnel known as Prince Arthur, I would advise against a skirt. In addi­ tion to other morning accoutrements, such as coffee, iPods, or keys, it is hard to find a free hand to defend against sporadic gusts.

Variety

Today, fashionable skirts can range anywhere from mi­ cro-mini to maxi. Although I do not recommend donning micro styles to class, skirts present an opportunity for fashion freedom and more room to experiment. On campus there are people wearing anything from boxy shift dresses to flouncy circle skirts, and flowy chiffon maxis. Sometimes one skirt can bridge several different looks depending on which top it is paired with.

Shoe factor

Skirts are much less risky when pairing with footwear. The Montreal spring,

being the transitional period be­ tween the harsh climates of winter and summer, often prompts people to continue wearing boots. Bare legs and boots can complement a more springy skirt quite nicely.

Even if not executed perfectly, skirts and boots runs less risk of looking foolish than shorts and boots.

Sprawl-ability

tos

is

a very important category in the context of the end of semester at McGill. With the impending hilly landscape of lower field and OAP, it is important to consider how com­ fortable you will be sitting in a skirt.

Short skirts often force people to sit like they are posing for a dance photo: legs bent, stuck together, and swung to one side. Although this position conveniently allows for the subtle repositioning of your skirt under the anchor of your be­ hind, inevitably your foot will fall asleep, forcing you to swing your legs to the other side and risk flash­ ing a downhill neighbour. That said, in a flatter, park setting, maxi skirts are the ideal lounge attire. In addi­ tion to their likeness to blankets, maxi skirts allow you to sprawl, un­ inhibited, for hours, without risk of sunburn.

O verall w in n e r:

SKIRTS All things considered, I would advise you to embrace skirts this spring. Although they are irritating in the wind and might force you to sit like you did at age five in a fami­ ly photo, skirts echo the easy breezy feeling of the season. Experiment with different lengths, prints, and styles, to find your perfect skirted ensemble. Lounge away!

HO RTS Wind factor

Shorts are largely windproof. Unless you come across a pair of ultra-wide-legged short culottes, the wind will have a hard time putting a damper on your spring morning.

Variety

Shorts can be more prohibitive. There is no such thing as maxi-shorts, unless we plan to amend everything that is now con­ sidered pants. Capris are hard to pull off in 2012, and, while knee-length shorts might be the most practical, it is safer to save them for a safari.

Most shorts in stores and around campus fall in the mid-thigh cat­ Image sources: lastylistmom.com, stylishme.com

egory. Needless to say, skirts are the clear winner when it comes to diversity.

Shoe factor

Of course, if done properly, the right shorts and the right boots can look fashionforward and cool. However, if not paired perfectly, shorts and footwear other than little sneakers, sandals, or flats walk a very fine line between chic and overzealous.

Sprawl-ability This is a no-brainer, as shorts don’t pres­ ent the same problems as skirts do when sitting on the grass. However, in terms of lounging, which I think we can all agree is what springtime is really about, it’s a toss-up if you dress strategically.

RECIPE

A (itv tm M

By Colleen McNamara Everything

about

summer

is great. Sunshine, the lack of school, the revitalization o f your bank account through a summer job, patios, lake breezes, boat­ ing, and of course, delectable fresh summer food. I have been blessed to live in a community where my food comes straight from the backyard o f my neigh­ bours, w ith an asparagus farm down the road and strawberry picking just a couple kilometres away. Admittedly, I actually enjoy the exciting prospect o f a warm, com forting meal that follows a bitterly cold and dark walk home from school in the wintertime. As the snow disappears and farm ­ ers' markets fill w ith an array

m a t to winter

recipes from my w inter repertoire

water. When the veggies from the

for a final w inter meal.

pan are soft, add them to the pot o f stock. Drop the three w hole to ­ matoes into the pot, increase the temperature, and bring to a boil for a few minutes.

Reduce the temperature and put the can o f tomatoes and basil

To Start: Thick Tomato Soup 3 whole tomatoes 5 sticks o f celery 1.5 medium sized onions 4 carrots 2 cloves o f garlic 1 red pepper 400 mL can of tomatoes 2 cubes of beef, chicken or vegetable stock A few basil leaves 3 tablespoons of olive oil

o f colourful plants for my sum­ mer binge, I realize it's time to say goodbye to all o f that warm goodness that so kindly insulated

Chop the celery, onion, car­ rots, garlic, and red pepper. Throw into a large pan on medium heat w ith the olive oil. W ait until the onions are slightly browned and the carrots become soft (roughly 15 minutes).

me through the winter. So one last time, I'll make my favourite

Meanwhile, boil 1.5 litres of water. Mix the stock w ith boiling

water to a boil. Crush the crack­ ers in a bowl and put aside. Grate cheese, and add macaroni to the boiling w ater and cook until soft­ ened— but not quite as soft as usual (about 10 minutes).

W hile the macaroni is cook­ ing, add butter and flour to a me­

leaves into the pot. Let simmer on medium heat fo r 20 minutes.

Mix the soup and voila, you're ready to eat.

dium-sized pot on a medium heat burner to create a paste. Add milk and continually whisk until sauce is thick. Add cheese, stirring until melted.

The Main: Homestyle Mac and Cheese

In a casserole dish, add macaroni in sections, pouring the thick sauce over the macaroni until the dish is full. Top the dish w ith crushed crackers, and some extra grated cheese. Bake for 45

2 cups macaroni 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 1.5 cups o f milk 2 cups cheese (such as old Cheddar) 10 saltine crackers Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius).

Bring a large pot of lightly salted

minutes.

For Dessert: The Lazy Man's Baked Turtle 20 mini pretzels 20 carmel cubes 1 bar o f dark or milk choco­

late (such as Jersey milk) 20 pecan halves Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celcius).

Lay the pretzels on a parchment lined baking tray, w ith about one inch o f space around each, to allow for the carmel and choco­ late to melt. Place one square of chocolate on each pretzel, and one carmel cube on top of each square of chocolate. Bake fo r 4 minutes. W hile the carmel is still warm and soft, press a pecan half into each turtle. Cool completely before eating, or dig right in if you w ant a hot w inter treat.

ver the years, parts o f the Shatner Building have been reconfigured and refurbished. This year, it's Gerts' turn to get a makeover.

A fter upwards o f three years o f planning, SSMU and the Gerts staff are very excited to see the renovations so close to completion. The bar w ill be closed fo r the summer, re-opening in September, 2012.

"I think that students w ill like the renovations. I th in k it'll be also a great opportunity to market Gerts to students w ho are coming into M cG ill," SSMU VP Finance and Operations Shyam Patel said.

"Gerts w ill be rebranded a little bit. If w e're coming o u t strong in the first semester, I think more students w ill know about it. It's going to be different, but w e're trying our best to make sure it's com fortable and home-y as it is right now ," Patel said.

Gerts has undergone several reno­ vations in its lifetime. The bar used to be located where La Prep and the SSMU student lounge are now, and the base­ m ent was occupied by The Alley, an alternative bar and cafe w hich was en­ visioned as a daytime hangout, and ca­ tered to McGill jazz lovers. By 1999, The Alley was closed and Gerts was moved downstairs in its place, to the dismay of patrons o f both bars. For a fe w years, there w ould be a lineup o u t the door on Thursday nights, but most other times o f the week, Gerts was relatively quiet.

In the past couple years however, Gerts has become more successful and so SSMU decided it was tim e to spruce up the student bar a little. Former VP Finance and Operations (2010-2011) Nicholas Drew elaborated on the origin o f the renovation plans which w ill take place this summer in an email to the Tribune.

"I sat on the operations com m ittee led by then-VP (Finance and Operations) Jose Diaz. The com m ittee wanted to do

O

!

something w ith the bar th a t w ould en­ gage students and revitalize its image.

We th o u g h t it was tim e fo r a fa ce lift," Drew said.

To do this, "The Great Gerts Chal­

shape when the renovations are com­

lenge" was created. Students subm it­ ted designs fo r the bar's reinvention.

A fter a com m ittee approved the w in ­ ning designs and consent was given by SSMU Council (for budgetary reasons),

plete, and the kitchen is going to be ex­

the redesign process started. The bud­ get was approved last year, but the ren­ ovations w ould have been to o rushed to complete this past summer, so they were delayed another year.

"This all happened tow ard the end o f Jose's term and th roughout my term up until the present. During my term as VP (Finance and Operations), I worked w ith McGill to select an appropriate de­ sign and begin the planning o f its con­ struction," Drew explained.

"W hen the Gerts Committee got the estimate from McGill, w e were way over the $200,000 that SSMU council approved the year before. I w rote a pro­ posal to council to get additional fu n d ­ ing and made a case to allocate double the am ount given. A fte r much debate, [we were] granted [about] $480,000 ... and the plans were given a green lig h t."

According to Gerts manager Na­ tasha Geoffrion-Greenslide, the reno­ vations aren't trying to do away w ith any o f the hominess th a t characterizes Gerts so well. The aim is to revamp the space w ith o u t losing its flexibility so it can still accommodate a diverse cli­ entele. The main goal is to make the space less awkward, both GeoffrionGreenslide and Patel asserted.

"It's an awkward bar to serve at.

There's to o much space behind the bar where there doesn't need to be, and it's sort o f divided into three parts," Geof­ frion-Greenslide said.

"It's going to be more open. Right now the way it is, you have the middle section w hich is sort o f the bar where you hang out, then you have the stage in the corner, and you sort o f have a random side th a t just has seating," Patel elaborated.

The stage w ill also be lengthened during renovations, along w ith an open style DJ booth. W hile the bar feels like it's divided into three sections at pres­ ent, it w ill have more o f a horseshoe

panded to increase the am ount o f food served.

W hen it first moved to its current location, Gerts suffered financially, los­ ing approximately $1 million.

"There were a lot o f reasons why this happened, but the follow ing comes to mind: there was high management turnover at the bar, the pricing scheme w asn't enticing a regular clientele, and the com petition o f Montreal's nightlife contributed to Gerts remaining a sink­ hole in the SSMU operating budget," Drew wrote.

In the last three years or so, Gerts has seen a considerable turnaround.

Patel attributes Gerts' recent success to the strategy used by his tw o most re­ cent predecessors, Drew and Diaz be­ fore him, as well as the consistency that Geoffrion-Greenslade has provided as manager over the past tw o years.

"D uring [Diaz's] term, Gerts was sort o f taking a 180, and it was being revamped. So there were specials, food was slowly being introduced ... I sort o f follow ed w h a t Nick did, and I think Nick follow ed w h a t his predecessor did," Patel said.

Patel also credited the daily specials and the constant student group book­ ings as big factors fo r bringing in new clientele.

"I think the specials [were] a big thing, so introducing specials five days a week, it helps. I th ink also Natasha's a big part o f w hy Gerts has turned around," Patel said. "Natasha's been very upbeat, her attitude's amazing. I think something she's done really well ... are big events, like Octoberhaus and St. Patrick's Day." He also cited student events held at Gerts like Trivia night as examples o f the bar's improved busi­ ness.

"Understanding Gerts and its com­ petitive environment was crucial. It had to complement the Montreal nightlife rather than directly compete. To en­ sure th a t it was frequented, we had to show students th a t coming to Gerts is a cheaper alternative to running events

elsewhere." Drew explained.

"W e instituted daily specials and encouraged students to run their events a t Gerts.

It was mutually beneficial since student groups could make money at the bar by collecting entrance fees and w e w ould offer specials on drinks to make sure people w ould attend. Sales then flourished."

Both Drew and Patel agreed that G eoffrionGreenslade has been a major force behind the continued success o f Gerts. Patel called her personality "refreshing," and Drew w rote, "Natasha was great to w ork w ith. She knew the industry quite well from her previous bartending experience and was enthu­ siastic [about w orking] w ith students. She had a lot o f unique ideas coming into the job. I think a lot o f the reason

| the bar consistent. She comj mented th a t a lot o f w hat j she tried to do was to ensure ideas were follow ed through j on from year to year, as well as to incorporate new ideas ; each year.

W hen asked about Gerts' tw o largest events, Octoberhaus and St. Pat­ rick's Day, she laughed and explained th a t the bar goes through about a month's w o rth o f beer those days.

But a lot more than that goes into organizing those kinds o f events. Bands are booked, extra tables and chairs are ordered and set up, and staff is constantly on the go. Compared to a typi­ cal day at Gerts, when the bar opens at 11:30 a.m. and closes between m idnight and 3 a.m., the St. Patrick's Day Friday event saw the doors open at 8:00 a.m., and they

d id n 't close until well into the Gerts succeeded was due to her warm presence and hard i early morning hours.

Gerts has been around w o rk." fo r years, making it a campus A McGill alumni her­ staple, and some students self (BA 2006, English litera­ ture), Geoffrion-Greenslide I even have parents w ho can reminisce about their days bartended at Gerts w hile in as a McGill student, hang­ school, and adm itted th a t she ing o u t at "Gertrude's" (the never expected to be back official name o f the bar). here. She came back to Gerts to help her old manager train ] In the words o f GeoffrionGreenslade, "It's a cool place some new employees, and to be. You see regulars, peo­ eventually w ound up taking ple hanging o u t after class, over as the new manager. or at n ig h t." These renova­ "Gerts has changed a lot. I worked w ith fo u r differ­ tions seek to continue this tradition and keep Gerts ent managers [when I w ent to school here]," said Geof­ frion-Greenslide, noting the new consistency in terms o f managment.

G e o ffrio n -G re e n s lid e recognized the constant managerial turnover coupled w ith the annual turnover o f the SSMU VP Finance and Operations position as a d if­ ficulty in terms o f keeping

'Gerts will be rebranded a little b it .... It’s going to be different, but we’re trying our best to make sure it’s comfortable and home-y.”

moving in its current, positive direction.

Patel explains Gerts' im­ portance in a fittin g ly simple manner: "It's nice to have a place on campus where you can go and just relax, where you're not studying."

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ENVIRONMENT

Jet stream and snowless ground bring summer weather Combination of mild winter and strong warm air currents lock hot weather over east coast Leigh Miller C o n trib u to r

Last week, as unusually hot temperatures hit Montreal, McGill students flocked to green spaces all over campus, trading winter coats for shorts and tank tops.

The peak of the hot spell hit on March 21, with the temperature reaching 25.8 C degrees, according to Environment Canada.

Wednesday’s high exceeded the record high temperature for March 19 by 10 degrees.

“Beating a record by 10 degrees is unheard of,” Frédéric Fabry, pro­ fessor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, said.

The unusual weather was caused by a combination of the mild winter and a north-south intrusion of a strong air current in the upper atmosphere called the jet stream, which blocked cooler weather from reaching the east coast.

Fabry explained that most Montreal weather travels west to east, driven by the jet stream. Oc­ casionally the usual path of the cur­ rent is disrupted by north-south air currents. When this happens, the weather gets trapped in place while the current is disrupted. This phe­ nomenon is referred to as a block.

“We just happened to be on the right side [of the block],” Fabry

said, referring to the fact that warm weather hovered over Montreal while snow continued to fall in west­ ern Canada and heavy rains pounded Texas, causing flooding.

In a normal Montreal March, deep snow would have cooled the

warm air that travelled north from the Gulf of Mexico. The mild win­ ter, caused in part by the fact that cold Arctic air stayed farther north in Canada than usual, meant the snow was thinner on the ground and melted quickly without significantly

cooling the temperature.

Fabry stressed that while there is plenty of evidence of gradual warming, this stretch of weather should not be considered proof of global wanning. He pointed out that despite the mild winter in east­

ern Canada, Eastern Europe expe­ rienced much colder temperatures than usual.

Meteorologists can see weather coming a week or so in advance by watching air currents and monitor­ ing the weather conditions upstream.

However, predicting the types of combinations of complex phenome­ na that resulted in the unprecedented warm spell last week is a difficult task.

Although websites like The Weather Network were predicting warm weather, the temperatures exceeded expectations. The bout of warm weather, which brought a snow-free St. Patrick’s Day, was a pleasant surprise for most.

Frostbite, an on-campus ice cream shop, sold so much ice cream that they had to close briefly to wait until more stock arrived. The un­ precedented melt also surprised the city of Montreal, which responded by starting street cleaning operations much earlier than usual this year.

In the coming week, the weath­ er is expected to cool down again.

Optimistically, Fabry pointed out that one last unexpected frost could kill off the mosquito larvae, making for a much more pleasant summer.

MEDICINE

A new potential therapy for Alzheimer's disease McGill researchers identify Nerve Growth Factor as key in maintaining neurological health Lauren Mokry C o n trib u to r

Recent McGill research may have brought scientists one step closer to finding an early marker for Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is one of the most menacing chronic illnesses, one which attacks the brain by degrad­ ing the neural tissue necessary for thoughts and normal brain function.

The disease manifests by erasing the self, as the memories, relationships, and beliefs central to one’s identity are eroded. Friends and family are left to watch helplessly as loved ones succumb to Alzheimer’s, haunted by the fact that despite the advance­ ments of modem medicine, nothing can be done to stop its progression.

With an aging population, it is predicted that the number of Al­ zheimer’s cases in North America will roughly triple by 2050. This

poses a great burden to our health care system—currently, the pathol­ ogy of the disease is still not fully understood, which complicates the search for effective treatments. To make matters worse, the degenera­ tion of the brain is asymptomatic.An Alzheimer’s diagnosis carries with it a degree of hopelessness, because existing therapies have proven to be only mildly effective, being unable to target the underlying condition.

What is understood is that the cortical cholinergic system plays a prominent role in cognitive process­ ing and that a progressive degrada­ tion of this system is partly respon­ sible for the cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

A molecule called the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) has previously been identified as a protector of these cho­ linergic neurons.

Research led by Dr. A. Clau­ dio Cuello of McGill’s department

of pharmacology and therapeutics found an imbalance in the metabo­ lism of NGF in Alzheimer’s-afflicted brains. NGF is secreted in an in­ active form, and must change form outside the cell in order to become functional. In brains with Alzheim­ er’s, this maturation process is com­ promised and NGF is degraded.

Cuello and his team attempted to reproduce this imbalance in rats. “[We wanted to] validate that this pathway is indeed responsible for maintaining the cholinergic phe­ notype in the Alzheimer’s system,” he said.

They pharmacologically blocked the NGF maturation path­ way, forcing an accumulation of the inactive form. They found that this disruption led to the degenera­ tion of cholinergic neurons and the onset of Alzheimer’s-like cognitive impairment. Conversely, when the degradation of mature NGF was in­

hibited by drug intervention, there was a significant increase in cho­ linergic contacts which are required for proper neuronal communication, demonstrating that NGF is crucial for the health of these neurons. This is an enormous breakthrough which points toward the regulation of NGF as a potential Alzheimer therapeutic target.

Dr. Cuello identified a few barriers in place that must be re­ solved before NGF-targeting drugs can be developed. First, there is no marker that allows us to diagnose Alzheimer’s because it is asymp­ tomatic when loss of neural tissue is already taking place. This is the one of greatest obstacles that scien­ tists need to overcome. Since there is no tell-tale sign, it is very difficult to target those who are at risk and to determine what stage they are at during neural decline.

In order to attack the underly­

ing condition and stop the progres­ sion of the disease in its tracks, a patient must receive proactive treat­ ment prior to the onset of any symp­ toms. In addition, there need to be drugs targeted to specific parts of the brain, because the secretion of NGF is spatially specific, meaning that the drug cannot be applied universally.

The drugs applied to animal models in this study were very powerful and unsuitable for human intervention as they could produce adverse effects.

In spite of these roadblocks and the difficult nature of Alzheim­ er’s disease, Dr. Cuello noted that many researchers are striving to dis­ cover pre-clinical indicators of the disease, which once identified, will reveal the brain’s hidden sickness and provide patients with necessary time to take action.

“We are in a position of opti­ mism,” Cuello said.

r

CAREER

Speakers discuss green careers McGill grads share their experience in the field of environment Victor Lam C o n t r ib u t o r

On Wednesday, March 14, three professionals in environmentrelated fields offered career advice to students interested in pursuing similar careers after graduation.

The professional panel session was part of the Career Planning Ser­ vices’ (CaPS) Green Careers Week, a three-day event featuring over 15 different non-government organiza­ tions and a dozen speakers from the field of environment.

Geneviève Paquin (B.Eng. ’ll) and Sonia Voiceson (B.Sc. Ag.En. Sc. ‘11), both recent graduates from McGill, shared their experiences and described how they discovered their interests as undergraduates.

Paquin’s exchange at the Uni­ versity of Western Australia shaped her interest in water shortages, and she completed multiple internships in the field. She believes students need to be more proactive in apply­ ing for internships by staying wellconnected and having a good net­

work of friends and family.

“Finding the first internship is very hard because you don’t have a lot of experience,” she said. “But you have to be aggressive. The main way to get internships is by con­ tacts.”

Paquin reminded students to not give up and to learn from their first real work experience.

“Once you have completed your first internship, even if it’s not the one you like, you can always take something away from it and use it when applying for your second in­ ternship,” she said.

Currently working as an intern at SUCO, Voiceson explained why she had difficulty choosing between two different job opportunities.

“I had the decision to make be­ tween having a stable government job and an internship for 6 months in Nicaragua, and it was difficult,” she said.

After explaining the challeng­ ing decision process, she told the audience about the uniqueness of the internship abroad.

“How many times can you go to another country and work for 6 months?” she asked. “It is a unique opportunity.”

Voiceson went on to explain how the internship in Nicaragua has allowed her to apply what she learned in school to the real world, and at the same time, have face-toface contact with the local popula­ tion in attempting to solve their water problems.

Sophie Daubisse, a director of L’Autre Marché, a local organiza­ tion focused on bridging the rela­ tionship between farmers and con­ sumers by co-ordinating farmers’ markets around Montreal, stressed the importance of putting your skills to work.

“I think the new generation of students have amazing theoretical knowledge, but need to find and identify their skills to put into proj­ ects,” she said. “We need new ideas, new juice, and that is exactly what my company is looking for.”

Mary H. Brown Fund 2012

Call for Proposals This endowment provides a total o f about $20,000 annually for the creation and early support o f innovative, on-campus projects that benefit McGill students’ physical and psychological well-being, and related initiatives. Proposals from faculty, students and staff are all welcome.

Extensions o f existing projects are also eligible for one renewal. The 2012 application deadline is Monday 16 April 2012.

\

Come to our Science and Technology meetings on

T u e s d a y s a t 5:30 in S h a t n e r 1 1 0

v ______________________________________________________________________ J

Do you have a pet cat-ion?

Apply to be a Sci&Tech editor!

Email editor@mcgilltribune.com Graduate and Post-Graduated Scholarships related with Hybrid Spyder vehicle development program Centre de technologies avan­ cées BRP-Université de Sher­ brooke (CTA) offers Graduate and Post-Graduated Scho­ larships related w ith Hybrid SHERBROOKE Spyder Vehicle development program. Offered projects are realized within multidis­ ciplinary teams, including professors from Université de Sherbrooke along w ith technicians and engineers from Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) and they lead to functional prototypes building.

CTA is actually seeking for top-level candidates in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering to tackle Master, Doctorate or Post-doctorate projects associated with hybrid-propulsion technologies: • Aerodynamics • Heat Management • Mechanicals/Mechatronics

Application is by letter to the Dean of Students, who administers the program in con­ junction with the Deputy Provost and the Director o f Bequests and Planned Gifts.

For application guidelines, suggestions for preparing a successful application, and examples o f projects submitted by previous recipients visit: http://www.mcgill.ca/deanofstudents/marybrown/ Please contact Meghan McCulloch at 514-398-1731 or deanofstudents@mcgill.ca for additional information.

Office o f the Dean o f Students Brown Student Services Building 3600 McTavish St., Room 4100

Interested candidates are requested to send a motivation letter and resume along w ith their school marks bulletin at the following address: Director - University affairs Centre de technologies avancées 3000, boul. de l'Université Sherbrooke J1K0A5 info@CTA-BRP-UdeS.com Deadline : April 15 th, 2012 for 2012 Summer session programs R e le v a n t c a n d id a te s o n ly w il l b e s e le c te d f o r in te r v ie w s . CTA o ffe r s a d y n a m ic a n d s t im u la t in g w o r k p la c e f e a t u r in g h i- t e c h e q u ip m e n ts in a n o u t s ta n d in g liv in g e n v i­ r o n m e n t. CTA is c o m m it te d to th e p r in c ip le o f e m p lo y m e n t e q u ity . W h ile r e m a in in g s e n s itiv e to th e is s u e o f f a i r a n d e q u ita b le t r e a t m e n t f o r a ll, w e w il l s e e k t o e s ta b lis h a w o r k p la c e r e p r e s e n ta tiv e o f th e p e o p le w e s e rv e b y im p le m e n t in g e m p lo y m e n t

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For more information visit us at http://www.cta-brp-udes.com/en/msc-and-phd-programs.html

i

; I

THEATRE

McGill pays tribute to the mad brilliance of Strindberg Department of English drama and threatre wows in performance of A Dream Play Richard Martyn-Hemphill O p in io n E d ito r

August Strindberg’s A Dream Play is a trailblazing masterpiece— surreal before the Surrealists, Brechtian before Brecht, and Kafkaesque before Kafka. Yet it is as bonkers as it is brilliant, with a plot mad enough to cause mental break­ downs. Because the scenes are so loosely interwoven, it is as difficult to direct as it is to interpret. The Mc­ Gill Department of English drama and theatre consequently took a se­ rious risk in choosing to produce it.

Fortunately, such a risk was well-calculated; their production is an absolute tour de force. Even be­ fore the performance starts, the au­ dience is completely immersed in the surreal surroundings: the music is eerie; Moyse Hall looks spectacu­ lar, yet curiously unfamiliar. Maybe this unfamiliarity has something to do with the weird, disheveled lime tree on stage right, though it prob­ ably has more to do with the fact that we—the audience—are all seated on stage, facing the stalls, where a quirky set of spectators appear to be watching us.

The play itself follows similar­ ly topsy-turvy rules, the scenes play­ ing in a sporadic sequence, moving backwards and forwards in time and space, conforming—as would be ex­ pected from the play’s title—to the

logical progression of a dream. The plot is centred on the Vedic god Indra’s daughter (Rachael Benjamin; Claire Horn; Elizabeth Conway— yes, her part has been split into three to add to the confusing melee) and her pseudo-messianic journey to earth to discover the human condi­ tion. Played with exceptional pa­ nache by the three actresses, the daughter(s) meet with the high and low of society, including the poet(s) (Melissa Keogh; Tara Richter Smith; Gabriela Petrov—also split into three) and the officer(s) (Max­ well Lanocha; Mathew Stevens; Michael Ruderman), only to resolve frequently that “human beings are to be pitied.”

It is a bleak indictment. Yet the show remains wonderfully zany, brought to life by first-rate acting from the entire cast. Many of the actors take on more than one role, swapping seamlessly between each of their parts. The show is also fes­ tooned with countless unforgettable individual performances: Johanu Botha produces a sterling portrayal of ‘The Quarantine Master,’ bril­ liantly playing him as a cross be­ tween a demented Zorro and Hunter S. Thompson on LSD; Cory Lipman plays an equally eyebrow-raising performance as the curiously randy, tweed-clad, clown-nosed lawyer; Zoe Erwin-Longstaff pulls off a superb cameo as the creepy, (yet

strangely sweet) Kristin; and Elea­ nor Faulkes is outstanding as the fe­ rociously stubborn dean of theology.

The show is blessed by two ex­ cellent directors (Professor Myma Wyatt Selkirk; Natalie Gershtein).

The inversion of the stage and the stalls is a great decision, adding in­ timacy to the proceedings and dis­ torting the line between reality and performance. Equally inspired is the decision to blend A Dream Play with such impressive physical theatre.

And splitting the parts of the poet, the officer, and the daughter proves effective in allowing each actor to bring their own unique interpreta­ tion to each role.

Meticulous preparation shines

through in many other aspects of the show as well: the lighting (Eric Chad) is terrific, with vast projec­ tions covering the Moyse Hall in stars, trees, forests and mountains; the costumes by the costume team are perfectly designed to capture the early 20th-century feel of the perfor­ mance, their use of macabre Vene­ tian masks succinctly conveys the characters’ scars of thwarted hope, and the clown noses cleverly under­ score the savage satire underpinning the play. The set, designed by Claire Stewart, is also designed intelligent­ ly, with podiums placed among the stalls to accommodate the unusual staging. The choreography (Kallee Lins; Nicole Rainteau; Natalie Ger­ shtein) is quick-paced, elegant, and creative.

Through such an exceptional production, many of the poignant ideas nestled in Strindberg’s work to take flight: the folly of authority, the delusions of hope, the limits of love and human knowledge, the dilemma of faith, and the liberating powers of the creative instinct. With such an array of talent on display from all facets of this performance, it is hard to even dream of a better pro­ duction taking place at McGill any time soon.

A Dream Play runs March 29-31 at 7p.m. in Moyse Hall. Email publicity.english@ megill,ca to re­ serve tickets. $5 for students.

FILM

The true mystery behind a Canadian icon Documentary attempts to unravel the unexplained death of artist Tom Thomson Emma Hambly C o n tr ib u to r

West Wind: the Vision of Tom Thomson by Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont, isn’t a documentary so much as a detective story. Yes, there is a love triangle, and an unex­ plained death that may or may not be a murder, but these aren’t the mys­ teries Hozer and Raymont are inter­ ested in. Tom Thomson’s unsolved death often overshadows his life, and even his paintings. What West Wind focuses on, instead, is getting to know the compelling but elusive mind of the man himself, through his stunning body of work.

Tom Thomson spoke little and wrote even less. The film opens with one of his rare letters, which ends with the simple line, “I will stick to my painting as long as I can.”

One thing is clear: Thomson needs to create. The film’s detective work sketches the rest of his character.

Interviews with curators, art histori­ ans, passionate collectors, the words of Thomson’s family and friends, and charming grainy photos and film clips all help us get to know the fa­ mous Canadian artist.

This technique makes West Wind a film about a sickly boy who found his strength and his inspira­ tion in nature. He’s a man who gave up a secure career in commercial art to follow his passion. A pacifist who fought against social pressure to keep doing what he loved. A painter who persisted despite savage critical reviews.

The most remarkable evidence we have about Thomson, however, lies immortalized in his paintings.

West Wind presents the most recog­ nizable works, balanced with quick

sketches, oils hidden away in private collections, and downright obscure pieces. Together, they form a picture of a brilliant and endlessly inspired creative mind. There was no telling when his muse would make herself known—Tom was known to paint by lamplight in the darkest nights or fiercest storms. His paintings all centre on Northern Ontario, but their variety is astounding. As his friend and later Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson put it, “Not knowing the conventional definitions of beau­ ty, he found it all beautiful.”

This is the true legacy of Tom Thomson. He re-imagined Canada, forever altering its character—per­ ceived before him as a cruel, mo­ notonous landscape. After Tom, we have Canada the powerful, the wild, the beautiful.

In an act of either awful irony or poetic justice, this is the same

O n e o f T o m T h o m s o n 's m a n y w o r k s , (c re a tio n s -g a lle r y .c o m )

Canada that claimed Thomson’s life.

His waterlogged body and capsized canoe turned up on Canoe Lake, Al­ gonquin Park, on July 8, 1917. Of course, Hozer and Raymont have to address this captivating story, but the film treats the intrigue like a fascinating final chapter, rather than the defining aspect of Thomson’s life. The evidence presented is less

objective, hinting at murder, consid­ ering his odd head injury and false burial.

Tom Thomson’s death is still a mystery, and one that will likeh never be solved. But the true allure of Thomson’s death is his life—a life that West Wind: the Vision of Tom Thomson's research and shap­ ing makes all the more interesting.

MUSIC

Music for her grandchildren Stacey Jackson talks family life, career, and working with Snoop Dogg Rebecca Feigelsohn Contributor

Stacey Jackson might not be your typical dance diva, but this down-to-earth mother of four knows how to get a party started. Her latest EP, Live It Up, is a compilation of upbeat, feel-good dance songs that Jackson hopes will convey the man­ tra she lives by: “Life isn’t a dress rehearsal, you’ve got to live it.”

Jackson is refreshing and relatable, and her rapid road to stardom catapulted her the number two spot on the UK dance charts. Over the last 18 months, her chart-topping single “Live It Up,” featuring rapper Snoop Dogg, has made a major splash in the dance scene. The somewhat un­ likely pair bonded quickly, sharing similar stories about their children and their longevity, traits that are somewhat scarce in today’s ageist music industry. Jackson’s genuine demeanour is what persuaded Snoop Dogg to work with her.

“He loved that I’m coming from a different place,” Jackson says. “I’m not affected by the music industry. I’m mature, so my choices are slightly more business-slanted and I am totally open to working with people and having my music remixed and fattened up.”

Now based in London with her husband and children, Jackson man­ ages to balance her hectic career with family life, two roles she would never want to give up. Described as a “grown-up Hannah Montana” by friends, her stardom projects a posi­ tive message to youth, particular ly young girls.

“My intention is to show that no matter who you are, how old

LiveIt Upput Jackson on the charts behind Lady Gaga, (radioscreamer.com) you are, what you do, if you have a dream, you go and do it,” Jackson explains.

She certainly seems to be doing everything she’s ever dreamed of; not only was she seated between Lady Gaga and the Scissor Sisters on the UK Commercial Pop Charts, she is also a philanthropist. Teaming up with Music for Youth, a music education charity in the UK that provides access to performance and audience opportunities to children, Jackson raised over $30,000 by col­ laborating with young musicians.

Her previous album, Upside Down, incorporated children from all over the country and sprinkled their voic­ es throughout the tracks, allowing them to have the unique experience of being part of the recording pro­ cess.

Jackson has only been back in the music industry for a few years now, but she doesn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon.

“What I always wanted my whole life is not necessarily a Gram­ my or an IDMA. I want my grand­ children to go to a club and be danc­

ing to one of my songs, or listening to it on the radio,” she says.

Her ultimate goal is to have one hit that transcends generations and becomes “anthematic.”

“When my grandchild is at a wedding and they are playing “I Am A Woman,” or “Live It Up,” and it actually transcends, they are going to go, ‘That was my grandma’s song.’ How cool is that?” she ex­ claims.

Doors are opening for Jackson, who has her own record label and is interested in working with other popular musicians and DJs. She has also been approached by television production companies to star with her family in a reality show, but is waiting to see which path makes the most sense for her career.

“I’m not in the business of pimping my kids out,” she says.

Whichever path Jackson choos­ es to take, her passion and spunk are important attributes not just for her role as a mother but as an artist with dance-pop potential.

MARCH 27 APRIL 2 A Week With Stanley Kubrick March 30-April 5 Cinéma du Parc Eyes Wide Shut (Friday-Monday) p The Killing (Tuesday-Thursday) Cinéma du Parc spans influ­ ential director Stanley Kubrick's career with re-releases of his gritty film noir The

Killing and

his posthumously released erotic thriller

EyesWideShut.

Yukon Blonde March 30 Casa del Popolo 4873 St. Laurent 8 p.m.

This Vancouver band brings their brand of endlessly sing­ able classic-rock inspired tunes to Montreal in support of their recently released excellent sophomore LP Library Voices and Great Bloomers open. $10/$13.

Darrelie London: Eat a Peach The tone of Eat a Peach, the sophomore release of self-described “quirky Canadian piano-pop sing­ er-songwriter” Darrelle London, can be easily construed by the title of the album itself. Not only does London impressively blend clever quirkiness in a way that is similar to modem British indie-pop icons like Lilly Allen and Kate Nash, but she also manages to create lyrics that are sophisticated and relatable.

The album’s opener, “First Date,” a snarky recounting of a first date gone horribly wrong, is an ex­ cellent preview of the tone of the rest of the album, which features humorous interpretations of com­ mon interpersonal problems. While some female artists mix heavy sub­ ject matter with morose and wail­ ing vocals, London’s witty, light persona is extremely refreshing, as are her simple yet charming musical arrangements. “Forgot My Words” is the standout song of the album with its catchy chorus and strong vocals, and “Fine” also deserves recognition for its ability to catch your interest just as well as the rest of the album, despite being the only relatively mellow track.

Although the lyrics are wellwritten and the piano accompani­ ment is exceptionally catchy, the most alluring aspect of the album is London’s engaging and free-spirited personality, which shines through on every track. Her raw, yet skillful vocals draw you in from the begin­ ning of Eat a Peach, and, no matter your mood, put a smile on your face.

—Marie Stefanakis

Delta Spirit: Delta Spirit Delta Spirit’s self-titled third album sees the band attempting to shake their “rootsy Americana” label, offering their sleekest, most polished, and accessible record to date, for better or worse.

The new direction isn’t com­ pletely unexpected considering the prominence of rock-based songs on their sophomore effort History From Below, but it is surprising how enthusiastically they’ve committed to the change. This time, it’s all am­ plified, with acoustic guitar making only a few fleeting background ap­ pearances and a widened sonic pal­ ette including synths and drum ma­ chines. Sometimes the new sounds and timbres work well—the hazy, washed out guitars on “California” do an excellent job of evoking ro­ manticized images of said state— but achieve underwhelming results elsewhere (“Tellin’ the Mind” feels overstuffed in particular).

Singer Matthew Vasquez’s voice remains the band’s great­ est asset, running the gamut from soothingly tender on “Yamaha” to impassioned, throat-straining cries that make “Money Saves” the ca­ thartic highlight of the album. The songs themselves focus on the “big picture,” addressing philosophical questions about life, love, and com­ ing to terms with one’s own mortal­ ity, but there’s a persistent musical optimism even with the heaviest lyrics (“Empty House,” “Into the Darkness”).

Fans might lament the band’s move away from their rootsy foun­ dations, especially considering how good those songs were, but “classic” Delta Spirit would have derailed the record’s sonic cohesiveness. In the end, focusing on what the album isn’t misses out on what it is—a band putting a new foot forward and mostly succeeding.

—Ryan Taylor

Tiger Talk.

@mcgill_tribune

FILM

No Room for Rockstars makes some noise Documentary examines the history, legacy, and the music of the Vans Warped Tour Ilia Blinderman Contributor

No Room for Rockstars, which chronicles the 2010 Vans Warped Tour, faced the seldom attempted, and typically unmet challenges set to all music documentaries. On the one hand, it is obliged to focus on the bands and organizers who make up the annual music and extreme sports festival, sating the fans who see the film for more of their fa­ vourite fare. On the other, it must combine hundreds of hours’ worth of concert footage into a cohesive, palatable story for those who know little of the tour.

The Warped Tour began in 1994, with a series of small punk and ska concerts. Over the next 17 years, the tour has grown into a be­ hemoth two-month affair, with as many as 100 bands playing some of the dates. With size came bands with record deals and greater popu­ lar appeal, a push to sell merchan­

dise, and a backlash from those who railed against the commercialization of music.

The ace up the sleeve of a film that would otherwise have surely been a Jackass epigone comes in the form of its producers and crew, many of whom have the quintes­ sential Gen X documentary pedi­ grees. Agi Orsi and Stacy Peralta, in charge of production, were previ­ ously responsible for the excellent skating documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys (Peralta, who directed, was on the Zephyr skate team profiled in the film), while editor Joshua Altman had worked on the highly acclaimed We Live in Public, the morbidly gripping portrayal of the dawn of the Internet age. Rather than showing the highlights of the tour’s saturnalia, they chose to focus on how three artists see the Warped Tour and its gradual evolution.

Of these, the most popular and successful is Mike Posner. Posner, who never failed to sound as if he had just awoken from a thick stupor,

is surprisingly industrious, follow­ ing his Warped Tour sets with club performances and studio work. He made his pragmatism clear—al­ though he was lucky to be making music for a paycheck, he readily admitted that he was a brand, and needed to sell himself while the iron was hot.

By contrast, Chris Drew, the painfully teenage frontman for Never Shout Never, reacted with asperity to the indelible undertow of business he encountered. Drew, who resembles a tattooed Justin Bieber and is fawned over by teenage girls, began playing music seriously when his parents threw him out of home.

While lyrically clumsy, Drew is im­ bued with some measure of teenage pain and hope; I was struck by how candidly he spoke of his fear that the grind and money that dominates touring would leave him burned out.

The only band profiled that wasn’t part of the tour was Forever Came Calling, who try with adoles­ cent tenacity to crawl and claw out

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH CREATIVE WRITING PRIZES AND AWARDS The MONA ADILMAN PRIZE IN POETRY, estimated value $500-or estimated value $250 for two students, is open to undergraduate or graduate students registered in the Faculty o f Arts for the best poem or group of poems relàting to ecological or environmental concerns.

Fans get riled up at the 2010 Vans Warped Tour, (me-review.net)

of their small desert hometown by following the tour and selling re­ cords outside the venue to pay for their fuel. Broke and often nearing despair, their only goal is to get a chance to play on stage.

Unfortunately, while No Room for Rockstars is produced well, there is a dearth of necessary footage to tell the story. Honest insights into the life of a touring musician are quickly superseded by concert scenes, after

which the camera must leap to an­ other artist. Of course, a plethora of perspectives would have made for a worthwhile history of the Warped Tour. The personal approach the cre­ ators tried to take, however, held the unrealized promise of the rare amal­ gam of relatability and documentary that I’m still hoping to see.

Follow us on Twitter @mcgilLtribune

The CLARK LEWIS MEMORIAL PRIZE, estimated value $400, is open to major or honours students in the Department o f English. The prize is awarded annually or from time to time for original plays staged in the course of the academic year.

The CHESTER MACNAGHTEN PRIZES IN CREATIVE WRITING (two prizes, one of estimated value $600 and another of estimated value $300) are open to undergraduate students of the University for the best piece of creative writing in English, i.e. a story, a play, a poem, an essay, etc. Printed composi­ tions are ineligible if they have been published before April 11, 2012.

The PETERSON MEMORIAL PRIZE, estimated value $2,000, is open to undergraduate or graduate students registered in a degree program in the Department of English with distinction in English Litera­ ture (CGPA 3.30 or above) who has also shown creative literary ability.

The LIONEL SHAPIRO AWARDS FOR CREATIVE WRITING, three prizes of estimated value $1,300 each, to be distributed if possible among the genres of poetry, fiction, screen writing and playwrighting.

Each prize is to be awarded on the recommendation of the Department of English to students in the final year of the B.A. course who have demonstrated outstanding talent. (A note from your academic adviser verifying you will have completed your program requirements and the minimum credits required by the Faculty of Arts MUST accompany your submission.)

These competitions are restricted to students who have not previously won the First Prize.

Forms to be completed are available in the Department of English General Office, Arts 155.

Submissions must be IN TRIPLICATE.

DEADLINE: Monday, April 16, 2012

W W W .M CGILLTRIBUNE.COM

HOCKEY — REDMEN 4, WESTERN 3 (O.T.) (CIS CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDAL GAME)

Redmen win first CIS Championship in school history Redmen captain Evan Vossen scores overtime winner against Western Christopher Nardi S p o rts E d ito r

On March 3,1875, the first ever organized hockey game took place at Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink between various McGill students.

The game introduced the use of a puck instead of a ball with the hopes of preventing any crowd members from being hit, since a puck is harder to lift. In 1877, the first ice hockey club, the McGill University Hockey Club, was bom.

Now, 137 years after the birth of hockey, and 136 years after the formation of the McGill Hockey Club, the McGill Redmen have won their first ever CIS championship.

The historic win came after a thrill­ ing overtime goal scored by team captain Evan Vossen, capping a sea­ son to remember for the Redmen.

The road to the championship began with the second-seeded Red­ men facing the fifth-seeded Monc­ ton Aigles Bleus. The Redmen came out of the locker room with all cylin­ ders firing, and Moncton was forced to take two penalties only three min­ utes in, giving McGill two minutes of five-on-three play. McGill took advantage of the golden opportunity, as Francis Verreault-Paul and Alex­ andre Picard-Hooper both scored powerplay goals to give the Redmen a 2-0 lead just five minutes in the game. Nicolas Biniek added another goal for McGill, giving the Redmen a 3-1 lead after one period.

The second and third frames were also dominated by McGill. In the second, Verreault-Paul scored his second of the night, and Andrew

R e d m e n c e le b ra te th e ir firs t C IS C h a m p io n s h ip in th e p ro g r a m 's 1 3 6 - y e a r e x is te n c e . ( C o le B u rs to n / D a ily G le a n e r )

Wright added another, extending McGill’s lead to 5-1.

Moncton answered in the third, scoring twice and applying pressure on McGill goaltender Hubert Morin.

It was too little, too late, however, and McGill came away with the 6-3 win.

McGill moved on to play the Saskatchewan Huskies in their sec­ ond game of the tournament. The Huskies lost to the Aigles Bleus 5-1 the night before, and had to defeat McGill by three goals or more in order to qualify for the gold medal

T H IR D M A N I N Being a sports fan has its pros and cons. When I think about all the time I have spent over the past years diligently following sports, not to mention the energy and sanity invested in the diehard zealousness associated with being a sports fan, I can’t help but wonder if my qual­ ity of life (and certainly my GPA) would be higher if I just stopped. In­ deed, many times people argue this point, saying that time can be far better spent engaging in meaningful tasks instead of watching a bunch of paid adults make their money.

While these arguments do have merit, nothing compares to the feel­ ing of investing in a team and seeing them succeed. They become a part of you, and their victories become yours. A favourite player has the

game.

Fortunately for McGill, Morin was just solid enough in net, and McGill lost the game 4-3. Thanks to goal differential tiebreaking proce­ dure, the Redmen advanced to their second consecutive CIS champion­ ship finals.

After being tom apart by UNB 4-0 in last year’s finals, the Redmen were determined not to allow history to repeat itself, learning from their past failure. Facing a Western team who had upset UNB just the night before, the finals were a rematch of

the Queen’s Cup just two weeks ago, in which McGill prevailed handily 4 -1 .

Unfortunately, the Redmen took a penalty for too many men at 7:21 into the game, giving Western the opportunity to take the early lead. Western’s leading scorer Ke­ aton Turkiewicz took advantage and buried the opening goal. McGill re­ sponded exactly seven minutes later with Benoit Levesque’s first goal of the tournament.

The tides were reversed in the second period, as Lévesque stayed

hot and scored his second of the game 48 seconds in. But, the Mus­ tangs charged back, and Kevin Baker tied the game at two. McGill once again halted any potential mo­ mentum by Western, with Nicholas Biniek scoring his third of the tour­ nament, giving McGill a one-goal lead heading into the second inter­ mission.

The third period was character­ ized by a complete reversal of roles, as Western dominated the play while Verreault-Paul received a five-min­ ute major and a game misconduct after charging Western goaltender Josh Unice. The Mustangs took ad­ vantage, and Turkiewicz scored his second powerplay goal. The game was headed into sudden death over­ time.

Sudden death overtime is polar­ izing. It has the potential to be one of the worst moments for any athlete, or one of the most rewarding and ex­ hilarating. The Redmen understood that to win their first national title, one member of the team would have to step up.

Exactly six minutes into over­ time, McGill captain Evan Voss broke away from Western’s defend­ ers and did exactly what the 1875 hockey teams hoped the puck would never do: he lifted the puck over Unice’s shoulder and scored the winning goal for the championshipstarved team. Vossen, a senior play­ ing his last game with the team, had scored not only the biggest goal of his career, but the greatest goal in McGill men’s hockey history.

Man-ning overboard

same effect: when they do well, you live through their success and when they don’t, it definitely detracts from the fan experience. But when they leave the team, it’s just plain sad.

Anybody who has painted his or her body, tailgated at a game, or waited hours in the cold for an autograph knows what I’m talking about. Your favourite player’s success means a lot.

So for you sports fans, the next sentence will probably be more than enough context to understand where I’m going with this: I am an India­ napolis Colts fan, and a diehard Pey­ ton Manning fan as well.

Hockey has always been the number one sport in my life, and it wasn’t until I was 14 that I really started watching football. Since Can­

ada doesn’t have any real football teams (sorry CFL fans), it’s pretty common to simply pick a team, for whatever reason, and cheer on for the rest of your life. Ever since then, Peyton Manning has been the only quarterback I would cheer for. His record-breaking performances, his ability to dissect a defense, and his incredible work ethic are all great reasons to be a Manning fan. How­ ever, it is also the intangibles that contribute to what makes Peyton Manning so incredibly revered. His class, southern charm, and surpris­ ingly sound acting skills make him a fan favourite around the league, not just to Colts fans.

It should be no surprise to any­ one that I was devastated three weeks ago when the Colts released their

quarterback of 14 years. I was one of those Colts fans in denial who be­ lieved that Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning together would have been a good idea. So what if Peyton had a $28 million signing bonus? So what if he had three neck surgeries in the past year? Peyton Manning defined the Colts’ success for more than a decade, and it was almost unfathom­ able to think that only two weeks after his release, Manning would be holding an orange and blue jersey with a beaming John Elway stand­ ing next to him.

In today’s sports culture, it is commonplace for an athlete to leave the team that drafted him, especially with smaller market teams, for big­ ger, better, and more exciting cities.

Peyton Manning could have made

millions of dollars playing in much bigger and flashier cities than India­ napolis, but that just wouldn’t have been Peyton. In an era where class in professional sports seems to be nonexistent, Peyton Manning is a refreshingly loyal outlier.

For those Colts fans that feel betrayed by Manning, don’t forget that it was the team that cast him out, not the other way around. Man­ ning’s professionalism and courtesy, in addition to his unbelievable skill and immense talent, will always be remembered fondly, no matter what happens in Denver and beyond.

— Joshua Prizant

T

■

Z 4 JJJC Carolina, respectively. Seeing as Kentucky could probably beat the Charlotte Bobcats, we’re going to make a bold prediction and say that the Wildcats will win the tourna­ ment next weekend.

In ca se y o u w ere to o b u sy c a m p in g o u t f o r th e H u n g e r G a m e s p r e ­

HOCKEY - On Sunday, Que­ bec City mayor Regis Lebeaume, alongside Quebecor Media magnate Pierre-Karl Peladeau, announced that construction of a new amphi­ theatre will begin this coming Sep­ tember. Projecting the costs of the new building at about $400 million, Lebeaume and Peladeau hope that the project, which is expected to seat 18,000, will finally cement Quebec City’s hopes of getting a second chance at an NHL team. “The dream is becoming a reality,” Lebeaume said at the beginning of the press conference. Now, Lebeaume and the rest of Quebec City will move on from dreaming to praying that an NHL team will actually be brought in, reviving the Quebec Nordiques once again.

m ie re , h e r e ’s w h a t y o u m isse d th is p a s t w e e k in th e w o rld o f sp o rts ...

NCAA BASKETBALL The madness is growing and thou­ sands of brackets were tom apart in the college basketball world, as the remaining teams competed in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight this past weekend. Only one major upset occurred, as Louisville defeated number one seed Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen. Louisville then

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Heysel Stadium Disaster — Belgium, May 2 9,198 5

Soccer hooliganism has plagued the sport from its birth, but arguably no individual event has left a darker mark than the Heysel Stadium Di­ saster in 1985, often referred to as the “darkest hour in the history of UEFA.” Juventus was to play the premier club of the time, Liverpool, in the European Cup Finals. Riots began an hour prior to kick-off when divided fans began hurling objects across the barricade. Liverpool supporters then flocked to the sup­ port stanchion and climbed the wall, causing Juventus supporters to flee in fear. The extra weight caused by the rioters cracked and toppled the divider, crushing and killing 39 peo­ ple and injuring an additional 600.

Juventus went on to win a hollow victory, securing the match 1-0.

Disco Demolition Night — Chicago, July 1 2,197 9

Starting off the list is an infamous event in the history of America’s fa­

faced Florida in the Elite Eight, and overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to earn the first ticket to the Final Four in New Orleans.

Ohio State will follow Louisville there after taking down Syracuse, the number one seed in the East region. Kentucky and Kansas were the last two to advance to the Final Four after beating Baylor and North

FOOTBALL - With the Pey­ ton Manning signing in Denver, the Tim Tebow sweepstakes began.

None other than the New York Jets received divine help and acquired the iconic quarterback on Wednes­ day afternoon. We can’t wait until Jets fans start chanting Tebow’s name after Mark Sanchez throws his first interception. In more contro­ versial news, commissioner Roger

■ m Goodell doled out the punishments for the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program. As the school kids say, “he laid the boom”—Head Coach Sean Payton is suspended for the season, defensive co-ordinator Gregg Wil­ liams is suspended indefinitely, and the Saints lose their 2012 and 2013 second-round draft picks. Goodell has yet to announce the punishments for the players involved in the pro­ gram, but expect them to be just as harsh. At least Mardi Gras was fun, right New Orleans?

SCOREBOARD (Scores since March 20)

REDMEN HOCKEY Won 6-3 vs. Moncton (CIS Championship) Lost 4-3 vs. Saskatchewan (CIS Championship) Won 4-3 (O.T.) vs. Western (CIS Championship Gold Medal Game)

GOLF — Ladies and gentle­ / -----------------------------------------man, golf is relevant again. Nine hundred and twenty-three days had passed since Tiger Woods won his last PGA tour event, but on Sun­ day, the drought ended as Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five strokes. It was Woods' sev­ enth time winning this event at Bay Hill, and more importantly, it comes just two weeks before the Masters tournament at Augusta. Golf fans Email: and analysts are undoubtedly riding the wave of momentum, wonder­ sports@mcgilltribune.com ing whether he can reclaim his past glory. He remains just four major Tw itter: tournament wins away from tying Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18. Expect @mcgilltribsport this win to dominate the golfing world for the weeks leading up to Augusta.

Two more chances to beat us. Write for sports.

V_____________________ )

IN SPORTS HISTORY

By Jeffrey Downey

vourite pastime. On Thursday, July 12, 1979 a double-header between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers turned nasty as fans gathered to celebrate the "Death of Disco.” The 90,000 fans present, a crowd that pushed the stadium to capacity, were angsty from the start.

They hurled vinyl records and other debris onto the field several times throughout the contest. Things came to a head at the end of the first game, when a planned detonation of disco records turned violent; thousands of fans rushed the field to revel in the destructive death of disco. Although only minor injuries were reported, the demonstration put a definitive end to disco and the planned doubleheader.

sports history, it all began to take shape as game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals wound down with Van­ couver in line for the loss. Fans be­ came unruly, beginning by throwing bottles at large screens in the view-

“ BY THE END, WERE SET ABLAZE AND COUNTLESS

2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup Riot — Vancouver, June 15,

BROKEN NTO.”

2011 What list could be complete without a return to last summer’s shameless Vancouver riot? One of the most destructive riots in Canadian and

ing area before taking to the streets in growing numbers. By the end, 15 cars were set ablaze and count­ less stores were broken into and ran­

sacked. Over 100 arrests were made, and there were over 140 injuries, and $5 million in property damages.

Ten Cent Beer Night — Cleve­ land, June 4 ,1 9 7 4

Returning again to baseball, the Ten Cent Beer Night had all the ingre­ dients for disaster: extremely cheap beer, and clashing sports teams. The contest was between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers, with the idea behind the promotion being to offer as many 8 oz beer cups as a fan could drink for 10 cents each, to boost waning attendance. With the game tied 5-5 and the go-ahead Rangers’ run on second, an inebri­ ated Cleveland fan charged the field to steal the outfielder’s cap. The Texas bench, fearing he would be assaulted, stormed the surface—bats in hand—with the Indians following suit. This prompted a massive influx of fans to the field, many armed with an extremely bizarre repertoire of weapons including nunchuks. Ulti­ mately, riot police arrived to restore

order, but not before hundreds of injuries were reported. Needless to say, further scheduled Beer Nights were cancelled.

Richard Riot — March 17,195 5

Montreal,

No player has meant more to h s team, or his city, than what Maurice Richard did to the Canadiens anti Montreal. Therefore, it is not sui prising that tempers flared following his suspension for the remainder ot the 54-55 season for a hit on a lines­ man. When Clarence Campbell, the head of the NHL, appeared at the first Canadiens’ game following the suspension, a riot broke out in the streets to appeal the punishment.

At its peak, the riot contained thou sands of unsettled fans and accumu lated more than 100 arrests and injuries. Additionally, it cost the city over $100,000. Only the man hin self could save the city at this point, as Richard did when he appealed to the hostile crowd and asked them to disperse. Finally, they obeyed.

Image source: totallycoolpix.com

A lo o k a t th e u p c o m in g

by James Maddalena

N H L A w a r d s C e re m o n y As the NHL season grinds to a close, it's fitting to take a look toward summer in Las Vegas, where the NHL awards will be given out to a multitude of deserving players around the league. Of course, some of the top nominees for these awards are not surprising— players like Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk seem to have a knack for receiving the same award year after year— but each year brings fortune to different individuals, and this year is no different. Let's take a look at the forerunners and darkhorses for a few of the most coveted NHL awards.

Hart Memorial Trophy (League MVP)

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)

Calder Trophy (Best Rookie)

Jack Adam's Trophy (Best Coach)

Winner: Evgeni Malkin

Winner: Henrik Lundqvist

Winner: Erik Karlsson

Winner: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Winner: Ken Hitchcock

This year, the NHL's current lead­ ing point scorer, Evgeni Malkin, is the forerunner for the Hart. Malkin is a huge reason for the Penguins' success

With "King Henrik" in mind, it's obvious that the Swede is the forerun­ ner for the trophy. Lundqvist has an im­

This year's rookie of the year award looks like it's going to last year's first overall draft pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

In all likelihood, the winner of this year's Coach of the Year award will be Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues.

After taking over early on in the season,

this season given the long absence of Sidney Crosby. The Russian forward's strong and inspirational play, game in and game out, makes him Hart worthy.

It's easy to crown Erik Karlsson as this year's favourite for the Norris tro­ phy. The Swede's stellar 72 points (10th in the league) mixed with his ability to get the job defensively makes him a great selection for the Norris.

pressive 1.87 G.A.A., a staggering .934 save percentage, and a league-leading, eight shutouts on the season.

Despite injury, the 18-year-old has gen­ erated 46 points in 54 games, and fans are realizing that he's the real deal.

Runner up: Runner up:

Nicklas Lidstrom

Brian Elliot

the veteran coach has posted a 40-128 record, good enough to secure the Blues' top ranking in the league.

Runner up: Gabriel Landeskog

Runner up:

Runner up: Paul McLean

Claude Giroux

Claude Giroux is also worthy of being a Hart candidate is Claude Gir­ oux. His performance of late has slowed down, but it is impossible to ignore the impact that he makes on the Flyers' team on and off the ice.

Though astounding, Lundqvist's G.A.A. and save percentage are second only to Brian Elliot, goalie for the St. Louis Blues. However, since Elliot splits time with other Blues' goaltender Jaro­ slav Halak, he has 21 fewer starts than Lundqvist, which may restrict him from being Vezina worthy.

Lidstrom out for this award considering he's won it six times in the past decade.

However, his performance has slowed down this season, and injuries have kept him off the ice for too long.

current push for a playoff spot and con­ tinues to show off his raw talent.

Paul McLean of the Ottawa Sena­ tors has transformed a team projected to miss the playoffs into a team that is a definite threat in the Eastern Conference looking forward into the playoffs.

Dark Horse: Brian Campbell

Dark Horse: Henrik Lundqvist

Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog is also in the running for the Calder, largely because of his play late in the season.

The 19-year-old is huge part of the Avs'

Dark Horse:

Dark Horse:

Adam Henrique

John Tortorella

The New Jersey Devils' star left winger has been a surprise for must ex­ perts, but his 16-31-48 stat line doesn't lie: this kid can play. Completing a line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac, Henrique will be a force to be reckoned

It would be difficult to ignore John Tortorella's success this season with the Rangers. He is certainly a good candi­ date for this award, as the Rangers are currently first in the Eastern Conference, while managing possible distractions such as the HBO series 24/7.

Dark Horse: Jonathan Quick

Although no goalie has won the Hart since Jose Theodore in 2002, Hen­ rik Lundqvist is also a legitimate candi­ date to bring home the hardware. He is probably the best goalie in the league, and his play is a huge reason why the Rangers currently sit at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Quite possibly the most underrat­ ed goaltender in the league, Jonathan Quick is a dark horse for this year's Vezi­ na. The LA goaltender has posted seven shutouts, a respectable 2.00 G.A.A., and a stellar .928 save percentage. He is also tied in first in goalie starts this season.

The dark horse for this category is Florida's Brian Campbell. He leads the league in average ice time per game among defensemen, and has an impres­ sive 49 points thus far, 28 of which come on the powerplay.

with heading into the playoffs.

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C O N G R A T U L A T IO N S TO THE MCGILL REDMEN HOCKEY TEAM ON THEIR FIRST CIS CHAMPIONSHIP!

MARCH 22 RALLY AGAINST TUITION HIKES

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PHOTOS BY ALEXANDRA ALLAIRE AND M ICHAEL PAOLUCCI

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