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The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

IN-DEPTH

PGSS to debate CFS referendum Council members weigh in on the defederation question Braden Goyette The McGill Daily

ebate continues within McGill’s Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) on the question of leaving the national student federation that has represented it for 17 years. The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is the largest student lobby group in Canada. It is meant to be an effective advocacy group for student interests nationwide, while its parallel organization, CFS-Services, provides many student unions with health plans and student handbooks. CFS has also been charged by its detractors with a lack of transparency, antidemocratic internal proceedings, and the use of legal threats to intimidate its critics. For many of these reasons, PGSS filed a petition to defederate from CFS in late October. CFS national treasurer Dave Molenhuis, who was recently elected 2010-2011 national chairperson, says he has received the petition. PGSS is still waiting for the organization to reply to their request and set a date for a referendum.

What is at stake in defederation? CFS received $68,000 in membership dues from McGill University graduate students and post-doctorates in 2009. Its supporters stress that the federation allows the Canadian student movement to present a united front in lobbying government. “If we were not united under one federation, we would lose unity in articulating our vision for postsecondary education,” said Molenhuis. “If we aren’t working together, I can guarantee you we will be defeated. We will be carved up, we will be divided, and we will fall.” PGSS executives, along with undergraduate and graduate student leaders at Concordia, have publicly expressed frustration with what they see as CFS’s lack of transparency and increasingly undemocratic operations, as well as the amount of money spent on legal action against critics of CFS. According to budgetary documents, the CFS spent $246,646.29 on legal costs in 2008-2009, and between $83,285.70 and $368,657.64

each year over the last decade. Documents compiled primarily by students at Simon Fraser Univesity and posted on studentunion.ca suggest significant federation involvement in litigation and legal threats against student unions as recently as 2006 and 2008. Molenhuis denied that the majority of CFS’s legal fees are incurred in suits against students, and told The Daily they can be attributed to producing things like legal language on student ID cards. Separate from the petition to move members of the PGSS to a defederation referendum, six student unions put together a package of motions to reform the CFS through official channels at the organization’s annual general meeting (AGM) in late November. PGSS president Daniel Simeone called the reform package “the first draft for what could be a truly effective organization.” Many of the motions put forward in the package concerned the ability of student unions to leave the federation, as well as to increase transparency with reforms such as putting minutes and financial records online. The majority of the package’s reforms presented at the AGM were not passed. “There was this systematic blockage of the motions that had been put forward by Quebec,” said PGSS VP External Ladan Mahabadi. “Instead of focusing on the reforms and discussing the motions based on their merits, they were brought down because they were coming from Quebec and PGSS.” Molenhuis said that the PGSS was not singled out at the AGM and maintained in an interview with The Daily that the outcome was the result of standard democratic procedure. “It’s the delegates who are deciding what amendments to make and how to vote on each of the motions,” Molenhuis said. A timeline on the PGSS External Affairs Committee web site’s federal representation page documents times when significant concerns with CFS have been raised, dating back to the late nineties.

More difficult to leave A reform passed at the AGM, known as Motion 6, doubled the

STEPS TO LEAVE CFS BEFORE MOTION 6 – petition to defederate needs signatures from 10 per cent of student union members. – CFS must respond to the petition within 90 days of having received it, and schedule a referendum within the next 90 days.

HOW MOTION 6 CHANGES THIS – future petitions will require signatures from 20 per cent of student union members. – Five years must pass after a failed referendum before the same student union can hold another one. There can be no more than two referenda from member organizations within a three-month period.

McGill grads weigh the pros and cons of leaving CFS. number of student votes required on a petition to leave CFS. Simeone criticized the reform as compromising the primary right guaranteed to individual student members of CFS: the ability to start a petition to defederate. Simeone and Mahabadi expressed concerns that CFS bylaws were violated by this reform. CFS bylaws require a twothirds majority of all voting members present to pass reform to the constitution. Mahabadi stated that during the AGM vote, of 68 present voting members, 44 voted for the reform, 19 against, and 5 abstained – which she thought fell short of the 46 votes required for a 2/3 majority. Molenhuis added that he has not received any communication or further questions on process and bylaws from members of the PGSS. “They can certainly communicate those concerns to the national executive, but that hasn’t happened at this time,” he said. Molenhuis said that the reform will not retroactively affect the 13 schools who have already filed petitions to leave CFS. Mahabadi said she expected the reform to have lasting impli-

cations. “Regardless of what happens to the PGSS, [this change] is not going to go away…. Even if it doesn’t apply retroactively it’s very problematic; it contradicts their own bylaws.”

Recent developments in council and the referendum committee Eric Pollanen, PGSS VP Finance for the past two years, was recommended to chair CFS referendum committee with nearly unanimous approval at Council on Tuesday night. History representative James Wallace was among three members who opposed Pollanen’s recommendation on the grounds that the role he played in drafting the reform package would not allow him to be impartial. “I don’t believe the wording of the reform package was presented in the spirit of reform. I believe it was presented in very negative language as an ultimatum,” Wallace said. “I am against it considering the extremely progressive policies that CFS promotes,” Wallace added. “To place someone who I strongly believe has a conflict of interest in this issue and is against CFS National

Jerry Wu for The McGill Daily

in a position where they are adjudicating the referendum question is abominable…. The good work that the CFS is doing needs to be made known to graduate students here before they make up their minds in a referendum.” PGSS Council member and former VP External Adrian Kaats, who is also a board member of CFS-Quebec, voiced concern that the council members defending CFS were being swayed by personal affiliations rather than trends supported by documentation. “They’re a very small number of people who are getting information from their friends who are employees of the CFS and who are not doing due diligence. These councillors are not looking at the abundance of information about the Canadian Federation of Students and its very serious problems with transparency, democracy, and accountability” Members of CFS National Executive have been invited to attend the next PGSS Council meeting in February, along with CFSQuebec staff. —with files from Michael Lee-Murphy

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News

The McGill Daily, Monday, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Montrealers commemorate Gaza One year after Operation Cast Lead, protesters demand end to Israeli siege Stephanie Law The McGill Daily

ver one thousand people marched through the streets of downtown Montreal on Saturday in solidarity with Palestinians and the residents of the Gaza Strip. Chanting, “Free the Palestinians,” the demonstrators carried signs with slogans such as, “Gaza je me souviens”; “Judaism condemns the atrocities committed by the Zionists on Gaza”; “End the siege on Gaza”; and “Boycott Israel.” The march started at Peel and Rene-Levesque and finished at Complexe Guy-Favreau, a Canadian government building at St. Urbain and Rene-Levesque. It was organized by the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine. In an email sent out by the Collectif Échec à la guerre, organizers said that the purpose of the protest was “to commemorate the massacre of the population of Gaza by the Israeli army last year and to demand an immediate end to the siege imposed on Gaza.” One year ago, a 23-day military conflict took place in Gaza and southern Israel, which ended on January 18. During the conflict – called the Gaza War, Operation Cast Lead, or the Gaza massacre – approximately 1,400 Palestinians, and 13 Israelis were killed by bombs or combatants. The war also decimated Gazan infrastructure, homes, and government buildings. Protestors at the event pointed out that even though Israeli attacks and bombings have been infrequent since last January, the Israeli and Egyptian militaries’ siege against the Strip persists, prolonging the humanitarian crisis there. “Almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip relies on UN food rations and aid. Sustenance [has] completely vanished within the

Stephanie Law / The McGill Daily

Protestors rallied for Palestinian human rights this weekend. Gaza Strip,” said Mostafa Henaway, a protestor and a community organizer for the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal. “Seventy-five per cent of the Gazan population is actually refugees from bordering villages and towns outside the Gaza Strip. And so this remains the core of the issue: people have been besieged and trapped within this tiny ghetto, and are without the right to return to their home, without the right to live in dignity, and the right to live equally as Israelis do,” said Henaway. Participants also decried the Canadian government’s support of what participants call Israeli apartheid

policies in Palestinian territory, and its recent decision to cut over $10 million of funding to pro-Palestinian human rights organizations like Alternatives, a Montreal-based non-governmental international solidarity organization, and Kairos, a Christian aid organization. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney dubbed these organizations as anti-Semitic for supporting the campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. “[I am here] to remind Canadians that this is going on and [to tell] our government, which has shown unilateral support for Israel, its behaviours are unacceptable,” said

Omar Burgan, a 2005 graduate from McGill University. “The funding cuts…send a message that certain people don’t deserve basic human rights or basic health care or basic anything, but others do,” he added. Several Orthodox Jews at the march defended the boycotts against Israel. “The boycotts are not anti-Semitic, but they are to show our opposition against and disgust with Israel’s direct and indirect killings of the Palestinian people,” said Amrom Rosenberg, a member of Neturei Karta, an international sect of Orthodox Jews who oppose Zionism.

There were many students present at Saturday’s march to show their support and solidarity. “I think it’s especially important for students to be in solidarity with people in Gaza because the situation for students in Palestine and Gaza is made harsh and difficult by the restrictions on freedom of movement and the blockades,” said Amy Darwish, U1 Social Work. No counterdemonstration took place, and participants saw the event as a success. “I think today is just to show our support for Gaza, and I think we’ve done that here today,” said Henaway.

Coca-Cola threatens Cinema Politica documentary screening Lawyers claim international film tour violates confidentiality agreements Madeline Coleman The Link Concordia (CUP)

oncordia-based film collective Cinema Politica received a threatening letter on January 11 from the lawyers for Coca-Cola, stating that the network’s planned film tour for documentary The Coca-Cola Case violates a confidentiality agreement. The film follows two American lawyers and union leaders as they attempt to bring a case against the soda pop giant for its alleged complicity in the murders of union leaders at bottling plants in Columbia.

Cinema Politica founder Ezra Winton said the letter claimed the film was “defamatory” and included details of private negotiations between the company and the subjects of the documentary. Cinema Politica, in cooperation with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), plans to screen The Coca-Cola Case at Cinema Politica locals. It stopped at Concordia on January 18 and its tour will include screenings in over 20 cities across the country and abroad. “[Coca-Cola] knew about the film from the early days and I’m sure followed its progression. They probably thought that it would play at some film festivals then go away,”

Winton told The Link after the letter was received on January 11. “Now I think that [they’re contacting us because] it’s not just going away – that in fact it’s having a resurgence through our network,” he said. Filmmakers Carmen Garcia and Germán Gutiérrez have said that Coca-Cola and the film’s subjects had already settled prior claims of a breach of confidentiality. The corporation now requires information about where and when the documentary was filmed, but could not force the filmmakers to cut footage. Coca-Cola never contacted Garcia or Gutiérrez directly, choosing instead to level its criticism at the subjects of the documentary and Cinema Politica. “The idea that you can take legal recourse against an exhibitor is pretty unheard of,” said Winton.

“The film is already in the can. It’s already out in public with thousands of copies circulating. It’s with a national public production house. So [when their lawyer sent us that letter] it’s kind of just them going after the little guy because we’re grassroots.” Winton said he felt Coca-Cola was concerned about the Cinema Politica screenings because they will mostly take place on university campuses, in full view of the youth and students who are the company’s target market. Coca-Cola routinely seeks – and gets – exclusivity contracts with universities and other institutions. Students at schools including the University of Guelph have held successful campaigns to ban Coke from campuses, citing the company’s record of human rights abuses. Most recently, a Norwegian student

association shut out Coke products from all universities and colleges across Norway. Cinema Politica plans to go ahead with its Coca-Cola Case tour regardless. “If the NFB or the filmmakers asked us to stop screening it we would. But lawyers that represent Coca-Cola that simply don’t agree with some of the representations in the film – with what the characters in the film say, not the filmmakers [themselves] – it’s as if they’re saying Coca-Cola is beyond any kind of criticism in a documentary film,” explained Winton. “Now they’re sending us this letter, which to me means we’re doing something right.” The lawyer who sent Winton the letter, Faith Gay of Quinn Emanuel Trial Lawyers in New York City, did not return The Link’s phone calls.

6 News

One Week Later Montreal’s Haitian community reacts to the earthquake

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Michael Lee-Murphy & William M. Burton The McGill Daily

or the past week, Montreal’s 140,000strong Haitian community has been mourning, and attempting to cope with new realities after last week’s devastating earthquake struck close to the centre of Haiti’s capital and largest city, Port-auPrince. The earthquake, which measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale, is thought to have killed as many as 200,000 people. Here in Montreal’s Haitian expatriate community, one of the largest in the world, community organizations have been reassessing the new and changing needs of their community, both here in Montreal and back home in Haiti. As increasingly disturbing reports come out of the Caribbean state, community leaders have reacted with grief, and in some cases, anger at the Canadian government’s response to the crisis. Marjorie Villefranche, who has been director of St. Michel’s Maison d’Haïti since 1985, attempted to articulate the initial reaction of her community. “The first night, everyone was ‘freeze,’ because we didn’t want to believe it. And right now, I think we’re in a sadness phase,” she said in French. “Because we realize what’s happened, we see pictures, lots of pictures. And now it’s a deep sadness… and lots of worry.” Immigration Canada has committed to “expediting” immigration requests from Haiti, but has declined to specify exactly what this will mean for those seeking refuge in Canada. According to a Monday press release from the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship, applicants will have to prove that they are “significantly and adversely affected by the situation [in Haiti].” Villefranche criticized Immigration Canada for not going far enough in their actions. “The government hasn’t relaxed the rules. It has simply said that it’s going to accelerate the process,” she said. “They’re still asking for papers, DNA tests. In a country where people don’t have any address anymore, any papers anymore, where the only people who could [officially] recognize [these] things, the judges, are dead, what do you want them to do?” Villefranche added that many of the necessary tests and identifications could be performed in Canada, where the necessary technologies and bureaucratic infrastructure are available. Yves Engler, author of Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority and an organizer with the Canada Haiti Action Network, is another activist who has criticized Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney’s response to the refugee crisis. According to Engler, politics, rather than humanitarian concerns, are driving the government’s reaction. “The Conservatives have an anti-immigrant base,” said Engler. “From their political standpoint, it’s a tricky situation, because their base is anti-immigrant, yet there is this horrendous human tragedy and any sort of humanely functioning government would…open the door more generally to Haitian immigrants.” Merlaine Chrispin Brutus, director general of Entraide Bénévole Kouzin Kouzin’, an organization focused on children’s integration, illustrated the importance of the family unit that was threatened by last week’s earthquake. “No one asked the government to open the border for all Haitian refugees. That’s not what we want. People need to understand that. We ask for the reunification of families,” she said in French. Brutus noted that the earthquake could have a profound impact on the fabric of the

Haitian expatriate society. “It’s practically the loss of everything we had that was proof of our [material] culture…and so it tears out your heart to see your country completely devastated,” she said. The City of Montreal has been quick in responding to the needs of Haitians both in the city and in Haiti. A mission of 34 police officers, doctors, nurses, and community representatives departed from Montreal early Wednesday morning – an operation that was scaled down from 100 personnel following a request from Foreign Affairs. The borough of St. Michel is taking steps to open a call centre in an effort to better direct calls from concerned family members inquiring about services and information. The borough of Montreal-North has opened a multiservice aid centre to help its 11,000 residents of Haitian origin. “We’ve actually got the support of the City; they’re there with us,” said Villefranche. Josette Jean-Pierre Rousseau, of the Point de ralliement des femmes d’origine haïtienne, an organization that provides resources to women of Haitian origin in Montreal, articulated the importance of women in Haitian society, and her hopes for a continuance of the presence of women’s groups there. “We call [women] the poto-miton [pillar] of the country…from the perspective of the family, the economy, education. Often it’s women that are there at the base of the economy…so I don’t think that this is going to change anything,” Rousseau explained. Rousseau also pointed to the difficulties faced by those structurally disadvantaged populations still on the ground in Haiti and women’s efforts to help them. “These people there, they can all see, they all have two feet, they have their legs, their arms, but the disabled and the blind? This is a country with 85,000 blind people because of water problems, air problems, pollution, and asbestos…. Often you’ll find a bunch of women getting together to bring [them] some help,” she said. A conference about the reconstruction in Haiti is set to convene on January 25 in Montreal and will be attended by U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Haitian prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive, and French foreign affairs minister Bernard Kouchner. Engler hoped that the conference would provide real change for Haiti, but remained skeptical of the aims of the leaders. “The hope is that they eliminate all of Haiti’s debt, that every bit of money that is put forward is in grants, not loans; that they prioritize building Haitian governmental and institutional capacity, not what some Canadian NGO wants. The hope is that they don’t use this as a disaster-capitalist move. But we’re definitely fearful that that’s what they’re trying to do,” said Engler, citing concerns about privatization of Haiti’s five remaining state-owned companies. “I would love to believe that the politics of Ottawa and Washington would change overnight, but [they won’t] unless we build something that forces it out.” Community leaders remain hopeful that Haiti will be rebuilt in a way that will allow the country to retain its autonomy, and expressed gratitude toward the community responses in Montreal and Quebec at large. “We are grateful to Quebec society and to Canadian society in general for the way these people have reacted to our people’s trouble – everyone. There’s not one Haitian who wouldn’t be thankful for this reaction, affectionate even,” said Brutus. Rousseau also expressed deep appreciation, saying, “Thank you to the Canadian community, to the Quebec community, to the Montreal community, because we are feeling a powerlessness that keeps us from sleeping.”

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

News

Opposite: A map of Haiti displayed in the Maison d’Haïti Right: Marjorie Villefranche, director of the Maison d’Haïti Below: Stéphane Alix, a student in community psychology at Université Laval. Alix was doing research on Montreal’s Haitian community for her thesis when the earthquake happened. She only reconnected with her parents, still in Haiti, this past Tuesday. All photos Dominic Popowich / The McGill Daily

Letters

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Re: “Where have all the activists gone?” and “Sustainability enlightenement” | November 30

Sustainability is not a slogan for glossy publications warning us of present dangers and promising us a responsible future. Avrom David Shtern BA ‘83, MLIS ‘87, Green Coalition Transportation Critic

Chapeau!

Correction of a statement

Pwnyo

Get involved already!

Re: The University We Want/ L’université rêvée | November 30

Re: “A threat to choice” | Features | October 5

Re: “Redrawing animation” | Culture | January 14

Re: “Where have all the activists gone?” and “Sustainability enlightenment” | November 30

Congratulations on the bilingual, joint issue of your publications. Félicitations pour le numéro bilingue et conjoint de vos publications. Mix it up more often…. Mélangez ça plus souvent….

I wish to make a correction of a statement that I made to your reporter Darrah Teitel in relation to a story that she wrote for your newspaper on October 5, 2009. In that story, I describe a debate I had against Mr. Jose Ruba of The Canadian Centre for BioEthical Reform, in 2004. I understand that Mr. Ruba was to give a similar presentation at McGill University in October 2009. I described Mr. Ruba’s presentation to Ms Teitel as follows: “The first thing he does is show a movie – it’s a show of gore, images of a fake abortion not medically possible.” I wish to retract my allegations that The Canadian Centre for BioEthical Reform uses videos which depict a “fake abortion” (which is) not medically possible”. I am not a physician or a nurse or a medical professional of any sort. I have no medical or professional experience in the performance of abortions. I regret any harm my remarks may have done to the reputations of Jose Ruba and The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Thanks for your article “Redrawing Animation” – I’m a big fan of anything animated and it’s nice to see The Daily embracing the local (if small) animation scene. I’m looking forward to going to see the New Voices event you mentioned. However, I just wanted to clarify something you mentioned in the article – I know this isn’t your main point, but it still bothers me a bit, so here goes. Studio Ghibli, which you call an alternative to DisneyPixar, has actually turned over a majority of their distribution rights to said conglomerate. I still agree that Ghibli is in part an artistic alternative to Disney, but I think it’s important to note the new distribution management, since a lot of the handling of Ghibli in North America (all theatrical releases, subtitling, dubbing, release of DVDs, et cetera) is now done exclusively by Disney. For example: Ponyo, Studio Ghibli’s latest film, was released in the U.S. with a cast of voice actors which included Noah Cyrus, the younger brother of the current cash-cow of Disney “talent” Miley Cyrus. While Ghibli’s visuals present an alternative, I think it is important to consider that what a nonJapanese-speaking audience hears (or reads) of Ghibli’s message is and will continue to be edited through the lens of Disney-Pixar, often with the goal of simply making more money or generating publicity for the next generation of Disney stars. Cheers!

Raphaël Fischler Associate Professor School of Urban Planning

The consistency argument ALWAYS works Re: “Paging Doctor Cornett” | Commentary | October 8 I am writing as a fellow academic and as an artist to join my voice to question the lack of transparency in the firing of Norman Cornett from McGill’s religious studies department. As a former part-time professor, I am keenly aware of the non-transparent treatment to which part-time teachers are regularly subject. When a notable and committed instructor is dismissed, I believe it is an occasion for an institution such as McGill to demonstrate its commitment to its stated principles of fairness and free expression. The Faculty of Religious Studies posts the following statement of purpose on its web site: “Freedom of Speech and Expression is a valuable right, and the best way of preserving a right is to exercise it. However, the right to speak is one thing; whether or not the thing said is correct is quite another. The exercise of the right of Freedom of Speech has often led to erroneous or distorted statements about religion. We must not prevent people from making such statements: It is their right. However, we also possess the right to speak up and express ourselves, and we are free to point out these errors and distortions. We intend to do just that.” In light of McGill’s stated wish to point out errors, it would appear that Cornett should be entitled to know what were the errors that he committed in the eyes of his department that were serious enough to provoke his dismissal. Mary Ellen Davis Part-time instructor Concordia University

Jeanette Doucet

The Dark Motorcyclist tellin’ the truth Hello Daily, Hello All, Hello Almighty, I am here to reveal a truth which has hitherto been kept secret: the construction that has been taking place for the majority of the past two years near the Milton Gates is criminal, unconstitutional, and fiendish. The construction involved the building of a bunker for Heather Munroe-Blum in the event of a nuclear holocaust. We, the students, must demand a bunker built for all of us as well! How can we sleep at night knowing that we would be forced to hide in bathroom stalls as nuclear bombs are dropped across our great nation! We would be forced to hide in the Leacock building (the only known safehouse from nuclear attack). I recommend a full-scale revolution, the intent of which may be unclear, but which is inevitably secondary to the passion involved in such a revolt. Arise! —The Dark Motorcyclist Devon Welsh U3 Religious Studies, Drama & Theatre

Michelle Scharlock U3 Drama and Theatre

At least this one’s short Re: “Paging Doctor Cornett” | Commentary | October 8 It has been a mystery to me as to why Norman Cornett was let go by McGill University, when all the students who have protested his firing have expressed nothing but the highest praise for his teaching. I know him as a writer, art critic and exceptionally intelligent, well-informed person.

“Where have all the activists gone?” The world needs students to stop, look, and listen, and become “sustainability enlightened.” Press your leaders to act in a positive, sustainable manner. We were given paradise, and now we are scrambling to save the shreds. Although not a Catholic, I was impressed by Pope Benedict’s New Year’s Day message for humans to be responsible caretakers of the environment and sustain life as we know it: we cannot “remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions.” Earth is not “a heap of scattered refuse.” Our “autocentric” society has encouraged sprawl and malignant development, destroyed vast tracts of farmland and natural spaces, raised several generations of unfit people, and encouraged soulless neighbourhoods where no one talks to each other. A major flawed conception exists that unbridled development is rational. Unchecked, the earth’s landscape will inevitably invite more concrete, asphalt, heat, and corrosive particulates, and a less diverse mix of flora and fauna. Sustainability is not a slogan for glossy publications warning us of present dangers and promising us a responsible future. It does not happen automatically or by wishful thinking. If you are interested in securing the environment and conserving natural spaces, I encourage you to get involved in a grassroots movement. Speak out for yourself and your fellow sentients in this, the Year of Biodiversity.

Do you people have a newsletter or something? Re: “Paging Doctor Cornett” | Commentary | October 8 Looking back at my time at McGill University, Norman Cornett was the professor who challenged me and taught me the most. I took two courses with him and I believe that the magic created in a Cornett classroom is only made possible because of the overwhelming empathy, understanding, and high expectations found in this man himself. Cornett is a teacher in the truest sense of the word because he strives to make learning exciting and meaningful once again. He treats every student like a smart, intellectual individual. It was precisely because he believed in our capabilities and not only encouraged but expected us to be great, that we were able to fulfill his high expectations when meeting with the academic experts he consistently brought into our classroom. It is my opinion that Cornett’s firing was an incredibly unfortunate event and definitely to the detriment of the University. Cornett truly commits to exposing students to vital current events around the world. If even one student from one of my Cornett classes goes on to do something related to human rights because of the way he inspired us and the issues he exposed us to, the world will be a much better place. I proudly attended the Toronto screening of Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary, Professor Norman Cornett: “Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?” I was very impressed by Obomsawin’s work and I am thus calling for an on-campus screening of the film. I believe that McGill needs to re-examine the extreme student support for Cornett as well as the reasons for the unfortunate termination of his position at McGill. Mira Etlin-Stein BA Humanistic Studies and Anthropology 2007

Avrom David Shtern BA ‘83, MLIS ‘87 Green Coalition Transportation Critic

Ann Griffin McCall B.A. 1964 The Daily received more letters about Norman Cornett than it could print this issue. Send your letters to letters@mcgilldaily.com from your McGill email address, and keep them to 300 words or less. The Daily does not print letters that are classist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise hateful.

Commentary

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Olivia Messer / The McGill Daily

Justice unserved The prison system cripples already-poor communities

Radically reread Lisa Miatello

ven as a relatively wealthy white woman, I’ve been intimidated, booked, manhandled, arrested, and sexually harassed by the police. Although I’ll never forget these instances, these types of run-ins are anomalies in my life. Way more times than not, I’ve had respectful, if a bit strained, encounters with the cops. This isn’t surprising. After all, I don’t fit their profile of a criminal. I was socialized to believe that the arms of the state, or – as they are more congenially called – officers of the law, are there to serve and protect. What an innocuous motto. It makes memories of hugging cops as a kindergartener flash before my eyes. Gross. But, serve and protect who? And just as importantly, what? Last fall, a Toronto courthouse saw a majority white, middle-class jury convict a young, poor black man – whose name can’t be published because of the age of the accused – of first-degree murder. The accused and his family, after fleeing the civil war in Sierra Leone and being granted refugee status in Canada, found themselves taking up residence in a rather notorious neighbourhood

called Jane and Finch. Corporate media pretty much always depicts Jane and Finch as a hotbed of crime and violence. The combination of that portrayal with a community comprised mostly of poor and working-class people, people of colour and immigrants of colour, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. By facilitating an understanding of these communities as inherently corrupt, these representations play into the already racist imagination of our society. The creation of a culture of fear around certain “unwieldy people” and their activities allows for the sanctioning of intensified policing. And I wish it ended there. Suggesting that a community is exclusively and inherently violent masks the systemic and structural violence that its people endure. The forces of capitalism, racism, and colonialism collide to supply the breeding grounds for the crime and interpersonal violence that does occur. Jane and Finch is not an oddity. Like countless areas across North America, it is plagued by high rates of poverty and unemployment, low incomes, high numbers of rental homes and public housing units, an inadequate edu-

cational system, and high rates of malnutrition and hunger. Not to mention the intensity of the profiling, surveillance, repression, and violence on the part of the cops. No justice? No peace. Let’s return to the fellow convicted of murder. Predictably, he got sent to prison. To be rehabilitated. But y’know, this word “rehabilitation” gets tossed around so much in law enforcement discourse that I frequently forget its actual definition. My dictionary tells me that to rehabilitate means to “restore (someone) to health or normal life by training and therapy.” Restore to his “normal life?” Oh, I suppose they mean the poverty, racism, and police repression that set the stage for the crime in the first place. And this is going to happen through training and therapy? That’s rich. Let’s have a little review sesh of what actually goes down in prisons. Prisons are premised on the idea that the individual, not society, is messed up. Accordingly, the prison is meant to beat the legitimacy of the status quo and all its corresponding inequalities into those who find themselves trapped within its steel walls. And beat they do.

Failure to obey prison guards often ends in violence. Compounded with crappy food, shitty health services, and meagre allowances, survival often means stealing, bribing, and joining a gang – all those wonderful activities that would be considered criminal on the outside. But wait! Distrust of authority? Dissent? Grievances? Gangs? Sounds like the basis for prisoner unity and rebellion. No worries though, prison guards use the good ol’ colonial method of dividing and conquering. Turns out fuelling racism is an effective way to control people. Rehabilitation my ass. Locking people up devastates the lives of the convicted and fucks with their home communities. Leaving prison with a shiny new criminal record, emotional and physical scars from abuse and violence, and a detachment from family and society does not a welladjusted individual make. If they do get released, they re-enter a community that, at the time of their imprisonment, had been destabilized by the consequent theft and diversion of resources. Taking a person and money out of a community and then reintroducing them with a new criminal record that will

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curb their access to legal (legitimate, accredited, stable, longterm) work can only exacerbate poverty and crime. Look at any prison statistics in Canada or the United States. The cages are disproportionately stocked with youth, poor people, people of colour, and indigenous persons. The state, the (in)justice system, and their actors exist to protect themselves, property, and those who own property. More often than not, it is the disenfranchised that are brought to justice – even though “there are no crimes that people in prison have committed that the government [and corporations have] not also committed, and at a greater scale” as Peter Gelderloos, an anarchist prison abolitionist, has said. From the civil war in Sierra Leone, to a neglected, heavily policed, and impoverished neighbourhood in Toronto, to being locked away in a prison for “rehabilitation.” From war zone to war zone to war zone. What is the cost of freedom? Lisa Miatello writes in this space every other week. Dissent to her at radicallyreread@mcgilldaily.com.

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sally Lin / The McGill Daily

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) was founded in 1969 and consists of four divisions. The Montreal Juniors are part of the Telus West Division and are currently ranked twelfth out of the 18 teams. The team ranges in age from 16 to 20. Some players live with host families and all of them have to balance school, hockey, and maintaining a sense of self despite constantly being in the spotlight.

Maria Surilas goes behind the bench

MONTREAL JUNIORS

Sports

he Montreal Juniors game on Sunday against the Victoriaville Tigres was, as I embarrassingly blurted out to forward Nicolas Chouinard, the first hockey game I have ever attended. As I walked into the empty arena, proudly but self-consciously wearing my media pass, it seemed to me like a sleepy cavern of ice and bleachers. I quickly rushed to a corner of the general section, hunkered into my seat, waited for the spectators to arrive, and hoped no one would notice that I wasn’t a die hard hockey fan or – even worse – an American. In a split second, my eyes snapped from the stands to the ice, where the teams had rushed on and started doing drills, accompanied by the melodic, pounding beats of David Guetta and the Black Eyed Peas. Junior league hockey players do not play for the money; they don’t make any amount worth mentioning. When asked how they stay motivated, Coach Pascal Vincent placed a clear emphasis on the lives of the boys off the ice and their development as individuals. “They dream of playing pro hockey [and] to be successful, on and off the ice, they know what they have to do. They are learning what it takes to become a better hockey player and a better person,” he explained. According to the booklet The Fast Track to the NHL, put together by QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau, “a pre-university diploma (college or high school) will give players more options as they search for promising post-playing careers.” Despite the booklet’s title, some teams prepare for the possibility of a life outside the NHL more than others. Montreal Juniors players have two separate lives to plan, yet they somehow have a clearer image of their futures than I do. Both forward Trevor Parks and Chouinard had concrete plans about what they intended to pursue outside of hockey. In addition to not attending conventional schools, many players live with host families. At 19, Quebec-born Chouinard has already lived with five different host families, despite his young age. He spoke about how there is a different relationship with every host family, and how he didn’t get along with some, while others he still called every week. In reference to some of his more positive experiences, he revealed: “They feed you, first of

all…. When I was younger they would just give us really bad food. But now they really take care of us and they are always there for you. When I was younger, some [families] did it for the money, so [they] didn’t really treat you well…. Now it’s different – they do it because they like you and they want to support you,” Chouinard told me. Here was someone, only a little older than I am, who has been able to adjust to an astonishing diversity of environments in order to do something he is passionate about. This concept seemed a common theme for the Montreal Juniors. According to Vincent, “ninety-five per cent of the time the guys are going all out…. I’m not saying the people in the NHL don’t work hard…but kids make mistakes [and] it’s more fun in the sense that there are more mistakes so there are more scoring chances.” Juniors goalie Jean Francois Bérubé phrased this sentiment a bit more strongly when he said, “All the players here are striving to get to the next level…. Pros sometimes…they know [that] they don’t really [have to] try too much but here it’s all people that give it their all every day [and] people like to see that.” Sometimes the passion of the QMJHL can have devastating consequences. On January 18, Patrice Cormier of the QMJHL’s RouynNoranda Huskies launched an unprovoked elbow on open ice to the head of Quebec Ramparts defenseman Mikael Tam, leaving Tam with severe head trauma and broken teeth. The incident has fuelled much debate within the hockey world about the implications of the league’s no-holds-barred play. Ramparts Coach Patrick Roy has called for a criminal investigation into the hit, and Cormier has been suspended indefinitely pending an internal investigation. It is clear, however, that the QMJHL’s unrefined character attracts a powerful following. The people in the stands supporting Montreal’s Juniors were exuberant. I was tense the entire game, leaning forward and following the puck with my eyes as if I could somehow help them score if I squinted hard enough. The game on Sunday ended in a win for the Victoriaville Tigres, with a final score of 5-1. Despite the loss, Chouinard explained, “We play because we like it. We want to play hockey, it’s our life. It feels great to see that the fans are there for you.”

“They dream of playing pro hockey [and] to be successful, on and off the ice, they know what they have to do.” Pascal Vincent Montreal Juniors coach

16-year-old defenseman Dillon Donnelly confessed that, “here they are pretty serious about school. When I was with [the Moncton Wildcats], they were not as serious about school. Here they really watch you.” Donnelly is interested in sciences and languages and says that he works on academics an average of three hours a day.

Trevor Parks, an 18-year-old Ontario native, talked of his own plan outside of hockey. “Other than hockey, right now I’m taking two online courses in business, so I’d like to get into business, maybe own my own sporting business.”

18-year-old goalie Jean Francois Bérubé, however, confessed that he is completely focused on his hockey career, and is directing all his efforts into pursuing it, taking it as far as he can before dealing with an alternative future.

Of the players I spoke with, Nicolas Chouinard, at age 19, was the most certain of a future beyond hockey: he hopes to become a police officer.

Sports

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Talking with the world’s best The McGill Daily picks up the phone with Team USA forward Hilary Knight Hilary Knight is fast becoming one of the most talented female hockey players in the world. At age 21, she has already been a member of Team USA for four years, and is the current team’s leading goal scorer. In Knight’s senior year of high school, she famously scored 53 goals and recorded 72 points in just 23 games. Her four year high school career was similarly impressive: 143 goals and 210 points in 97 games played. During two years at the University of Wisconsin, Knight has recorded 39 multi-point games while taking time off to play for the U.S. under-22 team and senior teams. In the 2008-2009 season, she was named Division 1 first-team all American. She is currently coached at both the college and international level by Mark Johnson, who was himself a member of the famous 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. men’s hockey team.

Untitled

She talked to The Daily over the phone about the team’s progress in the run-up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. McGill Daily: How is playing on the Olympic Hockey team unique? Hillary Knight: It’s a lot different from other sports like skiing where the athletes accept money. But I’m in the NCAA. Right now and I can’t accept money or sponsorships like some of the other players. MD: What is it like to be coached by a star from the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympics? HK: It’s really comforting to have him as the women’s coach, ‘cause he’s been there. Team USA likes to cycle coaches so it’s usually different every year, but I’ve had him as a coach at [University of] Wisconsin too...and there’s no difference in his coaching style. MD: Where is your favourite place to play?

HK: Canada’s definitely the place to go. It’s the biggest rush to play Canada in Canada. We had 16,000 fans in Ottawa. The sport is growing everywhere, but in the States we only get five or six thousand fans.... Playing in Finland was a change of pace. We were more secluded than we previously had been. It’s a different crowd. I really liked Winnipeg when we went there, ‘cause the fans are crazy. There’s something about silencing a crowd like that when we score, and you can actually hear your line mates in the face off because it’s so quiet! MD: So much of North American hockey culture has to do with physicality and hitting, which obviously play different roles in women’s hockey. Does this change the style of play at all? HK: Well we can’t check, so it turns our game into more skill and finesse. But, in the world, the U.S. and Canada are two of the

most physical teams. I know Sweden is also getting up there, and it’s always a battle when we play Canada. Fortunately I’m one of the bigger players [at 5’11, 172 pounds]. I mean one of my line mates is only 5 feet, so it’s a lot of give and take. One of the great things about hockey is that it requires a different skill set. There’s definitely some pretty goals in women’s hockey. MD: You are both the youngest member of Team USA and its leading goal scorer. Is it because of your youth that you perform so well? HK: [laughs] No, I just have great line mates. I’m on a line with Jenny Potter, one of the most underrated players ever. I mean she’s 31, she has two kids, and she’s still dominating at the world level. That says something. —Compiled by Michael Lee-Murphy

Aaron Vansintjan

Look out for more student art in the Daily’s Art Supplement On stands Monday, January 25

Just canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get enough? Neither can Depeche Mode. 4PDJBM 1PMJDZ .PWF UP $IBOHF The McGill Daily, on stands Mondays and Thursdays.

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Interested in getting involved with any of these issues? Contact The McGill Daily at coordinating@mcgilldaily. com or stop by our office, Shatner B-24. We are always looking for writers, illustrators and photographers and designers.

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Mind&Body

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Lube without fear Busting the misconceptions about a handy sexual aid FALSE. Some vaginas do and some don’t. This is when communication becomes important, and when lube can lend a helping hand.

Sex talks Maddie Guerlain & Amanda Unruh The McGill Daily

aybe you found it as a young child on your parent’s bedside table. Maybe you got a free packet in your Frosh kit. Maybe you never leave home without a bottle of your favourite brand. Everyone has a different relationship with lubricant. Alas, like many fun things about sex, it’s not commonly mentioned in health class (if sex-ed is taught at all),

and for many it remains in the shadows of the semi-taboo. One of the main reasons we don’t talk about lube is because we don’t like to talk about body fluids. From a young age, we dismiss talk of body fluids as “potty mouth” or “bathroom talk,” leaving little room for people to talk about the fluids going in and out of their bodies. Think: pee, poop, blood, cum, puke, tears, lube. These can be hard to mention to a doctor, let alone a partner. The absence of lube in our education and casual conversation creates an unspoken, unrealistic standard about how “normal” bodies are supposed to function. For example, a common myth is that vaginas naturally create all the lube they need when the person is turned on.

Another common misconception is that lube is only for certain types of sex (read: penis-vagina intercourse). In reality, lube can be used everywhere and with everything: toys, masturbation, anal sex, massage, handjobs, blowjobs, fisting, fingering, spanking, frottage. You name it, you can probably lube it. Bodies do create their own lube, but some places do more than others (i.e. vaginas vs. anuses), and this means different lubes can be better suited to different places. Waterbased lube absorbs into the skin with use, which means no mess later on. If the lube dries up, simply add water to the area; only the

water content of the lube has disappeared, not the ingredients that make it slippery. Silicone lube lasts longer and won’t be absorbed by the skin, which is helpful in places or parts that don’t naturally create their own. Remember, silicone lube should never be used with silicone toys, as the friction will melt the toy! For oral sex, try out flavoured lube (peach, mint, pina colada, et cetera), but be wary of squirting it directly into your mouth, as the taste may be stronger than you think. There is also warming lube, tingling lube, organic lube, and vegan lube. If using a condom, put a little lube on the inside before using it in order to increase sensation for the wearer. Lube is also a great way to make sex safer: it will decrease the risk of a condom breaking, or without a condom, it will decrease the chance of micro-tears in the skin, which STIs like to invade. A few things to be aware of when choosing a lube are glycerin, parabens, and oil. Water-based lubes often contain glycerin, a sugar alcohol that can lead to yeast infections or irritation, and parabens, which have been found to be carcinogenic – though this is still controversial. While some prefer oil, it should

never be used with condoms (it weakens latex), it has a tendency to stick around longer than expected (increasing risk of infection), and it will stain your sheets. Like anything you put in or on your body, check the ingredients before use.

It’s also important to keep in mind lube’s limitations. Bodies like to communicate in different ways, and producing lube can be one of them; a lack of natural lubricant might signal somebody isn’t feeling the situation or isn’t quite ready. Whether it be with words, hand signals, or a secret code made up of pelvic thrusts and grunts, communicating with your partner about what you’re into and what you’re not, as well as asking them about their wants and needs, creates a space of trust and experimentation.

Lost in translation, bad for your health Misunderstandings in bilingual health care can pose serious risks Chelsea Tinnion Mind&Body Writer

magine an elderly woman living in a long-term care facility, suffering from a worsening cold. A nurse’s aide comes into the room, and the woman tells her, “I have a cold.” The aide, for whom English is a second language, uses her best high-school English and translates “I have a cold” as “J’ai froid.” The aide returns with a blanket, but a nurse or doctor is not called. The woman’s untreated cold becomes a major health problem. This happens far too often, and not because of a lack of care. The vast majority of health care and social service workers genuinely want to help people. Most nurses, aides, and social workers do not choose their profession for

the money. English as a second language is difficult at the best of times, given the number of words that have multiple meanings and the many expressions and colloquialisms. With the addition of confusing technical jargon of the medical profession, misunderstandings are bound to occur. Consider the case of an Englishspeaking middle-aged man who went to a clinic because of chest pains. During the course of the examination, the patient missed a lot of what the French-speaking doctor said, but he did pick out the words “mal au cœur” a few times. The poor guy spent the rest of the day convinced he had a bad heart – that he was having, or about to have, a cardiac crisis. When he arrived home, his wife explained that mal au cœur has nothing to do with the heart; the

doctor was talking about nausea. Another is the French term bleu for bruises. If a French-speaking nurse wants to ask a patient if she has bruises (“Avez-vous des bleus?”) she is quite likely to ask “Do you have blue?” The patient answers, “Blue what?” and communication breaks down. Even when the nurse recognizes the problem, challenges remain. The French “contusion” for bruise is translated in many dictionaries as “contusion” in English. Unfortunately, many English speakers are not familiar with the word contusion, so they are no further ahead. Culturally inappropriate language can also be a problem. For many raised in French-speaking Quebec, an expression like “c’est fucké” or an expletive like “ah shit” is acceptable. However, most

English speakers would be taken aback to hear such terms from their health care provider. Francophone health care workers enrolled in English classes are currently being taught to recognize what is inappropriate, and more importantly, not to repeat the foul language, especially not in a professional context. Several measures are being taken toward improving communication within health and social services, including ESL (English second language) training, offered to health care workers throughout the province. These courses are very popular. L’Institut de cardiologie de Montréal and École de langues de Lanaudière recently initiated an ESL program offered to a beginner group of frontline workers. Ten spots were available; 46 employees

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applied. It incorporated an interesting aspect. The manual alphabet (the same in American and Quebec sign languages) was used as a pedagogical tool to help the students learn the English pronunciation of each letter. This helps to avoid catastrophic errors in the spelling of a name or medication, and has the added benefit of teaching employees to better serve the English and hearing-impaired communities. Chelsea Tinnion’s parents own a language school (École de langues de Lanaudière) which has produced the Petit lexique de la santé et des services sociaux, français-anglais, a publication that helps caregivers and patients maneuver through the intricacies of second language communication. The lexicon, designed for ESL training, is available at the McGill bookstore.

Culture

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sleaze in the time of Hitler AUTS production finds tragedy in sequins and fishnets Francesca Bianco Rebeccah Hartz / The McGill Daily

The McGill Daily

hen I think of the word cabaret, a stereotypical image of Las Vegas show girls springs – or, more appropriately, can-cans – to mind. Fortunately, the Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society’s (AUTS) production of Cabaret shatters that common conception, and shows that the musical holds a great deal more depth than I was aware of. Cabaret is set in the sordid world of underground Berlin amid the rise of Nazi Germany, at a lounge called the Kit Kat Klub. As the show begins, the serpentine Emcee, played by Nicholas Allen, slides on stage, smirking at the audience with his pallid jowls and shining eyes. Clearly reminiscent of the snake in the Garden of Eden, the Emcee tempts the audience with his apples: the Kit Kat’s glamorous and provocative cabaret performers. In one scene, the Kit Kat is described as “tacky and terrible, and everyone’s having a good time.” This quotation embodies Cabaret to a tee, if you take “tacky” to mean sleaze and sequins and mesh, and “terrible” to signify the tragic existence of every single character in the musical. The show weaves multiple stories together: the American writer Cliff Bradshaw (Adrian Steiner) and his tumultuous relationship with English cabaret performer Sally Bowles (Callie Armstrong); the innkeeper Fraulein Schneider and her hopeless engagement to Jewish storekeeper Herr Shultz; and Ernst, the Nazi sympathizer. Ambivalence toward politics is highlighted throughout the show, not only through numbers like Schneider’s “So What” and Emcee’s “I Don’t Care Much,” but also through the sheer fact that people are still throwing parties while Hitler is steadily rising to power. As the play progresses, though, the audience realizes that the apathy of the masses on the surface hides what is really the characters’ fervent desire to cling to the shreds of their former lives, Kit Kat Klub included. Allen’s Emcee was as fabulously flamboyant as could be hoped for; he strings the narrative together like the pearl necklace he wears around his neck. But as Berlin is drawn further into the Nazi political machine, Emcee begins to drown in his own pool of depression. Perhaps because he is in love with a Jewish person – controversially clothed as a gorilla in Act Two’s “If You Could See Her” – or because of the drugs that deepen the hollow greys of his face and drag the vivacity in his announcements down to a slow, disinterested drone.

Cabaret explores the world of underground Berlin during the rise of Nazi Germany. Although they both have excellent voices, the relationship between Steiner and Armstrong lacked electricity. Perhaps bringing the more intimate scenes downstage and closer to the audience would have helped, as expressions were lost in

the large space. In the directorial note, Julian Silverman expressed hope that the audience would “enjoy, love, hate, [and] detest” Cabaret. Despite minor spatial and character issues, the show was certainly one to be enjoyed,

though with a more critical eye than the tenants of the Kit Kat Klub might have taken. After all, Cabaret could be the definitive post-World War Two musical, as the show captures the rise of Nazism and deterioration of extravagance that culminates in a

finale that foreshadows the final solution to the Nazi experiment. AUTS’ Cabaret runs January 21-23 at 7:30 p.m. in Moyse Hall. Tickets can be reserved online at autscabaret2010.blogspot.com.

Culture

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

The shadow of an “ism” Portraying women’s art without a feminist lens Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite The McGill Daily

rt created by women is often labelled “feminist art,” a description that carries particular, politicized connotations. The automatic association of “feminist art” with “female art” can be debilitatingly restrictive to the work of many women artists. Despite the fact that many women create art without specific political agendas, many people, myself included, look for feminist messages in work created by women. “Féminin Pluriel,” a new exhibit at Galerie Trois Points, displays the work of three women artists under an explicitly “nonfeminist” banner. According to the gallery, “Féminin Pluriel” is an exhibition without a specifically “feminist point of view.” This emphasis, on the particuarly “non-feminist” qualities, makes for a compelling viewing experience. Unified in “Féminin Pluriel” by a common use of paper, the artists Elmyna Bouchard, Natalie Reis, and Julie Voyce offer varied approaches to the medium. Reis uses paper as a surface to create new renderings of figures in art history and popular culture with acrylic paint on white backgrounds, while Voyce uses abstract collage to emulate the work of engravers such as Honoré Daumier or Giovanni Piranesi. Bouchard sews small rolls of paper onto canvas, creating intricate patterns and structures in the most abstract work of the three artists. The artists’ individual styles and shared use of paper combine to offer a fresh view of artistic material and expression. Bouchard’s abstract organization of tiny paper rolls and embroidery thread allows for free and varied interpretations of her work. I overheard one woman saying that she imagined each scroll contained a message. Reis’s acrylic renditions of figures in popular culture and art history

CULTURE BRIEFS Not just any room How can a movie be so bad it’s good? I hope to know after watching a rare midnight screening of The Room (2003) this Saturday, a film advertised for being “The Worst Movie Ever Made!!” As one IMDB user put it: “there is something so magically wrong with this movie that it can only be the product of divine intervention.” The Room is the product of a multi-threat who ended in multidebt: Tommy Wiseau, a Hollywood nobody who individually raised six million dollars in order to make the film himself – since no one else

Julie Voyce’s layered collages stood out and pushed the viewer to look deeper. were the least abstract work in the exhibit, offering an innovative take on traditional portraiture. Her subjects included traditional busts of GrecoRoman art historical figures, as well as a recreation of the mugshot of death row inmate Kenisha Berry entitled “Kenisha Berry with Headdress.” This piece, one of the more compelling in the exhibit, features a headdress of birds, hands, and a penis. According to Galerie Trois Points, this composition adds an “intriguing” element to the piece, rather than simply one of

shock and awe. All the work showed vibrant creative vision through the artists’ compositions and use of materials. Yet I found myself returning repeatedly to the works of Julie Voyce. Her innovative and engaging layered collages pushed the viewer to look deeper. Particularly outstanding was a piece that used lithograph and Kozuke paper. Titled “Library,” it incorporated different textures, colours, and shapes to create movement and dynamism.

“Féminin Pluriel” offers a unique viewing experience: the chance to see art done by women and publicized as such without a politically “feminist” element. The emphasis on the “female, not feminist” as a promotion strategy, however, raises numerous issues. On the one hand, it may give these artists a chance to show their art to an audience that might not normally see it. This designation also encourages the viewer to look for divergent messages in art made by women, rather than immediately

wanted to. Wiseau wrote, directed, produced, executively produced, and starred in the movie, which he based on a play he created as well. In short, the film exists only to showcase Wiseau’s glaring limitations as a director, writer, and performer. The Room stars amateur actors, whose voices are sometimes out of synch. They spend most of their time in a living room and on a rooftop, around which the digitally composed San Francisco landscape changes its relative location. There are four prolonged sex scenes, three of which are shot in the same bedroom, all of which are accompanied by R&B slow jams. The plot, I have heard, is also bad. The film has become an Internet phenomenon and a cult classic. But getting your hands on it is tough. It plays at midnight screenings in L.A.

and, oddly, Montreal. It is tradition that you BYOPS (bring your own plastic spoons [to throw]). Bad movies are fun. But more than that, they offer a chance to explore the aesthetic of bad, the act of movie watching, and the nature of entertainment in general. I’m sure you share in my excitement.

live. The free series kicks off tonight at 7:00 p.m. with Intensive Care, The Kelp Center, and The Pop Winds, three bands primed and ready to expand their fan bases. Like Wolf Parade, with whom they share a studio, Intensive Care relies on streamlined guitar lines and rockhard rhythmic patterns, but the band’s vocals roughen the edges, making their sound oddly familiar and comforting – until, that is, some good old-fashioned dissonance enters the equation. The Kelp Center, on the other hand, is a brand new quartet of firstyears who manage to cover numerous facets of the term “alternative.” “The Trek” features sophisticated interchanges between guitar and vocals, and “P.O.W.” combines leering sing-song melodies and samples from the abyss of 1950s commercial advertising. The band also promises

The Room is playing this Saturday, January 23, at Centre St-Ambroise, 5080-A St-Ambroise. —Gavin Thomson

A good reason to go to Gerts In the hopes of promoting up-andcoming McGill bands, CKUT Radio is teaming up with Gerts for a weekly music showcase called Thursdays (A)

Julie Voyce courtesy of Galerie Trois Points

connecting female art with feminism. It is important for women artists to be able to express themselves without the pressure of supporting an explicitly feminist agenda. However, it is also vital for these artists to be able to express feminist convictions without fear of losing part of their audience. “Féminin Pluriel” is an exhibit that examines the balance between political and non-political art by women, and offers an unexpected and imaginative consideration of what it means to be a contemporary woman artist.

a variety of covers in their live show to further inhabit the complete spectrum of independent music. The Pop Winds use distanced, reverb-treated vocals over a background of electronic trickery and hushed rhythms, à la college-bandinstitution Animal Collective and the recent “chillwave” sensation. Yet The Pop Winds carry enough melodic prowess to lift their music out of soundscapes and into songs. The (A) live performance follows the release of their EP, Understory and a bevy of shows at local Montreal venues. With such a formidable line-up scheduled, one hopes CKUT will be able to sustain the standards set by tonight’s inaugural show. Though that remains to be seen, you can bet that this week’s concert will be a whale of a time. —Joseph Henry

Compendium!

The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 21, 2010

Lies, half-truths, and making pacts with the Devil

Love, Sex, and Magic reign Cutter Deuce The McGill Daily

ave you walked down the street lately? There is a certain something in the air, and that certain something is Love, Sex, and Magic. Love, Sex, and Magic have been on the lips, and also the minds, of several members of a local bar. “I don’t know, I really think I like Love, Sex, and Magic sometimes, but other times, I’m not so sure,” Louise Johnson, bar patron and local small business owner said. “Yesterday I was talking to my younger son, and he was talking about Love, Sex, and Magic. It was something we both knew about, so I was pretty excited about that,” said Stacy Frangopoulos. While there has been a certain sense of Love, Sex, and Magic for the everyday human being on the street, there is also an embrace of what some have called “the zeitgeist.” Scientists at the Science Academy are excited to be studying Love, Sex, and Magic. “George over there is studying Sex, Beverly is studying Magic, I think Dr. Stevens – and I say Dr. Stevens because he is at another department, and I only talk about people in my department with their first names, but Dr. Stevens is studying the effects of Love and Sex on Magic,” said Annabelle. “What is really great is when you can go home and talk about work, and my family is talking about the

same things that I am studying at work,” she said. Some scientists were just happy to be here. “It is really a privilege to just, you know, be here, in these problems, at these issues. Although the organization of the place can be a little confusing – not to get off track, but I got lost in the elevator yesterday – but I am just glad to be here,” said Dr. Stevens, a scientist that works in another department. While the mood on the street seems genial, the Ministry for Love and Magic is reeling to deal with a flood of new requests. “We simply can’t deal with all these new requests, it’s a flood,” said John Hoodleboodle Jr., one of the desk clerks at the Ministry. “I mean, I have spoken to my children, children that I have, about Love, Sex, and Magic – this talk, although discreet, was also something I enjoyed – but regardless, there seems to be this real disconnect between what we are fucking talking about, and what happens at the Ministry,” Hoodleboodle said. The official government line, however, takes a different and dissimilar tact. “The government is in full support of Love, Sex, and Magic, and we are taking every possible step to ensure the speedy delivery and secure circulation of Love, Sex, and Magic,” said District Manager Poopwalrus. THIS ARTICLE WILL BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT EDITION OF THE MCGILL DAILY COMPENDIUM.

1: Fuck the arrogance of power So the Attorney General of my homeland decides to run for Senate. She’s gunning for the seat vacated by the death of long-time comrade of the common man Edward Kennedy. This woman has the effrontery to assume NOBODY could vote against a Democrat in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She rests right on her fucking laurels, refuses to debate just her Republican opponent – a former Cosmo model, no less – and acts like she should be able to dictate the terms of this election. No ads till the last minute. No big guns til the last week. Then the idiot realizes she’s behind in the polls so she calls in Clinton and she calls in Obama. And what does that accomplish? JACK SHIT. Too little too late, you fucking cretin. And now you lost it. You lost the bluest of blue states. And I fucking hate that term, but seriously, you fucking moron. No campaign. No fucking effort. Couldn’t be bothered to lift your pinky. Way to fucking go. Might I remind you what the stakes were? HEALTHCARE, YOU MORON. The seat you lost was the seat held for what, a fucking century? by the fucking champion of healthcare. No matter if this bill was some ridiculous fascistic suturing the state and the insurance industry together into some seamless inseparable vampiristic mass feeding off the money of the millions of ill people in the United States. At least it was something. And you fucking blew it. Way to go, Martha Coakley. I regret voting for your sorry ass.

2: Eat shit, Pat Robertson Are you honestly going to blame this on a pact made with the Devil? Why don’t you just shut the fuck up already. Fuck This! is a therapeutic anonymous rant column, not necessarily about American politics. Send your 200word-or-less jeremiads every week to compendium@mcgilldaily.com. Anonymity guaranteed, but nothing hateful – just frustrated!

O, Compendium! A source of fun and great joy. Write a lot for me. compendium@mcgilldaily.com

Comics from Camilla

Comics by Camilla Grudova / The McGill Daily