Volume 97, Issue 44
March 27, 2008
THE
McGill
DAILY Regurgitating since 1911
TAs to strike? News 3
News
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
SSMU fumbles budget for clubs, services NICHOLAS SMITH The McGill Daily
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fter nearly a year of slashed budgets for clubs and services, SSMU discovered it had more money in its Club Fund and Campus Life Fund (CLF) than expected, and is encouraging groups to apply for money. Many clubs and services criticized SSMU for diminishing their budgets by up to 90 per cent this year, which sent clubs such as the Muslim Students Association (MSA), Hillel McGill and humour magazine The Red Herring into major funding crises. “[Vice-President] David [Groves] and I have spent a depressing number of hours searching for funding,” said Blake Gregory, Editor-in-Chief of the Red Herring. “For us, it was so tight that we were almost non-existent.” The extra money came both from fewer people opting out of the CLF than expected, and more frugal money allocation from the Club Fund. Affected groups have creatively sought money to avoid scaling back operations, applying to the CLF and SSMU’s Green Fund, holding more financially sustainable events, and asking for private donations. “Our interactions with SSMU have yielded some money. We were able to print four issues, which we didn’t expect in November,” Gregory said. Most groups were tepidly optimistic about SSMU’s plans for the budget for clubs and services next year. MSA, Hillel McGill, TVMcGill, The Red Herring, and the Debating Union agreed that large groups should focus on diversifying their income sources to make finances more sustainable. These larger groups, however, all said that smaller clubs would be more affected by cuts in club funding because they have fewer resources and manpower to adapt to less funding. “I don’t think emphasis should be put on small clubs, but there should be a minimum level of funding,” said Hillel President Eric Goldberg. “Hillel got a lot of funding cut, but our connections allowed us to adapt.” It is unlikely that funding will be as large of a crisis next year, according to Joshua Stark, secretary of the Debating Union. He pointed to students voting 81 per cent in favour of supporting clubs and services in a referendum earlier this month and the broad support from incoming SSMU executives as indications of a better experience. “I’m elated at the success of the referendum question,” Stark said. Gregory said he was still worried about securing finances for next year, but shared Stark’s optimism. “I think the worst is over.”
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TAs to vote on strike motion JENNIFER MARKOWITZ The McGill Daily
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nproductive contract negotiations are inciting the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) to call for a strike vote at a special meeting Monday. Most union members – over 2,000 teaching assistants (TAs) – have agreed that a strike is the only viable response to the University’s refusal to compromise in negotiations, said AGSEM president Salim Ali. “The University is compelling us to strike. The timeline is not ideal, but there are no other options left,” Ali said. AGSEM’s contract with the University expired in June, and the union has been negotiating the terms of a new agreement since October. AGSEM is demanding that its new contract reflect the importance of TAs in undergraduate education. Their bargaining points include higher wages, formal training, adequate office space, and the introduction of a uniform workload form. Ali hopes that the pressure of a strike vote will shift the course of negotiations and preempt a strike. “It’s our last option. If the vote passes, then maybe McGill will come back with a better proposal,” Ali said, noting that the University has been “relentless,” particularly in its refusal to compromise on the monetary demands. However, the University’s negotiating team insists that the negotiations are going well. According to Associate Vice Principal of Human Resources Lynne B. Gervais, who has been involved in the regular meetings with AGSEM, strikes are routine during contract negotiations. “The reason why [AGSEM is] having a GA and asking their membership to vote on a strike mandate is
Courtesy of AGSEM
Members of AGSEM, the TA union at McGill, demonstrated for higher wages and office space two weeks ago. due process. It’s part of negotiations and they are absolutely entitled and in the right to do so,” Gervais said, adding that she does not foresee a strike influencing the status of negotiations. “We don’t plan on their having a strike and I don’t think [AGSEM’s] membership does either. But I don’t think that it will speed up or slowdown the negotiations,” she added. Representatives from AGSEM and members of McGill’s Human Resources Department have been meeting regularly – once per week for several hours. While both parties are eager to settle, negotiations should continue throughout the summer if an agreement is not reached. Historically, the University has not treated AGSEM well, Ali said, recalling the union’s last negotiations with McGill, which took two years to complete and culminated in a strike. “McGill is…still not coming forward with a good proposal,” Ali said.
“It looks like they don’t want to work with us. They’re bargaining in a traditional way.” The semester’s looming end presents a potential complication in AGSEM’s negotiations. The union usually holds elections for its executive members in March, but postponed them this year so as not to interfere with negotiations. In classroom announcements this week, AGSEM members have said that a new executive could disrupt the flow of negotiations. However, Gervais does not foresee complications. “As long as they come to the table, negotiations will continue,” she said. In addition, TAs serve a particularly vital role in undergraduate classes at the end of the semester and faculties have drawn up contingency plans in the event of a TA strike. The absence of TAs at such an inconvenient time may make a strike more effective, said Derek Nystrom,
the TA coordinator for the English Department. “Since the University relies on [TAs] to perform a great deal of its teaching, a TA strike would most definitely demonstrate precisely this – that the TAs are an essential part of the University’s teaching efforts, and they should be treated and compensated accordingly,” Nystrom wrote in an email to The Daily. Nystrom also noted that a contract favouring AGSEM’s demands would provide TAs with more time and resources to devote to their teaching duties. “Based on what I know about the TAs’ demands, I would say that if the TAs win, so will undergraduates and professors,” he wrote. To pass, a majority of TAs present must vote “Yes.” Ali expects 500 TAs to attend. “The ball is in their hands. If [McGill] wants to have more sessions they can. It’s just a willingness to work with the union.”
Pointe St. Charles residents decry post office relocation ADRIENNE KLASA The McGill Daily
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ointe St. Charles residents are outraged over the local Canada Post’s plans to relocate its office from a vibrant residential neighbourhood to a remote industrial location tomorrow. The new location – underneath the Victoria Bridge highway overpass – is not serviced by public transportation and is difficult to access even with a car, according to Karine Triollet, spokesperson for local community organization Action-Guardien. “For people without their own means of transportation, this is a difficult situation,” Triollet said in French.
Since September, neighbourhood residents have mobilized through Action-Guardien and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to protest what they see as the beginning of a larger trend of privatization, closures, and deregulation of postal services. “We have received a lot of support for our campaign from other communities and groups. The post is a public service, and Canada Post has a mandate to keep it that way,” Troillet said. Canada Post did not inform residents of the scheduled move, leaving them to discover the plans by word-of-mouth last May, according to Triollet. Christiane Villmet, a Canada Post spokesperson, emphasized that the post office will still service residents in Pointe St. Charles, and is merely
relocating since the lease on the current location has expired. “I understand that people might be attached because it is such a part of the community,” Villmet said in French. “The new location is still in the neighbourhood, just a little bit further out,” she added. Villmet also noted the six other postal service locations within a three-kilometre radius. But Triollet emphasized that those six other locations are franchised outlets that do not offer the same standardized services as an official Canada Post site. Canada Post has argued that the Pointe St. Charles location has been under-utilized by the area’s 30,000 residents. However, Triollet said that the
office’s current location is essential to the community both for its basic postal services and because it acts as a financial outlet for many of the areas residents who do not have bank accounts. About half its residents still live below the poverty line. Pointe St. Charles is located in Southwest Montreal between the Lachine Canal and the St. Lawrence River, and is one of Canada’s oldest working class communities. While its original inhabitants were immigrant laborers from Scotland and Ireland, the neighborhood is now home to one of the most ethnically diverse communities in Canada. In protest of the move, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Action-Gardien encouraged supporters to sign and mail a letter posted on cupw.ca.
News
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
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SSMU drops ball on prioritizing student space As Caférama space opens up to bidding war, $20,000 slated for student space will likely go toward other initiatives ALI WITHERS News Writer
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espite several mandates calling for the Students’ Society to prioritize student space and operations this year, SSMU has for months sat on about $20,000 supposedly slated to meet this end. Undergraduates voted in the fall General Assembly (GA) for SSMU to prioritize space distribution in the Shatner Building, requiring that any commercial activity in Shatner be either run by students or contracted to socially responsible companies. They also voted in the fall referendum to increase the SSMU base fee by one dollar “for the purposes of improving student space” – bringing in an extra $19,800 this semester. But as the expiration date for the lease for Shatner’s Caférama nears, and the SSMU Operations Committee prepares to finalize its recommendations, many are questioning whether the Society has done enough to prioritize student space in the process.
Making student space Three student groups and four commercial initiatives are now vying for a three-year lease to replace Caférama. So far SSMU has made no indication that it would prioritize student operations in the Shatner café space – a move that has troubled those that brought the motions and referendum questions. “When we [students] mandate SSMU to do something, that needs to be something that they follow up on,” said Kira Page, a member of Grassroots Association for Student
Power (GRASPé), which helped introduce the mandates. Dave Schecter, SSMU Clubs & Services Representative to Council, said, given the GA motion and referendum question, SSMU should use the money for student-run operations. “The context the fee was situated in… shows that students are pushing [SSMU] to use the money in a certain way,” Schecter said. But the GA motion and referendum question are entangled with SSMU’s other mandates: to support clubs and services, and to ensure a level playing field for all bidders for the space, according to SSMU President Jake Itzkowitz. “Balancing all of those mandates is not easy,” Itzkowitz said. “We’re not going to make everyone happy; that’s just not going to happen.” Marcelle Kosman, SSMU VP Clubs & Services, explained that there has been increased pressure to use Caférama for student space, following the recent selection of smoothie vendor Liquid Nutrition for room 108, also on the first floor of Shatner. “The feeling has been to cite 103 [the Caférama space] as an opportunity to make up for 108,” she said. But under the strain of SSMU’s tight fiscal year, SSMU VP Finance & Operations Imad Barake identified financial pulls like Haven Books and Gert’s as potentially limiting further student operations. “From a financial viewpoint, we cannot sustain appropriate levels of funding to our programs if we are to start a third student operation,” Barake said. He maintained that supporting “student space” doesn’t require backing a student-run operation.
Nadja Popovich / The McGill Daily
SSMU Council will soon decide whether it wants to launch a student-run operation in the Caférama space. “It’s still student space whether it’s rented or it’s student-run,” he said. Schecter argued, however, that SSMU executives and Council were forgetting their constituency. “[SSMU] shouldn’t be telling students what to do, students should be telling [SSMU] what to do,” Schecter said.
What consultation? But there has been a lack of consultation about the use of SSMU’s $20,000. The Space Fee Committee – an organization created in January to address the increased funding – has yet to meet with quorum. The Committee’s mandate includes adhering to a procedural timeline of open meetings, and holding town halls and public consultations to discuss the Caférama proposals. The Committee has not
held any public consultations. Yahel Carmon, the Speaker of Council and the Chair of the Space Fee Committee, excused these shortcomings due to a sharp learning curve facing the committee. “The timeline became difficult to adhere to and was unrealistic to accomplish,” Carmon said. Itzkowitz said that any student group bidding on the Caférama space could have applied to use the $20,000. But without a consultation process, the claim seems tenuous. Further, SSMU did not spend money to advertise the fund’s existence, and only encouraged student groups to submit proposals to access the fee. Because there were no bids to use the fund for student-run operations in room 103 of Shatner, the money will instead be delegated to improving common areas around campus.
The Space Fee Committee is currently reviewing four proposals for the $20,000 – from Gert’s, the Engineering Undergraduate Society, the Music Undergraduates Society, and space improvement for the fourth floor of Shatner. The Committee intends to make a recommendation to Council by the end of the semester – three weeks behind schedule. Carmon acknowledged the possibility of supporting student-run initiatives in Shatner using the money. “There was discussion about remandating how that $20,000 would be spent, and if it were to go to 103 as it relates to improving studentspace,” Carmon said. But the decision will ultimately be a job for next year’s executive and Council, he said. “Executives of next year’s Council are going to have to rethink how they approach [the fee],” said Carmon.
Administrators offer weak answers to Senate questions KELLY EBBELS The McGill Daily
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isability accessibility, queerinclusive programs, and McGill’s Mental Health Services were just some of the hot button topics that administrators responded to with watered-down responses during yesterday’s Senate question period. SSMU President Jake Itzkowitz questioned how committed McGill is to making the University a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people, considering the volunteer structure of the Safe Space program. Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) Morton Mendelson said that the University is committed, but
noted that the Safe Space Program is in jeopardy. “The future of Safe Space is uncertain and what the administration can do is limited,” he said. “It doesn’t have sustainable staffing.” The Safe Space program – started by three volunteers – provides training to staff and faculty at McGill to better sensitize them to LGBT issues. The program is likely on the way out unless more volunteers can be found. Jana Luker, Executive Director of Student Services, said she hoped to see the creation of a queer administrative position at McGill that would oversee the operations of Queer McGill, Student Services, and the Social Equity and Diversity in Education (SEDE) office – which could monitor the Safe Space program.
“If SEDE’s mandate were expand- heritage value of properties,” he said. Several senators pointed out ed to include a half-position person [to oversee the Safe Space program], where McGill could be doing more. then it would be able to continue,” Senator and Music Professor Stefano she said, adding that Queer McGill Algieri followed up to Waugh, describand Student Services only provide services to students. A shovelled width for a path But Mendelson said it wouldn’t be possible given is not sufficient for a wheelchair. current budget cuts. – Beverlea Tallant Jim Nicell, Associate Senator and Physical and Occupational Therapy Vice-Principal (University Professor Services), responded to a question Senator Sean Waugh posed about disability accessibility, saying that ing a student in a wheelchair who McGill had tripled its budget – up came to Pollack Hall for an audition to $400,000 this year – to improve and could not access to the stage. Senator and Physical and accessibility. “[Accessibility] is an issue of strik- Occupational Therapy Professor ing a balance with maintaining the Beverlea Tallant also noted that
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snow clearing creates accessibility problems. “A shovelled width for a path is not sufficient for a wheelchair. Certainly no one in a wheelchair could access the Brown Building by the top entrance,” Tallant said. Finally, Arts Senator Daniel King questioned what McGill could do to improve communication between Mental Health Services and the rest of the University. Mendelson shied away from making any concrete commitments, responding only that Luker was drafting a review of Mental Health Services and would be implementing “a framework to move forward.” King suggested that regular meetings could occur between the Director of Mental Health Services and the Deans.
News
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
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Deaths in Tibetan riots felt in Montreal China’s crackdown draws support for boycott of Olympic Games this August EMILY CLARE News Writer
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ecent reports of violence and protests in China have roused Montreal’s small Tibetan community. While the Chinese Government claims only 19 people have died in clashes with Chinese police, the Tibetan government-in-exile puts the number at 99, and other groups purport it to be even greater. Tenzin Yangdon, a Montrealborn Tibetan, said that focusing on the number of dead misses the greater political and social movement. “China is focusing on the numbers and distracting from the real situation in Tibet,” said Yangdon. “Revolution has to come from within, and it has started.” On Saturday, Yangdon participated in a vigil at Place des Arts with the approximately 100 Tibetans in the greater Montreal area, as well as other supporters. Many of these Tibetans have had trouble reaching friends and family in Tibet; Yangdon, for example, has repeatedly tried to phone her fam-
ily, but the number goes directly to a Chinese operator. China has rigidly controlled Tibet since invading the region in 1949. There is no access to postsecondary education in the Tibetan language, and it has been reported that up to 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed since the beginning of the occupation. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader-in-exile, has preached and practised a strict doctrine of non-violence since leaving Tibet in 1959, creating positive media exposure. Lara Braitstein, a professor of the Tibetan language and Mahayana Buddhism at McGill, stressed the need to examine the situation from two perspectives. “The Dalai Lama is of course very important for Tibetans inside Tibet, but perhaps in more of a symbolic way,” Braitstein said. “It is hard to have someone speaking for you who has been out of the country for 50 years. “We have access to the voices of the diasporic community, but not as much to those within Tibet. They are very distinct voices,” she added. With the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, a movement to boycott some or all of the games has received varying interest. Dermod Travis, executive director of the Canada Tibet Committee (CTC), emphasized the importance of contacting Canadian Members of Parliament. The CTC sent a letter
to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Parliamentary House leaders that Canadian politicians attending the Olympics would be “inappropriate.” The majority of international Tibetan groups want to send a clear international message without punishing the athletes. “Boycotting the Olympics isn’t the main goal,” Yangdon agrees. “We want more concrete talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government.” A Chinese student studying the Tibetan language at McGill who wished to remain anonymous said the games are shedding light on Tibet, yet the Chinese Government is not acting appropriately. “The Olympics are too politicized. The issues have always been there and the games are pushing the government to deal with the problems,” she said. “Still, the Chinese government is playing down the reality. The news reports talk about terrorists and extremists, but fail to mention the monks and citizens. They are taking an angle to make themselves look good.” As the riots have taken the stage in Western media, international organizations are working to put international pressure on the Chinese President Hu Jintao. In seven days, avaaz.org gathered over 1,000,000 signatures for a petition calling for restraint in the Chinese response.
Stephen Davis / The McGill Daily
Protesters gathered in Toronto last week to condemn China’s recent crackdown. For more photos, see the photo essay on page 15.
Contest winners cut red tape
Accomodate This! releases counter-report
EMILY GENNIS
ERIN HALE
The McGill Daily
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en students each received $100 Tuesday for offering the best suggestions to reduce red tape and bureaucracy at McGill – but the administration has made no promises to implement any changes. Inviting the McGill community to conceive ways to streamline bureaucratic processes, Morton Mendelson, Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning), initiated the Cut the Red Tape contest, saying that the elimination of many useless policies is already underway. “Ask the question and the problem is solved,” Mendelson said. Mendelson did not promise to eliminate all grievances, but only to forward them to the appropriate units. Jennie Ferris, a Master’s student in the School of Information Studies – who won for her suggestion to streamline the University’s treatment of federal student loan checks – commended the University’s efforts to improve. “It’s validating to know that the administration is doing what they can to make things better,” Ferris said. But many other contest winners were skeptical that McGill will actu-
ally change its ways. Mahmoud Layouni, a graduate student in the school of Computer Science, said he was pessimistic about the University’s capability to reform. “I’ll probably graduate before I see it,” he said of his winning suggestion that the University implement online electronic time sheets for casual employees rather than paper ones. Most of the other winners noted problems of a similar nature – lengthy approval processes – and suggested only that the University implement simplified processes through Minerva. Robyn Wiltshire, Director of the Deputy Provost’s office, said that the office will continue to accept students suggestions via email. Wiltshire or one of her colleagues will reply to suggestions and explain whether a solution is viable before forwarding the reasonable ones to the appropriate units. It is unclear how Mendelson or Wiltshire will follow up with the various offices to make sure suggestions are being addressed, but Wiltshire said that she does not anticipate that departments will be neglectful. “People have been generally receptive,” Wiltshire said. “Where a solution is possible, it will see its way through.”
The McGill Daily
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nticipating the BouchardTaylor Commission’s upcoming report on the reasonable accommodation hearings, the Accommodate This! coalition of Montreal community, religious, and human rights groups released a counter-report last Thursday night. Montreal community and religious groups have accused the reasonable accommodation hearings of being racist, sexist, and Islamophobic. Feminist and religious groups also denounced what they described as a paternalistic attitude towards Muslim women. “The design of the Commission and the language of ‘accommodation’ assumes and perpetuates a system of power whereby Western ‘hosts’ act as gatekeepers for nonwestern ‘guests,’” according to a statement released on behalf of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, a feminist research college at Concordia. The counter-report features written contributions from members of marginalized communities that highlight the daily injustices they experience in Montreal. “People see a threat all of a sudden, a crisis of Quebec identity.
So-called controversies that led up to the forum are things that for decades were never a problem,” said Accomodate This! organizer and U3 Cultural Studies student Emilie Connolly. “It’s like the war on terror fabricated in different terms.” Organizations like No One Is Illegal and the Immigrant Workers Center of Montreal have also objected to the Commission’s failure to mention indigenous rights, and the power dynamic between native Quebecers and newcomers. Yet Sylvain Le Clerc, a spokesman for the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, said concerns throughout the province initiated the investigation. “Quebecers have issues with many articles in the media on incidents that described reasonable accommodation: people against the hijab, people who do not agree with the Supreme Court ruling of the ceremonial knife of the Sikhs,” LeClerc said. “There was a big fuss in the media, and during the electoral campaign the subject was picked up by the Premier [Jean Charest].” LeClerc said the Commission supported the idea of public discourse, however controversial it might become. “The consultation was done in a democratic way. It was a public
forum with an open mic,” LeClerc said. “Most comments were in line with a pluralistic society – some comments were misguided...but that was a minority. That’s what happens when you let people speak out.” The Bouchard-Taylor Commission began late last year with a series of public hearings throughout the province on how to preserve Quebec’s French heritage while “accommodating” minority groups. Gérard Bouchard and Charles Taylor asked Quebecers their opinions on a range of topics, from perceptions of feeling “threatened by intercultural harmonization practices” to the place of religion in Quebec society. Their report was originally set to be released this month, but will not be released publicly until May along with a set of recommendations for the provincial government. The Commission’s last stop was a week-long stay in Montreal’s Palais des Congrès, where four demonstrators were arrested during a 70-person protest organized by No One Is Illegal. No One Is Illegal is organizing a city-wide protest at 12:30 p.m. on May 4 at the corner of Victoria and Van Horne near metro Plamondon. More information is available from nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com.
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Features
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
History of a food fight
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With students boycotting corporate campus cafeterias today and tomorrow, Shayla Cilliak and Maggie Schreiner reflect on the troubling past and uneasy future of McGill’s food services
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tudents are a vulnerable population. Strapped for time and hungry for fuel, we often end up dependent on campus food outlets for our three square meals – particularly during academic crunch times. Our campus food options should be healthy, tasty, inexpensive, ethical, and local whenever possible. A tall order, to be sure, but one studentrun food outlets like Midnight Kitchen and Organic Campus have proven is possible. Unfortunately, over the last several years, the McGill administration has persistently curtailed student-run food options on campus in favour of corporate outsourcing. In doing so, the University has failed in its responsibility to ensure that students have control over what we eat. We now have fewer choices – and lighter wallets – than ever before. But the current model is not inevitable. It has been imposed on us, meaning that with enough effort, we can reverse it. Concerned students have organized a boycott of corporate- and McGill-operated cafeterias, taking place today and tomorrow. The Food Services Committee of the GrassRoots Association for Student Power and Midnight Kitchen will provide free, student-made meals outside corporate cafeterias on campus. Despite McGill’s best efforts, we do still have a choice: we can pay outlandish prices for low-quality Chartwells sandwiches, or we can have ourselves a food fight.
Coca-Cola controversy Campus cafeterias across Canada are fairly homogenous, both in fare and ownership. Thirty years ago, dining services were often contracted to local providers whose menus reflected the seasonal availability of various ingredients. But the food service business has become increasingly competitive as companies pounce on the captive market of busy, overworked students. The nineties in particular saw huge changes to campus food supply, through extensive consolidation, mergers, and aggressive bids for corporate exclusivity contracts with campus administrations. These days, food service provision in Canada is dominated by a handful of large companies: Aramark Corporation, Compass Group North America, and Sodexho, Inc., whose products and ingredients are supplied by an equally-small group of corporations. Chartwells, a subsidiary of Compass Group, is the McGill administration’s favoured corporate food provider.
The current battle for control and diversity of food services at McGill began in 1999, when the University entered negotiations with CocaCola for an 11-year exclusive Cold Beverage Agreement (CBA). The deal would have given Coca-Cola the exclusive right to distribute beverages on campus, while McGill would get a substantial exclusivity fee and commissions on product sales. Although the value of the agreement was officially secret, it was estimated to be worth over $1.5-million for the first year, with additional millions in the years to follow. Part of this money was to directly benefit students – for example, by financing renovations to the Shatner building – while the rest would be used to service the University’s deficit. The potential agreement quickly became the source of considerable controversy. The confidential nature of the agreement meant that not only was the actual value of the deal hidden, but other clauses in the agreement also remained secret. The University of British Columbia’s experience gave cause for concern; its exclusivity contract with Coca-Cola included sales quotas, meaning the contract was automatically extended without compensation after beverage sales were lower than anticipated. Additionally, the University of Manitoba and York University experienced price hikes for Coca-Cola products after signing CBAs. Although the financial incentives in the contract would have helped the University, the CBA did not address the root problem of chronic education underfunding, and was viewed by many as a “band-aid” solution. Finally, Coca-Cola’s history of human rights abuses pushed the issue to a SSMU referendum in April 2000. Fifty-four per cent of student voters rejected the Coca-Cola monopoly. This referendum result essentially killed the CBA, since at that time SSMU controlled about one-third of Coca-Cola sales on campus.
McGill moves in Before the failure of the CBA, student societies like SSMU, the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), and the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) operated most campus cafeterias and vending machines. Student societies had independence and control over food service provision, and were able to use profits from the cafeterias to fund their own initiatives. But in the years following the CBA’s failure, the McGill administration brought most of the
cafeterias and vending machines under the control of Ancillary Services. As many societies’ Memoranda of Agreement – the contracts outlining the relationship between McGill and the society – expired, the administration pressured or coerced the student associations to relinquish control of cafeterias and vending machines. Pressure tactics included withholding student fees from AUS and offering EUS $190,000 to give up its cafeteria. Between 2000 and 2007, McGill took over cafeterias formerly operated by SSMU, AUS, EUS, the Science Undergraduate Society, the Management Undergraduate Society, the Economics Students’ Association, the Law Students’ Association, the McGill Psychology Students’ Association, and, most recently, the Architecture Students’ Association. Throughout this time, the administration has openly stated its desire to consolidate campus food provision. Although the exclusivity deal with Coca-Cola was rejected by student referendum, in 2002 the University signed a non-exclusive contract with Coca-Cola concerning the provision of beverages on campus. That same year, SSMU accepted an exclusivity contract for the Shatner building with Pepsi, which expired last year and was not renewed.
Students get organized With the contracts for 16 cafeterias on the downtown campus set to expire in 2004, McGill announced in 2003 that it was requesting proposals to contract all food services to a single provider. The administration felt that the most effective way to ensure high-quality food provision was the creation of a campus monopoly. But many students felt that the plan was an attack on food diversity on campus, and identified a number of key problems: price increases, fewer meal options, potential job losses for cafeteria workers, and food quality concerns. Given that small businesses lack the resources to bid on such a large contract, it was considered likely that a huge food service company like Chartwells would win control of the cafeterias. Beginning operations at McGill in 2000, Chartwells has expanded aggressively into educational facilities throughout North America over the last decade. As a subsidiary of Compass Group, Chartwells is part of the largest food service business in the world, which employs around 400,000 people in 70 countries and had a net revenue of over $22-billion in 2006. In addition to universities,
Mariel Capanna / The McGill Daily
Compass Group also acts as a food service provider for hospitals, airports, and militaries. In opposition to a potential cafeteria monopoly, students, faculty, and staff formed the Coalition for Action on Food Services (CAFS). Many were worried that an exclusivity contract would limit student groups’ ability to fundraise through bake and samosa sales, and that a monopoly would put student-run food services in danger. CAFS initiated a broad campaign to draw attention to these issues, putting pressure on McGill to consult students in the decision-making process. The campaign included a panel on the future of food services at McGill, a petition, a three-day boycott of Chartwells cafeterias, and a referendum question. The mobilization was a huge success: 7,500 signatures were collected on the petition, 500 free lunches were served over three days, and in the referendum 82 per cent of voters opposed the monopolization of food services on campus. Popular support for the CAFS campaign on campus forced the administration to backtrack. Contracts with food service providers were extended by a year to allow the university to consult with students, faculty and staff. Law student and Daily Publications Society Board of Directors member Max Reed, a former SSMU VP University Affairs and CAFS member, points out that CAFS was “a broad-based coalition that attracted the support of many, many groups on campus around a central goal.” “This broad-based support made it very hard for the administration to ignore us. Thus, part of its legacy is that students continue to enjoy the unfettered right to sell food on campus to fundraise,” Reed says. “A secondary legacy is that the administration has slowed down its approach to the monopolization of food services by a single company.”
The administration also agreed to the formation of an advisory committee on food services. After some delay, the Dining at McGill Advisory Committee (DMAC) was formed in the Fall 2004 semester. The nine-member committee included students, faculty, and staff, but student representatives were hand-picked by the administration, not chosen by students as CAFS had recommended. Only one member of the committee had been involved with the mobilization the previous semester, and many feared that the committee members might not be aware of the full range of issues involved in granting food service contracts. The committee was also temporary, and had only an advisory role; it would be given no control over food provision decisions. DMAC accepted submissions from the McGill community, including CAFS’s final recommendations on food services. The CAFS submission consisted of four proposals: the creation of a permanent food services committee, the protection of student fundraising activities like bake sales, permission for students and staff to choose their own food service providers for on-campus events, and a requirement that any food service provider must contribute to university projects. DMAC submitted its report to Vice-Principal (Administration & Finance) Morty Yalovsky on January 31, 2005, reiterating most of CAFS’s principal demands. DMAC also recommended the creation of a permanent food services committee, and suggested that contracts be non-exclusive in order to protect student fundraising initiatives. The report also recommended the development of a multi-year plan for a periodic reconsideration of food services, and the creation of a review process for residence cafeterias. In response to the DMAC report, McGill
committed to using multiple food service providers, protecting student fundraising through food sales, and establishing a permanent food services committee.
Arch Café under attack Although McGill has mostly adhered to its commitments, the years since the CAFS mobilization have witnessed the creeping corporatization of food services. The Bookstore Café, previously student-operated, was transferred to Chartwells only months after the conclusion of the CAFS campaign. McGill’s takeover of the Architecture Café last year is further evidence of the University’s opposition to student-run food services. This time around, the issue of student autonomy has been a rallying point that appeals to many students, especially in the wake of the Architecture Café’s near-disappearance. Last summer, McGill unilaterally told the Architecture Students’ Association (ASA), which operates the Café, that it had two options: turn the Café into a lounge space – without food or beverage sales – or Food Services would take it over. At the time, McGill administrators were frank about the reasoning behind incorporating the Architecture Café under Ancillary Services. “The University wants to have a common strategy for food services,” Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) Morton Mendelson told The Daily in August. “Over the years there were a number of food service operations run by student groups and they have all been phased out, and that’s a strategic decision that the University has taken on this issue.” After an outcry from students and McGill alumni, McGill and the ASA reached a com-
promise that saw the Café incorporated under Ancillary Services, with students mostly handling its day-to-day operations. But the agreement meant a loss of autonomy for one of the last large-scale student-run food operations on campus. It may be only a matter of time before McGill takes over the few student-operated food services that remain.
In it to win it Something is clearly wrong with food services at McGill. But we still have a chance to change how this campus eats. The studentrun food outlets that have managed to survive McGill’s slow takeovers need and deserve your support. And beyond scrambling to hold on to what’s left, students need to move forward with a different vision for campus food provision – one based on student autonomy, supporting local businesses, and accessibility. That’s what this boycott is all about. In an interview with The Daily earlier this month, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum said that there is “no evidence that student-run initiatives work better when it comes to food quality, variety, portion size and pricing.” Students know that she is wrong, and the evidence is all around us. But we need to prove it to the administration. Today and tomorrow, join in the action that will take place outside Chartwells cafeterias across campus. Come get a free meal, and send a message to McGill: the administration may have started the food fight, but students are sure as hell going to win it. Shayla Cilliak and Maggie Schreiner are members of the Food Services Committee of the GrassRoots Association for Student Power and Midnight Kitchen, organizers of this week’s boycott.
Student-run food alternatives Midnight Kitchen every weekday at 12:30 p.m. Shatner building A pay-what-you-can, healthy, vegan meal. Architecture Café Macdonald-Harrington basement Fair trade coffee, sandwiches, and treats. Not fully student-run, but better than the alternative. AUS Snax Leacock Building, first floor Coffee, sandwiches, and snacks. Rabbit Hole Café 3625 Aylmer, every Friday at 1:00 p.m. A $1 vegetarian lunch Thomson House 3650 McTavish The PGSS-run restauraunt and pub. MACES Café 3437 Peel Delicious sandwiches. EUS Frostbite and General Store McConnell Engineering, first floor Ice cream, coffee, and snacks. Bake sales and samosa sales Leacock, McConnell, Bronfman, etc., all the time! Support good causes and student initiatives!
Commentary
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
15
Anti-brutality protest erupts in brutality, former SSMU Prez sends dispatches from the front
Letters Et tu, brutes? While walking home two Saturdays ago, I fell upon the demonstration against police brutality. At first, I watched the protestors calmly walk down Ontario as they chanted. Looking from afar, I was pleased to see the demonstration, as police brutality is an issue that needs to be addressed in Montreal. However, as they marched toward St. Laurent and Maisonneuve, I realized that this demonstration was simply another angry display of anarchy. There’s no denying that Montreal police have been using unnecessary force in recent years. But the hostile, anti-authoritative attitudes that were used by some of the demonstrators did not help in forming a collective understanding on the issue of police brutality. Most of the onlookers, including myself, were either irritated or ashamed at the situation that took place on Saturday. The number of police that were present for the demonstration did seem excessive. Police on bicycles, in helicopters, in vans, and probably plain-clothed officers, were all present to watch over. Unfortunately, the actions of the protesters later warranted the high attendance of officers. Rather than express their frustration with police brutality through peaceful actions and words, protesters began cursing and throwing sticks at the officers and police vehicles. At one point, several masked protesters grabbed a garbage bin on wheels from behind a store (which I’m certain had no involvement with the police) and began to jump on it as others pushed and blocked the police cars. Now, I’m not quite sure if this act is meant to represent a passionate hatred towards the police, but I simply saw it as an embarrassment to those who actually work in addressing and resolving police aggression. Another high point of the demonstration was the vandalism and total disrespect for public property. Although the protest had finished by Saturday evening, I now have to read “Fuck La Police” on buildings and signs as I walk to school everyday. I’ll give it another few day – I’m sure I’ll get the message soon. Melody Lotfi U1 Political Science
Former SSMU Prez should’ve just visited CAPS Just the other day I was sitting in the computer room in my barracks at Fort Lee, Virginia, where I recently attended school to become a Unit Supply Specialist for the U.S. Army. I
pulled up The Daily looking for the latest SSMU election scandal. I found it, and couldn’t help but notice that not only are SSMU elections predictably scandalous but so is the McGill admin. Going after the “McGill” in “McGill First Aid Service” (MFAS) reminded me of the sick world I left to go be trained to kill. Later that day I learned to disassemble and reassemble an MK19 40mm Grenade Machine Gun, one of the deadliest weapons in the US arsenal, capable of firing grenades up to 2,212 meters at a rate of 375 to 400 per minute. To my shock and awe I discovered, engraved on parts of the bolt assembly, the name “MCGILL.” Aaron Donny-Clark B.A. 2007
A love letter for The Daily This human issue was awesome. You might not have seen it like that, but please suffer my enumeration: It all starts with the Book of Life. Then you speak about evolution. You then go on with childhood at a length, from daycare to literature to radio to music to biking. Fertility is discussed under sex education, contraceptive methods, gametes donation, adoption. Jobs are touched on in politics, sex workers, and student-parents. Finally, death is represented in germaphobia. I’m really happy to read articles about events I would have liked to attend but couldn’t (technology, adoption is bad), or were unappropriately covered in the mainstream media (Jérôme-Forget’s budget, especially on the environment). Lastly, reading your upper editorial, I understood certain people’s view that minority rights are threatening. As an enviro, I of course want a sustainability center. Student parents want an office. Someone in the admin wants a learning centre. If all those changes were to be implemented at once in a timely fashion, our dear institution would lose ground and become alienated from its statutes. Maybe the solution is status quo, maybe it’s participatory democracy. I’m going to miss you, Daily, once I graduate (even if you’re online). Lynne Champoux-Williams U3 Environment SSMU Arts Senator
thus does not get the reference. Thanks any way for putting such an entertaining and reasonably vulnerable word on the cover page, that too coupled with a relevant word juxtaposed. It made my day. Manosij Majumdar U1 Chemical Engineering
Crackpot attempts humour, fails due to utter craziness This is a poem in response to the Literary Supplement in the issue from March 20. It is entitled, “Gettin’ Crunk”: “Poetry is dead, Let’s all go to Jonestown, Poetry consumed the Kool-Aid, let’s have an old-timey hoe-down.” The fiction was so-so. P.S: Watch the skies! The aliens are monitoring their monitoring beams, which are in turn monitoring us, who are monitoring others through devices such as the world wide web and telescopes. These telescopes may be used to monitor the aliens in turn. Watch the skies through your telescopes! Devon Welsh U1 Religious Studies
Not hooked on Phonix I would like to commend “DJ Phonix” on his recent big-screen debut at the Fokus Film Festival. His masterful depiction of a complex human being making their transition from youth to man exhilarated me and my associates from the modest opening credits to the “much-too-soon” ending. Having wanted the film to continue, I suggest a sequel. If I may offer a criticism, I believe that the film did not feature enough pot-smoking. Also, the film was edited too well. Give some of the other wannabe-Phonixes out there a shot! I suggest that The Daily write and publish a feature story on the incredibly interesting and obviously hardship-fraught life of this elegant artist of a man. P.S: I suggest that more aliens also be included in the sequel. Keep watchin’ them old-timey skies! Devon Welsh U1 Religious Studies Send letters to letters@mcgilldaily. com.
Clinging onto cheesy jokes The word “Bike” begins with an upper-case “B” when it’s at the beginning of a sentence. A lowercase “k” is easily transformed into an upper-case “R,” while a lower-case “e” is only a tail away from becoming a lower-case “g.” Now, if you had only put an extra space between the “i” and the “k” of “Bike” in your last cover, it would have made it easier for me to change “Bike collective” to “Borg collective” on the cover of every copy of The Daily I could lay my hands on and annoy everyone I know who is not a Star Trek fan and
ERRATUM In “Civil-rights lawyers denounces SPP” (News, March 13, 2008), The Daily reported that Julius Grey also argued that North America is less secure today than it was in 2001 or the 1980s. In fact, Grey argued that North America in no less secure than in 2001 or the 1980s.
Ming Lin / The McGill Daily
Boycott corporate cafeterias FOOD SERVICES COMMITTEE OF GRASPÉ AND MIDNIGHT KITCHEN
HYDE PARK
T
oday and tomorrow, students will boycott McGill’s corporate-run cafeterias. It’s widely known that food services at McGill are inadequate. In The Globe and Mail’s 2007 survey of undergrads, students gave McGill a C- in overall quality of food services. Clearly, McGill’s predominantly corporate food services have failed to meet the dietary needs of its diverse community. And yet, as students are struggling to satiate themselves in a healthy, ethical, and sustainable manner, McGill has responded by tightening its grip on food services. In an interview with The Daily, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum stated that the issue of food services is “up for discussion.” While MunroeBlum’s point sounds forward-thinking, it is moot because the McGill administration is structured in order to rob students of any negotiation bargaining power. Town Halls are currently the only accessible forum for discussion, but these are places for empty rhetoric, not studentadministration compromise. For students to get what they need, their best option is to start up food services themselves. For example, Midnight Kitchen – which is entirely student-run – serves affordable vegan meals every day, and the Architecture Café (once autonomous, but now under the umbrella of McGill Ancillary Services) provides a creative atmosphere and relatively affordable local food options. Yet despite their ability, students and their operations are continually under threat by a power-hungry administration that views food services as an opportunity for profit, rather than as an essential service. So, where do we go from here?
Food services at McGill need to change, and for that to happen, students must take collective action. In 2004, the Coalition for Action on Food Services (CAFS) orchestrated a successful three-day, campus-wide boycott against possible on-campus cafeteria monopolization. Thanks in part to the boycott, student-run food services on campus are still “allowed” to operate and no company holds a monopoly on campus cafeterias. While boycotting our campus’s corporate food services on a dayto-day basis is effective in the short term, it doesn’t change the system: the structure in place is designed to to shove the values and norms of capitalism down our throats. If we want to see meaningful change, we must rally together and make concrete demands. The Corporate Food Boycott, which starts today and runs through tomorrow, is more than just a demonstration, it’s also a meeting ground where students can voice their demands, and stir up support for an alternative student-run model. The Food Services Committee of the Grassroots Association for Student Power (GRASPé) and Midnight Kitchen advocates student-autonomy, environmental sustainability and workers’ rights. We believe that students, faculty and workers have the right to determine how their food services are designed, managed and consumed; to sustainably-produced, nutritious foods; and to a fair and equitable work place. History shows that corporations and big businesses are unable to foster these rights. Corporate-run food services are not the only option. Take action and join our pickets outside Chartwells cafeterias on campus at 1 p.m. today and 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Free food will be available. Bring your friends and your appetite; we’ll provide lunch until justice is served. For more information, visit corporateboycott.blogspot.com.
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The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
Photo Essay
17
Protest for Tibet Toronto: March 22, 2008
By Stephen Davis
STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 11 www.vivafilm.com www.anighttodiefor.com
Culture
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
21
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain In the third installment of The Daily’s four-part series on cultural tastemakers in Montreal, Claire Caldwell examines the city’s lit scene
Claire Caldwell / The McGill Daily
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or as long as I can remember, I’ve had this strange, nostalgic feeling for early-20th century Paris. I can’t shake the romantic image of writers – Apollinaire, Breton, Proust, and later Sartre, Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir – chatting fervently in cafés, excited voices shaping what would become some of the most radical and influential aesthetic movements of their time. Something about the idea of a community of writers, drawn together by a philosophical or artistic question, fascinates me. From a historical perspective, it’s easy to label literary movements like surrealism or existentialism, and to designate their parents – those who set the precedent, who wrote the manifesto – as tastemakers. It’s a lot harder to pin down what’s going on in a given contemporary scene, and to figure out who is calling the shots. Perhaps this is a symptom of our late capitalist society; there is just so much being published today that it is almost impossible to discern any consistent aesthetic. On the other hand, with technology, increased mobility, and the debunking of the “solitary genius” myth, the exchange of ideas and relationships among writers is more common than ever. As such, local lit scenes still seem like the places par excellence for literary movements to emerge. Take Montreal: for decades poets and novelists have been drawn to the city’s vibrancy and diversity, and, today especially, opportunities abound for young Montreal writers. On any given weekend there are accessible readings going on at venues like Casa del Popolo and le Cagibi; there are too many handmade zines and established lit mags to count; and literary and small presses are active across the city in both English and French. But, as Jon Paul Fiorentino – managing editor of Matrix magazine and owner of Montreal small press Snare Books – puts it, “If Montreal has a literary scene, it’s one that is constantly rebuilding itself because so many
prospective participants…are terminal residents. I don’t know if there’s a stable scene, or if it’s a scene that has to continually reestablish itself year after year.” Fiorentino is only half-joking when he says, of Montreal writers, that most only stay here for a few years – often in their early twenties – before heading “to Toronto to get a real job.” Still, he says “there are quite a few of us lifers that aren’t going anywhere.” Many of the “lifers” that Fiorentino cites are actively involved in keeping the lit scene alive – Andy Brown, another editor at Matrix, runs conundrum press, and Ian Ferrier and Oana Avasilichioaei each produce separate poetry reading series on a monthly basis. With so many constant, experienced figures on the scene, it seems natural that certain aesthetic preferences would dominate. And even without having consciously jumpstarted a radical movement, these writers and editors would potentially have overarching control over who reads at events, what is published, and what works become the flagstones of contemporary literature in Montreal. However, the only dominant attitude that seems to be coming out of the Montreal lit scene right now is: anything goes. Fiorentino insists that if you’re good, you’ll get published; if you want to participate in a reading, it’s a matter of sending out a few emails, submitting some writing samples, and having an open schedule. Of course, each literary press maintains its own aesthetic mandate, but as Fiorentino says, “If I were to try to graft my idea about what is good poetry onto the scene, it would be very boring. Nobody wants to live in a literary Death Star.” Perhaps as proof that there aren’t any true tastemakers in the Montreal scene, those with editorial control often look beyond Quebec’s borders for material. While literature from Montreal has classically been marked by the city – think Cohen’s Beautiful Losers or the body of Richler’s work
– it seems that these days, whether or not Montreal’s poetry and prose is associated with a strong sense of place, the city’s anglophone literature is increasingly being merged within the larger Canadian scene. Since the individual magazines, presses, and imprints make publishing choices based on their own aesthetic values, a Montreal writer may find that the publisher most aligned with her work is actually located in Vancouver or Toronto. Fiorentino sees this as a positive thing: “Canada is a very very big country,” he says, “and I think it’s good for the literary presses who operate here to publish Canadian writers from coast to coast. I think it’s also healthy for us – as literary artists here – to seek venues outside of the city.” Fiorentino raises a good point. Although it is nice to imagine a community of writers in aesthetic solidarity, perhaps being nurtured under the wing of some literary guru, the risk is that the scene – and thus the writing – will stagnate. On an island as small as Montreal this risk is particularly high, especially given the already minute anglo literary scene. On the other hand, Montreal’s status as a bilingual city offers the potential for a versatile community of writers to develop. As it is, there are essentially no bilingual publishing houses in Montreal – Francophone writers go to Boréal, l’Hexagone, or l’Oie de Cravan among others, while Montreal’s English language publishing houses include Véhicule Press, conundrum press, and DC Books. Montreal’s anglo literary scene seems to be doing just fine without tastemakers. But for writers vying to push the boundaries, to form a community that could make a name for this period in our city’s literary history, I think a bilingual approach is the necessary direction to take. And it’s already being done: poet Nathalie Stephens – though she is no longer Montreal-
based – writes both bilingual poetry and translations of her own work. Many writers, including Fiorentino, who are not as comfortable in both English and French, eagerly endeavour to have their work translated by professionals. And many of the literary events across the city – Festival Voix d’Amériques being a notable example – aim to include both franco and anglo performers. People with sway in the lit world may not be tastemakers as the term applies to aesthetic movements. But, I think it is fair to say that those who are active in Montreal’s literary community are tastemakers in a broader sense: as advocates for the appreciation of quality writing. It
seems almost beside the point to be an arbiter of taste in a scene that is composed of more writers than readers. When asked about who lit event organizers and publishers are trying to reach, Fiorentino replies, “The goal is always to reach as many people as possible…by any legal means necessary….Everyone who can read, everyone who wants to learn to read – just everyone.” Maybe the only kind of “taste” that has to be established is what’s needed to pick up and open a good book of poetry.
22
Culture
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
Clapping, snapping, and stomping along to retro kitsch DJ XL5’s film collage plays with the wacky beginnings of the music video
music video. Over three months, he combined bits and pieces from his collection of vintage clips, lending his talents as a seasoned DJ to bring a sense of musical flow to the whole project. “I feel guilty that this collection remains on my shelf,” he said. “That’s basically what a DJ does, he discovers stuff and shares it with the audience simply because he is excited to have found this great song or this great excerpt.” In keeping with his musical roots, DJ XL5 samples his collection in a logical sequence, often focusing on one visual motif or one era for a set of three clips. Recurring images range from high-heeled boots to alcohol, and although the majority of the clips would be considered tame by today’s standards, several were as suggestive as a Spinal Tap hit single. The most notable of the
STEVEN HOFFER Culture Writer
I
n his latest scratch video exhibition, DJ XL5 has once again expanded on the definition of collage, mixing and sampling over 40 soundies, scopitones, and cinebox clips from fifties and sixties visual jukeboxes and short rock videos. His personal style of cinema collage attempts to remedy the disjointedness of short film compilations: “When you watch a short film...you are leaving and entering another environThe clips were as suggestive ment,” said DJ XL5. When such films are shown as a Spinal Tap hit single. sequentially, “It’s kind of tiresome and you have the impression that there is no build-up racy crowd-pleasers includes “Pretty in terms of the order in which the Girls Everywhere,” starring the casashorts are put together. There is no nova Bobby Vee decked in his signature Mr. Rogers red sweater and sense of a voyage or odyssey.” DJ XL5’s response to this pre- slick black coiffe. Also, “The Web sentational problem is Retro Kitsch of Love” with Joi Lansing, which Party, an homage to the admittedly features young women in fifties wacky beginnings of the modern swimwear dancing around a man
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in a bright green snake costume, provided ample comedic flair for the audience. Like all of DJ XL5’s projects, Retro Kitsch lives up to its “Party” title; it was hardly a typical cinema experience. “The fun aspect of the show is seeing it with other people and discovering the material as a group,” explained DJ XL5. “The idea is to put the fun back in theatres.” Staying true to the celebratory tone of the film, guests felt free to clap, snap, and stomp along to their favourite classics – and even engaged in a short sing-along with Elvis Presley’s classic “Viva Las Vegas.” Retro Kitsch Party culminates in the early days of MTV. There are few more twisted finales than watching a trailer for “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” segue into Sid Vicious murdering members of his audience with a pistol after belting out “My Way” from The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. DJ Xl5 guides his audience from a time when the Cinebox jukebox was at its groundbreaking prime, and Reg Kehoe & his Marimba Queens still appeared in black and white, to the age of MTV and its flickering neon logo, showing just how far the art of the music video has come. Be sure to catch new releases from DJ XL5 at Cinema du Parc (3575 Parc) in the near future.
Courtesy of Cinema du Parc
DJ XL5’s video collages often focus on one visual motif or era at a time.
Radeq Brousil on St. Francis of Assissi, the south of France, and animal portraiture Prague artist’s exhibit at Parisian Laundry is inspired by the personal changes he’s undergone while living in Canada Who is Radeq Brousil? Artist, traveller, musician, nature-lover... wine guzzling carnivore? You just might want to acquaint yourself with this young international talent while his work is in Montreal, because who knows where he’ll be next. Currently showing at Parisian Laundry through mid-April, the Czech native took some time out to talk to The McGill Daily about art, inspiration, and his love of the arts. The McGill Daily: As an artist, what are your thoughts on the state of the art world today? Do you believe that we are still capable of truly “new” production? Radeq Brousil: I am very optimistic about this issue. Of course all things have been done before. For example, if we talk about music, all the best music was produced in the late seventies and eighties, but there are still so many musicians producing new works. And that’s how it is with art too. We artists need to talk, and we talk with our work. It’s our medium to communicate. We are not robots, but human beings, so every single thing we do is unique; it can’t be repetitive. MD: Why have you chosen St. Francis of Assisi as an inspiration for
your latest show? RB: It all started with my friend’s father’s house. It was a very beautiful sunny day in the Canadian countryside. He gave me a peanut and said, “Go to the garden, wait for five minutes and you will see something special.” I waited one minute, nothing happened, two minutes, three minutes and suddenly a bird landed on my hand, picked up the peanut and flew away. It was something very special, something I have never experienced in my life before. So I thought about it a lot and I ended up with the work on display at Parisian Laundry. MD: How would you compare the current exhibit “St. Francis came to Montreal” to your previous works? Or would you compare it at all? RB: Living in Canada for the last year, my work has changed a lot. I wanted to capture what it’s like to live far from your home, without any contact with your mother tongue – to experience new beauty, sadness, and the loneliness of exploring a new “home.” I have started dreaming in English, my personality has changed. I am a new Radeq Brousil. My art is a reflection of myself, and since I’ve changed, so has the way I experience art; I work in a totally dif-
MD: Where do you find inspiration? RB: I usually go on holiday to my friends’ in the south of France, drink very good wine, sing with the guitar in the night next to a fireplace, get sunshine, love women in the woods, eat the best cheese in the world, crispy baguettes, bloody meat and take lots of drugs. And I sleep a lot. But now seriously, I just live my life. Things are coming, things are leaving. I take them as they come and I try to work with it. I’m actually a very simple guy. Maybe I’m just a bit more sensitive?
DJ. Do you think these two creative fronts intersect in your work? RB: For me, music was always very important. When my headphones broke I felt like a junkie without a needle. I’ve been surrounded by music since the age of 12; my older brother took me to all the alternative-punk concerts, and I always wanted to have a band. That was my dream, before I wanted to do visual art. When I was 14, I started to do graffiti and listened to lots of hip hop, but on the other hand I was straight-edge and listened to a lot of punk and hardcore. I have never actually been part of a distinct community. I always felt like a single person out on his own. It was very depressing, and I felt very lonely because of it. Music was a shelter, but I was only a listener without the self-confidence to start something on my own. After years, I started a DJ crew and played music for people, but after a while I felt the same as when I was a little guy. Eventually, I acquired enough self-confidence to start my own band. We are working on our debut now, the band is called DIALOGS. But I think music and art are two totally different modes of communication.
cities; Montreal, Prague, and London. Does it affect your art, and how? RB: I’ve been travelling since I was young. My father was a diplomat and he was always away from home. I never saw him. After Desert Storm in Iraq he left for a few months for a peace mission with the EU. I always hated and loved it at once when he was abroad. That’s how it is with me today. I have a need to travel, it opens my mind a lot, it opens my senses so they don’t get hypnotized by repetition. Prague is my home. Most of my friends live there; my family and the places I grew up in are there. We call this home, don’t we? That’s why I love it and hate it. I always need to come back. I compare Prague to a woman: you can’t live with her, but it’s even more painful when you’re without her. I can’t live by my art in Prague, so I need to export my work abroad. That’s a reason why I spend so much time in London, Berlin or any other city. I was very lucky that I could start to work with Parisian Laundry, so my situation has changed. Now I can focus on the things I love and live off my work. That’s actually my biggest goal.
MD: You are also a musician and
MD: You claim residence in three
– compiled by Nadja Popovich
ferent way than when I first arrived. But when it comes to actually comparing my work over time – that’s up to historians and curators, who actually studied art history. I just make art. MD: How did you manage to get some of these animal portraits? How staged are the works? RB: The only single thing I can say is that there is no digital manipulation in my work and that all the animals are real. Just reality, luck, and lots of patience – that’s what this work is about.
Compendium!
The McGill Daily • Thursday, March 27, 2008
Lies, Half-truths, & Accepting your imitations
Freeloader
GENUINE
23
IMITATION
Condiments
Mariel Capanna / The McGill Daily
Condiments
Barry L. Capanna / The McGill Daily
FREELOADER: SPECIAL BOYCOTT EDITION DESA is sponsoring a wine and cheese at Thomson House, in the downstairs restaurant today, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. According to DESA, the event will be “swanky, but not intimidating!” Hm. More importantly, they guarantee wine. BUGS, the unfortunately acronymed Biochemistry Undergraduate Society, is hosting a wine and cheese today. Wine and cheese will be served from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m on the sixth floor of the McIntyre Medical building. BUGS would also like you to know that this is a great time to meet the BUGS council election candiates. Because, you know, you’re a biochem major. The Geography Department is hosting “the 5th Annual Graduate Student Forum” on Friday, March 28 in Burnside 426 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. As an incipient fifth year, Freeloader is sad to have learned about this five-year event so late in its university career. If you are suffering any similar sadness, you can drown it in the free “tasty” lunch. Make sure to pack a big book of cartography jokes. Geographers are notorious for their funny bones. Lastly, but not leastly, the McGill Drama Festival is hosting two wine and cheeses this week, Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28. Both will be in the Players’ Theatre lobby, on the third floor of Shatner. No word on the exact time, but the plays start at 8 p.m. and the free grub will follow. Got a hot Freeloader tip? We would like you to share it. Email com ment a r y@mcg i l ld a i ly.com, with the subject line: “HELLO, I HAVE A HOT FREELOADER TIP”
Peep Show
100-ISH WORD STORIES!
Sweatin’ to the oldies
“Goddamn, goddamn, goddamn” said Jerry. He pulled himself up from under his car, and watched as the puddle of gasoline on his shirt expanded upwards to merge with the sweat stains under his armpit. He reached for his bag and rummaged around for cigarettes, but then realized what he was about to do and stopped. “What the hell did you just say?” said his wife. She was standing on the porch holding a tin of artichoke hearts and eating them with her hands. She took no notice of the oil as it slipped through her fingers. Jerry looked at the grease stain on her blouse – a perfect, miniature counterpart to his – and felt a wave of sappiness that he tried hard to suppress. “What the hell did you just say?” said his wife, again. “I said goddamn” said Jerry, quietly. – Simon “Maverick” Lewsen
A CAPANNA–VOGT COLLABORATION / The McGill Daily
Barry L. Capanna / The McGill Daily
The royal family sat for the portrait in April. Not the whole family, but the children. The dogs. In order, from smallest to tallest to smallest again, Janey Sarah William Penelope Sam. The girls laced up in the family finest, told not to move not even to breathe, not like they could they were tied so tight. One thing you should know: the painter was seven minutes late. Also, there was another sister. Fifteen and a half minutes late with mud on her skirts. She’s not part of the portrait so we don’t know her name. Only the mud-caked silk, found years later, snagged on a branch outside the palace. Historians insist there was no sign of a struggle. – Claire Caldwell
More true facts that no one can dispute 1. Blackberries are the snobbiest fruit around. 2. Chapped lips are nothing to write home about. 3. Pure maple syrup companies are syrup supremacists. 4. Superbad and A&E’s Intervention are extremely entertaining – plus, they both make you want to get fucked up.
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