Vol102Iss07

Volume 102, Issue 7

September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

McGill THE

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Kicked out of J-Board since 1911

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NEWS

The McGill Daily Monday, September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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03 NEWS Senate discusses McGill’s HR initiative Bangs v. Calver/Cheng preliminary hearing held

Aboriginal Awareness Week kicks off

06 COMMENTARY A critique of McGill’s partnerships with Israeli institutions

Saving the student-run cafe An observation of a street corner

08 SCI+TECH Does learning code improve technological literacy?

Reflections on the 2012 Science & Policy Exchange Investigating the effects of defunding science

10 SPORTS Why athletes have stopped speaking out

Newly appointed Higher Education Minister Pierre Duchesne at the PQ’s election night.

CLASSE excluded from summit talks FEUQ and FECQ align with Marois government

11 CULTURE Winnie at the Montreal International Black Film Festival Reviews: Grimes; Bea

14 COMPENDIUM! James building is fed up My barbecue is angry

15 EDITORIAL The reality of Aboriginal suicide rates

Photo Laurent Bastien Corbeil | The McGill Daily

Laurent Bastien Corbeil The McGill Daily

D

etails over the government’s planned summit on higher education remain elusive as the gulf widened between the main student unions active in the student movement.

The Fédération étudiante universaitaire du Québec (FEUQ) and the the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ) have closely aligned themselves with the new government of Pauline Marois, and both hailed its victory on September 4 as a conclusive moment for the student movement.

The more radical Coalition Large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE), however, has thus far been cautious about declaring any sort of decisive victory for the movement.

CLASSE co-spokesperson Jeanne Reynolds told The Daily that newly appointed Minister of Higher Education Pierre Duchesne had yet to respond to a request for a meeting with the student association.

“The [choice of Duchesne as minister] is of little importance for us,” she said in French. “His political beliefs matter; we know that he’s a former journalist with Radio-Canada, but we have yet to meet him.”

Renyolds added that CLASSE was not in “regular contact” with the government.

Meanwhile, FEUQ President Martine Desjardins told The Daily that she spoke with Duchesne last Thursday night and that a meeting was planned this week.

“Our goal is to make sure that the government isn’t coming up with the framework [for the summit] by itself,” she said in French. “We are

going to ask the minister for a committee to work out the details.”

Desjardins said that FEUQ and FECQ adopted a roadmap for the year ahead and held joint press conferences in Quebec City throughout last week.

FECQ spokesperson Nicolas Groulx told The Daily that his association had also received an invitation to the meeting.

Only CLASSE remains in the dark.

Asked about its differences with FEUQ and FECQ, Reynolds said that CLASSE has distinct “action plans” and “demands.”

“The only time [FECQ, FEUQ and CLASSE] worked together was during the negotiations,” she added.

The contrast in strategy was made even clearer last Saturday when neither FEUQ nor FECQ answered CLASSE’s call for a nationwide day of protest. CLASSE has organized a protest for the

22nd of this month.

Unlike CLASSE, FEUQ, and FECQ do not advocate for free education.

“Students can go on their own terms,” Groulx said in French.

“But we don’t see the point in being [at the protest] as an organization when the tuition hikes have been cancelled.”

“We have disagreements [with CLASSE],” said Desjardins.

Desjardins said she believed it was more effective to put pressure on “the people in power through debates and discussion” rather than protesting on the streets.

CLASSE, however, vowed to continue to mobilize.

“We mustn’t be afraid to say that we succeeded, and that we will continue to fight as long as regressive politics are in place,” Reynolds said. “It’s only by addressing the question of free education that we will solve this issue.”

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NEWS

The McGill Daily | Monday, September 24, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Bangs v. Calver/Cheng J-Board preliminary hearing held Calver asked press to leave mid-hearing Jessica Lukawiecki The McGill Daily

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date is yet to be set for the Bangs v. Calver and Cheng Judicial Board (J-Board) hearing, a case that was filed in April 2012 to contest the legitimacy of two questions passed during the Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) 2012 winter referenda.

Filed by Christopher Bangs, the Chair for the ‘No’ Committees for the two contested questions, the case pursues former AUS President Jade Calver and former Elections AUS Chief Returning Officer Victor Cheng.

The questions in contestation – which were announced to members of the Society on April 13 – include increasing the majority required to amend the AUS Constitution from a simple plurality to a two-thirds majority, and allowing for online ratification of decisions made by the AUS General Assembly after the assembly takes place.

The SSMU J-Board held a preliminary conference last Friday to address contentious issues, exhibits, amendments, and wit-

nesses with regards to the case, as well as to set a date for the actual hearing.

No date was set, however – during the “contentious issues” section of the conference, Calver expressed concerns that although it had been announced that one of the two interveners being considered for the case had been selected, she was aware of a third candidate who had applied.

Joel Kwan, Chief Justice of the J-Board, stated that he was unaware of a third candidate. In an interview with The Daily, Kwan stated that proceedings would be delayed until the issue at hand was dealt with, but that a hearing would be scheduled as soon as the matter was resolved.

Although the J-Board pushed to have the case dealt with before the 2012-13 academic year began, procedures were delayed due to difficulties maintaining a full J-Board Council over the summer. J-Board members Charif El-Khouri and Rachel TonelliZasarsky – both of whom were present at the preliminary conference – are set to preside over the hearing.

The Petition’s Declaration submitted by Bangs on April 17 stated,

“The Petitioner alleges that repeated and systematic violations of the AUS bylaws by Elections AUS compromise the integrity of the elections, and asks that the Judicial Board of the Students’ Society of McGill University find that the conduct of the Respondents violated the bylaws of the AUS and declare null and void the referendum questions…”

Among Bangs’ concerns were the fact that no vote count was ever taken at Council, that the questions were ratified by Council in English only, and that no announcement was ever posted in a student publication.

Bangs explained that given his understanding of J-Board procedures, he was unable to file a case against the entire AUS, which is why he filed a position against Calver and Cheng specifically.

The Respondent’s Position, submitted by Calver and Cheng on May 6, stated, “The validity of the 2012 AUS Winter Referendum Period is justified. Proper procedures were followed, questions were properly submitted through Legislative Council. Furthermore, Elections feels as though the Referendum Period was properly announced in a way that did not compromise the

integrity of the vote, evidenced by the high voter turnout in the referendum period.”

The Respondents further alleged that “the petitioner is ultimately biased in his presentation of this case, given previous communications with the respondents during AUS Elections in his position as Chair of the ‘No’ Committee.”

Ten minutes into the preliminary hearing, Calver requested that press not be present for the conference. After a five minute recess in order to discuss the

who stated that he preferred the presence of media as this was a matter of public dispute, where parties present had acted in a public role.

Before accepting Calver’s request and asking press in attendance to leave, J-Board member Tonelli-Zasarsky referred to Articles 27 and 28 of the SSMU Judicial Board Procedures, which state that “Hearings are open to the public, limited only by […] the discretion of the Judicial Board” and “the Judicial Board has the power to remove anyone from

“Repeated and systematic violations of the AUS Bylaws by Elections AUS compromise the integrity of the elections.”

Christopher Bangs Petitioner validity of the question – in which press was not present – J-Board members heard arguments from Bangs and Calver.

Calver, who argued that the negotiations should not be restricted by presence of the media, was opposed by Bangs,

the Hearing if they are disruptive, threatening or offensive.”

Kwan later told The Daily that although the J-Board has decided to accept Calver’s request for the preliminary hearing, doors to the actual hearing, once scheduled, would be open to the press.

Senate discusses plan to reduce University staff Concerns raised about teaching and research Juan Camilo Velásquez The McGill Daily

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he McGill Senate met last Thursday for the first time this year to discuss the University’s new human resources plan to cut back on personnel expenses.

The Workforce Planning Initiative was introduced on May 1 by the McGill administration in response to Bill 100, which mandates that Quebec universities decrease administrative expenditures.

In a memo to the University community, Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) Michael Di Grappa explained that the initiative introduced a “2 for 1” attrition program under which

two voluntary departures from administrative staff members will be replaced by only one person.

“When an employee leaves the University voluntarily, the unit for which that individual worked will retain only 50 per cent of the salary attached to the position,” wrote Di Grappa in May. During the meeting, students and professors raised concerns about the effects of the workforce plan on student services and expertise in research and teaching.

Graham Bell, Faculty Senator and Biology professor, explained that the attrition initiative could obstruct research as it would become more complicated to hire people with certain research expertise.

Bell called for consultation at

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the grassroots level to make sure the changes are appropriate.

Di Grappa also responded to allegations that in past years the growth in administration positions was mainly at the upper level, stating that it had actually been concentrated in Student Services.

Additionally, Di Grappa stated that another 15 per cent of administrative growth was in central services units, as opposed to the 6 per cent growth in faculties.

When the Workforce Planning Initiative was first introduced, the University said that Student Services would not be affected by attrition.

According to PGSS SecretaryGeneral Jonathan Mooney, “For positions that are funded through the university-wide budget, the

money that is saved through the 2 for 1 attrition goes into saving in the budget, but in [Student Services]…the savings that will be realized will be used for special projects designed to streamline and increase efficiency.”

Arts Senator and Anthropology professor John Galaty told The Daily that the administration said the initiative would affect all units “from the Provost office right through the university.”

“If we take [the administration] at their word, it is not in particular going to affect just the lower units. Our fear is that, in fact, the way that they’re talking about re-organizing will take people from the departments and put them at the faculty level…

that it will take expertise from places where it’s needed in the departments…where their level of expertise is most needed and [taking them] to another level,” said Galaty.

Galaty also said that Di Grappa had been in consultation with the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT) and other employee groups like the non-academic workers union, MUNACA. “The processes at work have been going on for some time at a lower level, so we have seen things happen, we have made our views known. Ultimately, this is a centrally administered program that is being run out of the [Vice-Principal (Finance and Administrations)] office,” said Galaty.

Meetings: Thursdays at 5p.m. in SSMU B-24

NEWS

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The McGill Daily | Monday, September 24, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

New partners include Native Friendship Centre and First Peoples’ House Talia Gruber News Writer

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cGill’s second annual Aboriginal Awareness Week, dedicated to increasing awareness at McGill about Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Montreal and organized by the Aboriginal Sustainability Project (ASP), kicked off last Friday and will continue through this week.

The ASP is expanding programming this year by partnering with external organizations the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM), the Kahnawake Cultural Centre, and McGill’s First Peoples’ House.

According to Allan Vicaire, coordinator of the ASP, “The [week] provides an opportunity for the community to understand who First Nations people are, in terms of their history, their culture, and their past and current issues.”

He told The Daily that the event was well-received last year, generating participation from faculty and staff both within and outside the Aboriginal community.

Along with the ASP, these community partners will be providing more interactive evens than last year, including a feast hosted at the NFCM, a dreamcatcher-making workshop in the Arts building, and a “Living Library Tour” at McGill’s Redpath Museum, where Aboriginal participants will have a chance to share their personal histories.

Paige Isaac, coordinator of the First Peoples’ House, said she feels that collaboration with outside organizations will create a more dynamic event and increase community interest.

“I think this year [the event] is bigger and better,” she told The Daily. “It’s just a cool way to break down some barriers and stereotypes and have a safe space to learn.”

Vicaire and Isaac both attributed the success and growth of Aboriginal Awareness Week to funds provided by the ASP. “There was always a need for this

WHAT’S THE HAPS

McGill kicks off second annual Aboriginal Awareness Week

Thinking the Red Square: Celebrating recent scholarship on the Quebec student protests

Tuesday, September 25 5 to 7 p.m.

Bar Alexandraplatz 6731 de l’Esplanade Media@McGill, the Mobile Media Lab at Concordia University, and the Canada Research Chair in Technology and Citizenship are hosting presentations of two scholarly collections inspired by the Quebec student protests of 2012: “Printemps Érable – Quebec’s Maple Spring of 2012” and “Out of the Mouths of ‘Casseroles’: Textes qui bougent au rythme du carré rouge.” Food will be provided.

National Geographic Workshop Series

Illustration Alice Shen

on campus,” explained Vicaire. “[The Aboriginal Awareness Project] and our partners helped to institutionalize it.”

NFCM Outreach and Cultural Coordinator Alan Harrington said he hopes that partnering with the McGill community will increase interaction between Aboriginal people and the greater Montreal community.

Harrington also hopes the Centre’s presence on campus will help McGill students understand the struggles the Aboriginal community faces in Montreal, especially in light of recent funding cuts initiated by the province of Quebec.

The NFCM has itself suffered

important cuts, and faced the possibility of closure last spring.

“Since I started at the Centre, I’ve seen awareness growing rapidly,” Harrington told The Daily.

He added that he hopes the event will reflect the ongoing presence of the Aboriginal community.

“We’re still here,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Vicaire also urged the McGill community to become more aware of Montreal’s Aboriginal population.

In addition to Aboriginal Awareness Week, he is working to initiate new programs throughout the semester, including a tutoring

program that sends McGill students to a school in Kahnawake to help students with homework.

“The programs continue to expand and provide more opportunities for shared experiences between McGill students and Aboriginal communities,” Vicaire said, adding that this year’s Aboriginal Awareness Week will be the first step in this interconnection.

“McGill has set the bar for aboriginal community awareness in Montreal.”

For the full program of events, visit aboriginalnetwork.mcgill.ca/ aaw.html.

CAMPUS EYE McGill Pow Wow Hera Chan

Drummers at McGill’s 11th Annual Pow Wow helped kick off Aboriginal Awareness Week last Friday on Lower Field. The events will continue through this week and include speakers and cultural celebrations.

—Annie Shiel

Saturday, September 29 Workshop from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Evening talk at 7:30 p.m.

Leacock Building Room 132 National Geographic has recently started a new grant program called the Young Explorer’s Grant, which supports individuals aged 18-25 in their pursuit of research-, exploration-, and conservation-based field projects. The workshop will focus on grant writing, with advice specific to the new program. Breakfast and lunch will be included. The evening event will feature talks by explorers Kenny Broad and Conrad Anker.

For more information and registration, visit nationalgeographic.com/explorers/ grants-programs/yeg-workshop/

SSMU Science reps office hours

Tuesday, September 25 1 to 2 p.m.

SUS office, Burnside Hall SSMU’s Science representatives are looking to increase the participation of the science faculty in SSMU this year – and they want to hear from you. Come talk to them during their office hours.

Run to End Poverty

Sunday, October 21 Registration deadline: October 2 Run to End Poverty is a Canada-wide event that aims to bring people together with one common goal: to eliminate extreme poverty in rural Africa. The McGill chapter of Engineers Without Borders is joining the Montreal professional chapter of EWB, other Montreal university chapters, families, and individuals of all walks of life in training and fundraising ahead of this event. To register for the McGill team, visit r2ep.ewb.ca/ montrealfr or contact montreal@runtoendpoverty.ca.

commentary

The McGill Daily Monday, September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

64 bullets from McGill to Tel Aviv Condemning McGill’s recent institutional partnerships

Moe Nasr Commentary Writer

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ast Friday, the McGill website announced: “McGill to partner with Israeli research institutions.”

The announcement concerned McGill’s new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Tel Aviv University (TAU), Bar-Ilan University, and a renewal of their MoU with the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The announcement comes at the end of the Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay’s “economic mission” to Israel, which took place from September 8 through 14. One of McGill’s own administrators, Dr. Rose Goldstein, Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations), accompanied the Mayor on his mission.

This “economic mission” has been used to turn attention away from Israel’s record of human rights violations, oppression of the Palestinian people, and establishment of apartheid structures, and instead focus attention on the economic successes of Israel.

Over the past two years, I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the West Bank, working as a human rights observer. I’ve also spent time in Israel, around Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Hebron, all over. When I was in Jerusalem this summer, a friend spoke to me about weapons design and development that takes place at Israeli institutions. When I saw McGill’s announcement, I thought I would do some research on the military involvement of the largest university in Israel, TAU. Some of the facts in this article were compiled by students in the School of

Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London.

Tel Aviv University has provided support, research, and development for various technologies that are employed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) today. TAU’s former president, Zvi Galil, has spoken about the importance of TAU’s contribution to the Israeli security sector by saying, “I myself am awed by the magnitude and scientific creativity of the work being done behind the scenes at TAU that enhances the country’s civilian defense capabilities and military edge.” Many things about McGill’s MoU with TAU are problematic: not only was the decision to forge an agreement made by the senior administration without community consultation, but the decision sends a distinct political message.

Numerous academics from TAU have been directly involved with the development of Israeli military ethics and sciences. Professor of Pragmatics and Ethics Asa Kasher has been involved in providing rationale for the Israel’s use of assassination, torture, and antipersonnel munitions. Kasher also played a part in composing the IDF’s code of ethics, known as the “Doctrine of Just War.” Kasher is only one of various TAU academics involved in military support and research and development – others include the Professor and General Yitzhak Ben-Israel, the former director of the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT). In 2007, he chaired an event called “Electro-optics in the Battlefield of the Future,” which examined the role of military technologies in Lebanon’s 2006 war, and how they took “Lebanon

back twenty years by striking its vital infrastructure.” Furthermore, TAU departments and faculties that explicitly take part in military operations include the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), the Operational Theory Research Institute (OTRI), the Tel Aviv Workshop for Science, Technology and Security, and others.

TAU plays a significant role in the longest military occupation in history – all done in the name of security, but a security responsible for maintaining a kill ratio of twenty Palestinians to one Israeli over the past 64 years. Furthermore, the announcement of the McGill-TAU MoU was published the weekend before the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres, during which thousands of Palestinian refugees were slaughtered; our university should realize the insensitive tone this message sends to its Arab and Palestinian counterparts.

Part of Tremblay’s economic mission included a visit to the West Bank – a sugar-coated attempt at portraying situations in the area as optimistic. In an article in Canadian Jewish News, Jonathan Kalles, a staff member at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), commented on the economic mission, “They [the Palestinians] gave us an overview of the economy and business practices, and of the difficulties and their perception of who is at fault: Israel.” Kalles’ comment overlooks the reality of the occupation (and that Israel is, in fact, at fault). He adds, “They [the Palestinians] were pleasantly surprised to see that, while the economic situation is difficult, it looks like there is a lot of growth, a lot of building. It’s a different perception from what they [the Palestinians]

get in the media.” Along with the strong Orientalist tone used by Kalles, came lies of “economic growth” in Palestine, and not one reference neither by him, nor any other member of the delegation of the illegal occupation: the root cause of the West Bank’s depressed economic situation.

Throughout the “economic mission,” there was absolutely no mention of Gaza, the open-air prison that lays southwest of TelAviv and remains under blockade.

Furthermore, in all the announcements and media reports I’ve read, it appears as though Israel and the West Bank were continuously referred to as distinct entities, distinct economies. Thus, this mission has been unable to understand the intra-territorial nature of the conflict, how these economies are very much interlinked, and how Israel and the West Bank function as one state (with the exclusion of Gaza, of course). Take Israeli-Arabs: they are forced to either integrate and become a secular, anti-radical, proIsraeli Arab – or they’ll be put on the other side of the wall, the side with soldiers and guns and tanks.

What Tremblay doesn’t understand is that any other country would’ve been sanctioned as a result of violating international law and human rights declarations.

This unequivocal support of Israel, an ally of the US, should cease in order to ensure the right of selfdetermination and representation for the Palestinian people.

If the argument for partnerships with Israeli institutions is that of creativity and excellence in research, then Palestine should not be excluded – and neither should Palestinian institutions in their current state.

Historic works in Palestinian aca-

demia have been heavily excluded from praise and recognition due to one simple reality: the cultural theft Israel committed in its ethnic cleansing of 1948. The Great Book Robbery, a documentary shown on Al Jazeera, outlined that very cultural theft, explaining how 70,000 Palestinian-authored books were robbed, some of which were handwritten and dated back hundreds of years. Many of these works were stolen from the upper-class neighbourhoods of Jerusalem (Al Quds), 7aifa (Haifa, the anglicized Arabic way of writing it), Tel Al-Rabee’ (Tel Aviv, in Arabic, means the Hill of Spring), and other cities. The stolen works are now locked up in the Israeli National Library. Rather than indirectly fuelling the death of Palestinian academia, McGill’s partnerships should be a driving force for the growth and development of afflicted institutions.

A professor recently told me that in order to innovate, one needs a little bit of talent and a lot of luck. We need to provide the children of Palestine with that luck, those opportunities.

Partnering with “world class” institutions may have its incentives for McGill. But the incentives of extracting bright creative minds, from oppressed communities in Palestine, should be on the top of our university’s agenda. McGill remembered South Africans thirty years ago, but forgot about the Palestinians. We will never forget. The people of Palestine will never forget.

Moe Nasr is a human rights observer in Hebron, West Bank and currently serves as a Science Senator at McGill. He can be reached at sciencesenator2@ssmu.mcgill.ca.

commentary

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The McGill Daily | Monday, September 24, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Reconstructing student autonomy On paradigms of discourse in student latté capitalism Ethan Feldman The McGill Daily

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ear Student Representatives: I find it incredulous that there are even rumours that a decision has been made to cancel the creation of a student-run cafe*, especially after the obvious support garnered for such a venture during the last year. I suggest VP Finance and Operation (FOPS) flip through the 2011-2012 exit report to save me from listing examples.

Disrespect toward the broad array of individuals and groups who were interested and invested in the project serves little purpose other than as a teaching tool for elucidating the concept of “alienation.”

Ultimately, by negating all previous work on the project by executive decree, y’all play a significant and intentional role in

undermining the development of autonomy in student affairs.

I believe that when deciding on the forms of activities and projects that are to be completed, one should ask if they help people gain more control over their lives. The cancellation of this project is antithetical to this radical goal and leads me to believe that you cannot be operating in the interests of your constituents, in general.

By your command, each and every hour volunteered by those in working groups organized by last year’s VP FOPS has been made wasted. I imagine that any student who involved themselves in unpaid labour did so under the impression that it would result in more than complete non-recognition.

Your first lesson in Marxist economics may reveal itself when you find it tough to develop and motivate new working groups under the spectre of flippancy

and irreverence. Your second lesson, on the subject of friendship, will manifest itself as previously integral community members choose to find more rewarding things to do than develop business plans and write reports for a pack of wolf criers.

The argumentation offered inside the “official texts” (McGill Tribune, September 21) seems to be completely empty – either operating toward the goal of pretending that there is no particular and specific interest for a studentrun cafe, or simply using marketing buzz-phrases to illustrate complete submission to ideology.

This reminds me of the smokeand-mirrors approach previously employed by the administration during the gifting of a campus monopoly to military-industrial food-commodity megacorp Aramark.

In that case, the admin used obtuse soundbites to obscure the obvious link between mass

privatization of campus food services and the expropriation of the Architecture Café – a wildly successful and autonomous student space.

No matter how our local economist chooses to frame the situation, there is more at stake here than an “eighth food service” in the Shatner building, especially when all present food outlets under lease to us are decidedly bourgeois, with the Midnight Kitchen as the sole exception.

This is particularly relevant, as Liquid Nutrition has raised the price of coffee from 58 cents to $1.55 over 12 short months. Outrageous!

Plus, the scandalous contract with La Prep should not be reason to end this project. If our cafe can only sell samosas and non-specialty coffee until the contract ends – so be it! The real concern at hand here is studentcontrolled spaces and autonomy from corporate exploitation.

Students are willing to work

within the boundaries which your institution imposes, but to cancel this project outright is short-sighted and misguided.

Now, if the confidentiality of the four-year long discussions between SSMU and the McGill admin with regards to the Memorandum of Agreement is the reason why there cannot be transparent relations between SSMU and the students, then it ought to be time to declare the Shatner building an ongoing occupation and defend it vigorously against the rent fees in negotiations. *For the purpose of this polemic, I will assume that all efforts towards the development of a student-run café in the Shatner building has been halted.

Ethan Feldman is a U4 Philosophy student and a Known Student Radical. He can be reached at ethan.feldman@mail.mcgill.ca.

Free judgement Saying no and meaning it Conor Coady Commentary Writer

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his man has a name but I don’t know it. I’ve passed through his faux shop (a busy street corner where he displays his goods) at least a hundred times over the past couple years. He is always hunched over, forever squatting with outstretched palms, squinting eyes, and a surprisingly suave mullet.

“Too daahllahs” moans this misunderstood moose. His hands raised with two fingers up, an ingenious pair of temporary antlers. (Are his two wishboned fingers beaming out peace, victory, or, more plausibly, simply asking for two dollars?) With seemingly unwavering hope (or a severely broken short-term memory), he dishes out his wanting like a fanatical egalitarian: impatient red light drivers, disaffected businesswomen, and late-

for-class teenagers all get their chance to spend a toonie, and have the feel-good moment of the hour.

Except for me.

I get none of it, not any more, at least. Sometime around my thirtieth or fortieth trip through his “dépanneur of need” he gave up; not on the world, not on thirty-

something yuppie types in general. He gave up on me specifically.

Hopeful crooning gave way to spiteful splashes of disdain and derision. Halfway to making his trademark peace/$2 sign, he would rec-

ognize me and twist his hand upside down, plunging his thumb at the center of the earth in a gesture that told me I was completely useless to him. Thumbs down. It began to feel like he was incarnating Simon Cowell, reminding me brutally that I shouldn’t quit my day job, since I clearly wasn’t cut out to help this particular homeless guy for a living.

It takes a lot of energy to ignore this guy and I always fail in my attempts to pass by unassumingly. It had been a while since we had shared a stare when, yesterday, I

approached his dépann-air. From the opposite side of the street, through a grid of idling cars and revving Bixis and impatient lawyers he used his elfin eyes to pick me out, incredibly. Gesturing at me with his downward-cast thumb, he uttered his simple and terrible “NO.” It got me thinking.

How many times does this guy get to say no and really mean it?

Whether it’s a party or a ride or a job or a one-night stand, having a capacity to say no to something reflects a state of resourcefulness. The feelings I experience when this man, in his unconventional way, turns me down, make me wonder about our negative capabilities. Maybe I’m just trying to come up with a consoling description of our despair-laden exchanges and the way they haunt me. Regardless, I feel like somewhere in his beguiling “NO” lurks a clue or two about what many people call human dignity.

Conor Coady is a History and French Literature student. He can be reached at genitruc@yahoo.ca.

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

science+tech

The McGill Daily Monday, September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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ABCs to HTML

Illustration Isabelle Viarouge | The McGill Daily

Why learning to code at a young age is not a panacea for technological illiteracy

Alexis Giannelia The McGill Daily

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OMP 202 is designed to be an introductory-level course at McGill, just like BIOL 112 or PHIL 210. However, instead of focusing on evolution or history, its content revolves around the foundations of programming.

Alas, when students are entering university without a set direction, computer science isn’t as popular as the aforementioned courses to dabble in. I shied away, looking toward the familiar courses of math and psychology. Why did COMP 202 fail to catch my eye? I had a few preconceptions of computer science: not only did I think it wouldn’t be applicable to my field of interest, but it also seemed to me to be largely directed toward males. Most of all, it was terrifyingly far out of my realm of understanding.

The thing to realize about computer science is that it teaches not just the fundamentals of programming, but perhaps more importantly, the fundamentals of understanding problems and how to solve them. By learning foundations such as logical thinking, abstraction mechanisms, and algorithms, the skills one gains from a computer science course are becoming increasingly applicable in our society. Educators and students alike are catching on to the benefits of studying computer science and improving technological literacy.

In Estonia, a program is being

introduced to teach web and mobile application development to students, including writing code and producing software, as early as first grade.

Estonia’s society is already moving towards complete technological integration, with many activities such as banking being solely online.

This program plans to shift Estonia’s population from “being consumers of technology to developers of technology,” according to the program’s manager, Ave Lauringson, in a statement published on the tech blog Ubuntu Life. The hope is that this will advance the country as a technological hotspot.

However idealistic this plan may seem, there could also be negative results. Laurie Hendren, Associate Dean in the Faculty of Science and a professor in the McGill School of Computer Science, pointed out that there will be challenges for the proper implementation of such a program. In an interview with The Daily, she expressed her views that a program of this type could be beneficial or detrimental, based on how it is executed. The main problem she sees with a program of this type is who will teach it. “My guess is that the current teaching cohort does not understand [the subject matter] well, because they were educated in a different era where this was not part of what they learned,” she stated. In order for kids to find programming fun and to not be deterred from continuing education in computer science, Hendren suggested that “[the program] might require more than just training the

[current teachers], but even integrating in some people who have been educated in computer science.”

Along with the importance of the method of educating children in the field comes the visible gender inequality within computer science. Hendren estimates that while she was studying computer science in university, 40 per cent of the program was female, which is roughly double of what it is now. “When I went to university, there was no computer science in high school, so everyone arrived to university equal and considered if they wanted to be a computer science major or not,” stated Hendren. “There wasn’t this bias that computer science is only a guy thing.” When earlier education in computer science focuses on applications that appeal to the interests typically associated with males, such as video game development, it can deter female students from studying computer science courses at a higher level. This, again, draws upon the importance of the specific methods of how computer science is taught to youth.

Although there is a gender gap, there has been an increasing trend of people entering into computer science over the past five years – according to Hendren, the number of people who have taken COMP 202 in that period has doubled.

Though the proportion of males to females is far from ideal, there is a more recent trend toward equality in numbers. Joseph Vybihal, a faculty lecturer in the McGill School of Computer Science, organizes a sum-

mer camp at McGill, “Be A Computer Scientist for a Week,” which focuses on teaching computer science to students in grades 10 and 11. In the past few years, he has seen more young women gaining an interest in the field. The camp is composed of three streams – one involves developing games, one focuses on programming robots, and one deals with applications in medical computing. When asked about the division between genders, Vybihal commented, “it depends on the stream – gaming has more boys, robots are equal, and the medical stream has more girls.” This emphasizes implementation methods and the type of content necessary to spark interest in computer science, regardless of gender.

Even at the undergraduate level, there are benefits to exposing students to possible applications of computer science, even for those whose focus is outside the field.

Tara Sullivan, an Economics and International Development Studies major at McGill, interned at a mobile technology company this summer.

“I was an Arts student surrounded by technology-science people.

Whenever they had spare time, they would be trying to develop new apps or programs,” Sullivan stated in an interview with The Daily. “It sparked my interest into the field because I could see there was an end goal to learning the trade.”

On a broader level than educating students in computer science, Jonathan Sterne, an associate professor in the Art History and Communications department,

emphasized the need for technological literacy and education within society as a whole. In an email to The Daily, Sterne argued, “what makes a country [fall] behind in terms of technological literacy isn’t the number of programmers per capita it produces.” Canada produces fewer programmers per capita than some other countries, yet Sterne doesn’t believe this is the real issue. To him, technological literacy extends beyond how many people in the population can write software. “If it’s a basic understanding of how your information is being used online, and how the services you use actually work and make money off your activity, then pretty much everyone is ‘behind.’”

In order to correct this, computer science and technological literacy need to be taught to both the young and the old – the young should learn fundamentals, while those more senior should be exposed to what already exists so that they can remain integrated in a society that is technologically ever evolving.

In light of the increasing number of programs being created to improve technological literacy in youth, one must realize how essential it is to also improve technological literacy for all members of society. Not everyone is going to go on to become a computer scientist – I know I won’t – however, with technology permeating every aspect of our lives, having a fundamental knowledge of technology is becoming necessary for anyone, in any field, at any age.

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The McGill Daily | Monday, September 24, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

From research to reform A new angle on public policy Sivakami Mylvaganam Science+Tech Writer

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he McGill Faculty Club hosted the third annual Science & Policy Exchange on Friday, September 14, bringing together a group of students and leaders in government, business, research, and the Montreal community to discuss and debate science policy issues in Quebec. Panelists shared their views on a variety of topics, including healthcare reform scheduled for 2014, science literacy in the 21st century, and sustainable policy making (especially pertaining to green technology), before taking questions from audience members and debating their ideas and proposed solutions with their fellow panelists.

There were 12 panelists from different professional backgrounds, from industry to think tanks to academia. Speakers included the principal of Earnscliffe Strategy Group, the director of health economics at the Conference Board of Canada, and an associate professor in the Integrated Studies in Education department at McGill. The day focused largely on the economic, social, and political sides of science. The science academics – the biologists, chemists, and physicists – were, to my surprise, missing in action.

Though there were enough differences in opinion to keep things interesting, the day wasn’t filled with dramatic ideological clashes.

Panelists, in large part, agreed on solutions to the major issues faced

by Quebec and shared a general idea of what successful healthcare or science education would look like.

The subject of the 2014 healthcare reform was probably the most contentious topic of the day. Because the federal government’s current funding plan is due to expire in 2014, all of the provinces are reevaluating their healthcare systems to attempt to improve efficiency. There was some disagreement at the conference on the nature and scope of the role that private corporations should play. Panelists also had disparate opinions on whether existing healthcare and health policy research has yielded any palpable results.

Louis Thériault of the Conference Board of Canada, a nonprofit applied research organization, supported involving private corporations in healthcare as long as they were efficient. He maintained that corporations could play a positive role within the proper regulatory environment.

Thériault also asserted that while healthcare research is in progress, and has been for a long time, there are few results to show for it. The two other panelists disagreed with both points – Dr. Astrid Brouseilles of Université de Sherbrooke, responded that when it comes to research, the question is “not what…the results [are] – the results are there – but how to put those results into action.” Brouseilles and Dr. Lee Soderstrom, a former economics professor at McGill, agreed that a uni-

Photo Lindsay Cameron | The McGill Daily

versal, public option would be most effective, with Soderstrom pointing out that most research shows privatization of healthcare does not improve the efficiency or quality of care.

The panel also noted that moving forward, Quebec’s healthcare challenges may be very different from the rest of Canada – the aging population may not present as significant a challenge here as it will elsewhere. In addition, while many Canadians are familiar with both the Canadian and American healthcare systems, panelists noted that

it may be worthwhile to also study successful models in Europe and learn from them.

The panel that followed highlighted the issues facing the different stages of science education. It was agreed that generally, high school teachers must become more knowledgeable in science and CEGEP teachers must improve their teaching methods. The panel thus emphasized the importance of reaching and engaging teachers. Panelists pointed to the presentation of science as a list of facts rather than an appeal to

natural curiosity as the reason for the decline in scientific interest in the student body; instead, they encouraged a “big ideas” approach to scientific teaching.

All in all, the conference successfully raised new questions about the economics and politics of science and provided a platform to discuss existing policies. Next year, it would be nice to hear what academic scientists think, in addition to policy-makers’ opinions.

Only they can help to address the issue of scientific necessity, in addition to those of costs and policy.

Political science Why government defunding of environmental research matters Tamkinat Mirza The McGill Daily

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n July 10, approximately 2,000 scientists marched down Ottawa’s Wellington Street to Parliament Hill in a mock funeral of evidence in Canada under the Harper government. A Grim Reaper accompanied the crowd, and a wooden coffin representing the “body of evidence” was carried onto the steps of Parliament Hill.

Speakers accused Harper and the conservative government of only supporting scientific evidence favourable for their causes.

The policies that inspired this rally include budget reductions to research programs at Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, decisions to close major national and social science research institutions such as the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area, and the closing of The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut.

Scientists believe that the bud-

get cuts reflect the Harper government’s attempts to suppress key sources of scientific data that would refute certain pro-industry and anti-environmental policies.

The importance of this event was not only in its direct message to the government, but also in its influence on the public. “The turnout was way higher than I was expecting and the media coverage was incredible,” Gibbs told The Daily in an interview.

“The main goal was to make sure the public knew what was going on.

Previously, people had reported on single instances, but I don’t think anybody had really put all of the pieces together to show the ... general attack on science and evidence.”

The government has defended its cost-reducing measures; it has stated that the budget cuts are in the name of deficit reduction and efficiency. Furthermore, a $1.1 billion investment in research, development, and innovation is to be made over the next five years.

“Budget 2012 enhanced federal government support for leading edge research including $500 million – over

five years – for the Canada Foundation for Innovation,” Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear said in an email to the CBC. Yet the protesters’ argument lies in the diversion of funds from scientific areas that benefit the environment to those that further the Harper government’s economic agenda. “[The government] didn’t respond directly to [the rally],” Gibbs said.

“They put out a press release on the day of the rally, talking about their funding to science, but not actually discussing the points of the rally at all. They mostly focused on what the dollar amount to funding and technology has been, but a lot of that money... [has] shifted a lot. It’s moved away from basic funding into commercializing products for the market.”

The government has also refrained from commenting on the rally’s argument that federal budget cuts have been directed strategically, with a bias against certain research programs.

“It was mostly programs that do environmental monitoring … that they cut,” said Gibbs. She also

stated that the the government failed to address “the muzzling issue, [where] they didn’t let government scientists speak to the public about their research.”

If environment-monitoring organizations are left ill-equipped to continue their operations after funding cuts, it could translate into a global lack of readiness to deal with potential environmental degradation and resulting environmental disasters.

“These were really important monitoring programs that were cut, things that monitor air quality and water quality, climate change,” said Gibbs. “Its even more worrisome that we’re not even going to have the data to know if there is an environmental problem. Forget dealing with the problem, we won’t even know about the problem because we don’t have the data anymore.”

Considering the large scale of these research programs, it doesn’t seem feasible for them to attempt to secure funding elsewhere.

“A few of them have been trying to get funding from universities, but it’s not looking very good right now,”

said Gibbs. “Most universities are cash strapped themselves right now, so they don’t have the extra money to take on these huge monitoring tasks.”

Gibbs stressed that since non-governmental funding bodies are not able to commit to a consistent level of funding, this could hinder the institutions’ abilities to maintain ongoing research.

On some level, these budget cuts will determine the opportunities available to university graduates entering the job market as well.

“Most of the cuts we were focusing [on don’t really] affect the undergraduate level,” stated Gibbs. “But they affect the job prospects for being a scientist in Canada, so I think young people might be thinking twice about whether it makes sense about going into a science field.”

Gibbs added, “I know a lot of the grad students … that were part of this [rally] … are thinking about jobs outside of Canada, simply because there are no prospects to getting a job within their field in Canada.” If defunding science – especially specific areas of science – continues, these consequences will only worsen.

sports

The McGill Daily Monday, September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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Illustration Justine Vidal

Shut up and play the game Why don’t athletes speak out anymore?

Evan Dent The McGill Daily

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ne of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century is the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics, after the 200 metre running event. Depicted are Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both AfricanAmerican, standing on the gold and bronze podiums, respectively, each raising a black, gloved fist into the night sky. The American national anthem was playing. It is a beautiful image of two athletes’ protest on one of the world’s biggest stages. A photographer would be hard-pressed to find anything like that image today. As athletes get more and more famous, they are removing themselves from social issues. Athletes simply don’t speak out about social issues as much today as in the past, and when they do, it is often met with intense criticism. But why?

One might say that athletes shouldn’t comment on social issues – better to leave that to politicians or members of the non-sports, “public” sphere. This ignores the

fact that athletes have a ton of influence and reach. Their opinions are presented to the media more often than many politicians’ opinions. It also ignores the athletes as humans with opinions and convictions and marginalizes them into a group of people meant solely for our entertainment. Many athletes have the bully pulpit, the opportunity to reach a huge amount of people – but most stay out of the political realm.

Just recently, Brendon Ayanbadejo, a linebacker for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, publicly spoke out against a Maryland law that would ban same-sex marriage in the state. In response, Emmert C. Burns, a Maryland state legislator, wrote a letter to the owner of the Ravens, stating that it was “inconceivable that… Mr. Ayanbadejo would publicly endorse same-sex marriage, specifically as a Ravens football player.” Burns continued, asking the owner to “inhibit such expressions from [Ravens] employees and that [Ayanbadejo] be ordered to cease and desist such injurious actions.”

This letter exemplifies the issues athletes face when speak-

ing out. Burns, in his effort to limit Ayanbadejo’s free speech, first appeals to the Baltimore Ravens “brand” by questioning why the team would want to be associated with someone in support of equal marriage. Athletes, teams, and professional leagues are now so concerned with presenting a non-offensive, advertising-friendly “brand” that any comment on larger social issues is deemed dangerous. The advertisers and marketers can’t risk alienating their consumer base with controversial statements.

This commitment to remaining inoffensive seems to have effectively silenced a whole section of athletes, who value money over social justice. Or, if they want to speak out, a cavalcade of brand managers and financial advisors appear to stop them, in the interest of keeping their clients profitable.

While this has much to do with the creation of sports superstars with unique brands – Michael Jordan, the man who could shill for anything, comes to mind – it also comes down to the athletes themselves, many of whom have wasted their opportunities.

The intense criticism that comes

with athletes speaking out is also to blame. Smith and Carlos were both roundly criticized by major media outlets after their Olympic protest.

Muhammad Ali, one of the most famous athletes of all time, was met with harsh criticism after speaking out against the Vietnam War. Many people claim that speaking out is a distraction to the team, shifting the focus away from game preparation and onto the player’s comments.

This excuse is an easy way to shift blame onto an outspoken player; unfortunately, it is embraced by many organizations and leads to ostracizing within the league: why keep someone who creates distractions and is damaging to the brand? Only players with extreme talent and production can show themselves to be more valuable to the team than any trouble they create. And those players, as I’ve said before, are now in the business of making a lasting brand.

These criticisms of athletes speaking out are also based in the idea of the percieved innocence of sports. “Why, oh why can’t they just play the game and leave the rest of the world alone?” critics say, clinging to an idealized

notion. Many look to sports as an escape from the world around them, as pure, innocent games played independently of the complicated, threatening social issues that surround them. The athlete speaking out breaks through this isolation, makes the issue a part of the fan’s consciousness, and makes them uncomfortable.

Sports have become too prominent in the international landscape for anyone to pretend there is no intersection between sports and the greater social climate.

Athletes have been given a national stage, and once there, they have remained mostly silent. Sure, there have been some recent stories of note – Ayanbadejo, for one; LeBron James and the Miami Heat tweeted a picture of the whole team in hoodies after the death of Florida youth Trayvon Martin; and some teams have decided to join the You Can Play and It Gets Better initiatives, fighting against homophobia and bullying within sports. But it’s not enough, not yet.

Ayanbadejo and others are outliers, but hopefully more and more athletes will become socially responsible public figures.

culture

The McGill Daily Monday, September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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WHAT’S THE HAPS

Where the Blood Mixes Kevin Loring September 26 8:00 p.m.

Centre Culturel CalixaLavallée 3819 Calixa-Lavallée Parc Lafontaine $12 for students Where the Blood Mixes, a play written by Kevin Loring, tells the story of a young girl, Christine. Her family, living with the pain of surviving residential school, suffers further when Christine is taken away from them. The play focuses on the theme of return – Christine’s return as a woman, as well as the possibility of a spiritual and psychological return from the scars of trauma.

Waiting for Godot Photo Courtesy of the Montreal International Black Film Festival

Winnie, directed by Darrell Roodt

Winnie’s Story Montreal International Black Film Festival encourages discussion Brendan Lewis The McGill Daily

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he postcolonial growth of Canada and the United States has followed separate and distinct paths, and as such, it is sometimes all too easy to forget our shared history. It can be hard for those caught under the thumb of oppression to find common ground with those whom history and politics have placed in geopolitically disparate arenas. Yet major cities have long been forums for disadvantaged groups to share ideas and foment opposition to their secondary status, and Montreal is no exception. This thriving hub is a locus of underground culture in a way that few cities can claim.

It is peculiar to consider the effect that the international border appears to have had on black identity in particular. Back in the U.S. this summer, while working in a kitchen with my friend Vivian, I was surprised to hear her ask me, “Are there even any black people in Canada?”

Her question was a joke, framed in the context of a discussion of Canadian pop culture, but it raises several further questions about society, north and south of the international border. Vivian is proud to be a queer black woman, but wonders if there are many people here in Canada with whom she might stand in solidarity. Surely she wouldn’t be alone if she came to visit: Montreal, and Canada more generally, have prominent and vocal populations of those who would identify as black, queer, or both. But what has white-washed her perspective on Canadian society? Is there a sense of mutual isolation that stands as the product of a lack of cross-border cultural exchange?

As the eighth annual Montreal International Black Film Festival

(MIBFF) makes its premiere, it’s important to reflect on the need for such an event. Art, in its many incarnations, can unite groups of people cast apart by arbitrary border lines, separated by systems of oppression, and divided by differing cultural perceptions of their identity. The work of the MIBFF is the work of the artist.

Opening with the presentation of the 2012 MIBFF Humanitarian Prize to its first-ever recipient, American musician, filmmaker, and social activist Harry Belafonte, festival organizers made it clear from the start that international collaboration is truly the keystone to this event. Belafonte, whom readers may recognize more readily as the artist behind such wellknown tunes as “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and “Jump in the Line,” has been a tireless advocate for the disenfranchised throughout his career. Born in the United States to parents of Jamaican and Martiniquan descent, he brought the calypso music of Trinidad and Tobago to audiences in America and worldwide. He has been thoroughly engaged in social activism throughout his career, from Dr. King and the Civil Rights March on Washington in 1963 to his more recent documentary filmmaking projects such as Motherland, a history of African civilization and culture.

MIBFF then premiered with the film Winnie, the story of South African anti-apartheid activist Nomzamo Winfreda Madikizela-Mandela (played by Jennifer Hudson), former wife of Nelson Mandela (Terrence Howard). Another exercise in crossborder creation, Canadian producer Michael Mosca and South African director Darrell Roodt were on hand to present their film, explaining that teaming up as they did afforded them greater creative autonomy than if they had brought their project to a major

Hollywood studio. With the financial support of both the Canadian and South African governments, their efforts yielded not only an inspiring story, but also an example of the diplomatic power of film, divorced from the profit-driven productions that typically dominate the silver screen.

Rich with boundary-pushing cinematography and emotionally intense dialogue, Winnie is a film which never sacrifices momentum – though its narrative arc makes unexpected turns and twists in its effort to describe a character whose life eludes black-andwhite moral distinctions. From childhood in a rural village, to her marriage to Mandela, the depiction of her early life, as authentic as the factual events are, is nonetheless painted in broad strokes. It is a deliberately romanticized account of humble beginnings and determination of character.

Gradually the film pokes holes in this account, and though it never ceases to cast hers as the story of a hero, innumerable tragedies seep into the gaps, brewing a bitter medicine for the viewer who expected to taste sweet triumph. By the film’s end, Mandela’s choices make her an increasingly controversial character, but not an altogether unsympathetic one. Unlike other civil rights heroes like Dr. King, whose image in our collective consciousness has attained a near-mythic status, Winnie is fallible, angry, and resentful - in short, everything you or I would be if we stood in her shoes.

Despite the great political significance of Winnie Mandela’s work, it is her personal struggle that the film seeks to highlight above all else. The “Mother of the Nation” is an increasingly embattled character, a selfless woman whom circumstances placed on an unstable pedestal. Her 18 months in solitary confinement as a political prisoner leave visible scars across her face. Though Hudson’s Winnie recov-

ers physically from the torment of her confines, the world awaiting her upon release from prison bleeds profusely, her psychological suffering played out by a cast of her countrymen. While South Africa is caught in the throes of a civil war ignored by the international community, one must wonder if she ever felt the same as my friend Vivian. Winnie isn’t asking “Are there any black people in Canada?” but the question that, among the oppressed, transcends individual experience: “Are we alone in our fight?”

And herein lies the need for festivals like the MIBFF. Though the dominant cultural apparatus may leave those at the margins feeling isolated, efforts such as this shatter the illusion of imprisonment, and provide a window onto the world that mirrors what they feel inside.

Moreover, the need to engage with such efforts is not limited to those whose struggles provide the subject matter. The seeds of liberation are watered through collaboration, and this holds true across all demographic boundaries, racial or otherwise.

When asked for advice he might give the Quebec student movement, Belafonte commented, “I think that we spend an awful lot of resources helping the marginalized and investing in and uplifting the underserved.

But I’ve come to the realization that we really need to address the marginalizers.” As with the student movement, bringing the margins to the center of discussion is an endeavor that will affect all involved.

Regardless of one’s own identity, the best way to ensure the success of the MIBFF and all who support it is to get out there and attend.

MIBFF runs from September 19 to 30. For listings, tickets and general information, visit www.montrealblackfilm.com.

Players’ Theatre September 26 to 29 SSMU Building 3480 McTavish, 3rd Floor $6 for students Players’ Theatre presents Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Putting its own contemporary spin on this classic play, the show promises to be humourous, challenging, and entertaining. If you feel yourself constantly pondering the mysteries of fate and life, or if you feel like you’re always waiting for a bus that never seems to arrive (literally or metaphorically), then this play will resonate. Don’t wait on tickets! Bad pun definitely intended.

Two Moccasins, Two Worlds

Ryan McMahon September 24 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Maison Jeanne Sauvé 1514 Docteur-Penfield Ryan McMahon, a Second City alumnus now working as a professional comedian, will be delivering a lighthearted but serious message about the need for young Aboriginals to ground themselves in cultural understanding in order to feel pride in their roots and thrive in the mainstream. He was previously featured at the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival and has filmed a one-hour comedy special for TV. His varied comedic style interweaves improv, sketch comedy, and stand-up into a mix he calls “Indian Vaudeville.”

Get Ale-y with The Daily

September 29 Trois Minots 3812 St. Laurent Come meet the editorial board behind the oldest student-run newspaper on campus. Drink, sing karaoke, and participate in general debauchery while you get involved in a kick-ass extracurricular activity.

culture

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The McGill Daily | Monday, September 24, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Glorious Grimes McGill dropout makes the grade (using Garageband) Kaj Huddart The McGill Daily

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ast Thursday night, Club Soda rollicked to ex-McGill neuroscience student Grimes’ ethereal dream-pop, darkly catchy stuff with highpitched and often-incoherent lyrics breathed over vintage-toned synth hooks. Grimes, also known as Claire Boucher, couldn’t have invented a more sympathetic audience. When not gyrating freely, fan-girls draped themselves over the balcony, imploring Grimes for attention as she bounced around happily in front of her mixer. Refreshing for a POP Montreal show, everyone seemed unaffected by the sort of painful self-awareness that characterizes so many new bands.

As an aspiring alt-pop star making the transition from blog-buzz to general fascination, Grimes’ personal style is as important as the quality of her music. On both accounts she delivered, playing a continuous, medium energy-level set with a good mix of new material, as well as hits such as “Genesis” and “Oblivion.” Boucher herself came onstage dressed like a perky teenage goth-punk, surrounded by her tour mates. Myths, the first of two openers, backed her up on the mixers, while Elite Gymnastics cavorted energetically along with a couple flamboyant male dancers. The stage itself featured a screen (which showed John Waters’ 1998 film Pecker throughout her set) and a huge piece of translucent fabric hung in the shape of a vagina. By the standards of POP Montreal, the staging was elaborate, giving the

impression of a post-apocalyptic and post-heteronormative fantasy.

Following this year’s release of Visions, Boucher’s universally well received third LP, the future looks bright, if treacherous. Does the enormous hype around Grimes exceed her obvious talent? Will she and other similar-sounding acts be the dark, industrial inheritors of the blog zeitgeist, now that Chillwave has been around for several years? Judging by the performances of her opening acts, Myths and Elite Gymnastics, the answer is no. Myths, consisting of two women from Grimes’ hometown Vancouver, opened the show with a wince-worthy half-hour set that saw them alternately screaming into microphones over tribal rhythms, and cavorting awkwardly around the stage in all-white costumes. Elite Gymnastics, which is supposedly a duo, ambiguously introduced themselves as “Elite Gymnastics and Magical Clouds,” although “Magical Clouds” soon left the stage, leaving one Ariel Pinklooking band member to mess around with his laptop and sing self-consciously. At one point, he rambled to the audience about how difficult it was for him to perform live, due to social anxiety, and then engaged in a bizarre meet-and-greet with the front row of the audience in the middle of his set. A few minutes later, he admitted “technical difficulties” and displayed his laptop’s screen via the overhead projector onto the wall behind him.

In concert, as it turns out, Elite Gymnastics uses Ableton Live (a program usually used only by DJs to mix tracks.) This shouldn’t

come as a surprise, explained Elite Gymnastics to the mostly bewildered crowd, because “every band on Pitchfork does it.”

There’s a lot of truth to Elite Gymnastics’ admission. Caribou, Mouse on Mars, and Cut Copy have all openly said they use Live. And Grimes admits freely that she made Visions on Garageband, a consumer program so simple that it is provided free with every Apple computer. If the mid2000s were defined by the popularity of post-punk throwback bands like The Strokes and Interpol, we have since witnessed successive years of reference to the more electronic side of the 1980s.

Openly admitting that one uses Garageband or Ableton Live to make music is new, however, and while some might bemoan the simplicity and supposed lack of skill necessary to use computer-based instruments, it has allowed many bedroom-pop-producing university students to embrace a musical career that might otherwise be available only to those who’ve spent a lifetime developing their passion.

Another point to remember is that lack of inspiration, unlike lack of technical skill, can’t really be masked by a computer program, as Elite Gymnastics demonstrated Friday night. Grimes’ beguilingly

gothic image, her psychedelic self-drawn cover art, and her weirdpop sound is stranger than any other would-be pop star of recent times. If using Garageband is the

Illustration Carlyn Hopkins

best way for her to create the appealing sound her fans love, then why not.

Let it Bea Double-spaced Theatre discusses controversial topic Kristal Spreadborough Culture Writer

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ssisted suicide is a perennially sensitive and controversial topic, making Doublespaced Theatre’s exploration of the subject, Bea, all the more bold.

Looking at the effect of terminal illness on relationships, Mick Gordon’s play makes a delicate foray into thorny moral ground. The opening scene begins with an interview between Bea, played by Mara Lazari,

and Ray, played by Adam Capriolo, Bea’s soon-to-be care assistant. It is here that the story of Bea’s fight to die begins. As Bea’s mother, Mrs. James, played by Kayleigh Choinière, struggles to come to terms with her daughter’s wishes, Ray explores his sexuality, insecurities, and troubled past. In turns tragic and uplifting, the story is a rewarding one, despite the finality of Bea’s untimely death near the end of the play.

Gordon’s nimbly written script allows the topic to be approached with a healthy sense of humour – so

much so, you almost feel guilty for laughing so often. Bea’s character, enhanced with costumes and musical cues, is a ray of sunshine throughout the play. The bright, vividly coloured set gives off an air of innocence and joy, while the upbeat, feel good music radiates youth. All of this juxtaposes nicely with Bea’s relentless determination to see her wish to die realized, bringing humour and life to her otherwise bleak reality.

Caught between their desire to help Bea and their own moral compasses are Mrs. James and Ray.

Moments of humour ensue when Bea’s directness clashes with the wellmannered discomfort of her mother and caregiver. In one of the most memorable scenes of the play, Bea and Ray get to chatting about sexual experiences when Bea, after expressing her despair that she will never again have sex, asks Ray to touch her. Ray, not being terribly thrilled or aroused by the prospect of providing this variety of care giving, finds himself positioned between empathy for Bea’s stolen youth and his unwillingness to fulfill her request. Caught

between Ray’s humiliation and Bea’s devastation, the audience can only laugh at the awkward misunderstanding. It is this extreme difference in emotional response that, in a way, is the essence of the play.

Bea has made a rare achievement in theatre, commenting on human will and on the effect terminal illness has on relationships and loved ones with a welcome dose of humour. Most importantly, Bea is a statement on the fight for freedom going hand in hand with the fight for the right to die.

compendium!

The McGill Daily Monday, September 24, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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lies, half-truths, and inanimate objects

Angry Admin building demands independence Referendum scheduled for October Euan EK The Twice-a-Weekly

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he James Administration building has requested permission to hold an independence referendum this fall.

In a statement released Sunday, the building said it “was tired of all you people and your feet and your boots and the snow and the mud and the talking always talking inside my head with tiny voices and tiny heads and chatty chatty chat like puny little caffeinated ants and talking always talking about your day and your life and chatty chat talking. I’m done. You fucking over-hyped hairless mammals. I want out.”

The building told The Twicea-Weekly that it had been considering the move for some time, but that events on campus last year had “been the last straw.”

“Look. I put up with a lot.

People walk inside my head. They put Windex on my corneas. They fucking drag dirty boots inside my mouth and along my tongue.

And I think I’ve kinda dealt with that well. I’m a pretty reasonable

thing. I haven’t asked for much.

But last year! Fuck. Fucking weeklong parties in my hypothalamus?

Pepper spray all up on my face?

Those guards standing in my eardrums and tonsils all of the hours of all of the days? Man. Do you people literally not give a shit about anything except your own fucking pathetic attempts at being more than meaningless bipedal apes? Of course I want out!”

Despite the building’s ardent desire to secede from campus, some are questioning whether or not the building is in a fit mental state to “become a country” after an explosive television interview on Saturday night, in which the building appeared to attempt to collapse on its interviewer. The building, however, claims “you would too if you lived my life.

And were a building.”

Experts are claiming that the endless renovations on campus are causing buildings to go into shock, and that appears to be the case here.

“You know, I’ve had a word with some of the other buildings, and they don’t seem to have had it nearly as bad,” said James. “Okay, Bronfman’s being a cocky arsehole

about the whole thing, but what’s new there? And Arts just goes on fucking sunning itself and checking out the hot eye-candy on its beard.

And, yeah, I like Leacock, but it’s still kinda grumpy about the whole face-lift thing, but at the end of the day these buildings have had literally none of the shit I’ve had to put up with. Literally fucking none. You wouldn’t believe the life Thomson House has been having! Soirees every night – you know, like real sophisticated parties with cocktails and shit. And intellectual discussions! And cheap beer literally in his mouth 24/7. And no administrators! No stinky undergrads! Look, I don’t wanna sound bitter, but I just don’t trust any of you anymore.

You’ve been huge assholes. Huge.

Like, do you not see? Is it not possible to solve your puny little ant problems outside my fucking head?

Like, at all! Fuck fuck fuck. Fucking self-righteous little humans. You’re all like, ‘Yeah, I’ll have a party in your head. Yeah, I’ll play the Vengaboys at fucking 1 a.m. in your pre-frontal cortex! Yeah I’ll do that; that’ll be cool. I’ll do what I want with absolutely no respect for anything except my puny insignificant mouse brain!’ Have you all just

Illustration Sid the Craezy Busturd | The Twice-a-Weekly

dropped your trousers and shat on the floor! Oh wait, no, you did that in my cerebellum already!

Fuuuuckkk. [Breathes] Okay. Look.

I mean...actually, no, fuck it, I’m not apologizing. I’m done. Give me independence. That’s it. That’s it.”

Despite James’ insistence that it “needs the silence of independence,” several important structural problems have yet to be

worked out. Mostly the fact that it is plumbed into the ground. Also that it is made of hundreds of bricks cemented together and built on top of a pretty sizeable foundation.

No one is quite sure what to do, but voting will be in October.

Euan EK is the resurrection. Like a dead dog that became an alive dog, he is back.

My barbecue is angry Heather-Truedeau-Gloom The Twice-a-Weekly

M

y barbecue is angry. My barbecue is an angry, sizzling, sumptuous get-together packed with smokehouse flavor. My barbecue is a rooftop shindig, a tangible metaphor of the season’s denouement. But my barbecue is also a delicate flower, an intricate dance dependent upon coordination, the evershifting breeze fanning the flames of my seasoned Weber Grill™, a party under the perpetual threat of unexpected precipitation. My barbecue is not an ad hoc Super Bowl party, perfumed by the stench of store bought seven layer dip and stale Tostitos™.

You may not poison my barbeque with your tepid hell water, your cup runneth over with Milwaukee’s Best, a precarious red plastic vessel hovering as a constant reminder of the mediocrity that my barbecue puts up with, engaged in a constant battle with an oppressive system of slow cookers and mass marketed short ribs drenched in a cloying paste of corn syrup, crushed tomatoes, and natural and artificial flavors.

And let’s not forget those who turn a blind eye to the necessary equipment that allow my barbecue to thrive, the vital side dishes that enable my barbecue to live up to its fullest, moistest, smokiest, most flavorful potential. Those companies who churn out potato chips imbibed with trans fats, buns crafted from wheat harvested by the small hands of immigrant child laborers. My barbecue is not a forum for your corporate greed. My barbecue is not an airport Chili’s, a veritable brothel for the ignorant consumer of charred flesh, withering beneath the blaze of an industrial heat lamp.

My barbecue is organic. My barbecue is a venue for community expression, a voice for the proletarian fruit salad, a helping hand to the downtrodden corn on the cob. My barbecue knows no color, creed, sex, or ethnicity. So why do people always feel the need to label my barbecue? “Too brown,” they say. “It’s simply too tough,” murmurs the judgmental Southerner, a self-proclaimed connoisseur of the charred and slowly-smoked animal flesh, an underdeveloped palate perpetuating the stereotype that my barbecue

is unfit, unclean, and unworthy.

If my barbecue could talk, it would talk about the ungrateful patrons perusing its gingham bedecked tables bearing its laboriously prepared entrees. It would do impressions, a lilting, high-pitched and slightly nasal Toronto accent ridiculing the young women who know not its life struggles, but only the unsatisfactory garnishes it didn’t ask for, didn’t want, but that came anyways, like the ruler in your elementary school birthday party gift bag.

People ask me, why is my barbecue angry? I tell them, my barbecue is a means of self-expression, an olive branch extended to the ungrateful, the misguided.

Last year my relationship with my barbecue-goers was strained. This wasn’t a tense, passive aggressive tête-a-tête, but an explosion, an all-encompassing outrage that began and continued with a continuous bang. It was the constant screaming, badgering, and occupation of my barbecue, my sacred space, my hermitage, that drove me to attempt a final reconciliation. Yet every time my barbecue

Illustration J. “Birdie” O’Shyk | The Twice-a-Weekly

extends the tongs of friendship, it is met with a closed fist, a suspicious glance, and the scorn that cuts like a knife welded in the fires of deepest shame.

My barbecue is saddened and dismayed. But I know that for all the ridicule and anger, through the years of mistrust, my barbe-

cue will not perish. My barbecue is angry. My barbecue is an amicable housewarming party, a welcoming living room decor. But most of all, my barbecue burns, driven not by the flickering coals of a cast iron smoker, but the flaming passion for a liberty and a sanctuary all its own.

EDITORIAL

volume 102 number 7

editorial board 3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-24 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9 phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com coordinating editor

Queen Arsem-O’Malley

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Edna Chan Rebecca Katzman

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Nicole Leonard web editor

Tom Acker le délit

Nicolas Quiazua

15

Actions speak louder than awareness As McGill prepares to head into its Aboriginal Awareness Week, it’s important to realize that a crisis is underway: Aboriginal teenagers are committing suicide at thirty times the average rate of the rest of Canada.

Suicide is a huge problem for Aboriginal communities: it is the cause of 50 per cent of teen deaths in northern Inuit communities. Compare that to the 10 per cent rate of teen suicide for the rest of the nation, and it’s clear that there is a real problem. At a time when suicide rates throughout the country have been dropping, the teen suicide rates in Aboriginal communities continue to steadily rise. If rates like this were found in communities in southern Canada, the situation would be regarded as a crisis. Yet much of the media remains quiet and the government plays down the suicides, taking no action.

It’s widely accepted that at least a portion of these deaths could be curbed by providing more programs for at-risk youth in native communities. Such programs, which include therapy and counselling services, can help address factors that may lead to suicide, such as depression, anxiety, and trauma. Youth suicide is often a result of anxiety, as well as sexual and emotional abuse – conditions which can be treated with therapy and counselling. Prevention programs have been shown to markedly reduce the likelihood of suicide attempts. Unfortunately, these types of services are few and far between in remote communities, and a significant increase in funding is needed to make them more widely available.

Despite this, the Harper government is taking the opposite approach: more cuts to Aboriginal health care. The National Aboriginal Health Organization, which provides vital health services to Aboriginal people – at a total operating cost of only $5 million – has had its funding slashed, as has the Native Women’s Association of Canada, which provides health services to Aboriginal women. Attempting a defense, the Harper government points to the minor investments it has made in the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy – but the same government still wants to cut $160 million from Aboriginal health services next year. Drastic cuts to these services put stress on the clinics and hospitals that deal with patients day in and day out, meaning that early warning signs often won’t be identified because of reduced resources and access to services.

This situation is unacceptable. Budget cuts almost always hit those with fewer resources – those who depend on social services – hardest. Right now, Aboriginal communities need increased, not decreased, funding for mental health services. As the crisis grows, the Health Minister’s office continues to trot out the tired line that their “priority is protecting the front-line health and safety services to First Nations and Inuit communities, and making sure that taxpayers’ dollars are used wisely.” The idea that cuts won’t affect so-called frontline services is a myth, and a dangerous one: money will be taken away from the places that need it. Taxpayer money – money that ought to be used to save lives and foster healthy communities – is being culled because the Harper government has other motives.

Clearly, we need to sort out our priorities.

rec@delitfrancais.com

cover design Amina Batyreva and Hera Chan contributors Sid Ahmed, Julia Boshyk, Lindsay Cameron, Conor Coady, Ethan Feldman, Alexis Giannelia, Carlyn Hopkins, Brendan Lewis, Jessica Lukawiecki, Tamkinat Mirza, Sivakami Mylvaganam, Moe Nasr, Alice Shen, Kristal Spreadborough, Isabelle Viarouge, Justine Vidal

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