Vol102Iss08

Volume 102, Issue 8

September 27, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

McGill THE

DAILY

Fire burning since 1911

Published by The Daily Publications Society, a student society of McGill University.

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NEWS

The McGill Daily Thursday, September 27, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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Queer McGill holds Fall General Assembly Pledges support to Gay Village and Iranian LGBTQ community

Photo Ralph Haddad Niyati Malhotra News Writer

02 NEWS McGill to reimburse tuition hike

Controversy over sexual assault statistics

Census shows increase in same-sex couples

05 COMMENTARY The problem with CLASSE claiming “victory” over tuition The appropriation of Eastern philosophies by Westerners Campus space and the politics of privilege

08 FEATURES The role of pharmaceutical companies in student health

10 HEALTH&ED South Korean students are overworked

11 CULTURE Flower Press Publishing A Tribe Called Red at McGill’s pow wow Negotiating queer identity in Montreal

14 COMPENDIUM! Party Animals have excellent career options McGill’s new principal to be a Roman Emperor

15 EDITORIAL The police must be held accountable for brutality

Q

ueer McGill (QM) held its Fall General Assembly (GA) on Tuesday in the wake of internal restructuring.

GA chairs Grace Khare and Aliénor Lemieux-Cumberlege began by introducing a new organizational structure based on working groups, which according to LemieuxCumberlege would “involve more people, incite more discussions and debates, and be more inclusive of member interests.”

These would include groups dedicated specifically to first years and newcomers, francophones, queer people of colour, and transgendered people.

There will also be a political action working group, a social working group, and groups that would collaborate with Allies Montréal and QueerLine.

Following a financial report by the Finance Coordinator and the election of Kimberly Bae as the new External

Communications Coordinator, two motions were put forth.

The first, “An Inclusive Village,” was a critique of the increased policing of Montreal’s Gay Village due to the alleged presence of “undesirables,” a term sometimes used to refer to the homeless, drug addicts, and sex workers who reside in the Village.

The motion received an ambivalent reaction from the constituency as many felt it ignored the necessity of the presence of vigilance in the area.

It was amended to affirm QM’s commitment to the introduction of social work organizations to the Village as an alternative to an “oppressive increase” in police presence.

The amended motion passed with 15 for, seven against, and seven abstentions.

The second motion, “War With Iran,” condemned the “ill-treatment of LGBT communities in Iran” but “opposed it being used as a justification for a potential war on the country.”

A number of people at the GA

claimed that the motion had misplaced intentions.

Former QM Resource Coordinator Edward Langstone said, “Queer people don’t necessarily want to be contextualized in a political light.”

Another attendee felt that the motion was too “queer-centric” and that it ignored the much larger context of the Iranian conflict.

Former QM executive Eliot Hautefeuille claimed that the motion was “not representative of all the members of Queer McGill,” as it unnecessarily politicized what was meant to be a social group.

Many others, however, were in favour of the motion and its message.

One attendee – who said she was Iranian by birth – supported the motion and stated, “Wars are never fought over human rights.

They never have [been] and never will. The use of queers as an excuse for a dreadful thing like war is unacceptable.”

In the end, the motion passed through online voting.

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NEWS

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The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Thousands mobilize on September 22 Police report three arrests Karel Asha News Writer

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lthough the Parti Québécois announced the cancellation of the tuition hikes earlier this week, thousand of students took to the streets on Saturday.

The demonstration came after students began a tradition of protests on the 22nd day of every month.

Organizers estimated that around 5,000 people were at the demonstration.

Protesters started gathering at Parc Lafontaine around 2 p.m. Police maintained a presence from the beginning of the demonstration.

The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) declared the demonstration illegal from its onset, based on municipal bylaw P-6 on “Prevention of disturbances to the peace, public security, and public order.” The bylaw requires organizers to give police an itinerary of the demonstration in advance.

The SPVM told The Daily that three arrests were made at the demonstration. The SPVM also tweeted that some protesters were throwing projectiles and that one police officer was injured.

The crowd began marching east on Cherrier at 2:50 p.m. after which it went south on Berri and east again on Ontario. Following a number of re-routes the march reached Sherbrooke and Peel, where it clashed with the SPVM. The demonstration ended around 5 p.m. on Drummond between Maisonneuve and Ste. Catherine after the SPVM dispersed the march into several groups.

Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE) co-spokesperson Camille Robert told The Daily that “today, we are demonstrating to celebrate our victory. Although tuition

Confrontations between police and protesters erupted on Sherbrooke. fees were cancelled for 2012-2013, there remains a lot to be done for accessibility to higher education in Quebec. This is why we are supporting free education today.”

“Many student associations have classes on Saturdays, including UQAM and CEGEP du VieuxMontréal. Their associations have for the most part voted on strike mandates for today’s demonstrations,” she added.

Option Nationale leader JeanMartin Aussant, who was at the demonstration, told The Daily that free education was in his party’s platform.

“The demonstration can inform many groups of people that free education is not a cost. Many people think free education will cost the

state money, when it will actually generate revenue,” said Aussant.

“Every country that has implemented free higher education has realized that it was generating revenue because people who go to school longer on average earn more money and pay more taxes,” he added.

SSMU VP External Robin ReidFraser, who was one of the approximately 15 McGill students who attended the demonstration, told The Daily she was at the protest to “show support for the cause of free education.”

“I think it is important to show that even though the current hike has been cancelled, and the [student] federations are saying they won and the movement is basically done,

Photo Shane Murphy | The McGill Daily

there are still people who believe on further progress on this issue,” said Reid-Fraser.

Regarding SSMU’s position on the issue, Reid-Fraser stated that “currently we have a resolution in favour of accessible education, and free education is definitely something that fits into that.”

“We will be revisiting this at our general assemblies this year and we might go farther with it somewhere soon,” she added.

One McGill student, who wished to remain anonymous, was watching the demonstration from Sherbrooke.

“My personal opinion is that Quebec tuition is the cheapest in Canada anyway,” the Quebec resident said.

“Education is a privilege not a

right, and I find it hard to believe that that small a raise in tuition is that big a deal for people. What we’re paying is hardly anything. If you need money from the government to go to school you can apply for it. I did and I got it,” they said.

Marjolaine Gaudreau, a woman in her forties, attended the demonstration in solidarity with her 14-year-old daughter, whom she hopes will eventually benefit from free higher education. “I am an angry mother in solidarity,” she said in French. “The police pushed me in the back with their shields, they hit you, they insult you, and they don’t care when you tell them you are peaceful and of a certain age!”

SSMU continues plans for student-run cafe Lola Duffort The McGill Daily

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lans for a student-run cafe in the Shatner building are ongoing, according to SSMU VP Finance and Operations JeanPaul Briggs, but they are also contending with several major hurdles.

Chief among them is SSMU’s precarious financial situation as a result of the University requiring SSMU to begin paying for part of Shatner’s utilities – a sum entirely covered by McGill in previous leases.

“That’s not to say that we’re not committed to [a student-run cafe], or at least seeing if it’s possible,”

said Briggs.

Because lease negotiations are ongoing and confidential, SSMU executives could not tell The Daily the percentage of utilities SSMU expects to pay in coming years, nor by how much their rent is set to increase.

The preliminary SSMU budget for 2012-2013, however, forecasts a $214,478 deficit, the majority of which Briggs ascribes to increased rent and utilities cost-sharing.

The student union has traditionally broken even in years past.

While a student-run cafe has been a potential project for SSMU in the past, the 2010 closure of the Architecture Café precipitated campus-wide mobilization and spurred last year’s executive to spearhead

a two-year plan with the goal of opening a Shatner building studentrun cafe in fall 2013.

A major problem, however, appears to be significant miscommunication between this year and last year’s SSMU executives. Both Briggs and SSMU President Josh Redel said they took office assuming that a lot more had been done in terms of detailing the actual business model that the student-run cafe would adopt.

“It’s very frustrating, because we’re very dedicated to making this project happen, but a lot of the legwork we expected to be done wasn’t,” said Briggs.

“This was always supposed to be a two-year project,” said former

VP Finance and Operations Shyam Patel, who led the student-run cafe initiative last year. “We did this strategically, other SSMU executives tried to rush the project…which is exactly why this was supposed to be a two-year brainstorm.”

The McGill Tribune reported on September 17 that plans for the cafe had been complicated by exclusivity contracts held by current Shatner lease-holders, which would prevent the student-run cafe from selling specialty coffees and teas, as well as a lack of space in the building.

However, Briggs told The Daily that these issues are in themselves are “not insurmountable” and that SSMU’s Operations Management Committee is conducting a feasibil-

ity study to assess how they might be dealt with. The feasibility study working groups will also charged with drawing up a detailed business plan for the cafe in conjunction with dealing with sustainability issues.

The groups will be finalized this week, said Briggs, and will likely begin meeting on a bi-monthly basis next week.

While the Shatner building is at fully occupancy, a lease with a current tenant could be allowed to expire. The problem, says Briggs, comes with the loss of revenue for the student union incurred by giving a space once occupied by a paying tenant to the student-run cafe, which would likely pay little to no rent to the union.

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NEWS

The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

McGill waiting on direction from government to refund tuition fees Students grow impatient with University’s lack of communication

2011 census reports increase in same-sex couples Statistics Canada admits data may be flawed Isabella Johnson News Writer

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tatistics Canada released another set of data from its recent 2011 Canadian census, showing a general decrease in nuclear family structures since the last census was conducted in 2006. In particular, the census reported a diversification of family structure with an increase in same-sex couples and families.

In the past five years, the number of married couples has increased by 3.1 per cent, while the number of common-law couples saw a rise of 13.9 per cent.

The last census, taken in 2006, was taken months after the Civil Marriage Act made Canada the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

Since then, legal same-sex marriages have increased by 181 per cent, according to the National Post.

Despite this growth, the total number of legally married same-sex couples is still under 1 per cent of the wtotal married couples in Canada.

The National Post recently stated in a news article that the census results show that “The sanctity of marriage as the bedrock of the Canadian family is steadily eroding.”

According to Celine Le Bourdais, Canada Research Chair in Social Statistics and Family Change and professor of sociology at McGill, “There was no backlash

here – especially not in Quebec – as there was in the United States.”

Mona Greenbaum, director of the Coalition des Familles Homoparentales, told The Daily she was skeptical about the reported increase in same-sex couples.

One possible reason for this is that the census may have counted roommates as married gay couples.

“Roommates who are married – just not to each other – could have been counted as a couple,” reported the CBC. As a result, Statistics Canada admitted they could not tell in many cases whether two people were a cohabitating couple or strictly splitting the rent and may have overestimated as many as 4,500 same-sex married couples, according to the CBC. “I know that in Quebec, there is a larger proportion who are cohabitating. Four out of five were common-law couples – they were not married. This goes along with [the fact that] in Quebec people get married less,” said Le Bourdais.

The census also reported that more cohabitating couples, which includes both same-sex and heterosexual couples, were having children.

Although the majority of married same-sex couples were male, those with children were overwhelmingly found to be two females.

“Since the 2002 reform of the Civil Code we have had different ways to start our families,” said Greenbaum.

what they paid in tuition and the new fee structure soon after we do.”

Sweet could not confirm that refunds would be offered. “Refunds may be issued, but I don’t have details of the process,” he said.

Matthew, a U3 History student who wished to be identified by first name only, told The Daily, “The government, the day they were elected, said the hike was over. It has been almost a month and the school is still waiting for so-called official word.”

“Is this supposed be a secret thing? Are we going to find out one day that the money reappeared in our account?” he said.

McGill’s slow response has affected the start of the semester for students like Matthew. “It would be important to actually have the cash back, as someone who pays my own tuition, so I can finish buy-

ing my textbooks,” he said.

SSMU VP External Robin ReidFraser told The Daily that the student union “will be asking the University about [the tuition refund] next week if it still looks like they aren’t doing anything about it.”

U4 Middle East Studies student Robert Bell said he is not satisfied with SSMU’s response to date. “They are not responding adequately to the issue, but when have they ever? It is a shameful abdication of their responsibility to ensure the economic welfare of their constituency,” he said.

McGill’s operational budget will be unaffected by the change in tuition in 2012-2013 because the PQ government has promised to maintain expected levels of funding by making up the difference caused by the cancellation of the tuition fee

increase, according to Sweet.

“The longer view remains cloudy and we’ll have to wait for the summit on higher education to get a clearer picture of where we’ll stand,” said Sweet.

The PQ government is planning a summit on higher education this fall. Strategies for funding higher education, such as the indexation of tuition fees to inflation, will be discussed.

Newly-appointed Higher Education Minister Pierre Duchesne is expected to invite major student federations Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, and Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante to the summit, as well as Table de concertation étudiante du Québec, SSMU’s official negotiating representative.

Sexual assault numbers disputed Janna Bryson News Writer

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n July 12, La Presse reported that the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) had seen a 25 per cent decrease in sexual assault reports since 2007.

However, SPVM spokesperson Laurent Gingras told The Daily, “in reality the number of reports of sexual assault since 2007 has been going up.”

This statement is supported by the 2011 SPVM annual report, which reported 1,256 cases of sexual assault last year – a slight decrease from 2007, when 1,320 cases were reported, but nowhere near the 25 percent decrease reported by La Presse.

2010 also saw a jump in the number of sexual assault cases, which numbered 1,597, according to the SPVM report.

Gingras said that some of the increases in reports could be due to recent media coverage.

“There have been a couple incidents that have been publicized because they happened to known persons of the public, which has made more people come forward with these assaults,” said Gingras.

Deborah Trent, director of the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre, said that the organization has not seen any decrease in the number of people who require their services. “[The police statistics] are just the reported ones,” Trent told The Daily.

“Many [survivors of sexual assault] don’t come forward because they’re afraid. They’re afraid of violence or retribution…they’re afraid that they’re not going to be believed, they don’t believe it themselves, they want to forget about it,” she said.

However, Trent expressed opti-

mism at survivors’ increased willingness to report assault. “I think that over the years there are more people that report [sexual assault] than used to years ago,” she said.

Vancouver has seen a similar confusion over sexual assault statistics.

In reaction to the Vancouver Police Department’s release of statistics showing a decrease in sexual assault, the Vancouver Rape Crisis Centre (VRCC) stated that they have been receiving a consistently increasing number of calls for their services and are especially concerned with whether women are able to view the police as a safe service.

“It is clear that while women trust women’s services to assist them after being attacked, they obviously do not trust the state agent that is responsible to protect women from male violence: the police,” VRCC spokesperson Hilla Kerner told The Daily.

“There is nothing to celebrate about the decrease of sexual assault reports to police in British Columbia,” added Kerner.

This summer, a class action lawsuit was launched against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding the sexual harassment of female officers, with at least 200 complaints, according to the CBC. In July, RCMP Recruiter Supt.

Maria Nickel stated that women “need to rely on that inner strength” when faced with harassment on the job.

Kerner explained that this lack of concern for sexual harassment issues within the RCMP’s own ranks may inhibit survivors from coming forward with their own complaints about sexual assault.

“Their behaviour toward sexism within the RCMP just reinforces distrust,” she said.

Discrepancies in Sexual Assault Statistics SPVM La Presse Graphic Rebecca Katzman | The McGill Daily

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cGill has yet to confirm student refunds on the tuition fee increase following its official cancellation last week by Quebec Premier Pauline Marois.

In August, McGill billed students the first $254 installment of the tuition hike planned by the Liberal government. Tuition was set to increase by $254 every year for seven years.

McGill students were required to pay their tuitions bills by August 31. Students receiving financial aid could request to defer payment.

According to Le Devoir, other Quebec universities also billed students the tuition fee increase this summer.

In response to the September 4 election of the Parti Québécois (PQ), which promised to cancel the tuition hike, McGill published a “Statement on changes in Quebec tuition policy.” In the statement, the University said it was waiting on “official directives” from the government before updating student bills or beginning a refund process.

McGill did not email students about the statement, which was published on the Student Accounts page of the University’s website.

The PQ government officially cancelled the tuition hike by ministerial decree on September 20.

McGill Director of Internal Communications Doug Sweet told The Daily, “we have yet to receive official confirmation, but we expect that student accounts will be credited with the difference between

No information available

Karel Asha News Writer

2007

2010

2011

commentary

The McGill Daily Thursday, September 27, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

In the shadow of the strike Against the power of “victory” Micha Stettin Commentary Writer

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This victory is ours (cette victoire est la nôtre),” wrote the Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE) in preparation for the monthly 22nd demonstration.

These triumphant messages began as a slow trickle on September 4.

Less than a month later, this description is questioned almost nowhere.

The pressure to “win” something, to claim that which is external and easily identifiable, has many involved in the strike claiming victory. Spectacular power creates and disseminates a dominant and useful narrative – now realized in the unified story of a social movement that blocked a tuition hike – filling Facebook, Twitter, news media, and blogs from Quebec to Chile.

Such a narrative suggests that the strike was just a fight over university accessibility. It makes the events of the previous months non-threatening; it removes the content and context from each act.

According to this fiction, forming a new politics based on the negation of representation was just a side point. Autonomous organizing and direct, unmediated action were simply a means. Attacks on banks, government offices, and media were all just to put enough pressure on the government to listen to the primary demand of university accessibility. It

is undeniable that CLASSE was necessary for the strike to occur. Yet, such a reversion eats away at what was exposed and opened through the strike, removing critiques of the barriers put into place by the very structures and ideologies propelling strike organizing.

The story, with which the reader is probably familiar, is supposed to go something like this: the student strike, the longest in Quebec’s history, created enough pressure to force an election. This election ended the PLQ and Charest’s rule, and the PQ, the victorious party, was forced to concede to student demands of a tuition freeze. Had the strike not generated a great enough rapport de force, the PQ would not have conceded.

It is a beautiful truth that much went right; much has been gained and learned. But the story that is now being told is a fantastical one.

A strike that based itself on a rejection of representative democracy has betrayed itself to electoralism – a reliance on political parties and voting to achieve an end. Many have convinced themselves that this is not true, that claiming victory is purely an acknowledgment of successful pressure. But a simple fact cannot be avoided: in August, only a PQ win in the election would have achieved the students’ demands. Inescapably, this “victory” could only have been achieved through a vote, through one of the same weapons that was used to

defeat the strike. When the power of the strike is discussed, it is often treated as a single event with specific and constant characteristics.

For example: “the Quebec student strike was powerful.” But, rapport de force is not a sum which accumulates and is saved over time, nor is it a single entity. It is a characteristic of specific situations. February, March, April, and early May saw many moments of great strength and intensity. That does not mean that those same features existed in August. The two months following the F1 Grand Prix – the last seriously confrontational event before the “lull” – saw an almost complete cessation of the tactics used throughout the previous four months.

Marois’ actions in September were not a show of the strike’s force, but rather its lack of force heading into September. If the PLQ had excluded CLASSE from an education summit, they would have faced massive repercussions. In the wake of other such events during the strike, massive demonstrations and rioting followed. What was clear at the end of August was forgotten by September 5 – the strike collapsed. Students, en masse, voted to end the strike and no one was prepared to act against these votes. The threat of failed courses, a cancelled semester, Law 12 (Bill 78), a long summer break, and recuperation by electoral politics ended the strike. The cancellation was a savvy and duplicitous move by a populist party itch-

ing to climb back into power.

The state used force first and sleight of hand second. The indexation of tuition to “cost of living” employs the exact same logic as a tuition increase over five years.

This indexation is, in and of itself, a promise of tuition increases, merely codified in different words than the original decree. The only item which is being changed in Law 12 is the section on manifs, which made demonstrations of over fifty people illegal without the permission of the police, in addition to barring any demonstration within fifty metres of a postsecondary institution. From the outset, this was the section that had the least bearing on reality, as breaking up demonstrations rarely needed legal justification and when it did there were other laws to do so (P6, Riot Act, et cetera). Police charging into crowds following the firing of sound grenades felt exactly the same before and after Law 12. A change in name does not correlate to a change in reality. Law 12 unambiguously remains; some are still being charged under the section dealing with strike enforcement.

But more importantly, focusing on Law 12 is absurd in itself. It locates the problem in a specific legislation, not the legal and criminal structures themselves. Even within the narrow focus of the past months’ resistance, Law 12 has nothing to do with the hundreds being charged and those exiled from the island.

The “victory” functionally

reproduces the politics fought against throughout the strike. It allows those in positions of power to assert their narrative above all others – those that they will now attempt to control. Constructing such a narrative will serve to preserve existing modes and structures of student organizing and thought. Across Canada, attempts at replicating the Quebec strike are springing up. Surely the last few months have inspired, but not because of pretending to have overcome austerity. Serious critical reflection about limits of the strike, both organizational and theoretical, is swept aside. So too are examinations of both the actualized and newly apparent possibilities, which constitute the real gains of the strike. Already, there is a plan d’action being prepared for a coming escalation which resembles almost exactly the one that was crafted in entering this strike – the exact same form, nearly the exact same content.

The image of victory is only seen in a distorted mirror of another’s design. What if I do not look elsewhere to determine gains?

How will I and others articulate what we are after, what is terribly wrong, and what we are capable of?

Happily, the answers are less difficult once the frame is dismantled, the false image shattered.

Micha Stettin can be reached at micha.stettin@gmail.com.

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The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

commentary

Self-centred spirituality Hypocritical appropriation of Eastern philosophies Molly Korab Commentary Writer

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Namaste,” Maggie Gyllenhaal coos, without a note of irony in her voice. She acts the perfect caricature of the “new age” hippie in the film Away We Go. She plays the role flawlessly – a wealthy woman espousing new age philosophy, blissfully unaware of her own hypocrisy. The stereotype embodies itself in that very greeting: Namaste, which refers to a gesture of respect, a bow to the other. But Gyllenhaal’s character uses it instead to establish her own sense of cultural superiority, setting herself apart from the other.

Buddhism, yoga, Taoism, Zen – we see their influence everywhere. (For the sake of clarity, I’m going to refer to them here as “Western Buddhism.”) Western Buddhism has been branded and sold, reinterpreted through a Western lens and marketed to the masses. Today, more and more North Americans are flocking to it as a means of self-help.

Part of the reason for this is that these ancient philosophies provide a means of self-preservation against the consumption-oriented and materialistic motivations that run rampant in the modern world. The philosophies serve the same purpose as more conservative religious practices prev-

alent amongst other groups do – except of course, they are much, much hipper.

The promise of self-help drives such practices. However, unlike self-help, the spiritual transcendence offered by these philosophies requires a certain detachment from the self and the ego. Membership does not necessarily require worship or membership in a religious institution, even though it remains part of many other of the religions. By contrast, self-help only feeds the ego and the self. This switch in priorities changes the very meaning of the philosophies: Western Buddhism becomes self-serving rather than transcendental.

This much is obvious: relieving anxiety and stress through the return to one’s centre is a self-absorbing activity. While there is not anything inherently wrong with such a practice, it becomes self-serving if it is not expounded upon – i.e., if the focus does not move beyond the self, detaching from it. In fact, the West has a long history of fetishizing Eastern practices, and Western Buddhism is really no different. Perhaps most damning of all, as practitioners of Western Buddhism turn their backs on the perverseness and spoils of the modern capitalist system, they stop fighting it in order to focus on themselves and their spiritu-

Illustration Amina Batyreva and Jacqueline Brandon | The McGill Daily

ality. They become passive in the face of suffering. Thus, they play an important function in the continuation of capitalist ideology: to detach from the ideology – from market materialism – means one fully participates in capitalism as a system, without the oft-accompanying sense of guilt.

I’m not advocating the end

of Western Buddhism: I think that there is beauty and value in every religious philosophy, and for many people Eastern philosophies resonate more forcefully than others. I just think that practitioners must recognize their privilege, and the cultural and economic practices, that allow Western Buddhism to

exist. For a practice that is so overwhelmingly focused on the self, its adherents often lack an extraordinary amount of selfawareness. Namaste.

Molly Korab is a U2 International Development and Political Science student. She can be reached at margaret.korab@mail.mcgill.ca.

Building a new future for AGSEM Employed grad students hold GA Jonathan Mooney Commentary Writer

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n September 27, the Association for Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), McGill’s largest union, will hold its second General Assembly (GA) of 2012.

All indicators suggest it will be better than the first.

AGSEM’s March 30 GA was a bitter and acrimonious affair.

Among other issues, a “special general assembly” was held prior to the annual GA without any notice to the members, in violation of Articles 21, 23, and 25 of the AGSEM constitution; the assembly was chaired by a nonmember of AGSEM rather than the AGSEM president, as required

by Articles 38 and 54; the chair of the assembly prohibited the auditor of ASGEM’s financial statements from making the required report to the assembly, a report

which was pertinent to the constitutional changes, in violation of Article 21; the chair refused to allow members to see the financial statements or the budget prior to the vote on constitutional changes which involved new spending; and the chair refused to allow members to propose changes to the motion to modify the constitution, even though that right is guaranteed

by Articles 61 and 69. In short, a bizarre mixture of good-faith efforts to ensure meeting efficiency and irrational paranoia about members exercising their rights destroyed the integrity of the assembly and left AGSEM markedly divided.

Since then, the leadership of AGSEM, many of whom were newly elected, have worked closely with members who have raised concerns about the March assembly. In difficult and stressful circumstances, and under the cloud of a potential legal challenge,

AGSEM’s leaders have sought to redress the wrongs of the March GA. AGSEM’s upcoming GA is the culmination of these efforts.

At the new assembly, AGSEM’s Coordinating Committee, in a motion regarding the March GA, will acknowledge the possibility that “procedural errors took place during these assemblies” and that “members have criticized the manner in which these assemblies took place.” AGSEM members will have the opportunity to “to discuss the General Assembly of 30 March, so as to ensure that the union may go forward on a basis of unity.” By acknowledging members’ concerns and providing a forum for discussion of concerns, AGSEM’s leaders are affirming the democratic, member-driven culture essential to AGSEM’s success and taking responsibility for the faults of the March assembly.

Such an approach is critical to ensure a strong and united union.

Perhaps more significantly, the

Coordinating Committee will be asking members to resolve, “without admission with respect to the claims of any party, that the resolutions adopted during the assemblies of 30 March 2012 be ratified and considered valid from the date of 30 March 2012.” This motion is an implicit acknowledgement of the invalidity of the March assembly due to violations of members’ rights and its passage is essential to restore AGSEM’s operation to unquestionably legal status.

There are many other positive motions coming forward at AGSEM’s September assembly.

There are proposals to modify the constitution to address many of the concerns raised by the March assembly, such as ensuring proper notice is given before meetings, clarifying the quorum of a meeting, clarifying financial practices, empowering members to utilize the petition process to impeach elected officers, and certifying that members indeed

do have the right to propose and amend motions at GAs. These challenging and timeconsuming efforts to address concerns and empower members would not have been possible without the tireless work, under trying circumstances, of AGSEM’s leaders on the Coordinating and Constitution Committees, including but not limited to Daniel Simeone, Sunci Avlijas, Ross Stitt, Justin Marleau, Cora-Lee Conway, and Tariq Nizami, all of whom demonstrated real leadership over the past few months.

I left AGSEM’s March 30 GA distraught and deeply worried about the future of my union. I approach AGSEM’s September 27 GA with renewed confidence that my union and its leaders are strong and principled.

Jonathan Mooney is the SecretaryGeneral of the Post Graduate Students’ Society and can be reached at jonathan.mooney@mail.mcgill.ca.

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The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Whose campus? Our campus?

Life on campus and who fits in Mona Luxion The McGill Daily

“

My friend tried to go Thomson House the other day and they carded her!” exclaimed a friend of mine last week. “Can you believe it?”

Thomson House’s new mandatory policy of checking identification cards, to ensure that only postgraduate students enter, is an inconvenience for everybody. But for black students on a hostile campus, it can evoke a long history of discrimination, humiliation, and exclusion.

“We need to make sure non-members don’t take space away from members,” I was told on an afternoon when I counted two other people on the entire ground floor.

Apparently this exclusivity is more important than being a welcoming space for all grad students.

Although admissions guidelines no longer restrict the race, religion, or gender of McGill students, the structures of student life still make it clear who belongs and who doesn’t. “This is such a white scene,” another friend commented as Frosh attendees wandered across campus in screaming groups. The ability to be drunk and belligerent in public with few or no consequences represents white privilege: people of colour who get rowdy are much more likely to face prejudice and censure. Not to men-

tion that spending your first few days in drunken oblivion, rather than preparing for the semester ahead, could suggest that you are taking your university success for granted.

Here’s what sparks the annual Frosh wars in The Daily’s commentary pages: For many people, the drinking, the chants, the sexual comments and “silly” themes are all in good fun. It’s traditional, they say, and if you don’t like it you can go elsewhere. For others, O-Week is our first reminder that if you’re a religious teetotaller or have a history of alcoholism, if money is tight in your household, if rape culture hurts you, if you had to fight to be at university rather than taking it for granted, then you don’t quite belong at McGill. Because costly, alcohol-based, rape culture-reinforcing events are not one small part in a large menu of options; they are the dominant Frosh experience. White upper-class straight men can have their obliviousness reinforced in comfort, while those of us who challenge that comfort by our very existence are forced to go out of our way to find alternatives, and told to shut up about it in the process.

None of this is a cruel plot masterminded by racist, sexist individuals.

It is something much more insidious: decision-makers throughout the university are people who, due to their gender, race, religion, and/or

Chain of influence$ Art Essay - Sid Ahmed

socio-economic status, fit in with the rarefied culture of this institution, and they make decisions with less consideration for the fact that others’ experiences of the same structures is quite different than their own.

This exclusivity extends far beyond Frosh week. The curriculum we are taught revolves around the work of rich white Christian men. In fact, that identity is so tied to academic worth that when one professor in a large introductory Arts class was asked why his syllabus only included white men, he said there were no women or people of colour who were equally qualified. What does that tell a woman of colour in his class?

Meanwhile, the physical spaces of the university were built on the assumption that people are able-bodied and binary-gendered.

Have you tried getting to class in a wheelchair or looking for a bathroom that’s neither “male” nor “female”? Minimal accommodations are there, when they’re not broken and ignored, but the message that we don’t belong is clear.

Constantly feeling out of place is exhausting; it is no surprise that dropout rates are much higher for people who are already marginalized. If we truly want a diverse and accessible university, we should begin by making decision-making more democratic and taking it out of the hands of a select few. More than that, to beat the

Illustration Edna Chan | The McGill Daily

self-perpetuating nature of exclusivity we must make an effort to listen to critical marginalized voices and sometimes take unpopular actions. It can be done. But in a world where “elite” still means rich, white, and male, will a university that prides itself on being elite rise to the challenge?

If it weren’t for their radical politics and unconventional gender identity, Mona Luxion would pretty much fit in on campus. As it is, they spend their spare time dreaming up ways to smash the glass walls that keep McGill inaccessible and unfriendly. They can be reached at m.luxion@gmail.com.

8

features

A spoonful of dismissal

helps the medicine go down

Anqi Zhang Illustration by Edna Chan

9

The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

For many McGill students, the Student Health Services Clinic is an obligatory stop on the way to deferring that final that they were too bedridden to study for. For others, it is a place to renew and seek out prescriptions, or to seek healthcare in a familiar environment within an unfamiliar city.

When I visited McGill Student Health Services a year ago to inquire about oral contraceptives, unsure whether they would be right for me, I encountered no resistance or cautions from physician and director of the Health Centre, Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier.

Perfunctory questions were asked and a prescription was written; a sample was pulled from a drawer and the little rows of pink and white pills stared up at me. After the procedure was explained to me (take one every day, at approximately the same time, and so on) I finally worked up the pluck to voice my concerns. Was Yaz – the brand of pill I had been prescribed – not in the news for increasing the risk of blood clots? How would this affect me? Was my doctor sure that this was the right choice?

The answers from Dr. Tellier were brief: He mentioned that yes, Yaz was in the news, but the media can hype things up; the risk of clots might be increased, but by such a small percentage that it was essentially negligible. Yaz is a low-dose pill, and he assured me that it was best for me. There was no discussion of a change of prescription; there was no allusion to other oral contraceptives being available.

I left the office, my worries hardly alleviated, the samples in my pocket.

In the end, I left the prescription unfilled, and instead went looking for answers about how these prescriptions end up in the hands of students, and how paying our student fees leaves us with only one option. *** Student Health Services certainly hopes to be more than just a producer of medical notes and prescriptions; their mandate lists four objectives that fit into the framework of providing “comprehensive health care to students in an academic setting.” These objectives include “[providing] preventative and curative health care by caregivers that are sensitive to [the student] health group,” “[providing] health education and promotion,” “[providing] training in the field of student health for health care professionals,” and “[gaining] knowledge of [the student] population by fostering research.”

Student health clinics like McGill’s have an incredible reach. In 2011, of McGill’s total enrollment of 37,835, there were 15,999 visitations to the centre. As long as students have paid the student services fee, they have access to Student Health Services. The fact that university health clinics serve such a large and, for the most part, age-specific population not only makes it difficult for students to secure appointments, but also makes the centres themselves an ideal target for companies that have a financial interest in the health needs of the young adult demographic. *** Pharmaceutical giants, such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and GlaxoSmithKline exist to research, develop, produce, and then market medicines and vaccines. When it comes time to sell their products, these corporations rely almost exclusively on pharmaceutical sales representatives, colloquially known as drug reps, to get the job done. Drug reps have gotten a lot of press in the past few years,

resulting in a new public awareness of how the reps operate.

The primary difference between drug reps and most other salespeople is this: they woo the doctors, not the patients. In other words, drug companies and drug reps don’t have to sell their product to the individual who will be consuming, so much as they have to sell it to the individual advocating its use. In order to win new customers and reward the loyal, drug reps are known to lavish health care providers with gifts and rewards. In his 2006 article for the Atlantic, Carl Elliot wrote that he had heard “reps talk about scoring sports tickets for their favourite doctors, buying televisions for waiting rooms, and arranging junkets to tropical resorts.”

Because patients respect and trust their advocators – their physicians – these physicians are the only ones that need to be convinced about the quality of a certain medication. In a university setting, this means convincing only a few physicians, instead of thousands of students. The imbalance of power in this relationship can be dangerous.

Physicians control knowledge – they can prescribe one medication without relaying other options, or restrict a patient’s understanding of their own condition in order to make one medication appear better than others. Add in an economic incentive to push one drug over another, and the risk of physicians abusing the trust of their patients increases exponentially. *** The uproar over fraudulent and unethical practices in the pharmaceutical sales industry has led to increased regulations, in an attempt to protect healthcare professionals (and by extension, their patients) from unethical external influence. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) updated their existing Code on Interactions With Healthcare Professionals in January 2009, “to reinforce [their] intention that [their] interactions with healthcare professionals are professional exchanges designed to benefit patients and to enhance the practice of medicine,” according to the website. Changes to this code include prohibiting drug reps from providing restaurant meals to physicians, though “occasional meals in healthcare professionals’ offices in conjunction with informational presentations” are still permitted.

There have also been shifts in some physicians’ attitudes towards drug reps. In August, the Pharma Letter, an online news source focused on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, wrote that oncologists (medical professionals who work with cancer patients) were “reducing the number of times they [would] see [pharmaceutical sales reps].” Of twenty common medical specialties measured in the spring 2012 AccessMonitor sales and marketing report, 61 per cent of US oncologists had placed restrictions on drug rep visits, making oncology the most restrictive specialty by far.

Other areas of medicine, including primary care, were less restrictive.

In Canada, the total number of drug reps, and the amount of money spent on drug marketing, is lower than in the U.S., though still substantial. A 2004 McGill Journal of Medicine article by Joseph Barfett et al estimated that drug companies spend $1.7 billion a year in Canada to promote their products, compared to $21 billion in the United States. In addition, a 2010 Health Council of Canada Report titled “Decisions, Decisions” estimated that there are 6,000 drug firm reps

pitching to physicians across Canada.

But for all their ubiquity and effort, do pharmaceutical reps truly influence the medicine that is practiced by physicians?

“Decisions, Decisions” seemed to think so, pointing to pharmaceutical sales reps and unfamiliarity with new technologies as the main reasons for improper administration of prescription drugs. The report noted an 80 per cent increase in prescriptions filled in the past decade. *** University student health centres claim to be tough on drug reps. Dr. Tellier, stated in an email to The Daily that a pharmaceutical sales representative was allowed to speak with physicians twice, in both instances to educate the centre’s staff about a “product of importance to the student population.”

Reception of the sales representative is, as in private practice, the choice of the physician.

“There are some physicians who will never see pharmaceutical reps and we respect that decision,” said Tellier.

Tellier also explained that relevance to the student population is a factor when deciding whether or not to grant drug reps an audience with physicians, explaining that “a sales rep who tries to detail an antihypertensive or cardiac medication, both of which do not apply to the great majority of our population, [is] banned.” When what the drug reps are offering aligns with the needs of the health centre, however, the centre is more willing to accept the representative’s offer. Tellier stated that the most commonly prescribed medications in his work at the McGill Health Services include “contraceptive pills... medication to treat yeast infections in women, and oral antibiotics.” Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that “the representatives [they] most often see are those who offer birth control pills, and vaccines.”

Tellier conceded that “all companies approach [Student Health Services,]” and Dr. Robert Franck, director of McGill Mental Health Services, stated that “no one company predominates,” adding that “reps are usually interested in promoting newer (and usually much more expensive) versions of medications.”

Yet not all Canadian university health centre’s function like McGill’s. At one university health centre in Ontario, where more than 21,000 students were seen last year, most physicians do not see drug reps by choice.

The representative of this health centre requested that I keep the university anonymous, so as to prevent information from being obtained by interested pharmaceutical companies. Clearly, interest in university health clinics runs high.

After a few phone calls with various pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer Canada was the only one to eventually respond by email.

Julie-Catherine Racine, a senior manager in Corporate Communications at Pfizer Canada, stated, “As a healthcare company we want to ensure physicians can make the best decisions for their patients, therefore we provide medical information and support to all clinics, including university health clinics.” Racine’s answer was the only comment I received from any of the companies contacted. *** University health centres may profess to be free of drug reps’ influence, appearing to avoid them whenever possible, but the most indispensible tool in the drug reps’

arsenal – the drug sample – lives on in university physicians’ desk drawers and cupboards.

Franck stated, “Pharmaceutical sales reps will leave samples from time to time,” and added, however, that they “usually do not use them except in cases of financial need.” Tellier also told The Daily that samples at McGill Student Health Services came from clearing excess stock and direct purchases, in addition to pharmaceutical representatives. As for the aforementioned anonymous university health centre, a representative stated that “[they] do not have a great deal of sample medications in [the] clinic.” However, the few that are available are, naturally, “provided by the pharmaceutical industry.”

Why are samples so important? In the case of oral contraceptives, at the very least, Tellier concedes that he prescribes the medication that is provided as a sample. “I use a sample to teach the patient how to take her pill – this changes according to the packaging – and then I will usually prescribe that medication.”

Indeed, a 2008 study by Sufrin and Ross, titled “Pharmaceutical industry marketing: understanding its impact on women’s health” found that physicians with access to free samples were more likely to prescribe brand name medication.

But keeping corporate interests at bay is not sufficient to ensure effective and unbiased prescribing practices. All of the student health centre representatives I spoke to seemed to agree on one thing: that compliance on the part of the patient was necessary in the process of successfully introducing and prescribing a new medication. To that end, each of them stressed that they did not have preferred medications, for the most part, and would be willing to provide a suitable alternative should the patient express doubts about the primary medication chosen. This, of course, is good medical practice. However, this was not my personal experience. When my concerns should have been responded to properly, I still left compliant, samples in hand. *** While it appears that doctors in university health clinics attempt to keep their prescribing practices independent from the pharmaceutical companies that solicit them, those practices are evidently still far from ideal.

Perhaps it is difficult to offer one brand of medication when another brand’s sample is sitting right there, available for immediate demonstration and use.

Of course, all medications have side effects, and the choice of the media to fixate on a single brand’s detriments certainly does not make other brands safer – either in general or for the patient in question.

But even given the possible risks associated with all prescriptions, patients should have the ability to choose the risks they find most acceptable.

The student population’s health and well-being should not be tied to commercial and financial corporate interests, and as physicians, the doctors in these health centres are the gatekeepers – the only gatekeepers – that can prevent this from happening. But simply shutting out drug reps is not the only step in giving the right prescriptions and in providing proper healthcare. Students certainly have a part to play – they should take control over their health and question the medications they are prescribed – but physicians are ultimately the ones with the power to listen, to consider, and to justify their patient’s trust.

health&ed

The McGill Daily Thursday, September 27, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

i0

Education, Gangnam style South Korean students are studying too hard

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily Amina Batyreva The McGill Daily

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ou and your family gather around your computer as you type in your login information, holding your breath as the page loads. You scroll down. As your score appears on the screen, you might break down crying, or jump up to hug your parents with a whoop of joy. These are the results of your College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT, also known as Sooneung) – the key to your future success, or the door swinging shut on your career potential forever. The despair of checking your results and seeing a score too low to grant you admission to one of the three top national universities – Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University – is difficult to analogize for most Western students. For them, test results and academic career trajectories seem substantially more flexible.

In South Korea, the university admissions test is held only once a year. On the second Thursday of every November, the country shudders with a sense of momentous gravity as high school seniors across the nation simultaneously sit down to write the exam in a ninehour marathon session. To facilitate the test, daily life comes to a respectful standstill: workplaces open an hour later to reduce morning traffic, live-fire training is postponed at military bases, airport flights are delayed during the hour of the exam’s speaking portion, stock markets open late, and noise restrictions near test centres is enforced. The sense of importance of this life-deciding exam is felt at all levels of society.

U2 Management student Jennifer

Seo described her own education in South Korea. “I started going to afterschool classes for English in Grade 1, and it was about six hours a week. Then, in Grade 5 I started taking math classes which was another six hours,” for a total of 12 hours of class per week on top of her regular schooldays. When she got into middle school, the private tutoring got more intensive. “I can’t even remember how much time it was,” she said. In fact, her family moved to the Daechi Dong area of Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district because it is renowned for its cram schools.

The pressure cooker nature of test preparation, and the life-ordeath emphasis on the importance of academics and standardized testing has led to mental stress and depression amongst the nation’s youth. Suicide is the leading cause of death for people under forty in South Korea, and every year, suicides spike in November around the time of the CSAT and in December when results come out. According to two surveys, by the Korea Teachers and Education Workers Union and the Korea Youth Counseling Institute, almost half of Korean students have had thoughts of suicide.

On the topic of whether counseling or mental health services are available to students suffering under the pressure of CSAT preparation, Seo explained, “Homeroom teachers are supposedly responsible for taking care of them, but you don’t really talkw about your feelings to your teachers.”

These high-stress conditions have led to the rise of “wild goose fathers” – a phenomenon where mother and child move overseas to receive quality education abroad or to escape the Korean system altogether, while

the father remains at home earning the money required to finance the arrangement. Mothers, on the other hand, have become educational agents in this society, and female graduates of prestigious universities are sought-after marriage prospects for their advantage in helping their children obtain the same high scores that got their mothers into university.

Getting into one of the top three universities isn’t simply the path to respectable employment, but also confers the benefits of social prestige and invaluable social and job connections among those from your alma mater.

Seo explained that her parents decided to emigrate to Canada when she was in Grade 10, because “once you go into high school, it gets more intense…we thought we could spend more quality time in Canada than Korea … In Korea, there’s a system that’s set for you and you’re forced to study what they offer, there’s no choice and no time for other activities.”

Called by many the “one-shot society,” South Korea’s education system revolves around the CSAT as the apogee of academic achievement and subsequent professional success. And for a country whose obsession with education largely drove the nearly 40,000 per cent increase in the country’s GDP since 1962, the country revolves around the education system in turn. 93 per cent of South Korean students graduate from high school on schedule, while in the United States that figure is closer to 75 per cent.

As early as elementary school, Korean students are prepared for the CSAT. According to surveys, parents in Seoul spend an average of 16 per cent of their income on

private tutoring for their children, whose academic schedules often last from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. or even later, spending hours after school in private cram schools, called hagwons. In 2009, South Koreans spent $19 billion on private education, which is approximately half of the public expenditure on public education; in the United States, the private education industry is valued at under $7 billion, while public education expenditures total around $68 billion.

This leads to students being less invested in their regular education because “a lot of students know ahead of what school teaches,” Seo explained. “It’s redundant. They learn the stuff at hagwons and they come to school, and they’re already tired so they sleep in classes.”

The private education industry has risen, in part, out of a perceived incompetence on the part of public school education; in 2004, a survey reported that South Korean classes in middle schools averaged 37.1 students, compared to the OECD average of 23.7. In 2010, 74 per cent of South Korean students received some manner of private instruction after school.

The cost is enormous – taking classes at hagwons can cost up to $1,000 USD per month for each subject, which is a considerable sum considering the average South Korean household income is around $42,000. In 2003, a survey by the Korean Education Development Institute found that 84 per cent of parents found their household spending on private tutoring to be a financial burden.

According to Seo, most students who get into the top three universities are from Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam district. “If you are rich-

er, you have more opportunities because it takes a lot of money for [private tutoring].”

Government reforms to the unpopular educational system in South Korea have been attempted for the past four decades, with hagwons even being banned for a time in the 1980s. After his election in 2008, President Lee Myung-bak vowed to pursue educational reform, and in 2009 his government introduced a 10 p.m. curfew for operating hagwons, organizing raids to break up infringing tutoring centres that continue to operate after hours.

To emulate Western education systems, which place greater emphasis on creativity, extracurricular development, and vocational training, new policies were instated within the last decade. Admissions officers were assigned to universities in order to evaluate applicants on criteria outside test scores, such as extracurricular involvement and recommendation letters. One hundred and twenty universities in the country have adopted this new admissions system, and ten per cent of students are admitted to postsecondary institutions for reasons other than their CSAT score.

Additionally, the government has created alternatives to private tutoring, such as broadcasting public lectures by the Education Broadcasting Station. They have also curtailed fees, and fine hagwons that overcharge. However, hagwons are still plentiful, estimated by the Korean government to number up to 100,000. The measures are thus widely considered failures.

The Korean education system, historically a profoundly effective economic stimulator, is in trouble.

Its own high standards ironicallymay be its downfall.

culture

The McGill Daily Thursday, September 27, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

ii

Doughnuts of delight Chez Boris also succeeds with coffee, atmosphere Nathalie O’Neill The McGill Daily

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riendly Chez Boris feels right at home in the Mile End. Owner Boris Volfson, a former McGill student, opened this Russian cafe at the beginning of the summer. His trademark Russian doughnuts and fresh coffee have quickly attracted a devoted clientele. After hearing so much positive hype, I visited the cafe myself to see if it lived up to its reputation.

I stopped by on a brisk and sunny Sunday morning, and found it full of buzzing friendly chatter.

The place was already full as people kept pouring in, waiting in line for some coffee and doughnuts to go.

The cafe-goers included young students, older couples, and a knitting club that seemed right at home.

The smell of doughnuts frying in oil hit me as soon as I walked in the door. The warm smell and quirky decor give the spot an endearing touch. Sitting in Chez Boris felt like visiting a family home. Volfson’s decor helps contribute to the cozy Russian feel of the establishment.

Large windows looking out on Parc make Chez Boris luminous and airy, while the spacious layout helps avoid any stuffiness. Chez Boris could use a few more tables, as its clientele is continuing to grow.

Although the tables are sparse, they are large enough to offer many seats.

Photo Simone Sinclair Walker

You might have to share your table with strangers, but that’s all part of the convivial experience. In this communal spirit, Chez Boris offers an exchange library (take-one-leaveone) that also includes some board games you can take advantage of.

The staff, consisting of Volfson and colleagues, are friendly and seem happy to work there. They will gladly explain the menu to you and are eager to answer any questions you may have about the food.

Their coffee is delicious, and can easily compete with the neighbouring Mile End cafes. The doughnuts are perfectly sweet and crispy with a layer of sugar on the outside and a meltingly fresh inside (and this is coming from someone who doesn’t usually like doughnuts). They are fried right after you order to ensure freshness, and while the doughnuts are smaller than the ones you may be used to seeing, their light and airy dough is packed with flavour.

There are three flavours of doughnut: traditional (sugar), spiced pumpkin pie, and lime chocolate.

Served in a basket at your table, the doughnuts are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Boris also offers some doughnut sandwiches. These “beignwich” come in flavours like pulled pork, cream cheese, and salmon. Aside from the excellent coffee, Chez Boris also serves cold drinks, including homemade Russian kvas, a traditional fer-

mented rye beverage. The food is all made in an open kitchen, so you can watch your order being prepared while you wait.

Best of all, Boris’ wares are inexpensive, with doughnuts coming in at 75 cents a pop. For that price, sample all three flavors with some delicious coffee while you study away at your communal table, enjoying the hospitality of this cozy cafe.

Chez Boris is located at 5151 Parc.

Freshly pressed Alternative publisher offers new authors a chance Christopher Webster Culture Writer

L

ike many people who contribute to The Daily and other campus publications, I hope to pursue writing as a career option; whether that work ends up being full-time, part-time, or on my time remains to be seen. Regardless, each writer with similar goals has fretted over the daunting task of getting their name recognized in publishing circles, much less getting their material actually published. Every writer has heard horror stories of mass rejection, with manuscripts sent back from every company that offered the opportunity for a realized dream.

Luckily for us, a fellow Montreal writer, MaryAnn Hayatian acknowledged this problem as well, creating Flower Press Publishing as a solution.

Unlike other publishing com-

panies, Flower Press does not deal in rejection. In my interview with Hayatian, her words emphasized the company’s pro-opportunity stance on dealing with potential clients’ manuscripts. “We look for writers that want to publish because they do have the talent and they do their best to pursue it,” stated Hayatian, who graduated from Concordia in 2001 with a degree in art design. “We don’t want to have people [who] want to publish a book for the sake of having a book…published and for the money.”

Evidently, the focus for Hayatian and her publishing brainchild, only a year old, is on providing a helping hand for those who write because they love writing – not for those looking to affirm a measure of status in the literary realm. The two are sometimes conflated, and for Flower Press, that simply won’t do. “[Other publishing companies] take in famous writers, people with con-

nections,” affirmed Hayatian, who clearly had a less than enthusiastic attitude towards this particular demographic. “As if these [famous writers] took their own time to write their story…we in the writing and publishing field doubt it.”

Clearly, wealth and status are two factors that potential Flower Press clients should not be concerned with, a boon to most students who might be interested (especially those of us in the Arts).

Like other young aspiring authors, Hayatian felt the negative energy emanating from the publishing business early in her writing career, despite having her own work successfully recognized. “I noticed the people in this society were unfair; I noticed that writers were getting disappointed, receiving rejection letters from known publishing companies. Many writers quit their writing careers [because

of this]. I decided to open a publishing company and help the writers that have the spark in them. I want to make a difference to the world.”

Such dedication to helping up-andcoming creative minds write for the sake of writing is certainly admirable, and the cry issued by Flower Press against monolithic publishing companies that have no regard for the “little guy” is one that we students can certainly sympathize with.

Hayatian was also kind enough to share some tips on dos and don’ts when it comes to presenting a manuscript to a publishing company.

“Effort of meaningful description and detail to the text [are important],” she said, while “punctuation and spelling when it comes to Canadian writing [versus] American writing” are issues that often come up when editing a manuscript. If you’re in need of a cover design, Flower Press can provide that as well; Hayatian told me

that the two books that have been published through her company have both had their covers designed by herself and her associate, who split all the duties involved with the business. “[We] had a fun time editing, designing book covers, and adding better corrections [to the books].

There were [many] sales for both books, and still are.”

Throughout the interview, Hayatian was adamant that those looking for an opportunity to realize their writing dreams can do so just as effectively through a smaller, more personal publishing company.

“Every type of manuscript is equal – we would like to publish all sorts of subjects.” In a world where such open reception is rare, Flower Press provides hope for an easier path to allow writers to keep on writing.

MaryAnn Hayatian can be contacted at info@flowerpress.ca.

12

cULTURE

The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

McGill hosts A Tribe Called Red Native DJs redefine urban Aboriginal culture Anqi Zhang The McGill Daily

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ounded in 2008, A Tribe Called Red (ATCR) is a collective consisting of DJs NDN, Bear Witness, and Shub. By their own description, their music combines hip-hop, dancehall, and electronic influences. They also mix club and pow wow music in a genre they refer to as “pow wow step.� Through their music, they strive to showcase Aboriginal DJ talent and create a space for Aboriginal people.

Last Friday, as part of McGill’s 11th annual Pow Wow, ATCR hosted a masterclass in which they discussed how they produce their music, as well as various political issues incorporated within their work, including the challenge of creating an urban Native identity.

After their masterclass, The Daily spoke with one of the two founding members of the collective, Bear Witness. “We did a meet-and-greet with First Peoples’ House [‌] two months ago. I think [coming to our show] was their first official outing for the group,â€? said Bear Witness when asked about how the partner-

ship with First Peoples’ House came to fruition. “It just came out of that – making friends.�

But this is not ATCR’s first event on a university campus. “Lots of Aboriginal student associations have brought us out again and again.� Recent travels brought them to Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Saskatoon. At each of these places, the collective held workshops with Aboriginal student associations similar to the masterclass hosted at McGill.

When asked about the political aims of their work, Bear Witness emphasized the importance of discussion “about Aboriginal issues and the kind of politics we bring up in our music about cultural appropriation.â€? He also stressed, however, the necessity of recognizing that “[First Peoples] ‌ are modern people.

That idea of the stoic Indian is just a fantasy.â€? ATCR seeks to acknowledge and incorporate the rich cultural history of Aboriginal peoples within a modern urban lifestyle. “Our music attempts to‌take our traditions into a contemporary environment.â€?

ATCR considers music the perfect medium for their political and social messages. “I see what we do with the

Illustration Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

Electric Pow Wows as a ‌ continuance of traditional Pow Wow culture.�

Bear Witness considers music to be an important tool to use to talk about these kinds of issues. Introducing such hefty political and social questions is better done through music, when people’s “backs are down,� than through proselytizing and lecturing.

He noted, however, that the use of music as political commentary “used

to be more prominent in the past, but is now making a resurgence.�

An afterparty for the Pow Wow was held at Église POP that night, in conjunction with POP Montreal.

This event was an opportunity to see ATCR’s musical social commentary in practice.

ATCR’s mashup of Aboriginal music with an Adele song spoke to their belief in syncretizing native

and “Western� forms to create a contemporary and urban Native identity. Strains of Pow Wow music filled the space, drawing spectators from a relaxed state in the seating area toward the dance floor. As A Tribe Called Red mixed their thumping traditional drumbeats, the environment became charged with an electric atmosphere, as people began to dance their cares away.

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The Story Behind the Story In the race to bring you your Daily fix of news, or sports, or culture, a lot gets lost in the shuffle here at the paper. Personalities, chains of events, origin stories – these are things that don’t quite make it into a news brief or restaurant review. Our journalists work hard, goddamnit, but they can’t follow every lead. Some stones have to be left unturned.

UNTIL NOW. This week on Unfit to Print, we turn some of those stones, taking articles that have already been published in The Daily and looking under, around, and into them. We will ferret out hidden angles and untold stories, exposing worms and bugs to the daylight.

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culture

Negotiating the nuance in gay identity Ralph Haddad Culture Writer

U

Culture HAPS

I’m here and I’m queer pon arriving at McGill, I was surprised at the way queer culture was so out in the open. I saw men wearing short shorts and flamboyantly coloured outfits with weird haircuts and amazing attention to detail. I saw men holding hands on the street, making out in public. The very idea of a pride parade seemed alien to me. It was a whole spectrum of a culture I had missed out on in my home country of Lebanon, and I was delighted.

I thought I would fit right in, and seemingly had no problem, until one day I was at OAP with a couple of friends, at which time we opened up the subject of my sexuality. One of my friends turned to me and said, “Well, when I first met you I didn’t think you were gay.”

The more surprising thing was that it wasn’t just her: all the friends I had become close with told me the same thing. I was shocked, considering I don’t really try to hide any part of myself anymore, now that I live in Montreal.

As a consequence, I started asking myself a very dangerous question – what was I missing?

It wasn’t like I didn’t express my attraction for men in public or express my views openly among friends. I started comparing myself to the guys who attended my sexual diversity class.

Comparing yourself to other people is disastrous – don’t ever do it. I started noticing that I didn’t act the way they usually did; I didn’t dress as f lamboyantly, as elegantly. So, of course, this led me to believe that there was something wrong with me.

Was the answer to my predicament for me to change? If so, how was I to go about changing myself so late in my life, so people would notice I was gay right from the get-go?

It seemed like a daunting idea to me that – having gone through so many changes in my youth in order to accept myself and my sexuality – I had to change again, this time superficially, so people would notice me – or should I say, so other guys would notice me. Later, as I was toying with this idea, standing in the ridiculously long line at Paragraphe bookstore near the beginning of the semester, I came across a book.

The book, How to be Gay,

by David M. Halperin, struck me immediately. Needless to say, I grabbed it off the bookshelf faster than you could say vodka martini. I went to lower field, sprawled myself on the grass, and dived into this mysterious world I wanted to

13

The McGill Daily | Thursday, September 27, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

1982: In Conversation with Jian Ghomeshi

October 3 8:00 p.m.

Ukrainian Federation 5213 Hutchinson $5 for admission Come join your favourite CBC radio host for the book launch of his coming-of-age memoir, 1982. Best known for his sharp and insightful interviews on Q, his regular radio program, Ghomeshi delves into the musical influences and songs that resonated through his childhood, shaping him into the personality he is today.

Old Port Photo Safari with Blurb October 1 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Hotel Nelligan 106 St. Paul O. Free Blurb, a publishing company devoted to ensuring that anyone with passion can create their own art book, is hosting a free event on Monday afternoon.

Professional photographer Daniel Milnor will be walking the streets of Old Montreal with anyone who wants to join for some fun, photography, and free advice.

Booma Collective and Clown and Sunset

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

discover for myself. The title itself proves satirical, as Halperin emphasizes the simple fact that, no, there is no one particular way to be gay.

The concept for his book was born in 2000 when Halperin got an idea for the theme of an English class, which he ended up calling “How to be Gay.” Of course, he received a lot of flack from people who didn’t understand what he was aiming at. His sole message was to show that there is no archetype, or stereotype, that gay men have to fit in order to be recognized sexually and aesthetically.

The minute you come out, people start expecting things from you.

Your best “girlfriends” look to you for fashion tips. “Does my ass look big in these jeans,” they ask, or they suggest girl-friendly outings, such as “let’s all go watch Magic Mike and ogle at Channing Tatum’s abs!”

(In fact, I prefer Joe Manganiello.)

Your close guy friends stop talking to you about sports, or cars, or technology, thinking that you, as

a gay guy, would not be into those things anymore.

Halperin states that when he first started the class, his friends objected, asking him: “Since when are you qualified to teach people how to be gay? What do you know about it?” But by asking that, his friends implied that there is a right way and a wrong way to be gay, “a way that needs to be learned even (or especially) by gay men themselves.”

His book, Halperin says, is called How to be Gay because that phrase expresses the problem he wants to study and understand.

Namely, “that male homosexuality is not a sexual practice but also a cultural practice, that there is a relation between sexuality and social aesthetic form;” mainly how people act around different people in a social context. This creates a gap between the gay sex life and the way gay men act with other people in public, splitting homosexuality into two facets.

That made me wonder: what if all of society, and specifically the gay male subculture, thinks like that and acts accordingly? Is there a right way to be gay? Does a person really have to fit all the variables and codes of gay culture in order to be identified as gay? Do I have to wear tighter clothes, use more hair products, restock my wardrobe, watch certain movies, and listen to a certain type of music?

For me, that takes away from every person’s uniqueness. Don’t get me wrong, I am pro-“do whatever makes you comfortable, and fuck the rest,” but if it’s all just an act, if it’s all just theatre, then what’s the point? I realize now that my sexuality is no one’s business, and if everyone wants to imply that I’m straight just by the way I look, then that’s not my problem either.

I’m not sure about the fate of my sex life though.

How to be Gay by David M. Halperin is available online and at retailers.

September 29 9:00 p.m.

La Elástica 4602 St. Laurent (third floor) $7 before 11 p.m., $10 after Valentin Stip and Pavla & Noura of Nicholas Jaar’s Clown and Sunset label will be playing with members of Montreal’s Booma Collective, a popular group of musicians and DJs. Clown and Sunset tends toward groovy, experimental electronic music, reflecting Jaar’s own output.

The evening will also feature the audiovisual installation for two people, Sound World for Two People, created by Booma artists.

Disney on Ice: Treasure Trove

September 29 3:00 p.m.

Bell Centre $30.75 and up Enjoy the frolicking of some of your favourite Disney Characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Peter Pan, Simba, and other ones, new ones that we haven’t heard of. What could be more fun than Disney on Ice? Go alone and ponder the ramifications of bringing your Disney obsession into your third decade of existence.

Childhood, the best part of life, is over, so you might as well hang on to the last dregs of innocence before you’re completely submerged in the painful reality of adulthood, aging, and death.

compendium!

The McGill Daily Thursday, September 27, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

i4

lies, half-truths, and blogs named after colours

Emperor Nero Illustration Euan EK | The McGill Daily

Jobs for the party animal

New principal to be Emperor Nero

Advice from the underground Vanity Vixen The Twice-a-Weekly

T

he party animal: mammals of a variety of sizes often found in their natural habitat of bars, clubs, or college dorms.

It’s difficult to determine their diet, as it’s usually only seen in vomit form. Their languages skills are far below par and are often interrupted by the sound of their stomachs emptying into salad bowls or potted plants.

They’re magnificent.

More importantly, these creatures are prime candidates for many high paying jobs. According to Yahoo! (obviously, my only source of everything because it’s

the best shit) there are numerous career options yielding $40,000 to $65,000 per annum.

Do I hear a WOOT WOOT? How does a hotel manager sound? What about a professional fundraiser? Winemaker? That last one is certainly a no-brainer. If you can chug draught beer on the regular, you’re already halfway to “travelling the world tasting different grape varietals.” No duh.

Other captivating careers include event planner, restaurant manager, and sales representative.

The best employment opportunity for the party animal suggested by Yahoo! is definitely the Public Relations Specialist – earning an annual pay of $51,900.

Calling clients, downing that

beer, making ads, licking alcoholladen torsos, product marketing, pulling up your skirt, meeting with clients, yes, yes, yes.

I think I hear faint cries of contentment. So faint.

Beware! For there are certain jobs that may look appealing through your beer goggles when in fact they couldn’t be worse.

Don’t be a bartender. Pouring drinks as you fall down will only result in nasty floors, not tips.

Don’t be a nightclub bouncer.

You’re not buff enough and those underage junkies are fuckin’ intelligent. Seriously.

You’re drunk, you’re drunk, but you’re eligible. You deserve a tall glass of gin, don’t you think?

I think so.

The Copper Cobra The Twice-a-Weekly

I

t was confirmed today that the disembodied spirit of former tyrannical Emperor of the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, will be nominated for the position of McGill’s principal.

This surprising move, which will bring one of history’s greatest totalitarians to the senior administration, is seen as a massive leap toward the eventual relaxing of campus security culture and anti-student sentiment.

“I’ve done some pretty awful things in my time,” said Nero, dripping with ectoplasm, “but, like, have you guys even read this provisional protocol business?

This shit’s kind of unreal.”

Not all voices on campus are in favour of the move. Derman Whom, the rex imperator of campus conservative alliance Mudpack, strongly condemned the appointment of Nero in between his noon and early afternoon press conferences.

“Apart from being a filthy hippie communist,” said Derman, while waxing his jackboots, “Nero’s reckless plan of merely sending campus radicals to Siberia effectively amounts to a slap on the wrist for students who disturb university activities. Frankly, he’s just not the tough-on-political-opponents kind of guy we need leading a university.”

Once the deal has been finalized, Nero will be the first ghost principal of a major North American university, a move many in the community of discorporate entities say is long overdue.

May the Force Be With You The Crossword Fairy The Twice-a-Weekly

Across 1. Dent 5. Bitter 10. A type of Swiss cheese 14. Base time height 15. Pageant Crown 16. Freeze: Fr. 17. Luke’s father 19. The Making – –American (2 words) 20. S. American mountain range 21. Former baseball team from D.C. 23. Danish lab founded by N. Bohr 26. WW2 German code machine 27. Written by Yoda 32. Scottish ones 33. – –’s land (2 words) 34. Stadium: Fr. 38. Precipitation 40. Lower hull of a ship 42. Type of cache memory 43. Card or Welles (var.)

45. Drug containing ranitidine 47. Stately tree 48. Luke’s mother 51. Sequence of DNA 54. Tira –: Dessert 55. Votes for someone not on the ballot

58. Choose 62. Time Machine race 63. Skywalker prototype 66. Catches in the act 67. 18th Hebrew letter 68. Women’s mag 69. Sci. ed category 70. Execution by hanging 71. Shave: Fr. Down 1. Art movement begun in Zurich 2. Formerly Persia 3. Socially inept geek 4. Spuds 5. Four-wheeler 6. U.S. spook org.

7. Disease often mistaken for asthma 8. One inciting anger 9. Sock mender 10. Self-centred folk 11. Clear away haze 12. Startle 13. Genius org.

18. First Chinese dynasty 22. Cuckoo birds 24. Stuck-up

25. Atomic num. 76 27. Bubble tea flavor 28. Listen to 29. Wife of Osiris 30. Titular Pixar robot 31. Var. of engramme 35. Region 36. Alaskan sheep 37. Austen novel 39. Favouritism 41. Nairobi media college 44. Identifier 46. Japanese immigrant 49. Believers in a higher power 50. Less shiny 51. Stefani, et al 52. German town 53. Weeping statue of Greek myth 56. Nat’l Television Standards Committee 57. River between France and Germany 59. – Enchanted 60. Animation materials 61. Hierarchical organization 64. Recommended Daily Allowance 65. Large container, usu. of beer

EDITORIAL

volume 102 number 8

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

coordinating@mcgilldaily.com

coordinating news editor

Juan Camilo Velásquez news editors

Laurent Bastien Corbeil Lola Duffort Annie Shiel commentary&compendium! editors

Jacqueline Brandon Steve Eldon Kerr culture editors

Kaj Huddart Victoria Lessard features editor

Christina Colizza science+technology editor

Anqi Zhang

health&education editor

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Evan Dent

multimedia editor

Kate McGillivray photo editor

Hera Chan Illustrations editor

Amina Batyreva design&production editors

Edna Chan Rebecca Katzman

copy editor

Nicole Leonard web editor

Tom Acker le délit

Nicolas Quiazua

15

No justice, no peace Since Pauline Marois’ announcement that the Liberal tuition hikes would be reversed, many involved in the student movement have been quick to claim victory. This victory must not be taken at face value: it was just a few short weeks ago that Université de Montréal students reentered class under the surveillance of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). After more than 3,000 arrests and an untold number of incidences of police brutality, many protesters remain caught in a system that favours policing over justice.

The most dramatic and severe instances of police abuse of force during the student strike shed light on an issue that will not dissipate with the conclusion of the strike. Aside from daily protests in Montreal – which varied in intensity and number of arrests – the protest at the Parti Libéral du Québec convention in Victoriaville ended with the police inflicting serious injuries on protesters due to the chemical irritants and rubber bullets that the Sûreté de Québec (SQ) used against demonstrators. Yet, the SQ felt the steps they took to repress this political mobilization were justified, with their spokesperson stating they demonstrated “professionalism, rigour, and discipline.” While Victoriaville represents one of the most dramatic manifestations of police violence, overreactions such as this characterize the impunity with which police act.

According to La Presse, 193 complaints about police conduct were filed between January and July of this year (16 complaints resulted from the events at Victoriaville alone). It was recently announced by the Police Ethics Commissioner that 46 per cent of these complaints have already been rejected or subject to conciliation. Even before the student strike, the SPVM’s track record of taking responsibility is bleak: between 1999 and 2011, only three indictments came out of a whopping 339 investigations. Currently, investigations into police misconduct are performed by another police force. In 2010, a report by Quebec ombudsman Raymonde Saint-Germain revealed that police inevitably are biased when evaluating fellow officers’ alleged misconduct. It is no surprise that police have defended the current system.

Police violence is an unabating issue; since 1987, the SPVM has wrongfully killed more than sixty people. Methods for handling such abuses must be reevaluated. Such a nepotistic structure of supposed accountability is not conducive to actual justice – this is evident from the enduring abuses. Other provinces, such as Ontario, have arguably more equitable practices of regulating police wrongdoing through citizen oversight committees. The challenge to police favourability, however, is minimized by the fact that former officers serve on these oversight committees. Police power must be checked. The surge of complaints filed in the wake of the police brutality of the student movement should be handled ethically.

Until the police are removed from their own judgement process, the injustice will continue. A demonstration against the SPVM’s involvement in the student strike is planned for October 6, to begin at Place Émilie-Gamelin at 8:30 p.m.

rec@delitfrancais.com

cover design Amina Batyreva and Hera Chan contributors Sid Ahmed, Karel Asha, Janna Bryson, Annie Chen, Ralph Haddad, Isabella Johnson, Molly Korab, Henry Kronk, Mona Luxion, Niyati Malhotra, Jonathan Mooney, Shane Murphy, Nathalie O’Neill, Micha Stettin, Simone Sinclair Walker, Christopher Webster

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All contents © 2012 Daily Publications Society. All rights reserved. The content of this newspaper is the responsibility of The McGill Daily and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Products or companies advertised in this newspaper are not necessarily endorsed by Daily staff.

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