The Concordian - October 4th, 2016

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

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VOLUME 34, ISSUE 6 | TUESDAY, OCT. 4, 2016

theconcordian.com  /theconcordian  @theconcordian

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From Cameroon to Montreal

The story of Stingers goalie Karl Gouabé

Sports p. 15 also in this issue

news

life

arts

music

opinions

Canadians The story of an Al Syrian eyes of the Battling for climate Understanding p. 8 detained abroad p.3 Qaeda prisoner p. 7 world justice p. 12 safe spaces

p. 18

news

NEWS EDITORS /// news@theconcordian.com SAVANNA CRAIG & NELLY SERANDOUR-AMAR ( @savannacraig @nellysamar03)

CITY IN BRIEF VALERIA CORI-MANOCCHIO COPY EDITOR

Winning Lotto Max Ticket purchased in Lasalle The winning Lotto Max ticket was purchased in Lasalle, Montreal on Friday Sept. 30, 2016. CJAD reports the winner has yet to come forward to claim the $37.5 million jackpot.

According to Lotto Quebec’s website, the odds of winning the jackpot are 28,633,528 to one. Lotto Quebec’s Director of Public Affaires, Patrice Lavoie ruled out a large group winner, saying the winner is likely an individual person, couple or small group. The next Lotto Max draw is Friday Oct.7 for $10 million.

Montreal Criminal extradited from Trinidad and Tobago Septimus Neverson, 54, arrived back in Canada after being extradited from Trinidad and Tobago.DeemedoneofQuebec’s mostwantedcriminals,Neverson met with investigators from majorcrimesdivisionofMontreal police when he arrived, SPVM spokespersonDanielLacoursiere told CTV News. Neverson appeared in court Saturday facing more than 54 accusations including murder, attempted murder, abduction and armed robbery. The murder charges date back to 2006, with the death of Laval resident Jacques Senecal, according to CTV News. Neverson’s court date is scheduled for Nov.1, 2016.

Search for man who fell overboard in Lac St. Louis Police divers are still looking for a fisherman who fell overboard in Lac St. Louis early Saturday morning. At 10 p.m.

Friday, the missing man, 38, and three friends boarded a small boat in Pointe-Claire, reported the Montreal Gazette.

Sgt. Claude Denis, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec said two of the men in the boat jumped in to find the missing man and later called 911. The group was reportedly wearing lifejackets, however it is unclear whether the missing man wore one, according to the Montreal Gazette. Twenty firefighters and the coast guard have also joined the search party.

VIGIL

Honouring victims of Aleppo attacks

Montrealers show their support for victims in Aleppo after repeated airstrikes

Supporters lit a few candles for the memories of the lives lost during the Aleppo attacks. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

NELLY SÉRANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR A one-hour vigil for the International Solidarity Day with Aleppo took place Friday at the Norman Bethune Square in downtown Montreal. This gathering was organized after a ceasefire between the U.S., Russian armies and Assad’s troops and rebel forces fell through, leading to airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria.

These attacks killed 91 people on Friday, Sept. 23, and 25 people on Saturday, Sept. 24. Over 2 million Syrians had no access to water after the airstrikes damaged a pumping station that supplies water to eastern parts of the city. Another pumping station was shut off in retaliation to the attacks, stopping the water

supply to 1.5 million people in western Aleppo, according to Hanaa Singer, UNICEF representative in Syria, in an article from The Telegraph.

At the start of the vigil, only a handful of supporters gathered.

Around 6 p.m., candles were lit by supporters and journalists. More supporters arrived, bringing the crowd to about 20 people. “I think people lost their hope, and they cannot find anything to hold on to the future,” said Maya Atassi, a Syrian-born supporter, of the lack of supporters at the vigil Fidaa Aljnui, another supporter, agreed with Atassi. “It’s frustrating,” he said. “No one from the international community is taking real action.”

Some supporters held up posters with written messages for Aleppo,

¡¡ Check out our video covering the vigil on theconcordian.com! such as, “Aleppo, oldest city in mankind history is destroyed,” and “Together for Aleppo.”

Mezyan Albarazi, a Syrian who has been travelling to many countries to show his support at different solidarity gatherings said he hopes “immediate action will be taken, because we are in a bad economically and humanitarian situation.”

“What I think would be the best

event for all of Syrians to come together is the anniversary of the revolution, March 15,” Atassi said.

She feels that that Syrians will be able to show people they are ready for a change during that event.

A manifestation was scheduled for the following day but was cancelled for unknown reasons. There will be a second vigil next Friday, Oct. 7. The location and time have yet to be determined.

ENVIRONMENT

Divest is looking for transparency

Divest Concordia aims for full divestment from fossil fuels MIRIAM LAFONTAINE CONTRIBUTOR Divest Concordia welcomed new members at its first General Assembly this past Thursday. The group has three goals this semester: to freeze all of Concordia's new investments in the fossil fuel industry, to divest from the top 200 fossil fuel companies by 2020, and to increase the transparency of the university's investments.

Divest Concordia has been working with the university, urging them to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in sustainable practices since 2013.

In 2011, Concordia had $11 million invested into the energy sector, particularly in oil, gas, and pipelines.

Since 2014, there has been a shift in where the money has been invested.

The Joint Sustainable Investment Advisory Committee (JSIAC), was created in 2014 to help reinvest $5 million into sustainable practices,

and Divest Concordia was given a seat on the committee. JSIAC’s mandate is to make recommendations to respective governing bodies on environmentally and socially responsible investment opportunities, according to Concordia’s website.

By 2015, Concordia had lowered their investment in fossil fuels significantly, and now has just over $2 million invested in the energy sector, according to their 2015 Annual Report.

The 2016 Annual Report numbers have yet to be released. While progress has been made, Divest Concordia wants to aim even higher.

“We want full divestment,” said Isabella Harned, the external coordinator and campaign coordinator at Sustainable Concordia and member of Divest Concordia. “Were going for visibility on campus—that’s our main goal and intention for this semester.”

Divest Concordia also wants more transparency from the university, Harned said. Concordia may be

investing far less in the energy sector as a whole, but it is no longer clear how much is exactly being invested into oil, gas or pipelines. Their 200910 annual report listed exactly how much was being put into each type of energy. That transparency no longer exists, said Harned, as now everything is lumped under the vague category “Energy” in the reports. “[The investments] could be in oil and gas, or in green energy—we wouldn’t know”, said Jenna Cocullo, a Divest Concordia member.

“It’s hard to organize frequent

meetings with administration,” added Harned.

This year, Divest Concordia organized an indigenous land defenders panel, a rap battle for climate justice at Reggies, a vegan lunch at orientation and made an appearance at Concordia's annual shuffle between the Loyola and Sir George Williams campus to spread awareness about their goals.

Divest Concordia’s meetings are every Friday at 3 p.m., on the 7th floor of the Hall building next to People's Potato.

Members of Divest Concordia at the meeting. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

OCTOBER 4, 2016

HUMAN RIGHTS

The Canadian prisoners of conscience

Many Canadians around the world remain detained, some denied human rights SAVANNA CRAIG CO-NEWS EDITOR Last week, Concordia welcomed back professor Homa Hoodfar after being detained for 112 days in Evin Prison. However, thousands of Canadians still remain incarcerated for unjust reasons and are denied basic human rights, as Hoodfar was.

In fact, as of Feb. 5, 2016, 1,457 Canadians were being detained abroad, according to Global Affairs Canada­­—991 in the United States, 237 in Asia and Oceania, 110 in South and Central America, 78 in Europe and 41 in Africa and the Middle East.

These numbers include detainees in international jails, prisons and detention centres.

Alex Neve, Amnesty International Canada’s secretary g e n e r a l , s aid th e number of Canadians being detained and denied their human rights has risen in the last decade. “Over the last 10-plus years, there’s been a rapidly growing number of s u c h c a s e s ,” s a i d Neve, adding that this is due to a number of factors—one being that people simply travel more frequently.

Neve said statistics of how many Canadians detained who are experiencing a violation of their human rights an d have a r isk of being tor t ured are hard to obtain. The Concordian reached out to Global Affairs for statistics, however they did not respond before the deadline of this article.

Neve said there has also been more unsettlement in the world since 9/11. “There’s a lot of people who are arrested on so-called national security grounds,” said Neve. “Sometimes Canadians have been swept up in that—so it’s starting to become a more regular occurrence.”

Neve said over the past few year s t here ha s b e en m ore attention brought to Canadians being imprisoned foreignly and more pressure put on the Canadian gover nment regarding their efforts to free Canadians who are imprisoned in foreign countries and face a lack of human rights.

He said this increased attention is due to the rising number of Canadians who find themselves in these situations.

“Twenty years ago it had been pretty unlikely that there would

be a Canadian who’s actually a prisoner of conscience in another country, or a Canadian who is facing a serious risk of torture in another country,” said Neve.

Jacob Kuehn, Amnesty International Canada’s media and external communications officer, explained that a case only qualifies for Amnesty’s intervention when the individual is a prisoner of conscience—in other words, someone imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights, when there’s no justification for their detention, he said. In such cases, Amnesty will advocate for their release.

In addition, Amnesty advocates for cases where the prisoner is at

sp oke sp er s on , t his c reate d s i g n i f i c a n t c h a l l e n ge s : t h e Canadian government relied on alliances with the Omani, Italian and Swiss diplomats. Sweet said that the Canadian government is “working on re-establishing diplomatic ties with Iran. We don’t have a specific timeline on it.” “ We have urge d t hat t he government should be reforming our laws and policies in what’s known as the area of consular assistance, to strengthen the kind of assistance the government offers in these kinds of cases,” said Neve. Consular assistance is aid and advice provided by diplomatic agents of a country to citizens of the same country

the release of Kevin Garratt—a Canadian held in China for two years for charges of spying and stealing state secrets—and Hoodfar proves senior level engagement can make a dif ference. “ The prime minister was involved and Minister Dion was involved and probably others, but that’s pretty key, to have your prime minister and your foreign minister both personally intervening,” he said.

Neve proposed two ways the public can assist in the liberation of Canadian prisoners of conscience—call for the improvement of the government’s consular practices and take action on individual cases of concern and to contact their member of par liament and request for Graphics by Florence Yee. them to support The Amnest y International Fahmy Foundation Protection Charter.

Neve said there are other cases Canadians can take action on. “For instance, in Iran, there’s a Canadian permanent resident who’s still in prison,” said Neve. “He’s been in prison for many years, his name is Saeed

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NATION IN BRIEF KATYA TEAGUE HEAD COPY EDITOR

Ottawa’s 50th shooting this year is record-breaking On Sunday, the city of Ottawa broke its record for the most shootings in a single year. This latest shooting took place in the pub and club Byward Market neighbourhood at 3:20 a.m. on Sunday, reported CTV News. It was the 50th shooting in the nation’s capital in 2016, breaking the record of 49 shootings in 2014. The latest victim, a 27-year-old man, is in critical condition but expected to survive, reported CTV News.

The first civil court

by First Nations for First Nations The first indigenous civil court in Canada independent of the federal framework was introduced in Akwesasne, a reserve on the border of Quebec, Ont., and New York state, according to the Montreal Gazette .

Although Canadian First Nations band councils already pass and enforce legislation on reserves, this is the first legal system outside of the federal framework. “It’s not just looking at penalizing,” said Bonnie Cole, the reserve’s sole permanent prosecutor, to the Montreal Gazette. “It’s being looked at as a model and source of inspiration.” According to the same article, this new system combines elements of the Canadian justice system with Mohawk values and principles.

Allegations of discrimination at UBC

risk of human rights violations, such as torture or facing the death penalty, even if they are not a prisoner of conscience. “In that case, we’d advocate on their behalf, as well,” said Kuehn. “Not necessarily for their immediate and unconditional release, but certainly for due process.”

Kuehn said Amnesty International Canada advocated for Homa Hoodfar’s immediate and unconditional release from the beginning. “We launched a campaign in the early days calling the government of Canada to become quickly engaged, and then also we had a campaign that got about 50,000 signatures calling for Iranian authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally,” said Kuehn.

Hoodfar’s case was complicated by the lack of diplomatic ties bet ween Iran and Canada.

According to Jocelyn Sweet, a Global Affairs Canada

that are abroad.

In Januar y 2016, Amnest y International Canada and Canadian-Egyptian journalist, Mohamed Fahmy presented their Protection Charter to Foreign Affairs Minister, Stéphane Dion.

M o h a m m e d Fa h m y w a s incarcerated for more than 400 days in Cairo, Egypt for charges of ter ror ism . Fahmy 's c a s e did not receive senior-level government intervention. “The [Harper Government], for instance, wasn’t intervening in ways that ever yone else felt would be helpful,” said Neve. The Protection Charter would ensure equal and compulsory consular assistance, according to Amnesty International Canada’s website.

“One t hing t hat we have highlighted is that there’s a real need for more consistent and dependable senior-level political involvement in very serious cases like this,” he said. Neve said

Malekpour—we’re taking action on his case. There are all sorts of other ways to take action on his case online.”

There’s also Huseyin Celil, who’s imprisoned in China, and Bashir Makhtal, who’s imprisoned in Ethiopia, Neve said. öö To aid in the release of Canadians incarcerated in foreign prisons who face a risk of violation to their human rights, visit and search the names of detaine d Canadians for specific details on how to help, visit www.amnesty.ca.

Allegations of discrimination based on a physical disability by a former University of British Columbia graduate student will be heard by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal later this month. The former student, a pianist working to complete her PhD in music, developed a physical ailment during her studies and claims that her professors not only failed to understand that she would require more time to finish her degree but also gave her additional requirements, reported the Globe and Mail. The same article says the student dropped out of her program as a result, and is now seeking reinstatement, accommodation for her disabilit y and financial compensation.

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WORLD IN BRIEF KATERINA GANG COPY EDITOR Colombia rejects FARC peace treaty Colombians voted No in a plebiscite asking citizens to accept a peace treaty signed six days earlier with radical left-wing guerilla army FARC, which would have ended a 52-year armed conflict.

According to CBC News, the No vote edged out the Yes vote by a slim margin of just 0.5 per cent. Whether or not plans put into motion by the Juan Manuel Santos government—including a UN task force ensuring compliance with the accords and FARC disarming and potentially forming a political party—will still come to fruition is unknown.

However, according to CBC News, Santos said in a speech Sunday he is potentially open to renegotiating the 297-page agreement in a meeting with leaders from all sides.

Hurricane Matthew hits Jamaica and Haiti Hurricane Matthew hit Jamaica and Haiti on Monday, causing flooding and sending many to emergency shelters. According the U.S. National Hurricane Centre, the storm has sustained winds of up to 220 km/h, and will reach eastern Cuba on Tuesday. According to CBC News, some isolated areas will experience deadly mudslides and flooding due to the expected 100 centimetres of rain. The Category 4 storm claimed two lives in Haiti, bringing the hurricane’s total casualties to four, according to CBC News.

OCTOBER 4, 2016

CAMPUS

BDS and Palestinian rights

Panelists from the Green Party, CJPME and Concordia students deliver panel on BDS

AYSHA WHITE CONTRIBUTOR On Thursday, Concordia hosted the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) Town Hall, which featured four panelists discussing the goals and achievements of the movement, as well as the misconceptions surrounding it.

The speakers included Grace Batchoun, the co-founder of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME); Dimitri Lascaris, a former member of the Green Party of Canada’s shadow cabinet; Alex Tyrrell, the leader of the Green Party of Quebec; and Rami Yahia, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) internal affairs coordinator.

Tyrrell said these discussions are leading up to the Green Party of Canada convention in December, intended to overturn the party’s

Association Football (FIFA).

Lascaris discussed how a trip to Palestine gave him a first-hand look at the injustices the Palestinians face. One man he met, a 77-yearold citrus farmer, cried as he said, “They are breaking my connection to the land.” The Israeli BDS Town Hall panelstate had extended the ists include Alex Tyrrell, wall that separates the Dimitri Lascaris, Grace two nations—right down Batchoun and Rami the middle of his lemon Yahia. (From left to tree grove, Lascaris said. right). Photo courtesy “The companies that of Dimitri Lascaris. current BDS position. profit off of Palestinian The Green Party of suffering are profiting off Quebec is in support of the BDS of suffering all over the world,” said movement, however, Tyrrell later Yahia. He listed G4S, Caterpillar said at the federal level, Elizabeth and Elbit Systems as examples of May refuses to support the policy. companies the BDS movement is “We really hope that as many Green boycotting. Yahia said that more Party members as possible show up and more companies are dropping to support BDS,” said Tyrrell. their Israeli subsidiaries in response According to the Palestinian to BDS tactics.

BDS National Committee (BNC), Two years ago, Yahia was part the goal of the BDS movement is of a campaign that succeeded in to promote Palestinian rights. The having the CSU officially endorse movement calls for the boycott of BDS. “That motion was to condemn Israeli and international companies the disproportionate use of force that infringe on Palestinian human by the Israeli government after the rights and occupy Palestinian land. massacre of 2014,” said Yahia.

According to BNC, the movement Yahia said 2,500 students also pressures other governments participated in the referendum, to end military and free-trade making it the “highest turnout in agreements with Israel, and remove by-election history on campus.” the country from international asso- This summer, Concordia’s Simone de ciations such as the United Nations Beauvoir (SdBI) institute also gave their and International Federation of official endorsement. The panelists

encouraged students to lobby their own faculties to do the same.

Yahia discussed the opposition he’s faced for his pro-BDS stance.

Before the referendum, opposers of the BDS movement on campus labelled the campaign as antisemitic.

Yahia even faced criticism from the CSU which he had believed to be progressive and supportive of this movement. “I was told I was too pro-Palestine to join an executive team at one point within the [CSU],” said Yahia.

Similarly, Lascaris lost his position within Parliament when he and other Green Party shadow cabinet members criticized the B.C. Green Party leader’s condemnation of the BDS movement.

Batchoun suggested that community members send letters to their MP requesting meetings to discuss the BDS movement.

She also suggested signing up with CJPME as a media responder, which entails thanking publications who have covered the issue fairly and criticizing ones who, for example, say it is disputed territory when it is occupied territory.

Starting Oct. 3, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights is hosting “Decolonize Palestine,” a week filled with events in correlation to BDS and Palestinian culture. Additional information can be found on the SPHR Facebook page.

FUNDRAISER

Over $1.1 million raised for breast cancer

Montrealers and CASA Cares participate in CIBC's Run for the Cure

Kim Kardashian West robbed at gunpoint U.S. reality television star, Kim Kardashian West, was robbed at gunpoint at her luxury Paris residence early Monday morning while there for the city's fashion week. According to BBCNews,fivegunmendressed in police-style uniforms, entered the residence and forced the overnight concierge to lead them to Kardashian West's residence. The gunmen put a gun to Kardashian West's head and stole a $4.5 million USD ring and a box containing $6.7 million USD worth of jewelry, reports BBC News. The gunmen then tied up the star and locked her in the bathroom while they escaped on bicycles, according to police. Police are still searching for the five assailants.

NELLY SÉRANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR The 20th edition of the CIBC Run for the Cure was hosted in Montreal, Sherbrooke, Quebec City and Val D’or on Oct. 2. In Montreal, the run took place at the Maisonneuve park, and approximately 5,000 people were present.

“This event’s [goal is] to fund the breast cancer foundation mission, which is to do research, spread awareness and support women

who are sick with breast cancer,” said Karine Theverge, director of communications and marketing for the Breast Cancer Foundation.

The CIBC Run for the Cure offers participants three ways to show their support: through a five-kilometer race, a one-kilometer race and a five-kilometer walk.

People from all over the city stepped up to the challenge on their own or with friends and family. Many were wearing pink t-shirts in support of the cause. Most participants

fundraised through social media, encouraging friends and family to make donations and support them.

CASA Cares, a non-profit organization at JMSB at Concordia, participated in the event. They raised $5,432 for the CIBC Run for the Cure School Team Challenge Award, said Katia Bayat, VP sponsorship of CASA Cares. “Ninety-five people ran with us, which helped us get to our goal to donate to the foundation,” she said.

One in four women diagnosed

Kids and adults are all smiles after finishing the one and five kilomter run. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

with cancer are diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s website. However, the mortality rate of breast cancer has dropped by 44 per cent since 1986, due to the increase of research and awareness campaigns about how to prevent cancer, according to the same source. For more information about breast cancer awareness and how to prevent it, visit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s website, www.cbcf.org.

life

LIFE EDITOR /// life@theconcordian.com DANIELLE GASHER ( @

GAMING

Diversity is no game: bringing reality to gaming A University of the Streets Café discussion with three Montreal game developers

DOMINICK LUCYK CONTRIBUTOR University of the Streets Café held an open conversation titled "Representation and Identity in Video Games: Whose Stories are Told Through Gaming?" on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The conversation was moderated by Rémy Paulin Twahirwa, a Master’s student studying political science at l’Université de Québec à Montréal [UQAM]. He is interested in researching how new technologies impact contemporary politics and social movements.

The event covered topics such as diversity in gaming, how to make gaming accessible to wider audiences and how gaming can improve people's lives.

At Concordia’s Technoculture Arts and Games Research Centre (TAG), located in the EV building, a group of about 15 people gathered in a colourful room complete with

game consoles, computers and ornaments, scattered across the room.

The discussion featured three game developers: Lateef Martin, the founder of Miscellaneum Studios, Jana Sloan van Geest, a game writer working at Ubisoft, and Tuuli Saarinen, a designer who's worked on various independent games.

Like the University of the Streets Café’s other discussion series, the conversation was held as an open forum. The guest speakers and the moderator led the talk but questions were welcomed and encouraged at any time from attendees.

"I've always been very interested in how games are designed,” said Saarinen.

“For me, the driving force has always been figuring out why I felt like games are not what they could be. I've always felt that they could be more,” she said. Saarinen began developing games after her background in research on gaming led her to game design.

She brought her passion for the narrative aspect of video games to the discussion.

“I realized that it was all about what kind of stories were being told, and how they were being told. For me, it's always been about finding the most natural way for games to tell stories," she said. Saarinen said she believes that diversity should be an integral part of video games in order to improve the gaming experience for as

many people as possible.

Diversity is not something the gaming industry is known for. A 2015 self-selected survey from the International Game Developers Association found that 75 per cent of the worldwide gaming industry is male and 76 per cent of the industry is white.

Martin is currently working on his game "Z'Isle," which has an open Kickstarter, an online funding platform through which anyone can donate to help fund the project.

The world of “Z’Isle,” according to the game’s website, is a world complete with Montrealbased zombies, “incorporating themes of survival, social equity, and sustainability.”

Martin dedicates his game-making career to delivering entertainment "with a mandate

to represent people of colour, women, the LGBTQ community and other marginalized communities in a positive light." He believes that diversity is important in video games because they reflect real societies.

"Negative stereotypes and tropes can be very damaging,” Martin said.

“A lot of people tend to downplay it [by saying] 'it's just a game', 'it's just a movie.'

Oh yeah? Close your eyes and think of the word ‘pimp.’ What do you see? I'm pretty sure it's a black guy. That's because we've been taught that all our lives."

On a more positive note, Martin described video games as "an incredible way to connect with people and give them an experience that could change their lives."

The event took place at Concordia’s TAG centre in the EV building. Photos by Ana Hernandez.

FOOD

Would anyone Fancé a coffee?

New Plateau business creates a hybrid of the classic dépanneur and café LÉANDRE LAROUCHE CONTRIBUTOR It's common knowledge that dépanneurs are meant to be convenient. However, François Ste-Marie, a young Montreal entrepreneur, thinks they should be so much more.

On Sept. 9, Ste-Marie opened the dépanneur he's been longing to see in the city. The result, frankly, is impressive.

Located in Plateau MontRoyal, just a few blocks away from Montreal's

iconic Schwartz's Deli, Dépanneur Fancé is a one-of-a-kind spot.

At first glance, the quaint shop stands out on the residential street close to St-Laurent Boulevard. The street doesn’t have much hustle and bustle. However, once inside Fancé, the street’s quietness becomes a forgettable detail as you are immediately faced with a colourful array of carefully chosen products.

Vegetable chips, locally-produced soda drinks, kombucha and craft beers share the shelves with high-quality household basics, such as organic juices and cereals. The shop also sells meals and desserts made in store, available for take-out. Most importantly, behind the counter is Ste-Marie, the owner and sole employee of Fancé, ready to serve you like he would a friend.

Although Fancé offers typical “convenience” products, it is also appealing as a place to satisfy your gourmet appetite.

Fancé’s tasteful creamy and nutty lattes are delicious, especially coupled with their croissants, or homemade cookies.

Ste-Marie puts emphasis on local and organic convenience products. Photos by Danielle Gasher.

The spot also has a breakfast and lunch menu. The breakfast menu includes classics with a twist.

You can choose toast on artisanal bread with your choice of spread, or an iranian breakfast which consists of toast with feta cheese and nuts. The lunch menu includes items such as feta and watermelon salad, homemade sandwiches made with fresh, local ingredients, and salads.

Ste-Marie is an ardent supporter of local ingredients and products. Most of his products are Canadian. The coffee he sells comes from Montreal's trendy Café SaintHenri and Calgary's Café Phil & Sebastian, and he buys his chips and cereals from two British Columbia-based companies.

Prior to opening his own business, SteMarie worked as a manager at a clothing retailer in downtown Montreal. "My dad had a dépanneur when I was young," he said.

"I've always fancied the idea of having mine, but with the products I'd like to find. I love good food, good beer and good coffee. I wanted to appropriate the concept."

Ste-Marie filled his shop with just that—you can tell right away by his small inventory that he only sells his carefully chosen, and high-quality favourites.

Fancé, Ste-Marie’s Québécois spelling of

"Fancy," i s s u r e to become the new Plateau hotspot to grab some beer and snacks for a night in, or your go-to café to enjoy a velvety latte to help you get through a study session.

The spot’s seating consists of a stylish and sleek bar with five chairs along the large window of the shop. The bar, made of concrete, features only a few computer outlets. Wifi is also available. öö For now, Dépanneur Fancé is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m, however, Ste-Marie said the opening hours are subject to change as Fancé gets a feel for the neighbourhood. Dépanneur Fancé is located at 3764 St-Dominique Street.

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OCTOBER 4, 2016

DISCUSSION

Canada’s void: A talk on our indigenous peoples Missing Justice organized a discussion on the issue of Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women DANIELLE GASHER LIFE EDITOR Missing Justice hosted a teach-in on Sept.

27 to shed light and engage Montrealers on the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

The event, facilitated by Missing Justice members Chantel Henderson and Chelsea Obodoechina, explored the past as a cause, the present as a time for action, and the future as hope for the conversation of the issues surrounding indigenous peoples.

A diverse crowd of students and community members, both indigenous and non-indigenous, gathered at Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy for the evening discussion.

Missing Justice is a fee-levy organization that operates under the Centre for Gender Advocacy’s umbrella. According to the organization’s website, Missing Justice’s mandate is “to promote community awareness and political action through popular education, direct action, and coalition-building, all of these in consultation with and in support of First Nations families, activists, communities and organizations.”

Henderson has been a member of Missing Justice since January 2015. She got involved with the organization when she moved to Montreal from Winnipeg for school, two years ago. As a Master’s student in community economic development at Concordia, Henderson explained she had to find an organization to get involved with as part of her program.

Henderson knew she wanted to get involved with a centre or organization that focused on missing and murdered indigenous women.

As an indigenous person herself, Henderson wanted to join Missing Justice because she said she feels personally impacted by the issue.

“I went missing when I was 16. I went missing when I was 20. And yeah, I’m here to tell you my story, to tell you why this issue is important,” she said. “Being from Winnipeg, it’s hard to be native and to not know somebody who has gone missing or who has been murdered,” said Henderson.

Obodoechina joined Missing Justice four months ago. “I kept hearing about missing and murdered indigenous women, and I just wanted to get involved any way I could, as a non-Indigenous person,” said Obodoechina.

According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), aboriginal women are almost three times more likely to be killed by a stranger than non-aboriginal women are. Additionally, the NWAC found that between 2000 and 2008, aboriginal women represented approximately 10 per cent of all female homicides in Canada, even though they only make up three per cent of Canada’s female population.

Last year’s scandal surrounding allegations of sexual and physical abuse of indigenous women by Sûreté Québec officers in Val d’Or caused an uproar in the province, and sparked pressure on the federal government to launch an independent investigation into the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women.

The Canadian government announced the launch of an independent national inquiry into the affair on December 8, 2015, according to the CBC. The facilitators discussed indigenous peoples’ history in Canada, going back to colonization, the Indian Act and the more

recent residential school system.

“It all comes back to that. Colonization. The loss of land. The patriarch. And of course, the Indian Act, where indigenous women lost their status. [The women] married non-indigenous men, and therefore that affected generations of indigenous peoples that were, you know, not Indian anymore,” said Henderson. “So it was a slow genocide, and it continues to this day.”

Until Bill C-31, or the Bill to Amend the Indian Act, revised the laws on Indian status under the Indian Act in 1985, indigenous women who married to non-indigenous men would lose their Indian status. Additionally, according to Indigenous Foundations, under Section 12(1)(a)(iv) of the Indian Act, an indigenous child would lose status if both their mother and grandmother acquired status from their husbands.

Henderson and Obodoechina also discussed the negative impacts the residential school system had on indigenous children, mothers and fathers, and generations that followed. They also discussed the lack of representation and misrepresentation of indigenous peoples in mainstream media and Hollywood.

Jonel Beauvais, an attendee of the event, introduced an activity after the first half of the talk. Beauvais is a community outreach worker from Seven Dancer’s Coalition—an indigenous coalition of workers from Haudenosaunee and other areas of the state of New York that seek to educate and support indigenous communities. She had attendees stand in the middle of the room and form a circle that would represent an indigenous community. The “children” sat in the middle, the “mothers” placed themselves behind, and the “fathers” behind them—each row supporting the other with a hand placed on someone’s shoulder.

Beauvais wanted to show that when a member of that community is not there, the community is not complete—the link is broken.

“Now you have missing mothers, missing women, missing grandmothers, missing men. If we took at least one person from each level, our circle, our community, is very much deprived now.

That’s the kind of state in which we’re in,” said Beauvais, her tone strong, but her voice shaky.

Missing Justice will hold the 11th Memorial March and Vigil for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women on Oct. 4. Photos by Danielle Gasher.

OCTOBER 4, 2016

theconcordian

7

TALK

Over one hundred days as an Al Qaeda prisoner Former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations Robert Fowler discusses his “season in hell”

Fowler shared his harrowing story to a crowd of about 50 in Concordia’s D.B. Clarke theatre. Photos by Ana Hernandez.

DOMINICK LUCYK CONTRIBUTOR Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Fowler, spoke about his experience as a prisoner of the Al Qaeda terrorist group at Concordia’s DB Clarke theatre on Sept. 25.

In his presentation, "Sleeping with Al Qaeda," Fowler discussed his 130day experience of horror, as well as his thoughts on curbing radicalism, terrorism and violence in the regions of Africa where he was captured.

It was December 2008. Fowler, along with his colleague Louis Guay, were chosen by the United Nations’ secretary general to help defuse the tense political situation in Niger during a citizen-led rebellion against the government.

Following a meeting with Niger’s president, Fowler and Guay were ambushed and captured by a group of radical terrorists, and smuggled into Mali. It was the start of what Fowler called "a season in hell."

Fowler would later go on to publish a book about this experience in 2011, which he titled Season In Hell: My 130 Days in the Sahara with Al Qaeda.

Fowler explained that he and Guay were considered prisoners of war, and were treated as such. They were hated.

“Every moment was filled with fear," said Fowler.

The men who captured Fowler and Guay were militant Salafist terrorists—conservative extreme radicalists who believe in

violent jihadism. "[They] hated everything we stand for… our most cherished concepts of liberty, democracy, equality and free will," said Fowler. "They were the most focused, most selfless, most single-minded and least horny group of young men I have ever encountered."

In the depths of the Sahara Desert, Fowler experienced first-hand the mentality of these violent, extreme radicals. "The whole issue of free will is wrought with horror for them ... In their view, nothing is man's choice—it's God's choice ... They wanted paradise. It didn't matter when.

If they died in jihad, it would be theirs."

Fowler described a time during his imprisonment when he was assigned to a small area—the foot of a tree in the middle of a field, with a single guard keeping watch.

The man was clear ly upset— he was gnashing his teeth, pacing and mumbling angrily to himself.

Event ually, t he man thrust his gun in Fowler's face and told him: "Just kill me, I want to go to paradise!"

After 130 days, t he Malian and C anadian governments finally negotiated Fowler and Guay’s release.

The “season in hell” came to an end, and Fowler said the experience convinced him these jihadists could not be reasoned with.

Despite this, Fowler doesn't think allout military action is the solution. "It is about diminishing the jihadi threat to the point the Africans can handle it. It is not

about turning Niger into Alberta," said Fowler. He cited the violence and poverty that continues to this day in areas like Mali and Niger as an example of how little Canada and the rest of the western world have done to help.

"The Canadian senate published a paper called 'Forty Years of Failure' because we haven't fixed Africa," he said.

Fowler said he believes that the solution to the problems in Africa is to keep funding and supporting UN peacekeeping missions in areas where jihadism continues to cause problems.

Fowler gave the example of the UN's Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The mission consists of about 15,000 military personnel with a current budget of just under $1 billion. Rather than attacking with all-out force, MINUSMA carries out security-related tasks and helps defuse violent situations, while protecting and promoting human rights in Mali.

While Fowler has high hopes for programs like MINUSMA, he said he realizes

that the conditions in places like Mali and Niger have not improved significantly since the time of his imprisonment. He recalled a time in the 60s, after he finished college, when nearly every one of his friends had traveled to culturally diverse countries like Niger. Nowadays, Fowler said, "it's just too damn dangerous" for people to explore many parts of Africa.

Fowler's discussion was the first in a series of speeches and panels organized by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, titled "Assaulting Cultural Heritage: ISIS's Fight to Destroy Diversity in Iraq and Syria." The series was held at Concordia on Sunday, Sept. 25 and Monday, Sept. 26.

arts

ARTS EDITOR /// arts@theconcordian.com JESSICA KINNARI & TIFFANY LAFLEUR

PHOTOGRAPHY

A more humanist look at the Syrian conflict More than just a war, the Syrian Eyes of the World exhibition takes a look at the people who are affected

This is a portrait that Syrian photographer Madonna Adib took of her mother. The exhibition tries to shed light on Syrians from a perspective other than war and conflict. Photo by Madonna Adib.

SARAH BOUMEDDA CONTRIBUTOR The Syrian Eyes of the World exhibition, featuring portraits of Syrians accompanied by a caption that shares the image’s story, opened on Sept. 20 at the Bibliothèque du Boisé. Its goal is to shed light on the Syrian people and their diaspora, from a perspective unique from that of the Western media which focuses primarily on the ongoing conflict in the country.

It is a worldwide project involving Syrian photographers from around the world, including Canada, Syria, parts of Europe and in the Middle East. The project was launched in partnership with La Maison de la Syrie, a non-governmental organization promoting Syrian culture in Quebec.

“The project came from the urge of saying something about Syria and Syrians other than the war,” said visual artist and Concordia alumna, Madonna Adib, who is one of twelve photographers involved in the project. “For the past five, six years, we only hear about the war in Syria, but we never hear about the human side,” she said. The exhibition does not speak of war, of chemical weapons or the number of casualties—it speaks of individuals, their stories and what they have to say to the world.

“We asked people questions, apart from politics or religion, as this is the main thing that people are fighting about in Syria,” said Adib. “[The subjects] just talked about themselves, their stories, about anything they would like to share with the world. Anyway, people don’t talk about politics or religion, because they’re just fed up with that.”

According to Adib, some people were wary about taking part in the project—for fear of taking a side in the ongoing conflict.

“It was an essential point for this project to be neutral, and it doesn’t take any side in anything. It’s just a space to talk about yourself, and to tell the world things that the news doesn’t,” she said.

“Basically, we just want to show the individual side of Syrians, to let them express

themselves as individuals—not groups of people who are getting bombed, or risk getting bombed or dying.”

A native of Damascus, Syria, Adib also has a personal take on the project. She said photographing her mother particularly moved her. “I really loved what she said.

It really touches me, because I know how their life was in Syria before the war and the change that happened after the war,” she said. “I asked her, ‘What would you like to say to life?’ She answered, ‘You did us wrong.’”

The power of the subjects’ words , paired with their black and white portraits, constitute the greatest quality of the exhibition. Each picture tells a different tale about a different person, even though they all relate to the same topic: migration. “There’s no one that can connect to migration unless they’ve lived it. You try to connect, you try to feel the other’s feelings, but it never works,” said Adib. “At least, through this project, we’re trying to put a spotlight on something that people in Western countries don’t know about, which is good for them.”

“Everyone is special,” Adib said, when asked which of her subjects stood out the most. “When you start making

conversation with a person, you hear their story. It becomes special because every story is unique, everyone has their own story, and you connect with those stories in a different way.”

Syrian Eyes of the World is an ever-growing project, and has major plans for expansion. “We’re now working on a documentary with Parabola Films [based] in

Montreal, in which we’re following six characters in their daily life,” Adib said. “I don’t think it’s going to be done before three years, or four years, maybe, but we’re working hard on it.”

The exhibition is open until Oct. 14 at the Bibliothèque du Boisé, as well as the Bibliothèque du Vieux-Saint-Laurent.

Admission is free. Afterwards, the exhibition will be touring seven libraries within the city of Montreal, until summer 2017.

OCTOBER 4, 2016

theconcordian

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FASHION

Fall fashion: Turning your own style into a trend

A few fashion tips to let your “personality” style shine through this fall season Collage by Valeria Cori-Manocchio.

VALERIA CORI-MANOCCHIO COPY EDITOR Developing a personal style seems easy enough. It begins by pairing that shirt you saw plastered all over Instagram with your favourite pair of distressed skinny jeans,

and slipping into those pearlywhite Adidas running shoes—until you step outside and realize you can’t tell yourself apart from the five other people wearing the exact same outfit.

Don’t panic or sprint to the nearest fast-fashion outlet for the latest piece you’ll wear once. Instead, think about what you would wear if trends weren’t constantly changing— if you could embody your personality in an outfit. What would you choose to wear if you were to express elements of your personality through your clothes?

Here are some ideas of how to transform

fleeting fall fashion into autumn celebrations of self.

Self-expression doesn’t have to break the bank “If [a piece] is $300 or $5, it might not always fit right,” says Laura Endacott, a fine arts professor who teaches fashion history at Concordia. To minimize expensive clothing costs, Endacott says having items tailored to fit properly is sometimes overlooked, but necessary to maximize a wardrobe. “You can buy [clothes] and spruce them up [by] tailoring them to [your] body type,” she says.

Endacott also encourages the ecological and typically cheaper concept of thrifting.

Fashion or Function? The choice is yours According to Endacott, “the body is the sight for many things.” Someone’s personal style may be expressive of the current values of their time or linked to an activist movement—like the hippie, flower power years of the 1960s to the 1970s punk age.

However, not everyone is looking to make a bold statement with the way they dress. Endacott acknowledges fashion as a celebration of self, but also a functional medium, depending on personal preferences.

In other words, you could streamline your wardrobe into a collection of functional pieces, as long as you enjoy what you are wearing.

As a communications student at Concordia, the founder of the menswear fashion blog, Style Attorney, and the owner of a custom made suit business, Claudiu Pascalau advocates a reductive eye when it comes to selecting clothing.

“Less is more in fashion,” says Pascalau.

He explains personal style as a “way of expressing yourself,” and an interaction with the rest of the public and their tastes.

As a menswear blogger, he finds himself in the same predicament many of us do: seeing many different styles that he wouldn’t necessarily wear to express himself, but can appreciate.

Don’t forget about classic items that have left us with lasting impressions Pascalau encourages everyone to find brands or styles they never get tired of wearing. By taking the time to discover the multitude of clothing, footwear and accessories available, you’ll soon find your method to manage quick-changing fashion trends.

Endacott advocates building up a wardrobe with classics that have remained in style since their inception, like the little black dress and well-tailored pieces. Pascalau also suggests going for solid colours and good-quality jeans, so when the infamous ‘I have nothing to wear’ mood strikes, you’re well equipped with basic pieces.

FILM

Maya Angelou rises again in first documentary The award winning documentary comes to Montreal’s International Black Film Festival KYANNA TERLIER CONTRIBUTOR

film to life, as it showed so many memorable moments in Angelou’s life. The footage is not necessarily shown in chronological order, although it ties in nicely with the large range of interviews.

From beginning to end, the score rises and falls with the emotions of the story, evoking sadness as it slows down and inspiration when the music becomes upbeat. Nevertheless, the story itself brings out all kinds of emotions, from beginning to end.

Although this documentary had moments of sadness and some elements of shock and anger, it was predominantly filled with moments of laughter and joy that permeate through the audience. Watching Angelou rise from her past with the help of her family and friends reminds

us of the importance of courage and community. The film allows us to look beneath the surface of Angelou’s fame, and discover the stories we may have never otherwise known about her. This film is a must-see for those who are less familiar with her story, and a special treat for those who praise and admire this monumental woman. Maya Angelou And Still I Rise promotes love, diversity and courage, and is representative of what inspirational cinema should be.

Concordia is a private partner of the Montreal International Black Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.

Co-directed by Rita Coburn Whack and Bob Hercules, Maya Angelou And Still I Rise opened the 12th annual Montreal International Black Film Festival. A great success, the film has won nine awards from multiple countries including the Best International Feature Documentary award from the Galway Film Fleadh. It is the first biographical documentary about Angelou, which is surprising, considering her many accomplishments, including being the writer of 36 published books, a poet, dancer and activist. From the opening frame to the end credits, the film creates a strong sense of community that brings together its viewers to honour a woman who has touched so many hearts.

The film covers many lesser-known aspects of Angelou’s life, beginning with her childhood in Stamp, Arkansas. Her journey continues on—from place to place, job to job, man to man. The film takes a look at the countless struggles she faced throughout her life, including racism and rejection. The film exudes courage and class, and leaves viewers feeling empowered and inspired.

Maya Angelou And Still I Rise includes interviews with many actors and friends of Angelou, including Cicely Tyson, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones and Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson. The film uses a significant amount of found footage. The found footage brought the The documentary examines the life of Dr. Maya Angelou, with interviews from friends and colleagues.

10 theconcordian

OCTOBER 4, 2016

FILM

What's coming to the Festival du nouveau cinéma A host of new and exciting films and the addition of virtual reality awaits ELIJAH BUKREEV STAFF WRITER For a festival that is about to have its 45th edition, the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) is stunningly youthful.

It all makes sense when you realize its founder, Claude Chamberland, seems to care not for prestige, but for rejuvenation.

If the once-glamorous Montreal World Film Festival has crumbled under the weight of ambition, the FNC has only prospered.

“As extensive as [the Toronto International Film Festival], but completely different,” is how Chamberland described the festival during the press conference that unveiled this newest edition. Filmmaking is constantly changing and adapting to the market, technological progress and cultural trends, among other factors. If it wants to remain worthy of its name, the FNC must adapt along with it—if not run ahead.

In this spirit, several new sections have been added to this year’s program—the most noteworthy of which is FNC eXPlore.

Its mission is to promote new mediums, including virtual reality, which is becoming a mandatory component at film festivals—not to mention art galleries—around the world.

Installations will be free, with 45,000 visitors expected daily. Another new section, Les nouveaux alchimistes, is a space of expression for the most experimental filmmakers who bring cinema down to its essence as the marriage of sight and sound.

American Honey will be one of several films screened at the FNC festival.

That is not to say that the FNC is oblivious to the past. This edition is dedicated to recently deceased filmmakers André Melançon, Jacques Rivette, Abbas Kiarostami, Andrzej Zulawski, Ronit Elkabetz and Donald Ranvaud. Retrospectives are planned in several sections, most notably decicated to the late Polish master Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Several screenings will also mark the 100th anniversary of the Dada movement, an avant garde art movement that took place in Europe in the early 20th century.

The programming is remarkable for the range it offers. It is no exaggeration to

say any viewer will find something that will suit their taste—from the short Carte blanche films that precede most screenings, to the long Lav Diaz’ award-winning 4-hour and 8-hour films, and from the most innocent of the P’tits loups section aimed at younger viewers, to the most adult, Temps Ø section, which this year offers several films that explore pornography.

Even if you couldn’t make it to the Cannes festival this year, you’ll soon have an opportunity to see arthouse films such as American Honey, Sieranevada, Aquarius, Toni Erdmann, The Handmaiden (with French

subtitles), After the Storm and Gimme Danger.

Other festival successes to be featured at the FNC are Kirill Serebrennikov’s The Student and Ivan I. Tverdovsky’s Zoology from Russia and Studio Ghibli’s co-production The Red Turtle from Belgium—a sure-fire future Oscar nominee. In other news, notorious Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl will make a rare overseas appearance to present his new film, Safari, and deliver a masterclass about the film. cc The festival runs from Oct. 5 to 16, with screenings in many venues across the city.

FILM

Blockbusters 2016: The worst in recent memory Looking at the economic factor behind the silver screen and this years biggest flops

ROMINA FLORENCIA ARRIETA CONTRIBUTOR It's officially October, and with the arrival of the cold weather comes the reflection on this summer’s blockbuster season. This year has proven that big-budget movies are not always guaranteed box-office successes. It has been a bitter pill to swallow, but rising ticket prices are driving most people away from the the-

opening weekend.

According to Forbes Magazine the film brought in a mere $11.4 million dollars, while the film had a production budget of $100 million dollars.

One of the reasons these movies fail to meet the production company executive's profit expectations is they often go over budget. Business Insider reports that some movies are so poorly managed Graphic by Thom Bell. they c an e xceed estimated producGraphic by Thom Bell. tion costs by over $100 million. How can this be possible? aters, with movie attendance dropping According to Anton Shevchenko, by 10 per cent this past summer—according professor of operational management to Business Insider. at Concordia, a movie is like any other Over the last decade, Hollywood has project. It is a set of processes and tasks been primarily misled by the potential all undertaken in order to reach a goal. In success of sequels, reboots and remakes. the case of the movie industry, the goal Promising movies with bloated budgets that is to reach an audience and reap enough become huge financial disappointments profits to make the film’s production have become the norm in recent years. worthwhile. Studios typically hire a set of The most recent of these failures was the financial analysts to determine whether Ben-Hur remake, which had an abysmal or not the studio should take on a project,

and give a tentative budget for production.

If the crew chosen for the production process is unable to work together and drags out the production process, a once-promising movie can become a financial nightmare. For example, according to writer Ryan Lambie, in an article for denofgeek.com, director Michael Cimino went 200 per cent over his budget during the realization of Heaven's Gate (1980). Cimino built a gigantic set, just to tear it down for no apparent reason without the studio’s approval. The film became one of the most expensive box-office flops of all time.

The Telegraph reported that Michael Mann’s Blackhat, starring Chris Hemsworth, was the biggest flop of 2015. Bringing in only $4.4 million at the box office, the film had a $70 million dollar budget, and only made about a quarter on its budget back after its release.

Box-office failures are worrisome, as they can lead to severe financial pressure placed on studios. According to Business Insider, Warner Brothers fired 10 per cent of its workforce after Man of Steel failed to meet attendance expectations and that the worst part is that the studios don't seem to realize what they are doing wrong— the majority of movies scheduled for release in summer 2017 have a budget of over a $100 million.

OCTOBER 4, 2016

theconcordian

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CINEMA POLITICA

The Occupation of the American Mind

Cinema Politica’s latest screening focuses on the public relations of the Gaza-Israel conflict

The Occupation of the American Mind examines the brutal conflict and devastation that has affected the citizens of Gaza.

JESSICA KINNARI CO ARTS EDITOR There are two sides to every story and conflict. The Occupation of the American Mind explores the other side of the GazaIsrael conflict—the side that pro-Israel North America doesn’t get to see. This visually-packed documentary, screened at Concordia’s Cinema Politica on Oct. 3, examines the pro-Israel public relations mandate within the United States.

Directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp, The Occupation of the American Mind analyzes the backlash against Israel’s invasion of Gaza from the majority of the world, and the pro-Israel political stance within American politics.

As if there were a public relations

agreement between the U.S and Israel, the film claims the American media is only showing one side of the story. It opens with a jarring quote from former Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu that perfectly sums up the purpose of the film: “It doesn’t matter if justice is on your side.

You have to depict your position as just.”

The film begins with an explanation of the various treaties and wars that have led to the current Gaza-Israel conflict.

Although heavy with political jargon, this summary is beneficial for anyone going into the film with very little knowledge of the conflict’s origins.

The film focuses on the unilateral conflict between Israel and Gaza, and, specifically, how American media is both manipulating the Amerian public and

being manipulated by the American and Israeli governments. With interviews from political activists like Yousef Munayyer and Noam Chomsky, the filmmakers sought to give a voice to activists who feel the media is demonizing their point of view.

Munayyer references an interview in which he was verbally accosted by the news anchor for not giving the answer they were looking for.

The sights and sounds of the film may be graphic or triggering to some viewers.

The film opens with a heartbreaking shot of an apartment building being destroyed by a bomb. The sounds of the ambulance sirens mix with the desperate cries of the injured and mourning. The filmmakers did not shy away from showing desolated homes and gut-wrenching images of

those most affected by the conflict—the innocent civilians.

Monday’s screening was followed by a Q&A session with Sut Jhally, a professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts. He is the founder and executive director of the Media Education Fund, which was involved in the creation of the film. He also directed the 2004 documentary Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: U.S. Media and the Israeli/ Palestinian Conflict.

Cinema Politica will be screening a second film this week titled The Last Omelette: The making of “The Land of the Enlightened” on Friday, Oct. 7. öö For their full line-up, check out their website www.cinemapolitica.org.

WANT TO GET PUBLISHED? THE CONCORDIAN IS LOOKING FOR ARTWORK, SUCH AS BUT NOT LIMITED TO: PHOTOGRAPHS, DRAWINGS, POEMS, CREATIVE WRITING, COMICS AND EVEN DIGITAL WORKS. SHARE YOUR PROJECTS WITH US AND WITH THE CONCORDIA COMMUNITY! EMAIL OPINIONS@THECONCORDIAN.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

music

Quickspins THE GROWLERS

MUSIC EDITOR /// music@theconcordian.com SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ

1

City Club (Cult Records, 2016)

PERFORMANCE

Rap Battle for Climate Justice Montreal’s hip-hop artists and activists combine music and social justice SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ MUSIC EDITOR Make some noise for the 6th edition of the Rap Battles for Social Justice, which took place live from Reggies Bar on Sept.

28. During this edition, local hip-hop artists and activists took the stage to participate in a rap battle about climate justice.

Some big names in the Montreal hip-hop scene were present, including members of Montreal’s collective hip-hop band, Nomadic Massive. The group’s singer and emcee, Meryem Saci, co-hosted the event. Each artist was accompanied by the hip-hop and soul band Urban Science, hosts of the #LECYPHER hip-hop and soul jam sessions.

The goal of this rap battle was to raise awareness about pipelines, fossil fuels and the tar sand issues surrounding us. The event helped raise funds for Aamjiwnaang First Nation activist, Vanessa Gray, who needs support to fight her overbearing charges in court. Gray, along with two other activists, decided to shut down Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline on Anishnaabe Territory.

The activists were charged with counts of mischief for over $5000 and are currently facing the possibility of prison time. The previous Rap Battles for Social Justice have raised over $3000 so far and organizers hoped to raise more by collecting donations at the door—it’s a pay what you can event.

There were two sides to each battle— emcees that were advocating for environmental justice, and The Duke and Bruce Payne, who expressed counterarguments. The Duke and Bruce Payne were the oil lobbyists, dressed in suits, walking around throwing fake $100 bills in every direction.

“Billions of gallons of wasted water, contaminated water, fauna slaughtered, forests replaced by pools and chemicals, so how’s that ethical?” rapped Dan Parker in a battle against The Duke. Students and activists also rapped slam poetry and recited poems about environmental justice. Each artist prepared and crafted their own songs and lyrics for the rap battle.

“No more, no more, no tar sands, protect quality of life to all lands, respect the planet, live hand in hand, leave behind a legacy, not just a beaten planet,” was the hook of the first

Live from Reggies, founder Dan Parker and emcee Meryem Saci host the Rap Battle. live performance that night by Dan Parker.

Dan Parker, the founder, coordinator and co-host of Rap Battles for Social Justice, has been working to unite the local hip-hop scene on the topic of social justice. Parker embarked on this journey in September 2014, and said it took a lot of work for people to believe in his project. “I was always into hip-hop, but I never felt comfortable going into the hip-hop scene because I felt like an outsider,” said Parker.

All that changed when he met Vincent Stephen-Ong, band leader of Urban Science and organizer of freestyle hip-hop nights where anyone can join and grab the mic.

Parker said he felt free to take on the mic, participate and freestyle at Urban Science events—he felt it was more open than other hip-hop jam sessions.

Stephen-Ong remembers when Parker first approached him with his idea of rap battles focusing on social justice: “I was like, ‘You want to do what?’ I was very skeptical at first.” Once Stephen-Ong started working with Parker, however, he realized how determined he was. “Dan goes and he works, talks to people, he gets funding, he convinces various artists to be on board. I just keep seeing this event grow and grow, and it’s wonderful,” said Stephen-Ong. “I asked Vincent about this project idea.

He believed in it, and we’ve been doing these rap battles ever since,” said Parker. The very first rap battle happened in March 2015, and

Local emcees battle for climate justice at reggies. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

had a great turn out. “It was at Vitrola, a fairly large venue. Dan filled the venue—it was completely full,” said Stephen-Ong. Parker hosted the second rap battle at McGill University with Divest McGill, and a third with Divest Concordia last November. Success after success, Parker organized a rap battle against austerity with CUPFA, the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association, then another for gender freedom.

Rap Battle for Climate Justice is the 6th event Parker has organized alongside Urban Science. “It’s a combination of the activist’s popular education meeting the cypher hiphop freestyle community, and fundraising for a great cause,” said Parker.

One of the emcees hitting the stage that night was Mutatayi Fuamba, a local artist currently working on an upcoming album. He has also participated in previous rap battles for social justice. “I think this event is an interesting way to approach the issue of solidarity of Native Americans.

It’s fun and engaging. The energy is here. I want everyone to enjoy the show and fuck all systems of oppression,” said Fuamba.

He said that, while the event is called a battle because people impersonate lobbyists on the other side of the argument, mostly, there is no debate. “We are all against fossil fuels—we are all for social justice and climate justice,” said Fuamba. He has been attending workshops at Concordia University to prepare for this event. “We usually have one-hour workshops with activists who talk us through the issues, and then we have a hip-hop workshop where emcee’s show us how to write rhymes and discuss the history of hip-hop,” said Fuamba. The workshops are hosted by Rap Battles for Social Justice along with different faculties from Concordia.

“For the rap battle against austerity we worked with SAF, Sustainability Action Fund and we worked with the Centre for Gender Advocacy for the rap battle on gender freedom. These workshops are open to everyone” said Fuamba.

For more information, check out The Rap Battles for Social Justice Facebook page. “It’s a cool way to get together as a community, have fun and talk about things that matter and jam,” said Fuamba.

The Growlers have typically been a time machine back to the heyday of 60s and 70s psychedelic rock. That is until City Club, which was not at all what I expected to hear. I anticipated they would continue to pursue the unique psychedelic sounds and lyrics featured in their previous album, Chinese Fountain (2014). Instead, City Club has a distinct retro, rock vibe which makes The Growlers sound like many other bands out there right now. The change left me disappointed— City Club sounds like an album from another band entirely. Some of the songs are a good listen, but fans of Chinese Fountain will definitely notice a big change. City Club is missing the edginess and uniqueness that the band is known for. If you’re new to The Growlers, however, you’ll probably appreciate this new album more than I did.

11 Trial track: “City Club”

5/10

— Sandra Hercegová, Music Editor

2 DEVENDRA BANHART

Ape in Pink Marble (Nonesuch Records, 2016)

Listening to this album, you will travel, in time and genre, from one song to the next. Devendra Banhart combines sounds from different styles and eras but most of the songs still feature his signature psychedelic 60s guitar riffs. “Fig in Leather” has a distinct 70s vibe which is reminiscent of the 70s band Boniem.

The lyrics are very imaginative and, overall, Ape in Pink Marble is a creative work of art that makes you wonder what inspired these sound mixtures and lyrics.

The songs are very slow, suited for a rainy Sunday afternoon. They almost sound like lullabies, and are overall very romantic. In “Saturday Night,” he used the japanese guitar, the shamisen, to add discrete traditional Asian sounds.

Each song on this album has something unique — you never know what to expect from one song to the next.

11 Trial Track: “Fig in Leather”

6.5/10

— Sandra Hercegová, Music Editor

OCTOBER 4, 2016

theconcordian

13

FESTIVAL

Montreal’s eighth annual Ska Festival

3 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

International ska bands reunite under one roof to perform at Katacombes

Chapter and Verse (Columbia Records, 2016) Bruce Springsteen’s Chapter and Verse is the companion album to the rock star’s newly released memoir, Born to Run. The album features five unreleased gems from Springsteen’s early days — two of which were recorded in 1966 and 1967 with his teenage garage band, The Castiles.

The rugged nature of the recordings makes his voice hard to recognize at first, but as we dive into “The Ballad of Jesse James,” with The Bruce Springsteen Band, his impeccable storytelling skills bubble to the surface. Springsteen also handpicked several classics, like “Born to Run” and “Born in the U.S.A.,” which highlight pivotal moments in his music career.

Chapter and Verse is not to be mistaken for a greatest hits compilation album— rather, each song tells a part of Springsteen’s life story, showcasing his development as a musician and songwriter from 1966 up until 2012, with “Wrecking Ball.” He is aurally telling you the story of his life.

11 Trial Track: “The Ballad of Jesse James”

8/10

— Cristina Sanza, Editor -in-Chief

BON IVER

4

22, A Million (Jagjaguwar, 2016)

In one word, Bon Iver’s 22, A Million can be described as experimental. It’s a collection of electronic glitches and overly-processed synth-y voices, which are sometimes accompanied by a piano.

Frontman and main songwriter, Justin Vernon, completely discards the typical verse-chorus-verse song structure— instead, the melodies are strangely arranged, unpredictable and, at times, borderline chaotic. While 22, A Million is musically distant from their previous release, the folksy For Emma, Forever Ago (2007), the lyrical essence of Bon Iver remains the same—you’ll hear the classic, emotional stories about heartbreak, existentialism and salvation. 22, A Million may sound unusual the first time around, but with each subsequent listen, it becomes more of an intriguing musical journey you want to continue exploring.

11 Trial track: “29 #Strafford APTS”

7/10 — Cristina Sanza, Editor -in-Chief

EMILY VIDAL ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR Montreal’s Ska Festival celebrated it’s 8th birthday from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, with bands from around the world.

Valerie Desnoyer, the founder of the event and president of the Montreal Ska Society, said more people have bought pre-sale tickets this year than ever before.

Desnoyer began the event in Montreal eight years ago after volunteering at Victoria’s Ska Festival in British Columbia.

She immediately fell in love with the style of music, which blends elements of Caribbean and reggae rhythms along with upbeat American jazz and blues.

Coming back to Montreal, she was shocked to discover that ska music wasn’t being promoted on a local level.“The Planet Smashers and all of these new [ska] bands were coming out and I was like, “We need a platform. We need something to show outside Montreal what we have,” she said.

Desnoyer decided to put together Ska festival soon afterwards, and then partnered with Stomp Records, a record label based in Montreal.

The label has helped to keep the festival running every year, since according to Desnoyer, all of the funding comes from ticket sales and private sponsors.

Singer and guitarist Matt Collyer from the ska punk band The Planet Smashers and bassist Jordan Swift from the ska band The Kingpins created Stomp Records in 1995.

Lorraine Muller, the spokesperson for the festival, was the alto saxophone player and singer for The Kingpins. She said that the bands started the record label because they both wanted to put their music out, but no local label was interested in ska. “Things developed from there due to the success those bands had in the mid-nineties,” she said.

The Planet Smashers were the headliners of the Ska Music Festival in Montreal this weekend and performed to a packed crowd at Petit Campus on Saturday.

According to Desoyer, The Planet Smashers are considered to be at the top of the Montreal Ska scene. “They made ska what it is here. So many bands got influenced by their type of music,” she said, “Everyone’s kind of trying to copy them, or at least try to make their songs as catchy as they did.”

Collyer said that it would take years of hard work for them to get to where they

Bernie Leos from Los KungFu Monkeys performs live at Katacombes Photo by Alex Hutchins.

are now. “We’ve been through it all, and it’s been interesting to say the least,” he said, “But we’re still here and we get to play shows and we’re lucky for that.”

The band, who has been together for over 21 years, has developed a unique style of ska music that people can’t help to be drawn to. “We stick to four on the floor which is basically a straight up dance beat. It’s in almost a lot of pop metal,” said Collyer, “It’s a really good formula in terms of like making people have a good time.”

Collyer said they’re successful because they are passionate about what they do. “It’s honestly about how much fun we have,” he said, “I mean, it’s inevitable. The band has a good time. We’re on stage, we’re having a good time. The music is fun.”

With so many young artists touring now, Collyer notes that it is so much harder to make it in the music-business today than ever before. That’s something that The Planet Smashers don’t have to worry about, since they’ve already established themselves musically. “Now we’re just having a good time. We don’t have to worry about trying to make it, trying to break it, trying to figure out how to break it, trying to figure out how not to break it but still be cool, and all of these things, which is something that all of the young bands have to deal with, which is tough,” he said.

This year, Collyer brought international ska punk bands to the festival, including The Resignators, from Melbourne, Australia, and Los Kung-Fu Monkeys, from Tijuana, Mexico “They are great bands,” Desnoyer said.

“I was never able to get them to come play [before], so it’s exciting.”

Both of the bands expressed how grateful they are for the opportunity to come and tour Canada. Nathan Fitzsimmons, who is a regular member of the bands Nevertime High and Caught Off Guard in Calgary, Alta., was especially excited to jam with Los Kung-Fu Monkeys.

His friend Adam Ostick fill in for the band whenever they come up north, since not

all of the members are able to get Visas to come into Canada.

Fitzsimmons said that he first met the band in 2014 when they were doing a short tour in Canada. The band’s producer, Steve Loree, contacted him when their drummer, Hecky, was unable to cross the border into Canada. “They gave me a shot and asked me if I could do it, and I said yes,” said Fitzsimmons. “I got three days notice and 20 songs, and I went on tour with them.”

Fitzsimmons said the band has had big impact on who he is as a musician.

“These guys take [their work] very seriously, and they made me a better player,” Fitzsimmons said. “Bernie [Leos] the frontman, is just captivating … He has that charisma, that leadership. People just follow him.”

He also hopes that everyone will be enjoying their music as much as he does.

“You can’t help but dance to it—it’s just summertime party music,” he said. “I always get the image in my head of like, hanging out in a boat on the beach in the summer.”

Australian singer Francis Harrison of The Resignators is grateful to play the band’s music, especially in Montreal.

“Montreal is just a party city. Everyone wants to have a beer. Everyone wants to dance.

Everyone wants a poutine. And everyone just wants to have fun,” he said. “Yeah, we really like Montreal.”

After playing at the Ska Festival in Montreal, the Resignators and Los Kung-Fu Monkeys will be playing in Shawinigan, and then in St-Hyacinthe. “People should just expect the unexpected. Chaos. Whatever happens happens” said Harrison about the tour.

Muller is hoping that the festival will continue to go on for a long time. “It’s such a fulfilling weekend that leaves us all exhausted but feeling very positive,” she said.

“The atmosphere at all the shows is so good, and the audience loves every second of it.”

sports

SPORTS EDITOR /// sports@theconcordian.com ALEXANDER COLE ( @a_cole39)

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Ouellette joins women’s hockey coaching staff The Canadiennes de Montréal forward has been named a skills and development coach

ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team announced on Sept. 29 that Canadian national team and Canadiennes de Montréal forward Caroline Ouellette will be officially joining the team’s coaching staff as a skills and development coach.

“It’s great to be back,” Ouellette said. “I had the opportunity to coach in 2012 and 2013 with Les Lawton, and I really enjoyed my experience being mentored by him. Now, being able to join [head coach] Julie Chu’s staff is incredible.”

As a skills and development coach, Ouellette is looking to provide players with the confidence to take risks on the ice. Ouellette said in order to do this, it will take repetition and hard work, which is something the team is ready to handle.

“One of our challenges this year is to enable the players to play with confidence and give them a skill set that will allow them to take risks,” Ouellette said. “The girls, they want to learn and work hard so it makes my job easier.”

For Ouellette, the fact that she still plays helps her when it comes to coaching because she is able to demonstrate skills at a high level. Ouellette said that playing the game

while being a young coach is an asset, and that her and Chu’s experiences help when breaking down film and teaching the team the finer points of the game.

This isn't the first time Ouellette and Chu have worked together on the ice as they are teammates on Les Canadiennes. The duo also coached together at the University of Minnesota Duluth during the 2007-08 season.

Ouellette said she and Chu have a great friendship, and spending so much time together will make it easier to coach the team.

“Sometimes you know that you won't agree with one another but when you respect one another and you love one another, it’s easy to get through,” Ouellette said. “You can also feel confident to speak up and give your opinion, and have it be heard.”

“I know that Julie [Chu] has the final word in the end and you have to be loyal as an assistant coach but when it’s one of your great friends, it’s easy to do,” Ouellette added.

In addition to Ouellette, Canadian Olympic hockey player Lauriane Rougeau has also been added to the coaching staff. Chu believes both coaches bring something unique to the program, and will help her coach in areas where she doesn’t have as much expertise.

“One of the greatest things about being a coach is when you can surround yourself with people who can compliment you and fill

Caroline Ouellette plays for the Canadiennes de Montréal in the CWHL and is now the Stingers women’s hockey team skills coach. Photo by Louis-Charles Dumais/.

CWHLand Alex Cole.

in the areas where they will make me better and the program better,” Chu said. “Caro [Ouellette] definitely has a great eye for the skills development side and knows the game.”

Ouellette said that having the opportunity to help coach the team is a “second passion” that rivals playing the game itself. Ouellette

added that she is excited to coach young women and help grow the women’s game.

“Being able to provide young girls with opportunities to engage in women’s hockey and to learn from female coaches that have made it to the highest level is a mission of mine,” said Ouellette.

TENNIS

Concordia tennis continues to grow

Team manager Dominic Labelle is excited about the future and the direction of the program

The team recently wrapped up tryouts and is now in training.

Archive pictures from Kelsey Litwin.

ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR Last year, Concordia’s tennis team had a disappointing season as both their men’s and women’s teams finished last in their respective divisions. This year, however, team manager and women’s coach Dominic Labelle believes both teams can bounce back, and are poised to have a great year.

“My goal for the girls is to not only make the provincial championships, but be on the top of the rankings for the whole season,” Labelle said. “For the guys, the goal is to definitely make the playoffs and remain in the top four in the league. We’re ready to produce some

really good results this season.”

Labelle, who coached both teams last year, is getting help from former men’s team player Roger Hernandez, who has stepped up to coach the men for this season. Labelle said Hernandez already has a tight bond with his players, and that everyone is committed to having a successful year.

On Sept. 17, 31 men and 10 women showed up to the open tryouts, vying for a spot on the squad. Labelle said that many of his players from last year were guaranteed spots on the team, which left only a few positions open for those who came to the tryouts.

Labelle is happy with his new players, adding that, on the women’s side, he has

recruited three new players. One of those players is Brazilian Rafaela Panizza who has played in professional tournaments.

“Two of the players who joined on the women’s team come from the States. They had scholarships there so it’s great. They increase the level of our team,” Labelle said. “The other player has one [World Tennis Association (WTA)] point so it’s amazing because, for us, it’s great exposure. It helps to grow our level [of competitiveness].”

The tennis season only starts in January, but according to Labelle, both teams are already training as if the season were in full swing. Before the start of the season, the teams train twice a week for 11 weeks straight in order to get in shape.

Labelle said, in addition to practices, the team has added a new component to their training, thanks to a sponsorship with a company called FitLikeQ. The company will provide the team with consultations as well as training plans in order to improve the team’s physical fitness.

“They will help us the whole 30 weeks of the season,” Labelle said. “If anybody has questions when it comes to training or needs rehab for an injury, they’ll be there. It’s nice because they will help us stay fit and [get to our] peak during our matches.”

In addition to the new training program, Labelle and his team are excited about the

prospect of being part of the Stingers family.

Since the team’s inception in March 2011, the program has been self-sufficient, and is not considered a varsity or club team. This means the team pays for their own uniforms and has always had to look for sponsorships outside of the university.

Labelle said that the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is considering adding tennis to its official list of sports due to more universities sporting their own teams. As a result of this possibility, Labelle will be meeting with Stingers associate director John Bower to discuss the potential of allowing the tennis team to dawn the trademark “C” as well as the maroon and gold Stingers colours.

“Players will get more into it if they feel they represent the school,” Labelle said.

For Labelle, being a Concordia team is nice but being a part of the Stingers would give the team more legitimacy and get them to the next level.

“For me getting that logo would be a box to check off because it’s my fourth year with the team,” Labelle added.

Before the season starts in January, the men’s team will play an exhibition tournament against the École de Technologie Supérieure on Oct. 9. Labelle said the team is also in the midst of scheduling men’s and women’s matches against the Université de Sherbrooke for Oct. 8.

OCTOBER 4, 2016

theconcordian

15

COVER STORY

Karl Gouabé's journey to Concordia The Stingers men’s soccer goalkeeper shares his humble beginnings in the world’s most popular sport

Gouabé is currently in his first season with the Stingers. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI STAFF WRITER Karl Gouabé enjoys the sensation of stopping a speeding soccer ball. The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer goalie admits that one must be a bit crazy to be a goalkeeper.

“For some reason I like getting balls kicked at me,” said Gouabé, a first-year communications student.

Unlike most athletes playing in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), Gouabé hasn’t been playing soccer his whole life. Gouabé grew up in Yaoundé, Cameroon part of a family of six children, and he didn’t have the opportunity to play soccer growing up.

“We had [other] priorities. My mom had six kids and all of us were [working],” Gouabé said. “There was no time for soccer.”

At the age of 10, Gouabé’s life changed when he was adopted by a Canadian humanitarian visiting Cameroon.

“My [adoptive] mother used to work for UNICEF, so she picked up a Cameroonian on her way back. Luckily it was me,” Gouabé said with a smile.

In his new hometown of Chelsea, Que., a small town of about 7,000 people located just north of Ottawa, Gouabé became friends with kids who played soccer. Whenever they went to practice or to play in the park, Gouabé felt left out because he didn’t know how to play.

When Gouabé’s mother noticed he had an interest in sports, she signed him up for soccer, football and basketball.

He fell in love with soccer right away.

“Soccer just took over everything,” Gouabé said.

An interesting part about Gouabé's journey to protecting the Concordia net is that it didn't start with him stopping the ball—Gouabé started out as a defender.

That all changed during a game when Gouabé was 15 years old. His team’s goalie got injured. Without a back-up keeper, Gouabé’s coach turned to him.

“[Their reaction was to] send the biggest guy in there, and sadly that was me,” Gouabé said. “I think, until now, that was the best game of my life.”

Gouabé played the rest of that season as keeper while the original goalkeeper recovered from his injury. The coach gave Gouabé the option to return as a defender the following season, but Gouabé refused.

Balls have been kicked his way ever since.

Two year s late r, G ouab é m ade Outremont’s AAA team, and a year after that, at 18-years-old, he played semipro soccer in Ottawa. Gouabé’s career really took off when Toronto FC signed him to their youth academy. He spent a year training there before an injury forced him out of Toronto and brought him back to Montreal. He joined the Impact academy, but after a year, injury once again put his professional dreams on hold. He left the team and took a year off.

During that time off, Stingers head coach Greg Sutton let Gouabé work out with the team and offered him a spot on the squad. In his first season, he is displaying the skills he learned at both academies, and has been named the Stingers “Male Athlete of the Week” for the past two weeks.

Gouabé’s recurring knee injury has followed him throughout his career.

Gouabé has patellar tendonitis, known as “jumper’s knee,” which affects the tendons between the kneecap and the shinbone.

This condition weakens the knee’s ability to extend outwards.

“I can’t generate power without pain,” Gouabé said, while looking at his wrapped up left knee.

Gouabé, an energetic person who always has a smile on his face, does find it tough to be held back by his knee but that doesn't hinder his motivation.

He draws inspiration from the two most important women in his life: his adoptive mother and his biological mother. His adoptive mother has been with him for most of his soccer career, and he looks to her for encouragement when the going gets tough.

“She’s the first person to tell me to go and practice,” Gouabé said. “She’s the first person to tell me, ‘you’re not injured, now get out of bed.’”

“She’s gone through tough times and I’ve witnessed how she’s bounced back every time, and it’s just phenomenal. She does inspire me to do better,” Gouabé added.

As for his biological mother in Cameroon, Gouabé said she inspires him in different ways.

“My mom raising six kids—you just see the difficulty in that. I couldn’t quite grasp it since I was 10 years old, but now I see it,” Gouabé said.

Like any other athlete, Gouabé has a favourite professional player he looks up to—his is Carlos Kameni. Kameni is the goalkeeper for the Cameroonian national team and for the Málaga CF club team in Spain. He has been playing in Spain’s top division since 2004, and has faced off against some of the game’s top players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (Ronaldinho) and Samuel Eto’o. He also became the youngest soccer player ever to win an Olympic medal—at the age of 16 when he led Cameroon to gold in 2000. Kameni represented his country twice at the FIFA World Cup. For Gouabé, Kameni is one of the best keepers in the world and he attempts to draw on his playing style. Gouabé said his YouTube history is often full of videos of Kameni highlights.

“Before games, I look at his videos.

When I’m bored, I look at his videos. When I’m sad, I look at his videos,” Gouabé said.

“He’s been my idol since I was 15. He’s by far my greatest inspiration in soccer.”

Gouabé has another professional keeper in his life to draw inspiration from and that man is coach Sutton. Sutton played professionally from 1999 to 2012, including two tenures for the Montreal Impact. Sutton has a wealth of knowledge that Gouabé uses in his game.

“Mentally, physically, he knows how to prepare a keeper,” Gouabé said. “I know I have an advantage on the other keeper because my coach has been a pro goalkeeper.”

Sutton was also a former student-athlete, so he knows some of the other challenges Gouabé faces. Since the two share so many similarities, Sutton always has his door open when Gouabé needs someone to talk to.

“It’s so easy for me to go talk with him,” Gouabé said. “He makes it so much easier for me to connect with him. I’m still learning some things from him.”

Despite facing setbacks in his young soccer career, Gouabé has persevered so that he can continue do what he loves: getting balls kicked his way.

Gouabé has earned himself two Stingers “Male Athlete of the Week” honours this year. Photos by Ana Hernandez and Alex Hutchins.

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theconcordian

OCTOBER 4, 2016

FOOTBALL

Stingers defeat Gaiters to win Shrine Bowl

Concordia’s football team led a second half charge against Bishop’s to pick up their third win of the season

The Concordia Stingers had an offensive explosion in the second half which propelled them to their 50-34 win over Bishop's. Photos by Alex Hutchins.

ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR Despite being down by one point at halftime, the Concordia Stingers football team put on an offensive onslaught in the second half, propelling them to a 50-34 win against the Bishop’s Gaiters in the Shrine Bowl on Oct. 1 at Concordia Stadium.

“It felt like we were so close in the first half but in that third quarter we finally broke out,” said Stingers quarterback Trenton Miller.

“It’s just really nice to play at the level we know we can. I think [this performance] gives us a lot of confidence going into the last stretch of the year.”

The first quarter started out in Bishop’s favour as the team nabbed a field goal on the first drive of the game. Concordia’s defense looked shaky at times on that first possession, while Gaiters quarterback Jaeden Marwick and running back Trey Millings were in a groove.

Later in the quarter, with the score 3-2 after a Bishop’s safety, Miller led his team down the field for the team’s most impressive offensive possession in the game up to that point. Miller capped off the drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to running back Jean-Guy Rimpel. The Stingers went for a two-point conversion, but missed, making the score 8-3 in favour of the home team.

In the second quarter, Concordia and Bishop’s both scored touchdowns. After a rushing touchdown by Rimpel, the Stingers were up 15-10. The lead did not last long, however, as Bishop’s ended the half with two field goals by kicker Vincent Dubé, making the score 16-15 in their favour.

According to Stingers head coach Mickey Donovan, the team knew going into halftime they needed to stop taking penalties, and that the only way to win was to play their own game.

“We need to stop with the dumb penalties but we still got more of them,” Donovan

said. “The guys just have to believe in each other and not lose that trust. They have to come out, fly around and know that the guy next to them is going to do their job.

We just have to play our game and we did that in the second half.”

Indeed, the Stingers came out flying in the second half with a touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter.

On second down and eleven yards to go, Miller stepped back and threw a long ball to receiver Justin Julien who went 81 yards down the field for a touchdown, giving the Stingers a 22-16 lead.

Late in the third quarter, up 27-19 after trading field goals with Bishop’s, Miller took matters into his own hands deep in the Gaiters zone, running nine yards for a touchdown. Three minutes later, Miller threw another touchdown pass, this time to wide receiver Yanic Lessard, to make the score 41-19 in favour of Concordia.

“Just executing and doing our job is nice.

It felt really good,” Miller said. “I think our receivers played excellent, and my offensive line gave me a lot of time to throw, so to get the offense finally going was really nice.”

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Stingers put the game away as Miller gave Julien his second touchdown of the game. With the Stingers up 50-19, Miller was taken out and replaced with Colin Sequeira to avoid injury. With the game out of reach, the Gaiters scored two touchdowns, making the final score 50-34. The win was the Stingers third straight Shrine Bowl victory.

Gaiters head coach Kevin Mackey was disappointed with his team’s performance in the second half.

“If we could play 60 minutes instead of 45, the score would be a lot closer,” Mackey said. “The first half was a good half but the third quarter really hurt us.”

The Stingers will not play next weekend as the league is on its bye week. The team’s next match will be away from home against the Université de Sherbrooke on Oct. 15 at 4 p.m.

opinions

OPINIONS EDITOR /// opinions@theconcordian.com DAVID EASEY

EDITORIAL

Cut the sucrose and give us the real deal Fruits are invading Concordia—pear and peach posters hang in the metro, while pineapples are stripping in videos all over social media. One can only hope the fruit flies speed up the decaying process, but there’s no clear end in sight.

In case you have no idea what we’re talking about, Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) recently launched a new awareness campaign regarding the very serious issues of consent and sexual assault. At the heart of the campaign are three videos, each featuring fruits in a variety of potential scenarios.

While we applaud the Sexual Assault Resource Centre for their vital and amazing services they provide to our student population, we can’t hold our tongue here—we don’t appreciate these videos. They trivialize sexual assault, and present the issue in a childish form.

One video features two pears sleeping together in one bed. One pear awakens and starts to engage the other pear intimately to their dismay. The pear susceptible to this incident then rolls away, and a statistic pops up on screen in a pleasant pink hue.

“These videos provide an entry point into a more serious conversation,” said SARC coordinator Jennifer Drummond when she spoke to Concordia’s we b s i te l a s t month. “We wanted to create a new look and feel for our consent and bystander

The videos use fruits to depict potential sexual assault scenarios. Stills from videos. intervention campaign that would appeal to students,” she added.

Our own university shouldn't soften 'trigger-warning' subjects, but represent them accurately enough. These videos shouldn’t captivate a seven-year-old.

Most cases of sexual assault on campus occur within the first eight weeks of the semester, according to statistics from SARC. So this video is definitely timely, but are we not able to handle a serious campaign?

Shouldn’t real people in real settings be featured when discussing an all too common social issue? As university students, we are

on the road to becoming adults—we’re not looking to be babied.

We are not the only ones who have an issue with this video either. Last week, a post appeared on Spotted Concordia slating the videos, saying consent is all about communication, yet the video features no verbal communication whatsoever. Very odd indeed.

We think we need to keep talking about these issues, but the university needs to create content to better represent our reality—not some playful animation that belongs in a Saturday morning cartoon.

SAFETY

Is groping on the metro really “a big deal?”

Discussing the issue of safety regarding Montreal’s unguarded public transport system

SANIA MALIK CONTRIBUTOR There are thousands of people who use the Montreal metro system every single day. It’s a means of getting from home, to school, to work.

But for some women, a metro ride can take an unpleasant turn, and suddenly you feel you’re trapped in a room with no way out.

A conversation I overheard recently spiked my anger. A man was discussing sexual harassment complaints on the metro with his friend. He ignorantly asked: “Is it really such a big deal to be groped on the metro? It’s a damn compliment!” I cringed as he guffawed with his friend, and I couldn’t help but think that this is why victims don’t always talk about their experiences. They’re afraid of being asked, “Is it really a big deal?”

Let’s take the case of Isha Sheikh, 20, who was headed home from school one day during rush hour. Needless to say, the metro car was crowded.

“I sat down and saw an old man get on the metro. He sat across me on the other side but suddenly, he was next to me on the empty seat. I noticed how he took up a lot of space. Suddenly, I felt something on my thigh, and I looked down to see his hand placed there,” Sheikh said.

“Initially, I was confused and tried to make sense out of what was happening. I told myself that this old man probably didn’t realize that his hand was on my thigh. But

Are Montreal metros really safe for the passengers on them? Archive photo by Marie-Pierre Savard. then his hand started creeping upwards and his grip became tight. It was my first time in this kind of situation and I didn’t know what to do,” Sheikh said, furrowing her eyebrows and shrugging.

“So I decided to roughly move his hand off my thigh, but then he put his arm around me and smiled at me,” she said. “He smiled at me! His grip tightened, and I sat there debating what to do because I didn’t want to make a scene. So I got up to leave but, as I left, he grabbed my bum. I went to the end of the car where one man who witnessed it all asked me if I was okay, and walked

away once I nodded,” she said.

Less than one in 10 individuals report incidents of sexual harassment and assault to the police, according to Statistics Canada.

This means survivors aren’t willing to come forward because of the stigma that’s associated this very serious issue.

Questions arise: What was she wearing?

Did she ‘lead’ him on?

It’s upsetting to not see a stronger police presence on our metro cars, and evening more disturbing to see the STM security ticketing the innocent public instead of actually catching criminals.

You’d think that bystanders would reach out and try to acknowledge the situation, but most people just avoid eye contact and turn their heads.

It's unfortunate that not everyone understands the severity and seriousness of sexual harassment, especially in a public place—you're surrounded by people but it’s rare that anyone tries to help. You're just trying to get somewhere, and the last thing you want is an old man's tight grip on your thigh and his creepy smile in your face. It's upsetting and enraging and it certainly is a big deal.

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theconcordian

OCTOBER 4, 2016

FREE SPEECH

Safe spaces: Both useful and necessary

Why misconceptions concerning safe spaces can often lead to a heated conflict

Graphic by Thom Bell.

Supporters GREGORY TODARO MANAGING EDITOR As safe spaces pop up on university campuses across the country, so too does the debate of limiting free speech.

All too often, critics of safe spaces say the concept is designed to keep out ideas or opinions that conflict with a particular set of beliefs or values. And all too often, I’ve heard people call these spaces “closedminded,” and complain that students are being babied and coddled.

These arguments barely have a leg to stand on. In some cases, this dislike towards safe spaces is a genuine disrespect of an individual’s right to want to get away from various forms of oppression. However, I do feel much of the aversion to these spaces stems from a lack of understanding of what a safe space actually is. I rarely see any critiques of safe spaces actually take the time to properly explain what a safe space is, or the complexity of safe space policies in general. So, before breaking down why the spaces actually contribute to campus and student life, it’s important to look at what constitutes a safe space.

While the specifics of any particular safe space vary, at its essence, it’s a space where individuals can feel protected from unwanted or unsafe situations based on gender, race, age, sexuality, religion affiliation and other aspects of identity, orientation or beliefs. In these spaces, respect for every individual’s background and experiences is key. In communities as diverse as Montreal and Concordia, students from all walks of life have different relationships with the world, and it’s vital we provide a space that allows for a respectful conversation about these differences.

Certain groups with particular goals or mandates will create safe space rules that reflect their values. This summer, executives—including myself—at Concordia’s LGBTQ+ resource centre, Queer Concordia,

rewrote the organization’s safe space policy. In it, we highlighted the importance of creating a space free from not only homophobia and transphobia, but also sexism, racism and ableism, among other aspects of identity. The policy also has specific rules against hate speech, and outlines a specific protocol for addressing various offences of the safe space policy, including the handling of offensive language.

Canadians have a fundamental, undeniable right to free speech as outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms—but even those rights fall short of protecting against hate speech. In that regard, safe spaces like Queer Concordia’s don’t deny anyone any freedom of speech rights already implemented in the law.

Where the confusion comes in is perhaps the prohibited use of “offensive language” and the difficulty in defining what can be considered offensive. Everyone has a different line as to what they find of fensive, and it ’s difficult to draw one solid line in the sand. However, safe spaces like the one at Queer Concordia try to create a “call-out culture” where “calling out” offensive language and sentiments can be used as an opportunity to educate people about why certain language or expressions are considered offensive.The process of “calling out” involves explaining and discussing why a phrase, expression or action is offensive—the total opposite of shutting down all conversation.

This isn’t stifling free speech, this is creating a culture where we can break down the language we use, and understand how it’s harmful to marginalized groups

or individuals.

It’s also important to note that “calling out” doesn't happen only to privileged individuals or those with different political views, but it could also happen to marginalized people who may speak offensively without realizing it. “Calling out” shouldn’t be considered shameful or mean—it’s a way to generate conversation and realize our own biases and problematic tendencies.

For marginalized students, safe spaces can be one of the only places they feel they have the power or security to discuss these ideas. It’s easy to say bad ideas can be defeated in a sort of “free market” of

ideas. However, when you consider that these marginalized individuals have long been denied the opportunity to discuss their ideas in any way, how else are new ideas from these marginalized communities supposed to develop?

Safe spaces provide a place for different ideas to develop and grow without being shut down by a system that was never created to account for differing perspectives—like modern-day versions of 18th century salons in France, home to intellectual discussions lead by marginalized groups. If nothing else, the increase in safe spaces across university campuses is a sign that the concept of a safe space is succeeding in this “free market.”

These safe spaces are generally small pockets scattered across campuses, not large, university-led initiatives. Having safe spaces on campus isn’t affecting the whole student population. Even the use of trigger warnings in class won’t end the possibility of debate or discussion—they simply give students the opportunity to leave the room if they feel the need to do so. In a cinema course I took last year, one of the films screened was I Spit On Your Grave—the 1978 film infamous for having the longest rape scene in history at around 25 minutes. By warning the class, the professor might have saved victims of sexual violence from reliving their traumatic experiences. It’s unrealistic to expect victims of sexual violence to disclose this sort of private and personal information to their professors. The 30 seconds it takes to warn students about something like this takes nothing away from other students’ learning experience.

Graphic by Florence Yee.

etc

MACKENZIE LAD Mackenzie Lad is a first year Anthropology and Sociology student at Concordia who once picked up a film camera and hasn’t put it down since. From behind the viewfinder, she tries to measure the distance between a moment and a memory. Once in a while, she gets it right.

The following photos, which are part of an untitled series, were shot on 35mm film.

20 theconcordian

OCTOBER 4, 2016

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