Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper
theconcordian
VOLUME 35, ISSUE 21 | TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018
theconcordian.com /theconcordian @theconcordian
theconcordian
Taking home gold Stingers women’s hockey team win championship for the first time since 2005
Sports p. 16
feature
news
Performance art meets robotics — A part-time faculty profile
life
Students propose Making room for policy changes p. 2 all narratives p. 7
arts
music
p. 14
opinions
A Nuit Blanche Our picks for your Concordia needs full of colour p. 10 study playlist p. 12 to listen up p. 18
news
NEWS EDITORS /// news@theconcordian.com CANDICE PYE & ETIENNE LAJOIE ( @candicepye @renegadereports)
CONGRESS
Students discuss proposals for policy changes
Mandatory consent training for university staff and students dominates conversation MATTHEW COYTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR MEGAN HUNT ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Concordia students and department association representatives voiced their thoughts on potential sexual misconduct policy changes at a student congress hosted by the Concordia Student Union (CSU) on Feb. 28. At the end of the night, attendees voted on which demands would be included in a proposal the CSU will present to the university's administration. Following the congress, Leyla Sutherland, the CSU student life coordinator, said that despite the discussion not taking place in an official student union setting, the approved proposals will have a real impact and will be presented to the administration “very soon.” “When the details are plugged into these proposals, they will be very effective ways of addressing and hopefully combating campus sexual violence,” Sutherland said. “I didn’t know what was going to come from [the congress]. I’m happy to have so many proposals to dig my teeth into.” The congress took place in the downtown Webster Library lobby. The chairs that had been set up were quickly filled, and many attendees had to stand. Audience members candidly discussed their concerns about sexual misconduct at Concordia, as well as the administration’s response to the allegations plaguing the creative writing program. A recurring concern was the lack of mandatory training on issues such as consent, power dynamics, sensitivity
Leyla Sutherland (right) discusses mandatory consent training at the student congress. Photo by Mackenzie Lad. and disclosure. Although Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) offers consent workshops, students and staff are not required to attend. SARC did not have a representative at the congress. Following a lengthy discussion, which saw the proposal go through multiple iterations, the congress attendees voted on a demand for the university to fully fund mandatory consent training for all students, staff and faculty within a reasonable time frame. The demand received unanimous approval from attendees, meaning it will be fully endorsed by the CSU and included in their proposal to the administration. The congress attendees also voted to approve a demand for the university to accept all the policy
recommendations made by Our Turn, an organization that works with student associations across Canada to prevent sexual violence. These recommendations include developing and adopting peer-to-peer sexual violence prevention and training. Another proposal included lifting the current rule that all applicants to the university’s Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence fulfill the vague requirement of “good academic standing.” One of the many student associations present at the congress was the Concordia Association for Students in English (CASE). “I think it was important for CASE to participate because, obviously, a lot of the attention has been surrounding cases that are specific to the English department, even though it’s happening
in various places at Concordia,” said CASE president Debby Gemme. “This particular executive team is committed to helping fix these issues [...] and I think this went really, really well.” A Concordia student employed by the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre (MSAC) said they wanted to participate in the congress after having seen a spike in calls to the centre from Concordia students and others following the #MeToo movement. “It has come to our attention that there’s a problem with the Concordia administration and how it addresses complaints,” said the student, who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m hoping that numbers have power, and it’s going to put enough pressure on the administration to give us more leeway or liberty in defining these
Concordia students gather to discuss policy changes at student congress. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.
new policies that work better to address students’ rights.” The congress was attended by numerous student politicians, including councillors, Senate and executives members. Jonathan Roy, the president of the Arts and Science Federation Associations (ASFA), also attended the meeting. He said he is happy to be able to present these proposals to ASFA members, as well as to the Senate of which he is also a member. “These are very acceptable, realistic requests. We want to feel safe in our own school; that’s not a wild thing to ask for,” Roy said. “We need to take action and hold the administration accountable.” Despite the congress being open to faculty, only one professor showed up to voice her opinion. Kate Bligh is a part-time faculty member in the School of Irish Studies, as well as the theatre and English departments. She shared input that helped the congress shape their proposal, including insight that the university could not legally force part-time staff to undergo this training, as it would violate their contracts. All training at the part-time level would have to be voluntary. She also suggested the congress add these proposals under the health and safety regulations already in place, which the congress did. Bligh said that, in her 20 years of teaching, she has never been called to attend any training like the kind the CSU is hoping to implement. “The same way that we hold discrimination and violence to this standard, we have to do the same with sexual assault and violence,” Bligh said. “We need to decide what sort of culture our school should have.”
MARCH 6, 2018
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INVESTIGATION
Complaints filed against two instructors Jon Paul Fiorentino and David McGimpsey named in third-party probe into sexual misconduct allegations MATTHEW LAPIERRE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR A l a b o u r l aw ye r h i re d by Concordia University to conduct a third-party investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct in the school’s creative writing program has received complaints against two Concordia part-time instructors, according to CBC News. Jon Paul Fiorentino and David McGimpsey were both named by investigator Catherine Maheu as being the subjects of complaints. According to CBC News, Maheu was hired by the university earlier this year to probe allegations of widespread sexual misconduct and abuse of power in Concordia’s creative writing program. Her name had not yet been made public by the university. CBC News obtained an audio recording in which Maheu outlines her role in the investigation. "What you need to understand is that what I am doing is complaint-driven,” she said in the recording, “which means that there are complaints that were
filed against Dr. McGimpsey and Professor—or Mr.—Fiorentino.” Alt hough F iorent ino and McGimpsey were or iginally scheduled to teach this semester, their classes have been reassigned while the allegations against them are being investigated. Concordia president Alan Shepard told The Concordian on Feb. 15 that professors are not allowed to teach while they’re under investigation. The complaints come after a wave of blog posts, articles, tweets and Facebook posts were written in January criticizing the culture in Concordia’s creative writing program and the broader Canadian literary community. Current and former students have criticized the university for not acting sooner on allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2014, Concordia graduate Emma Healey published a personal essay in which she discussed an abusive relationship she had with one of her professors. Similar claims of sexual misconduct were also brought directly to the chair of the English department in February 2015, when six students wrote a
formal complaint detailing the program’s toxic culture. In January, former Concordia creative writing student Mike Spry created a blog called “Canlit Accountable” in which he recounted how Concordia students who wished to make a name for themselves in the Canadian literary scene were exploited by their professors. In the wake of his piece, current and former Concordia students have denounced abuses of power in the creative writing program and demanded the university address the issue of student-staff relationships.
The university responded by commissioning an independent investigator to look into the complaints against professors and announced a climate review to assess the culture of Concordia’s English department. Additionally, the university is putting together a task force to consult with members of the community and review Concordia’s current sexual misconduct policies. On Feb. 28, Joyland, an online magazine that publishes short stories, announced on Facebook that it would be removing Fiorentino’s work from its website
and would consider doing the same for McGimpsey. “As writers, as women, as sur vivors, reading about the culture at Concordia has been heart-wrenching,” the post read. “But Joyland is a writing community, not an institution, and our strength is that we can listen to each other and change.” Concordia refused to comment on the investigation into Fiorentino and McGimpsey.
Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.
STUDENT POLITICS
Space Concordia fee-levy request denied
Group seeks approval to ask students for $0,16 per credit fee-levy; complaint policy questioned ÉTIENNE LAJOIE NEWS EDITOR Space Concordia president Mark Snidal went to the March 5 Concordia Student Union (CSU) special council meeting hoping council would approve asking the student body if they would accept a $0.16 per credit fee-levy for his organization, effective Summer 2018. “Over time, our scope has expanded [...] more recently we’ve started including projects from students outside the scope of engineering,” said Snidal when asked why he believed Space Concordia should be receiving money from Concordia’s student body through a fee-levy. In addition to their skepticism about Space Concordia’s benefit to the entire student body—and, therefore, whether it merited a fee-levy—the union called into question the functioning of the organization’s proposed complaint policy, which would be implemented along with a fee-levy. Snidal explained that a permanent committee for dispute resolutions would be formed in order to address complaints made by members “arising out
of or related to the Constitution, or out of any aspect of the operations of the Association,” the constitution reads. The committee, Snidal suggested, would be chaired by a Space Concordia executive. It would also consist of a temporarily appointed member from Space Concordia, as well as a member of the CSU council and two students at large. Cer tain council members pointed out that a conflict of interest may arise if the organization names its own chair, and council member Rowan Gaudet said he’d never seen the CSU appoint someone to sit on a complaints board for a fee-levy group. “I think that’s not really our place [...] that’s not something the CSU is responsible for, and also the CSU can’t promise it will go well,” Gaudet said. “I think it’s really important that the complaint process is done in a way that the people coming forward feel comfortable and safe, and not necessarily that they are going to be outed by a committee right away when the committee is being chosen,” added Sophie Hough-Martin, a council member who sits on the student union’s policy
Space Concordia president Mark Snidal argued his group should receive a fee-levy during a CSU special council meeting on March 5. Photo by Étienne Lajoie.
committee. Hough-Martin also recommended the group include consent and sensitivity training for its members. According to CSU council member Aliénor Lougerstay— who also work s as Space Concordia’s vice-president for marketing—the organization only recently received feedback f rom t he union about t heir constitution, which includes
the complaint policy, despite having submitted the proposed constitution to the CSU policy committee in December. Lougerstay said the original proposal for the committee for dispute resolutions was that it be internal. However, the CSU policy committee noted that, since a person might file a complaint against the Space Concordia executive body, it
couldn’t be internal. “We tried to f igure out something, so that’s how we came up with the idea [of having a CSU member on the committee.],” Lougerstay said. In the end, the CSU council voted in favour of referring Space Concordia’s fee-lev y request—including the complaint policy—back to the student union policy committee for review.
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theconcordian
MARCH 6, 2018
MENTAL HEALTH
De-stress yourself before you wreck yourself Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre co-hosts Self-Care Week
CANDICE PYE NEWS EDITOR The Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) is hosting a SelfCare Week at Concordia in collaboration with the Centre for Gender Advocacy, Health Services, Counselling and Psychological Services and several other groups. “We wanted to host a self-care week to provide opportunities for individuals in our community to de-stress, cope, break isolation and try out some new activities that might resonate with them,” said SARC coordinator Jennifer Drummond. Until March 9, students can attend a variety of workshops and presentations focusing on self-care and wellbeing, exploring topics like
mindfulness, stress management, herbalism, artistic expression and communication. Self-care generally encompasses acts of love for one’s own physical, mental or emotional health. According to Drummond, self-care, at its core, is “an activity or practice that helps you de-stress, feel good or cope with life.” Essentially, it involves putting yourself first and making sure you are in a good place physically and mentally. Many people tend to cope with stress, strong emotions or unwanted situations in negative ways. According to the Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of British Columbia, a negative coping strategy can be distinguished from a positive coping strategy by
evaluating its effectiveness in both the short-term and long-term. Negative coping strategies tend to provide temporary stress relief, but may increase the amount of stress we experience in the long-term. These often include activities that promote avoidance and distraction, such as procrastinating or relying on drugs and alcohol to escape stressful problems. While negative coping strategies might help someone feel relaxed for a short period of time, true self-care promotes long-term physical and emotional health. This means using more positive coping techniques, like getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet and scheduling time for yourself. Drummond said she hopes to
SELF-CARE WEEK SCHEDULE T u esd ay, M a rc h 6
Guided Conversation Multi-Faith & Spirituality Centre 2090 Mackay St. 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Beading Workshop Aboriginal Student Resource Centre
Hall building, 6th floor, room 640 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Plant Sale
Concordia Greenhouse Hall building, 13th floor 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
increase student awareness of the services available at Concordia. “ There are a lot of great resources on campus,” she said. “We wanted to have diverse activities and workshops available during the week.” Drummond said this week of events will give Concordia students a chance to take a break, have meaningful conversations and connect with others. “Starting small is one way to implement something new into your regular routine, like trying a self-care practice that is short or easy to do, or even doing something once a week instead of feeling like you need to incorporate something every day,” she said. “Self care is whatever works for you.” (See Facebook event for d eta i l s a n d R S V P i n fo)
Wed nesday, March 7
Thursd ay, March 8
Frid ay, March 9
Health Services, Counselling and Psychological Services
Health Services
Counselling and Psychological Services
Insomnia and Poor Sleep
GM Building, 2nd floor, Room 200 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Indigenous Art Workshop
Centre for Gender Advocacy Hall building, 6th floor, Room 640 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Stress Management Workshop GM Building, 2nd floor, Room 200 1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Herbalism and Stress Workshop Blueberryjams
Hall building, 6th floor, Room 640 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Mindfulness Workshop
Hall building, 6th floor, Room 640 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
SELF-CARE TIPS FROM STUDENTS “I journal a couple of times a week to check in on myself. That's usually when I figure out what is bothering me and I make plans to improve my situation. It's cleansing.” - Cynthia Larche “I used to be bingeing stuff on Netflix, but since I switched into computer sciences, I started reading to relax. It feels much better, since I usually stare at a screen all day to work.” - Isaac Abramowitz “Time managing your homework and work schedule so that there's time where you can just relax, as opposed to being constantly busy.” - Salena Wiener “When I know I've had a really tough day, before I go to bed, I just sit in bed cross-legged with a fuzzy blanket over my shoulders. I close my eyes and focus myself on what my senses are feeling. It's basically a mindfulness technique that places me in the moment.” - Jonathan Roy “Being a student, I really need something non school-related in my schedule! I signed up for intramurals as a way to make sure my brain would get a break every once in a while.” - Gabrielle Lametti “Learning to not feel guilty about saying no to going out when you don't want to. Learning to not feel guilty about eating St-Hubert on the couch and watching Netflix.” - Emma Loerick “Meditating every single day.” - Anaïs Venegas-Grün “Sad, angry, depressing music helps me deal with my emotions, as opposed to keeping them in.” - Edgar Jose Becerra Granados Graphics by Zeze Le Lin.
life
LIFE EDITOR /// life@theconcordian.com SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ
CONFERENCE
What looms on the horizon for journalism?
McGill hosts discussions with industry bigwigs, veteran correspondents and student journalists
The National’s Adrienne Arsenault
KENNETH GIBSON VIDEO EDITOR Even though journalism is facing enormous challenges, the profession i s g o i n g t h ro u g h s o m ew h at of a renaissance. That was the general consensus among panelists at the Journalism and Media Conference, held in the McGill University Student Centre from Feb. 26 to 28. The conference was co-hosted by The Tribune and The Daily publishing societies, responsible for publishing McGill's two English-language student newspapers. The panels featured conversations with new and veteran industry insiders, moderated by editors from The Tribune, The Daily and McGill’s francophone student newspaper, Le Délit. The editor-in-chief of the McGill Tribune , Nicholas Jasinski, said the goal of the conference was to provide McGill students interested in journalism with the opportunity to learn about the industry and its future. “Unlike Concordia, McGill does not have a journalism program, and part of the [Tribune] Publishing Societ y’s mandate is to act as an educational resource for st udent s interested in journalism,” he said. Each panel related to the conference’s theme, “jour nalism redef ined,” and focused on recent trends in the industry that have changed the way journalists do their job.
alongside NPR’s Deidre Depke on
DAY ONE Public Broadcasting Panels on the first day included some serious CBC heavyweights, such as Julian Sher, a senior producer at CBC’s The Fifth Estate, who led a panel on investigative reporting. There was also a bilingual Q&A session with Hubert Lacroix, the former president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. Lacroix was blunt when he compared the CBC’s funding model to other public broadcasters around the world. “I’ll tell you that we have a different business model, and I’ll tell you right away that it’s broken,” he said. Lacroix explained that 65 per cent of the CBC’s revenue comes from the government, and 45 per cent comes from commercial revenue, notably television advertising. Due to the overall decrease in advertising revenue in the media industry, Lacroix was adamant that the CBC needs to be completely government-funded to ensure its future success. “We want to go ad-free in order to have stable, multi-year funding,” he said. “You need to be able to give us a funding model that is not crumbling.” The next panel featured long-time senior correspondent and the new co-host of CBC’s The National, Adrienne Arsenault. She was joined by Deidre Depke, the New York bureau chief for NPR’s Marketplace. Both women agreed that President Donald Trump's animosity towards the press, and the recent increase in newspaper subscriptions seemingly in response
Feb. 26. Photo by Kenneth Gibson.
to his attacks, have created an exciting news environment to work in. “This is an era of ‘bring it,’” Arsenault said. “This is what separates the posers from the people who really do the job.” DAY TWO Fake News and Foreign Correspondence Day two began with Emily Kingsland, a research librarian at McGill, leading a workshop on verifying news to avoid being duped by websites masquerading as legitimate news sources. Kingsland recommended techniques such as considering the audience an article is written for, assessing the authority or credibility of the source, and keeping an eye out for sloppiness, like typos or unprofessional tone and word choice. Then, for a different look at fake news, Emma Overton from The Beaverton, a Canadian news satire website, answered questions about what it’s like to write made-up news for a living. Overton talked about The Beaverton’s writing process, but also provided an eloquent explanation of the difference between fake news and satire, arguing that good satire is actually rooted in truth. “Its intent should be to expose and criticize a societal ill and make people more curious about the topic,” she said. “The intention of fake news is almost always to deceive the reader for political gain.” In the evening, two highly-accomplished foreign correspondents, Dan Bilefsky from The New York Times and Michel Cormier
from Radio-Canada, shared anecdotes about the specific highs and lows they’ve experienced as foreign correspondents. The Montreal-bor n Bilefsky was recently re-assigned to Montreal by The New York Times as a “Canada correspondent,” part of the paper’s push to appeal more to their Canadian readers. He spoke about the peculiarity of returning to his hometown after 28 years, and going from writing about war criminals to writing about poutine. DAY THREE Indigenous Reporting The most compelling panel of day three was on Indigenous reporting. It featured Daniel Rowe, a reporter for The Eastern Door, Kahnawake’s community newspaper, and Christine Lussier, the co-producer of Nipivut Radio, an Inuit community program on McGill’s radio station, CKUT. Lussier pointed out that many distinct nations and communities fall under the umbrella of “Indigenous” in Canada, and there is a common misconception that all Indigenous reporting focuses on the same broad issues. In reality, Lussier said, an Indigenous reporter’s writing will reflect the community they are reporting on, as with any other reporting. The t wo panelists also discussed the role Indigenous reporting plays in creating a more diverse representation of Indigenous people in the media, rather than the handful of cliché news stories that tend to be written about Indigenous communities by non-Indigenous reporters.
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theconcordian
MARCH 6, 2018
WINTER PRIDE WEEK
Exploring LGBTQ+ literature on campus Queer Between the Covers hosts a colourful book and zine fair alongside local artists MIA ANHOURY ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR Concordia’s EV atrium is often bustling with students, walking in all different directions, in a constant hurry. On Feb. 27, though, students slowed down and took a moment to pass by the Queer Between the Covers (QBtC) book and zine fair. The book fair was one of many events organized for Concordia’s first Winter Pride Week, which ran from Feb. 26 to March 2. The QBtC book fair collective provides the Montreal community with written works about queer topics by queer authors. According to Dorian Fraser, one of the event’s organizers, the fair had been in the works since September. The collective’s table was filled with zines and literature about LGBTQ+ topics and experiences, which were available for purchase on a pay-what-you-can basis. “Our goal is to showcase the community’s voice in a public space, so that marginalized individuals feel like they have a safe place,” Fraser said, just as someone walked by and noticed the theme of the fair. “Oh my god, I love this,” they exclaimed. “I feel at home.” According to Fraser, the fair was also an opportunity for individuals to learn about services available to them on campus and in the community, such as the Centre for Gender Advocacy. Lucy Uprichard, a member of the QBtC, said many of the zines and books for sale
Representatives from Queer Between the Covers at the book and zine fair. From left: Lucy Uprichard, Joanna Pitsounis and Dorian Fraser. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
were shipped from the United States, the United Kingdom and even France. A very rare find, Manifeste d’une femme trans et autres textes by Julia Serano, a trans-bi activist, was available for purchase at the collective’s table. Kersplebedeb Publishing and Distribution, a radical left-wing publishing house, had a whole library of books at the fair, including feminist and anti-homophobic content. Behind the tables, Montreal-based queer freelance artists showcased their artwork, designs, zines, clothing and accessories, like pins.
Artist Kay Nau had her art on display at the fair. “I do a lot of exploration of line work and experiment with the background and the foreground,” she explained. A large part of her work is inspired by her experiences as a black woman, including people’s misconceptions about her hair. Many of the drawings and paintings she had on display featured inter-racial and homosexual couples. Noé Larose, the woman behind Fat Kitty Rising, had patches layed out with embroidered sayings, such as “Anxious mess” and “Fat babe.” Larose said she
uses embroidery as a coping mechanism for her chronic physical pain, as well as her anxiety disorder. Her collection also included patches with the different astrological signs on them. Many of the other tables exhibited zines about homosexuality and being transgender, as well as comical zines created by the various artists in attendance. For Sorya Nguon-Bélisle, a photographer selling her magazine, J’ai choke, “showcasing my work like that is vulnerable in the same way people I profile show their vulnerability.”
WINTER PRIDE WEEK
Transitioning to a universal healthcare system Activists discuss challenges the LGBTQ+ community faces when seeking medical treatment MIA ANHOURY ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR “The problem is not being trans, but being trans in a transphobic society,” said Devon Simpson, a street worker for Head & Hands, a Montreal-based organization that offers medical, legal and social services to youth. As part of Concordia’s first Winter Pride Week, the School of Community and Public Affairs hosted a panel on Feb. 27 titled “Universal Healthcare, Really?” to discuss trans people’s lack of accessibility to healthcare. Canadian society has come a long way in the last decade with regards to LGBTQ+ rights. However, a closer look at Quebec’s healthcare system reveals significant systemic discrimination against trans people, explained Simpson, who establishes liaisons between trans people and Clinique 1851, a clinic on Sherbrooke Street known for accommodating trans people. The panel’s mediator, Kimberley Manning, a trans youth advocate and principal of the Simone De Beauvoir Institute, focused the discussion on Quebec’s outdated healthcare system when it comes to doctor’s practices and the treatment of trans people. According to panelist Dr. Charles-Olivier Basile, a family physician in Montreal who treats trans people, only a handful of clinics have a doctor who specializes in or under-
stands trans healthcare, so access is limited. When he was in medical school, Basile said he realized there was a significant lack of emphasis on trans healthcare. Gender dysphoria is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which provides the criteria needed for a psychiatrist to make a diagnosis and allow the person to move forward in their transition. Therefore, going through the healthcare system in order to transition is a must, yet trans people cannot just walk into any clinic to receive hormone therapy. “Nevermind how hard it is to find a doctor, the access to care is very territorial and many [trans people] do not have the material means to get across the city,” Simpson said.
Part of the care trans people seek is an explanation of all the risk factors associated with a particular surgery or treatment so that they can give informed consent before proceeding, explained Betty Iglesias, a Montreal-based trans advocate and former outreach worker for Action Santé Travesti(e) s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec. For many trans people, the idea of seeking medical treatment, even outside of their transition, can be stressful and uncomfortable. “They even fear not knowing if their chosen pronouns will be respected,” Simpson said. As a street worker, Simpson gives their phone number to trans individuals in case they need help navigating these challenges. Panelist Caroline Trottier-Gascon, a
From left: Devon Simpson, a street worker at Head & Hands; Caroline Trottier-Gascon, a Concordia PhD student; and Dr. Charles-Olivier Basile. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.
Concordia PhD student researching the history of trans communities, emphasized the fear trans people face when they have no choice but to go to an emergency room for an injury such as a broken leg. In those situations, trans individuals often must explain to a doctor why a certain painkiller or medication will not interfere with their hormone therapy or other ongoing treatments, Trottier-Gascon explained. “This delays the process of their treatment,” Simpson said, adding that these inquiries by doctors “may be in good faith, but sometimes it comes from ignorance.” Not having their physical appearance match the sex on their ID card can be another source of delay in these situations, Simpson said. In addition to limited access, not all aspects of transitioning are covered by medicare, such as breast augmentation and voice therapy, Basile said. Even when certain treatments are covered, there are still additional hidden fees associated with transitioning which should be covered by health insurance plans, Basile explained. Although Montreal is a go-to destination for trans Quebecers to find a community and the healthcare they need, according to Iglesias, the system is far from perfect. “It’s an active decision to not properly train medical professionals about trans healthcare,” said Trottier-Gascon, adding that, until this type of training is implemented, Quebec’s healthcare system will not be truly universal.
MARCH 6, 2018
PERSONAL ESSAY
theconcordian
7
Sort of a funny story
Magic happens when women tell their stories and break down stereotypes MEGAN HUNT ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR “I knew I wanted to create a show, but I didn’t feel I had the right to.” This is what my friend Kate Lindner told me as she explained the inception of Infemous , a monthly variety show she now produces and hosts at the Montreal Improv theatre. Despite being active in Montreal’s comedy scene, Lindner, a Concordia creative writing student and emerging comedienne, was initially worried she didn’t have the experience needed to justify producing her own show. But, with the support and encouragement of other women in comedy, Lindner created Infemous, an hour-long show featuring improv, monologues and sketch comedy performed exclusively by women and non-binary performers. When Lindner offered me the opportunity to perform as a guest monologist in the second Infemous show, I had plenty of questions—the first of which being: what, exactly, is a monologist? As it turns out, a monologist is a storyteller, which on paper sounds like a pretty fitting match for me, considering I’m a creative writing student. Unlike my written work, though, the challenge and excitement of monology stems from the fact that it’s dynamic and live, with no opportunity for revision after the fact. The idea is to share, in front of a live audience, two five-minute monologues related to femininity in some sense. The
monologues are intended to be entertaining, funny, memorable, but most importantly, true. It would be my first time on a stage since my high school theatre nerd days, and even then, I was used to reading lines other people had written. While my creative writing education focuses primarily on fictional worlds and characters, and my work with The Concordian requires airtight, fact-checked truth, my role in Infemous would be about being myself and telling my own stories. I was worried I would be met with blank, unresponsive stares; that I would somehow mess up at being me. I was scared that maybe I didn’t have any stories worth telling. Obviously, being afraid to stand in front of a live audience Members of the sketch comedy show Infemous after a successful performance. Photo by Lauren Pinsler. isn’t a particularly unique anxiety, but it is a big part of why Lindner decided to create Infemous. We still live masturbation, and the audience laughed but not a night that could have existed in a world where women and non-binary along each time. without women creating these spaces, people are left wondering if there’s Despite my anxieties, the night was telling their stories and jokes, and inviting room for their stories and abilities. a blast. The entire cast met before the other women and non-binary folks to Infemous offers a space where our voices show to play improv games, decorate share theirs as well. are both welcomed and celebrated. It’s not signs with glittery paint and let a fancy Ultimately, I couldn’t have asked for a place for shock-value offensiveness or new app guide us through breathing and a better group to share my stories with, competition between performers—it’s a mindfulness exercises. The audience was or a better cast of women to share the place to break stereotypes and explore receptive and gracious, and every step of stage with. narratives that might still feel foreign on the way I felt comfortable and validated. If you’re interested in checking out most stages. During the first two Infemous The other performers were wildly hilarious, Infemous, the next show will take place shows, performers cracked jokes about but I wouldn’t have expected anything on March 24 at 8 p.m. at the Montreal everything from used tampons to female less from them. It was an amazing night, Improv theatre.
WINTER PRIDE WEEK
A transnational quest for love
Kama La Mackerel’s keynote showcased her personal journey through space and narratives SANDRA HERCEGOVA LIFE EDITOR
apparently, I could only do abroad, beyond the boundaries of the ocean that surrounded my home,” La Mackerel said. In honour of Concordia’s first Winter Pride Week, La Mackerel presented a keynote performance lecture on March 2, titled ''There is Enough Space for our Narratives in the World.'' La Mackerel performed an intimate form of spoken-word poetry and song chanting
to share her life journey. She crossed oceans and continents, running away from herself and her past while searching for love and Kama La Mackerel, a multidisciplinary acceptance. She has many theories about artist, arts facilitator, educator and why she left Mauritius. However, she insisted, community worker, was born in Mauritius, “just for today, we will say that I left my an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean. parents’ house and I left the home-island She left her homeland when she was just because I went searching for love.” 18, in part because, “I was queer, and I Her quest began with a full scholarship wanted to live a queer life—something that, to the University of Poona in India to study literature and philosophy. After finishing her undergrad in India, La Mackerel moved to Peterborough, Ont., with a full scholarship to complete her master’s thesis at Trent University. Three years later, she moved to Montreal and began working with the queer community. “The queer community taught me a lot of things. It taught me a lot about sex, a lot about consent, desire or not being desired,” she said. La Mackerel co-founded Qouleur, an annual arts festival and healing space by and for Montreal-based trans artists of colour. She “Love is about practice; it’s about learning to do it well on a daily basis,” said La Mackerel during her is also the founder and keynote performance lecture. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.
hostess of GENDER B(L)ENDER, the city’s only monthly queer open mic. In the summer of 2017, La Mackerel launched Our Bodies, Our Stories, an arts and performance mentorship program for queer and trans youth of colour aged 16 to 24. “It’s been really meaningful for me to work with youth, and I am learning and I am being so inspired,” La Mackerel said. The program focuses on discussions through storytelling: “We come across the questions of silence, lying and the question of truth and the multiple ways in which we have been told that our truths and voices are not valid,” she said. La Mackerel emphasized the importance of educating and empowering youth. “I am always talking about what we will be building for the next generation.” The mentorship program allows her to look back at her teenage years. “This is me speaking back to 15-year-old me and saying, ‘You didn’t have it, but the next generation will.’” If La Mackerel’s transnational journey taught her anything, it’s that the world is more open than it seems. “There’s a lot of relationships to be built. There’s a lot of new kinship to reinvent,” she said. “Maybe there isn’t enough space for my narratives in my home, but I know now that there is enough space for my narratives in the world.”
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MARCH 6, 2018
FEMINISM
The power of vulnerability Get to know the self-proclaimed high priestess of dank memery
Photo by Alex Hutchins.
ALEX HUTCHINS PHOTO EDITOR “I’m just a young woman trying to navigate the world, and trying to do so in a way that is in line with her own values and lived experiences,” said Dre, a.k.a @gothshakira, an intersectional feminist and Latinx meme creator. On Feb. 27, alongside photographer Edward Row, Dre spoke at a panel on social media as part of a three-day journalism networking event hosted at McGill University. Dozens of student journalists attended a series of panels on the future of journalism, given the advent of digital media. Yet only some had the privilege of listening to Dre speak about creating autobiographical memes that challenge the mainstream representation of various marginalized groups and the power of sharing personal experiences. Memes plague the internet, popping up on our Instagram and
Facebook feeds all too frequently, redirecting our attention to a joke or poignant comment. However, Dre’s memes often intimately recount her personal experiences, which creates an aura of human emotion not typically found on the internet. “It's hard trying to be human through [a medium] that is inhuman,” Dre said. “The pursuit of authenticity, in that sense, is always going to be inherently inauthentic.” Given that Dre’s memes are so emotionally raw, many of her followers often feel as though they personally know her—it’s part of what makes the @gothshakira persona resonate with people so deeply. “There's so much power in your personal lived experience,” Dre said. “If you can find a way to navigate that, to support and to listen while sharing your own experiences, that is beautiful.”
When Dre first started her personal Instagram page in the winter of 2015, she had no idea the social media following it would gain. “That's part of the total ephemerality of the internet—just the spontaneity of it and how anyone can slide into your DMs [direct messages],” Dre said. Currently, @gothshakira has nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram, having caught her “big break” in 2016 when Gucci slid into her DMs and commissioned her to design a meme as part of the #FTWGUCCI ad campaign, according to Flare Magazine. Much of Dre’s content is focused on dismantling heteropatriarchy and challenging representations of marginalized women of colour, femmes and LGBTQ+ members. Being half-Colombian and having immigrated to Canada from her birth country, Dre described her upbringing as being in a “very religious evangelical
Christian immigrant home,” according to an interview she did with Canadian Art. This is one reason Dre gravitated towards astrology, a unique theme often present in her memes. Dre is also notorious for using images of well-known Latina actresses, such as Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, usually looking unimpressed. Her memes tend to be spliced with a bold text-toimage ratio and typically feature astoundingly poignant text blurbs that highlight the realities of the racialized, sexualized stereotyping that many marginalized groups experience. Dre is very open about her own problematic biases and always emphasizes the importance of listening to individuals’ lived experiences, which invariably differ from her own. “I’m going through my own process of decolonization and unlearning toxic things I internalized in my youth,” Dre said during an interview with Canadian Art. “I’m fully cog-
nizant that the dating memes that I make are about dating straight cis men […] I’m trying to learn more about the experiences and realities of trans people.” This is one example of a marginalized group Dre cannot identify with but whose perspectives she’d like to include in her content. Being accountable for her extended performance art piece— how Dre has come to describe the @gothshakira persona she created— adds a dimension of intimacy to the interactions with her fanbase. “No one else could have created this except for me because it's very personal, and I'm not going to try to hide behind anything. So, here I am,” Dre said. Her willingness to engage in meaningful conversations is refreshing, compared to many memers who prefer to remain visible only through admin photos and pseudonyms. “It's been really amazing to meet a lot of the people in real life who have engaged with my content and who have taken something from it. That's been the most rewarding part of this experience,” Dre said. The network of support and openness Dre creates through @gothshakira is an example of the interpersonal growth we can achieve when we listen to each other. It’s a much needed reminder of the individual agency we create when outwardly acknowledging our emotions, and the power in taking control of how our personal experiences are told. There is so much to be gained from being vulnerable. For more of Dre’s memes, check out www.instagram.com/ gothshakira/
arts
ARTS EDITOR /// arts@theconcordian.com MAGGIE HOPE
PROFILE
Cycles, transitions and reanimating materiality Introducing two artists from the first annual VAVxCUCCR residency
CHLOË LALONDE ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR In celebration of the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR)’s first year of operation, the centre will host their first annual residency in collaboration with the VAV Gallery. Together, the VAV and CUCCR have selected seven undergraduate fine art student-artists who will be featured in an exhibition on March 22. The artists have been tasked with creating zero-waste artworks using CUCCR’s material. The Concordian will profile the artists-in-residence each week leading up to the birthday event.
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Bianca Arroyo-Kreimes moved to Montreal from Toronto three years ago to pursue her studies in animation. Arroyo-Kreimes is an experienced digital artist and is currently in her third year in animation. “I try to see my art as a way to explore
the many ideas I have going on in my head,” she said. “It’s a way of resolving them, I guess.” Most of her past work focuses on mythology, humanity and identity. Arroyo-Kreimes enjoys experimenting with under-camera animation methods, such as stop-motion. Her work, Ballad for the Spirits , is a collection of one-minute video loops that address ideas of karma, the afterlife and recycling. Using a great mass of odds and ends like buttons, metal knobs and string from CUCCR, Arroyo-Kreimes has given these seemingly random objects a new purpose, a new shape, body and voice. “The objects are now awakened and alive again in the bardo [a state between death and rebirth], as objects pass from one hand to another similarly to the way karma works,” she said. The way she sees it, karma, rejuvenation and the recycling of objects are linked and belong within the same imaginary venn-diagram. Ballad for the Spirits is a collection of one-minute video loops that address ideas of karma, the afterlife and recycling. Photos courtesy of Bianca Arroyo-Kreimes.
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Ar t M at t
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Desrosiers' piece is based on the gradient of colours found in the sky during sunsets and twilight. Photos courtesy of Gabrielle Desrosiers.
e rs
Gabrielle Desrosiers completed a DEC in set and costume design at the École de théâtre de St-Hyacinthe in 2007, and began her BFA in studio arts at Concordia in 2014. The foundation of Desrosiers’ work lies in her travel experiences. Last year, she spent a semester abroad at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, Israel. Desrosiers is a multidisciplinary artist, focusing on performance art and installation, combining various elements and mediums. For the residency, she is presenting part of a research-based project. She is fascinated by the gradient colours of the sunset and twilight period right before nightfall. Currently untitled, Desrosiers’ installation questions the metaphysical and psychological effects, reactions and suggestions of this natural, observable phenomenon. “I paint gradient colours of the sky and sunset on a flat surface, which is similar to the frontal position our body takes to look at it,” Desrosiers said. “But, in fact, the sky is all around. The sky is not a surface; it is an intangible, three-dimensional thing.” She explained that her goal is to recreate the gradient motif on a structure by reconstructing the two-dimensional sur-
face and transforming it into an engaging, three-dimensional experience. “I think that the verb ‘to experience’ is really important here,” Desrosiers said. She reflects on the twilight period as a symbol of ending and beginning. “It's a transition,” she said. “A moment of time sort of suspended […] It is the end of something, and the beginning of something else. It’s a cycle.” Desrosiers selected material from CUCCR that seemed interesting in connection with her research. She recalled spending large amounts of time in the depot, which led her to be inspired by the textures and patterns, or materiality of the objects. Desrosiers’ installation uses large sheets of paper, found objects, latex paint and a kiosque tent, all courtesy of CUCCR. The artist said she is glad to be part of the CUCCR residency, as its zero-waste goals are similar to her own. She reuses her own material and often re-integrates them into different projects. “I feel like there is no complete finality in each of my projects,” Desrosiers said. “They can continue to evolve or merge [with others].” Mark your calendars for CUCCR’s birthday at the VAV Gallery on March 22 at 5 p.m. Stay tuned for next week’s profiles on student-artists Roxane Fiore and Saba Heravi.
B LU E P R I N T S
TENDER TEETH
BOOKWORKS
Concordia fine arts students Jose Guillermo Garcia Sierra and Alexia McKindsey co-curated this exhibition, which is in collaboration with the Art Matters and Art Souterrain festivals. The exhibition's description states that "the relationship between the artist and their work is directly guided by and linked with the passage of time."
According to the Art Matters Festival website, “Tender Teeth draws together artwork that expands on notions of softness: quaint, decorative and whimsical works reveal qualities of hazard, excess and decay.” The exhibition was curated by Catherine McRae Finnegan, and includes a performance by Willow, an interdisciplinary group comprised of dancers and musicians.
This exhibition was curated by Maia Céleste Donnelly, and explores the concept of “the book as an art form.” The work of seven students make up the show, which is “brought together by the qualities and attributes of a book, rather than by the subject they address,” according to the Art Matters Festival website.
WHERE Mainline Gallery, 3905 St-Laurent Blvd. EXHIBITION Now until March 17 VERNISSAGE March 8, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
WHERE Mile-End Gallery, 5345 Park Ave. EXHIBITION Now until March 17 VERNISSAGE March 9, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE VAV Gallery, VA building EXHIBITION Now until March 16 VERNISSAGE March 7, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
10 theconcordian
MARCH 6, 2018
PHOTO ESSAY
Vibrancy in the dull of winter
The 15th edition of Nuit Blanche saw artistic expression materialize across media TEXT BY
MAGGIE HOPE ARTS EDITOR
PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS BY
ALEX HUTCHINS PHOTO EDITOR
Although it’s unclear where the concept of all-night art festivals originated, Paris is credited with creating “Nuit Blanche” in the early 2000s. Other European cities hosted these types of festivals throughout the 90s, but the first night of Nuit Blanche was established in France and has since spread to other cities around the world. The program for this year’s edition of Montreal’s Nuit Blanche was divided into six categories based on the type of event. Whether you were looking for “A Night of Stories” or “A Night on the Dancefloor,” you were guaranteed to find something you’d enjoy. With over 200 events and activities, from poetry readings and interactive installations to DJ and comedy performances, the festival promised a night of unabashed creativity. A feeling of collective celebration permeated the city— even underground. The metro was open all night, encouraging people to explore and increase their chances of finding hidden gems—of which there were plenty. The metro also served as a performance venue at certain times throughout the night. Berri-UQAM hosted swing and salsa performances, and the St-Laurent station was the spot for local DJs to perform improvised scratch sessions.
Dozens of art-and-music lovers moved and grooved to upbeat house music by local DJs. Surrounded by flashing lights, deep bass and an aura of pulsating energy, many spectators danced until well after 3 a.m.
Spectators gathered around pop-up fire pits in Esplanade de la Places des Arts to warm their chilled hands, recommend exhibits to newfound friends, roast delicious sausages and, of course, have obligatory photo-ops.
Spectators were invited to take a short walk through a tunnel of cascading lights, coupled with sensual music and shifting colours to set the mood.
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The hub of the entire event was, of course, the Quartier des Spectacles, which hosted everything from free concerts to competitive games inspired by the Olympics. Place des Festivals transformed into a lively and crowded strip as people jumped from one activity to the next. Portraits of famous musicians illuminated an entire wall of the Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan building, and a huge zipline stretched over the expanse of the crowd. For festival-goers who wanted a more relaxed experience, galleries all over the city kept their doors open well into the night. The Art Matters Festival, for example, took Nuit Blanche as the opportunity to open this year’s edition of student-run exhibitions. Espace POP hosted the festival’s opening night, with the artworks of its first exhibition, (Dis)CONNECT, on display. Eastern Bloc, a new media production and gallery space, collaborated with the non-profit organization Never Apart to showcase the talents of LatinAmerican artists in two parts. The night began with multimedia installations, and concluded with performances by local DJs, which saw visitors dropping by to warm up and shake off their fatigue.
Shattered glass illuminated with hues of green and yellow made up one of the exhibits at Eastern Bloc. Decorated with industrial-style string lights, the outdoor terrasse allowed spectators to chat with art-loving friends and strangers alike.
Joffré Roy-Beauregard is one of the seven artists featured in the (Dis)CONNECT exhibition. Other interactive multimedia installments invited spectators to listen to and watch the audio-visual representations of varying human emotions, such as fear and anxiety.
Graphics by Alexa Hawksworth.
music
Quickspins
MUSIC EDITOR /// music@theconcordian.com CALVIN CASHEN
PROFILE
Staff picks for best study albums A bit of easy listening for your end-of-semester woes CALVIN CASHEN MUSIC EDITOR At its most effective, music is an artform that evokes a physical response. Whether you’re dancing, moshing or grooving along, the medium creates a sense of euphoria that can’t be replicated. But sometimes you just need a good album to put you in the zone. Here are our staff picks for the best albums to study to.
Alt J – An Awesome Wave Katya Teague, editor-in-chief Alt J’s sleeper-hit debut, An Awesome Wave, is mired in Radiohead-style electronica and indie-rock quirks. Twisting and turning from art rock tendencies to a cappella vocal interludes and jangly guitar rock, Alt J channels immediate pop accessibility without compromising their more experimental leanings. The record is rich with a variety of sounds but maintains a palette of glitch-heavy electronica beats at the album’s forefront.
Homeshake – Midnight Snack Maggie Hope, arts editor Homeshake’s Midnight Snack is a comforting indie LP laden with spacey R&B textures and an overall laid-back ambience. Known for his stint as Mac DeMarco’s back up guitarist, leading man Peter Sagar composes songs with a kind of easy-breezy infectiousness that actually comes off as more earnest than its slacker demeanor suggests. Locking into moods that soundtrack rainy days, Sagar adopts a delicate falsetto and pairs it with bubbling synths and bass to compose an album that’s utterly relaxing in its lethargic moments.
Recently Added
Luciano Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma
Nosaj Thing – Parallels
Kenneth Gibson, video editor Nessun Dorma is an expressive aria melody from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot. The song achieved mainstream success after Luciano Pavarotti’s 1972 recording was used as the main theme for the BBC’s coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. The song has long been established as a seminal piece of opera. That reputation is undoubtedly felt, as the album of the concert went triple platinum in the United States and went on to be the most sold classical recording in the world.
Kirubel Mehari, assistant photo editor This project from L.A. producer Jason Chung is a dissonant collection of meditative soul grooves. Chung mixes various genres into a synthesis of unique musical flavours, dipping his toes in everything from neo-soul to trap. The melodies are rich with layers, but the approach is minimalistic, revealing subtle embellishments in the mix.
Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons Candice Pye, news editor The Four Seasons is a series of four violin concerti by famed Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Each piece is an expression of the four seasons in a year. Vivaldi published the concerti with a set of sonnets that eluded to each season the music was meant to represent. This is one of the very first instances of music structured with a narrative component.
Beach House – Depression Cherry Alex Hutchins, photo editor Beach House fluctuates between a dynamic dichotomy of beauty and melancholy. The duo’s 2015 effort, Depression Cherry, dials back on the muddy lo-fi production of their early work in exchange for a lushly orchestrated experience filled with dazzling instrumentation and vocal performances that are the stuff of dreams. The album spins in a web of its own ethereality, unperturbed by outside forces, and instead focused on progressing with sounds of grace and beauty.
FOR EDITOR’S PICKS S THE BEST SONG WEEK RELEASED THIS
24/7 Live Youtube Lo-fi Mixes Matthew Coyte, assistant sports editor These mixes on Youtube interweave hiphop instrumentation with a lo-fi aesthetic, culminating in a millennial interpretation of ambient music. The beats are basically wallpaper music, creating an effective mood for zoning out, chilling out or simply getting lost in your mind. The artists and song names are usually never mentioned, creating a sense of ambiguity while maintaining a linear listening experience.
Hans Zimmer – Inception: Music from the Motion Picture Mia Anhoury, assistant life editor The soundtrack to Christopher Nolan’s accomplished film Inception is towering in breadth and absolutely halting in its approach. The sounds aren’t exactly the most complex in the world, but composer Hans Zimmer uses this minimalism to create an emotionally harrowing atmosphere out of a mere three or four droning tones.
Andrea Bocelli – Romanza Nicholas Di Giovanni, sports editor Despite it being a compilation album, Andrea Bocelli’s Romanza was the singer’s first release in the United States and Canada. It is widely considered Bocelli’s most accomplished work, selling over 20 million units worldwide and garnering the Italian singer an international following in the process. On top of that, the album topped charts all around the world, further cementing Bocelli’s status as an operatic pop icon.
Recently Added 11 MY QUEEN IS HARRIETT TUBMAN Sons Of Kemet (Verve) 11 POWERGLIDE Rae Sremmurd ft. Juicy J (Interscope) 11 FOR YOU TOO Yo La Tengo (Matador) 11 NAMELESS, FACELESS Courtney Barnett (Milk!) 11 THE TRUTH, THE GLOW, THE FALL Anna von Hausswolff (City Slang)
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JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & DAICHI YOSHIKAWA Intervivos (Empty Editions) Intervivos begins without warning. An alto saxophone blasts with urgency, wailing away with a curious elusiveness that begs to be explored. The sound is dissonant, pausing every few seconds or so, only to release again with a heightened sense of tension. It’s a fitting introduction to an album replete with sonics that both challenge and intrigue; it’s an utterly fascinating take on technicality. The record is a set of four improvisations between alto saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet and electronic feedback aficionado Daichi Yoshikawa. Every piece finds the two subverting established norms of structure, creating sounds that congeal at the seams. Intervivos doesn’t dictate its path, but rather constructs a highway of vacancy, speculation and expression. But this method of recontextualization is a cognitive tactic, lingering in its own cryptic aura, never quite finding a linear pace.
11 Trial Track: “Intervivos I"
8.4/10 — CALVIN CASHEN, MUSIC EDITOR
Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.
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HEALTH
The power of music therapy LOMA
Music as an avenue for recovery, a tool for personal betterment
Loma (Sub Pop) Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg pairs with Cross Record on a record that moves with the glacial pace of a deteriorating relationship, interwoven by a template of cavernous chamber pop and 90s slowcore. Cross Record’s multi-instrumentalist Dan Duszynski and lead singer Emily Cross were married when they began this collaboration, but split at some point during the recording process. It’s not clear whether their breakup influenced the direction of the album, but the record unfolds with layers of overwhelming melancholy that make a strong case for it. Isolation can be quite purifying. The compositions feel heavy with the burden of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, an album bred from destructive inner-band tension. Despite the toxicity lying underneath, Loma displays a kind of artistic chemistry that coheres almost inherently. Tracks “Dark Oscillations” and “Who is Speaking?” ripple with a veneer of ornate string arrangements and acoustic balladry. Loma is a rare record that actually makes use of organic tones to amplify emotional expression, rather than using it to relish in gratuitous sentimentality. The musicality feels natural, like the instinct of breathing.
11 Trial Track: “Dark Oscillations”
8.5/10 — CALVIN CASHEN, MUSIC EDITOR
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Recently Added 11 L-OVER U.S. Girls (4AD) 11 CHECK YA MAN Cocc Pistol (Carte Blanche) 11 CARPOOLIN’ SOB X RBE (Empire) 11 GLASS Ryuichi Sakamoto & Carsten Nicolai (NOTON) 11 HOPELESS A.A.L. (Against All Logic) (Other People)
HUSSAIN ALMAHR ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR Music is much more than just the content of a song or album; it has the potential to empower people and help improve their lives. Music therapy is different from traditional therapy, where people talk to a therapist about their problems. “Music, because it affects you in a complicated fashion physically, emotionally, psychologically and cognitively all at the same time, sometimes helps break through these barriers of getting past that [problem],” said Sandi Curtis, a long-time music therapist and a professor at Concordia. Sometimes people are not ready to talk about their traumatic experiences, so music can help them express themselves. When Curtis works with women who have survived psychological, physical or sexual abuse, music is an important tool that fosters the conversation. “It's not me talking to them or them even talking to me,” Curtis explained. “Music makes that opening where, they might not be prepared yet to talk [...], but they can put it into music.” Curtis recounted the case of a woman who had been sexually abused by her uncle as a child. “The family was fractured. Half the family believed her, and the other half didn’t.” Some music therapy programs encourage participants to write songs as a cathartic release. “When she finished writing and recording the song, she took the recording and gave it to her abuser, and she said: ‘You know the truth, and I know the truth,’” Curtis said. “That was a powerful moment for her, to get over
the fact that half of her family was never going to believe her.” Music is an outlet for deeply personal feelings and thoughts. Yet, before I spoke with Curtis, I didn’t know the impact music therapy could have. It was extraordinary to hear about the power of music in traumatic situations. Although Curtis studied music at McGill, she knew performing and, at the time, teaching were not for her. “Back in the day, there wasn’t that much understanding or awareness of music therapy, but I did some exploration,” she said. “There were no programs in Canada at all.” Instead, she decided to study music therapy in the United States. Cur tis's experience ranges f rom working in palliative care and the deaf community to working with people with disabilities, survivors of violence and domestic abuse, and even prison inmates in the United States. “I got an opportunity to work at a maximum security correctional facility for women in Georgia. That was quite interesting—I thought, at the time, that I was too much of a Canadian to handle it,” Curtis said with a laugh. At the correctional facility, Curtis met women who had survived domestic abuse, women who had used violence to escape their abuser. “I began to see how much of an impact that male violence against women has in their lives,” Curtis said. “And that was way back in the day, before the #MeToo movement where we are beginning to understand that it’s in almost every woman's life.” During that time, she began to realize the power of music as therapy. “It’s a wonderful creative tool, but it also gives
a voice,” Curtis said. “Survivors are so often silenced by their abuser. Music gives them a voice, a physical voice expressing how they’re feeling and a very powerful way of recovering from incredible trauma.” Therapy sessions typically begin with listening to artists who sing about violence, which helps enforce the idea that survivors are not to blame for the violence enacted on them. “So often,” Curtis said, “survivors of violence think it’s their problem. They’re isolated purposely by the abuser; they are told it’s their fault.” Curtis aims to integrate music that will resonate with the person when they listen to it. She noted that hearing artists like Beyonce and Lady Gaga sing about how they don’t deserve abuse can empower the patient to feel the same. “They could begin to think: ‘Oh, maybe I don’t deserve it too.’” Next comes music creation, working together to make music and discussing the experience. People who attend music therapy sessions do not need any experience or background to participate in the music process. “In music therapy, all of you can be singing the same thing [in group sessions], and maybe sharing a common experience or maybe having completely different meaning of the experience,” Curtis said. For her, the most important part of being a music therapist is using her musical talents to help people. “So, rather than being the audience far-removed and just applauding, you are working very intimately with somebody,” she said. “You’re helping them improve their quality of life.” Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.
feature
PROFILE
Art through a mechanical, system-based lens Simon Laroche takes on the seemingly dichotomous roles of engineer and artist
VALERIA CORI-MANOCCHIO HEAD COPY EDITOR Multimedia artist Simon Laroche’s studio is in an unusual state: it’s partly vacant. Two art pieces that usually f ill some of the space are missing. One is being exhibited in Kitchener, Ont., and the other recently finished its exhibit in Quebec City. Laroche, who moved into the studio about three years ago, said the partially empty space lends itself to new projects. “It feels like there’s more room to make more stuff,” he said. The “stuff” Laroche is referring to can be summed up in a few words: “a systems-based appro ac h to ar t.” His wor k incorporates robotic s and moving parts to produce installations, interactive shows and performances. In 2003, Laroche and Etienne Grenier founded Projet EVA, a collective that produces digital art installations and performances. The two met while completing their master’s degrees in communications at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). They rapidly became friends and began collaborating. After responding to open calls and requests for projects during the collective’s earlier years, Laroche and Grenier developed a way for their pieces to circulate in different galleries, museums and festivals while the artists produced and conceptualized ideas for other work at the same time. “[We] envisioned a way to have three operations running at the same time: the circulation of work, the production of a piece and [...] the phases where you think about the project, you conceptualize it,” Laroche said. “[The] aim was to have all three of these things running at the same time so we would get more activities.”
Simon Laroche in his studio in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood. Photo by Valeria Cori-Manocchio.
As Laroche and Grenier had hoped, Projet EVA’s pieces began circulating more frequently. The funny thing, however, was that some installations toured outside Montreal before being exhibited in the city. Nous Sommes les Fils et les Filles de l'Électricité premiered in Paris, France, two years ago at La Villette Park for 100%, a multidisciplinary festival. The piece, which is a combination of performance, live participatory theatre and digital art, according to Projet EVA’s website, was also displayed in four Maison de la Culture art centres throughout Montreal about a year later in November 2017. “It actually toured in Europe before coming here,” Laroche said. Laroche called Montreal’s art scene a “great portal to Europe,” having had
several experiences touring small and large works in France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Cinétose was one of the larger projects Projet EVA created that circulated in various locations in France. The electromagnetic installation, measuring 20 feet in length and 30 feet in width, is made of steel sheets and lowers onto viewers mechanically. “It covers the whole ceiling of a venue,” Laroche said. “[Cinétose] marked a change in the way we produce art, making [Projet EVA] envision larger, more complex pie ces involving more resources.” Despite success in Europe, Laroche said Projet EVA is trying to circulate more of their works in Canada as well as work with more Canadian art centres.
Cinétose , a work made of metal sheets that lower onto viewers, toured in France. Photos by Gridspace.
Balancing engineering and art Laroche’s artistic background is based in arts and communications. He became interested in multimedia during his undergraduate degree at UQAM because it was “experimental and open-ended.” However, Laroche moved away from strictly audiovisual platforms when he found projects stopped being dynamic. “Even moving images on a monitor seem too static to me,” he said. This prompted him to incorporate computer programming into installations, and interactive platforms with moveable, physical components. As an undergrad, Laroche worked as a computer programmer, so he was familiar with concepts like coding, which he later brought into his pieces. This coding know-how helped
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Nous Sommes les Fils et les Filles de l'Électricité premiered at 100%, a Paris arts festival, in 2016. Photo by Gridspace.
Laroche incorporate robotics and moving parts into many of his projects. Perpetual Demotion is a human-feeding robot powered by three motors. It was built for Hedonistika , which was presented at the Biennale internationale d'art numérique exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal four years ago. When viewers stand in front of the robot, it detects movement, locates a face and aligns the spoon to move towards their mouth. The project required inverse schematics, which involves mathematical functions that undo each other. Laroche turned to YouTube to find experts and videos about the unfamiliar topic. He said the process of learning to build elements of his works can sometimes involve being as “stubborn as possible to figure out how things work
[to] reappropriate [them].” Since Laroche uses “a lot of code that isn’t necessarily developed for the arts,” he tries to figure out what works by creating numerous prototypes. Perpetual Demotion was no exception. He built several small mockups to test out which mechanics would give him the desired effect. This “experimental approach,” as Laroche calls it, is a live, real-time way to test both the ideas he has prior to beginning the project and the ideas that come about while building a project. Getting to this prototype phase often comes after hours of conceptualizing an idea, researching potential ways to make that idea come to life, and constantly adjusting mechanic and artistic aspects as the piece is being built. Laroche’s knowledge of mechanics and art allows him to completely understand each component of his pieces. While he
often collaborates with other artists, Laroche likes taking on the seemingly dichotomous roles of engineer and artist. “By mastering technicalities of [a project], I can better tune the aesthetics of it,” he said. In 2013, Laroche collaborated with Ying Gao, a Montreal-based fashion designer and professor at UQAM. The two met while completing their master’s degrees. Laroche remembers being in Gao’s studio as she moved a magnet above some needles and asked him: “How do we do this without holding the magnet?” Incertitudes was the answer to that question. The pair used Laroche’s knowledge of mechanics to create voice-activated, kinetic garments. Similar to the needles Gao once laid out and moved with a magnet in her studio, the garment is covered in pins that move when spectators speak to it. The pins’ movement creates a dialogue between artwork and viewer.
One of Laroche’s collaborations with Ying Gao is Incertitudes, a project featuring voice-activated garments. Photos by Mathieu Forting.
Teaching at Concordia Laroche began teaching classes in Concordia’s intermedia and studio arts programs in the early 2000s. While some of the classes have changed names, what hasn’t changed is his devotion to his students. Laroche enjoys exchanging ideas with students, as well as guiding them towards what they want to do in the future. The exchange of ideas that occurs between professor and student furthers Laroche as an artist. “Even if there’s a difference in knowledge or experience, there’s still this dialogue that comes up and that makes me progress as well,” he said. Teaching part-time gives Laroche an ideal schedule—he has enough time to balance his professional work with his teaching. “Having one class per year or per semester is great for me,” he said. When Laroche is teaching a course, he likes to start off with a bit of background in art history and programming basics before proceeding to projects. This way, his students are well-versed in the theory before they begin practical work. One of the most challenging parts of being a part-time faculty member is that he cannot supervise independent studies courses for undergraduate and master’s students. “There are students I’ve had in first and second year; I know where they want to go and I know where they are at,” Laroche said. Yet, despite having taught some of these students more often than full-time professors have, when students ask him to supervise their work, he has to say no. “It’s kind of deceiving.” Nonetheless, he has managed to find a way to support students with the help of the Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association (CUPFA). With funding from the association, Laroche can hire students to work with him at Projet EVA. In turn, he can help them with their own ideas. “I want to help students develop their projects,” Laroche said.
This article is part of a series of profiles on part-time faculty at Concordia. Our goal is to highlight some of the incredible work these professors do, while also shedding light on the difference in treatment between being part-time versus full-time faculty. This series came to life with the help of Laurie Milner, the chair of communications for the Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association (CUPFA), and Lorraine Oades, the vice-president of professional development at CUPFA.
sports
SPORTS EDITOR /// sports@theconcordian.com NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI ( @n_digiovanni)
COVER STORY
Championship a team effort, says head coach Stingers capture first women's hockey title since 2005 thanks to past recruiting and teamwork NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI SPORTS EDITOR The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team wouldn’t have won the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) championship without the help of people outside the team. “It’s not about the small group of us; it’s a big group,” said head coach Julie Chu. “It wasn’t only the players on the ice who contributed to this success.” She was talking about former head coach Les Lawton, who had to step down before the 2015-16 season for health reasons, which is when Chu took over as head coach. Some of the Stingers’s stars who helped with this championship, including forwards Claudia Dubois, Sophie Gagnon, Claudia Fortin, defencemen Marie-Joëlle Allard, Caroll-Ann Gagné and goalie Katherine Purchase, were all recruited by Lawton. “He has a huge hand in this, and he continues to give us good guidance,” Chu added. Lawton joined the Stingers on the ice for their celebration, and many former players and parents offered him congratulations, saying this title was “a long time coming.” The last time the Stingers won the championship was in 2005. Between then and 2017, the Stingers didn’t even play in the RSEQ final. They returned last year for the first time in over a decade, losing in two games against the McGill Martlets. “Last year, we missed that opportunity [to win a championship]. We were so high after the first round, we weren’t prepared for the finals,” Chu said. “We learned from that experience.” The Stingers looked like a different team from the final a year ago, when the Martlets dominated them. Concordia had trouble generating any chances, and was
The Concordia Stingers celebrate
even shutout in game two at home. This year, against the Université de Montréal Carabins, they lost on the road in game one in overtime, 3-2, and didn’t want to repeat last year’s fate. “We had our backs against the wall [after game one],” said forward Audrey Belzile after their 3-2 win in game two. “We didn’t have a choice. We had to put everything on the ice. Every player’s mentality switched, and we wanted to show them that game one was not our best hockey.” The Stingers showed the Carabins their best hockey for the rest of the series, dominating game two. In game three, despite being tied 1-1 after two periods, the Stingers came out buzzing to start the final frame, scoring two goals in the first five minutes, eventually winning 3-2. They played shutdown defence for the
Claudia Dubois (left) and Sophie Gagnon (right) were instrumental in the playoffs. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.
their RSEQ championship. Photo
by Mackenzie Lad.
rest of the game, and fifth-year forward Alexandria D’Onofrio showed how badly the Stingers wanted to win by blocking multiple shots. The Stingers have come a long way since D’Onofrio’s rookie year in 2013-14, when they went 5-15-0. “Our bench celebrated like she scored a goal,” Chu said, referring to when D’Onofrio blocked a shot. “Those are huge moments to build momentum and keep opponents at bay, just as big as a goal.” In the final moments of game three, D’Onofrio blocked another shot. The players, as well as friends and family of the Stingers who had made the trip to Université de Montréal's CEPSUM Arena, knew the Stingers would win, and everyone was on their feet. When the clock hit zero, the team spilled onto the ice to swarm Purchase and celebrate the trophy they
worked all season for. Their friends and family joined them on the ice for the celebration, making one big Stingers family party. “This was about Concordia hockey today, and about our team coming together as a family and executing,” Chu said. “That's what I'm proud of." Stingers athletics director D’Arcy Ryan presented the team with the trophy, making them the second Stingers team to win a championship this season. “It’s fantastic to see all the hard work the team puts in,” Ryan said. “It’s rewarding for them, and rewarding for the faculty and staff who are out supporting them.” The Stingers will now play at nationals in London, Ont., from March 15 to 18. They finished fourth at nationals last year.
Friends and family wore Stingers jerseys and invaded UdeM’s CEPSUM Arena. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.
MARCH 6, 2018
WRESTLING
Silver for Stingers at nationals Francis Carter named U Sports’s Most Outstanding Wrestler
Francis Carter pulled off an upset by winning the 68-kilogram categor y on Feb. 24. Photo courtesy of U Sports.
MATTHEW COYTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR The Concordia Stingers brought home nine medals from the U Sports national wre st l i n g c h a m p i o n s h i p i n S a u lt Ste-Marie, Ont., during the two-day tournament on Feb. 23 and 24. The Stingers finished second in the team results, scoring 91 points. This was a significant improvement for the squad, which finished in fif th at last year ’s nationals. The tournament was marked by gritty performances, but perhaps none as exciting as Francis Carter, who took home a gold medal in the 68-kilogram division. Prior to his gold medal match, Carter only gave up two points in three matches. This was his third trip to the U Sports national wrestling championship. In 2016, Carter finished in fifth place. In 2017, he finished in fourth. “I personally wanted to focus on relaxing mentally so that I could develop my tactical thinking during my matches,” Carter said about his preparation for this year’s nationals. “After [the past] results, there were no stressful expectations on me, which let me focus better on how I wanted to wrestle.” In the round robin, Carter defeated Bryce Davis from the Algoma Thunderbirds 10-0, Nathen Schmidt of the Regina Cougars 10-0, and Miles Kent from the University of Alberta Golden Bears 13-2. In the gold medal match, Carter wrestled against the Brock Badgers’s Matt Jagas, the defending title holder. The result was a 3-2 nail-biter in favour of Carter. “I walked in knowing that my opponent had the pressure since he was wrestling to keep the title that he won last year. That gave me confidence because I had no expectations, and was instead concentrating on how I could wrestle,” Carter said. “I think that the way expectations affected the results of this tournament
is something very useful to learn from.” Carter went up 3-0 in the match, but Jagas managed to come back to bring it within one. With Jagas coming on strong, Carter grabbed Jagas’s leg to run out the clock. The leg attack allowed Carter to hold on for the first gold medal of his U Sports career. This win drew praise from Stingers wrestling head coach Victor Zilberman. “It was unexpected,” Zilberman said. “He’s a tough academic athlete in a very difficult program [psychology]. He set his goals and was mentally ready. He came out to every match and had some incredible performances.” Zilberman added that the gold medal match was “the toughest match of the tournament.” Carter was named the U Sports’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. On the women’s side, Jade Dufour, Laurence Beauregard and Amanda Savard all took home bronze medals. Beauregard didn’t come to her first U Sports nationals with any expectations. “This year, for me, was more about learning,” Beauregard said. “I wanted to go out there and fight hard and smart. [During the bronze medal match], I was losing at a certain point. I decided to take a couple of deep breaths and re-centre my focus on having quality attacks. This worked for me.” Dufour knew the bronze medal match was do or die. “I was either going to be on the podium or in the stands. I did not want to be in the stands,” she said. Vincent De Marinis and Jordan Steen also won gold medals. Samuel Barmish, Alex Moore, Frédérick Choquette and rookie Guseyn Ruslanzada all added bronze medals to the Stingers’s tally. This was the third gold medal in both De Marinis and Steen’s careers, with Steen winning in 2013 and 2016, and De Marinis winning in 2016 and 2017. Even after three-straight title wins at
the national championship, De Marinis said he doesn’t change his preparation. His routine stays the same for every fight, no matter the opponent. “I was proud of my individual performance. It’s my last year as a Stinger, so it meant a lot to me to finish my university career strong and get that last gold,” De Marinis said. “Overall, it was a great experience. I really enjoyed travelling with the team. This was the Stingers’s best team performance in my five years competing for the university.” Zilberman was happy with the team’s performance, but disappointed that they fell short of the team title. The Brock Badgers won the national championship for the fifth year in a row, scoring 162 points. The Stingers sent 15 wrestlers to compete in the tournament—its biggest-ever national championship squad. The Badgers sent 19 wrestlers. “We had a great team. On a different day, in a different year, we would have won, but bec ause we’re competing against schools like Brock who send so many athletes, that made the difference,” Zilberman said. He added that, over the years, he has been trying to extend his recruiting. Many of Concordia’s wrestlers were groomed at the Montreal Wrestling Club, which is also run by Zilberman. The Stingers wrestling team is already training for the Canadian Championship in Montreal from March 16 to 18. Zilberman is excited for his core group of wrestlers to compete, as well as showcase new recruits who will be making their Stingers debut, including Aly Barghout, a product of Zilberman’s Montreal Wrestling Club and former junior national champion. De M arinis , Ste en , Moore and assistant coach Rob Moore will all be representing Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Australia from April 4 to 15.
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COLOUR COMMENTARY BY NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI
I’ve come to the conclusion that Montreal Canadiens fans are absolutely the worst sports fans in the world. In the Oct. 17 edition of Colour Commentary, I wrote: “Montreal Canadiens fans are probably the toughest fans in the sports world right now.” It was one of my first columns, so I was a bit soft. Now, I’m not afraid to flat-out call them terrible fans. On Feb. 24, Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty scored in the second period to give the hosts a 3-2 lead against the National Hockey League’s best team, the Tampa Bay Lighting. But when Pacioretty missed scoring chances after his goal, he was booed by the Bell Centre crowd multiple times. I really don’t know many good fan bases that boo their captain when he can’t score after having already scored. The Canadiens played this game two days before the trade deadline day, and there were multiple rumours the team would trade Pacioretty. On trade deadline day, Feb. 26, he was not traded, which left many Habs fans on social media frustrated. Based on the booing at the Bell Centre, and from what I saw on social media, most fans really wanted Pacioretty to be traded, either by trade deadline or over the summer. He hasn’t had the best season, scoring only 17 goals while the Canadiens sit in 26th place out of 31 teams, with a 25-29-11 record. But he has also been one of the best goal-scorers on the team in recent seasons, scoring 30 goals or more in six of eight seasons. I am a big fan of Pacioretty, and I think he would thrive even more on any other team where fans aren’t booing him. I also think he deserves to get traded away from this hell they c all Montreal Canadiens fans. Habs fans don’t deserve a player like Pacioretty. They didn’t deserve any of the other ex-star sthey’ve booed in the past, including P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov. In fact, they don’t deserve a team at all right now. The NHL should take the team and move them to Des Moines, Iowa, as a punishment for Habs fans being such terrible supporters. Maybe they won’t know what they have until it’s gone. Maybe, after five years in Iowa, the Canadiens will return, fans will treat their star players the way they should, and everyone will be happy. I’ve always said that, if I was good at hockey, I would not want to play for the Montreal Canadiens, even though they’re my favourite team. And how the team’s fans have behaved recently is exactly why.
opinions OPINIONS EDITOR /// opinions@theconcordian.com SANIA MALIK
Saving face shouldn't be Concordia's priority When classes resumed following the winter break, the Concordia community was greeted by widely publicized allegations of sexual misconduct by instructors in the university’s creative writing program. These accusations came as a shock to some, but for many current and former English department students, they were simply a long-overdue acknowledgment of an “open secret.” As was reported in the weeks that followed, the behaviour of certain teachers and the overall toxic, misogynistic environment of the creative writing program was not only common knowledge among many English department students—it had been publicly written about before. Former student Emma Healey published a personal essay online about her abusive relationship with an instructor years ago, and several students brought their concerns directly to the department in 2015. Although it took the words of a male alumnus, Mike Spry, to finally catch the attention of the news media and the university’s administration, we at The Concordian are glad to see that, two months later, this problem has not been swept under the rug. An investigation into the allegations is underway. Two creative writing teachers have been suspended, and a task force is being assembled to review the university’s policies for preventing and dealing with sexual misconduct and sexual violence. On Feb. 28, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) hosted a student congress to gather input about policy changes regarding sexual
misconduct on campus directly from the student body. According to Leyla Sutherland, the CSU’s student life coordinator, these suggestions will be integrated into a proposal the union will present to the university’s administration. One of the most prominent proposals for the task force discussed during the student congress was the implementation of university-funded, mandatory consent and power-dynamics training for all students, staff and faculty members. We at The Concordian strongly support this demand. The university should be a safe space for students to learn, flourish and achieve their academic goals. Staff and faculty members should support and empower student success, not hinder or threaten it.
Over the last few years, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) and the Commerce and Administration Students' Association (CASAJMSB) have implemented mandatory consent training workshops for all of their frosh attendees. Ensuring student safety at frosh is vital, but sexual violence on campus is not limited to that first week of socializing and drinking. The Sexual Assault Resource Centre has also held consent workshops for Stingers teams and first-year students living in residence. It is long-overdue that Concordia’s administration follow the lead of its student associations and ensure its entire community is informed and protected throughout the year. During the student congress, many students also voiced their anger about the way the
university has handled sexual misconduct allegations in the past, claiming such incidents had been covered-up to protect Concordia’s reputation. This is why we at The Concordian believe university-implemented consent training should come with an acknowledgement by Concordia of its shortcomings. Throughout their university degree, most students will hear at least one professor reiterate a variation of Socrates’s statement: “All I know is that I know nothing.” These words are meant to remind students that, in order to learn, one must first set aside their ego and admit they are ignorant. As an educational institution, Concordia should also be willing to learn—and this begins by admitting mistakes and ignorance. Doing so would represent a commitment by the university to prioritize long-term, concrete change over its short-term public relations goals. Doing so would be a first step in rebuilding confidence in the university’s ability to protect its students and prioritize their well-being. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, we at The Concordian believe there is reason to hope for substantial, positive change. But we would like to remind Concordia’s administration why this change did not come sooner. When students spoke up, the administration did not listen. So, to the university’s administration: please turn to page two of this newspaper and read our coverage of the CSU student congress. The students are speaking; are you listening? Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.
BREAK
Does Concordia need a fall reading week? Time off during the fall semester could help students with their workload and mental health KATHERINA BOUCHER CONTRIBUTOR The midterm break has come and gone. Some of us had a rather productive week, others feel rested, and some are now less motivated to go to class, having tasted the joy of a break. While we may have varying opinions about the purpose of reading week, it seems odd that it only happens in one of two semesters. Where is the fall semester’s reading week? Although it doesn’t exist at Concordia, some university students in Montreal do have a fall break. For example, a few faculties at the Université de Montréal offer students a chance in the fall to catch up on their homework and relax. So why aren’t Concordia students given this opportunity? It is true that implementing an additional break in the academic calendar would come with potential downsides. Those school days would not just disappear; the semester would have to start earlier or finish later in order to maintain its current 13 weeks. Starting before Labour Day could be a problem though, because some students would have to pay an extra month of rent if the semester started at the end of August instead of the beginning of September.
Extending the semester in December isn't ideal either. This would shorten the holiday break, which is an important time to spend with family and on ourselves. Many students have family outside of Montreal, making it hard enough already for them to see their loved ones during the school year. Another solution would be to shorten the examination period, potentially by having more exams on the weekend. Personally, I don’t have a problem with this. The longer examination period schedules exams on consecutive days for some students anyway. Although these solutions all have their
costs, I think they are worth it if a break could help students’ mental health. Research conducted at McMaster University in Ontario and published in 2017 hinted at this benefit. The study tested the saliva of participants from two universities—one with a reading week and one without—to determine stress levels. Participants also filled out a questionnaire, which indicated that the numbers of stressors in a student’s life after the reading week diminished. An analysis of the hormones in participants’ saliva also indicated higher levels of stress in the students who didn’t have a reading week.
However, the group of participants who had a reading week scored higher on the Perceived Stress Scale, a psychological instrument used to measure stress, after their break. This means they were more stressed than before the break. Although this might seem to contradict the benefits of having a reading week, it’s important to note that the type of stress was different. According to the study, before the break, the highest reported stressors were “worried about the future,” “sitting through a boring class’’ and ‘’having too little sleep.” After the break, students were more concerned about deadlines, projects and a difficult upcoming week. The study does not provide information about the group that did not have a reading week. Nonetheless, most of these findings seem to indicate that students without a reading week do experience more stress than the other group, since their saliva was tested and indicated higher stress levels. Mental health aside, a reading week is also a great opportunity to catch up on your homework. If you are like me and switched classes or registered for courses at the last minute, you might have welcomed that break with open arms, or wished you’d had one in the fall. Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.
MARCH 6, 2018
theconcordian
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ACTIVISM
#NeverAgain: A demand for change Students-turned-activists fight back against gun violence in the United States SASHA TEMAN STAFF WRITER
Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.
Yet another devastating mass shooting rocked the United States on Feb. 14. This time, it occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Seventeen lives were lost that day. Students who survived the school shooting decided to take immediate action and started protesting against gun violence in the United States. We have seen an eruption of anger from these students, many of whom lost friends and teachers on that horrific day. Rather than staying home and grieving, they are channeling their outrage to give voice to the issue that devastated their school. There is truly nothing more empowering than watching a group of teenagers speak up about gun control, form an alliance against politicians who are funded by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and spark a nation-wide movement now known as #NeverAgain. Many Douglas High School students are advocating for change because they are tired of the normalization of mass shootings in the United States. They have expressed particular disappointment in the government’s failure to ban semi-automatic weapons—the type of gun used in the Parkland shooting—and all other accessories that make them fully automatic. Furthermore, these student activists are pushing for stricter background checks for gun buyers. Just four days after the shooting, these students began planning the March for Our Lives demonstration, to take place on March 24 in Washington D.C. Numerous celebrities have demonstrated their support for the Parkland community, including Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney, who donated millions to the upcoming march. Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have both taken to Twitter to praise and express their support for the teens’ efforts. The former first lady tweeted: “Like every movement for progress in our history, gun reform will take unyielding courage
Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.
and endurance.” In light of this activism, it’s extremely maddening that President Donald Trump keeps highlighting mental illness as the prominent issue when mass shootings take place. Yet, as many gun control advocates have pointed out, Trump repealed an initiative in February 2017 that would have made it harder for people with mental illness to purchase guns. This was just one of the many points made in a heart-wrenching speech given by Emma González, a senior at Douglas High School, on Feb. 17. This speech became the defining moment at a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale the weekend after the shooting. Another name that has become familiar with the American public and over social media is David Hogg. Hogg is a reporter
for the Douglas High School newspaper, now known for his comments on CNN the morning after the shooting: “We are children. You guys are the adults. [...] Work together, come over your politics and get something done.” In addition, Cameron Kasky, a Douglas High School junior, confronted Florida Senator Marco Rubio about accepting millions of dollars from the NRA at the CNN town hall meeting held on Feb. 21. People have praised Kasky for his courageous use of words when talking to the politician on live television. The crowd cheered for the young student and booed Rubio, who couldn’t even respond with a simple “yes” or “no.” The words of these students over the past two weeks convinced President Trump
to call for a ban on bump stocks, which make semi-automatic weapons to fire faster, and prompted Rubio to announce new measures to prevent school shootings, according to CNN. These students' actions led CNN to host a town hall meeting, and their actions led certain advertisers to leave the NRA, according to The New York Times. These students have also raised millions of dollars for the upcoming march in D.C., reported CNN. I believe this shooting triggered such an uprising because the victims were high school students, some of whom are getting ready to go to college and commence their adult journeys. But what’s most important is that these students have demonstrated they will not tolerate any more gun violence in the United States. Enough is enough. As I look back on the Parkland shooting, I reflect on how it has affected me personally. I lived in Miami, Fla., for 10 years, and to hear about such a tragedy occurring only an hour away from where my family lives is horrifying. My younger brother is in the sixth grade at a public middle school in Miami, and everyday I fear the worst, knowing he lives in a nation where teenagers can purchase AR-15s. It’s remarkable to see a group of teenagers who endured such trauma work so hard to change gun laws in the United States. Children shouldn’t have to fear for their lives when they go to school, and the survivors of the Parkland shooting are doing everything they can to make that a reality. As Emma González stated during her speech at Fort Lauderdale: “If us students have learned anything, it’s that if you don’t study, you will fail. And in this case, if you actively do nothing, people continually end up dead. So it’s time to start doing something.”
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MARCH 6, 2018
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EDUCATION
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BRITTANY HENRIQUES CONTRIBUTOR
high rates of poverty, mental and physical health issues, food insecurity and suicide rates, according to The Globe and Mail. I believe that for decades, Quebec has Not only does our history neglect been hiding shameful truths about the those who lived on this land first, province’s past to maintain a good image. it also demeans an entire group As a result, its citizens have been living of people. in blissful ignorance for far too long, When I was taught Quebec’s and we have made Indigenous peoples history, the material rarely mentsuffer for even longer. ioned First Nations people. Instead, In my opinion, a major reason Indigenous it prioritized the history of white issues have seen very little progress in recent Quebecers. The province’s history years is because generations still aren’t curriculum has many undeniable being told truths about Canada’s history. flaws, but the biggest one is Most generations were taught Quebec’s the failure to acknowledge and history through the eyes of a white man. properly teach students about Elementary and high school curriculums residential schools in Canada. essentially teach students that white people From 1880 to 1996, resihave always been superior to Indigenous dential schools tore families people, beginning with how Christopher apart and subjected Indigenous Columbus “discovered” America. When children to years of physical, European colonizers realized other human sexual and mental abuse. Entire beings had lived on this land for centuries, generations grew up without the they decided to convert these “savages” chance to learn their culture, to Christianity and teach them the white language or traditions. Residential man’s way of life—what they believed was schools resulted in a cultural the right way to live. genocide. Indigenous children were told to mention the unclean water, poor educaThus, history lessons are based on these issues has shielded many Canadians that if they spoke their language or practiced tion, bad housing and lack of job prospects excuses about the “duty” of Europeans from the harsh reality Indigenous people their traditions, they would suffer terrible that many Indigenous communities face, to “civilize” Indigenous peoples for the face everyday. Vis consequences. according to the Toronto Star. “greater good.” Although Quebec’s high In my opinion, this ignorance has led it scarred These horrible conditionsm I believe these issues still exist due school curriculum was changed in 2017 Quebecers to feel less empathy towards ixand to a lack of awareness and care, which Indigenous people. More has to be done, generations of Indigenous peoples, c to include more Indigenous perspectives, lo the consequences of the residential school uis the government should be according to CBC News, I believe it still it needs to be done better. Our children dsomething . c Mfor.i As a nation, we have and o system are still present in their communities. held responsible doesn’t do enough to explain the extent deserve an honest education, and most s m/ speoples. e The infant mortality rate for some First neglected Indigenous We have let of Indigenous peoples’ struggles. importantly, First Nations people deserve to t d he ED a ITO _ Nations communities is nearly four times them down for centuries, and progress will This idea of white dominance Cover have their histories told. In the words of the R R co sho ed ISTIN -INi C t o A the national average, according to a 2013 never come unless the truth is taught. Future Indigenous peoples is embedded in our nc H w? wise Malala Yousafzai, an education activist, r@ th SAN IEF orimpact Z generations must learn about the brains during childhood, and IMbelieve ecoCBC nc ANews article. The suicide rate for young dia “There are many problems, but I think there ord A ian G R N AG . Indigenous men are 10 times higher than that residential schools and colonization this is why we have not progressed as a c E I n f is a solution to all these problems; it’s just om ma GO NG LIF nag RY E o TO DIthose ing of of non-Indigenous continue to have on Canada’s Indigenous one, nation. The legacy of the mistreatment DA E ED youth, according TO r eand it’s education.” @t DA R life NIEL ITOR he RO P c @ ve L to 2000 data reported in The Guardian . Not communities. A lack of education about Graphic by Zeze Le Lin. Indigenous peoples is seen today RO in their on the E G c
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LIFE EDITOR DANIELLE GASHER life@theconcordian.com
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VOL. 34, ISSUE 14 NOV. 29, 2016
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