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The toons are in town P. 12

Strong opening act for Stingers P. 17

30,000 flood the streets

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011

Full coverage P. 4-5

life The orgasm that never came P. 10

music Tonstartssbandht brings bromance to a new level P. 16

opinions Gay pro athletes need to follow Testo’s example P. 22

Volume 29 Issue 12

Photo by Navneet Pall

Thousands of Concordia students rally for day of action “What do we want? Tuition freeze!

When do we want it? Now!” Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo and Sarah Deshaies News editor and Chief copy editor Despite having to skip class and brave the wind and rain, thousands of Concordia students turned out to march in solidarity with Montreal CÉGEP and university students on Thursday’s day of action in protest against tuition fee hikes.

At several institutions, like Dawson College, students blockaded the entrances to keep others from attending classes. The Dawson Student Union managed to arrange an 11th hour agreement with the CÉGEP administration to cancel classes.

At Concordia, students who chose not to protest were not barred from classes. Those who did want to protest gathered outside at Reggie’s on Mackay Street throughout the morning, and at Loyola, in activities planned by the Concordia Student Union.

After leaving the Reggie’s terrace

shortly after 1 p.m., the body of students, armed with placards, banners, and a palpable level of excitement, inched its way along Ste-Catherine Street towards Place Émilie-Gamelin to join forces with tens of thousands of students frustrated with their government’s decision to raise tuition by $325 a year for the next five years.

While CSU president Lex Gill said they didn’t have a crowd estimate for Concordia—the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec estimated the entire protest drew around 30,000 people—she said they had far surpassed the 920-people capacity of the Reggie’s terrace.

“I think what really blew me away was being at Ste-Catherine Street and de la Montaigne Street and getting a phone call saying the last bit of people were just leaving Concordia,” Gill said.

See ‘Thursday’ on P. 4

McGill student protesters forced off campus Demonstrators were subjected to tear gas, pepper spray Jessica Lukawiecki and Erin Hudson The McGill Daily (CUP) — Over 100 riot police stormed McGill campus on the evening of the Nov. 10 tuition fee protests, forcefully dispersing student demonstrators that had gathered in front of the James Administration building.

Pepper spray, tear gas and physical force were used by police against demonstrators who were protesting the detainment and violence allegedly used by McGill Security against a group of McGill students who had occupied principal Heather MunroeBlum’s office earlier in the day.

Fourteen McGill students claim to have been assaulted by McGill Security while they occupied the fifth floor of the James Admin for almost two hours on Thursday afternoon.

The sit-in coincided with a 30,000 person-strong demonstration against tuition hikes in the province.

At 4:05 p.m., a group of approximately 50 students entered McGill campus after news of the occupation in the James Admin building reached the demonstrators.

Farid Attar Rifai, president of the Association of McGill University Support Employees, was one of the first people on the scene.

“I saw security … were rushing towards the James building, so I knew [the students] were already inside at that point,” Attar Rifai said.

He explained that, upon his arrival, all entrances to the building were locked, and security guards were positioned outside.

Some of the demonstrators took a megaphone back to the Roddick Gates, where they encouraged others to join them.

See ‘Why’ on P. 2

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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City in brief Alyssa Tremblay

Liberals, PQ, ADQ... and now, CAQ

‘Why are you doing this?’: students to cops

François Legault officially launched his new provincial political party, Coalition Avenir Quebec, on Nov. 14 after months of speculation. Legault made the announcement in Quebec City after spending months touring the province consulting Quebecers on political issues. For now, improving the economy and education system will the CAQ’s priority, not sovereignty, said Legault. A former provincial education minister, Legault has expressed the desire to demolish Quebec’s CÉGEP system, slamming the schools as a good place “to learn how to smoke drugs and drop out.”

What we have here is a failure to communicate

The McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association has announced that talks “are being suspended” between the union and McGill’s administration, The Gazette reported.

According to a press release sent

by MUNACA on Saturday, talks are breaking off because “parties are too far apart” on the subject of wages.

The topic is one of the driving forces which led MUNACA to go on strike.

The union represents around 3,000 support staff at the university and has been on strike since the beginning of the fall semester.

Winter is coming for Occupy MTL

The City of Montreal has asked occupiers to stop preparing their camps for the winter months. CBC News reported that the protesters occupying Victoria Square have been fortifying their tents using wooden frames to block out the wind. The city says the structures are potential fire hazards.

Demonstrators said that the city is trying to shut down their movement by giving them a “lift camp or die” ultimatum. A spokesperson from the city denounced these claims, saying that protesters are free to continue protesting and that the rules against building these structures are safety precautions. Similar confrontations between city officials and Occupy protesters are happening across Canada as the country prepares for winter.

Mouldy apartments force tenants out

Tenants were ordered to leave their rented homes on Stuart Avenue in Park Extension last Thursday after city inspectors deemed the mouldfilled apartment building unsafe for tenants to live in. Claudio Di Giambattista, the building’s landlord, has been in the news before for recurring safety concerns regarding the status of his apartments. According to CTV, Di Giambattista has said that “tenants who do not pay rent” are to blame for why the apartments fall into such disrepair. The evicted residents are now staying at the YMCA on Tupper Street as a temporary measure.

AFTER PUSHING PROTESTERS OFF CAMPUS ONTO UNIVERSITY ST., ONE WOMAN PLEADED WITH RIOT POLICE, SAYING, “I’M A STUDENT.” PHOTO BY SARAH DESHAIES

Continued from cover “We’re in McGill, we need more people,” screamed one demonstrator. The crowd outside of the James Admin grew to around 200 people.

Reports of violence used against the occupiers by McGill Security reached those outside through text messages and phone calls. Demonstrators proceeded to form a human chain around the building, demanding entrance.

At roughly 4:50 p.m., four Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) officers approached the building from the Milton Gates and entered the James Admin through a back door, where students attempted to block them.

“When we heard the cops were coming […] we decided to delay them so people inside could have time to negotiate,” said Attar Rifai.

Deputy provost of student life and learning Morton Mendelson confirmed that he had been inside the James Admin throughout the demonstration.

“There were four police who came to survey the situation. They at no time interacted with the people upstairs,” he told The Daily.

Moments after their arrival, about 20 students entered through a side door for a peaceful sit-in on the second floor, with security supervising.

Just before 5 p.m., 20 police officers on bicycles approached James Admin from the Milton Gates. The officers spoke with McGill security but did not take action immediately.

Officers lined up, using their bicycles as barricades against the demonstrators. Some swung their bikes at the demonstrators who were attempting to push the police off campus.

A brief confrontation took place between demonstrators and police.

Demonstrators pushed police back while officers dodged items, including sticks and water bottles, thrown by

the crowd. The officers rode away, to the cheering of students.

Shortly after 5 p.m., about 40 riot police entered the campus through the Milton Gates, beating their shields with batons. Police pushed the crowd towards the Arts and Ferrier buildings.

Demonstrators were pepper-sprayed after pushing back against the police lines in front of James Admin.

“The university did not call the riot squad. I can tell you that, unequivocally,” Mendelson said in an interview on Nov. 11. “I know that the police who were here called in [the riot squad].”

He elaborated on what led to riot police being called onto campus.

The police “looked out the window, and they saw the crowd was growing [...] things seemed to be getting more heated,” Mendelson explained. “I don’t know why, what factored into their decision.”

Jean-Pierre Brabant, a member of the SPVM’s public relations team, declined to answer questions as to whether the riot police had authorization to enter McGill campus.

A second wave of over 50 riot police surrounded demonstrators on all sides. At this point, students taking part in the sit-in on the first floor of James Admin exited the building.

One demonstrator who was trying to cross police lines on the west side of James Admin was picked up, dragged, and thrown to the ground.

Police formed a line and began forcibly pushing demonstrators down the steps, towards the Milton Gates at the edge of campus.

Dozens of demonstrators were pepper sprayed by officers while others carried water to those who had been blinded by the spray.

Gregory Mikkelson, an associate professor in the environment and philosophy departments, was on his way to pick up his children from daycare.

While leaving campus, he noticed the protest outside of James Admin and

stopped to observe.

“Three Montreal riot police came at me, clubbed me in the ribs and stomach with a baton, knocked me over [...] I popped right back up and they pepper sprayed me in the face,” Mikkelson said.

“After I was attacked, my first thought was to check with the person I had been talking with shortly before that and see if he had witnessed it, and ask him if I could get his information so I could corroborate if necessary,” he continued.

McGill student Anna Hermanson was involved in the demonstration and explained that police were “actively pushing” student protesters.

“We decided to let go of one another and put our hands up, and say, ‘We’re standing here peacefully, this is our campus, we have a right to be here. Please’—I’m sobbing at this point … asking, ‘Why are you doing this, we’re students, we can be here, we’re protesting peacefully, please don’t come forward,’” she continued.

Fleeing protesters were unable to enter McGill buildings, which had been locked. McGill’s emergency alert system was not activated.

Mendelson spoke to the activation procedure of the system, which is controlled by McGill Security. “The emergency alert system would go out to all the members of the community, and there’s a trade-off whether or not that would have calmed the situation or fuelled the situation,” he explained.

Once protesters had been pushed off campus onto nearby Milton Street, police shut down the intersection at Milton and University Streets, while demonstrators lingered in the road.

Shortly after, tear gas was deployed.

The police proceeded to charge towards remaining demonstrators, breaking up the crowd.

Four arrests were reported from Thursday’s demonstration, two of which have been confirmed to be McGill students. Students Alex Briggs

and Ariel Prado were arrested, separately, near the James Admin. Both were released late Thursday evening, although Briggs has a pending court date.

Immediately after the demonstration outside James Admin broke up, McGill student groups, including the Students’ Society of McGill University, began mobilizing to offer support to demonstrators who had been affected.

Students at the fifth-floor sit-in inside the James Administration building were eventually escorted out of the building by two Montreal police officers. According to the students involved, the police were only involved “peripherally” during the occupation, and while administrators first said that they wouldn’t be allowed to leave the building without non-academic probation or charges, in a second round of negotiations, the two parties agreed to the students’ release with no arrests, charges, disciplinary action, or names taken.

According to Mendelson, talks between the two parties concluded in less than five minutes, after administrators had consulted with each other and the Montreal police, and subsequently accepted the students’ terms. The students on the second floor negotiated with a member of McGill Security and a Montreal police officer. One student occupying the second floor said later that the sit-in was non-violent.

Munroe-Blum released a statement Nov. 11, indicating that McGill dean of law Daniel Jutras has been asked to conduct an independent investigation of the events of Nov. 10, to be completed by Dec. 15. She added that she was not on campus to witness the events firsthand on Nov. 10. “The presence of riot police on our campus is shocking,” she wrote.

With files from Henry Gass, Queen Arsem-O’Malley and Anthony Lecossois.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Nation in brief

ASFA

Who wants to be a CEO? Finding a new chief electoral officer is proving to be a challenge for ASFA Alyssa Tremblay Assistant news editor The Arts and Science Federation of Associations is searching for candidates to act as chief electoral officer in their next general election, but the controversy surrounding the resignation of their previous CEO has left students feeling hesitant to step up to the plate.

ASFA VP internal Schubert Laforest indicated at last Thursday’s council meeting that it has been “very difficult” to entice

people to apply for the position in the wake of ASFA’s Oct. 12 and 13 byelections in which then-CEO Marvin Cidamon was found to have committed several electoral violations. Ballots were then required to be recounted in order to verify who won the elections and Cidamon ultimately resigned.

“I think that might have turned off a lot of people,” said Laforest, who is urgently trying to find a new CEO to avoid a repeat of these “technical hiccups” and begin planning for ASFA’s

general elections, which are tentatively set for next February.

Laforest has so far received one response to the job opening.

However, the potential candidate in question decided to drop out and not apply for the position just before the council meeting.

Cidamon’s election report, presented at council by Laforest, listed the overall cost of the October byelections as $4,477.

According to this report, Cidamon himself received a docked pay of $350 for his services as CEO, though some council members expressed concerns over whether the former CEO received any money at all considering the violations.

“Originally the number was going to be $250,” said ASFA president Alex Gordon, describing the $350 as “a middle ground” decided upon by the financial committee. “It’s less than minimum wage.”

According to Gordon, the committee took into account the amount of work that Cidamon put into organizing the byelections, coupled with the fact that the hour-to-work ratio for the position is less than minimum wage.

“Regardless of what happened, we still should recognize that he did get the election done at the end of the day,” said VP finance Laura Gomez.

CSU

Former councillor appeals CEO invalidation

JUDICIAL BOARD CHAIR CASSIE SMITH (RIGHT) RESIGNED BEFORE THE APPEAL WAS FILED. PHOTO BY

Advent Retreat

Concordia University Catholic Student Association presents Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10) This retreat discusses how to refocus our resolutions and goals as we prepare for Christmas 2011 Date: Saturday, 26th November 2011 from 1pm to 5pm Venue: Loyola Chapel, 7141 Sherbrooke West Contact: Father Paul Anyidoho at (concordia.csa@gmail.com) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=327188315602 Website: http://catholic.concordia.ca/

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Former Concordia Student Union councillor Tomer Shavit has filed an appeal with the judicial board after it ruled to invalidate the appointment of chief electoral officer Bram Goldstein.

In the 3,800 word, 16-page document, filed on the appeal deadline of Nov. 11, Shavit calls for the JB to reconsider their decision on the basis of 10 arguments. Shavit elaborated on the arguments in the first section of the appeal. He criticized JB chair Cassie Smith for her decision to use the ‘‘fast-track procedure’’ to handle the decision. He also pointed to what he sees as a lack of understanding of the appointments process and lack of impartiality at the hearing on Nov.1.

Shavit wrote that he felt JB member Ceejay Desfosses acted towards him in a hostile manner at the hearing. He also alleged that there was evidence submitted that was not available to him prior to the hearing.

At the hearing, Shavit represented last year’s CSU council, which was responsible for hiring Goldstein in May. The former councillor asked that the judicial board re-evaluate its decision and re-appoint Bram Goldstein. He also requested the board NAVNEET PALL consider having a new hearing, stress impartiality to its members, and for Desfosses to recuse herself from further proceedings on this dossier.

The written JB report stated that “the resolution that appointed [Goldstein] was invalidated on the basis that the appointments process was not conducted properly.”

Meanwhile, Smith sent her letter of resignation to council on Thursday. Smith wrote that poor health and being behind in her schoolwork were factors in her decision to resign, adding that she was unwilling to ‘‘sacrifice [her] full commitment to the position.’’ She also noted her illness is ‘‘exacerbated by stress,’’ and that it was not worth it for her to remain involved in the process, which she called a ‘‘toxic environment.’’

Smith recommended Desfosses step in as chairperson.

In a special council meeting held the day after the hearing, council appointed Ismail Holoubi as the new CEO after reviewing 10 candidates in closed session.

- Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Correction The start of the 2012 winter semester is Jan. 3. The date given in the article “Concordia Senate passes academic plan” in the Nov. 8 issue was incorrect. The Concordian regrets the error.

Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Boom goes the wedding

When a Nova Scotia couple’s wedding plans went up in flames, they soldiered on. Nancy Rogers and her fiancé Michael were preparing for their wedding due to take place at the White Point resort near Liverpool, N.S., when they were made aware of the fire that had engulfed the building where the reception was to be held. When they got the news, the couple decided to move ahead with the wedding anyway and moved their 45 guests to another building, CTV reported. They even took pictures with the burning building in the background. Rogers, 32, was putting on her wedding dress in one of the cabins on the grounds of the resort when she learned the news.

Sixty firefighters fought to save the 83year-old building for over six hours, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Anonymous threatens to wipe out TO online

The hacker group Anonymous has pledged to have the City of Toronto “removed from the Internet” if the city puts an end to the Occupy Toronto movement, the National Post reported.

The group had previously stated that it would ignore the Occupy movement in Canada unless it noticed that the protests were being interrupted. Spokespeople for the office of Mayor Rob Ford said they will proceed with an initiative to end the occupation of St. James Park. The protesters have said they are preparing for long-term occupation.

Anonymous uses distributed denial of service attacks to command millions of computers to flood a website with traffic, which overloads the server. They had previously threatened to erase the Toronto Stock Exchange on Nov. 7 but did not attempt it.

Gay penguins at TO Zoo

Penguin handlers at the Toronto Zoo have been observing the behaviour of Buddy and Pedro, two African penguins who have proven to be inseparable, and are now showing signs of mating behaviours. It’s not the first time zoos have seen examples of penguins which exhibit a “pair bonding” relationship. According to the Toronto Star, the pair go through courtship rituals every night. Unfortunately for Buddy and Pedro, the two are slated to be separated. Since African penguins are endangered and the penguins both have strong genes, they will be split up and paired with females to mate.

First northern university in the Yukon

Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski said during the September territorial elections that he is committed to developing Yukon College into a northern university. As it stands, the college is the only centre for post-secondary education in the Yukon, and Canada is the only Arctic country without a university north of the 60th parallel, according to Canadian University Press. It is unclear whether the Yukon will remedy the situation on its own or in partnership with the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Any university that does end up being established will continue Yukon College’s tradition of granting both academic and vocational degrees.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

theconcordian

STUDENTS GIVE CHAREST WAKE-UP CALL ON C

oncordia students braved the rain and joined the sea of signs, banners, and bodies in the Nov. 10 province-wide protest against university tuition fee hikes proposed by the Quebec government.

More than 30,000 demonstrators from universities across Quebec flocked to Place Émilie-Gamelin before marching their way down Ste-Catherine Street to Premier Jean Charest’s office on McGill College Avenue.

The Concordia Student Union organized a pre-protest meeting at 11 a.m. on the Reggie’s terrace with food provided by the People’s Potato, as well as one at Loyola. Buses transported students from Loyola to the downtown campus, and at 1 p.m. the entire group headed to the demonstration’s starting point.

Police were present throughout the demonstration. Riot police were called to the McGill campus a little after 5 p.m. to disperse the crowd of protesters in front of the James Administration building, allegedly using excess force and pepper spray to remove demonstrators.

Photos by Navneet Pall

Thursday marked larges student strike in Quebe Continued from cover

She explained that students had spilled into the parking lot and onto both Mackay and Bishop Streets, and that the entire second floor of the Hall building had emptied. “It was thousands of people,” she said.

As the students marched along the thoroughfare, they were greeted by a host of McGill University students expectantly waiting at the intersection of Ste-Catherine Street and McGill College Avenue, hoisting their own banners and adding their voices to the cries of “We’ll stand!

We’ll fight! Education is a right!” proclaimed by the marching crowd.

Members of the Occupy Montreal movement also swelled their ranks as they marched onwards to BerriUQAM metro station.

A mass of students had already amassed at Place Émilie-Gamelin by the time the host of students arrived around an hour later.

“I’m here because I’ve actually been to a lot of these [protests] previously ever since I was in CÉGEP and I had been hoping that those would have been enough to stop [tuition fee

hikes] but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case. We’re hoping that this will show the government that there are enough people that are against it and hopefully it will change its mind,” said Alejandro Gomora, a fourth-year psychology student at Concordia.

“I want to be a teacher, and I really don’t like the idea that eventually I am going to have to tell my students that as long as you have money you can be whatever you want to be, but if you don’t, well just give up,” first-year child studies student Alexandra Peters added.

The provincial government, however, shows no signs of stepping down from the proposed $1,625 hike over the next five years. At question period on Thursday, Education Minister Line Beauchamp remained firm on her stance that university students should contribute more.

“A majority of Quebec taxpayers don’t have a university degree and will never earn the salary of a university-educated person — but they finance the majority of the system,” said Beauchamp. “So shouldn’t university students do their part?”

PQ education critic Marie

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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Striking thoughts

“I think it’s a good idea to show just how much students are against the increase in tuition, but in the long run I don’t think it will do anything. If tuition does go up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford to continue to go to school here. If I do continue after the tuition hike I’ll barely be able to pay.”

- Sara Garden, art history student at Concordia

“I don’t expect things to change the day after today, but I’m here protesting to show solidarity and that we’re all standing up against Charest.”

- Aurélie Chayer, student at Cégep du Vieux Montréal

“We’re out here supporting the students. We’re on strike at McGill - we’re part of the support staff - and the students have been out supporting us, and we’re all part of the same community. We don’t think this is fair for the students so we’re showing our support for them.”

- Andrew, McGill University support staff

“The turn out for the protest is amazing! I think this is just the beginning in the fight to freeze tuition. Education is a right and that’s the way it should be. Already, with the current tuition, a lot of students graduate with debt. With the hikes, that debt will just continue to increase. Everyone’s here today to stand up for their rights, there shouldn’t be a limit on who gets education and who doesn’t.”

- Kate Ellis, communications student at Concordia

“I didn’t attend the protest because there was no way I could miss class. I understand it will raise the amount I have to pay but I’m in school to learn and I don’t want this whole manifestation to affect that. I want to do something about it but up to a point there’s nothing I can do apart from conforming to it and I have other priorities.”

- Véronique Sunatori, studio arts student at Concordia

Compiled by Meghan Pearson

N NOV. 10

st one-day ec’s history

Malavoy has said that the hikes are coming too soon for students, while criticizing the government for the lack of accessibility of loans and bursaries to students.

The 30,000-strong crowd left the park later that afternoon to protest in front of Premier Jean Charest’s office on McGill College Avenue.

The crowd filled the streets, with many students demonstrating peacefully and playing music. But a tense knot of students formed directly outside of the office building, with riot police forming a line blocking the entrance. One student let off a fire extinguisher, while others launched firecrackers at the police and threw paint at the building.

A line of community organizers, some of them students, wore neon vests and formed a line to prevent others from reaching the police, who eventually retreated into the building.

The crowd soon dissipated, with CSU executives taking to Twitter to say they were headed home.

Montreal police reported that four people were arrested the day of the protests.

Not all students took to the streets Skepticism about benefits of protesting lead some students to opt out of strike Marilla Steuter-Martin Staff writer There was no line at the Tim Hortons in the Hall building. There were three people to an elevator in the MB. Something was missing at Concordia on Nov. 10, and their absence did not go unnoticed.

Nov. 10 marked the student “Day of Action” organized to show disagreement with rising tuition fees in Quebec. Concordia students took to the streets in protest Thursday, marching in solidarity with students from other Quebec CEGEPs and universities.

Despite the overwhelming support displayed for the strike by

the Arts and Science Federation of Associations and Graduate Students’ Association at a joint meeting in the week leading up to the rally, some Concordia students did not share their peers’ enthusiasm.

“I do believe in unions and free speech. I just think it goes against the idea of education that people chose to skip class in protest,” said Fabrizio Pantalone, an undergraduate linguistics student.

Pantalone feels that the ad campaigns launched by various student groups intentionally exaggerated facts to suit their message. “I don’t approve of some of the misinformation being used. The posters saying that Charest paid $500 for university,

that’s just not true,” he said, pointing out that in order for that argument to be valid, proper allowances have to be made for inflation.

He said the student activists are using “sensationalist tactics,” and that if they wish to draw more people to their cause, they should do so by being realistic.

A business student, who wished only to be identified as Veronica, feels that some of her classmates don’t realize how good they have it.

“I think we pay the lowest tuition in Canada. I think [the strike is] a little unnecessary. I’m against it,” she said. Veronica said she pays for her own schooling and that she feels that “education is an investment.”

While some students were clearly opposed to the strike, others were unable to miss class. Vinh Ha, a student in Concordia’s accounting program,

said he would have liked to attend the strike but couldn’t afford to skip class. “I have a deadline,” he said. He made it clear that he didn’t see the professor being lenient on students who were absent.

Despite Provost David Graham’s recommendation that professors be understanding of students who chose to protest, many students still felt it was not an option for them to miss the time. “[My professor]’s going to teach anyway and I don’t want to have to catch up,” said Melanie Chabot, a business student.

Eugene Kritchevski, an assistant professor of mathematics, said that he doesn’t expect the protest will produce results. “I don’t think the strike will do anything. If students really want to force change they should refuse to pay their fees,” he said.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

World in brief Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

PROTEST OVER 1,000 CONCERNED AND UPSET MEMBERS OF THE MCGILL COMMUNITY GATHERED AT THE JAMES SQUARE AMPHITHEATRE AT NOON ON MONDAY AS PART OF THE “WE ARE ALL MCGILL” MOVEMENT THAT SPREAD ON FACEBOOK. RENAMING THE SPACE “COMMUNITY SQUARE,” EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED SPEECHES WERE MADE BY PROFESSORS AND MEMBERS OF MCGILL’S STUDENT POLITICAL SPHERE. THE DEMONSTRATION WAS A RESPONSE TO THE PRESENCE OF RIOT POLICE ON THE UNIVERSITY’S CAMPUS AND THE RESULTING VIOLENCE THAT TOOK PLACE AT LAST WEEK’S NOV.10 TUITION FEE HIKE PROTESTS. PHOTOS BY NAVNEET PALL

Teacher might lose job over Facebook comment

A judge has recommended that a teacher in Paterson, NJ should lose her job for posting on Facebook that “i’m not a teacher - i’m a warden for future criminals” in March. In a decision made public Tuesday, Judge Ellen Bass wrote that first-grade teacher Jennifer O’Brien showed a “complete lack of sensitivity to the world in which her students live,” explaining that such behaviour would be “inexcusable.” Bass did say that with sensitivity training, O’Brien could resume teaching, but not in Paterson.

O’Brien’s lawyer said she would appeal to let the teacher keep her job, saying the words had been misinterpreted. The lawyer said O’Brien was concerned about the behaviour of a few students whom she thought needed help. The state education commissioner will decide whether to accept, reject, or modify the recommendations within the next 45 days.

Virginity on the market for $15,000

Escort agency MyOutCall is offering to sell the virginity of a 19-year-old Chinese student who says she is studying at Sydney University for $15,000, a sex industry consulting firm has found. The Telegraph contacted a manager at MyOutCall on Nov. 8 who confirmed that the offer was real, adding that it was a pretty common phenomenon. Australian Family Association spokesman and research head Tim Cannon spoke out against the discovery, saying it hearkened back to the days of slavery. Chris Seage, head of the Brothel Busters consulting firm, said Asian girls who come to Australia to study often get themselves into debt. Seage said there is no law to stop the escort agency from selling the teenager’s virginity.

Like catching flies with honey

Police in Derbyshire, U.K. told crime suspects to call a marketing company in exchange for a free case of beer in order to get them behind bars. According to the Telegraph, the officers from Chesterfield Police Station sent letters to dozens of suspects in a sting known as Operation Rocky. In the letters, they told the suspects to arrange for a specific time and place to pick up the beer. When the men arrived to pick up the “free booze” they instead found police waiting to arrest them.

20 kids and counting

The family of reality TV show 19 Kids And Counting will soon count one more child among them. Michelle Duggar and husband Jim Bob of Little Rock, Ark. already have 10 boys and nine girls, according to Agence France-Presse. Duggar, 45, suffered complications from the birth of their youngest in 2009, but said she is not worried for her health. Meanwhile, although the pregnancy was a surprise, Jim Bob, 46, said they didn’t want to have an odd number of children. This couple must have single-handedly upped the average American birthrate by at least three children.

HIV/AIDS

Triage system can harm access to AIDS drugs: specialist Lecturer explains effects of HIV treatment in Africa, and the mindset surrounding it Erika Heales Contributor In 1982, an 18-year-old student attended a seminar about HIV/AIDS at Concordia, which inspired him to fight the once highly stigmatized disease.

Nearly 30 years later, this student, now an associate professor in the department of social and preventive medicine at Université de Montréal and a specialist in AIDS research, led a seminar of his own at Concordia on Nov. 10.

Dr. Vinh-Kim Nguyen spoke to students, professors, and AIDS activists from Montreal in French about his time researching the effects of AIDS in Ivory Coast and

Burkina Faso.

As part of Concordia’s ongoing HIV/AIDS community lecture series, the presentation drew awareness to the consequences of HIV treatments in Africa, which are largely unknown.

Nguyen focused on the period following the beginning of widespread use of antiretroviral drugs in the 1990s, which lead to a significant drop in HIV/AIDSrelated deaths. For many African countries, these life-saving drugs were scarce and the virus was considered an “invisible disease because it was not seen as a problem,” according to Nguyen.

A native-born Ivorian who attended the seminar noted that

when he was growing up, his father had told him that “HIV does not exist because gays do not exist.”

With this kind of mindset, the disease continued to spread, and it became increasingly important to get tested, and to talk about the disease. Awareness campaigns were introduced, using such messages such as, “I want to live happily for a long time, so I am adopting a responsible sex life.”

Because of the scarcity and price of drugs, health organizations relied on triage where only certain people would receive the lifesaving drugs, Nguyen said.

People were selected based on their ability to communicate and be suitable AIDS activists.

Speaking from an anthropological perspective, Nguyen did not offer solutions. Instead, he criticized the triage system and noted

that it was difficult for Africans to talk about themselves. In North America, he explained how “we are swimming in a confessional culture.” For Africans, it is not as easy to confess, Nguyen explained.

A consequence of triage, Nguyen argued, was that it could lead to “therapeutic sovereignty,” or a fight over who should have access to treatment.

Nguyen has observed how communities are now forming with infected people who have access to drugs which have fragmented society, which he said has led to these people living longer and taxing the fragile health care system.

The associate professor wrote about the “therapeutic sovereignty” phenomenon in The Republic of Therapy: Triage and Sovereignty in West Africa’s Time of AIDS, published in 2010.

life

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

7

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com CARS

The drive to being a babe magnet

Graphic by Phil Waheed

Are flashy cars replacing girlfriends or attracting them?

Andrew Maggio Contributor

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES-THAT IS, IF YOU HAVE ONE OF COURSE. The importance of having one’s own car, at the age where asking mom and dad for a lift isn’t considered cool anymore, has become an essential part of the lives of many young men.

It would appear that this mentality has found a home among plenty of guys at Concordia. Not just the concept of having a car, but having a sleek, powerful, confidenceinducing machine with your name attached to it. Just bringing it up casually in a conversation with a group of guys can create a definite sense of excitement in the air. There is the allure of having that swag and individuality when you can click the unlock button and watch the headlights of your BMW blink at your awestruck friends.

In the end, however, is it all for personal satisfaction, or is there another goal involved?

Say, attracting the opposite sex?

Matthew D’Arienzo, who is majoring in economics, is a car fanatic who also happens to have a BMW of his own. The vehicle is a result of his own hard work and decision not to spend all of his money on fast food and booze-filled evenings on St-Laurent. In his opinion, the fact that some girls are attracted to a nicer car is nothing but a bonus to having a high-end vehicle.

“A car is very personal, it’s not exactly

something you’re doing for somebody else,” said D’Arienzo. “I bought a BMW for myself, not for the women.”

That may come as a bit of a disappointment to D’Arienzo’s girlfriend, currently in CÉGEP, who has had to endure countless hours of watching him work on his “other baby” or scouring the Internet for new parts to add to his car.

“I let her know when I’m working on my car, and that’s time that I need and want to myself,” D’Arienzo admitted. “I don’t want to hear my phone ringing or someone talking in my ear while I’m underneath my car. If she’s around when I’m doing research or ordering parts, she’ll sit and watch, she doesn’t have a choice. But in the end it goes both ways because when she needs help for her car, I’m there to give her a hand.”

Jordan Gentile, who is majoring in political science, admitted that he loves his car, calling it “his little baby.” While he did say that having his own car gives women an impression of independence and maturity, he noted that attracting women is just a perk, and was not the main reason for buying his own car.

So it would appear that for some guys, the car is more about individuality rather than attracting girls.

Although for these guys purchasing a flashy car was not to attract ladies, a study conducted by Rice University, the University of Texas-San Antonio and the University of Minnesota has concluded that men do pur-

chase flashy objects in order to attract sexual partners.

“This research suggests that conspicuous products, such as Porsches, can serve the same function for some men that large and brilliant feathers serve for peacocks,” said the study’s lead author Jill Sundie to QMI. Interestingly, this study also showed that women caught on easily to the intention of the guys sporting the red Ferrari or shiny Lamborghini, stating that they see these guys as dating but not marriage material. This has led study co-author Daniel Beal to state that “many men might be sending women the wrong message.”

Bianca Panarello, a psychology major, offered a Concordia female student’s perspective on the issue, admitting that while it’s definitely an advantage that her boyfriend has his own car, it never in any way directly affected her attraction towards him.

She also went on to say that she doesn’t mind that he needs time to work on his car (also a BMW); in fact, she has learned a lot about cars from him. But the resonating fact that did come out was that there is definitely an emotional attachment when it comes to guys and their cars.

“It’s happened once or twice where something went wrong with his car, like an accident or some sort of damage to the car, and he was angry for the entire day,” said Panarello. “Anything I would try to do wouldn’t cheer him up. He definitely gets annoyed when something bad happens to it and

isn’t in the best of moods.”

So does Bianca think her boyfriend would say he loves his car?

“I think saying he loves his car is an understatement,” she said. “He is obsessed with his car. Always talking about it, working on it, looking up information online, and always doing something new to it.”

Based on these responses, perhaps the real question isn’t whether or not guys buy and work on their cars to impress girls, but rather: why do they spend as much (and sometimes more) time with a machine than they do with the women in their lives?

A 2007 study called “The Secret Life of Cars and What They Reveal About Us,” offers insight into the relationship between vehicles and their owners. In an article in The Telegraph, author Iain MacRury of the University of East London stated that “men talk about their cars as if talking about themselves.” His co-author, Peter Marsh, added that the attachment of men to their cars often translated into annoyance or anger at the potential threat of someone damaging their vehicle. The authors also concluded that men were also likely to shows affection towards their cars in a way that one usually associates with loved ones or pets.

In the end, it would appear that men simply benefit from the fact that they might attract a lovely lady or two solely because of their ride, but ultimately, a man sees his car as another partner in his life. One that doesn’t necessarily replace his real baby.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

SHOPPING

You are where you eat Make responsible consumer choices at Montreal’s urban general store Fait Ici Sofia Gay Arts editor

N

owadays, nearly everyone can recommend the best brand of shampoo or cleaning product.

But while that’s fine and dandy, there’s a marked difference between what this gesture meant 50 years ago in comparison to today. After all, how many people do you know who can name more than three—or any—ingredients in the products they use, or where they’re manufactured for that matter?

Lindsay Davis began asking herself these kinds of questions a couple of years ago. But rather than writing to companies or decorating protest signs, she took a different approach by opening up an urban general store in the heart of Saint-Henri, called Fait Ici. “I started watching documentaries, reading different books, and really sort of taking an interest in where our food comes from. And it kind of scared me that as a consumer, if we weren’t more conscious, that these big conglomerates were going to end up taking over,” she said.

Fait Ici aims not only to sell products that have been responsibly made, but also to primarily source products that have been produced in Quebec.

While a lot of the store’s offerings—their artisanal jewelry, in particular—come right from Montreal, the food baskets travel from between one to two hours away.

Davis, who is a Nova Scotian transplant herself, thought Montreal was the perfect place to open up this kind of store after falling in love with the city and deciding to stay.

“There’s a ton of great stuff going on in Montreal. I had no plans of going back home, and so I guess it was just a natural, organic occurrence

THE UNIQUE CONCEPT BEHIND FAIT ICI RESTS IN THEIR ORGANIC AND LOCAL PRODUCTS. PHOTOS BY GILDA POORJABAR that it would be Montreal,” she said. “It’s a great city.”

She said the idea for the store came the same way that many of the store’s products are made—naturally, of course.

“I was just kind of brainstorming—actually Jackson, my partner, and I were sitting out on the back deck, having a beer, [...] and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be so cool if you went into a store and you could see how far a product traveled, and where it was from, and that you knew they were being sourced locally and sustainably [...]”

she recalled. “And then, next thing I knew, I just kind of took this idea, ran with it, and started writing a business plan.”

The contrast of having a store fashioned after such a traditional concept in the urban landscape of Montreal does not escape her.

She was inspired by general stores of the past (where you could find yourself cleaning products, soap and the ingredients for tonight’s meal all in one go) when coming up with the concept for Fait Ici. “The thought of that always inspired me, how you could walk in somewhere and never know what you’re really going to find,” she explained. “And I guess that sort of inspiration tied into this really undying urge I have to support our local farmers and know about the products we’re buying. So it was kind of like the two worlds colliding for me into this concept that has just grown, and is continuing to grow.”

Connected with that idea is the desire to bring back quality customer service, which with the fast motion of a modern-day credit card swipe, Davis believes has been lost nowadays.

“I really felt that that was lost, just genuine interaction when you go into a store, and being able to ask questions, and not feel intimidated.

Being able to have a conversation with somebody about interests that you share,” she said. “That’s kind of what Fait Ici is all about for me. I pretty much eat, sleep, live and breathe Fait Ici, so it is my hope that people feel that, that they feel welcome and they feel comfortable, and they

have a pleasant experience. I guess that’s kind of the atmosphere that I’m trying to breed.”

And it seems to be working for the store, which also invites customers to take a load off and stay for lunch. The menu, which varies from day to day, offers salads to sandwiches, sometimes using seasonal products.

Yet past the homeyness and carefully chosen products the store provides, at the very core of its existence is the purpose to educate people about where their food and products come from.

“I think it’s important to know because I think the quality of what we’re buying now in terms of food and in terms of other products is not what it was 30, 40 years ago – 20 years ago.

I think it’s changed so much, and so, again, it’s up to the consumer to take a stand and make a choice [...] A lot of people don’t vote. But they spend money. They go out every day and they buy things. So, in a way, that’s like your vote, that’s saying what you believe in, and what you support,” explained Davis.

“At the end of the day, all this stuff that’s genetically modified and not labelled, it’s all out there and nobody knows, and people are pushing to have things like that labelled now,” she continued. “And that’s just it, I think it takes people standing up and taking an invested interest in these types of things, and that’s what’s going to create change.”

Fait Ici is located at 2519 Notre-Dame W. St. For more information, go to faitici.ca.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

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FOOD

Don t worry, eat happy at Zero8 Stop by for a savoury meal free of the top eight allergens Rachelle Fox Contributor Food kills, and no, I’m not talking about contaminating bacteria or choking on a chicken wing. For those of us with a severe food allergy, eating out is like playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette...every bite could potentially be our last.

Normally, us “allergics” are filled with sweat-inducing dread as we try to pick the most innocuous dish on a restaurant menu.

Our blood pressure rises as we explain over and over again to the server the ingredients that are absolutely forbidden.

And then, what happens when it comes time to taste test our selection? We silently pray that the hapless staff will not have to resort to stabbing us with an EpiPen or, as in my case, rush me to the hospital.

Luckily, those disastrous days can now fade into distant memories. Finally, there is a restaurant where food-challenged people are able to eat delicious meals without the fear of respiratory and dermatological malfunctions ensuing.

The name of this amazing place: Zero8 Resto-Bar on St-Denis Street.

Zero8’s name comes from the fact that the entire restaurant and menu is free from the top eight allergens listed by Health Canada. That means: no fish or seafood, no sesame seeds, no dairy, no soy, no eggs, no

wheat or grain containing gluten, no peanuts and no nuts.* If your allergy or intolerance doesn’t fall under the common eight list, then you need to speak directly with the Zero8 staff to determine if the menu is suitable for you.

For the rest of us, it’s time to pig out on taste bud-exploding carrot and ginger soup, homemade bruschetta, chicken drumsticks, boneless rib steak, vegan lasagna, and my all time favourite—the Zero8-style poutine, which consists of home-cut fries cooked in canola oil, covered with a sweet and tangy sauce, and thinly-sliced pieces of smoked duck. If duck isn’t your style, they have a “build your own fries” section complete with choice of mushrooms, venison bolognese, chicken, roast beef, and/or vegan “mayostyle” sauces. The menu also conveniently labels vegan meals for the non-carnivores.

All the dishes are packed with flavour, cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients, and served in moderately-sized portions.

Celiacs will love the gluten-free pasta selections and homemade chickpea bread, while for others, the meat, salad, soup, and fries selection will have your mouth hopping.

My non-food-allergic friends, who can eat anything they like, have commented on the flavour and deliciousness of the meals.

However, I would caution any Italian foodloving wheat-pasta fiends to skip the Zero8 gluten-free pastas and stick to other menu choices to avoid disappointment. No matter how tasty and well made, gluten-free pasta will never fully replicate the texture of a wheat-based pasta.

And what about dessert?

No longer do we food-allergics have to sit and watch our friends inhale droolinducing sweet delicacies while sipping our glass of water. Finally, we too can enjoy that sugar rush from a great selection of Zero8 creations.

I recommend the “fondant au chocolat.”

The moist, gooey, chocolate-laden treat is pure ecstasy.

The decor at Zero8 strikes a good balance between modern sophistication and casual comfort. It is perfectly suited for a french-fry feast with friends or to a classy first–date dinner. The menu reflects this dining diversity as well, with prices ranging from $7-28. Reservations are highly recommended on Friday and Saturday nights,

particularly during the winter when they lose their patio space.

And Zero8 doesn’t just cater to the restaurant crowd.

It also has a full line of microwavable frozen meals for home, including delicious slices of chocolate cake that are perfect for late-night study sessions.

So, no more complaining, my foodchallenged friends, that you can’t go out on a Friday night or stuff your face with french fries and cake. Finally, it’s time to live it up! *Zero8 takes the same view as Health Canada and does not consider coconut to be a nut. Coconut is definitely used in some Zero8 dishes.

Zero8 is located at 1735 St-Denis. For more information, visit zero8.com.

BAR

Brouhaha: for the refined beer drinker and them alone Bar boasts an impressive variety of beers, but is lacking everywhere else Mark Della Posta Staff writer Broue Pub Brouhaha is a rarity in this city.

It’s the type of bar that doesn’t try to please everyone. It does one thing particularly well and concentrates on pleasing its core clientele.

First things first. Brouhaha is a beer connoisseur’s dream. The bar prides itself on having a wide array of artisanal beers. The ForêtNoire black stout at 10.5 per cent is definitely worth a try, especially considering that it only takes a couple to put you in your happy place.

The bar also boasts an impressive lineup of imported beers, including some “almost impossible to find on this side of the pond” Trappist beers.

It has strong beers, light beers, spiced beers, dark beers and just about everything in between. Unfortunately, it seems as though Brouhaha is content with pleasing the “refined beer drinker” and forgot about everyone else.

Now look, I like a hibiscus flower flavoured beer as much as the next guy, but sometimes you kind of just want a Molson. You know, something that doesn’t cost $10 and doesn’t make you feel like you should enjoy the subtle notes of whatever it is the overly passionate bartender says you should be tasting.

Another point of contention is the bar’s vibe. For as much work as Brouhaha puts into their beers, it’s surprising that they would completely neglect the ambience in their main room.

This is one of those bars that’s just too well-lit. The music isn’t nearly loud enough to drown out the ambient noise and the tables are practically on top of one another. The tiled flooring and floating ceilings make the place look cheap and the previously mentioned bright lighting doesn’t do anything to hide it. While the atmosphere is casual it sometimes gives you the impression that you’re in a cafeteria.

Interestingly, the private room at the back had a much better feel. Equipped with a stage, a private bar and space for about 100 people, the back room is perfect for hosting parties, shows or just waging karaoke battles with your friends.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the food. The menu itself looks good. They serve duck wings, thin crust pizza, nachos and sugar pie among other things. The problem is that the chef closed the kitchen so early that I didn’t have the chance to try anything.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Why do you need a chef to cut out a slice of pie?

Well, the waiter explained to me that he was incapable of performing that task and only a trained chef is capable of properly placing the pie on the plate. The chef also seems to be the only person working there who is capable of filling a basket with nachos and covering them with salsa.

Normally you wouldn’t expect food in a bar after 11 p.m., but when you’re in a sitting room-only establishment that kind of feels like your kitchen, sipping on $10 Belgian beer, it’s only normal that you’d be overcome with the munchies. That is unless you’re overcome with those maple undercurrents that you’re supposed to be enjoying.

Brouhaha is located at 5860 de Lorimier Ave. and open seven days a week from 3 p.m to 3 a.m.

THE SOPHISTICATED BEER DOES NOT MAKE UP FOR THE DISAPPOINTING SERVICE. PHOTO BY ALEX MENJIVAR

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theconcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 SEX

Can t reach your peak?

Graphic by Phil Waheed

Brenda Raftlova Contributor

IT IS EIGHT O’CLOCK IN THE EVENING and an almost total darkness reigns in the Westmount duplex where Concordia student Allie Davidson* lives. The only light source in her room comes from the burning candles she’s lit to create a pleasant ambiance. She’s also prepared a plate of sushi and added extra ginger because Cosmo said it would improve stimulation and sexual arousal. As for dessert, she’s made chocolate fondue with fresh strawberries because, again, Cosmo said it would increase sexual desire. So everything is ready, everything is tip-top and all Davidson has to do now is wait for her man and finally get that orgasm she has been wanting for so long.

But Davidson has never had an orgasm before and neither will she this time.

“I think about it everyday. It really makes me upset. I’ve been with my boyfriend for over three years now and I don’t know where the problem is, but I’m just not able to achieve orgasm,” she said. “Is there something wrong with me?”

Dr. Laurie Betito, a psychologist with a specialty in sex therapy and the host of Passion on CJAD, said that 70 per cent of women do not orgasm with intercourse alone and that it is perfectly normal.

“The majority of women need some clitoral stimulation in order to reach orgasm,” said Betito. “It really doesn’t matter how long their partners are pumping away at them. Some women will never have an orgasm that way.”

But why is it that such a high percentage of women are unable to experience an orgasm, while most men have no problem reaching their peak?

According to Betito, a woman’s orgasm is much more in her head. So if a woman feels stressed, angry or bothered by something, this will interfere with her ability to be completely relaxed, making it near impossible for her to reach orgasm.

“It’s really not about techniques,” said Betito. “The guy can be the best lover in the world, but if the woman is not relaxed and doesn’t feel comfortable in that situation, she won’t get it. It’s easier for men to put things aside, therefore easier to experience orgasm.”

Being unable to achieve orgasm is certainly something that young women are distressed about. Some have even dropped into moods of despair, which has led them to fake their sexual climax. One of the orgasm fakers is Katie Jones*, a Concordia psychology student who fears that her partner will leave her if he finds out that she is unable to orgasm during intercourse.

“I started faking it when I overheard a phone conversation my boyfriend was having with one of his buddies. He was saying how our sex life is just not there and how it made him feel self-conscious that he couldn’t make me orgasm,’’ she said. “And now that I fake it once in a while I can tell that it makes him happy. But if he were to find out, he would probably dump me.”

Jones, however, is not the only one pretending to experience orgasm. Betito said women do it because they do not want to upset their partner as they know they are judging their performance based on whether the woman reaches her peak or not. But just because many women fake it, does not necessarily mean that they should.

“I don’t find that healthy at all,” said Betito. “It stops you from actually talking about the problem and about what you really need and what you really want as a woman.”

Reaching that climax solely as a result of a penis penetrating your vagina might be difficult, but do not lose hope just yet. Betito has suggested that there are many other ways to help women attain that feeling of pleasure and excitement.

“First of all, pressure must be applied on the clitoris somehow,” said Betito. “So either women are massaging their clitoris at the same time or their partner is doing it with their hands. Another way to do this is using a vibrator at the same time as they are having intercourse.”

Jennifer Brown*, an art history student, agreed with Betito that stimulating the clitoris

while having sex will allow you to finally climax. But she also said that having your partner’s hands doing magic to your vagina is incomparably better than if you were to use your own hands.

“Me and my boyfriend we have discovered the best sex position that works for both us. It’s called the spoon,” she said. “So basically you lie on your side and your back is pressed against your partner’s chest. Then,

“

“

Unraveling the mystery of the female orgasm

your partner not only penetrates you from behind but he massages your clitoris simultaneously. If you follow my advice, there is no way you won’t have an orgasm.”

So relax, buy a Kama Sutra book and take a trip to the sex shop, because your next night might just be the best night of your life.

*Names were changed due to the personal nature of the article and to respect confidentiality.

The majority of women need some clitoral stimulation in order to reach orgasm. It really doesn’t matter how long their partners are pumping away at them. Some women will never have an orgasm that way.

- Dr. Laurie Betito, host of Passion on CJAD

FEMALE ORGASMIC DISORDER

REASONS CITED BY DISCOVERYHEALTH.COM FOR BEING UNABLE TO CLIMAX: Emotional trauma or abuse: Women with a history of abuse are more likely to have emotional and physical issues, which can hurt their sex lives.

Use of some medication: Drugs that reduce blood pressure, antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, and anti-anxiety drugs can result in problems achieving an orgasm.

Sex technique and stimulation: Sexual technique is key. Making love is something that we learn through practice. Cultural, religious and personal limitations can make women uncomfortable in discussing and exploring sexual techniques and therefore limit their chances of reaching their sexual peak.

Pelvic floor prolapse: This condition is caused when the muscles supporting the internal pelvic organs loosen. It can result from childbirth, aging, surgery and spinal cord injury.

Women suffering from prolapse often feel an urge to urinate and feel pressure in the vagina or rectum.

arts

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

11

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com CINEMA POLITICA

Freedom is never free Brandon Judd Staff writer

Cinema Politica shows resistance to injustice from both sides of the globe

McKay and Crowder were angry and susceptible to suggestion. It’s a chilling lesson for all about the follies of unfocused rage, and how easily

good intentions can lead to terrible consequences: a thread picked up by Sarabah.

Better This World is showing on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in H-110. For more information, go to www. cinemapolitica.org/concordia.

Sarabah: ‘For the health of our daughters, for hope in our lives.’

T

his week at Cinema Politica two films show fights against very different kinds of injustice. Sarabah is concerned with Senegalese rapper Sister Fa’s efforts to stop female genital mutilation in her home country. Better This World focuses on the legal troubles of two young men who claim to have been manipulated and coerced by the FBI. The subjects in both films possess an excess of passion for their cause, admirable in both cases. The difference, however, is focus.

Sister Fa’s passion is a pointed spear; David McKay and Bradley Crowder’s was explosive. In the end, their successes and failures hinged on their ability to harness and control their anger.

Better This World: This isn’t about justice... It’s about a winner and a loser.

St. Paul, Minn.: the 2008 Republican National Convention. John McCain and Sarah Palin accept the Grand Old Party’s nomination for the American presidency and vice-presidency to the cheers of thousands of zealous party supporters. Outside the arena, an even larger crowd gathered. For the previous four days, angry protesters had paralyzed the streets of the Twin Cities’ eastern sister.

Among those demonstrating were McKay and Crowder, close friends from Midland, TX who had made the trek up to Minnesota with a group of like-minded—or so they thought—activists.

What followed was pressureinduced radicalization resulting in the FBI arresting both men for making, and planning to use, Molotov cocktails.

The film picks up with both Crowder and McKay in jail, and deftly uses found footage—traffic cameras, home videos, FBI surveillance—to weave together the narrative that brought these two seemingly benign Texans to a federal penitentiary.

Better This World deals with two important issues. The first of these I will remain silent on, as divulging

details would ruin an extremely well executed moment in the film. The second, however, is the much bigger question: how fair is federal prosecution in the United States?

The U.S. Department of Justice has around a 90 per cent success rate in court, and while this may seem like a product of excellent case choices and lawyers, Better This World suggests the deck is stacked heavily in their favour. Most cases never make it to court, because defendants so often accept plea deals. But as the film shows, defendants are effectively coerced into accepting pleas.

Crowder was offered a two year plea deal in which he had to drop charges of entrapment and admit to a degree of criminality he felt the evidence didn’t support. Truthfully, he wanted the truth laid bare in court; he wanted the whole story told. But to go to court was to accept, were he to lose, a minimum sentence of 10 to 12 years. The whole truth apparently carries a heavy burden in the U.S. justice system.

The film certainly paints McKay and Crowder as victims, and for good reason, but it also refuses to remove them from blame for their actions.

Though they were manipulated,

While Maria Luisa Gambale and Gloria Bremer’s Sarabah shares in the heartbreak seen in Better This World, it’s ultimately a hopeful film. Sister Fa, an award-winning Senegalese hiphop artist, is the subject here, but not for her music. The artist, whose real name is Fatou Diatta, was a victim of one of the most barbaric practices existing in modern times: female genital mutilation. Decades later, Fa has returned to her home country and is putting forth an effort to combat the practice in Senegal.

Along the way, we see her deal with all shades of ignorance, from angry traditionalists oblivious to the realities of FGM, to traumatized schoolgirls who believe uncircumcised women are unclean.

The subject matter is difficult, to be sure, but too important to ignore.

One of the key reasons this practice still exists has to do with taboo.

It’s unacceptable to speak of FGM in Senegal, and the graphic details prevent many outsiders from tackling the issue. Sister Fa, however, has firsthand knowledge of the trauma implicit in the custom, and refuses to let it continue.

The most heartbreaking aspect of FGM in Senegal is that it’s conducted on young girls by their mothers. And this is not done with a hint of malice.

In villages where walking around naked is the norm, to be uncircumcised is to be dirty, and to be dirty is to be an outcast. And there’s no hiding it.

So mothers undertake this awful act out of love, a brutal irony unimaginable to women, and men, elsewhere in the world.

Sarabah is a rare issue film that’s

nearly impossible to argue against. It does not call for policy change regarding grey areas like military action and oil mining, in which strong economic counterarguments exist. It’s a cut-anddry example of right and wrong, of indoctrinated abuse, that has remained largely marginalized with activists and governments today.

The film should be required viewing, not only for its content, but because it’s a strong example of how art and music have the ability to open doors other languages cannot.

In Sister Fa’s “Excision,” she says she thinks of these girls every day. We should too.

Sarabah is showing on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in H-110. For more information, go to www.cinemapolitica. org/concordia.

2011 FREDA OTCHERE STAFF RECOGNITION AWARD RECOGNIZING EXCELLENT SERVICE Have you received outstanding service from a Libraries staff member? You can nominate that staff member for the 2011 Freda Otchere Staff Recognition Award.

Get the Nomination Form, along with guidelines, on the Libraries website: library.concordia.ca

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theconcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

FILM

It s time to animate yourself, buddy New festival by Concordia alumnus comes to the Hall building Elysha Del Giusto-Enos Staff writer

A

passion for animated films and Red Bull on an intravenous drip would explain how Concordia alumnus Michael Dahan, founder of the upcoming Animaze Film Festival, was able to co-ordinate such an ambitious weekend of events.

Animaze will feature new international animated films, old classics, a documentary about legendary Warner Bros. director Friz Freleng, an ‘80s cartoon charity show, an anniversary screening of Heavy Metal, and a student animated film night where the title of “Top Animation School in Montreal” will be awarded.

Dahan’s motivation for starting the Animaze Festival was the vacuum he saw in North America’s feature-length animated film industry.

“I saw the movie Free Jimmy and it just blew me away,” said Dahan. “Then it made me realize that the only [animated] movies that make it to North America are family films.

It’s Disney and Pixar. That’s it. No animated dramas, comedies, horror or action are on the big screen here.”

Free Jimmy is from Norway and will be appearing at Animaze on Saturday. Dahan praised Europe for its interesting and wellwritten animated films.

“They do not hold back. They don’t know the meaning of the words ‘politically correct’ which is amazing,” he said. “And their style of

animation is all unique. When you say ‘European animation’ you can’t pick out one style.”

The festival features five full-length movies from Europe, and three from both Japan and North America, along with a cartoon charity show and the student animation competition.

But Dahan had initially wanted to branch out even further.

“I actually got a movie from India and I was very excited to see what animation from India would be like,” he said. “It was unwatchable. It was all singing and dancing.”

Besides exposing Montreal audiences to movies they would never normally get the chance to see, Dahan is helping Montreal’s animation students get exposure. The festival’s Sunday night slot is dedicated to student short films. The films will compete against each other as collections from each participating school and be scored by a panel of judges.

Helping charity is also an important goal to Dahan. The Saturday Morning Cartoon charity show will run CBS’s 1986 Saturday morning lineup, and proceeds from the event will go to local charity Sun Youth.

“This is a chance for me to finally use my passion to do something for Sun Youth. […]

They do a lot of good in the community and I want to help them out,” said Dahan.

There’s also a charity screening of the documentary Freleng: Frame by Frame. Its focus is famed Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng, as it explores the process and personalities behind the golden age of cartoons. Dahan said that the documentary “isn’t allowed to be released commercially until 2024” but that he will be able to show it exceptionally for charity. The doc’s director, Greg Ford, will deliver a master class following the screening.

Dahan, who usually works as an accountant, said that the inaugural edition of Animaze took a year and a half to put together. He joked that it felt like a hundred and

thanked Concordia volunteers for helping him have everything ready in time.

With its premiere at Cinéma du Parc on Friday night, a packed schedule of weekend shows at Concordia, and an impressive list of sponsors, Animaze looks ready to become a

fixture on the Montreal festival calendar.

The Animaze Film Festival runs Nov. 18 to 20 at Cinéma du Parc and the Concordia Hall building auditorium. For more information, check out animazefestival.com.

SEMINAR

Takin care of business Puces POP teaches local artists the ABC’s of art business Adey Farah Contributor

N

ow in their fourth year of Lil’ Biz, Puces POP, the arts and crafts section of the ever-popular Montreal music festival POP, holds different events throughout the year. From their upcoming Holiday Puces POP fair to past Vintage POP fairs, Lil’ Biz is a seminar about making all your crafty ambitions into a real sustainable business.

To quote the brilliance of Steve Jobs, “the only way to do great work is to love what you do,” and in this same vein, Lil’ Biz is a kick-ass series of seminars with a variety of speakers, each there to assist you in crafting yourself (pardon the pun) in your chosen niche.

“Lil’ Biz is a venue for business owners, creative people, artists and artisans all from different fields to come together and share their expertise and tools so that others can benefit and learn from them,” said Tessa Smith, director of Puces Pop. This year, the four speakers are interested in how to best create inter-community support systems whereby skills and knowledge are shared with all. The speakers change from event to event to offer diversity so that more local people have a platform to share their expertise.

Amber Goodwyn, founder of Lickety Split

zine, will be speaking about her experiences with DIY printing and publishing, how to collaborate with other artists on projects and how to manage people’s current experiences to further utilize the greater goal. Angie Johnson of Norwegian Wood, an online clothing and accessories boutique, will discuss the benefits of online self-promotion and how the Internet is a great tool when used effectively.

Myrite Rotstein, a local holistic health practitioner from The Tasty Life, will look at how our lives affect our businesses, and how those who freelance and are in creative fields can incorporate healthy diets into their lives. Lastly, Becky Emlaw, a partner at Arterie Boutique as well as co-founder of Citizen Vintage, will look at entrepreneurship from a female perspective, and help her peers by discussing important technical issues like applying for grants and making what you love into a livelihood.

The reason for holding Lil’ Biz is “that the organizers of POP found that as they continued to work with more and more artists, many were finding that the experience that each possessed never got passed on further than each respective person’s close circle of friends,” said Smith. Why keep all this talent and information locked away?

The solution was to create a forum where this could be shared within the community. There is certainly a need for education. With more and more people deciding to work with what they love (as the economy does seem to be failing us all around), there comes the need to understand how best to employ the tools available.

Even if you have not started your business, Lil’ Biz lectures might help you get your feet

off the ground, or inspire and motivate you to finally do it. For those with businesses already, the seminars will further your expertise with new innovations.

Lil’ Biz is taking place on Nov. 19 at noon at The Plant, 185 Van Horne Ave. Be sure to RSVP at puces@popmontreal.com and check out Lil’Biz on Facebook for more information.

Graphic by Katie Brioux

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

13

THEATRE

It s never too early for story time Black Theatre Workshop presents one-woman play Marilla Steuter-Martin Staff writer

A

ll the world’s a stage, so what happens when there’s only one player? This is the case with Stori Ya, a moving one-woman show about love, loss and everything in between.

Stori Ya is presented by the Black Theatre Workshop, which has been in operation for over 40 years. It was written by Toronto playwright Joan M. Kivanda and directed by Millie Tresierra.

Tresierra feels that the strength of the show lies in its ability to communicate with audiences.

“It’s magical all around,” she said. “It’s a very simple show and that’s where the power of storytelling comes in.”

Stori Ya tells the tale of an East African woman, Maria, facing the repossession of her home. Moments before this home is taken, she hosts a final dinner and invites guests from her past.

Throughout the play, Maria shares stories of her youth and journey from Tanzania to Canada. It proves a very personal experience, which at times threatens to overwhelm her with the bittersweet memories of her past.

Tresierra feels the main themes of the piece are relationships and personal development.

“The play is really about truth and betrayal, and the inter-play of those two things,” said Tresierra.

“I found the script very interesting, culturally and from a female point of view,” she

ACTRESS WARONA SETSHWAELO INVITES THE AUDIENCE INTO HER LIFE AS MARIA MSONDO IN STORI YA. added. She was impressed by the dialogue immediately, and hopes audiences will react the same way. “It definitely spoke to me,” she said.

Tresierra has experience with one-woman shows as an actress as well as a director. Because of the relationship the performer shares with the audience, she feels “it’s important to maintain a separation.” She feels that above

all, audiences should expect to be told a story.

During the rehearsal process the production team had the opportunity to workshop the show with the playwright, Kivanda. “Working with the playwright was new for me,” said Tresierra. “It was challenging, but overall a great experience.”

“Being able to workshop the show was

very useful,” said lead actress Warona Setshwaelo. “It’s always nice to work with the playwright.”

Setshwaelo has never done a one-woman show before in her 15 years of acting experience. “I was kind of nervous because, basically, the whole show depends on you,” she said.

Despite her initial anxiety, Setshwaelo said she was comforted by the familiar structure of the rehearsal process.

Like her director, Setshwaelo said she was immediately blown away by the script. “What drew me to the show was that it was written in a very poetic style.”

As part of the play, some traditional African songs were written into the script. “The show is by no means a musical,” said Setshwaelo, “and I’m not a professional singer.” The production team chose to incorporate live music into the show in order to better capture the feeling of it, she explained.

Considering that the show features more than one character, it’s no surprise that the setting jumps around between past and present. It also takes place in a variety of locations so the set is designed to be fairly versatile.

As opening night draws near, Setshwaelo hopes that audiences will take a chance to see something a little out of the ordinary. “The direction has been great, the set is beautiful, the script is tight, so why not?”

Tresierra shares this sentiment wholeheartedly. “It’s a beautiful show. It’s like stepping into a river. You’re going to take your canoe, get in it, and go. It’s a continual thread that will carry you through till the end.”

Stori Ya runs Nov. 16 to Dec. 4 at the Mai centre (3680 Jeanne-Mance). Student tickets are $20, regular price $24. Check out blacktheatreworkshop.ca for details.

VISUAL ARTS

Public places for private spaces Concordia duo put on their first postgraduation show Sofia Gay Arts editor

T

he subject of home and household settings is not alien to the art world, yet artists keep finding new ways to present the concept that have viewers questioning whether the living room they are looking at is really all that familiar, or they are wandering into someone else’s consciousness.

This is what Jessica Campbell and Rachel Shaw are working with. Both Concordia graduates, the artists’ contrasting pieces work to portray scenes of quotidian settings (think various rooms in what could be someone’s home) in their upcoming show, titled Making Room.

“The theme of the show is, loosely, imagined space. Rachel’s more fantasy, mine more remembered, but both also using observation and both pretty rooted in some kind of mundane or absurd nexus,” said Campbell.

Campbell’s works have an undeniable sense of homeyness to them. Her paintings, depicting familiar settings and objects such as dinner tables and living rooms, evoke that well-known feeling of trying to recollect the facts from a dream one has just awoken from. She works from memory, in turn proving how fickle this mind tool can be.

“I’m interested in the mutability of memory.

There’s this thing called involuntary memory or a Proustian rush where a censorial experience brings back a memory very suddenly, intensely and clearly,” she said. “However, as one revisits

these memories, once crystalline, they become duller or just different somehow. I like to think of my paintings as representing the neural pathways between these points, the transitional space between the almost empirical and the totally subjective.”

Shaw’s works, in contrast, depict rooms that seem at once familiar yet surreal. While the portrayal of a living room, complete with the suburban home staple of a fern, seems all too wellknown, details such as an unexpected square carved into the side wall or the floor compel the viewer to take a closer look. That is, while they may look familiar, these rooms are nowhere near anywhere you’ve ever been.

“I start more conventionally and the walls and floor in the room shift in response to whatever I put in it. I work toward an ideal and then undermine it, like with a bent to a straight line or a fake marble texture or a rug covering up a mistake or whatever,” said Shaw. “The hole in the floor can be serious or intellectual when compared to the window, or it can be funny, like one of those Looney Tunes holes that you can put down and get into and pick up and put somewhere else. Like, where does that go? It’s kind of like pulling the tablecloth out from under the dishes. The structure of the room is less a function of itself as the activity of the objects.”

Shaw explained that albeit both artists worked under similar themes, their works create a contrast.

“Jessica’s is ‘real’, or based on her memories of actual places. Mine is more of a hypothetical representation of space. But I guess I conform more to realistic expectations of the interior,” she said. “I’ll put an opening in the wall or floor, but it remains impenetrable. Jessica uses transparent

screens and multiple perspectives and her paintings resist that kind of containment.”

The artists met during their time at Concordia and had been looking to collaborate on a show for a while.

The opportunity came when suite 427 in the Belgo was taken over by former Concordia students.

“The gallery is smallish, so it’s a somewhat low-pressure space for us to work with, which is great for us,” explained Campbell. “We both graduated in the past few years and this is our first non-group show since finishing school, and something intimate and comfortable was what we were looking for.”

The exhibition will provide viewers a trip to places that will hopefully cause them to reassess the way they look at these types of spaces.

“I want people to think about authenticity or reproduction in an institutional setting and the potential or worth of objects as basic forms,” said Shaw. “How and why the space, or any space, is or could be furnished.”

“Art seems completely about communication, and I like to think of painting, of good painting,

as providing some kind of alternate perspective, or some kind of lens on the world that one might not have considered before,” Campbell said. “If these works were able to make viewers rethink the mundane somewhat, even if only in the context of the paintings themselves, that would be great.”

Making Room runs at Studio 427 (in the Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine St. W.) Nov. 19 to 27. The vernissage is Nov. 19 at 6 p.m.

music 14

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com REVIEW

Yael Naïm has a new soul and an old spirit Blending music, culture, and tradition, the singer-songwriter brings her audience on a trip through time and across the globe Sarah McMahon-Sperber Contributor If you’ve never walked out of a concert thinking that you and the artist could be the world’s best buds, then you may have missed your chance. That is, if you weren’t lucky enough to catch Israeli-French singer-songwriter Yael Naïm’s show on Nov. 9.

In a perfect blend of quirky charm, disarming pipes and seamless genre crossovers, the 33-year-old delivered a mature performance, seducing L’Astral’s modestly packed cabaret-style venue.

Kicking things off was Salomé Leclerc, whose sparse stage presence and melancholic melodies failed to capture attention until her two musicians left the stage, giving her delicate yet raspy voice the attention it deserved.

It then became clear why a conglomeration of French radio channels had just declared her the artist to watch for in November and December 2011.

A short break revealed a reserved looking crowd ranging in age between 30 and 60, wine bottles adorning the centres of their tables. Then, wearing a bright red flower in her hair, a lime green dress, knee length leggings and a pretty pair of heels, Naïm stepped on stage and headed straight to her piano.

She started her set smoothly with “My Dreams,” from her 2010 collaborative release with percussionist David Donatien, She Was a Boy. Donatien accompanied her on stage along with bassist Daniel Romeo.

She progressed into an impossibly sweet version of “Umbrella” by pop princess Rihanna - her first of many exquisite transitions between jazz, folk, rock, pop, classical

YAEL NAÏM PLAYED TO A COMFORTABLY PACKED CROWD ON NOV. 9 AT L’ASTRAL CONCERT VENUE ON STE-CATHERINE STREET. and traditional Middle Eastern musical styles.

The smoothness with which she mixed genres was rivalled only by the messages woven into her songs in French, English and Hebrew.

Born in Paris, Naïm grew up in Israel and completed her military service in the Air Force Orchestra. On stage, she recounted moving away from her Tunisian-born parents and back to Paris. “Everyone had somewhere to go, someone to meet,” she told the attentive crowd. “I just walked.”

She recorded her second studio album during those first two years in the city of

lights. The self-titled effort, released in 2007, includes the perky track that eventually caught Steve Jobs’ ever-attentive eye, “New Soul.”

Intimate stories of her longing for the ocean, of a boyfriend left in Israel and of family asking her to come home peppered the rest of her performance, drawing in the audience until their hands, voices and feet were at her mercy.

Next up, she performed the catchy track “Come Home,” her whimsical and bluesy number “Never Change,” and the wistful tracks “Paris” and “Lonely.” She wrapped up

10. His Hero Is Gone - The Plot Sickens, Enslavement Redefined: The final full-length put out by this Memphis, TN quartet is heavy as hell. With lyrics against the growing influence of technology and it taking over everyday life, this album seems more pertinent today than when it came out in 1998. This is ‘90s hardcore/punk at its best.

9. Infest - No Man’s Slave: One of the pioneers of the “powerviolence” sub-genre, Infest is non-stop speed, anger, and intensity.

Their lyrics are anti-religion, anti-technology, anti-racist, and straight edge. This record came out seven years after they broke up, but it’s by far their best and a staple in any hardcore/punk library.

8. Dirty Rotten Imbeciles - Dealing With It: D.R.I. are “balls to the walls.” Using super fast riffs mixed with breakdowns, they were the first band to fuse hardcore/punk with metal to create the crossover genre. Their songs featured tirades against the Reagan government, religion, and society, capturing the ‘80s youth mentality superbly.

Hardcore/punk albums of all time Compiled by Jonah Aspler Contributor

7. Blood For Blood - Outlaw Anthems: These boys always manage to bring the ruckus. They seamlessly mix old-school hardcore with instrumentals and elements of Oi! (a sub-genre of punk rock).

Lyrically, they’re the most anti-social band on this list. Most of their songs are about drinking and being poor, but especially how much they hate society.

6. Bad Brains - Bad Brains: Bringing a musicianship not previously seen in punk rock, this Washington, D.C. foursome had the first and best album mixes, blistering fast hardcore/punk with reggae songs. Their positive lyrics really set them apart from the rest on this list. These Rastafarians have a sound and style all of their own.

the evening with the upbeat “Stupid Goal” and “Come to the River,” leaving what would seem to be a massive elephant in the room.

Was she going to avoid singing the song that had propelled her career?

After briefly leaving the stage, she returned for an encore that inevitably included her beautifully rendered hit “New Soul,” along with her version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” bringing the evening full circle with yet another creative cover. She proved once again that her artistic flair could not to be minimized to a perfectly orchestrated Apple campaign.

5. Los Crudos - 1991-1995 Los Primeros Gritos: This all-Latino band from Chicago are the most political band on this compilation. They sang all their songs in Spanish with English translations inside their releases as a way to break down racial stereotypes. With a raw sound coupled with even rawer emotion, Los Crudos were about making immigration legal to all, destroying homophobia and ending injustice.

4. Black Flag - Damaged: Damaged is pure fury. This L.A. band sang about feeling isolated, alienated, and how pissed they were living in Reagan America. Including hit songs like “Rise Above,” “TV Party,” and “Depression,” listening to this record makes you want to kick holes in the wall.

3. Agnostic Front - Victim In Pain: These New York hardcore legends may have taken a few steps back in the past couple of years, but their first album captures the anger of growing up poor in New York City during the early ‘80s. Simple and fierce, Victim In Pain is the record that put New York hardcore on the map.

2. Millions of Dead Cops - Millions of Dead Cops: Extremely anticop, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, and pro-gay, MDC’s first full-length album is a non-stop assault against 1980s American society. Fast, raw, and angry doesn’t even begin to describe this album.

1. Minor Threat - Minor Threat: From the opening track “Filler,” Minor Threat’s first album perfectly captures the rage and aggression of marginalized youth that forged the hardcore/punk movement. Singing against conformity, drug use, and being stupid, Minor Threat invented and embodied the DIY mentality. Every song on this record is a classic.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

15

MIXTAPE

THIS PLAYLIST SHOULD BE SHARED WITH A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER.

It’s meant for lip-biting and toe-curling evenings that carry over into early morning. The first 10 songs illustrate the high energy and playful spirit of a sexual encounter after a night of drinking and dancing on tables. It’s dirty and sensual. Sex appeal is radiating and you can’t keep your hands off each other. At song nine, the pace slows down and prepares for the slow Side B. This is where you take a breather, perhaps have a cigarette, and get intimate.

You’re quiet and sensual moments are intense. The hours pass but you’re too busy dreamily exploring each other to notice or care, until the sun comes up and you become beautiful strangers once again.

Warning: This playlist may cause an immediate urge to remove all clothing.

Please try to restrain yourself until the appropriate occasion and then proceed to play the following 20 tracks.

Hot n Heavy Compiled by Leah Batstone Staff writer

Listen to the mixtape here: 8tracks.com/theconcordian/hot_n_heavy

SIDE A: Heatin’ up

SIDE B: Sunday morning

1. “Oops” - Theophilus London - I Want You (2010) 2. “Downtown” - Peaches - Impeach My Bush (2006) 3. “Wildfire” - SBTRKT - SBTRKT (2011) 4. “Paradise Circus” - Massive Attack Heligoland (2010) 5. “Time Of The Season” - The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle (1968) 6. “Get Some” - Lykke Li - Youth Novels (2008) 7. “Use Me” - Bill Withers - Still Bill (1972) 8. “Lovesick” - Lindstrom ft. Christabelle - Real Life Is No Cool (2010) 9. “Fine For Now” - Grizzly Bear Veckatimest (2009) 10. “Drippin’” - Mimosa - Silver Lining (2010)

11. “Talk Show Host” - Radiohead Street Spirit (Fade Out) (2010) 12. “Ritual Union” - Little Dragon Little Dragon (2011) 13. “What You Need” - The Weeknd House of Balloons (2011) 14. “Glory Box” - Portishead - Dummy (1994) 15. “Wicked Game” - Chris Isaak Chris Isaak (1989) 16. “Eyes On Fire” - Blue Foundation Life of a Ghost (2007) 17. “The Zone” - The Weeknd feat.

Drake - Thursday (2011) 18. “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” - Beck - Midnite Vultures (1999) 19. “Only You” - Portishead - Single (1997) 20. “Playground Love” - Air - Single (2000)

Quick Spins

Retro review

Cass McCombs - Humor Risk (Domino; 2011)

Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-; 2011)

Cœur de Pirate - Blonde (Interscope Records; 2011)

Peter Gabriel - So (Virgin; 1986)

This being McCombs’ second short album this year, it’s clear that he’s having a streak of inspiration. His first album, Wit’s End, could be considered “the breakup,” while this album would be the “starting back up again” phase. Basically, McCombs managed to create two albums out of the same moment in his life. Like the title indicates, these songs take a lighter, more humourous perspective on a sad situation.

Sincerity and honesty seep through each song without feeling overbearing. The same goes for the music, which is a nice fit with the lyrics. In other words, the theme of the album strikes a happy medium. However, while listening to the record, you can’t help but notice that everything sounds the same, like it’s been blended together too much. Some might appreciate that quality in an artist, but it imbues a bit of listener fatigue.

This year is turning out to be a big one for Tom Waits. First, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March; second, he just released his most complete album since 1999’s Mule Variations. Surrounding himself with a great cast of musicians - including members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, legendary blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite and the infamous Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones - Waits delivers a collection of songs that give a thorough overview of the many sides to his personality.

From the heartbreak balladry of “Last Leaf,” to the mad carnival barker of “Hell Broke Luce,” and the old world waltz of “New Year’s Eve,” Waits delivers something distinct on each track.

Bad As Me proves that Waits has not lost any of the fire that has kept him going for the past four decades. How many Hall of Famers can say that?

Also known as Montrealer Béatrice Martin, Cœur de Pirate is back with her sophomore album after her 2008 self-titled debut. The album was produced by Montrealer Howard Bilerman, who has produced for The Dears, Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade, among others. This time around, Martin has stepped away from her soft, piano-driven melodies and has replaced them with infectious pop tunes. She is still singing of those simple matters of the heart, as indicated in the album title Blonde, which is also a francophone term for girlfriend. Inspired by Quebec pop music from the ‘60s, she brings us 12 tracks that tell the story of when she was someone’s ‘blonde,’ including a duet with Sam Roberts entitled “Loin d’ici” (or “Far from here” in English). Her old sound can still be caught on ballads like “Cap diamant” and “Les amours dévouées.” It’s the perfect album for a spare lazy Sunday afternoon.

By the time So was released in 1986, Peter Gabriel had already fronted legendary prog-rock group Genesis for over a decade, along with having released four successful solo albums. Yet So was to be Gabriel’s most triumphant achievement, spawning three Top 20 hits including “Big Time,” “Sledgehammer,” and “In Your Eyes,” which went on to be featured in the 1989 film Say Anything…, creating a generation of love-sick boys blaring boom boxes below girls’ bedroom windows. So is one of those albums that can simultaneously sound incredibly dated but still be taken seriously by fans and critics alike. A synth-heavy, world music mishmash, So treads the fine line between sappy and overly serious. Along with the head-bop worthy “Sledgehammer,” So also features a touching duet with Kate Bush and the subtly beautiful “Mercy Street,” for those who want a little more “Solsbury Hill” in their lives.

Trial track: “Mystery Mail”

Trial track: “Chicago”

Trial track: “Verseau”

Trial track: “In Your Eyes”

6.0/10

9.5/10

- Dominique Daoust

- Paul Brown

8.0/10

- Chloe Deneumoustier

- Cora Ballou

16

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 PREVIEW

M for Montreal showcase a first for

Tonstartssbandht

What you can expect from a band that makes music from different sides of the border Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

2 legit 2 quit occupying Oakland

One of the most famous one hit wonders of the ‘90s showed up multiple times in support of the 99 per cent at Occupy Oakland last week.

MC Hammer was also joined by fellow rappers Raymond “Boots� Riley and local artist Mistah F.A.B, who have already appeared in solidarity with the movement, at the Oakland protests and bore witness to the clashes between protesters and police. “It’s tense down here ..

I’m lost for words ... I’m (at)occupyoakland,� tweeted Hammer. “The people are peaceful ..

I’m in the camp and now in the streets.� Maybe his former fame has resulted in some brain damage, because many noted that Oakland Occupiers broke glass, spray-painted graffiti, and set fires in their clashes with law enforcement.

They just wanted an excuse to get hammered

It seems indie rock band The Rifles was so fed up with the lack of good lagers on tour that they’ve decided to just brew their own.

With help from master brewers at Signature Brew, the band crafted a drink to call their own, and are pleased with the result. “The band got really involved in the process which is represented in the quality of the beer and the brilliant label artwork they produced,� said Signature Brew director Sam McGregor.

The band will be selling The General, a mix of Maris Otter Pale malt and fine wheat malt, through their webstore, with further outlets to be announced. Bottoms up!

Katelyn Spidle Staff writer

W

ith M for Montreal one sleep away, many local musicians are gearing up for a new phase in their careers. This, however, is not a main concern for experimental duo Tonstartssbandht. For the brothers, the festival is mostly a chance to play together and work on new material while being in the same postal code.

Andy White lives in Montreal, while his counterpart, Edwin, shacks up in New York City. Most of their collaborative efforts take place through emails and telephone calls. “Whenever we do meet, we almost always try to record our practices,� said Andy. “[Sometimes it’s] just for ideas, but, more often than not, we try to get a good recording so that we could possibly release it.� Such was the case for their latest LP, Sinkhole Storm and Sandwich, which was recorded live to tape with no overdubs. The album consists of two tracks that run at around 18 minutes each. “That [album] was recorded during a new phase of jamming that we were in that was just guitar and drum long-form boogie kind of stuff,� White explained.

While the duo’s past had them experimenting with what White described as “guitar and drum psyched-out minimal long

TONSTARTSSBANDHT IS JUST ONE OF OVER 60 BANDS PLAYING THE SIXTH ANNUAL FESTIVAL. songs,� he revealed that Tonstartssbandht is experiencing a resurging interest in writing more structured, vocal-based tracks.

Being nine recordings deep, the band, which has only been releasing music since 2008, is not short on material. The brothers have been making music together since their high school days, which took place in their hometown of Orlando, Fla. A long history of side projects and individual solo efforts has only solidified the brothers’ DIY attitude. While the last two albums were released through Arbutus, most of their solo and Tonstartssbandht material is released through White’s own N.Y.C.-based label, Does Are. Skeptics may doubt the tightness of a band whose members reside in different countries, but White assures that the arrangement works and the collaboration is

natural. “We’re best friends and we’re brothers, so I don’t feel like there’s any real urgency or anxiety involved in trying to keep a band going,� he said. “It just sort of happens.�

For a band as unpredictable and whimsical as Tonstartssbandht, it’s hard to say what M-goers can expect from their showcase performance. “We will be rehearsing some new stuff when Edwin gets to Montreal,� White hinted, adding that people can expect to hear some new material at the show. “I’m totally grateful to be involved [with M for Montreal] and I’m psyched for the show.�

Catch Tonstartssbandht on Friday, Nov. 18 at La Sala Rossa when they play with Parlovr, Hollerado and Uncle Bad Touch, starting at 8 p.m.

We call that ‘Pulling an Axl’

Heavy metal man Glenn Danzig of the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig, angered both fans and festival promoters last week after he played only two songs at a Texas show.

Scheduled to play Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest at 8:15 p.m., the rocker complained, “I got a deathbug. If I go on stage and get sick, I’ll die. I’m not getting sicker for this show.� He refused to go on stage until 9 p.m. at which point he began ranting and blaming the show’s organizers for the mishap. “Hands down the biggest rock star moment we’ve ever dealt with,� said Fun Fun Fun Fest promoter Graham Williams, adding, “We’re bummed too. We wanted to hear ‘Skulls,’� leaving fans to wonder if Danzig will make a similar scene on VH1’s That Metal Show on Nov. 20.

You can keep the damn nickel

A Detroit Lions’ fan’s petition to keep Nickelback out of his team’s Thanksgiving halftime show has proven to be quite popular, having garnered over 50,000 signatures in only a few days. The incredible popularity of Dennis Guttman’s petition has led to media coverage from ESPN and the CBC, as well as several Detroit TV and other news stations. “I’m shocked. I wasn’t expecting to make news with it,� said Guttman. “I figured it would get a bunch of signatures, but I had no idea it would be this many this fast and have so much news coverage.� Despite his obvious disdain for the band’s music, Guttman says he’ll be there on game day regardless of who plays. “I definitely love my Detroit Lions more than I don’t like Nickelback.�

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sports

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

17

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com BASKETBALL

Stingers make statement in season opener Concordia dominates against McGill Redmen in 80-68 win Julian Mei Sports editor

E

ven though it was just the first game of the regular season, the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team was playing with a chip on its shoulder.

Despite winning the Quebec conference last season and returning the majority of its starters, Concordia was left out of the CIS Top 10 national rankings to start the season.

“I guess the people who vote [on the rankings] don’t take into consideration the fact your best player misses most of the preseason,” said Stingers head coach John Dore. Dore was referring to Concordia guard Kyle Desmarais who missed time playing for Team Canada in the World University Games and also sprained an ankle.

“We don’t talk about it, but I guarantee [being left out of the rankings] bugs at least three or four of us,” said Desmarais. “We’re definitely thinking about it.”

Desmarais led all players with 21 points on the night. He also added eight rebounds to go along with three steals, and seems to have shaken off most of the rust from his preseason ankle injury.

Concordia came out strong early on.

Playing a full-court press on defence, the Stingers were able to force 11 Redmen turnovers in the first half. Concordia, on the other hand, only turned the ball over once in the half. The end result of

turnovers were some high-flying dunks in transition and a 23-point Stingers lead at halftime.

“We just can’t prepare in practice for a defence like that,” said McGill head coach Dave DeAveiro. “We just don’t have enough guys to replicate that.

We might have to practice eight-on-five next time to prepare...Concordia just kicked our ass tonight.”

Concordia took its foot off the pedal in the second half, though. While McGill was unable to get any closer than 10 points in the game’s dying minutes, the Stingers were still concerned with the complacency displayed in the third and fourth quarters.

“For the first game I thought we came out strong, but we wanted to beat them by 40,” said Stingers forward Evens Laroche, who scored 15 points. “I think next time we’ll do a better job [in the second half].”

Laroche was not mincing words when speaking about what the Stingers want to achieve this season. “Our goal is to win a national championship,” he said. “To do that you have to beat every team, and that’s what we’re going to do.

We want to win every game by 20 points and send a message to the league.”

Concordia has a long way to go for a repeat trip to the national championship tournament. Still, things are looking pretty favourable for the Stingers. The RSEQ Conference is perhaps the weakest conference in the country, without a single team ranked in the CIS Top 10.

The door is open for the Stingers this year; they just have to run through it.

Concordia takes the court next against Laval at home on Nov. 19 at 4 p.m.

Game stats

EVENS LAROCHE (23) GOES UP FOR A SHOT AGAINST A MCGILL DEFENDER. PHOTO BY NAVNEET PALL

80 68

Stingers

Redmen

FG/FGA

29/62

26/60

FG%

46.8%

43.3%

3-PT

8/20

5/14

3-PT%

40%

35.7%

FT/FTA

14/21

11/14

Rebs

30

34

TO

6

17

Asts

1

10 MCGILL COACH DAVE DEAVEIRO GIVES ORDERS TO HIS TEAM BEFORE GETTING A TECHNICAL. PHOTO BY CHRIS HANNA

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

BASKETBALL

theconcordian

Peaceful silence helps team make noise on the court Will meditation be the key for Stingers basketball success?

Paula Rivas Life editor

B

asketball is a fast sport, filled with defensive pressure, quick passes and meticulous technique that could make or break the game. Little room is left for error.

When this amount of pressure is put on players it is no wonder that many teams have resorted to yoga and alternative therapies as a mental release. For the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team, the release is group meditation.

A group of 6’5” giants sitting in a dark room and sharing a soothing meditation moment with their coach before a game may seem strange. For Concordia head coach John Dore, though, the positive results speak for themselves.

It all began when Dore was approached last year by Rob Hart, a former University of Arizona football player. Hart holds strong beliefs about the power of meditation in sports, and he had an idea for Dore.

“He approached me about doing something out of the box,” said Dore. “We’re always looking for an edge, something that will make you a little better than the next guy, so we tried it out with him.”

So what exactly is this meditation experience?

“We do it before every game. We turn off the lights and we just sit there in total silence and everybody kind of does their own thing for five minutes to visualize and prepare for the game, breathe, and relax,” said Dore. “It’s about breathing and meditating and slowing your heart rate, so we tried it with the kids on the team to see if they would like it and we did it as a group. Most of them bought into it right away.”

“Most of the guys like it, it’s a team thing,” said Stingers guard Decee Krah.

“I am a very open-minded person so I was

Graphic by Maya Pankalla

willing to try it,” said forward James Clark, who was convinced when Hart showed them statistics of how different athletes improved when they started meditation. “If professional athletes are doing it, I am open to doing it.”

Indeed, over the years more and more professional athletes and teams have been embracing meditation, including the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.

George Mumford, a sports psychologist

who taught meditation to the Lakers and coach Phil Jackson, said in a 2006 interview with Mind Body Awareness Project, a youthgeared non-profit, that meditation is “warrior training.”

“There’s a lack of self-consciousness, there’s a relaxed concentration, and there’s this sense of effortlessness, of being in the flow,” he said about player meditation.

According to the book Cognitive Models and Spiritual Maps by Jensine Andresen and Robert K.C. Forman, meditation has been proven to reduce heart rate and blood pressure, reduce chronic pain and improve sense of well-being.

The Stingers said that they visualize themselves successfully executing their plays in their minds while they meditate.

“We concentrate on our breathing and we visualize things that you want to focus on during the game,” said guard Kyle Desmarais.

“So if you want to focus on defence or foul shots, or whatever you want to succeed, you visualize that while you meditate.”

Desmarais said that although people may be sceptical, he personally felt the positive effect of meditation on his performance on the basketball court. “I remember last year when I started my meditation, my free throws were something I really wanted to improve, and while I was doing the meditations I was shooting them at about 80 per cent, and then I stopped doing meditation, and it dropped down to about 60 per cent,” he said.

“I started again this year and so far I am 100 per cent from the free throw line,” he said with a grin.

Dore can agree with Desmarais. “When you go into shooting free throw you want to remain calm, so if you know how to breathe properly you can slow your heart rate and you can calm yourself down,” he said.

After adding group meditations for five minutes at a time before and after a game, the Stingers haven’t looked back.

If the meditation keeps working, Dore isn’t going to mess with the winning strategy.

“As long as the guys believe it and it seems to help us, we’ll do it.”

Concordia Stingers sports briefs fourth quarter and despite letting their foot off the gas, still managed to cruise to the ninepoint win.

Even though they were out-rebounded by a significant margin, Concordia forced 18 McGill turnovers, while only having 10 turnovers themselves.

Concordia will take the court next on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. The game will be the home opener for the Stingers who will be facing the Laval Rouge et Or.

Men s hockey

Nippissing 11 Concordia 6

Concordia 4 Toronto 3 (OT)

ANNE-MARIE PROPHETE FENDS OFF MARTLETS TO KEEP CONTROL OF THE BALL. PHOTO BY CHRIS HANNA

Women s basketball Concordia 75 McGill 66

The women’s season got off to an ideal start with a convincing road win over their rival in Concordia’s season opener. Stingers guard

Kaylah Barrett was simply dominant, amassing 25 points, eight rebounds (four coming on the offensive glass) and three steals. She was especially effective in the second half, scoring 17 of her points in the third and fourth quarters, when her team needed her the most.

The Stingers brought a 16-point lead into the

It was a wild weekend for the Concordia men’s hockey team. The Friday night loss to the Nippissing Lakers looked more like the score of a football game than a hockey game.

The Stingers were trailing 7-1 after the second period before a wild third period ensued.

The third featured an astonishing nine goals in total, five of which were scored by the Stingers. Concordia allowed over 50 shots on goal, and have allowed more shots on goal than any team in the CIS. Connor O’Donnell recorded an amazing

eight points (one goal and seven assists) for Nippissing, and now leads the CIS in scoring.

Dorian Peca scored a hat trick for the Lakers.

Four different Stingers recorded three points in the loss.

After being blown out, the Stingers picked up their first road win of the season the next day against Toronto.

After watching its early 2-0 lead dissolve, Michael Blundon scored in overtime to give Concordia a 4-3 victory.

Alexandre Monahan scored his eighth goal of the season and now leads the team with 17 points.

Defenceman and captain Eric Bégin added two assists, including getting the helper on the overtime winner. Bégin had an outstanding weekend, tallying a goal and four assists in two games. Bégin has done everything and more on the blue line the team could have asked for. He leads all Stingers defencemen with 15 points.

Concordia is now 6-4-2 through the first 12 games of the season. They sit in fifth place in the OUA East Division.

The men will get another chance against Nippissing Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Ed Meagher Arena.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

theconcordian

HOCKEY

Stingers go down in defensive struggle

MOIRA FRIER (90) CAN’T GET HER STICK ON A LOOSE PUCK IN FRONT OF THE CARABINS’ NET. OFFENCE WAS A PROBLEM FOR THE SNAKE BITTEN STINGERS IN A 2-1 LOSS ON SUNDAY. PHOTO BY ANTHONY ISABELLA

Concordia loses 2-1 to Montréal Carabins Erica Commisso Contributor Despite a solid effort by the Concordia Stingers, the women’s hockey team fell 2-1 to the Université de Montréal Carabins at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Stingers dominated puck possession in the first period, sustaining tremendous pressure and outshooting the Carabins. Still, it was Montréal who got on the board first, finding the back of the net through the five-hole of Stingers goalie Marie-Pier Remillard-Paquette. The goal was the result of Montréal’s

first threatening rush, eight minutes into the period.

Concordia also played a strong defensive game early on. In the first period, Alexandra D’Ambrosio saved a potential two on one rush for Montréal, after chasing down a loose puck before the Carabins could gain possession.

Concordia’s Audrey Gariepy tied the game with just over a minute left in the first period, just after Concordia’s power play expired.

Both teams were unable to capitalize on the power play throughout the game.

“I wasn’t happy with our forecheck today,” said head coach Les Lawton. “Going into the game, we wanted to establish a forecheck, and we never really established one. We’ve got to get more pucks to the net.”

To open the second period, Stinger

Veronique Laramee-Paquette made a nice solo effort to create a scoring chance on the Carabins net-minder. The effort, however, was unrewarded and the game remained tied.

Remillard-Paquette brought some stellar goaltending to Concordia, continuing her strong work throughout the second period, stopping all shots fired at her. Montréal flexed its offensive prowess in the second period, generating more chances than Concordia.

The Carabins also killed off a short fiveon-three.

“We did a great job with our penalty kills, and our goaltending was solid,” said Lawton.

The third period saw the Stingers play more defensive hockey, and spend more time in their own zone. Both teams exchanged chances throughout the period, with a stretch

of four-on-four play opening the game up.

Both teams’ goalies made some formidable saves, though, to keep the game tied.

It was a tightly contested game and was a matter of which team would blink first.

Unfortunately for the Stingers, it was them.

As the game drew to a close, the Stingers gave up a partial break. The end result was a snap shot finding its way past RemillardPaquette and into the back of the net.

It would prove to be the game winning goal in the 2-1 Stingers defeat.

“The bottom line is, we didn’t create enough chances for ourselves,” said Lawton. “It was a disappointing loss in the sense that we didn’t get a point out of it, but I thought it was a pretty even game.”

CROSS-COUNTRY

Stingers cross-country still making strides forward Team continues to take steps towards success Julian Mei Sports editor The Stingers cross-country team ran through the finish line of their 2011 season in Quebec City on Saturday.

It was a long season of ups and downs for the team, with everyone involved being proud of what they accomplished, but also hoping to improve on things in the future.

“We had a good season,” said coach John Lofranco. “Considering the men were one of only three Stingers fall sports teams to finish the regular season with a winning record, I’d say we did well.”

Individually, captain Ryan Noel-Hodge had the best season of any runner, despite having his year marred by illness. Even after some strong performances, Noel-Hodge was still frustrated with how his season went. “I seem to always be struck with bad luck,” he said.

Noel-Hodge finished sixth at the University of Western Ontario invitational, a race featuring strong competition. Unfortunately he was never able to build on the momentum.

“After that result things went downhill for

me. Because of a stubborn cold and conditions that deprived me of good sleep, I was unable to train properly and to race to my full potential,” he said.

Noel-Hodge believed that had he been healthy he would have been a favourite to win the RSEQ provincial title. He instead finished in ninth place, one behind teammate Sofiane Guend.

Guend was in his last year as a Stinger and described the provincial championship as his “best race”.

At Sunday’s national championships, Noel-Hodge finished 47th out of 134 runners.

He was also the fourth Quebec runner to cross the finish line, which is an improvement from his finish at provincials. He was still a bit disappointed, though. “My performance was not what I had originally set out to accomplish,” he said. “But I’m walking away from this season knowing that I’ve gotten stronger, and satisfied that I did what I did with the setbacks that I’ve had.”

Guend finished in 78th while Simon Driver finished 85th, running a memorable race to close an inspirational season.

“Simon Driver ran his guts out, literally.

He puked as he crossed the line,” said Lofranco. “He’s a father of two young kids and that has kept his training to a minimum, so it was pretty impressive for him to have been

THE STINGERS CROSS-COUNTRY TEAM GATHERS FOR A PHOTO DURING A MEET. PHOTO BY JENNIE ROY

able to pull off the run that he did.”

On the women’s side Dominique Roy had the highest finish of any of the Concordia women, placing 34th. Roy also had an impressive third place finish at the provincial championship.

Roy has battled a diaphragm problem all season, but was commended by her coach for improving her mental toughness over the course of the year.

The 2011 season was also a great learning experience for first-year runner Molly Howes,

who made the transition to cross-country from soccer.

“It’s all really new to me,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed every second, even when I’m having an off day or the workout is really tough. I feel really lucky to be part of such a great team.”

Howes finished 120th at nationals, but her coach is expecting she will only go up from there. “With a full year of running-specific training behind her, she is going to be dangerous next year,” said Lofranco.

opinions

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

21

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com EDITORIAL

Do you think the government cares?

The answer is a resounding ‘No,’ but that doesn’t mean you have to stop fighting

THE GOVERNMENT HAS YET TO SHOW ANY SIGN OF BACKING DOWN DESPITE LAST THURSDAY’S STRIKE AGAINST TUITION HIKES. PHOTO BY NAVNEET PALL

“

encouraged by provost David Graham to grant academic amnesty, refused to push exams or other assignments to a later date.

Some students undoubtedly stayed in because it was raining. But many others just didn’t care.

This sense of apathy is nothing new.

It’s not new at Concordia, and it’s not new at any other university throughout the country. But it’s time that all students realized that tuition increases affect all of them. As Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec put it, the tuition hike is now a “societal issue.”

So what can be done to solve this issue?

A strike didn’t do much, but then again it only lasted a day. The 2005 general strike brought about some form of compromise, so maybe that could be tried again in the hopes of achieving similar results.

But other alternatives should also be considered. Some student leaders and union officials have proposed that students protest the tuition hike by not paying their tuition fees. Others have said students should just refuse to pay their student loans.

Neither of these options seem particularly pleasing. Just imagine what happens

when you don’t pay your thousands of dollars in tuition on time: late fees start to accumulate, and eventually you could get booted out of university. But while conjur-

Dear editor, If someone had bothered to read the coroner’s report of the three recent school shootings in Quebec, one would have realized that: - All three individuals had known mental issues; - All three individuals were able to scoot around the paperwork scheme and obtain a firearm acquisition license and legally buy a firearm;

- In all three shootings, the registration status of the firearm was a moot point.

If someone had bothered to understand the problems we are dealing with, we would be investing time and money on programs that could and would have a positive impact on the lives of sick and distressed individuals. Someone would have realized that paperwork is not an effective way of dealing with violent and aggressive

“

The government doesn’t seem to give a damn about increasing tuition, at least not at the moment. However, students should not take this as a sign that it’s time to head back to class and pretend all is well.

Tens of thousands of students (estimates range from 20,000 to 30,000) took to the streets of Montreal last week to join their colleagues from across the province in a massive strike against the Charest government, denouncing its imminent tuition increases as a threat to the accessibility of post-secondary education.

There is no doubt, at least among student leaders and many other unions, including the long-suffering MUNACA at McGill, that these tuition increases are not the way to go to better the future of Quebec. The provincial government, on the other hand, continues to ride the wave that is going against popular demand by maintaining its proposed increases of $325 a year between 2012 and 2017.

Despite the Nov. 10 cheers, banners, and even a fire extinguisher-wielding protester on the McGill campus, the government refuses to budge. But this only means that students need to push harder. The government is counting on students to be complacent, but students are smarter than that.

Student unions across the province are already talking about a possible indefinite strike to start next January, similar to the massive general strike in 2005 that saw, during certain peak periods, over 200,000 students take to the streets after the Charest government slashed funding to the loans and bursaries program.

Students should contemplate a potential general strike very carefully. Getting the message out there and encouraging university and CÉGEP students to take to the streets should also be given consideration by student unions and other associations.

Although it certainly looked great on paper in early November that “18,000 arts and science students” (members of Concordia’s Arts and Science Federation of Associations) had voted to strike on Nov. 10, only a fraction of those students actually marched to Charest’s Montreal office.

Many students remained behind because their professors, despite being

Despite the Nov. 10 cheers, banners, and even a fire extinguisherwielding protester on the McGill campus, the government refuses to budge. But this only means that students need to push harder.

ing up this image in your head, think about what would happen if all 30,000 undergraduate students at Concordia suddenly stopped paying their tuition fees. Will the university kick all of them out? If they do, who will be left to teach? A refusal to pay

tuition on a mass scale is probably not the be-all, end-all solution to getting the government to negotiate tuition fees, but it’s an option that shouldn’t be completely ruled out either.

It’s important to note that despite the government remaining firm in its decision to increase tuition, the Nov. 10 strike was still not conducted in vain. The massive protest proved that students are furious at the way they have been treated, and certainly helped dispel that age-old stereotype that students “just don’t care” about anything.

The perseverance that students from Concordia, McGill, UQAM, UdeM and from so many other universities and CEGEPs showed on Nov. 10 should be remembered fondly by those who took part in the protest, as well as by those who watched from the sidelines, be it from the sidewalks or on television.

But this perseverance should not be stowed away as a fragment of history never to be repeated. Rather, this perseverance should be nurtured over the coming months, as it will be necessary in this tireless fight against tuition increases, which is far from over. In fact, it’s just getting started.

LETTER

Re : Harper has longgun registry in the crosshairs, volume 29, issue 11

individuals.

But please, don’t take my word for it. Just ask Concordia’s counselling and psychological services. That department probably has a bigger impact on our community in one single day than the long-gun registry did in the last decade.

Michel Trahan Verdun

22

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

PROTEST

It s time to think beyond Nov. 10 Why students need to think on a national scale if they want tuition reform Patrick Case Contributor As rain and students flooded the streets of Montreal during last Thursday’s tuition protest, the deluge felt all too familiar. The tens of thousands of students protesting the increase in tuition fees over the next five years are a familiar sight for Quebecers, with two strikes in the past 15 years alone. At the time of this writing, the results of the day-long protest remain to be seen, but no matter what the outcome the question will arise: what more can be done?

Quebec students will be faced with the question of what to do next if the protests fail and the Charest government moves ahead with its annual $325 increase in tuition until 2017.

A victory means a few years of respite until the next assault, as students have learned from the supposed successes of 2005’s student strike.

So what can be done? No matter what, those attending university and college in Quebec will still pay some of the lowest tuition rates in Canada, leaving them in an important position.

Quebec residents paid an average of $2,300 in 2009-2010 for an undergraduate degree, while in Ontario that number was closer to $5,985.

Students in Quebec reflect a common desire of students across the country: the need for postsecondary education to be economically viable for all, especially in such a poor job market.

There can be little doubt that the concern about rising tuition rates voiced by Quebec students is not limited to those in Quebec. Across North America the ever-growing cost of higher education has become an increasingly urgent issue in a fragile economy.

A recent article in Job Postings magazine detailed how tuition in Canada has risen at approximately twice the rate of inflation over the past twenty years, translating to a fourfold rise since 1991. According to Statistics Canada, the national average tuition fees for the 2010-11 school year are four per cent higher than in 2009-10, which in turn saw a three per cent rise from 2008-09.

Instead of students focusing exclusively on their own struggles, whether in Quebec, Nova Scotia or Ontario (where tuition costs are Canada’s highest), there needs to be co-ordination on a national level. To see the widespread, concrete reforms Canadian students want, it must be turned into a national concern that cannot be ignored. A single week of nation-wide demonstrations or strikes could achieve far more than the scattered tuition fights being waged in individual provinces with varying degrees of success.

Such a proposal isn’t new. The National Union of Students (which later became the Canadian Federation of Students) organized nationwide protests in the fall of 1977. The famous May 1968 student protests in Paris evolved into a France-wide social movement which encompassed strikes in every area of society.

In a period of renewed public demonstration inspired by the Arab Spring, a nation-wide student strike could be easily accomplished with modern technology. Even if the effects of such a strike fell short of the success of May 1968,

Graphic by Carlo Tudino

the demands of all Canadian students would be taken far more seriously than scattered provincial demonstrations. By eschewing the conventional means of demonstration with centralized leaders and groups, the federal government would have no choice but answer to the millions of students unwilling to pay such a heavy price.

Spearheaded by those in Quebec, a nationwide movement against the ever-rising costs of post-secondary education would benefit not only current students but future generations as well. Such protests could potentially call on high school students to take part too, mobilizing a huge portion of the population who will inevitably bear the burden of a costly education. Other

tactics could include a boycott of student debt payments or refusal to pay interest.

Without a national movement that would push all provinces toward tuition reform, Quebec students can count on continually fighting the same battles again and again. While temporary freezes may seem like a victory, most are merely reprieves until provincial governments again set their sights on raising tuition costs, as Premier Jean Charest so deftly demonstrated this year.

Quebec students are in a unique position to mobilize students across Canada. Unless drastic action is taken soon, the banners will be out in another six years, protesting the next planned tuition hike.

INSPIRATION

Testo’s coming out was desperately needed More gay professional athletes need to follow his example Myles Dolphin Opinions editor It’s time to face the elephant in the room. Not only do we need more openly gay athletes, but our society is ready for them.

Last week ex-Montreal Impact player David Testo proved that when he came out of the closet and expressed huge relief in doing so. His family, friends and teammates all knew about his sexual orientation.

“I’m glad he [came out], because he’s in a position where he can inspire a lot of people to do the same,” current Impact captain Nevio Pizzolitto told The Gazette.

“Even though we’re professional athletes, we’re also human beings, and maybe something like this will change the minds of those in the same position.”

No male athlete in North American professional sports (the “big four” – hockey, baseball, football and basketball) has ever come out as being gay while in an active status, but that’s about to change. Testo’s revelation should have a ripple effect; not only in his sport, but in the “big four,” too.

Between January and May of this year, 27 athletes, coaches, journalists and executives had already come out, including American figure skater Johnny Weir and Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts.

Testo remained silent because of the pressures, fears and obstacles he had to face while playing for various organizations.

Fearful of the backlash and scrutiny gay professional athletes may face from their teammates and once-adoring fans, many other athletes are keeping mum, too.

“It’s like you’re carrying around a secret, you know, and carrying luggage and just never being allowed to be yourself,” Testo told Radio-Canada in an interview.

How can we say sports are making any discernible

DAVID TESTO, AN EX-MONTREAL IMPACT PLAYER, CAME OUT LAST WEEK. HOPEFULLY HE WILL ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO FOLLOW.

progress when gay men can’t even express their sexual orientation publicly?

It’s important to understand that there are openly gay professional athletes. They just don’t feel the need to tell you about it. Many of their teammates know, but from their perspective, they feel like they can compartmentalize this for the time being, and deal with it when their career is over.

In February 2007, LeBron James said that an openly gay player in the NBA couldn’t survive.

“With teammates you have to be trustworthy, and if you’re gay and you’re not admitting that you are, then you are not trustworthy,” he said at the time. “You’ve heard

of the in-room, locker room code. What happens in the locker room stays in there. It’s a trust factor, honestly.”

I bet he would take those words back today, if he could. Based on a 2006 Sports Illustrated study, “a sizeable majority of professional athletes would welcome a gay teammate” (by sport it ranges from 57 per cent in the NFL to 80 per cent in the NHL). A 2002 Witeck-Combs study found that 70 per cent of fans would not think negatively of their favourite athlete if he came out of the closet.

These studies, although a few years old, are encouraging and suggest that those numbers would be even higher today, given the increasingly liberal nature of our society.

Homophobia isn’t cool anymore and hasn’t been for quite some time now. When Kobe Bryant, one of the most marketable players on earth, can’t get away with making an anti-gay slur, it tells you something has changed.

Even if only one superstar athlete player comes out of the closet, it will set a precedent and open the floodgates for all the others. Once that takes place, we’ll see how far we’ve come. Jackie Robinson ended racial segregation in professional baseball in 1947. Who is ready to end homophobia in the “big four”?

Someone who isn’t afraid to potentially lose endorsements, money, playing time or fan support. You know what? That wouldn’t happen anyway. The effects of a star athlete coming out would be widespread. He’ll be embraced – not only by his teammates, organization and the media – but by the larger culture (including landing the cover of Time magazine). His team would be vilified if they even considered the idea of cutting or trading him.

A few years ago this would have been unthinkable.

Now, it’s on the verge of happening. Gay icons were reserved for pop stars and actors, but that’s about to change.

Gay professional athletes, whether they’re superstars or not, deserve to come out when they’re ready. Fans, teammates and organizations need to start thinking about these men as people they know, respect and trust, not as abstractions or abominations. It’s a shame Testo couldn’t have begun his soccer career five or 10 years from now.

The Etcetera Page

ACROSS

1- _ lift?; 6- Seine feeder; 10- Attempt; 14- Approvals; 15- Heath; 16- River in central Switzerland; 17- High-speed separator; 20- Monetary unit of Afghanistan; 21- The Younger and The Elder; 22- All there; 26- Regain strength; 30- Fate; 34- Plunder; 35- Writer Hentoff; 36- Asian holiday; 38- Become less intense, die off; 39- DC bigwig; 40- Subway turner; 42- “... _ the cows come home”; 43- Cry _ River; 44- Taoism founder; 45- Caution; 49- Listener; 50- IRS IDs; 51- Considers; 54- Freight weight; 56- Naive; 64- Buenos _ ; 65- Area of 4840 square yards; 66- Musical drama; 67- Actress McClurg; 68- Norse god of thunder; 69- Water vapor;

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 Vol. 29 issue 12 JACQUES GALLANT

Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com

KAMILA HINKSON

Managing editor managing@theconcordian.com

CHRIS HANNA

Production manager production@theconcordian.com

JACQUELINE DI BARTOLOMEO News editor

ALYSSA TREMBLAY

Assistant news editor news@theconcordian.com

PAULA RIVAS

Life editor life@theconcordian.com

SOFIA GAY

Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

DOWN

1- Big Apple sch.; 2- Conger; 3- Cornerstone abbr.; 4- German article; 5- Quickly, quickly; 6- Beaten egg dish; 7- Charged particle; 8- Drunkard; 9- Be human; 10- Adventurous expedition; 11- Lacking slack; 12- Jason’s craft; 13- Apians; 18- Swearword; 19- Rapper born Tracy Marrow; 22- Herring type; 23Semitic language; 24- Kathmandu resident; 25- Prepare a book or film for release; 27- Filmic; 28- Son of Judah; 29- Large container; 31Chemical ending; 32- Inflammation

ALLIE MASON

Music editor music@theconcordian.com

JULIAN MEI

Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com

MYLES DOLPHIN

Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

of the ear; 33- Wrestling hold; 37Ages between 13 and 19; 39- Big rig; 40- Pouch; 41- Small children; 43- Mire; 44- Vive _ !; 46- Branching; 47- Pointed end; 48- Hogwarts attendee; 51- Type of ranch; 52-

Children’s author Blyton; 53- Actor Morales; 55- Sgts., e.g.; 57- Covering for the head; 58- German pronoun; 59- Hit sign; 60- Appropriate; 61- Driver’s aid; 62- Baseball stat; 63- Block up;

Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com

NAVNEET PALL

Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com

KATIE BRIOUX

Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com

SARAH DESHAIES

Chief Copy editor copy@theconcordian.com

MARISSA MILLER HEATHER RIMINGTON ELIZABETH TOMARAS Copy editors

SOPHIA LOFFREDA KERRY MACKINNON

Production assistants

EDITORIAL OFFICE

7141 Sherbrooke St. W. - CC.431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514.848.2424 x7499 (Editor-in-Chief) 514.848.2424 x7458 (Newsroom)

The Berlusconi show is over.The 75year-old Italian prime minister resigned from office last week after economic reforms were adopted. Now that he’s gone, Gadhafi is dead, Mugabe and Mubarak are ailing and Chavez has cancer, which ruler will step up to the plate and keep us entertained?

514.848.2424 x7404 (Production)

MÉLISSA KATE GAGNON

Business manager business@theconcordian.com

MARSHALL JOHNSTON

Advertising manager advertising@theconcordian.com

@mrjohnofarrell: Prepare for a rash of

BRENNAN NEILL EMILY WHITE CINDY LOPEZ RUBEN BASTIEN

dismal political cartoons showing Berlusconi being kicked up the backside, by a country shaped a bit like a boot.

Comic by Phil Waheed

Oscars; Eddie Murphy to coach Penn State; Silvio Berlusconi to take over Family Circus. @colmflynn: Berlusconi resigns to spend

more time playing with granddaughters.

Whose granddaughters has not yet been announced.

@charltonbrooker: After Berlusconi

pulls out of office he’ll probably finish on its back. @MrSweetTouch: He can release his

album now RT @BBCNews: Berlusconi resigns as Italian PM @pourmecoffee: Berlusconi is out. Until

new elections are held, I’m pretty sure the Super Mario Brothers are in charge.

Solution issue 11 (Nov. 8)

@ditzkoff: To recap: Paterno to host

Board of Directors directors@theconcordian.com

BUSINESS AND ADVERTISING

1455 de Maisonneuve W. - H.733-4 Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 514.848.2424 x7420 (Office) 514.848.7427 (Fax)

STAFF WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS Meghan Pearson, Marilla Steuter-Martin, Erika Heales, Brenda Raftlova, Andrew Maggio, Mark Della Posta, Rachelle Fox, Brandon Judd, Adey Farah, Elysha Del Giusto-Enos, Sarah McMahon-Sperber, Jonah Aspler, Leah Batstone, Paul Brown, Dominique Daoust, Chloe Deneumoustier, Cora Ballou, Katelyn Spidle, Erica Commisso, Patrick Case, Gilda Poorjabar, Alex Menjivar, Anthony Isabella, Sean Kershaw, Phil Waheed, Maya Pankalla, Carlo Tudino

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