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Polo on pedals in Montreal P. 19

How to spend an afternoon in Montreal’s Chinatown P. 8

Violence on all sides A look inside the Anti-Police Brutality March

Full coverage P. 2 Tuesday, March 22, 2011

arts Pavarotti and nightmare monsters grace screens at the FIFA festival P. 9

music A backstage pass on how to make it as a concert promoter P. 14

opinions Does pretending to be homeless help the homeless?

P. 22 Volume 28 Issue 25

CSU slates take different approaches to campaigning Your Concordia wants to know what you think, Action focuses on providing the answers Evan LePage News editor The first week of CSU elections may have brought the familiar sights of classroom speeches and poster-covered walls, but the two slates have actually taken very different approaches to campaigning thus far.

Specifically, the two party leaders have expressed different goals for their interaction with students during the campaign period.

Your Concordia’s presidential candidate Lex Gill said her slate is generally running a different sort of campaign than the CSU has seen in recent years, “one that’s focused on building meaningful relationships with students; asking people what they want before we tell them we’re representing them; creating dialogue; acknowledging that we don’t have all the answers but that we believe that we’re able to work together to make Concordia a better place.”

Action’s presidential candidate Khalil Haddad, on the other hand, said that, while his primary goal of campaigning is simply speaking to as many students as possible, his team stood out because they were offering students answers, rather than only asking them questions. “If you were to look at our

campaign points, they’re all concrete and feasible.

It’s all the steps that we need to take, everything is clear, it’s not about fluff talk,” he said. “We want to know what [the students] want but at the end of the day we need to propose solutions and see what the course of action is for next year. I think that’s our main strength.”

The two slates have differed in their campaigning practices as well. For example, while Action’s presidential candidate Khalil Haddad and his teammates can often be seen hanging around the mezzanine chatting with students on their way to or from class, Your Concordia’s leader Lex Gill said her slate had intentionally taken a step away from traditional tactics, including what she referred to as essentially “spamming” people.

“It’s important for us to maintain some presence there but we don’t feel like we win any sort of meaningful support by screaming at people in the hall or creating tunnels of our candidates so that they’re forced to walk through,” Gill said. “So we’re trying to move away from that as well. It’s not a football game, it’s an election.”

Both groups have also maintained a continuous presence online, each staying active on Facebook and their respective websites. The Your Concordia team has posted three videos for their campaign to team Action’s two. But the former stands out for its use of a blog, on which it posts and responds to student’s suggestions and questions as collected in person or in a section of their website called the idea generator.

While the CSU’s past elections have been known to be riddled with political attacks and cheating, this year chief electoral officer Oliver Cohen has

See “CEO, Action presi...” on p.5

Student groups ready to fight gov’t on tuition

Jacques Gallant Assistant news editor

Student unions from across Quebec are telling the Charest government that if it doesn’t back down from increasing tuition by $325 a year between 2012 and 2017, it should get ready for a showdown with students.

The widely expected increase was included in the Quebec budget tabled on March 17 by finance minister Raymond Bachand. It represents a 75 per cent increase in tuition fees and will see the cost of university climb to $3,793 a year by 2017, still lower than the national average. According to Bachand, additional public funding, including more money from students, will give universities an extra $850 million by 2017. A third of the tuition increases, representing about $118 million, will go toward student financial aid.

But student groups are contesting Bachand’s argument that students must do their part in closing the funding gap between Quebec universities and its counterparts in the rest of the country. The Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec says asking for an additional $325 a year means more students will be forced to reject post-secondary education.

“Asking students to pay more means students will have to work more, which will harm their studies, and also means that many students will be forced to leave school altogether,” said FEUQ president Louis-Philippe Savoie. “Tuition increases

See “Fees to go up...” on p.3

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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City in brief Evan LePage

5 Days campaign a success

Concordia volunteers who participated in the annual 5 Days for the Homeless campaign last week managed to raise more money than the other 21 participating Canadian universities, successfully meeting their $35,000 goal. The event saw volunteers sleep on the street for five days to raise money and awareness for Dans la rue, a Montreal organization that helps the city’s homeless.

The participants’ first day on the street turned out to be the most successful in the initiative’s four-year history at Concordia, raising $4,500.

JSA and CPSA to disappear, for now

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations is set to lose two of its member associations, at least for now, as they have been unable to attract candidates for their executive elections earlier this month. According to ASFA VP internal Nicole Devlin, the Journalism Student Association and the Concordia Physics Students Association will always have the possibility of holding byelections in the fall to fill the positions. The JSA had even tried to extend its nomination period in order to attract candidates, but to no avail, said its president Emily White, also life editor at the Concordian. The JSA received close to $2,900 in funding this year from ASFA, and it remains a possibility for journalism or physics students to apply for ASFA student-at-large funding if they wish to plan activities. According to Devlin, there are also a handful of MAs who did not manage to find candidates to fill all of their executive positions in this year’s MA elections.

Concordia’s little mystery

Concordia continues to investigate the origins of an ancient sculpture it has had in its possession for a decade and put on display last week in hopes of gaining new answers from members of the public. Identified as “The Starving of Saqqara,” the limestone sculpture features two sitting figures with large heads and includes an inscription in an unidentified language. The artifact was donated to the university in the 1990s by the estate of Vincent and Olga Diniacopoulos, who had amassed a large collection of ancient artifacts that are now dispersed in museums around the world. The word “Saqqara” refers to the vast burial ground in the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis, but how it came to be associated with the sculpture remains unclear. The university has lovingly dubbed the mystery “CSI: Concordia Sculpture Investigation.”

It won’t collapse, we promise

The federal government pledged $158 million last week toward repairing the Champlain Bridge, while telling drivers that the structure is still safe. The money has been added on top of the $212 million the government already pledged in 2009 toward repairs and maintenance.

Despite the government’s assurances, two reports from a federal bridge agency leaked to La Presse last Friday found that certain sections of the Champlain are in a severe state of deterioration that could progress exponentially. The agency noted that a partial or complete collapse of the bridge should not be ruled out. Opened in 1962, Champlain is Canada’s busiest bridge with more than 60 million drivers a year.

March

March Against Police Brutality quickly shut down, 258 arrested

SPVM ends march after certain protesters break store, car windows Evan LePage News editor There are a few certainties that come with Montreal’s annual March Against Police Brutality: there will be vandalism, there will be arrests and people will say that both protesters and police were in the wrong.

While this year’s march, the 15th of its kind, indeed offered examples of all three of those certainties, strict police tactics assured that the vandalism decreased while the number of arrests substantially rose. Two-hundred and fifty-eight individuals were arrested by police this year, according to a provisional press release from the SPVM posted the night of the event, in comparison with approximately 100 in 2010.

Of those arrested, 239 were picked up in regards to highway safety code article 500.1 concerning occupation of a roadway, a violation which brought many protesters a fine of $488, according to Sarita Ahooja of the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality, a group that organized the march. Thirteen others were arrested in regards to municipal laws and six under the criminal code according to the police statement, which also said no officer or participant was injured during police intervention.

“Despite the security measures and police presence, some isolated events triggered by a few individuals have taken place,” the release reads.

But Ahooja said the SPVM tactics themselves are an indication of the police force’s intention to sabotage the protest.

“The very fact that they arrest hundreds of people, detain them for hours, and then only end up giving them a bylaw infraction shows you the intent to sabotage and shut down the message,” she said, “which is people that are actively organizing to denounce the ongoing criminalization of poor people, of non-white people and people who have political convictions that don’t agree with the status quo.”

Ahooja, who pointed out that UN human rights committee report denounced the Montreal police in 2005 for their practice of mass arrests, also said that the arrest of a few organizers of the event before the march started, reportedly because the sticks holding their signs were too big, is another indication of the intent to sabotage it.

The SPVM shut down the March 15 protest fairly early into the march itself. As the group of around 350 to 400 people made its way from the rally point near Place des Arts up to Saint-Denis St., chanting “Police everywhere! Justice nowhere!” some vandalism did occur. A bottle was shattered on the street and a small minority of protesters, taking advantage of the street’s enormous potholes, picked up rocks and pieces of concrete, throwing them at both police and store

One of the 258 individuals arrested by police during this year’s short-lived demonstration. Photo by David Vilder windows in the area, damaging at least three. The SPVM officially called the demonstration illegal in response.

Within a matter of 10 or 15 minutes following the vandalism, a police line had formed ahead of protesters near Mont-Royal Ave. on Saint-Denis St. As the group marched forward, the SPVM set off gas canisters. In the rush to the sidewalk that followed few protesters noticed the line of police rushing the back, trapping a group of around 300 people between two lines of riot police.

Many of those trapped inside were shoppers or people on their way home from work. Police would not let anyone leave, including the bystanders, the media and peaceful protesters who had no involvement in the vandalism.

Every five minutes or so the police would shorten the distance between their two lines and after about 15 minutes the group of trapped individuals were squeezed into a space around 10 metres long, by the width of SaintDenis St. Certain members of the police force were telling those on the sidewalk to get on the street, as were the protesters who asked that people not be afraid and reclaim their rightful public space.

After about 20 minutes, the line closed in around those on the street as the large group on the sidewalk was ushered down the block and out of sight of the remaining 200 or so stuck in that circle, the majority, if not all, of whom were later arrested.

Police on horses and a line of police without riot gear continuously forced people further away from the trapped crowd on Saint-Denis St. as buses entered the area for later transport of those who were arrested. This prompted one man to yell at police “It’s easy to take one person down when there’s six of you with batons, you fucking cops.”

One woman who said she had no part of the protest tried to enter her car on Saint-Denis St. but was squeezed up against it by the horse of

a mounted police who demanded she leave the area on foot. The distraught woman screamed her explanation at the officer before a friend ushered her away.

The group that gathered outside of Place des Arts at 5 p.m. had largely dispersed, with the remaining group of onlookers struggling to catch a glimpse of those still circled by riot police, many of whom could be seen dancing and singing as they awaited their immanent incarceration.

Protesters expressed various reasons for attending. As the group gathered before the march, one protester, who refused to give their name, said they were there to “protest general police impunity and the state of policing in Montreal, which is essentially to protect the interests of the rich at the expense of the poor.” That individual held a sign reading “You can do better for us.”

Others held signs with the images of people killed by police, including a few with the image of Fredy Villanueva, who was 18 when he was shot to death by police in August 2008.

Ahooja said the Collective saw the event as an opportunity to denounce “an ongoing practice within the police forces here in Montreal that we were denouncing not only social profiling, racial profiling but political profiling.”

A former Concordia student who sported a full facial mask for much of the demonstration said the march was an important symbol of opening up

public space, because those involved would not offer their route details to police. He also cited the police action at the G20 summit last year as a reason for his participation, something many others in attendance echoed. “I mean there were more people arrested at the G20 than in the first few days of the uprising in Egypt,” the protester, who did not reveal his name, said.

“That’s insane.”

The protester also said “I think a bit of property damage is fine if it contributes to the bigger symbolic action.”

This year the SPVM kept up a relatively regular presence on Twitter during the march, notifying followers of which streets were closed, of where the protesters were located and of when police moved in to arrest participants.

The previously mentioned police statement requested the public’s help in gathering information, photo and video to help identify those who committed crimes during the march.

The SPVM could not be reached for comment.

The COBP is also asking that people come forward if they were “detained, brutalized, encircled or arrested,” and Ahooja said they are collecting evidence to support those who are contesting the bylaw infractions.

She also said the organization will be submitting a complaint to the police ethics commission.

“We’ll set the record straight,” she said.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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Continued from cover...

Fees to go up by $325 a year between 2012 and 2017: finance minister are not the way to go to give more funding to universities. Instead, we should be prioritizing public funding, showing that it is beneficial for the state to invest in its universities because these institutions are producing the state’s future.”

In a statement on its website, the Concordia Student Union also denounced the government for making universities even more inaccessible.

CSU president Heather Lucas was equally upset with the fact that while the government is asking students to pay more, it is still allowing universities to pay its high-ranking officials exorbitant salaries and, in Concordia’s case, giving its ousted presidents severance packages worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“While we understand that the pay of a high-ranking university official needs to be competitive in order to attract people to come to Concordia, it is still absolutely absurd how much money they make in salaries,” she said. “These university officials are

making more than some of the world leaders of today which is troubling when students are struggling to pay off their tuition debt.”

Despite the government’s decision to up tuition, all student groups plan to continue mobilizing their membership to push for accessible education.

For example the FEUQ is planning on rallying students to protest at the Liberal Party’s April 3 meeting in Boucherville. Lucas said that the CSU will also mobilize students and “inform students about this increase and how they will start to feel it very soon.”

However, student organizations still feel that events such as Concordia’s WHALE and the massive March 12 protest against tuition increases and privatization were worth it.

“Events like the WHALE make people aware of the issue and of alternatives to tuition increases, and that there is opposition to them,” said Free Education Montreal’s Robert Sonin. “The government, big business

and university administrators present the increases as a fact of life - that is a lie. They are a policy decision, and one that is out of line with the rest of the world.”

Other university-related measures outlined in the budget include an incentive for the private sector to donate more to universities, as well as slightly lowering the parental contribution to education.

On the opposing side of the tuition debate, universities said they were generally pleased with the Charest government’s tuition increases, with Concordia spokeswoman Chris Mota describing the decision as “encouraging.”

“This is a major commitment because it is a six-year plan and allows universities to better plan long-term and better budget,” she said. “All universities in CREPUQ have said that all stakeholders, including students, need to pay.”

The Conférence des recteurs et principaux des universités du Québec,

which had originally called on the government in December to increase tuition by $500 a year over three years, issued a statement saying that government’s increase will allow universities to better contribute to the development of Quebec society.

In the direct aftermath of the tabling of the budget, students had already begun to get vocal. Approximately 100 protesters gathered outside the Hilton Bonaventure in Montreal on March 18 as minister Bachand promoted his budget inside to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.

The organization, whose board of directors includes former Concordia president Judith Woodsworth, had asked the government to increase tuition by $1000 a year over three years. As Bachand spoke inside the hotel, the protesters chanted various slogans, reminding the minister that presently in Quebec, more than 60 per cent of students carry an average debt of $14,000, now set to increase in sync with the tuition.

tuition

MBA students at McGill support tuition increase for the program $2 million government fine criticized by local business school world Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo Assistant news editor In the wake of student protests against tuition hikes and the $325 per year increase in tuition fees included in Quebec’s provincial budget, you would think a $2 million fine imposed on McGill University for raising the tuition of its masters in business administration program would be praised by students.

Not the case.

On the contrary, after the Quebec government announced Monday it would fine the university by around $2.1 million, the McGill MBA students’ association came out

against the imposed penalty and in support of increased tuition. A study conducted by the association has found that most students also back the decision made by their university’s administration. Seventy per cent of respondents said the price of $29,500 for their program was “reasonable or below reasonable.” In the accompanying press release, the MBASA stated, “We as the students believe that the increased costs are a necessary part of McGill’s efforts to make this program into one of the best of the world.”

The most recent development in a debate that has stretched for almost year has seen many parties taking similar stances. Suresh K. Goyal, professor of decision sciences and MIS at Concordia, strongly opposed the fine as well. “It is rather unfortunate that Education Minister [Line Beauchamp], instead of congratulating McGill for privatizing its MBA program in order for it to become competitive with the top MBA programs, has imposed a penalty of over $10,000 per student

which amounts to over 33 per cent of the tuition fees paid by each student,” he said.

“This will force McGill to increase the tuition fees for its privatized MBA program still further,” Goyal continued. “I believe McGill should contest the penalty in a court of law.”

Goyal believes the tuition increase is necessary, arguing that because of low tuition, McGill would lose money in their MBA program, and would have to make up that shortfall by using money that would otherwise be going to undergraduate programs. At that point, he said, “You’re getting money from the government for the undergraduate program and you are using it to run the graduate program. It’s like the government giving milk money to a mother for her children, and the mother using that money to buy beer for the grown-up kids.”

He added that with the increase in salary resulting in the completion of the MBA program, students at McGill could afford the tuition hike.

However, Concordia’s CASAJMSB president Mitchell Robitaille said that while he understood that tuition cannot remain frozen forever, “I think it is absolutely ludicrous to raise tuition nearly 900 per cent.

I don’t think it is reasonable to have a drastic increase from one year to the next.” When asked whether he would support a similar increase for Concordia’s MBA program, Robitaille said, “If Concordia were transparent and submitted a clear and detailed plan of how increased tuition would increase the value of my degree, I would be willing to make the increased investment.”

At Concordia, the cost to educate an MBA student is $60,000, while the average tuition per student is $5,000, according to media relations director Chris Mota.

The increase in salary as a result of completion of the program is substantial – a $75,000 average increase from the student’s pre-MBA salary.

caMpus

FASA ratifies new constitution New additions include wider council representation and judicial committee Jacques Gallant Assistant news editor More than 75 members of the Fine Arts Student Alliance voted unanimously to ratify their organization’s new constitution at their annual general meeting last night, bringing into effect a document that FASA

hopes will avoid the confusion that has plagued its structure in the past.

One major addition to the new constitution will allow for students of fine arts programs that are not represented by a club to still represent their program on FASA’s council. The organization’s co-president Paisley Sim said that FASA wanted to ensure that all fine arts students’ interests were heard seeing as several smaller programs currently have no direct representative on council.

Other changes to the constitution include the hiring of a neutral chairperson and secretary, positions currently occupied at council meetings by members of the executive. FASA will also be cutting ties with the CSU’s judicial committee by creating its own, which will be comprised of three to

five regular FASA members.

Furthermore, during meetings of FASA’s constitutional reform committee and the document’s review by a lawyer, it was determined that having two co-presidents, as is now the case, goes against FASA’s incorporation act.

Therefore, the new constitution allows for only one person to assume the position of president while also creating the position of vice-president internal.

The constitution will also allow council to create ad hoc committees when needed.

“I think this new constitution will leave FASA in a much stronger position than it was earlier in the year,” said Sim. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but at least there is now a solid foundation in place.”

The new constitution was born

after months of meetings among the members of FASA’s constitutional reform committee, chaired by VP finance Julie Johnston. The committee had used the Arts and Science Federation of Associations’ constitution as a template for their own.

Constitutional reform at FASA became necessary after a heated September council meeting, when representatives were furious that the executive terminated VP finance Laura Glover without consulting council. But the executive maintained that because the position was the only VP that is hired, and not elected, it could oust the title holder on their own. This confusion led to the drafting of the new constitution, which now states that the VP finance will be elected and aided by a hired bookkeeper.

Nation in brief Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Breast cancer treatment in Ontario expanded on a conditional basis The Ontario government is expanding access to breast cancer treatment. The Toronto Star reported Ontario will now offer “conditional” access to cancer drugs for those with small tumours when it can be shown that benefits will be derived from making the exception. In doing so, the province joins the ranks of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, where patients with small tumours have access to cancer drug Herceptin. The decision comes after the story of a woman who was denied access to the drug over the size of her tumour received widespread media coverage. Cancer patient Jill Anzarut had protested that she had been denied Herceptin because her tumour was less than one cm in diameter. Health Minister Deb Matthews had initially stated it would be wrong to change the rules of the drug approval process, but later reversed her position.

Note to Canadians: Stop watering your driveway

Canadians both appreciate water and unnecessarily waste it, according to a survey looking at our water consumption. According to the Montreal Gazette, a Royal Bank of Canada and Unilever- commissioned study found that 55 per cent of respondents said water is Canada’s most important natural resource. However, of the 2,066 Canadians polled, many also admitted they had wasteful habits like flushing objects like cigarette butts down the toilet to get rid of them, leaving the tap running while doing dishes and hosing down the driveway. Chairman of the Canadian Partnership Initiative of the UN Water for Life Decade Bob Sandford said the results showed that Canadians still do not make the connection between the need to conserve water and their personal use of the resource.

University of Regina students in favour of continuing CFS membership

Students at the University of Regina have voted for continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students.

The results of an October referendum at the university polling students about the CFS were released March 11 without the consent of the student union, according to the Canadian University Press. The decision made by the CFS to release the results has unilaterally increased tensions between the federation and the student union. With 1,414 students voting in favour of continuing membership and 1,326 against, the margin of victory was narrow. The union’s board of directors had decided against continuing membership in the CFS in October.

Eau de Kessel, because the Leafs didn’t stink enough

You know what they say: if you can’t win a Stanley Cup, go into the perfume business. The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced they will be expanding their brand by releasing a men’s and women’s fragrance. According to the Globe and Mail, the woman’s scent, White, is wearable, if reminiscent of hairspray. Unfortunately for male Leafs fans, Blue apparently smells like cologne from the 1990s.

With a price tag of $89.99 for 50 ml of the stuff, the perfume is bound to make a puck-sized dent in your wallet.

However, $25 of every sale will go to the MLSE Team-Up Foundation.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

World in brief Evan LePage

Nuclear crisis?

What about my car?

French parliamentary officials who had met to discuss the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan had their meeting suspended because of, believe it or not, an argument over parking. Maxime Gremetz, an independent member of the French parliament, stormed into the room where the French response to the crisis was being debated and began to complain that another car had blocked in his own, Reuters reported. Nuclear and power industry people in attendance, as well as all of those watching on live TV, witnessed Gremetz interrupt the session twice before the meeting was suspended. Science committee chair Claude Birraux reportedly told Gremetz, “With Japanese people risking their lives today, don’t come here and be a pain in the neck with your story about badly parked cars.”

Banned Zimbabwean newspaper printing again

After eight years of being banned, the Daily News, once Zimbabwe’s bestselling newspaper, has begun to print again. The paper was banned in the Southern African nation in 2003 after it criticized president Robert Mugabe, but a relaxation of press regulations last year prompted the paper’s return to stands with a special promotional issue last week, the BBC reported.

The Daily News managed to secure a new license from the Zimbabwe Media Commission and will reportedly begin printing regularly on March 25.

However, with talk of elections steadily growing, it is unclear how long this increased degree of press independence will last. There are only two independent newspapers in Zimbabwe, and no private TV or radio stations.

‘.xxx’ now on par with ‘.com,’ ‘.org’

As if the internet didn’t already make it easy enough to find porn, “.xxx” has now been approved to join the list of accepted domains. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers finally approved the controversial domain last week after a decade-long battle with politicians and conservative groups who opposed it. Even the porn industry opposed the domain, expressing concerns that it would lead to censorship and legislation that could be detrimental to the industry as a whole.

Supporters finally succeeded on their fourth attempt, with preliminary approval of the new domain from ICANN last June, and final approval (the vote saw nine in favour, three opposed and four abstaining) coming this past Saturday. The organization said last year that it had already received over 110,000 prereservations for .xxx sites, according to the BBC.

Exiled Haitian ex-pres Aristide returns

After seven years in exile, former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide arrived in Haiti last Friday, two days before the struggling nation’s run-off election. While Aristide will not have a chance to once again join the political game (yet), he wasted little time in speaking up about what he felt was an unjust decision to bar his former political party Lavalas from the run-off, the CBC reported. Aristide, who once lived in Montreal and spent his years of exile in South Africa, was welcomed as a hero by many, as he remains a popular figure among Haiti’s poor. While Aristide says he will remain a private citizen outside the political realm, the U.S. government questioned his motives based on the timing of his return. have pleaded with him to stay. They’ve expressed concerns that his departure would decrease the legitimacy of their efforts and that no new leader could match his level of authority and respect.

Finance

CSU council gets down to unfinished business Councillors grill executive on matters of budget Sarah Deshaies Editor-in-chief Concordia Student Union councillors and executives got down to unfinished business at the March 16 council meeting. The original meeting, held on March 9, came to an abrupt and early end when chair Marc-Antoni Tarondo adjourned it after the meeting turned into a screaming match. Students refused to leave during a closed session meeting to discuss what the executive termed ‘human resources,’ referring to the resignation of former VP sustainability and promotions Morgan Pudwell.

All the items left on the agenda were left tabled at the end.

But the second meeting was more cordial, taking place down the hall from the room from the previous week. On the brief agenda were two points of business: the finance report which had been left at the last meeting, and a new point: a presentation by the CSU’s lawyer on the CSU executive’s lawsuit against the Canadian Federation of Students.

Ramy Khoriaty, who has been filling in as VP finance since Zhuo Ling resigned in January, presented a slideshow of CSU spending, revenues and deficits. At the March 9 meeting, CSU director of finance and administration Michele Dumais was present and appeared ready to answer any questions students would have, but she was missing at last week’s meeting.

Allegations of financial mismanagement have swirled about the current executive since Morgan Pudwell resigned, stating she had concerns about money.

According to Khoriaty, most budget lines were overspent by under $5,000, with a total of 17 lines with deficits. One of the higher losses was the annual handbook, which lost over $13,604. Other cost over-

CSU VP finance Ramy Khoriaty shows documents to councillor Michaela Manson, who requested more information. runs were found in the promotions budget. President Heather Lucas attributed this to an increase in press releases by four or five put out this year, triggered by events like the Woodsworth dismissal and protests.

Each release, she stated, cost $800.

The executive maintained that many of the deficits would be filled with incoming grant and sponsorship money, like the orientation and speaker events, and that the CSU is on track to make a surplus this year.

While CSU signing officer and independent councillor Aaron Green vouched for the veracity of the financials, he asked for a breakdown of the financials for campus bar Reggies. Khoriaty did not have the bar’s financials, which indicated a deficit earlier in the year.

A recess was called so that Khoriaty could provide councillor Joel Suss with further documents.

Several councillors proposed that the CSU make monthly or quarterly financial reports to council. A motion for quarterly reports passed, and will

go to the custodial committee for further meting out.

The second portion of the meeting was devoted to a presentation by CSU lawyer Philippe-André Tessier,

who gave the details of the suit filed the next day on behalf of the CSU against the CFS and former CSU president Keyana Kashfi.

CSU lawyer Philippe-André Tessier was in attendance. Photos by writer

Lecture

Researchers deprive themselves of outside views by staying in the office: David Scobey NSGS Dean highlights the divide that exists between academics and society Renee Giblin Staff writer Historians need to get out of the classroom and reconnect with the community, according to David Scobey, executive dean of the New School for General Studies in New York.

Professors tend to promote community work to their students, Scobey explained, but do not follow their own guidelines when it comes to their research. “We send our students out there, but too often we do not go out there ourselves,” he said.

Scobey spoke to a group of Concordia staff members and students last Thursday as part of the CEREVsponsored history lecture about his “in-here/out-there” theory. According to Scobey, the main disadvantage of staying in the office is that it develops an “in-here/out-there” mentality, which creates a disconnect between academics and nonacademics. The dean also said true intellectuals miss the opportunity to open themselves up to questions and different views when they do not work in their community.

Scobey emphasized that open-

ing the lines of communication with the community challenges academic work. “We deprive ourselves of their questioning,” he said.

It was during his research that Scobey himself experienced the value of civic engagement. He was working with the Franco-American mill workers of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine when he came across an invitation autographed by Maurice Chevalier, a French actor from the early 20th century. Scobey had a personal tie to the actor - when he was a child, his father would sing one of Chevalier’s popular cabaret songs to him. The invitation showed how Chevalier, a celebrity and cultural icon, stayed and performed for the community of mill workers.

“Chevalier’s autograph shows us a different reality,” Scobey said.

The discovery made him want

to dig deeper into the history of the people living in this particular community because there seemed to be a deep appreciation for the arts among its citizens. It was when he interviewed the elders in the community that he began to get a sense for their culture and make a connection between the metropolitan world and this local community.

Through his interviews with the locals he was able to capture a different and more personal side of the history of Lewiston-Auburn and better understand the Franco-American culture that once existed there.

Scobey encouraged other professors to engage in such hands-on experiences and interact with people living in a community, since historians can deepen their own research. “Civic engagement makes our jobs better,” he said.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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eLections

Who are your CSU presidential candidates?

Khalil Haddad and Lex Gill talk campaign promises and goals Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo Assistant news editor

The CSU election race for 20112012 has the Action slate facing off against Your Concordia. Here are the presidential candidates’ thoughts about key issues for this election period.

The candidate: Khalil Haddad, Action Current chief electoral officer at the Sustainability Action Fund, president of the Concordia Undergraduate Psychology Association and ASFA councillor, presidential hopeful Khalil Haddad said he at first debated whether or not to continue in student politics in the next school year. “Then I realized [that with] all the opportunities that were offered to me in the previous years, I had to do something next year because it wouldn’t be fair to students,” he said. “I have to give back somehow.”

On the subject of tuition, Haddad said, “A lot of students are worried that they won’t be able to pay for their studies, so one of our main priorities for next year is to be able to mobilize around the tuition hikes [...] It’s very difficult of course, the government is adamant on wanting to increase tuition and we as a student body really need to be united.”

“We really need to engage the average student who is not really aware that they have the capacity to be able to show a strong stance regarding tuition hikes,” he continued.

As CEO of the Sustainable Action Fund, Haddad sees a strategic advantage in working with Sustainable Concordia to further initiatives like banning bottled water within the university. “As a university that considers itself to be one of be at

eLections

the forefront of sustainability, it’s very disappointing to see that we haven’t done this already,” he said.

“We’ve seen a whole movement in North America in the past few years and some universities have already banned bottled water. Water has to be accessible to everyone and we live in Canada, water is of good quality. Being able to [take] tap water, package it and sell it to students, I don’t think that’s something that should be done.”

Haddad also pointed to the Hive Café project as both a sustainable initiative and an example of a way he would further student space.

“For Loyola, the biggest thing would be to have a certain space where people can actually hang out, and what team Action wants to bring for next year is to really expand the Hive and make sure we have a Hive Café,” he said. “I mean, it’s going to be able to offer healthy food options; it’s going to be a place for students to hang out. Instead of just having a one-hour Loyola luncheon every week it’s going to be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and just looking at the design this year they started on the project and we want to be able to continue that next year.”

He added that since students made it clear that they are not comfortable with the current student centre project, “[team Action] wants to be able to make sure to hear what [it is students] actually want Do they want one location? Do they want multiple locations? We want to look into that and we are going to achieve that by having public consultations next year.”

The candidate: Lex Gill, Your Concordia A current CSU councillor who ran as part of the Fusion slate in 2010-2011, Lex Gill was the driving force behind the NO to the Canadian Federation of Students campaign the year before.

Gill is a third-year student of community and public affairs, and a member of überculture.

Of her involvement in the CSU, Gill said “probably since October or November, even though I ran with [last year’s victorious Fusion slate], I’ve been essentially functioning as opposition on CSU council.

That’s partly because when [former CSU president Prince Ralph Osei] resigned, a lot of people felt like he represented a bit of a change, that he could push the union in a more progressive direction and when he left there was a lack of leadership.

I feel like the response from the executive was to default to secrecy and lack of dialogue and so I was put in that position.”

Gill also initially campaigned for the student centre, but she [strongly opposed] the current manifestation of the project. She qualified the current contract between the CSU and the administration that governs the student centre as exploitative. “We’d like to renegotiate that contract so that it would meaningfully represent a lot of the ideas that we have about what student space looks like, what student space is, autonomous student space is student controlled,” she said. “Student space is not a shopping mall.”

Combating the recent provincial tuition hikes is also something highlighted as part of Your Concordia’s mandate. “We also have a mandate to fight arbitrary increases in ancillary fees. It’s part of our platform as well to increase the CSU bursaries program by 30 to 50 per cent which is really vital; it’s part of a broader process of doing meaningful work to fight for accessible education and that begins with strong research and advocacy and lobbying along with the ability and force to mobilize effectively,” she said.

Gill was very critical of the current executive’s actions this year when it came to tuition issues. “The CSU has really failed this year as an organization to inform, educate and respond to the clear threat of these increases,” she said. “For us, working in direct solidarity with other student organizations and federations including the FEUQ, Montreal student unions as well as rebuilding ties with Quebec CEGEPs is really vital because together it’s possible to just say ‘we won’t take it.’”

She also stressed the importance of improving on the CSU’s relationship with other bodies within Concordia, adding that she felt that after former Concordia president Judith Woodsworth’s departure the CSU “should have been standing in solidarity with the faculty who had recognized this as a major problem of basic democracy and accountability at the board.”

Action’s platform: Your Concordia’s platform: - Mobilize against tuition hikes - Bottled water free campus - Reclaim student space - Reform university governance - Financial transparency -Extended and late night shuttle bus ...and more

- Fighting tuition fees and increasing bursaries - Bottled water free campus - Investing in student space - CSU presence at Loyola - Sustainable food policy - Better sexual health resources ...and more

Continued from cover...

CEO, Action presidential candidate says election has been clean; Your Concordia leader disagrees yet to hand out any sanctions. He said that contestations had been filed regarding poster violations, but that he has “been dealing with it accordingly, speaking with both the parties and resolving the issues as civilized, mature human beings.”

From Cohen’s point of view, the first week of campaigning went very smoothly. “It’s been pretty clean overall and everybody’s been focusing on the campaign and less on the petty politics which is a good sign.”

Haddad, who was unwilling to say anything positive or negative in regards to the Your Concordia campaign or its slate members, also said that he had tried to emphasize a clean and positive campaign to his

own team members from the beginning and, in his belief, it had paid off.

“This year I think it’s been very good because we’ve been talking with the other slate as well, we’ve been very friendly about it,” he said. “If there are any concerns we bring it up to each other. So there have not been any major negatives.”

However, Gill seemed to have a different outlook on the situation.

While admitting that it had been cleaner than in previous years, the Your Concordia leader said that some of her teammates felt the Action members hadn’t acted properly during poster night. “There was a dialogue about behaving with respect, integrity, not pushing and shoving;

that poster night was not an election, that posters don’t vote. We wanted to start off on that foot,” Gill said. “I feel like some of my candidates felt those values were not as upheld by the other side.”

She also said she had filed an informal complaint with the CEO about postering, followed by a formal contestation when no action was taken on the issue. Gill was however quick to point out that Cohen was working with what she called flawed electoral rules which made it difficult to act when rules are broken. “This is definitely a problem with structure of the CSU standing regulations and bylaws which make it very difficult for the CEO to impose sanctions or

enforce any rules,” she said. “So perhaps there’s a sense that he’s been unresponsive but there’s also the question of what he can do about certain things.”

The CEO did agree that the rules were ambiguous as they stood, but said he had only decided against imposing sanctions on the postering contestations because he didn’t feel “that a team that puts a poster in a wrong place, aside from having them remove it, should be sanctioned harshly because of it.”

“I don’t want it to come to a point where these violations would be used as a political tactic for slates to use to damage the other person’s campaign,” Cohen continued.

But this lenient approach isn’t beneficial from Gill’s perspective.

“I think that stronger sanctions in a culture where electoral rules were properly addressed would make for a healthier democratic process,” she said.

She also said that the Your Concordia slate was playing the fairest game possible “to see if it’s even possible to win a CSU election by following the rules. Part of this is an experiment.”

A candidate debate is set to take place on March 23 between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. in room H-110, with a second debate organized by CUTV potentially taking place later in the week.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 cFs

CSU launches lawsuit against CFS Second Quebec student union asking courts to let them out of student lobby group; court documents show CFS internal workings Jacob Serebrin CUP Quebec Bureau Chief CUP — Almost a year after holding referendums to leave Canada’s largest student lobby group, two Quebec student unions are asking the courts to order the Canadian Federation of Students to recognize the results and let them leave.

On March 17, the Concordia Student Union filed a lawsuit against the CFS asking the Quebec Superior Court to declare the results of last March’s referendum “valid and binding on the CFS,” said CSU lawyer Philippe-André Tessier.

The referendum resulted in an overwhelming 2,348 students voting to leave the organization while only 931 voted to remain members.

The student union is also seeking to have the court declare rule changes from November 2009, which made leaving the CFS more difficult, to be null and void. The CSU claims the rules were never properly passed, according to CFS bylaws, and that they were applied retroactively.

The CSU is also asking the court to throw out an agreement signed by the union’s former president Keyana Kashfi which claims the CSU owes the CFS over $1 million.

According to the CSU’s statement

of claim, Kashfi’s action “was done in bad faith and constitutes gross negligence … towards her legal obligations.”

The CSU claims Kashfi didn’t have the right to sign the document and that even though it was allegedly signed in April 2009, the CSU was not aware of it until February 2010. They also claim that communications from the CFS in September and November 2009, as well as in January 2010, did not reference any debt owed by the CSU. According to Tessier, the CSU waited so long to file because they hoped to resolve the situation without going to court.

“When [student unions] call me, I say don’t go to court. This is politics, solve it,” he said.

While the CSU has waited to take action, the McGill Post Graduate Students’ Society has been in court with the CFS for over a year.

The PGSS first took legal action in effort to force the CFS to set a date for the referendum. While the CFS initially agreed to participate in the PGSS referendum, they later pulled out. PGSS went ahead with the referendum and 86 per cent of voters were in favour of leaving the organization.

Like the CSU, PGSS is currently asking the court to enforce the results of the referendum.

In filings with the Quebec Superior Court, the CFS claims the conduct of PGSS appointees on a committee set up to oversee the referendum “clearly hampered the [referendum oversight committee’s] work, which resulted in deadlock.”

They also claim that the PGSS refused to “respect the contractual terms of the CFS bylaws” and attempted to create their own rules for the referendum.

However, the PGSS claims the CFS applied “referendum rules abusively and in bad faith to attempt to deny the rights of [the PGSS] and its members.”

One of the sticking points between the two organizations was the timing of the referendum. The PGSS wanted four days of voting while the CFS wanted two.

While CFS bylaws require that referendum dates be set by the organization’s national executive “in consultation” with the local students’ union, according to a deposition by CFS national chairperson Dave Molenhuis, and entered into evidence by PGSS lawyers, the consultation process isn’t a negotiation.

He said the consultation process requires the national executive to “solicit from the member local any information about events or date that may conflict with a referendum.”

On Jan. 14, 2010, the CFS sent a letter to the PGSS setting the referendum for March 31 and April 1, 2010. On Jan. 21, PGSS responded by asking for the referendum to be held from March 29 to April 2. The CFS then decided to go ahead with a two-day vote on the days they had suggested.

According to Molenhuis, the letter did “not provide any information that would lead members of the national executive to believe that the dates it set for the referendum were problematic.”

On Feb. 25, the CFS filed a motion with the court to have the case dismissed, which was rejected. In the motion CFS lawyers reiterated the federation’s position that the CSU, PGSS and Concordia Graduate Students’ Association, which held a similar referendum, are still members of the organization.

Throughout their filings and cross-examinations of CFS officials, as part of pre-trial discovery, PGSS lawyers have raised questions about CFS spending practices.

According to an audit of CFS and CFS-Services, a legally distinct organization, which shares the same board of directors, for the year 2009 and included in evidence, that

year the CFS spent over $2.1 million on a new office building.

“What business is [the CFS] in and why does a student lobby organization require a $2-million building?” PGSS lawyers wrote in a motion to videotape the CFS offices in order to gather evidence.

CFS has filed a motion to keep the video confidential and not have it entered into publicly available evidence.

The audit also reveals that, as of 2009, the CSU also owned a restored heritage building worth over $600,000 and owns over $875,000 worth of land. That year the organization also spent over $100,000 on rent.

In a deposition, CFS director of organizing Lucy Watson said that CFS-Services owns a piece of property in Ontario’s Algonquin Park.

Additionally, the audit reveals that Travel CUTS, a travel agency that was owned by CFS, recorded a loss of over $5 million that year. It was sold in November 2009 for $1 plus a small share of future revenue.

According to the audit, as of 2009, CFS-Services owes CFS $1.2 million. In deposition interviews, when PGSS lawyers asked whether CFS-Service is insolvent, CFS lawyers objected to the question and it was not answered.

In 2009, CFS received just over $2.7 million in student fees, while CFS-Services received over $935,000.

That year, the organization spent less than $500,000 on campaigns.

According to Watson’s deposition, employee salaries are drawn from multiple budget lines including “campaigns,” “communications” and “research” depending on what they are working on. Watson said all CFS employees and most CFSServices employees are paid by both organizations and the three CFS-Services employees who are not also employees of CFS are not unionized.

Both the PGSS and the CSU are seeking $100,000 in damages. The CSU claims that CFS actions have violated students’ association rights under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

The PGSS and CFS have until June 1 to finalize their cases in that suit.

The CSU also expects their suit to take a long time.

“It’s not going to be an easy case,” Tessier acknowledged.

While the CSU is currently in the midst of an election campaign, the presidential candidates from both slates have vowed to continue legal action if elected.

“Students voted and the CFS has to recognize our right to leave the organization,” said presidential candidate Lex Gill, who was one of the organizers of the petition that led to Concordia’s referendum. She added that despite the high cost of litigation, it would still be “significantly less” than what the CFS claims Concordia students owe the organization.

Her opponent, Khalil Haddad had similar sentiments.

“Any litigation taken by the CSU, will be continued in my mandate until CFS recognizes our referendum that passed with a substantial majority,” he said.

A lawsuit between the CFS and its former Quebec branch is also ongoing, as is a suit by the Quebec branch’s former landlord for unpaid rent. Both CFS and the former Quebec branch claim the other is responsible for the rent.

The Concordia GSA, who has not taken legal action, did not respond to a request for comment from the Canadian University Press.

Molenhuis, who generally does not comment on ongoing litigation, also did not respond to a request for comment.

governance

Concordia names three external

academics to review university bodies, they come with a hefty price tag CSU president Heather Lucas criticizes high cost of salaries, timing of submission period Sarah Deshaies Editor-in-chief Concordia has now put faces and names to the committee that will seek to find out what exactly is wrong with governance at the school.

Bernard Shapiro, André C. Côté and Glen A. Jones were revealed to be the three members of the external governance review committee by the university on March 18 in a press release and mass email to students. The creation of the committee comes from motions put

forward by university senate and Board of Governors in February.

The university has been rocked with accusations of mismanagement since former president Judith Woodsworth stepped down from her position in late December 2010, taking a $700,000 severance package with her. Numerous members on the Board of Governors were found to have overstayed their terms, and repeated calls by students, faculty and staff groups to the body’s chair and/or the external BoG member to step down were not heeded.

All three members of the governance review committee have achieved high posts at their respective universities. Shapiro is an ex-principal and vice-chancellor at McGill University and served as Canada’s first ethics commissioner.

Jones is an Ontario research chair in post-secondary education policy and measurement at the University of Toronto, as well its associate dean academic. Côté is a former

dean of faculty law and secretarygeneral of Université Laval, as well as the province’s first lobbyists commissioner.

The members will look at a “number of questions on governance” at Concordia, including the roles of governing bodies like senate, BoG and faculty councils, and their respective committees. The other issues include determining the “appropriate relationship” between the BoG and senate, smoothing out communications between the BoG and existing communities and defining the “appropriate roles,” selection process and terms of office for the members of these bodies.

The three members will present their findings in a public report to president Frederick Lowy within 60 days of their first meeting. Students will likely see the results by the end of April, confirmed university spokesperson Chris Mota.

Mota also confirmed that the three members will each be paid $1,000 a day for their services, up

to a maximum of 20 days. The maximum amount spent on remuneration will total $60,000. She also stated the university would not make the new members available for interviews at the start of their term.

CSU president Heather Lucas found the salaries too high in light of the recent tuition increase. “A cost that high is certainly unwarranted, while delving out hefty severance packages and tuition increasing; this is simply too much,” she said in an email.

The statement also said that members of the Concordia community should notify the committee secretary by April 1 if they want to share their thoughts, and send them in by April 15 to danielle.tessier@ concordia.ca. While Lucas thinks that students will bring forward their grievances, she questioned the timing of the committee, which is taking place around exams. Regardless, “We will be having an open call out for students to come share

their grievances to us, in order to have it conveyed to the committee.”

Lucas added that the members sound competent, but she is more concerned about the committee receiving a wide variety of opinions from members across the university community.

“

A cost that high is certainly unwarranted, while delving out hefty severance packages and tuition increasing. heather Lucas, csu president

life

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com

exercise

Defying gravity

A personal account of an anti-gravity yoga class Renée Morrison Staff writer

Imagine the average yoga routine: twisting, stretching and contorting into poses. Now, imagine doing this while suspended above ground using a single hammock. Add some circus acrobatics and dance-inspired moves and you have anti-gravity yoga, a new routine that puts a serious twist on Zen. Created in New York City by world-class gymnast and Broadway performer Chris Harrison, the trendy workout has recently made its way to Montreal. The concept has already had some important exposure worldwide.

Pink performed on a hammock at the 2010 Grammy awards, and even President Barack Obama’s inauguration featured anti-gravity performers.

I decided to find out what all the hype was about by trying out an anti-gravity yoga class offered at the Montreal Athletic Association fitness club. I was the only newcomer in the class but I began with high expectations.

The other participants were clearly head over heels (literally) in love with the workout.

“Hanging upside down is actually really de-stressing,” said Catherine Girouard, a

devoted attendee to the weekly classes. “It’s different, and at the same time there’s that circus-act feeling that I like.”

With no preconceived expectations, I was blissfully unaware that within 10 minutes my face would be dangling inches above the hardwood floor. At first I panicked, having underestimated this fear-factor style of yoga.

Moving into “monkey” position, with my head down and no limbs touching the floor, I tried to relax. Soft classical piano music played in the studio but all I could think about was the safety release form I had signed at the front desk prior to the class.

Instructor Suaad Ghadban effortlessly contorted into positions like “chandelier” and “hanging vampire,” which are just as impressive as their names. She must have been the kid who climbed trees and swung around from monkey bars in the playground.

“It gets so much better after your first time,” Ghadban reassured me. “It’s hard to trust a piece of material holding you up. But that fear is what keeps people paying attention to doing the moves properly, so the workout is actually more effective because of it.“ I started becoming more conscious of the strength of my legs as they held me up in the hammock. After a few easier moves like the “swing,” which is exactly what you would imagine it to be, I started to appreciate the adrenaline rush I was experiencing. I was also pleased at how hard my muscles had been working.

“It’s a really effective way to get a work-

out,” said fellow classmate Joanne Fourneau, who seemingly mastered most of the antigravity poses.

As we reached the relaxation segment towards the end of the class, I felt my muscles loosening up. Lying in the hammock, suspended about a foot above the ground, I felt like I was floating on water. My heartbeat was finally settling back to normal. When I stepped out of the hammock, I was surprised to feel a major tension release in my back, similar to the feeling which occurs after a massage.

“It’s an amazing decompression for the spine. It’s perfect for anyone with back problems, especially for those who have problems with regular yoga because of the pressure it puts on joints,” explained Ghadban. “Another benefit is hanging upside down. It gets all the blood flowing upwards and it gets rid of stress. I call it the brain cleanse, and it makes everyone leave class feeling happier than before!”

As the class wrapped up, I was happy just to be back on my feet. I enjoyed the muscle strengthening, and my arms and legs burned the next day – a sign of success but a warning for anyone who is interested in the class: the routine is more comparable to boot camp than yoga. It was definitely fun, but I would not necessarily consider it relaxing For now I think I will stick to yoga on solid ground, but maybe one day I will go back for round two if I am ever feeling brave enough to defy gravity once more.

Photo by Almudena Rome

Anti-gravity yoga classes are offered at the MAA located at 2070 Peel St., with over 10 time slots per week. www.clubsportifmaa. com Similar classes are also offered at Zen Tai Studio located at 5165 Queen Mary Rd., suite 511. www.zentaistudio.com Yoga beginners are welcome at both locations.

health

Do-it-yourself beauty secrets How to combine household items into beauty products that will soften your skin and moisturize your hair Marissa Miller Staff writer When your skin is so cracked that it begins to resemble a Montreal pothole and your hair takes on the texture of hay, it may be time to consider a trip to the kitchen. No need to trudge off in the snow to snag these sweet beauty products - simply open your fridge and get your skin and hair ready for summer.

By making your own beauty remedies, you are quenching your skin with tons of pure minerals and avoiding the hidden dangers associated with hitting up the spa. Bacterial, fungal, viral and yeast infections can be transmitted from one client to another through unsanitary instruments and careless aestheticians, according to MSNBC’s Today Health.

Not to mention, the cost of spa treatments or even drugstore products can add up fast.

The average American loses 1.5 pounds of dead skin cells per year. That’s a lot of tissue accumulating over skin that could otherwise be beautiful, soft and glowing. According to Montreal dermatologist Dr. Rachel Rubinstein, “North Americans have the tendency to shower way too often, drying our skin to the bone.” Your body makes its own natural moisturizers, but if you need another layer of moisture, the ones you can make yourself are potent in antioxidants and vitamins.

Dr. Rubinstein explains that your skin is the largest organ of your body, and whatever you put on it gets absorbed into the blood-

stream. Moisturizers you find at the pharmacy do smell pretty, but some cost a fortune and are laden with unpronounceable chemicals that can cause irritation.

To some, cooking is an art and a science, but it can be part of your beauty regimen too.

Smoother skin On her blog, beauty expert Kandee Johnson explains that to maximize the penetration power of this moisturizer, it is important to wet the skin with warm water. The heat molecules pry your pores open, leaving room for the mixture to seep in and do its magic.

“I’ve done this a few times, and it does work. It’s a great all-natural alternative,” says Marie Alexiou, a Concordia early childhood and elementary education student who suffers from very dry skin during the winter.

When life gives you lemons, you shouldn’t only make lemonade, but incredible exfoliating facial scrubs, too.

What you need ¼ cup granulated or brown sugar Fruit containing alpha hydroxy acids (lemon juice or chopped tomatoes) 2 tbsp. sour cream or plain yogurt Instructions 1. Mix ingredients in a bowl.

2. Heat in the microwave for 10 seconds, or until lukewarm.

3. Apply to skin (face, arms, or wherever you need a little TLC) and scrub.

4. Leave on for 5 minutes and rinse with warm water.

Healthier hair Lice are no longer a concern only for five-year-olds. Avoid the transmission of itch-inducing bugs, and the staph-infection-

causing bacteria methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, found near open sores around the hair follicle, by treating yourself to a homemade hair treatment.

This recipe is the knight in shining armour for your damsel in distress strands.

What you need 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp. honey (You can modify amount of ingredients depending on thickness of your hair.)

that, “Olive oil contains caffeic acid, oleic acid, and oleuropein, all of which are potent antioxidants.”

He explains that when olive oil is applied topically, it can help

with dry skin, inflammation, burns, several forms of dermatitis, and Instructions eczema. Use this 1. Warm the mixture in powerhouse potion a microwave-safe bowl for 20 on your strands seconds, or until it has a loose and reverse the texture. damage that 2. Work through hair, winter has concentrating on the ends. done.

3. Comb through, and Boys, this leave on hair for 30 minutes. applies to 4. Rinse out and shampoo.

Graphic by Arnaud Pages you, too. There’s no need to fear emasculation by trying these tricks “My hair reacted pretty well to this treatat home. Skin care concerns both genders, ment. After I washed it out, it felt softer and because let’s face it: no one wants their skin less brittle. I definitely see more shine,” says to feel like sandpaper.

Chloe Wise, a Concordia studio arts student.

Dr. Rubinstein stresses the importance of “I would consider switching to making my steering clear of pharmacy brands that are own treatments because of the financial and proven processed carcinogens. You have a environmental factors. Also, it was fun.” couple months to experiment to find which The beauty benefits of olive oil are not restricted just to your hair. Dr. Jeffrey Benabio, recipes work and which don’t. founder of The Derm Blog, writes on his site

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theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

day trip

Bubbles, food and fun in Chinatown Our series returns with a destination several metro stops away from the downtown campus

ity. While I usually head to Chinatown simply to enjoy the food, when I was younger, I used to enjoy looking in at all the souvenir boutiques. I would often buy a little trinket to remind me of my day spent there and to satisfy my curiosity until my next visit. While I grew out of that habit, I still sometimes make time for Lai Ning, a shop filled with all sorts of wonderful things for sale. From more expensive items, like traditional Oriental costumes, to more affordable figurines, jewelry and games for children, there really is something for people of all ages and budgets.

52-D de la Gauchetière W.

Amanda Dafniotis Staff writer Lately, New Chinatown has been getting all the attention when it comes to Chinese cuisine in the city. Located near Concordia’s downtown campus, this little quartier has made breaks between classes more enjoyable. But for this week’s Day Trip, we thought we would head to where it all started: Montreal’s official Chinatown. Located on the blocks surrounding the pedestrian walkway of de La Gauchetière St., the area is bordered

by Saint-Urbain St. and Saint-Laurent Blvd. and lies between René-Lévesque Blvd. and Viger St. There is only one appropriate way to start a day in Chinatown, and that is dim sum for lunch. If you are heading to location number one from the downtown campus, head to the GuyConcordia station and take the green line towards Honoré-Beaugrand. Get off at Place-des-Arts and walk south down Jeanne-Mance until you reach René-Lévesque, turn left and then take a right at Saint-Urbain. For those living on the orange line, get off at Place-d’Armes and head north on Saint-Urbain.

3:15 p.m. L2 Lounge

Stop by boutique Lain Ning to browse an array of trinkets and souvenirs.

4:30 p.m. Dragon Beard Candy

1 p.m. La Maison Kam Fung With red velvet, golden dragons and pictures of geishas lining the walls, this second-floor restaurant is always jam-packed and for good reason. Boasting what has been called the best dim sum in the city, the wait on weekends can be around 30 minutes if you go between noon and 1 p.m. However, once seated, there is a constant flow of food coming your way, making it well worth the wait. Waiters push carts of freshlymade food through the tables for you to pick and choose. From shrimp dumplings to BBQ pork

With your souvenirs in tow, head up to L2 Lounge. This lounge meets café is popular for their bubble teas, a tea based beverage made from fruit, fruit syrup and/or milk. The most distinctive feature of the drink is the tapioca pearls, which lie at the bottom of the glass and have the consistency of gummy candy. My favourite flavour is mango, but coffee is one of their most popular, probably due to that extra caffeine boost. The teas can be served hot or cold and in a variety of mixtures, so on each order you can create your own combination. The lounge-café attracts a young clientele with their selection of desserts, wireless Internet, rec-room, game centre, card tables.

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Dragon Beard Candy being made at storefront. Photos by Derek Branscombe buns, there is certainly no shortage of variety at this place. Dim sum dishes are between $2.50 and $4.50 and are served daily until 3 p.m. The restaurant takes reservations.

1111 Saint-Urbain St. between south of René-Lévesque Blvd.

2:30 p.m. Lai Ning As lunch digests, make the three-minute walk to the pedestrian walkway of de la Gauchetière St. Filled with souvenir shops, restaurants and bakeries, the street radiates a feeling of authentic-

There is no better way to end a day in Chinatown than with dragon beard candy. This special treat is made from the threads of finely spun sugar dough which is wrapped around ground peanuts, chocolate, coconut and sesame seeds.

Described as the Chinese version of cotton candy, not only do they make it from scratch right in front of your eyes, but it tastes great too. Sold at $4 for a box of six, the candies can be eaten on the spot (if you still have room) or can be brought home for a midnight snack. The storefront is open from about noon to around 7:30 p.m.

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technology

48 hours to create the next Angry Birds A Montreal student took part in the Great Canadian Appathon Sarah Volstad Contributor You have probably heard of a walkathon or a phoneathon, but an appathon? I never heard the term either until two weekends ago when Concordia University, along with six other venues across the country, hosted the firstever Great Canadian Appathon. Presented by Toronto’s XMG Studios, a mobile video game developer and The National Post, the GCA encouraged tech-savvy students across Canada to create an original phone application. The catch? They only had 48 hours.

Individually or in teams of up to four, post-secondary students competed for a prize pool worth $45,000 and the chance at two jobs with XMG Studios. Among the competitors was 21-year-old Gabriel Royer, a thirdyear software engineering student from l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. Royer and three of his classmates participated in the event.

During the two-day stint, they developed Hold It, an app that requires the player to dodge flying obstacles while keeping at least one finger on the touch screen at all times. As you progress in the game, the obstacles gain speed for increased difficulty, while bosses and power-ups add diversity.

“We knew that in 48 hours we couldn’t come up with anything too complicated, cool or crazy,” said Royer. “So we decided to go for something simple but classy, and I think that we succeeded in that.” In conformity with the rules of the competition, the app is compatible with the Windows Phone 7 operating

system.

Royer tried to explain, in the simplest way possible, how he and his team went about building their smartphone application. The team showed up at Concordia last Friday with an idea; that’s all they were allowed to bring.

“We knew we didn’t want to create a Mario-type game where you just run back and forth and jump all over the place,” said Boyer.

“We wanted to build an app that takes advantage of one of the unique features of the cell phone, in this case the touch screen.” Once they agreed on their vision for the game they could begin coding using Microsoft Visual Studio, software intended specifically for this purpose.

Coding involves programming a series of codes or formulas which act as a set of instructions for the application. For example, if the programmer wants to send a laser flying in from the right-hand side of the screen, he or she types the code: SpawnLaser(Laser.LaserDirection.Right, (int)(speed * 1.2),1000);.

This tells the application to send in each laser at a speed 1.2 times greater than the previous one, and 1,000 milliseconds apart. For someone who has never seen anything like this before, it can be pretty intimidating.

Once every code for every possible function of the game has been programmed, the application is complete. Although the coding is done by computer, the game can only be properly tested and played on a Windows Phone 7 smartphone.

Close to 100 teams took part in this year’s GCA, but Royer is quite confident his team will move on to the next stage of the competition. “We are so proud of our application and of the way that the people from XMG reacted to it,” said Royer. “Making the top 25 doesn’t sound unrealistic, but only time will tell.”

Beyond the competition, Royer is looking forward to spending the summer in Seattle

Photo courtesy of writer

where he was recently selected for an internship with Microsoft. As for the future, the young engineer doesn’t plan for a career in the field of game development, although he is still undecided about what exactly he wants

to do. “After I graduate, I am thinking of doing a master’s degree in software engineering here at the Polytechnique,” said Royer. “But nothing is sure yet. I’m just going to take things one day at a time.”

arts

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com

FESTIVAL

From movie monsters to opera superstars

Two films on completely different subjects show what the Festival international du film sur l’art is all about Nick Forsyth Contributor I’m Going to be a Little Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti I’m Going to be a Little Tenor is not truly a movie, but rather a nicely crafted BBC program. It is beautifully carried by the tremendous force of Pavarotti’s personality.

Even without any knowledge of the man and the most minimal interest in opera, it takes no time to be charmed by his warmth and jocular combination of ego and grace. This measured examination of his climb to stardom is essentially a lesson in greatness. The will,

luck, opportunity, talent and effort that go into a person’s achieving this kind of ultimate, era-defining success are a singularly inspiring thing to behold. Spliced with interviews with parents, friends and teachers and descriptions of the Italy he grew up in, the film is essentially an hourlong chat in Pavarotti’s summertime villa, moderated skilfully and casually by the South Bank Show’s Sir Melvyn Bragg.

The format allows Pavarotti to lean back and basically have his garrulous way with us.

Essentially, it’s inspiring. Application of self to greatness is a pretty tricky concept to hold on to. I’m Going to be a Little Tenor is a description of one person doing it, and in doing so it clears the path just a little for anyone, in any field. Many films at FIFA focus on successful musicians, so if you don’t like opera, try Eric Clapton, Iggy Pop or Quebec’s own Karkwa les cendres de verre.

I’m Going to be a Little Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti plays on March 27 at 6:30pm at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

Thomas O’Connor Contributor Monsterland Jörg Buttgereit’s 2009 documentary Monsterland is an interesting but ultimately flawed look at monsters on film and in popular culture. The film features interviews with the likes of directors John Carpenter and Joe Dante, artist H.R. Geiger, makeup artist Rick Baker and actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, who nearly sweat himself to death wearing a rubber suit in over 10 Godzilla films.

Monsterland’s main problem is a lack of focus. It spends a large amount of time on Godzilla and similar Japanese “Kaiju” films, and veers offtopic into slasher and torture films. It also makes a tenuous link to 9-11 and its effect on American horror/disaster movies, just in case anyone has forgotten that 9-11 changed everything.

One wishes the director took more time to properly portion out screen time, as several notable movie monsters are barely mentioned.

The film also occasionally spends too much time looking at certain films, such as when at least five minutes are devoted to a newer film in which a giant monster attacks the G8 Summit.

Monsterland’s choice of clips is also peculiar at times. Despite extended time devoted to Godzilla, I cannot recall a single frame from the original being shown, with screen time given exclusively to newer films in the series. Similarly, Peter Jackson’s mediocre remake of King Kong is given more screen time than the original.

Buttgereit’s film does, however, have some extremely interesting material, such as a look at the annual Godzilla convention and a visit to the H.R. Geiger museum. Given current events, a brief aside on Japanese attitudes toward natural disasters strikes a haunting chord. In the end, Monsterland is interesting and recommended to fans of horror/monster films, but could definitely do with more directorial focus and perhaps an extra half hour to devote to other prominent film monsters – zombies need love too.

Monsterland plays March 25 at 9pm at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

The International Festival of Films on Art runs from March 17 to 27. For complete movie listings, check out artfifa.com.

Editor’s note: Thomas O’Connor and Nicky Forsyth are contributors to CUTV’s Fade to Black

BOOKS

Dealing with life crises in comic form Two graphic novels tackle life changes with humour Stephanie Mercier-Voyer Staff writer Sometimes, even serious life changes can be made funny. Graphic novel enthusiasts can experience twice the fun and twice the life experience with the double launch of Pascal Girard’s Reunion and Joe Ollmann’s Mid-Life at Drawn and Quarterly next week.

Girard and Ollmann are presenting the D&Q double launch as part of their small North American tour. Both books are semi-autobiographical and deal with similar themes, but Ollmann stresses that each of their stories

come from different places in life. “Pascal is young and messed up and I’m old and messed up,” said Ollmann. “It made sense to put us on the road together.”

Ollmann promises impressive presentations by himself and Girard with talks about truth versus fiction in their respective books.

“We are frantically scrambling to prepare multimedia extravaganzas to amuse and titillate the masses who show up,” said the Mid-Life author.

Ollmann and Girard are both Montrealbased cartoonists. “I’ve only known Pascal a short time,” said Ollmann. “But I knew I would love that guy the moment I read his book, Nicolas.”

Nicolas was Girard’s first graphic novel to be translated from French to English and tackles the different aspects of mourning.

Reunion, Girard’s latest book, deals with the anticipation surrounding a high school reunion and is highly inspired by Girard’s

own experience. The reader follows Pascal in his quest to lose 50 pounds in an attempt to impress his high school crush Lucie. The hero also cherishes the dream to be part of the “winner” group at the reunion, but is afraid that because of his weight, he might end up being in the “loser” gang. However, the more he talks with his former classmates, the more Pascal’s fantasies about them are shattered.

Ollmann’s Mid-Life tells the story of a 40-year-old man who has recently had a child from his second marriage with a much younger woman. John Olsen, Ollmann’s alter ego in the book, already has two adult daughters. While taking care of his newborn, Olsen falls for a children’s performer he sees singing in one of his son’s DVDs. He is going through a midlife crisis, which makes him bitter and angry at the world.

“It’s also largely about a guy realizing that his bourgeoisie whining is tiresome and that he’s actually incredibly lucky and should be

immensely grateful, which he does realize eventually,” explained Ollmann.

Olsen is Ollmann, “except for the fictional affair business,” as mentioned by the author.

The inspiration for Mid-Life came from Ollmann’s own personal experience with midlife crisis. “Getting old is a big mental adjustment,” stated Ollman. “But accepting the inevitable is so much more dignified than the leather pants and sports car path.”

Mid-Life is not just an amusing novel; it deals with universal themes that even students can relate to, not just middle-aged men.

“I think it’s a fairly well-realized portrait of a bunch of people going through some serious changes in their lives and how they react to them,” said Ollmann.

The double launch for Reunion and MidLife will be held on March 23 at Drawn and Quarterly, 211 Bernard West.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

THEATRE

World theatre day goes high-tech Writers work on performances in collaboration - on Twitter Sofia Gay Copy editor Most people have put up their white flags of defeat when faced with the raging war against the wonders of technology. While it doesn’t look like things are headed backwards on the timeline anytime soon, some ideas still leave us scratching our heads in bewilderment. This includes developments that take everyday experiences and converts them into virtual endeavours, such as reading a magazine on an iPad or even having a date over Skype.

With that said, the folks behind the all-theatre website the Charlebois Post are looking to up the ante with the launch of Twee-atre season by allowing audiences to witness live short plays from the comfort of their computer screens.

As one may astutely suspect, Twee-atre claims the realm of Twitter as its stage, its plays performed for an audience of theatre fanatics and social networking buffs alike.

Simply by following the Twitter feed @ gcharlebois, audiences can experience theatre in a way that even those in the most radical of Shakespeare performances would have never imagined.

The game is simple: the director – Charlebois Post founder Gaëtan Charlebois – starts the two unsuspecting playwrights off with an opening scene comprised of a location and characters, and allows them to roam free for the next 15 minutes for a surprise-filled ride.

How much fun and outlandishness can ensue from 140 characters? According to Charlebois, a lot more than some may expect.

“For our first outing I posited a funeral parlour and expected a monologue,” he said. “And instead, we got a talking corpse.”

The idea behind Twee-atre grew from far more organic grounds than its virtual execution.

Charlebois was looking for ways to promote MELT (Montreal English-language theatre) when he stumbled upon tweeted classics, a project where works of literature, such as Romeo and Juliet, were recounted in a mere 20 tweets. The only thing missing was playwright participation, and that’s when a light bulb went off in Charlebois’s head. “I knew we had playwrights in and around CharPo and... ah ha,” he said.

This is the first foray into live-action writing

for the most of the playwrights, and Twee-atre offers advantages that are not normally found in pen-to-paper compositions.

Charlebois remarked that the playwrights benefit from things such as “reaching a reading audience immediately and not having the time to think something to death – the playwright’s lament - while at the same time walking the tightrope of collaboration.”

With World Theatre Day coming just around the corner (March 27 – mark your calendars, kids), there seems to be no better time for experimentation than right now.

“We were actually aiming at WTD from the first work,” explained Charlebois. “We wanted to do something special and decided to test the concept once or twice before going ‘international.’

The performance [for] WTD will be longer and have more playwrights.”

Ultimately, the pot of gold at the end of Tweeatre’s journey is as simple and heart-melting as that of any conventional performance.

Charlebois’s hope is that local writers will gain exposure to a worldwide audience. “We hope that] people worldwide see MELT and think: ‘I barely knew they existed before and now I also know they are good!’”

And as World Theatre Day creeps closer every day, there is nothing for Twee-atre to do but

grow and gain even more exposure.

“We registered on the WTD site, and slowly CharPo’s Twitter feed started to get followed by people and groups from the UK and the States,” said Charlebois. WTD participants can list plans for their local event at the site and share photos and footage. Some activities include flash mobs, theatre competitions and panel discussions.

Participating locations include Ottawa, New York City, and Romania.

Future audiences can rest assured that they are in for what Charlebois called “a wild ride” at a Twee-atre performance, with no last minute ticket-purchasing or fighting over the arm rest with fellow spectators required.

Yet at the end of the day, what does such an event reveal about the ways of modern-day theatre-goers? Charlebois seems to have a few ideas.

“That we want to get together any way we can,” he said. “That we want to share any way we can.”

Events for World Theatre Day are compiled at www.worldtheatreday.org Editor’s note: The Concordian editor-inchief and arts editor are occasional contributors to the Charlebois Post.

with

the tax experts

Directed by Hart Bochner, 1994 Starring Jeremy Piven, Jon Favreau and David Spade

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TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEW SOLIDARITY TAX CREDIT with help from H&R Block

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And FREE SPC card* hrblock.ca | 800-HRBLOCK © 2011 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *$29.95 valid for regular student tax preparation only. Cash back service included. To qualify for student pricing, student must present either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during 2010 or (ii) a valid high school identification card. Expires December 31, 2011. Valid only at participating H&R Block locations in Canada. SPC Card offers valid from 08/01/10 to 07/31/11 at participating locations in Canada only. For Cardholder only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. Usage may be restricted when used in conjunction with any other offer or retailer loyalty card discounts. Cannot be used towards the purchase of gift cards or certificates.

NEWSPAPERS:

Ever since Animal House graced screens in 1978, there have been countless films depicting student life at American universities, no matter how unrealistic. While most of these films are usually panned by critics, some movies continue to stand the test of time, including this week’s feature, PCU. The film is set at the fictional Port Chester University, a school attempting (quite successfully) to be politically correct in every way.

This trend started in 1967, when all fraternities were officially banned by the governing body of the school, which led to frat houses becoming student lodging. One of the houses is known as The Pit. This is the residence that a fresh-faced kid known as Tom Lawrence has been assigned to visit, in order to get the full college experience.

James “Droz” Andrews is another student chosen to show Tom the campus. Once he discovers that Tom is still in high school, he tries to push him off onto other students, including Pigman, a student writing his thesis on the Caine-Hackman Theory, which states that there is either a Gene Hackman or Michael Caine film playing on television at any given time during the day.

The rest of the movie follows as most university flicks. The administration finally has enough complaints against The Pit to fine and evict them, the rival “frat,” Balls and Shaft, are working against them, Tom gets in trouble and the members of The Pit have to throw a major party in order to keep the house.

As has been the case in the past couple weeks, the movie is not amazing, but to many people, including myself, it’s awesome. What this film lacks in storyline originality is made up for by a few simple things.

Like Animal House, PCU has a cast made up of actors that have since become ridiculously famous, including Jeremy Piven, and

actors who at the time were already famous due to Saturday Night Live, in this case, David Spade. Music is another major factor that helps this movie along, thanks to an appearance by George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, who play a set during the film.

Overall, the biggest thing about this movie is that it essentially revitalized the genre of college fraternity films. Without PCU, movies such as Old School, Van Wilder and every American Pie sequel would not have been as popular, or even made.

I say that these films, no matter how terrible they are, will always be an awesome way to get a group of friends together to have a few beers and enjoy a good laugh.

DOCKET/AD#: 11-HRB-025-BW-QC-GE-4

Daniel Spinali Staff writer

PCU

I GOT MY MONEY’S WORTH

Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/concordianarts

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

11

CINEMA POLITICA

Living among minefields Two films look at living in a state of constant danger Valerie Cardinal Arts editor

Landmines have been used in conflicts all over the world since 1942, from Europe to Asia to Africa. The weapons were even used in Lebanon as recently as 2006. Yet even after wars end, active landmines that failed to explode can stay behind, buried in fields and villages. As Peter Fuyane, a member of the Cleared Ground Demining organization, states in the film Cloud Nine, “nobody tells the mines that the war is over.”

Cloud Nine is being shown as part of a double feature about landmines at Cinema Politica. The Norwegian film deals with an international team of cluster bomb clearance personnel who try to make Guinea Bissau safer for its residents. The other film, Living in a Minefield, deals with the other side of landmine removal: the risk landmines pose to the people who have to live with them on a day-to-day basis.

Directed by Marit Gjertsen, Living in a Minefield focuses on An Vi, a widowed mother of eight struggling to provide enough food for her large family. Like the rest of her village, she is forced to cultivate fields that still potentially contain active mines in order to stay alive. The documentary also follows

Ry Sok, a 25-year-old who loses his leg due to stepping on a landmine. Gjertsen narrates the fim, telling the audience how heartbreaking and scary it was to watch these situations unfold.

“In one way, as long as you’re behind the camera, there’s always a safety because there’s a distance to what you are faced with,” she explained. However, Gjertsen became more involved than she thought she would through a long process of research and filming. “We were so close to people for such a long time and also faced danger for ourselves, so I wasn’t quite able to keep the distance that I thought I could.”

FESTIVAL

What surprised Gjertsen most was the difference between Cambodia’s beautiful landscapes and the poor struggling in its villages. “In the beginning I was struck by the beauty and the fertility and the possibilities, and then by getting to know peoples’ living conditions better, it changed to look kind of cruel and gruesome and not that romantic anymore,” she said.

This contradiction is shown clearly in the beginning of Living in a Minefield, when images of the idyllic landscape are placed side by side with video of gruesome landmine injuries.

According to Gjertsen, it’s not only the

mines that keep Cambodians like An Vi from escaping poverty. The more a field is successfully cultivated, the safer it becomes. Most poor Cambodians’ farm land belongs to the government, and can be taken away and sold to richer proprietors. “Still today I think it’s extremely difficult for Cambodians without connections to get anywhere beyond just surviving,” stated Gjertsen.

The Norwegian filmmaker has been back to Cambodia since shooting for the film ended, and keeps in touch with An Vi. Gjertsen explained that spending so much time with the people in Cambodia made them more familiar to her over time. “The people became much more like me in one way, because I saw more of their personal struggles and conflicts over time,” she explained. “From the beginning, I tended to interpret their behaviours as cultural or religious or typical Cambodian.”

Although Gjertsen has been getting a good response from people wanting to help, she stated that it is too specific. “People want to help An Vi personally, while I’ve tried to channel people to help more generally in the village and for people in similar situations.”

However, she said that just learning about the issue of landmines is what viewers should understand from Living in a Minefield. “I think for me the most important thing is that people know how landmines work,” she stated. “And then use that knowledge in order to take a stand” Living in a Minefield and Cloud Nine play at Cinema Politica on March 30. For more information, check out cinemapolitica.org.

CRAFTS

Eco-sexuality, aliens and more Artistic happy hour Edgy Women festival lives up to its name in its 18th year Valerie Cardinal Arts editor Whether you’re eco-sexual or extraterrestrial, Studio 303’s 18th annual Edgy Women Festival has got you covered. As promised by the festival’s name, Edgy Women features both local and international female performers presenting experimental, eclectic and sometimes downright bizarre shows. Last Saturday, Annie Sprinkle, the first porn star to get a PhD in sexology, presented Adventures of the Love Art Lab ahead of the completion of her project next weekend in Ottawa.

The project started when Sprinkle and her partner Elizabeth Stephens held their domestic partnership ceremony in 1993. “We realized that the ceremony, this ritual - it sort of mimicked marriage,” explained Stephens. The couple then developed an interest in eco-sexuality, which Stephens said is “another sexuality where human beings are erotically attracted to nature.” Sprinkle elaborated further by explaining that eco-sexuality has many parts. “There’s a spiritual component, there’s a material component like what sex toys you buy, there’s an environmental activist component, so there’s different aspects to it,” she said. “We’re actually in the process of writing an eco-sex manifesto.”

Sprinkle and Stephens are now in the final year of their seven-year Love Art Lab project, which involved going around the world to perform marriage ceremonies to different natural landmarks. Last year, they married the mountains. The year before that, they married the sea.

This year, Sprinkle and Stephens head to Ottawa to marry the snow, and everyone is invited. “And come dressed as snowflakes in case it doesn’t snow. You could be our snow!” Stephens said jokingly.

Also at the Edgy Women festival is Nathalie Claude’s “folkloric genre tale slash non-human people slash psychedelic trance” performance Extra Terrestrial Folkloric Tale, which she is currently working on with fellow performer Danielle

Lecourtois. “It’s really a mix of many genres and it is extremely weird,” explained Claude. “I think it is really bouffon-like and funny, because that’s something we do and we like to explore.”

Claude’s performance is hard to explain, and involved elements such as “folkloric dance, experimentation, smoking a little hookah shaped like a pink flamingo, looking like old ladies from another time on rocking chairs but that look like two aliens from another time and another planet.”

Claude stated that the Edgy Women Festival was a good opportunity to create something new and different. “In the end it’s about freedom,” she said. “And also it’s not just about performing there, it’s about meeting other women artists that are doing the same thing performance-wise and pushing the boundaries and exploring new images of representation of women.”

Of course, the show is still a work in progress; with over a week to go until the first show, Claude and Lecourtois are still playing around with their characters. “I would say that in the past month and a half, two months, we’ve been throwing ideas, throwing stuff,” said Claude.

“Now it’s time to clean and throw in the garbage and keep only the things that seems appropriate and that we like the most.”

Mainline X2, featuring Nathalie Claude and Danielle Lecourtois’s Extra Terrestrial Folkloric Tale and Mia van Leeuwen’s Le Petit Mort, will take place from March 30 to April 2 at the MainLine Theatre. For more information, check out mainlinetheatre.ca.

Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth Stephens’ wedding to the snow will take place March 26 in Ottawa. For more information, check out loveartlab.org.

Local artists show off their stuff at 5 Craft 7’s spring indie craft fair Valerie Cardinal Arts editor 5 Craft 7 started out as a craft fair with the concept of an artistic happy hour, where artists would show off their works to viewers strictly between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This time around, the spring edition features longer hours as well as an impressive variety of artists.

Jackie Bassett’s Studio Flower Power specializes in old-fashioned pressed flower greeting cards, but admits she may have found a project she is more passionate about. She has been printing images onto the pages of old books and maps. Bassett plans to continue working with old maps to make many series of prints. “And that’s all because I can’t draw!” she exclaimed.

Cheerful Montreal-based artist Nunumi’s easy boredom and use of crafts to get away from the 2D world of animation has led to a surprising variety. Although her speciality is crocheted plushies, she has also been experimenting with watercolour pendants.

“I’ve been learning jewellery and learning watercolour so I kind of tried to mix both together,” she explained.

Concordia design student Jessie Thavonekham specializes in “just really cute little things that people can use,” such as crocheted scarves and washcloths. This is Thavonekham’s first craft fair, and an experience she is looking forward to. “It’s quite exciting to just be in a place where you know that other local artists will be there,” she stated. She also pointed out the “Pray for Japan” postcards that she will be selling, with proceeds going entirely towards the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Another Concordia graduate, Jaclyn Murray, this time from the textiles program, will be presenting handbags and more from her own label, Ebb & Flow. According to Murray, she started the label a year and a half ago when she was looking to be more hands-on in her work.

“Designing at a desk is one thing, but being in

the studio and really working hands-on is really important for me,” she said.

Julie Verfaillie’s work is heavily influenced by her band, PopChopper, a mix of electro, soul, pop and more that she and her bandmate David De Garie-Lamanque have branded Soultronic. Verfaillie’s specialty is hand-crafted jewellery made out of leather and wood. “I was inspired by instruments, because most of the wood I use is also used in instrument-making.”

Katja Peterson’s work is also mainly jewellery. She has been making jewellery since she was about 13, when her father sent her a box of beads with no instructions whatsoever. “I made a necklace and there was no end to the comments,” said the self-taught beader. Her pieces follow fashion and seasonal trends. “Stuff that I make right now seems to be what others want to wear too, which is ideal,” she explained.

Alisha Piercy will also be presenting jewellery under the name of Wolf Me, but with a different concept. What started out as a line of multipurpose tiaras for young girls has now evolved into something more warrior-womanlike. She calls her work weaponry, or “warriorwear body adornments” in leather. This includes lightning bolt tears, dagger rings and falling veil earrings, which Piercy described as attaching “on both ears but just end below the chin, much like a falling veil or beard.” Piercy freely admits that her designs aren’t for the faint of heart; her work has been described as “raunchy ‘80s ruin in a display of shamanistic drama.”

Self-taught artist Lisa Howarth specializes in Victorian and Edwardian-inspired photography as The Lonely Pixel, which are printed onto metallic paper or cotton. One of her main inspirations remains Montreal itself. “I moved from Vancouver to Montreal in ’07,” she stated.

“Most of my work is photographed here in Montreal.”

Of course, there will be many other artists with many more talents on display, such as Marie-Noëlle Wurm’s magnets and The Cute Institute’s super kawaii Japanese-inspired designs.

5 Craft 7’s Spring Indie Craft Fair takes place March 26 from noon to 5 p.m. at La Sala Rossa.

For more info and pictures, check out 5craft7.blogspot.com.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

SPOILER ALERT

Don’t you wish it was Friday already?

We’re all partyin’, partyin’ with Rebecca Black Jessica Wei Staff writer Man. I love Fridays. ‘Cause, like, Friday is the day after Thursday, which is after Wednesday, y’know - homework, bummer. But Fridays?

Parties and fun! And by now, thanks to the power of the Internet, I’m sure most of you have seen the video about that most awaited day of the week - “Friday,” by Rebecca Black.

Now, here’s a 13-year-old who feels me on this one. A lot of people have given this little girl a whole lot of e-shit because of it, which frankly confuses and kind of offends me. Why them haters gotta hate? As a peace-loving party person, I’m sticking up for my girl. Get excited, because this week I watched “Friday”

by Rebecca Black.

So here’s the thing about this chick - she tells it like it is. There’s no bullshitting around.

She wakes up at 7 a.m., heads downstairs for a bowl of cereal, meets her friends at the bus stop and has a slight problem deciding where to sit in a car. This is the first verse of the song, and she’s totally keeping it real. It’s the daily grind, you know? We all get it. She’s really taking a cue from the legendary Ke$ha, who also tends to sing her actions (like waking up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy and then brushing her teeth with a bottle of

Jack). As the saying goes, “Write what you know,” and Rebecca is totally doing that. Did you know that Saturday is the day after Friday and then Sunday comes afterwards? She does. Is that the extent of all that she knows?

Debatable.

But as much as I support this girl, I wish she’d tell us more about these parties on this particular Friday. She’s 13, right? So, what, is this like a clown party with loot bags or are these rich kids going straight for the gutter with the double Cs (cocaine and champagne)?

Does this make the random 30something black dude rapping about school buses the clown, the dealer, or just a huge pedo freak?

Because, yeah, there’s an adult rapper rolling down the highway, maybe a smidgen too excited for the weekend. RB better know her rights is all I’m sayin’.

But when we pull up to the party, it’s just a bunch of bored preteens smiling awkwardly at each other. There better be some goodies in those loot bags to spruce up the mood or Black will have built up her Friday for absolutely no reason. Pretty sure the car ride over to the party was more exciting than the party itself. Anticlimactic, for sure. But there’s time yet for these kids to take a few lessons from the Sheen Machine, so hopefully in a few years, we’ll get a glimpse of just how “fun fun fun fun” their weekend can really get.

But really, was this video even worth the shitstorm of Internet flaming and webtrollery? Her one mistake was being born to wealthy, deluded parents who bought her a record deal with two super-creepy producers.

And okay, yeah, masking her questionable voice by ramming it up the autotune shitter?

Who doesn’t do that these days? Realisti-

cally, in like three years, she might pull a Tila Tequila, doing lines and stripping, falling over on webcams because of the emotional scars left from this experience. Do we need another celebrity whose fame relies on being a huge fuck-up? So here’s my plea for mercy on behalf of this poor girl and her unfortunate situation – OH WAIT SHE COULD HAVE PULLED THE VIDEO DOWN BUT INSTEAD SHE RELEASED AN ACOUSTIC VERSION. Well, there goes that argument.

“

... was the video even worth the shitstorm of Internet flaming and web-trollery?

Graphic by Amanda Durepos

MOVIES

Movie portrait gets an incomplete grade Doc shows brilliant photographer in a sorry state Shereen Rafea Staff writer Black and white portraits of friends and strangers represent the theme of John Max’s life. His photographs reflect his talent in capturing the beauty of every moment. However, Max’s life is far from a fluffy success story.

Directed and filmed by Michel Lamothe, a photographer and filmmaker who graduated from Loyola College, John Max, a Portrait is a documentary meant to offer insight into the daily life of the Canadian photographer in his later years.

Born in 1936, Max initially studied music at McGill, but dropped out in favour of photography. Despite his talent, most of Max’s photographs never made it to exhibits. Years later, he is still mostly known for is his 1972 solo exhibit Open Passport - Un Passeport infini.

A tall, bald man, Max is seen living in his confined family home in a grubby state. The house is in poor shape, and every corner is cluttered with books, magazines, photographs and film negatives streaming from the ceiling.

The house has no indoor heating, and Max sometimes has to wear layers and layers of jackets to stay warm. Acting as a fly on the wall, Lamothe follows Max around, occasionally asking short questions and filming Max interacting with friends. Max’s black and white photographs are also displayed throughout the entire movie.

One by one, Max’s friends offer their take on him. The gist of their opinions is that he is a brilliant photographer who is stubborn, set in his ways and unable to move from his messy sanctuary.

Why is this brilliant photographer in such a sorry state? The movie lacks the answer to this question. While it is meant to give an

John Max, a Portrait documents the photographer in his later years as a man living in sad conditions before getting kicked out of his home. intimate portrait, the result is an incomplete picture, which is mediocre and disappointing.

It seems Lamothe lacked proper tripods or camera equipment, as the occasional shakiness of the camera can make your eyes blur with effort.

Most of the still photographs displayed throughout the film leave no explanations of when they were taken or who the subject is. All that’s visible is that they are beautiful portraits of anonymous people. While they show Max’s talent and great eye for photography, some context is clearly missing, as

the pictures don’t give the viewer an idea of who Max is. However, at one point in the film Max talks about his photographs of Japan and his family, which gives the pictures some clarification.

John Max moves at a slow place, from Max describing how he developed his love for photography to his friends trying to convince him to clean up his fire-hazard home. What we can deduct from his onscreen personality is that Max is a photographer who is recognized for his talent, but has not achieved much success in his career. He is portrayed

as a poor man cast away from his family, reminiscing about his previous exhibits, and frequently puffing on cigars throughout the movie. The film ends with him being evicted from his home.

The question of who John Max is still lingers in your head after the movie. Perhaps instead of John Max, a Portrait, a better title would’ve been John Max, The Later Years.

John Max, a Portrait opens at Cinéma Parallèle on March 25.

music

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

13

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

Competition

Photos by Sarah Deshaies

Above: Punk quintet porn persons won first place in spite of shocking and confusing audiences with their wild costumes, odd stage presence and indecipherable vocals. Below: Solo acoustic artist Jake Goldsbie.

Bands undeterred by meager audience at CJLO’s second annual battle of the bands Small group of Concordia artists and music lovers forfeit St. Patrick’s Day for a different kind of celebration that included door prizes, cheap beer and homegrown tunes Katelyn Spidle Music editor With St. Patrick’s Day being last Thursday, I’m sure that many of you don’t remember what you were up to between 8 and 11 p.m.

But not all of us were either blackout drunk or paying a visit to the great white telephone.

While most of the Concordia population spent the evening crammed into Crescent St.’s many dingy Irish pubs, about 20 spectators gathered in the F.C. Smith Auditorium on Loyola campus for CJLO’s second annual Battle of the Bands.

Out of the 10 or so bands that applied to take part in the competition, six were chosen - gladly trading in a day-long drinking binge for the chance to win a $300 gift card for Ital Melodie, a guest appearance on one of CJLO’s

shows, a feature article on the station’s website and a two-day recording session in their studio.

Five judges - Angelica Calcagnile, host of BVST on CJLO, Omar Husain, CJLO Head Music Director and host of Hooked on Sonics, Darcy MacDonald, columnist for the Montreal Mirror, Francis Letendre, Director of production and Marketing Coordinator at Last Gang Records, and myself - hashed it out American Idol-style between performances. However, rest assured that, unlike in the TV show, no feelings were hurt (too severely). While all of the bands were unknown and quite amateurish, there was no denying that there was talent present in the room.

First up was a four-piece called the Ben Cardilli Band. The group’s founder, Ben Cardilli, had a strong pair of vocal chords and the guitar soloing skills to match. Perhaps more so than the group who managed to win the top prize, every member of the band was musically talented.

Rapper Réal gave his first-ever on-stage performance, which proved to be highly energetic and confident in spite of his trying - and failing - to engage the crowd by prompting, “Put ya hands in the sky!” Following was a poetic, thoughtful yet forgettable solo acoustic performance by the Audio Drop-In before an almost hour-long intermission that split the night into two segments.

After people chugged a bunch of $1.50 beers and were summoned back into the venue, the battle resumed with an eccentric, punk-noise-rock freak show by the Porn Persons. Judges seemed to be torn between confusion and endearment, yet the audience

had made their mind up as to who would take the cake. Apparently, a band need only dress up in oddly-matched thrift store clothing and shiny costumes to win a musical talent competition. While Porn Persons had the performance aspect of their set down pat, the band could really benefit from diverting some of that energy spent on their costumes to improving the quality of their music.

Jake Goldsbie, another solo acoustic artist,

played an emotionally-charged set, with his first song tackling such heavy subject matter as child abuse and incest. Finally, the powerful vocals from eclectic group Fire At Rivky wrapped up what proved to be a surprisingly decent and delightfully entertaining evening.

Keep your radios tuned into CJLO for Porn Persons, who will be appearing on-air in the near future.

14

theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

BaCKstaGe pass

Two of Montreal’s top promoters discuss the risky business of starting a promoting company Meyer Billurcu of Blue Skies Turn Black and Daniel Seligman of POP Montreal give advice to people looking to get into the world of concert promoting Cora Ballou Staff writer With the music industry suffering from dwindling album sales, the number of touring acts has naturally increased. This has led to much competition among promoters who must contend with corporate giants, like the now infamous Live Nation, who are slowly swallowing up smaller grassroots organizations. In an attempt to get a better understanding of the growing field of show promoting, I sat down with two of Montreal’s biggest promoters - Meyer Billurcu, co-founder of local promoting company Blues Skies Turn Black, and Daniel Seligman, co-founder of the POP Montreal festival - to get an insider’s view of the impresario world. These tips and tricks will help you to navigate the tricky world of promotions, from relishing in the joy of selling out your first show, to contending with the harsh realities of not selling at all.

1. Be Lucky All promoters have their niche market.

Every promoting company tends to cater to a certain genre, from mainstream pop to the most eclectic indie. But actually breaking into the field is probably the most difficult part. Even though many people may like the idea of hosting gigs, the history of promoting is riddled with examples of people who have tried to start a promoting company and failed.

As with many music industry jobs, both Billurcu and Seligman got into promotions by a happy accident. After finishing university, Seligman began to help out with his brother’s then-unknown band, Stars. While on a train, he happened to sit next to Peter Rowan, the creator

of Halifax Pop Explosion festival. Because he was, as he put it, “a little naive and didn’t have anything to lose,” Seligman propositioned Rowan into co-founding what has become a hugely successful local festival, POP Montreal.

Billurcu started out as a DJ on Concordia’s campus radio station, CJLO. He and BSTB’s co-creator Brian Neuman decided they wanted to have bands play live sets on their show. Unfortunately, “it was really difficult because we realized that Montreal wasn’t on many bands’ touring circuit,” he explained. Inspired, the duo decided to start a label while doing promotions on the side “as a good way to meet bands.” But demand grew to the point where BSTB, as a promoting company “sort of overtook everything.”

“

There aren’t really any tricks. Just hard work and perseverance.

Daniel Seligman, co-founder of the POP Montreal festival

2. Make Friends with Agents The fact is that, as a promoter, you hardly ever deal with the band directly. For most acts, it’s simpler to hire a booking agent that takes care of all the boring touring details. So the best way to get gigs is to get to know agents. As Billurcu explained, “Most of our business is through booking agents [and] it’s usually them coming to us.”

The process is simple: to begin, a booker will have a roster of artists who are looking to tour North America. This will lead the booker to email a promoter with a specific time frame as to when the band will be in town. Then it’s up to the promoter to decide if they want to take the offer or not. This involves weighing a variety of factors, from record sales to overall popularity. They will also need to consider if the band is newly formed and has received little to no press, or if

they are an international act guaranteed to have a fan base in the city. As Billurcu underlined, “There’s nothing worse than paying a band a lot of money, only to realize that there was no push for the band.” If the promoter decides to host the gig, a tedious back-and-forth exchange over contracts and money agreements will begin - not to mention the organization involved in finding a venue, determining ticket prices and getting the word out.

3. It’s good to know the bands Knowing booking agents is important, but sometimes knowing the band means that they’ll want to work with you the next time they’re in town. This can also be useful if you need to put on a show on a specific date.

In Seligman’s case, the fact that he runs a festival means he can’t be as accommodating as most regular promoters. Apart from a few gigs that he promotes throughout the year, POP Montreal’s four to five-day run means that he needs to find bands that can be in Montreal at that time. Thankfully, a big part of the festival’s ethos is to help out local bands. This means that a lot of the performers will get in contact with him. “We have about a thousand bands that apply to the festival, so we get to find out a lot about emerging bands,” Seligman explained. “We also try to keep our ear to the ground to find cool new bands.” Not to say that he won’t also be contacted by agents themselves, though he adds that “Being a festival, you’re going after artists a lot of the time - so the power dynamic between the promoter and the agent automatically shifts in favour of the artist.” So finagling an arrangement can be a big part of being a promoter.

4. Don’t expect to get rich Promoting is all about taking risks and hoping they pay off. When somebody is just beginning, chances are they won’t make any money. “When we started […] we would usually give 100 per cent of our earnings to the band,” said Billurcu. But as your company develops its reputation, it becomes important to calculate the risk factors for every show. This means picking the right venue and taking time to promote the band properly. This can be hard to judge at times, and Billurcu knows many stories that do not end well.

“I remember when […] we did our first show that lost a few hundred dollars, it was really hard because I actually had to go to an ATM machine

and take money out of my bank account,” he recounted. “Funnily enough, this band was The Weakerthans, who aren’t doing too bad for themselves now,” he added with a laugh.

And organizing a festival doesn’t make things any easier. In the end, it all comes down to reputation and finding a way to get money, because as Seligman said, “If you have more money, then you’re more likely to get an artist.” In the case of POP Montreal, grants and donations help fund the festival, as well as sponsors who can cut costs in exchange for a display of their logo and a big thank-you.

5. Don’t become a promoter Either these two were in cahoots or they really meant it, but both answered the question, ‘What would you tell somebody who wants to get into promotions?,’ with a self-deprecating but resounding “Don’t.” But there must be something about the business that keeps them going.

“I mean, do it if you love it, but there are a lot of other ways to make money,” explained Seligman.

“There aren’t really any tricks. Just hard work and perseverance.”

This was echoed by Billurcu when he described promoting as “a risky business [where] everything depends on timing.”

Being a promoter basically comes down to loving music. As Billurcu explained, you need to be ready to say – as he once did – “Wow, I may have just paid $1,000 to see that band!”

But if your heart is in it and you can stand the stress, then promoting can be a rewarding career. As with everything, getting started is the hardest part. So it all comes down to dedication and a belief in yourself. For example, Seligman described how, when the Osheaga festival first started, he had “Made bright pink silkscreen posters that said ‘Our festival is better’ and posted them all over the Osheaga site. […] For me, it was important to stand up for yourself.”

So whether or not promoting is for you, next time you go to a show, make sure to shake hands with whoever is standing by the door. You don’t know how much they may have riding on this concert, and a shows of solidarity from music lovers may just make that $1,000 show a little more worthwhile.

Check out upcoming Blues Skies Turn Black shows at blueskiesturnblack.com and POP Montreal show at popmontreal.com

Left: Meyer Billurcu co-founded local promoting company Blue Skies Turn Black in 1999. Right: Daniel Seligman co-founded grass roots music festival pop Montreal in 2002. Photos by Cora Ballou

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

15

television

The return of MuchMusic’s The Wedge Punk-rock show now hosted by Damian Abraham

Josh Parsons The Silhouette (McMaster University) HAMILTON, Ont. (CUP) — When it comes to finding new tunes, MuchMusic isn’t one of the first choices for an even half-educated Canadian music aficionado.

Hell, by the time I was 13 I realized this.

There was something about it that just didn’t jive with the whole Sid Vicious wannabe vibe I was going for at the time.

In my preteen years, though, I’ll admit I spent hours with my eyes glued to the countdown and video flow. Those were the days when teen stars stripped down, wearing next to nothing and singing unabashed anthems dedicated to the pleasures of promiscuity.

But as awesome as sex can be, it’s disheartening when a previously semi-respectable music source succumbs to the lure of the corporate

dollar and peddles only generic TV sexuality and empty celebrity banter. Over the past decade MuchMusic has become the wannabe younger sibling of North America’s shittiest television channel, MTV. But don’t run yet, this isn’t entirely another angry student rant condemning the sorry state of the music industry in 2011. Instead, to the certain disbelief of many, I’d actually like to defend the reputation of one measly hour of weekly programming that has been floating amid this sea of crap for nearly two decades. Namely I’d like to defend Wednesday night’s weekly update on anything alternative, The Wedge.

The Wedge arose way back in 1992 and was once a Monday to Friday update on the indie-rock revolution that was then just beginning to crack the mainstream. In the mid 1990s, as grunge was rising to the top, falling suddenly and subsequently splintering into one million sub-genres, The Wedge was one of the most popular programs aired on MuchMusic and kept a legion of devotees on the cutting-edge of indie knowledge.

The show was originally hosted by ex-VJ Sook-Yin Lee, an extremely talented media personality who has since worked extensively with the CBC, directed movies, recorded albums and enjoyed a flourishing career in acting.

preview

Montreal hip-hop artists and ConU student unite to help fight HIV/AIDS Knowledge is Sexy aims to raise money for a good cause Amanda Dafniotis Staff writer Concordia student Sara Ali started a school project to promote awareness and raise money for organizations that cater to the needs of persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Her initiative, Knowledge is Sexy, has expanded to a benefit concert and show this Sunday that will raise money, spread awareness, and show that ignorance about sexually-transmitted infections is not an excuse.

The Ethiopian-born singer, also known as Naya Abesha, has the help of her friend and fellow singer Magda Ayuk. Numerous Montreal talents are also lending a hand to bring Knowledge is Sexy to life, including MC and award-winning local hip-hop phenomenon Empire Isis.

“The fact that HIV/AIDS and other [sexually transmitted infections] are on the rise in Montreal is an indicator that not only proper sexual education is a must, but that a constant awareness is also needed,” said Ayuk.

“With knowledge, the stigma has a fighting chance of disappearing to naught.”

The event has proven to be the perfect opportunity for Ayuk and Abesha to mesh their

creative sides with a growing interest in the promotion of safer sex. Abesha will be giving supporters a taste of what to expect from her upcoming EP, which will be a mixture of soul, reggae and Afro.

Jonathan Emile, a local hip-hop artist, will be one of evening’s headlining acts. Excited about Sunday’s event, Emile couldn’t pass up the opportunity to participate. “All of my music is a humanitarian project,” said Emile.

“Everything you see, hear and buy has a message and reason behind it.”

Also headlining is Bad Weather, a wellgrounded artist in the Montreal scene, whose unique use of ambient sound is sure to please.

Fabrice Koffy, a member of the live organic improvisation band Kalmunity, will perform urban spoken word poetry, and singer Sarah Mk will bring her sound, which has a more jazz-urban feel to it. On top of the musical acts, there will be a comedy sketch and a performance by local urban-contemporary dance troupe MusiQuon.

The funds raised will be donated to SOS Children’s Villages, an internationally run organization for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, as well as to Montreal-based program the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal.

Tickets are $10 in advance and can be bought at Glow Authority, located at 1616 Ste-Catherine W, Suite 2040.

Knowledge is Sexy takes place at Restaurant Le Grillon Inc., located at 1950, Ste-Catherine E. March 27 at 6 p.m.

But when Lee left both The Wedge and MuchMusic in 2001, the once daily update on the behind-the-scenes of the music industry was reduced to a weekly program jammed in late on the Friday night slot. MuchMusic’s new musical agenda was clear and evident.

For the next decade, The Wedge rested comfortably in its late nighttime slot. But without a host, the program served as merely a block of alternative music videos and seemed to lack the coherence and optimism about the indie community that Lee had brought to the show. One was left to wonder why they even aired the show at all.

But after digging in a little bit I managed to find out why. For the past decade, The Wedge has been supported by the extremely active and tight-knit community on LiveJournal. The mass of flannel-cland grunge-rockers went digital and clearly had a hand in influencing MuchMusic’s decision to continue airing the show, despite the lack of host and inconvenient timeslot.

Within the past year, this blossoming online community as well as a growing discontent with the music industry in general must have caught the eye of MuchMusic executives. This culminated in their decision to re-launch The Wedge this past January with a new format and finally a new host. Thankfully, MuchMusic did their

Stay tuned for weekly episode of The Wedge, airing Wednesday at 10 p.m.

Attention members: The Concordian will be holding its Annual General Meeting on March 27 to elect a new board of directors and to discuss the financial standing of our non-profit company.

All existing members of our company are cordially invited to attend and to vote on important issues for our organization.

If you are not an existing member and wish to join, or if you are interested in becoming a director, please contact us for more details at directors@theconcordian.com.

The AGM will take place on Sunday, March 27 at 2 p.m. at our Loyola office; room CC431.

theconcordian we tell your stories

Student and Ethiopian-born singer Sara Ali, also known as Naya Abesha, is organizing Knowlege is Sexy. Photo courtesy of artist

research and picked the perfect host, Canada’s punk-rock teddy bear, Damian Abraham.

Now if you’re unfamiliar with the versatile collection of Abraham’s output, do yourself a favour and check this dude out. Abraham, who occasionally goes by the moniker Pink Eyes, has served for the past several years as the front man for Fucked Up, Canada’s greatest contribution to the global punk community. Fucked Up received the 2009 Polaris Prize and the group has been argued as single-handedly carrying the entire genre of true bone-breaking hardcore punk on their backs, do-it-yourself ethic and all.

Outside the band, Abraham has become known in the music community as an outspoken supporter of almost anything artistic. His appearance on several music panels as well as his frequent appearances on CBC Radio have certainly helped to raise the credentials of his media persona.

Abraham’s impressive resume has helped to plug life support into the program and he has begun recapturing the glory days of The Wedge.

The show now boasts an expanded format, featuring interviews, indie updates, live performances and, of course, the best alternative videos.

16

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 review

Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

The score on Wyclef’s wound

Fugee rapper/producer Wyclef Jean was shot at and suffered minor injuries last Saturday while on a trip to his home country of Haiti. Jean, who is in the country to support presidential candidate Michel Martelly in the upcoming Haitian elections, stepped out of his car to make a phone call when he was fired upon by an unknown assailant.

Jean’s spokesman, in a statement to UsMagazine. com, said that he had ”confirmed from Wyclef that he was immediately taken to the hospital, treated for a minor graze to his hand and released.

He is fine.” His rep also added “Wyclef’s commitment to his native country and to his people is unparalleled, he is therefore undeterred by this incident.”

More sad news from Japan

As if the tsunami and nuclear fears weren’t enough of a shock for the land of the rising sun, last week Japan lost Tsutomu Katoh, founder and chairman of the Korg Corporation, after a long battle with cancer. In a statement, Korg president Seiki Kato said: “Since he founded Korg Inc. in 1963, Mr. Katoh has led our company with great talent, vision and leadership. He was loved and respected by all the employees, all Korg family members and made a huge contribution to the lives of countless musicians around the world.”

If you don’t recognize the name “Korg,” you’d probably recognize the sounds it helped create through its innovative line of keyboards and electronic musical devices. Some artists who have used Korg instruments include Herbie Hancock, Keith Emerson and Moby.

The kids in the hall

Last week marked the induction of a handful of new artists into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including such big names as shock rocker Alice Cooper, singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and cult icon Tom Waits. Other honoured performers included New Orleans blues/jazz pianist Dr. John, ‘60s R&B singer Darlene Love and renowned songwriter and session musician Leon Russell, who took home this year’s award for musical excellence.

Social Distortion drummer may be Prison Bound

Casey Royer, former drummer for California punk rock pioneers Social Distortion, has been arrested and is facing misdemeanour charges after allegedly overdosing on heroin in front of his 12-year-old son in his Newport home. The boy ran to a neighbour’s house to get help after his father became unresponsive. While authorities were reviving Royer, they came across what the Orange County district attorney’s office referred to as “filthy” living conditions. The 52-year-old musician has been charged with two counts of child abuse and endangerment as well as being under the influence and use of a controlled substance.

Lil Bizkit

Nineties Nu-Metal band Limp Bizkit has enlisted the aid of “Lollipop” rapper Lil Wayne on a track for their latest album, Gold Cobra. Band frontman Fred Durst confirmed this in a recent tweet: “16th song mixed is ‘Ready To Go’ featuring Lil Wayne!

I love it.” Lil Wayne joins other famous artists set to feature on the new album including Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, who provides a voiceover for the album’s intro.

Gold Cobra will be the first album for Limp Bizkit since rejoining with original guitarist Wes Borland.

Durst hopes to have the album out by June 7.

Nate Dogg goes to heaven

Nate Dogg, an original member of rap trio 213 and a famed performer in his own right, passed away last week due to congenital heart failure and complications related to previous strokes that he had suffered in 2007 and 2008. Nate Dogg’s manager Rod McGrew wrote in a statement addressed to the rapper’s fans: “We appreciate the enormous outpouring of response from all over the world.

We greatly appreciate that and thank everyone for their prayers and support. We know that Nate will be hanging out with his good friends 2Pac and Biggie.”

theconcordian

The Balconies prove Ottawa’s indie scene is thriving, but Cold War Kids steal the show Saturday saw the Corona Theatre packed with indie kids anxious to see the Californian indie rockers that go by the name of Cold War Kids Giselle McDonald Contributor The Corona Theatre audience welcomed Cold War Kids last Saturday with a shower of applause and screams. The California indie rock act launched into their performance with their cheerful “Royal Blue,” the perfect song to lure the crowd into their exquisite harmonies and prepare it for an energy-charged night.

“The colour royal blue and the idea of royalty and changing your name and identity is refreshing,” said vocalist, pianist and guitarist Nathan Willett. “And to think of yourself with that integrity is powerful.”

Having mainly played songs from their latest album, Mine is Yours, and from 2008’s Loyalty to Loyalty, Cold War Kids created a quasi-surreal ambiance with help from their firm drums and Willett’s perfected warble-y voice. “[For Mine is Yours], we wanted to do something different,” said Willett. “In a way, I feel it’s about our band having the inspiration that we started with and hearing that voice louder than everything else - above the voices of friends, family, fans, critics - all that stuff.”

The crowd, which filled nearly every inch of the vintage-looking theatre, swayed the night away to Cold War Kids’ unique sounds and thick vigour, and was left wanting more.

Opening act The Balconies proved that they have no reason to envy Montreal or Vancouver’s music scenes. With a funky, upbeat performance starring the sassy moves and powerful voice of lead singer Jacquie Neville, the Ottawabased trio rocked the anxious crowd with some brilliant indie tunes before Cold War Kids took the stage. By rounding up their best vibes and shaping them into a danceable dust, The Balconies got the audience frolicking the first part of the night away.

Nathan Willett (left) and Matt Maust (right) of Cold War Kids.

Fans packed the Corona Theatre to see the California-based group. Photos by Giselle McDonald “We try to capture fun and energy in our music,” said bassist Stephen Neville. “We intend to keep it fresh and original.”

The band’s self-titled debut record will build a cheeky indie-rock fantasy in your mind, compelling you to prance to the beat of their elated melodies. The two-and-a-half-year-old band is currently working on their second album, which will be out in the fall of 2011. They will be back

in May to play another Montreal show.

Cold War Kids will be touring Canada, the United States and Europe until May. Head to www.theconcordian.com/section/music to hear the song “Royal Blue” by headliners Cold War Kids.

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

17

mixtape

The snow is melting and the temperature is on the rise. While spring can feel great, it can look quite glum outside when the snow first starts to melt. The songs on Side A capture the emotions associated with the more dreary side of spring while the songs on Side B focus on the uplifting feeling of when the buds start appearing on trees. theconcordian.com/the-shedding-of-winter-skin

The Shedding of Winter Skin Compiled by Roya Manuel-Nekouei

SIDE A: Melting off 1. “The Icicle Melts” - The Cranberries - No Need To Argue - 1994 2. “Yellow” - Coldplay – Parachutes 2000 3. “Morning Yearning” - Ben Harper Both Sides Of The Gun - 2006 4. “Once” - Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová - Once (original soundtrack) - 2007 5. “Scatterbrain (As Dead As Leaves)” - Radiohead - Hail To The Thief - 2003 6. “I’ll Take The Rain” - R.E.M. – Reveal - 2001 7. “Transatlanticism” - Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism - 2003 8. “Still” - Foo Fighters - In Your Honor - 2005 9. “Daydream” - Smashing Pumpkins – Gish - 1991 10. “Love Is A Place” - Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? – 2003

Quick Spins

SIDE B: Warming up 11. “Warm and Sunny Days” - The Dears - No Cities Left - 2003 12. “Rococo” - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs - 2010 13. “Life Of Bees” - David Usher Strange birds - 2007 14. “Mother Nature’s Son” - The Beatles - Anthology 3 - 1996 15. “High” - The Cure - Greatest Hits - 2001 16. “Save Your Scissors” - City and Colour – Sometimes - 2005 17. “Blinking Lights (For You)” - Eels Blinking Lights And Other Revelations - 2005 18. “Breathe In” - Frou Frou – Details - 2002 19. “Sun Red Sky Blue” - Kenna Make Sure They See My Face - 2007 20. “In Bloom” - Nirvana – Nevermind - 1991

Retro review

The Dodos - No Color (Frenchkiss; 2011)

Does It Offend You, Yeah? Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You (Cooking Vinyl, 2011)

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador; 2011)

Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (Roswell/Capitol; 1997)

After 2009’s Time to Die proved to be a rather big letdown for The Dodos fans, the announcement of a third LP was met with a mixture of apprehension and hope of things to come.

Thankfully, The Dodos decided to return to their original lineup and team up once again with producer John Askew, who helped shape their debut’s raw melodic sound.

The difference is immediately noticeable.

From opener “Black Night” to the ninth, and last track, “Don’t Stop,” No Color is a return to what made The Dodos so lovable in the first place. Featuring more electric guitars and a guest appearance by Neko Case, this third release is definitely more polished and mature than their last two albums, but it retains the group’s ethereal pop sound. A definite Sunday morning record, The Dodos continue to prove that they’re a cooler, harder rockin’ Fleet Foxes.

Having kept fans waiting for over two years, British electronic duo Does It Offend You, Yeah? have finally released their sophomore effort Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You. Even though they have clearly stuck to their electro roots, this second LP sees them approaching the genre from a different angle. Tracks like “Yeah!” and “The Monkeys Are Coming,” which feature the band’s classic distorted synthesizer sound, are flanked by subtle guitar-driven indie-pop gems like “Pull Out My Insides” and “Wrong Time Wrong Planet.”

Yet even with this eclectic mix of genres, the band stays true to their party roots and brings listeners 10 solid dance tracks. Perhaps this album may be too aggressive for the average music listener, but for those who like to stay awake until the early morning hours, Does It Offend You, Yeah? have just released the perfect evening soundtrack.

Kurt Vile’s fourth studio release, Smoke Ring For My Halo, is the kind of record that is immediately likable - but it also has the potential for long-term love. With shoulder-length flowing hair and a distant, longing facial expression, both Vile’s appearance and his ‘70s folk-esque musical vibe will bring to mind the tunes and artists of some faraway place in time. Having been likened to musicians such as Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, songs from Smoke Ring For My Halo also appear to draw influence from early Sonic Youth. While Vile doesn’t do anything new or groundbreaking, it would be hard to dislike this record. For the most part, songs are low-key, emphasizing Vile’s nice acoustic riffs and reflective lyrics.

Perhaps the most striking track on the album is “Peeping Tomboy,” which candidly captures the lonely, frustrated feelings of the downtrodden, lost and confused.

The Colour and the Shape is the Foo Fighters’ second album, which saw the band make the leap toward establishing its voice and recording style. With 13 tracks, four singles and a handful of nominations, The Colour and the Shape was clearly appreciated for its experimental tracks and raw emotion. Produced by Gil Norton, the album explores youth with songs that describe periods of transition, relationships, and growth all in about 46 minutes. Grohl himself said the album was loosely based on the beginning and end of a romantic relationship. With The Colour and the Shape, the Foo Fighters broke away from the grunge of the ’90s and took alternative rock to a new level by diversifying vocals, guitar riffs and lyrics. The album’s sound is discombobulated, suggestive and original, making The Colour and the Shape the band’s biggest U.S. seller and paving the way for the Foo Fighters’ success.

Trial Track: “Black Night”

Trial Track: “Wrong Time Wrong Planet”

Trial Track: “Peeping Tomboy”

Trial Track: “Everlong”

8.0/10

-Cora Ballou

6.0/10

- Cora Ballou

8.5/10

-Katelyn Spidle

- Kalina Laframboise

sports

18

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com event

Right To Play brings hockey to aboriginal youth Non-profit organization uses sport to propel social change Hiba Zayadin Contributor

Two more remote First Nations communities in Northern Ontario will soon be getting the“right to play,” according to members of a humanitarian and development organization, at a special public awareness event at McGill on March 14.

Right to Play uses the power of sport and play to build essential skills in children and drive social change in communities affected by war, poverty and disease. The organization currently operates in 20 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. It trains local community leaders as coaches to deliver their programs.

In 2010, the international organization began working with two of Canada’s First Nations communities in Northern Ontario. According to Sarah Stern, manager of corporate partnerships for Right To Play, the program was so successful, they decided to expand.

“When we were in these communities doing research, we learned that they really like hockey, they wanted their children to be able to play hockey, and they wanted us to teach the children lessons through hockey,” she said to a small crowd at McGill’s Leacock Theatre.

Soon after completing their research, members of the organization implemented a ‘hockey for development’ curriculum specifically for those

communities. The program is called Promoting Life-skills for Aboriginal Youth.

It is guided by the principle of inclusion, which promotes the involvement of children who may be marginalized for reasons such as gender, disability, and religion. According to its website, Right To Play stimulates and motivates local communities to engage in entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development practices.

With support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Right To Play invited two delegates, Christiane Boton and Mainatou Gbadamassi, from its program in Benin – a small country in West Africa – to come speak in Montreal along with women’s hockey player and three-time Olympic gold medalist, Caroline Ouellette, one of the organization’s athlete ambassadors.

The speeches given by the delegates on Monday centered on the transformative power of sport in the lives of some of the world’s most disadvantaged youth. Throughout the talk, the organizers encouraged members of the audience

to play little games representative of the ones they taught to children around the world.

Boton, the project coordinator of Right To Play in Benin, spoke of her experiences with the organization. “When Right To Play was introduced to Benin, it changed many things.

It worked with schools. The girls would watch how the boys suddenly wanted to go to school to participate in Right To Play activities, so they started demanding of their parents to go to school as well to play and learn,” she said. Boton and Gbadamassi were delighted at the opportunity to visit Canada for the first time.

When Ouellette took to the stand, one audience member was so excited, he could barely wait for the question and answer period to blurt out that he wanted to admire Ouellette’s Vancouver medal up close, which she had brought along for that purpose.

“I don’t know where I would be today if I didn’t get the opportunity to play sports,” Ouellette said with gratitude. She explained that she felt a bond with the girls in Benin and other

countries involved with Right To Play that face obstacles which stop them from playing sports and being involved.

“I always knew I wanted to play hockey. In 1986, when I first asked my dad to play, he said no. Back then, girls did not play hockey and he was scared I would get hurt,” she explained. “It was finally my Mom, after two years of begging, who bought me my first hockey skates. I was so happy I was getting the right to play, I wanted to prove to the boys I played with that I belonged there.”

Right To Play does not invite volunteers along to their programs anymore, as it detracts from the work, Stern said.

“Just go out and tell a couple of people about us, so hopefully when we come back again, we can fill this room,” she said, looking around at the sparsely filled theatre.

To find out more about Right to Play, visit their website at www.righttoplay.ca

Hockey player Caroline Ouellette, and Beninese delegates Naimatou Gbadamassi and Christiane Boton at the Right to Play talk. Photo courtesy Right to Play

profile

Stingers slotback looks ahead to a career in the CFL Liam Mahoney is one of three Stingers to participate in the evaluation camp Stefano Mocella Staff writer Liam Mahoney has impressed people at every level of football, except one. First a quarterback, now a slotback, he is getting ready for the possibility of taking his talents to the next level: the Canadian Football League.

Mahoney was one of four Stingers to attend the CFL Evaluation Camp, an event where all the top prospects get their chance to catch the eyes of coaches and scouts. Offensive tackle Anthony Barrette, running back Edem Nyamadi and defensive tackle Maurice Forbes were the other Stingers summoned to the camp, which took place March 4-6 in Toronto.

The event is where general managers, coaches and scouts test, interview and evaluate the prospects they may select in the 2011 CFL Canadian Draft on May 8.

“It was quite a busy weekend,” said Mahoney. “It was a lot of fun, but it’s also a weekend of non-stop stress because you want to do well, both in interviews and in testing. I truly feel blessed that I was asked to go, but it’s

definitely stressful.”

Mahoney has enjoyed four great seasons at Concordia. In his first, he won the CIS Rookie of the Year Award as a quarterback. However, after two seasons as quarterback, Mahoney had to switch to slotback in order to prepare for his future in football. “[Stingers head] coach [Gerry] McGrath told me when he was recruiting me, that he was recruiting me as a quarterback,” recalled Mahoney. “But he said at some point, I’d be switched to receiver. He discussed it with my parents and I, and we agreed that’s where my future of playing football would be because there are no Canadian quarterbacks starting in the CFL.” It’s hard to fathom that such a successful quarterback would have to change positions and still excel, but Mahoney did just that. The transition went smoothly, as Mahoney caught 45 passes for 619 yards and four touchdowns in the 2009 season and 49 passes for 589 yards and six receiving touchdowns in 2010.

“I think that because I was a scrambling quarterback and I’m athletic, I felt I could make the switch to slot,” he said. “At this point, it’s worked out well for me.”

Mahoney credits McGrath for his smooth transition to slotback. “He had a lot of confidence in me as a receiver,” said Mahoney. “I went right from being a starting quarterback to a starting receiver which helped me a lot. He put in a lot of time to help me.”

Mahoney also mentioned how McGrath’s system has helped to prepare him for the big leagues. “He runs a complicated pro-style offence, which I feel helped me in my interviews with teams and will have me more prepared than many other players if I get the chance to try out for a CFL team.”

Mahoney’s value in the draft will be determined by how he fares competing with fellow Canadians. By CFL rules, teams must keep 21 Canadians on their active roster, half of the total 42-man roster.

Being a Canadian trying to make it to the CFL, and having grown up in Montreal, it may be no secret which player Mahoney looks up to.

“I was a big [Ben] Cahoon fan, especially when I switched to receiver,” said Mahoney. “I feel that a lot of things he did with the Alouettes are like what I did at Concordia. I feel like I can be that type of player. […] I like Canadian guys, so I look at guys like Rob Bagg and Dave Stala. They both played in the CIS, so I hope to follow in their footsteps.”

As for which team he feels he would fit in?

Well, Mahoney would welcome any opportunity. “I just feel that whatever team needs a Canadian guy or a receiver, that’s where I’ll go.”

What everyone would love to see is him staying in Montreal, just like he did when he chose to come to Concordia. Mahoney would look good in red, white and blue, but we’ll have wait and see if he’ll go from bee to bird.

Liam Mahoney switched from quarterback to slotback in his third year on the team. Archives

Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/concordiansport

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

19

feature

Not your average bicyclists Bike polo players replace horsepower for leg power Marc Soumako Contributor When the safety bicycle, an ancestor to the model we use today, appeared on the North American and European cycling scene at the end of the 19th century, it created a craze and marked the beginning of the golden age of bicycles. Most members of the elite and middle classes used their bikes for transportation or recreational riding.

But Irishman Richard J. Mecredy had a different idea.

In 1891, he invented bike polo, and it has since made its way through Europe and North America.

The sport is now experiencing a re-birth after over a hundred years in existence.

Concordia student Alex Garcia, 27, has been part of its renaissance. Bike polo was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1908 London Olympics, and the Irish won the gold over the Germans. A century later, bike polo is still being played throughout many cities, including Montreal.

Garcia already has a bachelor’s degree in applied human sciences and has come back to Concordia to do another bachelor’s in education. Garcia found out about this littleknown sport because of a passion – cycling.

Being a bicycle-enthusiast, he would often read up on cycling. He came across the sport while surfing the web, but he only really got hooked when he was riding back home from downtown one day and came across some people playing bike polo in a schoolyard. He automatically knew what it was, and as soon as he joined in, he caught bike polo fever.

Garcia started playing in September and his love for the sport has only increased since.

He plays year-round with fellow enthusiasts who share his passion. They usually meet up on Sundays in schoolyards, no matter what the temperature is.

A bicycle, a homemade mallet and a street hockey ball are all you need to play this sport.

Many players wear some protective equipment, even though it isn’t mandatory. The most popular are shin pads, hockey helmets, goggles, gloves, elbow pads and mountain bike upper body armours.

The rules of bike polo aren’t complicated.

It can be played on hard-court or on grass.

The usual size of the field of play is about the

Bike polo players use different tricks to keep their balance while they play, such turning their front wheels so they are not aligned. Photo by Ariel Fournier size of a basketball court. Each goal is made up of two cones a bike’s length apart.

A player’s foot is not allowed to touch the ground under any circumstance. If it does, that player must ride to midfield and touch the sideline. His or her team plays a man down until they make their way back. The game is played three-on-three, and usually lasts between 20 to 30 minutes. Body-checking is allowed, but intentional contact can only be made to its counterpart, i.e. body to body, bike to bike and mallet to mallet.

Garcia has been fairly lucky in terms of accidents to his bike and injuries. “Most things have not broken, although my wheels are getting slightly bent because you’re hitting them against other people and you’re also

hitting it with your own mallet when you’re taking shots,” said Garcia. “In general, they’ve stayed fairly straight. I’ve seen brake levers snap in half when a bike flipped over and just landed badly. Once, on my old bike, a guy and I were chasing the ball and we met and he checked me. His pedal went into my front wheel and it ejected me off of my bike.

It broke three spokes on the wheel. If I had to talk about repairs I’ve had to do since September, I’d say two or three flat tires.”

To people who have never heard of this sport, their biggest question is how players manage to stay balanced throughout a game.

According to Garcia, players use many tricks to not fall: they turn their front wheel so that both wheels are not aligned, they use the mal-

let as a tripod and they even hold onto their opponents to stay on their bikes.

The mallets used in bike polo cannot be bought in most stores. In general, players will make their own using ski poles or golf club shafts and fastening a piece of pipe (typically ABS piping). But players can customize their mallets and get creative. “That’s part of appeal,” said Garcia. “You play a game and then you talk to the other guy about his mallet and you compare designs. This is part of the fun.”

If you want more information on the league, check out their Facebook page by searching “Montreal Bike Polo.”

opinions 20

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com EdiToRiaL

Where in the world is Oliver Cohen?

And other musings on the governance review committee and CSU councillors

The CSU elections undeniably present a heavy work load for their main organizer, chief electoral officer Oliver Cohen. With two large slates, four referendum committees and a team of election volunteers to take care of, it’s understandable that Cohen may not always be in his office, or quick to respond to phone calls and emails. Cohen has not been very accommodating to campus media, often getting back to requests for an interview at the last minute, if at all. While we’re not pleased with the situation, this year’s elections highlight a much more serious issue with the CEO: a lack of availability to election candidates and referendum committees.

Members of both slates running in this year’s election have expressed their frustrations about being unable to reach Cohen, even on issues like sanctions which could seriously affect their campaigning. Some candidates and fee levy groups struggled to reach Cohen for days with serious questions about their own campaigns. There is no reason why either of those parties should ever have to wait for days at a time for answers that could ultimately affect their victory or loss in this spring’s elections. While Cohen organized an information meeting with candidates on Monday, this happened nearly a full week after campaigning had begun, and should have started earlier.

The problem may lie in the fact that the CEO, as a neutral party, is not accountable to anybody. When a councillor asked about the CEO’s behaviour at a recent meeting, the executives threw up their hands, saying “We don’t control him.” With certain executives running in the current elections, this makes sense. But Cohen and future CEOs should

have someone keeping them in check. Maybe the CEOs of FASA, CASA and ASFA could step up to the plate? Regardless of the solution, we need a CEO who is completely dedicated to the process. ASFA’s CEO Nick Cuillerier provides a fantastic model, dedicating himself full-on to the job, responding to emails and calls within hours in most situations. This is the type of individual we need on the job, so that the elections come down to the votes of the students, and not the confusion of the candidates. And while we’re at it, more media availability would be nice too. ***

If you were thinking that the all-mighty, all-male external governance review committee was too good to be true, well, you were right. Turns out fixing Concordia’s governance faults comes with a price tag: a cool $60,000.

The members who will be doing the work on this will be billing the university a few dollars; to be exact, they will each log $1,000 a day for up to 20 days of work. We thought only celebrities made that kind of money.

Concordia and the other Quebec universities got what they wanted last week - namely, large increases to tuition mandated by Finance Minister Raymond Bachand in the provincal budget. They’ve long asked for the money to close their looming debts, replace old infrastructure and refurbish and update programs to remain competitive. But while McGill and Laval, for example, might get new facilities or a small deficit with their windfall of cash, we can’t help but get the sinking feeling that our dollars are going towards paying to fix a school we didn’t break, and that should have never been broken in the first place. *** A big round of applause goes out to the councillors at Wednesday’s Concordia Student Union’s council meeting, or as we like to call it, March council meeting - take two. It was refreshing to hear councillors legitimately call-

Graphic by Sean Kershaw ing out the CSU with big financial questions, even if their efforts were a little misguided.

While many councillors have proven to be adept critics of the executive, some are a little late to the game. One councillor asked to know whether the CSU was audited annually. What a laughable question. If you are a member of the board of directors (which is effectively what council is - it’s like the board of a company or the Board of Governors for Concordia) and are supposed to hold the leadership accountable, how do you do a good job if you do not know what the organization’s basic checks and balances are? Great ques-

tion, the answer is yes, the CSU is audited annually.

Now, if you knew that, and saw that the CSU was forgoing the audit one year, or was having trouble with their auditor or documents, then you have to ask questions.

Another councillor asked whether there were quarterly statements - great suggestion! Keep up the proactive motions.

With one council meeting left on the books in April, it’s great that some councillors are now stepping up to the plate. It’s nice to see that they’re catching on to what their job entails.

information is tightly controlled and spun for maximum political benefit. Through the use of measures like Message Event Proposals, the government has taken every opportunity to create an alternate reality (fake lakes, anyone?) in which they know what’s best for the country. Canadians have been rightfully mistrustful.

The Conservative party has maintained a minority government this long by (twice) proroguing parliament and side-stepping its own law setting fixed election dates.

Canada’s international reputation seems to be at an all-time low, as our lost bid for a UN security council and numerous fossil awards at UN climate conferences show.

Civil liberties were repressed at the G20 summit.

While the government previously ran surpluses, the country is now faced with structural deficit.

The civil service has been muzzled and constantly undermined. A law-and-order agenda has been harped by the government, at untold cost, in spite of the fact that crime statistics are in long-term decline.

I see Canada’s current direction as being fraught with problems. As is Woznica’s latest article. The list of problems goes on and on, but this letter will not.

Re: CSU council meeting

LETTERS

Re: CJLO fee levy I’ve been a part of CJLO for several years now. I’ve seen CJLO go from being an underground onlineonly station to the award-winning AM radio station it is today. The equipment and services offered to students have vastly improved since I first joined CJLO, but there is still room for many more advances. A student radio station is an asset for Concordia University, offering free promotion for clubs and associations, and for those involved the ability to meet fellow peers, learn the many facets of radio production, and the ability to broadcast a wide spectrum of genres of music, talk and news.

The fee levy would benefit the student body as a whole with independent media representation being more important than ever. I recommend that you vote YES to CJLO on March 29 to 31.

Ryan Brownstein Communications and political science student Host of The Main Event on CJLO

Re: “Conservatives are not just the lesser of three evils” The last five years have shown that Tories can run this country—into the ground.

Alex Woznica’s most recent article is a sad example of the tactics the Conservative party uses in government: partisan, illogical rhetoric that relies on ad hominem arguments in an attempt to obfuscate the public.

This approach debases both politics and journalism. I hope to expose it for what it is — a myopic undertaking that harms our society. Woznica’s interpretation of poll data reflects an ignorance of recent Canadian history that likely results from blind partisanship.

The carefully cultivated perception that Canada has fared better in the face of recent economic trouble thanks to the current government is, indeed, the Conservative campaign trump card, but it is mistaken. Canada was less affected by the Great Recession than some other countries because of tighter banking regulation and greater lending conservatism that predate the currentminority government. Also, the growing global appetite for our country’s exports hasn’t hurt the economy either. Canada would likely be faring better economically than other Western countries — regardless of who is in power.

It is true that the Conservative party has not introduced many radically right-wing policies. They have been unable to do so because they remain a minority government! And they have a tendency to kill their own legislation by proroguing parliament, but that’s another issue.

Under the Harper regime, we have seen that

Shawn McCrory Undergraduate, département d’études Françaises

With respect to the CSU council on March 9, I feel compelled to voice my concerns. The fashion in which several individuals chose to express their views fell short of being constructive. Crude language and loud voices are not a way in which students should be encouraged to voice their opinions. A chaotic atmosphere hurts us all in the end and everyone seems to be losing sight of what truly matters. As student representatives, we all have an obligation to Concordia University to uphold its name and not make a mockery of our institution.

Undermining the process of CSU council meetings by refusing to leave after majority vote for closed session is both intolerable and disrespectful. For progress to be made, we must all take a moment to compose ourselves and speak rationally with one another. Clearly the course we are on is not conducive towards bettering our institution, and as educated individuals we should be able to articulate our thoughts in a manner which is not hurtful to any individual(s).

Nancy Salama Council candidate for Action slate

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

21

LETTERS

Re: Support for Your Concordia and candidates Having worked with Lex on a voluntary basis for the past two years, I can say that she possesses a rare ability to inspire, lead and motivate. Her encouragement helped many at Windsor stay strong when all seemed bleak in the face of battle with the CFS, and I know that I am not the only Ontarian to have been impressed by her character. The qualities that Lex Gill possesses are not embodied by many, and I think that she will do an excellent job when it comes to serving the CSU. Robert Woodrich Vice President University Affairs (‘09-’10, ‘10’11) University of Windsor Students’ Alliance Windsor, Ontario The CSU has been run by a people drawn from the same pool for almost 10 years. It’s become like a medieval guild, protective of turf and privileges and hostile to open competition and innovation.

Things have gone stale.

We need some fresh air. Someone needs to crack a window, and let in a breeze.

There have been some bursts of enthusiasm, of originality and creativity. There have been some instances of impressive professional organization.

But (at the risk of offending some past slates) I have not seen both in a single slate until this year.

Of course, I mean Your Concordia.

I have come to know many of the people running while working on or watching initiatives from Free Education Montreal, uberculture, TapThirst, and others. They worked with almost no help or money, only their own resourcefulness and energy. You don’t have to trust my word on this: look at the WHALE - the first proper CSU GA since anyone can remember, held under the worst possible conditions, with very little time to put it together, yet a huge success with 1,000 students gathered together, feeling empowered and hopeful in the face of many looming problems.

They aren’t in it for the money and they aren’t in it for the fame. This is what they do, and they do it because they really do want to make Concordia,

Re: Support for Action and candidates C’est avec grand plaisir que la Dégation Concordia aux Jeux franco-canadiens de la Communication offre son support à Natasha Launi et son équipe Action dans leur candidature à l’élection du CSU 2011-2012.

La délégation est formée de 32 étudiants des programmes de communication, journalisme et marketing qui se préparent pendant plusieurs mois dans 13 épreuves reliés directement à leur domaine. Il s’agit là d’une excellente opportunité pour les étudiants de se bâtir un réseau de contacts, tout en ayant une première expérience professionnelle.

L’année dernière, Natasha y a participé au sein de l’équipe de communication événementielle. Sa motivation, sa rigueur et son leadership ont grandement aidé à bâtir une équipe unie et solide. Son support nous a permis de remporter la médaille de bronze au classement final.

Cette année, même si Natasha occupait le poste de VP Communications à ASFA, elle nous a aidé de multiples façons. Ce que nous tenons à souligner, c’est que Natasha a montré une éthique de travail remarquable dans toutes les actions qu’elle a entreprises avec nous. D’abord, elle nous a guidé vers plusieurs dirigeants d’associations étudiantes qui nous ont permis d’obtenir du financement. Puis, elle a organisé un événement qui nous a permis d’amasser d’importants fonds.

Finalement, elle est venue assister à plusieurs de nos réunions afin de motiver les délégués et leur offrir des trucs pour leurs épreuves. Toutes ces actions étaient bénévoles et ont clairement démontré que Natasha agissait concrètement en faveur d’une vie étudiante de qualité.

De plus, nous supportons la proposition du parti Action stipulant que davantage d’espaces étudiants doit être offert. Comme nous n’avons pas de local sommes un nouveau groupe à Concordia, nous avons de la difficulté à trouver un espace pour se rencontrer et des mesures pour les étudiants pourraient donc améliorer les conditions dans lesquelles nous travaillons.

Bref, Natasha Launi peut non seulement œuvrer comme une représentante de la vie étudiante déterminée et engagée, mais son approche positive fera d’elle un leader qui saura réunir les étudiants engagés.

Au nom de la Délégation Concordia aux Jeux de la Communication, j’appuie la candidature de Natasha Launi et de son équipe Action.

and the world, a better place.

How do you know that they are really going to be open, democratic, transparent, responsive, honest, all the things you want the CSU to be? Because they already are. Dozens of your questions are online at yourconcordia.tumblr.com - every one with a thoughtful response. Their finances are online, down to the last penny. They will open doors for you, but you need to give them the keys.

We face huge challenges in the coming year.

Concordia’s governance is undergoing reform, Concordia’s academic future is being decided, and the government is set to increase tuition by a huge amount. Students - all students, including graduates, and including students at other universities - need a CSU that can handle these issues, and that can be a source of strength and support for us all. The people who form Your Concordia are the people who can do that. So do us all a favour: on March 29, 30 and 31 vote for Your Concordia.

Robert Sonin MA philosophy TRAC VP bargaining GSA councillor As a member of Free Education Montreal, the Your Concordia slate looks really familiar! Irmak Bahar, Kyle McLoughlin, and Eva-Loan PontonPham are regular members of FEM and have done a ton of work fighting tuition hikes this year, for no pay and little recognition. Of those running for the executive, Lex Gill, Gonzo Nieto, Morgan Pudwell and Chad Walcott were all co-organizers of the WHALE general assemblies and it was a pleasure working with them. You can trust these people to take thankless work, do a great job, and do it happily - I’ve seen it.

What a strange spectacle they would be running the CSU, where this year the tuition-freeze hyperbole always seemed to be followed by footdragging, and the quest to buy a third-rate mall for a student center was pursued with lavish campaigning. I know I’m not the only graduate student looking on a bit helplessly and hoping that the CSU, which is five times the size of our own union, sees some real change next year.

Holly Nazar MA media studies Free Education Montreal

Charles D’Amboise Co-Président de la Délégation Concordia 20092010 et 2010-2011 Jeux Franco Canadiens de la Communication Infopresse The Volunteers In Action (VIA), are proud supporters of Action based on the fact that the ideals of Action are in keeping with that of our club’s executive committee. VIA strongly believes in strengthening social alliances amongst various CSU club executives in order to add the cohesive element that has long been overlooked in years prior. Action promises to facilitate this by providing the executive committees with various outlets and events that will take place throughout the course of the academic year. This will allow executives the opportunity for continued exchange of discourse and hopefully increase the number of collaborated events. Collaborating efforts with multiple clubs allows for pooling of monetary resources and a greater outreach to the Concordia student body, seeing as each club is privy to their individualized mailing-lists.

In addition, Action’s belief that additional funding and increased space allotted to CSU clubs is congruent with VIA’s outlook on how we can improve the efforts of the CSU. The 30 plus activeclubs are responsible for a large part of the events and campaigns that are held at Concordia. We work tirelessly to enhance the experience that the student body has while attaining their degrees by tending to their social well being and heightening the collective of our university. The totality of the Concordia experience includes frequently offered social events which are designed and organized by club executives. As expressed by Action, additional resources provided by the CSU would inevitably better the efforts of clubs in delivering worthwhile events that appeal to the general student body at large. Volunteers In Action will offer their continued support to Action, and look forward to their success is the upcoming academic year.

Nancy Salama President, Volunteers In Action Action candidate, CSU council As CASA’s (Commerce and Administration Student’s Association) President-elect, I would like to endorse all JMSB candidates running with Team Action for the upcoming CSU elections.

Tanya Ng and Leslie Reifer are best fit to represent Concordia undergraduates on Action’s

Your Concordia has inspired me. That much enthusiasm, positive attitude to change things and encouraging students to get involved, I have never seen it before. And only are they standing up for us but they actually care about our opinions. In the beginning, I just thought that here’s another election and I never even bother to go vote because I know that they always make promises but never fulfill them. This team makes me believe in myself; that someone like me (normal undergraduate student) who never bothered to go and see what is going on in the university or picked up campus newspaper (sorry Concordian!). But now everything is changed, now I want to participate, vote for them and tell my friends to vote for them.

It made me believe that if you want to make a difference then it can actually happen. It is amazing how much they care and it shows when you actually talk to them. I have talked to many students who are running for “Your Concordia” and have had particularly long chats with Irmak Bahar and Gonzo Nieto. And I can tell that they can make the Concordia community so much better than it has been in the past. They’re not just about the talking, they get things done.

Now, after looking at them I want to open my own student club, which I have been thinking about for a year but never tried to get it going.

It is amazing to feel proud of my idea and to be hopeful to do something in Concordia Unviersity and “Your Concordia” is responsible for this hope in me.

This is the end of my second year in Concordia and it is the first time that I want to be involved in my school. And it’s all because of a team called Your Concordia.

Shaima Shoaib Biology Finally, the Concordia Student Union will make democratic, sustainable, accessible and quality education a priority and a possibility - if the Your Concordia slate wins, that is.

Sure, it’s impossible to predict what people will do once in office, especially when both slates voice similar promises. The best one can do is look at what they’ve done in the past. I’ve been an elected councillor of the Graduate Students’ Association for the past two years, and after trying to join efforts of graduates and undergraduates in these years, literally running after CSU executives executive slate. Their personalities purely reflect the values upheld by JMSB; they are fair, honest, hard-working and principled.

All of Action’s JMSB councillors are heavily involved in Concordia’s community. They take part in all the events that go on around campus.

They are known to put their hearts and soul in the work they produce and they strive to be held at the highest accountable level possible. Gregory Synanidis, Anthony D’Urbano, Maxime Morin, Ariel Daborah, Stephanie Laurin, and Mahmoud Abdel-Rahman have all been present and advocated for the success and the future of JMSB. I know them on a personal level and would like to say that they are very fit for the position they are running for.

Alongside, Action has other members on their team who have constantly contributed to making JMSB a better place; Amanda Cabiakman (for Board of Governors) and Daniel Shakibaian (JMSB senate) have their involvement and their impressive work ethics to bring to the table. I’ve had the opportunity to know them both this year during my studies and involvement.

With their dedication and integrity seen at JMSB, I can vouch for all JMSB candidates running with team Action. They will get the job done!

Most importantly, it is crucial for JMSB students to voice their opinions and vote in university elections. JMSB students have the power to elect their student union as well as the councillors to represent their faculty and they must utilize this power.

Every vote counts!

Marianna Luciano President John Molson Marketing Association In the year and a half I have known Khalil Haddad, I worked alongside him and became friends with him, I have come to know him as a trustworthy, extremely hard-working, organized and reliable person. It’s such a pleasure to write on Khalil’s behalf to encourage students to vote for him as the next President for the CSU. It is difficult to be a consistently active representative when working with student and university organizations; however, I believe that his track record demonstrates his ability to do just that. I have seen him in action, first as the Vice-President, and now the President for the Psychology Student Association, as well as in the role of Chief Executive Officer for the Sustainability Action Fund. He has the capacity to engage with people in every aspect of University life, working through issues with in-

to fulfill simple promises like putting up posters for a joint initiative, I’m relieved to see people who don’t just talk the talk; they walk the walk.

I’m not talking about suave walks and smiles to get a vote. I’m talking about candidates like Gonzo Nieto and Lex Gill, who have long been active with uberculture, bringing original projects to Concordia like the Really Really Free Market.

I’m talking about Irmak Bahar, Kyle McLoughlin and Laura Beach among the many others who have volunteered time, research and lack of sleep for sustainability and tuition freeze initiatives over more than a year now. These are movers and shakers, critical thinkers. They have founded groups and been silent leaders against the odds of shyness, apathy and powerful opponents. Lex Gill carried out much of the work for the IGM and the Dec. 6 bus trip to Quebec, which happened only after she and others pressured the CSU executive to host and fund these initiatives.

But don’t take my word for it - find out for yourself: Go to yourconcordia.ca to see what these folks have already done, with no pay and little credit. See commitment to transparency through their budget-to-date, and dedication and ability, past and present, to educate students about what the heck the CSU and other bodies on campus do, through well-researched videos and individual answers to hundreds of questions.

It’s your chance to consider a slate that wants you to represent yourself through general assemblies and at monthly council meetings, to the Concordia Board of Governors and the Quebec government. I can say without hesitation, these are students who work not for their political careers, but for our individual and collective wellbeing as students. This simple vote can change education in the years to come, so make it worth your while. Your education is at stake.

Nadia Hausfather PhD humanities

Send your letters to the editor to opinions@ theconcordian.com The Concordian has a 400-word limit for letters. They are due Friday at 4 p.m. telligence, planning, and foresight. He is in touch with student’s concerns because he reaches out to us. He does not take it as a given that students will speak out but encourages us to strive for better things.

During council meetings he is a voice of reason as well as an advocate for sustainability. Advocacy and action are vital but Khalil also achieves the balance of integrating our voices, together with his well-thought out ideas, into plans of action.

He does this because he listens and he has the experience of seeing things through to the end.

It’s time that we act to reform university governance, to reclaim our space, and to continue mobilizing against tuition hikes. I’ll be voting for Khalil with team Action because I think he exemplifies the balance between stability and the strength needed to work with and for students to effect these changes.

Genevieve (Genna) Lozier Co-President AHSC Student Association 20102011 I fully endorse Teresa Seminara and team Action!

Teresa has done an excellent job representing her arts and science constituents as ASFA’s VP academics and Loyola affairs. Over the course of the academic year, she, along with her two committees, organized several academic functions that enhanced student life on campus. She has also founded the humanitarian affairs chapter at the CSU- a new club promoting volunteering abroad and leadership skills. Under her leadership, the club has raised nearly $5,000 that will help 15 Concordia students to volunteer at the Mao Sot refugee camp this summer in Thailand.

Team Action is a very experienced and diverse team. All very competent and intelligent, they remain highly involved and passionate about enhancing student life on campus.

Please take action on March 29, 30, 31 and vote ACTION! Emilie Salvi VP social of humanitarian affairs Due to space limitations, not all letters received were printed in this week’s issue. You can read all of them at our website, theconcordian.com. Editor’s note: Letters were chosen based on relevance and priority was given to letters that endorsed slates in general, and executive candidates. Each slate received the same word count.

theconcordian

Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.

Tuesday, Mar. 22, 2011, Volume 28 Issue 25.

Sarah Deshaies Editor-in-chief editor@theconcordian.com Brennan Neill Managing editor managing@theconcordian.com Evan LePage News editor news@theconcordian.com Jacques Gallant Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo Assistant news editor Emily White Life editor life@theconcordian.com Savannah Sher Assistant life editor Valerie Cardinal Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com Katelyn Spidle Music editor music@theconcordian.com Kamila Hinkson Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com Chris Hanna Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com Owen Nagels Assistant opinions editor Christopher Kahn Online editor online@theconcordian.com Tiffany Blaise Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com Katie Brioux Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com Trevor Smith Chief copy editor copy@theconcordian.com Morgan Lowrie Sofia Gay Copy editors Jill Fowler Production manager production@theconcordian. com Jennifer Barkun Francois Descoteaux Lindsay Sykes Production Assistants Board of Directors Tobi Elliott Richard Tardif Ben Ngai directors@theconcordian.com Editorial 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. CC.431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514.848.2424 x7458 (Newsroom) 514.848.2424 x7499 (Editors) 514.848.2424 x7404 (Production) Francesco Sacco Business Manager business@theconcordian.com Marshall Johnston Advertising advertising@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: Renee Giblin, Amanda Dafniotis, Marissa Miller, Sarah Volstad, Renée Morrison, Shereen Rafea, Jessica Wei, Daniel Spinali, Stephanie Mercier-Voyer, Nick Forsyth, Thomas O’Connor, Andrew Gilbert, Cora Ballou, Giselle McDonald, Kenny Hedges, Roya Manuel-Nekouei, Hiba Zayadin, Stefano Mocella, Marc Soumako, Eva Kratochvil, Alex Woznica, David Vilder, Nav Pall, Derek Branscombe, Ariel Fournier, Almudena Romero, Sean Kershaw, Arnaud Pages, Amanda Durepos

chaRiTy

theconcordian

Students shouldn’t be the only ones helping the needy Local charity’s stunt indicative of a failure of governance Alex Woznica Staff writer A number of students camping outside the Hall Building made the street their home last week, raising money for Dans la Rue, an organization which provides assistance to Montreal’s homeless youth. While the nationwide Five Days for the Homeless initiative was surely for a good cause, and those who participated should be commended for their dedication and perseverance, the sight of a bunch of university students essentially pretending to be homeless may have offended some.

Simulating being homeless trivializes homelessness and might be considered to be in extremely poor taste. While this was surely not the intention of the organizers or participants associated with the event, that result was unavoidable.

Those who took part in the Five Days for the Homeless campaign did not spend five days outside in late winter and run the risk of offending the sensibilities of many Concordia students for no reason. Dans la Rue is in dire need of money to fund the excellent and very necessary work they do with Montreal’s homeless youth. This is in part due to the fact that they rely on individual donations for 94 per cent of their annual operating budget, with various government bodies contributing only the remaining six per cent.

The fact that Dans la Rue receives so little money from any level of government is to a large extent a result of that organization’s policies.

According to Sue Medleg, the organization’s co-ordinator of development, Dans la Rue sees government funding as often inconsistent, and prefers to rely on individual donations. While this is understandable, the fact remains that government funding, however inconsistent, has the capacity to involve amounts of money that simply cannot be matched by counting on individual donations, and can therefore make a much more significant impact on homelessness.

It is clear that no level of government active in Montreal is doing enough to provide relief to the homeless, or to provide funding to those organizations that do. Considering it is the duty of the municipal, provincial, and federal governments to provide assistance and essential services

Photos by David Vilder

Concordia students pretend to be homeless to help the homeless. to Canadians under their jurisdictions, this represents a major failure of governance. If those dedicated students who were involved in the Five Days for the Homeless campaign must pretend to be homeless next year, perhaps they should do so in front of City Hall, the National Assembly building, and Parliament Hill instead of at Concordia.

In doing so, they could petition those in Canada who have both the responsibility and capability

to consistently provide the significant amount of funds that are required to support groups such as Dans la Rue to the extent that their excellent and essential work both requires and deserves.

Improving the situation of the homeless is not the responsibility of private citizens, or even of groups such as Dans la Rue, but of the municipal, provincial, and federal governments.

TRanSiT

No STM deal for ConU students for now Université de Montréal students will get their monthly passes at a discount Owen Nagels Assistant opinions editor Full-time Université de Montréal students living on the island of Montreal will be able to benefit from a discounted (or for some, further discounted) transit pass starting next fall, regardless of their age. But what about Concordia? More students go here than there, and Concordia boasts a much higher studentover-25 population than UdeM. The demographic of our school is very different from the UdeM’s. Out of Concordia’s 24,000 undergrads living on the island, just under half of them are aged 25 and up, compared to only 15 to 20 per cent at UdeM. It would cost a lot more for Concordia students to benefit from a program of this kind, since there are so many more students who would be eligible for the discount.

And that’s where the problem lies.

The challenge right now is to discuss who would subsidize the lost revenues for the STM.

More than a third of Concordia students over 25 and living on the island buy a monthly pass at $72.75. By handing these students reduced fares, the involved parties would lose over $1 million each semester, the Concordian reported in January in a story about mother and full-time Concordia student Desea Trujillo.

She had started a campaign to bring lower transit rates to all students. The Concordian found that the CSU came close to striking a deal with the STM in September 2010 to bring reduced fares to all students, like a U-pass.

(This plan grants students a pass for universal transit, which is included in tuition and fees.

It’s available at other Canadian universities, like Carleton.)

The CSU’s plan was quietly discarded because of the cost to all parties.

UdeM’s plan is great news for Concordia because although all students don’t yet have access to reduced fares, plans for something similar may not be completely dead.

Allison Reid of Allégo, a Concordia body that promotes walking, biking and using public transportation, says that not only would all students living on the island of Montreal benefit from this, but the STM would greatly profit from it in the long run as well. “Students who use public transit when they are at school are more likely to continue using it after they’ve graduated,” she said. By ensuring more ridership, the STM would in turn secure

more future revenue. It’s a win-win situation.

Besides, it just makes good sense to give access to reduced transit fares to all students.

Just because someone is over 25 years old, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have more money. The discounts would apply to full-time students and, as we unfortunately know, a student is a student, and most students are perpetually broke. The extra $127 “older” students pay for the monthly pass for four months a semester really adds up in the end it’s an extra $762 for a three-year degree.

Students under 25 who currently get the reduced fare will also get a further discount, although it’s not nearly as exciting as that of their older counterparts. For UdeM students under 25, an additional five per cent is taken off their current rate. But there is a perk, and it’s a good one. They wouldn’t have to fill up their Opus card every month. It would all be done automatically for the duration of the semester.

Although there is no concrete plan yet to bring this kind of system to Concordia, there are talks of coming to some sort of arrangement. Reid says there may be a chance the school can strike a temporary deal with the city, something along the lines of a 25 per cent discount for full-time students over 25. Although it’s not perfect, it is a step in the right direction. And it’s about time.

23

theconcordian

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Etcetera Page

How many hours have you wasted on the Internet? We know, we can’t count that high either. Twitter just celebrated its fifth anniversary.

The social-media tool may be used by some to post their most inane and useless thoughts, but it has revolutionized the way information is shared. Here are some of the best accounts to follow for all things Concordia, Montreal, Canada and world.

- @TheConcordian - @CUPtastic - @fagstein - @CityHallreport

Q: Université de Montréal recently made a deal for reduced fare with the STM. Do you think that Concordia should push for a similar deal with the STM?

Ryan Nichols - first-year electrical engineering “Yes I think they absolutely should. It just seems like the body of Concordia students is a large enough community to have collective buying powers in almost every area so I think this is the perfect one, it’s a great opportunity to make a deal with the city. I personally am over 25 and a part-time student and I think I should get some sort of reduction, because I get nothing.”

- @ConcordiaNews - @NationalPost - @BBCBreaking - @AJEnglish

Graphic by Katie Brioux

Christina Kiskanyan - third-year English literature and religion “Of course, because we also have a big population that’s over 25.

I think single mothers should get a reduction as well, because they are trying to put themselves through school to get a better job to support their family, it’s already difficult enough without having to pay for a bus pass. Université de Montréal did it, I think Concordia is next.”

Philip Rossi - second-year history

Photo by David Vilder

Aries - March 21 to April 20 Don’t be so short with people. What you think is hilarious toughness is actually just rudeness. People find you unfunny and difficult to work with.

Taurus - April 21 to May 21 What goes around comes around. Just be patient and they will get what they deserve.

You don’t have to play their dirty game.

Gemini - May 22 to June 21 Sometimes life gives you lemons. Other times you have to go out and find, buy or steal lemons. Don’t wait for something great to happen. Make it happen for yourself.

Cancer - June 22 to July 23 Things were going too well for you to continue this way. At some point, you knew your hot streak would end. Be a gracious

loser, though, and remember it was fun while it lasted.

Leo - July 24 to August 23 You need to start making a habit of writing things down. You’ve been forgetting things lately, and they’re affecting other people who are getting tired of your excuses.

Virgo - August 24 to September 23 Steer clear of people who try to bring you down this week. You don’t need negativity in this tough time of the year. Stay in if you need to get away, and ignore calls if possible.

Libra - September 24 to October 23 Be done with humility. It’s unlike you to boast, brag or toot your own horn, but do, otherwise people will not know what you are capable of, and that’s greatness.

Compiled by Eva Kratochvil

Scorpio - October 24 to November 23 Try something you never have this week.

Life is short, and you can afford some down time to relax and take it easy. Be eager but make yourself comfortable.

Sagittarius - November 24 to December 21 Temper, temper. Some people are bugging you, but that’s no reason to take it out on others. Just remember that your words and how you say them can hurt people.

Capricorn - December 22 to January 20 Is it worth it? Ask yourself that before you buy or eat “that” this week, and if wasting time online is better than making time to study, sleep or exercise.

Aquarius - January 21 to February 19 Sometimes you’re going to do your best and it’s going to turn out not to be enough.

What do you do? Keep trying. Things may

“I think it would be totally awesome if they do get a deal, I mean for the amount that we are paying already in the increase in our tuition, we could definitely use a break. I’ve been taking public transit for close to 10 years and the price has doubled since I started taking it, so we could really use it.”

never change, but hope that they do.

Pisces - February 20 to March 20 Sometimes it’s easy to realize when something is over. Other times it’s not so obvious. You thought you had something special, but you’re lucky it lasted as long as it did.

You share a birthday with...

March 22: Reese Witherspoon, Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Shatner March 23: Keri Russell, Chaka Khan, Akira Kurosawa March 24: Peyton Manning, Harry Houdini, Steve McQueen March 25: Elton John, Sarah Jessica Parker, Aretha Franklin March 26: Steven Tyler, Diana Ross, Tennessee Williams March 27: Mariah Carey, Quentin Tarantino, Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson March 28: Lady Gaga, Vince Vaughn, Dianne Wiest

*

EVENTS AT A GLANCE HELP PROMOTE CONCORDIA EVENTS! ALL EVENT LISTINGS ARE ADVERTISED FOR FREE SEND YOUR IDEAS TO EVENTS@THECONCORDIAN.COM PLEASE LIST NAME OF EVENT, LOCATION, AND TIME +MUSIC +MUSIC +NOM NOM +TALK +TALK +FUNDRAISER +THEATRE

Le Divan Orange Les Dorothee Casa Del Popolo Snailhouse + Coco et Co + Glass Passenger SP Atrium Mezzanine BSA Bake Sale LB-571-5 Snakes and Ladders: Quebec's Anti-Poverty Law DB Clarke Theatre Concordia International Forum on Conflict Minerals Casa Del Popolo CJLO Signal To Noise Benefit Concert Series w/ Glass Passenger + Coco Et Co + Snailhouse Théatre du Nouveau Monde Hamlet

22h00 22h00 9h00 18h00 19h00 20h30 20h00

WED 09

+MUSIC

USA out of Vietnam + Reversing Falls + Many Mental Mistakes

22h00

+TALK +FUNDRAISER +MUSIC +BOOKS

Casa Del Popolo H-767 Careers in Entrepreneurship CJLO Signal To Noise Benefit Concert Series w/ Many Mental Mistakes, Reversing Falls & USA Out of Vietnam Casa Del Popolo CBC presents Mundo Montreal Le Lion D'Or Drawn & Quarterly, 211 Bernard W. Pascal Girard and Joe Ollmann book tour

15h00 20h30 20h00 19h00

THURS 10

+FUNDRAISER +FREE STUFF +SHOW +THEATRE

Casa Del Popolo CJLO Signal To Noise Benefit Concert Series w/ Desert Owls +Play Guitar + Hexes & Ohs H-7th floor REALLY, REALLY FREE MARKET 7th floor Blackbox Theatre, JSMB bldg SPIRALE: Concordia Dance Dept. 1st year showings Tangente Edgy Women Festival presents Tangente X3 (ongoing until March 26)t

20h30 10h00 20h00 19h30

FRI 11

+MUSIC +MOVIE +MOVIE +MOVIE +VISUAL ART +SHOW

Montoire + Pif Paf Hangover Monsterland John Max, a Portrait Outside the Law Sorty: This is an archive I think SPIRALE: Concordia Dance Dept. 1st year showings

Il Motore Cinémathèque Québécoise Cinéma Parallèle Cinéma du Parc Espace 308, 170 Jean-Talon W. 7th floor Blackbox Theatre, JSMB bldg

22h00 21h00

ongoing until April 5 20h00

SAT 12

+MUSIC +CRAFTS +SHOW

Sound Pinata + Mad June Spring Indie Craft Fair SPIRALE: Concordia Dance Dept. 1st year showings

Il Motore Sala Rossa 7th floor Blackbox Theatre, JSMB bldg

22h00 12h00 20h00

SUN 13

+MUSIC +MUSIC +MUSIC +MOVIE

Throw Poetry Collective

Le Divan Orange

22h00

Il Motore La Sala Rossa Cinémathèque Québécoise

22h00 22h00 18h00

TUES 08

Idlers + Beaver Sheppard Warpaint + PVT + Family Band I'm Going to be a Little Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti

Do you have what it takes to lead a student paper?

We’re looking for the next generation of leaders.

We’re accepting applications for the following positions: * Editor-in-chief * Managing editor * Production manager * Chief copy editor If you’re interested in joining our team send in an application (CV, a small portfolio, and a brief paragraph about yourself) to elections@ theconcordian.com by March 24 at 4:00 p.m. .

We’ll be holding interviews in our Loyola office in CC-431 March 26 at 2:00 p.m.