October 15, 2019

The Concordian.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

LIFE // Ayurveda / Space and sustainability / Fastfashion

ARTS // Art and trauma / Shannon Amen / Ground Work Zine / Joker

MUSIC // Chainsmokers / Maisie Peters / Quickspins / The problem with the Joker soundtrack

SPORTS // Ryan Vandervlis & Jeff de Wit / Weed in USports / Colour Commentary

*news pg. 3 VOLUME 37, ISSUE 8 TUESDAY OCT. 15, 2019

 // theconcordian  @theconcordian  @theconcordian theconcordian.com

OPS // Digital minimalism / Journalism and activism / Writing is a way of life / Brexit is scary

News.

NEWS EDITORS Jad Abukasm /  @JAbukasm Virginie Ann /  @LaVirginieAnn news@theconcordian.com

ELECTION 2019

Federal Election: last look into the political parties’ platforms On Oct. 21, Canadians are asked to cast their vote, to choose the next government between the Liber-

Environment & climate change

- Remove federal carbon tax but use green technologies instead - Green Public Transit Tax Credit on public transport passes for unlimited travel - Force heavy polluters to invest in green technolog y if set emission limits are exceeded

- Declare a climate emergency - Switch all public transit systems to electric vehicles by 2030 - No TransMountain pipeline expansion - Veto for each province on major natural resources projects that pass through their jurisdictions.

- Carbon free by 2050, starting with a reduction of greenhouse gas by 60 per cent by 2030 - Creation of a cross-party cabinet to combat climate change - Ensure Canada uses 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.

- Give Quebec the power to reject federal project affecting the province territory and environment - Carbon tax in provinces where greenhouse gas emissions are higher than average per capita - End of fossil fuels investments, sell TransMountain and invest in

- Establish a law ensuring a smooth transition and proper training of jobs affected by a green transition.

- Raise minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020 for all federal jobs.

- Allocate grants up to $50,000 for startup companies.

- Increase f u nd i ng to t he Registered Education Savings Plan by 10 per cent - Promote freedom of speech on campuses - Repeal Bill C-69–the No More Pipelines Act–to create more jobs

- Reduce tuition fees for post-secondary

- Grant federal jobs to all individuals affected by Quebec’s Bill 21.

- Raise minimum wage to $15 an hour - Eliminating unpaid internships

- Develop a new francophone university in Ontario

- Invest $6 billion in public health services - Create federal universal drug coverage - Establish a list of drugs covered by the federal government to reduce medication costs.

- Tax credit for parents receiving Employ ment Insu ra nce Maternity or Parental Benefits - Increase access to Disability Tax Credit - Up to $1,000 per year per child for sports and fitness program related expenses

- Universal national pharmacare including dental coverage - Consistent quality of national care standards for home care and long-term care amended into the Canada Health Act - Equa l access to abor t ion services

- Federal coverage for drugs and dental care - Deal with addiction as a public hea lt h issue rat her t han a criminal act.

- Decriminalization of all drugs and establish higher surveillance in prescribed opioids

- Retrieve the United States from the referral list in terms of setting the medication prices - Ensure women who lose their jobs towards the end of their maternity leave, or once they came back, receive benef its f rom Employment Insurance

- First-time buyers with a family income less than $120,000 can entrust up to 10 per cent of mortgage-free interest to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

- Interest-free loans of up to $40,000 for renovations to make homes more energy-efficient.

- Create national insurance in case of flooding.

- Lowering and extending mortgage payment - Green Home Renovation Tax credit on the cost of green home renovations - Promote and award new constructions between municipalities through a Build More Homes Competition

- 500,000 units of affordable housing in the next 10 years - Expansion of the government’s f i rst-t i me homebuyer initiative - Doubling the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit available to first-time homebuyers to $1,500

- Construction of 25,000 affordable housing and the renovation of 15,000.

- Addition of an affordable housing right to the current Char ter of R ights a nd freedom.

- Creat ion of a housing minister

- No penalty or tax on money taken out from RRSP used to renovate homes after natural disasters - 1 per cent of Federal annual revenues on building social, affordable housing - Tax credits on intergenerational housing promoting eco-energetic renovation

- Bring drinking water to every

- $10,000,000 each year to organizations that promote mutual relations w it h Indigenous com mu n it ie s a nd projec t development - Create a Minister for Consulting Indigenous Rights Holder to consult with communities on major projects

- Improve cell service on reserves, firefighting, housing and water infrastructure - Hand over child welfare systems jurisdiction to Indigenous communities - Indigenous history education programs developed and implemented by Indigenous people for all Canadians

- Creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act in partnership with Indigenous Peoples - Develop strategry for affordable housing, drinkable water, health care and food security.

- Apply all the recommendations from Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

- Increase the political autonomy of Indigenous communities - Increase recognition and funding of an Indigenous police system - Facilitate the employment of Indigenous people

- Helping resettle LGBTQI2S+ refugees from around the world - $73 million to Quebec's immigration ministr y to welcome immigrants - Allowing people to make asylum claims at official border crossings

- More immigrants to supply the worker shortages - Grant asylum to victims of climate change - Establishment of a new program to deal faster with the current 200,000 files of people living in Canada without official status.

Immigration

Indigenous affairs

Housing

Healthcare

- Carbon-free goal by 2050, starting with a 30 per cent emissions reduction by 2050.

- Eliminate single-use plastic by 2021, cars by 2040 and coal power plants by 2030.

- Raise carbon tax to $50 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions (currently $20).

Education & job training

Infographic by Victoria Blair and Mackenzie Lad

als, Conservatives, NDP, Greens and Bloc Québécois.

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Indigenous community by 2021 - Abolish the Indian Act and apply the Indigenous Languages Act and the Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

- Apply the recommendations from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

- Accept 350,000 immigrants as of 2021 - Grant refugee status to 250 human rights advocates, journalists and aid workers at risk every year.

- Free citizenship applications for all permanent residents

education and increase access to non-repayable Canada Student Grants - New tax credit for graduates to work in de sig nate d r u r a l a nd nor t her n communities - Expand training options that require

clean energy

- Increase funding towards University and researches

employers to spend at least 1 per cent of payroll on annual employee training

- Support economic immigration by restructuring the Express Entry Program to increase the number of points per job offer - Promote rural communities to new immigrants - Reform the Temporary Foreign Wo r k e r s t o f i l l l a b o u r shortage

- Prohibit deportation of immigrants to countries in conflict - Tax credit for recent graduates and immigrants who accept a job in the province - Reduce the number of immigrants

CANNABIS

WORLD:

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Concordia master’s student studies the effects of cannabinoids on the immune system clubs Marissa Ramnanan Assistant News Editor It’s been a year since cannabis was legalized in Canada, and the drug is widely being used across the country. In the second quarter of 2019 alone, Statistics Canada reported that almost 5 m i l l ion Ca nad ia ns have reported using cannabis. Since it was only recently legalized, there hasn’t been much research on it or the effects it has on users.

“So many people are using it, so how do we not know exactly what it’s doing to our bodies?” Concordia Psychology MA student, Norhan Mehrez asked. She said it was shocking to her that we still don't fully understand the mechanism behind some of its effects.

Due to this lag in research, Mehrez said she took it upon herself to study the effects of cannabinoids on people, with a focus on the immune system.

Mehrez’s research is an intersection of three fields: the immune system, circadian rhythms and cannabinoids (THC, CDB and synthetic cannabinoids).

With the help of co-supervisors Shimon Amir, from the department of psychology, and Peter Darlington, an associate professor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Mehrez aims to understand how cannabinoids affect timekeeping in the immune system.

“We know it affects the immune system in several ways, we know that it may affect timekeeping in different tissues in the body,” said Mehrez. “I’m expecting that [cannabinoids] play some sort of role in maintaining an optimal balance in immune function. We know that cannabinoids affect the immune system, but the actual mechanisms of how it's hav i ng t hos e ef fec t s i sn't f u l ly understood.”

Circadian rhythms are the 24-hour cycles in the body that regulate different organs and functions. An example of this is the sleep-wake cycle, which repeats every 24 hours.

Mehrez explained that we have circadian rhythms in a lot of functions of the body, including the immune system. We also have genes, called clock genes, that ensure the regulation of the circadian rhythm of certain functions, depending on the body’s perceived time of day. The clock genes "keep time" by rhythmically activating along a 24-hour cycle, which in turn leads to rhy t h m s i n many bodily processes.

IN BRIEF

Mehrez explained your immune system seems to function optimally at certain times of the day, where your immune response to fight a pathogen is the strongest, and where you may be more likely to heal from a wound. This is where the immune system and circadian rhythms are tightly linked.

Mehrez said when a person’s sleep-wake cycle is disrupted by working the night shift for example, this also affects other circadian rhythms in the body. Those workers are more likely to develop disorders of the immune system because their time keeping is thrown off.

“On the other hand, if you compromise the immune system in animals or in people, we see that some of their circadian rhythms get disrupted as well,” Mehrez continued.

The link between circadian rhy t h ms a nd t he i m mu ne system has been recently investigated, though research is still being done. Mehrez said she wants to learn how cannabinoids affect the immune system as it keeps time.

Mehrez got funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for her research. She said they recruit healthy participants and screen them to have normal sleep cycles by using different questionnaires.

They also have questionnaires to understand their drug habits. The participants' blood is taken from them once screened and Mehrez then isolates the T cells, a subtype of white blood cells that detects the presence of a foreign invader in the body and creates an immune response to attack it.

Mehrez adds different cannabinoids to the isolated T cells, such as THC, CBD and synthetic cannabinoids, activates the T cells to stimulate an immune response and measures the reaction of the cells every four hours, for 36 hours.

They also look at the expression of the clock genes, which continue to show rhythms for some time even after being

removed from the body. Once the researchers activate the T cells and add cannabinoids, they will see whether the cannabinoids affect clock genes and rhythmicity in the T cells.

“Are the cannabinoids going to help cells go back to normal time keeping or are they going to make time keeping worse?

We don't know,” said Mehrez.

Mehrez said, through her research, her team is hoping to uncover whether cannabinoids will help maintain normal time keeping under conditions known to disrupt it or if it will they cause further disruption.

There is a system in the body that has receptors for cannabinoids, generally involved in maintaining balance. For example, maintaining a body temperature of 37º C. Mehrez said that from past research her team knows that cannabinoids also lowers immune system activity, which could be bad for someone who’s trying to fight off an infection or a cold, because we become more prone to viruses when our immune system is lowered or suppressed. “But it can be a good thing for people who have autoimmune illnesses, because their problem is that their immune system is attacking their own body. Cannabinoids are being shown to be useful in autoimmune il lnesses because t hey are immunosuppressants and because they don't have many known negative side effects. So, it seems to be very promising as a potential treatment so far.”

“I'm hoping that understanding how [cannabinoids] affects timekeeping [could] give us insight on how it affects the immune system,” said Mehrez.

Mehrez said that understanding how cannabinoids affect T cells will bring her closer to understanding how they affect overall immune function in healthy people. She added she hopes this research can be followed up to understand how cannabinoids might play a role in autoimmune illnesses.

Deadly typhoon, Iranian women’s victory and religious violence in Burkina Faso Virginie Ann News Editor Oct. 10 became a historic day, as Iranian women were allowed into a football stadium for the first time in 40 years.

The decision came after FIFA threatened to suspend Iran over their male-only policy that has been governing the country for decades. The Guardian reported that the death of Sahar Khodayari earlier this September had a major impact on the FIFA directive. The 29-year-old woman set herself on fire in fear of being jailed after dressing up as a boy, trying to attend a football match.

Her tragic death fueled a national outcry, but resulted in more than 3,500 women finally obtaining their first ticket to a football game.

Two people were killed and nine remain missing as a result of the biggest typhoon to hit Japan in decades.

Since the hit on Oct. 12, more than one million people have been urged to leave their homes. While Japan is frequently hit by typhoons, BBC has described Typhoon Hagibis as the worst storm in 60 years.

It was reported that 270,000 homes have since lost power caused by flooding from the heavy rains. The last typhoon to have caused serious damage was back in 1958, killing over 1,200 people.

Sixteen people were shot dead while attending prayers in a northern Salmossi village mosque in Burkina Faso. As reported by Al Jazeera, the armed gunmen who are yet to be identified entered the mosque on Friday evening and opened fire. It resulted in an ongoing climate of panic as citizens started to flee the area.

For the past few years, the region has been struggling with ethnic and religious tensions advanced by armed groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. More than 500,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since January due to extreme violence, the United Nations said on Friday.

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News.

NEWS EDITORS Jad Abukasm /  @JAbukasm Virginie Ann /  @LaVirginieAnn news@theconcordian.com

HEALTH

Liberals appeal $2.1 billion for Indigenous children Concordia professor weighs in on the matter Fern Clair Assistant News Editor On Oct. 4, Trudeau's government appealed the ruling of t he Ca nad ia n Hu ma n R ights Tribunal (CHRT), ordering the federal government to pay $40,000 dollars to each Indigenous child who was taken from their home under the on-reserve child welfare system.

Over 50,000 children have been affected by the on-reserve child-welfare system, as reported by multiple media outlets.

“People are shocked about the appeal,” said Elizabeth Fast, a Métis professor in Applied Human Sciences at Concordia. Fast has worked with children transitioning out of the child-welfare system and is leading a research project aimed at improving First Nations child-welfare services in Montreal.

“It doesn't make sense why the government is doing this,” said Fast. “So many years were spent fighting this, the court looked over all the evidence and it was a victory for the families involved.”

“People were happy with the victory, it was recognition for on-reserve children,” Fa s t s a i d , r e f e r r i n g t o September when the CHRT gave the order.

Hours after the appeal was filed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Liberals agree with the tribunal’s finding that individuals who were harmed deserve compensation.

“But the question is how to do that?”

Trudeau said at a press conference in Quebec on Oct.4, three days before the deadline to file an appeal.

“We need to have conversations with partners, we need to have conversations with commu- nities, with leaders to make sure we’re get t i ng t hat compensation right.”

Trudeau stated that the federal government can’t

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have those discussions because of the election.

Thus the government needs time to consider all options.

The CHRT ruled there was discrimination against Indigenous people in the welfare system over three years ago, accord i ng to t he National Post.

Fast said she doesn't understand why the Liberal government is doing this during the peak election period.

“It is a total disregard of First Nations voters, it moves away from reconciliation, and assumes the public will be okay with this.” Fast said.

Yet, she does admit that not a lot of people k now about system ic discrimination.

“I talked about it in my class, and none of my students knew about it.” Fast said, referring to her Critical Indigenous Perspectives course.

“The media can do more, to call people to action and hold the government accountable,” she said, warning that the government tries to distract people from issues like this.

What lead to the appeal According to The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, Indigenous children in the on-reserve welfare system are given inadequate and under-funded services.

The reason for this is because both provincial and territorial Indigenous child-welfare laws apply both on and off-reserve. However, because the children are on a reserve, provinces and territories expect the federal government to pay for the children's services.

Thus, when the federal government does not adequately f und t he c h i ld-wel f a r e s er v ices, neither do t he prov inces or territories.

In 2000, the First Nations Child and Family Services Joint National Policy Review: Final Report, was released. It stated that Indigenous children received 22 per cent less

funding for child-welfare compa re d to non-I nd igenou s children.

In 2007, the Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations filed a complaint to CHRT, stating that the federal government discriminates against Indigenous children by not funding child-welfare enough on reserve.

A decade of gathering evidence went into the complaint.

According to CBC, by 2014 the federal government spent more t ha n $5 .3 million in legal fees trying to get the case thrown out.

In 2016, the CHRT deemed Canada to be guilty for discriminating against Indigenous children in the welfare system.

“Canada’s flawed and inequitable provisions of First Nations child and family services is discriminatory pursuant to the Canadian Human Rights Act on the grounds of race and national ethnic origin,” stated the CHRT in the McGill Law Journal, Érudit.

APTN reports that from 2013 to 2017, 102 Indigenous children connected to child-welfare died in Ontario alone.

Approximately half of these deaths happened in the two years it took the Liberal Government to respond to the order made by CHRT. And, according to CTV, the appeal from the Federal government said the order by the CHRT in September “erred in determining that ‘discrimination is ongoing.’”

“It’s bullshit,” said Fast. “I understand that since 2016 there have been changes in the financial formulas that decide where funding is put, but this tribunal has taken years and decades to gather this information and come to this conclusion.”

“I understand it’s not easy being a politician, but this is ignoring the call to justice,” she said.

“The federal government is basically saying the Supreme Court made an error,” Fast said. “The Supreme Court is there to make the final decision, and this is it’s f inal decision.”

Jad Abukasm News Editor Objectively, humans shouldn’t have survived for so many years.

In fact, compared to all other species, humans probably rank as the worst suited for living on our planet.

Cheetahs, for example, can outrun us without effort. Face to face against a gorilla and it’s an easy K.O. Not to mention some of the smallest organisms such as spiders or scorpions that, with a meaningless sting or bite, can lead to a fatal end. And those are only a handful of examples as explained in an Arte documentary.

On the opposite side of the spectrum lives a tiny eight-legged anima l almost invisible to the naked eye that is literally invincible. In fact, that tiny beast survived all five mass extinctions! Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears or moss piglets, ca n t hrive in t he ha rshest conditions known to humans.

Measuring a mere 0.4 millimetres, scientists have recorded these creatures’ presence on top of Everest as well as in the deepest parts of the sea. Their physiology enables them to survive in high toxic or saline environment for years. Suppress their food and water supply? No problem! Their small bodies can endure pressures up to 1,000 times ours. Stick them in a 150º C oven and that’s all games. Absolute zero or -271º C is just an ice bath for them.

If that’s not impressive enough, tardigrades can survive the void of space. In 2007, a group of dehydrated tardigrades were brought into space, where they were exposed to non-gravity conditions. Bombarded with solar UV radiation, no source of oxygen, unimaginable temperatures emanating from the sun and freezing cold temperatures from the nothingness of outer space, 68 per cent of the group revived once they were brought back on Earth.

Their survival abilities are an example of perfectly engineered natural creatures. These small creatures make humans look like wimps.

POLI SAVVY

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

HEALTH

Studying the worldwide phenomenon of vaping and its dangers Demystifying dangers of e-cigarettes

Start your clocks, the countdown begins.

Juliette Palin Contributor With one week lef t to go, federal leaders continue to c ompete for t he publ ic's attention in the press and through their policies.

Justin Trudeau is trying hard to put the blackface controversy behind him.

Obviously deflecting with new and more “a-pleasing” promises than ever, the Liberal leader is neck and neck with Andrew Scheer. However, there is something to be said about his efforts to meet the more progressive party platforms, in an attempt to keep the left-wing vote away from the NDP and the Green Party.

Holly Cabrera Contributor In a puff of smoke, vaping has become a worldwide phenomenon. A s more d im ly-lit electronic cigarette stores set up shop ac r o s s Mont r e a l, Concordia University Health and Exercise Science masters students, Tasfia Tasbih and Florent Larue, aim to demys t i f y t he c on se quenc e s of using e-cigarettes.

“People have the notion that [an e-cigarette] is really safe and that it’s not harmful like a regular cigarette, but it actually is,” Tasbih said. “Any amount of nicotine consumed is harmful.

Smokers may not feel the impact today, but what I have found is that these products will gradually drag you toward addiction and different negative physiological responses.”

Some users misguidedly believe that vaping is more effective than conventional treatments to stop smoking altogether.

However, there is no evidence of its harmlessness. The World Health Organization has consistently called for a regulation of e-cigarettes because of the lack of literature, and this past June, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban t h e s a le a nd d i s t r i but ion of e-cigarettes.

According to Tasbih and Larue, e-cigarettes are of ten promote d a s b e i ng he a lt h ie r because companies deceptively claim that they do not contain nicotine.

“More and more people are nowadays choosing electronic cigarettes to reduce their combustible cigarette consumption, unaware of the lack of knowledge we have about this device,” Larue said.

What makes e-cigarettes so appealing is that, unlike a traditional cigarette, they’re a battery-powered vaporizer, which makes it more easily concealed than its tobacco-rolled counterpart.

In 2018, the value of e-cigarettes was estimated at $15 billion worldwide, and their popularity continues to grow. In an attempt to attract more clients, companies have produced vapes in a variety of colours, sizes and designs, allowing users to customize their experience.

E-cigarette companies have also received backlash for developing different fruity f lavours for vape juice, also referred to as “e-juice” or “e-liquid.”

This juice is the f luid used in vaporizers to create vapour and varies in nicotine levels.

Flavours available include peppermint, strawberry and raspberry, which are especially popular among younger clients.

While researchers have shown that using e-cigarettes leads to reduced respiratory function, Tasbih and Larue hope to take their work a step further.

Over the course of their three-year project, the two graduate students will study how to approach smoking cessation treatment, as well as the impacts of e-cigarette consumption,

according to sex differences.

For Larue, the research project is a way for he and his col leag ues to conf ir m t he impact of e-cigarettes on the autonomic nervous system’s stress response.

The research team, supervised by Dr. Simon Bacon, has already begun recruiting participants. Throughout the project, Tasbih and Larue plan to study 120 participants between the ages of 18 and 45 who don’t have chronic diseases. Ninety will be either e-cigarette or traditional cigarette smokers, and the remaining ones will be non-smokers.

Yet, conducting the pioneering study has presented its fair share of challenges. Although there are many ways to measure the autonomic nervous system, they are not easily feasible.

Over the course of their work, Larue admits that he and his colleagues sometimes struggled to obtain a good signal to perform impedance cardiography assessments.

"One of the many [challenges] is to screen people with no smok ing histor y and no underlying disease, to make sure that the effects we will see aren’t linked to something other than e-cig smoking,” Larue said. “We also have to be precise in our measurement s since physiolog ic a l c h a ng e s ob s e r ve d c a n b e small, but when lasting for years, they could still become meaningful or harmful.”

Photo by Brittany Clarke.

Trudeau – trying to escape his long rapsheet – is promising net-zero emissions by 2050, and a tax cut that will allow everyone’s first $15,000 in income to be tax-free. Jagmeet Singh, the second leading progressive leader is also promising major climate and economic action.

Don’t get me wrong, these leaders are not interchangeable. In matters dealing with the Indigenous communities, Singh has been more favorable due to his strong stance on the clean-water issue in northern Indigenous territories, while Trudeau has been accused of doing little for Indigenous communities.

During the french speaking debate hosted

by TVA, we saw four of the six candidates debate questions of foreign policy, Bill 21, and climate action. Conservative leader Scheer scrambled to connect with the Quebec audience, and through his support for the TransMountain pipeline, it’s likely he didn’t win many votes outside of Alberta that night.

As a follow up, the English speaking debate this past Monday included all six federal leader candidates. I’m not sure whether this debate was meant to replicate the dynamics of a high school classroom, but that's besides the point. Yves-François Blanchet once again proved that he is fighting for the rights of Quebec – more specifically, their right to equalization payments.

Singh made quite an impression as the media declared him the winner of Monday night's debate. His ability to connect with people is uncanny, and translates to a loss of votes for the Green Party; too bad it won’t be enough to become the default progressive leaders.

So in this coming week, my fellow Concordians – stay alert, listen, and most importantly: vote.

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Life.

LIFE EDITOR Kayla-Marie Turriciano /  @lifewithk_ay life@theconcordian.com

Wellness

Ayurveda: A spiritual and physical journey to health and recovery Brittany Henriques Assistant Life Editor Ayurveda is an ancient Indian holist ic med ica l prac t ice encourag ing self-hea ling through the mind, body and soul; and it helped me heal.

In his book Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing, medical practitioner and professor of Ayurvedic Medicine Dr. Vasant Lad writes that Ayurveda is concerned with eight branches of medicine: pediatrics, gynecology (female health), obstetrics (childbirth), ophthalmology (eyes), geriatrics (elder health), otolaryngology (ear, throat and nose), general medicine, and surgery.

According to Lad, each branch is addressed according to theories of the five elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth), the tridosha, and the trinity of life (body, mind and spiritual awareness). The tridosha are three energies that define a person’s makeup: Vata (air and space), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (water and earth).

An ayurvedic practitioner will determine your constitution through tests like observing the tongue, nail health, taking your pulse, etc. They ask questions about your health in detail, from your bowel movements

to how you sleep. Your makeup is then makeup is Pitta-Kapha: I am full of determined and you’ll receive a plan to fire and warmth, making me intellihelp you heal and balance your doshas. gent, sharp, emotional but tolerant, calm and loving. I gain weight easily MY EXPERIENCE and have trouble turning my mind off to sleep.

My symptoms of nausea, bloating, With my symptoms, I was diagnosed indigestion, etc. worsened and hadn’t with aggravated Vata, which can faded after over five years of visiting throw my doshas off balance. I had to various doctors. My family doctor dis- drastically change my diet for more missed my symptoms and blamed them than a month: no carbs and gluten, on my anxiety. My gastroenterologist fermentation or processed sugar, (without testing me) dismissed me by limited starch and dairy intake, and concluding I had a “sensitive stomach” I had to avoid bananas. I basically ate and recommended I remove meat grass for a month because I don’t eat from my diet (which I meat and usually only eat carbs. I also already had). I was fed had strict rules to follow: up and lost hope eat before 1 p.m. when I noticed and not after 8 addip.m., drink rose tional tea twice daily, comgo to sleep before plications midnight, go to the like iron gym three times a week defiand practice yoga ciency, and meditation among almost daily. other things.

I didn’t realize After vish o w mu c h t h e iting Bita food I ate actually Bitajian, an i mp a c te d how I ayurvedic felt. Since I was so practitioner at often dismissed by the Transformation my family doctor, food Ayurvedic Center in intolerances didn’t really St-Lambert, I was told my cross my mind; I didn’t think

my symptoms were as severe as they actually were.

After one week, I felt lighter; I wasn’t bloated or nauseous, nor was I running to the bathroom every hour.

Despite the difficult diet, the initial results were enough for me to stick with it. I was very strict with my diet, I tried to go to the gym as much as I could and I focused on breathing exercises every night to help with my insomnia and anxiety. I felt incredible after two weeks.

NOW Seven weeks in, I’m fed up with the diet but incredibly grateful for the results. I occasionally get indigestion and get bloated, but not like before. This journey has taught me to be mindful of what, how, when, and why I eat. I learned it's important to listen to your body and provide the proper nutrients to function at its maximum potential.

I even started slowly integrating some things back into my diet and am now looking to get tested for gluten intolerance.

I would recommend Ayurveda to anyone who feels stuck and needs to change their lifestyle and habits. If you need physical and spiritual healing, this could be a great option for you.

Sustainability

The solution in our stars

What outer space can teach us about sustainability Fatima Dia Head Copy Editor Amid the horrifying realities in our world, have you ever looked up and wondered why God, karma, the universe – anything – isn’t doing something?

I don’t know about God or karma, but the universe does, in fact, have something.

It’s space and everything we learn from it that can help us.

World Space Week (WSW) occurs yearly from Oct. 4 to Oct. 10 in over 86 countries. It is meant to educate people on space findings, the importance of space exploration and the role of space in sustainability on earth.

I found out about WSW only recently, and having gone to the event in Lebanon, I met the Lebanese National Coordinator Cyrine Nehmé, an astrophysicist.

“The only way we are going to save the earth and the universe is if we elevate to a higher frequency, and to think differently,” she said. “We are not just flesh and blood, we are other.” She added that, although she wasn’t speaking very scientifically, she said those words responsibly.

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In the 19th century, scientists noticed that sunlight reflected in some objects generates an electric current called solar cells (or photovoltaic power), which became solar panels meant for spaceships. Satellites, Google Maps, television, wireless products — all are results of space education.

Looking to outer space for a more sustainable use of earth’s resources isn’t new — it's one of the goals of space exploration. The role of WSW is to make this information available to non-scientists, to reach as many people as possible. Space belongs to everyone; it’s our right to know how it can benefit us and how we can use that knowledge to help solve some of the problems we created.

Living in space requires a strong sense of rationing — everything is limited and should be used efficiently. That alone is something us earthlings can learn from.

Water scarcity is expected to become an imminent threat in the next five years.

According to the WWF, two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to suffer water shortages by 2025.

There are techniques that were initially developed for astronauts to purify wastewater into drinking water. According to an

article in Space News, the University of Kenitra in Morocco uses these techniques to purify nearby groundwater supplies. This provides clean water for 1,200 students, thus reducing the need to transport clean water, which reduces carbon emissions.

Like solar panels, technologies meant for outer space have a place here too, and an eco-friendly one at that. In a 2016 BBC article, Daniel Thomas wrote that NASA’s Ames Research Centre built a “green building” in California, where they’re testing energy-saving technologies.

“Sustainability Base leaves ‘virtually no footprint’ and uses several innovations from space, including solid oxide fuel cells of the type found on Nasa Mars rovers to generate electricity, and a system that reuses wastewater to flush toilets,” wrote Thomas.

According to the WWF, agriculture plays a massive role in climate change; from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution, deforestation to loss of wildlife biodiversity, the impact is significant.

Growing food in space became possible last year, and has also set the idea of virtual farming a “highly sustainable form of agriculture,” as Thomas wrote. Space

farming uses LED lights which increase productivity and are sustainable.

Sustainability is built primarily on humanitarian ideals: meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet theirs.

World representatives at the UN’s Fourth Committee spoke about the benefits space education had for their countries, from developing technologically to alleviating extreme poverty.

Other benefits include improving the efficiency and facilitating the achievement of the UN's 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, satellite communications, enhancing disaster preparedness and mitigation, and even improving the understanding of “symptoms relating to aging.”

There’s already a lot from space technology we can adopt on Earth for a more sustainable use of our limited resources. Yes, let’s march and raise awareness about climate change, it’s important that we highlight the problem. Yet, we should also spread information about the solution – look up, it’s in the stars.

Fashion

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Fast fashion is slowing down

A desire for sustainably and ethically produced clothing is causing a shift in the fashion industry?

Lorenza Mezzapelle Assitant Arts Editor We’ve all been there: your favourite celebrity wears a designer item worth more than your rent. You fawn over it and think “why aren’t I rich?” Then, as if meant to be, you see it at Zara. It’s there, it’s beautiful, it’s... $19.99? But what’s the true cost?

Fast fashion giant Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy on Sept.

30. At its peak, the company had USD$5.8 billion in revenue, according to Business Insider.

What does this mean for the future of the retail industry?

Does the end of Forever 21’s reign signify a new beginning?

But first, what is fast fashion, why is it problematic and why is it increasingly becoming the topic of conversation?

Fast fashion is cheap and trendy clothing produced in as quickly as two weeks – think H&M, Zara and Urban Outfitters. While they make it easy to be fashionable, fast fashion suppliers come with their own set of problems. After oil, fashion is the second most polluting industry. According to online resale marketplace thredUP’s 2019 Resale Report, 108 million tons of non-renewable resources are used every year to produce clothing.

Consumers no longer buy with the intent to keep; an increasing desire to be constantly seen in new styles is shortening the garment life cycle. Because of this, the equivalent of one garbage truck is landfilled every second.

Wi t h t h e r i d i c u l o u s l y low prices comes an ethical dilemma. As per Fashion Revolution, Human rights abuse is a prominent issue: unsafe working conditions, child labour, and exploitation contribute to why garments can be purchased at such low costs. According to thredUP, 59 per cent of consumers expect retailers to create products ethically and sustainably.

Fashion Revolution is a global movement aiming to unite people and organizations to change how clothes are consumed and produced.

Their goal is to achieve an environmentally conscious and ethical industry. Through their #whomademyclothes movement, they strive to encourage brands to disclose where their garments are produced and who exactly is making them. The point is to show that most fast fashion brands cannot name where their products are being

made because they don’t know.

Fashion Revolution hopes to push brands to be more transparent, accountable and honest about their practices.

Fashion Revolution releases a yearly Fashion Transparency Index listing data from the top 200 global fashion brands regarding how much they disclose about their business. A higher score means a more transparent brand in regards to where their garments are made, their ecological footprint, social responsibility, gender equality and payment of living wages.

Working in the fashion industry, I think about this often, and it’s something I’ve struggled with.

Keeping up with trends is part of my job and marketing those trends is my job. Balancing this alongside my desire to be as sustainable, eco-conscious and ethical as possible has proven to be a dilemma. Or rather, it was a dilemma.

Finding sustainable alternatives is no longer a concern.

There is an abundance of secondhand shops – curated and thrift – in Montreal.

There’s a Salvation Army on Notre-Dame St. W. with over seven racks of exclusively denim items. For a more curated selection, there are three Empire Exchange locations in Mile End, where I’ve found my fair share of designer items (Yves Saint Laurent denim shorts, anyone?).

When following trends, I felt blocked. My closet was full, yet I always seemed to have nothing to wear. I easily got bored and resorted to buying more and more. Not to mention, there was the constant guilt of not knowing who was making my clothes, but knowing they couldn’t afford decent living conditions. Having studied the supply chain in fashion school, I felt in part responsible; I had all this knowledge about fast fashion’s ramifications and wasn’t doing anything

about it.

I have not stepped foot in a fast fashion retail store in over a year, and it feels like a step in the right direction. Shopping exclusively vintage, thrifting, buying goods made in Canada and supporting local designers feels incredibly rewarding. My closet may not be overflowing, but I’ve developed a distinct personal style. Adopting a sustainable lifestyle forces you to get creative, upcycle, and do-it-yourself. Not to mention, it significantly reduces your carbon footprint.

So, where is fashion headed?

Fore ver 21’s b an k r uptc y wasn’t a fluke. It’s the result of changing consumer tastes and a growing resale industry.

According to thredUP’s 2019 Resale Report, resale has grown 21 times faster than the retail market in the past three years.

The secondhand market is expected to reach USD$68 billion by 2024, and to grow 1.5 times the size of the fast fashion industry by 2028.

“The fashion of the future is not about the pretty little things, the shoes and the handbag and new party dress,” wrote Carry Somers, founder of Fashion Revolution, in the 2019 Transparency Index. “It is about weaving truth and value into our clothing. We love fashion. We love beautiful clothes. But there is no beauty without truth and there is no truth without transparency.”

Scan to read Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index and find out more about the #whomademyclothes campaign

Visua l by @sundaeghost and Brittany Clarke.

the art of being single

W/ KAYLA-MARIE TURRICIANO

Is it a date? Is it just

getting together to hang out? How do you know the difference?

When you spend time talking to someone and make a plan to meet up, is it a date? Is it just getting together to hang out?

How do you know the difference?

A lot of people think that any get together between themselves and their newest interest is a date, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

By calling every “date” – a meet-up with a love interest or someone you’re getting to know, in whichever sense – a date, there are certain connotations and expectations.

With a date, there comes the expectation that this might lead somewhere more than just hanging out with the person. There’s also confusion of what exactly is appropriate as an activity if this is not a date, but just a meet-up; you wouldn’t necessarily go to the movies or out to a nice restaurant with someone you have no interest in pursuing more than platonically, would you? Going bowling, on the other hand, or grabbing a quick drink (alcoholic or not) could be a more platonic activity and not have the same connotations.

Not every “date” is a date. I’ve been on many non-date activities where there was a mutual acknowledgement that it was not a date, that nothing more would come of the time spent together than a good time spent together with good conversation. On the other hand, I’ve met up with people who called it a date because they called every meet-up a date, regardless of their intentions.

The problem is there are expectations that might not be met. If one of the two people thinks it’s a date but the other doesn’t, and this fact comes up during their time together, things can get awkward very quickly. What do they expect from me? What do they mean by “date”? I don’t want them to get the wrong idea. Does that mean they’ll pay for me/I’m expected to pay for them?

All these and more are questions that can arise because of a lack of communication.

It is possible for non-dates to turn into dates through a change in activity, i.e. going from getting a coffee to grabbing a meal in a dimly-lit restaurant, to a movie or mini-putting. Again, because certain activities have certain connotations, some are dates while others can simply be platonic.

Honestly, the best way to avoid confusion about whether your next meet-up is a date or not is to communicate. Talk about your intentions, expectations (in a non-creepy way), or like, straight up say “I want to take you out on a date.” If you’re still not sure while you’re actually doing whichever activity, pay attention to body language. It’s usually a good signal to whether the other person thinks it’s a date or not. And again, you can always just ask if you’re really clueless.

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If you have any topic suggestions or questions for advice, feel free to reach out to life@theconcordian.

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Arts.

ARTS EDITOR Chloë Lalonde /  @ihooq2 arts@theconcordian.com

Animation

Mourning in beautiful animation

Shannon Amen is a mesmerizing tale of grief, friendship and inventiveness.

Happening

in and around the White Cube this week...

CHLOË LALONDE | ARTS EDITOR

Olivier du Ruisseau Staff Writer For his first film in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Chris Dainty tells the story of his departed best friend and queer artist Shannon Jamieson, who committed suicide in 2006. He reanimates her art and poetry, and does it with innovative techniques and poignant storytelling.

Shannon Amen seems like a very suitable title for the film. Not only does it feel like an elegy, but it also relates Jamieson’s struggles with religion and sexuality.

“I believe every word of the Bible and still desire a relationship with God but feel like I can’t because I’m gay.” Those are the words of Jamieson which the film uncovers. Dainty only realized the gravity of his best friend’s inner battles after her death.

“She felt like a different person almost,” said Dainty, when talking about his experience of going through Jamieson’s art and poetry, after her suicide. He had never known about most of what he found, and never suspected how tormented she was.

The film recreates some of Jamieson’s relationships and art projects. It starts as she climbs inside a church in Lyon, France, and sings, with her guitar.

One of the key settings in Shannon Amen is a farm, probably inspired by the rural town of Hawkesbury, Ontario, where Jamieson and Dainty grew up. Over the years, they worked on many art projects. One of them is beautifully told in the film, mixing animation and archival footage, when Chris went to take pictures of Jamieson and her girlfriend, portraying queer love gently and candidly.

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Jamieson was a multidisciplinary artist who delved into poetry, music, painting and more. One of her paintings, Self-portrait, becomes animated in Dainty’s film, and seems to perfectly encapsulate her struggles with her sexuality and fierce personality.

The artist graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia. She exhibited her artworks in various solo and group shows, most notably in Montreal, Vankleek Hill, and San Francisco.

While Dainty didn’t follow his best friend to Montreal, he still pursued an artistic career and has been living in Ottawa for most of his life. He has been practicing ice sculpting there for many years and, for the first time in his life, has combined that skill with his animation film career.

He developed a technique for Shannon Amen that he calls “icemation.”

He literally animated ice sculptures, which allowed for more poetic possibilities, gorgeous images and unusual sound effects.

Dainty said he and his team carved up to 30 blocks of ice, which weighed about 300 pounds. It would take them three to six hours for each.

Luckily, even though we only see them for a few seconds, the animated ice sculptures were worth all the effort. The scenes they create are quite beautiful.

“It felt more organic, more natural, to use frozen water to represent the character of Shannon,” said Dainty.

“The ice was her essence, her soul [...] It was strong, yet fragile. It was the perfect analogy for Shannon.”

Dainty was very happy the NFB decided to take on his project. The desire of developing icemation was just one of the very challenging goals he had in mind when thinking about making Shannon Amen, and he thinks he could not have done it

without them.

“They are the only ones that would support a project this ambitious,” he said. He also talked about how his producer would always question him and challenge his ideas, which resulted in them making “the right decisions” for the movie and making it as good as it could be.

The entire process of making Shannon Amen was supposed to take two years but turned out to be a four-year journey, because of the various technical developments and script rewrites.

Despite all the work and all the wait that it took before he could see his film come to life, Dainty said he is now very happy about it. It is indeed a beautiful film that will certainly resonate with the public. It not only tells a touching story, but also redefines the power of art and film, transcending purely temporal issues and giving a new life to important memories.

Shannon Amen will be presented at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma on Oct. 17, at the Cinémathèque Québécoise, in the national short films competition. Chris Dainty will also host one of the free Artist’s talk of the Sommets du cinéma d’animation, where he will talk about animation filmmaking, at the Cinémathèque, on Oct. 24.

Inspired by classics like Charlie Chaplin and Stanley Kubrick, Karina Lafayette has been chasing her dreams of filmmaking since she was a teenager. Following her studies at Dawson College, Lafayette studied in Concordia’s film department until 2015, when she was forced to work full-time, dropping out for personal reasons.

She had the opportunity to create several short films, all published on her Youtube channel, Carus Productions. Among those are a series of vlogs and video diaries, tutorials, and responses to events taking place in popular culture, including a short romantic-comedy, titled A Good Man (2014) and experimental short, Give Me a Smile (2017.)

After creating a documentary about the 2012 student strikes in Quebec, Lafayette made the decision to move to Toronto. There, she began doing short term work in the industry, serving popcorn at film festivals and freelancing on various sets, where she met her now ex-husband.

It was during this time that Lafayette began writing poetry, which would eventually become her first book, Queen of Hearts. She wrote in order to process her experiences. Her relationship, once idealized, was beginning to become increasingly toxic.

Her work speaks to the emotional abuse she experienced while juggling her hopes and dreams for her career, and her relationship.

About a year after the couple separated, Lafayette lost everything, turning to the streets and shelters with her dog.

Following Queen of Hearts , Lafayette began working on a second project to continue documenting her story. Persephone Rises, available Oct. 16, is a first-hand account of empowerment and perseverance. The name draws from the Greek myth of Persephone, the goddess of vegetation, and Hades’ wife.

Persephone’s story is one of unwitting love.

Hades, ruler of the underworld, set his sights on her, keeping her as his lover and prisoner in the dark depths. To keep her there, Hades feeds Persephone pomegranate seeds, binding her to him.

It was in this story that Lafayette found comfort, a character that she could relate to. Expressing trauma through creation, of any form, is healing. An article written by artist Terry Sullivan in The New York Times elaborates on four steps to use art to process trauma. Choose a medium you are comfortable with and work when you feel relaxed, don’t be hard on yourself, date and document your work to keep track of your progress and finally, be selective of who you show your work to.

If you are experiencing trauma you would like to express in a safe space, visit the pop-up zen den in the Counselling and Psychological Services room 300-22, Guy-De Maisonneuve building (1550 De Maisonneuve W).

Art History

Art criticism doesn’t have to be theoretical

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Ground Work offers students a unique platform to showcase their work Lorenza Mezzapelle Assistant Arts Editor The launch of the first edition of Ground Work, an art criticism journal published by the Fine Arts Reading Room (FARR), was celebrated last week.

Artists and writers alike were encouraged to write about art that they encountered on and around Concordia, whether it be at the VAV Gallery, during a studio class, or anywhere else on campus.

Photo by Cecelia Piga.

“At Concordia, there isn’t a journal dedicated to art criticism within the fine arts community,” said Le Lin, who works at the FARR, noting that the form of art criticism that takes place within the faculty is more theoretical, aimed towards Art History students.

“When you interact with different spaces within Concordia during critiques, at FOFA, Leonard and Bina, you sometimes have a lot to say,” said Lin, adding that Ground Work aims to offer a place for fine arts students to express themselves through writing. “[We wanted] Ground Work as something to offer everyone, and not just Art History students.”

Five versions of Ground Work are available, described as “collectibles” by Lin. Designed by Van Le, another employee of the FARR, the graphic concept originated from a cracked phone screen. A vibrant red arcade font and black fine li ne deta i ling adds an interesting and unexpected pop against t h e o f fwhite paper, which folds out into a poster.

Each of the five printouts features a single text, ranging from works exploring contemporary art within urban landscapes, to review-type features about art exhibited within the school’s galleries.

publication, maybe.”

Despite offering publication grants to students, Ground Work is the first publication by the FARR. “I do see more programming [for the FARR] being done in the future,” said Lin. “We definitely see [Ground Work] being continued... or another FARR

Copies of Ground Work can be found at The Fine A rts Reading Room, at EV 2.785.

The FA R R is open Mon to Thur, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Fri f rom 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The FAR R is a student-run library-meets-resource centre, located on the second f loor of Concordia’s EV building, offering resources, and publication and Eva Morrison’s “Desire Lines” residency grants to students and delves into user experience, in clubs. regards to the large “C” sculpture outside Concordia’s Sir George “A lot of resources come to us, Williams Campus. Hea R. Kim’s so that we relay the information “The Inner Presence of Absence: out,” said Lin, adding that the Dominique Sirois’ Sous Verre, Sous FARR’s catalogue is currently Terre III, IV, V” is an article about expanding to fill gaps of what is multimedia artist Dominique Sirois’ missing in the Webster library, and works, featured at Galerie Laroche/ noting that they currently have a Joncas in downtown Montreal. wide selection of new resources available from their trip to NY The texts, which are at once Art Book Fair. academic and personal alongside the DIY-approach assembly of the All students interested in subjournal, convey expression and mitting work can expect to hear theory in a way that does not feel callouts for the next issue during like an essay. the Winter semester.

Movie Review

Give Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. That's the tweet.

As fascinating as it is disturbing, this standalone film is a lot more than it seems Lola Cardona Contributor I don’t see Joker as a movie about a Batman villain. For some reason, I have trouble even connecting Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Arthur Fleck with the classical Joker.

Above all else, when I watch Joker, I see a film about mental illness, childhood trauma and the consequences of inadequate social support. Say what you will about the film, maybe you thought it was flat, too disturbing or not disturbing enough.

Before Joker was even released, there was a lot of criticism of the movie saying that it glorifies and encourages white men who feel disenfranchised to turn to violence to be noticed. Joker brings these issues to light in a way that forces you to confront them as well as your morals. There is also an interesting commentary on poverty and class which ties into the main themes and asserts itself as a significant

theme throughout the film. Arthur Fleck is depicted as a struggling, lonely mentally ill man trying to make sense of his place in the world but never uses this as an excuse for the actions he commits. His villainy or innocence is up to the viewer.

Now, I need to address the most extraordinary force in Joker: Joaquin Phoenix. To get straight to the point, his performance is phenomenal. He beautifully conveys Fleck’s internal pain and uses movement to emote specific emotional atmospheres.

Phoenix reels you into the character’s head and makes you understand his state of mind and his actions, moral or not. It’s almost messed up how he’s able to make you feel empathetic for Arthur when you feel like you shouldn’t, but that’s just part of the magic of Phoenix’s performance. An Oscar Nomination for Best Actor is guaranteed, and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t win. The way he makes you feel certain emotions with the simplest gestures and expressions is astonishing.

The soundtrack by Hildur Guðnadóttir, the cinematography by Lawrence Sher, and the direction by Todd Phillips brings you right into the era, location and most importantly the feeling of this film. Guðnadóttir creates a dark and distressed cello-heavy soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re in the murky depths of Gotham City… and of Arthur’s mind. Along with her previous work, like TV mini-series Chernobyl and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Guðnadóttir is a force to be reckoned with.

Ultimately, I think that Joker is one of the more important films to come out of 2019. Phoenix delivered a powerful performance, Guðnadóttir gave us a stellar soundtrack and, ultimately, I got a film that I will be thinking about for a long time.

4.5/5 Stars.

With Phillips, the pacing was excellent.

I appreciated that he allowed some scenes to play out without much dialogue and let Phoenix use movement to flesh out the scene. Sher’s stunning cinematography was the final selling point for me to decide that, on a technical level, Joker is a masterpiece.

Graphic by @joeybruce_art

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Music.

MUSIC EDITOR Immanuel Matthews /  @immanuelmatt music@theconcordian.com

THINKPIECE

The Joker soundtrack is a failure

The inclusion of a song made by convicted rapist Gary Glitter continues to prove that Todd Phillips is an insensitive filmmaker Louis Pavlakos Staff Writer By now, you’ve probably seen Joker. You also probably have an opinion on it as the film’s been one of the most divisive pieces of cinema in recent memory.

While the subject of debate surrounding the movie has been mainly around its plot points and characterization of its protagonist, Arthur Fleck, its soundtrack also reflects Fleck’s incel-behaviour that goes a step too far, by including Gary Glitter’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll (Part 2).”

Glitter was convicted of one count of attempted rape, four counts of incident assault, and one of having sex with an underage girl in 2015.

Although Glitter isn't set to make any money off of his song, the inclusion of “Rock 'N' Roll (Part 2)” still acts as a giant middle finger to victims of child abuse.

Joker’s soundtrack features songs that directly reflect Fleck’s personality throughout the film. While many contain allusions to clowns, the songs include subtext that directly relates to Fleck’s social incompetence.

“Everybody Plays the Fool” by The Main Ingredient starts with the singer

speaking to an unnamed person who spends all their time moping and feeling sorry for themselves – a theme that drives the entirety of Joker.

Songs like “Send in the Clowns” and “White Room” both discuss the end of doomed relationships but, of course, Joker uses them to represent Fleck’s eventual dissociation from society, leading him to become the villain we know.

Naturally, filling a movie with music that could relate to incel-behaviour is an understandable move. The soundtrack sets the tone for the film and helps convey the film's messages.

Having a good soundtrack only elevates the film. Except in the case of Joker.

Glitter’s inclusion in the film marks a gigantic failure for Todd Phillips, Warner Bros., and everyone else involved with the film's production.

It makes sense for a movie about an incel to include music that contains lyrics about incel-behaviour. The songs mentioned before don’t explicitly reference those themes, but when pairing the lyrics with the themes of the film, they can be interpreted as songs to which Fleck would relate.

“Rock ‘N’ Roll (Part 2)” doesn’t include any lyrics. The song is a

three-minute rock fest that’s heavy on chaotic instrumentals and backed by the classic “hey, hey, hey” line repeated throughout. The song has no symbolism as the others do. Sure, it sounds fun, and in the moment you’d have no idea who made it, but its true purpose here is murky.

Did the studio know? I can’t say for sure, but they should have checked.

Joker doesn’t glorify incel-behaviour. It depicts it as truly as possible, but has nothing more to say. It's an incredibly shallow movie

that's made even more numbing when paired with the inclusion of Glitter's song.

This is just another addition to all the scandals surrounding the now-infamous film.

Phillips has done a great job of showing how disconnected he is from society and with the discovery that Glitter has a song in the film, it further illustrates that maybe Fleck wasn’t the joker – it was really Phillips.

Film still from Joker

Quickspins ANGEL OLSEN ALL MIRRORS

Jagjaguwar

Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors is a grand orchestral pop expedition into passion and loss. Just two years since the release of her last album, Phases, and three years since the major critical success of My Woman, Olsen has pivoted from her trusted folk-rock roots to a more bombastic, ambitious route on this newest project.

Olsen’s lyrics are often questioning and timid yet her vocal delivery carries all the power. This is especially apparent on the track “Impasse” where she belts “Take it out on me, I’m too caught up to see [...] You know best, don’t you know” over gloomy swelling strings, creating a beautiful yet

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deeply unsettling atmosphere, a tone that appears often in the album.

Despite a sprinkling of upbeat moments on the album such as “Too Easy,” All Mirrors is incredibly dark. There is a palpable anger running through this project.

Whether it’s anger at a past love like on “Lark,” or anger at herself as on the title track, Olsen isn’t letting anyone off the hook.

All Mirrors is what a breakup album should be, Olsen’s songs of self-reflection and ire bring us even deeper into this powerful singersongwriter’s mind.

9/10  TRIAL TRACK: ALL MIRRORS

 STAR BAR: It's easy if you tell the truth / But knowing what it is, it's not enough / And knowing that you love someone / Doesn't mean you ever were in love “What It Is“ — AVIVA MAJERCZYK, CONTRIBUTOR

DANNY BROWN

UKNOWHATIMSAYIN¿

Warp

instrumentals while also trying to add the signature Danny Brown touch to it.

Danny Brown’s strangeness continues to flourish even as he approaches 40 years of age.

The rapper never ceases to innovate in his work and on uknowhatimsayin¿ , he does the most, with as little as possible.

8.5/10 Danny Brown, hip hop’s resident weirdo, had huge expectations for his follow-up to his acclaimed 2016 drug-fest of an album, Atrocity Exhibition. His latest effort, Uknowhatimsayin¿, strays from the strangeness he’s known for and is Brown’s most grounded project to date.

Legendary rapper/producer Q-Tip executive produced the album, which is easy to see when listening to the songs he produced himself such as standout “Dirty Laundry” and nostalgia-filled closer, “Combat.” This album is partly a love letter to 90s

 TRIAL TRACK: Dirty Laundry

 STAR BAR: Work all day 'til the work gone (Step) / Talkin' back in the day when I had a chirp phone (Boop) / My n***a made a wrong turn, got flipped in the zone / Had to say I was a smoker just so I could go home (Home) “Anywhere u go “

— JOHANNE NEDERGAARD, STAFF WRITER

SHOW REVIEW

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

The Chainsmokers know how to get lit The DJ duo bring the wow factor after Lennon Stella and 5SOS perform Kayla-Marie Turriciano Life Editor Erica Rizzo Contributor Flames, fireworks, motor bikes, lasers and suspended metal fixtures — this and more were part of The Chainsmokers’ show at the Bell Centre on Oct. 9. But before all that, Lennon Stella and 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) performed their sets.

Visually, Stella’s stage production was underwhelming. There was no décor or props of her own. All we got was Stella, her guitarist, and drummer.

Unfortunately, she was often overtaken by backing tracks or aggressive, auto-tuned-sounding vocoder harmonies. The crowd was only able to hear Stella’s true voice during an acoustic version of “Like Everybody Else.” This was the highlight of her 30-minute set along with her performance of “La Di Da.” After an excruciating near-20 minute wait, four-man band 5SOS hit the stage – Luke Hemmings, lead vocals; Calum Hood, bassist; Michael Clifford, lead guitarist; and Ashton Irwin, drums. They started with their 2014 hit-single “She Looks So Perfect,” the perfect tune to kick-start the show, both for nostalgic 5SOS fans and anyone prone to tapping their feet to a catchy beat.

There was a well-balanced assortment of tracks off their newest album Youngblood like “Want You Back” and “Ghost of You,” current singles “Teeth” and “Easier,” and hits from the past like “Amnesia” and “Jet Black Heart.” The 17-song set, which lasted a little over an hour, was enjoyable and it looked like they were having as much fun performing as we were watching.

Each member took the time to say a few words. Like many artists that visit Montreal, they seemed to unashamedly proclaim their affinity for the city. Hemmings jokingly tried his hand at French while Clifford, on behalf of the band, expressed their unique connection with the city and its creatives. While Hood most

notably expressed his enthusiasm through the use of several profanities, Irwin’s comments caused quite a stir. He excitedly let fans know how happy they were about playing in Montreal after a five year absence.

However, dedicated fans let him know that they had, in fact, visited July 13, 2016.

After ending their set with “Youngblood,” the band walked off stage and there was another nearly 20-minute wait for the duo everyone was waiting for.

With metal structures falling into place over the stage, the DJ duo of The Chainsmokers – Alex Pall and Drew Taggart – along with drummer Matt McGuire, walked on stage holding up a flaming stick each

(Olympics style). The crowd went wild when they started their set with insane visuals of smoke, steam bursts, and lasers.

The Chainsmokers performed the next two hours with such intensity and energy that resonated with and through the crowd. Without expectations of how their set would pan out (we mostly went for 5SOS), there was a certain shock value with everything the DJs did on stage.

After “Sick Boy,” which Taggart performed in a metal sphere suspended in the air, 5SOS came back on stage to perform a rigorous rendition of “Who Do You Love” halfway through The Chainsmokers’s 15song set. Taggart asked the crowd who was ready to dance and picked a young woman out of the crowd.

As soon as the bass dropped, she did the floss, kicked up her leg, did a cartwheel and landed in the splits.

Throughout the rest of the show, there were more flames, lasers, steam bursts and a light show happening all at once. By the last song, Taggart was standing at the top of the metal structure on stage, maybe 50 feet up, looking like he was living his best life.

All in all, The Chainsmokers put on an impressive performance. It might have been because we had no idea of what to expect, but it was definitely a show to remember.

THINK-PIECE

Maisie Peters shines at Petit Campus The Folk-Pop artist was a big hit at a small venue last Thursday Chris Iannotti Contributor For a set where more than half of the tracks are acoustic ballads, Maisie Peters’ fans still managed to make full use of the dance floor last Thursday at Petit Campus.

encore. Playing literally their last two songs (that exist!), “Personal Best” and “Worst of you,” brought the night to a satisfying ending.

Maisie Peters’ vocals really have grown so much since her debut on Youtube at the age of nine.

Overall, for such a small venue, the production was great.

Having the live bass and synth players really made the tracks sparkle, and then coming out to meet all the fans after the show really made this a special one for many.

Photo by Cecilia Piga

After running onstage as her band began the intro to “Stay Young,” the English artist set the energy level for the rest of the evening. Once the initial cheers died down, she didn’t hesitate to let us know that while many of these songs are sad and slow, “you’ve still got to stomp your little feet for me.”

The night began at 8 p.m. with Australian alt-pop artist Jack Gray opening the show. Due to Visa issues, Jack explained, his band could not join him, and his set was going to be acoustic.

Jack’s vocals were highlighted really well as he reimagined his greatest hits; “Bullet” and “Fools,” and he showed off his talent on a guitar and keyboard, sometimes at the same time.

During the intermission, the venue played some real bops as they set up the stage, keeping the energy up and the crowd singing along. Once 9 p.m. hit, Maisie’s bassist and her synth play-

er took the stage, and fairy lights were illuminated around Maisie’s mic stand.

The first few tracks clearly showed off her newer electronic sound. During “Adore You” and “In My Head” she was gracefully dancing around the stage as if in her own world, and the crowd was equally as enthralled.

Halfway through, as Maisie picked up her guitar, it was time for those acoustic tracks. “Take Care of Yourself ” from her newest EP, It’s Your Bed Babe, It’s Your Funeral, was dedicated to World Mental Health Day, and the crowd knew all the words to her first single “Place We Were Made.”

The band left, as Maisie said she had prepared a special Canadian cover for us: a mashup of Drake and Carly Ray Jepsen; “Call me Maisie.” It was a hit and the crowd burst into laughter as they slowly caught onto the pun. In general, Maisie was quite funny. Her seemingly sad songs often had hilarious backstories. She even dedicated a song to her boyfriend modelling her new shirt at the merch table, which I only later realized was a mannequin.

Ending off her set with an extended version of “This Is On You,” Maisie wished us a goodnight, promising to return to Canada more often. The audience’s cheers would not subside until the band came out again for an

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Sports.

SPORTS EDITOR Matthew Ohayon /  @MatthewOhayon sports@theconcordian.com

PROFILE

“He’s not much of a friend, he’s like family.” Jeff de Wit and Ryan Vandervlis reunite on the Stingers

Matthew Ohayon Sports Editor

When you think of best friends that have played together on a hockey team, Jeff de Wit and Ryan Vandervlis probably wouldn’t be the first duo to come to mind.

“We work together, we spend almost every day in the summer together,” said de Wit. “We know each other really well. He’s not much of a friend, he’s like family.”

The two Red Deer, Alberta natives haven’t played together since they were 14 years old, back in their hometown as members of the Red Deer Rebels Black Bantam AAA. Seven years later, and 3600 km away from home, they are once again reunited as members of the Concordia Stingers.

Both players were looking for a fresh start and wanted to experience life outside of Alberta, figuring a new city and new experience would be good for them.

“If [Vandervlis] wanted to go to another school, it would’ve been something we had to talk about,” de Wit said. “But I knew for a while that moving away from Alberta would be the right decision for me.”

“I think there were five or six different schools that have reached out, but this is where I wanted to be,” said Vandervlis. “It’s so different out here. There’s a lot more European, a lot more culture.”

Head coach Marc-André Élement is excited about what de Wit will bring to the table, giving the rookie a large offensive role right from the get-go.

“He has a really good game,” said Élement. “He’s a big body, he’ll bring a huge netfront presence for us on the power play.”

De Wit played five seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL), mostly for the Red Deer Rebels. He played for three teams in his second-to-last season and struggled to find his game, putting up 20 points in 43 combined games. After moving back to the Rebels and making changes to his off-season regimen, de Wit put up a career high 27 goals and 44 points.

The Concordia Stingers are the only school in Quebec to have players from the province of Alberta. The WHL is by no means an untapped market when it comes to recruiting, with most of their players playing in the Canada-West division. But with only four Alberta teams in the division and a load of talent to choose from in the WHL, spots on rosters are limited, so Élement decided to pounce on the opportunity.

“A lot of the schools say the same things to you, so it's a feel-out process,” said de Wit. “One thing that made it better was [Élement] took time out of his life to fly out to Alberta to see some alumni but still made time to see me and Ryan. It was super nice of him, really personal and it really aided the process.”

The players are excited to play on the same team again.

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Vandervlis made his debut last Saturday night versus McGill; it was his first time playing competitive, contact hockey in over a year. In June 2018, Vandervlis was involved in a campfire accident where he ended up having approximately 50 per cent of his body burnt.

After the Stingers lost to the Carleton Ravens 2-0 on opening night, Élement decided it was time for Vandervlis to get into the action.

“It was a lot of fun, it’s been a long time coming,” said Vandervlis. “To finally get back out there was awesome.”

Before his accident, Vandervlis played in the WHL as well as a member of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. After struggling in the 2016/17 regular season, Vandervlis broke out in the playoffs scoring eight goals and putting up 14 points in 17 games. The following season was cut short but he still managed to put up 11 goals and 19 points in 19 games.

Last year, after waking up from a medically-induced coma and spending 11 weeks in the hospital, Vandervlis found himself back on the ice playing in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL) as a member of the Red Deer Vipers. The 6’3, 212 pound centre was clearly one of the bigger talents in the league, putting up 21 points in nine regular season games, and 10 points in seven playoff games.

With stats like that, the Stingers may have very well found themselves a hidden gem. At first glance of his stats, its fairly evident that he is a big playoff performer. In his debut on Saturday night, Vandervlis looked like he did not skip a beat, slotting into the lineup on the second line and logging a good amount of ice-time.

“He’s an offensive guy so for sure he has to play on [a top] line,” said Élement. “He did a lot of the little things right. The game shape is gonna come, but [overall] he did really well.”

The two Albertans were not just brought in for their scoring abilities, though. De Wit said the best aspect of his game is that he’s a 200-foot player who has a nose for the net but can bring a physical presence when needed. Vandervlis says that his “Hockey IQ” is his greatest strength as it sets him up for success on both ends of the ice.

Vandervlis and de Wit were slotted together on the same line against McGill, but it remains unclear if they will be sticking together long term as they are both listed as centres. For now though, the two are enjoying playing together for the first time since their Bantam AAA day.

“In the summer time we talked about playing together [at Concordia] for a long time,” said de Wit. “It was super cool to see that come to life.”

R ARY U LO ENT O C MM harp S iam CO w/ L Remember when the NBA’s biggest storylines during the off-season involved tampering, trade requests, and Lebron’s “Taco Tuesday” trademark denial? Now, America’s most progressive sports league faces its biggest challenge since the Donald Sterling scandals of 2014.

On Oct. 4, Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted an image in support of the protests taking place in Hong Kong that read, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”

Morey deleted the tweet shortly after but had failed in avoiding conflict with China.

The NBA’s initial statement acknowledged the tweet as offensive to Chinese friends and fans, but ultimately created more confusion as it failed in representing a definitive stance. On Oct. 8, NBA commissioner Adam Silver cleared the air when he specified the NBA would not regulate what its employees and owners say, supporting Morey’s right to freedom of expression.

In response, China Central Television, CCTV, showed immense dissatisfaction, saying “remarks that challenge national sovereignty and social stability are not within the scope of freedom of speech.” In addition, the company suspended all NBA broadcasting. Rights holder of the NBA in China, Tencent, blacklisted Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets.

Sponsors were forced to cut ties with the team and its players to avoid potential blowback.

The NBA-China rift is an ongoing process that is showing no signs of faltering. A single tweet derailed a Chinese partnership that generated millions in yearly revenue for the NBA, unequivocally one of its largest international markets.

The bottom line is prominent figures need to provide unsolicited content frequently to appease the public interests, often resulting in posts that are imprudent. Morey’s tweet shows the volatility a post can possess and stresses the importance of taking precaution when sharing online in a society that encourages spontaneity, with consumers who are obsessed with immediate satisfaction.

This notion was emphasized in the backlash received by coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, when he was asked about the topic. Kerr has been outspoken to the media on American political issues in the past but admitted he did not have enough knowledge to formulate an opinion on Chinese politics.

Kerr was criticized by fans and was called out by President Donald Trump in a hearing on Oct 9, who labelled Kerr a hypocrite that “was like a scared little boy”. The Warriors’ coach effectively showed self-awareness in wanting to think before he speaks, which is unfortunately an ostracized attitude in 2019.

WEED

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Weed still on U Sports banned substance list a year post-legalization A deep dive into why cannabis remains banned for university student-athletes Matthew Coyte Managing Editor It’s been one year since Canada legalized cannabis nationwide. So why is cannabis still banned for U Sports athletes in-season?

But before we answer that question, let’s take a quick look at the major sports leagues across North America and how they approach cannabis.

The NFL has been notoriously hard-lined when it comes to cannabis use (i.e. Josh Gordon), handing out long-term and season-long suspensions for repeated offences. The NBA is more lenient, with punishments ranging from a US$25,000 fine, to a five game suspension.The NHL doesn’t punish players who test positive for cannabis. The CFL, the only major pro league based entirely in Canada, doesn’t test for cannabis.

For university sports, the NCAA also has cannabis on its banned substance list. Violations can result in a suspension, according to the organization’s drug policies.

U Sports’ cannabis ban is a little different than those other leagues.

Unlike the NHL, NBA or even the NCAA, U Sports doesn’t choose its own doping policies or sanctions.

Who makes the rules?

U Sports is a signatory on the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), which is administered by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (CCES). The CCES is Canada’s anti-doping agency.

“The CCES and U SPORTS work together to protect the integrity of sport and the health of Canadian student-athletes,” said Paul Melia, CCES President and CEO, in an email to The Concordian.

The reason cannabis remains on the list of banned substances for U Sports athletes is because the CCES doesn’t determine which substances are or aren’t on its anti-doping list. The organization is a signatory on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s Prohibited List.

The same list is used for Olympic competition.

For a substance to end up on the WADA’s Prohibited List, regardless of its legality, it has to fulfill two of the three criteria in the eyes of the WADA. 1. It has the potential to enhance sport performance 2. It represents a health risk to the athletes 3. It violates the spirit of sport.

The WADA stated in an email to The Concordian that it does not make public the reasons for which it adds substances to the list.

In the “Cannabis in Sports Education Kit” from the CCES, the organization states that they don’t view cannabis as particularly performance enhancing they “do have anecdotal accounts of athletes using it therapeutically with the intent to improve performance or recovery by managing pain, stress, or anxiety.”

Sanctions, suspensions, and substances It’s important to note that U Sports’ cannabis rules are far more relaxed than most of its athletic counterparts. First of all, athletes don’t receive a sanction for a positive cannabis test result during the off-season. Any U Sports athlete that faces a suspension can appeal the decision to a third party arbitrator.

However, any in-season test sample that contains more than 150 nanogram per millilitre (ng/mL) of cannabis metabolite Carboxy-THC would be flagged and might land a U Sports athlete a suspension. For comparison, the MLB’s cannabis testing threshold is 50ng/mL and the NFL’s is 35ng/mL. Since raising the cannabis testing threshold to 150ng/mL in 2013, only five U Sports athletes have been suspended for cannabis violations.

While athletes have faced suspensions for cannabis testing, the WADA requires that labs not report and that anti-doping organizations not pursue any sanctions against an athlete who was found to have low concentrations of cannabis in their sample.

Between 2003 (the first annual report available online) and 2012, 23 athletes tested positive for cannabis. Out of those 23, the only athletes to receive suspensions were those who tested positive for multiple substances. All CADP violations are publicly listed on the CCES’ website.

What the players think

We asked past, current, male and female U Sports athletes from different sports for their thoughts on the league’s cannabis ban.

Athletes spoke anonymously, some saying they were worried that if they spoke about cannabis publicly, they would be singled-out for testing. Here’s what they said.

U Sports field hockey player: “Athletes could definitely benefit from having cannabis unbanned because there are many beneficial uses beyond recreational. Many people in my life use cannabis to relieve pain, anxiety and in order to sleep better. In general, athletes are busy people and are prone to stress, so cannabis could help be a big help. Cannabis is safe to use and is now very regulated just like alcohol which is legal in U Sports.”

Former U Sports football player:

so, and I don’t think they’re a big enough entity to handle the down sides of lifting the ban. They won’t pull the trigger unless the NCAA is successful with it.”

U Sports football player: “I definitely believe cannabis should be banned during the season, but if an athlete wants to consume some in [their] off season I believe that it shouldn’t be a problem and players should be allowed to do so. The only way I could see a player benefiting from cannabis being unbanned is during an injury period and the cannabis manages to eliminate some of the pain felt by the player. I think some players would love to see the ban lifted and have the opportunity to consume cannabis like other consumers in Canada without fearing the consequences of the suspensions athletes receive if they get caught.”

U Sports rugby player: “I don't know why it’s banned for U Sports athletes. They have us do an online substance use training [before the season], even after that I’m still not sure why athletes can’t consume weed in particular. It has benefits, it helps with anxiety and sleep. I find it unfair to take away that potential benefit to athletes.”

“Do I think there should be a ban?

Absolutely not. But at the same time I can understand why the U Sports won’t lift the ban. They would be the first western civilization sports organization to do Graphics by @sundaeghost

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Opinions.

OPINIONS EDITOR Youmna El Halabi /  @HalabiYoumna opinions@theconcordian.com

BREXIT

Trick or treat, deal or no deal Patrick McKenna Contributor If the UK’s (United Kingdom) planned exit from the EU (European Union) known as Brexit was simply a train wreck, a mess and a “cock-up” it wouldn’t be too bad; but it’s more than that for many people it’s a nightmare they’d like to waken up from but can’t. Is it a coincidence that Brexit is scheduled for October 31st which, as you know, is also Halloween? I wonder.

Brexit reminds me of Irish author Jonathan Swift’s 1726 Gulliver’s Travels and its Lilliputians warring with each other over whether to open a soft boiled egg from the small or big end.

Fast forward three centuries to the UK and its Leavers and Remainers seem to be reborn Lilliputians -- arguing about irrelevancies while seemingly oblivious to the essentials: climate change, the environment, poverty and much more.

I confess that as a self respecting Irish person I’d be amused by Brexit as an expression of Brit silliness but I worry about family and friends in Northern Ireland (NI), in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and the UK; their lives may be disrupted by Brexit. My concerns aren’t unfounded: on September 4th the Canadian credit ratings agency DBRS

issued a report suggesting that Brexit could “inadvertently lead to the breakup of the Union” (the UK) by increasing support for Scottish independence and the unification of Ireland. (“NoDeal Brexit Increases Risk of Breakup of the U.K.” www.dbrs.com.).

The prospect of a breakup of the UK is a serious matter: even casual students of history know that the birth or death of a nation is often a very messy business.

A flashpoint would be the NI-ROI border which, following Brexit will become the only land crossing between the UK and EU. Invisible since the signing of the 1998 Peace Agreement that ended thirty years of undeclared civil war in NI if it emerges after Brexit with infrastructure – fences, passport and customs posts, violence could easily ensue.

Bertie Ahern, former PM of the ROI who helped negotiate the Peace Agreement had this to say about a “hard” border: ‘There is not going to be a physical border across Ireland because if you tried to put it there you wouldn’t have to wait for terrorism to take it down, people would just physically pull it down -the ordinary people’ (BBC News, 10 April 2018).

After Brexit, the roughly 3 million citizens of EU member states, established in the UK, may no longer be able to stay and UK citizens working,

Graphic by Victoria Blair

Could a no-deal brexit be scarier than Halloween?

living or retired in the EU may have to rethink their futures. Should Brexit falls through - say in a second referendum - some more extreme Brexiters might target EU citizens and the Irish, seen as the main stumbling block to Brexit.

The crazy thing is, Brexit didn’t have to happen. It all began with a throwaway promise by the UK PM David Cameron, who said he would hold a referendum on continued EU membership if his Conservative Party was re-elected in the general election of 2015. Mr Cameron got his wish - his party was reelected - and he kept his promise, called the referendum and on June 23rd 2016, to everyone’s surprise the Leave side won! Since no one had expected this result and since no other member state has left the EU neither the UK or EU were ill prepared for their divorce proceedings.

After the referendum result Mr Cameron immediately resigned,

ACTIVISM

A lesbian journalist’s guide to objectivity Laurence Brisson Dubreuil Photo Editor As a journalist whose existence is inherently political, presenting myself as politically neutral feels impossible. I began questioning the idea that this was achievable during the first semester of my journalism major.

During a lecture on social media guidelines, a professor argued that professional journalists were expected to be neutral online and that our profiles, public as well as private, should be used with precaution. In their defence, the stance of journalistic neutrality is a topic that is still being debated today. The same professor then put up their Twitter and Facebook profile which were both free from any personal news and opinion: a journalist with no identity.

I glanced to my right and then quickly to my left anticipating a reaction from my peers. I still don’t know whether I was the only one bothered by what we were being told, or if other students

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were just better at keeping a neutral expression. All I know is that in that moment I felt distressed because I knew that as a lesbian, my identity is anything but neutral.

That is not to say that my sexual orientation would ever interfere with my ability to report on stories which overlap with my sexual identity, but rather that no matter how objective my coverage may be, my identity is and always remains a political statement. Am I not to post photos of my girlfriend and I on Instagram?

Would Tweeting about The L Word someday get me reprimanded?

The Canadian Press has come up with a set of rules for journalists to

follow on social media platforms.

“Journalists should not make reference in their profiles to any political affiliations, nor should they post material that could be construed as expressing a political opinion.” This prompts me to ask, how can we expect any member of a marginalized community, whether they’re Indigenous, black, trans, disabled or anyone in between, to be neutral when faced with a story that debates over their own humanity? The simple answer is that we can’t and we shouldn’t.

Trans man and freelance journalist, Lewis Wallace, made headlines in 2017 after he was fired for publishing a post on Medium in which he

Teresa May took over as PM and then after her hard won Tentative Withdrawal Agreement was voted down by the UK parliament, she moved aside for Boris Johnson who, upon becoming PM declared that the UK would exit the EU - with or without a withdrawal deal - on October31st (Halloween). However his can-do plan was derailed on September 4th when the parliament voted down a no deal Brexit and any possibility of a general election.

Thankfully as I write this, some hope of a deal has emerged: following a meeting in Liverpool the ROI Taoiseach (PM) Leo Varadkar and PM Boris Johnson stated they could see “a pathway towards a possible deal”.

Let’s hope so. Halloween is just around the corner. There's already enough scary stuff happening without a disorderly and botched Brexit.

suggested journalists have to rethink objectivity. “The idea that I don’t have a right to exist is not an opinion,” stated Wallace. “It is a falsehood.” It’s true that journalists have a duty to serve the public, but this doesn’t have to come at the expense of their beliefs, nor should it force them to repress any part of their identity.

Like most journalists on Twitter, my bio consists of a list of my different titles: photo editor, student, journalist, etc.. But contrary to the majority of journalists, my bio also includes “proud lesbian.” A statement that directly breaks the rules meant to be followed by journalists across the country.

In my case, passing as straight is no obstacle – in fact, more often than not people assume that I am – this gives me the privilege to present myself however I see fit. I choose to present myself as a lesbian woman because that is who I am and no matter how hard I try, I cannot seperate myself from my identity, nor do I want to.

As former New York Times columnist Tom Wicker said: “We’re human beings first and journalists second; otherwise there’s something entirely wrong with us.”

DIGITAL MINIMALISM

From one phone addict to another

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

There’s no easy fix to the epidemic of phone addiction Callie Giaccone Assistant Opinions Editor It was the 14th time I hovered my thumb over the empty space where my instagram app used to be, when I realized that my social media addiction was more invasive than I thought.

As I sat on the bus that Monday morning, I felt anxious, bored and fidgety – a recipe that I knew could only be cured by scrolling through my ex-best friend’s homecoming pictures.

I’m weak. Sure enough, I re-downloaded the app on the bus. I did this so I could receive the hit of dopamine that comes with looking at pictures of humans I barely know, getting likes, comments, validation and all that fun stuff we do on our mobile devices.

Dare I sit with my own thoughts and self regulate my inner dialogue for 20 minutes straight without distraction?

I often feel like I have little-to-no control over my experience with my technological devices. We have allowed it to be normal for our minds to be constantly interrupted with notifications, messages and funny dog memes.

I wish it was as easy as deleting the apps, but social media and phone usage goes deeper than that. So here I am, still grappling with how to exist in an overcrowded, oversharing

world of communication – and I’m assuming you are too.

Here’s the thing: I find researching phone addictions quite frustrating.

Often times article headlines will be along the lines of, “Six easy ways to get off and stay off your phone!” or “Three Simple tools to curb your phone addiction!” or even, “I got rid of my phone and my life has never been the same!”

I just don’t buy it. I feel like my phone addiction can’t be fixed with “Seven great tips” because this problem goes beyond life hacks.

Similar to false weight loss diets that tell you to drink green juice and rub kale on your temples, these quick fixes are ridiculous.

We need to learn more about the psychology behind why we de-

pend on our phones, how the companies make money and how to change our philosophy.

Cal Newport, an associate professor at Georgetown University in Washington, and writer of the book Digital Minimalism, has been researching this epidemic extensively over the past few years and providing practice and frameworks to bring balance to people’s lives.

The movement Digital Minimalism is about living deliberately. Newport says when integrating new technology into your life, one must weigh their costs and benefits. One of the major costs of modern technology is solitude deprivation.

“A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.”

Newport explains that having time alone creates op-

Don’t claim to know about something you don’t

Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller, it’s the story of Gilbert herself – played by Julia Roberts – in a borderline existential crisis, unhappy in her marriage, unsatisfied with her personal life, struggling to find herself. Ultimately, she buys three tickets to Italy, India, and Bali to get a new perspective.

Personally, I have always been a fan of the “Eat” part of this movie.

Watching Roberts down all the carbs Italy had to offer is all the spiritual journey I need in my life.

However, in that first part of her quest for self-discovery, there is a scene that has always bothered me.

A simple detail that may have gone unnoticed by most.

Robert’s character is having lunch with some friends when they start brainstorming words to describe the various cities they’ve been to.

“Stockholm?” “Conform.”

“New York?” “Ambition, or sut.”

Instead, we need to educate ourselves on this overpowering issue of addiction and make significant lifestyle changes. Reading books like Newports’, researching, sharing your anxieties with peers and demanding more regulations from Facebook, Google and the powers that be are a few first steps.

Newport writes, “it’s easy to be seduced by the small amount of profit offered by the latest app or service, but then forget its cost in terms of the most important resource we possess: the minutes of our life.”

Visual by Laurence B.D. and @sundaeghost

Writing is not a job, it’s a way of life

On a cold, autumnal weekend, I curled up on my couch, hot chocolate in hand, ready to watch Eat, Pray, Love.

Now is the part where I would give you a list of strategies to help you with this addiction.

But alas, that would be hypocritical.

The most valuable commodity in our economy is your attention – so I hope I have it.

IDENTITY

Youmna El Halabi Opinions Editor

portunities for problem solving, self regulating, focusing, de-stressing and getting creative. Our discomfort with boredom is an epidemic, and our brains were not built for this constant stimulation. This has caused a mental health crisis. The ubiquitous nature of our cell phone use has been increasingly linked to the rise in anxiety and depression, especially in young people born after 1995.

“Rome?” “SEX!” Then one of her friends asks her what she believed to be her word.

After a few musings, she confidently states, “my word is writer.”

“Yeah, but that’s what you do,” her friend tells her. “It isn’t what you are.”

Liz quietly chews her food and ponders that thought, while I got ready to hurl my mug at the TV screen. If I were Elizabeth Gilbert, as soon as he had uttered those words, I would have put down my fork, stared straight into his eyes, and said: “Have you ever woken up from a restless night because thoughts were being translated into words, and you just had to get them out? A feeling so strong that the need to find a pen and

paper seemed paramount? The words escaping you; your hand moving so fast that your writing would be unintelligible to anyone but yourself? Have you ever felt a lump form in your throat, and nothing could appease it t, but to bleed on paper? Have you ever been in a place so captivating that

Graphic by Victoria Blair

you just had to describe it down to every single detail, because pictures could never express how it made you feel? Has a thought ever crossed you, and made you reach for your bag, cursing to yourself when you realize you’ve forgotten your notebook at home? Have you ever smiled at the simple sound of how a word made you feel? Until you’ve felt the pain of not being able to pour your words on paper, until you’ve laid your soul bare between the pages of your notebooks; until you’ve felt the magic in your fingertips as you type or write your words, you don’t get to tell me writing is just a job. You don’t get to tell me it doesn’t consume every fibre of my being.”

Because you don’t question an athlete’s love for a sport. You don’t put in question a musician’s passion, or a painter’s consuming art.

So why do you question a writer’s?”

Editorial.

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

As we were deciding how to layout the election coverage in the News section of our paper, we were faced with a decision: do we or do we not include Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada alongside the other contenders?

We debated for a while, but settled on a unanimous opinion: we, as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said during the English debate on Oct. 7, do not believe Bernier deserves a place on the stage.

In a tweet back in September, Bernier called 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg “clearly mentally unstable.” In fact, he went on to say Thunberg is “Not only autistic, but obsessive-compulsive, eating disorder, depression and lethargy, and she lives in a constant state of fear.”

Objectively, these are shitty things to say. These aren’t words anyone would expect from a p otential leader of the country.

What’s more, is he was saying these things in the context of climate change denial. He said efforts to address the climate crisis, like those undertaken

by Thunberg, are “a movement that is a threat to our prosperity and civilisation. If [Thunberg] wants to play that role, she should be denounced and attacked.”

Denounced. And. Attacked. Sorry, w h a t ?

It appears as though Bernier is a) not super into science and b) super into publicly insulting (and inciting violence towards?) children.

inal,” which many Indigenous people have labelled problematic as the “ab” may carry the connotation of meaning “other” or “non” (think “abnormal”). When referring to Furthermore, the People’s Party Indigenous people, it’s important platform states on its website that to ask them on an individual basis “In a free society, immigrants have how they identify. the right to cherish and maintain their cultural heritage, however, Despite the fact that some may be that doesn’t mean we have any obli- okay with the term “aboriginal,” gation to help them preserve it.” others aren’t; so why not use a term It also says Prime Minister Justin that has not been flagged as probTrudeau has created “cult of lematic or insensitive? No other diversity.” political party used “aboriginal” in their platform. It doesn’t take Outside of the fact that a “cult much to pay attention to these of diversity” is, very obviously, details, and the People’s Party’s an oxymoron, we at The Concordian inability to do so is concerning. firmly believe multiculturalism is something that should be encouraged Obviously, as a newspaper, we know and celebrated, not reduced to freedom of speech is important. But anti-Canadianism. that doesn’t give a person the right to spew whatever hateful thoughts Everyone in this country, save for travel through their brain; espeIndigenous people, is an immigrant. cially not someone who is leading Let’s not pretend otherwise. The the country. The line is drawn when People’s Party wants to cut the your opinions are inherently hateful annual amount of immigrants and or when they disrespect and invalrefugees accepted into Canada in idate other people’s existences. half, from 350,000 to between 100,000 and 150,000.

So, “People’s Party,” but only if you don’t believe in the climate They also want to interview every crisis, think bullying children is candidate for immigration to “assess okay, and see diversity as a probthe extent to which they align with lem. Not our party. Not in our Canadian values and societal norms,” newspaper. according to the party’s website. * * * We at The Concordian believe that denying people the right to seek The Concordian would also like to refuge or to create a better life take this opportunity to remind for themselves is what does not everyone to participate in democalign with Canadian values. racy and cast their vote on Oct. 21. This year, millennials make Lastly, the People’s Party website up the largest portion of the constantly uses the term “aborig- voting population.

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CONTRIBUTORS: Holly Cabrera, Juliette Palin, Olivier du Ruisseau, Louis Pavlakos, Aviva Majerczyk, Chris Iannotti, Liam Sharp and Patrick McKenna.

Concordia University’s bi-weekly, independent student newspaper VOL. 37, ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 15, 2019.

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