October 27, 2020 by The Concordian

The Concordian.

NEWS // Pass/Fail Petition / Untold Conordia IG / School during Covid / Vegas Research / +

COMMENTARY // Antimask Conspiracies / International Students / Trendy Skincare / +

ARTS // EAHR Exhibition / Making Documentaries Workshop

MUSIC // Gaps Between Albums / Omar Apollo / Benny the Butcher

VOLUME 38, ISSUE 4 TUESDAY OCT 27, 2020

// theconcordian @theconcordian @theconcordian theconcordian.com

SPORTS // RSEQ Cancels Championship / New Fitness App

News.

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

NEWS

Schools struggle to cope with COVID-19’s second wave due to underlying issues A look at how schools are struggling within the red zone

Juliette Palin News Editor Secondary schools in Montreal have been the subject of controversial conversations over the past few weeks. Despite Montreal being in a red zone, Premiere Legault has insisted on keeping schools open thus far. Back in September, he acknowledged the risk of sending children back to school, and argued that this was a calculated risk — one many in the education field would agree on, but for different reasons. Now with over 2,700 cases in the 10-19 age group, cases have spiked considerably from just a month ago. As of Oct. 22, 2,207 cases are from schools in the province — an increase of 1,356 cases from the previous month. These numbers show that the age group’s case numbers are increasing at an exponential rate. According to Sarah-Ève Grenier-Tourigny and Florence Normandeau, two Education students at UQAM who work in schools on a weekly basis, there is a reason why this is occurring. The two students are in their third year of studying Social and Academic Accommodation in Education, which applies to students with learning or mental disabilities, and focuses on allowing them to receive more oneon-one teaching. Their biggest concern lies with the miscommunication between the government and schools. Ève Grenier-Tourigny said, “I find there is a huge lack of accountability from Minister [of Education, Jean-François] Roberge; he’s painting a pretty picture in the media but there is not lots of concrete action in reality.” Normandeau agreed with her colleague, and said, “I think everyone will do what they want, each school environment will dictate their own rules. But I feel like it shouldn’t be like that; rather, government and public health agencies should dictate how [COVID] is handled in schools, and everyone should follow those rules.” Certain measures are obligatory in every school in the red zone. This includes highschool students wearing masks at all times, and those in their fourth and fifth year of secondary school only attend school on alternate days. Students continue to have school five days a week, and can receive sanctions when they do not complete work in time. Any other measures have been left up to individual schools to outline. Frustrated by the rhetoric perpetuated by the provincial government present in mainstream media, Normandeau explained that the ‘bubble’ system was implemented due to bigger, underlying problems with Quebec’s

education system. The bubble system refers to how classes are placed in ‘bubbles,’ in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID through the school. This means that students aren’t technically allowed to interact with students outside of their own class. “We don’t have any classrooms, we don’t have any money to protect people, to do our lessons properly. We have no space in schools,” she said, referring to the limited physical space in schools and classrooms that makes it impossible to respect social distancing. “These underlying issues have been a burden on our education system for decades, and are all culminating now,” Ève Grenier-Tourigny said. “There are huge classes, and now with the pandemic it’s just getting worse and worse. We’re heading for a rupture, if we aren’t already there.” Another big problem when it comes to secondary schools is what happens when students leave their institutions at the end of the day. Normandeau said, “I saw students when they finished school … They talk, they aren’t necessarily in the same classes and they talk among themselves and go take the subway, or take the bus.” Despite these challenges, Grenier-Tourigny believes it is crucial that we keep schools open for students’ mental health and academic prowess.

responsible teenagers in her age group, and opened up about the situation in her highschool. At Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert, students attend school in-person every other day, with online school in between. Since the online schedule is strict, she manages to stay afloat, but still looks forward to the days she gets to go to school. Prior to the mandatory mask rule, Dussault said she was one of “two students who would wear [a mask] all the time, and the rest of the class was just like ‘oh, I hate wearing my mask, so I’m not gonna wear it.’” With a classroom filled with 36 students, this was shocking and uncomfortable for Dussault. Now, with mandatory masks, she feels safer.

“Some people were unhappy about it, but I’m kinda glad because I feel so much safer.” The most problematic time of day for Dussault is lunch time. She mentioned how many students took advantage of the nice weather to sit outside and eat lunch with friends that aren’t a part of their ‘bubble.’ She has high hopes that with winter approaching, this will subside. “People … have lunch there with their friends that are not in their classes, and they don’t respect the distance that is required most of the time. But we do have monitors

Despite the stress of going to school in-person, Dussault refuses to accept that she may have to do online school full-time again. After a very hard time during the first lockdown, she doesn’t feel that asynchronous online classes would be beneficial to students. Addressing the first lockdown, she said, “I just remember back when it started … a lot of people — myself kind of included — felt very, very alone. And it was kind of detrimental to our social abilities.” She stresses how difficult integrating back into society after months of isolation was for the growing mind. “I felt like interacting in real life was al-

most more difficult! Like I had lost a bit of my [social] capacities since I hadn’t really talked to anyone!” According to Dussault, many students did not take online school seriously, and it could cause a major problem down the road. “A lot of people I know apparently didn’t [submit any work], and some things I would [s]lack a bit ... but whenever we had to submit something, I would always make sure it was done on time. And apparently a ton of people didn’t even submit anything, like they didn’t even open their computers, which I found crazy. But it’s more common than you think.”

that make sure that people do [keep their distance],” said Dussault. This is difficult for her, and she feels like she is one of the only students taking these measures seriously. Dussault describes how she sits apart from her group when eating, and wears a mask even to see her best friend. “They are all gonna be stuck together, and I am just sitting really far away but listening to the conversations … I don’t get why Camille Dussault, a student in her fi- they can’t distance themselves. It’s so simnal year of high school at Collège Durocher ple! I could be less excluded if everyone was Saint-Lambert, sees herself as one of the more respecting the distance.”

Photo by Kit Mergaert

CONCORDIA

Untold Concordia features anonymous stories of discrimination

Anonymous co-creator speaks about how the page can validate student experiences plaints. They have the lee-way to do that without uncomfortable.” Hadassah Alencar News Editor

Untold Concordia is an Instagram page that features anonymous submissions detailing stories of oppression, such as racial, gender, and sexual discrimination by Concordia faculty members and student organizations. One of the two creators behind the page agreed to speak with The Concordian under the condition of anonymity. They told us they started the page after seeing how popular the Untold McGill page became in early July. “The [McGill] page was getting so much traction and so many people seemed to have a desire to have a space to share stories like this, [we thought] that was probably shared at Concordia, and we were right,” they said. As the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum in the early summer following the death of George Floyd, conversations revolving around discrimination came to the forefront. The goal stated on both Instagram pages is to highlight experiences of oppression and discrimination at the respective universities.

any of these submissions coming to hurt them in that process,” they said. One of the issues with anonymity is determining the validity of the complaints. From the beginning, both creators discussed this issue and what to do if someone were to try trolling them. So far, the posts have all been believable. Both creators are members of minority groups who have experienced “varying levels … of oppression and systemic oppression within the University and outside, and coming from that place, you can kind of tell.” Because the account isn’t an official complaint forum, anonymous users can feel free to describe the experience according to their understanding. “They’re not meant to be perfect, factual re-accounts of events that happened. They are people’s perspectives; they are all true in their own way.” “I’ve never seen one that I’ve been like — I don’t believe that — every single one of them to me is truly believable,” they said. The posts speak to the larger issues of discrimination. “The university is a structure like every other built on centuries of oppression that is rooted in Canadian history and much of the world’s.”

“Your experience is valid,” reads the first post. “Submit your stories and help create a platform for others to be heard.”

“[Keeping schools open] is also important for dropout rates and loss of motivation. Because we cannot see the end of this pandemic, we can’t just decide to take over three years of a teenager’s life … You want to have 16-year-old students with only their second year of highschool?” said Grenier-Tourigny.

“It’s … worth it to sanitize everything, wear masks, but still get to have that little piece of interaction we used to have before. Even if it’s not nearly as good as before, sadly.”

All posts are referred to as submissions rather than complaints. The co-creator told The Concordian the page is not affiliated with Concordia University and the submissions “aren’t complaints in any official capacity.” One of the posts describes witnessing how a professor teaching a sexuality class did not use the right pronouns for one of their students; another describes being severely let down by the Concordia administrations’ handling of their sexual assault complaint. Anyone can anonymously fill in a submission form by clicking the link in Untold Concordia’s bio. They can also choose if they prefer to keep the comments on or off on their post. “We never ask them to reveal their names and we encourage them not to reveal the names of anyone involved … for their safety and our own,” said the co-creator. “Some of these accusations can be relatively serious, and we want it to be truly up to the submitter if they do want to file formal com-

They feel some of these posts don’t refer to instances of “active hate and active oppression, but they are people not realizing how harmful what they say is and how harmful what they’re doing is just because it feels normal to them.” “A few of our posts have been around the subject of various professors using slurs in quotations or in discussions, and saying ‘since I’m referencing, quoting a text is allowed.’ Students who are directly affected by the slurs feel very

Just this week, University of Ottawa parttime professor Verushka Lieutenant-Duval was suspended and later apologized for using the N-word during an online lecture after a student made a formal complaint. Several professors and government officials are weighing in on this issue, with Legault denouncing backlash against the professor. They said many submitters have thanked them for the page, especially as many submitters have tried to file formal complaints and it is difficult to get through. Concordia Student Union (CSU) General Coordinator Isaiah Joyner said that the process of submitting a complaint against someone with the University can be challenging for students. “The whole overall process [for complaints] is not student friendly, it’s more bureaucratic...it’s very rare that you see the effects yielding the result in the favour of what the students want.” The co-creator of the account said they would like Concordia to realize students are turning to anonymous means to voice their concerns. “Eventually, maybe, Concordia will kind of realize that there are so many students that feel uncomfortable reporting these instances and that these instances are more harmful than they think they are, [and] maybe take action for that.” “For these young people who are for the first time stepping into their own, there needs to be ways for them to express how they feel and how they’ve been harmed that is more streamlined and … accessible,” they said. Concordia Spokesperson Vannina Maestracci released a statement to The Concordian on Untold Concordia: “Although we understand that some prefer to use social media anonymously to be heard, we’d also encourage all members of our community, if they want, to take advantage of our internal accountability mechanisms so that we can properly address these issues.” “Complaints brought through our mechanisms are treated confidentially and independently and can be addressed in a variety of ways, including with support services, depending on what a student wants.” Graphic by Taylor Reddam

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

News. NEWS

second wave due to underlying issues A look at how schools are struggling within the red zone Juliette Palin News Editor Secondary schools in Montreal have been the subject of controversial conversations over the past few weeks. Despite Montreal being in a red zone, Premiere Legault has insisted on keeping schools open thus far. Back in September, he acknowledged the risk of sending children back to school, and argued that this was a calculated risk — one Now with over 2,700 cases in the 10-19 age group, cases have spiked considerably from just a month ago. As of Oct. 22, 2,207 cases are from schools in the province — an increase of 1,356 cases from the previous month. These numbers show that the age group’s case numbers are increasing at an exponential rate. According to Sarah-Ève Grenier-Tourigny and Florence Normandeau, two Education students at UQAM who work in schools on a weekly basis, there is a reason why this is occurring. The two students are in their third year of studying Social and Academic Accommodation in Education, which applies to students with learning or mental disabilities, and focuses on allowing them to receive more oneon-one teaching. Their biggest concern lies with the miscommunication between the government and schools. Ève Grenier-Tourigny said, “I

education system. The bubble system refers to how classes mize the spread of COVID through the school. This means that students aren’t technically allowed to interact with students outside of their own class. “We don’t have any classrooms, we don’t have any money to protect people, to do our lessons properly. We have no space in schools,” she said, referring to the limited physical space in schools and classrooms that makes it impossible to respect social distancing. “These underlying issues have been a burden on our education system for decades, and are all culminating now,” Ève Grenier-Tourigny said. “There are huge classes, and now with the pandemic it’s just getting worse and worse. We’re heading for a rupture, if we aren’t already there.” Another big problem when it comes to secondary schools is what happens when students leave their institutions at the end of the day. Normandeau said, “I saw students when

responsible teenagers in her age group, and opened up about the situation in her highschool. At Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert, students attend school in-person every other day, with online school in between. Since the online schedule is strict, she manages to stay gets to go to school. Prior to the mandatory mask rule, Dussault said she was one of “two students who would wear [a mask] all the time, and the rest of the class was just like ‘oh, I hate wearing my mask, so I’m not gonna wear it.’” this was shocking and uncomfortable for Dussault. Now, with mandatory masks, she feels safer.

“Some people were unhappy about it, but I’m kinda glad because I feel so much safer.”

The most problematic time of day for Dussault is lunch time. She mentioned how many students took advantage of the nice weather to sit outside and eat lunch with necessarily in the same classes and they talk friends that aren’t a part of their ‘bubble.’ She among themselves and go take the subway, has high hopes that with winter approaching, or take the bus.” this will subside. Despite these challenges, Grenier-Tourigny believes it is crucial that we keep schools friends that are not in their classes, and they open for students’ mental health and academ- don’t respect the distance that is required ic prowess. most of the time. But we do have monitors

from Minister [of Education, Jean-François] Roberge; he’s painting a pretty picture in the media but there is not lots of concrete action in reality.” Normandeau agreed with her colleague, and said, “I think everyone will do what they want, each school environment will dictate their own rules. But I feel like it shouldn’t be like that; rather, government and public health agencies should dictate how [COVID] is handled in schools, and everyone should follow those rules.” Certain measures are obligatory in every school in the red zone. This includes highschool students wearing masks at all times, “[Keeping schools open] is also im- that make sure that people do [keep their disondary school only attend school on alternate portant for dropout rates and loss of mo- tance],” said Dussault. days a week, and can receive sanctions when they do not complete work in time. Any other measures have been left up to individual schools to outline. Frustrated by the rhetoric perpetuated by the provincial government present in mainstream media, Normandeau explained that the ‘bubble’ system was implemented due to bigger, underlying problems with Quebec’s

tivation. Because we cannot see the end of this pandemic, we can’t just decide to take over three years of a teenager’s life … You want to have 16-year-old students with only their second year of highschool?” said Grenier-Tourigny.

she is one of the only students taking these measures seriously. Dussault describes how she sits apart from her group when eating, and wears a mask even to see her best friend. “They are all gonna be stuck together, and I am just sitting really far away but lis-

- they can’t distance themselves. It’s so simnal year of high school at Collège Durocher ple! I could be less excluded if everyone was Saint-Lambert, sees herself as one of the more respecting the distance.”

Despite the stress of going to school in-person, Dussault refuses to accept that she [social] capacities since I hadn’t really talkmay have to do online school full-time again. ed to anyone!” According to Dussault, many students down, she doesn’t feel that asynchronous on- did not take online school seriously, and it could cause a major problem down the road. “A lot of people I know apparently didn’t [submit any work], and some things of people — myself kind of included — felt I would [s]lack a bit ... but whenever we had very, very alone. And it was kind of detrimen- to submit something, I would always make tal to our social abilities.” sure it was done on time. And apparently a ton of people didn’t even submit anything, back into society after months of isolation like they didn’t even open their computers, was for the growing mind. which I found crazy. But it’s more common “I felt like interacting in real life was al- than you think.”

wear masks, but still get to have that little piece of interaction we used to have before. Even if it’s not nearly as good as before, sadly.” Photo by Kit Mergaert

CONCORDIA

Untold Concordia features anonymous stories of discrimination Anonymous co-creator speaks about how the page can validate student experiences plaints. They have the lee-way to do that without uncomfortable.” Hadassah Alencar News Editor

any of these submissions coming to hurt them in that process,” they said. One of the issues with anonymity is determining the validity of the complaints. From the beginning, both creators discussed this issue and what to do if someone were to try trolling them. So far, the posts have all been believable. Both creators are members of minority groups pression and systemic oppression within the University and outside, and coming from that place, you can kind of tell.” plaint forum, anonymous users can feel free to describe the experience according to their understanding. “They’re not meant to be perfect, factual re-accounts of events that happened. They are people’s perspectives; they are all true in their own way.” “I’ve never seen one that I’ve been like — I don’t believe that — every single one of them to me is truly believable,” they said. The posts speak to the larger issues of discrimination. “The university is a structure like every other built on centuries of oppression that is rooted in Canadian history and much of the world’s.”

post. “Submit your stories and help create a platform for others to be heard.” All posts are referred to as submissions rather than complaints. The co-creator told The cordia University and the submissions “aren’t One of the posts describes witnessing how a professor teaching a sexuality class did not use the right pronouns for one of their students; another describes being severely let down by the Concordia administrations’ handling of their sexual assault complaint. sion form by clicking the link in Untold Concordia’s bio. They can also choose if they prefer to “We never ask them to reveal their names and we encourage them not to reveal the names own,” said the co-creator. “Some of these accusations can be relatively serious, and we want it to be truly up to -

Just this week, University of Ottawa parttime professor Verushka Lieutenant-Duval was suspended and later apologized for using the N-word during an online lecture after a student made a formal complaint. Several profeson this issue, with Legault denouncing backlash against the professor. They said many submitters have thanked them for the page, especially as many submit-

Concordia Student Union (CSU) General Coordinator Isaiah Joyner said that the process of submitting a complaint against someone with the University can be challenging for students. “The whole overall process [for complaints] is not student friendly, it’s more bureaucratic...it’s very rare that you see the effects yielding the result in the favour of what the students want.” The co-creator of the account said they would like Concordia to realize students are turning to anonymous means to voice their concerns. “Eventually, maybe, Concordia will kind of realize that there are so many students that feel uncomfortable reporting these instances and that these instances are more harmful than they think they are, [and] maybe take action for that.” “For these young people who are for the to be ways for them to express how they feel and how they’ve been harmed that is more stream-

Concordia Spokesperson Vannina Maestracci released a statement to The Concordian on Untold Concordia: “Although we understand that some prefer to use social media anonymously to be heard, we’d also encourage all members of our community, if they want, to take advantage of our internal accountability mechanisms so that we can properly address these issues.” “Complaints brought through our mechpendently and can be addressed in a variety of ways, including with support services, depending on what a student wants.” Graphic by Taylor Reddam

News.

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

CONCORDIA

Concordia student starts petition for pass/fail option in

POL I -SAVVY:

Concordia University spokesperson says pass/fail option will not be offered Hadassah Alencar News Editor A Concordia student has started a petition urging the university to enact the pass/fail option for the fall semester, while Concordia University told The Concordian the administration does not plan to do so. Third-year English Literature student Marcia Lobo said she started the petition because this fall semester has been difficult for her and others around her. She says the stress of balancing the restrictions, online course work, and lack of family, friends, and support has been a lot. “We weren’t expecting this semester,” said Lobo. “The stress didn’t go away, the pandemic is still here, it’s still very real and we are practically in lockdown … nothing has changed really.” Lobo is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and due to the pandemic she will move back home. Lobo is currently juggling selling and packing her belongings, a part-time job, and studying full-time, and says she feels isolated, stressed, and unsupported. “I feel like it’s even worse now, because in the beginning we were getting used to it and we didn’t think it would last that long, and now it just seems endless and we don’t know when things will go back to normal.” “I don’t learn nearly as much,” said Lobo on the stress of online classes. She says some of her teachers have not been accommodating. She feels exceedingly stressed about getting good enough grades to apply for grad school, due to the pressure of trying to excel in a learning format that she struggles with. “With the pressure I get even more nervous and I really don’t absorb what the professors are saying,” she said. Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci released a statement to The Concordian saying the pass/ fail option will not be offered this semester. “The pass/fail option was offered to students in the Winter 2020 semester as an exceptional measure, due to the unforeseen disruption created by the pandemic.The option will not be offered this semester as it was announced last May that Fall 2020

would be delivered remotely for teaching and exams, giving time to all to prepare for this delivery format.” Third-year finance student Jay Bowers told The Concordian, “This semester, everything changed … they just kind of expected us to keep up rigorously with the curriculum that they were demanding at whatever cost.” Bowers had an online midterm exam where the program stopped working as he submitted his exam to COLE (Concordia OnLine Exams). “I have a whole screen recording of this. I sent my professor this lengthy email … and [the professor] said [to] contact Proctorio, [but] it was COLE! Proctorio had nothing to do with this.” According to Bowers, he spoke to a Proctorio representative, who told him this was a COLE issue. After emailing the professor, she told him to direct any more questions about the exams to COLE. Bowers said he feels bounced around between services and has been offered limited solutions. Bowers said he has tried to reach out to his advisor this semester, but has been offered no concrete help and was not recommended anymore services he could seek. “I feel that the support that they offered was minimal at best,” said Bowers. “Who’s listening?” Venn Mauge, a second-year Management student, said this semester has been difficult because of the isolation and lack of support. Mauge is an international student, and cannot return home because her country’s borders are closed.

“I haven’t seen my family for an entire year, so that’s just a mental strain on its own. For me to have to just mask it with school, it’s just super overwhelming. I’m getting emotional talking about it,” said Mauge. In one of her classes she had a quiz with 40 theory-based questions, each with five multiple choice answers to choose from, and the quiz length was 30 minutes. This leaves less than one minute per question. “They ask you questions and you have to think of a theory and then apply it … I was on question eight and I looked at my timer and I had 17 minutes left. I’m not even halfway through ... this is super unreasonable.” Third-year Aerospace Engineering student Nico Brouillet said he was also facing issues with professors and online schooling.

He describes how in one of his classes, if a student asks a question during the lecture that is not immediately relevant to the topic the teacher is discussing at that exact moment, the professor has responded with anger and has kicked students out of the Zoom lecture. “I’ve looked into emailing the program advisor, but it’s just— there’s no one place, there’s no certain spot to … report a teacher.” All three students describe feeling like, on top of experiencing problems related to online learning and with no clear avenues for help, these issues are exacerbated by the pandemic. They described the burden of isolation from family and friends, and feeling like their home environment has been eclipsed by online school. “We’ve never done this before, where everything is done online. The mental strain [on] students, they just don’t understand it. We’re stuck inside, we can’t even go see friends, we can’t go out,” said Brouillet. “Combining the two environments has been a catastrophe and much more than the average college student is ready to cope with.” “It’s just school, school, school. I don’t have enough time for myself to focus on my mental health … I don’t have a life outside of school right now,” said Mauge. General Coordinator of the CSU Isaiah Joyner said the CSU is working towards resolving issues around Proctario, COLE, and looking into pushing for pass/fail options. “With more and more problems arising, it’s showing [that] although we are [almost] completely remote … this is still not the remote learning that is conducive to the student community.” “We need some reassurance that this won’t have a lasting effect on our Masters, our internships, our GPAs,” said Joyner. “For those people that have been drastically affected given all those varying circumstances and needs, we need some type of support.” Graphic by Taylor Reddam

B.C. is facing a threat deadlier than COVID-19 Fern Clair Assistant News Editor

What is happening? According to the most recent B.C.’s Coroners Service report, there has been a drastic increase in drug overdoses. In September 2020 there were 127 deaths due to overdoses in B.C., which is a 112 per cent increase since 2019. This means that in September roughly 4.2 people died per day because of overdose, according to the report. For the whole of 2020, the B.C. Coroners Service reports 1,202 people have died due to overdose. In the context of COVID-19, B.C. has only seen 256 deaths for all of 2020. So why are drug overdoses hitting harder than the virus? It seems the main reason for the high number in overdoses is actually because of COVID-19. According to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, only doctors and nurses can prescribe drugs – which includes alternatives to the illicit drugs on the street, giving people suffering from addiction a safer option. Because of COVID-19 medical resources are limited, people struggling with addiction are forced to take unsafe drugs bought off the street, rather than cleaner drugs at a clinic. Another reason, according to a CBC article, is that the flow of drugs coming into B.C. has slowed because of the border closure. This might seem like a positive thing, but because of the stagnation of higher quality drugs, people are turning to more toxic drugs such as Fentanyl. What is Fentanyl? The Canadian Government defines Fentanyl as a “very potent opioid pain reliever. A few grains can be enough to kill you.” It is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and is usually mixed with other drugs to increase the effects. Because Fentanyl is odourless and tasteless, while there are ways of testing that can be bought in stores or online, the Canadian government warns these tests have limits. What is being done? Dr. Henry has issued an order for a temporary expansion to access safer prescription drugs, and has increased the availability of naloxone kits – an opioid overdose-reversing medication. COVID-19 has put a strain on all social services, impacting vulnerable communities. The way COVID-19 has affected the drug problem in B.C. won’t be fully understood until the pandemic has ended.

NEWS

Concordia researchers explore how Montreal Casino’s “Vegas Nights” target our senses

Researchers describe the impact of experiential design by derstand how the different aspects of served, or … overlooked aspects of experiencing it themselves

Hadassah Alencar News Editor Concordia researchers delved into the Montreal Casino’s Vegas Nights to study how the casino experience affects and caters to our senses. From the neon glow, to the aroma of perfume at the slot machines and the collective experience of playing at a blackjack table, the researchers describe and examine how these different elements played with their senses. Interdisciplinary scholar and lead author of the study Erin Lynch told The Concordian the study was about “how a sensory ethnographic approach could shed some light on that kind of experiential marketing within the casino space.” Different from a traditional observatory study, a “sensory ethnography” approach involves researchers putting themselves in the space to better understand the environment. “Instead of just observing, we want to experience the site along with other people to sort of really atune our senses and help us understand the way various sensory elements within the casino space are interacting, how they’re kind of mixing and mingling, and how that impacts the general experience at the casino,” said Lynch.

Experiential design isn’t new; it can dictate decisions such as how much resistance to put on a video game controller button, or how soft, plush, or smooth a fabric should be for use on chairs at a restaurant. In a casino environment, almost every element involves experiential design. Lynch said, “That’s been a real push on the design side of it and we noticed that there hadn’t been that much research delved into the experiential part of it.” Lynch describes the casino experience as an “emergence into another world.” “We found that there’s a lot of this overwhelming quality, particularly if you look at sights and sounds in the casino, but we also wanted to pay attention to some sort of under-ob-

the sensory qualities of the casino,” said Lynch. One example of this was a gaming machine that vibrates when a person wins. “The casino touches back, which is a really interesting aspect that we were looking at.” For taste, Lynch tried a signature cotton candy cocktail. “I knew I was in trouble when they slid a couple of wet wipes over to me as they were handing me the drink,” said Lynch, who described the drink as stinky, overly sweet, and “pink” tasting. The question begs: is it work when you’re having this much fun? Lynch said they wanted to embrace the experience, not only talk about the risks and problems associated with gambling, but to really un-

a casino work to intrigue clients by going to the source themselves. Going forward, the researchers will look at applying this methodology to other spaces, and see how the pandemic has changed the sensory experience in the casino space as well. Concordia professors David Howes, a professor of Anthropology, and Martin French, an associate professor of Sociology, co-authored the study along with Lynch. Howes will explore sensory design in places like hospitals, parks, and spas, “to examine the way sensory design is marketing to all the senses.” For many, a hospital environment isn’t exactly a calming place. “Think about fluorescent lighting, and smells, and the extent to which that could be stress-inducing. So [it’s] thinking about the way our environments and the design of our environments impacts us, in an embodied sort of sensory fashion,” said Lynch. Ultimately, looking at these spaces through a sensory approach will help better understand how they impact us. “The casino was a really fun area to explore that in, but I think what we’re hoping it has demonstrated is the value of that sensory ethnographic approach, and looking at these spaces more broadly,” said Lynch. Graphic by @the.beta.lab

An island nation lost in time

North Sentinel Island: home to an uncontacted tribe that kills its visitors Bogdan Lytvynenko Assistant News Editor Located in the Bay of Bengal, India, the Sentinelese are some of the last peoples on Earth who remain virtually untouched by modern civilization. This island nation does not know about the existence of electricity, cars, or cellphones, and meets visitors from the outside world with violence. Between 50 and 400 people are estimated to be living on North Sentinel Island, whose surface area is just 60 square kilometres. While it is officially administered by India, the government does not intervene into the island’s affairs and declared it a tribal reserve in 1956. The island is not only separated by a distance of 1,200 kilometres from the mainland, but also by an entire era from the rest of the world. The people

on the island live in huts, with fire being the only man-made light source. There is no evidence that the tribe has discovered agriculture or created its own writing system. The main source of food appears to be the sea, where the locals use small outrigger canoes to hunt fish, sea turtles and crabs with spears. The tribe itself is part of the Andaman Indigenous population. However, its language cannot be understood by any related ethnic group, as it has been separated from all civilizations since at least the 19th century. In fact, the British Empire, Burma, and Japan have all attempted to occupy the island, but the tribe showed strong resistance and successfully defended their territory from the powerful nations. Even today, the Sentinelese continue to meet visitors with aggression,

as they perceive every foreigner as a threat. In the past decades, Indian anthropologist Triloknath Pandit was one of the few explorers who successfully interacted with the tribe. In 1991, he attempted to befriend the island nation by offering them coconuts, pots, as well as iron hammers and knives. Although the Sentinelese accepted the gifts, Pandit recounted in an interview with the BBC that “Warriors faced [his group] with angry and grim faces and were fully armed with their long bows and arrows, all set to defend their land.” The Sentinelese, however, go far beyond intimidating their visitors. In 2018, the tribe brutally murdered John Allen Chau, an American missionary who attempted to introduce Christianity to the island nation.

In 2006, the tribe also killed two fishermen with a row of arrows, as their boat was approaching the island. Today, it is a criminal offense to have contact with the islanders, as they are not immune to foreign diseases. Moreover, in 2017, the Indian government ruled that even photographing and filming the Sentinelese people could result in up to three years in prison. Therefore, as the outside world has an extremely limited access to the Sentinelese, the island nation is likely to continue its traditional way of life. Ever since Pandit made a peaceful entrance in 1991, all attempts of contact have resulted in violence, so the tribe is expected to remain in isolation for many years to come. Graphic by @the.beta.lab

News.

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

CONCORDIA

Concordia student starts petition for pass/fail option in

POL I -SAVVY:

would be delivered remotely for teaching and exams, giving time to all to prepare for this delivery format.” Bowers told The Concordian, “This

just kind of expected us to keep up rigorously with the curriculum that they were demanding at whatever cost.” Bowers had an online midterm exam where the program stopped Third-year English Literature working as he submitted his exam to student Marcia Lobo said she started COLE (Concordia OnLine Exams). the petition because this fall semester “I have a whole screen recording of this. I sent my professor this lengthy around her. She says the stress of balancing the restrictions, online course contact Proctorio, [but] it was COLE! work, and lack of family, friends, and Proctorio had nothing to do with this.” support has been a lot. According to Bowers, he spoke “We weren’t expecting this se- to a Proctorio representative, who mester,” said Lobo. “The stress didn’t told him this was a COLE issue. After go away, the pandemic is still here, it’s emailing the professor, she told him still very real and we are practically to direct any more questions about the really.” Lobo is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and due to the pandemic she will move back home. Lobo is currently juggling selling and packing her belongings, a part-time job, and studying full-time, and says she feels isolated, stressed, and unsupported. “I feel like it’s even worse now, because in the beginning we were getting used to it and we didn’t think it would last that long, and now it just seems endless and we don’t know when things will go back to normal.” “I don’t learn nearly as much,” said Lobo on the stress of online classes. She says some of her teachers have not been accommodating. She feels exceedingly stressed about getting good enough grades to apply for grad school, due to the pressure of trying to excel in a learning format that she struggles with. “With the pressure I get even more nervous and I really don’t absorb what the professors are saying,” she said. Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci released a statement to The Concordian saying the pass/ mester. “The pass/fail option was offered to students in the Winter 2020 semester as an exceptional measure, due to the unforeseen disruption created by the pandemic.The option will

exams to COLE. Bowers said he feels bounced around between services and Bowers said he has tried to reach out to his advisor this semester, but was not recommended anymore services he could seek. “I feel that the support that they offered was minimal at best,” said Bowers. “Who’s listening?” Venn Mauge, a second-year Management student, said this semesisolation and lack of support. Mauge is an international student, and cannot return home because her country’s borders are closed.

looked at my timer and I had 17 minutes left. I’m not even halfway through ... this is super unreasonable.” Third-year Aerospace Engineering student Nico Brouillet said he was announced last May that Fall 2020 also facing issues with professors and online schooling. 4

He describes how in one of his classes, if a student asks a question during the lecture that is not immediately relevant to the topic the teacher is discussing at that exact moment, the professor has responded with anger and has kicked students out of the Zoom lecture. “I’ve looked into emailing the program advisor, but it’s just— there’s no one place, there’s no certain spot All three students describe feeling like, on top of experiencing problems related to online learning and with no clear avenues for help, these issues are exacerbated by the pandemic. They described the burden of isolation from family and friends, and feeling like their home environment has been eclipsed by online school. “We’ve never done this before, where everything is done online. The mental strain [on] students, they just don’t understand it. We’re stuck inside, we can’t even go see friends, we can’t go out,” said Brouillet. “Combining the two environments has been a catastrophe and much more than the average college student is ready to cope with.” “It’s just school, school, school. I don’t have enough time for myself to have a life outside of school right now,” said Mauge. General Coordinator of the CSU Isaiah Joyner said the CSU is working towards resolving issues around Proctario, COLE, and looking into pushing for pass/fail options. “With more and more problems arising, it’s showing [that] although we are [almost] completely remote that is conducive to the student community.” “We need some reassurance on our Masters, our internships, our GPAs,” said Joyner. “For those peogiven all those varying circumstances and needs, we need some type of support.” Graphic by Taylor Reddam

B.C. is facing a threat deadlier than COVID-19 Fern Clair Assistant News Editor What is happening? According to the most recent B.C.’s Coroners Service report, there has been a drastic increase in drug overdoses. In September 2020 there were 127 deaths due to overdoses in B.C., which is a 112 per cent increase since 2019. This means that in September roughly 4.2 people died per day because of overdose, according to the report. For the whole of 2020, the B.C. Coroners Service reports 1,202 people have died due to overdose. In the context of COVID-19, B.C. has only seen 256 deaths for all of 2020. So why are drug overdoses hitting harder than the virus? It seems the main reason for the high number in overdoses is actually because of COVID-19. According to Provincial Health and nurses can prescribe drugs – which includes alternatives to the illicit drugs from addiction a safer option. Because of COVID-19 medical resources are limited, people struggling with addiction are forced to take unsafe drugs bought at a clinic. Another reason, according to coming into B.C. has slowed because of the border closure. This might seem like a positive thing, but because of the stagnation of higher quality drugs, people are turning to more toxic drugs such as Fentanyl. What is Fentanyl? The Canadian Government deoid pain reliever. A few grains can be enough to kill you.” It is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and is usually mixed with Because Fentanyl is odourless and tasteless, while there are ways of testing that can be bought in stores or online, the Canadian government warns these tests have limits. What is being done? Dr. Henry has issued an order for a temporary expansion to access safer prescription drugs, and has increased the availability of naloxone kits – an opioid overdose-reversing medication. COVID-19 has put a strain on all social services, impacting vulnerable communities. The way COVID-19 has be fully understood until the pandemic has ended.

NEWS

Concordia researchers explore how Montreal Researchers describe the impact of experiential design by experiencing it themselves Hadassah Alencar News Editor Concordia researchers delved into the Montreal Casino’s Vegas Nights to study how the casino experience affects and caters to our senses. From the neon glow, to the aroma of perfume at the slot machines and the collective experience of playing at a blackjack table, the researchers describe and examine how these senses. Interdisciplinary scholar and lead author of the study Erin Lynch told The Concordian the study was about “how a sensory ethnographic approach could shed some light on that kind of experiential marketing within the casino space.”

observatory study, a “sensory ethnography” approach involves researchers putting themselves in the space to better understand the environment. “Instead of just observing, we want to experience the site along with other people to sort of really atune our senses and help us understand the way various sensory elements within the casino space are interacting, how they’re kind of mixing and mingling, and how that impacts the general experience at the casino,” said Lynch.

a casino work to intrigue clients by going to the source themselves. Going forward, the researchers will look at applying this methodology to other spaces, and see how the pandemic has changed the sensory experience in the casino space as well. Concordia professors David Howes, a professor of Anthropology, and Martin French, an associate professor of Sociology, co-authored the study along with Lynch. Howes will explore sensory design in places like hospitals, parks, and spas, “to examine the way sensory design is marketing to all the senses.” For many, a hospital environment isn’t exactly a calming place. ing, and smells, and the extent to which that could be stress-inducing. So [it’s] thinking about the way our environments and the design of our environments impacts us, in an embodied sort of sensory fashion,” said Lynch. Ultimately, looking at these spaces through a sensory approach will help better understand how they impact us. “The casino was a really fun area to explore that in, but I think what we’re hoping it has demonstrated is the value of that sensory ethnographic approach, and looking at these spaces more broadly,” said Lynch. Graphic by @the.beta.lab

An island nation lost in time North Sentinel Island: home to an uncontacted tribe that kills its visitors Bogdan Lytvynenko Assistant News Editor Located in the Bay of Bengal, India, the Sentinelese are some of the last peoples on Earth who remain virtually untouched by modern civilization. This island nation does not know about the existence of electricity, cars, or cellphones, and meets visitors from the outside world with violence. Between 50 and 400 people are estimated to be living on North Sentinel Island, whose surface area is just cially administered by India, the government does not intervene into the reserve in 1956. The island is not only separated by a distance of 1,200 kilometres from the mainland, but also by an entire era from the rest of the world. The people

the only man-made light source. There is no evidence that the tribe has discovered agriculture or created its own writing system. The main source of food appears to be the sea, where the locals use small outrigger canoes to hunt

The tribe itself is part of the Andaman Indigenous population. However, its language cannot be understood by any related ethnic group, as it has been separated from all civilizations since at least the 19th century. In fact, the British Empire, Burma, and Japan have all attempted to occupy the island, but the tribe showed strong resistance and successfully defended their territory from the powerful nations. Even today, the Sentinelese continue to meet visitors with aggression,

as well as iron hammers and knives. Although the Sentinelese accepted the gifts, Pandit recounted in an interview with the BBC that “Warriors faced [his group] with angry and grim faces and were fully armed with their long bows and arrows, all set to defend their land.” The Sentinelese, however, go far beyond intimidating their visitors. In 2018, the tribe brutally murdered John Allen Chau, an American missionary who attempted to introduce Christianity to the island nation.

men with a row of arrows, as their boat was approaching the island. have contact with the islanders, as they are not immune to foreign diseases. Moreover, in 2017, the Indian government ruled that even photographing and sult in up to three years in prison. Therefore, as the outside world has an extremely limited access to the Sentinelese, the island nation is likely to continue its traditional way of life. Ever since Pandit made a peaceful entrance in 1991, all attempts of contact have resulted in violence, so the tribe is expected to remain in isolation for many years to come. Graphic by @the.beta.lab

News.

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

NEWS

“We need more action”: Canadian-Armenians demand bold measures on Nagorno-Karabakh In an unprecedented show of force, Armenians from all across Canada poured into the capital on Friday

Goryoun Koyounian Contributor Gathered in front of Parliament, nearly 5,000 demonstrators were joined in solidarity by current and former MPs. Their objective? Compel the government to condemn Turkey and Azerbaijan as the aggressors in the Karabakh conflict, permanently halt the export of weapons to those countries, and recognize the Republic of Artsakh as an independent state. Hrag Koubelian, president of the Concordia Armenian Students’ Union and a participant in Friday’s demonstrations, believes this is a fitting opportunity for Canada to show what it’s made of. “Given Canada’s great record in defending human rights, we hope that it officially condemns Azeri and Turkish aggression against Artsakh and Armenia. We hope to see recognition of the Armenian people’s will to peacefully live on their lands.” However, with clashes intensifying and casualties mounting by the day, some, like Tamar Panossian, are worried that the government may be dragging its feet. Panossian says, “Time is already being wasted because we have so many soldiers already dying, already so many people who have been displaced, and they’re taking a lot of time to take action.” Such concerns have been growing among the Canadian-Armenian comm u n i ty ever since open w a r

broke out on Sept. 27 between Armenian and Azeri forces over Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh. While sporadic fighting has occurred along the line of contact (LOC) in the past, the latest round has been the deadliest to date. Recent estimates place the number of casualties in the thousands. The Armenian community is particularly worried that active Turkish interventionism has made Azerbaijan more belligerent. In response, Sevag Belian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, says the government needs to take some strong measures.

“Canada cannot afford doing business with a genocidal state such as Turkey that has absolutely no intention to adhere to international law. Let it be clear: this is a red line for our community,” says Belian.

Some current and former MPs are trying to bring this issue to the attention of the government. Alexandre Boulerice, New Democratic Party MP for Rosemont - La Petite-Patrie, and a long-time supporter of Armenian causes, says this is a matter of human rights and national self-determination.

said, “I’m hoping I can influence my colleagues [in the Conservative Party] to put pressure on the government.” Some of that pressure is even coming from within the Liberal party itself. In a statement that was read out on Friday, Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal MP for Laval— Les Îles, expressed his full support for the demonstrators. “We will never stop until we reach the recognition of the free and independent Republic of Artsakh. I have been with you, I am with you, and always will be with you,” he said. Earlier this month, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne told his Turkish counterpart that “external parties should stay out [of the conflict].” Additionally, Global Affairs Canada temporarily suspended some weapons export permits to Turkey, pending an investigation into their use in Nagorno-Karabakh. Mher Karakashian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, says Armenians are definitely encouraged by these steps. However, he awaits what the government will do next. “We will have to see what happens in the coming days. Our hope is that Canada takes up a leadership role, together with its allies, mobilizing the international community to bring a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”

“You can count on us and the NDP to continue putting pressure on the Liberal government to do more.” He agrees the suspension of weapons exports to Turkey must be made permanent. The Conservatives, for their part, are stressing the importance of an open and transparent investigation into weapons exports, as well as the right to self-determination. Harold Albrecht, former Conservative Photos by Shoghig Tehinian MP for Kitchener—Conestoga, who also attended the demonstration, believes Canada ultimately must stand up for Armenians. He

Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

CULTURE

Inside the mind of an anti-masker

How QAnon conspiracies, religion, and anti-maskers come together Kiana Gomes Contributor Since the pandemic hit North America, many have been criticized for their public refusal to follow government lockdown orders and, most notably, for not wanting to wear masks. These people have been identified as “anti-maskers.” Some anti-maskers are part of a movement linked to far-right ideologies involving religion and an internet conspiracy group called Qanon. Qanon is an online conspiracy group that claims that a cabal of sex trafficking satanic pedophiles run the world. The group was started in 2016 on sites like 4chan by an anonymous user. They now have a worldwide following. Qanon “There is no second wave. There wasn’t even a first one,” stated Richard Décarie in an interview with The Concordian. Décarie is a former Conservative politician who was banned from running as the Conservative Party leader for saying controversial things like “being gay is a choice.” Décarie is also a firm believer that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is part of Agenda 21, a UN resolution signed by governments in 1992 with an action plan for future sustainable development. QAnon and other conspiracists have included Agenda 21 as part of a complex and elaborate conspiracy theory. In a nutshell, the conspiracists claim the UN has a plan to impose a “world government” by 2030, meaning they want to get rid of all the sovereign countries and have one global government for the entire world. Essentially, they’re saying the UN and other “deep state” members want a globalized communist government where we would have no individual rights and freedoms. “The government is favouring large global companies and disfavouring small businesses,” stated Décarie. According to him, this plan has been in the works for years. He claims the COVID-19 pandemic was created to distract us from what’s happening: a world takeover which is only advantageous for the “world’s elite” and big corpora-

tions. Décarie is also avidly against wearing a mask. He claims that “Wearing a mask is a sign of submission.” Décarie is convinced that masks are a control mechanism to see how submissive the population is to the government. Meanwhile, the CDC and other scientific organizations provide significant data showing that wearing a mask can reduce the spread of any virus, including COVID-19. With no scientific evidence to justify his arguments, Décarie still assumes that he is doing the right thing by spreading his message. Many other conspiracists like Décarie are sharing their theories on social media platforms, believing they are doing the “right thing.” Facebook, in particular, recently banned all QAnon-related content from its platform. Even when asked if he’s a “conspiracy theorist,” Décarie instantly said he is a “truth finder,” a label consistent with the QAnon narrative. Décarie believes we will find a way out of the deep state’s plan and our “faith in God will make us see what they are doing and they will not succeed.” Religious Matters It’s no surprise that Décarie is very religious. Many unsus-

pecting Christians go down the “rabbit hole,” a term used to describe the altered state of those who go so far into the QAnon conspiracies that it takes over their lives. Many religious leaders in the United States, such as Danny Silk, have been preaching QAnon-related narratives to their followers and encouraging them to vote for Trump. However, this isn’t only limited to the USA; some Canadian ministers and preachers have also been preaching similar narratives, such as Pastor Jean-Francois Denis. Many unsuspecting Christians are vulnerable to following QAnon because the interpretation of the conspiracy theories can be similar to their beliefs and interpretations of the Bible. In the USA, there are many fundamentalist Christians. Some fundamentalist Christians believe that everything written in the bible is factual and true. Many still believe in concepts like creationism, which has since been proven incorrect by scientific evidence that supports the theory of evolution. In this current pandemic, some fundamentalist Christians support QAnon’s theories, which, like their own religious beliefs, are contrary to what is proven by science. Why would Christians start believing in science at a time like

this where their lives have been turned upside down and everything is so uncertain? In a word, comfort. By maintaining their beliefs in spite of scientific evidence, they gain comfort in these turbulent times. It’s easier to adhere to a narrative like QAnon, which promotes unproven theories that they assume are correct. Based on their interpretations, some even believe the Bible predicted COVID-19. In one of his videos, Denis stated to “Never let anyone take away your right to question things, be critical, and find the truth.” Although critical thinking is good, and we shouldn’t always believe everything we hear or read when it comes to public health... wear your mask, wash your hands, and stay home! Graphic by @the.beta.lab

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

News.

Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

NEWS CULTURE

demand bold measures on Nagorno-Karabakh In an unprecedented show of force, Armenians from all across Canada poured into the capital on Friday Goryoun Koyounian Contributor

cially condemns Azeri and Turkish aggression against Artsakh and Armenia. We hope to see recognition of the Armenian people’s will to peacefully live on their lands.” However, with clashes intensifying and casualties mounting by the day, some, like Tamar Panossian, are worried that the government may be dragging its feet. Panossian says, “Time is already being wasted because we have so many soldiers already dying, already so many people who have been displaced, and they’re taking a lot of time to take action.” Such concerns have been growing among the Canadian-Armenian comm u n i ty ever since open w a r

broke out on Sept. 27 between Armenian and Azeri forces over Nagorno-Karabakh, also leagues [in the Conservative Party] to put known as Artsakh. pressure on the government.” Some of that pressure is even comalong the line of contact (LOC) in the past, the ing from within the Liberal party itself. In latest round has been the deadliest to date. a statement that was read out on Friday, Recent estimates place the number of casu- Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal MP for Laval— alties in the thousands. Les Îles, expressed his full support for the The Armenian community is particular- demonstrators. ly worried that active Turkish intervention“We will never stop until we reach the ism has made Azerbaijan more belligerent. recognition of the free and independent ReIn response, Sevag Belian, executive director public of Artsakh. I have been with you, I of the Armenian National Committee of Can- am with you, and always will be with you,” ada, says the government needs to take some he said. strong measures. “Canada cannot afford doing busi- Minister François-Philippe Champagne told ness with a genocidal state such as Tur- his Turkish counterpart that “external parkey that has absolutely no intention to ad-

here to international law. Let it be clear: suspended some weapons export permits to this is a red line for our community,” says Turkey, pending an investigation into their Belian. use in Nagorno-Karabakh. Some current and former MPs are trying to bring this issue to the attention of the government. Alexandre Boulerice, New Democratic Party MP for Rosemont - La Petite-Patrie, and a long-time supporter of Armenian causes, says this is a matter of human rights and national self-determination.

Mher Karakashian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, by these steps. However, he awaits what the government will do next. “We will have to see what happens in the coming days. Our hope is that Canada takes up a leadership role, together with its allies, mobilizing the international community to bring a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”

Gathered in front of Parliament, nearly 5,000 demonstrators were joined in solidarity by current and former MPs. Their objective? Compel the government to condemn Turkey and Azerbaijan as the aggressors in the Karabakh conflict, permanently halt the export of weapons to those countries, and recognize the Republic of Artsakh as an independent state. Hrag Koubelian, president of the Concordia Armenian Students’ Union and a participant in Friday’s demonstrations, beada to show what it’s made of. “Given Canada’s great record in de-

Inside the mind of an anti-masker

Some anti-maskers are part of a movement linked to far-right ideologies involving religion and an internet conspiracy group called Qanon. Qanon is an online conspiracy group that claims that a cabal philes run the world. The group was started in 2016 on sites like 4chan by an anonymous user. They now have a worldwide following. Qanon “There is no second wave. stated Richard Décarie in an interview with The Concordian. Décarie is a former Conservative politician who was banned from running as the Conservative Party leader for saying controversial things like “being gay is a choice.” er that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is part of Agenda 21, a UN resolution signed by governments in 1992 with an action plan for future sustainable development. QAnon and other conspiracists have included Agenda 21 as part of a complex and elaborate conspiracy theory. In a nutshell, the conspiracists claim the UN has a plan to impose a “world government” by 2030, meaning they want to get rid of all the sovereign countries and have one global government for the entire world. Essentially, they’re saying the UN and other “deep state” members want a globalized communist government where we would have no individual rights and freedoms. “The government is favouring large global companies and disfavouring small businesses,” stated Décarie. According to him, this plan has been in the works for years. He claims the COVID-19 pandemic was created to distract us from what’s happening: a world takeover which is only advantageous for the “world’s elite” and big corpora-

tions. Décarie is also avidly against wearing a mask. He claims that “Wearing a mask is a sign of submission.” Décarie is convinced that masks are a control mechanism to see how submissive the population is to the government. Meanwhile, the showing that wearing a mask can reduce the spread of any virus, including COVID-19. to justify his arguments, Décarie still assumes that he is doing the right thing by spreading his message. Many other conspiracists like Décarie are sharing their theories on social media platforms, believing they are doing the “right thing.” Facebook, in particular, recently banned all QAnon-related content from its platform. Even when asked if he’s a “conspiracy theorist,” Décarie ina label consistent with the QAnon narrative. a way out of the deep state’s plan and our “faith in God will make us see what they are doing and they will not succeed.” Religious Matters It’s no surprise that Décarie is very religious. Many unsus-

this where their lives have been turned upside down and everything is so uncertain? In a word, comfort. By maintaining their beliefs in spite of scientific evidence, they gain comfort in these turbulent times. It’s easier to adhere to a narrative like QAnon, which promotes unproven theories that they assume are correct. Based on their interpretations, some even believe the Bible predicted COVID-19. In one of his videos, Denis stated to “Never let anyone take away your right to question truth.” Although critical thinking is good, and we shouldn’t always believe everything we hear or read when it comes to public health... wear your mask, wash your hands, and stay home! Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

STUDENT LIFE

What first-years can teach us about surviving online school

Freshman students seem to be some of the best-equipped to handle university life under COVID-19 can all remember our first month at Ben Mulchinock Contributor To put it frankly, the Fall 2020 semester is a hollow shell of what it could be. The pandemic, self-isolation, online classes, and stagnant tuition are all contributing to a rightfully pessimistic outlook on the academic year. And, naturally, the mood among most students reflects little hope and optimism. But there is one group of students that seem to be showing some much-needed enthusiasm: first-years. One would think that incoming students to Concordia, who’ve never gone through university life, would be the most disgruntled with a greatly diminished freshman year. From what I’ve seen, this just isn’t true. I’ve worked extensively with first years in my time at Concordia. In 2018-19, I worked in the dorms as a Resident Assistant, supporting students with their first-year experience. Now in the current coronavirus-online-Zoom year, I’ve been working as a Student Facilitator on

a new program Concordia is trying out called “Homeroom.” Delivered entirely on Zoom, Homeroom is a series of weekly sessions where first years can come together and hang out, learn about the university, and enrich their freshman experience, if only for an hour a week. This project has been extremely successful, with hundreds of first years logging in every week. With those credentials, I can say with confidence that I have a decent insight into the attitudes of first-year students. With this, I believe there are three quintessential elements of a first year student: curiosity, energy, and above all, enthusiasm. Has this pandemic halted these virtues in students new to Concordia? I would say absolutely not. For one, the first-years are still fascinated with Concordia. Most are coming from high schools or smaller CEGEPs, so the thrill of seeing such a monumental and happening institution (flaws and all) for the first time still has them asking me countless questions about clubs, events, opportunities, and everything else the school has to offer. I’m sure we

SELF-CARE

Derma-what? The confusing world of viral skincare Is this trend only skin-deep? Elyette Levy Assistant Commentary Editor

I knew the skincare obsession had officially entered the mainstream when I went to the drugstore for the first time after quarantine only to find a hole in the shelves of the beauty aisle in the shape of the CeraVe products section. As I was forced to order a bottle of my favourite serum online, the sad “Let me know when this product is back in stock!” notice accompanied with a box to fill in my email would be staring back at me for weeks. The steadily-growing YouTube audiences of influencers like Hyram Yarbro (Skin Care by Hyram) and Andrea Suarez (Dr Dray) have blossomed into an integral part of the greater self-care movement. Internet trends usually dis-

sipate quite quickly, yet in the past few years, awareness has risen about topics ranging from mindfulness and spirituality to healthy weight management — and this movement doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Companies have been quick to try and capitalize on this trend of course, taking every opportunity they have to market organic and vegan products, mass publish self-help books, and, of course, heavily publicize any skincare product they have noticed going viral. Other than my slight annoyance that corporations are making money off people’s desire to better

thousands of first-year students in 2020. But when I chat with some of my coworkers, the stories I hear are the same, and I’d wager these truths hold up for thousands more. Mind you, this is all happening entirely online. No campus tours, no orientation or frosh week, no awe at the massive lecture halls or student-run bar crawls. This is excitement that you see with each passing year, and this one is no different. Perhaps it’s due time to emulate some of this. Through the drudgery and tragedy of this online year, I feel many of us have lost sight of our deeply rooted hopes and goals. We’re monotonously going through the motions of being university students, with more apathy than ever before. Maybe one solution lies in the spirit of 2020’s freshman class.

Concordia, feeling an identical sentiment. Energy is in abundance during these Zoom sessions. Students, always eager and on time, get much of their weekly socializing during this short hour. I’ll often run short presentations, either on university life, or skills development, which students happily participate in and engage with. I can’t help but smile hearing of all the connections and benefits everyone gets from these meetings. Finally, there’s enthusiasm. While you could argue that this goes hand-in-hand with energy, I’d say enthusiasm encompasses a much Photo broader and more abstract feeling. by Ben It’s the anxious yet exciting knowl- Mulchinock edge that this is the start of the crazy journey of going to Concordia. One that could last two years, five years, or 30 years (if you end up becoming a tenured professor). There’s an insatiable curiosity with what’s to come. Granted, the sample size of my sub- j e c t i v e observation is small; 50 or so students is not representative of the

themselves, dinary’s popular range, are prohibI also have a ited from sale in Canada: misuse of few qualms these products can have devastating with the skin- effects. One woman described litercare aspect of ally getting chemical burns from it. the wellness It’s also unfortunate how nart r e n d . F o r row-minded people have become starters, us- when it comes to skincare. There are ers have start- only so many products beauty gurus ed adopting can recommend, and the raided-out influencers’ shelves of CeraVe, the most popularopinions as ly promoted drugstore brand right the Ten Com- now, are a testament to this strongly mandments ingrained widespread comfort zone. of Skincare: Hyram and other skincare experts are m a n y a r e influencers, and their endorsements now refus- are overshadowing other options that ing to use any people are now less tempted to try product that out. I’ve come across more than a few doesn’t stand TikToks of users talking about their up to their favorite YouTuber’s dog- newly acquired “Hyram-approved” matic preferences. But also, as has products. happened over and over with the Ultimately, this trend of DIY approach to self-care trends, people wanting to take care of rampant misinformation has caused their skin and feel better in their more harm than good. appearance in a somewhat inWhen The Ordinary’s AHA + formed way is a good thing; I BHA face mask went viral online support anyone’s journey to over the summer, many thought that self-confidence, and this trend their X amount of hours spent on doesn’t seem to be going anyskincare YouTube rose them to the where. I guess I’ll have to wait rank of “experienced user,” who the a little longer for that “Back in packaging clearly warns this mask stock” email. is for. There’s a reason this product, along with a few more from The Or- Visual by Christine Beaudoin + Chloe Lalonde

SATIRE

Dissociation for Class President 2020!

You may wonder: what is Dissociation and why should I vote for it as Class President? Simona Rosenfield Assistant Commentary Editor Vote for Dissociation 2020! Big D is a potentially helpful, potentially harmful way to experience major trauma like a global pandemic. Dissociation has a wide network of friends of all ages who use it to cope with the stress in their lives, and it wants to introduce itself to you! Don’t be shy. Dissociation is just looking to say hi, talk a bit about itself, and help you learn to identify its characteristics so that you can stay in good health throughout this stressful time! Hi, I’m Dissociation, and I’m a defense mechanism that human beings exhibit as a response to trauma. I have three main branches, but this election campaign will highlight and examine just one of my sides: the depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD for short). DDD is a trauma response that presents as a “sense of detachment or being outside yourself,” according to the Mayo Clinic. If you find yourself removed from experiencing your thoughts, feelings, and actions firsthand, and are instead watching them occur like in a movie, you may be experiencing DDD. “I generally think dissociation is understood as on a spectrum from daydreaming, reveries, getting very lost in a task, which can be super healthy,” says social worker and psychotherapist, Jeremy Wexler, of the Montreal Therapy Centre. “It’s highly adaptive,” Wexler continues, “except when it becomes too much or is over functioning or is preventing people from using other ways of coping.” Considering my positive traits, as above described, I implore that you consider voting for me. I do my best to help people in hard times.

In a time of great stress and agitation, like in a global pandemic, it is normal that people will work out new ways to cope, but it’s important that those coping strategies are good for your health, and reinforce your sense of wellbeing. When the brain forms a habit, such as a repeated response to a stimulus, it forges and strengthens that connection

in the brain. Then, the brain will continue reinforcing that neural pathway by repeating the connection. For example, if you bite your nails in a moment of stress to calm or distract yourself, you’re creating a connection in the brain between calming agitation and biting your nails. Next time you’re feeling agitated, and you bite your nails, you will fortify the habit. Then, in the future, if you are in a stressful situation, you are more likely to bite your nails then too.

“Dissociation may be part of a fight, flight or freeze response that people have,” says Wexler. “[People who experience dissociation] may become more prone to it and experience it as adaptive. So it becomes a reflex that is reinforced over time. It might be useful to think of it as a reflex.”

ic stress disorder, sleep and eating disorders, personality disorders, substance use disorder, and self-harm. Symptoms can last “only a few moments or come and go over many years,” according to the Mayo Clinic. While I promise consistency, I can be a persistent — even pervasive — experience that proves hard to manage without treatment. Treatment can include talk therapy and/or medication. If you vote for me, I will do my best to make you proud, so long as you take care of your health, reach out to loved ones consistently, and are proactive if my symptoms intensify. Vote for Dissociation 2020 if you want to get through the COVID-19 pandemic with a little more daydreaming, and a little less nail biting!

If you think you’re experiencing severe symptoms of Dissociation, please consider reaching out to a health practitioner, like your doctor or a psychologist. To find a psychologist, visit the Ordre des Psychologues du Quebec website. Additionally, you can always access free listening services from designated organizations.

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Evidently, I am very adaptable, and am always ready to come help during times of stress. Consider me, Dissociation, to lead you through 2020, in brief moments of daydreaming here or there, as you navigate a global health crisis. I, your humble candidate, am the body’s attempt to help people cope with stress and trauma. Good intentions aside, I can also exacerbate harm instead of muting it, which I want to be transparent about. With that said, there are some instances when I can be a helpful resource too, so long as you experience me on the milder end of my spectrum. If you experience my more severe symptoms, please reach out to loved ones for help. You are not alone. I’m a complicated mechanism that can potentially lead to dysfunctional behaviours. Some associated disorders include an increased risk of other mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, post-traumat-

Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

STUDENT LIFE

surviving online school Freshman students seem to be some of the best-equipped to handle university life under COVID-19 Ben Mulchinock Contributor To put it frankly, the Fall 2020 semester is a hollow shell of what it could be. The pandemic, self-isolation, online classes, and stagnant tuition are all contributing to a rightfully pessimistic outlook on the academic year. And, naturally, the little hope and optimism. But there is one group of students that seem to be showing some much-needed enOne would think that incoming students to Concordia, who’ve never gone through university life, would be the most disgruntled with a greatly diminished freshman year. From what I’ve seen, this just isn’t true. I’ve worked extensively with In 2018-19, I worked in the dorms as a Resident Assistant, supporting rience. Now in the current coronavirus-online-Zoom year, I’ve been working as a Student Facilitator on

a new program Concordia is trying out called “Homeroom.” Delivered entirely on Zoom, Homeroom is a years can come together and hang out, learn about the university, and enrich their freshman experience, if only for an hour a week. This project has been extremely successful, in every week. With those credentials, I can decent insight into the attitudes of lieve there are three quintessential osity, energy, and above all, enthusiasm. Has this pandemic halted these virtues in students new to Concordia? I would say absolutely not. fascinated with Concordia. Most are coming from high schools or smaller CEGEPs, so the thrill of seeing such a monumental and happening intime still has them asking me countless questions about clubs, events, opportunities, and everything else

SELF-CARE

Derma-what? The confusing world of viral skincare Is this trend only skin-deep? Elyette Levy Assistant Commentary Editor I knew the skincare obsession had officially entered the mainstream when I went to the drugstore

the beauty aisle in the shape of the CeraVe products section. As I was forced to order a bottle of my favourite serum online, the sad “Let me know when this product is back in stock!” notice accompanied with a ing back at me for weeks. The steadily-growing YouHyram Yarbro (Skin Care by Hyram) and Andrea Suarez (Dr Dray) have blossomed into an integral part of the greater self-care movement. Internet trends usually dis-

sipate quite quickly, yet in the past few years, awareness h as ri s e n about topics ranging from mindfulness and spirituality to healthy weight management — and this movement doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Companies have been quick to try and capitalize on this trend of course, taking every opportunity they have to market organic and vegan products, mass publish self-help books, and, of course, heavily publicize any skincare product they have noticed going viral. Other than my slight annoyance that corporations are making

2020. But when I chat with some of my coworkers, the stories I hear are the same, and I’d wager these truths hold up for thousands more. Mind you, this is all happening entirely online. No campus tours, no orientation or frosh week, no awe at the massive lecture halls or student-run bar crawls. This is excitement that you see with each passing year, and this one is no different. Perhaps it’s due time to emulate some of this. Through the drudgery and tragedy of this online year, I feel many of us have lost sight of our deeply rooted hopes and goals. We’re monotonously going through the motions of being university students, with more apathy than ever before. Maybe one solution lies in the spirit of 2020’s freshman class.

meetings. Finally, there’s enthusiasm. While you could argue that this goes hand-in-hand with energy, I’d say enthusiasm encompasses a much Photo broader and more abstract feeling. by Ben It’s the anxious yet exciting knowl- Mulchinock edge that this is the start of the crazy journey of going to Concordia. One or 30 years (if you end up becoming a tenured professor). There’s an insatiable curiosity with what’s to come. Granted, the sample size of my sub- j e c t i v e observation is small; 50 or so students is not representative of the

themselves, dinary’s popular range, are prohibI also have a ited from sale in Canada: misuse of few qualms these products can have devastating with the skincare aspect of ally getting chemical burns from it. the wellness It’s also unfortunate how nart r e n d . F o r row-minded people have become starters, us- when it comes to skincare. There are ers have start- only so many products beauty gurus ed adopting can recommend, and the raided-out influencers’ shelves of CeraVe, the most popularopinions as ly promoted drugstore brand right the Ten Com- now, are a testament to this strongly mandments ingrained widespread comfort zone. of Skincare: Hyram and other skincare experts are many are now refus- are overshadowing other options that ing to use any people are now less tempted to try product that out. I’ve come across more than a few doesn’t stand TikToks of users talking about their up to their favorite YouTuber’s dog- newly acquired “Hyram-approved” matic preferences. But also, as has products. happened over and over with the Ultimately, this trend of DIY approach to self-care trends, people wanting to take care of rampant misinformation has caused their skin and feel better in their more harm than good. appearance in a somewhat inWhen The Ordinary’s AHA + formed way is a good thing; I BHA face mask went viral online support anyone’s journey to over the summer, many thought that their X amount of hours spent on doesn’t seem to be going anyskincare YouTube rose them to the where. I guess I’ll have to wait rank of “experienced user,” who the a little longer for that “Back in packaging clearly warns this mask stock” email. is for. There’s a reason this product, along with a few more from The Or- Visual by Christine Beaudoin + Chloe Lalonde

SATIRE

Dissociation for Class President 2020! You may wonder: what is Dissociation and why should I vote for it as Class President? Assistant Commentary Editor Vote for Dissociation 2020! Big D is a potentially helpful, potentially harmful way to experience major trauma like a global pandemic. Dissociation has a wide network of friends of all ages who use it to cope with the stress in their lives, and it wants to introduce itself to you! Don’t be shy. Dissociation is just looking to say hi, talk a bit about itself, and help you learn to identify its characteristics so that you can stay in good health throughout this stressful time! Hi, I’m Dissociation, and I’m a defense mechanism that human beings exhibit as a response to trauma. I have three main branches, but this election campaign will highlight and examine just one of my sides: the depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD for short). DDD is a trauma response that presents as a “sense of detachment or being outside yourself,” according to the Mayo Clinfrom experiencing your thoughts, and are instead watching them occur like in a movie, you may be experiencing DDD. “I generally think dissociation is understood as on a spectrum from daydreaming, reveries, getting very lost in a task, which can be super healthy,” says social worker and psychotherapist, Jeremy Wexler, of the Montreal Therapy Centre. “It’s highly adaptive,” Wexler continues, “except when it becomes too much or is over functioning or is preventing people from using other ways of coping.” Considering my positive traits, as above described, I implore that you consider voting for me. I do my best to help people in hard times.

“Dissociation may be part sponse that people have,” says Wexler. “[People who experience dissociation] may become more prone to it and experience it as adaptive. So inforced over time. It might be

encing severe symptoms of Dissociation, please consider reaching out to a health practitioner, like your doctor or a psycholoit the Ordre des Psychologues du Quebec website. Additionally, you can always access free listening services from designated organizations.

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

INTERVIEW

Award-winning journalist Christopher Curtis on his new venture, The Rover

Curtis spoke with The Concordian about leaving the Montreal Gazette and what he would say to his younger self

Hadassah Alencar News Editor Christopher Curtis is an award-winning journalist in Montreal, who chose to leave his job at the Montreal Gazette to start a crowdfunded investigative journalism venture called The Rover with Ricochet media. Bursting out of the 24-hour news cycle, Curtis says his reporting is about going in-depth into unreported issues. I spoke with Curtis about how he came to leave the Gazette, his new venture, and what he would say to his younger self.

STUDENT LIFE

Studying 24/7: Examining the effects that time differences have on Concordia’s international students How time zones amplify the inherent challenges in remote learning Lucas Marsh Contributor It’s almost the end of your 8:45 a.m. Zoom lecture when the professor goes over the allotted time, again. Luckily, this time she’s only answering a question. She’s done five minutes later and logs off quicker than she can say goodbye. You check the time on your laptop. It’s nearly midnight here in Hong Kong. If you go to bed now, you can get six hours of sleep before your next class at 6.p.m. EST. Traditionally, every Sep-

was mostly limited to the restrictions in place for travel in Canada. However, Concordia states that the university cannot provide any guarantees for students that they will be permitted to enter the country with the information provided. This has left many international students to make decisions about the 2020-2021 school year completely uninformed as to whether or not their decisions are valid, as was the case with Antony Flanagan, a third-year Fine Arts student at Concordia. “I went onto the Canadian government website and looked through the restrictions,” said

Hawaii. “I can sum [remote learning] up for you in two words: it’s shit. I’ve been so unmotivated. I have so many classes that I need to catch up on, not to mention I’ve slept through a good amount of my classes … I work until 10 and my job is a 30-minute commute so I don’t get to bed until 11-ish. I just have no energy left,” she said. As midterms are quickly approaching, she frequently questions her ability to continue like this in the long-term. She admits that deferring next semester has crossed her mind, but considers that to be her last resort. She

find another section and that they weren’t going to change just for you.” It’s this apathetic attitude towards students that have left him questioning his faith in post-secondary education in recent months.

Flanagan. “I thought, well I might be able to get away with a few things, like some of them were vague criteria, but I called them and they just said no with what I had.” Living in London, England, Flanagan finds the five-hour time difference frustrating but manageable. It’s when a student’s life outside of school begins to conflict with their school schedule when these challenges become more serious. That has been the experience of a friend of mine, another third-year Fine Arts student who wishes to remain anonymous, currently studying in Honolulu,

It’s a common opinion shared by many students studying outside of Concordia’s local time zone, as time differences serve to amplify the inherent challenges in online learning. Concordia must provide more to students studying abroad, or risk having its international students become disillusioned with higher education completely.

“I’m learning online from professors at school. I can look at any search engine, find a reliable source, and find so much information. University is really worthless in a way, at least how it is now.”

HA: How was the Montreal Gazette experience for you, working there for so many years? CC: It was great, I learned to become a journalist there. It was a really nurturing, caring place, but it was a place that had this cloud of uncertainty hanging over us. When I started out there were maybe 120 people at the Gazette and by the time I left there were like 60. What happens is that over time when you’re not investing in journalism, and when you’re constantly having to cut employees, which was the case across the board at all Postmedia properties, the quality of the work begins to suffer.

We can feel that crunch and an urgency to produce content everyday. And if you have to produce something everyday, then you don’t have that extra time to build relationships in your own community or in a remote community. So, that’s why I started to consider leaving. HA: What made you make that jump? It’s hard to leave a job! CC: What happened was just, I think [over] the summer, I thought about the journalist that I was when I started out. I remember for one story I slept in a tent, just outside of a reserve in the middle of nowhere one night on a day off, just to get access to a story that might turn out to be good or might not turn out to be good. I was willing to take risks. Would that kid look at me, almost ten years later, and say they’re proud of what I’ve become? I wasn’t so sure anymore. I thought long and hard about my future at the Gazette. It felt like we were really just surviving and I didn’t really just want to survive anymore.

HA: I saw your video that announced your The Rover project, where you travelled to where the John A. Macdonald statue once stood, what was the significance of that? CC: Well, my girlfriend suggested the John A. Macdonald statue, and I thought it was great. I think to me it was kind of apparent that there’s this pretty big disconnect with a lot of the traditional reporters and journalists and what’s actually happening on the ground in Indigenous communities. There isn’t nearly enough good journalism that feels like it comes from the ground up. HA: What is good journalism?

CC: I think good journalism feels real. Good journalism talks to the people who are affected by a decision that’s made in a parliament, or in an office, or in the halls of power somewhere. It should always be about the people who don’t have a say in what happens, and [who] don’t feel like they have access to justice. That to me is good journalism. HA: What would you say to your-

self, if you could go back and talk to the younger, student reporter, you? CC: I would say that journalism is a set of skills that take a very long time to master. You need to put in hours, that’s the one thing I did get right back then was I put in my time. You need to build journalism into your muscle memory, or at least the mechanics of journalism: interviewing, transcribing, writing fast copy. I think one year at The Link I wrote something like 120 stories. What I would say is do all that, but when you get your hands on something that you really think is different or exceptional follow it through. But you need to master that basic shit. Bust your ass, and hustle hard, and when you can stand out, stand out! Photo by Christine Beaudoin

tember, international students would return to Montreal for the start of the fall semester. However, as Concordia continues with remote learning, and with widespread travel restrictions in place, many students have decided to not return to Montreal this school year. For those who have decided to remain home, they face the unprecedented challenge of adapting to a university schedule based outside their respective time zones. At the time of writing this article, I found surprisingly little on the official International Student Offices (ISO) website for these students. What I did find

If you are an international student studying abroad, you can find more information here. Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

STUDENT LIFE

INTERVIEW

Award-winning journalist Christopher Curtis on his new venture, The Rover Curtis spoke with The Concordian about leaving the Montreal Gazette and what he would say to his younger self Hadassah Alencar News Editor

How time zones amplify the inherent challenges in remote learning Lucas Marsh Contributor It’s almost the end of your 8:45 a.m. Zoom lecture when the professor goes over the allotted time, again. Luckily, this time she’s only answering a question. goodbye. You check the time on your laptop. It’s nearly midnight here in Hong Kong. If you go to bed now, you can get six hours of sleep before your next class at 6.p.m. EST. Traditionally, every Sep-

Christopher Curtis is an award-winning journalist in Montreal, who chose to leave his job at the Montreal Gazette to start a crowdfunded investigative journalism venture called The Rover with Ricochet media. Bursting out of the 24-hour news cycle, Curtis says his reporting is about going in-depth into unreported issues. I spoke with Curtis about how he came to leave the Gazette, his new venture, and what he would say to his younger self.

Hawaii. “I can sum [remote learning] up for you in two words: it’s shit. I’ve been so unmotivated. I have so many classes that I need to catch up on, not to mention I’ve slept through a good amount of my job is a 30-minute commute so I don’t get to bed until 11-ish. I just have no energy left,” she said. As midterms are quickly approaching, she frequently questions her ability to continue like this in the long-term. She admits that deferring next semester has crossed her mind, but considers that to be her last resort. She

weren’t going to change just for you.” It’s this apathetic attitude towards students that have left him questioning his faith in post-secondary education in recent months.

“I’m learning online from professors at school. I can

much information. University is really worthless in a way, at least how it is now.”

We can feel that crunch and an urgency to produce content everyday. And if you have to produce something everyday, then you don’t have that extra time to build relationships in your own community or in a remote community. So, that’s why I started to consider leaving. HA: What made you make that jump? It’s hard to leave a job! CC: What happened was just, I think [over] the summer, I thought about the journalist that I was when I started out. I remember for one story I slept in a tent, just outside of a reserve in the middle of nowhere one ry that might turn out to be good or might not turn out to be good. I was willing to take risks. Would that kid look at me, almost ten years later, and say they’re proud of what I’ve become? I wasn’t so sure anymore. I thought long and hard about my future at the Gazette. It felt like we were really just surviving and I didn’t really just want to survive anymore.

HA: I saw your video that announced your The Rover project, where you travelled to where the John A. Macdonald statue once stood, what CC: Well, my girlfriend suggested the John A. Macdonald statue, and I thought it was great. I think to me it was kind of apparent that there’s this pretty big disconnect with a lot of the traditional reporters and journalists and what’s actually happening on the ground in Indigenous communities. There isn’t nearly enough good journalism that feels like it comes from the ground up. HA: What is good journalism?

I think good journalism feels real. Good journalism talks to the people who are affected by a decision that’s the halls of power somewhere. It should always be about the people who don’t have a say in what happens, and [who] don’t feel like they have access to justice. That to me is good journalism. HA: What would you say to your-

self, if you could go back and talk to the younger, student reporter, you? CC: I would say that journalism is a set of skills that take a very long time to master. You need to put in hours, that’s the one thing I did get right back then was I put in my time. You need to build journalism into your muscle memory, or at least the mechanics of journalism: interviewing, transcribing, writing fast copy. I think one year at The Link I wrote something like 120 stories. What I would say is do all that, but when you get your hands on something that al follow it through. But you need to master that basic shit. Bust your ass, and hustle hard, and when you can stand out, stand out! Photo by Christine Beaudoin

would rather see Concordia provide more support to students stuck in similar positions. Except for resources at the Student Success Centre and The Access Centre for Students with Disabilities, international students have to rely on the policies - of their professors for support, ageable. It’s when a student’s life which has left many students in outside of school begins to con- serious trouble. “I emailed [the professor] when these challenges become and asked if there is any way he more serious. could record the live sessions so That has been the experi- that I don’t have to stay up from ence of a friend of mine, another 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. every night,” said third-year Fine Arts student who Mohamed Almoallim, a fourthwishes to remain anonymous, year JMSB student studying from currently studying in Honolulu, Saudi Arabia. “He told me to go

It’s a common opinion shared by many students studying outside of Concordia’s loes serve to amplify the inherent challenges in online learning. Concordia must provide more to students studying abroad, or risk having its international students become disillusioned with higher education completely.

If you are an international student studying abroad, you

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Arts.

ARTS EDITORS Lorenza Mezzapelle / @lorenzamezzapelle arts@theconcordian.com

EXHIBITION

HEAR US NOW! supports artistic practices of BIPOC artists during COVID-19

An Instagram exhibition presenting the works of 20 BIPOC artists Florence Yee

Ana Lucia Londono Flores Assistant Arts Editor Concordia’s Ethnocultural Art Histories Research group (EAHR) has done incredible work in creating a space to highlight the works of 20 BIPOC artists during the pandemic. HEAR US NOW!, an exhibition presented by EAHR, displays various artworks, including installations, photography, and performances that engage with numerous topics, such as climate change, racism, and social justice activism. According to their website, the EAHR group is a research group led by students from the Department of Art History. Since the summer of 2011, EAHR has been facilitating the possibilities of exchange and creation through various projects which aspire to provide a stimulating framework allowing problems of ethnic and cultural representation in the visual arts in Canada to be studied. A call for submissions was announced in mid-June and closed at the end of August. As people were experiencing their first summer during the pandemic, the group decided to create an Instagram project to

diffuse the works of BIPOC artists during these tumultuous and uncertain times. Artists could submit a maximum of five artworks in any type of medium that could be posted on Instagram. After submitting the works, artists would receive a notification from the EAHR group within two weeks. Selected works would be posted every two weeks, allowing the audience to take a look at the different projects. The works of multidisciplinary artist Jayce Salloum can be found in the online exhibition. Salloum is a grandson of Syrian immigrants and was raised in Syilx (Okanagan territory) in B.C. Salloum’s work originates from an intimate engagement of places. His works in the exhibition are from his project beyond now (2020), which are writings of texts that he selected to make sentences. On the slides, the audience can read sentences such as “racism inbred in the fabric of the constructed nation” and in smaller text “a pandemic of inequality.” A second selection of Salloum’s work was shown recently for ISEA2020 (International Symposium on Electronic Art)’s collaborative projects with EAHR, entitled (pre)existing conditions. Salloum’s work exposes other fragments of texts such as “why does a virus have to appear to reveal how connected we all are” with a hashtag #impact_the_social or “white names our streets they’ve no claims here wrecking consciousness still stolen lands” with the hashtag #decolonize. Salloum’s text fragments are straightforward and represent ongoing social tensions. Viewers can also appreciate the works of Cantonese visual artist Florence Yee, whose work in the exhibition focuses on Cantonese-Canadian history. Yee’s work also examines queerness, racialization, and language. Whitewashed, vinyl on plastic bag (2018) is an installation consisting of a white garment bag hung on a clothing rack with “they said I was whitewashed,

but Chinese people only run dry cleaners” written on it.

Florence Yee

WORKSHOP

Veteran journalist Francine Pelletier on making documentaries

Florence Yee

tion of diasporic family respectability from a queer lens.” Using “textile installation to question the stoicism of assimilationist imperatives, by holding space for personal and intergenerational failure and cultural loss.”

Jayce Salloum

As HEAR US NOW! has come to an end, EAHR has selected seven of the 20 artists to take part in a collection of new media projects with ISEA’s theme this year “Why Sentience.” This is in reference to various events that have been happening this year, such as wildfires bursting on the planet, systemic racism, and more contemporary issues.

In their statement, Yee describes their practice as beginning with researching You can check out HEAR US NOW! exhibition historical references to Cantonese-Canadi- through the hashtag #EAHR_ISEAC2020 on Insan history, and now having “moved into a tagram and the archive on the group’s website. more intimate, more self-doubtful examina-

Abbas Mehrabian Contributor The Department of Journalism held a workshop on Oct. 21, led by Francine Pelletier, the department’s journalist-in-residence, about different forms of documentary making, what makes a good documentary and what makes it a unique form of storytelling. The workshop was the first of a visual series, through which Pelletier plans to increase the profile of documentary journalism within Concordia. Documentary filmmaking lies at the intersection of journalism and arts, where the artist uses creative storytelling to raise awareness and make an impact in the world. “Documentary filmmaking combines the best of journalism, telling great stories, and the best of you, finding the creative side in you,” said Pelletier. After leaving her job at CBC in 2001, Pelletier became an independent documentary filmmaker and has made 11 films so far. She made the switch because documentary making “had exploded” in the 1990s and was a hot medium. She also found it to be a more creative type of journalism and more satisfying to work independently. Pelletier said the oldest feature-length documentary is perhaps Nanook of the North (1922), which captures the struggles of an Inuk man and his family in the Canadian Arctic. It established the cinéma vérité form, where the filmmaker is but a passive watcher. Pelletier said the film Harlan County, USA (1976), which narrates a coal mine strike in the US, is a notable example of this form. She emphasized that this does not mean the filmmaker is neutral. “In fact, documentary filmmaking is often called point-of-view filmmaking,” she said. “In this case, [the filmmaker] is definitely on the side of workers and not employers.” Michael Moore, with his first documentary Roger & Me (1989), in-

vented a new documentary form, in which the filmmaker is the main character. Another documentary form, which is simply an extended television news item, shows an orthodox correspondent who represents the audience and interviews affected people of the story. An example is the Canadian film Just Another Missing Kid (1981), which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1982 (Pelletier said it is “too corny” for today’s taste and would never win an Academy Award today). Pelletier said that the 1990s was a wonderful decade for documentaries, as the equipment required to make one became more accessible, causing the number of independent documentary makers to explode. Digital cameras were invented, which are much smaller and lighter than analog ones. “[So] little women like me can go out and actually use a camera and not die from the 50-pound weight of the television cameras,” she said. Also, many documentary film festivals, like Toronto’s Hot Docs festival, the largest documentary festival in North America, started in the 1990s. Today, documentaries have various ways of reaching people; they appear on newspaper websites and services such as Netflix. Pelletier said the first documentary she watched on Netflix was Blackfish (2013). It is about the consequences of keeping whales in captivity, and narrates the story of Tilikum, a captive whale at the marine park Seaworld, who was involved in the deaths of three people. The film was quite impactful, and in 2016, SeaWorld announced it will end its live performances involving whales. “What’s amazing about documen-

tary filmmaking is that anyone can do it; if you’re really passionate about something, it’s possible to do a great story and really make a difference,” Pelletier said. “I always joke that it is the easiest way for a nobody to become a somebody.” Another reason to make documentaries is to keep the light shining in the right direction, Pelletier said. “There is a truth in the documentary because you aren’t telling people what to think; they’re seeing it for themselves.” To make a good documentary, “The story is key,” Pelletier said. “The essential ingredient to any good story is conflict or tension.” One does not need a huge scandal — even telling a personal story compellingly can make an effective documentary. For example, Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020) describes the decline of the filmmaker’s old father in a creative, playful manner. Pelletier said that another ingredient of a good story is a strong character. “Any story is carried by a character,” she said. Finally, she stressed that there are many ways of making a documentary about a given story; the filmmaker needs to be creative and find a suitable form for their message. The workshop was the first of a series of three. The second will be on Nov. 18 with Julian Sher, about making documentaries amid conflicts and wars, and the third will be on Dec. 9 with David Gutnick about radio documentary and podcasting. Photo courtesy Concordia Dept. of Journalism

Arts.

ARTS EDITORS Lorenza Mezzapelle / @lorenzamezzapelle arts@theconcordian.com

EXHIBITION

HEAR US NOW! supports artistic practices of BIPOC artists during COVID-19

WORKSHOP

Veteran journalist Francine Pelletier on making documentaries

An Instagram exhibition presenting the works of 20 BIPOC artists Florence Yee

Ana Lucia Londono Flores Assistant Arts Editor Concordia’s Ethnocultural Art Histories Research group (EAHR) has done incredible work in creating a space to highlight the works of 20 BIPOC artists during the pandemic. HEAR US NOW!, an exhibition presented by EAHR, displays various artworks, including installations, photography, and performances that engage with numerous topics, such as climate change, racism, and social justice activism. According to their website, the EAHR group is a research group led by students from the Department of Art History. Since the summer of 2011, EAHR has been facilitating the possibilities of exchange and creation through various projects which aspire to provide a stimulating framework allowing problems of ethnic and cultural representation in the visual arts in Canada to be studied. A call for submissions was announced in mid-June and closed at the end of Ausummer during the pandemic, the group decided to create an Instagram project to

tion of diasporic family respectability from these tumultuous and uncertain times. a queer lens.” Using “textile installation to Artists could submit a maximum of question the stoicism of assimilationist imperatives, by holding space for personal and could be posted on Instagram. After sub- intergenerational failure and cultural loss.” mitting the works, artists would receive a two weeks. Selected works would be posted every two weeks, allowing the audiThe works of multidisciplinary artist Jayce Salloum can be found in the online exhibition. Salloum is a grandson of Syrian immigrants and was raised in Syilx (Okanagan territory) in B.C. Salloum’s work originates from an intimate engagement of places. His works in the exhibition are from his project beyond now (2020), which are writings of texts that he selected to make sentences. On the slides, the audience can read sentences such as “racism inbred in the fabric of the constructed nation” and in smaller text “a pandemic of inequality.” A second selection of Salloum’s work was shown recently for ISEA2020 (International Symposium on Electronic Art)’s collaborative projects with EAHR, entitled (pre)existing conditions. Salloum’s work exposes other fragments of texts such as “why does a virus have to appear to reveal how connected we all are” with a hashtag #impact_the_social or “white names our streets they’ve no claims here wrecking consciousness still stolen lands” with the hashtag #decolonize. Salloum’s text fragments are straightforward and represent ongoing social tensions. Viewers can also appreciate the works of Cantonese visual artist Florence Yee, whose work in the exhibition focuses on Cantonese-Canadian history. Yee’s work also examines queerness, racialization, and language. Whitewashed, vinyl on plastic bag (2018) is an installation consisting of a white garment bag hung on a clothing rack with “they said I was whitewashed,

but Chinese people only run dry cleaners” written on it.

Florence Yee

Jayce Salloum

tary filmmaking is that anyone can do it; if you’re really passionate about something, it’s possible to do a great story and really make a difference,” Pelletier said. “I always joke that it is the easiest way for a nobody to become a somebody.” Another reason to make documentaries is to keep the light shining in the right direction, Pelletier said. “There is a truth in the documentary because you aren’t telling people what to think; they’re seeing it for themselves.” To make a good documentary, “The story is key,” Pelletier said. “The essential ingredient to any good story is conflict or tension.” One does not need a huge scandal — even telling a personal story compellingly can make an effective documentary. For example, Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020) describes the decline of the filmmaker’s old father in a creative, playful manner. Pelletier said that another ingredient of a good story is a strong character. “Any story is carried by a character,” she said. Finally, she stressed that there are many ways of making a documentary about a given story; the filmmaker needs to be creative and find a suitable form for their message. a series of three. The second will be on Nov. 18 with Julian Sher, about making documentaries amid conon Dec. 9 with David Gutnick about radio documentary and podcasting. Photo courtesy Concordia Dept. of Journalism

Music.

MUSIC EDITOR Louis Pavlakos / @louispavlakos music@theconcordian.com

THINKPIECE

Bryson Tiller and the art of living between albums

Putting pressure on artists to release new material will only lead to watered-down tunes built for streaming Louis Pavlakos Music Editor Every Thursday night, like clockwork, the world prepares itself for a new batch of new music. These drops can be surprises or the result of a meticulous marketing campaign designed to attract the most amount of listeners as possible. Since there’s so much new content every week, it can become easy to forget about an artist who’s been laying low for a long time. Look at Bryson Tiller, one of R&B’s hottest up-and-comers in 2015. He was able to coast off the monster single “Don’t” with all the hype he’d drawn to himself. With that, he had a lot to live up to when he released TRAPSOUL, his debut album that same year. He followed it up with the middling True to Self in 2017 that came and went with little fanfare. After his sophomore effort though, Tiller disappeared. Despite some oneoff singles in 2018 and 2019, his fans weren’t sure what to make of his lacklustre output.

In the meantime, a whole new wave of R&B artists rose to the occasion and dropped music that borrowed from Tiller’s sound. Since streaming makes it so easy to just listen to something new, it’s just as easy to forget the artist who helped

guide a new generation of crooners. Fans will always be a pestering bunch. They’ll love an artist when they release something new but will pester them on social media if they’ve been quiet for anything more than a few months.

Quickspins

OMAR APOLLO APOLONIO

Apolonio brings us one step closer to figuring out what kind of artist Omar Apollo wants to be Louis Pavlakos Music Editor Omar Apollo’s identity as an indie-pop artist seemed muddled over the last few years. While he has an enchanting voice, his style didn’t seem like it was going to be anything groundbreaking. He could sing, he could write, but it was unclear as to what kind of music he truly wanted to make. Apolonio, Apollo’s first record on a major label, looks to be the crooner’s clearest indication of what he wants to be. The first track, “I’m Amazing,” has a cocky title but the lyrics on the track tell a different story. Despite hearing his fans tell him he’s amazing, he can’t help but feel it’s a stretch and that he hasn’t got anything more figured out than the rest of us. It’s the first of ma-

The pressure adds up. Not only is there weight on the artist’s shoulders to release something new and better than their last release but there’s a lot to lose from a monetary point of view. If the album flops, then people will look elsewhere to scratch the itch they have for music that their favourite artist makes. So for Tiller, his comeback would not only have to be good, but it would have to be on or surpass T R A P S O U L’s level of quality to maintain the squirrel-like attention span fans have today. Even Spotify CEO Daniel Ek adds to the already overwhelming pressure by stating that artists can no longer release an album every three to four years because it won’t generate enough revenue to sustain them. His comments naturally faced a lot of backlash. Spotify’s payout to artists is notoriously low so his comments imply

ny laid-back funk-filled tracks across the project’s very brief 26 minutes. “Want U Around” and “Hey Boy” offer sultry vocals from their respective guests, Ruel and Kali Uchis, the latter of whom is a shining light on an already breezy track. The chemistry Apollo shows with both of them demonstrates his willingness to explore the back seat, something he had little of before Apolonio. Despite these already high points on the album, Apollo doesn’t shy away from making a song that takes a few more sonic risks. “Dos Uno Nueve (219)” is an acoustic guitar-led song performed entirely in Spanish. Though it wouldn’t do well in the club or at a party, it would certainly make for good horse-riding music in Red Dead Redemption. The final three tracks are a bit rudimentary and somewhat derivative of other indie-pop songs out there, but aren’t bad by any stretch. “Useless” sometimes feels like Apollo is putting on his best Julian Casablancas impersonation, while “Bi Fren” just sounds like a Khalid leftover. Apolonio moves us closer to piecing

that an artist should have to release something new every few months in order to make a good living, which could hinder their creative process. So what does an artist like Bryson Tiller do? He can’t coast off the success of T R A P S O U L forever and if he’s not in the right mental space to create more music, then he shouldn’t feel obligated to pump out music. Certain artists can live off the success of a few albums. Tame Impala had been riding the acclaim of Currents, released in 2015, up until the release of The Slow Rush in February of this year. Frank Ocean’s Blonde is still raking up streams despite it being four years old. With such popularity, why should artists feel obligated to follow up a masterpiece so quickly? If your name is Daniel Ek and you own Spotify, then the obvious answer is money.

Releasing new music has always been about making money for record labels and now streaming services. They don’t care how artful or beautiful the music actually is as long as it sells. And for certain artists, it works.

Omar Apollo’s music together. He clearly wears his inspirations on his sleeves, but also tries to combine them so much that they won’t matter. While borrowing the best elements from artists like contemporary indie-pop and R&B artists, it won’t be long before the sound he works with becomes definitively his.

7.5 / 10

♫ TRIAL TRACK:

Hey Boy (feat. Kali Uchis)

Westside Gunn recently put out his third full-length project of the year and on every release day, his fans flock to it and listen, even if they fear that he might be oversaturating his own market. However, if he’s accumulating a lot of streams, then that’s three times the amount of money he would have made if he only released one. Gunn has about 40 new songs this year and each stream brings in more cash. He’s up to the task and he gets it done, but not every artist is built that way. This year, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the only

real way for artists to make money is to release new music and sell merch. They can’t tour, which is their biggest source of income. So for Ek to come out and say that artists need to be releasing new material every few months, then it only adds to the pressure of having to top your previous album. When Bryson Tiller announced his third record, ANNIVERSARY, it felt like he was, for the first time since TRAPSOUL, ready to release the music he’d made on his own accord. And for the most part, Tiller’s latest al-

bum sounds like he truly cared about it. Though it might be harder for him to get back the popularity he had in 2015, at least he’s doing things on his own terms and not following the guidelines of a selfish streaming corporation that forces him to release music the same way Nerf pumps out Fortnite guns. The gap between albums should not only be allowed but encouraged for artists who don’t have the creative bandwidth to create art every few months.

Quickspins

BENNY THE BUTCHER BURDEN OF PROOF

mentals in comparison to his past work, his lyrical content, and the star-studded guest list that this album boasts. Throughout its tracklist, we see appearWesley McLean ances from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Big Sean Assistant Music Editor and Freddie Gibbs, among others, all of which are a perfect fit for their respecThe Buffalo-bred MC teams up tive tracks and deliver fantastic verses. with super producer Hit-Boy for This was a pretty risky move, as the his biggest album to date Griselda crew has historically kept things mostly in-house and have built a fanGriselda Records has been having a base on their dark, throwback sound. banner year. With several projects from Going with more commercial artists both Westside Gunn and Conway the and lavish production could’ve been a Machine being released, as well as debuts huge detriment, but they pay off in a from new signees Boldy James and Armajor way, thanks to Benny himself. mani Caesar, the Buffalo-based label has Benny is at the height of his powbeen on an extremely hot streak. With ers throughout this LP, delivering his latest solo effort, Benny the Butchsharp bars, cautionary tales and words er is looking to continue that streak. of wisdom from a man who’s seen This project serves as both a celebrait all. He never feels the need to wation of Benny’s newfound success and ter down his lyrics or change how he a reflection on the struggles that he enraps, he just makes his style fit every dured getting to where he’s at now. His track from the project’s bombastic inraps show an understanding that his tro to its impeccable closer, “Legend.” present status and wealth wouldn’t exist This is an album that is rife with highs. if not for the troubled waters he swam From the Freddie Gibbs-assisted “One through in his past. The perils and presWay Flight” to the soulful and reflective sures of drug dealing helped get him to “Thank God I Made It,” none of the songs where he is, and he hasn’t let his luxuristick out as bad. The only real negative ous new lifestyle cause him to forget that. here is the skits, and while they are absoStill, Benny’s change in lifestyle is apparlutely horrible, they still don’t take much ent through the sonic shift of the instru-

We can’t expect artists to be our guinea pigs for new content when they live their lives just as much as we do. It’s unfair. So before you comment “New music please!” under your favourite artist’s tweets, take a minute to reflect and see how that might not be in their best interest.

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

away from the quality of the music. This is an extremely solid outing from front to back and cements Benny as a force in the modern hip hop landscape, and he has a discography to back that status. Throughout his catalogue, Benny has routinely started verses by delivering his now-famous ad lib, “The Butcher’s coming.” While those same words are the first uttered on Burden of Proof, it’s clear by the outro that things have changed – the Butcher isn’t coming, he’s here.

8.5 / 10

♫ TRIAL TRACK:

ONE WAY FLIGHT (FEAT. FREDDIE GIBBS)

MUSIC EDITOR Louis Pavlakos / @louispavlakos music@theconcordian.com

Music. THINKPIECE

Bryson Tiller and the art of living between albums Putting pressure on artists to release new material will only lead to watered-down tunes built for streaming Louis Pavlakos Music Editor Every Thursday night, like clockwork, the world prepares itself for a new batch of new music. These drops can be surprises or the result of a meticulous marketing campaign designed to attract the most amount of listeners as possible. Since there’s so much new content every week, it can become easy to forget about an artist who’s been laying low for a long time. Look at Bryson Tiller, one of R&B’s hottest up-and-comers in 2015. He was able to coast off the monster single “Don’t” with all the hype he’d drawn to himself. With that, he had a lot to live up to when he released TRAPSOUL, his debut album that same year. He followed it up with the middling True to Self in 2017 that came and went with little fanfare. After his sophomore effort though, Tiller disappeared. Despite some oneoff singles in 2018 and 2019, his fans weren’t sure what to make of his lacklustre output.

The pressure adds up. Not only is there weight on the artist’s shoulders to release something new and better than their last release but there’s a lot to lose from a monetary point of view. people will look elsewhere to scratch the itch they have for music that their favourite artist makes. So for Tiller, his comeback would not only have to be good, but it would have to be on or surpass T R A P S O U L’s level of quality to maintain the squirrel-like attention span fans have today. Even Spotify CEO Daniel Ek adds to the already overwhelming pressure by stating that artists can no longer release an album every three to four years because it won’t generate enough revenue to sustain them. His comments naturally faced a lot of backlash. Spotify’s payout to artists is notoriously low so his comments imply

that an artist should have to release something new every few months in order to make a good living, which could hinder their creative process. So what does an artist like Bryson Tiller do? He can’t coast forever and if he’s not in the right mental space to create more music, then he shouldn’t feel obligated to pump out music. the success of a few albums. Tame Impala had been riding the acclaim of Currents, released in 2015, up until the release of The Slow Rush in February of this year. Frank Ocean’s Blonde is still raking up streams despite it being four years old. With such popularity, why should artists feel obligated to follow up a masterpiece so quickly? If your name is Daniel Ek and you own Spotify, then the obvious answer is money.

Quickspins OMAR APOLLO APOLONIO

the project’s very brief 26 minutes.

sultry vocals from their respective guests, Ruel and Kali Uchis, the latter of whom is a shining light on an already breezy track. The chemistry Apollo shows with both of them demonstrates his willingLouis Pavlakos ness to explore the back seat, someMusic Editor thing he had little of before Apolonio. Despite these already high points on Omar Apollo’s identity as an indie-pop the album, Apollo doesn’t shy away from artist seemed muddled over the last few making a song that takes a few more years. While he has an enchanting voice, sonic risks. “Dos Uno Nueve (219)” is his style didn’t seem like it was going to an acoustic guitar-led song performed be anything groundbreaking. He could entirely in Spanish. Though it wouldn’t sing, he could write, but it was unclear as do well in the club or at a party, it would to what kind of music he truly wanted to certainly make for good horse-riding music in Red Dead Redemption. a major label, looks to be the crooner’s clearest indication of what he wants to be. tary and somewhat derivative of other indie-pop songs out there, but aren’t bad a cocky title but the lyrics on the track by any stretch. “Useless” sometimes feels like Apollo is putting on his best Julian his fans tell him he’s amazing, he can’t Casablancas impersonation, while “Bi help but feel it’s a stretch and that he Fren” just sounds like a Khalid leftover. Apolonio moves us closer to piecing !"#$#%&#'()&%*+',+'#%-'+.-"'/$#+-)'.#' 0*,)&%*'#,.'123.'4&%5'#6'3).&+.'783)' !"#$$#'13%.+'.#'(-

Westside Gunn recently put real way for artists to make monout his third full-length project of ey is to release new music and sell the year and on every release day, merch. They can’t tour, which is their biggest source of income. if they fear that he might be over- So for Ek to come out and say saturating his own market. How- that artists need to be releasing ever, if he’s accumulating a lot of new material every few months, streams, then that’s three times then it only adds to the pressure the amount of money he would of having to top your previous alhave made if he only released bum. When Bryson Tiller anone. Gunn has about 40 new songs this year and each stream nounced his third record, ANNIbrings in more cash. He’s up to VERSARY, it felt like he was, for the task and he gets it done, but not every artist is built that way. ready to release the music he’d T h i s y e a r , w i t h t h e made on his own accord. And for COVID-19 pandemic, the only the most part, Tiller’s latest al-

7.5 / 10 Hey Boy (feat. Kali Uchis)

bum sounds like he truly cared about it. Though it might be harder for him to get back the popularity he had in 2015, at least he’s doing things on his own terms and not following the guideporation that forces him to release music the same way Nerf pumps out Fortnite guns. The gap between albums should not only be allowed but encouraged for artists who don’t have the creative bandwidth to create art every few months.

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Quickspins mentals in comparison to his past work, his lyrical content, and the star-studded guest list that this album boasts. Throughout its tracklist, we see appearWesley McLean ances from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Big Sean Assistant Music Editor and Freddie Gibbs, among others, all of tive tracks and deliver fantastic verses. with super producer Hit-Boy for This was a pretty risky move, as the his biggest album to date Griselda crew has historically kept things mostly in-house and have built a fanGriselda Records has been having a base on their dark, throwback sound. banner year. With several projects from Going with more commercial artists both Westside Gunn and Conway the and lavish production could’ve been a Machine being released, as well as debuts from new signees Boldy James and Armajor way, thanks to Benny himself. Benny is at the height of his powbeen on an extremely hot streak. With ers throughout this LP, delivering sharp bars, cautionary tales and words er is looking to continue that streak. of wisdom from a man who’s seen This project serves as both a celebrait all. He never feels the need to wation of Benny’s newfound success and ter down his lyrics or change how he dured getting to where he’s at now. His track from the project’s bombastic inraps show an understanding that his tro to its impeccable closer, “Legend.” present status and wealth wouldn’t exist This is an album that is rife with highs. if not for the troubled waters he swam From the Freddie Gibbs-assisted “One through in his past. The perils and pressures of drug dealing helped get him to “Thank God I Made It,” none of the songs where he is, and he hasn’t let his luxuristick out as bad. The only real negative ous new lifestyle cause him to forget that. here is the skits, and while they are absoStill, Benny’s change in lifestyle is apparlutely horrible, they still don’t take much ent through the sonic shift of the instru-

BENNY THE BUTCHER BURDEN OF PROOF

away from the quality of the music. This is an extremely solid outing from front to back and cements Benny as a force in the modern hip hop landscape, and he has a discography to back that status. Throughout his catalogue, Benny has routinely started verses by delivering his now-famous ad lib, “The Butcher’s coming.” While those same words are the by the outro that things have changed – the Butcher isn’t coming, he’s here.

8.5 / 10 ONE WAY FLIGHT (FEAT. FREDDIE GIBBS)

Sports.

SPORTS EDITOR Alec Brideau / @alecbrideau sports@theconcordian.com

RSEQ

The RSEQ cancels winter sports’ seasons

Student-athletes face a new challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will be a tough one to overcome: they cannot play. The government announced in early October that all team sports were cancelled in the province of Quebec. The cancellation came right in the heat of and in response to the pandemic’s second wave. Then, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) announced that it was cancelling winter sports until at least Jan. 15, affecting Concordia’s teams directly. When the Stingers men’s basketball team head coach Rastko Popovic initially heard the RSEQ announcement, he said wasn’t surprised, especially with similar situations going on everywhere else across Canada.

“I think Quebec is still delaying it just to give it a chance in case the situation cools,” Popovic said. “As sad as I am for our student-athletes and for everybody not being able to have a league, it probably is the best decision.” Without CEGEP games to watch, coaches have had to find new ways to find, attract and recruit new

players. The team is using video calls, text messages, emails and even PowerPoint presentations to recruit players while no game or sports activity is allowed. Another issue often forgotten with the pandemic is academic repercussions. A lot of athletes use the thought of playing basketball as motivation for their classes, especially as they have to maintain certain academic standards in order to remain on their team. Now this motivation is harder to come by, as they are stuck doing online classes just like every other student. “I think all the coaches will be concerned with that, it’s just not easy,” Popovic said. “I follow up with my players on a weekly basis. We have online tutoring available also.” This kind of improvisation has been a key part of keeping the athletes on the right track academically, but Popovic recognizes that athletes aren’t the only ones suffering from remote learning, as it hasn’t been easy for all students. Popovic was very clear about the impact the situation could have on his team’s chemistry. He said he teaches his players to compete for every playing minute, so if his players are competitors, chemistry will come quickly and won’t be that big of an issue. By competing at a high level, chemistry usually sets in really quickly, because you get to understand the playing style of your teammates in a very short time. “It’s going to be affecting everybody and take a little bit of time, but we have veteran players returning and other experienced guys coming in from transfers,” Popovic said. “That will help us once we get back together. We have a very good team culture and our veterans are very good at setting the example.”

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Concordia masters student develops new fitness app

Negar Haghbin’s fitness app uses push notifications for motivation Liam Sharp Assistant Sports Editor

For sports like basketball, having no season will be a challenging first experience Simon Riopel Contributor

FITNESS

Rafael Nadal wins 20th Grand Slam title, ties for most in ATP history The race for the most Grand Slam titles has never been so tight Alec Brideau Sports Editor Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, known collectively as the Big 3, have dominated the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for years. Despite all the great names in men’s tennis history, the Big 3 lead for the most ever Grand Slam titles won. By winning his 13th Roland-Garros title on Oct. 11, a record in professional tennis, Nadal has joined Federer at the top of the list, tied with 20 Grand Slam titles each. With all members of the Big 3 at different stages of their careers, it’s still unclear who’s going to finish with most triumphs. While both Federer and Nadal lead with 20, Djokovic’s not so far behind with 17. At 33 years old, Djokovic is the youngest of the group. He’s arguably the only one who’s been able to compete against Federer and Nadal in every match, even beating them on many occasions, including in Grand Slam finals. Most of Djokovic’s impressive ATP records wouldn’t even be discussed today if it weren’t for his victories against Nadal and Federer along the way. As he’s just three Grand Slam titles away from tying them at 20, we can only imagine what may happen if he’s still playing after the other two retire. Nadal, 34, may or may not finish his career with the most Grand Slam titles among the three, but what’s sure is that he has good chances of passing Federer if he stays healthy. Recognized as the best player ever on clay, Nadal could perhaps add a 21st major with a 14th Roland-Garros next year, as he’s won 100 of his 102 matches there. It’s likely that Nadal will start reducing the number of tournaments he plays in a season. Federer has been doing so for a few years now, skipping almost all clay-court tournaments in order to better prepare for grass court tournaments and the annual U.S. Open on hard court in late summer. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Nadal start skipping the grass part of the season, and just focus on important clay and hard court tournaments. Even though Federer said he will come back in 2021 despite currently recovering from a second knee surgery this year, it’s hard to know how the 39-year-old will perform in what could easily be his farewell season. In an optimistic scenario, Federer could add to his list of major titles by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, which he’s won six and eight times respectively. Federer won both tournaments in 2017, and his 20th Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2018 when he defended his title. Those seem to be his favourite majors, as his last Grand Slam other than those two was in 2009. All members of the Big 3 have a case to finish on top for the most Grand Slam titles. They’re all at different stages of their careers, and all seem to dominate a different playing surface. Only time will tell where they end up. Graphic by @the.beta.lab

If you’re struggling to stick to a fit- scribe the application? What makes it ness routine, you’re not alone. unique? Social distancing protocol and the closure of most physical fitness centres have made it harder to exercise effectively. To be stuck at home for most of the day has made finding motivation to work out more challenging than ever. While some athletes are self-driven and autonomous when it comes to their health, many people find motivation in comradery. Whether fitness means going to a group yoga class, working out in a public gym, or playing basketball at a recreational centre, it is generally made easier when in the presence of others. A recently developed iOS fitness app aims to make the most of technology in modern devices by sending daily context-aware push notifications to users to assist them in meeting their fitness goals. I interviewed Negar Haghbin, a master’s student in computer science at the Applied Perception Lab at Concordia who developed and designed the fitness app. She goes into detail on the app and its intricacies, when and how the idea came about, and how COVID-19 influenced her work.

ing to work out regularly. Building the habit will take time as previous research has indicated it takes about 10 weeks to fully develop aut o n o - my. The truth is that the workouts are designed so that anyone at any fitness level can use the application for its intelligent reminders and/or the routines.

NH: We conducted a survey at Concordia on push notification preferences that got over 100 participants. Based on the results, we created the iOS fitness application that sends three types of daily push notifications. The first type is based on the user’s location, the second is based on a predetermined time set by the user, LS: Is the app available for downand the third is based on the user’s level of ac- load as of right now? tivity for the day. The app has numerous other functionalNH: Currently, it’s not available on the App Store because it is still in the research phase and we haven’t used the Apple server to collect data from user’s phones. Instead, we get participants in our study to send screenshots at the end of the research period and they fill out a questionnaire that ultimately figures out if the user successfully developed a daily workout habit while using the application. As of right now, it’s not available, but who knows for the future. LS: How can people participate in the project?

ities, like offering different types of workouts in the database that users can customize to their desires. A diary section allows for users to list workouts done within the application or separately. Finally, by completing workouts, users LS: What inspired you to design a can progress towards badges and achievements fitness app? that serve as rewards to add motivation.

NH: We’re always looking for participants for the long version of the user study, so if people are willing to help, they can learn more on the application and how to apply at the AP Lab website.

If you’re interested in participating in the study, send an email to n_haghbi@encs.concordia.ca for more NH: At the Applied Perception Lab, LS: Did this idea come to life with information. we mostly deal with health-related projects. the pandemic? What impact do you think Graphic by @the.beta.lab Mobile push notifications are an important COVID-19 will have on it? technology when it comes to that because they serve as great reminders. NH: I started the project around OctoFor example, elderly people who ber 2019, so it’s been a little over a year. I betake prescribed medicine can lieve COVID-19 will make the application more use push notifications to re- prevalent with people being restricted to their liably remind them of their homes and having limited access to equipment. daily routines. While that as- But I can’t say COVID-19 inspired me to develpect was studied heavily, there op the app because at the time, the virus was was a grey area in our research not yet a global situation. with push notifications as it pertained to fitness, so that’s LS: Who is the application designed how the idea really came for? about. NH: There isn’t a specific target audience. LS: Can you de- Anyone can use the app as long as they are will-

Sports.

SPORTS EDITOR Alec Brideau / @alecbrideau sports@theconcordian.com

FITNESS

Concordia masters student develops new

RSEQ

The RSEQ cancels winter Liam Sharp Assistant Sports Editor

For sports like basketball, having no season will

ness routine, you’re not alone. Simon Riopel Contributor

Student-athletes face a new challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will be a tough one to overcome: they cannot play. The government announced in early October that all team sports were cancelled in the province of Quebec. The cancellation came right in the heat of and in response to the pandemic’s second wave. Then, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) announced that it was cancelling winter sports until at least Jan. When the Stingers men’s basketball team head coach Rastko Popovic initially heard the RSEQ announcement, he said wasn’t surprised, especially with similar situations going on everywhere else across Canada.

players. The team is using video calls, text messages, emails and even PowerPoint presentations to recruit players while no game or sports activity is allowed. Another issue often forgotten with the pandemic is academic repercussions. A lot of athletes use the thought of playing basketball as motivation for their classes, especially as they have to maintain certain academic standards in order to remain on their team. Now this motivation is harder to come by, as they are stuck doing online classes just like every other student. “I think all the coaches will be concerned with that, it’s just not easy,” Popovic said. “I follow up with my players on a weekly basis. We have online tutoring available also.” This kind of improvisation has been a key part of keeping the athletes on the right track academically, but Popovic recognizes that athletes aren’t the only ones been easy for all students. Popovic was very clear about the impact the situation could have on his team’s chemistry. He said he teaches his players to compete for every playing minute, so if his players are competitors, chemistry will come quickly and won’t be that big of an issue. By competing at a high level, chemistry usually sets in really quickly, because you get to understand the playing style of your teammates in a very short time. and take a little bit of time, but we have veteran players returning and other experienced guys coming in from transfers,” Popovic said. “That will help us once we get back together. We have a very good team culture and our veterans are very good at setting the example.”

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

most triumphs. While both Federer and Nadal lead with 20, Djokovic’s not so far behind with 17. At 33 years old, Djokovic is the youngest of the group. He’s arguably the only one who’s been able to compete against Federer and Nadal in every match, even beating them on many occasions, including in Grand wouldn’t even be discussed today if it weren’t for his victories against Nadal and Federer along the way. As he’s just three Grand Slam titles away from tying them at 20, we can only imagine what may happen if he’s still playing after the other two retire. most Grand Slam titles among the three, but what’s sure is that he has good chances of passing Federer if he stays healthy. Recognized as the best player ever on clay, Nadal could perhaps add a 21st major with a 14th Roland-Garros next year, as he’s won 100 of his 102 matches there. It’s likely that Nadal will start reducing the number of tournaments he plays in a season. Federer has been doing so for a few years now, skipping almost all clay-court tournaments in order to better prepare for grass court tournaments and the annual U.S. Open on hard court in late summer. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Nadal start skipping the grass part of the season, and just focus on important clay and hard court tournaments. Even though Federer said he will come back in 2021 despite currently recovering from a second knee surgery this year, it’s hard to know how the 39-year-old will perform in what could easily be his farewell season. In an optimistic scenario, Federer could add to his list of major titles by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, which he’s won six and eight times respectively. Federer won both tournaments in 2017, and his 20th Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2018 when he defended his title. Those seem to be his favourite majors, as his last Grand Slam other than those two was in 2009.

ent playing surface. Only time will tell where they end up.

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

- scribe the application? What makes it unique?

Social distancing protocol and the clostuck at home for most of the day has made lenging than ever. While some athletes are self-driven and autonomous when it comes to their health, class, working out in a public gym, or playing basketball at a recreational centre, it is generally made easier when in the presence of others. A recently developed iOS fitness app aims to make the most of technology in modern devices by sending daily context-aware push ers to assist them ness goals. I interviewed Negar Haghbin, a master’s student in computer science at the Applied Perception Lab at Concordia who de-

ing to work out regularly. Building the habit will take time as previous research has indicated it takes NH: We conducted a survey at Concordia about 10 weeks to fully develop aut o n o - my. The truth is that the workouts are 100 participants. Based on the results, we creuse the application for its intelligent reminders and/or the routines. is based on the user’s location, the second is based on a predetermined time set by the user, LS: Is the app available for downand the third is based on the user’s level of ac- load as of right now? tivity for the day. The app has numerous other functionalNH: Currently, it’s not available on the App Store because it is still in the research phase and we haven’t used the Apple server to collect data from user’s phones. Instead, we get participants in our study to send screenshots at the end of the research period and tionnaire that ultithe user successfully developed a daily workout habit while using the application. As of right now, it’s not available, but who knows for the future. LS: How can people participate in the project?

goes into detail on the app and its intricacies, when and how the idea came about, and how LS: What inspired you to design a NH: At the Applied Perception Lab, we mostly deal with health-related projects. technology when it comes to that because they serve as great reminders. For example, elderly people who take prescribed medicine can liably remind them of their daily routines. While that aspect was studied heavily, there was a grey area in our research

NH: We’re always looking for participants for the long verthe database that users can customize to their sion of the user study, so if people are willing desires. A diary section allows for users to list to help, they can learn more on the application workouts done within the application or sepa- and how to apply at the AP Lab website. rately. Finally, by completing workouts, users can progress towards badges and achievements that serve as rewards to add motivation. study, send an email to n_haghbi@encs.concordia.ca for more LS: Did this idea come to life with information. the pandemic? What impact do you think Graphic by @the.beta.lab COVID-19 will have on it? NH: I started the project around October 2019, so it’s been a little over a year. I believe COVID-19 will make the application more prevalent with people being restricted to their homes and having limited access to equipment. But I can’t say COVID-19 inspired me to develop the app because at the time, the virus was not yet a global situation.

how the idea really came for? about.

LS: Who is the application designed

NH: LS: Can you de- Anyone can use the app as long as they are will-

Editorial: The red zone blues

This lockdown feels different from the last Back in March, when lockdown first began, a little something called self-reinvention came into vogue. For many students, early quarantine was characterized by athome workouts and loaves of bread baking in the oven. We video chatted with friends and family, took long walks in the cool spring mornings, and finally cracked open the dusty books we’d been meaning to read. We did anything and everything we could to make the days go by faster and to drown out the anxieties that come hand-in-hand with global pandemics. Whether this actually worked or not is still up for debate.

RESOURCES:

It’s October now, almost November, and while many things haven’t changed, lockdown feels different this time around. These past few weeks at The Concordian, we’ve been having discussions about COVID fatigue and how a lot of us are feeling burnt-out and uninspired lately. Our pandemic-induced hobbies have fallen to the wayside, only to be replaced by an incessant consumption of Netflix and the ordering of box after box of takeout (granted, we did all this back in March, too, just with more exercise and soul-searching in between).

• Mental health information from the Quebec government

• Concordia mental health resources • Helplines and talk lines in greater Montreal

In retrospect, the pressure we put on ourselves in those early days of quarantine was unrealistic and unfair. It turns out that worldwide catastrophes are not particularly conducive to awe-inspiring, all-encompassing self-improvement. Who knew? As we wait out the second wave of this storm, let’s embrace a slightly different approach to personal growth. If it made you happy the first time, take up baking and yoga again, and incorporating some more morning walks into your routine couldn’t hurt. But keep in mind that not every step you take needs to be an Instagrammable moment. Sometimes improvement looks like eating a vegetable for the first time in days; sometimes it’s taking a breather on the balcony; sometimes it’s calling your grandma; and sometimes it’s asking your professor for an extension. So, if you’ve been feeling blue lately, you can try what many of us at The Concordian will be practicing in the coming weeks: treating ourselves with tenderness and care, and trying to drink more water.

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