The Concordian Fall 2014 Issue 12

theconcordian

November 18, 2014. | Independent student newspaper at Concordia University. Since 1983.

Issue 12 | | Volume 32

Sports p. 14

Reaching for the finals Photo by Andrej Ivanov

In this issue

NEWS

p. 3

Only 90 take severance

LIFE

p. 7

Mim’s winter wonderland

ARTS

p. 8

CBC’s search for comedy

MUSIC

p. 12

Tokyo Police Club reflect

We tell your stories. Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

OPINIONS

p.17

A call for medical marijuana

theconcordian.com

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Write to the editor: news@theconcordian.com

CITY jESSiCA KENWOOD Assistant news editor

>> MONTREAL

PROTESTS CBC JOB CUTS Sunday afternoon Montrealers took to the streets in protest of CBC/ Radio-Canada staff cuts.

In April, CBC-Radio-Canada announced it would be slashing its employee numbers in its Quebec offices by up to 1,500 before 2020.

Supporters of the news outlets marched down Rene Levesque Boulevard in Montreal, while across the province fellow protestors gathered in several cities and even in Moncton, New Brunswick.

If the public broadcaster goes through with the cut-backs, the French-speaking population would see a huge loss in the quality of reporting it has access to.

>> COUILLARD

MEETS WITH MUSLIM LEADERS Primer Philippe Couillard met with Muslim leaders in Montreal on Monday to discuss a plan on how to fight homegrown terrorism.

The closed-door meeting held the Premier, local ministers and Muslim leaders worked on formulating a plan on how to stop two different types of extremism, citing education, employment opportunities and access to positive role models within the religious community as key elements for success. A committee will soon be formed, including minister and Muslim leaders, to create a plan by 2015.

The meeting was amicable with everyone agreeing that this issue needs to be dealt with in a careful manner.

>> RETAIL WEBSITES ARE BLOCKING PAGES FROM QUEBEC Websites for retailers have begun blocking their English pages after the Office Quebecoise (OQLF) de la Langue Francaise demand that the sites be bilingual.

In Quebec, English-only websites to not conform with the province’s language law, known as Bill 101, and after being accused of breaking the law through complaints by the OQLF. Sites like Club Monaco have chosen to block their pages instead of translating the text, making it impossible to shop online.

Some notable retailers include Club Monaco, William-Sonoma and Urban Outfitters.

Campus // NEWS

JMSB wins big with $1M gift National Bank’s award going to entrepeneurship and family business research MilOS KOVACEViC News editor

Quebec is expected to see a pivotal shift in small business ownership as owners retire over the next few years without clear succession plans. Now, thanks to a generous $1 million donation from the National Bank, Concordia’s John Molson School of Business (JMSB) will be at the forefront of research and analysis on how small business perform their critical duties to the economy and what the shift will mean for Quebec.

The surprise announcement came at an event on Thursday, Nov. 13, and was attended by numerous university faculty, including the president and the dean of JMSB, local business figures, and bank representatives. It followed an earlier talk on family entrepreneurship by students. On hand to share their experiences in family business were Groupe Park Avenue Inc. President and CEO Norman E. Hébert jr., who is also on Concordia’s Board of Governors, and sports company Lanctôt President Diane Lanctôt.

The gift is going towards the creation of the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. The initiative will bring in researchers and professors who will carry out their work on the topic, as well as mentor and provide support to students carrying out their studies in entrepreneurship and family business.

Undergraduate students will have the ability to apply for new bursaries through the program, while their graduate peers will be specifically eligible for awards.

The other half will be reserved for researchers and their assistants.

“Out of all businesses, 70 to

80 per cent are family businesses. That’s the reality in Quebec and Canada and also around the world,” said Alexandra Dawson, associate professor in the department of management and the newly-appointed director of the initiative. She says CIBC predicted half of all business owners will cease running their operations over the next decade.

“This is the largest transfer of ownership that has ever happened in Canada, and it’s because all the baby boomers are retiring.”

For Dawson, this makes it a natural topic of focus for JMSB, banks, and other economic entities, all the more so when figures

show only a quarter have clear succession plans.

“Transferring a business is not something you can do overnight.”

The academic research will be centred in Quebec, but due to the universality of the business experience it will be applicable to governments, other researchers, and think tanks.

Thursday’s announcement means it’s a bit too soon to be greenlighting specific projects, though a committee will soon be nominated to begin formulating criteria for researchers and their proposals. Dawson intends for operations to really begin at the start of next semester.

brAm freedmAn, VP, deVeloPment And externAl relAtions; steVe hArVey, deAn of Jmsb; kAren leggett, nAtionAl bAnk’s exeCutiVe VP of mArketing And CorPorAte strAtegy; AlAn shePArd. Photo by leslie sChAChter.

Campus// NEWS

CSU gets serious on student housing Considers entry into housing market by commissioning market pitch MilOS KOVACEViC News editor

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Concordia’s Student Union (CSU) heard a commissioned proposal from the co-op Unité de travail pour l'implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE) on funding possibilities for the development of affordable student housing.

The group’s presentation showed how the CSU could lend a hand in creating affordable student housing by outlining the pros and cons of four possibilities: construction from scratch, modifications of existing commercial or residential buildings, or finally a pilot project that would use space and energy efficiency to create a 140-room building. The plan would include a rooftop terrace, communal gardens and kitchens and be completed as early as 2016. It would be Montreal’s first student co-op building.

UTILE has been an organization

since 2008 and specializes in student co-op housing, with the majority of its team hailing from urban design. It’s mandate is to empower students in their housing.

“The idea was to find the parameters according to which it would be possible to invest in such a project, and to compare different scenarios and identify those with the most potential in terms of how it’s developed and how to fund it,” said UTILE Project Manager and presenter Laurent Levesque. He said UTILE spent about a month on this particular study, and harnessed its deep institutional knowledge in navigating the complicated landscape of land development, real estate value, and regulations/ by-laws.

Though UTILE has strong ties to similar groups across the continent and Europe, Montreal’s situation is particular when it comes to student housing. Most of the student population live in shared apartments and not dorms. This, in turn, gives rise to unique market pressure.

Deslaurier said that 25 per cent of large apartments—those threeand-a-half and greater—in Montreal are occupied by students. This vulnerable segment of the market also undergoes the most significant rental increases. According to UTILE’s figures, the Plateau’s student population pay, on average, 47 per cent more for a two bedroom apartment. That number jumps to 81 per cent more for three bedroom apartments.

“I believe they were very happy with our recommendation, because in the end we analyzed the different possibilities,” said Levesque.

Deslaurier said the impact of a successful undertaking of the project would have a positive impact not only on student tenants but the city’s entire population, due to the development of affordable rental housing.

The most expensive units could be upwards of over $8 million, of which two-thirds would be provided by rent, and the rest financed by loans, mortgages and investment from outside investors.

“It is one of the most revolutionary projects that we as a student union could be working on, as it directly combats the rising cost of living and studying for students by working to decrease, and prioritize the decrease of, housing costs for students,” said CSU President Ben Prunty. “The project, if successful, will have tangible effects but also cultural impacts since it will literally result in a structural change in the housing landscape.”

What happens from here on out, though, may depend on the referendum question being asked in next week’s CSU byelections asking whether there should be a continued prioritization on student housing conditions and co-op initiatives “If we receive a positive response from students then we will continue to develop a plan of action, and communicate that with the students, and in the event that we are interested in funding the project we will almost certainly seek direct student input prior to doing so,” said Prunty.

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Campus // NEWS

Lending a helping hand to student parents CSU initiative aimings for affordable, flexible daycare with students in mind NAThAliE lAFlAMME Editor-in-chief

B

ack in 2010 a study commissioned by the Concordia University Dean of Students Office and Student Parents Centre outlined a lack of support for student parents at the University. Four years later, the situation has not improved—something the Concordia Student Union (CSU) is trying to change.

The study stated that many student parents did not have access to “flexible, affordable childcare that would allow them to attend classes, given that subsidized daycare waiting lists can be up to four years, and that private child care can cost upwards of $30 a day.”

Another issue cited in the study, entitled “Student parents and their children: how can we help them?” was that not a lot of childcare is available in the evenings, when many student parents take classes—all this on top of a lack of financial resources.

Over the summer, Terry Wilkings, CSU VP Academic & Advocacy, met with the director of the Concordia Student Parents Centre, where he came across the aforementioned study. “After reading the recommendations and realizing that the university hasn’t taken any concrete steps to support student parents in providing childcare services, the decision was made that the CSU must take action,” said Wilkings. “I believe it’s the role of the CSU to support students in achieving academic

success; clearly, a lack of accessible childcare services is a major barrier that contributes to the difficulties student parents face while studying Concordia. Also, student unions at McGill, U de M and Laval already provide these services for their student parents.”

Back in September, CSU Council put through funding to determine whether or not opening a daycare would be possible. Wilkings explained that the research looked at “logistical, policy and budgetary needs for grants, subsidies, and government permits to operate.” The research also looked at how many children could be taken per year (there are three different proposals, one with 24 children, one with 50, and one with 80—this will all depend on startup and annual costs, as well as the physical space available); whether it would be possible to support children until they are 12 years old; and what process would have to be followed so that the daycare could qualify as a CPE (centre de la petite enfance—roughly, early childhood centres). The scenarios all included evening care.

According to CUSP, about 10

per cent of Concordia’s students are also parents. Malene Bodington, who authored the study, works for the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and is a former student parent at Concordia, was surprised to find out that other students were dealing with the same difficulties she was. “I guess I thought my experiences were unique. To find that they were so common among student parents, and to see that for many it was much worse, was an eye opener,” she said.

When Bodington was a student, she and her husband had no family around to help take care of their son, and finding an affordable daycare turned out to be quite the challenge, despite tax deductions. “It was a mouthful to find $225 every week. It also took a long time to find a spot, so I was home with him for longer than we had anticipated,” she said.

The study also pointed out some of the issues with Concordia’s current daycare system. At Les P’tits profs, the Loyola campus’ daycare, only staff, students, and faculty who are at Concordia full-time can apply. The daycare

Photo by mAtthiAs ribb on fliCkr.

takes 12 to 14 children a year (aged between three months and five years), and the waiting period is about two years. Evening daycare is not offered. This is also the issue at the downtown daycare, the Centre de la Petite Enfance.

“Considering the life-cycle of students, and the fact that children require supervision until they are much older than 5, these bureaucratic and practical hurdles are significant issues with Concordia current childcare services,” Wilkings said.

The CSU now finds itself at the point where they must discuss this project with the university. Wilkings is also waiting on the student body’s consultation via referendum before any moves are made.

Concordia President Alan Shepard would love to see more daycares for student parents. “I’m thinking about a drop-in day care.

I’m not talking about a daycare where you can bring in [the children] … while you attend a class or go to the lab and so on. We’re talking about a much more episodic daycare. I think that would keep students, particularly parttime students, accelerate their progress towards their degree. It must be the case that if you have a young kid, or kids, at home, they come first,” Shepard said.

On Nov. 25 to 27, undergraduate students will be able to vote on whether or not to approve “the continued prioritization and active support of the establishment of a Daycare Centre as an initiative to improve student space on campus through the student space, accessible education and legal contingency fund.”

Campus // NEWS

From here on out, we’re all in it together ConU’s president on slimming the budget, post-Voluntary Departure program MilOS KOVACEViC News editor

The window for university staff to accept Concordia’s Voluntary Departure Program (VDP) and leave their positions early in exchange for financial packages recently closed.

All in all, about 90 members took the offer—well behind the 180 spots available.

The VDP was one of many ways the university planned on cutting back on its costs in light of the continuing government cuts to education, estimated at $15.7 million for Concordia this year alone.

The VDP was open to staff, but not faculty. One particular segment of employees that eagerly accepted the offer was the library support staff.

“We’d heard from the community that there were a few people who were kind of on the fence, and keeping in mind this is a major life

decision, we opened it up for a second week,” said Concordia President Alan Shepard on his decision to extend it by an extra week.

Most takers are expected to leave by Nov. 30, with the remainder leaving between then and the end of the fiscal year, depending on the nature of their positions.

“This tells me a couple of things. One is that people like working at Concordia; there’s no rush of people trying to escape.

It tells me that this is a major life decision...What we’re going to do right now is that we’ve accepted those 90 people, and we’ve had a number of other positions become vacant by virtue of people resigning or having already retired. In the course of the year we’ll have several hundred positions become open, and we’ve frozen those for now while we figure out what our next steps are.” Shepard said it’s likely some vacancies would be closed, but the way forward would be carefully thought out.

“It’s not a great idea to try and shrink the staff. That being said, I have a lot of respect for my colleagues who devised the program,” he added, saying there hadn’t been any complaints in the offers. “It’s a complex balancing act.”

Shepard said 30 positions in the future might be re-hired because of the needed roles they play but wouldn’t say what the conditions and pay would be for returnees.

To cope with the new budget, and the estimated $1 million in additional cuts is predicted to come in the near future; the school is now looking for other avenues of costcutting.

“We have a fairly clear idea of where the cuts are coming from: they’re coming from the VDP, from the closed positions, some of them are coming from reductions in the contingency fund—every organization our size has a certain amount of money kept for unexpected costs.”

Currently, he says that’s around $4 million, a number that will dip

to around $1.5 and will have to be built back up in the future. He also says $2 million will be saved on deferred computer purchases or upgrades.

The austerity mindsets with the current government has hit not just Concordia, but all Quebec universities, and it’s provoked widespread criticism from both institutions, bystanders, and students.

“We’re going too far, too fast in terms of the compressions,” said Shephard. “These are extremely complex places to run and we care deeply about the quality and opportunities for students, staff, and faculty.”

“We’re taking a stance privately. You don’t see this, because it’s done by phone calls and face-toface meetings. I’ve met with our minister and deputy ministers to say very clearly it’s not okay, [and] it’s having a very negative impact on the institution.”

And publicly? “I’m telling you right now.”

NATION jESSiCA KENWOOD Assistant news editor

>> KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE BACK UP FOR DEBATE After a crushing victory by Republicans who regained control of the Senate in early November, Alberta’s Keystone XL pipeline is back in the news. The American government has passed a bill to vote on whether to allow pipeline construction that would start in Alberta and end in the US Gulf coast, according to Global News. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has backed the project since the beginning while President Barack Obama has been skeptical and has vetoed motions to pass a bill concerning the pipeline. The US is set to vote next week and while Obama has no plans to go through with construction of the pipeline, all 45 republicans senators have stated that they will be voting yes, needing only 15 democrats to follow suit.

>> BROTHERS

ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT IN CALGARY A 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and kidnapped overnight in Calgary on Friday. Two brothers have been charged with multiple offences, according to CBC. The teen was waiting for a bus late Friday night when taken by two men into an alley and sexaully assaulted.

She was then brought to a house where she was repeatedly assaulted throughout the night, according to local police. She escaped around 8 a.m. and was taken to the police by her family. Three people, the brothers and their father, were taken into custody Sunday morning. Corey George Manyshots, 25, and Cody George Manyshots, 21, are both charged with kidnapping, uttering threats, sex assault causing bodily harm and assault causing bodily harm. The case will go to court on Nov. 24.

>> CANADA TO

CONTRIBUTE TO GREEN CLIMATE FUND Prime Minister Stephen Harper has changed his mind, leaving his agreement with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to not contribute to the UN’s Green Climate Fund, according to The Guardian. Sunday, during a G20 summit meeting, the US offered a $3 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund and Japan another $1.5 billion in an effort to help poor countries adapt to climate change.

Harper, who has been notoriously nonchalant concerning climate issues, agreed to donate money to the fund, although he did not specify how much.

Harper’s decision came as a surprise to everyone but no one more than Abbott, who has been a long time skeptic of climate change.

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Environment // NEWS

WORLD jESSiCA KENWOOD Assistant news editor

>> MAN PUNISHED FOR DAMAGING BANKSY ART

A man was sentenced to five years probation on Monday after defacing two pieces of art allegedly created by the infamous graffiti artist Banksy in Utah, according to CTV News. David William Noll has already paid $9,000 to restore the Park City murals and prosecution believes he will pay another $12,000.

Noll plead guilty in September and struck a deal to avoid jail time by paying the restoration costs. The murals have been there since 2010 when a documentary by Banksy debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.

Montrealers demand ECO-friendly change A quick visual rundown of Saturday’s environmental, anti-pipeline protest MilOS KOVACEViC News editor

T

he Nov. 15 protest at Norman-Bethune Square saw several hundred protesters show their opposition to fossil fuel projects, in particular the Plan Nord, Quebec’s economic plan for resource extraction and energy development for the lands north of the 49th parallel.

The protest was organized by the Étudiant(e)s contre les oléoducs (ÉCO - students against pipelines), a coalition of student associations, of which the Concordia Student Union is a part of. The groups are calling for aggressive action against Quebec’s pipeline plans,

tar sands development and the Harper government’s ecological policies.

The protest was almost immediately declared illegal by authorities on account of the unannounced itinerary, but other than a visibly nervous police force in riot gear shadowing the procession there were no issues and the march proceeded as planned.

As they progressed, the crowd chanted and sang a novel variation of Yellow Submarine (calling it the ‘Tar Machine’), to which a policeman replied, “C’est nouveau ca... les chansons.” (Those are new, the songs.)

Protesters eventually wound up at Victoria Square where speeches and puppetry was displayed alongside colourful placards.

>> G20 SUMMIT The G20 summit took place in Brisbane, Australia last week and much of the focus was targeted toward Vladimir Putin’s involvement in Ukraine, according to CBC. Western leaders continued to condemn Putin and threatened the Russian president that there would be more economic sanctions if he continued backing separatist rebels in Ukraine. On Sunday, the US and EU overrode Australia when they decided that climate change was to be put on the agenda. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was disappointed with the decision, arguing that the climate is not of economic concern and therefore should not be included in the G20 summit.

He went on to question the science behind climate change, an topic that has been recognized as an environmental issue by most scientists and the World Health Organization. Stephen Harper left the summit on Sunday, a day before the summit was set to end.

>> ANOTHER ISIS BEHEADING

A video released on Sunday by ISIS showed its fifth beheading of a Westerner alongside dozens of Syrian soldiers, CBC reported.

President Barack Obama has confirmed that one of the victims was Peter Kassig, a 26-yearold former U.S. army ranger who become an aid worker in Syria.

Kassig was captured a year ago while delivering relief supplies in Syria.

Kassig’s parents, Ed and Paula, said that they were heartbroken by the news but incredibly proud of their son and his humanitarian work. Obama has, once again, denounced ISIS, calling them “pure evil” and that they are “bent on sowing death and destruction.”

hundreds Protested unsustAinAble CAnAdiAn resourCe deVeloPment on sAturdAy neAr ConCordiA’s downtown CAmPus. Photos by AndreJ iVAnoV.

life

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Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com Culture // liFE

Explore Japan without leaving the 514 This is what we call budget-friendly travelling MARCO SAVERiANO Staff writer

Y

oung people are always encouraged to travel the world. We’re told to expand our horizons and have exciting new experiences. Unfortunately, with part-time jobs and student loans, travelling across the world is not always an option.

Luckily for us, Montreal is a booming multicultural metropolis filled with people from around the globe. To travel to Japan, a country I’ve dreamed of visiting since I was a child, all I had to do was explore my own city. No plane required!

I started my journey in Montreal’s Chinatown. Amongst the Chinese shops and restaurants on busy de la Gauchetière St., you can also find a variety of other Asian cultures thrown into the mix. As I walked the crumbling cobblestone streets, I thought to myself, what’s the first thing one must do when visiting Japan? Shop, of course! Tokyo is known to have some of the best shopping in the entire world, including the Shibuya shopping district, home to the popular Harajuku quarter. Harajuku is where high fashion meets Japanese youth street style—a culture that was popularized in North America by singer Gwen Stefani in 2004 when she began her ongoing obsession with the Japanese subculture.

Tucked away on Clark St., I stumbled upon Kawaii, a small Japanese boutique that definitely lives up to its name (kawaii means “cute” in Japanese). After walking in, it immediately felt like I had been transported to a gift shop in Harajuku. Even though the store was smaller than most Starbucks coffee shops, it was filled to the brim with everything from plush toys to cell phone accessories to fuzzy onesies. I found myself excitedly proclaiming “Oh my god, this is so cute!” more than a grown man ever should. I spent a while browsing the beauty products (including something called “baking soda” skin cleanser, eyelid tape, and bulk packs of face masks) before realizing I needed to leave immediately before spending all the money in my wallet.

It may be a far cry from the crowded streets of Shibuya, but I managed to leave with a new cell phone case and a newfound appreciation for Hello Kitty.

While “kawaii” things are great, Japan has more to offer than cell phone accessories, like their rich and expansive history dating back to 30,000 BC. Continuing my trip, I tracked down a shop that features more traditional items to quench my thirst for culture.

Collection du Japon, located at 460 Ste-Catherine St. W., was exactly what I was looking for. The store’s owner helped explain some of the treasures to me, obviously picking up on my lack of knowledge of Japanese culture. They have everything you could possibly need to make your Japanese staycation feel like the real thing: traditional bento boxes (compact containers for home-packed meals), authentic kimonos and karate uniforms, a huge selection of teas and beautifully-crafted tea sets, classic Japanese artwork, porcelain dolls, language and origami books, and so much more. I almost didn’t know where to look first, since every cluttered corner brought another surprise, every item more intricate than the last.

A busy day of shopping works up a pretty big appetite, and I was ready for some delicious cuisine. Imadake, at 4006 Ste-Catherine St. W., is a Japanese restopub, also known as an “izakaya.” In Japan, these establishments are typically frequented by men getting drinks after a long day at work.

As soon as you walk in to Imadake you feel like you’re part of the action.

“Irasshaimase!” the staff shouts as each guest walks in, which loosely translates to “welcome.” The dimly-lit pub, with its unique murals and a huge chalkboard wall, makes for a cool and relaxed environment perfect for dinner or drinks with friends. One thing this place is not? Quiet.

Every few minutes, a booming voice would call out “When I say sake you say bomb!” leading to more shouts and table banging in response. A sake bomb, as it turns out, consists of a glass of beer covered with chopsticks topped with a shot of sake — an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. After the aforementioned chant, the drinkers must bang the table until the shot falls into their beer, then chug it. Obviously, I had to try one for myself. When

in Rome—or in this case, Japan!

Besides Imadake’s long list of beers, sake, and cocktails (like the “Hello Kitty,” made of vodka, strawberry, guava, and lime juice, which I obviously ordered), the food was just as enticing. With a huge bowl of ramen, a staple in a Japanese diet, gomaae (spinach topped with sesame dressing), and dumplings on the menu, I didn’t even know where to start. And for dessert, a delicious bowl of vanilla mochi ice cream left me craving more, even though I could hardly eat another bite.

What better way to end my excursion than by checking out some “local” cinema?

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect because the 31st Japanese Film Festival of Montreal happened to be taking place at Cinéma du Parc, and offered free screenings of Japanese movies. One of the films, a documentary directed by Takashi Innami titled The God Of Ramen (2013), followed the day-to-day life of Kazuo Yamagishi,

the man who makes arguably the best ramen in Japan, over the course of a decade.

People would line up for hours outside the legendary restaurant, East Ikebukuro Taishoken, which Yamagishi opened almost 50 years ago. Thanks to my love of the dish, I knew I had to check it out. The movie was about more than just noodles; it was a heart-warming and emotional tale about a man who has dedicated his life to working hard, and his struggle to keep up with the public’s demand as old age and poor health start to take over. I expected to leave the theatre craving another bowl of delicious steaming hot ramen, but instead left feeling oddly heavy-hearted.

As I sat on the metro on my way home from my trip around the world, it started sinking in that it was back to reality, and back to Canada. Sometimes it’s nice to pretend to be far, far away, even if you’re only a short train ride from home. Maybe next week I’ll pay a visit to France.

sAVory gyozA, or JAPAnese dumPlings, sAke bombs And JAPAnese figurines Are All AVAilAble right here in the City. Photos by hAnnA-Joy fArooq.

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Charity // LIFE

A new lease on life for old clothes CASA Cares supports community of senior citizens Emily Gaudet Copy editor

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irls sporting oxford lace-ups and guys wearing tweed blazers browsed racks of woolen coats and displays of sequined shoes. For a moment, I thought the ultra-contemporary EV building atrium had been transported to the ‘50s.

Just kidding—I knew that the hip students combing through second-hand pants and jackets were only looking to score the next unique addition to their wardrobes, at the third annual Vintage Couture Sale held by CASA Cares, the Commerce and Administration Student Association’s (CASA) not-for-profit wing, and the John Molson Sustainable Business Group.

The selection of vintage and used clothing at the sale included both high and mid-range pieces. Highlights from designer brands were a grey checked two-piece suit from Salvatore Ferragamo, strappy Manolo Blahnik sandals, and a ruffled Marc by Marc Jacobs dress.

Prices were more than reasonable, with the Ferragamo suit going for $20 and pairs of pants priced at $5. Towards the end of the day, shoppers could fill a bag with as many items as they could fit in it for $40, and individual items went for $2. The shopping was guilt-free not just because of the low prices, however, but because the proceeds went to a worthy cause.

The Vintage Couture Sale benefitted the New Hope Senior Citizens’ Centre.

Harpal Dasord, CASA Cares’ director of fashion sponsorship, said that the student group tries “to benefit various different organizations.”

This year, the volunteer association had already hosted a terrasse party in support of ONEXONE’s First Nations School Breakfast Program and a fashion show to benefit the Montreal Children’s Hospital, and will also hold a gala to raise money for Movember on Nov. 21. The vintage clothing sale helped CASA Cares to target different age groups, accordint to Dasord.

All of the clothes in the sale were donated by members of New Hope Senior Citizens’ Centre, “ladies who don’t wear [the clothes] anymore,” CASA Cares’ first-year representative Frédérique Mor-

rissette explained. “That’s why we get really high brands like Prada or Dolce and Gabbana.”

New Hope is a day centre that promotes civic involvement, and provides social activities and meal plans to senior citizens in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Its mission statement is “to provide a friendly environment where seniors can thrive through a variety of social and community-based services and activities.”

It seems fitting that the members’ clothes should be given new life, by matching them with new owners who will prolong their wear. The sale aligns well with the aims of an organization that brings, well, new hope to a demographic of the population that often struggles with

isolation.

Morrissette said the student group would like to add even more high-end clothing in the coming iterations of the annual event. Her advice to those who missed this year’s shopping opportunity?

“Come early to get the best stuff because it’s going really fast!”

The Vintage Couture Sale was held in the EV Building’s atrium, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.

CASA Cares will be hosting other events in the coming months, and the Vintage Couture Sale will return next year. For more information on the New Hope Senior Citizen Centre, visit newhopeseniorcitizenscentre.wordpress.com.

A table of footwear finds at the CASA Cares Vinatge Couture Sale last Friday. Photos by Emily Gaudet.

Let’s talk about sex

Rejection is a bitch, but you don’t have to be one Andrej Ivanov Assistant photo editor

Rejection hurts, for everyone.

That moment when the proposal is met with a shake of the head, a roll of the eye, or a drink in the face, and the cold reality/ sticky drink sets in. You didn’t get what you wanted.

Whether the admittance letter you were hoping for; that friend you wanted to see who just couldn’t find the time; that job you wanted but didn’t get; that person you wanted to date—or sleep with—not being interested.

Your ego is put to the test when receiving such dejecting news, but remember that your defining moment is when

you control your feelings and ensure that your bruised pride does not get the best of you.

The most important part, and biggest show of character, is how you deal with it.

I’ve been both the rejector and the rejected, and let me tell you it can get ugly on both ends of the spectrum.

Picture a guy in a bar or a nightclub: he walks up to a girl, chats her up, buys her a couple of drinks. He assumes there is chemistry here and that she will come home with him for sexy times.

Alas, no, the girl thanks him for the drinks and makes it clear she is not interested. He tries a little bit longer and eventually is dissuaded.

He goes back to his friends and laughs about what a bitch or tease—whatever derogatory term you want to use—she is because she does not want to sleep with him. These mini dramas play out as if spectator sports all over the city, and on

the Internet, with rejections from those undeserving of said slanders, and bitter reactions from the rejected.

Now let’s look at the flip side of the coin. What if a guy were to reject a girl?

Hurrah for our society where women may be sexually forward and still perceived as feminine and desirable, but a 100 per cent success rate is still inexistant and rejections can easily range from, “no thank you,” to, “no. K thanks bai.”

When out with my fellows, sometimes proposed sexual encounters don’t lead to delight, as my anaconda sometimes just don’t want none. However, exercising my personal freedom of choice can lead to insults not only on my gender, but directly on my person too.

I have personally been told that I am “not the man for the situation” for not being interested in a woman. I have also been told that I am a “submissive male,” which is what my aloofness and lack of interest were confused with.

Ultimately, rejection can have ugly

Sex // LIFE

consequences. Everyone has their moments of being hurt, but it really comes down to the what Kenny Rogers said in his song “The Gambler”: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”

Knowing how to fold gracefully— without sinking to childish insults—is a surefire way to not only walk away with your head held high, but to also exit the situation with more maturity than an 18year-old first-time clubber.

Keep face when feeling the cold burn of rejection, and try to remember through the haze of dollar-tequila shots that your stinging ego does not entitle you to insult those who have turned you down. Similarly your own pain is in no way a justification to cause harm with those that have rejected you, ever.

Turn, walk away, and let it go. As your parents said since before you could walk, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2014

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Column // LIFE

Mim meets Montreal: it’s snow time Episode 7: In which Mim experiences the first flakes of winter Mim Kempson Staff writer

Having never seen a bottle in their lives, they are completely bewildered. I imagine that the look upon my face wasn’t dissimilar from theirs.

I stuck out my hand to catch a snowflake on my finger, but the one I got must have been a dud. I thought it would look like the ones I’d seen in the movies. In-

stead, it looked like a fleck of linen. When people began bumping into me on the narrow footpath and giving me looks of, “it’s just snow,” it was time to go inside.

I told the barista whom I often chatted with that I’d just witnessed my first snow.

She congratulated me.

Then, on Sunday, it really snowed. I

woke up to a view of a white-blanketed Le Plateau with a foggy Mount Royal in the distance.

That day, for the first time ever, I made a snowball and walked on snow (like an awkward tip-toeing toddler). I look forward to ticking off many more “firsts” on my “winter novelties” list.

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eave!” she screamed, taking me by the shoulders and shaking me violently. “Get out of here before it’s too late!”

My housemate Maïté had lived through it many times before, but it still frightened her, sent shivers down her spine. Before moving to Montreal in August, people back home in Melbourne had warned me about it, too.

The dreaded beast is called winter. If a native Montrealer was fretting for her life, how was I supposed to feel?

I have never experienced weather colder than minus five degrees. In some parts of Australia, it often reaches 40 degrees in summer. I’ve never been skiing and I had never seen the snow.

Then, on Friday, I saw it for the first time.

I was sitting in my regular café, gazing out onto the sunny street when it happened.

I first thought, that rain looks weird.

Why is it white and why are the droplets drifting in all kinds of directions? Surely there was a reasonable explanation. Like, a delivery truck carrying a thousand pillows had crashed and exploded, sending a billion tiny linen specks floating down Mount Royal Ave. Blinded by my snow-virgin status, I was a bit slow on the uptake. Finally realizing what I was seeing, I speedily frolicked out of the café like a kid chasing after an ice-cream van. I stared up into the clear blue sky and watched the sparkling white specks fall to the ground.

It felt like a The Gods Must be Crazy moment. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s essentially about an isolated South African tribe who witness a Coke bottle fall from the sky and land unbroken on the earth.

Mim’s first snowfall brings a big grin to the aussie’s face. Next up, a snow angel? Photo by Jordie Yeager.

Tech // LIFE

Tips to maintain your computer - pt.1 Things getting a bit slow? Maybe it’s time to do some maintenance Jocelyn Beaudet Online editor

C

omputers are fantastic tools that have become a part of our day-to-day life.

Like all tools, though, they can get a little worn down over time and many things can contribute to your computer working less efficiently. If that sounds all too familiar to you, then perhaps it’s about time to give your computer a little bit of tender loving care. Lucky for you, most of these steps are fairly easy and will significantly improve your computer’s performance!

Defrag your disk

Windows users will definitely hear this come up as part of the routine necessary to keep up maintenance on their drives. Because of how downloading, deleting, installing and removing files from your disk work under Windows, hard disks will become “fragmented.” What this means, in short, is that data is written on your disk in little bits, and file fragments will take up blocks on your drive that are located in different sectors. This isn’t noticeable visually, but because the operating system will need to read files spread across different sectors, things may take a little longer to start up. Defragmenting your drive will re-organize these fragments neatly.

Mac users: count your lucky stars! OS X is fairly awesome at keeping things neat in the first place, which is why some operations can take a little longer from the get-go.

Keep some space

available

Computers run on memory to give you the ability to multitask. When you hear the term RAM (Random Access Memory), it refers to the amount of available memory your computer has to run multiple programs, tabs in your browser and anything else you might be doing at the time. What isn’t mentioned, though, is that computers will also use a portion of hard drive space as cached memory to help speed things along. Having almost no disk space left (usually under five per cent of your total disk space) can have a significant impact on the speed at which things get done.

If you’re finding yourself running low on space, why not save some of your files on the Cloud? Services like dropbox, box. com, Google Drive and Microsoft’s OneDrive give you a ton of storage space to keep your things, give you the ability to use them as a networked drive on your computer so you can access them any

time you’re online, and sync them from your smartphone, your tablet, or any other computer via the web.

Clean up your registry (Windows users) Windows runs a lot of its smart tasks using a registry system called “regedit” (registry editor). This is where a lot of settings, and other things that Windows will remember for you, are saved up. Unfortunately, Windows isn’t very good at keeping it optimized, and those who aren’t power-users might find themselves overwhelmed by what to do in the registry. Tools like CCleaner can help clean things up for you efficiently and freely, and running it every once in a while is a great idea for keeping your tasks running as smoothly as possible.

That’s all for this week folks, but check back next week for another few tips on keeping things running as well as they can.

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Tuesday, november 18, 2014

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com Comedy // ARTS

Come find anything and everything at Dépflies’ déps CBC’s ComedyCoup is on a mission to find your next favourite Canadian comedy show FRÉDÉRiC T. MUCKlE Arts editor

From the ‘90s sitcoms like Seinfeld and Friends to the 2000s kittens and babies web-video trend, comedy seems to need to reinvent itself every now and then to keep the demanding crowds laughing. ComedyCoup, an ongoing CBC project, is currently looking for a new Canadian comedy show that will make the country’s audiences chuckle in a half-hour special for CBC prime time, from sea to sea.

Dépflies, a live performance turned into a television show, takes a look at a heterogeneous crowd gathering in a Saint-Henri dépanneur. The show is presently one of the public’s favourites, according to the votes on the ComedyCoup website and its spot in the top 15 projects of ComedyCoup.

The Concordian spoke to Alain Mercieca, the writer of Dépflies, and Anton Golikov, one of the actors, to discuss the Montrealbased bilingual comedy project.

The Concordian (C): How did you come up with the concept for Dépflies?

Alain Mercieca (AM): Dépflies was concocted in the dark winter of 2011 while I was living in Saint-Henri and fell in love with the neighbourhood, and felt the burning desire to write a new comedy that brought community, subculture, bilingualism and punk rock insanity to life on stage.

Déps (dépanneurs) are the perfect platform for anything to happen, so it was really fun to write about.

C: How would you describe your group’s general philosophy in relation to entertainment and the world surrounding it?

AM: We are a very passionate group. We love making art that is honest, free and void of all pretentiousness. It’s hard to pin us down because we vary so much in tastes,

DÉPFLieS is About eVentful moments tAking PlACe in An Anonymous montreAl DÉPaNNeur in the sAint-henri neighbourhood. but we definitely love the idea of bringing art and comedy together—not going just for the joke, but grabbing for the heartstrings also. the new generation in Canada needs something to love other than YouTube and iPhones.

C: Could you describe the team behind the camera?

Anton Golikov (AG): Some of the finest people in an ever-expanding family. A growing beast of super-talented graphic designers, cinematographers and filmmakers.

The professionalism that attached itself to the project is matched only by the talent of the underground cast and artists behind the live show. Robert Quinn, PierreLuc Boucher, Danny Belair are the ones making it so darn beautiful.

C: Why did you decide to do a bilingual

show instead of using an easier unilingual formula?

AM: To document the reality of Montreal.

Giving an honest “slice of life” instead of trying to do something for American audiences, or pandering to one side. There are no sides in the great tumult of life, at a deep philosophical level. Also, funnily enough, almost everyone involved is in a bilingual relationship. That’s just a coincidence, and fate!

C: Even if Canada recognizes two official languages, the fact is that the majority of Canada’s population is not bilingual. Figures from the 2011 Statistics Canada Census show that about 18 per cent of the population actually speaks both French and English.

Do you think that this bilingual aspect could affect the public’s perception of Dépflies in a negative or positive way? And how so?

AM: Dépflies, the live show, has worked for people who speak only English, only French and people who speak neither. We try to build characters that resonate at a deep level, beyond language. And for us, language is something to love, to be open about, no matter what level you are at.

My five-year-old son loves Dépflies and he doesn’t get any of the references. For some, it may be challenging, I realize, but to them I say: give it a chance. The Québécois accent, just like the hoser B.C. punk accent, is beautiful and adds to the colour of this country and the world. Let’s embrace them and show the world how they live and breathe together in places like Montreal.

DÉPFLieS is Currently one of the finAl 15 ProJeCts retAined on ComedyCouP

C: Your character hasn’t been fully revealed yet. What kind of character has been written for you? Will they be English or bilingual?

AG: My character is a bilingual regular. Typical of Saint-Henri, he is also a bit “street” and trashy. Denizen of the trailer-park side of the hood. Throughout the series, I’ve played a punk prophet who got his leg chopped off by a train near the Fatal lofts, a treasure hoarding priest, a hardline anglo from the west island, a militant SPVM commando bike cop, a handsome media man, the custodian of Quebec’s national archives, and a Russian in a tracksuit (a bit of method acting on that last one.)

C: How does Dépflies relate to Montreal and its distinct cultural personality?

AM: Well, as a Montreal-ophile, I love every niche culture in this city, and am totally obsessed with all of them. I once said “every city is a country” and Montreal is exactly that. Every week I learn about a new subculture, a new loft to go to, a new character in the streets, a new story of great tragedy, or a new neighbourhood full of folkloric charm. Dépflies uses a Montreal staple, the dépanneur, as the springboard into the personality of the great city, exploring them with an honest and loving touch.

CBC’s ComedyCoup is still running and will continue until a project gets financed with $500,000 to create a half-hour special for CBC prime time. The remaining comedy projects will participate in the coming weeks’ challenges to gather votes and boost social media presence. As described on the website, ComedyCoup is meant to accelerate the discovery, creation and promotion of new talent and projects.

This Q&A is the result of two separate interviews and has been edited for purposes of length and clarity. For more information on ComedyCoup and Dépflies, visit comedycoup.cbc.ca.

Tuesday, november 18, 2014

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Event // arts

This year’s Expozine draws crowds

A first-hand account of this years’ hipster-filled small press fair held on Nov. 15 and 16 Chris Aitkens Contributor

“You might have to pinch a few dicks to get through,” I overheard somebody say as I walked into the overcrowded room where Expozine, the yearly Montreal small press fair, was held. Row after row of tables, piles of books, walls plastered with posters: I kept telling myself to look at everything before buying anything, but I ended up reaching for my wallet whenever something caught my eye. There was too much to see and I wanted it all. I went broke within the first hour.

I talked a bit with Keenan Poloncsak at the Pro-Can table. Keenan recently released a movie based on his first comic, Pro-Can (Ibalizm), about a new drug that turns people into flesh-eating zombies. He doesn’t want to put the movie online, but told me to check out his website for postings on the upcoming screenings in Montreal. A DVD release is still in the works. I bought his newest comic, Cop Porn, which Keenan drew with his left hand—anything to be original these days.

The Co-op Coup d’griffe table always has cool stuff for sale, according to my own experience. Their posters and silkscreened patches are intensely detailed and keep getting better every year. They had a few copies of their political zine, À L’Attaque! for sale, as well as a suitcase full of folk punk CDs. I was particularly giddy going through Adam Waito’s posters. Waito is known for illustrating many of Pop Montreal’s posters, often featuring a different spin on popular char-

acters. I walked away with a poster of E.T. and Yoda as baggy-pants gangsters and another of Freddy Kruger eating breakfast. I guess even a nightmarish monster needs a big breakfast to start the day right.

Even if you go to Expozine with empty pockets, you can still pick up a number of stickers and zines for free. For example, at the Nouveau International table, I picked up their Makin’ Art zine, a guide to the happenings at Théâtre Sainte-Catherine. I also coaxed them into giving me a Dépflies poster, free of charge.

A short conversation really brings out the generosity in some.

One recurring complaint I heard from the vendors was of how packed the event was. So many of them wanted to leave their post to browse the other tables, but the overwhelming crowd kept them stuck behind their own.

There was a doubt among many that they could clear the room by 6 p.m., the scheduled closing time of the event.

Besides the occasional claustrophobia, this year’s edition of Expozine was a success. I walked away with a bag full of bizarre art, content with my purchases. Being able to experience the clash of cultures, the protesters, aging hippies, weirdo cartoonists, knitting hipsters and parents passing on the creative torch is the reason I return to Expozine year after year.

If you feel like sharing your personal space with some of those fascinating characters and browsing the impressive collection of works presented at the event every year, keep in mind the name and be one of the many, many people that will come back next year.

An example of what you might find at Expozine, by artist Meags Fitzgerald.

For more information, visit expozine.ca.

Theatre // arts

Players’ Theatre takes on exploration of existence Six Characters in Search of an Author balances the highly intellectual with the stylish Marilla Steuter-Martin Copy editor

Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author is an extremely self-aware metatheatrical drama whose success relies heavily upon the calibre of several key actors.

The complex cerebral drama, being staged at the McGill Players’ Theatre Nov. 12-15 and 19-22, explores the relationship between authors and art, players and characters.

Written in 1921, this pre-absurdist play uses the “play within a play” structure to blend the real with the imagined in a way that makes us question our own perception of reality.

The rough plot involves actors and technicians at a theatre company who are interrupted in the middle of a rehearsal by the entrance of six strange people, claiming to be unfinished characters. The visitors insist on staging their own dramatic narrative and plead with the director to help them realize their story.

This blended family, lead by a patriarch who is filled with remorse and has a tendency to wax philosophical, is set apart from the others by their ‘20s-era fashion, commedia dell’arte-inspired masks and ghostly blue lips.

The Father, played by Nicholas LePage, alternates driving the action forward and going on seemingly endless tangents of existential thought. LePage shines bright in this role, doing a superb job of holding the play’s

illogical and verbose fabric together.

Mal Cleary, as the character of the Director, in turn balances the Father’s preaching monologues with his energetic performance and practical, somewhat skeptical approach to the unusual situation.

As the six characters relive their dramatic tale onstage, the actors from the rehearsal become spectators, taking places in the audience and engaging in the action less and less.

While the leads are given plenty of opportunities to show off their acting chops, the script doesn’t allow for much development of the supporting cast who ultimately fade into the background.

The staging is simple and makes use of four large screens that are lit Players’ Theatre’s interpretation of Pirandello’s play uses from behind with colourful LEDs to allow for inof the stage are needlessly bright. novative shadow play and easy change of The play delves into several key quesscenery. tions concerning the creation of art and theWhile this use of lighting is very creative, atre, the role of actors and the ownership of the overall design leaves something to be de- performance. The intellectual nature of the sired. Much of the action takes place in low show may not be suited to every audience’s lighting to the point where key exchanges tastes, but for fans of Pirandello or those inhappen in semi-darkness, while other areas terested in existential philosophy, Six Charac-

creative shadow and light play.

ters in Search of an Author makes for a truly thought-provoking presentation.

Six Characters in Search of an Author runs at the Players’ Theatre Nov. 19 to 22, at 8 p.m. Tickets for students are $6, and $10 for adults. For more information, visit playerstheatre.ca.

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Tuesday, november 18, 2014

Theatre // arts

Hamlet gets a punk makeover with Tiger Lillies Cult British musical trio took the Shakespearean classic to an eccentric place last week Olivia Ranger-Enns Contributor

Hamlet is definitely not for the weakhearted. That much was clear on opening night when the United Kingdom-based group, dubbed the Tiger Lillies, performed their version of Shakespeare’s monumental tragedy at the Place des Arts.

The play masterfully juxtaposes sanity with madness, reality with reverie, and love with hatred. Quick synopsis: Hamlet is a baffled young prince who is furious that his mother has married his deceased father’s brother. Marred by madness, Hamlet’s world slowly spins out of control as everyone he loves, including his beloved Ophelia, dies. It’s a bloodbath, a reflection on mortality, as well as a contemplation of love, faithfulness and grief.

Balancing circus acts with video projections, the evening was a visual extravaganza. Director Martin Tulinius did it yet again, wowing the audience with breathtaking scenes. Nanna Finding Koppel playing Ophelia outdid herself physically.

Take, for instance, Ophelia’s love dance, in which she threw herself against Hamlet before swinging effortlessly on a suspended wire, her legs akimbo, and then tiptoeing gracefully on a bed frame. As for the giant puppet performances, they were definitively memorable, if a little creepy.

But that’s what the Tiger Lillies do so well: interpret a story in a delightfully macabre, sombre, tongue-in-cheek way. The makeup and music were well used to create a decidedly punk cabaret atmosphere.

The characters were grotesquely arrayed: Polonius resembled a giant rat, while Gertrude’s dress looked decidedly like a

The Tiger Lillies are known for their original style and their overall peculiarity. snakeskin. With the Tiger Lillies, you feel like you are swinging along in ‘30s Berlin.

Caspar Phillipson played a convincing Hamlet, giving great gusto to the character’s famous lines, such as “get thee to a nunnery” when chastising Ophelia. He

connected with the audience, often reaching out and playing theatrically with certain words. The ever classic soliloquy “to be or not to be” sounded neither clichéd nor boring: high scores on all counts.

What this production excelled at the most was investigating the psychological

waters that Hamlet navigates. Is the prince merely playing mad or is he so disturbed by his father’s death and mother’s remarriage that he confuses reason with emotion? The play depicts Hamlet as an endearing character who is struggling to find meaning in his life and in those around him. You really feel for Hamlet when, kneeling, he grasps for his mother’s dress like a child and begs for understanding.

Hamlet is shown in all his tempers: as a philosopher, a son, a lover, and ultimately as a man.

But certain elements of the event needed some definite tweaking. For those untrained Shakespeare aficionados out there, the first part of the play was incomprehensible. You basically needed a stepby-step comprehensive guide to Hamlet to follow the storyline if you had never seen the play before. The cabaret aspect of the performance was overused and kept audience members yawning throughout yet another tedious, Eastern German-style song. And the ever-present band, dressed in rabbit face masks, lent itself rather awkwardly to the scenes. It got monotonous when Jacques, the internal narrator, told the story musically in his tinny voice accompanied by his accordion. The final lines “There’s nothing wrong/there’s nothing right/it’s just a desolation song,” sung by a desolate Jacques, were a poor finale to such a breathtaking and daring production.

In the end, with both its strong and weak points, the Tiger Lillies gave a somewhat curious interpretation of a classic that definitely could uses a bit of novelty.

The show’s last representation is tonight at 8p.m. For more information on the Tiger Lillies, visit tigerlillies.com.

Presented at the Place des Arts’ Cinquième Salle from Nov. 12 to 18, Tiger Lillies’ Hamlet brings the Shakespearean classic in a whole new direction. Photo by Miklos Szabo.

music

Tuesday, november 18, 2014

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Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

Opinion // MUSiC

Electronic Dance Music is a passing craze Unfortunately, we can not always choose what genres of music gain mass audiences STEVEN NADEAU Staff writer

From the droning sound orgies of Skrillex and Zedd, to more digestible beats synergized by artists like Daft Punk, EDM (Electronic Dance Music) has found its way into the nightclubs, raves and in the ‘drops’ of tacky radio singles that seem to plague so many of our generation’s sound systems.

Seldom listened to at low volumes and difficult to get really passionate about while not working out or being completely sober, distinctly mainstream EDM as a new and yet slowly dying fad (depending on who’s talking) covers a range of electronica subgenres whose purpose is to induce intense dance fits in its users. For the time being, these mainstream branches including millionaire mixers and celebrity DJs will be the main target of this discussion (think late night radio club remixes without their corresponding Dr. Jekylls). Slithering its way into pop culture using catchy calculated beats, the unavoidable intrusiveness so characteristic of the genre is hardly a reflection of a capitalist-hedonist society obsessed with a vain sense of escapism.

Cough. Too harsh?

Alright, so it is simply impossible to argue why a genre as a whole is good or

bad based on how it sounds, yet objectively speaking, EDM has been a hot topic on quite a few different levels. The genre has been under fire not only for its characteristic bass drops devoid of emotion, but also the amount (or lack) of knowledge and skill required to pull off a live performance.

Critics often attack the alleged mental traffic that the genre induces, as well as the fact that EDM performances usually don’t require a band up on stage but rather a single button-pusher staring blankly out into the crowd (See “David Guetta Completely lost @ Tomorrowland 2014” on YouTube).

Back in 2012 on his Tumblr blog, Deadmau5 had written a short manifesto highlighting what exactly was needed for a live EDM concert to be successful: “It’s not about performance art, it’s not about talent either … I think given about one hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of ableton and music tech in general could DO what I’m doing at a Deadmau5 concert.” So there you have it, a genre that, as far as live performances go, simply requires a basic understanding of computers. However, according to Deadmau5, that’s not the point: his skills shine “in the goddamned studio, and on the fucking releases.” That being said, it would seem that for the consumers, while EDM studio tracks are the more frequented method of listening, raves and concerts are the real

apex of the experience.

Pushing aside the genre’s aesthetic squabbles, it’s important to note that drug use is inherently interwoven with EDM culture, where the genre’s primary focus on mindless pleasure, might be to blame.

And while drug use in and of itself is a matter of personal decision, EDM festivals are notorious for their frequent overdoses and death counts that never fail to attract the attention of the media. While it’s not always bad to enhance a listening experience with illegal substances, being able to appreciate the genre only when high or drunk might be an indication of its artistic scope.

Whilst on the topic of drug use and music, head-banging on ‘Molly’ with all the ‘cool’ kids seems almost flat and selfdefeating especially in contrast with using similar drugs (or not) with a friend or two.

Even on the outskirts of the genre itself, artists like Flying Lotus have managed to transcend monotony by incorporating a distinct jazz feel. Even MGMT’s 2013 self-titled album is a perfect example of a band that merges with electronic elements to amplify a more well-defined and exploratory sound. So while EDM is considered to be a part of electronica, other subcategories that fall into the electronica field are in no way limited to the dull predict-

ability that’s found within the excessive pulses typical of mainstream EDM. It’s hard to believe people are dropping Lucy and shrooms with Skrillex being blasted into their skulls.

Whether one is searching for meaning and catharsis or looking for a distraction from the horrors of reality (why can’t we have both?), EDM is diving headfirst into the bland vanity of the mainstream. It will inevitably result in its swift self-destruction, while the underground scene of musicians and artists will effervesce and rise up from the mud of EDM as a past pop-culture mishap (seriously though, is there, and will there ever be, anyone over fifty who genuinely enjoys EDM?), only to result in new genres finding themselves in the same mainstream cul-de-sac.

At any rate, it simply boils down to individual taste and, in this case, maybe even philosophical point of view. EDM is just one of many art forms which has a brilliant effect on some and can be the instigator of a bad trip for others. It’s hard to say whether the more popular streams of EDM are a hallmark of capitalism that is harming the music industry, or if it actually is the glorious product of pampered artists meant to inspire a generation to ‘party hard.’

Graphic by Celeste Lee

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Tuesday, november 18, 2014

Quick Spins

t

Profile // music

No rest for Tokyo Police Club Keyboardist Graham Wright reminisces about touring and young dreams Oneida Crawford Staff writer

W Pink Floyd - Endless River (Parlophone, Columbia; 2014) Combining new instrumentation to compliment the 1993 recordings by Richard Wright, the group’s late keyboardist, Pink Floyd’s swan song casts the historic group off to sail into the sunset. The Endless River feels like a conscious ending to the saga that has been Pink Floyd. Many tracks have riffs or effects that conjure up memories of The Wall, The Dark Side of The Moon and some of the band’s other well-known albums. “Louder than Words,” the last song on the album, is the only track with lyrics, other than a sample from Stephen Hawking on “Talkin’ Hawkin’.”

While the rest of the album was overall relatively solid, lyrics would have helped other tracks feel less generic. Older Pink Floyd albums often felt like one long song due to the smooth movement between most tracks. This is absent from their last work, however, resulting in transitions that are at times jarring and severely hindering emersion. At its worst, the album is overly ambient and repetitive, at its best, it is a celebration of the work that came before it, a fitting tribute to a timeless band and a worthy send off for a group that’s off to “The Great Gig In The Sky.” Trial track: “Louder than Words”

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- Justinas Staskevicius

hen Canadian indie rock group Tokyo Police Club first started touring in the United States, they were booking their own shows.

They were paying their own way on tour with money from odd jobs back in their hometown of Newmarket, Ontario. Graham Wright recalled the need to start playing shows outside of Canada.

“We did a little bit of everything, you know?

We worked retail in the suburbs,” Wright explained. “You took that money that you were ostensibly saving for your college education and spent it on going to stay at a hotel in Cleveland.

It was like starting a business and making an investment.”

This means of exposure was obviously a tactic for days past, before crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo could find enough fans to finance a band’s entire tour.

Nearly ten years later, Tokyo Police club has toured all over the world. They are presently playing sold-out shows on their Canadian tour, for their newest album, Forcefield, which was released in March. Forcefield is the band’s third fulllength album, which took them nearly four years to perfect. While they were criticized for the lengthy gap of time between albums, Wright suggested that they had one guiding philosophy to live

“

by: “There is no good time to put out a bad record and there’s no bad time to put out a good record.”

He heard that quote first from the band’s manager. “I don’t know if this is an original to him or if he stole it from someone else,” he said. If anything, Forcefield sounds even more complex and sonically layered than their older songs, a result of the quality time spent on the material.

Having played shows since 2005, the band has accumulated many fans who

“There is no good time to put out a bad record and there’s no bad time to put out a good record.”

Wright laughed. “You can’t whistle in union, it’s not a thing that people do, but I admired their dedication.”

Tokyo Police Club have often included playing shows in smaller cities while on tour. They say that not much thought ever went into specifically picking smaller Canadian cities, but that they have always played them because, as a Canadian band, “it’s just been like a part of [the] business model,” Wright said.

However, nothing is intrinsically Canadian about the band aside from their origins. Their sound is a fusion of indie rock and punk, with distinct and strong vocals, catchy choruses and cool guitar riffs.

When asked about the band as contributors and representatives to and of Canadian music, Wright dismissed the notion of pigeonholing themselves.

“I have no interest in border divides on style … it seems pointless to me to ever shoehorn yourself or try and identify with one particular scene, its just limiting,” he said.

Tokyo Police Club have established themselves in a more global context of indie music culture playing festivals and shows in Europe and Asia. While touring in a band is something Wright said he always dreamed about as a young boy, inspired by watching rock ‘n’ roll documentaries, a well-deserved day off is something he really looks forward to.

After playing show after show, Wright explained, “you feel like you’ve earned the right to indulge yourself a little.”

With three successful albums completed and eighteen shows to play over the next four weeks, a day off is surely deserved.

- Graham Wright

have been following their progress for years. They consider being able to keep people engaged and listening over this time span a point of pride. But, as Wright suggested, it’s always nice to see new faces too.

Just recently there was a fan who came to one of their shows and stood directly in front of the stage, singing every word to only the new songs, from Forcefield.

Frequently at their shows, lead singer Dave Monks plays an acoustic version of the highly requested song, “Tessellate” from their debut album, Elephant Shell (2008).

Recalling one concert where fans were whistling the piano riffs from the song,

High Ends – Super Class (Dine Alone Records; 2014) Jeffrey Innes of Yukon Blonde has launched a solo project called High Ends. If you are a fan of Yukon Blonde, well, this is nothing like what the band plays. Going in a different direction, Innes went for a more ‘80s-inspired dance-pop sound. That, combined with his deeper vocals reminiscent of the late Jim Morrison, makes for an interesting overall combination. He uses his familiar higher vocals, but where the true potential lies is in those Morrison sounds, found in “Downtown” and “Cappuccino.” The music feels repetitive and is a great homage to ‘80s pop tracks, but that’s about where it ends. The repetitiveness of the synths will appeal to those who like that ‘80s sound, otherwise, approach this album with caution. If you prefer indie rock and expect to hear something similar to Yukon Blonde, then steer clear of this album.

Trial Track: “Cappuccino”

4/10

- Andrej Ivanov

Ontario natives Tokyo police club went from paying for their own gigs to touring all over the world.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

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13

Profile // music

BADBADNOTGOOD: not your parents’ jazz Drummer Alexander Sowinski talks collaborations and old sounds with a new twist Mia Pearson Music editor

B

ADBADNOTGOOD take their virtuosic knowledge of classic jazz and churn it through a hip-hop grinder. Their music starts with the tricky and quick jazz fundamentals, probably played on loop at your parents’ dinner parties, then blown up with the burning power of hip-hop. They push jazz boundaries to places the original New Orleans cats could never have envisioned a century ago.

Under the roof of the Humber College jazz program in Toronto, keys player Matthew Tavares, bassist Chester Hansen, and drummer Alexander Sowinski came together because of a rare shared love of new hip hop artists like Tyler the Creator back in 2010. The trio uploaded their first tunes online, which caught the attention of the very rapper who had brought them together.

They arranged to meet in Toronto: “[Tyler the Creator] just like literally walked into my basement, and I was like, ‘oh fuck this is crazy,’” Sowinski laughed. “Being a big fan ... you don’t want to freak out or lose your cool, because you’re just so excited. But he’s a young guy, and he respects people who like music, like to vibe, like to create.”

Sowinski explains how their songs and performances are all about finding a good ‘vibe.’ The humble friends who make up BBNG aren’t about striving

to be technical wizards of their instruments, but are all about leaping into new veins of thought and channeling positive thinking through their playing—even when it comes to the energy behind playing just two notes.

“Two notes can be so powerful—you can displace them, you can hold them long, you can swing them, you can play them sloppy … We play [Gucci Mane’s] ‘Lemonade,’ which is really only like four notes, but we play that song for ten minutes and we’ll play it at double speed and then half time, and just try and go crazy. It’s all about finding good processes and things to think about as you’re creating and doing your thing,” Sowinski said.

While the drummer attempts to put into words the special ingredient that helped BBNG rocket into music scene stardom, his bandmates are audibly working out melodies in the background. A high-pitched clarinet-sounding instrument screeches a bunch of notes continuously. It sounds similar to Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” intro riff. In other words, the music writing process for BBNG is just as unique as their final product.

“Don’t overthink it if you’re playing something … We go through so many phases of listening to music from different parts of the world. When it’s time to create, there are so many ideas that we’re just like, ‘hold on a sec. Let’s simplify it, let’s just go back,’” Sowinski said. “The thing that we found we love to do is creating a vibe and trying to push the vibe forward and [push] the

BADBADNOTGOOD’s upcoming EP, Liberal Guilt,

vibe boundaries when we play a piece or a show.”

Their new album, BBNG III, released in May of this year, sometimes falls into slow dark brooding then kicks that into a faster gear. The album balances somberness with sanguine all while playing all the wrong and wonderful notes of signature jazz scales. They’re pushing the vibe, like many of their predecessors, but with a fresh twist.

“A lot of these famous recordings and classic albums, like Charles Mingus’ Ah Um, is such a vibe-y, moody, intense record in terms of all these crazy harmonies and stuff,” Sowinski said.

The three friends had the chance to get funky in the studio of the legendary Funkadelic/Parliament member, Bootsy Collins. Between the walls adorned with cardboard cut-outs of famous rappers, platinum records flashing in every corner, BBNG got to play inside this “palace/giant playroom for musicians,” Sowinski said.

“We’re there, we set up our instruments, we started jamming and he comes in. It was insane—his presence and his energy was so amazing and the sound there was incredible. We had conversations with him, got to talking about music—playing in a group and playing with the same people—and like being on a vibe. Record and travel, work together as a unit. So many great conversations; it was such an insane experience,” Sowinski explained. “His wife got us pizza, we got to see inside his house and his home studio, all the gear, collections—he was telling us all these

features their psychedelically charged alternative rock.

amazing stories. It was a day full of inspiring moments. He changed his outfit three times while we were hanging out with him, so that was so amazing.”

Despite all the high-profile collaborations BBNG has under their belt, even teaming-up with Ghostface Killah for their next album, Sour Soul, released in Feb. 2015, the band remains charmingly humble.

“We didn’t have the mentality that we were, like, born to go travel and play music in a trio. We’re all in this from the beginning just enjoying ... we’ve had so many great things come our way. We try and remind ourselves that it could happen to anybody, so we should enjoy them and try and give back as much as we can.”

BBNG are heading to Montreal to play two shows, but especially to load up on some Labatt beers: “We just joke about it because the first time we went [to Montreal], we were like, ‘oh finally we can drink this amazing 10.5 percent beer’— it was so hard to drink because they’re pretty gnarly,” Sowinski laughed.

It would seem they’re the only instrumental, primarily jazz band who can amp-up an audience to mosh like a 1980s punk show. They’re not only phenomenal musicians, but able to project their vibe onto the people who’ve come out to see their shows.

“We love to get crazy and if we can get some people to join us, then it’s just the best feeling.”

BBNG plays Casa del Popolo Nov. 19.

Photo by Sean Berrigan from Flickr.

sports 14

// Tuesday, november 18, 2014

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com Men’s Rugby // SpORTS

Stingers advance to the finals Men’s rugby team defeated the Carabins 16-14 in the RSEQ semi-final

Sports in the News TiM lAZiER Sports editor

>> ON TO HAMILTON The Montreal Alouettes hosted the B.C. Lions in the CFL’s Eastern conference semifinal playoff game on Sunday, Nov. 16. At least, it was supposed to be a game. The Als trounced the Lions in a 50-17 blowout at Percival Molson Stadium and earned a trip to the Eastern conference finals against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Nov. 23. Although it was only 1-0 for Montreal after the first quarter, by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Als were winning 36-1. Als quarterback Jonathan Crompton had 155 yards through the air and connected on two touchdowns.

On the ground, Brandon Rutley led the way with 98 yards and a score of his own. Now, a team that began the season with a 1-7 record is one win away from a trip to the 102nd Grey Cup.

>> HABS CONTINUE TO WIN

A record of 14-4-1 is pretty good. So good, in fact, that it has given the Montreal Canadiens the best record in the NHL. They sit atop of the Eastern conference with 29 points, with the Tampa Bay Lightning in second with 26 points. Following their 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night, the Habs had a perfect weekend going 2-0 and are currently on a six-game winning streak. During such stretch, the Habs have only given up six goals, while lighting the lamp 24 times.

The Habs return home to the Bell Centre on Tuesday, Nov. 18 to play Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then they host the St. Louis Blues on Friday before heading to Boston to visit the Bruins on Saturday.

TiM lAZiER Sports editor

T

hey didn’t make it easy for themselves. It came down to a last-minute defensive stand, but Concordia’s men’s rugby team held onto the victory over the Carabins of the Université de Montréal in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-final on Sunday, Nov.16.

“It was a lot closer than it should’ve been, than it needed to be,” said Stingers head coach Clive Gibson. “We once again took too many penalties, put ourselves under a lot more pressure than we needed to be under.”

Despite escaping with a 16-14 win, it did not seem like the Stingers came out ready to play. From their initial possession, the Carabins took it to the Stingers and kept them hemmed in their own end for the majority of the first half. Concordia’s defensive play was what kept the score even at zero for the first 20 minutes of the match.

“Hats off to UdeM for bringing it strong. They gave us a real run for our money. It was the closest game we’ve had against them all season,” said Gibson.

By the time the first half had reached its midway point, the Stingers offense began to show signs of life, gaining more and more possession as the game progressed. Concordia capitalized on their little time on attack and scored the first points of the game on a try by veteran winger Frederic Kacou. Up 5-0 with 26 minutes gone in the first half, the Stingers fed off of the change in momentum and

set the pace for the rest of the half.

Shortly after their first try, Stingers captain Yannick Fortin broke the Carabins’ defence for Concordia’s second try of the game. Even with a couple of crucial missed kicks by Stingers fullback Joey Fulginiti, the Stingers headed into halftime up 10-0.

Awaken from their somber start, the Stingers came out in the second half with the same energy that they finished the first with. Fulginiti made up for his early misses and made two kicks in the second to give Concordia a 16-0 lead. With such strong defensive lines and timely scoring, it seemed as if the Stingers had punched their ticket to the finals.

With 20 minutes left in the game, the Carabins finally wore down Concordia’s defence and made it 16-7 with their first try of the game. After the score, the momentum quickly changed in favour of the Carabins and the Stingers were forced to rely on their defence for the remainder of

the game.

With five minutes left in the match, the Carabins scored their second try of the game to make it 16-14, setting up an exciting finish. The final moments of the game seemed to drag on for the nervous Concordia crowd as the Carabins got closer and closer to scoring. The game came down to a final goal line push by the Carabins, but as it did all game, Concordia’s last line of defence refused to break.

Concordia will host the McGill Redmen next Sunday, Nov. 23 in the RSEQ finals. Both the games against the Redmen this year came down to the wire. Although the Redmen beat the Stingers in the season opener, the last game between the two teams ended in a 17-17 draw.

“Hopefully we’ve got that bad game out of the way and we come out strong against McGill next week because that certainly wasn’t one of our better games, [but] we won. Can’t complain,” said Gibson.

>> TOP PROSPECT OUT Seventeen-year-old Connor McDavid was having one of the best seasons in major junior hockey, ever. Playing for the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the potential No.1 draft in the 2105 NHL draft, had 51 points in 18 games. He was on pace to break scoring records in junior hockey, that is until he broke his hand. Last week, he fractured his fifth metacarpal and is expected to miss five to six weeks, according to CBC Sports. McDavid suffered the injury in a fight when he swung and missed his opponent, and connected with the boards instead.

the stingers And the CArAbins bAttled it out for the whole 80 minutes during sundAy’s semifinAl. Photos by AndreJ iVAnoV.

Tuesday, november 18, 2014 //

15

Rugby // SpORTS

Concordia hosts rugby sevens tryout Young athletes were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to prove they could make the cut

O

n Nov. 15, over 120 male and female athletes headed to Concordia’s Stinger Dome in order to show Rugby Canada scouts if they had what it takes to play rugby sevens at the Olympics.

During the Try for GOLD campaign, scouts have been visiting different cities across the country in order to find athletes aged 15 and up who might be future Olympians. Try 4 GOLD has already visited Toronto and Ottawa, and will be headed to Sherbrooke, Burnaby (B.C.), and Red Deer (AB).

Rugby sevens—which is a version of rugby where only seven players are on each team instead of the usual 15 known as rugby union—is an extremely demanding sport. On top of the usual physical demand of union rugby, sevens also demands a lot of running out of each player.

A regular rugby union match lasts 80 minutes, while a sevens match has two sevenminute halves, with only a one-and-a-half minute break.

According to François Ratier, the head coach for Rugby Canada’s National Women’s Fifteens team, the sport is like a crossover between basketball and judo, or even soccer and judo. Ratier, who was at the tryouts on Saturday, used to coach the women’s rugby team at Concordia, and was also assistant coach for the McGill women’s rugby team.

Athletes were tested on two components that would gauge whether or not they would be a good fit for rugby sevens: how fast could they run, and how high they could jump. Although rugby sevens is a variation of the classic 15-player game, the testing for rugby sevens had to be much more specific.

Athletes had to do 10-metre, 30-metre, and 40-metre sprints. Then they would move on to do a broad jump and triple jump. For each test, they were given two tries and their best one would be recorded. Before the testing began, athletes were also measured and weighed. The players with the best results will be called back

better fit for the Olympics, because it is a much faster game. A classic rugby tournament would last three days, while, a rugby sevens tournament can be completed in

a day or weekend. The 2016 Olympics in Rio will be the first ever to include rugby sevens. Who knows, the Canadian team just might have some familiar faces.

ConCordiA’s best Athletes work to show teAm CAnAdA sCouts they hAVe whAt it tAkes to be An olymPiAn. Photos by nAthAlie lAflAmme.

Upcoming Stingers games COME CHECK OUT THE CONCORDIA STINGERS IN ACTION ON HOME TURF !

Men’s Hockey

Women’s Hockey

Friday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 PM VS Western

Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 10:30 AM VS Carleton

at Ed Meagher Arena

at Ed Meagher Arena

Saturday, Nov. 22, at 2 PM VS Guelph

Sunday, Nov. 23, at 3 PM VS Montreal

at Ed Meagher Arena

at Ed Meagher Arena

MORE INFO AT STINGERS.CA

NAThAliE lAFlAMME Editor-in-chief

for a second tryout in British Columbia.

According to Ratier, the numbers to beat were, for women, between 5’’2’ and 5’’7’ for the 40-metre sprint, and 7m20 and over for the triple jump. For men, the sprint should be completed in around 5’’ and the triple jump should cover about 9m.

On Saturday, the dome was filled with athletes from different schools, of varied ages and sexes. Since the minimum age requirement is 15, many CEGEP students from Montreal were present. Many Stingers shirts could be spotted around the dome, although athletes from all of Montreal’s major universities were there as well.

Ratier explained that results will be analyzed this week. So far, one Concordia player had impressive sprint records—under five seconds.

The Stinger Dome was chosen in part because Ratier thought that the location and quality of the dome made it an ideal location to hold tryouts.

“Rugby and Concordia just go together,” he said.

Ratier is quite excited to see rugby sevens in the Olympics. The classic rugby game has only ever been played once in the 1924 Olympics. An infamous fight broke out in the final between France and the U.S.A., and it was so violent that it was never played again. In fact, the U.S. won the only ever gold Olympic medal for rugby.

According to Ratier, rugby sevens is a

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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Men’s basketball // sports

Concordia bested by Bishop 76-69 The men’s basketball team could not complete their comeback on Thursday night’s game Casey Dulson Staff writer

T

he men’s basketball team hosted the Bishop’s Gaiters on Thursday, Nov.13. For the second straight week, the Stingers rallied in the second half and scored 44 points. However, their comeback fell short on Thursday as the Gaiters prevailed with a 76-69 victory.

The Gaiters came out firing; Bishop’s had a 7-0 run to start the game and their first basket came on a three-pointer by guard Karim Sy-Morrisette. The Stingers would score their first basket of the game with only 6:44 left in the first quarter on field goal by guard, Mukiya Post.

Concordia later went on a roll of their own scoring six unanswered points to bring the game to within one, but the Gaiters would answer and score 11 unanswered points to regain a commanding lead.

Trailing 20-12 heading into the second quarter, things would not get better for the Stingers.

The Gaiters scored first in the quarter on a basket by Desmarais and later increased their lead thanks to a three-pointer by Majid Naji. It was all Bishop’s the first half. The Stingers would get a string of free throws by Frank Mpeck, Aamir Gyles and Jean-Louis Wanya late in the quarter but by the time the buzzer sound-

ed for half, the Stingers were down by 18 points and losing 43-25.

The crowd saw a different Stingers team in the third quarter. A quick threepointer by Ken Beaulieu gave the home side some signs of life. Although the Gaiters would score nine points in response to maintain their big lead, this game was far from over.

Stingers forward, Mike Fosu would hit a three-pointer which would start a Stingers run. Beaulieu then had a steal and would go end-to-end for a slam dunk,

firing up the crowd. The Gaiters did not score a basket for four minutes which allowed the Stingers to get back into it.

The fourth quarter was a back-andforth affair and the Gaiters would strike first on a basket by centre, Mike Andrews.

Stingers responded on two baskets by Fosu and Beaulieu, but Desmarais would add to Bishop’s lead with a three-pointer.

Not to be outdone however, Post would answer with a three of his own to keep it a ten point game.

The Stingers would score 10 unan-

swered points late in the game and were down four points after a basket by Beaulieu. The four points is the closest they would get, due to mistakes late in the game. The Gaiters were perfect on free throws during the game.

After the final whistle, Stingers head coach John Dore praised his team for not giving up until the end, but realized that they put themselves in a bad spot.

“This team has a lot of heart and character but we cannot fall behind like that again,” said Dore.

Stingers guard Aamir Gyles drives to the hoop against the Gaiters on Thursday night. Photo by Brianna Thicke.

Women’s basketball // sports

Stingers trample Gaiters from start to finish Women’s basketball team earns season’s first victory by defeating Bishop’s 87-24 Casey Dulson Staff writer

I

t was a double-header between the Stingers and the Gaiters on Thursday, Nov. 13, with Concordia’s women’s basketball team hosting Bishop’s. After losing to Laval last week, the Stingers got their first win of the season and dominated the Gaiters. The home teamed cruised to an easy 87-24 victory.

After winning the opening tipoff, things went south for the visiting Gaiters

for the rest of the game. Forward Richelle Gregoire got the game’s two first baskets for the home side. The Stingers scored 12 points including a three-pointer by guard Daphne Thouin before Bishop’s got their first points of the game on a couple of free throws by forward, Marie-Pascale Duhamel.

Thouin would hit her second threepointer late in the first quarter and the Stingers would be leading 27-7 going into the second quarter.

The Stingers would strike first in the second quarter with another basket by Gregoire and Concordia would continue

their scoring streak on baskets by Kaylah Barrett and forward Marilyse Roy-Viau.

The Gaiters would only get back on the board in the second quarter on a basket by forward, Mara Marchizotti.

Both Barrett and Gregoire would hit three-pointers late in the quarter to extend the huge lead.

The Stingers led 45-9 going into the locker room at halftime. As good as the offence was, Concordia’s defence was the backbone of their strong play as the Gaiters could only muster two points in the second quarter.

Stingers would get on the board first

Third-year player Tamara Pinard-Devos controls the ball against a Gaiters’ opponent. Photo by Brianna Thicke.

to start the third quarter as guard, Tamara Pinard-Devos hit an opening three-pointer.

Barrett would then hit back-to-back threepointers to increase the Stingers lead. The Stingers called upon Aurelie d’Anjou Drouin from the bench to give some of the Stingers’ key players a break. D’Anjou Drouin ended up scoring seven points in the quarter.

The Gaiters would score four straight points including a three-pointer by guard Joy-Celine Bermillo, but the Stingers would end the quarter with a three-pointer of their own by Thouin. Down 73-14 entering the final quarter, the Gaiters would score the first points of the fourth quarter on basket by guard, Marie-Laurence Dulud and then get free threw by forward, Danielle Lumley.

From the moment the game began, it was clear that Concordia was the better squad. The Gaiters have a relatively young and inexperienced team, which showed in the way they could not keep up with the Stingers. Veteran players like Barrett, who scored 20 points in the victory, set the tempo of the game for the Stingers and looked in control throughout the contest.

Stingers head coach Keith Pruden attributed such composure to his team’s win.

“We played organized basketball which is a reason why we were able to score many points,” said Pruden. “I was pleased [with] how aggressive we were.

Which is what you want from a team contending for a title.”

Tuesday, november 18, 2014

opinions

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Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com Editorial // OpiNiONS

Student groups need to consider reforms Exploring common pitfalls of Concordia’s student associations

With the semester winding down, the current masthead of The Concordian has sat in on its fair share of student group councils, assemblies, and meetings. We’ve seen the admirable dedication of various members who sacrifice free time, sleep, and opportunities in positions that are often overlooked or taken for granted.

Depending on what association we’re talking about, the financial remuneration, if any, may very well come out to below minimum wage when one factors the time commitment involved. That these individuals continue to devote their energies to their fellow students cannot be chalked up singularly to a simple calling

for politics or a cynical desire for power; quite the opposite, in fact.

Yet over the past few months we’ve also witnessed a broad range of structural deficiencies and methods of procedure that leave the door open to abuses and a lack of transparency that could be rectified with relatively simple procedural changes.

Student groups are ultimately responsible to their constituency, but an oftentimes apathetic student body means even minor mobilization can sweep questions and assemblies via popularity politics. This is unavoidable and common in all elections, and what should be aimed for is not an elimination—this is impossible—but a minimization. Secret ballots won’t eliminate friendship votes, but they’ll help.

Greater use of online voting would as well (how often are you called over after class to

help sway an election?)

Transparency involves clearly marking past decisions. There is no standard for minutekeeping with some organizations being quite thorough and others leaving much to be desired. If the student body is to have a clear record and evaluate an individual’s voting history, keeping track of how members vote on issues shouldn’t be a choice. (Right now, votes are anonymously grouped by decision and voters must explicitly ask for their names to be noted alongside their votes.)

Another issue is a lack of institutional memory—and once again this is prevalent in some groups and nonexistent in others—as student groups cycle through in a flash with executive terms lasting but a year with the possibility of re-election. Nothing can be done about that, but there are alternatives that should be open

to discussion. Perhaps the merits of a staggered election—with half a council elected each semester and where the incomers would be assured on-the-job training by virtue of their real-time collaboration with their senior colleagues—could be debated, though admittedly this has its share of difficulties.

Long histories of mismanagement mean student associations often have bad reputations. They therefore need to be constantly sending a clear message of reform through more ethical management and conduct if they hope to gain and maintain student trust.

None of these tweaks are outside the realm of discussion or impossible to achieve, and after the initial inconveniences of getting used to the new system, maintenance is virtually zero with minimal added bureaucratic strain.

Drugs // OpiNiONS

Patients’ rights are going to pot: a call for cannabis is social taboo the only thing keeping us from medical marijuana?

ROBiN STANFORD Staff writer

It is a substance that many politicians have admitted to trying, report never enjoying, and certainly did not inhaled.

Marijuana has been back in the news of late due to the opening of Montreal’s first medical marijuana clinic, Santé Cannabis. According to CBC News, Adam Greenblatt, the clinic’s executive director, said the goal is to “help facilitate access to legal sources of medical cannabis to eligible patients who meet certain qualifications.”

The clinic does not sell or distribute marijuana themselves. They simply prescribe it to patients referred to them, who then take that prescription to a licensed distributor.

Santé Cannabis is operating in an ethical grey zone. Although it is not illegal to provide such services, there are no regulations in place concerning administration or prescribed dosages of the substance.

The issue with medical marijuana, and the reason it went through the courts instead of through the standard systems is due to the social taboo surrounding it.

As stated above, it is very rare that one will admit in a professional setting that they have enjoyed marijuana use. Silence on the subject is due to its perception as an addictive substance and gateway to

more severe drugs and other forms of moral depravity.

The main argument against its use in treatment has been the supposed addictive nature of marijuana, alluded to in the social taboo.

At the time of writing, studies have been inconclusive on the truth behind this claim, often offering conflicting results. If it were proven the substance was addictive, it would be in good company in hospitals everywhere.

Many pharmaceutical drugs already in use are known for their addictive qualities. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), the most addictive of these are found in opioid-based painkillers, which are prescribed commonly under the brand names OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Percodan, or Demerol. Similarly, many antidepressants are known for their addictive quality, often recommending a period of three to six months to detox.

Clearly, addiction is not something the pharmaceutical industry is unfamiliar with.

On the other hand, if implemented and regulated, medical marijuana may be of great use to many patients.

At the moment, evidence has largely taken the form of anecdotes from doctors working with self-medicating patients. In an interview on Nov. 9 with the Montreal Gazette, Dr. Michael Dworkind recalls the positive effects on some palliative care patients at the Jewish General Hospital who suddenly got their appetite back and had improved overall health. “‘Well, doctor,’ they said, ‘I had a toke.’”

If the issue is not the addictiveness or the ineffectiveness of medical marijuana,

what is it?

The blame here lies not only in the overall taboo, but also in the negative image of smoking. According to a Concordian (who asked to remain anonymous for personal reasons), “it can be cooked in food or made into tea. I even know some-

one who takes it as a pill, although that is less effective.”

Perhaps the solution to our society’s general aversion to medical marijuana is simply to produce it in pill form under another name, just like every other medicine.

Graphic Marie-PierLaRose LaRose Illustration byby Marie-Pier

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Tuesday, november 18, 2014

Internet // opinions

6 Reasons Why BuzzFeed Is, In Fact, Clickbait Number 4 will absolutely shock you!

LAURA MARCHAND Opinions editor

O

h, BuzzFeed. Where do I start with you? Sure, your gifs are cute, and your quizzes are good for a couple of minutes of mindless fun. Our relationship has been one of pleasant mutual indifference. But there are some things that are so delusional—so flat-out wrong—that they go beyond comprehension.

BuzzFeed released an article on its own site, written by a member of its own staff, titled “Why BuzzFeed Doesn’t Do Clickbait.” And the Internet collectively scoffed.

In summary, the writer argues that clickbait stopped working way back in 2009. He also defines clickbait as a misleading or downright untruthful headline: one example was “Paris Hilton—topless” which would have Paris Hilton, fully dressed, in a convertible. After reading through the piece, it was clear that they needed a brush-up on what exactly clickbait is in the modern age of the Internet.

Unfortunately, there’s only one way BuzzFeed knows how to communicate: in poorly compiled lists. So, with that in mind, let’s dive in.

1. That definition of clickbait is wrong.

What BuzzFeed is referring to is more of a bait-and-switch: you promise one thing, and deliver another. You could even call it a clickbait-and-switch. What clickbait is, specifically, is much broader and much simpler: it’s literally just baiting for clicks. You dangle out something tantalizing in order to get the click, and hence, the ad revenue.

2. Internet headlines have become clickbait.

What is a headline? Yes, it’s supposed to be attention-grabbing. But it’s also supposed to inform the reader about the content of the piece. It’s like a brief, one-sentence summary. There’s a reason why “Country A declares war on Country B” is a headline, and “You won’t believe what Country A did now” is not. The latter is clickbait. It doesn’t inform. In fact, it withholds information in exchange for the click.

3. BuzzFeed does clickbait.

Let’s take a look at BuzzFeed’s headlines. Even leaving out the countdown lists—“17 Facts You Won’t Believe Are Real” as a real example—the clickbait is everywhere. What does the headline “Israelis And Palestinians Take Matters Into Their Own Hands” actually tell us about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Nothing.

“This Is What Food Banks Actually Need” doesn’t tell us what food banks need, or whether or not they even spoke to a food bank at all. “Whatever Happened To The White House Police Militarization Review?” doesn’t actually tell us what happened. To get the answers, you have to click.

4.

Pretend to be shocked.

In all seriousness, BuzzFeed often promises that you will be “in tears,” “in stitches,” or you “won’t believe” one of the items of their list. It’s a promise of a strong emotional reaction, and it gets you to click.

5.

BuzzFeed wants you to share.

BuzzFeed claims its goal isn’t to get clicks: it’s to get shares. If you think about it, every time you share an article, you’re getting BuzzFeed at least a couple of more clicks—and a little more revenue. Their headlines have been designed for shareability: the same way the headline nagged at your curiosity, it will for your friends.

By making the articles silly and accessible (who doesn’t love gifs from Friends?) instead of hard-hitting and complex, you can read it through and share it quickly, and

there’s a higher chance that the people you share it to will like it, too.

6.

It’s started a trend. And we can’t stop it.

By sharing these articles, you’re showing that the system works. That withholding information is not only a viable business model, it’s a successful one. It’s spawned sites such as Upworthy, and The Onion’s satirical site ClickHole. The webcomic xkcd asked what would have happened in famous 20th century events had been rewritten for more clicks: could you imagine if the fall of the Soviet Union was watered down to “You Won’t Believe What They Did To The Berlin Wall”?

Sites like BuzzFeed boil down real human stories, real history and real conflict into clickbait headlines and gifs. And you, the internet, and reality deserve better.

Illustration by Marie-Pier LaRose

Politics // opinions

Response: Vote against selective history with BDS On Nov. 25, vote for sanctions against Israeli institutions KEIVAN SHAMAMI BDS Yes Committee

We graduate students voted with our conscience in January 2013, voting yes to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. In doing so, we learned that making an educated decision about BDS means not letting a selective history blindside you. Last week’s op-ed “BDS and the CSU: a story of selective outrage” by Bradley Martin was a great example of the selective omissions and common myths propagated by those opposing BDS. These myths need to be debunked so that a more comprehensive history can emerge.

First, Israel’s occupation does relate to us as students. For example, our tuition dollars are complicit with Concordia’s bilateral agreement with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, which assists in the development of tanks and technologies reinforcing the occupation and walldividing of Israel and Palestine. BDS does not condemn Israeli individuals, but rather such particular institutional relationships that make us complicit with Israel’s violations of international law—just as the boycott campaign against South Africa did not target South Africans, but the institutions supporting apartheid.

Another common myth is that BDS

would “single Israel out for isolation, when such standards are not applied equally across all governments,” in Martin’s words. This myth sits on bankrupt historical grounds. Syria and North Korea are heavily sanctioned by the international community. The reason Saudi Arabia is not sanctioned is because of the interests of Israel and its allies in oil-rich industries. If that escape from sanctions comes as a shock, the case of Israel is what really “sticks out like a sore thumb,” to use Martin’s words. It is not BDS, but the international community’s lack of sanctions, that historically singled Israel out.

According to the WRMEA, Israel has enjoyed the largest amount of aid from the U.S.A (and a cozy relationship with our own Stephen Harper). So not just our tuition dollars, our tax dollars are complicit with Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights.

When Martin argues that BDS ignores how “235,000 Palestinians have been displaced inside Syria since the beginning of the conflict two years ago,” he conveniently forgets to mention that Israel was created in 1948 by forcefully displacing 800,000 of the Palestinian population from their homeland to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and other parts of the world, as documented in Israeli historian Ilan Pappe’s book, Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Add to that 300,000 Palestinians and 150,000 Syrians who were displaced during the 1967 Israeli invasion of the West Bank, Gaza and Golan Heights. These examples remind us that BDS does not have selective memory; unfortunately, Israel does.

Martin created yet another smoke screen when he claimed that BDS would hinder technologies on campus. I would like to remind him that South Africa’s apartheid regime also hosted advanced academic and technological innovations, yet this did not stop the international community from successfully and strategically boycotting that regime. According to Sasha Polakow-Suransky, author of The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa, it only stopped Israel, whose joint nuclear research with the South African apartheid regime led Israel to be the only state in the Middle East still owning nuclear bombs.

BDS is not selective about history, but it is selective about its most strategic targets, which will ultimately be up to its student members to determine.

This brings me back to the mandate of student associations. Contrary to what Martin suggests, the mandate of your student union is not permanently engraved in stone on any website or in any constitution; rather, it is carved out by you, critically minded students, who decide what role you believe students should have on your campus and in your society.

In this spirit, we hope that you will take the time to make an informed decision, based on a comprehensive sense of history and of students’ valuable role as critical thinkers in a democracy, and vote YES to BDS from Nov. 25 to 27.

Keivan Shamami is a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Committee of the Graduate Students’ Association.

Protesters wave Palestinian flags at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, on Nov. 18, 2012.

Photo by Gigi Ibrahim on Flickr.

Letter // ETC

Sure, humanity landed on a comet. But let’s not get cocky: there’s still a lot we as a species need to improve on. For example, #WeCanLandOnACometButWeCant do some of these simply tasks...

@tygacat3891 “#WeCanLandOnACometButWeCant make a vending machine that functions as expected” @Bugeyehales “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant tell if she’s born with it or if it’s just maybelline” @TVMcGee “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant make a sci-fi film that Neil deGrasse Tyson enjoys.” @Rottenpeach_com “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant get automatic toilets to not flush while you are still using it” @npcjnr “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant make a smartphone battery that lasts longer than a day” @WannDawgg “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant believe it’s not butter...” @SHowett_13 “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant get an affordable college education that doesn’t set us back for years after graduation” @StudentlyUK “‘#wecanlandonacometbutwecant close the youtube app without the music stopping”

While I’ll agree that being opposed to Israel or having issues with its policies does not necessarily equal Antisemitism, the BDS movement is inherently Anti-Jewish.

It’s about trying to deprive Jews of their livelihood, not oppose government policies. And it is a massive failure.

Regardless of the fact that BDS is laughable and will never succeed in its goal of erasing Jews from the Middle East, it still must be opposed. The sheer stupidity of the movement is well explained by Martin (will the CSU have all Intel chip removed from the university?). This movement intentionally ignores atrocities around the world and attacks Israel simply because it is a Jewish state.

As the students of Concordia did when I was there in the 2000-2004, I believe they will wake up to the absurdity of their student government’s support of Antisemitism and, if not topple the CSU as we did back then, at least prevent it from embarrassing our school any further.

It’s no secret that year after year the CSU is hijacked by the extreme left because the vast majority of students believe it’s a complete waste of time and energy and ignore it. Once in a while, however, the CSU becomes such an embarrassment that the general population has to get step up and take it down.

Seems like that time is coming again.

Noah Sidel BA journalism ‘04

Letter // ETC

Letter to the Editor: VOTE YES for Model UN To all fee-levy groups, their employees and all student voters, On the 25th, 26th and 27th of November, Concordia Model United Nations Education and Leadership Center will have a referendum question on the ballot during CSU by-elections. We are seeking the approval of a fee collection of $0.07 per credit per term. As you may or may not know, we have faced an uphill battle to have our question on the ballot. We faced intense criticism from external groups, and as we realize the importance of transparency and accountability, we want to dispel some of the misconceptions some may have regarding CONMUN becoming a fee-levy group.

NO, CONMUN will not use all your money to fund competitions and travelling. If that were the case, CONMUN would remain a club under the CSU. Yet, this is not what we have in mind. There are things we cannot easily do now as a CSU club, which we can do as a fee-levy group. We want to, as we have already done this year, bring in speakers specializing in human rights, UN Peacekeeping missions, and experts on international justice and law. Yet we want to give back even more to our community. We want to be able to afford to give even more free sessions and training to teach students who want to develop their skills in public speaking, negotiation, policy drafting, and conflict resolution. We are developing a leadership program, for you.

@JasonEdwardDias “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant use they’re, their and there correctly.” @LondonKirsty “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant stop socks from mysteriously disappearing in the washing machine”

We want to give back to you as much as we can, while strengthening Concordia University’s reputation through our skilled delegates. We want you, future Concordia alumni and global leaders, to have the chance to build your skills and confidence, and exploit your full potential.

@ProblemsAtUni “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant get a fire VOTE YES for Model UN on the 25th, 26th and 27th of November. On alarm to tell the difference between burnt Wednesday November 19th, we will be tabling in the Mezzanine of the Hall building. Please come see what we are about and what we want to be with toast and a blazing inferno” the help of a fee-levy!

@holidayhype “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant convince Sincerely, CONMUN Executive the self-checkout machine that there is nothing unexpected in the bagging area.” conmun@gmail.com

Michelle Gamage Production manager production@theconcordian.com Milos Kovacevic News editor news@theconcordian.com Jess Kenwood Assistant news editor Sara Baron-Goodman Life editor life@theconcordian.com

Mia Pearson Music editor music@theconcordian.com Tim Lazier Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com Laura Marchand Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com Keith Race Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com Andrej Ivanov Assistant photo editor Jocelyn Beaudet Online editor online@theconcordian.com Marie-Pier LaRose Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com Gregory Todaro Emily Gaudet Marilla Steuter-Martin Copy editors copy@theconcordian.com Christina Rowan Natasha Taggart Marilla Steuter-Martin Production assistants Editorial office 7141 Sherbrooke St. Building CC-Rm 431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514-848-2424 ext. 7499 (Editor-in-Chief) Marc-Antoine Cardin Business manager business@theconcordian.com William Atsaidis Advertising manager advertising@theconcordian.com

@shoujogeek “#wecanlandonacometbutwecant make packaging for pads and tampons that doesn’t sound like we’re eating a bag of chips in the restroom.”

@theshoebart “#WeCanLandOnACometButWeCant actually land on a comet. Some really smart people did that. We are just mediocrities on Twitter.”

Nathalie Laflamme Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com

Frederic T. Muckle Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

YES, CONMUN will use 40% of our fee-levy budget to develop our leadership program by funding our trainings and developing resources for you, 30% to organize more conferences and bring in more world leading guest speakers, and 20% to fund expenses for competition entry fees. The majority of these entry fees will be funded through fundraising events. In the name of transparency and accountability, as our motives have been previously questioned, the remaining 10% will be used to hire external auditors to review our finances, and make them publicly available to you.

@RealPaulaBel “#WeCanLandOnACometButWeCant ...find that damn Malaysian plane.”

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 Vol. 32 Issue 12

Tyson Lowrie Jacob Serebin Ruben Bastien Board of directors directors@theconcordian.com

Contributors

514-487- 4400 7363, 7363, rue rue Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Ouest, Ouest, NDG NDG Montréal Montréal (Québec) (Québec) H4B H4B 1S1 1S1

Marco Saveriano, Mim Kempson, Olivia Ranger-Enns, Chris Aitkens, Steven Nadeau, Onieda Crawford, Casey Dulson, Robin Stanford, Stephen Ho, Keivan Shamami, Justinas Staskevicius

theconcordian

I’m glad to see Concordia students like Bradley Martin standing up against the despicable BDS movement. BDS is nothing more than a vicious attempt by misguided Antisemites to discredit the only just democracy in the Middle East: Israel.

Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.

EVENTS

Have a good week !

Film Cinema Politica: Sol, Concordia University - Nov. 21 Cinema Politica: Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians, Concordia University - Until Nov. 24 The Film Society: Last Year at Marienbad, deSève Cinema - Nov. 23 Montreal International Documentary Festival - Until Nov. 23 Image+Nation Film Festival - Nov. 20 to Nov. 30

Other We walk among you, Mainline Theatre - Until Nov. 23

Exhibition Ruins of the Future, VAV Gallery - Until Nov. 21 Malaise, Gallery 203 - Nov. 20 to Dec. 4

Music Nils Frahm, Metropolis - Nov. 22 Dream Police w/ Honey, Casa del Popolo - Nov. 20 High Ends, Petit Campus - Nov. 20 Dead Obies, SAT - Nov. 21