theconcordian Volume 31 Issue 9
Independent student newspaper at COnCOrdIa unIVersIty. sInCe 1983.
October 22, 2013
Undead plague Montreal See our zombie section on p. 15-21
Photo by Keith Race
In this issue // news life
arts
music
sports
CFC to get referendum p. 3
Spring Awakening arouses p. 9
Kickback with Krewella p. 13
Baseball comes close p. 23
Lawrence Hill at Concordia p.7
we tell your stories. Follow us on twitter: @theConcordian
theconcordian.com
news 2
//
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
Write to the editor: news@theconcordian.com
CITY KeLLy DuvaL Co-news editors
>> proposEd
chartEr violatEs human rights According to Quebec’s Human Rights Commission, the Parti Québécois government’s proposed charter of values would violate fundamental human rights and wouldn’t hold up in a court challenge. The Commission said banning religious symbols in the workplace would breach the right to freedom of religion and infringe upon the freedom of expression. Usually, the Commission does not comment on government proposals, but felt it had to in this case since the proposed charter clearly violates a current law. The minister responsible for the proposed charter, Bernard Drainville, dismissed these comments and said the Commission is out of step with Quebec society.
>> ElEction day prEdictions
Denis Coderre is the leading mayoral candidate for the Nov. 3 municipal election, with Melanie Joly in second place, according to CROP poll results released Oct. 15. According to the poll, 41 per cent of voters said they support Coderre, while 24 per cent favoured Joly. Also in the poll, 21 per cent of voters said they are undecided and 34 per cent said it was possible they would change their minds. The poll was conducted online for Radio-Canada, with 1,001 respondents, but since it is web-based, Radio-Canada said there is no way to measure the margin of error.
>>
campEau EscapEs captors Carl Campeau, a Montrealer working as a legal advisor for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, escaped his captors in Syria after eight months of imprisonment. Campeau was abducted in February by rebel fighters. While he appeared on Syrian state television on Oct. 17, saying in English that his captors forgot to lock the door when they went out to pray, he was cut off by an Arabic translator and it was difficult to discern all his words. The UN reported he is now with the United Nations and he seems to be in good health.
Campus // neWs
CUPFA’s launches MicroTalks
Part-time faculty members present their research to students in six minutes CHristina roWan Copy editor
O
n behalf of the Concordia University’s Part-time Faculty Association (CUPFA), the first Microtalks event of three to come this school year, which consists of six-minute talks presented by part-time faculty, will be launched Tuesday Oct. 22. Taking place in the EV building on the sixth floor in the department of Design and Computation Arts, MicroTalks will explore and educate, with visual and verbal material, various topics of interest sought out and researched by part-time faculty members. “The primary goal of the MicroTalks is to promote and share parttime faculty research with other part-time faculty members, full-time faculty and students, in order to create an engaged discussion around [what] part-time faculty are up to outside of the classroom,” said CUPFA Vice President Lorraine Oades. “Too often students, faculty and the administration forget that parttime faculty are engaging in cutting
edge research and we wanted to highlight the diversity and achievements of our members.” Oades, who has been preparing the MicroTalks project for the past year, is excited for it to begin. “I began officially organizing the MicroTalks series this summer with Donna Nebenzahl, from journalism, and Alison Loader, from computation arts and design, who are co-ordinating the MicroTalks with me,” she said. “We started meeting in early June and met regularly throughout the summer.” Each MicroTalk event will have a specific theme around which all participating part-time faculty will focus their six-minute talks. The theme for the first event is control and identity. This theme, as written in the MicroTalks press release, will address the “often invisible forces of power we face every day as twenty-first century global citizens living in a rapidly shifting and often uncertain terrain. The presenters explore various mechanisms of control, how they shape us as individuals and at times circumscribe our future.” During the event’s two hour timespan, students will hear and learn from a variety of part-time
faculty members focusing on and interpreting diverse areas of expertise such as sociology, painting and drawing, religion, urban planning, business technology management, design and computation arts, intermedia/cyberarts and more. This week’s event will feature 10 different part-time faculty members. The reasoning behind the specified six-minute talks derives from the presentation style called PechaKucha in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each — a format that keeps presentations concise, fast-paced and powers multiple-speaker events. “We wanted to create a series of high-energy interdisciplinary evenings, each of which would focus on a specific theme,” said Oades. “There
will be a question and answer period at the end of all the presentations, which we hope will develop into a real dialogue between the audience and the individual presenters.” The MicroTalks project will also allow students the opportunity to find out more about their instructors and introduce themselves to areas or disciplines they aren’t already familiar with. The second MicroTalks event will take place Jan. 21, focusing on a theme of light and landscape, and the third on Feb. 25, with a theme of community and culture. The first MicroTalks event will take place Oct. 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in EV 6.720, 1515 St. Catherine St. West.
CUPFA lAUnChes MiCrotAlks on tUesdAy oCt.22
event // neWs
CUPA joins Montreal Walks for Mental Health Participants aim to promote awareness and lift taboos on mental illness natHaLie LaFLamme Production manager
T
he Concordia Undergraduate Psychology Association (CUPA) took part in Montreal’s Walks for Mental Health for the first time on Sunday Oct. 20. Over 1,000 people were present at the 5 KM-long walk, including two executives of CUPA. Both CUPA President Janice La Giorgia and CUPA Vice President of Internal
Stacy Pollack took part in the walk. Before the walk, many people spoke to the crowd of their past history of mental illness, including Montreal Alouettes player Shea Emry and actress Veronique Bannon. The walk began at around 11 a.m. in Philips Square. According to La Giorgia, the walk was a success. “I am very happy with how the walk turned out,” she said. “This year was the fifth year [of the walk], and there’s increasingly more people aware of it, and who join.”
According to the Montreal Walks for Mental Health website, the aim of the walk is to increase public awareness of mental health, and to stop both stigma and discrimination towards those who are living with mental illness, and those who support them “[…] I knew that it would be terrific for CUPA to walk to represent Concordia Psychology students, a new generation of psychology majors who don’t believe in stigma and want to lift the taboos. In general, CUPA attended the Walk
to promote awareness, and raise funds,” La Giorgia said. “It’s the first year we take part in the Walk and I sincerely hope that this will continue in the future. I will make sure next year’s executive will have all my contacts to be able to participate. I can see this event evolving from year to year, and becoming bigger.” For more information on the Montreal Walks for Mental Health,visit mtlmarche.com. For more information on CUPA, visit them on their facebook page.
A nUMber oF PeoPle took PArt in the MontreAl WAlks For MentAl heAlth, inlCUding CUPA President And VP oF internAl (right). Photos by nAthAlie lAFlAMMe
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
3
Csu // neWs
Motion passed for fee levy referendum Csu supports 975 petitioning students at special council meeting sLoane montGomery Co-news editor
A Special CSU council meeting was held on Wednesday Oct. 16 to address a student petition to allow an exception to Standing Regulation 138, that would allow the Community Food Coalition (CFC) to have their fee-levy referendum on ballots for the November byelections. The motion passed with a 90 per cent vote of CSU council members in favour. The CFC petition was signed by 975 students. The petition showed that there was a significant number of students who desired that there be an exception made to Standing Regulation 138. The regulation states that a fee levy increase must be approved by the Policy Committee at least one month prior to the first day of the nomination period of the byelections for it to be considered by council, a deadline the CFC was unable to make. The referendum states that the
CFC would receive an increase in its fee levy fund from Concordia’s undergraduate students. The CFC is in favour of sustainable, ecological, and healthy food options for both Sir George Williams (SGW) and Loyola campuses. The ballot will be open for voting from Nov. 19-21, for the 2013 byelections, with polls at both
SGW and Loyola campuses. “CFC is very happy that the CSU has empowered students to voice their opinion and play a role in the future of Concordia’s Food System,” said Jessica Cabana, a member of the CFC. The CFC wants to offer a local, sustainable and ecological food
CoMMUnity Food CoAlition Wins CsU’s Vote At sPeCiAl CoUnCil Meeting Photo by keith rACe
service to Concordia students; its increase in funds would be used to work towards this. “Putting together a rival bid requires funds, something that would rival a corporation,” said Cabana. The student run organization would be competing with major companies such as Chartwells, which is currently in contract with the university. While the CFC has many ideas, for both the SGW and Loyola campuses, they have major plans to end the “food desert” at the Loyola Campus. The CFC would like to aid Loyola’s landscape by creating food producing “Green Rooftops,” including a greenhouse on top of the Hive. Cabana insists that “a food system must be considered from ground to fork to waste, and Loyola has the potential to have a completely sustainable food system.” The CFC would also join together with The Hive Café Solidarity Cooperative to provide students at Loyola with an increase in access to sustainable, healthy and affordable food.
BoG // neWs
Highlights from board of governors meeting Good news regarding government funding, discussions over intellectual property policy KeLLy DuvaL Co-news editor
On Oct. 16, Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Pierre Duchesne, unveiled the Parti Québécois government’s new National Research and Innovation Policy. “The government will invest $3.7 billion over the next five years in research and innovation across a number of sectors that Concordia would have real strengths in,” said Concordia President Alan Shepard at the Oct. 16 board of governors meeting. “We’ll be looking at those opportunities quite closely in the weeks and months to come.” The money will be spread among different sectors of research in Quebec, of which Concordia’s share represents about 11 per cent, explained Shepard. Besides universities, colleges and businesses, the government will invest $25 million in public school laboratories in disadvantaged areas. The government will also invest in sectors including aerospace, public health, biotechnology, energy, creative industries, communications and sustainability. “Probably for the first time, a research and innovation policy has also created space for researchers in the humanities, social sciences and the fine arts. This plan has cast a wide net and really captured the whole research community,” said Concordia Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies Graham Carr.
The government will issue calls for proposals in intervals over the next five years and Concordia will compete among other universities for funding. Shepard explained that judges won’t know which universities have submitted what in order to maintain impartiality. Though the research areas for the competition have been revealed, Carr stated Concordia is still a long way from knowing exactly how they will compete. “We are very well informed of opportunities and very ready to participate,” said Shelley Sitahal, associate director of Research Partnerships and Innovation. Minister Duchesne spoke at a conference on health innovation hosted by Concordia on Oct. 21. The conference helped to kick off MEDTEQ, the Quebec Consortium for Industrial Research and Innovation in Medical Technology’s project. In light of the funds the government will invest in research and innovation, the question of whether Concordia should review their Policy on Intellectual Property with respect to students was raised at the board of governor’s meeting. Concordia’s current IP Policy, which was established in 2011, has come under discussion this past spring as more undergraduate students engage in research, largely due to the emergence of District 3, an innovation centre at the university. Students also engage in research for Capstone projects which must be completed by undergraduates in engineering programs to earn their degree.
Shepard explained the issue of who can claim ownership and owns the intellectual property—whether it is the student who’s come up with a new idea or the university which provided the necessary resources— has arisen at many universities. “It’s important that we have an IP policy that helps us be innovative,” said Dr. William E. Lynch, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the meeting. “I don’t think the IP Policy as it stands promotes innovation in my faculty.” Bram Freedman, secretary-general of the Board of Governors, explained at the meeting that he and Shepard have discussed doing an overall examination of the current policy in how it affects students and mapping out IP policies in other Canadian universities. “The existing policy is working extremely effectively,” said Freedman. He explained the issue in respect to undergraduate student projects has been resolved with the faculty of engineering and computer science to everyone’s mutual satisfaction by making exemptions for these students so that Concordia will not claim IP ownership. Speaking with The Concordian, Carr and Sitahal confirmed that Concordia has not, in fact, changed the IP policy for undergraduate student projects. He stated there’s the perception that the policy is inflexible, when this is not the case. “It’s a framework document,” said Sitahal, explaining why the policy allowed Concordia to deal fairly with students working at
District 3 or on Capstone projects. “It anticipates there will be special circumstances so the policy allows us to deal with those initiatives in a special way.” Sitahal explained the IP policy mirrors the collective agreement between the university and Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association. She clarified that according to the policy, a faculty member has full control over what happens to their intellectual property. “[This] was a negotiated position between the faculty association and the university, so we presume that everybody’s happy with it,” said Sitahal. Carr explained the purpose of establishing an IP policy is to ensure research activities entail legal structural agreements in the ownership of ideas. “Our IP policy has worked very successfully in terms of our establishing partnerships with external organizations and at the same time, protecting the rights of researchers at Concordia,” said Carr. Since IP policy can be complicated to grasp, Carr said students need to make informed choices when deciding to claim ownership rights or when signing any agreements. “We have been approached by certain professors to come and do presentations in their classes,” said Sitahal regarding upcoming workshops on IP policy. Concordia already offers workshops for graduate students and the university will begin providing more workshops for undergraduates.
NATION CHristina roWan Copy editor
>> malala
yousafzai namEd canadian citizEn Malala Yousafzai, the 16-yearold Afghan girl, renowned worldwide for advocating for girls’ education, has been made an honorary Canadian citizen as of Oct. 16. After Yousafzai was targeted and shot in the head by the Taliban while she was on a bus going home from school, she made it her personal mission to promote education for women and girls. The girl, now living in England with her family, met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New York on Sept. 26 to discuss her personal efforts, where he invited her to visit Canada.
>> canada and Eu strikE a chEEsy dEal
Canadian Dairy Farmers will have much more than each other to worry about now that Canada and the EU are discussing a free trade deal. Under Harper’s government, if the deal is to come into effect, Canadian negotiators have agreed to double to about 30,000 tonnes the amount of European cheese that can be imported into Canada each year on a tariff-free basis. The Dairy Farmers of Canada, who represent 12,500 producers, have said, “Dairy farmers will not support the Harper government agreeing to a deal with the EU that gives away the Canadian cheese market that Canadian dairy farmers and cheese makers have worked so hard to develop over the years.”
>> accEss-to-
information act struggling
Canadian departments and agencies are struggling to answer access-to-information requests from Canadians due to poor leadership and scant resources, according to the federal information commissioner. ATI requests, which are promised to be answered within 30 days of the request, allow people who pay $5 to request an assortment of records from federal agencies such as briefing notes, expense reports and audits. Now, according to information commissioner Suzanne Legault, requests are taking six months, a year, or even up to three years to respond.
4
//
theconcordian
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
elections // neWs
WORLD sLoane montGomery Co-news editor
Municipal candidates address student concerns Discover which montreal municipal parties have students’ interests in mind PauLa monroy staff writer
>> rihanna
forcEd to lEavE mosquE Rihanna was asked to leave the premises of an Abu Dhabi mosque complex after taking unauthorized photos. While the pop star’s publicity team has yet to make any statements, a statement from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, said she was asked to leave after “inappropriate pictures” were taken. After trying to enter the mosque by a private entrance, Rihanna was directed to the proper entrance and was encouraged to continue out her visit under normal conditions. She was then asked to leave after striking several poses for a photo-shoot. It was felt that some of the photos were suggestive. One photo showed Rihanna lying on her back in the mosque’s courtyard.
>> facEbook allows violEnt contEnt Facebook has once again allowed violent videos of decapitation and murder to be shared on its website. Facebook’s new terms and conditions state that it will only remove content that celebrates or directly encourages violent behaviour. Many people are completely opposed to this new regulation, especially since users can sign up for Facebook starting at the age of 13. “It only takes seconds of exposure to such graphic material to leave a permanent trace—particularly in a young person’s mind,” said Dr. Arthur Cassidy, a former psychologist who runs a branch of the Yellow Ribbon Program in Northern Ireland.
>> smog takEs ovEr china Pollution in northern China is currently 40 times over the standing safety regulation as the country enters its annual smog season. While winter typically brings the worst pollution to China, due to a combination of weather conditions and an increase of coal burning for heating, this year it has reduced visibility to less than 50 meters. Citizens of China are traveling around wearing masks, and most public transportation has been forced to shut down for safety reasons. Last month, China’s cabinet released an action plan that aims to make a small reduction in the country’s heavy reliance on coal. The country hopes to have it below 65 per cent of total energy usage by 2017.
M
ontreal’s city councillor candidates for the PeterMcGill and Loyola districts spoke with The Concordian about how students’ concerns of employment and affordable housing would work into their plans if elected. Jimmy Zoubris, Projet Montreal’s candidate for the Peter-McGill District, in which Concordia’s Sir George Williams campus is located, spoke about the possibility of increasing the job market for students. “The main role of a municipal government is to create a competitive environment and establish certain conditions that will promote economic development and job creation,” said Zoubris. He ensured that Projet Montreal’s municipal administration would include youth representatives. “It is important for us that youth is represented and that their voice is heard. Decision-making bodies of the city must reflect the character of the city.” Zoubris stated the use of new technologies and social media will
be implemented to promote career opportunities in the city. To develop employability, he explained the city must continue to foster its links with training centres and stay involved with Hooked on Montreal. This organization, as it states on its website consists of a group of 30 partners “dedicated to work together and to keep youth and families at the center of their efforts to increase school retention.” Zoubris said that internship programs between the city and Concordia would be beneficial for both partners. Like Zoubris, Margaret Ford, Coalition Montreal’s candidate for the Loyola District, told The Concordian that establishing partnerships between the Côte-des-Neiges and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, as well as Concordia would have a positive impact for both students and the community. According to Ford, hundreds of students are already being hired by the city of Montreal and its local partner organizations. She noted it can be difficult to recruit enough students for summer jobs, where local job recruiting is often limited to posting a notice on electronic or physical bulletin boards, where they hope an interested student will stumble upon
the notice. “Regular contact and established relationships would provide students with timely information about job opportunities in their field and organizations with direct contact with potential employees,” said Ford. Discussing what initiatives can be implemented to help students financially, Ford explained Coalition Montreal is committed to keeping taxes to the level of inflation, which will have a direct impact on lowering rent increases. “Restructuring municipal services and re-investing budget surpluses into stabilizing infrastructure and transportation would also help keep the cost of monthly bus passes down,” said Ford. Steve Shanahan, Montreal’s Vrai Changement candidate for the Peter-McGill District, discussed making more affordable housing possible. “The city of Montreal has plans to make affordable housing for 30,000 families,” said Shanahan. “Every borough in Montreal should have a policy where 15 per cent of all development is for affordable housing. Students who don’t have any money could qualify for it.” In addition to affordable housing, Shanahan emphasized the impor-
tance of quality living conditions. Bedbugs are a current problem in the Peter-McGill district, which he described as unacceptable and is looking to involve landlords in addressing this issue. His opponent, Damien Silès from Équipe Denis Coderre, addressed the need to determine how to build more spaces for students to live in. “In Montreal we have 200,000 students, and right now there are around 5,000 bedrooms,” said Silès. Silès told The Concordian Vrai Changement has spoken with student associations and wants to work with them to acknowledge student issues and determine exactly what is required to build more spaces. “It’s possible to do anything,” he added. “But before we build something, [we need] to see if it’s possible to work with the students, to know what [the students] want […] The idea is to be able to mix the people who live here with the students, to see a better way to exchange ideas.” Shanahan, however, said labeling groups in Montreal is not productive. “We are all people who live in Peter-Mcgill and we all have to work together.”
Campus // neWs
Hall building’s auditorium gets a makeover H-110 is scheduled to reopen in the new year, as a completely changed space KeLLy DuvaL Co-news editor
published on Concordia’s website Aug. 27. DCP standards are accepted worldwide for distrib-
uting and projecting movies in a digital format. Bolla said Concordia is install-
R
enovations budgeted at $4.25 million for Concordia’s largest auditorium in the Henry F. Hall building are scheduled to be done by January 2014. “We’ve invested a lot in that building over the last few years and this is our biggest [project] at the moment,” said Peter Bolla, associate vice-president of Facilities Management. The H-110 auditorium seats 675, with a standing capacity of 723 and is often used for cinema projections. Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema students’ final films are projected in the auditorium and the films from the Fantasia International Film Festival have been screened there in previous years. The auditorium hasn’t undergone any reconstruction prior to the current project. “It’s a complete renovation,” said Bolla. “We’re changing all the seats, all the decorations, we’re upgrading all the equipment with new, fully digital projectors […] It’s a big improvement.” These changes will improve the venue for film festivals. New projectors and screens will meet Digital Cinema Package standards, according to an article
UnVsiling oF neW AUditoriUM CoMing JAnUAry 2014 Photo by keith rACe
ing more energy efficient lighting and ventilation in H-110. The auditorium is also getting an improved sound system, new carpeting and improved wheelchair access. “We’re also renovating the exterior of it,” he said, explaining why the area is boarded off in the Hall building lobby. Bolla said Concordia is currently working within budget, and the auditorium should reopen next winter or spring. Classes that regularly use the H-110 auditorium have been temporarily relocated to rooms in other Concordia buildings. The university has focused on renovating different areas of the Hall building, built in 1966, in recent years. “We’ve been renovating the Hall building as a classroom building,” explained Bolla. “Every summer, we renovate two classrooms.” Besides classrooms, some of the university’s larger auditoriums have been refurbished, such as the H-937 auditorium which was renovated a couple of years ago. The major project over the past two years was replacing the Hall building’s 17 escalators as well as adding new stairs and escalators. “We hope the users are happy with it,” Bolla added. In the coming years, noted Bolla, Concordia plans on renovating research labs.
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
5
event // neWs
Noam Chomsky tickets sell out in under an hour Chomsky comes to Concordia on oct. 26 to discuss neo-liberalism sLoane montGomery Co-news editor
saying he would be in Montreal at the end of October and that we would touch base soon,” said Bourbonniere. After a month with no word from Chomsky, CSU’s hopes began to dwindle but Bourbonniere pleaded to Chomsky’s team with one last email, and finally got confirmation in
early October. The topic of neo-liberal assault was chosen by Chomsky with regards to what themes Concordia wanted him to touch upon. Chomsky’s traditional work revolves around linguistics, philosophy, and critiquing U.S. foreign policy, state capitalism and mainstream news media. Bourbon-
niere told Chomsky’s team about the campaigns currently being worked on by Concordia students, such as the fossil fuel divestment campaign, the Anti-P6 campaign, the NSA and surveillance issues in addition to some more timely themes such as deregulation and the commodification of education.
T
ickets for Noam Chomsky’s lecture, “The Neo-liberal Assault on the Population,” went on sale at 1 p.m. on Oct. 17 and sold out all 400 seats that were on sale, at both the Sir George Williams and Loyola campuses, in under an hour. The Concordia Student Union (CSU) has been trying to get Noam Chomsky to come and speak at Concordia for many years. Former CSU executive Adrien Severyns put Concordia on a waiting list three years ago and reminded CSU’s current VP External, Caroline Bourbonniere, to get in touch with Chomsky’s people. In July, Bourbonniere enthusiastically called Chomsky’s assistant on behalf of Concordia. “I was persistent for a month and insisted that Concordia was an especially relevant community for him to visit and that we had been waiting for years. Chomsky finally wrote me back a personal e-mail from Geneva
ChoMsky sold oUt in less thAn An hoUr. grAPhiC by CAtherine Anne lAFontAine
Bourbonniere explained that, “given that all these themes are linked to neo-liberalism, Chomsky chose that title. The word choice of ‘assault’ was especially relevant, Chomsky will explain why.” Having Noam Chomsky come to Concordia is especially exciting given the university’s strong activist culture and history. Bourbonniere told The Concordian that the CSU team is thrilled and that it is a milestone for both the CSU and the university. “With many accomplishments, Chomsky is one of the most prominent intellectuals of our time, he has vastly contributed to the fields on linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, logic, activism and politics and has also written over 100 books,” said Bourbonniere. There will be a 45-minute question period at the end of Chomsky’s speech. The busy activist has another talk at the Université de Montréal that same night, so he will be in a rush to get some rest. Because of this, students will not have the opportunity to speak with him or to get a photo or autograph. Since the event sold out so fast, the CSU is in the process of trying to book the BMO auditorium for the overflow of students. The auditorium would be set up with a large screen where the talk would be live streamed.
student union // neWs
U of M students’ union in hot water with pro-life group JCCF claims the movement to revoke club’s status violates manitoba Human rights Code anna-LiLJa DaWson CuP Prairies and northern Bureau in Chief
S
ASKATOON (CUP) — In early October, the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) came under fire after a motion was proposed to revoke a pro-life group’s club status. The motion was proposed following complaints that the University of Manitoba Students for a Culture of Life (UMSCL) — a prolife students group — was expressing offensive materials, which included photos of aborted fetuses. UMSCL held a pro-life display in the Curry Place Pedway, a high traffic area outdoors at the U of M, on Sept. 23 to 25. “From our perspective, the reception of the display from the students we’ve encountered was an overall positive one,” UMSCL President Agnus-Mariae Lucas wrote to Canadian University Press. “We did come across some very upset people, however there were no violent reactions and no one approached us with the impression that they would make formal complaints.” At the Sept. 23 UMSU council meeting, a motion was put forward by a student at large to
revoke the UMSCL’s club status. Thao Lam, UMSU vice-president of student services, told CUP in an email that the motion was deemed a non-emergency by the council chair and was recommended to Student Group Promotions and Affairs Committee (SGPAC). The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) — a Calgary-based, donation-funded institution — sent a letter on Oct. 2 to UMSU stating that should UMSCL lose their club status, Lucas would press charges and seek a court order that the union cease its discrimination against her and other students. The JCCF cited the lack of definition for discrimination or harassment in UMSU Policy 2009 to lead to unsubstantial reasoning for revoking the UMSCL’s status, and referred to the protection all students on the U of M campus have under the Manitoba Human Rights Code in regards to political belief, association and activity. When reviewing the motion put forward by the student at large, the SGPAC referred to UMSU Policy 2009. The policy states that the “UMSU does not condone behaviour that is likely to undermine the dignity, self-esteem or productivity of any of its members or employees and prohibits any form of discrimination or harassment whether it occurs on UMSU prop-
erty or in conjunction with UMSUrelated activities.” The committee found that the UMSU Policy 2009 should be applied broadly and recommended that the motion be defeated. “The main debate was whether banning the group was an appropriate punishment for violating the policy. It was mutually agreed upon that the consequence of banning the group is more than the offence merits,” Lam wrote to CUP. Lam said the committee found UMSU lacking necessary policy to deal with issues of this kind. In response, SGPAC put forward two motions. One would require the council to meet with university administration “to push for a reconsideration of the review and approval process for public displays” and the second outlines a review and clarification of the policies that govern the revocation of club status and penalization of clubs. The initial motion was defeated at the Oct. 7 UMSU council meeting, however the two secondary motions were passed. In addition to the motions at the student union, Lucas said in an e-mail to CUP that the group was notified on Sept. 24 by Jackie Gruber, U of M human rights and equity advisor, that her office had received complaints regarding the
display. Lucas was never informed of the nature of the complaints. The displays shown by UMSCL were large posters depicting historical genocides and aborted fetuses side by side to argue that abortion is a violation of human rights. In an email to CUP Lucas wrote that the group had been planning the Genocide Awareness Project since May and had been approved by the U of M in June. The project is a part of a larger campaign which has been seen on campuses across Canada and in the United States.
In a press release from the UMSCL, JCCF and the Western Campus Life Network, following the last council meeting, Cara Ginter, vice-president of UMSCL, said that the organization was glad to witness the defeat of the motion to revoke their club status. “The display was a great opportunity to dialogue with students about the issue of abortion,” Ginter stated in the release. “We’re looking forward to continuing this conversation over the course of the year, educating our peers about this important human rights issue.”
UniVersity oF MAnitobA stUdents’ Union tried to reVoke A Pro-liFe groUP’s ClUb stAtUs. Photo FroM FliCkr by User ..tAnJA..
6
//
Tuesday, OCTOBER 22 , 2013
life
Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com
Technology // Life
Podcasts provide audio broadcasting on demand How mono to digital stereo changes the makings of radio Saturn De Los Angeles Staff writer
W
hen MTV first played “Video Killed the Radio Star” in the early ‘80s, no one knew how watching music videos would change the way we listen to music. Fast forward to 2004 when former MTV VJ Adam Curry figured out a way to download online audio broadcasts to his music player for his listening pleasure. No one knew his personal project would change the way we listen to the radio. In a wired age, “radio” shows can now be downloaded from the Internet. These shows are called podcasts. These little portable nuggets of audio are a blend of two words – the Apple iPod music player and the term “broadcasting.” A podcast’s length may be longer than your average MP3 track but shorter than your downloadable audiobook. You can find a podcast for almost any subject matter, any length, in any language. They can be repeats from a live television or radio broadcast, a documentary, a verbal show, even a music program. Unlike in broadcast, the episodes can be sporadic, and can vary on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Podcasts have been an essential ingredient in enriching our online experience of consuming and creating original content— from watching videos, to reading blogs and interacting with other people through social media. According to Paul Aflalo, there is a lot of great local material just waiting to be discovered. Aflalo is one of the co-founders of No More Radio (NMR), a Montreal-based podcast network. The network began its operations in 2011 after finding out that its former show on CJLO, called “Edge of the City,” was gaining more online followers than its radio audience. As a substantial growth in audience listenership developed, more original shows were added, ranging on various subject matters: arts, city life, local music and storytelling. In a phone interview with Aflalo, he explained that the transition from being in radio to being online was not too difficult. “The difference is that we miss CJLO, it was nice to have a studio set-up for us... but we also wanted to grow beyond that,” he said. Since podcasts are not broadcasted live— they are recorded, edited and distributed on various platforms—he explains that there is more opportunity to fix any rough patches in the production process. Another advantage to producing them is the creative freedom to air unique programs. “We don’t have commercial breaks, nor
advertisers where we have to appeal to them every single time. We work based on the content and creativity that drives us,” he said. It’s a win-win situation for a listener who can be really picky about what they want to listen to. He explains that, “It’s just not about how technology is changing, but it’s about how you can create better things.” As the popularity of podcasts continues to grow, the question remains on whether it’s here to stay. “So [where will we be] in ten years from now? I have no idea. In five years from now, I have no idea,” he said.
1) Welcome to Night Vale. Commonplace Books (Comedy/Music) Site: http://bit.ly/NightVale With new episodes twice a month in 30minute segments, WTNV talks about oddities and strange sightings of the fictional dark desert town of Night Vale, through the voice of community radio host Cecil Baldwin. It’s part-storytelling, part-commentary, part-music. The series has acquired a huge fan following over this past summer because of its creepily unique charm. Don’t dare listen to it while you’re out late at night. Just saying.
Five podcasts you should check 2) Snap Judgment. NPR (Spoout: ken Word/Music) Podcasts may be mistakenly known as shows that you can simply download and sync to your iPod or iPhone. However, getting them on your mobile device or computer has now become as easy as ever. Since online streaming has become the norm, you can find them easily on the web on sites such as TuneIn Radio or Podomatic. If you’re more of a road warrior, you can download a free smartphone app such as Podkicker (Android), the stock Podcasts app (iPhone) or specialty apps such as Mixcloud and Soundcloud to check out a catalog of shows to listen to. The best part is that it is absolutely free! And while you’re searching, here’s some interesting picks that you should check out.
Site: http://bit.ly/SnapJudgment With new hour-long shows released on a weekly basis plus hundreds of episodes under its belt, Snap Judgment reinvents storytelling in a very creative way by blending together music, creativity and authenticity, while having fun at it. Host Glynn Washington weaves together and navigates you around several real-life stories focusing on a central theme.
3) 99% Invisible. Public Radio Exchange (Storytelling/Design) Site: http://bit.ly/99percentinvi This podcast talks about design in all of its aspects and how it affects our lives in ways we don’t even realize. On an almost weekly basis, host Roman Mars presents
each story with his soothing voice and welcoming approach to design that encourages you to engage, learn and interact with it. The best part is that each episode is not overwhelming to listen to—with shows that range from five to 20 minutes each.
4) Daybreak Montreal Podcast. CBC Radio (News/Information) Site: http://bit.ly/DaybreakMTL Released on a daily basis all-year round, this podcast is an extension of CBC Montreal’s morning radio program Daybreak, hosted by Mike Finnerty. Just imagine yourself lounging at a coffee shop with the hosts talking about what happened in the day’s news, or how each columnists’ segment went on air; while listening to stories and interviews that aired on the live show. It’s a great listen if you’re travelling far away and need your local fix.
5) Wait, wait...Don’t Tell Me! NPR (News/Game/Comedy) Site: http://bit.ly/WAITWAIT This show is a successful cross-section of news, comedy and gaming done well. It’s also perhaps one of the few successful news quiz programs on radio today. “Wait Wait!” is hosted by Peter Sagal, and legendary Public radio newscaster Carl Kasell. Together they test three comedians on their familiarity with the week’s news. It’s a great panacea whether you need to catch up on news you’ve missed, or when you need a good laugh after hearing about all the bad news.
theconcordian
Tuesday, OCTOBER 22, 2013
//
7
Study // Life
If you’re happy and you know it, say thank you Study discovers that expressing gratitude makes us happier; YouTube video tests this out Jaimie Roussos Contributor
What makes you happy? Spending a full day in bed watching Netflix? Going out with your friends? It is an intriguing question to ask yourself. Here is another: when was the last time you thanked someone? Not for merely opening the door for you or giving you a loose-leaf paper, but truly expressed your gratitude and appreciation for how they have impacted you. This is the question psychologists asked themselves when conducting a study on the emergence of positive psychology. The study, “Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions,” gave participants several “happiness exercises” and questionnaires in an attempt to increase their levels of happiness and decrease their depressive symptoms. One of the exercises was called “Three good things in life,” where participants were asked to write down three things that went well every day for a week. Another was “You at your best,” where participants were asked to write about a particular time when they were at their best and were told to review their story daily for a week. According to the study, the exercise that showed the largest positive changes was “Gratitude visit,” where participants were given one week to write and then deliver a letter of gratitude in person to someone who had impacted them positively, but were never properly thanked. The concept that expressing your gratitude will directly increase your happiness is what inspired the viral YouTube video, “The
Science of Happiness” by SoulPancake, who decided to put this study to the test. The video starts off by giving volunteers a short test to get an idea of their current level of happiness. They were told to close their eyes and think of someone who was influential in their lives. They wrote down everything about that person and why they were important to them. They were then told to call that person and read what they wrote about them. The subjects called friends, family members, and one even spoke about a college accounting instructor. After they had expressed their gratitude via telephone to their chosen influential person, they were given one more happiness test. It was essentially the same test the participants had taken at the beginning of the experiment, but the questions were mixed up and re-phrased. According to the results, the participants who personally picked up the phone and expressed their gratitude were significantly happier. The host, Julian Huguet, noted that the person who came in the least happy had the biggest jump in happiness. The concept is so simple, but at the same time, not something that crosses our minds very often. I sent the video around and asked people what their thoughts and reactions were. “I think it is indicative of our society as a whole where we just take things for granted, happiness included, and never look at why or how we got there in the first place,” said McGill student Robert Laurella. “Being grateful forces you to think about why you have a reason to be happy in the first place, and that gets lost a lot.” John Abbott College student Carine Chan agrees, “That was so cute, I started tearing
up,” she said. “We often don’t express our gratitude towards others not because we don’t feel it, but we just don’t think of doing it. It clearly does bring happiness in so many ways.” SoulPancake has since conducted other
experiments such as the correlation between happiness and success, looking on the bright side, and being kind. They continue to add videos to The Science of Happiness series and post their findings on YouTube, while encouraging others to test them out for themselves.
Lecture // life
This year’s Massey Lecture premiere gets bloody Lawrence Hill takes on topic of blood and how it impacts life nathalie laflamme Production manager
Diabetes, blood poisoning, blood cells, mosquitoes, blood doping, menstruation, bloodletting, blood transfusions, and Rh disease, were just some of the topics brought up by renown Canadian author Lawrence Hill, the bestselling author of The Book of Negroes, at this year’s Massey Lectures, which debuted in Concordia’s D.B. Clarke Theatre last Tuesday. The lecture, entitled “Blood: The Stuff of Life,” studies the effect blood has on people’s lives. “Notions of blood seem to run through all of my books, so the time seemed right to pull it all together and examine some of the many ways that blood influences the ways we see ourselves, individually and collectively,” Hill said. The first chapter of the lecture, entitled “Go Careful with That Blood of Mine: Blood Counts,” concentrated on the history of people’s knowledge of blood, the science behind it, and how it can bring people together, and also be their shortcoming. Hill interspersed originally presented facts with personal anecdotes and jokes. The lecture was followed by a short Q&A period, as well as a book signing. Hill spoke of fascinating and curious his-
toric events. For example, he spoke of the fact that George Washington died after doctors had performed bloodletting, meaning removing large amounts of blood, in order to help him get over a cold. He spoke of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis who, in the 1800s, was thought to be insane for believing that filthy medical equipment was the reason why many women were dying when giving birth (it was later discovered that they had indeed died from blood poisoning caused by soiled instruments). Hill also made complicated topics easy to
year’s first
understand by making great comparisons. In order to explain the way blood works, for example, he compared blood cell types to types of people: the white blood cell was said to be like a soldier at war, ready to fight whatever infection attacked. The red blood cell is like a bedmate, someone who is all giving, as it “kisses your cells with the gift of oxygen,” Hill explained. Many diseases that can be shared between people were also discussed. This included diabetes, which can be hereditary, and malaria, which is spread by the blood mosquitoes bring
Massey Lectures was held at Concordia. Photo by Nathalie Laflamme.
Photos by Leah Balass
from person to person. Hill also spoke of Rh disease, a disease where when a women’s blood type is negative while the baby’s is positive, the mother’s antibodies attack the baby’s blood. This can lead to many complications, including the death of the fetus. Thanks to Rh immune serum, which was licensed for use in 1968, and made in part from women plasma donations, this disease rarely affects people anymore. Hill mentioned many personal anecdotes, including his family’s struggle with diabetes, his personal experience with malaria, his parents’ history, and many stories about his youth. “I have always been interested in social histories. A social history of coffee or sugar, for example, will reveal much about history, commerce, social inequity, transatlantic trading relations, and politics. So why not a social history of blood? I find it a fascinating lens through which to contemplate who we are, and how we act. That, in a nutshell, is why I chose the topic,” Hill said The Massey Lectures, which were named in honour of the late Governor-General of Canada, Vincent Massey, have been commissioned annually by CBC since 1961. The aim of the lectures is to provide a radio forum where major contemporary thinkers could address important issues. Some past lecturers include Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967), Noam Chomsky (1988) and Michael Ignatieff (2000). The next chapter of the lecture will take place in Halifax on Oct. 17, then move to Vancouver, Edmonton, and finally conclude in Toronto on Nov. 1. The book Blood: the Stuff of Life, published by House of Anansi Press, is now available.
8
tuesday, october 22, 2013 Charity// LiFe
Concordia graduates give back with Foundation Amal
Five montreal chefs will compete to create an original dish as part of fundraising efforts for sick children sHannon PinDer Contributor
F
ondation Amal, a non-profit organization founded by Concordia University graduates, is helping the Children’s Wish FoundationQuebec West Chapter make the dreams of two kids affected by a life-threatening disease come true. Jade, a 6-year-old battling against a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, dreams of going to Disneyland and Miguel, 7, is fighting acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and wishes to swim with dolphins. To help make these dreams a reality, Fondation Amal will be hosting an event entitled “Délices au Pays des Merveilles” at New City Gas on Oct. 23, where five Montreal chefs will face off in a cooking competition. The chefs will each create their own original dish which will be tasted and compared by guests who will ultimately select a winner. Restaurant owners and chefs Adam Aspelund of Ludger Buvette Gourmand, Fisun Ercan of Restaurant Su, Sergio Mattoscio of Macaroni Bar, Antonio Park of Park Restaurant, and Alexandre Gosselin of Chez Victoire will be the highly-skilled professionals competing at the event. All based in Montreal they are also covering the cost of the ingredients for the event.
The goal for the night is $20,000, or $10,000 for each child’s wish. This is twice the amount of their June 2012 fundraising event, Sorbet et Pétales, which surpassed its $10,000 goal for the Leucan-CSN Summer Camp charity that provides holidays for families of children suffering from cancer. Fondation Amal has given itself a mandate to raise money each year for a different charity focusing on children with illness or disabilities. The foundation was originally the brain-child of Sherin Al-Safadi, a former MBA student at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business and current PhD candidate in the university’s neuroscience department. After writing up the business plan for the foundation while on a plane to Dubai in early 2012, she pitched the idea to three of her former classmates in the MBA program who became her co-founders. Most board members and volunteers range in age from 21 to 32 years old, many of whom have studied at the John Molson School of Business, and each bring their own expertise to the foundation. For many on the board, their involvement allows them to put a different, less capitalist spin on their business skills. “Not-for-profits, charities and very small entrepreneurial startups are not things I see often at work, in which I occupy a spot within the capitalist mechanism,” said treasurer June Svetlovsky, who works as an accountant at KPMG. “I wanted to
use my accounting knowledge for a positive reason.” Tickets for their fundraiser, “Délices au Pays des Merveilles” at New City Gas
FondAtion AMAl Will be hosting An eVent entitled “déliCes AU PAys des MerVeilles” At neW City gAs oCt. 23
YOU’VE GOT A DEGREE. NOW WHAT? Become an AIC-designated real estate appraiser. It’s a career that’s personally and professionally rewarding, pays well, HUK NP]LZ `V\ [OL Å L_PIPSP[` VM ^VYRPUN on your own or as part of a wide diversity of organizations involved in real LZ[H[L ¶ IHURZ PUZ\YHUJL JVTWHUPLZ governments, consulting and valuation Ä YTZ HUK TVYL >OPJO TLHUZ P[»Z HSZV a profession that’s in high demand. -PUK V\[ TVYL I` ]PZP[PUN VUSPUL [VKH`
Find out about how to become a professional Real Estate Appraiser.
on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m., can be found online at www.fondationamal.ca. Tickets cost $90 of which $75 is tax deductible.
AICanada.ca
arts
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
9
Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com musical // arts
Hormones raging in a ruckus of rock n’ roll Controversy-ridden since inception, Spring Awakening is brought to the montreal stage natHáLia LaroCerie staff writer
“I don’t care if you’ve missed shows I’ve been in, or if you miss any show of mine in the future; this show is the one to see,” Matthew Barker told The Concordian. Currently part of the cast of the rock musical Spring Awakening, the Concordia student echoes what most reviews have been saying about the production since its first performance in 1906: it is a must see. The play was written by German playwright Frank Wedekind, and was prohibited from the stage up until the beginning of the 20th century. Spring Awakening is the story of Wendla and Melchior, teenagers that undergo a sexual awakening in late 19th century Germany; a time of systemic violence and constrictive societies. The musical explores the burgeoning of puberty and the lives of adolescents dealing with issues such as suicide, violence, abortion and sexuality. Over 100 years later, these issues still provoke contention and controversy. “Many of the high schools we invited to attend the play declined because they considered it too offensive,” said Elyse Quesnel, a Concordia graduate and the play’s stage manager. However, she believes that these issues are
worth expressing. “Everything we talk about in the play [are] things we should think about and not things we should be hiding.” “There is lots of violence in society too. Art is supposed to be provoking and something that people can relate to,” added sound designer Marc-Antoine Legault. Speaking of sound, a fully costumed live orchestra directed by David Terriault presents everything from soft to rock-heavy songs, and lyrics that wholly convey what the characters are feeling. “There is lots of swearing and funny things in the songs, because that is how those adolescents express themselves,” said Barker, who plays Georg. According to Quesnel, the music was conceived to heighten emotions in the story, and they give power to the kids more so than the adults. The stage design and set are minimal, so the spectator’s attention is focused on the acting. The same is true for the costumes. They remain simple in accordance with the original play written in 1890. However, set and costume designer Anna Delphino used lighter colours on the clothes worn by the teenage characters, in order to differentiate them from the adult characters. Additionally, makeup and hairstyling is understated, highlighting the nuances in the
actor’s expressions, giving prominence to their emotional performances. Doubtless, it takes a lot of talent and passion from the young actors to perform in a musical which has already won eight Tony Awards. When Barker heard about the auditions for Spring Awakening, he listened to the soundtrack continuously. “I checked the original broadcast on Youtube, I knew I absolutely wanted to do it, so I picked my best song and I auditioned, and here I am,” he said. Another current Concordia student, Michael Mercer, said that he learned about plans for recreating the production three months before auditions were announced. “I saw the show in NYC when I was 16 years old and I knew that someday I wanted to do it,” said Mercer, who plays the role of Ernst. The outstanding emotional performances given by the cast of Spring Awakening is due to the fact that the characters are relatable. “I can definitely resonate a lot [with] my character Ernst, who is the young and affable gay one. I was certainly young and affable in high school, so I feel a lot of empathy for my character,” said Mercer. Barker, whose character Georg is a boy infatuated with his elderly piano teacher’s breasts, feels the same way.
“I can relate to him in the fact that I once was a teenager with a sex drive [that] I didn’t know what to do with. So for me he is a lot of fun to play,” he admitted. Spring Awakening directors Christopher Moore and Gabrielle Soskin (a Concordia graduate herself) have a lot to be proud of. They managed to perfectly blend comic and dramatic aspects. Some of the scenes make you laugh so loudly that you have to cover your mouth, others bring tears to your eyes. Although working with two directors might seem challenging, everybody is enjoying this experience. According to Mercer, Soskin and Moore really complement each other. “Chris [Moore] is taking the main reins and Gab [Soskin] is giving her insights where she sees fit,” he said. Barker added that, for him, it has been great working with Moore because he treats them like real professionals, not just students. “He gives us a good amount of responsibility while offering the freedom to do what we want, of course adding his input on whether it fits in the scene or not,” affirmed Mercer. The product of this full crew is a rich fusion of drama, comedy, music, and dance that is a thrill for the senses. Spring Awakening is produced in Montreal by Persephone Productions, and runs until Oct. 27 at Calixa-Lavallée Theatre.
eight-tiMe tony AWArd-Winning PlAy, Spring AwAkening blends CostUMed drAMA, ConteMPorAry dAnCe, And liVe orChestrAl roCk-MUsiC, CreAting A CoMPlete sPeCtACle. Photos by keith rACe
10 //
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
Burlesque // arts
Iron chains, golden tassels, and a lot of playing with fire edgy, sexy, and yet fun-spirited, Horologium offered up a night full of performance magic DaviD aDeLman Contributor
Only one outcome can arrive when you combine circus performers with sensual burlesque dancers. Trouble. The type of sexy, eclectic, mouth-watering, nail-biting kind of trouble that Cirquantique, a Montreal-based performance company, seems to have mastered. The playful protagonist, Catoo, is just your ordinary chimney-sweeper. But when she falls from the chimney into a lovely state of suspended reality, Horologium’s magic begins and right from the start takes you down a rabbit hole of erotic sensations and hedonist explorations. Especially when two hunks of men, dressed as a god of mischief and the god Pan, respectively, carry off Catoo, followed by a train of wood nymphs.
A mysterious woman walks on the stage, covered in a thin silken dark cape. Goldencrusted jewels crown her forehead like a tiara as she strides majestically down the stage. After several short teases this priestess-clad performer reveals what’s under her robe: bare skin imprisoned behind iron chains. Seconds later, her deadlocked facial expression transforms into one of freedom as she lifts the chains. Only the golden tassels covering her nipples remain. “My act deals with loss and grieving, basically the message being you can break away physically from something but breaking away mentally is an entirely different thing,” Sucre à la Crème, the first performer of the night to break the ice by going nude on stage, told The Concordian. Keeping the fires in the audience burning, the multi-talented Esmeralda NadeauJasso raised the heat in the room by a few degrees by emerging in a dark, ghoulish robe
and skeleton mask, touching, tempting and teasing the frightened Catoo, who stares at the audience with a look of unease and discomfort. Then the dance with death really begins as Nadeau-Jasso, the fire breathing, hula hooping, burlesque dancer/producer of Horologium is revealed. “I’m a fire-breather, and I always try to incorporate that into my acts,” said NadeauJasso. Pulling out a torch, Nadeau-Jasso slowly and seductively begins to blow off pieces of her clothes with fire, all the way down into her bra and panties. Forest nymphs and other creatures of the night find their way onto the stage, only to light a skipping rope on fire. Taking a leap of faith, Nadeau-Jasso bobs up and down through the fire; her bra and tassels have burned away and, throughout, Nadeau-Jasso conveys facial expressions full of liberation and self-accomplishment, as if triumphant over fire.
“Horologium plays on the notion of bringing out the characters of our subconscious. It’s a mind-opening sexual dream that explores the realms that each of us thrive to understand and experience,” she said, also admitting it’s not as easy as it looks to undress and jump through a rope of fire. Nadeau-Jasso told The Concordian that she enjoyed watching the process of how Cirquantique grew. “Originally, we were two people who wanted to integrate circus performers. Now our vision is to work with a lot of local musicians and to combine all forms of visual/ audial art into the most entertaining show ever.” Entertaining was an understatement. Playing live music was Montreal band Little Suns, who created an original score for the theatrical cabaret. Combining circus, burlesque, dance and music, Cirquantique took entertainment to a new level in Montreal.
bUrning Clothes, Flying trAPeze Artists And, oF CoUrse, lots And lots oF tAssels And PAsties, CirqUAntiqUe PUt on A tittilAting shoW this PAst sAtUrdAy night. Photo is A still FroM yoUtUbe
Film-art // arts
Life with Lennon, Warhol and Bjork is anything but ordinary Father of avant-garde cinema, Jonas mekas, exhibits his recorded life in film-art form tomer sHavit Contributor
I
magine your life was put in front of a camera for 365 days. Would it be entertaining or outright boring? Would others be captivated by watching snippets of your ordinary life? Maybe they would, if your ordinary life was that of legendary filmmaker Jonas Mekas, riddled with chance encounters with famed artists and prominent thinkers such as John Lennon, David Bowie, Bjork and Andy Warhol. Widely regarded as the godfather of avant-garde cinema, Jonas Mekas believes that our ordinary lives should be celebrated. This is the theme to his new Montreal exhibit, In Praise of the Ordinary, which showcases three of his film projects. Cheryl Sim, the curator of the Foundation for Contemporary Art sees Mekas as a “multi-faceted artist who sees himself as part of a continuum to a medium that is constantly evolving.” The first work, “The 365 Day Project” is akin to a video diary. Starting from Jan. 1, 2007, Mekas filmed a short
film every day of the year. The films, between two and 20 minutes long, are presented on 12 monitors, each monitor representing a month of that year. “You can walk through an entire year of his life in images, [a] testament to his practice of creating a visual diary or journal-like films,” said Sim. The second work, “First 40,” is a collection of Mekas’ first 40 films compiled on the Internet. At 91 years of age, Mekas is still discovering new tools. “He [Mekas] discovered the Internet 10 years ago and it became one of the dissemination tools he’s always been looking for,” explains Sim. Rather than these films being shown in a cinema, Mekas created an interface on his website where “the individual viewer can view one film at a time, rather than in a group setting.” A lot of the films revolve around Mekas’ relationships with fellow artists and celebrities: “the first 40 films he made feature celebrities like Salvador Dali, Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Sometimes it’s glimpses of concert footage or a birthday party [...] it runs the gambit of showing them in their artistic worlds but also in their personal worlds,” Sim explained.
The last work exhibited is Mekas’ full-length film, Sleepless Nights Stories, which follows the same theme as the rest of his works: an amalgamation of the encounters he’s had with friends and coworkers like Bjork and David Bowie, yet still managing to follow a narrative flow. “It’s also riffing on 1001 Arabian Nights. There is a kind of thread that keeps you engaged from beginning to end in the same way that Scheherazade kept the king engaged. It’s all different stories that are connected somehow,” said Sim. According to Sim, the Phi Centre is always trying to work with people that have done remarkable things and have a unique voice that the Montreal audience would really like to be privy to. “You don’t have to go to New York to see these things; you can stay in your own city. He’s the caliber of artist we want to bring all the time.” In Praise of the Ordinary exhibits, in association with Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, until Oct. 26 at the Phi Centre, 407 St. Pierre street. Many of Jonas Mekas’ works (including the full “First 40” film project) can be found online at jonasmekasfilms.com
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
11
exhibit // arts
So, a witch and a boxer walk into an art gallery Concordia graduate exhibits art that draws out elements of Filipino pop culture saturn De Los anGeLes staff writer
If you had a fond memory of home that you could recall, what would it be? Whether it’s moving from an old town or migrating to a new country, Filipino-Canadian artist Marigold Santos attempts to answer this question with her latest art exhibit, Coven Ring. The Concordia MFA graduate infuses elements of Filipino pop culture with witchcraft and boxing and hashes them into something completely new, with her own creative charm. You’ll see lovely, colourful, eye-catching artworks that reflect her own childhood memories living in the Philippines. “My work deals with the folklore of my youth before I moved to Canada. So I go back to that and I incorporate it with my Canadian experience,” said Santos. “There are also memories that are fictionalized when we tap into them […] we start to reinvent them and change them, to fit our own needs.” Some of these memories include a mythological creature called the “aswang” – a very scary schizophrenic monster of vampire-like origin that’s out to devour you if you’re out late at night. “If you’re a Filipino child, you know how it’s a method [by parents and elders] for social conditioning,” she said. “An aswang is a character that has multiple identities, and you can see that in my work.”
There is an illustration that resembles a headshot of a witch in the dark with only a flashlight underneath. Look closely and you see someone that resembles boxing icon Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao. Santos explains that in a conversation with her uncle as to why Pacquiao keeps winning boxing matches, her uncle told her that boxing champions carry an amulet around. “What was beautiful to me was that getting strength from a mere object that has power interested me [as opposed to training for hours in the gym]. That spearheaded the idea of boxing and witchcraft together.” The exhibit is sure to illicit curiosity and fun conversations whether you’re born in Canada or have moved from elsewhere. The inclusive nature of the exhibit shows just that. “When I create my work, I really am intentionally putting ambiguity into it because that provides many points of interests and multiple points of entry for a viewer to come in and experience it themselves and interpret it in their own particular way,” said Santos. The vibe from the crowd on opening night was very welcoming. From an unscientific estimation, there was a mix of locals, out-of-towners, and people from the Filipino community, all wanting to know about the stories behind each artwork. Santos was really enjoying everyone’s company as she skittered from one group to another swapping stories. It’s these conversations that she enjoys—in them she learns and connects. “I made lots of different [friends]. I think that
[it’s] great. You open up and make a dialogue, and have an exchange, and people have different backgrounds and different experiences. As an art maker you just want to have communication, and I think that’s what’s achieved,” she added. Santos further explained that not just as a Filipino-Canadian, but a person who has moved from one place to another, she believes that our heritage is important to who we are.
“Picking and choosing and knowing what you want to hang on to is important too. You have to be open to that, stay true to yourself and then love your surroundings. It’s a delicate balance you have to play around with.” Coven Ring is held until Nov. 24 at articule – 262 Avenue Fairmount West. A discussion with Marigold Santos and Zoë Chan will take place Saturday, Nov. 9, at 3:00 p.m.
sAntos drAWs Art FroM the “AsWAng” And MAnny PACqUiAo. Photo by sAtUrn de los Angeles
Cinema politica // arts
Eufrosina, the woman who fought her way to the top Documentary follows mexican activist’s struggle for gender equality oLivia ranGer-enns staff writer
“We are not a disease, we are not lepers,” Eufrosina Mendoza proclaims, as the camera focuses on her interacting with people on the streets. Mendoza knows how her people live. Directed by Luciana Kaplan, Eufrosina’s Revolution is a compelling documentary tracing the socio-political journey of Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, a young indigenous Mexican woman bent on proving herself in the realm of politics. The 90-minute rundown features Mendoza as a down-to-earth, humane person. Mendoza is there to stick with her people, to her customs, to her traditions. The entire affair started when Mendoza was denied participation in the municipal elections of her hometown in Santa Maria Quiegolani, because she is a woman. “In the middle of the assembly, some citizens came over to me and said in Zapotec that my ballots had been annulled,” says Mendoza, sitting in her garden. So Mendoza pulled up her sleeves and began the arduous task of convincing the government that a woman could take over. “I want to see the women voting,” says Mendoza as the camera locks in on indigenous Mexican women fanning their children or making tortillas over a small fire. The documentary is special in its subtle tonalities and lack of overt commentar-
ies. Without explicit narration, the camera showcases poverty and injustice. For example, we see a woman looking quizzically at a poster titled “el voto es libre y secreto” (votes are free and confidential), or a small boy looking far into the distance, over the misty emerald green hills. At other times, moments are fiery. People get annoyed, frustrated, and often you see people questioning Mendoza’s position. At a municipal meeting, a woman dressed in red exclaims: “I do my part and I am working myself to death!” Mendoza is a politician, however—and
a good one. Her catchphrase, “this is not for Eufrosina, this is for the indigenous communities,” strikes a visible chord among her fellow citizens. One elderly fan describes Mendoza as a force of character. “She is not spreading hatred. She just says let it be, let it be,” says the woman, clutching her hands in a darkened kitchen. The most endearing part of Mendoza is her honesty and transparency. When the Mexican government promised to build a bridge for her municipality but failed to do so, Mendoza gathered a group of builders and began the job herself. “The bastards!”
denied A PolitiCAl VoiCe by goVernMent, FilM trACes MendozA’s retAliAtory CAMPAign eFForts
she cries triumphantly as work begins. Or, sitting at her office, a run-down little room, she says candidly: “The reality that governments don’t help really pisses me off.” Indeed, Mendoza is quite cynical towards the government. “You go to a government office, and they stare at you because you don’t wear a suit and shoes,” she says. As viewers, we are confused: who are the “bad” guys here? Should we consider the Mexican government some sort of “evil”? Is the documentary giving us a balanced, nuanced point of view, or is the filmmaker paying too much tribute to Mendoza? Whatever the conclusion, the fact remains that the documentary is brilliant in its still shots, including beautiful portraits of saddened women, boys playing in the dirt and men crossing a square. There is a happy ending to this story. In November 2010, Mendoza became the first indigenous woman politician in Oaxacan politics, taking on the position of deputy of PAN (National Action Party). In December of the same year, Mendoza was appointed coordinator of indigenous affairs of the National Executive Committee of the PAN. Let’s not forget that Mendoza is also behind the Quiego Foundation, which promotes gender equality in the region of Oaxaca. Shrewd politician or wonderful activist, here’s to you, Eufrosina. Eufrosina’s Revolution premieres in Quebec as part of Cinema Politica on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at the D.B. Clarke Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Director Luciana Kaplan will be in attendance. Presented in collaboration with Ambulante.
12
//
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
theconcordian Book review // arts
From victim to victor, to Nobel Peace Prize nominee a review of the autobiography of the16-year-old Pakistani girl whose trials, and triumphs inspire many sHereen aHmeD raFea Contributor
L
ast year the Taliban shot a 15year-old girl in the head and neck while she was on a school bus with her friends and headed home. They shot her because of her strong campaign efforts for girls’ education. Malala Yousafzai survived the attack and lived to tell her story. Her life is narrated in her memoir, entitled I Am Malala, which was released earlier this month. The gripping book recounts her upbringing in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, her family history and the environment around them. Her father, Ziauddin, influenced her love of education, declaring when she was a child that “Malala will be free as a bird.” Moreover he was a strong supporter of girls’ rights and started a school in the valley. Yousafzai writes about him in an idolizing tone, making it clear that they were a duo, fighting for education together. She paints a thorough picture of Pakistan by describing its history and the chronological events that shaped it. Yousafzai also writes about the horrors of the Taliban’s tactics, from beheadings to burning buildings, which led to school closings and girls staying at home. While the Taliban feared education, Malala knew the pen was the best way to achieve peace and understanding. Supported by her parents, she wrote an anonymous blog for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban regime. She went on to appear in many interviews and a New York Times documentary. Yousafzai highlights her competitive nature, her hopes and her love of her valley. The picturesque mountains, breath-
taking scenery and the hospitable people are what she holds dear to her heart. One of the photos in the book is a painting she made when she was twelve, depicting different religious symbols and above them a handshake. This is her vision of interfaith harmony. Yousafzai loves her books and is proud of them. That is why she hated leaving them behind when the family was evacuated during an earthquake. The vibe of this five-part story shifts from positive to melancholic to resilient. At some parts it is a historical narrative and in others it’s made up of personal experiences and views. She quotes Pakistani folk tales, poems and sayings, blending both the histories of family and country. Yousafzai now lives in Birmingham, England, the same place where she was treated after her shooting, and describes feelings of homesickness and loneliness in her new home, made up as it is of a new environment and a different culture. Her recovery was considered miraculous. Her must-read memoir contains her championed message, that education is the way to combat terrorism and intolerance, a message for which she’s become the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Reading the book increases one’s admiration for this girl who’s endured so much, yet continues to believe in the power of communication. She is a part of a foundation called the Malala Fund, that works to provide accessible and quality education for other children world-wide, stating that it “believes that each girl and boy, has the ability to change the world and that all she needs is a chance.” Her world, the halls of her school, the faces of her friends and family, and the air around her come alive on page. It is a testament to an ongoing fight against extremism and the liberation of those struggling under its ruthless grip.
MUSICIANS WANTED Are you or someone you know a musically talented Concordia student? Do you know a cool Montreal venue/bar with a great in-house act ? If so, The Concordian wants to showcase our unknown and underrated local talent. Write to: music@theconcordian.com
music
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
13
Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com
Profile // musiC
Krewella climbs the charts the Chicago-based trio embark on their sold-out world tour JonatHan CoHen Contributor
In today’s rapidly evolving pop culture, artists need to be versatile in order to make it big. It isn’t about being solely a musician, a painter, or a singer anymore; today, you need to be perfect. Electronic trio Krewella has seized that mentality with a perfect score. Climbing to the number one spot last week on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play Songs list, the eclectic electro-punk trio has been surprising the world on all fronts. Known best for their singles, “Alive” and “Live For The Night,” Krewella has flowed through the mainstream airwaves and has generated over 18 million views on Youtube and garnered well over 175,000 subscribers. With Columbia Records backing them, they have ventured on numerous world tours and have played at some of the most prominent music festivals, such as Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles, Ultra Music Festival in Miami as well as the infamous Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. The Chicago-based team has also collaborated with a variety of producers and DJs such as Montreal electronic duo Adventure
Club, as well as other big name players like Hardwell, Nicky Romero, Skrillex, Zedd, and Knife Party. With their brand new top-charting album Get Wet, the trio have embarked on a completely sold out 55-day world tour. The band itself consists of three members, Jahan Yousaf, Yasmine Yousaf, and Kris Trindl. All three play a crucial role in the success of the “Krew.” Yasmine and Jahan are the lead vocalists as well as the DJs for the live performances and Kris is the “behind-the-scenes” producer. “The dynamic is really important for the infrastructure of Krewella,” said Jahan. “There was a point when we knew we needed to drop everything for the band. At the time, we were working simple jobs and my sister was in college. When we knew that this is what we wanted to do with our lives, we dropped the entire world in order to devote our time.” Two years later, their single “Alive” hit mainstream airwaves. When asked about how underground artists should attack the world in order to get exposure, Jahan advised not to “follow in anyone’s footsteps. Maybe analyze them to better yourself, but your path needs to be unique and organic.” She added, “the infrastructure that you build over years of being an artist is what
makes you who you are artistically and that is unique for all [artists] who have made it big. Just be you and people will follow.” Their latest album truly exemplifies this concept, especially with tracks like “Human.” Although the band is known for their upbeat and positive music, this song is very deep and emotional, unlike the rest of the album. For artists, it is necessary to be versatile and Krewella has truly shown that through Get Wet; the album invokes a wide spectrum of emotions and energy and is definitely worth a listen. Krewella has been touring on their Get Wet Live Tour since the album was released on Sept. 24. They will be touring partially in Canada with Seven Lions, an electrodubstep group signed to Skrillex’s OWSLA Records. From their two EPs, Play Hard and Play Harder, to their new album, Get Wet, we can definitely expect some more Krewella masterpieces in the future. If ever you should feel like your life has been missing some excitement and adventure, a healthy dose of Krewella is definitely recommended as soon as possible. Krewella will be at the Telus Theatre on Oct. 24.
JessiCa romera music editor
>> Snoop lions, Snoop dogs and Snoopzillas... Oh my! Reinventing himself once again, the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg (and briefly as Snoop Lion) has renamed himself Snoopzilla. This change was prompted by the rapper’s recent musical collaboration, 7 Days of Funk, with funk musician and producer Dam-Funk. Back at the South By SouthWest festival in 2011, Snoop invited the funk legend on stage and ideas for the collaboration began to percolate. Their self-titled album will hit stores Dec. 10 and will feature appearances by Kurupt, Daz and Steve Arrington.
>> Probation and Narcotics Anonymous for Bauhaus vocalist After an alleged hit-and-run back in 2011, Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy has been sentenced to a probation period of three years. Murphy was arrested in California for “suspicion of causing injuries while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, hit-and-run driving and possessing methamphetamine,” according to NME. Along with the probation, Murphy will have to undergo random drug testing, attend 45 days of Narcotics Anonymous meetings as well as serve 10 days of community service. Murphy is currently touring California with Bauhaus for their 35th anniversary.
>> Christopher Wallace Way, Brooklyn, NY?
eleCtroniC trio kreWellA releAsed their lAtest AlbUM Get Wet released their latest on sept. 24. press photo. `
The Clinton Hill district of Brooklyn, NY is divided over the recent idea to rename a local street corner after Christopher Wallace, more commonly known as the infamous rapper Notorious B.I.G.. While 3,000 locals have signed an online petition to rename the street, the Community Board is less than keen on renaming the corner after Wallace. Some are troubled and turned off by the rapper’s drug and police history, while others like LeRoy McCarthy, the father of the petition, maintain that “Biggie used the language from the streets he grew up in to convey what he wanted to say,” according to Pitchfork.com. As of now, no official comments by Councilwoman Letitia James have been made.
14
//
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
top 10 // musiC
Songza: the future of listening to music? How pre-made playlists are changing the way we listen to music maCartHey LamBert Contributor
In 1948 the world was introduced to the long play (LP), more commonly referred to as the vinyl record. Prior to vinyl records, recorded music was not easily accessible for the general public’s consumption. As technological advances progressed, buying and owning music recordings became increasingly easier; songs and albums could be bought and sold worldwide. The compact disc was then introduced leading to a boom in music sales, which climbed steadily for subsequent years. Sean Parker introduced the idea of file sharing with Napster in 1999 which made music even more accessible than ever before. While you would think this wider accessibility would be positive, record companies and many artists reacted negatively to the notion that people could own recordings of their work without having to pay for it. Napster would eventually be shut down but its impact is still felt today in the numerous file-sharing services scattered across the Internet.
It is arguable that with the handy invention of smartphone music playlist applications like Songza or 8tracks, the necessity to compile our own mixtapes or playlists has disappeared. Songza allows for the easy discovery of new music with thousands of pre-made musical selections and compilations to suit our individual moods or activities. These apps have so many different options for music and are constantly updating their repertoire; this is required with outrageous amounts of new music being created. Despite all of the positive aspects of these apps, they are not perfect— you have a limit to songzA And 8trACks boAst thoUsAnds oF PreMAde PlAylists. FliCkr CreAtiVe CoMMons (MAtt hUrst). the amount of songs you can skip—which depending on your requires the use of data, which doesn’t ture of how we listen to music, or will it playlist could mean a lot of forced lis- make it fully accessible to everybody. become just another music app that we tening to less preferred artists, and it Will Songza and 8tracks become the fu- used to know?
Quick Spins
Cults – Static (Columbia Records; 2013)
Chevalier Avant Garde – Resurrection Machine (Fixture Records; 2013)
Black Milk – No Poison, No Paradise (Computer Ugly Records; 2013)
The Avett Brothers – The Magpie and the Dandelion (Republic Records; 2013)
Following the end of the duo’s four-year romantic relationship, singer Madeline Follin and multi-instrumentalist Brian Oblivion decided that Cults should not suffer due to the split. Instead, the ex-lovers channeled the tension to create their sophomore album, Static. Despite co-producers, Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend) and Ben Allen (Gnarls Barkley) overlooking the production, Static lives up to its name. Though Follin’s vocals are more confident and the overall sound is bigger and more layered, the band relies too heavily on the same retro ‘60s power-pop influence introduced in their 2011 self-titled debut. Unfortunately, unlike their debut, this album lacks a standout hit-single like “Go Outside” to support it. Ultimately, Static lazily suffocates itself in the mid-tempo, neo-psychedelic haze that it creates.
Dreamy and synth heavy, Montrealbased duo Chevalier Avant Garde dropped their second full-length album Resurrection Machine on Sept. 10. From the peppy indie-pop synth beats of opener “Nowhere,” to the ominous sounds of “Temenos,” the whole album has an abstract feel to it. Resurrection Machine is dripping with shadowy reverberations and ghost-like vocals; on tracks like “It Was Me,” the vocals are detached, hazing into another astral plane. Chevalier Avant Garde layer guitarwork over their signature ethereal vocals in tracks like “It Makes Me Crawl” and “When We Meet.” With their official album launch at this year’s edition of POP Montreal, Resurrection Machine proves to be an altogether melodic and celestial experience.
Black Milk’s music has always been pretty serious and No Poison, No Paradise is no different. Definitely a very personal album, Black Milk moves in a different direction this time after his previous album — aptly named Album of the Year — by leaving his partying days behind. Confronting his heavily religious upbringing and desires for a different lifestyle, each track is packed with reflection and frustration. Melodically, the album is amazing and complex. He doesn’t fall back on beats, but instead bends and twists new ones keeping his usual soulful organ and choir, while throwing in a couple heavy beats and contrasting floaty synth lines. No Poison, No Paradise is definitely an album worth playing more than once: the more you listen, the more you get out of it.
After teasing fans with the single “Another is Waiting,” released this past August, the Avett Brothers finally dished out their latest album, The Magpie and the Dandelion on Oct. 15. Striking while the iron is still hot—barely a year has passed since their previous album The Carpenter hit store shelves—the group emerges with a noticeably evolved sound. Boasting a more balladriddled track list, the collective exhibits a more subdued, mature style, reflecting on their growing seniority as a tried-and-true folk-rock band. In opting for “swoon” over “stomp,” The Avetts convey an impressive degree of reflective intimacy, backed by a consistent stream of quotably clever lyrics. While The Magpie and the Dandelion possesses the usual eclectic bevy of musical styles notorious to the group, the tracks are blanketed by an all-encompassing folky maudlin vibe.
Trial Track: “Monday’s Worst” Trial Track: “I Can Hardly Make You Mine”
5.5/10
- Paul Traunero
Trial Track: “Return”
8/10
Trial Track: “Good To You”
- Jessica Romera
8.5/10
-Maddy Comi
8.5/10
-Victoria Kendrick
the zombie special
The 5th annual zombie apocalypse walk overruns Montreal Photo by Keith Race
Groaning undead eat their way through the streets miCHeLLe GamaGe staff writer
I
t started, as most zombie apocalypses do: on the metro. A dead stare here, some ragged clothes there, some blood dribbling down the little boy’s chin in the corner. Fortunately for the living the transiting zombies weren’t a sign of end times; just the Roussel family heading to the Montreal Zombie Walk at Place Des Festivals on Saturday. The Montreal Zombie Walk is an organized public gathering where participants walk around dressed as zombies. The first official “zombie walk” happened in October 2003 in Toronto. After an exponential gain in popularity for zombies during the mid-tolate 2000s, zombie walks began to emerge
around the world. Montreal finally decided to host its own in 2009, drawing in larger and scarier crowds with every coming year. Stepping off the metro and into a crowd of moaning, shrieking and groaning undead was enough to put me on edge, but three-month-old Romy Langevin stared out at the crowd unbothered as her zombie dad tried to eat her brains. “She just loves to be in the baby carrier,” said Pascal Langevin, fitting the zombie teeth soother back into his daughter’s mouth. Everyone, even kids, are welcomed at the walk. Another first-time walker was surveying the zombie horde from atop a small hill. “I can’t wait to send a picture of myself to my daughters in Italy,” said tourist Lory Mondani, gesturing to her zombified face. It goes without saying that dressing up is highly recommended. “I am crazier than them, for sure. They would never be so brave to come here and do what I am doing now.” Her daughters would no doubt also be impressed with
the level of creativity and dedication some zombies put into their looks, she added. All participants can be “zombified” at the on site make-up tent from noon to 3:00 p.m. at the cost of $15. Amidst the 1,500-something strong zombie horde just one hero stood tall. Deputy Rick Grimes rode his horse Spirit through the crowd, unphased by the undead packed close around him. Always the zombie hunter and never the hunted, Charles Colnet is a three-year veteran of the Montreal Zombie Walk. “The first time I was a cowboy and then the second, and now the third, time I [am] the sheriff,” said Colnet, adding each year he tries to add new accessories to keep his costume original. This year the sheriff backpack he built himself was playing the sound of Spirit’s hoofbeats as he galloped off into the crowd, only pausing for quick fan photos along the way. But he wasn’t the only Walking Dead character around. My favourite costume of the day was Michonne, walking like a
badass with her two armless and jawless zombies chained to her side. Eventually the zombies lurched off in a similar direction as the walk got underway around 3:30 p.m. Bothered by the screaming walkers, I decided to head for higher ground after an undead bride started chewing on my hair and muttering how I looked good enough to eat. But that just meant I had zombies clawing at my ankles and screaming “brains” as they reached up towards me and my camera while I stood on top of a cement pylon. A guy with an “I’ve-seen-this-all-before” expression walked past with a picket sign that read, “The End Is Nigh,” and surrounded by screeching and twitching undead, I couldn’t help but agree. The only upside to my imminent doom was seeing Colnet still charging through the crowd and noticing the one guy who dressed up as an elephant to photobomb the zombies waving up at me. With files from Sabrina Giancioppi
16
//
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
Zombies paint the town red...
Photos by Keith Race
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
17
with tons of fake blood
Photo by Miichele Gamage
Photo by Miichele Gamage
Photo by Miichele Gamage
Photo by Nathalie Laflamme
My Saturday spent in the life of a zombie the groans and moans that go into getting ready for the walk JaDe aDams staff writer
Waking up tired from staying up a bit too late on Friday night, I felt like I was already getting into character for the zombie walk. Though I had intended to plan a costume days earlier, I looked through my drawers, found some clothes I had been meaning to mend, and decided that they would become part of my zombie costume. I remembered I had a pair of black tights and a t-shirt that I had been intending to
get rid off, but instead made into my outfit for the zombie walk. Since the clothes were a little plain, I smeared on some skin and blood makeup from the dollar store, sprayed on a little too much hairspray, and applied excessive amounts of dark eye makeup. I added some old running shoes, a headband, and a stopwatch so I could build my character: a zombie jogger! Finally, within an hour and with under $10 spent on a costume, I had gone from half asleep morning zombie to a blood covered, flesh-eating zombie. On my way to the metro to meet up with friends, I got a few weird looks, but was also greeted by some little kids waving at me, and chanting, “Zombie! Zombie!� The looks and interest in my new zombie look continued until we reached the thousands of other zombies hanging around Place des
Festivals. Here, my friends and I found our kin. Until the walk started, we spent our time checking out all of the other costumes, and trying to figure out where and when the walk would start. Though it was supposed to start at 3:00 p.m., everyone started slowly trudging down de Maisonneuve around 3:30 p.m.. As more and more zombies poured into the streets, we were all slowed down by the hundreds of cameras. It took a while before the flashes slowed, but soon the hoards of zombies spilled out onto the street to walk at a more leisurely pace. This was when the real fun started. Instead of posing for pictures, groups of zombies began to moan, climb scaffolding, and bang on the windows of buildings, bus booths, and phone booths. Unknowing citizens both on the streets and in buildings, could surely hear
the cries of the undead from blocks away, while others looked down from their hotel rooms to see thousands of zombies reaching up towards them with bloody hands. Even as a zombie myself, some of my undead associates were really giving me the creeps. More than a few times, I would look to my side to see someone with rotting flesh and blood staring at me as they lurched forward. Just like reading books about zombies or watching movies, the scariest thing about a hoard of zombies is their sheer numbers, and the resemblance zombies maintain to their once living selves. Throughout the walk, I saw zombie nurses, doctors, postal workers, business executives, and families. In contrast to other figures of horror, the zombie really could be anyone, including someone you once knew or loved.
18
//
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
Zombie apocalypse level: hide-and-seek top 10 places to hide in montreal when zombies attack GeorGe menexis staff writer
Y
ou would be ill informed if you said it was nonsense and perhaps ill advised if you still haven’t taken the necessary precautions when it does come. Despite the fact that it may seem childish and untrue, it is only a matter of time before the zombie apocalypse does terrorize our planet. Now, we may still have some time, but like many fearful Americans during the Cold War, we too should take exaggerated precautions to survive our most dangerous war yet. For now, here is a list of the 10 best places to hide and survive when the zombie apocalypse hits Montreal.
1. Prison Yes, maybe I have been watching too much of The Walking Dead, but who are you to judge? It’s an excellent simulation of what our world would become when subjected to these ruthless beings. That being said, I think a prison camp, such as the one on Montreal’s North Shore, would be a good place to shotgun. The already established high security as well as access to food and water, and more importantly, heavy artillery, heighten your chances of survival.
2. Costco If you asked 100 people where they would hide during a zombie apocalypse, 98 would say Costco. They make a valid point. Costco is a vast market that sells basically anything you would need to live there permanently — survival 101. However, it may be easy for zombies to gain access to the lower floors. Therefore, I would suggest building a fortress with all of your necessary products on one of the shelves, like Dane Cook and his buddies did in the mediocre comedy, Employee of the Month.
3. Wal-Mart Similar to Costco, Wal-Mart would also be an excellent place to settle when the worst comes. As an avid zombie connoisseur, I’m ready to take it a step further: Wal-Mart in Plattsburg, New York. Why there? Well, Plattsburg is home to the closest Wal-Mart south of the border. Let’s be honest, if you were trying to survive something as dangerous as zombies, you’d probably want to be in an American Wal-Mart, where access to food and necessities is doubled. And let’s not forget guns, lots of guns.
4. Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport. The mere size of the airport is enough to make it a gem of a hiding spot. There is access to food, as well as weapons and ammo taken from the numerous security guards. However, what I really like about the airport is the diversity in hiding. If ever you need a plan B, you can simply find refuge in an abandoned airplane, hide in the cockpit, and use tramcars for occasional food and ammo runs.
5. Police Station Please be warned: not all police stations would be suitable for zombie survival. For starters, most are badly located in the busiest parts of town and might already be infested beyond cleansing. That being said, a welllocated police station would be a good place to start. Guns would be at hand, as well as other weapons, and in times of serious desperation, when all hope seems lost, you can lock yourself up in the mini-prison cell they have in most stations and fight your way out safely from there.
6. Hall Building This is the only valid reason to go back to school during a zombie takeover. This 13floor massive structure on de Maisonneuve St. can be an ingenious spot if necessary steps are taken to make it impenetrable. First, block all access to the higher floors however you can. Then, proceed to take the elevator to the highest floor with all of your necessities. Make your home there, while making sure you find a way to keep the elevator on your floor. When runs are necessary, take the elevator down cautiously.
the top floor, preferably. Also, you’ll have access to the wonderful cinematic experience Guzzo offers while blood-thirsty zombies are at your doorstep looking for your head.
8. McDonald’s playground This may seem like an odd suggestion at first, but think of the possibilities: barricading yourself in this glass room, climbing on top of the jungle of fun and having a 360degree view of your surroundings. Nothing says “safe” like having eyes everywhere, and that’s what McDonald’s can give you. They also have fries.
9. St. Joseph’s Oratory Considered one of the most majestic structures in Montreal, the oratory is advantageous to the hider for many reasons. First, it’s situated on a hill, making it difficult for slow moving zombies to get there. Also, if in possession of a sniper, which I suggest, the dome of the oratory offers an excellent shooting point for some long distance zombie killing. With adequate barricading at key points, the oratory would be an excellent stronghold for quite a few people.
7. Cinemas Guzzo – Marché Cen- 10. Laval tral Simple, because What’s unique about this particular movie theatre is that it’s on a second floor. The only way to access it is through escalators at the front of the theatre. In similar fashion to the Hall Building scenario, block off the entrance completely. You then have a few options, like making a home in one of the movie rooms, on
nobody likes going to
Laval. Nobody. Please make sure you print this out and hold a copy at all times. The time has come for mankind to defend itself against its biggest foe yet. Let’s make sure we’re prepared, and let the games begin!
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
19
A fictional scenario: When zombies attack Concordia Do not panic. We would totally survive a zombie apocalypse. You are sitting in class, waiting for the professor to hand back your assignment: the one you spent hours tweaking with coffee and peppermint tea until someone bangs on the door. You keep your eyes down on your paper and wait for your neighbour to get up. They scream. A zombie’s bit them. Next thing you know a horde of biters shuffle into the classroom and start attacking peers, chewing their faces off. You slip out the back door and dodge the walkers in the hallway. Hopefully, you aren’t stuck on the tenth floor so you manage to get out of the Hall Building. Now what? City outbreaks are the worst. Car alarms are blaring. People are running and fending off zombies with their backpacks and trying to climb up on the rooftops, but the staircases around campus are blocked off.
Just keep your head on a swivel. The Walking Dead have their prison; you’ve got The Grey Nuns Residence. The residence can house over 200 students and is protected by an iron fence. You can use the park to grow your own sprouts and microgreens year-round, and the desks and chairs and bookcases to arm up and prepare for a zombie ambush. There are even kitchenettes with coffee makers if anyone happens to raid out Tim Hortons on the way. Fighters, go for the brain. If you can’t fight, bang on the fence to distract the undead. “Stay tight, hold formation no matter how close the walkers get,” says Rick (S.3 Ep.2). “If anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down.” Believe it or not, Concordia University has prepared us to survive through a zombie apocalypse. Most of the engineering students, the good ones anyways, will be an asset to the team. How many times do the lights go off when they are most needed? Electrical engineers will keep our residence up and running 24/7. Mechanical engineers are the masters of
momentum, energy and heat transfer. “Do you need a flamethrower? Do you need a machine gun? With their knowledge, mechanical engineers are weapons of destruction,” says Hao Yin, an electrical engineer. English and History students wouldn’t be entirely useless so long as they have read or seen any zombie-related material. Except Warm Bodies. You’re trying to survive, not fornicate. Unless you stopped by the Queer Concordia office and got some free condoms. Remember kids: zombie apocalypse or no, practice safe sex. Andrea Sun, former student, says she would burn her books for kindling and dissuade the group from making “fatally cliché mistakes.” Students can also manage their stress under tight deadlines, and pull all-nighters. “I’ve learned to expect little-to-no-sleep, so I’d be great for things like night watches,” says Domenica Martinello, creative writing and English literature student. The exercise science department would
Poet's corner Zombie Students’ Confession By: Kevin Savard Up all night, dead by day, among the crowds, numbered me, among the masses, walking demonic snails, forget creative deeds. Zombie culture, yearning to be one among none, laptop, phone I’m a drone. Staggering, stale empty mind, Student zombie hunting brain, Mindless knowledge worth change, Graduated zombie, Searching unnamed tombstone, Now where’s my desk?
know how to treat minor injuries like sprained ankles. Maybe even have the courage to amputate an infected limb. Or you could just go to McGill and get a real doctor. We will need students from the greenhouse and People’s Potato if you want proper nutrition from our urban garden. Stingers to help fight back the zombie hordes. Psychology and biology students to keep ourselves from losing hope. Even philosophy majors would play a vital role because, let’s face it: zombies need to eat. Be a hero. Odds are you won’t last very long as a supporting character. Once the area is safe, you can claim your single or double bedroom, and start being suspicious of other survivors who want to be part of “the group.” Those who do not have their student I.D. cards will have to answer these questions: Have you been bitten? What is your major? “How many people have you killed?”
20
//
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
Super zombie band will turn your world upside down undead superstars return from the grave to put on one hell of a show
Zombies are usually droning slow-moving creatures; Mercury would be the liveliest zombie rock star them all. Honourable mention: Michael Jackson.
Jackson outgrew the whole band concept once he reached puberty. That being said, seeing zombie MJ perform the “Thriller” dance would be worth the highly inflated
JuLian mCKenzie staff writer
In the spirit of the Halloween season, The Concordian did some digging in musical graveyards and assembled a supergroup of the undead. Our ensemble is a four-piece set, featuring a drummer, vocalist, guitarist, and bassist to form the chilling and thrilling zombie band, The Macabre. The band members will give you smoother material, but will nevertheless rock out, and most importantly, will make you want to sing along to their music and repeat their tunes over and over again. Without further ado, we present to you The Macabre: Freddie Mercury As the frontman of Queen, Mercury delivered timeless classics with passion and excitement making it hard to not get caught up in any Queen song that plays. Being a zombie would hardly keep Mercury down.
price of admission. Jimi Hendrix Hendrix will give the band its rocking and psychedelic image. While Mercury will command the crowd with his presence, Hendrix will often steal the show with his guitar skills. Give him a few guitar solos and soon we’ll be debating who the greatest guitarist ever is: “real” Jimi Hendrix or “zombie” Jimi Hendrix. Keith Moon The drummer of The Who had a reputation for being reckless with the drums —amongst other things—yet his drumming will forever have a place in music history and opening sequences of the various CSI TV shows. If any of his limbs fall off from drumming too hard, he will likely keep on drumming and tape them back on during the set. It’s all done for the love of Rock’ n’ Roll. Rick James If you have to double take at his name, you probably haven’t watched enough of comedian Dave Chappelle’s sketches. The man behind songs like “Super Freak” (MC Hammer would later sample it for “U Can’t Touch This”) and “Give It To Me Baby,” James can provide background vocals and kill it on bass. He might also have the best stories to share while on tour.
Death and decay: our fascination with zombies examining the theme of death and the undead in music Justinas stasKeviCius staff writer
American poet Langston Hughes once claimed that “life is for the living, death is for the dead, let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.” But what about a darker piece of music, a more sinister sound? Musicians have been compelled to integrate the undead into their work for generations. From pop mainstays like Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” to genres that thrive on the dark and sadistic, such as black metal,
zombies are an element that music has not shied away from. To understand why musicians glorify zombies, we must understand why the undead captivate our imaginations. To do so, we must understand why the concept of the zombie exists in the first place. Society is meant to fear zombies. One possible explanation could be that the modern zombie represents what people fear most: becoming a brain dead and anonymous follower with no free will. The zombie would therefore represent the death of our individuality. They also bring up the idea of mortality; the ultimate unsatisfying ending that all things living must meet. Why would some of the most creative and individualistic members of the artistic community choose to conjure up such imagery? Music has often confronted many of the
most primal and relatable of themes: love, loss, freedom and of course, fear. By exploring what humans fear, musicians attempt to bring what is unfamiliar and uncertain to center stage. One needs only to look at Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie or Marilyn Manson to see entire musical careers based on the macabre as they attempt to walk—and sometimes completely step over—the line of the audience’s comfort level. By making the majority of listeners uncomfortable, these three veterans found a whole following of those who already felt misunderstood and on the fringes of society. Death has been approached in a wide variety of ways. From sad ballads about the passing of a loved one, like The Beatles’ “Yesterday,” to the uncertainty of life in its closing moments, such as “Searching for a Former Clarity” by Against Me!, songs about death
can be written by artists for therapeutic reasons, in tribute to someone they lost or as a welcoming to what they believe awaits them after death. “Music itself is an art about time, and every piece of music contains in itself the ineluctability of its ending,” said Georges Dimitrov, an assistant professor in Concordia’s Music department. Music, like human life, must at some point come to an end. It is an art form that is inherently and constantly changing. A musician must accept the finality of their song and may choose to emphasize its ending to highlight its importance. To use zombies in one’s work is to mock death itself by showing no fear in the face of limited time. By becoming what most people fear, these musicians transcend the mundane and enter the realm of the supernatural.
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
21
The Concordian has been bitten by zombie fever Why we chose to dedicate our issue to the undead Of all the ways the world could end, a zombie takeover is low on the list of probabilities. Natural disasters, global warming and nuclear destruction, all seem far more likely possibilities. However, popular culture in the last few years seems especially taken with the notion of a zombie apocalypse; which is why, in light of the popular annual Zombie Walk, The Concordian thought we would take this opportunity to explore the many ways the theme of the undead can be presented. We looked at how zombies have become a trend in popular culture, including films, movies and television shows, as well as how the idea of death and the macabre has become prominent in music. We created our own zombie band and explored our own zombie narratives through poetry and fiction. Members of The Concordian attended the Zombie Walk and recorded their experience as photographers and participants. Finally, we assembled a creative list of places that people of Montreal can go to in case of a zombie invasion. While we explored a myriad of topics re-
lated to zombies, we neglected one key subject: the zombie culture at Concordia. Slack-jawed students hunch over textbooks; eyes glazed, students sit in front of computers or their television sets; heads drooping, they sit in lecture halls; crookedly they lurch home from bars; hungrily they eye human flesh. Thousands of people might have costumed themselves to look as though they’d returned from the dead on Saturday, but if we look closely at ourselves, our habits often closely resemble those attributed to the undead of television, film and literature. All of us are alive, biologically speaking, and yet many of us lumber through life as though we were powered solely by some supernatural force that kept our limbs moving but our hearts still. As students we are overwhelmed with work, especially around midterms, which often leaves us listless (as outlined above). However, it doesn’t have to be this way. In any zombie conception there are always those who resist. We students must resist becoming zombies as a result of our school work. We are not dead yet, so let’s not act like it. We hope that this issue will allow you to look at different ways zombie-ism manifests itself in our culture as well as awaken you to your own zombie-ness.
Photo by Keith Race
Photo by Nathalie Laflamme
Photo by Nathalie Laflamme
and to give us the motivation and strength to kick undead ass. These songs may give you that feeling, that boost, and maybe even that sense of normalcy during the most dangerous moments of your life.
get to you, you need to keep fighting, band together with other real humans. Don’t approach the babies or the kittens as they are traps set to lure you into a feast where you’re the main course. They cannot control you.
1. “Zombie” - The Cranberries
5. “Sail” - AWOLNATION
OK, this is the first song that may pop into a lot of people’s minds. Whether you prefer the Cranberries rendition, or that of Ed Helms on The Office, this is a great song to open the scene. Zombies, zombies are everywhere. What is happening?
You’re still kicking zombie butt, but you’re getting worried. You just want it to end, and for things to go back to normal, but you cannot control that right now. So keep crackin’ them mushy skulls.
No. You’re not a quitter. Get up, you idiot. You’re a kick-ass zombie fighter. Buffy, Sam and Dean — they got nothing on you and the supernatural. You’re determined to get your life back. You “don’t want to follow death and all of his friends.” 9. “The Rapture” - Echoes
Top 10 zombie survival songs Compiled by Casandra De Masi
S
o, the zombies are taking over and all you have is your iPod — or music player of your choice — to keep you company. We all have those ideal songs we would go to in order to block out the moaning and groaning,
6. “Midnight City” - M83 2. “Move Bitch” - Ludacris So, now you start realizing that people are really getting aggressive and all up in your personal space, trying to eat your brains and whatnot. You’re not down with this. No way. It’s time to rustle some bones.
Warm Bodies anyone? It’s nighttime now, and you’re perusing the dangerous and barely-lit streets, the sounds of screaming can be heard over your music. You walk cautiously. 7. “The Funeral” - Band of Horses
3. “Radioactive” - Imagine Dragons This is it. You realize that it is do or die, and shizz is getting real — real scary. This is where you start using the rules that Zombieland taught you. Double Tap, always remember the Double Tap.
It’s dark, cold and you’re alone. You’ve been separated from all your friends and family as well as your cat, who was bitten and you’re pretty sure is responsible for most of the epidemic. You knew Misfits was educational. You’re close to giving up.
4. “Uprising” - Muse Don’t let them fat-cat corporate zombies
8. “Death and All of His Friends” - Coldplay
You walked into the wrong part of town. You’re completely surrounded. You see your aunt Janie, your best friend Morgan, and your mom — she’s holding Mr. Pickles, your zombie feline. They are coming in from all angles, you cannot escape. You’re out of ammo. This is it. 10. “L’Absente” - Yann Tiersen You’ve been bitten. You tried your best and there was nothing you could do. You were impossibly surrounded and now you must wait to see what happens. Life is slowly being taken away from you as you join the crowd of moaning, groaning, and decaying flesh. Your life flashes before your eyes and you listen to this song, its ups & downs, the highs and lows. Get the hell out of the shower. You’ve just spent an hour imagining a zombie apocalypse while listening to music, and you’re late for class. Your cat is acting really strange though…
sports 22
//
Tuesday, october 22 , 2013
Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com
Opinion // sports
Sports in the Showboating breaking unwritten code? News Tomas Hertl’s fourth goal against the Rangers causes controversy Andrew Davis Contributor Chris Cordella Staff writer
>> World Series is set The Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals are the final two teams in the Major League Baseball playoffs and will battle for the world championship. Both teams went through grueling six-gameseries, with Boston edging Detroit and St. Louis beating the Dodgers. It will be the second time the Cardinals have reached the World Series in the past two years and they will be looking for their 12th world series championship in the team’s history. The Red Sox will be in their third world series since 2004. They will be looking for their eighth World Series win in franchise history. The series starts on Wednesday night and can be seen on Fox or Sportsnet.
>> Sunday night basketball
It’s not everyday you get to see professional basketball at the Bell Centre in Montreal, but that was the case on Sunday night when the Boston Celtics took on the Minnesota Timberwolves in preseason action. The announced attendance was just over 20,000. The Timberwolves were announced as the home team for the neutral game but the majority of the crowd was wearing the Boston Celtics. This was the second straight year the NBA has come to Montreal.
>> Luck vs. Manning Everybody knew the return of former Colt, Peyton Manning, to Indianapolis in a Broncos jersey on Sunday, would be very entertaining and emotional. Yet another element was added to this game, when this past week Colts owner Jim Irsay told Indianapolis reporters that he thought with the team’s stats with Manning during his 14-year career with the Colts, that they should have had more than one Super Bowl Championship (Manning led Indianapolis to one Super Bowl Championship in 2006). This led to a media frenzy with Manning being asked to comment, but giving no response on the issue. The Colts organization honored Peyton with a tribute video before the game,thanking him for his great years in Indianapolis. Newest Colts quarterback Andrew Luck led Indianapolis to a 39-33 victory, giving the Broncos their first loss of the season.
Hockey fans everywhere have been talking about San Jose Sharks’ rookie sensation Tomas Hertl and his spectacular goal last Tuesday, when the young Czech scored a fancy, between-the-legs goal on a breakaway against New York Rangers goalie Martin Biron. It was the eighth goal of the game for San Jose, and the fourth for Hertl in what would be an eventual 9-2 win for the Sharks. The goal has received mixed reactions from around the hockey world. Although many people have applauded the display of raw talent, others feel that it was showboating and breaking an unwritten code of hockey ethics. Washington Capitals coach and Hall of Famer Adam Oates was one of the first to come out and say that he disapproved of the goal. “I’m upset. I was just talking to [Capitals General Manager] George [McPhee] and he said all the kids do that nowadays, which I understand,” he said, according to The Washington Post. “But would he have done it on his first goal? [If] he [hadn’t] scored yet [that night] and he gets a breakaway, is he going to do that on his breakaway? We’ll see.” “[...] This league, it will bite you if you’re not sharp,” Oates continued. “Don’t disrespect the league. I’m sure it was a rookie mistake.” Don Cherry, known for his hostile feelings towards European players and their “flashy” style of hockey, also gave his reaction to the goal on the Saturday, Oct. 12 edition of the CBC’s Coach’s Corner. Although he thinks the goal was hot-dogging, he feels that it was done unintentionally by a young kid who didn’t know any better. “If the score had been 1-1, we would have said ‘hey, what a goal’. [...] I’m going to say something about the kid. He didn’t know he did anything wrong. He played in the Czech Republic last year. This is what they do.” Last season saw young rookie sensation Nail Yakupov slide across the ice in celebration of a goal, and even this was too extravagant for some people. The celebration received a similar reaction to Hertl’s goal. Like Yakupov, Hertl has now made his name known to the hockey world, for better or worse. San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan did admit that his budding star’s celebration may have been a little over the top, but the celebration was understandable, given the situation. “The one thing he’ll have to learn a little bit is the celebration, but he’s four goals into a game, his emotion is running high, his mom’s at the game, the celebration was maybe a little over the top. I don’t even know how I tell him that, because he’s not going to understand it,” he said, according to Canada.com. On the other hand, there are other members of the hockey world that have no prob-
The NHL and Stingers hockey team debate about showboating. Photo by Rae Pellerin
lem with the goal, and think displays of talent should be applauded and encouraged. “Honestly, I think it’s pretty sad that a kid scores four goals and you guys are talking about the move he made,” said Vancouver Canucks’ goaltender Roberto Luongo, according to Cam Cole of The Vancouver Sun. “What did he do wrong? He made a play, and he scored. If he scored on me, I wouldn’t be pissed if he scored that way. There is no rule against it, so I don’t understand why people would get upset about it.” Luongo’s teammate Henrik Sedin also felt that the goal being seen as controversial is ridiculous. “What should he have done? Come in and shoot at [goalie Martin Biron’s] pads? I don’t get it,” said Sedin, according to Canada.com. “If he comes in and does, like, a one-handed Forsberg move […] what would have been acceptable? I’m amazed we’re standing here today talking about it.” Concordia Stingers defenceman Adam Nugent-Hopkins is on the fence about the goal. “I don’t really have a problem with the goal. It wasn’t so much showboating as it was cocky. There is an unwritten code of ethics in hockey, and you try to stay humble about these things. But it also puts a lot of pressure on Hertl. It’s going to draw attention to him, and it’s not going to make things any easier for him.” Nugent-Hopkins, however, shared Sedin’s views, saying it’s not Hertl’s fault that he had the chance to score. “He wants to score, that’s why he’s out there. Too bad for New York if you can’t stop him. They’re being paid millions of dollars to stop him.” Criticizing a young player for scoring is also very hypocritical, said McLellan. “If you refer back to 2005, the lockout year, our league, our players, our management
were looking for ways to find goal-scoring. Our fans want it,” McLellan said, according to Canada.com. “We’ve changed rules, we’ve changed the size of the net, we’ve reduced goaltenders’ pads, we’ve put trapezoids in, we’re taken red lines out, we’ve done just about everything we can to increase scoring,” he continued. “And now, a 19-year-old comes into the league and he scores four goals, can’t speak the language, doesn’t really understand where he is right now, and we’re going to criticize him for that? Not me.” Although the goal may have been flashy, that is not necessarily a bad thing. For a league that is desperately trying to fill seats in some arenas, displays of skill is what is going to sell the game. Kevin Figsby, coach of the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team, suggested that Hertl’s goal is exactly what the NHL wants. “I think Hertl’s goal was a thing of skill. I don’t think he would have used the same move if the score was 2-2, but I think the NHL is looking for those type of skilled moves, to sell the game,” he said. “In fact, I think that type of move would be welcomed at the All-Star Skills competition, rather than watching guys wear costumes etc. [or] during the shootout competition.” Hertl’s goal was seen on every highlight reel around the continent, even in places where hockey receives low levels of exposure. His celebration may have been a little over the top given the circumstances, but that is part of maturing as a hockey player. He is not the first player to go too far with a celebration, and he definitely won’t be the last. The play may have been cocky, but perhaps having more flashy goals and more outrageous celebrations in the league is what the NHL needs to sell the game.
Tuesday, october 22, 2013
//
23
Rugby // sports
Concordia off to the finals against McGill Redmen Women’s rugby team thump Laval in semi’s to win berth in championships, last weekend christine beaton Contributor
T
his past Friday night, the Concordia women’s rugby team secured themselves a spot in the finals against McGill by pummeling the Laval Rouge et Or 38-3 at home. The game started off slow. Three-quarters into the first half and Concordia only had two tries and one conversion up on the board, leaving them with a score of 12-0. Then, at 29:41 of the half, the lights went off at the Loyola field. It took 12 minutes to get the stadium lights back up and running, but Concordia could be seen through the dark running laps and working on their ball handling. The game resumed and Concordia came out with a vengeance. Laval put their only three points on the
board with three minutes left in the first half, bringing the score to 12-3. Less than five minutes into the second half, the ball was kicked towards the Laval try line and chased furiously by both teams. Unfortunately, Laval touched the ball down in their own zone, making the potential points null and stopping play. This gave the Stingers the motivation they needed. A minute later, the Stingers scored their first try that half. Alexandra Ste. Marie, the team’s kicker, lined up to take the conversion kick and the whole stadium went quiet. The silence was still there when the ball sailed through the posts and landed on the other side. When the flag was raised to show the conversion was made, the bleachers went crazy. Twelve minutes into the second half, another try was scored, this time by captain Hughanna Gaw, off of an impressive scrum that drove itself over the try line. There was
no conversion, but the score was now 24-3 in favour of the maroon-and-gold. Only five minutes later, another try by Stingers’ lock Jasmine Akkermans and an impressive conversion by Ste. Marie brought the score to 31-3. Shortly after, Laval was given a yellow card and the Stingers had a chance to add three points to the board with a penalty kick. Although the kick was not made, a try by flanker Cara Stuckey and a successful convert brought the final score to 38-3. “I was really proud of how we played [Friday] night, both offensively and defensively. Everything flowed really well, the communication was great and I think everyone could see that from the stands,” said Ste. Marie. She couldn’t have put it better; their scrums and lineouts dominated those of Laval, they pushed hard on defense and they hit gaps on offense that the untrained eye could never pick up.
Head coach Graeme McGravie couldn’t agree more. “We looked and played like a team that was playing to its potential.” Concordia’s win against Laval means one thing, they’re going to the finals after a completely undefeated season and a strong win at semis. “Our expectation is to win, I expect a very tough game from [McGill] and we are preparing this week for that encounter,” said McGravie. “Now that we’ve secured our spot in the finals we have to focus on perfecting every aspect of our game to prepare for our big game against McGill,” said Ste. Marie about their ticket to finals. “It always feels amazing to win a playoff game because you know your team is one step closer to the championship.” Concordia will play McGill on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Loyola. Tickets are $5.
Baseball // sports
Stingers lose Championship in solid pitchers’ duel Concordia baseball team fall 1-0 against hometown team Windsor Lancers last weekend Matthew Shanahan Staff writer
T
he Concordia Stingers baseball team were in Windsor, Ont. this past weekend for the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA) National Championships. Hungry to win the Championship, the Stingers went 2-1 in the Round Robin, earning themselves a spot in the semi-final against the Carleton Ravens. A 5-1 victory put them in the finals, leaving them in a matchup with hometown team the Windsor Lancers. The game had some serious hype from the very beginning. The game began ontime, shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Sunday night in beautiful Amhurstberg, about 30 minutes south of Windsor. The Stingers sent their ace to the hill, Brandon Berkovits. The Stingers’ faithful fans were very loud and showed as much support as possible. People were getting anxious very quickly, anticipating how this crazy game would end. The first three innings went by in a flash, spanning no longer than 30 minutes. It was also very exciting as the game went on as Berkovits was dealing a perfect game through five and two-third innings, when he gave up a shallow fly ball to left-fielder Roberto Zapata. Zapata dove, desperately trying to save a perfect game but he came up short and the Lancer hitter settled for a double. The pitchers of both teams were having the game of their lives and would pitch well into extra innings. “Berky pitched one hell of a game. He kept us in it the whole way through,” Stingers catcher and third baseman Matthew AdamsWhitaker said after the game. “He was just spot on. We couldn’t ask for anything better from him.” “Berky threw a gem for us. He’s a stud,” designated hitter Tim Riley said. “Berky was just unbelievable. He was rock solid for us all year,” Stingers’ rookie relief pitcher Sam Belisle-Springer said. “His slider was unbelievable, matching that [Windsor Pitcher] pitch for pitch. He gave us every chance to win the game and more than
that.” “Our team is going to be even better next of them.” Berkovits threw eight innings of shutout year. It can’t come soon enough,” said manThe Stingers will come back even hunbaseball in what he described as “the best ager Howie Schwartz. “It feels like we won. grier next year, expecting nothing but a ring game of his life” but it would not be enough. I don’t even feel angry. I feel great and these from the National Championships this time Windsor won the game 1-0 in a nine-inning guys played their hearts out and I’m so proud next year. affair that lasted close to two hours. It’s not that the Stingers had bad luck, but rather that they ran into a star pitcher who was just as good, if not better, than the Stingers’ ace. “He beat us. We were just overwhelmed with that [pitcher’s] stuff,” said the catcher Jean-Christophe Pacquin. “It’s just too bad that pitcher got the best of us.” “We faced some great pitching on the other end. Hats off to them,” said former CIBA pitcher of the year, Stingers’ pitcher Alex Kechayan. He also pointed that the offense deserved some credit too, “I have to give shout out to Zapata for that dive at first base, also for the effort in left field trying to save the perfect game.” However, Berkovits kept his head held high after the game, confident in knowing that he had given it his all. “I pitched my heart out. Movement was perfect. Location was dead on,” Berkovits said, “[The Catcher] Pacquin and I were in sync on the mound.” Berkovits also applauded his team despite the season coming to an end with a loss, “I could not be more proud of the team this entire year. I’ve never been more impressed.” After the game ended, there was no next game to look forward to. This was the end for the 2013 Stingers baseball team. It only left time to reflect on the great season that it was. “This team’s great. And we’re going to win next year, for Stingers baseball team falls to Windsor Lancers in CIBA Championships Photo by Kevin Raferty sure,” Belisle-Springer said.
24
tuesday, october 22, 2013 Basketball // sPorts
Basketball team falls to a familiar foe on Friday tough weekend for Concordia’s men’s basketball team, beginning with loss to ottawa Casey DuLson Contributor
After losing all three games at the University of British Columbia Tournament last weekend, the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team fell to the Ottawa Gee-Gees 101-76 last Friday night, despite a great performance by forward Mukiya Post. Post had 25 points in the game, which included three three-pointers. After back and forth rebounding by both teams after the Stingers won the tip-off, Post got the game’s first points with a three-point shot. However, the Gee-Gees’ responded with two huge one-handed slam dunks by guard Caleb Agada. After the slam dunks by the Gee-Gees, the team decided to shoot a couple of three-pointers, which the Sting-
ers could not defend. The score was 35-20 for the Gee-Gees after one quarter. The Gee-Gee’s scored the first points of the second quarter with another slam dunk by Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue, who was also fouled on the play. The Gee-Gees got two three-pointers by point guard Michael L’Africain. After the Stingers got four points, the Gee-Gees responded with another three-point ball by guard Mohammed Ismail. Post, who was shut down in most of the second quarter, got another three-pointer to get the Stingers their last points before the half. The Gee-Gees centre Matt Nelson got his only points in the game with a basket that ended the first half. The score at half-time was 56-42 for the Gee-Gees. The second half started with a GeeGees three-pointer by L’Africain. Forward Michael Fosu got the first Stingers point of
the half with a three point play (a basket plus the foul shot). However, the Gee-Gees went on three three-point runs as L’Africain and Johnny Berhanemeskel got baskets. There was some excitement for Stingers fans for a minute when Zander Jean hit a threepointer to end the quarter. The score after the third quarter was 84-59 for Ottawa. The Stingers got the first basket thanks to a free-throw attempt by Zach Brisebois, who ended up with 4-6 on foul shots by 10 rebounds. The Gee-Gees responded with a couple of baskets by forward Vikas Gill and L’Africain. Brisebois’ successful hook shot gave the Stingers another two points. The GeesGees then scored again with a couple of three pointers by Gill and forward Matt Plunkett. Post made a great play as he scored a basket backwards.
The game ended with the Gee-Gees just passing around the ball to kill the clock. The final score was 101-76. “We lacked discipline especially on defence...gave them too many open looks,” said Stingers head coach John Dore. Dore complimented the Gee-Gees’ play saying, “they’re [a] highly skilled and athletic team.” Game Stats: Ottawa was 50.7 per cent in Field Goal (FG) percentage compared to the Stingers, who had an FG per cent of 32.9. Ottawa also had 43.6 per cent in three-point shots on their 16 three pointers compared to the Stingers 30 per cent. The only thing Concordia won was foul shooting in which they had 72.2 per cent compared to 58.8 per cent for Ottawa. The two best players on the court were Agada and Post. Agada had 10 rebounds in the win. Post had 25 points.
Basketball // sPorts
Stingers lose six straight at home against Toronto Winless since oct. 4, stingers men’s basketball team look to next game against unB Casey DuLson Contributor
On Saturday afternoon, the Concordia Stingers played host to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, but lost their sixth game in a row 109-68. The game started off on the wrong foot, as the league did not schedule any referees for the game. However, the game was able to be played as two people with experience in refereeing were pulled out of the stands. The Varsity Blues won tip-off but the ball ended up in the Stingers’ hands. After great defence and rebounding by both teams, the Stingers scored first with a two-pointer by centre Zach Brisebois. Brisebois was fouled on the play and scored on the foul shot. The Varsity Blues responded with a couple of three pointers by forward Manny Sahota. Forward Mukiya Post helped the Stingers respond with a three pointer from the perimeter. After another two pointer by the Varsity Blues, Stingers forward Zander Jean got a three pointer and then guard Inti Salinas came off the bench and shot another three-point ball for the Stingers. The score at the end of the quarter was 25-19 for the Varsity Blues. In the second quarter, Stingers scored first on a basket by Fosu. After the Varsity Blues got a couple of two pointers, Stingers responded with a three pointer by guard Adam Chmielewski. The Varsity Blues struck back with a couple of two pointers. However, the Stingers responded with two three-pointers of their own, one from Post and the other from guard Jean-Andre Moussignac. The Varsity Blues then dominated the rest of the quarter. The Stingers did end the second quarter on a high note as Salinas had a three-pointer as time was expiring. The score was 54-39 for the Varsity Blues at the end of the half. The Stingers started the second half with the ball but weren’t able capitalize as the Blues scored the first points of the quarter. Brisebois got Concordia’s first points of the quarter and Fosu then got another two points. However, this was the only bright spot for the Stingers as the Varsity Blues kept on shooting well and driving to the
stinger’s Men’s bAsketbAll teAM Went 0-2 this Weekend As they droP six strAight gAMes this seAson. Photos by MArillA steUter-MArtin basket with a couple of easy layups. Salinas once again came off the bench to shoot his third three-pointer of the night. The score after the third quarter was 83-54 for the Varsity Blues. The Varsity-Blues got the first points of the fourth quarter. They then went on 10-0 run. Post got a two pointer and then on the next drive he was fouled after he got another basket. Toronto forward Denis Ankrah had a three-pointer, which extended the
Blues’ lead. Brisebois near the end of the game had a block shot that stopped the Varsity Blues from getting more baskets. The final score was 109-68. “It was ugly... I think we hit the bottom today because you can’t get any worse,” said Stingers head coach John Dore. Note: Stingers forward Josue-Smith Telfort left the game in the first half with an ankle injury. He did not return. He will have X-rays this week according to Dore. Five
University of Toronto players had doubledigit points. The most was by Manny Sahota who was their best player with 19 points. The Stingers best player was Mukiya Post, who had 16 points in the loss. Stingers shot 33.3 per cent in Field Goal (FG) percentage and in three-point percentage they had 30.0 per cent. The Stingers next game is next Saturday against the University of New Brunswick, at home.
opinions
Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
//
25
Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com editorial // oPinions
CSU executive has been doing a good job thus far High profile lecturers, successful orientation and projects under way; Csu has reins firmly in hand This year’s CSU seems to have everything under control. The fall orientation featured a number of diverse activities that benefited both new and returning students. Coffee and reusable coffee mugs were provided on a daily basis during a two-week period, the open air pub was largely successful providing food for meat eaters and vegetarians alike, as well as wide assortment of alcoholic beverages. According to what we’ve heard, complaints were few and far between, and this year’s orientation (especially in comparison to last year) was a hit. Despite rain, the Clubs Fair was well organized and saw a large turnout. So far the CSU has provided Concordia
with buzz-worthy lectures such as Anne Frank’s stepsister, Eva Schloss and Noam Chomsky. Furthermore, the CSU has a number of projects they’ve been helping students to facilitate, such as combating the P6-bylaw, tar sands and divestment and most recently they approved the addition of a fee-levy referendum question on the byelection ballot for the Community Food Coalition, assisting them in their goal to provide Concordia with more sustainable food options. If the start of their mandate is any indication, this year’s executive will be one of the best. Communication on social media about events has been regular and informative, although there is still much to be
desired from their website. The CSU initiative, the 101s, had to cancel some of their programs because of lack of interest, but it was well advertised and there was definitely more of a push for participants than in previous years. Although the bi-weekly Wednesday council meetings have been running rather long, a lot seems to be getting accomplished. Furthermore, the council should be commended for insisting on taking the former executive to task over their extravagant spending. Finally, if we compare the number of resignations and ineligibilities that plagued last year’s CSU, this year is doing well. So far the chairperson has stepped down
and Scott Carr, VP finance, was briefly ineligible due to a university administrative error, but otherwise the entire executive and council has remained the same. It’s a little bit sad that we should be so surprised by a council that functions efficiently, but we should by no means feel as though this is a gift. The CSU is finally doing its duty and excelling at it, but this should be the norm, this is what the Concordia undergraduate student body should expect and receive from the people it elects and pays. Hopefully this year’s executive will continue to earn the student body’s approval and not fall short of the expectations it has set by getting off to such a good start.
medicine // oPinions
Archaic medical tests have no place in Quebec Provincial doctors need to stop the practice of “virginity tests” tiFFany LaFLeur Contributor
One would think that in the 21st century, in one of the most developed countries in the world, society would be past such antiquated notions as “female purity.” This is apparently not the case. After learning of four cases in which doctors were asked to perform “virginity tests” in the past 18 months, the Quebec college of physicians is warning doctors to stop the practice. College president Dr. Charles Bernard has expressed his strong opinion against the practice, calling it out as being repugnant, irrelevant and unacceptable. “Imagine a doctor who does a gynecological examination with the sole purpose of … it goes beyond the imagination. And it’s degrading to women,” Bernard was quoted as saying in The National Post. Some doctors have admitted to giving fake chastity tests without examination in order to preserve a girl’s honour. There have also been cases of doctors performing surgery in order to restore the hymen, again in the name of honor. According to the College, the procedure breeches doctor patient confidentiality as well as the College’s code of ethics, which prevent interference in a patient’s private life. Doctors who issue “virginity certificates” will now face disciplinary charges. The practice of issuing virginity certificates is most common in countries such as Egypt, India, and Indonesia, where traditions dictate
that women are expected to remain pure until marriage. Reducing a woman to her virginity is archaic, and the highest type of double standard there is. A woman’s body is hers and hers alone, and she can do what she wants with it. No one needs society breathing down their necks pressuring them to do something they don’t want. Not only that, but staking her honor on whether or not she’s had sex is almost juvenile. You’d think that in a free and democratic society such as ours the social stigma of a woman’s sexual activities would be in the past. This is especially true when virginity in itself is more of a cultural myth rather than an actual biological state of being. With the concept of virginity being so vague, it’s hard to even define what it is as the definition is different from person to person, rendering the concept useless and only causing disagreement. The hymen is perhaps the most misunderstood part of a woman’s body. Its bottom-line use isn’t as a token of purity. In fact, an article published on Discovery Health states that doctors aren’t too sure what the biological purpose of the hymen really is. Sex isn’t the only thing that will break a hymen, other causes are masturbation, the use of tampons, and exercise. There is widespread belief that horseback riding and cycling can also cause the hymen to break, however that remains to be proven. All in all, these virginity tests and certificates need to stop. Just as men are free to choose what they do with their bodies, women have the same choice. Those choices should come without having the weight and stress of society looking down on them, especially in our so-called free and open society. The Quebec college of physicians should do everything they can to put an end to this ancient and unnecessary practice.
doCtors hAVe AdMitted to FAking tests For sAke oF girl’s honoUr . Photo by AnUsUCA76, FliCkr
26
// Tuesday, ocTober 22, 2013
Column // oPinions
Confessions of a 20 something the more we cannot control our fate, the more we want to sHereen aHmeD raFea Contributor
Cancer messes with your head a little bit. Forget the roller coaster of emotions you go through. Forget the overwhelming number of doctor’s appointments, needles in your arm and information to absorb. It also changes you. Like it or not. Last summer when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, I went through my own roller coaster ride, from shock, to worry, to acceptance, to moving on. One thing that struck me recently was my new compulsive need for control. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been impatient. I asked a lot of questions, always wanted to know the ending of a show, couldn’t wait for vacations, birthdays, or books. If I saved up for a camera, I couldn’t wait till my parents drove me to the store to get it. My mom often tried to teach
me patience, and exclaimed, “patience is a beautiful thing honey,” whenever I would start to complain. My dad would tell me to let my faith fuel my patience. It didn’t always work. After that, I grew up and found a way to use that impatience to do something I love. I became a journalist. When you’ve been told you have a lump, you start the process that I call “waiting, waiting, waiting.” It is not enough that your nerves are frazzled at the sound of the word “tumor,”
but the long and tedious process that follows is sure to knock the impatience out of you. You wait for the biopsy, you wait for the results, you wait for the surgery, wait for the treatment, wait for the scan. You wait, and wait, and then wait some more. It’s enough to force even the most impatient person to be patient. I sit in hospital waiting rooms for way too many hours. The smell of the place makes me feel nauseated. The air around me reeks of disinfectant. My neck gets strained from
staring at my phone to pass the time. When tests are delayed, or the staff is too busy, or there are more forms to fill, I feel so tired of it all that I want to kick someone or something. The call waiting songs ring in my ear again and again and again. Other times I take a deep breath, and try to remember how blessed I am. I remember that it could have been a lot worse. That is when I started to have to know exact dates. I needed to know when something was happening, what time someone was coming over, when I could expect something, how I could plan, when I could schedule, when I could relax. If I had to wait to know, sometimes that was OK, other times I would get frustrated. OK, most times I would get frustrated. While I pride myself in being an easygoing person, I recognize that something has changed. The need for control is not something that appears out of thin air. To some extent it has always been there. However, it takes struggle to heighten it. It takes struggle to make it stronger. It takes struggle to need it more than ever. The more we cannot control our fate, the more we want to.
science // oPinions
2013 World Food Prize winners deserve the recognition Photo by Daniel Lobo, Flickr
monsanto scientists’ accomplishments overshadowed by negativity attached to company’s name viCtor BarBaros Contributor
The awarding of the 2013 World Food Prize to three Monsanto scientists has sparked a lot of debate and reactions from people within and outside of the industry. The Global Food Prize, awarded since 1987, was conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, and emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people. The backlash that took place is understandable if one considers all the legal actions, investigations and ethical battles in which Monsanto has been involved. The three scientists in the field of biotechnology, who are honoured with the prize, Dr. Robert T. Fraley, Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton, and Dr. Marc Van Montagu, deserve it. Their work and dedication in their field are in line with the very principles of this award.
The endeavours of all three scientists have been motivated by a well-defined idea: to create plants that are more resistant to diseases and/or unfavourable conditions in nature, in different countries all over the world. They are pioneers of DNA engineering in the agro-industry. Meanwhile, experts from all over the world expressed their critical view towards the nominees. This is due to their views and concerns on the role of biotech on the environment, both short and long-term. It looks like the main issue brought up was whether a Monsanto executive has the right to receive this prize or not, due to the company’s practices. However, it is not Monsanto’s executives that received the prize. It’s the accomplished scientists. Fraley is an academic who has a PhD in microbiology and biochemistry from the University of Illinois, and landed at Monsanto first as a senior research specialist in 1981. Essentially Fraley climbed the career ladder at Monsanto, being responsible for the Research and Develop-
ment Departments of this company. His position is clearly stated as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer whose direct responsibilities are to oversee Monsanto’s integrated crop and seed agribusiness technology and research. He is essentially responsible for a lab, but on a bigger scale, and has nothing to do with the patent battles or anti-trust investigations. The same thing has to be said about the two other nominees. Chilton holds a PhD in chemistry also from the University of Illinois. She is a Distinguished Science Fellow at Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc., another biotech company also working to solve the issue on growing more crops from fewer resources. Van Montagu has a PhD in organic chemistry and biochemistry. He is the founder and chairman of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology Outreach, which is a biotech company that specializes in the development of insect-resistant transgenic plants. We live in a society in which words like
“biotechnology,” “transgenic,” and “genetically modified” are still associated with a futuristic world struggling under apocalyptic consequences. It will take a few generations in order for this mentality to disappear. It is still the society with increasing urbanization, where individuals make dinner from products purchased in a hurry from the nearest store. The breakthroughs these scientists have made concerns farmers, as they are the producers of those goods we comfortably find on the shelves. Thanks to the new biotech tools, farmers can secure their planned yield despite the risk of the corn or rice they planted being affected by insects, diseases, or an unexpected draught. They are the ones who are in need and can appreciate the advantages from those crops. These scientists merit the prize, not the response they are receiving. They are true role models and are scientists who decided to tackle an issue that affects many head on.
recipe// oPinions
Broken Glass Jell-o — zombie edition! With the Zombie Walk limping its way through Montreal this past weekend, Walking Dead back on TV, and Halloween fast approaching, everyone is talking zombies. Twitter users had a few things to say about the pending zombie apocalypse.
@cloyderivers: Everybody makes fun of the redneck. Until the zombie apocalypse. Merica.
CasanDra De masi opinions editor
So you probably already know how to make this cool treat. If not, don’t fret; it’s seriously the easiest thing. I love it because it is quick, has a rather simple taste that most people will like, and it is easily customizable colour-wise. Here is what you need: - 4 packs of Jell-O or any other fruit gelatin brand (colours are up to you, for zombie I would use green, red, orange.) - 2 packs of clear unflavoured gelatin - 1 can eagle brand condensed milk - A 9x13 inch pan (I use a clear casserole, as it goes in the fridge) - 4 plastic containers, medium sized (for your Jell-O)
Instructions: 1. Make your four packs of Jell-O, and when done, separate the colours into four containers. Let them chill in fridge. 2. Once the Jell-O is set, cut it up into medium sized cubes. Dump the cubes into your pan. 3. In a separate bowl, mix together two packets of clear unflavoured gelatin and half a cup of cold water. 4. In the same bowl, add in about 2 cups of hot water. Stir. 5. Once stirred, add your can of condensed milk and mix together. Let it cool in the fridge for a while. I usually leave it for about 30 minutes. 6. Once cooled, take your milk and gelatin mix and slowly pour it over the Jell-O cubes in your pan. Put the pan in the fridge and let it cool overnight. In the morning, you’ll be able to cut your gelatin treat into cubes or any shape you want. You can even break it up unevenly and say it is zombie brains/guts! YUM!
@bodybuilding:If the zombie apocalypse happens after leg’s [sic] day, we are all done for.
@circusnarry: How am I supposed to survive a zombie apocalypse when I can’t even run up the stairs without getting an asthma attack.
Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com Nathalie Laflamme Production manager production@theconcordian.com Kelly Duval Sloane Montgomery News editors news@theconcordian.com Sabrina Giancioppi Life editor life@theconcordian.com Roa Abdel-Gawad Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com Jessica Romera Music editor
Samantha Mileto Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com Casandra De Masi Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com Keith Race Photo editor
zombie vocabulary
photo@theconcordian.com Natasha Taggart Online editor online@theconcordian.com Jennifer Kwan Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com Elizabeth Tomaras Christina Rowan Milos Kovacevic Copy editors copy@theconcordian.com Marilla Steuter-Martin Besher Al Maleh
@missmayn: If the zombie apocalypse happened think of how many people would die trying to instagram it.
Philippe Labreque Production assistants 7141 Sherbrooke St. Building CC-Rm 431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514-848-2424 ext. 7499
@hallpasscanada: I was ready to call in sick after a paper cut, so I’m not even going to try & pretend that I’d survive a zombie apocalypse.
(Editor-in-Chief) Pascale Cardin Business manager business@theconcordian.com Tyson Lowrie Cindy Lopez Ruben Bastien
@lillythelegend:If you’ve never peed outside the chances are you wouldn’t survive a zombie apocalypse.
Board of directors directors@theconcordian.com Contributors Jade Adams,David Adelman,Victor Barbaros,Christine Beaton,Jonathan
And this is certainly good to know: @avocado_facts: In a zombie apocalypse, avocados would never try to hurt you so it’s ok to trust them.
Amanda L. Shore
music@theconcordian.com
@stevstiffler:I have full plans for a zombie apocalypse, but no idea what I’m doing after graduation. @Jmebbk: If there was a zombie apocalypse you’d just have to get a boat and go out to sea. Zombies can’t swim, they have no sweg.
Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013 Vol. 31 Issue 9
Cohen,Maddy Comi, Chris Cordella,Andrew Davis,Saturn De Los Angeles,Casey Dulson,Andy Fidel, Michelle Gamage,Victoria Kendrick,Tiffany Lafleur,Macarthey
Graagh Graaaagh Grrrh Mrh Habganna
Grazzaz Zmazh Rabhabh Baagbarn Nahmnah
Lambert,Nathália Larocerie, Olivia Latta, Julian McKenzie, George Menexis, Paula Monroy,Shannon Pinder,Olivia RangerEnns,Shereen Refea,Jaimie Roussos, Kevin Savard, Matthew Shanahan,Tomer Shavit, Justinas Staskevicius, Paul Traunero
theconcordian
From our kitchen
Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.
ART: Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings @ FOFA Gallery until Oct. 25 Anarchism Without Adjectives @ Ellen Gallery until Oct. 26 In Praise of the Ordinary @ Phi Centre until Oct. 26 The Moved & The Shook @ Monastiraki until Oct. 27 Coven Ring @ Articule until Nov. 24
THEATRE: Ain’t Misbehavin’ @ Segal Theatre until Oct. 23 Sleeping Beauty @ Theatre Maisonneuve until Oct. 25 Spring Awakening @ Centre Culturel Calixa Lavallée until Oct. 27 The Lamentable Tragedy of Sal Capone @ MAI until Nov. 10 The St. Leonard Chronicles @ Centaur Theatre until Dec.1
MUSIC: 5th Projekt @Barfly- Oct.22 Ken Mode @ Katacombes- Oct.23 The Belle Game @ Le Divan Orange- Oct.23 Franz Ferdinand @ Metropolis-Oct.23 Krewella @ Telus Theatre- Oct.24 King Khan & The Shrines @ La Tulipe- Oct.27 El Kady Sami and Doreen Mary Bray @ BBAM! Gallery- Oct. 27
OTHER: Residual Reading Series @ Drawn & Quarterly Library- Oct. 23 The Laugh Pack Late Show @ Segal Theatre- Oct. 24 Writers Read, Tanya Tagaq, Christian Bök, & Jaap Blonk @ Hall Building- Oct.28 My Culture is Not a Costume @ MAI- Oct 28 Eufrosina’s Revolution @ Cinema Politica- Oct. 28