The Concordian - Issue 25 (2015-04-07) by The Concordian

Volume 32

Issue 25

Independent student newspaper at Concordia University. Since 1983.

theconcordian

April 7, 2015

News p. 3

Sexism, racism, and ASFA executives

Photo by Michelle Gamage

In this issue

LIFE

p. 6-7

Red my lips: yes to consent

ARTS

p. 10

Fighting heteronormativity

MUSIC

p. 12

The downlow on Doldrums

SPORTS

p. 16

OPINIONS

p. 17

Have what it Not defined by takes to market? mental illness

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

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news 2

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Write to the editor: news@theconcordian.com

CITY LAURA MARCHAND Opinions editor

>> CITY SWARMS TO EXHIBITION BASEBALL GAME

Over 90,000 baseball fans swarmed to Montreal’s Olympic Stadium to watch the Toronto Blue Jays face off against the Cincinnati Reds in two back-to-back exhibition games April 3 and 4. Montrealers raised signs in foregone tribute to the Montreal Expos, who officially disbanded in 2004. Mayor Denis Coderre has expressed his interest in returning the team to Montreal, and cites the overwhelming response to the exhibition games as proof that the city can support a team. However, the MLB notes the need for a commitment to new stadium before there can be any real talk of bringing back the Expos.

>> AZURE METRO CARS DELAYED

The government of Quebec has injected over $31 million to continue the production of the Azur trains, destined to be Montreal’s new state-of-the-art metro cars. Six months ago, Bombardier—who is building the trains—announced that they may stop production due to the delays associated with the software meant to guide the trains. The government has emphasized that the money was a temporary expense and that they anticipated being repaid in full. The move has saved 245 jobs, though the project continues to lag over a year behind of the anticipated delivery date.

>> UNION MONTREAL S DEEP POCKETS Municipal party Union Montréal may not have won the election, but they definitely won at the bank: the group currently has more money than the official opposition Projet Montreal, and is hundreds of thousands ahead of even Mayor Denis Coderre’s own party. According to financial reports made public by the City of Montreal, Union Montréal boasts $170,000 dollars lining its coffers, compared to Projet Montreal’s $47,829, and with Denis Coderre’s party sitting with a debt of $33,000 dollars, according to Le Devoir. In addition, Union Montréal has no debt, unlike the Coderre party, which owes $489,545.

City // NEWS

ASSÉ leadership resigns

Difficult choices for strikers: to continue militancy or use conciliatory strategy? MILOS KOVACEVIC News editor

he entire executive of the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ), representing some 80,000 Quebec students, has resigned over differences between members wishing to advance the strike actions and those calling for its cessation until the fall. The mass resignation—or what some unconfirmed reports call a preemptive measure to avoid impeachment by an an-

gry student body—comes at a crossroads for the organization, which was to decide where its student-led anti-austerity movement was going. It has brought to light a split between militant members eager to capitalize on the momentum of anti-austerity as it leads into the spring and summer, and others suggesting a “strategic withdrawal” until the fall in the hopes of attracting help from public sector unions. “We don’t see the appeal of postponing the fight to the fall for a possible movement that [we] can’t actually guarantee,”

said Printemps 2015 member Brice Dansereau-Olivier when asked about his perceptions of this strategic withdrawal. “We don’t have any guarantee that major unions would participate at this moment, we don’t have any guarantee that we’ll be able to mobilize for a strike at this point in time, whereas now, we’re already in the middle of a movement that is growing, that is having a lot of success, that is starting to see a shift in the public opinion and we’re starting to see local unions, workers and teachers … starting to vote for days of illegal strike in anticipa-

tion of the first of May.” “It’s not that we’re observing a weakening in the student movement, but more of a redefinition of the student movement,” he said prior to last weekend’s resignations. Interim ASSÉ spokesperson Hind Fazazi said at Monday’s conference that the resignations would not weaken the movement and that it was an opportunity to press the attack. The crowds on the street seem to agree, considering the largest protest groups thus far came out for the April 2 march through the city.

City // NEWS

Largest protest to date is most violent A standoff with the police during a march led to firing tear gas on April 2 ANDREJ IVANOV Assistant photo editor

The anti-austerity protests have been turning progressively more violent this year. The biggest one of the year—with tens of thousands of protesters on the scene— ended in violence on Thursday afternoon after a long standoff with the SPVM on the corner of Beaudry Street and Maisonneuve Boulevard. The scuffle started once while protesters were marching in the opposite direction of traffic and were met with a row of raised bicycles on the street corner. SPVM ordered the students to head south on Beaudry St. and maintain the peace. The protesters chose to stand off with the police. Some 200 people opted to attempt a non-violent sit-down but were quickly deterred by their peers. Officers gave multiple warnings to protesters to head south, which the protesters met with jeers and yells to let the crowd pass. The tension was palpable, from all sides. It remains pretty unclear as to who reacted first but the crowd broke as the riot police intervened. Tear gas was fired multiple times down Beaudry St, filling it with smoke, but no stun grenades and flashbangs were deployed. There were not only students in the crowds, but also city employees—such as firefighters—and families. According to CJAD, some children as young as 12 years old were seen.

They said on the radio a young girl who came to the protest with her father had been spotted after the fray of tear gas, “crying and clearly distraught.” The demonstrations continued throughout the streets for at least another hour, wherein police were trying to disperse all the various groups that had divided from the initial leviathan march. The Concordia University faculties on strike gathered at half past noon in front of the Hall

Building. When most had gathered, they were encouraged to grab the free sandwiches offered by the People’s Potato. As the protesters headed over to the Square Victoria, McGill University’s protesters and a group of high school protesters all joined the ranks. By the time the group arrived to Square Victoria, the crowd was at least one thousand strong. An SPVM officer said they had expected about 400 people to show up from Concordia’s side and that

he did not expect a group of two universities and high schoolers to show up. Overall, the biggest demonstration that the city seen has successfully dwarfed it’s 2012 predecessor, not only by it’s sheer impressive size, but also by being one of the most violent ones this year. Tear gas and riot police notwithstanding, it ended with only two tickets, one for wearing a mask and the other for aggressive behaviour. No arrests were made.

POLICE DEPLOYED PEPPER SPRAY INTO THE CROWD TO DISPERSE PROTESTERS. SEE THE FULL PHOTO SPREAD ON THECONCORDIAN. COM. PHOTO BY ANDREJ IVANOV.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Campus // NEWS

Shedding light on harassment Misogyny, sexism, attempted rape: what happens at ConU’s student associations MILOS KOVACEVIC News editor

confession by a former Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) executive detailing last year’s sexism and racism by colleagues has prompted other women to step forward and share stories of similar behaviour, sexual harassment, and, in one case, attempted rape. The original story had to do with Mei-Ling (not her real name) and allegations that she suffered within a climate of sexual degradation and misogyny while a executive of ASFA. These matters came to a head after she logged into an office computer and discovered a Facebook conversation between two executives wherein she was sexually and ethnically degraded and referred to, in part, as a “chink slave” and a ‘whore’ who should be “impeached” unless she performed oral sex acts. The Concordian has seen chat logs showing such comments about her began before the start of her executive mandate and continued over many months. MeiLing alleges they were only the most egregious example in a long line of misogynistic and racist actions she experienced in the workplace. “They would refer to other women as whores and sluts without a care to who was listening,” she said of the casual office behaviour that was displayed before her and her female colleagues. “So I just ignored it.” Mei-Ling eventually began avoiding the office altogether and started coming in at odd hours to avoid interaction. As reported by the Montreal Gazette, MeiLing took her complaints to Concordia’s Dean of Students Andrew Woodall, who also consulted with the director of the Office of Rights and Responsibilities. In that meeting, she was told the university could take no actions against the students, since the Facebook conversation was private. “They didn’t seem to care,” she said. So she went to Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy and the Concordia Student Union (CSU) Legal Information Clinic, who put her in touch with the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), a non-

profit civil rights organization serving clients who say they’ve suffered from discrimination. CRARR has since opened up the case on her behalf with the Quebec Human Rights Commission (the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse). It is looking for moral and punitive damages and an independent task force to monitor allegations of sexism and racism. Another, and perhaps more harrowing story, comes from Jane (also a pseudonym), who alleges a colleague tried to force himself on her in an alley during a school function. Though she managed to escape, she suffered bruises and bite marks on her body. At that time she was a member of one of the school’s student organizations. “When I confronted him later he turned white as a sheet

and said he couldn’t remember. Then he laughed it off,” she said, adding that she considered it an act of attempted rape. She did not report the incident because she felt she had a duty to continue her responsibilities and because she was unsure on how to proceed. Additional stories of sexual harassment have come out, including the alleged intrusive distribution of nude photographs between volunteers and organization executives who’ve snooped through email accounts. In many cases, the school initially took the position that

often the complaint will not be retained,” said Anaïs Van Vliet, administrative coordinator for the Centre for Gender Advocacy (CGA). “The aggregation of these cases is what really speaks to the systemic nature of this issue.” Van Vliet says the school has made moves to address the issue, but still has a long way to go in becoming inclusive by listening to and harnessing the expertise of individuals and groups wishing to help. “We were consulted in the sense we were invited to give a one-hour presentation,” she says of last year’s update to the school’s sexual harassment policy. “There are many frontline workers on campus that do an amazing job of tackling the issues [and they] were not invited to sit on the committee. It’s difficult to know how presentations from individuals who see this happening all the time … will translate or will be applied or not.” Van Vliet encourages students to seek training supplied by the CGA and others dealing with consent and sexual harassment. Another way is to start the conversation on campus instead of keeping it on the sidelines. “They have the power to set the tone,” she said of student leaders organizing community events. She says the CGA is all for making such training mandatory. Since Mei-Ling’s coming forward, Concordia’s student community has taken their own initiatives. A Facebook group, Not Safe at Concordia, has sprung up to offer a conduit for anonymous or notso-anonymous expeGraphic by Marie-Pier LaRose riences. Though she says she’s no still unsatisfied with the lack of longer interested in working concrete plans. CRARR Executive Director with ASFA, Mei-Ling hopes her Fo Niemi says the initial failure story and the story of those from the administration to act who’ve come forward leads to fast enough in addressing Mei- real and positive changes in Ling’s complaints can count as campus culture and ensures fudiscrimination itself. “The neg- ture instances of this nature are ligence perpetuates the effects dealt with in a better and more of discrimination that the per- supportive manner. “Why am I doing it? Beson comes to seek help for,” he cause the next person probably explained. “The response of the [uni- wouldn’t,” she said. versity] was insufficient and that’s something that’s hap- If you have experienced sexpened over and over again: ual harassment, misogyny, or people coming forward and racism, get in touch with Not seeking some kind of redress … Safe at Concordia or the Cenand quite often being told quite tre for Gender Advocacy. it was outside their mandate or would infringe on student group autonomy. In addition, Mei-Ling and Jane’s stories show a pattern of casual disinterest from their colleagues. “[My colleagues] were advising me to stay silent,” MeiLing said. “‘Try to laugh it off,’ they said.” It was something expected and normal. “It had a real impact on how I view myself and my self-esteem,” she said, adding that the victim shaming has stuck with her throughout the experience. The slowv handling of events by the administration has brought out widespread criticism over what some say is a system that does not care or reacts too slowly. Despite a rapid response via open letter by President Alan Shepard to Mei-Ling’s story, many are

NATION MILOS KOVACEVIC News editor

>> UBER EXPANDS DESPITE INDUSTRY CONCERNS Despite near universal resistance from municipalities and traditional taxi services, the rideshare service Uber continues to grow. This comes even as certain cities have banned it over concerns it is not rigorous in safety standards, employs unregistered drivers without background checks, and is inelligible for insurance. The CBC reports these attempts have missed their mark, as Uber is still expanding, but may highlight problems in the future. Rather than antagonizing officials, the article warned the issue facing Uber is how to mend fences for the purpose of long-term growth.

>> DIPLOMAT S SON FACING MURDER CHARGE

An attempt to rip-off a drug dealer has left one son of Canada’s consul general dead and another arrested under the charges of felony murder. The CBC reported that the incident was the result of a drug deal gone wrong that led to a shootout with the suspicious drug dealer leaving 17-yearold Jean Wabafiyebazu dead and his 15-year-old brother Marc in custody. The boys’ mother, Roxanne Dubé, served as Canada’s ambassador to Zimbabwe before becoming consul general. While she is a high-ranked member of the Canadian diplomatic core, neither she nor her family is afforded the right of diplomatic immunity.

>> CANADIAN FIGHT AGAINST ISIS TO TOP $500 MILLION The Canadian mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is expected to cost upwards of $500 million dollars by next year, according to the newest estimates by the conservative government. The mission, which is being renewed for another year, involves bombing runs, and around 600 Canadian soldiers. The Devoir said the government had previously refused to disclose the cost of the operations, considering it as top secret information. Past military activity against Libya in 2011 approached almost 380 million dollars.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Campus // NEWS

WORLD MILOS KOVACEVIC News editor

>> KENYAN UNIVERSITY MASSACRE DEATH TOLL AT 150 The death toll from a shocking Al-Shabaab attack on a Kenyan university on Thursday has topped at least 150 casualties, reports The Guardian. The siege, which lasted 15 hours, initially involved indiscriminate killing but later freed Muslim students while targeting Christians specifically. More than 400 people have been killed in the country by the Somali Islamist group since 2013. The group said the attack was retribution for Kenyan contributions to African Union peacekeepers operating in Somalia who have sought to combat Al-Shabaab and restore the power of the national government.

>> CASTRO APPEARS IN PUBLIC FOR FIRST TIME IN OVER A YEAR Rumours of Fidel Castro’s death have been exaggerated. The 88-year-old former president of Cuba greeted a delegation from Venezuela this week, thus appearing in public for the first time in over a year. Since stepping down in 2008 he has led a mostly quiet life broken by occasional newspaper columns and private audiences. Despite appearing frail and haggard, the Cuban media described him as ‘full of vitality’. According to Reuters Venezuela has become Cuba’s chief regional ally since the fall of the U.S.S.R over 20 years ago.

>> REVENGE PORN SITE OWNER GETS 18 YEARS IN JAIL

A U.S. operator of a revenge porn website who posted women’s nude images and personal information and charged between $250 to $350 for their removal has been sentenced to 18 years in a deferal prison for extortion and identity theft. The site encouraged jlted lovers and hackers to post over 10,000 pictures during a 10-month span and earned the owner about $900 dollars in monthly ad revenue and some $30,000 from takedown payments. The Guardian reported the website led to many ruined relationships, jobs, and at least one attempted suicide.

The ECSGA’s cloudy finances Calls for financial transparency give birth to rumours, accusations MILOS KOVACEVIC News editor

An executive member of the Engineering and Computer Science Graduate Association (ECSGA) alleges that his attempts to seek explanations for financial irregularities have caused him to become the target of retaliatory accusations, willing obstruction, and false rumours. VP External Mohammad Rupom alleges this all began several weeks ago when he was approached by student members who showed concern with how their money was being spent. The matter dealt with independentlyorganized workshops created to deal with extra demand that, unlike regular workshops, would not provid refunds upon completion. Since later ECSGA documents touted these workshops as official achievements, certain students took the position that if they were now considered official then so was the entitlement to the refund. Rupom was one of the executives requesting a resolution and his desire for transparency went as far as to include the Dean of Students in the email correspondences—something he said first earned the ire of certain other ex-

ecutives who felt they should be been privately consulted. They say the claim of the extra workshops as official achievements was a typo—despite the documents still will being widely accessible online. Rupom claims another example of ECSGA financial untransparency was how he was expected to organize events as VP External. He says the council issued cheques in his name to be deposited in his account, and that he was uncomfortable with the idea as it could lead to financial vagueness. If true a source with extensive experience in student organizations called it a bizarre financial method not typically used. When Rupom asked to see the bank books, he was told they were confidential and could only be seen on premises and not consulted at length in private—something he said was required if he was to be thorough in his analysis. He was also told the ECSGA was financially healthy and that an internal audit had been performed. This audit was carried out privately by a four-member team including the President and VP Finance, in addition to two other council members. “The same people who had final say over finances were those who did the audit. It’s a clear con-

flict of interest,” he said. VP Finance Mostapha Marzban replied by saying that the audit, although not perfect, was the first one ever performed by the organization and a signal of the desire for financial transparency. It was presented during the group’s general assembly earlier in March during which a confrontation erupted between unsatisfied students and the staff. A video of the proceedings obtained by The Concordian show that at one point both the chair and Marzban leave the room. Marzban claims they were temporary and for entirely different reasons. “They did not have an answer to [student] questions, so they left,” said Rupom, who characterized the report as insufficient. Marzban says they left for entirely different reasons and soon returned. He said the informal end of the GA—since the chair left by that point—did agree on an official audit to be performed in the future. “Even if it takes $30,000 [to perform the audit], it will be worth it,” he said as a reiteration of his desires to see the ECSGA assume financial transparency. Re-election mudslinging Rupom believes this escalation is behind an anonymous letter surfacing on school grounds last

week accused him—alongside Teaching and Research Assistants at Concordia (TRAC) President Nader Jafari Nodoushan—of transferring $14,000 dollars from TRAC to his bank account, to apply for permanent residency status. The letter claims the bank caught the fraud and suspended his account for six months. It accuses Rupom’s wife, Sonia Afrin, who is referred to as the former TRAC VP finance, of complicity. It ends by saying that if the information is false, the anonymous letter writer apologizes for the misinformation. Official bank documents submitted to The Concordian do not appear to show any suspension or large transfer of money, and former TRAC executive Robert Sonin says no such amounts have been transferred out TRAC—at least before the winter. Finally, Afrin’s official title last year with TRAC was not VP Finance but Secretary Treasurer, a the position is the same in function even if the names aren’t. These inconsistencies, says Rupom, are proof the letter is unfounded. Rupom believes this has been part of a concerted effort by certain members on the council to discredit him prior to the ECSGA elections taking place next week because of the attention he has drawn to its financial irregularities.

Campus // NEWS

Discussing the journalism of war MIGS panel discusses dangers and triumphs of reporting from the field FRÉDÉRIC T. MUCKLE Assistant news editor

ast Wednesday, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), in collaboration with the Montreal Press Club and the Canadian International Council (CIC), presented an online panel on war journalism titled “Iraq, and other wars: The risks of reporting from the field” at Concordia University. The panellists were veteran journalists Michael Petrou (Maclean’s), CBC reporter Saša Petricic, and photojournalist Louie Palu. They were invited to talk about the difficulties presently facing war journalists who are willing to report from the field in the Middle East, and how the situation has changed in the wartorn region. The event was organized to foster discussion among those who cover or work in these war zones. Other countries not actually

at war but suffering from widespread violence were also discussed—for example, Palu’s recent coverage of Mexico’s deadly drug trade. The panelists notably discussed how the arrival of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) radically altered the landscape in the Middle East for jour-

nalists, who are now targeted as hostages or, in some cases, worse. As mentioned during the event, ISIS became known internationally as a serious threat when it broadcasted the decapitation of American journalist James Foley in 2014. The three panellists mentioned that this kind of tragedy,

Graphic by Marie-Pier LaRose

once perceived as uncommon, now affects the journalism world and the conditions in which they work to provide the right information to the public. Without journalists in the field to report, the world is often left in the dark about what truly happens in remote regions. Reporting usually ends up in the hands of citizens, who often risk their life to relay information from those areas. They also discussed the different relationship that war journalists now have with the Canadian army, which denies access to some facilities, bases or regions, allegedly because the countries’ authorities don’t want journalists in high-risk zones. The event was part of the CIC development of online discussions, which allow people from all around the country to participate in discussions between experts in the field, by asking questions on Twitter during the live presentation. For more information about past and future CIC events, visit opencanada.org.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Campus // NEWS

The GSA votes in new executives Independent candidate contests his disqualification over a letter to the editor MILOS KOVACEVIC News editor

The votes for the Graduate Student Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (GSA) annual elections have been counted and the United We Change slate, which won five out of five executive positions, will take on the task of improving the lot of a student association recently languishing from lack of participation and political irrelevance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had a large turnout,â&#x20AC;? said incoming President Alex Ocheoha, who said the first order on his agenda will be to start reinvolving students in the organization, as well as financial transparency. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What we want to do is make sure member students benefit from their association membership,â&#x20AC;? he said. Controversial disqualification The elections created their own share of controversy when candidate Keroles Riad, running for both Senate and as a Special Individualized Program/Individualized Program (SIP/INDI) candidate, was disqualified over a letter written to and posted by The Concordian. The reasons given were rules stating that all campaigning communication have to be preapproved by the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) overseeing the elections. Riad did not submit the letter to the editor prior to publishing it, and complaints to the CRO prompted him to disqualify Riad.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It had nothing to do with the fact it was pre-approved. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just an excuse; they basically did not like what I said,â&#x20AC;? said Riad. As examples to unfair treatment he gives a less controversial letter to the editor submitted by Ocheoha to The Link which raised no eyebrows as well as another candidateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s punishment over elections violations that amounted to a 50vote penalty. The letter was highly critical of what Riad considered the GSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shortcomings, particularly poor mobilization and cases of undue influence by its governing body. An example given by Riad was brought up last December by council members looking to ban Facebook campaigning. It was voted earlier in March. Riad says five out of the 11 councillors attending the meeting were running under a current slate, as were three executives out of four. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The GSA membership has a right to know of the abuse of power and conflict of interest being disregarded by the council,â&#x20AC;? said Riad, who said his claims are verifiable in the minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a motion pertaining to an election they are running in. They are not only the ones putting forward the motion, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the ones trying to change the rules of an election.â&#x20AC;? He also questions his disqualification from his running for the SIP/INDI seat, pointing out to a previous announcement by the CRO that uncontested positions are automatically won by â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;acclamation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He is now appealing this decision.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

life

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com Consent // LIFE

Bringing stories of sexual harassment to light In April, let’s think carefully about how we can create a culture of consent

pril is the month of Sexual Assault Awareness, asking people everywhere to stop, reflect, and consider the omnipresent rape culture in our society and what each of us can do to combat it. The Red My Lips campaign calls for supporters to wear red lipstick all month long (or a red accessory of your choice) to show solidarity for victims and survivors of sexual assault, and spread the message that rapists are the ones responsible to stop rape, not the victims. Consent (or lack thereof) and sexual assault are issues that affect us all. There have been great strides in the last year to increase the visibility of these issues—take, for example, the video of the woman walking through New York for 10 hours, which captured street harassment. At The Concordian offices, we began discussing how each and every one of us has come into contact with varying levels of sexual aggression countless times. We will not pretend to know (and sincerely hope that we and nobody else will ever know) the unimaginably excruciating experience of rape, but most of us (and all the women) have experienced harassment. So this month, we challenge you all to think about what consent is. Hint: this is what it is not:

SARA BARON-GOODMAN Life editor

idnight: I was at a pub in Paris with two friends, enjoying a night out. A group of three young men came up to us and started chatting. They seemed nice enough, so we decided to join them at their table and have a few drinks. 1:30 a.m.: When we had finished our first round of cocktails, they offered to buy us some more. The “never leave your drink unattended” alarms sounded in my head, and so we sent one of our friends to go to the bar to order the drinks with them. But, I guess in the one second when she blinked or turned away, one or all of the young men pounced on the opportunity to slip what we later found out was Rohypnol into our glasses. Colourless and odourless—like most date rape drugs—we had no idea that

we were sipping from poisoned goblets until about a half hour later, when one of my friends began acting much more drunk than she normally would after two drinks, and complaining that she felt sick. 2:30 a.m. Looking at her, I could see that something was not quite right, so we hopped into a cab and went home to the apartment we shared. She was sick the whole cab ride home; I berated her for being a lightweight. 3:30 a.m.: My (apparently much slower) metabolism kicked in and I began to feel nauseous and lightheaded. I struggled to sit up in bed and the room spun. My eyes wouldn’t fixate on anything, and my head felt like a balloon about to pop. I tried to stand up but my legs had ceased to work, so I crawled on all fours to the bathroom where I, too, was sick throughout the night. For the next 30-odd hours, my friend and I could barely get out of our respective beds, we couldn’t keep down any food or liquids, and standing up to walk to the bathroom required baby steps and clutching the wall for support. A quick Google search of our symptoms told us that the most likely culprit was Rohypnol, which is legally sold as sleeping pills in France. Mixed with alcohol, it could be deadly. I do feel overwhelmingly lucky that we all managed to leave the bar when we did, and get home safely. At the same time, I realize how incredibly perverse it is that I should feel lucky of all things, after somebody very deliberately tried to strip me of my right to agency over my own body.

MIA PEARSON Music editor

t must have only been 10 p.m. when my group of four girlfriends and I went out to our favourite bar in the northern end of Paris. My small stature and bright hair like a beacon of light to some figures in the shadows, seemed to draw a lot of unwanted attention. One (rather large) man started to follow us, and as we sped up, so did he. He began to taunt me, followed by his two cronies. At that point, I had lagged a little behind

Photos by Michelle Gamage

from the group. Then, without forewarning, he grabbed me, air humping me from behind as he held onto my body. I began to yell “GET THE FUCK OFF ME,” which alerted my friends who came to my rescue. This only seemed to egg him on. The man then began to body slam my friends into nearby cars as they tried to pry him off me. We all ran as fast as we could to get away, while they chased us down the better part of the next block. Even once we had outrun them we were aggressively cat-called by other gangs in the shadows. The bar was our safe haven, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so eager to have a drink. Cat-calling had been a regular nightly affair in Paris as it is in so many cities, but I never thought I would have to endure that kind of physical invasion. This was just the first of many similar experiences, obstacles to surmount every time we wanted to go out after nightfall. I returned to Montreal months later, with the fear of those Paris streets still lingering in my mind.

NATHALIE LAFLAMME Editor-in-chief

ne night a few months ago, a woman came up to my car in the street, begging me to let her use my phone. She said that she had left her house to run away from her abusive husband. I let her use my phone, and she made calls to a few people for help, looking for someone to come get her. I ended up giving her a ride home, and she told me her life story, one that

haunts me to this day. I offered to call the police multiple times, but she insisted that I shouldn’t. There’s more to this story, but that’s not what’s important for this particular anecdote. The next day, I was woken up by a call from a stranger, saying he had missed calls from my number, asking who I was. I made the mistake of telling him my name. He never did tell me his. I soon remembered the woman I had met, and told him that someone I didn’t know had made calls from my phone. He acknowledged this, and then said the following to me: “you have a beautiful voice. Are you married?” I told him that I was married (I’m not) and abruptly ended the conversation. I thought this whole weird experience was over. But it wasn’t. He kept calling me about twice a day for the next week. The next time, he caught me off guard, so I answered. He acted as though he was returning my call, being flirty on the phone. Most of the time, when he called, I would realize it was him and not answer. But sometimes I forgot. A few times, I got my boyfriend to answer for me. That seemed to stop the man from calling for a while, but soon the calls started again, often late at night or early in the morning, often catching me off guard. He still calls me once in a while, but now I know to ignore the call. I hate that I have to screen every unknown number, that he always surprises me. That he knows my name. That he makes me feel like it’s my fault he keeps calling. The worst part of this, in my eyes, is the fact that the reason that this man had my number in the first place was because a woman in trouble needed his help.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Consent // LIFE

MICHELLE GAMAGE Production manager

grew up in a very safe small town, so when I moved to Montreal it never occurred to me to be afraid of the night, to be afraid of drunk men, or to be afraid for my safety while I drunk-stumbled home to my empty apartment. That mirage of safety was shattered one night while homeward-bound on the bus. Someone’s hand reached out to gently rest on top of mine. I glanced over at the misplaced hand and shook it off. But the hand came back to rest on mine again. So I gave its owner what I thought was a sharp, “don’t fuck with me,” look and shook his hand off again, this time with more force. But the hand came back a third time. The bus luckily rolled up to my stop then and I decided to walk away from the situation. But as I stepped off the bus I felt two hands reach out and squeeze my hips and then slap my ass. Oh. No. You. Fucking. Didn’t. It took me zero seconds to turn around, get in this man’s face and let him know that he had no right to ever grope me and that he better be half-way to apologizing. But this guy who had just—by literal definition—sexually assaulted me wasn’t anywhere near thinking that he needed to apologize. Instead he got right back in my face and started yelling and shoving me in a way that then allowed him to grope my breasts. This man was not only refusing to apologize for groping me, but was now screaming in my face and shoving me so hard that I was stumbling backwards. In the end the bus drove away and I realized through my blinding fury that I was in a very dangerous situation. So I stepped back, holding my palms out, and walked across the street. The guy took this time to scream at the top of his lungs that I was a “skank, bitch, cunt, slut-whore,” and that “I better keep walking.” I just kept walking. I got home safely that night, though it took me hours to fall asleep and I was still shaking with anger while brushing my teeth. Not only had I been wronged, but I had to be the one to step back and walk away. I haven’t had any incidents like this since, but now when people cat-call me when I walk home alone at night the calls don’t seem as harmless as they once did. And for that I will always be furious.

EMILY GAUDET Copy editor

ike most children, I had family members who tickled me. The tickling was friendly, not malicious, but my relatives would not always stop when

I asked them to. Adults might think that it’s okay to disregard children’s requests to stop because they often laugh when they are tickled. Refusing to stop sends the implicit message, however, that children do not own their bodies or get to decide how and when to be touched. Like most children, I coped with unwanted tickling by kicking my legs and yelling, behaviours that adults tend to avoid producing in children. It wasn’t until my late teens, when I read feminist articles about street harassment and sexual assault, that I connected unwanted tickling with other unwanted touching. Now I try to respect my younger cousins’ desires to put them down, not to kiss them on the cheek or to let go of their hand. I still hate being tickled, which is no great hardship in itself. But every light, ticklish touch reminds me that there are people who would strip me of my right to consent, maybe because they were not taught the importance of respecting others’ bodies.

NATASHA TAGGART Production assistant

consider myself a generally aware person. When I walk around the city, I tend to keep my eyes on the road and avoid distractions such as music and my phone. Of course, being as careful and alert as possible won’t stop someone with the intentions of harassing from doing so. I can attest that taking all the pieces of advice you hear about safety for women such as “don’t walk alone–especially not at night” and “be sure to cover up your bits” doesn’t mean you won’t end up a victim yourself. Needless to say I certainly didn’t expect it to happen to me while I was with a friend in middle of a freezing day in March, on my way home from school. I was walking out of the metro, speedwalking to the bus stop, when I felt someone behind me grab my ass. I turn around, expecting to see a friend playing an extremely-inappropriate prank on me, only see a complete stranger running away in the opposite direction. Stunned doesn’t quite cover the feeling you get after something like that happens to you out of the blue. Unexpectedly, I remember laughing immediately after it happened, probably at the ridiculousness of the situation. Or maybe I just had no idea how to process being assaulted in public. Regardless, after my laughing had died, I’m saddened to admit that my thoughts were consumed by things I could have done differently. Looking back I wonder why these thoughts crossed my mind in the first place. How messed up is it that I actually blamed myself for someone else’s invasive and hurtful actions. Should I have worn a longer coat that day? Could I have taken a different route, avoiding the situation completely? Should I have run after him

and knocked him unconscious? Maybe. Another thing that still bothers me: that I wondered to myself if I should report it to the police, but decided against it because “it’s probably not a big enough deal.” But sexual assault—and yes, grabbing someone’s ass or boobs or crotch, or any part of their bodies uninvited, is sexual assault—is always a big enough deal.

LAURA MARCHAND Opinions editor

eople say it’s not safe to travel the world alone—at least, not when you’re a young woman. But I have an unquenchable wanderlust and am not one for travelling with tours (or just about anyone), which obviously meant one thing: backpacking. I left from Paris, a city where I was forced to swing around with my elbow out, narrowly missing the man who had been approaching me from behind. He was more forward than the ones who catcalled me on a frequent basis. I stepped off the train in Amsterdam, where I instantly went about exploring the narrow streets and canals by the central station. I stopped at a crossing to let one of the trams go by, when a man stepped up next to me. “Hey, sexy lady.” As all women are trained to do, I ignored him. I heard a small ‘tch’ and the sound of someone spitting, followed by a muffled “bitch” as I crossed the street. It was an interaction that would set the tone for many meetings as I travelled. There was the man in Italy who came out of an alley and walked beside me, desperately asking if I would let him “show me a magic trick.” The drunk Swedish men in Prague, who invited themselves to my table and asked if I had a boyfriend—many of them were old enough to be my father. Or, particularly, the man in my co-ed room in Rome, who watched me and undressed in front of me, to the point where I felt safer fleeing to the streets at 4:00 a.m. than I did in my bed. By the time I landed in Japan, even the (probably) good natured fashion photographer in Harajuku—who approached me in the middle of the day,

on a crowded street, when I was walking with my boyfriend, who said he loved my style and wanted to take a picture—even he was painted by the broad brush of my experiences. Now when I walk alone at night, I do so with gravel in my gut, spit in my eye and my keys clutched tightly between my knuckles. If there’s one thing I learned from travelling alone, it’s that if you are a young woman and have to swing—you damn well better not miss.

GREGORY TODARO Copy editor

t happened to me where I thought I was safe: just outside my classroom here at Concordia. It was midway through the fall semester of my first year, and a group of my classmates and I were standing around, joking and talking after class. Fresh to Montreal that year, I had yet to make close friends, but I found myself enjoying the company of the group I was in. Suddenly, as a joke, one of the women in the group grabbed my bottom without warning. At first I couldn’t speak: I felt a rush of emotions ranging from embarrassment to anger. I was shocked that she felt that she had the permission to touch me without my consent, let alone in such a personal area. However, I quickly found my voice and, rather crossly, I told her that she didn’t have the right to put her hands on me in that way. She responded with a laugh. “I was just kidding,” she replied, “don’t freak out.” I didn’t want to cause a scene so I just let it go. Later, a couple of other students told me they agree with me, saying she was out of line to put her hand on me without my consent. Despite this reassurance, even to this day, I am uncomfortable being near this woman. Even the times we weren’t alone, I felt the need to keep my distance and minimize all contact with her. What passed as a quick joke (or possibly more) in her mind now makes me nervous that one day someone else will think they have a right to my body with or without my consent.

Photos by Michelle Gamage

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 Explore MTL // LIFE

MTL: the cross on Mount Royal reigns

It is a guiding sign, an icon as old as the city itself KEITH RACE Photo editor

The cross stands tall on Mount Royal. It is an effulgent beacon that draws the gaze of Montrealers from most points across the city. Like insects to a blaze, people trek up Mount Royal to see the monument up close. For some it’s a secluded and intimate aerie to nest and swoon in with their loved ones; others venture through the woods, tripping on psilocybin in a pilgrimage to pay homage to their gods of adventure. Whatever the purpose of the ascent, the 103foot-tall cross draws many locals and tourists. It has stood there for 371 years. Since the city was born, the Mount Royal Cross has watched over Montreal. It is an icon that glows white against the night sky or purple if a pope dies. The 26-tonne steel structure turns its visitors into dwarfs. But it’s more than just a structure: it’s a palladium, a Catholic reimagining of the Pallas Athene who is enshrined in statues to protect Greek poleis. The original cross was built by the city’s founder, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, as a promise and symbol of dedication to the

Virgin Mary if the floods of 1643 would cease. The city was under duress, and floods threatened to wash it all away. But when the clouds broke and the water drained the promise was kept, and ever since the cross has stood atop Mount Royal, protecting us. I’ve never made this trip. I’ve gazed at a thousand landscapes since moving to Montreal; the sun and stars and trees and clouds have all changed, all shifting in their cycles of warmth and frost, but the cross remains fixed. Standing like a looming titan, it watches over the city, simultaneously vowing and fulfilling an oath of perpetuity. Maybe it’s a desire to stand next to this titan, to measure ourselves against something superhuman. Or to reach out in the distance, and in a triumphant moment gape over the city, knowing that countless eyes unwittingly reflect our stare as we crest the horizon. “Today is the day,” I told myself. I gathered my camera and lenses and geared up for a climb. I strapped on my hiking boots, pre-rolled a spliff and bought some supplies from the dep— apple juice, curd cheese, and a Twix bar. I was going to climb that mountain and stand next to the titan—the time had finally come! I knew there were paths that wound slowly up the mountain side, making it a casual stroll for anyone with an hour to kill. But I’ve always scoffed at people who call Mount Royal a mountain. “I’m from B.C., I know real

mountains, and this thing is a hill,” I said to myself. I wasn’t just going for a walk, I wanted to earn my stance at the top. And besides, “it’s just a hill”—how hard could it be to scale its side? As I stood behind the McGill stadium, craning my neck to peer at the mountain’s top, all I saw was a sheer slope. It was a mountainside of loose dirt and tumbling rocks, with a blanket of decomposing maple leaves that tucked the hillside under a cover of deep ochre. “This is a little more than I bargained for,” ran through my mind as I silently plotted my path. I dug in my boot-toes and slid, all too often. I had to be careful not to unleash a rockslide on the joggers and dog walkers below. I zigzagged up the hill hopping from one tree to the next, searching for moments of respite to keep from sliding and slipping and tumbling all the way down. When I neared the first crest I began to reconsider but, then again, what adventure starts from point A and ends at point B without moments of doubt or reevaluation? I wondered about the people who climbed this hill hundreds of years before me, laden with wood and steel materials, scrambling up this humungous hummock speckled by trees. Did they feel satisfaction in their climb too? Was part of the point to sweat in dirt, to scramble like fleas on a shifting body? Was this reminder of our insignificance part of the grandeur we feel gazing over hundreds of kilometres, to

see the city like a glowing dollhouse metropolis? When I climbed the last crest and stood on solid ground I was elated that the danger of the declivity was done with. It wasn’t all that dangerous, really, but heavy with breath it was enough to feel like something bigger. It’s weird that I’m pulled, that we gravitate towards a symbol of faith when secularism has long supplanted belief. Montreal is the city of sin, and has been since the days of American prohibition on alcohol. Strip clubs and brothels and fetish conventions and liquor are in every neighbourhood. Hedonism and nihilism guide this city. Catholicism has been deposed for a long time. But the cross on Mount Royal isn’t a religious site: it’s a beautiful anachronism, enjoyed by us all. It means something new, not something old. Or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe its meaning is still deeply embedded in the Christian psyche that founded our nation. And though we have reached a point where we know there may not be a mythic power who’s appeased by this symbol of worship and watches over us all, we still feel its presence. We’re still pulled up mountain sides to stand next to a symbol, and how could a symbol of nothing withstand time? What else has stood for nearly four centuries to be looked upon by millions of evanescent lives? There may not be a God to watch over us, but that doesn’t stop us from building one.

THE CROSS LOOMS OVER THE MONTREAL SKYLINE, LORDING OVER THE CITY IN ALL ITS SINFUL HEDONISM AND GRAPPLING SPIRITUALISM. PHOTO BY KEITH RACE.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 //

Enlighten your senses and come discover what’s hidden in the dark. 15% off for Concordia students

(Student ID required. Cannot be matched with any other offers.) 151 Rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Metro St-Laurent For reservations call 514 . 419 . 6177

danslenoir.ca Column // LIFE

You can now one-up Kim K on her selfiegame SARA BARON-GOODMAN Life editor

In the 1950s, sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson created Ulysses, a vibrating dildo that doubled as an intravaginal camera. Ulysses allowed them to observe and monitor what happens inside the vagina when it goes though the four stages of sexual response: excitement, plateau,

Let’s talk about sex

orgasm, and resolution, or so I’ve learned from my CEGEP intro to sexuality class, and countless hours binge-watching Masters of Sex. Well now it seems that all you vaginahavers and vagina-lovers can take home your very own Ulysses, though it goes by a new name: the Svakon Gaga Camera Vibrator (SGCV). Of course, it’s also been revamped a little with modern technology, and is slightly more aesthetically pleasing than its 1950s counterpart. You basically just plug the bugger into a computer before you go to town, and the live video will appear on your screen, allowing you to get even more intimate with yourself. You can also take selfies with the

application... talk about bringing that sexting game to a whole new level (sidenote: what’s the female equivalent of a dick pic called? I’m vying for snatch chat). And if that weren’t enough, you can also hook it up with FaceTime so that you can share your, erm, live home video experience with a partner. It’ll almost be like they’re really there in person! In all seriousness, it’s kind of a cool innovation from an understanding-your-body perspective. Too many vagina-owners are daunted by and even afraid of looking at their lovely lady flowers, which can certainly hinder their relationship with sex and with their own bodies. It’s pretty amazing how everything works and it could be em-

powering for a lot of women to see all the action unfold with their own eyes. On the other hand, perhaps there is such thing as too close—just cue the wails of women scorned when their partner doesn’t immediately recognize the look of their vaginal walls, or god forbid receives someone else’s cervix selfie. And you just know somebody out there is going to turn those images into a greeting card or put it as their Facebook cover photo. Move over sonogram pics, there’s a new sheriff in town. The SGCV is made by British sex toy company Lovehoney, and sells for $179.99 U.S. But hey, you can’t put a price on FaceTiming your tunnel of love, right?

Column // LIFE

Mim meets Montreal: Of bilbies and bunnies Episode 17: In which Mim falls down the Easter rabbit hole

MIM KEMPSON Staff writer

For me, the Easter break is associated with camping and Easter egg hunts in the forest. Or, with the Australian autumn weather permitting, I would sometimes spend Easter at the beach. Montreal showed me a slightly different take on Easter festivities. For one, in Australia we have the Easter Bilby. In the early ‘90s this native, endangered Australian marsupial was proposed as the country’s new Easter mascot. The rabbit was an introduced species and it only seemed right to replace the pest. Though, of course, the Easter Bunny wasn’t totally eradicated. Marketing prevails. On Sunday my friend hosted an Easter brunch. Arriving late, I came into a crowded kitchen. Hot cross buns were being made, along with a mixed-meat frittata, fried potatoes and a cheese platter. On the table were mini muffins, bagels, a Triple Sec-infused fruit salad and a matzah millefeuille. As we drank mimosas, the host—who is renowned for her love of any festive occasion—read out a brief history of Easter that she’d pre-written with a humorous,

sassy spin. She began, “Once upon a time there was a kid born in Bethlehem…” She had also prepared something special for a friend that had never done an Easter egg hunt. Saddened by this lost childhood experience, the host and her boyfriend arranged a scavenger hunt. Before we arrived they had hidden a series of poetic, cryptic notes around the house, each giving clues to where the next was hidden. Like two cute parents, they watched as the excited child-at-heart rushed from one corner to the next, finding notes within Lonely Planet books and tucked under the collar of their pet cat. At the end of the trail was a golden Lindt rabbit. Attached to it was a red ribbon with a bell, which was soon transformed into a bracelet: a proud token of her accomplishment. Then it was time for the real Easter egg hunt. After five of us hid them around the lounge room and kitchen, the remaining four went to find them. We found the shiny wrapped chocolates on top of lamp shades, in the crevices of Xbox consoles and nestled in the cup-like heads of tulip flowers. In essence, the Easter holiday wasn’t too different from what I am used to. It is a fairly universal occasion, after all. There was good food, festive activities and, most importantly, friends sharing the happy occasion. Best of all, the host—with her track record of perfect roasts and lavender scones—delighted us with her homemade hot cross buns, a family tradition of hers.

MIM PROUDLY SHOWS OFF HER CHOCOLATE TREASURES. PHOTO BY ANDREJ IVANOV. Though it can be bittersweet, one of the best things about being in a “foreign” place for festivities like these is seeing the unique and special things that new friends

bring to the table (both figuratively and literally—like the matzah millefeuille, which was new to me). Here’s to new friends and new traditions!

arts

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

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

Beyond the prism of heteronormativity To My Children explores the challenges that same-sex parents face

“Forecastle Thoughts” A vast expanse opens before me new every morning. Some days I forget— KARKOUR SPEAKS TO VARIOUS LGBTQ PARENTS IN THE BILINGUAL DOCUMENTARY TO MY CHILDREN. STILLS COURTESY OF GEORGE KARKOUR.

SATURN DE LOS ANGELES Online editor

We often hear the narrative of teens who fear scrutiny when they come out of the closet to their parents. But we rarely hear what happens on the other side—the stories of parents who are brave enough to break the established, normative, mother-fatherchild family structure. One documentary offers an alternative view. To My Children extensively explores what it’s like to raise a family as LGBTQ-identified parents, searching for that balance between staying true to themselves despite their sexual identity and experiencing the joy of caring for someone they treasure without prejudice. Produced and directed by Concordia alumnus George Karkour, in collaboration with two Montreal-based organizations— the LGBTQ Family Coalition and Le Groupe régional d’intervention sociale de Québec (GRIS)—this half hour-long film tells a story that’s important to share within a rapidly changing social environment, where a person’s gender identity is no longer the be-all, end-all precondition to become a parent. Karkour brings diverse voices into the picture: same-sex couples—both gay and lesbian—a transsexual mother, and an academic researcher who helps to give a deeper understanding. An interesting point of this documentary is that it is completely bilingual, with French audio and French subtitles seamlessly interchanged, making it unique and very accessible to a wide audience. But what really stands out here is the human element and, as Karkour explains, accomplishing that was a feat in itself. “As a documentary filmmaker, I wanted to show [these people] as best as I can,“ Karkour says at his home studio, which is a stone’s throw away from Quartier Concordia. “We live in a day and age where, although LGBT rights have been legalized since 2002 in Quebec and 2005 in Canada, it takes courage for these families to present themselves

and their children on camera. You seldom see families that are nontraditional. The media should be the example and should enlighten people and offer a new perspective,” he adds. “But we don’t see that, we stay safe.” Karkour draws his motivation from a personal experience growing up in his hometown of Damascus, Syria. “I was 14 years old and I saw a British documentary about a gay couple. They were unhappy, they were whining, their house was a mess, and they didn’t relay the best image,” he says. “They were the first role models of gay men [for me]. I was like ‘oh my god’ is that how they’re supposed to be? Are they miserable?’” Getting people to speak to him for this project, he says, was a journey—especially establishing a sense of trust from the preliminary cold call all the way into the production process. Karkour emphasizes that he had no hidden agenda nor any intention to put an inflammatory spin on things. He simply wanted to present the people in the documentary with tact and respect, as they are. “It was to be as real as possible. I’m very passionate about [doing this film],” he said. Openly sharing these stories can also be risky, as he admits that he struggled to find LGBTQ parents with teens. The idea of the latter recognizing their parents’ gender and sexual identity would bring tremendous social pressure, so he totally understands the difficulty of finding them for this documentary. “My door was always open. We tried our best to network, and I interviewed, and the ones that you see in the documentary are the ones that answered,” said Karkour. “I wish they were more representative.” Karkour says that working with these folks was a privilege, especially to help get their stories heard. This was especially true when he interviewed transsexual-identified mother Monica. He admits that it was the first conversation he had with a transsexual person. “In one department of human life, they’ve lived something that straight people haven’t,” said Karkour. “Yes, a lot of people are raised in LGBT environments where

their sexuality doesn’t make them stand out. And that’s how it should be. But we don’t live in this world, at least 80 per cent of it isn’t that open-minded. I got to learn about Monica through that. I wish there were more people like her.” There are moments in To My Children that simply captivate the viewer. For instance, when Andre and Armand—two openly gay parents—and their children, Nour and Ella, express what it’s like to explain their situation to their peers at elementary school. Or when Zoe and Lancelot—two lesbian parents who raise a child from a sperm donor— confide about both the struggle and support that come along with being nontraditional parents. There’s also the story of Monica, who explains the experience of raising two supportive children—now young adults—in the midst of not being comfortable in her assigned gender. “I wanted to offer positive images, and good role models of young LGBTQ parents. I knew I accomplished that with the few families that I’ve met who had to go through a lot of social challenges, but they got stronger, and I happened to film them past that, and they were able to move on with their lives,” he said. With a potential deal in the works to air the film on a specialty satellite channel across North America, he believes that the media can help set an example of how nontraditional parents should be represented. “Who knew just two years ago that I would do a documentary about LGBT parents [that] would be received so positively. I had no idea, but here I am,” he says. As Karkour’s work receives praise from families at home and overseas, To My Children may have something different to offer, looking at things from a perspective beyond the metaphorical prism of LGBTQ, queer, and gender issues. “It’s not the gender, it’s the individual. Who cares about the gender? Male, female, transgender. We’re human beings; it’s easy to say it, but people forget it,” Karkour said. To My Children is available for streaming for free on YouTube and on the website ToMyChildren.ca

and miss the sunrise. The world is black and white so I see in shades of grey. There is colour to be found but only in the sunlight. Too often I’m tossed about doubled-minded like the waves. When I can’t trust the compass there stands a distant lighthouse. I live life at sea longing but not lost. Red skies and grey mornings but the sun sets over a vast expanse A far green country.

- Matt Civico

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Literature // ARTS

Heather O’Neill was the highlight of Headlight Author’s guest reading brought inspiration to graduate students LINDSAY RICHARDSON Arts editor

“My new philosophy is only go to 90 per cent and then consider it done,” said author Heather O’Neill. “It’s impossible— they’re not perfect and they don’t want to be finished,” she says of her novels and her personal writing process. Meanwhile, admittedly starstruck, I tried to formulate coherent questions without stumbling over my words or seeming incompetent. It’s a little bit difficult, in all honesty, when you’re faced with Montreal’s literary sweetheart, author of such endearingly gritty novels as Lullabies for Little Criminals and The Girl Who Was Saturday Night. “You kinda earn your place … once you’re done proving yourself and once you have your fans, they’ll let you do anything,” she said when asked about the confidence it requires to produce uncen-

sored, self-assuming novels like her own. This is essentially why a large crowd of fledgling writers and artists had gathered on the top floor of McKibbin’s: to celebrate the launch of the graduate-run writing and visual arts anthology, Headlight #18: Lacunae, and in turn celebrate their first steps towards finding a place in the creative world. O’Neill, in the anthology’s foreword, writes that “the only way to grow as a writer is to show your stuff to other people ... although writing may seem like a solitary art form, it is very much a discussion and dialogue.” The room bustled, the clink of glasses faintly heard over discussions over arts and craft, of visions and dreams. The student-led readings covered a breadth of topics—from familial discontent to an Israeli pilgrimage. O’Neill’s reading, the last of the evening, was an experimental work-in-progress about an alien landing in 1980s suburbia. What united all these varying works from the anthology was the omnipresence of the concept of lacunae—the namesake of this

year’s edition. Lacunae refers to missing parts of text, palpable silences in music, lexical gaps in a language. Lacunae is the space between what is said and what isn’t, leaving room to search for one’s own meaning in these gaps. Each of the works and works-in-progress presented, and indeed, each of the pieces included in the anthology, danced around this concept of

searching, of filling in the blanks. The Headlight anthology is published annually, and opens for submissions every fall. You can read full back issues online at headlightanthology.com. With files from Sara Baron-Goodman.

Exhibit // ARTS

Coming face-to-face with the missing and murdered Level of Confidence compares spectators to the 43 student victims of the Iguala, Mexico tragedy LINDSAY RICHARDSON Arts editor

he spectator stands facing a screen on a white wall. A facial recognition camera observes and analyzes algorithms and data from the face: measurements, depth, colouring. It tabulates a “match,” a photo that eerily appears on screen next to your own. Next to my face was a photo of a young hispanic boy: warm skin, penetrating stare. A student, like myself. A young activist, an enthusiastic crusader. A murder victim. In September 2014, 43 students from a teacher’s college commandeered several buses to attend a protest in Iguala, Mexico. They were intercepted and confronted by local police, then inexplicably handed over to the Guerreros Unidos, a local crime syndicate. For reasons unknown, the students were kidnapped, killed, and thrown into a garbage dump-mass-grave on the outskirts of the city. Using diesel, gasoline, tires, wood and plastic, the bodies burned for a full day before the remains were disposed of. When the news of the savagery broke, Iguala erupted into furor. The city is still in a state of mourning, of residual social unrest, and Mexican artists throughout Montreal have been crusading to draw awareness to the disappearance and senseless murder of their people. Meanwhile in Montreal, Mexican artist and former Concordia student Rafael Lonzano-Hemmer has chosen to commemorate the six-month mark of the “disappearance” of the students with the installation of his interactive art piece Level of Confidence (Nivel de Confianza) at Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) Gallery. As previously mentioned, the installation uses advanced technology to forge a match between the participant and one of

LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE, FOUND IN THE RECEPTION AREA OF THE FOFA, IS A JARRING SOCIAL AND ARTISTIC EXPERIMENT THAT SHEDS LIGHT ON TRAGEDY AND INJUSTICE IN SOUTH AMERICA. PHOTO FROM FOFA WEBSITE. the 43 students. Once a tentative match has been made, the computer tabulates a percentage, a “level of confidence,” in the similarity of the faces. It is highly unlikely that the computer will ever find a positive, 100 per cent match; the piece’s intent is more morally-driven than aesthetic. The project is meant as a commemoration, since the match-up with a murdered student will likely resonate and provoke some kind of discomfort. It speaks to the relentless search for the 43 students (citizens of Iguala and family members still suffer from denial) and also makes the students somehow more visible, more tan-

gible. Not only is the technological aspect staggering, but so is the establishment of a visual bond between an everyday Concordia student and one of the victims from an otherwise nondescript school in Ayotzinapa, Mexico. Lonzano-Hemmer is well known for his large-scale, interactive displays that have a global and morally-conscious agenda. He’s created pieces for the UN World Summit of Cities in Lyon, as well as constructed a memorial for the Tlatelolco Student Massacre in Mexico City in 2008, where 300 protesting students were shot and killed by police and army officers. For his work

on these projects, he is expected to accept the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in Ottawa on April 8. The software for Level of Confidence is free to download for use in art galleries, museums, schools, or cultural centres. If the software is purchased commercially, Lonzano-Hemmer has voiced that the proceeds will be donated directly to the affected community and redistributed in the form of scholarships or subsidies. Level of Confidence is open for viewing at Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) Gallery until April 10.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

music

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

Profile // MUSIC

Doldrums dreams of dystopia The Montreal artist’s new album, The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, is a chilling journey through chaos MIA PEARSON Music editor

“I want these hi-hats to sound like BONES,” Airick Woodhead enthusiastically told producer Shawn Everett, who responded with, “can you crack your knuckles?” Woodhead wields wild sound samples that he’s gathered from the Internet’s ethereal reserves, or, like a kid in a kitchen, clangs pots together until he finds the perfect level of ringing reverb pandemonium. Finely sticking-together a collage of sources that he expertly commands is the formula behind Doldrums; the electronic experimental project of this Montreal artist with a musical maven mind. Listen to “Industry City” off the new album, The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, and you’ll hear a bone-bending chorus that marrowly escapes any percussionary mundaniality. “You kind of curate an aesthetic using a sonic template … you want to hone in on a sonic template that makes sense, that’s cohesive, as opposed to just sampling. I used to sample punk rock and classical music, and mix it all together, and it didn’t make too much sense for the first couple of records,” Woodhead said. “I think there were maybe too many flavours. But now I think I’m honing in on what makes [my music] Doldrums-y,

which is a combination of some exotica records—I like to sample lots of ‘60s stuff, and some industrial records, and make my own sounds in my studio—and then, of course, singing over top.” Woodhead’s inimitable voice has a boyish quality that hangs high above the sonic pool of samples crashing together below, but the melodious current forces the samples to run in a clear direction. Since his 2013 experimental pop debut, Lesser Evil, the musician has shown that he can play around in the digital world— that analogue equipment has provided an entryway to—while also having a steady idea for expression. “The title, The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, elucidates this fantasy road trip through dystopia that I wanted this record to sound like,” he said. “I used to be really into this book called Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. It’s kind of all about how we’re speeding up our processes to a point where we’ve lost control. The constant barrage of novelty and need for progress... a need for success is a huge contributing factor to anxiety and depression.” Mirroring a dystopian world, the album seems to teeter on the brink of losing control. In the same manner, the dense foliage of synthetic sounds reflects life’s cluttered path to success. As the sweettempered artist trudged forward through the clutter, serendipity stepped-in. A major inspiration to Woodhead, Björk’s pixie

dust travelled far and wide, and one day settled on top of Woodhead’s bleachedblonde head buried in a magazine. “I was reading, like, a nerdy gear magazine, Tape Op, and there was an interview with this guy ... and I was like ‘who is this guy? He sounds like a dream to work with. He’s worked with all these cool people!’” The man in the magazine was Montreal-based producer and engineer, Damian Taylor, who has worked with Björk and The Prodigy on some of their grammynominated albums. “And then, at the bottom there was: ‘[Taylor] works out of his studio on Van Horne,’ and I was like ‘that’s my street!’ It was a total shot in the dark to go over there and bring him my demos and play them for him,” he said. The Air-conditioned Nightmare’s mixing was dividing equally between Taylor and Los Angeles-based Shawn Everett, “who is a total mad genius—like a manic, amazing man,” said Woodhead. In keeping with the manic minds behind The AirConditioned Nightmare, Woodhead’s wish to capture cool sounds, applied to music with the same enchantment for chasing fireflies, led him to a clunky iron door. Levering the door open, pandora’s percussionary box revealed itself. “It’s just like a 30-foot concrete rectangle, and the reverb in there was amazing. I was down there with Devon and

DOLDRUMS’ ALBUM RELEASE SHOW WILL BE AT BAR LE RITZ PDB APRIL 9 WITH OPENER, MOON KING. PHOTO OF AIRICK WOODHEAD BY MIA PEARSON.

Matt from Majical Cloudz, my friend Kyle and a few people, and we just sang harmoniously for a while; it was really fun. I later went back there and re-amped some of my sounds in that room, recorded the reverb. It gives [the sound] a sense of real space.” Pitching real world sounds to the digital realm is how Doldrums projects his creativity—whether he’s sewing synthetic sources together or wailing into a microphone. His music reflects his psychic expedition to intangible spaces, because with a mind so adept for creating imaginative music, he couldn’t possibly confine himself to a mundane world. “The idea of experimental music … sometimes, it’s associated with music that’s weird, but the reality is that experimental music can be a literal experiment. You have an idea for something, put-up some parameters you want to play with, you try out two things, and you see how they work.” The Air-Conditioned Nightmare comes out April 7 on Sub Pop, and is composed of experiments gone completely awry in the right places. Just like cracking his bones to perfect a song, Woodhead pours his heart into his music. Doldrums’ album release show with Moon King will be at Bar le Ritz April 9. Tickets are 10$ in advance and 13$ at the door.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Quickspins // MUSIC

The Go! Team – The Scene Between (Memphis Industries; 2015)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (Constellation; 2015)

Follakzoid – III (Sacred Bones Records; 2015)

Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi (Atlantic; 2015)

The Go! Team’s appeal lies in the group’s kitchen sink approach to pop music, smashing everything from plunderphonics to noise rock together with a sort of manic, jittery vigor akin to a high-concept K-Pop music video. Rather than take another go at replicating Thunder, Lightning, Strike’s blown-out cotton candyinfused cacophony, Go! Team brainchild Ian Parton has wisely reorganized all of the band’s trademark bells and whistles into more concrete, catchy pop songs. The Scene Between, their fourth studio album in 15 years, feels like a refreshingly pared-down, albeit incredibly familiar refinement from a band who’s struggled for memorability time and time again. Whereas The Go! Team’s last few albums often proved exhausting, The Scene Between reveals Parton’s pop sensibilities as a songwriter; refitting the group’s buzzing guitars and lo-fi percussion into more conventionally digestible molds, Parton trims away at the usual bombast and excess while never compromising his band’s signature identity. Sunny, sweet and just busy enough, The Scene Between isn’t so much an evolution as it is a very welcome sidestep.

When it comes to politics, Montreal postrock outfit Godspeed You! Black Emperor has never been one for subtlety; 2012’s ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! explicitly took on the Maple Spring student protests, going as far as to include direct references to Bill 78 and Plan Nord within its cover art. If Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress’s politics feel undefined, its meandering drones curiously robbed of conceptuality and rendered faceless, Godspeed nonetheless bring forth a more destructive and anarchic sonic dimension to their already packed tonal palette. Strings roar with the nagging ferocity of a buzzsaw on both of the album’s uncommonly violent musical suites, with opening movement “Peasantry Or ‘Light! Inside Of Light!’” radiating with acid western-tinged fervor. While the album’s origins as a mammoth-sized live staple are as clear as day, proving less than conducive in the case of the un-rewardingly drawn-out “Lambs’ Breath,” “Piss Crowns are Trebled” serves up a soaring crescendo of a closer on what would’ve otherwise been better suited as an EP.

The elusive Chilean space-rockers hit it off again with their EP-sized tracklist of an album that exceeds the 50 minute mark in thumping soundscapes, fit for trippers and study sessions alike. Follakzoid’s appropriately named third album, III, showcases their electro-psych prowess in creating trance-inducing rhythms that never fall under nine minutes in length. While its intensity is indisputable, its overwhelming repetitiveness might not be ideal for those not prepared to sit through a (mostly) lyric-less mind melt that is Follakzoid. While you can skip to any point of a chosen song and it sounds more or less exactly the same as the opening, it’s more about the foreplay than the orgasm. That being said, it is best listened to at high volume levels on a pair of decent headphones, lest the magnetic charisma they exude be lost.

It’s been four years since Codes and Keys was released, an album that strayed too far from the formula for many fans, and nearly a decade since Death Cab for Cutie released an album worth listening to. Kintsugi is named after a Japanese philosophy that encourages embracing flaws and imperfections. Rather than an inspiring metaphor for life, however, the name seems to be trying to garner sympathy for a flawed and imperfect album. Sure, some of the imagery invoked is interesting, but as a whole, the album is as bland as its cover. The lyrics are the album’s strongest asset, but many rely on clichés. It’s disappointing to hear a band that came up with dark and beautiful lines in the past now spit out upbeat meaningless verses. As a whole, Kintsugi tries to connect with the vibe of older Death Cab albums, making it slightly better than Codes and Keys, but the group has a long way to go if it ever hopes to recapture the talent displayed in Transatlanticism.

Trial Track: “Waking the Jetstream”

Trial Track: “Piss Crowns are Trebled”

Trial Track: “Piurre”

Trial Track: “Little Wanderer”

7/10

-Samuel Provost-Walker

-Steven Nadeau

6/10

-Justinas Staskevicius

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

City // MUSIC

Promoting local metro buskers Les Étoiles du Métro allows buskers to reserve their spot at designated metro performing areas ÉMILIE BERTHIER Contributor

Musicians would wake up at the crack of dawn to sign their name on the list of daily metro performers, hoping that there was a spot left to begin with; it’s a firstcome, first-served system. This was the reality of street performers a few years ago, before the STM and MusiMetroMontréal joined up to create the Les Étoiles du Métro program. Since 2012, participants can schedule online ahead of time to perform at locations in five different metro stations: Berri-UQAM, Place-des-Arts, Jean-Talon, Villa-Maria, and McGill. Busking has become an organized, not to mention audition-based, activity in the Montreal underground. However, this program was not unanimously approved at first. “It kind of goes against the philosophy of busking,” said Andrew Blakney, who plays the washboard in the band Old Time Honey. “To say that there’s going to be a group of people deciding who can and cannot busk, or who’s better or worse.” On the other hand, he has noticed that the quality of the acts has gone up in the main stations as a result of the program. His group experienced positive outcomes from playing in the metro. A jug band is a band that employs the use of homemade instruments, and uses an empty jug for a low bass sound. Jug

band, Old Time Honey, formed during the first year of the program. The group got a lot of attention by busking during a performance at Place-des-Arts metro, which led to a series of high profile contracts. They got hired for La Fête Nationale, were invited to Belle et Bum—a francophone television program focused on music— and their music even played on ICI RadioCanada Première, 95.1 FM. While some artists use the program as a stepping-stone to get greater attention, others busk as a main occupation. Busker, Philippe Arpin, has dreamt of making a living off of music ever since he started playing. Busking has been his only source of income for five years now. He joined Les Étoiles du Métro to keep performing at his favourite spots: Berri-UQAM and Place-des-Arts. Arpin, who plays either the guitar or the banjo in a small boat with a fishing rod, masters a vast range of musical genres—from Ragtime, to Flamenco, Irish, Blues and Folk. One of his objectives is to make enough money to practice more at home. “It’s hard work and I’d love to deliver even more, to renew my repertoire more often … I am in this circle where it’s not the most profitable thing, but again, who makes a lot of money aside from [those] playing pop music?” Arpin asked. Nevertheless, Arpin enjoys his job. “It makes me feel good, the metro makes me feel good, precisely because it’s rare that I’m going to play in places where people do not react to my music. It’s give and take,” he said.

JIAN BIN PERFORMS AT GUY-CONCORDIA MÉTRO. PHOTO BY NATHALIE LAFLAMME Busking can also be about sharing. Pierre-Olivier Bolduc, a newcomer in the program, plays a rare instrument called the innersound. He says it is often compared to a spacecraft, but it’s actually part of the handpans family; a metal instrument played with the musician’s fingertips. Bolduc joined the program to benefit from the scheduling system and better locations, and has since found his time invested in busking more profitable than

ever before. Besides, Bolduc considers sharing his instrument as a sort of mission, and so reaching out to a massive amount of metro users contributes to achieving that goal. “It’s nice to see so many curious people, and to see so many people who react to the sound of my instrument too,” said Bolduc. This is a curiosity that Blakney, Arpin and Bolduc have all experienced firsthand while performing as part of Les Étoiles du Métro.

Opinion // MUSIC

A TIDAL wave of nonsense

Why hip-hop mogul Jay-Z’s new music streaming platform is definitely doomed to fail

“Our goal is simple,” said Alicia Keys. Keys takes to the podium at the James A. Farley Post Office in New York for a press conference, streaming online for the world to see, she opens by spouting endless praises of music’s importance and even name-dropped Nietzsche. Celebrity attendees and co-owners stood rigidly in silence, awkwardly gazing at the crowd before them and occasionally cracking a smile. They let Keys speak and yet their glances alone say it all: “is anyone buying into this bullshit?” TIDAL is the latest expensive business venture taken by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and his dozen or so celebrity friends. A streaming platform not unlike Spotify, TIDAL promises to deliver nebulously “unique experiences” to its audience, hifidelity lossless audio and a closer fanartist relationship than ever before. Seeing as many of the music industry’s biggest names have removed their catalogue from Spotify over monetary and licensing disagreements, TIDAL also happens to provide a home for them—sometimes exclusively! Sound good? While the idea of an artist-owned music platform isn’t an inherently bad one (on the contrary!), about every other Graphic by Cristinajust Sanza

aspect of Jay-Z’s pitch is offensively out of touch and caked in hyperbolic fluff. The thought that the average consumer will be compelled to spend more, in this case $20 a month, because some of the world’s richest musicians are the ones collecting the fee is an absurd one. The fact that TIDAL’s marketing campaign resembles a gathering of conniving super villains plotting the world’s impending doom, one “revolutionary” app at a time, doesn’t exactly do them any favours either, nor do the vapid, masturbatory ruminations on art provided by Madonna and her peers. So what does TIDAL offer that Spotify doesn’t? Lossless, hi-fidelity audio, that restores the original sound data from its compressed version. If the catastrophic failure of Neil Young’s hi-fidelity audio player and service PONO wasn’t proof enough (sorry, Neil), the average consumer simply doesn’t care about bitrates and compression levels, nor are they properly equipped to even hear much of a difference at all. Lossless audio is virtually indistinguishable from a standard 128 kbps file if listened to on a pair of cheap Apple earbuds, let alone on a phone. Another thing to consider when dealing with lossless audio is the incredibly large size of even a single song; a fourminute song can easily surpass 30 MB in size. Factor in the average person’s limited data plan and you’re looking at a sizable

bill. So much for TIDAL’s sole “advantage.” So who is TIDAL for? Aside from the wealthy individual with an unlimited data plan looking for a convenient fix to stream their favourite Taylor Swift and Beyoncé singles, it’s hard to say. It certainly isn’t aimed at the average music listener; for all of its boisterous claims of wanting to bridge the gap between artist and fan, the outcome is decidedly one-sided and

unappealing. Most people simply don’t have or don’t want to spend much money on music. Spotify, for all of its faults, serves as a welcome way to curb piracy, meeting the consumer at an agreeable halfway point. While competition is great and Spotify is by no means a perfect solution, TIDAL’s approach is simply too forceful and antagonistic to be viable in its current form. Sorry, Jay!

Graphic by Marie-Pier LaRose

SAMUEL PROVOST-WALKER Staff writer

sports

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 //

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com City // SPORTS

What you need to know about your teams

Photo by Anirudh Koul on Flickr

A look at what is, and what’s to come, for sports around Montreal as we head into the summer TIM LAZIER Sports editor

It’s one of the best times of the year to be a sports fan. The NHL’s playoff matchups are being finalized as the postseason races get tighter, the MLB’s regular season has just gotten underway, the MLS has kicked off the North American soccer season and college basketball has crowned its March Madness champion. However, most students are too busy buried in books as finals are fast approaching. Well don’t fret sports fanatics, here’s what’s happening in Montreal’s major sports scenes, and what you can look forward to once your wretched semester is finally over. The Habs The regular season finale will take place this Saturday, April 11 in Toronto. Yes, this Saturday. As Montreal has been on cruise control for the latter half of the season, the most important thing now is that the team stays healthy. On Sunday, April 5, Max Pacioretty left the game with what appeared to be a concussion, after he tripped and hit his head on the

boards. Fighting for the top of the table in the Eastern conference with the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens have assured themselves a top-three finish. Whether or not they will be crowned the President’s Trophy winner is irrelevant. Expect to see Dustin Tokarski in between the pipes for at least the last game of the season. Carey Price’s MVP season will mean nothing if he isn’t ready and rested by the time the first series begins. At their core, the Canadiens are still a flawed team. Too many times Price has stolen games. It’s yet to be seen if the Habs can provide enough scoring up front to really do some damage in the playoffs, especially with Pacioretty’s injury. Nos Amours Okay so the Montreal Expos aren’t back, but the dream of their return is more vivid than ever. Over the past weekend, Montreal hosted a pair of exhibition games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cincinnati Reds. Over 96,000 people filled the Olympic Stadium to show their support for baseball in the city, according to TSN. As a fan, it feels as if everything is ready to fall into place. Just give this city a team and let the fans’ passion

take care of the rest. There’s only one problem, and it has been looming over the east end of Montreal for far too long: baseball is meant to be played outside and the stale smell of the Big O, coupled with the ominous lighting, felt more like a dungeon than a place for a professional team to call home. The next step is simple. Last week, the MLB’s commissioner Robert Manfred told the Canadian Press that “[Montreal needs] a plan for a major league facility. A firm, committed-to plan.” The MLB is listening—your move Montreal. The Als The CFL is in offseason mode now as teams and their scouts get ready for the upcoming rookie draft in mid-May, which will be held in Toronto. After that, it will be a short two weeks before players show up to training camp. While Montreal has made some roster acquisitions this offseason, the most intriguing pick up may be yet to come. On Tuesday, March 31, Alouettes general manager Jim Popp told the Montreal Gazette that there was a 50-50 chance that the team would sign Michael Sam before the team opens up training camp. Sam—the NFL’s first openly gay player who was

drafted last season—is only 25 years old and may be perfect for the CFL. While he seems too slow and small for the NFL, his stature is ideal to play rush end in the CFL. According to the Montreal Gazette, the Alouettes obtained his exclusive CFL rights when Sam graduated from the University of Missouri, meaning they have first claim if he decides to play football in the CFL. The Impact While the Montreal Impact have had an impressive Champions League run to begin their 2015 campaign, their MLS regular season play has not been as successful. Three games into the schedule, the Impact are still trying to earn their first win of the season as they sit ninth in the Eastern conference with a record of 0-1-2. Offence has been the biggest concern for Montreal fans in the earlyseason. The Impact have only scored two goals in the three games and have been shut out twice already. The Impact play Alajuelense on Tuesday, April 7, in their next Champions League matchup. As for the regular season, the Impact will look for their first win when they head to Houston to play the Dynamo on Saturday, April 11.

THE BIG O WAS HOME TO PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL ONCE AGAIN THIS WEEKEND AS THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS AND THE CINCINNATTI REDS PLAYED A PAIR OF GAMES. PHOTO BY MOHAMMED JAFFAR ON FLICKR.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 Marketing // SPORTS

The business of selling sports A professional shares what it’s like to work side-by-side with athletic stars SAFIA AHMAD Staff writer

Sports in the News PEGGY KABEYA Assistant sports editor

>> DOWN GOES KENTUCKY

The previously undefeated University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was handed their first loss of the season by way of the Wisconsin Badgers in Saturday night’s NCAA Final Four matchup. In a rematch from last year’s 2014 NCAA tournament national semi final, the Badgers exacted some sweet revenge in Indianapolis, putting an end to Kentucky’s quest for a national championship and their place in history as the first undefeated team since 1976. The Badgers’ Frank Kaminsky, noted as the Associated Press’s Collegiate Men’s player of the year and the 2015 Naismith Men’s College player of the year, proved to be an unstoppable force in the second half. The big man notched 12 of his 20 overall points in the second half to help put away the Wildcats, and with them, the hysteria of their undefeated season.

>> WAR OF WORDS Coping with the frustration of their loss in Saturday night’s national semi final, Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison mumbled some obscenities when his teammate Karl Anthony-Towns was asked in the post-game press conference about Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky. Harrison’s ill-fated slip of the tongue may have initially gotten past the journalist in attendance. However, a camera caught the Kentucky player indiscriminately muttering the words “f**k that n***a,” in reference to Kaminsky. Harrison has since taken to Twitter to apologize publicly citing the remarks as a “jest towards a player I respect and know.” Kaminsky has since validated the apology and stated in Sunday’s press conference that the issue has been resolved and that he was “over it.”

hat do the Montreal Canadiens Club 1909 campaign, the NFL’s Super Bowl weekend and the frenzy surrounding March Madness in college basketball all have in common? They are each examples of sports marketing. Many people have a vague understanding of what sports marketing is. Broadly, it entails the “promotion of sports events and teams as well as the promotion of other products and services through sporting events and sports teams,” according to the Information Resources Management Association. However, to those of us who are avid sports lovers or who have a genuine interest in the business behind sports, a few things come to mind before the ghastly definition. Most of us believe that sports marketing is glamorous; after all, there’s nothing cooler than meeting and working with athletes and other professionals in the sports world. Consequently, sports marketing might not seem like a realistic or attainable goal in the minds of many. However, sports marketing has become an integral part of the business of sports. Since the 1990s, professional North American sports leagues like the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA have been transformed into major entertainment businesses. The influence of sports marketing is such that many universities throughout the continent are offering Bachelors and Masters degrees in the field. According to Ray Lalonde, who is the executive director of communications of the Canadian Olympic Commit-

tee (COC), an individual’s success in the field is based on more than high grades. “Part of the problem today for young people [is that they have this] kind of thinking that ‘my education is good, grades are good, social skills are good, I guess that means I’m going to be able to assert myself and demand or be a candidate for high level job [of] some sort.’ In reality, some of the most important things to remember about the sport business is the hard work and energy spent learning about the industry,” Lalonde said. Like with any job, most individuals are likely to start off at the bottom of the ladder. In sports marketing, this often involves an entry-level position or internship, which is often unpaid. The goal at this stage is to distinguish oneself from the pack early on in order to reach the next level. Therefore, it is no surprise that Lalonde places a great deal of importance on intangible qualities such as a strong work ethic. “Whether you’re delivering groceries or working in a gas station … the discipline that you show is going to be a part of your legacy later on and lead you to better places if you put in the time,” Lalonde said. Lalonde is a particularly good example of how hard work and discipline early on can bring success later on in life. Much like many students today, Lalonde had a simple part time job growing up. He was flipping burgers at a McDonalds in Trois-Rivières when he was 12 years old, and four years later he was an assistant manager. He would go on to leave an illustrious legacy with the Montreal Canadiens and the Alouettes as the vice-president and chief director of marketing and presi-

dent, respectively. Naturally competitive and driven, Lalonde was heavily involved in sports his entire life as he played football for the McGill Redmen and went on to be an assistant coach for the Penn State University football team while he was completing his degree in sports administration. Although he was fully immersed in a competitive environment, he does not believe that a heavy involvement in sport is necessary to succeed in the sports business. “[Not] all athletes ... go on to become great coaches, and [not] all coaches are … necessarily former athletes,” Lalonde said. “There’s an advantage [to] having played sports before at a high level, but that doesn’t mean that that’s the only way to get it done.” Nonetheless, just like athletes, sports marketing is based on their performance. In sports marketing, “there’s that added element of competition, of energy and passion that drives people to want to compete to be the best they can possibly be on the playing field,” Lalonde said. Much like in any profession, pressure will always be omnipresent. It is up to the individual to perform their responsibilities to perfection. Sports marketing is not a field that should be feared, but rather embraced and explored. Like with any career choice, there are going to be ups and downs. “You can’t succeed at every level,” Lalonde said. “You need to fail, you need to follow your faith … that’s where you [have] to keep plugging away. Be ready to move in different directions, improve on what you’ve done, and realize that you can still get ahead.”

>> LE CLASSIQUE WAS A CLASSIC

In a game labelled as Le Classique, French Ligue 1’s premiere soccer matchup between Paris St-Germain (PSG) and Olympique de Marseille (OM) lived up to the hype. The two sides gave the beautiful game a modern rendition featuring our unrelenting pace and chippy hard-nosed defensive tackles. Led by Andre-Pierre Gignac’s two first half goals, the Marseille attack was firing on all cylinders in the opening half. However, the home crowd was in for a rude awakening come the second half. PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi’s momentum-changing strike, which curled past the outstretched glove of OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, led to a onesided affair for his squad. PSG overwhelmed its Marseille foe with a 3-2 comeback win.

Graphic by Marie-Pier LaRose

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

opinions

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

Fostering a culture of respect and consent There is a lesson to be learned from what happened on campus this week

t’s ironic that this week, just as the world begins to rally together for Sexual Assault Awareness month, the Concordia community was shaken by a scandal dealing with this very issue. Ironic in the worst possible way. Several members of student associations at Concordia came forward this week detailing stories of sexual harassment and intimidation from their male colleagues. As horrific as the content of the allegations brought forward, so too was the response from our fellow students and university when the women in question first sought help. Instead of responding proactively, the same old sexual shaming, patron-

izing, and willful ignorance reared their ugly heads. University campuses across North America are notorious for mishandling issues surrounding consent and violence on campus. But it’s important to recognize that this is also a workplace harassment issue that could be paralleled in any office, student-run or not. The instance of male colleagues making inappropriate sexual comments about female employees is not a new story, nor is the reaction it often elicits. This week’s anonymous confessions detail a disgusting trend of willful ignorance exhibited by those student leaders who were approached early on by the victims. Rather than take the disclo-

sures seriously and follow up with appropriate action, the pattern of “advice” was to accept it, deal with it, or just laugh it off. Rare individuals showed sympathy but contributed little in the way of proactive measures. This is entirely the case for many women who feel harassed in the workplace and are stonewalled by colleagues who expect them to suck it up and not cause a stir. While student associations at the university are intentionally autonomous from the administration, policies governing the behaviour of students should be failsafe. The university’s lack of immediate response or intent to pursue action proved disappointing and

disheartening. Despite their public stance against sexual harassment, the university’s current policies fail to effectively protect victims and prevent similar cases. In order to foster a culture of respect and consent, student associations need to work with the university to provide widespread sensitivity training. Let what happened at Concordia this week, what has taken place on campuses all around the nation, be a lesson: one that we still have so much to learn. Sexual harassment is still way too common across the board, no matter the age group. Changing policies is the first step, but for that to work, we must change the way we think.

Mental health // OPINIONS

We are not defined by the mind

The importance of openly discussing mental illness in the public sphere BARBARA MADIMENOS Staff writer

Graphic by Marie-Pier LaRose

hat defines us as people? Do we choose to be defined, or are we defined differently through each other? Does our appearance define us? Does our religion or culture define us? Does our DNA define us? I’d like to believe that I have full control and authority over how I am defined as a person, but realistically speaking, I don’t. The way I am identified, remembered, and recognized is subjective depending on the person that refers to me, but the essence of who I am is much deeper than what anyone can see from the outside. At work I am defined as “little one”; to my mother I am “Barbara”; to my friends that I have lost contact with, I am “the one struggling to organize her life”; and to anyone that doesn’t know me, but is aware that I suffer from mental illness, I am defined as “sick.” Our definition of mental illness is sadly very vague. Many people are still uneducated over its true meaning. In short, mental illness means that the brain is sick. It doesn’t mean people who have mental illness are crazy, out of control, unintelligent, or incapable of living a normal life: it is just another form of the body suffering, specifically the brain. Yet, when we watch news of the Germanwings crash—as we did with

the Magnotta trial and the terrorist attack at Parliament last year—“mental illness” is sourced as a reason. In essence, their mental instability is—supposedly—what caused them to act violently and erratically. However, if one were to step back and look at the other stories in the media, the reason for the blame of mental illness for crime is because we have finally been actually talking about the subject of mental health, instead of not even mentioning it. Despite mental illness being tied to such tragic instances, the media continues to feature great organizations that are engaging society in learning to accept and normalize mental illness, such as Clara Hughes and the “Bell Let’s Talk” campaign. Celebrities are coming out with their own personal stories and struggles with mental illness, and support groups at our very own universities are recognizing that people need help. Slowly, society is learning to accept mental illness as something that does not define an individual, but rather, is just a small part of who they are. The more people get involved and learn about it, the more we realize that mental illness is not rare to come across, for nearly 20 per cent of Canadians will be touched by mental illness. So, do tragedies such as these in the news derail us from focusing on what actually matters? A bit—but I will also argue that they are topics worth discussing. This is where society can truly

improve: we do not define people by what type of cancer they have, how capable they are if they have an amputated limb, or if they have a disease of some sort. People should be defined for who they are as individuals and not for their struggles. For heartbreaking fatal incidents such as these, we have no right to impose blame: fixing the past is out of our

control, but we do have the power to act proactively and prevent such tragedies from happening again through education. I may suffer from mental illness, but I define myself as a student, a writer, a 21 year old girl that has dreams and a life to lead. Mental illness does not define me. I define myself.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015

Protest // OPINIONS

Striking back: crossing the picket line Rash protest action for anti-austerity hurts fellow students, and their own cause LAURA MARCHAND Opinions editor

oise: there’s noise everywhere, deafening even the words of the girl sitting to my right. To my left, the metallic clang of metal spoons on metal pots continues incessantly, sending painful shocks through my ear and straight into my head. I cover my ears if only to soften the assault a little bit, forehead meeting the linoleum table. This wasn’t how class was supposed to go. It wasn’t entirely unexpected: I knew the Political Science Student Association (PSSA) had voted for a strike earlier that week. I also knew that I couldn’t attend the vote that night due to work—and that the final tally wasn’t announced until the early hours of the next morning. I was also keenly aware that just over 70 students ended up deciding for the entirety of political science students. It was an ugly pill, but I swallowed it—if quorum was met and the vote conducted fairly, then that was that. But I had a class on April 1—the first of two strike days for the PSSA. Our teacher sent us an email saying that he was obliged to hold class. And like that, lines were drawn in the sand. I didn’t want to risk my grades so close to finals, and I had some issue with the vote and the methods employed by the PSSA—so I steeled myself to break the picket line. I got to class half an hour early, just in case—but I was hardly the first one there. At least ten of my fellow classmates were already hovering in the hallway, milling about and nervously shooting glances into the windows of other classes in session. “They already interrupted that one,” someone noted, nodding in the direction of a closed door across the hall. Voices filter out: angry, upset, arguing. I catch a glimpse of the protestors standing at the head of the class, gesticulating wildly. “My other class got disrupted,” a man hisses, seething against the wall. “Couldn’t get anything done. It’s infuriating. If they come here, I’m just—going home. There’s

ANTI-AUSTERITY STRIKERS INTERRUPT A POLITICAL SCIENCE COURSE ON APRIL 1, 2015. PHOTO BY LAURA MARCHAND. no point.” We aren’t five minutes into class when two of them enter. They explain that there was a democratically voted upon strike— an assertion that draws some incredulous scoffs from the students—and the professor asserts that he will continue class. The two representatives, armed with red squares, leave the class—a couple of minutes later, the waves pour in. Banging pots and pans. Hitting utensils on empty Tupperware containers. If they have nothing else, clapping; and all of them, chanting. At first I thought it would be two, maybe three or four of them, like in the other class, but we are treated to a militia of them: 20 at the least, lined around the room. My professor is drowned out by the sound, and exasperated, begins collecting names and student ID numbers from the protesters. Security is called. At the time, I thought the disturbance would be short-lived. Maybe 10, 20 minutes at most. But the minutes tick by. I cover my ears with my hands—one of

the metal-bangers is situated not two feet away from me. They walk around the room in circles, yelling “Hey hey, ho ho— austerity has got to go!” Some students pack their bags and leave. I stay. I’m curious, yes—that was part of the reason I came today. But with every bang in my ear, with every glance shot my way by protesters walking by, I feel something else bubbling beneath the surface of my skin. Rage. My head hurts. My ears hurt. I paid my tuition, I showed up for class—and for what? I glare around the room, and the metal clanging next to me continues. One of them brought a whistle, which continues in time. These are the methods I felt so adamantly against. Ignoring whether or not the message of anti-austerity is a good one or not—how is this supposed to win hearts and minds? Who is this supposed to convince? How are we—the students of POLI 313C—supposed to change austerity? What message is this even sending? After a short vote—which the protes-

ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO REASON WITH STUDENTS WHO REFUSE TO LEAVE ON APRIL 1, 2015. PHOTO BY LAURA MARCHAND.

tors attempted to vote in, in a desperate attempt to out-annoy each other—we decide to stay for the entirety of the protest. The noise continues for another half an hour before the protesters stop, the apparent ringleader speaking from the front of the classroom. “We thought there was a more productive way to do this,” she says. “Maybe have a discussion about austerity and the effects it has on education.” “You want to discuss this now?!” yells one student. “After an hour and a half of noise?!” “Why didn’t you do that at the start!” cries another. “You’re holding our class hostage!” says another. Frankly, I can’t disagree—because they’re right. What the PSSA did on April 1 was, effectively, holding students and their education hostage. And for what? Philippe Couillard didn’t care if I got to learn about the economic policy of the United States that day. In a way, this one disruption wasn’t just “one disruption”: it was indicative of the problem with the anti-austerity movement in Concordia. Namely, the fact that associations— including the PSSA—aren’t all the peaceful Vietnam War protesters they think they are. For many, their cause lacks clarity: what, exactly, do they want to accomplish? What alternatives do they propose? In addition, their cause lacks support: my full classroom and the apathy of the student body can attest to that. And namely, their actions hurts more than austerity harms— including their own cause. For all I know, I might support the antiausterity cause. I might be willing to sit down and learn the impacts austerity will have on my university and my life, including hearing what alternatives someone proposes. But right now, the only thing I saw when I saw my classroom disrupted, was childish and petulant behaviour on the part of those who claim to study the politics they are trying to change. I want to have a conversation—but I can’t hear the other side if the only language they speak is the banging of pots and pans.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015 Vol. 32 Issue 25

o V tE

Nathalie Laflamme Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com Michelle Gamage Production manager production@theconcordian.com Milos Kovacevic News editor news@theconcordian.com Frederic T. Muckle Assistant news editor Sara Baron-Goodman Life editor life@theconcordian.com Lindsay Richardson Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

Mia Pearson Music editor music@theconcordian.com Oneida Crawford Assistant music editor

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Tim Lazier Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com Peggy Kabeya Assistant sports editor Laura Marchand Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com

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LAURAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S JOKE OF THE WEEK // ETC

@AskAuntieEm1 â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho Asked me if my asthma was contagious.â&#x20AC;?

@Garmstrong24Bev â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IonceDatedSomeoneWho. Favourite Sleeping Position was Around...â&#x20AC;?

Gregory Todaro Emily Gaudet Marilla Steuter-Martin Copy editors copy@theconcordian.com Natasha Taggart Marilla Steuter-Martin Production assistants

Hey Peggy, why didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the vampire li ke the taste o f blood?

Editorial office 7141 Sherbrooke St. Building CC-Rm 431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514-848-2424 ext. 7499 (Editor-in-Chief)

w, no

@SynMeAtSix â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho fucking got horny when i was fucking eating mcdonalds chicken mc fucking nuggetsâ&#x20AC;?

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@viewfrommyofďŹ c â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho thought BuďŹ&#x20AC;alo Wings came from BuďŹ&#x20AC;alos.The animal, not the cityâ&#x20AC;?

Andrej Ivanov Assistant photo editor

Marie-Pier LaRose Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com

@NotAHuntley â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho only took 15 minutes to inflate.â&#x20AC;? @HuskerHaha â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho told me she worked in customer service. Turns out the courts call it prostitution.â&#x20AC;?

Keith Race Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com

Saturn De Los Angeles Online editor online@theconcordian.com

@darceygrowsup â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho had dated a supermodel. They reassured me by saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ok, you are nice on the insideâ&#x20AC;? :/â&#x20AC;? @SinCityChiGirl â&#x20AC;&#x153;#IOnceDatedSomeoneWho surprised me with a romantic ramen noodle candlelit dinner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Matthew Civico Assistant opinions editor

Because it was IRON-Y!

Marc-Antoine Cardin Business manager business@theconcordian.com Talibah Gordon Advertising manager advertising@theconcordian.com Tyson Lowrie Jacob Serebin Ruben Bastien Board of directors directors@theconcordian.com

Contributors Mim Kem Provost-Walker, Safia Ahmad, , Safia Ahmad, Barbara Madimenos.

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