The Concordian - December 1st, 2015

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

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VOLUME 33, ISSUE 14 | TUESDAY, DEC. 1, 2015

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theconcordian

David Suzuki:

“Environmentalism has failed” News p. 3

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

LIFE

ARTS

MUSIC

CARA cares for the chimps p. 5

Art therapy gets a boost

Turn to Red Skies

p. 8

SPORTS p. 9

Stingers blowout Badgers 7-1 p. 11

OPINIONS Survive finals season p. 13

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015 NEWS EDITOR GREGORY TODARO news@theconcordian.com

NEWS CITY SARAH ARMIENTO Contributor

Developer acquires former Montreal Children’s Hospital Luc Poirier, a high-profile player in local real estate, is the new owner of the 1.4-million square foot property that used to house the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Both the price tag of the purchase and the official plans have not yet been disclosed. In an interview with the CBC, Poirier made a reference to the site as a place “that has been favoured for a future Montreal baseball stadium.” Other proposals include that of YMCA co-ordinator Jery Ralanoiny, who suggested that the space could accommodate Syrian refugees for a period after their arrival.

Anti-asbestos activists call for paper retraction A report written by JMSB lecturer John Aylen taking a pro-asbestos stance is being denounced by anti-asbestos activists, according to the Montreal Gazette. Concordia removed the report from its website and acknowledged that Aylen’s ties to the asbestos industry should have been formally disclosed, but an official retraction still has not been made. Activists are worrying that without the retraction asbestos industries can use the report to influence developing nations to continue importing their products.

Syrian refugee coordinator hired in Montreal At $1,800 a day, Michel Dorais, former deputy minister of immigration and citizenship, was hired to help welcome new Syrian refugees to Montreal this Wednesday.

According to the National Post, there has been some controversy around both his appointment and his salary. Guillaume Lavoie, finance critic for Project Montreal opposition party, says bringing in Dorais exhibits a lack of confidence in the abilities of the thousands of employees already working for the city.

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CAMPUS

What’s new with the CSU? Reggie’s is now open; all referendum questions passed

GREGORY TODARO News editor @GCTodaro Reggie’s Bar opened with a soft launch on Thursday, Nov. 26 with a whole new look after months of extensive renovations. The bar, located on the Hall building’s mezzanine, will be open Monday through Friday at 2 p.m., closing at midnight Monday through Wednesday and at 2 a.m.

Thursday and Friday.

Reggie’s first closed during the 2013-2014 academic year.

After securing funding for the project the next year, renovations started in June 2015.

CSU vice-president of student life John Talbot said the soft launch will allow the staff and the university to get accustomed to new activity. “Also, the

space will be able to work out any other kinks that come with the opening,” he said.

The renovations have given the bar a completely new feel and Talbot said the new look comes with new features as well. “The kitchen has an extensive menu and the sound equipment available for use is also top notch,” he said. “The vision for Reggie’s is that it is a space for the whole university. Students, professors, staff, and community members can use it as a space to host events, unwind, eat food, or just relax over a pint.”

The first major event, Reggie’s grand opening party, will happen on Dec. 10. Talbot said the bar will open up to other events hosted by clubs and faculty associations around campus too.

Thursday’s soft opening was

also the day polls for the CSU’s byelections officially closed. Every candidate for a position on the CSU council was elected in uncontested bids. All of the referendum questions presented were passed.

“We’re enthusiastic about the overwhelmingly positive response we received from our membership, at all levels,” said CSU president Terry Wilkings.

Other than bylaw changes and the addition of a pro-accessible education stance to the CSU’s position book, students approved allowing the organization to join the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), a newly-formed provincial union.

“The next steps are to put together an interim co-ordinating team that will liaise with other student groups in lead up to affiliation campaigns that’ll be

taking place throughout Quebec in the winter semester,” said Wilkings.

Voters also approved the redistribution of funds towards the new CSU daycare which, Wilkings said, just received its zoning permit from the city.

The Community-University Research Exchange (CURE), which was seeking to become a fee-levy group, was successful in their campaign. CURE co-ordinator Cassie Smith said the organizers will be meeting over the next two weeks to plan the group’s next steps.

“We hope to hit the ground running in January,” said Smith, “doing classroom visits, reaching out to new community groups and organizing round tables to find creative ways to integrate community-based initiatives into different programs at Concordia.”

CAMPUS

$50,000 grant for Concordia PERFORM Centre Money will go towards Type 2 diabetes prevention programs SAVANNA CRAIG Staff writer On Nov. 18 Concordia’s PERFORM Centre received a $50,000 grant of from the Medavie Health Foundation. This association develops partnerships and rewards grant programs to different organizations benefitting families that have youth living with Type 2 diabetes and mental health issues.

The PERFORM Centre on the Loyola Campus provides innovative research along with the promotion and education of healthy living techniques through various programs and services. The PERFORM Centre has a program targeted towards young families to help educate them on healthy lifestyle behaviour through nutrition and exercise, aiding in the prevention of Type 2 diabetes.

This program is managed by Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta, an expert in preventing and caring for Type 2 diabetes.

“We want to export the program from the PERFORM Centre into other community settings,” said Dasgupta. “Our long

The new grant for the PERFORM Centre will help support Type 2 diabetes prevention programs. Photo by Andrej Ivanov. term aim is to make it sustainable and available in a variety of settings.”

Executive director of the Medavie Health Foundation Patty Faith said that the program at Concordia was very appealing to the grants review committee because the program seemed to be a dependable opportunity to help Type 2 diabetes prevention. In particular Faith said what helped the committee choose the PERFORM Centre is a program teaching healthy food and lifestyle skills, which can also help benefit the families of women at risk of gestational diabetes.

“There are … studies that show that children of women who have had gestational diabetes are also more likely to develop it,” said

Faith. “As a wrap-around program benefiting these women and their families [is] very appealing to us as an opportunity [to act preventatively].”

Gestational diabetes happens during pregnancy when a body cannot generate the proper amount of insulin, leading to an increase in blood sugar. Women who have had gestational diabetes during their pregnancy are seven times greater to re-develop it during their lifetime.

This is the third grant the PERFORM Centre has received to help achieve long-term health care ambitions , but this is the first grant Medavie has given to a facility within Concordia University.

Dasgupta said, “there may be opportunities in the future for Concordia students to become in-

volved (particularly those in kinesiology). We will need extra hands in the community settings!”

When asked what the PERFORM Centre would put this grant towards, Faith said, “It’s not a grant that’s being used to fund equipment or anything like that, this is very focused on programming.”

This grant will continue to help provide support to families and women by promoting knowledge of healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

To become involved in Type 2 diabetes prevention or to find out more information on the facilities offered at the PERFORM Centre, visit concordia.ca/research/ perform.html.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

theconcordian

ENVIRONMENT

Suzuki: world on “suicidal path” Activist discussed prioritization of economics over environment

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NATION SAVANNA CRAIG Staff writer

TD Bank’s fineprint allows online surveillance TD Bank’s cardholder agreement is under scrutiny after an investigation by former journalist and communications specialist Colin Laughlan. The agreement allows TD to access your “browsing activity on your browser/mobile device” and view your “preferences and activities,” according to the CBC. Laughlan complained that TD is invading cardholder privacy and had them create a personalized contract removing this detail. Laughlan said TD told him this feature would be removed from all contracts. However, the CBC reported that Laughlan has taken this public as TD have not changed their terms 18 months after he had brought attention to it.

David Suzuki during his talk at the Montreal Summit on Innovation on Monday. Photos by Gregory Todaro.

GREGORY TODARO News editor @GCTodaro

“I

t’s a test tube full of food for bacteria … and I’m going to put one bacterium in the test tube … and it’s going to go through exponential growth and double every minute … at 60 minutes, that test tube is completely packed with bacteria and there’s no food left.”

It’s with this analogy world-renowned environmental activist and academic David Suzuki drove home the need for immediate action in changing societal values and rethinking the way we live.

“Every scientist I’ve talked to says we’re at the 59th minute,” he told the packed conference hall at the Palais des congrès de Montreal on Monday night. “All of this stuff about, ‘we’ve gotta have growth, we’ve gotta have more,’ is saying that we have to accelerate what is a suicidal path.”

Suzuki was speaking as part of the fifth Montreal Summit on Innovation put on by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. There, he spoke about how environmentalism has struggled to make any progress. He brought up individual successes of direct action, such as his work stopping dams in Canada and Brazil, successfully preventing drilling in sensitive areas including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, off the West Coast and preventing American oil tankards from driving from Alaska

to Seattle through B.C. “These are hailed as great successes of the environmental movement, and yet 35 years later we’re fighting exactly the same battles that we fought in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” said Suzuki.

“So I’ve been saying for a number of years: environmentalism has failed. We have failed fundamentally to use these great battles and victories to show people why we have to look at the world in a different way.”

Suzuki also highlighted problems caused by placing economic security above ecological security, saying that without changing the paradigm in which we are operating that these same struggles will continue to repeat.

“The way we see the world, the values and beliefs through which we look at the world, shape the way that we treat that world,” he said. “Right now, we are driven by an economic imperative that seems to have taken over the way the see the world.”

Instead, he advocated for the creation of a common stance: it makes more sense, he argued, to work within the parameters of the laws of physics instead of the old ways of thinking.

After his speech, Suzuki sat down with Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and managing partner of Cycle Capital Management, to discuss how businesses can play into this change and even benefit from it.

“The fastest-growing sector in society today is the clean tech sector, it’s exploded,” Suzuki said, “but that’s crazy—all tech

Shipwreck no longer haunts Nova Scotia shore The last fragments of the MV Miner shipwreck have been removed from off the coast of Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia.

The ship was being pulled by a tugboat in 2011 when rough weather broke the boat’s towline, according to CTV News.

The MV Miner was on its way to be dismantled in Turkey. The nearby community of Main-aDieu have called for the need to cleanup the area, which the Harper government declined to fund. The provincial Liberal government began funding this project in 2014, according to CTV News. The Liberals provided $14 million to remove the ship, which carried asbestos and leaked oil.

Suzuki discussed challenges environmentalism has faced. should be clean tech. There shouldn’t be a technology that’s going to affect air, water, soil, biodiversity—it shouldn’t be allowed, it’s as simple as that.”

“A hell of a lot of technology has got to go out of business because there’s no way to keep it clean,” he added, specifically singling out the fossil fuel industry. “We cannot continue to dig it up and burn it.”

Méthot asked Suzuki how big companies can make a difference in moving towards cleaner technology. His suggestion: bio-

mimicry.

“We already screwed up the planet, and we think we’re so smart that we’re going to invent technology to prevent the natural process of global warming— and this is the ultimate hubris of our species,” Suzuki said. “I believe we need a lot of technology, but the basis of that technology should be not how clever we are, but how clever nature is … if we were a bit more humble, we might go to nature and say, ‘how the hell do you do it?’ And maybe we could learn something.”

Canada to support children in eight African countries Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced during the Commonwealth summit in Malta that Canada will fund more than $15 million to eight African countries, reports the Toronto Star. This funding will be directed at training youth in information and communications technology to find good jobs. The Star reported that this will help roughly 200,000 youth. The Liberal government promised to help eradicate poverty and generate more jobs and businesses.

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WORLD SARAH ARMIENTO Contributor

Paris climate conference underway Negotiators from 195 countries are currently attending the international COP21 climate change conference in Paris. During the conference—which takes place over the next two weeks— the attendees will try to reach a deal to reduce carbon emissions, limit global warming to a 2 C increase, according to the BBC. Leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin both spoke to delegates to pledge their support on acting against climate change.

Freddie Gray jury selection begins Six Baltimore police officers are being charged in connection to the death of 25-yearold Freddie Gray. William Porter, the first of the officers to stand trial, is facing manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges according to the CBC. Requests by the defense attorneys to move the trial outside of Baltimore due to the high emotion surrounding the case was denied by Judge Barry Williams.

A pool of 70 to 80 jurors could be interviewed.

Dating apps blamed for increase in HIV infections A spike in the number of HIV infections in Asia-Pacific is said to be fueled by social networking and dating apps which are believed to promote risky sexual practices, according to Al Jazeera. A study by the United Nations found that mobile dating apps “increasingly allow for spontaneous casual sex” among its predominantly young users, according to Al Jazeera.

Between 2005 and 2014, AIDS-related deaths among people between the ages of 10 and 19 has reportedly risen by 110 per cent, while rates among adults has dropped by 28 per cent. With inadequate sex education in schools and a social stigma surrounding sex, youth in the region lack necessary information about HIV prevention and care, according to Al Jazeera.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

TRANSIT

A year full of projects for the STM Montreal’s public transport agency wants to focus on improving service PIERRE A. LEPETIT Production manager @pierrealepetit

T

he Société de transport de Montréal revealed their 2016 budget on Nov. 19, just in time for the holiday season and its surprises. The Concordian sat down with Philippe Schnobb, chair of the board in his office to talk about student concerns and the agency’s plans for the year to come. The interview has been translated from French.

The Concordian: We’ve noticed that students on the 105 Sherbrooke spend more time looking at buses in transit because the flow of buses goes the opposite way than the flow of students. Why is that?

Philippe Schnobb: The majority of our customers travel eastbound during the morning rush. When the 105 buses finish their journey, they continue on another route. It allows us to offer more service. We’ve added buses on the 105 last winter. Did it have undesired effects for Loyola students? I will ask that we make field observations.

C.: You’ve announced the addition of 45,000 hours of additional bus service. Will the 105 be a priority?

P.S.: This is precisely the kind of issue we aimed at correcting.

We said we would add 200 to 250 trips per day on the bus system.

When we get iBUS up and running, we’re going to gather real-time and permanent data. An issue like this one will be easier to analyse and prevent.

C.: What’s the STM doing to improve its digitalisation?

P.S.: The data gathered by iBUS will be open, which means any developer will be able to use it. When iBUS is implanted we’ll also release our own app which

will replace the current STM app with real-time information.

C.: Do you have an ETA for this new system?

P.S.: We have one but if I tell you and we can’t manage to release it on time you’ll say that we’re overdue (laughs).

C.: Why has it taken so long? Your predecessor already announced this system in 2010, 2012, 2013.

P.S.: What he’d announced was the beginning of the reflection on the project. But it’s a long process. Even before we’d started to do the concrete work to implement it, there’s been a waiting period which is not unusual.

C.: London has launched a similar system in 2005, other cities have followed. How do you explain that we’re a decade behind?

P.S.: Most cities started with a system that is very simple and they’ve adapted it to the evolutionary way of technology. We’re in 2016 and we’re coming from the Stone Age. There have been issues with the integration of new technologies because it is more complex than before. This is why it took longer—but not that much.

We’ve talked about this project for a very long time but it was never scheduled to be up and running before late 2014/early 2015.

It’s like the AZUR trains, we’ve talked about them since 2010.

C.: And when are we going to be able to ride those new metro trains?

P.S.: “Soon enough” is always the answer I give. We’re closer to it that when I arrived at the STM, for sure. We’re talking about early 2016 here, not the Saint-JeanBaptiste.

It is necessary that the trains go through a series of tests made by the consortium [made of Bombardier and Alstom].

So that we can give the go-

Philippe Schnobb, Chair of the board of the Société de transport de Montréal at Guy-Concordia metro station. Photo by Kelsey Litwin. ahead, the trains have to reach certain performance goals, and this it is not yet the case. We’re not dealing with security issues, but it is in the interest of passengers and the STM that we take all the time it takes before saying yes, because once you say yes there’s no going back. And if there is a problem, you’ll be the ones caught in it during rush hour.

C.: Is the STM going to improve the metro service as well?

P.S.: We’re increasing the number of kilometres travelled by the metro this year. We’re planning on longer term to have a greater frequency, but it depends on several factors.

C.: Like funding?

P.S.: Not necessarily funding, the workforce also. But adding kilometres is a good investment because it moves a lot of people. A train carries just over 1,000 people. So it’s worth considering it. The new trains will nonetheless give us a greater capacity and more trains on the tracks.

C.: Can we hope for an allnight metro service or extended operating hours?

P.S.: The issue we’re facing today is the need to rebuild the metro system after more than 50 years [of existence]. The metro is an anthill during the night because we have maintenance work every night.

C.: Other cities manage to do it—London is launching a 24-hour service, Paris is planning on it as well.

P.S.: Their system is more extended and some cities have parallel lines which may help.

In Montreal we are really in the middle of a major maintenance phase, we’ve spent $3.6 billion during the past 13 years and we’re going to spend almost $3 billion in the next three years.

We want to offer a reliable service during the day. That’s why we’ve developed bus routes alongside the metro system.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Highlights of the STM’s plans for 2016 INFOGRAPHIC BY PIERRE A. LEPETIT 2016 OPERATING BUDGET: $1.5 BILLION (up by roughly 100 million compared to 2015) 2016-18 INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BUDGET: $2.8 BILLION

+45,000 hrs of bus service

+27 brand-new hybrid, air-contioned buses

+1.3 million car km

+21 stations equipped with 4G LTE

on bus routes that need them the most

on the orange and green lines

iBUS

real-time tracking app, next stop announcments, and passenger information terminals at select bus stops and metro stations

brand-new metro cars (early 2016)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

theconcordian

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LIFE EDITOR CRISTINA SANZA life@theconcordian.com

LIFE

@theconcordian

ANIMALS

CARA helps Canada’s only chimp sanctuary The Fauna Foundation protects roughly 80 animals who were previously exploited by humans

An aerial view of a segment of the sanctuary space.

Photo by NJ Wight of Fauna.

CRISTINA SANZA Life editor On Nov. 26, members of the Concordia Animal Rights Association (CARA) hosted a yoga class fundraiser for the Fauna Foundation, Canada’s one and only chimpanzee sanctuary located in Carignan, Quebec, on the south shore of Montreal.

CARA’s goal was not only to encourage participants to donate during the event, but also to raise awareness about the sanctuary, founded in 1997 by Gloria Grow.

“We work to promote compassion towards all living beings, we encourage people to adopt a vegan lifestyle and have compassion for animals,” said Lara Mack-

enzie, president of CARA. Seven executives and 130 volunteers make up CARA, and they work closely with organizations such as the SPCA, PETA and Mercy For Animals.

Mackenzie has been volunteering at Fauna for roughly a year.

Fauna’s sanctuary provides permanent protection for about 80 animals, including chimps, farm animals and other wildlife from human exploitation. Animals at the sanctuary may have been neglected, victims of abuse, medical research animals or used for human entertainment. A team of caregivers provides them with resources to live a healthy, happy life, which includes shelter, food, medical attention and companionship, according to their official website.

“Caregiver is a great word because it’s really about service and about giving to them what we can,” said Mary Lee Jensvold, associate director of the Fauna Foundation.

“The model that we use to think about the role [of a caregiver] is to think about other institutional settings where you care for the residents with compassion or with respect.

So that would be like a well-rounded nursing home, or hospital situation, as opposed to other kinds of institutions where the residents are treated without respect and are imprisoned.”

Prior to being a volunteer at Fauna, Mackenzie said she didn’t realize how similar chimps were to humans. “They look into your eyes, and it’s like looking into a human’s eyes,” she said.

Like humans, the chimps have different personalities and needs, too. “It’s important to know about their backgrounds so you can tailor the care of them,” Jensvold said.

“For example, for Tatu and Loulis, we’ve made it a priority for them to have folks on the project who know sign language.”

On their website, each chimp has a biography which includes their name, date of birth, where they came from, how they were exploited and how they ended up at Fauna.

“Chimps are a good way for people to

understand our relationship with the rest of nature, because chimpanzees are so like us. In our culture we often view others as different [than] us, and that allows us to exploit them,” said Jensvold. When people bridge that human-chimp gap, it’s no longer easy to enter into exploitive and abusive relationships with them, she said.

Fauna has an eight-week visiting intern program for students, where they are directly involved in taking care of the chimps. They also get to complete a non-invasive observational research project, looking at how the chimps utilize the facility, Jensvold explained.

Mackenzie’s advice for students is simple: just get involved. “There are so many opportunities and so many animal welfare organizations that need help all the time,” she said. Through CARA, students can work with nonprofits like Fauna, directly and indirectly.

On Dec. 3 in the JMSB lobby, CARA is hosting a vegan bake sale to raise money to build a new home for three bears in Thailand living in extremely small enclosures.

Learn more about Fauna at faunafoundation.org and CARA on their official Facebook page to learn how you can contribute.

HOLIDAYS

Buy holiday gifts while donating to charity

The Nutcracker Market has gifts for all and purchases benefit The Nutcracker Fund for Children MARCO SAVERIANO Contributor The holidays are a time for buying presents and giving back to those less fortunate, so why not do both at the same time?

At Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ fifth annual Nutcracker Market, the more you shop, the more you contribute to The Nutcracker Fund for Children. Ten per cent of exhibitors’ sales go towards the charity, which aims to help expose the arts to children.

“It’s helping kids have access to a free presentation of The Nutcracker,” said Anne-Catherine Rioux, donations advisor for Les Grands Ballets. “It’s important because it allows kids to have access to art, culture, dance, and to discover something new.”

Every year since its conception in 1997, The Nutcracker Fund has given 2,800 underprivileged children the chance to experience The Nutcracker for free. Getting kids involved in the arts is always a priority, so every fall, 1,500 kids are invited to educational workshops in visual arts, costume, and dance, according to their official website. Along the outside of the market, the walls are lined with unique and colourful

Nutcracker-inspired paintings produced during these workshops. Each one is available for purchase, with the proceeds also going to the charity.

Even though it still doesn’t quite feel like Christmas in Montreal, walking into Palais des congrès will be enough to satisfy your festive appetite. It may not be a bustling mall filled with holiday shoppers, major sales, or the latest gadgets, but that’s what makes it so special. It offers an eclectic mix of items, including perfect gifts for your friends and family, or for some Christmas chachkis to spread the holiday cheer around your home. “It’s very different from other Christmas markets,” said Rioux. “It has a great atmosphere.”

While you stroll down the long aisle of shops—each on different “avenues” named for sponsors, you’ll notice that each booth brings something different. There are a variety of specialty olive oils, ciders and wines available, ideal gifts to bring along to your family get-togethers this Christmas. There are shops offering rustic home decor, homemade soaps, unique pieces of jewellery (in case you were looking for a pair of Amy Winehouse or Bill Murray earrings for that special someone), adorable tutus for the little ballerina in your life, and of course, Christmas ornaments.

Boutique Virevolte—the most delightfully pink shop in the market, has a collection of beautiful Nutcracker-in-

The Nutcracker Fund for Children gives 2,800 children a chance to see The Nutcracker for free. Photo by Meghan Overbury.

spired ornaments as well as actual nutcracker figurines. You won’t be able to choose just one—but that’s okay because it’s for charity.

It wouldn’t be a Christmas market without candy and toys. You can indulge your sweet tooth with treats at Ferrero Rocher, CandyLab and L’Atelier du Caramel, and embrace your inner child at LOL Toys. It’s the store’s first year at the market, but as employee Amanda Mikhail said, Christmas and toys “just go together,” and the store’s old-fashioned outlook perfectly suits the market’s style.

“We don’t have anything electronic,” said Mikhail. “It’s really from newborn to adult. [LOL Toys has] board games, a lot of wooden toys, not like the flimsy plastic ones that break. Good quality toys!”

The Nutcracker Market is the perfect place to ease your way into your holiday shopping without the added stress of a chaotic mall, all while helping expose children to the arts. This season is all about bringing joy to those around you and those less fortunate, so help out any way you can.

The Nutcracker Market is taking place at Palais des congrès until Dec. 6.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

HOLIDAYS

What are you celebrating this holiday season?

There are so many awesome holidays in December, don’t limit yourself to just one OLIVIA O’MALLEY Contributor

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here are many other holidays celebrated in the month of December that don’t receive as much attention as Christmas. Christmas has become such a large commercialised holiday in North America, with celebrations starting as early as the end of November. Other holidays, whether religious or not, are overshadowed by it, so here are a few alternative celebrations for you to explore this festive season!

Kwanzaa From Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration honouring African heritage in African-American culture. Kwanzaa was established as a means to help African-Americans reconnect with their cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and the study of African traditions and the seven principles of African Heritage, according to the official Kwanzaa website. The seven principles include: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, co-operative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their house with art, colourful cloths and fruits that represent African culture.

On Dec. 26 there will be a Kwanzaa celebration at U N I A located at 2741 Notre-Dame St. West from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Happy holidays to all, no matter what you celebrate.

Photo by Cristina Sanza.

Hanukkah From Dec. 6 to Dec. 14 Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century BC, as stated on jewfaq.org. According to the Talmud, The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days, even though there was only enough sacred oil for one day’s lighting. Hanukkah festivities include lighting one candle on the menorah each night, playing dreidel, eight days of gift giving and eating traditional foods such as latkes.

On Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. there will be a Community Hanukkah Celebration at the Westmount City Hall located at 4333 Sherbrooke St. West. There will be games, music, Hanukkah gelts, refreshments, raffles and more.

Pancha Ganapati From Dec. 21 to Dec. 25 Pancha Ganapati is a modern five-day Hindu festival in honour of Lord Ganesha, Patron of the Arts and Guardian of Culture. It was created as a Hindu alternative to December holidays, according to Hinduism Today. During the five days, the entire family focuses on a special spiritual discipline which centers on a new beginning and mending all past mistakes. Shrines are created in living rooms and decorated in the spirit of this occasion. A statue of Lord Ganesha is placed in the center surrounded by pine boughs or banana leaves, flashing lights, and tinsel. He is dressed each morning in different colours that represent his five powers. Treats are shared, chants and songs are sung in his praise and gifts are given to the children.

St. Lucia’s Day Dec. 13 St. Lucia’s Day, also known as St. Lu-

cy’s Day, is an ancient Swedish festival in honour of Saint Lucia. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, she was one of the earliest Christian martyrs after being killed during the Diocletianic Persecution, a persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire in 304 AD. She was killed because her Christian practices differed from the traditional Roman practices. In Scandinavian countries, each town elects its own Saint Lucia to lead a procession of young girls dressed in white, wearing lighted wreaths on their heads, and boys dressed in white pyjama-like costumes singing traditional songs. The festival is meant to bring hope and light during the darkest time of the year. Traditional foods such as saffron bread and ginger biscuits are prepared by the eldest daughters in households and are served to family and guests.

Attend traditional Swedish St. Lucia’s day celebrations at the Norwegian Church in Lachine at 5065 Sherbrooke St. West on Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. Registration is required.

Festivus Dec. 23 Out of a fight for a doll, a new holiday was born, “a Festivus for the rest of us.” It was created in 1996 by Seinfeld screenwriter Dan O’Keefe to combat commercialization around Christmas, according to FestivusWeb.com. Two Seinfeld characters, George Costanza and his father, Mr. Costanza, make up the holiday during an episode of the show. Instead of a tree, an aluminum pole is set up in the house and at Festivus dinner you tell your family all the ways they have disappointed you in the past year.

CAMPUS

Sex ed at ConU’s annual condom giveaway

Students choose condoms and learn about safer sex practices at Health Services’ yearly event MINA MAZUMDER Staff writer Concordia’s Annual Condom Giveaway, organized by Health Services, was held on Nov. 24 in the mezzanine of the Hall building, with a goal to promote safe sex and STI prevention.

The two health promotion specialists at the event were Owen Moran and Gabriella Szabo, there to answer any questions students had about sexual health.

Free condoms were available at their table in a variety of flavours, colours and styles. Students were able to choose any three they desired whether it was three banana-flavoured condoms or a variety, such as unscented or thin.

Pamphlets and informative sheets about safe sex practices and maintaining sexual health were available, including one about 16 Safer Sex Practices.

Practices included using a barrier, such as condoms, during sex or participating in activities where body fluids are not

shared, such as touching with clothes on. Also, the practices outlined sharing relevant information with each other about sexual history and STI status and getting tested for STIs. “Getting tested regularly [every six to 12 months] is part of taking care of your sexual health,” said Szabo. She added that if you are experiencing any burning sensation, fluid discharge, leakage or pain around the genital area, it’s important to address the problem quickly by booking an appointment with a doctor or going to a walk-in clinic the day you’re experiencing pain. Concordia’s Health Services offer free services for STI testing, as well as vaccinations and contraceptive counselling for students.

“Communicating with your partner is important, [and] having those honest conversations about when was the last time you got tested, [is] adopting a positive attitude towards safe sex practices,” Szabo said. “These conversations should be done with no judgment, honesty and a ‘I’m taking care of your health and you are taking care of my health’ [attitude].”

STIs can be passed on by nonpenetrative ways. “Things like skinto-skin touching or body rubbing in the genitals area can transmit an STI such as herpes, so this is why barrier methods are important,” Szabo said. Oral sex can transmit STIs like gonorrhea and chlamydia into the throat and then it can be transmitted to

the next partner. There is an increase in mouth cancer that is caused by HPV so some people use condoms during oral sex, get tested for STIs and get vaccinated for HPV, she said.

Students should try and develop a positive attitude towards condoms, said Szabo, as it is the best way to practice safe sex and protect your sexual health.

It’s important to get tested every six to 12 months for STIs and STDs. Photo by Mina Mazumder.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

ARTS

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ARTS EDITORS ELIJAH BUKREEV and LYDIA ANDERSON arts@theconcordian.com @theconcordian

FILM

An investigation into an epidemic of abuse

The Oscar race kicks off with Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight, an awards frontrunner par excellence ELIJAH BUKREEV Co-arts editor @ElijahBukreev Before a problem can be fixed, it must be brought to light, which can be a painful process. Sexual abuse of children by a number of Catholic priests went on for decades—it was only in 2001 that members of The Boston Globe’s investigative unit, the Spotlight Team, took on the Catholic Church to challenge a system that effectively covered up crimes and allowed sexual predators to walk free.

This investigation is the focus of Spotlight, a new film drama by Tom McCarthy which shares stories of abuse survivors while paying tribute to the journalists who fought hard to let these voices be heard.

The appointment of a new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), signals a change at the paper. Baron is an outsider—a Jewish man from Miami in a predominantly Catholic city—which gives him a broader perspective. He

Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Brian D’Arcy James star as the Spotlight Team. sees a problem and decides to use any available resources to tackle it, even if it means suing the Catholic Church.

What starts with a single case of sexual abuse by a priest in Boston becomes an investigation into an actual epidemic, as numbers of perpetrators— and survivors—grow into the hundreds, and it becomes clear that lawyers and high-ranking clergy members were involved in a cover-up.

The four people who make up the Spotlight Team—Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian D’Arcy James) are dedicated professionals who were

willing to set their private lives aside—few of them seem to have one anyway—to consecrate themselves to an elusive ideal: the truth.

Spotlight is tense, hopeful and optimistic, but also has a sense of self-importance which signals that the end of the year is fast approaching, with the Oscars just around the corner.

It compares favourably to All the President’s Men, the film that set the standard for all investigative journalism movies. Perhaps what it lacks is some danger. You’re told throughout of the immense influence of the Catholic Church, but you rarely get a feel of it. The closest it comes to a demonstration of power is

when a villainous nurse slams the door in Pfeiffer’s face, after a seemingly senile priest started casually recounting his escapades with teenage boys.

For the rest of the film, what captures your attention is the investigative process itself. It’s a pleasure to observe the workings of these journalists’ minds, their defiance of authority and lack of self-interest.

Schreiber, Keaton and Ruffalo stand out in a subdued but involving cast that includes Stanley Tucci as an attorney with insider access to adults who once fell prey to sexual abuse from priests.

“He’s one of the lucky ones, he survived,” Tucci’s character says about one of them. Another survivor has noticeable needle marks on his arm. While the film is not always subtle about its subject, characters wisely provide no comment when you’re shown some of the latest young survivors. You’re not told of the dark road that awaits them when they grow up, because there’s no need for it. By then, you’ve come to realize that the real pain may just lie ahead.

CAMPUS

Concordia opens new art consignment shop

Student artwork sold at the new shop in the Hall building offers art and experience to students JULIA BRYANT Contributor How much of your homework do you recycle? Completed assignments, essays that have been graded and marked test papers have all found their way into every student’s recycling at one point or another.

For Fine Arts students, their projects often face a similar demise. After spending countless hours planning and working on projects like drawings, sculptures and paintings, their pieces can usually end up stashed in the back of a closet.

But now, thanks to a new initiative at Concordia, Fine Arts students won’t need to throw their work away—instead, they can make some money from it.

The Art Consignment Shop that just opened in the Hall building is a space for student artists to display and sell their work, which means their art will hang in a fellow student’s home instead of gathering dust.

“This is a way for them to bring that artwork back and show it to other people if they want to,” said Sarah Pupo, the shop’s co-ordinator. “It will let their work have a second life outside of class.”

Pupo, who holds a master’s degree in painting and drawing from Concordia, said that the shop provides an important connection between Fine Arts students and the rest of the university.

“I hope that it allows students to show

their work to an audience that wouldn’t see it,” said Pupo. “I want the rest of the university to see the real breadth of talent that the Fine Arts students have and the great work that they’re producing.”

Any student enrolled in a Fine Arts program can submit examples of their work to be evaluated and possibly displayed in the shop. Pupo and the artist negotiate a price for their work, of which the artist keeps 70 per cent.

Masters student Janina Anderson has a collection of glass votive candles for sale in the shop. She said that the jump from being an art student to being a working artist can be a big one.

“It can be very jarring for students when they leave school and they realize it’s a whole wide world out there that doesn’t care about the art that you made today,” said Anderson.

She explained that for students who plan on selling their work commercially after graduation, it’s valuable to understand how the system works.

“I think it’s great that Concordia is giving artists an opportunity not just to make some money from their work, but also to introduce them to that system,” said Anderson. “It’s nice to have these programs through university with a formal structure where you have to submit an application, and there’s a jury process where you may or may not be accepted.”

Undergraduate student Bianca Hlywa

Fine Arts students are given the opportunity to engage with the commercial art world. Photos by Andrej Ivanov. agreed that the consignment shop is a good mechanism for students who want to explore the connection between art and retail.

“I think if you want to be involved in the art world and you don’t have a problem with being involved in the commercial art world, then it’s a good thing to do,” she said.

Hlywa has an extensive collection of “three-minute drawings for $3” available in the shop—pieces that originated from a foundational class exercise.

However, she stressed the fact that

not every art piece belongs in a shop.

“You have to consider what you’re doing before you put it there, where you’re going with it,” said Hlywa.

The Art Consignment Shop will be putting out a call for submissions in the next week in order to select the works that will appear in the shop next semester.

Pupo also said she’s planning to hold a two-day Christmas sale before the holidays to give exposure to an even larger number of artists.

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theconcordian

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

CAMPUS

Concordia is partnering up with the MMFA The two institutions will be working together to explore the therapeutic effects of artwork MARIA BUKREEV Staff writer

W

hat happens when two massive institutions in Montreal collaborate in order to develop the field of art research?

The outcome is a lot of new academic opportunities for Concordia students interested in art and art therapy, as well as new exciting activities at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts that will be open to the public.

Concordia has a history of working on various projects with the MMFA, but this new collaboration takes their relationship a step further. “We wanted a broader and more sustainable partnership with Concordia so that the projects would be developed in a vision to be sustained through the years,” said Jean-Luc Murray, the director of the department of education at the MMFA. The museum approached Concordia two years ago to develop their new Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace that will open in November 2016 on Sherbrooke St. West, becoming the largest educational complex within a museum in North America. The pavilion will feature the Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy, which, according to the MMFA’s website, will “welcome [their] community and school clienteles, as well as families, with specific areas for digital mediation. It will feature a cafeteria serving healthy meals, a family lounge, galleries, a safe school bus drop-off area, plus 12 studios.”

The atelier was named after Michel de la Chenelière, who is a major contributor to the MMFA’s education programs.

Originally from Normandy, he arrived in Quebec in the late ‘60s and started his own educational publishing company. Years later, he decided to sell Chenelière Education and became interested in working with the MMFA. As he said during an interview with La Presse on Nov. 22, he is “convinced that one day psychiatrists will be prescribing visits to the museum.”

The partnership between Concordia and the MMFA is built on the idea that a 21st century museum must go beyond simply hosting artworks. It must now also be concerned with the positive effects that art can have on people, whether they suffer from an illness or not.

Art therapy is a field that is still quite new. According to Susan Hogan’s Healing Arts: The History of Art Therapy, the first art therapist to use the term was Adrian Hill who, after suffering from tuberculosis in the late ‘30s, decided to study how making art helped him on his way to recovery. As defined by the Canadian Art Therapy Association, “art therapy combines the creative process

and psychotherapy, facilitating selfexploration and understanding. Using imagery, colour and shape as part of this creative therapeutic process, thoughts and feelings can be expressed that would otherwise be difficult to articulate.”

It is no surprise that the MMFA decided to get involved with Concordia, which is the only university in Canada to offer a complete art therapy master’s level professional training program.

As part of the projects to come, Professor Richard Lachapelle, from the Department of Art Education, is working on an 18-credit program that offers students a Graduate Certificate in Art Museum Education and Mediation. This will provide an opportunity for students to learn within the museum’s setting. “It should be a great experience, because we feel like nowadays, students who graduate from programs such as

museology or art education are trained more for the museums of the ‘80s and ‘90s rather than the museum of the 21st century, so we decided to get involved,” said Murray.

Another project, currently being developed

by Art Education Associate Professor Kathleen Vaughan, will allow students to create sound installations based on artworks that are part of the museum’s permanent collection. “The old conception that artworks have a single meaning is no longer considered to be relevant. Each person that comes

into an institution or comes in a context with a work of art will have a slightly different experience and reading of the work,” said Anne Whitelaw, a professor from the department of art history.

This project will allow the artworks to connect to the different issues and events that are currently unfolding in the world.

In the past, the MMFA has worked with other institutions that were interested in art therapy, such as the Douglas Institute and Sainte-Justine Hospital.

However, Concordia is a key player in the development of this field because the university brings its expertise into the researching process. Therefore, with Concordia as a strong resource, the MMFA will be able to design several workshops to aid people suffering from depression, autism, eating disorders, Alzheimer’s and more.

One of the most challenging projects

will be working with patients from the Montreal Cardiology Institute who suffer from rhythmic heart problems, which will require a lot of supervision. “[It’s] nerve wracking yet exciting, because we haven’t done that before,” said Murray.

The MMFA also announced the opening of a space designed by Concordia researchers called an Art Hive, which will be available to anyone looking for a place to create. The public will be invited to participate regardless of their financial status and the museum will provide all available materials as well as knowledge from their past experience in the production of artwork. Professionals such as art therapists and art educators will be supervising the activities and providing input.

With a total of eight exciting projects currently being designed and more to come in the next few years, we can expect the partnership between Concordia and the MMFA to contribute to the well-being of Montreal citizens and the further development of the art therapy field.

Graphic by Charlotte Bracho.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

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MUSIC EDITOR SAMUEL PROVOST-WALKER music@theconcordian.com

MUSIC QUICKSPINS

theconcordian

OUR PLAYLIST OF THE WEEK ON SPOTIFY: spoti.fi/1N0uRCB

PROFILE

Take to the air with Red Skies

With the release of Iron Sun, this Montreal metalcore band is here to stay

Frankie Cosmos — Fit Me In (Bayonet, 2015) At the age of 21, Frankie Cosmos already has over a dozen releases in her musical arsenal— not including the records released under her alias Ingrid Superstar. While her last album Zentropy was characterized by garage-rock riffs, the songstress’ latest EP Fit Me In is a collection of synth-heavy dream-pop tracks.

Opting for a drum machine instead of traditional percussion, Cosmos’ lyrical honesty and romantic vocals remain the EP’s centerpieces. Despite clocking in at under ten minutes, Fit Me In showcases the young musician’s versatility, providing a teasing glimpse into what her future albums might sound like.

Trial track: “Sand”

8/10

JESSICA ROMERA

Freddie Gibbs — Shadow of a Doubt (ESGN, 2015) If last year’s Madlib collaboration Piñata was a test for Freddie Gibbs, then Shadow of a Doubt represents a return to tradition, albeit with a changed perspective. Backed by moody trap rap beats, Gibbs covers his usual set of cocaine-slanging topics. The lush “Fuckin’ Up the Count” details Gibbs’ side gig in a tragic light whereas “Packages” is pure infectious braggadocio. Gibbs also tries his hand at singing with mixed results; though “Basketball Wives” is an auto-tuned nightmare, he fares better on more personal tracks like “Insecurities,” reflecting on the birth of his daughter. It’s these brief moments of introspection that make Shadow of a Doubt stand out, even if Gibbs can’t always escape the generic.

Trial track: “Extradite”

7/10

SAMUEL P. WALKER

The band just recently independently released their debut full-length, Iron Sun, on various online platforms.

SAMUEL PROVOST-WALKER Music editor “Growing up, I never knew how to sing,” said Cody Dodds, “But I definitely knew I wanted to sing.”

Janitor by day at the Notman House, a burgeoning startup hub, Dodds moonlights as the lead vocalist in Montreal-based metalcore outfit Red Skies. The band recently celebrated the release of their debut full-length with an album launch at Piranha Bar on Oct. 29. The album, entitled Iron Sun, was released independently through various streaming services and online platforms.

Like most, Dodds wasn’t initially into heavier music. “I didn’t know shit about music. I was just always listening to the radio because my mom always had the radio on,” he said lightheartedly. His introduction to heavy metal and punk came at the age of 12. “My brother was always really into punk rock music. He was always listening to a lot of music that was heavy on power chords, which really made me want to learn them. I eventually got a guitar but never really got good at it,” he said with a laugh.

Though he got his start trying his hand at the electric guitar, Dodds soon found an interest in vocals, specifically screaming. It all started with an interest in the screamo bands of the mid ‘00s, screaming along to From First to Last and Underoath songs in a basement in the company of friends, but Dodds would soon learn to hone his voice. “I never did any exercises until I met this jazz guitarist when I was 17,” Dodds said. “He taught me a lot about musicality and technique.

I started comprehending vocals more as an instrument and learned how to do breathing exercises. With screaming, you run out of breath really quickly.”

Dodds quickly made the rounds across the Montreal metal scene, fronting numerous bands over the next few years including Four Feet & Fur, Veridian Cityscape and Kid Icarus, recording an EP with the latter.

“We recorded with Kevin Jardine of Slaves on Dope,” said Dodds of his experience.

“That was the first time I was ever in a real

studio. It was really fancy and had its own little vocal booth.”

The bands didn’t work out unfortunately, splitting due to personal differences.

“There were too many little differences between the members. We’re all still friends though.”

Having spent most of his teenage years in bands performing shows and playing music, Dodds suddenly found himself without a band, sending him into a more troubling place. “I’ve always been in bands. It’s very therapeutic,” he said.

“I suddenly hadn’t been in a band for a long time and I found myself partying all the time, doing a lot of drugs and not really being in school. Just having a really bad direction in life.” That’s when his friend Justin Furtado, lead guitarist in Red Skies, reached out to him, effectively ending Dodds’ hiatus from the music scene. “Justin hit me up and asked me, ‘Do you wanna be in Red Skies?’ and I just said ‘Fuck yes. I need this right now.’”

Dodds has been with the band ever since, with every subsequent show topping the last both in terms of turnout and precision. “Ever since the En Route to Heavy MTL showcase we did in May 2014, we’ve had a lot more attention and exposure.” The band also recently released their debut full length record entitled Iron Sun, recorded, mixed and mastered by Antoine Lussier of mathcore band Ion Dissonance. In the two years he’s fronted the band, Dodds has noticed incredible progress, refueling his passion for music but also helping him feel validated in his pursuit of the musician’s dream. “I remember I was in Bangkok sitting on the roof of our hostel with [bassist] Tevan Crooks and we received the first postprod track from our album,” Dodds said excitedly. “It was finally coming to life. All these lyrics I wrote back in university, not paying attention in class, finally became a thing. Ever since then, we all knew this is what we wanted to do!”

Of course, the musician’s life isn’t as easy as it may seem. Though each member of Red Skies is as wholly dedicated to the band as can be, there’s always gear and equipment to buy. “We’re all working jobs on the side of course,” Dodds said.

“Most of our money goes to Red Skies though. I essentially pay a rent’s worth to the band almost every month.” Dodds and his bandmates are very aware of the differences between the idealistic and the realistic, always budgeting things accordingly to ensure no nasty surprises.

“Everybody’s on the same page. Now, we’re looking into getting a van so yeah, it’s pretty obvious this is something we really believe in.”

While metalcore as a genre isn’t anything new, it’s become quite the crowded space in the last decade; numerous bands have come and gone riding on heavy breakdowns alone only to disappear into the sea. Though Red Skies exist under the metalcore umbrella, Dodds isn’t particularly concerned; “All the bands that we look up to essentially pioneered the genre. We know they’re metalcore but they each bring their own different flavour, which is what we tried to do with Iron Sun.” Dodds also carefully explained how making a solid, consistent record was more important to him and the band than trying to fit a certain label. “It’s more about getting a lot of people into the music and making them hear that ‘Hey! We’re musicians! We can make any kind of music we want.’ We mostly just want people to pick us up and hear us and be like ‘This. This is Red Skies.’”

Though the band isn’t currently signed, Red Skies have operated successfully on a purely independent model. “We’ve had a label come up to us and ask us if we wanted to be signed and have our album paid for,” Dodds said. “We were already almost done the album so we kindly refused. We just didn’t see a need for it.”

Rather than jump at the bit at the chance of a record contract, Dodds and his band know full well the risks and rewards attached to being in this industry. In the end, the music is all that matters to Red Skies. “We’re not after the money at all. If we were in it for the money, we would’ve stopped doing this this three years ago.”

Catch Red Skies opening for The Acacia Strain and Counterparts on Dec. 9 at Foufounes Électriques.

Tickets are $20.

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theconcordian

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

ROUNDUP

QUICKSPINS

The best and worst of 2015

As the year comes to a close, we reflect on its brightest and ickiest works Marked by a bevy of surprise, impromptu releases and impressive ambition, 2015 was quite the year in music. Before we close the book on it, let’s commemorate the year’s best and worst offerings in style! Without further ado, here are the year’s best and worst as chosen by The Concordian:

muttering through what sounds like a toy phone. To make matters worse, the instrumentals are a muddy assortment of trap beats and faux-Beach House dream pop, the latter of which feature Cyrus’ incoherent dazed musings. While there is something to be said about a falling pop star releasing such a messy, unpleasant album, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz is little more than an ugly, insufferable mess and a bad way to spend 90 minutes of your life.

since disbanding 17 years ago, would serve as a worthy successor to their landmark art punk manifesto The Shape of Punk to Come. A pale imitation of their former selves, sometimes even coming dangerously close to plagiarism, Freedom is mostly puzzling, combining the brand of post-hardcore they pioneered ages ago with pseudo-Aerosmith glam rock riffs. It’s a combination that’s rarely truly unlistenable but also rarely works at all.

“Servants of Death,” the album’s penultimate track, combines the worst elements of Finger Eleven, Maroon 5 and punk rock to craft something that’s utterly confounding. Whatever statement the band was trying to make probably should’ve stayed under wraps.

STAFF LISTS:

BEST: Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp a Butterfly Singular in its ambition and unparalleled in its introspection, To Pimp a Butterfly represents something of a landmark releases not only for hip-hop but for contemporary music as a whole. Rarely has a major-label release been so uncompromisingly conceptual and personal without sacrificing its musicality, of which it has in absolute spades; Thundercat, Sounwave and a host of reputable collaborators assure a vividly dynamic backdrop for Lamar’s confessional dialogue. To Pimp a Butterfly is an often uncomfortably honest, yet incredibly nuanced and timely statement on black celebrity within the confines of a uniformly white system and the guilt that comes with it. Though the statement itself isn’t unprecedented, Lamar’s layered approach grants it new life, solidifying his place as one of the genre’s greats.

MOST DISAPPOINTING: Deafheaven — New Bermuda Released in 2013, Sunbather left California black metal outfit Deafheaven in a bit of a predicament; as revered as it was, audiences were decidedly split on it, some claiming it was too heavy to be pretty and vice versa. New Bermuda attempts to please the latter by playing within a more conventional black metal playing ground, stripping their sound of many of the shoegaze trappings that distinguished them. Just as Deafheaven reach a cathartic crescendo however, the band repeatedly throw away all momentum in favour of the tamest, most generic of post-rock interludes, neutering their songs of any tension. It’s a frustratingly incoherent misstep that rings increasingly maddening with every new song. There’s a good album somewhere in New Bermuda; hopefully Deafheaven will learn to string their riffs and sections better next time.

Cristina Sanza - Life editor 1. The Maine – American Candy 2. Gabrielle Aplin – Light Up The Dark 3. Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material 4. The Sheepdogs – Future Nostalgia 5. Tori Kelly – Unbreakable Smile Worst: Selena Gomez – Revival Most ironic covers album: Ryan Adams - 1989 Calvin Cashen - Staff writer 1. Viet Cong – Viet Cong 2. Tame Impala – Currents 3. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear 4. Beach House – Depression Cherry 5. Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp Worst: Miley Cyrus – Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz Biggest Disappointment: Deafheaven – New Bermuda Simon New - Contributor 1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly 2. Joey Bada$$ - B4.DA.$$ 3. The Internet - Ego Death 4. DJ Premier & Royce Da 5’9” - PRhyme 5. FKA twigs - M3LL155X Worst: Miley Cyrus - Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz Best Remix Album Containing Only Cat Samples: Run The Jewels - Meow The Jewels

WORST: Miley Cyrus — Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz With collaborators like Ariel Pink and Sarah Barthel of Phantogram and The Flaming Lips as a backing band, it’s understandable why some were somewhat interested, even moderately excited for Miley Cyrus’ latest excursion into psychedelic edginess. At a whopping 23 tracks, spanning an egregious, interminable 92 minutes, Cyrus continuously reminds listeners that she loves pot, sex and the combination of the two while belting and

Samuel Provost-Walker - Music editor 1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly 2. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell 3. Kamasi Washington - The Epic 4. Joanna Newsom - Divers 5. Mgła - Exercises in Futility Worst: Hopsin - Pound Syndrome Best Beach House album of 2015: Deerhunter - Fading Frontier

WEAKEST COMEBACK: Refused — Freedom Let’s face it, comeback albums are rarely satisfying, let alone good; for every remarkable one like D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, there’s about a dozen less noteworthy ones, like Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy. For some reason, Sweden’s Refused really thought Freedom, their first album

Mia Pearson - Staff writer 1. Ought - Sun Coming Down 2. The Garden - Haha 3. toe - Hear You 4. Pope Francis - Wake Up! 5. Doldrums - The Air Conditioned Nightmare Worst: Whatever Imagine Dragons released Best song of 2015 released in 2013: Eddie Murphy - “Red Light”

Rustie — EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE (Warp, 2015) Burdened by lackluster vocal spots and dull compositions, Rustie’s Green Language was a befuddled misfire. EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE, a wholly instrumental collection of neon-tinted wonky jams, seems to exist in response. Hyperactive and lavish, the album finds the Glasgow producer harkening back to the sounds that defined his seminal debut; “First Mythz,” the album’s first single, perfectly encapsulates what makes Rustie so endearing, a dolphin call signalling the song’s impending drops. Though the manic energy is back in full force, the album’s tracklist is largely bereft of variation. While the results are largely homogeneous, EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE certainly isn’t lacking in frenzied charm.

Trial track: “Peace Upzzz”

6/10

SAMUEL P. WALKER

Adele — 25 (Mute, 2015) Adele has been breaking all kinds of records with her debut single from 25, “Hello,” but she‘s breaking some hearts too—in the best way any musician can.

25 contains a series of honest, emotional tracks about losing and finding love, reminiscence and nostalgia. Fans can expect exactly what she’s known for: classic piano ballads where her powerhouse vocals appeal to your heartstrings. There is no question that Adele sings with dignity and power—from her unique vocal texture, to her effortless flow from chest to head voice and precise enunciation. Musically, many of the tunes sound almost too familiar—there isn’t really a sense of musical experimentation. It comes across as an extension of 21 as opposed to an evolution.

For Adele, standing on the same musical ground seems to work in her favour—25 will surely be a success.

Trial track: “Water Under The Bridge”

8/10

CRISTINA SANZA

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

SPORTS

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11

SPORTS EDITOR ALEXANDER COLE sports@theconcordian.com @theconcordian

MEN’S HOCKEY

Stingers almost perfect in 7-1 win over Brock The men’s hockey team was dominant on Nov. 27 against the west division’s Badgers THEO KYRES Contributor The Stingers were dominant in a one-sided effort which saw them crush the Brock Badgers by a score of 7-1 on Nov. 27 at Ed Meagher Arena.

The Stingers seem to have found their offensive touch during their last four games, outscoring opponents by a combined 12 goals; they’re 3-0-1 during this latest stretch. Brock on the other hand, has lost their last three games with a goal differential of negative 14 and this game continued the trend.

The first few minutes of the game were tense. Both sides were playing tight, checking hockey. Halfway through the first period, Stingers captain Olivier Hinse, the team’s leading scorer, ripped a shot on the power play after forward Scott Oke set him up on a one-timer. Brock then responded with a goal by Sammy Banga off a scrambled play in front of the net.

However, towards the end of the first period, the Stingers started to dominate the play and were clearly the better team, outshooting and out-chancing their opponent by a wide margin.

Hinse scored a goal off of a rush to start the second period, a period which saw the Stingers score five of their six unanswered goals. After Hinse scored, the game got tight for a few minutes before the Stingers found an extra offensive gear and took the play to the Badgers.

Brock goalie Real Cormier was solid in the first but after stopping 23 of his

Forward Luca Ciampini scores during the Stingers 7-1 win against the Badgers. Photo by Andrej Ivanov. first 24 shots, he allowed three on the last four of the period.

The next goal was a rocket from Stingers forward Jessyko Bernard after defenceman Frederick Roy opened up the zone with a solid play on the boards. This was followed by a speedy, intelligent defensive play by Alexandros Soumakis who fed Luca Ciampini for his first of two goals during the period. Speed was a huge factor as the Stingers utilized it to establish their torrid pace and strong cycle game to keep the game out of reach for Brock.

In the third period, Stingers goaltender Miguel Sullivan made some fantastic saves and the Stingers continued to control the play even when Brock tried to impose their physical play. Roy was rewarded for his hard work on the penalty

kill and great defensive coverage with a nice tip-in goal to make it 7-1.

The game got rough in the third period, as Soumakis left the game with an undisclosed injury. There were also a few tense moments after high hits on Hinse and Sullivan, but both would be all right.

Ciampini, who scored two goals during the second, now has seven goals in his last four games and explained the difference he’s felt during that stretch “Just going to the net, using my shot, playing hard, I’ve got my confidence and we’ll just keep going from there,” Ciampini said.

Sullivan was another key factor in the game as he made key stops, including an incredible diving save in the third.

“It was outstanding, probably the best

game I’ve ever been a part of,” Sullivan said. “They (Stingers) were strong offensively and strong defensively and they were all clicking.”

Stingers coach Marc-André Element was quite happy with the result and had praise for his goaltender’s effort, “He kept us in the game, he [had] some key saves and this is what we want from our goalies,” said Element.

Element also praised his team’s attention to detail during the game.

“It’s one of the first games of the season that we played 60 minutes,” Element said. “We did all the little details we were asking for.”

The following night on Nov. 28, the men lost to York University 4-3. The Stingers now have a record of 6-7-3 on the year.

OPINION

The new NHL All-Star Game format is horrible 3-on-3 hockey and a million dollar payout is making the league look foolish this year JONATHAN STILL Contributor Sometimes a group of individuals come together and re-awaken a hunger for a once successful entity through ingenuity, perseverance and a groundbreaking idea. Steve Jobs, Apple and the iPod are the first examples that comes to mind.

The Goosebumps movie however, is an example of how such an attempt can go horribly wrong.

The new 3-on-3 format of the NHL All-Star Game is somewhere closer to Jack Black’s abomination than Steve Jobs’ empire.

It has been a valiant effort of creative and outside-the-box-thinking from both the National Hockey League Players Association and the league itself.

The format is this: divisional all-star

teams will compete, making season-long adversaries teammates for a weekend.

Three 20-minute mini games will be played which should be a short enough span to hold the viewer’s attention.

In addition, $1 million will be awarded to the winning team in an attempt to get players to become more competitive. The money will be divided evenly amongst the players, however, the thought of giving a fraction of an extra million dollars to a bunch of multi-millionaires seems a little ridiculous. 3-on-3 at the all-star game ultimately seems like administering a shot of adrenaline to a dead parrot.

Sure, the 3-on-3 format is a way to promote scoring, but scoring in the allstar game has never been a problem.

The all-star game lacks one thing: competitiveness. The level of competition is what fans love about sport. It is

impossible to manufacture the desire to defeat the opposition when players know the game is altogether meaningless.

Players have to protect their own personal brand, which is why so many of them choose to skip the weekend rather than risk injury. The gimmicks of the last decade, such as the fantasy draft and the North America vs. The World game have all been ways to gloss over the fact that all-star games have become irrelevant.

There was a time before satellite T.V., ESPN and the Internet when these games were important to the league as a way to showcase their stars to the world. Today, anyone can compress the all-star game into a highlight reel and spare themselves the hour long snooze-fest it has become.

This is not an NHL problem; the NBA and the NFL have been unable to find solutions to create anything resembling excitement towards their all-star games.

Even the NBA dunk contest, once a must-see television event, has now been greeted with apathy over the last decade.

Surprisingly, the tradition-adhering cult that is major league baseball is the only one of the North American sports leagues that has managed to make the all-star game meaningful—by making it too meaningful. As far as I’m concerned, determining home-field advantage in the championship series via an all-star game undermines the regular season records of the two competing teams.

All-star games are important to the cities they are held in. The weekend festivities are first class, and are important to growing the sport in nontraditional hockey markets such as Nashville. But trying to use a gimmick to generate an audience has proven to be futile and 3-on-3 is not going to change that.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

RECREATION

Skiing: A sport of fast slopes and good times A spotlight on the somewhat extreme winter sport that has everyone bundling up for the cold SABRINA AHN Contributor Snow, slush, ice; all of these are elements that have been conquered by skiers over the years.

Skiing is a dynamic and exciting sport that is different each time you go. If there is a single drop or rise in temperature, the conditions in which you ski change drastically, making for new and exciting adventures each time.

For most, skiing is more than just a sport. It is a community of people often called ‘weird’ or ‘crazy’ for willingly going out in freezing temperatures and paying large sums of money to slide down hills and mountains covered in snow. This creates a bond between skiers like no other.

Of course in the skiing community there are subcategories and slang not known to others who do not practice the sport. This makes it seem hard to integrate into the sport and the people enjoying the freedom of it because it can seem so exclusive.

Personally, in the last few years, I have seen less skiers out on the slopes and more snowboarders. Many believe there is a constant tug-of-war between the two sports, when really they share the mountain together. Recently though, skiing has found its spark once more

thanks to park skiing, which the younger generation enjoys more. It is quite different from the traditional downhill racing, which many find ‘stiff’ or ‘lame.’

Even if someone doesn’t want to practice on a team or do crazy tricks in the ski park, there are other options for those who just want to go out, breathe in some fresh air and have a good time with friends. Groomed trails, which are runs that have the snow properly kept and compacted, are open to everyone and adjusted by difficulty level.

Of course putting all beginners on the same run doesn’t always end well, but that is part of the excitement of skiing.

It’s unpredictable and each time you go on a run, you can always find something new and different about it.

Conditions tend to differ and there are always new approaches to take when completing a run.

Sometimes you might fall, but the important thing about skiing is that even if you fall, you have to get back up and finish the run. The drive to not give up is there because you’ve got a whole community behind you. Often you’ll hear chants and laughs encouraging you from the lifts, because everyone is out there to have a good time, even if you mess up.

The lack of snow the past few weeks has made many anxious, as skiers want to get out on the hills. So much so,

Graphic by Charlotte Bracho. even Mont Saint-Sauveur, one of the most famous ski hills 45 minutes north of Montreal, has decided to make fake snow to open the season. However, there will be many other options once the snow hits the hills. Mont Rigaud west of Montreal is best for beginners, while

Mont Bromont is better for intermediate skiers wanting a bit of everything (groomed trails, parks and glades).

If anything, skiing is a fun way for friends to go out, be active and maybe sometimes sneak in a few drinks while having a great time.

OPINION

Alex Semin has been a bust for the Habs A look at Marc Bergevin and his worst signing to date SARAH KOSSITS Staff writer When the Montreal Canadiens announced on Wednesday that they have signed general manager and executive vice president Marc Bergevin to a contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2021-2022 season, I was impressed.

As a general manager, he’s doing great. In the last few years, he has locked down core players such as Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher and team captain Max Pacioretty for the foreseeable future. The idea of a Stanley Cup coming to Montreal isn’t as far-fetched as it once was and Bergevin is largely responsible for that.

However, some of Bergevin’s decisions are met with mixed responses, and the signing of free-agent Alexander Semin this past summer was one of them.

The Carolina Hurricanes bought out the last three years of Semin’s contract after he failed to produce for them. In his final season with the Hurricanes, he only put up 19 points in 57 games.

The Habs were hoping that by offering Semin a one year contract worth $1.1 million, they would be able to reignite the goal scorer that he once was.

In the 2009-2010 season, Semin put up 40 goals and 49 assists in 73 games and finished the season with a plus 36 rating.

He had another decent season the year after, but has been on the decline since.

Some believe that this is because of his age, but I personally don’t think so; Semin isn’t really that old. At 31-years-old, he is only four years older than the league’s current points leader, Patrick Kane.

When you’ve got guys like 43-yearold Jaromir Jagr putting up 17 points in 19 games this year, it just proves that although talented players may slow down with age, they will not stop producing.

The Semin signing is very similar to when the Habs had Thomas Vanek for half a season. The team hoped he would produce and he did in the regular season, but not so much in the playoffs. Vanek then left the team during that offseason.

Semin could be another Vanek-type situation. He could produce a little and move on next year, and by the looks of it that’s what he will do.

You also have to consider players like Dale Weise: a guy who produced only six points in 40 games in his last season with the Canucks, but found a home with the Canadiens. Weise is one of our top players this year and he was clearly worth the risk that Bergevin took when he traded Raphael Diaz for him a few years ago. He didn’t click with Vancouver, but he clearly clicks with Montreal.

That’s just part of being a general manager. You have to acquire players who you hope click and contribute to the team’s success, but not all acquisitions will work out.

So was Bergevin’s idea of signing Semin for a year a terrible one?

Absolutely not. Bergevin hoped that it would be another Weise-type signing, but it hasn’t been. It was a risk worth taking that simply didn’t pay off, and Semin will likely move on with his career away from the Habs next year.

Graphic by Charlotte Bracho.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

OPINIONS

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OPINIONS EDITOR MATTHEW CIVICO opinions@theconcordian.com @theconcordian

EDITORIAL

D

Snotty, blood-dirt finals war paint recipe

ear all students who are in the same boat as us and drowning in finals, term papers, term projects and extra assignments your teachers came up with seemingly on a whim: hang in there.

We know your fingers are bleeding from typing out endless essays. We know there is dirt on your face from not having time to shower and food crusted on your sweatshirt from where you dribbled soup on it three days ago. We know your eyes are blurry because catnaps in the dark corners of the library just don’t quite cut it and your arms are weary from lugging books to and from your favourite grimy study corner.

You’re tired. You’re dirty. And your nose is bleeding because you’ve been forced to use your brain so much in the last couple of days.

But you know what?

You’re almost through.

You’ve just got a little further to go.

So smear together your nose bleed and face dirt to make some warpaint.

Stand up and throw your head back in the Blue Zone in the library. Take a deep breath and feel the gentle winds of winter break on your face—you are so close you can feel it.

You’ve sacrificed mornings of sleep to research essays, turned down nights of partying to calculate homework, refused socialization to finish your readings! Don’t make all of this year’s sacrifices worthless. Instead stand tall on the mountain of your accomplishments and feel it lift you just a little closer to your ultimate goal—being done for the break.

You’re a brilliant university student.

You’ve completed upwards of 12 years of schooling for this. Feel every year of yourself pushing you forward, chanting,

“go, go, go!” Growl at your textbooks, throw yourself recklessly against your mountains of assignments, roar at your essays and feverishly attack your finals!

You know this. You’ve got this. You’ve done this before (side note for first years, there are things like the writing centre and helpful librarians who can help you correctly cite your bibliographies and give you pointers on your essays if you, in fact, have not done this before). And you’re going to get through this.

This time of year is rough. Colds and the flu run rampant, stress levels have us all yelling at The Hive baristas who make us wait in line and people are so worn down it becomes the norm to see students dead asleep on the shuttle, drooling on the shoulders of their neighbours. There should be schoolzone signs around campus this time of year with the way dazed students stum-

ble into traffic to get to their next class.

This is the home stretch, the last gasp, the final kilometre. Double down, give your Facebook password to a friend and unsubscribe from Netflix—because if you get through this last stretch, this last hurdle then you’re in greener pastures my friend.

You will be able to T.V. binge till you don’t know what time of day it is and laugh hysterically at any form of plans for the day.

Remember to turn off your computer and sleep, get exercise and cuddle furry friends to reduce stress levels. If you don’t have animals of your own, Concordia is bringing in therapy dogs from Dec. 2 to 8 which you can snuggle on campus to reduce your stress.

But mostly mix up some snotty, dirtblood paint, make yourself look scary and attack them books like they ain’t been attacked before. Warrior class: student.

You’ve got this.

REFLECTIONS

Getting off the Israeli-Palestinian fence can be dangerous Hurt people hurt people; the cycle of violence has to end somewhere ANGISEL KIERMAIER Contributor

Ma, me voy a la marcha. Si me ves, no dispares. / Mom, I’m getting off the fence.

If you see me, don’t shoot.

I’ve been on the fence forever. I have simultaneously critiqued and engaged in conversations about intersectional feminism, race issues, religious issues, gender and sexuality issues. You name it, I’ve talked about it. I’ve been pro-strike, pro-marches, pro-vigils… but I’ve not attended marches, strikes or vigils. I have my values, thank you very much. They are good values. I value freedom of expression, gender equality, inclusivity, all those wonderful things other people have fought for and have been killed for everywhere.

But I’ve stayed on the fence; I’m an international student but I live in intersections of privilege that could be denied to me by institutions—university, governments, states—if I take a side. Who ever willingly risks their privilege? Why would the struggle of these other people interest someone like me? Why should I care?

About a year ago, I found myself in an uncomfortable position. Everybody around me was talking Palestine, and whenever we spoke, mother, I had to tread lightly because all the voices calling Palestine paled to your round-about way of whispering Israel.

We have family there, you mentioned.

My grandmother lived through the Holocaust, you said. Isn’t it time the Jews (I notice you don’t identify as such, mother) got some of their own back, you implied. Think

Graphic by Charlotte Bracho. what you want, you said when I whimper Palestine, but don’t forget you are still Jewish. Don’t forget that Israel is surrounded by nations that want her dead, much like my great-grandmother and grandfather were surrounded by those who wanted them dead; Jews have done what they must to survive. So I have paid lip service to values, complained about my privilege, agonized. And I stayed on the fence.

But mother, you were also the one who taught me to respect others’ right to live, no matter how incomprehensible I found them. You quoted often something which went along the lines of: “Someone came to us asking for help, but since they were not us, we ignored it. Someone else did the same, and yet we, since they were not us, ignored them. When they came to destroy us we turned to cry for help, but there was no one left.”

You have told me this my entire life,

inadvertently giving me an out, a core reason to care, so please understand, I cannot ignore them; they are us.

And so I find myself dreading to call you, because I’m tired. I just supported a friend challenging my community’s values; I just dealt with a team member for a school project who behaved like an ass because I happened to say that every day Palestinian people are killed, bombed, murdered. They don’t believe Palestine exists, as if death was a matter of belief.

I just got off the fence and I’m tired, wondering how it is that we survive not only knowing but being aware of how people hurt people, everywhere, all the time.

I dread calling you because I’ve finally gotten off the fence about this, and I’m no longer sure your support is unwavering, nor that I’ll walk away from our conversation with my heart unscathed.

But staying on the fence means

that no matter how much I might decry gendered violence in all cultures; might oppose environmental destruction; stand in solidarity with First Nations; support teachers, nurses, bus drivers, workers rights to a livable wage; or the right of society—all societies—at large to quality education and health care.

Not matter what else I do, if there is a part of me capable of generally dismissing the commonplace violence done to a people not my own by people who could be my own as irrelevant.

Mother, I’m getting off the fence. Thank you for the safety of my skin tone; for the elite education; for the walls between me and those you thought would do me harm, the walls between them and the very small group, our family, which made up us.

Thank you. I cannot stay.

Ma. Me voy a la marcha. Si me ves, no dispares.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

RELIGION

Dawkins’ Delusion: #PrayforParis and hateful ideology Antagonizing the average adherent is unlikely to end religious violence extremism

MATTHEW SHANAHAN Staff writer

R

ichard Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion, is all over Twitter.

A quick look at his feed reveals that he isn’t just against hateful religious ideology, but religion itself—does that strengthen or weaken his call to oppose religious extremism?

Dawkins has been asking people not to pray probably since his small-minded understanding of religion led him to atheism in his adolescence. His atheistic views are far from what concern me, especially with regards to what happened a couple of weeks ago in Paris. In fact, I often feel that many atheists, whether academic intellectuals or even friends, have a more realistic understanding of how religion operates than the average religious person. I do have a problem, however, with prominent men such as Dawkins trying to tell the world to not pray for Paris.

I want to backtrack a couple of months to U.S. President Barack Obama’s address to the nation following the Oct. 1 Oregon shootings. He said that “prayers are not enough,” which was glorified by the secular activists in America who still remain convinced that Obama is actually a closet atheist. The first thing here that needs to be addressed is that Obama did not discredit prayer. Rather, he said what any normal authority figure would say following an atrocity such as a shooting.

That is, to emphasize the necessity of action that should take place.

Secular activists need to understand that while some people use prayer as a substitute for action, that has never been the intention of prayer as described by all the modern religious traditions of the world. In its proper form, prayer should be the tool utilized by those who subscribe to a divine being, which fuels their action to change the world and act in a more proper way. But surprise, surprise, Dawkins will never share that perspective because he

is a narcissistic old man who even claims to have no interest in understanding theology. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

Secondly, the fact that Dawkins is hateful towards religion most definitely weakens his call to oppose religious extremism. In fact, it’s hateful views like that which fuel terrorist organizations such as Daesh. We can debate and interpret the meaning of violent passages in the Qur’an, Bible and other sacred texts until the end of time but that will still result in disagreements and won’t solve the issue at hand here, which is terrorism.

The reality is that most religions, such as Islam, are founded on core messages of doing good to others. This is fundamentally why religious traditions of all sorts have continued until today, because they do contain fundamental truths about humanity. Trying to wipe religion off the face of the Earth will never work. Many people have tried and miserably failed. Yet, Dawkins continues to reduce religion to a select few passages in sacred texts.

So what can we do in Western society to combat religious extremism? Well for starters, religious acceptance is key. This doesn’t mean that all religions’ claims to truth are all the same but acknowledging their faith, and their pursuit of truth, with love and respect is necessary. Not to take shots at our French allies, but there’s no denying that French culture hasn’t been the most inclusive to Arabs.

Lastly, we cannot deny that perhaps the most important weapon to combat Daesh and extremism is on the political scene. The political allies of the West are extremely problematic, such as the United States’ alliance with Saudi Arabia, which promotes Wahhabism, the underlying ideology that has inspired groups such as Daesh, according to a PBS Frontline investigation.

There are many things that need to happen in order to combat religious extremism, but staying ignorant and being hateful towards other religions is the last thing that would get the job done.

Montrealers gather to mourn victims of the Paris attacks and show solidarity with the French people on Nov. 15. Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A public Apology from the executives of ASFA to Mei Ling We, the ASFA executive and board of directors are writing this letter to sincerely apologize to Mei Ling—on behalf of any student involved in ASFA past or present—for creating a racially and sexually oppressive environment during her time in office.

Mei Ling experienced multiple levels of discrimination and harassment because ASFA has contributed to an unsafe environment, ruining her engagement with student life. Her integrity and self-esteem have been hurt due to ASFA which is unacceptable.

We regret that these experiences deterred her from exploring other facets

of student life at Concordia.

The federation takes full responsibility for allowing these actions to happen and we will begin rectifying the situation by distancing ourselves from those who perpetuate a racist or sexist culture in our community. We will be providing consent, harm reduction, and anti-oppression trainings to all students and employees who hold a position of power within ASFA. We will be creating a task force on sexual violence and racism with a mandate to review the school’s sexual assault policies and to create awareness and educational campaigns around these

issues. We will also ensure that the university administration treat this issue with the utmost importance and regret that they have not yet issued a public apology for the lack of support they provided her.

To Mei Ling: Because you have spoken up about your experiences you have given other survivors the courage to speak up about theirs. We would like to thank you for having the bravery that this took and for initiating culture change not only on our campus but on campuses across the province.

We promise to continue reforming our spaces, processes, and attitudes to

repair the damage created by systemic racism and sexism within the federation and the university and sincerely apologize to you for our past inaction.

Sincerely, All members of the ARTS and SCIENCE STUDENT FEDERATION of ASSOCIATIONS

WRITE TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@theconcordian.com

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

ETC Tweets of the week #PopeBars A picture of the Pope holding a mic like a rapper during his tour of Africa is taking the world by storm. It’s also immaculately conceived the hashtag #PopeBars, which netizens are using to imagine Pope Francis preachin’ to a beat.

Spittin’ them #PopeBars:

@Branson_Long But really are you reading though?

Matthew, Mark, and John is for beginners you ain’t even know #PopeBars

WRITE TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@theconcordian.com @theconcordian

The time has come goodbyes and fare thee wells.

We’ve wrestled homework hydras and considered the inexorability of time, but that family of shrews are still living board-free in my pantry—they’ve even put up Christmas decorations.

Now, as we all settle in for a well-deserved break from crushing expectations and fleeting success I have one last bit of advice: take advantage of the opportunities set before you.

As a very, very wise wizard once said, “all we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” So rest up, read for pleasure, and remember, when throws you a puzzle you can always ask old Tryn for some advice. with warmly spiced holiday cheer, Grand Wizard Trynamingus III

@Mystiq_Janelle If you having faith problems I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but a devil ain’t one #PopeBars

ADVERTISE WITH US

@marclombardi I like big hats and I cannot lie... #PopeBars @Chef_Lu_Bu My psalms are sweaty, pages wet, arms are ready, the spirit in my body already, lord’s spaghetti. #PopeBars

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

FROM THIS EXHAUSTED GROUP OF STUDENTS HAPPY CONCORDIAN STAFF, TO YOU WITH LOVE

the

c

A small chunk of our Concordian staff took a break from their finals to spread some holiday joy. Photo by Martha Nduwayo.

The Concordian’s editorial team We tell your stories since 1983.

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CONTRIBUTORS Savanna Craig, Laura Marchand, Mina Mazumber, Olivia O’Malley, Marco Saveriano, Maria Bukreev, Julia Bryant, Kalvin Hartwig, Ambre Sachet, Theodosios Kyres, Jonathan Still, Casey Dulson, Sabrina Ahn, Sarah Kossits, Angisel Kiermaier, Matthew Shanahan

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Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 14 | TUESDAY, DEC. 1, 2015 Cover photo by Gregory Todaro.

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