Vol. 40 Issue 19 - March 23rd, 2023

“There are a lot of people who adopt a cat, but who are not even aware of what it costs. They’re not even aware of what it requires. Offering a place like this, is to offer an alternative,”

- Clément Marty, Owner, Café Chat L’Heureux

Sexual Violence At Concordia: An Ongoing Battle for Justice

Concordia in dire need of sexual violence policy reform, students say

At the start of the Winter 2022 semester, Concordia student Katherine Leblanc’s theology class was moved online due to COVID-19 precautions. After texting her class group chat about the challenges of the course, Leblanc began receiving hateful messages from multiple male classmates. Their insults took a rapid turn.

In February 2022, Leblanc received a series of pornographic images and threats of bodily harm, including rape.

She followed Concordia’s sexual violence policy, which also applies to online harassment. As she attempted to seek justice for the harassment she endured, she said the university made it as difficult as possible for her needs to be met.

After filing a complaint to the Office of Rights and Responsibilities (ORR), Leblanc claimed she was left in the dark for weeks and routinely ignored by Concordia. After hiring a lawyer to get the university to respond, she claimed she finally received a reply with a hearing date the following day. “I shouldn’t have to get a lawyer to move my case to the tribunal,” Leblanc said. “I’d been cooperating for weeks and they would not send my case to the tribunal. They just wouldn’t answer. Instead of telling me the process, they moved me from person to person,” she continued. “I was cooperating with Concordia but they would not listen.”

From the ORR to the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC), Leblanc never felt heard or properly taken care of by the institutional bodies meant to handle sexual violence on campus. The history of sexual violence on Quebec campuses goes back decades.

Years of advocacy from university and CEGEP students led to Quebec passing Bill 151 in 2017, an Act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions.

In compliance with the new law, Concordia created the Standing Committee on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence (SMSV) in 2018.

Despite the mandatory inclusion of four student representatives on the committee, student members of the SMSV say they have routinely felt ignored and outnumbered by the administration.

In October 2022, the Concordia Student Union (CSU), the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA), and the Teaching and Research Assistants at Concordia (TRAC) union began a boycott of the SMSV. They demanded student-led solutions, transparency, and gender equity. In response to the boycott, Concordia appointed four students to the SMSV, potentially violating the Accreditation Act by not having representatives from student unions. The identities of these students have not been revealed.

Limited Resources, Limited Impact

After Leblanc was sexually harassed, she consulted SARC for assistance. She was given information about mental health and other services available to her, but didn’t find much use from them.

Faced with physically returning to her classroom once in-person learning resumed, Leblanc was frustrated with Concordia’s Sexual Assault Response Team, made to help survivors navigate campus. “Just trying to get security to accompany me to class was a nightmare,” she said.

SARC was created in 2013 largely due to student-led efforts from the Centre for Gender Advocacy and in collaboration with Health Services, the Dean of Students Office and other units on campus. It is the primary point of contact for members of the university experiencing any form of sexual violence.

For Jennifer Drummond, SARC’s manager, the centre has two missions: support and prevention.

“The centre provides counseling, academic and health accommodations, and other resources,” she said.

Currently, SARC employs two

counselors, a facilitator, and a project coordinator, according to Drummond. Volunteers fill the other posts.

One of SARC’s responsibilities is the handling of sexual assault disclosures.

In Concordia’s annual reports, which are required by Bill 151, the university categorizes instances of sexual assault reported by students between disclosures and complaints.

The report defines disclosures as signaling a situation without going as far as filing an administrative complaint. Disclosures are resolved with accommodation measures for the survivor.

In Concordia’s 2021-2022 report, 111 disclosures were filed.

Many students have criticized the way SARC operates. In a 2018 report, 70 per cent of people who sought the centre’s help were dissatisfied with the outcome of their cases.

Olivia, a member of the CSU’s campaigns department who has been given a pseudonym to protect her identity, argued that institutional changes are needed. “Only 10 per cent of assaults on Quebec campuses ever get reported,” she said. “And from that 10 per cent, how many actually get any followthrough? Accountability is incredibly hard to achieve at Concordia,” she said.

“The issue with SARC is that it’s not staffed enough to deal with the entire Concordia population,” comprised of over 50,000 people, Olivia added.

“Rates of sexual violence are incredibly high—over one in three people will be assaulted on campus in Quebec. We need SARC to be well-staffed, which includes raising budgets.”

Drummond said she felt that SARC was well-equipped by the administration, but that more can always be done. “I think that with a community of this size, we can always have more counselors and resources,” she said. If Concordia wants to fix its rape culture, Olivia believes the university must invest in better prevention. She criticized Concordia’s online sexual violence trainings, which were made mandatory by Bill 151. She said trainings should be annual, in-person and involving a facilitator. “If Concordia wants to call itself a next-generation university or a feminist space, it needs to care about survivors more than its bottom line.”

Processing Violence

Once survivors consult with SARC, they are encouraged to file a complaint if they are comfortable, Drummond explained. According to Concordia’s policy, complaints are formal measures aimed at taking action against alleged perpetrators.

The report makes a distinction between informal complaints, which “are often resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,” and formal complaints, which “can lead to disciplinary measures.”

Informal complaints can result in an apology letter, community service, or a no-contact agreement, Drummond said. It is a non-disciplinary option, but can escalate to a formal complaint.

Formal complaints involving students will be sent to the Office of Student Tribunals, where a hearing will take place. If a survivor’s case involves a member of the administration or faculty, an investigation is planned. Disciplinary action may be taken, and final results are in the hands of panelists trained in part by SARC, Drummond explained.

Formal complaints can lead to a note on file, suspension, restricted access to the campus, expulsion or firing.

According to the latest annual report, 18 complaints were reported in 2021-2022.

Sexual violence complaints are handled by the Office of Rights and Responsibilities (ORR), the body charged with resolving all incidents where the Code of Rights and Responsibilities has been allegedly violated.

When Leblanc attempted to file a complaint with the ORR, she was met with seemingly endless problems. “The whole time I dealt with the ORR, nothing was explained to me. It felt like I wasn’t worth their breath.”

Because sexual violence had been involved in her case, Leblanc wanted to take it to a student tribunal. She claimed her requests were ignored by ORR members.

Leblanc spent her summer in Zoom meetings with the ORR, forced to retell her story multiple times to many different people. She recalled Drummond sitting in during one of the meetings and offering her words of support, but nothing substantive came out of their interaction.

“We are not a reporting office. We just receive disclosures, provide support and provide education,” said Drummond, explaining that reporting is handled by the ORR.

Bill 151 stipulates that universities must have separate policies pertaining to sexual violence that distinguish them from other policies. While Concordia meets these criteria, students have criticized the university for not having a body independent of the ORR to handle cases of sexual violence.

Olivia pointed to Concordia’s poor sexual violence policy rating in the 2017 Our Turn report, a national action plan that examined 14 Canadian universities. “The reason we got a D- rating was because our policy essentially equates sexual violence to plagiarism,” she said.

“It all goes back to the Code of Rights and Responsibilities, which is meant for academic offenses, not sexual violence.”

Drummond affirmed that SARC works very closely with the ORR on cases of sexual violence, helping guide members as they deal with complaints. Additionally, students

who sit on student tribunals are given trainings by SARC for when they have to deal with sexual violence cases.

The Policy Problem

Concordia’s Standing Committee on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence (SMSV) was created in 2018, following the implementation of Bill 151.

According to Concordia Spokesperson Vannina Maestracci, the SMSV “explores ways to strengthen prevention and response and so it reviews the policies, looks at responses, training and so on.” The SMSV does not rule over issues of sexual violence at Concordia, but rather looks into the policies and procedures used in such cases.

In 2018, Concordia student Elena, who has been given a pseudonym to protect her identity, sat as her union’s representative on the SMSV. At the time, the committee forced members to sign non-disclosure agreements with the university. Elena refused to sign the NDA and Concordia eventually stopped asking for it, despite her constant presence at the committee.

Elena recalled a board room filled with administration officials, lawyers and faculty representatives. Each meeting would begin with a lengthy speech from one of Concordia’s lawyers. “Sometimes, they would send us massive documents the night before so that we didn’t have time to read through them in time,” Elena said. “We students would stay up all night making notes and organizing, and we’d enter meetings with solutions.”

After poring over reports, the students wanted to give their input. “They told us, ‘that’s really not what you should do in this meeting, we’re just here to discuss and get a general vibe. You’re all very loud.’ They wanted to let everyone speak, but nobody besides us had read the documents,” Elena added. Elena recalled survivors standing before the committee, sharing their stories and experiences. “The administration sat in silence and rolled their eyes,” she said. “Watching survivors recount their trauma while crying hysterically as these overpaid motherfuckers scroll through Instagram, rolling their eyes, is just evil. That kind of behaviour is the true definition of SMSV.”

Since its inception, Concordia’s sexual violence policy has been under harsh scrutiny. According to Sophie Hough, former student representative on the SMSV, systemic change must take place. Hough is a member of Students for Consent Culture (SFCC), the group responsible for the Our Turn report.

“Students on campus have been advocating pretty tirelessly since 2011 for a standalone sexual violence policy,” she said. According to SFCC, a standalone sexual violence policy is completely independent from the Code of Rights and Responsibilities—a requirement they claim Concordia does not meet.

For any changes in sexual violence policy, students, faculty, and other stakeholders must be included, Bill 151 states. The SMSV must have student representatives to function. In November 2022, the University appointed four new representatives from the student body at large.

When asked for the names of the current SMSV members, Maestracci would not disclose the information “due to concerns around the current climate for these members.”

The Link and The Concordian both reached out to SMSV Chair and Equity Director Lisa White for comment, but were denied. According to Maestracci,

“the Chair of the Standing Committee still hopes to meet the CSU and GSA to discuss the issues with them directly, rather than through student media.”

An Alternative Approach

For some sexual violence survivors on campus, using the resources provided by the institution in which they were assaulted can be traumatizing. Many have to look outside the university for the help they need.

According to Deborah Trent, executive director at the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre (MSAC), universities are legally required to have services, procedures and policies in place to deal with sexual violence.

If universities fail to follow their own procedures, Trent said, survivors have the full right to seek guidance outside the institution. “They have every right to press charges; they have every right to go to the police,” she explained. “But for a whole lot of people, it’s a really difficult decision.”

Since 2010, the organization has operated a Sexual Violence Helpline to ensure survivors have a place to share their experiences and get information and resources that best fit their case.

Nonetheless, since the SMSV boycott began in October 2022, students and workers have mobilized to create an alternative within Concordia.

In order to combat the restrictive nature of the committee and call for a complete restructuring of the university’s sexual violence policies, a grassroots, worker-led group called the Inter-organizational Table for Femi-

nist Affairs (ITFA) was created.

ITFA contains a variety of student and worker groups at the university, including the CSU, GSA and TRAC. They aim to find solutions to sexual violence at Concordia from and for the people most affected by the issue. TRAC delegate Mathilde Laroche said that the main problem with the current SMSV committee is rooted in its lack of student inclusion. “It doesn’t give any space for students to be involved and informed or to have the right information to participate in the decision-making,” they said.

Julianna Smith, the CSU’s external affairs and mobilization coordinator, believes that very little meaningful change can be made through the SMSV. “Right now, the students are completely outnumbered on the SMSV committee,” said Smith. “So even when we are able to mobilize as students and work together, we’re always outvoted so we can’t actually put any initiatives forward.”

The need for student-centred solutions was an important part of the decision to boycott the SMSV.

“ITFA works within a transformative justice framework. It is important to have an organization that is authentically interested in addressing sexualized abuses of power,” said GSA representative Akinyi Oluoch.

“Addressing these abuses at their root will require worker, student, community, and survivor-led processes of justice,” she added.

With files from Hannah Vogan, Iness Rifay, Joëlle Jalbert, Maria Cholakova, Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman, and Zachary Fortier.

INFOGRAPHIC BY NATASHA SPINELLI//THE CONCORDIAN AND INESS RIFAY//THE LINK

GRAPHIC BY CARLEEN LONEY @SHLONEYS

Protesters Gather Against Injustice

The International Day Against Police Brutality protest highlighted concerns about police accountability and mistreatment of detainees

BY SAKIB HOSSAIN // CONTRIBUTOR

On March 10, the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations hosted an event in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood to gather victims of crime, city officials, and community groups to discuss crime prevention. The event began with organizers acknowledging the pain and suffering felt by attendees in the room and hoping that they could start a conversation on how to overcome violence in the area.

On March 15, the International Day Against Police Brutality, over 100 demonstrators marched through the streets of NDG to protest police brutality. The protest aimed to highlight brutality throughout the justice system, not just among police officers. Demonstrators demanded accountability for the individuals responsible for upholding systemic racism.

The demonstration was organized by the Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP), who founded International Day Against Police Brutality in 1997.

The protest also highlighted the case of Nicous D’Andre Spring, a 21-year-old Black man who died during an altercation with police while illegally detained at Bordeaux prison. Quebec’s chief coroner has ordered a public inquiry into Spring’s death, and provincial police opened a criminal investigation into the

incident, which resulted in the suspension of a correctional officer and a supervisor.

Alain Babineau, director of The Red Coalition, a group in Montreal that advocates for social justice issues, shared his perspective on the progress made in addressing racial profiling and police brutality. “Protests are good, but there has to be some type of objective behind it. They raise awareness, but it has to be sustained. Otherwise, the

The Unseen Struggles of Women in Engineering

Concordia students share their experiences as women in engineering

BY MARIEKE GLORIEUX-STRYCKMAN // NEWS EDITOR

When Gloria Anastasopoulos was 10 years old, her school organized a ceramics painting day. Excited, the young girl found a motorcycle ceramic to paint and went to ask for the monitor’s permission.

“And she was like, ‘Why do you want to paint that?’” recalled Anastasopoulos. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know, it’s cool!’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, leave it for one of the boys to paint. It’s a motorcycle, leave it, maybe one of the boys wants it.’”

After making sure nobody else took the ceramic, Anastasopoulos ended up being allowed to paint it. Now in her third year in mechanical engineering at Concordia, she still has the motorcycle, and she still carries the experience that came with it.

Are you interested in being an active listening volunteer?

powers that be, the politicians, go along with the popular [sentiment]. If they see there is merit in supporting your claim or what it is that you’re pushing forward, then they’ll go along with it.”

Babineau stressed the importance of treating people with respect and dignity, rather than just focusing on reconciliation efforts.

Earlier this year, the Quebec Police Ethics Committee ruled that two Montreal police officers, Dominique Gagné and Mathieu Paré, knowingly omitted key information about David Tshiteya Kalubi’s medical condition before his death in their custody in 2017. The officers failed to document Kalubi’s sickle cell anemia on the inmate control sheet, a condition he took medication for. The committee found the officers’ omission amounted to negligent and careless behaviour.

However, the Quebec Crown Prosecutor’s Office decided not to charge anyone in connection with Kalubi’s death. The case has raised questions about police accountability and the treatment

PHOTOS BY CATHERINE REYNOLDS

of Black individuals in police custody.

Quebec’s Crown Prosecutor’s Office has announced that the police officers who shot and killed Jean René Junior Olivier in Repentigny in August 2021 will not face criminal charges. The Crown’s decision was based on an analysis of evidence, including video footage from one of the paramedics at the scene.

The incident sparked outrage in Repentigny’s Black community against racial profiling by law enforcement.

The march served as a reminder that the fight against police brutality is ongoing and that it is the responsibility of everyone to demand justice and accountability from “les brutes en uniformes,” as one masked organizer called police. The COBP and other organizations have been fighting for decades to end racial profiling and violence by law enforcement, and they vow to continue until significant changes are made.

Babineau highlighted the need for sustained activism to bring about real change.

“Apologies are apologies are apologies,” he said. “If it sort of atoned for evil that you did, great. It’s not a licence for the things you’re about to do.”

The first time she spoke with The Concordian, Anastasopoulos could not think on the spot of this story nor any specific instances where she felt singled out as a woman in engineering. She could only share a feeling that these moments had occurred.

Shortly after the interview however, she requested a second talk. This time, she came armed with a list of microaggressions and subtle sexism experienced by herself and her colleagues. “You get so used to seeing it, you don’t even notice,” she said.

Anastasopoulos is very involved in engineering societies and competitions at Concordia. She said that there are many women in these groups, but a lot of them fill management roles, while the men fill more of the design and programming roles.

She recalled the story of one of her friends, who joined a society in which most of the members were men. They sometimes met until late at night to work on projects, but her friend was uncomfortable staying out so late with men, and having to take the metro and walk home alone at night. So she left early.

“She always had this thought: ‘Do they think I’m not putting in enough effort, because I don’t stay as late as the men in the room?’” said Anastasopoulos. “But really, they just don’t understand and they don’t have to think about the kind of stuff that she had to think about.”

Another one of Anastasopoulos’ friends was passed up for a coveted and highly technical society position two years in a row. As far as Anastasopoulos is aware, the position has not been held by a woman in recent memory.

Despite this candidate’s qualifications, the role went to another candidate, who is male. “But the president told me, almost word for word, ‘I don’t want to take her because she speaks up a lot,’” shared Anastasopoulos. “This read to me like, ‘I don’t want to take her because she goes against what I say.’”

“I regret not saying something at the time,” said Anastasopoulos. “I guess you get so used to it.”

In 2010, faced by the low number of women in engineering, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta created the 30 by 30 initiative. The goal of this plan was to ensure that 30 per cent of newly licensed engineers are women by 2030. This initiative was soon adopted throughout Canada.

Today, 20 per cent of newly licensed

engineers in Quebec are women, and according to their 2022-24 strategic plan, Engineers Canada fears they will not reach their goal. This year at Concordia, 23 per cent of new undergraduates and 28 per cent of new graduate engineering students were women, reported the Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis.

The difficulties faced by women in engineering are the topic of Dr. Ann-Louise Howard’s thesis. Howard is an assistant professor in Concordia’s department of applied human sciences. She started her career as an engineer, but left because of the hostile work environment. Only when she started her research did she understand that her experience was tied with gender. On March 8, International Women’s Day, she gave a webinar about her research. Howard’s research focuses on the female engineers who suffer in the workplace and on the microaggressions they experience. According to her, while there exists a lot of research on women in engineering, there is a gap when it comes to microaggressions.

“We talk so much about how women are welcome in engineering, there’s so much effort to showcase successful women in engineering,” said Howard.

“But engineering is a very gendered profession, and microaggressions are manifestations of implicit bias.”

She also mentioned that people often fail to consider the experiences of women in engineering who are part of other marginalized communities, like women of colour or LGBTQ+ women, and the additional barriers and struggles they may face.

Anastasopoulos shared a variety of other instances where she felt her male peers did not respect the women around them. One of her colleagues told her that “girls can just go cry to the professor and get a better grade,” and that, as a man, he didn’t “have that luxury.” Another argued that the reason why Anastasopoulos had more connections than him on LinkedIn was because she is a woman.

“It’s just little stuff like that,” said

Anastasopoulos. But it’s a trend.

Rania Alioueche, third-year mechanical engineering student and co-VP of the outreach team of Concordia’s Women in Engineering association, had similar experiences. Before starting at Concordia, she expected that 40 per cent of the students would be women.

“But actually, I was the only girl in my lab class,” she said. “There would be a whole auditorium of 160 people, and there would be only 30 girls, maximum.”

In group projects, the ideas of her male peers were often accepted without question, Alioueche said. “If I would propose something, they would have to double-check, ‘Let’s check with the teacher, let’s check online if it’s true.’

They would always doubt what I said.”

The worst comment she got was after an exam. “We received our grades back,” she recalled, “and I had a good grade, and the guy next to me during the lab said something along the line of: ‘You’re flirting with the TA, that’s why you got a good grade.’”

“All

Alexandra Gagliano is a second-year mechanical engineering student. She noticed inequalities between the work of her male and female peers when it came to group projects.

This semester, for the first time since she started in engineering and after going through five different lab groups, Gagliano has only women in one of them. “Best lab group I’ve ever had,” she said. “Everyone does their work on time, communicates well, it’s so easy, simple.”

In her other lab groups, some of her male colleagues ignored her when it was time to write the report, and others simply did not show up to the lab.

“Maybe women are more conditioned to be responsible, so sometimes the work does fall on the woman in the group,” Gagliano said.

She also shared that making friends

with the men in her program was very difficult. Many of her attempts at friendship ended when she rejected her male friends’ romantic advances.

“Sometimes, I feel a bit like an outsider if I’m the only girl in the group of like, six guys,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a bit difficult.”

Howard felt like all these examples could have been plucked from her research, as they were so similar to other women’s experiences in engineering.

“One of the things that I found was that women in engineering tough it out,” said Howard. “Part of that was, they disregard the price that they’re paying.” These visible instances are only the tip of the iceberg, according to Howard’s research. Many more are just subtle enough to be felt but not recognized. But these small cuts add up.

Howard wondered what women internalize about themselves along the way: That they cannot be too bold? That they must become “one of the boys?” That they are not as talented as their male colleagues, and that the attention they receive is simply due to them being women?

“I feel a little alone, talking about this,” she said. “The dominant narrative is that we want women in engineering. ‘Here, look at these women who are successful in engineering,’ and they give all the credit in the world. But there’s stories that are conspicuously absent from that narrative.”

“People ask me why I did this research,” Howard said. “And I really never wanted to do this research. I wanted to be an engineer.”

the women that I know in engineering experience this,” said Alioueche.

GRAPHIC BY AMELIA HART @AMELIAOHART

Community

Community Editor: Dalia Nardolillo community@theconcordian.com

The community section is written for and about students at Concordia University. If you are or know someone with a story to tell, or of something cool happening around campus, let us know.

CONCORDIA’S MAKING HERSTORY CLUB

Learn all about how a group of Concordia students are empowering women

more about it when the time comes.”

15 THINGS TO DO THIS APRIL

BY KAITLYNN RODNEY // ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Spring is in the air, and you can feel the city slowly coming back to life. Here are some things you can do to help you wake up from hibernation.

5th and 19th Every thursday 5th , 19th and 26th

MFF Night Market

An night time market featuring Montreal artists and live performances from 6 pm to 10 pm

Where: Le Frigo Vert Time: 6-10pm

8th

12th - 30th

BY DALIA NARDOLILLO // COMMUNITY EDITOR

Making HERstory is a Concordia club that is dedicated to changing the perception about feminism, that perception being all about gender equality between men and women, not women being perceived as dominant.

The Concordian had the chance to sit down with some of the club’s executive members to understand what the club is all about and how it came to be.

“Everyone that knows me well knows how passionate and dedicated I am towards achieving big goals. As a proud woman,

I decided to join Making HERstory to show everyone what women are made of and what they are capable of” said Gaelle Abou Issa, the club’s vice-president external.

Angela Farasha, the club’s president, explained that there is a special project in the works to commemorate International Women’s day, which took place on March 8.

“We are preparing for a unique ‘Equality’ project in collaboration with some of our professors in Concordia,” Farasha said. “We can’t talk about it yet. However, make sure to follow us on social media @makingherstoryconcordia to know

The events that are hosted by the club are some of the highlights for the team. Farasha explained that a majority of the events are done with an educational purpose in mind.

“We focus on educational events that revolve around women empowerment. Such events will discuss raising awareness about women’s rights, issues women face in Canada and other parts of the world, the importance of financial independence for women, the importance of developing a positive body image and many more,” Farasha said.

Social Media Manager Lana Haidar said she joined the club because she “wanted to make a change and difference and [felt] the need to be a part

of something special.” She added that the group has been very welcoming.

The execs can all agree that the club truly took off during the pandemic, when they hosted a variety of online activities and workshops. The transition to in-person schooling made promoting the club much easier for the execs.

“After transferring to in-person, promoting and advertising became easier. The word spreads and a lot of people discover the association and learn about it from their peers, members of the association, as well as social media,” said Vice-President Internal Hajar Lamri.

The execs look forward to connecting with women from different backgrounds at Concordia as the club continues to grow.

THE RETURN OF THE MONTREAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

How Concordia Irish studies student Samara O’Gorman is honouring her heritage.

BY DALIA NARDOLILLO // COMMUNITY EDITOR

The month of March is a big deal for the United Irish Societies of Montreal and a cause for celebration for the students of the Concordia School of Irish Studies.

This year marks the return of the fullscale parade since it was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The Concordian spoke with Irish Studies student Samara O’Gorman ahead of the parade, which took place Sunday, March 19. O’Gorman was selected as Queen of the Montreal St. Patrick’s Day 2023 parade.

“The Queen selection evening is run by the United Irish Societies of Montreal. It’s a common misconception that it might be a pageant but it’s actually a public speaking contest,” O’Gorman explained.

Young women of Irish descent from the Montreal area come together and compete. The competition is based on Irish history, community involvement, volunteerism and the extent to which participants are ambas -

sadors for the Irish community.

Lauren Tracey, VP of advertising and public relations for the United Irish Societies of Montreal, explained that the selection of the parade court goes all the way back to 1956.

In 1956, the Queen’s Pageant Selection Evening was first held at the Sailors’ Club in Old Montreal, and the first young lady chosen was Patricia Ann Craig.

“Different parishes had promoted young ladies as Queen of their units in prior years, and in 1956 there was a Queen of the parade. At some point in subsequent years, the United Irish Societies decided, ‘Why not us?’ and began holding the Queen’s Pageant at the Sailors’ Club,” Tracey recalled.

The return of the parade this year has truly put into perspective what Irish culture in Montreal means to O’Gorman.

“Something that I’ve learned to appreciate is how important tradition is, especially in the Montreal Irish community”.

O’Gorman emphasized that the

return of the parade is significant because it brings the Montreal Irish community together in one place. According to Tracey, Irish culture is represented in Montreal in a variety of ways, not just through the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“One of the most prominent aspects of Irish culture in Montreal is traditional Irish music and dance. The Irish brought their music and dance traditions with them when they immigrated to Montreal, and these traditions continue to be celebrated today,” Tracey explained.

O’Gorman said there was one specific aspect of the parade that she was most excited about this year.

“At the end of the parade are going to have a big Ukrainian group,” she said, referring to the community of Ukrainians new to Montreal who were invited to take part in the parade.

“If there is anything that the Irish people love to do, it’s to lend a helping hand and I think that narrative is really important right now.”

Comedy Carnival Shiny Disco Ball dance party

Nights filled with songs, laughs and food. Sounds like a good time!

Where: 2015 Rue Crescent, 3rd floor Time: 10-11:30pm

ConférenceDébat Upop Montreal

If a classroom setting just isn’t for you, then try joining in on one of these bar classes. Where they teach and discuss a variety of topics

Where: La Brassée, 2522 rue Beaubien Est

Time: 7-9:30pm

Blue Metropolis Literary Festival

Have you ever felt like you were born in the wrong era? Well, for one night you can party like it’s the 1970s at the Shiny disco ball.

Where: Plaza CentreVille 777 Boulevard RobertBourassa

Time: 8pm

13th - 16th 15th 15th - 16th

Le Grande Braderie Trek Roulez et Reparez

Also known as the Big Fashion sale, this semi-annual clothing sale features some of Quebec’s most prominent names in the fashion world.

Where: Marché Bonsecours

Toy Con

A chance to try out different bicycles while learning to upkeep and repair them at the same time.

Where: Trek Bicycle Montréal Griffintown, 291 Rue de la Montagne

Time: 3-5pm

20th - 30th Vues d’Afrique

A convention that shows you the latest and newest in action figures, collectables and comics. Head over in your favourite cosplay and see what you can find.

Where: 7000 Place

Robert-Joncas

Time: 10am - 4pm

21th - 23th 22th 29th - 30th

Plural Contemporary art fair Terra Concert

Plural shows off some of the best contemporary art from across the country with a mix of virtual and in-person events.

Where: Grand Quay of the Port of Montreal

Vegapalooza

A one-hour concert that focuses on the environment as a tribute to earth day.

Where: Chapelle NotreDame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel 400 Rue Saint Paul Est Montréal, QC H2Y 1H4

Time: 7:30-8:30pm

A show filled with acrobats and stunts themed around the “multiple facets of this city.”

Where: Where: Maison du développement durable 50 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest Montréal, QC H2X 3V4

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Blue Metropolitan literary festival, with virtual and in-person events all revolving around different literature and writing workshops. Where Virtual until the 27th, when the in-person event is at 10 Sherbrooke St. W.

21th - 23th

A festival that consists of themed days focusing on different cultures. Features films, art exhibits, food and round table discussions on a variety of topi cs.

Where: 100 R. Sherbrooke E Bureau 3100

Montreal Green Tech festival

A weekend that showcases the newest technological advances in green technology as well as has a special showcase event on electric vehicles.

Where: Olympic stadium

Until April 29th

SAT Cabane a

sucre

experience

An immersive and different sugar shack experience that was a collaborative project put together by different Quebecois artists.

Where: 1201 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2S6

Everyday

The Belgor Building

The Belgore building features 27 free galleries and installations open to the public.

Where: 372 Saint-Catherine St W, Montreal, Quebec H3B 1A2

Time: 6am to 9pm

Photo by Steven Soldano @stevensoldano

Graphic by Fanny Lord-Bourcier @cartou.che

WINTER CYCLING IN MONTREAL

Portrait of three winter cyclists who share the little-known facets of this underreported means of transportation in Montreal.

We all pass by them once in a while in the busy streets of Montreal. It does not matter whether we’re driving a car or getting off the bus — seeing them face the snow, the wind and the cold always leaves us quite stunned. What can motivate these cyclists to pedal in sub-zero temperatures?

The Concordian spoke to cyclists Juan Pablo Lugo, Cynthia Venessa and Mike Muchnik, detailing the experiences of these three daring cyclists.

Areej Burgonio: A Leader by Example

BY ALICE MARTIN // ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

There is a world of difference between the rookie Areej Burgonio was in 2018 and the veteran star she became this past season.

Going into the 2022-23 season, Stingers guard Burgonio was one of two senior players in a young team. It was also the first time in her four-year career with the Stingers that she had to take on a leadership role.

“I had such great strong role models, and I was put in the position where I have to be that strong role model now,” said Burgonio. It was a challenging adjustment at first for the Stingers playmaker who was previously known to keep more to herself.

“Being patient, being able to lead on and off the court, mentoring my rookies until they can be better basketball players while also keeping in mind that I have to perform as a point guard, it was tough,” she said. “But I’m glad I had that opportunity.”

heard of Concordia up until I met her.”

For Gittens, it was Burgonio’s attitude on the court that stood out to her.

“She [was] one of the smallest players on the court, but there was just something about her grit,” said Gittens. “I love the way she didn’t back down.”

Burgonio stands at five-feet tall, but Gittens didn’t think that mattered.

“She was one of the biggest players in terms of heart, aggressiveness and competitiveness,” she added. “That’s something I knew we needed on our team.”

The two stayed in contact, and when Burgonio eventually enrolled in sociology at Concordia, she was invited to join the women’s basketball team after being scouted by the coaching staff while playing in Toronto.

As a 17-year-old rookie, Burgonio was surrounded by a very mature and strong team.

“I had to grow up fast,” Burgonio said.

It was seeing his newly arrived friends from France start to practice winter cycling that pushed Lugo to start too. His first impression? It’s not that bad. There might be only a two-week span of time where it’s a bit harder.“Most of the winter, it’s really practical,” Lugo said.He spoke about the surprising easiness of winter cycling. The cars go slower, biking paths are plowed, and physical effort keeps you warm. Provided you dress accordingly, it doesn’t seem to be that difficult to practice.

Burgonio started playing basketball when she was 12 years old. Before coming to Concordia, she played for Crestwood Preparatory School, a Toronto high school with a well-established basketball program.

She went on to compete in a tournament in New York with her team from Crestwood, where she met Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens for the first time.

“Out of all the places, coach [Gittens] was there,” recalled Burgonio. “At first, given the location, I didn’t expect her to introduce herself from a Montreal university. Not going to lie, I [had] never

“When you’re surrounded by so many people like Caroline Task and Myriam Leclerc, you conform to their standards, which is excellence and nothing less.”

That year, Myriam Leclerc was a rookie guard like Burgonio and Caroline Task was a third-year guard.

Burgonio went on to be named to the RSEQ All-Rookie team. Four years later, she was named to the RSEQ’s First Team All-Star and finished the season as the second-best scorer in the RSEQ. Burgonio’s teammates pointed out that, throughout her career, the star player matured into a better and smarter athlete with extensive knowledge of

plays and a great vision of the court. She also became more outspoken, especially this season.

“She had to be one of our top scorers, had to be one of our leaders defensively and be one of our facilitators as well,” said Gittens. “There is no player that I’ve coached at Concordia that has had more responsibility put on their shoulders and has stepped up to it.”

Serena Tchida, the team’s captain and

a third-year forward, said that Burgonio abruptly went from being the sixth player to playing 40 minutes per game.

“This year, we didn’t have anyone on top of us to rely on so we had to take on leadership ourselves,” said Tchida. “She really embraced her role, especially when I injured myself and I wasn’t there to help her anymore.”

For the rookies of the team, having a veteran like Burgonio made all the difference.

Venessa is also a fervent adherent to winter cycling. To get started, she recommends gradually pushing back the moment when you would have normally put aside your bicycle. What motivates her? The feeling of freedom and autonomy from being able to cycle whenever, wherever without having to rely on public transit.

Another facet of winter cycling that surprised me was the unexpected enthusiasm of the cyclists spoken to. Cycling in the winter looks fun. It’s healthy, faster, ecological, and very active. This example of community organization also reveals the fabulous community of winter cyclists in the city. The Facebook page Vélo d’hiver - Montréal gathers 16 thousand followers and is very prolific in its content. The topics of equipment, cycling paths and different challenges the cyclists encounter on a daily basis are discussed in a friendly and positive atmosphere.

Muchnik is a winter cycling veteran. When he began to brave the cold more than a decade ago, biking paths were not as common in the then car-dominated Montreal. Winter cycling was very marginal and the handful of daredevil cyclists of the time recognized each other in the busy streets of the city, chatted at red lights and called themselves by their first names.

Today, Montreal markets itself as a bike-friendly city and now has a lengthy network of biking paths that are still being developed. But this mindset change did not appear magically. Instead, it gradually took place — thanks to many motivated cyclists like Muchnik.

Having no choice but to cross the Jacques-Cartier bridge to go to work, Muchnik faced the absurd closing of its biking path during winter. The stubborn administration of the time even went as far as contradicting its own studies

which proved the bridge safe for cyclists. But that didn’t stop him and a dozen other cyclists from crossing the bridge anyway in a show of civil disobedience, facing the only danger of a ticket. Then in 2017, with the help of the Coalition Mobilité Active Montréal and a few other cyclists, Muchnik founded the Association des piétons et cyclistes du pont Jacques-Cartier to pressure the administration into opening the cycling path.

After many public sorties, protests, debates and discussions with representatives, the cycling path of the Jacques-Cartier bridge is now accessible during winter, although not all day. This policy change was a victory and concrete proof that environmental civilian mobilization can work. Behind physical progress for greener cities and more accessible active transports such as the Réseau Express Vélo are dozens of passionate and committed cyclists.

“She wants to set an example for us,” said rookie forward Fabiola Lamour. “She takes the time to explain plays and she makes sure everyone is on the same page.”

Lamour recalled Burgonio often saying “my money’s on us,” her way of showing her team she believed in them. She also noted that Burgonio had made her feel welcomed on the team from the get-go.

Although Burgonio is a senior, she still has one year of eligibility left with the Stingers. She noted that, given she is only 22, she isn’t ready to walk away just yet.

“I do have goals, for example, going on the national team from the Philippines and playing professionally,” she said. “But at the same time I know that this chapter isn’t fully over if I still have that one year.”

The Stingers women`s basketball guard discusses stepping up as a leader this basketball season

Areej Burgonio in a game against the Laval Rouge et Or.

Areej Burgonio and head coach Tenicha Gittens on Senior Day.

Cynthia Venessa

Juan Pablo Lugo

Mike Muchnik

The Double Life of Tommy Morrisson Stingers win silver at National Championship

The women’s hockey team’s season ends on a heartbreaking note

BY MARIA BOUABDO // SPORTS EDITOR

Quarterfinals:

The Stingers beat the Nipissing Lakers 5-1.

Semifinals:

The Stingers won against the UBC Thunderbirds with a score of 3-1.

Concordia student and undefeated flyweight Tommy “Rambo” Morrisson hopes to arrive in the UFC sooner rather than later, all while pursuing his education

BY ALESSANDRO COMMISSO // CONTRIBUTOR

Born and raised in Montreal, Tommy “Rambo” Morrisson is slowly becoming a household name within Quebec’s MMA world.

He started off his career as a 9-1 amateur fighter before graduating to Samourai MMA, a Quebec-based promotion, and now holds a 3-0 professional record after his decisive win over Edwin Daniel Martinez Correa on March 11. With another notch on his belt, he’s now looking at returning for Samourai MMA 6 at the end of May in Sherbrooke.

The most interesting aspect of the 23-year-old’s life isn’t only the fact that

he’s a highly touted prospect, but he’s also a part-time student at Concordia University, pursuing a degree in computer engineering.

Balancing two completely different career paths can be difficult, but not for Morrisson.

“I think the key is to balance everything well and be disciplined,” he said.

“You have [to] cut time in other areas.

For example, I don’t really go out. I see my friends sometimes, but when I’m in camp I don’t see them all that much. I train two, three times a day, six to seven days a week so I only take three classes per semester which makes it all possible for me.”

Even with the ultimate goal of fighting in the UFC, Morrisson will continue his studies until he gets his degree.

“I don’t want to stop doing both, even if a big opportunity comes up I still want to get my degree,” he said. “I want to finish my bachelor’s degree, but my goal is to be a professional fighter in the UFC or any of the big leagues.”

Juggling the hectic life of a student along with being a professional athlete is difficult, but Morrisson knew this was his path long before his first amateur fight in 2017.

“I started approximately 10 years ago by doing judo, then jiu jitsu, wrestling, boxing and then I put it all together and started doing

Final:

The underdogs, Mount Royal Cougars, defeated the Stingers 4-3 in overtime.

“We came a long way. And yeah, we’re proud of them,” Chu said.

Baseball fans aren’t known to be receptive to rule changes within their sport, and I am usually no different. That is, until I heard about the new rules announced for the 2023 season.

From the start of spring training, players have had to get used to bigger bases, restrictions on defensive shifts, and a pitch clock. While it has been a learning curve, these rules promise to quicken the pace of action and encourage defensive plays.

The new pitch clock is undoubtedly the biggest change. From now on, pitchers will have up to 15 seconds to throw the ball if the bases are empty, and 20 if there is a runner on base. There will also be a 30-second timer between batters. If the batter violates the time limit, they

MMA at Tristar,” he said. “I really like working out of Tristar because the guys have a lot of experience, but I tend to train at other gyms as well to gain even more knowledge all around Montreal. I also train with kickboxing strawweight world champion Jonathan Di Bella.”

Morrisson’s dedication to his craft has led him to be one of the highest-ranked flyweights in all of Canada. His experience with every martial art has turned him into a very well-rounded fighter and “a specialist in everything,” as he put it.

“I always train multiple disciplines, I’m comfortable fighting in any style and I know I can get the fight wherever I want.”

Even though being an undergraduate student has its disadvantages, Morrisson hasn’t let them stop him from remaining undefeated with another dominant win versus Martinez Correa at Samourai MMA 5. Morrisson’s relentless pressure, technical kickboxing, and perfectly executed takedowns led him to his third straight professional victory, but it wasn’t without a bit of adversity.

“I was surprised by how tough he was,” said Morrisson. “He got out of two submissions. I thought he would try to wrestle me a little bit more.”

By getting his hand raised again, Morrisson proved that it’s all credited to his hard work, vigorous training, and commitment. He’s always looking to further the pursuit of his goals.

“I’d love to fight [UFC flyweight champion] Brandon Moreno one day,” Morrisson said boldly. “I look up to him and if he’s still there when I get to the UFC, I’d love to get a chance to fight him.

I look up to Khabib Nurmagomedov as

PHOTOS BY DANIEL EVGRAFOV @DANIEL.EVGRAFOV

well for his hard work, discipline, and humbleness. I think in my everyday life I try my best to recreate everything he’s done.”

Those are definitely some big shoes to fill, but Morrisson only has one goal in mind:

“I want to be remembered as the best.”

COLOUR COMMENTARY

At Least Consider Watching Baseball This Year

The new rules announced for the 2023 season might just make the game more exciting

BY ALICE MARTIN // ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

get a strike. If it’s the pitcher, the batter gets a ball. This new rule may make games shorter — and believe me, most spectators would appreciate that — but most importantly, it will make the action unfold quicker. It will definitely make the experience more enjoyable and engaging for fans.

The pitcher will now also have only three attempts to throw to first base to get a runner out. If the third attempt fails, the runner gets to advance a base. Because of the limit, stealing bases might become a more common occurrence.

The pitch clock and new defensive shift restrictions will also favour batting averages and the athletic plays that baseball players are known for.

The defensive shift restrictions entail that the four infielders must be within the diamond when the pitch is thrown.

Two players must be on either side of second base, which means they cannot switch sides based on where the batter aims most.

Because of this, batting averages are likely to go up and more runners will be on bases, giving infielders more opportunities for defensive plays. It will also encourage singles and on-field action.

Ironically, this change brings back traditional infielder alignments and the plays that tended to happen before infielders started placing themselves wherever they are more likely to catch the ball.

Meanwhile, the square bases will go from being 15 inches wide to 18. Some

GRAPHIC BY CARLEEN LONEY @SHLONEYS

argue that this will create more stealing, but the MLB mainly wanted to make stealing and base-running safer.

Luckily, players have all of spring to train and adjust to these new rules and prepare for the regular season. These changes guarantee an exciting 2023 season and a new era in baseball. I can’t wait to tune in to the home openers, and I hope you will too.

THE STINGERS CELEBRATING: ALEXANDRA-ANNE BOYER’S GOAL (ABOVE) AND VICTORY (RIGHT). (BELOW) STINGERS GOALTENDER

ALICE PHILBERT MAKING A SAVE IN THE SEMIFINAL GAME.

(LEFT) HEAD COACH JULIE CHU AND CAPTAIN OLIVIA HALE

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Features Editor: Evan Lindsay features@theconcordian.com

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Réjean Houle And His Hockey Legacy

Former Montreal Canadiens player Réjean Houle remembers his playing time and what the future holds

BY EMMA MEGELAS // ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

the Canadiens Alumni Association.

Houle remembers growing up watching hockey with his father, dreaming of one day becoming what he was seeing on the television screen.

“I always dreamed of playing for the Canadiens. I was able to achieve my goal several years later by putting in the necessary effort, I made it,” said Houle.

While he admits he was not one of the big names of the team at the time, he is proud to have been surrounded by some of the greats such as Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur, and Bob Gainey.

“I was on the third line. I was working to help the team win, but I had a specific role. I didn’t score ‘Guy Lafleur’ goals,” said Houle.

the team win, he also scored 161 goals himself. In recent years, he noticed that the new style of hockey sticks give more feel and power to the puck.

“The ‘one timers’ at the time, didn’t exist. The sticks are different, they are lighter, they have a kind of spring in the stick so it speeds up the game. The puck comes at 100 miles an hour,” said Houle. He remembers his time with the team as an honour. No matter how much time has passed in his career, he and his former teammates still stay in touch and remain connected as one big family.

The Montreal Canadiens professional hockey team brought fame to some of the greatest names in hockey history and has been around since 1909. Réjean Houle saw his time shine in the 1970s and as a general manager in 1995 until 2000.

Houle is a former right wing of the Montreal Canadiens from 1969 to 1983. He was born in Rouyn-Noranda, located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec. He started his hockey career playing with the Thetford Mines Junior team from 1966 to 1967, before moving to the Montreal Junior Canadiens the following year. He was the first overall draft pick in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens in 1969. During his active career, he helped bring five of the ten Stanley Cups home to Montreal. After his retirement, he returned to the team as General Manager and later as the President of

Playing as a right wing, he contributed to the lineup by making the necessary passes to earn a victory, which makes his role just as important as center.

“There is an expression, ‘you have to know which chair is yours,’ so a player must know what he can give to the team. That doesn’t mean he’s not as recognized as Guy Lafleur, but inside the team, he plays an important role,” said Houle.

As a former General Manager, he saw how the game changed on the ice. In hockey changes are minimal since coaches have kept similar strategies on managing the game, according to Houle. He says the players now have more range on the ice.

“Before, you couldn’t get too far to the side of the red line because it was offside, whereas now you can get from the red line to the opponent’s other blue line, so the play is much faster, the puck circulates much more now than before,” said Houle.

Houle not only made passes to help

“We keep this link there always. For us it’s very important because the years go by, but you have to remember the good times. Then in the most difficult moments, we stick together and we get through it,” said Houle.

He commemorated his teammate and friend Guy Lafleur, who passed away in 2022. To the fans, Lafleur was “Le Démon Blond,” but for Houle, “He was a star.”

After building that strong connection with the sport, Houle did not see himself

ing hockey over all. Houle played hockey for 14 years, and when the time came for him to retire, he knew his life would change once he left the team.

it, I didn’t feel like retiring,” said Houle.

Since Houle was in the same era as Guy Lafleur, Serge Savard, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden, and Jean Béliveau, he had the honor of winning five Stanley Cups. He remembers the feeling of winning those cups as a privilege in his career.

“When you’ve tasted it once, you always want to win it, then when you play with good players, your chances are

always there of winning it, so that’s kind of the period that I lived in. I was lucky. Timing is everything sometimes in life,” said Houle.

To Houle, hockey is more than just a sport. He has grown to appreciate it more as a spectator after he retired and seeing how many people come together and watch it.

“There is great satisfaction because the Canadiens is a team that is very involved in the community. People don’t realize that, but it’s very important because it unites a community,” said Houle.

When the Montreal Canadiens arrive,

whether you’re French, English, Asian, Lebanese or Canadian, the team will always be a symbol to Montreal, according to Houle.

Houle had a huge support system of his teammates, who became his friends as the seasons went by. He continues to love their support and thanks them for helping him become the player he always knew he could be.

“To have the opportunity to play with members of the hall of fame, great players in the organization, it helps you when you’re younger to become better yourself because you are well surrounded,” said Houle.

“The most you can do is improve

people around and helping you out, that’s what it was in my case. I was lucky that way.”

Houle owes everything to hockey, from helping raise his own family to focusing on his life after his professional career. He is still active with the Canadiens as the President of the Alumni Association, and he attends every home game surrounded by other former players and their families. Houle remembers hockey as a big part of his life, from when he was watching it on television with his father, to building a legacy with the team. Truly a full circle moment for a Rouyn-Noranda kid with a dream.

“The most important change is when you retire because you didn’t feel like

PHOTOS OF REJEAN HOULE COURTESY OF CLUB DE HOCKEY CANADIEN.

PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE MEGELAS

Adopting a pet is so easy… right?

Animal experts warn pet adoption requires sustained effort

BY EMMA MEGELAS ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

Animal rescues are experimenting with new approaches to ensure careful adoptions of pets, through educating people and encouraging interaction with the animals.

During the pandemic, many people wanted a little companion to keep them company. Adopting a pet to have a companion is great, but people sometimes forget the responsibility it requires to be a good pet parent. Additionally, animal rescues often struggle to keep future pet parents in check for adoption. Rescues offer online resources to prepare people for the steps of adoption, such as articles or chats to ask questions about the process. Most importantly, rescues recommend future parents know what kind of animal they want in their home.

Patricia Durocher is the communications coordinator at Proanima Animal Rescue in Boucherville. She is in charge of promoting the rescue through social media and helping people through the adoption process. Durocher is also head of a sensitization program she started in 2014 where she visits schools to educate students on how to be good adopters.

“[The students] knew all the right answers. They knew, it’s very instinctive. I would say how to recognize the signs that an animal is uncomfortable, it’s scared, things like that. Then it seems like it gets lost over time,” said Durocher.

Adults tend to lose that perception about pets and later get confused about what kind of animal is best for them, according to Durocher. Even though she works with students, educating the adults on adoption must continue.

“It’s super important, but there is work with the adults that still needs to be done all the time,” said Durocher.

Durocher says that Proanima have younger animals who are in good shape, they just get adopted really quickly. She says that there is a stigma behind rescue pets which claims that they are damaged, old, or sick, which makes adopting them harder.

“When [people] want an animal, they want it to be fast, they want a healthy animal and everything. This means that not everyone is ready to go find a shelter animal, which has an older animal, which has health problems,” said Durocher.

Durocher says there are many reasons as to why people abandon their pets. She believes that financial issues, a lack of time to care for the animals, and health concerns are some of the reasons that come up after an animal is adopted.

Despite this, Durocher has noticed fewer animal abandonments and more adoptions in recent years.

When she is helping clients find their ideal pet, she notices it can be complicated. Sometimes during adoptions people have a specific idea of what kind of animal they want, without properly preparing for the experience.

“You can’t necessarily adopt on a whim, but the problem it causes is that the person, if they find [the adoption process] too complicated or too long, they’ll just go somewhere else,” said Durocher.

Durocher feels that there needs to be a balance between an effective adoption process and ensuring that whoever is adopting a pet feels comfortable doing it.

Clément Marty is the owner of Café

Chat L’Heureux in Montreal. His love of cats encouraged him to open a place where cats and humans can connect on a deeper level. By offering a new approach to animal interaction, Marty hopes that people will learn that altering their behaviour to understand the cats creates better adopters.

“This is one of the things that will contribute to this, to be selective, to raise awareness around adoption,” said Marty. Proanima and Café Chat L’Heureux have been partners since the café opened in 2014. The café’s cats are all rescues. There are eight older resident cats and every three to four months, two to five kittens from Proanima come to the café as part of their adoption program. Their cats walk freely around the café, interact with the clients, and remain independent when they feel like it. Marty has rules where the cats can do whatever they want, but the humans, not so much. Instead of mindlessly picking up or petting the cats, the people learn how each cat behaves.

“They will learn to take the time to look at the animal, to be interested in it. It’s all the little things that will help, in any case, to

the cats who roam the place. People can then have a clearer idea of what kind of cat they want in their homes.

“There are a lot of people who adopt a cat, but who are not even aware of what it costs. They’re not even aware of what it requires.

Offering a place like this, is to offer an alternative,” said Marty.

Marty makes it his mission to educate people on effective adoption and the cats in his café. He provides them with the tools they need to make a clear decision on their future pet. Plus, he feels that animals are more than just an investment. He wants to remind people of this when they consider adopting either from a rescue or from the café.

“Having a pet, it’s not a right, it should be a privilege,” said Marty.

Durocher admires what Marty has created and continues to create. Not everyone can open a cat café, but she believes that the project can work as long as it is done with pure intentions.

“I think it’s just a positive experience. There’s another café that could open and do this all wrong, just take 10 cats and put them in the café. You can’t get there and then see cats that aren’t well, and that are terrified,” said Durocher.

Marty and Durocher agree that people impulsively adopt animals without knowing what challenges to expect. This complicates things between the person considering adoption, the person interviewing the potential new parents of the animal, and the animal itself. The café allows the cats to wander free and gives people an opportunity to get to know

Durocher and Marty continue to expand their businesses and help people adopt a pet the right way. Jumping the gun when adopting is not the way to go, it takes patience and a real idea of the kind of pet you are looking for. By doing it right, you will get a purrfect outcome.

go in the right direction: to promote adoption in shelters, to promote good practices with cats,” said Marty.

ALL PHOTOS BY CATHERINE REYNOLDS // THE CONCORDIAN

Luna blending in with the pillows.

Lily, an adoptable cat, greeting patrons entering the cafe.

The “panther of the cafe,” Sheldon.

Gustave watching the patrons eat.

Mousse and the wall of adopted cats.

Luzerne blending in with the patrons.

Luzerne enjoying the ambience.

Where’s My (Fee-Levy) Money?

Following the increase in Concordia Student Services fee-lecy a new oversight body will be established to manage the funds.

BY EVAN LINDSAY // FEATURES EDITOR

In the recent 2023 Concordia Student Union (CSU) general elections, students voted 54.9 per cent in favor of an increase to the Concordia Student Services (CSS) fee levy. This is the first time Concordia Student Services have requested a fee levy increase since 2009.

The $0.85 per credit increase brings the total fee levy from $10.26 per credit to $11.11 per credit, an overall 8.3 percent increase. The vote was decided on a 9.1 percent student voter turnout.

Following the fee-levy increase, the CSU and Concordia Student Services are set to create a mandating and oversight body to create greater transparency over the use of student funds.

A number of different units make up CSS including the Student Success Center, Campus Wellness and Support Services (which include Counselling and Psychological services) and the Dean of Students Office.

In their application for an increased fee-levy, CSS cited decreases in enrollment at Concordia due to the decline in 18-24-yearolds in Quebec. Currently, CSS is running a surplus budget, without the fee-levy they expect to operate with a $2,316,991 deficit by the 2024-2025 academic year.

CSS assist students in accessing doctors, counselling, career advice and tutoring for no cost among many other services. In the 2021-2022 academic year counselling and psychological services provide 9,654 student appointments including triage and counselling. A deficit would see CSS need to cut services.

“There are so many services offered in student services. It’s such a wide variety and I think each one is a really important in its own way.” Said Catherine Starr-Penn a psychology student at Concordia who currently works as a welcome crew mentor with the student success center.

“I can’t think of any student service that doesn’t have a huge impact on students’ lives.”

While Student Services are impactful, the nature of how there funding is allocated can be quite vague.

”Students don’t have a way where they can govern this money, 9 million dollars every year from their fees. They don’t have a way of knowing how it gets allocated, they can’t oversee it as there isn’t even a budget publicly available on their website.” Said Fawaz Halloum CSU’s General Coordinator.

The total revenue for CSS this year was $10,672,927 with students fronting 90% of their funding, not including the surplus. Other student run fee-levy groups have to have an Annual General Meeting, where board members can discuss budgets. They keep auditors reports and other financials ready at any

time. This is not currently the case for Concordia Student Services.

“There’s a trend that students do not want to keep paying into university services where they have absolutely no control over their money or to oversee or hold them accountable.” Said Halloum. Following CSS’s initial application for funding Halloum and the CSU executive suggested that an oversight body be created.

“I told them that students would want to see a board. A Council of sorts, where

Music

total revenue in that year. Despite the fact that student employees make up 72.7 per cent of the CSS’s total workforce.

According to Laura Mitchell Concordias executive director of student experience, the new funding from students won’t necessarily mean new services.

“It’s to keep everything going that we have at present.”

“So this wouldn’t be money that would bolster one particular area. It would be spread across everything that we

board.”

Student employees such as Starr-Pren have spoken highly of their experience with CSS.“Its been an amazing experience.” Said Starr-Pren. “I feel like I’m treated really well and very fairly.”

A new oversight body has the potential to improve transparency to students, so they can better understand how there funds are being allocated.

“Both sides were very enthusiastic about this idea,” Mitchell said.

Currently, CSS does have a committee called Concordia council for student life that is a parity committee of students and staff. Mitchell, says the new advisory body could resemble this.

“We need to set up those consistent meetings and and have these discussions and I think that will be great. I think it’d be really illuminating for both sides. To learn more about each other, because obviously these collaborations are really important for us too.”

Now that the fee-levy has been approved a memorandum of understanding will be presented to the CSU’s council in one year, to create a body staffed and operating in the following academic year.

“We dont want to go in alone, we want to be in partnership as much as possible,” said Mitchell.

Despite the risk of deficit and increasing costs, students are the only ones currently being asked to increase their contribution to student services. The universities contribution to CSS makes up just 4.11 per cent, which would diminish with an increased fee-levy. Its not as thought the university does not have money to support these services.

As reported in The Link a number of executives saw salary increases this year with President Grahm Carr getting a 9.56 per cent pay raise.

Music Editor: Guillaume Laberge music@theconcordian.com

Are you a musician who goes to Concordia? Let us know - we’re always looking to promote local artists!

SHONK PLAYS ACROSS THE ROOM

Artist Gabrielle Shonk wearing her heart on her sleeve.

It has been three weeks since Quebec City native Gabrielle Shonk released her sophomore album Across The Room, and six years since she debuted her self-titled album. Across The Room features 11 tracks, spanning a total of 40 minutes, and oh what a wonderful 40 minutes they are. Every song on the LP starts with an emotion, each one different from the other. She started off playing the piano at a young age but quickly switched to guitar as the keys didn’t stick. Since

BY SARO HARTOUNIAN // ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR

then she released her 10-track debut which gained her a lot of traction with CBC and Stingray. Shonk has grown into her songwriting style after her last album and it shows in her R&B tinges and her ability to emit feelings of hiraeth through songs like “How We Used To Be” and “5AM.” Shonk had the opportunity to play her new album while opening for the Barr Brothers at Théâtre Gilles Vigneault last month. The Concordian spoke with Gabrielle Shonk about her album.

TC: What’s the meaning of the album’s title, Across The Room?

GS: Finding the title came pretty late in the album process, it was probably at the end of the summer of 2022 when I had all of the songs recorded. I actually had a talk with my manager and he said to go through some of the lyrics and pull out some of your favourites, something might pop out. It is the first lyric of the first track “How We Used To Be.” I basically finished writing all of these songs during the pandemic, being confined in my home office, so it was the image of me sitting in an enclosed space with all these songs and emotions. That’s kind of what had me choose that title.

TC: Have you ever thought of collaborating with anyone? I was thinking you and rapper “Noname” would make a cool track together.

GS: Yes I love her, I remember seeing her live at Field Trip a few years ago. I’d be super open. I’ve done it before too. My first hip hop track collaboration was with an artist from Montreal called Naya Ali. We did a SOCAN writing camp a few years back and basically, you get paired with a bunch of different artists from different genres. It puts you out of your comfort zone and it was extremely fulfilling. I worked with her on a song of hers that she released called “Time.”

students will sit along with the service directors. They will fight the budgets, make decisions and bring in student concerns directly and have a bit of a forum between the shareholders and the executives, which is long overdue.”

Hollum believes that with more oversight the quality of work done by CSS could be improved.

“If you just start breaking it down one by one you can find a slew of things that you can improve on pre-existing services, maybe even add certain facilities or services,” said Hollum.

In most units of student services a majority of the budget is directed towards salaries and benefits. According to their 2021-22 yearly report CSS employs 121 professional employees across their units, with 322 students employees. During this year student jobs accounted for $1,253,000 of the annual operating and non operating budgets. Which represents 10.44 per cent of CSS

currently do.”

According to their application, CSS predicts a 5% increase in costs to maintain their services every year. The extra money help combat this and maintain salaries for professional and student employees against cost of living expenses and amid rising costs.

According to their application, CSS predicts a 5% increase in costs to maintain their services every year. The extra money help combat this and maintain salaries for professional and student employees against cost of living expenses and amid rising costs.

”It’s all equally important, like our student jobs are really, important to us,” said Mitchell.

“We love working with students and we love supporting them. So obviously, we would love to be able to you know, to give us a sphere and generous salary to our student employees as possibly can, but it would really be to across the

But, Mitchell says “We are having those discussions with the university about what that contribution looks like. I think thats another very important component”

Starr-Penn also thinks its important for everyone, including the university to contribute to maintaining these services and that the efforts of people like Mitchell see results.

“I do hope to see that comes to an increase in funding from [the university] as well. Any body that could offer funding to the Student Success Center in student services, I think would it would be a great investment,” She said.

“I really do think that the services are so important. Essentially, I think that it should be a priority for everybody to increase funding for student services in general.”

TC: Take me through your songwriting process, what comes first?

GS: For me it will be either melody or chord progression. So, like melody and chords underneath it almost simultaneously. Sometimes lyrics will come quickly to back it up as well. I am more of a musician than a writer so the lyrics take more time to come up with.

TC: What was your favourite moment of your show with The Barr Brothers?

GS: I really liked going to the merch table at the end. It was really memorable because I got to meet new faces and interact with people who saw the show, especially from the fans of The Barr Brothers who discovered me through my opening act. That was really nice.

TC: What was your favourite song to write, and what was the hardest?

GS: I think my favourite changed every day. I love all the songs equally. Each of the songs has its own universe, its own thing. I couldn’t really pick one in particular. But the lyrics I am most proud of are the ones from “Let’s Shine Into The Night.” In terms of challenging, for the music it would have to be “Out Of The Blue” and for the lyrics it was “People Pleaser.”

TC: You said in your promo for the album that you had written the last song of the album “Quand le calme reviendra” while on a retreat to Gaspésie. What was it like and did you write other songs during your stay?

GS: Not ones that are on this album, so yeah I co-wrote a lot of stuff with my artist friends that were there with me. Everyone had songs and at the end of the day, we would each show each other what we had worked on in the group sessions. I have started songs that are a work-inprogress that I haven’t gotten back to that might be on the next album! Maybe?

TC: What’s next for Gabrielle Shonk?

GS: Playing this album live for as many people and as many places as possible, that’s what I’m aiming for this next year, alongside writing new songs! I’m opening for an artist called Charlie Winston in Canada and the U.S. during April and May, and I will announce my fall tour soon.

COURTESY IMAGES

Montreal-based event planners’ first event of the year was a massive success

co-founder of the company. He’s in charge of the group’s marketing.

CONCERT REVIEW : JID X SMINO AT MTELUS

After months of waiting, Montreal techno fans were out and about for SNDCHECK Montreal’s 11th event and their first of the year at speakeasy Newspeak. SND0011 was a huge success with people pouring in through the nightclub doors late until the evening.

SNDCHECK is a Montreal-based events company that hosts get-togethers and parties with various DJs and artists from around town. Their slogan, “aventures musicales nomades,” resonates with fans who often buy tickets before they even know where or when the next event will be. They cultivate a space where partygoers can feel safe and unjudged. Nobody cares what you look like or what you’re wearing. Nobody can randomly take photos of you. Everyone is just there to dance and have a good time.

Cédric Comte is a 21-year-old student at HEC Montreal and a

“At SNDCHECK we organize musical adventures that are nomadic, which is to say every event takes place at a new spot. We want to change the events scene in Montreal,” he said.

During the pandemic, Comte and a few of his friends went two years without going out. During that period, they felt that the world was changing. Comte said the bars and clubs in the city just didn’t do it for them.

“I can’t even remember the amount of times we were being stopped at lines for clubs and being forced to buy bottles. The whole vibe was off. We wanted to create a space catered to client experience and a world where people really get to experience the full party scene.”

Since 2021, SNDCHECK has held 11 events. Some take place outdoors at places like Mount Royal while others happen inside, like the time they hosted an event at Théâtre Paradoxe, an old church building. What started off as a group of twenty-ish

friends quickly became two hundred, and by the end of last summer, SNDCHECK had over a thousand people dancing at Parc Jean-Drapeau. One unique quality to SNDCHECK is their “disconnect to reconnect policy.”

When walking into the event, every person is required to put a sticker on their phone cameras, and only a small number of staff are allowed to take photos. This, according to Comte, is essential to the SNDCHECK identity and goals as a group.

“We want people there just for the music. Not to take photos to flex on Instagram or other media. We want people to be there for the energy and joy.”

When I was at SND0011, it did feel weird to not have my camera available. My first instinct was to reach for my phone and take a few photos. I noticed a lot of people also had the same thought. One girl opened her snapchat to take a picture of the crowd swaying to the DJ only to realize she couldn’t.

That night’s DJs were the pair

Mvngo/Seb Todd, Ludo Lacoste, and

Ghetto Birds. SNDCHECK doesn’t reveal who will be performing until you actually arrive at the event, but usually focuses on house and techno. According to Comte, that night they had around 350 available spots but it felt like 500. It was amazing to see everybody dancing and chatting. There were no phones to distract anyone but I still couldn’t see more than 2 metres in front of me.

The venue was decorated beautifully. Comte and his team usually arrive a few hours before each show to prepare. This time, they set up old 2000’s TVs and installed projectors behind the artists and in the lounge area. For a place that does not allow photos, it was remarkably beautiful.

The next event will be held April 6, somewhere in the Montreal area. Follow their Instagram to get the full details when they’re revealed. @sndcheckmtl

ENDLESS SUMMER VACATION - MILEY CYRUS

It was in a packed MTELUS that hip-hop enthusiasts gathered to witness two of the most promising figures of the “alternative rap” scene: JID and Smino. Both had released acclaimed albums in 2022 and it was only right for them to collaborate on a North American tour. Before hitting the stage, they sent another hot name coming from that scene to warm up the crowd: St. Louis rapper Jordan Ward. He only played for 20 minutes, but he didn’t waste a single second and made the most out of it, while hyping the crowd, singing, and dancing. He definitely left a mark on Montrealers and brought an energy that matched JID and Smino’s. Smino was next up, and surprisingly played with a band instead of a DJ, which isn’t something you see often at rap concerts. Smino gave a great performance, but unfortunately for him, had some things going against him. First, the sound was pretty bad, not only for Smino, but throughout the entire concert. The bass and drums were so loud that it was difficult to distinguish the different instrumentals and melodies. All you could hear was Smino rapping over loud bass and the drummer.

Second, even though it was a joint tour between Smino and JID, people were clearly there for the latter. Because of that, a lot of them weren’t familiar with the lyrics to Smino’s songs and weren’t as invested in his performance compared to JID’s set. Even though Smino brough the energy and was singing and rapping well, the crowd wasn’t reciprocating what he was showing them. I’ve been following Smino closely since 2018 and even I had problems recognizing the songs. He still delivered an hour-long set, where he was alternating between some of his most popular songs, with tracks from his latest record Luv 4 Rent Now time for JID. He was undoubtedly the star of the show. The singing was great, but the rapping was even better. He started off with the song that put him on the map: “NEVER,” and people were immediately hooked.. He

then followed with a long run of songs from his 2022 album The Forever Story JID was incredibly impressive to watch. During shows, most rappers need backtracks to perform and rap over them, but not JID. He was rapping almost every single word and rarely taking breaks. He is well known for having some of the most intricate and unique flows in the rap game, and to see him execute them to perfection during his performance was phenomenal. Songs like “Off Deez,” “151 Rum,” and “Raydar” really showcased JID’s rapping talent. He finished his set with fan favou-

rites from his other records, and ended with the high energy “Stick,” resulting in the crowd forming a massive mosh pit. While his set lasted an hour, I could have easily stayed for an hour more. He was that good. Overall, despite some issues, JID and Smino still came together and more than satisfied the rap fans who were present. It was a fun night overall.

CONCERT REVIEW: MIKE AT BAR LE RITZ PDB

Underground hip hop champion MIKE played for his first Montreal audience at Bar Le Ritz on March 10, accompanied by Florida-based rappers 454 and Niontay.

BY MAX MOLLER // CONTRIBUTOR

The crowd was small but dedicated outside of Parc Extension’s Bar Le Ritz PDB, where MIKE made his Montreal debut. Illuminated by the chandelier store opposite from the bar, the line slowly trickled through the door where they were met with a relatively small venue.

QUICKSPINS

Miley Cyrus has gifted her fans with a pop-themed album

Trial Track:

“Rose Colored Lenses’”

Score: 7/10

Some artists are afraid to try something new, but that doesn’t seem to faze singer and performer Miley Cyrus. After her last album Plastic Hearts in 2020, which was a commercial success, Cyrus unveiled Endless Summer Vacation on March 10. Her lead single, “Flowers,” attracted old and new fans worldwide due to its catchiness and inescapable tunes. After its release, everyone anticipated her new album that was set to follow two months later.

The third track, “Rose Colored Lenses”, is full of fun lyrics with an easy-going instrumental in the background. With verses like “We can stay like this forever, lost in wonderland with our heads above the clouds, falling stupid like we’re kids,” it’s easy to drift to memories of being carefree. With this song, Miley alludes to enjoying the moment while ignoring any red flags, which anyone listening can relate to.

According to Rolling Stone, Miley

Cyrus has said that she organized the songs in an order with an AM and PM vibe, and you can’t help but embrace how different the songs are. The AM side represents the morning of a new day and the potential for any opportunities, like the second track on the album, “Jaded.”

In this song, Cyrus reflects on a previous failed relationship and how it’s impacted both of them. The song is filled with harmonies and a quicker tempo that gives it a nostalgic feel for the listeners.

The PM side is influenced by rest, recovery and partying, like the song “River,” which has a retro beat similar to pop icons Britany Spears or Whitney Houston. This song makes you want to dance all night long.

The next song is a memorable pop track called “Violet Chemistry,” and it sounds like it could’ve been a bonus track on her 2014 album Bangerz With a beat change halfway through the song, it could be another party anthem like “We Can’t Stop.”

The album fits well within the pop stratosphere, but there are a few slower songs that change the tempo and overall listening experience. The fourth

and fifth tracks “Thousand Miles” and“You” both have mellow beats that make you relax and reminisce about friendships and relationships.

Cyrus concludes the album with a ballad called “Wonder Woman,” where she sings over the piano about the resilience of the women in her family. Although memorable, it doesn’t fit with the PM party tracks on the album.

I would’ve liked to see her end the album with the previous track called “Island,” where she contemplates feeling stranded while also in paradise. It felt like the perfect send-off to her fans.

This is a fun album for Miley with many enjoyable songs, and her ever-changing sound keeps her fans guessing what comes next. The most unique aspect of this album is that it feels like it’s narrating a collection of memories from the past few years.

If you look back on Plastic Hearts the music was rock-filled and edgy as opposed to Endless Summer Vacations, where it’s fun-filled and pop-themed. She’s a versatile artist who never likes to repeat the same thing, and everyone can agree that her range is unmatched.

With no DJ, Niontay was the first to play on stage. Hailing from Orlando, Florida, he’s been putting out singles for a few years and his first project, Dontay’s Inferno, releases April 7. His set sounded like The Black Eyed Peas mixed with Knwledge.

Even though the crowd didn’t know him, that hardly stopped them from enjoying his performance. They quickly took his cues for when to shout and by the end there was enough energy to make him say his Montreal performance was more fun that his most recent show in Boston.

454 was up next, and since he was born in Florida but lives in New York he acted as a sort of bridge between Niontay and MIKE. He’s been putting out projects since 2021 and it was clear that most of the people there had already heard of him, which makes sense considering his presence on Denzel Curry’s latest album. His music had some similarities to Niontay’s, but with more of a trap/ drill influence, including gliding 808s and plug-esque video game sounds. His set was more energetic than the

first, prompting even a few short mosh pits during the most wellknown songs. He did a good job getting the audience warmed up and for a decent amount of MIKE’s set, he was dancing in the audience. The venue had been crowded from the jump, but at this point it was fully packed and the sweat was pouring. Thankfully MIKE took the stage after a short wait, and after giving some daps to the front row he jumped into a set that was energetic, intimate, and memorable. The highlight was definitely when someone tossed a bag of weed on stage and he stopped the show. “Y’all are gonna see my first ever live zaza review,” he said, before performing his song “Aww (ZaZa).” This prompted a large portion of the crowd to light joints, adding a thick layer of smoke to the room. After trying a few spliffs from the audience, he announced a winner.

Another highlight was when he acknowledged his mother as the source of his creativity, and a resounding applause was dedicated to her. Near the end of his set, his backing track started skipping, but because of the chopped up samples he typically uses and how rhythmic the skips were, it just sounded like alternate or remixed versions of the songs. Unsurprisingly, most of the set

was dedicated to his newest album, Beware of the Monkey. This is his 10th studio album in just six years, and it strays more melodic and poppy than his previous efforts. That’s not to say it’s a completely new sound; the reverbladen sample loops are still there, but now they feel more grounded, even simplified a bit. The result is an album that’s more accessible to a general audience, but also doesn’t alienate the people he already won over. Overall, he put on a great show which

was only boosted by the small size of the venue. His energy was potent but concentrated, influencing a smaller number of people more deeply. If it had been a larger space, it might have felt more watered down, like it was favouring the quantity of people over the quality of the experience.

454 (left) and Niontay (right) take the stage at Bar Le Ritz PDB. Neither artist had played in or even been to Montreal before this.

GUILLAUME LABERGE // MUSIC EDITOR

Despite sound issues, JID and Smino both showcased their massive potential at MTELUS

MIKE DELIVERS AN EMOTIONALLY POWERFUL PERFORMANCE. THE IPARI PARK TOUR IS HIS FIRST MAJOR TOUR BOASTING OVER 30 SHOWS IN

BY OSAMEDE IYARE // CONTRIBUTOR

Courtesy photo

Photo by Dorothy Mombrun @pure.domo

Photo by Max Moller

Opinions

CAN THE DAMAGES OF COLONIAL POWER IN MUSEUMS BE REVERSED?

Museums continue to hoard the history of colonized countries

Since 1802, the Rosetta Stone has been on display in the British Museum after being taken from Egypt during Napoleon Bonaparte’s occupation.

The Rosetta Stone, along with thousands of stolen historical artifacts, is symbolic of the long lasting effects of colonialism still being suffered today. It serves as a reminder of the ways colonialism lives on, and how museums promote it through their unethical practices.

The Stone is inscribed with text from three different languages: Ancient Greek, Demotic, and Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was used to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs for the first time, unlocking a plethora of new information about Ancient Egypt.

Two hundred years later, Egypt still suffers the loss of this piece of their history. It makes me rethink how these stolen artifacts and colonizer attitudes disrupt national identity and pride.

Last year, Egyptologist Dr. Monica Hanna launched a petition urging the

HERSTORY LESSON: ATHÉNAÏS DE MONTESPAN

The crazy life of Louis XIV’s number one mistress

BY JOELLE JALBERT //OPINIONS EDITOR

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise of Montespan was born in 1640 from many different royal ancestries. At the age of 20, due to her parents’ status and royalty, she was made maid-of-honor to the king’s sister-in-law, Princess Henrietta Anne of England, and was appointed ladyin-waiting, a female personal assistant, to Queen Maria Theresa of Spain.

In 1663, she married Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis of Montespan. The title of Marquis designates a nobleman of hereditary rank (in Britain, it’s below a duke, but above an earl). Together, they had two children and lived close to the court so that Madame could carry out her duties as lady-in-waiting. She had everything going for her: she was beautiful, cultured and politically-aware. She knew her worth. As per her memoir, confidence was not something she lacked: “I was not slow to perceive that there was in my person something slightly superior to the average intelligence — certain qualities of distinction which drew upon me the attention and the sympathy of men of taste.”

In 1666, Madame de Montespan was in her mid-twenties and trying to replace Louise de La Vallière’s as Louis XIV’s main mistress. At the time, it was common for the king to have two wives: the queen for political affairs, and the maîtresse-en-titre that would serve as a social companion.

Madame de Montespan got closer to

La Vallière and even became her confidant, all while still keeping a close relationship with Queen Maria Theresa.

While both women were pregnant, she cleverly started to entertain the king in private. It is said she purposefully showed him her ankle (big hoe move for the 17th century) while getting out of a carriage. This led to the beginning of their relationship. Apparently, she would mock people in order to make the king laugh and her sarcasm hurt so much that courtiers feared it. It is also said that another way she seduced Louis XIV was by “accidently” dropping her towel while he was spying on her showering.

La Vallière was then reduced to second mistress. She was so humiliated that she retreated to a convent.

Madame de Montespan’s husband, enraged to learn of her infidelity, made a scandal at court and even made a symbolic funeral in front of the children (talk about childhood trauma). He was then imprisoned and exiled. Madame de Montespan became the favourite, but was still not recognized as the official mistress due to her marriage. Her beauty and new position made her popular with men, but not so much with the church. They didn’t like her adultery and despite the king’s demand to give her absolution, the church did not yield.

They still went on to have seven children, to which Madame de Montespan did not tend. They hired a governess to look after them, named Madame de Maintenon.

Madame de Montespan became more than just a mistress. She had so many means of influencing the mind

of the king that many ministers and courtiers submitted to her: her advice was asked for and followed. This also meant she knew a lot of state secrets.

Madame de Montespan became jealous when Louis XIV started an affair with none other than the governess looking over their children, Madame de Maintenon. It was another affair with yet another mistress that sent Madame de Montespan into a downward spiral. Indeed, Louis XIV also took interest in another noblewoman named Madame de Fontanges, only 17 years old at the start of the affair. She became pregnant with the king’s child quickly, but gave birth prematurely and died not long after.

However, this all unfolded during the infamous Affaire des poisons, a major murder scandal in France near the end of the 17th century where multiple members of the aristocracy were accused and sentenced for charges of poisoning and witchcraft.

Given the general mistrust at the time due to the Affaire, it was not long before suspicion grew that Madame de Montespan’s jealousy could lead her to murder. This is why many believed her to be responsible for the death of Madame de Fontanges by poisoning her, although it was later confirmed she died of eclampsia, a condition where high blood pressure results in seizures during pregnancy.

During the Affaire des poisons, Madame de Montespan’s name was dropped in court by several accused and convicted as being a customer of Madame Catherine Monvoisin, also called Lavoisin, a potion maker.

Montespan was accused of giving Louis XIV a love potion and participating in Black Masses with Lavoisin where infants were sacrificed.

It is important to note that Lavoisin allegedly provided midwife services and performed abortions, which at the time was seen as witchcraft was the source of the child sacrifice rumour. Despite the state of frenzy at the time of the Affaire, Madame de Montespan was never put on trial or convicted for the accusations. It is believed the king either believed her to be innocent or wanted to avoid the humiliation for his children. Madame de Montespan later retreated to a convent and died in 1707.

HERstory Lesson is a column presenting all the “bad girls” in history, or the ultimate girlboss summit.

public to speak up for the artifact to be returned. Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archeologist and former minister of state for antique affairs, has been working tirelessly since 2002 to repatriate stolen artifacts and put an end to the unethical purchasing of artifacts by museums.

The Concordian spoke with University of Southern California researcher Jumana Behbahani about the Rosetta Stone being kept in the British Museum. She criticized the display as a result of a history of cultural violence: British visitors can celebrate a piece of history as if it’s their own, while Egyptians remain stripped of their accessibility to a vital piece of their history.

“Keeping these artifacts in western countries, in a way, represents the ways in which these countries stripped the areas they colonized of their respective cultures.”

As social historian and Concordia professor Dr. Lucie Laumonier noted, “Back then, Egypt was culturally plundered and its stolen historical artifacts inundated the European markets [...] the return of the Rosetta Stone to Egypt would be a way,

from the English side, to acknowledge this colonial cultural plunder.”

However, some have argued that the British Museum is the best location for the Rosetta Stone, claiming that Egypt is a vital part of European heritage, and crediting European historians with deciphering the Stone which would have otherwise not been possible.

Dr. Laumonier criticizes this line of thinking. “The people who belong to the country from which artifacts were stolen during the colonial times deserve as much, if not more, to be able to access these artifacts,” she said. “Historical artifacts are essential in asserting national identity and pride, and to be aware of one’s history.”

Along with that, many of the artifacts in the British Museum’s possession were taken forcibly, and nearly all of them aren’t even on display but are instead kept in the museum’s private archives that the public doesn’t have access to.

The British Museum is no unique case of the capitalist incentive of museums profiting from colonial power. The idea of displaying historically significant artifacts somewhere other than their country of origin seems inherently

colonialist, especially when it signifies a period of struggle and war crimes. Museums such as The Getty in Los Angeles, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris, and the Humboldt Forum in Berlin are notorious for hoarding looted artifacts and claiming entitlement over them because they are “the spoils of war.” This doctrine, however, has been rejected by international law. These museums can look to other institutions for compromises over stolen artifacts. Museums around the world have displayed efforts of decolonization, unveiling possibilities of engaging with colonized communities with their permission and respect granted. For example, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago invited Indigenous artists to showcase their work in their Native American galleries. Indigenous communities can be celebrated and studied without taking away from them.

The Australian Museum in Sydney rethought its relationship to the artifacts in their museum when they shifted ownership of the artifacts to the “custodians of those collections, with an obligation to the peoples who created the objects and stories, and to their descendants,” as stated by former Museum Director Frank Howarth.

The display of these artifacts appears enriching and informative to its visitors, but when the items are a byproduct of cultural violence, charging people to come see them is exploitative in its nature. The Rosetta Stone should be housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where Egyptian people can celebrate and engage with their history and culture. It belongs to them and not strictly to those who have the luxury of flying to London and visiting the British Museum.

The British Museum has been called upon multiple times to return The Rosetta Stone, but have yet to respond to requests. The matter extends beyond the value of a tangible object; it’s a concern of national identity being stripped away in the name of colonialism. The Stone symbolizes the colonized world and its relationship to the colonizer, one that arguably still exists.

GRAPHIC BY AVERY MONETTE

BY ZAINAH AL MEQBEL // SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Arts Editor: Esther Morand arts@theconcordian.com

IN THE HIDDEN LIFE OF HUMANS, THE CANOPY IS THE

Concordia’s Greenhouse hosts a project inspired by a utopian concept, to be presented April 22

THE RADICAL IMPORTANCE OF GIGUES IN QUEBECOIS CULTURE

Pas Perdus | Documentaires Scéniques at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde

BY ESTHER MORAND // ARTS EDITOR

The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde presented Pas Perdus from Feb. 24 to a crowded room filled with an excited public.

The design and direction of the play was helmed by Émile Proulx-Cloutier and written by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, who also acts as a silent narrator.

The performance was prefaced with a short reading of the Ukrainian play A Dictionary of Emotions in a Time of War to commemorate the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Theatres across Montreal read excerpts to signify their solidarity with Ukrainians. This crowd was extremely moved.

The Quebecois gigue was inspired by Irish stepdancing upon their immigration to Canada in the late 19th century. It is a lively dance that consists of steps, the last one being more emphasized. It is danced alone or in front of an audience, usually in a room, each dancer showing their steps. Most Quebec gigues dance on a two by four tempo, while some places like Outaouais dance on three by four tempo. It is a staple dance of Quebecois culture.

Pas Perdus was conducted in a unique fashion, as characters only mimicked to one another, a voiceover resonating between them. They are composed of excerpts from a podcast series Barbeau-Lavalette had created, centering the voices of the dancers.

dancing gigues orients their existence.

Each character is introduced separately, completing their daily tasks while the voiceover explains their lives. The first character, Réal, is from a rural town and spends his time knotting a pair of snowshoes and explains how dancing is a part of who he is, while others like Odile are presented in the workspace as the voiceover explains their life path, and what brought them to dance.

BY JEREMY COX // ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR

After making your way up to the 13th floor of the Hall Building and passing through an inviting doorway, you might suddenly notice the smell of fresh soil as hoses on a “mist” setting crowd your sinuses. An overwhelming presence of life makes itself known; a sort of hidden life, perhaps. You’ve stumbled upon Canopy; The Hidden Life of Humans: a project that unites science with arts and crafts in pursuit of the idea that we, as humans, may one day be able to move civilization above the ground into canopies.

Maddy Schmidt, who recently gradu-

ated from Concordia with a major in design, conceived the idea in August of last year while walking through Montreal and spotting a planter erupting with vines and other vegetation.

At the same time,

Schmidt was listening to a Radiolab podcast about copepods: small crustaceans found in various aquatic habitats, and even in above-ground ecosystems among trees.

In their episode Forests On Forests

Radiolab states that about 50 per cent of all terrestrial beings live in trees.

“I saw this crazy web of vines, and they were all linking onto each other. It looks like they’re holding each other.

I saw them linking onto the fence,” said Schmidt. “I saw them linking onto other plants. And I was like, there’s this completely interconnected world, it was so mind-blowing.”

The Canopy co-creator immediately called her longtime friend, firstyear photography major Liliane Junod, out of inspiration. The “part-

ners in vine” brainstormed ideas for a project honouring the concept of humans living from the top down, rather than the ground up.

The idea of the project is to hang all sorts of house plants, such as pothos, also known as devil’s ivy, around the Hall Building’s greenhouse. They would be linked together with grapevines and hung on trellising made from recycled materials.

The Canopy team is gathering materials from Facebook groups that are designated for sharing recycled items, such as Creative Re-use: Ø Waste, or CRØW.

Canopy will be hosting a workshop in collaboration with Concordia Precious Plastic Project (CP3) and Concordia University’s Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR), on April 4 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Anyone is welcome to attend.

CP3’s portion of the workshop will entail drawing lantern designs and learning how to transform them into illustrator outlines, which will then be cut into recycled plastic sheets with laser-cutters.

The second part of the workshop, led by CUCCR, will focus on making

arts and crafts with recycled materials, and techniques such as sculpting, drawing, painting, and printing will be taught by Concordia’s fine arts students.

“The end result of this project is going to be an exhibition where we create this magical canopy space in the greenhouse, and we’re going to include our artists from the community,” said Junod. “We’re excited to have not just people in fine arts, for whom art is their entire life, but also anybody. So we want to put forth the message that everyone can create for this.”

“One of our keywords is optimism. We really want this project to be as uplifting as possible,” says Schmidt. “Of course, we’re addressing tons of systemic issues, methodologies, but we’re exposing them through something much more artistic and colourful.”

The Canopy team is calling on any students from the Fine Arts, Arts and Science, and JMSB faculties who are willing to lend a hand between now and the day of exhibit on April 22. You can visit the project’s Linktree @canopythloh for more information.

The play centers around eight characters, who seem at first to live categorically different lives, but are actually united by their passion for dance. They are introduced within their life stories, and how dancing gigues orients their existence.

The actors were merely dialoguing through the movement of their bodies. This silence plays a symbolic role in the demonstration of dance as a language, and of spoken words as only parallel to the meaning of dance. They are introduced within their life stories, and how

BY JEREMY COX // ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR

Shams, the Arabic word for “sun,” seems like the perfect word to describe this exhibition that highlights unheard voices from proud Arabic artists Nesreen Galal is the curator of FASA’s new exhibition. She is FASA’s outreach coordinator and a fourthyear Concordia student double majoring in studio and computation arts.

Galal conceived the idea for Shams after having co-organized many shows for artists of different ethnicities through the CSU. She found that there wasn’t enough representation for Arab people.

“I thought it would be cool to have an opportunity to have fine arts and non fine arts students who identify as Arab to have a space, and focus on marginalized voices as well such as women, queer [people], immigrants, disabled people, and refugees,” she said.

Galal drew initial inspiration from American-Palestinian author Edward Said’s book Orientalism, which explores the west’s depiction of eastern culture.

The vernissage of FASA’s new exhibition took place on March 11, at the Eastern Bloc in Ahuntsic-Cartierville

“Arabs are perceived in a western-dominant perspective, especially in Canada where its perception is affected by America’s dominant perspective. We’re defined as barbaric or as terrorists or even stereotyped as people in fantasy lands like in Aladdin ,” said Galal.

For this reason, it was necessary to provide Shams as a safe space for the attributed artists.

Co-creator of furniture workshop

Atelier Bon Train Rafaël Khoury

This play questions the meaning gigue has in Quebecois culture, the shame that surrounds the dance, and the risk of forgetting it as time passes.

The play layers on the tone of humour despite difficult times.

Barbeau-Lavalette discusses themes of shame around Quebecois culture, and how it directly produces erasure.

displayed an installation in the exhibition, called A lesson between two sculptures. It’s composed of three pedestals: the middle one holds a couple of notebooks containing Arabic and English scribbles, while the other two pedestals each hold a strange sculpture resembling uneven bookshelves composed of shattered marble and walnut wood.

“They are explorations in self-compassion, one of the primary themes of the installation are the exploring of self, reorienting of self, and being allowed to do so,” said Khoury. “The sculptures are a divergence of traditional furniture, and the script is also me trying to get in touch with part of my story, as a child of immigrants, but in my own way.”

Similar to Khoury, communications alumnus and musician Amira Faradj grew up out of touch with Arab culture despite being raised by Algerian parents. “Because it was always in my household, I felt disdain towards it for some reason. Maybe it was because I wanted to fit in with my peers who were not from that area,” said the musician. “It’s only recently that I’ve come around to explore my identity in a way that feels like mine. I’ve never felt a connection to my country of origin until I realised that I can make that thing my own.”

Faradj, who DJs as a hobby, presented egypt91 at the expo, which is a 35-minute mix of drum and bass/ house music blended with sounds of what the west perceives Arabic music to be. This was accompanied by old footage of Faradj’s father’s trip to Egypt in 1991, collaged with other flamboyant visuals.

Ranime El Morry, a third-year studio

One character talks about “collecting steps,” as she meets people within the gigues community, learns their unique steps, and is thus able to carry them with her. This prevents the steps from being forgotten, even when the person dancing gigue dies. Pas Perdus is a demonstration of the adaptation of Quebec culture to modern times, noting the importance of not constraining our history to the past. Although there are fewer people dancing gigues, culture cannot be forgotten. Her play is an homage to preserving culture and steering it away from erasure.

arts major, presented the second portrait in their series called Just A Lookalike. The acrylic on canvas is of a mask made of some sort of malleable paper. It represents the unconscious social strategy of autistic masking. According to El Morry, who has been diagnosed with medium support needs on the spectrum, autistic masking is a unique process through which people with autism assume a different personality to each person they interact with.

“It’s very hard to mix different groups of people in the same room, because we’re very different, and a lot of people diagnosed with autism don’t notice that they are masking,” explained El Morry, referring to their artwork. “You wear this paper and it moulds [metaphorically], and it can easily change but it can easily unmold, but it feels heavy.”

Dona Maria Mouaness, who immigrated from Lebanon a year ago in pursuit of studio arts studies at Concordia, created a terracotta bust of an unknown woman with tribal Bedouin face tattoos. “It started out as a self portrait. I wanted it to be more than that, I wanted it to represent women who identify with it or feel any kind of connection to her. She represents the resistant Arab womanhood.”

The sense of unity is strong in this exhibition. Every artist has a different story and relation with their culture, yet they take strong pride in their identity, regardless of how prevalent it is in their lives.

MANIKANETISH: WHAT IT MEANS TO BELONG

from March 8 to April 8 at Jean-Duceppe Theatre

BY JEREMY COX // ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR

Manikanetish discusses the author’s life as a teacher, while centering the voices of the children she teaches. Themes of death, resilience and belonging dominate.

Manikanetish is based on Naomi Fontaine’s novel by the same name. . This play is set in Uashat, a small Inuit community in Northern Quebec close to Sept-Îles.

PHOTO BY SARIA @SCHATILA

Photo by Lilly Junod @lillyjunod

Graphics by Madeline Schmidt @moonmalade

Can you spot all 8 differences in these photos?

The Update podcast

March 22.

“Sexual Violence At Concordia”

This is a special edition of the podcast speaking on an investigation led by both The Concordian and The Link on Concordia. Our news editor Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman and The Link’s news editor Zachary Fortier take us through Concordia’s flawed sexual violence reporting system.

March 15.

“International Women’s Day, discrimination in engineering and library pranks”

March 1.

“New database for MMIWG2S, half a million dollars for engineers, and Ukraine, a year later”

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