The Concordian

theconcordian Volume 30 Issue 18

IndependenT sTudenT neWspaper aT ConCordIa unIVersITy. sInCe 1983.

January 22, 2013

Unbalancing the budget

ConCordia University’s finanCial fUtUre remains UnCertain and volatile following several revised bUdgets and a laCk of answers from the provinCial governmenet. Photo by Madelayne hajek

Concordia awaits provincial funding in wake of province-wide budget shortfalls KALInA LAfrAmbOISe news editor

With four revisions to its operating budget in eight months and little communication from the provincial

government, Concordia University is heading for a deficit, all the while waiting to hear about additional funding from the Parti Québécois.

It was revealed Friday during a Senate meeting that confusion and uncertainty have clouded the university’s finances during the entire academic

In this issue // life arts

That’s right. It’s a spa on a boat P. 7

year. Following the PQ’s decision in December to cut universities’ budgets across Quebec, Concordia lost $13.2 million for the last four months of the year — a slash that runs so deep the university is backed into a corner.

President Alan Shepard said that the revision created “so much

uncertainty” for Concordia.

“It’s a very difficult time,” said Shepard. “We’re trying to figure out where we could get more money.”

In order to offset the cancellation of the tuition fee increase initially proposed by the Charest Liberals, the PQ was supposed to provide additional

university funding. During Senate, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Kelley said that the provincial government has not been forthcoming with information as to when Concordia will be provided with that money.

music

sports

opinions

Stingers move to first place P. 13

Quebec at the Oscars P. 18

Amel Chamandy’s Profiling musician Tequila Sunrise P. 8 St. Lucia P. 10

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

Continued on P. 4

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news 2

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com

City in brief Concordia has strength in numbers

mATTheW guITé Assistant news editor

>> SQ officer benched

A provincial police officer has been suspended for 17 days for displaying what the Quebec police ethics committee called “gross incompetence and an obvious lack of judgement” in an incident where an elderly man was thrown to the ground and dragged out of a restaurant.

After Yvon Trudel’s nursing home called to report him missing in 2009, Vincent Langlais found the man in a restaurant across the street. According to a waitress working at the time, Langlais grabbed Trudel and pushed him to the ground before forcibly dragging him from the building.

Ten days after the incident Trudel suffered a heart attack before dying four months later. The ethics committee ruled that Langlais did not have justification for his actions.

>>Mammoth lobster

donated to biodome

A seven-kilogram, one-and-a-half foot long lobster has found a new home at the Montreal Biodome after being donated by the staff of a grocery store east of Montreal. Staff at the IGA in Varennes nicknamed the mammoth crustacean ‘Goliath,’ and contacted the Society for Friends of the Montreal Biodome. According to the Biodome, Goliath, who is in good health, is estimated to be between 30 and 50 years old, and was caught off the coast of Nova Scotia.

>>Not the best idea

A Quebec judge has been reprimanded and may face sanctions after it was revealed that she intended to pay a contractor under the table. Justice Ellen Paré, who was unhappy with the work that was done on her kitchen counters by the company she hired, took the matter to small claims court and asked for $7,000 in damages. The judge presiding over the case awarded her $1,500 but scolded her for paying the company in cash in order to avoid paying taxes. Paré could be called before a council of judges to answer for her actions.

>>Bilingualism and

public transit

While speaking on a Montreal radio show, the provincial minister responsible for the anglophone community, Jean-François Lisée, said that a simple phone call was the only thing needed to allow the Société de transport de Montréal to begin hiring bilingual employees. While on the Tommy Schnurmacher show on CJAD, Lisée was asked to push the STM to follow the Agence métropolitaine de transport’s lead and enforce bilingualism for some of its employees.

campus // neWS

both student unions join cases to take on the Canadian federation of Students KALInA LAfrAmbOISe news editor

The Concordia Student Union and the Canadian Federation of Students are back at it again.

The CSU called a special meeting last Wednesday to address the ongoing lawsuit between it and the CFS, the nation’s largest student association that works at a federal level.

The meeting, with a brief introduction from former CSU President Lex Gill, was conducted in closed session to discuss the potential joining of the separate cases filed by the

CSU and the university’s Graduate Students’ Association against the CFS. Both student groups have been trying to leave the CFS unsuccessfully for years, resulting in a slew of accusations from the CFS that both the CSU and the GSA owe unpaid and mounting dues.

On Friday, Jan. 11, the GSA unanimously voted in favour of collaborating with the CSU pending the undergraduate association’s approval.

CSU President Schubert Laforest said the CFS has been notified of the motion.

“After a lengthy discussion

where council weighed the pros and potential cons of joining the cases, council decided unanimously to join the cases,” said Laforest. “The CFS is aware of this but we haven’t gotten any response about it as of yet.”

This Wednesday, a motion will be brought before the courts to allow the merging of the two cases against the CFS so they can be tried at the same time.

In March 2010, the CSU held a referendum where an overwhelming percentage of students voted to leave the CFS. The association in turn claimed the process was illegitimate and barred the CSU from leaving. Similarly, when students

voted for the departure of the GSA from the CFS in April 2010, the CFS refused to acknowledge the referendum.

Approximately a year later following failed negotiations, the CSU filed a lawsuit for the organization to officially recognize the results and allow them to leave.

In response, the CFS countered with their own lawsuit against the CSU in early 2012, claiming that the union that governs the undergraduate student body owed them close to $2 million in unpaid fees. Since 2010, the CFS has been claiming that the student association have an obligation to pay $1 million.

city // neWS

‘We stand by our decision’: Dawson College Student expelled after finding and reporting flaws with online software system rObIn deLLA COrTe Assistant news editor

Dawson College is under scrutiny over the expulsion of a 20-year-old computer science student following his discovery of a defect in a provincewide computer software system used by the school and by most Quebec CÉGEPs. In an article published Jan. 21 by The National Post, it was reported that the student, Ahmed Al-Khabaz, informed Dawson administration in September that the software system Omnivox was dangerous when it comes to the personal security of students. AlKhabaz claims he found it by accident while working on a mobile application for students to be able to access their college accounts more easily.

After informing the school’s director of Information Services and Technology, François Paradis, about the problem, Al-Khabaz attended a meeting on Oct. 24 where he was congratulated along with colleague Ovidiu Mija, for their work. Paradis said that he and Skytech, the makers of Omnivox, would fix the problem immediately.

Two days later, Al-Khabaz ran a software program called Acunetix, made to test websites for their weaknesses, to verify that the issues he had discovered were fixed. The phone rang moments later. It was Edouard Taza, the president of Skytech.

“The first thing I was thinking when they called was that I […] was doing something right, since I found a vulnerability in their website,” AlKhabaz told The Concordian. “But the moment he called my home, he told me something very shocking.”

Dawson College’s administration proceeded to expel him for his actions.

“We stand by our decision,” said Donna Varrica, the college’s communications co-ordinator.

Varrica explained that Al-Khabaz demonstrated a “complete violation of code of conduct” and that this was a case beyond the administration’s control. Varrica explained that the institution cannot legally discuss the case.

There is currently a petition being circulated across social media outlets titled “Hamed Helped” which advocates that Al-Khabaz be reinstated as a Dawson student. As of press time, close to 4,000 people have signed.

“The petition is awesome and I’m happy, but the message wasn’t just about me going back to college, but to let people know what’s going on with our systems,” Al-Khabaz said. “Companies like Skytech should be more secure.”

The letter Al-Khabaz received from administration explaining his expulsion was released online by CBC Monday. The letter states that “following a thorough analysis of the serious professional conduct issue,” Al-Khabaz was expelled based on several factors, including attempting to gain access to

the college and external information systems — a clear violation of Dawson’s IT policy.

However, at the end of the letter, it states that Al-Khabaz has the right to appeal to the academic dean within 10 working days, but when he appealed to both the dean and the director-general, both denied his request.

Ethan Cox, the journalist who wrote the story for The National Post explained that the issue lies in whether or not the expulsion “fits the crime.”

In a non-disclosure agreement Al-Khabaz agreed to sign in order to avoid charges from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and potentially facing six to 12 months jail time, he was prohibited from discussing confidential or proprietary information he found on Skytech servers or any information relating to it.

“I was really scared, I thought the best thing to do was just to obey,” Al-Khabaz said. “I think after all the

events, they completely misunderstood my intentions.”

The agreement also prevented him from discussing the existence of the non-disclosure itself, which kept him from explaining his side of the story when the computer science program voted in a 14-1 vote to have him expelled.

“I didn’t think Dawson would do that. When I signed the disclosure, I told [Taza,] since we collaborated, ‘how about you tell Dawson to calm down, since we’re collaborating and no harm is done’,” Al-Khabaz said.

“He told me he would do it, but [I] had no confirmation that he actually did.”

Moments before the interview with Al-Khabaz Monday night, he confirmed that Skytech sent out a press release stating that they were willing to put Al-Khabaz in a private CÉGEP and give him a part-time job at Skytech. There was also a formal apology included within it.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

campus // news

A motion to ensure Fine Arts representation meetings propose solution to fill empty seats on the Concordia Student union mATTheW guITé Assistant news editor

A motion due to be proposed at the upcoming meeting of the Concordia Student Union will attempt to resolve the lack of representation on council for Fine Arts students, one week after the Fine Arts Student Association met to discuss possible responses to the situation.

At their first meeting of the year, FASA debated possible actions to be taken in response to the lack of representation on the CSU. Where the faculty would normally have three representatives, a recent byelection in which no Fine Arts student ran and two councillors were forced to resign means that Fine Arts students have been left with no one to represent their interests on council. In late October, Laura Glover, a councillor and former VP student life and sustainability, stepped down citing a heavy workload as her reason for leaving.

At the meeting, FASA VP clubs and services Erika Couto brought up the issue and opened the floor to possible suggestions. Executives and councillors expressed a variety of responses, including informing Fine Arts students of the situation via newsletter, attempting to withdraw themselves from the CSU in protest and even the possibility of seeking the impeachment of certain councillors.

Finally it was decided that members of FASA would attend the CSU’s next regular meeting to raise the issue and voice their concerns.

The executive would also invite

VP internal and clubs Nadine Atallah to attend FASA’s next regular meeting to help explain why the byelections were not better advertised to Fine Arts students, a factor that led to no candidates running for the one seat available.

On Thursday, however, CSU President Schubert Laforest contacted Couto to explain that a meeting had been held to come up with possible solutions, and that after consulting with the policy committee, one had been decided on.

Laforest explained that the idea involved changing the standing regulations of the CSU in order to allow the faculty to appoint a representative to council in the event that no student from that faculty is sitting on council.

“Basically it would be to add a new stipulation to the Senate regulations whereby in the event that after both annual general elections there was still no faculty representation from any given faculty, the corresponding faculty association would be given the ability submit someone to be appointed to council to represent the faculty,” he said.

Laforest explained that the way a representative would be chosen was left purposefully vague, to allow the student faculty association freedom to decide the matter in their own way without any involvement from the CSU. “It’s not for the CSU to impose precisely how that ends up being chosen, that’s for the faculty association to determine themselves,” Laforest said. “They are independant and it would be a step too far if the CSU were to dictate how exactly that would happen.”

>>A cry for help

a CsU meeting withoUt fine arts stUdents. Photo by Madelayne hajek

The motion, which is due to be discussed and voted on at the upcoming CSU meeting this Wednesday, would allow for some kind of representation for Fine Arts students on council, a fact that Couto says she welcomes.

“I think that [Laforest]’s proposal is a good one,” she said. “As students, we all deserve the opportunity to be a part of the CSU’s framework, and this will hopefully help alleviate this ever happening

to any faculty in the future. I really appreciate the effort that he took to get in touch with me and make sure that it was a reasonable solution not just for us but for the future of the CSU and Concordia students at large.”

Couto also said that many FASA executives had reacted positively to the proposal, and that they would be in attendance during the upcoming meeting to see the motion debated.

In two months Sharma claimed more than other deans did for the whole year

P

rior to Sanjay Sharma’s departure for a higher paying administrative post at the University of Vermont, he earned over $42,000 in salary and claimed $33,230 in expenses for his last two months of employment.

Two weeks ago, The Concordian reported that the former Dean of the John Molson School of Business ended his mandate with a payout of the administrative leave he was entitled to that amounted to $96,245. During the 2011-2012

rObIn deLLA COrTe Assistant news editor

The British Columbia environment minister has agreed to allow a Vancouver resident to keep living with the deer she has raised as a pet.

Conservation officers wanted to at first seize the deer by moving it to a wildlife rehabilitation centre, but after experts evaluated the situation, they feared there might be risks by removing the animal from a place it is familiar with. Janet Schwartz and her deer named Bimbo will live together with the help from a veterinarian and conservation officers.

According to Schwartz, Bimbo is newly pregnant and craving chocolate cookies.

Sanjay Sharma declared thousands in expenses academic year, Sharma worked for two months at Concordia before departing for the University of Vermont.

Before Sharma left Concordia, he claimed an additional $33,230 as well. University spokesperson Chris Mota confirmed that the amount consists of taxable benefits, unused vacation time and a part-time teaching contract.

“It’s money paid to him, which he was entitled to for the period he was there,” said Mota.

Amongst the university’s deans, Sharma declared more than his counterparts in other faculties did for the entire year, with his successor Alan Hochstein expensing $23,140 over 10 months.

In 12 months, Dean Brian Lewis of the Faculty of Arts and

Nation in brief >>D’oh and doe

campus // neWS

KALInA LAfrAmbOISe news editor

3

Sciences submitted $15,502, Dean Robin Drew of the Faculty of Engineering claimed $15,653, Dean Catherine Wild of the Faculty of Fine Arts declared $12,938 and Noel Burke, of Continuing Education, asked for less than $10,000.

The dean of graduate studies and interim VP of research and graduate studies, Graham Carr, declared the second most in taxable benefits at over $23,000 for the entire year.

This amount of $33,230 does not include the additional payout from the administrative leave nor does it include the salary Sharma collected during the end of his contract. Sharma’s contract for the 2011-2012 year was over $252,000—however, he was entitled only to the amount he worked

for. Therefore, Sharma earned approximately $42,000 in total for his last two months at Concordia.

The academic year commenced May 1, 2011 where Sharma earned a salary, benefits and claimed expenses until his mandate at the University of Vermont started on July 1 of the same year. Sharma voluntarily broke his five-year contract at Concordia so he could fill the position of dean of the School of Business Administration for a starting salary of $320,000 U.S.— the second highest paid administrator at the American institution.

Pramodita Sharma, Sharma’s spouse, who also used to teach at Concordia, now holds a position at the University of Vermont where she is a professor earning a base salary of $180,000.

There has been a demand for a mental health and addictions treatment centre for the youth in the Yukon.

Advocate Andy Nieman believes there is a current concern with mental health and addiction problems and that there is a long wait for diagnosis and treatment thousands of kilometres away. Nieman’s role is to provide help to the families, but feels that they are giving up hope.

In order to seek treatment, residents have to leave the Yukon due to a lack of local services. Nieman states that youth then turn to alcohol and drugs to stabilize themselves, a form of self-medicating, since there are no services available. Nieman is now working on getting the centre done.

>>All drugs are bad

According to Terence Young, a Conservative member of parliament, Canadians are unaware of the risks behind prescription drugs, which kill people “every day” through side effects. Even with the proper doses, “all drugs are poisons,” Young told an audience last week at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. He also believes that because of Health Canada’s approval of these drugs on the market, Big Pharma has “completely perverted” Canada’s drug safety, The National Post reported.

Young reported that citizens turn a blind eye to the dangers of prescription medication.

>>Losing money

Machine owners are blaming the Bank of Canada for thousands of vending machines still not being able to accept the new polymer $20 bills. About half a million machines needed reprogramming to be able to accept the redesigned $20 bills.

Kim Lockie, who has been converting his 1,200 machines in Fort McMurray, full-time for two months claims he is losing money due to frustrated customers who can’t use their new bills. He blames the Bank of Canada, for not having an advance three-year warning for owners that needed the time to recalibrate their vending machines for the release of the new bills.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

World in brief mATTheW guITé Assistant news editor

>>Neck and neck

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, originally banned for looking nothing like her, has finally been put on display almost 60 years after it was painted.

The painting, which shows the Queen with an extremely elongated neck, was originally painted in 1952 by John Napper, who called the painting “a beautiful painting of a queen, but not this Queen.” Napper, who died in 2001, later painted a second portrait of the Queen which hangs to this day. “It was due to be hung up high so that you would look at it from below,” Napper’s widow told the BBC. “If you looked at it from that angle it looked normal.”

>>Cyprus man brings

bomb to police station by accident

A Cyprus man accidentally caused a major security incident when he brought an unexploded bomb into a police station to figure out what it was.

According to police, the man found the makeshift explosive on his car’s rear window but was unsure what it was, and brought it to the police for investigation. Police shortly realized what the object was and evacuated the building.

The device was defused at the station by explosive experts.

“He obviously didn’t know what it was,” a police source said, speaking to Reuters.

>>Sinfully beautiful

The Pope’s private secretary has become the subject of media attention in Italy after appearing on the cover of an issue of Vanity Fair which dubbed him “The George Clooney of St. Peter’s.”

Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who was recently appointed to the position, has served as Pope Benedict’s private secretary since 2005. He did not pose for the magazine’s cover, which features a close-up of a previous photo of him along with the headline “Father Georg - It’s not a sin to be beautiful.”

The magazine’s cover story, which it describes as a “close up profile of a particular monsignor,” relates to his recent promotion and his increasing power within the church.

>>Swedish cleaning

lady accused of stealing a train

A Swedish cleaning woman was falsely accused of stealing a train and crashing it into a house on Tuesday, an incident which left the woman in hospital with serious injuries. As the only person on board the train at an early hour in the morning, the cleaning woman was originally suspected of starting the train on purpose. The train accelerated faster than it was meant to safely, and hit the end of the tracks before flying over a street and crashing through a house. Originally believed to be done by the woman on purpose, state prosecutors have since revealed that the incident is now believed to have been an accident. The woman remains in hospital and the detain has since been lifted.

theconcordian city // neWS

A referendum is on its way The McGill Daily and Le Délit need student support to continue KALInA LAfrAmbOISe news editor

The McGill Daily and Le Délit face a referendum that will determine the continued existence of their publications this week, in order to negotiate a contract with the university.

In accordance with the policy of McGill University’s administration, a new Memoranda of Agreement is arranged with independent student associations every five years.

However, in order for a newly negotiated MoA to move forward, a referendum is being held from Jan. 23 to 31. The Daily Publication Society, The Daily and Le Délit’s umbrella association, must prove it has continued support from the university’s student body before arranging a contract with administration.

These renewed agreements enable the DPS to collect student fees that allow for allotted leases, printing costs and distribution of the two papers.

Therefore, both newspapers require a majority of students to vote in support of their continued publication or else they will cease to exist. If the referendum fails, then McGill will

terminate the fee-levy of $6 paid by undergraduate students per semester and the $3.35 contributed by graduate students. As part of the agreement, the current fee is binding.

In 2011, McGill’s campus radio station CKUT held its referendum in conjunction with the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at the university where approximately 5,245 students participated with overwhelming support in favour of continued existence. McGill invalidated the results however, forcing the associations to conduct another election. CKUT also recently held a referendum in November 2012 to increase its fee-levy and won.

These set votes can be a source of stress for student associations on campus.

“It takes months of planning and so much time,” said Queen ArsemO’Malley, the co-ordinating editor of The Daily. “It’s not like it’s really necessary, there are other ways for students to keep us accountable.”

Concordia University does not have the same terms of agreement with its student media associations and CJLO, Concordia University Television, The Concordian and The Link are not required to hold referendums.

Individuals who are eligible to vote must be undergraduate or grad-

Graphic by Vincent Tao

uate students at the downtown campus with the exception of continuing education students, non-resident graduate students and graduate students who are enrolled in medicine or dentistry.

McGill undergraduate student Eric Pagé, who does not read either publication on a regular basis, said he was not aware of the referendum until

he checked Facebook. Pagé said that his classes are not in the heavily trafficked buildings at the university but that if he has time to vote, he will.

“I’ll be voting in favour of The McGill Daily if I do go because I’m sure it benefits students,” said Pagé.

“As well as gives the authors good practice for prospective future employment.”

Making an investment in legal recognition The engineering and Computer Science Association shells out thousands KALInA LAfrAmbOISe news editor

The Engineering and Computer Science Association is officially heading into its second week of campaigning in hopes of being officially recognized as a legally accredited student association in the province of Quebec — at an expense of more than $13,000.

The campaign period lasts from Jan. 14 to Jan. 28, with executives from the faculty association visiting around 20 classrooms a day to garner support for the vote. The polling itself will span from Jan. 28 to Feb. 14 where students can choose to

endorse the move for accreditation or vote against it.

The entire procedure for the ECA in its effort to achieve official autonomy from Concordia and legal certification from the provincial government cost the student association over $13,000. VP finance Chuck Wilson explained that while accreditation is expensive, it is necessary to spend the money.

“The risk of failure is greatly decreased with an increase in money spent,” said Wilson. “If we have more polling days, we have more turnout and paying our elections staff is pretty much necessary.”

Melanie Hotchkiss, who is coordinating the campaign, explained that the university and the student

organization have a “good relationship” since it is provided with office space and the fee-levy it collects, something that the administration is not obligated to provide.

“More than anything else, accreditation would be more like an insurance policy,” said Hotchkiss.

The issue is to attract as many students as possible since the provincial government requires 25 per cent of the ECA’s membership to support the motion. Therefore, the faculty association requires a minimum of approximately 900 students to vote ‘yes.’

The ECA is reaching out to students through flyers and information booths located in the mezzanine in the Hall building and on the

eighth floor.

In order to ensure that the vote is as accessible as possible to undergraduate students, the ECA invested in having roaming polls with clerks visiting classrooms so individuals can vote before and after courses.

With four clerks, the roaming polls alone are costing the ECA close to $5,600 and the stationary polls amount to more than $3,000.

“We have to hedge our bets and make sure our students get out and vote,” said Wilson.

Overall, the ECA is allotting more than $10,000 to the polling to guarantee a two-week vote provides students with enough time to cast their ballots.

A time of financial uncertainty for Concordia Continued from cover “It’s absolutely physically impossible to not declare a deficit,” said Kelley. “We will have a deficit.”

During this year alone, the university’s projected funding dropped from $372 million to $359 million by December. The provincial government promised Concordia an additional $3.4 million for the 2012-2013 academic year to compensate for the shortfall they incurred from the freeze

implemented in September when the university announced they would refund students the additional tuition they paid.

According to Kelley, the provincial government “categorically refused” to answer when Concordia requested a date for when they would receive the funding.

In the meantime, Interim provost Lisa Ostiguy emphasized that administration will have to cut funding to all sectors and that the university will

have to be more careful with its fiscal management.

“We need to be fiscally responsible,” said Ostiguy. “It’s going to be difficult because reductions and changes are shared by all and there is no one sector that will take the hits.”

Ostiguy explained that the larger cuts will affect sectors such as the president’s office and advancement in order to minimize the setback for academics and student services. Furthermore, suggestions about how to use

resources more effectively and ideas to “generate official revenue” are also welcomed by the administration.

What concerns the administration now is the lack of directives for the following academic year and if additional cuts will follow. Shepard stressed that while information has not yet come to light regarding potential reductions in the future, Concordia’s administration did ask Premier Pauline Marois if the shortfall in funding was an isolated incident.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

5

follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian education // news

Searching for a solution on education Quebec residents weigh in on the education summit rObIn deLLA COrTe Assistant news editor

One of the most anticipated promises from the Parti Québécois, the provincial summit on education, will be held next month to discuss future plans for Quebec’s governance and management for post-secondary education funds.

As a part of her agenda, Premier Pauline Marois abolished the proposed tuition fee increase of $1,778 over the next seven years imposed by the pre-

vious provincial government led by former Premier Jean Charest. Near the end of last year, Marois stated that it was time for discussion and an open debate on the subject of education in the province. The conference, to be held on Feb. 25 and 26, will not only examine the dispute on tuition, but other aspects of higher education and identify the main goals of the universities in Quebec. It will take into account the voices of university administrations, students and taxpayers in the province.

The provincial government has been accepting comments and questions electronically, through a website and a Facebook page created for the summit. Denis Comeau, a real-estate agent, says he remains skeptical on the contribution of opinions from taxpay-

ers like himself despite the outreach from the PQ. “The system is only as good as the people who use it and maintain it,” said Comeau.

He explained that when it comes down to the summit itself, a pressing issue is the quality of university education and some schools are “suffering” from being underfunded.

Due to Marois’ freeze on tuition, universities are short $32 million. In December, the provincial government slashed universities’ budgets by $124 million, with Concordia suffering a $13.2 million loss.

In an interview with The Concordian, University President Alan Shepard said that the best scenario which can come from the summit next month is having “clarity of funding, support

for students, research funding, [and] renewed and refreshed commitment to the central role of universities in our society.”

Marois acknowledged that many will push for tuition increase, others for indexations and the rest for free tuition — a subject that many Quebec residents remain divided on.

“I do believe that they should not raise the tuition more, in fact, they should lower the tuition,” said TD Canada Trust financial sales representative Vita Carrara. “It is already very difficult for young adults to be able to afford today’s living expenses and have to pay for their own education.”

Karyna Bourgault, a dog groomer, said she believes that the relevance of the curriculum taught in the postsecondary environment should be

reviewed. She feels that students shouldn’t have to pay more tuition because “accessible education will allow more opportunities.”

Members of the Liberal Party of Quebec, the official opposition of the PQ, believe the PQ is going into the summit with their minds already made up on the issue of tuition. If the freeze continues, some Liberals argue it will put Quebec universities in an $80 million shortfall.

“Students should pay more tuition, eventually. You can’t keep something like that frozen. I don’t agree with having to pay more, but yet, just like opus passes, people will be forced to pay more,” said Joe De Cicco, a customer service representative at Indigo Books and Music.“I don’t see any other way around it.”

city // neWS

McGill University takes on student journalists The university files motion to bar 14 respondents from filing access to information requests but the fact that they’re going to take this extreme step at this point makes us wonder about their commitment to ensuring both an open dialogue and access to information.”

Bangs also contested the suggestion that the fourteen respondents were operating in collaboration while filing their requests.

“There were fourteen of us in this motion, and the fourteen of us did not co-ordinate our motions,” Bangs said.

“We did not subject them together, we did not have some sort of secret plan to bring down the university through access to information requests, so the fact that they were all submitted at the

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

mATTheW guITé Assistant news editor

McGill University has filed a motion that would grant it the ability to deny access to information requests from The McGill Daily, The Link, the website McGillliLeaked and anyone associated with them. This comes in response to what the university describes as a “complex system of repetitious and abusive requests” for information.

According to the Canadian Access to Information Act, publically-funded, government-run institutions like universities are required to release certain documents to the public when officially requested.

The McGill Daily report on Jan. 19 that the university filed the motion to the Commission d’accès à l’information, the provincial body which oversees access to information requests, claiming that the ATI requests were set up “as a retaliation measure against McGill in the aftermath of the 2011-2012 student protests.”

The motion, which names 14 respondents, most of whom are assumed to be student journalists, seeks the authority to disregard current requests as

well as any future requests made by the respondents or any person who can be linked to them, essentially barring the individuals named from ever submitting ATI requests to McGill.

It also seeks the right to deny future requests on a variety of subjects, such as military research and mining investments. Future requests could also be denied if they were found to be “overly broad,” “frivolous” or if they target “trivial documents and information.”

McGill’s motion claims that the respondents set up a “complex system” via repeated ATI requests, which the university describes as repetitious and abusive. It also argues that responding to the requests would represent “serious impediments to [the University’s] activities.”

McGill student Christopher Bangs, the founder of the website McGilliLeaked and one of the respondents involved in the case, told that he was not only worried about the motion itself, but also the motivations behind it.

“We’ve had a lot of complaints, not just from McGill students but from a lot of members of the McGill community, about how ATI requests are handled,” he said. “We’ve all had trouble with it,

same time does not give McGill university the right to deny not only those requests but also all future requests we might make.”

Julie Fortier, associate director for McGill’s media relations office, explained that the motion is based on current law which allows ATI recipients the right to not answer a request if it breaks certain rules, and that the ATIs in question fall into these categories.

“There are provisions within the law on access to information that allow an organization to make the request to the commission to not reply to certain requests when these are

abusive by their nature,” said Fortier.

“When they’re systematic or repetitive, or when they could seriously disrupt normal activities, and we thought that this was the case.”

Fortier also said that prior to this motion the ATIs in question were not rejected, and that future requests would be denied if they were considered to be of the same nature as those in the motion.

The Concordian contacted Chris Mota for comment on the nature, depth and number of ATI requests that Concordia receives, but Mota explained that the school could not comment on the matter.

life 6

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com resto // life

Hot Pot hits the spot Montreal’s Mongolian fondue restaurant is excellent for cold weather Marta barneS Staff wrtiter

Can’t decide between fondue, Chinese food, or a scalding winter soup? It’s time to stop by Chinatown for the all-you-can-eatery Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot. Never heard of it before?

Here’s the down low: gather two to four friends, order a personal pot of broth, say ‘yes’ when they ask if you want platters of raw lamb and beef, and then load up your plates at the buffet. When you get back to the table, bring your soup to a boil with the magnetized hot plate built into the tabletop and start cooking everything you can get your chopsticks on! It’s an outing of guaranteed amusement.

For anyone less talented in the kitchen, there’s no need to fret. Sure it’s all about timing to get the perfectly tender slice of meat, but no matter how long something soaks in this marvelous broth, it is bound to taste delicious.

The soup bases come in original herbal broth, spicy, half-and-half (with a divider down

the middle of the pot to enjoy both original and spicy), and vegetarian mushroom to add a veggie-friendly option. Unless you have a numb tongue or a high tolerance for spicy food, it is highly recommended to get either original or half-and-half. The spicy broth alone has enough ladle-fulls of chili peppers to render your esophagus molten before a single bite reaches your stomach.

There’s a vast array of tastes to be tried at the buffet, such as fresh greens (spinach, bok choy, watercress), mushrooms, root vegetables, tofu, dumplings and noodles. Dinner also includes seafood options like shrimp, fish and calamari.

Two complaints would be that the plastic curtains hanging in front of the food to keep it “fresh” are a little on the sketchy side, and the labels on the containers rarely match what’s inside leaving a lot of mouthfuls up to guesswork.

That aside, the desserts are surprisingly good, so save some room if possible for their mini whipped-cream pies, macaroons and tubs of mysterious ice cream flavours.

In all, the place has a cute semi-formal, semi-kitsch look to it, with tall booths for privacy, and tables for two with a single hot plate in

the middle to share. K-Pop’s lively background beat, along with the matching music videos on plasma screens provide entertainment when mouths are too full for conversation.

The ever-polite staff may not be the most talkative, but they are considerate and extremely quick, and will even top-off your broth if they notice your soup level is getting low.

Considering it’s an all-you-can-eat, the price is very reasonable. Lunch is $15, and though dinner is noticeably more expensive at $25, it is because of the seafood that is offered only in the evening. Soft drinks and juices are included in the price.

Little Sheep closes after lunch at 3 p.m. and then reopens later for dinner. For anyone who doesn’t have cash on them, that’s fine as debit and credit are accepted.

While Little Sheep’s hot pot does deviate from its authentic Mongolian origins, this evolved Chinatown specialty is arguably the best of its kind in Montreal. Perfect for a casual date or a no-occasion outing with friends.

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot is located on 50 de la Gauchetière St. W.

sex // life

Shedding light on female porn stars Study reveals the happy side of the porn industry Sabrina giancioppi Staff writer

M

ontreal is known as the third largest porn-producing city in the world alongside reigning contenders Los Angeles, Prague and Amsterdam. As the ‘femme fatale’ of Canadian cities, it comes as no surprise that Montreal thrives on pornography given the number of strip clubs, sex shops and escort services it offers. Beating out top technology companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and eBay, the porn industry proves to be a cash cow.

It has been said that happy employees are good for business and a recent study in the Journal of Sex Research would agree. Psychologists compared a group of 177 adult entertainment

actresses with a sample of women matching in various factors including age and marital status.

The porn stars proved to be healthier and happier and trended in high self-esteem, showing greater levels of satisfaction, spirituality and positive feelings compared to their non-porn working counterparts.

Prostitution tends to dominate sex-related work studies and Concordia sociology undergraduate student, Kayla D’Aloia, said she feels that “while it may be more common to study prostitutes as opposed to porn stars, both are stereotyped in the same way for trying to establish sex-related work as a professional status.”

“The most common stereotype is that wom-

en in sex-related work fields are victims when instead the study demonstrates that sex workers can make conscious decisions and be happy with the lives they lead,” said D’Aloia.

The study demystifies certain prejudices around the profession of pornography and dismisses the common “damaged goods” theory by revealing a group of women who are happy with the work they do and why they do it. It may seem hard to picture a porn star leading a normal life.

Today however, it has become quite common to hear of a school secretary who moonlights as a porn star. While this may stir controversy at the next parent-teacher association meeting, the point of the matter is that those drawn to the profession are not al-

ways desperate, addicted to drugs, homeless or victims of sexual abuse.

When having sex is part of your job, risks are important to consider. Famous Montreal porn star Vandal Vyxen told the McGill Daily’s Erin Hudson: “Porn stars must be tested for [sexually transmitted diseases] and bring documented medical proof to shoots, otherwise the DVD cannot be distributed. With so many regular visits to medical clinics, a porn star is likely more aware of their sexual health than the average person.”

Porn is criticized for debasing women but there are parts of the industry that do the exact opposite. Without implying the causation that porn makes these women happy, the study sheds a light on women who appear to be empowered both sexually and emotionally.

The debate about whether porn is good or bad, positive or negative, is still ongoing. In the meantime, researchers will continue to try and understand what makes for a happy life and how people can achieve satisfaction in the most diverse ways imaginable.

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

7

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

tech // life

Game on Concordia video gamers!

How advancing technologies are making gaming a healthier activity

christina Rowan Staff writer

Looks like gamers now have a reasonable excuse to play video games — apparently they’re good for your health!

According to a new publication by researchers at the University of Utah from the journal Science Translational Medicine, video games can be therapeutic and beneficial to one’s health; helping patients with cancer, diabetes, asthma, depression, autism and Parkinson’s disease.

Carol Bruggers, the lead author of the paper “Patient-Empowerment Interactive Technologies,” featured in the journal, said “a growing number of published studies show promise in effecting specific health-related behavioral changes and self-management of obesity, neurological disorders, cancer or asthma.”

“We envision interactive ‘exergames’ designed to enhance patient empowerment, compliance and clinical outcomes for specific disease categories,” said Bruggers.

The University of Utah has even created their own video game specifically targeted towards patients called the Patient Empow-

erment Video Game or PE Game.

According to the researchers, “video games can act as nonpharmacological interventions [that] may enhance patients’ resilience toward various chronic disorders via neuronal mechanisms that activate positive emotions and the reward system.”

Who knew this day would ever come?

Before the news of this research surfaced, most people believed that video games had the opposite effect. I mean, it’s easy to see why. A person can just plug in a game on their computer or television game console and lounge on the couch for hours without realizing how quickly time passes; hours they could be spending outside moving and being active.

Concordia computer science and software engineering professor, Peter Grogono, shared his thoughts on the rise of the so-called exer-

games: “there are plenty of games for couch potatoes. However, it is certainly possible to design specific games that encourage physical activity and that improve coordination skills.”

“Some games have been shown to help people with various medical conditions, both physical and psychological,” he said.

So, how is it possible that playing video games can be good for you? With the help of advanced computer technology, that’s how. Let’s take a momentary glance back into video game history and refresh our memory on the facts.

The first video games that came out were 2-D games such as Pong and Pac-Man in the late 1970s, typically played at an arcade which for the most part required a person to stand while playing. A somewhat healthy way to keep yourself entertained. The years progressed, technology

started booming and it seemed as though the standing obligation came to a sudden stop.

When home game consoles were introduced, such as Atari, Nintendo and PlayStation, people were able to play comfortably sitting alone for hours on end. Not such a healthy activity anymore.

In 2006 Japanese designers created a game console that brought back the standing element of gaming, in the form of the Wii: the latest Nintendo game console that runs off of sensory movement.

Suddenly gaming has become a healthy activity again, starting with the Wii console using games such as Wii Fit and Just Dance, forcing all players to get up off their couches and move in order to play. Other gaming companies like Xbox and Playstation recognized the growing popularity of the so called “exergames” and created sensory consoles of their own, which the University of Utah has now also done.

Thanks to computer engineers, video games have evolved from people having to stand, then sit and now move in order to play, allowing entertainment and exercise to coexist harmoniously. I think it’s safe to say that video games are literally taking a step in the right direction.

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

spa // life

Leave your worries on the water

Discover Montreal’s Bota Bota, spa-sur-l’eau sloane montgomery Contributor

Bota Bota, spa-sur-l’eau comes highly recommended. Bota Bota is a spa in the Old Port of Montreal and, as you may have assumed, it’s on a boat. The ambiance is chic and classy and most importantly, relaxing.

The standard treatment is their water circuit relaxation. I had the pleasure of experiencing it, and is it worth every penny. If it’s your first time at this spa in particular, they start you off with a guided tour by a member of their helpful staff who will ex-

plain all the available treatments and show you around.

The first step is to embrace the heat.

Bota Bota gives you the option of either the steam room or one of their two saunas, a heated place to sit and relax for five to 15 minutes to help open your pores. Step two is not for the weak-hearted. It entails a quick and painful jump into a freezing cold bath!

If you’re skeptical, I would recommend the cold shower as it’s much less shocking. This part immediately snaps all your pores shut, leaving you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated when you get out.

The third and final step is the relaxation period of 15 minutes for you to feel revitalized and to clear your busy mind. They have several areas for this, one of them being a small theatre style room with a big television where my tour guide laughed and said,

“That’s where the boyfriends and husbands go to watch hockey while the ladies are in the spa upstairs.”

There are also two open common areas with wide and chic couches and bean bag chairs, as well as lovely cushioned circular window seats where you can sit overlooking the small waterfall from the canal and the St. Lawrence River.

My favourite relaxation spot would have to be their hammocks. The rocking motion of the hammock chair soothed my soul and delivered the ultimate relaxation time, winning the top spot for me, and anyone else who wants to be rocked like a peaceful little baby.

Each step could be repeated as many times as you’d like. They also offer a wide range of spa treatments such as a variety of massages, facials, aerobic classes, and man-

icures and pedicures. There is also a bistro located on the main floor where I had the most delicious tuna melt of my life.

It is also important to note on Tuesdays, Bota Bota, spa-sur-l’eau has a promotion where two can get their standard treatment for $60, which honestly, is about the same price as a movie and popcorn these days.

Do not forget to bring your favourite swimsuit and sandals, as they are mandatory, and upon arrival you will also be given a comfortable robe and towel. So go with your special someone, your best gal pal or alone like I did, and escape to a relaxing, glamorous getaway right here in the city! I promise you will leave feeling fresh and relaxed, if you even want to leave at all.

For more information contact Bota Bota at (514) 284-0333.

arts 8

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com exhibit // arts

Tequila Sunrise is one of a kind Meet Amel Chamandy and her newest piece showing at Galerie NuEdge ariana trigueros-Corbo staff writer

The brand new photographic piece, Tequila Sunrise, by artist Amel Chamandy has just arrived at Galerie NuEdge. A power woman of the Montreal art scene, Chamandy has chosen a gallery that is the epitome of her artistic beliefs.

Charmandy has enumerated that she believes that contemporary art offers a refreshing flexibility in terms of injecting creativity into an artist’s work. NuEdge showcases and promotes contemporary art and up-and-coming artists, both from Montreal and abroad.

Ironically, the actual gallery space may catch visitors by surprise, considering that NuEdge focuses on artwork that is fairly avant-garde, the space allotted to showcasing it is fairly linear and traditional. This contrasts the subject matter quite vividly.

Charmandy’s medium of choice is mainly photography, blended with contemporary digital editing techniques. The catalogue to her collection bears the title Scene Scape: Through The Artist’s Eyes and perfectly describes her line of work. The catalogue is also available on NuEdge’s website (although it does not yet include Tequila Sunrise)

and an important portion of her work is permanently on display at the gallery. Every piece in the catalogue is an attempt on her behalf to welcome her observers to see the world as she does and where she also welcomes them to be amazed.

In an interview with The Montreal Review in Feb. 2010, she mentioned that she sometimes shifts to monochrome to “awaken” her audience: you can see this in some the stills from her earlier work, such as the “collage” style photography of Empty Space, which she showcased in 2008.

Tequila Sunrise is a piece that contrasts yet fits the rest of Chamandy’s work — it’s a very vivid print, taken on a deserted beach, moments before the sun rises and reaches it full potential. In the midst of a cold Montreal winter, the piece seems almost nostalgic, with its tones of purples, yellows and reds, giving off an unusual neon vibe.

On the topic of contemporary art, Chamandy explains that “[it] offers the greatest latitude in terms of flexibility in the creative expression. It is as field of creation that is bound only by the mind’s imagination and without boundaries.”

Audiences will surely be reminded of this as they observe the stillness present in Tequila Sunrise.

Tequila Sunrise can be viewed at Galerie NuEdge, 1480 Sherbrooke W. There is currently no end date to the exhibit.

Photo by Amel Chamandy

cinema politica // arts

No house to call home for Ontario natives

a troubling account of the severe housing crisis facing a northern reservation ayan ChoWdhury staff writer

Last week we looked into the dire conditions of post-earthquake Haiti, in which its citizens were not only left homeless, but have since been forced to live in ill-maintained campsites. This week, we turn our attention to another housing issue, albeit on a smaller scale but one much closer to home. At times, we must remind ourselves that the word “impoverished” isn’t strictly reserved for those living in the third world, it can occur right here in our own backyard.

The People of the Kattawapiskak River (2012) is produced, written, narrated and directed by Alanis Obomsawin, in association with the National Film Board of Canada. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, she has produced more than 30 works in a career spanning more than 40 years.

The opening credits illustrate a small town in the midst of a harsh winter. Despite the numerous houses, shacks, cabins and trailers, there’s a deep sense of isolation which seems to define the town itself. During a chilly, late afternoon sunset, a group of children play pond hockey, their laughter ringing loud in the otherwise empty stretch of snow-covered terrain. This quintessentially Canadian image of children playing hockey recurs throughout the film.

The dreadful housing conditions in the town

“ImproverIshed” Isn’t a word that Is strIctly reserved for the thIrd world , It can, and does, happen In our own backyard. of Attawapiskat have led to unacceptable standards of living, especially when compared to the rest of Canada. Most of the houses were built in the ‘60s and ‘70s and they’re in need of major renovations. Today, there are over 1,700 people living on the reserve, yet as a result of a rapidly growing population, inadequate housing solutions and a lack of funding, there are approximately 1,000 people in need of a home. Sadly, many end up living in overcrowded sheds or tents without electricity, water or heating. In fact, in some cases, 20 to 30 people live in a one family

home. These conditions resemble a minimumsecurity prison. The Kattawapiskak region is located 700 km north of Timmins, Ont. and during the coldest months of the year, the winds reach from -40 C to -50 C. The director alternates between interviews with residents, news footage and historical lessons. Despite the upsetting conditions of a town in such an unforgiving land, Obomsawin manages to capture the harsh beauties of the region.

One of the film’s few cheerful moments occurs in the town’s recreation centre, a place where

both the young and the old come to forget their countless troubles, if only for a few hours a week.

Normand Guilbeault, a jazz musician from Montreal, provides the slightly ominous music heard throughout the film, employing a double-bass and the steady, rhythmic beat of native drums.

The People of the Kattawapiskak River screens Monday Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. in Room H-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve West. Director Alanis Obomsawin will be in attendance. For more information, visit www.cinemapolitica.org/concordia

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

9

Follow us on twitter: @theConcordian fiction // arTs

Tourne au Rouge Part 5 of an ongoing fictional story from our staff writer andy Fidel

Illustration by Jihane Mossalim, Gallery 203

andy Fidel staff writer

“

When you photograph a face . . . you photograph the soul behind it.” - Jean-Luc Godard

Bouncing along with the movement of the train, Anya followed Jester Thingrim down the aisle. The sound of laughter and whoops of joy behind each closed compartment were masked by the buzzing light bulbs and churning train wheels. Along the walls hung framed portraits of children with playful faces: a boy with a gap-tooth smile, another with his tongue stuck out, a girl holding up her long braids and another with her cheeks puffed out—all of them staring as though they were looking right at her.

Jester Thingrim came to a sudden halt. Up ahead a small mime appeared to be dozing against the wall. He wore an old duffle coat that came down to his ankles and a large bowler hat pulled down low over his eyes.

Jester Thingrim nudged him with his foot, but the boy only pulled his coat closer around him and mumbled something inaudible. He reached down and shook him, “Pierrot!”

The boy woke in alarm and stood up, nearly tripping over his outstretched legs. He had a pale white face and eyes like raisins, small and wrinkled on the edges.

Jester Thingrim asked: “Have you been eating our guests’ food again?”

Pierrot leaned back and shook his head as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He looked down at his old, cracked shoes, trying hard to avoid Jester Thingrim’s glare. Anya caught a glimpse of his eyes as he began to blush and surreptitiously brush crumbs off his chest. Jester Thingrim pursed his lips and then let out a deep, full, belly laugh. Pierrot silently chuckled in return, revealing chocolate cake crumbs in the crevices of his teeth “Please take little Miss Anya to her compartment,” said Jester Thingrim.

The mime nodded and started ushering Anya down the aisle.

Jester Thingrim mouthed the word, “Ta-ta” and swung his jacket round like a bull fighter.

When Anya turned around again, he was gone.

Anya followed Pierrot. The skinny mime easily maneuvered around the various toys that littered the aisle of the train. It seemed that every child on this train had more toys than they needed. Anya scoffed and then winced. She had stepped on a toy soldier and broken his rifle. Just as she bent down to pick it up, a spluttering popbottle rocket whizzed over their heads and exploded in mid-air. Pierrot collided with Anya and they both went tumbling backwards.

A high-pitched voice above Anya laughed and said: “Are you alright? Ha! That must have hurt, eh?” Through glaring eyes, Anya sought out the face of her antagonizer. Her eyes alighted on a pudgy-faced girl standing next to a tall boy with matted hair. The boy smiled and gave a small wave, Anya noticed he had bits of candy stuck in his braces. He reached down and offered her

his hand, but Anya was concentrated on the girl, still chortling beside them. Anya recognized the school insignia on her green jacket; it was from Chesterfield Elementary, the wealthy all-girls school two towns over.

Anya said: “Not funny,” and hauled herself to her feet while Pierrot scrambled up after her.

“You two,” said Anya, rounding on the other two. “Didn’t your parents ever buy you manners, fatty?” Anya watched as the smirk vanished off the girl’s face and her eyebrows furrowed. The boy grabbed a gumball from his pocket.

“My parents never buy me anything!” barked the girl. ”They’re too busy going out to parties with their friends—and I’m not even invited.

That’s why I’m running away to join the circus.

Same as Billy, here.”

She poked the thin boy in the ribs. He nodded and popped another gumball in his mouth.

“I’m Miranda,” the pudgy-faced girl continued. “Soon to be queen of the circus.”

Anya felt herself getting annoyed.

“I’m sorry I laughed at you,” said Miranda.

“I was more laughing at him!” Miranda pointed to Pierrot, who again recoiled from her finger.

“He is kind of a klutz, but that’s what clowns do, right?”

“I suppose,” she admitted. She watched as Billy filled his pockets with candy and asked, “Have either of you seen my brother? Little twit with red hair, his name is Todd.”

“That kid behind you?” asked Billy, pointing a lollipop over her shoulder. Anya spun around.

There, sitting on the armchair, a crooked tiger mask covering his face, was Todd. She could tell

Illustration by Jihane Mossalim, Gallerie 203

from the ginger hair, curling around the strings.

He seemed to have been fighting back the urge to laugh the entire time and let out a squeal when she saw him.

“Todd!” Anya screamed and lunged at her brother. Her fingers had just closed around the front of his shirt when a loud whistle sounded and the train lurched to a stop. Once again, Anya felt herself hit the ground along with Pierrot—this time Miranda and Billy joined in. Strangely, Todd did not fall or even notice the train had stopped.

He hopped up and down on the armchair several times before fleeing from the compartment.

Anya sighed in frustration. She hopped back to her feet to pursue Todd, but children were filling the aisle and she soon realized she was stuck in the crowd.

Single file, the children got off the train. As Anya stepped out she spotted Jester Thingrim marching at the head of the line. He was ushering everyone toward a brightly lit circus tent. It seemed almost too small for everyone to fit in, but the line kept moving.

Anya tried to catch Jester Thingrim’s attention but he kept his eyes straight ahead and refused to look down until she was right beside him.

“Please,” she cried, catching the sleeve of his red jacket. “I need to find my brother.”

“Now now,” he said, pushing her forward as if he hadn’t heard. “No time for tears, no time for sorrow. Come in and enjoy the show!”

Missed the last installment of Tourne-auRouge? Catch up on the full series at http:// theconcordian.com/tag/tourne-au-rouge/

How do you measure art?

Why the industry continues to restrict accessibility of art to the elite

ariana trigueros-Corbo staff writer

Recently, soaring prices on the art market at a variety of auctions (particularly in the United States) have begged the question: should art really be worth this much? Thoughts on the matter can go either way. On the one hand, it seems understandable that the concept of the sentimental value we attribute to our work as ‘creators’ be a source of influence in the value we attribute to it and that value will therefore be reflected in its

monetary worth. It’s the artist’s prerogative to believe that what he has created is worth some kind of recognition. Said recognition is often expressed in the financial appraisal of his or her work.

On the other hand, one must also understand that engaging in the ridiculously high market pricing that is currently in place necessarily means restricting the accessibility of art to the elite. For all art aficionados out there, consider this: how many times have you been to visit a gallery and felt snubbed, disregarded for your lack of knowledge on a given subject matter?

After all, initially, art is made to seek out an emotion in it’s audiences, to provoke something within them, to stimulate people and make them think. It is made for what, in French, we would

call ‘le grand publique’, meaning it is meant to be appreciated on a variety of levels, gaining diversity for the number of understandings it can provoke in people.

So these pieces, worth millions and sold only to exclusive clientele, in the midst of these prestige-filled auctions — are they truly benefiting the art world? As Michael Findlay mentions in his book The Value of Art, some people will say that buying art is not business; it’s an art itself. Scouting out artists with potential, judging the value of their pieces, getting them sufficient exposure: this market is not an easy one. Then that brings us to another question: what about the others?

The ones who don’t get scouted? And don’t get enough exposure? Who is to say that the artist

in the tiny, debutante gallery of any less valuable than the contemporary artist that has just sold for thousands of dollars in front of our eyes? It seems unfair that timing and connections would price your work before any kind of appreciation can.

The bottom line goes as follows. Art will always be worth more to the person that created it; there is a dedication that inherently accompanies their spurs of creativity that ensures this. It is therefore difficult to be against the idea, per se, of an art market based on capitalist principles.

However, for what it’s worth, it is not ludicrous to consider that when the price of a piece of art reaches a limit that would require most of us to mortgage a house twice, it may be time to revisit the system in place.

music 10

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com

profile // muSiC

St. Lucia: a world of music, all in one place Being well-traveled has helped St. Lucia embrace conflict and establish a sound all his own and

JorDie Yeager Staff writer

Jean-Philip Grobler, also known as St. Lucia, creates music with vocals and synths that make you feel like you’re everywhere in the world at once, nostalgic for something you never had.

Grobler has had plenty of time to develop his unique sound. Born in South Africa, he performed with the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School before moving to Liverpool to study music. He currently lives in New York City, a place he never thought he’d end up.

“In my head, New York was always the antithesis of what I aspired towards,” said Grobler.

“Basically, I got offered a job to be a commercial music writer here not long after I finished university in the U.K., and it seemed like that would be stupid to turn down.”

New York might be full of aspiring musicians, but one thing’s for sure — none of them have achieved the dream-like, ethereal quality that St. Lucia’s songs possess.

“My music is my subconscious attempting to marry my more experimental inclinations to my ‘poppier’ inclinations, and I just go along for the ride,” said Grobler, referring to the distinctive pop aspect of his music.

Long before the days of St. Lucia, Grobler and the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School toured Australia, Europe and Japan. Seeing so much of the world at such a young age undoubtedly impacted his sound.

“I think it’s given [the music] somewhat of a worldly quality,” he said. “To me it doesn’t sound

specifically American, British, South African or anything really. It’s its own strange beast. The funny thing, though, is that I often hear more African influence in bands from the U.S., like Vampire Weekend or Yeasayer, than I do from bands in South Africa. Maybe that’s because when you live there, the idea of being in Africa isn’t as novel.”

His music was further influenced by the three years he spent at university in Liverpool; he had friends from around the world whose tastes were all vastly different.

“I credit them for teaching me to appreciate a good song for a good song,” he said.

Indie and electronic music are both reaching a peak in their levels of popularity. St. Lucia is a blend of both, yet something completely different as well. His music is impossible to lump into just one genre, and he likes it that way.

“I love a lot of bands from the indie movement, but as with any genre that gets a lot of hype, there’s going to be artists that start doing it just to be cool,” he said. “I felt it had gotten to that point, and my knee-jerk reaction was to go the other way. The electro-pop scene is also having its time in the sun, and I’m sure the same thing is going to happen.”

Regardless of genre, St. Lucia’s sounds simultaneously invoke feelings of familiarity, longing, sorrow and joy. As hard as this feeling may be to imagine, it’s exactly what the artist strives for.

“I’m most satisfied with a song when it has an inherent sense of conflict in it — a sense of being happy and sad, both sides of the emotional spectrum,” said Grobler. “I find songs that are only frustrated, angry or happy to be boring because almost nothing in life is that way. The most

Grobler moved from South AfricA to New York citY for hiS biG breAk AS St. luciA.

memorable moments in my life are generally the ones with the most inherent conflict.”

Since his move to New York, St. Lucia has worked with HeavyRoc Music, Columbia Records and Neon Gold Records. His EP, September, came out in September and was Neon Gold’s first full-length release. The label has previously released singles by artists including Passion Pit, Ellie Goulding and The Naked & Famous. While Grobler acknowledges this as an honour, the highlight of his career is more personal.

“I think it was having my parents see me perform for the first time in 10 years last December,” he said. “They flew in from South Africa, landed and came straight to the venue just in time for us to go on.”

St. Lucia is currently touring with Ellie Goulding and tells fans to expect a set comprised of his biggest hits.

St. Lucia plays Metropolis with Ellie Goulding on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m.

campus music series // muSiC

Whirlwind success Peter Stawinski due to record his first album Discovered accidentally, this Concordia student can’t get enough of the music scene TiffanY LafLeur Staff writer

T

he moment the crowd started cheering at Peter Stawinski’s first high school gig was the moment he knew he wanted to hear it again.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be on stage and have people cheering just for you. That’s when I became interested in music as a career,” said Stawinski, who still craves the rush of adrenaline he gets from performing.

The 21-year-old Concordia student has a record deal signed with Studio One, a relatively new company still in its first year. Stawinski will be flying out to Toronto sometime next week to record four new songs that will be distributed to radio stations.

He will also be changing his name to Chris Jake. The name not only sounds catchy, but also has personal meaning for Stawinski. Christopher

is his middle name, and as for Jake: “It’s my brother’s name. I’ve always seen my brother as my role model, he’s always supported me.”

Stawinski began playing music after he moved from the West Island to Pincourt. At the time, he didn’t know how to sing or play the guitar. After jamming with some friends, however, he signed up for guitar lessons and began practic-

ing daily, as well as making use of some singing tips he picked up along the way. From there, he fine-tuned his singing and performed at variety shows in high school and in CEGEP. Although Stawinski’s parents were hesitant at first about their son trying his hand at music, their attitude changed when they saw him perform in a school musical at John Abbott College.

After that, they wholeheartedly supported him and encouraged him to pursue his dream.

Stawinski was discovered almost by accident.

After releasing his first album last May, he sent out a few copies here and there. While Stawinski was working on some new material, his producer-to-be Anthony Boccardi heard his song being mixed at Evermoor Audio, a local West Island studio.

“His voice intrigued me,” said Boccardi. “I do a lot of mixing and recording at different studios and I heard his song being mixed. I inquired about his voice and got his contact information.”

From there lawyers were called, papers drawn up and contracts signed, and in the summer, Stawinski was officially a signed artist. “It’s awesome to work with a label,” he said. “I get to work with writers and producers.”

When Boccardi initially found Stawinski, he

told him that if he were to sign, he’d have to break away from the ballads he was accustomed to and venture into pop. So far, it’s something that he’s excelled at. “He has a voice for pop. It just cuts through the music,” said Boccardi.

Even though things are moving at the speed of light for Stawinski, he’s still very much grounded.

In the event that a career as a performer doesn’t pan out for him, he has a plan B. “I’m still going to school at Concordia,” he said. “I’m studying economics right now but I’m thinking of switching into communication studies. I want to study something related to media or music, I’d want to stay in the industry.”

But for now, Stawinski has an optimistic view of the future. Although he couldn’t divulge any details as of yet, there are big things coming his way, the first of which being his highly anticipated trip to the recording studio in Toronto.

For now, his drive to make it big is what keeps him going.

“The thought of getting somewhere with the music, of knowing that eventually I’ll be on the radio and people will be listening to my voice...

It’s everything that happened recently that’s driving me now. My ultimate goal is to be as big as I can be, and go as far as I can go.”

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

11

follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian profile // muSiC

The Strain know best: family and friends come first firmly planted roots make this band a force to be reckoned with

dAvid tAGGArt, Alex Serre, rYlee tAGGArt ANd Nick JohNStoN mAke up the StrAiN.

STePhanie uLLman interim music editor

I

f you look up directions from Montreal to Wakefield, Google Maps will point you two and a half hours westward — three hours and three minutes in current traffic. Nestled in the boonies of our frigid province and glued to the Gatineau River, this cozy, friendly, quintessentially-Canadian small town is where The Strain hangs its hat.

Adhering to their modest beginnings, the band’s roots are equally quaint. Today, the self-proclaimed “electro/alt-pop-rock” group is comprised of siblings David and Rylee Taggart, their cousin Alex Serre, and longtime childhood friend Nick Johnston. When The Strain started out, however, it was merely half its current size. “[Serre] and I have been in bands forever, since I was 12 or 13 and he was 10,” said Da-

vid. “We were just a duo, in cover bands doing Green Day, Nirvana, and The Beatles.” At 15, they were opening for screamo bands at the Black Sheep Inn, a venue that has helped put Wakefield on the map.

“Our voices were so high, it was pretty funny,” said David. “But it introduced us to the gig scene early. We learned at a young age what it’s all about.”

With no other bandmates, the duo headed home to recruit David’s volleyball-playing sister Rylee, who “had a piano kicking around” and “used to watch YouTube videos so she had rhythm.”

Family friend Nick, who had his own solo guitar act, was also taken on, and The Strain was born. Since that fateful fusion, progressing as a unit has been smooth and natural.

“Being in a band with your relatives is a lot easier because you don’t have to beat around the bush,” David said. The singer/guitarist admits to having the occasional sibling argument

with his sister, but smooth sailing is the norm.

Big Money Shot, a competition open to bands around the Ottawa region, was an essential stepping stone towards success. Out of 60 participating bands, The Strain took home the $25,000 grand prize. The winnings went towards funding their tour, buying some gear, and hiring a public relations company. And of course, their humble roots backed them up every step of the way.

“Our town was so supportive,” said David.

“They were the most rowdy, they made the most noise. Our whole town, young to old, we packed a school bus and they came to the grand finale.”

The band’s small-town upbringing also played an indispensable role in the production of their music. “A lot of our songs were influenced by the characters that were in our small town and the stuff they do,” said David. On Three Sheets in the Wind, the track “Earl” pays homage to Wakefield’s very own town drunk — a character indeed.

“I remember this one time when he left our house on New Years Eve and he shouldn’t have been driving,” recalled David. “He barely got out of my driveway and went into a ditch. He got upset and said, ‘If you guys can get it out, you can have it!’ So [Serre], my sister and I, and a friend spent the whole day pulling it out with ropes attached to our van. Then we had a joyride around town.”

Representing a younger demographic (David is 21, while the rest of the band members are 19) has taught The Strain how to garner respect in a whole new way. “Some people saw that we were young and pretty much judged a book by its cover, but when we started playing, it changed their minds.”

From the days of diaper bags — David cites one particular video from Alex’s first birthday in which Nick can be seen getting “run over by his mammoth dog” — to their current tour across the Canadian East, The Strain has been and will always be a family affair.

The Strain plays Petit Campus on Monday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m.

column // muSiC

Streams of the Week The latest musical discoveries to quench our earbuds eLizaBeTh maCkaY Staff writer

FoxyGEn - “San FranCiSCo”

MozarT’S SiSTEr - “MozarT’S SiSTEr”

BLuE Hawaii - “Try To BE”

Just one spin of “San Francisco” and you’re hooked. Where has Foxygen been for the past 50 years? This sound is steeped so deeply in ‘60s brit pop psychedelia, you’d swear it was a blast from the past. In age, Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and Sam France haven’t reached the quarter century mark. The slow, hypnotic call-and-return of “I left my love in San Francisco/That’s ok, I was born in L.A.” will hover in your mind for days. Rado and France have been making musical love together since 2005, as self-described “high school kids obsessed with The Brian Jonestown Massacre.”

Now signed to Jagjaguwar, the same label responsible for Bon Iver and Sharon Van Etten, Foxygen may be the ‘it’ band of 2013. Their second album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, is out January 22.

She’s baaaaaack. Yes, in all her curve-hugging, hip-thrusting ‘90s diva-tastic charm, Mozart’s Sister’s Caila Thompson-Hannant is back. But she wasn’t gone for long. After charming Austin at last year’s South by Southwest, releasing her debut EP (2011’s Dear Fear) and multiple appearances at POP Montreal, Mozart’s Sister stepped into the studio to hash out her next ‘pièce de résistance.’ Montreal’s resident electro-soul singer announced the Feb. 26 release of the Hello EP this week by unveiling the selftitled “Mozart’s Sister.” The one-woman band felt it was time to debut a theme song. Belting, “I’ll never be more than number two/But at least two’s better than three,” the infectious pop ballad, somehow, is a self-deprecating pep talk.

Blue Hawaii features a gutsy soprano that Montreal’s most naive Mile End hipster will recognize.

In “Try to Be,” the modest Braids’ frontwoman, Raphaelle Standell-Preston, pits her soothing vocals and acoustic guitar loop against Alexander Cowan’s ambient, building production. Cowan, brother to the head of Montreal’s Arbutus Records, has long been a part of the city’s DIY underground electronic scene—which is, on a national scale, associated with the success of Grimes’ Claire Boucher. Blue Hawaii’s first album, 2010’s Blooming Summer, was a poppy, tropical, danceinducing debut. The record unfortunately laid in the shadows of Braids’ 2011 Polaris Prize nominated Native Speaker. The pair previewed a two part single, “In Two I” & “II,” last October. Their full length sophomore effort is due March 2013.

andrew guilbert Staff writer

>>Drop the heat

Celebrating his 25th birthday last week, Skrillex accidentally lit his hair on fire trying to blow out the candles on his turntableshaped cake. In a moment reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s hair-burning Pepsi incident, the Wizard of Wub was recorded unknowingly lowering his signature half shaved head of hair into the lit candles on the cake, only for them to catch within a few moments, after which they were immediately extinguished. Skrillex has emerged unscathed from the incident and the overall feel of the TMZ exclusive video is one of amusement rather than anxiety, as partygoers and the man himself both laugh it off.

>>… And plastic black glasses for all In case you’ve remained blissfully unaware of its presence, there is a 3D Metallica Concert movie in the works, and it has enough of a plot that it requires an actor. Through the Never will not only feature concert footage of the band playing a set of their hits, but will also feature the story of “a young band crew member who is sent out on an urgent mission while the band is playing a rousing live set in front of a sold-out crowd and unexpectedly finds his world turned completely upside down.” In case you’re the kind of person who wonders about these things, the actor who will somehow have to rival Metallica’s onscreen charisma is Dane DeHaan, who most famously starred in 2012’s Chronicle. Also on board for the film is Predators director Nimród Antal, presumably due to his experience working with freakish humanoid life forms on film.

>>Peace sells, but who’s frying?

in an effort to counteract “being vilified and having my character assassinated,” Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, who you might remember as the guy who railed on Men’s Wearhouse about a gift card last week, has decided to put his money where people’s mouths are by opening a soup kitchen in Haiti. He took to Facebook to announce his new charity work, and explain how the kitchen came about. “I was approached with an opportunity, and thanks to your unwavering support, my family and I have been able to fund a soup kitchen in Haiti with a ministry called, ‘Outside The Bowl’, and you will be proud to know that when it is started (which will be very soon), we will be feeding up to 8,000 meals a day to the less fortunate.”

>>Mr. Montreux est mort

The world of jazz lost one of its foremost impresarios last week when 76-year-old Claude nobs, founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, died after spending several weeks in a coma. Nobs started the summer festival in 1967 while working with the resort’s tourism department and since then the festival has attracted a variety of famous musicians, including Miles Davis, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Marvin Gaye. The classic rock aficionados amongst you may recognize him as the man monikered “Funky Claude” in Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” The festival founder was injured while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve near his home in Caux, and had been in a coma ever since.

12

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

theconcordian top 10 // muSiC

10. Suuns Montreal natives Suuns have recently signed on with City Records to release their first album, Images du Futur, out in March.

Their heavy electronica sound mixed with scratchy guitars will be featured while on tour this spring.

Trial Track: “armed For Peace” 9. The Lumineers Nominated for two Grammys, 2013 is sure to be a big year for The Lumineers, a folkpop band from Denver, CO. Their catchy, sing-along tunes are firing up all around the world with tour dates planned in the U.K., Europe, Japan and Australia.

Top Ten Artists to Look out for in 2013

Trial Track: “Slow it Down” 8. Single Mothers It’s hard to find a good, unapologetic punkrock band nowadays. Fortunately, Single Mothers, the newest addition to Dine Alone Records, is making that search a lot easier.

Their sound is a raw mash up of hard guitar and drums and incomprehensible vocals that are completely irresistible.

Trial Track: “Christian Girls”

Compiled by andria Caputo Staff writer

7. Kitten The L.A. electronica quartet known as Kitten opened up for No Doubt last December and just signed with Elektra Records.

Although they’ve already released their EP Cut It Out, this band is just starting to catch the major attention of music aficionados and media worldwide.

Trial Track: “G#” 6. Laura Marling Brit singer-songwriter Laura Marling is known for her poetic lyrics and captivating vocals. Marling’s fourth album, due out in February, will hopefully make her one of the most talked-about female artists of 2013.

Trial Track: “Salinas” 5. Kandle Originally from Victoria, B.C. but now based in Montreal, Kandle is quickly becoming the Canadian star to watch out for in 2013. Her haunting and sultry vocals and pensive lyrics are sure to impress anyone looking for an original yet easy sound to brighten up their winter blues.

Trial Track: “Small” 4. Chvrches With catchy synth-pop tunes it’s easy to see why these Glasgow natives are catching the hearts and ears of music lovers worldwide.

Fresh off tour with Passion Pit, Chvrches are planning on releasing their debut album sometime in 2013.

Trial Track: “The Mother we Share” 3. How To Destroy angels Comprised of Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig, How to Destroy Angels is an electronica/postindustrial quartet offering a refreshing take on the haunting tunes of the NIN glory days. Their debut full-length album, Welcome Oblivion, is due out in March.

Trial Track: “The Loop Closes” 2. Peace Hailing from Birmingham, England, this group of four indie-rockers is releasing their first full-length album this coming March. Their fun, upbeat songs are sure to please fans of bands like Foals and Vampire Weekend Trial Track: “wraith” 1. atoms for Peace Consisting of the wonderful Thom Yorke from Radiohead and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, Atoms for Peace will be the band to watch out for in 2013. Little to no news has been offered with regards to the content of the upcoming album, Amok, but with a mastermind like Yorke at the helm, Atoms for Peace are sure to conquer 2013.

Trial Track: “Default”

Quick Spins //

Widowspeak - Almanac (2013)

Sean Lennon - Alter Egos (2013)

Solange - True EP (2013)

Nosaj Thing - Home (2013)

Widowspeak follows up their 2011 self-titled album with the richly-textured and bewitchingly seamless Almanac, released Jan. 22.

Almanac is an eclectic combination of songs fit for an adventure movie montage — with strong, clear riffs, infectious and tumultuous beats and hazy vocals. This is most clearly displayed in “Dyed in the Wood,” four minutes of raw inspiration, more invigorating than that early morning double-shot espresso on the way to school (you know what I’m talking about).

The impressive thing is, the Brooklynbased duo manages to create such powerful tracks without any overkill whatsoever; no repetition, no tortuously catchy songs, no impression of trying too hard.

The album is assertive, not aggressive, and the end result is soft pop with a hazy, folky spirit. In regular indie fashion, the group artfully compiled one of the best albums I’ve seen in almost a year and seems to pass it off as no big deal.

Premiered last summer as an “official selection” from Montreal’s International Fantasia film festival, the soundtrack to the indie superhero satire film, Alter Egos, was composed by Sean Lennon (only son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono).

Boasting a definite sense of humour, the score to Alter Egos blends sweeping orchestral arrangements, surf rock and the nostalgia of classic superhero themes.

Tracks like “My Hero” feature a Hawaiianstyle ‘50s doo-wop, while “The Killer” and “Hampty Hamps” create a film noir-ish atmosphere of danger.

Despite the grandiose sound of the film’s soundtrack, Lennon recorded all the instrumentation himself, using his computer to create the symphonic flourishes.

With limited film scoring experience, Lennon found the experience liberating: “Your path is made clear. You just focus on the scene and what works and not worrying about your feelings,” he said.

The biggest compliment that can be paid to Solange’s EP True is that at seven tracks, it is too short.

True, released digitally in November, deviates from Solange’s previous releases, the poppy Solo Star from 2003 and the Motown Sound-inspired Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams from 2008.

True is neo-soul, R&B goodness that, hopefully, is a preview of what’s to come for Solange’s next full-length album, slated for later this year.

True’s standout tracks “Losing You,” “Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work,” “Lovers In The Parking Lot” and “Don’t Let Me Down” — but seriously, all seven songs on True are great — highlight everything that’s right with the EP and Solange’s music: upbeat, bold and sometimescatchy melodies, but with dark and deeply personal lyrics about relationships, life, love and loss of love.

Get ready to fly away into an electro-ambient parallel music universe. Los Angelesbased electronic musician Jason Chung, a.k.a. Nosaj Thing, releases his latest album, Home, on Jan. 22.

Nosaj’s music infuses his musical influences - from hip-hop, to electronic, to glitch — into a treat that’s hard to resist.

Home adds a new element to the ambient blend when he brings in Toro Y Moi to record the song “Try” and Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino for “Blue/Eclipse.”

Some of the notable tracks include the melodic, trance-y beats of “Tell” and the catchy, digitally flavored, urban-esque feel of “Snap.”

But with all that said, to embrace Home is to listen to it intimately with your headphones on when you close your eyes. Let Nosaj’s music gently take you in for a oneof-a-kind joy ride. Ambient. Refreshing.

Lovely. No kidding, really.

Trial Track: “Thick as Thieves”

Trial Track: “My Hero (Ft. Karla Moheno)”

Trial track: “Some Things never Seem To Fucking work”

Trial track: “Blue/Eclipse”

9.5/10

- Victoria Kendrick

6/10

- Paul Traunero

9/10

- Chris Hanna

8/10

- Saturn De Los Angeles

sports

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

13

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com men’s soccer // sports

A hard-fought draw for Stingers

Men’s soccer unable to win against the Montreal Impact Academy GeorGe MenexIs opinions editor

The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team continued their unbeaten streak in the indoor season with a 1-1 draw against the Montreal Impact Academy on Sunday at the Stinger Dome.

The game started with relentless pressure from both teams, neither getting the better of the other. Both had their share of chances early on. Concordia’s Sammy Tork had a great chance in the third minute, passing a player and hitting a shot over the woodwork.

The first half continued with most of the game being played in the middle and both teams

struggling to get anything past the defence. Concordia’s persistent pressure almost paid off a few times, but unlucky bounces and scrambles in front of the net kept the ball out.

“We had a couple of chances that we could’ve put away and that could’ve ended the game a lot earlier,” said Concordia head coach Greg Sutton.

Concordia’s Andrew Bryan dominated the middle of the field, winning almost every header and creating decent chances for his side.

The Impact’s best chance of the half came in the 26th minute, when Felix Cardin shot a bullet that forced a great save out of Stingers keeper Nicholas Giannone. He also scrambled to save the rebound, keeping the score level.

The half ended with both teams scoreless

going into the second.

The Stingers started the second much like the first; their pressure leading to a great strike

by Concordia defender Chris Mirasyedi, forcing a great save by the Impact keeper.

The Impact started putting pressure on Concordia after the close call and they stunned the Stingers in the 57th minute with the first goal of the game. A cross from 50 yards out was met with a header by Cardin, who proceeded to slot away his own rebound.

The goal brought life to the Impact, increasing their tempo as they tried to go for another goal. The Stingers defence was pushed back quite a few times, desperately defending against the attacking waves.

Concordia managed to hold on and earned

themselves a corner in the 70th minute. After the usual pushing and shoving in the box, two Stingers players were found on the floor, leading to the referee calling a penalty.

Bryan, who had been dominant, stepped up to take the kick from the spot, only to shoot it wide. Frustrated, he screamed—an opportunity gone astray.

However, he was not to be denied again.

With only 12 minutes remaining, Bryan sprinted down the left side and crossed it. Luckily, the ball deflected off the Impact’s Cardin and found its way into the back of the net.

“Overall, it’s good to see that we were able to come back and get that tying goal,” said Sutton.

In the end, it wasn’t meant to be for the Stingers and the game ended in a stalemate.

“I think we put in a decent effort today,” said Sutton. “This is the beginning of our winter season and we’re not training on a daily basis, you could tell they were getting tired there near the end.”

The Stingers have a win and a draw to start the winter season, something Sutton is proud of.

“We’ve seen positive results, so far we didn’t do too bad. Of course, there are places we need to work on more, but overall, I’m pretty happy with the performance.”

Concordia’s indoor season will continue on Sunday Jan. 27 when the Sherbrooke Vert-etOr visit the Stinger Dome. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m., following the women’s game.

women’s basketball // sports

Stingers narrowly beat last place Gaiters A strong Concordia first half makes up for a low scoring second half sAMAnthA MIleto staff writer

M

arilyse Roy-Viau and Ashley Clarke led the offence with 13 and 12 points, respectively, as the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team beat the Bishop’s Gaiters, 62-54, at home on Saturday afternoon.

With just under six minutes left in the first quarter, Clarke was left alone behind the three-point line and made no mistake sinking her shot to give Concordia a 12-3 lead.

The Stingers led 18-11 with one minute left in the first quarter when Richelle Gregoire missed both her free-throw attempts.

However, she made up for her failed attempts seconds after the Gaiters added a

basket. Gregoire outmuscled two Gaiters inside the key to score two points and give the Stingers a 20-13 lead.

The first quarter saw the Stingers up 2213.

Earlier in the first quarter, Stingers guard Kaylah Barrett bumped heads with Bishop’s Gabrielle Chamberland and was not able to finish the game. However, she is expected to start on Thursday against McGill.

“Players fall out, players get hurt, it’s a reality,” said Concordia head coach Keith Pruden. “We have lots of offensive firepower.

We just weren’t very sensible about how to adapt.”

The Stingers went on an offensive outburst in the second quarter. Gregoire re-

ceived a pass from Clarke to make it 25-15 at 7:35.

About one minute later, Concordia’s Clarke and Alex Boudreau each hit threepointers to give the home Stingers team a 35-17 lead.

Concordia ended the second quarter with a comfortable 16point lead. They led the Gaiters 41-25.

Despite the big lead, the Stingers offence struggled in the second half, resulting in a slim win. The maroon and gold were outscored 29-21 in the final two frames.

With under one minute to play in the third, Boudreau scored her second three-pointer of the game, giving the Stingers a 54-37 lead. Bishop’s added a basket to end the quarter. Concordia enjoyed

a 15-point lead going into the final frame.

Bishop’s kept Concordia to eight points in the fourth quarter. After the Stingers’ RoyViau’s successful jump shot to make it 6248, the Gaiters went on to score six straight points. Concordia’s lead was too much to handle for the visitors, as the maroon and gold won the game 62-54.

“We did some good things in the first half, but it was pretty sloppy in the second half,” said Pruden. “Bishop’s is playing with absolutely nothing to lose and everything to win. They shot the ball very well. I wasn’t very happy with our defensive intensity in the second half. I also wasn’t very happy with our offensive execution in the second half.”

Concordia has now won two consecutive games. They are currently tied for first in the league with McGill and UQÀM. On Thursday Jan. 24 the Stingers will host the Martlets at Concordia Gymnasium.

The season series is tied at one win apiece.

Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

Photo by Madelayne Hajek

14

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

theconcordian

men’s hockey // sports

Two losses extend Concordia’s losing streak

The Stingers men’s hockey team lose to UQTR and Carleton this past weekend Tim Lazier Staff writer

C

oncordia’s men’s hockey team hit the ice twice against the Université du Québec à TroisRivières Patriotes and the Carleton Ravens this past weekend.

The Patriotes continued their strong play by beating the Stingers 4-1 at Ed Meagher Arena, while the Ravens shutout the Stingers 4-0. The Stingers are now 5-14-3 and are on a five game losing streak.

In front of a full crowd, the Stingers jumped off to a strong start, matching the Patriotes’ tempo step-for-step on Friday night. Concordia successfully killed off two penalties in the first frame and kept the game scoreless until late in the opening period.

UQTR defenceman Maxime Robichaud scored with nine seconds left in the first period to give the Patriotes a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Much like the first period, there wasn’t any scoring until late in the second. The Patriotes dominated most of the second period, bombarding Concordia’s goaltender Antonio Mastropietro with shots. Whereas UQTR’s offence had no trouble getting to the Stingers’ netminder, Concordia’s offence struggled throughout the game.

“We were getting four shots in a period or six shots in a period and that’s just not good enough at this level,” said Stingers head coach Kevin Figsby. “We didn’t give them enough to battle through tonight.”

With 2:16 left in the second period, Stinger’s forward Etienne Archambault took an interference penalty and the visitors did not waste any time. Ten seconds into the man advantage, Tommy Tremblay scored

SCORE BOARD

come back. In the end however, Concordia’s offence struggled and never tested the Patriotes defence.

“One thing is for sure, you can’t have top-flight players with one shot in a game like tonight,” said Figsby. “Our top two scorers tonight had three shots combined.

So that’s the difference in the game.”

On Saturday, Concordia headed to Ottawa to start a five-game road trip. They played against the Carleton Ravens at the Ice House Arena. The Ravens opened the scoring in the first period on the power-play and then added three goals in the second to win the game 4-0.

The Stingers continue their road trip with two games next weekend. The will play the McGill Redmen on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at McConnell Arena and then head to Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 27 to face the Gee-Gees at 6 p.m.

Upcoming games Thursday, January 24 Women’s Basketball: Concordia Stingers vs McGill Martlets at 6 p.m. (Concordia Gymnasium) Men’s Basketball: Concordia Stingers vs McGill Redmen at 8 p.m. (Concordia Gymnasium) Friday, January 25 Men’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers vs McGill Redmen at 7 p.m. (McConnell Arena)

Friday, January 18 Men’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers 1-4 UQTR Patriotes Saturday, January 19 Women’s Basketball: Concordia Stingers 6254 Bishop’s Gaiters Women’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers 3-4 Carleton Ravens Men’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers 0-4 Carleton Ravens Men’s Basketball: Concordia Stingers 82-68 Bishop’s Gaiters

and extended the Patriotes’ lead to 2-0.

“We didn’t shoot enough and we didn’t do the basic things,” said Mastropietro. “I think if we had more shots on net it would of helped us out in the first two periods.”

Early into the third period, the Patriotes took a commanding lead with two quick goals a minute and 25 seconds apart. Emmanuel Boudreau and Pierre-Luc Lessard made it 4-0 for UQTR and by then the game was out of reach.

The Stingers gave the home crowd something to cheer about when Etienne Archambault scored with 1:58 left in the game. It was Archambault’s team-leading eighth goal of the season. He also leads the team in assists and points.

There were bright aspects of Concordia’s game on Friday night. The Stingers’ penalty kill went three-for-four and Mastropietro’s performance gave the Stingers a chance to

Saturday, January 26 Women’s Basketball: Concordia Stingers vs UQÀM Citadins at 5 p.m. (Centre Sportif UQÀM) Men’s Basketball: Concordia Stingers vs UQÀM Citadins at 7 p.m. (Centre Sportif UQÀM)

Sunday, January 20 Men’s Soccer: Concordia Stingers 1-1 Montreal Impact Academy Women’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers 1-7 Montréal Carabins

Sunday, January 27 Women’s Soccer: Concordia Stingers vs Sherbrooke Vert et Or at 1 p.m. (Stinger Dome) Women’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers vs Ottawa Gee-Gees at 2 p.m. (Minto Sports Complex) Men’s Soccer: Concordia Stingers vs Sherbrooke Vert et Or at 3 p.m. (Stinger Dome) Men’s Hockey: Concordia Stingers vs Ottawa Gee-Gees at 6 p.m. (Minto Sports Complex)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

15

Follow us on twitter: @theConcordian women’s hockey // sporTs

Stingers suffer setback in playoff race Five games remain in the stingers’ regular season DAvID s. lAnDsMAn staff writer

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team had a couple of tough defeats this past weekend, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Carleton Ravens on Saturday and then taking a big 7-1 loss visiting the Montréal Carabins on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday’s afternoon affair was a big game because it was against the fourth place Carleton Ravens. The game had a lot of back and forth action in the first 20 minutes, but the game remained scoreless.

Several defensive plays by Stingers Gabrielle Meilleur and Jillian Ferguson helped the cause preventing some key Raven chances.

The second period started off well with Concordia getting on the board first at the 3:59 mark when Erin Lally took a shot at

the net and followed through until the puck went into the net.

The lead was maintained for a solid six minutes, with Stingers’ goaltender Caro-

lanne Lavoie-Pilon seeing the puck well, until a bad bounce puck caught her out of position allowing Ravens’ Jessica O’Grady to tie it midway through the period.

Six minutes after that, Carleton got their first lead of the tilt when Tawnya Guindon was left alone in the slot and she wristed one by Lavoie-Pilon.

“I felt good overall of my performance,” said Lavoie-Pilon. “I’m just sad we couldn’t get the result we wanted.”

It looked as though Carleton would take a lead heading into the final frame, but the Stingers’ Hayley Boyd found a rushing Veronique Laramee-Paquette on a breakaway and she tied the game.

“It really feels good to score [on a breakaway],” said LarameePaquette, following the game. “It’s just frustrating that we couldn’t pull through together in the third.”

Coming into the third, the Stingers had a shortened bench when puck-moving defence Margaret Hotte left the game.

“Obviously losing [Hotte] didn’t help this weekend,” explained head coach Les Lawton.

“She’s one of the stronger skaters, we just hope she’ll be okay soon.”

The Stingers took an early firstminute penalty when defender Mary-Jane Roper took her second minor of the game, this time for bodychecking. But the Stingers’ penalty was superb in killing it off, like the rest on the game. As the penalty expired, Roper skated out of the box alone on a breakaway but couldn’t get it past Tamber Tisdale, who finished the game with 26 saves.

“That was probably the first breakaway of my career,” explained stay-at-home defence Roper. “Overall, the game was hard to fight back. We had a couple of breakdowns, which as a team, is unacceptable.”

A few seconds after, but on the opposite end, the Ravens restored their lead at 2:49. But, it was short-lived as only 57 seconds later, and on a Stingers advantage, Emilie Bocchia ripped a shot over

Tisdale’s blocker, squaring the game back at three.

Ravens’ veteran Victoria Gouge put the game away when she managed to get the puck past Lavoie-Pilon with 7:20 left on the clock.

The Stingers pressured late, but weren’t able to tie it up a final time, dropping it 4-3 in front of the home crowd.

Sunday’s game was an even bigger test for the Stingers as they traveled to the CEPSUM to face off against the Montréal Carabins, who had beat them the week prior 7-2.

“We knew going into the game that they have great goal scorers and will put a lot of pressure on us,” explained Concordia goaltender Chelsey Hodges. “We just have to keep looking forward and continue to leave everything on the ice.”

Just over eight minutes in, Montréal got on the board when Alice Lemieux broke in alone, making it 1-0. A few minutes later, Ariane Barker doubled the Carabins’ lead.

Two minutes into the second period, the Stingers were looking feisty and ready for action. Forward Jaymee Shell sprung loose on a breakaway but couldn’t find the back of the net.

After Montréal added a second and third, the teams began to show their hostilities and at 12:48, both Stingers’ Brittany Laing and Carabins’ Laurence Beaulieu were sent from the ice for off-setting roughing minors.

Twenty-five seconds later, Carabins captain Kim Deschenes wristed a shot past Hodges, making it 4-0. They would add another power play goal before the period was out.

In the third period, both teams continued their aggressive play. Montréal would add two more goals, giving them a 7-0 lead halfway through the frame.

In the last minute of play, the Stingers were finally able to solve the Carabins goaltender. Boyd took a feed from Laramee-Paquette and sent a wrist shot that squeaked under her glove.

“It takes a toll on the team, playing two games in 24 hours,” said Lawton. “But we just have to maintain our intensity and keep playing hard from here on out.”

The Concordia Stingers have five games remaining this season. Their next game is on Sunday, Jan. 27 when they will travel to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees at 2 p.m. The game is available online on SSn.

opinions 16

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com editorial // opinions

Access denied: it’s not us McGill, it’s you Canada’s Harvard should think twice before publicly going after student journalists

T

he people in the ivory towers over at McGill University must think they are pretty special. According to an article published Jan. 19 by The McGill Daily, McGill’s administration is seeking a motion to be exempt from answering access to information requests filed by select student journalists.

Publically-funded, government-run institutions are required by Canadian Law to release documents like reports, budgeting information and much more. McGill has no right to pick and choose which requests to honour and which to reject.

Now, student journalists who are using this resource as it was meant to be used are being

targeted for allegedly overloading McGill with “systematic” requests in “retaliation” against the university. What’s more, not only have 14 respondents been named in the motion filed with the Commission d’accès à l’information, it goes on to claim that The Daily and The Link have been abusing the system, perhaps for some nefarious purposes of their own.

If we weren’t up in arms about that, imagine our reaction to the news that The Concordian is also being named as a source which provides evidence to support the university’s case.

Contrary to whatever the authors of the motion believe, The Concordian has never indicated in any way that ATI requests were being made “as a retaliation measure against McGill in the af-

termath of the 2011-2012 student protests.”

The very idea that the university is requesting the right to deny legal ATIs filed by certain individuals and accept others is astonishing.

What’s laughable about this whole situation is that if, and this is a big if, the motion is allowed and the people and organizations mentioned are no longer allowed to make requests, what stops anyone from filing under a different name or having the request filed for them?

How dare the university even consider putting journalists in a position where they have to intentionally misrepresent themselves in order to gain the same access to documents that any person off the street is entitled to?

Without a doubt, McGill is behaving like a

spoiled child and we only wish to offer our most sincere condolences to the public relations department. This is a vastly unfair move by the university, it’s illogical and based primarily off of conspiracy theories.

From here, it looks like McGill is scrambling for any excuse to avoid releasing sensitive documents they would rather not see made public.

And what of the university’s claims that the amount of requests received are straining their “limited resources?” If McGill can’t logistically handle the incoming ATIs, fine. We accept that this type of paperwork takes time and money. So hire another person to do the work. We’ve seen your landscaping, McGill, we’re pretty sure you can afford it.

sports // opinions

Examining the road from hero to zero Lance Armstrong is falling down a slippery slope GeorGe Menexis opinions editor

What do athletes Tiger Woods, Michael Vick and Mike Tyson have in common? Well, they were all the kings of their games; golf, football and boxing, respectively. Then, as is common when dubbed a ‘celebrity’, a scandal erupts. Their once top-notch reputations have been broken to pieces.

Now, Lance Armstrong has joined this list.

It makes me sad to see such a pillar of the sports world brought down to his knees. He was once an inspiration to all cyclists and athletes alike. An inspiration to the millions suffering from cancer, watching him day after day recover from his sickness and creating the company Livestrong, that offers free services to help anyone suffering from cancer. After fighting cancer he went on to win one of the most prestigious cycling tournaments, the Tour De France, seven times.

The drama started months ago when he was first accused of using performance-enhancing drugs during his long career, something he was quick to deny. In the meantime, however, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency had accused Armstrong of leading “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”

They had testimonies from his former teammates, accusing him of using steroids, the blood booster EPO and blood transfusions.

interview aired: “We at the Livestrong Foundation are disappointed by the news that Lance Armstrong misled people during and after his cycling career, including us.” This interview was nothing more than a plea, a last act to try and save his name and it completely backfired — most people saying that it was the worst acting they had ever seen.

“It kind of reminded me of Tiger Woods coming clean,” said Scott Allison to the Los Angeles Times, a psychology professor at the University of Richmond who has studied fallen heroes in American society. “For Armstrong disAppointed the sports world After Admitting he used performAnce-enhAncing drugs. photo by flickr people like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong, it’s so foreign to admit It was all downhill from there for Armstrong. an exceptional human being, overcoming can- wrongdoing that they are out of their element He was stripped of his Tour de France titles be- cer and starting a foundation that helps cancer [...] It can come across as robotic.”

Lance Armstrong had achieved a lot, there’s tween 1999 and 2005, stripped of his bronze patients. Although this part of his reputation remedal in the Sydney Olympic games in 2000 and mains somewhat intact, he lost a large amount no doubt about it. He was one of the greatest athwas banned from cycling competitively. He also of credibility after finally admitting to using per- letes of all time, an inspiration to sports enthusistepped down as chairman of Livestrong. For the formance-enhancing drugs in an exclusive inter- asts and a great human being. In my mind, he could have achieved greatness without the use of U.S. Anti-doping Agency, this closes “one of the view with Oprah. most sordid chapters in sports history,” as they Come on, Lance. After denying it for so long, the multitude of drugs.

In the next few weeks, we hope some more wrote in their 200-page report detailing Arm- you finally come out and admit it, after we all strong’s doping. knew it was true, on an interview with Oprah? light is shed on the cycling world to determine Surprisingly, this isn’t what has most people Before this, most of us were mad at Armstrong. how deep this drug use goes in the sport and if the cycling system is truly as corrupt as some utterly furious at Armstrong. Many were still Now, we’re all extremely disappointed. ready to support him, arguing that he was still Livestrong issued this statement after that people have called it since Armstrong’s fall.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

17

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian human rights // opinions

Haiti, three years later...

Why the Haitian rebuild effort is stalling, and who is suffering for it GreGory TodAro staff writer

On Jan. 12, 2010, the world turned their attention to the Caribbean nation of Haiti after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake left roughly a quarter of a million people dead and more than one million survivors displaced. Countries such as Canada, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom and Brazil came forward to help contribute to the relief efforts and, according to the United Nations, $4.5 billion has been put forward to help rebuild the country.

Canada has been very involved in the relief effort, pledging about $80 million in aid. Canada even spearheaded a project to rebuild a major road running between the city of Jérémie and the nation’s capital at Port-au-Prince, a project that was necessary even before the earthquake.

Yet, even with all of this going on, Haiti is still in bad shape.

Jonathan Katz, an Associated Press correspondent in Haiti during the earthquake, has noticed that relief efforts have been fairly ineffective at dealing with major issues. To this day, three years later, almost 350,000 people are still living

in tents.

According to Katz, one of the main obstacles blocking the relief aid from being effective is the lack of trust outside governments are giving Haiti. Instead of sending the money to Haiti directly, the money is going to other sources outside of the government.

“The main thing that happened was that the international community kept doing aid and development in the same ways they had been done in the years and decades before the earthquake,” Katz explained to CBC News, “and that is going around governments, going around national institutions, giving money to their own government’s agencies, and to [non-governmental organization] from their own countries and from other powerful countries.”

Another major roadblock is that not all of the funds donated have been put to use yet. At the end of last year, only about half of the $4.5 billion had been disbursed. This isn’t helped by the privatization and use of independent NGOs to try and rebuild the country.

It is important to note that there have been quite a few factors that affect the implementation of relief efforts. For example, former Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille resigned in February of 2012, leaving the government without a leader for six months until his replacement was voted in.

The magnitude of this event also hindered initial international aid. This earthquake displaced about 1.5 million people and caused large

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

amounts of damage to Port-au-Prince, and damaged important government buildings as well.

The amount of rubble from destroyed homes and buildings caused a real hindrance in delivery of emergency supplies. Outbreaks of cholera infected the already strained relief force.

Still, no matter how you look at these excuses, there is no reason the relief effort should be as delayed as it is. Three years is a long time to be living in a tent, waiting for a home to be rebuilt.

While the international community was quick to jump in, their lack of co-ordination and communication, coupled with the challenges this event

caused, means that the situation has not been fully addressed yet. Even as I am writing this, the reconstruction efforts aren’t going towards making buildings which are able to better withstand a natural disaster.

The generosity of donors around the world speaks very little when the aid being received is still not being implemented effectively. When partaking in the recovery of a country from such a disaster, it’s vital that the aid is implemented thoughtfully and quickly, with awareness of what the future might hold. What the world has done is good, but it needs to be 10 times better.

politics // opinions

The Canadian army doesn’t come cheap Beginning to adopt a policy of charging provinces for military use is a controversial move

GreGory WiLson staff writer

Looking back at his 2012 record, most would agree that Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay didn’t have a great year.

The enormous controversy surrounding the F-35 fighter jets acquisition and his use of a search-and-rescue military helicopter to pick him up from a fishing trip caused two separate media fiascos. I guess you could say he’s starting this year right where he left off.

On Jan. 7, Postmedia News released documents it obtained alleging that provinces and municipalities will soon have to pay the federal government if they ask for the Canadian Armed Forces to participate in disaster relief efforts.

Federal budget constraints would be the main reason behind this change.

Within hours, the news passed on to the

various media outlets across the country, raising the ire of many columnists and politicians alike. Four days later, Mackay reassured press that ‘‘communities needing assistance will not likely be billed for those services.’’

While there is no more tangible worry for the Canadian population, the fact that Mackay was actually considering this possibility – and the public reaction that followed – points towards another interesting year for our defence minister.

Dr. Julian Schofield is a political science professor at Concordia University, specializing in strategic studies.

“This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” he told The Concordian.

According to Schofield, provinces would simply not hire the military if the services would cost them.

“The military is relatively unskilled except for shooting people,” he added. “Their purpose is only to enhance public confidence, it’s a [pub-

lic relations] move.”

Schofield gives the example of the Great Ice Storm of 1998. Technically, the military couldn’t do much to help, but their presence comforted citizens.

For a long time, Canadians have enjoyed a sense of pride and security towards the Armed Forces. Many grew up knowing that if there was an event dire enough to require their aid, they would come.

And they have.

According to the National Defence website, the Forces operated in four provinces to support efforts against “three floods, one hurricane, and multiple forest fires,” in 2011.

To take away the peace of mind and security of citizens over a question of budget constraints should be out of the question.

In the days prior to MacKay’s statement confirming this change would not take place, federal opposition parties were also condemning the decision, according to the Montreal Gazette.

“Communities should not have to look at their wallet before deciding whether they need help in a natural disaster,’’ said NDP Member of Parliament and defence critic Jack Harris.

As Schofield said, provinces could make do without help from the army if the Ministry of National Defence insisted on charging them for their services. But how will citizens feel knowing that their own soldiers cannot be deployed to help save them because of economic concerns?

“There is a foundational expectation that our military will be there when we need it.

That’s what we pay these guys for,” said MP and Liberal defence critic John McKay. Defence minister MacKay may have conducted successful acquisitions and operations in 2012, but his public image has been tarnished by controversies throughout the year. A cabinet minister, much like the Canadian Forces, should not only do his job, but also maintain the public’s trust in his legitimacy.

18

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

theconcordian film // opinions

The Oscars: success made in Quebec Multi-culturalism a huge factor in Quebec oscar recognition ATHenA TACeT Contributor

Quebec’s film industry is vibrant. For the third year in a row a film from La Belle Province made the list of Academy Award nominees for best foreign language film at the Oscars. Written and directed by Kim Nguyen, the movie War Witch — also known as Rebelle — was shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and tackles the story of a child soldier in an African civil war. Previous Quebec Oscar films include Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar (2011), Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies (2010) and, of course, Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions Barbares, which won the best foreign film Oscar in 2003.

Quebecois filmmakers have a unique eye.

Their art is deeply rooted in the province’s cultural history. In 1896, Montreal became the birthplace of cinema in North America shortly after it was first invented in France by Louis and Auguste Lumière. This status was reinforced in the 1960s when the Quebecois started expressing their desire for cultural emancipation. Thus, the particularity of Quebec’s film industry takes its roots back to the province’s cultural and linguistic identity in North America.

However, as a result of the changing political and socio-cultural dynamics of Quebec in the last 20 years, phenomena such as globalization and various immigration waves have strongly influenced young Quebecois filmmakers’ outlook. This distinctive vision, open to the diverse cultures which constitute the multicultural mosaic of Quebec’s landscape today, is at the core of Quebec cinema’s international recognition. The province is “very

open to films that combine great stories with awe inspiring cinematography and an auteur approach to the art from,” said Korbett Matthews, associate professor in film production at Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.

Bringing together talent, technical and storytelling excellence, Quebecois filmmakers invite their audience to travel with them thanks to the support of funding bodies such as the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles and the arts councils. Not only do the Quebecois filmmakers reach for stories that are usually under-reported, they also provide a unique and mature approach to them.

“The key to such a success is imagination and

the rest comes from a different vision of the world,” said Louise Lamarre, independent filmmaker-researcher and associate professor in film production at Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.

This refreshing vision of the world illustrates filmmakers’ strong ability to reflect the multicultural reality of Quebec and its consequences on the province’s artistic and social environment. Monsieur Lazhar, Incendies and Rebelle are all culturally diverse. They blur the frontiers existing between dramas and documentaries by acting as witnesses of serious and current social, economic and political realities that must be addressed. Because their scope is culturally broad, they allow people

from Quebec as well as the rest of the world to identify with the stories they cover. Serious topics covered include immigration and integration of Algerians in Quebec in Monsieur Lazhar; relationships between parents and children, grief and the atrocities committed during the Lebanese civil war in Incendies, as well as the issue of child soldiers and the war in Sub-Saharan Africa in Rebelle. These films encourage the audience to open their eyes and react to the realities of the world which are sometimes far from dream-like.

The art of cinema is entertainment but it can also be the vector of social change, an area in which the Quebecois filmmaking industry has been an expert in the last decade.

human rights // opinions

Rape culture in our own backyard When it comes to sexual violence, maybe Canadians shouldn’t be so quick to judge CAsAndrA de MAsi staff writer

S

parks are flying in India after the country was left in shock and disgust following the gang rape, brutal beating and subsequent death of a young Indian student.

Many are quick to criticize India and its so-called rape culture, yet they seem to forget that this mentality isn’t sedentary, it travels far and wide. It isn’t one country’s problem — it’s our problem as well.

Let’s take a look at North America. One in six American women and one in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

According to a 2004 Statistics Canada General Social Survey, only one in 10 women report sexual assault to the police. Why? The same survey states 58 per cent of women thought it wasn’t important enough.

Now tell me, what backwards society do

we live in where a sexually assaulted female is conditioned to believe that what happened to her is “not important enough?”

I’ll answer my own question.

A society filled with victim blaming and slut-shaming from both genders that makes me cringe. A society filled with those who claim a woman is “asking for it” by the way she dresses. There is no way to invite rape because the opposite of rape is consent.

It’s where we see examples of children who become sexual offenders. According to an article published in The Telegraph last year, a slew of elementary school students were arrested in the United Kingdom for sexual assault and “suspected rape.”

It’s a culture desensitized to such a brutal act of power and control that we don’t even realize

how pervasive it is.

Where pornography glorifies rape, and the media portrays violence as sexy and sex as violent.

It’s a society where young women have to worry about walking home after supper, putting up with drivers slowing down to catcall and shout out profanities.

It’s a country where a Canadian woman is sexually assaulted every 17 minutes, according to the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

Julie Michaud, an administrative coordinator for the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, believes that a real tolerance has blossomed towards people trivializing rape.

“The fact that rape and sexual assault are unfortunately much more common than they should be doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be seen as a big deal,” she said.

It isn’t just bad people who rape. We like to cast villains in life to make things simpler, but in most cases it’s the people we trust. While women are standing up, men also play a large role in making change.

“It’s not enough to be a guy that doesn’t sexually assault, they need to take an active role,” said Michaud.

I don’t want to raise my future children in such a small-minded and frankly dangerous culture. I want them to be open and free, and not worry about their innocence being stolen. We cannot put all the blame on our justice system for not being tough enough while we sit back and breed these characters.

So, don’t put up with the demeaning comments and remarks. Don’t encourage the trivialization of a severe issue. Don’t be so smug when criticizing other countries for their shortcomings. Promote respect and healthy relationships.

Enough is enough.

The Gender Advocacy Centre is campaigning for a Sexual Assault Centre for victims of abuse. If interested in volunteering, visit www. centre2110.org

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Authentic dolmadakia!

GeorGe Menexis opinions editor

Appetizers are important. They set the stage, introduce us to the scrumptious meal to come.

They’re the frosting on what we hope will be a wonderful cake. Ok, enough metaphors. One of the most delicious appetizers I’ve tasted are dolmadakia. These wonderful little treats create quite a sensational taste that one wouldn’t soon forget. Here are the ingredients!

1 cup olive oil 3 large onions, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cup rice

1 teaspoon dill weed 1/2 cup chopped parsley 6 scallions, minced (including green tops) 2 lemons 2 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 lbs grape leaves

Heat olive oil in large frying pan. Sauté onions with salt until transparent. Add pepper and rice, cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add dill, parsley, scallions, juice of one lemon and 1/2 cup of the water. Cook for 10 minutes, not more.

Separate the grape leaves very carefully. Put about 1 tablespoon filling on each leaf near base.

Starting at base, fold over, fold in sides, then roll tightly toward tip into a cylinder.

Arrange the rolls in kettle, side by side, in

Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 Vol. 30 Issue 18 many layers. Add two tablespoons olive oil and juice of remaining lemon and 1 cup water.

Simmer gently 25 minutes. Add remaining cup water, simmer 25 minutes more. Cover rolls in kettle, then refrigerate.

To serve, pile stuffed grape leaves on serving plate; garnish with lemon slices. You’ve got yourself an appetizer guaranteed to delight any palette and a satisfying midnight stack for days to come. You’re welcome.

Explore an MS in

I

job the GOP managed to create in 4 years: Obama’s 2nd Term.’”

@Barack_Obama: “Sworn in! Two Terms

baby! Where my hoes at?! #inaug2013”

@LOLGOP: REPORT: “Republicans wonder

why Obama can’t be more like the president they impeached.” @simon_price01: “’Beyonce will sing the

anthem at Obama’s re-inauguration. For the comfort of spectators, there will be an interval during the word ‘see’.” @Political_Bill: “Talking heads keep

wondering if Pres Obama will continue thinking big in 2nd term. How about asking if Republicans will just start thinking?” @JayZawaski670: “I’d bet that the guy

who paid $4.6 million for the Batmobile is super pissed that Obama wants to raise his taxes.” @TheFakeCNN: “’Breaking: Barack Obama

to take official oath in private ceremony. Mitt Romney to take magical underpants and put them on in bathroom.”

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n 1969, Sarah Lawrence College established the first U.S. Master’s program in Human Genetics. Today, we’re the largest and most influential—having trained almost half the world’s genetic counselors. Come join us for a great education and a fulfilling career in an expanding array of fields!

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HUMAN GENETICS

Yesterday was U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration marking the beginning of his second term in office. Therefore, in honour of this event, we decided to dedicate the Tweets of the Week to the ceremony and the comedy that followed.

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From our kitchen

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Events of the weeK: Jan. 22 Tuesday +MUSIC - Hollywood Undead - 20H - Corona Theatre

Wednesday +ART - Figments of Reality by Edward Maloney - 18H - Pierre-Franรงois Ouellette art contemporain +ART- Passe-Partout: A tribute in paint - 19H - La Sala Rossa

THURSDAY +MUSIC - Skrillex - 20H - New City Gas

Friday +ART -Nouveaux Troglodytes by Philippe Blanchard- 19h- Arprim +ART- Living in 10 Easy Lessons - 19H - Articule

SATURDAY + MUSIC - Ellie Goulding + St. Lucia - 20H - Metropolis +MUSIC - Reel Big Fish - 20H - Corona Theatre

SUnday +THEATRE - Waiting for the Barbarians - 20H - Segal Centre

Monday +MUSIC - Reel Big Fish - 20H - Corona Theatre +CINEMA POLITICA - The People of the Kattawapiskak River - 19H - H-110 +THEATRE - Waiting for the Barbarians - 20H - Segal Centre +MUSIC - The Strain - 20H - Petit Campus +MUSIC - Marilyn Manson - 20H - Metropolis