The Concordian, volume 29, issue 24

theconcordian

news

Forget the boycott P. 6

Learn how the weather affects your mood P. 11

arts No aging blues for FIFA P. 13

editorial It’s time to have a chat with Line Beauchamp P. 21

Volume 29 Issue 24

Season ends for Stingers P. 19

a striking moment

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

life

sports

Full coverage on P. 4-5 Education minister fines ConU $2 million

Photo by Navneet Pall

Two CSU executive candidates disqualified from race

A Better Concordia’s Laforest and Fine imposed over severance Gallardo allegedly not registered packages; decision receives negative students reaction from unions Jacques Gallant Editor-in-chief Education Minister Line Beauchamp has fined Concordia $2 million for approving millions of dollars in severance packages handed out to former senior employees over the past several years.

The decision was communicated to Board of Governors Chair Peter Kruyt in a letter dated March 8.

Although Concordia President Frederick Lowy has indicated that the university will “act in accordance with its responsibilities,” the minister’s decision to pull the $2 million from the university’s 2012-2013 provincial funding has sparked widespread condemnation from the campus community.

“It’s unfair to make the entire Concordia community pay for the actions of a few people,” said Concordia University Faculty Association President Lucie Lequin. “Maybe this will mean less services for students, or make it

more difficult for employees to negotiate better salaries. For us, the minister’s letter is nothing more than a political and public relations move. In the face of student unrest and people citing Concordia as an example of mismanagement of funds, the minister felt she had to act.”

In her letter to Kruyt, Beauchamp wrote of past communications with Kruyt in January and February when she expressed her concern over the number of people leaving senior positions at Concordia, and ultimately over the university’s “management of public funds.”

She also criticized Concordia for rehiring and remunerating former Concordia President Judith Woodsworth, who left the university with a severance package worth $703,500 in December 2010. Woodsworth, who returned in January, is currently a translation professor with tenure in the French department.

Continued on P. 7

Joel Ashak Co-news editor

The two candidates disqualified after one week into the Concordia Student Union general election campaign, A Better Concordia’s presidential candidate Schubert Laforest and VP academic and advocacy candidate Lucia Gallardo, have filed a request to the CSU’s judicial board asking to be temporarily reinstated.

Both candidates sent their requests just after midnight on Monday asking for their candidacies to be temporarily reinstated until the JB finds a resolution to the case. Gallardo and Laforest claim that if the outcome of the appeal rules in their favour, they would have unfairly lost several days of campaigning. They are also asking that chief electoral officer Ismail Holoubi review his decision to not put the candidates’ names on the ballots.

In addition to their disqualifications, the candidates were also “shocked” to find out about a leak of

an “outdated and inaccurate version of [their] private student records,” according to an official statement sent by the affiliation.

The statement went on to say that the “origins of the private documents are currently being investigated by multiple parties. It was also indicated that the leak most likely came from a faculty or department member.”

“How can someone get this document if not from us and why was it leaked to the press?,” said Laforest.

“These documents do not just contain grades, but also very personal information that should not be made public. We filed a report to security saying that our privacy has been breached by someone within the faculty administration.”

Laforest said the affiliation did not know who was behind the leak, but he said that the dean’s office and the registrar were working to find out what happened and how the information got out.

Continued on P. 3

theconcordian.com

news 2

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Write to the editors: news@theconcordian.com

City in brief Marilla Steuter-Martin

Vive la résistance

A declaration of solidarity with striking Quebec students has been issued from an unlikely ally. Five student associations from France and Belgium sent out a press release last week explaining that they have been following the movement in Quebec and agree with students’ actions thus far.

“Social change does not happen in parliament, but in the streets,” indicates the release. With more than 100,000 students on strike in Quebec, most of them francophone, it’s not surprising that the movement has gotten attention internationally. Whether or not public support for students will force the government to change their position is anyone’s guess.

Girl power!

Professors and students from Concordia’s Simone de Beauvoir Institute joined forces March 8 in sending an open letter to Education Minister Line Beauchamp, inviting her or one of her representatives to participate in an open exchange concerning the effect of tuition hikes on Quebec women. The letter was prompted in part by International Women’s Day and the ongoing debate about accessible education. The letter’s co-author, Gabrielle Bouchard, is involved with the Women’s Studies Students’ Association, which has been on strike since March 2.

McGillLeaks wiped clean

The McGill Daily was threatened with legal action last week from the university administration due to an article that published the website of a group called McGillLeaks. A shout-out to the similarly named WikiLeaks, the site was created to publish confidential documents and protect anonymity of sources. The documents posted online relate to internal fundraising strategies of the university and have since been removed from the website. The site is still up, despite the content being removed, and it remains to be seen what the group has in store for McGill in the coming weeks.

Lights, Cameras, Action?

The issue of broadcasting and recording the Board of Governors’ meetings was brought up once again during its March 12 conference call. A motion was made to ban all recording and technological equipment including smartphones and cell phones from meetings. CSU President Lex Gill motioned to table the discussion until a later meeting when the results of Senate’s steering committee are released. The steering committee is in the process of examining a similar policy for Senate meetings. Other concerns were brought up about the BoG’s ability to enforce these rules.

ASFA

Caroline Bourbonnière next asFa president Three positions recounted because of close race Marilla Steuter-Martin Co-news editor The official results of the Arts and Science Federation of Associations’ elections have been released, with Caroline Bourbonnière coming in first for the presidency.

“I am absolutely ecstatic about the results and am appreciative of the support I received,” said Bourbonnière. “This amazing voter turnout was a pleasant surprise considering it was the second time around.”

The elections had originally been scheduled to take place from Feb. 1517, but were continuously pushed by ASFA’s executive for reasons including the sudden resignation of chief electoral officer Chris Webster and technical difficulties at some polling stations.

The dates finally agreed upon by the executive were March 5-7, a decision that went against ASFA’s own bylaws, which stipulate that ASFA elections cannot take place during the Concordia Student Union’s cam-

Official results President Caroline Bourbonnière- 326 Charlie Brenchley – 280 Abstentions – 77

For complete results and numbers from the ASFA elections, go to theconcordian.com

paign period. But ASFA President Alex Gordon indicated at the time that it was imperative to move forward regardless. The postponement of dates cost ASFA an extra $2,000 to run this year’s general election, with most of the money going to pay polling officers.

Over 500 students voted in the second round of polling, which concluded last Wednesday. Three of the positions, president, VP academic and Loyola, and VP social, had to be recounted because of the closeness of the vote. The VP social position was decided by a mere six votes.

Bourbonnière said that she is looking forward to next year’s challenges and “can’t wait to get started with [her] new executive team.”

Charlie Brenchley, current ASFA councillor and Bourbonnière’s opponent for the presidency, commented that it was “a very close race.”

“Democracy spoke,” said Brenchley. “I wish my opponent the best of luck.”

At ASFA’s March 8 council meeting, the judicial committee reported on their decision not to accept the appeal of candidate Eric Moses Gashirabake, who was docked 65 votes and

fined by the JC for switching candidacies from VP academic and Loyola to VP internal at the beginning of the race. The JC had formed an adjudicating panel to discuss whether or not new evidence would change the outcome of the case. They agreed it would not.

Later on in the meeting, ASFA President Alex Gordon touched on the topic of hiring a new CEO. Considering that ASFA’s last two CEOs stepped down unexpectedly, Gordon addressed the hiring committee, saying they may need to look at creating a better hiring process for the future.

LECTURE

An insider’s look at the Pickton murder trial Investigative journalist, author Stevie Cameron speaks at ConU Christine Jeyarajah Contributor Award-winning investigative journalist Stevie Cameron lectured at Concordia on March 9, where she spoke about her work on the Robert Pickton murder case to Concordia students, faculty and alumni.

Cameron, who worked as a reporter for The Globe and Mail and Maclean’s, enticed the audience by examining the Pickton story in as detailed of a fashion as in her book, On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing Women.

“This was the best experience I had as a writer in my life,” said Cameron.

Robert Pickton was a serial killer convicted of the second-degree murders of six women who disappeared from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside between 1997 and 2001. He is also charged with the murder of at least 20 other women.

Cameron spoke about the insider details on the case, how she managed to gain access to certain sources and the

process of covering a high-profile trial.

Her work revolved around covering crooked politicians. She is noted for writing extensively on former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Though she lacked experience in covering trials, her interest in the Pickton case, which she had been following closely, led her to pursue it further.

“The forensics were intriguing,” said Cameron, who showed a brief video of the procedures that were undertaken by forensic technicians to find human remains in and around Pickton’s pig farm.

Cameron researched the case for four months and even moved from her home in Toronto to settle in British Columbia for the duration of the trial.

“We all know that a lot of people would like to do the journalism that [Cameron] does, but how do we pay for it?” asked Christine Crowther, a parttime lecturer in Concordia’s journalism department and a former CBC journalist. “Unfortunately, the answer is what we see a lot of the time, you have to believe in the project enough to pay for it out of your own pocket.”

“As an investigative journalist,

[Cameron] really had to immerse herself in the story,” said Jessie Mathieson, a fourth-year journalism student. “[She] spoke of most people involved in the case as if they were close friends.”

Andrew McIntosh, QMI Agency’s investigations desk editor, praised Cameron’s work for making government more accountable to its people.

“The kinds of stories that she has done highlighted government waste and waste management and corruption,” he said. “When journalists do these kind of stories, it makes the country better, and she has done that.”

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

3

FUNDRAISING

ConU students camp out for charity Participants spend five days on the street to raise funds Myles Dolphin Opinions editor They gathered on the corner of Mackay and De Maisonneuve, their bright orange T-shirts standing out against the dark exterior of the Hall building. They hollered and yelled, encouraging passersby to give generously: “Spare some change for Dans la rue! Help the homeless!”

The 5 Days for the Homeless event kicked off on March 11 and Concordia University is one of 24 schools across the country taking part in the campaign to create awareness and raise donations for the homeless.

For five consecutive nights, participants such as Pepe Garcia will be sleeping outside—foregoing the little things in life such as showers, cell phones and clean clothes—to get an important message across.

“I did it last year,” he said of the event.

“I wanted to do something charitable during my last year at university, and I was amazed by the experience, so I decided to come back.”

In 2011, Concordia raised 66 per cent, $39,000, out of the total from all Montreal

schools involved. This year, organizer Josh Redler has set his sights even higher.

“Our goal is $40,000,” he said. “Every year we’ve been getting bigger and bigger, more interest, more involvement, and I hope we get the same type of publicity and cooperation as last year.”

As a veteran of the event—it’s his fifth year—Redler has only had positive experiences so far. He often receives feedback from the homeless, too.

“At first they look at you and they wonder why we’re there,” he said. “When we explain what we’re doing they’re very supportive. We’ve actually had a lot of them come and help us raise money.”

Ex-NHL player Georges Laraque, whose native Haiti has experienced homelessness on a country-wide scale, participated last year and has decided to come back. He was initially invited via Twitter by 5 Days for the Homeless’ managing director Victor Esposito. After boarding an STM bus to solicit donations from passengers, Laraque spoke about the importance of raising awareness for the homeless.

“Often people have negative stereotypes of homeless people and we need to prevent that,” he said. “Groups are participating across the country and I think it’s important to show [the homeless] we care.”

He stressed the importance of being pro-active, and going the extra mile to raise awareness. “It’s one thing to say you support something, but it’s important to

act,” he said. “When you stop people on the street and ask them to donate, that’s what proves that you really care about something.”

The number of participants changes on a nightly basis, and they run into several problems when it actually comes time to sleep.

“One of the things you don’t realize is how bright the city is outside at night,” Garcia said. “You can’t turn any lights off so it’s really uncomfortable.” Redler mentioned the noise, but added that after a few nights, exhaustion kicks in and it’s much easier to fall asleep.

Participating universities donate their proceeds to non-profit organizations, and all four Montreal universities will be forwarding their dona-

tions to Dans la rue, which provides essential services to the homeless across the city.

The Dans la rue van will be going

around on Tuesday, March 13 to visit each of the schools. The van gives out hot dogs and hot drinks five nights a week in the downtown core.

with

the tax experts

I GOT MY MONEY’S WORTH

Continued from cover

She explained that for every general election, the CEO sends the list of candidates to the dean of students, who sends it to the the registrar to make sure the students are registered for classes.

“These candidates are international students and sometimes people get deregistered in the process of change of immigration status, for example,” said Gill.

Gill explained that if the appeal to the JB does not go through, the elections will still be held and no new candidates will be allowed to run in the A Better Concordia affiliation. If the positions are uncontested, students will have the choice to vote “yes,” “no,” and “abstain.”

The opposition affiliation, Concordia Could Be, released a statement March 11, affirming their faith in the JB and respect for Gallardo and Laforest’s decision to appeal.

“We want students to continue to evaluate both affiliations, and we hope that they will support Concordia Could Be based on our merits,” read the statement.

The affiliation stated that they want the upcoming election “to be about candidates and platforms, not the Chief Electoral Officer.”

“Faith in our student union has slowly been deteriorating, and we hope for a quick, fair, and honest resolution.”

The chair of the JB, Ceejay Desfosses, said she hoped members of the board would meet early Tuesday morning and that if there is a hearing concerning the case, it will be made open to the public.

However, Desfosses said she was unable to judge on the length of time that is needed for the JB to make a decision. * With files from Marilla Steuter-Martin

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Both Laforest and Gallardo were made aware of the disqualification decision by the CEO on March 5 just before the beginning of poster night, preventing them from launching their campaign fully. In an email to The Concordian on March 13, Holoubi indicated that after verifying again with the dean of students on March 7, neither Laforest nor Gallordo were registered students.

In a March 10 email, Holoubi said, “Both of these candidates are not taking any classes at Concordia this semester.

Therefore they are not eligible to run.”

The affiliation responded by releasing a statement saying that “double major student Lucia Gallardo and honours student Schubert Laforest are both registered full-time international students at Concordia University.”

In Gallardo’s case, she explained that at the moment the CEO verified her student status, her short-term student visa was in the process of being switched over to a long-term student visa. But Gallardo maintains that she has always been a registered student.

Laforest explained that his student status was related to “financial aid,” but did not want to go into further details because of the pending judicial board hearing.

“There is an inconsistency between being disqualified and not being eligible and this also why we are arguing the case. What we know is that both [Lucia] and I are full-time registered students,” said Laforest.

Current CSU President Lex Gill pointed out that the decision to disqualify the two candidates was not Holoubi’s alone.

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4

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

theconcordian

on yoUr mark, get set, strike!

Boycott of classes set for March 15 to 22 Provost says university operations will not be interrupted Marilla Steuter-Martin and Jacques Gallant Co-news editor and editor-in-chief

C

oncordia undergraduate students are officially on strike as of this Thursday, following a general assembly vote last Wednesday organized by the Concordia Student Union.

But according to a statement sent to students on March 9

by Concordia Provost David Graham, the strike is not actually a “strike,” and no student can be forced to participate.

“The term ‘strike’ is specific to employees who have a collective agreement with an employer. Students are not bound by an employee collective agreement and, therefore, are not eligible to ‘strike’ and cannot be forced to do so by a student association,” he wrote.

He emphasized that it is up to the individual student to decide whether or not they wish to attend class. Graham also reminded students that by missing evaluations or handing in assignments late, they can still be subjected to academic sanctions. He said it is students’ responsibility to work out their academic standing with their professors.

Last Wednesday’s general assembly got off to a rough start, after it began an hour late due to slow registration and technical difficulties with the live stream. Students filed into the four designated areas, H-110, the 7th floor Hall lounge, the LB building and Loyola’s The Hive, making for an estimated 1,500 students in attendance, out of a possible 35,000 undergraduates.

“This is the largest general assembly that has ever happened in Concordia history by far,” said CSU President Lex Gill at the time.

After a moderated discussion, the final vote was announced as 1,152 in favour of the strike and 557 against.

Students also voted on two amendments from the floor, one to change the dates of the strike from March 22 to 29, to March 15 to 22, in order to present a more timely opposition to the provincial budget on March 20, and the other indicating that students would not be permitted to blockade building and classroom entrances. The last amendment is something that will be difficult, if not impossible, for the CSU to enforce, said VP external Chad Walcott.

At Loyola, the mood was visibly different than what was transpiring downtown. There were no accusations of bias hurled at CSU VPs Morgan Pudwell and Melissa Fuller, contrary to what happened with Walcott downtown.

During a question and answer period, one student complained that not enough advertising for the strike vote had been done at Loyola, something Fuller said she worked hard on.

“As a Loyola student and as VP Loyola, I always feel I could do better. I wish we could have gotten as many students as possible involved. I held an information session with all of Loyola’s member associations, and had them send the information out to their people,” she said. Posters had also been placed on walls around campus.

Confusion was prevalent during most of the meeting in all four rooms, as students were constantly asking what they were voting on, and if it was now time to vote in favour or against.

Some students were also frustrated with the voting process.

“This process is undemocratic, because most students can’t come to vote,” said cellular and molecular biology student David De Longchamp, who also said he’s against the strike. “Having two to three days where people can just vote with ballots, that would be a lot more democratic.” The CSU’s bylaws stipulate that for general assemblies, a vote by show of placards is required.

The new strike period will be in direct conflict with polling

for the CSU’s general election, happening March 20 to 22.

“At first I was very worried,” said Gill of the scheduling conflict. “It’s worded very clearly in the motion that people won’t be blocking access to buildings. It’s reassuring on the point of the elections that people will be able to get in and vote.”

Despite the overwhelming majority vote, not all students were pleased with the outcome. Bjorne Rodal, a political science student, said that though he understands where his peers are coming from, he doesn’t support the cause.

“Students should pay for the service they’re provided,” said Rodal.

The Graduate Students’ Association also voted for an unlimited general strike on March 6, which was set to begin this past Monday.

Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota explained that though the university has not announced plans to add additional security during the upcoming strike, they have been monitoring protest activity and will continue to do so.

“Each event is different and each poses different challenges. It’s impossible to speculate on how each will be handled,” she said.

There was no date in the actual motion to hold a vote to prolong the strike past March 22, but the resolution does state that students have the ability to call another GA if they so choose.

Gill said that most likely the CSU will not hold another vote to renew the strike, unless called upon to do so by students.

A petition is set to begin circulating this week demanding that the Arts and Science Federation of Associations call a GA of its own to vote on the strike. In order for the petition to be accepted, it would require 2.5 per cent of the regular members, so approximately 375 signatures. A date for the proposed GA has not yet been set.

The petition has been endorsed by Cassie Smith, former CSU judicial board chair, and CSU councillor Irmak Bahar.

- With files from Joel Ashak

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

striking opinions

“

I think most of the people who actually showed up to the GA were pro-strike. I don’t think it is really balanced when 2,000 students vote on behalf of 40,000. The fact that the CSU is really pro-strike makes it hard for people who are anti-strike to go to these assemblies. It only makes them feel like a minority, like they shouldn’t be there. They also counted the votes by hands, which is a strange process.

“

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the GA because of the conflicting schedule, [since] I had class during the vote. But when it comes to the cause, I am completely supportive of the strike. Actions like blocking the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and the riots, that I don’t support, but striking and picketing, I say go for it. From what I saw, the GA was pretty well-organized. We don’t give the CSU enough credit for their efforts.

- Joanna Krygier Actuarial mathematics

“

- Angela Marzilli Sociology

5

Compiled by Joel Ashak

It feels as though the voting outcome was completely biased. I don’t think the actual GA event was publicized enough.

It’s as though all the people who attend these assemblies are involved in promoting the strike which, in my opinion, results in an unrepresentative number of people who are against the strike.

- Matthew Lipman Accounting

Photo by Navneet Pall

Theatre students strike outside the box Protest organized with skills learned in the classroom Marilla Steuter-Martin Co-news editor

Photo by Navneet Pall

Since the Fine Arts Student Alliance voted to strike on March 1, theatre students have been finding creative ways to picket and promote their cause.

Last Thursday, half a dozen students wearing red t-shirts performed a “theatre of the oppressed”-inspired piece outside a classroom in the EV building, which consisted of steady movement and spoken word.

“This theatre piece is developed from the work of Grotowski and also Boal,” said first-year theatre and development student Amy Collier. She explained that the group interpreted wellknown theatre techniques in ways that pertain specifically to the strike.

“We’ve also coupled that with certain words that we think are really powerful and relevant to what students are thinking right now,” she said.

First-year theatre design student Robert Mallin explained that the point of these performances, which take place during class time, is that everyone involved will receive an absentee mark.

“If we receive multiple [absentee

Photo by writer marks], all of us fail the class. So as long as the strike goes on, all of us are actively, intentionally failing,” said Mallin.

“The whole point is that we’re performing, we’re doing what we want to do and we’re sticking up for the strike and sacrificing our GPA, or basically wasting the tuition or the cost of the class.”

Last Tuesday, students in a script analysis class performed a dramatic reading of one of the course plays at their classroom’s door, ultimately forcing their professor to cancel the class.

Thursday’s event was an example of a soft picket, where students were happily explaining their cause to some interested passersby, without blocking doors or harassing anyone.

Ned Zimmerman is a theatre student who has been acting as an un-

official coordinator of meetings and workshops by regularly sending email updates to his peers throughout the week.

“We’ve been trying to discuss that we can include people who aren’t actively boycotting classes,” he said.

In keeping with the idea that students can use their skills and creativity to protest effectively, Zimmerman said there are a variety of different projects in the works.

“There’s some clown work being done, cheerleading, documentary theatre, dance, and there’s a forum theatre piece happening,” he said.

FASA will hold its next general assembly on Friday, March 16, 3 p.m., to decide whether or not to continue the strike.

6

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

theconcordian

STRIKE

Anti-strike students raise awareness Students opposing the CSU strike vote increase online presence Marie-Josee Kelly Contributor Several groups of dissatisfied students have surfaced in response to last week’s undergraduate general assembly organized by the Concordia Student Union, which saw those present vote on a strike mandate to begin this Thursday.

Students who feel they haven’t been adequately represented by their student associations and the CSU, and who disapprove of the strike itself, created the “Concordia students against a strike” Facebook page.

CSU President Lex Gill met with representatives of the group to discuss the issue on Monday.

They have been looking into renaming their Facebook group because it has proved to be misleading to some. The students involved are not all against the strike itself, but are dissatisfied with the manner in which the strikers are protesting and the way the strike vote was conducted, explained CSAS spokesperson Taylor Green.

“We are against this process, the way it’s being done,” said the second-year urban studies student.

The group is also behind a

petition that has been circulating online aiming to put a stop to the strike.

Roman Zmeev, a commerce and international business student, signed the petition because he’s graduating and is concerned about the semester being extended.

“I understand that no one wants to pay more for their semester, but having to deal with balancing your finances is part of being a student,” he said.

CSAS members have argued that the voting process for the

strike was biased and non-representative. According to Green, his umbrella group unifies people on both sides of the tuition debate in a joint effort to keep the student government accountable.

“I say we are against a strike, because the way the strike has been presented to us, this particular method, the tactics that are being employed, are unacceptable,” said Green.

During his meeting with Gill, Green presented alternatives and more creative ways to protest.

STRIKE

CSU

First debate attracts few students Candidates lay out their platforms Joel Ashak Co-news editor With a turnout of about 30 students, each of the A Better Concordia and Concordia Could Be affiliation candidates for president, VP sustainability and VP internal and clubs gathered on the 7th floor of the Hall building to present their campaign platforms and answer students’ questions.

Candidates were asked to develop their campaign promises on issues such as Reggie’s deficit, student representation on governing bodies, student spaces and ways to improve the communication between the student body and the CSU. “There was a lot of talking about collaboration and communication between different student groups, as well as about the tuition hike debate,” said A Better Concordia presidential candidate Schubert Laforest after the debate. “Students seem to be eager to make Concordia more cohesive and I think both affiliations felt that need.”

A repeated concern was the CSU candidates’ ability to represent students in major external campaigns. The debate took place a day after students gathered at a CSU general assembly voted in favour of a week-long strike against tuition hikes.

After it was pointed out that the candidates running in this general election would only be dealing with the aftermath of the tuition hikes debate, both affiliations admitted that this year’s CSU campaigning lacked communication with students and sometimes misrepresented them.

“Some groups were forced in taking a position they did not believe in in that debate,” said Concordia Could Be VP sustainability candidate

Anti-strike groups have also appeared on Twitter, notably one called “StriketheStrike,” which also aims to inform fellow students why it is important to fight the strike against tuition hikes.

“We represent not only Concordia’s student body who is opposed to the strike, but society in general that will have to pick up the bill for us,” said a student identifying himself as Tim, a spokesperson for StriketheStrike.

During an interview with The Concordian, Tim went on to say

that the movement is “fighting to make the rest of the student body understand how their demands are not economically responsible, and the greater injustices it would lead towards.”

StriketheStrike has openly challenged CSU President Lex Gill via Twitter to a public debate on the issue, which she has tentatively accepted.

“I’m really hoping that there is some healthy, positive dialogue around this issue, but at this point, I haven’t heard back from this person,” said Gill. “As far as the CSU is concerned, this is completely welcome.”

Also involved in the anti-strike movement is a newly-formed coalition called the Coalition étudiante pour l’association libre, who say they are concerned with the divisions that have been emerging across Quebec campuses in the fight against tuition hikes. CÉPAL is offering students who don’t support the strike a way to opt out of their student unions.

“We oppose that general student associations, that represent all students, take political positions,” said Philippe-Olivier Daniel, a law student at Université de Sherbrooke and spokesperson for the CÉPAL. “This will also promote a diversification of political opinions within the student body,” The proposed CÉPAL reform aims to separate political activities and student representation into two different sectors.

Iain Meyer-Macaulay. “Faculty associations and departments play a large role in disseminating the information. It’s important to let these organizations who directly represent students know they have the opportunity to take position against a campaign.”

Laforest added that, in the future, he believed the CSU should use a direct democratic approach where all students would have the opportunity to vote in a referendum, not a general assembly.

When asked about the general outcome of the election debate, one student questioned the organization of the event and its promotion.

“I consider myself fairly immersed in Concordia politics and I only knew about this debate the same morning,” said the student, who asked to remain anonymous. “There was no advertising, no Facebook page, and look how small the turnout was. The debate went very well and all candidates have very solid platforms, but the next debate should have more advertising.”

Several candidates also expressed frustration with the formatting of the debate.

“I have so much to say and no questions were addressed specifically to my portfolio,” said Concordia Could Be VP finance candidate Stephanie Beauregard. “Most of the questions were touching upon VP external portfolios when they weren’t even debating.”

The next debate will be held this Thursday, March 15, from noon to 2 p.m. at Loyola’s The Hive, and will see each affiliation’s presidential, VP external, VP academic and advocacy, VP student life and VP Loyola candidates take part. Polling kicks off March 20.

Petition calling for PSSA president’s resignation gains support Therrien Péloquin sorry for ‘calling off’ strike Alyssa Tremblay Staff writer The petition calling for the resignation of the Political Science Students’ Association’s president had 32 signatures as of Monday. Despite Pier-Luc Therrien Péloquin’s public apology for originally calling off the PSSA’s strike against tuition hikes, organizers say he could be facing a vote of confidence in the near future.

The PSSA president came under fire for an email sent to political science students the morning of March 6 stating that the association’s strike mandate, which had been voted on at a general assembly, was cancelled, one day before it was set to take effect. Péloquin retracted the statement at around 9 p.m. the same day on the PSSA’s Facebook page, calling the cancellation a “mistake” and maintaining that the PSSA would in fact be respecting the vote.

“I made a stupid human mistake,” said Péloquin in an interview. He said he misread the original email sent to students and titled it wrong before sending it to the entire political science student body. Péloquin said that the error was his own and in no way reflected the rest of his executive.

Political science undergraduates voted to go on strike at a general assembly held March 1. A total of 70 students attended, with 59 voting in favour, 14 against and one abstention.

According to PSSA bylaws, 2.5 per cent of political science students is needed to make quorum and

make the vote binding, a requirement that was met at the GA. Péloquin, a former Liberal Party candidate in the federal riding of Vercheres—Les Patriotes, said that while the results of the PSSA’s general assembly were legitimate, many students were concerned by the low turnout (70 out of 1,600 political science undergrads) and lack of student awareness about the vote due to its timing after reading week.

A second PSSA general assembly will be held on March 14 to decide whether to extend the strike mandate.

“These last few days have brought a lot more awareness,” said Péloquin, referring to the heated reaction to his original comments, including an online petition started by political science student Nadim Kobeissi calling for Péloquin’s impeachment.

“I don’t want someone with that much disrespect for the democratic process to be heading, out of all the student associations at Concordia, the department of political science,” said Kobeissi. “I think making that decision unilaterally without consulting the student body is still against his mandate [as PSSA president].”

Kobeissi told The Concordian that his cause has received support within the department and that there has been talk of calling a vote of confidence at a future PSSA meeting.

Dissatisfied with Péloquin’s apology, he plans on bringing his petition to CSU council and formally beginning the impeachment process if 100 people sign.

The petition demands for Péloquin’s immediate resignation, accusing him of undemocratically trying to cancel a legal vote due to “a conflict of interest” regarding Péloquin’s alleged anti-strike stance.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

7

Continued from cover

Minister’s choice of language in letter ‘unfortunate’: BoG chair The letter, obtained by several media outlets including TVA, who posted it to their website, indicates that Beauchamp had urged Concordia in January to use “moderation” when making budgetary decisions, and that the university’s approval of severance packages worth millions of dollars had “given citizens cause for concern over the proper use of public funds by universities.”

In a press release issued on March 9, Beauchamp said that Concordia had shown “a lack of control,” and that the university must now face the consequences for its actions. By sending the letter to Concordia, Beauchamp said she was signalling to all Quebec universities that “healthy management is synonymous with transparency and efficiency. I insist that our universities be administered efficiently and rigorously.”

At Monday’s Board of Governors meeting, Kruyt indicated that “the letter from the minister does not really change the work that we do. Her choice of language is unfortunate. Concordia is one of the most financially responsible institutions in Quebec.”

Lowy told the BoG that “as far as we’re concerned, the events of the past do not necessarily reflect the current management,” and added that, with regards to the university’s reputation, “many alumni and donors will take note of the minister’s letter.”

For Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill, the letter validated what students had been saying all along about “mismanagement of funds,” but she also indicated that Beauchamp had not offered the proper response.

“By acknowledging that there’s a serious issue at Concordia, the ministry is only trying to save face. What the minister is doing is just a reaction, it’s not a solution,” she said.

At the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association, chair of communications and cinema professor Dave Douglas said that, if anything, Concordia has been making progress on governance and transparency since the BoG and Senate adopted most of the recommendations from the Shapiro Report, which came about in spring 2011 after the BoG ousted Woodsworth.

“When you think about it, $2 million is not a large amount when it comes to the government’s overall budget,” he said. “The loss of that $2 million will be dearly felt at Concordia, but I don’t know if it will really improve the government’s revenue. That money could have perhaps been used instead for financial aid for students.”

Graduate Students’ Association President Robert Sonin called Beauchamp’s decision “absurd,” saying that “it highlights how out of touch the ministry is, how poorly administered our higher education system is, and how completely unaccountable the people who make poor decisions are.”

Ministry of Education spokesperson Esther Chouinard said she could not confirm if Beauchamp had decided to send the letter now because of Concordia’s recent decision to hire external auditors to review severance packages worth $3.1 million that were given to six senior employees who left Concordia between 2009 and 2010. The hiring of the auditors will come at a cost of $25,000, and was approved by the Board of Governors on March 2 after being proposed by Lowy. Chouinard said it would appear that the ministry was not informed of that decision.

Gill said she supports the hiring of auditors, but that the university and the ministry need to go even further and conduct an “investigation” into the issuing of severance packages and the management of public funds as a whole.

A breakdown of the six severance packages that will be looked at by the ad hoc auditing committee $703,500 to former president Judith Woodsworth $605,000 to former internal audit director Ted Nowak $639,000 to former internal assistant audit director Saad Zubair $700,000 to former vice-president of advancement and alumni affairs Kathy Assayag $332,000 to former chief financial officer Larry English

Education ministEr LinE BEauchamp said concordia “Lacks controL.”

“ “

Notable quotes It’s unfair to make the entire Concordia community pay for the actions of a few people - Lucie Lequin, CUFA president

Many alumni and donors will take note of the minister’s letter.

- Concordia President Frederick Lowy

$129,000 to former security director Jean Brisebois * Woodsworth’s predecessor as president, Claude Lajeunesse, was given a $1.3 million severance package when he left halfway through his term in 2007, but this payment will

“ “

I insist that our universities be administered efficiently and rigorously.

- Education minister Line Beauchamp

By acknowledging that there’s a serious issue at Concordia, the ministry is only trying to save face.

- Lex Gill, CSU president

not be among those analyzed by the auditors.

NOUS RECRUTONS

DES VÉRIFICATEURS EXTERNES revenuquebec.ca/emplois

Nous mettons en valeur vos talents.

Relever des défis et des mandats variés t Traiter de façon autonome des dossiers de plus en plus complexes t Exercer vos fonctions au siège social d’entreprises t Travailler à Montréal et parfois à l’extérieur du Québec t

8

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

theconcordian

CSU

meet a Better Concordia

As the Concordia Student Union campaign period progresses, co-news editor Joel Ashak sat down with the 2012-2013 executive candidates from A Better Concordia, led by Schubert Laforest. They were asked to discuss their strengths, platforms and goals for the next academic year. Voting begins March 20.

Photos by Navneet Pall

Nadine Atallah—VP clubs and internal affairs

Stefan Faina—VP Loyola

Schubert Laforest* — Presidential candidate strEngths: Whatever I do, I endeavour to do it to the best and fullest capacities. I have been in student governance for a while being president of my student council in high school. I started running for member of the Linguistics Student Association and from there I was appointed to council by the executive. I ran for ASFA as VP internal and once I got it I realized there was so much I could do.

I believe in every one of the candidates on my affiliation and I believe in their abilities, I believe we have what it take to rework the system and make it as democratic and representative as possible.

Focus: The point that I have always been pushing for is sustainable governance. The perception of student institutions right now is relatively negative.

Students think they are filled with people who are just trying to fill their CV. I want to change that perception and show them that these are students that are engaged because they care and because they want to induce changes in the community. We really want to focus on direct democracy, especially with these big issues.

tuition: Striking every five years is not the effective way to fight for accessible education. I think that it’s unfair to ask students to potentially jeopardize their academic standing in order to fight for this. Accessible education is a pride in Quebec. Being from the U.S., I know what it is to not have accessible education so I really want to see it preserved here. First, we need to do less “tag along” with the national student association and assert our role in the student movement. I want to work with students within the university to put pressure on the Board of Governors and the different levels of administration to implement these policy changes that will reshape the inner workings of the university.

ELEctions dEBacLE: To make things clear, what I do is make sure the CEO understands the legislation, so we are two separate entities.

When it comes to the byelections, as much as I want to blame the CEOs and their incompetence in terms of how they decided to deal with things, I believe this is an institutional issue where the office is not structured properly. I did the best of my abilities to make sure things were done but at the end of the

I want to develop a spirit and a sense of community at Loyola. The campus has a lot of potential with its great spaces and people, but needs this spark that would give it the same energy as downtown. I want to bring back the winter festival to Loyola, to create a music festival in the quad and introduce movie events. I also want to encourage clubs to have a greater presence at Loyola. I want more events than just cultural nights at Loyola.

[I plan to] introduce online voting to Concordia and implement regular general meetings open to every student in order to create a more direct democracy. Instead of having councillors voting for students, students would be able to vote and represent themselves.

As for clubs, I realized that it is completely feasible to include clubs in every CSU event and therefore, get more students out to these events.

Every student has a club out there for them.

day, some decisions were theirs and theirs alone.

studEnt rEprEsEntation on govErning BodiEs: I think that this seat is very important.

We just saw that the university has been fined $2 million for administration mismanagement. That is just unacceptable and that is something a student representative won’t stand for. We need to make sure the university is accountable. As for our strategy, we need to rethink our strategy and abandon the hard line against governing bodies. We need to be more effective in using our voices. It’s not about numbers only. Once we find a way to be effective on the BoG, then we will be able to coordinate with other members to get our seats back.

rELationship BEtwEEn csu and administration: The confrontational approach is clearly not working and we’ve seen it in the past year where the BoG is shutting down students and student representatives walking out of BoG meetings. I will never walk out of a BoG meeting. In my opinion, it’s unacceptable. The BoG mainly cares about their reputation and if we show that our projects will make Concordia more reputable, members of the BoG will be way more receptive toward students.

Lucia Gallardo* — VP academic and advocacy

Alexis Suzuki—VP student life

My two main points are students in financial need and a sexual harassment policy on campus. I would centralize the information to not make students go from office to office to know what they’re eligible for in terms of financial need, and I want to work with the Simone de Beauvoir Institute to implement an effective sexual assault centre.

My main focus would be collaborating with clubs and faculty associations to make sure both are incorporated in all aspects of student life. I want to be the liaison between these student groups and the CSU. I am really excited to revitalize student life at Concordia, to reach out and get students involved.

I also have a bit of a creative edge over my opponent, especially with my ideas of collaboration with the other executive candidates in my affiliation. <<< Keny Toto—VP finance I want to focus on the need of students and welcome their [suggestions] in the VP finance portfolio. I also want to break down the budget reports for every student to understand the reasons of the CSU budget variations. As for CUSACorp, I plan to tackle the management issue with control of inventories and improve marketing strategies through social media, notably. I also want to find other financial ventures to make CUSACorp more profitable, like increasing the number of ATMs on campus.

asFa

Andrew Roberts (not pictured)—VP sustainability * Eligibility: candidates were disqualified by the CEO and are in the process of appealing this decision to the CSU’s judicial board.

For me, orientation is the time to reach a massive audience of new students coming in. We need to

Simon-Pierre Lauzon—VP external affairs I want to start a mobilization campaign that goes outside of our national borders. We will be above and beyond tuition increases next year and I want to research and change the way we see education by cooperating with international groups fighting the same fight. work more on promotion, such as creating an updated sustainability website. I am up-to-date and aware of what is going on regarding sustainability on campus.

For full interviews with the candidates, go to www.theconcordian.com

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

9

CSU

meet Concordia Could Be

As the Concordia Student Union campaign period progresses, co-news editor Joel Ashak sat down with the 2012-2013 executive candidates from Concordia Could Be, led by Melanie Hotchkiss. They were asked to discuss their strengths, platforms and goals for the next academic year. Voting begins March 20.

Photos by Navneet Pall

Jonathan Braziller—VP Loyola

Museb Abu-Thuraia—VP clubs and internal affairs

Melanie Hotchkiss — Presidential candidate strEngths: I was involved for more than two years in the Dawson Student Union, a year and a half as president where I managed over 20 clubs. At Concordia, I’ve been involved in the School of Community and Public Affairs for two years and I have been a member of the CSU council for the past two years.

This year I was also appointed student representative on Senate by the CSU council.

The role of the CSU president is to oversee the affairs of the union and what sets me apart from my opponent is the experience I have in all types of portfolios, gained through my mandate at the DSU and my experience at Concordia at the faculty and departmental levels.

Focus: First, I want to develop a better communication strategy so the CSU can reach out to students.

Our team came up with the idea of a CSU application that would be synchronized with our website so students can know what events are happening on campus. For that to work, we are planning an overhaul of the CSU website, improving the navigation and making information centralized and easier to access.

Second, a lot of space on campus is either not used to full potential or students just don’t know about them at all. One of the short-term solutions is to create a student space map so people know where space can be found.

As MSA president, it was tough at times to deal with the CSU given bureaucracy issues or lack of communication. I want to reach out to the clubs and simplify that relationship. It shouldn’t just be for finance or resources, or when there’s an issue. What also gives me an edge is that I ran one of the largest clubs on campus. The amount of things that go through the MSA is incredible.

I want to collaborate with the student body at Loyola to better develop things that have been started downtown. I also want to get a Hive coordinator who will deal with things that happen at Loyola in general. The coordinator would be stationed inside The Hive, having it open more often to make that student space utilized the way it should be. In order to involve Loyola students in CSU events, I would like to do more classroom visits, be more visible and collaborate more with the media at Loyola.

I really want to be outside, in the quad and literally introduce myself to the student body and say “Hi, I’m Jonathan, VP Loyola, what is it that I could do to make your day better?”

have an immense amount of respect for. I’m really not worried about being elected with executives from the other affiliation.

studEnt rEprEsEntation on govErning BodiEs: I absolutely disagree with the reduction of student

representation on the Board of Governors. Student representatives will have to really put their foot on the ground next year and make sure students are voiced on the BoG and the Senate. The thing we would like to propose is to get the alternate student board representative to have the right to second a motion. Currently, if the only student voting member tries to pass a motion and doesn’t find anyone on the board to second it, the motion won’t even be discussed.

rELationship BEtwEEn csu and administration: You can strive to have an amicable relationship

while still holding the administration accountable.

My opponent was talking about negotiating with the administration, and although I think we need to have a dialogue, there’s a huge difference between discussing and negotiating. Negotiation implies compromise, but the BoG should follow their own rules and be accountable to the university community.

Chuck Wilson—VP academic and advocacy Lina Saigol—VP student life I want to improve communication with faculty associations who have better lines of communications with the students. I think the key is to improve the relationship with them. I also want to increase the diversity of events around campus.

I want to bring academics into the main focus of the CSU. We are students and when it comes down to it, there should be a bigger focus on academics. I want to increase the number of academic student spaces such as the Fine Arts studio and the Engineering lab.

I also want to work more with the faculty associations so they can feel like they are represented on the different academic bodies.

position

on tuition hikEs: Personally, I am completely against tuition increases, but in terms of our team, we don’t have a consensus on whether or not there should be a strike. We do have consensus, however, that we should always consult students and provide them the tools to make an informed decision.

We have such a variety of opinions on the matter that we will be able to inform and listen to students with multiple perspectives. We also want to work with the faculty and department associations more.

Stephanie Beauregard—VP finance

dsu rEsignation: After a year and a half as president, I found myself elected with a totally new executive who tried to impeach me when they didn’t even know me. Me leaving made sense at that moment because I didn’t want to run with a team that thought I was incompetent after I fought so hard to make the DSU accredited. In this context at Concordia, it’s completely different. I don’t know all the members from the other affiliation, but the ones that I do know, I

Iain Meyer-Macaulay—VP sustainability I want to do research in the sustainability of The Hive and I want to push for smaller projects that are accomplish-able in a year such as integrating sustainability in student spaces and Concordia in general.

One of our main focuses in the affiliation is accessibility. I want to take the work the CSU has done this year in terms of transparency and accessibility of the budget and break it down for all students to be able to see it and understand what’s happening.

I also want to improve the communication between CUSACorp management and the CSU in order to improve business relationships and marketing campaigns at Reggie’s.

Cameron Monagle—VP external affairs I want to work with different student groups who are running their own campaigns and are doing a much better job than the CSU has ever done.

We’re 35,000 students and communicating with all of them is not an easy task. For tuition hike campaigns, a lot of students feel alienated, confused and uninformed. I think the key to improve this is to work with smaller student groups.

For full interviews with the candidates, go to www.theconcordian.com

life 10

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com RESTO

Bring your own wine and elastic waistband to Chez Ennio

Authentic eAtery Acts As one-night, AffordAble vAcAtion to tuscAny Marissa Miller Copy editor It was a dark, stormy, endorphin-deprived night. We pulled over to the side of the road— after all, driving under the influence of hunger could lead to serious legal infractions.

With the help of our smartphones, we were directed to an extensive list of Bring Your Own Wine restaurants in the downtown area.

Chez Ennio on Fort and de Maisonneuve was the only restaurant we hadn’t heard of, so

my partner-in-dine called to secure a reservation. After several minutes of “Oh yes, we are starving…trust me…yes. I like pasta. Veal too.

Anything,” he turned to me and said, “Oh my God, I just made a new best friend.”

After crawling down a few icy steps, Ennio himself greeted us with Montreal-style kisses on both cheeks and firm handshakes.

Once we wiped the frost off our glasses, we were able to soak it all in – that we were, indeed, intruding into what seemed to be this man’s very own living room whose perimeter

had been sprinkled with trinkets and artifacts from his childhood.

As he helped us towards a quiet table in the back, the discussion veered towards his actual residence a couple blocks up the street.

The meat (no pun intended) of our exchange ventured towards his life growing up in 1940s Tuscany, his amicable relationship with luscious tomatoes, perfectly-shredded pecorino and parmesan, and his ancestral recipes that transcended dozens of generations to seep into the kitchen of this delicate Italian eatery.

After taking way too long sifting through all the pastas, fish and meats and this and thats on the menu – we were famished at this point – the boss himself rested a most colourful garden of lemon-doused vegetables and a bowl of bean soup before us. We found ourselves asking out loud, “Is this real life?” They had both been made fresh merely minutes before, with the mozzarella melting on the soup’s exterior bearing an eerie resemblance to a Montreal winter roof.

Before we were even finished round one of our appetizers, Ennio brought us another helping. Mouths ajar, we couldn’t tell if this gift was a by-product of our tipsy, sweet wineinduced imaginative stupor, or our waiter’s undeniable hospitality. The latter was, of course, true, leaving us ready for the entree with an even sweeter taste on our palates than any wine could ever deliver.

My heap of homemade spinach ravi-

oli came with no scarcity of chunky tomato sauce. Sizzling hot and with faint enough notes of cinnamon and nut to keep me intrigued, I told myself to eat slowly and save the rest for tomorrow so as to relive the salivary glory. Taking baby bites was, as it turns out, not necessary – even after I was too full to even fathom the idea of eating one more bite, I had lunch for the next day and the day after.

My picky dinner mate even scarfed down his entire plate of sautéed zucchini, veal parmesan and other root vegetables — dishes he would otherwise avoid like the highway during a torrential blizzard. We could hear Ennio hammering away at the veal in the kitchen steps away, like a real paysan, so as to soften it to its desirable consistency — one that he expressed by clenching the tips of all his fingers together and bringing them to his lips to kiss. “Mwah!” he said.

Chez Ennio is not a place to come to talk business. Its dim lighting sets just the right ambiance for a little spoon feeding and footsie canoodling under the table. For a $33 table d’hote consisting of all the trimmings, dozens of authentic Italian dishes between $15 and $20, and V.I.P. service to boot, you really feel like you’re ripping Ennio off once he brings the VISA machine around.

Chez Ennio is located at 1978 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.

ONLINE

Keeping in touch How posthumous Facebook profiles change grieving

the afterlife

Lauren Bird The Aquinian FREDERICTON (CUP) — Almost 15 years after the death of Princess Diana, you can still buy plates and cups with her face on it on the streets of London.

People still mourn her. She was an icon. So it makes sense that she is still mourned. But what about the ordinary? The everyday people who die too soon without having left their mark on the world? Lately, they’ve been continually memorialized as well.

In the past, according to Andrew Perry, funeral director of McAdam Funeral Home in Fredericton, “that moment at the cemetery was where it ends.”

But social media has changed the way we say goodbye — or don’t. Facebook pages remain long after its owner has died, friends can still post, and often times they go a step further and make a memorial page. It’s changing the way we grieve, for better or worse.

Courtney Hill is doing her master’s in occupational therapy at Dalhousie University. At the end of her Grade 11 year, her close friend was killed in a car accident.

Back then, Facebook was still closed to university students. But the next year, her friend had a memorial page.

Graphic by Chris Hanna “I had a sociology class last year and the professor... she was like, ‘Now when someone dies, everyone just grieves through a Facebook profile and it’s not healthy’,” Hill said. “I got super offended when she said it.”

According to Hill, it has helped. It’s been nearly six years since she lost her friend; she writes on her page regularly.

“I do it because I feel like it’s kind of a way to talk to them,” Hill said. “It’s a way to get your thoughts out that you’ve been thinking all the time. It’s a mode of communication.”

Michael George, a St. Thomas University professor who explores issues of death and dying, also doesn’t see it as problematic.

“Depending on the people, most rituals around death are more for the survivors than the dead,” he said. “A lot of our culture is based on trying to maintain some kind of continuity.”

A continuing Facebook page does just that.

The profile picture doesn’t change, comments

aren’t deleted; it reeks with the digital echoes of a life gone, though not entirely. Traces of that person aren’t confined to a grave or personal belongings or even a memory, they live on through one-sided conversations and unread comments.

Of course, Facebook has a policy for pages of users who pass away: “It is our policy to memorialize all deceased users’ accounts on the site. When an account is memorialized, only confirmed friends can see the profile (timeline) or locate it in Search. The profile (timeline) will also no longer appear in the Suggestions section of the Home page. Friends and family can leave posts in remembrance,” the policy reads.

“In order to protect the privacy of the deceased user, we cannot provide login information for the account to anyone,” it continues. “However, once an account has been memorialized, it is completely secure and cannot be accessed or altered by anyone.”

Perry, at the McAdam Funeral Home, under-

stands. “I just don’t think that the ways of the past are the ways of the future,” he said.

The funeral homes are changing, adhering to a new technological standard.

The McAdam home was a little too quiet and still. The winter sunlight streamed in through the window and touched down on couches that had been barely sat in, at least, not comfortably.

Soon, they’ll stream funerals online for friends and family who can’t make it to the service. But Perry worries that will take away the need for people to come at all.

“If someone passes away and if there is a visitation…the traditionalist’s generation still feel they need to go to the funeral home,” he said.

But do Generation X and Y? If we can sit home in a pair of jeans and watch the funeral procession, then leave our sympathies on a Facebook wall, will we have that same need?

Do we really want to live where death never touches us, but never leaves us?

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

11

HEALTH

Don’t let the weather rain on your parade Turn that seasonal affective disorder frown upside down Janelle Jordan Contributor Cranking the clock one hour forward this past Sunday is a familiar ritual filled with mixed emotions.

While it does mark that spring is around the corner, what you lose in one hour of beloved sleep, you gain in an hour of precious daylight.

This fact is one of the many strategies you can put in your arsenal of tricks to help make seasonal affective disorder disappear.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, SAD is a category of clinical depression thought to be triggered by the shortened days between late autumn until spring, resulting in less absorption of daylight. Even though SAD was officially coined as a disorder in the early 1980s, the general public living in northern climates unofficially refer to SAD as the “winter blues.”

However, using SAD and winter blues interchangeably is apparently a misnomer according to CMHA; while it is estimated that two to three per cent of Canadians are affected by SAD, up to 15 per cent of Canucks sing the winter blues, which is a milder form of SAD. Does the medical term “disorder” affect people’s interpretation of this condition or is SAD just a medical theory conspiracy?

Ahmed Abusneneh, 27, a third-year math student, doesn’t think the SAD label adds up to the sum of its parts. “I don’t believe in names, but I think it exists,” Abusneneh said. “We’re meant to live in the daytime, not at nighttime; nighttime is to sleep. So, if we have more time to sleep than to

“

If you’re joyful and optimistic and feeling up, your brain is primed to look for things in your environment that are cheery, that are positive, that are uplifting.

- Heidi Wiedemann, psychologist

be active, then for sure as a human, you’re going to be depressed if you’re not strong.”

The opposite holds true for fourth-year honours sociology and Judaic studies student Sofia Danna when it comes to linking less sleep to depression. “I don’t necessarily get depressed, but I do know that I feel, when I’m up too late, I just get more negative and if it’s really late, I can still just be brooding,” said Danna. “So, that’s why I feel that maybe if I don’t have seasonal affective disorder, I think that I benefit from getting more sunlight and going outside.”

So what causes us to become hibernating humans during the winter? Heidi Wiedemann, a Montreal psychologist in private practice, explains that we need to see the light.

“The fact that we get that much less daylight has a very depressive effect on a lot of people, and it is like a domino effect; less light, so people go out less often, they exercise less often and all those things combined really change how people’s brains are working, they become more lethargic.” Wiedemann continues to describe how “what you seek, you will find” attitude plays a role in those affected by SAD.

“If you’re joyful and optimistic and feeling up, your brain is primed to look for things in your environment that are cheery, that are positive, that are uplifting,” she said. “And the opposite is also true that, if you find yourself in a bit of a slump or the weather changes and you have less light and you’re becoming more lethargic, your brain is then primed to pick up all those things that will also fit that, so it will look for less positive things as reinforcement.”

Picking up on SAD symptoms may not always be as obvious; typically, the symptoms range from anxiety, appetite changes, difficulty concentrating, irritability, tendency to oversleep, reduced energy and increased fatigue. Research has also shown that SAD usually starts the age of 20 and is more prevalent in women than men. While these symptoms can overlap with those of other forms of depression, it is possible to distinguish them.

“The main differentiating factor between depression and SAD would be that with depression, usually there is something that triggers it, like an event or a loss of some sort [...] a break-up, losing something of value and there are also certain thinking patterns that just make the depression deeper,” said Anna Cegielka, a West Island psychotherapist who specialises in cognitive behaviour. “With seasonal affective disorder, it just kind of happens out of the blue, all of a sudden for seemingly no good reason, people just start feeling down and lacking energy.”

Feeling the heat of spring fever is tempting when we look at the calendar that says winter will be over in a few weeks; however, the veteran Montrealer knows not to count one’s spring eggs before they hatch, as that surprise last gasp of winter seems to take our breath away come late March or early April. Whether you’ve hit a low note in singing the winter blues, or you’ve reached your breaking point, there are practical,

“

Graphic by Alessandra McGovern

The main differentiating factor between depression and SAD would be that with depression, usually there is something that triggers it. With seasonal affective disorder, it just kind of happens out of the blue.

- Anna Cegielka, psychotherapist

affordable and effective solutions to help you see the light at the end of the SAD tunnel.

“It’s being mindful and aware of yourself, of your moods, your feelings, energy levels and observing and being aware from day to day how things fluctuate,” said Cegielka, suggesting effective mindfulness activities such as meditation, Tai

Chi and yoga. “For some individuals, getting fullspectrum light bulbs [special light bulbs that do not filter out UV] provide somewhat of a simulation of daylight.”

Cegielka also mentioned that special lamps, similarly to light therapy, deliver a bigger dose of lighting that may be more helpful for those with increased SAD symptoms.

As for Wiedemann, she provided a three-step approach in addition to increased light to march through March a happy camper.

“My first thing would be take [exercise] outside and get as much sunlight and as much daylight on you as you can; even in my private practice I really shy away from medications,” Wiedemann explained. “There’s too much lately about how all the medications cause changes in the brain that keep you then perpetually stuck in a loop of needing when in fact, [if] you listen to those top three things, take care of yourself nutritionally, that you exercise, and that you get outside into the daylight, [...] that’s much more effective than medication.”

Besides filling up on healthy foods with vitamins C, D and Omega-3, or dusting off those trainers in the back of your closet (while keeping those winter boots on standby), the most simple and effective strategy you have within yourself is the power to make a positive change.

Some SAD symptoms Change in appetite

Difficulty concentrating

Weight gain

Irritability

Decreased energy

Avoidance of social situations

Tendency to oversleep

Feelings of anxiety and despair - via Canadian Mental Health Association

arts 12

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com CINEMA POLITICA

Do you trust your government?

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History recounts the decline of the St. Louis housing project Brandon Judd Staff writer Perhaps the most prominent cultural difference between Canada and its southern neighbour comes down to trust. Canadians, with our history of social welfare and public health care, tend to embed a lot of faith into the institutions of the country and the people that run them.

This can waiver, as is the case for some citizens under the current government, but good governance is a pillar of our constitution and continues to be something we take as a given.

In the United States, trust in government has steadily declined since the early 1970s.

After Watergate, the idea that a government would not consciously engage in illegal activity to the detriment of citizens went out the window. Though the government was widely perceived as being incapable of responsible spending, distrust of public works actually began in earnest after 1950.

At the turn of the 20th century, St. Louis was one of America’s leading cities. It hosted the World’s Fair in 1904, and the city steadily grew until 1950, when development peaked.

In 1951, its population dropped; instead of reacting to this, city officials continued their push to build downtown housing for the crowding city. It opened the Pruitt-Igoe project in 1954. The public housing gave clean, safe

apartments to the city’s urban poor—most of whom were African-American and highly marginalized at the time—and was a public housing success. For a time.

In The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, the filmmakers argue this project was doomed from its inception. Almost immediately after it was built, funding began to be rolled back by private interests who opposed public housing for financial (leeching profits from private developers) or ideological reasons (it was seen as un-American and a mindset for the Soviets).

Save for a few golden years of community and efficiency, detailed in the film by former tenants, Pruitt-Igoe represented the worst of what projects would become in the following decades.

St. Louis, like almost all American cities

at the time, was becoming increasingly suburbanized. As the middle class abandoned the city, tax money disappeared. And for PruittIgoe, which became supported exclusively by the income of its residents, this was a disaster.

Interviewees in the film detail elevators that would stop in transit, stranding riders, and of corners of rooms that became latrines.

All the while, city officials enforced segregation and exploited the power public housing gave them over residents.

The conditions became so desperate that the residents went on a rent strike as the last resort, they said, in the fight for decent housing. Much of the water turned to ice after a massive water leak occurred during the winter. Residents pleaded for disaster relief to

little avail.

St. Louis eventually decided to shut PruittIgoe down, though not in one fell swoop. As residents moved out, drug dealers and pimps began to use the empty building as a base of operation for their activities. It was the ideal fortress: an empty high-rise with hundreds of rooms to hide in and vantage points that could spot incoming police for miles.

The film gives little time to showcase the government’s or the private sector’s point of view. This is a shame, because it would lend needed legitimacy to an otherwise excellent documentary. It’s hard not to be skeptical of the simplicity with which the film presents the rise and fall of the project; surely, there is a litany of reasons the project failed. Though the city’s abandoning of it would likely top this list, not broadening the issue’s viewpoint weakens the film.

The demolition of Pruitt-Igoe became the symbol of America’s failure in implementing public housing and, in a larger context, the country’s shortcomings when it comes to public works. But the film makes an excellent point in the closing minutes: Pruitt-Igoe is also an example of the decline of St. Louis and, it argues, the American city in general.

The buildings were once a paradise for its residents, and failed, not because of its tenants, as popular history remembers, but because of its owners. As the arguments for privatization creep north of the 49th parallel, it would be useful to remember places like St. Louis’ Pruitt-Igoe project.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth will be shown on March 19 at 7 p.m. in H-110. For more information, visit www.cinemapolitica.org/ concordia.

ARTiculate

Turning the page on big-box bookstores Discover Montreal’s best bibliophile hot spots Rebecca Ugolini Staff writer Candles, teddy bears, teapots, iPod holders and even puffy, white, faux sheepskin blankets: walking through the ground floor of Ste-Catherine Street’s Indigo, it’s almost a surprise to discover that the store also sells—get this—books!

Across the island, it seems like major bookstores are focusing on selling unrelated paraphernalia in an attempt to make as much profit as possible, marketing to impulse-buyers and last-minute gift givers rather than real readers.

It’s a shame that in a city with so many great independent booksellers, when most people need to get a book, magazine or comic, they’ll flock to a major outlet rather than discover some of Montreal’s lesser-known, better-stocked bookshops.

That’s what this week’s ARTiculate is about: starting a new chapter in our book-buying lives, looking beyond the big-box stores to the many little nook-and-cranny stores that offer more interesting merchandise, a far more knowledgeable

staff and a less stressful shopping experience.

Fiction and non-Fiction It’s only fair to begin with the McGill Ghetto’s long-established The Word Bookstore (469 Milton St.) Whether you need a book for class, want to pick up a nice (and possibly signed) edition of a classic for yourself or as a gift, or would just like to discover a new favourite novel, The Word has the staff and the stock to make sure you’ll find what you need. Every year, owner Adrian King-Edwards and his staff organize the massive Montreal Antiquarian Book Fair, hosted in our very own LB building, bringing antique, rare and limited-edition printings to the bibliophile.

Remember that little shop on Ste-Catherine Street with the cats, the boxes of books outside on the sidewalk, and the dimly-lit, unbelievably full shelves? Although it’s no longer at its old location, Westcott Books (4065 St-Laurent Blvd.) is still alive, well, and is ready to satiate even the most voracious readers. The new location looks spacious, airy, and features large front-store windows, and still stocks a great assortment of fiction and non-fiction from the words of Whitman to how-to manuals and photo books.

If you’re more of a Mile End person, S. W. Welch (225 St-Viateur W.) should be your bookstore of choice. It’s one of those tried-and-true

gems that does everything right: from its cozy and welcoming atmosphere, organized and neat shelves, and wide variety of offerings in poetry, prose, and non-fiction, whatever you’re looking for, it’s a safe bet that S. W. Welch has got it. And if you just walk in to browse, you’re more than likely to discover something great.

Buying used is a preferred strategy of mine: it’s cheaper, better for the environment, and somehow more serendipitous than buying new.

For when you’re just not finding that academic book for class, though, downtown’s Argo Bookshop (1915 Ste-Catherine W.) is probably your best bet. Argo often works with professors and classes in ordering copies of specific books, and they’ve usually got the best editions and translations on hand. Like most little shops, it’s got that cozy, comforting feel to it, and great staff to go with it.

comics and manga Those of you who read comics know that there’s a certain ritualistic element involved in going to your usual comic bookshop: downtown’s 1000000 Comix (1418 Pierce) exemplifies that experience. On the outside, there’s the appeal of the facade itself, covered on one side by a superhero mural, and on the inside, it’s even better: knowledgeable staff will help you find

whatever it is you’re looking for, suggest new titles, and create a hold list for you, keeping your titles aside each time they come in (perfect for distracted readers like yours truly). The main organizers of Montreal ComicCon, 1000000 Comix helps to put the Montreal comic scene on the map, and as a testament to their success, the event gets bigger and better each year.

If it’s manga you’re interested in, Sci-Fi Anime (2186 Ste-Catherine W., suite 101) is your new haven. Run by a very friendly and wellversed owner whose Gundam model-making skills are unparalleled, the shop stocks the newest manga, anime, model kits and figurines straight from Japan. Bonus: they have a great liquidation section, with titles going as cheap as $3-4, and their entrance room is full of completed, professional-grade models and figures.

And how could we discuss Montreal comic retailers without mentioning the Mile End’s Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard St. W.)? Both a publishing house and an excellent shop, D&Q is known across the world as one of the finest comic publishing houses, and regularly hosts book launches, talks and events. If you’re looking for something more on the alternative side of comics, this is your best bet: just be careful, once you start browsing, it’s almost impossible to stop.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

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13

THEATRE

There ain’t no vice like the present Infinitheatre’s latest show The Leisure Society preaches the perils of technology Rielle Davis Contributor Sex, alcohol and technology are just a few of the indulgences played with in Infinitheatre’s latest project The Leisure Society. A hilarious yet tragic tale of the inner turmoil of a seemingly perfect couple, The Leisure Society asks the question: How can you admit that something might be missing if you have almost everything you want?

Peter and Mary have agreed to quit smoking once and for all after one last cigarette.

However, they can’t overcome this vice. Neither can they break off their friendship with “Mark,” who they feel no longer fits their lifestyle. The cigarettes then become an analogy of their friendship with Mark and they delay giving up either one.

Technology is a constant presence in the performance, as though it were a character itself. Peter and Mary’s television has a multitude of functions such as drowning out conversation with hockey or news, acting as a babysitter for their child and providing art facsimiles. It hinders the couple’s relationship with each other as well as with their newborn child. This forces the question: Just how much technology is too much technology?

The cast, Daniel Brochu, Catherine De

Howard rosenstein and sHeena gazé-deslandes star as mark and Paula in inFinitHeatre’s The Leisure socieTy. Sève, Sheena Gazé-Deslandes and Howard Rosenstein, make for an outstanding ensemble. Brochu and De Sève as Peter and Mary do a solid job portraying a dysfunctional married couple, mastering their characters’ hysteria so that it never overshadows their performance.

Gazé-Deslandes as Paula adds lightness to an otherwise extremely dark comedy. Rosenstein brings depth to Mark’s sleazy personality, and it’s hard not to find his antics charming.

The set, lighting and sound design all

complement one another. Bain St-Michel is the perfect locale for the performance, with the remainders of the former pool surrounding the stage and audience.

Entering the room, the sound of children splashing in a pool sets an idealized tone even before the audience reaches their seats. This ambiance embellishes the perfection that Peter and Mary wish to convey. Underneath all of their materialistic possessions, including a pool in their backyard, lies their unhappiness.

The Leisure Society is a searing tragedy, but the comedic undertone enables the audience to witness the helplessness of a marriage on the verge of ruin, and how the influence of technology caused such a rift in their ability to communicate.

The Leisure Society runs from March 6 to March 25 at Infinitheatre (5300 St-Dominique Rd.) Tickets are between $10 and $20. For more information, visit www.infinitheatre.com.

FILM

Thirty, flirty and thriving FIFA hits the big 3-0, but don’t expect any growing pains Sofia Gay Arts editor Thirty is a landmark year. For most people, it can mean the beginning of regular mirror checks for wrinkles, getting a real adult job and relinquishing the shield for their mistakes known as “well, I was in my twenties...”

Inanities aside, the bigger picture is that, like wine, things get better with age. So don’t wait for tantrums from the International Festival of Films on Art, which hits the big three-zero this month.

The festival, which spans over 11 days in nine venues this year, celebrates all kinds of art forms captured on film, including “painting, culture, architecture, but also design, fashion, photography, literature, dance, music,” noted FIFA director and founder René Rozon. “So it’s open to all the arts, of all periods.”

The festival was born out of Rozon’s realization when he was abroad in Europe. He noted that there were films on art that most people wouldn’t see simply because they were unaware of their existence.

“I was working for an art magazine and so I used to see a lot of exhibitions, go to art fairs, and I used to see quite a good number of films on art, which never even came here, which nobody even heard of,” he recalled. “So I thought, after a few years, maybe I should bring these all together and start something, start a festival.”

FIFA debuted in its first year with just 50 films from 12 countries and a single venue. In contrast, this year’s edition will see 232 films from 27 countries, with over 35,000 attendees expected.

Like most people celebrating their 30th, FIFA is going all out by introducing special films and events. This includes Une idée folle—Un hommage au FIFA, a film by Alain Fleischer that looks back at the last 30 years of the festival.

“It’s a film about the 30 years, so there will be the people who know the festival well, professionals are being interviewed, and there will be excerpts from a selection of films within the film to celebrate our 30 years,” explained Rozon. “So that’s a gift from the filmmaker to us, we had never planned to make a film ourselves.”

Keeping with the new James Cameron-approved cinematic trend, the festival will also be presenting its first 3D film, Lost Action: Trace.

Its opening film, Pieter Bruegel’s The Mill and the Cross, features special effects as well. “Sections of paintings are animated alternatively, and it’s fascinating,” said Rozon.

FIFA will also give spectators a break from the screen by holding art installations, such as Jim Verburg’s Séquence/Still, at the Cinémathèque québécoise, which will be ongoing throughout the festival’s run.

For students looking to dip their feet in the FIFA pool for the first time, Rozon suggested beginning with films close to one’s comfort zone. He mentioned Wild Thing, a rock ‘n’ roll doc featuring Iggy Pop, and branching out from there.

Most of all, Rozon wants to see the biggest possible number of people experiencing

films on art, fulfilling his mission for starting the festival.

“I’m looking forward to having as many people [as possible] taking advantage of the festival, which was created, really, to enhance our lives,” he said. “Because the artists always have a great vision of life, and it’s fascinating,

it brings us into a new world.”

The International Festival of Films on Art runs from March 15 to 25. Venues include Concordia’s J.A. De Sève Cinema in the LB building. For more information, check out www.artfifa.com.

The Concordian picks five flicks worth checking out at FIFA this weekend March 16 Cinémas d’horreur: Apocalypse, virus et zombies Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Claude-Jutra, room 11, 8:30 p.m.

Wild Thing Place des Arts, 5e Salle, room 15, 8:30 p.m.

March 17 Il était une fois... A Clockwork Orange Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Claude-Jutra, room 42, 8:30 p.m.

Behind the Poster Goethe-Institut, room 44, 8:30 p.m.

March 18 Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Fernard-Seguin, room 66, 6 p.m.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

theconcordian

LITERATURE

He writes hard for the money Concordia student Ian Truman talks fatherhood, schoolwork, writing and working full-time

Amanda L. Shore Assistant arts editor “Five years ago, I was ready to kill myself or join the army,” said Concordia creative writing student Ian Truman. Today, he’s a self-published author, celebrating the success of the MainLine Gala for Student Drama’s second year and is getting ready to receive his degree this fall.

“It’s not just hard work and luck. I changed my life around. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs, I stay healthy,” said Truman.

Hard work may be an understatement however,

as Truman has had a lot more to handle than the average creative writing student.

Shortly after being accepted into the creative writing program, Truman’s wife gave birth to a baby girl. Although this was a blessing, it did complicate things. “We actually ended up baby swapping in Concordia,” he recalled. “I would need to get out of class five minutes early because her class was starting when mine finished.

I’d run down the stairs, we’d meet in the Hall building and switch the baby.”

While in school, Truman continued to work as much as possible, but finances were still tight.

“

Five years ago, I was ready to kill myself or join the army.

- Ian Truman, writer

“We got lucky. At one point I was considering dropping out because we were out of cash,” he said. “My wife wasn’t working that much because she was still a student and when you go on parental leave you can’t be a student. So what happened was she applied for a bursary and I ended up taking parental leave [from my work]. She got the bursary and it was enough to make it.”

On top of his studies, working and being a father, Truman was trying to write. Before attending Concordia, Truman worked at a number of factory jobs that inspired his first novel, The Factory Line. While on the job, he would jot down the things he observed, collecting little memos that would eventually fuel the novel’s plot.

“The Factory Line, I wrote on the job. It’s all true, well true-ish, it’s a tall tale,” he said. “I tried to capture how people talk in factories and the kind of situations that they live every day. Some of them are really nice people, some of them are insane and you get to deal with both.”

Turning these notes into a narrative wasn’t an easy task. A lot of what he’d written took place over the span of two years and came from moments at multiple factories. Furthermore, Truman had to overcome a language barrier.

“How you do dialogue in French is different than in English, so I did dialogue in French but with English words, which doesn’t work. People gave me a break because I’m francophone and English is my second language, but you need to step up and it’s a steep hill,” he explained. “My

English is okay for everyday life, but I wanted to be a writer so I needed to go back to grammar and grind those hours rewriting and learning to do dialogue in English.”

The novel did eventually come together and after finishing his classes at Concordia, Truman began looking for ways to publish it. He sent his manuscript to several publishers in Canada and the United States, but there were no takers. Unwilling to give up, Truman decided to self-publish; he created a blog, started working the social media scene and hooked up with e-book providers. He hired an editor and a graphic designer to finesse the finished product and will be printing several copies of the novel to distribute at book fairs and zine fests. Sales have yet to pick up, but Truman isn’t too worried. He’s currently putting the finishing touches on a second novel, Tales of Lust, Hate and Despair, due out in late June, and has already begun writing a third novel. Truman hopes that by having three novels out and circulating, buzz will pick up and sales will increase.

Truman continues to work full-time and care for his daughter, writing whenever and wherever he can—before work, on the bus on the way to work, during work and in brief periods after his daughter has gone to bed.

“If you’re going to be a writer, you need to write. I try to write at least 800 words a day,” he said. “If I don’t work an hour a day on writingrelated stuff, it’s not going to work out in the end.”

It’s this sort of discipline and hard work that Truman says accounts for his success, but he concedes it was also a bit of luck as well. “If we didn’t get that bursary two and a half years ago, we wouldn’t have done it, me and my wife.”

Check out Ian Truman’s blog at iantruman. wordpress.com and look for his book The Factory Line on Amazon.

ZINES

There’s a zine for that

QPIRG Concordia goes old school for their Zine Show & Tell Tarek Akhtar Contributor

Z

Graphic by Maya Pankalla

ines are meant to be shared. For those who publish them, it’s about giving their desires the ability to create a fantasy. And the fantasy begins on the front page, where a mixture of words, images and colours come together to take the reader on a ride through something powerful.

Sometimes the experience is stimulating and thought-provoking, and sometimes it is narrow and uninspired. But it is certain that for every person that picks up a zine, he or she will experience something entirely unique.

Since most zine artists are self-published, self-funded and self-disciplined during the entire production process, their readership is dependent and limited towards its targeted placement. Fortunately for us, the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at Concordia is holding Zine Show & Tell on March 20, where Montreal’s zine artists will come together to showcase their work in an informal setting.

Among those headlining the event is Robyn Maynard, a writer, social justice advocate and musician from Montreal. According to QPIRG, Maynard will be talking about “a two-part zine effort about the Black Panther Party” as part of her work with an organization that supports non-status individuals called No One Is Illegal.

Maynard is expected to share extensive inter-

views that support her cause as well.

Also among the lineup is Coco Riot, who self-publishes her zine in Spanish, her mother

tongue. Riot’s zine, Llueven Queers, is a mixture of comics and illustrations that puts her personal reflections as a queer individual un-

der a lens of humour and humility. According to Riot’s website, her zine tends to “range from queer politics, [to] social and personal memories, [to] living in different languages and the experience of migration,” all the while showcasing her “desire for bright colours and the love for poetry and repetitive pattern.”

If there is one thing unique about the zines being presented at this event, it’s that each of their writers and designers bring something different to the table. The idea behind the event is to bring those tables to the forefront so that those under-appreciated zines that circulate throughout our city can get the appreciation they deserve.

Jaggi Singh, QPIRG’s working groups and programs coordinator, commented that since the event’s announcement, the number of individuals slated to showcase their work has doubled. “We’ve now got about 12 different people coming in,” Singh said, “and a couple more that have yet to confirm as well.”

QPIRG is a student-funded and volunteerdriven organization that strives to provide a voice to students and communities on social and environmental issues. The Zine Show & Tell is part of its resource library’s author series.

Despite the undergraduate strike set to take place from March 15 to 22, the date for QPIRG’s event will go on as scheduled, as the group is not reliant on Concordia’s administration or its student union.

Zine Show & Tell takes place March 20 at 6:30 p.m. at QPIRG Concordia (1500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., suite 204). Admission is free. For more information, check out www. qpirgconcordia.org.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

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15

EDUCATION

So you got an arts degree; now what?

Looking at how arts grads cope after leaving Concordia Sara King-Abadi Contributor With an arts degree, chances are you are not going to Disneyland. Arts students are often faced with many challenges come graduation time, namely where they will be working now that the safety net of academia has been released. To help those of you who will be graduating from the arts this spring, I spoke to graduates from the English, creative writing and communications departments to see how they dealt with leaving the comfort of Concordia.

As difficult as it may be to admit, what I took from my interviewees was essentially that an arts degree is what you make of it.

Conceptual comedy show producer Sasha Manoli, who graduated from creative writing a year and a half ago, cites one or two courses taken in her final semester as the inspiration for her moving to the realm of conceptual art.

She is now self-employed, and produces local shows such as The Liar Liar Show, Dear Dave and Crayon Party. Rather than throwing a few stand-up comics on stage, she has found a way to conceptualize comedy by melding it with game show formats and storytelling instead of just punch lines. In this sense, the link to her literary background cannot be ignored.

Unlike some arts graduates, Manoli had a job in publishing waiting for her when she graduated, but her newfound passions took her away from that life. “I had been to Toronto, I had seen my office, it was beautiful but at the same time I was hanging out with these comics…I started getting really interested in PR,” she said. While she had been able to secure a job in her field, it quickly became evident that after working with words for the last four years, producing was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.

Of course, not every graduate can say they turned down a great job in their field to pur-

Graphic by Phil Waheed sue an alternative passion. Simon Case, who graduated from Concordia with a communications degree in 2008, found that while he had pursued his degree based on his interests in theory rather than production, upon graduation he was lacking the experience required to pursue the kinds of careers he wanted.

“I was pretty easily discouraged […] not receiving any answers at all, because I had very little work experience,” he recalled. He now intends to pursue a master’s degree outside of Concordia, not necessarily because it will increase his chances of a career in communications, but because Case, like so many other arts graduates, studies what interests

him, rather than what leads to a promising career.

“I don’t think I appreciated being a student when I started university as an undergraduate,” he said. Regardless of whether or not he expected a great career opportunity upon graduation, Case admitted that a lot of what he took away from his time at Concordia was increased skills in writing and critical thinking, which are considered invaluable tools in the real world.

Another graduate who enrolled in an arts program simply because it was what he enjoyed, rather than what he expected to turn into a career, is James Gibbons, who gradu-

ated last year with a degree in English literature. He found that the job market lowered his expectations upon graduation.

“I didn’t feel that there weren’t any options, just that there weren’t any good ones,” he said. Gibbons is now working on his master’s of journalism studies at Concordia, but if he had decided to work, he would have preferred to go overseas and teach English or do technical writing than copy edit here.

While personal experiences are one thing, what about the resources available to you at Concordia? We have at our fingertips the CAPS (Career and Placement Services) job bank, and a wealth of useful information such as building a proper resume or career workshops made available through the Counselling and Development tab in your MyConcordia portal.

This can offer either great job opportunities or great disappointment.

“The thing with something like CAPS is think about how saturated those jobs must be,” said Manoli, an excellent point when you consider how many graduates come out of Concordia per year and how specific those types of postings can be.

Another resource is the career counsellors available at Concordia. “I personally kind of thought it was a waste of time,” Gibbons stated, explaining it wasn’t useful for him because he already knew the kind of information being offered. Instead of gaining some sort of enlightenment, he was handed a paper detailing jobs he already knew he would be qualified for with his degree.

“Any external initiatives in the end mean far more,” said Manoli, emphasizing the importance of stepping outside the classroom and getting involved with extracurricular activities.

If you can’t find work in your field, make your own; that experience is invaluable on your resume and in life. The common denominator seems to be that what you take away from your degree is what you put into it.

No matter what program you are in, you are acquiring indispensable life skills by osmosis: respect for deadlines, critical thinking and interpersonal skills that can better shape you for the career you want.

FILM

A different kind of survival guide With an eyebrowraising title, The Slut shows the struggles of a single mother Mathieu Demers Contributor Selected as one of the movies to be part of Critics’ Week at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, The Slut is an Israeli-made film that presents the life of a promiscuous woman, Tamar, who has two young daughters. Within the first few minutes of the film, Tamar is shown having intercourse with various men. Those scenes are not only explicit, but they reinforce the fact that men only want her for sex and nothing more, presenting her as a slut.

When Tamar decides to have sex with a man, it is for survival; she wants to get something in return without having to pay for it. For example, she gets two brand new bicycles for her daughters by sleeping with the man who frequently repairs her bike.

The arrival of Shai, played by Ishai Golan, changes Tamar’s life. He starts acting as a father

figure to her daughters. He proves to Tamar that she can count on him and that he is serious about their relationship. Shai, in comparison to the many other men Tamar has slept with, doesn’t only see her in a sexual light, but as the woman she truly is.

Golan plays his role beautifully. He makes us believe that it’s possible for a woman in Tamar’s position to fall in love and to have a chance at happiness.

Shai is symbolic of Tamar’s The sLuT, screened at tHe cannes Film Festival last year, aims to cHallenge tHe audience’s notion oF Promiscuity. chance at finally breaking free of her dependence on men, since he is giv- look busy when a man comes asking to have to comfort Shai after what he has done. ing her everything that she needs and asking for sex with her.

The Slut is definitely a film that will move you nothing in return.

The movie continues with the repercussions from the beginning to the end by changing your Director Hagar Ben Asher tried to cast an ac- of Tamar’s reputation as a slut as she tries to perception of Tamar. She is not promiscuous by tress to fill the role of Tamar, until she came to establish a relationship with Shai. Men are still choice. This ultimately gives the viewer a chance the realization that she wanted to make this film, approaching Tamar for sex and she must decide to wonder who the real slut in the movie is. in every aspect, her own. One of the techniques whether or not to give into temptation. Her decishe uses to make her portrayal of Tamar believ- sion has a strong impact on Shai, and forces him The Slut starts at Cinema du Parc on March 16. able is the way she transmits her emotions. She to commit an act of violence. Ben Asher describes It will be shown in Hebrew with French submakes every action count for a reason, such as violence as being essential in love, and vice versa. titles. More information is available at www. dropping the eggs she’s holding to make herself This gives us an explanation for Tamar choosing cinemaduparc.com.

music 16

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com PROFILE

Maica Mia masters the indie scene No ‘sparsity’ at Montreal duo’s sold-out album launch Audrey Folliot Staff writer Montreal-based indie duo Maica Mia launched its debut album, Sparcity Blues, at Casa Del Popolo on Feb. 11—selling out before 10:30 p.m. “It’s really great to have it sold out,” said Maica, smiling. “There were around 150 people there and in the end we even had to turn people around because the place was full!”

The popularity of their music is a direct reflection of their ability to have their music reach inside of you. Concordia linguistics student Maica Mia, who is the guitarist and lead vocalist of the duo, and boyfriend Jonny Paradise, wailing on drums and keys, produce a very smooth and emotional kind of music that gets to you whether you want it or not.

The duo spend most of their time recording new songs and jamming with other musicians in the gigantic studio they share, where you can find a multitude of musical instruments and a few couches. Cardboard animals are also lying around, remains of handmade decor.

The pair met around five years ago at a Halloween party at which they were both performing. They then started playing together in different bands for the next five years until they realized that their style was compatible and that everything seemed much easier when they played together. That’s when they decided to start a project together. Though Paradise said they never actually came up with a name, Maica explained, “Mia in Italian means ‘mine,’

Maica Mia and Jonny Paradise Practised at their Mile end studio. Photo by navneet so I guess we could interpret it like ‘My Maica,’ mine, she’s my singer, talking about Jonny.”

When you listen to Sparcity Blues, it’s like you’re floating in space, as the duo puts it.

“We both write, and we take our inspiration from life experiences, from emotions, like anger, and let it out,” said Jonny.

“I often write from moments of silence, or from sounds,” said Maica. “When I hear the sound of the snow crushing under my boots, or the sound of the rain, it triggers sentiments and emotions and that’s how we come up with songs.”

The tracks on Sparcity Blues were mostly written a few years ago, and the release of this album is a way for Maica to grow up and move on from her younger self.

“This album represents the closing of a chapter for me,” she said. “Most of them are old songs that I wanted to eject into the world in order to get on with new things. Some songs were from my teenage years, and now that they are out, I can really focus on our duo project.”

Relentless in their craft, the duo has started recording another album, which they hope will be out by the end of 2012. They describe it as

being a progression of their first album, growing and evolving.

Already receiving acclaim from the Montreal music community, Sparcity Blues was proclaimed “Album of the Week” in The Mirror on Feb. 9, and it’s available on vinyl for $18, but it can also be downloaded for free or for a donation of your choice.

“We wanted to make a vinyl copy because we thought it was just so fun to have,” Maica said. “All these people that listen to old records and are real music fans have a record player, so those Pall who will really like our music will buy it.

We also made it available for free because we want it to grow and expand as a project, and make it possible for everyone to listen to it and have it.”

Constantly seeking to grow and expand, Maica Mia is in the process of organizing its U.S. and Canada summer tour. They take on Toronto and New York City next and will be playing the Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival (Sounds for the People) in Montreal in June.

To download Maica Mia’s new album, visit their bandcamp: maicamia.bandcamp.com

FUNDRAISING

CJLO’s first ever funding drive a success Concordia’s student radio station has big plans in store Allie Mason Music editor The little radio station that could, CJLO 1690AM, has made strides since hitting the AM airwaves a mere three years ago—but they’re not finished dreaming yet. They hit the ground running with their first annual fundraising drive from March 5 to March 11, with the goal of raising $5,000.

“Essentially, [the money from the drive] is going to help sustain the station while we apply to broadcast on a low-power FM frequency,” explained station manager Stephanie Saretsky, adding that while students might remember a fee levy being approved in the fall to help with the station’s goal of going live on FM, the process is a little more complicated and takes a little more time and money than they originally anticipated.

Because of this, the money received from the fundraiser will not only help with the station’s day-to-day operating costs, but it will also go towards replacing copper that was stolen from the station’s downtown transmitter, paying an AM consultant to survey downtown to find out how far their frequency will travel and its effects on other frequencies including the Dorval airport radio communication. The fundraiser will also pay for their FM applica-

tion to the CRTC and develop other programs to reach as many students as possible.

Once their application is approved by the CRTC—which Saretsky said is very likely since it will be a low-power signal—the station will need to pay to assess where the best location for an antenna should be, as well as other setup costs.

“The cost could go up depending on the survey,” Saretsky admitted, which is why it’s important for CJLO to get financial support from the community.

The station doesn’t only serve as a voice for Concordia news, but it also provides services for students and the community.

“The station is open to anyone and provides a great experience,” said Tariq Sattaur of Rex’s Barn Sessions, which airs every Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. “They’ll teach you how to use the equipment and they give free air time to broadcast student meetings, concerts or shows. A lot of students could really benefit from the station if they knew it was here for them.”

And that’s the problem—with CJLO’s current antenna, the downtown campus’ reception is shoddy at best.

“The signal fades in and out downtown now because of the buildings absorbing the signal,” Saretsky said. “We stream online

and have an app for the iPhone. We want to develop one for the Android, but we want to make [CJLO] as listenable as possible. We want to reach as many people as possible.”

CJLO held four fundraising events last week, including a Mix Swap Club and concert at Divan Orange, a live broadcast at Café X, and Caribbean-style party with hosts from Beat The World and Caribbean Callaloo broadcasting live from the Caribbean Curry House.

So far they’ve received over $3,000 in pledges and will continue to receive pledges until March 28. Prize draws will take place on March 30.

Donations can be made via snail mail, in person at the station (Loyola campus, room CC-430), or online at www.cjlo.com/fundingdrive.

Photo by writer

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

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PROFILE

A gothic birthday party, UNzipped

Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

>>>Rage against the obscene

Radio host Rush Limbaugh’s incendiary comments regarding Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke’s defence of including contraceptives in health care plans have cost him dearly in the advertising department. His show’s soundtrack has followed suit, with musical acts like Peter Gabriel and Rush demanding the controversial Limbaugh stop playing their songs on his show. Now Rage Against the Machine have added their two cents in a tweet by guitarist Tom Morello, telling the radio personality to back off on the RATM fare: “To Rush Limbaugh: Hey Jackass, stop using our music on your racist, misogynist, right wing clown show. Sincerely, Rage Against The Machine.”

>>>Universal takeover

In a move that’s got music and media experts talking, media giant Universal Music may get the green light from the European Commission’s regulatory committee to take over EMI, effectively giving them a 38 per cent share of the world’s music market. This move comes as something of a surprise, as previous takeover bids by smaller groups like Warner Music have been shot down by regulatory committees afraid of creating musical monopolies, a charge Universal disputes, claiming that market share doesn’t equate to market control. According to the head of Beggars Group, the largest group of labels in Europe, however, it definitely has an impact on the kind of exposure newer artists receive. “Q Magazine has 12 covers a year.

If Universal has 50 per cent of the market, it would get six covers a year. But it may use the leverage of its big artists to get its not-so-big artists on the cover, and push its number of covers up to seven or eight,” said Martin Mills, head of Beggars Group, to The Guardian.

>>>Can’t blame him, it’s all he really knows Motley Crüe’s vocalist Vince Neil will be fulfilling a personal dream of his with his latest business investment. If you guessed “strip club in Vegas,” you are absolutely right. “I’ve always wanted to have a strip club, and this one is going to be the best there is. I’m going to be there to guarantee that.” The club Girls, Girls, Girls will be a new breed of erotic parlour, with a “full on rock and roll” soundtrack and tattooed girls who “look like they stepped out of a music video.” If you’re itching to have a look at the type of women Neil’s into, the official opening will take place two weeks from now.

>>>Well, I never…!

Kanye West has reportedly upset a bunch of old white people with his music. The reason this is newsworthy? It’s the Royal Family. The rapper has been renting out the top floor of the Lanesborough Hotel near Buckingham Palace in London for the last month, and has apparently riled up the Royals, according to his associates. “There were members of the Royal Family staying below us,” said Big Sean, a rapper signed to West’s music label, in an interview with British newspaper The Sun. “Kanye had rented out the top floor and we was banging that bitch out. Every room was a studio. The Royal Family below were complaining like, ‘We got all this loud-ass rap music above us and weed smoke’.” West’s most recent European escapade was during his trip to Paris in support of his second fashion line.

un headlined PoP Montreal’s late night nuit blanche showcase. Photo by andrew Mcneill

Up-and-coming Montreal electro-pop duo UN take on SXSW Elizabeth Mackay Assistant music editor With the band’s biggest festival appearance yet just days away, UN’s Kara Keith was fretting over footwear before set lists.

“It’s all about the outfits, right?” reasoned Keith.

UN, a gothic rock/electro-pop duo featuring Concordia grad Jen Reimer on drums with Keith on vocals and piano, is jetting off to Austin, Texas to play POP Montreal’s showcase at the SXSW Music Festival.

Over 2,000 acts from all over the world flock to SXSW every year to mingle with music industry professionals, debut new material and wrestle for exposure. Buzzing reviews at this festival can change an artist’s life overnight. Just one year after her SXSW debut, former McGill student and electronic musician Grimes has gone from virtually unknown to posing for Vogue.

“I haven’t gone to SXSW before, but I’ve done a lot of crazy shit in my life,” said Keith. “It’s just another five-day-long party where I don’t have a home to go to at night.”

Keith and Reimer have been playing together in bands for over five years, but they first collaborated as UN in 2010 and have just released their debut album, Nu. Keith’s confidence on stage is magnetic, her voice deep, dark and borderline satanic. Backed by snappy synth, piano and Reimer’s fierce animalistic drumming, this is something you must dance to, entranced in your own world.

UN’s sound and stage presence has the ability to whisk the crowd away to a subterranean gothic birthday party, providing an escape from the mundane.

“It’s cathartic for me,” explained Keith. “That’s why it ends up being cathartic for other people.

All the melodies, lyrics and ideas are from my singular experience. I walk about with those songs all the time.”

Reimer and Keith left their families behind in Alberta before becoming Mile End inhabitants.

They attended separate classical music conservatories in Edmonton and Calgary, but met at an artist residency program at the Banff Centre in 2007.

“We started jamming together in these little huts in the woods, spending night upon night playing music,” revealed Keith. “We instantly connected.”

At the time, Keith studied piano, while Reimer was perfecting the French horn. Reimer picked up the drums as recently as two years ago for UN’s first performance in New York City, though she had only been practising for three weeks. “[Reimer] already had so much skill in her body from being a very accomplished classical musician,” explained Keith.

Keith found Alberta hostile to artists, as rent was skyrocketing and it was difficult to find space to practise or play.

“It wasn’t a very nurturing community, and we felt like outsiders,” said Keith. “There were no other women doing anything [like us].”

The pair clicked with producer Howard Bilerman, known for his work on Arcade Fire’s Funeral (2004), while at The Banff Centre. Keith wrote a record while in Alberta, but flew to Montreal in 2008 to record with Reimer, Bilerman and a band of 10 other people.

“That was our foray into Montreal. We were just going to come for two weeks and make a record,” said Keith, “but that record took six months.

“We quickly evolved, realized it was an amaz-

ing city, and now we are very happy here.”

Though the songstress was unhappy in Alberta, the record she wrote while living there is curiously upbeat, and became quite popular. Keith’s indie-pop single, “Kick this City,” caught fire in 2008 and was picked up by CBC for radio play.

Since moving to Montreal and forming UN, Keith’s songwriting has turned to gloom.

“What’s funny is that as I’ve gotten my life more organized, been happier, got really good friends, moved to a great new city, and started taking care of myself, I started writing really dark music,” said Keith.

Despite the drastic change in her musical tone, Keith insisted that it’s completely unintentional.

She challenged herself to depart from her more complicated classical roots and produce music that was simple, strong and straight from the gut.

“I’m not trying to do anything, I don’t listen to music, and I don’t know what our ‘sound’ is,” said Keith. “Neither does Jen.” UN debuts at SXSW on March 16 at Hotel Vegas in Austin, Texas. To download their new album, visit their bandcamp: unmusic.bandcamp.com

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

theconcordian

MIXTAPE

U

nder the Snow Festival is an indie records and arts fair that aims to shake the dust off of you that may have been accumulating over the course of the winter season. Now in its eighth year, Under the Snow brings to the forefront 30-odd independent, up-and-coming and innovative musicians from all over Canada to showcase and celebrate their art at four downtown venues: La Sala Rossa, Casa Del Popolo, Divan Orange, and Église St-Denis.

This year’s honourable mentions include Maritimer Julie Doiron, Montreal art band Elfin Saddle and fellow Montrealers Pat Jordache, along with other indie artistes such as Huddle, In Days of Yore, Le Husky and Maxime Robin. On top of all of the great emerging musicians you can check out, the festival also features an arts show where you can buy sweet swag like silk screens, comic books, crafts, food, fashion and of course, records!

Under the Snow Festival preview Compiled by Allie Mason Music editor

SIDE A: Sous la neige

SIDE B: Under the snow

1. “Jacques-Cartier” - Lila dit ça - Jacques-Cartier / Tokyo Man 2. “Salt On The Fields” - Pat Jordache - Future Songs 3. “All There Is” - Fire/Works - All There Is 4. “A Decade Wide”- Give Me Something Beautiful - You’ve Got a Hole In Your Heart a Decade Wide 5. “Djosé” - Maxime Robin - Mondrian Owns Geometry 6. “No One Gets Lost”- Elika - Always the Light 7. “Veste antiballes” - Eugène et le Cheval - Plantes carnivores et autres mécanismes de défense 8. “Sub Rosa” - In Days Of Yore - Sub Rosa 9. “The Dead Man Dance” - Jimmy Target And The Triggers - The Reverb Outlaws 10. “L’uniforme” - Antoine Corriveau - St-Maurice/Logan

11. “L’oubli” - Jeanphillip - Le bout du monde 12. “Cook You Breakfast” - Pif Paf Hangover - Cook You Breakfast 13. “Les téléphones” - Le Husky - La fuite 14. “Sweeter” - Julie Doiron - Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars 15. “The Wind Come Carry” - Elfin Saddle - Devastates 16. “Black Waves” - The Loodies - The Loodies 17. “So Fast” - Julie Doiron - Loneliest in the Morning 18. “Quoi faire” - Bisko - Ricochet 19. “Barcelone” - Antoine Corriveau - StMaurice/Logan 20. “Travellers” - AUN - Phantom Ghost

Quick spins

Retro review

Memoryhouse - The Slideshow Effect (Sub Pop; 2012)

Fanfarlo - Rooms Filled with Light (Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records; 2012)

Anti-Flag - The General Strike (SideOneDummy Records; 2012)

The Church - Of Skins and Heart (EMI/Parlophone; 1981)

The opening line of Memoryhouse’s first single, “The Kids Were Wrong,” from their first fulllength album, “Go to sleep / nothing’s changing,” is a ballsy lie. Composer Evan Abeele and vocalist Denise Nouvion have made massive strides from their hazy reverberated swells to much more vibrant acoustic endeavours. Nouvion’s voice is front and centre, confronting listeners like that of a lead singer rather than from behind the ambient gauze of The Years (2011).

Music moving and shimmering like never before, the pair show that they are more than just another chillwave experiment. A confessed fan of composer Max Richter (who released his debut solo album Memoryhouse in 2002), Abeele brings the same haunted sounds of Richter’s nouveau classical. Lonely strings prowl the first song “Little Expressionless Animals” and most songs carry a sense of longing.

The album isn’t perfect, yet it shows a maturity and mastery that can only mean better things from the band.

Start teasing that mullet and slip into those skin-tight neon jeans, because the ‘80s are back—at least according to Fanfarlo.

This London-based folk-pop collective initially made their mark on the indie scene with their 2009 debut Reservoir. In a desperate attempt to distance themselves from becoming an Arcade Fire-esque copycat band, they have traded in their scruff for some new wave ‘80s glamour.

In no way do I condone such an overt gimmicky effort. Cashing in on the “retro” appeal of the 1980s is just tacky. Although, I will admit that Fanfarlo has managed to borrow from the past whilst remaining rooted in modernity with lush string sections, the inclusion of brass and a pocketful of irony that would make Urban Outfitters proud. This is a band that seems to be struggling with making sense of the modern world.

Back with their eighth studio album, Pennsylvania’s Anti-Flag presents The General Strike, their second release on SideOneDummy Records.

The LP was recorded by the band at their home studio in Pittsburgh. Angry about United States bailouts and corporate injustice, and providing musical accompaniment to movements like Occupy Wall Street, the band produces some of their most hardcore and pissed off music.

At just 27 minutes and 16 seconds long, the album is short, but the record is sure to please punk-rock and anti-establishment fans alike.

Its verses are well-written with catchy, infectious guitar riffs, convincing more conservative listeners to sing along. “Get up! Your voices are needed!” screams one of the vocalists. “This ain’t a fad / this ain’t a fashion / This is the world wide anthem,” declares another lyric.

Set for release on March 20, the album will provide an ample soundtrack to striking Concordia students.

Emerging from Sydney, Australia’s rock scene, The Church first recorded a four-track demo, catching the attention of producer Chris Gilbey, who had cut his teeth with AC/DC a decade earlier. As part of his project to resurrect the Australian branch of record label Parlophone, Gilbey signed the band and co-produced Of Skins and Heart as an EMI/Parlophone release in 1981.

Even though the album was not as commercially successful as later releases, it became the band’s most mainstream work, predicting the jangly, psychedelic rock of the mid- to late 1980s. The album itself is sonically diverse with post-punk, new wave and alternative rock inspirations. Opener “For a Moment We’re Strangers” is a dance rock gem, while “The Unguarded Moment” features soft/loud dynamics overlaid with singer Steve Kilbey’s coolly detached vocals. An unpretentious pop-rock album reminiscent of The Smiths and The Stone Roses, it paved the way for the later success of catchy alternative rock.

Trial track: “Little Expressionless Animals”

Trial track: “Shiny Things”

Trial track: “The Neoliberal Anthem”

Trial track: “The Unguarded Moment”

8.0/10

6.0/10

- Patrick Case

- Paul Traunero

8.5/10

-Andre-Joseph Cordeiro

-Cora Ballou

sports

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

19

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com BASKETBALL

Disappointing weekend in Halifax Stingers go winless in nationals Rob Mills and Ian Froese Dalhousie Gazette HALIFAX (CUP)—After a blowout loss at the CIS national championship in their first game to StFX, the Concordia Stingers quickly found themselves in a spot they had hoped to avoid: the consolation bracket.

Even there the Stingers couldn’t find success.

A day after getting blown out by an impressive Alberta squad, the Ryerson Rams showed grit and determination over the Stingers in the consolation semifinals, pulling out an 84–80 victory Saturday afternoon at the Halifax Metro Centre. The Rams claimed their program’s first-ever win at the championships.

The Stingers, the RSEQ champions, were eliminated from the tournament with a winless 0 – 2 record. It was a frustrating setback for head coach John Dore.

“We did not play how we were capable of playing in either game that we played here,” said Dore. “It’s a disappointing end to the season, and, you know, we’ve got our work cut out for us if we want to play at this level.”

Although their hopes for a national title have passed them by, Rams head coach Roy Rana said getting a consolation victory still matters to his group.

“Maybe for others it wasn’t that impor-

tant of a game, but for us it was. I thought we kept fighting. We didn’t get off to a great start tonight, but I’m proud of the kids. They came up big,” he said.

The Rams would not have gotten here if not for an earlier upset of the defending OUA champion Lakehead Thunderwolves in the semifinals.

A Ryerson victory over Concordia did not seem possible until an 18–0 run to end the third quarter put a charge in the Rams.

With the score 61–45 for Concordia midway through the third quarter, Ryerson turned up the defensive pressure and got hot on the offensive end. A combination of three point plays and easy fast break baskets paced the run eventually leading to victory.

The theme of runs carried throughout the game. From the start, Concordia came out firing, opening up a 17–4 lead early on. The Rams, led by OUA first team all-star Jahmal Jones, did not panic and played their game, pulling back to within six by the end of the first quarter. This run, along with the electric 18–0 stretch later in the contest, made the difference in the game.

In the end, the game came down to the wire, but poor clock management by the Stingers doomed them. After Concordia players let precious time tick off the clock before committing a foul, Jones hit two clutch free throws to extend the lead to 84–80, essentially icing the game.

EvEns LarochE goEs up for a shot in concordia’s Loss to stfX. photo by nick pEarcE

BASKETBALL

Stingers unable to compete against Canada’s best Women lose 73-60 against Regina Alex Giubelli Assistant sports editor The road to the top is not often a straight one.

The women’s basketball team understood that after they lost to McGill on March 2 in the RSEQ finals, but were given a second chance to make it to Calgary for the national championship, that is, if they won the West Regional tournament in Saskatoon.

However, they did not. Goliath won against David and their game against the number one team in the country, the University of Regina, ended as most would have predicted.

Regina’s Cougars didn’t take long to start their engine, leading the Stingers 6-0 halfway through the first quarter, taking their opportunities from Concordia’s missed chances. The Stingers were trailing behind, and had to fight an uphill battle to make their way back into the game.

Then, it was another episode of “The Kaylah Barrett Show” that started as this year’s MVP took it upon herself to carry the team, taking the

Stingers to within eight after the first quarter.

Barrett continued her one-man show into the second quarter. With the help of teammates Tina Mpondani and Anne-Marie Prophete, Concordia battled a very skilled Regina team but continued to struggle trailing 39-26 at halftime.

The Cougars stretched their lead in the beginning of the third quarter, as both forward Lindsay Ledingham and guard Michelle Clark made three-point jump shots 30 seconds apart, making it 47-26 for Regina. Despite Barrett, Prophete and Mpondani’s combined efforts, the Cougars finished the third quarter with a comfortable 21-point lead of the Stingers.

The Stingers were unable to rally on time in the fourth quarter, despite Barrett’s tremendous 16 points, and lost 73-60.

Kaylah Barrett led the team in this ultimate game with an impressive 34 points. Anne-Marie Prophete finished with 11 points and Magalie Beaulieu with six points.

This loss put a definite end to a season that started with great expectations, but was dismantled with ups and downs and injuries.

What is left now is to reflect on a season that could have been so much more and look forward to next season.

kayLah barrEtt’s 34 points wErEn’t Enough to upsEt rEgina. photo by Josh schaEfEr

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

theconcordian

SPIRIT

Stingers fans get their ‘Fax straight

Fan bus to Nova Scotia boosts school spirit Kalli Ringelberg Contributor

“

The Stingers’ atmosphere was awesome.

Even when we were down in the game, our fans made sure to be the loudest in Halifax. I definitely want to be a part of that experience next year.

- Daysuella Gilroy Briand

After a grueling 16 hours on the road (only two of which were spent sleeping), and an intense storm that rocked the bus and delayed our arrival, we finally made it.

We arrived in Halifax with a renewed sense of excitement. There were so many fans from other schools staying in the same hotel that from the moment we saw their school colours, we felt the need to defend our maroon and gold. With loud chants, and the help of a couple drums, we made sure that our presence was known to every single person within the vicinity: Concordia had arrived!

“

If fandom was a varsity sport, the members of the fan bus would be the CIS champs.

- Philippe Walkden

The game started at 8:15 p.m., but our cheer squad was already gearing up hours before that. With face and body paint cover-

ing us — and some parts of the hotel — we were the embodiment of what it meant to be a Stinger (antennae included). We had been given T-shirts, scarves and Bam Bams and instructed to make as much noise as we could. We were the smallest group but by far the loudest. The final score was 98-82 for StFX, but nothing could dampen our spirits and knock our support for our beloved basketball team.

Our next commitment to the team would only be the next day for the game against Ryerson at 2:15 p.m. We may have lost that game as well, but as Philippe Walkden from

the men’s rugby team said, “If fandom was a varsity sport, the members of the fan bus would be the CIS champs.”

This trip showed our spirit, faith and undying support for our own school and varsity teams. By the next day, we all managed to roll out of bed, after a night of a lot of team bonding, rallied and did it all over again.

We lost our last game on Saturday by four points against the Ryerson Rams. We knew our team could have taken it to the end, but they had some bad luck and some bad calls.

We didn’t go in with the goal to crush the other teams, but to elevate ours. Win or lose, we were there until the end. I have never been more proud of our display of school pride.

Our last night in Halifax wasn’t just spent celebrating our team, but also celebrating with them. “The Stingers’ atmosphere was awesome,” said Daysuella Gilroy Briand, a fan on the bus. “Even when we were down in the game, our fans made sure to be the loudest in Halifax. I definitely want to be a part of that experience next year when the Stingers make it to nationals again.”

REVIEW

Where do we go from here?

A look at the Concordia sports landscape moving forward Julian Mei Sports editor As the Concordia men’s basketball team walked off the court after losing in the CIS Final 8 consolation semifinal game last weekend in Halifax, it marked an end not only to the team’s season, but the end of the 2011-2012 Concordia sports season.

With the men’s loss, all Stingers teams’ seasons have officially wrapped up, leaving nothing left to do but review the year and ask where the athletics department goes from here.

The basketball program is clearly the school’s gem. The men especially are perennially dominant in the conference and expect to appear in the national championship. But as this year showed, Concordia has a long way to go to compete with top dogs like StFX and Carleton. Still, the Stingers expect to return

MVP Evens Laroche and outstanding guard Kyle Desmarais. Despite the glum finish to this year, it’s not as though a drastic fall is in store for the men.

The story is largely the same for the women. The season came to a disappointing end, but the team’s best will be back for another shot. MVP Kaylah Barrett is returning and so is sharpshooting forward Natasha Raposo. The women’s disappointing close can largely be attributed to health issues (injuries hampered several players), and not lack of talent. The basketball teams will have a lot to look forward to on the hardwood next season.

The future for other teams is fuzzier.

Both men’s and women’s soccer undeniably took a step backwards this year and with historical recruiting problems, it will likely be a long time before Concordia is making noise in the province, let alone nationally.

The women’s hockey team was also in disarray this season. An extended mid-season losing streak sank Concordia and the team finished dead last in its conference, not within the same area code of a playoff spot.

As crosstown McGill runs the premier women’s hockey program in the country, top recruits view Martlets hockey as a feeder program to the Canadian national team. Concordia simply can’t compete with McGill’s reputation, facilities and budget.

As well as being at a competitive disadvantage to McGill, a certain lull and expectation of mediocrity seems to have settled over the women’s program. At many times this season, the women seemed to lack a sense of urgency to win, often seeming complacent with consistently poor on-ice results. As important as recruiting is, it seems a change in the losing culture and attitude that surrounds the team is needed to move forward.

Like their women counterparts, the men’s hockey team faces similar challenges (McGill also runs a top-notch men’s hockey program), though they were much more competitive. The Stingers were one of the highest scoring teams in the country this season, and should they return key players like George Lovatsis, Michael Stinziani and Alexandre Monahan, the team will be a force next year. A year of seasoning

for the team’s three first-year goalies will also be greatly beneficial. To see the Stingers ranked in the CIS top-10 next year is not out of the cards, but far from a guarantee.

One of the biggest concerns for coach Kevin Figsby is that, like this season, sometimes the team will have recruits poached by professional clubs just before the season begins, leaving the team scrounging for replacements. Even current players have sometimes left school early to pursue their dreams in the AHL and ECHL. Figsby is always encouraging his players to finish school before playing in the low ranks of professional hockey, but understands that the idea of being a mere jump from the NHL can pull players out of the CIS. Until Figsby knows exactly which players will be taking the ice for Concordia, it will be difficult to gauge the potential of a highly talented squad that narrowly missed the playoffs in the country’s toughest conference.

A long year has drawn to its close at Concordia and it’s time to utter perhaps the most romanticized line in sports: There’s always next year.

opinions

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

21

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com EDITORIAL

We really need to talk about Line The education minister has to see the errors of her counterproductive ways Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s decision to fine Concordia $2 million for dishing out $3.1 million in severance packages doesn’t seem to make much sense to anyone, apart from the minister herself of course.

Last Friday, Peter Kruyt, the chair of Concordia’s Board of Governors, received a letter from Beauchamp indicating that Concordia’s decision to hand out severance packages to six former senior employees, including former president Judith Woodsworth, had “given citizens cause for concern over the proper use of public funds by universities.”

At first glance, one would almost want to pat Beauchamp on the back for a job well done -- for once. Finally, the Education Ministry realized that Concordia had become the post-secondary poster child in Quebec for mismanagement of funds (because no other university in the province does that, right?) and that swift action needed to be taken to discipline that anglophone bad boy.

However, it doesn’t really take someone much time to process the fact that the minister is only hurting Concordia by taking money away from it (the $2 million will come out of the university’s 2012-2013 provincial funding)

as punishment for shelling out tuition and tax dollars to a few grumbling VPs and one very disgraced president.

How is that an effective way to teach Concordia a lesson? Or to teach any Quebec university a lesson, for that matter. After all, the minister indicated that by sending the letter to Concordia, she was signalling to all universities that public funds are oh-so-precious.

Really, Line, do you honestly want to have a serious, heart-to-heart talk about the proper management of public funds in Quebec’s universities? Because if you do, perhaps you should ponder about the $350,000 salary Concordia gives its interim president, or the fact that the university gave him a $1.4 million interest-free loan for his Montreal condo.

If, Line, you’re really that worried about “giving citizens cause for concern” when it comes to their money, maybe, as Concordia University Faculty Association President Lucie Lequin has suggested, you should look at the hiring contracts of senior university administrations before they are signed. Because let’s face it, not all severance packages are dreamed up on the spot -- they came from somewhere.

Or, Line, maybe you should listen to Concordia Student Union Lex Gill, who says that Concordia and the Ministry of Education need to conduct an investigation into the issuing of severance packages and the management of public funds as a whole. I’m sure you would find more than a few surprises that would knock you off your seat in the National Assembly.

But finally, Line, where have you and your predecessors in the education portfolio been these past five years? Where were the Charest Liberals when Claude Lajeunesse was leaving Concordia halfway through his presidential term in 2007 with a $1.3 million severance package? Where were you when Judith Woodsworth walked off with $703, 500 in December 2010? And by the way, she came back to teach in January, so why take so long to complain about it?

The truth of the matter is, Quebec’s education minister is clearly trying to save her own skin, but in attempting to do so she has only managed in aggravating students further. Perhaps Lucie Lequin, the CUFA president, is right, and Beauchamp simply sent the letter as a “political and public relations move,” desperate to try to show the world that she is taking note of universities’ sometimes sketchy budgetary decisions.

“

strike, I have not experienced some form of harassment, intimidation and assault from non-striking students. This comes in the form of non-strikers shoving strikers around on their way into classes, threatening strikers with assault, following us down the street to yell at us when we’re not even demonstrating, etc. After all, strikers have passed mandates precluding us from violent actions against our fellow students; non-strikers have not recently voted in favour of any such mandates.

For those of us familiar with public discourse around gendered and racialized violence, it seems disturbingly clear that there is an attempt going on to frame strikers at Concordia as being inherently violent, aggressive and acceptable targets for violence, while simultaneously framing non-strikers as passive, innocent victims. This framing echoes racist, sexist and classist constructions around the issues of violence and abuse in general, and can only contribute to a deeply unsafe environment for all students. If we are going to ensure the safety of all students during this time of intense action and rising tension among the Concordia community, it is important to challenge this kind of hypocrisy and make room for strikers to talk about our experiences with violence at the hands of anti-strikers. The fact that administration, non-striking students, etc. seem to be consistently denying that such violence is even a possibility is deeply disturbing.

Voting, a simple concept in theory, but in practice, not so simple. During Wednesday’s general assembly, it is safe to say that students’ democratic right to vote was heavily impeded. Yes, we as students were given this right, but voting access was highly limited due to scheduling and logistical inefficiencies. The CSU, whose mission is to represent all Concordia students, failed in its duty to properly give each and every one of us a voice. This begs the question: Did this botched voting process work in the favour of our pro-strike student union? Holding a general assembly at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon, a time when classes are scheduled and some students are not on campus, limits the representativeness of the vote’s result. Moreover, the lack of proper planning resulted in a voting process that spanned a few hours, thus further hindering the accessibility of the vote. A decision to go on strike is not a trivial issue. It is one that will affect more than 30,000 Concordia students and potentially have serious academic repercussions. A more elaborate polling process, conducted over several days and set up all over campus would have enabled more student voices to be heard. The latter would also have rendered the vote’s result more legitimate in the eyes of the government, all the while painting a more representative picture of where Concordia University truly lies on this issue. Ultimately, Concordia students will voice their true opinion when they choose whether or not to attend class in the coming weeks. And we are not all that convinced that the actual outcome will be representative of the vote…

Really, Line, do you honestly want to have a serious, heart-to-heart talk about the proper management of public funds in Quebec’s universities?

By taking away $2 million from Concordia, money that could have been put toward student financial aid (tuition is going up, remember), Line Beauchamp hasn’t convinced anyone that she takes university management and accountability to heart.

If anything, she has only further convinced us that when it comes to universities, she only sees dollar signs, and not talent, intelligence or potential to improve society. Well done, Line, well done.

LETTERS RE: ‘Bombs, bulldozers and olive trees,’ volume 29, issue 22 While for the author, “it’s clear just how much reason those living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have for violence against Israel,” a different lesson can be derived from the review of the movies Budrus and Tears of Gaza.

This is that the practice of applying moral equivalence to the causes of suffering while at the same time refusing to extend the lens beyond the Palestinian narrative, only serves to inflame passions against Israel and serve a political agenda rather than clarify underlying causes.

For while Tears of Gaza highlights the trauma of Palestinian children’s experiences during the Gaza War which lasted a mere three weeks, Israeli men, women and children, particularly from the town of Sderot, have suffered from post-traumatic stress due to incessant rocket attacks from Gaza for the last six years, with no end in sight. In 2011 alone, more than 680 rockets and mortar rounds were fired at civilian targets in Israel, including a kindergarten.

Nor does Tears of Gaza condemn the Hamas practice of using its own citizens as human shields, hiding combatants within its civilian population, launching rockets from the roofs of schools and hospitals or intentionally targeting civilian Israeli men, women and children, all war crimes. While the film Budrus decries the destruction of 50 trees due to the security barrier, the film does not condemn the deaths of 1,200 Israelis who lost their lives due to Palestinian terrorists, more than 90 per cent of whom crossed over from the West Bank.

The construction of the security fence reduced these deaths by more than 90 per cent.

The claim of “reciprocal vengeance” is a convenient way to keep the spotlight on Israel while taking the focus away from Hamas’ own war crimes. Those coming away from these movies believing that violence to Israel’s citizens is understandable choose to be swayed by sensationalism over reason. Where moral equivalence is employed in this way, there is often a political, rather than humanitarian, agenda. And not saying so is dishonest.

Michelle Whiteman Quebec regional director HonestReporting Canada

There is violence against strikers, too Since the beginning of strike activities last week, a lot has been said about strikers needing to respect the rights of their fellow students. Obviously this is a valid and important point. A strike is a forceful action, and one that many students aren’t used to seeing or dealing with. When I was growing up, my mom was a teacher, so I spent my formative years on picket lines and supporting teachers’ unions, but I understand that most students at Concordia may not have that kind of background or understanding of working-class movements and history. It’s important for strikers to recognize this and react accordingly to the concerns of non-striking students and professors.

However, it is deeply troubling to me that in numerous statements released by administrators, professors and students opposed to the strike, there has been not a word about preventing violence against striking students. I can personally attest that not a day has gone by when, as a student actively involved in the

Laura Robbins Fine Arts and women’s studies undergraduate student

RE: ‘Vote, you’ll be glad you did,’ volume 29, Jordan Bélanger and Cynthia Perna issue 23 John Molson School of Business students For CSU election letters of endorsement, go to www.theconcordian.com/opinions

22

theconcordian

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

HOCKEY

Let’s give back to a Habs legend City needs to honour Jean Béliveau with more than a statue Myles Dolphin Opinions editor In Stan Fischler’s book Who’s Who in Hockey, he mentions an important goal scored by Jean Béliveau in 1967 with the help of his linemates, Claude Provost and John Ferguson. When the goal was announced and Ferguson was not given an assist on the play, Béliveau immediately complained to the referees and official scorer, asking them to make a correction.

This example of putting his teammates first is one of many which helped solidify Béliveau’s status as one of the best and most admired captains in the history of the game.

During Béliveau’s playing career, which spanned 20 seasons, he won an astonishing 10 Stanley Cups and remains tied with Saku Koivu for longest serving captain in the organization’s history, at 10 years.

Unfortunately, Béliveau’s health is ailing and he suffered a stroke on Feb. 27. He had heart problems in 1996 and was even diagnosed with throat cancer in 2000. Despite his numerous health problems, he has always made himself available to the media, fans and various charitable causes.

Red Fisher of The Gazette, who has been covering the Canadiens since the ‘50s, wrote a heartwarming tribute to Béliveau on Feb. 29. He said Béliveau’s impact off the ice was just as important as on the ice: “[He] was more than a captain: he was a father figure in many ways,” he said. “If there were personal problems that needed attention, he was available.”

Béliveau is most likely the city’s most important ambassador. Although he’s received a fair share of awards and honours, the Tremblay administration needs to make a significant gesture that will guarantee Béliveau’s name will be remembered a very long time beyond his death.

Retiring a player’s number and putting a statue of him in front of the Bell Centre simply isn’t enough. The outpouring of support and admira-

Graphic by Katie Brioux tion for Béliveau, following his stroke, has been phenomenal. Dozens of sports journalists from The Gazette and other outlets have been sharing their personal stories of Béliveau, and they all

share a common thread: class.

“He is the single classiest person I have ever known,” said Jack Todd, sports columnist for The Gazette since 1986. “He would never pass by

without stopping to shake hands and ask how I was doing. He would always give you a thoughtful and articulate answer to any question.”

Todd even goes as far as saying that Béliveau is the greatest living Quebecer, and perhaps the greatest living Canadian, too. A case can easily be made for both statements, and that’s why the city needs to recognize that now, instead of waiting for Béliveau’s death. Re-naming a street, a building, a day: whatever it takes to let him know that the 60 years he has spent as ambassador to the team and city were truly appreciated.

The trend has been to carry these changes out following a person’s death, but that has to change.

Why not show our appreciation now, while he’s still alive? The man who has brought so much joy to so many people, on and off the ice, needs to witness just how meaningful his contributions were.

When Gary Carter died last month, it prompted officials to create a section on the city’s website to take suggestions as to how he should be honoured. The president of the Olympic Park, David Heurtel, told The Gazette that Carter’s memory would be honoured somewhere within the Olympic Stadium complex. The same procedures need to take place now, so that the city and the Canadiens can find a suitable way to preserve Béliveau’s legacy.

Todd van der Heyden, news anchor for CTV News Channel and long-time journalist in Montreal, speaks very highly of his interactions with Béliveau. “He represents a rare and probably dying breed—one part aristocrat, one part athlete— and together it made him a class act who used his position in Quebec society for a greater good, as opposed to his own personal gain,” he said.

For more than half a century, Béliveau has served as the face of the Montreal Canadiens organization, which, despite its awful season, remains the team with the most tradition and success in professional sports, along with the New York Yankees.

“You know, when people are good, it makes me feel good to give back,” Béliveau would tell people, according to Fisher. “People have always been good to me.”

Now, it’s our time to be good to him.

CLIMATE

Endangered species list just got longer Outdoor rinks set to disappear within 50 years George Menexis Assistant opinions editor Imagine yourself waking up to a snowy, Canadian winter; a sight that many Canadians long for from the time snow first hits our streets. A time when the best thing you can do is pick up your skates, call your friends and walk to the nearest outdoor hockey rink to enjoy Canada’s favourite pastime, hockey. This image defines Canadians.

We see it on commercials and even on the back of our five dollar bill.

“Hockey started on the outdoor rinks. It’s where dreams are created for hockey players,” said Kevin Figsby, head coach of the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team. “You know you’re a Canadian kid when you’re walking down the street with the skates on and your stick over your shoulder.”

Now imagine this image seriously altered in the next 50 years or so.

Concordia geography professor Damon Matthews co-authored a study on the effects of climate change on outdoor rinks; they are predict-

ic ph a Gr

ing their disappearance across the country in the next five decades.

According to the study, it takes three consecutive days of a minimum of -5 C to begin the outdoor skating season. Therefore, because of the winters getting constantly warmer, “the number of viable rink-flooding days could reach zero by mid-century,” the study stated.

an Se y b

aw rsh e K

“I knew this would be an issue that would resonate with Canadians,” Matthews and other researchers wrote in the latest issue of the U.K.based scholarly journal Environmental Research Letters.

“There are outdoor ice surfaces that don’t need to be maintained strictly by the temperature of the climate,” said Figsby. “Montreal has four

of them and are on their way to building a fifth.”

These types of rinks do not require the constant maintenance and cold weather the current outdoor rinks require. The borough of Verdun recently built its own skating rink equipped with a refrigerated surface, an investment that cost $1 million to build and that was made possible by the Montreal Canadiens’ Children’s Foundation.

We need a lot more of these across the country.

Montreal hasn’t been the only city investing in these types of rinks. A number of municipalities across Canada have invested in refrigerated outdoor rinks that can remain open during the winter. More investment needs to be made to ensure that these rinks are fully funded, and can replace all the outdoor rinks that currently exist.

With the disappearance of outdoor rinks, a main component of Canadian culture will be lost.

These rinks not only represent an important role in the development of children around the country, but also offer a good opportunity for physical activity.

In a country where hockey is considered by some as a religion, playing the sport outside has become a hobby for millions.

“I think hockey creates a sense of spirit, a sense of belonging, a sense of community, and certainly instills Canadian values in kids,” said Figsby.

The Etcetera Page Drink of the week

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 Vol. 29 issue 24

The Rivas Sea Breeze

Jacques Gallant

Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com

Kamila HinKson

Managing editor managing@theconcordian.com

cHris Hanna

Production manager production@theconcordian.com

Last Wednesday, Apple announced the newest version of its iPad tablet. It was unveiled with the usual fanfare and the demand is “off the charts,” according to Apple. Well, I’ll only give a damn when a tablet can cook for me, bathe me, love me and read me a story before bedtime.

I don’t care about 3.1 million pixels or software that can recognize people’s faces.

I want a tablet that can perform some real tasks—until then, stop bothering us every six months with petty upgrades.

Joel asHaK marilla steuter-martin

Co-news editors news@theconcordian.com

Paula rivas Life editor

sHaimaa el-GHazaly

Assistant life editor life@theconcordian.com

sofia Gay

Arts editor

amanda l. sHore

Assistant arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

allie mason

Music editor

elizabetH macKay

Assistant music editor music@theconcordian.com

@Matt_Tice The iPad seems a little expensive

for a cocaine mirror.

3 ice cubes 1 oz. vodka 2 oz. cranberry juice 1 oz. grapefruit juice 1 lime wedge

@Cheeseboy22 Today I’m announcing that

I still can’t afford the first iPad.

@hipstermermaid Buy local and ethical,

corporations are evi- NEW iPAD!

@ConanOBrien I found the iPad 3

announcement especially disappointing because I’m still standing in line for my iPad 2. @TeamAndIRC Dear muggers, the people in

line outside Apple stores for the newipad, all have iphones, cash and credit cards on them @TheBrettHawkins iPad 3? I’ll just wait two

weeks for the iPad 4.

Julian mei

Sports editor

alex Giubeli

Assistant sports editor sports@theconcordian.com

myles dolPHin

Opinions editor

GeorGe menexis

Assistant opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com

navneet Pall

Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com

Close your eyes and have a vacation in a glass with this refreshing cocktail. Fill a tall glass with ice cubes, then add the vodka, followed by the cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. Add one lime wedge. If you want to take this girly concoction to the extreme levels of ditsy, before starting, run some lime around the edge of the glass and dip it in sugar.

If you’ve come this far you might as well add a maraschino cherry or two, a purple miniature umbrella, call your friends over and enjoy.

- Paula Rivas

Katie brioux

Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com

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