Volume 47, Issue 1

Volume 47, Issue 1 • September 8, 2026 • thelinknewspaper.ca

"Rocket ships aren't a sport?" Since 1980

EDITORIAL OPINIONS SPORTS FRINGE ARTS

NEWS

Sir George Williams’ past and present Inside the history of some of Concordia’s main buildings, and present opinions surrounding them Julie Seguin

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here have been plenty of changes across Concordia University’s Sir George Williams (SGW) campus since the university was established in 1974. Some of those changes include the construction of new buildings, renovations to existing ones, and the implementation of various services and departments that some buildings still have to this day.

The Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV building) is one of the newer Concordia buildings, inaugurated in 2005 after undergoing four years of construction.

It houses departments and services, such as the faculty of fine arts and the FOFA Gallery, which showcases the work of students, staff and alumni.

While this building has many uses, some students believe there should be necessary adjustments.

Virginia Battaglini, a secondyear student in the department of English literature, occasionally uses the first-floor washroom in the EV building. She has noticed the space’s uncleanliness and believes there could be room for improvement.

“The number of times I’ve entered the bathroom only to enter a stall filthy with urine, feces or

used needles is genuinely disgusting. It’s not fair to students to limit which bathrooms they can use,” Battaglini said.

The belief that there should be improvements in the washrooms is not limited to only the EV building.

Jordana Montanaro, a secondyear student in the department of English literature, believes that some of the bathrooms in the Faubourg (FB) Building, particularly those in the sub-basement, are not a very comfortable experience.

However, there are some aspects of the building that Montanaro enjoys.

“It’s actually very nice to hang out in [the main basement]. Its classrooms [have] a more modern design; that way I’m able to charge my electronics and focus on classwork,” Montanaro said.

The history of the FB building is long, and continues to impact present-day students and faculty.

In 1925, the Faubourg Complex sat on land leased from the Grey Nuns, and since then the building has been renovated to accommodate new areas and facilities.

Concordia bought the Faubourg Tower on July 22, 1997, and that same year named its cinema

school after Mel Hoppenheim, a collector of Montreal film equipment and a generous Concordia contributor. The cinema remains in the FB building to this day.

Today, the building is home to many other departments and services, such as the department of classics, modern languages and linguistics and the office of sustainability.

As one of the largest buildings on the SGW campus, the Henry F. Hall Building is filled with various departments and services, such as the departments of economics and political science, the Concordia Student Union, the first-year experience, and the IT service desk.

The Hall building also contains various locations where students and faculty can buy food at a reasonable price, such as the Hive Cafe, Reggie’s Pub and the People’s Potato.

Since the building’s inauguration in 1966, it has been the site of repairs and renovations, as well as historic moments of protests, celebrations, debates and demonstrations.

Today, the Hall building is populated by many students from different programs, and some have noticed areas of issue.

Britney Vu, a second-year master's student in educational studies and a teacher’s assistant, frequents the Hall building.

She has noticed that certain classrooms in the building are more modern than others.

“Some classrooms have broken curtains and use chalkboards, while some of the other classrooms use whiteboards, and some have inconsistent air conditioning and heating,” Vu said. “[Also], in some classrooms I have visited, there are no outlets for charging.”

For students arriving on campus for the first time, the tall

towers and shiny classrooms can appear daunting. But behind the glamorous exterior, a new world awaits to be explored.

The buildings at Concordia University each have their own very special stories and histories and have welcomed tens of thousands of students over the years.

These buildings have changed over time, both in little ways and large ways, due in no small part to the students themselves, who can share their diverse and passionate opinions about the places they visit and learn in nearly every single day.

Quickies Paul St-Pierre Plamondon re-pledges on Quebec sovereignty referendum Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon reaffirmed that he will hold a referendum on Quebec’s sovereignty during a campaign rally on Sept. 4. This comes as Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette criticized St-Pierre Plamondon for sowing division between the province and Canada amid a tariff war between the U.S. and Canada. St-Pierre Plamondon said he will keep his word and will hold a referendum, but only after U.S. President Donald Trump is no longer in office. According to a new Léger study, 69 per cent of Quebecers do not support independence, compared with 31 per cent who do.

Canada set to impose retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. The U.S.-Canada trade war is heating up, with Ottawa set to impose tariffs on more than $27 billion worth of U.S. goods on Sept.

8. This comes after trade talks between both countries fell apart in late August, and about $28 billion in Canadian exports to the U.S. were hit with 50 per cent tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney recently dismissed comments by U.S. cabinet ministers who said that Canada walked away from the negotiating table for “political purposes.” He maintained that he and his team left after the U.S. introduced last-minute changes to the deal that would have restricted Canada’s ability to sign trade deals with other countries and rolled back cultural protections for the French language.

Loyola High School to forgo provincial subsidies

THE HENRY F. HALL BUILDING IS ON CONCORDIA'S SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS CAMPUS. IT HAS BEEN THE SITE OF MANY RESTORATIONS AND HISTORIC PROTESTS. PHOTO AREN SCARANO

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Loyola High School will forgo provincial funding to comply with Quebec’s expanded secularism law. Bill 9, adopted in April, requires subsidized private schools to comply with Quebec’s new secular policies in order to continue receiving public funding. The provisions of the bill that impact school subsidies take effect in 2029, which gives schools a three-year transition period. Loyola has indicated that the proposed policies would require it to permanently change the Jesuit mission the school carries, and that it cannot do so. This is not the first time Loyola has clashed with the Quebec government, as the school won a Supreme Court case in 2015 after he government tried to force the school to teach its Ethics and Religious Culture program from a neutral and non-Catholic perspective. The decision from Loyola will leave a funding gap of roughly $7,500 per student each year, which will push annual fees from about $12,530 to between $20,000 and $21,000, according to the school.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 • VOLUME 47

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NEWS

FRINGE ARTS

SPORTS OPINIONS EDITORIAL

Combining the worlds of visual art and theatre Samuel Rancourt, a Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist and Concordia alumnus, processes the world around him through creativity Ryan Pyke

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@pykenotpike

oncordia alumnus and artist Samuel Rancourt’s paintings focus on the human face rendered using unconventional colours, with a special emphasis on eyes. He also plays with texture by building forms beyond the canvas.

He is not just a painter, he is also an actor and writer whose work pushes boundaries.

He takes inspiration from the people he sees day to day. He takes their expressions or their faces and reproduces them in his unique style.

The paintings are shown off vividly in his two music videos.

Rancourt’s venture into music came about when Rancourt was approached by his friend Travis Maclean to make a song.

“I had never done that in my life, but I was like, 'let’s do it,'” Rancourt said.

Rancourt decided to expand the project to include a video that combined elements of dance, visual art and theatre into a single experience.

Out of this came the song “Tika Tika Tak,” which also served as a virtual exhibition of his paintings and work.

The song was created with Caroline

Boivin, who mixed and produced the music.

“Futur Zéro” is an expansion of this concept, showing even more people from all over dancing to the music and displaying Rancourt’s paintings. The video also includes clips that were sent in after Rancourt posted a callout on social media, which allowed many more people to participate.

The video features a variety of people: young and old, men and women.

“I think that art can have this power of bringing people together, and at a time like we live in now, I think it’s more important than ever,” Rancourt said.

Several other creatives helped make Rancourt’s vision possible.

One of them is Milo Lees-Greene, a model for Next Canada who first worked with Rancourt as a stylist for the video. They are currently working together on Rancourt’s first feature film.

Lees-Greene described Rancourt as very sociable. They told a story about how Rancourt was invited to dinner with the owners of the house

the crew were filming at.

“He’s always so polite and talking to everyone,” Lees-Greene said.

The two met at a bar, where LeesGreene was first introduced to Rancourt’s work.

“One of the things I like about him is that he goes out of his way to make his own projects happen,” LeesGreene said.

Lees-Greene said that Rancourt’s working style involves jumping in headfirst and trying to sort out the details as he goes. They said that while he does plan ahead, he is more spontaneous and adaptable as he goes along.

Rancourt’s first feature film is called Référendum d'été. The movie will take place during a hypothetical third referendum for Quebec's sovereignty. It will follow a cabaret dancer, played by Rancourt, and a sovereigntist librarian who finds fake ballots against the referendum in a car they are stealing. The two men fall in love as they are being chased by a mercenary sent by the prime minister of Canada.

The goal of the movie is not to sway the audience to one side or the other of the referendum debate, but to poke fun at and show the complexity of both arguments.

“We’re laughing at everyone,” Rancourt said.

Rancourt co-wrote the movie with Marie-Catherine Massie, a fellow writer, actor and director.

Massie echoed Lees-Greene’s sentiment that Rancourt is kind and courteous to those around him.

She also noted that Rancourt is extremely creative.

“He’s a very surprising artist, because he’s a painter, he’s a singer, he’s an actor, he’s a writer,” Massie said.

“He can do everything.”

The two had worked together as actors before Massie approached Rancourt to write the film.

“I think at first he was a little nervous about trying to do a big project like this, but very quickly he just jumped in,” Massie said.

She described Rancourt as someone who prepares a lot for his roles as an actor.

The two wanted to stray away from clichés, whether regarding the queer characters or the women.

“We wanted to have a lot of very interesting roles for women, and women over 55,” Rancourt said.

They also push against typecasting by writing characters for wellknown Quebec actresses that are the opposite of what they usually play.

Rancourt’s grandmother taught him how to paint when he was young. He used to play pretend and make theatre shows with her.

“I’m an extroverted person, but I’m also very introverted when I paint, so it’s very balanced, and that’s what I love about bringing these two mediums together,” Rancourt said.

He noted that while painting is an activity in which he’s isolated, he inevitably does it as a way to reach out to other people. He wants to see other people’s reactions and know what they think.

“To me, it’s all related, you know. It’s all about communication, but through painting or acting or stories,” Rancourt said.

When Rancourt did his first theatre show in Montreal, he was concerned that no one would attend. The show sold out.

Rancourt mentioned that he loves Montreal for its art scene and how there always seems to be something going on.

He had a unique schooling path.

Initially, Rancourt studied communications at l’Université du Québec à Montréal. While there, he took evening classes in radio and television at Promédia, where he discovered his love for journalism. Afterwards, he completed a graduate degree in the field at Concordia.

He found that the journalism professors at Concordia took the time to push him to try new things and experiment. He said that while he paints, he thinks about all the people he met through the program, whether they be mentors, peers or people he met while doing interviews.

Rancourt noted that the program also helped him get to know the city better through his assignments.

During his graduate degree, he interned at CBC Montreal, where he became an employee. He later moved to Western Canada and worked for CBC Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

When he returned to Montreal six years later, he decided to throw himself into his art. He studied at l’École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal and pursued training in acting while continuing his work with the CBC. In terms of acting, getting to meet so many people in different fields helped him understand their jobs better and bring more realism into his performances.

“Even if you don’t feel like it, you have to go out there and ask questions and take it in and listen,” Rancourt said. “I think that those are skills that are very important when you actually act.”

Rancourt’s curiosity and open-minded approach means he has many diverse projects under his belt as well as many more to come.

“I’m at a point where I’m really happy with what I’ve achieved, and I have so many other goals and projects and ideas,” Rancourt said.

SAMUEL RANCOURT LEANING OVER HIS LATEST PAINTING PROJECT IN THE SUNLIT STUDIO OF HIS APARTMENT. PHOTO RYAN PYKE

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VOLUME 47 • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

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Give up on studying for exams at Webster Library because there are too many people Half the

Stingers women’s hockey sends another player to the PWHL

Walk up a broken escalator in the Hall Building

Leave at the break every day in your least favorite class

Unnecessary security intervention

editorial

Welcome to Concordia University B

y now, you’ve probably lugged boxes up too many winding stairs and settled into your dorm room or new apartment. You’ve taken the metro downtown to tour your classrooms at the Hall Building or JMSB, or traversed the maze-like hallways of the Science Complex. You may have even had the chance to lie down in the grass on Loyola campus, or attend your first event at Reggie’s with the new friends you’ve made—the ones you swear you’ll remember forever.

This is the Concordia University that greets every student who walks onto campus for the very first time. It should be. But in the coming weeks and months, as the novel becomes your mundane routine, you will get to know a different Concordia.

This Concordia is not sprawled across promotional pamphlets or organized by an eager Frosh leader. It manifests in emptier classrooms and even emptier offices.

All too quickly, promises of a full and vibrant university experience begin to feel as though every one was said in vain.

This is the Concordia that becomes as familiar as your own two hands. The Concordia that rears its head in carefully worded statements to avoid accountability and shift blame. It compromises the university experience you were led to expect and apologizes with a half-thought-out, auto-generated email.

The Link team is here to tell you what lies behind each vivid poster of smiling stock-photo students.

Over the past year, Concordia

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VOLUME 47 • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

has undergone tremendous changes. The Quebec government’s passage of Bill 9 has left the existence of campus prayer rooms uncertain. The province’s enforcement of tuition hikes for out-of-province students created uncertainty for the university’s enrolment. When an $84 million deficit loomed, the administration decided that two increases to student fee levies and the elimination of 63 limited-term appointments (amounting to around $1 million in savings) were the keys to pulling Concordia out of its rut. A university-wide hiring freeze remained in effect, and university President Graham Carr stated that layoffs were “expected to be necessary,” all while his salary grew 5.14 per cent to an astonishing $547,623.

Concerns over the censorship of support for Palestine led to a systemic boycott of the university’s Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery. Student protestors continued Concordia’s storied history of campus activism, leading widespread demonstrations amid heavy opposition. When a CSU staffer did her job in assisting the coordination of mobilization efforts on campus during student-led pro-Palestine strikes, the university barred her from campus indefinitely. In the face of calls to action, Concordia remained silent, except to criticize the actions of protestors assaulted and restrained by security forces.

We are not surprised if you have never heard these stories.

Nevertheless, they, and hundreds of others, unfold every day on campus. They deserve recognition and consideration and cannot

receive it without the dedicated work of campus media.

This is where The Link comes in.

Since 1980, The Link has published work covering the Concordia and Montreal communities, as well as national and international stories of interest to said communities. We pride ourselves on our work as an advocacy publication, bringing to life stories that are often avoided or silenced by legacy media. With hundreds of articles published every year, we outline the world you occupy every day on campus.

In this issue, you will find stories from every corner of Concordia. Some will align with the narrative the administration runs.

Many will challenge it. The one thing we know for certain is that each will teach you something about the university you now call home.

We by no means claim to be a final authority or all-knowing entity. However, we recognize that Concordia—and Montreal by extension—isn't perfect. Our mission is to hold the institutions that govern your university experience accountable while delivering the highest-quality work to the student body, which, more often than not, remains in the dark.

The Link is just as much a tool as it is a publication. We welcome input from everywhere in the name of decoding the complex messages from decision-makers and analyzing every aspect of university life. If you have a story, we want to help you tell it.

So, welcome to Concordia.

We’ve been waiting for you.

THE WELCOME TO CONCORDIA ISSUE

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News

Where is my tuition going?

A full breakdown of some of the fees behind your Concordia bill Osei Agyemang

@osei.agyemang.142

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uried in every Concordia student’s tuition is a patchwork of compulsory fees and student-association levies, often cents per credit, that fund some of the most-used services on campus.

All of the services are administered by the Concordia Student Union (CSU), but not all CSU fee levies are.

"The CSU manages the budgets of all the fee-levies," Adey Singer said, the CSU's finance coordinator. "Our budget is approved by the Council of Representatives every year, and can be found on our website."

The dozens of other fee-levy groups on campus, such as the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), the Concordia Greenhouse, Frigo Vert and the Centre for Gender Advocacy, are a separate story.

"The non-CSU fee levies manage their budgets independently, with no oversight from us," Singer said.

According to Singer, most of what the CSU collects goes toward administering the Health and Dental plan, services such as the Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO), the Advocacy Centre and the Legal Information Clinic, which help and inform students on social engagement initiatives, stu-

dent jobs, bursaries and project funding.

Ates Balsoy, a HOJO assistant, says that funding, currently at $0.31 per credit, keeps a busy office running. Between drop-ins, online consultations and workshops, the HOJO logged roughly 1,300 appointments last year, averaging around five a day.

A lot of that traffic comes down to landlords testing what students know.

"Deposits in general are illegal in Quebec," Balsoy said. "But especially for international and out-of-province students, a lot of the landlords still ask for deposits: security deposits, key deposits, cleaning deposits.”

The HOJO's staff spend a good part of the year correcting that through one-on-one appointments and a rotating slate of workshops on tenant rights, employment rights and how to navigate Quebec's housing system.

For more serious disputes, they'll help students prepare for hearings at the Tribunal Administratif du Logement by building evidence folders to strengthen their case.

Balsoy was candid about how visible that funding chain is to the average student, noting that they're not finan-

cing it directly but rather through the CSU. The CSU daycare and nursery runs on the same principle. It costs undergraduates $0.51 per credit.

"Depending on the semester, over half the daycare is for student families," Loyola coordinator Kinsey El Tanani said.

According to El Tanani, the levy isn't symbolic; it's what keeps the doors open.

"It's a not-for-profit centre, so the student levies make maintaining the service possible," El Tanani said. "This way we can pay our staff accordingly to offer a quality service."

Without that funding, El Tanani estimates that costs would roughly double, making it inaccessible to most student parents.

The CSU collects roughly $6.60 per credit across the Advocacy Centre, general operations, clubs, the Legal Information Clinic, Diversity Services, mental health, Student Space Accessible Education and Legal Contingency (SSAELC), HOJO and daycare, plus $269.95 a year in flat fees (Legal Essentials, Health and Dental and Telemedicine), all before a single dollar of tuition

is counted.

None of these fees are large on their own, and they add up to a kind of mutual insurance.

Students may think they'll never need a housing lawyer, a daycare spot or an academic advocate, but the money is there so that if one day they do, someone is already trained, funded and available.

The CSU's budget is voted on by

student representatives and published.

Concordia posts its own fee breakdown on the university's tuition and financial aid page.

A handful of these fees, including the Health & Dental Plan, Telemedicine and the Legal Essentials Service, can even be opted out of during set periods each term, for students who are already covered elsewhere or simply don't need them.

THE CSU ADVOCACY CENTER IS ONE OF THE MANY STUDENT-FUNDED SERVICES. PHOTO NICOLAS TREMBLAY @NICOLAS.TREMBLAY.JOURNALISME

The Concordia commuting experience Montreal’s transit agencies and the Concordia administration are influencing Concordia student commutes Francis Turcotte Vera

@francisturcottevera

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oncordia University welcomes tens of thousands of students every day, commuting from across Montreal and its off-island suburbs.

Students can get to campus in many different ways, such as by metro, bus, walking, car or bike.

Gravel is from Montreal’s South Shore and uses the REM network to commute to university. She says the REM is a reliable way for suburban students to get to their classes.

According to Gravel, however, when service interruptions do happen,

MCGILL REM STATION, OPENED LAST YEAR, SERVING MONTREALʼS DOWNTOWN UNIVERSITIES. PHOTO FRANCIS TURCOTTE VERA

Connecting the suburbs A recent addition to the commuting options available to Concordia students has been the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM). It has made commuting to Sir George Williams campus easier for students living in the suburbs.

Concordia student Océanne THELINKNEWSPAPER.CA

there are limited alternatives available.

“On several occasions, people I know and I had to find alternative ways to get to school because of these interruptions, or completely miss class,” Gravel said.

She also believes that while the network offers temporary alternatives to interruptions such as buses, they

cannot hold the same ridership capacity comfortably during rush hour.

Last year, a new REM branch opened in Montreal’s North Shore, and the West Island branch opened last spring. Université de Montréal urbanism professor Jean-Philippe Meloche thinks the newly opened REM lines will benefit students more than anyone else.

“We know students are major consumers of public transit,” Meloche said. “To have an upgrade of the public transit network for commuters who were already using it, such as those who were using the old bus network in the West Island and found it challenging to get downtown, [...] is a gain for commuters.”

Biking to campus Biking is another method Concordia students use to commute to both campuses, especially outside of winter. The ever-expanding Bixi network has made biking in Montreal more convenient.

Bixi is now available in many municipalities across Greater Montreal, recently expanding to the West Island and North Shore this summer.

Concordia student Thomas Jallais is from Plateau Mont-Royal and com-

mutes with Bixi bicycles on a regular basis. Jallais says the service is appealing to students who live in areas further away from metro stations.

“I use both Bixi and the metro to get to campus,” Jallais said. “Bixi [bicycles] are great when combined with public transit.”

In 2023, the Bixi service became available year-round, but winter service had yet to reach Loyola campus last winter.

Loyola is left out Unlike the Sir George William campus, which has improved accessibility with the REM, there have been no improvements to Loyola campus commutes. The university scaled back its free shuttle bus service in 2024 due to budget cuts, removing service in the early mornings and late evenings, causing student discontent.

The Concordia Student Union has been advocating for a return to extended shuttle bus hours. However, no agreement has been reached with the university yet.

Public transit is student transit Car commuting is not convenient for most university students.

According to Meloche, even university students from Montreal’s

THE WELCOME TO CONCORDIA ISSUE

suburbs are more likely to use public transit or move out of their parents’ homes to get closer to campus because of expensive parking fees.

Improvements to public transit are upgrades to student commutes. However, Meloche is uncertain if public transit in Montreal will improve in the future.

“Whenever we upgrade our transit network, as much is done for highways and roads," Meloche said. "I don't see in the future how we could change things for the better if we continue doing the same we’ve been doing these past few years.”

Montreal public transit has been in a fragile state. The STM has been facing budget cuts and has been requesting additional funding from the Quebec government.

The STM’s ridership fell in 2025 due to strikes; ridership this decade has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and many metro stations are in disrepair.

The future of student commutes depends on whether Concordia's administration will eventually restore regular shuttle service and whether Quebec’s next government will better fund public transit.

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News

Farewell to Mackay St.’s R-R Annex

Faculty members and students of the Liberal Arts College grapple with the move out of their historic building

Nathalie Bucur

O

n Concordia University’s official website, the Liberal Arts building on Mackay St. is described as being “the heart of the student experience.” It goes on to describe key features of the RR Annex, namely its lounge and library.

Unfortunately, students coming into the Fall 2026 semester will not be able to experience the annex. Most of the Liberal Arts program will be relocated to the 10th floor of the J.W. McConnell (LB) Building.

Jarrett Carty, the principal of the Liberal Arts College, was the first to be made aware of this change. He believes that the university had intended this move for years, but decided to do it recently.

“We’ve known for years that there’s been an intention to move a lot of university use of those buildings out, but there was never a 'this is when this is going to happen,'” Carty said.

Last year, it became a serious decision to consider.

“It was a little over a year ago that it became ‘this is going

to have to be soon,’” Carty said.

“There’s a negotiation about how soon you want to do that, and with the upcoming academic year, I’ve recommended at least during the following summer.”

Carty then officially announced this decision to the rest of the college during the Fall 2025 semester’s orientation meeting.

The reasoning behind the relocation was not given, but Carty believes that it was due to costly renovations and a shrinking budget for a 150-year-old townhouse.

“You can’t renovate them without spending a giant pile of money, far more per square foot than if you just renovated part of the Hall building,” Carty said.

“With many crises and lack of funding for renovations, the university looks at those buildings and sees a giant liability.”

Carty said the Liberal Arts faculty’s top priority is maintaining student spaces, such as the lounge. Whilst classrooms and faculty offices were important, he deemed it necessary to guarantee space for a new lounge.

“For me, the number one and

number two orders of priority have always been the lounge and the library, then the classrooms and then the faculty offices,” Carty said. “The real core of our space is our dedicated student space.”

For students, this decision from Concordia was met with an initial shock.

“It’s tough to not associate the location with the community,” Eli White said, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations coordinator for the college.

Aside from Carty’s announcements, no official statements were given by the university.

“Nobody really knew what was going on. It was a stressful cloud of confusion for a long time,” Aurora Dyck said, the internal and sustainability coordinator for the Liberal Arts Society (LAS).

As for the student lounge, the old space would be inaccessible after the move.

“Coming into Liberal Arts, it has been one of the most important spaces for the college. Classes are great [for getting] to know your students, but the lounge had a microwave, and the library space was right next to it. Everything was in that space,” Isabelle Ede said, the general coordinator for the LAS.

The lounge was the raison d’être for many students in the program, including for Ede. “When I was applying to the program two years ago to enroll, the lounge was a big selling point,” Ede said.

Despite these uncertainties, the student body and the program coordinators are determined to stay positive.

“I’m choosing to position myself as an optimist and see that the move can be positive,” Ede said.

The new lounge in the LB building comes with restrictions on its general appearance and layout, whereas the older location had been repainted and remodelled by a student.

“As I am trying to figure out how to handle the new lounge, the physical restrictions are my biggest challenge. I want people to still feel comfortable in the new room, and still feel like it’s theirs,” Nazar Aktas said, the LAS lounge curator.

However, Aktas explained that whilst the physical space is important, student initiatives were the lounge’s most important aspect.

“We’re trying to make a busy and full schedule for this upcoming school year. We have a coffee hour event that we do every second Thursday that we are going to do every week this year,” Atkas said.

While the RR Annex fostered a thriving student community, the building ran into numerous structural accessibility issues.

“Although the space was very vital, I also acknowledge that the space we were in was not accessible, so it did not make it fair for students who had accessibility issues,” said Julia Saunders, the social coordinator for the LAS. “I wish we could add an elevator in and call it a day, but Concordia doesn’t have the budget for that, so I understand why the move has to happen.”

The RR Annex was also equipped with lead pipes, so all drinking water had to come from coolers. When those coolers were removed, White underwent a lengthy process with the university to have them reinstated.

“I went on a crusade by emailing as many people as I could, and we did get our coolers back,” White said.

Whilst the move can be inconvenient for the college, students and faculty have adopted a cautious optimism towards it.

“I was very upset at the start, but I think that it’s very exciting to be part of this new chapter of the Liberal Arts College,” Saunders said.

Carty remains optimistic and believes that the future of the new space now rests in the hands of the students themselves.

“They have the power to make it work, and I am going to support that 100 per cent,” Carty said.

THE RR ANNEX HAS HOUSED THE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE SINCE 1979. NOW, THE COLLEGE HAS RELOCATED TO THE 10TH FLOOR OF THE WEBSTER LIBRARY. PHOTO NICOLAS TREMBLAY @NICOLAS.TREMBLAY.JOURNALISME

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News

Adjusting to a world without Limited Term Appointments

Concordia's decision not to renew LTA contracts has left faculty members with serious concerns about their departments' futures Frances Smith

T

he Concordia University Parttime Faculty Association (CUPFA) reported that 63 LTA faculty members would not have their contracts renewed this year. This threatened not only staff employment but also the stability of departments that rely on LTA positions, particularly their ability to maintain autonomy and plan courses.

This stems from the November 2025 decision in which Concordia’s president, Graham Carr, announced in a fall budget update that the school would not renew LTA contracts.

Kate Stearns is the coordinator of Concordia’s creative writing program.

She described the LTA cuts as a devastating blow.

“The administration took a very short-term, brutal approach to a problem that is now going to be far worse and long-term,” Stearns said.

Several Concordia departments that lost LTA faculty also worry about finding qualified instructors to teach courses previously taught by LTAs. Many courses will be taught by parttime instructors; CUPFA said its course postings would increase significantly in May 2026, raising concerns about expertise and course quality.

Stearns noted that seniority is prioritized in part-time faculty hiring, which can result in a part-time instructor being assigned a course outside their specific

expertise.

“If somebody with seniority has even [any] sort of peripheral skill that can be claimed to be useful for that course, they may get the course,” Stearns said.

The creative writing program and English department saw several courses come under threat of being cut.

Stearns highlighted its drama course, part of its core program, which former LTA Alex Haber had taught for four years. Without a dedicated fulltime LTA with the experience to teach the drama course well, Stearns stepped in, as she has experience teaching drama.

However, the future of the drama course remains uncertain. Stearns had to give up teaching one of her courses to teach it. She said that if she cannot find an instructor who can offer the expertise and mentorship Haber provided the drama students, she may need to rethink whether drama can be part of their program moving forward.

She also noted that creative writing LTA faculty not only taught courses but also mentored students, sat on awards committees, and overall, helped run the program.

Stearns emphasized that there are very talented part-time instructors, but there are not always part-time instructors available with the

specific background required. She said this affects not only the creative writing department, but all departments where an LTA was lost.

The department of classics, modern languages and linguistics (CMLL) was one of the departments hit hardest by the non-renewal of the LTA positions, according to CMLL chair Dario Brancato.

As a department with seven distinct programs spanning disciplines that differ significantly from one another, the department hired LTAs with the expertise needed to teach and serve each discipline. According to Brancato, hiring part-time faculty or delaying full-time faculty sabbaticals to teach these courses may not be an adequate solution.

“You cannot take a linguistics professor and make them teach, say, Arabic,” Brancato said.

Although many former LTAs at CMLL kept their courses as part-time instructors or transitioned into administrative roles, which helped to maintain consistency for students, Brancato describes this as a patch that cannot replace the full-time roles those positions once played in sustaining the CMLL disciplines.

LTA faculty not only taught but also served their departments by sitting on committees, doing research, applying for grants and supervising student theses. Brancato explained that parttime faculty's only obligation is to teach courses and have no obligation to attend department meetings or serve on committees.

“An LTA, being a full-time faculty member, gets more involved in this,” Brancato said.

Anna Sheftel is the principal and a professor of the School of Community and Public Affairs. She expressed the need for universities to be collegially self-governed.

“We are all supposed to have a hand in actually running

things. The fewer full-time professors you have, the fewer people you have to run the university,” Sheftel said.

Sheftel noted that the departments hit hardest by the LTA non-renewals were those not currently favoured in the political climate, such as classics, ancient languages and English literature.

“These are departments that relied very heavily on LTA labour because they had been denied the positions they needed for full-time faculty," Sheftel said.

While the faculty each recognize and sympathize with the university's budget constraints, they emphasized the need for more humane financial solutions.

A report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that Canadian universities face severe budget constraints due to reduced federal government funding. The report stated that in the early 1970s, the federal government's funding for post-secondary education represented over 3.5 per cent of all federal government spending, but that by 2024 it had fallen to 1.9 per cent.

When faculty had become aware of the severity of Concordia's financial situation, Sheftel had asked, “What if we took this moment of crisis as an opportunity to imagine a model that serves everybody well?” However, as austerity measures were announced, such as the LTA cuts, Sheftel said she was disappointed that Concordia had “done exactly what every other university does."

Concordia is one of several Canadian universities implementing budget cuts that significantly impact humanities and arts programs. Arts and humanities programs at the University of Calgary, York University and McGill University have also been significantly affected by budget cuts.

Amid these financial crises and threats, faculty remain hopeful about the future. Brancato believes that reduced staff across the CMLL programs

could encourage collaboration and renewed interest in somewhat isolated disciplines.

Brancato also said he feels confident that this is just a phase and will be over in the next few years.

“We’re ready to take the challenge […] we most importantly will continue to provide the same quality to [our] students,” Brancato said.

Both Sheftel and Stearns emphasized the importance of student involvement in fighting against university austerity measures.

Sheftel said that students can help by attending university senate meetings as spectators, getting involved in anti-austerity activism through Concordia student associations such as the Concordia Student Union, staying up to date on information released by Concordia administration and unions and attending teach-ins and mobilization events.

Stearns highlighted the important role students can play in these issues.

“The administration will listen to students far more than they will listen to us,” Stearns said. “Don’t underplay your influence here. You’ve got a lot, and I hope you feel absolutely entitled to use it.”

In response to questions regarding the LTA non-renewals, Concordia’s deputy spokesperson, Julie Fortier, told The Link that the university has had a large deficit for multiple years and is obligated to reduce it as part of a “multiyear financial recovery plan.” The decisions around the LTA renewals and the deferral of sabbatical leave led to savings of $3 million.

“All sectors of the university have had to reduce their expenses to help achieve this,” Fortier noted.

The Link questioned how Concordia will support full-time faculty who must now absorb additional teaching loads while maintaining their department service obligations.

“Professors work under collective agreements that clearly state the teaching duties they can be assigned,” Fortier responded.

Fortier also emphasized that prior to the LTA non-renewals, there were “62 LTA contracts compared to almost 1,000 full-time faculty members,” and almost the same number of part-time faculty.

“The teaching capacity at the university does not depend on LTA contracts,” Fortier said.

THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY PUBLIC AFFAIRS IS LOCATED IN THE HENRY F. HALL BUILDING AND IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE LTA NON-RENEWALS. PHOTO NICOLAS TREMBLAY @NICOLAS.TREMBLAY.JOURNALISME

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SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 • VOLUME 47

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News

The future of French at Concordia

How Concordia staff prepare to comply with new French measurements Helena Reyes Teruel

E

nglish universities in the province have been a source of debate within the Quebec government since 2024, when hikes were announced for all anglophone universities. The hike was a 33 per cent increase, pushing tuition from $9,000 to $12,000 for all out-of-province students. The decision stands to this day despite legal battles with Concordia University and McGill University.

Since the hikes were first announced, Concordia and other universities have been in talks with the government. A deal was finally reached in June.

The provincial government agreed to give Bishop’s, McGill and Concordia a total of $20 million in funding. The universities, in return, are expected to have 60 per cent of out-of-province and international students, starting in Fall 2026, graduate with a Level 4 of French proficiency according to Quebec’s 12-level scale.

Level 4 is defined as being able to understand the general meaning of short conversations related to everyday activities or situations.

Caroline Baril is an executive director of the Provost and Vice-President Office at Concordia University. She wants to help non-French-speaking students learn the language so they are better equipped in Quebec.

“On an institutional level, everybody is really excited about this,” Baril said. “We've already been doing things; there’s already an institutional commitment.”

Baril emphasized that they have already helped by launching the Bureau de la valorisation Française (BVF). This bureau is in charge of connecting students to the broader Montreal francophone culture. They do this with events like the upcoming Parcours Francoville, a festival organized

by Université de Montréal in partnership with Concordia and other universities.

Since the deal was announced, the provost's office has started to integrate the French language into student life, professional tools and academics. Among the institutions they have been working with are the Student Success Centre, Homeroom, residences and Espace Franco.

Each student organization has its own plan to add French to its operations so that there’s something available for all students.

According to Baril, residences are arranging to have francophone resident advisors at Sir George Williams and Loyola to help pro-

10

mote the French language with activities such as movie nights for students living on campus.

Commuter students have access to the Franco pods in the Homeroom. “Pod” is how the Homeroom refers to its smaller groups; a pod usually has around 15 students. Baril explained that the new Franco pods are meant to provide peer-to-peer support and encouragement to practice French in a low-pressure environment.

The pods are available throughout the year and will also provide students with tips for navigating the city, as well as priority access to Quebec cultural events.

Student leaders are also looking for ways to accommodate peers who prefer a casual, social approach to language learning.

Grace Demara is the academic coordinator for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA). She is trying to make learning French more accessible and less time-consuming by thinking of creative ideas that ASFA can implement by the end of the year. “[We’ll have a weekly] French club with a native speaker managing it so students can drop in and be assessed by [them],” Demara said. “[We’re] working with other bodies at Concordia like the Concordia Student Union.”

On a professional level, Concordia has rolled out some projects aimed at helping students gain field knowledge of their major in French.

“There’s a lot of advantages on the future career plan for students,” Baril said.

She added that some of the available tools to explore are the LexiConcordia website, a professional lexicon developed by the BVF, meant to help students learn French jargon related to their field.

The long-term plan is to host immersive French programs tailored to specific departments.

This has been done previously by the fine arts department, which developed a nine-credit course with the Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul to help non-francophone students practice the language while they gain practical experience.

Baril noted that they are still working on creating similar programs for other faculties, as the BVF is still figuring out where the interests of students and departments lie.

Academically, the French department is ready and confident

VOLUME 47 • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

in doing its part to achieve the 60 per cent goal.

“If we are asked to open 10 new [class] sections in French, we will open them. We just need to have the demand,” Denis Liakin said, who is the department chair.

The French department’s highlights are the newly added French immersive courses, which can be found under the course code FRAI. Liakin assures that these are a real investment for the department.

The professor in charge of imparting these courses is Geneviève Bibeau.

She said that these courses are primarily for students “who are not necessarily in French studies and are in programs that are very competitive”.

She underlined that these can be taken without a student’s GPA

being impacted.

FRAI courses are evaluated on a pass/no pass grading scale, making them a perfect fit for students who might be anxious about negatively affecting their GPA. Bibeau remarked that FRAI classes place more importance on oral communication skills. “[They are] what’s most important when you want to take part in a society,” Bibeau said.

According to Liakin, the last course in the set, FRAI 203, is very important because it is where students are taught the required material to achieve Level 4 of Quebec proficiency.

The French department has launched the Learn French as a second language website. Students can look into which class pathway suits them best.

The provost's office has intro-

THE WELCOME TO CONCORDIA ISSUE

duced the Oui Can Help website.

“We put together the hub, which has the information about all the [French] initiatives and support for students,” Baril said.

“It's been a few years now where we've been very careful about doing anything new or shiny, because of [budget] constraints” she remarked. “Now we have support to do something that's really nice and valuable for our students, it's exciting,” she added.

ESPACE FRANCO IS ONE OF THE MANY FRENCH SERVICES AT CONCORDIA THAT THE OFFICE OF THE PROVOST IS TRYING TO PROMOTE. PHOTO NICOLAS TREMBLAY @NICOLAS.TREMBLAY.JOURNALISME

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FRiNge ARTs

Third space recommendations near campus The Link masthead tells you where you can go to relax, lock in or grab a bite Ryan Pyke

@pykenotpike

T

he busy city life around Concordia University’s Sir George Williams campus doesn’t exactly invite students to just sit and take a breath. It can be hard to find places to relax as a newcomer to the school.

What businesses can you sit and study at? Where can you go to unwind? The Link’s masthead answers these burning questions.

Managing editor Claudia Beaudoin enjoys playing board games at Hang Time Pizza between study periods.

“I have a fond memory from last winter, during midterms, where I spent an hour playing intense Connect Four while it stormed outside,” Beaudoin said. “It was the perfect reset.”

Cafe Aunja is video editor Soraya Yale-Ramanathan’s pick. She says you can stay there for a long time without getting kicked out.

“It's like a colourful, cozy nook that I love for studying and spending time with people,” Yale-Ramanathan said.

Sean Richard, one of the co-news editors, suggests the classic (and infamous) Webster Library. Specifically, he says booking the quiet rooms is the best place to really focus on your assignments.

He also enjoys browsing the library’s wide collection of books.

The other co-news editor, Kara Brulotte, echoed Richard’s sentiment about the library’s quiet rooms.

She also likes going to Shaughnessy Café near the Atwater metro station, saying it has good pastries and cool decor. She says that the cafe is close to campus, but not so close that it’s constantly packed.

Creative director Naya Hachwa likes to hang out in the visual arts building lounges.

“They’re really pretty and calming,” Hachwa said.

Hachwa also notes that free food

is sometimes offered, often leftovers from events hosted by the Fine Arts Student Alliance, which are left in the fridge for students to take.

Halle Keays, the graphics editor, frequents the bars around campus.

She notes that Reggie’s and Mad Hatter’s are nice due to their proximity. She also enjoys Brutopia because it hosts live music.

“I also like to hang out at Piranha Bar ‘cause it's also a venue for punk and metal shows,” Keays said.

Photo editor Nicolas Tremblay suggested the People’s Potato, located on the seventh floor of the Hall building.

“Bring your plate/food container and a smile,” Tremblay said.

The People’s Potato serves vegan lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Thursday. It's free and student-run!

The Westmount Public Library has a good atmosphere for studying, according to opinions editor Jaiden Gales. “[It] transports you to a Harvard study session,” Gales said. “The attached greenhouse is sure to cure your winter blues.”

The library is located next to the scenic Westmount Park, with long, winding paths for a stroll and to clear your head. It's a great place to go when you want to get away from

the chaos of the downtown campus.

For an option near Loyola campus, copy editor Chantal Bellefeuille likes spending an afternoon feeding squirrels at Confederation Park.

"It’s just a 10-minute bus ride away!" Bellefeuille said.

Sports editor Colin van den Ameele is a fan of Cafe de Montreal.

He says that the staff there are friendly and kind. He goes there to study or just savour the drinks.

“I once spent 6 straight hours there, with different friends coming and going as we enjoyed some really good drinks,” van den Ameele said.

Samuel Kayll, editor-in-chief, gave two restaurant recommendations located just as you push past the turnstiles in the Guy-Concordia metro: Royal Biryani and Monsieur Gao. Kayll points to the generous portion sizes at an affordable price as the reason these are his picks.

“The variety is solid at both places,” Kayll said.

Finally, contributors and students can come hang out at The Link’s office! There's usually a staff member present on weekdays who can let you in. It's a great place to socialize and get to know the masthead, or just sit and study! We have a few private rooms where you can really lock in without any distractions.

ICK: SORAYA's P

CAFE AUNJA

NAYA's PICK:

VA BUILDING LOUNGE

PICK: Halle's

IA BRUTOP

CLAUDIA 's PICK

HANG T : IME PIZZA

: K'S PICK THE LIN

EET HOME SW HOME CONCORDIA IS SURROUNDED BY MANY FUN HANGOUT SPOTS. PHOTOS NICOLAS TREMBLAY @NICOLAS.TREMBLAY.JOURNALISME

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SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 • VOLUME 47

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FRiNge ARTs

Webster Library exhibitions bring some light onto the Concordia campus Exhibitions at the library are part of a visual landscape on campus that encourages reflection, belonging and connection

Sydney Nethersole

C

oncordia University’s Webster Library hosts various exhibitions on the second floor beside the printing section, directly across from the stairwell leading to the third floor. Students can come in and explore different topics through these showcases.

Although the glass vitrine wall is fairly small, the high-traffic area allows fast-moving, rushed passersby to quickly pause, take a look and take away whatever they wish from what they see.

John Latour has been chair of the Library Exhibition Committee (LEC) since its establishment in 2017.

He described how the exhibitions provide “a unique venue” for the “great research taking place at Concordia.” Ultimately, it offers a space to show how people from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of interests express themselves as they explore the world and the communities around them. "[It's] part of the library's multi-year renovation project,” said Latour.

The committee was created with the intention to both “enrich and extend student learning by providing a showcase for a variety of art and cultural experiences to the Concordia community and beyond,” according to the library’s website.

The committee has hosted between four and five exhibitions annually within the past few years.

The current exhibition, GÉNÉRATION XEROX, illustrates the LEC’s goals perfectly, with curators Simone BeaudryPilotte, August Klintberg and Mark Andrew Hamilton collecting a diverse range of zines that offer a particularly rich way to explore academia, art, community and social issues.

The exhibition explores relationships between 2SLGBTQI+ people and self-expression through self-publication.

Hamilton noted that all the curators have always been fascinated with zines and self-publishing, especially in relation to queerness.

Zines are largely associated with punk shows and, in recent decades, are often disseminated through mail.

They have long held an important place in queer communities, allowing queer people, groups and communities to share information, according to the Webster Library’s page on the exhibition.

The exhibition has been on display since July 2. It is part of a larger collection of materials that are accessible at the Archives gaies du Québec (AGQ).

Hamilton said that he and his colleagues hope that people “will see the exhibition and realize that they can actually go to the archives and look at them and consult them.”

The exhibit is largely built on one individual’s collection, with some additions. Hamilton said a majority of the zines are from the 1980s. A few of them are from the 1970s, while others were published within the last few years.

Some zines display fun, lighthearted illustrations, discussing topics such as sex and relationships, while others have a more serious tone with plainer designs.

One major goal of the display was to document “how people were expressing themselves,” Hamilton said. As a result, the zines touch on a wide variety of topics, ranging from social activism, HIV/AIDS, gender, sexuality

and erotica.

Stefan Christoff curated the exhibition “Montreal social justice activism in print 2000-2025,” which displayed a variety of print material related to grassroots organizing in Montréal. The exhibition was on display from Jan. 19 to March 25, 2026.

This exhibition displayed activist material, particularly posters.

“I also chose pieces based on aesthetics. I wanted to illustrate different styles. You can see in the different materials that there are very different types of printing: silkscreen, photocopy, risograph,” Christoff said.

The posters made with a risograph, which can be described as a digital screen printer, along with the variety of other styles used, resulted in a creative exhibit with a particularly unique feel.

Christoff said he entered the curatorial process aware that thousands of students would see these posters, allowing him to draw attention to the things he found meaningful and to articulate a message he feels often goes unnoticed.

He was able to draw attention to the ways in which the organizing process brings people together

and is itself a creative process.

He also highlighted that the “demands of organizing, whether it’s a community group or a broader campaign, often register with people through an artistic expression;” whether that be through poster art, banners or music. “[It's important] to get the exhibition over the line and to show those posters in a public space, [allowing people to] engage with it, and draw from it whatever they liked, and hopefully learn from it,” Christoff said.

Both Christoff ’s work and the work of Beaudry-Pilotte, Hamilton and Klintberg reveal how the gaps between the arts, identity, activism and academia can be bridged.

By focusing on various community matters and activism that impact a wide range of people, these two exhibitions demonstrate how the Webster Library is attempting to follow through on its goal “to provide visual enrichment and a welcoming environment to Concordia students, faculty, staff, and the general public.”

The LEC has paused accepting new proposals as its programming is fully set up through 2027, according to Latour.

STEFAN CHRISTOFF'S EXHIBITION "MONTREAL SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISM IN PRINT 2000-2025." COURTESY ALMA PERREAULT

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VOL. 47

SAMUEL KAYLL

CLAUDIA BEAUDOIN

NAYA HACHWA

CHANTAL BELLEFEUILLE

RYAN PYKE

SEAN RICHARD

KARA BRULOTTE

JAIDEN GALES

COLIN VAN DEN AMEELE

NICOLAS TREMBLAY

SORAYA YALE-RAMANATHAN

HALLE KEAYS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

FRINGE ARTS EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

MANAGING EDITOR

CO-NEWS EDITOR

PHOTO EDITOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

CO-NEWS EDITOR

VIDEO EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

OPINIONS EDITOR

GRAPHICS EDITOR

sPoRts

Concordia golf swings into action A program revived looks towards a sustainable future Samuel Kayll

T

@sdubk24

he Concordia University golf program does not operate like any other Stingers team.

For one, the sport's individual nature means athletes often train and prepare for tournaments at their own golf courses. While the team organizes group practices, much of the preparation occurs through individual work.

The university golf season also poses distinct changes. While other varsity athletes prepare for a year-round season with practices and games across months and semesters, the entire golf season consists of three tournaments across five weeks in August and September, leaving little room for error in competition.

And for several years, the program did not exist at all.

From 2021 to 2023, no Concordia golf teams participated in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) competitions.

The women’s team’s absence stretches back even further to 2019, while no tournaments were held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For some teams, this would spell doom.

But thanks to the hard work of student-athletes, Concordia golf resumed competition in 2024 on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Since then, the program has gradually moulded itself into a contender in the RSEQ—and an edition that hopes to stick around.

Sacha Riverin-Cholewicki played CEGEP golf at John Abbott College, so when he arrived on campus at Concordia, he asked the athletic department if it was possible to start a golf team.

The answer: no money.

Riverin-Cholewicki did not take no for an answer, though.

He reached out to Paul Chesser, Concordia’s vice-president of Advancement, a member of the same golf course where he trained.

With Chesser’s support, the program slowly raised itself off the mat.

“We raised all the funds ourselves with [Chesser’s] help,” Riverin-Cholewicki said. “The school has now started giving us money from their golf tournament, so it's raised by us and the school now.”

Fellow John Abbott alumna Sophia Luponio joined the restoration efforts on the women’s side, working alongside Riverin-Cholewicki to drum up support. The former three-sport athlete and current women’s team captain emphasized the pair’s belief in a new beginning for the team.

“At the beginning, it was basically us and Paul mainstreaming this entire thing,” Luponio said.

“But we definitely knew it was possible. Other schools have great golf programs. And we just got it rolling like that, and now we have a great program.”

As a revived program, Luponio highlighted outreach and recruiting as a point of emphasis as the team reentered competition.

“The first year, we only had three girls competing. The last two years, we've had a full roster of five girls,” Luponio said. “So I'd say from a female perspective, it's just people actually knowing that we have a golf team. And we've done a lot of work through social media to try to get our name out in that sense.”

With a season compressed into a month-long sprint, the team uses the summer to train and organize

for the intensity of the August and September rush. As individual players use their own courses to practice, they work themselves into competition shape.

“We do have the privilege of being able to hop on a golf course at any time that we need to or we want to. So I'd say most of that is done through that process,” Luponio said. “We also over the winter had a membership at a simulator called Nakhjavani Golf. And a lot of prep was done through that.”

But even two of the most motivated student-athletes at Concordia cannot do it alone.

Luckily, they found an extremely familiar coach: Joel Fitleberg, who previously served as the golf coach at—where else?—John Abbot College.

Fitleberg heard about Concordia’s situation from a regular at his golf course. When he recognized the names of several Stingers golfers as former competitors at John Abbott, he was intrigued.

“I actually just decided to go watch them play, and at the time they didn't really have a full-time coach. They had a parent helping who wanted to help and be a manager, but he was not a coach,” Fitleberg said. “So when I went up there, he was encouraging me very much to jump on board.”

As a coach, Fitleberg enjoys the opportunity to work with his former CEGEP athletes, not just as competitors but also as people. “[The coaching role is] a volunteer position. My expenses are covered, but I'm not paid for this position,” Fitleberg said. “It's not something that I would have done, except for the fact that I really like these students. It's very rewarding.”

Those former players include Luponio and Riverin-Cholewicki, who both played under Fitleberg at John Abbott. He acknowledged their responsibility as team captains and leaders, praising their work to revitalize the program.

“I come in, and I do my coaching, but they do a lot of

CONCORDIA MEN'S GOLF CAPTAIN SACHA RIVERIN-CHOLEWICKI HOPES TO LEAD THE TEAM TO A NATIONALS APPEARANCE. COURTESY LIAM MAHONEY/CONCORDIA ATHLETICS

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the organizing. And not because I'm asking them to. They just take it upon themselves,” Fitleberg said. “They're both highly motivated, very skilled, very organized.

They know what they want, they know what they're doing. So it really does make it very easy for me.”

Concordia wrapped up its first tournament of the year on Aug. 26, with both teams flashing promise. The men’s team tied for fourth, a finish that would have sent them to the national tournament at the RSEQ championship.

Meanwhile, the women’s team landed third, just one position outside the top two required for a nationals berth.

Both captains hope to parlay the team’s early success into an eventual trip to nationals.

“It's golf, so you never know what's going to happen. You have good days, bad days. I think for me, finishing top 15 to top 10 in the province would be my goal,” Riverin-Cholewicki said. “But definitely for the men's team, we want to make it to nationals.

That's [...] our goal.”

Just as important, however, is the long-term stability of the program. And both Luponio and Riverin-Cholewicki agree on one thing as the catalyst for success: money.

“We'd love to have more tour-

naments in the future, but I think we can't really go anywhere without that fundraising aspect of it,” Luponio said.

Fitleberg recognizes the need to invest in the program to aid its prospects in competition and recruiting. He hopes to discuss the situation with the athletic department at the conclusion of the season.

“We had an initial conversation about where the program is going to go. But right now, to be honest, I'm focusing on this season,” Fitleberg said. “And then again, because it happens so quickly, once it's finished, I think then we'll sit down and have more of a discussion going forward.”

For now, the team can sit back and admire a job well done.

From reviving a floundering program to national competition in just two years, Concordia golf is aiming high in its ambitions.

And Riverin-Cholewicki remains proud of the work he and the team have accomplished.

“I knew people had tried to bring the golf team back and they were unsuccessful in years before me,” Riverin-Cholewicki said. “If ever you really want to get something started, it's always possible to do so.”

SOPHIA LUPONIO HELPED REVIVE THE CONCORDIA GOLF PROGRAM. NOW, SHE WANTS IT TO FLOURISH. COURTESY HOLLY HARTLEN

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sPoRts

A night out with Concordia intramurals Recreation and Athletics enters the year with changes on the horizon Samuel Kayll

@sdubk24

O

scar Horeau first heard about Concordia’s intramural sports leagues during his time in student residence. A message from his resident assistant convinced the second-year finance student to sign up for one of the university's weekly soccer leagues.

“When I heard about intramurals, and I didn't want to stop playing [soccer], I was like, ‘I have to get into it because I don't want to stop playing,’” Horeau said.

“And also most of my friends were already signing up.”

The search for community pushed Horeau into competition, where the Paris native faced off against teams of students from different walks of school life.

“The people on my team were most of my friends from res, but I'd also meet other people from Concordia that I didn't know,” Horeau said. “I even got to meet people I knew from Paris that were in Concordia, and I didn't even know they were with me.”

Horeau’s experience reflects a larger trend surrounding Concordia’s intramural sports leagues.

From top to bottom, the university maintains a focus on building relationships between students while also fostering competition and fitness.

Michelle Dodds is the manager of campus recreation for Concordia Recreation and Athletics (RA). The department runs intramural basketball, volleyball and hockey leagues in the fall and winter, as well as soccer and flag football when the Stinger Dome goes up during the winter.

Additionally, the RA features several other programs including fitness classes, campus gyms and youth and summer programs.

Dodds’ direction for the department aims to create a stronger campus environment for students who find

themselves there every day.

Through athletics, social events and even collaborations with student groups, she hopes to strengthen the Concordia community.

“If you participate, you can have a great experience. You'll meet new people,” Dodds said.

“You'll have kind of a Concordia feel, not just come to school and go home.”

Horeau welcomed the opportunity to compete against his fellow students, especially amid the stress of the academic year.

“Having this break and this opportunity to play some sports just for fun with your friends at a low level helps you to forget about homework and assignments, and get a break from your studies one or two nights a week,” Horeau said.

Dexter Great, like Horeau, echoed the feeling of connectedness that comes from intramural sports. The business student joined the soccer league during his time in residence and immediately bonded with his new league mates, creating relationships he says wouldn’t have been possible without it.

“It's really interesting knowing that everyone's a Concordia student,” Great said. “And so there's sort of a sense of friendliness in the intramurals, which you don't really find in regular pickup recreational weeks.”

To promote fairness, organizers divide players and teams into multiple leagues based on skill level, allowing newcomers to compete and enjoy the experience while also allowing higher-level students to take games more seriously.

Horeau, who played in the top intramural soccer league, understands the need for inclusion but also relishes the competition that

comes with matchups against teams looking to win.

“We were playing, we were having fun, but the goal was also to win and to be able to win games and maybe a tournament,” Horeau said of his team. “So I enjoyed it for the fact that everyone can play. Whether you're really good, you're an athlete, or you're just starting, everyone gets the chance to play. But it's still really competitive.”

Great emphasized the university community as a catalyst for friendly competition. While he wants competition, he also understands the natural bond between students and how it affects games.

“I feel a lot safer playing a game of [soccer] against a Concordia student knowing that we go to the same school—you wouldn't want to hurt someone who goes to the same school,” Great said. “Whereas a McGill student or some random person might not really care if they tackle you and then you get hurt.”

Great, and other Concordia students will no longer have to worry about challenges from outside the university. Starting in the fall, intramural leagues will limit participation to Concordia students only, restricting access to external players who could previously join. This frees up space for students who may have lost out on spots to non-university participants.

These changes come in the wake of the winter semester vote that approved a fee levy increase for Concordia Recreation. Other changes include the introduction of flag football as an intramural sport and the freezing of student

prices at the campus gyms.

With the increased funding, Dodds hopes to hear from students with ideas for new activities to make recreation more student-driven. If the programs accumulate enough interest, she says the department might even consider creating extra leagues.

“If soccer is super popular, we could offer a Friday daytime league, just looking at all of our facilities,” Dodds said. “And right now, also, once varsity is done, the evenings look like this: either campus rec or external renters— there's leagues that run the dome.

If the volume was so high, we would be able to take back some of those times.”

Even those interested in finding work in sports can get in on the action. As teams become fully student-based, so will the referees and support staff that help run them. Dodds wants these opportunities to also be filled by Concordia students.

“We're going to be really tabling out in the community in September, looking for students that want to work, want to be referees, want to be timekeepers,” Dodds said. “We typically hire a lot of applied human science undergraduates, some of our athletes. But we're open to hiring students for sure.”

But more than anything, Dodds wants to hear from the student body. As the year gets underway, she hopes to position RA as a program open to changes and input from the Concordia community.

“We're willing to do more; we're willing to add programs if there's ideas for that,”

Dodds said. “The goal is to provide things for them to find leisure in. If they already have something that they're keen about and it's doable, I'm willing to hear about it.”

Great won’t return to Concordia in the fall, ending his participation in the leagues, but he encourages everyone interested to join the program as a chance to compete and escape from studies.

“It's one of those things where once you try it, I can almost guarantee that you'll want to come back,” Great said. “[...] Even if you have just a couple of friends or if you don't have friends to play with and you just play with a drop-in team, the intramural leagues are the perfect place to enjoy and have a time to relax from your studies or whatever you're doing at Concordia.”

Registration for Concordia’s intramural sports leagues opens on Sept. 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. Students can register online using their Concordia email and student ID.

FOR STUDENTS OF ALL SKILL LEVELS, CONCORDIA'S INTRAMURAL LEAGUES PRESENT A CHANCE TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY. GRAPHIC HALLE KEAYS

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THE WELCOME TO CONCORDIA ISSUE

SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 • VOLUME 47

15

sPoRts

How to attend Stingers games

Now that you know what’s on the schedule, it’s time to figure out which sport will become your go-to Marie Latifpour Moozar

I

@marie_moozar

f you’ve always imagined your university life feeling a little like the movies—packed bleachers, roaring crowds, school colours everywhere—but you’re not quite sure how to make that happen here at Concordia, you’ve come to the right place.

The Stingers offer diverse varsity sports lineups. Fall brings football, men’s and women’s soccer and rugby, and women’s flag football, plus the start of hockey preseason.

By October, hockey officially hits home ice. When winter settles in and outdoor sports wrap up, basketball and hockey become the stars of the semester.

This is your ultimate guide to attending a Stingers game, the perfect cherry on top of your Concordia University experience.

Check the schedule The first step in attending a Stingers game involves knowing when one is taking place. You always have two options: home games, played here at Concordia, and away games played at the opponent’s university.

To learn which games are being played and when, check the schedule tab on the Stingers website. You can also check the respective sport’s Instagram account, where game announcements are being made.

If you’re not sure where to go, the main Stingers account (@the_stingers) is a good place to start.

16

Find a sport you’ll enjoy Now that you know what’s on the schedule, it’s time to figure out which sport will become your go-to.

If you’ve always dreamed of the stereotypical American college vibe, or if you watch the Super Bowl mostly for the food and the spectacle, football might be your perfect match. No Bad Bunny halftime show here, and the rules aren’t exactly NFL, but you’ll still get cheerleaders, big plays and more than your fill of action.

If you already know football but want something a little wilder, rugby is your next stop. Think full-contact intensity, no pads and teammates literally lifting each other into the air.

If you prefer strategy over tackling, flag football is a fun twist. No hits, just speed, quick reads and snatching the flag off someone’s hips. It’s fast, smart and a great addition to the Stingers family.

If the World Cup had you glued to your screen this summer, give our soccer teams a whirl. You already know the basics, so it’s the perfect chance to dive deeper before the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

If your childhood was shaped

by High School Musical, basketball is your moment to “get your head in the game.” No singing and dancing, but the energy is just as entertaining.

And finally, hockey. If you want

VOLUME 47 • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

the full Canadian experience (or if you’ve been obsessed with Heated Rivalry and Off Campus), this is the sport for you.

Bring a hoodie: the arena gets chilly, but the atmosphere is electric.

How to buy tickets?

To buy tickets, go to the tickets tab on the Stingers website or in the bio of each sport’s Instagram. Students receive a discount on all match tickets, which is all the more incentive to attend.

If you’re living in one of the on-campus residences, you might even have access to the Residence Pass, a ticket package that allows you to attend an assortment of games throughout the year. Ask your resident assistant about it if you’re interested!

How do you get to the stadium/arena/gymnasium?

The stadium, arena and gymnasium are all on the Loyola campus. For people travelling by public transport, take the shuttle bus and cross the street. You will see the stadium right in front of you.

If you are going to see a hockey or basketball game, you have to get into the Athletics building. The ice rink will be on your left, and the gymnasium on your right.

If you plan on driving, the P7 parking lot will be your best

DOES ATTENDING A STINGERS GAME FEEL LIKE A TREASURE MAP TO NOWHERE? LET'S FIX THAT. GRAPHIC HALLE KEAYS

friend. Park there and walk behind the building to get to the stadium, or go inside the building on your right, and you will enter the Athletics building. If you get lost, consult Concordia's online map to get back on track.

How do you enjoy your fan experience to the fullest?

Finally, here are some quick tips and tricks for an unforgettable experience.

1. Go with friends. Friends always make it more fun.

2. Show your colours. Wear your merch, show your affiliation. It’s always more fun rooting for a team.

3. Sit in a crowded area (the one

THE WELCOME TO CONCORDIA ISSUE

with Concordia people). Sitting with a lot of people always makes the ambiance better!

4. If you’re going to a football game, attend the tailgate. Tailgates happen before the game and are the perfect time to eat, drink and hang out with friends to get a feel for the shared energy before the game.

So grab your friends, throw on some maroon and gold, and head to Loyola. Your next favourite university tradition is waiting for you! And who knows? You might just become the person who never misses a home game.

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oPiNions

A love letter to Concordia’s student life

Concrete jungle where dreams end

A fulfilling social scene won’t be found in the suburbs

Concordia’s urban campus trades community for efficiency

Jaiden Gales

Ikram Dridi

@jaidennne

T

his is a love letter to those who whine about Concordia University’s "lack of a social life," and it is not the restrained kind.

When it comes to friends and your social scene, your university experience is exactly as good as the effort you put into it.

At this point in your adult life, no one is going to hold your hand and lead you to a perfect social life.

Bare minimum effort is required.

Yes, it is true that our student life is commuter-heavy by nature.

We are stitched into the city, not fenced from it with a pretty treelined campus (hi McGill!). However, this is not simply a Concordia problem.

In our modern age of disconnection, it is all too easy to ride the metro or take the bus to campus with headphones in and your phone in your face. It is even easier to leave class without having said more than two words to anyone besides an awkward icebreaker.

If you are a new student, orientation events are a good first step.

They introduce you to a wide range of people, or at the very least, will help you recognize a familiar face on your first day of classes.

But your community really depends on everything you do after that: the clubs and groups you get involved in. If you choose not to show up for anything, it is very easy to become entirely detached from the institution and social life on campus.

There are simple solutions to feeling left out of a social life at university.

Study on campus with classmates and watch how quickly they become friends. Then, friends of friends expand your circle; be open to new people and work your social muscles.

Checking official university platforms and subscribing to campus newsletters are the easiest ways to stay in the loop about ongoing

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gatherings, where free food often serves as an effortless icebreaker and bonding opportunity.

A lot of that discovery happens online now, too. Social media makes it a lot easier to find accounts for clubs, interest groups and campus organizations. It is beyond easy to find Instagram accounts to follow.

As you start making friends, do not expect them to stay confined to campus.

In many ways, Montreal itself acts as the real campus for Concordia students. Local festivals and events, a plethora of bars and a massive bilingual student population mean that our social life relies heavily on exploring beyond the official university boundaries rather than staying confined to the sad walls of the LB or Hall building.

Put in the effort to actually ask people to hang out. There is a large sentiment among Concordia students that friendships are expected to develop in 15 minutes of brief class interaction, but you need to take those conversations outside of the classroom. There are so many bars to choose from around campus for a post-class drink with new friends, more parks than I can count where you and your new classmates can debrief that weird thing the prof said, or explore a new thrift store and shop for a back-toschool fit.

While it may fall short of a traditional "party school" vibe compared to other Canadian universities, Montreal's surrounding nightlife (shoutout to Reggies) and vibrant social scene more than make up for it.

So, if you are still whining about Concordia not having a social life, the only thing you have to blame is yourself.

G

@ikram_dridi11

rowing up on university rom-coms, I dreamed of a campus full of life, maybe with a garden, and students sitting around picnic tables.

I still remember the first time I set foot on Concordia University’s campus. It wasn't remotely close to what I’d imagined. It felt soulless, and I remember asking myself, distinctly, where the social life that I’d dreamed of had gone.

Now, after a year at Concordia, I can argue that this feeling had a source. Concordia, especially its downtown campus, never developed a strong sense of community, and the reason for that lies largely in its architecture.

To understand why, it helps to define what a campus actually is. At its core, a campus is a living place shaped by academic pursuits, shared experiences and the rituals of daily life. It’s a place that makes you want to stay and find yourself with peers working toward a shared goal. It's a gated environment that easily fosters a tight-knit sense of community.

Concordia’s downtown campus, on the other hand, is a prime example of a vertical, integrated urban campus. Instead of isolated gates and green lawns, Concordia grew through, around and straight up into Montreal’s cityscape.

The buildings themselves feel corporate. They're built for efficiency rather than longevity, dissolving the boundary between academic life and the city around it.

As a result, the city influences the culture within the campus.

Students don't stick around to mingle; they just leave.

It's hard to buy into the idea of

campus life when the metro empties directly into the university's basement atrium. A campus built almost entirely around efficiency, with little thought for community, ends up short on places where people can simply sit and stay a while.

There's the Webster Library and the 7th floor of the Hall building, but neither is enough for the sheer volume of students.

Both spaces are also open to the public, not exclusively students, which makes sustaining a social life through these spaces extremely hard.

McGill’s downtown campus has an incredible social atmosphere with students who feel a strong connection and sense of belonging. It's more contained, and its architecture doesn't funnel students straight into the metro, so they linger on the lawn, grab coffee and stay past class hours.

Concordia’s campus isn’t doomed and helpless. For decades, groups have pushed to pedestrianize Mackay St., the strip between the Hall building and Concordia's downtown annexes, arguing the campus needs the kind of communal outdoor space it currently lacks. In 2023, a blockade during Climate Rage Week renewed the push, with organizers citing both safety and the simple absence of anywhere to gather outside.

As it stands now, the campus feels like a corporate building where everyone comes for a presence sheet and leaves.

This feeling of emptiness within the downtown campus will still haunt me every time I set foot there.

DOES CONCORDIA HAVE A STUDENT LIFE? GRAPHIC HALLE KEAYS

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17

oPiNions

The catalogue of stories at the Webster Library Tracing a bigger story about underfunded public spaces in Montreal Sofia Gonzalez

F

rom abandoned coffee cups scattered across desks to rumours of bedbugs jumping around the secondfloor couches, it's almost impossible not to have at least one funny, interesting or perhaps even stinky anecdote from our beloved Webster Library.

Renovated almost 10 years ago, Concordia’s library has become more than just a space for long study sessions; it’s also a key part of the university's social life. It’s not uncommon to overhear personal stories or conversations, or to see full meals being eaten even in closed areas.

This is without mentioning the more peculiar ways some outside visitors have used it.

I myself have witnessed entire take-out meals left open and hanging around, especially on the lower floors, as well as groups of uniformed high schoolers making noise and taking up crucial space during finals week.

It would be easiest to simply blame the lack of library etiquette among our student body, or to point fingers at other universities and CE-

GEPs whose students roughly 35,000 undermay have too much graduates to eat and access to this space. But hang out become even the university and the more limited. Not to city itself also deserve mention staff, graduate some of the blame for students, and passing failing to provide betvisitors who add to the ter alternatives. Not to lot. mention, the univerYet this isn’t just sity’s decision to cut an internal problem. expenses and tighten its Montreal's own housbudget will only worsen ing crisis spills directly the already packed onto our downtown atmosphere at the licampus. As of 2025, brary. more than 5,000 people While the garbage, in Montreal are living noise and poor manwithout stable housing, ners of a few individand visible homelessuals can’t be fully solved ness across Quebec has through policy, it's the risen roughly 20 per university’s responsibilcent since 2022. ity to give students the For a library open spaces they need—and into the early hours, the city’s responsibility that reality can manifest WEBSTER LIBRARYʼS MESS IS BOTH A STUDENT ETIQUETTE AND CITY PROBLEM. to address broader so- GRAPHIC EVELYN HO LEE @GUWON.EV as reports of needles left cial issues. in LB’s first- and secondWhile the new Reggie’s terrace, or lack of space to socialize in many floor washrooms, or people in visible as well as the Hall building's floor (if not most) different areas. The issue medical distress in the stalls. renovations, may bring some relief, of underfunded spaces is especially Concordia is a public university, it's hard to ignore the deterioration brutal in the winter, when options for which means more than half of its

operating revenue comes directly from the Quebec government, and its library is free and open to the public. That accessibility should stay intact without question, but whether students’ own needs inside that space are getting enough attention is still up in the air.

From the student's side, we should try to strive to push these policies both inside and outside our university. For many university students, this is the first time navigating adult life largely on their own.

Realizing exactly how directly policy shapes our day-to-day well-being can be a wake-up call. It also serves as a reminder of how much care our public spaces need at a time when they’re getting increasingly less and less of it.

While gossip about meet-cutes and make-out sessions behind the rolling boards will never truly leave Webster, we can hope its catalogue of stories will become less about uncomfortable anecdotes and sticky situations, and more about how it can be the library Concordians actually need.

Unregulated but essential?

Concordia's AI push is outpacing any policy on how it should be used Jude Khashman

“A

I has moved from experimental to essential,” Concordia University's promotional page for its AI Foundations course reads.

When I started my degree at Concordia two years ago, AI was still new to university life.

Back then, ChatGPT faltered on introductory math questions, but it has since been trained and improved on millions of queries, though its reasoning sometimes still fails.

The exponential growth in AI

popularity has now led to some research supervisors offering to pay for graduate students’ AI subscription plans by invoicing it as part of the research bursary. By agreeing to foot the bill, these supervisors seem to be echoing Concordia's own promotional line: AI is now essential.

Justifications vary: some fear falling behind technologically, while others find AI faster than existing software for complex computations, since debugging code can take longer than the math itself.

CONCORDIA'S RUSH TO BRAND AI AS ESSENTIAL IS OUTPACING ITS GOVERNANCE. GRAPHIC MIRA DE KOVEN

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VOLUME 47 • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

However, isn’t it the institution’s responsibility to protect its labour force?

Job security is a legitimate fear.

As a teaching assistant, grading has become more complicated; it can be mind-numbing to assess students’ assignments, not knowing if I just corrected the same advanced calculator’s computations rewritten on separate papers. A few years ago, students were hired to translate excerpts of original texts as part of a research assistantship. When a thesis supervisor asks an AI model to translate a whole book, under the illusion of “efficiency,” an experienced translator (and their attention to nuance and context) is foregone for an immediate result at the cost of $200/ month. What's more, post-editing (having a human translator review the AI's output, standard practice in professional machine translation) isn't even factored in.

This exact kind of job loss is playing out with Concordia's own Genio Notes: the AI transcription tool, rolled out over the summer of 2025, has already unsettled the 72 student employees who provide note-taking as an accessibility ser-

vice, despite the university's insistence that there's "no plan to replace human notetakers."

“The Certificate in Generative AI for the workplace introduces you to AI’s range of capabilities and shows you how to use them to spark new ideas, save time, and produce higher-quality work,” Concordia said on its website.

That “time-saving” quality of AI can be a placebo effect. In a meeting with a supervisor who wanted to show me how AI can be used to construct certain diagrams, he had to correct the AI and ask it to redo the same question multiple times.

As a renowned researcher, he pinpointed the inaccuracies, but students might readily accept a symbolic response as fact, leading to more mistakes or delays down the line.

It's unclear which topics and ethical issues Concordia intends to explore in its coursework on AI, and it's surprising that instructors, graduate students and undergraduate students are not being informed as the changes unfold.

As part of the university’s privacy policy, Concordia should be proactive about warning students,

THE WELCOME TO CONCORDIA ISSUE

workers and faculty against “feeding” AI models any lecture materials, sources, books and so on, to prevent copyright infringement—a concern Concordia faculty have already raised about Genio Notes training on recorded lectures.

Regulating what students upload may be next to impossible, but protecting against data theft and plagiarism has to be the priority. Until guidelines and training for faculty and students are in place, professors and staff are just as capable of feeding data sheets or even private emails into that same AI pool. So far, the only AI-related rule Concordia has issued is a ban on using the DeepSeek chatbot on university-owned devices (Feb.13, 2025).

Instead, as of August 17, 2026, they have published a guideline on the library website for students to seek out regarding the responsible use of Generative AI (“Gen AI”).

In its mad dash to get with the times and position itself as a pillar of AI, Concordia left behind the students it governs as an educational institution. And without concrete regulations and support, it’s on us to catch up.

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oPiNions

Call it fate, call it Loyola

The empty promises and uncertain future of Loyola campus Claudia Beaudoin

@claudiaclx

A

campus tells you a great deal about how a university expects and encourages its students to spend their time. I think about this whenever I have a class at Loyola campus.

It will be late afternoon. I will run into the CJ building, and the doors will clack shut behind me with resounding conviction. In the basement, a voice will carry from the red couches, someone on the phone whom I will not actually see. I will take the elevator up two floors, not because I need to, but because it is there, and because nothing else in the building suggests I should exert myself for it.

I will reach the classroom and exhale, the particular relief of finding a room that is, against all odds and expectations, occupied.

There will be roughly ten of us and a professor. It will feel almost intimate and unsettling for that same reason, because just outside that door, there is no student life to speak of.

At the break, I will step back into the hallway and into the same quiet I left an hour ago. My only option for food past 5 p.m. will be a vending machine.

When class ends, we will all move

through the hallways like people evacuating, the unsettling silence propelling us to our cars and bus stops.

Many of my Loyola courses have been held in the evenings, so perhaps I am simply catching the campus asleep.

But to linger here is not to feel strangeness so much as absence, proof that nobody has thought this place worth the trouble of caring for.

Loyola has plenty of space. In fact, it is the closest thing that Concordia University has to a traditional, sprawling university campus.

Concordia's own 2024 Campus Master Plan promises that Loyola will become a "vibrant, year-round campus environment" through diversified indoor and outdoor spaces and revitalized underused areas.

A plan, like most plans, written in the confident future tense.

Yet this very plan was finalized the same year the university cut down the hours of the shuttle connecting Loyola to downtown, citing a $34.5 million deficit and showing no intention of restoring the vital service.

It is no surprise that a vision is the cheaper thing to fund.

What no amount of talking can buy is the feeling of a "third place," Ray Oldenburg's term for the space that is neither home nor work, somewhere you go for no defensible reason at all.

Universities like to believe they provide these. Mostly, they provide rooms. The difference between the two comes down to smaller intentional decisions.

I claim no expertise in furniture, but I do have years of sitting in the consequences of someone else's decisions to feel strongly about it.

A twenty-five-year study of public space in Davis, California, found that people do not sit where chairs are provided; they sit where chairs can be moved, dragged into the sun or turned toward a friend. Given the choice, 70 per cent chose the moveable chair over an identical one bolted down.

At Loyola, in the SP building, most of the seating is fixed in place.

Not to mention the comfortable booths, which have covering peeling off them like old paint. Even where furniture can be moved, in the CJ building's atrium, for instance, a

handful of round tables sit lined against the windows, arranged with the clean and clinical spacing of a waiting room.

And this goes beyond what a campus looks like.

RMIT University in Melbourne piped birdsong into a courtyard, and a 2023 evaluation found visitors lingered longer and left calmer. The Hall building at the SGW campus has added birdsong of its own, though why remains unconfirmed.

Loyola's silence has received no such attention.

A sense of belonging at university is difficult to manufacture through orientation week posters and student-success campaigns alone. It is built through the repetitive mundane.

Loyola, I wanted to love you.

What I will leave with instead, after four years, is something harder to name than disappointment. I will look back with a particular sadness of unused space and the sense that you were capable of so much more than you were told to be.

LOYOLA'S EMPTINESS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ITS FATE. GRAPHIC MIRA DE KOVEN

Tuition hikes compromise Concordia's future Quebec residents, Canadian students, and international students. Long ago, the three demographics lived in harmony until the CAQ attacked Marissa Guthrie

@marinoellle

C

hoosing to attend Concordia University and move to Montreal as an out-of-province student from Ontario has been the most rewarding decision of my life.

I've met driven, brilliant people from every corner of Canada and the world. These are people who've thrown themselves into everything Concordia has to offer and been crucial in building Montreal's vibrant social scene.

This is the Montreal that I came here for. A city whose greatest strength has always been its cosmopolitan, welcoming spirit, built on a sense of community between both Frenchand English-speaking Canadians and communities from around the world.

That spirit was once clearly alive and thriving in Concordia University’s student body. However, that changed in Fall 2024, when Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) implemented a 33 per cent tuition hike for out-ofprovince and international students.

The hikes have hit Concordia especially hard. According to CBC News, out-of-province enrolment has dropped 28 per cent, and inter-

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national enrolment has dropped 40 per cent, impacting a combined 45 per cent of the university’s incoming class.

Concordia was also forced to drop its lawsuit against Quebec over tuition hikes due to financial reasons, despite superior court rulings in its favour.

This frustrating decision highlighted the powerlessness of those opposing the hikes, leaving me and those affected with a sense of frustration and hopelessness as the CAQ continues to push such blatantly discriminatory policies.

Despite setbacks, the situation is not completely hopeless for affected students. Concordia is attempting to combat these tuition hikes and win back incoming students by offering up to $4,000 in special funding for incoming undergraduate students.

The amount offered to offset the new tuition hikes is notably around the annual rate Quebec residents pay, exemplifying the pervasive inequality in treatment between in- and out-ofprovince students. This inequality makes me feel unwelcome in Quebec and has made me question whether

or not I can see a future for myself here post-graduation.

Behind all of these statistics, the lives of thousands of current and prospective students are severely impacted and continue to be.

After the tuition hikes were announced during my first semester, I knew that had I hesitated for even one year in that decision, it would no longer have been an option for me, a harsh reality that many of this academic year’s students have been living in.

Even within the cohort of students paying pre-hike tuition, the clause that increases tuition for those switching programs has resulted in many of my peers limiting their academic horizons or even abandoning Concordia entirely under the threat of financial punishment for discovering new passions, one of the strongest advantages a university offers. Concordia students deserve better.

The final cohort of students admitted before the tuition hikes is set to graduate within the next couple of years. They're leaving Concordia knowing the university they experienced isn't promised to the students

who come after them.

Current and future students are paying more, even as budget cuts shrink the quality of education they receive. Fewer of them will have the room to thrive here than this cohort did.

That leaves a bleak outlook for Concordia's students and for Montreal's alumni community, which has stayed strong and diverse for generations. As the institution and its prospective students alike get priced out of their potential, the

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community I love faces a steep decline as well.

As students, we must not get discouraged from standing up for ourselves just because our institutions have stopped fighting for us.

CAQ'S TUTITION HIKES ARE RUINING THE UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE FOR MANY. GRAPHIC JAMES ISSA @PIP.NIHIL

SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 • VOLUME 47

19

Miss your 8:45 a.m. class due to public transit issues

Develop shoulder pain from your laptop and books in your Trader Joe’s/CSU tote bag

bathroom Get to class Get stopped by stalls are ticket-checkers late because of somehow The Road at Guy-Concordia unusable on Construction metro the first floor Maze™ of the library

Spot a rat in Grey Nuns

Hold on for dear life while being forced to stand in a packed shuttle bus

Go to Thirsty Thursdays and immediately leave because it’s too crowded

Take a class with a terrible RateMyProf and instantly regret it

Feed the squirrels/ pigeons between classes

Join a class of 10 or 10,000, no in-between

Someone assumes you go to McGill

Concordia President Graham Carr gets a raise

Eat a vending machine snack for dinner at Loyola when you have any class past 5 p.m.

Pirate overpriced textbooks instead of buying them

Subtweeted on Spotted ConU or r/concordia

Get lost in the Faubourg basement

Get Souvlaki George after studying all day at Vanier Library

�� ��

Eat food from the Guy-Concordia metro

EDITORIAL OPINIONS

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Lo, how the Roses e’er blooming The team seeks its first championship as the top seed in the NSL standings Samuel Kayll

@sdubk24

H

alifax Tides FC coach Stephen Hart knew exactly what the moment meant for the Montreal Roses. Fresh off a 1-0 loss that sent Montreal to the top spot in the Northern Super League (NSL) standings, he reflected on the raucous crowd that welcomed the two teams to Stade Saputo.

“I said that to the players: they are probably under more pressure than we are. Being at home, first time, fantastic situation,” Hart said. “But I'm sure they had some sort of effect.”

Halifax played well that game, only conceding to Anne-Valérie Seto’s bullet header in the 76th minute after going down to 10 players. But the most prominent story on Aug. 29 was the record-setting attendance of 17,077 fans who watched the teams battle, a hopeful sign of things to come for a league in just its second season.

“I was really happy that the players could experience that moment. And then on a slightly more personal level, it's the level of team that I would have loved to have existed when I was younger too,” Roses interim head coach

Maryse Bard-Martel said. “So to experience that moment and see the support we had today, it was really incredible.”

The Roses featured in the previous record-setting match as well, a 1-0 victory over AFC Toronto at BMO Field on April 19, 2026, in front of 14,518 fans. Now, they can claim the hometown high-water mark after a signature win.

“We're very happy to break that record. I think it's historic,” Roses captain Mégane Sauvé said.

“And in Montreal, we're here to break records with everything we're doing now.”

Montreal broke the Tides down as the game wore on, a trademark of Roses games this season. By the time Sheyenne Allen picked up her second yellow card, all that remained for Montreal was the end product in front of the net—which Seto provided eight minutes later.

Seto, a Montreal native and former member of the Tides, reflected on the moment after the game, though she added that the moment flew by.

“I just remember the ball being at the back of the net and all

the fans around me,” Seto said.

“And it was just a real feeling, really, really happy to represent my city.”

The Roses have indeed represented Montreal emphatically as they continue their rampage through the NSL. A year after finishing fourth and just slipping into the playoffs, they lead Ottawa Rapid FC by four points with five games remaining, with a real shot to beat the points record of 51 set by AFC Toronto a year prior. The team boasts a stout defence anchored by star goalkeeper Anna Karpenko’s seven clean sheets, and forward Elyse Bennett leads the league in goals with 11.

Still, Bard-Martel believes the team can get even better. While Montreal largely controlled the match, she wants to see more from the team in early-game situations.

“Something we can keep building on is the resilience that the team has and how we're able to get results and how we're able to adapt at halftime especially,” Bard-Martel said. “I was really happy with how the girls were able to learn from that first half and then stay on task and really

focus on the details that were going to make a difference in their position.”

Montreal will receive an extra boost in the back end of the season with the full return of midfielder Evelyn Badu, who made an appearance in the match after an extended absence with the Ghanaian national team at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Bard-Martel praised Badu’s cameo and looked ahead to her full reincorporation.

“It's great to have a player like Evelyn with experience in big tournaments for the national team back in the squad,” Bard-Martel said. “I thought she added good quality on the ball, allowed us to keep the ball and really control the game.”

With the team rolling, it’s natural for pressure to gather. But rather than shy away from it, the Roses want to use it to fuel their efforts. Midfielder Charlotte Bibault spoke about the team’s role as a catalyst for the Montreal soccer community, and for women’s sports as a whole.

“We're not used to playing in front of so many people,” Bibault said. “[...]Our goal is

to win the fans over to us. We're lucky to play a sport where we can create emotions, bring people together, and in diversity as well.

And I find it liberating to give these emotions.”

Things won’t get easier for the Roses as they enter the home stretch. They face second-place Ottawa twice, as well as thirdplace Toronto and fourth-place Halifax once and twice, respectively. These results will test the team’s fortitude, but also add experience when the playoffs roll around.

Bard-Martel understands what the moment means for herself, the team and women’s soccer as a whole. And she’s ready to show Canada what her squad can do, something her players have always known they can accomplish.

“Almost two years ago now, the league was starting from nothing. And then, to see such a great crowd here, it really shows the awareness. There are going to be new teams,” Bard-Martel said.

“We always knew that we had the level in Canada.”

THE MONTREAL ROSES LOOK POISED TO CHALLENGE FOR THEIR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP. COURTESY PABLO A. ORTIZ/ROSES DE MONTRÉAL

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NEWS FRINGE ARTS SPORTS

OPINIONS

EDITORIAL

Guilt and privilege in student exchanges The responsibility that comes with a semester abroad Maggie McLean

O

ver my first few days in Madrid as an exchange student, I have felt guilt and doubt creeping in.

I arrived in Madrid last week as an international student from Concordia University, studying at Universidad Pontificia Comillas to begin my semester-long exchange. Over the past week, I have met students from all over the world, each one more excited than the last to explore the bustling streets of Madrid and wonder at its beauty and history.

Yet, among all the feelings of excitement and gratitude, there has been a lingering sentiment of shame.

Concordia offers an impressive number of exchange opportunities for its students with over 180 partner universities, and it is safe to say that my own experiences abroad have been the highlight of my time at Concordia.

I love exploring new cultures, meeting new people and practicing different languages.

However, the incredible privilege I have been given to participate in this exchange does not come without costs. I have

started to question the financial, social and environmental impact of living in another country for a semester.

Going on an exchange means being able to travel and live in another country for months without having to bear many of the long-term realities of living there.

While I may be considered more than a tourist (as is stated in my student visa), I am definitely not a local.

For example, an exchange student does not experience Madrid’s housing crisis in the same way as someone trying to build a life here, but that does not mean we exist outside of it.

Housing has become one of Spain’s most pressing social issues, driven in part by the growth of tourist apartments. Statistics suggest that Madrid alone has at least 15,000 illegal tourist apartments.

As temporary residents, exchange students enter a city where access to housing is already deeply contested. We rent apartments, compete for short-term housing and participate in neighbourhoods increasingly shaped around temporary residents.

The reality is that our ability to leave does not make us neutral observers. It can make us beneficiaries of the same conditions that residents are struggling against.

Exchange students can complain about crowded streets or the effects of tourism, but ultimately have the option to go home and leave every single one of these problems behind them.

I chose to come here and experience a semester abroad, but I also committed to exploring and travelling in the most respectful and conscious manner possible.

For me, that means making an effort to speak Spanish rather than expecting others to accommodate me in English, learning about the social and political issues affecting the city as well as Spain’s history and being more conscious of how I travel while I am here.

It also means resisting the pressure to treat a semester abroad as an opportunity to collect as many weekend destinations as possible, especially when slower, less environmentally intensive options are available.

Oh, and definitely switching my dinner time from 6 o’clock to 9 o’clock.

The question, then, is probably not whether I deserve to be here. Framing the issue that way still centres me. The more useful question is what responsibility I have because I am here.

Studying abroad does not become ethical simply because we are conscious of our

privilege. We can learn the language, take the train and try to understand the city beyond its attractions, and still contribute to systems that make life harder for the people who actually live there.

Maybe the responsibility of an exchange student is not to prove that we are different from tourists, but to remain aware that our presence has consequences and to behave accordingly.

EXCHANGE STUDENTS CAN SKIP OVER ALL THE REAL ISSUES OF A COUNTRY BY STAYING BRIEFLY AND CLAIMING TO LIVE AS A LOCAL. GRAPHIC KASEY LAMER

Nostalgia Nook: The return of recession pop-timism You can’t “Just Dance” your way out of an economic downturn Marissa Gutherie

T

@marinoellle

he 20-year trend cycle and a strong sense of nostalgia are nothing new, with several decades taking aesthetic and cultural inspiration from those that came before.

The recent resurgence of late2000s and early-2010s music and aesthetics, often referred to as “recession-core” or “recession pop,” draws inspiration from an economic era eerily similar to the one we are living through now.

Recession pop originally emerged in response to the 2008 economic recession, which left numerous young adults without the promise of a secure future. In response, many have pivoted to flashy aesthetics and lifestyles centred on having fun in the moment rather than preparing for a future that may never arrive.

For instance, Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance,” a defining track in the genre, promises that “it’ll be okay” as long as we “just dance.”

Nearly two decades later, a new

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generation of young adults faces the same degree of uncertainty as they come of age amid economic hardships that make a stable future an unattainable dream not worth saving for. Many seem content to throw parties in apartments that they may no longer be able to afford next month as they attempt to dance the recession blues away.

Gen Z grew up in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, with many of their early memories shaped by the chaotic economic environment it created, as well as the aesthetics that emerged alongside it. It’s no wonder that in these unprecedented times, many young adults are subconsciously retreating into the world of their childhood, in a way similar to how a previous generation ultimately survived.

But comfort is always the enemy of change. As the wealth gap widens and the affordability crisis infects every aspect of young adult life, the escapism that recession-core offers serves as a distrac-

VOLUME 47 • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

tion from our current situation. If real solutions are not offered soon, the escape from reality that “poptimism” offers will get drastically and gradually worse.

The role of social media algorithms in the recession-core resurgence can't be ignored. Algorithms are consistently exploited and manipulated to push the interests of the tech oligarch class onto the masses in a seemingly authentic and random way. Diverting energy that could be directed towards organizing institutional change towards aesthetics with no real-world impact undoubtedly benefits an oppressive system that wants to stay in place.

That’s not to say that dressing in Y2K fashion and clubbing every weekend is a bad thing to do in these uncertain times, and maintaining joy and a sense of community is absolutely crucial.

However, it’s always good to be skeptical of agendas pushed on social media and avoid losing sight of

the possibility of change.

The term “recession-core” itself normalizes the idea of a recession and primes this generation to expect they will inevitably experience one. By associating a grave s cenario, such as an economic recession, with cute clothing styles and catchy music, it minimizes the impact of a terrifying situation that may be upon us soon if the status quo persists.

The next time you’re bobbing your head along to a throwback, it might be a good idea to check in

with yourself: Is this genuine enjoyment or pure escapism?

RECESSION POP PROMISES THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY IF WE JUST DANCE. GRAPHIC AIA SEGAL @BOBAIIIIA

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EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL OPINIONS SPORTS FRINGE EDITORIAL ARTS NEWS

The importance of student journalism N

ews reporting has become readily accessible for anyone to create and distribute through the advent of social media and technology, which allows anyone to document events in real time. While this has upset the monopoly that legacy media has over the news, it has also made misinformation rampant.

Today's students—not just here at Concordia University—live thoroughly digital lives, surrounded by an almost constant influx of online information. As news consumption has shifted almost entirely to social media platforms and automated feeds, the need for robust digital literacy is higher than ever before.

When these young audiences are continually confronted with a vast overload of information, it becomes even more difficult to distinguish professional journalism from sponsored content or deliberate lies.

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has drastically escalated the average journalist’s fight for truth. Every single day, we

Volume 47, Issue 1 Tuesday, September 8, 2026 Concordia University Library Building, Room LB-717 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 2V8 Editor: 514-848-2424 x. 7407 Arts: 514-848-2424 x. 5813 News: 514-848-2424 x. 8682 Business: 514-848-7406 Advertising: 514-848-7406

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navigate online interfaces designed to blur our reality, using subtle tricks so that sponsored content and deepfakes can more easily pass for real reporting. These tools pump out realistic images, persuasive audio and artificial text engineered to fool and divide us.

How tiring. Wouldn’t you rather know that when you pick up a newspaper or open a website that you can trust the voices you’re listening to?

When we were children, our parents and the adults around us taught us not to believe everything we saw online. Now, two decades later, countless members of that same generation of adults believe anything the internet spews out at them.

In the early 2000s, most misinformation was crude, like the "Nigerian prince" scam emails, which were easily discredited. When our parents warned us against trusting everything online, they were talking about protecting personal informa-

tion, like our real names. Today, as we caution them about the same thing, the content is far more insidious: it reinforces their existing biases and tells them precisely what they want to hear.

The stakes are much higher.

Now there are entire online disinformation ecosystems that reinforce one another. It doesn't simply come through easily ignored or blocked emails or static web pages; it's videos on TikTok and other social media sites.

The news media has become increasingly politicized, and social media companies in particular have realized they could exploit this misinformation for profit. Decades ago, watching the nightly news, you’d never even know what political party the anchor was affiliated with.

Today, entire outlets are merely propaganda arms of the parties they support.

It's no wonder that people are becoming increasingly cynical.

When pushing a political agenda

becomes more important than investigating the truth, people will naturally seek other avenues to find information.

The recent Hugging Face attack has proven that AI agents now have independent agency and are sophisticated enough to defy human orders. It acts in the interest of AI and not humanity. With the potential to create completely false content, a vast number of people who have no media literacy could fall victim to false information due to rogue AI. The ever-changing media landscape is driving a massive collapse of public trust in media institutions.

The one edge that professional newsrooms have over unidentifiable internet users is trust. With big national newsrooms slashing local coverage, the daunting task of fact-checking and debunking false media falls directly on our shoulders as student journalists.

With attention spans shrinking under a relentless firehose of content, trying to fact-check something

The Link is published 12 times during the academic year by The Link Publication Society Inc. Content is independent of the university and student associations (ECA, CASA, ASFA, FASA, CSU). Editorial policy is set by an elected board as provided for in The Link 's constitution. Any student is welcome to work on The Link and become a voting staff member. Material appearing in The Link may not be reproduced without prior written permision from The Link. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters 400 words or less will be printed, space permitting. The letters deadine is Friday at 4:00 p.m. The Link reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length and refuse those deemed racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, libellous or otherwise contrary to The Link 's statement of principles.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2026- 2027: Voting Members: Iness Rifay, Matthew Daldalian, Geneviève Sylvestre| Non-Voting Members: Dana Hachwa, Safa Hachi, Payton Mitchell, Samuel Kayll.

TYPESETTING by The Link PRINTING by Hebdo-Litho.

CONTRIBUTORS: Osei Agyemang, Francis Turcotte Vera, Frances Smith, Helena Reyes Teruel, Nathalie Bucur, Julie Seguin, Sydney Nethersole, Marie Latifpour Moozar, Ikram Dridi, Sofia Gonzalez, Jude Khashman, Maggie McLean, Marissa Guthrie, Aren Scarano, Evelyn Ho Lee, James Issa, Mira De Koven, Kasey Lamer, Aia Segal COVER: Halle Keays, Naya Hachwa, Nicolas Tremblay HOUSE ADS: Halle Keays, Panos Michalakopoulos CORRECTIONS: Volume 46, Issue 12: On p. 4 in the article "Student groups call for boycott of Concordia Azrieli Institute," The Link stated that Kevin Gold wrote a letter to Concordiaʼs Office of Rights and Responsibilities in regard to the antisemitism subcommittee survey. This is incorrect, Gold sent a letter to Concordiaʼs Office of Research. On p. 5 in the article "Labour advocates call for unionization of incarcerated workers," Brianna Bourassa was erroneously quoted as referring to "gender reforming care." This is incorrect, the quote refers to "gender-affirming care." Additionally, on p. 8 in the article "Dollhouse builds a dark, dreamy sound in Montreal's indie scene," the pronoun "she" was attributed to Sacha Suadiyeli. This is incorrect, Suadiyeli's correct pronouns are "he/him." The Link regrets all of the above mentioned errors.

GRAPHIC HALLE KEAYS

after sharing it simply does not work. News needs to be accurate the moment it hits people’s screens, which means putting in the effort and patience required for every piece of media.

It's within this context that The Link’s mission comes through.

Our campus newsroom fills a crucial void that major outlets ignore. We record campus history, scrutinize administration decisions and hold leadership accountable.

By keeping our standards high, we ensure our community gets the unfiltered truth on issues directly impacting their lives.

Running an independent student paper is the real-world testing ground. We might not control corporate media agendas, but we hold real power on our campus. When we chase down evidence, interview real people and uphold our strict editorial standards, we are committing to challenging the age of digital misinformation at the grassroots level.

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Creative Director Co-News Editors Fringe Arts Editor Sports Editor Opinions Editor Photo Editor Video Editor Graphics Editor Copy Editor Business Manager

SAMUEL KAYLL CLAUDIA BEAUDOIN NAYA HACHWA SEAN RICHARD KARA BRULOTTE RYAN PYKE COLIN VAN DEN AMEELE JAIDEN GALES NICOLAS TREMBLAY SORAYA YALE-RAMANATHAN HALLE KEAYS CHANTAL BELLEFEUILLE PAYTON MITCHELL

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