The McGill Tribune Vol. 14 Issue 19

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IMcGILL February 14th, 1995

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S tu d e n ts ’ S o c ie ty

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Volume 14 Issue 19

In Domino Confido

First-ever track meet at the new fieldhouse a success By A ndrew Bo o n

News

Snow, ice, slush, and track and field. Three o f these words belong together, one of these terms is just not the same. Contrary to Sesame Street teachings however, and thanks to M cG ill’ s new m ulti-m illion dollar state-of-the-art indoor track facilities, these words can all go together for the first time at the university. Last weekend, McGill hosted its first invitational track meet within the new facilities. The fieldhouse can be adapted to almost any event, except for maybe the Hammer Throw if one was ever introduced. M cG ill was com peting against team s from Concordia, Bishop’s, Queen’s, Laval, Plattsburgh and Dartmouth College. With over 100 athletes participating, fans got a chance to witness some fierce competition, while this sports writer got a first-hand look at what is known as “track superstitions”. Be it listening to the rom antic funk o f BarryWhite or repeatedly spitting in garbage cans prior to start, the track world is steeped in mysticism. M cG ill’s team fared quite well Runners test out the new facilities. See Track Page 20

Where is the Canadian student movement head­ ed? The Tribune takes a look at two rival associa­ tions looking to lead the way. See Page 2

Read your valentines as you enjoy the T rib’s rec­ ommended wines. See Page 9

Editorial Republican empire strikes back? See Page 6

ENTERTAINMENT Dinner is ruined, bring your date. See Page 15

A x w o rth y revisited: Q u eb ec students hold distin ct protest By A dam Sennett___________

SPORTS New fieldhouse hosts first-ever track meet. See Page 20

“Jamais” was the rallying call of students at the Palais des Congrès last Tuesday at the Fédération Etudiante Universitaire du Québec’s assembly to protest tuition hikes. Approximately 2,000 students gathered in opposition to the Axworthy reforms and expected changes in the upcoming federal budget. However, organisers had anticipated a much larger turnout of up to 10,000 students. The planned march to the Palais des Congrès had been cancelled on account of the cold weather, making it difficult to estimate the number of M cGill students who attended the rally. SSMU Vice-president External N ick B en ed ict estim ated that approximately 200 McGill students participated. Jean L ev e lielle, one o f the assem bly organisers, expressed regret that the march had to be can­ celled, and hoped that it would not adversely affect the turnout at the rally. “With the temperature, we had to cancel the march from the campus

C o lu m n is ts P. Darvasi.............. Page 19 T. Frankel......................Page7 B. Van D ijk ...............Page 7

D e p a rtm e n ts Crossword.....................Page8 Observer........................ Page8 W hat’s O n ............. Page 23 Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Student’s Society 3 9 8 -2 7 0 0 Centre Contre l’Agression de l’Association des Etudiants de L’Université McGill

up to P alais de C on g rès,” said Levelielle. “It was a factor which affected the organisation.” At 5:45, the lights in the Palais des Congrès went out and the offi­ cial assembly began. Students were treated to pictures of participants in the January 25 national day of strike and action organised by the Canadian Federation o f Students, and to Pink Floyd’s “One Of These Days.” The Mistress of Ceremonies for the night was popular French come­ dian Sylvie Legault. After a brief and solemn speech, Legault was fol­ lowed by a host o f speakers from diverse organisations including the Fédération des Trav ailleu rs de Q uébec, philanthropist and founder/director o f the Canadian C entre for A rch itectu re Phylis Lambert, and SSM U’s Benedict. “M cG ill University students have joined themselves with the con­ sensus in Quebec against the cuts to higher education,” said Benedict. “We say No to Paul Martin, No to Jean Chrétien and No to Axworthy.” The assembly differed from the January 25 protest in many ways

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other than the size of the turnout. The Palais des Congrès had been rented on FEU Q funds, video screens had been set up in the room o f the protest, and the assembly included a diversity of speakers. U3 student and m ember of Students for Social Justice Melissa Redman was cynical about the style of the rally. “Wow, they’re doing quite a good job...music, light, really catchy pictu res,” said Redman. “W e’re dealing with the MTV generation.” B enedict defended the mod­ ernised style of the rally. “I think it was professional,” he said. “Unfortunately we live in the last decade of the 20th century where if you want to get media attention, you have to be professional.” A significant change to the con­ tent o f the speeches during the protest from that of January 25 was that most speakers included Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin in their attack on A xw orthy’ s proposed reforms. Benedict stated that this was intentional. “Axworthy isn’t a player right now. Right now the players are Paul

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Martin and Chrétien,” he said. Overall, there was a general sat­ isfaction with the rally. F E U Q ’ s Gino T rifiro com m ented on the amount of media attention given to the rally. “We had lots of fun. There was great media coverage in both English and French, radio and television,” said Trifiro. SSMU Clubs Rep Chris Carter was also satisfied with the rally, despite certain reservations. “The major positive point o f this is the fact that FEUQ is showing solidarity with the rest of the student movem ent in opposing the Axworthy reforms,” Carter said. One concern was that the focus against tuition hikes would be dilut­ ed by the many non-student political organisations present at the rally. For example, a flyer announcing a rally on Sunday was handed out on which the tuition hikes were not even men­ tioned. “It’s all in the same plan,” said Benedict. “The focus of the SSMU isn’t working on UI... but where we can help each other out, I don’t see why not.”

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