T • H • E
Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University
In D o m in o C o n fid o
O c to b e r 4 t h , 1 9 9 4
Off-campus safety audit first o f its kind B y S a r a Ie a n G
N ew s Sexual harassment policy review placed on the backbumer. Page 3
W ith T V programmes like 911 and Cops, what happens to the news...? Page 9
Editorial Th e Parti Québécois gives hockey a bad name. Page 6
ENTERTAINMENT Forty plus one artists, rave and wrestling(?) info, G vs B , and way more. Page 13
SPORTS Redmen football suffers an embarrassing loss after blowing an 11-point lead in the final two m in utes of the game. Page 19
Columnists P. Darvasi.............. Page 16 T . Frankel................ Page 7 B. Van D ijk .............Page 7
Departm ents Crossword................. Page 8 Observer.....................Page 8 W hat’s O n ............. Page 19 Sexual Assault Centre of M cG ill Students’ Society
398-2700 Centre Contre l’Agression Sexuelle de l’Association des Etudiants de l’Université M cG ill
r e e n __________________
Last Thursday, sixty volun teers participated in a safety audit of the M c G ill ghetto. Th e audit was coordinated through the S S M U external affairs department in conjunction with other commu nity organisations in an attempt to evaluate and improve safety condi tions in the ghetto. The M cG ill ghetto, located to the east of campus, is an area of concern to students because of its history of violent crime. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of break-ins and reports of vandalism. Sexual and physical assaults, especially against women, have been cause for the greatest concern. Th e basic aims of the audit were to raise awareness about safety in the area and to devise recommendations for the im ple mentation of safety measures. The audit covered the area between Parc and Sherbrooke Streets, and University and Pine. S S M U V P E x te rn a l, N ic k Benedict, has been in vo lve d in coordinating this project since January. Fie worked with seven other coordinators from various campus groups as well as repre sentatives from community based organisations. B e n ed ict was pleased with student response to the project. “ I ’ m v e ry happy w ith the turnout, but the numbers aren’t as important as the area we were able to cover. W e covered the entire M cG ill ghetto,” he said. “The fact that so m any people came out shows that this issue is one of incredible concern to students.” Tw o years ago, a safety audit of the M c G ill campus was con ducted by students and members of the administration. The commit tee in charge of the on-campus audit worked to make sure recom mendations were implemented. As a result of their w ork, exterior phones were installed on-campus last year in order to im p ro ve accessibility to em ergency ser vices. T h e M c G ill G hetto Safety Audit has attracted a lot of atten tion because it is the first such pro ject that is concerned with offSee A u d it Page 2
Co
____________ Jack Suftivan Safety in the ghetto: A new priority
The disease o f equal opportunity by
L iz z ie S a u n d e r s o n
Last week the Fédération Internationale des Gynécologues et Obstétreciens convened in Montreal to discuss health, envi ronm ent and w o m e n ’ s issues. There were over 10,000 doctors in attendance. Among the topics dis cussed was endometriosis. Endometriosis affects 500,000 Canadian women. It does not dis criminate according to sex, race, age, colour or creed. As such, it is called the disease of equal opportu nity. The term endometriosis is a derivative of “ endometrium” , the tissue that composes the lining of the uterus and is expelled during m enstruation. W om en w ith endometriosis have tissue that is similar to that of the endometrium but situated outside the uterus. The result of the misplaced tis sue is lesions or tumours. There are a variety of symptoms produced by these growths. Am ong them are chronic fatigue, incredibly painful and irregular periods, pain during sexual intercourse and infertility. The personal nature of the symp
toms renders endom etriosis an uncomfortable and taboo disease. It is for this reason that endometriosis remains a closeted disease. Barbara Mains is the director of Canadian Projects at the E n d o m e trio sis A s s o cia tio n in T o ro n to . She represented the Association at F IG O . In an inter view with the Tribune, Mains com mented upon the stigma attached to endometriosis. “ En d o m e trio sis has been around for a long time,” she said. “ Unfortunately, there are still the ideas that periods are supposed to be painful and that w om en are being punished for original sin.” M ains explained that more often than not, women diagnosed w ith endometriosis have had to traipse from one doctor to another. Em p o w e re d w ith education, women suffering from symptoms of the disease were persistent in seeking an explanation from the medical community. “ Initially endometriosis was considered the disease of white wealthy women, a career woman’s disease,” Mains said. A s educated w om en w ith
A// C a n a d ia n U n d e r g r a d u a t e s a r e a u t o m a t ic a lly c o v e r e d b y t h e
Student Health Man P ic k up a n in fo b r o c h u r e a t t h e S S M U o ffic e
®
fo r m o r e d e t a ils
sym ptom s of endom etriosis demanded diagnosis they were met with resistance from the medical community. Because the symptoms were thought to be the “ normal” discom forts of m enstruation, women were often advised to seek therapy. “This disease is in the pelvis, it is not in the head,” Mains said. Carol Leroux is currently co leader of the M o n tre a l Endometriosis Association Support G rou p . She has also been diag nosed w ith the disease and was happy to comment in light of her personal experience. “It attacks our womanhood. It does not seem to be a popular dis ease with doctors because it is so complicated,” she said. Leroux is an example of the persistence that is necessary when confronting the symptoms of the disease. A s a patient she was assured b y her doctor that the symptoms she experienced were not abnormal. Despite the doctor’s medical opinion, she demanded a laparoscopy (a procedure done in See Endometriosis Page 9
If you are covered by another private health care plan, you may opt out of this program. DEADLINE: OCTOBER 14, 1994 Notice: The SSMU will be deliberating on a proposal to enhance this program substantially. Any changes to the benefit structure will be advertised in the Tribune.