The McGill Tribune Vol. 20 Issue 16

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Mc GI LL T R I B U N E

Published

by the S tu d e n ts’ Society o f M cG ill

U niversity

T uesday,

16 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 1

Issue

16

+ 25 Bands & DJs

+ 50 Volunteers + 102 Large pizzas + 300 Sandwiches

Bitter TA strike at York ends after 11 weeks L a b o u r d is p u te s

s im m e r a t

Jonathan Colford

Canadian students should brace themselves for an increase in the number and severity of labour disputes on the nation’s campuses in the coming year.

The 11-week teaching/graduate/research assistant and contract faculty strike at York University ended last week after shutting down the school for more than two months. The union, local 3903 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, came to an agreement with York on January 9 and fall

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semester make-up classes resumed January 12.

The agreement reached on was not significantly different from the University’s October 26 proposal to the strikers’ union, according to the union’s website.

Carleton University is likely to experience labour troubles of Yorkian proportions in the near future.

Sessional lecturers, student, teaching, research and service assis­ tants, as well as clerical, technical, and administrative staff have all seen their respective collective

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agreements expire over the past summer. Carleton’s 1,200 TA’s, rep­ resented by CUPE local 4600, met on'January 15 to discuss holding a strike vote for January 22 though 24. Details were not available at press time.

CUPE 4600 is seeking a reduc­ tion in TA workload, some form of tuition indexation, reduced post­ residency fees (i.e. the reduction of tuition for students whose course work is completed), job security, pay equity, and insurance fees for international students.

“Class sizes are increasing all

across the board,” CUPE 4600 President Aalya Ahmad said. “We have one TA who has 350 stu­ dents.”

Ahmad has not seen much progress in the negotiations, which have entered their seventh month.

“We have won some very minor concessions, but they remain very minor concessions.”

Several other Canadian cam­ puses are currently beset with labour disputes.

McGill University faces a pos­ sible strike from its Service Employees’ Union. The Union,

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whose members include porters and staff from cafeterias, residences, cleaning and the mailroom, has been negotiating with the universi­ ty since 1996 for increased job secu­ rity, wages, and time off. SEU members voted 94 per cent in favour of a strike mandate on September 23.

Guelph University’s 273 main­ tenance workers, represented by CÜPE local 1334, have been nego­ tiating with the University over workload, pay, and job security since early 2000. On October 23, Please see YORK, page 2

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2News TheMcGill Tribune, Tuesday, 16January2001

Time to perform Shehryar Fazli The contrat de performance between the University and the Quebec government was finally signed at a press conference organ­ ized at the Faculty Club in late December.

The contract will bring McGill an additional $50 million a year by the end of the three-year period agreed upon. In return, the University will have to meet certain conditions stipulated by the gov­ ernment touching upon, among other areas, graduation rates, aca­ demic staff renewal, program devel­ opment and balanced budgets.

Principal Bernard Shapiro views the agreement as a positive source of funding, and the stipula­ tions consistent to the University’s own goals. “[The contrat de performance] has enabled us to be somewhat more specific and concrete relative to the objectives outlined in our own planning document, Tradition and Innovation in a C ity of Knowledge,” he said.

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In response to arguments that the government’s conditions may affect the autonom y o f the University in framing its policy­ making process, Shapiro stated that restrictive provisions were common characteristics of such arrange­ ments.

“Having a patron - whether in the private and/or the public sectoralways carries with it a potential lim itation on the University’s autonomy,” he said. “Certainly, our experience is that funds rarely come without some strings attached. O n the other hand, in this particular instance, the provincial government accepted w ithout com m ent the strategic directions that we had, in fact, chosen for ourselves. O f course, it is always possible in the fixture that our autonomy will be threatened inappropriately. That is the price one pays for fiscal depend» ence.

Clara Peron, vice president university affairs for the Students’ Society of McGill University, believes that the generality of the

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University’s agreement with the Quebec government will reduce the impact on McGill’s administrative independence.

“McGill was very astute in making broad commitments rather than specific ones,” she said. “This allows it some flexibility to maneu­ ver in a changing academic world that is displaying more and more cross-cutting disciplinary trends.”

“In general, I find it a sad real­ ity that the [Ministry of Education of Quebec] feels that it needs to hold such a tight grip on universi­ ties and such has been the senti­ ment felt inSenate,” Peron contin­ ued. “However, in order to func­ tion, McGill desperately needs more funds and has to cooperate with the M E Q on certain items.

McGill has certainly, as far as my experience goes, been on the side of academic freedom and will hesitate very strongly if the M E Q ever wish­ es to exert more control over aca­ demic programs taught in universi-

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York strike comes to an end continued from page 1

2000, CUPE 1334 members voted 94 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. Two weeks later, Guelph asked O ntario Labour minister Chris Stockwell for the power to lock out its maintenance and opera­ tions staff.

Contracts for part-time faculty at Saint Mary’s University, Dalhousie University, and Mount St. Vincent University expired last summer. Part-time faculty at all three schools are represented by CUPE local 3912.

Talks at Saint Mary’s between the University and CUPE 3912 broke off early last week. The union argues that part-time faculty, whose numbers are up 14 per cent between

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25,

1993 and 1998 in Atlantic Canada, are making larger contributions to the revenue-producing side of uni­ versity budgets yet earn significandy less than full time faculty and receive no benefits.

Sessional lecturers at l’Université du Québec à TroisRivières solved their dispute with U Q T R through a mediator on January 8. Their new deal, approved by 75 per cent of the approximately 200 lecturers voting, will grant them annual salaries instead of a fee per course and a raise. By 2005, a lecturer with a seven-course load will earn between $46,000 and $60,000, depending on seniority and qualifications. Sessional lectur­ ers were paid $4,800 per course under the old agreement.

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Author of The V inyl C afé, U nplugged (2000), Sto ries from the V inyl C a fé (1998), H om e From the V inyl C a fe (19 9 5), M orningside W orld of Stuart M cLean (1989). and winner of the Canadian Authors Association Best Non Fiction Book for W elcom e H om e (1993).

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m m u-seiAfy, M sextwiam > TWO W H O iM TiAIivt Of IHt MCOilt SCHOOL orSOCtAL

Invites You to A Party!!

When?

G e n e ra l A d m issio n $25.00 each or $60.00 for series Students & Seniors: $20 each

in fo rm a tio n o r R e se rv a tio n (514)482-4685 Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. & lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m.

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ThursdayJanuary 25, 2001 at 9 pm

Where? C*ul:) QZone Mackay (Comer SteCatherine, MétroGuy-Concordia) Why? It’sour Birthday!! Comehelp uscelebrateour SecondAnniversary, havefun and meet cool people fromthecommunity.

Free Pool, DJ and Free Snacks!!

TheMcGill Tribune, Tuesday, 16January2001 News3

SnoAP: a success “I think it brings unity to McGill students. It’s fun, friendly and happy. It congregates all faculties to have a good time.”

Gregor Nelson, U2, marketing

Nema Etheridge Distant cousin to late sum­ mer’s Open Air Pub, McGill’s Snow AP rocked the lower field last week as droves o f students pulled back the flap of the heated tent and joined the cozy brew-ha-ha inside.

At the end of last week, after days of djs, bands, beer, and debauchery on the lower field, students had formu­ lated opinions about the event. In the heat o f the moment, here’s what they had to say.

“I like it a lot. The bands have been good, although, I don’t care much for the DJ’s.”

Richard Simpson, U 1, Arts “It’s all very tasty. Finally some­ thing I can sink my teeth into.”

-Jean Baptiste, U3, Arts

“Snow AP rocks. I’ve been here since 1:30, and I’ve had way too many beers.. .way too many.”

Megan Miller at 6:00 U l, Cultural Studies

“I’ve been here hours and hours.

Before this week we all put in about 20-30 hours...maybe more.

This week we’ve been here every­ day, 7-8 hours. The bands have been very, very good...Everybody I’ve talked to has congratulated

“I’ve been here everyday. I have 3 hours a day off from class, so I come at noon and stay for a while.

It’s really good this year. It’s been a lot warmer this year than it was last year. Whoever organized this did a great jo b .. .except yesterday when I had to line-up to get in.

That didn’t last too long, though because I had a friend at the door.”

M att Kanter, U 1 political-science and economics, one of the “hard­ cores” spotted by Chodos

Emilie Wilcox U 1, English and anthropology, SnowAP volunteer organizer

“There are so many hot guys here.

Where are they normally? Do they go to M cGill?...I’m serious.”

Karen Steward, U 1 political science

“I’m exhausted, but I’m good. My proudest week as VP-events. All the bands have been great. The volunteers have been here every­ day. I think there have been almost 1000 people that have come in here over the week. There are even a few hard cores; I’ll find some for you.”

M ark Chodos, VP communica­ tions and events

“It’s great. We’ve been here most o f the day. Everyone’s just so relaxed and having a good time.

It’s great.”

James Bunton, U l, Guelph University drummer, Timeline

“This is my first time here. I’ve been here a couple o f hours.. .It’s impressive. The music’s been good.

The beer was frozen for a bit, though. It’s a really good way to get the semester started... and a good means of procrastination.”

Taylor Russell, U3, economics

Streeter photos by Nema Etheridge

Students’ Society of McGill University

MSF Opt Out for the Winter semester January 22-26 in the SSMU Office Brown Student Services Building.

Each day 10am - 4pm

“I was basically on the committee that ran this, but I still think it’s awesome. I come here everyday. I haven’t been to class, yet. Plus it’s so much warmer here than out­ side.”

Saida Tesfai, U l, Arts

For more information about the fees you pay to your Students' Society of McGill University visit w w w .ssm u.ca/ssm u/fees.htm l

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ONLY 4

Floors Party January

4News TheMcGill Tribune, Tuesday, 16January2001

SSMU-PGSS negotiations forecast possible changes to campus services' budget Mike Bargav and Nema Etheridge Graduate students will walk away with more money in their pockets as the result o f recent nego­ tiations between SSMU and PGSS. For the last ten years, the Students’ Society o f McGill University and the Post Graduate Students’ Society have existed as separate bodies, with a contractual sharing of certain services. For a hitherto charge of $65 000 yearly, the PGSS has had access to SSMU clubs and services. Renogiations to renew the contract which is now in its final year however, have wit­ nessed a considerable change in the charge to PGSS. Negotiations between the two organizations began in 1989 when

PGSS wanted to separate from the SSMU, in search o f more represen­ tation on campus. In response, SSMU held a referendum to increase PGSS representation on SSMU council from 9percent to 20 percent. T he referendum was designed to quell graduate student demands for separation from SSMU. The referendum did not pass, and a slow separation of the PGSS from SSMU began.

“Ten years ago, they negotiated and this came to $65 000 a year.

This year it’s ending,” said SSMU President Wojtek Baraniak. “The brilliant SSMU executives at the time didn’t put a renewal clause in.”

After talks that began in October, both parties began renego­ tiating the yearly charge to the

PGSS. Baraniak believed that the PGSS proposal o f $8000 was unworkable.

“If you want to go by the num­ bers alone, out o f that $8000, $6000 o f it should go toward Walksafe, about a dollar from each of the 6000 students,” he said.

Baraniak explained how the amount of the proposal gradually increased. “[At the meeting], someone said $16000 somewhat arbitrarily.

We gave them an offer of $30 000, just to ensure that they knew what was going on from our end,” added Baraniak in reflection of SSMU’s expectations.

Aaron Windsor, chairman of PGSS explained that the original agreement with SSMU was tempo­

rary and made with the intent to separate the two organizations.

Windsor believes that after ten years under the same agreement, the PGSS has grown enough to stand on its own.

“We also fund graduate stu­ dent clubs that are not under SSMU...when we separated we did not have the infastructure to deal with such things, but now we do,” he said.

Baraniak, however, explained that costs arise not only from direct expenses but numerous corrolaries which he believed the PGSS neg­ lected in their considerations.

“At the same time, there is a full time accounting team, and that has an enormous cost to it.

Running the building, paying for all the services necessary for upkeep, the associated costs, the hidden costs all come out to a lot,” Baraniak said.

SSMU Vice President Clubs and Services Chris Gratto agreed.

“If graduate students are using services on campus like Walksafe, Drivesafe, and SACOMS, they should be paying the cost,” he said.

Further problems arose last week over the possibility that PGSS might not continue any arrange­ ment with the SSMU. “Last Tuesday was the deadline [for PGSS] to set the referendum question. I heard that they had gone ahead and decided that they weren’t going to enter any agree­ ment with us, but that they would fund selected clubs,” said Baraniak.

“That’s bad faith...that’s just bad for relations,” Baraniak contin­ ued. “I told them that was going to spoil the blood for quite a long

time.”

Finally, SSMU settled on the $16000 proposal offered earlier on by the PGSS. “You have to remember that we have no leg to stand on. The PGSS feels like they have been ripped off for the last 10 years.

They look back on the 10 years and say ‘we’ve been ripped off, and so we don’t want to give you any­ thing,” explained Baraniak.

Windsor explained the PGSS point of view.

“We understand that we have been overcharged in the past...” he said. “There is a historical reason for that..we were separating from SSM U,” said Winsdor. “[Both organizations] have changed dra­ matically over the past ten years, and there’s no sense for the same prices.”

Baraniak, however, criticized a move that would serve to lower the quality and solvency o f McGill clubs and services “For the sake of the communi­ ty, if they are going to use the serv­ ice, they should contribute,” he said. “We have to make a critical decision whether to continue sup­ porting Clubs and Services at the same level or cut back. It’s a sad sit­ uation but that is just the reality.

Maybe next year they’ll decide to pull up their socks and maintain a tougher financial position.”

G ratto added that with reduced funding from PGSS, some services on campus could feel a cut­ back. “Unless our revenue increases, someone’s going to get less money.”

W McGill V IC E -P R IN C IP A L (R E S E A R C H )

In light of the planned retirement of Professor Pierre Bélanger, an Advisory Com m ittee has been struck w ith respect to the selection o f a new Vice-P rincipal (Research).

A fo ru m on

n ts fo c u s in g ill.

In order to assist in its deliberations, the Advisory Com m ittee would welcom e nom inations from members o f the M cG ill com m unity o f individuals believed to be appropriate candidates fo r this position.

All nom inations w ill be treated in the stricte st confidence by the Com m ittee, and they should be addressed to:

Dr. Bernard Shapiro, Principal McGill University 845 Sherbrooke Street West Montreal, QC H3A 2T5

TheMcGill Tribune, Tuesday, 16January2001 News5

NGOs and South African change Educators meet to discuss the obstacles and rewards of South African reform Mike Bargav Among the most important of the many structural overhauls in post-apartheid South Africa has been education.

N onGovernmental Organizations such as the Canada-South Africa Eductaion Management Program (CSAEMP) have proved important in the transition to a democratized educational system.

Friday, January 5th marked the presentation o f a CSAEMP progress report of sorts in McGill, outlining both highs and lows on the road to reform.

The CSAMP, first established in May 1996 and now in its final year o f operation, is an N G O focussing on the development o f a modernized education system in the South African provinces of Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga.

At the vanguard of issues it address­ es are low matriculation results, improved standards o f teaching, greater community involvement in schools, efficient organizational policy in multi-grade classrooms, and the general promotion o f a cli­ mate of equality and progressivism.

Anusha Naidu, o f the Guateng D epartm ent Education outlined

Arts Undergraduate

that the central problem of educa­ tional revamp in South Africa was to set goals in continually changing social contexts in order to create a culture conducive to education.

“The first few years of democ­ racy saw a change in policy to bring equity and equality. Recently, changes in policy [have been] aim­ ing for education in line with the rest o f the w orld,” she said.

“Implementation is made difficult by challenges inherited from the past, [and] from a society eroded by past structures. Challenges of crime, of violence, broken families and community broke down the culture o f teaching and learning, and one o f our issues is to restore the culture o f teaching and learn• » mg.

“We found many o f our schools dysfunctional [in 1994] and have been creating a culture that would allow for school improve­ m ent,” she said, explaining the enormity of building a functional education system on the tenuous and crumbling remains of a bygone era.

Pat Pheto, a principal in the Free State D epartm ent of Education, echoed similar senti­ m ents on the vast am ount o f change necessitated by the pre­

How w o u ld y o u lik e to b e a P e e r A d v is o r ?

T h e A r t s U n d e r g r a d u a t e S o c ie ty (AUS) a n d t h e S c ie n c e U n d e r g r a d u a t e S o c ie ty (SUS), in c o n ju n c t i o n w i t h t h e S t u d e n t A f f a ir s O ffic e o f t h e F a c u ltie s o f A r t s a n d S c ie n c e , a r e lo o k in g fo r d e d ic a te d U 2 s tu d e n ts to b eco m e p e e r a d v is o r s .

R e s p o n s ib ilitie s in c lu d e h e l p i n g f e llo w s t u d e n t s in d e c is io n m a k in g , e x p l a i n i n g d ro p /a d d p ro c e d u re s, re fe rra ls to o th e r c a m p u s r e s o u r c e s , a n d m o r e . V o lu n te e r s a c c e p t e d t o th e p ro g ra m a re e x p e c te d to m a k e a c o m m itm e n t o f a t l e a s t o n e a c a d e m ic y e a r , a n d w ill r e c e iv e a l e t t e r o f r e c o m m e n d a tio n f ro m t h e F a c u lty a t t e s t i n g t o t h e s e r v ic e s p r o v id e d .

apartheid system inherited by edu­ cators, and what he sees to be a tremendous amelioration in the state o f affairs.

“Given the changes o f South Africa in 1994, the greatest thing was to transform,” said Pheto. “We designed programs tailor-made at

44 W e h a v e a v is io n a n d a w ay s o f g e ttin g t o it.

T h e s c h o o l b e lo n g s to a ll o f u s... w e h a v e to tr a n s f o r m it —

P at Pheto

the school level, involved students and parents in school life. The results we have seen are truly remarkable. We have a vision, and a ways of getting to it. The school belongs to all o f us... we have to transform it.”

John Matsena, a principal in the Gauteng Department of educa­ tion highlighted another dimension o f addressing the question of educa­ tion, stating that change draws as much from efficient internal organ­

ization as it does from a hospitable social climate.

“You cannot hold someone responsible for something they are not responsible for,” said Matsena, explaining the need for clear labour organization in schools. “But if you give them a job description, you can hold them responsible.”

Matsena further explained that one o f the keys in reforming South African education was changing instructors from adopting the phi­ losophy of merely following a set syllabus to a more enriching approach to education.

“Education is not like teach­ ing. W hat I did was to put back the sense o f what we are here to do as educators,” said Matsena.

Fikele Mtshali explained fur­ ther complications of organization o f mutli-grade classrooms in previ­ ous farm schools. Traditionally farm schools were run by landowners in a haphazard and disorganized man­ ner, many one room/one teacher schools being home to more than five grades. After 1994, reform was needed to render the multi-grade classroom an efficient and viable means of learning.

“Multi-graded classrooms needed structural methodologies of multi-graded teaching ensuring that nobody gets left behind. If they [students] are in groups, they can continue on their own and with the group through peer learning, and the teacher has more time to attend to individual weaker students,” explained Mtshali, speaking on the creation of multi-grade classrooms where teachers could plausibly cater to individual needs.

Mtshali outlined that the greatest difference in the approach to education if free South Africa was the move from education as merely a random occurrence between harvest work needs, to a legitimate institution.

“Before 1994, parents had no control over the education o f stu­ dents,” she said explaining the hire and fire mentality of apartheid farm schools. “[After] 1994, with the School Governing Bodies, parents [are] responsible for the education o f their children. [This] paradigm shift brought about the systematic changes in our schools.”

Students’ Society of McGill University

Q u a lific a tio n s re q u ire d : A p p lic a n ts m u s t: ■ h a v e a m in im u m CG PA o f 3 . 0 0 o r a b o v e ( s p e c ia l c a s e s t o b e c o n s i d e r e d in d iv i d u a l l y ) ■ b e in U 2 (s e c o n d y e a r o f a th re e y e a r p ro g ra m , o r s e c o n d /th ird y e a r o f a fo u r y e a r p ro g ra m ) a t th e tim e o f a p p lic a tio n ■ h a v e a n a b ility to lis te n , to r e s p o n d in a n o n - ju d g m e n ta l m a n n e r, to b e c o m p a s s io n a te , a n d to b e in te r e s te d in o th e r s ■ b e p r e p a r e d t o c o m m it t o a m in im u m o f t w o h o u r s / w e e k f o r t h e a c a d e m ic y e a r 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 ( S e p t. - N o v . a n d J a n . - M ar.)

■ to a tte n d tr a in in g s e s s io n s d u r i n g t h e m o n t h o f M a rc h 2 0 0 1 ( v o l u n t e e r s w ill b e t r a in e d b y a n a d v is o r fro m t h e S t u d e n t A f f a i r s O f f ic e o f t h e F a c u ltie s o f A rts a n d S c ie n c e ) . T h e t r a i n i n g s e s ­ s i o n s w ill t a k e p l a c e o n t w o a l t e r n a t e S a t u r d a y s , M a rc h 1 7 & 2 4 , 2 0 0 1 , l O a .m . t o 3 p .m .

MSF Opt Out for the Winter semester January 22-26 in the SSMU Office Brown Student Services Building.

Each day 10am - 4pm

For more information about the fees you pay to your Students' Society of McGill University visit www .ssm u.ca/ssm u/fees.htm l

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A p p l i c a t i o n s a n d p o s i t i o n d e s c r i p t i o n s c a n b e p ic k e d u p fro m a n e n v e l o p e p o s t e d in t h e lo b b y o f D a w s o n H a ll a s o f J a n u a r y 2 2 , 2 0 0 1 . C o m p le te d a p p l i c a t i o n s ( a n d r e l a t e d d o c u m e n ts ) m u s t b e s u b m i t t e d t o D a w s o n H a ll, R o o m 1 1 0 , in a s e a l e d e n v e l o p e la b e lle d " P e e r A d v is in g " b y F e b r u a r y 2 3 , 2 0 0 1 . A ll a p p l i c a n t s w ill b e c o n t a c t e d f o r a n i n t e r v i e w d u r i n g t h e w e e k o f M a rc h 5 , 2 0 0 1 .

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P u b lic A d m in is tr a tio n Public administrators work across all levels of local, provincial, regional and federal governments. Humber College's program gives university graduates the knowledge and skills necessary to manage the considerable human, physical and financiai resources of the public sector.

Call [416) 675-6622, ext 3206, « 1 H U M BER w w w . b u s i n e s s . h u m b e r c . o n . c 3 or fax (416) 252-7573.

The Business School

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P u b lish ed b y th e Office o f th e Vice P resid en t o f C om m unications and Events

a d v e r tis e m e n t

SSMU Midterm Report

(V P Communications and Events)

WHAT'S GOING ON AT YOUR STUDENTS' SOCIETY ?•

President

Who I Work Wi t h: PRESIDENTIAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Andres Freidman (Chair) Mark Reich (DSS) Mathieu Suprenant (MUS) Gurpreet Brar Member-at-large Carly Kovendt Member-at-large Mark Rintoul Member-at-large Joseph Quesnel Member-at-iarge

I would like to w elcom e everyone b ack and I hope that you all enjoyed your holiday. The executive h a s prepared a brief syn o p sis of certain projects that they have been working on and will continue to work on over the next four m onths leading up to the com pletion of our m andates.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT: Jen Karmona et ai.

After experiencing m any difficulties over the p ast few m onths, I am p leased to announce that build­ ing renovations to the m ain and b asem en t floors of the Shatn er Building will soon be underway, m ak­ ing our Student Centre more a cce s sib le and student friendly. We have recently begun to s e e k alum ­ ni contributions to p urchase such things a s furniture and com puters that will be availab le to all stu­ dents in the new lounge on the first floor.

FACULTY RELATIONS COMMISSIONER: Matt Donian

The m onths of Jan uary and February will certainly be eventful, a s I will be a ss is tin g in the student s e rv ic e s budgeting p ro cess. Th is will have a direct im pact on students a s the results of th is process decide the am ount of the student s e rv ic e s fee that is charged each sem ester.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS COMMISSIONER: Jennifer Bilec VOLUNTEERS: Nili Issacs Michelle Poliwka

Wojtek Baraniak p re s @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a

3 9 8 -6 8 0 1 I will a lso be presenting to Council a com pletely revised bylaw and policy m anual which will include changes to the election rules and the addition of an a c c e s s to information policy. Furtherm ore, I, along with C h ris Gratto, have been investigating the possib ility of am ending our current rules in order to provide additional funding to all recognized student groups in order to in cre ase support to clubs and s e rv ic e s , a s well a s broaden the definition of the types of groups that the SSM U currently funds.

As alw ays I w elcom e your com m ents and sugg estion s. I a lso encourage you to attend SSM U Council m eetings which are held every second Thursday at 6 :0 0 pm beginning Jan uary 11*".

I wish you all the best in the New Year and I hope that you have a successful sem ester.

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES • To be the chief officer of the Society; • To ensure the long term integrity of the Society; • To be the spokesperson for the Society in a manner not inconsistent with policies set out by Council; • To enforce the Constitution and By-laws of the Society; • To chair and coordinate the activities of the Executive Committee; • To call meetings and set the agenda for Council • To co-ordinate relations between the Society and the administration of McGill University; • To co-ordinate Society representation on University selection committees for senior administrators and University representatives; • To ensure communication between the Society and the Board of Governors; • To attend meetings of the University Senate and Board of Governors; • To Develop external policies with the Vice President Community and Government Affairs; • To reside in the Montreal area throughout the term in office.

VP University Affairs.............

Personal Projects

Clara Péron u a @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a

3 9 8 -6 7 9 7 CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES • To coordinate the activities of the Senate Caucus; • To ensure communication between Council, student Senators, and all student members of University committees; • To maintain relations between the Society and all levels of government at McGill University (Departmental, Faculty, and Senate); • To attend meetings of the University Senate; • To attend, or to appoint and advise student representatives to committees and subcommit tees of Senate and the Committee on the Coordination of Student Services (CCSS); • To coordinate Society representation on University selection committees for Deans and Directors of Faculties and Schools; • To assume the role of Ombudsperson when the Ombudsperson is not available; • To reside in the Montreal area throughout the term of office.

A cademic Is s u e s : • Created a Task Force on Internships under the Academ ic Policy and Planning Com m ittee of S en ate.

• Actively im plicated in the final sta g e s of approval for a new University-wide course e valuatio ns system , which would include digitally a cce s sib le course evaluation results.

• Estab lish e d com m unication with the VP A cadem ics of faculty a sso cia tio n s in order to promote inform ation-sharing and collaborative initiatives.

S tudent R epresentation : • Actively servin g on over fifteen University Com m ittees • Continuous lobbying for student representation on all new com m ittees • Organized the M cGill A cadem ic Round Table (MART) in order to sp ark debate about various is s u e s am ong student representatives to University Com m ittees • Co-ordinate the representation of student sen ato rs to Senate.

S tudent R ights : • Created the position of a Student Equity C o m m issio n e r for SSM U • Actively lobbying for student rights, including the right to a proper exam ination environm ent.

• Working on m aking the SSM U W ebsite bilingual.

University Affairs Committee (UAC) Projects UAC C ommunications G roup: • Organizing a forum on acade m ic is s u e s : Voicing Our V isio n to take place on Jan u ary 2 4 in Leaco ck 2 3 2 from 2 :3 0 -4 :0 0 • Organizing M&M: an event that brings together adm inistrators, faculty, and students.

• Working on w ays to com m unicate initiatives of the VP University Affairs portfolio to the general student body (e.g. currently film ing a video to be aired in classro o m s) UAC Policy G roup: • Meeting with the Director of Libraries and surveying students regarding the donation of $ 1 Million to the libraries a s part of the Library Improvement Fund.

• Investigating the creation of SSM U Teaching Awards • Planning the writing of a Student Strategic Report for M cGill a s a follow-up of Voicing Our V isio n to be presented to the McGill Adm inistration at M&M.

Who I Work Wi t h: University Affairs Committee Members: Judy Kwan, Claire Walsh, Lindsay Mendoza, Gurpreet Brar, John Mitchell, Amanda Beattie, Fred Sagel. Aii Shivji, Shane Saunderson Senate Caucus Members: Gleider Hernandez, Amit Grover, Faiz Ahmad, Rakesh Khanna, William Bond, Arin Silber, Fred Sagel. Karen Chalk, Michael Hershfield, Khaied Abul Sharaf, Sabrina Jafralie Library Improvement Fund Committee Members: Judy Kwan, Ali Shivji, Fred Sagel, Amanda Beattie, John Mitchell Commissioners: Francophone Commissioner: Valérie Grenier-Lafon Academic Research Commissioner: Andrew Hennigar Student Equity Commissioner: Amarkai Laryea

VP Community & Government Affairs* •Who

I Work Wi t h:

Members of the Committee on Well, we’ve already reached the halfway point ^ im e sure does fly. Externally things have been going well, partially because of the Community and Government Affairs Chairperson: Danielle Lanteigne ties that my committee and I have fostered with student unions across Quebec and Canada, the Millennium Scholarship Foundation, Councillors: government officials and representatives from all of C a n a d a ’s political parties. We have also worked very closely with the metro­ Glenn Allan politan police, Tandem and other community groups.

Jennifer Sloan Aanan Misra Members at large: Government On the federal side of things, my committee and I have continued to use our m embership with the Canadian Alliance Barbara Botros of Student Associations (CASA) to fight for education issu e s. CASA h as launched a national campaign centered on getting desper­ Mitch Derner ately needed funding for C a n a d a ’s post secondary institutions. The committee and I worked tirelessly during the federal election, Ashley Singla compiling information on the party platforms, a s well a s asking the parties specific questions about youth and education issu e s and circulating their answers. We met with the candidates from many ridings and stim ulated d iscussion on education issu e s.

McGill Ghetto Residents' Association Director: Geoffry Pelsise Provincially, I have worked with La FEUQ (La Federation Etudiante Universitaire du Quebec) on many projects. We met with Quebec Members: Minister of Education Francois Legault to d iscu ss needed changes to education. We have started working very closely with the Farish Sawyer e x t e r n a l@ s s m u .m c g ill.c a University of Montreal to give greater strength to our collective lobbying efforts.

Danielle Lanteigne

Jeremy Farrell

3 9 8 -6 7 9 8

Community The community side of the portfolio h as been a major priority for the committee this year. So far we have organized CONSTITUTIONALDUTIES Montreal's Terry Fox Day, a Tenant’s Rights Clinic and taken part in Remembrance Day cerem onies with the Montreal community.

•Torepresent the Societyand communicate positions and policies taken bythe Societyto Lastly we brought politics and the community together by hosting a debate for M cGill’s electoral constituency. external bodies and agencies; •to lobbythe governments of Canada (federal, provincial and local) to further the objects, goals Next Sem ester I will continue to lobby at all levels of government and will further develop our old and new relationships. The com­ or policies ofthe Society; munity side of things will be the priority next sem ester. To start off, we are organizing a volunteerism day and planning a safety •to develop policies and initiatives inthe offcampus McGill community; aw areness event with the SSM U safety com m ission.

•to communicate to Council anyexternal issues which mayaffect McGill Universityor its stu­ I would like to take this opportunity to thank the m em bers of my committee for all of their time and hard work. dents; •to attend meetings of relevant provincial, national or international student groups: to developexternal policies withthe President.

• • • • • •

Who 1 Work Wi t h: Clubs and Services Committee Akin Alaga Mona Shair Martin Doe Ryan Lemieux Sam Ntomne Jane Ng Clubs Reps: Akin Alaga Erica Weinstein Suzanne Loney Activities Day Coordinators: Sam Ntomne Lisa Tsui

David Schanzle Culturefest Coordinators: Jennifer Famery Yoon Jun Kim Shirin Jessa Campus Life Research Committee Ryan Lennox Leslie Litman Brian Ker Chase Robinson Leadership Conference Coordinator: Jennifer Famery

Many Volunteers

VP Clubs and Services

Th an ks to the hard work of my com m ittee m em bers and num erous other student lead ers, this year h a s th us far been a great s u c c e s s . So far th is year I have helped students start over 4 0 new clu b s, worked with the MUS to secu re the donation of 2 5 com puters to the Sandiford Com puter Lab (operated by MUS) for use by our club s, created additional storage sp a ce by installing storage lockers on the 4th floor of the Shatn er Building, placed couches in the clu b s lounge, a ss is te d the winner of the S m all B u s in e ss Incubator C on test in finding suitab le office sp a ce and a ss is te d them in getting their b u sin e ss up and running, fin ish ed the phone system upgrade began la st year, worked with Kevin M cPhee to m inim ize the im pact of renovations on club s and se rv ic e s , m anaged the installation of 5 information boards a co rss cam pu s, put on one of the b e st attended Activities D ays in recent ye ars and put on the first-ever Upper Rez I Activities Night. In the winter term I will be organizing a second Activities Night (W ednesday, January 10 ), C ultureFest and Student Appreciation Night. I will a lso be preparing proposals for furnishing and placem ent of internet a cce s sib le com puters in the soon to be opened 1 " floor t - n n s student lounge, a ssistin g in the com pletion of building renovations, preparing a m arketing study c lu b a c c @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a for Old M cG ill, working to create a ca m p u s wide sp e cia l project fund open to all students and 39 944 cam pus groups, and finally helping club s and s e rv ic e s prepare for the ever-popular clu b s audit.

VP Communications........ & Events

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES • To promote communi cation between the society and its mem bership, utilizing a variety of media, including but not limit ed to website(s) and email; print media; audiovisual; direct mailings; posters.

• To develop and impie ment a communica tions strategy for the SSMU Executive.

• To assist each individ ual Executive, where possible, in matters of communication.

• To coordinate and oversee the program ming of activities and events in a manner not inconsistent with policies set out from time to time by council.

Safety Commissioner: Vince Escanlar

It h a s b e e n a b u sy , but e n jo y a b le s e m e s t e r fo r m y s e lf. S in c e s t a r t in g on t h is c o m m u n ic a tio n an d e v e n ts a d v e n tu re , I h a v e m a n a g e d to put on a good n u m b e r o f e v e n t s , w h ile c o n tin u in g to w ork to w a rd s a b e tte r c o m ­ m u n ic a tio n s tr a te g y to d is s e m in a t e in fo rm a tio n to s t u d e n t s , an d re c e iv e fe e d b a c k from you g u y s . T h is y e a r ’s fro s h p ro g ram w a s a ro u s in g s u c ­ c e s s , w ith o ve r 1 7 0 0 p a r t ic ip a n t s , a n d th e S S M U H a n d b o o k w a s a ls o v e r y w ell d o n e . W e lc o m e W e e k fe a tu re d a fre e m o vie a n d fo od n ig h t on th e lo w er f ie ld , a n d th e f ir s t 4 F lo o rs p a rty in n e a rly 2 y e a r s . W e th e n h o s te d o u r f ir s t o p e n m e e tin g fe a tu r in g a fr e e B BQ fo r a ll s t u d e n t s .

O cto b e r sa w S S M U ’ s a n n u a l b lo o d riv e d u rin g w h ich o v e r 6 5 0 u n it s of b lo o d w ere c o lle c t e d . T h is p a s t m on th we h ad o u r s e c o n d o p e n m e e tin g , c e @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a a s w e ll a s th e f ir s t e ve r, S h a t n e r P re -E x a m J a m . A s w e ll, I h a v e re c e iv e d 3 9 8 -6 7 9 9 a lot o f good fe e d b a c k fro m th e m o n th ly m a s s e m a ils a n d T rib u n e e v e n ts lis t in g s , w h ich I w ill c o n tin u e to do . N e xt s e m e s t e r you c a n lo o k fo rw a rd to th e 2 n d A n n u a l S n o w -A P fro m J a n u a r y 8 - 1 2 , two m o re c ra z y S h a t n e r p a r t ie s , th e f ir s t e v e r S S M U F o c u s G ro u p , im p ro v e m e n ts to our w e b s ite , w w w .s s m u .m c g ill.c a , a n o th e r o p e n m e e tin g , an d a c o u p le o f e v e n ts th a t

Mark Chodos

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES • Be a link between SSMU and its clubs, services and publi cations (SSMU Currently dis tributes over $100,000 in direct funding and $400,000 in indirect support to over 13 0 campus groups.

• Provide Activities, Events, and Support Services to enhance the well-being of the Society's clubs, services and publica tions.

• Maintain relations between the Society and independent Student Groups.

• Communicate the policies and procedures of the Society, financial or otherwise, to the clubs, services and publica tions.

• Assist students in starting new clubs.

• Meet with the officers of the Society's clubs, services and publications to discuss their budget submissions.

• Help coordinate the manage ment of the Shatner Building.

Who I Work Wi t h: SSPN (Students' Society Programming Network) Sarah Rachlin (Chair) Damien Liddle Ben Strong Rachel de Lorie Carly Frey Wasim Kamhawi Melissa Wong Communication and Events Committee Matylda Gawor (Chair) Jen Famery Tarique Siddiqui Naeem Bhorgani Tasha Elizabeth Brown SSMU Frosh Coordinators Catherine Weiler Keegan Boyd Sara Tremblay Le'Nise Brothers Winter Frosh Coordinators Steph de Young Elysia Jacobs Sam Ntonme Webmasters Alex Lane Brian Grignon SSMU Bloodrive Sara Hug Ariana Murata Allon Beck Handbook CoordinatorsChris Essert Eric Oest Snow-AP Coordinators Daniel Berkal (Chair) Charles Porch Emily Lin Emilie Wiicox Andrea Ewanchyna POST Coordinators Rana Mokhtar Sam Ntonme Communications Commissioner Matylda Gawor Open Mic Night Coordinator Maria MiniCourse Coordinators Danni Organ Sarah Rachlin

_________________________________

a re s t ill u n d e r w ra p s .

Who I Work Wi t h: Finance Committee: Councilors - AJ Silber, Erika Weinstein, Mathieu Suprenant Members at Large - Sarah Rachlin, Jon Doulamis Executive - VP Operations, VP Clubs and Services, Treasurer Financial Ethics Research Committee: Councilors - Suzanne Loney, Michael Hersfield

• • • • • • • • • •

• • • ®#

VP Operations

■ ven months into my second term in office and the work h asn ’t stopped. For the most part my work h as centered on the theme of reno­ tions To create a more open and accessib le Student Centre, your Student’s Society is investing $7 0 0 ,0 0 0 to immediate renovations » financing of which w as not an easy task. These renovations will begin this month and be completed in the early spring. Most affected these renovations are the McGill Daily, Legal Information Clinic and Travel Cuts - all of whom we’ve negotiated new leases with Our food irvices plan has also come together with the completion and opening of the Shatner Food Court and the plan for the Student Café to be len in the spring. ork continues on the Student Daycare planned to be open in September 2 0 0 1 . Permits have been submitted to the government and the lal details of the program itself are in the works.

Kevin McPhee

jr operations namely Sadie’s and Gert’s continue to run smoothly. W e’re starting to get excited about the planned move of G ert’s downairs, to coincide with renovations, and the new interior design we’ve been putting together. I continue to work closely with management 0 p e ra tio n s @ s s m u .m c g iU .c a

Research Advisors - Blake McGreevy, Joshua Kotin

: each and hope to see the payoff come year-end.

Executive - VP Operations, Treasurer

fith that said the upcom ing five m onths plan to be pretty busy. If you ever have any q uestion s about what is going n within the Stud e n t’s Society’s operations or if you have sugg estion s for operations you’d like to se e operated y the Stu d e n ts’ Society, feel free to give m e a call or em ail m e.

39®

02 . _hafner.

Provide input to the General Manager on staff initiatives* Oversee the Management of technology within the Society* Management of the Society's operations outside Shatner and off-campus*

8Op/Ed TheMcGill Tribune, Tuesday. 16January2001 Opinion

Editorial

Letters

E D I T O R I A L “L ife is short, b u t it is lo n g enough to ru in a n y m a n w h o w a n ts to be ruined. ”

W ho is th e d u m b a ss in c h a rg e of h ead lin es?

— Josh B illin g s

(Re: “Dumbass Americans in College sports,” Issue 15, January 10) McGill is a terrific university... ome time last December, a creaky, battered General swept his weary a shame that the school paper, or eyes across the Separatist batdefield, and finally decided that the should I say, an editor or two (I charge was no longer his to lead. Lucien Bouchard, the intelligent, don’t want to implicate all the other sometimes-capricious, always-charismatic leader of the Parti Québécois fine people working on the paper) gracefully bowed out of Canadian politics last week, delivering an emotion opted to post such a crass, umbrel­ laden speech. And as he ambled from the podium, each knock of his cane la-type headline for this story in the punctuated the failure of yet another charismatic Separatist leader. Once school’s paper, classifying again, the PQ watched a vaunted leader walk away, Québec still firmly Americans under one description. ensconced within Canada.

Consider Bouchard a few hours prior to the 1995 succession referen­ It would appear the McGill com­ munity is anti-American, but then dum final vote tally, and you would witness a fine politician’s finest hour. again, that would be an unfair, There, a man whose capacity for impassioned indignance galvanized approximately three and a half million people into voting to secede from a umbrella-type assessment. country consistendy voted the world’s most livable country.

Bouchard effused with love for Québec, and his selective interpretation — Michael Weiner of the winds from “English Canada” as ill and anti-Québec, fed into his heart and the hearts of the Québécois. Bouchard’s charisma authenticated E d note: Rhea Wong, a dumbass his impassioned Separatist rhetoric and stoked the pride of the Québécois. native San Franciscan, headlined the In 1995, the fires burned bright and he almost pulled it off. article and most heartily stands firm The fact that the vote was so close was a reflection of Bouchard’s mag­ on the matter. netism, and the failure of the federal government to look past Ontario (a charge that can be levied with alarming regularity). Only an eleventh-hour unity rally, which drew hundreds of thousands of Canadians from across the country, pushed the NO side to a whispery victory.

However, Canada’s near-death experience induced within Ottawa a renewed sense of urgency. Scathing reports from PQ ministers, which had commonly gone ignored by the Liberals, became consistently rebuked in turn. Federalists became aggressive, political cocktail parties, the Supreme Court and the media became war zones. Ottawa was actively pursuing a Want to work with sense of righteousness — methodically destroying the ossified indignance of the T r ib u n e ! Drop Separatists. by our office in Meanwhile, Bouchard faltered. The PQ became complacent. A defeat of a fraction of a per cent this time meant that next time success was guar­ Shatner B01-A or anteed. Bouchard blindly trusted his ability to goose the Québécois into a give us a call at Separatist furor at his leisure — to create the “winning conditions.” He had 398-6789 done it before.

When the PQ got re-elected two years ago, Separatist hardliners howled for another referendum. But public opinion polls indicated other­ This w eek’s poll: wise. Québec’s growing economy, a health care crying out for reform, and a meddling Ottawa pushed separatism to the background. Wisely, Bouchard placated the hard-liners, imploring them to wait patiently for the “winning W ould you s le e p w ith a conditions.” Testament to his political aptitude, they did.

TA o r a p ro fe s s o r solely But Bouchard was blowing smoke; “winning conditions” are figments. to im prove yo u r m ark ?

Separatist fury is top heavy. It is always the handiwork of a compelling and charismatic leader, inspiring uninspired masses. From Levesque to Parizeau (a) Y es to Bouchard, the PQ boasts an impressive history of leaders. And though the (b) No Québécois may always flirt with the idea of separation, and as a people with a distinct history and a distinct culture and a distinct language, they are enti­ tled, Canada is simply too substantial, too impressive and too obviously pre­ cious to be sacked. It is only the instances when a compelling leader courts separatist fever with sweet nothings, and tales of injustice that the “winning conditions” flash. And yet, when the fever subsides, as it always does, the dejected leader bows out dragging failure and the “winning conditions” with him.

Bouchard’s charisma has carried his cause a long way, but he is spent.

When he resigned last week, tired and sad, leaving a PQ party in disarray — a party that will likely become increasingly hard-line, xenophobic and unpopular in the near future, he was simply fulfilling his destiny.

Appreciate this moment of tranquility before begrudgingly welcoming the next general.

Changing of the guard

S

S cien c e Carnival th a n k you

A bsinthe on th e brain

(Re: cover photo, Issue 15, January 10) During the first weekend of January for the last three years, many science students have engaged in friendly “competition” during Science Carnival. Science Carnival 2001 would not have been possible without the efforts of the coordinators, Dan Lakoff and Jayne Gardiner, the SUS exec, the amazing volunteers, and the 300 or so participants. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to have yet more crazy stories o f university to tell our kids. The thought of Science Carnival will always leave us with excellent memories that include the greatest friends. May the tradition continue! “Here’s to Fire in the Hole, Shatner, and Rubber Innertube, they are hors> » es ...

Accidentally stumbling on the arti­ cle “Absinthe minded...” (Issue 15, January 10) I wanted to suggest the following to X.M. Milton, the author o f the article.

Dear Mr. X, I don’t know how much you paid for your college education, but I strongly advise you to demand a refund.

Czechoslovakia ceased to exist as a country in 1993 when it was split into two: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

— Sincerely, Katka Fronk Prague, Czech Republic

— Rubber Innertube 4th Year Team

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

O p i n i o n

pp

Op/Ed 9

E d i t o r i a l

Giving some thought to what happens next W h e n it com es tim e to say g o o d b y e T h e O u t h o u s e

o f

C o m m e n t s D a v i d

M

a r s h a 11

s a fourth year student I moment will be for all McGill could easily empathize with graduates. And how intense it was Lucien Bouchard on the for him. day o f his resignation, especially W hen Bouchard decided to enter into Quebec politics he con­ when the days preceding that event sciously chose to ride the roller are considered. In fact, I’m quite coaster that politics entail. In certain that many of his feelings would reflect what many o f us at Quebec, the political arena isn’t McGill feel as we approach gradu­ refereed merely by whomever is ation. He, like us, faced a period of voted in to do so; Yves Michaud’s remarks regarding total uncertainty regarding the recent future. O f course, his departure M ontreal’s Jewish com m unity from politics symbolizes that demonstrate this reality, as does the moment in time when we must constant bickering between radical moderate sovereigntists. finally leave an institution and and Bouchard was simply sick and tired embark on a wild journey into the of having the fate of his future unknown.

Bouchard’s concluding re­ stolen from his own hand. marks, in which he shed more than Remaining in politics w ouldn’t just a tear, clearly depict how help much, but leaving them in his intense that eventual nostalgic dust would.

A

W hat followed was Bouchard’s resignation, a decision which will enable him to pursue his private life alongside his wife Audrey Best. Some have speculated that a life awaits him in California where he could settle down with his children while Audrey begins practising law with her newlyacquired McGill law degree. The latter, o f course, is rather ironic, that is that Bouchard’s wife, like me and many of you, is preparing herself to graduate. Surely, then, she feels something similar to the way in which we feel as we approach graduation, particularly in terms of the fear, vulnerability, and ambivalence that the “real world” entails.

W hat I mean when I say this is that us graduating students are finally leaving the many years of educational certainty behind us.

W hat therefore awaits us is a world o f instability o f which little is known; some have student loans that must be reimbursed, others are hoping for a big job with an invest­ ment bank, while others would

simply love to write poetry some­ where on the Plateau. Yet despite these wants and needs something is bound to take a spontaneous turn along the way. Indeed, we almost never know what we will be faced with as the post-university years of employment slowly take shape. In other words, the power to realize our own destinies may be eventual­ ly denied. The sound o f this malaise sounds awfully familiar.

In addition to the horrors that a departure ensues, the act of actu­ ally leaving McGill promises to be challenging as well. O f course, some are quite emotionally indif­ ferent when it comes to McGill, but one would hope th at the majority o f us are somewhat attached to the place we’ve called home for a number o f years. The am ount o f acquaintances we’ve made and the array o f experiences in which we’ve indulged are infi­ nite and will be hard to leave behind. The hardest part about it will be the abrupt conclusion so few of us will anticipate, for exams and papers will preoccupy us in

those fading moments of spring­ time April.

Being a graduate is challeng­ ing, and I believe that Bouchard would appreciate what many of us will go through in the months and years to come. In fact, he’s endured many o f the same complexities in his recent political career. In con­ trast, it is important, at least for just a moment or two, to reflect on his efforts to ameliorate this place we call home. Though many of his opinions may differ from yours and mine, his intentions were sin­ cere and his approach no less valiant. So in those times of strug­ gle during the summer and years to come, remember that in the end there’s always an escape from your preoccupations. And maybe yours will take you to California.

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l l e ’v e fin a lly done it, folks; we’ve hit rock bot­ tom. Four horny couples on an island with a whole whack o f hot half-naked men and women whose sole job is to put on the sleaze.

Yes, Temptation Island has it all: beautiful people, beautiful scenery, and just the right amount o f skankiness. O f Rupert Murdoch and his gang of intelligentia over at Fox have created a show that will have heads, stomachs, and maybe other anatomy turning. If CBS’s Survivor did­ n’t take this ‘reality T V ’ crap to the extreme, now we have to endure six weeks of these people testing their devo­ tion to one another. Duh? You’re on the freaking Island people, you already accepted temptation! Seems like a done deal to me.

Listen, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t mind watching an hour of hot guys playing beach volleyball, but why do they have to mask that in this ‘reality’ trash. Just how ‘real’ is taking hundreds of hours o f tape and editing it down to six, one hour segments that reflect what you want the audience to see? Isn’t that exactly what every other show on TV does, only with rich dandies in fur coats instead of Rudy and Gervase?

Are people that bored with their own lives? And just what do the “temp­ tation couples” say to convince each

other to venture to network hedonism?

“Gee honey, I think it would strengthen our relationship if we surround ourselves by randy delicious looking singles and let them seduce us?” Yeaahh, that sounds about right. And what about these hot singles? Essentially, their job is to get paid to initiate fornication with total strangers for the sake o f sweeps. Quality programming! W hy not just give Lady Jane, the one with the stockings that have ‘fuck me’ written all over them, at the corner o f St. Laurent and St. Catherine, a handicam and sell the rights to Fox? Now I’m not saying that I never watched Survivor, or the occasional Big» Brother episode. I even watched Who Wants To M arry a M ulti-M illionaire. And you know what, I’ll probably end up tap­ ing The West Wing just to catch up on Temptation Island. Yep, I’ll watch ‘em all; I, uh, won’t be doing it for the same rea­ sons as everyone else though. Nope, it won’t be for the sexy, half-naked men that will grace the screen each week.

Nah, that’s too pedestrian for me. It’s really all about the science for me; it’s about the cultural and social study. And if that sexy Greg from Survivor happens to appear on some magazine cover, the only reason I’ll cut it out is to study the anatomy o f a “real” person. Yeah, I hate these shows. Can’t stand ‘em. But I can’t miss em. How else will I be informed enough to bitch about them?

ast summer, I suc­ cumbed to the /addiction of Survivor. T he symptoms were easy to spot: I watched the show in the evening, talked about it during the day, and dreamed of Richard (the fat naked guy) at night. I loved the show, and am not ashamed to admit it. In the wake of Survivor has come many more “reality-based” tele­ vision shows. Obviously, these shows are about as close to reality as the Bengals are to the SuperBowl.

Nevertheless, I like them (the shows, not the Bengals — I’m a Vikings fan since ‘87).

Personally, I think it’s refreshing to see television extend itself beyond the regular sitcom boundaries. The most memorable television moment of the past year was on election night (if you have to ask which election night, you need to leave Nunnavut now), when all the major networks shuffled between Gore and Bush like a hungry man at a barbecue (it’s the first column of the new year, and I know my metaphors suck). It was amazing viewing because it was unpredictable.

The usual prepackaged story lines have become old. I know when I watch an episode o f Frasier exactly what will happen: Niles will confide something to Frasier, who will accidentally leak it

to Roz. Daphne will overhear the gos­ sip, believe it something different, and then M artin will solve everything.

Bravo. Similarly, if I have to watch Ross and Rachel go through another minute of pining for each other, I pray that the damn monkey from the first season comes back to give them all ebola. T H A T would be funny.

Conversely, if I watch a show like Who’s Line is it Anyway? I’m not sure what will happen. In fact, most of the time, I’m not sure if the Actors are sober. These new television shows are good because they’re unpredictable.

Which brings us to Temptation Island. Couples, isolated from their significant others, are placed in the companionship of seductive members of the opposite sex. Kinda like tele­ vised prostitution. But, still it forces us to ask questions about ourselves, our own limits, our own ideas, and our own responses to situations. I welcome reality based shows, and I’ve got an idea for a new one: why not see what happens when a bunch o f young, mid­ dle class students get progressively drunker over the course of a week while competing for points? Someone get Fox on the phone... I think my stalking during Management Carnival may be worth something after all.

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10 Op/Ed

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

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By Gooblar Across

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1. Stuff yourself 5. Kick it away 9. Approached, softly 14. Big sub 15. Copycat 16. Type of tube 17. No matter what 20. Big number 21. Hold onto 22. Simpson nemesis 23. Director Howard 25. 80’s T.V. cartoon 26. Nonsensical direction, abbv.

27. Admit it, it’s why you buy cd's 33. Actors Bruce or Laura 34. Alright, in short form 35. The stuff o f accountants 37. Just a little off the top 38. Protect them for soccer 41. Shelter or food 43. Redding or Rush 45. Keanu in The Matrix 46. Preposition 47. Beastie Boys' song 51. Uncle's son, abbv.

53. Beforehand 54. Good steak 55. The sound o f disgust 56. Small drums 58. It houses your reds and whites 63. Prejudices 66. Israeli statesman Shimon 67. Pick over for errors 68. T el____ 69. Strength 70. Best over a good beat Last weeks’s Anwers

Down 1. Guzzle 2. Departing Attorney General 3. Begin bowing; music instruc­ tion 4. Synthesizer 5. Keep your shit safe 6. A.P. competitor 7. One o f Jersey's two sports teams 8. Put priorities in order 9. Paramount, Ex-Centris, etc.

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The Recipe Girls are absent again this week, but they’re really busy, so it isn’t a problem. Besides, there’s no room anyways. They’ll be back next week, for sure.

S t u d e n t s ’ S o c i e t y o f M c G ill U n i v e r s i t y

MSF Opt Out for the Winter semester January 22-26 in the SSMU Office Brown Student Services Building.

Each day 10am - 4pm

As well, we’re happy to annouce the newest addition to the Ellipsis family: the comic strip. Currently, nameless, this comic strip is fairly amusing, we think. What do you think? We don’t care. We gave you a chance for feedback and you missed it. Too bad.

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Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Tribulations of the Euro T h e European U n io n finally starts p rin tin g its o w n m o n e y Charles Baker Europe. Geographically, politi­ cally and now economically united.

Stretching from West France to East Germany and from Athens up to Glasgow, it is a vastly diverse family of nations. Although the devasta­ tion of World War Two still echoes in many quarters and the failed social experiments of the Cold War remain, Europe is now witnessing rapid economic integration with the introduction of a pioneering new currency: the EURO - the European Union’s single currency.

It is being launched as the “the greatest currency changeover the world has ever seen.”

It will work on similar lines to the system in the United States, with all member countries sharing one currency and having the same key interest rate, to be set by the European Central Bank (ECB) in Germany, successor of the European Monetary Institute. The exchange rates between member currencies are already fixed so that the Euro represents a fixed percent­ age of the national currency. For example, one Euro equals 0.79 Irish punts and 6.60 French francs.

It took more than 15 years of negotiations, planning and prepara­ tion before the single currency was officially launched January 1, 1999.

O f the fifteen European member states, twelve have adopted it to replace their national currencies by January 2002: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,

Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Consumers will receive their first Euro banknotes and coins in a year from now and the French franc, the

tessential...as to the argument that elected governments do indeed reflect the wishes of the people: more than 80 percent of our politi­ #■**>*$*?**86

German marc, the Italian lire and the others will all begin to disappear whilst a short dual circulation peri­ od is enforced to bridge the changeover. There will be seven Euro banknotes and eight Euro coins, each with one common side identical for the respective denomi­ nation throughout the 12 coun­ tries, and one national side.

The remaining three members — Denmark, Sweden, and the UK — have decided to stay out, at least for now. O f these three, Denmark has been the only one to hold a public referendum, and the single European currency was rejected.

However, Thomas Breinholt from Copenhagen, remarked that a con­ servative approach to integration is not a bad thing.

“Before we are deemed the awkward man of Europe, I think all EU-countries should have the courage to ask their own people. If the European project is to survive — democratic legitimacy is quin­

cians supported the Euro!” he said.

However, many regard it as the ‘Neverendum’, since plans are already being made for the next ref­ erendum.

There is a catalogue o f argu­ ments for and against the Euro.

Falling prices, greater competition, fewer charges for foreign currency transactions and a wider choice of investments are all benefits o f a sin­ gle European currency. However, pundits are quick to counter.

Undoubtedly, it is the British who have proceeded most cautiously when dealing with the monetary integration.

“Perhaps it is the island men­ tality and the feeling that other countries are hostile to us that makes us defensive. It is an idea neatly captured in the headline, ‘Thick fog over Channel, Europe cut off!’” said Theresa Brown, com­ pany secretary of the British firm Northdown.com.

John Michaels, CEO of Big

Plant Company, also sees rocky roads ahead.

“It is difficult to see how coun­ tries with such diverse economies and interest rates can be successful­ ly harmonised without real hard­ ship. Serious economic issues such as bankrupt state pension schemes must be resolved,” he said.

Introducing a new currency to the twelve countries is a massive operation explained Arnd Huchzermeier, chair in production management at the W H U , OttoBeisheim graduate school of man­ agement in Germany.

“To illustrate the magnitude of the operation, the Bundesbank esti­ mates that in Germany, 2.8 billion DM -bank notes and 47.4 billion coins are expected to be in circula­ tion by the end of the year 2001, on the eve of the transition to the Euro,” he said.

Huchzermeier went on to warn of the disastrous effects of a poorly planned changeover.

“Failure in execution risks cre­ ating major problems for the new currency itself, which still needs to gain greater acceptance from con­ sumers, industry, and investors.

Neither the European Central Bank, nor the entire European Union, can afford to fail. ” Professor Ludo Van der Heyden from the European Institute of Business Adm inistration (INSEAD) in France remarked that it is “an oper­ ation of unprecedented magnitude in the financial and monetary world.” However, he too is cau­

tious.

triggers an immune response, and this is how the body fights against foreign invaders.

In the case of the flu virus, things are not so simple. If the H and N molecules were static on the viral surface, then we would develop resist­ ance against these viruses, we would­ n’t be sick. But alas, these proteins take many forms, and the only way to get immunity, short of vaccination, is to suffer the illness again. This grad­ ual change in the viral coat is called antigenic drift, because of the small changes in the antigens, which allow the viruses to evade the immune sys­ tem.

A faster and more dangerous change in viruses is re-assortment, which involves the mixing of genes from different flu strains. After such a re-assortment, the human immune system has absolutely no antibodies

that can detect and fight the new strain, and we are left completely helpless. Although these re-assort­ ments are rare, they can lead to pan­ demics (global outbreaks) of flu, like the Hong Kong flu pandemic of 1968.

Whatever you do, just don’t fall into that trap of resorting to antibi­ otics as soon as you get any slight hint of illness. Remember that antibiotics kill bacteria and not viruses, and improper use of antibiotics can back­ fire when these same bacteria that you are trying to kill develop antibiotic resistance and you are left defenseless.

But that’s a whole other bed­ time story, for another day perhaps.

Till then, rest well and drink plenty of fluids.

“A well-known economic law states that in a double currency regime the weak currency chases out the strong one,” he stated.

However, the success of the Euro is as much concerned with politics as it is with economics. The Financial Times reports that the “smart money is on the euro rising further.” But, British Prime M inister Tony Blair himself is unsure when to hold a British refer­ endum on the issue although he has stated that it certainly won’t be within the next 18 months.

Moreover, British governmental rhetoric has forwarded the possibil­ ity o f Britain joining NAFTA, eschewing the Euro altogether.

Blair, should he still be in power when the time comes, will have dif­ ficult decisions to make. Though North America is powerful right now, Blair should remember that ‘when America sneezes, Britain catches the cold.’

Forfurther information visit: Official homepage o f the EURO: www. europa. eu. int/euroIhtmllentry. html The EURO at the European Central Bank: www.euro.ecb.int E.U. Eco. & Monetary Union: ivww.europ.eti.mt/opnews/198/en/r355.htm

Convert your money into EUROS: www.xe.com/ucc/

Meet the Viruses Setting the record straight for the flu and common cold

Amidst the sore throats, sneezes, sniffles and stuffy noses of winter, a lot of people start to wonder just what is causing their misery. Let’s take a quick look at the bugs that bite you and how to squash them.

Most people use the words ‘cold’ and ‘flu’ interchangeably and hardly understand what is responsible for these most annoying and sometimes serious illnesses. Both the cold and the flu are caused by respiratory virus­ es, and it is very crucial to know which virus has taken your body hostage so that appropriate action can be taken.

Flu can lead to the extremely

dangerous complication of pneumo­ nia (a lung infection), while cold infections are much milder and are generally more of an inconvenience than anything else. There are some easy ways to tell whether the illness you are suffering from is a cold or not. Most cases of the flu are accom­ panied by high fever (102-104 °F) for a few days and splitting headaches, while both these symptoms are extremely rare in the case of colds.

As far as the viruses go, not much can be said about them without stepping into uncertain territories and issues that have been the topic of many a heated debate. Viruses, unlike all other forms of life, don’t have any cells. They are basically just a chain of genetic material covered by a protein coat. This is as much as we know.

Viruses have the capacity to reproduce and evolve, but most

experts refrain from including them in the realm of living beings, because they can’t reproduce without a host cell. They need to invade some other organism in order to create a favor­ able site to reproduce. But other virologists hold the view that any organism that can evolve to continu­ ously evade and dupe the human immune system must be alive.

What makes viruses so hard to combat and consequendy makes us human beings so prone to their pun­ ishments, is this very ability that they possess to always stay one step ahead of the immune system. In the case of the flu, this is related to two proteins that are present on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminadase (N). When these foreign substances (antigens) are recognized by the protective molecules of the immune system (antibodies), this

12 Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Cities of Sin A novel by H e n d rik D e L e e u w proves to be th e fa th e r o f th e tab lo id n ew sp ap er Benjamin Benchitrit W ho slept with whom? W ho was caught in a brothel cheating on his wife? W hat goes on behind the scene in my city?

These were the prying ques­ tions addressed by Hendrik De Leeuw in his 1930’s archetype, Cities o f Sin. A recent presentation

by Professor William Straw of the department o f art history and com­ munication studies asserted that the 1930 s publication o f Cities o f Sin was the original ancestor o f the tabloid genre. This non-fiction book that has since been reprinted many times focused on “the study of prostitution, white-slavery, and child exploitation”. The title itself alludes to biblical cities o f sin, locat­ ed predominantly in middle-eastern

countries.

But in Cities o f Sin, De Leeuw also delved into the “dark corners”

o f big Western cities like Paris, London and New York, investigat­ ing brothels and crime-ridden areas himself. In this way he offered first­ hand witness, authenticating the testimonial and statistical backbone of Cities o f Sin. W ith its immediate popular success, "Cities o f Sin” was reprinted repeatedly with only slight modifi­ cation to its cover and title — for

example, “Sinful Cities o f the Western World: the truth about the international traffic o f women!”

This title leaving less to the imagination than the original name.

But what is the appeal of tabloid magazines?

Were people interested in knowing the truth? O r did they simply appeal to people’s sinful thoughts and vices?

Cities o f Sin was instrumental in elucidating a telling cultural phe­ nomenon. People’s infatuation with the most subversive elements of society was spotlighted. The popu­ lar success of Cities o f Sin inspired dozens of imitators and adapta­ tions.

From reverie to reportage, Straw explained that the books became an “inventorying o f sex and vice, as well as a reporting o f dates

It’s the truth...I swear! and events.” The old adage o f “sex sells” was never truer, and a glut of sex-journals soon hit the shelves.

Sintown USA’, ‘Sin Cities, USA — [These books were a] cross­ country roundup ot wide-open but little known sex centers,” explained Straw.

However, a saturated market for sex books made way for the inclusion of other scandalous con­ tent. De Leeuw shifted his style to adapt to the new demand. Novels like his “ Under World Story”, or Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer’s “New York: C onfidential’, or Donald Henderson Clarke’s "Confidential’, were investigative reports o f organ­ ized crime written in the form of novels. Though the content changed, the voyeuristic and snoop­ ing backbone, and theme o f sin and vice remained constant.

“[‘Confidential’ exposed] the sins o f public figures and celebrities, as well as the hypocrisy o f politi­ cians,” said Straw.

It also inspired dozens o f imita­ tions such as Hush-Hush, Q T and Inside Story. Their covers were made up of block frames and black and white pictures, creating a visual aura o f thuggery, reminiscent o f mugshots. These were the first modern tabloid magazines.

During the 1960’s, a tabloid evolution occurred. The stories and events that filled these magazines were increasingly drawn for loca­ tions other than the traditional “big cities”. One can also track the tran­ sition from small-crime big-city to big-crime small-city.

Crimes became summaries o f exaggerated and isolated faits-divers’. However, because they were always said to occur in remote towns, it was much easier for the average reader to sus­ pend disbelief.

Today’s preem inent tabloid, the National Enquirer was born in the 1930s. W ith its color ink, the black and white pictures catch the eye and readers can’t help but flirt with the headings describing the latest celebrity scandal, or some new biological oddity.

“W ho would believe such things?” one might ask. But people feel compelled to purchase the mag­ azine anyway perhaps because “if they write it, it must have some truth to it.” So even today, the ancestor o f the supermarket tabloids, Cities o f Sin, still lives on.

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Features 13

In search of glory Being g o od a t foosball is o n e th in g , b ein g g re a t is a c o m p le te ly d iffe re n t m a tte r Eric Oest A lot of people like to play pool. They claim that it’s fun, social and not too hard to learn. In the past I would have, agreed but, sadly, now I cannot say that I enjoy pool in the least. In fact, in my simple student life, there is almost nothing as stressful as a quick game of pool.

This phobia, if you will, stems from one bad dream; a dream that involves those damn pool-playing dogs and poor old me getting stuck with the task of breaking for the next round of 9-ball. Fade in as I hover over the edge of the table to set up my break. As I line up my shot, the old mangy dog Ralph (the proprietor of the doggy pool hall) makes it pretty clear that scratching the felt is bad bad thing. Well, true to the nightmarish nature of, well, this nightmare, my left arm betrays me and the cue cuts deep into the felt, creating a glorious rip in the table. From there, things get a lot worse.

So, with pool out of the ques­ tion, one might ask what is it that I choose to play? After all, everyone needs some type of bar skill and I’m not fat enough to enjoy darts. So, I’m left with only one option — foosball. Fools ball? No sir.

Foosball.

As with most strangely named things, a good place to start this foosball journey is to examine its etiological origins. Table .soccer (its less-fancy moniker) was originally played in Germany and was noth­ ing more than the union of the Germans’ passion for soccer and beer. Finding it difficult to imbibe their brew from those awkward steins while at the same time run­ ning around on a football pitch, those ever-practical Germans decid­ ed to move the game indoors and miniaturize it. By about 1925, thousands o f tables existed in Germany and a number of clubs

held organized games and tourna­ ments. Sometime between then and now, the Americans got wind of this crazy German game and, just like aspirin, they "borrowed" the idea.

Because the Germans called this game fussball (which is nothing more than football in English), the Americans did too. For some reason the name was never translated to football and the name has stuck ever since.

For me, foosball is the perfect bar game. The rules are simple, you cannot break anything (excluding Herculanean efforts to bend the bars), and it’s possible to get good enough so that you can win without any luck.

For these reasons, I have played a lot of foosball in the last few years and I can honestly say that I’m very good at it. I am so good at foosball that I no longer take pleasure in beating my friends. Worthy con­ tenders no longer exist for me.

This stupid and blind foosball pride is exactly why I’m writing this article; I need to explain to all of us self-professed foosball Kings that we are, in reality, not much better than those punk friends of ours that we routinely beat so very badly. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, we are terrible and should either stop playing altogether or start practicing.

This painful revelation came to me soon after I paid the entry fee for my first foosball tournament.

The rude awakening unfolded as follows: After yet another solid beating of my friends I resolved, coaxed by a frosty Bavarian beverage or two, to enter into a foosball tournament.

The event was to be held the fol­ lowing week in east Montreal, and was guaranteed to attract the most talented players on the island. I fig­ ured that with my current skills I would definitely compete, and per­ haps, even win the whole damn

thing. And so, on the subsequent Saturday, I attended the tourna­ ment.

The place was very far away. I mean, in order to get there for the 9 am registration, I had to get out of bed at 6 am, ride the metro to Honore-Beaugrand, and then ride a bus for another hour. W hen I final­ ly arrived, I immediately knew that I was in for trouble; everyone wait­ ing in the line outside the semi­ derelict building did not look any­ thing like the opponents I was used to beating. These guys were men. I contemplated getting back on the bus but home was too far away and the id inside of me reminded me that I didn’t get up at the crack of dawn for nothing. So I waited in line, paid the entry fee and entered the building that was to be the venue of the greatest humiliation of my short life.

Inside, the early birds had already started their exhibition play.

The giant, makeshift foosball arena was dim and was already very humid. I imagined that the humid­ ity wasn’t about to get any better either. After setting my coat down on a chair in the corner, I decided to size up my opponents. I looked around the room and immediately' noticed that one of the matches was particularly intense. I opted to observe this match. From a distance I could see that they were playing 1on-1. O n one side there stood a small, eastern European looking man who, from my vantage point, looked remarkably similar to a rat.

He was oily and sweaty and I was glad that I was looking at him from a good distance. His opponent, on the other side, was also and odd looking man. I’m forced to refrain from any further description because anything else would serve to take away from this most-apt description. Besides, if this man were to ever read this article, I know that any poorly-chosen words could

result in my untimely demise. As I approached the table and the image before me became clearer, I felt my heart drop into the seat of my pants (or maybe that was something else).

These guys were very good. In fact, they were much better than any­ thing I had ever seen. They had power, they had finesse and they had incredible control and they had specially designed gloves. These gloves, I learned, are used to increase grip and in turn, shot power. They also interrupted play after every goal so that they could grease their poles to reduce friction.

(Ignore the blatant homo-erotic ref­ erence). A knowledgable spectatorfriend informed me that the reduced friction enhances gameplay. Whatever. These guys were all a bunch of weirdos. I mean, who brings a can of W D-40 to a sport­ ing event.

I spent the next hour waiting for my name to be called. I knew that I couldn’t possibly win and the prospect of being humiliated in front of so many strangers fright­ ened me. W hen the hour had elapsed, my name was called— at least that’s how I imagine it. You see, rather than face humiliation, I

decided to turn my tail and run. It turned out that I was not as good at foosball as I thought and I certainly was not ready to face those men.

And so, given my options, my lack o f enthusiasm for the long trip home disappeared. I made it home by noon and I went back to sleep feeling comfortable with the knowl­ edge that I was still the King of my isolated foosball castle.

Foosball In Brief • Like soccer, the object is to kick the ball into the opposing player’s net.

• Unlike soccer, your men are bound to metal rods running perpendicular to the length of the field (In this way they are prohibited from trying any kind of rush and are forced to pass to their upfield teammates).

• In addition, your men lack arms • Each player controls 4 of these sliding bars.

• The first player to score five goals wins • N O SPINNING!

what are you doing this weekend?

STUDY RBR0H D SYRACUSE UNIUERSITY

London Spain Hong Kong Fran ce R fric a

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The SSMU/MCSS is giving you the chance to enroll in th eir Health and Dental Plan !

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Only new students starting in January can register between: J a n u a r y 1 9 thand F e b ru a ry 2 nd, 2 0 0 1

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For the scoop on the Plan, call (5 1 4 ) 8 4 4 -4 4 2 3 or 1 8 0 0 7 9 5 -4 4 2 3 , or visit ASEQ a t 20 4 5 Stanley, suite 200 or on our website at a s e q .e o m .

S t u d e n t s ’ S o c i e t y o f M c G ill U n iv e r s ity

MSF Opt Out for the Winter semester January 22-26 in the SSMU Office Brown Student Services Building.

Each day 10am - 4pm F or m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e fe e s y o u p a y to y o u r S t u d e n t s ' S o c i e t y o f M c G ill U n i v e r s i t y v i s i t

www.ssmu.ca/ssmu/fees.html

14 Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

The legal spin on those cold weather blues B e n e a t h t h e

r o b e

M i r ai G r o s s here’s an old joke about Canadians that implies that although we may be among the nicest and least threat­ ening people on earth, we must be pretty dumb because way back when, our ancestors arrived on this craggy, weather-beaten land and for some reason decided to stay.

Generally, I disagree with the comment and am actually pretty patriotic. Besides that, snow is pret­ ty essential for skiing, snowboard­ ing and other great winter sports and activities. But sometimes, like when the wind chill factor hits —50 degrees Celsius and I am not sure I have ears anymore, it makes me wonder why people want to live here (and that means you, students from Vancouver).

Along with parkas, moon boots and that other staple o f stu­ dent life in winter, the space heater, the cold weather also brings with it some potentially nasty legal binds.

T

In particular, students often get into liable and will likely have to pay the two kinds o f trouble here in injured party some compensation.

Montreal’s winter wonderland. The Also, barring a few specific excep­ first involves injuries that are sus- | tions, you generally have three years tained outside, like falling down the during which you can launch a suit front steps of your apartment build­ for any kind o f damages you have ing because they are too icy or slip­ suffered. ping on the sidewalk for the same These principles apply similar­ reason. The second problem area ly if you are injured on public prop­ involves people who live in apart­ erty, with some slight nuances. First ments or other rented homes where o f all, it is generally accepted that the heating is controlled by the cities have an obligation to keep landlord. Both o f these types of their roads and sidewalks in good problems have their own rules and condition, which includes offering procedures that should be followed safe and unencumbered passage for carefully if you want to make sure pedestrians. Again, for a successful your rights under the law are claim you will have to show at a respected. minimum that a city was negligent There is one obvious, if major, in fulfilling that obligation. So, not question to keep in mind if you are every injury automatically equals injured as a result of a fall outdoors: big bucks. It is also accepted that did your injury happen on private people assume certain risks when property or on public property? If walking outside, especially in you fall on the steps of a privately inclement weather, and this can be owned building, driveway, or what taken into consideration when a have you, then your remedy (if any person is subsequently injured. exists, and if you cannot work Other factors that can be consid­ something out informally) will lie ered are whether an injured pedes­ in a civil liability lawsuit. The basic trian was paying enough attention principles of this regime in Quebec at the time, whether he was jay­ are that if you can prove that some­ walking, or even whether the pedes­ one was legally at fault and that this trian was wearing high heels or slipfault caused some ascertainable pery-soled shoes. These types of injury, then that person will be issues can also be considered in suits

against private people or compa­ nies.

But the most important dis­ tinction is that although the stan­ dard three-year rule applies to suing municipalities as well, if you are going to sue for damages other than personal injuries (for example, you fell and hurt yourself and broke your Discman) then the notice and limitation periods can change dras­ tically, depending on what laws cover the city in which you are injured. For example, for munici­ palities covered under Quebec’s Loi sur les cites et villes, if you plan to sue the city for property damage you must give notice within 15 days o f when the incident occurred.

These rules, although usually strict­ ly applied, can sometimes be waived if you can show that you have very compelling reasons for not giving notice at the right time.

Finally, sometimes the worst winter damage o f all happens inside your home. W hen you come in from the bitter cold of the out­ doors, you expect to be warm and comfortable, so it can be a long nightmare when your landlord refuses to raise the heat, or worse, when the heating system is broken and isn’t being fixed. It is important

to know that landlords have a legal obligation to ensure a suitable and comfortable temperature in the dwelling that is appropriate for the time if year. The law does not fix a specific minimum indoor tempera­ ture during the winter, but it is gen­ erally accepted at the Régie du Logement that 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) is about normal. If you are in an emergency situation and necessary repairs have to be made (which your landlord has been made aware o f and is not responding to) then usually you can make them yourself and then bill you landlord later, or hold the money back from your rent. But it is always wise to first call the Régie to ascertain what recourse is best for your situation.

As always, if you are going to pursue any kind o f recourse, whether for an unheated apartment or for injuries suffered as a result of winter wear and tear, don’t forget to keep good records and try to sub­ stantiate your claim as much as pos­ sible with witnesses and other evi­ dence. The Boy Scouts had it right all this time, and their slogan applies both to the law and to win­ ter: be prepared.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Features 15

Virtual Fitting Rooms Finding the perfect fit online Shirtee Engel Picture this. It’s the perfect winter day for a Canadian who decided to ditch the bone-chilling arctic weather to join the geese flocking south this break. The sun is beating down on my face, gently deepening the pinkish tint of my cheeks and doodling dozens of playful freckles on my pale skin. My eyes are perfectly shielded from the sizzling rays, hidden rather glam­ orously by the stylish lenses I wear to match my bikini, and for a moment in my exquisite paradise, I am made aware of the comforting notion that my vacation is not com­ ing to an end anytime soon.

I sit up to summon the waiter for another pina colada and when he doesn’t see me, decide that it couldn’t hurt to get up and order one myself from the bar. But as I lift my lethargic body off the chair and attempt to graciously put on my strappy sandals so as not to scorch my feet when I walk, my foot bends the wrong way and I begin to plummet forward. I let out a cry as my glasses slip off my face and pro­

ceed to shatter on the pool deck in front of me. I hit the ground a mere second later, and the jagged edges of my newly annihilated eyewear pen­ etrate my flesh.

Devastated by the death of my Calvin Klein shades, to which I had been hopelessly devoted for two years, I was forced this past winter break aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean to ditch my broken sun­ glasses. I vowed to find the same look before I got home. W ith only one preferred style in m ind, I popped in and out of small bou­ tiques in Mexico, Grand Cayman and in the Virgin Islands in search o f the identical pair.

I was out of luck.

Each retailer proceeded to show me the latest style, but no matter where I tried, I simply could not find my glasses anywhere.

Disheartened, I stumbled into a small Internet café in San Juan to email my friends of my loss. In a moment of desperation I lazily ran a search online and before I knew it was in eyewear haven.

Forget replacing your prized spectacles with second-rate mer­ chandise. There is a place where you can successfully find hundreds of types of eyewear and try every sin­ gle one on. It is a store you can access from home, from work, from a friend’s house, and yes, even from an island in the Caribbean Sea. The benefits of e-shopping

If it sounds like a cheesy adver­ tisement, think again. We’re talking a true consumer heart-to-heart here. Gone is the annoyance of the salespeople behind the counter, waiting for them to unlock the showcase so you can see one pair of shades and then repeatedly ask them to re-open the glass. Welcome to being able to see your face with a different pair of specs in seconds.

Welcome to no one rushing or pres­ suring you to make a decision.

Welcome to access all over the world.

Yes, welcome to eyeglasses.com.

One of several online shopping sites where you can virtually “try on” merchandise, eyeglasses.com

offers everything from a dressing room to keep potential purchases to a library of heads to choose from so you can match your visage to one of the models of the site. O r if you’re super technologically equipped, you can scan your own photo into the computer and try the glasses on your own face. You can choose from a variety o f colours, lens tints, and sizes.

Perhaps the most striking fea­ ture of the online eyeglass haven is the How to eTryItOnsm feature.

“At eyeglasses.com, you can try any of our eyeglasses or sunglasses on your own face... Or, use the frame search to browse only the style and type of eyeglasses or sunglasses you prefer,” says the website. W hen you have found a pair, click on the eTry It O nsm icon under the picture, and they will instantly appear on your face.

O nline shopping offers us something that we never get in the store. You can find links to dozens of websites containing related infor­ mation about everything from how exactly your credit card number is

safe from cyber criminals to the health aspects of your purchase.

Eyeglasses.com offers the typical shopping experience and then some, and all the steps are a mouse click away. In addition to contain­ ing a plethora o f frames and an online dressing room, it can give you advice; links are available on the main page for those looking for opinions on how to find eyewear to complement your face, eyewear safety, and information about frames. There is also links to pages on eye protection, blindness pre­ vention, laser surgery and where to find an eye-doctor near you.

“We believe that educating people about their eyes and eye health is a crucial step to prevent eye injuries. In addition, we believe that eye research is critical to pro­ vide sight to millions of people with inherited or acquired eye prob­ lems,” the company boasts on the website. And they back that up with a monetary contribution to eye care. The company donates 5 per­ cent of its net income to eye educa­ tion and research organizations. se e LOOKING on page 1 6

This week at McGillAthletics D

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16 Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Looking sharp before you continued from page 1 5

a choice of materials, from metal to titanium and got to select a shape for my shades from rectangular to goggle. Since I didn’t have a picture of myself scanned into the comput­ er at the cyber café, I looked through the face options from round to diamond to oval and baseup triangle, but didn’t manage to find a red-headed look-alike.

Although the colouring was way off, I settled for a brunette double to model my eyewear. I tried dozens of Calvin Klein sunglasses on my model, switching colours, frame styles and sizes.

Eyeglasses.com also offers you the chance to play around. “Once a picture has been placed in the dress-

The shopping experience As I navigated my way through the site I was asked a series of ques­ tions to enroll, including my email address and a password. After pro­ viding a hint for accessing my login information, I was given a series of options ranging from updating my prescription information to import­ ing my own personal photo, for which a foil how-to description is given.

After finding my desired shades I was able to store them in the “dressing room” while I browsed around for other frames. I was given

S t u d e n t s ’ S o c i e t y o f M c G ill U n i v e r s i t y

MSF Opt Out for the Winter semester January 22-26 in the SSMU Office Brown Student Services Building.

Each day 10am - 4pm

F or m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e fe e s y o u p a y to y o u r S t u d e n t s ' S o c i e t y o f M c G ill U n i v e r s i t y v i s i t

www.ssmu.ca/ssmu/fees.html

viewBrands

«y portMos TOWtoeïryîfOrr’'' xswtobuy towso 8? rfcmwfon You won’t see Otis Nixon dropping fly balls. He sure is ugly though! ing room, the fun begins,” remarks the description on the “my portfo­ lio” link. You can email pictures to your friends and family, save pic­ tures of yourself with different looks into a personal portfolio, and come back to it later. You can even name several portfolios, “depending on your desired situation or mood: at the office, at the beach, intelli­ gent, sexy...” the site boasts.

Although my cyber minutes ran out quickly I made a mental note of a possible quick-fix to a procrastina­ tion craving when I got back to school.

The site was pretty easy to nav­ igate, and actually entertained me for quite a while. Although I had no credit card with which to make a purchase, I left feeling satisfied and lighthearted, marveling at the won­ der of technology and its impecca­ ble ability to make an upsetting sit­ uation much more bearable.

Eyewear for the shopping impaired?

The advent of online shopping has left many with the pressing question of whether the Internet can ever replace the real hustle and bustle of the local mall. Many feel that despite technology’s wonderful ability to show us how we would look in the merchandise, and even actually being able to see ourselves in a potential buy, the real life aspect of things impairs the blessing of cyberspace.

“I think I would have to see it on myself. I think that you can def­ initely go online to get ideas but I really need to actually see some­ thing on me, in real life before I can make a decision on whether or not I could buy it- especially eyewear,” says UO student Tracy Adno.

So why the obsession with

doing everything online?

W hat ever happened to the warm human contact aspect of trying something on in front of your friends or the salesperson in a store? Are we finding too many ways to get around hum an contact?

“If you can’t leave your house I think online ---------------------- shopping is a good thing but I don’t think it should be an alternative. I don’t think it will ever replace actually going to a store,” says Jennifer Bassin, a U1 psychology student.

“Seeing a picture with glasses on is not the same. You have to know how things feel. I think people are still very unsure about doing things on the Internet. If it ever did replace going out and shopping that would be depressing.”

Perhaps, but if you can’t find your prized possession in the store, seeing it on a screen mere inches from your face will definitely have to do. And if you’ve got the plastic, even better.

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VOLUNTEERFORSACOMSS

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This winter we are looking fo r dedicated, caring volunteers fo r one branch of the Sexual Assault Centre h e lp ­

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I f you are open-minded?!; good listener, and you care about sexual assault a t McGill and feiyond, please come to one o f our in f ormation sessions to f ina out how you can volunteer.

We have a table a t A ctivitie s N ight as well!

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Applications consisting of a covering letter, résumé and transcript are due at the Career Services office by Thursday, January 18th. For more Jennifer Atkins, Monitor Group, The Monitor Building, 100 Simcoe St., 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5FI 3G2 Tel# (416) 408-4800 Fax# (416) 408-4848

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a r t s & e nte rta nment T ue s da y January 16, 2 0 0 1

Attack of the killer sesame seeds!

Silly

Antitrust satisfying

despite gaps in logic attributed to sesame seeds.

Regardless, A ntitrust is thor­ oughly enjoyable. There’s some­ thing utterly satisfying about opensource triumphing over corporate America, even if it’s in a simplistic, otherwise unmemorable film. The sets, from the N.U.R.V. daycare built in Lego to the shifting works of arts in Winston’s mansion, will stick with you long after the plot has faded from your memory. And the soundtrack, chockfull o f Dandy Warhols, Elliott Smith, Supergrass and Bowie, rocks.

I give Antitrust three sesame seed-filled Pringles containers (out of five).

Marie-Hélène Savard___________ Milo, a self-proclaimed com­ puter nerd, faces a moral quandary upon his Stanford graduation: should he stick around and create open-source software with his bud­ dies, or let go o f his ideals and get filthy rich working for the Man? W hen the man in question turns out to be none other than Bill G a...

I mean Gary W inston, the most powerful computer C.E.O on the planet, Milos dilemma disappears ... O r does it? (Insert bombastic music here) And so A ntitrust begins: a story of good vs. evil, open-source vs. greed, pure-hearted geeks vs. pow­ erful geeks. A story that will touch your soul like n o ... Sorry, getting carried away. A ntitrust probably won’t touch your soul, unless a deep hatred o f Bill Gates consumes every inch o f your being. Because Gary W inston (Tim Robbins) is an obvi­ ous caricature o f the Microsoft CEO. Same dorky haircuts. Same investigation by the Feds for breaching antitrust laws. Same gen­ erous donations to charity. Same monstrously huge sea-side proper­ ties. Except Gary is one step ahead of Gates: his company, N.U.R.V., is already working on Synapse, the "worlds first satellite-delivered global communication system." I’m still not clear on the concept, but the filmmakers hired the likes o f a NASA engineer and Linux’ Linus Torvalds as consultants, so I trust that all the computer-speak and the coding in the movie is legit.

Anyway, Gary needs Milo’s help. In this young man, Gary sees something he hasn’t seen in a very long time: he sees himself. You see, Milo’s a certified genius. He’s the

This week, we bring you the picks of Nico, photo editor.

Tuesday

Special Combination (UK drum + bass DJ) at Tokyo

only one who can help N.U.R.V. develop the first "digital conver­ gence technology." Now when you think smart, brilliant, geeky, young, which actor first comes to mind?

Certainly not the shirtless bartender from 54. But scrumptious Ryan Philippe is who we get, and I’m not complaining. Milo slowly realizes that all is not what it seems in the wonderful world of N.U.R.V. Code gets stolen, people get killed...As his world unravels, he struggles to find people he can depend on, peo­

ple he can...trust. That’s about as m uch as I’m saying. N othing annoys me more than reviews that give away the plot simply because it’s much easier to write a 600-word summary than to actually criticize a film (Montreal Gazette reviewers, I’m talking to you.)

A ntitrust is billed as a paranoia thriller, but the fact that the audi­ ence is always a good five steps ahead o f the protagonist makes for a pretty unsuspensful movie. You know the good guys will win. You

also know that even though Milo is still hacking into a computer as the bad guy enters the room, by the time the camera pans from the bad guy’s face to the computer, Milo will have disappeared. You know this not just because it’s a cliche, but also because it has already happened ten times in this very movie. And some o f the dialogue (especially the anti-climatic "In the real word, when you kill people, thèy DIE!" uttered by an angry Milo) is down­ right silly, as is the pivotal role

Wednesday

Skiniidip (organic house + hip hop) at Le swimming Thursday Binary ; rotating weekly resi­

dents and guest djs at Culture Club (upstairs at Polly Esther’s) Friday

ragga jungle vs. drum + bass; DJ Krinjah and the Backstagger at Blue Dog

Marketing Maddin: scrambling ruling convention Adam Chasen It is unfortunate that our most revered institution, the free market, makes so many cultural artifacts available and then glaringly omits some worthy subjects.

Sadly, Guy M addin has been left out.

A film director from Winnipeg, Maddin has made four feature-length films and about a dozen shorts. Each piece o f work attests to his singular vision -— an odd mixture o f austere, precise artistry and absurd humour. His films have been praised and deco­ rated with awards: just this past year the N ational Society o f Critics Don’t point your gun at me!

voted his newest short, H eart o f the World Best Experi­ mental Film. He has been the subject o f a newly published book and a documentary narrated by Tom Waits. Nonetheless, how do you market something that is so weird and alien that it takes at least fifteen minutes to adjust to the movie and its rules?

Take for instance Careful, M addin’s 1992 feature. The dia­ Press Shot logue simultaneously

cumbersome and poetic, stylistical­ ly imitates the syntax of translation (at the time Maddin was reading lots o f foreign novels). Either over­ dubbed or unheard, the characters deliver lines with complete aban­ don and seriousness. The actors are made-up to look pale and sickly with a little too m uch blush.

Ornate costumes are designed with no functional purpose. The sets are self-conscious and unrealistic.

Though its story stringently follows a typical narrative trajectory, it’s hard to understand Maddin’s moti­ vations; is he serious, joking, crazy, stupid? Yet, Careful gains unlikely emotional and intellectual momen­ tum . Beautiful and hilarious, I think it changed my life. Obviously

manufactured by a cinematic mas­ ter, I want to share this find with you: one screening and you’re hooked.

So, consider this a small plea, a call to arms, the start o f a revolution to subvert the system. Consume something that has no commercial appeal and no target audience.

Discover a piece of Canadian cul­ ture before the United States buys it. And then, like little Haley Joel Osment in a carefully observed per­ formance says, “Pay it forward.” Let someone else in on the secret.

Guy M addin is talking on January 18th from 5:00-7:30 in Arts 230.

18 A&E

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Best of 2000 music, part II O u r w riters (and o n e e d ito r) re v ie w th e highlights o f th e Y 2 K • M a rie -H é lè n e S av ard Top 5 albums 1. Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour o f Bewilderbeast (Beggars’ Banquet) “This song will need you when you’re old/ this song will heat you when you’re cold/ will leave you when I don’t/ This song will heal you from your soul” (‘This Song’) 2. Grant-Lee Phillips, Ladies’ Love Oracle (Magnetic Field Recordings)

ir iit - liiiillliis

guaranteeing you’re cool/ than to sit up here exposing myself trying to break through’ (‘Shit on the Radio’) 4. Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker (Blodshot)— “I’m as calm as a fruit stand in New York, and maybe as strange” (‘Damn, Sam’) Alright, so Ryan Adams falls into the alt-coun­ try slot, a genre that has fallen out o f fashion in the last couple of years. But damn it, I couldn’t resist the Morrissey-meets-Dylan appeal o f songs like ‘Come Pick Me Up’, complete with banjo-picking and “Come pick me up, take me out, fuck me up, steal my records, screw all my plans” chorus.

5. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (V2/ BMG) Novelty album o f the year: Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary M an “ I used to be one of those people who said they listened to everything but country. No more, my friends: Johnny Cash has helped me see the light. I got Solitary M an specifically for Cash’s cover o f Will Oldham’s T See a Darkness,’ but his approach to Tom Petty, U2 and Nick Cave songs won me over.

- “Buster Keaton and 1/ danced out on the window sill/ ten stories high” (‘Don’t Look Down’) Available only online, at cdbaby.com.

3. Nelly Furtado, Whoa, Nelly!

(Dreamworks/Universal) ‘It’s so much easier to stay down there

Songs: Dead Prez, ‘Hip Hop’ (Let’s Get Free) —A conscious message and a chunky bass line.

Smog, ‘Dress Sexy at my Funeral’ (Dongs o f Sevotion) - This song wouldn’t have been out of place on the Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs, but it stood out this year because it shows that Bill Callahan (Mr. Smog) has finally acquired a sense of humor and relaxed a little.

Jill Scott feat. Mos Def, ‘Love Rain Down’ (Who is Jill Scott? Vol. I) and Mos Def, Nate Dogg and Pharoahe Monch, ‘O h No’ (Lyricist Lounge Vol. II) - Mos D ef is my secret boyfriend. He could even col­ laborate with Eminem (hell, he already has) and I’d still love him.

T he Lucksmiths, ‘Guess How Much I Love You’ - The Lucksmiths are right up Belle & Sebastian’s twee-pop alley with their shiny, happy melodies, perfect for an irony-free day.

T he Super Furry Animals, ‘Ymaelodi A’r Ymylon’ (Mwng) — ‘Ymaelodi A’r Ymylon’ means ‘This sounds a lot like the Beach Boys and will stick in your head all day’

in Welsh. Just don’t try to sing along.

• D a n ie lle N g u y e n

O ther memorable music: C at Power’s Covers Record, Cousteau, David Gray, Del Tha Funky Homosapien’s wordiness on Deltron 3030’s self-titled album, M C Paul Barman’s EP, Soulwax’s cover o f Prince’s ‘Starfish and Coffee’, Lullaby Baxter Trio’s Capable Egg, godspeed, you black emperor!, Sugar Ray (memorable doesn’t mean great) covering my favourite Eno/Cale song for The Beach OST, Outkast’s ‘Ms Jackson’ video, Erykah Badu’s ‘Bag Lady’ video, the Jeff Buckley DVD, Coldplay’s ‘Shiver’ acoustic on Radio 1, Danko Jones at Foufounes, Sarah Harmer, Travis at the Spectrum, Ben Harper behind the drums at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory, the 9pm Metropolis shows of the Jazz Festival, Katerine at the Gesix, M at the Spectrum, the return o f D ’Angelo, CD 2 of Sing a Song fo r You (the Tim Buckley trib­ ute album), and Rufus Wainwright singing backup vocals on Teddy Thomson’s ‘So Easy.’

Common, Like Waterfo r Chocolate

Chicago bred M C Rashid Lynn a.k.a. Common, originally known as Common Sense, left the crib for NYC to make his fourth album Like Water for Chocolate; a move giving him the opportunity to work with D ’Angelo, Puestlove, James Poyseur, Roy Hargrove, Cee-Lo, Mos Def, Macy Gray, and many more guest stars.

A definite mixture of musical influ­ ences, this fluid album is a melting pot of African rhythms, blues, funk, jazz, soul, ska, gospel, narrative, and hip-hop elements. W ith imagina­ tion and conscientiousness, Common certainly does not come Please see MORE, page 23

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

A&E 19

Lounge is Back: The Gentle Way Lexicon o f Lounge, “[the Carpenters Soundtracks fo r Living depicts the were] abhorred in the seventies, a members o f this multi-national quartet as serene hipsters dressed in I have discovered The Gentle cult in the eighties, revered in the nineties.” So yes, lounge is back but matching pink and aqua turtlenecks Way. not a religion, hardly a philos­ this time around, it circumvents the and mini-dresses, surrounded by a ophy, but simply a state o f being. cheesiness that belabours, for exam­ trippy haze of bubbles. The four Picture yourself, martini in one ple, Tom Jones, by embracing the members, Valentine Cornelius, hand, cigarette in the other, easing Dougee Dimensional, Laurie past as retro, campy, nostalgic. into the perfectly designed Le Lemans, and Honeymink, blend Japan is truly at the front o f the Corbusier chaise lounge. This is a ambient sounds with frothy pop neo-lounge movement with kitschy world o f shag carpeting, where Burt melodies that go down as smooth as exports such as Pizzicato Five, Bacharach and Dionne Warwick are the perfecdy mixed cocktail.

Here Fantastic Plastic Machine, and the staples, and everything is white, godly Towa Tei (formerly o f the rev­ you will find songs like “Le Tunnel plastic, and bubble shaped. This life olutionary dance/funk fusion Deee- de L’amour,” “Emotion Heater,” o f leisure and luxury is The Gentle and “World of Love.” This is a band Way as preached by The Gentle Lite). But I digress, the topic at hand is The Gentle People, who that understands the true meaning People, the finest neo-lounge band embrace both free love and blatant o f camp and thus creates a sound to emerge from Britain’s Cocktail materialism to evoke the space-age that is equal parts Stereolab and Nation. If you haven’t noticed yet, world o f yesteryear; a time of Bewitched/I Dream o f Jeannie, lounge is back.

Neutra, Pucci, and bee-hive hair. with just a dash o f Teletubbies The easy listening sounds of Their press release reads: “They sound effects for good measure. postwar America have reemerged in have traveled from the outer reach­ Soothing male vocals are layered the mainstream, but this time with es of the galaxy to the inner sanc­ a twist. Easy listening has always tum of your heart. They call this been burdened with a reputation music easycore: utilizing the digital for being, well, cheesy. In retro­ technology of today and the lost spect, this is replaced though, with a fond nostalgia. The Carpenters sounds of yesterday to create the music for the millennium genera­ are the perfect example: as Dylan Jones poignandy states in Easy! The tion.”

The cover o f their debut album

S iddhartha M ukherjee

with lush orchestrations and sultry female whisperings o f love and desire (think a sedated Lady Miss Kier). Alternating between French and English, The Gende People cre­ ate an atmosphere o f relaxation with quirky, yet sensual songs.

Thus, they provide the ideal remedy for such current atrocities as Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, and the like.

Simply Faboo, the follow-up album from these purveyors o f cool picks up where Soundtracks fo r Living left off. Once again, The Gende People deliver. The o{>ening track “Shopping World” is a radical sounding shopping mantra with a mildy shocking shoplifting encour­ agement, delivered with all the tongue-in-cheekiness th at one could hope for. O ther jewels include the cocktail themes “Mr.

Whiskey,” and “Hungover.” This is mood music, people, music for kiss­ ing, music for tripping, music for living. Perhaps the finest track is the ultra-self-referential “Gentle People are Love,” a whirling disco affair that sounds as if it should be included on Dimitri from Paris’ A Night a t the Playboy Mansion (possi­ bly the finest collection o f funky disco tracks ever mixed). The bot­ tom line is this: The Gende People embrace vintage fashions and sounds with a smart sophistication, expound on both the ostentatious and the mundane, and repackage it all for nineties listening. They are masters o f their craft, creating unique, fuzzy songs that warm the heart, and calm the soul. In a word, they are, simply, faboo.

Great Roman Polanski is the master of an empire David Schanzle Good directors create suspense on screen by suggestion; poor direc­ tors use clunky and literal methods to create the same mood. There is something about a Steven Spielberg, Alfred H itchcock or Roman Polanski film that is funda­ mentally different from the work of the hordes who have tried to copy their success, an entire way of jux­ taposing images and layering dia­ logue to create a story. The masters were born with some indescribable film sense that they shaped into their own film language.

Roman Polanski is one of the great masters of buried tension in film. In Rosemary’s Baby he creates an atmosphere of mounting terror, even though nothing seems to be wrong. In fact, not very much hap­ pens in Rosemary’s Baby, compared to lesser films of the genre. Most of the scenes consist o f people sitting down in pleasant settings and of speaking in subdued dialogue.

Instead, spicing up the action and exaggerating the sets, Polanski transferred the claustrophobia of Ira Levin’s novel to the screen with a restrained subtlety. His choice of costumes, makeup, lighting and setting all make our feelings of urban paranoia seem more real by not giving us anything to separate his vision from our world.

His early films such as Knife in the Water, Repulsion and Rosemary’s

Baby are so subtle that they appear to take place in what is essentially one setting with little action. These three films could easily be trans­ ferred to the stage without many changes. In fact, Death and the Maiden, one of his later films, is based on a play. Polanski imitators use action to give the illusion that something urgent is happening, but they avoid the truth in the human emotions, which is what these sto­ ries are all about.

Polanski makes locations inte­ gral parts of his stories. Chinatown uses the rolling plains, the wide open spaces of the country clubs and the suburbs to show a world where everybody is performing a role, where secrets are hidden in plain sight. The howling winds, damp weather, and old houses with open fires in Macbeth create a set­ ting where people spend the cold evenings, plotting deadly schemes behind closed doors.

In Rosemary’s Baby, he creates the claustrophobic fears o f the urban paranoid in New York by putting his characters in an apart­ ment that is so comfortable and cozy that they don’t want to leave it.

Excursions to the outside world are viewed as dangerous even as the evi­ dence mounts that there is a plot afoot within the apartment.

So many o f Roman Polanski’s films cover the darkness o f human passions, that it is easy to overlook P le a se see P O L A N S K I , page 2 2

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

"Drifter's Escape": tracking Dylan's trip through time M c G ill U n d e rg ra d s e v o k e th e rom anticism o f a lost g e n e ra tio n Part I Adam Kaufman_________________ It was 11:00 in the morning, a cloudy New England day in midNovember, as four shifty looking adolescents stood huddled around a small gravestone. Some sat crosslegged on the damp grass, “sum­ moning the spirits”, while others stood while paying their respects to one of the greatest and most influ­ ential voices o f the 20th century: Jack Kerouac.

A poet and author o f such classic novels as O n the Road and Dharma Bums, Kerouac stands as the leader o f the infamous Beat G eneration o f the 1950’s. The ‘Beatniks’ were basically authors, poets, musicians and artists that traveled in search of redefining the American Dream. They questioned society at all costs and sowed the seeds of a counterculture that came of age in the late 1960’s.

O ur present search found us in Lowell, Massachusetts, the birthplace of Kerouac. It was no coincidence that Bob Dylan hap­ pened to be playing that night at the local hockey arena in this “bombed out” industrial town. We had traveled all through the night.

After stopping at a roadside joint outside of Montreal for a bite, we fueled up the car and were off.

Derrick was at the wheel, maneu­ vering the “m achine” through fierce rainstorms, not to mention the treacherous roads o f the whitecapped mountain ranges of New Hampshire and Vermont. W ithout any casualties, we finally fought our way south to Boston where we rolled into our buddies’ house around 3 a.m. About 16 hours later we found ourselves surrounded by fanatics on all sides as we stood five feet from where the “man” would soon preside. The six-hour wait had secured us a front row position to experience the voice that “con­ tinues to define a generation”.

Throughout the years, Dylan’s persona has died and been reborn countless times, but once again he has reached one of the many peaks of his career. After winning the Grammy for “Album o f The Year” for his haunting Time out o f Mind in 1998, Dylan has been on an enormous upswing ever since. His current touring band -Tony Garnier (bass), Larry Campbell (guitar), Charlie Sexton (guitar), and David Kemper (drums)- is a mix o f veterans and younger musi­ cians that could possibly be his best band since The Band, who toured with Dylan during the late 60’s.

Fatigue was forgotten as the smell o f incense filtered through * the arena and a voice from backstage announced, “Please welcome Columbia Recording artist, Bob Dylan!” A frisson shook the crowd as the lights went low and the band took the stage. Just days after the United States presidential election hat shook the world, a sleep deprived audience o f 7000 fans oared as Dylan in his usual black

vintage suit waltzed on stage.

W ithout a word, Dylan and the band immediately set into an ener­ gized honky tonk traditional, ‘Duncan and Brady’. Dylan mixed it up that night, giving the crowd a full taste of his splendid career. A rare perform ance of ‘T he Lonesome Death o f Hattie Carol’ soon followed.

As Dylan stood on stage, a preacher to this diverse crowd of New Englanders, images o f a young Dylan strumming away on a southern plantation floated through the subconscious. Singing o f tolerance, the evils o f bigotry and violence, and the injustices of political and civil society, Dylan’s message survives and has been rele­ vant throughout the ages. Dylan and his band then transported us back to the early 70’s with a rockin’ version o f ‘C ountry Pie’, from the well-known Nashville Skyline.

the morning, waiting for another restless bus ride. I was headed to stay with a friend in Clinton, NY and from there we’d drive to meet another friend in Pennsylvania to catch the first o f three Dylan shows that week.

We were energetic and we talked about meaning and lived in metaphors. The songs played the whole time. I heard Dylan’s sweet gravelly voice on the bus, in the car, in my head, and in a swarm of devoted fans molding their lives according to these songs, these sto­ ries. I wouldn’t have witnessed a yelling match in the lonely Albany bus station. I wouldn’t have driven with a fat obnoxious taxi driver who told me about a rich girl he’s in love with, if it weren’t for those stories, those stories o f life that inspire me to mold my own with just as much passion.

T h at’s what our trip was

smile at the camera. He refuses to be associated with whatever answers his songs dig up. They were there all along, after all. Hell, I saw the same world in an Albany bus stop at one in the morning. By claiming these answers, he para­ lyzes himself because when the meaning is found the trip is over.

T h at’s why Dylan always hides behind a derisive smirk or bored frown: so people won’t know when he’s serious. They can’t mold their lives around these answers because they don’t know which ones are definite. Instead they can mold their lives around Dylan’s search.

After three amazing shows in one week, I knew Dylan’s trip was still going. And you can still see the Elvis Presley and the Charlie Chaplin in the 59-year-old per­ former’s movements. And you can still hear the soul o f Little Richard’s rock and roll in Dylan’s music and the pain of the old folk artists in his voice. Bob Dylan simply keeps digging and as long as he does we’ll follow. As he played ‘C ountry Pie’ and smirked to himself I knew he was just stepping back and viewing it from a distance...just getting a kick out o f the whole thing.

Because the conclusion isn’t always concrete, but the story won’t lie and nothing beats a good story.

Part III Jeff Watson

Dylan gave a rare smile during this one, as he bent his knees and played for the crowd. No one stayed in their seat as the band romped through this playful num ­ ber. Dylan then sent the crowd back in time once again with an unfam iliar arrangem ent o f the ingenious ‘D rifter’s Escape’ off John Wesley Harding. “W hile ev’rybody knelt to pray, the drifter did escape,” wailed Dylan tri­ umphantly as the crowd swooned below. Dylan went on to finish out the show with a mix o f crowd pleasers, am ong them: ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, ‘All Along The Watchtower’, ‘Don’t T hink Twice It’s A lright’ and ‘Highway 6T .

Dylan walked out for his sixth encore to the delight of the packed audience, launching into ‘Blowin’ in the W ind,’ a song that first gave him a spotlight in the Greenwich Village folk scene back in 1961.

There was no mistaking the rele­ vance of this selection. In an age where robotic minds lead the world into a new millennium, the perpetual philosopher Dylan con­ tinues to question and search for the true meaning o f our existence.

Part II Jamie Simons___________________ It’s all there at a bus stop in Albany, NY. So much life at one in

about.

It was about passion.

W hen the music hit us, we felt like we were living our own stories. We felt like it was our time and it meant something because when the right song is playing, every­ thing means something. We were a part o f life and, thus, we were a part o f history. Maybe if Alexander the Great had never been born Dylan’s parents would never have met. Maybe if ‘Lay Lady Lay’ had­ n’t been written the mood wouldn’t have been right and my parents would never have Conceived me.

W hen the right song was playing and it all made sense, we dared to contemplate not only our causes, but our effects.

The first Dylan show in the small LeHigh University gymnasi­ um was perfect. Dylan’s band of finely tuned musicians was tight as always, especially on a rocking ver­ sion of the fun ‘C ountry Pie’ from 1970’s Nashville Skyline. Dylan’s performance was passionate, as much as he tried to hide it with a smirk. The band experimented with a jazzy sound on a new ver­ sion of ‘Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door’ and on the obscure staple of Dylan’s fall tour, ‘If Dogs Run Free’ from his 1970 album, New Morning.

Dylan searches for meaning, and a lot of the time he finds it.

But Bob was never there to hand us the answers. He wasn’t there to

W hen it came time for the line to advance to another holding area, people gathered in the front became frenzied. I had never seen such fans, running like herds of cattle to another pen just to get as close as possible. The venue in Lowell held about seven thousand, sold out. To know the crowd you have to consider the town. Lowell is a factory town, filled with old buildings pumping smoke into the air. It was named ‘All-America town’ in 1999, with US flags every­ where, a monum ent to the first man to lead the Unionists in the town, and highly segregated black, Hispanic, and Asian cultures on one side o f Main Street.

The crowd was alive when the microphone was queued and the announcer said his piece ‘Ladies and gentleman, Columbia record­ ing artist, Bob Dylan!’ and just like that, the place was alive and he strolled onto the stage. I didn’t have to pass a test or prove myself, he just strolled out and jumped into ‘Duncan and Brady’.

The crowd was jumping, Bob moved like Charlie Chaplin, look­ ing like he was really enjoying him ­ self on stage, but the band was weak. The lead guitarist, Charlie Sexton, was off on all the notes, not able to keep up, looking towards the bassist Tony Gamier for help. He seemed to be in a mar­ inated state at the hands of some unknown potent substance, and it was slowing him down. He was becoming more and more aggres­ sive and upset in his movement,

4

4

I h e a r d D y la n ’s s w e e t g ra v e lly v o ic e o n th e b u s, in t h e ca r, in m y h e a d a n d in a sw a rm o f d e v o te d fa n s m o ld in g t h e i r liv e s a r o u n d th e s e so n g s, th e s e s to rie s .

V> until it wore out and the show moved on. We stood second row, dumb with excitement. I’m fairly tall, at least taller than the majority o f the people who were around me, so I would frequently catch Bob’s scowling eye and we’d begin a duel in which, at the end of the night, I ended up around .500.

We partied a little and hit the sack for the next day. Deep in the Rhode Island countryside near Providence, the University o f Rhode Island was hosting “An evening with Bob Dylan”. The crowd waited outside in a much more casual temperament, but they were definitely in the mood for a good show. The venue had chairs, but when the house lights went out I forgot all about them.

Bob strolled out in the same laid-back fashion as the night before and jumped into another ‘Duncan and Brady’. The night was made by a slow and tempered ‘It Ain’t Me’, and a beast solo by Charlie Sexton who redeemed himself as one o f the great living guitarists in ‘A ll Along the Watchtower’. Bob was surprisingly cordial for his old age, tempting the jeers of the audience, moving like a boxer in the ring, slashing smiles into the crowd while he ripped off a solo holding his guitar on his hip like a double barrel shot­ gun. And as both nights finished, the acoustic guitars were brought out for one last song, ‘Blowin, in the W ind’. T he last time I saw him was standing on the stage with his fellow band mates staring into the crowd motionless for 30-odd sec­ onds as they do apparently every night, soaking in all the praise of the night’s performance. W hen the thirty seconds were up, they moved at the exact same time and rode off.

Truly a showman, Bob Dylan is a great player. The persona that he presents on stage is one o f great aloofness, but at the same time he moves and gestures in a way that makes it look like he truly loves what he does. For this reason, his fans love him back.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

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More best o f s... continued from page 1 8

across as trivial, and deals with both light and serious issues, paying trib­ ute to freedom fighter Black Panther Assata Shakur. “A Song for Assata” is in her honor and the track ends with a quote from hers: “I know a whole lot more about what freedom isn’t than what it is cause I’ve never been free [...] and my people have never been free”.

O f course not the whole album treats pressing issues. Soulful, clever and opinioned, Com m on easily reminds the audience o f KRS-One and Rakim. N ot scared of bound­ aries, Common raps what he feels with notions of introspection and activism. Commercial rap is far from what this album is all about.

David Gray, White Ladder

members are still in their early 20’s and this is their first album. Their style will probably evolve a great deal with the years to come.

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• L eah K. N c h a m a My Top 7 of 2000 (in no particu­

lar order but alphabetical): The Beatles,

1

The Beatles were the first band I ever became smitten with as a child and, needless to say, I am euphoric at the recent Beatlemania revival.

Although 1 compiles only their hit singles and not the stranger tunes I favour (such as “Only a Northern Song” and “Good M orning”), I still find it the best album to play dur­ ing my day-long basement dancing sessions. Whilst I am on the sub­ ject, I hereby declare the re-released version of “Hard Day’s Night” the best film of 2000. Had 1 been alive in 1964, I would indubitably be one of those shrieking gits chasing John, George, and Ringo during the opening sequence.

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David Bowie, Bowie at the Beeh: Welsh folk/rock singer-songwriter David Gray is finally getting some recognition in America with his fourth album, W hite Ladder, released on ATO Records (a brand new label owned by Dave Matthews and his manager). Since then, Gray’s popularity has cata­ pulted; he completed a successful mini-American tour, and appeared on shows such as SNL, Letterman and Conan, as well as numerous radio shows.

Gray’s distinctive music is charac­ terized by acoustic sounds, comput­ er samples and drum loops. It owes as much to the sampler as to the guitar but retains Gray’s distinctive touches, the wishful vocals and sub­ lime melodies. His songwriting has been compared with Bob Dylan’s and Van Morrison’s.

Coldplay, Parachutes Coldplay is part of the new batch of melodic rock bands from the UK. Their debut album, Parachutes-, is simple, but nonetheless beautiful and sweet. This is one of those records you can listen to from beginning to end without program­ ming or skipping. It is like reading one long love letter, where lead singer, Chris M artin, pours his heart out. Nothing stands out as innovative or extravagant here: what is said is not complicated, but in no way is it shallow.

Coldplay’s reference points are easi­ ly recognizable, with Martin’s skill­ ful, swooning voice echoing Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake. The UK music press has also compared the band with pre-Kid A Radiohead and Travis, a premature categoriza­ tion if you consider that the band

The Best o f the BBC Sessions 68-72 (EMI Records/ Virgin) If I lived in a perfect world, every musical year-end review would have a category called ‘Best Bowie Album of the Year’. Having worn this disc down to a handful of molten plastic, all I can do now is dress up in full Ziggy drag and await the second coming.

The Cure, Bloodflowers Music journalists and fans alike criticized the Cure’s latest album to no end when it was released earlier this year, bemoaning the absence of any catchy singles like “Close to Me” or “Friday I’m in Love”. Any half-conscious listener knows that Robert Smith has never been the slap-happiest of characters, dating all the way back to his stint as a Banshee. Even better than this marathon of an album (the average track length is 6 minutes) was the band’s marathon of a concert in Toronto back in June. I danced like a monkey for the entire 3-hour set and still have the manly calves to prove it.

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Tunes of '00...

Polanski rules on continued from page 19

his dry sense of humour. He takes the passions of his characters seri­ ously, but he is aware of the absurd­ ity of many of these situations. Jack Nicholsons character in Chinatown spends the whole movie comment­ ing on the pointlessness of the con­ spiracy he uncovers.

Unfortunately, one of

Polanski’s best movies will not shown during Parc’s retrospective.

The Fearless Vampire Hunters or Excuse M e but Your Teeth are in My Neck satirizes vampire movies by taking the story seriously at a fun­ damental level. The cold wintry landscapes suggest the atmosphere of old Transylvanian folklore, but the staging and acting owe more to silent comedies than to any horror

film.

continued from page 2 1

Polanski has had some misfires (like casting Walter Matthau as a pirate in 1986’s Pirates) but he has also created an utterly unique body of work that is hauntingly dark and, like all great examples of story telling, infinitely entertaining.

was actually XTRM NTR. Legend has it that each Primal Scream album is fueled by a different drug and, apparently, the narcotic of choice for this, their seventh release, was amphetamine. Infused with shouty, political lyrics, unbe­ lievably groovy basslines, and more of that futuristic programmy sound I love so much, Primal Scream gets my ‘aye’ for best album o f the year.

Check out the Polanski retrospective at the Cinéma du Parc this month.

W ic k e d ly E n t e r t a in in g .’

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Rhea’s Obsession, Between Earth and Sky Rhea’s Obsession is a Torontonian darkwave outfit which essentially consists o f Jim Field and Sue Hutton. This follow-up to 1996’s Initiation blends different types of sound, including Bulgarian and Celtic folk motifs, with a heavy, almost electronic feel. The defining component of the album that out­ shines even its divine melodies and intricate percussion is Sue H utton’s vocals. Originally trained in opera, Sue went on to spend a year in

India studying music, rendering her one of the greatest vocalists in North America. To top it all off, in addition to being frightfully talent­ ed, she is also the nicest and best­ smelling musician in this hemi­ sphere.

Spineshank, The H eight o f Callousness (Roadrunner Records) Spineshank have succeeded in cre­ ating the only metal album out of California worth buying this past year. This year, I attribute any and all hearing loss to this record.

Disagree with the choices on these lists?

Visit the Trib’s message board at tribune.mcgill.ca and tell us what YOU listened to this year.

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s T u esd ay , 16 Ja n u a ry 2 0 0 1

Martlet hockey gears up for final stretch Team in h u n t fo r second place in con ference a fte r w in against Patriotes Jonathan Colford T he M cGill M artlet hockey team may just be where they w ant to be w ith three regular season games left this year.

They are 1-4-0 in the eightgame Quebec University Hockey League season after a weekend w in against l’U niversité du Québec à Trois-Rivières and a loss to defending conference cham pi­ on C oncordia. T h e y are two points out o f second place in the Q U H L and from gaining hom e ice advantage in the conference semi-final.

T h e youthful club, w hich sports 11 rookies on the roster, will play those games on the road, where M cGill has compiled a 6-32 overall record (versus a 4-7-2 hom e record). Plus, the team seems unfazed by playing on the road. T he M artlets are looking forw ard to traveling to Lake Placid, NY, this weekend for a two-game tournam ent where they will play St. Lawrence, a low-scor­ ing, tight defensive squad current­ ly ranked #3 in N CA A Division 1 play, in the first game.

Smith and his friendly rival UQTR head coach Pierre

Jackson, w ith whom he coaches the Quebec senior women’s team, do n o t expect the change o f scenery to affect their team’s play much.

“For a young team it’s easier in some ways to play on the ro ad ,” Smith said o f his Martlets. “There’s no question that there can be some distractions at hom e.”

“Playing on the road does not have m uch o f an im pact on a team in university women’s hockey,” added Jackson.

“I don’t see either M cG ill or U Q T R jum ping ahead by four or five goals in our last two games.”

Two o f M cGill’s last three games will be played at U Q TR , where M cGill has not lost a game since the 1997-98 Q U H L semi­ final.

A late slashing call on M artlet forward Sarah Lomas set the stage for the Concordia Stingers’ sec­ ond late-game come-from-behind victory over McGill this season, a 4-2 victory on Friday night.

Stinger new com er Caroline Ouellette scored the winner with 2:32 left while Lomas was in the box with a boom ing shot that beat St-Pierre over the shoulder on the stick side. Concordia got an insur­ ance marker in an em pty net on forward Annie Surprenants sec­ ond goal o f the night.

W ith the win, Concordia (5-

Concordia Stingers 4, McGill Martlets 2

1) clinched first place in the Q u e b e c U niversity Hockey League.

D a n a R ittm aster and Sophie Acheson scored for McGill. Ritt-master, the team ’s captain, broke out o f an eightgame scoring fu n k w ith her third goal o f the season. Acheson notched her team-leading 14th goal o f the season midway through the second period to give McGill a short-lived 2-1 lead.

M artlet goaltender Kim St-Pierre was the game’s first star after fac­ ing 55 shots. H er Stinger coun­ terpart, Lisa H erritt, turned away 15 M artlet shots for the win.

McGill Martlets 3, U Q TR Patriotes 2

McGill rebounded from its loss to Concordia, w inning their first regular season game o f the year on the strength o f a long shot

from veteran forward Suzanne Fujiki, who has just come back from a hip injury.

T h e w in, a 3-2 squeaker against the U Q T R Patriotes, puts them two points out o f second place with three games remaining.

U Q T R , at 2-3-0, holds second place in the three-team Q U H L. T he game featured tight, physical play on both sides. T he M artlets drew first blood after Rittmaster put in the rebound from defencem an Allison Ticmanis’ shot from the point.

U Q T R took advantage o f a power play late in the first period and early in the third, putting heavy traffic in front o f St-Pierre and scoring two goals off point shots.

“It’s strange to say, but in our case most o f the points come from the defense,” said Bilodeau. “O u r team relies on the defense for both the defensive play and to support the offence.”

St-Pierre said those kinds o f shots, made with heavy traffic in front o f her net, give her trouble.

“O ne way to beat me is to send a lot o f people to the net and then use point shots,” St-Pierre said. “We should work on cover­ ing the points in order to be more S e e “ DEFENSE KEY” on page 2 5

It's been a long time coming M a rtle ts g e t m o n k e y o ff th e ir back w ith m u c h -d e s e rv e d w in David Schipper_________________ The McGill Martlets women’s basketball team won their first game of the regular season, 63-54 over the Ryerson Polytechnic University Rams on Saturday after­ noon.

Down by one at the half, the surging Martlets shut the Rams down offensively, surrendering only 22 second-half points.

As usual, Cynthia Santamaria played every second o f the game for McGill, dogging Ryerson players all afternoon long with her persistent effort and finishing with 11 points, including 3 three-pointers. Rookie sensation Maude Vallières had 16 points, and Lysiane van der Knaap was 5 for 5 from the field in the sec­ ond half with 10 points in only 13 minutes of play “I’m glad when I am able to calm down the team. I missed a few easy lay-ups in the first half,” explained van der Knaap, a harsh

Colette A nderes running the show

Ben Madgett

critic of her game. “Were so glad

that we won. This takes some of the pressure off.

The whole team is more confident now. We re not scared anymore.”

Maude Vallières was also pleased that her out­ standing play will finally be reflected in the stand­ ings.

“We deserve it. We were ready to play. We want to win. We missed a lot of shots in the begin­ ning, where we made good decisions but the ball didn’t go in.” offered Vallières. “I’m glad that we kept up the pressure for the whole game. Even when we made turnovers, we kept focused. We’re no longer stressed that we have to win, so we can execute our game plan.”

The game got off to a slow start as both teams

struggled offensively, but as things opened up, the M artlet players showed uncharacteristic patience in the key. It helped that Ryerson guard Miruna Muller took excep­ tion to the officiating, getting two technical fouls in the process. It was a refreshing role reversal for the Martlets to watch the opposing team desperately forced to take fouls at the end of the game.

“Ryerson self-destructed today,” opined coach Lisen Moore.

“We had to win mentally and phys­ ically, but you know what? We’re better than you saw today. Cynthia made some tough shots, and leader­ ship is what it takes to win ball games. Lysiane’s inside effort took some pressure off the other players.

My players are executing their tasks and working their strengths more and more.”

Friday's result less encouraging

O n Friday night, the Martlets lost a heartbreaker to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues as fifthyear point guard Klara Danes sank a lay-up at the buzzer to beat McGill 78-76 in front of the largest crowd of the season.

Maude Vallières had another stunning performance with 23 points, including 5 of 8 from the line, in only 28 minutes. Sophmore players Cheeka Mitchell and Cynthia Santamaria added 15 apiece for the Martlets.

“We played a game that we deserved to win. You’re as good as you believe you are, and we believe that we are a very good basketball team,” Moore said. “We play with our heart on our sleeve. Look at the passion that these girls play with.

We’ve created a fan base here tonight and we will not roll over for anyone. We’re still in the hunt.”

2 4 Sports

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Inconsistent weekend for Redmen cagers M e n ta l "ups and dow ns" c o n tin u e to b e tra d e m a rk o f basketball te a m Tony Muir The McGill Redmen contin­ ued a solid but inconsistent season this weekend earning a split in their weekend games with the University o f Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams.

worse for the Redmen, too, as their aggressive defensive play resulted in many foul calls. Toronto was in the bonus situation after just six and a half minutes, but was unable to convert on their shots from the

McGill Redmen 88, University of Toronto Varsity Blues 58

Showing no signs o f holiday rust, the McGill Redmen opened the new year in convincing fashion last Friday night at the Currie Gym with an 88-58 thumping o f the University ofToronto Varsity Blues.

Leading the way for the Redmen was shooting guard Domenico Marcario, who posted an impressive 24 points in the game.

The Blues initially looked as though they m ight give the Redmen some trouble. They outscored McGill 9-6 in the first three minutes, and led 13-6 seven minutes into the game. The story early on, however, was the Redmeris tenacious defensive play, particularly on the part o f forward Brady Murphy, who opened the scoring with a three-pointer.

Things could have been even-

charity stripe. Four o f the fouls were on Brady Murphy, who led all scor­ ers seyen and a half minutes into the game. W ith Murphy on the bench, Marcario stepped up and

became the story o f the game. Fie found his range, and sparked an 182 run by the Redmen over a four and a half minute span. McGill led at the half 39-26, and Marcario led all scorers with 14 points.

It was more o f the same for McGill in the sec­ ond half. The Redmen went on a 13-2 run in the first three minutes putting the game well out o f reach.

For their part, the Blues were not helped by their pathetic shooting, converting on only 33 per cent of their shots.

If possible, Marcario, was even better in the second half then he was in the first.

H e added ten more points, going an impres­ sive five for five from the field.

“I think it’s the way we play [that improves my game], we’re pushing it hard and taking good shots. My teammates are confident

point lead. The Redmen got within seven, but with 6:25 to go they looked down and out trailing 6858.

Enter freshman point guard Denburk Reid.

Reid ignited a 13-3 run by the Redmen over the next four and a half minutes. The first-year point guard from Jamaica was phenome­ nal in that span, reminding those in attendance at the Currie Gym, that the Redmeris smallest player is capable o f the teams biggest plays.

He excited the crowd by scoring two points on a drive to the hole through three Ram defenders, then scoring a tip in on a three-point miss by Murphy, and finally feeding forward Brent Prowse with a sweet dish that was converted for another two points.

Denburk Reid even factored in on the play that capped off the 13 point run. Kirk Reid stole the ball and sent a deep pass to Denburk who missed a layup that was tipped in by Murphy. That tied the game at 71 with 1:45 to play.

O n the next posession Kirk Reid was whistled for a foul, his fifth o f the game, forcing him to sit on the bench for the last minute and a half of play. Obviously out-

in my shooting, and I’m confident in theirs, but when it’s there I’ll take it,” said Marcario after the game.

Ryerson Rams 79, McGill Redmen 75

The McGill Redmen found themselves in a deep hole early last Saturday afternoon in their game vs. the Ryerson Rams, a hole which ultimately proved insurmountable.

Trailing 26-14, just over ten min­ utes into the game. McGill found little success running a zone defense that was exploited by the long range shooting o f Ryerson forward Sandy Brar, who went on to finish the first half with 19 points and 5 threepointers.

Led by undoubtedly their best two-way player, forward Brady Murphy, the Redmen got their groove back virtually pulled even before the half. Murphy played a pivotol part in the last five minutes o f the first half at both ends of the court, as McGill outscored Ryerson 17-4, including a tip-in buzzer beater bringing the Redmen within two points, at 43-41.

A minute into the second half Redmen forward Kirk Reid evened the score at 43. The Rams respond­ ed by going on a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to build a thirteen

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Rebounding Defense Key needed

Chevrier carves niche south of the border in Shrine Bowl

continued from page 23

continued from page 2 4

G ra d u a tin g M c G ill star m akes im p a c t fe lt in A m e ric a n G rid iro n Classic Jeremy Kuzmarov_______________ Compared to Michigan, Miami, and Notre Dame, McGill University isn’t exactly a hotbed of football talent.

Amidst the gold and green hel­ mets, Randy Chevrier was a bit of an oddity at the 76th annual EastWest Shrine Game, which serves as a showcase for the top graduating seniors in North America.

Given the dominance of National Collegiate Athletics Association division I football, the Canadian invitees can often be overwhelmed.

For Randy Chevrier, that was the case when he first got to San Francisco, where the game was being played at the beautiful PacBell park, normally the home of major league baseball’s San Francisco Giants.

“I’ll be honest, I was a bit intimidated at first,” said Chevrier, winner o f the J.P. Metras trophy as the top Canadian lineman in 2000.

“There were some huge dudes, and no one had heard of me before. The first guy I met was an offensive line­ man named Leonard Davis who was 6’7” 368 pounds, and he wasn’t fat at all. I settled down though as the week progressd, and am happy with the way things turned out.”

After a challenging week of practice, Chevrier didn’t disappoint the Red n’ W hite faithful by regis­ tering four tackles, including sever­ al for a loss. Like in Canadian Intercollegiate Athletics Union action this year, Chevrier, suiting up for the Eastern team which lost by a 20-10 margin, was able to menace the western all-star quarter­ backs — Boise State’s Bart Hendricks, and Kansas State’s Jonathan Beasley — and force sever­ al hurried throws.

Chevrier, carrying on the tradi­

player.

During the course of the week, Chevrier had the opportunity to meet with scouts from these teams.

“O n the first day, all o f us had to undergo eight hours of psycho­ logical testing from the NFL teams which was no fun,” said Chevrier.

“Aside from that it was a great opportunity. The scouts were always on the sidelines during practice, and they stayed in the same motel. Normally, they’d casually pull guys aside in the lobby to talk. It was encouraging that a couple of teams expressed genuine interest in me, not only in my long-snapping skills but also in my run-stopping and pass-rushing abilities as a line­ man.”

Besides hob-nobbing with NFL scouts and testing his skills against the best American col­ lege players, another highlight for Chevrier was his visit to the Bay Area Shriners Hospital. All Scouts love Chevrier's tenacity Pat Fok proceeds from the game went there.

Like with McGill earlier in the Martin Gramatica — who booted two long field goals. Chevrier was year prior to the Shrine Bowl game against Concordia, Chevrier was also accurate on his punting snaps.

“It was a great experience play­ able to take great pride in his abili­ ing against such high caliber play­ ty to help brighten the lives o f the ers,” said Chevrier. “O n the first kids forced to spend much of their series I was a bit jittery and went time in the hospital.

“The kids really were the main off-sides. Davis also had my num­ ber and bear-hugged me. After that purpose o f the game,” said I felt more comfortable and was Chevrier. “All the guys had a lot of able to do some good things. It was fun at the hospital. We played pinggood exposure for me. Playing in pong, and wheel-chair basketball this game, against mostly all- with the kids, and everyone had a Americans, adds a lot of credibility ball. It was a good feeling and made for me in the eyes of the pro­ the week special.” scouts.”

— A ll quotes taken from the Specifically, several teams Earl “The Pearl”Zukerman Show including the New England which airs Sunday nights a t 11:00 Patriots, the Denver Broncos and PM on Oldies A M 990 radio. the San Diego Chargers expressed — with additional reporting by serious interest in the standout N eil Schnurbach McGill lineman and special teams

tion of Redmen mentor J.P Darche — now playing for the Seattle Seahawks — was also impressive as a long-snapper on special teams. He hiked the ball perfectly to allAmerican University of California kicker Bill Gramatica — brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker

raged by the call, he contained himself, went to the bench and sat in sheer frustration.

“T hat was very hard to accept,” Reid commented after the game. “It wasn’t a foul at all.”

Veteran Reid was then forced to watch the Redmen lose 79-75 as they squandered their chance to win by allowing the Rams to grab key offensive boards off missed free-throws late in the game.

“Three times at the foul line we didn’t get a rebound,” lamented Reid. “We gave up three straight rebounds when it mattered.”

The lack o f a Redmen rebounding presence late in the game reiterated their need for a big man to bang the boards, something they’ll need if they plan on making a run at the Quebec Student Sport Federation conference title this year.

It is not very encouraging that the 5’6” Denburk Reid is currently second on the team in rebounds.

The loss also meant that McGill squandered their opportu­ nity to gain some ground on the conference leading Concordia Stingers (6-1), whom they host on Tuesday night. Had they beaten Ryerson, a win over the Stingers would have meant a share of the lead in the QSSF conference between the two teams.

Kirk Reid emphasized the importance of getting the win but still remained fairly positive.

“We wanted to go into the game against Concordia on Tuesday [with a record of] 6-2. But you win some, you lose some.

Hopefully, we’ll learn from this.”

H e l p i n g s a v e liv e s Captain Bruno Castonguay coordinates air rescue for the Canadian Forces.

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C

Sports 25

a n a d a

successful against them .”

Fujiki’s goal came midway through the third period and was the second o f a two-goal burst by the M artlets in a thirty-second span in the frame. H er marker followed a nifty deflected shot by rookie Ashleigh Cranston, which went off a U Q T R defenceman’s skate on the power play, a goal which tied the game at two.

“I th in k it’s im portant to trust our goaltender to make the first sto p ,” said Bilodeau o f Fujiki’s goal. “It was a shot from far out so I don’t think we can blam e ourselves for anything except having missed the break­ out play.”

M cGill outshot U Q T R 3325 with St-Pierre making 31 saves for the M artlets. V éronique D urand, a sleeper o f a rookie goaltender playing for U Q T R , m ade 22 saves. D urand, w ho signed onto the Patriotes as a for­ ward, had n o t played goal for 2 years before being asked to play the position at the beginning o f this season.

Sports Brief The Redmen hockey team won a key division match-up 4-3 on the road against Ottawa on Sunday to remain in third slot in their division. McGill got a strong performance from for­ ward Greg Davis who had one goal and two assists. Joel Bergeron scored the winner.

Benoit Menard got the win in nets. McGill now sits two points behind rival Concordia who they play on Wednesday at McConnell Arena.

2 6 Sports

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

The Super Bowl: 35 years of history and football Neil Schnurbach W hat would N orth American culture be without the Super Bowl?

Every year, hundreds o f millions of people gather in front o f their tele­ vision sets to watch warriors play football. Some watch to see the game; others watch for the com­ mercials. Still others just want to drink beer with their friends.

W hatever the reason, the Super Bowl has become the staple for popular culture in the last three decades.

This year, the New York Giants will face off against the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. It promises to be a classic like many of the Super Bowls before it. The fol­ lowing is a list o f the Tribunes top six games o f all time.

#6: Super Bowl I- Green Bay

Packers 35 Kansas City Chiefs 10 While the score suggests a lop­ sided game, this contest was close until the third quarter. Green Bay’s all-pro safety Willie Wood broke the game opened with a 50-yard interception return for a touch­ down in the decisive quarter. Tight end Max McGee was an offensive star for Green Bay catching seven balls for 138 yards and two touch­ downs. The game pitted two of the best quarterbacks of the late 1960s.

Green Bay’s Bart Starr outshone his counterpart, Kansas City’s Len Dawson by completing 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touch­ downs. Starr’s performance earned him the M ost Valuable player award. #5 Super Bowl XXXIV- St Louis Rams 23 Tennessee Titans 16 Many have called this the best Super Bowl o f all time but that is merely because of the ending. The first half was a sloppy affair with the Rams controlling the game but only managing to lead 9-0.

T h e Rams opened up the third quarter with quarterback Kurt Warner throwing a touchdown pass to Torry Holt to put St Louis up 16-0.

The large deficit seemed to awaken the Titans. Three consecutive out­ standing scoring drives allowed the underdogs to tie the game with 2:12 left. But the Rams responded quickly with Isaac Bruce catching a long touchdown with 1:54 to seemingly put the game out o f reach.

Tennessee’s quarterback Steve

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McNair

responded.

He

drove

downfield magnificently with his best play coming with 15 seconds left. He adeptly avoided a sack and managed to throw a strike to Kevin Dyson inside the 10 yard line. W ith five seconds on the clock McNair hit Dyson again on a crossing pat­ tern but he was stopped inside the one by Mike Jones for a Rams vic­ tory.

Warner was named MVP after completing 24 of 45 passes for a Super Bowl record 414 yards and two touchdowns. His counterpart McNair was 22 of 26 for 214 yards. #4 Super Bowl V- Baltimore Colts 16 Dallas Cowboys 13 This game was supposed to be the Jonny Unitas show but Baltimore’s venerable quarterback was injured in the first half and was unable to return. Unitas did man­ age to lead Baltimore to a touch­ down drive, on one of the best plays in Super Bowl history. He threw a pass that was tipped by a Baltimore player, then hit the hands of the Dallas defender eventually landing in the hands o f John Mackey.

Mackey took his gift and ran it into the house for a 75-yard score.

Despite these heroics, the Colts trailed 13-6 at the half.

W ith Unitas out of the game and journeyman quarterback Earl Morral at the helm, it seemed as if the Colts were out of it. A key inter­ ception by Rick Volk changed that.

Volk ran his pick back inside the Dallas 20 and Morral led his troops to a touchdown. W ith time wind­ ing down on the clock, Baltimore’s secondary continued their fine work. Mike Curtis intercepted a ball which led to a 32-yard field goal by Jim O ’Brien with five sec­ onds remaining to seal Baltimore’s win.

Chuck Howley o f Dallas who had two interceptions was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

H e was the first defensive player and the first member of the losing team to win the MVP award in the Super Bowl. #3 Super Bowl VII- Miami Dolphins 14 W ashington Redskins 7 The Dolphins capped the finest season in National Football

League history by triumphing in this closely fought Super Bowl. The Dolphins were in fine form in the first half, led by running back Larry Csonka and quarterback Bob Griese. Griese threw a key touch­ down pass to wide receiver Howard Twilley to give the Dolphins a 7-0 lead. The Dolphins went into the locker room at half time with a 140 advantage.

Momentum seemed to shift to the side o f the Redskins after an unlikely touchdown. Griese drove the Dolphins down the field quite ably and Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian lined up for a 49-yard field goal. After the snap was muffed, Yepremian tried to pick it

up and run but he fumbled.

Washington’s Mike Bass recovered and pranced into the end zone for the major. The Dolphins were then threatened by the Redskins again as it looked like they would tie the game. But Dolphins safety Jake Scott intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve Miami’s lead.

Scott was named MVP for his heroics. In addition to his intercep­ tion in the end zone, he added another pick. #2 Super Bowl XIIIPittsburgh Steelers 35 Dallas Cowboys 31 This matchup for the ages pit­ ted two of the top teams o f the 1970s against each other. The two great quarterbacks o f the 1970s Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach were key members o f this game that is the highest scoring game in Super Bowl history.

Bradshaw threw three first half touchdowns compared to two thrown by Staubach to put the Steelers up 21-14 at the half.

Bradshaw’s favourite target was John Stallworth whose two touch­ downs were for 28 and 75 yards respectively.

The Steelers dominated the early second half and built up what seemed to be an insurmountable 35-17 lead when Bradshaw con­ nected with Lynn Swann for an 18yard touchdown. But with 6:51 left, Staubach was not at all ready to give

up. He prom ptly drove the Cowboys downfield and connected with Billy Jo Dupree for a sevenyard touchdown catch with 2:21 left to make it 35-24. The Cowboys proceeded to recover the onside kick and score again. Staubach con­ nected with Butch Johnson this time. W ith the score now 35-31 the Cowboys attempted another onside kick. This time the Steelers recov­ ered and were able to run out the clock to preserve the 35-31 win.

Bradshaw was named the game’s Most Valuable Player with completing 17 o f 30 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns. #1 Super Bowl XXIII- San Francisco 49ers 20 C incinnati Bengals 16 The San Francisco 49ers put together one great drive to cap the best Super Bowl in history.

This game did not seem like a classic from the get go. Both teams were sluggish in the first half with no one scoring a major. The teams went into the break tied at 3-3.

The fireworks started in the third quarter. After trading field goals, Bengals return man Stanford Jennings exploded for a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown put­ ting the heavy underdogs in the lead 13-6. The 49ers responded in haste, driving down the field quick­ ly. It took the 49ers only four plays to gain 85 yards to tie the game. Joe Montana passed a 14-yard strike to Jerry Rice to tie the score 57 sec­ onds into the final quarter.

T he Bengals did not quit though and with a Jim Breech 40yard field goal they took the lead 16-13 with 3:20 left. O n the ensu­ ing kickoff, the 49ers blundered and got terrible field position at

their own eight yard line. But Joe Montana was up to the challenge.

Like a surgeon at work, he drove his team downfield with precision and accuracy. He completed pass after pass to John Taylor and Jerry Rice and with a few seconds on the clock had the ball at the Bengals’ 10 yard line. Montana threw a ten-yard dart to Taylor with only a few ticks on the clock to give the 49ers the excit­ ing win. M ontana finished the game 23 o f 36 for 357 yards and two touchdowns. The MVP was Rice who had 11 catches for a Super Bowl record 215 yards.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, 16 January 2001

Sports 27

The McGill Redmen's excellent adventure H o c k ey te a m adds fla v o u r to th e ir season w ith an exciting European to u r Mark Kerr It was an exciting and produc­ tive winter break for the Redmen hockey team who traveled to Europe and won three out of four games against teams from Germany and the Netherlands.

After losing their first game against the Tilburg Trappers of the Netherlands, the Red n’ W hite rebounded for three straight wins in Germany against ERC Sonthofen, Schongau, and EH C Atlantis.

McGill adjusted well to the larger ice surface of the internation­ al rinks and to the quicker and more skilled style of play of their opponents.

“The ice surface was the biggest difference. You also had a lot more time, more to work with,” said Captain Dan McClean, who was also a member of the McGill team that went to Slovakia and the Czech Republic five years ago.

“O ur opponents were not as good positionally, but they could defi­ nitely handle the puck better.”

“The size o f the rink was a sig­ nificant deviation,” added allCanadian defenseman David Bahl.

assists.

Backup goaltender Murray Cobb was a stal­ wart for McGill between the pipes all trip. He record­ ed all three o f the teams’ victories.

Besides the memories on the ice, the Redmen won’t soon forget their trip for senti­ mental reasons.

McGill was “A lot of meat and cheese for breakfast," said captain McClean of the cultural differences. able to give back to “And a lot of beer. Beer even at McDonlad’s!”

Benoit Menard the communities “The play was less physical. Instead the arrival of a Canadian team. “I which so graciously hosted them by of simply dumping the puck in think there were bigger crowds than putting on a hockey camp for local when there was no room, the play­ they were used to. We represented youngsters. ers circled back into the neutral McGill really well. ” The fact that the Redmen play­ zone.”

The Redmen, who had a some­ ers didn’t speak the same language The McGill players also had to what disappointing 8-9-1 record in as their German and Dutch pro­ deal with a home crowd that was the first half the season, were led by tégés didn’t make a difference. much more excited than any crowd lightning quick forward David “We always want to give some­ at McConnell Arena. As often wit­ Burgess, who continued his torrid thing back in return,” said nessed in soccer, fans drummed and scoring pace with five goals and six Raymond, “They gave a lot in sang in unison between stoppages assists in four games. Sophomore terms o f warmth and hospitality. in play.

Greg Davis was also an impact play­ People were very happy to have us.

“It was obviously a big event,” er overseas. He was McGills top The camp worked well, and it was said Redmen head coach Martin scorer against ERC Sonthofen, tal­ great for the kids.”

Raymond on the local reaction to lying two goals and adding three

For Raymond, the ovation he received from the crowd of 1100 in Schongau sticks out in his mind.

For the 1992-1993 season, the for­ mer all-Canadian McGill forward played for the German town and in turn led the league in scoring.

“I was back ‘home’ in a way.

There was warm welcome before the game,” said Raymond. “They hadn’t forgotten me as a player. I appreciated that. The players joked with me, saying it was a reunion tour.

It was definitely not planned.”

Experiencing a couple of coun­ tries and seeing the success of Raymond in Germany has led some players like McClean and Bahl to consider playing overseas after grad­ uation. For McClean, however, the future is on the backburner for a while.

“I have to concentrate on this semester, like passing all my class­ es,” he joked. “That and putting some wins together.”

McConnell Arena debacle O u t O f Left Field

Jeremy Kuzmarov renovation lived up to the advanced fter an inspiring pep talk from hoopla.

Sadly, this wasn’t the case. the captain of my McGill men’s The gratuitous, superfluous and “A” league intramural team, the ineffective Zamboni Rum-Runners, I was all set to hit theultimately ice it purchased in the Soviet in our first game back from doorfwas the Union?) is a powerful symbol of the Christmas holidays.

There was only one obstacle new-look McConnell Arena.

Another foreboding symbol is the standing in my path.... the door to the Zamboni entrance which was taking large and expensive new scoreboard longer to close than it takes my old which lurks high above the McGill 1984 IBM PC Jr. to connect to the insignia at centre ice.

Is this massive Las vegas style cel­ internet.

Ironically, this fancy, high-tech ebration of modern technology and door, which closes electronically and conspicuous consumption useful? not manually, was one of the new inno­ Perhaps.

It does, after all, portray the score vations of the recently renovated McConnell “Ice Palace” which received clearly, and makes it visible to every a million dollar facelift over the sum­ player on the ice which wasn’t the case before. mer.

The more important question to Of course, in typical McGill fash­ ion, the renovations, which were origi­ be asked, however, is whether or not nally supposed to begin last year, carried this mammoth scoreboard, comparable over well into the fall semester, forcing in size to the one hanging high in the the Intercollegiate teams to practice and rafters at the Molson Centre, is neces­ play various early season games on the sary.

Both the electronic Zamboni door road, and delaying the start of the and the oversized scoreboard under­ Intramural season.

The cancellation of shinny hockey score the central problem with the was a major nuisance for McGill’s hock­ entire McConnell renovation — name­ ey aficionados, like myself, who count­ ly the fact there are, practically speak­ ed on the daily afternoon pick-up ing, very few benefits.

For example, the ice surface wasn’t games to hone their fading skills, and to stay in shape while enjoying the cama­ refurbished, and intercollegiate and intramural players alike are forced to raderie of the game .

Perhaps the frustration would have grapple with the bumps and ice incon­ been worthwhile if the end result of the sistencies that have been plaguing play­

A

ers for decades.

A new impediment is a huge rut under the famed electronic Zamboni door which creates an open space under which the puck can get stuck.

The dressing rooms, which were completely overhauled, are only mini­ mally more roomy and comfortable than their predecessors. Dubiously, there are fewer showers, and in my experience, less (if any) hot water.

Another anomaly in the renova­ tion is the fact that the seating has actu­ ally been contracted. Yes, that’s right: contracted. After millions of dollars, less people can actually get into the building to watch the Redmen in their quest to oust arch-rival l’Université du Québec à Trois Rivières, and win a Quebec championship.

This to me is the most curious ele­ ment of the renovation. What’s the point? Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the motivation behind the reno­ vation to increase attendance and gen­ erate a broader interest in hockey at McGill?

To be fair, one area of improve­ ment is the mezzanine area at the front of the building. While of course it has­ n’t yet been fully completed, there is more room for concessions and for socializing before and after the game.

Another area of improvement is, the press box. Before, Tribune journal­ ists and Gazette columnists — who like to stroll in midway through the third period— had to shiver through Redmen games at the back of the stands. Now, there is an insulated room with comfortable seating and a birdseye view of the rink.

While these latter two amenities are welcome, they are secondary.

In reality, for example, both the Martlets and Redmen aren’t widely fol-

blood, and old hairballs lying around. I could tell the courts hadn’t been cleaned in days. I’m sure Mr. Webster would agree with me.)

Elsewhere • sponsor a child in Africa • renovate the library • buy out the Red Herring and actually put out a funny McGill comedic magazine • hire more professors and TA’s • help curb the Canadian deficit • help fight homelessness

and thus the press box will not be appreciated by very many people.

Where it counts the most, the ren­ ovation to the McConnell Arena from the perspective of students, fans and players alike is a huge disappointment.

There is always pessimism around McGill about a lack of funding as vari­ ous programs and institutions within the athletics department and the school in general are in dire need of support.

Anyone who studied at the McLennanRedpath library during the exam period can attest to this.

The misappropriation of funds associated with the McConnell Arena renovation project is indeed troubling, and daunting given this set of circum­ stances.

W h ite fa c e

11 Ways McGill could have better spent money

M o u n ta in

& S ta y

P ack ag es fro m Within Athletics Department • refurbish the crusty locker rooms in Currie Gym • hire overworked Sports Information Director Earl Zukerman an assistant • improve marketing for McGill Intercollegiate athletics — so maybe more than just parents, loved ones and Tribune editors would attend the events • fund cash-strapped club teams like rugby, tennis, baseball, etc. whose athletes balance a tough academic schedule while competing in extremely competitive leagues.

• hire a full-time cleaning crew, (I’ve gotten on the beautiful Webster squash courts and there’s been dried

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