The McGill Tribune Vol. 23 Issue 13

SECTION, PAGE 21

FEATURES, PACE 11

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China hockey Nats face Martlets.

Want to cheat on your soulmate?

Morgentaler biopic premieres.

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McGI LL Published by the Students' Society of McGill University since 1981

Vol. 23 Issue 13

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Board bogged down by size Farah Qasem i

NICOLE LEAVER

All together now: McGill Dance Pak waving them like they just don't care at the charity event Natalie Goldenberg-Fife

Indeed it was a week of noteworthy fashion shows.

Last Wednesdays Victorias Secret show con­ tinued its supreme reign as the most drool-worthy television event of the season. Saturday night, how­ ever, the Faculty of Management brought its annu­ al Commerce and Administration Student Charity Organization fashion extravaganza to Le Medley, with all proceeds going to the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Entided “Rewind... a journey through the decades,” CASCO’s theme this year seemed to be time travel. A sharply dressed audience was treated to 15 scenes that, more or less, took them through a voyage from the 50s through to the present day, with appropriate clothing and music that captured the essence of the eras.

Comedian and ex-McGillite Ryan Wilner

emceed the affair. The audience was either laughing with him in response to a witty joke, many of which related back to his experiences at McGill, or at him and the 28 times he said “faaaaantaastic.”

The 70s sequence inspired by the feel-good movie Boogie Nights was the first scene to really get the audience going. Starting with the clever detail of a bombshell on roller skates, the vignette enter­ tained with a colourful and talented ensemble of dancers eliciting nothing but cheers from the crowd.

The 80s and 90s set choreographed to Michael and Janet Jackson included some enjoyable dancing despite no moonwalk. The elegantly dressed Redmen football boys in tuxes proved they didn’t need to dance to earn giggles from the crowd— their cliché purse-your-lips and ffeeze-with-handunder-chin moves seemed to be enough to get

A proposed restructuring of the Board of Governors could change the way students are represented in the university’s highest decision­ making body.

In September the Governance Review Group launched a review of the Board’s structures and processes and proposed decreasing the num­ ber of governors from 45 to 18, while trying to maintain approxi­ mately the same percentage of rep­ resentation among different groups.

While student representation would increase from nine to 11 per cent of voting members, the num­ ber of voting student representatives would decrease from four to two.

One vote is now allotted to each of the main student bodies on campus: the Students’ Society of McGill University, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society, the McGill Association of Continuing Education Students, and the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society.

According to the proposed structure, all full-time students would elect two students-at-large to represent them on the Board of Governors, eliminating guaranteed

representation for individual stu­ dent bodies. The presidents of SSMU and PGSS will retain their voice-only seats.

Corporate governance

Members of the Governance Review Group cited effectiveness and efficiency as the key reasons for the proposed reduction of size. “[The] key to corporate gover­ nance today is that a smaller board is a better board,” said Robert Rabinoyitch, chair of the Board of Governors.

The streamlining of governing boards is becoming more common in both public and private sectors across North America.

“Size reduction is a huge trend in governance restructuring right now, and it’s about time McGill [took that step],” said SecretaryGeneral Robin Geller.

Student representatives, how­ ever, are questioning why the pro­ posal follows a corporate model.

“We don’t need to follow a strict business model because we’re not here for the same ends as a busi­ ness... I don’t think it’s a justified parallel to interpret students as See BOG, page 4

■ “The Shatner Building has reopened as SSMU searches for permanent insurance provider.”

NEWS, PAGE 6 ■ Justin Trudeau knocks the socks off o f one intrepid reporter and makes fairy tales fun.

A&E, PAGE 16

C13

■ North Americans are too narrow-minded when it comes to sports.

See CASCO, page 19

SPORTS, PAGE 23

McGill welcomes the world! hos t s Team Chi na International

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W e d n e s d a y n i g h t , N o v e m b e r 2 6 t h , 7 pm Tickets:

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McGill A T H L E T I C S

2 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Campus NEWS

Heather Haq Lawrence

On the same day the South African government approved a plan to distribute free antiretroviral drugs to more than five million AIDS patients, Jonathan Berger spoke to a McGill audience Wednesday about that country’s struggle to gain access to treatment.

Berger, a law researcher for the AIDS Law Project in Johannesburg and a board member of a provincial executive committee for the Treatment Action Campaign, described the challenges and suc­ cesses .these groups have encoun­ tered working to achieve universal access to treatment in South Africa.

“When we talk about access to treatment, we’re talking much more broadly than the issue of access to medicine and bringing the prices of medicine down,” Berger said. “The high prices of ARVs have always been a significant barrier to increas­ ing access, but we’re also talking about health systems, issues of accountability, issues of governance, and health budgeting.”

Berger called the scale of the pandemic astounding.

“Close to one in five adults in [South Africa] are living with HIV/AIDS,” he said. “I think close to more than 1,000 people [are] dying every single day—that’s more than two [jumbo jets] crashing every day.”

Berger was pleased to

Researcher calls for AIDS assistance announce the South African gov­ ernment’s approval of the treatment plan, which will establish at least one site in each district to provide access to treatment, covering the whole country within five years.

“It’s an ambitious plan,” he said. “It certainly will be the world’s largest public sector treatment plan.”

South Africa had a shattered health care system after years of colonialism and apartheid, Berger said.

“It was really a two-tiered sys­ tem: excellent for the rich, but bad health care for the poor,” he said.

Berger described the weaken­ ing of civil society after the end of apartheid rule as many of its most active members moved on to work for the new government. As a result, civil society became significantly less critical of the new democratic government!

However, Berger said the change of government provided “an opportunity to work with the gov­ ernment to really push an aggressive agenda forward.”

Despite the significant change by the end of Nelson Mandela’s administration, Berger has been frustrated with current president Thabo Mbeki’s administration and the sense of “HIV denialism” that the new leaders have instilled.

“Mbeki questioned the link between HIV and AIDS,” Berger

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said.

Berger explained how the TAC and AIDS Law Project have helped South Africa come out of that phase and described the parallels between the strategies used in the anti­ apartheid struggle and the tactics now being implemented in the struggle for accessible treatment.

“One of its successes is built on the tradition of struggle that epito­ mizes the apartheid struggle,” Berger said. “We have to learn from history but adapt to the times.”

Another strength, Berger said, has come through building alliances across the many divides.

“In South Africa there is not only a divide on racial lines,” he said. “There’s also a divide on class lines, religious lines, gender lines.”

Berger further attributed the success to the support TAC has lent to the government.

“This organization is about the human rights issue—it’s about keeping people alive and restoring people’s dignity,” he said.

Now that the campaign’s major goal of developing a national public sector treatment plan has been achieved, Berger said, much work lies ahead.

“The key will be monitoring the intervention and making sure communities are mobilized and informed, that the drugs are avail­ able, that the health care workers are trained,” he said.

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The export of cheaper generic drugs will help treat AIDS, Berger said.

Berger lauded a proposed amendment to Canada’s Patent Act that would authorize the export of generic ARVs and other pharmaceuticals to devel­ oping countries. Though the bill is not without flaws, he said, it is significant for AIDS treatment in developing countries.

“If Canada can do it, what is stopping other countries?” ■

World AIDS Day Vigil

Presented by the McGill Global AIDS Coalition, the McGill International Health Initiative, and MSF McGill

WHEN: December I, 5:00 pm WHERE: Arts Building steps

Charity slapped with $600 bill Student group bemoans room booking charges Sofia Guay

NICOLE LEAVER

CASCO raises funds with fashion.

Members of the Commerce and Administration Student Charity Organization are complaining that although it is a charitable organiza­ tion, the university charged them $600 for the use of rooms in the Athletics Centre.

CASCO, which held a fashion show Saturday to raise funds for the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, needed a place to prac­ tice dance numbers for the event.

Jen Singer, vice-president spon­ sorship of CASCO, was shocked by the cost.

“It is totally ridiculous that they’re charging us so much because we are putting on a charity event,” she said.

As part of its fundraising cam­ paign, CASCO organizes an annual fashion show along with a silent auc­ tion and offers spectators a perform­ ance of 15 sets of dancers.

“Our annual fashion show won ‘event of the year’ last year, and raised about $15,000,” Singer said. “We are expecting to do the same this year, or even more, but last year our venue was donated.”

McGill Athletics charged CASCO $600 for the use of rooms to

rehearse dance numbers. Singer protested that the money for the room could have gone toward the proceeds for the Montreal Children’s Hospital. “[CASCO] doesn’t mind paying an administration fee for booking the rooms,” she said, “but $600 is too much, because our goal is to raise money.”

Eyal Baruch, assistant manager of the McGill Athletics Centre, said that the Athletics department has a budget to meet.

“If every group came here saying they were a charity and we let them use our rooms for free, we’d be in trouble,” he said.

Additionally, Baruch said that CASCO was given a discounted rate for the use of the rooms.

“We gave [CASCO] an afford­ able price,” he said. “We usually charge $50 an hour for the use of a room, but we cut it down to $20, which is less than half. It’s the best we can do.”

Moreover, Baruch disagreed with the idea that McGill is not sup­ porting its students.

“Look carefully at McGill, there is support all around,” he said. “[CASCO] should appreciate the $30 rebate they’re getting.” ■

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The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

campons

3

Protesters of FTM won't go away

Jennifer Jett

Students staged a demonstra­ tion Thursday afternoon to express their continued opposition to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.

The initially uncertain group that gathered at the Roddick Gates was bolstered by the arrival of pro­ testers from Concordia University, who joined with McGill students to block traffic on Rue Sherbrooke before marching down Rue McGill College.

Many students participated in order to raise awareness of the FTAA, which would expand the North American Free Trade Agreement to every country in the Western hemisphere except Cuba.

“I am here because I believe that [the] FTAA is not getting enough attention right now,” said Frédérique Marais, a second-year geography student at Concordia.

Alexis Michaux, U1 Quebec Studies, said he was protesting the Miami meeting of trade ministers for negotiations which he character­ ized as undemocratic.

“These are agreements that will influence the life of everyone in the Americas—800 million people,” he said.

Michaux said he disagreed with aspects of the FTAA such as the deregulation of labour, the expansion of the free market, and the privatization of communal land and social services such as educa­ tion and health care.

“Every single aspect of it is made to steal from populations,” he said.

While some onlookers did not understand the purpose of the

News

JENNY GEORGE

Last year's FTAA protest was about four times larger than this year's.

demonstration, others wished they could participate as well.

“Everything that’s against [the] rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, I’m with them,” said Karima Grissa, who was working at Les Ailes de la Mode Thursday afternoon.

The demonstration was held in conjunction with a province-wide popular consultation on the FTAA. In four days, McGill had the fourth-highest level of participation with 147 students voting, according to Gonzalo Riva. Riva is responsible for FTAA-related activities in the absence of Students’ Society VicePresident Community and

Government Brianna Hersey.

The majority of McGill stu­ dents who voted disagreed with the current version of the FTAA, he said.

Riva said this year’s FTAA demonstration was smaller than the one held last October 31. Clubs Representative Roberto Caluori agreed.

“I don’t think it had the same drive or focus,” he said. “[Last year] there was more activity, more mobi­ lization, and more focus to a single point that was a lead-up.”

The only campus-wide yearbook has been published since 1897.

While estimates of the atten­ dance at the FTAA demonstration last October ran between 7,000 and 10,000, Riva said he would be sur­ prised if more than 2,000 people were present on Thursday.

“Last year was different because there’s such turnover in the student movement,” Riva said, “and last year we just happened to have a huge united front with a lot of peo­ ple involved.

Riva said FTAA action is hin­ dered by debate over whether the FTAA is relevant to students if it

does not include education.

While the inclusion of educa­ tion in the FTAA is of vital rele­ vance to students, Riva said, other aspects are important as well, espe­ cially the effect of the agreement on the job market.

“I think that SSMU needs to engage the student population, inform them, and show both sides,” he said.

Caluori said SSMU has fol­ lowed the lead of la Fédération étu­ diante universitaire du Québec, a provincial lobby group of which SSMU is a member.

FEUQ representative Mathieu Jeanneau said there has been a shift in priorities this year.

“The objective for us is to freeze the differential [tuition] fee,” he said, before working to reduce all tuition fees. “We’ll always continue to work on FTAA, of course.”

For example, la FEUQ was involved in the hanging of a large banner on Parliament Hill in September that read, “Education is not for sale.”

Nonetheless, Jeanneau said that choices have to be made, such as the decision to focus energy on the October 9 day of action in favour of a legislated tuition freeze.

“We can’t organize six or seven days of action each year,” he said.

“This year for us it was October 9.”

The size of the demonstration was unimportant to participant Peter Scheer, a student at Dawson College.

“They keep on pushing for these things,” he said, “and we’ve just got to keep on fighting.” ■

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4 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

BoG structure under review have surplus $10,000 to $15,000 up for grabs Robert

Continued from cover

clientele and faculty as manage­ ment,” said Students’ Society President Kate Rhodes.

Review group members argued that a larger board membership hin­ ders effective decision-making and the recruitment of new members, who are always needed. “[The] general sense among many board members is that it’s not as effective as it could be,” Geller said. “The size makes it really diffi­ cult to hold meetings.”

“We want to recruit members who want to play a role and not just sit on the Board of Governors for a title,” Rabinovitch said. “When these [individuals] see a large Board, they hold back because they don’t want to be part of a Board in which their role is very limited.”

While student leaders agree that the large size of the Board affects the decision making process, they said that there are other meas­ ures that can be taken to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

Students’ Society Board of Governors Representative Martin Doe said that better agenda setting might be part of the solution.

“A lot of items [on the agenda] can be dealt with at the level of executive committee of the Board,” he said.

“All matters that get to the BOG should already have been ripped apart and discussed, debated and amended before getting there,” said Jarret Lobley, the MCSS repre­ sentative to the Board of Governors.

Student representatives also suggested increasing committee membership and improving Board orientation. Review group members have said that both measures will be covered in latter phases of the review.

Student representation

With the proposed structure allowing only two voting student representatives determined by atlarge elections on the downtown and Macdonald campuses, some student associations fear they might lose the chance of having any voice on the Board.

The review group argued that there are various faculties, and that not every one of them receives guar­ anteed representation on the Board of Governors. Student representa­ tives, however, see student bodies as different from faculties.

“Professors, their common denominator being teaching, already have representation on the BoG,” said Doe. “However, there are very different student communi­ ties, enough such that it’s important to give each a voice on their partic­ ular issues.”

Hari Suthan, the MACES rep­ resentative to the Board of Governors, agreed.

“Usually BoG decisions do not pinpoint individual faculties,” Suthan said. “I think faculties are closely knit enough to have individ­ ual voices count for the entire aca­ demic staff.”

The proposal suggests that only full-time students be allowed to vote in the at-large elections for stu­ dent representatives. This would alienate the many part-time Continuing Education students, Suthan said.

Rhodes agreed.

“Each students group is best represented by its own student asso­ ciation,” she said.

Lobley said that student repre­ sentation is already at a minimum level.

“It’s not just about lobbying but also relaying information back to the individual student groups,” he said.

Lobley said that universities benefit from having large governing boards.

“The bigger the group, the higher the accountability,” he said.

“There are other universities where large sizes are working.”

Some student representatives worry about double representation resulting from the proposed elec­ tion procedures for the student seats.

“By having two reps for all stu­ dents, one can easily see that there is a strong bias towards the downtown undergraduate students, due to their strength and numbers,” said PGSS President Ives Levesque.

Suthan said the issue could be resolved by guaranteeing voice-only seats to groups such as MCSS and MACES. Rhodes concurred.

“In a debate setting, people tend to value the voice more so than the votes,” she said. “Increasing the percentage of votes, but reducing the dynamic where different stu­ dent voices are represented—that’s not an equal trade.”

Rabinovitch, however, said that sacrificing guaranteed representa­ tion of individual student associa­ tions for the sake of improving effectiveness might be inevitable.

“We don’t run an Athenian democracy,” he said. “At the end of the day, we all have to make com­ promises.”

Senate and emeritus seats

Other concerns raised by stu­ dent representatives were the elimi­ nation of voice-only emeritus seats and the elimination of Senate repre­ sentation altogether. The university Senate currently holds four votes and comprises nine per cent of the Board of Governors membership.

While the proposal is not final, Geller said, “there is a sense that once you decrease the size of the Board, you want to have diversity of opinions. It only makes sense to not have [double] representation on Senate and BoG.” There is a need for balance among dialogue, efficiency, and productivity, Rhodes said.

“It’s much easier to engage in debate in a room of 20 people than in a room of 70 people, but it’s a trade-off,” she said. “You can’t be an emeritus governor unless you’ve served on BoG for 10 years, [so] a good deal of wisdom could be lost in that trade-off.”

No changes will be finalized, Geller said, without taking into consideration feedback and input from the entire McGill population.

“There is no magic to the number 18,” she said. “We thought that the most productive way to generate feedback is by putting out a number.” ■

............

The Students’ Society clubs budget, the fund from which SSMU clubs request and receive money, will almost cer­ tainly have a surplus by next semester, said SSMU Treasurer Anthony Di Carlo.

Di Carlo, speaking at council last Thursday, reported that there will be a surplus in the range of $10,000 to $15,000. Di Carlo said that while the Finance Committee still has to review funding requests from several clubs, some money will definitely not be distributed.

“We have a little less than $20,000 left, and still about 15 clubs to be seen this year [to request funding],” he said.

“Also, a lot of interim status clubs can become fidl-time sta­ tus clubs next semester, and then can request money.”

SSMU currently funds 80 to 90 clubs.

Di Carlo cited an increase in the amount of the clubs sub­ sidy, as well as certain require­ ments that clubs must fulfill in order to receive funding, as rea­ sons why the full budget will not be distributed.

“This year the Finance Committee strived for responsi­ bility from the clubs,” he said.

SSMU Clubs Representative Roberto Caluori said that while the Students’ Society partly funds clubs, it is the responsibility of the clubs themselves to do most of the fundraising.

“Giving away money in each case is different. SSMU gives funding to clubs on an individual basis. For example,

[it depends on] how much they had last year, how much is a rea sonable amount that can be done with fundraising,” said Caluori. “We ask them to do fundraising. We don’t fund them 100 per cent.”

Discussions are ongoing as to how to best distribute the money that will be left over.

SSMU Vice-President Clubs and Services Mia Gewertz agreed with Di Carlo and Caluori on where the surplus should be spent.

“I think it would be nice if some money went to subsidize clubs who have to pay the crazy security fees,” said Gewertz. “I don’t think they should be pay­ ing them at all, and we should­ n’t have to subsidize them, but while it’s happening we’re going to help out.” McGill charges these security fees when there is a discussion or event that the administration feels requires increased security.

“The Clubs Rep Sarah Elgazzar has mentioned who a lot of Arab students who have discussions and panels are sub­ jected to high levels of security fees,” said Di Carlo. “However, it’s not just Middle Eastern associations. It’s anyone who does controversial discussions.”

Some clubs have suggested that the surplus could also be used to purchase a networked printer to be shared by clubs on the fourth floor of the Shatner building.

Di Carlo and Caluori said they are certain that the money will benefit clubs and not be used for a different area of the SSMU budget.

“This money will definite­ ly stay amongst clubs,” Caluori said. “I’d fight for that.” ■

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

aNEWS

News

5

Transit strike over Students still reeling from lack of mobility

Lisa Varano W ith the M ontreal transit strike over, com m uting is returning to normal for McGill students. Since few students keep traditional nineto-five work hours, they were hit particularly hard by the strike.

“My whole life is back to nor­ mal ,” said Alex Tremblay, U1 Arts.

“I don’t have to schedule my day around transit.”

There was no weekday bus or metro service between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm or between 6:30 pm and 11:00 pm during the week-long strike by M ontreal Transit Corporation maintenance workers.

Students who live beyond walk­ ing distance o f campus were particu­ larly affected.

O n the first day o f the strike, A nthony Di Carlo was unable to make it to his classes or his job as Students’ Society treasurer. T he StLéonard resident was aware o f the possibility o f a strike b u t only learned it had begun when he found the doors o f the St-Michel metro station locked.

“Some o f us actually put in a fair num ber o f hours per week just in transportation tim e,” he said, adding that he hopes this fact is brought to the attention o f students who live near school.

M TC C om m unications Advisor Serge Savard said that the M T C would have liked to see longer hours o f operation but had to con­ form to the schedule set down by

The screeching of buses on Sunday afternoon was music to many students' ears.

Quebec’s Essential Services Council.

H e also said that weekly transit pass­ es were refunded last week and that the STM is looking at the possibili­ ty o f refunding m onthly passes.

After paying $45 in cab fare to reach her hom e in suburban Rivièredes-Prairies on the first afternoon of the strike, Celia D ’Andrea, U1 soci­ ology, quickly adapted to the limited transit schedule.

“I’m going to have to get to school early on the days that I start later and then on the days that I fin­ ish early, I’m just going to have to wait four and a half hours until three to take the m etro,” she said.

Some commuters who live off the island o f M ontreal found them ­ selves unaffected by the strike because the buses they take are oper­ ated by other transit companies.

Alexia G erm ain, U1 IDS, walked to the Bonaventure metro station everyday where she catches a one-hour bus ride to her home in StH ubert.

O n the other hand, even those w ho live com paratively close to McGill were inconvenienced by the strike.

“It’s a long walk and none o f us are rich enough to cab it,” said Solin

Hall resident Alannah O ’Neill, U0 Arts, who would have liked to see a shuttle service organized.

Still, transit users seem to have handled the strike well.

“T here’s an upside to this [strike],” joked D ’Andrea. “I actual­ ly feel like going to my classes because there’s nothing else to do.”

D i Carlo expessed understand­ ing for maintenance workers.“This [strike] was som ething o f a last resort,” he said. “I can’t help but to sympathize with them .”

O f the 2,050 employees who w ent on strike, 1,500 were skilled w orkers w ho earn on average $48,000 per year. T he union agreed to an 8.7 per cent wage increase over four years and union members will also have greater input into how their pensions are managed.

T he Sunday m orning vote saw 91 per cent o f the maintenance workers accept the new contract. By 3:00 pm , workers were back on the job.

T h e m aintenance w orkers’ union did not return calls for com­ ment.

Savard said that he intends to lobby the provincial government to declare public transit an essential service during all hours. I f the provincial government were to pass such legislation, it would completely elim inate public transit workers’ ability to strike in the future.

“We regret that the clients had to go through a whole week o f only essential service,” said Savard. ■

Comp“ NEWS Morgenta|er screens biopic Katie Fugler A bortion provider Dr. H enry M orgentaler screened the film

Choices: The Henry Morgentaler Story in a w orld prem iere last Tuesday.

M orgentaler’s confrontations w ith law officials made him a leader in the pro-choice m ovem ent in C anada in the 1960s and 70s.

T he film chronicles his strug­ gle w ith the Q uebec and O ntario governm ent starting in the 1960s for the right to perform legal abor­ tions. M orgentaler eventually took the case to the Supreme C ourt o f Canada, w hich ruled in 1988 that Canada’s abortion laws were uncon­ stitutional. “[The film] is a dramatization.

It’s about 90 per cent accurate,” M orgentaler said. “[I feel] it had a great im pact on me. I am quite em otional about it— it awakened in me m any em otions that I thought were buried.”

M orgentaler said that if legal abortions were not provided for women, they w ould be forced to seek illegal and dangerous proce­ dures.

“In C anada [abortion] is a pri­ vate m atter between a w om an and her doctor, the right to a legal safe abortion,” he said. “W om en no

longer die or get injured and spend weeks in the hospital. N o t so far from here at the Royal Victoria H ospital they used to have whole floors filled w ith w om en who were dying from botched abortions.”

In his crusade for legal abor­ tion, M orgentaler was m otivated by the belief that as a doctor he was obligated to save the lives o f w om en who, in seeking illegal abortions, w ould otherwise die.

Abortion on demand “N ot only did I help w om en, I changed society,” M orgentaler said.

“M y knowledge tells me th a t... children who are born into situa­ tions where they are n ot w anted, they are neglected, they [can] con­ tain so m uch rage, they become criminals. Fewer children [today] are unw anted, fewer are brutalized or neglected, and we have seen a decrease in the crime rate.”

M orgentaler was critical o f the pro-life m ovem ent, w hich he described as “b a n k ru p t.” “T h ey have no case,” he said. “T hey are disrespectful o f [any one else’s] opinions.”

Some medical students in the audience voiced concern about the lack o f abortion instruction at uni­ versity and the decrease in doctors

w ho perform abortions.

“I am confident th at there will be enough young w om en and men com ing forw ard [to replace the retiring doctors],” said Morgentaler.

H e did caution that w om en feel judged by doctors w ho don’t con­ done abortion.

“N o doctor should be forced to perform an abortion, if a doctor has religious or moral doubts.”

D u rin g th e q u estion and answer section, M orgentaler addressed the issue o f em otional recovery. T he issue was m entioned in the film but n ot answered.

“I f the decision is cautiously made, especially in younger w omen who know that they can have chil­ dren later, w hich they can love and take care for, [they will feel less guilt],” he said.

M orgentaler also discussed the possibility o f w om en having m ulti­ ple abortions.

“W om en w ho have had an abortion are still sexual beings,” he said, “and every w om an w ho comes back for an abortion still needs that abortion.”

US partial-birth abortion ban M orgentaler criticized the use o f the term “partial-birth abor­ tions,” w hich was recently banned

JACQUES BENCHETRIT

Canada is more civilized than the United States, said Morgentaler. in the US, because it isn’t a medical term.

T he bill legally defines a par­ tial-birth abortion as any abortion in w hich the baby is delivered “past the [baby’s] navel... outside the body o f the m other,” or “in the case o f head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body o f the m other” before being killed.

“If the fetus she is carrying has no brain or huge malformations th at w ould make life [difficult], the w om an [should be able] to ask for an abortion, because she doesn’t w ant a child like th a t,” M orgentaler

said.

M orgentaler said he hopes US President George W. Bush is n o t re­ elected next year.

“If Bush is re-elected, he will ap p o in t reactionary judges w ho could overturn [Roe v. W ade],” he said.

M orgentaler is presendy in a class action suit against the govern­ m ent o f N ew Brunswick, which refuses to pay for abortions th at are n ot preform ed in hospitals. T he movie Choices will be broadcast on C T V next year. ■

6

News

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Shatner reopens, insurance still not resolved Society says it's not important who dropped the ball Jennifer Jett T he insurance crisis facing the Students’ Society was temporarily solved last Tuesday after it received a grace period from the com pany that provided SSM U w ith liability insurance.

Executives are currently work­ ing to purchase a new policy, but the reluctance o f insurance compa­ nies to cover student associations may hinder them.

T he grace period lasts until December 1. In the event that lia­ bility insurance is not obtained by that date, the university will extend interim emergency insurance, but n o t for any longer than necessary, said SSM U President Kate Rhodes.

“I’m not going to stay with M cGill any longer than I have to,” she said.

Former general manager Guy Brisebois, who currently serves as a consultant to SSMU, sent an e-mail to executives M onday m orning alerting them that the insurance coverage w ould expire at midnight.

However, Rhodes said that the email did n ot say that there w ould be no grace period.

Executives voted to close the building after they discovered that there was no grace period during

the executive com m ittee meeting at 10:00 pm Monday.

“We could technically [have] open[ed] those doors and operated w ith o u t liability insurance,” Rhodes said, “ [but] I held the longevity o f the Society in my hands.”

Executives were asked at coun­ cil on Thursday w hat they each did

This is not a problem that is facing McGill and SSMU alone.

Insurance companies are dropping student associations left and right.

Kate Rhodes SSM U President to help on M onday night and w hat tim e they w ent home. W hile m ost o f the executives said they left the building after 3:00 am, SSM U V ice-President C o m m u n icatio n and Events Kimberley Zell em pha­ sized that SSM U V ice-President O perations Rodrigo DeCastro had left by m idnight.

A t 4:30 pm on Tuesday Rhodes received notice that the grace period had been reinstated.

W hile Rhodes took full responsibility for the closing o f the building, she said she had been assured by the vice-presidents that the renewal o f liability insurance was under control.

“W hen I came in, there were a thousand presidential projects scat­ tered all around,” said Rhodes, who was elected in a by-election on O ctober 29. “Perhaps I made a mis­ take in n o t being approachable enough.”

Brisebois placed the blame on Zurich, the company that provided SSM U’s liability insurance.

“I w ould say th a t Z urich dropped the ball,” said Brisebois, who added that the com pany gave no reason for n ot renewing the insurance policy.

“At least over the last 12 years we had no claims on general liabili­ ty insurance,” he said.

Rhodes emphasized that the question o f “who dropped the ball” was n ot im portant. She said that the loss o f liability insurance is a larger issue affecting m any universi­ ties.

“This is n ot a problem that is facing M cGill alone and SSMU

Speakers: Show us some respect SSMU council speakers request paycheque Jennifer Jett T h e speakers o f S tudents’ Society council have requested that they receive a stipend in recognition o f their services.

T h e speakers preside over all council meetings. Speakers Elliott Cappell and M ark Sward recom­ m ended a stipend o f $500 each per semester. T h eir request will be reviewed by the Finance Com m ittee.

SSM U President Kate Rhodes argued that introducing a stipend in the m iddle o f the speakers’ terms is inappropriate.

“SSM U is not in the habit o f agreeing to give people m oney halfway through their term s,” she said.

T hose students who receive stipends for their services, Rhodes said, have daily responsibilities. In a letter to councillors, Cappell and Sward, who is the M cG ill Tribune copy editor, said they devote m any hours outside council meetings to their duties.

“I think it’s unfair to quantify o u r job as being twice a m o n th ,’’said Cappell. “This is a job that’s particularly onerous in terms o f the hours [of the day] we are w orking.”

C ouncil m eetings frequently

last five hours or more.

Music Representative Ashley Becker countered that the length o f council meetings depends in large part upon the ability o f the speakers to m aintain efficiency.

T h e speakers b ro u g h t their request to council after it was denied by the executive committee.

“I think it’s w ithin the rights o f the speaker to challenge the execu­ tive co m m ittee,” said Arts

SSMU is not in the habit of agreeing to give people money hallway through their terms.

Kate Rhodes Students’Society President

Representative Rachel M arcuse.

“T hey p u t in lots o f tim e, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to pay them for the job that they do.”

Marcuse introduced a m otion granting a $500 stipend to each o f the speakers for next semester.

Because Cappell and Sward claimed that the am ount o f the stipend was

not im p o rta n t, SSM U VicePresident University Affairs Vivian C hoy proposed an am en d m en t changing the am ount o f the stipend from $500 to $1. Both the am end­ m ent and the m otion failed before the request was referred to the Finance Com m ittee.

T h e position o f speaker is n ot a thankless job, Rhodes said, since speakers have their own office and attend council retreats and SSM U events for free.

Marcuse argued that despite the benefits o f being speaker, stu­ dents may n o t apply for the posi­ tion in the future because it is unpaid.

“Students are exploited all the tim e,” she said. “O u r unpaid labour is exploited all the tim e.”

Choy said that if the speakers receive a stipend, she could think o f m any com m ittee members and stu­ dent senators that are equally or more deserving o f m onetary com ­ pensation.

T he structure o f stipends is inconsistent, Cappell said, as the SSM U treasurer, recording secre­ tary, and speakers in some faculty associations are all paid.

“It came as a surprise to every­ one, I think, w hen they found out we weren’t getting paid,” he said. ■

KATIE FUGLER

Students had little more to go on than this sign on Shatner's locked doors. alone,” Rhodes said. “Insurance companies are dropping student associations left and right.”

Insurance agencies are hesitant to insure open events where alcohol is served such as Four Floors and O pen Air Pub, Rhodes said. As a

Doyouhovea nosefornews?

Come to a Trib News Team meeting, Wednesdays at 6 pm, Shatner Room 110 or email tribnews@hotmail.com

result, insurance premiums for stu­ dent associations have increased up to 1,000 per cent.

A rts U ndergraduate Society and Science Undergraduate Society insurance policies have also recently expired. ■

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

News

7

Mock massacre sends First Aid Society to the rescue

" l ^ O N T H E ..............

S cen e

MFAS staged a fictional attack by Queen's University women's field hockey team. Victims included a virtual who's who of Students' Society, clubs and student press.

Spencer Ross

McGill First Aid Society vol­ unteers who thought they were going to a regular meeting received a gory surprise Wednesday night.

They were greeted w ith mock injuries such as gunshot wounds to the head, gouged eyes, and harvest­ ed livers.

The bloodshed was part o f the MFAS’s first m ajor situational training session. These scenarios, which are held once a month, are presented to keep the volunteers on alert for situations they do not face everyday.

“Normally we only get to see the pukers at G ert’s and Four

Floors,” said Meghan O ’Brien, U3 Psychology and MFAS president.

“This was a chance for us to get to know the new [Students’ Society] president, Kate [Rhodes], and con­ nect with other clubs and services.”

The event, held in the SSMU office, was a fictional Q ueen’s University women’s field hockey team takeover that left about 10 victims.

“We try to think of the worst possible thing and bring it to life.

The [situations] are designed to test people’s skills outside of the box,” said Geoff Shoesmith, U2 Music and MFAS vice-president operations.

immediately assist in the triage and stabilization of victims until para­ medics “arrived.” The situation lasted 30 minutes and was fol­ lowed by a group assessment of the skills used.

“I’m only a rookie, but it was an intensive process for tryouts,” said Kristen Brewer, U1 Environment.

“There are a lot o f things going on in your head at first,” said Peter Neely, U0 Science. “All that is important is verbalizing, espe­ cially if there is something I think of that someone else may not. It GeoffShoesmith becomes very chaotic, but is MFAS VP Operations important for the best treatment of

The situation started with an “explosion” after which the volun­ teers rushed into the office to

We try to think of the worst possible thing and bring it to life. The situa­ tions are designed to test people’s skills outside the box.

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Tribune last April by former Arts and Entertainm ent Editor Scott Students will vote January M edvin has been reprinted on three pro-m arijuana Web sites, 16-23 on w hether to approve an even though it is a blatantly false Athletics fee to pay for improve­ report. m ents to the Athletics facilities.

Last years final issue, which T h e fee o f $ 10 per semester for came out on April Fool’s Day, five years w ould partly fund the was filled w ith farcical issues $3-miilion construction project. ranging from the death o f for­ “It’s a chance for everyone m er S tudents Society president to contribute to the well-being M artin D oe to the appearance of n ot only o f themselves but o f Krispy Kreme on campus and a others,” said Athletics represen­ pot exclusivity deal. T h e latter tative and S tu d en t A thletics story is generating a variety o f C o u n cil President M atthew attention due to the fact that it is H ow att. been taken as fact.

T he special referendum had The M edia Awarness previously been scheduled to Project, Cannabisnews.com, and take place this m onth, b ut was M arijuana.com , w hich touts postponed by Elections McGill itself as “the Internets answer to because o f tim e constraints. the drug war,” have all posted H ow att said that while the the article on their respective referendum delay may slow Web sites. T hough the Web sites dow n construction plans, “the that post the article give the effect is going to be negligible. impression th at the story is true, Even if the referendum had been held in N ovem ber, th e fee posters to the sites have made com m ents on the invalidity of w ouldn’t have been collected the facts. until September next.”

Former University Relations —Jennifer Jett Officer Kate W illiams said that some people may get it, “Satire is Satirical pot story a very subtle genre,” she said. incites interest

Athletics fee referendum scheduled for January

A ll F R O S H □ H am b u rg e r ca rd s

the victims.”

MFAS recommendations for a medical emergency include calling 911 and seeing if anyone else knows first aid. It is also important to keep calm and remain cognizant of the strengths and shortcomings of one’s own skills.

“M istreating someone by using skills you don’t possess can hurt, rather than help,” Neely said.

The McGill First Aid Society has 48 volunteers. Although MFAS is used as a “first response” team until paramedics arrive, O ’Brien said that the rescue staff is required to be certified in CPR Level Three training as well as basic first aid. ■

A story w ritten

for th e

— Katie Fugler

8 Op/Ed

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Professors and TAs cannot play God It’s ju st one o f those weeks. It feels like you’ve had about 18 assignments given to you recently and they’re all due in the next three days. Thankfully, you’ve ju st finished the assignment from hell, which took a good 30 hours. You think nothing o f it when a friend asks to borrow your assignment because he couldn’t fig ­ ure out how to do one problem— after all, how many times have you soughtguidance the exact same way? You are understandably upset, then, when you get your assignment back with a grade o f zero on it and a comment from the TA that says, “You are not allowed to copy your assignments. I do not appreciate this kind o f dishonesty and it’s not allowed a t McGill. ” An appeal to the TA is fruitless and your p ro f agrees with the TA. hat’s wrong with this picture? T h at is, besides the fact that your friend did some­ thing m onum entally stupid and uncool?

T he answer is that neither your TA nor your professor is entitled to impose any kind o f punishm ent, academic or otherwise, for cheating, plagiarism or any other disciplinary offence.

It might surprise you to learn this. I’ve certainly heard o f a large num ber o f cases where instructors have failed large portions o f a class on a particular assignment because o f what appeared to be ram pant cheating, and I can completely understand the position o f the p rof or the TA who does this.

T he fact is, however, that Article 48 o f the Code o f

W

Student C onduct and Disciplinary Procedures requires an instructor who concludes that disciplinary action is appropri­ ate (and giving a zero for plagiarism or cheating is unques­ tionably disciplinary action) to refer the m atter to the rele­ vant disciplinary officer. Indeed, it even says in black and white: “T he instructor may not, on his or her own authority, impose a penalty on the student.” You might n ot think that following this rule would be problematic. After all, people in authority know the rules, right? T h at’s part o f their job, isn’t it?

Well, some o f the people in authority are very conscien­ tious and know the rules quite well. In particular, the people who administer the disciplinary system are generally aware that instructors don’t have this kind o f authority. Thus, when cases o f inappropriate application o f disciplinary action come to the attention o f disciplinary officers, they are generally quick to fix the problem.

T he flipside o f the coin is that McGill has more than 5,000 academic staff, many o f w hom are sessional lecturers and therefore don’t have the same contact with McGill as its tenured or tenure-track professors do. In this context, it’s very difficult to ensure that every instructor is aware o f the Unfits o f his or her powers. Still, McGill needs to try harder to uphold respect for the system it has p ut into place to ensure that disciplinary matters are dealt with fairly. If students are to be made responsible for knowing the rules in the Green

c o n s p ira c y It’s about time I read an article that actually evaluates Tumitin.com for w hat it is. Granted, the Web site is a bit o f a pain in the ass and it takes an extra five to 10 minutes out o f your day, but other than that, its use should be a non-issue.

I’m in Economic Development with that guy who is try­ ing to be the Rosa Parks o f students’ rights here at McGill, and all I want to do is smack him in the head (not really, as I don’t even know who he is). We’re talking about a 300-level economics course that is asking us such mind-boggling ques­ tions as to calculate the G N P o f Brazil, or to explain Sen’s capabilities approach. Heaven forbid an on-line database has access to our answers. W hat are they going to do? Sell them to the United Nations?

I might have qualms with Tumitin.com if I were writing my doctorate or graduate thesis and my professor demanded I use it, but that isn’t the case. Very few pieces o f work that come from undergraduates have any intellectual worth, so who gives a shit if they’re subm iued to an on-line database. If you want to pick up a causjJJjsaTs actually relevant to student rights, at something worthwhile (like getting us some toilet W in the Irljjary that doesn’t leave me with such a nasty h; I know I rty ro t the„pnly one). Turnit in isn’t some Big rother conspirasse.. it’s a simple service that aims to prevent plagiarism. G et over yourselves and shut up. ^

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— Daniel Fibiger U3 Poli Sci / IDS

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I f you have questions about the validity o f a penalty that was imposed on you, call Student Advocacy. The office can be reached at 398-4384 or advocacy.law@mcgill.ca.

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Book, that m ust be equally true o f instructors, w hether they are university-appointed professors or not.

This is im portant because the system in place is there to ensure that everyone gets dealt w ith fairly and under the same rules. Part o f the reason for having disciplinary officers (and the Com m ittee on Student Discipline, if it gets that far) to deal with alleged offences is so that there is an impartial, dis­ interested party making the decisions. A p ro f who thinks that one o f her students has plagiarized an assignment will usual­ ly be more than a little annoyed at that student and will have trouble acting impartially.

At the same time, students need to know their rights and responsibilities and it’s im portant that you take the tim e to find o ut w hat they are, ahead o f time if possible. So, if you get a paper back and you’ve been penalized for cheating or plagiarism, address it with the prof. If he does not deal with your concerns adequately, then bring it up w ith your faculty’s disciplinary officer. It’s usually the associate dean o f student affairs o f the faculty, b ut the Student Affairs office or Dean’s office will be able to tell you for sure.

Also, remember that a prof is allowed to penalize you on assignments for other reasons, like late submission. ■

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T hroughout this past m onth, there has been a lot o f talk on campus about w hether student-run stores should sell cigarettes. T he Arts Undergraduate Society currendy owns Snax Tabagie, located in the Leacock lobby, and makes about $10,000 off cigarettes sales, or 10 per cent o f the operating budget o f the AUS. T his revenue goes directly into student activities such as departm ental events and journals as well as AUS events like the Red and W hite graduation ball.

AUS Council is currently considering a ban on selling tobacco products in Snax. T here are some problems w ith this for the simple reason th at AUS Council is predom inantly filled w ith non-smokers. T his is clearly n ot representative o f the average M cGill student, and C ouncil may n ot be looking out for everyone’s needs.

T his brings up the issue o f w hether non-smokers should have the right to decide for smokers w hether they can smoke or not. If we live in a freethinking jjlty, this flies in the face o f logic. If, however, we suppose th at student governtrt’s job is to look out for everyone’s interest, then not smoking is in everyone s greatest benefit. Following this logic, however, w ould m ost likely lead to question­ ing the sale o f alcohol and even candy bars on campus, since b oth o f these are bad for students’ health. T hough if one were to make the leap from tobacco sales to alcohol and candy sales, he or she w ould ignore the highly addictive nature o f cig-

ffl

P P ©

Op/Ed 9

S

P aflK lt iother point to be raised is that, in reality, students can purchase cigarettes :. Unfortunately, m ost smokers will n o t give up smoking simply because s it is bad for you. T h en again, this logic has allowed society to begin Iko in the first place. Since society has often looked toward students “]ers o f change, this w ould insinuate that our student society should 'an example for others. N o t selling tobacco products w ould be an >f dem onstrating these leadership skills we so pride ourselves on. iere is also the issue o f how the AUS m ight recoup the lost revenues if we chose to eliminate tobacco sales.

E lim in atin g cigarettes Do ub le the p o w e r of your degree m ight eventually force the AUS to raise student fees or drastically cut certain services and funds. Snax m ight also becom e unprofitable, forcing AUS to close it outright. If term inating cigarette sales w ould help save students lives, then maybe it makes a a 1 2 -m o n th p o s t-g ra d u a te c e rtific a te p ro g ra m small increase in fees in i n t e r n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t a t H u m b e r C o l l e g e w orthw hile.

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Efficient governing no joking matter n October 29 the McGill Senate received a memorandum from the Governance Review Group. T he docum ent outlined a proposal to decrease the number o f Board o f Governor members from 45 to 18.

T he student representation, in real numbers, would be cut in half by the restructuring, from four to two. T he Governance Review Group, consisting o f Secretary-General Robin Geller, the C hair o f BoG, Robert Rabinovitch and Principal H eather Munroe-Blum, said that in recent m onths “the nature o f agenda setting and the size o f the board limit the board members’ ability to properly fulfill their responsibilities as board members.”

W hat their message tells us is that the most powerful governing body on cam­ pus— the one that approves fee changes, loans (such as the bond for New Residence Hall) and the annual budget— doesn’t feel it can make decisions effectively.

Negotiating a meeting that could potentially have 68 people, including all 22 emer­ iti governors and the President o f SSMU, vying for the floor is not the most natu­ ral form o f communication.

T he question currently being debated is whether downsizing will contribute to a more effective governance process. Those who see large numbers as a hindrance to efficient decision making could cite SSMU Council as an example o f how quantity does n ot necessarily translate to quality.

Last week’s council meeting, for example, w ent well into the early hours o f the m orning and half the agenda was not attended to. In feet, the average length o f a regular council meeting is five hours, unless Roberts Rules o f Order are suspended, which they have been on several occasions this year. Size, in this case, does matter.

But cutting positions on the board or council is a start, not necessarily the cure-all.

Both bodies could use a brush up on the original purpose for groups such as Council or BoG. They are decision-making bodies, not a free-for-all debate forum.

T he biggest failure in most student or faculty committees is a misuse o f the main proceedings for which they are designed.

Take the US Congress. Very little business is conducted in session; everything is debated and done in committees and caucuses. T he vote is then taken in formal sessions. Perhaps the answer to inefficient governance for both council and BoG is to devolve more power to subcommittees or, better yet, ensure the subcommittees already in place are doing their job.

O pponents could argue that a university provides a unique forum for discus­ sion, where voices should m atter more than votes, and where idea sharing and debate should be celebrated as another form o f education, not discouraged in the name o f a faster adjournment. G ood in theory, n o t so good in practice.

A university decision-making body should be held to the same standards as a corporate Board o f Trustees that has shareholders’ interests and potentially millions o f dollars at stake in efficient governance. As students, we entrust our tuition dol­ lars as an investment and BoG has a responsibility to its investors to ensure that money is being well spent. T he share we contribute to McGill s future is in their hands.

Should the governance restructuring proposal pass, BoG and council will have two very different approaches to governance and decision making, with a mission that is virtually identical: to improve the quality o f life for McGill students and maintain one o f the most competitive research and educational environments Canada has to offer. Council could learn a thing or two from the Board. ■

O

. b us i n e s s , h u m b e r

O ff, oard

Tolerating some bad for campus good

ogue scandal sheet or venerable institution? T he M cGill Daily could be characterized as either. W hat follows is the case against— and for— the other cam­ pus newspaper.

T ike C K U T radio, the Daily is funded by students. This contribution is collected at the beginning o f each semester, and represents a fee for which there is no opt-out provision.

To w hom is the paper accountable? G od knows. T hough ostensibly open to all students, control o f the paper has often fallen to small groups w ith very specific political agendas.

T h e result has been a student paper that, over the years, has been littered w ith ram pant bias and archaic socialist nomenclature. This is wildly annoying on a num ber o f levels.

First, news coverage that favours indoctrination over crit­ ical analysis is irresponsible and presumptuous. A university campus should represent an environm ent where new genera­ tions arrive ready to challenge and re-evaluate existing politi­ cal and intellectual orthodoxies. Students should be able to read about ideas that have not first been run through a preconstructed ideological funnel.___________________

R

Perhaps because o f its often precarious ideological posi­ tions, the Daily has been ferocious towards its critics.

Individuals considered to be an enemy o f the paper have been mercilessly ridiculed. Such criticisms have often been gratu­ itous and mean-spirited, anonymous sniping in which indi­ viduals’ private lives have been fair game. Often, individuals who attem pt to respond to the paper’s attacks have merely invited further belittlement. And let’s not forget that, under the mantle o f ‘progressiveness,’ Daily editors over the years have been willing to lace the paper with profanities and obscenity. Well, fine. But should students have to pay for this?

This, crudely, is the case against the M cGill Daily.

Should something be done? Surprisingly, the answer is no.

Unfortunately, any efforts to reign in the Daily will produce more harm than good.

It is tem pting to dem and that the Daily be made accountable, that the paper be subject to some external over­ sight. To do so, though, invites censorship. Campus newspa­ pers should be able to operate at arms-length from those they ’— H M

report on, w hether it is the university adm inistration or the student union.

Secondly, the Daily itself is ostensibly democratic. Every McGill student is a member o f the paper, and has an oppor­ tunity to participate at annual meetings. It is true that the Daily board o f directors has often behaved in a junta-like manner, fiercely shunting out any who do not share their ide­ ology. Nevertheless, the paper remains an officially democrat­ ic institution; if students are too apathetic to participate in it, the fault is their own.

Finally, campus newspapers provide a range o f free speech that does not exist in their mainstream counterparts.

At one time, up to a dozen papers, representing a wide range o f political opinions, circulated in N orth American cities.

Today, in Canada, there are but a handful o f newspapers owned by two large companies. Campus papers, then, per­ haps have a greater role than ever in supplying a forum for new and unconventional ideas. If the results are occasionally objectionable, that may be an evil we have to tolerate. ■ H

i

10 Op/Ed

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

- L»

ft

G

think about

IT

A m odest

-Dany Horovitz W hile Andrew Segal accurately described the proportions o f positive drug tests across sports and the disproportionate negative m edia attention given to O lym pic athletes over drug use, he failed to even acknowledge the scope o f drug use in sports today (“A nti-doping n ot dope enough to make a difference,” Nov. 18).

This past summer, the US A nti-D oping Agency (USADA) received an anonym ous package containing a syringe o f a designer steroid called tetrahydrogestrinone (T H G ). T he inform ant also threw in the names o f a few American and international athletes who were using this drug. T he source o f T H G was traced to a California “nutritional supplem ent” distributor, Bay Area Lab C o­ operative, that was already in h o t water over tax evasion.

C urrent world 100m record holders T im M ontgom ery and M arion Jones were recently sub­ poenaed over their involvement w ith the company, as well as dozens o f other high profile athletes across m any sports.

A test for T H G was developed quickly from the donated sample o f the drug. In the last two m onths, some high profile track and field athletes have tested positive for T H G (both A and B samples) including British sprinting great D w ain Chambers, world in d o o r 1500m record holder Regina Jacobs (American), world shot p u t record holder Kevin Toth (American), and also dozens o f professional football players (four O akland Raiders, reported Nov. 17) and baseball players (Barry Bonds) have either tested positive and/or adm it­ ted to using T H G .

Some o f the know n drugs distrib­ uted by BALCO include E PO (erythro­ poietin) the choice o f world-class cyclists and other endurance athletes, as well as H G H (hum an growth horm one), and modafinil (American Kelli W hite, this year’s w om ens 100m and 200m world cham pion recently tested positive claiming it was for a sleeping disorder). Interestingly enough, m any o f these athletes were outspoken ,in the past against drug use.

Segal s advice to MLB was that, Tests should check n ot only for anabolic steroids, b ut also for other perform ance-enhancing substances. H ow do you test for drugs th at are being created right now, and that testers have no access to? Try to fathom how m uch m ore m oney there is in producing undetectable drugs than there is finding them.

A n Italian anti-doping director estimated that Italian athletes spend more than 500 million Euros a year on drugs. D rug testers even speculate the arrival o f the T H G syringe was sent by the creator o f the drug as a smokescreen to prom ote a new line o f designer steroids. A m onths supply o f the well-known H G H costs about $750, and is relatively accessible to the general public. H ow m uch more are wealthy, high-profile athletes paying for more m odern drugs? H G H was so ram ­ pant in the 1996 Olympics, athletes nicknam ed the games “the H G H O lym pics.” A test for H G H still does n o t exist.

Sports will n o t be clean until it becomes m ore lucrative to expose the producers and users o f perform ance-enhanc­ TESOL Certified 5 days ing drugs than it is to produce and sell them . I th in k the in c la ss (M onthly c la sse s), Saturday N ight Live depiction o f the “All D rug Olympics” is on-line or by corresp on d en ce. more likely.

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proposal o f the recent debate over whether or not to ban the sale I no flight tobacco on campus, I w ould like to firmly express my o ut­ rage at the thought o f outlaw ing tobacco revenue. Students spend millions o f their parents’ hard-earned dollars every year on tobacco, and th at m oney goes to help fund the Students’ Society.

T ruth be told, I propose that the opposite action be taken w ith regards to this issue: SSM U should take efforts to boost tobacco sales on campus. In order to fully maximize revenues, vending machines should be set up inside the lobby o f every sin­ gle building. Laws should be p u t in place giving students who smoke the right to do so in class; this will encourage smokers to use up m ore packs per day, thereby encouraging m ore sales o f tobacco on campus and increasing profit.

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Strict measures should be taken against those who have asth­ matic problems. McGill should be able to advertise itself as an asthma-free school. Those w ith second class lungs are second class citizens, and they force smokers to forfeit their rights and free­ doms. After all, if we are to protect the rights o f ethnic minorities, then we m ust too protect the rights o f habitual minorities— it’s the only dem ocratic thing to do.

Additionally, more m oney could be invested back in the school if other narcotics were made available on campus. After all, if the university doesn’t sell hard crystal m eth, cocaine and hero­ in, students can just go a block or two o ff campus and give their m oney to someone else. And it is doubtful that those vendors pay taxes at our school.

W ith the revenues earned from the aforem entioned products, McGill would easily be able to pay for the student daycare, reno­ vations to the sports complex, and other such items which other­ wise would be a hefty burden on students’ tuition bills.

Moreover, this would create a great opportunity for Imperial Tobacco. M any smokers and narcotics clientele are by nature extremely left-wing, and very much anti-capitalism. W ith these new changes, the corporate world will have turned its arch-neme­ ses into life-long customers. O r, at the very least, they will have made com plete fools and hypocrites o ut o f the left— eliminating once and for all the threat o f the M arijuana Party to federal and provincial politics.

Now, it is true that many o f these patrons may end up as casualties, and that merchants might find themselves with much stock and no market. However, there is no need to fear this because am ong today’s youth, peer pressure is enough to ensure thousands o f new perm anent customers each day. As far as one can tell right now, there is no end in sight to narcotics use, so McGill might as well cash in.

Besides, those who end up dying from lung cancer will be forever remembered as heroes, martyrs in the cause for freedom.

We will stuff the corpses and situate them along the Roddick Gates— each one w ith a brilliant yellow smile on his or her face and a cigarette in hand— to show how joyful their lives were. This will attract tourists, which will be beneficial to the Montreal econ­ omy.

M any who read this may feel that I am biased. I assure them that as a non-smoker, I have nothing to gain from these changes; it is only in the interest o f the oppressed that I speak up for this just and noble cause. We shall overcome.

T h in k about it. ■

Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 2 5 , 2 0 0 3

N e w s flash : y o m a m a 's a tram p !

Sometimes all you want is a side salad to make a meal complete, but are the extra calories worth it? until someone gets hurt.

“A lot o f people find the idea o f being the Liz Allemang other person quite appealing.”

She admits that though she felt fine when she eing an anti-monogamist, I have little merit when it comes to giving dating advice, but that doesnt didn’t know her hookup’s girlfriend, Peck felt less confident about her sexual relationship upon meet­ stop me from dishing it out frequendy. M uch to everybody’s chagrin, any potential concern receives ing her.

“It was understood that it was to be kept my two cents. T he inevitably controversial subject secret. It’s compromising,” she says. “Physical rela­ o f cheating is no exception to this rule.

O ne day at lunch, in typical random fashion, I tionships are just as complicated as emotional ones. announced my opinion on the matter. You cant have your Most people just can’t handle it.”

W hether with your partner or the third party, cake and eat it too.”

My friends looked around confused, thinking they were problems are bound to arise. Still, some hold out forbidden to order the three-layer chocolate glistening in the hope that they can get away with it.

T he Ashley Madison Agency, operating since display case. I clarified, “Affairs are too hard. If you’re gonna 2002, is based in Toronto and is, according to its stray, have the courtesy to tell your honey it’s not working and then mess around.” We ordered dessert and I argued my key Web site, “for attached women seeking romantic affairs and the men who want to fulfill them .” T he company points. maintains that 50 to 60 per cent o f men and 40 to 50 per cent After witnessing many cheat and get cheated on, I find o f women will engage in extramarital affairs. it difficult to understand how cheating is worth the effort.

O pen relationships offer an opportunity to “re-experiThough many o f those who are unsatisfied in a relation­ ship will break things off before eyeing anyone else, it has ence the excitement and stimulation associated with dating and courtship.” But if one were really that intent on feeling become more popular these days to forego all honesty and that thrill again, shouldn’t she hold out until she finds one break the rules o f monogamy. If there are emotional problems or dissatisfaction in the sack, cheating can seem like a per- person who can satisfy all her desires?

According to an Associated Press article posted on the fecdy logical solution. After all, with just a few white lies, it is possible to maintain your current soulmate while diddling Ashley Madison home page, young people are the most like­ ly to stray. It also states that “young women are just as likely someone on the side.

T he sixth annual Durex Condoms Sex Survey, which as young men to cheat.” Though it is supposedly a service questions 50,000 people worldwide, states that Canadians catering to the needs o f females, 90 per cent o f the members are male. have sex more than average— 150 versus 138 times a year.

Navigating ashleymadison.com on my guest member­ This causes one to wonder whether all o f these bare-bottomed ship was reminiscent o f reading the ‘menage à trash’ ads in the frolics are conducted with the same person. T he accuracy of the survey remains questionable, however, as only four per back of a Montreal weekly. In the “my interests” section o f the profile, I was allowed to choose from options that were cent o f those polled admitted to being drunk their first time.

Still, the fact that fewer than half o f the participants— 47 per approximately 90 percent sex-related, five per cent potential­ ly illegal and another five per cent romantic. T he ads them­ cent— would tell their partner if they cheated, is shocking. selves matched said formula to a T. Once a pastime reserved only for American presidents, O f the few women on the site, most attempted to lure travelling businessmen and housewives with a milkman at their disposal, now many others are just as likely to seek out the gents by penning raunchy greetings or including revealing photos. However, most were actally looking for something alternate sources o f sexual pleasure. T he people who cheat, beyond the casual encounter (read: backup husband). and the reasons they do it, have been steadily increasing in Some presented this candidly, while the clever ones bait­ number.

“It really is a no-strings-attached-relationship,” says Cyd ed and hooked before sharing said information. T he nastier a woman got in her details, the greater the number of Peck, U 2 Science, who has been “the other woman” in the approval ratings she had next to her ad. past. “People do it for the thrill. Cheating is exciting, it’s fun,

B

Diddling the milkman may be tons o' fun, but is it really worth it?

O n the other hand, the men, with usernames that usu­ ally alluded to their favorite fetishes, were searching for some­ thing more physical. I wouldn’t condemn them all as scary perverts with odd turn-ons and poor spelling. I would, how­ ever, compare the experience o f searching through their ads to a trip down creepy memory lane: going to hole-in-the-wallbars at 15 and gening hit on by rummies, whose intentions were as “dirrty” as Christina Aguileras lyrics.

W hether or not cheating has a place within a relation­ ship is an individual choice. Companies like Ashley Madison make straying accessible for even the laziest person. It cannot be denied that committing the act has a ripple effect—-one that can hurt more than just the involved parties.

You can plead insanity or claim you were in the “heat of the m om ent,” but the simplest solution is to not do it. Do not com mit if you are prone to cheating. After all, if its a thrill you’re looking for, it’s just as easy to take your partner to campus for rowdy adventures in the bathroom s o f McLennan. ■

Partner away and experiencing a lapse in morals/an otterwhelming urge to relieveyour sexualfrustration? Visit www.ashleymadison.com.

B re a k in g b e

a year

v ery

o u t o f th e s e

o ld

w a lls c a n

a p p e a l i n g . KATY M 0 S K V IT C H

7

I

a n s w e rs q u e s tio n s a b o u t th e p ro c e s s o f s tu d y in g

nce one or two years o f studying at McGill are left behind, the wild idea to travel comes up for many. I’m not referring to just a couple of months o f summer backpacking in Europe, or three weeks o f sun tanning in Mexico. 1 am talk­ ing about something much more interesting, longer-lasting, more challenging and certainly more exciting— going on a uni­ versity exchange program.

If this interests you, the first thing to do is to choose the destination. W hat are the criteria people should look for in an exchange school? It’s your interests, hobbies and way of life that should be considered. Students wishing to have warm weather, beaches and surfing: go to Australia or California. Those who like exotic places might go to Asia. And those romantic souls who followed one-by-one the adventures o f the three muske­ teers, who always dreamed of visiting the “capital o f the world,”

O

and have a taste for romance, might choose France.

The public street...

Let’s imagine you’re in the last category. I am most famil­ iar with this, as I went on exchange to France. The second step is choosing a school. T he educational system in France is dif­ ferent from Canada. The universities are both public and almost free or private and quite expensive. You don’t need to worry about their tuition (or no tuition) since you’ll still be paying McGill’s regular fee.

But if you decide to go either on your own or as a visiting student and study in a public university, you will only have to pay for your student visa and about 150 euros to cover the whole school year.

Public institutions are usually the size o f McGill, with sim­ ilar services and facilities. Students start their studies right after

secondary school, and in two years they get a diploma called DEUG, which is somewhat equivalent to the two years of CEGEP. Once they have it, they can either start looking for a job, or continue their studies. If they choose the latter, within a year, they will get another diploma, the Licence, which cor­ responds to the second year of studies at McGill. The McGill undergraduate diploma is equivalent to the French Maitrise, which you receive a year after the Licence. So when French stu­ dents get to the graduation level we know after four years, they already have many diplomas in their hands.

In a public university you will have a gym, a big library and a cafeteria. Professors are easily accessible, as they usually have their offices on campus, which is pretty much the same scenario found at McGill. T he level o f studies is also compara-

See SCHOOLS, page 14 —

— ..... ......... I-----------------

ab ro a d .

12 Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

From Ms. To Mrs.— Chasing Emily on her way to the altar EM ILY A . B E S S E T T E d e l i v e r s t h e s e c o n d d e ta ils o f w e d d in g

g e ts in to th e m in u te

p la n n in g , w ith o u t th e h e lp o f J. L o o r th e e n lis tm e n t o f A d a m

lanning the details o f a wedding is not as stressful as Father o f the Bride would have us believe; it’s for, for worse. I am blessed with supportive parents and a very relaxed fiance— so relaxed, in feet, that my father labeled him “type C ,” since he is for more easy-going than both “type A” and “type B” personalities allow. This does not, however, alleviate the pressure to find a church, the reception site, the dress, flowers, menu, cake, photographer, invitations and musicians, all while carrying a full course load in a different coun­ try from where my nuptials will take place.

The crucial ingredient for a Catholic wedding ceremony is a Catholic church. This should have been no problem since I have attended one in my hometown for my entire life. I take issue with St. Luke Parish, though, for four reasons: there is no centre aisle, the carpet is a 1970s brownish-orange, there is no choir loft, and it was a bingo hall before it was a church. My parents were ini­ tially bothered by my desire to relocate my wedding mass merely due to aesthetic concerns, but when I proposed a parish in a neighbouring town that’s a picture o f New England charm, they agreed.

T he reception site was another matter entirely. I am very against weddings where thousands o f dollars are spent decorating a sterile conference room at a local hotel that ends up looking like a sterile conference room dressed up as an imitation white wed­ ding wonderland. We called two places that are both a 10-minute drive from the church and set up appointments. The first was a nice restaurant with a dance floor, a lovely bar in a separate room and a wedding coordinator who is also in her 20s and engaged. I loved it.

T he second place was a small tile room with metal folding chairs and an owner who decried the “capitalist market” behind modern wedding celebrations as “devaluing the institution o f marriage.” I later found out he is working on his third institution

P

in s ta lm e n t o f h e r p re -n u p tia l jo u rn e y a n d

o f marriage. Needless to say, the first place won the approval of Justin and myself, and my parents happily agreed.

We then proceeded to fight about sole. T hat’s right, the fish.

To appreciate this argument, it is important to understand that wedding meals can be served in several fashions.

T he first option is to have a buffet, where the DJ has some hokey game to decide which table goes first. For example, the clas­ sic who can blow up this extra-long balloon” contest from my friend’s wedding this past spring.

Another way to serve the meal is sharing-style, where huge

S a n d le r

chicken meal M om wanted. “And N O baby corn! I hate it! I threw it up once!” It was pure madness. I do not really care much about how the meal is served or what the meal contains. No one is attending our wedding for the rice pilaf payoff— or so I hope.

The musicians thankfully fell into our laps. My friend’s sister was married last summer and had a French horn quartet play at her wedding. My former band teacher is one o f the horn players.

Justin asked him to book the quartet for our wedding, and just like that it was done. Well, not quite like that.

The day on which we were to be married did not work for

I am very against weddings where thousands of dollars are spent decorating a sterile conference room at a local hotel that ends up looking like a sterile conference room dressed up as an imitation white wedding wonderland. entrees are placed on each table and everyone passes them around.

This is rather informal, and since I have an uncle who eats enough for three men, I wanted to ensure every guest would get his fair share.

Finally, guests could be given the option o f three meals on the wedding invitation, indicate their choices, and mail them back with their response card. Each meal is then served individu­ ally. After a heated debate that included the aforementioned uncle and the feet that someone (probably me) would be sure to dump the food on herself in the buffet fine, the individual meal option won. W hich meals to pick, though? Baked stuffed sole? Roast beef? Chicken? Ham? And which side dishes to go with each meal? Rice pilaf? Red potatoes? Broccoli?

I was screaming to my parents that guests would love baked stuffed sole, and that the red potatoes could be paired with the

our band teacher; he would be out o f town shooting skeet like he has done every Columbus Day weekend for the past 20 years. So we moved the wedding up a week. No problem. The quality of music will be worth it. Now to decide on the songs... .. .And the flowers, and the invitations. Referring back to the fist o f wedding necessities, I realize that there are so many things I have left to do! There is one thing I am trying not to put off, and that is savouring the journey to our wedding day.

Justin and I have done fon things such as look at wedding rings and practice slow dancing in his kitchen. We talked about when we want children and how we’ll spend our Sunday after­ noons, together once we’re married. I think that is the most impor­ tant thing. O n our 25th anniversary, I probably won’t remember what the stuffed sole tasted like at m y wedding reception, but I’ll hopefully never forget why I married Justin in the first place. ■

Where have all the good jazz clubs gone?

M A RK KERR l o o k s t o

Louis Metcalf and his International (Band at the Café St-Michel in 1947.

p ast an d

very summer, thousands o f tourists flood the streets and concert halls o f Montreal for the International Jazz Festival. These fans are continuing a tim e-honoured tradition that extends beyond the jazz festival’s 24-year exis­ tence. W hile Montreal has become renowned for its massive outdoor concerts and highly-publicized show­ cases, many tourists and residents are unaware o f jazz’s rich history in the city.

“T he Com er,” formerly located at the intersection o f Rue St-Antoine and M ountain streets, was the focal point o f jazz during the 1940s— what many consider a golden era. Walk around the area today and you won’t see much. But 60 years ago, the streets were alive with bebop sounds pouring o ut o f the two major clubs, Rockhead’s Paradise and Café St. Michel.

M airuth Sarsfield invokes this era in her 1997 novel No Crystal Stair, discussing the theme o f high and low culture through music in 1942. Two characters in Sarsfield’s novel debate the style o f Oscar Peterson, who was emerging as a renowned jazz pianist in the early 1940s. A white character feels that Peterson’s tal­ ent comes from the influence o f European composers such as Liszt, while a black character argues that Duke Ellington and the black com m unity served as an inspi-

E

LOUIS JACQUES

th e

th e

g o ld e n

era

o f M o n tr e a l ja z z

ration for one o f Montreal’s m ost famous musicians.

In his autobiography, A Jazz Odyssey, Peterson points out that jazz, unlike classical music, has not gar­ nered the respect it deserves as an art form. H e believes that whites have been unable to accept the artistic tal­ ent and achievement o f blacks.

‘T he treatment o f jazz is deeply indicative o f soci­ ety’s values, and also its fears and prejudices.”

Not about the music, man Self-professed jazz musicians played music to entertain patrons o f clubs across the city. W hile musi­ cians preferred to play their own brand o f jazz, they provided backup for showgirls, comedians and singers while taking requests for music to dance the jitterbug or the mambo.

T he nightclubs o f the time were n o t like Upstairs and other jazz spots o f today. T he owners usually employed two bands, one for the shows and the social dancing afterward, and another to provide background music during breaks. It was during the social dancing part o f the evening that musicians incorporated some bebop influences. However, they did so slyly, careful

See TV, page 14

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Features

13

-4

Mont Royal: Über-funkalicious is impossible to write a column on M ontreal land­ I tmarks w ithout mentioning Avenue du Mont-Royal.

T he street unfolds through the heart o f the Plateau Mont-Royal, arguably the city’s most vibrant neigh­ bourhood. It represents a must-see destination for tourists and a regular hangout for locals.

W hat is it about Avenue du Mont-Royal that makes it so Montreal? Although it has the structure o f any average street, you just know you would never find one like it any­ where else. This unique quality, however, is extremely diffi­ cult to pinpoint. Is it the endless num ber o f small patis­ series, the cafés, the funky boutiques or the style o f the clien­ tele? O r is it the European flair in a N orth American setting?

T he street simply exudes Montreal, so I set out to find out why.

O f course M ont Royal is cool— that’s inevitable when a street’s most recent roots come from an artistic com m unity

that helped it thrive. Like many trendy neighbourhoods in the world (SoHo in New York City for example: 1960s abandoned factories turned into studios turned into lofts costing millions), the Plateau was made popular by artists who found cheap housing and made it into a community. Inevitably, once people realized the potential for the area, dem and for living space increased and the rents shot up. This, to a certain extent, pushed out the starving artists and turned the area back into more o f a family neigh­ bourhood. However, Mont-Royal has some­ how been able to m aintain its trendiness since the 1980s when the artists took over. Über-funkiness is for sale all along the strip and you find things that you w ouldnt

N IlU L t L trtV tK

Mont-Royal's authenticity is threatened by the onslaught of brand stores.

F rien d s d o n ’t let fr ie n d s g e t slip p e r s.

A s k for a c o o l p h o n e .

find elsewhere. There are tons o f great used C D and book stores, pet stores and, o f course, clothes and shoe stores, m osdy unique to M ontRoyal. However, it seems that little by little, w hat was once known as the bohemian area is fast becoming increasingly speckled w ith chains.

From Aldo to Reitmans, Second C up to Première M oisson, M cD onald’s an d (gulp!) even a Starbucks, I fear that the bohem ia o f days gone by are far in the past. T he distinctive M ont-Royal stores are still there, b u t it seems that the street is struggling to keep its original, small-business atm osphere, and could be slowly losing the batde.

This is bad news, because it is really a street that thrives on its eccentric qualities. I love the G ap just as much as the next girl, b ut I definitely don’t feel good about it taking up room on such a classic avenue in the M ontreal landscape.

The defining quality

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W hen m ost people think o f M ontreal, they think o f a N orth A m erican city w ith a European sparkle to it— a city that is rich with history and culture. Somehow this is all embodied in Avenue du M ontRoyal. You have everything you need at your fingertips and it is presented in the “north o f the 4 9th Parallel meets O ld Europe” fashion that so defines M ontreal. Mont-Royal has everything from bars and clubs to restaurants and shops. So m uch is p ut on the table: so much that isn’t offered elsewhere in the city, or in any other city for that matter.

So w hat is it that sets Avenue du M ont-Royal apart? Perhaps w hat makes this street so special is the pas­ sion that its inhabitants have for it.

Unlike Boulevard St-Laurent or Rue St-Denis, there is a certain intimacy on Mont-Royal that makes you feel like you are really in a close-knit com m unity. St-Laurent and StDenis are fantastic places to go out for a drink or go shopping, but they seem to belong to the whole city, whereas Avenue du M ont-Royal belongs to those who use it daily, who have seen it flourish as a com ­ mercial artery and who have been there for every step o f its history. It is a cozy street th at welcomes you into its world and makes you feel lucky to be there— even if it is just for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon. ■

14 Features

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

What's in a word?

The semantics of 'Apartheid'

TV and the down­ fall of nightclubs Continued from page 12

W h y w e re s tu d e n ts e n g a g in g

in v e r b a l f ig h t i n g

m a t c h e s i n L e a c o c k l a s t w e e k ? L E E M O R V A LIN e x p l o r e s t h e in d iv id u a l w o r d s t h a t s h a p e o u r la r g e r d is c o u rs e . f you happened to be crossing through the Arts building to Leacock last Wednesday afternoon, you may have been interrupted by something unusual for the normally serene, sunlit hallway. Squeezed in between wall and glass were two student advocacy groups that could barely fit their rhetorical and physical bodies into the limited space. W hat took place was the nearest McGill has come to expe­ riencing student political tactics Concordia has become known for. In one area, Solidarity for Palestinian H uman Rights had mounted a striking reconstruction o f what they dubbed the Apartheid Wall. Just 10 metres away, a Hillel-supported Israeli group m ounted blown up pho­ tos o f terrorist victims lying amid bus parts and carnage.

Both sides o f the hallway were rife with visceral and often inappropriate images. O n one side, there were images o f cartoon-like Palestinian women crying tears larger than a human hand. O n the other were disturbing pictures o f dead Israeli victims whose blood-streaked faces were plastered on the windows o f one o f the school’s most used frequently buildings. The over­ all atmosphere o f the hallway made it claustrophobic in its intensity.

The context was officially a debate, rather than a show-and-tell o f images. At hand was the issue o f whether the term “apartheid” was appropriate to describe the eight-metre high, cement security wall that is currently being built around Israeli occupied territories. After witnessing and even taking part in some o f the many arguments being led that day, I decided that looking into the actual definition and meaning behind the word apartheid might be helpful for anyone concerned about its use in describing “the Wall.”

The question I had was: Isnt apartheid’ a bit harsh to be using in this context?” Others seemed to wondering the same thing. This writer took it upon herself to do some research in trying to answer the question o f how accurately we can apply the term “apartheid” to the situ­ ation presented by the security wall.

Who defines 'apartheid'?

The International Encyclopedia o f Human Rights and the Encyclopedia o f Human Rights Issues Since 1945 give similar definitions for apartheid and its original use in South Africa.

Apartheid is a “policy based on segregation according to the colour o f one’s skin [that] not only resulted in complete territorial segregation o f Europeans (approximately 18 per cent o f the pop­ ulation) and non-Europeans (principally o f African and Asian descent), but it effectively ensured a monopoly for Europeans o f economic, political and social power” (Encyclopedia o f Human Rights). In addition, “the word appeared as early as 1929 and has since been used to refer to similar discriminatory policies and forms o f racial separation” (International Encyclopedia).

The term apartheid, currendy used primarily by the Palestinian community and its sup­ porters around the world, carries emotive force in depicting the effects o f the wall. Indeed, there is a very real and heavy barrier segregating one people from another. It is an undeniable feet that the wall will make the current disputes between Israelis and Palestinians over territorial claims much more heated. There is also a sense o f ethnic identification in relation to those who are meant to be on one side o f the wall or the other. T he wall does not segregate according to race, ethnicity or class; there are approximately one million Arabs and Palestinians living in Israel who will continue to live there.

T he wall does, however, cut through some Palestinian communities, leaving thousands sep­ arated from their work and livelihood. Nonetheless, it is not meant to discriminate based on ethnicity.

According to Professor Rex Brynen o f the D epartment o f Political Science, the issue is a highly sensitive one.

I d o n t use the term apartheid wall’ myself,” he noted. “However, it is probably fair to say that the wall, combined with the policies o f the current Israeli government, threatens to create a situation for Palestinians very much like the ‘bantustans’ established for blacks by the apartheid regime in South Africa. Palestinians are being effectively barred from large parts o f the Palestinian territories.”

Brynen commented that “such ‘South Africanization’ o f the conflict is particularly tragic, given that the majority o f Israelis and Palestinians continue to express support for a peaceful res­ olution o f the conflict through the establishment o f a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.”

Searching for discourse Presendy, there seems to be a gap between the complex reality o f the situation in Israel and the discourse being used to define that situation. Is it too disingenuous to employ the term apartheid to refer to the wall? Does this language suggest the Israeli government be labeled prejudiced toward a people whose primary motivation in the territory under dispute is to define and p ro te a the land its citizens inhabit? It should be noted that apartheid in South Africa included legislation that prohibited blacks and other indigenous peoples from attending white schools, cafés, buses, and banned interracial marriage. No such legislation exists in Israel.

Professor Michel Brecher, one o f the leading authorities on Arab-Israeli conflict and crisis and a professor in the political science department at McGill, discussed the accuracy o f using the term “apartheid” concerning the wall.

For him, the construction o f the wall “bears a striking similarity to the organizing concept o f apartheid in form and symbol, but not in substance and not in motivation.”

Perhaps the term apartheid is being used in order to inspire responses from the interna­ tional community. W hat is the long-term damage o f misapplying the term to a situation that has so much at stake? I suggest it undermines the desire for cooperation between both parties involved.

Words have more power than we accord to them, and the more we allow terms such as apartheid to further widen the gap for productive dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, the further we are from achieving peace. The intensity o f the dialogue going on between McGill stu­ dents last Wednesday was a frightening example o f this exaa problem. ■ ' '.... ‘ -■ .........

not to go overboard and draw the wrath o f the nightclub owner.

Jazz musicians often devised other outlets for their creative energy that might have been suppressed by the need to cater to a certain clientele. After-hours jams at clubs— Aldo’s on Crescent Street was one o f the more popular venues— gave players a chance to expand their horizons. W ith the clubs open until early in the morning, club patrons had the opportuni­ ty to hear amazing sessions, while the owners took frill advantage o f the musicians’ willing­ ness to play without monetary compensation.

“T he jam sessions also served as clearing houses for work and proving grounds for younger musicians and new arrivals in town,” writes John Gilmore in Swinging in Paradise.

Gilmore, a jazz historian, says that Aldo’s was the hangout o f Steep Wade, one o f Peterson’s greatest influences. Wade took the young Peterson under his wing and made sure that he did not get into any trouble, remind­ ing Peterson that he had the expectations of the black com munity riding on his success.

Jazz transcends divisions-somewhat T he jazz scene was one o f the first areas of employment to achieve some integration o f race. Peterson and his peers would not have been accepted to play in classical orchestras, so jazz offered musicians a chance to make a liv­ ing playing music.

“In all my days in Montreal and Toronto I cannot recall seeing a single black seated in any o f the orchestras,” recalls Peterson.

Gilmore notes that Rufus Rockhead, the owner o f Rockhead’s Paradise, had a policy o f having only blacks play in his bandstand.

Sometimes he allowed mixed groups for his smaller cocktail lounge downstairs.

Despite openness in the show business area o f jazz, white musicians dominated the local big bands, which became popular near the beginning o f the Second World War. Gilmore believes that only four known black musicians played in the dozen or so big bands in the city. Although big band traces its roots

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to black American music, in Montreal, it was “white musicians playing a derivative, more commercial version o f black music [that] achieved wider exposure and greater financial success.”

Scene dies out yet the music lives on Eventually, his jazz scene lost its cohesive­ ness and popularity. Gilmore points to the election o f mayor Jean Drapeau in 1954 as the major turning point. T he former lawyer came to office pledging to rid the city o f organized crime. He was relatively successful, reducing the nightclubs’ revenue by a fair amount. The budget for live entertainment was cut to meet the changes.

Societal changes further weakened the Montreal jazz scene. According to Gilmore, the advent o f television allowed suburbanites to stay home for entertainment. In the night­ clubs, desperate owners banked on one act to lift the bottom line: stripping. Chez Parée, which still exists today, was at one time the most popular nightclub until it became a strip club.

“W ith the almost total disappearance o f the jazz clubs that abounded in the 1950s and 1960s, the training grounds have gone,” writes Peterson. “There is nowhere to learn one’s craft and hone it nighdy in an undiluted, ded­ icated, and competitive milieu.”

Peterson does not paint a rosy picture for the future o f jazz in Montreal. W ithout these clubs, great and cutting-edge talent will not emerge. We will be left solely with the yearly appearance o f the jazz festival for quality per­ formances.

However, a few clubs in town still offer jazz on a regular basis like Lion d’O r or L’aire du Temp. Jazz will continue to be played live in this city, but it will not have the same social significance as it did in the 1940s. A return to the golden era o f jazz is unlikely any time soon. ■

Schools en français /

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Continued from page 10 ble to McGill. Exchange students are usually neither behind nor ahead in the knowledge o f the subject they’re taking.

The private road...

Now, what if you’ve chosen a private school? There are two kinds— those recognized by the French government, les Grandes Ecoles, and those that are not. Since you’re not getting their diploma, it doesn’t really matter, except if you wish to put it on your CV. For a McGill student to get into a private school on an exchange program is a piece o f cake, since you’ll be staying for a limited period o f time, won’t receive the diploma, and besides, McGill has the international reputation o f a prestigious university, so foreign schools are usually happy to accept us.

W hat awaits a McGill exchange student in such a school? Usually, they are small— about 1,200 students. The program o f studies is fixed; you can rarely deviate from it. You’ll end up

with 10 to 12 classes per semester, as everyone else. If you complete them successfully, you will validate more classes than everybody usually takes in McGill in one semester, but it is a lot o f work, and the level is normally higher than what we’re used to. You can, o f course, drop some classes to avoid such an overload. You’re probably wondering how they cope with 12 subjects per semester? They study. A lot. School days last from eight in the morning until five in the evening, including Saturday. But, there’s no homework! You have to work on your own if you want to pass. And the professors are often invited by the school’s administration from a well-known company, so they are very busy and won’t provide many out-of-class hours. The finals in the first semester are in January, after the holiday. And the school year finishes in June.

But, don’t be spooked. Studying for a year in a French private school will look great on your C V There are lots o f vacations, so you can travel all over France, go skiing in the Alps, scuba diving in the Mediterranean Sea, surfing in the ocean, visit old temples o f the 13th cen­ tury, and simply enjoy yourself. And, o f course, you can take a train and go to other countries, explore other cultures, and make your exchange a year to remember. ■

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School's in: J-Live touches down in Mont Royal

they’re as dependent on these major markets and they recog­ nize the essence o f what hip hop was in the late 70s.” t is 9:30 pm. Bartenders are madly running around J acknowledges that hip-hop culture is incredibly com­ preparing their stations for the night ahead. Bored models petitive, with each artist aspiring to make an enduring are perched on barstools, sipping whiskey sours and mark— to go down in history as one o f the greats. In the past, engaging in banal, forced chit-chat with one another. The he’s name-dropped KRS-One and D e La Soul as two o f house DJ is setting up the turntables and speakers sporad­ coundess rivals; yet, he contends, his main opponent today ically erupt with music as he performs sound check. Promoter exists within himself. types in LRG and Triple Five tees strut around, barking orders Its kind o f like golf, you’re competing with yourself. You into their cell phones, finalizing arrangements for the night. want to strive to make sure that, musically, you’re doing every­ And alone, by the DJ booth, sits a large, unassuming thing that you can do to expand [hip hop] as an art and man. His eyes peek through black-rimmed glasses, concen­ expand the music in general; to influence people in such a way trating on the gadget gripped in his hands, some sort o f highthat hip hop, on a whole, is better off for having you around,” tech device. You ask him what he is so focused on. H e looks he reflects. up and breaks into a sheepish smile. “It’s AOL Messenger,” he Knowledge and its dissemination are at the heart o f Jresponds softly in a Brooklyn accent. “Y’all got AOL Live’s work. H e subscribes to the philosophy o f the Five Messenger here?”

Percent Nation, a splinter group o f the Nation o f Islam. This T he man is J-Live and the venue is Tokyo bar last Harlem-born culture believes that the global population is Wednesday night. T he mastermind behind underground hip divided into three groups. There are 85 per cent who are men­ hop hits including “Braggin’ Writes” and “Longevity” was in tally blind, deaf or dumb, and thus being taken advantage o f town to grace the decks for Loosie magazines NY vs. M TL through their lack o f knowledge; an elite 10 per cent who con­ one-off. spire to hide the truth and exploit others with their power; T he seasoned M C, DJ and producer has seen nearly a and the remaining five who know and teach the truth. This decade in the biz through major-label politics and bootlegging way o f life rests on the contentious premise, however, that the urban legends. His efforts on the mic reveal a fine lyrical five enlightened per cent are black people with “knowledge o f craftsman, but J expresses dissatisfaction with his current rank self” who preach the divinity o f the black man. in the scene, one he attributes to the mass popularity o f hip“Five Percent Nation is a culture that was started out of hop s bastard child conceived by corporate America.

New York in the 60s and has grown worldwide, just o f indi­ J believes, however, that there is hope for overlooked viduals who practice this culture and make it their duty to try artists such as himself, those willing to forge their own way to do right amongst themselves and amongst others, to teach and bypass commercial success. In a sense, he’s calling for a what they know and don’t hide anything,” J explains. “And return o f hip hop to its roots, away from tall tales o f the thug that’s speaking very generally, but the only prerequisite o f this life and glamourized ghettos. culture is just to study and to teach, and that’s w hat we do.”

“I don’t know if there will be a shift in commercial hip The Wu Tang Clan, Erykah Badu and Brand Nubian are hop to the point where it’s more diverse and doesn’t all sound other musicians that believe in this philosophy. the same,” he says. “[But] I think there is a shift in the prior­ J’s passion for the Five Percent culture led him to pursue ities o f independent artists where they don’t necessarily feel a career in education. H e taught middle-school English for Panthea Lee

I

DAVID BRODKEY

0 " the ones and twos, J-Live schools audiences at Tokyo. two years. W hile he recognizes that educators today bear a hefty responsibility, it is a duty he willingly embraces.

“W hen you’re around kids like that, it affects you in a way that you can’t even recognize at first. You know that every little thing you do in the classroom is influencing them for years to come,” he says.

Biggest pet peeve? Having labels placed upon him.

Siurprising? N ot really—J is but another victim o f humanity’s curse: the need to categorize. Regardless, he urges fans not to judge him, but rather his music; song for song, because, he says, it changes song to song.

“T he whole pigeonhole that people like to make about ‘this person’s hardcore, this person’s conscious, this person’s gangsta, this person’s pimp, this person’s a schoolteacher’,” he laments, “there [are] many aspects to any individual... you can learn a lot from a pimp, you can get pimped by a teacher.”

Words from a learned man, indeed. ■

Has Justin Trudeau found a new career?

CBC/McGill Series showcases timeless children's classic the orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, played Sergei Prokofiev’s immortalized symphonic fairy tale, Peter

and the W olf NINA ZACHARIADES

Lauren. Cons ky

T he instantly recognizable recurring themes o f the oboe and violins crisply resonated throughout the hall, while Trudeau stood statuesque onstage, dressed in a stylish buttondown shirt and black pants.

Between the musical vignettes, Trudeau, in a sweet voice with a tinge o f a lisp, craftily narrated the Russian tale o f a lit­ tle boy, Peter, who, along with his animal friends, captures a big bad wolf. In this gutsy feat, Peter impresses those who warned him not to go into the woods, including Grandfather and the hunters.

Peter and the W olfwas the first classical concert Trudeau heard as a child. Like m any children, he discovered that there is a story behind all great works o f art.

Trudeau conceded on stage that he identifies the most with the character Peter: “I was such a tree climber. M y m om could never get me out o f the trees!”

ustin Trudeau, the charismatic, charming and hand­ some son o f the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, knows how to work a room. Possessing magnetism akin to his father’s, he can captivate a crowd. H e mesmerized the nation with his father’s eulogy in 2000. And he can narrate children’s stories with extreme enthusiasm.

Those present at last Thursday night’s CBC/M cGill Concert Series Carnival o f the Animals and Peter and the W olf were left wondering: has Justin Trudeau found a new career?

In its 25th anniversary season, the CBC/M cGill Concert Series presented a concert narrated by Trudeau, CBC Radio hum ourist and w riter Bill Richardson and CBC In Educator, entertainer... politician Performance host Bill Friesen.

Trudeau is a former schoolteacher who currendy studies Images o f enchanted forests, talking animals and ruddy at L’École Polytechnique. As a former student at McGill, he Russian hunters in fur hats descended upon the audience as attended concerts at Pollack Hall while taking the “clapping

J

for credit” course we know as the A rt o f Listening. After 30 years o f staying out o f the political limelight, he made his debut earlier this m onth, emceeing the send-off for Jean Chrétien at the Liberal convention.

H e is not the only person associated with politics who has recounted Prokofiev’s tale. Just last year, former US pres­ ident Bill Clinton and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev nar­ rated a more politically correct version.

W hen asked about the correlation between politics and Prokofiev, Trudeau laughed.

“It’s Peter and the Wolf\ I’m just doing this because it’s such a treat to be amongst great musicians and music,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t play an instrument. This is as close as I get to perform. It’s a unique opportunity.”

T he concert also featured Bill Richardson’s original poem to Camille Saint-Saëns’s Carnival o f the Animals.

Richardson recited tongue-in-cheek lines about a depressed lion that requests to be entertained by animals. Saint-Saëns’ resplendent “Aquarium” theme can be heard in the Disney film Beauty and the Beast.

T he evening’s program, produced by the C B C ’s Kelly Rice, was a success. It appealed to all demographics— both children and parents alike.

T he concert will be aired across Canada on CBC Radio (93.5 FM) on November 27 at 8:00 pm. ■

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

© J S iC

A&E

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In Father Randolph we trust

Panthea Lee e’d go to parties. A fight would break out. A couple o f guys would get shot, and I’m running home. I was a bad kid, on my eighth life with only one left to go.”

And that is how it all began. N ot that long ago, he was just a tough kid from Jersey, a little rough around the edges, one society was ready to write off as ‘troubled’. Today, he is Robert Randolph, pedal steel guitar player extraordinaire.

W ith the release o f his first major label effort this August, Unclassified on Warner

W

Records, the buzz surrounding this gospelfunk rocker is growing. Randolph credits his departure from street life to his discovery of the pedal steel guitar. Finding solace in music, the instrum ent became his salvation.

H e began playing in church at age 17 and word o f his talent spread quickly; soon, he was playing alongside the likes o f Victor W ooten and Medeski, M artin and Wood.

Wait a minute. Gospel, you ask?

Easy there. Relax those eyebrows. Free yourself o f visions o f robed bible-thumpers and allow yourself to enjoy the Robert Randolph experience. A nd that’s precisely what it is— an experience.

Randolph brings the gospel to the secu­

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lar, but retains the celebratory spirit of the church. It’s feel-good music. It’s clapyour-hands music. It’s get-off-your-pewand-sing-along music. H e divorces the pedal steel guitar from its Hawaiian and country roots, where it is traditionally heard as accompaniment, and brings it to the forefront. T he instrum ent proves to be a fine front man, and Randolph exploits its ability to roar, weep and wail.

Last Tuesday saw the 24-year-old performing at Cabaret du Plateau. H e was joined by his Family Band, consisting o f his cousins D anyel M organ and GREGOR CAMPBELL Marcus Randolph on bass and drums, respectively, and Jason Crosby serving Robert Randolph is a mercenary of gospel-funk. double duty on H am m ond organ and violin.

As a starter, the group offered a ram bunctious hoedow n with electrifying soul. Randolph’s body lunged back and forth, propelled by his own music. Raping his instrum ent for each gratifying beat, he giddied up and down on his seat, setting a galloping pace that pushed itself to the verge of explosion and back. Over and over again Randolph did this, until he himself could no longer take it and ejected himself out o f his seat, squealing with delight.

Soon, the pace slowed, melt­ ing into the sm ooth, molasses groove o f “Pressing M y Way.” Although his lyrics are unremark­ able, consisting mostly o f simplis­ tic feel-good mantras, Randolph proved that communicating with an audience is not just about the content o f one’s words, but the musical context in which they are delivered.

Slower R& B-influenced num bers segued into intricate jams, where Randolph showed off his ability to wrangle the last drop of funk from each beat, and inject­ ed heart-wrenching emotion into his vocal acrobatics. Randolph does not possess a strong voice, but his passionate deliveries more than compensate for this shortcoming.

A brief survey o f the dance floor served as a testam ent to Randolph’s broad appeal. A silverhaired man inched by, bent over his wooden cane, and near him sat a contingent o f motherly types w ho appeared to have all left Junior with their hubbies in favour o f a gals’ night out.

A ferocious “Nobody” had the crowd chanting along, and the infectious vibe perm eated the venue. As Randolph’s arms flew round and round, his fingers brazenly grazed his guitar strings, em itting stinging licks o f pedal steel glory.

Several covers were performed including a salute to Hendrix with “Purple Haze” and “Voodoo Child.” “Billie Jean” turned the dance-floor into a pulsating mass of bodies. Shredding through his own “I D on’t Know W hat You Come to Do,” Randolph rallied the crowd to a zealous frenzy; with each yelp and yowl, he had the audience shooting their arms up in unwavering approval, in a collec­ tive Hallelujah.

W ho knew the light could be seen in the key o f E-major? ■

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Making science fun— no really— through film Julie Peters

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lection o f 40 films is being shown at Go Figure, on topics ranging from numbers to ’Empire des Nombres is a movie about cosmetic vaginal surgery. the history o f numbers, a topic that is Astrophysicist Daniel Kunth, president actually incredibly interesting, despite o f the international jury, was present at the any presumptions otherwise. Phillipe festivals launch last Thursday. H e spoke eloTruffaults film kicked offTelescience’s quendy o f the non-communicative relation­ Go Figure, the 13 th annual Q uebec ship between science and film, and how he International Festival o f Science and Film. hopes the festival will offer the general public The festival organizers consider it an amalga­ a clin d ’oeil about what science really is. mation o f science, society and media. A col- Astronomy, according to Kunth, is the centre o f poetry, science and religion.

Full o f interesting images and the tribal W H A T: Go Figure! Science and Film Festival beat o f a drum, LEmpire des Nombres clocks in at a mere 53 minutes and is narrated by ; W H E N : Nove nber 20-30 Dennis Guedj, the author o f the book upon O W H E R E : Various Locations which it is based. Short visual clips run by as Guedj narrates.

M O R E IN F O : www. telescience,qc. ca O ne particularly hypnotizing image is

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that o f a quill drenched in black ink, sliding over parchment, drawing out ancient symbols for numbers. Throughout the film, Guedj explains everyday ideas that are taken for granted. Did you know the reason that the symbol for zero is a perfect O is because it is a constant circle, asserting no beginning or end?

H e also posed questions to his audience— how is it that you can cut an apple into finite thirds, but the decimal form o f one-third is 0.333... on until infinity?

Sometimes going back to the most sim­ plistic beginnings can bring up the most com­ plicated and profound questions. This film hit the mark in many ways. It was experimental without being pretentious, didactic without being boring, and interesting w ithout being overly complex.

The Go Figure festival is a promising

TELESCIENCE.QC.CA

Co Figure brings film and science together. idea. W ith a variety o f films to choose from, it is doubtless there will be more head-scratchers like this one. If you like science, you should go. I f you don’t like science, then you should really go. It would be a shame to pass up a chance at that epiphanic clin d'oeiL ■

The Magic Flute not so magical

Simone Cruickshank ights, music, pointe shoes and confusion are all part o f the Royal W innipeg Ballet production o f choreographer M ark Godden’s The Magic Flute. This version manages to striking­ ly lack charm at times, an enormous achievement considering the brilliance o f the Mozart opera from which it takes its music and storyline. Though this opera seems well-suited to balletic adaptation and the production has its share o f beautiful and even awe­ inspiring moments, this particular production fails to do Mozart jus­ tice.

T he disconnect between w hat is going on onstage and w hat is happening in the plot is a continuing one. Dance is a form o f expres­ sion, a means o f communication that can be used as a language to express em otion and tell a story. G odden lets the synopsis in the play­ bill tell the ridiculously complicated story and has his dancers onstage filling space w ithout saying anything at all.

In addition, his experiments w ith “neoclassical” ballet— incorporating modern dance into classical balletic form— often detract from his choreography rather than making it more interesting.

In some cases, as with the “Queen o f the N ight,” danced by the incredibly talented Tara Birtwhistle, the style helps convey the queen’s manipulatively overdramatic agony, as she connives to gain revenge against her estranged husband, the High Priest Sarastro. In others, especially with seemingly useless characters such as Sarastro’s disciples and the Navigators, the modern movements highlight their pointless­ ness and the repetitive choreography becomes dull.

T he second act is an improvement over the first. T he curtain opens to show a huge wall constructed’ by the Q ueen and Sarastro’s daughter Pamina o f glass brick running across the entire stage. The wall, too, is supposed to represent something mysterious and deep about hum an nature, but is not particularly successful. However, as a set piece, it is probably the most arresting element o f the entire ballet, and provides an interesting backdrop to the action.

T he second act also contains the coming-together ofTam ino and Pamina, who have spent most o f the first hour searching for one another. Their lovely pas-de-deux is made more interesting by a win­ ning creative stroke on Godden’s part: involving the use o f a long white feather in their dance. T he effective use o f snow as a prop in the second act also makes it stand out creatively, and the choreography, perhaps because it is not so self-conscious about its modern influ­ ences, more successfully conveys its messages o f compassion, forgive­ ness, and love.

Despite the flaws in its production, The Magic Flute does not entirely throw off the charm and appeal o f the opera that is its inspi­ ration and musical backdrop. Characters such as Papageno and his long-lost love, Papagena, and the Q ueen o f the N ight’s handmaidens, or “Glamazons,” provide amusement and occasional flashes o f chore­ ographic inspiration. Mozart’s music is beautiful, and it compensates when the choreography falls short and it compliments it impeccably when it rises to the occasion. And, despite its convoluted plotline, The Magic Flute has at its core the story o f two people trying to find them ­ selves and each other, a universally compelling tale that, w ith its happy ending, is bound to make audiences smile. ■

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LIM ITED NUM BER O F P A SSE S AVAILABLE AT TRIBU N E EDITORIAL O F F IC E ROOM 110 SHATNER In theatres Decem ber 26th, 2003. Subject to classification.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

A&E

19

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A romantic comedy,

Won't you dance some more?

Le Tigre rocks femininity for Montreal crowd

Shakespeare style Grace Zee

Liz Treutler

n

■his is your last chance to dance, guys!” shouted Kathleen H anna, one-third of Le Tigre, to the dense crowd in front of her. “Let’s see it!” T he band broke into “Deceptacon” from its self-titled 1999 debut, and the crowd did its best to please. It was last Tuesday, and Club Soda was packed. It was hot and fans had been dancing to Le Tigres infectious energy since the begin­ ning o f the show. There was no stopping this party.

T he vibrant ladies o f Le Tigre call them ­ selves “the band with the roller-skate jams.”

Taking a touring break in the midst o f record­ ing its fourth release, the group lived up to its assertion, despite the lack o f roller-skating room anywhere in the crowded hall.

Along w ith Montreal-based guests les Georges Leningrad and Lesbians on Ecstasy, Le Tigre threw its brand o f feminist electro­ punk into welcoming arms. W ere talking utterly danceable music w ith a message, and brightly-coloured video screens to top it off.

T he night began shortly after nine as Les Georges Leningrad warmed up the already near-capacity crowd with its unique brand of m ultilingual dance-rock. Soon after, the GRACIA JALEA Lesbians on Ecstasy picked up on the m om en­ tum with its electronic covers o f iconic lesbian Girly rants have crazy appeal, songs. W hen else has k.d. lang’s “C onstant Craving” prom pted such a flurry o f rhythmic bodies? By the tim e JD Samson o f Le Tigre joined the Lesbians for their last song— a spirited interpretation o f the Indigo Girls’ “Prince o f Darkness”— the crowd was in full energetic swing.

A nd then Le Tigre appeared, w ith its arsenal o f instruments, megaphones and other paraphernalia. H anna, Samson and Johanna Fateman ran onstage, setting the energy bar high with a cover o f the Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited.” And that bar never dropped.

They crammed in as many songs as they could, creating an even mix that the whole crowd sang along to, including T he T he Em pty and FYR. ■ As a sneak peek to its forthcoming album, the band previewed several new songs, including the standout “Vis.” Samson introduced the track as one in support o f butch lesbian visibility: “We call it ‘finally free’!”

E LLO H O L L Y lV o o D !

T hat’s exacdy the liberating effect Le Tigre has on its fans. They can dance their butts off and shake Acting courses / all levels! their heads, screaming the lyrics wholeheartedly Screenwriting course along with everyone else around them.

FINISH that first drâft!

As the group closed the encore w ith “Keep O n Professional teachers.

Livin’,” they reminded the packed house, “This is Reasonable rates. Students your time, this is your life.” A Le Tigre concert cer­ welcome. Call now. tainly adds some fun to it. ■

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erhaps th e idea o f seeing a Shakespeare play that is light in its provocation o f thought w ould never cross your m ind. A M idsummer Night’s Dream, how­ ever, shows the more frivolous side o f the great dramatist.

A Midsummer N ight’s Dream kicks off the 2003-04 season o f the Professional T heatre Program o f Dawson College. T he actors at Dawson are n o t afraid to play up the com edy and introduce some m odern twists to the classic story. For example, the actress w ho plays H elena takes to heart Shakespeare’s reference to the ancient Greek character— the m ost beautiful w om an o f Troy— as an opportunity to parade across the stage in stilettos.

T h e play is more about ideas, though, than character developm ent. It is more am using for the theatre-goer than it is dem anding, using the irrationalities o f love for comic effect.

T h e them e o f love is essential to the relationships between H erm ia and H elena on one hand, and D em etrius and Lysander on the other. Egeus, H erm ia’s father, wants her to m arry D em etrius b u t H erm ia has fall­ en in love w ith Lysander. T he couple flees to the woods to elope, despite the Athenian law th at a daughter .must m arry the m an o f her father’s choice. Given the off-key war­ bling o f the fairies in this scene, the audi­

ence m ight mistake the forest for am ateur night at a karaoke bar. W hen D em etrius and H elena follow H erm ia and Lysander to the fairyland, trouble ensues.

In the forest, O beron, the king of Fairyland, sends Puck to find a magic flower whose love juice has the same effect as C upid’s arrows. T h e flower s juice is applied to a sleeping person. W h en awakened, this person will fall in love w ith whomever he or she sees first.

O beron tells Puck to apply the juice to D em etrius’ eyes so th at w hen he awakens he will be infatuated w ith Helena. Puck, how­ ever, accidentally mistakes Lysander for D em etrius and w hen Lysander wakes up, he immediately falls in love w ith Helena. Both actors are skilled in com m unicating the ironies, cleverness and com edy o f this situa­ tion to the audience.

D irected by V ictor K night, A M idsummer N ight’s Dream is an easy going show. T h e com edy is especially well inter­ preted and carried o ut by Dawson College’s skilled group o f actors. ■

W H A T : A M idsummer N ight’s Dream W HERE* D orne T heatre (3990 Notre D am e W.) W H E N : November 27 to 29 (8 pm) Closing: November 30 (2 pm) M O R E IN F O : (514) 931-5000

CASCO gets jiggy with it

NEW ACTORS STUDIO INC. ------- 4 8 3 - 4 5 5 5 --------

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CKUT volunteers and members are requested to be present. All McGill students are welcome

those in th e crow d smiling a little wider.

After the intermission, the M cGill Dance Pak, dressed in w hite beaters and pleated skirts, raised the bar for the rest o f the evening w ith its action-packed moves. Fortunately, nearly all the scenes that fol­ lowed rose to the challenge. An 80s medley w ith clothing by FLY was possibly the best-dressed group next to the 90s Joints and Jam crew in D C Sample C ontinued from cover

Wednesday, November 26th, 2003 @ 6pm Thom pson House 3650 McTavish St. Inform ation: Zev T iefenbach 514.398.5104 o r accountinB @ ckut.ca

Sales attire.

In tru th , this writer did n ot encounter anyone leaving CA SCO that felt their money could have been better spent elsewhere. D oor prizes were hand­ ed o u t and cheap goodies could be purchased th ro u g h o u t the show— $3 for 10 packages o f Mentos! I hate to rely on a term th at experienced its share o f overkill last night thanks to the M C , b ut CA SCO this year was truly fantastic. ■

G A M E

R E P O R T

M a rtle ts 3 , G e e -G e e s 2

McGill scrapes by high-powered rival Martlets offence dominates third period in win over Ottawa S C O R E

Caitlin M. Buckley

BOARD

Basketball (W)

Fri. Nov. 21 Laval Martlets

59 47

Basketball (M)

Fri. Nov 21 Laval Redmen

98 76

Hockey (W)

Fri. Nov 21 St. Lawrence College Martlets Sun. Nov 25 Martlets Ottawa

5 0 3 2

Hockey (M)

Fri. Nov 21 Redmen Brock Sat. Nov 22 Laurier Redmen

3 3

W ith the C hinese national team com ing to tow n this week, the w om en’s hockey team needed some solid preparation. A n d a hardfought game they got from the w om en o f the nation’s capital.

In the M artlets’ second game this season against the O ttaw a GeeGees, M cGill came o ut on top by a close score o f 3-2.

T he opening m inutes o f the game were uneventful, w ith both o f the young teams adjusting to the ice and the opposing squad. Play didn’t stop until almost five m inutes into th e first period w hen O ttaw a’s Jessica Cosgrove scored the first goal o f the match.

M cGill was unable to answer back before the end o f the first.

H ead Coach Peter Sm ith attributed this to a particular game mentality.

“T he team likes to score first,”

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NICOLE LEAVER

Goalie Delphine Roy and the Martlets defence kept the high-scoring Gee-Gees at bay. he said. “It gives us a bit o f a jum p.

But after [Ottaw a scored], the girls were scared.”

T his frame o f m ind didn’t last past the first intermission, however, when the M artlets jum ped back

5 4

Swimming (W)

Sat. Nov 22 Martlets Laval Montréal

399 pts.

249 188

Swimming (M)

Sat. Nov 22 Redmen Laval Montréal

/■"' Z:

291 pts.

201 197

Volleyball (W)

Vert & Or Invitational W 3-1 vs. Waterloo L 3-1 vs. L'Envolley L 3-2 vs. Queen's L 3-2 vs. Windsor Volleyball (M)

Interlock games L 3-0 vs. Dalhousie L 3-1 vs. Moncton L 3-2 vs. Memorial L 3-1 vs. UNB NICOLE LEAVER

Defenceman Natalie Smith looks up ice to make the breakout — ««

into the game. T heir shots on goal W hile Sm ith felt th at his team increased from a mere five in the did n o t give 100 per cent for the first period to 13 in the second, full 60 minutes, he did acknowl­ m uch more than O ttaw a’s five shots edge the girls’ im provem ent in the on fourth-year M cGill goaltender second perio d along w ith their D elphine Roy. offensive control in the final frame.

M cG ill’s attem pts were n ot “In the third period we con­ wasted, as halfway through the peri­ trolled the play. W e outshot O ttaw a od, K atherine Safka p u t one past [16-8], and we had more scoring O ttaw a’s M eghan Takeda, leaving a opportunities,” he said. tie on the scoreboard at the end o f Considering the O ttaw a play­ two. ers’ dom ination o f the QSSF scor­ It was in the third period that ing rankings— they hold seven o f both teams picked up the pace. Just the top 10 spots— this accomplish­ two m inutes into play, rookie centre m ent is notable. Lisa Sgoifo o f the Christine H artnoll shifted the score G ee-G ees currently leads the to 2-1 for the M artlets w ith a goal league, and for fu tu re M cG illassisted by V éronique Sanfaçon and O ttaw a m atchups she seems ready Julia Carlton. and interested to see which team H artn o ll, w ho is currently will come o ut on top o f the com ­ ranked n in th in the Q uebec petitive Q uebec conference.

Student Sports Federation scoring “Today O ttaw a had the effort race, believes it was her team’s posi­ b ut we didn’t come together. Every tive attitude th at gave her the abili­ game counts mentally, and both ty to pull ahead in the game. teams will come a lot harder next “I just kept m y feet moving tim e,” she predicted. and drove the net, and I talked a lot According to Sm ith, the team w ith my wingers,” she explained. “I will m aintain its m om entum while stayed positive even though we were the w om en w ait for a rematch. dow n.”

“W e will continue to w ork N o t m ore than three m inutes hard on all facets,” he said. “W hen later, M cGill solidified its lead w ith we meet [Ottawa] again, we’ll be w hat w ould tu rn out to be the balanced like the teams are now.” gam e-w inning goal.

W inger For th a t to happen, the V éronique Lapierre scored M cG ill’s M artlets need to capitalize on their third and final goal on a pass from opportunities in order to m aintain Audrey H add. the level o f competitiveness seen on Melissa G unsolus responded Sunday. ■ nine m inutes later w ith another O ttaw a goal b ut the Gee-Gees were unable to pu sh past M cG ill’s defence for the rest o f the game.

The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Sports

21

A little bit of China comes to Montreal Women's national team to take on Martlets Some international flavour will be added to the M cGill M artlets’ Novem ber 26 exhibi­ tion game at M cConnell Arena. Rather than playing a non-conference or American oppo­ nent, the Red h W hite will host C hinas w omen’s national hockey team.

C urrently ranked seventh in the world by the International Ice H ockey Federation, Team C hina will be visiting M ontreal on the final leg o f a 19-game, m onth-long N o rth American tour, u n d ertak en in preparation for next spring’s W orld C ham pionships in Halifax.

C hin a should provide M cGill w ith an intrigu­ ing matchup.

“W e’ve been told that they com pare to a strong university team , so we’re obviously expecting a com petitive game, and we’ll just have to be ready for it,” said M artlets H ead Coach Peter Smith.

“T h ey ’ve already tie d a few other Canadian teams, so clearly they’re about equal to our calibre o f play,” he added, referring to games C hina has already played in Vancouver, T oronto and O ttawa.

W hile M cGill will enjoy hom e ice advan­ tage against the road-weary Chinese— w ho are accustomed to playing on the larger interna­ tional ice surface— C hina m aintains the edge in experience. T hirteen players on China’s cur­ rent roster represented their country at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, where they finished in seventh place. A num ber o f team members were also part o f the squad that fin­ ished fourth at the N agano Olympics in 1998, a tim e w hen m any o f the M artlets were play­

ing for their local or high school teams.

Nonetheless, Sm ith is confident that his team will be up for the challenge.

“We’ve played international teams before, [including] France, w hich we visited last Christm as,” he said. “A nd we’ve already played against four American schools this year, so we’ve definitely had a variety o f com petition.”

M artlets centre Audrey H add is also look­ ing forward to the opportunity.

“It should be a good game, and it’s always exciting to play international teams,” the cap­ tain said. “T hey may have a bit o f a different style, they may be a b it faster or stronger, b u t we’re excited to play them . It’s always good to see how you com pare to international team s.”

M en's hockey struggles to find consistency After a solid two games at hom e last w eekend, beating Toronto and Ryerson, the Redmen only managed to grab one point out o f a possible four on their O ntario road trip this weekend.

McGill skated to a 3-3 tie versus Brock on Friday, getting goals from Daniel Jacob, Jocelyn Perrault and PierreA n to in e Paquette. Saturday against Laurier the Redmen gave up a 2-0 lead and came away with a 5-4 loss. Five dif­ ferent skaters each got a marker and Paquette got his 2nd goal o f the trip.

M cG ills record now stands at 3-6-1 and the Redm en sit in last place in O ntario’s Far East division.

McGill splashes to victory at Coupe event Both the men’s and w om en’s swim teams had an excellent weekend in the pool at Quebec C oupe 4 in Sherbrooke, culm inating in a first place result overall. C om peting against Laval, Université de M ontréal, U Q À M , and Sherbrooke, McGill finished on top o f the podium in nearly half o f the events at the com petitive meet. H eather Bell filled her afternoon w ith three golds while also clocking in at 1:11.96 in the 100 m breast­ stroke, the top tim e in the CIS this season.

Geneviève Grégoire, Carolyn M cCabe and Jessica McLellan were also m ultiple w inners for the w omen’s side.

Benoit Dalpé, U 3 Mechanical Engineering from St-H ubert, had previously never w on a swim event, b u t managed to earn a w hopping five gold medals in Sherbrooke; three in individual races featuring his tradem ark breaststroke, and the oth­ ers in relays. Ryan Tomicic was also a m ultiple w inner for the Redm en, sw im m ing the anchor leg on the team’s relays.

Fueled by their standout performances, the 19-year-old Bell and 21-year-old D alpé were also nam ed the McGill University-Peel Pub Athletes of the Week.

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B-ball team s unlucky in Laval T h e men’s and w om en’s basketball teams came hom e from Ste-Foy, each reeling from tough losses to the Rouge et Or. O n the men’s side, D enburk Reid scored a career high 35 points in a los­ ing cause and his backcourt mate Derek A rm strong was the game’s top rebound­ er with six as the Redmen w ent down 98-76. Reid also had four rebounds, six assists an d two steals. McGill is now 23 in league play.

T h e M artlets were p a n o f a tighter match, even leading at halftime against their conference- rival. However, they weren’t able to m aintain that lead as M cGill suffered a 59-47 loss and fal­

Sm ith added that the key to exhibition games— such as the contest against C hina— is preparation.

“We’ve been playing lots o f teams from outside our conference, an d the im portant thing is th at we prepare the same for every game, w hether it is a regular season game or an exhibition.”

T h e C hinese team u nderstands th e im portance o f being prepared as well. T he trip to Canada has allowed Team C hina to get a small taste o f the kind o f opposition they m ig h t see full at the nine-team W orld Cham pionships, where they will be in the same pool as th e defending-cham pion Canadians. It is also the first stop in a series o f international visits.

D espite a lim ited budget, the w om en will return to the Far East to take on Japan in a three-game series following the game against McGill. T h en they are o ff to Russia and Finland for more exhibition games, before returning to Canada for the Cham pionships at the end o f March.

T h e game will begin w ith a ceremonial opening faceoff, and a traditional internation­ al hockey gift exchange. Following the event, a post-game reception will take place. ”I’m n o t sure in w hat language th a t will take place,” Sm ith joked. “W e may need to develop some sign language or quickly learn another language!”

T h e game is scheduled to start at 7 pm.

Tickets will go on sale at M cConnell Arena 90 m inutes before game tim e and are available to students for $3. ■

tered to 2-3 in Q U B L play. Anne-M arie Scherrer and Alisen Salusbury provided most o f the scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

No super spike v-ball from McGill's squads T h e M artlets volleyball team picked up only one win at the Vert et Or Invitational to u rn am en t in Sherbrooke, beating W aterloo 3-1 on Friday. Anne Robitaiile was the team’s leader over the weekend as she garnered 58 digs and 30 kills. T h e team lost very close games to L’Envolley, a private club team , Q u een ’s and W indsor. M any games featured victories by b oth teams that had to go past the 25 points usual­ ly needed to win.

T h e Redmen came away em ptyhanded losing all four o f their matches in in terlocking co m p etitio n in Sherbrooke. After being shut o ut by Dalhousie 3-0, McGill w ent down to M oncton 3-1, M emorial 3-2, and U N B 3-1. Andrew Royes was the team’s most consistent player as he picked up 43 kills, 37 digs, six stuff blocks and three aces.

Red 'n ' W hite football players flying Canada's colours Kicker Anand Pillai and defensive back G uillaum e Roy earned first team All-Canadian honours on Thursday as the CIS season finished off with Laval’s

14-7 victory over St. Mary’s in the Vanier C up. Pillai, a native o f Stoney Creek, O ntario, received All-Canadian status last year, landing on the second team. H e finished as the nation’s leader in field goal accuracy, connecting on 14 o f 18 attem pts (77.8 per cent), while setting many Q IF C and McGill records in the process.

Roy, an environm ental science stu­ dent w ho started midw ay through his sophom ore year, becam e an im pact player in his third season. Hailing from St-Augustin, the all-conference halfback was sixth in the country w ith 60 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss. He also had four knockdowns, three interceptions, an d was credited w ith two fum ble recoveries. Always the first man downfield on special teams, he won three o f the team’s player-of-the-week awards.

C heerleaders vault to best ever finish T he 23-m em ber M cGill cheerlead­ ing team finished in 11 th position at the N ational University Cheerleading cham pionships, held Saturday in Mississauga, O ntario. T h e result was their highest placing ever. Led by tri­ captains N icole K raum anis, Rae C onrejo and S hinpe Saito, M cGill w ound up w ith a com bined score o f 712 points. Western, a perennial power­ house, finished first o f 18 teams with 925 points.

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The M cG ill Tribune, Tuesday, November 25, 2003

■ Adam Klevinas

aniel Chodos

beats reality

unsung heroes T

o f am ateur sport.

W hen 18-year-old high school basketball star LeBron James signed his m ulti-m illion-dollar contract w ith Nike, my stomach began to turn. H e’s only 18 and already makes more m oney than any am ateur athlete in the world.

W hen James signed on w ith the footwear giant, the deal was reportedly w orth $90-m illion US for seven years. Sadly, this deal, along w ith a deal from U pper D eck for another million dollars, was signed before James was even draft­ ed by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James is now a house­ hold nam e throughout the U nited States and Canada. There is no doubt that James is a talented bas­ ketball player, but does it really seem fair to be paying him millions o f dollars a year w hen there are am ateur athletes who are arguably just as talented?

A problem with professional sports is that they are dom inated

by N orth Americans. This means the talent pool for N H L , NBA, N FL and MLB teams comes m ain­ ly from this continent. O f course there are exceptions; baseball teams sometimes seek out players from Latin America, the N H L drafts m any Europeans, and even the NBA has picked a few from outside N orth America. However, despite w hat the players who sign major contracts and are p u t up onto a pedestal may think, they are only am ong the best on the continent, not in the world.

T his year, my best finish in kayaking was eighth at the C anadian n ational team trials.

Later in the season, I won two gold, one silver and a bronze medal at th e n ational cham pionships.

Unfortunately, since I am a kayak­ er and n ot a hockey player, I get nothing in terms o f endorsements, sponsorships or national recogni­ tion.

But w hat if I had been ranked this high in hockey? Surely I w ould have a multi-m illion-dollar con­ tract w ith some N H L team, and perhaps other spoils. T his is not to say th at I w ant to earn millions o f dollars from kayaking. I kayak because I love the sport. But, when I have to scrape by financially, it really makes me w onder how fairly am ateur athletes are treated in N o rth America.

It seems as though profession­ al sports provide another situation where the rich get richer, and the

poor get poorer. T his contrast can be easily applied to the differences between am ateur and professional athletics. Whereas m ost pro hock­ ey, basketball, football or baseball players have virtually all o f their expenses paid for, we am ateurs have to pay for the hotels, meals and travel costs from the measly am ount o f money we receive in our stipends.

But w hat about sponsorships?

For a kayaker, it couldn’t be more difficult. T he problem is that there aren’t any companies that market our sport. Com panies th in k we have no connections w ith their markets, but they couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, since we run, swim, N ordic ski, lift weights, consume products like Gatorade, Powerbars and many other nutritional supple­ m ents— legal ones o f course— we have incredible marketability.

In Europe and other parts o f the world, am ateur athletes are the equivalent to a N orth American professional athlete. W hen I raced at the w orld cham pionships in Brazil in 2001, there were crowds the size one m ight find at a Canadiens game. Moreover, the w orld kayaking cham pionships were shown on television and w rit­ ten about in m ajor South American newspapers.

In Canada and the US, this is hardly ever the case. W hen am ateur sports are shown on television, they are usually found on C B C and given m inim al coverage that is usu­ ally on tape-delay. For example, the W orld C anoe/K ayak C ham pionships are a four-day com petition, but the CB C m an­ ages to cram it into two hours o f television. N o w onder companies think we have no marketability; our four m inute races are televised for 15 seconds. T he same goes fot I triathlons, m arathons, swimming com petitions, and other largely Olympic-based sports.

A m ateur athletes go unrecog­ nized in N orth America because they aren’t given a chance. Those th a t are classified as “spectator sports,” nam ely the four major leagues, have their couch-potato, beer-drinking, arm chair quarter­ backs, but rarely do these people ever sit dow n and w atch a m arathon, a swim m eet or gymnas­ tics event and appreciate the many hours o f dedication these athletes put into their sport.

N o rth Americans are too nar­ row -m inded w hen it com es to sports. T hey are alm ost em bar­ rassed to acknowledge the athletes wearing the funny-looking spandex suit running around a track. If sports fans were true fanatics, they w ould give every sport a chance and realize th at there is a world o f athletes out there dying to be rec­ ognized. ■

23

Where fantasy

The

here is a big problem w ith the sporting world in N orth America. Professional ath ­ letes are treated like gods, paid enorm ous salaries and receive huge endorsem ent contracts. W hat makes these athletes so special?

T heir athletic skill is no greater than any other athlete in the world

Sports

antasy is in full swing, and no, I don’t mean Jenna Jameson is about to show up at your dorm room door. I’m referring to fantasy sports leagues, which allow junkies like me to religiously track the statistics of real-life players. We select our players in a draft, and compete against other members o f a league to see whose team ends up with the best numbers at the end o f the season. I currently have teams in football, hockey and

F

IMDB.COM

Not that kind of fantasy, guys. basketball pools, b u t leagues are available in a surprisingly wide vari­ ety o f sports, including golf and curl­ ing.

Some condem n fantasy sporting leagues for allegedly fracturing sports ‘fandom s.’ T heir logic states that sports nuts abandon their favourite teams, and follow the players in whom they have a stake in their fan­ tasy leagues. I prefer to argue, howev­ er, that fantasy sports are an excellent com plem ent to real team fanaticism.

Consider this year’s N FL season.

As a 12-year devotee o f the 3-8 O akland Raiders, fantasy football is a godsend— it provides entertainm ent when your team doesn’t. People from the Detroit, Cincinnati, San Diego and W ashington areas have found themselves in the same boat for the past few years, with fantasy football offering a way to cheer on their favourite players.

M eanwhile, Los Angeles, the second biggest sports market in the U nited States, hasn’t had an N FL team since 1996. And w hat about NFL fans in Canada and the rest of the world who do not have home teams to root for? W hat are they to do?

Fantasy is a fantastic solution to this quandary. Last weekend when I was hom e in Ottawa, the local sports

So take that, all you fantasystation only showed a Seattle bashers.

These leagues provide more Seahaw ks-D etroit Lions game. I couldn’t have cared less about this excitement during the week than all game but, fortunately, I had Seattle’s running back and D etroit’s tight end on my fantasy team. Suddenly a drea­ ry Sunday afternoon becomes a fan­ tasy war-zone between friends, or should I say, enemies.

I’ll adm it I do get made fun o f a lot. Last Monday, I found myself rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ kicker to miss all his field goals on M onday night, so the team I was fac­ ing that week would not outscore me.

O n occasion, I’ve even watched four hours o f meaningless football, just to make sure some rookie quarterback doesn’t pull six touchdowns out o f his ass.

Nonetheless, I still love fantasy the reality shows p u t together. sports. O ne reason is that, at least for Instead o f criticizing, p ut together a m ost sports-enthusiasts, being a league with a buncb o f your friends team’s general manager is a far cry next season, and you, too, can have from reality. How many times have an excuse to crowd around the tube and check out an Arizona Cardinalsyou heard about a trade, and declared, “W hat the hell were they Chicago Bears game.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep rooting for thinking?” Well, fantasy allows you to the Raiders, and maybe they’ll even do something about it. Some o f the more formal leagues even extend over make the playoffs this year. Now that’s a fantasy! ■ several years, allowing fantasy owners to literally invest in a player early in his career, and hope to cash in when W EEK he starts to develop.

Further, M LB.com recently unveiled their plan to create a Basketball (W) “SimLeague,” that allows owners to Friday, November 28, 6:00 manage a full roster o f stars from vs. Bishop's 1885 to 2003. W hile most leagues Love Competition Hall aren’t this esoteric, they all present a new, exciting way to track your Basketball (M) favourite stars— dead or alive, as the Friday, November 28, 8:00 case may be. vs. Bishop's Fantasy leagues are becoming Love Competition Hall more and more popular every year, in every sport. Some T V networks have Hockey (W) even introduced a fantasy ticker that Wednesday, November 26, 7:00 pops up at the bottom o f the screen vs. Team China during game telecasts, letting viewers McConnell Arena know how certain fantasy stars are performing.

How many times have you heard about a trade, and declared, ‘What the hell were they thinking?’ Well, fantasy allows you to do something about it.

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