The McGill Tribune Vol. 23 Issue 4

T

UNE

M c G IL L H

E

T u e s d a y , S e p te m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 0 3

P u b lis h e d b y t h e S tu d e n ts ' S o c ie ty o f M c G ill U n iv e r s it y s in c e 1981

Library lawbreaker stalks the stacks Graphic graffiti in new books cause concern for librarians lauren Consky M c G ill librarians have d is­ covered nearly 6 0 n e w b ook s that have b een recen tly vandalized.

W h ile stu d en ts o ften w rite in b o o k s, u n d e r lin in g sig n ific a n t passages an d scrib b lin g n otes in th e m argin, th e librarians are c o n ­ c e r n e d b e c a u se th is graffiti is directed tow ards sp ecific e th n ic an d gender groups an d con tain s e x p lic it m iso g y n istic a n d racial slurs. T h e to p ics in clu d e actress Julia Stiles, C h in ese p e o p le and graphic descrip tion s o f rape and sexual assault.

L ibrary a d m in istr a to r s

are

w orried th a t th is person w ill act o n th e w ritin gs.

“T h is is a sick in d ivid u al,”

said th e librarian w h o deals direct­ ly w ith th e fo u n d book s.

T h e b o o k s have b e e n tu rn in g up d u rin g rou tin e in ven tory that began in July. A p p roxim ately six a d ay w ere discovered in itially and n e w b ook s c o n tin u e to be fou n d .

T h e se in cid en ts are sim ilar in that th e b ook s are n e w an d th ey are all located in a low -traffic area o f the scien ce library.

T h e c o m m e n ts h ave b e e n covered w ith correction flu id by th e librarians an d p u t back in to circu lation , b u t n o t all th e b ook s w ere fo u n d in tim e to be rem oved from th e shelves. O n e M cG ill pro­ fessor w as so appalled at w h at was w r itte n in o n e b o o k th a t h e sh o w ed o th er sta ff d u rin g a facul­

NICOLE LEAVER The Redm en football team w o n its first ga m e of th e year on Saturday, d efeatin g th e Acadia A xem en 27-6.

R edm en a x e Acadia

ty m eetin g, A ccord in g to shelver M att C ro m ie, th e b o o k s lo o k like th ey’v e been left deliberately.

W h e n th e shelver go es to p u t back a b o o k th a t is o u t o f place, h e finds an oth er defaced b o o k in its sp o t, c o n tin u in g in a trail.

“W h e n I g o to turn o n th e ligh ts in th e m o r n in g o f the b asem en t s u c k s , I’m scared,” said C a id in Taal, w h o w orks in th e library.

L ibrary a d m in istr a to r Bruna C e cc o lin i assured stu­ d en ts th at three guards w alk around M cL enn an at nigh t.

Librarians urge stu d en ts

to d a y w as ju st a glim p se o f w h at w e

Andrew Segal

can d o .”

In th e first half, how ever, it lo o k e d u n lik ely th at th e R ed m en w o u ld snap o u t o f th e offen sive fu n k that has plagued th e team in its p rev io u s tw o c o n te sts.

Q uarterback P h ilip p e C a n tin w as u n p r o d u c tiv e in h is first career start, c o m p letin g ju st 6 o f 16 passes

A fter am assing o n ly 6 7 rushing yards in their previous tw o ou tin gs c o m b in e d , th e M c G ill R e d m e n o ffen ce literally h it th e grou n d run­ n in g o n Saturday.

F resh m an ta ilb a ck M ic h a e l S am m an ran for 1 3 6 yards an d tw o to u c h d o w n s, h e lp in g th e R ed m en defeat th e A cadia A x em en 2 7 -6 in fr o n t o f 1 ,6 1 2 fan s at Percival M o lso n Stad iu m . T h e w in en d ed M c G ill’s tw o-gam e lo sin g streak.

S lo tb a c k R ob L eB lan c expressed relief that th e R ed m en w ere fin ally able to em erge victori­ ous.

to be aware o f their surround­ ings, especially w h en stu d yin g in isolated areas su ch as q u iet b a s e m e n t stack s, d e a d -e n d floors an d c o m ers or areas w ith

“It fe els righ t.

A g a in st [U n iv e r sité d e M on tréal] every­ th in g w as o u t o f syn c, an d it just felt rid iculous. It feels right to w in ,” said LeB lanc. “W e’re a better team

ligh ts o n tim ers. ■

th an w h at w e sh o w ed so far, and

for 8 7 yards as th e R ed ‘n’ W h ite earned just four first dow ns.

D e sp ite th e offen ce’s failings, th e defen ce w as there to c o m p e n ­ sate. L inebacker M ik e M a h o n e y step p ed up w ith n in e tackles and tw o sacks, h e lp in g to provide the R ed m en w ith excellen t field p o si­ tio n th r o u g h o u t th e h alf. T h is resulted in an A n a n d P illai field g o a l, a safety c o n c e d e d b y th e A c a d ia p u n ter, an d tw o P illai ro u g es th a t a c c o u n te d fo r th e R ed m en ’s scoring. T h e sole blem ish

o n the d efen ce’s record w as a 4 0 yard field goal by Acadia’s M att Sharpe, m ak in g th e score 7 -3 for M cG ill at the half.

In the se c o n d half, how ever, th is year’s sq uad started to resem b le last season’s R ed m en , w h o finish ed se c o n d in the co u n try in offen ce.

LeB lanc said that th e team cam e o u t w ith m ore in ten sity after the break.

“W e ju st started playin g w ith a little attitu d e o n o ffen ce, w h ic h ’ w e ’d b een lack in g,” LeB lanc said.

“P eop le started execu tin g, an d w e w ere ab le to m o v e th e ball.

E veryth in g ju st started to click .”

O n e o f th e k ey players in the se c o n d h a lf o ffen siv e surge w as Sam m an , w h o w as m ak in g his first career start. T h e 5 ’1 1 ”, 1 9 8 -p o u n d rookie said he had jitters before his S e e SAM M AN, p a g e 18

W W W .T E X T M E .C A D

o n

’t

L

o o k

fo r

g r ea t

d e a l s

a n y m o r e

, L

e t

th em

c o m e

to

y o u

! G ET TEXT.

2 News

US

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

NEWS

High faculty turnover nearing

Kasirer appointed law dean, budget questions plague faculty Christopher Moore

tain percentage o f their salary over the next five years after th ey gradu­

O n Sep tem b er 8, N ic h o la s Kasirer w as dean o f the Faculty o f five-year term b egin n in g 1.

Professor a p p o in ted Law for a N ovem b er

ate,” Z am prelli said. “O n e o f the b ig g est q u estio n s, ob v io u sly , is [whether] this contract [would] be bin d in g, bu t probably n o t . .. T h e idea is to institution alize con trib u ­ tion s from graduates in such a m anner that they can still remain perhaps interested o r active in the faculty on ce they’re g o n e .”

Kasirer replaces interim dean W ilïïam F. Foster, w h o assum ed the p o s itio n Jun e ' 1 after Peter Leuprecht tendered his resignation last February. Leuprecht resigned from the p osition am id discussions o f p otential privatization, w h ich he stau nchly opp osed.

F acin g fu n d in g ch a llen g es, Kasirer is m ore interested in the provincial govern m en t, n o t privati­ zation, as a source o f revenue.

“W ere hap py that Professor Kasirer is an internal candid ate,”

COURTESY DAVID BRODKEY

said Pascal Zam prelli, president o f the Law Students’ A ssociation. “In a tim e w h en the faculty is in a bit o f a fu n d in g crisis, w e need som eon e like that w h o understands the fac­ ulty a n d ... w h o understands transsystem ic.”

“It’s a b o u t five years o ld ,” Zam prelli said. “It’s tim e to take a g o o d lo o k at the system .”

A n oth er prospective solu tion is a “social contract.”

T h e Faculty o f Law is transsystem ic because it provides educa-

“P eop le w o u ld agree w h en they com e to M cG ill to repay a cer­

tio n in b oth civil and co m m o n law.

m a y

o f

a ffe c t

n u m e r o u s c o u r s e

Farah Qasemi T h e rapidly approaching retire­ m en t o f m a n y M cG ill professors m ay exacerbate large class sizes and ind uce caps o n course enrolm ent. ‘[W ith in the last 3 0 years] a w ave o f professors was hired, and n o w w ith m ost o f them approaching the age o f retirem ent, the university faces a rapid turnover o f professors w h ich w ill lik ely occur in the n ejr

tic.

future,” said Students’ Society acting president and V P U niversity Affairs V ivian C hoy.

“I just h o p e that the dean is g o in g to accept the fact that every

B oth older and younger profes­ sors are heavily represented am on g

stu dent isn’t rich,” said M arie-Eve Phaneuf, a second-year law student.

“It’s a lo t better than privatization or huge tu ition fees. But I hop e they [realize] th a t... i f it’s n o t legal­ ly enforceable, a lot o f p eop le aren’t g o in g to pay.”

U niversity em ployees. A significant p rop ortion o f arts professors are aged 55 to 65 w h ile o n e quarter o f th em are 3 5 or younger, said John A. H all, dean o f the Faculty o f Arts, w h ic h is the largest faculty.

N o t everyone is as enthusias­

Kasirer faces challen ges as dean.

R e tir e m e n t

N evertheless, the LSA has faith in Kasirer’s abilities.

“H is reputation is im m aculate. ... From our perspective, I think [the Board o f Governors] m ade a very g o o d d e c is io n ,” Z am p relli said. “I th in k it’s g o in g to be a great w orking relationship.” ■

W h ile there is no m andatory retirem ent age at M cG ill, H all said m ost p eople retire at the age o f 65.

It is estim ated that in five years, on e third o f M cG ill professors w ill be ready to retire.

T h e im p en d in g retirem ent o f professors is already b egin n in g to be felt.

p r o fe s s o r s

s e le c tio n

pen d en t stu d y this year in b iology,” said on e U 3 b iology stu dent, “and I had a hard tim e fin d in g a professor because either they w ere overloaded w ith students or th ey w ere partially retired.”

A rts U n d ergrad u ate S o c iety V ic e-P re sid e n t A c a d e m ic D a n ie l F ried laen der sees th e d ic h o to m y betw een older and youn ger profes­ sors as a d ou b le-ed ged sword. T h e older professors have incom parable kn ow led ge and experience, he said, w h ile the new er generation o f lec­ turers possesses extraordinary energy that makes th em m ore approach­ able.

T w en ty -fiv e professors w ere hired in Arts last year and 2 7 in the F acu lty o f S cien ce, accord in g to D e a n A lan Shaver. H ow ever, m any professors are hired as exchange pro­ fessors and for shorter term s. T h is p o lic y en ab les ad m in istrators to evalu ate n e w ly h ired professors b efore m a k in g th e m p erm a n en t m em bers o f the faculty, Friedlaeder said, b u t it also results in som e o f the best professors leaving at the end o f their short-term contracts.

S u d d en

“I was trying to d o an ind e­

retirem en ts and the

See GOING, page 3

To be won*: 1 o f 3 G R A N D P R IZE S 1: a f r e e s t y le t r ip to E u ro p e fo r 2

or $ 5 , 0 0 0

in c a s h .

A n d , at E A C H 26, i m

P A R T ia P A T IN

S e e ail d e t a ils on our W eb s ite !

wffw.nieloclieinonnex.coni/inceill 1 888 589 5656 TfJB J M riW iJ B

j

CIIB i t a l i B T

ü lid

fM )

fa m iiC B

t o p i i i I: d d p B d

B’jped'dlly for

b:

J INTEREST-FREE, m o n th ly

Ait insurance program esdcrsed by

\%k

McGill Alumni Association

M e lo ch e M o n n ex Where insurance is a science ...and service, an art

p r e -a u tb o r ize d IN STALM ENTS. -1 C o v era g e INCLUDES y o u r PERSONAL COMPUTER. J A n d , of c o u r s e , ST U D E N T GROUP RATES!

No purchase necessary. Certain cendrêons and limitations may apply For the odds ol mmmg and to learn how to parpdpate, see the complete rules o f die High-Enem Euro Trip Contest at wwVB.melocliembnnex.com/mcgill >Tho three Grand Prizes wüi be drawn among the eligible entries received from the 12 participating umversides/colleges.

'Under an affinity agreement Meloche Monnex offers a home and auto insurance program to students of the 12 ureversities/colteges who are eligible m this contest.

The Meloche Monnex Home and Auto Insurance Program is underwritten bv Security National Insurance Company. ’

News 3

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Going, going, gone

B r ie f: MISN executives resign All five ex ecu tive officers o f th e M cG ill International Student N etw ork resigned yesterday, “W e refuse to m aintain our positions and profes­ sional responsibilities w hen w e, the executive m em ­ bers, are neither appreciated nor recognized by the S S M U V P C lubs and Services [M ia Gewertz] or the (Acting) President/U niversity Affairs [Vivian C hoyj as an integral part o f the M IS N ,” said their letter o f res­ ignation.

A S S M U press release cited “interpersonal c o n ­

“T here is no stipulation in the by-laws that accounts for w h en a V P needs to take a m edical leave o f absence,” she said. “W e are, therefore, presenting a m o tio n to add a stipulation to the by-laws proposing adding a councillor to the p osition as a tem porary replacem ent to fulfill the duties to the degree deter­ m in ed by the V P o n leave.”

H ersey w ent o n to say that she had contacted 90 per cen t o f th e councillors before her ann oun cem en t, bu t that she cou ld n ot speculate as to w h o m ight take over her portfolio.

— Katie Fugler

flicts” am on g the M IS N executives as the reason for their resignation.

“I find it sh ock in g that the M IS N executive has p in p oin ted S S M U vice-presidents as part o f the prob­ lem , given that the concern was w ith in their ow n exec­ utive,” C h by said.

M IS N helps international students adapt to life at M cG ill.

N e w elections will be held M onday in the M IS N lounge. T h e executives’ departure w ill be discussed fur­ ther in a public forum later this w eek or next week.

H ersey an n ou n ces lea v e o f a b sen ce Students’ Society V ice-President C o m m u n ity and G overnm ent Brianna H ersey is taking a m on th ofF for m edical reasons, starting N ovem ber 9 . T h e loss will be tem pered by the app ointm en t o f a councillor to the portfolio until H ersey returns.

H ersey requires surgery to treat a chronic illness.

“1 was originally taking the m edical leave in August, bur both m y doctors w ent on vacation, and so I have been trying to solidify a date since th en ,’ Hersey said. “I have know n that I was to take a leave for a w h ile now .”

H ersey ann oun ced her leave o f absence to the S S M U council on Thursday.

O ver-Z ell-ous a b ou t em ails A Septem ber 18 m ass em ail sent o u t by S S M U V P C o m m u n ica tio n s and Events K im berley Z ell revealed sections o f th e S S M U s «e-mail address list, com prisin g about 1 9 ,0 0 0 stu dent contacts, to its recip­ ients. Zell said the security breach was an accident.

“A lo t o f p eop le think I didn’t use the bcc [blank carbon copy] list, bu t I did. 1 d id a test w ith m y work e-m ail and it w orked,” she said. Zell also insisted that she used the correct program to send o u t the e-m ail.

“T here was a problem w hen it hit the M cG ill server,’’she said. H ow ever she said that she w as n ot sure w h y the problem occurred.

S tu d en ts w ith e-m ail addresses o n th e p o box.m cgill.ca server were able to see the em ail address­ es o f 3 0 to m ore than 9 0 other students w h ose last nam es were in alphabetical proxim ity to the recipients’

C o n tin u e d fro m p a g e 2 lo n g hiring process m ay also result in som e courses b ein g cancelled, causing “short-term gaps.” T h is is the case w ith o n e C h in ese history course that is n o t b ein g offered this year.

In the un lik ely case o f a course b e in g ca n celled , Shaver said, a replacem ent course m ay provide an op p ortu n ity for “e v o lu tio n .’

E n g in ee rin g U n d ergrad u ate S o c ie ty V ic e-P re sid e n t A c a d e m ic M eagan Palatino isn’t con cern ed by the rate o f retirem ent am o n g profes­ sors, at least in th e F acu lty o f E ngineering.

“T h e can cellation o f courses d u e to the retirem ent o f professors is n o t a problem that has been m e n ­ tion ed , at least in the recent past,” she said.

M iriam Zia, president o f the

C om p u ter Scien ce U ndergraduate Society, worries that the departure o f professors w ill affect the quality o f education.

“T h e sch ool has hired new pro­ fessors [increasing] specialization in grow ing areas o f research such as com p u tation al b iology,” she said. “ [But] for professors o n sabbatical leave, the professor’s graduate or P h .D . stu d e n t w ill teach the course.”

Scien ce U ndergraduate Society P resid en t Josh V o rsten b o sch has “u tm ost co n fid en ce in the Faculty o f Scien ce’s initiative to hire new pro­ fessors.”

F ried laen der con sid ers m ass retirem ent to be a chance to hire n ew faces and to achieve n e w expe­ riences.

“I see this as an opp ortu nity,” he said, “and 1 th in k w e sh ould def­ in itely take it.” ■

La FEUQbrushed off by Charest

ow n .

M cG ill N etw ork and C om m u n ication s Services D irector G ary Bernstein said, “From the o n e copy I’ve seen, it was not a listserv. At the m om en t, the only explanation I have is that w hoever sent the e-m ail put the nam es in the ‘to’ field.” H e said he w ou ld look in the server’s logs for a fitller explanation.

Jennifer Jett Provincial stu dent lobb y groups dissatisfied w ith the Q u eb ec Liberal g o v e rn m en t’s resp on se to their d em a n d s are p la n n in g variou s action s to bring atten tion to the cost o f post-secondary education.

In late A u gust la Fédération étudiante universitaire du Q u éb ec and la F édération étudiante collé­ giale du Q u éb ec delivered an u lti­ m atu m to Prem ier Jean Charest, threatning stu d en t action unless he co m m itted to legislation exten ding th e current tu itio n freeze b y

F R E E M e d S ch o o l _ A d m is s io n s S e m in a r At this free event, you’ll gain advice on how to successfully navigate the medical school admissions process and learn how to craft an application th at gets noticed!

Septem ber 15.

U niversity adm inistrators have said tu ition m ust increase to c o m ­ pensate for fu n d in g cuts and ensure quality education.

Charest’s response exhibited a “w ait-an d -see typ e o f m en tality,” S tu d e n ts’ S o c ie ty V ic e-P re sid e n t C o m m u n ity an d G o v er n m e n t Brianna H ersey said. H ersey added that Charest m ade n o m en tio n o f p u ttin g the tu itio n freeze in to law.

“T here’s a glaring om ission in his letter that w e felt to be quite dis­ m issive o f the u ltim atu m ,” H ersey said.

Thursday, 1 0 / 0 2 at 6 :0 McGill University

0

pm

S p a c e i s lim it e d . C a l l t o d a y t o r e s e r v e y o u r s e a t .

K A P L A N

Provincial lobbyists w ere told that any b ill con cern in g an extended tu itio n freeze w o u ld n o t be present­ ed until the fall o f 2 0 0 4 , said N ic k V ikander, a form er S S M U vice-pres­ ident c o m m u n ity and governm ent w h o is n o w a F E U Q spokesperson.

T h e cam paign w ill be co n d u ct­ ed o n several fronts to pressure the provincial govern m en t to fulfill its ca m p a ig n p rom ises to increase sp e n d in g o n p u b lic e d u c a tio n , exten d the tu itio n freeze, and regu­ late ancillary fees.

“H istorically, a Liberal govern­ m en t in Q u eb ec is n o t som eth in g to feel c o m fo r ta b le a b o u t,” H ersey said.

1 - 8 0 0 - K A P - T E S T

kaptest.com

D u rin g th e last Liberal m an­ date, from 1 9 8 9 to 1 9 9 4 , tu ition rose 2 5 0 per cen t, H ersey said.

La F E U Q , o f w h ic h the S tu d e n ts’ S o c ie ty is a fo u n d in g

m em ber, hop es to collect 5 0 ,0 0 0 signatures for a p etition that w ill be su b m itted to the N ation al A ssem bly later th is fall, V ik an d er said.

A dvertisem ents w ill also appear in and o n abou t o n e in three buses, H ersey said.

O ctob er 9 has been designated a “day o f action .” Possible d e m o n ­ stration sites in clu d e outsid e the offices o f Liberal deputies or outside C harest’s office o n M cG ill C ollege.

“W e expect it to be quite a big display,” V ikander said.

La F E U Q is also cultivating su p p o rt a m o n g labou r u n io n s, teachers’ organizations and you th groups.

In add ition , H ersey is headin g a m o b ilizin g com m ittee, or M o C o m , to educate M cG ill students about p o litic a l issues lik e th e tu itio n freeze.

A tu itio n freeze in the 1990s left Q u e b e c tu itio n u n ch a n g ed w h ile other provinces increased their rates. As a result, stu dent deb t is at least tw ice w h a t it u sed to be, V ikander said, and the participation gap betw een students from higer an d lo w e r -in c o m e fam ilies has w idened.

“T h ere’s a direct correlation betw een tu itio n and accessibility,” said Hersey, w h o add ed that an undergraduate stu dent accum ulates abou t $ 2 5 ,0 0 0 in debt over four years.

O verw h elm in g debt loads can affect students’ ch oice o f career, she said, lead in g th em to pursue higher­ paying corporate jobs over those in the n on -p rofit sector.

D esp ite th e rise in tu ition costs, V ikander said, university revenue in other provinces has stagnated or even decreased because o f govern­ m en t cuts in education fun ding. ■

•• cÈ CD

Check out TUITIONFREEZE.COM to learn more.

4 News

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

CamPusNEWS McGill cracks dow n on student copycats said, is th a t so m e stu d e n ts feel m a n d atory su b m issio n o f papers u n d erm in es trust betw een profes­ sors an d stu dents.

j U n iversity adm inistrators are ex p erim en tin g w ith n e w w ays to discourage plagiarism an d p ro m o te academ ic in tegrity a m o n g stu dents.

in g a m em b er o f th e C entre for A cad em ic Integrity, in stitu tin g an exam -security program and p rin t­ in g academ ic in tegrity statem en ts o n th e back o f exam book lets. A ll o f

Stu d en ts have rallied against th e policy, c la im in g it presum es th e m g u ilty b efore th e y ’v e even started their assign m en ts.

“It c o u ld leave a bad taste in

these w ere in te n d e d to raise aware­ ness o f th e issue.

stu d en ts’ m o u th s,” said A cad em ic R esearch C o m m is s io n e r H arsh a Rajam ani.

E nrica Q u a ro n i, associate dean stu d en t affairs for the F aculty o f A rts, has already seen cases o f pla­ giarism this year.

“E d u ca tin g a n y o n e w h o ’s at un iversity ab ou t academ ic integrity is th e resp on sib ility o f th e in stitu ­ tio n because academ ic in tegrity is fu n d a m e n ta l to th e p u rsu it o f k n o w led g e,” M en d e lso n said.

T h e reasons stu d en ts give for plagiarizing range from havin g too m u c h w ork and feelin g pressured to su cceed , to lack o f preparation or c o n fu sio n as to w h a t con stitu tes plagiarism .

R ajam an i, U 1 M a n a g e m en t, said there are a n u m b er o f reasons n o t to use T u rn itin .com , in clu d in g p ro tectio n o f intellectu al property rights.

“In m y jo b as disciplin ary o ffi­ cer o f the faculty, th e m ajority o f cases I see are plagiarism cases,” said Q u aron i.

“T u rn itin .co m has a p o lic y that o n c e a p ap er is s u b m itte d it b eco m es part o f its database,” he said. “So basically stu d en t papers are b e c o m in g its p r o p e r ty an d a d d in g to its b o tto m lin e .”

T h is year th e un iversity is c o m ­ b a tin g plagiarism in tw o v isib le

DAVIDJULIAN.COM A little bit from this book , a little bit from this dissertation.

“I th in k it w as ju st an attem p t to provide stu d en ts w ith as m u c h

evaluate the origin ality reports to d ecid e i f th e flagged m aterial is pla­ giarized.

in fo rm a tio n as p o ssib le,” Q u aron i said.

A fter M en d e lso n , w h o is also the chair o f th e acad em ic in tegrity

T h e se c o n d is a p ilo t project to gauge stu d en ts’ an d professors’ reac­ tio n s to th e plagiarism d e te ctio n service T u rn itin .com . S tu dents w h o

su b c o m m itte e, circu lated a request for volu n teers a m o n g all th e facul­ ties, five professors tested th e site in their classes last sem ester. S o m e

su b m it their papers receive an orig­

professors h ad already b een u sin g it in their classes, M en d elso n said, or to c h e ck certain papers th at th ey felt m ay have been plagiarized.

in ality report w ith a c o lo u r-co d ed rating. T h e rating is based o n the a m o u n t o f m aterial that overlaps w ith th at in th e site’s database, w ith red in d icatin g th e greatest a m o u n t o f plagiarism . Professors m u st th en

O th e r m easures th e university has taken in the past against plagia­ rism an d ch eatin g in clu d e b e c o m ­

“It fu n ctio n s so m ew h a t lik e a sign o n a h igh w ay that says there’s radar a h ead ,” he said.

“[Plagiarism ] is generally per­ ceived as a serious prob lem across N o r th A m e r ic a ,” said M o r to n M en d e lso n , associate dean academ ­ i c an d stu d e n t affairs for th e Faculty o f Scien ce. “T h ere’s n o reason to b elieve that plagiarism at M cG ill is less serious than it is at oth er in sti­ tu tio n s .”

w ays. T h e first is a req uirem en t that th e university’s academ ic in tegrity p o lic y be in clu d ed o n all course o u tlin e s in th e F aculty o f A rts. T h e resolu tion w as passed by th e univer­ sity senate in January.

th e c o m m itte e o n stu d en t affairs w ill m ake a reco m m en d a tio n to senate.

T h e p ilo t project began last sem ester b u t w as exten d ed to this term “so w e c o u ld have m ore data,”

Q u aron i said.

T h e trial is a tw o -step process, M e n d e ls o n said , to d e te r m in e w h e th e r th e u n iv er sity sh o u ld ad op t it an d h o w it is used, i f the system is approved.

T h e ad v a n ta g es to u sin g T u rn itin .co m , M en d elso n said, are that it raises awareness an d levels the p layin g field.

“It forces th e professor to talk a b o u t p la g ia r ism ,” h e said . “It assures th e h o n est stu d en t th at dis­ h o n e st stu d en ts or stu d en ts w h o are lik ely to plagiarize w o n ’t.”

T h e disadvantage, M en d elso n

Thoughts on library defacing

L

A

S E

“T h e y d o n ’t ju stify the behav­ iour, b u t th e y are r ea so n a b le ,” M en d e lso n said, esp ecially w h en stu d en ts desire academ ic success.

“S tu d en ts w h o c o m e here have su cceed ed in th e past an d s o m e ... are faced w ith th e prosp ect o f aca­ d e m ic failure for the first tim e in their lives,” said M en d elso n .

A se c o n d reason, h e said, is that a few sim ilar plagiarism -d etec­ tio n services have b eco m e paper m ills, sellin g papers that stu d en ts have su b m itted .

R ather th an require stu d en ts to s u b m it all th e ir pap ers to T u rn itin .com , Rajam ani said, pro­ fessors c o u ld su b m it in d iv id u a l papers th ey su sp ect m ay be plagia­ rized.

N o n eth ele ss, h o n est stu d en ts are h u rt b y plagiarism , he said, “because plagiarism and cheatin g tarnish the M cG ill d egree.” ■

R ajam ani ad d ed that e m p h a ­ sizin g the academ ic in tegrity p o licy m ay also be su fficien t. Rajam ani h op es to present senate w ith alter­ natives to u sin g T u rn itin .co m by th e en d o f N ovem ber.

V is it MCGILL.CA/INTECRITY/ °

W h e n th e trial period ends in D ecem b er, professors w ill report o n their experien ce w ith the W eb site,

R

V

I S I O

N

C

O

R

R

E

STUDENTGUIDE fo r m o r e tip s

C

T

I O

N

E x p e r ie n c e

Our surgeons have performed more than 51,000 laser vision corrections.

RHMii

T e c h n o lo g y

We offer patients state-of-the-art technology and eye evaluation equipment, including the Bausch & Lomb Zyoptix custom laser.

R e s u lts

ASHLEYHUTCHESON

Pierre Dem ers, MD

fhri Wallerstein, MD

Mark Cohen, MD

O phthalm ologist 11,000 surgeries

O phthalm ologist 20,000 surgeries

O phthalm ologist 20,000 surgeries

ASEQ SPECIAL

A vandal w a s n e v e r taugh t that w riting in b ook s is w rong.

LAST WEEK'S QUESTION:

w

S h o u ld th ere b e a b y -e le c tio n fo r a n e w S S M U president?

o

a) yes

78%

b) no

22%

CL

Most of our patients enjoy 20/20 vision and good night vision quality.

Our fee covers: pre-procedure examinations, laser treatment and follow-up. * The McGill Student Health Plan covers laser vision correction with Lasik MD. Special offer exclusively for ASEQ members.

Prices may vary based on prescription strength.

Applicable to surgery of both eyes.

P ric es s ta rtin g a t

$

H

0

0

per eye1

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: W h a t is y o u r o p in io n a b o u t th e recen t v a n d a lism o f lib rary books?

5

L A S I K M D <5 1 4 > 8 4 5 - 1 5 1 5 w w w .la s ik m d .c a

VISIT MCGII.ErRIBUNE.COM TO VOTE

Montréal

Toronto

Mississauga

Niagara Falls

News 5

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

World NEWS

,

Anglican archbishop joins class to discuss same-sex unions currently in a sam e-sex relationship, as a bish op in th e U n ite d States.

Leaders have also railed against the decision by certain dioceses to bless

Kim D'Souza A rch bish op M ichael Peers, the prim ate o f the A n glican C h urch in Canada, w as a guest in Dr. N orm an C orn ett’s Special T opics in R eligion class o n Thursday, w here he partici­ pated in a discussion o f sam e-sex marriage w ith stu dents and faculty.

T h e visit cam e at a tim e w h en sam e-sex marriage has d eeply polar­ ized th e a n g lica n c o m m u n io n .

C h urch leaders in Asia and Africa as w e ll as g rou p s o f A n g lic a n s in E nglan d and N o r th A m erica have c o n d e m n e d th e a p p o in tm e n t o f G en e R ob in son , a gay m an w h o is

sam e-sex unions.

Peers began th e discussion by r ep lyin g to a stu d e n t’s q u estio n abou t legislating morality.

“L egislating m orality is at best an up hill th in g and, at w orst, a dis­ aster,” Peers said. “L e gislatin g m orality tends to live o n the edge o f religiou s c o m m u n itie s— in C hristian term s this is the Puritan ed ge.”

A ccordin g to Peers, legislating m orality in the Puritan m anner tries

to legislate “w h at can and can n ot be en joyed .” H ow ever, he said that set­ tin g lim its w ith in w h ich p eop le can live their lives is n o t the sam e th in g as legislating m orality, an d legislat­ in g such lim its does have a place.

Peers said that the experience o f m eetin g p eop le in sam e-sex relation­ ships has led the A n glican c o m m u n ­ ion to affirm th e presence o f queer p eop le and their con trib u tion to the life o f the C hurch.

T h e A n glican C h urch , he said, has lo n g su pp orted the rights o f sam e-sex couples in the sam e w ay th ey have supp orted the rights o f c o m m o n -la w partn ersh ip s, w h ile recognizin g that there is a difference b etw een marriage and c o m m o n -la w relationships.

S o m e A n g lic a n

GET INVOLVED! M a k e a d if f e r e n c e a t M c G IL L !

N o w accep ting nom inations for th e position of: S S M U

S E N A T O R

REPRESENTING T H E

F A C U L T Y

O F M U S IC DEADLINE: 17h00 ON SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: S S M U V ic e P r e s i d e n t , U n iv e r s it y A ffa ir s : V iv ia n C h o y u a @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a

3 9 8 -6 7 9 7

GET INVOLVED W IT H Y O U R S T U D E N T S ' S O C IE T Y

The Students' Society o f McGill University (SSMU) is looking for a

d io ceses, he

n o te d , w ill even bless sam e-sex u n ion s, b u t “blessin g,” he said, “is in all religious w ritin g a pow erful b u t n o t easy-to-defin e term .”

L aw p rofessor Julius G rey remarked that the law has under­ gon e m any changes since he was a stu d e n t at M c G ill, reflectin g changes in society’s view s. H e p o in t­ ed to greater acceptance o f n on m arital sex, hom osexu ality and c o n ­ traception in Q u eb ec as w ell as the greater equality o f w o m e n in mar­ riage. H ow ever, h e q u e stio n e d w h eth er the advocates o f sam e-sex m arriage w ere p u sh in g for su ch change to o fast, saying, “are w e pro­ vok in g a reaction?”

E th icist M argaret S om erville disagreed w ith G rey’s com parison o f sam e-sex m arriage to th e oth er changes he had sp oken of.

She in siste d th a t sa m e-sex m arriage w o u ld be “a change in kind— in the nature o f m arriage.”

W h ile she affirm ed “absolute respect for h om osexu als,” she m ain­ tained that this change was funda­ m entally ab ou t children. M arriage, she said, has institution alized the right o f children to “k n ow their b io ­ logical parents and, i f at all possible, to be raised by th e m .”

Som erville, w h o is a professor

FACULTY RELATIONS COMMISSIONER

in th e faculties o f law and m ed icin e at M cG ill, said that this procreative sym b olism o f marriage has served as a n orm and, alth ou gh there m igh t be exceptions like ad op tion , such situations are fun dam entally differ­

T h e S S M U F a c u lty R e la t io n s C o m m i s s io n e r

en t from th e sam e-sex case.

“You can’t protect that norm

a d v is e s th e P r e s id e n t o n m a tte r s p e r ta in in g to fa c u lty a n d s c h o o l s o c ie tie s , c o o r d in a te s th e

that protects child ren and allow marriage to b eco m e sam e-sex,” she said.

a c tiv itie s o f P r e s id e n t s C o u n c il, a n d e n s u r e s c o m m u n i c a t io n b e t w e e n t h e S S M U E x e c u tiv e C o m m i t t e e a n d F a c u lt y /S c h o o l E x e c u tiv e s .

T o a p p ly fo r t h e a b o v e p o s it io n , p l e a s e e - m a i l a c o v e r le tt e r a n d r e s u m é to u a @ s s m u .m c g ill.c a o r s u b m it t h e m in p e r s o n a t t h e SSMU O ffice. D e a d lin e to a p p ly is S e p t e m b e r 3 0 , 2 0 0 3 a t 5 :0 0 p m .

Peers also said that children are o f fundam ental im portance in ques­ tion s o f marriage, b u t declin ed to c o m m e n t at len gth , saying, “M y exp erien ce o f ch ild ren raised in sam e-sex h ou seh old s is n o t great.

R e lig io u s stu d ies p rofessor K atherine Y oung said that research sh ow ed that children n eeded o n e parent o f each sex as th e y grow up.

“W e’re n o t and rogyn ous,” she said.

F em inist literature, she p oin ted o u t, has o ften m ade th e case that w o m e n can n ot be to ld w h at to do w ith th eir b o d ie s by m en .

ASHLEY HUTCHESON The archbishop avoid ed statin g a sp ecific p osition on sa m e -se x m arriage.

A nalogously, she argued that ch il­ dren n eed a parent o f their o w n sex.

“T h is is especially true o f b oys,” Y oung said. “B oys n eed fathers.”

Y oung said that marriage su p­ ports fatherhood b u t needs a culture that can support it.

“It’s n o t just b iology,” she said.

“W e can never take it for granted.”

M a rria g e

is

m o re

th a n ju s t a p e rso n a l c h o i c e — i t ’s a

q ues­

tio n o f th e fu tu re o f th e c o m m u n ity . ^

}

ety is n o w faced w ith “m oral th in k ­ in g characteristic o f an affluent society.

»

“P rom iscuity is alive and w ell,” he said, “O n the scale o f things, sam e-sex u n io n s are better th an prom iscuity for all kinds o f things.

Dr. Yasser A d -D a b ’bagh, a psy­ chiatrist and neuroscien tist w h o has w ritten o n Islam and psychology, said that Islam offered som e m eth o d for m ak in g a ch oice. In Islam ic th ou gh t, he said, a crucial criterion for a so lu tio n to su ch a m oral prob­ lem is “universality,” w h eth er the ch oice w e m ake is universally appli­ cable across cultures and history.

As th e class cam e to an end, Y oung replied that her research o n com parative religions and cultures

Rabbi HowardJoseph

sh ow ed that across all cultures, mar­ riage has always b een an op p osite-

In the sam e vein , Som erville

sex b on d .

T h e discu ssion and th e pri­ m ate’s presence drew m any guests,

said that in her w ork as th e director o f the M cG ill C entre for M ed icin e, Ethics and Law she deals w ith in n o ­ vations o n the cu ttin g edge o f m ed ­ icine.

“I f w e had 4 ,0 0 0 years o f trials that said o n e th in g, w e’d be very w ary o f overn igh t saying another,” she said.

Rabbi H ow ard Joseph said that “society g o t in volved in marriage in the first place because marriage is m ore than just a personal ch oice— it’s a q u estion o f the future o f the com m u n ity.”

O n e stu d en t said that m an y o f th e argum ents raised against sam esex marriage seem ed to be tryin g to preserve the family.

“T h e breakdow n o f the fam ily as w e k n ow it has already occurred,” she said.

A rch bish op Peers said that soci­

in clu d in g form er principal Bernard Shapiro. A s A rch bish op Peers left th e hall, a m em b er o f the audience congratulated h im for m anaging “to d u ck the difficu lt issu es.”

Peers w ill be o n e o f th e partici­ pants in an O cto b er su m m it o f all th e prim ates o f th e A n glican C h urch called b y R ow an W illia m s, th e A rchbishop o f Canterbury, in his capacity as leader o f the A n glican c o m m u n io n . T h e m eetin g w ill dis­ cuss R ob in son’s ap p o in tm en t and sam e-sex u n ion s are also expected to be o n the agenda. ■

S ee

PAGE 8 fo r m o re o n SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

6 Op/Ed

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Opinion

ebecca Graber

wm

Editorial

The fragrant winds of change

an o h m an, I need a d rink . S o m e th in g to m ake the w orld appear sim pler. I m ean, lo o k at C alifornia— w ou ld you prefer the T erm in ator or Larry Flynt?

A lth o u g h I ad m it that F lynt’s idea o f leg a lizin g slo t m a ch in es to refdl California’s em p ty coffers sm acks o f the d eliciou sly profitable vice on w h ich the U S w as built.

M

O f course, o n e gal’s vice is a n o th er ’s g o o d tim e, right? A n d dam n ed i f there’s n o t so m e o n e ou t there w h o ’ll fin d everything o ffen ­ sive. T h is is true especially in N orth A m erican p o litics, w here all y o u have to do is bring up sex or m in d altering drugs— w e w o n ’t even talk abou t sex w h ile o n m ind-altering drugs— and y o u ’ve g o t the m akings o f a social debate.

I f y o u haven’t yet p ok ed your head o u t from under M cG ill’s cozy shelter, it looks like w e’re g o in g to d ecrim in a lize p o t an d recogn ize sam e-sex m arriage. Yay, sex arid drugs! B ut I warn you: neither fight is through, there are still som e details that cou ld get in the way.

Knowledge for every student Dr. Norman M, Miller

O n e n ote to the O ntario govern­ m ent, though: you m ay w an t to am end your marriage licenses so that th e y n o lo n g er read “bride and g r o o m .” M y n ew ly married uncles are still trying to figure o u t w h o ’s w h o— it’s hard to tell, since neither o f th em has any hair.

A n d there are still problem s w ith decrim inalization, h igh lighted by the fuss over the p o t café being created in the Latin Q uarter— or at least it was still schedu led to open last tim e I checked. Police plan to arrest anyon e caught w ith p o t inside the S t-D en is establishm ent, and the landlord is n o t too keen on h ou sin g such a project.

Reservations m ay have less to d o w ith the sheer in-your-face ille­ gality o f it. M ontreal cops have been k n ow n to lo o k away w ith so m e reg­ ularity, as anyone w h o has sp en t a few blissful Sundays d ru m m in g in Parc M on t-R oyal know s. T h e real issue is the fact that the café cou ld poten tially ind uce dealers to loiter around the area.

T

U niversities are m icrocosm s o f so ciety inasm u ch as th ey often represent th e diversity o f the global c o m ­ m u n ity in national and cultural origin, as w ell as g e n ­ der, faith and sexual orientation. M cG ill has the largest en rolm en t o f intern ation al stu dents o f an y university in N o r th A m erica and historically attracts th e best from around the w orld.

T h e o ffice o f O m b u d sp erson for Stu dents exists to ease and resolve problem s. T here are a varying array o f relationships betw een the stu d en t and other in d iv id ­ uals and b od ies w ith in the university com m u n ity. A ll o f these can lead to issues that n eed to be addressed.

Stu dents m ay find them selves facin g co n fu sin g and com p licated problem s that can so m etim es be qu ite severe. T h e om b u d sp erson is there to h elp in a strictly con fid en tial m anner. H e can be asked to intervene in a situ ation and share in form ation w ith others strictly at the stu d en t’s discretion.

M c G IL L T R IB U N E

EDITOR-tN-CHIEF

Mark Kerr D eputy Ed ito rs

Kate Rhodes Sarah Wright

News Editors

Features Editor

Panthea Lee

Lynne Hsu

You require assistance or in form ation o n stu d en t m atters (for exam ple, fees, bursaries and loans, resi­ dences, and housing); You feel that your learning has been adversely

TEA S w w w . o u a c . o n . c a / t e a s / Teacher Education Application Service Decem ber 1, 2003 Application deadline

O R P A S w w w .o u a c .o n .c a /o r p a s / O ntario Rehabilitation Sciences Programs A p plication Service (Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy/ Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology) January 15, 2004 Application deadline ONTARIO UNIVERSITIES’ APPLICATION CENTRE CENTRE DE DEMANDE D'ADMISSION AUX UNIVERSITÉS DE L’ONTARIO

Editor

Tomoko Shida

Online Editor

You require assistance or in form ation o n an aca­ d em ic m atter (for exam ple, request to w ithdraw , grade appeal, academ ic m iscon d u ct);

w w w .o u a c .o n .c a /o ls a s / O ntario Law School A p plication Service November 3, 2003 Application deadline— first-year M ay 3, 2004 Application deadline— upper years

Photo Editors

Entertainment Editors

You feel that a particular university p o licy or reg­ ulation has b een app lied unfairly or erroneously;

O LSA S

Mai

P r o d u c t io n M anager

Natalie Malo-Fletcher

You need so m e o n e to help clarify a situ ation or circu m stan ce affecting you;

O M S A S w w w .o u a c j o n .c a /o m s a s / O ntario M e dica l School A p plication Service O ctober 8, 2003 Last day for registering for on-line applications O ctober 15, 2003 Application deadline

Sports Editor

Nicole Leaver Nina Zachariades

You sh o u ld see th e om bu dsperson if: You are unsure ab ou t w h ich rules, p olicies or pro­ cedures app ly to your situation;

A p p ly o n -lin e !

James Scarfone

Brody Brown

O n e o f the greatest problem s facin g th e O m b u d s office is the stu d en t’s lack o f awareness o f w h at type o f services are offered.

Tomorrow’s professionals apply today!

is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of McGill University

Kim D'Souza Katie Fugler Jennifer Jett

A t M cG ill the O m b u d sp erson is a m em b er o f the academ ic c o m m u n ity and is m ean t to intervene at the b e g in n in g of th e c o m p la in t process.

The O m b u d sp erson represents all stu dents in the universi­ ty regardless o f faculty or program.

S e e TAKE o n n e x t p a g e

But even i f p o t is decrim inal­ ized, as it lik ely w ill be, w h at abou t the dealers? U nless w e sim u ltan eou s­ ly legalize m ass prod u ction and dis­ trib ution, w h eth er by private c o m ­ panies, licensed outlets, or the gov­ ern m en t, organized crim e w ill still thrive in the cities, leaving your aver­ age urban pot-sm oker, w h ile pro­ tected under the law, still indirectly

For in stan ce, so m e M Ps are d o in g all th ey can to m uster support against recognizin g sam e-sex m ar­ riages, and w ill con tin u e to do so.

T h e A lliance recently introduced a bill that w o u ld reaffirm the tradi­ tio n a l d e fin itio n o f m arriage.

T h o u g h it was defeated, a free vote o n the sam e m atter earlier last w eek fu n d in g career crim inals and biker lost by a m ere five votes; 3 0 o f those gangs. A n d the last th in g I w ant, as affirm atives w ere from Liberals.

M iss N ine-Y ears-V egetarian, is to W ith leadership changin g and con trib u te to the purchase o f som e the introduction o f the legislation gu y’s m etal-stu dd ed leather jacket. delayed un til early n ext year, p en d ­ Boo. in g review by the Suprem e C ourt, I d on ’t necessarily have the right the issue isn’t totally settled — The answers to these problem s, although Globe and Mail o n Septem ber 13 I’m an egotistical Leo so I’ll pretend even featured a w arning from lob b y­ that I do. But I k n ow that whatever ists that activists are b ecom in g too the answers are, the last th in g any­ com p lacen t and jeopardizing w h at’s o n e needs is som e random detail that b een a c co m p lish ed . F ortu nately, m esses up the w h o le process, like Prim e M inister Jean C h retien , w h o, taking som e politician’s prom ises for according to those lovable o f cur­ granted or failing to th in k through m u d geon s in R om e, m ay have sacri­ the basic e con om ics o f the drug ficed his very sou l for his citizens, trade. H eck , so m e ed itor at the cu rren tly backs th e leg isla tio n .

P rogressive C on serv a tiv e m ed ia T h a t’s d evotion , people. office gets lazy and y o u en d up w ith Personally, I d o n ’t k n ow w h y an a ccu sa tio n th a t D a lto n anyon e in their right m in d w ou ld M cG u in ty is. an “evil, reptilian kit­ get married, bu t th en m y m other ten-eater from another p lan et.” O y. keeps trying to set m e up w ith guys In any case, change is in the air in the superm arket check -ou t line. and it sm ells grand, but I w ou ld n ’t Perhaps I’m too screwed up to judge. inhale qu ite yet. ■

THE

he university is the stage u p on w h ich experi­ m en ts in social justice and order can take place.

It ideally sh o u ld be an exam ple to the fu n ctio n ­ in g o f society as a w h ole.

Sward

Layout Editor Advertising and Marketing Manager

Paul Slachta

170 Research Lane Guelph, Ontario N1G5E2 www.ouac.on.ca

,(nust, include author's name, signature, identification (e.g. U2 Biology, SsMU President), telephone number and be typed double-spaced. Letters mwo than 200 words pieces for Stop the Press more than SOD words, or submissions judged by the Editor-m-Chief to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic, or solely promotional in nature, will not be published. The Tribune will make all reasonable efforts to print submissions provided that space is available, and reserves the right ono , l r N s ,or,lePS,h- !-etter5 may he Submitted to the Tribune office, faxed to 398-1750, e-mailed to tribune@ssmu.mcgill.ca or submitted via the Tribune website.

Columns appearing under Editorial' heading are decided upon by the editorial tg under board and written Byaamember of the editorial board. All other opinions are strict­ ------ by ly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

Subscriptions are available for $30.00 per year.

Ad Typesetter

Shawn Lazar StAFF: Matthew Arnot, Lise Bondy, Caitlin M. Buckley, Lauren Consky, Ashley Hutcheson, Patrick Fok, Sam Coffman Chnstma Heyding, Dany Horovitz, Jamie Hull, Ashlee Jollymore, Lexie Buchanan-Kaisin, Marcelle Kosman, Kristen Mallory, N.cholas Mirotchnick, Christopher Moore, Meghan O'Reilly, Yasmin Paget, Farah Qasemi, Scott Sameroff, Robert Schafer

A dvertising O ffice: Paul Slachta, 3600 rue McTavisb, Suite 1200, Montréal, Quebec H3A1Y2 Tel: (514) 398-6806 Fax: (514) 398-7490

Tribune O ffice

University Centre Room 110, 3480 rue McTavish

Tel: (514)398-6789 Fax: (514)398-1750 E-mail: tribune@ssmu.mcgill.ca Web: www.mcgilltribune.com

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

O

E d ito r

i o

n

WÊÈSÊÈA

already irritated by the last m in u te M cG ill A ssociation o f U n iversity Teachers’ resolu tion request­

uring th e drafting o f the Stu d en ts Society c o n stitu tio n , the founders o f the govern in g b o d y m u st have had g o o d reason for their ch o ice o f structure. W e can speculate that th ey separated the du ties so as n o t to overburden a single executive m em b er and

in g that the ad m in istration m eet th e strikers dem and s.

Strangely, n o n e o f th e professors present dared to ask M u n ro e-B lu m w h y she refused a pri­ ori to hear their o p in io n s ab ou t the ex p lo ita tio n o f so m e o f th e you n gest teachers here. Professors

to allow for th e co-op eration o f coun cillors and execs over issues w ith in each portfolio. O r perhaps the founders d esigned the Stu d en ts’ S ociety so as to reflect the C an adian system o f representation stym ied by civil ser-

m ake up m ore than 9 0 per cen t o f the senate, and m o st w ork directly w ith TAs. Such intellectu al tu n n el vision is d ifficu lt to un derstand con sid erin g M u n ro e-B lu m s short

vants.

O n the other han d, th e current executive is stating that th e w orkload

tim e at M cG ill. O n e w o u ld h o p e that c o m in g from the o u tsid e, she w o u ld be o p e n to a w ider spectru m o f o p in io n s and n o t lim it h erself to th ose ju d gm en ts provided b y her closest fu n c-

or, m ore im portantly, the respect and responsibilities given to th em by the v o tin g pu blic, can be appropriately han d led by five instead o f six.

Even i f w e are to take the execs at their w ord , that th ey can shoulder

tionaries. . . , O n the oth er han d, this situ ation goes to con firm a general im pression that o n ly th e n e t­ w ork ed and in flu en tial seem to be respected at M cG ill. In th e en d , th e T A s sligh tly im proved their w ork in g c o n d itio n s, from ab ou t $ l 6 / h to $ 2 2 .2 4 /h in 2 0 0 7 . H ow ever, d o e sn t this o u tc o m e im p lic itly p ro m o te strikes as the o n ly e fficien t rem edy for social problem s in our c o m m u n ity .

W o u ld n ’t it be reasonable for our ad m in istration to p ro m o te op en n ess an d d ialogue instead? ^ Let’s h o p e that the m ore th an $ 6 0 0 ,0 0 0 sp en t o n the lavish so u n d system in th e S en ates m e etin g room , L eacock 2 3 2 , can aw aken a n e w spirit o f idealism in professorial senators as w ell as a m p lify their voices. Professors, h o ld in g th e b est-p rotected jobs, have n o th in g to lose. O n ly a lu ck y few, w h o never q u estio n sensitive issues, m igh t exp ect an adm inistrative p r o m o tio n or a sm o o th er career. T h e m ajority o n ly sacrifice a b ou t tw o hou rs every tw o w eek s for senate m eet­ ings and d o n o t have to act like a herd o f sheep.

L et’s h o p e th at th is un iversity w ill be o p e n to ou r idealism .

— Slaivomir Poplawski

Take advantage of Ombudsperson office C o n tin u e d fro m p r e v io u s p a g e

them selves to th e O m b u d sp erson , in an attem p t to educate m em bers o f the university c o m m u n ity o n

affected by th e c o n d u ct and behaviour o f another

their preven tion and so lu tio n . Each co lu m n w ill focu s o n a different type o f issue and present b oth

person; You require so m e o n e to help facilitate c o m ­ m u n ication betw een y o u and a m em b er o f the u n i­ versity com m u n ity; You n eed so m e o n e to intervene o n y our b eh alf in order to achieve a so lu tio n to your problem .

T h ese are just a few exam ples o f th e sort o f sit­ uations that w e can handle. You m ay also visit for any reason; w e w ill refer y o u to oth er services i f needed.

T h e office o f O m b u d sp erson for Students is an expression o f th e university s desire to care for its stu dents, and its goal is th e assurance o f just solutio h s for everyone in our com m u nity.

In th e future I w ill use this co lu m n to offer

sides o f the situation.

I in vite stu dents to w rite to m e i f th ey w ish their q u estion s answ ered in this co lu m n , or for su ggestion s o f topics that th ey m ay w ish m e to w rite abou t. T h e y w ill rem ain an on ym ou s. ■

The office of Ombudsperson for Students is located in the Brown Student Services Building, Room 5202, 3600 McTavish Street Tel. 514.398.7059. Fax. 514.398.1946 Email: ombudsperson@mcgill.ca

exam ples o f c o m m o n ly seen problem s that present

O ff ttjl H

i n

EDITORIAL Circle the wagons

A w ak en in g id ealism in s e n ate

In his M ay 8 article titled “Senate, P lau dits and D isc ip lin e ,” th e McGill Reporters M ark R eyn old s skips over a sign ifican t rulin g o f P rincipal H eath er M u n roe-B lu m . In the in trod u ction to this session o f senate, M u n ro e-B lu m forbade senators to discuss th e teacher assistant strike, o n the grou n d s that it w o u ld be n o t be proper. M u n roe-B lu m ’s c o m m e n ts sen t th e clear m essage that th e ad m in istration ’s w ork at M cG ill is n o o n e else’s business. It seem s that our First Lady was

p

Op/Ed 7

the d u ties as a c o m b in e d force w ith o u t shirking their o w n portfolios, sh ou ld w e believe th em as the c o m b in e d force’ gets even smaller?

H o w can th e executives c o n tin u e to p rom ote th e stance that it is busi­ ness as usual, w h en th ey are ob viou sly c o m in g apart at th e seams? W h e n are th e con stitu en ts g o in g to stand up and say: You are n o longer an accu­ rate representation o f our collective w ills ? T h ese are th e p eo p le w h o are su p p osed to be ou r representatives and th ey are disappearing o n e b y on e.

Take K im berley Z ell and the fact that her form er sta ff is calling for her rem oval. T h is reflects badly o n Z ell’s ability to deal w ith her staff an d her ability to m anage all o f her responsibilities. I f her sta ff d o e sn t respect her, th en h o w can th e stu d en ts she represents?

T h e secon d issue is that o f th e p e n d in g re-evaluation or departure o f S S M U G eneral M anager G u y Brisebois. H is 12 years o f experien ce gives h im adequate k n ow led ge and skills to help gu id e the executives in this try­ in g tim e. A n d yet the executives are actively lo o k in g for a replacem ent. So ignorin g the fact that n o o n e has explain ed w h y h e is leaving, i f S S M U gets a n ew general manager, w o n ’t they be h elp in g h im or her acclimate? W o n t that be yet anoth er p erson s responsibilities th ey are taking on?

O n top o f th e c o n flic t sw irling around th ose tw o posts, Brianna Hersey, vice-presid en t c o m m u n ity and govern m en t and spokesperson rep­ resenting the executives, is taking m edical leave. She probably has a perfect­ ly valid reason to be leaving her post, b u t the fallou t from her lack o f pres­ en ce cou ld be far reaching.

W ith N a e em D a to o lo n g g o n e and th e m any other problem s, V ivian C hoy, actin g president and V ice-P resident U n iversity Affairs, R odrigo D eC astro, V ice-P residn t O perations, and M ia G ew ertz, vice-presid en t clubs and services, are left to stand betw een th e stu d en ts and th e universi­ ty. W ith the n ew Letter o f A greem ent fast approaching, th e in com p lete Shatner renovations, th e u p co m in g b u d get cuts, the failure o f Prem ier Jean C harest to h on ou r his cam paign prom ise o f a tu itio n freeze, d o n ’t w e have en o u g h to w orry abou t w ith o u t w o n d erin g w h o w ill screw up his or her p ortfolio next? H o w lo n g can these three rem aining executives h o ld it together?

Perhaps this year w ill be lik en ed to a p h oen ix, w ith th e self-destruct­ in g stu d en t govern m en t rising from the ashes to be re-born n ext year, stronger for overcom in g these odd s an d less naive to b lu nderin gs and g o o d in ten tion s.

A n d , w ith any luck, m aybe the p h o en ix w ill rise this year. ■

Hate-speech versus speech we don't like

ate sp ee c h law s, su ch as th e recently passed Bill C -2 5 0 that adds sexual orien tation to a sec­

tio n o f the C rim in al C o d e that provides a m axim u m tw o-year prison term for an yon e w h o in cites hatred o f any group based o n colour, race, religion , or eth n ic origin, have the poten tial to be the m ost useful tool for p reven tin g v io len ce against queer people.

A m en d m en ts to the bill ensure that p eop le w ill n ot be prosecuted for c itin g reli­ giou s w rtings that view h om osexu ality as m orally w rong. I he o n ly reason that such a m en d m en ts are n eeded is because a fu n d a­ m ental co n fu sio n betw een o p p o sitio n and hatred exists. O u r so ciety ’s p reoccup ation w ith rootin g o u t h o m o p h o b ia , o f w h ich Bill C -2 5 0 is a part, illustrates this c o n fu ­ sio n very w ell.

D

w h a t h o m o p h o b ia m e a n s. T h e w o r d ‘h o m o p h o b ic o ften groups p e o p le w h o w a n t queer p eo p le to b e th row n in to prison or d e n ie d jobs, w ith th ose ind ividu als w h o have m oral or religious ob jection s to h o m o ­ sexual beh aviou r an d lifestyles. T h is charac­ terization is bizarre especially i f th e latter are g e n u in ely com p assion ate tow ards queer p e o p le an d friend ly w ith their queer class­ m ates, stu d en ts, n eighb ours an d colleagues.

N o n eth ele ss, p eo p le w ith m oral ob jection s are usually branded h o m o p h o b ic as so o n as th e y m ake their p o sitio n pu blic.

A n o th er group o f p eo p le w h o are o ften branded h o m o p h o b ic are th ose w h o believe that marriage is, an d sh o u ld rem ain, an op p o site-sex u n io n . S u ch classification is also un ju stified , since m a n y su ch p eo p le are q u ite com p assion ate to queer people; m an y d o n ’t even have m oral ob jection s to queer „ -i rp pupn homosexuals

them selves. For o n c e I agree w ith C an adian A llian ce leader Step h en H arper w h e n he argued that to equate their p o sitio n “w ith segregation an d apartheid is vile and dis­ g u stin g .”

O n th e oth er han d, h ostile d isp osition s tow ard queer p e o p le are in d ee d h o m o p h o ­ bia an d sh o u ld be prosecu ted w h e n m an i­ fested. N everth eless, unless w e m ake sure th at w e really k n o w w h at ‘hate sp eech’ m eans, Bill C -2 5 0 is lik ely to be m isu sed to p rosecute p e o p le w h o th in k sam e-sex m ar­ riage is u n acceptable for w ell-articulated reasons that are n o t religious, or th ose w h o m ig h t b o y c o tt civil m arriage an d urge o th ­ ers to d o th e sam e i f th e d e fin itio n w ere ch an ged to m ake w a y for sam e-sex u n io n s.

E xpression o f m oral o p p o sitio n to sex­ ual diversity is n o t hate sp eech, n o t even i f so m e o n e fin d s it in su ltin g because it den ies aDDroval o f o n e ’s ch o ice o f lifestyle. Speech

d oesn ’t b e c o m e hate sp eech because w e d o n ’t like it, but rather because there is clear and present danger o f in citem en t o f hatred.

A b sent su ch an objective criterion, hate sp eech laws w ill b eco m e coercive tyrants.

M cC a r th y ism o f an y k in d alw ays makes itse lf felt m o st o n ed u ca tio n . O u r con cern ab ou t h o m o p h o b ic p eo p le h o ld in g p o sitio n s w h ereb y th ey m ig h t in flu en ce others w ith their hate m o n g erin g is a m ir­ ror-im age reversal o f w h en hom osexu als w ere seen as the on es w h o n eeded to be rooted o u t, especially from ed u cation .

As un iversity stu d en ts, our ed u cation teaches us to have a sense o f history, to th in k critically and to d em an d precise d efi­ n ition s. W e sh o u ld k n o w better than to allow th e stigm a o f h o m o p h o b ia and the spectre o f hate speech to gag gen u in ely diverse ideas in un iversities, even i f th e ideas are n o t w h a t w e lik e to hear. ■

T h e M cG ill T r ib u n e, T u esd a y , S e p te m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 0 3

Same-Sex marriage.* Recognizing the "supremacy of God" or the "rule of law"?

C H R IS T IN A

H E Y D IN G

b e t w e e n

d is c o v e r s

M c G ill

th a t

d is a g r e e m e n t

p r o fe s s o r s , C a n a d a

s

s tu d e n t

C h a r te r

o f

o n

c lu b s ,

s a m e v e n

R ig h ts

a n d

e - s e x in

th e

m a r r ia g e o p e n in g

lu r k s

e v e r y w h e r e —

s e n t e n c e

o f

F r e e d o m s

M ay 1, 2 0 0 3 — British C o lu m b ia C ou rt o f A ppeal rules that p roh ib itin g sam e-sex m arriages is against th e C an adian C harter o f R ights and Freedom s. It defers its rulin g to allow the g overn m en t to discuss new m arriage legislation.

June 10, 2 0 0 3 —O n ta r io C o u rt o f A ppeal rules that p r o h ib itin g sam e-sex marriages is against th e C an adian C harter o f R ights and Freedom s. Its rulin g takes effect im m ediately.

July 8 , 2 0 0 3 —British C o lu m b ia m akes its ru lin g o n sam e-sex marriage effective im m ed iately.

A u gust, 2 0 0 3 —C an ad ian go v ern m en t drafts legislation for sam e-sex m arriage and su b m its it to the S u prem e C ou rt for rulin g in 2 0 0 4 .

S e p te m b e r 16, 2 0 0 3 —W ith a very sm all m argin , P arliam ent defeats a m o tio n to retain th e current d e fin itio n o f marriage.

ADVOCATE.COM

P reserving th e tradition.

Enjoying their eq u al rights.

o m u c h controversy surrounds sam e-sex m ar­ riage that th e issue can’t afford to be sexed up.

B u t that is exactly w h a t h ap p en ed at M cG ill in 2 0 0 1 , w h en it becam e k n o w n that tw o fac­

w ill be d e n y in g th at sam e-sex cou p les have the sam e c o m ­ m itm e n t to each o th er as d o heterosexual cou p les and, in d eed , w e w ill n o t be su p p o rtin g gay and lesbian p e o ­ p le .”

u lty m em b ers w ere sch ed u led to testify against th e legal reco g n itio n o f sam e-sex marriage. A n e-m ail cam paign w as th en lau n ch ed by the S c h o o l o f Social W ork chargin g M argaret S om erville, professor o f law, and K atherine Y oung, professor o f religion , w ith h o m o p h o b ia .

T h e q u estio n th e n raised is w h eth er life lo n g sam esex relationships an d life lo n g op p o site-sex relationships can be categorized un d er th e sam e w ord. Are th ey inh er­ e n tly different?

In th e en d , S om erville and Y ou ng w ere n o t called as w itn esses, b u t th ey c o n tin u e d iscu ssin g their stan ce, clearing up w h a t th e y see as a laggin g m isu n d erstan d in g.

“T h e sam e-sex m arriage case,” S om erville says, “is based a lm o st en tirely o n eq u atin g b e in g against it w ith

For Som erville, there is o n e q u estio n th at has the u tm o st im p ortan ce in this debate: “A re h om osexu al and heterosexual u n io n s in h eren tly th e sam e, in w h ic h case th ey sh o u ld c o n stitu te o n e group o f u n ion s, or are th ey in h eren tly different, b u t sh o u ld be treated equally?” I f h om osexu al and heterosexual u n io n s are con sid ered d if­ ferent, S om erville says o n e can be called a m arriage and th e o th er a u n io n w ith o u t v io la tin g th e C an ad ian C harter o f R igh ts and Freedom s. T h e sam e privileges and laws w o u ld be app lied to b oth , the different nam es reflecting o n ly that th e relation sh ip s differ in their ph ys­ iology.

S

n ecessarily b e in g again st h o m o sex u a ls, d isresp ectin g them and thereby breach in g their h u m an rights. T h a t c o n n e c tio n needs to be ch allen ged .”

O th er M cG ill facu lty m em b ers feel, how ever, that sam e-sex m arriage an d eq u ality are in d isp u tab ly inter­ related.

Shari B rotm an, a professor o f social w ork, argues that i f y o u d o n o t su p p ort sam e-sex m arriage, y o u ca n n o t fu lly su p p ort h om osexu al relationships.

“I f w e create a [different] category o f m arriage, w e

\A /h e r e a s

C anada

V V p r in c ip le s

is

th a t

fo u n d e d

upon

r e c o g n iz e

th e

s u p r e m a c y o f G o d a n d t h e r u le o f la w :

E q u a lity R ig h ts 15.

(1 )

b e fo r e a n d

E very under

in d iv id u a l th e

la w

r ig h t t o t h e e q u a l p r o t e c t io n b e n e fit o f th e

la w

is

and

equal

has

th e

an d equal

w it h o u t d is c r im in a ­

t i o n a n d , in p a r tic u la r , w i t h o u t d is c r im ­ in a tio n b a se d o n ra ce , n a tio n a l o r e th n ic o r ig in , c o lo u r , r e lig io n , se x , a g e o r m e n ­ ta l o r p h y s ic a l d is a b ility .

All in a n a m e -w h a t d o e s 'm arriage' m ean?

A ll o f this dep en d s o n h o w marriage is defin ed .

S om erville’s cam p believes that th e inh eren t feature o f m arriage is procreation . B ecause a sam e-sex c o u p le can­ n o t reproduce, their relation sh ip is d ifferen t th an that o f heterosexuals. B u t w h a t a b ou t infertile couples? Is their u n io n n o t con sid ered m arriage sim p ly because th e y can­ n o t reproduce?

For oth er in d ivid u als, how ever, c o m m itm e n t is c o n ­ sidered th e d e fin in g feature o f m arriage. M a n y take this v iew p o in t at Q u eer M cG ill, in c lu d in g Jen Jones, U 3 International D e v e lo p m e n t and W o m e n ’s Stu dies, and Q u eer M c G ill’s secretary.

[M arriage is] tw o p e o p le w h o w a n t to stan d up in fron t o f their c o m m u n ity and m ake a c o m m itm e n t to sp en d th e rest o f their lives together, lo o k in g after each oth er,” Jones says.

From this perspective, giv in g the relation sh ip s differ­ e n t nam es w o u ld be d iscrim in ation .

O u t o f all these d efin itio n s, o n e m u st be ch o sen as representative o f th e C an adian way. T h e pressure to m ake a d ecisio n is staggering th e nation.

Pow er over a n a m e w h o h a s th e a u th o rity to d e fin e m arriage?

Sam e-sex m arriage has d u g up inad eq uacies in the C h arter. In tr o d u c e d w ith th e sta te m e n t, “w h ereas C an ada is fo u n d e d u p o n princip les that recognize the su p rem acy o f G o d and th e rule o f law ,” th e C harter is in a precarious p o s itio n to deal w ith top ics that p u t the cou rts at od d s w ith so m e religious groups. W h e n court rulin gs correspon d w ith traditional religious beliefs, all is sm o o th sailing. W h e n th ey d o n ’t, w h ic h o n e sh ou ld C an adians c h o o se as th e prim e authority?

For stu d en ts su ch as C hris C otty, U 3 com p u ter en gi­ n eerin g an d head o f th e M cG ill C hristian F ellow ship, c h a n g in g th e d e fin itio n o f marriage is akin to q u estio n ­ in g G o d ’s authority.

C h ristians believe that m arriage runs far deeper than an y so ciety s law, C o tty says. “It has been an d is ord ain ed b y G o d ...[it] m od els th e very m ea n in g o f our relation sh ip w ith C h rist.”

A lth o u g h m em b ers o f Q u eer M cG ill are sym p ath et­ ic to this p o sitio n , th ey p o in t o u t that marriage is n o t reli­ g io u s property. R ob in Taylor, U 2 M u sic and librarian for Q u eer M cG ill, says that the m ain focu s o f the debate sh o u ld be equality, n o t religion. “ [T oo m any] M P s are tryin g to turn a co n stitu tio n a l q u estio n in to a p o p u la ce q u e stio n ,” T aylor says.

She argues th at th e C harter’s m a in p u rp ose is to ensure that the rights o f m in orities are n o t su b su m ed just because m ajorities are pressuring th e govern m en t.

For the M cG ill C h ristian F ellow sh ip , eq u ality and religion are n o t th e o n ly critical issues. C o tty says that ten sio n betw een h om osexu als and religious ind ividu als has b een m o u n tin g to frigh ten in g h eigh ts. For th e pres­ en t, h e w orries m o st ab ou t the future o f this relationship.

“W h ile neither party m u st agree w ith th e oth er’s ch oices an d w orld v ie w s,” C o tty says, “w e m u st n o t let ou r differences sto p us from h o n o u r in g and respecting each other. W e are all h u m an beings— all part o f the sam e w orld an d g o in g th rou gh th e sam e struggles.”

H o p e fu lly w e w ill n o t em erge from this d ebate w ith m ore h ate than w e started w ith . ■

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Features 9

How to keep your landlord on his legal leash a W

h a t

s h o u ld

s tu d e n ts

to

h ig h lig h ts

e v e r y

a v o id

r e n te r

a b u s iv e

im p o r ta n t

k n o w ?

la n d lo r d -te n a n t

r ig h ts

r e n te r s

or the m ajority o f M cG ill students, it is an exciting and inevitable event, the search for that perfect, if slightly run d ow n and smelly, stu dent apartm ent.

F

A S H L E E JO L L Y M O R E

Such a fin d is exciting because it is o n e o f the biggest steps towards com p lete ad u lth ood for stu­ dents. A ll o f a su dd en , y o u are free from the atten­ tion o f parents and the o d d natu re'of cafeteria m eals. Yet, this experience is often a stressful crash course in personal rela­ tions w ith n egligent or rude landlords w h o seem to take advantage o f the u n ique stu dent p op ulation in the areas around M cG ill.

It is the high con cen tration o f stu d en t tenants in these areas that has led to cases o f tenant abuse by landlords u n ique to this sm all area. From negligence to the accelerating prac­ tice o f finder’s fees, the M cG ill O ff-C am p u s H o u sin g O ffice has seen it all.

“L andlords defin itely try and take advantage o f students, especially on es from o u t o f to w n ,” says Karen Kelly, a h o u s­ ing office clerk.

K elly backs her p o in t w ith tw o binders full o f stu dent com plain ts. O n e o f these grievances involved an apartm ent w ith n on existen t locks that resulted in o n e un fortunate stu ­

s h o u ld

u r g e s

r e la tio n s h ip s n o t

a n d

ig n o r e .

d en t gettin g burglarized.

“You also n otice certain landlord nam es co m in g up again and again,” adds Kelly, w h o worries that m ost students don’t k n o w or d on ’t pursue their legal rights. T h is is part o f the reason w h y inattentive landlords ten d to target students.

“I’ve heard o f landlords asking for, and getting, illegal deposits just because peop le d on ’t k n ow that they are illegal, she adds.

Seisei T atebe, U 2

E n viron m en tal Stu dies and c o ­

founder o f the Tenants’ Rights A ssociation, cites this bias, particularly involvin g finder’s fees, as the m otivation for start­ in g the club. She saw the need for a supportive, student-based group after realizing that m ost students d on ’t k n ow the rules about the tenant-landlord relationship.

Tatehe says that “the pressure o n students to fin d a place often leads them to sign in to agreem ents at their disadvan­ tage.”

W h a t really is a “bad” landlord? W h e n o n e reputably bad landlord w as asked w h y h e had gained this reputation, he suggested that stu dents were m ore difficu lt to be a landlord to. “T h e y are disrespectful and lou d , and ask too m u ch from m e ,” he stated, bu t offered no explanation as to h o w he

KRISTEN MALLORY The Student H ousing Office is th ere to help. th o u g h t he had gained his reputation. H e was also at a loss for w ords about the positive stan ding o f other landlords w h o deal w ith students.

.youprobably.,didolt knowyou had 1. Your landlord m ust advise you three to six m o n th s in advance i f they are raising rent; even then, they m ay on ly raise it by a sm all percentage based on b u ild in g in co m e and other specifics. As the tenant, you can refuse the increase in w ritin g, in w h ich case the landlord m ust apply to m odify the lease.

2 . Jf a landlord d o esn ’t repair so m e th in g often repeatedly b e in g asked, y o u can apply for a rent decrease at the Régi e du logem en t.

3. T h e landlord m ust give y o u 2 4 hours n o tice before en terin g you r apartm ent.

4 . I f y o u have n o isy neighbours w h o w o n t be qu iet, it b eco m es your landlord’s responsibility.

5. It is the land lord’s responsibility to collect rent paym ents unless you have an agreem ent or are used to paying

The code: Learn it, live it, lo v e It A s Q u eb ec tenants, M cG ill students are w ell protected by the Q u eb ec T enant C o d e and its enforcer, the R égie du logem en t. T h ese rights are useful on ly i f the stu dent tenant kn ow s th em and takes proper steps to protect him self.

“D o c u m e n t everything in w ritin g or ph otograp hs,” rec­ o m m en d s Kelly, especially i f cash is involved. Evidence such as this can prove invaluable, as in Tatebe’s case, w here her saved d ocu m en tation m ay be used in legal proceedings against a pestering landlord.

A lth ou gh it m ay be difficu lt, b oth Tatebe and K elly rec­ o m m en d trying to have a respectful i f distant relationship

otherw ise.

H elp is ju st a d ic k aw ay...

R égie du lo g e m e n t— -The u ltim ate source o f in form ation and place o f action can often be busy and tends to give

w ith your landlord, especially n o w at the b egin n in g o f the

a cou p le o f different answers to qu estion s. www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca or by p h o n e at (5 1 4 ) 8 7 3 -2 2 4 5 .

O ff-C a m p u s H o u sin g O ffice— A stu d en t friendly, helpful service that has a lot o f in form ation , in c lu d in g a list

year.

“A ttem p t to solve a dispute w ith n egotiation first and use the threat o f taking legal action at the R égie du loge­ m e n t,” advises Kelly, w h o also notes that discussion is n ot effective for the few really rude landlords o u t there.

She urges students n o t to hesitate to take action; lod gin g a com p lain t at the R égie takes up to six m on th s to process and a recoupable fee o f $ 5 7 , but it is the o n ly authority that can reduce rents, attem p t to stop abusive landlords and, in w orst case scenarios, break a signed lease. A lso, reporting problem atic landlords to O ff-C am p u s H o u sin g is free and can alert apartm en t-hu nting students to these problem s.

H ow ever a tenant decides to deal w ith a difficu lt landlord,

o f blacklisted landlords. 3641 rue U niversity , or visit www.mcgill.ca/ojfcampus T en an ts’ R ig h ts A sso c ia tio n — A n ew ly-m in ted S S M U clu b h old s m eetings every T hursday at 4 :0 0 pm in the O f f C am p u s H o u sin g O ffice; they can be reached via e-m ail at m cgi!lun i@ sym patico.ca .

M c G ill Legal A id C lin ic — A free clin ic that provides legal inform ation from stu dents for students; just d o n t ask them for advice. In the W illiam Shatner bu ild in g, or at

www.law.mcgiU.ca/mlic/eng/index.html

the w orst th in g to d o is to rem ain com placent. ■

ir

ill

' *** 0

r M c G i l l U n i v e r s i t y T e c h n o l o g y C a r e e r F a ir

\ COMPUTER t

¥

r ——————— | 2 8 6 -0 3 7 7

1 3575 Ave. du Parc

McGill University Technology Career Fair S e p t e m

b e r '

O PE N LATE

i W E D E L IV E R !

BANK OF

E X P IR E S S E P T . 3 0 , 2 0 0 3 Present coupon for one dollar value In Store only. Not valid with any other offers.

a y

□ Don’t forget your breakfast cards!*

Locatio ns: B u rn sid e H a ll, M c C o n n e ll an d M acD on ald E n g in ee rin g Buildings M n fflM .m c g illte c lifa lr .c o n i te c h fa ir @ m c g illte c h ta ir .c o m

One

o t i c

Sun-Wed 3am Thur-Sat 4am

Brought to you by: Engineering Undergraduate Society Computer Science Undergraduate Society McGill Engineering Career Centre

Cl t o QIT-Ftret Titane

K le n z o id VIAMW. K

Breakfast

& M ore

224 RUE MILTON Montréal (Québec) H2X 1V6 T. : (514) 285-0011 *Not valid Sat., Sun., & Holidays

□ Hamburger cards

Weekdays Weekends Holidays

7am to 4:30pm 8am to 4:30pm 8am to 3pm

10 Features

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

The monarch of The butterfly world LISE B O N D Y d e lv e s in t o t h e s a g a o f t h e m o n a r c h a n d e x p lo r e s t h e f r a g ile , c o lo u r f u l life o f t h e m y s t e r io u s in s e c t H

ow

c o u ld

a

m an

sp en d over 5 0 years o f his life dedicated to a b u g w ith wings?

W hat k in d of P r in c e to n -a n d -Y a le educated intellectual goes gaga over a little butterfly? Dr. L in coln Brower is a lead in g expert o n the m igration and b iology o f the M onarch b u t­ terfly. H e is a research professor o f b io lo g y at Sw eet Briar C ollege, and has m a n y other titles and accom p lish m en ts. M o st im por­ tantly, h e has a gleam in his eye as he speaks abou t butterflies w ith a p o e t’s ton gu e and a scien tists understanding.

Last M onday, Brower led a captivated aud ien ce through an inform ative and beau­ tiful in trod u ction to the w orld o f a m onarch butterfly— a subject o f b o th fervent debate and ravenous love.

The m ystery life o f th e m onarch Brower’s slide sh o w illustrated w ell the co m p ellin g and breathtaking story o f the m onarch. W ith a startlin g and ethereal beauty, the butterflies fill the sky, settlin g gen tly o n a stream nearby to drink. T h e ter­ rain is rugged, and January is c o ld and un usually dry for these butterflies at 1 0 ,0 0 0 feet above sea level in a rough, O yam el fir forest in the heart o f M exico. I f o n e were to fly above the Sierra M adre m o u n ta in chain, th e y w o u ld n o tic e large r u st-c o lo u r ed sm ears over an area o f 14 km . T h ese are b u t­ terfly overw in terin g’ colon ies, and in this very sp ot, h id d en from th e w orld until J 9 7 5 ^ f p y j m ain for five m on th s o f the year. A t the end o f their stay, they em bark on their incredible flight hack up to tem perate N orth Am erica, to places as w idespread as N o r th D ak ota, T oronto and M aine, cover­ in g over 4 ,0 0 0 km round-trip.

It is estim ated that the m ajority o f the w in ter b u tterfly p o p u la tio n lives in 13 colon ies clustered in this 14-km area in M exico. There they live in a kind o f cold storage, usingjtheir fat deposits for energy, in c o n ica l or bag-shaped form ations, like p e n ­ du lous fruit han gin g from the fir trees.

T h e se “o v e rw in ter in g ” sites w ere a source o f controversy and cutthroat rivalry

b e tw e en le p id o p te rists. O n e w as th e C anadian w h o led the team that discovered th e m onarch site, Fred Urquhart, w h o kept th e location a secret from the rest o f the sci­ en tific com m u n ity. Urquhart was n o t at all p lea sed w h e n th e h id d e n site o f th e M onarch s w as located by Brower and col­ leagues and su bseq uently m ade pu blic.

The b u tterfly o b se ssio n W h y are w e so fascinated w ith m onarch butterflies? A fter all, th ey’re just bugs, albeit sexy o n es. Perhaps N o r th A m ericans fin d th em en ch an tin g for three reasons. Firstly, they are tropical creatures, and w e are accus­ to m ed to a m ore m oderate clim ate. Rarely d o w e get to see such riotou s colou r and exotic m arkings in a creature that lives in our tem perate forests. M onarch butterflies are th e o n ly m em bers o f 150 related species origin atin g from M alaysia that have adapted to th e N o r th A m erican clim ate. T h e y are the h o th o u se flow ers o f the bu tterfly w orld.

Secondly, w e love th e idea o f m etam or­ ph osis— it has fascinated us for centuries.

From O v id to Kafka, this idea perm eates lit­ erature and ideology. M etam orp h osis in insects involves the process o f transform a­ tio n from im m ature form to adu lt form in tw o or m ore d istin ct stages.

A t th e sight o f Brower’s slides o n m eta­ m orphosis, the aud ien ce at the lecture was entranced. W ith m ou th s agape, w e w atched as this creature evolved from a tin y egg, to a fat larva (caterpillar), to a delicate ensh rou d­ ed chrysalis (pupae), and finally from its green folds, em erges a m onarch. It is a stu n ­ n in g process, and seem s illogical that o n e creature can change so drastically in su ch a short period o f tim e.

Finally, th e m onarch m igrates in an aston ish in g way, unlike any other butterfly.

T h e y travel up to 4 ,8 0 0 kilom etres, g lid in g in large masses, and often setde in th e sam e w inter roosts, sim ilar to birds. H ow ever, a m onarch o n ly m akes this jou rn ey on ce, and th ose that return the n ext year are its

behaviour is am azing o n its grand scale.

Virtually d e fe n c e le s s M onarchs eat m ilk w eed , w h ic h secretes a thick, stick y fluid th at is in ed ib le to m o st species. M onarchs are c on seq u en tly avoided b y m o st birds because the m ilk w eed makes th e m p o iso n o u s an d e a tin g o n e w o u ld in d u ce avian v o m itin g.

T h e w in ter is c o ld e n o u g h to slow th e m onarch’s m etab olism in order to survive, b u t n o t to o co ld that it w o u ld kill them .

D u rin g th e w inter o f 2 0 0 2 , how ever, rain and sn ow storm s soaked and froze th e b u t­ terflies. Brower sh ow ed pictures o f the dead m onarchs p iled o n th e grou n d , three feet d eep in places, like brow n m o u n d s o f hay. It is estim ated that a quarter o f a b illio n b u t­ terflies w ere killed in that storm , approxi­ m ately 7 0 to 8 0 per c en t o f th e p op u lation .

W h ile m onarch butterflies are n o t an endangered species, their m igration is an endangered b iological p h en o m en o n . T h eir “overw in terin g” sites m ay be w h at Brower called “the A chilles’ heel o f the butterfly”— the defenceless creatures are extrem ely sus­ cep tib le to w eather fluxes and h u m a n inter­ v en tio n , w h ich , un lik e the weather, is pre­ ventable.

T h e preservation o f these butterflies is a com p lex issue, sp an n in g ecological, social, disciplinary, econ om ical and international and cultural boundaries. T h e prob lem is an en viron m en tal on e, as w ell as a p olitical one, w ith issues o f land tenure, ow n ersh ip , and m ajor lum ber interests in th e Sierra M adre m o u n ta in region. T h e five m ajor areas in the m o u n ta in s have been p rotected sin ce 1 9 8 5 un der a presidential decree, b u t w h at is m o st frustrating is th at lo g g in g o f the O y a m el fir still c o n tin u e s, th in n in g o u t th e buffer zones, allow in g co ld w in d s to penetrate the m onarch’s fragile w orld.

T here are 5 4 w o o d factories in th e pro-

| reglCJjB, and, 75 per cen t o f th em are In d |||p fe lo n to large lum ber com p a, fam ilies o f farm labourers have cleared patches o f forest for agriculture. T h e is d ecim ated forests! and it is predictai in 2 0 years the m onarch butterfly |w>pulatjon w ill even tually fade away.

I flk. H! 44

ly arrive w ith their don k eys and seedlings to plant. M exican forestry experts, en viron ­ m entalists, b iologists, poets and picadors o f the govern m en t are im p assion ed ab ou t the cause, and are w ork in g tow ard solu tion s for sustainable d evelop m en t. It is ob viou s that the m igration o f these creatures sh o u ld be treasured as a p iece o f nature and that these butterflies are an exam ple o f biodiversity that m ust be preserved.

Brower su m s it up e lo q u e n d y w ith this statem ent: “W h y sh o u ld w e conserve art? I th in k the ton es o f colou r o f a m onarch’s w in g are as beaudfrd as th e ton es o f the M o n a L isa ... T h e beauty o f o n e o f these sacs o f butterflies silh o u etted against th e sky is as beautiful as th e rose w in d o w at Chartres C athedral, and ju st as p reciou s.” ■

descendents. T h e y m ake this jou rn ey rela­ tiv ely u n scath ed , an d th e y in stin c tiv e ly k n o w w h ere an d in w h a t d ir ec tio n to m igrate, m o st lik ely u sin g the equin oxes as a sort o f com pass. T h is inh erited pattern o f

STING CONCORDIA!

M c G il l

F R I. S E P T . 2 6

4P

P reservin g th e m onarch T here is a g lim m er o f h o p e for the m onarch o n th e horizon . T h e ir protected area has been increased from 1 6 ,0 0 0 to 4 9 ,0 0 0 hectares, and reforestation has begun w ith over o n e m illio n trees. Locals frequent­

so ccer

v s . C o n c o r d ia S t in g e r s

M O L S O N S T A D IU M

6 :3 0 & 8 :3 0 p m

w w w .a t h le t ic s .m c g ill.c a

INFORM.UMD.EDU

McGill A T H L E T I C S

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Features 11

The problem facing international courts try its first case.

T h e idea o f intern ation al jus­

J. Roberts

w

ith m a n y hiccu p s, effo rts to create international c rim in a l co u rts are lu rch in g for­

w ard. It appears that th e underly­ in g reason for creating th ese courts is to ensure that p eo p le w h o do really bad th in gs c a n n o t escape the law.

T h e r e h ave b e e n su ccesses.

U n ite d N a tio n s tribunals have c o l­ lared an d tried so m e truly un pleas­ a n t p e o p le in resp o n se to th e B alkan c o n flic ts.

And th e International C rim in al C o u rt is up and ru n n in g, th o u g h it has yet to

tice is a nob le o n e . It offers th e possib lity that h u m a n ity m ay raise itse lf above w ar an d barbarity by deliverin g ju stice th at is based o n the rule o f law, an d n o t m ere force.

In ternational trials also force th ose responsible for th e atrocities to take responsib ility for their actions.

A t th e N u re m b e rg trials, a U N -a d m in iste re d tribunal fo u n d N a z i lead ers g u ilty o f crim es against hum anity. It is the spirit o f N u rem b erg th at anim ates th e pres­ e n t to transform intern ation al jus­ tice from an ad h o c affair to a per­ m an en t one. T h e goal is to ensure that leaders w h o c o m m it gen ocid e an d other crim es ca n n o t be safe

from justice anyw here in th e w orld.

O n th e o th e r h a n d , m o st intern ation al trials have b een the su bject o f interm inab le delays and revolving prosecutors. T h e process o f creating an d m an a g in g these courts has b een battered b y p o liti­ cal interests m ak in g d isin gen u ou s use o f h u m a n rights argum ents.

W estern c o u n tr ie s, C a n a d a in clu d ed , are far m ore eager to offer lawyers to th e w orld than th ey are to su p p ly soldiers. I f h u m a n rights advocates w ish to c o n d e m n and prevent atrocities, they m u st first recognize that p olitical stabili­ ty m u st be im p lem e n te d before

COUNTON.ORG

m ore fine-grained attem p ts at jus­ Are international criminal courts actually d oin g their job?

tice can be attem p ted .

B u t there is anoth er m ore fu n -

dam ental p rob lem th at im p ed es th e current efforts to create inter­ n ation al courts. N am ely, it is that th e focus o f these courts rem ains clearly o n th e state. For exam ple, fo rm er p r e sid e n t of Serbia, S lob od an M ilosevic, and C h ilean d ictator A u g u sto P in o c h e t have b een th e m o st h ig h profile targets o f in tern ation al crim in al courts.

W ir e le s s p la n s

B u t w h ile it w as in d ee d state lead­ ers w h o c o m m itte d m an y o f the large-scale atrocities o f th e 2 0 th century, th is is less lik ely to be the case in th e present century.

In W estern cou n tries, th e state is b e in g eclip sed b y transnational b u siness interests. A n d , in m u c h o f th e rest o f th e w o rld , religious lead­ ers c o n tin u e to have m ore sw ay

t h a t d o n ’t r e q u i r e a s t u d e n t lo a n .

than national ones.

O sam a b in Laden provides an excellent exam ple. It is far from clear h o w th e n e w intern ation al courts w o u ld deal w ith him ; B in Laden n either con trols nor b elon gs to a state, an d it is d ifficu lt to un derstand un d er w h ic h jurisdic­ tio n h e c o u ld be h e ld accou ntable.

Perhaps it is tim e for interna­ tion al courts to refocus their sights

»

o n n o n -sta te actors. R eligiou s in sti­ tu tio n s have lo n g b een con sid ered to be largely a u to n o m o u s from the law s o f th e state. It is tim e w e revis­ it th is n o tio n . T h e se in stitu tion s are as ferociou sly p olitical as m any n ation-states, an d o ften th ey are m ore w ea lth y an d v icio u s. T h e ir leaders sh o u ld be subject to th e sam e justice as national leaders.

For exam ple, justice d em and s that th e h ead o f a trillion -dollar p ed o p h ile ring be th row n in to a d ock . L ikew ise, robed m aniacs w h o exh ort their p eo p le to pray for the death o f entire n ation s sh o u ld face international crim inal justice.

C orporate crim inals sim ilarly

\

seem b ey o n d th e scop e o f th ose w h o are c re a tin g in te r n a tio n a l

ENTER TO

W IN

G o i n g w i r e l e s s s h o u l d n ' t f e e l lik e a

Want to become a mobile student?

lu x u r y .

A n d w ith p l a n s fr o m a s lo w a s $ 2 0 / m o n t h * it d o e s n ’t h a v e t o . T h e

fu tu re

i s f r ie n d ly *

V isit t e l u s m o b i l i t y . c o m / s t u d e n t fo r y o u r c h a n c e t o w in : I

■ HP notebook « Cell phone ■ $2000 scholarship

ELUS m o b ility -

courts. T h e glo b e is craw ling w ith executive officers w h o disp lay w ill­ ful blind ness, or often com plicity, tow ard e g reg io u s e n v iro n m en ta l and h u m an rights abuses.

S h ou ld

they n o t be indicted? ft is far from clear w h eth er intern ation al courts w ill or can ever succeed. W h a t d oes seem clear is that their success w ill in part be d eterm in ed by w h o m they d ecid e to id en tify as really bad p eop le. T h e sc o p e o f th e se c o u r ts sh o u ld encom p ass n o t just state actors, but religiou s an d corp orate o n e s as

d e t a i l s o n t h e s e g r e a t o f f e r s o r t o f i n d a s t o r e n e a r y o u , v is it t e i u s m o b i i i t y . c o m / s t u d e n t o r c a ll 1 - 8 8 8 - 8 1 0 - 5 5 5 5 .

F o r m o r e ____________ _.

U r n . raontHy sysm iirergns and monthly911 aw esre y i w w «*•** «« <*«• i f e « ty ra n t only IP »03 TELf-MUBIlt CuMmN~-

w ell. ■

a m & e n t e r t a i n m e n t T he McGill

QrrP __ jJnB rrem

Tri bune, Tuesday,

September 23, 2003

POP Montreal is a four-day independent music festival taking place from September 25 to ,V m

28 that wil>fea'w e nearly 200 artists.

chats with two of the T ab's picks.

P A N T H E A LEE

Prepare for sonic assault I

n a tim e where com m ercial h ip -h o p has degraded itself to a sordid lyrical w asteland o f p im p in ’ rides, b lin g bling

and big b o o ty hos, warsawpack is a m u ch -n eed ed breath o f fresh air. T h e eclectic group from H am ilton , O ntario, fires o f f blistering rounds o f h ip -h op , rock, fun k and jazz fu sion o n their sop hom ore effort Stocks and Bombs, released on G 7 W elcom in g C o m m ittee, a label that prides itse lf on an anarchistic history. Scrutiny o f the lyrics, unsurprisingly, w ill reveal a voice that is aligned w ith G 7 ’s vision— to be a socially conscious rogue m edia outlet. T h at voice belongs to o n e Lee Raback, the p oetic m asterm ind and vocal frontm an o f the seven-piece collective. A prophet blessed w ith the gift o f gab, he spits o u t ph ilosophical bullets that provoke and stim ulate.

Listen closely and reap the rewards— avoiding the w orn -ou t “fuck the m an” rhetoric, this material is th o u g h t­ ful and relevant. “T h e war m achine is in full effect / A n d the press makes G oebbels lo o k like an infant / A n d the New York Times toes the line / A n d the Post boasts o f our righteousness / A n d this is right and this is w ron g / G o o d bad black w h ite and w h ich side are you o n ,” Raback seethes in “W olfblitzer” o f f the latest release. B old and brazen, the tracks brim w ith dark im agery that grabs listeners and shakes them in to the disturbing reality o f today.

Raback is quick to p o in t ou t, however, that an angry, broodin g revolutionary he is n ot. So is he p lo ttin g w orld takeover in his dark d u n geon headquarters? N o t likely.

I think w h en p eople listen to us, they bring w ith them the baggage o f all political m usic that they’ve ever heard,” he observes. A n d I think p eop le hear m ore anger in it than is actually really there. I th in k that they’ve co m e w ith this other accu m ulation o f baggage that they p u t o n m e too and they assum e that I’m trying to incite som eth in g that I’m n o t.”

Raback also shrugs o f f com parisons to rebel rockers Rage A gainst the M ach in e and the D ead K ennedys, insisting that the band is really quite boring.

W e are so lam e, like, w e d o n ’t even sm ok e in our truck, he laughs. W h e n pressed for an excitin g story from the road, there is a lo n g pause. “W e saw sea otters w h en w e to o k the ferry,” he finally pipes.

T h e band’s unassum ing nature is refreshing. C urrently o n a nationw id e tour, the group adm its it is surprised at the w ay audiences have w elcom ed it w ith op en arms. But it is hard to see w h y on e w o u ld n t. W ith a tight percussion sec­ tion co m p lem en ted by saxes, flutes and guitars overtop pas­ sionate, biting lyricism , warsawpack’s grooves and w ords play o f f each other. It’s m usic that w ill set o f f som eth in g insid e o f you.

Raback shies away from crediting m u sic as a force, h o w ­ ever, for social and political change. T think it’s m ore a part o f a h olistic program. I think that, o n its ow n , m usic is no cure for anything, but it provides different things to differ­ en t people. To so m eo n e like m yself, political m usic is kind o f like a soundtrack, he asserts. It’s like: I already k n o w this, I’ve already heard this, but I like the w ay this guy’s w ording it. T here s n o change g o in g on there, I’m just m aybe pu ttin g a voice and som e feelings in to p eop le’s hearts abou t it, stu ff that th ey already feel.”

Raback says he strives for objectivity in his art, adm it­ tin g that the messages h e sends o u t aren’t always his ow n o p in ion . Rather, he m aintains, he is sim ply trying to arouse debate.

A lth ou gh he believes m usic is a p o ten t force o f inform a­ tio n for you th he claim s C h u ck D sch ooled his young, im pressionable se lf— Raback believes that, at this p oin t, the group is sim ply shaking things up for the rest o f the p o p u ­

lace. As you get older, the in fo end o f [m usic] isn’t as big a deal, but [we’re] sim p ly providing juice to the fire at that p oin t. I think that m usic affects peop le differently all over but, ultim ately, I th in k it needs other things w orking w ith it.

You need to see a g o o d docum entary, you n eed to see an interesting poster and n o t k n o w w h y it’s there. You need to see a pam p hlet or a zine. A n d I think the su m total o f that can affect p eop le’s th in k in g.”

T h e band has d on e several charity benefits and the m em bers regularly attend protests in an effort to practice w hat they preach, but Raback m aintains that the group is sim p ly trying to encourage dialogue through m usic, rather than force a m anifesto o n to its audience or in cite radical action. I m ean, [our m usic] is n oth in g revolutionary,” he shrugs. ‘It’s stirring the p o t a little, givin g it a different voice or a different an gle.” ■

Check out warsawpack’s invigorating voice this Friday, September 26, at Club Soda.

Bedouin continues to win fans over M alinow ski recounts h o w the band landed its first gig.

I was dropp ing o f f five tapes a day around Q u een ’s and K ingston for m aybe three m on th s and then, finally, I g o t on e in at the on-cam pu s coffee shop. W e played the sh ow and they paid us $ 5 0 and w e th ou gh t this was the m o st m o n ey w e d ever seen. W e th ou gh t w e were rich,” he recalls fondly.

MARK KUPFERT B edouin Soundclash returns to Le Swim m ing for POP M ontreal. ay M alinow ski is a fourth-year stu dent at Q u een ’s University. T h is undergrad, however, has a credit to his nam e that sets him apart from the other 15 ,0 0 0 odd students at the K ingston, O ntario school: he has been likened to a w h ite Bob Marley. N o w those are som e big shoes to fill.

J

T h e vocalist and guitar player, along w ith bass player E on Sinclair and drum m er Pat Pengelly, m ake up B ed ou in Soundclash, a reggae o u tfit that borrows inspiration from w orld m usic, as w ell as interjecting elem ents o f rock and pop to create their ow n u n ique sou nd . As for the M arley com par­ isons, the m od est M alinow ski ruefully declines the c o m p li­ m ents. Rather, he com es o f f as pensive and dow n-to-earth, and B edouin’s lyrics reflect his thou ghtfu l sensibilities.

T h e trio m et at university three years ago and have since becom e the darlings o f the K ingston m usic scene. W ith a soft, affable charm that is easy on the ears, they have been crow ned Q u een ’s Battle o f the Bands cham pions as w ell as enjoyed honours as the cam pus radio’s m ost requested group.

The road to success, however, hasn’t always been easy.

“W e w en t ou t after the sh ow to celebrate that w e’d actually had a sh ow and w e w ere about to sp en d the m oney, [but] then w e said ‘no, w e’re g o in g to save up, w e sh ould p u t this m o n ey away. So w e started a cash box and that’s h o w w e paid for Root Fire.”

A n d th ose were the hu m b le b eginn in gs o f the little band from K in gston that could. After perform ing at a dozen or so show s, the band had finally saved up en ou gh funds in their sacred box to pay for a first album . T h e group headed to a small stu dio outsid e o f K ingston and 12 hours and $ 4 0 0 later, their labour o f love, Root Fire, was finished. Live, o ff the floor and out o f their ow n pockets.

Released in 2 0 0 1 , the album is a nine-track trot through the band s earlier material, w ritten w h en th ey were first-year students. T h e songs m ove to their o w n devil-m ay-care tem p o, characterized by laidback d rum m ing, an am bling bass and an earnest lu m in osity in M alinow ski’s sou lfu l crooning.

Since then, S tom p Records has taken the band under its w in g and the group’s future is lo o k in g up. T h e band is anx­ ious for the release o f its next album , Sounding a Mosaic, slat­ ed to h it the streets N ovem b er 3. It has been tw o years since their deb u t offering and the band believes the n ew album w ill be a testam ent to its grow th and reflect the n ew B edouin Soundclash. “ [W ith Root Fire], w e were just trying to get so m any ideas d ow n o n to o n e thing. W e were m u ch younger and w e

were paying h om age to a lot o f the artists that w e listen to.

So everything from the Police to Bob M arley and the C lash ,” explains M alinow ksi. “W e w ere all trying to em ulate those things and, I th in k o n this album , it’s after three years, w e’ve really m atured a lot b oth as a live band and as a w riting u n it.”

M alinow ski, Pengelly and Sinclair are all fourth-year students at Q u e en s and, as such, academ ic com m itm en ts have prevented them from touring extensively and d evoting them selves entirely to their m usic. But com e graduation next year, B edouin w ill be ready to break o u t o f the confines o f the college band stereotype and the accom p anying stigm a.

I m sure that i f w e did n’t go to university, our audience w o u ld be considerably different. W e get criticism for being in university and perhaps n o t havin g the best perspective o n th in gs,” lam ents M alinow ski.

T h e m em bers are lo o k in g forward to b ein g able to im m erse them selves in their art full-tim e. M alinow ski believes a third album and extensive touring are in the cards as soon as they finish school, and he doesn’t rule ou t a m ove to M ontreal, w here their label is based. H e h op es the group w ill be able to co n tin u e o n their upward journey and b ecom e m ore accessible to audiences all over Canada.

“I definitely w o u ld n ot like to be at the level w e’re at right n o w for any len gth o f tim e. It’d be boring as hell to be at the sam e level, he reflects. I w ou ld like to always be involved w ith m usic, but on ly as lo n g as it is constan tly evolving. T h at’s w h at keeps you passionate abou t w h at you ’re d o in g there s always m ore to do. You always have som e­ th in g m ore to say.” ■

Bedouin Soundclash will play this Wednesday, September 24, at Le Swimming.

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

0 J S iC

Sam Roberts hits a homer

O n e o f th e m o st m isu n d er­ sto o d o f film m edia, arguably, is an im ation . Sin ce th e first anim at­ ed featu re-len gth film s b y W alt D is n e y app eared o n th e b ig screen, in d ep en d en t artists have b een pressured to eith er jo in the M ic k e y M o u se C lu b or struggle th rou gh obscure m eans to express th eir a rtistic v isio n . A n im a te d shorts are u n derexposed at best and anim ators su ch as M ik e Judge ( Beavis and Butthead, King o f the Hill) w an t to turn the tab les a ro u n d and m a k e th is lo st art m ainstream .

“W e’ve b een dream in g ab ou t this n igh t, it m eans everything to us. T h an k s so m u ch for c o m in g out.

W ait a m in u te. Sam R oberts is than king th e audi­ ence? It really sh ou ld have b een the other w ay around, because those folks lu ck y en o u g h to get tickets to the so ld -o u t Septem ber 16 sh o w at Spectrum w ere treated to a n ig h t o f real rock ‘n roll, and to a sh o w that was b o th in tim ate and energy-packed.

T h is sh o w w as n o t ab ou t g o in g through the m o tio n s. It was raw and it was real. R oberts and c o m ­ p an y p u t o n a stu n n in g live show. T h is was a sh ow ab ou t havin g the tim e o f you r life. T h is w as a sh ow abou t a g u y from M ontreal playing th e v en u e he atten d­ ed hundreds o f tim es as a k id and w h o w as in d isb elief that he was n o w the o n e stan d in g o n stage and draw ing

The Animation Show w as b orn o u t o f

in the fans.

H a ilin g from P oin te C laire, the M cG ill grad (BA ‘9 8 ) and u p -a n d -co m in g rockstar was fu lfillin g o n e o f his c h ild h o o d dream s by playing to a packed hou se at Spectrum . O b v io u s to everyone was the singer’s gid d i­ ness o n ce h e w as centre stage, just h im and his band.

From the first n otes o f “A m azin g G race,” the ener­ gy w as like n o th in g else. T h is ban d k n ow s h o w to throw d ow n . N o t o n ly that, th e fact that th ey d o n o t take them selves to o seriously is refreshing. T h ese boys are playing their m u sic and, just like their aud ien ce, they to o are there to have a g o o d tim e. R oberts charism a coated every n o te he played an d w ord he sang.

H e was n o t sh y a b o u t lettin g everyone k n o w h o w special this sh o w was to h im , con stan tly than king the aud ien ce an d saying th at it w as g o o d to be h o m e and that he was “than king [his] lucky stars that [he is] from this to w n .”

T h e sh o w w as n o t just for th e fans, b u t also for the city itself. H is passion for M ontreal w as m anifested w h en he d edicated th e bilin gual “N o Sleep” to the city.

Bands often say h o w special it is to be in the to w n th ey are in, b u t this tim e it w as different: this was sincere.

M id w ay through th e show , R oberts to ld the crowd, “N o w w e’re g ettin g seriou s,” flashed a sm ile and pulled o u t a b ottle o f Jack D a n iels. H e proceeded to dance w h ile his bandm ates played a slow ballad w h ic h gradu­ ally led in to the son g th at first brough t the band their fam e, “B rother D o w n .” T h e crow d’s response w as o u t o f con trol, w ith scream ing, ju m p in g an d bod ysu rfing ensu in g.

It’s hard to p in p o in t th e m o m en t th at m o st electri­ fied the aud ien ce, as it really w as a tw o -h o u r -lo n g party.

B u t perhaps o n e o f th e m o st to u c h in g m o m en ts o f the n igh t w as w h e n R oberts cam e o u t for his en core accom ­ pan ied o n ly by his a cou stic guitar. O n e by on e, his

this v ision . Judge and D o n H e r tz fe ld t c o ­

Sam R oberts liv e s o u t his rock star dream a t Spedrum . bandm ates jo in ed h im and then, from the audience p op p ed o u t tw o o f his brothers, jo in in g h im onstage, arms around o n e another, sin gin g together.

“W here H ave A ll the G o o d P eople G o n e ” had every single aud ien ce m em b er sin gin g along. H and s raised and clap ping, th ey w ere thrilled to see Roberts take his turn bod ysu rfing, th row in g h im se lf in to the sea o f b od ies all th e w h ile still playing his guitar.

T h e in tim ate settin g o f Spectrum was perfect for this show. It was ob viou s that the close c o n n e c tio n w ith his pu blic is so m e th in g this perform er thrives o f f of.

R oberts kn ow s h o w to give his all du rin g a show, and this w as clearly exh ib ited last Tuesday n igh t, th rou gh all his passion and sweat.

R oberts deserves m u ch credit for w ritin g and arranging every so n g o n his album . H e also played every single in stru m en t o n all the tracks, a d m ittin g defeat o n ly in the face o f the drum set.

Towards th e en d o f th e show, R oberts said, “T h is is g o in g to keep us g o in g for I d on ’t k n o w h o w lon g. T h e answer from the aud ien ce seem ed to be a u n an im ou s “d itto ,” because there just ain’t n o th in g like a g o o d rock concert. ■

13

An animation oddity Matthew Arnot

Lexie Buchanan-Kaisin

A&E

p r o d u c e d th e film w ith plans o f m ak­ in g it an annual even t. < T h e p ie ce is a c o lle ctio n o f anim at­ ed sh ort film s th at have n o su bstantive v iew in g forum s o u t­ side o f second-rate television spots and just before certain m o tio n pictures. T h e lin e up o f shorts spans eigh t cou n tries and has c o l­ lec tiv e ly garnered six A ca d em y A w ard n o m in a tio n s. W orld w id e appreciation for these shorts is evi­ dent.

“In E urope, y o u can see it everywhere; the govern m en ts and T V finance it because there’s n o com m ercials over there and th ey run the shorts b etw een sh o w s,” H ertzfeld t said. H ow ever, like the m id d le ch ild o f any classic subur­ ban fam ily, su ch shorts sim p ly d o n ’t get the atten tio n and the praise th e y o fte n deserve in N o r th A m erica. O ver th e past 3 0 years, an im ated shorts have b een o n th e declin e. Ever since Beavis and Butthead reared its ugly (bu tt)h ead , how ever, there has b e e n m od erate atten tio n

w h ere o d d an im ation m eets m a in ­ stream view ers.

M o st p f th e 19 a n im a te d shorts are-relatively funny, inter­ estin g and even m agical. O th ers are strange and im m ature. O n e that deserves n otab le m e n tio n is , Strange Invaders b y C an ad a’s C ordell Barker. It’s od d ly fu n n y nature w ill m ake anyon e sm ile.

A n o th er truly th o u g h t-p ro v o k in g sh ort was th e existen tial Mount Head. It had great visual appeal an d m o d e stly to ld a m od ern inter­ pretation o f a traditional Japanese fairy tale.

O th er h igh ligh ts in clu d ed a lo o k at the afterlife in Fifty Percent

Grey and Vincent b y visual m aster T im B urton. The Rock was, b y far, th e m o st intellectu al. Finally, the m o st im agin ative, superbly su b ­ lim e p iece w as Mars and Beyond.

O n e th in g is for certain: d esp ite the w id e range o f m aterial, th e aud ien ce w ill, at tim es, be am azed and inspired.

U n fo rtu n a tely for Judge and H ertzfeld t, th is m o v ie is really q u ite g ood , excep t the m aterial th e tw o cartoon gurus cam e up w ith . From w h a t th e aud ien ce w ill see, these tw o perverts suck at their craft. Is b leed in g from the anus, for n o logical reason, ever fu n n y after grade tw o or three? A film w ith creative m asterp ieces m ixed in w ith child ish , m oron ic h u m o u r truly sets back fantastic anim ators. H ow ever, to his credit, Judge’s Early w h at funny.

O verall,

Animation

is so m e ­

The Animation Show

is a just a g o o d sh o w to go to w h e n y o u feel lik e seein g so m e ­ th in g c o m p lete ly o u t there. ■

W H AT:

The Animation Show

W H E N : S ep tem ber 2 6 to O cto b er 2 W H ER E: C in é m a d u Parc RA TING : * * * £

A

thought Benefit from our Student Fridays package offered exclusively to cegep and university students.

Buy tickets to at least two of the following three shows and pay only $56, or attend all three for $80.* Celle qui, dit-on, aurait perdu sa chaussure (Ceudrillon) — October 17, 2003 A brilliantly inspired new creation.

Minus One — March 12,2004 It will make you cry and laugh and shiver!

Pureté Balanchine — May 21,2004 A celebration of the body - a work of sheer purity!

After each show, make it a date at Le Seingalt bistro for a thought-provoking discussion. A perfect opportunity for dialogue in a simple and lively atmosphere featuring fascinating guests speaking on the following themes**: October 17,2003 - Claude Jasmin, writer — L'accessibilité au bonheur !

(The key to happiness) March 12,2004 - Lise Bissonnette, writer and BNQ CEO — Les motiva­ tions du don [(The motivations for giving) May 21,2004 - Charles Binamé, film-maker — La beauté, source d'inspiration / (Beauty, a source of inspiration) Discussions (in French only) will be hosted by Jacques Senécal, philoso­ pher, and will last from 60 to 90 minutes.

For reservations, call 514 8494KB9 or visit our Web site www.grandsballets.qc.ca

^CategoryBtickets only(rest orchestra andtsar balcony}. *1nfrenchonly. LosBrands BalletsCanadiens 4t Montréal reservethe rightto changethe price*endcontent ofthispackagewithoutnotice.

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

^ ^ e c str e

Players' Theatre's first production a (ca)hoot S h ak esp earean and stan dard E nglish . T h o u g h m en ta lly d au n tin g at first, the d ialogu e is w ritten so that th e au d ien ce can still grasp w h a t th e characters are saying. A b r ief awards cerem o n y occurs w here Fox M ajor (M aren Speck), th e stu ­

Marcelle Kosrnan efore v en tu rin g o u t to see Players’ T h eatre’s ren di­ tio n o f T om Stop pard’s

B

Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth, bear in m in d the fo llo w in g tw o critical item s.

First, to fully appreciate the absurd

d e n t w h o plays H a m le t, sw eeps the

the H a m le t character. A n abbrevi­ a te d p e r fo rm a n c e o f th e p lay ensues, w h ere th e script is c u t d o w n to n in e pages. Im m ed ia tely fo llo w ­ in g th e stu d en ts’ p erform ance, an en core en su es w h ere Hamlet is even further sh orten ed to ap p roxim ately tw o pages o f m aterial.

oppressive c o m m u n ist en v iro n m en t he w itn essed , particularly in the realm o f theatre, w h en h e visited C zechoslovakia in th e 1970s.

Players’ T h eatre’s p ro d u ctio n is fantastic, regardless o f these c o m ­ plexities. Each o f the actors bring excep tion al talents to th e stage, and th e cast collaborates b eautifully in this funny, in trigu in g and in tellec­ tually stim u la tin g arrangem ent o f w ords, action s an d m eaning.

C

n e w thriller from Leaving Las Vegas d ir ec to r M ik e F iggis, is a case in p o in t. A lth o u g h th e m o v ie itse lf is n o t perfect by any m ean s— in fact, there are so m e big m istakes w ith it— it does n o t help w h en theatre m o d ifica tio n s distract a tten tio n from th e film itself.

D e n n is Q u a id an d Sh aron S to n e p la y C o o p e r an d Leah W ilso n , a c o u p le w h o , a lo n g w ith their tw o child ren, p ack up and m o v e o u t o f N e w York C ity and in to the sou th ern cou n trysid e. T h e h o u se th e y b u y turns o u t to be an estate that w as p reviou sly o w n ed by a fam ily o f sh eep farmers. C oop er, b e in g a d o cu m en ta ry film m aker, takes great interest. T h e state o f the h o u se is u p set w h e n th e form er ow n er o f the h o u se, D a le M assie, sh ow s up.

T h o u g h at first he seem s to be frien d ly e n o u g h , it so o n becom es clear that D a le w an ts to take back

WHAT: Cold Creek Manor WHO:

D e n n is Q u a id Sharon S ton e

^

BY:

Mike Figgis

^

RATING:

participated in “liv in g ro o m theatre”-ty p e even ts as a m ean s o f breaking free o f their oppressive state.

Dogg’s Hamlet, Macbeth’s tw o acts are

o ld

C

r e e k

M

th e h o u se by an y m eans necessary.

T h is leads C o o p er and his fam ily to fin d o u t th e terrible secret h e is try­ in g to hid e.

S tep h en D o r ff plays D ale, and really nails th e part, especially in o n e particular scene w h ere h e goes to v isit his father w h o has g o n e sen ile, played by th e alw ays-brilliant C h ristop h er P lum m er. Q u a id , w h o w as fantastic in Far From Heaven, does an oth er great job in Manor, •particularly in o n e sc e n e w h ere

a n o r

k in d o f a thriller h e w a n ted to m ake.

A n o th e r p r o b le m w ith th e m o v ie lies in th e in tr o d u c tio n o f the character Ruby, played b y Juliette Lew is. R u b y is D a le ’s girlfriend, and gets beaten by h im in o n e scene, b u t isn’t necessary at all to p lo t d ev elo p m en t. I f her presence in th e film w ere subtracted, there w o u ld be n o in fo rm a tio n m issin g from th e film .

phere— th e cam era bob s in an d o u t o f room s, giv in g th e im p ression th at so m e o m in o u s g h o st is w atch ­ in g th e T ilso n fam ily. T h e se parts are rem in iscen t o f Stanley K ubrick’s

h o u se, b u t o n ly after C o o p er and Leah reach it. Seem ingly, every­ th in g w o u ld be solved i f D a le just p u sh ed C o o p er in to th e w ell w h ile h e w as fish in g o u t Leah.

In fact, there are three sh ots in the m o v ie th at are nearly id en tical to K ubrick’s m asterpiece.

T h e oth er tw o thirds o f th e m ovie are m o r e stan d ard m o v ie-fa r e, sh o w in g th e au d ien ce b o th the pro­ tagon ist’s and the v illa in s p o in ts o f v iew an d ask in g th e m to sym p a­

are p rob lem atic in a n d o f th e m se lv e s b u t th e m o v ie -g o in g exp erien ce c o u ld be further d am aged . E very tim e a scary m o m e n t arises in th e film , all o f th e chairs in th e theatre shake.

A u d ien ce m em b ers n e e d n o t be tricked in to b e in g frightened;

thize w ith b o th sides th rou gh estab­ lish in g sh ots an d an o m n ip o te n t p o in t o f view.

g o o d m ovies k n o w h o w to d o it th rou gh their craft alone.

I f H itc h c o c k a n d K u b rick c o u ld su cceed w ith o u t th e aid o f vibratin g seats, th is m o v ie sh o u ld have b een able to as w ell. N o o n e goes to th e m o v ies to be sexually harassed b y a chair. It is distract­ in g , it is a n n o y in g an d , m o st im portantly, contrary to th e in te n t

A lth o u g h b o th o f these styles w o r k fin e in d e p e n d e n t o f each other, th e y sh o u ld n o t be togeth er in the sam e m ovie.

In th e en d , Cold Creek Manor ends up extrem ely ju m b le d .

It seem s like F iggis isn’t sure w h at

to n g u e. T h e in sp ector is defenceless a g a in st th e to n g u e , a n d in his a ttem p t to overpow er th e m , h e su c­ cu m b s to the add ictive language an d is m istaken for o n e o f th em .

It is p o ssib le th a t a u d ien ce m em b ers w h o have read Hamlet and Macbeth, k n o w so m e C zech oslovak ian history, and are versed in theatre o f th e absurd, m ay better appreciate Stop pard’s m es­

A n ders Yates. E asy arrives, as sim i­ larly as he d oes in th e first act, to u n load so m e Planks, B locks, Slabs an d C u b es— w h ic h , in D o g g , trans­ late to “R eady,” “N e x t,” “O k ay”

m a tio n is irrelevant to th e overall pu rp ose an d them e.

Easy,

W h a t m akes Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth su ch an en tertain­ in g and enjoyable sp ectacle is the ab ility o f th e actors to m ove from D o g g to E nglish , and back again, seam lessly and effortlessly, at no co st to th e qu ality o f th e acting.

S u ch a feat is n o less than rem ark­ able. ■

puts the chill on thrillers

For a b ou t o n e third o f th e m ovie, Figgis does a great jo b at cre­ atin g a ten se and un easy a tm os­

The Shining.

in D o g g as com fortab ly and excit­ ed ly as th o u g h it w ere their native

sage. T h e n again, th ey very w ell m ay n o t, as the backgroun d infor­

ch aracter

a n d “T h a n k y o u ,” resp ectively.)

H ow ever, sin ce m e etin g the sc h o o lchild ren o f th e first act, h e has begu n to speak o n ly D o g g . T h e o n ly player w h o can c o m m u n ic a te w ith h im is C a h o o t, played b y M arc R ow lan d.

T here is also a m ajor prob lem tow ards th e e n d , w h e n Leah is th r o w n d o w n a w e ll b y D a le .

C o o p er uses a rope to p u ll his w ife up w h ile D a le heads o f f in to the w o o d s , reap p earin g n ear th e

C o o p er and D a le g e t in to a drink­ in g con test.

Cahoot’s

T ogeth er, E asy a n d C a h o o t in trod u ce the players o f Macbeth to D o g g , a gibb erish language that is in com p reh en sib le to th e inspector.

R ejuvenated by their n e w fo u n d free sp eech, th e actors c o n tin u e Macbeth

m erged by p la y e d b y

th e

In th e p erfo rm a n ces se c o n d act, Cahoot’s Macbeth, it appears th at th e S cottish play is b ein g per­ form ed in a sm all, m ism a tch ed liv­ in g room . H ow ever, ju st as the play b egin s to take its clim a ctic turn, the action is interrup ted by an in sp ec­ tor, played by B randon F in egold, b a r g in g in to th e r o o m . A s h e berates th e actors, th e a u d ien ce gradually realizes th at w h a t they just u n k n o w in g ly w itn essed w as the

In Dogg’s Hamlet, the au d ien ce is transported to a sch o o l settin g w h ere three stu d en ts are preparing for a presentation o f Hamlet. T h e stu d en ts speak D o g g , a b len d o f

h ese d ays, th e art o f m o v ie m a k in g is g o in g to hell. Cold Creek Manor, the

w as an attem p t at free expression d u rin g th e dark days o f societal con trol in C zechoslovakia. T h e sce­ nario rem ains true to history, as th e sp ia n s o f th e tim e o fte n b egru d gin gly m o v ed from a life o n th e stage to m en ial w ork, and often

awards, d esp ite th e fact that sh e is a sto u n d in g ly un talen ted .

Sp eck takes full advantage o f this o p p o rtu n ity to play a bad actor by m ak in g a brilliant m ock ery o f

c o m e d y that u n fold s m eans recog­ n iz in g the genre o f these tw o o n e act plays as it is: theatre o f th e absurd. T h e se c o n d is im a g in in g the social c o n te x t in w h ic h Cahoot’s Macbeth w as w r itte n . S top p ard w rote the p iece as a response to the

T

liv in g room theatre p h e n o m e n o n that was born in the c o m m u n ist p o lice state o f C zechoslovakia.

A s the in sp ector q u estion s each actor o n his or her current e m p lo y ­ m en t, the au d ien ce learns that the p erfo rm a n ce th e y ju st w itn e sse d

o f th e p rod u ct, it d oes n o t m ake the m o v ie m ore frigh ten in g.

Cold Creek Manor m ig h t have b een a lo t m ore pleasurable in a d if­ ferent theatre an d chair b u t it is d o u b tfu l that an yon e c o u ld really like this m ovie because o f th e c o m ­

b in ation o f th e film ’s flaws and the theatre tech n ology. I f o n ly the stu ­ d io s learned from their m istakes, they c o u ld save the m o v ie-m a k in g craft by n o t su b jectin g view ers to tech n o lo g ica l gim m ick s. ■

wane a hog oaGe? Now Extended until

SEPTEMBER 29 O ur STUDENT SEAT SALE i s o n t i ll th e n .

G reat r a te s , p lu s:

• R eserve your seat hom e for C hristm as N O W for o n ly $ 2 0 * and

Manor’s flaw s

• Low season rates for high season dates the best deal for Christmas.

• Only $30 to change dates, compared with up to hundreds of dollars on other tickets. Get your Christmas flight now, and change when your exam schedule comes out if needed.

For o v e r 30 y e a r s , V o y a g e s C am p us h a s b e e n g e t tin g s t u d e n t s to s c h o o l, b ack h o m e , and to th e w orld b e y o n d .

visit www.voyagescampus.com.

frdlU V

O Y A G E S C A M P U S

O n C am p u s! M c G ill U n iv e rs ity , S h a tn e r B u ild in g 3 4 8 0 M c T avish 3 9 8 - 0 6 4 7

a1 £ S

I I î

3

i I

or

S

fp tu r

Alpha Blondy dishes

Homegrown hip-hop proves

out some soul food R

eggae

m u sic

is

lik e

that it can hold its own

glob e for the past 2 0 years. H e has released several intern ation ally successful album s and o ften perform s to crow ds o f w ell over

th o se

Chicken Soup for the Soul

7 0 ,0 0 0 p eop le in his native Africa.

Seein g B lo n d y play in th e m ore in ti­ m ate settin g o f the M etrop olis was an unbelievable experience. T h e Solar System g o t the crow d w arm ed up, before b ein g join ed b y B lon d y’s pow erful voice and presence. H e began by reciting the 23rd Psalm , w h ic h flow ed in to his h it son g “Jerusalem ,” su n g b eautifully in H ebrew.

A fter these sou lfu l num bers, Blondy, w ith the help o f his band, q u ick ly g o t the place m ovin g, skanking back and forth

book s. It is a celeb ration o f life, love an d peace th at is capable o f rejuvenating o n e ’s spirit.

U n fortu nately, the exten t o f m ost p eo p le’s reggae k n ow led ge is lim ited to that o f B ob M arley and fam ily, w h ich leaves th em in th e dark to w on d erfu l per­ form ers su ch as L uciano, B uju B anton, B urnin g Spear and A lp h a B londy. T h ese m usicians provide a reggae experience in

across the stage, h o o tin g and h ollering to the aud ien ce’s deligh t. 1 he beats were in vigorating and w ere co m p lem en ted by the voices o f tw o angelic backup singers, a fu n k y h orn section , and o n e hell o f a g u i­ tar player. It w as im p ossib le n o t to m ove

Panthea Lee C o lla b o r a tio n .

C reativity. C o m m u n ity .

C reation.

T h e se w ere th e pillars su p p o rtin g H o ld U p M en tal, a m u ltid iscip lin ary h ip -h o p o n e o f f h eld this past Saturday at the S ociety for Arts and T e ch n o lo g y v en u e. A m bassadors rep­ resen tin g th e various d iscip lin es o f h ip -h o p c u ltu r e — b reak d an cers, m u sic ia n s, graffiti artists, D Js, VJs and M C s— were all present and a c co u n te d for.

“H o ld -U p M en tal is in ten d ed to be a m es-

passed arou n d th e m ic, r o ta tin g b e tw e en E n g lish , F rench a n d S p a n ish seam lessly.

D a n c e r s c o n to r te d th eir b o d ie s to trib al A frican rhythm s. T h e Solid State Breakdance C o llectiv e perform ed several fu n , u p beat n u m ­ bers, th o u g h their focus w as m ore o n play than acrobatics. A three-piece b an d o f drum s, bass and keyboard churned o u t varied m e lo d ic landscapes th rou gh ou t th e n igh t. The m usical fabrications began dark and m ood y, w ith lyri­ cists b e m o a n in g th e problem s o f th e present day, b u t e n d e d o n u p liftin g n o tes w h ic h w ere m ean t to represent, ultim ately, h ip -h o p s self­ em an cip ation .

to the th u n d erin g bass.

As th e n ig h t progressed, B lo n d y ’s m usical talen t and w o rld ly k n ow led ge sto o d ou t. T h e set in clu d ed son gs fdled w ith p o litically-ch arged m essages, per­ form ed in his native to n g u e o f D io u la as w ell as B aoule, French, E nglish, H eb rew and A rabic. B lon d y’s ability to speak in so m an y languages allow s h im to reach y o u th th e w orld over, w h ich has b een his m ission since he began his careen By th e tim e the Solar System left the stage, feet all over the dan ce floor were aching in pain from d an cin g so hard. Even after a fou r-son g encore, th e aud ien ce co u ld n ’t seem to get en o u g h and began sto m p in g up and d o w n w h ile ch anting “A lph a B lon d y” un til he finally to o k the stage for th e third tim e that n igh t. H e th e n sa n g a slow , sm o o th an d so u lw ren ch in g a capella version o f his son g “Brigadier.” W h e n the lights finally cam e on , h u ge sm iles co u ld be seen plastered across the 2 ,0 0 0 -p lu s faces in attendance that seem ed b o th m en tally up lifted and physically bu rn t ou t. A s they filed o u t o f M etrop olis, th ey to o k the sm iles that A lph a B lon d y had pu t o n their faces and passed th em o n to the masses a lon g rue

its live and natural elem en t, taking listen ­ ers o n an un forgettable spiritual journey.

A lph a B lon d y’s return to M ontreal this past W ednesd ay n igh t was n o excep­ tio n . B lon d y and his 11-p iece band, the Solar System , treated listeners to a tw oand -a-half-hou r set o f incredibly upbeat and sou lfu l reggae.

B lon d y has been spreading his m es­ sage o f peace and acceptan ce around the

. | of India 1

B reads

FINE I N D I A N C U I S I N E

|

D A IL Y S P E C I A L

!

Ste-C ath erin e. ■

C

o

You a re w e lc o m e to v isit u s at o u r n e w location :

(Between Aylmer and City Councillors) or call us:

(514)

$ 6 .9 5 Lar ge or der

j j

Free delivery on

w w w .b r e a d s-o f-in d ia .c o m

sir j

MINIMUM ORDERS j

844-1837

S p ecial price For studen ts w ith I.D.: Sham pooing, Cut and Blow dry

L 4 l ^ T SAM0SAS j at sp e c ia l rate j S15.00

SHERBROOKE WEST

L 0 T 0 QUEBEC BUILDING

COMBO, 8 CHOICES

s -—

r e

P ie r r e 500

B u y -F iv e -G e t-O n e -F r e e

i f f u

B u s in e s s H on rs: M onday to Friday: 8 :0 0 a m to 6 :0 0 p m Saturday: 9 :0 0 a m to 3 :0 0 p m

sage o f h o p e in th e form o f a gatherin g w h ich em braces a m ixture o f styles an d access to artis­ tic expression,” explains L ou P iensa, th e sh o w s producer.

A p h otograp h y an d art exh ib it greeted th e 3 0 0 -p lu s atten dees u p o n their arrival. V id eo s

sh o w in g the creation o f graffiti m urals were projected o n screens over th e course o f the e v e n in g . T w o artists w ork ed all n ig h t to cre­ ate a graffiti backdrop b eh in d th e stage that b o ld ly read “H o ld -U p M en ta l.”

T h e h ig h lig h t o f th e sh o w began sligh tly FA C T O R Y O UTLET after m id n ig h t, w ith the NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC com m encem en t o f a c o lla b o r a tiv e c o n c e r t.

S TUDENT S P E C I A L A gents from all facets o f th e culture shared th e sp o tlig h t selflessly — it S IN G L E D O U B LE was n o t ab ou t w h o the Futon $ 14^$89 Futon $J8D $100 in d iv id u a l p erfo rm er Base $ 1 ^ $ 8 9 Base $ 1^6 $99 w as, or w h at h e or she c o u ld do; rather, it w as ------------------------ ~i ALL FUTON a b o u t th e craft. T h e cj COVERS focu s w as placed o n the d f r J art rather than th e in d i­ vidual. E ach perform er _ _ _ l O F F ! p u t in his or her tw o WHILE QUANTITIES LAST c en ts to e n h a n ce th e fin a l p r o d u c t, be it th rou gh d an ce, w ords, ( C D ) 3852 WELLINGTON X S y Verdun 766-1566 m u sic or visual im agery. de l'Église www.empirepublicity.com/futon M C s a n d p o e ts

FUTON &B A S E

50%

A n M C by th e nam e o f B uttabeats sh on e in th is segm en t o f th e even in g. N o t o n ly w as the A rgen tin e native a b eatb oxin g, rhym esp ew in g genius, he also sang d u rin g the dance perform ances and to o k o n d r u m m in g du ties sp orad ically th ro u g h o u t th e n igh t. A t o n e p o in t, h e b rou gh t o u t a sm all h an d h eld string in stru m en t, saying he w a sn t sure w h at the n am e w as, that h e p roceeded to play w h ile b eatboxing. T h e result w as m in d -b o g g lin g . As th e ethereal chords w ere b ein g plu ck ed from th e m ystery in stru m en t, B uttabeats e m itte d so m e incred ib ly tig h t beats. T h e sw eet sou n d s c o u ld o n ly be described as xy lo p h o n e-esq u e, an d firm ly sto o d their o w n against th e forceful rhythm s h e spat.

T h e d y n a m ic b etw een perform ers and aud ien ce w as playful and it w as evid en t that this was a c lose-k n it c o m m u n ity jo in in g in sol­ idarity w ith th e culture it treasures. Sm iles w ere p len tifu l and it seem ed as th o u g h the aud ien ce co llectively beam ed w ith pride, like a m other w h ose o ft-n e g lec ted ch ild w as finally receiving th e r ecogn ition h e deserved. te r m in u s l5 2 5 , th e producers o f th e show, calls itse lf a collaborative w orkspace that acts as a sh ow case and platform for u p -a n d -co m in g C an adian creative talen t in all form s. A s a p ilot p roject o f th e D e p a r tm e n t o f C a n a d ia n H eritage, th e C anada C o u n c il for the A rts and the N a tio n a l A rts C entre, it is a six -m o n th lo n g in itiative lau n ch ed in A pril o f this year. It has b een in volved in organ izin g various art exh ib its, artist d ev elo p m en t w orkshop s and m u ltid iscip lin ary show cases all over C anada.

A n d ju d g ing b y th e success o f Saturday n igh t, M ontreal is h u n gry for m ore. ■

# Life's Good

w i t h s t y le G o w ith ta ste o v e r tr e n d s.

T h e L G T M 2 5 0 h a s a s le e k c la m s h e ll d e s ig n th a t m a k e s a s ta te m e n t w ith o u t s a y in g a w o r d . T h is b e a u ty g iv e s y o u m o r e t h a n s t y l e w i t h f e a t u r e s s u c h a s: • S h o r t M e s s a g in g S e r v ic e ( S M S ) • F i n d I t F a s t: L o c a t e r e s t a u r a n t s , c lu b s , e v e n b a n k m a c h in e s • D o w n lo a d a b le R in g to n e s • W ir e le s s W e b B r o w se r

Subject to carrier availability.

TM250

Proud sponsor of

www.lg.ca

r e t h in k breast

cancer 1.0 awl trw LG logo-are registered trademarks of l.G Bectrotics C ana* fee '

— ^

__________________

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

S C O R E [BOARD i------------------------------------------Baseball Sat. Sept. 20 (DH) Redbirds Laval

2 2

Sun. Sept. 21 (DH) Redbirds ohn Abbott College

7 2

9

2 3

6

Hockey (W) Sun. Sept. 21 Martlets Collège St-Laurent

2 2

Lacrosse (M) Sun. Sept. 14 Redmen Carleton

8 6

Rugby(M) Sun. Sept. 21 Redmen Sherbrooke Soccer (W) Fri. Sept. 19 Martlets Bishop’s

27

67 0

55

0

. 2

1

Sun. Sept. 21 Martlets Sherbrooke

6 0

Soccer (M) Fri. Sept. 19 Redmen ETS

10 0

Sun. Sept. 21 Redmen Sherbrooke

2 1

GAM E REPORT

M a rtle t S o c c e r

Shepherd leads her soccer flock

5

Football Sat. Sept. 20 Redmen Acadia

Rugby (W) Sun. Sept. 21 Martlets Ottawa

P R O F IL E

At the young age of three, Nicole Shepherd was already fol­ lowing in her brother Seans foot­ steps by eagerly practicing with his soccer team. Some 20 years later, she is still pursuing her brother’s athletic path as the second Shepherd family member to become captain of a McGill soccer squad.

Nicole, U3 Social Work, has done everything she can to forge her own way at this competitive school, and she has successfully made the Shepherd name more than just a memory. As co-captain of the Martlets, the Kelowna, BC native teaches skill and leadership for this year’s team, which is made up overwhelmingly of rookies.

“I have a new role this year,” th'e midfielder said. “Now I’m one of the few older members. I want to have a positive influence on the rookies and I hope to bring the team together.”

With Shepherd’s experience, it shouldn’t be hard to bring her new teammates in line. She was named a Quebec Student Sports Federation conference all-star two years in a row and last year, she also earned Canadian Interuniversity Sport AllCanadian second team status. In addition, Shepherd twice received the honour of sixth place in the conference scoring race. With these credentials, she will easily become a role model for her team. Still, her projected goals are more than per­ sonal.

“Of course I want to maintain my Quebec all-star and AllCanadian statuses,” she admitted.

“But none of that compares to a gold medal at nationals, and it takes

a team to do that.”

This unselfish attitude was also displayed in August at the World University Games in Korea.

Shepherd was chosen to be a mem­ ber of the Canadian women’s soccer team (along with McGill teammate Danielle Day and graduate Alanna Maloney), but left: halfway through the Games in order to aid her fam­ ily in Kelowna during the forest fire crisis.

“I wasn’t able to reach my par­ ents for about four days, and when I finally did, they told me they couldn’t talk because they were being evacuated,” Shepherd explained. “I went on-line right after, and after talking to my friends I realized how bad it was [back home].”

Four days later, she returned to BC to be with her family, whose house had just barely escaped the forest fire.

Even though she was only able to play in two games, Shepherd recorded an assist on Day’s goal in Canada’s second match.

“It was an amazing experi­ ence,” she said of the University Games. “The heat was rough, but being at an opening ceremony with 67,000 people [in attendance] was incredible.”

Shepherd has her head coach to thank for being a solid influence during her time with the Martlets.

Marc Mounicot not only plays a large role in her current career at McGill, but also played a key factor in her decision to come to Montreal.

“I played with her brother, and he told me about his sister in BC who was interested in McGill,” Mounicot recalled. “So in May and June of2001,1 recruited her. I went

PATRICK FOK

Shepherd wants to lead her young team to the CIS championship. to BC to see her play, and she had the skills.

“She is a leader on and off of the field, and her experience and technical skills help that,” he added.

Mounicot also attributed much of Shepherd’s superb skills to her game mentality. The coach believes the star possesses an intense on-field attitude.

“Nicole’s playing is comparable to the qualities men have when playing soccer, which is an advan­ tage to her,” he said.

What never ceases to amaze the selfless Shepherd is not her own list of accomplishments, but instead, the new team McGill has produced.

“They may be a young team but they are very enthusiastic. The girls are always learning the game, and in two years they will be unbe­ lievable,” she raved.

At the same time, she did note areas where improvement would be

beneficial.

“I think we need to toughen up,” she said. “We’re a physically small team, and we need more aggression. The back rookies will help that.”

Regarding her goal to win the national gold medal, she conceded that having a young and inexperi­ enced squad will potentially harm its chances of winning the Quebec conference. “They’re young, so they may not want it as much yet,” said Shepherd, who wonders whether the Martlets will rebound from missing the playoffs last season.

It looks like Shepherd will just have to convince them to want to win as badly as she does.

Regardless, she has made a clear dent in the team’s system, both with her attitude and her technical skills.

The young team that she claims has “great potential” should really take the opportunity to learn a thing or two from this well-traveled soccer player’s experiences. ■

R edm en 10, ETS 0

Soccer reserves reap rewards in romp over ETS .

Jamie Hull Adam Mar knew something needed to be done.

Coming off a 1-1 tie with l’Université du Québec à Montréal last Sunday, a game where the third-year head coach described his teams effort as “poor and unfocused,” the McGill Redmen were out to prove something Friday evening.

And prove something, they did, as McGill trounced École Technique Supérieure 10-0 at Molson Stadium.

“We needed to send a message tonight,

[to] show people we’re for real,” said forward Fernando Daluiso. “We wanted to come out hard, have a strong first half and build on it.”

The Redmen opened the scoring 10 minutes into the first half thanks to a great individual effort by Daluiso. The Redmen’s leading scorer added to the attack by tallying another goal just five minutes later on a nice cross by forward Can Kadirgan.

“Our passing was much improved tonight,” Mar said. “We were more relaxed and it was illustrated through our ball han­ dling.”

The Redmen sustained their first-half

dominance with Daluiso adding two more goals, giving him four on the night, and mid­ fielder Carl DeNitto potting his only goal of the match.

With the Redmen up 5-0 after 45 min­ utes, Mar realized this was a prime opportu­ nity to give his reserves some game action to show what they had to offer. The bench play­ ers came out hard and hungry, clearly show­ ing their appreciation for the extra playing time.

The Redmen netted one early in the sec­ ond half, putting the ball past the ETS keep­ er just five minutes in. The pressure contin­

• i i i 11 1_ uedi with the ball rarely ever leaving the oppo­ nent’s zone.

“We were really good down low tonight, our touch was great inside the box,” Mar said.

The Redmen were soon rewarded when they made it 7-0 with 10 minutes left to play.

The men did not quit there, as they contin­ ued to dominate their opponent by scoring three more before the final whistle was blown.

“I was not worried about our focus going into the second half,” Mar responded. “These boys are [competent] and I knew they would be real hungry, and boy did they show it.

DcnMlM nano IQ

18 Sports

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Samman impresses in football debut Continued from page 1 debut, but didn’t let that affect his play“I was a little bit nervous, but I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I had good practices this week, so I just wanted to go out there, do the best that I could and help the team as much as I could.”

After a slow first half, that’s exactly what Samman did. On the Redmen’s first drive after halftime, he caught a pass that resulted in a first down on the Acadia eight-yard line, leading to a 15-yard field goal.

On the next possession, the lithe back scampered three times for 26 yards. That drive also ended with a Pillai boot, giving the Redmen a 133 lead after three quarters.

Samman started over veteran Danny Tai, who had been ineffective in the season’s first two games, and did not dress for this week’s

As of Sept. 16 (last week's rankings) 1. Saint Mary's (1) 2.

Saskatchewan (2 )

3. McMaster (3) 4. Queen's (4) 5. Laval (6) 6. Calgary (8) 7. Laurier (10) 8. SL FX (7) 9. Ottawa (-) 10. Concordia (9)

GAM E REPORT

M a rtle ts 2 , G a it e rs 1

Women's soccer team edges Bishop's to stay undefeated

a commendable effort. We needed someone to step in and throw the ball on time, and he did,” said the Martlets had numerous Meghan O'Reilly LeBlanc. But in Phil’s defence, the opportunities up front, created offensive line played harder for Hurricane Isabel held off on not only by their skilful midfield, Dave, just because we started getting Friday night to allow for perfect but also by some ardent wing a little momentum.” soccer weather as the Martlets defenders. Sarah Chan’s overlap­ McMann concurred with took to the pitch for their third ping runs did a tremendous serv­ LeBlanc’s assessment. regular season game. The women ice to open up the field.

“In the second half, the differ­ “We played well together but secured a 2-1 victory against ence was the offensive line,” he said. we still have to work on finish­ Bishop’ s University to maintain a * “We were able to run the ball effec­ perfect record as they climb atop ing,” she said. “That was our tively, which [took] a lot of pressure the Quebec conference standings, objective at practice this week and off the young quarterback.” it will continue to be probably all two points ahead of Laval.

The second half stats were pret­ season. It will come, were opti­ Head Coach Marc Mounicot ty impressive. Campbell completed mistic.”

12 of 20 passes for 157 yards and [ said he was pleased with the way Melanie MacDonald replaced the team played, but was nonethe­ three receivers, Rob Reading, Greg Chan roughly 20 minutes into the less disappointed with the goal Hetherington and LeBlanc. Each second half and did a great job of scored against them. gained more than 40 yards in the “Other than [the goal filling her shoes as well as adapt­ half. All told, the Redmen were able against], I was happy with the ing to the constant positional to rack up 277 yards of offence in movement of the ball and [the] changes o.n the field. The forma­ the half, while putting together use of the flanks,” Mounicot said. tion of the team switched many drives of 73 and 51 yards and gar­ “Everyone got playing time times, as Mounicot was attempt­ nering 18 first downs. ing to find a style of play that best today.”

Centre Jonathan Csoman served the needs of the game.

Eloise Vandal scored McGill’s explained the halftime adjustments The insurance goal camé I first goal towards the end of the the linemen made that resulted in first half after much play in the with only 18 minutes left in the the offensive success. opposing end. Danielle Day saved game when McGill had a free kick “We came together as a unit a dicey ball at the touch line to from about 40 yards out. Rookie and we read what kind of defence assist a well-placed Vandal who sweeper Shari Fraser stepped up they were playing against us, in easily redirected the ball into the and curved the ball around the order to exploit their weaknesses, back of the Gaiters’ defence to bottom left corner of the net. he said. allow Day to score the game-win­ Like last week’ s performance, However, in light of the ner. Fraser basked in the glory excitement surrounding their dom­ inating second half and initial vic­ tory, McMann wants to make sure that the Redmen don’t get compla­ cent heading into next week’s matchup •against their cross-town rivals. ***** “We know we’ve got a tough game next week against Concordia; they’re a good football team,” McMann said. “So we’ll enjoy this, but then we ll have to start getting ready.”

Can this week’s momentum carry over to Saturday’s game, and can the Redmen reestablish them­ selves as contenders for the Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference crown? There’s only one way to find out: The annual Shaughnessy Cup game kicks off at Concordia’s Loyola campus Saturday at 1:00 pm. ■

afterwards.

“It feels great to be involved in a goal as a defender,” she said.

You just don’t get that many opportunities to score [when] playing at the back so you have to take advantage of them.”

Fraser, along with Chan, Vandal and Lisa Dyck, practiced with the Martlets throughout the past winter, a decision that has no doubt allowed them to integrate themselves into the team much faster.

The Bishop’s goal was scored in the final minutes of the game when McGill, who was awarded another free kick just outside the Gaiters 18-yard box, blundered during a quick transition of pos­ session. The ball was sent long to Bishop’s forward Shannon Marshall, who was looming in line with the Martlet defence. After a 50-yard run, Marshall put the ball past newly subbed goalkeeper Laura DeFuria, who came in for Kristina Perusco with about 20 minutes left, to end McGill’s chances of a shutout. It wasn’t enough, however, as the Martlets came out with the win. ■

You’ve Got News

matchup. Head Coach Chuck McMann said that the changes were necessary because “something need­ ed to be done,” and was pleased with the results.

“Michael was excellent. He ran the ball tough; he caught the ball well, and did his pass protection job,” said McMann.

In the fourth quarter, after Acadia closed the lead to 13-6 on a Chase Turner field goal, Samman again came to the fore. He capped a nine-play drive with a two-yard TD plunge, giving McGill some insur­ ance and a 20-6 lead. Samman went on to finish the game with 18 carries for 77 yards.

However, Samman was not the only hero for the Redmen on that drive. Second-year quarterback Dave Campbell, who replaced Cantin at the start of the second half, completed all four of his passes for 38 yards to lead the Redmen downfield. Campbell also scored the game’s final points on a one-yard quarterback sneak with just over two minutes left.

LeBlanc had nothing but com­ pliments for Campbell, while at the same time refusing to blame Cantin for any of the team’s short-comings. “[Dave’s] play was great. It was

G e t T h e M c G ill T rib u n e in y o u r In b o x

Register now on our website and autom atically receive an Email Edition of the paper with every new issue.

Headline News • College Sports • Campus Calendar Local W eather • Daily Horoscope It’s the best way to stay informed... and it’s free.

w w w .m c g illt r ib u n e .c o m

The McGill Tribune, Tuesday, September 23, 2003

the season,” Mar happily explained.

“It seemed like he was getting some great opportunities [in previous games] and they just weren’t going in.”

The Redmen proved their point and delivered a message to the rest of the league by subduing hapless ETS, a squad that has been outscored 241 this season.

McGill ended the weekend with a 2-1 victory against l’Université de Sherbrooke on Sunday. The team is 2-1-1 in league play. ■

19

Lacrosse teams fare poorly on home field

Redmen spank ETS Continued from page 17 “I was really impressed with our finishing tonight, everyone seemed to be clicking,” Daluiso explained.

“We’ve had tons of chances all sea­ son but they didn’t seem to be bouncing our way until tonight.

Hopefully it will continue.”

Kristian Weller recorded two goals, while Joseph McBride, JuanIgnacio Zavagno, and Safraz Merali each had one goal, all of which were scored in the second half.

“I was really happy for Joe [McBride] to nab [his] first one of

Sports

W estern sweeps M cG ill Invitational cross-country meet Oliver Utting, from the Endurance Club of Montreal and Shannon Gerrie from the University of Western Ontario Mustangs, finished first in the men’s and women’s races, respectively, at the McGill open cross­ country meet atop Mont Royal on Saturday.

Western finished first of eight teams overall in the men’s division, followed by Laval, McGill, and Ottawa.

Adrian Walton, a 19-year-old Music freshman from London, Ontario, was the top Redmen performer, finish­ ing 15th in the university division (18th overall) with a time of 20:05. Other McGill runners in the scoring included sophomores Jeff McCabe, Marty Fox, Patrick McAuliffe, and Will Amos.

In the women’s race, McGill finished second in tti~ point standings behind Western.

Gerrie was first of 104 competitors fin­ ishing the 4K course in 14:01. McGill fresh­ man Cathy Pierrin, a 23-year-old engineering student from Aix-en-Province, France, was second at 14:25, followed by Jackie Bonisteel of Western. The women’s team suffered with­ out its star runner, Sarah Ali-Kahn, who graduated last year.

Other top McGill runners included sophomore Anna Potapov, freshman Erin Prosk, and juniors Leslie Marcotte and Laura Wilson.

Aside from an 11-10 loss to Queen’s for the Martlets lacrosse team, there were no close games for McGills squads on the Lower Field Saturday.

Claire Maturo scored five goals in that first game, while Rita Higgins and Rosy Madden added two of their own.

Higgins also had an assist. 1 he second match for the women finished with a lopsided score of 15-4 for Queen’s.

Geraldine Le Roux added a pair for the Martlets. The Martlets are 0-2 in league play and will travel to London, Ontario, next Sunday for games against Western and Guelph.

The Redmen didn’t flash any bril­ liance over the weekend either.

After being rout­ ed by Bishop’s 16-3 on Friday, McGill went into the game against Queen’s with a whimper, losing 16-7.

Patrick Kitchen and Zach Edell each had two goals and an assist in the Saturday affair.

The Redmen are 1-2 in league play.

ROBERT SCHAFER

Redmen offence dazzles in their slaughter of ETS on Friday night.

Pray for the Redmen Mark Kerr id the Redmen football team win its first game of the year Saturday because of God? In a recent e-mail correspon­ dence, a McGill football player con­ cluded by saying: “pray for the Redmen.” Winless in its first two games of the season, McGill was desperate for a win heading into the weekend match versus the Acadia Axemen.

I didn’t think he was serious.

But with the Redmen easily defeat­ ing the Axemen 27-6, maybe McGill football fans should thank the Lord above.

This raises an interesting ques­ tion: Why do athletes and fans turn to religion during their sporting times of need? Sports have the abili­ ty to turn the average agnostic into a staunch believer in a higher power willing to send a prayer up as soon as the overtime session begins.

Players might do it when they haven’t come to grips with how bad the team really is.

“Sure, we might have lost by 20 points, but we had a bunch of bad bounces. You know, things we couldn’t control,” one naive young receiver might say.

Who then actually controls these odd happenings? The Big Guy upstairs is the only logical answer, and a couple of Hail Marys in the locker room before the game is enough to change His mind.

Fans resort to invoking God D

Seen our Scholarship Channel lately

W e ’ve added over 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 b ra n d n e w s c h o la rs h ip s and revam p e d o u r e n tire site to give you m o re a c c u r a te s e a rc h re s u lts !

W e 'v e c h a n g e d .

C o m e and see.

C h e c k O u t M c G ill T r ib u n e 's S c h o la r s h ip C h a n n e l at: www.mcgilltribune.com/scholarships

powered by: Hfr)PrckeSthel«r

just as much as the players they idol­ ize. At the Expos game I went to sev­ eral weeks ago, everyone had “believer fever.” I might have been closer to God in the upper deck of Olympic Stadium on that dollar hot dog night, but I sure as hell did not believe that divine powers enabled the Expos to win and move within three games of the Philadelphia Phillies for the lone wild card spot.

But there may be something else at work here. Is it possible that sports fans, in general, have come to see the outcome as more or less pre­ determined? With disparity between teams at an all-time high, save for the NFL, only a few have a real shot at winning it all. Though, if I pray hard enough, maybe, just maybe, my team will go all the way this year.

God will intercede over money and market power and let the little guy win.

If this is the case, sports fans are engaged in the biggest fraud since the 1919 World Series. God is not going to stop the Yankees from win­ ning it all, unless the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is struck down with a massive thun­ derbolt from above.

And yet, teams occasionally defy expert prognostication; the rich team does not always win. Despite having a lineup stacked with highpriced talent, New York lost to the eventual World Series champion Anaheim Angels last year. Some would have you believe Anaheim won with a combination of angels in the outfield and Gene Autry looking

down from heaven.

This aberration was a result of hard work, not divine intervention, despite what Disney executives might have you believe. The Angels believed in their own abilities, not that God would give them a few extra breaks along the way. Maybe some Anaheim players prayed to God for their confidence, but the idea that He influenced the out­ come diminishes the coaching abili­ ty of manager Mike Scioscia.

Irrational belief is not confined to the religious variety. People devise bizarre superstitions in hopes of influencing the outcome. During the NHL playoffs last year, I thought that if Ottawa had any chance of winning, I had to wear my Senators jersey. My brother wont wash the garments he wears under his equipment during the season. A very rank, one-piece suit is somehow giving him some special ability.

Perhaps that is the essence of the issue. If we receive positive results after not washing equipment for weeks or saying a little prayer to God, we will do it again. It cant hurt, right?

I would argue that it cheapens special moments. Arguably the greatest moment in hockey, the US upset of the USSR at the 1980 Winter Olympics, was deemed the Miracle on Ice. “Do you believe in miracles?” ashed A1 Michaels at the conclusion. The only thing I believe in is the scoreboard. And besides, if there is a God, She’s probably not a sports fan. ■

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HEALTH & DENTAL PLAN SSM U H ealth & D ental Plan As a member of the SSMU, you're covered by the SSMU Health & Dental Plan. The Plan, initiated by your student society, is a valuable service designed to fill the gaps left by provincial medicare. If you're not sure of your coverage status, please contact ASEQ.

Dental benefits cleanings checkups fillings root canals extractions and more...

Health benefits prescription drugs physiotherapist chiropractor travel health coverage and more...

Vision benefits eye exam laser eye surgery

SSMU HEALTH & DENTAL PLAN 2003 I 2004

aseq.com _____________

HEALTH AllianCE

1 1 3 4 , Ste-Catherine West Suite 700 Montréal (Québec) H3 B 1 H4 Tel. : (5 1 4 ) 8 4 4 -4 4 2 3 Toll-free: 1 8 0 0 7 9 5 -4 4 2 3

Students' Society of McGill University