The McGill Tribune Vol. 26 Issue 11

MEET YOUR MATCH ONLINE, PAGE 10

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MARTLETS STAY PERFECT, PAGE 16

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V olum e 26 Issue 11 • N o v e m b e r 1 4 ,2 0 0 6

SSMUcommittee flirts with CFS Federal representation discussed at town hall M a tt C a m pbell A special com m ittee of the Stu­ dents'Society Council has recom m end­ ed joining the Canadian Federation of Students, the largest federal student lobby group in Canada, SSMU hosted a town hall Monday evening to allow students to discuss the issue.

The event, organized and m oder­ ated by SSMU Vice-President External Max Silverman, brought CFS Chairper­ son Am anda A ziz as well as Margaret Carlyle of CFS-Q uebec to the Leacock building to answer questions about the organization.The event was sparsely at­ tended, with roughly 10 SSMU Council­ lors plus the executives and a handful

of other students.

Carlyle explained that CFS focuses on research, governm ent relations and mobilization.

"The federation provides students with a voice, along with resources," she said. "When we say mobilization, this could mean anything from distribut­ ing buttons to throwing rallies. I want to stress the importance of all of these things in tandem."

A ziz explained the the process of affiliation.

"The first step is attaining a pro­ spective m em bership which can be acquired by vote o f student council," S e e FO R U M o n p a g e 5

Governor General addresses grads Jean receives honourary degree at Convocation K a yv o n A fsh ari While Fall Convocation often goes unnoticed com pared to end of the year graduation ceremonies, recent graduates were pleased last Friday to have the Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean deliver their Fall 2006 convocation address.

The Governor General's speech focused on her profound respect for academia.

"My love for universities stems from the fact that they stand as one of the few enclaves where freedom and thou gh t is still possible,"Jean said.'They serve as vital a function as the water in our livers, the air in our lungs, the fire in

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our hearts and the earth beneath our feet. W ithout them we are forever lost."

Jean also said that regardless of where one lives in the world, univer­ sities play a key role in m aintaining spheres of open discussion in society.

"Even in our m ost evolved dem oc­ racies, we m ust never let our guard down. We m ust constantly rekindle this freedom of th ought and it is precisely because they are alive with thought that we must protect universities and ensure that they can continue to shape and influence society."

Before speaking to a crow ded au­ dience at the Salle Wilfrid Pelletier in

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S P E A K E R S ON C A M P U S

Fulbright scholar offers viewon USelection Democratic majorities present new challenges to Bush admininstration Emily Barca With Dem ocratic majorities in both houses of Congress, the results of the US m idterm elec­ tions have presented a new reality and a new set of challenges to the Bush administration.

Speaking one day after the vote and hours after the resignation of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Fulbright scholar Stephen Farnsworth provided an analysis of political hot topics as they were unfolding.

In his presentation, Farnsworth focused on the effect the Bush administration's past poli­ cies have had on voters.

“This election was about President Bush and the co nduct o f the war in Iraq. President Bush him self wasn't on the ballot, his policies were," Farnsworth said.

An associate professor of political science at the University of Mary W ashington, Farn­ sworth was selected as Fulbright Visiting Chair in Public Policy at McGill for the 2006-07 aca­ dem ic year.

Fie cited a "frustrated America" as partially responsible for the shift in Congress.

Farnsworth said that in Oct. 2006 only 28 per cent of the people in the country said that they trusted the governm ent to do the right thing.

On Tuesday's ballot, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate were up for election.

Farnsworth explained the significance of the elections as a determination of w hich party will have the pow er to set the legislative agenda.

"If your party is in the majority in Congress, you get the opportunity to have a platform to raise issues that you want to deal with," he said.

"You also have a platform to legislate. During the period of tim e that the Republicans co n ­ trolled Congress, w hat the Dem ocrats wanted didn't see the light of day. Now the Dem ocrats can make their policy actions m uch more vis­ ible."

Farnsworth speculated that Rumsfeld's resignation is a sign that the Bush adm inistra­ tion is responding to the ch an gin g political en­ vironm ent. "[Rumsfeld] w ould have been a lightning

rod for the Democrats. Had Rumsfeld stayed, it would not have been beneficial to the Bush administration."

The selection of Robert Gates as a replace­ m ent is also indicative of w hat direction the Bush adm inistration plans to m ove towards, ac­ cording to Farnsworth.

"Gates is m uch more a Colin Powell than a Dick Cheney," he said. "By choosing him, Bush is sending a signal to the Dem ocrats that m oder­ ate Republicans are w elcom e in the adm inistra­ tion. There's an effort to reach across an ideo­ logical divide that, so far, has been quite great."

Som e have speculated that US envoy to the United Nations John Bolton could be the next to go. However the White House has said it will press to confirm the envoy in a com ing lam e-d u ck session of Congress. Before the new Congress begins its session in January, the Pres­ ident can recall current Senators and Represen­ tatives to deal with pressing issues.

Farnsworth suggested that in order to cre­ ate a presidential legacy that is not limited to Iraq, the Bush adm inistration will have to work with the Democrats.

S P E A K E R S ON C A M P U S

"The w ay to deal with one's legacy is to try to figure out w hat fraction of legislation you can get through the opp osing party. That may very well be the lesson of the 2006 midterm elections," he said.

Attendees were generally im pressed with the content and speedy delivery of the speech.

"The lecture was snappy and he kept the ball rolling," said Ian Rae, a professor at the Mc­ Gill Institute for the Study o f Canada.

McGill 1985 graduate Paul M alouf appreci­ ated Farnsworth's perspective but felt the anal­ ysis could have been more com prehensive.

"In light of the election, it was a perfect oppertunity to get an academ ic point of view.

I liked the predictions he m ade about Bush.

But I w ould have liked to hear more about the im pact this will have on Iraq, Iran and Afghani­ stan."

Students generally appreciated the infor­ mation that the speech provided.

"It was a really go od overview. He gave a go od analysis of what this will m ean in C o n­ gress and he offered a lot of different perspec­ tives,"said Ana Leary, U2 Political Science. ■

CAM PUS

Amnesty International strives Principal to to save SaddamHussein's life be graded Secretary-General Neve emphasizes human rights Committee will check HMB's work M att Campbell

In the wake of Saddam Hussein's recent death sentence, Am nesty International has com m itted to saving the former Iraqi dicta­ tor's life.

"We deplore the sentence," said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Am nesty Canada, in an address to McGill students Wednesday, jointly organized by Amnesty-McGill and the Debating Union. "We want justice and we've been calling for it long before the US cam e

Traci J ohnson

in."

Neve stressed the importance of pro­ tecting hum an rights by tying in Am nesty International's new cam paign entitled "No Exceptions."

In his emotional speech, he outlined challenges faced in the protection of human rights, identifying three groups of people who are particularly facing challenges today: indiginous peoples, Middle Easterners and women.

"There has been a longstanding and notable gap in dealing with indigenous peo­ ples."

Neve was critical of Canada's new go v­ ernment, which, he alleged, has stifled prog­ ress in international hum an rights.

"Canada was a leader for the past tw en­ ty-five years. Finally, the international com m u­ nity cam e up with a text supporting global hum an rights. Then things went wrong. We had a new governm ent in Canada w ho de­ cided to oppose the new docum ent. We did this in com plete secrecy."

"Luckily," he added, "we were not suc­ cessful. We only managed to convince Russia.

I don't know, however, what that says about our foreign policy."

Event organizer Stephen Aylward, who first met Neve last sum m er in Newfoundland, explained w hy Neve was invited.

"He's a very com pelling speaker. Alex can really engage the audience in heavy subject matter and I was eager to bring him to McGill

MATTCAMPBELL N eve d e liv e rs a sp eech as p art o f A m ne sty's new "N o Exceptio ns" ca m p a ig n . for a repeat performance," Aylward said. "I like that he takes such a strong stance on human rights. It's an uncom prom ising position which I find is both interesting and a believable ac­ count of human rights."

Neve pointed out that human rights are consistently overshadowed by politics and strategic considerations.

"There's always been an excuse," he said. '"Well focus on human rights as soon as the cold war finishes.'Then it's 'as soon as we get our fiscal house in order'. Then it's'as soon as we deal with Iraq."

He added that countries often protect human rights as long as they do not interfere with com m ercial interests, stressing that they should be protecting rights with no excep­ tions.

"There are 50 countries where children

are subjected to torture. There is a wide gap between the promises to abandon torture and actual practices," he said.

Neve also questioned the effect torture has on achieving its goals.

"What if torture gets intelligence? Will it sometim es lead to a greater good? First, it doesn't help law enforcement. You do not get good, reliable information. So, it doesn't help security, it just helps torture."

He also suggested that the use o f torture knows no bounds. There are good reasons w hy torture is unconditionally banned, he added.

"To fight terror with terror does not give us a more secure world." ■ Am nesty International-M cGill meets every W ednesday at 5:30pm in Leacock 617.

Members of an advisory com m ittee will convene today for a second tim e to discuss the possible reap­ pointm ent of Principal Heather M unroe-Blum .The com ­ mittee, chaired by McGill Chancellor and World Anti Doping A gency Chairman Richard Pound, will consider com m ents subm itted to its m embers by the McGill com ­ munity.

Representing the student body in the reappoint­ m ent process are Students' Society President Aaron Donny-Clark and Post Graduate Students' Society Presi­ dent'M edhi El-Oauli, who will voice their constituents' opinions on Munroe-Blum's tenure.

According to SSMU Vice-President University Affairs Finn Upham, Donny-Clark plans to subm it docum ents explaining concerns about Munroe-Blum's performance.

"There are concerns about how distant she is from the reality of students," Upham said. "There's concern that she's removed from student life... and with the growth o f upper administration, how insulated she is from stu­ dents."

Upham stressed that the SSMU had not taken a yes or no position on the Principal's reappointm ent and would not do so without the vote of council.

"There m ight be a reason to have a vote between now and Decem ber 4 [when the com m ittee convenes again],"she said. "We want her to think about these things if she's com ing back."

In addition to the student representatives, the com ­ mittee is made up of McGill's secretary-general, two alumni, four professors, two Board of Governors repre­ sentatives and two administrative and support staffers.

Secretary-General Johanne Pelletier explained what would happen if the com m ittee decided not to reap­ point Munroe-Blum.

"Any negative recom m endation would result in striking a new advisory com m ittee for the purpose of selecting a Principal."

McGill Principals are appointed to four-year terms.

Canadian Ethics Com m issioner Bernard Shapiro served two terms as Principal before ceding the position to Munroé-Blum, whose term expires in Decem ber 2007. ■

14.11.06 • The McGill Tribune • 3

SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS

CAMPUS

DWB concludes that developing world is in need of more aid

Ballot results sealed by Elections McGill until decision is made

Doctors examine natural disasters B en F r ie d

“Mother Earth is not doing so well," Dr. Eric-Viet Laperriere-Nguyen told McGill's aspir­ ing doctors and science students on Thursday.

Laperriere-Nguyen, a Montreal-based vet­ eran of Doctors Without Borders, was invited by the McGill chapter of the organization to speak about global natural disasters. He delivered a w ide-ranging overview of the recent hum ani­ tarian interventions and concluded that a vast am ount of work remains to be done to solve the world's "forgotten crises."

In a talk exam ining the major operations Doctors Without .Borders has carried out be­ tween 1998 and the present, from Hurricane Mitch to the Tsunami in Southeast Asia, Laper­ riere-Nguyen frequently expressed his frustra­ tions with unhelpful governm ents and fickle media.

He said that of the 70,000 deaths attrib­ uted every year to natural disasters, "the tsu­ namis get far more attention and aid even though they represent only 7.3 per cent, while floods, [which are] not that spectacular, are the biggest cause."This, he said, is em blem atic of the lack of coverage given to Africa, where most floods occur.

Laperriere-Nguyen saved his harshest words for what he called the abandonm ent of"forgotten peoples" w hose plight is the true concern of DWB. He singled out Colom bia, the Ivory Coast and Haiti as nations in dire need of aid and reminded the audience that the AIDS epidem ic is "the equivalent of one tsunam i per month."

Although he did not broaden his discus­ sion of humanitarian intervention from spe­

cific cases and his tone was more educational than rousing, the audience remained attentive throughout.

Laura Stinson, U2 Nursing, shared Laperriere-Nguyen's indignation at the manner in w hich “resources are not always used in the best ways."

He went on to speak about his five mis­ sions for DWB, seem ing especially consum ed by his memories of the war-torn Dem ocratic Republic of Congo. He also m entioned the dangers that prevent his organisation from working in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I take hope in people's resilience and courage," said Laperriere-Nguyen, w ho gradu­ ated from McGill in 1994.

He said his greatest frustration was com ­ ing hom e from missions overseas to treat the com paratively insignificant ailments of many Canadian patients.

President of DWB McGill Seema Brar, U3 Biochemistry and International Developm ent Studies, said she was satisfied with the lecture.

She also reaffirmed her desire to use a future conference to shed light on the situation in Haiti.

Sarah Kawaguchi, a m em ber of DWB Mcgill, said the lecture brought up som e concerns for her own career.

"I found m yself re-evaluating m y goal to practice m edicine in Canada," she said, when faced with the doctor's "inspirational" tales of his experience abroad.

DWB McGill will now concentrate its ef­ forts on tw o upcom ing events: a conference on Lebanon to take place in early January and a cam paign for access to essential m edicines scheduled for February. ■

J-Board hears case on referendumquestion m eetings so that councillors can meet with their constituents and faculty associations, it is not constitutionally obligatory.

The Students'Society Judicial Board heard "'Next m eeting of Council does not neces­ argum ents Thursday on the legitim acy o f the sarily mean in tw o weeks. Next m eeting can be recent referendum question asking students a special Council meeting. And it is up to Coun­ whether SSMU should terminate its relationship cil to decide that." with la Fédération étudiante universitaire du Also in dispute was the clarity of the refer­ Québec. The hearing took place after SSMU ex­ endum question itself. Referring to Article 20.3, ecutives recently appointed three m em bers to w hich requires that the CRO "ensure that refer­ the board after the question was challenged. endum questions are clear [and] concise,” Krane The case against SSMU Council, represent­ said that the question was unnecessarily long ed by President Aaron Donny-Clark and Chief with a total of'231 words. He also argued that Returning Officer Bryan Badali, was brought by the question's whereas clauses were biased and former SSMU Vice-President Finances and O p ­ included "unproven allegations w hich do not erations and former FEUQ Secretary-General add to the voters' understanding," rather than Eric van Eyken, alleging that the .referendum facts. question violated the SSMU constitution as well Krajewska responded that there was no as SSMU's substantive contractual obligations breach because the CRO independently moni­ with FEUQ. tors the content and constitutionality of the Van Eyken's advocate, Joshua Krane, ar­ question and had approved it. gued that several articles of the SSMU constitu­ "The CRO is an independent institution and tion were not followed. He focused on Article m uch has been done to ensure that the CRO 21.1, w hich requires that any m otion for a ref­ will be independent— that the CRO offices are erendum question be presented at a Council outside the SSMU offices, the CRO has its own m eeting and then discussed and voted upon at Web site and its ow n e-mail address," Krajewska the follow ing meeting. said. “The CRO does everything according to "The SSMU Council failed to abide by Ar­ the bylaws and constitution and his primary ticle 21.1 w hen it decided upon the referendum duty is to those." question during tw o supposed m eetings that The Judicial Board can take up to 30 days transpired within 15 minutes of each other,” to announce a decision. The results o f the ref­ Krane said. erendum ballot have been sealed and will be Krane was referring to the Oct. 5 Council released if the board decides in favour of SSMU m eeting and the em ergency m eeting that was and Badali. If Board Justices find for Van Eyken, called im m ediately afterward to vote on the they can order Elections McGill to destroy the issue. results of the vote and a new referendum on Ewa Krajewska, w ho represented Council the issue will likely be held in either the winter and Badali, said that although it is com m on or spring voting period. ■ practice to have a tw o week period in between K a y v o n A fsh a r i

@ MAC

Macdonald remembers with newmonument

WWI commemorative plaque brings new life to old trees V i n c c i T su i M acdonald cam pus unveiled a new war memorial last Thursday to honour former stu­ dents and staff o f Macdonald College who had lost their lives during the First World War. The com m em orative plaque, which over­ looks the athletic field of John Abbott College, a CÉGEP located next to Macdonald cam pus, is ac­ tually an addition to an existing memorial of oak trees, planted around the field in 1931 in honour of the 34 fallen soldiers.

The text on the new m onum ent recognizes the trees that are still standing today as living memories of those men.

Academ ic Advisor and Head Football Coach at JA C Lou Chapm an is the man behind the new war memorial. As a student at JA C in 1971, Chap­ man played football with students from both the CÉGEP and Macdonald.

"The players from Macdonald College told us about the m eaning of those trees and I just never forgot it,” he said. "When I becam e the head coach of the football team last year it was som ething I made sure to tell m y players."

After finding out that Macdonald campuswas celebrating its centenary this year, Chap­ man worked with a com m ittee that included m embers from both schools to have a perma­ nent structure installed.

Feedback at MacDonald so far has been positive. "[The m onum ent] does bring som e vis­

ibility to that part of the campus," said Associate Dean of Student Affairs Dr. David Lewis. "A lot of Mac students and staff have walked under those oaktrees and not known their significance, so it's nice to have som ething there for people to read and reflect on."

Lewis added that the plaque functioned to

give perm anence to the memorial.

The ceremony began with bagpipers lead­ ing processions of students, staff and alumni from both M acdonald cam pus and JA C to the site of the memorial where they were met by students and staff from the nearby M acdon­ ald High School, war veterans from Ste-Anne's

V e te ra n s ta k e a m o m e n t to re m e m b e r t h e fa lle n a t M a c cam pus's n e w W W I m e m o ria l.

Veteran's Hospital and members of the general public. Chapm an was very pleased with the attendance, which he estimated to be about 1,000.

President of the M acdonald Cam pus Stu­ dents'Society Marie-Anne Hardy was also happy with the turnout.

"I think it turned out well and I liked how people were very respectful," Hardy said, who was also one of the masters of ceremonies at the Rem em brance Day event.

While the focus of the event was on sol­ diers from World War I, Lewis, who made a short statement during the ceremonies, emphasized that there are other memorials at Macdonald cam pus that com m em orate soldiers from other wars.

"I wanted to ensure that people knew we have m onum ents for both of the World Wars," Lewis said about his speech. "When you say the word 'veteran', it doesn't necessarily mean soldiers w ho fought in World War I and I just wanted to make sure that the other veterans were recognized."

After the ceremony, people had the chance to browse a small collection of artifacts, includ­ ing pictures of the 34 war veterans from Mac­ donald, articles from wartime newspapers and photos of the tree-planting cerem ony in 1931.

"It was nice to see the old articles and have research done to find the names of those sol­ diers," Chapm an said, "being a history nut-bar myself, this was very exciting." ■

4 * News-14.11.06

The McGill Tribune

CAMPUS

Student groups unite to host Nobel laureate

Holocaust survivor to speak in Montreal V in c c i Tsui Nobel Peace laureate and H o­ locaust survivor Dr. Elie Wiesel will speak to a sold-out crowd tonight at the Spectrum de Montréal. The event, called "Building a Moral Society - The Urgency of Hope", is the brainchild of Hillel Montreal, w ho brought together a conglom erate of student groups, in­ cluding Le Forum jeunesse de lîle de Montréal, Hillel Université de Québec à Montréal, Students Helping O th­ ers Understand Tolerance, the McGill Muslim Students' Association, the Newman Catholic Centre and L'Institut de Nouveau Monde, to help organize the talk.

Vice-President of Le Forum jeu ­ nesse Carlos Godoy was excited to have the opportunity to organize the event.

"It's important for Canadians to fight for a more just society," he said.

"I think we are becom ing more disil­ lusioned towards issues like politics and fighting poverty and I think that Dr. Wiesel will inject new issues for stu­ dents to think about and sustain the inspiration."

"This man is a pillar of tolerance," said Hillel UQAM President Yael Benyayer. "We as humans need more tolerance and the message that Elie

Wiesel works for is prom oting diversity and the acceptance o f diversity, which is the goal that our group is working towards."

Both Benyayer and Godoy agreed that the fact that the event was orga­ nized by students from very diverse backgrounds sends a significant mes­ sage about tolerance and sets a prec­ edent for future events.

"Anyone in Montreal can have a guest speaker speak on any topic," Godoy said. "Having all these groups, work together is a bit o f a novelty."

"There were a lot of different perspectives, but we all had the same goal," said Montreal representative for SHO UT Hayley Orton. "We want to share this with Montreal and prove to people that this can be done."

Godoy and Orton both said that the only challenge in working with so many different groups was setting up m eeting times.

"Sometimes we wouldn't be able to meet on Fridays and Saturdays be­ cause the Jewish students were cel­ ebrating Shabbat, or on certain after­ noons because the Muslim students were celebrating Ramadan," Godoy said, "and of course we were all in­ volved with other activities also."

Benyayer found that working on such a large scale with the size of the

different groups and networks a bit of a challenge, especially since Hillel UQAM is still a relatively new organi­ zation.

Overall, the three felt that the op ­ portunity to work with such a diverse set of groups was a positive experi­ ence for all w ho were involved and hope that more events like this will happen in the future.

"It was very stimulating to have this trem endous opportunity to meet with these diverse groups and start with an abstract idea and bring it to a concrete one," Godoy said. "We were a vast and large coalition of the will­ ing and the quality of the contribution was excellent. I am extremely proud of my colleagues."

In terms of the event itself, both Benyayerand Orton were m ost excited about the outcom e of the evening.

"Even though Elie Wiesel does have the nam e and prestige to spread awareness about humanitarian issues and tolerance, what's important is that inside we have the power," Benyayer said. "We have the responsibility to promote diversity, acceptability and tolerance and prevent any small-scale discrimination. He's just a guide, and that's the goal of the event, to show students that they have the power within them ."*

HMBpraises Jean's work Students don't mind mid-year graduation C o n tin u e d from CO VER the Place des Arts, the representative of the head of state was conferred with an Honourary Doctor of Letters degree. According to McGill gu id e ­ lines, the university awards honou­ rary degrees to recognize "those individuals w hose accom plishm ents are of such excellence that they pro­ vide inspiration and leadership to its graduates... Through its choice of honourary degree recipients, the uni­ versity makes a public declaration of its values."

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Madame Jean graduated from the Université de Montréal and went into a career in journalism , w orking for Radio-Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, before being appointed Canada's 27th G ov­

ernor General in 2005.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum introduced and praised the Governor General before she was granted the degree

by Chair of the Board of Governors Robert Rabinovitch.

"The subjects of Madame Jean's projects in the media - the plight of im m igrant wom en, spousal violence and the influence of m oney in her native Haiti," Munroe-Blum said, "as well as the eight years she spent as­ sisting im m igrant w om en and fam i­ lies, reflect her lifelong concern with social justice and her determination to make known the suffering o f the disem pow ered in our society and our world.”

Political Science graduate Lauren Consky was pleased with the speech and did not regret m issing out on

spring 2006 convocation.

"There are a lot o f people gradu­ ating today, so it doesn't feel like I'm being short-changed at all by gradu­ ating in the fall. I find [Madame Jean] such an elegant person. She just speaks so eloquently."

"I'm glad that I'm not graduat­ ing outdoors when it's really hot and sweaty and gross. I'm glad to be grad­ uating now,"said Jerem y Mandel, B.Sc Psychology. "Although, I'm not happy that I've been, standing for two hours and have another hour to go."

Other graduates were optim is­ tic, but slightly regretful.

"I think it would have been nice to graduate in the spring, but once you're here, you get the m ood back.

Now that I'm here, I'm excited," said B.Sc. Neuroscience and Neurobiology graduate Reem aThakkar. ■

THE TRIBUNE WEB POLL S h o u ld SSMU Council h av e b a n n e d b lo o d drives from b e in g h e ld in th e S h a tn e r Building until H é m a -Q u é b e c s ta rts a c c e p tin g d o n a tio n s from m e n w h o h av e sex w ith m en ?

This week's question: Should th e SSMU jo in th e Canadian Federation o f Students? Visit w w w . m c g illtirb u n e .co m to vote.

Poll is not scientifically accurate and represents only the opinions of those who voted, not the entire McGill community. Sample size: 71

News Briefs Superheroes subject to scientific method D onning a suit and tie instead of a cape and tights, University of Min­ nesota Physics Professor Jam es Kakalios spoke Thursday night at McGill about the scientific accuracies o f superheroes'tales, revealing the truth about Super­ man, Spiderm an and other com ic book characters.

Kakalios addressed a packed audience in the M acDonald-Harrington building, answ ering pressing superhero-related questions, such as "what killed Spiderman's girlfriend Gwen Stacy?" and "how can The Flash can run across water?"After granting each superhero one"m iraculous exception"from the laws of nature, Kakalios showed cases in w hich com ic creators go t science right and used them to illustrate basic physics principles.

He pointed out that Superman's ability to lift cars and leap over buildings is not unrealistic. That is, of course, if you consider that he cam e from planet Krypton and assum e Krypton's gravity was six tim es that of Earth.

"If our m uscles and skeletal structure allow us to g o to the m oon and potentially lift cars over our heads... then Superm an can do the sam e thing on Earth,"Kakalios said.

Such a massive gravity m eans Krypton has an extrem ely dense, unstable core material like a neutron star, w hich explains w hy the planet exploded.

The professor's superhero teaching began in his freshm an sem inar at the University o f Minnesota entitled Everything I Know About Science I Learned from Reading Com ic Books. He later shared his quirky physics w ith a wider audience in his best-selling book, The Physics^of Superheroes.

Arielle Miles, Ui Science, agreed that Kakalios's style is more interesting than m ost introductory science courses.

"He's presenting science topics in a way that students find attractive and fun. And that can be really effective."

After being interviewed by People M agazine, C N N H eadline News and nu­ merous other media outlets, Kakalios said that a couple Nobel Prizes could not win him such celebrity status, w hich he feels is bénéficiai to popular sci­ entific discourse.

"Anytime you can ge t discussion o f Newton's Law of Motion into People M agazine, that's a go od thing," he said.

— Nora Coghlan Engineers recycle ink cartridges and cell phones McGill's chapter of Engineers W ithout Borders is fundraising this week by asking students to drop off their old ink cartridges, m obile phones and other electronics to the Engineering Undergraduate Society office. Collecting until the end of the week, the electronics will be sent to Ecophone, an organization specializing in recycling ink je t cartridges and cell phones in an environm en­ tally friendly manner.

EWB-McGill Vice-President Patrick Janukavicius explained the cause.

"There are harmful chem icals in the phones and ink cartridges. If left at a/garbage dum p, over tim e som e of these chem icals escape and get into our water and environment."

In exchange for each ink cartridge and cell phone donated, EWB-McGill will receive m oney from Ecophone.

EWB-McGill VP Administration Jessie Drayton explained that the funding will be used to send three students overseas to developing countries and also to support awareness and outreach events including high school work­ shops and international developm ent education sessions held throughout the year.

"The goal of the week long event," Drayton said, "is getting people to realize that discarding these like regular trash is harmful for the environm ent and by donating them to us they can help support sustainable developm ent w hile helping the environment."

Janukavicius was optim istic about the im plications recycling ink car­ tridges can actually have.

"What I particularly like about this event," he said, "is that not only is it geared towards poverty reduction, but it is aim ed at environm ental sustain­ ability. Hopefully, we can create awareness about both types of issues."

A lthough this is the first tim e EWB-McGill has held such an event, Dray­ ton is hoping to make this fundraiser a recurring one.

The EUS office is located on the ground floor o f M cConnell Engineering. There w ill also be a table in M cConnell hallw ay to the Adam s building on Wednesday Nov. 75 a ll day with inform ation about EWB and hum an development. For more inform ation on EWB, visit ww w.ewb.ca.

— LanaAyoub W indow crashes dow n on Aylm er Street The quiet atm osphere of the Marvin D uchow Music Library was disrupt­ ed on W ednesday when an east-facing w indow on the seventh floor of the m usic building broke, falling onto Aylm er Street. This is the second tim e a w in d o w has broken on the east side of that floor of the building.

'It sounded as if a slab o f ice had fallen off the roof" said Eden Sagm an, Ui M anagem ent.

A ccording to Strathcona Music Building Director Peter W ightm an, this incident was "very strange.'The cause is unknow n but it has been suggested that since the floor is currently unoccupied, the different pressure in the sev­ enth floor resulted in the break. Other possible causes include the natural m ovem ent of the building.

As only the outer panel of the w indow broke and the inner panel re­ m ained intact, W ightm an affirmed that the building is secure and that it was not an act of vandalism from the inside of the building.

"If it happened once, it's a com plete fluke,"Wightman said, "but if it hap­ pens a second time, it's a little disconcerting."

An engineer is presently investigating the situation.

— A m yGlicksm an

14.11.06 • News • 5 S tu d e n t L e a d e rs k ip In te ra c tiv e

CAMPUS

S e rv ic e s T ra in in g

W o rk s k o p

S e rie s

A r e y o u a s tu d e n t in a p o s itio n o f le a d e r s h ip ( e x e c u tiv e o r c o o r d in a to r ) w ith a M c G ill c lu b o r s e r v ic e ? D o y o u w a n t s o m e ta n g ib le s k ills to h e lp y o u in y o u r d a y - to - d a y le a d e r s h ip ro le s ?

S tu d e n ts re a d th e n a m e s G r o u p s c o lla b o r a t e t o r e m e m b e r H o lo c a u s t A l l i M a c Is a a c

G u e s s w h a t? ! Y o u q u a lify f o r o u r F R E E L e a d e r s h ip T r a in in g in te r a c tiv e w o r k s h o p s e r ie s !

Fall sem ester workshops (winter workshops TBA): Organization and Time Management: Not enough time? Learn techniques form an experienced McGill alumni, businessm an and lawyer a s applied in day-to-day life.

Thursday, Novem ber 16, 5:30 - 7:30

Event Planning and Promotion at McGill: Learn the ins and outs of the wild world of McGill event planning.

Especially good for clubs or services holding fundraisers.

Thursday, N ovem ber 23, 5:30-7:30PM * N o te : Attend 5 workshops during the year and receive certification of completion. R e g is tra tio n , in person, is on a first-come, first-serve basis, beginning one week before the workshop date, at the First-Year Office - Suite 2 1 0 0 , Brown Student Services Bldg.

L aaJeisfap Training R(f5t-Y«arOtte*>. McGit UstwMtiJs m-CWO fc W Î 398-09W t w

® M c G ill

This past Thursday, students gathered on lower campus for McGill's first annual Reading o f the Names as part o f the larger Holocaust education m onth. W hile universities throu gh ou t North America have sponsored the 24-hour event, it has never been held at McGill before.

Event organizer Gorey Shefman com m ented on w hat made McGill's version unique.

"It's a different and original way o f com m em orating the Holocaust.

Schools like Western have held it but only to rem em ber the Jew ish...O ur event was different in th a t we in­ cluded non-Jewish casualties, which is w hy the other groups were invited to participate."

Most figures estimate tha t out o f the Holocaust's 11-million total ca­ sualties, 6 m illion Jewish people died.

The other groups involved, including the Newman Students'Society, Queer McGill, the Office for Students w ith Disabilities and the Black Student's Netw ork represented victim s from the additional 5 million.

Chiara Klaiman,Queer McGill rep­ resentative, said tha t it was beneficial to include a w ider variety o f groups in the event.

"Hate still exists in the world today. Including diverse groups in events like the Reading o f the Names helps to show people, m inorities or not, th a t we are actually more the same than different."

A few hours in to the event, ex­ trem e rainy conditions resulted in th e event being moved from beside Lower Field to the front o f the Shatner building. Hillel McGill, w hich received no financial support for the event,

C L A R IC E C O N N O R S

Corey Shefman pays tribute to the diverse group of Holocaust victims. could not afford a te n t after paying over $200 for security and equipm ent from McGill.

"The McGill adm inistration didn't help us at all— it all came o u t o f Hillel's pocket," Shefman said.

Hillel m em ber Eric Goldberg, Ui History, felt the sacrifice was w o rth it.

"It's im p ortan t to remember those w ho perished by taking one day, 24 hours, o u t o f ou r year," he said.

"Enduring the rain for 24 hours is a small sacrifice for w hat it represents.

Even 24 hours w o n't com e close to covering the am ount o f people w ho were killeçj.''

Indeed, Hillel expected to read approximately 21,600 names over the period. This represents 0.2 per cent o f the 11 m illion people w ho died in the Holocaust. The names were obtained from a website, www.yadvashem.org, w hich contains a victim name data­ base.

Vice-President o f Hillel McGill Zack Belzberg, Ui Management, had a

more personal take on the event.

"I've toured the Polish concentra­ tio n camps and seen the conditions and places the Holocaust was carried out. By rem em bering my ancestors, w e can send a public message out."

"W ith what's going on in the. w orld today," Shefman added, "it's our jo b as the youth to carry on m e­ morials to this event and make sure it never happens again. We all hear that it won't, but these type o f events make sure it won't."

McGill's Students,Taking Action Now on Darfur had a donation box set up at the event to support this statement.

Students reacted positively to the event. According to event orga­ nizers, m ost students th a t stopped by were shocked tha t it was being held for 24 hours.

"We hope to make this an annual event at McGill. So far it's been well received and we're optim istic for next year," Shefman said. ■

F o ru m s p a rs e ly a tte n d e d C o u n c il r e t r e a t s p a w n s m e m b e r s h ip t a lk s Continued from COVER

P rin c ip a l

Heather Munroe-Blum invites students, faculty and staff to an open forum to discuss issues of relevance to the McGill community It's o u r university.

W ednesday, N o vem b er 22, 2006 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

S c h u lic h S c h o o l o f M u s ic S tr a t h c o n a M u s ic B u ild in g 555 S h e rb ro o k e S tre e t W e s t T a n n a S c h u lic h H a ll R oom A202

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she said. "W ith th a t is 5 per cent m em ­ bership fees and the school receives full benefits w ith the exception o f ISIC discount cards. After that, the school evaluates the organization and they have to ask the students by means o f a referendum w hether they w ould like to join."

Aziz also explained th a t the fed­ eration works in tandem w ith FEUQ •on a provincial level.

"Concordia University is a good example o f how tha t works," she said.

The Concordia Student Union is a m em ber o f both CFS and FEUQ. "In terms o f our relationship, we work closely w ith FEUQ. We need to make sure politicians can't divide us around issues and th a t w ill continue."

Students at the to w n hall voiced concerns over the organization's m ini­ mal presence w ith in the province, as it represents only three student groups in Quebec, including McGill's PostGraduate Students'Society.

SSMU executives decided to en­ tertain the notion o f jo in in g CFS after recom m endation by a special com ­ m ittee w hich was form ed at a recent Council retreat.The 13 councillors and tw o members at large recom m ended tha t SSMU take o u t a prospective mem bership in the organization for

one year.

During the question and answer session, councillors posed a num ber o f questions to the representatives.

"Judging from our recent prog­ ress," joked Clubs and Services Repre­ sentative David Schecter, "w hat is the process o f leaving the organization?"

W hile discussing the issue at the retreat, Silverman p itch ed 'the big pic­ ture' o f Canada's student m ovem ent to councillors.

"If we wanted to get involved in the federal scene, CASA wasn't an o p ­ tion," he said o f the Canadian Alliance o f Student Assocations. "CFS was the only remaining choice."

SSMU left CASA last year -over com plaints that the lobby group had failed to achieve results for its m em ­ ber organizations, leaving McGill students w ith o u t any form o f federal representation.

Over the summer, Silverman, along w ith SSMU President Aaron Donny-Clark, visited the students' so­ cieties o f schools all over Canada and discussed their forms o f representa­ tion. They found th a t many schools had positive things to say about their relationship w ith CFS. "O no urtou r,m o st schools openly adm itted they had been doing noth­ ing federally on their own," Silverman

said. “Joining CFS is about reposition­ ing ourselves as leaders in the Quebec student m om ent, and also as leaders in the Canadian student movement."

"The CFS is the only op tion on the table," he continued, again refer­ encing CASA's failures. "Prospective mem bership w ould be a positive thin g for the SSMU. It w o uld be less about material gains, and more about asserting our leadership."

Law Representative Erica Mar­ tin also sat on the com m ittee, which unanimously recom m ended taking o u t a prospective membership.

“The report [drafted by the com ­ m ittee] was a pro/con list on CFS membership," she said. "I have some problems in term s o f organizational program m ing b u t CFS had done much for the student movement."

Martin explained potential m em ­ bership w ith the association has been approached w ith the idea th a t McGill could influence change.

She indicated th a t SSMU w ould try and change how CFS congresses are run. When executives visited the annual general m eeting in May, they found th a t there was a lack o f debate on issues. If things don't change at the next National General Assembly, Mar­ tin suggested, Council w ould advise against jo ining the CFS. ■

Opinion JUMBO SHRIMP UNCOMM ONLY THOUGHTFUL

Rocky h o r r o r

A ll ro a d s le a d to m an J esse C h a ser JESSE.CHASER@GMAIL.COM hy is "man" the default o f every­ thing? I do n't ju s t mean in terms o f pronouns in m ost texts, I mean w hy has so much o f th e fem inist equaljty struggle been ab ou t m aking w o m en more like men? W omen are supposed to w a nt to have the same jobs as men, have it"all"(i.e. w ork and family) like men and have sex like men.

W ho says men do it better? Maybe they wish they could be a little m ore"fem inine"and have the options th a t w om en do.

The idea o f staying at hom e taking care o f the kids and the house w h ile som eone else worries about w orking m ig h t seem attrac­ tive to a lo t o f men if taking such a route was n o t so looked do w n upon.There is no shame if a young girl wants to grow up to be ju st like her dad, b u t I d o u b t many little boys aspire (or are encouraged to aspire) to gro w up to be ju st like the ir moms.

Personally, I see upsides to both.

Sometimes being a man works best, other tim es it's most advantageous to be a wom an. I definitely do n't th in k th a t ei­ ther gender has it all.They both have their downsides, b u t the y bo th have the ir ben­ efits too.

My choices may be extreme, b u t per­ haps if everyone was allow ed to pick and choose from the bu ffe t o f gender char­ acteristics, instead o f being stuck w ith a choice o f tw o com b o meals, we'd all be better off. I thin k we should be allow ed to mix and match, taking the appetizer from meal A and the main dish o f meal B. One o f the reasons tha t equality often means becom ing more like men is that

W

the good jobs and good rewards are usu­ ally given to men for doing so called "man" things, like th e financial rem uneration (and subsequent freedom ) th a t comes w ith having a high-status job. Maybe th e real problem isn't tha t society is tryin g to make men and w o m en more equal by making w om en be m ore like men; maybe the real problem is w h at w e as a society identify as "success." Money, pow er and dedicat­ ing one's life to an uninterrupted career is largely w h at society values, b u t if everyone did this, w h o w o uld procreate? W ho w ould perpetuate the species? W ho w o uld raise the next generation?

It's true th a t being m ore like men has earned w om en a lo t o f power, indepen­ dence and freedom, b u t in the struggle for equality, men have been left behind.

Acceptable women's roles have expanded exponentially over the past 50 years or so, b u t men's roles have been largely static.

This is unfair to men w h o deserve to ex­ plore all o f w h o they are and be given a chance to participate equally and fully in all parts o f life, including fam ily life.

I ad m it th a t things are starting to change— there are m ore and' more stayat-hom e dads, men are participating more in household chores and child-rearing and taking on non-traditional male jobs. I think this is great and i bet a lo t o f those men w ould agree, b u t there is more to be done.

If th e idea o f being a wom an and being fem inine was challenged in the 20th cen­ tury; perhaps th e idea o f w h at it means to be a man or masculine w ill be challenged in the 21st. ■

J . F. K o s t u c k JFKOSTUCK@GMAIL.COM

lalk ab ou t beating a dead horse w ith a stick; except replace "dead horse" w ith "barely-coherent Sylvester Stal­ lone" and "a stick" w ith, well, a stick. A no th­ er b lu n t ob je ct w o uld suffice, i suppose, b u t for the sake o f simplicity, let's go w ith a stick.

Rocky VI, officially titled Rocky Balboa, opens in theatres Dec. 22, m uch to my abhorrence. W hen I first saw the trailer, I th o u g h t for sure th a t it was a jo ke — Hol­ lyw ood is still capable o f being funny, right? I kept w a iting for Marlon Wayans to in te rrup t the sequence and introduce yet another film aimed at post-op lo bo to m y patients— b u t Marlon never showed. In­ stead, I was trapped, eyes glued to the screen, w atching this train wreck unfold before me.

The gist o f it is tha t ol' Rocky is going throu gh a crisis o f age. ESPN is holding a virtual boxing com petition, pairing up fighters from different eras to determ ine the best o f the best. One such simulated fig h t shows virtuRocky taking o u t the cur­ rent heavyw eight champ.This gets Rocky's wheels a-turnin' and he decides to get back in the ring.

So here's Rocky, all gung-ho, jo g g in g around Philly and listening to "Gonna Fly Now" on his iPod. He's running up stairs, running do w n stairs, punching raw meat and g e tting chased by PETA. He is like Pam Anderson on Baywatch, except com pletely unattractive. Actually, that's pretty much Pam Anderson rig ht now — Botox and all.

Is there such a lack o f good screen­ w ritin g these days tha t MGM m ust defibrillate plotlines (and actors) from th irty years ago? Were there really tha t many m oviego­

T

ers longing and praying to see Stallone run around like he's shooting a m usic video for 3 Doors Down? Are they seriously m aking another Ram bo?

I won't lie— I'll sit through the first and second Rockyfilm s, maybe even the third if I'm feeling saucy, but there's just som ething . about this particular sequel that really gets me. Maybe it's that Rocky has retired and com e back more times than Cher; maybe it's that they killed off the character of Adrian; or m aybe it's the fact that it's Rocky VI. Six is such an awkward num ber to have in a series of films. Yes, Star Wars did it, but that's a w hole other colum n. Star Wars is a saga. Rocky is a stubborn rash.

There is one high p o in t in th e film.

The casting director m ust have felt the tefepathic waves o f loathing I've been sending his way— that, or I've finally per­ fected the fine art o f voodoo. Either way, M ilo Ventim iglia w ill be playing Rocky Jr., and that's enough to earn m y $10.95 ad­ mission. Though at this point, it's akin to p u ttin g w h ip p e d cream on a shit sundae.

At the end o f th e day, it's still ju st shit.

Perhaps m y aversion to Rocky Balboa lies in my deep-seated love for the elderly.

Senior citizens should spend the ir days in overstuffed armchairs, sipping prune juice and slowly going senile. They should not be sweaty and topless, especially when their cinem atic offspring could be filling the sweaty-topless quota for both o f them.

After the travesty th a t was Rocky V (sequel to the questionable Rocky IV), methinks it's tim e for the cham p to th ro w in the towel.

A t 60, the only th in g Stallone should w orry ab ou t fig h tin g is a nasty b o u t o f osteopo­ rosis. ■

VOX POPULI

B lo o d d riv e s a re d e a d ly s e rio u s N a t a sh a L u ttrell NATASHA.LUTTRELL@MAIL.MCGILL.CA

s a McGill University student and regular recipient o f blood transfusions, it both saddens and infuriates me to read o f the recent blood drive ban. If, as SSMU Vice-President Com m unications and Events Gill Prendergast proposes, w e focus on "legal aspects o f the issue rather than personal or em otional responses,” then let m y response stand unaddressed because it is ju st th a t— personal and em o tio n ­ al— th o u g h I w o uld argue highly relevant.

By accepting blood from Héma-Québec, fully aware o f the contentious MSM issue, am I indirectly encouraging less respect and human d ig n ity th ro u g h o u t m y com m unity? By urging McGill staff and students to walk the short distance from their homes and offices to Shatner to donate blood, am I and those w h o donate directly perpetuating Health Canada's discrim inatory policy? Furthermore, are th e recipients o f this "selected" blood closet hom ophobes? These are questions th a t I feel are being answered and indicated on my behalf in this decision, both as a student and blood recipient.

I encourage those w h o disagree w ith Health Canada's policy to constructively take a stand. An o u trig h t ban may seem effective, b u t w h o is really paying in this? SSMU VP Clubs and Services Floh Herra-Vega states th a t "we can't treat this differently ju s t because it's som ething that's crucial to life." Just

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w hat is the point of a blood drive?

Blood donations are used to help those in need. This is the primary concern; if a group of potential donors is not allowed to give blood because o f irrelevant personal char­ acteristics and charity truly motivates them, then I suggest finding another w ay of channelling their generosity, such as volunteering with the Cedar Cancer Centre. Volunteering and blood donations can be done in conjunction with establish­ ing dialogue to change policies that do not suit moral inter­ ests, while being taken m uch more seriously by a com m unity that largely views this ban as hostile, selfish and misdirected.

When this occurs, the primary concern of the blood drive will be met, generosity will still be propagated and the offen­ sive policies will be more likely to change. Most haem atol­ o gy and on colo gy patients are not sitting in hospital wards exchanging personal standards from w hich they expect their blood. We are trying to live fulfilling lives with the help of ge n ­ erous, selfless citizens. Yet w e— the m ost vulnerable and least represented at this university— are being made the hostages of this negotiating tactic.

For some, it m ay be sim ple to take the em otion out of the issue and forget the purpose of the activity. After all, we are a generation that believes in entitlem ent at any cost. It

is far easier to im agine the ideal than to cope with practical­ ity. However, I encourage SSMU to reinstate blood drives and those w ho are offended to find other ways to com m unicate their m essage— flyers with nam es of people students can in­ dividually contact, petitions, signs, media tim e or even T-shirts.

I applaud efforts m ade to familiarize the McGill com m unity with Health Canada and Hém a-Québec's policies, but I must point out that neither receiving nor donating blood necessar­ ily reflects a person's morality.

The choice to donate blood should not be taken away from the McGill com m unity. I m ust also stress that this is a matter of life and death in m any situations, including mine.

I refuse to em otionally detach m yself from the fact that my life has been prolonged by transfusions provided from blood drives such as the ones at Shatner.

If you are offended by Hém a-Québec's policies and want to send a message, I w ould encourage you to send it to poeple other than ailing Montrealers and fellow McGill students w ho empathize. It is time to reinstate blood drives at Shatner and allow the McGill com m unity to attend to théir own val­ ues. ■ Natasha Luttrell is a U2 Religious Studies student. Don't mess with her blood supply.

14.11.06 • The McGill Tribune • 7

EDITORIAL

K eep it s im p le , s tu p id

ww w.m cgilltribune.com Editor- in-C hief J a m e s G o t o w ie c editor@mcgilltribune.com M anaging Editors D a v id B ly e T ra c i J o h n s o n seniored@mcgilltribune.com P roduction M anager T if fa n y C h o y production@mcgilltribune.com N ews Editors K a y v o n A fs h a ri M a t t C a m p b e ll K a te S p ir g e n news@mcgilltribune.com O pinion Editor A d a m S m ith opinion@mcgilltribune.com Features Editors R a c h e l M e ln ik E liz a b e th P e rle features@mcgilltribune.com A rts & Entertainment Editors C ry s ta l C h a n B e n L e m ie u x arts@mcgilltribune.com S ports Editors C h a rlie B lo re A a r o n S ig a l sports@mcgilltribune.com

B

oth Americans and McGill students headed to. the polls to vote in elections last week, and both sets of voters used new electronic ballots to cast their votes. Electronic balloting has been a feature o f SSMU elections for the past four years and after the hanging chads fiasco of the 2000 presiden­ tial race, has becom e a larger part of US elections.

Electronic voting is replacing paper ballots in m any places, but questions about the practicality, security and cost of these new systems are being raised. While e-voting may seem like a fast and easy way to put dem ocracy in action, it is far from ready to be w idely im plem ented. The inadequacies of the system are a threat to the dem ocratic process and while the shiny metal façades and brightly-lit touch screens of the new m achines are attractive, they aren't a practical or safe way to count votes.

The mere fact that the tallying tim e can be cut dow n does not make the electronic system bet­ ter. So what if the results can be declared tw o days faster? The life span of governm ents is measured in years and the accuracy of an election shouldn't be jeopardized in the pursuit of instant gratification.

The lack of a paper trail is reason enough to re­ sist the move to electronic ballots. In the event of a recount, there is no hard evidence to check. If there are discrepancies between the voter turnout and the votes cast there is no way to validate the results and no evidence to conduct a recount since many m achines do not generate a printed record.

Com puter viruses also pose a problem for evoting. A group from Princeton University recently created a program that was able to alter the out­ com e of an election without leaving evidence of

tam pering. What's to stop a corrupt political party from doing the same to rig an election? Results could also be changed after all the votes had been cast and there would be no w ay to ensure the ac­ curacy of the outcome. With m any recent elections being very close, altering just a few thousand votes could make all the difference.

If the goal of electronic voting is to make the process easier, it has been w idely missed. Technical difficulties are bound to plague the polling stations and since most of the poll officials aren't com puter experts, they probably won't be able to fix them. If the technology fails, there is no way for the voter to cast a vote that day. At least with paper ballots, more can be printed in a relatively short tim e frame.

Contrived com puter crashes or m alfunctions could also be staged in certain districts in order to sw ing the vote one way or another.

Som e US states have instituted a receipt sys­ tem in w hich the voter receives a printout of their vote in order to ensure that the correct choice was made. However, this does not solve the problem of com puter viruses that could easily print one vote and transmit another. It also does not create a paper trail unless the receipts are collected and stored by officials, w hich is essentially returning to the paper ballot system, with the exception that the votes would be counted more quickly initially.

The setup of electronic polling is more com ­ plicated than the paper system as well. Officials and poll staffers have m ade num erous com plaints about the difficulties of setting up and taking dow n the new com puters. In fact, m any stations across the US were understaffed during the midterm elec­

tions due to the resignation of confused and frus­ trated poll workers.

Besides issues of tam pering and confusion, the sheer cost of electronic voting makes it unde­ sirable. Direct recording electronic machines, one of the most com m on types, cost around $3,500 each— m uch more than the old booths. In the state of Ohio, som e counties spent an extra $17 per voter in order to ensure that every vote was counted properly, while with the paper ballots no expensive circuitry is involved.

Paper ballots are by no means perfect. As evi­ denced by the mess in Florida during the 2000 US presidential election, there are kinks that need to be worked out, but at least a problem can be identi­ fied and investigated through the evidence given by paper ballots. As many difficulties as the hanging and dim pled chads may have created, they were at least a lasting record of the votes cast in the elec­ tion. Without that, there is no way to tell whether the results are accurate.

If neither system is ideal, what can be done to make certain that every vote is counted correctly?

Perhaps rather than m oving forward, we should go back to a less technologically influenced system.

Sim pler paper ballots appear to be the best avenue.

Rather than com plicated butterfly ballots or tricky punch-out ballots, w hy don't we go back to basics, where X marks the spot? This system is still used in Canadian federal elections and does the jo b just fine. While it requires the mass slaughter of trees, there is no confusion in tallying up the votes and there is clear, hard evidence left to verify in case of a recount. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. ■

P hoto Editors

by

J a m ie G o o d m a n

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P ublisher C h a d R o n a ld s C ontributors Laura A n d e rson , Lana A yo u b , Em ily Barca, Linda Bourenanni, N aom i Brodkey, Jesse Chaser, M a tt Chesser, Nora C o g hlan, Clarice C onnors, Jo h n D ingle, Em ily [Tollmans, Pamela Fillion, Ben Fried, M aria Forti, A m y G licksm an, Ezra G linter, Jam ie G o o dm a n , D ove Konda-Foley, J.F. Kostuck, Alii Maclsaac, Haydar M ahdi, Ja cq u elin e R owniak, M a tt Segal, John S em ley.V incciT sui T ribune O ffices'

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D a v id B l y e

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est w e forget: Three sim ple words that co n ­ jure up im ages of courage, bravery and hero­ ism in the m inds o f Canadians. Three words that this past weekend blazed across media outlets and events, coupled with living, breathing rem ind­ ers of this country's sacrifices and its trium phs.

Words that every 11th of Novem ber allow us to look back and thank God for the m en and w om en w ho chose to fight and die for this country. "Lest w e for­ get" is supposed to m ean just that; don't forget the sacrifices of our "Greatest-Generation" (thanks, Tom Brokaw) so that w e m igh t not have to m ake the same choices as them .

However, som ew here along the way, m any Canadians didn't get the memo. Or m aybe they go t the m em o, but chose to ignore it. That must have been the case after the results o f a recent quiz on basic Canadian military history: 42 per cent of Canadians were unable to pass a test that asked respondents to identify "Canada's m ost fam ous single victory in the First World War" w hich "con­ sisted of the capture o f a key ridge on the Western

Front"— by the way, the answer is Vim y and I didn't have to look that up. Another question asked testtakers to determ ine w hich two of D ouglas MacArthur, Sir Arthur Currie, Billy Bishop and Ulysses S. Grant were Canadian. Considering the fact that one o f the four choices (Grant) w ent on to be Presi­ dent of the United States, the solution (Currie and Bishop) should be easy, m aking the study's result even more insulting.

In addition, others in this country feel that they can forget the im portance of the poppy, opting to use one of the great sym bols of Rem em brance Day as a political tool. Since 1921, Canadians have worn red poppies— m ade fam ous in Canadian Joh n McCrae's poem In Flanders' Fields— to show our respect to our veterans; the colour red co m ­ mem orates the blood that w as spilled in the fields of battle: However, this year, a num ber of anti-war protesters have sought to politicize the pop py— a sym bol the Royal Canadian Legion calls a "sym­ bol of sacrifice"— asking Canadians to wear white poppies because they signify peace, but forgetting

the fact that the p op py itself wasn't introduced to rem em ber peace; it was introduced to rem em ber war and its hardships.

So where does this leave us? We seem to be a country that wants to honour its veterans, but not learn w ho som e of the heroes were or the nam e of a great battle in w hich thousands of men around the age of the average McGill student fought.

Meanwhile, others seem to feel that, because they disagree with a war being fought in 2006, we should change one our fundam ental sym bols of respect, w hich dates back to a war that ended in 1918.

W h ile I'm n o t g o in g t o e ve n a tte m p t to place b la m e here, I a m g o in g t o pose a ch a lle n g e: Learn a b o u t o u r c o u n try 's history. Learn w h o th e se p e o ­ p le w ere, w h a t o u r s y m b o ls m ea n a nd w h y it all m eans so m u c h t o m illio n s o f Canadians. Learn, because w ith o u t th is k n o w le d g e , w e all risk losing tra c k o f th is c o u n try 's history. Learn, o r th o s e w o rd s seen all w e e k m ig h t a c tu a lly c o m e true .

Lest w e fo rg e t. ■

The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of McGill University in collaboration with the Tribune Publication Society. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Students'Society or McGill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor's name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tnbune reserves the right to edit all contributions.

Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

8 • The McGill Tribune • 14.11.06

L e tte rs to t h e e d ito r Undue criticism from the Trib In your editorial "What makes McGill # T (7.11.06), your comment on the waiting times at the Mental Health Service was unfortunately somewhat true. The implication that McGill does not have high-quality stu­ dent services as compared to other universities is not. The McGill Mental Health Service is comparable in size to the University of Toronto's Psychi­ atric Services and these are the only two dedicated mental health services in Canadian universities. The McGill Mental Health Service has always had a policy that students should have to wait no longer than two weeks for an initial appointment, and despite record numbers of students request­ ing services, we make every effort to maintain that policy.

The difficulty has been that de­ spite tripling our staff over the past seven years, the number of students needing help has risen continuously by 20-25 per cent every year. So far this year, we have treated 1,200 stu­ dents and estimate that we will treat over 2,500 students by the end of the academic year. This week we had 56 students waiting for an initial ap­ pointment. We have contacted every person on the waiting list and are holding a massive triage next week, as we frequently do, reducing the waiting list down to 5 students. In ad­ dition, we also see 30-40 students as em ergency drop-ins every week, and fill any cancellations with new ap­ pointments.

This does lead to the problem of having to accom m odate 100 new students every week and provide continuing care to the students al­ ready seen in the 350 available clinical hours. A major difficulty at the mo­ ment is physical space. The Mental Health Service has eight offices and borrows four additional offices from CAPS, but those offices are presently fully used and we have no space for further expansion. We are working with Student Services and the McGill administration to find a long-term so­ lution for the present space crunch.

We remain determined to provide the best metal health services possi­ ble for McGill students and apologize to students who have had difficulty in accessing timely help.

— Norman Hoffman Director, M cGill M ental Health Service

SSMU and FEUQ are babies

Christians qua Christians. Like Hanna, I was also struck by the scene of Borat in the pentecostal church, but for ex­ actly the opposite reason: Borat did nothing to m ock the congregation.

He played along and acted as did the other 1,000 people in the room. No one there was offended— everyone was smiling and welcoming.

However, the theatre audience was likely in stitches by this point— not at the preacher preaching, but at the preacher and others "speaking in tongues;" not at the congregation swaying, but by the people fainting and convulsing on the floor; not by the singing, but by the guy repeated­ ly cutting across the stage and leap­ ing in his excitement mid-sermon.

Regardless of any sacredness the above acts may hold to pentecostals, which merits some respect, these are objectively funny things to witness in a western context. Hanna in fact proves my point when he im­ plores us to consider the quiet good works of Christians everywhere. They are not mocked and for good rea­ son: They're not doing anything that looks silly on camera. I apologize to Hanna if my view offends him; his beliefs are som ething precious and he is welcom e to them, but I don't think laughing at exuberant displays of worship is the same as laughing at the teachings of Christ or those that follow them.

— Matthew Keen Law '06

opinions are less valid and because of a misperceived lack of empathy, anti-Semitic. What is important here is the need for dialogue. While each of us brings our own background to the discussion, it is important to try our best to listen in order to com e to a better understanding and to find possible solutions for the future.

— M ichelle Geesaman U2 World Religions

• Like Mira Etlin-Stein, I am a stu­ dent in RELG 345 - Her article "A peace­ ful debate," while an impassioned plea for sober discussion on this endlessly relevant conflict, appears to draw its passion from a most extreme ex­ ample. She references a person who held her (and all Jewish people) re­ sponsible for the actions of the state of Israel. While this is obviously flawed logic, she does not address it this way; rather, it becomes the basis of an ar­ gum ent against anti-Semitism.

It need not be said that antiSemitism is absurdly fallacious, as all blind hatreds are, but Ms. Etlin-Stein does not pursue this, but rather, seem ingly lets her fear of anti-Semi­ tism override her desire to disprove it.

To claim that "attempts at discourse on this issue are often doom ed from the start" is a self-fulfilling prophecy: one cannot quit when the going gets tough. If an idea is unsound— which anti-Semitism and the example given are— then it is soundly defeated in quick fashion in the realm of discus­ sion. If anti-Semites are too feared to • I'm confused. Jan Hanna be convinced otherwise, then it is no seems to be conflating the principles surprise that debate is derailed once a of love and compassion for which trace of their ideology is discovered.

Jesus stood with the institution­ Furthermore, it is a rather short­ alised religions that have cropped sighted statement that debate must up around his image. I don't think it be delayed until people's opinions would be possible to satirise such change on the subject. Debate is the noble ideas and such an admirable vehicle of this change— to shy away person. Even the Monty Python boys from debate because of disagree­ have pointed this out: Life of Brian ments is to not address the problem was going to be about Jesus, but it one wishes would passively change. If was too hard to make fun of the man. people must "[put] less emphasis on Borat and friends are not making fun who has done what to whom," then of Jesus or any of the things he truly it should be through discussion of stood for; they're making fun of the the reasons why this is so. There is no often ridiculous traditions, violent other means by which it can be done. history and inherent hypocrisy of the Unsavoury statements cannot and religions which have arisen as Jesus's should not stop one from "[commit­ ideas have been, if not perverted, ting] to looking to the future." than at least confused, misdirected — Edward Petrenko and .unnecessarily complicated.

U3 Anthropology His example from Borat illus­ trates this distinction nicely, showing • As a nondewish, non-Pales­ the corruption of true Christian ideals tinian student, I find it difficult to ap­ as people are misled into thinking proach the Israel-Palestine debate at the religion, and not the truth behind all. In a room full of deeply divided the religion, is what is important: The people, those with a more muddled scene he describes begins with Borat perspective and considerably less au­ waking from having slept the night thority on the subject— like myself— on the ground outside a church. often find it easier to keep quiet than Presumably he was passed and seen to add more voices to the chorus. by everyone entering the church on Unfortunately, that often leaves their way to celebrate their faith and only the loudest, most opinionated yet, the way it is presented to us, it people to speak, which gives the im­ seems that none of these Christians pression that everyone involved must tried to help him. Their concern was share the same polarized perspectives. not with living the teachings of Jesus, I'm guilty of feeding the over-simplifi­ but sim ply with going through the cation myself and assuming that one motions of conforming to religious side is"good"and the other'bad.'Mira doctrine.

Etlin-Stein's article did a great jo b of Borat's "critique" effectively, if underlining some of the com plexi­ com ically, h ig h lig h ts th e perversion ties that don't always com e through o f th e very ideals w h ich Hanna d e ­ in heated debate. Clearly, there is a fends. By th e sound o f it, he should be much greater range of opinions than on Borat's side, n o t criticising him . the few that are the loudest.

— Kennedy Nolan — Nicole Smith U3 Political Science U3 Cultural Studies

Shame on both FEUQ and SSMU for their conduct in the run-up to this referendum. The double-agent antics of Jacob Itzkowitz, the in-fighting be­ tween the supposedly allied organi­ zations, the waste of time, money and ' energy that went into the postering, the speeches and everything else in this cam paign all disenchant me en­ tirely from both groups.

And what for? These unions should be working together to fight for student rights, regardless of whether or not they are legally linked.

They should not be struggling over power in a petty feud to satisfy their egos. No matter the outcom e of the vote, it's high time all parties involved stopped their childish bickering and got back to their jobs— lobbying for our rights. SSMU and FEUQ, grow up, get over yourselves and do the job you were elected to do.

— W illiam Burton An entire class debates peacefully U i Linguistics In response to Mira Etlin-Stein's "A peaceful debate"(7.11.06), I feel that The truth about Borat and Christ we, as a class, have been hesitant to Jan Hanna protests the ridicul­ engage the Israeli-Palestinian debate ing of Christians ("For Christ's sake..." because we are so very afraid of of­ 7.11.06), citing numerous examples fending other students. and concluding that"Jesus Christ and Although this is a very sensitive his teachings do not deserve such re­ issue and we must be careful not to proach.” i would like to point out that, affront anyone, we should not be in addition to the fact that "Bad Reli­ afraid to voice our opinions. I find that gion" is actually a band, it is ridiculous people like me who are neither Jew ­ that people are being ridiculed, not ish nor Arabic are made to feel like our

• I feel like there are two very strong issues in Mira Etlin-Stein's "A peaceful debate." First of all, the point that the Jewish people need a physi­ cal nation to call their own is indis­ putable. The feeling associated with always having a safe haven for your people is totally necessary. The prob­ lem is that once you have a country, whether you com e there or not, peo­ ple will assume you're a part of any negative aspects of it.

Look at the international treat­

ment of Americans, many of whom issue. We non-Jews censor our ideas not only had nothing to do with the because we do not want to sound war in Iraq, but actually opposed it. anti-Semitic if we do not agree with Yet they are treated the same as the someone like Etlin-Stein, who seems gun-crazy rednecks who are only too to want us to pity her. I think her iden­ happy to jum p to a military solution. tifying herself as a Jewish person in Also, while everyone is going to this self-victimizing way is completely have his or her own opinions, I doubt unnecessary and whether conscious­ that anti-Semitism is really something ly or not, she is being divisive by insin­ to worry about in Montreal. People uating that she, as a North American, m ight stereotype, which in and of it­ feels unsafe among us Gentiles. self is negative enough, but I feel like It is impossible to be completely her statement about anti-Semitism is colorblind, but if you are not Jewish, more than a little exaggerated. it becomes very difficult for you to — Conor Graham com m ent on these issues without U2 M usic being called anti-Semitic. The IsraelPalestine conflict has implications • I am not of Jewish, Muslim outside Middle East and therefore or Palestinian origin, but I think that everyone should be included in this com munication should be spoken of dialogue— without North American before the whole idea of "peace" in Jewish people in their 20s invoking the Israel-Palestine conflict can com e memories of the Holocaust and com ­ into play. I do not beleive that people paring themselves to those in Israel who are fully pro-Israeli or pro-Pales- who live in perpetual danger. tinian see the importance of com m u­ There is no question that Israel nication between the two parties. By must exist and that those in the re­ communication, I mean multi-level gion have a non-negotiable right to discourse between Jews and Pales­ live in peace. As long as this type of tinians in Montreal, around the world heavily-dramatized and self-indul­ and in Israel. Before anyone can talk gent rhetoric can be kept out of it, the about peace in the region, there ab­ issues themselves can be discussed, solutely needs to be an acknow ledg­ rather than half the room holding ment of wrong-doing on both sides. their tongue because they don't want Only this recognition will allow the to be the one to voice their disagree­ other party to clear out their fear and ment. establish peaceful dialogue.

— Pieter Viljoen — Giovanni Scalia U3 Music U3 Anatom y & Cell Biology • While I agree with some of • Ironically, it is Mira Etlin-Stein's Mira Etlin-Stein's ideas, I feel that I own religiously indoctrinated "deeply have to defend the other side, as I ingrained sense of fear" that prohibits have also been sitting through these her from moving outside the ideolog­ "Dialogic Sessions" in Dr. Cornett's ical box in order to engage in mean­ class. Her first mistake was taking ingful and productive dialogue about things said in class personally. While differences. She has had no religious some may have accused her of com ­ indoctrination on other subjects dis­ mitting atrocities against Palestinian cussed in RELG 345 , such as the Lord's people, a few reactions do not repre­ Resistance Army in Uganda or the sent every student at McGill. It would situation of illegal immigrants and be wise for her to understand this, refugees, and so can debate those as she seems to claim every student subjects freely without feeling per­ here is not open to discussions con­ sonally threatened. cerning Israeli-Palestinian relations However, when the subject of based on a handful of experiences. It debate falls within her religious in­ is hypocritical to claim most students doctrination, she quickly hits the wall simply want to "point fingers" instead of her ideological box— all debate of com ing to real conclusions in an becomes personal and she cannot open forum when she is doing the escape the prescribed role of victim. same thing.

Perhaps there can only be truly open She blames students for reduc­ dialogue when religious indoctri­ ing their views to simple arguments nation of all the world's children is that she does not accept, yet she stopped. We will always be subject to tends to reduce her views to simple cultural and historical influences, but arguments also: Not once did she it is the small boxes built around us in make it a point to discuss the very childhood by religion that keep us all issues she wants people to engage prisoners. with her in conversation about. Her —John Murray article read more as a poorly-orga­ U3 International Development nized complaint that most McGill stu­ Studies dents do not see things her way. She clings to the label of "Jew,” thereby • I agree with Mira Etlin-Stein assuming that anyone else who does that we much with the need to stop not fall into this category cannot ex­ pointing fingers and bringing up the perience what she is feeling. past. The need for dialogue devoid of Her ancestry alone does not en­ personal preoccupations and blame able her to know how European Jews for Jewish or Palestinian people for felt before the Holocaust, the same atrocities they are quite distant from way that my Irish ancestry does not is wrong. However, Etlin-Stein brings allow me to truly understand what it up some ideas which invalidate the was like to survive the Great Famine good things that she says and per­ or emigration to a new world. We can petuate the divide that she speaks try to get as close as possible to ex­ out against. periencing these events, but we can Her self-victimizing rhetoric that never truly know through the limited she, like all other Jewish people, lives means at our disposal. in constant fear, is very problematic.

I agree that stereotyping is a slip­ Having spoken with her in class, I pery slope to anti-Semitism, yet tell­ know that she is from a small town ing people they cannot understand in Canada where those with Cauca­ the situation, claiming the entire sian features are rarely the victims of student body is narrow minded and violence and need not live in fear; she unable to conduct open discussions lives in relative luxury compared to is stereotyping as well. If she wants the rest of the world and is part of a the stereotyping to cease, she must dem ographic that, along with those look to the one person she can conof European descent, controls most trol-^Fferself. of the econom ic and political power In order to have a truly fruitful in North America. Therefore, the idea debate, both sides research the issue that she is marginalized is ludicrous prior to discussion. Only then can and incredibly self-indulgent. meaningful conversations take place.

This type of language is part of — Sara Haskell the problem when we discuss the U2 Hum anistic Studies

SILHOUETTE

—Campus

C om e g e t your condom s, 1 2 f o r $ 2 .9 9 , b a b y

S u p e r s trin g th e o r y a n d m o re !

S a fe se x h a s n e v e r b e e n so m u c h fu n

P h y s ic s p r o f e s s o r e x p lo r e s s e c r e t s o f u n iv e r s e

CHATTERBOX

th in g appealing, relaxing and ultim ately fundam ental to the student lifestyle. Th e staff w anted to target students w h o w ould not typically w alk into a doctor's office with "Shag w ithout a rubber??? No way, baby!" shouts a sexual concern or question. With its non-threatening the m od red head from the Shagalicious Shop 'b u sin ess environm ent, relaxing décor and friendly "sexperts" (stu­ card. Nestled next to Student Health Services in the dent volunteers w h o are trained by the m edical direc­ Brown Building, the Shag Sh op equips both ladies and tor o f Student Health services in safe sex education) the gentlem en with the products needed to ge t dow n and Shag Shop provides a calm atm osphere for students to funky, along with som e extra trim m ings. explore a m ultitude of fun, affordable and safe prodW hen it opened in Sept. 2005, the Shag Sh op gener­ ucts. ated a national media Features cau gh t buzz. Prior to its cre­ up with Marius Wolfe, ation, students were the Director of Health ob lige d to w ait in line Prom otions, w ho at the clinic until they shared som e inter­ reached the recep­ esting tidbits on the tionist, w ho w ould various go o d s that the allow them to select shop carries. A ccord ­ their favourite co n ­ ing to Wolfe, the Shag d om s in front of the Shop stocks its shelves entire w aiting room. based on students'sugThose are the days of gestions.

"Everything a old. Now, a student student can purchase can proudly march com es w ith an inforinto the psychedelic m a tio n a l/e d u c a tio n a l Shag Shop, purchase com p o n e n t or guide," a variety of condo m s he says. sans em barrassm ent To em ph asize the and carry them out G e t h a p p y a t th e S h a g S h o p , r ig h t h e re o n c a m p u s . educational value of in either a trendy Chi the Shag Shop, Wolfe p op ped a CD -RO M titled Sex & Con­ nese takeout container or a discreet paper bag. traception into his com puter. He explained that the infor­ Doctors approve all Shag Shop m erchandise: lubes, m ational C D is a collaboration that was recently co m ­ m assage oils and of course, condom s. In the small shop, pleted by the Shag Sh op and McGill Medical Inform atics the num ber and variety of the prophylactics is alm ost of the Medical Faculty. Contraception, barrier m ethods overw helm ing. The fled glin g establishm ent is a n on­ o f all sorts and other frequently asked questions are ad­ profit organization with extrem ely low, tax-included dressed on the C D by w acky cartoon characters with a prices that are generally 75 per cent cheaper than prod­ thorough kn ow led ge of safe sex practices! If you're look­ ucts at Pharm aprix or Jean Coutu. ing to ge t your hands on a CD, or som ething for practical The Shag Shop began as a pilot project that aim ed use, com e on dow n to the Shagalicious Sh op and oh, do to prom ote safe sex on cam pus. Taking an innovative behave! ■ approach, Health Services founded the shop as som e­ C

la r ic e

C onnors

Words o f wisdom from the Director o f Health Promotions, Marius Wolfe: W h a t's w it h th e s e Japanese c o n d o m s ? A re th e y a le a p a h e a d o f us in e v e ry th in g ?

Yes, they are made of high quality latex w hich is 40 per cent thinner than Canadian latex condom s but even stronger.

Hands-off Anti- Masturbatory gu m that boasts it lasts for four to six hours. We also have items such as therm om ­ eters and toothbrushes— general items Health Services should provide for students.

D o y o u e ve r g e t a n y s tra n g e re q u e sts o r w e ird h a p p e n in g s in th e shop?

No, not really. People around here are pretty tame.

W h a t is th e m o s t p o p u la r ite m s tu d e n ts are d ra w n

be?

to?

Definitely the 12 for $2.99 [tax included] condom s. You can't find this price anywhere else.

A n y rea so n w h y?

W h a t is th e m o s t im p o r ta n t t h in g th e Shag S h o p

I like the name.

c o m m u n ic a te s ?

So, y o u sell o th e r s tu ff b e s id e c o n d o m s a n d lube?

G enius!

[Grabbing a bar of soap] This is Slut Soap. There is also

Primarily, that sex is not som ething that is just involv­ ing you. There is another person in the picture. You must consult and com m unicate with that other person, thus prom oting emotional as well as physical well being.

Science students! Wear a science t-shirt and com e by the Y-intersection at 1 p.m. for a free slice of pizza.

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SUS Stress free days! Co m e by the SUS office between 10 and 2 for movies, coffee and prizes. Or just 15 com e and hang out.

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Robert Brandenberger is a professor of physics and cosm ology— the study of the universe, that is, not horoscopes. Before McGill, he received his PhD from Harvard, did postdoctoral research at Cam bridge and taught at Brown for 15 years— but if you ask him, he is just a theorist w ho truly values his eraser.

W h a t b r o u g h t y o u fr o m B ro w n to M cG ill?

It's a com bination of personal and professional reasons. Personal reasons have to do with fam ily and society and professional reasons have to do with the fact that McGill has a very vibrant young physics departm ent. People are really interested in doing new things.

W h a t e x a c tly is it th a t y o u d o h e re a t M cG ill?

First of all, I am a theorist. So that means that I work with pencil and paper and an eraser— and the eraser is very im portant.There is a com puter here (on my desk), but I only use the com puter for writing papers and sending e-mails. I am really a pure theorist as opposed to a more applied theorist. I'm interested in studying the origin and early evolution of the universe.

You b o th te a c h a n d d o research. W h ic h o n e d o y o u prefer?

I find that they go hand in hand. Teaching gives you contact with yo u n g minds and it's young minds that ask the go od questions. If you are in a research environm ent w ithout teaching, very often you go stale. That has happened at many pure research institutes. So I think that this com bina­ tion o f research and teach­ ing is very important.

H a rva rd vs. M cG ill:

Well, McGill has a big advantage in that it is in B r a n d e n b e r g e r s p e a k s p h y s ic s . It's a Canada. If you make the la n g u a g e , re a lly . decision that you want to live in Canada as opposed to the United States, then you have to ask the ques­ tion: "What is the m ost vibrant university in Canada?" In m y field, McGill is the most vibrant place and I hope to contribute to it.

o f c o s m o lo g y ?

There are several accom plishm ents. I think that, in collaboration with a professor at Harvard, I started the field of super string cosm ology. A paper that we wrote in 1989 was the first paper that go t people thinking about what super string theory could tell us about the very early universe.

A n y a d v ic e fo r s tu d e n ts s tr u g g lin g w it h physics?

The m athem atics in physics is a language. You can understand physics w ithout the math. You may need more words to describe the physics, but you should be able to understand all of it w ithout using math. So if you don't like the math in physics, but you like the ideas, then you should still pursue physics and try to get the know ledge. ■

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W h a t d o y o u fe e l has b e e n y o u r b ig g e s t a c c o m p lis h m e n t in th e fie ld

If y o u c o u ld b e a n y c o n d o m , w h ic h o n e w o u ld yo u

Trojan Twisted Pleasure condoms.

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Science Carnival registra­ tion starts today at 10 a.m. in the SUS office.

Hurry, registratrion is capped at 20 teams!

Sunday

S a tu r d a y Rally: Action to Ban H andguns 2 p.m. Roddick Gates In m em ory o f shooting victim Aidan Lum ley

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advertise in the Campus Calendar? For just a toome you can advertise your event up to tw o weexs in c Email calendar@mcgilltribune.com for more information, or drop by the Tribune office in Shatner 110 .

Gora, U2 Psychology."A few luck out, but the vast majority accept the fact that they have to wait until they graduate to have a m eaningful relationship. It's frustrating and, un­ fortunately, it just seem s to get worse."

However, even the m ost love-lorn student's face will pucker disgustedly at the m ention of dating Web sites as a potential solution to the lack of a cam pus dating scene.

I mean, c'mon, you may be desperate, but you're not that desperate. According to the research firm Jupiter/Media Metrix, however, over 34 million people are. O nline dating, though retaining a fierce social stigma, is a lot more co m ­ m on than most would think, and not just am ong adults w ho lack active social lives: An increasingly high num ber of university-based tw entysom ethings are now go ing on­ line to find love... and you'd be surprised at the num ber w ho are actually finding it.

Sam e fish, different sea The m ode m ay be different, but there is really noth­ ing new about the idea of personal ads. Back before the Internet exploded, singles listings could be found towards the back of m any newspapers and magazines.

For romantic purposes or not, students on cam pus

continue to seek out others w ho share similar religious af­ filiations, ethnic backgrounds, or subject interests through joining different clubs and organizations.

In this sense, group-labelling and self-advertising are not necessarily negative or even exceptional features of online dating; we often depend on classifying ourselves and those around us in order to help facilitate important social relationships. In browsing online personal profiles, we are sim ply able to do this faster.

"It's really hard to meet other gay men on cam pus, since it's hard to be sure who's gay and who's not," says Geoff Wertime, who graduated from Vassar College in New York last year. “While I made lots of wonderful friends at college, I never really met anyone w ho interested me romantically. I found lots of the same types of people; my type just wasn't am ong th e m .... Online personals seem ed like the easiest way to scope things out." After trying out Yahoo personals, Wertime eventually met his boyfriend, Mike, with w hom he has been in a relationship for over a year.

Jackie Daitchman, a U3 Econom ics student at the University of South Carolina, agrees.

"With online dating, you can see the other person's

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E l iz a b e t h P e r l e Geek-to-Geek.com is not the only place to go to find net-nerd love now a­ days: Chances are, your online geek-m ate is the kid sitting beside you in the library right now.

The average student spends more tim e staring at their com puter screen than they w ould probably like to acknow ledge. Not only has our class material becom e largely dependent on online resources, but whether or not we like to adm it it, thé Internet has becom e an im portant netw orking tool within the university social scene. It is a safe bet to say that a large majority of students spend at least half, if not most of their online-tim e on e-mail, group sites and instant-messengers, rather than on the hom ew ork they will so adam antly claim to be doing.

When it com es to dating, universities such as McGill have the reputation of perpetuating a rather casual climate; that is to say, hooking up has almost becom e analogous with dating in our vocabulary. While this generational hook-up culture is certainly not som ething that is exclusively negative (despite w hat m any media sources are quick to assert), it has undeniably provoked a m ovem ent away from serious relationships am ong university students. Not surprisingly, this has left m any single, relationship-oriented students of both sexes feeling discouraged about love and unsure of what to do about it.

"There seem s to be a dating phobia at McGill. Ask anyone," contends Jill

Does the hook-up culture at McGill frustrate you? Here is your solution—just be careful not to spill!

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R a c h e l M e l n ik MSNgeeks.com may be the social world's most dreaded Web site. Why? Because the site reveals all of the people w ho blocked you on MSN Messenger. And they, in turn, can see if you blocked them. Online m essaging services such as MSN Messenger and A O L Instant Messenger provide students with a way to bond, mingle, procrastinate and even get som e action— online or otherwise. But if you can turn som eone on with your extraordi­ nary typing talents, you can also turn som eone off. What are the guidelines for being a smooth online m essenger and how can we ensure escape from that horrendous "blocked" list on MSNgeeks. com ? Chatting online may be the latest trend in the world of dat­ ing, but it is not as easy to master as one may assume.

What is it, exactly, about MSN Messenger that makes it such an appealing m ode of interaction? In the practical sense, online chatting is the ideal com m unication match for the student life­ style; It's efficient and free. Yet, students log on for more than just reasons of convenience. They also log on to, essentially, get it on.

Derek Bryant, U3 M icrobiology and Immunology, asserts that MSN "is a good way of know ing that you have som ething in commor*" Hopefully, that som ething is more than the possession of a computer. By means of MSN Messenger, Bryant has learned about the movie and music preferences of his favourite contacts. f * Windows

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“You can find out a lot about a person in just five minutes!" he maintains. "MSN tells you whether or not they can type and spell and have grammar. That kind of stuff is important." Poor language skills are, apparently, a turn-off. When it com es to picking som e­ one’ up online, never underestimate the power of appropriate com m a usage.

MSN Messenger reveals a lot more than just your sweet­ heart's spelling ability. Bryant notes that "a lot of people are at first very shy when you get to know them in person." Jessica Wor­ ley, U2 Civil Engineering agrees. "On MSN, people often becom e more animated," she says.

Yet this online extroversion may or may not be beneficial.

"Your inhibitions are sometimes not there," explains Jill Breit, U2 Psychology.

Is the lack of a physical presence a benefit to members of the online playing field? Not necessarily. Without eye contact, one can send out the w rong signals.

"I accidentally started a relationship on MSN," claims Bryant.

"I meant to ask her to the movies as friends, but she thought I was asking her out." W hen the tone of one's voice is not there, the environment is ripe for misinterpretation. "You can never tell if som eone is being sarcastic,"says Breit.

According to an Oct. 27 article in the Irish Independent, non­

Lint

Don't delete me! Please. Don't. Delete. Me. Last message received on I t / 13/06 at 2:21 PM

verbal body language and tone of voice determine 93 per cent ofj human communication. The remaining seven per cent is verball Only a little bit of what you say actually defines what you aim to! express.

On MSN, words are all you have. This m ight make things* tricky, but to help the situation, emoticons can be quite useful.

"Emoticons always fill in those random blanks when you: don't exactly know what to say,"Worley says. Emoticons can range : from a kiss to a blush, to the notorious wink. "I like the w inking smiley face)'says Bryant. "He's pretty sly? Nikki Shaffeeullah, U2 In-j ternational Developm ent Studies, believes that "the crying smi­ ley face represents the breakdown of com m unication.'That is, if; som eone says som ething that you find hurtful, and all that they | see online is a crying yellow inhum ane drawing, they aren't g o in g f to take their mistake very seriously.

Nevertheless, if online flirting is done right, it can certainly! increase one's social prospects. "I've seen it better tons of friend -1 ships," Worley claims. "Through MSN, casual acquaintances devel-§ op into close-knit relationships. Especially when you're both up chatting at 4 a.m. If that's not bonding, I don't know what is."

MSN etiquette is more complicated than it appears, but, if things get unusually awkward, you can always unplug that Inter­ net cord. ■

14.11.06 -The McGill Tribune • 11

■ interests and activities laid out before your eyes and there is no need to desperately search for topics of conversations because you already know what to talk about,"she insists.

Daitchm an first turned to online dating in order to locate men w ho shared her religious leanings. Her answer was Jdate.com, an increasingly popular Jewish dating site am ong high school and college students. She ended up m eeting two of her past boyfriends through its services.

Unlike m any o f her peers w ho are also m em bers of the Web site, she had no initial quam s about go in g online to find single, Jew ish men.

"We use the Internet for alm ost every aspect of our lives— com m unication, media, entertainment, shop­ ping— so w hy not dating?"she says and shrugs.

called "ivibe" (Jackson's personal favourite is the "iVibe Rab­ bit"). The series features sex toys that you can connect to your com puter through chat clients. The users are given the ability to control each other's toys during their chats, should they w ant to.

Amir Vatan, CEO of HighJoy, describes the com pany as a m ix between A dult Friend Finder (a more sex-oriented Web site) and M atch.çom (the largest online dating Web site on the Internet). Vatan sees H igh Joy as the logical next step for those w ho enjoy m aking connections online. "People are looking for an increased level of interaction," he says.

M oney can't b u y love, but a first date? Sure O f course, not every online dater is g o in g to take their experience to such a level— if for no other reason P lu n g in g into the deep end: no con d o m necessary than the costly nature of acquiring such technology.

While Web sites can certainly help you find Despite w hat m any assume, however, regular dating an em otionally com patible partner at the click of a Web sites also com e at a cost. Market leader Match, mouse, there is still one im portant thing they can­ com, for example, now has 600,000 custom ers w ho not determine: physical chemistry. shell out about $25 a m onth each in hopes of m eet­ Or can they? While m ost young people use ing that special som eone. While registration is ge n ­ the Web sites for mere introductory purposes, erally free, m em bers are billed for even dating sites' there are m any w ho choose to form and con­ most basic services. duct entire relationships over their com puter Yaniv Ronen, U4 Education and an avid online screens. Yes, we're talking cybersex, baby. With dater, insists that these online fees are no different the prevalence of webcam s, w hich are now from w hat m ost students pay on regular dates. Ronen com ing pre-installed on m any laptaps, physi­ even suggests that online dating Web sites provide cal attraction in the online dating world no lon­ men with a more respectable w ay to use their ger needs to be determined solely by a series of m oney when attem pting the difficult task of unnaturally flattering,.still-life photos. picking up wom en.

"I have dabbled a little bit with cybersex "Besides, how annoying is it for girls to using a webcam," admits Frances Jackson get yet another half-drunk gu y trying to buy U2 Psychology. "But it makes me selfthem drinks at Vol de Nuit?" he adds. "Even conscious. The whole point of In­ if you are one of the few decent guys out ternet flirting is the 'fantasy' there w ho is actually interested in having a aspect—-it's nice to be able real conversation with som eone, by the tim e to im agine what you'd like you get up the nerve to approach that cute your body to be!"She does, girl across the bar she already has her creephowever, acknow ledge that alert level up to an im penetrable level" using w ebcam s has becom e Wertime, however, argues that the vast an increasingly popular trend TU ..... _ . . .. „ . . . , num ber of people w ho are w illing to pay am ong her friends w ho are at l,.V ,b e Rabb.t-get yours today before these fees reflect a society-wide inclination , , it sells out! university away from home. to change the nature of dating in general.

With this technology, as well as new online-telephone "I think the w hole concept of'dating'is definitely on the services such as Skype, initiating and m aintaining a long w ay out. I know very few people w ho have had traditional distance relationship over the w eb is not as unrealistic and relationships," he muses. "In som e ways, though, I guess In­ difficult an endeavor as it once was. There is, in fact, an en­ ternet dating does bring it back because you are actually tire market aim ed at helping these couples have physical forced to g o on dates if you want to get to know the person. experiences online. It is called teledildonics. O ne product On the other hand, it's certainly not what grandm a would line available through the com pany HighJoy, for example, is have envisioned, is it?" ■

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

A p i c t u r e is w o r t h 1 ,0 0 0 w o r d s ... a n d p e r h a p s a d a te F o r g u y s , it 's a ll in t h e p h o t o — b u t w h a t m a k e s a g o o d d is p la y p ic ?

M a tt C a m pbell The w hole con cep t of online datrem inds me of a theory I learned in m icroeconom ics, of all courses. The idea behind it was that people m eeting on­ line were less worth m eeting. It w ent on to explain that those sam e people aren't successful in m eeting people in everyday life and thus resort to ch o o s­ ing secondary venues, like these.

So, I'm not entirely sure w hat that says about me. The idea behind online profiles is twofold. There is often a short biography o f the person listing their interests in a few words. More importantly, there is the photo. if a picture is worth 1,000 words, how do you represent the word "sexy?" For guys, I'm reason­ ably confident that online dat­ ing is all about the photo. I think it speaks more than a few words explaining that you like to have fun and enjoy life. And so, a lot o f th ou gh t should be put into Matt met his current girlfriend choosin g said photo, on w w w .H otorN ot.com .

It really com es dow n to a few

key factors. First, the originality of a photo can draw attention; you're looking to stand out. It seem s like a num ber of girls think they're posing for a lingerie m agazine w hen they shoot their display photo. To attract guys, this is not always necessary. Being unique, more than anything else, is a turn on. Everybody can spot the "sexy pose." Som etim es it can be funny, but that does not m ean I'd ask you out on a date.

Smile. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Again, the sexy pose can be botched easily.

These days, there is no go od excuse to upload a pixilated picture. This says that you are unable to w ield a camera. If you can't do that, perhaps dating isn't for you. Also, if you're g o in g to take a picture, it's probably better if your face doesn't take up 95 per cent o f the im age. You can reach farther back.

That being said, there are tons of photos that do follow these guidelines and certainly do pass the test.

For exam ple, according to FoxyMTI_533 on FiotorNot.com, we could be soul mates. She's go t a solid display: original, sm iling, not nude, not taking herself too seriously...

"Je pourrais bien être la personne que vous, cherchez," (I could be the person you are looking for) the display reads.

I certainly hope so. Click. ■

"The whole point of internet flirting is the 'fantasy aspect,'" says Frances Jackson, U2 Psychology.

C y b e r s e x in n o v a t iv e b u t u l t i m a t e l y u n f u lf illin g J a c q u e l in e R o w n ia k There is an am azing, scene in Kevin Smith's film Chasing Amy, where Alyssa, the com ic-book-w riting lesbian and Banky, the token best friend, bond over the pain of flesh w ounds incurred during oral sex. He shows her his cracked tooth and neck dam age; she retaliates with scars on her back and knee. Banky explains that he no longer goes dow n on girls because of these "permanent in­ juries" and with go od reason. Even w ithout all the em otional b a g­ ga g e that com es with sex, there are enough physical motives to make one w ant to avoid the sex scene forever, sim ply to keep one's lim bs intact.

Sex these days is a scary, scary thing. Turn on the television and you're inundated with com m ercials w arning you about the risk of unw anted pregnancy, "regifting" genital herpes, or the fact that HPV, w hich leads to cervical cancer, affects one in four w om en on college cam puses. Luckily, there are condom s and birth control pills w hich, if used properly, should shield against these potential disasters. But w ho makes a protective device to guard against carpet burn or unsightly red hickies? Sex is like Aussie-rules football: Alm ost everything is fair gam e. Hair gets pulled, legs get twisted and heaven forbid, groins m ay ge t pulled, putting you out of com m ission for weeks. W ho can afford to take a chance like that?

For all the reasons m entioned above, Features decided to inves­ tigate healthier alternatives to in-person sexual encounters. Cybersex em erged as a popular option. W ebcam s and typing out your dirty talk still allow for a certain level of intimacy, but typically won't lead to the sam e kind of carnage that can occur in the bedroom .The best part is that your extrem ities should remain perfectly safe unless you're scratching angry red marks dow n your ow n back.

Nevertheless, cybersex opens up a w hole new realm o f injury.

You get all heated up in the m om ent, furiously typing away and sud­ denly you find yourself in the hospital, being treated for carpal tun­ nel syndrome. Or you w ind up frequenting the com puter store and em ptying your wallet because a certain sticky liquid renders your keyboard non-functional.

Maybe cybersex isn't the w ay to go after all. Phone sex doesn't seem to ge t w eighed dow n by the sam e injuries afflicting the other sexual encounters— unless you count a hoarse voice or expensive telephone phone bill. However, m ost agree that phone sex doesn't allow for the sam e kind of intim acy other sexual encounters make available.

So we find ourselves back at square one. W hat are we left with?

Well, not m uch. So m aybe we need to brave the Wild West and jum p back in the sack. Just with som e wrist guards and knee pads this tim e to keep us out o f harm's way. ■

S tu d en t L iving

X VS Y

R ugby vs Soccer ' S o c c e r is a g e n t l e m a n ' s g a m e p l a y e d b y r u f f i a n s a n d r u g b y is a r u f f i a n ' s g a m e p l a y e d b y g e n t l e m e n . '

— Compiled by M aria Forti, who, though she has played an d loved soccer since age four, is currently a m em ber o f the McGill M artlets rugby team.

P o p u la rity : According to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association,

R ugby P o p u la rity : There are only three million adults and children registered to play

there were 30.8 million people (adults and children) registered to play soccer globally.

Players: Anyone can aspire to be a great player— speed, vision and finesse with the ball are the main aspects of the sport. It m ay be the only place where size does not matter - much.

Rules: Universally understood.

Passing: O ne can pass the ball wherever one's heart desires (as long as it is in the field of play).

F ou l play: Try it, ge t a yellow or red card and get thrown out of the game.

C'm on, it'll be fun.

D an g e rs: Can be a gam e of luck, so brace yourself for that pesky underdog team to walk away with a surprising victory.

V o c a b u la ry : Often called the "beautiful game" and referred to as an "art."

T ra d itio n s : Faking injuries at higher levels (see: World Cup 2006).

rugby according to the International Rugby Board.

Players: Anyone capable of drinking inordinate am ounts of alcohol. This is an im portant part of the sport.

Rules: There are so m any that most players never even learn them all.

Passing: O ne can only pass backwards. Yes, backwards.

F oul Play: O ne is sent to the corner (aka the "sin bin"). This is m uch more fun than getting thrown out of the game.

D a n g e rs: Beautiful war w ounds (i.e. two black eyes and cum ulus cloud-shaped bruises).

V o c a b u la ry : 'Scrum ,"ruck'and 'maul' can all be used to describe a gam e. Fan­ tastic.

T ra d itio n s : Fun songs and crazy dances. In fact, the sport has a long list of insane traditions, which can be awesom e or frightening depending on how one looks at it.

Soccer

T h e W in n e r: Rugby. You can't deny

the inherent fun of dum p tackles, stiff-arming and jersey grabbing. And the sport is 100 per cent fair p lay... for the most part.

HOW-TO

POD PEOPLE

W in te r-p ro o f w in d o w s b e fo re Ja c k F ro st k n o c k s

'W h e r e y a f r o m , y o u sex y th a a n g ? '

T raci J o h n so n Each year, many McGillians brave the harsh Montreal winter ensconced in poorly insulated student apartments.

Cold fingers curled around highlighters and com puter keys, they spend nights from Novem ber to March wearing three pairs of socks to keep their tootsies warm .To help prevent the icy drafts that invade living quarters and drive up energy costs, Features presents an illustrated gu id e to winter-proofing windows. Pick-up som e shrink wrap and double-sided tape, available in a kit at Canadian Tire (1500 Atwater Ouest) and follow these steps to keep your hum ble hovel toasty and the hydro bill low this season.

T h e g r e a t e s t p ic k -u p s o n g s o f a ll t i m e R a c h e l M e l n ik

Som etim es you need a little bit of inspiration to ask that sexy geek in the cor­ ner for his or her number. That's w hy Features created an iPod playlist to help you em bark on a mission to snag, or shag, the object of your desire.

A n th e m s fo r th e C h ro n ic F lirt: T hese m e lo d ie s m a k e y o u w a n t t o m a k e w is tfu l eyes a t y o u r b e lo v e d , ask th e m fo r a d a n c e a n d (if y o u 're e s p e c ia lly d a rin g ) b u y th e m a d rin k .

1. Heat w indow frames with blowdryer and apply double-stick tape to the outside edge of the m oulding. Do not tape outside of the w indow frame along the wall, w hich would cause dam age to the plaster.

2. Measure the frames of the w indow s you plan to insulate. Rem em ber to leave at least one w indow uncovered for an oc­ casional breath of fresh air.

"Don't ya wanna ride?"Joss Stone "Chemicals between us," Bush "Short skirt, long jacket,"Cake "Interested," India Arie "Take me out,” Franz Ferdinand "I w ant you to w ant me," Letters to Cleo "Why don't you and I," Santana featuring Alex Band from The Calling "I only have eyes for you," Ella Fitzgerald "Better together," Jack Johnson "I believe in a thing called Love,"The Darkness P ic k -u p S ongs G o n e W ro n g : T hese p ic k -u p s o n g s are m o re s illy th a n sexy, b u t y o u n e v e r k n o w , m a y b e th e o b je c t o f y o u r d e s ire s e c re tly c o v e ts M a rv in Gaye.

3. Measure and cut shrinkwrap to match the dim ensions of the w indow frames.

Leave a little bit of fu d ge room and trim the edges later.

5.Take aim at the shrink­ wrap with a blowdryer.

The heat from the blow ­ dryer will heat the plas­ tic, causing it to shrink and adhere tightly to the w indow frames.

4. Press the shrinkwrap against the taped w indow frames, starting at the top and w orking your w ay down. Reposition as necessary.

Voilà! Now, with energy-efficient, winter-proofed windows, sit back and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and watch the snow, er, freezing rain drops fall. ■

"That's amore," Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin "Let's get it on tonight," Montell Jordan "Lady in red,"Chris DeBourgh "Sexy thang," Marvin Gaye "You are so beautiful,” Leonard Cohen "Fever," Peggy Lee "I'm gonna be (500 miles),"The Proclaimers "Hello, I love you,"the Doors "Let's spend the night together" the Rolling Stones "Baby got back,"Sir Mix-a-lot Best a n ti p ic k -u p so n g s: T hese tu n e s g iv e o f f th e w r o n g im p re s s io n , t o say th e least.

"Too drunk to fuck," the Dead Kennedys “Sm ooth criminal," Michael Jackson "Move bitch," Ludacris "Wrong way," Sublim e "A man needs a maid," Neil Young "I hate everything about you,"Three Days Grace "Promiscuous," Nelly Furtado "Possession," Sarah McLachlan "My stupid mouth,"John Mayer "Stacy's mom," Fountains of Wayne

—A r ts & E n terta in m en t FILM

In y o u r f a c e , M c D o n a l d 's . . . k i n d o f L in k la t e r m a k e s a b u r g e r o u t o f p r im e r ib D

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Eric Schlosser's bestseller Fast Food Nation is a penetrating look into the ways in w hich fast food giants are destroying the fabric of America.

Richard Linklater's film Fast Food N ation is a dra­ matized portrait of a few individuals whose lives are directly affected by the im aginary fast food giant, Mickey's. The differences between book and movie are glaring; the film should have the sam e "inspired b y . d is c la im e r in its credits as other book-turned-m ovies such as A Beautiful M in d or The Texas C hainsaw Massacre. Author Eric Schlosser discusses how the Hollywood process of turning a bestselling book into a blockbuster m ovie with the Tribune.

A

What sacrifices did you feel you had to make in order for this film to be marketable?

None. I hope it is marketable. When Rick [Linklater] and I saw the first rough cut of the film he turned to me [and said] "I can't believe any­ one let us make this film."We never had to co m ­ promise it; we never had to bow dow n before anyone. [There was] no focus group, no market research done. I hope people see it, but if they don't, I'm proud of w hat I've done.

Do you think your message comes off as strongly as it did in the book?

There's not really one message, I think that w ay of the book and I think that w ay of the film.

The goal of both is to make you think and to un­ cover som e things that are being deliberately hidden. I m ight not be the best person to ju d g e but I feel very proud of what Rick has done.

Do you see any similarities between Hol­ lywood and the fast food industry?

H uge [similarities]. So m any Hollywood films are made exactly the sam e w ay fast food is made. Fast food is carefully designed to taste go od and make you want to eat it and eat it a lot.

The same is true for so m any Hollywood films; they're carefully designed to make you feel good.

They make you want it and want it a ga in ... this film is the opposite. We didn't do focus groups to see w hich ending you like the most. We're

not trying to make you feel good; we're trying to show you the facts.

How much control did you have over the movie's production?

I had total control over whether it w ould be done or not and total control over w ho would do it. [But] once I gave the book to Rick, it's his and I slept soundly on it. The only w ay a good film can be made is if a go od director can be free to do what he or she [thinks is best].

You left out any possible strategies for change. Why? The m ovie isn't a political platform; it's about these lives in a town. If we'd had Greg Kinnear testifying before Congress and bringing dow n the m eatpacking com pany, that would have been a lie... If we'd had the mistreated ille­ gals banding together and form ing a union, that would be a lie too because nothing like that is happening now.

When's the last time you ate fast food?

In Austin [Texas] a couple of weeks ago. I had a fast food ham burger and a shake, but I got it from this little place where the beef is no hor­ mone, all natural. They treat their workers really well. I still eat meat; I still like fries— I just choose not to give m y m oney to those big chains.

Schlosser's refusal to preach is refreshing but it can com e off as dispassionate at times. Like­ wise, the movie's dramatization will make it more appealing to a broader audience, w hile sacrific­ ing som e of the punch that made the book so good. The movie, when com pared to other m ov­ ies and not the book, is very go od (think Thank You For Smoking, but as a drama rather than a com edy). The cast, w ho worked for m uch less than their average salaries, em bodied their roles so naturally that it was often easy to forget their A-list names. Avril Lavigne was the conspicuous exception to that rule, however, especially when she looked directly at the camera. Twice.

Overall the m ovie is enjoyable and you never forget the overriding message: There's shit in the meat. ■

Fast Food N ation takes Super Size Me's disdain for Mickey D's to the next level.

POP RHETORIC

S to p h a tin ' o n T o m C ru ise Ben Lemieux

I

nternational news organizations and celebrity gossip Web sites both reported heavily on Paramount's hasty dismissal ofTom Cruise, his production com pany and his future cin ­ em atic endeavours last August. Paramount cited the star's "erratic behaviour" as the prime motivator for this untim ely divorce, claim ing the fifth-highest grossing lead man in Hol­ lywood history had an excessively burdensom e cost/benefit ratio. Suddenly, both in the Hollywood milieu and everyday conversation, Cruise-haters started com in g out of the w o od ­ work. "What a whacko," expressed some, with others opting for, "it's about tim e his career com es to a grinding h a lt... fuck­ ing hack."

Freedom of speech is a valuable thing. People are en­ titled to their o p inions... even if these are the w rong opin­ ions.

Hating on Tom Cruise is unacceptable. This isn't to say he's an entirely flawless, perfectly balanced individual— nor is it m isguided fanfare— it's sim ply a suggestion that people are hating on Tom m y for all the w rong reasons.

At first, people m ay gripe about his "poor acting," stat­ ing that he offers sub-par perform ances in equally sub-par films. Given that the quality of an actor cannot be measured quantitatively, I will only recom m end these same cynics pre­

em ptively watch M agnolia, Born on the Fourth o f July, Rain M a n or Collateral and then take the liberty of referring to him as a poor actor. I'll happily return the favour and refer to them as idiots.

Then com es the Scientology dispute.The Liberal left has maintained a rather antiseptic stance towards the "overly zeal­ ous," religious or otherwise. Granted, Tom Cruise is a strange cat. O f course, so was Wesley Willis and that didn't stop him from selling out college tours and having innate marketabil­ ity. People found the byproducts of his disease am using and the masses thus loved him; yet a man w ho makes a conscious decision to deviate from the norm inevitably becom es a so­ cial pariah. Bullshit.

No one hates on Beck or John Travolta for being Scien­ tologists. W hy the double standard? O ne could argue that Tom Cruise is the most outspoken, prom inent and, at times, vitriolic m em ber of the Church of Scientology, w hich to many seems to be practically akin to the Christian right. Let's be frank, firm disapproval in the practice of psychiatry is in no way com parable to saying that God hates hom osexuals and that final ju d gm en t will soon be upon their heathen hides.

And people can say what they w ant about his com m ents on Brooke Shields'use o f Paxil in the wake of postpartum depres­

sion being ludicrous— further stating that there was no such thing as a chem ical im balance— he later apologized to her and, contrary to habitual celebrity leanings, he did it in person and did not endeavour to transform it into a publicity stunt.

Shields herself reported that she was surprised by the earnest­ ness of his apology, saying,"! didn't feel at any tim e that J had to defend myself, nor did I feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry."

W hen is the last tim e you heard of a religious extremist who was able to hold onto his core ideologies and sim ultaneously adm it fault when those values offend or upset others?

As for "jum ping the couch," w ho honestly gives a fuck?

Let the man express his emotion, even if he does seem like a goof. No one pitched a fit when Roberto Benigni leaped across several rows of spectators to accept his Academ y Award in 1998.

Paramount need only pay attention to the fact that Cruise's 27 feature films have grossed a total of $2.6-billion.

The layman need only realise that dism issing a man's talent and artistic merit on the basis of marginally deviant behaviour is, in and of itself, more discrim inatory and prejudicial than anything Cruise has said or done during his 14-year stint with Paramount. ■

The McGill Tribune

14* Arts & Entertainment* 14.11.06

Previews

COMPILED BY CR YSTA L CH A N

Nightlife. Choco-Electro, Nov. 17 at 9 p.m.; SAT (1195 StLaurent). A decadent night of live electronic music and chocolate fun is taking place this Friday at the Société des Arts Technologiques, on the corner of Ste-Catherine and St-Laurent. This is the third party of its kind thrown

by Taste Productions and Nightlife M agazine. The., event will feature the North Am erican premiere of the French band Les Cerveaux Lents and various artists and DJs such as Dandi Wind, Mossa, The Mole, Gloomy, Les Conques Claquent, Motus 3F and Anatone for the rest of the eve­ ning. The last Choco-Electro event drew more than 800 guests, so get your tickets soon. Visit www.noctam bules.tv to get one of 100 pre-sale tickets at the reduced price of $15; tickets at the door will be $18. Did I mention there's g o in g to be free chocolate?

M usic.The G oo Goo Dolls, Nov. 18 at 730 p.m.; O lym pia Theatre (1004 Ste-Catherine E.). "And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understandl'The alt-rock boy band we all love is com ing into town this weekend. Tomi Swick, an inventive solo art­ ist hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, will be opening the show .The G oo Goo Dolls are touring behind their latest album , Let love in, released last spring, w hich included the single "Better Days."Don your punk-wannabe outfits, bring your lighters and get ready for an am azing evening. Tickets are $32.50.

Call (514) 286-7884 for tickets and more information.

Literature. M oral disorder, released Sept. 5. The latest from Canada's most fam ous w om an of letters, Margaret At­ wood, M oral disorder, is a story collection that follows the intertwined narratives of m em bers of one Canadian fam ­ ily from post-WWII Toronto to a present day farm ing co m ­ munity. Atw ood sketches m em orable characters, includ­ ing the baby of the family, Lizzie, a schizophrenic sufferer tfc tli M a rg a re t and the literarily am bitious Nell. A.S. Byatt describes the A tw o o d book as "cunningly constructed of the vagaries o f m em ory and is rounded by Alzheimer's and forge ttin g... it is trium ­ phantly understood and excellently written." Grab a copy and decide for yourself if it is a successful addition to Canlit.

M o ral D is o rd e r e\

Film. Casino Royale, opens Nov. 17. Jam es Bond returns!

The 21st installment of the long-running spy m ovie series hits theatres this Friday. Based on Ian Fleming's first Jam es Bond novel, Casino Royale stars the sixth Jam es Bond, Dan­ iel Craig (Layer Cake, M unich), in his first attem pt at play­ ing 007. The m ovie takes the Bond character back to his younger days, recounting his initial acceptance into the ranks of spydom . After he receives his licence to kill, Craig travels to M adagascar on his first mission to find a poten­ tial terrorist. A fiery Bond girl, Vesper Lynd— played by redhaired siren Eva Green in the movie version— ensnares 007 in her seductive web. Escapism from final essays and projects at its best.

MUSIC

A rtis tic m e r it a n d d a n c e a b ility b e c o m e o n e D a n c e b e T e n d e r, d a n c e b e tru e B en Lemieux The musical phenom enon hailed as a second British Invasion found its legs a few years ago and has been running am uck ever since.

Rooted in neo-alternative-dance, the genre's flag bearers becam e house­ hold nam es am ong dorm students, club goers and indie scenesters worldwide. Bands like Franz Ferdi­ nand and Kasabian blended back­ boned, disco-esque drum beats with catchy guitar hooks and the occa­ sional instrumental crescendo.

As m any of us have realized over the past half-decade or so, alternative dance-pop, for all its innate potential, has been horrendously fucking te­ dious. Even the m ost fervent aficio­ nados of the genre will readily con­ cede that it's som ething of a guilty pleasure, that "danceability" seldom equates to artistic merit. It's like a twinkie: you'll gladly scarf it dow n so long as you're not rem inded that the substantial intake of polysorbate 60 and yellow dye no. 5 will reduce your brain to convulsing mush.

If we take this analogy one step further, Los Angeles quartet The Ten­ der Box is a finely marinated salmon steak. Loaded with m ono-unsaturated fats (brain food, people) and tastes sublim e to boot. Charged with fre­ netic drum beats, pow erhouse guitar lines and nim ble vocal turns, the lads of the Tender Box do not bring any­ thing, m ind-bendingly novel to the

singer, Joey M edina, m ainta in s th a t

m usic its e lf is a p p ro p ria te ly d a n ce a b le w ith o u t fe e lin g p re d ic ta b le ; it's a fre n z y o f d is to rte d , p u n k -ro c k g u i­ tars a nd s u b tle syn th w ashes e c h o ­

artists w h o strive t o keep a g e n re

in g th e fin e r m o m e n ts o f M use o r

g e n re so m u c h as d o it b e tte r th a n a n y b o d y a n d e v e ry b o d y else.

T he Box's g u ita ris t a n d lead

alive and th u m p in g are ju s t as im p o r­

Rooney. T he la tte r h a lf o f th e ir d e b u t

ta n t as th e w ild ly in n o v a tiv e variety.

"M usic, overall, is cyclical; e v e ry th in g w ill s ta rt s o u n d in g like o r w ill have

a lb u m , The Score, even showcases s o m e m a s te rfu lly e xe cu te d rootsrock n u m b e rs a n d Ja m iro q u a i-ish

e le m e n ts o f th e past," he explains. "I th in k if yo u keep it in te re s tin g as far as a d d in g y o u r o w n personal to u c h ­

fu n k . F urth e r te s ta m e n t t o th e band's c re d ib ility is its firs t sin g le ,"M is te r Sis­

es to s o m e th in g th a t's b een d o n e in

A n g e le s p u n k -ro c k D J /g u ru R odney B in g e n h e im e r a nd later p icke d u p b y C hevy Canada fo r use in c o m m e r­ cials. This w as b e fore th e b a n d even had a record deal.

th e past, m usic w ill keep going."

In ke e p in g w ith his D a rw in ia n vie w s o n m usical e v o lu tio n , M ed in a g e n e ra lly a nd n o t a t all h a u g h tily ,

ter," w h ic h was in itia lly la u d e d by Los

M e d in a

shrugs o ff c o m m e n ts a b o u t his band

now

chu ckle s

recalling th e band's h u m b le b e g in ­

b le n d o f da n ce-ro ck.

"W e've g o tte n c o m p lim e n ts say­ in g 'it's a n e w sound,' b u t really w e're ju s t try in g t o b rin g s o m e th in g th a t

n in g s as an a m a te u r h ig h school band. "[W e w e re ] fo u r guys p ic k in g u p th e ir in s tru m e n ts a t th e same tim e," he recollects. "W e w e re w ritin g

w e 've heard fro m th e past a n d m ake

a b u n c h o f Sm iths songs back th e n .

it o u r own," he elaborates. "That's w h a t m usic is: it's a b rid g e th a t ju s t keeps g o in g a nd g o in g a n d going."

W e w a n te d to be th e n e x t Smiths.”

D e sp ite h a vin g re g re tta b ly m issed th a t tra in by a d e ca de o r tw o ,

G o o d th in g th a t th is s tran d o f

th e blessing in disguise fo r m usic

th e M a n ch e ste r s o u n d e vo lve d in to M e d in a a nd Co., seeing as h o w som e o f th e ir peers c o u ld use a taste o f n a t­

listeners w ill be th e T en d e r Box's v iv i­ fic a tio n o f a g e n re th a t g o t o ff to a stale start. In th is respect, th e y 're th e

ural se le ctio n rig h ta b o u t n o w .W h e re

n e w Killers; even to p e o p le w h o feel

th e lyrical v a p id ity and brazen vocal in c o m p e te n c e o f Franz o r th e Killers

th a t th e Killers n e ve r "h a p p e n e d " to

s im p ly g e ts th e b e st o f th e m , th e se L.A. lads disp la y tre m e n d o u s vo ca l m a lle a b ility a n d s le ig h t o f p h rasing fro m w h ic h even th e d e fte s t o f p o p s o n g w rite rs c o u ld ta ke a h in t. The

b e g in w ith . ■

The Tender Box plays live Monday, Nov. 20 at Café Cam pus (57 Prince-Ar­ thur E). Doors open at 7 30 p.m. D ia l (514) 844-1010 for more information.

Fashion. CASCO M ovie M o n ta g e , Nov. 16 a t 7 p.m.. This fa sh io n a nd d a n ce extravaganza, th e fifth e d itio n p ro d u c e d by th e C o m m e rce A d m in is tra tio n S tu d e n t C h a rity O rga n iza tio n , features e n te rta in m e n t in sp ired by p o p -cla s­ sic d a n ce film s a nd local fashions. T ickets in ­ c lu d e e n tra n ce to th e sh o w a t Le M e d le y (1170 St-Denis) a nd an a fte r p a rty a t O rchid n ig h t­ club. Proceeds fro m th e tic k e t sales ($20) and a sile n t a u c tio n h e ld d u rin g th e s h o w b e n e fit th e M o n tre a l C hildren's Hospital.

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MUSIC

LITERATURE

D y la n k e e p s o n k e e p i n ' o n ( lik e a B u d d h a f lu )

D ig g in g fo r d e a t h

N e w m a t e r ia l p r o v e s ic o n o c la s t 's m u s ic s t i ll v i b r a n t , e v e n if h i s v o c a l q u a l i t y is n o t J

o h n

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e m le y

the verge of relevance, elicited the anticipated cheers and sing-a-longs, but it was the newer material that seem ed more com fortable to both Dylan and his band. Touring to support August's M odem Times album , the band per­ form ed som e of its better tracks-'Thunder on the m oun­ tain," "Nettie Moore"-as well as a few tunes culled from Zim m y's more recent album s.The band played "Cold irons bound," from 1997's Time O u t o f M ind, with the air of epic, foreboding paranoia it deserves and a rousing perform ance of "Things Have Changed," a rarity from the soundtrack to the 2000 film W onder Boys, underscored the contem porary conse­ quence of Dylan's craft.

Dylan's current touring band succeeds in providing refreshing, at tim es exploratory re­ arrangem ents to even the stuff from the acous­ tic era (“Girl From North Country") and plays with an intense, old-tim ey vitality that puts Dylan, in terms of straight-up rock, at his best since the Rolling Thunderyeats. Un­ like still-touring "period" bands like the Stones, w hose rock'n' roll geriat­ rics are more contem pt­ ible parody of the rock concert than anything else, Bob Dylan proves through the strength of both his live show and his new material that just because a musician is old enough to collect a pension, doesn't mean he should be written off A S S O C IA T E D P R E S S as a has-been. ■

First of all, those people w ho talk shit about Bob Dylan these days are wrong. Sure, he may-no longer write the anthem "protest songs" that endeared him to all the Che-loving, trust fund Trotskys across college cam puses, but beyond his dalliances with iconoclast lies probably the most im portant songw riter (read: not poet) of the last 50 years. The naysay­ ers m ay just have to ac­ cept the fact that for all the hype, scholarship and near-m essianic fanboy worship, Bob Dylan re­ ally is that good. He may not still have "it," whatever that even means, but he's sure go t som ething. And whatever he's got, he's got it in spades.

The 65-year-old songwriter rolled into Montreal last W ednesday and played to a packed house at the Bell Centre.

The set list was com ­ prised primarily of mate­ rial from Dylan's H ighw ay 61 through Blood on the Tracks era and his prolific output from the past de­ cade. And though Dylan's graying, Boom hauer vo ­ cals may turn "Tangled Up in Blue" into "Tango Upon Boo" (or som ething), his six-piece band pro­ vides even the dustiest of Dylan's old chestnuts with a revitalizing rock energy that is decidedly more dancehall than folk café.

Tunes like "Masters of War" or "Like a Rolling Stone,"which still loom on Folk crooner gives as good a show at 65 as in 1965.

i | .

I | I

A f t e r th e in tim id a tin g gaze o f e x is te n tia lis m and now t e r r o r i s m c a n we s t i l l l i v e o p tim is tic a lly ?

E

z r a

G

l in t e r

The M ole Chronicles

by A ndy Brown Insom niac Press It is always a depressing, but sobering, mental exercise to have to think about how little one knows other people and how little one is known in turn.

"By its very nature every em bodied spirit is doom ed to suffer and enjoy in soli­ tude," writes Aldous Huxley. "From fam ily to nation, every hum an group is a society of island universes." It is this sense of lonely detachm ent that gives texture to The M ole Chronicles, the m ost recent book and first novel of Montreal writer A ndy Brown.

The narrator of the book is a seem ­ ingly directionless young man living in Montreal with no clear vocation or m eaningful relationships. Though this is already a venerable literary theme, Brown gives it new life through precise observation and is especially effective in revealing the gu lf between the narrator and his fellow characters. The narrator remembers, for example, "winter after­ noons at m y aunt's house in Vancouver.

My sister Lesley and I sliding dow n the shag-carpeted stairs on our bums." H ow­ ever, in sharp contrast with this touching retrospective, he now no longer knows what his sister is doing or even where Dermatology at its best— Brown. she is living. The distance between him ­ self and the same recently deceased aunt is nicely captured w hen he feels "a prickle of regret at the fact that I never spent tim e getting to know her day-today routine."

Indeed, death is another them e that pervades The M ole Chronicles. The narrator's many eponym ous skin blem ishes constantly threaten to metastasize, his mother died w hen he was young (or so he believes) and his father is a re­ tired traffic engineer w ho wrote accident reports for a living. Despite such loss, separation and death, the book m anages to not be overly morbid or depress­ ing. This is due in large part to Brown's sim ple and elegant w riting, w hich gives the book a light and entertaining tone. As the author once told the D anforth Review, an online journal funded by the Canada Coucil for the Arts, "humour helps us laugh at the plaglie."

Brown also m anages to transverse the usual m inefield of im agery and m etaphor with agility. In one of his most impressive phrases, he evokes the early m orning em ptiness of a rain-washed parking lot by describing it as a "ter­ ritory surveyed out with straight yellow lines, w aiting for settlers to establish a civilization." He is also apt at invoking local colour, bringing Montreal and Van­ couver settings to life on the page. Anyone w ho has ever swam at the Piscine Schubert on St-Laurent will appreciate his description of the "little old men" with "hunched liver-spotted bodies."

Where Brown falters, however, is in the matter of plot. While the first half of the book reads like a Dave Eggersesque m em oir (and indeed, the narrator bears m uch resemblance to the real-life Brown), the second half begins to look like som ething out of a C huck Palahniuk novel. One suspects that the narra­ tor's involvem ent in a far fetched eco-terrorist organization called DAGW OOD (Derm atologists Against Global Warming and O ncologists O pposing Dams) is m ostly the result of the author's realization that everyday life and m em ory wasn't go in g to w ork past 115 pages. And though it is at first impressive the way plot elem ents cross and re-cross, bringing to mind Tolstoy's em phasis on his own 'labyrinth of connections,' Brown's technique is far from subtle and soon becom es repetitive and predictable.

These shortcom ings are unfortunate because Brown is a talented writer w ho has brought fresh expression to im portant themes. O ne hopes that in future works he will develop more suitable vehicles to deliver his considerable insight. ■ Andy Brown w ill be launching The Mole Diaries on Nov. 14 at Boa Bar (5301 St-Laurent).

A uthor t . S . Cat t a r in i w i l l re a d p h ilo s o p h ic a l e x c e r p ts from h i s book Beyond S a r t r e & S t e r i l i t y , in c lu d in g an e d i t o r i a l on th e im pact o f 9 / 1 1 . C a t t a r i n i , once p r a is e d by B r i t a i n 's C o lin W ilso n , ^ c laim s t h a t S a r t r e was th e Medusa o f modern th o u g h t, and to r e f u s e him mea oppo sin g h i s b le a k r e a lis m w ith a bol v ita lity .

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16 • Arts & Entertainment • 14.11.06

FILM

Reviews D ra g o n fo rc e — In hum an Rampage. Hailing from the United Kingdom , the boys from Dragonforce rely more on eighties metal styles and them es than on w hat is called metal today. Signed to major metal record label Roadrunner, their 2 0 0 6 album In hum an R am page is full of epic metal choruses, dual shredding guitar solos and a more uplifting, less dark sound. Their style draws more from Bon Jovi and Journey than from Iron Maiden, M egadeth or Slayer. W ithout doubt, the true driving force behind Dragonforce are virtuoso guitarists Herm an Li and Sam Totm an and their signature use of the extended dual solo in virtually every song. Citing eighties video gam e m usic as a prim ary influence in his m usical style, Herman Li is the Asian e q u iv a le n t. of an Eddie Van Halen and Yn gw ie M almsteen lovechild. The high point of In h u m an Ram page, and arguably of the Dragonforce catalogue, is the first track, "Through the fire and flames." Over seven m inutes in length, this epic ballad of well-layered musical m astership will m ake any listener feel a desire to battle against dem ons with a very large axe scream ing, "through the fire and the flam es w e carry on!" Admittedly, the rest of the album is just more of the same. While it is satisfying e nough to revel in the guitarists' pure talent and musical refinement, In hum an R am page pushes no boundaries and is by no m eans a groundbreaking m om ent in metal and heavy m usic. The band seem s to draw upon w ell-developed form ulas for metal perfection, albeit in à particularly impressive, refined and talented manner.

— Kayvon Afshari Is o b e l C a m p b e ll — M ilk W hite Sheets. To get straight to the point: this album is endlessly frustrating. M ilk W hite Sheets consists o f song after song of Isobel Cam pbell's waif, m eandering vocals and little else. The instrum entals on this album are understated (and at their m ost intense consist o f finger picked guitar played softly in the background), understandable considering one alm ost has to strain to hear her as is. Isobel Cam pbell experienced som e popularity in recent years singing with Belle & Sebastian, a band that one m ight think was about as far into m ellow as it gets, yet this album m anages to push the boundary even further. M ilk W hite Sheets is an even split between- perform ances of traditional folk songs and Cam pbell's originals. There is a distinct dream-like quality present and Cam pbell, for the m ost part, sounds as th ou gh she's singing a lullaby; the odd, Elizabethan tinged lyrics addin g to overarching dynam ic. Admittedly, the aesthetic sounds interesting, but this seem s a more likely candidate for a sub-par fantasy film soundtrack than a successful folk record. Cam pbell churns out a S t u d y M E D IC IN E few tracks, nam ely "Loving Hannah" in E u r o p e and "Are You G oing To Leave Me?" that stand out m arginally from the white-w ashed backdrop, but it's not e nough to save the album from w w w .m e d id a l- s c h o o l.c a mediocrity. Ultimately, M ilk W hite Sheets lacks the raw em otional c a u a d i i i i i i @ m e d i c a l - s c l i o o l . c a com plexity that is generally the only appealing quality folk m usic offers.

— Laura Anderson

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film claims, invariably stem s from the Church's notoriously repressive attitude towards sexuality.

The majority o f the interviews are gripping, though it Now playing at the newly reopened and remodeled is unclear w hy so m any of the interviewees are driving au­ Cinem a du Parc is A m y Berg's Deliver us from evil, w hich tom obiles while being questioned by the film crew. Berg took the Best Docum entary honour at the 2006 Los A n ge ­ avoids exploiting the victims, either for the sake of her film les Film Festival. The film follows the m ovem ent of Father or for the m ounting crusade against clandestine abuse in Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest infam ous for child m oles­ the Church, and even the most explosive on-screen m o­ tation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as he is endlessly m ents com e across as nothing less than intensely ear­ nest.

The analysis of O'Grady, w ho after serving seven years of a 14-year prison sentence was extradited to his native Ireland where he now roams freely, proves troubling and com plex. In interviews, it is hard to tell if O'Grady— w ho presents him self in a m anner that straddles the line between naiveté and senility— is genuinely sincere and apologetic and so above can­ dor that he would choose to expose him self so fully in this film, or if his psyche is just messed up beyond repair. Either way, the know ledge of the deep-rooted evil that lurks behind O'Grady's grandfatherly dem ean­ or provides a genuinely disquieting character study.

T h ough certainly not the date m ovie of the year, D e­ liver us from evil is a com pelling, if not com prehensive, Anatomy of a pedophiliac: former priest Oliver O'Grady. analysis of the innum erable abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in recent decades. And of course, no matter how unnerving the content, it's always transferred between Californian church parishes. The film a pleasure to see a m ovie at Cinem a du Parc. ■ draws from a variety of footage, ranging from disturbing J o h n S e m le y

interviews with O'Grady him self and several of his victims, now well into adulthood, to footage from O'Grady's arraignment. Most com pelling are scenes depicting the pilgrim age of two victim s of pédophilie abuse to the Vatican as they vainly seek an audience with the Pope.

Berg's film focuses primarily on O'Grady, his vic­ tims and the efforts of bishops and cardinals to con­ ceal his abuse from parishioners it also posits claims regarding the nature of abuse within the Church, thus m oving the film from mere Catholic exploitation to a more sw eeping sociological inquiry into the nature of abuse within the Church. Berg vehem ently attacks the Catholic Church, draw ing com parisons to La Cosa Nostra and condem ning the num erous antiquated laws of the Vatican, such as not perm itting clergy­ m en to marry. Most intriguing are the inquiries into the origin of abuse within the Church, w hich has been Community members discuss the crisis of pedophilia recorded as far back as the fourth century and, so the with director Amy Berg.

S ports HOCKEY— MARTLETS 5, OTTAWA 0

M a r tle ts c r u s h G e e - G e e s ...a g a in O t t a w a c a n 't s o lv e L a b o n t é a s M c G ill r u n s w in n in g s t r e a k t o s ix g a m e s M a tt C h esser The O tta w a Gee-Gees m u s t have had a bad case o f d éjà-vu fo llo w in g th e ir Saturday a fte rn o o n t ilt w ith th e M cG ill M artlets.

Led b y g o a lte n d e r C harline Labonté's th ird co n se cu tive s h u to u t, th e re d -h o t M a rtle ts cruised to a 5-0 v ic to ry o ve r th e ir o p p o n e n ts fro m th e nation's c a p ita l a t M cC o n n e ll Arena. T he w in m arked McGill's second s tra ig h t 5-0 d e fea t o f O tta w a w ith in a w eek, as th e te a m s c o m p le te d a h o m e -a n d -h o m e series.

"I th o u g h t th a t w e ca m e o u t a nd b a ttle d ve ry w e ll to n ig h t," said Assistant Coach A m e y Doyle, w h o is h a n d lin g th e c o a ch in g d u tie s fo r th e M a rtle ts w h ile Head Coach Peter S m ith w orks w ith Team Canada a t th e Four N a tions Cup. "We had tro u b le g e ttin g th in g s g o in g in th e firs t p e rio d , b u t later in th e g a m e w e m a n ­ a ged to use o u r speed, o u r g re a te st asset, to set th e tone."

With the two victories over the ninth-ranked Gee-Gees, the Martlets remained undefeated (6-0-0) in regular season play and have solidified their position as the top team in the nation.

A key com ponent of that success has been freshman goalten­ der Charline Labonté, w ho notched 24 saves and extended her regular season shutout streak to ah astounding 189 m inutes and 27 seconds. In fact, one has to g o back to the third period of McGill's gam e on Oct.15 against Ottawa to find the last goal scored against Labonté by a Q uebec University Hockey League opponent.

In starting all six gam es this season, Labonté has allowed only four goals, leaving her with a m iniscule 0)67 goals against average.

"I wouldn't say it was our best gam e because our first period was very average," Labonté said."I think at first we were playing as individuals, but that's not our team. We use our speed and a lot of passing to beat our opponents and as the gam e went on I think that's what w e started to realize."

dow n the right-w ing boards before feathering a w eak wrist shot through the five-hole.

The McGill onslaught continued in the third w hen the Mart­ lets capitalized on a fortuitous bounce, notching a shorthanded goal. Gillian Merrifield's long dum p in from the red line carom ed off the end boards right onto the stick o f Kate Elzinga, w ho made no mistake in burying her second goal of the season. O nly three minutes later, Christine Hartnoll's snap shot som ehow found a sliver of daylight between the blocker and right pad of DiPetta, w ho could only watch as the puck slowly trickled over the goal line. Hartnoll's goal was McGill's only powerplay marker in 10 o p ­ portunities.

With the gam e long-since decided, freshman forward Am y Sobrano collected her own rebound and flipped the puck over a sprawling DiPetta to com plete the McGill rout. The goal, scored with only 47 seconds rem aining on the clock, capped an impres­

sive p e rfo rm a n c e b y th e rookie.

A balanced effort O th e r n o ta b le p e rfo rm a n c e s c a m e fro m th e a fo re m e n ­ tio n e d Carm ichael, w h o p icke d u p an assist to g o w ith her sec­ o n d -p e rio d g o a l a nd s ta n d o u t roo kie d e fe n d e r C a th e rin e Ward w h o c o lle c te d tw o assists. W ard ca m e in to Saturday's c o n te s t as th e to p -s c o rin g b lu e lin e r in th e CIS w ith seven points.

"I th in k , g o in g o n th e road fo r th e se n e xt fe w gam es, th a t w e really have to p la y u p to o u r p o te n tia l, because w e c a n 't a ffo rd to have firs t p e rio d s like w e had to n ig h t,"W a rd said.

The M a rtle ts n o w head o u t o n th e road fo r fiv e s tra ig h t c o n ­ tests, as th e y a tte m p t to d e fe n d th e ir p e rfe c t record a n d rem ain th e to p -s e e d e d te a m in CIS w o m e n 's hockey. M cG ill w ill also re­ g a in th e services o f to p -s c o re r Vanessa D avidson, w h o sat o u t th e O tta w a g a m e d u e to suspension. ■

"[C o m in g to M cG ill] has b een a b ig tra n s itio n fo r m e,"added th e star stopper. "The firs t c o u p le o f gam es w e re really to u g h and I le t in so m e bad goals, b u t n o w I'm g e ttin g a lo t m o re used to th e level o f th e gam e. I n e e de d so m e tim e to adjust, and, I guess, n o w it's w o rk in g well."

M cGill w akes up in second After a scoreless first period in w hich the visiting Gee-Gees out-shot the hom e squad 1.0-5, the Martlets exploded during the second stanza to notch two goals in an eight-second span.

Sophom ore Am anda Carm ichael broke the deadlock, jam m ing a shot from the side of the net past Ottawa goaltender Melissa DiPetta at 9:18 of the second period. Then, off of the ensuing faceoff, defensem en Chantal Gauvin seized the puck and streaked

THIRD MAN IN

E n o u g h w ith th is flip p in ' ru le e all thought the NHL had learned its lesson thanks to Brett Hull's big toe— apparently it hasn't.

Continuing its deep tradition of atrocious onice product tam pering, featuring Hall of Fame classics such as the "in the crease” and "instigator" rules, the NH L is now in its second year of its latest ge m — the "shooting the puck over the glass in the defensive end" rule. Ladies and gentlem en, a new challenger for stupidest idea out of the league's New York office has stepped into the ring! Instituted for the 200506 season as part of the bundle of rule changes designed to enhance the game's flow and excitem ent in an attem pt to draw alienated fans into the "New NHL", Rule 63.2 of the NHL Rulebook states: "When any player or goalkeeper, while in his defending zone, shoots the puck directly (non-deflected) out of the playing surface... a penalty shall be assessed for delay­ ing the game."

I have to plead ignorance on this one; w hat the hell is the point*of this am endm ent to the already lengthy list of NHL infractions? Prior to the new rule, it was under the referee's dis­ cretion to award a powerplay to the o pp osing team if a player cleared the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. If the action was deem ed a deliberate attem pt to relieve pressure or halt the flow of the gam e, a penalty was assessed. I under­ stand that the elimination of discretionary calls made by of­ ficiating crews is desirable, but how m any tim es did som eone

ever yell at the TV, "He did that on purpose!" after w atching a player throw the puck over the boards? It just doesn't hap­ pen very often. The vast majority of times, players— as they've been taught from their first day in novice— are trying to clear the puck out of the zone along the glass and they sim ply m is­ fire.

The NHL, under the watch o f the always-lovable Gary Bettman, wants to increase scoring and has developed the inane notion that a spike in pow erplay opportunities will enhance the on-ice product. Last year, fans found them selves inundat­ ed with special-team s action rather than the traditional 5-on-s com petition. Clearly, the "puck over the glass" rule is intended to increase the am ount o f these m an-advantages because there is nothing else that it can possibly accom plish. But in its bid to heighten the excitem ent o f hockey by raising goal to­ tals through increasing powerplay chances, the NH L has done more to seriously injure our fast-paced, thrilling game.

Last year, in gam e seven of the Eastern Conference Final, the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes were locked in an exhilarating 2-2 tie with less than 10 minutes left in the third period. With end-to-end action and unlimited sudden-death overtim e loom ing on the horizon, the NH L seem ed to have hit the sought-after jackpot...finally. That's when Rule 63.2 cam e into play. Buffalo defensem an Brian Cam pbell, under no dureàs, accidentally lobbed the puck over the glass in his

defensive end. No rational person could have thought that he was intentionally trying to delay the gam e when he was only feet away from exiting the zone unm olested with the puck.

O f course, Carolina scored on the powerplay, depriving fans of overtime. Obviously, ending a gam e seven and awarding a berth in the Stanley C up Final on the man advantage is prefer­ able to a nail-biting OT. Wasn't this rule supposed to enhance excitement?

Similarly, this past Saturday's Leafs-Habs gam e saw scor­ in g on a Toronto s-on-3 advantage after Montreal's Sheldon Souray dum ped the puck unintentionally over the glass on the penalty kill. Yeah, I'm sure he m eant to do it too and put his team two m en in the hole. I m ight be a die-hard Leafs fan, but I still don't want to see a Montreal-Toronto gam e, the pre­ mier rivalry in the NHL, tainted by this m oronic rule— even as I laughed all the w ay to the goal-bank. It debases our grand sport into a hardest shot com petition, instead of a display of skill.

As Don Cherry likes to point out, if you ice the puck to relieve pressure on your team you don't get penalized for this blatant attem pt at delaying the gam e and stifling offensive flow. So w hy dole out infractions for som ething so obviously less intentional?The"new''NHL has clearly lived up to its billing after one season of tinkering. Kudos to you Gary— now get rid of this idiocy and leave the tool box at hom e for a while. ■

The McGill Tribune

1 8 -Sports *14.11.06

PROFILE— CROSS COUNTRY

FROM THE CHEAP SEATS

R u n n in g s c a r e d ? N o t lik e ly

■ ^ ■ P ro w e s s on th e t j l f i e l d , p ro w e s s ^ ^ J o n t h e H ill?

W h y t e le a d s M a r t le t s t o h is t o r ic f in is h John D ingle There are m any people w ho think that running five kilometres up and dow n a mountain through pouring rain and ankle-deep mud w ould not be m uch fun. Lauren Whyte is not one of those people. A third-year Political Sci­ ence student hailing from Belleville, Ont., Whyte is also one of the brightest stars of the Martlet Cross Country team.

"It can be really fun," Whyte said. "There have been tim es when I don't want to g o for a run because it's rain­ ing and gross outside or it's cold, but when you're actually out there doing it— especially with your team m ates— it can be so m uch fun. Plus, it makes you feel like you're re­ ally tough."

Whyte's enthusiasm has caught the eye o f Cross Country Head Coach Dennis Barrett.

"Lauren is a hard worker," Barrett said. "Most of the tim e I have to do less to motivate her and more to hold her back from training too hard."

That sort of w ork ethic is essential for Whyte given the dem anding training regim e cross-country involves.

"We m eet every day except for w eekends and w ell do three hard workouts a week," said Whyte. "On the other days we just g o for an easy run, w hich is a run up the m ountain and back down.”

Rem em ber her use of the adjective “easy" the next tim e you are com plaining about the hike up the hill to Stewart Bio or Upper Rez. Despite her enthusiasm for running today, however Whyte fell into the sport m ostly by chance.

"We had to do a sport at [high school]," she said, "But I didn't really like anything else go in g on in the fall, I just want­ ed to play soccer in the spring.

So I figured, oh, I'll do cross­ country."

It seems fair to say the d e ­ cision has worked out pretty well. After being nam ed the QSSF Rookie of the Year and a Q SSF all-star during her first

year, Whyte placed 7th at the CIS Nationals in her second year and was nam ed cross-country team MVP.

Maybe there is such a thing as too much running Whyte's preparations for this season were hampered w hen she was diagnosed in May with Iliotibial Band Syn­ drome, an injury com m on to distance runners.

"It's annoying because you can run with it but you'll always have pain so you have to take at least a m onth off" Whyte said. “I had to take it pretty easy at the beginning of this year to make sure it didn't com e back so I lowered m y m ileage a lot. I spent a lot more tim e in the pool cross­ training and I think that's really helped. Maybe last year I did too m uch.This year I feel better.”

Whyte is back to her best after the injury and is pleased with both her ow n perform ances and those of. the team as a w hole over the current season.

"It's been great,” she said, "For the veterans com ing back, we've all improved a lot. Our times have gotten fast­ er. We also go t a really go od rookie [Stephanie Magrath] this year so our entire team has gotten a lot stronger and we're actually a contender for a medal at the CIS Cross Country championships."

Best. Result. Ever.

Whyte and her fellow Martlets showed that they were more than just contend­ ers this past weekend, deliv­ ering on their potential and capturing the silver medal at the CIS Nationals in Q uebec City. The second-place finish was the team's best ever result at the national cham pion­ ship. Whyte led the w ay for the Martlets, finishing fourth overall in the cold, rainy con­ ditions that would make oth­ ers refuse to g o outside, let alone run a 5 km race. Whyte and all of her team m ates cer­ tainly feel proud o f such an unprecedented result. And they should feel really tough too. ■

IMAGES

C L A R IC E C O N N O R S

"V" is for victory: in the McGill Invitational synchronized swimming meet this past Saturday at Memorial Pool, the host women's A team captured second place while the B team finished a distant sixth.

M att S egal

I f you

were w atching C N N last Tuesday night during its coverage of the recent US midterm elections, you could've seen a former star quarterback at Oklahom a University in the form of Congress­ man J.C. Watts talking about the Verm ont senatorial race w hich pitted a former all-American drafted by the Boston Celtics in Rich Tarrant against Burlington's favourite socialist, Bernie Sanders (probably not m uch of an athlete). Tarrant's run wasn't successful, but his biography didn't hold him back. The same night he lost, the third pick in the 1994 NFL draft, Heath Shuler, was receiving the new^ that the media would now preface his nam e with "Congressman" instead of "infamous draft bust.” Som ewhere, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch i l and Ki-Jana Carter have begun assem bling cam paign teams.

North of the border, McGill alum and Canadiens legend Ken j Dryden— MP for Toronto's York Centre riding— has been ram ping J up his efforts to becom e the next leader o f the Liberal Party o f Can­ ada. A lthough his resumé boasts a law degree and an acclaim ed book, the man has about as m uch charisma as a bath mat. There­ fore, any success in his leadership bid m ight be easily attributed to, oh yeah, those six Stanley Cups as a goaltender.

A knack for victory isn't always transferable to the field of poltics, however. Lynn Swann won four Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was soundly beaten last Tuesday in his attem pt to becom e the governor of Pennsylvania. T hough I'm sure I local news anchors and headline writers were gid d y with possibili­ ties (off the top of m y head: "Swann Sacked in Gubernatorial Bid" or " "Swann Fails to Score Touchdow n with Pennsylvanians"), Sw anny would probably agree that reeling in passes can be m uch easier than reeling in voters. Yet, however seductive the punning m ay be, I the fact that a disproportionate num ber of athletes are represented in races for public office cannot be ignored. Bluntly put, w hy do sports figures and politics collide so frequently?

There are m any possible answers.The parties like athletes.They have name recognition, attract media attention, are often indepen­ dently wealthy and can draw a big crowd for fundraising. They are familiar w ith the spotlight and the continuous travel. From the per­ spective of the player-cum -politician, a political battle is a soothing post-career dosage of com petition and ego-stroking. Sports stars j liked to be coddled and looked after; and politics— replete with doting aides and buffet lunches— suits Joe Quarterback just fine.

V Ever-concerned about their legacies, not all retired athletes can ; pass up an opportunity to salvage the vestiges of their fame. Be­ sides, w hy be fam ous if you can't use it to your advantage?

NBA Hall of Fame inductee Charles Barkley has often made | headlines with his intentions to run for governor of Alabama. Sir ((I Charles has been shopping for a hom e in the state and after being a - resident there for the required seven years, plans on m ounting a bid in 2014. With Barkley's aspirations clear, I scratched him off m y list of recent athletes w ho m ight want to pursue futures in politics. Here 1| are som e rem aining ones, along with how I think they will do.

First, there's Tie Domi. Domi has all the prerequisites for a pos­ sible political career. He's the little guy; the scrappy fighter w ho '■ takes on a m ism atched opponent and often wins. He could easily transform that reputation into fighting for his constituents against the big, bad corporations or the endless governm ent bureaucracy.

In fact, Dom i may be influencing Ottawa sooner than we think; ru­ mours have it that he's already sharing a seat in Parliament.

Next on my list is Peyton M anning. Affable and astute, Archie's eldest boy seems to be go od at just about everything, especially playing the role of average Joe w hen he's actually worth more than $ioo-million. That im age should resonate with voters. His pockets are deep enough to finance his own cam paign, but Peyton needn't !; worry about buying television spots— he's already in an estimated 98 per cent of the com m ercials on TV. Last but not least, Barry Bonds. Okay, so maybe he's rubbed som e people the w rong way, but his m otivations to hold office in W ashington are stronger than anyone else's. He can personally help end the investigations into steroids and protect his own hom e run. records. Unlike the other possibilities, he has experience with the inner w orkings of D.C., gained while testifying to a grand jury, of course. Also, you just know he'd get his bills passed: have you seen the m uscles on Barry?

The nam es may be speculative, but seeing more elected jocks is practically a certainty. Yet w hichever athletes end up running, take U solace in the fact they are former players and not owners. History shows that sw apping the owner's booth for a place in the nation's : ■ capital can have disastrous consequences. If you don't believe me, just ask that gu y w ho used to own the Texas Rangers— I think his name was Bush. ■

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14.11.06 «Sports* 19

www.mcgilltribune.com

Sports Briefs

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Martlets take page out of Montcalm's book, finish second on Plains of Abraham in cross-country championship

S T A N D IN G S Hockey (W)

W 6

McGill

L 0

T 0

OTL 0

p

Hockey (M)

W

L

T 1

OTL

P

Volleyball (M)

W

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Laval

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18

3

12

6

0

1

2

15

Montreal

4

2

13

9

8

Ottawa

4

3

0

0

8

UQTR

Carleton

2

3

0

0

4

Ottawa

3

5

1

1

8

Sherbrooke

2

4

11

12

4

1

Concordia

3

7

0

0

6

McGill

O

6

0

18

0

Concordia

O

5

0

1

Lauren Whyte and Elspeth McGregor led the Martlets to a silver medal finish— the team's best result ever— at the CIS national cross-country running cham pionship in poor condi­ tions on the historic Plains of Abraham in Q uebec City. Whyte, this week's Tribune profile subject, com pleted the five-kilometre course in 18 m inutes and one second to place fourth overall, earning all-Canadian honours along with M cGregor w ho finished seventh in 18:17. On the men's side, the Redmen finished a disappointing 14th of 16 teams.

Martlets finish sixth at CIS soccer nationals

O N D EC K | M a rtle ts V o lle y b a ll— UPEI P a n th e rs a t M c G ill M a rtle ts ; S atur! | d a y 6 p.m ., C u rrie G y m n a s iu m

|| || < li f.

Com e on transplanted-islanders, how often do you get to see S one of your hom e team s in Montreal? McGill split this past;, weekend's gam es and is sill scratching and claw ing to get to j .500 at 3- 5 - The Martlets will have a real go od shot at closing § that ga p against the 1-3 Panthers

!

R e d m e n H o c k e y — W ilfre d L a u rie r G o ld e n H aw ks a t M cG ill

11 R e d m e n ; Friday, 7 p.m ., M c C o n n e ll A re n a j

This s h o u ld be a barn b u rn e r M cG ill is rid in g h ig h in th e OUA's ;

j * Far East d ivisio n a t 7- 1-1 w h ile Laurier is d o in g th e sam e in th e j I M id W est d ivisio n a t 8-1-1. M cG ill po sted a c o u p le o f b ig w in s ; II : in th e G reater T o ro n to Area th is w e e ke n d a n d w ill lo o k t o c o n - II j tin u e th is im pressive run o f fo rm . But Friday's clash w ith th e j I j G o ld e n Hawks w ill d e fin ite ly be o n e th e Redmen's h a rder tests * I o f th e season.

N H L H o c k e y — P itts b u rg h P e n g u in s a t B u ffa lo Sabres; Friday, I

B O X SCORE Saturday, Nov. 1 1 .2 0 0 6 McGill Martlets 5 vs. Ottawa Gee-Gees 0 M cConnell Arena

SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: (no scoring) SECO N D PERIOD: 1. McGill - Am anda Carm ichael (C. Ward) 9:18 2 . McGill - Chantal Gauvin (A. Carm ichael) 9:26 THIRD PERIOD: 3 . McGill - Kate Elzinga (G. Merrifield) 8:13 (SH) 4 . McGill - Christine Hartnoll (C. Ward, C. Labonte) 12:50 (PP) 5 . McGill - A m y Soberano (S. Denis) 19:11 G O ALS BY PERIOD:

8 p.m ., HSBC A rena, TSN

This could be a preview of the Eastern Conference finals. Pit TEAM 1 2 3 Total : burgh is bursting at the seam s with young talent, headlined by | Ottawa: 0 0 0 0 I j soon-to-be superstars Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeni | McGill: 0 2 3 5 Malkin. The Sabres, for their part, are the top team in the east j I and are loaded with yo un g stars of their own like Daniel Briere, J SHOTS BY PERIOD: ! Jason Pominville and Ryan Miller. Look for som e highlight rr action w hen these two talented squads face off.

TEAM 1 2 3 Total Ottawa: 10 10 4 2 4 N C A A Football— #2 M ichigan at #1 O h io State; Saturday, 3 3 0 1 McGill: 5 14 14 33 p.m., O hio Stadium , A BC We've been waiting for this one for over a month now. The j GOALTENDERS: 1 real NCAA national cham pionship will be determined this: Ottawa: Melissa Dipetta (L, 5 GA, 2 8 saves, 6 0 :0 0 ) 3 weekend as the only two undefeated elite program s square | ! off at the Horseshoe. The blue and maize will be in tough on ! McGill: Charline Labonté (W, 6 -0 -0 ; OGA, SHO, 6 0 :0 0 ) i the road against a Buckeye team that has looked unbeatable f I j for m uch of this season. Old Big Ten arch-rivals, in Colum bus, I PENALTIES (No./Mins.): I num ber one vs. num ber two, for a birth into the BCS national Ottawa: 1 0 /2 0 I cham pionship gam e. It doesn't get m uch b igger then that.

McGill: 9 /1 8 C F L Football— The 94th G rey Cup; M ontreal A llouettes at POW ERPLAY (Goals/Chances): B.C. Lions; Sunday, 6 p.m., Canad Inns Stadium , CBC Ottawa: 0 /9 One of Canadian sport's oldest traditions will continue this 8 McGill: 1 /1 0 (plus 1 SHGF) Sunday, as the Als and Lions spar in a rematch of the 2000 final . 1 B.C. won it that tim e around and will go into this one as the fa vourite.The Lions looked impressive, as they have throughoi this season, in dism antling Saskatchewan in the Western Con- j ference final. The Als m eanwhile have hit a few bum ps in the ( road this season— highlighted by the loss of Head Coach Don j ! SACK O F T H E W EEK Matthews in O ctober— but have gotten on track and seem to [ The Un-winner of the Week: Patrick Roy be heating up at the right time.

A lot was m ade this week of St. Patrick's com m ents directed at Montreal Canadiens rookie Guillaum e Latendresse. As | ; you m ay or m ay not have heard Roy remarked at one of his Clarification: In the story "Redmen send Queen's packing" 11 Q uebec Remparts post-gam e news conferences that if Laten(7 . 11 .0 6 ), it was suggested that McGill Security made the deci­ sion to remove the Queen's fan section from M cConnell Arena 1 ii dresse had scored it must have meant that "he finally go t to ^ touch the puck." near the end of the McGill-Queen's hockey gam e. In fact, a O f course the quote was taken com pletely out of context Queen's official asked McGill to evacuate the fans and provide | J and blown w ay out of proportion by the media in this province, them with an escort back to their bus. .3 w ho must have seen a potential soap opera involving one of j : their old favourites and the flavour of the month. I guess they || just couldn't help themselves. The com m ent was clearly a joke N E W S , O R N A M .B .L A . A S T H E Y j j and should not have gotten anywhere near the exposure it j did.

L IK E T O B E C A L L E D , W A N T S Som e m ight say that this is one o f those stories that will Y O U T O W R IT E F O R T H E M . disappear in the blink of an eye if you let it but som ething 7 about it bothered me enough to de-sack Roy this week. He T A K E A S T A N D A N D S A Y N O . ;■ didn't deserve the criticism he received this w eek w hich char­ acterized him as childish and mean spirited. It w as a joke, at the youngsters expense perhaps, but not the barb it was m ade out W R IT E F O R S P O R T S ! to be. Roy has always been a lively character and a go od quote, two things that are all too rare in professional sports. A nd while journalists always bem oan the lack of personality today's ath1 j letes display, they have only them selves and stories like this to I J blame. Hopefully, Patrick has his cup rings in his ears again and || can't hear them.

EMAIL US AT SPORTS@MCGILLTRIBUNE.COM

Forward Melanie Ingwersen converted a pass from m id­ fielder Lindsay Rohla in the 44th m inute asTrinity Western Uni­ versity e dged McGill 1-0 at the CIS women's soccer cham pion­ ships in Victoria sending the Martlets to a disappointing to a sixth place finish. In the gold medal contest, tournam ent MVP A m y Bobb scored the w inning goal just before halftime and the UBC Thunderbirds held on to capture their third Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy in five years with a 3-1 win over Queen's.

Redmen dominate in Ontario to extend unbeaten streak Back-up goaltender Jean-M ichel Filiatrault notched a shutout in his first appearance of the season and the third ranked Redm en go t goals from forwards Louis-Sim on Allaire, Sam Bloom and Lucas Madill en route to go b b lin g the G uelph Gryphons 3-0 in men's university hockey on Saturday. C o m ­ bined with a 2-1 road win at York on Friday, McGill has now run it's unbeaten record to 5-0-1 and im proved its regular-sea­ son record to 7-1-1. It was the fourth Redmen shutout in nine gam es, putting the team on pace to challenge its own CIS re­ cord they established last year, posting 12 shutouts in 24 con­ tests. The Redmen, w hich held a lopsided 46-21 edge in shots, have won their last 13 regular season gam es against southern Ontario teams, dating b a ckto a 4 -2 lo ssa tY o rko n Nov.20,2004.

Soccer's Scholefield named an All-Canadian McGill forward Jam ie Scholefield earned all-Canadian status at the CIS men's soccer cham pionship awards gala in Edm onton. The 22-year-old junior made the CIS second team after leading the Redmen in scoring and finishing second in the Q uebec conference with seven goals and 11 points in 12 gam es. He was picked seven times by the opposing coach as McGill's Gam e MVP and earned all-conference honours.

B O X SCORE Saturday, Nov. 1 1 ,2 0 0 6 McGill Redm en 3 vs. Guelph Gyphons 0 Gryphons Centre SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: 1. McGill: Louis-Sim on Allaire (K. Morin) - 7:40 (PP, WG) SECO N D PERIOD: 2. McGill: Sam Bloom (T. Kyres, D. Urquhart) - 8:36 (PP) 3.

McG: Lucas Madill (D. Urquhart, G. Demers) -1934 (PP) THIRD PERIOD: (no scoring)

GOALTENDERS: McGill: Jean-M ichel Filiatrault (21 saves, 0 GA, 60:00) Guelph: Adam Jennin gs (43 saves, 3 GA, 60:00)

SHOTS BY PERIOD: McGill: 17-18-11 - 4 6 Guelph: 7 -7 -7 --2 1

G O ALS BY PERIOD: McGill 12 0 - - 3 Guelph 0 0 0 - 0

PENALTIES (No/Mins.): McGill: 9/18 Guelph: 12/35

POWER PLAY: McGill: 3/11 Guelph: 0/9

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