The McGill Tribune Vol. 26 Issue 18

Published by the Students' Society of McGill University

www.mcgilltribune.com

Volume 26 Issue 18 • January 30,2007

McMann steps down The Jesus of daytime TV? Coach calls it quits after six years MikeVallo Claiming he wanted to spend more time coaching and less tim e pushing pen­ cils, Chuck McMann announced last Tues­ day he would be stepping down as head coach and offensive coordinator of the Redmen football team with one year remaining on his contract.

McMann underlined the non-coaching demands of the job and the short season at McGill as the tw o main reasons for his leav­ ing.

"The biggest thing for me is I w ant to be able to do more coaching; I need a lon­ ger season," McMann said. "What I love the most i get to do the least; the recruiting is very arduous and it seems to go on forever."

McMann served as head coach for six

years after taking the helm prior to the 2001 season. He guided that first team to a Que­ bec University Football League Champion­ ship. The following year, McGill repeated as conference champions, this time pro­ gressing to the CIS semi-final. McMann was named the 2002 CIS football coach of the year in recognition of his achievements that season. The team would go on to miss the playoffs only once in his six years at McGill.

"I've really enjoyed the last six years, it's been great working with a lot of the people here in the department," McMann said. "But I think most of all I've enjoyed working with the coaching staff and the players. The play­ ers have been a real pleasure."

See TARNISHED on page 21

Calling out Iran CFJS w ants to indict prez at ICC Rachel Melnik Over 190 students gathered from all over the country last weekend at the Ca­ nadian Federation of Jewish Students' con­ ference in Kingston, Ontario to launch a national advocacy campaign condemning President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rhetoric regarding the Holocaust.

Ahmadinejad ignited international out­ rage by referring to the Holocaust as a "myth" and stating that Israel should be "wiped off the map," at a conference in October 2005, as well as on other occassions.

The CFJS hopes to collect over 25,000 signatures from students across Canada to present to the House o f Commons in order to persuade politicians to take action against the Iranian government and its president.

'W hat w e have here is a dictator who is breaking international law and legitimizing genocide," said the Chair of CFJS Israel Affairs Corey Shefman.

Representatives from organizations such as Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, Students Helping Others Understand Toler­ ance and Save the Children attended the

conference.

“All of these organizations were found­ ed by people who saw injustice in the world and wanted to do something about it," said CFJS executive member and liaison to the World Union of Jewish Students Alex Halpern.

CFJS acts as a representative group of the Jewish campus community, bringing to­ gether all of the various Jewish organizations under one umbrella and giving voice to over 30,000 Jewish students across Canada. Their aim is to bring this matter to the forefront of Canadian foreign policy.

In December, Tehran hosted a contro­ versial conference on the subject of the Ho­ locaust in which most speakers attempted to cast doubt about the Nazis' systematic massacre o f six million Jews in Europe.

Political science Professor Rex Brynen said that the Canadian government has frowned upon many actions taken by the Islamic Republic.

"Canada certainly condemns this con­ ference in Tehran,"said Brynen. "Our country W ho do McGill students look up to as th e ir role models? Sure, w e all love o u rT V shows, b u t how m uch celeb rity w orship is to o much? Features delves into m o d ern -d ay heroism on page 14.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

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COVERPHOTOBYSTEVENCAMPBELL

A leaner, meaner peace-making machine Gillian Sorensen sits dow n to discuss how th e UN is tidying up shop Gillian Sorensen, former assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and former head of the Office of External Rela­ tions, dealt with over 4,000 non-governmental organizations associated with the UN. Reporting directly to former secretarygeneral Kofi Annan allowed her ac­ cess to first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the UN. Sorensen, who was in Montreal to give the keynote address at McGill's model UN conference, sat down with the Tri­ bune to share her thoughts on Kofi Annan's legacy, the progress of UN reforms and whether the UN is still relevant today.

Do you think newSecretary-Gen­ eral BanKi Moonwill beafigureofcontinu­ ityor change? f think there is neces­ sary continuity in the sense __ that the issues of reform, Soreson says fo rm e r US com m itm entto human rights am bassador Bolton was an and the ongoing conflicts are im p e d im e n t to th e UN reform a,ready on the agenda He can't really change those. He has expressed his commitment to the reform efforts, but there will be change also because the background and style of the UN leader makes a big difference.

There is only one star at the UN and that is the secretary general and the voice, the face and the choice of emphasis that the sec­

retary-general makes does have an impact.

What do you think Kofi Annan's legacy will be? Is there one programor initiativethat defines histenure?

He is, in the view of many, the best secretary-general we have ever had. I think you must look at his whole career, the way the UN has moved forward on development issues and on human rights matters. One initiative is the Millennium Develop­ ment Goals. He saw poverty close up in so many places. He knew something needed to be done. It was under his leadership that poverty was made the centrepiece at the Millennium conference in 2000. He should also be known for his emphasis on human rights; that human rights are a cross-cutting issue.There is no as­ pect of United Nations work that does not have a component of human rights. He also did a lot on reform by opening up the flow of communications.

Do you think that it's fair for Annan's reputation to be tainted by allegations of corruption and references to the oil' for food scandal?

There are certain things the UN could have done better but remember the oil for food program was set up by the Security Council. There was an oversight committee and not once did they raise any objections. Our staff alerted them to some things that seemed incorrect and in the end, when other things came to light, they laid it all at the feet of Kofi Annan. I think that was grossly unfair.

What were the highest and lowest points of your tenure at the United Nations?

The highest point was being part of the small delegations that went with the secretary-general when he and the United Nations received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.The saddest mo­ ment was when our colleagues were bombed and killed in Bagh­ dad. We sent a mission on the request of the U.S., we sent our best diplomats to help in the reconstruction. I knew a number of them and it was such a senseless waste of talent.

What is the current status of the Security Council re­ forms?

It would be healthy and appropriate for it to be larger. But for the time being, it is off the table. There is one reason for this, to enlarge the Security Council you need the support of the per manent five and they are not willing to give up one iota of their privileges.

How do you see the United States fitting into the re forms?

The United States is very committed to the reform process.

The results of the previous U.S Ambassador John Bolton, really set this back, made other nations feel like the reforms were an order for the benefit of the big powers. We need a much more collaborative approach. The UN and the U.S. need each other and Iraq is one place where the UN role is key. I hope that the lead­ ers of the United States would publicly acknowledge where the UN has made important progress or achievements and not only provide critiques.

Howwould you respond tothosewho saythat the model of the UN isineffective?

The UN is necessary. It is the only universal organization to deal not only with international conflict and crisis situations but also other issues such as health, development, disarmament and democratization. All of those are global issues that require a glob al response. If leaders are thoughtful and aware, they will see that the UN is the place to share the risk, the cost, the burden and the benefits of collective action on these matters. The guiding phrase is very simple: "We can do more together than we can do alone.’

I am not naïve. The UN cannot do everything. There are lim­ its. But those limits are primarily defined by the political will of the member states and when that political will is clear and con sistent, backed up by the human and financial resources needed, anything is possible over time.

— Compiled by Stephanie Tombari

CAMPUS

Ancillary fees: The hidden cost of education?

SSMU execs w ant more governm ent control over fees VincciT sui The Quebec tuition freeze generated significant media buzz during the month of January as Principal Heather MunroeBlum, Concordia University President Claude Latendresse and Gaz Métro CEO Robert Tessier all spoke out against the freeze.

However, the Students'Society has been campaigning all over campus to keep the freeze going, citing rising tuition and ancil­ lary fees as a source of growing student debt.

SSMU Vice-President External Max Silverman, who is helping to organize the Feb. 7 Pan-Canadian Day of Action to freeze tu­ ition, said that ancillary fees are a large part of the battle to lower tuition and make education accessible.

"While McGill has to report the fees, there's no mechanism for controlling the fees and there's no means right now for stu­ dents to complain to the government to say ancillary fees are too high," he said. "In the government's mind, they are seen as separate from tuition fees and that's the mentality we're trying to change."

Despite the fact that students cannot directly contest the other ancillary fees, Student Accounts Accountant Mary Jo McCullogh emphasized the fact that SSMU and faculty fees make up a large percentage of the ancillary fees, which are comprised of four categories: SSMU and faculty fees, registration and transcript fees, copyright fees, and information technology fees. While SSMU and faculty fees are established by student referenda, all other fees are determined by university administration.

McCullogh also argued that students are often consulted about fees set by the administration, which are submitted to the government as well. “[The non-SSMU] fees are increased usually by the cost of living index each year," she said. "The information technology fee did go up by more than two per cent this year because of the desire to have wireless everywhere on campus and to increase the number of nodes for that."

SSMU VP University Affairs Finn Upham explained that this year's increase in SSMU fees has gone to fund the Referral Net­ work and daycare services.

"That was an increase that was voted upon by the students.

For many of these fees, particularly if they go beyond our base fee, we try to make sure that they're opt-outable, so students who can't afford it don't have to pay for it and they can get their money back. That's a pretty standard procedure for us and it isn't something that is the case for anything McGill charges students for."

Upham also agreed with McCullogh that the government does have some control over ancillary fees by regulating how much money they give to McGill as part of their funding grant.

"There are limitations on what you can charge ancillary fees for and if they identify something as being something that should normally be called tuition, then the government can choose to deduct their grant by the amount that the university is collecting from tuition directly,"she said. "But the government doesn't have a habit of being that careful always and there's certainly lots of disagreements as to what counts as tuition and what counts as ancillary."

If the Quebec government does decide to lift the tuition freeze, Upham does not believe that the ancillary fees will de­ crease as a response.

"There's a number of other things that are calling out for fi­ nancial support within the university that would justify them tak­ ing in as much money as they can from every avenue,"she said.

Silverman was even more pessimistic, saying that ancillary fees will probably increase even with an increase in tuition.

"There's no doubt that the university is totally underfunded and that the university needs massive amounts of more money than we have now to provide the high-quality education that we want," he said. "At the same time, if the university wanted to consult students on these fees and if the university wanted to put new ancillary fees to referendum, then I'd be totally fine if students chose to pay more." ■

BY THE NUMBERS Ancillaryfees keep risingalong with the cost oftuition, but how much more do McGill students paythan the restof the country?

Queen's University: $794 Western: $873 Concordia: $945 University of Toronto (Victoria College): $1,085 McGill: $1,200-1,600

30.01.07 - The McGill Tribune • 3

CAMPUS

Campus melting pot may be under fire Disagreem ent looms over tolerance and acceptance at McGill Emily Barca Broken windows believed to be an act of racist vandalism at a private Montreal Muslim school on Jan. 16 and a recent Journal de Mon­ treal and TVA television poll stating that 59 per cent of Quebeckers are self-proclaimed racists have left many wondering how tolerant the di­ verse city of Montreal is.

While the actual numbers are heavily disputed within the community, the poll has spawned heated discussions about race rela­ tions in schools. At McGill, where students from many varied backgrounds meet on a daily basis, opinions differ on the level of tolerance on cam­ pus. "[Campus] might seem tolerant but racism is there, it's just more subtle," said Sarah Custer, internal communications officer of the Black Students Network. "It's not really in your face. It occurs on individual levels."

Latoya Morgan, Black Students Network political coordinator, stated that even profes­ sors are guilty of racism at times, pointing to a specific incident. "[A friend] was in a Quebec studies class and she had to leave because the professor was basically saying that black people in Quebec are lazy and don't want to be educated," she said.

However, not all students see the same level of intolerance at McGill.

"You can tell by the diversity of the student groups and by how easy it is to create a student group [that] it's a very open campus," said Jona­ than Liebtag, Hillel McGill president.

Chiara Klaiman, Queer McGill co-administrator, said there's an important distinction to be made between a tolerant environment and an

accepting one.

"When you're tolerant, you let people be but you don't want to talk about issues sur­ rounding identities," she said. "Being an accept­ ing person means being pro-queer."

One part of McGill's attempt to promote on-campus acceptance is the Joint Senate-

Board Committee on Equity, which works to "recommend university policy regarding under­ represented groups, including women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and personswith disabilities."

Gregg Blachford, who chairsthe McGill Eq­ uity Subcommittee on Queer People, said that

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Bathroomgraffiti maybeembracingracismbut at least somearefightingfirewithfire.

he was optimistic about his group's potential to have an effect.

"The committee is pushing the boundaries and there isn't too much resistance," he said. "I think there's a lot of good will within the com­ munity."

Safe Spaces, a program set up by the com­ mittee, allows professors, staff and student leaders to participate in workshops centered on learning ways to make queer students more comfortable.

"You look at how you can be an ally of queer people on campus,"Blachford said."Queer people are always looking for signals that other people get us. The purpose of the program is to get people to use visible signs that tell us we don't need to censor ourselves."

Despite the existence of the Equity Com­ mittees, Ayaz Hyder, president of the Muslim Students Association, does not believe the ad­ ministration is engaging in an effective dialogue with students on the issue of discrimination.

"I honestly believe that at the end of the day, the university does not listen to its students or its staff,” he said. "It gives the perception that it does through the town hall meetings but you would be hard pressed to find someone who would say that when they told the university about a concern, it was taken care off Some student groups are making their own efforts to increase acceptance and under­ standing through inter-group initiatives. Hillel will soon be bringing in a homosexual orthodox rabbi speaker in hopes of opening discussion between Hillel and Queer McGill.

"These initiatives are really good," Klaiman said."Prejudice has similar roots, what's different is who it's directed at." ■

CAMPUS

McGill

Radicals push for freebie Say tuition freeze is insufficient m easure KenSun While the pan-Canadian student movement is focusing on maintain­ ing the tuition freeze, some student groups are proposing a new initiative that challenges the status quo. The Grassroots Association for Student Power presented the Free Education Panel last Tuesday, as a part of Social Justice Days. The panel included four presenters representing the Asso­ ciation pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante, the Student Community Anarchist Network and the New Uni­ versity Project.

"We wanted to bring the dis­ course of free education to McGill," said Derek Lappano, GRASPé spokes­ person. "We wanted to bring the ideas of the people with experience in the free education struggle."

The panel, however, has re­ ceived some criticism from within GRASPé for being too one-sided, as every member of the panel was in favour of free education. Lappano, however, felt that this wasn't a cause for concern.

"It wasn't supposed to be a debate; we knew that going in,"he said."It was supposed to be a discussion. The debating should occur through the General Assembly," he said, referrign to the motion calling for a progres­ sive reduction of tuition leading to an eventual end to all fees. However, Students' Society Vice-President Ex­ ternal Max Silverman pointed out that there may be subtle differences

between the GA motion and what was discussed at the panel. "[The motion is] much more nuanced than the position pushed at the panel [forfree education],"he said.

"It's worded as education as a human right, meaning we should get rid of all financial barriers."

The system of free education provided by the panel, however, de­ scribes what may be a truer free edu­ cation that has no tuition or ancillary fees.

Silverman added that SSMU does not support the concept of free education as it was presented at the GRASPé panel. However, should the motion go through at the upcoming GA, Silverman said that he will fight for it. Until then, SSMU will only fight for the tuition freeze.

GRASPé spokesperson Emma Strople said that a tuition freeze is in­ sufficient to improve accessibility.

Though all three participating organizations supported the idea of free post-secondary education in an effort to make higher learning acces­ sible to those unable to pay, they also had unique aspects to their plans.

Renée Nadeau from The New University represented a new organi­ zation that is in the process of creat­ ing a free university in Quebec. Initi­ ated in Jan. 2005, the group plans to create its university in Arundel, a small hamlet in the Laurentian Mountains about two hours outside Montreal.

"The New University project started as an attempt for us to all

get together and discuss what both­ ered us about the current education system," said Nadeau. "We all like the concept of a free education system, but we have issues and problems, like how to finance this."

Marc-André Faucher, a represen­ tative from ASSÉ, said that free post­ secondary education is a real possibil­ ity, but it's up to the government to agree to pay the predicted $550-miliion per year required to sustain such a program.

"ASSÉ always demanded free ed­ ucation," said Faucher in his speech. "It is a political demand more than any­ thing. Once we sit at a table of politi­ cal representatives, we will carry out more discourse. It is merely a ques­ tion of political choice."

"The Quebec provincial gov­ ernment predicts that it would cost about twice what we predict, at about $t billion, but I don't see how they calculated that," added Faucher.

Representatives of SCAN, the student anarchist movement, only support limited free education in fields where students do not select their career based on the demands and influences of the capitalist econ­ omy.

"We need to ask the question, 'free education for what?"'said AnneMarie Gallant, one of the SCAN repre­ sentatives. "If it's for increasing access to universities, it's good. But if it's to have more people to get the means to get a job in a capitalist economy, then we're not interested."*

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V W IN T E R Principal

Heather Munroe-Blum invites students, facu lty and staff to an open fo ru m to discuss issues o f relevance to the McGill com m unity

Monday, February 12, 2007

12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building 3640 University Street Room M-1

It's our university. Together w e can m ake it even

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SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS F A c m rA T O R T

Why is the universe alive?

Because this panel is here to say it is M ark Stern Over 650 students from every faculty, as well as staff, guests and Lome Trottier himself packed into the Leacock auditorium last Thursday to hear debates between profes­ sors frorrf all over North America attempting to discover why our universe is capable of sustaining life during the second Lome Trottier Public Science Symposium, "A Cos­ mic Coincidence: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?"

"They explained the anthropic principle really well between them. It was definitely a worthwhile experience," said Stuart Locke, U2 arts and science.

The subject of the debate was the Anthropic Prin­ ciple, which states that the observable universe has to be as it is in order to support life. That is, the fundamental constants of the universe are precisely chosen such that if they were tweaked only slightly, then life, the earth or even our galaxy would not have formed. Thus, these val­ ues are as we observe them only because we are here to observe them in the first place.

Paul Davies, director of Beyond: The Institute for Fun­ damental Concepts in Physics at Arizona State University, was the first to speak, arguing that modern science is greatly affected by monotheistic religion, searching for a singular answer to everything.

"Abandoning that philosophy and replacing it with anthropic arguments may be a step forward in thinking," he said.

Empirical data, presented by George Efstathiou, a world leader in cosmology from Cambridge University, showed that the value of the cosmological constant that determines the expansion of the universe is chosen so delicately that we may have to use anthropic arguments to explain it.

A more theoretical talk was given by Leonard Susskind, who is widely regarded as the father of modern string theory. He demonstrated the concept of 'bubble nucléation'which is a mechanism analogous to evolution

in. that our universe mutated out of a "muItiverse" of vary­ ing physics.

Finally, David Gross, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics, presented his anti-anthropic viewpoint, in which he questioned the scientific validity of the principle and stressed the value of observation, experimentation and calculation as the chief tools of science.

After their pre­ sentations, each panelist was allowed to pose one ques­ tion to any of his col­ leagues.

Much of the previous discourse continued, but with obvious tension between Gross and Davies.

Gross began to dominatethediscussion and staggered the panel when he asked, "Isn't the only way to falsify the anthropic principle to calculate every­ thing?" The other professors begrudgingly agreed. th e

Professor David Gross had his nerdinessconfirmed in 2004by Nobel Prizecommittee.

Overhearing this heated discussion may have been informative to the students in the audience, but the technical nature of the talk and scientifically purist comments by Gross prevented the panel from addressing the deepest questions.

"I'm really happy that the arts students were able to see real data and real scientific arguments posed by the panellists and understand what really goes on in science," said Si Yu Guo, U1 physics. ■

r a in in g

Are you interested in developing your facililitation skills in a student-friendly, anti-oppressive context?

We are looking for students interested in learning facilitation skills to become involved in our Leadership Training Program by leading various workshops throughout the upcoming year.

Participation will be by application and interview. Facilitators will then take part in a free two-day (weekend) comprehensive facilitation training. Students must be attending McGill for the 2007-2008 year and available for training on the weekend of Saturday, March 3rdand Sunday, March 4th. After attending the training session and running workshops, students will receive certificates of facilitation training completion (very useful these days), and personal letters of attestation when requested.

If interested, please pick up the application at the First-Year Office. Submit it in person with your CV and cover letter to the First-Year Office (Suite 2100, Brown Building).

Deadline is Monday, February 5th. Contact Ida at leadership.training@mcgiU.ca or at 398-6913 for more information.

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30.01.07 • News • 5

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CAMPUS

C a m p u s g r e e n g r o u p s a lly o n th e s u s ta in a b ility fro n t C la im a d m i n i s t r a t i o n is a n o b s t a c l e K ayvon A fshari In anticipation of the upcoming General Assembly, McGill's environ­ mental groups have united to pres-, ent a motion pressuring the Students' Society and the administration to take steps toward making campus more sustainable.

Among other things, the motion includes resolutions to reduce Mc­ Gill's greenhouse gas emissions and responsibly manage waste. The mo­ tion takes a two-fold approach, by making recommendations to make the SSMU more sustainable as well as using the organization as a vehicle for pressuring the university.

However, there seems to be some disagreement among draft­ ers regarding their approach to the administration. Many of the whereas clauses focus on the administration's alleged poor performance in achiev­ ing sustainability and resistance to student input. One of the clauses refers to McGill's decision-making structures as "notoriously resistant to student involvement."

Some felt that the characteriza­ tion was unfair and would be coun­ terproductive towards a positive rela­ tionship with the university.

"I believe that 'notorious' is not the best wording for it," said Nadya Wilkinson, chairperson of the steer­ ing committee of Sustainable McGill.

"Most of us understand that red tape is a huge concern. It's mostly based on the way that the administration is set up, not the people themselves.

We've had such good experiences

with the people themselves."

Gorilla Composting Coordina­ tor Graeme Lamb disagreed with the assertion that the clause was unfair, adding that the motion's assessment would not alienate the administra­ tion from their initiatives.

"It is fair to say that the official structure of the university is quite re­ sistant to student involvement," Lamb said. "The most productive way to build an open and honest relation­ ship with the administration is to be honest and frank and we felt it was a truthful reflection of the actual situa­ tion."

Involved groups, including the Sustainable McGill Project, Gorilla Composting, Greening McGill, Cam­ pus Climate Challenge, the Science Undergraduate Society Green Week and the SSMU Environment Commis­ sioner, hope that the motion will give them something concrete to point to in order to show that they have wide­ spread democratic support for their initiatives.

While the proposals will not have a binding effect on the adminis­ tration, Graeme emphasized that the passing of the motion could have a very real effect as opposed to being purely idealistic.

"It is symbolic, but that symbol can be of very practical use down the road," he said. "I would be weary to characterize it as largely symbolic or purely practical. It's clearly both."

Ultimately, the conglomeration of environmental groups is seeking to create a new sustainability commis­ sioner position under the Students'

J e w is h s t u d e n t s f i g h t I r a n 's r h e t o r i c D e m a n d th a t C a n a d a ta k e a h a r d lin e o n A h m a d i n e j a d

Society, as well as a sustainability cen­ tre from where they can base their operations.

Both the SUS and the Arts Un­ dergraduate Society have expressed their support for the motion.

"The motion is to have McGill administration sign a pledge to com­ mit," said Lili Gao, SUS president.

Furthermore, the proposal goes beyond environmental and eco­ logical sustainability and deals with broader social and economic sustain­ ability.

"Social sustainability is a huge part of the issue," Wilkinson said. "En­ vironmental, social and economic Sustainability all tie into each other and you cannot truly have one with­ out the others."

Recognizing this interdepen­ dence, the motion calls for "building diversity with social equity,"as well as integrating sustainability issues into the existing curricula in all faculties and programs.

Lamb explained the rationale behind incorporating sustainability issues into course content across all programs.

"One of the main goals of the university's curriculum ought to be to put out responsible, engaged citizens. An essential part of that is to have some exposure to sustainabil­ ity issues," he said. "It's not as though sustainability issues would be alien to any faculty or program. It comple­ ments any one.” ■

Continued from COVER

has been very critical with the Iranian government on a number of issues, this one included."

According to Shefman, the issue of Iran's anti-Semitic rhetoric, how­ ever, is pertinent not only to Jewish students.

"It's relevant to anyone who values democracy and human rights," Shefman said. "We see what is happening in Darfur and every day people are calling for it to end. The situation is absolutely tragic. When I looked at the Iran situation, I saw a Darfur in the making, a Holocaust in the making and I wanted to do my part to stop it."

Iran's Holocaust conference was just one event in the 37-year struggle between Israel and Iran.

Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi, founder and president of the Ameri­ can Iranian Council, maintained that this rift took shape with the founda­ tion of the theocratic government in Iran.

"The Holocaust controversy ac­ tually had its roots during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, when the Muslim people claimed that Zionists. . . op­ pressed the Palestinian people and took their land when the Palestinian population had absolutely nothing to do with the atrocities that the Jews endured during World War II,"Amirah­ madi said.

Since Ahmadinejad won the —additional reporting 2005 election, the conflict between byTiffanyChoy the two nations has intensified.

"What we're seeing now is a seri­ ous escalation of threats against the Jewish people," Shefman said. "Ahma­ dinejad has realized that the best way to reach out to his population is [by using] this anti-Semitic, Holocaust-

B a c k p a c k <° B r i e f c a s e th e

denying, genocide-inciting rhetoric."

Yet this issue has always 're­ mained solely at the level of seman­ tics.

"Ahmadinejad avoids deny­ ing the Holocaust," Brynen said. "He claims that the Holocaust may be ex­ aggerated and his rhetoric does not legitimize genocide."

According to Amirahmadi, the political tension between Iran and Israel only adds to the likelihood of misinterpreting the motivation be­ hind Ahmadinejad's comments.

"Ahmadinejed is more into pro­ paganda than action," said Amirah­ madi. "The two sides, Israel and Iran, distrust, disrespect and even demon­ ize each other. When that is the situa­ tion between two nations, words can be perceived to be more negative and threatening than they really are."

According to Brynen, the major­ ity of the Iranian people do not sup­ port their president's remarks.

"Ahamdinejad's anti-Holocaust statements were driven by his own political worldview," he said. "Iranian foreign policy officials are unhappy with Ahmadinejed because he enjoys provoking the international commu­ nity. He is doing this to make himself feel good by scoring points over Zi­ onists with a number of provocative statements."

The CFJS nevertheless perceives Ahmadinejad's propaganda as a threat and according to Halpern, the president's remarks are at least partly representative of the nation.

"Even if Ahmadinejad does not deny the event [of the Holocaust], he is denying the magnitude of the event and that is incredibly damag­ ing," Halpern said. "He is the elected president. His words do speak some­ what for the Iranian people."■

“L ife A fte r M c G ill” s e r ie s

February 12 to March 30,2007 Throughout February and March, the McGill Alumni Association will be presenting workshops and seminars free of charge (unless otherwise indicated) to help you develop the practical life skills that you won’t learn in the classroom.

Seminar topics, many of which will be presented by McGill alumni, include:

Dining Etiquette (*) Staying Healthy Networking Techniques Managing Personal Finances

• Entrepreneurship • How to Start Your Job Search • Negotiating for Success • Interviewing Skills

Got an itch to write for news? Go buy some ointment. Or, come to the news meeting!

Tuesdays, 5 :3 0pm, Shatner 1 1 0 . news@mcgilltribune.com

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6 • News • 30.01.07

The McGill Tribune

CAMPUS

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O f f e r s p l a t f o r m o f e x p r e s s io n f o r a m a t e u r s Kristin M aich McGill's independent literary maga­ zine, Scrivener Creative Review, celebrated its 3ist issue by hosting a party at the Green Room last Thursday, featuring sev­ eral poetry readings and bands.

Scrivener Creative Review, which pub­ lishes the work of artists around the world, does not limit itself to the McGill student community.

"We publish up-and-coming artists, people who are trying to get their work published and shared," said Andrew Cleland, Scrivener coordinating editor. The launch on Thursday hoped to "open [the

magazine] to the public, create more awareness, get more people involved and create more of a space for people to share their work."

Kicking off the evening, English Pro­ fessor Thomas Heise read from both his published book of poems and from his work-in-progress.

"It was nice to see [Professor Heise] outside of the classroom," said Amy Rose, 1)2 English and political science.

Michael Lista, another featured poet at the event and a Queen's graduate, now working in Mile End, had more praise for Heise's work.

“I really love his stuff.To hear him read

it isjust lovely," he said. "I think [Heise] com­ mands that sort of attention. He's young, he's handsome, he draws a young crowd -he reminds me, in many ways, of W.H. Auden when he was teaching and writ­ ing."

Lista, a published poet himself, felt that Scrivener is a great outlet for budding writers and artists.

“A lot of writers who go on to pro­ fessional careers are involved in student literary magazines,"he said."Getting some­ thing printed is always good; it's a good place to start."

Thursday's full house, though expect­ ed by Scrivener, was a surprise to Lista.

"To be in a bar with 200 people for something literary is surprising. Scrivener has a lot of appeal, which is rare for a stu­ dent literary magazine."

"We were extremely pleased," said Cleland of the brimming 1turnout. "The [profits] will help with the printing of the magazine, thanks to the support of the students."

Data presently point to an increase in sales of Canadian poetry according to Lista.

"People of our age are reading and buying poetry books," he said. "Poetry has had this stuffy, antiquated reputation, yet it's very similar to popular songs - it's lyri­ cal, catchy, memorable and quick. You can rea’d it on the subway, and a good poem is like a novel but shorter." ■

sp eed

Leave it to the Germans to catch free euros float­ ing in the sky. A German man rained down 75-thousand euros in five-euro notes from an elevated crane on the town of Kaiserlautern. Officials happily reported that there was "no fighting, no punching and no knifing" in the mad scramble below. • Don't like your in-laws?Taser them! That's what a 26-year-old Washington man did to his grandmother-in-law after she spanked his baby. After spending a night in jail, the man said with regret, "If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't."* Angry? Frustrated? Emo? Hire a protester to voice your thoughts on Erento.com.

For about 150 euros, these German demonstrators will rally for everyone except neo-Nazis. • Had enough of the mothafucking snakes on that mothafucking plane?

Let them massage you instead. An Israeli spa uses snakes to rub away the stiff joints and aching muscles. Patrons have found the effect soothing and effective. • An Ari­ zona grandmother was arrested and sent to jail for three years and fined $150,000 for running a pot operation, after police found over 200 pounds of marijuana leaves in the trunk of her car. She was using the dope money tofuel her addiction to Bingo. • Maybe grandma should have used shoes instead. In the Chinese city of Guang­ zhou, customs officials seized 215 pairs of platform shoes with hollowed out soles filled with marijuana leaves. • The pen really is mightier than the sword. When a cou­ gar mauled her husband, a woman tried everything she could to pry the animal away from biting her husband's neck apart. She finally succeeded by sticking a pen into its eyes. • After getting seriously drunk one night, a North Dakotan man climbed a freight train that, to his surprise, took off. He called 911 in the morning complain­ ing that he was cold and wanted off. He was taken to a detox centre without any charges against him.

— Sources: BBCNews, Yahoo.com

The Scrivener Creative Review is now available for purchase at the McGill Book­ storeand The WordBookstoreon Milton.

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CAMPUS

R o o m m a t e s s ic k o f h e a r in g y o u b it c h ?

W e 'll lis t e n ! S o w ill 11,000 o t h e r p e o p l e .

THETRIBUNEISLOOKINGFORCOLUMNISTS. FORMORE INFORMATION, EMAILOPINION@MCGILLTRIBUNE.COM

G a m e fe e ls g o o d , is g o o d f o r y o u P ro f s p re a d s d ig ita l h a p p in e s s w i t h j o y s t i c k T rip Y a n g

It may be time to ignore- every­ thing your mom said about video games being violent, pointless and ultimately a waste of time. MindHabits, a software company formed

by McGill psychology Professor Mark Baldwin, has been making substantial strides in creating an alternative type of video game that focuses on build­ ing self-confidence rather than scor­ ing a virtual touchdown.

The game was developed over years of research by Baldwin and his team and is rooted in the complexi­ ties of individual security and what can change it.

Everyone deals with social ac-

at work and school," he said.

But in order to make the game marketable to compete with fastpaced and sometimes violent video games on the market today, the game will have to be more than just an instructional tool.

"Traditional educational games never made much of a dent in the industry," said MindHabits GEO Mat­ thew Mather. "Sure, some grade schools used them, but they never came close to having the impact in the market of games like Halo and Grand Theft Auto. In order for alter­ native games to be successful they have to be fun and engaging for the player."

Nintendo already has a game

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ceptance and rejection on a daily basis. Those with high insecurities have a tendency to focus on the negative, increasing the amount of stress they experience. On the other hand, those with low insecurities have "a range of automatic thought processes that make them confident and buffer them from worrying about the possibility of social rejection," ac­ cording to Baldwin.

MindHabits is developing soft­ ware to focus on low insecurity and reduce a player's focus on the nega­ tive to enhance their positive out­ look.

In a prototype game, the player is asked to look for the smiling face in a cluster of frowning faces. Constant repetition of this game, played as quickly as possible, trains the player's eye. to look for acceptance while ig­ noring rejection.

Current research by Baldwin and his team has supported the theory behind this game, "In several studies, we have shown that after using the software, people become less distracted by re­ jection and they become less stressed

similar to the ones that MindHabits is developing. Brain Age is a highly in­ teractive game that quickens reflexes and can ultimately make your brain sharper. Brain Age has been highly successful since released last year for the Nintendo DS, selling over three million copies worldwide.

But while traditional educational games like Math Wiz and Brain Age develop academic skills and increase reflexes and sharpen, the player's mind, MindHabits takes the alterna­ tive gaming approach a step further.

MindHabits is about more about changing one's personality and way of viewing the world for the better.

Incorporating the reduction of so­ cial stress and the development of a more positive outlook in interactive video games are ambitions never be­ fore targeted in the industry.

MindHabits recently advanced to the second round of a game devel­ oper competition, where the ultimate winner will be awarded $500,000 for the funding of developing software.

Mather aims to release MindHabits' debut video game for the Nintendo DS in Winter.2007. ■

Howaccepting isMcGill's campus?

Makeyourself heard. Vote inour web poll. www.mcgilltribune.com

O p in io n

THE HELPLESSROMANTIC

W here has th e sexy g o n e?

R ichard T seng RICHTSEN@GMAIL.COM

ADAM.HELLER@MAIL.MCGILLCA anada has been led by a Conservative government for the past year and it is safe to say that the country has not yet selfdestructed. Parliament Hill has not been overrun by anti-abortion evangelicals, gay people can still get married and the reins of power have not been surrendered to U.S. President George W. Bush. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is clearly not the crazed far right baby-eater he was made out to be. Those of us who support Harper do not ask for an apology but wish to emphasize one point that is still lost on a good portion of this country: It is not wrong to support the Con­ servative Party.

Despite its minority status, the government has managed to realize many of its priorities. The military is on its way back to respectability after being destroyed by Jean Chretien's Liberals in the 1990s; the ill-conceived state-run Liberal daycare strategy has been replaced by a more parent-friendly plan; a federal accountability act has been introduced to keep our government clean; violent criminals face a tougher time get­ ting out of jail and the GST has been cut by one per cent. Of course some problems have come up—primarily Harper's move to declare Quebec a nation—but on the whole, the Harper govern­ ment has performed well.

Its record has proven that a salient Conser­ vative vision exists in Canada. It should not be brushed aside in favour of Liberal leadership, which has somehow become the accepted norm. The word association that has been em­ bedded in our heads over the past years, espe­ cially in the Reform Party era, must be banished.

The word 'conservative" should not bring to mind any of the following: wacko,, nationalist, Bible-thumping, nuclear-weapon-toting, abor­ tion-hating, homophobic, U.S.-loving, UN-de­ stroying or poor-bashing. It is slanderous and wrong—a cheap way to cut off debate.

When a professor says the name "Harper," why does a significant portion of the class chuckle or smirk, much as it'does with the name "Bush?" It is quite clear based on Bush's record

C

why some left-leaning members of the McGill community are not exactly rooting for the Texan, but Harper?

He has not focused on any of the aforemen­ tioned hard-right issues and he is in a minority government. The Liberals had a stranglehold on power before Harper managed to wrestle it out of their grubby hands and now he is left to clean up the mess. Yet when the environment is raised, Harper is immediately demonized.

Harper did not sign Kyoto or wait half a decade to do anything about it—the Liberals did. While Harper's record is obviously open to criticism, it must be tempered by acknowledging that he entered government on the heels of a corrupt and bloated Liberal regime.

There is another theory as to why Harper's name is greeted with raised eyebrows and snide jeers: People on the left are noisier. They enjoy informing others of their beliefs and letting ev­ eryone know how enlightened they are. The left regards its signature issues—peace, the environ­ ment and welfare—as the only important ones and believes that anyone who disagrees must either be dumb or blind to the wonderful truths of Jack Layton and Stéphane Dion.

The Conservative Party deserves respect. It has presented a strong and effective vision for Canada that accepts mainstream views as well as the traditional conservative emphasis on mili­ tary strength and economic freedom. Harper has closed the book on the softwood lumber dispute with the United States, supported our troops overseas in Afghanistan and proven adept at accepting changes in popular opinion (such as environmental policy), then integrating those changes into his platform.

The Conservative Party should not be laughed at or shunned. Stephen Harper is the prime minster of this country and his vision should be given the common courtesy of being voiced without immediate derision. ■

AdamHeller isa U2Political Science student, but heswearshe'snot aright-wingnutjob.

I can't help but be horribly fascinated with the lives of America's sluttiest during some of the more boring hours of my day. For example, while I was waiting for the TA to show up for what was ultimately the most pointless conference of my life, celebrity gossip blogs like Defamer, Gawker and Su­ perficial were wide open on my computer.

This is an improvement from last year, because one of my New Year's Resolutions was to actually go to conferences. It only makes me happier when my attempts to change myself happen to coincide with the resolutions of others. I feel a little sense of harmony in the universe knowing that my vow never to look upon Britney Spears' unmentionables again coincides with the former pop princess's announcement never to reveal them again. Perhaps it is because I am one of the millions suffering from the after-affects of being psychologically clus­ ter-bombed with this atrocity, or maybe it's something else, but I find it puzzling how Britney went from sex goddess to trailertramp in under a decade.

Compare this to a sex goddess who has maintained her position for over half a century. While Marilyn Monroe is known for her numerous affairs with shady men, there comes with them the inherent sexi­ ness of knowing that many of them were glamorous people: writers, sports stars and even America's sexiest president. Marilyn also didn't have the paparazzi hounding her, intentionally publishing the unflatter­ ing photos over the sexy ones. Recall the fa­ mous "accidental" snapshot of Marilyn in the billowing dress, standing over an air vent at full blast. Speculation continues to this day over whether or not she was wearing underwear. Her embarrassed smile, crossed legs and hand positioning— one to clutch at the fluttering fabric, one to hold her hair in place— all come together to suggest that she cares about her appearance and isn't simply going to put out. Had the camera

been placed under the vent— that is, had the photo been an up-skirt— it is doubtfuh that the teenage boys and guilty husbands who made her what she is would have granted her such lasting celebrity.

When it comes to underwear, the key to sexiness is as much in deciding what to cover up as it is in what to expose. Admit­ tedly, much of it lies in contriving to look sexy, in creating an image, but just as much is found in the illusion of voyeurism and the unintentional. We like to think that Mari­ lyn didn't know the vent would turn up to full-blast when she walked on it and we are titillated by curiosity about what might be under the dress. We do not like to think that the pop diva in the high-school uniform with the perfectly choreographed dance moves sits spread-legged and has a C-section scar above her cooter or that her heir­ ess best friend really has no chest and pukes harder than a lonely frat boy who just tried to drink his own weight in beer.

Unfortunately, we now have the Inter­ net, where sexiness is replaced with some­ thing worse: celebrities to whose every fault, crack and orifice we have become so exposed that we begin to see them as sub-human. We can all be downright vulgar when we are given that anonymous bully pulpit. When most of what we see of some­ body happens to be during the depths of their vulgar exploits, creating that sponta­ neous moment of exhiliration and mystery known as sexy is just about impossible.

Instead, sleaze seems about the only way to get noticed—wardrobe malfunc­ tions and caught on camera moments. Get­ ting the public's attention should be more subtle than appearing as a human train wreck and none of this is sexy. Let's face it: anybody trying to appear attractive these days is on their own. As for our celebrities, while they are still a constant source of en­ tertainment, they cannot be the embodi­ ment of anybody's idea of sexy. ■

WETPAINT

A m o st R epublican d ress co d e D ominique Z ipper DOMINIQUEZIPPER@GMAIL.COM fter musing about our penchant for cheating and our (perhaps) absentee self-discipline in my last column, I was asked the question, "Are you trying to become a Republican, or something?"

It was the "or something" that bothered me. Seeping out of those words was the implication that I had volun­ tarily enlisted for some kind of early aging ritual where I lie myself to rest at 9 p.m. and drink prune juice upon ris­ ing. The questioner felt that our peer group had an explicit right to cast off the old doctrines of proper decorum and reveal a fresh skin, free of any intrinsic or extrinsic standards of discipline.

As lovely as this"no-panties-under-a-skirt"idea sounds, I'd argue that our current reality is quite different from this undisciplined (u)topia. Increasingly, I find myself accosted by situations requiring my mental discipline. Take Facebook (yes, every col u m n ist has written about it, but that's because calling it ubiquitous is a horrid understatement): If I can use my hand, I can spend days entertained in a blue and white cocoon of voyeuristic happiness. Tactile movement aside, the only kind of discipline needed to dig myself out from

A

the folds of this little blue book is the mental kind.

As a result, "out of sight, out of mind" has become ex­ ponentially more difficult to execute. Now that we're able to pull up all of a recent ex's recent activity in less time than it takes to say, "I'm pathetic" three times fast, controlling what is and what isn't a part of our minds has come to prey, more than ever, on our minds.

Yet border patrol of our bodies seems to have be­ come more mental as well. In a reality where most of us could feasibly feast upon an exceeding variety of foods for the entire duration of our waking hours, it monopolizes a strangely significant amount of mental energy to decide wha't, where and when to eat.

Don't get me wrong— I can't imagine keeping a food journal, nor have I ever measured cubes of chicken in the palm of my hand. But I do find that eating is an aspect of our lives that has begun to require far more thinking and in some cases, more thinking than digesting. Doesn't it seem like it woufd be a relief to sometimes just head for the hills and take the hunter-gatherer route? 1. Eat what you find. 2.

Repeat. Simple.

I think it's only natural that a part of me yearns for the days of school uniforms, if merely for the fact that it was one less thing to think about. "How silly!"you say. "This ditz wastes precious brain capacity thinking about whatto wear in the morning?!" But who doesn't take a choice when it's presented? I'm slowly learning to internalize the expression from a good Value Village scrounger who repeats, "Just be­ cause it's amazing and it exists doesn't mean you need it."

To re-use some well-worn Sex and the City wisdom for all of you out there who secretly pine for the one show that truly made wearing a different outfit every day seem like a matter of chance and rarely a meditated choice, re­ member what they professed: "In a city of infinite options, sometimes there's no better feeling than knowing you only have one."

So try skipping the waist belt and leggings for a day: How about just one pair of pants and one top? It might feel scarily boring, yes, but it might also feel as good as plain toast does after a night of drinking. Funny, no one in Van­ couver warned me about getting drunk on "choice" when I came to Montreal... ■

30.01.07 • The McGill Tribune • 9

f

l

__________ The McGill

T r ib u n e

EDITORIAL

A s e n s ib le g r e e n a p p r o a c h is n e e d e d

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r

I n last Tuesday's annual State of the Union ad­ dress, U.S. President George W. Bush publicly rec­ ognized the dangers of global climate change.

Although he centred his call for alternative fuels and energy on the political need to ween the Unit­ ed States from its reliance on foreign oil, the former oil tycoon broke with personal and party policy by acknowledging the real and irreversible environ­ mental impacts of atmospheric emissions.

His motivation may be mere political con­ ciliation: Environmentalism is a likeable cause for a lame-duck president from the minority party to embrace. But regardless of his intentions, there is an urgent truth in the proposed policy. The de­ veloped world must drastically and immediately cut its consumption of fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases.

The President's most-touted proposal is to embrace ethanol, produced from domestic corn and added in small amounts to existing gasoline engines. "Gasohol" proponents promise cleaner cars without any changes in consumer behaviour.

Soccer moms and NASCAR dads will still fill up their minivans and pickup trucks at the same gas stations and merrily continue onward to the Wal-Marts and shopping malls that fuel the American economy.

The story is similar in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced a five per cent ethanol requirement for gasoline. Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion went further, saying that he would impose a 10 per cent minimum. The Conservative government has also been busy reviving previ­ ously-cancelled Liberal environmental programs, including subsidies for wind and ethanol.

As comfortable as this sounds, it is all too similar to the current gasoline system. Not only is it expen­ sive to produce, but ethanol cannot be transported in standard oil pipelines. Mass distribution will re­ quire either an entirely new infrastructure or a large fleet of exhaust-belching tanker trucks to transport it. Furthermore, gasohol is less energy-dense than its oft-criticized cousin— the same amount of it will not take you as far as gasoline. Consumers will end up paying more to get less. This would be a worthwhile sacrifice if ethanol actually backed up its promises with environmental performance, but ethanol requires an enormous amount of energy to produce.

Given this low yield and the amount of crop­ land required, Bush's proposed five-fold increase in ethanol production is simply not feasible. As corn is diverted from food use to ethanol, its price is being driven up, causing corn-based foods to become more expensive. This effect is already playing out

..Il

I

C

in Mexico, where the price of tortillas— a staple of most Mexicans' diets— has skyrocketed in recent months. Corn is also used in animal feed and the price of chicken, for one,, is going up to compen­ sate.

Meeting Bush's stated goal of reducing gaso­ line consumption by 20 per cent over the next 10 years will require more than just corn. Consumers will have to continue to make more eco-friendly choices and sacrifices. Sales indicate that public perception of big cars with poor fuel economy has already started to change. Efficiency is in style and the foreign manufacturers of small cars have reaped handsome profits: Toyota is om track to surpass General Motors as the world's largest car maker, while American companies have struggled to stay in business. GM lost $i2-billion in 2005 and Ford re­ cently announced a $i4.4-billion loss for 2006.

Obviously, Bush cannot start lauding the achievements of thé foreign automotive industry, but he could send a clear message to domestic manufacturers. Public demand for fuel efficiency has responded to the natural surge in oil prices and the corresponding rise at the pump, but Ameri­ cans still pay far less for gasoline than most. A stout increase in the federal fuel tax would send an un­ equivocal message: High prices are here to stay; ef­ ficient cars are the future.

The revenue from this tax could be devoted to alternative energy research. Ethanol might become more practical if produced from something other than domestic corn. For instance, Brazil already

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Paul Slachta

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Chad Ronalds Contributors

Ryan Appotive, Emily Barca, Jennifer Bartoli, Linda Bourenanni, Steven Campbell, Matt Chesser, Mallory Dash, Jessica Dismont, Emily Gennis, Ezra Glinter, Adam Heller, Nicola Hyde, Judah Issa, Nadine Lessard, Kristin Maich, Meghna Marjadi, Betharur McLaren, Evan Singer, Cory Sterling, Mark Stern, Stephanie Tombari, Rich Tseng, Vincci Tsui, Mike Vallo, Leron Vandsburger,Trip Yang, Dominique Zipper Tribune O ffices Editorial Shatner University Centre

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In A A, , /"\ I r\/~r\r produces largeA amounts of ethanol economically from sugar cane. In addition, hydrogen still holds much promise for a clean distribution system in the future.

Unfortunately, those are longer-term solutions.

We must still act in the short term to prevent emis­ sions from getting out of hand. Apart from increas­ ing gasoline taxes, a more serious consideration of nuclear power is imperative. Power generation ac­ counts for 24 per cent of global emissions— more than any other category— and nuclear energy is both clean and can provide large amounts of steady electricity, unlike wind and solar energy.

Carbon sequestration, where emissions are captured and stored underground, is another pos­ sibility. Many oil companies are already experiment­ ing with this, as pumping carbon into oil fields can actually help them to increase their oil production.

Setting up a cap-and-trade emissions system as the European Union is trying to do is another possibil­ ity.

Ultimately though, the problems facing the global energy economy did not arise suddenly during the past year and cannot be easily solved in the next. Portraying flashy new technologies as a panacea for the world's environmental woes might make for exciting rhetoric, but any practical solu­ tion will require more than buzzwords. Immediate sacrifices to reduce fossil fuel consumption and long-term commitments to replace current power sources are the only Feasible alternatives to climate change and oil shortages, r

ust before leaving Montreal for what was one of someone with more experience at smoothly lying the warmest Christmas breaks on record, I was to the Canadian public. Enter John Baird, our savpaying for groceries at the local Metro when I . iour.

Many people saw right through this ploy and noticed a sign in front of the cashier. “We're doing rightly so. It was pure politics, and poorly played at our part for the environment," the sign read, "and that. The Liberals started to salivate about the pos­ will now only double bag on request."

This was a revelation to me and it was also, I sibility of making the warm winter and the Tories' realized, fantastic news. Metro was doing its part lack of a plan to deal with it, a huge campaign issue. for the environment! I could finally stop being so Stéphane Dion's fortunes were looking up. Then concerned about the lack of December snow. I was the cold hit and the prime minister was saved by tempted to email Rona Ambrose, then minister of the bell.

Now that it's actually cold, people are starting the environment, to tell her not to worry either. She could stop defending the wonderful, but derided, to have second thoughts about global warming.

Clean Air Act and stop blaming the Liberals for her Maybe it's not actually warming. It's just an aber­ ration. Things are back to normal now. This is prob­ current predicament. A made-in-Canada plan to tackle climate change? Metro was on the case.That ably why those who advocate action on the envi­ ronment want to call it climate change. must qualify. We were saved.

It's great that the Conservatives are making a I never got around to emailing Rona, partly because Prime Minister Stephen Harper uncere­ big show of being on our side on this one, but we moniously fired her. While eating Christmas turkey, shouldn't let that distract us from the main issues. It the prime minister apparently realized that the Ca­ may be fucking cold right now, but that shouldn't make us forget that it is supposed to snow, not rain, nadian public cares more about the environment than he originally bargained for. He decided to look on the Santa Claus Parade.

So where does that leave us? How do we take like he was acting decisively by replacing Rona with

J

action if our government won't? Well, there's always our vote. We can refuse to give it to the Conserva­ tives, but it's not yet clear that the Liberals or NDP are any better on this file.

So I guess we're going to have to take matters into our own hands, which isjust a little bit depress­ ing. It's never fun to make tough choices, yet if we want our kids to be able to ski without travelling to Nunavut, we're going to have to do something.

For all the people who can't be convinced by the rational scientific arguments for climate change or aren't wiling to concede that we may not be doing our grandchildren any favours when we sit in traffic in our SUVs, let me make an appeal to your pocketbook.

If you bought energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, left the car at home once a week or turned your thermostat down a degree, you would save money. Doing a tiny part for the planet is a fringe benefit that you can comfortably ignore. If it really bugs you, use the extra dough to invest in Shell and Petro-Canada shares to offset your guilty con­ science.

Do it for me. And for the parade. ■

10 • The McGill Tribune • 30.01.07

VOXPOPULI

L etters to th e e d ito r Let them keep the seat down I would first like to say that I think | Jesse Chaser's column is the best thing to happen to the Tribune in a long while, but : I was disappointed this week ("Putting the 1seat up,"23.01.07). Compared to her usually progressive ideas to which I have become accustomed, I am surprised at how much this piece reeked of traditional essentialist : ideas.

"Women are mean?!" Is she for real? I would have thought that she would under­ stand that looking at people's behaviour is not the best way to draw conclusions about how people inherently are, especially when looking along gender lines.

It may be true that women are more likely to scorn and backstab than men, but women are taught from birth that they must always be sweet and submissive and never, ever fight. The truth is that humans feel aggression and it has to come out one way or another. If it's unladylike to have a bloody fistfight, then mocking and sneer­ ing are the things to do.

As well, the idea that women are above all forms of aggression is just as damaging to women, not empowering. Chaser makes good points but comes to very unfortunate conclusions. She gets it right when she says that maybe the concept of womanly civil­ ity has been used to keep women in their place. And look how effective it has been!

Women are scorned for exhibiting the very behaviour that they are set up to exibit.

How women's monopoly of toilet seat position is somehow indicative of their general tyranny which must be stopped, I will never know. Of all the disadvantages

V ote to bring blo o d drives back

that women face throughout their lives, if they want the toilet seat kept down, I think that we should at least give them that, since they will probably be the ones clean­ ing it anyway.

Evan S inger EVAN.SINGER@MAIL.MCGILL.CA t the upcoming Students' us to find an effective way to end who would have even considered Society General Assem­ Health Canada's refusal to collect donating blood would have been A bly (Thursday Feb. 1 at 4 blood from men who have sex approached to sign a petition p.m.), there will be two motions with men (MSM) and banning encouraging Health Canada to. brought forward addressing the blood drives is not the answer. . change its policy. ban on blood drives in Shatner.

The Engineering Under­ Banning blood drives has ac­ One, submitted by myself, directly graduate Society and Science Un­ complished nothing, which is why asks for SSMU to allow outside dergraduate Society recently ran 1 I'm asking for SSMU as a whole to groups to run blood drives in the a highly successful blood drive. take a proactive stance against building. This is not, as The McGill Héma-Québec's only complaint discriminatory blood collection Daily claims, "disingenuous," nor was the lack of an appropriate policies in Canada. By running does it "hinge on a technicality." ■ space. My only complaint was successful blood drives and at the Blood drivesare banned from Queer McGill's involvement. They same time encouraging every­ the Shatner building due to the were invited well in advance to one involved to help change the ratification of an executive com­ set up a table to educate people policy, we can make a difference mittee order, not a motion passed about the discriminatory nature Through education and lobbying

by SSMU Council. SSMU President of the ban on MSM donations. Of we can show that we are serious Aaron Donny-Clark, along with the four days of the blood drive, about ending discrimination, his executives, managëd to snow they only managed to be pres­ rather than banning blood drives under most of Council with their ent for a couple of hours over two and losing any credibility that we sketchy interpretation of the con­ days. may have. stitution. There was never any real It seems that they've ac­ The SSMU constitution states debate on the issue—most coun­ complished their goal of getting that "The Students' Society com­ cillors simply accepted what they blood drives out of Shatner and mits itself to groups, programs were told and refused to listen to think that their responsibility and activities that are devoted to any other line of reasoning. ended there. It doesn't. Of the 500 the well-being of a group disad­ That is why i felt it neces­ donors and many others who at­ vantaged because of irrelevant sary to bring forward this motion, tended the blood drive, I doubt personal characteristics." If this which presents an alternative that even 100 saw Queer McGill. doesn't define a blood drive, I interpretation of the constitu­ That's over 400people who could don't know what does. ■ tion. I am arguing that while the have been educated and possibly blood collection policy is indeed influenced to take a stand on the EvanSinger isa SSMUConcildiscriminatory, this does not issue, but weren't. I can assure you iorandthe EUSBloodDrive Coordi­ mean that we need to ban blood that if the blood drive had taken nator. He'sstumpingfor votes toget drives. Our constitution does ask place in Shatner, every person hismotion passed.

—SarahSchultz U3Music Recycling at McGill Your article "Campus meets compost with new initiative" (23.01.07) states that there is one waste receptacle bin for every 7,000 students at McGill. In fact, the figure is approximately one multi-sort recycling sta­ tion (a recycling station for plastic, metals, glass and paper) for every 700 people who work or study at McGill. While not nearly as bad, it is still less than adequate for a uni­ versity that has publicly declared its com­ mitment to environmental leadership in the operation of its campus.

Additionally, there are many exciting environmental initiatives currently gaining momentum on campus and improving the waste management system is just one. It appears that the environmental movement at McGill is coalescing into a powerful and * unified force for change that seeks to bring j the entire McGill community— professors, | staff, administrators, student représentatives and students from all disciplines— into its folds.

From what we have seen, this year's j SSMU executive is entirely supportive of j and this movement.

—JodieMartinson J

BSc '06 I Emmanuel Cappeiiin | BSc'06 1

VOX POPULI

VOXPOPULI

The s ta te o f th e union is stro n g

In d efen ce of "th e fence"

L eron V andsburger LERON.VANDSBURGER@MAIL.MCGILL.CA ast week, a friend and I were sort of watching U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union address to Congress and one of his statements struck us as odd. He said that the American use of worldwide force against terrorism is working because there have been no new attacks on American soil. To this my friend immediately exclaimed,"Tiger Rock!"and I, "Bear Patrol!"

For those of you unfamiliar with this reference to TheSimpsons, allow me to ex­ plain. In one episode, a bear emerges from the forest and begins to wander through the streets of Springfield.The townspeople panic and Homer calls for the creation of a bear patrol to prevent any further “attacks."

The bear patrol takes the form of a massive military build-up, complete with stealth bombers. As Homer watches a SWAT van roll down Evergreen Terrace, the following dialogue takes place.

Homer: Ah, not a bear in sight. The bear patrol must be working like a charm.

Lisa: That's specious reasoning, Dad. Homer. Thank you, honey.

Lisa: By your logic, I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away Homer. How does it work?

Lisa: It doesn't work. It's just a stupid rock. But I don't see any tigers around here; do you?

Homer: Lisa, I want to buy your rock!

This exactly describes the sort of situation faced by Americans today. The wealth of the United States is being squan­ dered on a war that cannot be won, which is being justified by the threat that its ces­ sation will lead to terrorist attacks.

I disagree. Don't the terrorists have

L

something better to do? I have seen pic­ tures of Baghdad and Kabul and Mogadi­ shu. Those cities were at one time jewels of their respective regions, but not today.

Today, they are big piles of rubble. If I were a militant with aspirations for American downfall, I would be more interested in where my next meal would come from or whether I had enough water to take a shower this week. Life is doubtless hard enough for people in these countries without trying to plan more terrorist at­ tacks against the U.S. I am not advocating abandoning the missions in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am in­ stead advocating a more intelligent battle against terrorism. Firstly, we should destroy Iran's nuclear capability. Any country that advocates the destruction of its neigh­ bours due to religious or political differ­ ences cannot be trusted, with nukes—that goes for India, Pakistan and North Korea, even France or the U.S. Secondly, we need to work with the Arab world to change its attitude towards the west. The Marshall Plan worked great in Europe, so why can't the same thing work now? If the U.S. dumps money into rebuilding Iraq's shattered infrastructure, the Iraqi people will begin to see the nice side of the infidels. Hamas used a similar strategy to win the hearts of the Palestin­ ian people. I am willing to wager dollars to donuts that the key to changing the West's image in the Middle East is a glowing lamp, not a smoking gun. ■

Leron Vandsburger, U3 Chemical Engi­ neering, is a big Simpsons fan and some­ times talksinaspecial voice.

Ryan A ppotive VPCOMM.MGMT@MAIL.MCGILL.CA he editorial "MUS Should Get Off the Fence" (23.1.07) was critical of the Manage­ ment Undergraduate Society and its position leading up to Carnival. MUS was rebuked for supposedly not clearly commit­ ting its official stance toward Carnival to one of the two ex­ tremes on the approval spec­ trum— either unwavering sup­ port or total condemnation. This criticism was unfair.

I take issue with the core premise of the argument— the notion that "MUS should have made a decision and come down on one side or the other instead of trying to muddle its way through without taking a stance." In representing each and every management stu­ dent, taking an extreme stand on a controversial issue would simply be bad policy. Acting on behalf of both Carnival's enthu­ siasts and its critics within our faculty requires the moderation and caution we exercised. This is not a sign of weak leadership but rather a deliberate strategy implemented to best serve our 2,500 constituents.

That being said, the idea that MUS did not take a position regarding Carnival is false. Car­ nival is planned and operated completely and exclusively by MUS and the committee we ap­ point. For it to have happened at

T

all is a clear indication of MUS's support. Though Carnival does receive the support of MUS, it isn't provided unconditionally.

Enforcing certain regulations and preaching responsible re­ straint is not taking a "muddled" stance; it is exercising due dili­ gence and foresight.

Before the start of Carnival, an email containing all sorts of relevant information was sent to every participant. Within this general email, Carnival partici­ pants were urged to use good judgment with their personal pictures and videos.

While there are many dif­ ferent interpretations of what constitutes "appropriate,"the key here is that all Carnival events are well within the law and strictly adhere to all McGill University policies. Asking students to act responsibly with pictures some might deem distasteful did not equate to acknowledging the in­ appropriateness of what's being photographed; instead, it was an appeal to err on the side of caution given that Carnival, fairly or unfairly, would inevitably be under the microscope following last year's events.

Furthermore, proactive changes made by MUS were completely ignored. All parties on McGill property were strictly supervised by McGill Security as well as McGill First Aid, and unlike

past years, participants were not allowed into McGill venues until security and first aid had arrived and were fully set up. Though this policy resulted in an hourlong delay before Power Hour in the Shatner Ballroom, MUS did not compromise.this newly-ad­ opted policy. In addition, unlike past years, official activities that involved alcohol took place only at night. Carnival-sanctioned daytime activities (which consti­ tute over 75 per cent of Carnival) did not involve alcohol.

The editorial closes with this thought: "While it is too late for this year, next year's MUS executives should sit down and make a decision: either alter Car­ nival to make it less likely to cre­ ate the same stir or accept that some people may be offended by what goes on at Carnival and be willing to defend it." It should by now seem quite clearthat this year's MUS did just that. Certain Carnival policies were altered in an attempt to mitigate the ren­ egade behaviour that creates undesirable and unintended stirs. At the same time, by allow­ ing it to happen, MUS has clearly thrown its support behind Car­ nival and is more than willing to defqnd it. ■

RyanAppotive isa big Carni­ val-lover. Healsohappens to be VP Communications ofMUS.

C a m pu s

SILHOUETTE

CHATTERBOX

B r e a t h e in , b r e a t h e o u t Q & A w i t h a n t h e A r t o f L i v in g g u r u stabilize your mind and center your being.

J acqueline Rowniak

Midterms, papers, meetings... sometimes it feelslikethe stressneverstops. Thelifeof the universitystudent isnoth­ ing ifnot hectic. The Tribune sat down with Hogne Hide, U4 management andpresident of theArt of Living club, who believes hecan calmusdown abit andhelp usstop andsmell theroses. There'snothing likea little bit of free yoga to helpyou reach asenseofinnerenlightenment, or at least helpyou relaxfor an hour or two.

What freebies can members expect to receive?

The Art of Living club, which is part of a larger interna­ tional non-profit group, is about organizing fun events for all students from all backgrounds. We offer free yoga once a week and have a lot of volunteers that take up service projects on anything going on in Montreal. For example, this winter we worked with Dans La Rue (a Montreal charity group). On a global level, people go to war torn areas like Iraq and Lebanon, often getting in­ volved with trauma relief workshops. When people have gone through something tough in life, like national di­ sasters, they are shaken. Breath is the best way of deal­ ing with it.

Is there an art of breathing?

Lots of research has been done on this topic. Breath is the most important source of energy in the body. We need to eat and sleep, however, we can't live a single minute without our breath. It affects our everyday lives more than we think. If you're angry, you tend to have a certain fast-paced rhythm to your breath; if you're happy, it's light and long; if you're sad, it can be very heavy. People say if you're angry, take a deep breath in and it really helps. Art of Living Part 1, which is based on yogic breathing knowledge, teaches how breath can

Do you have any advice for first-year students?

My first semester at McGill three years ago, I saw a poster on campus that read "yoga of breath." I had never been interested in yoga or meditation but had been doing sports at a high level my whole life and knew that breath was very important for your performance. So I signed up for the course and had a really good experi­ ence, learned this breathing technique. Now, I practice it every day; it only takes about 20 minutes. My grades have improved and I have quit drinking and smoking. I feel more active and capable of dealing with everything.

I just want other people to have the opportunity to dis­ cover the same.

How can students lead more healthy lifestyles?

We could all live more healthy lives. Through our daily lives we go through many challenges and accumulate stresses. It can be difficult to handle your day-to-day challenges and keep a smile. When stress comes in, it clogs your mind. Instead of maintaining an awareness, or inner peace, you merely keep on reacting to events.

Learning this breathing technique makes you more ca­ pable to act within yourself. We at the Art of Living be­ lieve: "existence is a fact but living is an art." ■

TheArt of Living ishaving anopen housethis weekend at theorganization's centrein thePlateau, with freeyoga andinformation on registering for courses. Next week, thereisaweekendretreat to theInternational Art of Living Centrein LaMauricie National Park. For those who want tojoin, thereare twoArt ofLiving Part l courses coming up inFebruary, each lastssixconsecutive days, beginning Feb. 6 and27 . Forquestions, please contact Hogne at (5 14) 909 -9230 .

B is s o n k e e p s w h a t in h i s o f f ic e ?

H u m a n e v o l u t i o n p r o f lik e s s c i- f i, h is c a t a n d c h i m p s Manystudents knowArchaeologyprofessor Michael Bissonas theprof who brings his cat to class. What students in hisANTH203: Human Evolution lecture may not realize is that Bisson has appeared in two BBCdocumentaries, plans to become a political activist after he retires and has a soft spot for Bonobo chimps. Bisson was featured in the 2001 BBCdocumentary Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, a role appropriate for a man who keeps Neanderthal-era reproductions of woodenjavelins and steel-tipped spears in his office. At the time, the series was the most expensive documentary ever made witha$4.2-millionpoundprice tag. Whileheisnot activelyseekingout notoriety on thesilverscreen, Bissonadmits hisnext brush withfame will takeplace on theset of aLOreal cosmetics training film.

I bring my cat to class because... somebody at the lectern has to have an I.Q. above 10.

One of my guilty pleasures is... watching really, really, really bad science fiction movies.

After I retire I plan to... move LUKASBERGMARK to Palm Springs Bisson uses his nogginxss to understand evolution.

California, be­ come a political activist and try to register all the Hispanic minimum wage work­ ers there so they can vote out all the conservative "country club Republicans” that represent that area in Congress.

I appeared on television in... the "Neanderthal" segments of the BBC docu­ mentaries Walking With Prehistoric Beasts and The Beast Within. I was the "McGill Archaeologist.” Better looking actors played the Neanderthals. I'm also in a train­ ing film for L'Oreal cosmetics (no kidding) that will soon be on the L'Oreal Web site!

When I was little I wanted to be... a paleontologist.

My favourite primate is... Bonobo Chimps. They are the university students of the forest.

My favourite movie is... Black Orpheus (1959, Brazilian director Marcel Camus) with its wonderful musical track written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa.

The weirdest object in my office is... the "Bungee-Monkey" a plush-toy gibbon wearing a flight-helmet and goggles that screeches when he flies through the air. Given to me by Brooke Johnston, Miss U.K. in the 2004 Miss Universe contest.

The prize or award that I'm most proud of receiving is... the Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching.

ARTOFLIVING.ORG

—compiledbyTraci Johnson

The A rt o f Living draws large b u t peaceful crowds to th e ir retreats.

cc

Friday

T h u rs d a y

W ednesday

T u e sd a y

M onday

Sunday

S a tu rd a y Hot tub party on Lower Field 8-10 p.m.

It's your chance to see SMUUshies in swim trunks!**

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All-you-can-drink Wine and Cheese with Principal Heather Munroe-Blum 4-8 p.m. Come and discuss strategies to eliminate student tuition.**

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**These events are products o f the editors'im aginations. W ant to advertise in th e Campus Calendar? For ju s t a to o n ie you can advertise your event up to tw o weeks in advance. Email calendar@ m cgilltribune.com fo r m ore inform ation, or d ro p by the Tribune office in Shatner 110.

Sb I e n g ih

Louis-Mathieu Houle, Computer engineering, François Corriveau, Chemical engineering, Jasmin Larouche, Software engineering, Mr. Zaki Ghavitian, Eng., President of the Ordre des ingénieurs Québe< Jésraël Deschênes, Civil engineering, Jean-François Lebel, Physical engineering

To highlight the 10th anniversary of the OIQStudent Section, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec is opening its doors to engineering students who have accumulated 30 credits or more in their engineering program.

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Ordre j des ingénieurs du Québec

STUDENT

SECTI ON

1996 -

Gaétan Lafrance, Eng.

Member of StrENG.th from 1996 to 1997

2 0 0 0 - Mario Ciaramicoli, Eng.

2 0 0 2 - Charles Bouchard, Jr. Eng.

2004 -

Member of StrENG.th from 2000 to 2002

Member of StrENG.th from 2002 to 2004

Member of StrENG.th from 2004 to 2006

"T he actions o f th e Student Section helped m e better understand th e p ro ­ fession and th e engineer's role in society (and e n jo y th e fin a n c ia l b en ­ efits a va ila b le to m em bers o f S trE N G .th ). 1 also learned (and s till believe) th a t th e e n g in ee rin g profes­ sion is a profession o f re s p o n s ib ility and service to o u r society, w here p ro ­ te c tio n o f th e p u b lic and th e e n v i­ ro n m e n t are th e h ig he st p rio ritie s ."

"No! A b a c h e lo r's, deg ree is n o t e n o u g h to m ake y o u a n eng ineer. To b e c o m e o n e , y o u w ill h av e to b eco m e a m e m b e r o f th e O IQ a n d pledge to act c o m p e te n tly a n d e th i­ cally w ith p u b lic safety in m in d . It w as really im p o rta n t for m e to jo in S trE N G .th. In a d d itio n to offering certa in b en efits ($), it h e lp e d alert m e to th e c o m p le x p ro fe ssio n a l w o rld I h av e n o w e n te re d ."

"W h en read in g th e in fo rm a tio n sen t to m em b ers o f S trE N G .th, I q u ick ly u n d e rs to o d t h a t in b e c o m in g a n en g ineer, I w o u ld in te g ra te values.

I'm talk in g a b o u t th e fu n d a m e n ta l v a lu e s o f e n g in e e rs, w h ic h are resp o n sib ility , c o m p e te n c e , social c o m m itm e n t a n d a sense o f eth ics.

T his m ean s h a v in g resp ect fo r o u r p ro fessio n , b u t also for society."

M a rio C ia ra m ic o li, Eng., is c u rre n tly w o r k in g as a n in te g ra tio n s p e c ia l­ is t in th e S im fin ity D e p a rtm e n t a t CAE.

C harles B o u c h a rd , Jr. Eng., is a n e w e q u ip m e n t a n d m o d e r n iz a tio n e s tim a to r a t C.O.H, B o isb ria n d , cus­ to m iz e d c ra n e h o is ts a n d a u to m a ­ t io n e q u ip m e n t.

Marius Bulota, Jr. Eng.

"As th e first engineer in m y family, I felt th e n eed to seek o u t m y engineer­ ing stu d en t peers to discuss th e reali­ ties of th e workforce a n d facilitate m y tran sitio n to m y n ew duties. (...) The O rdre des ingénieurs is th e guardian of th e quality of o u r work, rem in d in g us co n stan tly th a t h u m a n lives d ep en d o n ou r decisions."

G a é ta n L a fra n ce , Eng., n o w w o rk s f o r B o m b a rd ie r.

1997 -

Frédéric Blanchette, Eng.

Member o f StrENG.th from 1996 to 1998 "T h e "Eng." leads to huge h um an , technical and e n viro n m e n ta l respon­ sibilities. S trE N G .th a llo w e d me to receive PLAN m agazine every m o n th w h ile I was s till at u n ive rsity. T h a t is h o w I learned m ore a bo ut th e career th a t w o u ld som eday be m in e ."

F ré d é ric B la n c h e tte is c u r r e n tly w o r k in g as a R e g io n a l E n g in e e r a t S m u rfit-M B I (M o n tré a l).

1998 -

Pascal Doré, Eng.

Member of StrENG.th from 1998 to 1999 "B e lo n g in g to S trE N G .th m ade me aware o f th e profession a nd every­ th in g s u rro u n d in g it. F ina lly, as a student, 1 c o u ld e n jo y th e same b en ­ efits, w h ic h were n o t in s ig n ific a n t, as engineers, especially th e services o ffe re d b y SERVIQ."

2 0 0 1 - Guillaume Girard, Jr. Eng. Member of StrENG.th from 2001 to 2003

2003 -

M a riu s B u lo ta , Jr. Eng., w o rk s in e n e rg y e ffic ie n c y a n d e n v iro n m e n t a t B re to n B a n v ille & Associates.

2005 -

Laurent Moss, Jr. Eng.

Member of StrENG.th in 2005

Mélanie Pitre, Jr. Eng.

Member of StrENG.th from 2003 to 2004

Pascal Doré, Eng., w o rks as a P roduct M a n a g e r f o r M 5 T (S h e rb ro o ke ), a c o m p a n y th a t is a c tiv e i n th e V o IP fie ld .

1999 -

Benoît Borduas, E.I.T.

Member of StrENG.th from 1999 to 2000

"T h e c o n n e c tio n to th e O IQ h as alw ays b e e n stro n g . It su p p o rte d us a n d w e c o n trib u te d to th e S tu d e n t S ection, S trE N G .th a n d bills affect­ in g us. S trE N G .th w as d e sig n e d to b rin g stu d e n ts closer to th e OIQ. T he O IQ exists to p ro te c t th e rig h ts a n d safety o f p u b lic . W ith th e d e sig n a ­ tio n o f en g in eer, w e are allo w ed to offer exclusive services. W e in flu ­ en ce th e sta n d a rd s, law s a n d m o re specifically, w e are a t th e c e n tre o f d e v e lo p m e n t."

B e n o ît B o rdu as, E.I.T., w o rk s a t A rm s tro n g - H u n t in c .

"B ecom ing a m em b er o f StrEN G .th h e lp e d m e b e c o m e aw are o f th e im p o rta n c e o f th e role a n d resp o n si­ b ilitie s o f th e fu tu re en g in eer. I learn ed th a t m y u n iv ersity ed u catio n in en g in e erin g w as o n ly th e start o f m y p ro fessional tra in in g .^ ..) B eing a m e m b e r o f S trE N G .th a n d th e n th e O IQ h e lp e d m e b eco m e aw are o f th e im p o rta n ce o f m y professional o p in ­ ions, by assuring m e th a t m y op in io n s a b o u t e n g in eerin g w ere b ased o n suf­ ficien t expertise."

G u illa u m e G ira rd , Jr. E ng., is a research a s s is ta n t a t th e I n s t it u t n a tio n a l de la re c h e rc h e s c ie n ­ tifiq u e .

"By offering stu d en ts th e possibility of b ecom ing m em bers o f a Section th a t is th e ir ow n, th e O IQ m akes it possi­ ble for future engineers to gradually learn th e role th e y will have in society.

Finally, d u rin g m y studies, S trE N G .th ta u g h t m e th e im p o rtan ce of b elong­ in g to a profession order in term s of o u r rights a n d especially o u r obliga­ tio n s tow ard th e public."

M é la n ie P itre , Jr. E ng., LEED AP, is s tu d y in g i n a g ra d u a te p ro g ra m in th e area o f d u ra b le b u ild in g research.

For Mtore* udbrm otion irUit tk& OIQ^ Web site, a t www.oiq.qc.ca/students/10years

"In becom ing a m em ber o f StrENG.th, I got a glim pse of w h a t life is like after th e bachelor's of engineering, m ostly th a n k s to Plan m agazine, w h ich p u b ­ lishes several articles o n th e achieve­ m en ts of Q uébec engineers in all fields every m o n th .

I feel th a t o n e o f th e engineer's m ajor roles is to be a n ag en t o f progress a n d in n o v a tio n ."

L a u re n t M oss, Jr. E n g., w as th e r e c ip ie n t o f th e 2 n d p r iz e i n th e O IQ S tu d e n t A w a rd o f M e r it i n 2 0 0 5 . H e is a c a n d id a te f o r th e m a s te r's o f c o m p u te r e n g in e e rin g i n th e m ic r o e le c tro n ic s re se arch g ro u p a t th e É c o le P o ly te c h n iq u e de M o n tr é a l.

2006 - The OIQ Student Section

is opening its doors to engineering students who have accumulated 30 credits or more in their engineer* ing program. We welcome all of you!

F EA TU R ES W h o

a re o u r h e ro e s ?

"M y fa th e r was my hero growing up. i wanted to

be just like him because he was always there for us.

He's still my role model today and I look up to him."

—AlikBoulgarian, Lheducation "I definitely looked up to m y sister when I was younger. She had a pretty big influence on me.

Today, I still look up to her, but we're more equal."

—ErikTuity, U3education “When I was little, I watched Masters of the Universe and I thought She-ra th e W arrio r Princess was a really

strong women. She also had a cool horse."

—MS. U2psychology "My favourite superhero was S piderm an. I liked the mes­ sage that with great power comes with great responsi­ bility. Of course, I never re­ ally had a great power, but I always knew what to do with it if I did."

—J.L. U2arts "M y m other. She put her life on hold to raise us

and I thought that was cool."

—MiriamBlanco, U3psychology "When I was a kid, M o th e r Teresa. I liked her charity work and how she de­ voted herself to her beliefs.”

—Adriana Pasinato, U3psychology "My role model is a good frien d of mine who Hook up to. I admire his intel­ ligence, maturity, integrity, and focus."

—TedDove, Li Law "My female role model is Sa­ m a n th a Power She's a Har­ vard professor who wrote about genocide in the 20th century.

My male role model is Stephen Lewis. He's the man I want to be, except that I'm a girl."

—SonjaPavic, Lhpolitical science andpsychology "Myself. I'm pretty happy with all of the choices that I've made."

—Maria Frank, Lhpolitical science

"My g ran d m o th er. She came to Canada from Italy in her youth and had to essentially start up from scratch. She's the block of my family."

—Nuncia Pietrangeio, Lhhistory "I really like M ig h ty Mouse.

His ability to fly is pretty cool.”

—BrynTurnbull, Uo engtish "Bruce Springsteen!"

—KavitaMizin, Lh management "Cristina Scabbia [from Lacuna Coil]."

—JessicaCespedes, Lhpolitical scienceandItalian "Probably m y brother."

—EmilySchwartz, U2management —CompiledbyTraciJohnson andRachel Melnik

A p p a r e n tly , w e d o n 't h a te o u r p a re n ts O u r g e n e r a t i o n 's u n e x p e c te d h e ro e s M eghna M arjadi An indestructible cheerleader, a cop with mind reading pow­ ers, a young man who can stop time and an artist who can paint the future. Those are just a few of the unsuspecting super humans that make up the cast of NBC's primetime hit Heroes, a series that students tune in to watch week after week.

Yet, when asked about their heroes, McGill students do not name individuals with supernatural powers.

“My hero is my dad," says Greg Kushner, Uo agricultural and environmental sciences.

When asked why, he shrugs his shoulders, offering no spe­ cific support for the statement. Nor is he the only one. In fact, a January article in the McGill Reporter noted that a majority of McGill freshmen consider a family member to be their hero.

Do we think our families are hiding webs in their palms and that they avoid green jade because it resembles kryptonite?

Celebrities, who are supposedly ruling the lives of chil­ dren everywhere, are missing from • th e personal pantheon of heroes.The kids who dressed up like Brit­ ney Spears and Christina Aguilera and spent hours watching MTV do not name pop stars as sources of inspiration.

A com­ bination of changes in media influ­ ence, the way schools edu­ cate about the media and shifts in the repertoire of television may mean that we have altered our percep­ tions of the people our generation looks up to as potential role models.

Family Matters Dr. Lucyna Lach, an assistant professor in the Me Gill school of social work, was initially taken aback when she heard that McGill students identified their parents as their heroes. As Lach points out, a sample of university students is not truly reflective of the general public.

However, Lach noted that the responses from students make sense, especially considering that the academic success of students is directly linked to parental involvement at home.

"Family matters and family support is extremely important to make it into university,” Lach says.

In the United States, recent educational reforms emphasized greater parental involvement in early and sec ondary education.

"It's no secret: parent involvement equals student achieve­ ment," insists American PTA president Anna Weselak in defence of the new reforms to the "No Child Left Behind" act in the U.S. "Engaging effectively parents and families in their children's edu­ cation has the potential to be far more transformational than any other type of educational reform."

New changes will aim to specifically outline the circum­ stances in which parental attention is needed. But what happens when a child has no one to turn to?

"That is when celebrity heroes come into play," says Professor Victoria Talwar of the department of educational and counselling psychology at McGill."Celebrities have an impact when there isn t a strong attachment to an adult figure during the teenage years.

There is an aspiration aspect to these celebrities."

The family situation greatly influences teenagers' choice of role models. If a strong role model figure is missing, the teen will

look to tele­ vision for g u id a n c e and those role models will carry on later in their Iife.

Often, select­ ing a role model is an attempt to fill a void or compensate for shortcomings in the young person's life.

For a girl who grew up with bargain basement denim, no-name sneakers and a hand-me down coat, Paris Hilton with her oodles of money is a dream and emulating her is a way out of the pres­ ent. Likewise, the nerd in the corner with self-esteem issues who sees a pop icon, like Justin Timberlake, in a music video surround­ ed by beautiful women may emulate Justin.

"These kids are looking up to a more ideal situation,"Talwar explains.

The eye of the beholder Who is the anorexic celebrity of the day? Last week, the most read article at People.com was about Tyra Banks and her acceptance of 30 extra pounds on her beautiful frame. Chided by the media for chowing down on pancakes and living outside the model ideal, Tyra decided to fight back by declaring that she "still felt hot." Celebrities are no longer being praised for being skinnier than humanly possible.

Why are we turning away from so-called "perfect" celebrity role models? The media slams everyone, from condemning the sup­ posed eating disorders of celebrities like Lind­ say Lohan and Nicole Richie to commenting on Donald Trump's toupee. These figures have become people to pity rather than people to look up to.

"I find most celebrities to be completely vapid.

So much of their 'image' i's fabricated," says Adrienne Klasa, Uo arts.

Watching Entertainment To­ night guarantees a good laugh rather than in­ citing envy. Perhaps, finding flaws in ce­ lebrities may have I been what led us back to our families, where there are real "heroes," or at least real people to look H i up to.

W A plausible ^ explanation for f this change in re­ action to the media may be

more skeptical young audience.

"Sensitive subjects like eat:;.'l .'‘ t y V ; ; ing disorders and drug abuse problems are addressed as early as grade six in many schools," Lach says.

Knowledge of these problems turns children away from looking to celebrities as role models. From as early as the age of 13, young girls and boys are taught to respect their own bodies, something which was not addressed 30 years ago.There has been a movement in schools to teach children about the media in school and as a result, our generation is much more media savvy than those be-

30.01.07 «The McGill Tribune • 15

fore us.

Our increased media awareness prompts üs to question what we read and see before accepting it as truth.

"A lot of universities offer media classes that teach students about what is fabricated and what is not,” says Andrea Perna, U2 psychology.

We know that every picture we see has been Photoshopped and that there is potential for bias in the news that we imbibe.With — ... so much questionability in we see on television and hear on the radio, even in the socalled reality shows, fam­ ily may be the only thing that

seems "real."

Television turns ugly

Therearenofamilysitcomsinthetop20of this weeks'Nielsen ratings. Infact,therearenofamily sitcoms on the air that resemble TheCosbyShow, Full

House Fam­ ily Matters— or

three kid-friendly sitcoms that graced the top 20 charts in the late eighties and early nineties. Television has moved from a focus on family life to a focus on career life. Shows like Grey'sAnatomy, House and CSI are regularly programmed in the TiVos of most viewers.

While television has turned away from family, students have turned towards it. This is a logical reaction to the fact that in a world of touch-ups, cover-ups and fake news, family is real and today we are media savvy enough to recongize that. It helps that television shows and advertisers are just as harsh on celebrities and models as the tabloids are The Golden Globe-winning sitcom, UglyBetty, revolves around a so-called "rear'woman, notably less-than-perfect by Hollywood standards, who is working at a fashion maga-% zine. The main character in Ugly Betty is the daughter „ of an illegal immigrant, j,* . who dresses in shabby clothing, wears tf glasses and v ■ brandishes

set of silver braces, while still managing to emerge as the hero of the show. In the same vein, the popular film The Devil -'T Wears Prada the fashion to earth d e p ic tin g

sh o w s industry from the downnarrator's point of view, a group of image-obsessed men and women. The Devil Wears Prada and UglyBetty both gained popular success by revealing the under­ belly of a superficially picture-perfect industry.

The increase in parental involvement in edu­ cational reform and a greater sense of media bias have altered the way in which we perceive heroism. It T j& iv f seems that university students today would rather focus on what is real than

what is Photoshopped.

“Pe opl e j

look up to T Tj their parents because they are real people," maintains Perna.

"It's hard to imagine someone else, such as a celebrity, as your role model if you haven't personally witnessed first-hand what their lives are like." ■

... M

‘

O h , O p r a h ! H a llo w b e t h y n a m e T h e t a lk s h o w g o d d e s s is m o r e t h a n j u s t a c e l e b r i t y r o le m o d e N iki H yde The dearth of faith in both secular and political orga­ nizations in the twenty-first century has forced us to look elsewhere for an icon of inspiration and worship. Enter Oprah, a woman who usurped daytime television from the hands of the pretty and the plastic, the bold and the beau­ tiful, to reflect the underbelly of America back to itself.

"She has celebrity power,"says Ariella Zbar, U3 microbi­ ology. "The work she does in Africa is admirable. When she went to Auschwitz with Eli Wiesell, it was a powerful thing."

However, her greatest accomplishment as a television personality is not necessarily her ability to reunite lovers, re­ connect family members, visit war-torn places, or selflessly make dreams come true. This daytime talk show empress has transformed herself into a sort of religious icon: over the span of her television career, she has moved from mere celebrity to spiritual figure.

D.B. Brown's The DaVinci Code introduced mainstream society to the prevalence of goddess worship in pre-Chris­ tian society. Although diety worship remains an aspect of many societal practices, what all forms of goddess worship hold in common is their ability to represent women as both spiritual and cultural guides.

When Oprah first appeared on television in the late 1980s, she represented an antithetical approach to the talk show host prototype of middle-aged white male. Her talk show's format bucked the conventions of traditional day­

time television. Prior to Oprah, daytime programming had been largely dominated by the modern melodrama: Soap Operas.

According to author len Ang, in his cultural analysis of the effects of the Soap Opera on viewers, Watching Dallas: TheSoapOperaand theMelodramaticImagination, th is type of television program contains a sense of "emo­ tional realism" and as a genre is based around a "structure of feeling." Oprah went right for the heart of their viewing demographic: women.

By applying the techniques of melodrama to the "reallife" world of talk shows, she provided a seemingly high-brow alternative that didn't scrimp on the emo­ tional intensity.

In Oprah's so-called quest for total media domination, appealing to her audience on a purely entertainment-based level was only the first step. As the success of her show grew, so did the myth of Oprah. Like other American icons before her, Oprah relied on her rags-to-riches story to cata­

pult her into fame. Her background of abuse, prejudice and adversity transformed her from the everywoman to a figure of divine suffering, a messiah for the modern era. Oprah's tragic personal history legitimized what would normally be dismissed as sensationalist manipulation of the often highly personal nature of her show's topics.

With subjects ranging from rape to drug addiction and domestic violence, like Dionysian worshippers of ancient Greece who would used worship as a way of unleashing pent-up emotions, Oprah incites her audience to “let loose" with her and her guests. The key to her show's cathartic element is what Eva lllouz, in her book Oprah Winfreyand

the Glamour of Misery: an Essay on Popular Culture, calls "the culture of pain and suffering." Audiences tune in to her show to feel a release that mimics a confessional and to find what lllouz calls the "virtue in suffer­ ing that leads to holistic healing".

Oprah was voted by both Time and VHi to be the most influential media figure of the last century. As a powerful heroine, Oprah is not ignorant to the quasi-religious aspect of her show and so there is a delicious irony in her slogan "Remember Your Spirit." ■

A r ts &

E n t e r t a in m e n t

THEATRE

D o n 't f e e d t h e b l o o d y p l a n t !

M o y s e H a ll m u s ic a l t h e a t r e g l o w s e n c h a n t i n g l y in t h e d e a d o f w i n t e r of Horrors, is guaranteed to chase those winter blues away and

B ethann M c L aren There is nothing like a high-energy, Broadway-style musical to cheer you up when the weather plummets to -30C with the wind chill and course readings pile up ominously. The Arts Under­ graduate Theatre Society's first production, the musical LittleShop

The ladies o f Little Shop strike an in freq u e n t blasé pose.

leave you singing along after the music has stopped. Originally a non-musical black comedy film directed by Roger Corman in i960, Little Shop was adapted into a-musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman in 1982. Twenty-five years later, the musical Little Shop is sprouting and blooming at the Moyse Hall Theatre here at McGill.

Seymour Krelbourn is a nerdy, young orphan who works in Mr. Mushnik's Skid Row flower shop.

Thwarted in love and life, nothing seems to go right for the downtrodden Seymour - until he purhases a 'strange and unusual' plant he names Audrey II. Audrey II quickly turns Seymour's luck around, bringing fame, fortune and even romance to the once unfortunate young man. However, all of this comes at a price: in exchange for Seymour's good fortune, the carniverous Audrey II demands to.be fed human blood!

Director Jessica Kostue-k asserts that one of the main reasons she decided to do Little Shop of Horrors was "to give students the opportunity to see contemporary musical theatre, of which there is next to none at McGill." Kostuck, Ui english drama and theatre, hopes that by putting on such a familiar and well-loved musical, she will be able to "to reach as large an audience as possible.”

Kostuck's cast is the highlight of the ener­ getic production, a fact she does not hesitate to mention.

"I really couldn't have asked for a better cast,” she admits. "Every single member of our produc­ tion [brings] something special to the stage."

Directorial bias aside, Kostuck's words ring true. The singing is definitely this production's strongest point, with not one cast member turn­ ing in a poor performance. Kostuck claims that when casting for a show like Little Shop that com­ bines acting, singing and dancing, it Is important to cast for singing ability first and foremost. Menk­ en's 1960s rock'n'roll, doo-wop and Motown-style songs are delivered with power and pizazz by the cast of 18 McGill students. Allison Hess, who plays the unfortunate heroine Audrey, delivers an espe­ cially strong rendition of"SomewhereThat's Green" while crowd-pleasing Gordon Bintner swivels his hips Elvis-style as Audrey's abusive dentist boy­ friend. While Mark Piggott also puts in a convinc­ ing and entertaining performance as the voice of the carnivorous plant, it is Evan Malach who truly steals the show with his hilarious performance as Seymour's crotchety adoptive father, Mr. Mushnik.

Little Shop - energetic, campy, th eatrical co m fo rt food.

Although a good singer, Malach's true forte is his engaging stage presence, which brightens the entire performance. Relaxed and at home on the stage, Malach continually elicits spontaneous laughter from the audience with his comic acting and occasional improvisation.

Audiences of Little Shop will also be treated to the luxury of a live band, a rarity in smaller theatrical productions. Under the musical direction of Clive Chang, the small group of musicians that make up the band keep the music flowing all night. Their performance was highly polished and professional and Kostuck has nothing but praise for Chang.

"I'm so honoured that be chose to do AUTS,” she says. "He made the show what it is and was so amazing to work with."

Kostuck's Little Shop of Horrors is an enchantingly over-thetop production that will captivate the audience from beginning to end. Despite a distracting penchant for smoke effects, this show is just plain fun to watch. Its toe-tapping numbers, outra­ geous set and energetic cast are an absolute treat for musical the atre patrons and newbies alike. ■

POPRHETORIC

F a v o u rite s a r e fo r lo s e rs he editors of Time magazine recently chose "you" as the person of the year, a little piece of inanity that garnered much-deserved ridicule, including a hilarious bit on TheDailyShow. But while mocking a particularly repugnant example of mass-media stupidity is certainly a noble and worthy occupation, that shouldn't distract us from a larger, more fundamental stupidity: Time's choice of a "person of the year" is totally meaningless to begin with, even if that person were real. What matters are the particular accom­ plishments of the individual, not some empty accolade. But that honour is just a smaller part of the compulsive ranking habit that is a regular feature in magazines from TheAtlantic Monthly to Rolling Stone. These lists of influential Americans or electric guitarists are not only endlessly repetitive and boring; they are also stupid and obnoxious.

Unfortunately, I find that the need to rank and choose isn't restricted to big-budget glossies or fans of High Fidel­ ity. Whenever I introduce myself to someone as an English literature major, I am inevitably asked, "What is your favou­ rite book?"or,"Who is your favourite author?"! despise these questions. The fact is, I have no favourite book and I have no favourite author, nor do I have a favourite band, a favourite

T

movie or a favourite television show. Indeed, I don't think I really have a favourite anything.

Primarily, I think that this position is intuitive. It has never really occurred to me to choose a favourite book or favourite author, simply because there are so many good ones. Trying to rate the seeming infinitude of literary tal­ ent according to some scale of relative merit seems like an absurd undertaking. The same principle applies even when it comes to works under whose influence I have unques­ tionably fallen. Many books have influenced my life and my thinking in many different ways, and trying to evaluate the magnitude of influence with the goal of putting one of them on top seems not only difficult but useless. Rather than trying to create such meaningless hierarchies, I prefer to appreciate each work for its own particular merit, without worrying about whether it's more or less important than any other. The same goes for music, film and soft drinks.

Not only does favourite-choosing strike me as inher­ ently nonsensical, it is also detrimental to independent thinking. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Web sites such as Facebook or MySpace, where users are encouraged to catalogue the whole range of their cultural preferences.

E zra G unter

By reinforcing favourite-choosing habits, these Web sites encourage their users to think of themselves in terms of what they like rather than who they are. To be more pre­ cise, it encourages them to think of who they are in terms of what they like. Judging only by that single personality diffused through many bodies whom I meet at so many parties, people seem quite content with this state of affairs.

I suppose that identifying oneself with the works of certain artists provides some existential meaning or satisfaction.

Personally, whenever I encounter some work whose artistic power is of great magnitude, my goal is not to subsume myself under its banner, but to suck from it whatever insight or perspective it may have to offer in order to enrich my own experience of life. Ideally, I would like my experiences to be my own and not a mere conglomeration of other peoples'words.

Perhaps then, Time was right in making me (or you) the person of the year. Of course, if we needed Time to tell us this, then we are not really deserving at all. Besides which, if the editors' reasoning was the same as mine, we would be the person of the year in perpetuity, which I very much doubt is the case. ■

30.01.07 • The McGill Tribune • 17

FOOD

N e w K eg a s iz z lin g s u c c e s s D o w n t o w n r e s t a u r a n t b o a s t s p r i m e s te a k s B en L emieux Though the Vancouver-based chain of steakhouses has had great success here in Montreal at its Old Port estab­ lishment, The Keg opened the doors of its latest franchise last Monday in the heart of downtown's financial district.

Located at the corner of Réné-Lévesque and Mansfield (tucked away at the edge of Place Ville Marie), The Keg is dimly lit and deceptively large from the outside looking in. Revolving doors lead to a cozy, tranquil reception and waiting area where a hostess guides you to your table, or, as it is more likely, to the bar, where you are welcome to "relax, have a drink and wait for your table, which should be ready shortly." Everyone gets a vibrating, illuminating buzzer to alert them when their silverware is laid out and dinnertime is imminent, which is unassailably cool.

The dinner area and bar are outfitted with a sooth­ ing décor; minimalist yet carefully selected and put to­ gether. Suppertime lighting is always kept at a soft, glow­ ing lounge radiance emanating from opaque, cylindrical lamps that hang from the ceiling. Aptly selected back­ ground music contributes to a laid-back, sitting room aes­ thetic without ever slipping into tawdry, Norah Jones-style drivel. Instead, patrons are treated to a delightful shuffle of Dave Brubeck and Medeski, Martin & Wood. The bar itself is fully stocked, serving a wide array of martinis, cocktails and draught beers (served in chilled glass pitchers, no less) and everyone working behind the bar is faultlessly polite and cheery, not to mention fluently bilingual (without the slightest accent).

The food, by this point, is the icing on the cake. The appetizer of the night was tempura asparagus with soy sauce, an unusual yet delectable entrée that is served in such copious amounts that it is practically a meal by it­ self.

Whereas the appetizers are merely savoury,The Keg's steaks are like a religious experience. Photo Editor Lukas Bergmark's prime rib roast was a culinary monument of biblical proportions: meat marinated in spices for over 18 hours and slow cooked, it was tender, juicy (pink yet not bloody) and flavourful. The prime rib was garnished with a heavenly, creamy white wine sauce and fresh shrimps and scallops (we're talking a surf'n'turf Shangri La, here), with vegetables and blissful garlic mashed potatoes—

which miraculously do taste just like the ones Grandma used to make. I opted for the Keg salmon, served on rice with a mild salsa garnish. As one would expect, our river spawning friend does not hold a candle to the Keg's bo­ vine masterpieces, but the recipe offers a fine balance be­ tween the mild, subliminal zest of the salsa and the fresh, tender fish. With a touch of lemon and some parsley, it will easily rank among the best restaurant seafood you've experienced. The wine list, which Lukas and I could only afford to glance at, features a healthy selection of reds and whites from France, Australia, Chile, Spain and even Brit­ ish Columbia's Okanagan region. The majority range from $30-60 a bottle or $9-12 a glass.

Dessert was a mountainous chocolate brownie sun­ dae, which Lukas and I (despite our titan-esque 6'3" and 6 '4 " statures, respectively) admittedly struggled to con­ sume after two sizeable courses and some warm rolls. The sundae portion that I did manage to eat, however, was just as satisfying as the main course, decked with warm, chewy brownies, a thin layer of hot fudge, smooth vanilla ice cream and whipped cream to top it all off - as parsimo­ nious as it was delicious.

Service was impeccable throughout our two-hour stay at The Keg. Lukas's side of vegetables arrived a few minutes after the main dish and the Maitre D' offered an earnest apology upon their delivery to our table. Nothing to do with the review (we were dining incognito), he was genuinely sorry that our food had arrived late. Genuinely.

That's service.

The only dissuasive factors to be found in The Keg's latest establishment are the cost of a meal there (not ex­ actly student friendly, save perhaps the daytime lunch menu) and the crowd of self-absorbed, ego-driven, thir­ tysomething young professionals that the joint attracts.

However, if you can handle the barrage of nouveau riche pretensions spilling over from the neighbouring table and you're sitting on a slightly larger tax return than you had anticipated,The Keg is a hip, swanky, comfortable and sa­ tiating place to spend an evening. ■ The Keg - 5 Place VilleMarie

Meal price : $20-3o/personbefore tax, tipandbooze.

With entréeanddessert, $30-45.

P review s

COMPILED BY CRYSTAL CHAN

Event. Lights Out! Feb. 1 at 6:55 to 7 p.m.The Alliance pour la Planète of international global awareness programs is call­ ing for a worldwide lights out to prove that little actions do make big statements. They hope that the mere five minutes of energy efficiency will get people acting and thinking as well as draw attention from politicians worldwide to the popularity of ecofriendly movements. The event coincides with the United Nations Intergov­ ernmental Panel on Climate Change's annual assessment report, which will be issued Feb. 2 in Paris. Although the original black out is scheduled for GMT, participants are encouraged to go sans lamps, eggbeaters and curling irons for at least five minutes anytime on the first of the month in solidarity with the movement. Seems like a good excuse for a candlelit dinner (or séance) to me.

Film. Because I SaidSo, opens Feb, 2. If you're looking for some fluffy escapism from the plummeting temperatures outside and want to save on heating the apartment,'your local theatre churns out the latest from director Lehm­ ann, the "faux-teur" behind such classics as 40 Days and 40 Nights. Diane Keaton embodies the overcaring and overbearing mother stereotype, the well-meaning matriarch whose constant response to her three blonde daughters is "because i said so." Keaton sets her youngest daughter, played by Mandy Moore, up with a man she found online in the hopes of securing her a man and rescuing her from the vicious dating world. The film is more comedy than romance, but it will inject a dose of estro­ gen so strong that it will last you all the long winter months.

Music. Michael Brook, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m.; LaTulipe (4530 Papineau).Toronto native Michael Brook has been making his mark since his seminal first solo effort Hybrid, which fea­ tured the likes of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Brook has been deeply involved in the music industry for a quarter century, a creative force that has tried everything from the "infinite guitar effect" (as exemplified by U2's"With or Without You") to succeed at film composition (one of his latest scores is Al Gore's An Unconvenient Truth). He is at his best as a performance artist, however, which is lucky for us, as he is coming to town this Wednesday. He will be playing with Lisa Germano and the show follows the release of his latest album, RockPaperScissors. Call (514) 529-5000 for tickets and more information.

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R eview s Cradle of Filth—Thornography. Cradle of Filth's latest album is barbaric, stale and dissonant— but for metal fans that's a good thing. After the familiar intro track "Dirge Inferno," the album quickly moves away from the more conventional, themed album approach the band has adopted in the past. Instead, each track has its own interesting flavour, its own unique way of look­ ing at destruction and hate. While at times Thornogra­ phy will get caught in the heads of even mainstream listeners, at times it will make devoted fans wish they were deaf— or at least that they hadn't bought the album. Each new song is initially engaging, but after a while the "throw it all in and see what happens" axiom degrades into a monotonous barrage of noise. The notable exception is "Rise of the Pentagram," the band's first poetic instrumental piece, which by itself would be justification for buying the album, regardless of whether or not you want the rest of it. Cradle of Filth fans may not be wholly satisfied with this long-awaited release, but they won't be wholly — Carolyn Yates

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Norah Jones—Not Too Late. While Jones's third installment of mellow, piano-bar whimsey has been, lauded as a "departure" by many critics, the whole thing plain stinks to high heavens. There comes a time in each artist's life when they realize that they are either contributing to the music world or merely taking up space within it. Not Too Late thus comes across as a product of fear; fear of forever being that poster girl for the latte-sipping Gucci crowd; fear of forever being "Whatshisface's daughter. You know... that Indian dude." In a trite attempt to "bring it back to the roots," Jones abandons the big studio sound, the eclectic (read excessive) instrumental arrangements, the award-winning production team and elects to record in her basement with her boyfriend/bassist/collaborator Lee Alexander. Yawn. It's pleasant to see Jones attempting to scale back her sound and dilute or diversify her audience, but if this is her idea of "bare bones," then her idea of "slummin' it" must be living at the dodgy end of Madison Avenue.

Not Too Late is the album version of Coca-Cola's "Coke Zero": a cheap ploy to sell you the same old shit in a differently coloured can. Jones overindulges yet again in the same tired, lackadasical, meandering, inoffensive adult-pop ballads that she built her McCareer upon, only this time instead of a full band to supplement and add dynamic range and variance Jones's piano, acoustic guitar and vocals, audiences are offered, well, nothing!

Lethargic lounge misadventures like "Until the End" or "Thinking of You" play out like a match that is lit and snuffed by the wind before it ever reaches a full flame and ultimately, Not Too Late, develops (or rather fails to develop) in much the same fashion. Many of the tracks are sonically indistinguishable from one another, painted from the same rhythmic and stylistic palate as Jones's two previous albums. It's clear that Jones is trying to up her street cred in a big way, but when it comes down to the nitty and gritty, she just sounds bored with herself. And, truth be told, she ain't the only one.

—BenLemieux

The McGill Tribune

18 • Arts & E n terta in m e n t • 30.01.07

MUSIC

FILM

C h illin ' o u t w ith C hakavak

M y b ig , f a t h a u n t e d h o u s e

I r a n ia n e n s e m b l e c e le b r a t e s P e r s ia n p o e t 's b i r t h Ezra G unter

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Birthdays generally cease to be celebrated upon the advent of death, the latter occasion conventionally seen as an effacement of the former. But there are always figures whose works have elevated them above mere corporeal­ ity and whose births are thus justifiably celebrated, even centuries after their deaths. Such is the case of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, better known simply as Rumi, a 13th-century Sufi poet whose literary and spiritual vitality has en­ dured to the present day. His works include the Masnavi-ye Manavi (Spiritual Couplets), a six-volume poem whose importance for many Sufis approaches that of the Qur'an itself. He is also the progenitor of a spiritual inheritance claimed by the Mevlevi Order, better known as the Whirling Dervishes.

It is no great surprise then, that the 800th anniversary of Rumi's birth is being celebrated across the globe and that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared 2007 an "International Rumi Year."

Here in Montreal, the birthday of the great poet is being celebrated with a performance of Persian classical music by the Chakavak Ensemble, a Toron­ to-based group of Iranian extraction. Formed at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology in 1998, the group re-formed in Canada in 2004 and has since per­ formed several major concerts, including a benefit for the Canadian Cancer Society.

According to Chakavak musician Amaan Mehrabian, a PhD engineering student at McGill and the only member of the group living in Montreal, the traditions of classical Persian music, poetry and Sufism go hand in hand. In fact, he relates, the use of traditional Persian music in Sufi meditation has helped it spread outside of the Persian community, a phenomenon reflected by diverse audiences at Chakavak shows.

In Iran, as in most other parts of the world, traditional and classical forms of music have been overshadowed in recent history by more popular forms.

Mehrabian acknowledges the difficulties that his chosen genre faces, but re­ mains optimistic.

"It's hard times for Persian traditional music nowadays," he says, "but it's going to survive, I'm sure.”

The tradition of Persian classical music is an ancient one and according to archeological records, goes back to the Elamite Empire, which existed from 2,500-644 B.C.E. Though for most of its existence Persian music has been pre­ served by oral rather than written methods, Western-style notation has been dominant since the early 20th century. Still, says Mehrabian, there are many traditionalists who continue to teach using the "ear-to-ear" approach through which the music was handed down for many centuries. Learning the full reper­ toire according to this method, he says, can take as many as 15 years. Mehrabian began his own musical education at the age of 12, when he first picked up the Santour, a 72 stringed hammered dulcimer. He became involved in Chakavak as an undergraduate student in Tehran after meeting the ensemble's director, Reza Manbachi.

In its current incarnation, the ensemble consists of seven members, all of whom play traditional Persian instruments such as the Oud and theTar, with the addition of the violin. The music of the Chakavak Ensemble is both traditional as well as innovative. While only about a fifth of the group's repertoire consists of traditional pieces, even the newer compositions follow conventional struc­ tures. The traditional works, in turn, have been given new arrangements.

It is clear that for Mehrabian, as well as for the other members and fans of the Chakavak Ensemble, classical Persian music has great personal as well as national cultural resonance.

"It's not only our music,"says Mehrabian, "but it's also our history and our culture."

No doubt, Rumi would agree. ■

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Y o u n g s t a r m u s e s o n h o r r o r 's c r e a t i o n : The rural Canadian setting where the film was shot is a stand-in for North Dakota, with the vibrant sunflower Family leaves town for the peace of the country, fam­ fields creating a stark contrast to the dark experiences ily moves into an old house, family is suddenly terrorized within the home. The Solomon family abandons the by supernatural happenings. Sound mind-numbingly fa­ hustle and bustle of Chicago for the country, hoping that miliar? Not so, according to Kristen Stewart, the 16-year- the idyllic surroundings will help restore some balance to their troubled teenage daughter's life. Shortly thereafter, old star of TheMessengers.

"This is not a one-dimensional horror movie,"she as­ Jess is plagued by paranormal experiences and becomes convinced that something dire is about to happen to her serts.

While the plotline contains many of the staples of family. Her attempts to warn them, however, are met with the genre, including a mysterious stranger who knows disbelief and dismissed as further manifestations of her rebellious nature. more than he lets MÊÊÊÊKM The isolation of the on (played by John farm echoes the Corbett, My Big Fat sense of alienation Greek Wedding), experienced by the the movie offers a teenager, as the gap refreshing take on between her and the Hollywood hor­ her family widens. ror flick, mostly due "She's a really to the unconven­ desperate character tional vision of its and it's nice because Asian directors, twin she... triumphs at brothers Danny and the end. It is nice to Oxide Pang. see a young teen­ A desire to age girl actually get work with the Pang up and kick butt brothers (The Eye and empower her­ trilogy) led Stewart self)'Stewart says. to take on the role ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM The family dy­ of Jess, the film's The Eye trilo g y directors coach Stewart's teen angst perform ance. namics coupled main character. The with Jess's teenage angst add surprising depth to the Pangs' slow, deliberate approach and attention to detail movie. Jess's fight for independence, her struggle to made for a subtle and more effective horror movie.

"Asian horror films are not as heavy-handed as Amer­ prove her honesty and her attempt to assert herself are ican films," Stewart insists. "They tend to take their time a familiar growing pains to most people.

"You really treat the ones that you love the worst and little bit and let you think for yourself." what's great about this movie is that they all come to real The Pang brothers carefully selected everything that appears in their film, down to the colours, which had par­ ize that. The people that they truly need are each other, [as a] family," Stewart explains. ticular significance to them. "There's a lot of heart in the Food for some deep thought after the movie? Maybe movie," Stewart adds. not, since, to paraphrase Oxide Pang, a scary movie is only The emotionally-charged atmosphere on set spilled into real life as the young actress nearly had a paranormal good if you leave the theatre really scared. So, let Freud take a back seat on that one; simply kick back and enjoy experience herself in her Saskatchewan hotel room. a good scare. ■ "I woke up one night and this image of a woman J udah Issa

filled my entire view," Stewart recounts. wrenching!"

"It was gut

The Messengers opens Feb. 2

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30.01.07 • Arts & Entertainm ent • 19

FILM

FILM

F a s c is m v s . I m a g in a tio n

C atch a n d

D e l T o r o g iv e s f a i r y t a l e g e n r e n e w lif e

a re e l th ro w a w a y

The Captain is extremely evil and a misogynist in true Span­ ish machista form. His blatant sexism ultimately proves to Guillermo del Toro's latest film, Pan's Labyrinth, dem­ be his downfall as he underestimates the abilities of the onstrates the resilience of imagination and independent women closest to him. Heartless and brutal towards those thought. Set in Spain in 1944 at the end of the Spanish who have not earned his trust, the Captain is responsible Civil War, the film tells the fantastical story of a young girl for the film's most violent scenes. Embodying the worst named Ofelia (Ivana Baqero)and her discovery of a portal aspects of a closed Spanish society, he is obsessed with into an underworld in which she is a princess. Ofelia's de­ control and maintaining formal decorum, even with his sire to leave the real world grows as she clashes with her wife, Carmen, whom he values solely for her ability to bear J ennifer Bartoli Fascist stepfather, the Captain (Sergi Lopez), who considers him a son. When he first greets Ofelia, he violently chastises any kind of imagina­ her for attempting to Catch and Release had the potential to be a twist on your regular chick tive thinking a per­ shake with her left flick. The somewhat unusual opening scene of the film presents Gray Wheeler sonal insult. hand, rather than her (played by Jennifer Garner) attending her fîancé's funeral a few days after he The film begins right. This exchange was tragically killed in a boating accident during his bachelor party. This sets with the arrival of sets the stage for the the stage for a movie presenting the challenges of finding the ability to fall in Ofelia and her moth­ main conflict of the love again and dealing with the death of a partner and Catch and Release of­ er, Carmen (Adriana story: Ofelia's tenden­ fered the possibility of a more complex romantic plot than recent horrendous Gil), at an old mill in cy to constantly chal­ romantic comedies such as TheHoliday. However, as Gray quarrels with one of the woods of North­ lenge authority versus her lover's best friends (played by Timothy Olyphant) at the funeral, it becomes ern Spain that has the Captain's determi­ painfully evident where the film is headed. Gray would fall in love with the at­ been converted into nation to impose his tractive man who seemed so different from her and they would live happily the headquarters for own dominion over ever after. the Captain and his those around him.

The plot goes military troops. The Ofelia's fantasy | downhill from the Captain is trying to world is a scary place, | onset when Gray exterminate the last filled with gruesome discovers that her remains of the Re­ characters. The Faun, fiancé possessed a publican resistance ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM played by Doug Jones, massive fortune he and has requested looks like a combina­ never mentioned Pan's Labyrinth blurs th e lines b etw een reality and im agination. that his new bride be tion of a goat, a man, | and had been reg­ at his side until their baby is born. Soon after her arrival, a reptile and a tree, The most disturbing part of the film, ularly allotting cash Ofelia discovers an gateway into a fairy tale land that lies by far, is when Ofelia visits the Pale Man, (also played by to a woman with at the heart of an ancient stone labyrinth near the mill. Doug Jones) whosp eyes are embedded in the palms of his whom he had a She immediately becomes determined to enter the other hands. Jones seems to be an expert at contorting his body child with a couple world, but she must first complete several tasks assigned in ways that remind you of your scariest nightmares. years back while to her by a Faun (a half-man, half-goat creature).

Despite the frightening creatures that dwell in Ofe­ he was already in­ Pan'sLabyrinth is a beautiful film that shifts seamlessly lia's fantasy world,-she prefers that delusion to her reality, volved with Gray. between fantasy and reality. Many of the images are imagi­ which is dominated by suffering and personal loss. As the - Although there are native enough to have a fairy tale quality, yet eerie enough Captain grows more violent and hateful towards Ofelia, he many— almost too ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM to make your skin crawl. Characters from Ofelia's fairy tale threatens to take away her will to think for herself and use many— scenes of "M ourning does w onders for your complexion." land frequently appear in the real world and just barely es­ her imagination, but even when it seems that the Captain Garner showing cape the eyes of the adults. Del Toro uses unconventional has destroyed Ofelia's ability to imagine, her fantasy world off her acting skills as a tearful, mourning bride, the narrative makes it easy to cinematography to make the distinction between real and continues to exist. ■ forget that Gray's companion has just passed away. As the old friends of her unreal ambiguous. fiancé, the woman he was involved with and his child (who have come back to However, there is at least one unambiguous element Pan's Labyrinth is playing at Parc Cinema in Spanish claim their monthly support money) all become a merry group having dinner in the film: the distinction between the heroes and villains. with FrenchSubtitles. together and enjoying fishing and time in the sun, the purpose of the movie seems to have completely vanished.

The film may have remained somewhat bearable with a reasonably inter­ esting-subplot or supporting characters. Sam (played by Kevin Smith), acting in the periphery here, adds token comedy to the movie as a depressed, alco­ holic, clumsy and completely unrealistic character. Smith plays the overweight buddy whose physique is cause for laughter (in an often offehsive manner) 3 4 8 0 McTavish (514) 398-3459 and who cannot get over his friend's sudden death. However, the character is so over-the-top that scenes involving Smith still end up looking like bad standup comedy, stripping avvay any depth and emotionality from the movie.

The film is hardly credible, yet always predictable. Even the scenes of ro­ mance between Garner and her newfound lover, taking place days after the funeral, feel utterly implausible and cliché. The fact that the deceased's best friend would have no guilt in getting involved with the woman his buddy was going to marry renders the plot weak and the subsequent romance futile.

The directorial debut of Susannah Grant (Erin Brokovich's screenwriter) is tedious to the bitter end. Catch andRelease lingered on for 124 minutes when it could and should have lasted 24. Even if you are in dire need of an easy-going chick flick, suggestions from your local Blockbuster would probably serve you better. ■ Emily G ennis

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ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM Catch and Release chooses slapstick over co m p lexity o f em otio n.

S p o r ts

WOMEN'S HOCKEY—MARTLETS3, ST. FRANCIS-XAVIER2

B u z z e r - b e a t e r li f t s M c G ill p a s t S t. F-X D e f e n c e m a n 's la s t s e c o n d h e r o ic s p u s h M a r t l e t s t r e a k t o M att C hesser It seemed appropriate that a game between the number one and number three ranked teams in the nation would come down to the last second—-literally.

Standout defenceman Catherine Ward notched a genuine buzzer-beater with a fraction of a second remaining in overtime, as top-ranked McGill defeated St. Francis Xavier 3-2 at McConnell Arena on Saturday.

Ward, who also assisted on the game-tying goal, picked up the puck at the blueline and deked around an opposing winger, before snapping off a low wrist shot that crossed the goal line just as the horn sounded to end the extra frame.The goal capped an impressive January for the rookie defender, who started the month by helping Team Canada win gold at the World Under-22 Championship in Germany.

"I could hear everyone yelling 'shoot,' so I knew that there wasn't much time left," Ward said. "So I just threw the puck on net and somehow it went in just before the buzzer."

The Martlets are now winners of 12 straight games and have not lost to a Canadian opponent since the CIS National Champi-

onship last year, a streak of 24 games (23-0-1).

"St. F-X has a good team; they're actually quite similar to us," said Head Coach Peter Smith. "They've got good speed up front and work really hard, so they always give us a tough game."

The last time the two teams met, they battled to a hardfought 3-3 tie, but special teams allowed the Martlets to eke out a victory in Saturday's rematch. McGill went 2-for-io on man-advantages, an encouraging development for a team that entered the tilt with more shorthanded markers (10) than power-play tal­ lies (9).

As always, rookie goaltender Charline Labonté was solid when called upon, despite going long stretches without seeing any action. By stopping 20 shots, she improved her record with the Martlets to an astonishing 23-1-2.

"Our first two periods were really sloppy," Labonté said. "But I think it's good for us as a team to have challenging games like this and still come up with a win."

STEVENCAMPBELL W ard lets one fly from th e to p o f th e circle.

2 3

gam es

East Coasters swept

The Martlets closed out a successful weekend by defeating another Maritime opponent, the DalhousieTigers, 2-1 on Sunday afternoon on the strength of goals from Davidson and forward Alyssa Cecere.

Against the Tigers, McGill elected to rest Labonté for the first time this season, starting third-year goaltender Catherine Herron in her place. Herron made six saves to pick up her first victory, but it was Dalhousie net-minder Emelie Ederfors who stole the spotlight, making an outstanding 57 saves in a losing cause. The Martlets out-shot the Tigers by an identical 25-2 margin in both the second and third periods.

McGill resumes conference play against Carleton on Wednes­ day night at McConnell arena. The Martlets have out-scored the Ravens 19-1 in their three match-ups thus far this season and look to remain unbeaten in the QSSF. ■

Early goals set tone

The Martlets took advantage of an early power-play to open the scoring less than seven minutes into the match. After St. F-X goaltender Kaitie Harvieux made a blocker save on a Gillian Merrifield slap shot, forward Christine Hartnoll found herself alone on the doorstep and made no mistake with a top-shelf backhand to give McGill a 1-0 lead.

St. F-X came out flying at the start of the second period, however and evened the score 45 seconds into the frame on a Lindsay Brown wrist shot that managed to find a sliver of daylight between Labonté's left pad and the goal-post.

"They've got better speed than we're used to," Ward said.

"They've got that jump at the start of periods that other teams don't have and that makes them a tough team to play against."

The X-Women utilized their quickness and a cross-checking penalty to McGill forward Vanessa Davidson to open up a 2-1 lead just over a minute into the third period. St. F-X winger Brayden Ferguson jammed her own rebound past Labonté from two feet out, after winning a battle for the puck in the corner against a McGill defender.

From that point on, McGill launched an all-out onslaught against the St. F-X defence, out-shooting their opponents 17-5 over the remainder of the period.

That pressure paid off when sniperValerie Paquette knocked down a slapper from Ward and then launched a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Harvieux to even the score at 5:49 of the third period. McGill's second power-play goal of the game set the stage forward's heroics in overtime.

"We've got a lot of weapons on our power-play," Smith said.

"We're going to put out the players who are getting it done and we're lucky to have a number of people to choose from in tight games like this one."

STEVENCAMPBELL C aptain Denis and M artle ts rub o u t St. F-X.

THIRDMAN IN

N o t t h e firs t in c o m p e t e n t G.B. C ory Sterling he NHL All-Star break typically serves as a time for reflec­ tion on a team's performance in the first half of the sea­ son and predictions about what will transpire through­ out the second segment. Instead of playing this game of analysis and forecasting with individual teams, try it with the National Hockey League itself this year. As commissioner of the NHL, the mantle of disappointment is on Gary Bettman— he is responsible for woes that are currently troubling this league. The NHL is crumbling because it is simply an after-thought in America and it falls to Bettman to increase exposure at any cost.

Firstly, you can't put the first All-Star Game in three years on a Wednesday night. The commissioner's logic for moving the game to a week night was to shield the event from tele­ vision competition against other sports— namely the NFL playoffs— on the weekend and hope that corporate manag­ ers would take time off weekday work. In typical NHL fash­ ion, the idea completely backfired for several reasons, most notably that it was pitted against Fox's American Idol which ties up the target age group that the league is attempting to attract.

Change the schedule while you're at it Gary. A meeting held during the All-Star festivities by the Board of Governors came up one vote short of the needed two-thirds majority to

T

alter the scheduling format. In a twisted logic only the NHL could produce, this elite group came to an agreement that change is needed, but could not agree on how to modify the universally despised schedule. As it stands now, each club plays eight divisional games and only 10 games against teams in the opposite conference.The mentality behind this scheme is to generate stronger intra-division rivalries in order to increase fan awareness, passion and hopefully, attendance.

However, the system is grossly unfair on Western Conference teams, as it prevents Eastern mega-stars like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin from visiting their arenas, thereby •depriving western and typically small, fan bases from play­ ing attractive teams that will help sell the empty seats. Simi­ larly, how can the NHL be at all taken seriously and expose itself when tw of its top three teams— the Anaheim Ducks and the Buffalo Sabres— don't even meet this season? Bett­ man claims,"We started something and we're going to finish it"— a familiar line in America today connotating failure on a massive scale.

Perhaps the greatest flaw of the NHL is its limited mar­ keting abilities to an unmotivated audience. Currently, the league's strategy is clearly to place all their eggs in one bas­ ket with Crosby and Ovechkin bearing the burden on their youthful shoulders. As pointed out, under the current chaotic

schedule, a third of the fans annually do not even see the two. Under a system in which the NHL has next to zero tele­ vision exposure in the U.S., they have also sought a brilliant way to prohibit many from watching their two most bank­ able stars. Bettman and his minions need to find some sort of alternative marketing scheme that doesn't rely on players who people simply can't see.

The best solution for the NHL's popularity woes would be another competition that takes place throughout the regular season aside from the Stanley Cup playoffs. The sys­ tem could be modeled along the lines of English Football's FA Cup where teams play an elimination tournament in the midst of the regular season. The existence of such a tourney would be exciting for all fans as it presents a fresh slate for teams in the bottom of the standings as there would be two "championships" in six months. Americans who were not brought up with a passion for hockey would hypothetically engage themselves in supporting their teams in a tangible competition rather than in a drawn out regular season.

The league has definitely made progress in creating a more exciting game and one would hope this leads to an optimistic future. Certain innovative changes must be made soon if the league is going to reach its potential— changes that won't be found under this dinosaur commissioner. ■

30.01.07 - The McGill Tribune • 21

A ta r n is h e d le g a c y

SHOOTINGOUTTHE LIGHTS

S ca n d a l o v e rs h a d o w s s u c c e s s fu l c a re e r C ontinued fro m COVER

the football program began to show cracks in 2003. The University of Mon­ treal emerged as a new powerhouse in an already very competitive divi­ sion and McGill came out looking worse for wear, posting a 3-5 record.

Bumps in the road aside, the train didn't really come off the tracks until the infamous hazing scandal of 2005.

The incident led to a national uproar, a shortened 1-7 season and league sanctions against the university after the Redmen forfeited their last two games. Despite his early success, this •black eye will forever be remembered as part of McMann's legacy. Though that's not how the Athletics Depart­ ment chooses to remember him.

"He's an excellent football man and a great guy so we're not pleased to see him leaving at all. I understand why he's leaving but it's just too bad for us," Athletics Director Derek Drum­ mond said. "I think he's built the pro­ gram quite nicely, he's done some very good recruiting. It's a very hard league to play in because we don't have nearly the funds that, say, Laval, the University of Montreal or Sher­ brooke have."

This past season, the team man­ aged to distance itself ever-so-slightly from the scandal and— despite a complete inability to stop the run, which resulted in several embarrass­ ing losses— crawled its way back into the playoffs with a 4-4 regular-season record. Unfortunately, their fourthplace ranking meant a road game

against the eventual national cham­ pions from Laval, a game they lost by a resounding score of 52-0.

Despite the troubles of the last two years, McMann's decision came as a surprise to his players, who re­ spected the coach for his attitude on and off the field.

"He's a great guy and the knowl­ edge he has of the game is incred­ ible," quarterback Matt Connell said.

"School always came first. A lot of coaches around university level try to find ways to make the sport come first but [McMann] always made sure school was the most important thing."

McMann, who- said he already has some job offers, will stay on for an undetermined period of time to help out with the transition to a new coach.

The school has begun the search for McMann's replacement and there are already a few candidates.

"We are looking for a qualified head coach," Drummond said. "It has to be someone who is knowledge­ able about football but this is a diffi­ cult job at university: you're not only the coach, you're also the general manager, meaning there's a huge ad­ ministrative part to it."

With only a few players graduat­ ing this year, the new coach should come into the program with a solid foundation to build on.

"We've got a great core of guys and I think this year has been by far our best for recruiting in the last six years at least," Connell said. "I think having someone new will be that added spice that we need." ■

Once in a white, there's a little razzle-dazzle and the defenceman tries not to get embarrassed but it ends there. Hockey without hitting and emotion is just not hockey. Score: 2/10.

Entertainment. The hardest shot competition is fun to watch, as are the shootouts. Unfortunately, NHL players don't seem to possess the flair and panache necessary to really put on a show in this format. Score: 3/10.

Significance: The game is more significant for players who get a week off. I hereby cast my vote for a return to the old format which saw the Stanley Cup champs take on the best the rest of the league had to offer. Maybe even try Olympic champs versus the rest of world. Score: 1/10.

National Basketball Association

GRAPHICBYLUKASBERGMARK He ju s t couldn't find th a t 1-u p m ushroom .

c o n t e s t t e s t s

Gentlemen start your chopping.

Woodchips were flying this weekend at MacDonald campus, where over 200 competitors from Canada and the U.S. met for the 47th Intercolle­ giate Woodsmen Competition. Six person teams from Quebec, as well as Nova Scotia, New Hampshire, New Brunswick and others fought it out for the coveted wooden axe trophies that were awarded to the weekend's champions.

"We'll probably do best in our team events," said Lise Cobitz, Mac­ Donald women's team captain, before

ockey is one of those sports that will never have a great all-star game. Exhibit A: This past Wednesday night, the Eastern Conference faced off against the West in the annual NHL exhibition. A few channels away, the budding dy­ nasty known as the Toronto Raptors looked to pull closer to .500 against the location-to-be-determined Hornets. It wasn't exactly an epic tilt but I watched it instead of seeing the West down the East in a 12-9 defensive showdown. Aside from prov­ ing that offence does not win audiences, it also raised an im­ portant question: Does the NHL have the worst all-star game going?Tofind out the answer, a brief evaluation of each sport's offering is in order.

H

National Hockey League

A x e s a s s a i l M a c 's w o o d K ate S pirgen

A dam H eller

Competitiveness: The game is about as lazy as it can get.

MACDONALDCAMPUS

A n n u a l

M- î A stu d y in ■J ^sim ilarities

o u t d o o r s m

the games got under way. "But it's al­ ways conditional. Small mistakes can make a huge difference."

MacDonald men's 1 team chopped their way to the top with 1,195 points in their division while the Nova Scotia Agricultural College won the women's division with 1,150 points. MacDonald's women's 1 team made third place while the men's 2 team placed seventh.

The annual event involves com­ petitions based on logging activities including sawing, chopping and log rolling, as well as snowshoeing and pulp throwing, which tests accuracy in log throwing.

The tw o -m a n saw co m p etition draws a crowd.

e n

sk ills

Woodsmen were decked out in school colours and racing the clock rather than each other as they rotat­ ed events throughout the day to the sounds of AC/DC and Pink Floyd.

All 14 contests were sanctioned by the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association, except the snowshoe competition which is an event particular to the MacDonald campus meet. Each team member had to compete in four team legs, one doubles match and one singles event.

One member from each team also had to race in the snowshoe event.

Singles events included the Water Boil, in which participants must build a fire as quickly as possible to boil a tin can of water, while doubles events like the Underhand Chop re­ quired more teamwork.

Teams appreciated the flexibility of the event which allowed them to try a variety of activities.

"Today we just kind of sign up and go do whatever we want,"Jenelle Patriquin said, a first year at Nova Sco­ tia Cultural College, who participated in numerous events, including the Underhand Chop and the Snowshoe Race "I think there's one more Ameri­ can school here. I was kind of hop­ ing we'd be the top American school here," said Dartmouth team member Phillip Bracikowski whose men's 1 team placed tenth.

State Univer­ sity of New York was the only other KATESPIRGEN American school participating in the event. ■

Competitiveness: The word "posterized"sums up why NBA players are at least a bit more competitive than their skatewearing colleagues. No one wants to be schooled on national television, which is why we see at least a modicum of competi­ tive energy. Score: 8/10.

Entertainment The game and the pre-game both involve supremely entertaining feats of athleticism. Score: 9/10.

Significance: The dunk competition saves the NBA in this category because the game itself really doesn't mean anything.

That being said, the players seem to believe in the value of brag­ ging rights— at least more than those in the NHL. Score: 6/10.

Major League Baseball

Competitiveness: Baseball players are accused of slacking off during regular season games. Suffice it to say, the mid-sum­ mer classic's saving grace is the home run derby. The derby is the premiere event for steroid-fuelled men of all stripes. Score: 8/10.

Entertainment: Baseball, being more of an individual sport than a team one, offers a greater opportunity for personal achievement and this sometimes can lead to better entertain­ ment (i.e. home runs, perfect innings, etc). Score: 8/10.

Significance: Before the Bud Selig all-star fiasco in Milwau­ kee—you may remember Bud declared the game a tie rather than allow the teams to recycle the pitchers— the game's sig­ nificance was negligible. Since then, commissioner Selig has made home field advantage in the World Series the prize to whichver league wins the all-star game. Score: 8/10.

National Football League

Competitiveness: The main concern here is not getting in­ jured and perhaps not getting sun-burnt (the game is held in sunny Hawaii). As with hockey, it is difficult to be competitive when a major component of the game— contact— is removed.

Score: 1/10.

Entertainment: Not much here. Football is a team sport and it is hard to wow the audience with individual performances.

Score: 1/10.

Significance: The game has absolutely no significance.

Most players have not suited up for more than a month and are just happy to get a trip to Hawaii. Score: 1/10.

To recap, this highly scientific scoring system hardly regis­ tered the. NFL (3/30), meaning a major overhaul is in required.

The NHL's version came in a sorry third with a score of 6/30, indicating they have some work.to do as well— maybe a dunk contest- style shootout competition would boost the product.

The NBA was second with 23/30 and MLB finished just ahead with 24/30. So there you have it, the highest-rated league has the worst all-star game and the game many consider to be the most boring has the best. Go figure. ■

The McGill Tribune

22 • Sports • 30.01.07

SUPERBOWLXU PREVIEW

M id w e s t tita n s t o c la s h f o r L o m b a rd i tr o p h y R u n n i n g g a m e w ill b e k e y t o s e t t i n g u p b ig p la y s o n b o t h s i d e s Colts offence vs. Bears defence

The Bears' Cover-2 scheme is designed to take away the deep ball and force the offence to throw perfect passes between the defenders— all of whom are in zone coverage.

In that sense, this is an awful matchup for the Bears. First, if the Chicago defence has a weakness, it's at safety where they are dearly missing the injured Mike Brown. This opens the door to deep routes where premiere receivers like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne have made a name for themselves. Should they get downfield, they will find themselves matched one-on-one with rookie Danieal Manning and sophomore Chris Harris, creat­ ing an obvious mismatch.

Second, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning doesn’t make many poor throws, so turnovers— the Bears'defences lifeblood— will be hard to come by. The Bears generated a league-high 43 takeaways in the regular season this year while Indianapolis had the third fewest giveaways with just 18. Something will have to give.

Third, Chicago has struggled in getting pressure on the quarterbackfromtheirfrontfour since they lost all-pro defensive tackle Tommie Harris to injury just over a month ago. Manning has the benefit o f an outstanding offensive line and has made a living off identifying blitzes and getting the ball to his hot receiver. Thus, the Bears can't afford to bring extra pressure. Tackles Ian Scott and the oft-arrested Tank Johnson will need to step up and get

some push up the middle if the Bears are to disrupt the Manning air-show. " The one area where the Chicago defence does have an edge is on the ground, where Colts' running backs Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes will be in tough against a stout run defence.

Advantage: Colts Colts defence vs. Bears offence

It's the dominant Colts offensive unit and Chicago's stifling defence that get all the headlines, but Super Bowl XLI will proba­ bly be decided on this side of the ball between the“weaker" sides on both teams. Indy's defence—which ranked dead last against the run in the regular season— has frustrated potent Baltimore and New England offences in their last two games.The key to the unit's turnaround seems to have been the return of run-stopping specialist safety Bob Sanders. With Sanders back in the lineup, the Colts have been swarming to the ball and finally plugging up once-huge rushing lanes.

Indianapolis will certainly look to force streaky Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman into throwing away the champion­ ship. Heavy blitzes and shutting down the two-headed Chicago running attack provided by smash mouth running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson will be the keys to forcing Grossman into poor decisions.

But RexGrossman, while still enigmatic at QB, has shown that he can win and not simply manage, football games for the Bears.

If his line can provide protection against thé blitz and Grossman can mix in some play-action, the Bears could reel off some big gains. Chicago has two stud receivers in speed-demon Bernard Berrian and the more technical Muhsin Muhhamad while Sexy Rexy has the arm strength to connect on the deep ball.

All this has to be set up by the run though, so look for coach Smith to place the offence's fortunes in the hands of Jones and Benson. He will definitely want to test the Colt rush D and also keep the ball away from the passing game, where defensive end Dwight Freeney could wreak havoc.

Advantage: Bears Special team s

Peyton M an n in g looks to punch his tic k e t to Canton.

The Bears Unit features three Pro Bowlers in kicker Robbie Gould, return specialist Devin Hester and coverage specialist Brandon Ayanbadejo. Hester returned two kick-offs and three punts for touchdowns during the regular season and was among the top five in the league in terms of yards per return in both categories. Gould, for his part, has missed just four of his 39 field goal attempts this year. Finally, punter Brad Maynard is among the best in the business— and generated a crucial safety for his team last week by pinning the Saints inside their two yard line.

The Colts had struggled with poor kicking from Mike Vanderjagt at crucial moments in the past. Enter Adam Vinatieri.

Mr. Automatic when it comes to clutch kicks now holds the re­ cord with 36 playoff field goals. He brings a huge boost to the unit, both in terms of performance and confidence. Add to that punter Hunter Smith and returner Troy Wilkins who are both ex-

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cellent players in their own rights and you have the makings of a strong group.

Advantage: Bears Coaching

For the first time in NFL history, there will be an AfricanAmerican head coach in the Super Bowl—actually there will be two. Bears'skipper Lovie Smith was first ever to qualify, followed only hours later by Indianapolis'Tony Dungy. Both are highly re­ spected and regarded coaches in the NFL and both are defen­ sive masterminds relying on the Cover-2 style they helped create and develop in Tampa Bay. Smith and Dungy have both suffered from the title of "Never Won the Big One," until now. While Dungy certainly has something to prove to his doubters, especially after Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl in 2002 in the season after he left as head coach, look for Smith to step up. He's the lowest paid head coach in the NFL and a Super Bowl ring would definitely enhance his negotiating position this summer when his contract expires.

Advantage: Bears

Prediction: Bears 24, Colts 21

—CompiledbyCharlie BloreandAaron Sigal

S U P E R B O W L F A C T S A N D

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P R O P S

Line as of Tuesday: Indianapolis -7 Indianapolis: 4 NFL Championships/Super Bowls (1958,1959,1968,1970 - all in Baltimore) Chicago: 9 NFL Championships/Super Bowls (1921,1922,1933,1940,1941,1943,1946,1963,1985) Head-to-head history: 22-17 Indianapolis (including Baltimore) Last meeting: Nov. 21,2004-Indianapolis 41 @Chicago 10 Defence ranking: Indianapolis - 21 st, Chicago - 5th Offence ranking: Indianapolis - 3rd, Chicago - 15th Number of dome teams winning Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium: 0 First Super Bowl on CBS since Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” Cost of one 30-second ad during Super Bowl XLI: $2.6 million Howmany people will watch the Super Bowl: 141.4 million Economic impact on Super Bowl host city: $350 million Halftime show: Prince (presendy known as) American National Anthem singer: Billy Joel First team offence to cross the 50-yard line: Indianapolis (-125), Chicago (-105) First score ofihe game will be: touchdown (-170), field goal or safety (+140) Team to score first in the game: Indianapolis(-155),Chicago(+125) Team to record the first pass interception of the game: Indianapolis (-180), Chicago (+150) Will either team convert a 4th down attempt?: Yes(-190),No(+155) Total touchdowns scored by both teams in the game - 5.5: over (-110), under (-120) Howlongwill ittake Billy Joel tosingthe American National Anthem?: over 1:44 (-110), under 1:44 (-130)

I f Sources-.nfl.com, superbowl.com, bodog.com

www.mcgilltribune.com

30.01.07 • Sports • 23

S p o rts B riefs

L ast C all

co m p iled by C harlie B lore

and

A a r o n S igal

Redmen pound Queen's, sheep jealous Shawn Shewchuk's power-play marker midway through the first period held up as the sixth-ranked McGill Redmen defeated Queen's 3-1 in men's OUA hockey before a packed house of 1,500 in Kingston on Friday. Expected to be McGill's final appearance at Jock Harty Arena— the facility is slated to be demolished after the season and rebuilt over the next five years— the Redmen picked up their 100th lifetime victory over their arch-rival Golden Gaels, winning for the seventh straight time and improving to 100-50-2 since the long-run­ ning series began in 1895. Also scoring for McGill was return­ ing forward Teddy Kyres and winger Lucas Madill. The Red­ men had a decided 41-25 edge in shots and McGill goalie Mathieu Poitras came up with a solid effort between the pipes to improve his record to 8-4-2 in regular season play.

STANDINGS Hockey (W)

W

L

T

OTL P

Hockey (M)

W

L

T

McGill

11

0

0

0

22

UQTR

14

4

I I '

P

Volleyball (M)

W

L

GW GL

P

2

3

33

Laval

13

4

44

19

26

30

Montreal

11

6

37

27

22

Ottawa

9

5

0

0

18'

McGill

13

5

3

1

Carleton

4

8

0

0

12

Ottawa

7

12

,3

2

19

Sherbrooke

5

11

23

35

10

Concordia

1

10

0

2

4

Concordia

6

15

2

0

14

McGill

0

16

4

48

0

ON DECK ,

OTL

BOX SCORE

Martlets Hockey— Carleton Ravens at McGill Martlets; Wednesday, 7 p.m., McConnell Arena The Martlets just keep rolling. The ladies swept their week­ end series against opponents from the Maritimes, including a ' win against powerhouse St. Francis Xavier. McGill ran its record against CIS opponents to 23-0-1 since last season's CIS Cham­ pionships. The game against Carleton (4-8) should be an easy one and would push the Martlets'record to a sparkling 12-0.

Martlets Volleyball—Sherbrooke Vert et Or at McGill Martlets; Saturday, 6 p.m., Currie Gymnasium The Martlets hit a bit of a road block this week with a tough f loss to a strong Laval team.That being said, the girls in red and I white are still playing well, having won seven of their last eight I "games. McGill is currently sitting in fourth place in the Quebec I division, just one game back of Sherbrooke. Suffice to say it will I jb e an intense game.

McGill finds gold in the pool Veteran Ryan Tomicic and freshman Joanie Stilling were the only McGill medal winners, both taking gold, at the fourth Quebec Cup swim meet in Trois-Rivières over the weekend. McGill finished third of five teams in both the men's and women's competitions. Tomicic, a fifth-year vet­ eran who had returned after a two-year sabbatical, captured the 50-metre freestyle in 23.28 seconds. He also placed third in both the 200-freestyle (1:54.40) and the 100-butterfly (57.57).

Stilling won gold in the 200-freestyle, clocking in at 2:03.21.

Saturday, Jan. 27,2006 McGill Martlets 3 vs. St. Francis Xavier X-Women 2 (OT) McConnell Arena SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: 1. McGill - Christine Hartnoll (C. Gauvin, A. Carmichael), 6:14 (PP) SECOND PERIOD: 2 . St. FX - Lindsay Brown (S. Kelly), 0:45

Laval spikes Martlets in volleyball

Ninth-ranked McGill gave visiting Laval a scare but the fifth-ranked Rouge et Or hung in for a 3-1 victory in a women's volleyball thriller at Love Competition Hall on Fri­ day night. Laval, which improved their second-place record in the Quebec conference to 18-4, won the two-hour, eightminute marathon by set scores of 30-28,25-22,26-28 and 2518. The third-place Martlets, whom had won their previous seven matches, fell to 15-8. Christine Borisov paced the Mart­ lets with 12 kills, 16 digs, and four stuff blocks. With only two matches remaining before playoffs, the Martlets will close out regular season with matches at Montreal (Feb. 2) and at home to Sherbrooke (Feb. 3).

THIRD PERIOD: 3. St. FX - Brayden Ferguson (R. Davies), 1:18 (PP) 4 . McGill - Valerie Paquette (C. Ward, S. Denis), 5:49 (PP) OVERTIME: 5 . McGill - Catherine Ward (unassisted), 4:59

Redmen Hockey—Toronto Varsity Blues at McGill Red| men; Saturday, 7 p.m., McConnell Arena GOALTENDERS: J The Redmen are back in town after a fruitful weekend McGill: I fin Kingston. McGill managed to sweep their weekend series Charline Labonté (W, 23 - 1-2; 2 GA, 20 saves; 65 :00 ) * against RMC and Queen's with 6-3 and 3-1 wins respectively. * Those were important victories for the Redmen, who had won : St. F-X: I just three of their last 10 games. They will look to build on that " Kaitie Harvieux (L, 9-2 -0; 3GA, 36 saves, 65 :00 ) I success against a U of T team that they beat 3-0 earlier in the 1 I season.

SHOTS BY PERIOD TEAM 1 2 3 OT-Total NFL Football— Super Bowl XU— Indianapolis Colts at St FX 5 7 8 2 —22 Chicago Bears; Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Dolphin Stadium, Global McGill 11 6 1 7 5 - 3 9 This is it: the biggest stage of them all. As usual the game I I will be completely overshadowed by the spectacle that Super f PENALTIES (No./Mins.)

I 'Bowl week (and truly it has now stretched from a game into j St. FX: 11/22 a full week) brings with it. As for the game itself, the Colts are I McGill: 5/10 1 seven point favourites and for good reason. They own the ■ 1 league's top offence led by all-pro quarterback Peyton Man- !

POWER PLAYS (Goals / Chances) ning. But don't count out the rock solid defence of the Chicago I St. FX: 1/4 I "Bears. If any team can stop the Colts, it's Da Bears.

McGill: 2/10

W e had Super Bowl tickets b u t you missed th e m . Start w ritin g now fo r next year's pair.

Email us at sports@ m cgilltribune.com

FITNESSTIP

NHL Hockey— Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Pen- REFEREES: Yanick Fortin & Jonathan Trudel - guins;Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Mellon Arena, TSN It's a bird, it's a plane...no it's Sidney Crosby. The kid d id n 'tj ATTENDANCE: 250 ; exactly tear it up at the all-star game, but no matter; he has his J I Penguins blazing out of both barrels right now. Pittsburgh has | :;won five of its last six and have averaged just under six goals a 1 SACK OF THE WEEK (game in that span. Crosby for his part has gotten his name on j |[ (the scoresheet in every one of those games, racking up 13 of his | This Week's Winner: Terrell Owens—Wide j j league best 78 points in the process. | receiver, Dallas Cowboys

BÔX SCORE Friday, Jan. 26,2007 McGill Redmen 3 vs. Queen's Golden Gaels 1 Jock Harty Arena SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: 1. McGill - Teddy Kyres 6 (L.S. Allaire) - 2:23 2. McGill - Shawn Shewchuk 5 (B. Martin, S. Bloom) - 10:51 (PP) 3. Queen's - Jaime Brock 9 (B. Olsen, B. Waiford) - 13:59 SECOND PERIOD: {No Scoring) THIRD PERIOD: 4 . McGill - Lucas Madill 7 (M. Kovacevik, Y. Turcotte) - 4:40 (PP) GOALTENDERS: Queen's: Ryan Gibb (L, 5- 13- 5, 3GA, 38 Saves, 58 :30 ) Empty-net (0 GA, 1:30 ) McGill: Mathieu Poitras (W,8 -4 -2, IGA, 24 Saves,60 :00 )

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Is it time to give this guy a lifetime achievement award j yet? Probably not— he's still got a lot of years left and he ceri f tainly isn't done being a jerk.

This latest incident came early last week following the rej j tirement of head coach Bill Parcells. Upon hearing the news, I ! Owens was quoted as saying the Big Tuna was too old for the I job and that he was probably the reason the Cowboys didn't J have a more successful campaign.

Uhh, actually TO, it had a lot more to do with you and I Tony Romo's untimely case of the butter fingers. Last time I checked, you had only two catches for 26 yards and no touchdowns in that'wildcard game against the Seahawks.

If ever there was a completely unnecessary parting shot, this has to be it. When a coach leaves, especially when he re| | tires, the company line is generally one of "Sorry to see him go" I f and "Too bad he couldn't stick around to see this through." But P Terrell couldn't help himself. Correction: Terrell can never help r himself. He had to get that last shot in to remind everyone | l who didn't already know that if anything goes wrong around I f him, it wasn't his fault.

No one can deny this guy's talents but the writing is on 1! the wall. The Cowboys are rapidly starting to look like a house 1; of cards and if TO keeps jumping on the roof, things could i f turn ugly fast. Terrell, give your mouth a rest. Even Barry Bonds i f thinks you're being a bad teammate.

j j j | i

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Everyone has abdominal muscles. If yours are hid­ ing, then follow these simple tips. The abdominals are the muscles that help you perform most of your daily tasks as they work in harmony with other muscles in order to keep your balance and they play an essential role in your posture. Also, strong abs reduce the risks of lower back pain and injuries. And like other muscles, abdominals must be trained once or twice a week— three to four sets of 30 regular sit-ups per session are sufficient. In order to perform proper sit-ups, lie down on your back, knees bent. Place your hands at ear level.

Lift your shoulders and scapulas to a 30-degree angle from the ground. Hold the position for about two to three seconds, then slowly release the contraction while returning to the initial position. As soon as the shoulders reach the floor, repeat the lift. Don't forget to breathe while you execute this exercise.

A misconception is that by doing many abdomi­ nal exercises one can get rid of the flab around the belly. Instead, the best way to shed the excess fat is to engage in moderately intensive aerobic exercises three to four times a week and to maintain a healthy diet.

j

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—Magda Gonçalves Baptista (Personal TrainerSpecialist)

G et y o u r cam p u s co v erag e online a t w w w .m cgilltribune.com

S S M U F e b ru a ry

G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y 1

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G e n e r a l A s s e m b lie s

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following Bylaw 1-5 be adopted: 1.

Article 1 —Order o f Businessfo r a Regular General Assembly 1.1. The order o f business for any Regular General Assembly o f the Society shall be as follows; 1.2. Call to order; 1.3. Approval of the agenda; 1.4. Question Period; 1.5. Report o f the Executive Committee 1.6. New Business 1.7. Adjournment 2.

2.1.

2.2.

Article 2 —Question Period There shall be a maximum o f twenty (20) minutes allotted to Question period; Any member o f the Society may ask a question. A maximum o f five (5) minutes per question and answer will be allowed. Questions may be address to any Councillor, including the

Executive Officers.

2.3. Should an individual being asked a question not have the appropriate information to answer it, s/he may defer the question to the next Regular General Assembly 2.4. Supplemental questions that are on topic will be allowed. All questions which require only an opinion from the respondent shall not be allowed. All questions and answers shall be address to the Speaker.

3.

Article 3 - Report o f the Executive Committee 3.1. The Report o f the Executive Committee to Regular General Assemblies shall focus on any action undertaken by the Executive Committee and/or other bodies of the Society as a result of motions passed at the previous General Assembly; 3.2. The Report shall also address any other issues deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee; 3.3. The Report shall be delivered by the President and other Executive Officers in no more than fifteen (15) minutes.

3.4. A question period o f no more than twenty (20) minutes relating exclusively to matters discussed in the Report shall follow the delivery of the Report. Any member of the General Assembly may ask a question. Questions must be addressed to an Executive Officer o f the Society.

B la c k H i s t o r y M o n t h

BE IT RESOLVED THAT SSMU annually proclaim February to be Black History Month; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the VP Communications and Events organize and delegate the organization of appropriate events to commemorate Black History Month, for example, the inclusion of Black History Month in all student agendas.

S u s t a in a b ilit y

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Student Society adopt the following Sustainability Policy, 1.

T he Student Society will actively prom ote the principles o f the ecological, economic and social sustainability on campus; including but not limited to: 1.1. Championing student-initiated sustainability projects to McGill’s administration; 1.2. Working with McGills administration to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to responsible manage our waste; 1.3. Working with McGill toward the establishment and maintenance of space where faculty students and staff can easily collaborate on campus-focused sustainability research and implementation; 1.4. Working with McGill toward the integration o f sustainability issues into existing curricula in all faculties and programs; 1.5. Working with McGill to secure space and resources for operating services necessary for building diversity with social equity.

2.

2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

2.4.

The Student Society will creatively implement organizational and operational changes toward becoming a model for sustainability at McGill; including but not limited to: Regularly monitoring the environmental impact of all Student Society events and operations; Ensuring that the Shatner University Centre’s food offerings and provision meet a high standard o f environmental and social responsibility; Minimizing unnecessary energy use and material consumption and striving to make ethical procurements; Ensuring that independent student groups, club and services have access to training and resources to develop their capacities for equitable decision-making and environmental stewardship.

B lo o d D r iv e V o te

WHEREAS SSMU has a responsibility to represent its students; WHEREAS the decision to ban blood drives in the Shatner building was done without proper consultation with the students, as is reflected in the SMSU minutes of prior meetings; WHEREAS the decision to ban blood drives in the Shatner building is one that makes it more difficult to hold blood drives on campus; WHEREAS the both discrimination and banning blood drives are very serious issues; BE IT RESOLVED THAT SSMU allow all students to vote on whether banning blood drives is appropriate considering the current Hema-Quebec policies; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SSMU ask a question which is unbiased and does not suggest students vote a certain way; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT should SSMU choose to write a preamble to the question, that the preamble contains only facts which are referenced and no opinions so as to remain unbiased; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT SSMU reverse its current decision to ban blood drives in Shatner and agree to organize them in the past, should this be the will of the students.

B lo o d D r iv e s i n S h a t n e r

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Student Society of McGill University allow faculty organizations and other interested groups to host blood drives in the Shatner University Centre; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT any group wishing to host a blood drive in the Shatner University Centre demonstrate its commitment to educating students on the discriminatory and homophobic nature of Health Canada’s refusal to collect blood donations from MSM.

P le a s e v is it w w w . s s m u . c a f o r t h e f u ll te x t o f t h e G A M o t io n s h i

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