The McGill Tribune Vol. 27 Issue 11

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A perfect 10 fo r th e cham ps Province-wide strike on Thursday McGill students vote today K a t e S p ir g e n Momentum for the student strike in protest of Premier Jean Charest's tuition defreeze is building. The freeze on tuition fees, which had been in place since 1996, ended this year and fees will rise about $100 per year over the next five years, according to the Quebec Education Ministry.

McGill students will vote at today's Special General Assembly on the Students' Society's participation in the strike this Thursday as part o f a larger demonstration including the Association pour une Solidarité Syn­ dicale Étudiante, various UQAM facul­ ties and many others.

The Redmen deliver a crushing blow to Bishop's Gaiters as they finish the season undefeated and win their second straight QSSF championship. For the full story see page 18.

Clubs' fu n d in g p lu m m ets Haven Books cited as main cause T h o m a s Q u a il Cam pus clubs are set to receive a sharp reduction in Students'Society-allocated funding in the 2007-2008 year in comparison with years past. Down from over $70,000 last year to $25,000 in total club subsidies this year, clubs have found costs are being cut by SSMU Council in any way pos­ sible to account for this year's soaring expenditures.

"It's certainly a huge cut in funding. Clubs will most certainly be working with tighter budgets than they had been in the past,"said Management Councillor and Finance Committee member Barbara Dourley.

This decrease in club funding is directly related to the new financial pressures felt by SSMU stemming from deci­ sions and fiscal mistakes made in the past.

"There is less money this year because we have a start­ up operation [Haven Books], we have reduced capacity in the building and we have a library settlement to deal with.

But mainly, it's Haven Books," said SSMU Vice-President Fi­

nance and Operations Imad Barake.

Haven Books was purchased by SSMU this past March and is projected to lose money over the next three years.

Decisions regarding allocation o f funds are made by the Finance Committee, a sub-committee o f SSMU Coun­ cil. The magnitude o f funding received by clubs is depen­ dent on a particular set o f criteria.

"The finance com m ittee looks at the history o f the club, previous events, what they received last year and their audit score. We also look at their revenue-generating capabilities; we try to encourage clubs to generate their ow n revenue," Barake said.

When asked w hat steps clubs should take in order to improve their application for next semester or the fol­ lowing year, Dourley stated that it was not up to clubs'actions. "it's not an issue w ith what the clubs have to change,

See OPERATIONAL on page 4

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Differences in ideology have lead to divides within the movement and the separate dates of protest on the Nov. 15 and Nov. 22. ASSÉ stands for free education as a right, while FEUQ has opened talks on a post­ university income tax through which • students would repay the cost of their education.

"We're not going to propose some kind o f new im position w ith the governm ent and that's what FEUQ is trying to do," Faucher said. "By doing that, they're already hindering the movement. Before we're going to

See DIVISIONS on page 4

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"We decided to push it back be­ cause the m om entum didn't seem to be there," said ASSÉ Information Sec­ retary Marc-André Faucher. “We basi­ cally voted to hold at least three days o f strike... and to push the unlimited strike to the winter."

Building m om entum has also been an issue for La Fédération étu­ diante universitaire du Québec. Rep­ resenting over 120,000 students at the federal level, FEUQ is planning a Day o f Action as part o f a larger na­ tional coalition including the Cana­ dian Federation o f Students, of which McGill is a prospective member. On Nov. 22 they will protest the increases to tuition fees and call for a massive governm ent reinvestment in post­ secondary education at Square Berri.

Much o f the initial difficulty stemmed from a push for general, unlimited strikes before enough impetus had been generated. • "A lot o f comments on cam­

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At 1:30 this Thursday at Square Dorchester, ASSÉ will raise the call for free education at all levels as part of their three day strike from Nov. 14 to 16, a much shorter time frame than the unlimited strike planned earlier in the year.

puses were that we needed more o f an escalation o f pressure tactics and not directly going to general unlim ­ ited strikes," said Katherine Boushel, FEUQ Anglophone spokesperson and federal and international affairs coordinator.

Boushel also noted that the delayed build-up this year gave the governm ent the wrong impression o f student sentiments.

"What hinders us the most with the slow start is that the governm ent thinks it's a symptom o f students not being against the increase," she said.

SSMU Vice-President External Max Silverman argued that another hindrance to the m ovem ent is the prevalence in the media o f the Parti Quebecois's call for raises in tuition fees and their mobilizations against student movements on campuses.

"The discourse we've been hear­ ing in the mainstream media is that our universities are under-funded and the only way to solve it is to raise tuition fees, and no matter w hat any­ one tells you raising tuitio n fees is really good for universities," he said.

"We've been hearing that consistent­ ly and that's the major obstacle— that we haven't had a fair playing field to bring our point o f view across."

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CAMPUS

P o lic y s till in t h e w o r k s f o r u s e o f M cG ill n a m e Negotiations continue between SSMU and administration K ristin M aich Associate Secretary-General Jennifer Towell recently m et w ith Students'Society President Jake Itzkowitz, Vice President University Affairs Adrian Angus and Vice President Clubs and Ser­ vices Marcelle Kosman to discuss the future o f the McGill name in clubs'titles. "[The university's] perspective right now is that they want to solidify which clubs use the name McGill and which don't," Itzkowitz said.

"We're still working on the policy."

According to Towell, the university aims to identify the McGill name as a trademark that can only be used w ith explicit permission from the administration.

"The process we are looking at is not about changing the names o f clubs, but about identi­ fying those clubs that have used or wish to use McGill in their names, granting them permis­ sion to do so and having them understand that they are using a McGill trademark w ith permis­

sion,"Towell said.

Itzkowitz said that it would have to be through the internal processes o f SSMU that clubs'names are regulated.

"The idea is to have a [name approval] re­ newal every three to five years, and that's the conversation we're having right now: whether it's [an] automatic [renewal], or w ith conditions, or tentative," he said. "What we're pushing for is that clubs automatically get a letter that says they're allowed to use the McGill name based on criteria, and those criteria are [defined] loosely in our [Memorandum o f Agreement]."

Those criteria would entail not using the McGill name for personal profit— a stipulation that Itzkowitz said clubs are unlikely to violate.

“The im portant thing for us is that the cri­ teria be internal to SSMU," he said.

One option posited by Towell was that some clubs and services substitute "SSMU" for "McGill” in their names.

"From the university's perspective, we

haven't made a lot of progress because the pol­ icy's not in place yet," Itzkowitz said. "But from our side, we've made a lot o f progress because we've made clear w hat is and what is not ac­ ceptable to [SSMU]. It's now clear to the univer­ sity how we feel about which clubs we're not w illing to negotiate on, and w hy it doesn't make sense for clubs or services not to use the McGill name.”

Itzkowitz cited Queer McGill as an exam­ ple o f one such group, suggesting that "Queer SSMU" doesn't hold quite the same connota­ tions as its present name.

"With Queer McGill, it's very clear in their name that it is McGill students in a group, whereas'Queer SSMU'would make less sense."

VP University Affairs Adrian Angus said that he felt SSMU was able to articulate its concerns and also make suggestions on how to address the university's concerns, while at the same tim e "ensuring the use o f the [McGill] name for all o f our clubs."

O f course, we are not going to sign-off on a process that strips clubs o f the McGill name," he said."To me, that's a non-starter. Yes, all these student groups are members o f SSMU, but we are McGill students— when we're out in the community, when we gather as students from McGill, that's o f course what we want to be known as."

Itzkowitz said that he doesn't expect the McGill name policy to be in place until later in the year.

"The im portant thing to note is that the policy has to be partly appended to our MoA w ith the university— and we're just not going to sign it if we don't think it's good for the stu­ dents," he said. "It remains to be seen what the next draft [of the policy] looks like, what the next conversation is. I think that the university is coming at in good faith."

"We do not envision many, if any, exist­ ing clubs having to change their names at this point,"Towell said. ■

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW— DAVE WILLIAMS

McGill graduate explores space and performs surgery E x p l o r i n g

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Dr. Dafydd Rhys "Dave" Williams, a native o f Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, received his B.Sc. in biol­ ogy in 1976 and a M.Sc. and MD-CM in 1983, all from McGill University. After becoming an emergency physician, in 1992, he was selected by the Canadian Space Agency out o f a pool o f over 5,000 applicants for space training, and has subsequently gone to space twice, in Apr. 1998 and in Aug. 2007. Williams was in Montreal this past week to receive an hon­ ourary doctorate degree from McGill and speak to a packed hall about his latest voyage on the space shuttle Endeavour.

world that has done surgery in space and it was really quite a unique opportunity. I use my medical skills all the time.

Your childhood dreams had first been to become an astronaut and then an aquanaut, yet you chose to become a doctor first. What made you decide on this field before becoming an as­ tronaut?

On one of your space walks, the objec­ tive was to fix two of the tiles of the Endeavour where the foam had broken off. After the loss of Columbia, the media focused on the foam loss on Endeavour; what were your thoughts on this experience you were in space?

When I was growing up in the 60s, because I wanted to be an aquanaut, I did a lot o f swim­ ming and scuba diving and it was just a natural progression to become a lifeguard. I spent many years teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation, so I became really interested in medicine. I was also interested in neurosciences and then ended up switching into medicine and becoming an emer­ gency trauma physician.

Have your skills as a physician ever been required while you were in space?

Every time I fly in space, I'm one o f the crew medical officers on board the shuttle. On my first space flight, I was doing surgical procedures on animals in space. I was one o f seven people in the

What was the most challenging task for you in space?

The most challenging was the space walks, where at any time, we could do one single thing wrong and we could totally change the success of the space walk. It's very hard, when you're doing 18 hours of space walk to do every task correctly, through hundreds o f different tasks that we're doing, all of them very challenging. It's a lot o f fun.

After I flew in space the first time, I was part of senior management o f NASA and I was part of the mission management team that made the deci­ sion to repair or not repair. I had total confidence in the decision. In the space program, we don't take chances; we manage risks, we make data-driven decisions. Just like any scientific or engineering ac­ tivity, we went through all the appropriate analysis and all the appropriate testing to find out what would happen to the aluminium. We could han­ dle the risks of exposing the aluminium to 3000F temperatures; it was the correct decision and we re-entered with no issues at all. The key difference between now and Columbia is that we have the

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capability to collect that data; with Columbia, we weren't able to analyze or photograph the tiles.

The Canadian Space Agency is a fairly small program that works primarily with other nations, rather than working on its own. How do you see the Canadian Space Agency progressing in the future?

We will continue to play a role as a major space-faring nation. Right now, Canada is very well respected as one major space-faring nation. It has participated in the ISS and there are programs much bigger than that. Not only are we focusing on human spaceflight, but also Earth observation with remote sensing capabilities with satellites and telecommunications capabilities. It's truly a breadth o f programs that are available. If you look at human space flight alone, if it were not for the Canadian robotic arm on the space shuttle, we would not have been able to build the space sta­ tion. What I think is really exciting is looking at the future and looking at the potential for Canada to be involved in missions back to the moon, and having Canadians participate in those missions to the moon and having Canadians participate in missions going on to Mars.

There has been a greater focus on educa­ tion in the space program over the past years, especially on your second mission, STS-118; mis­ sion specialist Barbara Morgan was a profes­ sional educator. What part did you play in space education?

Barb [Morgan] and I tried to create opportu­

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nities for learning that will capture the imagina­ tion o f students, whether they are in elementary, high school or even university-level students. We created different scenarios to challenge students to think about. No matter what level o f education that we're looking at, we look for different educa­ tion opportunities to stimulate kids to think about the future. ■

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13.11.07 • The McGill Tribune • 3

SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS

Im p ro v in g b e d s id e m a n n e r Narrative methods let patients speak up C a r o lyn Y ates Doctors can bridge the distance between themselves and their patients by using narrative techniques such as those taught in English literature to better understand what the patient is saying, according to Dr. Rita Charon, director and founder o f the Narrative Medicine Program o f Columbia University.

Last Wednesday, Charon spoke at the 31st annual Osier Lecture, entitled "On the Precipice o f Illness: The Necessary Perils o f Narrative Engagement."

Charon asserted that there is a distinct gap between the doctor, an essentially healthy bystander and the pa­ tient, w ho is sick or dying. Rather than asking specific questions, such as, "when did you first notice you were coughing up lungs,” she advised doctors to simply ask their patients to tell them everything they think they should know— and then to allow them to do so.

Present at the lecture was University o f Western On­ tario's Dean o f Medicine, Dr. Carol Herbert, w ho felt that there was great value in the use o f narrative in the doctorpatient relationship.

"I appreciated her compassion for the patient, for Osier, for physicians and the difficulty o f the patiept-doc-

tor relationship," she said. "It's being able to actually un­ derstand the way in which the story is told and reading between the lines that's important."

Herbert also found that the presence a third-party witness to the doctor-patient conversation made a sur­ prising difference; often a pre-med English major would take notes on things the doctor m ight have missed.

"What I've learned about how narratives w ork has made me a better doctor because you have to look at all levels o f meaning built into [patients'] words," Charon said. "Tellers and listeners become engaged w ith one an­ other in the process o f listening, and they learn from each other. We call it narrative medicine so as to signal that it is a variation o f medicine; it's something you do and still be a doctor."

Despite its positive reception from some, Christine Sgherri, Student Affairs Coordinator at the Schulich School o f Music, found the lecture shallow.

"I'm so surprised it's being spoken o f now. It's just self-evident," Sghrri said. "The narrative should have been im portant all along, regardless o f w hat part o f the medi­ cal profession we're talking about. Someone w ho goes [in]to the medical profession for consultation wants to be heard." ■

CAUGHT ON CAMPUS

MATTPARK Charon pleads for improvements to doctor-patient communication.

CAMPUS

S u p e rb u g s m ay i n f e s t liv e s to c k

Tracts laid for research S a l v a t o r e M o t t il l o

MATTPARK The Grassroots Association for Student Empowerment camps out in below-zero weather to promote student participation in the strike against rising tuition rates, taking place Nov. 15 at 1:30 pm in Square Dorchester.

McGill To Members of the McGill Community, D u e t o u n fo re s e e n c irc u m s ta n c e s , th e P rin c ip a l's T o w n H all, s c h e d u le d fo r

Are there antibiotic-resistant E. coli in the meat you eat? This is the question U3 microbiology and immu­ nology honours student Chrissi Galanakis is trying to answer. Galanakis is working under the supervision o f Dr. Amee Manges at the Montreal Gen­ eral Hospital Research Institute and is searching for antibiotic-resistant E. coli which may contribute to urinary tract infections in women. The E. coli being studied has been obtained from beef, chicken and pork samples from vari­ ous retail outlets and slaughter houses across Canada from 2005 to 2007.

Agriculturalists deliver antibiotics to livestock to keep animals healthy and improve meat production. How­ ever, after repeated exposure to an­ tibiotics, E. coli can evolve to acquire antibiotic resistant genes.

"The E. coli in meat may be con­ tributing to antibiotic-resistant infec­ tions, such as urinary tract infections in women," Galanakis said. "Even more alarming, there is a chance that antibi­ otic-resistant E. coli may spread their resistant genes to other species of potentially harmful bac­ teria."

N o v e m b e r 14 th , m u s t b e e n p o s tp o n e d t o la te r th is m o n th . In h e r c a p a c ity as P re s id e n t o f CRÉPUQ, P rin c ip a l H e a th e r M u n ro e -B lu m has b e e n c a lle d to s p e a k to a p a r lia m e n ta r y c o m m is s io n in Q u é b e c C ity t h a t day, a n d w ill n o t b e a b le t o p a r tic ip a te o n th e 14 th as p la n n e d . S he re g re ts th e c h a n g e .

T h e T o w n H all w ill b e re s c h e d u le d , h o w e v e r, t o M o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 6 th , fr o m 4 - 5 :3 0 p .m ., a n d w ill b e h e ld a t th e M o o t C o u rt, F a c u lty o f Law , N e w C h a n c e llo r D a y H all, R o o m 100, e n tra n c e b y 3 6 6 0 Peel S tre e t.

For more information, please email: townhall@mcgill.ca W e h o p e to see y o u th e re .

The E. coli bacteria extend its fimbriae to infect women's urinary tracts.

SHARDCORE.ORG

Galanakis is comparing the genes from E. coli isolated from meat sam­ ples to those o f E. coli obtained from women with urinary tract infections.

"If the genes match, there is a good chance that E. coli in meat does indeed contribute to antibiotic-resis­ tant urinary tract infections," she ex­ plains.

Untreated urinary tract infections may lead to kidney disease, and without treatment, may be fatal. The Montreal Food Inspection Agency, which has helped fund Galanakis's project, moni­ tors restaurants and retail outlets for the way they handle meats. There are strict regulations on the storage time and temperature o f meats. Cooks and butchers must wash their hands before handling foods other than meat. If not, they risk spreading potentially harm­ ful antibiotic-resistant E.coli to other foods. The same applies to consum­ ers who prepare their meat at home.

Most important, it is critical to cook the meat well in order to kill all potentially harmful anti.. biotic-resistant bac­ teria. Agri/ culturalists must also play their part in slowing the spread o f antibiotic resistance by limiting the delivery o f anti­ biotics to their livestock.

"People still do not ac­ knowledge the dangers of antibiotic resistance," Galanakis said. "Al­ though antibiotic re sistance in E. coli is in­ evitable; by identifying how resistance spreads, researchers can devise plans to stop the spread."

Manges was confident that this research will help clarify currently ques­ tions in Galanakis'field.

"If we find this link, there will be lots of questions about what kinds o f interventions would be ap­ propriate,” Manges said. "It will raise people's awareness even more about food safety" ■

The McGill Tribune

4 • News • 13.11.07

O p e ra tio n a l fu n d s lo w e re d Clubs suffer losses Continued from COVER it's an issue that we don't have any money, or rather that we have significantly less money this year as opposed to last year," she said.

This reduction in funding will significantly affect the opera­ tion o f existing clubs and increase the difficulty o f newer clubs to receive sufficient subsidies to establish themselves w ithin McGill.

Despite current financial stability in the McGill Debating Union, DU President Alexandra Swann foresees future difficulties.

“Part o f the problem was that we found out about [the re­ duced funding] so late. At that point we had already attended four tournaments,"Swann said."We've managed to raise about $8,ooo in external fund-raising, but we are going to have problems w ith the tournaments that we w ant to attend next semester. We m ight have to have one o f the tournaments be entirely self-funded."

Journalists for Human Rights, a club in its second year as a SSMU-funded organization, found the application for funding more difficult this year as opposed to last.

Clubs can receive subsidies from three funds set up by SSMU. In order to apply for any o f the funds, clubs must put together an adequate budget defense w ith other required forms.The Club Fund is the most general in terms o f funding requirements. The Campus Life Fund is an event-specific category that designates funding if the event adds value to the quality o f student life. Lastly, the Green Fund allocates resources to clubs that are attem pting to become more environmentally sustainable.

SSMU gives all clubs the chance to appeal the finance's com ­ mittee decision regarding their funds.

"We are going to attem pt to subm it additional requests for funding through the Campus Life Fund for the Winter Carnival. We I pay $6,ooo to McGill in room fees to be'able to host this tourna- I ment. We hope this additional funding may cover more o f this cost," Swann said. ■

D iv is io n s l e a d t o t w o r a llie s Anglophone students less inclined to strike against the strike and I don't think it will be that hard to mobilize those unions."

Boushel, coming from an Anglophone campus, agreed that Anglophone students are harder to mobilize, possibly because o f a difference in views on crisis situations and also because o f a difference in communication.

"As in anything, when you're marketing to Francophones, you market differently than to Anglophones. I think that if the message is correctly directed, you have the best chance o f get­ ting everyone out,"she said.

Silverman agreed that there is a definite difference in po­ litical culture across the linguistic divide, but maintained that McGill students are capable o f action.

"If you look at our history, we were never, ever, the first school to be heavily mobilized for issues.The French schools are always the first to be out for these issues b u t... our students do end up ultimately standing in solidarity if nothing else w ith the other schools in Quebec and doing our little part towards m o­ bilization,” he said, pointing to McGill's participation in the 1996 and 2605 student strikes. ■

Continued from COVER the streets, they're already looking to evaluate other means of adding new fees, basically, to post-secondary institutions."

"I think it's really unfortunate that this is the state of affairs that we're in but FEUQ is already talking about the m ovem ent toward post-university taxes and no longer standing for fighting for the freeze," Silverman said.

FEUQ, however, maintains that they are working harder than ever to maintain the tuition freeze.

"Our position right now and w hat we've been doing for the past three months show that's false," Boushel said. "Our m em ­ bers have not wanted to go on strike right away, so that's the only reason we're not doing that. We're finding m ultiple other methods."

Another issue involved w ith the mobilization leading up to the strike is the difficultés in mobilizing Anglophone unions, which are historically less inclined to strike.

"I think [Anglophone unions] are trying to push the same demands as us, it's just that they've never held an unlimited general strike like we have on the Francophone side," Faucher said. "It's just a question o f passing that kind o f wall o f prejudice

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Today's Special GA will be held a t Three Bares Park a t 3:00 pm.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: CALL FOR CANDIDATES The newly-formed Tribune Board of Direc- The board meets on an ad hoc basis tors is looking for two student members to resolve public disputes, and seat-large to represent general readership lects the paper's incoming 2008-2009 on the panel. editor-in-chief.

All candidates must be full-time McGill undergradate students and available to sit on the board until the conclusion of this academic year. Applicants should foward a C.V. and a cover letter detailing their interest in the position to editor@mcgilltribune.com.

e le c tio n s AND Polling Station: McLennan Library (Front Foyer)

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NEWS ANALYSIS

Exploring Ottawa's role in education Should Canada's federal system mirror that of the United States?

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Since the conception o f the Constitution in 1867, Canada has been one o f the few developed countries in the world w ith o u t a federal education office.

"Education at this tim e wasn't seen as crucial," said Richard Schultz, chair o f the political science departm ent at McGill. "It wasn't seen as a nation building exercise, it was purely provincial."

Most other developed nations in the world have federal education offices: Ireland has the Department of Education and Science, France has the Ministry o f National Education and the U.S. has the Federal Department o f Education. However according to McGill political science Professor Harold Waller, the U.S. Department o f Education has as little constitu­ tional support as a federal education office would in Canada.

"Arguably, there shouldn't be [a federal education of­ fice] in either country," Waller said. "In Canada the division o f powers has been interpreted somewhat more strictly."

Like the Canadian Constitution, the U.S. Constitution does not give the federal governm ent the power to regu­ late education. During the Cold War, the U.S. governm ent decided it needed an increase o f scientists and engineers. It then began taking a federal role in education though Waller doubts that the Canadian governm ent w ould ever do some­ thing similar.

"In Canada, the federal governm ent w ouldn't have a chance," Waller said. "The provinces would ju m p down their throats."

Though the federal governm ent m ight not be able to directly control education, the provinces sometimes work together w ith federal authorities. In a 2002 paper entitled "Working Together to Strengthen Learning and Labour Mar­ ket Training," provincial and territorial labour and education ministers described w hat provinces were doing to provide for post-secondary education and laid o ut proposals on how the

federal governm ent should not fund something that it can­ federal governm ent could support them. While the provinces not legislate. are against direct federal intervention, they are not opposed Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney thas taken a differ­ to w hat the paper calls "[working] bilaterally w ith provinces ent stance on the federal government's role in education. In and territories."

August 1989, Mulroney gave a speech stressing the need to The U.S. Departm ent o f Education has three main re­ improve Canadian education "from coast to coast." Mulroney sponsibilities: collect data on American schools, focus nation­ may have had reason to propose further equalization o f pro­ al attention on educational problems and distribute federal vincial education, as participation rates in post-secondary funds for education. Though Canada has no federal educa­ education vary widely from province to province. The nation­ tion office, the same responsibilities are fulfilled w ith differ­ al average for high school graduates continuing on to post­ ent organizations. Data is collected on Canadian schools by secondary education in 2003 was 704 per cent, according to Statistics Canada and the Council o f Ministers o f Education Canada brings national attention to educational issues in Statistics Canada. This varied from a high o f 79.4 per cent in Quebec to a low o f 55.2 per cent in Alberta, which suggests a the provinces. widening quality gap between education systems nationally.

"The CMEC is an intergovernmental body created by and It is unknown how successful students from different prov­ for ministers o f education," said Hanca Chang, a media repre­ sentative o f the CMEC. "[It was] created as a mechanism to inces are at getting into McGill, however.

"We do not look at the percentage o f applicants w ho are share information, undertake jo in t work, and cooperate w ith adm itted from a certain province compared to other prov­ the federal government." inces," said acting admissions officer Amber Saunders.

The Canadian governm ent distributes federal money to Between 2001 and 2004, Ontarian Liberal Senator and education as well, particularly universities. The Canada Stu­ former educator Mac Harb introduced three versions o f a dent Loans Program, the M illennium Scholarships and Cana­ bill to Parliament known as the Education Standards Act, an da Research Chairs are all funded by the federal government. amendm ent to the original Act o f 1989. If enacted, the bill In addition to this direct funding, portions o f equalization would have set national standards for education across Can­ grants from Ottawa to poorer provincial governments also ada and w ould attem pt to raise standards in subjects such as help fund education. mathematics and the sciences. The senator was unavailable "The federal governm ent does have an im pact on educa­ for comment. tion, but it's through equalization grants,"Schultz said."There's Both Schultz and Waller agreed that Canada has little nothing in the constitution that prevents the federal govern­ ment from giving grants." need for a fully fledged federal education office.

"I think there's far too much bureaucracy in Canada Prime Ministers and Members o f Parliament have argued regarding education already," Waller said. Schultz added both for and against increasing the role o f the federal gov­ that there was no need for a change in the balance o f ernm ent in education. In his 1968 book Federalism and the power. "I just don't see the need for federal involvement in French Canadians, form er Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau argued against federal grants to universities, w riting that the f l o w e r education^

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sp eed Voluptuous wom en can brag to their skinny model friends about a news study that shows wom en w ith curves are likely to be brighter and have more intelligent children. However, this is not always true, as proved

by Anna Nicole Smith. • The "Savings Bomb," going on sale next week in Japan is aimed to scare Japanese consumers into saving their hardearned pennies. The piggy-bank, designed as a bomb, will shake violently and scatter coins if deposits aren't made. "Users must pick up and collect the scattered coins and reflect on their laziness," the Japanese company said. • An Atlanta man was arrested the other day for allegedly selling hallucinogenic mushrooms and other drugs inside o f chocolate bunnies and ducks. This takes Easter candy to a new high that's fun for the whole family. • A 60 year-old German man in court on a flashing conviction stripped down during court deliberations."It appears he sees it as art, and views himself as a living work o f art," said the court's spokesperson. Hope­ fully he wasn't pleading innocent. • In other news from Germany, a bank manager gave loans to a woman in return for sexual favours and then embezzled thousands o f euros in order to buy the silence o f her relatives.

The man slipped up when he told the woman's cousin about the affair — probably not the best idea he's ever had. • Mr.Toilet has made a him ­ self a home in South Korea. Sim Jae-duck has built a tw o-story house in the shape o f a toilet bowl, 24.5 feet tall. Sim tore down his previous house to build the novelty, which will be used to hold the inaugural meeting of the World Toilet Association.

— Sources: BBC, YahooNews, CNN.com

A

GSEM

Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill

GENERAL A S S E M B L Y ,E L E C T IO N S A N D B A R G A IN IN G UPDA TES W ednesday, 6 : 0 0 pm, Novem ber 2 1 , 2 0 0 7 Thomson House R estaurant (basem ent) FREE BEER A N D P IZ Z A All members o f A 6S E M (T A s) are invited In fo : www.agsem .ca, T e l: 5 1 4 - 3 9 8 - 2 5 8 2

O p in io n JUMBO SHRIMP

YOU HAD AN OPTION, SIR

Sick of McGill health care

Compassion Inc.

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

T im o t h y M a k T im o t h y . m a k @ m a il m c g il l .c a ith the rise o f the welfare state, countries have increasingly become the purvey­ ors o f compassion in the form o f social spending. Many assume that the state's sprawl­ ing bureaucracy o f economists, urban planners, statisticians and various other professionals is the most efficient way o f com batting poverty and other social ills. Conservatives, meanwhile, are often assailed as heartless individuals w ho seek to reduce the size o f governm ent at the expense o f the destitute and infirm. However, there are ways to address social problems w ith o u t resort­ ing to governm ent intervention. I would argue that Canada's non-profit and volunteer organisa­ tions could tackle a w ide variety o f these prob­ lems and that it would do so far more efficiently, while bringing far greater benefits.

Privately-funded non-profit organizations have the advantage o f constantly being in com ­ petition w ith one another. The process o f fun d­ raising keeps charities performing at a high level.

Donations will go to the organisations that have proven themselves to be efficient w ith their rev­ enues and effective w ith their distribution o f so­ cial services. Charities are constantly under threat o f losing donations and thus have a huge incen­ tive to prove to donors that they are achieving results on the ground. Government-funded organizations, on the other hand, face no such incentive. Canadians will continue to be coerced into paying taxes that are redistributed into so­ cial programs regardless o f whether or not they achieve results.The state prioritizes press releases that boast o f huge amounts o f spending overthe efficacy o f social programs. Meanwhile, society suffers because publicly funded social programs lack strong incentives to perform efficiently.

In addition, charities and voluntary organi­ sations usually have more specific objectives than social programs run by the state.This allows for non-profits to focus their attention on the particular problem they seek to ameliorate and for donors to know exactly where their money is

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going. When we're forced to pay taxes, we're left w ith o u t a choice as to where the money goes.

W ith donations to charities, one has the choice o f opting only to donate to charities whose aims they support. Further, since charities generally have more specific goals and are often more in­ volved w ith the problem they are attem pting to fix, they are more sensitive to changes in need and are more effective at adapting to changing circumstances than faceless state bureaucrats in Ottawa.

Lastly, state-run social programs are huge impediments to the creation and maintenance o f communities. One o f the major benefits o f vol­ untary organizations is that they create a com ­ m unity o f individuals drawn together to fight and fundraise for a com m on cause. The resulting networks lead to long-lasting and profoundly valuable relations o f care and friendship. How­ ever, the incentive to donate, volunteer or other­ wise get involved w ith a local non-profit suffers greatly from the governm ent social spending.

Why spend tim e caring about others when you assume the governm ent is doing the jo b for you?

The prevalence o f a sense o f com m unity and in­ dividual responsibility is declining all over our country and social spending is to blame.

Given all the benefits that private non-prof-' its can bring, surely the state doesn't deserve the near-monopoly on compassion that it holds.

Instead, society should look at charities and vol­ untary organizations as a means for addressing social problems. With the increased efficiency and adaptability, the allowance o f individual choice and the sense o f com m unity that non­ profit organizations bring, we should reconsider whether social problems are better addressed by non-state actors. The key is for individuals like us to harness the power o f charities and non-profits.

Let's get involved w ith our com munities and our local voluntary organizations. Canadians need to show some personal responsibility and Canada needs to privatize compassion. ■

here are a few things in life that I'm fairly certain I'm entitled to: life, lib­ erty, free speech and health care. I don't really care why I get these things: all I know is that it's pretty sweet to be able to say whatever I want, whenever I want, and odds are I won't get arrested for it. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I don't question why I'm allowed these and other privileges, including health insur­ ance. As an Ontario resident, I'm enrolled in the Ontario Health Insurance Plan and it carries over for full-tim e students at McGill for a small processing fee. Even though I don't plan on regularly seeing a doctor while at school, at $60 per visit at the clos­ est walk-in clinic, the fee seemed reason­ able. I figured if I'm willing to pay $4.50 in student fees to keep the Daily alive, I m ight as well spring for health insurance.

My indulgence in health insurance came in handy last week when I woke up in blinding pain— in fact, "blinding" is an understatement— I don't think words can accurately describe just how much pain I was in. I'm talking kicked-in-the-nuts, botched-nipple-piercing, lemon-juicein-a-paper-cut kind o f pain. I lay in bed, dreading each move I knew I had to make to get to my cell phone and call someone, anyone, to help me.

The stab-you-with-a-knife pain was originating from my lower back and as a re­ sult, moving, let alone walking, was pretty much out of the question. I spent the rest o f the day in bed after an attem pt at put­ ting on socks resulted in more tears than the first tim e I watched My Girl.

When the pain persisted, I decided that I would suck it up and make the trek to McGill Health, albeit sockless. My usual 15 minute walk to campus took 35 and each turn had to be taken w ith such ridiculous care and strategy, I'm sure people mistook

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me for some sort o f crazed performance artist. Upon finally arriving at McGill Health, I nearly spun right around and walked back out, robot-walk and all. I was informed that the wait would be approximately four hours, unless I had an emergency.

Briefly contemplating faking a pregnancy and describing my back pain as a side-ef­ fect, I chose instead to tough it out and take a seat.

Two hundred and fifty six minutes later, I was admitted to see a doctor. Resist­ ing the urge to scream in agony as I rose from my seat, I proceeded into a room and again was faced w ith a wait. Fifteen more minutes passed before a harried-looking doctor not much older than me entered.

Seriously, McGill Health? I give you second-season-of-HeroeS-calibre pain and you give me Doogie Howser? Whatever, I wasn't in a position to complain— Neil Pat­ rick Harris is pretty badass.

I described my symptoms to this juve­ nile man-boy and, w ith ou t contemplation or hesitation, he prescribed eight ibuprofen per day and moderate bed rest. He then disappeared before I could protest and I wasn't in any shape to be chasing after anyone.

Pissed, in pain and oddly aroused after my encounter w ith Dr. Doogie, I hobbled over to the walk-in clinic in my neighbor­ hood, shelled out $60, was diagnosed with a pinched nerve and written a prescrip­ tion for some over-the-counter musclerelaxants.

Lesson learned, I suppose. With ludi­ crously long wait-times for walk-in clients and an apathetic, uncaring staff, McGill Health is clearly not concerned w ith stu­ dents'wellbeing. If I wanted to OD on pills, I'd have made a party mix from my medi­ cine cabinet, blasted some Nirvana and saved myself the four-hour wait. ■

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Talkin' Albert Einstein blues B en L e m ie u x BENLEMIEUX@GMAIL.COM

f you were to stop the next 10 people who you walked past on the sidewalk and asked each one o f them who the most intelligent person in human history was, the majority would likely offer the predictable (and ultimately laughable) answer: Al­ bert Einstein. Don't misunderstand, the answer is not laughable because Einstein was a dunce (which he wasn't), but rather be­ cause most respondents would not think twice before offering it. It's a stock answer. Intelligence itself is something that people think very little about.

Over the twentieth century, the average Westerner's per­ ception of what "being intelligent" entails has become radically compartmentalized. We proclaim Albert Einstein as the smart­ est person of all tim e because he was admittedly very good at crunching numbers and had panache for incisive irony. Our stan­ dardized tests, be they SATs or high school graduation exams, focus almost exclusively on our ability to a) crunch numbers and b) speak English good.

Those o f you who have seen the surprisingly intelligent 2004 film The Perfect Score realize immediately that this is a problem and that our valuation o f intelligence encompasses a mere fragment of human talent and potential. Main character and all-around good guy Kyle (played by Chris Evans) has a pre­ ternatural genius for architecture but will likely be denied access to a decent university because his SAT scores aren't particularly

high. His best friend Matty points out, and rightly so, that Kyle's ability to draft a masterful blueprint exceeds that o f most other human beings, yet this skill will never earn him points on a standardized test.

And, all things being equal, why shouldn't it? Harvard-based psychologist Howard Gardner earned his fame by proposing and writing extensively on seven separate forms of intelligence: logical/mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic, visual/spatial, interper­ sonal, intrapersonal, musical and verbal/linguistic. Think back to any test you've ever taken and my guess is the vast majority of you have only been required to work out tw o o f these— logical and linguistic. Yet if we accept Gardner's proposition, why then should Albert Einstein be the smartest person o f all time? Why not William Faulkner for his disarmingly profound insight into the human mind and emotional condition'(interpersonal)? Why not blues legend Son House, a simply-spoken man yet one with such an intrinsic, intuitive understanding o f music that he was able to transcend the average person's linguistic abilities and express emotions like pain, desire, loss and grief through song; emotions that most people have trouble enough expressing in plain conversations? Why are these men barely a blip on the radar when we get down to discussing "genius”?

These implications go beyond the celebrity world. They could also be applied to our lives.The next time you hear some­

one speak about this fellow Fred ("I swear, the guy's a genius.

One of the smartest guys I know."), challenge them. Ask them why they feel this way. Most people, when identifying the most genial people in their entourage, will point to the scholars, the math whizzes, the chemistry or biology nerds, perhaps even dedicated med students— your average bookworm. This is utter horseradish. Have you ever considered a buddy or acquaintance of yours who may not get particularly good grades, may not be an outstanding orator, writer or mathematician, but (s)he is able to make all the right life choices? W ithout question, doubt or fail, this person is able to make important decisions sensibly, to explain and ground his or her moral and ethical choices and, ultimately, to lead a good life; make him or herself happy. How and why is this not genius? Brilliant men like Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt had trouble enough pulling their lives together, so something must be said for in­ trapersonal intelligence, for the ability to make sound and en­ during life choices and/or fully understand one's own emotional landscape. Why is someone with this ability never thought o f as being any smarter than average?

University enrollment is emblematic of a desire for the pur­ suit o f intelligence or knowledge, but you m ight as well burn every textbook you've ever read if you don't recognize the im­ portance o f singing the blues. ■

13.11.07 «The McGill Tribune • 7

T r ib u n e

EDITORIAL

Get out and vote already

www. meg i IItri bu ne.com

E ditor- in-C hief T iffa n y C h o y editor@mcgilltribune.com

Managing E ditors E liza b e th Perle Kate S p irg e n seniored@mcgilltribune.com

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N ews Editors K ristin M aich T h o m a s Q u ail Ken Su n news@mcgilltribune.com

O pinion E ditor Byro n Tau opinion@mcgilltribune.com

fter last October's walkout, the General Assem­ bly returns to campus with the first-ever Special GA taking place this afternoon a t Three Bares Park. On the agenda are three leftover motions from the previous assembly and in the spirit o f furthering campus debate, the Tribune makes the following rec­ ommendations and encourages all students to attend today's assembly.

M otion to opp ose current opt-out system - No Motion in opposition of capital cam paign - No One o f the most divisive issues on campus has been the administration's efforts to solicit up to $750-million from private donors— individuals and corporations alike. While concerns over corporate influence on campus may have some merit, we are satisfied that rules governing such donations are stringent enough to prevent any quid pro quo.

Ignoring McGill's netw ork o f alumni and altruistic business partners w ould put our institution at a significant disadvantage and w ould unduly restrict the abilities o f individuals and companies to make charitable donations to causes o f their choosing.

F eatures Editors M e g h n a M arjadi C a ro lyn Yates features@mcgilltribune.com

A rts & Entertainment Editors Ezra G lin te r Jo h n S e m le y arts@mcgilltribune.com

S ports Editors M att C h e sse r A aro n S ig a l sports@mcgilltribune.com

P hoto Editors N iki H yd e Sara Y o u se fn e ja d

Motion to lobby for creation of a student-parent status - Yes As an organization, SSMU has a mandate to fig h t on the behalf o f student rights and accessible education. In that spirit, we recommend a Yes vote on this motion, which would only require SSMU to pressure the Quebec provincial governm ent to create a special student-parent status w ith special benefits and protections. We are concerned that this is somewhat o f a frivolous m otion, but since it only commits to SSMU to a lobbying action, it is a w orthw hile cause for students and the Society to support. A Yes vote on this m otion would see SSMU fulfill its accessibility mandate and poten­ tially bring about positive education reform.

Motion to jo in province-w ide student strike - Y es

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Contributors Karthryn Dingle, Ariq Enteman, Michelle Geesamen, Jamie Goodman, J.F. Kostuck, Mike Lake, Ben Lemieux, Ashley LiBetti,Timothy Mak, Salvatore M ottillo,Theo Myer, M att Park, Nebojsa Petrovic, Clare Pidsley, Matt Segal, Adam Scotti, Laura Tindal, Vincci Tsui

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cause by choosing individually to strike or to at­ tend classes. At the least, this strike will draw more attention to the fundng crisis at McGill and other post-secondary institutions all across Quebec and call upon the governm ent to take action and help provide affordable, quality higher education to all its citizens.

The Tribune editorial board remained heavily divided on this issue, but as this m otion does not force any students to strike, we are generally in fa­ vour o f it. The m ajority felt that participation in the strike ultim ately reinforces the mandate o f SSMU established at last February's General Assembly to work toward free education. A vote for the strike w ould put SSMU in solidarity w ith many other student organizations, showing our concern for the greater student m ovem ent in Quebec. At the same time, it would allow students to make their own decision on w hether or not they support the

This m otion calls for SSMU to pressure the Mc­ Gill administration to give student groups control over opt-outable fees and to end the current Minvera-based system. The Tribune does not support this m otion and we strongly believe that opting out o f a fee should be as easy as possible. We be­ lieve that SSMU should work w ith McGill to place more inform ation about the opt-outable services on Minerva and we believe that students are wellenough informed to decide which services de ­ serve their support.

o f better-trained TAs would be invaluable to stu­ dents o f all faculties.

M otion for increased transparency in anim al testing - Yes

The Tribune supports the use o f non-human animals in furthering im portant scientific research, however we also agree that encouraging further transparency on the part o f individual professors, departments and facilities is a w orthw hile endea­ vour. Such transparency ensures that all experi­ ments at McGill fall under broadly recognized ethi­ cal guidelines. There is some concern that more stringent rules w ould put an undue bureaucratic burden on professors and thus lim it undergradu­ ate involvem ent in research. However, we remain convinced that SSMU and McGill can work tog eth­ er to create a workable system concerning animal welfare that is both ethical and straightforward.

SOAP Star Trek m otions - No Motion to censure Principal Heather M unroe-Blum - No The Tribune strongly recommends a vote of no on the censure. To begin, it is the jo b o f SSMU President Jake Itzkowitz, not Blum, to represent the collective interests o f the student body. The Principal's chief duty is representing McGill as an academic institution and running it like a corpo­ ration is her prerogative. Further, even suggesting that this nefarious "steamroller" o f fundamental human rights w ould ever issue an apology is pre­ posterous. We also resent being implicated in this m otion that requires us to print Blum's apology— as an editorially independent paper, neither SSMU GA motions, nor McGill administrators can dictate our content. In short, this m otion will cause undue strain on the relationship between SSMU and McGill, and will accomplish very little aside from symbolic condemnation.

While it w ould no doubt be amusing if SSMU Council were forced to sing "Rocket Man," à la Wil­ liam Shatner, these proposals are somewhat insip­ id— humourous m otions should not be necessary to bring attention to student democracy. Further, we have misgivings regarding the spelling in the m otions— Hikaru Sulu is the navigator on the En­ terprise not"Zulu;"Levar Burton's character is Geordi La Forge, not"Jordy;"and the liberated Borg played

by Jeri Ryan is Seven o f Nine not "6 o f 9". We un­ derstand the aims o f the creators o f these motions and have long been proponents o f GA reform, but we cannot recommend anything but a No vote concerning their passage. ■

M otion to support A G SEM TA Union - Y es Because o f the size o f many classes at McGill, TAs are a vital part o f the educational experience and are often the only personal contact students have w ith course material. However, too many TAs lack knowledge o f their subject, relevant teaching experience and, in some extreme cases, proficien­ cy-in the English language. Because o f the clause calling on SSMU to support the AGSEM "insofar as this support shall benefit the educational experi­ ence o f the undergraduate student body," little harm can come from this m otion and the benefits

OFF THE BOARD

How to relax your leftist friends at parties J o h n S em ley ost curious o f all the peculiar personalities encountered in the university climate are those who declare themselves members of "The Left.” Opposed to market economics, the divi­ sion o f labour and all the other necessary bulwarks of monopolistic capitalism, such specimens (while usu­ ally keeping to their own) may cross your path dur­ ing the course of your education. While they mostly keep to dimly-lit beer halls, repertory cinemas and after-hours bashes in bicycle repair shops, the Leftist (who may identify as a Trotskyist, a Marxist humanist, â libertarian socialist or som ething similarly silly) may emerge to mix in with the rest o f society. You may meet them at a party. They usually arrive as room­ mates of friends o f friends and are majoring in one o f the soft humanities (history, philosophy, cultural studies). But be not alarmed— for while the Leftist is an often dour and callously deluded individual, he is not beyond engaging in the pleasantries o f polite conversation.

Spotting a Leftist is easy enough. Because the Leftist is lacking the consumer ethos, they will almost certainly lack any properly differentiated sense of style. Look for tattered denim trousers, baggy sec­ ond-hand sweaters and a general disregard for hy­

M

giene (eclectic hair styles, piercing, tattoos). In a party setting you may spot the Leftist either sulking silently in the corner, or laughing gaily with his "comrades" about God knows what. Approach with caution.

Kick off a conversation with the usual repartee.

Lob one over the plate with a neat "Hey, what's up?" and follow up with the standard one-two. of "What are you majoring in?"and "Where are you from? On­ tario?" From there you can launch into the standard, more topical fare o f asking who they know at the party, who invited them, etc. If the conversation pro­ ceeds past the initial discomfitures— and indeed, the more stirred Leftists are quite gifted at the science o f rhetoric— you may feel inclined to move into some other topic o f discussion. Avoid religion, politics and economics! These topics constitute the holy trinity o f the Leftist and, like moths to the flame, usually prove to be the ones they cannot avoid engaging, even in casual conversation. On religion, the Leftist may try to tell you that the church is just a bourgeois insti­ tution devised to render state subjects compliant to the inherently oppressive order o f capitalism. They may bandy about such jargon as "ideology," "class consciousness,"or'bpiate o f the masses"in defending such vulgar, godless twaddle.

Rather, engage the Leftist on the basis o f a sub­ ject such as sport. Try: "I tell ya, that Ivan Drago was one helluva fighter!"You may try conversing with the Leftist on the subject of culture, but those indoctri­ nated in certain strains o f German sociology (in ad­ dition to their mandatory programming in the tenets o f Marxist orthodoxy) may seem resistant. They've likely not seen American Gangster or Gone Baby Gone and will only try to convince you o f the role culture plays in replicating the exploitative means o f post­ industrial production and curbing the innately revo­ lutionary character o f the masses. Some, especially those who have read much Adorno, may gleefully engage in conversations on high culture. Bait the Leftist with starters like "Man, that Baryshnikov sure could dance!"or “WOOO! HOW ABOUTTHAT PIERRE BOULEZ, HUH?" Having put your Left-leaning chum at ease, you may want to consider playing host. Offer him a drink!

Surely his weekly vodka ration offers little by means of drunken revel-rousing. Fetch him a cold lager. You may even want to break out an import: a Heineken or a Stella. And why not grab one for yourself? You're making new friends and exposing yourself to new concepts: you deserve it! ■

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

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

8 • The McGill Tribune • 13.11.07

L e tte rs to t h e e d ito r 5 HP :;K*I iÿ j SSiJ Tj

SOAP works up a lather

Hell Ben-t on French content

This is to correct a few misunderstandings in Ken Sun's article "Agenda set for special GA"(6.i i .07). A few of my comrades have expressed that we represent more of the RATIONAL opinion on campus, not the conservative. a better estimate of our numbers is around 250. And finally, I am entirely optimistic about the success of the motions. Whether they pass or not, we will have succeeded. Our goal is to expose the ridiculousness of some of the “serious" motions put on the agenda. McGill is currently a deMOCKracy, and we're here to clean up the mess; one bar of soap at a tim e...

— JP Venturi, U4 mechanical engineering Grand Agitator of SOAP (Students Organized Against Protest)

Dans la dernière édition du Tribune; j'avais répondu à la chronique de Ben Lemieux en anglais, mentionnant le fait que "the Tribune won't print letters in French". Dans cette même édition, deux lettres ont paru en français.

Depuis le début de la session, l'AÉUM a entamé des né­ gociations avec le Tribune afin qu'il accepte de publier du contenu en français. Peu avant la publication de la dernière édition, le Tribune nous a annoncé qu'il allait po­ tentiellement publier les lettres françaises reçues suite à l'affaire Lemieux. Ayant déjà rédigé ma lettre et n'ayant pas eu de nouvelles sur la décision finale de part de la rédac­ tion je l'ai envoyé tel quel. J'ai l'air un peu con, mais peu importe, cela me donne l'occasion d'écrire une deuxième lettre pour parler de bilinguisme dans le Tribune. Comme vous le savez peut-être, l'AÉUM est officiellement bilingue et le McGill Tribune est son journal officiel. L'année pas­ sée nous avions mis de la pression sur leTribune pour qu'il publie une section française. Déçus par son refus, nous avions réduit nos demandes : nous réclamons seulement que leTribune ne refuse pas un article uniquement parce qu'il est en français. Un article avait déjà été soumis en français et avait été rejeté. Finalement, leTribune a publié une lettre de Philippe Morin en 2006 sur l'affiliation à la FEUQ. Dans son rapport de 1994 la premjère Commission francophone avait félicité leTribune pour avoir publié des articles en français : Entre janvier et avril 1994, six articles étaient rédigés en français. Il est temps de reprendre le temps perdu. J'invite les francophones à réagir en français aux articles du Tribune, c'est notre journal aussi après tout.

Un jour, j'espère, qu'il sera parfaitement bilingue et qu'en conséquence les propos gallophobiques disparaîtront à jamais de ses pages.

Hasn't there Ben enough mail about this?

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What upsets me the most about all the comments that have been received concerning Ben Lemieux's article is that far too many of them talk about "our culture"and "our language", assuming that what it means to be a Quebecer is synonymous with being a French Canadian ("Letters to the Editor"o6.n.07).The province we live in today is a product ofa joint history between French and English Canadians. I was born and raised in Quebec, as were my parents and some of their parents too, and presuming a solely Francophone culture in this province denies that this is our home too. This is exactly the problem with Bill 195, it does not recognize that we live in a bilingual country with a joint history, and that my rights as an Anglophone are the same as those of a Francophone, l a ma Quebecer too.

— Megen Kennedy, U3 political science

He's Ben known to be a misanthrope Ben Lemieux's op-ed on the mediocrity of the Québécois people leads us to the ultimate question: From an outsider's point of view, what does he think of the human race ("Quebec's apartheid politics” 31.10.07)? Is this the crap all that valuable downtown real estate produces? At this rate you run the risk of being expropriated and the campus converted into a bowling complex or something else useful. (And Lemieux refers to neofascism like it's a BAD thing!)

— Marc Villeneuve, M.B.A.

Lemieux story has really Ben around the block My name is Lucas and I am a student of Community, Public Af­ fairs and Policy Studies at Concordia University. As such, I spend a few hours a week monitoring hate sites in Quebec, mostly to do with Quebec nationalists.

One o f the more petulant and virulent among these is www.imperatif-francais.org, and while I am not surprised they took issue with a Mc­ Gill Tribune article by Ben Lemieux entitled "Quebec's Apartheid Politics" (30.10.07), I am surprised that such a base and illegitimate site would be used for propaganda by a McGill student.

The outraged submission titled "McGill insults the Québécois" was from a Zoé Gagnon-Paquin who apparently works for the paper "Le Délit" - the only Francophone paper at McGill, as she puts it. Zoé is clearly at­ tempting to orchestrate a name and shame campaign by nationalists and exploit the prevailing bigotry and neurosis in Quebec by providing sensationalist excerpts from the article and naming Tiffany Choy and Jake Itzkowitz among others.

The very idea of a student from an institution as prestigious as McGill turning to such degenerate persons and tactics is obscene. This attempt to impose the nationalist taboo and the blood-cult mythology of the mystical Québécois "nation", above criticism o f course, even at McGill, is a call to arms.

TheTribune should take this Zoé to task for such repugnant aims and company and McGill should either rid itself of someone who obviously does not merit an education there or send Zoé on exchange to see the world through something other than the ignorant and supremacist lens of Impératif Français.

Furthermore, the very fact that Zoé preferred to appeal to such vul­ gar, ethnocentric populism to "diffuse these unacceptable facts outside of campus" and presumably punish Mr. Lemieux, The Tribune and McGill itself instead of writing a letter in opposition is telling. The reality is that such an attempt to punish and silence dissenting voices via ethnic bully­ ing is a perfect illustration o f the sacrifice o f reason to passion and tyranny of the majority which feed the neo-fascism in modern Quebec to which Mr.Lemieux made reference in his article.

I would like to end by thanking you for supporting free speech and diversity o f opinion in the dysfunctional and inane public debate of this province.

— Lucas Kilravey Community, Public Affairs and Policy Studies, Concordia University

Moore Trib goofs Thanks very much for the interview o f myself you kindly published earlier this week. I must commend the news and photography edi­ tors I interacted with on their professionalism. It was a pleasure to work with them. I would like to point out one thing which I feel needs cor­ recting. The introduction of the interview pointed out that I have "been identified by the Globe and Mail as one of Canada's top 10 academics", what is missing at the end of this sentence are the words, in the media. I wish I was one of Canada's top 10 academics, far from it. Thanks again for your interview.

— Karl Moore Professor, Faculty of Management

In the last issue o f the Tribune, I had responded, in English, to Ben Lemieux's column, mentioning the fact that"theTribune won't print letters in French.'Tn that same issue, tw o letters were published in French. Since the be­ ginning o f the semester, the SSMU has been negotiating with the Tribune in order to get it to accept content in French. Not long before the publication o f the last issue, the Tribune announced that it would potentially publish the French letters it had received following the Lemieux scandal. Having already written my letter and without news from the editorial board, I sent in my letter as it was.

It's a little embarrassing but it has given me the opportu­ nity to write in once again to explain the importance of a bilingual Tribune. As you may know, the SSMU is officially bilingual and the McGill Tribune is its official paper. Last year, we pressured the Tribune, wanting a French- lan­ guage section. Disapointed with their refusal, we reduced our demands: we would only demand that the Tribune not refuse an article based on language. An article had already been submitted in French and had been rejected.

Finally, the Tribune published a letter by Philippe Morin in 2006 on the FEUQ affiliation. In its 1994 report, the first Francophone Commission congratulated the Tribune for the articles published in French: between january and april 1994, six articles were written in French. It is time to make up for lost time. I invite all francophones to react in French when responding to Tribune articles. It is our paper after all. One day, I hope, it will be a entirely bilingual paper and perhaps, in consequence, we will see an end to gallophobic trash.

— David-Marc Newman SSMU Francophone Commissioner

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE TRIBUNE ACCEPTS LETTERS AND COMMENTS THAT ARE NOT ABOUT BEN LEMIEUX. SEND ALL MAIL TO LETTERS@MCGILLTRIBUNE.COM mm

The Department of Jewish Studies Call for Submissions: BLACHER AND GLASROT FAMILIES MEMORIAL AWARD FOR HOLOCAUST RESEARCH E

s t a b lis h e d i n 2 0 0 0 b y M r . a n d M r s . J o s e f G la s r o t , s u r v i v o r s o f t h e H o lo c a u s t a n d M c G ill

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t h e J e w is h C o m m u n i t y F o u n d a t i o n . T h e a w a r d w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d d u r i n g t h e C lo s in g E x e r c is e s o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f J e w is h S t u d ie s i n J u n e , 2 0 0 8 .

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• The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students at McGill University.

• Students must submit 2 typed copies o f their essays together with full contact information.

• Essays can be based on primary or secondary materials and work in all related disciplines will be considered.

• Essay submissions must reach the Department of Jewish Studies Office, 3438 McTavlsh Street, no later than April 1 1 , 2008.

Cam pus

CHATTERBOX

Q u e b e c e x p e r t...

Professor Rudy talks childhood rituals and chemical addiction Professor Jarrett Rudy is a professor in McGill's history d e pa rt­ m e n t and is D irector o f the university's Q uebec Studies Pro­ gram. He is also th e au thor o f Freedom to Smoke, a cultural and social history discussing th e roles o f gender, class and race on sm oking rituals in Montreal.

I am in sp ire d b y ... the idea th a t som ehow I can help enter­ ing in to intellectual conversations w ith students— th a t som e­ how I can be involved in conversations w ith them , w h ich is probably th e m ost exciting th in g th a t I do.

T h e stra n ge st th in g a stu d e n t has ever said to m e w a s . .. re­ A t M cGill I te a c h ... Q uebec history, M ontreal history and Ca­ nadian history. Labour history as well.

If I w eren't a professor, I w o u ld b e ... w o rkin g in an NGO. I w o u ld be looking to influence social po licy in Canada.

I d e cid e d to be a p ro fe sso r... in fo u rth year durin g under­ grad. I realized history was a th in g th a t I really liked to do and th a t I w anted to make a career o u t o f it.

cen tly I was in the m id dle o f lecturing and a stud ent ran in to m y class and grabbed me by the shoulders and said, "I'm late for m y exam. I th o u g h t it was supposed to be in this room , do you know w here it is?" and it was rig h t in th e m id d le o f my lecture so it was a very random m om e nt. Luckily, som eone noticed there was a piece o f paper on th e d o or th a t directed th e stu d e n t to where th a t exam was supposed to be.

Sunday breakfast.

O n m y w e e ke n d s, I... frequ en tly try to prepare m y lectures for th e fo llo w in g week. I som etim es do research as well be ­ cause there's very little o th e r tim e th a t I cou ld possibly do research. But oth erw ise I like to g o to movies, I like to go to pubs and I like to go to th e Y. T h e on e th in g stu d e n ts sh o u ld kn o w ab o u t m e b u t don't is . .. th a t if the y have a problem w ith a due date or th e exact tim e th e ir paper is due, if the y com e up and talk to me or explain th e ir situation th a t it's pro ba bly n o t g o in g to be crisis.

It's th a t w e can't sweat th e little th in g s as m uch as sweating th e big things. ■

My favo u rite breakfast food is ... probably French toast. W hen I grew up, th a t was kind o f a treat for a late

— Compiled by Carolyn Yates

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Sports:

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W a n t t o a d v e rtis e in th e C a m p u s C a le n d a r? F or ju s t a to o n ie y o u ca n a d v e rtis e y o u r e v e n t u p t o t w o w e e k s in a d v a n c e .

E m a il c a le n d a r@ m c g illtrib u n e .c o m fo r m o re in fo r m a tio n , o r d r o p b y th e T rib u n e o ffic e in S h a tn e r 110 .

25:

S t u d e n t L iv in g g u id e

S l e e p i n g b e f o r e y o u 'r e d e a d The science behind sleep might help you get more of it A r iq E m t e n a n

Dream on

A good night's sleep may be a scarce commodity, but its im­ portance can't be overstressed. Exploring the world of sleep pro­ vides a fascinating journey into the human mind and body and may reveal ways to improve w hat sleep you get.

The fifth stage o f sleep ushers in the world o f dreams and is called R.E.M., or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. The brain goes into overdrive while, the body is held paralyzed from the neck down.

Experts believe R.E.M. sleep allows the brain to process emotions and retain memories while the body rests, gradually returning to an awake state after about half an hour o f R.E.M. sleep. This is usu­ ally when you turn over in your sleep and dive into another cycle.

An average adult goes through this four to five times every night.

Defining sleep Normal sleep can be divided into five stages. The first stage is the process o f falling asleep— one m om ent you're listening to the ticking o f the clock and the next, you've lost awareness of your surroundings.This stage lasts for about ten minutes.The next stage, as your muscles relax and your thoughts disconnect, acts as a transitional period to deep sleep, which happens during the third and fourth stages o f the sleep cycle.

During deep sleep, brain activity plummets despite a steady pulse and stable blood pressure. This is essential to mental and physical well-being since it allows the brain to rest while increas­ ing blood flow and releasing growth hormones, repairing and re­ storing the body for another day. After about 30 minutes o f heal­ ing, you resurface all the way to stage one o f the cycle.

Rhythm s of life . Certain mechanisms regulate the need to sleep— among the foremost is the circadian rhythm, events that occur every 24 hours.

Our body responds to this internal circadian clock by developing the urge to sleep at the same tim e every day. Experiments have shown that the internal clock varies w ith age: a typical college student will have an internal clock o f about 25 hours— preferring to wake up an hour late every day o f the week. So how do you cope w ith an 8:30 class? Like winding up an old alarm clock, inter­ nal clocks need daily resetting. Visual cues are the most influential factors that affect the internal clock, but it is also sensitive to other stimuli like noise or temperature. Rather than flopping down on

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the bed with your laptop and falling asleep in front o f PowerPoint slides, prepare for sleep by minimizing sound and light and main­ taining a comfortable room temperature, which lets the circadian clock know it's tim e for bed. Similarly, waking up and going to bed at a regular tim e everyday, and enjoying the sunlight outside when you are awake, help reorient our internal clock.

Rites of rest The balance o f the nervous system is also instrumental in triggering sleep. Sleep requires reduced sympathetic activation— any event that can cause stress increases sympathetic activation, triggering a need for quick actions. Anxious musings at bedtime or drinking coffee late in the day can destabilize the balance of the nervous system, leading to bad sleep. The best way to cope w ith anxiety at bedtime is to develop a bedtime ritual— one that helps w ith progressive relaxation. Try to do the same few things an hour before bed everyday. Examples include reading or having a light snack before falling asleep.The key is consistency: by doing the same things every night, your body will begin to associate those things w ith sleep.

No matter how busy life is, taking tim e out for solid and re­ freshing sleep makes a huge difference in its quality. Sleep your fill for a better tomorrow. ■

MONDAYS SUCK. MAKE THEM BETTER BY WRITING FOR FEATURES. MEETINGS ARE MOVING TO MONDAY, 6:00 P.M., IN GERT'S. DONT SHOW UP TUESDAY, OR YOU WILL BE EATEN BY RAVENOUS MONSTERS. OR E-MAIL FEATURES@MCGILLTRIBUNE.COM.

www.mcgilltribune.com

13.11.07 - The McGill Tribune • 11

TOP 10

A lte rn a tiv e s to d rin k in g c o ffe e Because it's good for more than caffeine ASH LEY L i B etti

room reserved for dirty laundry.

For those who rely on several daily coffee fixes to remain conscious (let alone civil), despair not— coffee really is as wonderful and versatile as it seems. There are many legitimate alternative uses for coffee, in pre­ viously uncharted areas o f life. io.

9.

8.

Mutilate: The favorite pastime o f several 'inspired' souls is to transform perfectly good black coffee into non-fat-soy-vanilla-latté abominations, or other equally absurd concoctions.

Bake: An arsenal o f baked goods can be pepped up by a slight addition o f either instant coffee powder or brewed coffee, depending on the recipe, kind o f like a legal Special Brownie.

Deodorize: Used coffee grounds, once dried, serve the same purpose as an open box o f bak­ ing soda in deodorizing low-ventilation areas such as your fridge, freezer, or that corner o f your

7.

6.

5.

4.

of which dreams are made. Keep it on even lon-

Highlight: Dousing red or brown tresses in brewed coffee apparently brightens color, which means that at one point in tim e someone thought,"Hey, I think I should pour this pot o f cof­ fee on my head! Fantastic!” Coffee is also much cheaper than L'oréal hair dye and probably better for the environment.

Purge: Coffee enemas are the newest rave in bowel cleansing, replacing the previous saline champion. Do-it-yourself kits are available at pharmacies.

Clean: Used coffee grounds are an incredible abrasive scrub for stubborn problem areas like post-party dried vomit. Word on the street is that sponges, though not nearly as creative, may be used similarly.

Exfoliate: Used coffee grounds + egg white = the dead-skin-stripping-pore-minimizing facemask

3.

2.

1.

ger for maximum dermal caffeine absorption.

Dye: Economical restaurant owners give dirty white tablecloths another chance by dyeing them brown. This is good news for clumsy peo­ ple everywhere, since strong coffee also dyes clothes— brown may be the new white.

Consume intravenously: Obviously the most tem pting alternative use for coffee, especially for last minute crammers who don't have any friends with ADD. Burn: Java Logs are used coffee grounds com­ pressed and packaged into log shapes that burn for as long as wood logs, with a more intense flame and exponentially fewer harmful emissions.

Plus, Java Logs save trees and reduce the absurd amount o f coffee waste each year. Though stu­ dent apartments with a working fireplace is hard to find; that's really cool.

MICHELLEGEESAMAN Drink coffee? Oh, the scandal!

PO D PEOPLE

Autumnal anthems

It's getting cold

As the temperature takes a nose-dive and the winter solstice draws near, fall brings with it not just the promise of breaking out all those nifty scarves and toques, but also mixed feelings of the im pending winter. Here are some tunes to help you navigate the always-bitter transition between sun­ shine and snowfall.

Summer Babe (Winter Version) Pavement As The World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger - Sebadoh Dead Flowers - Townes VanZandt Col Rain and Snow - Grateful Dead Ice Age - Joy Division Who Love the Sun? - Velvet Under­ ground Cold Blows the Wind - Ween Assassination of the Sun - Flaming Lips Winterlong - Neil Young Comfort Me - Grand Funk Railroad Mr. Cool - Rasputin's Stash .

Frozen Mile - Eleventh Dream Day Ice Rose - Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band Winter Warz - Ghostface Killah November Rain - Guns 'n' Roses Nico - The Marble Index record — Com piled by John Semley.

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E A T U R E S T h e r e 's s o m e t h i n g a b o u t G o o g l e ...

Rising tech firm pioneers new business model E l iz a b e t h P e r l e You just scored a new jo b at technology-giant Google's New York office. Before your first day, you ner­ vously e-mail your boss to inquire about the dress code. Within min­ utes, you receive a response: "Don't be naked"is all it says.

In today's business climate, a casual and em ployee-centered work culture is becom ing more and more com m on, especially within the tech­ nology sector com panies. The c u l­ tures of com panies such as Google are attem pting to respond to the dem ands of a new em ployee force.

Generation Y's (aenerallv born be­

tween 1978 and 1994) are a distinctly tech-savvy generation, known for their energy, creativity, charisma and their tendency to hop from job to job on a whim.

Google's offices often offer perks such as free cafeteria meals, free use of laundry machines, a free annual one-night ski trip, dog-friendly offic­ es and an on-site doctor. Its Califor­ nia office, dubbed the "Googleplex," is described as having more sim i­ larities to a university dorm than to a workplace. However, Google's bold, innovative atmosphere and lack of heirarchy m ight just be the business model for the 21st century.

COURTESYOFGOOGLE One of the innovative aspects of G oogle is their free-food-in-cafeterias

It's a new kind of w orld takin g over Stephen Robinson is a fourth year engineering student at Colum ­ bia University. Last summer, he was recruited by Google as an intern at its New York office as part of the Google Maps business search team.

"A good fraction of the people working [in the office] were in their twenties," he notes. "My boss was only four years my elder."

Suzanne Gagnon, a McGill Man­ agem ent professor specializing in organizational behaviour, explains that the success of any organization­ al culture is based on fit and large com panies such as G oogle need to adapt themselves to what their em ­ ployees expect and want from their work. Thus, successful com panies must recognize that the power in the employer-em ployee relationship flows in both directions.

"I think there is definitely a link between what Gen Ys expect and like to see from work and what some com panies like G oogle are doing.

Especially right now with the labour force dem ographics the way they are, with the Baby Boomer group who are beginning to retire,” she suggests.

On occasions where CEO Eric Schm idt visited the New York office, Robinson notes that he sporadically called improm ptu m eetings for the entire company.

"I think at most large corpora­

tions, [the CEO] wouldn't bother to give our age group the tim e of day, but here he will say,'in a half an hour I want to talk to everyone in the en­ tire office.'And he will."

Tim e off for... show ing up The flat hierarchy of the com ­ pany is reflected not only in the approachability of its senior employees but also in its organizational struc­ ture. For example, every engineer (including the interns, should they want it) is given som ething called "20 per cent time." This means they can spend approxim ately one day a week pursuing a project o f their own volition and will be paid for it.

"For creative thinking to occur, people need to be bouncing ideas off of one another and they need the space and the time to do that. Prob­ ably what Google is doing is allow­ ing people to try things out, to make mistakes, to experiment. That will bring creativity,"explains Gagnon.

While new, innovative ideas are better fostered within a more cre­ ative, idea-rewarding environment, this approach does not necessar­ ily cultivate the same productivity rates.

"It will be most [productive] if there is a clear vision, at least in a general sense, that everyone has bought in to,"Gagnon says.

The physical organization of the Google office also reinforces

Another goes.

day

COURTESYOFGOOGLE where anything

their focus on em ployee autonomy.

Across each floor, Robinson de­ scribes numerous arrangem ents of couches and white boards scattered in clusters.

"You will constantly find peo­ ple sitting there reading— whether that be reading for work or reading for pleasure— or you'll have people throwing a impromptu meeting there. It's not so form al.The e xchang­ ing of ideas is that m uch better in that environment," he says.

More significantly, the desk ar­ rangements are within "cubes" rather

Free food doesn't come cheap A n drew D a th a n F ra n kel

G

All the praise lauded on Google's workplace environment hasn't gone un­ noticed by job-seekers. In addition to possibly being the best corporation to work for, the search giant is also possibly the most competitve in the industry to break into. Fortunately, com pany statements and published accounts of for­ mer applicants have also made its unique application process one of the most documented. Just a few (not-so-easy) steps can bring the uninitiated into the corporate cult.

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You'll have to slip your C.V. past Google's spidery Cerberus before you g et to speak to an actual recruiter.

The daring (or overconfident) can start the online appication by google-ing "google apply" and clicking "I'm Feeling Lucky."

Step 0 : The online survey Faced with an increasingly expanding and cumbersome pool of applicants, this year Google began winnowing the field the same way the com pany returns its search results and advertising placement: with a cold, efficient computer algorithm. New prospects begin by filling out a online form, complete with a "jobs cart" indicating their desired posi­ tion. The form, in addition to requesting a C.V. and cover letter, prompts the would-be Noolger (company slang for a "New Googler") to fill out a diverse questionnaire detail­ ing their life experiences so far. Some questions ever go so far as to discuss the applicant's early childhood experience with computers. The system then scores candidates from o to loo based on their expected ability to fit into Google's culture and perform on the job.

Step 1 : A telephone interview Those who score well on the written exam move on to the next step: a telephone interview with an actual employee working in similar position to their request. Google states that interviews at this level typically last between 30 and 40 minutes and are intended to "assess technical skills and proficiency." Actual interviewee recollections— numerous bloggers have described their experiences online— con­ firm that programming, hardware and mathematical ques­ tions are the norm, but emphasize that Google interviewers also enjoy asking open-ended problem solving questions.

Interviewees should be prepared to estimate how many golf balls can fit in a school bus, the number of piano tun­ ers in New York City and the total number of pizzas ordered by students at a typical university.

GRAPHICS BYNIKI HYDE

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Don't celebrate too soon that free plane flight only brings to a seem ingly endless chain of interviews.

Step 2 : Your hiring com m ittee Successful phone interviewees earn a company-paid plane flight out to the Googleplex for a round of onsite interviews and free beverages you can drink (although food and lodging are not included). There's no official number of interviews expected of every applicant, although Google press reports maintain that everyone gets at least four and online sources frequently refer to seven or more. Questions are now more technical and detailed— the interview rooms contain whiteboards for written solutions— and each individual interviewer has veto power over the hiring decision. Yet even the marathon examination session isn't enough to decide your "googlability;” Google still requires up to two weeks to reach a final decision.

13.11.07 • The McGill Tribune • 13 ■ ■

than in more traditional cubicle structures.

"All the walls are transparent, so you don't feel like you are in a box," Robinson explains.

No com petition "I had no idea what I was doing," Robinson admits of his experience writing a new web server for the company. "It was fun because not only was I learning som ething new, but there was also no way I could pos­ sibly finish it, so I was working 10 or n hour days purely out of my own interest."

While conventional com panies tend to promote internal com peti­ tion to spur productivity, progressive offices like Google's seem to stress the opposite.

"No one cares how many hours you work and no one cares when you get in in the morning. People care what you are doing, but only to the extent that it is interesting,"Robinson explains."It was strange for me and I think that, personally, I could have used a little more com petitive­ ness in the work environment."

It could be that Robinson was simply lam enting the familiar, som e­ thing that G oogle may have failed to take into account: after high school and university, students have becom e com fortable in an environment that encourages som e degree of com petition between peers. "[Students] are graded, they are evaluated, [...] and that can be a motivating thing,"Gagnon explains. "A smart com pany would encourage its employees to be com petitive with their outside competitors. Inside the com pany they are not necessarily com peting with one another, but they are working together to spur their creativity."

G o o gle -y go od n ess G oogle recently posted a jo b listing on its website for a software engineer in its Montreal office. A m ong the many requirements, Google lists that the candidate must be able to "fit within an informal startup environm ent and a flat organizational structure" and must have a "sense of humour."

Google culture officer Stacy Sullivan describes the typical Google em ployee as som eone who is, well, "Google-y." She defines this term as "somebody who is fairly flexible, adaptable and not focusing on titles and hierarchy and just gets stuff done."

This sort of employee description for a high-paying position at a large corporation may seem progressive, however Gagnon asserts that the non-hierarchicaf structure and informal em ployee relationships did not begin with Google, despite the m edia-obsession with the com pa­ ny.

"I don't think [Google] is unique," she says. "I would say 10 years ago, com panies like IDEO in California— which is a products design com pa­ ny— were starting to work in very much this way and were starting to m anage their employees in these ways: a very casual work environment, very cohesive culture, lots of flexibility, no hierarchy at all, a lot of social bonding am ong the people and a fairly hom ogeneous team of people, in terms of education and age, working in these companies."

M o re w a y s to n o t p a y a t t e n t i o n in c la s s Paid time off or exploitative labour?

K a t h r y n D in g l e a n d A n d r e w D a t h a n F r a n k e l Fortune Magazine has recently named Google the best com pany in the United States to work for.

Apart from office freebies— like gourmet food, foreign language lessons and scooters— Google engi­ neers are given 20 per cent time, or roughly one day of a week, to work on their own projects.

"Having the freedom to pursue projects means we can pursue a breadth o f unique and interesting ideas w ith o u t having to w ait for anyone else," writes Project Manager Avichal Garg in his Google blog.

"This is how we keep our innovation running... for 20 per cent of your time you can do what you think is the best thing to do. Many, many things at Google have com e out of that,”says Google co-founder Larry Page, speaking at the annual Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference in California, 2004.

Below are some of these applications

Google News

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Out o f the idea that there had to be a better way to look at the news, Google continuously searches thousands o f news sources and then clusters these articles into categories. For impartiality, readers can choose from a num ber o f different sources for each story and personalize news settings.

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Google Suggest Still in the feature-vetting Google Labs, Suggest ex­ pands on the well known "Did you mean?"function to offer real tim e suggestions as-you-type. Not only can the service save you tim e and keystrokes but the alternative search options just m ight work bet­ ter than your original phasing.

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Gmail

by Google

Pros and problem s "What is most important to me is that the com pany gives its em ­ R i ployees the freedom to explore their creativity and is not a strict orga­ nization that has set standards and procedures and leaves no room for personal growth," explains Stefanie Rosenblatt, a U3 marketing student who is currently seeking em ploym ent in marketing and public relations.

“What would inspire the most productivity for me would be if I was working somewhere where I was given a set of activities to perform, but was free to com e up with my own way of com pleting those activities."

Like many Generation Y-ers, Rosenblatt notes that the company's work culture will also prove an important factor in her decision process.

Could it be that Google is finally working to raise a previously low bar in terms of em ployee treatment by employers for the standard large corporation, or could it, instead, be setting a dangerous standard that young people should expect to be coddled by their jobs?

"I think that employers really need to pay attention to what the younger groups want and desire out of work. It is certainly not co d ­ dling to make it easier for employees to do the best jo b they can," says Gagnon. "I think that work forces create culture in com panies. Cultures develop and change as to the people that are attracted to work in them.

Certainly we are go ing to see some changes in large organizations and s p ill we are go ing to see these sorts of changes continue" ■

Google's answer to free web-based e-mail is billed as simpler, more efficient and more fun. It was es­ pecially popular back in the days before Facebook because o f the huge am ount of storage space each user gets, perfect for emailing pictures.

BETA

Google Scholar Professors tend to frown on Wikipedia citations in research papers; students are strongly encour­ aged to search actual academic journals instead o f online material. Google Scholar bridges the tw o worlds, letting users search scholarly journals w ith a familiar Google search box. The efforts of engineer Dejan Perkovic now allow for ranking by academic citations and author prominence, just like real-live researchers.

Q( S c h o la r

Google Maps The place to go when you don't know where to go.

Google Maps provides detailed, user-friendly maps where you can search for locations, businesses and driving directions. Recent 20 per cent time projects have resulted in offshoots such as the Public Transit, Com pany Profile and My Maps features which keep on making this application better.

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Blogger Web Comments While Blogger itself is not a result of a googler's 20 per cent time, Google acquired the platform when it purchased Pyra Labs in 2003, but engineer Glen Murphy realized he could com bine it with firefox and Google's ubiquitous web search to create the Blogger Web Com m ent Extension, which allows ifsers to read blogs and com m ents about the web page they are currently viewing.

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Blogger . ..

Google Earth This newest procrastination hobby allows you to fly around the world at will. You can look up that per­ fect beach for spring break, pinpoint your favourite park bench as a child, or find out if the Great Wall o f China is actually visible from space. You can now even explore space w ith Google Earth and Google Mars.

PHOTO CREDIT

"Creativity-fostering work environment," or kindergarten?

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A r t s & E n t e r t a in m e n t THEATRE

FILM

A W o o lf a t t h e d o o r

T h r e e 's a c r o w d

Albee's classic expertly treated by TNC

A savage take on death

E z r a G lin t e r If there's one thing Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will put you in the m ood for, it's a good, stiff drink. Perhaps the alcohol fueled abuse, violence and manipulation that fill the American playwright's nightmarish display of marital dysfunction shouldn't re­ ally recom m end the practice of any anti-social lubrica­ tion, but horrify as it might, the play's whisky-bitter wit and stout-black hum our still m anage to delight.

Set in the small college town of New Carthage, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf portrays a night in the life of George (Stuart Wright) and Martha (Sarah Acker), he an aging and disappointed history professor with an acid in­ tellect and she the even older (six years older, as George continually reminds her) sharp and unmercifully tongued daughter of the university president. Washed home from a boring but boozy faculty party, the acrim onious couple is joined by the young and studly all-American biolo­ gist Nick (Mitch Boughs) and his gigg ly blond, brandyloving wife Honey (Alexandra Vincent). As the evening unfolds, the unseemly and increasingly shocking trainwreck behaviour of the hosts repulses and fascinates the guests, who, try as they might, cannot look away. While the stinging dialogue of the play's surface is satisfying enough, underneath George and Martha's thousand bar­ barous jests lurk the dark absurdist elements referred to in the title, which question the nature of illusion, reality and the creative power of language.

"I w as... having a beer one night," Albee once ex­ plained to the Paris Review, "and I saw 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' scrawled in soap, I suppose, on the mir­ ror... And of course, who's afraid of Virginia Woolf means, who's afraid of the big bad w olf... who's afraid of living life without false illusions."

Since it's 1962 debut, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf has received two Tony Awards, a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and three Academ y Awards for a 1966 film adaptation starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

The play's current production by McGill's Thursday Night

NEBOJSAPETROVIC

Café Theatre does the notorious drama full justice and the cozy, wood-paneled TNC cranny in the Morrice Hall Islamic Studies building provides a perfect, physically en­ veloping venue for the em otionally enveloping play.

"I look at the space and I choose the show," said d i­ rector Nat Stigler o f his choice o f material. "When I first came in to TNC I wanted to do the show here because I saw that we could take dow n the curtains and turn it into a living room."

Decked out with disordered bookshelves, ratty fur­ niture, a mid-90s sound system and shelves full of booze, the set creates a perfectly retrogressive hom e for the com bative academ ic couple. Though the play's theme of marital dysfunction, along with it's m oth-eaten atm o­ sphere, reflects the social climate of its m id-century cre­ ation, the current production takes its script from an up­ dated, more explicit version created for the play's recent 2004-2005 Broadway run and is intended to take place in the present time.

"In terms of marriages, we still see characters like this," Stigler said. "U ltim ately the play is about four peo­ ple. There's a lot o f themes in it and a lo t o f things you can grab at but it's just entertaining w hen you come dow n to it."

Indeed, aside from the occasionally m igratory ac­ cent, the four-m em ber cast delivers an astounding performance and brings the characters almost uncom ­ fortably to life. W right's half-manic, bitterly eloquent em ­ bodim ent o f George and Acker's drunkenly brazen and sexually aggressive portrayal o f Martha are particularly praiseworthy, w hile Vincent and Boughs deliver similarly solid, albeit slightly varnished performances.

"The character herself is crazy and it's fun to play a crazy person sometimes and really get o u t o f w ho you are,” Acker said.

The performances are especially impressive given the emotional roller coaster that constitutes the play's topsy-turvy tale of woe. As ever-escalating confronta­ tions give way to repeated reconciliations, the actors succeed in making the increasingly unrealistic social resuscitations convincing, only to plunge the shell­ shocked audience head long into yet another cringe­ worthy emotional or physical crisis. By the evening's end the viewers have been put through the vicarious ringer, com pletely enervated by the play's emotionally exhausting execution.

Though Albee's classic script undoubtedly provides the backbone to any production of Who's Afraid o f Virginia Woolf, in this case Stigler's expert direction and the cast's bold performances are what really give life to the play.

Far from a genteel evening at the theatre, this TNC pro­ duction is truly thrilling. ■ Who's Afraid o f Virginia W oolf plays at TNC from Nov. 15-18. Call (514)398-6600 for reservations and more info.

High-ballin'.

C l a r e P id s l e y The Savages begins with the surreal slow motion shot of a gaggle of old women in cheerleading outfits performing an aerobics routine. This almost but not quite irreverent approach to geriatrics is the charm behind the movie.

Written by Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills), The Savages explores the com ic yet tragic reality of having to deal with the last stages of a parent's life.

The film stars Laura Linney (The Squid and the Whale, Love Actually) as Wendy Savage, who in her opening shots harks back to her part in Love Actu­ ally as the office girl with tentative eyes peeping over her computer. Sadly for the actress, her character's love interest in The Savages is not the swoon-wor­ thy Karl, but the older and married Larry (Peter Friedman) who pops 'round for a quick shag whilst walking his dog, interrupting her poor attempts at becom ing a playwright.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (M ission: Im possibles, Capote) plays opposite Linney as her brother Jon, a college professor scribbling obscure academic papers about Brechtian epic theatre. The siblings are forced to reunite after some unwelcome news about their father (Philip Bosco).

"He's writing on walls with his shit,"Wendy tells her brother. He is slipping into dementia and what is more, his girlfriend of 20 years has died and, as a result, he needs to be relocated out of her house in Sun City.

The reuniting of a family that has never really been close is destined for all sorts of awkwardness and anxiety. Linney and Hoffman master the por­ trayal of siblings who regress to their childhood state of petty squabbling, jealousy and shielded affection for one another. Although their father is largely silent in the movie, the camera never forgets his presence, creating a portrait of pathos by focussing on his pained expression while his children argue around him.

A major point in the film is the fight the siblings have outside a retire­ ment home from which their father has been rejected. Jon believes that his sister's insistence on finding a "nice" home is set up merely to mitigate her own guilt and that ultimately retirement homes are all the same: A place where people go to die. The serious silence that stretches out after this cold hard truth underscores the rift between brother and sister and foregrounds the solemn certainty of human mortality which has taken a backseat to sib­ ling squabbling.

The Savages is a long film. Although it was shot in only 30 days, the result continues for 133 minutes, and the length could be a reflection of the characters'awful and drawn out wait for their father's inevitable death. As real and as heart-rending as it is, The Savages is a touching film about a topic that could easily have been over­ sentimentalised, but isn't. Instead, Jenkins' subtle observations and sardonic humour tactfully com bine to create a new genre : the coming-of-death comedy. ■ The Savages sees wide release in December. As usual, check www.cinemafor WORSTPREVIEWS.COM montreal.com Brace yourself for a solid PSH performance. showtimes.

POP RHETORIC

In need of basic training L a u r a T in d a l

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here's been a lot of anger directed towards Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter'Chapman these days, over his appar­ ently racist comments about his son's girlfriend. This self­ less bail bondsman has captured at least 6,500 fugitives keep­ ing America safe, and I think his leash deserves a little slack.

How could Dog be a racist? He is an all-around Ameri­ can family man who captures fugitives for money. Right in the tape, Dog said that he's not against the girlfriend because she's black— he has no problem with that— "it's because we use the word nigger sometimes here. I'm not gonna take a chance ever in life of losing everything I've worked for 30 years because some fucking nigger heard us say nigger and turned us in to the Enquirer magazine." He's clearly not racist. Dog just doesn't want people to know that he uses racists slurs. Of course once the news broke, Dog must have been sitting at home chuck­ ling at the irony that it was his son who turned him in to the National Enquirer, and that he probably got that idea from this conversation.

Naturally, when the tape came out, Dog came running

with his tail between his legs, w ith the "hope no one died think­ ing I meant that word." I hope he was fast enough to stop that from being the last dying thought o f a few poor Americans, but you've got to think some fans passed too soon.Those w ho sur­ vived, though, heard Dog explain that he thought he was black and therefore allowed to use the word. Usually your own skin colour is a tricky thing to get confused about, but his explana­ tion was worthy of Stephen Colbert.

"My whole life I've been called a half-breed, a convict, king o f the trailer trash, so when I stood the re ... I felt that I could em­ brace as brothers.” All the non-convict-half-breed black people out there m ight feel a little offended by this, but somebody has to give him props for trying. Lucky for everybody, Dog said he has"now learned I'm not black at all."Thank god he bought that mirror— maybe he'll cut his hair now too.

Still, Dog's estranged son Chris wants to stress that his fa­ ther is not like this.

"My dad is not a racist man. If he was he would have no hair. He'd have swastikas on his body and he would go around

talking about Hitler." I'd like to think that this was the only defini­ tion o f racist, although by this logic Michael Richards' standup has been greatly underappreciated.

But now Dog is making up for his bad behaviour. He took a trip to George Washington's home in Virginia where he dis­ covered a hill where five slave families were buried w ithout any markers for their graves. Because o f how bad he feels about his racist comments, Dog is now in the process o f making sure that when he dies, he'll be buried right in the middle o f that black family's grave- no grave stone or anything. That's how much he loves black people. I'm sure that family is just rolling in their graves with anticipation.

So how can you stay mad at a guy like this? Maybe he was a little racist, and maybe his.apologies and attempts at redemp­ tion were stupid and irrational, but he's just a run-of-the-mill American bounty hunter, what more could be expected from him? We have to throw Dog a bone and let him get back to fighting crime, because as he says:"I don't arrest for myself. I ar­ rest for America."United we stand. One nation under Dog. ■

13.11.07 «The McGill Tribune • 15

www.mcgilltribune.com

Previews

BOOKS

F ig h tin g c a n c e r w ith b r a n Book challenges North American lifestyle V i n c c i T su i As with many other chronic diseases, people are ob­ sessed with finding the cure for cancer. Cancer researchers dream of the fame and accolades that will come with find­ ing The Cure, while foundations for every type o f cancer under the sun have sprung up to funnel money into the cause. UQAM professors Dr. Richard Béliveau and Dr. Denis Gingras buck the trend by asking, what if people just didn't get cancer in the first place?

Last year, the pair released their bestselling book Foods that Fight Cancer, which used simple analogies to depict the mechanisms behind the formation o f cancer before explaining that diet was one of the main strategies to inter­ rupt these processes. The book touted a variety o f foods as cancer fighters, including cabbage, garlic, onions, turmeric (a spice commonly used in India), green tea, wine and choc­ olate. The public's response to the book however, was one that Béliveau had not expected. "People don't know how to use turmeric, they don't know how to drink green tea, they don't know how to cook cabbage right and people were just making these crazy recipes," he said. "I didn't want people to'medicalize'the act o f eating; I w antthe act of eating to be again, an act o f plea­ sure, but based on scientific and medical evidence."

To achieve this goal, Béliveau and Gingras enlisted the help o f Le Fondation Serge^Bruyère, an organization of the best chefs in Quebec, to create the recipes for their new­ est release, Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer. Many o f the dishes are inspired by Chinese, Indian, Japanese, or Mediter­ ranean cuisines, regions known to have lower cancer rates than in North America, partially due to the abundance of cancer-fighting foods in their traditional diets.

At first glance, dishes with names like Carpaccio of Red Tuna with Citrus and Avocado Quenelles and prepara­ tion times of over 30 minutes make it seem like the fight against cancer would be best left to the professionals.

In addition, the ethnic recipes featured in the book may scare off those who are unfamiliar with the ingredients or

cooking techniques.

While Béliveau sympathized with the problem of lack of tim e and resources that some people face, he also hoped that the recipes would inspire people to re-evaluate their current diet and lifestyle.

"We have 24 hours in a day. Taking care o f your health for half an hour, I think it's quite reasonable. We have to rein­ vent our schedule; we have to set aside time for eating," he said. "We North Americans disrespect food; we see food as a way to get calories, to sustain ourselves. This is not the way food is seen in most parts o f the planet."

Béliveau went on to explain that the point o f the book was not to say that cancer could be prevented only by mak­ ing the recipes, but to inspire people to take personal re­ sponsibility for their health. Whether the food comes from your kitchen or a restaurant, it is still better than replacing your meals with vitamin pills.

"Vitamin supplementation in our population validates our bad eating habits. People think that if they take vitamin supplementation they can eat junk, and that's wrong," he said. "In fact, more studies show that vitamin supplementa­ tion increases the risk o f cancer."

Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer is not just a cook­ book; the recipes are preceded by a section similar to the first book, where layman's terms are used to explain the role o f inflammation and obesity in the development o f cancer.

The cancer-fighting foods from the first book are also rein­ troduced, with mushrooms and seaweed joining the roster.

The book also offers helpful tips for storing and preparing the foods to enhance their anti-cancer properties in every­ day cooking.

While most students may be intimidated by some of the recipes in the book, it remains a good resource for those who are curious about preventing cancer through food and who want a simplified, yet accurate explanation o f how can­ cer manifests in the body. Although one may not tackle the Mushroom and Cappuccino Velouté right away, Béliveau in­ cluded some o f his own recipes which may be worth start­ ing off with when time allows. ■

Music. Kids Eat Crayons. Nov. 14 at 8:00p.m.; Divan Orange (4234 St. Laurent).

If your musical tastes tend equally towards Charles Mingus, lounge music, Manowar and Mr. Bungle, this local experimental jazz/metal is likely right up your alley. Zappaphiles and John Zorn nuts are bound to dig all the genre­ bending and effusive musical proficiency. C heckout www.myspace.com/kidseatcrayons for a taste.

Film. Amnesty McGill's Human Rights Film Festival. Nov. 12-16. Presented in conjunction w ith Concordia Students, the film festival takes aim at human rights violators from around the globe. Check your smug sense o f Western entitlem ent at the door and take in one o f the many free documentary screenings, all o f which aim to raise awareness o f a panoply o f global con­ cerns. Visit httpV/aimcgill.blogspot.com for more info.

"...W H ILE I'M LO O KIN G FORW ARD TO THERE WILL BE BLOOD, I W ORRY T H A T IT W ILL O N LY CEM ENT PTA'S SHIFT A W A Y FROM HIS EARLIER, MORE A LT M A N E S Q U E W O RK."

DO HAUGHTY, OSTENTATIOUS SENTENCES LIKETHIS JUST MELT YOUR BUTTER? FIND A HOME INTHE PAGES OF A&E! THOUGHT REFORM MEETINGS EVERY MONDAY AT 5:30 IN GERT'S PUB.

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in co lla b o ra tio n w ith I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D E N T S E R V IC E S c o rd ia lly invites A L L

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B.C. b a n d s p i e s s u c c e s s The quest for the perfect pop epic L a u r a T in d a l It all started with being locked in a room full of sheet music.

"Jane [Gowan] and I met at music school. We were work­ ing for the school in the summer and they had boxes and boxes o f unsorted sheet music, [which] somebody had to put it in order. We were essentially trapped in this little room together going through all this old sheet music and it was just fu n ... we started talking a lot about what kind of music we liked and it was sort o f a natural progression that we'd say'hey, lets get together and play some o f these songs,'and that's what we started doing.'"That was the first step in the evolution of Spygirl, said Koralee Tonack, the talented lead vocalist o f the Vancouver-based band. Now comprised of six musicians, Spygirl has just released their second full-length album Pieces of Evidence, a lush and melodic set of tender yet upbeat songs. Starting with their previous album, the band has been striving for that "perfect pop-epic," and the songs on Pieces bear the results of that quest.

"A song that you hear and that you can relate to... that really pinpoints a moment in your life and makes you respond— makes you cry or makes you laugh or makes you feel something real. But at the same time is just a fun song, not too heavy; and not too weepy. A good flow-y pop," Tonack said.

This description rings true for many o f the songs on Pieces, an album o f warm, luxurious pop. Pianos, trumpets and drums effortlessly weave together in Spygirl's music, but Tonack's amazing, velvety voice is the true heart o f the songs.

The instruments intermingle beautifully, but it's Tonack's vo­ cals that they build around.

"I'm one o f the luckiest people in the world," Tonack admitted. "I really lové the lyrics that the songwriters in our band write... I find them really evocative and really easy to get inside and interpret. But I love to sing, that's the thing, it transcends everything else."

When Tonack and Gowan first started working to­ gether twelve years ago, they formed Time Waits with guitarist Jon Roper. This acoustically based band evolved as Eduardo Ottoni and James Ong joined in, and soon a new sound emerged.

"Here we were, now a five-piece band at that point, and we were making music that was really leaps and bounds away from when we originally started out,"Tonack said. “We wanted something that was more pop-y sounding... that had a feel of its own."Hence Spygirl was formed. In 2001 their self-titled debut album was nominated for a West Coast Music Award, and in 2005 bass player Al Maclnnes joined the band to bring something new to Pieces.

"I'd say it's a more cohesive than our last album, it's a more mature album,''Tonack said."It’s really the distilled prod­ ucts o f all o f our experiences and it's been a pretty full bunch o f years for all o f us, so there's some good life in there."

On top of this, legendary producerTom Rothrockcame on board, bringing the whole thing together.

“It was a pleasure working with him, he is a really won­ derful person,"Tonack said o f the man who has worked with such artists as Beck, Elliot Smith, Sloan and James Blunt."The way that we approach music, and the way that we looked at Spygirl really fit together perfectly."

With the new album recently released and an East coast tour coming up in the Spring, Spygirl are just happy to be doing what they're doing.

“We're excited to create the same kind o f passion and the same kind o f excitement that we feel when we're lis­ tening to music that we really love," Tonack said. "And we plan on getting over to Montreal in our spring tour; we love Montreal."■

it s F R E E !

FREE admission, FREE skate rental and...FREE refreshments!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th 2007, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM at The Atrium, Le 1000 de la Gauchetière C o m e o n o u t & ta k e t h a t w e ll-d e s e rv e d s tu d y b re a k !

F un tim e s w ith fr ie n d s w ill d e fin it e ly re c h a rg e y o u r b a tte rie s !

S P O T S A R E L IM IT E D ! S IG N U P N O W !

REGISTRATION ENDS: NOV. 2th. TUES. I n te r n a tio n a l s t u d e n t s M U S T R EGISTER IN PER SO N a n d p r e s e n t th e ir M c G ill I n t i l H e a lth In s u r a n c e (IH I) c a r d o r M c G ill ID C a rd at: In te rn a tio n a l S tu d e n t S e rvice s (ISS) B ro w n S tu d e n t S e rvice s B u ild in g , 3 6 0 0 M c T a v is h , S u ite 321 5 COURTESY HYPE MUSIC

Pop and cirumstance: Spygirl.

The McGill Tribune

16 • Arts & Entertainment ■13.11.07

Reviews

FILM

Jo y Division. Still (Collector's Edi­ tion). All of these preponderant "Deluxe" and "Collector" and "Ex­ panded" edition releases lately, besides being an abortive at­ tem pt by labels to differentiate their product from more widelydownloaded content, seem to appeal to a very narrow dem o­ graphic. On the one end, those not conversant in the parlance of Joy Division (or whatever group) seem unlikely to rush out and drop more m oney on a version with bonus tracks and on the other, fanatics are bound to have accum u­ lated anything the band has recorded, be it through tape-trading networks, imports or eBay (or BitTorrent, which renders obsolete all of the above). Well, those huddled few still committed to the largely outm oded institution of the record store (or the CD) or those digital-savvy but ironically-inclined enough to get off on buying an odds-and-ends album originally released in 1981 to cut into the profit margins of bootleggers, may be interested in this album. Content-wise, it's still as haphazard as it ever was, with tracks like "Glass,""Dead Souls"and "The Only M istake"sounding better than ever and the sloppily-recorded live versions of "Disorder" or the Velvet's "Sister Ray" still proving as m uddy (and not in that charm ing way) and underwhelm ing even upon digital remaster. This "Collector's Edition" includes a bonus disc containing a 1980 show which is as passably listenable as the album itself.

This collection is bound to appeal, well, only to collectors. Joy Division neo­ phytes would be better served picking up the similarly packaged rerelease of 1979's Unknown Pleasures.

— John Semley

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sharp narrative, the emotional investment in his survival grows by the minute. With very little dialogue, Brolin conveys astonishing depth through motion, non-verbal communi­ cation, even the occasional grunt. After over two decades of work in the industry, he proves himself to be among the finest actors of our time.

Rounding out the cast is Tommy Lee Jones' disillu­ sioned sheriff Ed Tom Bell, whose life has been steeped in the blood and senseless brutality of the Deep South. He is among the last of a dying breed; his career has been marked by death time and again, yet he correlates the plummet of his society with an abandonment of manners and civility.

Against his better judgment, he becomes obsessed with saving Llewellyn from his seemingly inescapable fate and discovering the identity of the mythological, almost ghost­ like Chigurh.

For those who found The Ladykillers, O Brother Where Art Thou?and Intolerable Cruelty too fluffy or trivial, No Coun­ try is a reaffirmation of the Coens' unequalled competence and versatility. Clocking in at two hours and two minutes, No Country is among the most gripping works you will ever watch. Devoid of any score whatsoever, every breath, gust of wind or tap of a finger commands your attention, and all the cast members treat their roles with enough affection and subtlety to make such an audacious move work effectively.

Long-time collaborator Roger Deakins provides picturesque cinematography of the desertic south, delivering some gor­ geous still shots and ably doing justice to Cormac McCar­ thy's novel of same name.

The film itself is the sum of its parts, a metaphori­ cal embodiment of its three fathers, bearing Llewellyn's magnetism and cleverness, Bell's sense of irony and Chigurh's nihilism and unsettling fixation with death.

But more than anything, No Country For Old Men is a breathtaking experience. ■

B en L e m ie u x There's really no bush to beat around when it comes to the Coen brothers' latest. No Country For Old Men is the best movie of the year, if not the past five.

In keeping with the rest of the Coen cannon, the plot is sparse, and the focus is on seemingly insignificant ac­ tions, foolproof plans and bizarre twists of fate having dire consequences for the characters at the heart of the story. No Countrys narrative follows Vietnam veteran Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin, who recently oozed some serious evil in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror), whose recreational hunting in the Texas scrubland leads him to the site of a bungled drug deal.

The blood on the ground is still warm, the sole survivor of what appears to have been an epic shootout rasps agoniz­ ingly for water, and Llewellyn sees an opportunity to make off with the $2-million that lies unguarded amidst the cadav­ ers. He takes it and gets away clean, unnoticed. Clean but for his conscience, which rouses him from his trailer park home, propels him to his truck, and back to the badlands to bring a thirsty guy some water. He seems aware that no good deed goes unpunished, telling his wife as he leaves their trailer, "If I don't get back, tell mother I love her."Wife Carla Jean (Kerry Macdonald) replies, "Your mother's dead, Llewellyn."

"Well then I'll tell her myself!'

Llewellyn's good deed ends up putting him in Anton Chigurh's (Javier Bardem) crosshairs, the last man on Earth you want chasing your tail. With effortless, mesmerizing in­ tensity, Bardem incarnates a dark angel of death, a methodi­ cal, ruthless and terrifyingly nihilistic killer, the kind who hides in the boogeyman's closet to show him how it's done. As the two draw closer to one another, their inevitable confronta­ tion carries the promise of violence. Brutal, chaotic violence the way only the Coens can depict it.

In Llewellyn, Brolin creates one of the most endearing, compelling characters ever presented on film. His charm, quick-wittedness and extraordinary resilience inveigle the audience from the get-go, and thanks to the Coens' razor-

No Country for Old Men is playing at the Scotia Bank Cinema. Check www.cinemamontreai.com for showtimes.

C R IT IC IS M O F C R IT IC IS M (O F C R IT IC IS M ) In which the Tribune pays Tribute to notable critics o f the past.

ALL MEMBEBS 01 CEOT ATTENDANCE IS MANDATSBT into: 514-448-4041 oa www.can.ci

Seym our Krim

The Department of Jznyfish, Drama and Theatre Troyram, JvicQidUniversity presents: TViffiam Shakespeare's

Ezra G unter hough today largely forgotten, Seymour Krim was once a star literary critic and essayist o f mid-cen­ tury Manhattan, a participant and propagator o f the beat movement, a pioneer o f New Journalism and above all, a cunningly intelligent and painfully honest cultural commentator. By the tim e o f his 1989 self-per­ petrated, barbiturate-induced death, his essays on the touchy subjects o f race-relations, homosexuality and insanity had helped define the cultural ferment o f the sixties and his shimmying, tap-dancing prose style set the tone o f publications from Com m entary to The.Vil-

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lage Voice.

"He is New York in the middle of the 20th Century," wrote the Norman Mailer in his introduction to Krim's first collection, Views o f a Nearsighted Canoneer. "A city man, his prose as brilliant upon occasion as the elec­ tronic beauty of our lights, his shifts and shatterings of mood as searching and true as the grinding of wheels in a subway train."

Born in New York in 1922, orphaned at the age of 10 and educated for a single year at the University of North Carolina (which he admitted to have attended only in order to "[follow] Thomas Wolfe's big roman­ tic boots"), Krim eked out a living at various New York journalistic and editorial jobs before breaking into the pages of publications such as Commentary, Com m on­ weal, and The Hudson Review. Throughout the 40s and early 50s he would churn out polite though incisive es­ says and book reviews on canonical or near-canonical writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Theodore Dreiser and Walt Whitman, while com peting at night in the intellectual blood-sports of Manhattan's down town critical elite.

While the gleam o f the New York literary life dazzled him for a time, the expectations o f intellec­ tual omniscience eventually proved too much for his

bright but vulnerable mind, resulting in a severe crack up— insanity in the grand manner.

"I spewed up every hunk o f undigested matter in my psyche and bloodily broke through to my ow n raw meat via the whistling rocket-ride o f w hat is called in­ sanity," he wrote.

Following his release from the asylum he resumed writing, but this tim e in a style more experimen­ tal and on subject matter more personal and more socially controversial.

"I aim here to tell as much o f the truth about my­ self. .. as I am capable of," he wrote in "Ask for a White Cadillac," a chronicle o f his experience w ith the black com m unity o f Harlem,"with the knowledge that while it will no do ub t expose my weaknesses o f mind and tem peram ent it will be another small step in destroy­ ing the anxiety that makes us try to balance on egg­ shells and bite our tongues and souls for saying the wrong thing. Complete equality... will only come when writers and speakers level down the w hole dirty highway o f their experience— level all the way."

During this period he also wrote a defense of ho­ mosexuality entitled "Revolt of the Homosexual,” and defended suicide as a rational choice in "Suicide in Toyland." He also edited the 1960 anthology The Beats, a book which first introduced the neo-bohemian literary movement to many readers and which had the balls to include Norman Podhoretz's scathing Parisan Review criticism, "The Know Nothing Bohemians."

Though today Krim's critique o f the American mentality seems less rubbing than it once was, it's cur­ rency is only a testament to it’s original punch. And de­ spite his neglect in recent years, Krim remains a writer's writer and a critic's critic, notable not only for his pen­ etrating judgm ent, but more importantly, for his ability to "level all the way."B

S ports HOCKEY— M ARTLETS 5, O T TA W A 1

M a rtle ts c o a s t to s e v e n th s tr a ig h t v ic to ry Labonté's CIS record shutout streak broken in first period A

aron

S ig a l

After any 5-1 drubbing of an opponent, celebratory screams or pats on the back are expected in the w inning locker room. For a slightly hum bled Martlets team, however, a toned down post­ game scene was all about the one that g ot away.

While the score reflected McGill's complete dom ination over their divisional opponents, the Ottawa Gee Gees, Martlets goalie and Canadian Olympian Charline Labonté had her incredible nine-game shutout streak against CIS opponents unexpectedly snapped only three minutes into the match as Ottawa forward Lauryn Lapello cashed in on a flukey defensive mishap behind Labonté's net. The star netminder's streak lasted an astounding 363 minutes and nine seconds in league play, easily setting a new national record.

"I knew it would happen one way or another eventually," a resigned Labonté said. "There was really nothing we could do about that goal though. No offence to [Lapello] but it definitely wasn't the nicest goal; I just wish the goal had been a crazy move and I would've been deked out o f my net or something."

Smith, currently in Sweden fulfilling his duties as Team Canada's bench boss at the Four Nations Cup. "It was unfortunate the way th a t goal w ent in and we'd like to have it back but the girls re­ acted well.The shorthanded marker, and on a great shift like that, really gave us an energy boost. It was definitely a downer for [Ot­ tawa] and a m om entum builder for us."

Ice seem s titled in second period After recovering their composure, McGill thoroughly d o m i-. nated the rest o f the match, outshooting Ottawa 50-19 and forcing DiPetta to stand on her head in an attem pt to keep her outclassed team in the game. While McGill held a 17-7 shot ad­ vantage in the second frame, the Gee Gees employed a system that allowed for Martlet point shots but gave the Ottawa side the ability to collapse all five players to the front o f the net and clear any rebounds. Despite this tactic, McGill finally broke the deadlock w ith 338 remaining in the second as first-year forward Jordanna Peroff com bined w ith Alessandra Lind-Kenny on a dow n-low cycle and give-and-go to set-up Peroff's second tally

o f the season.

"It was kind o f stressful at 1-1," Peroff said. "We're always used to winning our games by so much and it's never been an issue that we had to score. But we all got really pum ped up after and I think we finally felt like we had the game when it w ent in.”

Although initially only nursing a tig h t 2-1 lead in the final period, the Martlets soon put any notions o f a surprise Gee Gee comeback to rest as Hill and Alyssa Cecere com bined on tw o goals respectively, only 14 seconds apart. Cecere would later add her second, and the team's fifth, goal o f the afternoon, w ith just under five minutes to play.

The Martlets, now boasting a 7-0 record and a plus-33 goal differential, head out to the Maritimes to face Atlantic power­ house St. Francis Xavier, w ho are also undefeated w ith an 8-0 record and a plus-46 differential, as well as St. Mary's and Dalhousie in a weekend o f non-conference games. Coach Smith is also expected to rejoin the team soon after guiding the Canadian national squad to the program's fifth Four Nations gold medal in six years. ■

First goal stuns Martlets The newly-minted, top-ranked Martlets opened up the match in their classic style, dom inating puck possession and dis­ playing their overpowering speed against a clearly overwhelmed Gee Gee side. Although McGill was first to every loose puck, this advantage soon backfired, as D Cathy Chartrand beat her check behind the McGill net and, to the shock o f every spectator in McConnell Arena, accidentally fanned on her clearing attempt, sending the puck sliding softly onto Lapello's waiting blade. The Gee Gee forward made no mistake, easily slipping the game's first goal into the gaping net.

Stunned by their first tally allowed this season, the Martlets looked disorganized and struggled to rebound properly from their only deficit o f the year. The players began-to tighten up and McGill staples such as crisp passes and sharp positional play were nowhere to be found. Ottawa snatched the run o f play from Mc­ Gill and almost buried another goal while the Martlets attempted to regroup, but the Red 'n'W hite held on and regained their en­ ergy and m otivation from an unlikely source: the penalty kill.

With blueliner Lisa Zane serving a hooking penalty in the final minutes o f the first period, forwards Carolyn Hill and Ann-Sophie Bettez put on a masterful display of shorthanded forecheck­ ing. The superb penalty kill culminated in a Gee Gee defensive turnover that Bettez shoveled to a driving Hill w ho slotted the puck under Ottawa goalie Melissa DiPetta for the demoralizing shorthanded, last m inute equalizer.

"There was a little bit o f shock after that goal against but it's the nature o f the game to get scored on," said Interim Head Coach Amey Doyle, w ho has been filling in for Head Coach Peter

ADAMSCOTTI Gee Gees' G Melissa DiPetta stops one of the 50 shots the Martlets fired her way on Saturday.

T H IR D M A N IN

Cox shouldn't be out on the field M a tt C h esser n the wake o f MLB's decision to move towards limited use o f instant replay, there have been myriad complaints that replay review will further slow down games that already move at a snail's pace. Baseball has seen some excruciating four-hour games in the playoffs these past years, so concerns about lengthy video reviews are valid. No one wants to see another ten minutes tacked on to close games that can al­ ready last into the wee hours o f the night.

But there's a simple solution that should ease some o f the strain on bleary east-coast fans, effectively shaving tim e o ff o f games and getting rid o f the most ridiculous spectacle in all o f sports: Ban the managers from leaving dugouts to argue an umpire's call. It's about tim e that MLB moved away from the idiotic belief that tem per tantrums are part o f the "tradition" o f baseball. They're not. It's embarrassing to see grown men launch spittle-soaked rants while kicking dirt and flailing their arms as if they were having a seizure. Managers are supposed to act like professional coaches, not tw o yearold toddlers w ho want to stay in the sandbox.

Worst o f all is the notion that these raging rampages have somehow become part o f the strategy o f baseball— a tactic that can be used by coaches to fire up their team on

I

a slow night. Earning an ejection has become a tactical ploy, rather than a true expression o f displeasure. One need look no further than the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and their manager Terry Francona for proof o f this immature tactic. When Francona decides his team needs a pick-me-up he will calmly exit the dugout, w ith his head down and his hands in his jacket pockets, before going through a tired cap­ tossing, finger-pointing routine. It often looks like a calculated move on his part rather than a genuine expression o f anger.

Baseball has gotten so twisted up in this perverse ritual that when Bobby Cox broke John McGraw's dubious record for m ost ejections in a career— a w hopping 131 tosses— it was actually celebrated by some o f the fans and members o f the media. Getting throw n out o f a game for immature conduct should be shameful and humbling, not a cause for accolades.

Can you imagine any other sport tolerating such fla­ grant abuse o f their officials? Could anyone imagine the NFL allowing Bill Belichick to toss his headset and clipboard to the ground and get in the face o f the head referee (then again I'm sure Ed Hochuli could defend himself quite easily)? Or can you fathom the NBA letting Greg Popovich throw chairs and'

equipm ent out onto the court? I can't, because these leagues require their coaches to conduct themselves in a manner be­ fitting grown men. They require their coaches to set an ex­ ample for kids who need to learn that there is a correct way to voice your displeasure w ith an authority figure— as much fun as it w ould be to pull a Lou Pinella and throw some chalk at a professor, I do ub t it would improve anyone's marks.

Instant replay will take away some o f the need to argue calls, by reducing errors in home run and fair/foul calls. For everything else there's no need for a manager to leave the dugout. Designate captains on each team w ho could get in­ terpretations from the umpires and then explain the calls to the manager— a system that works well in hockey— or ask the umpire to come over to the dugout between innings.

If MLB instituted severe suspensions, say five-to-ten games w ith o u t pay for managers w ho make a spectacle out o f their displeasure, then the problem should disappear. Skippers like to argue, but they also have to pay their mortgages.

Baseball is a cerebral game, and it's tim e it regained its class by getting rid o f juvenile managerial tantrums. Lou Pinella's blood pressure and bulging forehead vein will thank us for it someday. ■

18. Sports - 13.11.07

FROM THE CHEAP SEATS

No instant gratification M att S egal ijj i i a i B l r " ”

II

Why MLB doesn't need instant replay

m a political science student. I used to com pete on my high | school trivia team. I write an often smarmy, always self-righteous I colum n for a cam pus newspaper. There are two conclusions to be drawn from this information: one, I'm pretty nerdy.Two, I don't like being wrong.

But alas, it happens sometimes, even to the best of.us, so allow me a m oment of self-flagellation. In January, in this space,

I told Brett Favre to retire from football on his ow n terms, before his diminished skills forced him out. I guess Brett forgot to pick up his copy o f theTrib that day. Good thing, too, because Favre looks rejuvenated in leading the 8-1 Packers. I was wrong and I can't say it feels good.

In the early 18th century, Alexander Pope, the English poet best remembered for his proverbs, wrote, "to err is human; to for­ give, divine."Yes, it's always hum bling to find o ut you're a mere m or­ tal. Now, w ith Pope in mind, let's shift ahead some 300 years to last week. At the first round o f Major League Baseball's off-season gen­ eral managers'meetings, the league executives voted 25-5 to insti­ tu te a limited form o f instant replay. Centuries before the invention o f baseball or recorded video, the quotable Pope u nw ittingly made the strongest case against replay review: To err is human.

So long as baseball's umpires are human, they will make mis­ takes. Replays in tennis or football are a good thing, but baseball is special. It's more dependent on a neutral field official than any other sport. An ordinary baseball game has as least 54 outs and 250 pitches. Even if they get a few wrong, compared proportionally to other sports, umpires make their calls o f strikes, balls and outs w ith remarkable accuracy. Like the real world, baseball depends on I ju dg m ent calls, which are wrong once in a while. Hey, sometimes, even the best o f us make mistakes.

Despite the artificial creams and clears coursing through some o f the players’ bodies, umps are still human and they make mistakes. A great player w ho makes a mistake is charged w ith an error or relegated to the bench by his manager. An equally human um pire— likely among the best in the world at his job, too— gets replaced by a high-resolution, super-slow-motion shot from a 360-degree camera which is wirelessly controlled and suspended above the field o f play.

I'm aware that at present, the use o f replay will be limited to the non-judgm ent calls— whether a ball is fair or foul or whether a ball that hits th e top o f the wall is a homerun or a ground-rule K double. In a vacuum, reviewing these calls and getting them right is probably a good thing. Yet these are very rare situations. With the technology in place, the obvious question is "What's next?" Re­ play proponents'thought processes are clear: machines are better than humans, so we ou gh t to use them for more pressing issues than ground-rule doubles.The most egregious screw-up in recent years— the phantom uncaught third strike to W hite Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski during the 2005 playoffs— will not be covered under the present replay plan. If a similar gaffe were to occur in the com ing years, you can bet it'll be covered.To put it bluntly, the decision to im plem ent video review is not just about fair or foul— in this case, the 'slippery slope'argument applies.

My aversion to replay is not about tradition or purity. I recog­ nize the rapidly changing sport that baseball has become. Purists notwithstanding, keeping replay out is not just about ground-rule doubles but about teaching kids playing in youth leagues that even when the umpire is incorrect, he's right. It's about reminding view­ ers that even big leaguers are flawed and have shortcomings— the very thing which makes athletes so compelling.

Besides, replay may not solve anything. As football has shown, the closest calls— the ones for which replay was really intended— will still require ju dg m ent and are often inconclusive even w ith the help o f slow motion. I can already hear the lambasting o f an um p by those on the wrong side o f a controversial ju dg m ent call where replay was involved. Still not convinced o f the ills o f replay reviews?

Just imagine the pace o f an already plodding baseball game inter­ rupted by a couple o f close calls!

Recall those old beacons o f um piring controversy, the QuesTec pitch-tracking machines. They do correctly identify the proper call for balls and strikes. If making the right call is so im portant, why not just replace the home plate umpire w ith QuesTec? It's a ludicrous thought, even to one o f today's progressive young GMs, because even if some o f us don't realize it, umpires— warts and all— are part o f the game.

Having thoroughly dissected the first half of Pope's words, let me finish by hearkening back to the second part. "To forgive," he wrote, is "divine." General managers, I know you are just trying to improve the game. I forgive you. And as my first divine act, I declare instant replay in baseball illegal. ■

The McGill Tribune

RUGBY— REDMEN 33, BISHOP'S 8

M c G ill c a p t u r e s Q S S F t i t l e Redmen win for second consecutive year M a tt C h esser It's always sweeter the second tim e around.

Thanks to tw o second-ha If tries by hooker DaveTontini, the McGill Redmen captured their second consecu­ tive QSSF championship on Saturday, defeating the Bish­ op's Gaiters 33-8 at Molson Stadium. The title caps an un­ defeated season for the Redmen, w ho w e nt 10-0 against Canadian teams in 2007.

"In my 10 years o f coaching, this is the best team I've ever had,"said McGill Head Coach Sean McCaffrey."They've wanted to run up the mountain [in practice] every week.

They really pushed the coaching staff to push them, and I think you saw the results o f that o ut there today."

Despite defeating Bishop's in tw o regular season games by scores o f 55-0 and 36-3, McGill found them ­ selves trailing 8-7 at halftime. The Redmen would come flying out o f the gate in the second frame, however, get­ ting an early try from Alexander Hart and then tw o tries in less than four minutes from Tontini to build a com m and­ ing lead.

"At halftime Coach [McCaffrey] told a couple o f us that we had to step up,” Tontini said. "And thankfully we were able to come through for him. Bishop's played tremendous rugby in the first half, but in the second we took it to a new level that they couldn't com pete with."

McGill fly-half Adrian Thorogood would add an insurance try in the 65th minute, before the Gai­ ters' M atthew Perrera notched his second try o f the game to com ­ plete the scoring. The Redmen also tallied points from an early try by prop Adam Sommer, and a pair o f conversions by fly-half Alastair Crow, w ho was still nursing a sore hamstring. Crow led the team in scoring during the regular season but did not play in the semi-final and saw limited action in the final.

fourth-year flanker Caleb Balloch. "McGill rugby is just a wonderful community, a group of guys who are there for you through the hard times and the success, and I've ap­ preciated my time here to the utmost through my career here. I'm going to miss it a lot."

The QSSF cham pionship was the third in four years for the Redmen, who were making their sixth consecutive appearance in the conference final. In that time they have played the Gaiters three times, winning twice.

"It was a weird mindset, com ing into a gam e after beating a team 55-0 and 36-3,"McCaffrey said."You've seen it time-and-time again when the underdog knocks off the favourite in the playoffs, so we had to be focused com ing into this game. We struggled a little in the first half, but we've got a great bunch of guys who came through for us in the clutch."

For approximately five seniors, this gam e m ight have been their last in a McGill uniform. Balloch, Thorogood, Frank Hewitt, Marshall Eidinger and Jonathon McIntosh— an exchange student from England— are all expected to be lost to graduation. The Redmen will most likely return the rest of their cham pionship-winning squad and will look to continue their QSSF dom inance next season. ■

"It's phenomenally satisfying to win with these guys for a sec­ ond year," said McGill captain and

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Sports Briefs

L ast C all

c o m p ile d b y M a t t C h e s s e r a n d A a r o n S ig a l M artlets swim to dou b le go ld at Q uebec Cup Joanie Stilling won two golds and a pair of silver m ed­ als but it proved not enough as the McGill Martlets fin­ ished third of six teams at the second Q uebec Cu p meet of the season, held at the Université de Montreal, Saturday.

Stilling captured the 8oo-metre freestyle (9:08.60) and an­ chored the w inning 4x100 freestyle relay (4:00.94). She was second in both the 50 free (27.37) and 200 free (2:04.02).

Other m em bers of the 4x100 quartet included Danielle Hetherington, Brieanne Brannagan, and Lauren Crawford.

Kristyna Clem inson also grabbed a pair of golds, w inning the 50 breaststroke in 34.13 seconds and sw im m ing the second leg of the w inning 4x100 m edley relay, which was clocked in 4:26.84. Joining her in that relay was Kyla Alsbury, Crawford and Brannagan. Laval won the meet with 128 points, followed by Montreal (119), McGill (76), UQTR (29), Carleton (3) and Sherbrooke (0). On the men's side, McGill's lone medal was a bronze in the 4x100 freestyle relay, which was tim ed in 3:56.30. Sw im m ing leadoff was junior Dave Spencer, followed by team captain H ugh Cook, Sam Thrall, and JoeToops. Laval also won the men's division with 156 points, followed by Montreal (145), McGill (38), UQTR (24), Sherbrooke (6 ) and Carleton (o).

STANDINGS Hockey (W)

GP

W

L

OTL

p

Hockey (M)

GP

w

L

OTL

p

0

14

UQTR

10

7

2

1

15

0

6

Concordia

10

6

4

0

12

McGill

7

7

0

Carleton

8

3

5

Ottawa

6

2

3

1

5

Ottawa

10

5

5

0

10

Concordia

7

2

5

0

4

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ON DECK Women's Volleyball—Montreal Carabins at McGill Martlets; Friday, 6 p.m. at Love Competition Hall The Martlets are currently in third place in the four team Quebec conference, but with a .500 record, they only trail division leaders Montreal and Sherbrooke by two points.

McGill has already lost twice to the Carabins, both times by a score of three sets to none, but the squad has shown that it can challenge the divisional powers as it defeated Sher­ brooke 3-2 earlier this season. Be sure to keep your eye out for McGill's All-Canadian power hitter, Jennifer Thompson, a dominant force in university volleyball and the lynchpin to any Martlet success.

Men's Volleyball—Montreal Carabins at McGill Redmen; Friday, 8 p.m. at Love Competition Hall If you're not volleyballed out from the women's tilt, try to check out the Redmen who will also be hosting the Carabins on home turf immediately after the Martlets game. Howev­ er, if you have to choose which match to attend, we advise you stick to the girls. The Redmen are an uninspiring and unsurprising 0-4 on the season and have only managed to win one set in those four matches. Also, with Montreal, the Quebec leaders, visiting, you can't possibly expect a McGill win— after all, the Redmen haven't beaten a Quebec oppo­ nent since 2002. Redmen volleyball... feel the excitement!

NHL Hockey—Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers; Saturday, 10 p.m., CBC Old rivals Boston and Montreal are playing at the Bell Centre earlier in the night, but that rivalry has lost some of its lustre as both teams have been horrible in the last several years.

None of the shine has been lost on the Battle of Alberta, however, as these are two divisional teams and two cities that just plain don't like each other. Any diehard hockey fan knows that the rough-and-tumble, end-to-end West­ ern style of hockey is where the party's at so if you're a total puckhead or just looking for some good Saturday night pre­ drinking entertainment, flick on this tilt and you won't be disappointed.

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Saturday, Nov to, 2007 McGill Martlets 5 vs. Ottawa Gee-Gees 1 McConnell Arena SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: Scoring: 1. Ottawa - Lauryn Lapello (unassisted) 3:10 2. McGill - Caroline Hill (A.S. Bettez) 19:34 (SH) Penalties: McGill -C . Hill (Crosscheck), 4:01 Ottawa - K. deWit (Hook), 11:50 McGill - L. Zane (Hook), 18:40 SECOND PERIOD: Scoring: 3. McGill - Jordanna Peroff (A. Lind-Kenny) 16:22 Penalties: McGill - A. Lind-Kenny (Bodycheck), 1:35 Ottawa - A. Foster (Bodycheck), 10:30

111!

THIRD PERIOD: Scoring: 4- McGill - Caroline Hill (G. Merrifield, A. Cecere) 5:19 (PP) 5. McGill - Alyssa Cecere (C. Hill) 5:33 6. McGill - Alyssa Cecere (C Hill, C. Chartrand) 16:40 Penalties: Ottawa - M. Snowden (Crosscheck), 3:35 McGill - C. Gauvin (Hook), 9:45 Ottawa - B. Paton (Trip), 10:44 GOALTENDERS: Ottawa: Melissa Dipetta (L, 5GA, 45 saves, 60:00)

•

McGill: Charline Labonté (W, iGA, 18 saves, 60:00)

NFL Football—New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills; Sunday, 8:30 p.m., TSN/NBC The Bills on primetime twice in the same season? Oh, it's be­ cause the Pats are in Orchard Park. This wasn't originally a Sunday night affair, but under the NFL's new flexible sched­ uling policy, Commissioner Roger Goodell shifted it to the NBC time slot to showcase the Patriots' high-flying act. As an added bonus to a great AFC East divisional clash— that features the white-hot Bills heading into a freezing Sunday night at home on national television against possible the best team ever assembled— we'll also get to hear Al Mi­ chaels and John Madden give verbal fellatio to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to end our week.

T E A M G O T S C R E W E D BY REFEREES

NBA Basketball—Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers; Sunday, 9:30 p.m.

N O T B IL L S I M M O N S S O D O N T

Everyone probably skipped over this passage the minute they saw "NBA Basketball" sans "Toronto Raptors" because Canada doesn't really give a shit about basketball, but .that's a different issue for a different time. If you can find this game somewhere on TV, make sure to tune in. Not only will you get to see the Baby Bulls'young guns like Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich, and Kobe's Lakers, but this will be the first match between the two teams engaged in the most in­ tense Kobe trade rumours. Will Kobe use this gam e to send a message to the Bulls? Will the young Chicago side wilt under the pressure of playing in LA with constant rumours flying around?This gam e has freakshow written all over it.

E V E N T H I N K A B O U T IT.

McGill tracks dow n a poor 11 th place finish McGill finished a disappointing 11th while the Univer­ sity of Guelph Gryphons entered the record books on Sat­ urday at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria when they swept the 2007 CIS men's and women's cross-country titles, becom ­ ing the first school in history to return hom e with double gold in consecutive years. McGill's best result cam e from Lauren Whyte, w ho finished the five-kilometre race 25th of 107 runners in 18 minutes, 59.83 seconds. Other McGill scorers were Trish Muddiman (45th; 19:21.62), Elspeth Mc­ Gregor (63rd, 19:45.45), Deenie Quinn (65th, 19:45.98) and Arielle Beatty (92ad, 20:30.07). McGill's two displacers were Christine Lo Basso (99th, 20:52.64) and Deborah Lightm an (106th, 21:26.60).

Redm en cagers dow n Laval in OT in season opener Forwards Moustafa El Zanaty and Sean Anthony scored 23 and 20 points respectively, as McGill officially opened •their 106th season of men's basketball with an 86-83 over­ tim e com e-from -behind win over Laval, Saturday. Four dif­ ferent Redmen reached double figures in scoring, includ­ ing Matt Thornhill, w ho had 13 points and a team -high six rebounds, and Victor Mansure (12 pts). El Zanaty was 8 -for 19 from the floor, including 3-for-7 from three-point range, and went 4-for-6 from the foul line. He also recorded five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists before fouling out. Anthony shot 5-for-io in the game, 2-for-3 from be­ yond the arc and was 8-for-i4 from the line. Laval led 25-19 after one quarter and the teams were even at 39-39 after two. McGill held a narrow 58-56 lead after three quarters but the contest was tied 72-72 at the end of regulation to force overtim e.The Redmen had a 42-40 edge in rebound­ ing and a huge 13-7 advantage in steals. McGill shot 41.1 per cent from the floor (30-73), 24.1 from the arc (7-29) and only 52.8 from the charity stripe (19-36). Rounding out the scor­ ing for the Redmen was Yannick Chouinard (5 pts), Samuel Goulet (4, entirely in overtime), Pawel Herra (3), Michael White (2) and Louis-Philippe Lagredelle (2).

W A N T T O W R IT E A 3 , 0 0 0 W O R D R A N T W H IN IN G A B O U T H O W Y O U R

IN A G A M E T H A T T H E Y W O N ?

W E L L T H I S I S N 'T E S P N A N D Y O U 'R E

W R IT E F O R S P O R T S . W E H A V E J O U R N A L I S T I C IN T E G R IT Y A N D A C T U A L S T A N D A R D S . E M A IL U S A T S P O R T S @ M C G IL L T R IB U N E .

C O M O R D R O P BY T H E T R IB U N E O F F IC E (S H A T N E R 1 1 0 ) F O R M O R E IN F O R M A T IO N .

McGill's jo cks are sm art McGill University ranked second in the nation for aca­ dem ic prowess am ong its intercollegiate sports programs in the 2006-07 school year. The departm ent of athlet­ ics produced 121 student-athletes that earned Academ ic All-Canadian status under Canadian Interuniversity Sport guidelines.

It marked the eighth straight yearthat McGill had gone over the century mark and the figure accounted for 34.2 per cent of McGill's 354 student-athletes that com peted in CIS-sanctioned sports. In order to qualify, a student-athlete must be full-time and have achieved a m inim um of 80% in their studies while using a year of athletic eligibility in a CIS sport. In the 17 years since the program was initiated, dating back to 1990-91, McGill leads all CIS universities with 1,526 Academ ic All-Canadians, edging out Alberta (1,477), followed by Queen's (1,236), Calgary (1,153), Western (1,073) and Waterloo (1,058). McGill also ow ns three of the top four CIS single-season results, with 148 honorées in 2006,144 in 2005 and 144 in 2002.

Laval led all universities last year with a CIS record 156 students w ho qualified, followed by McGill (121), Queen's (119), Alberta (102) and Waterloo (98) to round out the top five. Over the school year, 51 CIS m em ber institutions com ­ bined for a total o f 2,040 Academ ic All-Canadians.

A T T E N T IO N G R A D S 2008 Better get your photo taken to be included in O ld McGill 2008.

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$25.00 g ets you a p h o to sittin g $48.00 txs. inc. g ets you a cam p u s yearb o o k

Jostens is an official supplier of graduation rings to McGill University Available at H F Photo Studio

LISTED BELOW ARE THE DATES FOR THE FACULTY PHOTO SESSIONS A rts P h y s M

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