The McGill Tribune Vol. 31 Issue 5

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Published by the Tribune Publication Society Volume No. 31 Issue No. 5

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R e d m e n a t th ir d

SSMU Council 3 AUS Town Hall 4 Editorials 7 Bear Grylls 12 13 Music Theatre Montreal 16-17 NHL Previews Redmen Lacrosse 18

OVERFISHING, PAGES lo-n

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Members of Red Thunder at last Friday’s Redmen football game. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune)

MUNACA labour disruption passes the one month mark Parties go before Quebec Labour Board; students protest against injunction at James Administration

By Eric Mauser and Elisa Muyl News Editors The struggle between Mc­ Gill and MUNACA over pensions, wages, and compensation has just entered its fifth week. Since Sept. 1, the parties have not come close to reaching a settlement on the core is­ sues. However, there have been two major developments in the last few weeks: McGill was taken to court over alleged use of scab labour and the university filed an injunction

against MUNACA. The Quebec Labour Board, or the CNT, investigated MUNACA’s claims that McGill engaged in the use of scab labour while MUNACA members have been on strike. The investigation found McGill guilty of 20 violations of sections of Que­ bec’s Working Code. The report is not legally binding; it is up to the union to bring the findings to the la­ bour board. The board’s subsequent decision will determine the outcome of these claims. Last week, both par­

ties went before the Quebec Labour Board and presented their cases; the board should reach a decision this week. The use of scab labour is il­ legal in Quebec, although there are cases in which employers may use other employees, such as managers, in place of striking workers in order to maintain functionality during a strike.

According to Jérôme Turcq, the Regional Executive Vice-Preident: Quebec of the Public Service Alli­ ance of Canada, the use of manag­

has used scabs. If it would be an instace of one or two cases, I would be very careful of what I said; not with what the inspector has written ... as a whole, there are at least 20 scabs and McGill is just playing the game by denying it.”

In the past, Turcq said, other Quebec universities like Laval, University of Montreal, Concordia, and Chicoutimi have seen cases of injunctions and the use of replace­ ment workers, but have never seen See “ MUNACA” on page 2

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ers as replacement employees usu­ ally happens on a small scale. Turcq claims, however, that McGill en­ gaged in a level of scabbing that is unusual for employers.

“I'll be honest, most employers don't use scabs—this is not usual ...

I think they could easily prove 20 [cases of scabbing] now, probably 100 by the end of the process...”

Turcq said, in an interview follow­ ing a meeting held by MUNACA last Wednesday at the Palais de Con­ grès. “I have no doubt... that McGill

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N ews Scab use allegations under review continued from COVER a situation in which an employer has engaged the use of scab labour this heavily. “[T]he injunction, the picket lines, that's part of the game ... the employer has the right to do that ... but an employer does not have the right to break the law,” Turcq said.

MUNACA has taken the re­ port’s findings to the Quebec Labour Board for review, attempting to get a ruling against McGill’s alleged use of scab labour.

McGill, on the other hand, maintains that it has acted in full ac­ cordance with the law, and defended this position in front of the CNT on Monday.

"The commissioner heard both parties [on Sept. 29] and will be issuing a decision in the coming days,” Michael Di Grappa, VicePrincipal of Administration and Finance at McGill Univeristy, said.

“We have to see what that decision is ... we still believe that we are in total compliance with the provisions of the law.”

The CNT’s decision will be handed down this week. In the mean­ time, MUNACA has published a se­ ries of letters to the McGill Board of Governors, urging individual mem­ bers to appeal to the University to meet the union's demands.

“I'm not sure everybody in the administration actually understands what's going on—I'm not sure that everybody that sits on that board knows that they did something ille­ gal,” Turcq said. "I hope they'll show the common sense that they've used

in the past to say 'lets get back to the table and let's try to find a settlement to this because this is getting ugly.’"

In the meantime, the two par­ ties will continue negotiations on Oct. 26, at the union’s representa­ tive’s next availability.

CAMPUS STUDENT RALLY Several hundred McGill stu­ dents and faculty members met at the Y-intersection on Sept. 28 for a rally to express solidarity with MU­ NACA. This rally was a follow-up to an earlier demonstration on Sept.

26, in which members of the admin­ istration confronted students outside the James Administration Building.

A video of last Monday’s pro­ test, in which Provost Anthony Masi and Vice Principal Michael Di Grap­ pa attempt to talk with protestors, was widely circulated on YouTube.

This video was also used to garner support for Wednesday’s protest. At one point in the video, Di Grappa appears to be telling students that they do not have the right to protest on campus.

When asked to comment, Di Grappa said that the video is not as it seems.

“It’s very easy for things to be out of context,” Di Grappa said.

He reiterated that students have the right to protest, but only in a peaceful, respectful manner.

“People are free to express their opinion, and that they do so respect­ ing the rights of others as well is all that we expect,” he said.

Wednesday’s protest was led by the Mobilization Committee (Mob

UNIVERSITYOF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

Squad).

“The protest goes to show the administration that people on this campus aren’t ready to give up on the MUNACA workers,” John-Erik Hansson, a Mob Squad member, said. “Hopefully the administration will start noticing us and they’ll start acknowledging the legitimacy of our movement, and ... the demands of the MUNACA workers.”

Demonstrations continued until 1 p.m. Protestors first gathered at the SSMU building, then moved to the Y-intersection on lower campus where students and faculty gave speeches through a megaphone and disseminated information on the MUNACA strike. Later, protestors marched to the James Administra­ tion Building.

Calvin Normore, a professor of moral philosophy at MacDonald campus, spoke out against the in­ junction.

“This protest was a response to the injunction and a response to the university’s efforts to prevent this from happening,” Normore said.

“The university will respond to pressure if there is enough of it,” he added.

MUNACA President Kevin Whittaker said that he understood why students would want to protest.

“University is a business. Stu­ dents are clients and the University is mistreating them, as well as their staff,” Whittaker said.

N e w s in b r ie f McGill ranked amongst Canada’s top employers McGill was named the third most attractive employer in Canada on Thursday.

The announcement was initally made last Thursday by Ranstad Can­ ada, a human resources company.

The news of the announcement was also released by McGill via a press statement issued on Monday.

According to the survey, Mc­ Gill, in terms of ranking as a de­ sirable employer, placed alongside prestigious and well known compa­ nies such as IBM Canada Ltd., Air Canada, and Bombardier Inc. “McGill continues to work very hard to provide a stimulating and at­ tractive working environment,” Mi­ chael Di Grappa, Vice-Principal of Administration and Finance said of the news. “[We] are very proud of this recognition of our efforts, despite limited resources, to be not only a university highly ranked as an aca­ demic institution, but as an employ­

er of talented, dedicated employees at every level,” Di Grappa added via press release.

This announcement comes in the midst of the ongoing MUNACA labour dispute. MUNACA repre­ sents approximately 1,700 McGill employees who are presently on strike.

Kevin Whittaker, the President of MUNACA, had reservations about the anouncement.

“I don’t know much about the details but I’m rather shocked ... if the rankings are going to talk about employment at McGill or how de­ sirable it is, they should talk to the employees,” Whittaker said.

In direct response to Di Grap­ pa’s statement, Kevin Whittaker said, “If he hasn’t noticed the strike he needs to look outside. If we were so well treated, we wouldn’t be on strike.”

C K U T 9 0 3

—Eric Mauser

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3 CAMPUS

TA support, privacy concerns discussed at Council Personal information request by former SSMU president disquiets executives

By Carolina Millan Ronchetti Contributor Key issues at last Thursday’s SSMU Council included a motion of support for TAs in recent negotia­ tions and proposed changes to how McGill reappoints senior adminis­ trators.

Council expanded on issues concerning the support of workers discussed by the General Assembly.

In a demonstration of support for graduate students and in the inter­ est of improving the quality of un­ dergraduate education, the council unanimously passed a motion to support the Association of Gradu­ ate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) in its current negotiations with the administration. Council members agreed to draft and send the administration an official letter vocalizing SSMU’s support for AGSEM’s bargaining priority.

AGSEM is currently engaged in negotiations with the administra­ tion and will be meeting with the provost this week to negotiate the number of TAs and the university’s commitment to providing paid train­ ing to first-time TAs, among other issues.

The Council also unanimously passed a resolution requesting that the SSMU Representative to the McGill Board of Governors make

all reasonable efforts to amend uni­ versity statutes so that the principal consults an advisory committee when recommending a reappoint­ ment or extension for the offices of provost, deputy provost, or vice­ principal, not just before recom­ mending a new appointment.

Issues of workers’ solidarity, which were discussed during the first SSMU General Assembly of the year, came up again at Council. The resolution in question emphasized soliciting various perspectives on union disputes, disseminating infor­ mation to the student body, issuing a statement of support, and encour­ aging students to support strikers through varied methods, such as participating in picket lines and by petitioning the university. There was heavy debate on whether pass­ ing such a resolution would obligate SSMU to support all current and fu­ ture unions in disputes. However, an amendment to remove a clause sup­ porting future strikes was defeated.

During this discussion, guest speaker and AGSEM representative Jonathan Mooney brought to the at­ tention of the Council the possibility that, once a union contract expires, the administration has the right to lock workers out and deny them re­ entry as McGill employees. The res­ olution was then amended to include support for unions in a lockout and

Councillors digest the events of last week’s SSMU Council meeting. (Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune) was successfully passed by council.

Also during council, former SSMU President Zach Newburgh made a contentious request for a SSMU membership list, which would include the names and mail­ ing addresses of all 21,000 SSMU members.

Access to this list is every member’s right under stipulations laid out in the Quebec Companies Act. This act applies to SSMU, as SSMU is a non-profit corporation and accredited student association.

As such, SSMU is legally obligated to provide the list regardless of pri­ vacy concerns.

At the time of the meeting, SSMU president Maggie Knight had not received confirmation of

Newburgh’s intentions for the list but noted that the former SSMU President had stated that his “ratio­ nale was not relevant.” Numerous members of the council expressed discomfort with the potential for privacy violations, pointing to New­ burgh’s current employment with the social networking and employ­ ment website Jobbook.com.

According to both Knight and SSMU General Manager Pau­ line Gervais, this is the first time a SSMU membership list has been re­ quested. When asked if there is an existing protocol to address misuse of the information, Knight explained that SSMU would have to take ac­ tion but that it is too early to con­ sider such options.

“I think it's premature to specu­ late, given that I have received con­ firmation from Zach that he intends to use the list only for the purposes outlined in the act, and since any legal action would have to be evalu­ ated based on the specific circum­ stances,” Knight said.

The council debated whether the student body should be informed of the situation by SSMU. Some members objected that such a course of action may lead to more requests for the list, raising further privacy concerns, while others noted that students should be alerted of the situation. No consensus was reached during the meeting.

CAMPUS

Second SSMU strategic summit on tuition increases Tuition hikes discussed by students and SSMU executives

By Bea Britneff_________________ Contributor Last Friday, SSMU hosted its second strategic summit, this time centred around tuition hikes—an issue pertinent to students in Quebec given the impending tuition hikes later in the year.

This meeting was one in a se­ ries of strategic summits initiated

by SSMU President Maggie Knight.

Each summit is designed to address and discuss a different problem that affects SSMU, McGill University, and its students.

Around 20 students arrived at the meeting ready to leam about in­ formation on the upcoming 2012 tu­ ition hikes. Facilitated by SSMU VP University Affairs Emily Yee Clare and VP External Affairs Joël Pedneault, the discussions that followed provided an opportunity both to get informed and to express opinions.

Quebec currently has the low­ est tuition in Canada, but undergrad­ uate tuition will increase in the fall.

“Starting next September,

[Quebec] tuition will be going up $325 a year, over five years,” ex­ plained Pedneault. “This adds up to a 75 per cent tuition increase [over those five years].”

Summit attendees discussed why tuition is being raised in the first place. Organizers cited a 2010 university funding plan published by Finances Quebec which estimated that universities in Quebec were un­ derfunded by $620 million. Attend­ ees asserted that the Quebec govern­ ment is now using these numbers to justify the 2012 tuition hikes.

“These numbers are not cal­ culated based on any need or debt of the institutions,” said a post­ graduate student who attended the conference. “They are based on the average of what other students are paying across Canada.”

To some at the meeting, this reflectecj more of a thirst for money than a legitimate shortage of fund­ ing, triggering further debates on transparency and university priori­ ties.

“If the tuition increases are

approved by the provincial govern­ ment and not McGill, are we ques­ tioning what [Quebec] is doing with the money or how McGill is spend­ ing the money?” another student asked.

In most cases, decisions about the allocation of tuition fees and public money do not depend on the universities themselves. “All the money goes into one pot, and the government redistributes this money to universities using a funding for­ mula,” Pedneault explained.

“McGill has been on the fore­ front of supporting tuition increas­ es,” Pedneault added. “We need to think about that.”

The Quebec government, which announced the tuition hikes back in March, claims it will recycle a large amount of the money collect­ ed in the form of government grants and loans.

However, Pedneault did not feel that additional government grants and loans would alleviate fi­ nancial need. “Debt loads are only going to increase in the long term,”

Discussion at the strategic summit. (Sophie Silkes / McGill Tribune) he said.

Similarly, an attendee ex­ pressed concern that the tuition hikes would squeeze the middle class. Many middle-class students find themselves in a tricky situation where they aren’t “poor enough” to be eligible for bursaries, and as a re­ sult, have to put themselves in large amounts of debt. Tuition increases might only worsen this problem.

So far, proposed increases in tuition will only apply to in-province students. It has not yet been

announced by how much out-of­ province and international students’ tuitions will be altered.

“The issues get really thorny when you talk about out-of-province and international students who pay a lot of money,” Pedneault said.

“Some people will say, ‘Well those people are just going to leave the province anyway.’”

Pedneault predicted the Quebec government will not alter the out-ofprovince and international tuition too dramatically, if at all.

4

Curiosity Delivers, www.mcgilltribune.com

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CAMPUS

Fee levy opt-out period concludes

N e w s in b r ie f

QPIRG, other groups predict decrease in funding

By Elisa Muyl News Editor It’s that time of year again: when the McGill chapter of the Que­ bec Public Interest Research Group and its opponents go head-to-head over the issue of the former’s optoutable fee levy. The opt-out period, during which students may choose not to give small support fees to stu­ dent groups like QPIRG, ended last Thursday. The debate surrounding whether or not to support QPIRG has been a source of tension at Mc­ Gill lately. As of last year, students, led by a QPIRG opt-out campaign, have engaged in opting out of SSMU’s fee levys.

“You can refuse to fund a group which has supported calls for Hez­ bollah—terrorists who deliberately target civilians—to be removed from Canada’s list of terrorist orga­ nizations,” said the group in a let­ ter to the student body, found on its website. “[I]n short, you can refuse to fund causes you object to and be­ liefs you find repugnant.”

QPIRG, on the other hand, maintains that it provides crucial services to the student body. As a public interest research group, it conducts research on and advocates for a variety of topics under the um­ brella of environmental and social justice issues.

“We try to act on the belief that

university campuses need alterna­ tive discourse and dialogue, and that it is part of what makes for a healthy, diverse university community," was the group's response on its website to the opt-out letter.

Nevertheless, the opt-out cam­ paign has had a significant effect on QPIRG's resources. Following last year's opt-out campaign, the group lost about 12 per cent of its funding.

“This year ... the opt-out cam­ paign has had more momentum and more supporters,” Brendan Steven, member of Conservative McGill and co-organizer of the QPIRG optout campaign, said. “The positive feedback we have received from ordinary students has been greater than ever before.”

The opt-out campaign may have negative effects on SSMU services across the board; once on­ line, students who are opting out of QPIRG are more likely to opt out of other student services. Last year, a number of students chose not to sup­ port programs such as the Ambassa­ dor fund and the Library Improve­ ment fund.

“When students opt out of one thing, they tend to opt out of every­ thing without knowing exactly what they're opting out of,” Shyam Patel, SSMU VP Finance and Operations, said. “I see a trend in students opting out of almost every fee, rather than opting out of a select few.”

Our Campus, Our Community, an opt-in campaign, was created by fee-levy groups in response to this issue.

“I would really like to think that [the opt-in campaign is] helping.

The number [of opt-outs] this year didn't spike as much as they have in the past; hopefully that's indicating that students are starting to find out about us before choosing to opt out.

We really do believe that if students find out about all the wide array of activities that we do, [they wouldn’t opt-out],” Anna Malla, QPIRG'S In­ ternal Co-ordinator, said.

As part of its opt-in campaign, QPIRG has also counteracted the QPIRG Opt-Out movement’s drive to marginalize the group with its own facts and figures. “[The opt-out campaign's fly­ ers] give misleading information to students, such as that we support Hezbollah; we in no way support Hezbollah ... I would say the pri­ mary issue for us is that we spend so much time and energy defending ourselves against false accusations,” Malla said.

Regardless, it is clear that the opt-out campaign has had a signifi­ cant effect on student groups.

“The best message I can pro­ vide is that you need to do research first,” Patel said. “There's legitimacy in opting out, as long as you have a good rationale behind it.”

BMO releases economic projections BMO Capital Markets Eco­ nomics, the economic research and analysis division of the Bank of Montreal, released their Canadian Economic Outlook last week. The document projects Canada’s eco­ nomic situation for 2012 and the remainder of 2011.

The numbers predict that the loonie will fall by roughly seven cents when compared with the U.S. dollar, unemployment will remain at around seven per cent, and the econ­ omy will continue to grow at an an­ nualized rate of about two per cent.

According to Professor Poschke of the McGill Economics Department, these numbers can in­ dicate several things. For example, while unemployment is projected to increase slightly, it is important to understand what the increase means in context.

“Over the last 20 years, the average [unemployment rate] has been around eight per cent. Over the last 10 years, around seven per cent. So it's worse than recently, but okay compared to longer-run Ca­ nadian history. Also, Canadian un­ employment will probably remain below U.S. unemployment for quite some time. This is rare historically,” Poschke said.

As for the change in the ex­ change rate, it may actually be posi­ tive for the Canadian economy.

“When the Canadian dollar is

strong, Canadian products are ex­ pensive. All this matters most rela­ tive to the U.S. Now that the loonie is a bit weaker, these exporters may be happier,” Poschke said.

Poschke noted, however, that the change in the exchange rate would also mean that Canadians traveling to the U.S. or purchasing U.S. goods would now be able to buy fewer goods than they had ear­ lier this year.

Canada's growth rate has been close to two per cent for several years. Although the growth rate did not change much, it is trending downward slightly, which is an im­ portant indicator.

“The trend also matters: there's a negative trend. This reflects fear of a further slowdown or renewed recession in the U.S., which would strongly affect Canada because Canada exports a lot to the U.S., so nothing terrible, but a somewhat negative outlook,” Poschke said.

Poschke did remark that the BMO projections were some of the more pessimistic outlooks pre­ sented.

“Note that there are many sources of economic forecasts, and it's not clear whether this one is the most credible one," he said. "It has the merit of being recent."

—Eric Mauser

CAMPUS

Arts Undergraduate Society talks frosh reform at meeting Town Hall discussing frosh changes goes forward despite low turnout

By Hannah George Contributor On Friday Sept. 30, the AUS held a Frosh town hall meeting on the topic of reforming Arts Frosh.

Despite drawing few participants, the meeting went ahead with enthu­ siasm and provided an opportunity for dissatisfied students to come for­ ward and share their experiences.

One attendee, a U0 Arts student who wished to remain anonymous, felt that as a 17-year-old he missed out on key parts of Frosh. Before buying his wristband, he noticed on the AUS website that Frosh events were not centred around alcohol, and decided to purchase an admis­ sion wristband. He was disappointed when, on the first evening event at Palais de Congres, he reached the front of the queue only to be told by a bouncer that 17-year-olds were not being let in because the club was too

full. He urged AUS to “keep [frosh] good for the 18-year-olds, but at the same time allow for more inclusion of underage students, too.”

AUS President Jade Calver and the present committee members were keen to hear his feedback and were engaged throughout the discus­ sion, encouraging him to point out all that he felt could be improved, as well as what was positive about the experience.

When talk turned to possible reformations of the system, the AUS VP Events, Jason Karmody, noted that this year AUS made conscious attempts for frosh to be more inclu­ sive for underage students.

The focus of the discussion then moved to specific improvement suggestions, including “significantly cheaper” tickets solely for daytime events, and organizing separate ‘dry’ events without alcohol.

Calver indicated that not fore­

warning students that most Frosh events were alcohol-based was a mistake.

“That was an oversight on our part,” Calver said.

The student insisted that people should not have the same experience next year, and asked for a refund. On the Frosh website, alcohol is men­ tioned only under the FAQ section: “At no point will anyone ever be re­ quired to drink.”

“Frosh is designed for everyone to meet new people, have a good time, and ease their way into uni­ versity, so we make sure that there are tons of ways for people to enjoy themselves be it with or without al­ cohol,” the website reads.

Calver indicated that in the fu­ ture, the underage student’s situation would not repeat itself.

“I think we’d all agree on lower prices for under-agers,” Calver said.

Discussion on reforming frosh. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

LOCAL

Montreal-area hospital hit by antibiotic-resistant bug Montreal Jewish General controls outbreak of a bacterium previously found in US, India

By Jonny Newburgh Contributor The Montreal Jewish General Hospital has been working over the last year to contain Canada’s first large hospital outbreak of a drug- re­ sistant strain of bacteria. While Kleb­ siella pneumonia Carbapensemaseproducing Klebsiella pneumonia (KPC-Kp) is new in Canada, some American hospitals in New York, Baltimore, and North Carolina have been fighting KPC-Kp for more than 10 years. The strain first appeared in the United States in 1999.

Dr. Mark Miller, the head of the JeHG’s division for infectious diseases, presented on the first Ca­ nadian breakout of KPC-Kp at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemo­ therapy (ICAAC) in Chicago on Sept. 18. According to his report, the bacteria began to spread in Au­

gust, 2010. Within only a few weeks Miller and his team of doctors and nurses managed to get the bacteria’s transmission relatively under con­ trol. Researchers first examined bac­ teria from a patient’s tracheostomy culture and soon realized that it was resistant to common antibiotics. Fur­ ther investigation led them to realize that they were handling KPC-Kp, and they immediately implemented appropriate measures to limit trans­ mission.

Klebsiella pneumonia (Kp) lives in the human intestine. Healthy people can carry the bacteria with­ out symptoms, but can cause pneu­ monia or infections in hospitals, where many people with weakened immune systems congregate. When the bacteria produce Klebsiella pneumonia Carbapensemase (KPC), doctors really begin to worry, be­ cause they become resistant to the traditional methods of treatment.

Only two antibiotics can be used to treat the bacteria, but patients with certain illnesses or pre-existing con­ ditions may not be able to take the necessary medicine. “It’s a major concern,” Miller said. “There are real limitations in what you can be treated with.”

Doctors at the hospital first began by isolating and actively monitoring affected individuals. Un­ fortunately, transmission continued, and only subsided once a dedicated quarantine ward was opened. In total, 27 patients contracted KPCKp, but only four or five patients ac­ tually fell ill with symptoms.

“As far as we know, there is nobody who died directly from KPC-Kp,” Miller said. “The antibi­ otics to which most of our isolates were susceptible included colisitin, tigecycline and gentamicin,” Vic­ tor Leung, a co-author of the study presented at the ICAAC, said. “Un­

fortunately, each of these antibiotics has side effects.”

Since the end of the study in June 2011, there have been seven new cases of patients colonized by the bacteria. Dr. Miller suggested that this is only the “beginning of a problem that will be with us indefi­ nitely.”

Nonetheless, he hopes to pre­ vent the spread and get the number of infected patients down to zero.

This bacteria is causing hysteria, in part, explained Miller, because of its relation to a relatively recent dis­ covery of a bacteria that is resistant to all antibiotics. This superbug, the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM), was discovered in India in 2008. Studies have since shown that NDM-producing Klebsiella pneu­ monia (NDM-Kp) can be found all over India, and this, Miller cau­ tioned, is a major source of concern because of the popularity of travel

to India for cheaper medical care.

Doctors are worried that patients will bring the bacteria back home with them. Fortunately, there have been no outbreaks of the dangerous NDM-Kp as of yet in Canada. As to how the KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumonia got into Jewish General, doctors simply do not know.

They have, however, imple­ mented strategies for managing future outbreaks. Leung propsed a universal process for screening all patients. “[There’s a] need for a system­ atic laboratory detection method so that patients who are colonized or infected with Enterobacteriaceae expressing KPC can be identified and placed on contact precautions to prevent further transmission while in hospital,” Leung said.

CAMPUS

IRSAM holds eventful Model UN IRSim has students saving the world, one crisis at a time

By Anand Bery News Editor The International Relations Students' Association of McGill (IRSAM) held its second annual International Relations Simulation (IRSim) Model United Nations con­ ference last weekend.

In contrast to IRSAM's larger conferences, which host delegates from high schools or other universi­ ties, IRSim is the only annual Model United Nations conference at Mc­ Gill that is both run and attended by McGill students.

"We started IRSim last year to give McGill students an opportunity to be delegates at McGill, and not have to [travel to other conferences at schools like Columbia]," Michael Tong, president of IRSAM, said.

Close to 90 students attended the conference in order to familiar­ ize themselves with university level Model UN, a change for most from the high school style conferences.

Conference committees includ­ ed both traditional governing bod­ ies, such as the UN Security Coun­ cil, and crisis-based task forces like a joint USA-Iran cabinet committee.

Keagan Tafler, IRSAM's VicePresident of Delegation Affairs,

highlighted the importance of expos­ ing students, especially first years, to crisis-style simulations.

"Model UN at the high-school level is traditionally UN style, [where delegates represent coun­ tries]," Tafler said. "A lot of uni­ versity conferences are crisis-based conferences, where there's one issue, and delegates represent characters rather than countries."

In crisis-based committees, there is no set outcome of events.

Conference organizers change the scenario in the committee in re­ sponse to how negotiations between the two groups proceed.

“They deal with the problems as they’re presented to them,” Tafler explained.

Participants prepare not by learning about a specific event, but rather by learning more about their character and their political or ideo­ logical positions. In the USA-Iran Joint Committee, for example, par­ ticipants represented high-ranking government officials from one of the two countries. They had to deal with crises like kidnapping of govern­ ment officials, cyber attacks on nu­ clear facilities, and disturbed urani­ um stores following an earthquake.

The unfolding of events could just as

easily have transpired on an episode of 24.

Tafler and Tong also empha­ sized the diverse group of student attendees.

"The beauty of IRSim is it's not just the 'Model UN Club,'" Tong, who is in the faculty of science, said.

"I've processed applications [across a broad range of faculties]," Tafler added.

Nicholas Ellery, U0 arts, par­ ticipated in this year’s IRSim. He took part in Model UN while in high school and appreciated the opportu­ nity to learn the differences between that and university level Model UN. "[IRSim] relates much more to the other university conferences, which if I were to participate in as a delegate I'd need to be more accus­ tomed to," Ellery said. "It serves a good purpose in that sense."

Ellery also appreciated being able to learn from older participants, something he didn’t have the oppor­ tunity to do while in high school.

“It’s really different for me be­ cause I started in [Grade 12]. I’m used to being the most experienced in terms of age and [this was quite a different experience]

N e w s in b r ie f BC student tragically killed in mysterious shooting Maple Batalia, a 19-year-old Simon Fraser University student, was shot and killed in a parking ga­ rage early Wednesday morning. An outpouring of emotion across Can­ ada followed her unexpected and mysterious death.

“On Wednesday Sept. 28, 2011 at 1:10 a.m., Surrey RCMP respond­ ed to several 911 calls regarding multiple shots fired in the area of the SFU Campus /Central City,” read a statement on the RCMP British Co­ lumbia’s website.

The victim was later identified as Maple Batalia.

SFU students immediately ex­ pressed outrage over her death and fear that such a violent act could occur so close to campus.

A spokesperson for the RCMP stated that while the shooting occured within metres of SFU’s cam­ pus, there was no reason to believe that other students were in danger.

The outpouring of grief from those who knew Batalia was imme­ diate and almost constant since her death was announced on Wednes­ day. Many publicly expressed their sadness on a Facebook page entitled “RIP Maple Batalia.” As of Sat­ urday, the group had over 10,000

members.

“You were one of my first friends when I first came to QE,” read a post by Natalia Anthonisz on the Facebook page.

“You made me feel so wel­ come, and I’m so thankful to have known you! I always looked forward to seeing you in art every day; you were such an amazing person and an incredible artist. I know you’re in a better place now. Rest in peace,” Anthonisz’s comment continued.

Comments also came from many who never knew Batalia per­ sonally, but were simply shocked by her death.

Batalia’s father recently said in a television interview that he would wear only black until his daughter’s murderer was found and justice was done.

As of Monday, Batalia’s killer has not been indentified. Batalia’s ex-boyfriend, Gurjinder “Gary” Dhaliwal, had been taken into cutsody on unrelated charges. He had reportedly been harassing the victim before her death.

News meetings @ 5:30 on Mondays.

—Eric Mauser

O pinion Revolution: the dress rehearsal Imagine my frustration—re­ clined in shaded grass next to Redpath Museum, newspaper folded in hand—at being subjected to the croaky, amplified ramblings of some student “leader” exhorting the loyal troops to, say it with me now, “Stand up, fight back!” I couldn’t concentrate and, with no classes in the afternoon, decided to take the agitator’s suggestion. With vaguely martial curses in my head, I stood up to walk home.

At the crossroads, I walked be­ hind the speaker and around his au­ dience of cross-legged comrades— truly a herd of individuals, as they say. The group seemed excited to be sitting in the middle of the street, even though it’s not really a street, and I imagined one guy noting it in the mental diary in which he memo­ rializes his random acts of dissent.

Despite the fact that they’d ru­ ined my perfectly good reading spot in the shade, I didn’t really mind the protesters. Everyone has extracur­ ricular activities: theirs is apparently an absurdist play about revolution, which never advances beyond dress rehearsal; I like reading the Sunday Book Review. While I think mine perhaps has the advantage of not inflicting itself on thousands of my fellow students via bullhorn, to each his and her own, I say.

Rounding the comer by Mac­ donald Engineering came a McGill services truck, inching towards the sitters at the intersection. Finally, a confrontation! An opportunity to show that rascal Mendelson that McGill’s students are mad as hell, and are not gonna take it anymore!

Emboldened, the fiery student leader spurred his fellows onward, to new heights of defiance and ob­ struction: “C’mon guys, we have to move aside.” And so they did,

resuming their positions only after the driver, presumably giggling to himself at least as heartily as I was, had passed through the intersection.

I’d like to think that Heather Munroe-Blum specifically sent that truck to test the protestors’ mettle.

She would have known how they’d react.

Especially given the unique so­ cial environment at McGill, protest­ ing feels a lot better than, say, not protesting. I look forward to the day when I too can contribute to a mean­ ingful protest that doesn’t wear ca­ suistry and inauthenticity on its sleeve like so many chic armbands.

But as I survey the scene right now, I see people who aren’t serious about themselves and ultimately aren’t se­ rious about the placards they hold.

I was baffled by a the McGillDaily headline last week: “Dem­ onstrators barred from Senate.”

That’s the takeaway? I had a class in Leacock while they were bang­ ing bloody hands on drums (nice pic, dude) and shouting. It was ex­ tremely annoying. From what meet­ ing would angry, shouting, protes­ tors not be prohibited entry? From the Daily's editorial board meet­ ing?

Imagine a conservative stand­ ing in the Daily's doorway thrashing to “Sweet Home Alabama” on a Gib­ son. I doubt he’d be welcomed in.

These activists (or whatever) want to see themselves and have them­ selves be seen holding placards, marching, being angry, transgress­ ing minor rules—basically all the catchings of rebellion—with none of the commitment. They make way for the truck inching through cam­ pus. They make a massive ruckus and disturb classes while trying to enter a formal meeting, and when they are denied entry—OUTRAGE. Who do these adults think they’re dealing with? Somebody call The Hague.

Have your sit-ins, have your protests. But if you can’t respect yourself enough to accept the con­ sequences without immediately sur­ rendering or complaining that the grown-ups are so mean, I really just don’t want to hear it.

Prevention before punishment You know a Montreal news story has blown its lid when it ap­ pears in your hometown newspaper in Vermont. That’s been the case with the recent incident at Univer­ sity of Montreal, when business students dressed up in blackface for a back-to-school event, mocked the Jamaican patois language, and chanted about marijuana. A com­ plaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission was promptly filed, shocking no one. The inci­ sive media scrutiny has unearthed a cruder side to university rituals and pageantry. The more pressing ques­ tion has not been asked: what mech­ anisms will prevent such incidents in the future?

McGill professor Charmaine Nelson wrote an eloquent commen­ tary in The Gazette profiling both the profanity of the frosh event and the history of blackface minstrelsy.

The event, Nelson reminds us, “should alert us to the fact racism is alive and well in Canada.” Black­ face became popular in 19th cen­ tury minstrel and vaudeville shows, with white actors caricaturing black stereotypes using face paint. These days, ill-informed incidents of it pop up every now and again, and its dis­ tasteful nature is seldom seriously denied. A few years ago, an episode of the TV show It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia focused exclusively on the question: is blackface racist?

The characters farcically debated the issue, then completed the parody by making a blackface movie so far beyond reality that it was elevated to the realm of absolute absurdity.

They reached the conclusion that there is nothing subjective about such racism. If dissected skepti­ cally, blackface is racist. If enacted through ignorance, it’s still racist.

When the smoke clears, the

racism is obvious and the solution is not. The incident did not arise out of direct malice toward Jamaicans or African-Canadians, but out of a revelry in which rules supposedly go out the window. And in this type of scenario, similar to those that occur during frosh, the student lead­ ers needed to be more vigilant, and use the judgment granted to them in that position. If that responsibility is exercised at the time, then the inane hoopla over how to punish the “per­ petrators” wouldn’t be necessary.

The UdeM administration has promised that those involved will take mandatory classes on cultural sensitivity (an option which will soon be available to the entire stu­ dent body). Nelson asks, perhaps rhetorically, whether the students should be expelled, lose a semes­ ter, or perform community service.

These options range from outra­ geously drastic to respectable, but they miss the point altogether: peer leaders have the power to stop undue profanity on the ground, in the moment.

Debacles over university ritu­ als have arisen and receded. Over the last year, university adminis­ trations have sought to curb frosh through strict rules, and outside ob­ servers have blown the whistle on real or potential scandals (as was the case last year when McGill manage­ ment’s brilliant idea, “Tribal Frosh,” was cancelled at the last minute).

But these criticisms from afar only serve to stave off scandal or punish it after the fact. Drunken ideas such as gallivanting around in blackface don’t take into account university regulations, and their enactors don’t have the foresight to know the con­ sequences. But they will listen to their peers.

Some will read this as an attack on university events. It’s not at all.

I enjoyed the debauchery as much as anyone. But leaders can direct this energy toward its rightful place —socializing and kicking off a uni­ versity career worth remembering.

Outrageous drunken fun and outra­ geous profanity don’t have to get in bed together, and it is the leaders’ responsibility to keep the balance.

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' ^ L e t t e r s t o t h e E d ito r

We would like to respond to one attack against QPIRG in particular coming from the OptOut campaigners. One of the “arguments” these campaigners use to convince students to opt out of QPIRG McGill’s $3.75/semester fee levy is their opposition to an “antiCanada day” reference in the School Schmool agenda (an alternative, ad-free planner, put out by QPIRG McGill and QPIRG Concordia every

year). In fact, the Opt-Out Campaign has plastered campus with thousands of glossy fliers instructing students to opt out because of this reference.

These three words, published on July 1st of the School Schmool calendar, are but a small reminder of the fact that Montreal (and McGill’s own campus) is built on land that was stolen from the indigenous people of this region. This short notation should give pause for thought: the annual observance of Canada Day presents an opportunity for critical thought on Canadian nationalism, with particular reference to the historical and continued state oppression by the Canadian nation­

state of Indigenous people. Members of the Opt-Out Campaign ought not be threatened by any such basic exercise in critical thinking.

-Q P IR G McGill Board o f Directors

Editor’s note Due to spacing concerns, the Tribune was unable to publish a letter from Michelle Whiteman, a member of Honest Reporting Canada. The letter will be published in next week’s issue.

ERRATA An article in last week’s Tribune (“Scandal at University of Montreal business school,” Sept. 28, 2011, p. 4) mistakenly states that the back to school sporting event was Jamaicanthemed. The event was Olympic themed, and one group gave tribute to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. The Tribune regrets this error.

Another piece in last week’s Tribune (“Wave of unionization hits campus,” Sept.

28, p. 3) mistakenly claims that the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill is demanding the reservation of TA positions for TAs and not for course lecturers. The sentence should state that AGSEM is demanding that McGill reserve TA positions for course assistants. The Tribune regrets this error.

The M cG ill

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LCBTQ rights are Canadian values On Sept. 24 the National Post ran an ad by the Institute for Cana­ dian Values which opposed the inclu­ sion of transsexual, transgender, intersexed, and Two-spirited issues in the Ontario school curriculum taught to children between junior kindergar­ ten and Grade 3.

The ad consisted of a photo of a young girl and the text, “Please!

Don’t confuse me ... I’m a girl.

Don’t teach me to question if I’m a boy, transexual [sic], transgendered, intersexed, or two-spirited [sic].”

The text below the image is manipulative and begs the leaders of the three most prominent Ontar­ io political parties to stop teachers from “confusing” her. The ad uses linguistic constructions that imply the requests come from the little girl (“mommy ... you promised,” pleads the ad), and insinuates that she will be mentally or emotionally dis­ tressed by learning about such issues.

After listing quotes from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) cur­ riculum resource document regard­

ing “Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism,” the ad invites readers to sign an online petition to remove these aspects from the curriculum.

The ad raised the ire of many LGBTQ groups, including Queer Ontario. The Post issued an apology and stated that the ad, as it appeared, would not run again, and that they would donate the proceeds of the ad to a yet-unnamed organization that “promotes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.”

The Tribune applauds the Post’s decision to apologize, but the ad should never have run in the first place.

Dissent and debate about On­ tario’s school curriculum should be encouraged, but the construction of this ad is offensive and in poor taste.

Putting a doe-eyed, sad-looking child in front of the camera is emotionally manipulative, and it’s nearly impos­ sible not to hear her voice asking the institute’s questions. The title that the institute has chosen for itself, “the In­ stitute for Canadian Values,” and its

domain name, “StopCorruptingChildren.com,” implies that its opponents lack Canadian values and patriotism by supporting non-traditional gender roles.

Furthermore, the ad isn’t accu­ rate: although the lessons are depict­ ed as mandatory in the ad, according to queer newspaper Xtra\, they are actually optional. Teaching children to question their own gender, and teaching them that your understand­ ing of gender can change as you grow up, are two entirely different things. The institute’s assertion that the Ontario school curriculum does the former is unfounded.

The Tribune believes that there’s space for appropriate dia­ logue on this issue, but this ad does not fall within those boundaries. It is clear that some parents feel that these issues are best approached in the home, or at a later age, and they have a right to voice those concerns— but this ad, which obfuscates fact and replaces knee-jerk emotion for thought, is not a constructive part of

that dialogue. Free speech should not be equated with demagoguery.

In addition to their ad, the Tri­ bune disagrees with the stance of the Institute for Canadian Values.

The argument that LGBTQ issues shouldn’t be broached until children are beyond the third grade holds water at first glance, but becomes a sieve under scrutiny. By delay­ ing these discussions we ensure that transsexual, transgender, intersexed, and Two-spirited people are regard­ ed as different. Children who learn from a young age that boys and girls are the only two possible categories will have trouble accepting anything other than the gender binary system later on. Only by teaching LGBTQ issues to people of a young age can we ensure that these concepts will be merely a few amongst the many things that we, as Canadians, value as perfectly normal.

Eric Mauser, News Editor, chose not to take part in the above editorial review.

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InSite’s success should set a precedent The Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling to permit InSite, a supervised narcotics injection facility, to remain open without prosecution for federal drug law violations, is a progressive step towards helping many of Vancouver’s drug users.

The conservative argument—that safe injection sites enable and condone drug use while harsher law enforcement for dealers and users would staunch the problem—is narrow-minded and short-sighted.

The Canadian Drugs and Substances Act holds that federal drug laws may be suspended when enforcement would be “arbitrary” or “grossly disproportionate,” a clause typically reserved for medical and scientific purposes. In the case of InSite, enforcing federal drug laws would indeed be grossly disproportionate: the number of overdose deaths averted per year, based on statistical models, is difficult to estimate but ranges from one to 12. Not one fatality has been reported amongst the 1.8 million

users who have passed through the facility, and in 2010 alone, 458 individuals were admitted to Onsite, the 12-bed detox and rehabilitation centre on the clinic’s second floor.

Studies published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS have shown that InSite does not increase the number of relapses among former drug users.

In 2008, then-health minister Tony Clement chose not to extend the centre’s exemption from federal drug laws, calling InSite an “abomination.” Groups of InSite supporters took the federal government to the BC Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of InSite under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms—the right to life, liberty, and security of the person.

Prohibiting drug possession within the safe injection site would prevent users from accessing health care: InSite 'offers a sterile environment to prevent the spread of drug-related

diseases and also monitors patients in case of overdose. The notion that sterile drug injection facilities can be definitional to health care is a progressive and necessary measure for many Canadians.

Through appeals, InSite came in front of the Canadian Supreme Court. Overwhelmed by evidence showing that InSite saves lives and prevents the spread of diseases, the nine judges unanimously ruled that InSite upholds the CDSA’s mandate to maintain the health and well-being of Canadians, and that health minister Leona Agglukaq’s failure to grant the exemption was unconstitutional. The benefits the site provides to the community, according the Supreme Court, far outweigh any potential benefits of enforcing drug laws and closing it.

Harm reduction techniques are a necessary, but not sufficient, component of any strategy to address Vancouver’s drug problem. The Conservative government’s attempts to justify closing down InSite by

claiming that InSite encourages drug use misrepresents the site: a centre which offers information on rehab treatments and referrals to other social services is not one that condones drug use. Furthermore, the rate of drug overdoses in the area has substantially decreased compared to the rest of Vancouver. In the face of overwhelming evidence that needle exchanges and a room for supervised injections save lives, shutting down InSite would be tantamount to preventing citizens from accessing basic health care.

InSite is more than just a sterile facility: one long-term drug user interviewed by the Toronto Star described it as the one place drug users can go and “feel human.” At the heart of InSite is compassion for a community that almost never receives any. InSite should set a precedent for drug policy and healthcare nationwide.

tion is the sole responsibility o f The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views o f 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 infor­ mation. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submit­ ted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune

The Tribune is looking for a news editor, an online editor, and an opinion editor,

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 o f the author and do not necessar­ ily reflect the opinions o f the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

e-mail editor@mcgilltribune.com for more information.

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Protest needs respect Last Wednesday, I attended a student protest in response to the injunction filed against MUNACA. Also last Wednesday, I learned that the pro-MUNACA student movement on campus, a movement I personally supported and felt a part of, is not as empathetic as it seems.

The protest started off, as most protests do, with bravado, indignation, and self-righteous­ ness a-plenty, but it took a turn

for the ugly when we reached the James Administration Building.

Security guards stood in front of the entryway, blocking us from coming in, at which point taunt­ ing and disrespectful comments directed at the security guards were heard from the crowd.

Some stood directly in front of the guards, arguing with them to let us through, then turning around and yelling negative re­ marks about them. Others yelled jokingly from the crowd, asking the security guards to join us. One student said, “I know it’s your job to do this, but don’t do your job,” which was followed by chuckling and cheering. The worst, in my opinion, was someone assuring them that we, the students, would unionize them after finishing sup­ porting MUNACA’s cause.

This is unacceptable, es­ pecially coming from a part of the student body that has been fighting so actively for workers’ rights— a group that earlier in the protest cheered enthusiastically when a speaker spoke of empathy as the main reason for support­ ing MUNACA. Where was our èmpathy for the security guards?

These are non-unionized work­ ers (as one student did point out, which led to the condescending remarks), with families to feed and bills to pay, and who are not endowed with the privileges we McGill students are.

We can protest when we be­ lieve wrongs have been commit­ ted and we have the right to vocal­ ize a dissenting opinion against the administration, without hav­ ing to worry about whether we

can show up to class the next day.

The security guards on campus are there to do a job, and what’s more, a job that directly benefits us. They make our campus safe, and the unfortunate fact that we have recently found ourselves on opposite sides o f picket lines does not mean that they automatically become part of the enemy we’re fighting against.

Regarding the immature and condescending remark that we’ll “unionize them next,” I must question that student’s motives in joining the protest. While I am persuaded that the organizers of this protest are one hundred per cent genuine and selfless in their fight for MUNACA’s rights, a comment like that hints that per­ haps not all attendees were as honest in their goals. We are not,

in fact, the indispensable heroes of all McGill workers, and more importantly, we are not above anyone. We should use our stu­ dent privilege to fight for those who do not have those privileges, but unless we can do so with hu­ mility and respect, we only cause more harm than good.

This criticism does not apply to the majority of the protesters present on Wednesday. Several students spoke out defending the security guards, and many agreed with them. Overall, in my opin­ ion, the protest was a success and it was conducted in a respectful and positive way. It’s important, however, to remember who and what we’re protesting against; when we start mistreating some workers in order to help others, we’ve lost our fight.

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S tudent L iving O D D S AND ENDS

Say goodbye to class and luxury when flying with Ryan One student’s experience with the inexpensive European airline Ryanair

By Anna Silman Contributor Flying used to be an event, a mile-high journey full of pomp and circumstance, soaring through the at­ mosphere in a smoky haze of scotch, surrounded by a gaggle of pristine stewardesses in pillbox caps and passengers in neckties. But it’s time to give up the charade. Nowadays, as air travel increases and more and more of the masses demand access to the skies, a number of low cost airlines have sprung up in order to meet the growing demand. If you’re paying $30 to fly internationally, don’t expect to be wined and dined.

This trend is especially pro­ nounced in Europe, where the short distance between countries requires a cheap way to get around. Enter airlines like EasyJet, Ryanair, and —Gerard Depardieu’s favourite— “Wizz Air,” whose mandates are to get people from A to B for the lowest possible fares. The result is unbeat­ able deals: you can get from London to Barcelona, from Barcelona to Tel Aviv, all for the price of a sandwich and a cup of coffee.

But these mile-high sardine cans can only do so at the expense of certain basic luxuries. Having done their best to ensure that you re­

Mi- * Éfe A Ryanair jet taking flight, (nowpublic.com) ceive nothing that you have not paid for, there are no frills aboard these flights.

Convenience is indeed sacri­ ficed at the expense of affordability.

For example, many of these airlines have their own special low-cost airports, located in places where the nice planes won’t bother to fly.

These “airports” are often located

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in run down, industrial cities, some­ times a two-hour drive from one’s desired destination.

If you wonder how these com­ panies can stay afloat while charging 12 Euros to fly from the Netherlands to Egypt and back, the answer is this: hidden fees. Make sure to check the baggage allowance before you fly, because the cost of bringing a bag

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is often the same (or more) than the cost of the flight itself. Don’t even think of asking an airline employee for help, or they’ll ship your bag off to the hold faster than you can say “do you take Visa?”

Of all the low cost airlines, my favourite is Ryanair. It knows ex­ actly what it is: having done away with any and all pretence, Ryanair

relishes its lack of taste and ability to suck any sense of class or dignity out of the flying experience.

The airline’s colours, a retina­ blinding bright blue and yellow, are (along with EasyJet’s orange) the most garish shades imaginable, designed as a constant reminder that you only paid eight Euros. Ry­ anair also indulges in the regular in-flight promotion of carcinogenic goods. I was once prompted to try a 5-Hour-Energy drink, which I can only imagine is banned in half of the countries Ryan flies to.

Yet Ryanair is shameless in basking in its own glory - for every flight that arrives on time, the jubi­ lantly triumphant sound of classical music blares over the loudspeaker, and Ryan, a pleasant-sounding middle-aged Irish bloke, jubilantly announces that you have arrived yet again “on time.”

But why not be proud? Flying through the air thousands of feet high, zipping past clouds, taking you across the continent in under two hours for barely any money is something to celebrate. These air­ lines strip flying down to its bare minimum, but when push comes to shove, they get the job done. Safely, and sometimes even on time.

Write for Features and Student Living.

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As the global population continues to rise—and with it the demand for food—in­ creasing pressure is being placed on our oceans. The saying goes, ‘there are plenty of fish in the sea,’ but the abundance of sea­ food in our supermarkets is deceptive.

According to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), global seafood consumption has increased by 21 per cent between 1992 and 2002. In 2000, roughly 90-100 million tonnes of fish were extracted from the world’s oceans. This represents a five-fold increase since 1950.

As long as the demand for fish remains high, fishing will continue to be a lucrative industry.

Global awareness of overfishing is growing. Lauren Chapman, Canada Research Chair in Respiratory Ecology and Aquatic Conservation, and professor in McGill’s biology department, said that “It’s not just that we’re targeting one population or one species, it’s that this is a world-wide global phenomenon.” Chapman explained “We’ve got [an] over 90 per cent decline in many of the large predators like the tuna and the sharks. And you can imagine what that does to the ecosystem.”

As the Greenpeace website states, bluefin tuna, a high market value fish, continues to be fished despite warnings from scientists.

Chapman investigates the ecological and evolutionary consequences of environmental stressors such as overfishing, and how organisms respond to these stressors by becoming extinct, by moving to new habitats, by going through a genetic change, or through a plastic response. “Plastic variation is when there’s a change in the traits of the individual that’s induced by the environment,” Chapman explained. “[For example] if you’ve grown up on a very poor diet you might end up smaller, skinnier or whatever, but it’s environmentally-induced change.”

“When you are selectively fishing populations, you’re often selecting the largest, fastest growing individuals. ... So there’s a growing awareness that this heavy fishing that we’re doing—it could be in marine systems, could be in freshwater systems—is leading to changes in the characteristics in the fish themselves,” Chapman said.

Fish populations often respond to heavy fishing by reproducing at a smaller body size and maturing at a younger age.

However, it’s very difficult to discern whether or not this response has a genetic basis to it, or if it is a plastic change.

Plastic change is not as severe as

genetic change. As Chapman noted, “[if] we put a moratorium on [a] fishery, it may take a long, long time, if there has been genetic change, for that to be reversed.”

Also, she warned that in some cases it is very problematic to try and reverse these trends.

However, while we might not necessarily be able to return to the situation from which we started, there is still a good direction to move towards.

In Canada, the story of the Atlantic cod fishery in Newfoundland is an example of too little too late. According to Greenpeace, by 1992 Atlantic cod stocks collapsed due to overfishing. In response to the stock declining by 99 per cent, the government imposed a moratorium, effectively shutting down the Newfoundland cod fishery. This caused the displacement of tens of thousands of workers, devestating communities who relied on the fisheries for their livelihoods. Despite these efforts, the fish stock has yet to see any recovery.

As the cod fishery example demonstrates, many jobs and livelihoods depend on fishing.

According to the MSC, around “200 million livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on the fishing industry.” This is particularly pertinent in the developing world, as it is the source for half of the seafood traded worldwide.

Not only does fishing provide jobs, but as the MSC says on their website, one billion people worldwide depend on fish as their primary source of protein. And so, while the effects of overfishing will essentially jeopardize this food source and the jobs it creates, the short­ term pressure of earning an income and having food to eat will keep this industry in motion.

William Agnew, a recent graduate from the McGill School of Environment, was involved in an in-depth study conducted for McGill Food and Dining Services (MFDS) with regards to developing a system that enabled MFDS to make sustainable seafood purchasing decisions. Agnew explains that there are four types of fish that are severely threatened by overfishing. These include cod, bass, salmon, and tuna, all of which are fished in a unsustainable manner. “But there are also ways of procuring those products or those species in a more sustainable way. And it can come right down to just the way it’s fished, and where it’s fished,” Agnew explained.

The trouble is, “the actual definition of what sustainable seafood is doesn’t really exist ...everyone sort of has a different [definition],” Agnew said. In their executive summary of the project, Agnew and his colleagues defined sustainable seafood as “seafood fished or farmed in a socially responsible manner that does not jeopardize the long-term health of any species in the associated ecosystem for

generations to come.”

“It will require very careful management and intervention to keep it sustainable,” Chapman said. Choosing to eat larger fish, such as tuna, as opposed to smaller species, doesn’t mean the smaller species go unharmed. It is a cascading effect. Chapman explained that, when looking at a system such as Lake Victoria in Uganda, or Lake Erie in North America, “you see that people start off fishing the largest, fastest growing fish. Then [those fish] disappear, and fishers are very adaptive so they move down to the next part of the food-chain, the smaller fishes. ... So, the fishers may be taking out the same amount of fish, but they’re taking out more smaller fish, and then [the fishery] can collapse very easily.” This is known as fishing-down.

“You can fish down a species [by] fishing the largest fish, then the smaller fish and then the smaller fish. You can also fish down a community,” Chapman said. Tied to this is the concept known as the tragedy of the commons. This occurs because the oceans are a global commons; they do not belong to one government; they are a shared resource.

Each fishery is concerned with making a profit, which causes them to fish as much as possible. Theoretically, the more fish you catch, the more money you make. The irony is that with each individual fishery acting on the same motive, as a collective they will damage the commons upon which they rely.

“There’s a lot to be overcome when you’re dealing with waters that cross [many] political boundaries,” Chapman said. It is important to note as well, that it is not just the fault of the country doing the fishing, but of those countries willing to purchase the fish as well. “If you have an export market that’s willing to take undersized fish, it’s really hard for the country [providing the fish] to impose regulations,” Chapman said.

Agnew explains that the idea of sustainable seafood in Montreal is a novel one.

“In Montreal, I can’t go into a fishmonger’s anywhere and ask for sustainable seafood, they’ll just give you a strange look,” he said. However, with MFDS’ commitment to serving only sustainably seafood as of Sept.

1,2010, he remains optimistic. When it comes to purchasing sustainable seafood in your local grocery store, however, Agnew advised consumers to look for the Marine Stewardship Council certification. When compared to other certification systems out there, Agnew said “It’s as rigorous as it gets, and it’s widely available.”

The MSC focuses on wild fisheries.

Using the scientific research that comes out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the MSC looks into what quantities of fish are less

likely to damage the fish stock. They also investigate the methods used to catch these fish. One of the most harmful methods of fishing is trawling, which scrapes the seabed, both destroying the ecosystem as well as producing incredible amounts of bycatch. Bycatch refers to the species brought up on deck that are not what the fisheries were looking for, and are killed through the fishing process.

The MSC estimates that around eight per cent of all fish caught annually by marine fishers is bycatch. This equals almost seven million tonnes of fish per year that are discarded back into the oceans by commercial fishermen across the globe.

“The MSC encourages using more speciesspecific methods of catching fish. Hookand-line is a very good way,” Agnew said.

With the MSC certification process taking up to two years to complete, it can be very difficult for companies to become fully certified immediately. Agnew advised consumers: “When you see a company that says they’re MSC certified, don’t assume that all of their products are sustainable MSC certified. It’s usually just a few products that are certified. You need to look for the MSC logo on the final product.”

Agnew also warned about fragmentation. “There are definitely a lot of eco-labels [and] companies out there that put on this face of sustainability,” he said. However, there are also companies out there whose sustainability efforts may be surprising. Agnew reveals that McDonalds is in the process of getting their fish sandwiches MSC certified. “In fact, McDonalds is a fast food industry leader in terms of sustainable seafood, believe it or not,” he said.

Consumers should also be aware that over half of the fish in supermarkets come from aquaculture, or fish farms.

Many assume aquaculture to be “a great answer to the [overfishing] issue...but it can be incredibly ecologically harmful and it often uses feed that is fish from the ocean,” Agnew explained. Currently the World Wildlife Fund is in the process of producing aquaculture standards to regulate the relatively new industry.

Chapman stressed that it is important to catch the fisheries before they reach their tipping point, because there is still potential to reverse the trends induced by overfishing. “The best thing is to encourage people to be a little more aware and that what they’re eating might really be some of the last,” Agnew said, “It’s amazing to think that a resource as large as our oceans could ever dry up.”

LOOK FOR T H I S MSC ON T H E SEAFOOD IN YOUR GROCERY STO RE. T H IS IN D IC A T E S W H IC H SEAFOOD C E R T IFIE D .

ATLANTIC SALMON Salmon farms som etim es use pesticides and antibiotics to control outbreaks of d isease among the fish. When consum ers e at farmed salmon, they may also be eating residue from the chem icals used by the farms.

LA BEL LOCAL LA BEL IS MSC

B L U E F I N T U N A I S T H E W O R L D 'S MOST V A L U A B L E F IS H FOR S U S H I

P ir a te fis h in g (ille g a l, u n re p o rte d o r u n r e g u la te d fis h in g ) a c c o u n t s fo r o n e q u a r te r o f t h e w o rld ’s to ta l

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The global o ce a n s have lost an estimated 9 0 per cent of their large predators

Tip: Download the MSC pocket guide next time you want sushi. It will tell you which types of fish are fished sustainably

S C IE N T IS T S E S T IM A T E D

BEST ALTERNATIVE TO ATLANTIC COD: Cobia (U .S. Farm ed) BEST ALTERNATIVE TO SALMON: Arctic Char (Farm ed in Recirculating System s)

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BEST ALTERNATIVE TOTUNA: “White" Canned Albacore (Troll/Pole from the Canadian and U.S. Pacific) or “Light” Canned Skipjack (Troll/Pole)

T h e e x p o r t v a lu e o f w orld t r a d e in fish w a s U .S . $ 6 3 billion in 2 0 0 3 , T h is is m o r e th a n t h e c o m b in e d v a lu e o f n e t e x p o r ts o f ric e , c o f f e e , s u g a r , a n d t e a .

H A L F OF T H E SEAFOOD T R A D E D W O R L D W ID E COM ES FROM D E V E L O P IN G C O U N T R IE S

.

T h e UN p red icts an o th e r 2 billion p eo p le will join the w orld’s population within 2 0 y e a rs .

:

One-quarter of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion.

About half of the stocks are fully exploited.

iOURCES: MARINE S T E w A

COUNCIL, G R E E N P E A C E , M O N TEREY I3AY AQUARIUM

Curiosity Delivers, www.mcgilltribune.com

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G IZM O S AN D GADGETS

L E A D E R S H IP T R A IN IN G P R O G R A M

Einstein’s theory under fire Experiment finds particles moving faster than speed o f light By lain Macdonald Production Manager

One of the brightest scientists of all time may have made some mistakes. Recent research conduct­ ed at CERN suggests that it could be possible for particles to travel faster than the speed of light, something Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativ­ ity specifically prohibits. This find­ ing. if correct, pokes a hole in one of the most basic theories describing the behaviour of the universe.

Einstein’s theory is simple: it describes the laws of physics under motion, and for the past 100 years no one has been able to disprove it.

The theory of relativity states that the laws of physics are identical for any bodies in uniform motion with respect to one another, and that the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for any observer, regardless of that observer’s motion. One impor­ tant implication of these laws is that the speed of light, about 186,282 miles per second in a vacuum, is the fastest speed at which energy, mat­ ter, or information can travel in the universe.

An experiment recently con­ ducted at CERN appears to con­ tradict Einstein’s theory. Scientists measured neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light. The experi­ ment involved firing neutrinos, one of the elementary subatomic parti­ cles, hundreds of miles, and measur­ ing the time taken for the neutrinos to travel the distance. The neutrinos covered the distance several nano­ seconds faster than light would have.

After checking and double-checking their results, the team failed to find any mistake in their calculations.

This isn’t the first time scientists have claimed to unravel Einstein’s theory, but it might be the first time the results hold, as scientists around the globe attempt to verify CERN’s results. The CERN experiment is more complicated than prior experi­ ments and directly contradicts the results of these earlier experiments, so it is quite likely that the results are invalid in some way, despite the extensive attempts of the research­ ers to account for any possible error.

Where the mistake lies—if there is one—remains to be seen.

If the CERN results hold true,

and Einstien’s theory is proven incorrect or incomplete, it could alter the foundations of the physics world, as well as change the way we understand other sciences. For example, special relativity is one of the things which proves time travel to be impossible. The result would give some heft to the theoretical subatomic particle referred to as the tachyon. Another implication is that matter exists which cannot be seen as it approaches an observer.

If the particle is moving faster than the speed of light, the light from the particle will reach the observer after the particle itself has reached the observer, resulting in unobservable motion.

The true effects of this experi­ mental result are difficult to predict.

One thing is certain: if it stands the test of experimental duplication, it will be the most significant discov­ ery in the field of physics in the past century. However, there is reason to be skeptical. Whether the scientists at CERN have uncovered something deep, or simply botched an experi­ ment remains to be seen.

L e a d e r s h ip S k i l l s D e v e l o p m e n t W o r k s h o p s

Leadership J^ M cG ill Leadership Training Program First*Year Office

•Interested in gaining skills in leadership?

•Involved in a student club, service or organization as an executive, organizer or event planner?

•Looking for ways to expand & build on your life skills?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, then don't miss this opportunity to sign up for the Leadership T raining Program ’s FREE S kills Developm ent W orkshops!

These workshops w ere cre ated to give you the chance to develop and buiid on your leadership and life skills. Attend a minimum of five workshops throughout 201 1 /1 2 academ ic ye a r and receive a certificate of completion.

This O ctober, com e and check out...

P u b lic S p e a k in g 1 0 1 Wednesday, October 12, 5:00-7:00pm (downtown campus) Do you get the jitters when speaking in front of your class? Public speaking can be a requirement for many professions. This workshop will help you face your fears, as well as give you tips on being a speaker.

A to Z s o f R u n n in g a S tu d e n t O r g a n i z a t io n Wednesday, October 19, 5:30-7:30p m (downtown campus) A re you new to a position of leadership or involved in a club or service?

Learn the basics from the Pros and make your M cGill organizing ride a lot smoother.

Registration no w a v a ila b le v ia M inerva!

To access the site an d /o r see a complete list of workshops offered this semester, go to our website at: w w w .m c g ill.c a / f i r s t y e a r / l e a d e r t r a i n i n g /

For more info, drop by the First-Year O ffice in the Brow n B u ild in g , Suite 2 1 0 0 , or call 5 14-398-6913

ODDS AND ENDS

What I’ve learned from Bear Grylls Survival techniques more valuable than you m ight think

By Kyla Mandel________________ Features Editor

Whenever my family and I go to the cottage for the weekend, I in­ evitably want to build a fort. Be it out of snow, sticks, or pillows and blankets, this activity has provided me with immense entertainment.

And yes, even at the age of 21, given the choice between building a snow fort and watching a movie at the cot­ tage, I will always choose the fort.

Thus it should come as no sur­ prise that my show of choice on Sat­ urday mornings is Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls. And while I know I’ll probably never be stuck on a desert island off the coast of Madagas­ car, I like to think that his survival techniques could prove useful to me somewhere down the line. What if I get lost in the woods in a snowstorm, or if I lost control of my canoe while going down a raging river? It could happen. This is why whenever Bear Grylls is in any location that even somewhat resembles Canada, I pay very close attention.

The first thing I learned from Grylls was how to cross a frozen lake. I had always assumed the best

way would be to stick to the edges and make my way slowly around it.

Good thing I saw an episode before I actually attempted this, because I would have drowned. If you lie down on the ice, spread your weight out, and wriggle straight across the center of the lake, you stand the best chance of crossing safely because the ice is thickest at the centre and the weakest at its edges.

I’ve also learned how to stay warm at night in a snowy wasteland.

If you can dig out a hole big enough to fit yourself, and then cover it with pine-tree branches, you’ll be as snug as a bug in a rug. Sort of. Survival isn’t about comfort. I still, however, cannot stomach watching Grylls eat hairy spiders and giant centipedes, or cut up a seal carcass to use its skin as a wet-suit. But, with the handy fire-making skills I’ve acquired from camping trips and Grylls’ in­ sight into which trees hold the best fire-starting sap, I’m sure I could turn any grub into a delicacy.

For those of you who aren’t from places where winter domi­ nates six months of the year, these techniques might not be so useful.

Let me provide you, then, with a tip

that has stuck with me, despite the episode being more relevant to the rainforest than to Canada. If you are ever stuck in the jungle—always, and I mean always—build your bed suspended above the ground. Ac­ cording to a jungle myth, a man once slept on the ground only to wake up with his arm inside a snake, half di­ gested. Don’t take a chance—please construct your bed above the forest

floor.

Some people may say Man vs.

Wild is staged and too unrealistic. So what? Even if he does have safety people surrounding him and a trailer full of real food, his survival tips are no less meaningful. If you don’t think you’ll ever be in a situation that will test your strength and will­ power, to that I say, never say never.

Even if you’re battling your way to

class in torrential rains or a blizzard, or you’ve run out of midnight snacks and need to get creative, Grylls’ tips might prove surprisingly useful.

So next time don’t be too quick to shun extreme survival techniques, because you just never know when you’ll be up the creek without a paddle.

A&E THEATRE

Curtain rises for Music Theatre Montreal New theatre group attem pts to bridge the gap between student and professional theatre

By Chris Liu Contributor

The word “actor” can have some rather glitzy connotations.

Perhaps visions of Johnny Depp or Anne Hathaway just danced through your head. Maybe little golden statuettes, or the multi-million dol­ lar paychecks that Taylor Lautner receives for taking his shirt off and mumbling. Yet, for every star and starlet skinny-dipping at their 18thcentury Italian villa (cough, George Clooney), there are countless more stars-to-be, people who are driven, talented, and, fortunately for us, nearby.

Indeed, the stages of McGill are chock full of them. Every day on campus, you may be walking past a future Oscar or Tony winner. The problem, of course, is getting aspir­ ing young actors to where they need to be in order to launch a success­ ful career. While the difficulties of translating hopes into trophies are very real, there is now a new com­ pany dedicated to facing these chal­ lenges head-on.

Music Theatre Montreal (MTM), founded last year by Mc­ Gill students Jonathan Keijser and Laura Oundjian, seeks to bridge the often harrowing gap between student theatre and the professional scene. “They wanted a company that could be a training ground,” Kate McGillivray, publicist for MTM, explained. “The goal is assisting people who want a career in the arts.

This is the first step.”

For a school lacking a Fine Arts program, MTM may be what is needed to keep the dreams of cam­ pus' artistic few from withering in

The princes share a meaningful glare in Music Theatre Montreal’s inaugural performance of In to the greenhouse heat of the McGill bubble. For their first show, the notfor-profit company has reached out to a variety of audiences, from CEGEPs to elementary schools, while also eliciting the expertise of profes­ sional mentors to guide much of the cast and crew. The company aims to provide professional mentors to counsel every actor in future pro­ ductions.

For their debut, the company has chosen the Tony award-winning Into The Woods. Powered by the musical and lyrical ingenuity of Stephen Sondheim, the show unites several well-known Grimm fairy tales in a single storyline.

“It's like Shrek before Shrek,” McGillivray explained. The plot heaps on the laughter and silliness

in the first act, while exploring the darker implications of the beloved childhood stories in the second.

“They all have wishes; they all want things to happen. In the second act they have to deal with the conse­ quences of these wishes. So it's kind of like the reality check on the world of fairy tales. It's an interesting look, and it's pretty funny throughout.”

Despite the theme of the show, however, MTM’s launch has faced challenges that even fairy dust wouldn’t solve. Due to the continu­ ing MUNACA strike, the cast and crew found themselves turned out of their planned performance space at Moyse Hall juSt weeks before open­ ing. “We worked really well with them, and they were really trying to accommodate us,” McGillivray

th e W o o d s.

(Music Theatre Montreal)

said. “But then when it didn't work out, it happened later than when it should have, so we found out really late in the game.”

“We had to make the choice: are we going to go on? Can we do this? And the cast was so energeti­ cally for 'yes!' Everyone loves the show, so we really rallied, and now everybody's doing all the jobs they can. It's all hands on deck. Jonathan, the director, and Laura, the produc­ er, work so hard. I don't think they sleep. Their heart and soul is in the show,” added McGillivray.

Life offers tough lessons, but MTM appears to have picked itself up, dusted itself off, and thrown it­ self back into the methodized mad­ ness that is the lead-up to any the­ atrical production. With continued

success, the company is sure to teach invaluable lessons of its own to the aspiring actors who walk its stage.

For the students who are inter­ ested in theatre but are unsure about the craft, MTM is there to welcome them with open arms. “There's al­ ways a place for anyone who wants to have fun and help out,’’ McGil­ livray said. “It doesn't matter what you want to do. Just jump in.”

Music Theatre Montreal's pro­ duction o f Into The Woods will take place at the D. B. Clarke Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve, from October 13 to 15 and 19 to 21. Tickets are available at www.musictheatremontreal.com

P o p J ÿ ie t o r ic Reality television creates ethical conundrum s Reality shows have become a staple of television programming over the past few years. They range from survival-of-the-fittest to tod­ dler beauty pageants, and they’re far from waning in popularity. The Real Housewives franchise, for one, has been the crown jewel in Bravo’s lineup for quite some time, spawn­ ing spinoffs, profitable endorsement deals, and many a talk show seg­ ment. Its stars battle it out for ratings on screen, but continue their feuds and over-the-top theatrics off cam­ era as well. These escapades have been making headlines for some

time, but it’s the most recent scandal that’s captured the public’s attention in a tragic exposure of the truth be­ hind the magic of reality television.

Russell Armstrong, husband of Real Housewives o f Beverly Hills cast member Taylor Armstrong, committed suicide in mid-August.

He was found to have been in finan­ cial ruin, and slowly but surely, de­ tails of his horrific abuse of Taylor leaked out. It’s no secret that real­ ity television is edited for dramatic effect, but it’s a problem when the edits obstruct crimes from being brought to light. Just how much should the public be allowed to see when tragedy strikes?

Many celebrity gossip sites have stated multiple times that Tay­

lor told other cast members and, potentially, television executives, about the abuse she endured at her husband’s hands. This abuse suppos­ edly went on for most of their sixyear marriage, and was well docu­ mented by Taylor herself, through photographs and conversations with friends. The apparent brush-off of the abuse by those involved in Real Housewives is equally terrible. Yes, one can argue for letting families deal with their drama behind closed doors, but that should be reserved for arguments about overspending and cheating spouses. Physical and verbal abuse is very serious. There’s no excuse for anyone to avoid re­ porting extensive spousal abuse; Taylor made multiple trips to the

hospital due to injuries she sustained from her husband. While her doctor had a hand in failing to take action, there’s little chance that those film­ ing the show didn’t know enough about the situation to report it. Cam­ eras commonly film the goings-on of cast members, and even if they never captured the physical abuse taking place, it’s unlikely they never saw the consequences of it.

The handling of Armstrong’s suicide is another ethical nightmare.

Details of his suicide are all over the media and Taylor herself has leaked images of his abuse to the press.

Profitable interviews are being auc­ tioned off to the highest bidder. The worst part of all of this is that Rus­ sell and Taylor have a young daugh­

ter, who’s going to have to deal with this media coverage during one of the worst periods in her life. Despite how awful Armstrong may have been, he was still a girl’s father, and the handling of his suicide and its fallout is going to hurt her, in the short run and when it comes back to haunt her when she grows up.

Reality television isn’t going anywhere soon, and most of it is completely harmless. But if this story serves to teach us anything, it’s that cast members are still real people with real problems. The eth­ ics around reality television mostly take a back seat to profitable drama, but a line needs to be drawn some­ where, and soon.

—Liya Adessky

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Curiosity Delivers, www.mcgilltribune.com

FILM REV IEW S

Toronto International Film Festival tidbits T w ix t, A lb e r t N o b b s ,

By Emma Hambly Contributor T w ix t

Like a fantastical nightmare cut short by wakefulness, Francis Ford Coppola’s ghost story Twixt gives us a wild, imaginative ride but cuts to black before it all makes sense.

The protagonist is Hall Bal­ timore (Val Kilmer), a bargainbasement horror writer making the rounds on his latest book tour. He arrives in Swan Valley, a town with a seven-faced clock tower and gag­ gles of Goths, but doesn’t leave as quickly as he expects. He stays to write a new story about the town’s recent murder victim—a young girl with a stake plunged into her heart.

The film bounces between the day­ time—sequences of writing, inves­ tigating, and collaborating with the police chief—and the night.

At night, Hall is pulled into a dream version of Swan Valley, painted in greyscale and violent reds, and populated by ghosts. The writer meets V (Elle Fanning), a por­ celain-skinned vampire with far too many secrets, and the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe. The dreams soon become night­

and

T h e D e s c e n d a n ts

mares. Hall is charged with solving the girl’s murder, chasing down a ghastly serial killer, and fighting the darkness growing inside him.

Twixt is original, eerie, and thought-provoking. But viewers be­ ware; it ends too quickly. The plot is left unfinished, unsatisfying, and underwhelming. This film deserved a satisfying finale. Instead, we get a conclusion that slips through the cracks like a hazy dream in the morning.

(collider.com)

A lb e rt N o b b s

Albert Nobbs has all the mak­ ings of an excellent period drama, with a twist. The cinematography is stunning, the costumes are impec­ cable, the plot rife with drama—and

all make a splash at TIFF the main character is a woman mas­ querading as a man. Albert, played

by Glenn Close, takes on the role of a man in order to get ahead in a male-dominated society. She works as a servant in a posh hotel, dream­ ing of one day owning her own busi­ ness.

Nobbs would be a strong, in­ triguing character, if it weren’t nearly impossible to sympathize with her; and therein lies the fatal flaw of the film. Around everyone else, Nobbs is a reserved man with no sense of humour. When we’re first introduced to Albert Nobbs the woman, we see that she is a snivel­ ling wretch terrified of being discov­ ered, and obsessed with counting her money.

This disconnect causes the film’s impact to fall flat. Save for one heartwarming scene where she dons a dress for the first time in de­ cades, Glenn Close does nothing with the role.

Albert Nobbs is wrenchingly close to being excellent. Mia Wasikowska and Janet McTeer deliver powerful performances as women with actual personalities. The en­ semble cast—the hotel’s staff and clients—is superb. Love, drama, and intrigue abound. However, it

just goes to show that a compelling protagonist can mean the difference between absolutely and almost out­ standing.

(onlinemovieshut.com)

T h e D escen d a n ts

Hawaii is no paradise for Matt King (George Clooney), an es­ tranged husband and father faced with two daunting tasks. One: he must inform friends and family that his wife will not recover from a boating accident. Two: he must decide what to do with the valuable plot of land he’s inherited from his royal ancestor.

As he navigates these burdens, Matt has to reconcile with what’s left of his family: two troubled, dis­ tant daughters. As he begins to re­

pair their relationship, Matt’s daugh­ ter Alex reveals that Matt’s wife was cheating on him. The film becomes an odyssey—Matt’s quest to find the man his wife was planning to leave him for.

Along the journey through lush Hawaiian islands, Matt does his best to make amends with his daughters, and deal with the death of his wife.

There are dark emotions at play here, yet The Descendants man­ ages to blend genuine laugh-outloud moments with touching scenes.

The story is utterly believable, an­ chored by powerful performances

by Shailene Woodley as Alex, and Clooney, who makes a flawed, stressed man’s struggle both heart­ warming and heartbreaking.

(hawaiimagazine.com)

M U S IC FILM

INNI: getting intimate with Sigur Ros Vincent Morisset’s film brings you closer to Sigur Ros than you ever expected to be

By Wendy Speakman Contributor Dark, ominous, and haunting aren’t the words one would first as­ sociate with the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros, but their new con­ cert film, INNI, confronts viewers with something far from the spir­ ited, jovial, and delightfully eccen­ tric band that many know. Vincent Morisset, the film’s Québécois di­ rector, projected the original digital footage of the concert and re-filmed it on a vintage camera, provid­ ing INNI with a grainy quality and overtly dark sensibility.

During the two-minute instru­ mental introduction to the opening song “nÿ batten,” Morisset hits the audience with an array of myste­ rious moving textures, as well as fragmented shots of instruments and pieces of stage equipment. If an audience member had not inten­ tionally gone to see a movie about Sigur Ros, they would be far from convinced that the film was even about a band. Even as lead singer Jonsi Birgisson’s voice comes in, disjointed shots of band members’

faces fade into one another, blurring the lines between real and imagi­ nary, and demanding that the audi­ ence connect with the sound rather than the image.

The first song is almost uncom­ fortably intimate until a colour seg­ ment of the band on National Public Radio (NPR) in the 1990s breaks the tension. Although very short, the clip is enormously significant.

NPR’s DJ asks the band if they were ever “normal,” or if they always sounded the way that they do. In ad­ dition to being comically awkward, the clip also visually confirms the film’s subject by showing all four members of the band in one frame.

Suddenly, the rare access to Sigur Ros via this unsettling cinematic composition feels like a privilege.

There is a long awkward pause, and then Morisset cuts to the title of the film and quickly back to black and white for the next song.

Morisett plays with this sense of intimacy throughout the entire film by pinning old colour footage against the dark live show. The audi­ ence gains inside access to the band, but sometimes this is more disori­

enting and overwhelming than excit­ ing. In the black and white footage, the members of the band look like characters in a movie. Jonsi in par­ ticular exudes a Dracula-like aura in his knee-length coat and slicked back hair. But in an ill-fitting polo and cargo pants in the flashback clips, the frontman looks more like our geeky garage band friend than a commanding cinematic persona.

The contrast between the two oppos­ ing film scenarios and the absence of conventional wide-pan shots help the audience engage with the music, as opposed to just the image of Sigur

Ros. The film showcases nine unin­ terrupted tracks, save for a couple rare video clips and broken-English sound bites. While the picture is art­ fully weathered, the sound is clear and resonant. The set list is com­ prised of songs from four of Sigur Ros’ studio albums. A high point in the film is the song “Innf Mér Syngur Vitleysingur” (With Me a Luna­ tic Sings) from the album Med sud l eyrum vid spilum endalaust. Thanks to two pianos, an array of percus­ sion, and a short but heartwarming prelude of a young Sigur Ros setting

up for a gig, “Inni Mér’s” upbeat sound emphatically stands out from its darker surroundings.

INNI is an exceptionally thought-provoking concert film in terms of cinematic form and style.

Viewers are privileged and plagued by an intensely personal perspec­ tive. But in general, the film presents a unique and special perspective of Sigur Ros. Albeit uncomfortable at times, we cannot escape from the intimate world that Morisset creates.

In the end, do we really want to?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

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A lb u m

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FILM REV IEW

Funny against all odds 50/50 finds levity in dark places

By Nicholas Petrillo Contributor

J . Cole: Cole World: The Sideline Story Praise has been showered upon J. Cole, the youngest and most promising signee to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation record label, for excep­ tional lyrical skills that have drawn comparisons to rap legend Nas. As a debut, The Sideline Story seeks to tell the tale of how J. Cole, who grew up in suburban North Caro­ lina, established a massive fan base that propelled him to rap stardom.

Tracks like “Rise and Shine” summarize the album’s ambiance as a whole: the verses are not just clever sequences of one-liners or word associations, but intricately constructed dialogues that analyze his youth, his doomed relationships, and the unstable psyche of fame.

As the album’s main focus, this story gets old pretty fast. Cole is a mature lyricist, but the bulk of the album rarely deviates from the same overtly sentimental, piano-centric beats and the industry-standard “un­ derdog story” that countless rappers have already told.

Album highlights are the tracks that were not produced by J. Cole, including a song-stealing Jay-Z verse on “Mr. Nice Watch” and a raspy, half-asleep Drake rapping the praises of morning sex on “In The Morning.”

This album is entirely the prod­ uct of J. Cole. He is clearly a tal­ ented rapper, but his beats provide little to grab onto and his personal anecdotes are only mildly compel­ ling. Nas went through some tough times, too. But he never tried this hard for sympathy.

—Nicholas Petrillo

The Pack a.d.: Unpersons Just 17 months after the release of their third album, we kill com­ puters, The Pack a.d. dropped their fourth album, Unpersons.

Of the 13 tracks, four are well suited to livening up any bloodyknuckled bar fight montage: “Lights,” “Rid of Me,” and “Haunt You.” Also “8,” which perfectly showcases The Pack a.d.’s new sound direction. More garage rock than blues this time around, their grungy presentation of melodically solid songs has been rubbed with sandpaper, deliberately made grit­ tier. “Oi don’t give a fuck,” begins “8,” growled in a cockney accent in a deliberate nod to the British punk that’s being channeled by the Van­ couver garage duo.

But make no mistake, that grit you hear isn’t rust. Recorded on tape, produced and mixed by none other than Jim Diamond (of The White Stripes fame), Unpersons represents a confident and conscious commitment to a particular sound.

Only three songs are downtempo, and two of those stand out as strong and unskippable tracks. On Unpersons, The Pack a.d. is stron­ gest when they’re not taking no for an answer. The rest of the album’s tracks fall somewhere in between ballad and bar fight, but closer to the bottle-smashing, jaw-breaking side of things than the meditative post­ breakup Marlboro.

The sound of revenge rather than reconciliation, with frank lyrics full of liquor, knives, scars, and dark powers, Unpersons adeptly supplies uneasy listening for uneasy times.

—Marri Knadle

Imagine how difficult it must be to hear your doctor say you have cancer. Now imagine how you’d feel if you asked the perfunc­ tory question, “I’ll be okay though ... right?” only to get an evasive mumble in return. That’s the story of Adam Lemer (Joseph GordonLevitt), a 27-year-old public radio writer whose recurring back pain turns out to be a spinal tumor that now leaves him with a 50 per cent chance of surviving.

50/50 is loosely based on the experiences of screenwriter Will Reiser, who was diagnosed with spinal cancer in his twenties, and actor Seth Rogen, Reiser’s real-life friend throughout the ordeal. Adam reacts to the diagnosis with incredu­ lity at first, but the medical jargon he frantically gathers on WebMD reinforces that he’s in rough shape.

Rogen, playing Adam’s best friend Kyle, shares screen time with other supporting actors, making it clear that this is not another throwaway Stoner comedy. The comedy/drama premise may sound a lot like 2009’s Funny People—another Rogen film focusing on terminal illness—but

the similarities end there.

The film touches on the physi­ cal aspects of the disease—the che­ motherapy, the puking, and the hair loss—but this is primarily a movie about people. Adam’s support sys­ tem tries to provide encouragement, but they quickly show that they’re just as unprepared to face cancer as he is. Kyle uses humour to put Adam at ease; he even uses cancer as the ultimate pickup line, but the blatant selfishness of it riddles him with guilt.

Meanwhile, Katherine (Anna Kendrick), a 24-year-old post-grad student, has been assigned by the local hospital to counsel Adam as if he were her latest class project.

She can’t convey a comfort level with his condition, so she relies on a mixture of jittery bedside man­ ner, recitations from her handbook, and some carefully placed medical buzzwords. Even Adam’s girlfriend absent-mindedly buys him an old, emaciated greyhound as a morale booster, not realizing that caring for the dog is a needless burden for which he is now responsible. Every­ body tries to show Adam that they care, but nobody wants to be the one to openly admit how terrified and self-conscious his disease is making

them. After all, it’s not about them; it’s Adam’s life that’s at stake, and to show any signs of wavering dedica­ tion to him would be a serious faux pas.

Cancer isn’t the easiest sub­ ject to film: nobody likes watching a depressing story, and cancer jokes can inevitably place studios in some pretty dangerous territory. Fortu­ nately, director Jonathan Levine navigates the story carefully and is able to make light of cancer more than he makes fun of it. Walking on eggshells is a major theme. Every­ body has a moment where bailing on Adam seems like the only way to keep their sanity, and not everyone is dedicated enough to stand by him until the end.

We have all encountered the devastation that illness causes, and it’s very possible that the fear of just being near sick people is something not everyone can overcome. This movie will make you cringe when characters say the wrong thing, ap­ plaud when they learn how to cope, and make you ask yourself whether you’d feel just as hopeless as they did. Not many films can leave such an impression, but 50/50 does it beautifully.

Adam’s frustration with his diagnosis boils over at the expense of his girlfriend’s paintings, (collider.com)

r

MCGILL TRIBUNE’S A T L A N T IC

D IV IS IO N

Pittsburgh Penguins: With Sidney Cros­ by, Pittsburgh can beat anyone. Without him? Who knows. While Sidney Crosby’s health is vital, a good sign is that even without Crosby and Malkin for large chunks of last season and the play­ offs, the Penguins finished fourth and pushed Tampa Bay to a tough seven game series. The captain’s absence al­ lowed for the emergence of Chris Kunitz, defenseman Kris Letang and a stellar finish from Marc-André Fleury.

If Crosby is healthy, the Penguins will give the Flyers a run for their money for the division, and challenge for the cup.

Philadelphia Flyers: After a disappoint*ng er**d to last season, Holmgren shook up the team by trading away captain Mike Richards and leading goal scorer Jeff Carter. Despite losing a lot of firepower up front, the Flyers may have filled the position they needed most by finally acquiring a proven goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov. Philadelphia has

some upcoming talent in newly acquired Brayden Schenn along with fourth-year forward Claude Giroux. Much of the Flyers’ success this year hinges on the play of Jaromir Jagr. If he can play up to his old form, look for Philly to be a powerhouse in the east.

New York Rangers: The Rangers won the free agent battle for Brad Richards, who had 77 points in 72 games last season with the Stars. The question is if Richards is enough to allow the Rangers to move up in the standings and make a legitimate playoff run. Success also rests on the health of superstar Marion Gaborik. If he can stay healthy, he and Richards, a natural playmaker, will be a dynamic duo up front. With Henrik Lundqvist in net the Rangers will have a chance to win every night.

in the season, Ilya Kovalchuck didn’t seem to fit in the Devils offense, and 39-year-old Martin Brodeur started to show signs of age. However, the Devils did go 23-5 be­ tween mid-January and mid-March, which bodes well for this year. Look for New Jersey to bounce back and look almost as good on ice as they do on paper.

New York Islanders: Despite finishing 14th in the east last year, Islanders fans should be excited that their team is on the way up as they rebuild through the draft. Highly tout­ ed John Tavares is beginning to live up to the hype, and Michael Grabner and Matt Moulson look like legitimate NHL scorers, with each potting over 30 goals last season.

Don’t expect the Islanders to be good this year but watch for them in coming years as they develop.

New Jersey Devils: Despite a ton of hype last year, the Devils’ season was disappoint­ ing. Star Forward Zach Parise got hurt early

—Adam Taras

free agent talent by bringing in blueliners Christian Ehroff and Robyn Regehr, along with forward Ville Leino.

Still, the team as it stands is in serious cap trouble so GM Darcy Regier will have to make some moves before the puck drops.

since the heyday of Eddie Belfour, Reimer may be the answer, or he might just be the next in a string of disap­ pointing flash-in-the-pan keepers. An improved defensive corps, along with another year of development from Luke Schenn, Nazem Kadri, and the rest of the team’s young guns should see yet more improvement in the win col­ umn. Still, likely not enough to make the playoffs.

N O R T H E A S T D IV IS IO N Boston Bruins: With the tandem of Tim Thomas and backup Tuukka Rask in net, and Zdeno Chara protecting them, this team’s al­ ways going to be tough to score on. The B ’s have a great system under Head Coach Claude Julien, and play gritty, physical hockey from the first to the fourth line. As usual, the only question is whether they can get sufficient scor­ ing to win—the addition of offensive defenceman Joe Corvo should help out here. There’s a chance this team could be even better than it was last year, depending on the development of youngsters like Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand.

Buffalo Sabres: For once, star goaltender Ryan Miller isn’t the biggest story in Buf­ falo at this time of the year. That honour goes to 6’8” third-year defenceman Tyler Myers, and the enormous contract extension he just signed with the club.

Armed with new owner Terry Pegula’s endless pipeline of money, this year’s Sabres reversed the trend of departing

Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price’s per­ formance last year proved that he can with­ stand the heat that comes with playing in hockey-mad Montreal. The only question is, will anyone else on this team step up and help him? With an over­ priced core (Gomez and Gionta particularly) that’s had the team locked on a steady course for good-but-notgreatness over the past couple of years, we can expect more of the same this time around. Erik Cole’s a nice ad­ dition but he won’t make the difference.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Reimer fever is sweeping Leafs nation. For a team that hasn’t had much stability between the pipes

Ottawa Senators: The best thing about this year’s Sens team is the design of their new heritage-style jerseys. Craig Ander­ son is the best goaltender the franchise has had in a long time, but the team in front of him is too young to compete. Although this year will be painful, Ottawa has a bright future ahead. First-round pick Mika Zibanejad joins an impressive young core that includes David Rundblad, Jared Cowen, and col­ lege standout Stéphane Da Costa.

—Sam Hunter

S O U T H E A S T D IV IS IO N Washington Capitals: Alexander Ovech­ kin is coming off of a “disappointing” year after registering 85 points, which is still more than a point per game. The entire Capitals team is looking to bounce back after a shocking four-game sweep at the hands of the division rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

GM George McPhee decided to solve his goaltending problem and signed veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun to a paltry $1.5 million contract to stabilize the team and add the missing piece to an already formidable Capitals roster.

Tampa Bay Lightning: The Tampa Bay Lightning are known for having one of the most potent offences in the NHL. Dwayne Roloson surprised many last year, but his 42-year-old body will probably be un­ able to bear the full brunt of the goaltending respon­ sibilities and Dan Ellis is no longer around to be his backup. The defence is good and Victor Hedman is a

burgeoning star, but in order for this team to make it deep into the playoffs, it will once again have to lean on its offence.

Carolina Hurricanes: Hurricanes fans will be disappointed this year, after seeing their team come off of a surprise 91-point season that had them finishing nine games over .500 last year. Last year’s rookie of the year Jeff Skinner will have to match his unbelievable 31 goal season and a number of things will have to go right for them to even sniff the playoffs in 2012. Eric Staal will provide much needed leadership for this young team and Tomas Kaberle should instantly help bolster their powerplay.

Florida Panthers: The Florida Pan­ thers spent a lot of money this off-season to get up to the cap floor and incidentally improved their team in the process. The Panthers shelled

out expensive, risky contracts and traded for the grossly overpaid Brian Campbell this past summer, but in doing so have turned themselves into a dark horse team in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers will be able to put out four solid lines this year, and will surprise a lot of fans.

Winnipeg Je ts: All the Winnipeg Jets have to do is show up to have a successful year for the born-again franchise, which is a good thing considering how poorly the team did last year. Thirteen of their players are bom between 1985 and 1991, so youth will be a big part of the 2012 season in Winnipeg. The Jets’ slogan is “Fuelled by Pas­ sion,” which is a good thing because they certainly won’t be fueled by victories.

—Joshua Prizant

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: ' '■ï '

NHL PREVIEW '

C E N T R A L D IV IS IO N Detroit Red Wings: Despite the many changes to their division rivals’ rosters, Detroit isn’t about to step down as divi­ sion leader this season. Even after losing fan favourites like Brian Rafalski, Kris Draper, and Chris Osgood, the Wings have solid goaltending in Jimmy Howard and re­ tain their core of outstanding players in Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Nick Lidstrom.

Detroit’s clock is ticking, but it’s not midnight yet.

Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks were very active during the off-season, trading away yet more members of the 2010 Stanley Cup team, such as Brian Campbell and Troy Brouwer, while toughening up with the likes of Steve Montador and the infamous Dan Car­ rillo. The ‘Hawks’ biggest addition of the off-season though, was Andrew Brunette who, at 38 years old, has played over 1,000 games and has over 700 points. Chica­ go should challenge Nashville for the second spot in the

division and should make the playoffs as long as rookie goaltender Cory Crawford can keep up his numbers from last season.

Nashville Predators: Nashville’s off­ -season moves were not brilliant, as they lost excellent young players in Joel Ward and Cody Franson, but were able to retain de­ fensive superstar Shea Weber after going to arbitra­ tion. Nashville still features the league’s top defen­ sive pairing in Weber and Ryan Suter; they also have one of the league’s top three goaltenders in Pekka Rinne. With many other young players wanting to make a lasting impression, the Predators should have a strong year ahead of them.

St. Louis Blues: This year, the Blues enter the season with a core of very young, talented, but raw players, such as Chris Stewart, T.J. Oshie, Patrick

•*.

.. :

Berglund, and David Perron. To aid in their develop­ ment, GM Doug Armstrong signed a couple of strong veterans, Jason Amott and Jamie Langenbrunner, to mentor the younger players while helping to fill out the bottom six. Although the Blues’ young talent will excite, the playoffs are still a couple of years away.

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Jackets made a huge splash this summer by ac­ quiring superstar centre Jeff Carter from Philadelphia, and signing defenceman James Wisniewski to a long-term deal. Carter should serve as the elite centre that captain Rick Nash has never had, while Wisniewski was brought in to help ignite Columbus’ failing power play. If Steve Mason can rediscover his rookie form, Columbus should have a good season but a playoff berth might be a stretch.

—Christopher Nardi

N O R T H W E S T D IV IS IO N Vancouver Canucks: The defending western champs are set to be one of the dominant powers in the conference once again. Some may question the heart of the Sedins after their performance in the Stanley Cup Final, but this team was only one win away. Losing Christian Ehrhoff and Raffi Torres might worry other franchises, but the Canucks are so deep that Vancouver won’t even notice. Marco Sturm will be a nice addition to a team that already had what it takes to challenge again.

Minnesota Wild: It may seem odd to see the Wild placed this high, but in such a weak division, someone has to be number two. Minnesota made waves in the off-season by acquir­ ing two former Sharks in Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi. The first line will be deadly but the loss of Brent Bums and Martin Havlat will hurt. If newly-minted Head Coach Mike Yeo can follow the recent trend of successful AHL-tumed-NHL head coaches, the Wild may surprise.

P A C IF IC

Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers are blessed with some of the best young talent in the league and many believe they are poised for a breakthrough ... is likely what we’ll say next year. Edmonton’s young guns may have a hard time getting used to the rough-and-tumble style of play in the western conference. Taylor Hall, Magnus Pajaarvi, Linus Omark, and Jordan Eberle welcome Ryan Nugent-Hop-

kins to the fold but Oiler fans will be excited about some­ one a tad older: Ryan Smyth is back and ready to lead this group of youngsters back to respectability.

Colorado Avalanche: A team that finished 29th in the NHL should do everything it can to stockpile draft picks and prospects for the future (ain’t that right, Leaf fans?).

Colorado traded a first and a conditional second round pick to Washington for oft-injured goalie Semyon Var­ lamov in an attempt to score their first true number one since Patrick Roy. Gabriel Landeskog can look forward to meeting the Avs’ next top-five draft pick, when they meet in Washington next year.

—Adam Sadinsky

D IV IS IO N

V

San Jose Sharks: The Sharks have been . one of the top teams in the league for years now, but they have not been able to get over the hump and make it to the Stanley Cup finals. Labeled as soft, San Jose went out this summer and traded Devin Setoguchi, a sniper, for Brett Bums, a tough-nosed defender from the Wild. They also swapped Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat to add some balance to their forwards. Their soft label may finally peel off and they have a strong chance of making the finals this sea­ son.

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings made some big moves this summer and are going all out for the Stanley Cup this year. Mike Richards, acquired in a blockbuster trade with Philadel­ phia, will add some grittiness to this already explosive lineup. Along with the likes of Anze Kopitar, Richards makes the Kings a legitimate contender in the West. L.A. was also able to lock up number-one defence-

LR

Calgary Flames: The Flames are blessed with a core of players who were all good in NHL 2004, and that doesn’t bode well for them nine years later. Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen, Alex Tanguay, and Jay Bouwmeester have all seen better days, and that problem is compounded by the loss of long-time D-man Robyn Regehr. The addition of Lee Stempniak will add some new blood to the system, but that Stanley Cup run feels like a long time ago for a team that’s been lacking an identity for years.

man Drew Doughty, who was in contention for the Norris last year. With a physical front line and a sturdy defence, the Kings should aim high this season.

Anaheim Ducks: Anaheim is looking to build upon an outstanding season with an even better one. The Ducks finished with 99 points last year, only six points behind the pacific divi­ sion champion San Jose Sharks. Cory Perry won the Hart Trophy, Bobby Ryan also had an impressive season with 71 points and Ryan Getzlaf is fully healthy and ready to centre this elite top line. The Ducks can only improve on last year’s performance and look to contend for a top-five finish in the West yet again.

Phoenix Coyotes: After a summer filled with uncertainty due to the threat of relo­ cation, the Coyotes lost some key pieces of their playoff team this summer. Their major loss was their elite goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov, and

it is hard to see the Coyotes challenging for the playoffs again this season without him. Although Phoenix is still a solid team, it will be extremely difficult for them to make the playoffs with the strength of the Western conference this year.

Dallas Stars: The Stars are coming off a 95 point season where they narrowly missed making the playoffs. Unfortunately, their chances this year will be even slimmer with the loss of Brad Richards to free agency. The Stars find themselves in the toughest division in the whole league, with the four other teams having made the playoffs last year. The Stars should plummet further as they look to rebuild their squad with youth and move away from the old guard.

O

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STARS

—Filippo Furlano

S ports REDMEN LACROSSE — McGILL 15 , TORONTO 6

Red men roar back with five from Rohrbach McGill stays perfect with dominant effort over Varsity Blues

By Christopher Nardi Contributor

It was a rainy, cold Saturday evening at Molson Stadium when the Redmen registered their most resounding victory of the season, a 15-6 trampling of second- ranked University of Toronto. Fifteen goals is the second highest number of goals McGill (7-0) has scored in a game this season, after netting 16 against Toronto (3-2) earlier in the year.

McGill opened up the scor­ ing with a goal by Alex Rohrbach 55 seconds into the game. Toronto came back quickly with three un­ answered goals in the next nine minutes to jump out to a 3-1 lead.

McGill’s Nolan Prinzen brought the team within one by scoring with three minutes and 10 seconds left in the first quarter. The first quarter was a sloppy one for McGill, as the team had trouble setting up plays around the opposing net and had numer­ ous passes intercepted by Toronto defenders. Coming out of the first quarter, it seemed Toronto was the team who wanted the win more.

All of that changed in the sec­ ond quarter, when McGill came out stronger and scored four unan­ swered goals, including two more from Rohrbach. The score could have been tied at the end of the quar­ ter had it not been for McGill goalie Waesche Ward, who made two un­ believable saves near the 12-minute mark. Toronto finally found a hole in McGill’s defence and they would have capitalized on a point blank shot had Ward not reached out with his stick and blocked it. The rebound

The Redmen fought the droplets but Toronto couldn’t rain on their parade. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune) bounced out of his net and found another Toronto player who im­ mediately shot again, but Ward had tracked the ball perfectly and was ready for the second save, which he held onto.

“It was a sloppy game for us in the first half, we weren’t very

disciplined,” Head Coach Timothy Murdoch said. “But we have a lot of veteran players who stepped up and performed [in the second half].”

McGill entered the third quarter leading 6-3 and finished the quarter leading 10-4. Toronto was able to capitalize first with a goal at the

10-minute mark, but McGill scored soon after and didn’t let up for the next 10 minutes. The third quarter was all about Jishan Sharpies and Leland de Langley, who both scored two goals. De Langley scored his pair in a span of 41 seconds. The third quarter also featured three Me-

Gill penalties that were easily killed off.

The Redmen finished off To­ ronto with a five-goal fourth quarter, with Ryan Besse and Alex Rohrbach each scoring a pair of goals. One of Besse’s came on the powerplay, McGill’s sole powerplay tally of the game. Toronto’s frustration was pal­ pable as the team drew five penal­ ties (for a total of 4.5 minutes) in the final frame.

With freshman Rohrbach’s fifth and final goal of the game, the Mc­ Gill University male athlete of the week extended his five-goal-game streak to three games. When asked about his numbers, Rohrbach had praise only for his teammates. “J.J. [Miller] wins ... like 80 per cent of faceoffs, and it gives the offence a chance to score a lot, we have a great defence, our goalies are playing out of their minds right now, and that’s what really sets up these high scor­ ing games,” Rohrbach said. Miller, another key cog in McGill’s offence, won a startling 21 out of 25 faceoffs, giving him an 84 per cent success rate for the game, while setting up three McGill goals in the process.

McGill faces a significant test on Thursday with a rematch against conference rivals Bishop’s. Mur­ doch believes this will be the team’s biggest challenge of the season. The last matchup between the Redmen and Gaiters was a spirited affair that included a fight and ended in a 12-11 McGill victory. A win for McGill will secure the Eastern Conference regular season title.

THIRD MAX IX What the l-double A-F?!

The world’s best marathoners will toe the line in the next month for two of the world’s most elite marathons: the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9, and the ING New York Marathon on Nov. 6.

Spectators can expect stacked fields, but no women’s world or national records will be broken in either race.

The International Association of Athletics Federations recently ruled that records set in women’s road racing are only valid if the field is entirely female, which elimi­ nates most road races except for the World Championships and the Olympics. The IAAF’s reasoning is

that women who have the opportu­ nity to race men, or use men as pac­ ers in mixed-gender events, have a distinct advantage over women who race only against women, and there­ fore the latter group of women are genuinely faster. World records set in mixed races will only be awarded the title of “world best.”

The new women’s marathon world record is Paula Radcliffe’s 2:17:42, set in the 2007 London Marathon, not her 2:15:25 from the 2003 edition (then a mixed race).

Radcliffe’s 2003 time would have garnered a 12th place finish in the men’s marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Retroactive rulings such as this one are not only unfair to the

athletes who have had their accom­ plishments and titles taken away, but pose larger problems for the sport.

Under these new rules, the Ameri­ can record—previously held by Deena Kastor with a 2:19:36 time in the 2006 London Marathon—is now held by Joan Benoit Samuelson for her run in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, a whopping five minutes slower. According to the updated record books, American women haven’t progressed in the marathon in the past 27 years.

Road racing is a mind-numbing sport, which is precisely the reason it receives so little media coverage.

The IAAF ruling will only turn off what few fans and what little media coverage it has. For practical rea­

sons, most road races are mixed.

Women won’t be eligible for world record incentive prize money and races will become purely strategic, where athletes run at an “honest” but not tortuous pace, and then see who can out-sprint who in the final 800 metres. There will be no incentive— monetary or titular—for women who try to break records.

This rule has not been applied to similar men’s records. Most men’s track and road races are rabbitted, meaning another elite runner controls the pace for most of the run, stepping off the track for the final few laps. Nearly every world record attempt in a variety of distances has employed at least one—and often multiple—rabbits. Two weeks ago,

Patrick Makau broke the world re­ cord in the men’s marathon, but it was not a solitary effort; he was sur­ rounded by a dozen pacers, and only ran the final few miles by himself.

Men don’t break world records on their own very often, and demanding that of women—in a sport that has little female depth—is unfair.

Amid all of the recent dop­ ing concerns in the sport, taking away women’s accomplishments, and in the process confusing fans, shouldn’t be the IAAF’s first priori­ ty. When New Zealander Kim Smith crosses the line in New York aiming for a “world best” pace, I’m going to count it as a world record.

—Shannon Kimball

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

REDMEN FOOTBALL — McGILL i 8 , BISHO P’S 23

McGill loses grip on lead and season in loss to Gaiters Another early lead slips out of Redmen’s grasp as Bishop’s takes over late ries.

By Sam Hunter Managing Editor Lately, in addition to football, the Redmen have been playing a new game: quarterback roulette. But even in front of a raucous Fill the Stadium crowd of 1,942, red (and white) can’t catch a break.

The Redmen used quarterbacks Dallon Kuprowski and Jonathan Collin on Friday, less than a week re­ moved from a tandem quarterback­ ing effort at Laval from Ryne Bondy and Collin. This week’s game, like the one at Laval, was a close-fought affair. This game too ended in de­ feat, as the Bishop’s Gaiters erased a 15-3 halftime deficit on their way to a 23-18 win.

According to Head Coach Sonny Wolfe, however, this wasn’t a case of playing well in the first half and letting it slip in the second. “I thought a major reason for losing the game was the first half and not scoring,” Wolfe said. “We had two extended drives and to come away with threes rather than sevens ... you’ve got to score when you have the opportunity. The second half they played a little bit better and we didn't get quite as much.”

Scoring touchdowns, especial­ ly in the red zone, has been a huge problem for the team all season. Mc­ Gill slotback Bobby Mikelberg’s 28yard first half touchdown reception, which made the score 15-3 McGill, was only the offence’s third touch­ down of the year. “[Austin Anderson] kicked

V With the start of the NHL sea­ son just days away, fans and players alike are gearing up for a new season of hockey. While the 30 NHL gen­ eral managers have their rosters all filled out, millions of fantasy man­ agers are sitting at their own com­ puters studying for their drafts.

As you prepare for any fantasy draft, it is important to know your competitors and the league you are playing in. Make sure you are famil­ iar with the point structure and roster positions. For example, my league is composed of 14 teams and counts nine statistical categories, four of which are filled out by goalies, with each team forced to start two netminders. This places a high premi­ um on goaltenders on draft day.

My strategy is to fill both goalie spots within the first three or four rounds of the draft. There are not twenty-eight goalies worth starting in fantasy hockey, so having premi-

McGill couldn’t convert on red zone chances, allowing Bishop’s to come back. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune) three field goals basically inside the 20, which will tell you we’re not finishing,” punter Tomas Silva said.

“All it takes is if you finish any one of those drives then we have this game.”

The Redmen were moving the ball well early, as both the pass and run were effective in the first half; however, with 14 minutes and 37 seconds to go before halftime, starting running back Sean Murphy suffered an apparent hip pointer in­ jury and walked off the field accom-

& a n t & t > ]4 um players at the position is a huge advantage.

Another reason I am in favour of drafting goalies early is the avail­ ability of high-upside skaters later in the draft. Unlike goalies, where late round options like Craig Anderson offer little fantasy value, there is an abundance of skaters capable of outperforming their draft positions.

Besides, you don’t win or lose your league in the first round of the draft.

Sleepers and breakout stars win fan­ tasy leagues; you just have to figure out who they are. After my goalies are taken care of, here’s a list of players I think will offer great value this year:

DAN Y HEATLEY, LW, MIN Heatley had a career low in goals last year. Expect him to get back to the 35-40 goal range.

panied by two trainers. Up to that point Murphy had gained 71 yards on 13 carries. Fourth-year running back Taylor Kuprowski came in and picked up where Murphy left off, finishing with 96 yards also on 13 carries.

The Gaiters took a big bite out of McGill’s lead only 34 seconds into the second half, as Bishop’s quarterback Jordan Heather con­ nected with brother Nathan Heather for a 75-yard touchdown comple­ tion, cutting the McGill lead to 15-

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10. From there, the McGill offence faltered and, after trading field goals, Bishop’s was able to connect on a short touchdown pass to take the lead. A final field goal by Bish­ op’s sealed the game and provided the 23-18 margin.

Quarterback Dallon Kuprowski played for all but the final seven minutes of the contest, finishing with 171 passing yards on 14 com­ pletions and 29 throws, one passing touchdown, and one interception.

He also ran for 22 yards on six car-

i

MARTIN BRODEUR, G, NJ I believe Brodeur’s struggles were the result of the Devils being terri­ ble, and not the other way around.

Even if I do have two goalies by this stage, Brodeur is very in­ triguing as a sixth-round pick.

JOE PAVELSKI, C/RW , SJ With Heatley gone, Pavelski spent training camp on a line with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

If he can play with them for a full season, 30 goals and 70 points is a conservative estimate.

JAROMIR JACR, LW, PHI He may not be the player he once was, but he had five points through two exhibition games and if I can still get him in the 10th round or later, I’m laughing.

ALEX EDLER, D, VAN With the departure of Christian Erhoff, Edler looks to quarterback a Canuck powerplay that led the league in effectiveness last season.

MIKKO KOIVU, C, MIN I’ve already tabbed Heatley for 40 goals and Koivu’s other winger should be Devin Setoguchi. Expect to see Koivu’s best Joe Thornton impression this season, only he’s four years younger and can skate.

BRIAN CAMPBELL, D, FLA Campbell may have been a bust for the Blackhawks, but he was playing behind Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. He’ll be bet­ ter in Florida, and it would hard to call him a bust if he’s taken after the 16th round of your draft.

—Trevor Drummond

Kuprowski was replaced by Collin for the last few series of the game. “[Collin]’s got a stronger arm and we felt like there was a need to change things up,” Wolfe said. “We only got one field goal in the third quarter and felt like [the quarterback switch] would give us a chance to change it up.”

A big part of the Redmen’s early game success was predicated on field position, in large part provided

by Silva’s kicks. “He was booming kicks and he’s a pro,” said Collin.

“He’s definitely a weapon that helps us out a lot.” Silva was added to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ active roster on June 20 before being re­ leased five days later.

Silva was disappointed with the result regardless. “It just sucks be­ cause our fans come out and it’s Fill the Stadium,” he said. “We come here and we want to play well for [them], or at the very least not dis­ appoint them to the point where you have a game in hand like that and then kind of lose your grip on it.”

The Redmen are quickly los­ ing their grip on this season, as their record stands at 0-5 with only four league games remaining; however, they will have another shot at Bish­ op’s on Oct. 22.

SC O R EB O A R D (Scores since Sept. 27) REDMEN BA SEBA LL Lost 5-4 @ John Abbott Won 5-4 vs. Carleton PPD vs. John Abott (rain) MARTLET FIELD HOCKEY Lost 5-2 vs. Guelph Lost 4-0 vs. Toronto Won 1-0 vs. Queen’s REDMEN FOOTBALL Lost 23-18 vs. Bishop’s REDMEN LACROSSE Won 1-0 @ Carleton (forfeit) Won 15-6 vs. Toronto REDMEN R LIBBY Won 34-0 vs. Sherbrooke MARTLET R U E B Y Lost 17-7 @ Concordia REDMEN SOCCER Lost 3-1 @ UQTR Tied 2-2 vs. UQAM MARTLET SOCCER Lost 3-0 @ UQTR Tied vs. UQAM (suspended)

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