The Concordian - September 5th 2017

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

theconcordian

VOLUME 35, ISSUE 2 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

theconcordian.com  /theconcordian  @theconcordian

theconcordian

A refusal to give up Concordia students seek stories of empowerment in Uganda

Feature p.10

news

life

Concordia students build energy-efficient house

arts

music

CJLO revamps Alumna lauches Walk the Path restaurant app p.7 of Resiliance p.12 campus radio p. 14

sports

opinions

p. 4

Being realistic Rimpel's mind is set on winning p. 16 about safety p. 19

news

NEWS EDITORS /// news@theconcordian.com CANDICE PYE & ÉTIENNE ETIENNE LAJOIE ( @candicepye @renegadereports) )

HOUSING

Construction of CSU student housing imminent

Project to be built in “prime location” following demolition of funeral parlour complex ÉTIENNE LAJOIE NEWS EDITOR The demolition of the building on the land where the future Concordia Student Union (CSU) cooperative student housing will be built is over, and the project’s construction is due to begin shortly.

Originally chosen for its location and value, according to CSU general coordinator Omar Riaz, the land is across the street from Lafontaine Park, on Papineau Avenue.

Laurent Lévesque, the general coordinator of Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE), the CSU’s partner in the project, described the land as “a prime location.”

Ben Prunty, who was the CSU’s president at the time of the first study into the feasibility of the project, said the initiative is “fulfilling all the fundamentals and moving forward as planned.”

According to the CSU’s original FAQ document about the cooperative housing, the plan was to have a location “likely [...] in the southwest of Montreal along the metro system’s green line.” The plans changed when the location that was ultimately chosen became available.

Lévesque said UTILE and CSU considered using the existing building on the land, an old Urgel Bourgie funeral complex, but “concerns for the quality of life brought them to favour a new construction.”

In September 2014, when Prunty was CSU president, UTILE was commissioned to do a feasibility study into the possibility of building cooperative housing. In the October 2014 study, UTILE recommended constructing a new building “as the most viable development method.” The organization argued in the report that a new building “would have lower service costs and would be significantly more energy and space efficient than the old apartment stock of Montreal.”

UTILE’s two other recommendations were buying existing apartments or acquiring a non-residential building.

In December 2014, in a CSU by-election, students overwhelmingly voted in a favour of considering the new student housing with 1,598 “yes” votes and 182 “no” votes. It was the first of two referendum questions concerning the cooperative initiative. The second, in April 2015, asked students if they approved the reallocation of $1.85 million

from the Student Space Accessible Education Legal Contingency Fund (SSAELC) to finance the creation of the Popular University Student Housing Fund (PUSH).

Students voted to create the PUSH fund, which finances around 13 per cent of the total cost of the approximately $14-million project.

Funding for the initiative also comes from government bodies like the city of Montreal, which announced a $500,000 contribution in February and $1.5 million from the Chantier de l’économie sociale.

LIMITED NUMBER OF SPOTS AVAILABLE There will only be about 150 spots in approximately 70 units available in the cooperative housing, according to Riaz. The units will mostly be studios, but there will also be 4 ½ and 5 ½ apartments that will be shared. The CSU’s Housing and Jobs Office (HOJO) will be responsible for administering housings vacancies and finding the tenants.

“We will definitely make sure it goes to students that need the financial support,” said the CSU general coordinator. HOJO’s selection will be based on specific criteria it’s currently working on establishing with the student housing’s provisional committee, put together before the land was bought.

Lévesque stressed he didn’t want to compromise the housing’s quality because of its affordability.

The issue of affordability for the

student housing units was always high on CSU and UTILE’s list of priorities. Riaz said students will be able to rent at a monthly-rate of around $400 to $440. In comparison, the cheapest available accommodation at Concordia’s Grey Nuns Residence—a small single room with no sink—is $731.46 per month.

To help build the best housing cooperative, UTILE and the CSU have been consulting the housing’s provisional committee—which will eventually become the board of directors—on a weekly basis.

The committee is made up of students from various faculties who have been studying the project and making recommendations to CSU and UTILE. Tenants from the housing will also join the board.

Sidney Bhalla, one of two civil engineering students on the committee, looked into making the most environmentally-friendly building possible. In addition to studying acoustics and lighting, Bhalla and other students from the civil engineering program tried to determine whether investing in a central air conditioning system or more isolated walls was more environmentally-friendly.

The group’s simulations confirmed that having a better building envelope—the components that separate the interior from the exterior—was the best option.

According to Riaz, the contract for the construction for the housing cooperative has not been given out yet, and the CSU is still looking

The site of the future CSU student housing following demolition.

Photos by Mackenzie Lad.

for a construction consultant and a company specialized in property management.

Although the property management company “will take care of repairs that are not usually taken care of by tenants,” most of the decisions regarding the cooperative will be made by the board of directors.

“Whatever [the tenants] want to do with the building will have to be a decision by consensus or by a vote at the board,” explained Riaz.

Lévesque said UTILE will be collaborating with the CSU this year, now more than ever. He hopes students will be able to start living in the cooperative by August 2018.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

POLITICS

theconcordian

TRAC invigilators demand better wages

Negotiations between Concordia and invigilators' union head to arbitration ÉTIENNE LAJOIE NEWS EDITOR The university’s invigilators’ union, represented by Teachers and Research Assistants at Concordia (TRAC), is launching a public campaign demanding a salary increase.

TRAC’s invigilators have yet to sign their first collective agreement with the university since they unionized in January 2015.

The university’s latest offer, described by TRAC president Alexandre St-Onge-Perron as a “bad joke,” is $11.43 per hour for invigilators and $12.19 per hour for supervisor-invigilators, who generally have a lot more experience. The $11.43 per hour offer is a 1.6 per cent increase from the $11.25 minimum wage invigilators are currently paid.

“What they are proposing for the year to come is less than the [provincial] minimum wage starting on May 1 [2018], which is unacceptable,” St-Onge-Perron said.

In a statement to The Concordian, university spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr confirmed negotiations were ongoing and that the university “was looking forward to reaching an agreement.”

The decision to start the campaign now is not a coincidence.

The two parties, which went through mediation during the spring up until July, are heading into arbitration. St-Onge-Perron said he wants to put pressure on Concordia in hopes the university will be more conciliatory when speaking to the arbitrator. The arbitrator will speak to both sides and consult their demands before making a decision.

TRAC began its campaign with a video posted on the union’s Facebook page on Aug. 29.

Invigilators from the final exam office, who make up the majorit y of the invigilators, according to St-Onge-Perron, are all paid minimum wage.

The TRAC president said some depar tments pay more than others.

When the collective agreement is signed, St-Onge-Perron noted, the arbitrator will establish a wage floor. St-Onge-Perron explained that, if a department pays less than what the arbitrator decides on, all salaries from that department will increase to the floor level.

C o n c o r d i a ’s i n v i g i l a t o r s are currently the lowest paid

among Montreal universities. Université du Québec à Montréal’s last collective agreement with the Syndicat des étudiant-e-s employée-s de l’UQAM (SÉTUE) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents both TRAC and SÉTUE, established a $16 per hour salary for invigilators in April 2016.

A similar agreement was signed in January between the Syndicat des étudiant(e) s salarié(e)s de l’Université de Montréal (SÉSUM), also represented by PSAC, and the Université de Montréal.

The new collective agreement promised $15 per hour for all SÉSUM employees, which r e p r e s e n t s t h e s c h o o l ’s invigilators.

St-Onge-Per ron , a Concordia student who was elected TRAC president in March, said he hopes the arbitrator will present his decision before Christmas.

“According to the information [TR AC] received, we can realistically hope for a decision before [then],” St-Onge-Perron said.

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theconcordian

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

ENGINEERING

Concordia and McGill students build energy-efficient row house TeamMTL gets financial support from Hydro-Québec, will participate in 2018 Solar Decathlon

ÉTIENNE LAJOIE NEWS EDITOR TeamMTL, a group of students from Concordia and McG ill , received $250,000 in funding from HydroQuébec on Aug. 29 to go towards building an energy-efficient, solar-powered house. The company’s contribution and expertise will help the students finish their project in time for the 2018 Solar Decathlon.

It was TeamMTL’s originality that allowed them to join the competition.

The students from Montreal universities built a home with a style typical to the city’s architecture: a row house, where adjacent homes share a common wall.

The construction of the house began on June 1 at Concordia’s Loyola campus.

The Solar Decathlon, which was launched by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2002, had never seen a similar project and made an exception for the team to join the competition. Houses in the Solar Decathlon, according to Bruno Lee, an assistant professor in

Concordia’s faculty of engineering, are usually single-detached.

Lee, who is responsible for overseeing the engineering side of the project, told The Concordian that TeamMTL’s first design was presented to the organizers last January, and they were “very open and liked the idea.”

Despite deciding on a row house, the students still managed to build a net-zero home, meaning it will be selfsufficient, using as much energy as it creates.

Row houses are energ yefficient, Lee said, because they allow neighbours to share heating and cooling with one another. “For some people, it’s quite cold today,” he said. “They might need heating, but for some people, they still need cooling. [With a row house], I can shift around the heat.”

Lee said he believes the concept of

energy shifting—extracting energy from one area to move it to another—can apply to a row of houses but can also happen within the same building.

T h e C o n c o rd i a p ro f e s s o r s a i d TeamMTL was able to accomplish energy-efficiency by moving energy from the side of the house facing the sun, where there’s a heat gain, to the colder north side, because of the row h o u s e ’s t wo thermo tanks.

According to Lee, energy shifting would allow HydroQuébec to better manage its supply. He explained the crown corporation has a peak in energy use during winter and can’t keep up with the demand, whereas they have a surplus of energy in other parts of the year.

The 2018 edition of the Solar Decathlon will take place between July and October in Dezhou, China where engineers built

the largest solar structure in the world in 2012: the Sun-Moon Mansion.

TeamMTL is currently composed of students from Concordia’s engineering and fine arts programs, as well as students from McGill’s architecture program, led

by McGill associate professor Michael Jemtrud. There were 90 students on the team when it was first formed last September but, according to Lee, that number has since dropped to 30 active members.

Like Olympic decathlons, there are 10 different aspects on which teams will be evaluated in this solar challenge. Some aspects, such as the house’s architecture, market potential and engineering, will be assessed by professionals. Other features, such as the building’s energy consumption and its use of water, will be evaluated based on specific criteria.

Each aspect allots a team a maximum of 100 points.

Last April, the Montreal-based team also received a $50,000 grant from Canada’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

theconcordian

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FROSH

Consent workshops for freshmen at Concordia ASFA stresses the importance of university-wide consent training before frosh Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

CANDICE PYE NEWS EDITOR For many freshmen, frosh is considered the ultimate social event to kick off university life. With everything from friends to beer to sex to textbooks on students’ minds, the question of consent often falls to the wayside.

“Frosh is here to make you feel like you’re included and accommodated for, but we’re also here to make sure that that happens in a really safe way,”

ASFA president Julia Sutera Sardo told The Concordian.

As sexual assault is prevalent across university campuses, ASFA has made it clear to students that Concordia’s frosh events are no exception when it comes to prevention. For the past few years, ASFA has required mandatory consent training workshops for all students attending frosh events. Currently, ASFA and CASAJMSB are the only two Concordia student associations requiring these workshops.

“Sexual assault happens frequently at universities, and we have to be mindful of that,” Sutera Sardo said. “If [students] don’t do the training, they don’t come to frosh.”

According to Sutera Sardo, the consent workshops are organized primarily by the student associations and Terry Kyle, who is ASFA’s manager of student life. The training includes modules on harm reduction, consent, sexual assault, bystander intervention, gender and several other related issues.

Another Concordia organization that is heavily involved in sexual assault prevention on campus is the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC). According to coordinator Jennifer Drummond, SARC provides many services, such as delivering workshops and working with students to create campaigns on the topic of sexual violence prevention. The centre provides support services to survivors of sexual assault through one-on-one appointments, a drop-in centre and weekly group meetings. Drummond said SARC also works with the university to develop and implement policies on sexual violence prevention and response.

Drummond said she believes the implementation of mandatory consent training for students attending frosh has an impact on reducing the number of cases of sexual violence.

“I think the more people are knowledgeable about consent and how to have

respectful relationships and communication, the better,” she said.

For students who might experience sexual violence at frosh, Drummond said there are many options.

“Those options can include calling the police, going to a designated centre or coming to SARC,” she said. “If someone witnesses something, I encourage people to intervene safely, when possible, and to check in with the person being targeted.”

Second-year Concordia students Erin Dunlop and Ben Fraser said they attended last year’s ASFA frosh and appreciated the mandatory consent training.

“You hear so many stories of sexual assaults happening at university events around the world. It was nice to see Concordia doing something about it,” Dunlop said. “Making it a mandatory prerequisite for attending the frosh events made me feel safer.”

Fraser said much of the training revolved around the presence of alcohol as a factor in sexual violence, as frosh events often entail a fair amount of heavy drinking.

“It was mostly focused on what to do in situations where consent is in a grey area,” he said. “People do stupid things at frosh.”

Dunlop agreed, saying she definitely sees the link between binge drinking and sexual assault.

“Predators prey on people who are

vulnerable, and when there is alcohol involved, consent is compromised,” she said. “I was very lucky to have had a positive frosh experience, but I know that isn’t the case for everyone.”

While both of their frosh experiences involved being surrounded by binge drinking culture, Dunlop and Fraser said their frosh leaders were always checking in with them and making sure they were comfortable. They said they never felt forced to drink more than they wanted, and the leaders kept them out of trouble. However, Dunlop also noted there is always room for improvement in the trainings.

“Consent workshops are a good start, but there is always more that we can do,” she said. “There needs to be harsh penalties for people who commit sexual assault. It’s super important to focus on prevention, but we have to be careful to make sure the message is ‘don’t rape’ and not ‘don’t get raped.’”

While ASFA is constantly working to improve their workshops, Sutera Sardo said the most important thing Concordia can do right now is to implement university-wide consent trainings before frosh.

“I just hope that everyone is going to have mandatory consent training in the future,” Sutera Sardo said. “The more people get on board and talk about it, the better it is. Destigmatizing is what we should all be working on.”

TECHNOLOGY

Phishing emails at McGill a reminder of vulnerability A new internet safety course among options to protect schools from cyber threats

VALERIA CORI-MANOCCHIO HEAD COPY EDITOR

In an inter view with The Concordian , cybersecurity expert Terry Cutler said, “It’s very important to keep control of your digital life […]

Benjamin Fung is forthright when asked about You never know how your information can be the weakest link in cybersecurity. “The most used against you.” vulnerable attack channel is always humans,” Last week, Cutler released a consumer said the McGill University professor, who is course called Internet Safety University, geared also Canada’s research chair in data mining towards teaching university students and staff for cybersecurity. effective ways to avoid cybersecurity attacks.

The best way to avoid cyber threats is to The program contains about six hours worth ensure the person operating an electronic device of tutorials and is currently being tested out by is well-informed and knows what to watch out students and staff at a local CEGEP. According for, Fung explained in a recent interview with to Cutler, the college’s staff will then have a The Concordian. six-month trial period to observe the impact Phishing emails—fake emails that appear to of the training on its cybersecurity. be legitimate and ask a user to enter personal Different modules instruct users about information—are an example of a common threat numerous hacking techniques and tools, including that can easily be avoided if the email user is keylogging, a hardware that records keystrokes on well-informed. a keyboard without On Aug. 31, an article the user’s consent p o s te d o n t h e M c G i l l “It’s very important to keep or knowledge.

Reporter reported “several control of your digital life.

In March 2016, McGill email users have You never know how your library staff at recently received phishinformation can be used Concordia’s Webster ing emails that look like against you.”

Library found keylegitimate McGill corre- Terry Cutler, cybersecurity expert logging devices on spondence but are actually certain computers. designed to steal your confidential personal Devices were also found at the Vanier Library. information.”

According to director of public relations A similar message was published in May on and university spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr, Concordia’s website. It explained that Concordia Concordia employees are provided workshops email service users had received phishing emails during orientation sessions to teach them about and asked users to “delete [the email] immediately IT security measures. She said faculty and staff and to not open any attachments or click any are also routinely updated on effective IT security links within the body of the message.” measures via email.

Barr added that the university holds an IT security awareness campaign every October to teach people about “laptop safety, password safety and phishing.”

Cutler said one module in his course also explains ransomware, a software which renders data on a device inaccessible until a ransom is paid. In May, approximately 120 computers at Université de Montreal were compromised by the WannaCry ransomware, reported CBC News.

In an email to The Concordian , Barr also pointed out that Concordia—specifically its IT services—routinely distributes information through social media and the NOW newsletters for students.

In comparison, Fung described McGill’s training as “very comprehensive.”

Staff, faculty and students at McGill have access to the university’s IT Knowledge Base, an online tutorial consisting of 16 modules.

McGill’s IT ser vices website also features a series of online IT security awareness courses, including videos about email phishing, phishing websites and mobile security.

Concordia’s Instructional & Information Technology Services (IITS) provide information and guidelines about

how to avoid email phishing and cybersecurity threats on their webpage. The guidelines offer strategies for anti-virus protection, password security and protecting devices from keylogging.

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theconcordian

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

ENGINEERING

Concordia researchers on roads: Don’t repair. Prevent.

New study outlines system for predicting pavement degradation IAN DOWN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

They identified transverse cracking—cracking which runs parallel to the road—as the most serious form of deterioration. Other forms included rutting—when the pavement is deformed by tires in high heat—and road roughness. The researchers then considered each of these factors when it came to their impact on pavement quality.

However, Abu-Samra said simply examining these factors is not enough. “[Existing systems] just [observe] the defects and assess the condition accordingly,” he said. “But our system takes into account the triggers of these defects. So, basically, it takes into account the climate condition, the average daily traffic, the average daily temperature—all of these factors do contribute to the deterioration of the asphalt.”

The model was shown to predict pavement deterioration with 94 per cent accuracy.

A Concordia professor and two Abu-Samra said roads across students have designed a new the continent are in poor condition system to evaluate the condition because current municipal strategies of pavement in the hopes of are reactive rather than preventative. preventing its deterioration.

More than half of roads in Canada Tarek Zayed, a professor of civil are in subpar condition, according and environmental engineering, to the 2016 Canadian Infrastructure and graduate students Soliman Report Card.

Abu-Samra and Wael Tabra pub“We are trying to move from a lished the findings in their report, reactive approach to a preventa"Pavement Condition Rating Using tive approach,” Abu-Samra said.

Multiattribute Utility Theory," “Reaction is not management.” in the Journal of Transportation According to the 2016 Canadian Engineering, Part B: Pavements.

Infrastructure Report, “spending $1 The authors studied data on on prevention” when roads are in road conditions from the Nebraska peak condition “eliminates or delays Department of Roads, supplemented spending $6 to $10 on rehabilitation by a survey of experts from across or reconstruction” when they are the world, to determine the most in poor condition later on. serious kinds of pavement defect.

Citing the Canadian Infrastructure Report, Zayed, Abu-Samra and Tabra's paper said the cost to fix all Canadian roads in fair or poor condition is estimated at $91.1 billion in total, or $7,325 per household.

Abu-Samra was not aware of any research co m p a r i n g Mo n t re a l roads to those of other North American cities.

However, according to the CBC, the city of Montreal evaluated more than half of its roads as being “bad” or “very bad” in 2015. The A pothole in a Montreal road. Photo by Kirubel Mehari. city determined this by

Graduate student Soliman Abu-Samra speaking at a TED Talk event.

Courtesy of Soliman Abu-Samra.

looking at Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores from that year.

The PCI is an index used in many North American cities to evaluate stretches of pavement on a 100point scale, with 100 being the best and one being the worst.

Abu-Samra has also published three books on infrastructure maintenance, has delivered a TED

Talk on the subject and currently serves as the vice-president of Concordia’s chapter of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT). He said he hopes the model designed by his team will be adopted across North America, which currently lacks a standard pavement evaluation system.

WE LC OME! I hope you’ve had a great summer and are ready for an exciting fall.

If you’re new to Concordia, I’d like to welcome you to our extraordinary community. If you’re returning, welcome back!

I encourage you to take advantage of all we have to offer. Have a great year!

Alan Shepard President alan.shepard@concordia.ca

CO N CO R D I A .C A

life

LIFE EDITOR /// life@theconcordian.com SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ

PROFILE

Like online dating but for food Concordia alumna launches Feed Me, a free restaurant matchup app

ELISA BARBIER LIFE ASSISTANT EDITOR Appealing or not? The decision can be made at the simple glance of a perfectly grilled avocado toast surrounded with fries. A swipe left and the dish disappears, and now a delectable sushi platter tempts you for lunch.

Searching for a nearby restaurant that suits your cravings and budget has just gotten easier and, frankly, more fun with Concordia alumna Amie Watson’s new app, Feed Me. The concept is similar to dating apps like Tinder.

Rather than swipe left for a date, though, let Feed Me introduce you to a wide selection of restaurants, bars and cafés based on your indicated preferences.

“You open the app, and you will have more than 30 options in a four-block radius, but you can also plan for the weekend, look for a nice French restaurant,” Watson said about the app’s benefits. “[Feed Me] helped me discover restaurants in places I already lived.”

Watson is a freelance journalist based in Montreal who has contributed to outlets such as the Montreal Gazette, National Post, MaTV and Global TV. She graduated from Concordia University with a graduate degree in journalism in 2015. Originally from St-John's, N.L., Watson moved to Toronto to earn her undergraduate degree in classical percussions at the U of T. It was also in Toronto that she developed a passion for world cuisines while reading food reviews by Steven Davey—a food critic and musician in the city’s Queen West scene—in Now Magazine.

“I hadn’t had much money, but once a week I would take myself out for lunch at one of his top cheap-eat places,” Watson said.

After a while, she decided to learn the recipes she was enjoying so much and began to appreciate the traditions and history behind them.

When Watson moved to Montreal, she was exposed to new types of cuisines that were not

as predominant in Toronto. “Tunisian, French Caribbean, Ghanaian [cuisines]—I was able to find and cook new recipes,” she said.

On her path to become Montreal’s Steven Davey, Watson worked as the food editor at Midnight Poutine—a local food, indie music, fashion and arts blog—for several years, and eventually ended up doing work for their weekend podcast. “It was then that I realized I was way more into freelance food writing than into my classical percussion master’s,” she said.

In 2011, Watson launched her blog, multiculturiosity.com, to write restaurant and meal reviews and share healthy recipes. As she delved further into the food writing world, she developed an intolerance to lactose and gluten. Nonetheless, this did not prevent her from keeping at her passion. “I have recipes full of bread on [my blog],” she said as she discussed her love of baked goods.

Three years later, Watson participated in a Yelp Hackathon—a two-day event during which teams have to come up with a useful, funny or cool project that uses Yelp's interface. This is where the Feed Me app was conceptualized.

“I wanted to write about all these restaurants, and I wanted somewhere to put it,” she said.

The Yelp Hackathon provided participating teams access to its accumulated data about locations, trends and reviews, and Watson’s team came up with a project that improves existing restaurant apps.

When conceptualizing the app, Watson said it was important for her to have all the information—the reviews, the photos, the addresses—all in one place with an easy and simple interface, similar to Tinder. “When I first used Tinder, I thought it was fun. You get sucked in easily, kind of like a game,” she said.

Feed Me gathers reviews from restaurants in over 30 countries thanks to Yelp’s interface.

Reviews and pictures of the restaurants are not selected by the establishments themselves but rather by the clients who have posted

their own reviews on Yelp. “It is awesome because when you are travelling you can use it wherever you go,” Watson said. Montrealers have the added benefit of Watson’s own local reviews appearing on the app.

Some of Feed Me’s interesting features are the categories that a user can choose from to narrow down their search—everything from world cuisine, TGIF and vegetarian, to business dinners, sweet treats and even safe break-up venues. (A “safe break-up venue,” for example, includes at least one of the following elements: a back door, an affordable menu if one needs to pay for themselves or a not-so fancy ambiance.)

Watson decided the project was worth pursuing since it was a finalist at the hackathon, and she funded it herself. “I had money I could have responsibly put aside or put it into a passion project, so I put it into the passion project,” she said.

However, after a failed first attempt, Watson was told by user experience specialists that she had to redevelop the app. “I needed a new team, more money and strong business plans to get the loans I assumed I would need,” she said.

With the help of Yes Montreal—a Quebecbased organization that helps people find jobs and start or grow their business—she created a business plan and was able to get loans from Futurpreneur and Canada’s Business Development Bank.

Due to many obstacles, it took four years for Feed Me to go from being a concept to a final product, available in the Apple and Android app stores since August.

Watson said she felt that Feed Me was what she needed to create, that no obstacles would make her back down. “There are moments when you are frustrated, irritated and you don’t think about it for a day,” she said. “[But then the passion for it] just creeps back into your mind.”

According to Watson, the app reached

12,000 downloads in its first three weeks and received positive feedback. Its success comes from being financially responsible, she said. “I am not just throwing money at this and crossing my fingers,” she explained, adding that mentors, financial guidance and business plans, along with the mindset of a responsible business owner, are all key to becoming successful.

Feed Me has many plans going forward, including offering discounts for restaurants and creating partnerships with food festivals.

Currently, it offers a monthly give-away of $50. Users who share the app with their friends are automatically entered in the draw when their friend downloads the app from the reference link.

“I want Feed Me to be the go-to restaurant search app, for it to be number one in the world, but in Canada first,” Watson said.

Amie Watson scrolls through some photos of nearby restaurants on the Feed Me app.

Photos by Elisa Barbier.

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AUGUST 29, 2017

RECOMMENDATIONS

New stories for bookworms on campus Everything from two orphans in love to escaping an American culture crisis SANDRA HERCEGOVA LIFE EDITOR Summer is coming to an end and you’ve just bought your new textbooks. You might think reading books for your own pleasure is something you’ll have to put on hold for the semester. But midterms are still a long awa, and you might be able to squeeze one more book onto your summer reads list. Here are a few recommendations.

The Lonely Hearts Hotel

by Heather O’Neill

Hunger

by Roxane Gay

Hillbilly Elegy

by J.D. Vance

Montreal-born novelist Heather O’Neill tells a spellbinding story in her newly released novel, The Lonely Hearts Hotel.

You might have read O’Neill’s previous work, such as her award-winning Lullabies for Little Criminals.

This time around, O’Neill delivers another majestic tale, unlike any of her previous novels. In fact, this story’s lively characters with distinct personalities make this book unlike any I’ve ever read before. The tale takes place in Montreal during the 1910s. O’Neill references specific areas of our city, which will give any Montreal readers vividly picture her story in their minds. The 1910s are a dark time in this novel, a time when kids are frequently abandoned at orphanages and poverty floods the city.

Amidst that, The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story about two gifted orphans named Pierrot and Rose. They fall in love at an orphanage where they share their unique talents—Pierrot was born a gifted musician, and Rose is a charismatic performer who can make anyone laugh with her flamboyant and courageous personality. Their talents and unconditional love for each other allow them to dream big. Among other aspirations, they want to create and direct the most extraordinary circus show the world has ever seen.

However, separated as teenagers during the Great Depression, they both spend their early adulthood dabbling with addiction, extreme poverty and theft in order to survive. It’s when Rose and Pierrot reunite after years of longing for each other that their childhood dreams become reality once again.

The two main characters come to life beyond O’Neill’s written words. Pierrot and Rose’s personalities are so lively their souls will haunt you and remain with you weeks after you finish this book.

If you are a fan of raw and honest memoirs, American writer Roxane Gay, delivers just that in her own personal life stor y, Hunger. In this memoir, Gay shares the truth about her body and her hunger, having struggled with obesity and eating disorders since she was a teenager. From the very first page, she makes it loud and clear: “This story of my body is not a story of triumph.

This is not a weight-loss memoir.” Instead, Hunger is about a secret she kept for far too long, a secret that fueled her food addiction. The devastating act of violence committed against her at the age of 12 becomes a turning point in her life. As she reveals what happened, the imagery is hurtful.

You can feel the sharp pain and emotional scars through her words. Gay has written a number of renown books, such as Bad Feminist , however, she mentions that this book was the hardest thing she has ever written. The courage she needed to be this honest with herself and everybody else is outstanding, refreshing and exceptionally inspiring.

I’m sure many people can relate to this memoir in one way or another. Hunger is so human, so vulnerable—it makes you want to personally thank Gay for having the courage to write it. Many people face challenges, but not many would be able to speak about them as openly as Gay does.

J.D. Vance offers a compassionate, discerning sociological memoir of the white underclass that influenced last year’s American election results.

Hillbilly Elegy is his own personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of poor white Americans living in the southern part of Appalachia, in states such as Kentucky, Ohio and Alabama. Vance, a former marine and Yale Law School graduate made it out of his poor neighborhood successfully. However, he is a rare case. As he reveals, Vance lived through a series of tormented events as a child growing up in a poor community in Jacksonville, Ky. As a child, he moved with his family to Middletown, Ohio, a place where most residents from Jacksonville fled to in order to escape poverty and disintegration.

Living through domestic violence and decades of chaos, Vance didn’t want to follow the route of the white working-class life. Instead, his goal was to pursue a higher education. According to Vance, he watched some of his friends from back home blossom into successful adults while others fell victim to the worst of Middletown’s pitfalls— premature parenthood, drugs and incarceration. As Vance writes, “what separates the successful with the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives.” Vance talks about his family’s struggles and how he managed to pursue a higher education in a place where people could not even keep or find a decent job. This memoir reflects how societal expectations have the potential to affect the trajectory of your life.

Favourite quote:

Favourite quote: “There was something so generous about her personality, like a man on a winning streak in a casino. She tossed her personality out onto the table recklessly like poker chips.”

“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I had been because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere....”

Favourite quote: “There’s something powerful about realizing that you undersold yourself. That somehow your mind confused lack of effort for inability.”

etc

FEATURED CONCORDIAN ARTIST

Melissa Bell Photographer

I’m Mel. I am studying photography in the continuing education program at Concordia, and I work part-time at a bookstore to help pay for the incredibly expensive career path I’ve set myself on.

All of these images were taken as a personal exercise in depth of field and macro photography, two techniques I very much enjoy. One thing that never gets old in this field is being able to see the tiny details in everyday things. I also dabble quite a bit in portrait and fashion photography, among others, and am open to exploring any and every kind of photography I can.

If you want to see more of my work or get in touch with me for a shoot, check out my online portfolio at:

melissabell.myportfolio.com

Ect is a space dedicated to showcasing Concordia artists!

Submissions can be sent to production@theconcordian.ca

feature

A SUMMER IN UGANDA: PART ONE

The value of a motorbike Against the odds, Aber Diana is a single mother thriving in a male-dominated industry

TRAVIS SANDERSON CONTRIBUTOR We turned right off the main highway that runs through the city of Gulu onto a rough, stony road that jostled the motorcycle enough to remind me to tightly grip the rear of the seat.

After only a few hundred metres, the driver pulled over beside a cluster of seven small, circular huts with thatched straw roofs, typical of northern Uganda. These modest homes, with their short cement walls, measured only a few metres across and two metres tall at the peak of their conical roofs.

As we dismounted the motorcycle—called a “boda”—and I took in my surroundings, the boda driver began to walk amongst the huts towards one at the back, furthest from the road. I was fumbling with my recorder when it occurred to me that I was finally about to meet Aber Diana.

I first heard about Diana in a 2012 article from a local newspaper called The Daily Monitor. As a communications intern tasked with finding people in the community between the ages of 18 and 35 who have overcome tremendous odds, I knew I needed to find out more about this woman.

Diana is unique, not only because she works in an industry dominated by men, but because she works at night in an industry dominated by men. By day, Gulu, the commercial centre of northern Uganda, is generally a safe and friendly city of about 150,000 people. At night, things change. As interns from Canada, we were discouraged from venturing out at night. It made me curious about what lay beyond the front gate of our compound on Onono Road. The list of reasons we were given varied, but mostly we were warned about running into the mysterious, aggressive “Iron Bar Men.”

In this city, Diana is a boda driver by night. It is important to note that people tend to become boda drivers as a last resort, often because they are uneducated or cannot find another type of work. The job demands long hours for little pay, not to mention the higher-thanusual overhead costs in the form of fuel and boda maintenance. There is also a significant level of stress that comes with navigating the chaotic roads of Uganda where no one really obeys traffic regulations and police are more concerned with taking bribes than enforcing the law. Finally, keep in mind that it is a very male-dominated industry—Diana is one of only three female boda drivers in all of Gulu.

This is the reason I find Diana so interesting.

Why would a 27-year-old single mother of five boys risk working such a dangerous and stressful job, let alone at night? After speaking with what seemed like half of the boda drivers in Gulu—many of whom gave no indication of knowing Diana—I was finally standing at her doorstep thanks to the help of a boda driver I met at the city’s main market.

Diana was outside hanging laundry as we approached her hut. When she noticed us, she was

quick to smile, as if she already knew why we were there. Perhaps she did—I had been asking about her for a few days, and it would make sense that the boda driver community talks.

Diana is tall and stocky; a solid woman who looks like she can take care of herself. Yet her soft, kind face and gentle smile give her away as a lamb dressed as a lion. Her delicate handshake, light and timid, twined my fingers with hers, and I knew this female boda driver was not being reckless or rebellious.

Rather, she was a woman doing what she needed to for her children.

My friend, colleague and translator, Nyeko Geoffrey Augustine, explained the purpose of our visit, and we were immediately ushered into the small hut that was Diana’s home.

The white lace drapery that kept the

entrance to her house private got tangled around my arm when I entered. As I tried to sort myself out, a stream of Diana’s family members, including a small child, made their way past me as they exited the hut, barely noticing my graceless entrance.

Once inside, I realized the space was much larger than it looked from the outside.

A pole in the middle of the room appeared to hold up the peak of the roof, and the short cement walls supported its base. The ground was covered with an old, circular sheet of linoleum. The whole space felt like a cozy farm house and instantly made me feel at home. To my right, the blanket that divided the space in half was a bit worn, but clean and in keeping with the atmosphere of the home—lived-in, but not the least bit run down.

I soon learned that Diana has seldom had the dice roll in her favour. She was born into a poor family in a village called Anaka, in the Alero region of northern Uganda. Her

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

childhood was darkened by a brutal civil war that raged from 1987 to 2007 between President Yoweri Museveni’s government troops and the guerilla group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony.

At the age of 14, Diana was orphaned when LRA soldiers stormed her village, killing many of the residents, including her parents.

She was afforded a bit of good fortune when an elderly woman from her village took her in. She was able to feed and clothe her, but just barely. The ongoing civil war and the old woman’s financial situation prevented Diana from attending school.

When she became pregnant at 14 with twin boys shortly after going to live with the old woman, getting an education was next to impossible. Two years later, pregnant again with another set of twins, Diana said she just decided to accept that she would never receive a proper education.

Now, with a fifth child and the father absent, Diana is left with a lot of responsibility and few options for supporting herself and her children. Yet she refuses to be seen as a victim.

The old woman, now 105, still lives in Anaka, and Diana speaks of her as if she were her mother. Diana’s only expressed regret about her upbringing is that she was not able to attend school.

When asked why she chooses to ride at night, Diana got straight to the point. A ride that costs 1000 Ugandan shillings (about 34 cents Canadian) during the day earns twice as much at night. Therefore, she can double her money if she rides at night.

“People often ask me why, being a lady, I would ride at night. And they ask if it is not very dangerous. One thing I tell them is that your security is your brain, and you should not rely on anyone to take care for you during the day or at night,” she said. “You must protect yourself. These words help me to always be careful whenever I ride a boda at night.” After many years of experience, one way she has learned to stay safe is by carrying people she knows whenever possible.

Through Geoffrey, I asked her how she gets along with all the men.

I expected her to tell us it is like the Wild West, and that she is ostracised because of her gender. Yet she responded with positivity.

“The only way is to live with each other the way you would live with your brothers and sisters at home,” she said.

Diana started riding a boda in 2006, and in her words, learned how to ride a motorcycle “a long time ago … from some men who teach people motorcycle riding at only 200 shillings.” She referred to herself as “a stubborn kid” who would “use part of the money that I got from selling fruits for learning to ride the motorcycle and take the rest back home.”

By the time she had her first set of twins, Diana had at least some knowledge about riding motorcycles, but this was not an instant solution. She still needed to earn enough to support her children. “I then prayed to God to at least help me use this little bit of knowledge that I had to feed my children, at the minimum,” she said. “When I realised that this job really fed my children, I give a big thanks to God.” Although Diana does not have a motorcycle of her own, she is able to borrow one from a fellow driver for a fee, which she pays every morning after work. “The rest of the money, I use it to feed my children and

other things,” she said. The extra money she makes riding at night helps her pay the boda owner with enough left to support her children.

However, riding at night while raising a family is not without its challenges. First, she requires the help of a neighbour, who agrees to stay with the children after Diana leaves for work around 6 p.m. Then, Diana must return home in time to get four of her five children ready for school each morning. She said she sleeps from the time the children leave for school until about 11 a.m. when her youngest son wakes up for the day.

After that, she has household chores and three-year-old Pius to care for.

“I do all these things so that my children c an live like the other children in their school and neighbourhood,” Diana said. “I also do this so that my children forget the meaning of poverty. And there are some times that I don’t have money, but I make sure they don’t know about it because I want my children to always be with a clear mind of having everything they need.”

I didn’t know how to respond, probably because I am fortunate enough to have never been in such circumstances. She continued, “So if [my children] ask me why I ride a boda and being the woman among the men who rides a boda, I always tell them to not worry. All they must think of is that I do all these things for them.”

As I began to wonder if Diana was the kind of person who has the power and potential to inspire the masses, I asked her if she had any advice to give based on her experiences. “To my sisters out there,” she responded, “I say don’t fear to do something that you feel will get you out of the situation that you are in now. Always remember the reason why the idea came to you in the first place.”

Photos by Travis Sanderson

theconcordian

The Centre for Entrepreneurship, Education and Development, or CEED, is a non-profit organization based in both Montreal and Gulu, Uganda. It works to empower youth to be change agents in their communities through cross-cultural skills development and information sharing.

Each year, students from Concordia University travel to Uganda and work alongside Ugandan interns on various community projects that aim to benefit the youth of Gulu.

Travis Sanderson spent three months working as a communications intern in Uganda this summer. He has produced both written material and radio documentaries that reflect his experiences with the people of Uganda.

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arts

ARTS EDITOR /// arts@theconcordian.com MAGGIE HOPE

INSTALLATION

The Celestial Tree inspires visions of collective action Walk along the Promenade Fleuve-Montagne as Montreal’s history unfolds in Path of Resilience

Nadia Myre’s installation, Histoire Revenue, forces viewers to confront controversial moments in Montreal’s history. Photo by Chloë Lalonde.

CHLOË LALONDE ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR Telling a story of transcendence, Path of Resilience presents three works spread out along the new Promenade Fleuve-Montagne created by Indigenous artists Maria Hupfield, Nadia Myre, and Concordia’s own BFA design graduate, Skawennati.

Commissioned by DHC/ART’s managing director and curator, Cheryl Sim, and established for Montreal’s 375th anniversary, the Promenade FleuveMontagne allows pedestrians to discover the city’s historical landmarks and public artworks.

Hupfield’s piece, Ka Pow !, can be found directly outside of the Square Victoria metro station, catching the attention of passersby. Inspired by comic book art, Hupfield arranged white cedar benches into action bubbles around a tree.

A few blocks further along the promenade, Myre’s piece illuminates the trees behind the St-Patrick Basilica with a string of fairy lights. The space is inviting.

Wooden chairs are grouped together to form a strong sense of community, while the heart-wrenching story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, a young black slave who was tried and convicted for arson based on a widespread rumour in the 18th century, is narrated from a sound system in the trees. The piece, titled Histoire Revenue, reminds us of Montreal’s past injustices, forcing us to be aware of all the anguish held within this land.

Skawennati’s piece is much further along the path, sitting in front of the Royal Victoria Hospital at the corner of Pine Avenue West and McTavish Street. The Celestial Tree is at the highest altitude of the Promenade Fleuve-Montagne. “I

Maria Hupfield starts off the Path of Resilience with Ka Pow !, an interactive sculpture aiming to unite passersby and inspire dialogue.

Photo by Chloë Lalonde.

wanted to take the image of She Falls for Ages —which is the central image of Skyworld, a very important image in Iroquois cosmology and Iroquois traditional stories—and put it in the city, using materials and processes that are [as] recognisable as the city,” the artist said.

The body of the tree is a large stop sign post, and it’s branches are thick pieces of metal coated in reflective paneling.

The installation refers to the Concordia alumna’s upcoming machinima (a new media production), She Falls for Ages .

As a way of opposing modern animation aesthetics, Skawennati chose to work with Second Life . Similar to Sims , the platform allows for immense creative freedom under some technical limitation.

This approach is entirely specific to the artist’s body of work. When she began using the platform in 2007, Second Life, a “massively multiplayer online world” otherwise known as a virtual environment, really represented the future of modern social interaction. To be released in October 2017, She Falls for Ages will be a feminist, futuristic, utopian retelling of the First Nations’s creation story.

Today, many Indigenous stories are not known by their own people.

Skawennati said she believes everyone should be familiar with them, as these stories are the foundation of the city of Montreal. The story of Skyworld, otherwise known as the First Nations’s creation story, adds a dimension to the Iroquois people and heritage that is not widely known, she explained. The Iroquois are often seen as warriors, fighters and troublemakers, and in Skawennati’s words, “knowing the creation story allows you to understand that it’s all about peace and love for creation”.

The six bright colours of the flowers

depicted on The Celestial Tree match the skin tones of the citizens of Skawennati’s Skyworld. By using these colours, she said she wants to call all people, no matter their race, to seek awareness and fight for a brighter, inclusive future. Skawennati strives to inspire collective action, providing various visions of what could be, while on her own path of learning more about her Mohawk heritage.

In the most common version of their story, the people of Skyworld live quietly and happily, knowing nothing of death and inequality. Instead, their day-to-day lives revolve around the maintenance of the Celestial Tree. The tree sits inside a hole to the universe, and provides light to all the land, according to the myth.

Concordia alumna, Skawennati, uses her piece, The In the original story, one of Celestial Tree, to inspire visions of collective action. the sky women realises she Photo by Mackenzie Lad. is pregnant. Her husband, the guardian of the Celestial Tree, becomes back of a turtle. At this time, the Earth so angry that he rips the tree from its was simply water, devoid of land, and roots, revealing the massive hole in the Sky Woman makes it her duty to create universe. Curious, Sky Woman peers into it. With the help of small animals, she was the hole and her husband pushes her in. eventually able to grow shrubbery. As time In She Falls for Ages, the Celestial Tree passed, Turtle Island grew from a small grows weak, and the people of Skyworld mound of dirt on a turtle’s back, into know that their time is coming to an end. what we now know as North America.

The Celestial Tree guardian’s wife, here On display until Nov. 30, Path of named Otsitsakáion, volunteers to jump Resilience tells a story of transcendence. into the abyss with child and serve as The installations start by gathering people the seed of the new world. of all kinds together, encouraging them In all versions of the story, Sky Woman to acknowledge the history of the place “falls for ages,” eventually landing on the in which they live—a necessary process backs of geese, who place her on the in moving towards a unified future.

AUGUST 29, 2017

theconcordian

13

EXHIBITION

Playing with reality and the human form in CARNATIONS Concordia alumnus uses organic forms and human shapes in new digital art display MAGGIE HOPE ARTS EDITOR When viewing a piece of art in a gallery space, the audience is immediately confronted with the need to interact and respond to it. This interaction occurs quite naturally and encourages the viewer to seek their own conclusions and meanings about the piece.

“You are just in front of something, immersed in something,” said Michèle Thériault, the director of the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery and the curator of its current exhibition, CARNATIONS. She contrasted the experience of viewing an animation in a gallery to when one is seen in a movie, where there the viewer is taken on a narrative journey. In a gallery space, on the other hand, the viewer is more removed from the artwork itself and is left to make sense of it on their own.

“Here, there is always that distance […] you are aware it’s an artwork, and there’s that strangeness because it doesn’t have that narrative of a film with a beginning and an end. So, it leaves it suspended […] it makes you reflect on what’s happening, what you feel or what you can’t pinpoint.”

CARNATIONS , which will be on display until Oct. 21, features the work of Concordia alumnus Philippe Hamelin.

Hamelin, who holds an MFA in fine arts, creates intriguing and bizarre digital art pieces that place human and natural forms in a new context.

“The forms are kind of organic-like and suggest life,” Thériault said. “It creates this kind of emotion in you or sentiment or feeling. Something that is familiar, but at the same time, is really strange.”

As the viewer enters the gallery, they are immediately greeted by perhaps the most striking piece of the entire exhibition, Les Amis (à l’infiniti). It is projected onto the largest section of wall—its neon colours jumping out from the gallery’s darkened enclosure. A repetitive beat plays over the projection, echoing a classic dance rhythm but could also be described as an upbeat pulse. The looped animation depicts a group of people moving in a way that could best be described as a form of “dance.” They twitch, sway and convulse in ways that are unnatural for a human body, yet the bodies are unquestionably human.

Other pieces that evoke a similar feeling of strange surreality are those that make up the series called Vivariums. They are displayed in a small room off of the main space, demanding their own attention.

The series consists of four pieces, each displayed on small screens about the size of a computer. One, Thériault explained, is reminiscent of the birthing process. A small white shape stretches and shifts, as if containing something living. The animation is about 45 minutes long, showing the shape as it gradually “gives birth” to a worm-like creature.

A second 30-minute animation loop mimics an animal moulting, a process during which it sheds dead skin to reveal a new layer underneath. A white object resembling a large snail shell slowly gives way to show a smaller, shimmering seed-like shape sitting inside. The slow progression of this evolution requires the viewer to observe its phases with prolonged attention.

Since most audience members don’t watch one piece for too long, they only end up glimpsing a section of this process. This is an example of the level of audience-topiece interaction that is necessary to fully understand Hamelin’s work.

A third room within the gallery hosts two pieces that, together, are titled Scène 2 (découpage). A gentle loop of classical music plays over the speaker system, setting a tranquil and relaxed mood. On one wall, an animation of what appears to be a pile of meat cubes sitting on top of a fur-like surface plays. The viewer watches as the camera pans around the pile, zooming closer and then farther away. The exhibition’s booklet, which contains an essay written by Thériault, once again mentions the strange allure Hamelin’s pieces evoke: “To experience Scène 2 is to be propelled into a series of spaces with no possible common ground.”

CARNATIONS includes eight pieces of Hamelin’s work, which are accompanied by various sound recordings that change as the viewer moves from room to room. Apart from the projections and animated screens, the galler y is darkened which, when paired with the musical accompaniments, creates a fully immersive experience.

The exhibition will be on display until Oct. 21 at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery. Admission is free.

New exhibition at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery showcases the digital surreality of Philippe Hamelin’s artwork. Photos by Kirubel Mehari.

music

Quickspins

MUSIC EDITOR /// music@theconcordian.com CALVIN CASHEN

1 THE WAR ON DRUGS

RADIO

A Deeper Understanding (Atlantic Records, 2017)

Station manager Michał Langiewicz and Allison O’Reilly.

Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

Fresh faces and a new beginning CJLO’s recent facelift will provide quality campus radio for everyone

CHARLES FRETIER-GAUVIN STAFF WRITER “Campus Radio is for Lovers” are the words sprawled across the white T-shirt hung in the hallway by CJLO 1690 AM’s offices at Loyola campus. The bubbly red font is reminiscent of the 70s—an era of extravagance, groove and one in which radio reigned supreme.

In our internet age, where everything is digitized and readily accessible at the tips of our fingers, radio seems to be a bygone medium. Its failure to adapt to the needs of the current-day consumer has rendered it futile and irrelevant. College radio, however, proves to be the sole exception, acting as the last vestige of an archaic platform.

Nestled at the far end of the CC building’s fourth floor, reaching the station requires you to awkwardly trudge through the Guadagni Lounge. Upon entering the station, however, its charm immediately takes over. The sound of music buzzing from speakers greets you as you pass by the in-house studio space and DJ room.

A community-driven operation, CJLO 1690 AM is run by a devoted team of DJs and volunteers. “We are not for profit,” said Allison O’Reilly, the station’s program director, whose CV includes commercial radio gigs in Nova Scotia. “Everything we do is in service of the students and of the local music scene.

We try to stay progressive, we try to avoid commercialisation, we try to appeal to underground music. So everything I value.”

O’Reilly, alongside station manager Michał Langiewicz, and director of promotions, sponsorship and funding Josh Spencer, make up the “big three.” They are a tireless trio with invaluable experience in the industry, which makes them a tremendous asset to the station. They are also fresh faces to the station, having all joined the team within the

past year, after the exodus of a large portion music event planning company Kick Drum, as of the longtime staff. “It was like a domino director of promotions, has certainly helped. effect,” Langiewicz said. “A lot of people were “He’s very attuned to what's happening in the graduating, a lot of people had been there for local music scene, so since he came in all of a while and felt like it was time to move on.” a sudden, Montreal bands came in,” O’Reilly The change, although major, is generally said. Despite his recent arrival, Spencer’s seen as a positive. This coming school year promotions expertise industry has proven marks the newly-assembled staff’s first year momentous, as his summer backyard sessions together and seems to be the dawning of a have been greeted with great applause from new era for the station. Though the new staff spectators and artists alike. greatly commend their predecessors’ work The station’s biggest event, its annual at the station, they made it clear they plan FUNDrive, takes place from Sept. 22 to 30 on revamping CJLO as much as possible. “I on both campuses. The event will be a grand think it's a new opportunity for us to expand debut of sorts for the new trio. Showcasing into different directions,” said Langiewicz, their experience, as well as the station’s new who first broke into the city’s music scene direction, the eight-day event is going to be through BAD LUNCH, a DIY concert venue jam-packed with 10 events ranging from a he ran out of his Pointe-St-Charles home. heavy metal showcase to a soccer tournament.

“It's kind of continuing a legacy, but taking The proceeds will go to the station, allowing it in a new direction.” its staff to make improvements and continue The changes made to the station deal, in pursuing their vision. part, with modernizing its programming by With regard to the importance of campus introducing more progressive shows into its radio, O’Reilly said, “while it may not seem already packed rotation. “We have LGBTQ relevant [within the scope of modern programming, we have programming which media], what we can do to support those deals with social and racial issues, and that's who wouldn't otherwise have a platform something I feel the station didn't have as in mainstream media, I believe, is very much of in the past,” Langiewicz said. “We're important and still relevant.” definitely looking to go in a direction that’s covering more ground and representing as many different people as possible.”

The most noticeable update is the new staff’s dedication to increasing community involvement. This new direction is obvious in the station’s upcoming promotional events.

Hiring Josh Spencer, Allison O’Reilly, the station’s program director. the founder of the local Photo by Kirubel Mehari

Heartland rock revivalists, The War On Drugs, is back with their amazing album, A Deeper Understanding .

Meticulously crafted instrumental layers give the album a dense and dreamlike vibe, complemented by Adam Granduciel’s gravelly singing.

The lyrics are striking and emotionally charged, such as this line from “Pain”: “I met a man with a broken back / He had a fear in his eyes that I could understand.” With each new song, the album puts you in a constant state of awe. The album’s best tracks are “Holding On” and “You Don’t Have To Go,” because of the lush production value and vivid imagery of the lyrics. This album is perfect for walking through the city in the early morning when the weather’s slightly cold and no one is around.

11 Trial Track: “Holding On”

9.5/10 — HUSSAIN ALMAHR, ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR

2 ACTION BRONSON Blue Chips 7000 (Atlantic Records, 2017) After a two-year hiatus, Action Bronson has returned to conclude his Blue Chips trilogy, one of the most beloved mixtape series in recent memory. Unfortunately, Blue Chips 7000 fails to live up to previous installments. Bronson’s eccentric, oneof-a-kind personality is simultaneously his biggest strength and his biggest weakness, as his rapping has become formulaic and sometimes repetitive. The album’s biggest strength, though, is its phenomenal production, which carries Bronson’s weaker performances but highlights him at his best. The latter is apparent on tracks like “9-24-7000,” “Let It Rain” and “My Right Lung.” The biggest standout, “La Luna,” includes his best rapping on the project, which is placed over a gorgeous, Alchemistproduced instrumental. Though the album is slightly underwhelming and lacks any significant growth in Bronson, it does contain some of his best songs, funniest lines and gorgeous instrumentals.

11 Trial Track: “La Luna”

6.5/10 —WESLEY MCLEAN, STAFF WRITER

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

theconcordian

15

COMMENTARY

3 LIL UZI VERT Luv Is Rage 2 (Atlantic Records, 2017) Lil Uzi Vert’s latest album, Luv is Rage 2, sees the Philly trap rapper expand on his signature eclectic sound with some of his best songs to date, but also some of his most mundane. The album starts with the song “Two,” a boring run-of-the-mill Uzi song complete with nasally vocals and a complete lack of lyrical substance. Songs like “444+222” and “The Way Life Goes” make up for the lows on the album, but aren’t enough to take away from the fact that Uzi sounds completely uninspired. The album finishes with Uzi’s biggest hit, “XO Tour Life,” which recently won “Song of the Summer” at the MTV Video Music Awards. Uzi’s personal lyrics and flow placed over record producer TM88’s beat makes the song one of the best in his catalogue. But at song 16, “XO Tour Life” is too little too late.

11 Trial Track: “The Way Life Goes”

4/10 — ALEXANDER COLE, MANAGING EDITOR

FOR EDITOR’S PICKS S THE BEST SONG W E E K. RELEASED THIS

Taylor Swift’s ever-increasing ego A slightly exaggerated and political take on her new song HUSSAIN ALMAHR ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR Our favourite multimillionaire Taylor Swift has released her latest Kanye West diss track, “Look What You Made Me Do.” Swift has been more-or-less dormant since the release of her 2014 album, 1989. It seems in that time Swift has been unable to “shake it off,” and has somehow become even more vindictive.

Her peers and superiors are creating intelligent, unique-sounding and politically-motivated music that has had a decisive impact on popular culture, such as Harry Style’s “Sign of the Times” and Kendrick Lamar’s album, DAMN . Meanwhile, Swift decided to release a self-absorbed song about her “tortured” past.

The track has a minimalist, electronic-pop sound, similar to songs on her last album. The song’s primary focus is its vocals and downright terrible lyrics. Diss tracks have always had a place in pop music—Justin Timberlake's 2002 diss track about Britney Spears, “Cry Me a River,” being a notable example.

However, Swift just doesn’t have the bite to pull it off. With lyrics like: “The role you made me play / Of the fool, no, I don’t like you,” Swift hits as hard as a 15-year-old on LiveJournal whining about high school. At the same time, she delivers the lines thinking they are badass and well-crafted disses, but in reality, the lyrics are as vicious as the average Tumblr post. The music video is much worse.

In the video, Swift is standing atop a pile of more than a dozen Taylor Swifts from different

eras of her career who are fighting to get to the top, dramatically casting her arms to the side as they fall into the void. When I first watched it, I paused and took a short walk.

Last year, Beyoncé released her seminal album, Lemonade—an album that was a socially-aware commentary on blackness and femininity. In contrast, after seeing that scene in Swift’s video, I questioned the artistic value of any and all music. Swift has always had a tone-deaf approach to her music and public persona, lacking any sign of self-awareness or tact—this new Taylor has multiplied that approach tenfold.

Her silence during the 2016 United States presidential election was deafening. She has a massive platform, millions of fans and has cultivated a feminist public persona, yet refrained from standing up for what she believed in during such a divisive time—actions that directly affect her fans who are people of colour, women and part of the LGBTQ community. As the recent Video Music Awards showed, many of her peers are actively engaged in politics, even though their music may not be particularly political. Swift has refrained from the slightest mention of politics, maybe out of fear of causing controversy. I don’t know.

But what I do know is music is released into

a world dominated by politics, and people’s public perceptions are not separate from that.

Swift has released a song in a post-President Trump world of - course people are going to react politically. Over the summer, Nazis openly marched in Charlottesville,Va., trans service people have been denied the right to serve in the U.S. military, and Trump pardoned a racist sheriff convicted of violating civil rights laws.

While all of that is happening, Swift decides to release another grueling, self-indulgent track.

With all the political events that have transpired over the summer, I can’t help but criticize the song’s irrelevancy. I can’t consider the song some kind of escapist anthem either, because the beat isn’t fun and the lyrics lack depth. This track dwells on the drama Swift hasn’t let go of, while the rest of the world has moved on. It’s absolutely fine if you enjoy the song, it reflects nothing about you, but the song certainly reflects Taylor Swift’s lack of self-awareness.

FESTIVAL

Mile Ex End Musique merges artistry and urbanity A fun, unique festival experience beneath Van Horne overpass.

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BRONWYN CARERE CONTRIBUTOR Were it not for the large, yellow “Mile Ex End Musique” sign propped up against one of the concrete supports of the Van Horne overpass, festival-goers might have mistaken the set-up for an elaborate back-to-school barbeque.

Past the entranceway was a long line of picnic tables, with people of all ages resting in their seats, eating an assortment of festival foods and tranquilly putting back booze.

There is a sense of serenity that only comes with Labour Day weekend—with the knowledge one has an extra 24 hours to prepare for the week and, for some, the start of a new school year. Fairy lights were strung up between slabs of concrete, and as the sun diped lower in the horizon, the entire space was painted in warm yellow hues.

The festival had three stages: Mile Ex, Mile End and Van Horne. The largest, Mile Ex, is positioned at one end of a parking lot. The other two were tucked, near seamlessly, into the urban landscape.

Unlike many musical gatherings, most of the performances were staggered, meaning acts rarely had to fight to be heard. These individual run-times allowed the event’s impressive sound quality to shine through, demonstrating the unique resonance of the confined location.

Day one was the quieter of the two days, and there was space to recline in the grass as bands like the Foreign Diplomats took the Van Horne stage. The group had gusto worthy of a

full-sized stadium, and lead singer Élie Raymond channelled old-school alternative acts like The Cure with his quaking, gothic vocals.

Busty and the Bass, similarly, radiated charisma.

Wearing dress shirts and wielding their brass instruments with the nonchalant expertise of frat boys holdings beers, they wooed and impressed in equal measure.

Other Saturday acts included Cat Power and City and Colour. The former was her typical ethereal self, but failed to hold a crowd the way her fellow headliners did. City and Colour likewise maintained the pitch-perfect sound we’ve come to expect from lead vocalist Dallas Green, but their overall energy paled in comparison to that of some of the younger, more eager acts.

Despite persistent rain on day two, the festival was livelier. Standing and swaying amidst a sea of poncho-laden listeners heightened the festival’s underground, cult atmosphere. One often had to

crane their neck to catch a glimpse of the band members between umbrellas.

Flexing her chilled fingers and commenting on the cold, local trip-pop star Charlotte Cardin nevertheless dazzled the crowd with everything— from newly minted original work to a cover of Post Malone.

Of all the performers, Patrick Watson best demonstrated the festival’s aesthetic potential.

Between positioning a choir atop a viaduct column and descending into the audience in an InspectorGadget-esque contraption to sing “Man Under the Sea,” Watson captured the raw intimacy of the space unlike any other headliner.

Though this brand of spectacle might run the risk of overpowering the event’s gritty, indie aesthetic, ultimately, Mile Ex End Musique was an event based in experimentation. One can only hope to see future acts play to this strength in the years to come.

sports

SPORTS EDITOR /// sports@theconcordian.com NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI ( @nickdg11)

RECREATION

It’s like playing hockey, but without skates Anybody can play ball hockey, and it’s making the sport grow across the country

NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI SPORTS EDITOR Just imagine playing hockey without needing to learn how to skate. That’s ball hockey.

With the same level of intensity and excitement, ball hockey is a sport made to mirror Canada’s favourite winter pastime.

Almost anyone can play, and it’s not just for kids in gym class or on the street, many adults also play.

Sean Guerriero, the vice-president of the Montreal Ball Hockey League (MBHL), said the sport is gaining popularity because it’s simple to play. ‘‘All you need to know is how to run and hold a stick,’’ he said. ‘‘If you like hockey, that’s the only prerequisite.’’

Many of the rules in ice and ball hockey are the same, but the games are played differently. In ice hockey, players can easily glide on their skates if they’re tired or a bit lazy. That’s not the case in ball hockey. The pace of the game relies on players keeping their feet moving without the luxury of an icy surface to propel them forward. ‘‘It’s a big workout,’’ Guerriero said. ‘‘If you’re not backchecking on [the play], you’re called out on it.’’

For university students looking to release stress, Guerriero said ball

A ball hockey team celebrates winning a championship. Photo courtesy of Sean Guerriero.

hockey is a fantastic sport. “It’s a great endorphin-releaser because of the toll it takes on your body to run 200 feet,” he said.

The biggest rule difference between ice hockey and ball hockey is the floating blue line rule. In ice hockey, the offensive zone ends at the opponent’s blue line. In ball hockey, the offensive zone goes all the way back to the red line, at centre ice. So the attacking team has half the ice to set up and make a play. It leaves a lot more space and creates a type of game that, according to Guerriero, relies on possession. ‘‘You gain the zone, you pass back to the point, you open up space,’’ he said. ‘‘The best players in the world don’t run that much.’’

However, ball hockey players still have

the same passion for their sport as those on the ice, and it makes a great alternative for those who cannot play the winter version. ‘‘Across Montreal, hockey is a huge part of our culture, and it’s a great way to enter that culture and participate in it without having to learn how to skate,’’ Guerriero said.

In Montreal, ball hockey participation is growing fast. When Guerriero became VP of the MBHL in 2011, the league used hockey rinks in the summer, and didn’t have winter seasons. But a few months later, the Club West Island built an indoor ball hockey rink, open all year. So the MBHL started playing in the winter. Since then, Guerriero said the number of teams has grown from about

A ball hockey player carries the ball along the boards during a game. Photo courtesy of Sean Guerriero.

30 to around 120, and the MBHL operates year-round with over 3,000 players. ‘‘It’s caught on as more of a yearround sport than just a summer sport,” Guerriero said.

The MBHL took a major hit when the Club West Island closed in 2016, but they bounced back by moving their rink inside a golf dome in Kirkland. On top of that, Montreal’s first five-on-five ball hockey-specific arena, Le Rinque 2.0, opened in April. For Guerriero, having more places to play and grow the sport brings it closer to his dream. ‘‘Our ultimate goal as a sport is Olympic presence,’’ he said. ‘‘To see Team Canada play ball hockey at the Olympics would be a dream come true.’’

FOOTBALL

Jean-Guy Rimpel is simply trying to be the best Concordia Stingers running back has his mind set on winning a championship MATTHEW COYTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Jean-Guy Rimpel is not a running back many defensive players enjoy facing oneon-one. He bolts past, and often through, linemen, linebackers and defensive backs with ease.

Oftentimes, he can only be stopped when he is tripped up or when multiple players tackle him.

Speed and strength are traits that rarely work cohesively, yet they allow him to be an explosive figure in the backfield of the Stingers offence. And that’s why Rimpel is one of the best running backs in U Sports.

“I’m a hard-worker. I can do everything; I can catch, I can block, I’m tall, I’m physical,” Rimpel said. “There aren’t a lot of running backs who can do everything.”

Rimpel led the Réseau du spor t étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) in rushing yards last year with 514 yards and four touchdowns. Two years ago, in his rookie season, he finished fourth in Jean-Guy Rimpel runs with the ball in a game against the McGill rushing with 432 yards Redmen during the 2016 season. Photo by Brianna Thicke. and five touchdowns.

In his two seasons at Concordia, the Stingers have failed to make it past the conference semi-final, but Rimpel has his eyes set on the ultimate goal: a championship.

“I just want to win. I think back to those past two years—it’s pushed me to fight every game and just staying ready every game,” he said. “I know we have the potential to bring the Vanier Cup to Concordia.”

This off-season, Rimpel said he pushed himself to improve on his weaknesses.

“As a running back, I do make mistakes.

I do drop balls, I do make the wrong reads sometimes, but I’m giving the hours to improve,” he said.

Like many others on the team, including head coach Mickey Donovan and quarterback Trenton Miller, Rimpel echoed what seems to be the team’s unofficial motto this year.

“We’re going to play week-by-week and reach our goals,” he said. “Every week, we're at 0-0 whether we win or lose. We're trying to take every team seriously. We're hoping that this [mentality] can help take us to the end.”

A former standout Division 1 all-star with the Collège Édouard-Montpetit Lynx, Rimpel has been proving he has the talent and drive to be a top player on the Stingers offence.

During the first game of the season, against the Université de Montréal Carabins, Rimpel put up 42 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns. However, the Stingers ended up losing that game 37-19.

“I think it was a really good game,” Rimpel said. “A really good start for the team, even though we lost. We came back against one of the best teams in the country, and that shows how competitive we are as a team.”

Rimpel and the Stingers bounced back with a 23-22 win in an away game against the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or on Aug. 31. Rimpel had 163 yards and 28 carries, and he scored a touchdown.

Rimpel is familiar with the pressures of being a student-athlete. But he said he had some help from one of his role models, his older brother.

“He really pushed me to succeed school-wise so that I could go play football in university,” said Rimpel, who is working towards a certificate in arts and science.

“He was also a student-athlete, but he tore his ACL. He understands what it takes to have success.”

For Rimpel, the end goal doesn’t seem to be set in stone.

“Obviously if I get a shot to play in the CFL, I would give it everything,” he said. “But right now, I’m focused on getting my degree.”

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

HOCKEY

Two Stingers proudly represented Concordia at Hockey Canada development camp

Claudia Dubois lines up for a face-off in regular-season action during the 2016-17 season. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

Claudia Dubois and Caroll-Ann Gagné aim to reach new heights with women’s hockey team NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI SPORTS EDITOR Two Stingers on the women’s hockey team recently got to hone their talents with Canada’s national women’s development team. Defenceman Caroll-Ann Gagné and forward Claudia Dubois represented Concordia at Hockey Canada’s national team summer showcase in Calgary, Alta. from Aug. 5 to 13.

Nearly 70 players from U Sports, the NCAA and the under-18 level took part in the development camp. Dubois and Gagné participated in on-ice training sessions, intrasquad games and various off-ice classroom sessions.

“I think we learned a lot of things off the ice because we had meetings about nutrition, and we had some meetings with sports psychologists,” Gagné said.

The camp started off with physical tests, including the bench press and the beep test. Dubois said they then learned about properly warming up before games and cooling down after games.

After the first few days of demanding fitness training, the development camp moved to the ice. Although players came from different schools and won’t be playing together this season, they practiced as a team and focused on developing teamwork.

“It wasn’t a lot about the skills and the [individual] player,” Dubois said.

Last season, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team finished second in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), which allowed them to play at the National Championships in Napanee, Ont. Having played at Nationals allowed Dubois and Gagné to attend the development camp with some of the players they battled against at the tournament.

“It was nice to meet some girls from across Canada from different universities,” Dubois said.

When Gagné met players from the various schools, she said she made sure they knew where she was from. “I was proud to say I was from Concordia,” she said.

During the development camp, the two Stingers tried to meet as many players as possible and even befriended some

of them. When asked if their friendships would last should Dubois and Gagné compete against their new friends this season, Dubois gave a swift response.

“We are friends,” she said. “But not on the ice.”

One friendship that will remain strong during the 2017-18 season is that of Dubois and Gagné. Dubois, the younger of the two, said having Gagné with her relieved a lot of stress on the way to the camp.

“It was nice to have Caroll-Ann with me and just be with her on the plane,” Dubois said. “We were both in the same situation.”

When asked about sharing the experience with her teammate, Gagné said, “She’s a third-year and I’m a fifth-year so I got to know her a bit better, but I already knew her well enough. But it was great to be part of this with her.”

For the Concordia women’s hockey program, having two Stingers invited to the development camp was a reward for the team’s continuous improvement over the past few seasons.

“For me, it rewarded all the hard work from my years at Concordia,” Gagné said.

In Gagné’s first season in 2013-14, the Stingers finished 5-15-0. Despite a bump in the road in 2015-16, they continued improving and achieved a 10-9-1 record last season. They lost to the McGill Martlets in the RSEQ Final, and went to

Nationals only to lose to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the bronze-medal game.

“Since my first year, we went through a lot, and I think we worked hard to get to Nationals,” Gagné said. “This invitation was a gift for us to go there and to prove what we learned last year, and to prove that Concordia is a good team.”

Gagné finished last season as the Stingers top-scoring defenceman with one goal and 12 assists. She said the knowledge they’re bringing back from the development camp will help her and Dubois make the Stingers better.

“I think that this was a great experience, and everything we learned will help us learn to play together as a team and work towards Nationals,” Gagné said.

Dubois finished second in team scoring behind forward Audrey Belzile with 11 goals and six assists last season. She has big goals for the Stingers ahead of the 2017-18 season.

“We want to make Nationals again but also to get a medal,” she said. “I know we could win the championship of our league. We’re going to have to work hard for sure, but we can do it.”

Gagné, who will be playing her last season at Concordia this year before pursuing a career in human resources, has a bit of a different goal. “[I want to] play just to have fun,” she said with a laugh.

Caroll-Ann Gagné, centre, makes a pass between two opponents in a game versus the McGill Martlets during the 2016-17 season. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

theconcordian

17

COLOUR COMMENTARY

BY NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI The rivalry between the Montreal Impact and the Toronto FC could help grow the sport of soccer in Canada in terms of player development and the success of the national team.

On Aug. 27, the Impact and TFC battled in the first of three regular-season meetings this year.

Toronto won 3-1 at Saputo Stadium in Montreal. Their rivalry, known as the 401 Derby in reference to the highway linking the two cities, is considered by Major League Soccer (MLS) fans to be the fiercest in the league right now.

The two teams have a long history of meetings on the pitch. Montreal and Toronto play each other three times each MLS season. They have played against one another 18 times in the Canadian Championship since 2008, and met in the MLS playoffs the last two seasons.

The most exciting playoff clash was an epic Eastern Conference Final last November. The twolegged series went to extra time at the BMO Field in Toronto, where the home team scored two quick goals to advance to the MLS Cup Final.

Playoff battles not only create rivalries in sports, but also intensify existing ones. And the ImpactTFC rivalry burned even stronger after the 2016 Conference Final.

But what comes with a burning rivalry is a passion for the sport among fans.

It’s that passion which will help grow soccer in Canada. When young boys and girls watched the conference final last year, they finally had local soccer heroes they could idolize.

Canada is currently sitting at 95th in the men’s FIFA World Rankings.

There are many reasons for their low ranking, and player development is one of them. To develop players properly, the players need to be passionate about the sport, and kids now have that passion to drive them. In the past, they did not have local soccer stars to look up to.

Now, they can sit in front of the TV and cheer for players like Patrice Bernier, Samuel Piette, Raheem Edwards and Jonathan Osorio, who are just like them—Canadian.

Young players will feel motivated to head to the pitch to practice.

One day, they just might play for either the Toronto FC or the Montreal Impact. And if they’re good enough, they could play for Canada at the international level.

They could even inspire other kids in the future.

Having stars inspire younger generations creates a never-ending cycle that will grow soccer in Canada. And it started because two soccer teams from Toronto and Montreal didn’t like each other.

opinions OPINIONS EDITOR /// opinions@theconcordian.com SANIA MALIK

EDITORIAL

Raising mental health awareness at Concordia Although you may never have experienced mental health issues or suicidal thoughts, research shows that, in 2016, 22 per cent of Canadian teenagers considered suicide.

The Kids Help Phone Line collected data that indicated 46 per cent had even planned out their suicide. In 2012, suicide was ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in Canada, and according to Statistics Canada, over 4,000 people committed suicide in Canada in 2013.

In the spirit of World Suicide Prevention Day, which is on Sept. 10, we at The Concordian are pleased to let students know about the Buddy Project being launched at Concordia in the coming weeks.

The project will shed light on mental health issues and give students the option to sign up online to be paired with a buddy.

The Buddy Project is an initiative founded by 19-year-old Gabby Frost in the United States. Frost’s goal to prevent suicide and raise awareness about mental health began when she was 15. She discovered that many of her friends from school and online were experiencing mental illness, and in April 2013, three girls she interacted with online posted on Twitter about contemplating suicide. That’s when Frost decided to create this project.

On their website, the Buddy Project explains the belief that pairing people with an online friend can help prevent suicide by offering people a peer-support system that might be lacking at home or in their community. According to their website, the Buddy Project mostly focuses on children, teens and young adults by “providing positivity, companionship, resources and education in order to reduce the stigma of

mental illness, bullying and negativity on social media.” By putting emphasis on these factors, the project hopes to inspire people to become more compassionate, empathetic and educated about mental health.

The Buddy Project launched their “Bring BP to Your Campus” campaign in March 2017, which involves sending representatives to campuses worldwide. Throughout September, National Suicide Prevention Month, the Buddy Project will be hosted at Concordia, spreading awareness of mental health and the services offered on campus. The campaign will include activities such as sharing stories to encourage education and compassion, creating awareness videos, teaming up with other mental health awareness groups like Jack.org, and displaying posters that shed light on mental illness and mental health. The project is meant to allow students at Concordia to expand their education on mental health and to inspire them to speak up.

Although Concordia won’t be directly involved in pairing students together, the campaign encourages students—who feel they need support, who want to offer up their support or anyone who just wants to talk—to sign up on the Buddy Project website so they can be paired up online. According to Melyssa Aragona, a Buddy Project representative at Concordia, the project pairs people up primarily based on common traits, and your buddy might live anywhere around the world.

Suicide is still a big issue in our country and around the world, but there are many more steps being taken to help change that. On Aug. 27, the MTV Video Music Awards emphasized the importance of suicide prevention and mental health by discussing the suicides of singers Chester Bennington from Linkin Park and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. The rapper Logic also performed his song, “1-800-273-8255,” which is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. According to CNN, his song drove people to the lifeline in record numbers—the lifeline saw a 50 per cent increase in callers after the performance aired.

It’s difficult to understand or relate to something you’ve never experienced, but it’s easy to take the time to learn and educate yourself on a relevant social issue. Mental health and mental illness are two prevalent issues that should constantly be discussed. The Buddy Project is just one of the ways people can help others—by listening, understanding and shedding light on suicide and mental health.

The project can allow students at Concordia to step forward and share their own experiences with mental health. It creates connections between people who need support and works towards ending the stigma around mental health issues. We at The Concordian strongly encourage students to get involved with the Buddy Project, whether it's taking steps to better your own mental health or learning how you can help those around you.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.

CULTURE

Learning when to speak and when to listen

Joseph Boyden controversy opens up a larger discussion about cultural appropriation TYSON BURGER ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR Joseph Boyden is one of the most celebrated Canadian writers to ever take pen to paper. He has claimed an Indigenous heritage throughout his career, and most of h i s wo r k ce nt re s a ro u n d t h i s identity.

Since the start of his career in 2005, with his debut novel Three Day Road, Boyden has won numerous awards, including the Canada First Novel Award, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award.

However, in December 2016, the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) discovered Boyden has no Indigenous heritage. APTN reported that even though Boyden has claimed ties to Métis, Mi’kmaq, Ojibway and Nipmuc communities throughout his life, they were unable to find any specific links to these communities. According to the report, “Boyden has never publicly revealed exactly from which earth his Indigenous heritage grows.

It has been an ever shifting, evolving thing.”

Some of the things the APTN researched were his family tree and a book about the Boyden family that was published in 1901. After researching his familial claims and ancestry, the network learned that his inconsistent claims lead to a lack of concrete proof of his Indigenous heritage.

Boyden himself remained relatively silent after that, until the beginning of August when he responded to the allegations made against him by writing an article in Maclean’s. He said he’d taken a DNA test that showed he’s a “mutt,” and went on to list the results of the test. Boyden claimed these results indicated he is part Indigenous.

Prior to Boyden’s response in Maclean’s, an article from Vice News featured Métis writer Aaron Paquette saying that being Indigenous isn’t about DNA. He echoed a claim Boyden himself made on Twitter in his response to the controversy: “It is about community. It is about who claims you.”

But who exactly claims Joseph Boyden?

In his Maclean’s article, Boyden vaguely claimed to have been “adopted by a number of people in Indigenous communities.”

Robert Jago, a member of Kwantlen First Nation, was one of the researchers who questioned Boyden’s ancestry. In an article on Canadaland, he questioned the validity of being adopted by many communities, since the term “First Nations” refers to the many individual communities that make up the broader Indigenous community. “There is no person in Canada who is Indigenous without first having a national identity,” he said. In other words, you can belong to the Indigenous community in Canada, but you can’t belong to more than one of the individual groups that make up that broader community. Boyden claimed to be

just that, which highlights his misconception around what it means to be Indigenous. If he misunderstood this key part of Indigenous identity, think about the other things he could have misunderstood and the problem with him spreading misinformation like this while claiming that he himself is Indigenous.

Some may say that, despite his questionable methods, Boyden helped raise awareness for Indigenous communities, but Jago refuted that claim in the same article for Canadaland, saying: “Being Indigenous is not a requirement to stand up for Indigenous rights.”

There seems to remain some uncertainty about whether Boyden was mistaken about his heritage or purposely deceitful.

Regardless, this controversy opens up a larger, increasingly present debate about cultural appropriation.

Although Boyden did spread awareness for Indigenous issues, there’s a potential his actions were harmful to the community as a whole if he took away speaking opportunities, money and cultural context from genuine Indigenous voices.

There exists a fine line between spreading awareness about relevant issues and being a part of the problem when sharing Indigenous stories without belonging to that community.

This situation is about non-Indigenous people knowing—or at least being willing to learn—when it’s their turn to talk, and when it’s time to step aside and allow Indigenous people an opportunity to tell their own stories.

This is a lesson for not only Boyden, but for all non-Indigenous Canadians who want to right the wrongs of their ancestors—myself included.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.

Graphic by Thom Bell.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

theconcordian

19

SAFETY

The line between incautious confidence and paranoia One student's experience with harassment, and the steps she takes to stay safe

AMANDA VITARO STAFF WRITER I enter the metro car to find it practically deserted. Despite the empty seats, I decide to stand. I look around, but there isn’t much to see. A woman staring pensively out the window, a young guy shouldering the burden of a school bag and a man sitting with his legs spread apart.

He is sitting behind me, so I’m able to observe his behaviour in the reflection of the glass. That familiar, feminine voice announces the name of the next metro station, and I notice the man shift in his seat.

Suddenly, I can feel his gaze on my back.

I take a step towards the door, pretending that I’m getting off at the next station. The man jolts up out of his seat, like this has suddenly become his stop too. Of course, when the doors open and I do not exit the train, neither does he. Instead, he drops right back into his seat and waits.

A minute passes before we arrive at the next stop. Now, it really is my turn to get off. I squeeze through a sea of faces on the platform and join the others waiting for the green line. And I wonder about the whereabouts of the peculiar man from the metro car.

That’s when I spot him just a few feet away from me. I notice details about him: his long, grey coat, his sunglasses, his ghostly skin with red patches. I start to worry the man is following me, so I decide to walk away from the platform.

He follows me. My instincts propel my feet

into action. I dart to the orange line with steps as fast as my racing thoughts—what are my options, where is the exit, who can I call, am I exaggerating, what is he planning to do, what was he wearing?

That’s when I spot the man, stomping furiously back in the direction of the green line.

In a recent report, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) received a rating of A+++, earning the title of best transit system among major Canadian regions, according to CBC News. Factors considered in the grading included the number of passenger trips per service hour, passenger trip intensity and operating cost. Unfortunately, safety was not taken into consideration. Perhaps all the flashing lights, slick screens and sophisticated sounds of the new Azur metro cars distracted these examiners from spotting the new danger of one endless train—potential predators are no longer cars away. They’re steps away, always.

At least the old, separate metro cars inherently minimized your chances of encountering a predator, or at least gave you the possibility of switching cars if you were uncomfortable.

I admit the old cars need upgrading.

And while improvements are being made, there are still too many issues to warrant top marks. The Montreal transit system doesn’t need praise. It needs police.

In fact, a more effective police presence is the only advantage I see to having one long car. Now, a single officer can monitor the safety of a whole train, rather than just one section. But until I actually see police roaming the new trains with vigor, I won’t

feel any safer taking the metro.

When I finally got to class that day, after I was followed in the metro, I was so relieved I could have burst into tears.

However, the city's streets haven’t always been a sanctuary of safety for me either.

After some window shopping between classes, I walked into the EV building to sit down and eat my lunch. My appetite was quickly spoiled, however, when a man plopped himself beside me and said he’d spotted me out on the street. “I followed you in here so that I could say hello,” he explained, waving his hand in the air innocently, as if that would shed years off his wrinkly face.

Recently, the Crime Scene Index evaluated the level of safety in 15 Canadian cities. Being followed in broad daylight is just one of many reasons why I’m not surprised Montreal came in 13th in that ranking.

All too often, women disregard experiences like these as mere instances of discomfort. They console themselves with the fact that he walked away, or that nothing really “bad” happened.

They convince themselves that they’re making it into something that it’s not, or that they’re just being dramatic.

They see men gallivanting through the streets alone at midnight, jamming with headphones on in the metro, wearing whatever clothes they please, and many women think they too can live with these same freedoms, without worry.

I used to think that way too, until I realized this was an arrogant approach

to take toward my own safety.

Women cannot live in constant paranoia because that is self-destructive and unhealthy. Yet, they cannot live with their head in the clouds either.

Paranoia and incautious confidence are two extremes, and our solution is found in between. Do not become shy and reserved in an effort to avoid low-lifes and losers, but don’t live in denial that there are creepers lurking.

For me, being less arrogant about safety has prompted me to make very specific changes. I look up from my phone every once in awhile to observe those around me. I keep my music at a slightly lower volume than before, so that I’m more aware of my surroundings. I tie a sweater around my waist when I’m riding the metro in an effort to thwart at least a few strangers from unnecessarily lusting over my body. I carry a rape whistle.

Some of these tips might make sense to you, while others might not appeal to you in the slightest. The good news is that these are just a few amongst a plethora of options women have when it comes to taking a more proactive approach to their safety. At the end of the day, only you will know what works for you—what changes or sacrifices you are willing to make in the name of safety.

But options aside, I do urge you to choose proactivity over arrogance, because half the victory lies in acknowledging there is a battle to fight in the first place.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.

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