The Concordian

theconcordian Tuesday, January 11, 2011

arts music

Centaur Theatre lets its hair down 14th annual Wildside Festival P.10

SUUNS only just rising on local scene P. 13

WANTED: A new president, a new Board Woodsworth lost the Board’s confidence, but do we have any confidence in the Board?

Editorial p. 20

Woodsworth resigned: BoG chair

Chair Peter Kruyt releases open letter late Monday speaking on Judith Woodsworth’s decision

life Check out our Bluffer’s guide for cafés, bars and more P. 5

sports A win on the weekend keeps Stingers in first for basketball P. 17

opinions Our top 10 of 2010 P. 22

Volume 28 Issue 16

Sarah Deshaies Editor-in-chief After refusing to make any statements on the Dec. 22 resignation of Judith Woodsworth as Concordia University’s president and vicechancellor, Board of Governors chair Peter Kruyt finally broke the silence in a 953-word message to the Concordia community that in the end, revealed little about the reasons for her departure.

The statement said that Woodsworth made

her decision to resign following discussions with the BoG in December, in the midst of positive change and development at Concordia. The letter was released by email and on the online MyConcordia student portal Monday evening.

Kruyt said that Woodsworth and the BoG “respect confidentiality agreements in conducting the business of the university” and the BoG is committed to an ongoing 18-month review of “governance issues.” He dismissed suggestions that Woodsworth was forced out because

of “misuse of funds on her part or by her husband” as “simply untrue” and “irresponsible speculation.”

The letter comes as several members of the community have voiced dissatisfaction during the first week of classes following the winter holidays.

Concordia University Faculty Association spokesperson Lucie Lequin released a statement that thrashed the university on Jan. 4.

See “‘Interim director...” on p.3

Two student groups to talk fee levies at CSU council CJLO looking to add 9 cents to their levy, the Void only asking for 2 cents Evan LePage News editor Two Concordia groups will be presenting proposals to the CSU at a council meeting tomorrow, one to try and increase their existing levy and the other in an effort to create a new fee levy for themselves.

CJLO, Concordia’s only radio station, will be presenting to the council a proposal to increase their existing undergraduate fee levy from 25 cents per credit to 34 cents a credit, a seemingly minor increase of nine cents which would amount to somewhere in the area of $60,000 to their overall budget.

According to station manager Katie Seline, the nine cents would largely be put into an expansion fund for the station. “We’ve had two years of incredible growth,” she said, “so we’re hoping now that we can get the support of students so that we can basically become much more sustainable and to encourage further growth.”

Seline described four main areas where the money would be put to use: first, in hiring a consultant to examine the possibility of increasing their signal or moving to an FM frequency; secondly, in order to decrease the need for paid advertising; next, the money would allow the station to continue to provide students and clubs certain free resources, like free advertising and training; finally, the funds would allow the station to help maintain their staff and, potentially, pay more of them. CJLO currently has only two

full-time paid employees.

“Everyone else is volunteer and are volunteering way beyond what we expect of them which is great,” Seline said.

“We’re lucky that we have a huge team of very dedicated people but those people are burning out. It’s tough to run an organization now, this size, purely on volunteer staff with the exception of two people.”

CJLO’s current undergraduate fee levy amounts to about 85 per cent of their operating budget, which totals $193,000 a year according to Seline. Most of this is put towards operating costs including land rental for their antenna and a hefty electricity bill.

The station succeeded in gaining student support to establish a fee levy over a decade ago, and in 2004 managed to have their...

See “‘fee levy...” on p.2

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Got a news tip? news@theconcordian.com

City in brief Evan LePage

Kofi in April

At their Dec. 9 meeting, ASFA councillors voted unanimously to withdraw $11,500 from their special projects fund to purchase 500 tickets for Youth Action Montreal, to be held in April at the Palais des Congrès. Banking on the success of the 2007 event, which saw David Suzuki and Al Gore address students on climate change, this year’s conference is themed “Less talk, more action,” and will feature former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. ASFA president Aaron Green indicated he was confident that his group will be able to sell all their tickets to arts and science students once they go on sale at the end of January.

The profits will then be deposited back into the SPF, which is destined to help fund certain initiatives taken on by ASFA’s member associations and which totalled close to $26,000 before the Dec. 9 vote.

CSU VP finance steps down

For the second time since Concordia Student Union general elections last spring, the VP finance of the CSU has resigned. At the CSU’s Dec. 8 council meeting, Zhuo Ling announced he would be stepping down as of Jan. 4, 2011, citing an inability to fulfill the time commitment required of the position. Ling took over the position of VP finance from Nikki Tsoflikis who resigned near the end of the 2010 winter semester. VP clubs and outreach Ramy Khoriaty was chosen by the CSU to take over the finance position for the remainder of this school year, and has also consequently become director of the student union’s business branch CUSACorp. As of press time, Ling was still listed as VP finance on the CSU website.

ConU wins Jeux du Commerce gold

The 23rd annual Jeux du Commerce wrapped up on Monday and Concordia’s John Molson School of Business walked away with the top prize. Held from Jan. 7-10 at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, this year’s Jeux du Commerce saw JMSB take first in both the finance and strategy elements, helping to lead them to the Patrice Bourbonnais Award for overall standing.

Marianna Luciano of JMSB was also named volunteer of year.

The Jeux du Commerce event has been growing steadily since its inception in 1989, and this year the competition saw over 1,200 business students from 13 universities participating.

transportation

Longer wait times for shuttle bus University said schedule was altered to reflect construction delays Alyssa De Rosa Staff writer Concordia University’s shuttle bus service underwent some changes during the winter break as students will now be forced to wait a little longer for bus departures from both campuses during the day.

Last semester, Concordia students were expected to wait approximately 10 to 15 minutes between two buses during the 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m period on Monday to Thursday. The updated shuttle schedule for the winter semester however indicates that students must brace the cold and wait 20 to 25 minutes between buses during that same period in between morning and evening rush hours.

Despite the suddenness of the change, the seeming decrease in service does not have to do with financial cutbacks, according to Concordia’s media relations director Chris Mota. She said that

David Vilder

Students can expect to wait 20 to 25 minutes between buses during most weekdays the schedule change is solely the result of the city’s ongoing construction and traffic.

“It’s out of the school’s control,” Mota said. “Buses are simply incapable of making the trip in the same amount of time they would in previous semesters.”

Certain roads being rebuilt and the construction of the super hospital is slowing down Concordia shuttle buses, Mota explained, adding that this is a case of the

campus

Overdue escalator repairs to begin next week Project to be undertaken by KONE, set to finish in 2013 Ioana Vanessa Bezman Contributor After nearly 18 months of discussion, tenders and preparations, Concordia’s infrastructure project for the replacement of the Hall building’s escalators will begin on Jan. 17.

The $12 million project is to be funded by Quebec’s Infrastructure Program, and will be undertaken in collaboration with KONE, a company with a global presence in the elevator and escalator industry.

The old escalators are being replaced with “technologically advanced escalators,” according to Shelagh Peden, information and project coordinator from Concordia’s internal communications department.

The work is to be divided into four different phases which will obstruct a certain number of floors at a time, Peden explained.

The first phase, scheduled to last until August, will cover much of the east side of the Hall lobby, around the space that the Tim Hortons occupied. Concordia’s internal communications and facilities management departments will post updates at the beginning of each phase on the NOW events website.

The replacement of the currently unreliable escalators will come as a relief to the many students who dealt with their constant breakdowns. Speaking to the Concordian last fall, political science student Avinash Razack recounted his experience of five or six escalators all not functioning at the same time. “If you're paying so much money for tuition fees you expect the little things to work,” he said.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2013.

school just being honest with expected wait times.

“They don’t want to post an unrealistic schedule for students.”

Concordia’s honesty is making some students uneasy, however. Economics student Mario Armenti is finding it difficult to make it on time for some of his classes at the Loyola campus.

“Sometimes my classes at the Loyola campus are shortly after

my classes downtown, and with this new schedule I might be late for class, which is never fun,” Armenti said.

Armenti isn’t the only one with doubts about the schedule change. Political science student Marie-Ashley Ventrella thinks Concordia should invest in more buses to help counter the wait.

Continued from cover... ...fee levy increased in order to support their transfer to an AM frequency. Last year they were also able to gain some financial support from Concordia’s graduate students and have started holding fundraisers.

Seline said she is confident the council will approve the station’s proposal. “From what I’ve heard we got the support of a lot of people. One of the CSU councillors is a DJ here so that’s helpful. He’s very positive about the station and what we’re doing.”

If CJLO were to succeed in adding the nine cents to their levy in a referendum, they would surpass QPIRG for the third highest undergraduate fee levy received by a student group, the highest two being the People’s Potato (37 cents per credit) and the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program (35 cents per credit).

The Void Magazine, the only bilingual literary magazine on campus, is the other group making a proposal to the CSU tomorrow in an effort to establish a two cent per credit levy.

The Void’s editor-in-chief, Cole Robertson, said that the two

cents would cover the majority of the magazine’s operating budget. “The money is essentially to pay largely printing costs, some promotion and to pay our editors a small honorarium,” he said, adding that much of their expenses also go to paying the contributors, “the artists and the writers who provide the content of the Void.”

Currently the Void receives funding from a number of organizations at Concordia, including ASFA and the CSU. Robertson called their funding a “hodgepodge” of sources and noted that the amount of funding to go around has been decreasing, causing the magazine some difficulty. “Last year specifically we found it very hard to cover our bases in terms of funding,” he said. “We have been able to fund ourselves so far this year but it’s always a bit of a shot in the dark so this is just to cover reliably our core operating costs.”

Both proposals need to be approved by a two-thirds majority of CSU councillors at the meeting before being put to referendum during the spring elections.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/theconcordian Continued from cover...

Interim director could be named this week The departure, she said, is not an isolated event. Lequin called Woodsworth and predecessor Claude Lajeunesse’s severance packages “golden parachutes,” which came in at $700,000 and $1 million respectively. CUFA has announced a special meeting on Jan. 17 for its members to discuss action.

A letter currently circulating is calling for a “thorough and public review of the governing structures of Concordia University, with particular attention to the constitution and the powers of the Board of Governors.” The letter is signed by 180 lecturers and academics.

CSU president and BoG member Heather Lucas said in an email that “students have felt outraged by the exorbitant amount she’s receiving, especially with tuition on the rise.”

Critics have maintained that the nature of the BoG is corporate and not working in the best interests of the university. “It is morally reprehensible that we have a Board of Governors that continues

Timeline Claude Lajeunesse Aug. 1, 2005 – Installed for a fiveyear term as president of Concordia University.

Aug. 10, 2006 – Martin Singer tenders his resignation as provost.

In a press release, Singer praised Lajeunesse, saying he had “full confidence in [his] leadership.”

February 2007 – Lajeunesse was a notable supporter of lifting the tuition freeze, saying it was necessary to better the quality of Quebec universities.

Oct. 31 2007 – Following a “mutual agreement” between him and the Board of Governors, Claude

to spin and manipulate messages about its decisions,” said Maria Peluso, a political science professor and president of the Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association. With 24 members of the BoG coming from corporate backgrounds, she thinks that the body is not diverse enough, and that it could use more nurses, social workers and union leaders, for example.

In an interview with CTV news last week, Woodsworth said she was “shocked” by the news, and that she had been asked to step down. The university’s initial statement said Woodsworth left for ‘personal reasons’ while rumours persisted that she had been asked to leave.

A member of the BoG, speaking off the record, confirmed Woodsworth’s comments that she had lost the confidence of some of the members. They then added, “However, she did choose to resign as she could have stood up to the board and stayed if she wanted to.”

Woodsworth declined to speak to the Concordian, saying “I am not speaking to the media about my situation right now. There are enough people talking about it.”

The statement was made Friday, after she had spoken to both CTV and the Globe and Mail.

A Ministry of Education spokesperson declined to make any comment, saying that Concordia is an “autonomous organization” and that the government would not be making any interventions.

An email has been circulated to the BoG asking for suggestions for interim president. Kruyt said that the search committee will be reviewing the candidates this week and will make recommendations.

Currently, VP external relations Bram Freedman is acting president until the interim president is announced for a 12 to 18 month term.

Lajeunesse steps down less than half way through his contract and leaves with a severance package of close to $1.4 million.

flat rate, would be good for Concordia.

Judith Woodsworth 1980 – Judith Woodsworth begins a 17-year teaching career at Concordia’s département d’études françaises.

Aug. 1 2008 – Installed as President and Vice-chancellor for a term ending June 30, 2013. The Board of Governors praised Woodsworth for her “effectiveness and excellent communication skills.”

November 2009 – Receives heat from students and faculty after stating that the American model of tuition, where students pay a

Head to www.theconcordian. com to see the letters and statement featured above in full.

September 2010 – Woodsworth loses two VPs when fundraising whiz VP Advancement and Alumni Relations Kathy Assayag steps down for “personal reasons” and VP Services Michael Di Grappa leaves to take up a position at McGill.

November 2010 – Questioned before a labour relations tribunal regarding charging personal expenses to the university.

Dec. 22, 2010 – The university issues a press release stating that Woodsworth had stepped down for “personal reasons.”

What they’re saying

“...Dr. Woodsworth made the decision to resign. Some have suggested that Dr. Woodsworth’s departure is related to the misuse of funds on her part or by her husband.

This is simply untrue and is unfair and irresponsible speculation.”

- Peter Kruyt, chair of the Board of Governors “We keep hearing, over and over again, that the university is underfunded. But they manage to dig up money for this. So that’s kind of a slap in the face to students.”

- Holly Nazar, Free Education Montreal spokesperson, GSA councillor and graduate student “They hire these people on corporate contracts, and if they don’t like them, they pay them off. [...] The research in public administration says this: when you impose a corporate model on public administrations, they all fail. Why are they ignoring that reality?”

- Maria Peluso, CUPFA president “We have to take back our university so that it remains a university dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and not to more concrete and more bureaucratic clichémongering.

We do value new buildings, but they will never constitute a university.”

- Lucie Lequin, CUFA president

campus

ASFA taking alcohol policy seriously: president Aaron Green retracts earlier statement regarding an ''alcohol-free campus'' Jacques Gallant Assistant news editor As the process to review Concordia's policy for serving alcohol on campus continues, the president of the Arts and Science Federation of Associations has admitted he was wrong to declare that the university would probably prefer an alcohol-free campus altogether.

Aaron Green retracted the statement, which he had made to the Concordian in November, during ASFA's Dec. 9 council meeting.

His original declaration came af-

ter the university reprimanded the CSU and ASFA for advertising ''all-you-can-drink'' events, such as cultural nights at Loyola, which are in fact a clear violation of regulations set out by the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux.

Green is now one of several student representatives working alongside the dean of students' office and other branches of the administration to review Concordia's current alcohol policy, which has been in place since 2002. ''It is very important that we, as an umbrella organization, encourage our member associations to abide by the rules of the policy because we are, after all, dealing with student lives here,'' said Green last week. ''The university is not trying to create an alcohol-

free campus, but rather trying to address the problem of the overconsumption of alcohol.''

The new policy should be implemented by the end of the semester, said the university’s media relations director Chris Mota in an email. She was unable, however, to provide specific differences between the current policy and the new one being developed as the review process is ongoing.

But Mota did indicate that putting the policy under the microscope at the present time was not a result of the university suddenly learning of the all-you-can-drink events in November. ''Policies are reviewed regularly to ensure that they reflect the present reality including, in this case, existing laws,'' she said.

Although all the details have yet

to be finalized, Green did mention that the education and procedures committees that operate under the policy will continue to exist. The former is geared toward a campaign tackling the over-consumption of alcohol, while the latter is responsible for ensuring that all groups who serve alcohol at an event have followed the proper guidelines.

Green has been assured that student representation will continue on both committees, and said that ASFA will do its part in the overconsumption campaign. ''It really is a small percentage of students who drink in excess, but they must be made aware of the negative repercussions,'' he said, noting that excessive drinking has led to deaths at several other Canadian universities.

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Nation in brief Evan LePage

Truenorthstrongandnot sofree

A British study on freedom-of-information laws within five parliamentary democracies has ranked Canada at the back of the pack. Our nation came last in the ranking which examined stats related to factors, like delays or appeals, affecting government release of information, the Toronto Star reported.

The study, published in Government Information Quarterly, saw Canada lose out to Ireland and three of its Commonwealth companions: Australia, the United Kingdom and first place finisher New Zealand. Authors Robert Hazell and Ben Worthy, of London’s University College, criticized Canada’s system as antiquated, noting in particular the lack of an online system for filing access to information requests and paying fees.

Canadian prof cracking the Da Vinci Code?

After nearly a decade of effort, a former Queen’s University professor believes he has found some of the hidden literary references within Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, CTV news reported.

Ross Kilpatrick, a classics professor emeritus, has accumulated what he feels is concrete evidence that da Vinci was influenced in his painting by the poetry of two Renaissance figures: Horace, a Roman, and Petrarch of Florence. The references, Kilpatrick asserts, in an article published in Italian journal MEDICEA, were incorporated into the scenery behind the iconic smiling figure of Mona Lisa.

Key Porter locked down Canadian publishing company Key Porter Books announced last Friday that publishing of any new titles would be temporarily halted. In a statement released by the publisher, the reason given for the suspension of production was the consideration of “a number of restructuring options,” and possibly selling part of its catalogue of works.

The Bolton, Ont.-based company has had a rough go of it as of late, having laid off nearly two-thirds of staff, 11 employees, this past September.

Report recommends RCMP oversight board A report looking into reform of the RCMP has concluded that the national police force should be operated separately from the federal government.

The RCMP Reform Implementation Council, created by the Harper government four years ago, released its final report last Wednesday in which it said the organization was developing too slowly and must re-examine its management structure in order to regain public trust. The council suggested that an independent management board be created as a sort of oversight committee to monitor internal issues the RCMP faces, among other matters. The council also advised the force employ greater transparency with the public, especially in times of difficulty.

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

World in brief Evan LePage

Cheaters fool Pepsi Refresh?

Pepsi Refresh, an online contest which has seen the soft-drink company give away millions of dollars to charities and non-profit groups, may have been fooled by cheaters. Founders of both Three Ring Ranch, a Hawaiian animal sanctuary, and Kritter Kountry, an animal shelter and rescue centre in California, have made accusations that many winning groups have used an outside source to gain proxy votes. The mysterious source, known only as Mr. Magic, reportedly exchanges his votegarnering services for a share of the winnings, which would break many of the contest rules if true. Pepsi has denied the allegations and has maintained their confidence in Flying Aces Technology, the third party they’ve hired to monitor votes. You may remember seeing Pepsi at ConU but you wouldn’t cheat... right?

U.S. subpoenas Twitter for Wiki deets We’ve all heard about how unsafe our personal information is in the social media era. Well that reality becomes a little more daunting when the U.S. government is the one trying to access that information. A District Court in Virginia has reportedly issued a subpoena to Twitter requesting the personal info, from addresses to payments, of certain individuals associated in some way to WikiLeaks. The subpoena is being justified as necessary in order to complete a criminal investigation involving Julian Assange, but other tweeters targeted aren’t too happy about it. This includes an Icelandic MP, and former WikiLeaks volunteer, who said she would go to court to stop the U.S. from obtaining her private messages.

Middle finger? Not in Dubai A man from Pakistan had his appeal denied this week after being sentenced to a month in jail and subsequent deportation for “obscene hand gestures” aka the middle finger. The Dubai Court of Cassation ruled in the case that the middle finger qualified as an obscene act and was grounds for deportation, and that the ruling is consistent with law in the United Arab Emirates. The incident was reportedly the result of minor road rage. If that law applied in Quebec deportations would number in the thousands every rush hour.

Sex bomb... of the wrong kind A man in Minnesota was arrested this week for allegedly planting explosives in a sex toy. The kicker? The toy rigged to explode was intended to be a Christmas gift for his ex-girlfriend.

Two women he had been living with phoned the police about suspicious bags marked “Christmas gifts,” in which police found a vibrator with gun powder, buckshot and a trigger inside of it. They also found equipment to rig two more vibrators with Christmas wishes written on them addressed to two other exes. Insert double-meaning blowup doll or “big bang” joke here.

Environment

Importance of shale gas leaks debated Talisman Energy spokesman says leaks don’t always need to be addressed Emily Brass Staff writer During the past year, Quebec’s quickly growing shale gas industry sparked heated debates about potential contamination of water.

It wasn’t until last week that some new concerns over possible effects on the atmosphere came to light.

In December, Quebec’s Department of Natural Resources inspected 31 of the province’s brand new gas wells and found that 19 of these were leaking. The information was not released until the public watchdog agency, the bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, made repeated requests to view the results of the inspection.

Stephane Perrault is a Quebec spokesperson for Talisman Energy, the largest corporation exploring shale gas in the province. He said Talisman has five wells in Quebec, which leak an average of 150 cubic metres of gas per well, per day.

"It flows out to the atmosphere,”

said Perrault, who described the leaks as a common occurrence in the industry. He said they happen when the concrete casing around pipes is not completely tight.

“We figure out if it's useful to actually do some work on the well,” Perrault said. “If it remains a small quantity and a small pressure, we don't necessarily intervene."

According to Perrault, the emissions are 96 per cent methane, a non-toxic but highly flammable greenhouse gas. When it comes to these leaks, he said Talisman’s primary concern is the safety of their staff. The company monitors the wells about once a month and if the methane is not building up enough to cause explosions, the company lets it go.

“That’s disturbing,” said Judith Patterson, an associate professor of geology at Concordia who specializes in the impact of fossil fuels on the atmosphere. “There shouldn’t be any escaping gas. That means their trapping mechanism isn’t working properly.”

Calling this type of leak a “fugitive emission,” Patterson said the global warming potential of methane is 21 times that of carbon dioxide.

“This adds to the burden of GHG [greenhouse gas] in the atmosphere,” she said. “Maybe this

isn’t going to melt the polar ice, but if this is going to be a largescale operation, then you don’t want this.”

To illustrate her point, Patterson whipped out her latest heating bill and did some quick math. It takes about 1750 cubic metres a year to heat her 1000 square foot, two-bedroom home in NDG. This means that in one year, the average amount of gas leaking from just one shale gas well is enough to provide heat and hot water to 30 houses like hers.

“This is a hell of a lot,” she said, pointing out that as the number of wells increase, so will the emissions.

Abdul Pirani is President of the Montreal chapter of the Council of Canadians, a group that is pushing for a moratorium on the industry until potential consequences like these are addressed.

“We are not against shale gas exploration,” said Pirani. “It is good for business. But first and foremost, it has to be safe. Safe for the people and safe for the environment.”

Most Quebecers agree. A Leger Marketing poll conducted in 2010 showed that 76 per cent of the province’s residents want to suspend operations until impact studies are complete.

Perrault, however, said a moratorium would waste time and energy by examining aspects of the industry that may not be relevant in the Quebec context. For example, the highly poisonous gas hydrogen sulfide, which is prevalent in Alberta’s shale gas, isn’t present in gas coming from Quebec’s wells.

"We were pretty sure there was no [hydrogen sulfide] in the gas in Quebec, but you never know for sure until you drill,” said Perrault.

Patterson said that the absence of hydrogen sulfide is a plus.

“They must be really excited because that means it’s a nice, clean gas that will need less processing” said Patterson.

But she added that leaks at the top of the well suggest that leaks beneath the surface are likely, which could lead to water contamination. With an EPA report on shale gas and water set to come out this year in the U.S., Patterson recommends waiting for these results before the industry proceeds.

Furthermore, she said the Quebec government can use wells already drilled to investigate the industry.

“On the one hand, it’s good that we have these 31 wells,” she said.

“But there should be no more if two-thirds of them are leaking.”

business

Portuguese university wins world MBA competition Organizers mark 30th anniversary of Montreal event with rings for participants Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo Assistant arts editor Portugal’s University of Porto Business School was declared the winner of the John Molson International MBA Case Competition on Saturday, taking home both the Concordia Cup and the $10,000 cash prize.

The faceoff between the three finalists, rounded out by Kaiserslautern and Queen’s University, concluded the five-day event, which attracted teams from 36 universities around the globe to the Fairmont Hotel Queen Elizabeth. Concordia's John Molson team did not make it past the semi-finals.

The case competition is to the professional world as Model UN is to the United Nations: it acts as a microcosm of the type of decisions that are made every day.

“This is exactly how they would probably solve business problems in real life,” said spokeswoman Natasha Schneider. “They're given some information and they're asked to come up with a solution, basi-

Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Students from the University of Porto Business School in Portugal hoist their 1st place trophy. cally they have to first identify the problems, the alternatives, and make a recommendation to their superiors.” Schneider is one of three members of the 2011 organizing team and is an MBA student at Concordia.

Once given a case, the fivemember squads have three hours to develop their strategy.

They then present it to a panel of judges, after which they are assigned a score according to the quality of their presentation. Above all, the competition tests the participants’ ability to prepare a solid case under time

pressure.

“They are writing and preparing those slides right up until the very last minute, right up until the three hours are up, so there is a tremendous amount of stress,” said Dickson Jay, who has coached the John Molson team for the past two years, and picks the team from the students in a class on cases and strategy he teaches in the fall semester.

The competition is not-forprofit, with proceeds being donated to Lights for Life, an organization which furnishes rechargeable lights to children,

with the goal of aiding their education.

Schneider hopes that in coming years the competition will grow to include universities from every continent.

This year marks the 30th edition of the competition, making it the oldest of its kind in the world. The organizing team commemorated the anniversary by making rings for the participants. The idea, said Schneider, was “to provide them with a piece of memorabilia, sort of like going to the Olympics and keeping one of the medals.”