The Concordian - September 13, 2016

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

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VOLUME 34, ISSUE 3 | TUESDAY, SEPT. 13, 2016

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 /theconcordian  @theconcordian

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Harassed and tossed out A Concordia student was fired after seeking help for workplace harassment—now she has filed a human rights complaint

News p. 2 also in this issue

life

A conversation about water p.6

arts

Mapplethorpe in Montreal p. 8

music

Indie-pop band Groenland p. 12

opinions

sports

Proud to be a Stinger

p. 15

Lack of paralympic coverage p. 17

news

NEWS EDITORS /// news@theconcordian.com SAVANNA CRAIG & NELLY SERANDOUR-AMAR ( @savannacraig @nellsamar03)

CITY IN BRIEF NELLY SERANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR

Cancer risks growing among firefighters The Montreal Firefighters Association is demanding Quebec’s labour and safety board help its members more with cancer-related issues. Last April, the Commission des normes de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) added five types of cancer to its list of diseases related to firefighting. According to CJAD, a study found the chance of developing lung cancers increased with amount of time spent exposed to fire.

The higher risk is due to increased exposure to smoke and toxins on a regular basis.

10-year anniversary of Dawson shooting Sunday was the ten-year anniversary of the shooting at Dawson College. On Sept.

11, 2006, an 18-year-old girl, Anastasia De Sousa, was killed and 19 others were injured when a gunman walked into the CEGEP. The gunman also died. Richard Filion, director general of the college, spoke to CJAD about the anniversary.

He noted how ironic it was that Dawson’s Peace Education program, a program that focuses on mediation and conflict resolution, came out of such violence. Dawson College will be hosting many activities this week promoting peace and nonviolence.

Montreal Police investigating attempted murder A twenty-year-old man is in serious condition after being shot on Mackay Street early Sunday morning. According to CJAD, the victim was shot by one bullet at around 3:45 a.m.. Police spokesman, Andre Leclerc, says the man was taken inside a nearby fast food restaurant. Paramedics treated the man before taking him to hospital. Investigators are currently questioning witnesses, to gather information about what led to the shooting. They have yet to make any arrests.

CAMPUS

A new, well cooked-up biology class

Catherine Calogeropoulos invites students to learn basic science and cooking skills NELLY SERANDOUR-AMAR NEWS EDITOR Catherine Calogeropoulos, a part-time professor in Concordia’s biology department, has full confidence in her newly onlineadaptedclass, “BIOL 203 – Fundamental Nutrition.”

After four years of teaching the subject in the classroom, Calogeropoulos wanted to perfect it to her taste for the online section.

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to mix my knowledge of biology and food together,” she said.

The class is designed to use science to teach the basics of daily nutrition. Calogeropoulos said she had to find a way to get non-science students to understand complicated scientific concepts, to pique their interest in the course.

The first time she taught the class, she said the students had to cook for their term project. Their homework consisted of following any recipe they wanted, while noting all of the nutritional facts of the meal, such as the amount of carbs and fats. “When they came

back with the results, I realized that the class. “For some a lot of them didn’t know what to do students, the science in a kitchen,” said Calogeropoulos. is quite heavy, so In a slideshow she presented I attempt to level during her first class, she included the playing field a Meryl Streep interview. “During by including an inter view for her movie, Julie and Julia, Streep said her mother’s motto was ‘If it’s not done in 20 minutes, it’s not dinner’,” said Calogeropoulos.

“When she was a kid, the actress found herself at her friend’s house where her mother was carving up what she thought The class "BIOL 203" is now being offered online. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar. were tennis balls, which example, lipids work by seeing were in fact were potatoes.” cooking assignments, and more how mayonnaise is made,” she said.

Calogeropoulos said she realized recently, reading assignments Calogeropoulos believes that it would be a good idea to include that discuss some current topics the course is about more than just cookbooks in all of her classes. It in nutrition,” she continued. understanding science and learning would show students basic cooking Calgeropoulos' online version how to cook. “It’s about learning vital techniques, such as how to clean of the course will feature a life skills—cooking is a discipline, garlic, and would teach them how professional chef showcasing the and this discipline can be applied to use basic cooking tools. recipes. Each lesson will have a in your life,” she said.

“In lecture one, I tell students to video segment of the chef preparing The online class, “BIOL 203 go home and clean their kitchens a meal to support the lesson of – Fundamental Nutrition” will be and get, if possible, a few basic the week. “It will be easier for the offered during the winter semester. tools,” said Calogeropoulos, about students to understand how, for

HUMAN RIGHTS

Concordia pleads return of Homa Hoodfar Professor emerita Hoodfar remains detained in Iranian prison CHLOE RANALDI STAFF WRITER Concordia Academics held a press conference on Sept. 7 in the EV building at Concordia’s Sir George Williams campus, calling for the immediate release of Dr. Homa Hoodfar, a retired Concordia anthropology and sociology professor emerita.

“On June 6, our department changed forever,” said Marc Lafrance, a sociology and anthropology professor. “On this day, one of our most admired and beloved professors was arrested and held in Iran’s infamous Evin Prison in Tehran.”

Hoodfar, 65, was arrested three months ago and charged with collaborating with a hostile government against national security—charges her family denies, according to Kimberly Manning, principal of Concordia's Simone De Beauvoir Institute.

Recent news of Hoodfar’s deteriorating health pushed the Concordia community to issue an official press release asking for help from both the Irish and Iranian governments

Concordia Academics held a press conference. Photo by Chloe Ranaldi.

to ensure her safe return.

“A week ago, Homa Hoodfar fell gravely ill and was hospitalized,” said Manning.

Lafrance raised the question about whether or not she is receiving her medication or basic needs, like food and water. Hoodfar suffers from a rare neurological disease that requires medical attention.

Manning said that Hoodfar’s

case is an emergency and that at the moment, “we don’t know if she is alive.”

Hoodfar, who holds Irish, Canadian and Iranian citizenship, has received a great deal of support from Irish scholars, said Emer O’Toole, a Canadian Irish studies professor, at the press conference.

“Yesterday, [the sociology department of Ireland] released an open

letter calling on the Irish and Iranian government to do everything they can to secure Homa’s freedom,” O’Toole said.

On Wednesday morning, Irish academics gathered outside of the Iranian Embassy in Dublin to show their support for Hoodfar.

“Over the course of the summer, [more than] 5000 academics signed a petition which called for Hoodfar’s immediate release, including notable public intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and Orhan Pamuk,” said Manning.

Hoodfar is recognized for her studies on development, culture and gender in the Middle East.

“We encourage all Concordia students to sign the petition that calls for Homa’s safe return home,” Lafrance told The Concordian .

“Students are invited to share her story on social media.” ¡¡ To sign the petition or to learn more about Professor Homa Hoodfar, visit www. homahoodfar.org.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

HUMAN RIGHTS

Student files human rights complaint

CRARR executive director questions management training at Concordia

When Felicia told her manager at the Campus Corner she was being harassed, she was fired. Photo by Gregory Todaro.

GREGORY TODARO MANAGING EDITOR Felicia* loves talking to people. Her ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, any wh e re, is im m e diate ly noticeable — and it’s one of the reasons she loved working at Concordia’s Campus Corner on the downtown campus. For two-and-a-half years, Felicia worked part-time at the university while studying in the classics, modern languages, and linguistics department.

However, when she began working with a new employee in September 2015, she no longer felt safe in a place she had considered a second home—so much so that even she found it hard to talk to anyone about it, she said.

“As an individual, he made me feel really uncomfortable—and I couldn’t talk to the other employee [during my shift] about it because I didn’t want to ruin the [atmosphere],” she said.“I felt like if I was really, really nice, he’d be nicer.”

Felicia said that after more than a month of both sexual and gender-based harassment, she was no longer able to internalize the problem. “The more I was exposed to this, the more I was keeping it in,” she said. “It was building and building and, in November, I just crashed.”

She started having panic attacks and, after an encounter late in November, she experienced a panic attack that required her to seek medical help and miss a week of class and work.

Convinced she no other options, Felicia arranged a meeting with her manager to seek help for the harassment she had been facing.

“I told her what happened—I thought there would be a solution,” Felicia said. “Then she asked me, ‘What do you want me to do?’ I’m not going to tell my boss what to do.

I’m the employee, I listen to you.”

Felicia asked her manager if they could be assigned different shifts but was told that wasn’t possible.

Instead, her manager’s solution was to cut Felicia’s hours—but she was still scheduled to work with her harasser. Felicia went back to her manager to ask for a different solution, and that’s when she said her manager decided to let her go.

Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR)— which is now representing Felicia and assisted Mei Ling in her complaint against the Arts and Science Federation of Associations last year—said this raises questions as to how management is trained to deal with harassment in the workplace.

“Managers or supervisors are supposed to be trained with how to deal with the situation very effectively,” he said. “We don’t know whether there’s any training.

[Felicia] went to the manager for help, and she didn’t get the proper resolution— and she got terminated.”

While the university doesn’t comment on ongoing cases against them, they responded to questions pertaining to how managers at Concordia are trained to deal with workplace harassment.

“Concordia offers professional development training to its managers on a variety of issues, including workplace harassment,” said university spokesperson Chris Mota. Training on harassment in the workplace for managers, facilitated by the Department of Human Resources and the Office of Rights and Responsibilities, has been offered since 2011, she added. However, Mota said that employees are not trained to deal with harassment—rather, it is the manager’s responsibility to address such issues.

“When I lost my job, my heart kind of broke,” Felicia said. “I felt lost.” The stress and anxiety became so difficult for her to deal with that her academic performance also suffered. Felicia, who had a 3.47 GPA before September 2015, finished the 2015-2016 academic year with a 0.7 GPA. In February 2016, Felicia filed a

complaint to Concordia’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities (ORR) against the employee. She also filed a complaint with the Commission des normes du travail against the university for having been dismissed without good and sufficient cause, insufficient indemnity pay and for being dismissed for exercising her right to a workplace free of harassment.

When Felicia met with the ORR, she was told everything at the meeting would remain confidential.

“I was told everything would be confidential and that they would have to do an investigation and that they’d contact my boss’ boss,” said Felicia. “The thing is, if my complaint with normes du travail correlated with the complaint with the university internally, they would stop the investigation and they would stop everything.”

Despite the fact that Felicia said the complaints to the ORR and the commission were different—the first complaint focused on the employee and the second on the university itself— the ORR ended its investigation.

They also transferred the case files to Concordia’s Human Resources.

“Everything I said in confidence was actually transferred to the administration,” said Felicia, adding that they never asked for her permission to do so beforehand.

Felicia said she was then contacted by HR, who requested she attend a meeting with her former manager. However, recalling former Le Gym employee Rose Tandel’s problems with Concordia’s HR department in 2013, Felicia decided against attending the meeting.

Meanwhile, the complaint f iled with the Commission des normes du travail hit two major roadblocks. First, Niemi said they were told that, because Felicia didn’t have a contract as a part-time employee, there wasn’t enough evidence that she worked at Concordia long enough to file for wrongful dismissal. Additionally, in order to pursue the psychological harassment complaint, Felicia would have to present the case in front of the labour board, a process which is time-consuming and would require Felicia to pay additional costs.

Now CRARR is helping Felicia take her complaint to the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. There, Niemi said they’ll look for a “systemic remedy.”

“We’re asking for mandatory training for managers and supervisors on harassment— how to resolve it, how to identify it, how to correct it and how to prevent it,” he said.

He also noted that this isn’t the first time complaints have been filed against Concordia. “We see a pattern that somehow internally the mechanisms don’t work as much as they should,” said Niemi.

“There’s not enough of a speedy resolution or an effective system provided to a student or employee feels discriminated or harassed.”

Felicia is also seeking $45,000 in damages.

*Name has been changed to ensure the individual’s privacy and protection.

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N AT I O N I N B R I E F

BY SAVANNA CRAIG CO-NEWS EDITOR

Two Canadian banks withdraw from weed industry The Royal Bank of Canada and Scotiabank announced they will not be doing business with companies affiliated with the marijuana industr y. Some companies have repor ted Scotiabank has terminated their contracts because they sell marijuana or drug paraphernalia.

Scotiabank spokesperson Rick Roth told CBC News, “The bank has taken the decision to close existing small business accounts and to prohibit the opening of new accounts for customers classified as 'marijuana-related business."

Canada now gives heroin prescriptions to opioid addicts Canada is now granting doctors permission to prescribe heroin to those with life-threatening opioid addictions, as rates of opioid addictions increase in North America, according to Vice News. This comes as a result of Health Canada ending their ban on physicians’ ability to prescribe diacetylmorphine—a pharmaceutical grade heroin.

If methadone or other treatment options do not work, doctors now have the ability to request access to a special-access government program in order to prescribe heroin. This tactic has not been approved in the United States, while Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands have supervised medical treatments—heroin treatments being included.

ConocoPhillips Canada to lay off employees This week, ConocoPhillips Canada, the Continental Oil and Transportation Company & Phillips Petroleum Company, is set to make employee cuts that will lead to 1,000 laid-off employees. ConocoPhillips Canada spokesperson Rob Evans told CBC News the bulk of employee cuts will be made in their head office in Calgary.

"This is part of a ConocoPhillips global initiative to align our operational capacity to our planned activity over the next few years," Evans said in the CBC News report. He said the reason for the cuts are due to low product prices and lack of distribution to new companies.

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theconcordian

WORLD IN BRIEF

BY SAVANNA CRAIG CO-NEWS EDITOR

Families of 9/11 victims will be able to sue Saudi Arabia

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

CAMPUS

A look at Concordia’s stars Space Concordia shares its victories with the rest of the university

The United States congress has just passed a bill allowing the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.

On Friday, the The US House of Representatives, passed by an uncontested agreement, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. This bill had been passed four months ago by the senate, however, it now awaits approval from President Obama.

The Middle East Eye reported this bill would let the families of victims seek cases in U.S. federal court to counter foreign governments, urging compensation if the government on trial are confirmed to hold liability for terrorism committed on U.S. land.

South Korea ready with defence system South Korea has devised a reaction and defence plan should North Korea choose to wage nuclear war on the South.

North Korea has been conducting nuclear tests—imposing their fifth and largest nuclear test in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The U.S. is considering their own response, in addition to the responses from South Korea, Japan and the UN Security Council. BBC News reported Pyongyang responded on Sunday by calling the threats of "meaningless sanctions... highly laughable". A source from the South Korean military said that if North Korea presents any signs of an attack on the South, “[Pyongyang] will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosives shells.”

Intensive warfare causes Syrian life expectancy to drop Rising conflicts and civil war have resulted in new data from Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen showing a shorter life expectancy for Syrian people. As ongoing warfare has killed 400,000 and left millions in need of help, war has been claimed as the leading cause of the drop in life expectancy.

According to Vice News, since the expulsion of Muammar Gaddafi’s presidency in 2011, the life expectancy of Syrian men has decreased by nine years, while decreasing by six for women.

Nicholas Moore stands next to Aurelius, Space Concordia’s winning Rocket. Photos by Nelly Serandour-Amar.

NELLY SERANDOUR-AMAR NEWS EDITOR Space Concordia, have just returned from several summer competitions, including a first place win.

Space Concordia’s team placed first in Canada during their first competition of the summer— the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge (CSDC), which was held on June 16. This competition requires teams to design and build a small research satellite known as a “CubeSat” or a “nanosatellite.” After construction, the satellites must undergo full launch qualification testing.

Eight Canadian Universities participated in this challenge, including Montreal’s Polytechnique, who landed in third place. Space Concordia President Nicholas Moore said Montreal dominating the podium was a first for the city.

The second competition Space Concordia attended was the International Rocketry Engineering Competition (IREC), which lasted a week and wrapped up late this August in Utah. The Concordia team brought back the second place prize, while École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) finished in first place. This international comp et it ion broug ht together more than 50 schools from around the world to design rockets capable of reaching an altitude of 3048 meters or higher.

Space Concordia’s rocket, Aurelius,

flew to 3395 meters and was recovered less than a mile from the launch site, showing the quality of the research done prior to the construction of the rocket. . Space Concordia’s rocketry division won second place with Aurelius.

When not competing, the club was working on a different project: Icarus. Icarus is the group’s first attempt at creating a flying highaltitude balloon. These types of balloons are designed to expose equipment and scientific charge, which is a unit of matter, in nearspace areas. The two balloons they created reached an altitude of 24 kilometres, extending halfway through the stratosphere.

In addition to this project, the club is currently developing a g ro u n d station to

communicate with satellites.

Moore also mentioned some of the new projects that the club has planned for this year.

“The rocketry team is planning to feature a pitted tube that will stick out of their rocket,” he said. “This tube will be placed right up the top of the rocket, taking air samples for more accurate airspeed.”

The club is divided into three categories: rocketry, spacecraft and robotics.

The rocketry division participates at the IREC

ever y year. The competition challenges teams to send a 10 pound experimental payload, which is a type of satellite, to an altitude of 3048 meters before returning the entire rocket safely to the ground.

The spacecraf t division concentrates on the design, construction and operation of satellites. The team is also divided into a space group, whose dedicated to building the satellites and a ground group, who works on operating and communicating with these satellites from Earth.

The club’s final division, robotics, has four main subdivisions: software, power, electrical and mechanical.

Their main competition is the University Rover Challenge (URC) in southern Utah. This competition challenges the teams to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers—ones that will eventually work alongside astronauts exploring Mars. This competition is organized by the Mars Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting human exploration and settlement of the red planet.

Moore invites all students from the university to join the club. He said all undergraduate students—in any field of study—have a place at Space Concordia. From those attending John Molson School of Business to students studying the arts, Moore said that they can be a valuable addition to the club.

Students who wish to par ticipate in S pace Concordia proje c t s are welcome to visit their office in the Hall building, on the 10th floor (1029.7).

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

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HUMAN RIGHTS

Documenting the lack of human rights in Bolivia Former JMSB student films documentary about child labour and lack of aid for those with disabilities SAVANNA CRAIG NEWS EDITOR John Molson School of Business alumnus Fernando Barbosa spent two years in Bolivia filming a documentary about the lack of aid for both children and those with disabilities in the country. As Barbosa grew close to the communities he documented, he received threats from the Bolivian government and police, as his work shed a greater light on the country’s neglect of human rights, he said.

Barbosa—who is originally from the town of Cochabamba, Bolivia—first began filming in 2012 on the topic of working Bolivian children in Cochabamba. He said the children faced police brutality, discrimination, hunger and yet, “at the same time, they have a lot of strength and courage.”

Barbosa said he was eager to begin documenting the social and financial issues that he had been unaware of for so long. “Living and growing up in Bolivia, I was not aware of [the child labour] that happened,” he said.

According to 2008 statistics from The International Labour Organization and Bolivian government—850,000 children from ages 5 to 17 were working in Bolivia.

It was found approximately nine in 10 were working tough labour jobs—recognized as underground mining and sugar cane harvesting.

Barbosa’s interest in the subject of child labour first sparked during a visit to his family in Bolivia in the summer of 2010. One night, he passed out in the street while intoxicated, but somehow woke up in his own home the next morning. His sister later told him that a young boy named Willie, who worked in the parking lot of a club downtown, helped put Barbosa in a cab that took him home.

“They make almost nothing,” he said. “[The] money he made that night, he put me in a taxi and brought me home,” he said.

Barbosa later returned to the club to find the child who had helped him home.

“After I met him, I started to meet other working kids on the streets,” he said. Many of them were orphans and needed money to pay for school and food, he said.

Barbosa returned to Bolivia in 2012, and he began documenting the issue of child labour in the country.

Before he could begin documenting their lives, Barbosa said he needed to gain the children’s trust in order for them to open up to him. Barbosa said this was due to the presence of exploitation of the children by non-government organizations (NGOs) and government-related organizations—who would first provide aid to these children.

However, some would disappear once there was enough footage to share on their website and social media.

Barbosa said initially the children were skeptical of him. “Many kids working on the streets are aware that government officials receive a salary for the job they

have to ‘help’ these kids,” he said.

The police and the Bolivian government took a special interest in Barbosa’s presence with the children—cautioning him to instead help the children through a government program, he said.

Barbosa noticed that some police posed a threat to the children. Some would follow their orders, but others took advantage of their power.

He said while there are some good police, “the bad cops are the ones threatening, and also beating up street kids.”

After returning to Concordia in 2012 once summer ended, Barbosa ret ur ned to Bolivia after his graduation in December 2014. “I initially was going to stay for 3 months,” he said. “But while I was there, there were new things happening, so I ended up staying for two years.”

In February 2016, a protest for people with disabilities started in Bolivia.

Barbosa said those with disabilities in the countr y were asking the gover nment for a monthly benefit of $70 to aid with basic needs, such as healthcare.

Barbosa came to realize not only children faced a lack of essential human rights in Bolivia— which is why he began working on a second documentary project.

Barbosa said he believes people with disabilities are the poorest group in Bolivia. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found in 2010 the employment rate of people with disabilities was reported as 44 per cent.

“They don’t have access to jobs—they don’t have access to medical care,” he said.

At the time, Barbosa reconnected with a group of documentary makers from Australia. The group was inspired by those who struggled with disabilities in Bolivia and wanted to document their stories. This included filming a six-month period of protests between those with dis abilities and the gover nment, Babosa said.

“They decided to go all the way to [La Paz], walking on mountains,” he said. “It took 35 days to cross all the mountains.” Once they reached La Paz, Barbosa said the government was waiting for the

protesters with police barriers and water tanks. “It was just 85 days just in La Paz of police repression, police

brutality—to the point that six people died in this process,” he said. “And still they didn’t get the pension.”

However, there was a small victory for human rights in Bolivia, Barbosa said. One of the leaders for the disabled people in Bolivia was able to travel to Switzerland to attend an event held by the United Nations on people with disabilities.

“The [Bolivian] gover nment was at the event saying how good

Bolivia is doing for people with disabilities,” Barbosa said, but then the protestors’ representative presented the footage that Barbosa and his teammates had filmed. “The UN now gave Bolivia a 12-month period to give an explanation and look for those responsible for all of the police brutality and all that happened,” said Barbosa.

Barbosa said compared to his encounters with the authorities during his first documentary, during the filming for the second, the police followed him more intensely during the filming of the protests—even threatening to detain Barbosa and his teammates.

“I think [the government was] trying to scare us so we stopped filming and we stopped showing what was happening.”

Barbosa believed the authorities and the government were scared the footage would be viewed by people outside of the country—showcasing the alarming lack of human rights and the degree of poverty that some groups faced.

“Bolivia has signed international agreements to fight for human rights,” he said. “And [what I had documented] was violating these human rights.”

Barbosa said he wants to share both of his documentaries with high schools and universities. He wants to share his experience and shed light on the human rights issues in Bolivia, while also showing how strong and courageous these children are.

Barbosa said it’s vital to share his documentary so people can be more aware and thankful of the privileges they have. "We sometimes are not aware of that," he said. ¡¡ To find out more about Barbosa’s documentaries visit the “Pinches Gringos” Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ superpinchesgringos

Barbosa describes his experience filming in Bolivia while being back in JMSB for the first time since graduation. Photo by Mishkat Hafiz, video screenshots courtesy of Barbosa.

life

LIFE EDITOR /// life@theconcordian.com DANIELLE GASHER

EVENT

"Treating" it right: a conversation about water The first lab in the University of the Streets’ conversation series fall schedule took place on Sept. 3

BY JOSHUA DE COSTA STAFF WRITER Art Hives and University of the Streets Café, two separate Montreal community organizations, came together on Sept.

3 at the NDG Art Hive to hold their public conversational lab, which discussed the way society uses and treats its bodies of water, while tying art-making into the event.

Tricia Toso, the event moderator, said the labs were being held to encourage the community to come out together and get more involved in issues pertaining to arts and science. The lab appeared to do just that.

In the middle of Notre Dame de Grâce Park, children and parents, alongside other members of the community, gathered under a clear blue sky to take part in the premiere event.

Toso began the lab by inviting attendees to participate in arts and crafts on a nearby table. Many of the children at the event crowded the table, which was covered with pieces of coloured chalk, paint palettes, scissors, brushes, glitter and glue.

Shortly after, Supriya Tandan began the first of two scheduled presentations.

Tandan, an aquatic ecologist working at a law start-up firm, spoke about Montreal’s difficult decision to dump raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River last November.

She explained how the consulted scientists justified giving the go-ahead to dump the sewage—they believed that since the river was much larger than the amount of sewage, dumping it wouldn’t affect the quality of the drinking water.

“The scientists said ‘dilution is the solution to pollution,’” Tandan said.

The decision had its pros and cons, however.

“We had to decide between dumping the sewage in the river or letting it run into the water treatment facility which could have affected the whole municipality.”

Jailson Lima, who holds a PhD in inorganic chemistry, also gave a presentation. Lima recalled a time when he took his students to Pointe-aux-Trembles to visit the Jean-R. Marcotte plant, a primary water treatment facility on the eastern tip of Montreal.

“You see a huge swimming pool of greyish water, and the guy says: ‘Let’s add chlorine to it and dump it straight back into the river,’ and the kids are shocked and they ask: ‘Why? Why don’t we treat it further?’”

Lima used the city of Calgary and one of its rivers as an example. Since the river is much smaller, the effect of dumping untreated sewage in it is much greater.

Therefore, the city of Calgary must use tertiary water treatment plants to treat their sewage.

“It’s not the poison that kills you, it’s the dose,” said Lima as he defended dilution as the solution—but he said while dilution works most of the time, it doesn’t work every time. Even if diluted, there are some

The interactive conversation lab, which included art-making, took place outdoors in the middle of NDG Park.

Photos by Joshua De Costa.

impurities in water that can cause serious problems for the environment, he said. “Today in the United States, hormones in the water are creating an imbalance between the number of male and female fish.”

Lima then gave attendees tips on how they could save water. He said everyone should reconsider how they eat or what they buy because every piece of food or type of product has its own “water footprint.”

Just as a carbon footprint shows how much carbon is used to make a certain product, a “water footprint” is the amount of freshwater that the process requires. For example, it takes just under 7,000 liters of water—or about a 15-hour long shower—to produce one pound of bovine meat, according to a 2010 study published by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education.

“The way we are consuming is using a lot of water,” Lima said.

“This cannot go on forever.”

Canada has a history of using a lot of water. In 2009, The National Post reported that Canada ranked second only to the United States in the developed world in liters of water used per person each day.

Since then, however, newer reports show that Canada’s water usage has slightly improved. In 2016, The Conference

Board of Canada gave Canada a “B” score for “water withdrawals”—the total volume of water removed from a body of water—ranking the country 10 out of 15 other peer countries. Three years prior, on the same evaluation scale, Canada was ranked 15 out of 16 peer countries.

Saturday’s discussion also showed how

the relationship between a consumerist societ y and bodies of water can be complicated.

Toso said after the discussion: “There are few places where people can come and have an open discussion about their [water] usage, and get access to a scientist [like Lima].”

Saturday’s conversational lab was the first in the “UrbanBodies series.” The next lab, called “Earth – Herself,” will discuss how the quality of soil affects urban gardening and health. öö The lab will be held on Sept. 20 at St-Henri Hive, 4525 Rue Saint-Jacqueson.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

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FOOD

A taste and a sip of Gaspésie in Montreal Pub Pit Caribou tests the waters in Montreal, opening its doors on Rachel E street

Pub Pit Caribou sits on the corner of Rachel E and Mentana street, on the Plateau. Photo by Daniel Slapcoff.

BY CATHERINE DUBÉ CONTRIBUTOR Ever had seaweed chips with rye beer? In Percé, where Pub Pit Caribou originated, this combo is a common snack for many pub-goers. Well-rooted in the Gaspésie community since 2007, the Pub Pit Caribou microbrewery finds passion in offering a unique experience with every beer they craft.

Brewed in Anse-à-Beaufils, a small village situated within the bigger town of Percé, QC, their beer comes in five regular varieties: golden ale, amber ale, white wheat beer, porter and Indian pale ale (IPA). The brewery also crafts a variety of limited edition series, like the Tennessee series, which consists of different beers that are aged in Tenessee whiskey barrels.

Most of the beer selection that the microbrewery offers has been available in some bars and speciality stores in Montreal for quite some time. However, in mid-May, Pub Pit Caribou opened its doors in Montreal

in the Plateau. The signature “Pit Caribou” logo that Montrealers have come to know from their bottle labels now hangs on a sign on the corner of Rachel and Mentana, just a block away from the popular poutine joint, La Banquise.

Pub Pit Caribou’s menu comes in the form of a wrinkled piece of paper stapled to a wooden plank that features not only their beer menu and specialty Gaspésien snacks, but also the origins and stories behind their beers. The knowledgeable staff guides you through the beers currently available and even suggests some favourites, allowing you to explore the different flavours Gaspésie has to offer. The staff’s care and attention communicates their passion for well-crafted beers and local products.

The regular beers are all enjoyable, especially the award-winning Blanche de Pratto, a white wheat beer. The brew has hints of coriander and citrus, rendering it both sweet and slightly spicy. The rye pale ale, a limited edition seasonal beer currently

Pit Caribou's beer sample platter. Photo by Daniel Slapcoff.

being offered, is a little bit more unique. With a dry touch to it, the beer resembles an IPA because of the strong hop presence.

The seaweed chips from Cap-au-Renard offer a cool alternative to regular chips – that is, if you enjoy seafood. These chips really taste like, well…the ocean. If kelp isn’t your thing, the smoked salmon from the Fumoir Monsieur Émile in Percé has just the right smoke-to-fish ratio and tastes great after a sip of the rye beer.

If your beer connoisseur friend is dying to drag you to Pub Pit Caribou but you despise beer, the pub offers a surprisingly extensive list of different spirits and cocktails. Their

barley wine even won a medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2014, according to the microbrewery’s website. The pub’s current special seasonal cocktail is made with vodka and organic blueberry-lavender kombucha from New-Richmond. It has the thirst-quenching qualities of kombucha that many know and love, but with alcohol. Designated drivers will also be satisfied with the menu, as Pub Pit Caribou offers many non-alcoholic choices, including a hop tea. cc Pit Caribou, 951 Rue Rachel E, is open everyday from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m.

BUSINESS

Three students, one simple vision

Start-up company, Infinity Designs, provides basic fashion essentials for a good cause Imran Wasaralli (left), Alex Beaupre (middle) and Verain Kapoor (right). Photos courtesy of Infinity Designs.

BY ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR Two freshmen at Concordia and a student from Syracuse University are the brains behind Infinity Designs, a start-up company that aims to make a difference by providing people with simple fashion essentials, all while donating to a good cause.

The start-up company currently sells two products: a beaded bracelet and a sleek nero water bottle. Ten per cent of all of their profits go to water.org, an organization that provides water for people in countries such as Kenya, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

“When we shop, it’s hard to find a good brand that focuses on quality, fitting and pricing so we decided to take things into our own hands,” said 21-year-old co-founder, Imran Wasaralli. “We also have a strong desire to promote the idea that other businesses can

help by donating to charitable organizations.”

Wasaralli and co-founder Verain Kapoor, 21, are both studying finance at Concordia. The third co-founder, Alex Beaupre, 20, is pursuing a degree in marketing at Syracuse University.

The three men met at John Abbott College, where they were all pursuing a diploma in business administration. Realizing they shared a passion for fashion and making a difference, they decided to team up and create Infinity Designs, which launched on Aug. 4.

For Wasaralli, it was important to give back to a charity that provides people with basic necessities such as water. “Water is a daily essential for humans to survive, and knowing that there are millions of people out there that currently don’t have access to safe and clean water is very upsetting,” said Wasaralli.

The company’s logo, as well as the name “Infinity Designs” are all inspired by the

mission of the three students. According to Wasaralli, the “polygonal infinity sign” logo is simple so it can easily fit on any of their products, while the emphasis on the colour blue is to signify the contributions to water.org. Wasaralli said that the company is called “Infinity Designs” because the ultimate goal is to provide an “infinite” water supply to those in need.

To complement the launch of the brand, the three students created a social media marketing campaign called “MyID,” which stands for “My Infinity Designs.” The concept is simple: anybody can take a picture of themselves

wearing an Infinity Designs product and use the hashtag “MyID” to spread the word. “Seeing as though our customers are the ones helping us make a difference in this world by making a purchase, we felt as though the hashtag ‘MyID’ would create a personal connection to Infinity Designs and make them feel [like] an influential part of the brand,” said Kapoor.

“Our end goal through our online marketing is to create a brand that people can trust and are proud of,” added Beaupre.

The company is currently being run out of Kapoor’s basement, which has been turned into a makeshift warehouse. Kapoor and Wasaralli can often be found driving around the West Island, making their own deliveries to people who are close by. The three men believe it is important to create these personal connections with their customers, and that it is something they will continue to put emphasis on as they expand their brand.

“We want to continue to develop and launch new accessories that our customers are proud to wear,” said Beaupre. “We want to do this while always sticking to our main focus and goal of helping others in need.”

Infinity Designs gives ten per cent of its profits to water.org.

¡¡ C h e c k t h e b r a n d o u t a t www.infinitydesigns.co.

arts

ARTS EDITOR /// arts@theconcordian.com JESSICA KINNARI & TIFFANY LAFLEUR

EXHIBITION

Fame & controversy: Mapplethorpe in Montreal

This retrospective exhibition shows Mapplethorpe’s work from his time as a budding artist until his death

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), Derrick Cross, 1983. © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used with permission.

BY TIFFANY LAFLEUR CO-ARTS EDITOR In a Canadian first, the works of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe will be displayed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). Focus: Perfection – Robert Mapplethorpe is a retrospective exhibit containing works from his earliest projects, leading up all the way to his death in 1989. The exhibition contains a collection of photographs, collages, books and other works spanning the totality of the American photographer’s career, including his early experiments with Polaroids.

Mapplethorpe, who produced highly stylized black-and-white prints in the 70s, was a controversial figure in the New York art scene, his photographs have acted as both a statement for and against their own artistic value. His highly contentious X series, depicting homoerotic and BDSM scenes, are the focal point of the controversy surrounding his work.

In a 1989 Republican Convention, Senator Jesse Helms, infuriated by the apparently moral obscenity of Mapplethorpe’s photographs, called for their censorship.

He famously said: “look at the pictures!”

Helms believed their “immoral” and “grotesque” nature would be obvious at a glance. This sort of controversy is something that Mapplethorpe enjoyed, and even strove to achieve.

“When there was controversy, it seemed

to be something he promoted. He liked the idea of shocking people, depicting things that had never been seen before, that were unsettling,” said Mikhel Proulx, an instructor at Concordia University’s art history department. “He would probably call it his style, but his brand was linked to some sense of these images being controversial.”

Now, a few decades later, the controversy and shocking nature of Mapplethorpe’s photos has abated, leaving space for discussion, appreciation and critique—and that’s exactly what the MMFA wants to promote said Proulx. The works and their history raise interesting questions about power, race and censorship in art.

Proulx is interested not only in the artist’s work, but also the story and prejudices told through the photographer’s lens.

“I think it easy to see, when you look at the work—you are looking through the eyes of a gay white man,” said Proulx.

“And so that privilege carries through in how the photograph is constructed.”

Mapplethorpe’s work has spurred interesting conversations about race, gender and sexuality. The photographer has also been criticized by others for taking advantage of his subjects, and placing them in very vulnerable and compromising positions to advance his own career and fulfill his ambitions of being a rich and famous artist, according to Proulx.

Mapplethorpe’s photos were not

taken with an objective, neutral eye. The photographs displayed in the exhibition reflect how he saw the world.

“Part of thinking deeply about an artist like Mapplethorpe means getting past the laudatory text on the museum walls,” said Proulx. “When we look at his photographs, we certainly see masterful images, but we don't quite see traces of a deeply problematic person, with some rather hateful views of the world.”

Mapplethorpe said he looked for perfection in form, regardless of what that form took. Indeed, once you get passed the graphic nature of the subject, the photo in itself is beautiful, with expertly crafted play of light and shadow, proportion and form.

The exhibition at the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion of the MMFA is divided into several rooms, each showcasing a different aspect of Mapplethorpe’s career.

The first room examines Mapplethorpe’s early works, including his attempts at jewelry-making.

Next are his famous portraits. Andy Warhol, Paloma Picasso, Richard Gere and Yoko Ono are but a few of New York’s upper crust immortalized by Mapplethorpe’s lens.

These portraits, striking in their stylized nature, are a window into Mapplethorpe’s social ascent. Mapplethorpe wanted to be rich and famous, and he knew that to get there, he needed to be calculating in who he rubbed shoulders with. He was a masterful photographer—but his social climbing is what gained his photos notoriety.

The third section of the gallery is where his controversial X, Y and Z portfolios are displayed in their entirety. Mapplethorpe was known mainly for photographing flowers, the black male nude and homoerotic BDSM scenes. This section of the exhibition is structured in such a way

that, if someone wished to skip his more graphic work, they could go through to the next room, which contains his flower stills and his examination of the body as sculpture.

In the fifth and final room, the exhibition touches on the controversy surrounding Mapplethorpe’s work, as well as the ideological conflicts that were happening in America at the time on subjects such as homosexuality, censorship of art and abortion. At the beginning of the 90s, these issues polarized American society, and as shown on a museum label at the exhibition, Mapplethorpe’s work was part of the overall discussion.

“Part of teasing open his legacy is looking at how his celebrity [image] has been constructed in certain ways,” saidProulx. “There's a lot of effort that goes into creating this spectacle of Mapplethorpe.

Obviously, there's a lot of money too and a lot of private interest, when you think of the museums, the donors, the collectors.”

For anyone with an interest in contemporary art history, this exhibition will be of interest. Putting his artistic genius aside, Mapplethorpe has been logged into art history books because that's exactly what he wanted—and by drawing on a specific network, that’s exactly what happened. In order to actually understand his work and the impact he has had, you’ll have to take a look at the photographs for yourself. öö The exhibition can be viewed at the MMFA until Jan. 22. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $12 for visitors under the age of 30 and $20 for everyone over the age of 31.

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), Calla Lily, 1988. © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.

Used with permission.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

theconcordian

9

FILM FESTIVAL

Big films make their big debut at TIFF

The Toronto International Film festival screen is alive with foreign films this fall

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) welcomes incredible talent and star power from around the world every year. Photo by Elijah Bukreev.

BY ELIJAH BUKREEV STAFF WRITER As the mid-way point of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) draws near, the streets of the city get evermore crowded with journalists and visiting stars. For both obsessive and casual film lovers, here is a short report from the scene.

Korean master of film Park Chan-Wook’s The Handmaiden is, in my opinion, one of the best films of the festival and of the year. It is a tense and visually exquisite erotic thriller that starts as a gothic melodrama, and gradually descends into the hell of perversion and violence that you would expect from the man who directed

Oldboy. It’s sure to be a special experience if you’ve never heard of Sarah Waters’ novel, Fingersmith, which the film is based on, but I won’t tell you why. What I can tell you is that it will leave you with some added understanding of the long-standing Japanese tradition of tentacle porn.

Maintaining the same level of perversion, Paul Verhoeven’s Elle is a shocking and darkly funny French thriller starring the excellent Isabelle Huppert. The film starts with a rape—careful, it has trigger warning written all over it. It is being promoted as a revenge story, but that’s not what it is, and even the 'whodunit' is not always central to the plot. Instead, it’s a surreal look at sexual passion and family dynamics, which are shown in an unconventional light. Although

it sometimes feels a bit too cynical and calculated, the film is nonetheless a treat.

A particularly memorable Christmas Eve dinner is one of its highlights.

No movie generated as much talk at this year’s Cannes festival as Toni Erdmann, but for all its strong qualities, it’s hard to understand what made it such a sensation.

Its key concept is so exceedingly simple, perhaps it would have worked just as well as a short film, which is odd considering it clocks in at two hours and 42 minutes.

What makes it worthwhile, is its touching depiction of a waning father-daughter relationship, the dullness of adult life, and the magic of childhood—something that can never be truly reclaimed.

Finally, Kim Jee-woon’s The Age of

Shadows is a thrilling action drama set, like The Handmaiden, in Japan-occupied Korea—which might give you some insight into current Japanese-Korean relations.

Entertaining, brazenly patriotic and ultimately moving, the film was made with a great sense of scope on a remarkably small budget (IMDB estimates it at under $9 million). It’s not as bold as Jee-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird, but features wonderful set pieces and a solid cast, led by Song Kang-ho who plays a man caught between resistance fighters and imperial police. cc TIFF, sometimes referred to as “the Cannes of North America,” runs until Sept. 18.

ART IN THE CITY

Neon lights and wonder: art in the city

Montreal artist Five Eight’s mural makes us wonder what the character is thinking

BY JESSICA KINNARI CO-ARTS EDITOR The Montreal 2016 Mural Festival brought lots of new colours, textures and an artistic flair to the city’s streets this past summer. One of those pieces was a large, brightly-coloured painting of a woman gazing upwards. Her features are illuminated by the painted neon light.

Found on the corner of St. Cuthbert and Clark Street, this larger-than-life mural is my new personal favourite.

Created by Montreal artist Five Eight, this mural contains all the things I love about Montreal: lots of colour, a brick background and bright neon lights. The asymmetrical architecture of the building gives the mural depth and breaks up what would have otherwise been a plain, rectangular painting. The ensuing negative space, somewhat filled by the neon elements, makes for an interesting contrast to the subject’s features and hair, which take up a large portion of the mural.

Five Eight is a Montreal-based artist and mural painter who, according to his Facebook page, is currently experimenting with neon signage. Five Eight’s Instagram is full of his mysterious and elusive graffiti art found all over Montreal. He is known

Created by Five Eight, this bright mural takes up the whole side of the building. Photo by Paige McNeely. for his work with murals, as well as on canvas.

The detailing on the girl’s face is captivating to look at. The artist uses shadows and expertly-crafted shading to give the character life-like facial contours and a thoughtful expression. The mysterious blue light shining onto her face makes me wonder where she is and where she is going. Is she leaving the club that is beside her? Is she waiting to meet her

friends before going out on St. Laurent?

Or maybe she’s just admiring our city.

Either way, this mural has a story to tell.

Like so many people this past week, maybe she just arrived in Montreal and is exploring the surrounding nightlife. By having her look up at the sky, the artist makes me wonder what is going through her mind, what she might be thinking, and what inspired the artist to give her such a thoughtful expression.

Five Eight is a member of the En Masse Collective, a Montreal-based, multi-artist collaborative project. His En Masse portfolio shows the work he has done work at the Under Pressure Graffiti Festival here in Montreal, as well as at Manifesto Toronto—one of the largest hip-hop festivals in the world. öö To check out more of his work, you can find Five Eight on Facebook or Instagram @Five8art.

10 theconcordian

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

ART EXHIBIT

Old and used packaging inspires new art exhibit That pretty packaging you can’t seem to throw away: time to make into an art piece

Neo Deo: Open Market, Open Vitrine, & Deo Liberal Potentialities, 2013 created out of old deodorant sticks. Photo by Jessica Kinnari.

BY JESSICA KINNARI CO-ARTS EDITOR Sometimes the packaging is just as important as the product. In the case of The Perfume and the Bottle, the packaging has captivated artists in a peculiar way and inspired an entire exhibition, which opened at the Parisian Laundry art gallery on Sept.

7. The exhibition was inspired by those treasured glass bottles, which still hold sentimental value even after the perfume has been used to the last drop, something that a lot of other packaging doesn’t have.

Ever walked through the perfume aisle at your local pharmacy, seen a beautiful crystal perfume bottle— its elegant silhouette illuminated by the fluorescent lights, spritzed yourself with the tester and realized you’d found your match made in heaven? The perfume becomes your signature scent—the bottle is proudly displayed on your desk or vanity. Then, the dreadful day comes

when all the precious aroma is gone. You buy another and fall in love with that scent, but unlike your old deodorant or lipstick tube, that old perfume bottle still sits on your vanity, because it’s just too pretty to throw away.

That beautiful perfume bottle you were seduced by is what inspired The Perfume and the Bottle. The exhibition features work by five different artists: Gabriele Beveridge, Andy Coolquitt, Owen Kydd, Kate Steciw and Anne Hall. Each artist’s unique style comes together, allowing the viewer to become nostalgic through the use of recognizable visuals.

When you first enter the exhibition, you are greeted by a small screen mounted on the wall. The image of a turning ring appears on the screen, and draws you in as you stand, watching it rotate. Shadows bounce off the silver edges of the ring, as it spins away from the light. This screen, called Split Ring 2015, is the work of Los Angeles-based

artist Owen Kydd along with another piece called, Mirror Still Life which is found on the opposite wall. According to Kydd’s bio, he works with durational photographs— where objects on display are featured in an endless loop— through which he aims to create a feeling of fascination and unease.

As you continue along, you pass several other topsy-turvy pieces. One, called Pacific Dream , features four blue frames—the pictures inside them alternate between

two images. The first looks like a makeup advertisement, featuring a woman with blonde hair and red lipstick. The other is a picture of a feather. Each image is cropped or angled slightly differently. Sitting on the edge of the frames are two glass crystal balls.

This piece is the work of Gabriele Beveridge of London, England. She collects old hair salon and beauty shop posters, and looks for duplicates of the ads in order to skew or crop them differently in her art pieces.

Most of her artwork consists of artist-made frames, hand-blown glass elements, and crystal balls. Her work is meant to explore tropes of eternity, beauty, and mystique.

My personal favourite piece was titled Neo Deo: Open Market, Open Vitrine, & Deo Liberal Potentialities, 2013, by Andy Coolquitt. It is a long, plastic case filled with various old deodorant containers—they almost look like they’ve turned to stone.

According to its description, it is a vitrine of washed-up deodorant sticks naturally roughened by the passage of time. These previously-unwanted and unused materials are now reinterpreted as art. öö You can find The Perfume and the Bottle exhibition at Parisian Laundry until Oct. 10.

STREET EXHIBITION

Some things change, summer remains the same

The McCord Museum’s Summer Days! public exhibition takes a look at the simple joys of summers past

BY JOSHUA DE COSTA CO-ARTS EDITOR Along a short stretch of McGill College Avenue, 13 silver frames house 24 blackand-white photos. These photos, although plain and rustic, catch the eye of passers-by.

What their eyes are drawn to are candid snapshots showing how Quebecers in the 1900s spent their summers.

The snapshots are all part of the McCord Museum’s Summer Days! exhibition, which the museum put together by picking these historic gems out of thousands of photos from that era, acquired through family donations.

The photos are a serene sight on a busy street, but they also hold a deeper meaning for Montrealers.

“It’s not just art for art,” said Hélène Samson, McCord Museum’s curator of the Notman Photographic Archives. “The McCord is not a fine arts museum—it is in fact the museum of Montreal's social history.”

For the past 11 years, the museum has showcased Montreal’s social history by displaying its collection in exhibitions like Summer Days! along McGill College Avenue.

The exhibitions are also an opportunity to “uncover the richness and diversity of the museum’s collection,” Samson said.

Not too long ago, one Quebecer saw the photos and discovered her family’s ties to the city’s past. Samson said the girl called the museum, said she recognized her grandmother, Yvette, in one of the photos. “[The whole] family plans to go to Montreal and see the photo where Yvette is camping with a friend,” Samson said.

The photos provide a peek into the past, and they also keep a record of the real moments in Quebecers’ lives. “Unlike studio photos, these spontaneous snapshots capture the joie de vivre of Quebecers on vacation,” said Suzanne Sauvage, McCord Museum’s president and CEO, in a June 2016 press release.

In one photo from 1938, two men, Bob and Albert, both wearing ruffled shirts and

suspenders, stand side-by-side in a river in Brockville, Ont. They smile and smoke cigarettes as the water swirls around their ankles. It’s possible that the two men may have been suffering through the Great Depression, but their smiles tell a different story.

In another photo, three young girls, wearing straw sunhats and tartan dresses that extend well past their knees, play barefoot on a beach. The caption reads: “Three young ladies from the Braithwaite family.” If it weren’t for the attire, you wouldn’t be able tell that this photo is over a century old.

Technology may have changed the way Montrealers spend their summers, but what these photos of summers’ past show is that some simple joys remain the same: driving through the countryside, picnicking in a park or snoozing on a beach.

Steps away, on the corner of Sherbrooke and Victoria Street, the McCord Museum holds the complete collection of photographs, along with more than 1.45 million

A look at how Quebecers have spent their summer vacations. Photo by Joshua De Costa.

artefacts which include costumes, textual archives, textiles and artworks.

Yo u c an f in d t h e Summer Days! photos along McGill College Avenue between Président-Kennedy Street and De Maisonneuve Street until Oct. 16.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

theconcordian

11

CONCORDIA POETS

The Long Shadow of a small thing

A poem describing the start of a new academic year, and the beauty to be found in it

BY ALLY TURNER CONTRIBUTOR A new school year often inspires students to be better, do better and become better. But personal growth doesn’t need a calendar event in order to happen, as it can always take place if we let it. Ally Turner’s poem reminds us of the revelations that can be found in even the most mundane of moments. Turner is in her third year of creative writing at Concordia.

Chewing bubblegum like there is some kind of answer at the core of it.

Standing on the side of the big road and feeling the energy of each driver as they go by you. There is no point in asking, we are just suspended in it.

The blue, the stretching pink, the colour that comes through you in a way that is non-physical.

You walk into your apartment and say to your roommate that you transcended gravity tonight – that the sky lived inside of you. You go into your room and cry because every time you try to tell what is happening to you it sounds empty.

In September there is a heat wave that lasts two weeks. It is hotter than the dead of August; the pool is busy, the bodies like crystal embroidery.

There is only one way to feel safe in this world and it happens when you can forget what you are.

At the belly of the pool, you sit for as long as you can until there are fizzy dots behind your eyes. You fall asleep poolside while your friends talk about some drummer.

You eat the dinner that you made together in the kitchen and don’t look at each other. You eat three noodles with each bite. You pace your fork back and forth over the plate as if action will trigger result. It doesn’t matter what is happening around you because it is all in your head. One minute you are real, the next you are just staring at the wall with shiny eyes. I don’t know why it happens like this but it does and that is the important part.

When will it settle?

I search the treetops for an overwhelming sense of beauty. I close my eyes and try to focus on the breeze on my face. Every moment feels like the build up to something terrible.

I am awaiting the pinnacle that never arrives. My hair is falling out in chunks.

In my dream I am trapped in a cell that is

shaped like my body except the skin is rubbery and pallid. I open my eyes and I am in the park and there is a great emptiness. I swallow nothing into the pit of nothing. I look up at the blue through the le a v e s a n d it is brimming.

This creative writing piece was brought to you with the help of Annah-Lauren Bloom.

Graphic by Florence Yee.

WANT TO GET PUBLISHED? THE CONCORDIAN IS LOOKING FOR ARTWORK, SUCH AS BUT NOT LIMITED TO: PHOTOGRAPHS, DRAWINGS, POEMS, CREATIVE WRITING, COMICS AND EVEN DIGITAL WORKS. SHARE YOUR PROJECTS WITH US AND WITH THE CONCORDIA COMMUNITY! EMAIL OPINIONS@THECONCORDIAN.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

music

Quickspins TRAVIS SCOTT

MUSIC EDITOR /// music@theconcordian.com SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ

Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight

PROFILE

From Montreal to Groenland Local indie-pop band launches new album, A Wider Space

1 (Grand Hustle Records, 2016)

These six Montreal musicians are touring across Canada to promote the launch of their new album. Photo by Jerry Pigeon.

BY SANDRA HERCEGOVA MUSIC EDITOR Groenland, French for Greenland, is a cold, far-away arctic island that remains mysterious to most of us. It’s also a fairly new indie-pop band based in Montreal.

Their 2013 debut album, The Chase, was nominated for best album of the year at "L’Autre Gala de l’ADISQ". Which is the award show of the music industry association of Quebec. The band’s newest release, A Wider Space, is coming out on Sept. 16.

The band initially started with Sabrina Halde and Jean Viver Lévesque. Halde is the lead vocalist—she also plays the ukulele, keyboard and percussions. Lévesque is in charge of programming, keyboards, electronic sounds and percussions.

Today, there are six band members: Jonathan Charette on drums, cellist Marianne Bertrand, Ariane Grut-Pelchat on the violin and Simon Gosselin, who plays bass and of course Halde and Lévesque.

Coincidentally, all members of the band attended Cégep Saint-Laurent, which is where Halde and Lévesque first met. “If we didn’t meet our bandmates while we were studying there, we met them afterwards,” said Lévesque.

"Afterwards" turned out to be at a party a few years after graduation—that's when Groenland made its debut.

“Sabrina and I were [at the party] and we decided to start jamming on a staircase together, singing and having fun,” said Lévesque. “Only 6 years later, we bumped into each other again and said, "Hey! Didn’t we jam at that party together?”

Shortly thereafter, Halde and Lévesque began working at a coffee shop together and realized they shared similar tastes in music, admiring artists such as Feist and Thom Yorke. “We started to jam and practice more often and it really clicked,”

said Lévesque. Halde said that was when they both realized they were ready to start a band together.

Halde and Lévesque initially wanted to be a duo at first, but it eventually changed.

“We were like, ‘It’s boring only being two, should we get another person to join?’ Then, when our third person joined, we were like: ‘It’s boring being three, let’s be four,’” said Lévesque.

“Now at six people, we are complete,” said Halde. “We don’t want to change this.”

Groenland is instrumentally diverse, which differentiates them from other indie-pop bands. “We play the violin, the cello, along with the ukulele, the bass, a lot of piano, keyboards, percussions, drum machines and steel drums for that smooth Caribbean sound. We also combine that with brass instruments,” said Halde.

They recently returned from a concert in Lavaltrie, Quebec and the FME Music festival in Rouyn-Noranda. “We were playing our new songs—the audience was open and attentive. So far, it’s been going smooth,” said Halde.

Since the release of their first album The Chase, both Halde and Lévesque have devoted all of their time to Groenland. Their first album sold over 32 000 copies in Canada.

In 2013, they performed at Osheaga, and during spring and summer of 2015, they toured Europe, performing in Germany, the Netherlands, France and England. “In Germany, the public was quiet and attentive during the whole show but as soon as we would finish playing our last note, bang, they would start to clap and scream,” said Halde.

They also performed with Mac Demarco and Half Moon Run in Trois-Riviere during the “FestiVoix” music festival in summer of 2014. “The concert was like a dream. We were hanging out with Mac Demarco and the guys from Half Moon Run by the river,” said Halde. Lévesque said it was the best

festival they have ever played at. “That weekend we did three incredible shows. We went to Quebec, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and then at Metropolis here in Montreal to perform with St. Vincent,” said Lévesque.

Groenland is now on their way to play a few shows in Vancouver. “We are less stressed to perform there because not many people know about our music in the west coast. They will be discovering something new by listening to us. We feel more relaxed about this,” said Lévesque.

When it comes to their writing sessions, the bands works together, trying out different riffs. They compose as if they’re putting together a puzzle—combining different sounds together. The instrumentals are usually developed before the lyrics. “I am crazy about creating melodies and instrumentals,” said Halde.

Lévesque said keeping a positive group energy is the most important thing during practices and writing sessions. “If you are not exactly sure of what you want to create, the others will feel the doubt. Discouraging practices can really affect your creation process negatively,” said Lévesque.

Halde’s dream would be to collaborate with Thom Yorke. “I know it’s cliché, but that would be crazy. He’s my long-term inspiration. We would love to collaborate with Beck and James Blake.”

Final word of advice from Halde for all aspiring musicians: “Just be open-minded and listen to yourself and others. You have to battle your fears. To create something is to jump into the unknown. It’s risky. You have to accept the fact that it might not work out.”

Groenland will be performing tunes from A Wider Space at Club Soda on Sept 22. for POP Montreal. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. and tickets are $32.25 at the door.

Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight is Houston rapper Travis Scott’s second full-length studio album, and an incredible follow-up to his 2015 album Rodeo. On this new LP, Scott teams up with famed producer Mike Dean to create some of the best and catchiest songs trap rap has to offer. Each beat is moody and layered—creating a vibe that could be perfectly suited for a party or a late-night drive. The tracklist progresses like a story, allowing Scott to open up and get personal with the listener. One shortcoming of the record, however, is that many of the songs blend together and start to sound the same. This, mixed with a lack of lyrical substance, keeps this album from reaching its full potential. Despite these slight hiccups, Scott’s latest LP is a masterclass in rap instrumentals and one of his best projects to date.

11 Trial track: “Pick Up The Phone (ft. Young Thug and Quavo)”

8.5/10— Alexander Cole,

Sports Editor

DOLLY PARTON

Pure & Simple (Dolly Records, RCA Nashville, 2016)

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How can I put this lightly? Dolly Parton’s most recent studio album was titled Pure and Simple for the simple fact that it is just that: So. Damn. Simple. And who likes simple?

No one, ever. If her goal was to sound like every other country album of the past decade, then mission accomplished. All the songs’ tempos are exactly the same, and the lyrics did not evoke a single emotion in my heart, and I’m sure the hearts of many others. The lyrics don’t allow for much connection and compared to her previous albums Pure & Simple is rather dull. This album lacks the depth that Dolly Parton usually provides to her music. I will give this album a whopping 2/10 and a yawn, at best. (#sorrynotsorry) 11 Trial Track: "Pure & Simple"

2/10

— Emily Vidal, Music Assistant

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

theconcordian

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RECOMMENDATIONS

An intro to old-school, U.S. hip-hop Some essentials from the genre that won over the '90s

BY SANDRA HERCEGOVA AND DANIELLE GASHER MUSIC EDITOR AND LIFE EDITOR

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BAYSIDE

Vacancy (Hopeless, 2016) The alternative punk band Bayside released their new album, Vacancy, and I couldn’t be happier with it! The lyrical content of their tracks, including “I’ve Been Dead All Day” and “Two Letters” are the highlights of the album. Although they can be dark and gloomy, these tunes tell a story. The lyrics are like poems from a personal journal, a peek inside Bayside’s inner thoughts. Anthony speaks of his emotions and personal circumstances such as getting over a heartbreak. The punk-emo riffs and intense energy of the album are altogether amazing.

Vacancy greatly delivered in terms of originality, creativity and awesomeness.

11 Trial Track: “Two Letters”

7/10

— Emily Vidal, Music Assistant

M.I.A

AIM (Interscope, 2016)

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M.I.A, M.I.A, M.I.A., Before retiring from music for a few years, the British rapper needed to unleash a masterpiece for the world to revel in. That is clearly the case for her brand spanking new album, AIM, released on Sept. 9. (Also, extra points for blowing my mind with your title, which is just the opposite way of saying your name.) M.I.A's music is hauntingly beautiful, and makes you feel so many different emotions while you are listening to it-- which is something that every artist should always strive for. The juxtaposition between the dark, sinister undertones of the singer's voice and the fun, uplifting beat is what makes the album an absolute dream to listen to. This album goes to show that just when you thought you knew who M.I.A really was... There was so much more where that came from. Please come back soon, and share more of your creativity and talent with us.

11 Trial track: “Ali r u ok?”

8/10 — Emily Vidal, Music Assistant

DIGABLE PLANETS- REACHIN' (A NEW REFUTATION OF TIME AND SPACE) Three distinct voices—one distinct funky sound. This 90s alternative American hip-hop group was composed of Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mary Ann “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving. Their 1993 debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), is the album that, to many, best captures the band’s infamous smooth and cool sound.

The band’s debut album contains catchier beats than later albums, simple rhymes and unique lyrics that perfectly convey the trio’s love of funk. The album’s biggest hit, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” is a simple and lyrically groovy ode to their sound. “Just sendin' chunky rhythms right down ya block. We be to rap what key be to lock,” they rap in the song. Yes they are hip-hop like that and yes you need to listen to this jam.

The group’s albums, although different, were all about simplicity, without compromising originality and lyrical depth.

11 Trial track: “Time & Space (A Refutation Of)”

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST- MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS This classic hip-hop band, formed in 1985, was composed of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammed. Midnight Marauders, the group’s third album, released in 1993, is one of the most beloved, acclaimed and commercially successful albums the crew produced. The album unfolds like a melodious and jazzy story, complete with smooth instrumentals, heavy bass lines and politically-charged lyrics complemented by some groove.

11 Trial track: "Award Tour"

NAS - ILLMATIC Listen to “NY State of Mind” attentively.

Feel the lyrics as he rhymes along this obscure beat that takes you into the projects of Queensbridge, N.Y. This song is so powerful—it will leave you feeling scared.

That’s what real hip- hop is supposed to make you feel: deep emotions. This song leaves you motivated, because in his voice, he is yearning for a way out— rapping his way out of hell. This album gives you the ambition to get through whatever problems you think you may have. New to hip-hop? This is the go-to album to get familiar with strong lyrical prose and the aggressiveness that lies behind it. Illmatic is a landmark album for east coast hip-hop. Make sure to listen to all of Nas’ albums while you’re at it—he is a lyrical genius.

11 Trial Track: “NY State of Mind”

WU-TANG CLAN – ENTER THE WU-TANG (36 CHAMBERS) “Dolla dolla bill y’all!” This rap group is composed of many big-name artists in the hip-hop scene such as: Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck , U-God, Masta Killa, Ol’ Dir t y Bastard and Cappadonna. Representing Staten Island, New York City, they are definitely one of the most influential groups in hard-core hip-hop. Wu-Tang Clan stood out as soon as the album was released—no one sounded like them then, nor does anyone sound like them today.

Their distinctive beats and lyrical style are hard to mimic. That’s what happens when so many talented rappers come together in the same group. To get the right feel of what underground rap is all about, listen to their song “C.R.E.A.M.” 11 Trial track: “C.R.E.A.M”

N.W.A- STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON These guys are sure to ring a bell. They are one of the most popular, important and influential old-school hip-hop groups, and the main force behind the “gangsta rap” subgenre. The original crew formed in 1986, and was comprised of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Ice Cube. DJ Yella and MC Ren joined on shortly thereafter. Arabian Prince left the group before the release of their first and most renowned album, Straight Outta Compton. N.W.A brought “reality rap” to hip-hop.

Their lyrics weren’t about expensive cars and money—they wanted to sharing their reality through their music. Compton’s reality in the 80s and 90s was poverty, police brutality, drug trafficking and racial divide. The group’s music fused anger, a call for social justice and hip-hop in a way that revolutionized the genre and is remembered decades later.

The group’s sound is aggressive, up-beat and bass-driven. One of the best parts of this album comes from listening to the different and distinct voices of each member come together.

11 Trial track: “Fuck Tha Police"

2PAC - ALL EYEZ ON ME All Eyez on Me, one of the last albums 2Pac recorded before his death, is one of the best selling albums in America. 2Pac was a gangster rapper, with a great lyrical style with raw energy. He rapped about the struggles of black men and women in poor neighbourhoods and their struggles, violence in the streets and many other social issues.

His songs opened a door to the world of drugs and gang violence. He spoke the truth about what happens on the streets: “Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares, one less hungry mouth on the welfare. First ship ‘em dope and let ‘em deal the brothers, give ‘em guns, step back, watch ‘em kill each other.”

Those are lyrics from his song “Changes.”

11 Trial track: "All Eyez on Me"

sports

SPORTS EDITOR /// sports@theconcordian.com ALEXANDER COLE ( @a_cole39)

BASEBALL

Reflecting on the past and the present

Coach Howie Schwartz talks about his career with the team, as well as the upcoming season

A Concordia Stingers hitter during a game against McGill. Photo by Michael Maclean.

ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR During the entire 21-year history of the Concordia Stingers baseball team, the club has only had one coach, and that man is Howie Schwartz. In 1995, Schwartz went from coaching his children to coaching university baseball and he hasn’t looked back since.

“In 1995, I was at a social function and met one of the players that was playing for Queen’s [University] and he told me they were looking for a coach for Concordia,” Schwartz said. “He put me into contact with the guy who was putting the team together and after a few interviews, I found out I was the coach.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t smartened up and got rid of me,” Schwartz added jokingly.

Schwartz’s love of baseball began even before the Montreal Expos came into existence in 1969. Schwartz said watching baseball with his brothers got him engrossed in the sport and he eventually took up playing it.

While playing in little league, Schwartz would lie about his age so that he could play in multiple leagues at the same time, he said.

When his junior career was over, Schwartz played softball for a few years until his children were born, and that’s when he started to coach.

Including his time with the Stingers, Schwartz has been coaching baseball for 30 years.

Schwartz, who is also a sports psychologist who worked with the Montreal Expos, said that the first few years with the Stingers involved a rough adjustment period.

“Oh, it was brutal. To go from coaching teenagers to adults who have a history of playing elite baseball made me feel completely out of my element,” Schwartz said. “Despite how much I knew about the game, I was totally

intimidated by their skills and knowledge of the game. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared going into something.”

Once getting into a rhythm with the team, Schwartz said he quickly realized that his fears and anxieties were unfounded and that he should have had more faith in himself. When he would reflect after each game, he felt that he was doing his best and did in fact belong as manager of the team.

In terms of his approach to coaching, Schwartz sees himself as a players coach.

“I don’t like to run the team with an iron fist or in a militaristic kind of way,” Schwartz said. “I like to get a lot of input from the players and I give them a lot of leeway. I just believe that that is how people respond best to being managed.”

In his 21-year career with the Stingers, Schwartz has two moments he is most proud of. The first being the team’s national championship win in 2009, and the other being the 2014 national championship finals, where the team lost 1-0 to the McGill Redmen.

For Schwartz, the 2009 national championship team was a special team that carried themselves well, both on and off the field.

He said he had a feeling they would go all the way that year and felt it was one of the most talented teams he had ever coached.

Meanwhile, Schwartz said that he was proud of the 2014 team because of how much heart they played with, especially in the end at nationals.

Schwartz added that throughout his two decades of coaching the team, the Stingers program and the league itself have evolved immensely.

“At first the school told us that we could use the Stingers name but they said not to embarrass [the school] and they wouldn’t give us a nickel,” Schwartz said. “It’s gone

from that to being a varsity club team where we have tremendous financial and moral support. We’re part of ‘Stingers United’ now, and we definitely feel like we are a part of the athletics department.”

However, Schwartz also said that when it comes to baseball, there is a huge difference between the skill level of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) players and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) players.

For Schwartz, this is because the NCAA teams in Division 1 have more finances to recruit great players, and that the leagues are more known. Schwartz said if the Stingers were in the NCAA, they could probably compete at the Division 3 or Division 2 level.

“We make do with what we have, but there is no way we can compete against the Americans,” Schwartz said.

When speaking about recruitment, Schwartz said he has brought players in from British Columbia and Ontario to play for the team. However, baseball isn’t what he sells his players on.

“Concordia has established itself as a bonafide university with quality programs to offer to compete with McGill,” Schwartz said. “Nobody is going to come to Concordia to play baseball, and I really try to stress that they will come to continue their studies in a strong program while getting to play baseball at the same time. I’m selling the university, not the baseball program.”

In the last few years, the Stingers baseball team has found success with six appearances at nationals in the last nine years, including a championship in 2009 and a national final in 2014. Despite that, last year was a rebuilding year for the team with many veterans graduating and new players coming in to fill those shoes.

Last season, the team finished with a record of 12-4, however, they were forced out

S c h w a rt z has been with the Stingers si n ce the tea m’s in c e p ti o n in 1995. Photo by Alexander C ole.

of the playoffs in the semi-finals after losing their best-of-three series against Carleton University 2-1.

Schwartz explained that when a team gets a high influx of new and young players, it can be quite a challenge to integrate everyone into the system.

“What I’ve found historically is that if you only have a handful of new guys every year with a strong returning team, it’s easier to meld everyone in and get their feet wet,” Schwartz said. “When you have a large number of new players in one shot the challenge is much more [evident].”

“Last year we got upset in the playoffs because we couldn’t handle the pressure and didn’t have the maturity to play up to that level,” Schwartz added. “This year we have a lot of returning guys and they seem intent on making this a productive year. We’re seeing a lot of leadership this year.”

Schwartz said that going into this season, the expectation is to do better than last year in terms of wins. He said the new players are already integrating well and that the team has the potential to go far.

Schwartz added that there are no standout superstars on the team, but the talented and balanced roster bodes well for the upcoming season.

In order to win a national championship, Schwartz said that playing smart and playing great defense is how they are going to get there.

“Pitching is the key and it looks like we have a lot of talent there. I like what we have up the middle [outfield], and in terms of offense, we need to stick to the fundamentals. We have a lot of speed on the team,” he said.

“It’s such a short season so we can’t afford to get into a slump. We have to be on top of the game at all times.”

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

theconcordian

WOMEN’S SOCCER

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in the news

BY ALEXANDER COLE

Laura Lamontagne talks about her inspirations and her time with Concordia

NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI CONTRIBUTOR When Laura Lamontagne first got to Concordia University, she did not want to play on the soccer team. After excelling at the AA and AAA levels in high school and then in Division 2 for Collège Bois-deBoulogne, she decided to focus on her education.

“In my first year [at Concordia], I did not play because I was scared a bit with school.

I did not know how university was, so I was a bit anxious,” said Lamontagne.

After a year of settling into school as an exercise science student, Lamontagne said she felt she was ready to take on the challenge of being a student-athlete, and has since adapted to the taxing lifestyle.

“It’s going well. In CEGEP I did not have to work as hard, but now I really have to study a lot,” Lamontagne said. “I have to make time—my schedule is very busy. I’m doing pretty well, and it’s not that hard if you put the effort in.”

Lamontagne would not be playing for Concordia University, or possibly even soccer for that matter, if it had not been for some inspirational people in her life, such as her family and other professional players.

Her mother coached her as a young player, but as a Concordia alumna herself, Lamontagne’s mother suggested that she play for the school, and play with pride.

“I’m very proud. I’m extremely proud of playing for the Stingers. It’s an honour everyday to [wear] the jersey or even the practice gear,” Lamontagne said. “I wear my Stingers [colours] with pride.”

Other inspirations to Lamontagne are American soccer stars Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach. Both are Olympic and FIFA World Cup winners with the U.S. women’s national team and are ambassadors to women’s soccer.

The Canadian women’s national team is also starting to be an inspiration to young

girls across the nation. The women now hold back-to-back bronze medal titles at the Olympics, and after beating Brazil 2-1 in the bronze-medal match at the Rio Olympics, they became the only country to repeat a podium appearance in women’s socccer in 2012 and 2016. For Lamontagne, this was important for the game in Canada.

“I’m really proud [of their performance],” Lamontagne said. “For young Canadians, it shows us that we can actually play at an international level and we have a chance at winning Olympic medals.”

Shortly after the triumph in Rio, national team player Rhian Wilkinson met with the Stingers. Lamontagne said that it was a cool experience to meet the veteran Wilkinson, a Montreal native herself.

Lamontagne certainly has fed off the energy from her inspirations during her time on the soccer team. Last season, she scored four goals as a rookie. She also scored the team’s opening goal of this season in their game against the McGill Martlets on Labour Day weekend.

As a left winger, Lamontagne uses her speed to cover ground on the pitch, both offensively and defensively. She has the ability to create chances on the flanks when given time and space, and is an aggressive player with a never-back-down attitude.

Despite her talent of blowing past fullbacks on speed alone, Lamontagne knows there are always areas that need improvement.

Dribbling is one of them.

“When I’m one-on-one, I have the speed to run in the space, but I need to find the speed with the ball to be able to clear a player on the sideline,” Lamontagne said.

As for her team, the Stingers have been improving steadily over the past few seasons.

The Stingers finished the 2014 season with a record 3-6-5 and slightly improved their record last season of 4-9-1, which meant finishing sixth in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), just missing the playoffs.

Even though the Stingers have not made

PORT

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Proud to be a part of the Stingers

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T JR. WILL MISS DALE EARNHARD NASCAR SEASON REMAINDER OF

According to USA TODAY, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who suffered a concussion after a race in June, will miss the remainder of the NASCAR season. Earnhardt has missed six races since being diagnosed with a concussion and will now miss the remaining 12. Retired NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, who came out of retirement for a few races this year to replace Earnhardt, will drive Earnhardt’s car in four of the last 12 races of the season.

Alex Bowman will drive in the other eight races. USA TODAY reports that Earnhardt has a history of concussions and didn’t want to take any chances with his health. Earnhardt has said that his symptoms include not being able to focus on objects and a lack of balance.

N OF SPORTS LARGE DONATIO MCMURRAY RT FO R FO GEAR

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the playoffs since 2009, Lamontagne feels she plays on a team capable of doing some damage in the conference this season.

“I think we are going to accomplish a lot of stuff. We have some really good players, we have a very big potential, and it’s a really good team,” Lamontagne said. She also added that this team is one of the best she’s been on.

“We’re a very hard working team—we always push, we work hard, we have a very good team spirit, and you can tell we have a team fighting to win every game,” Lamontagne added. ¡¡ Lamontagne and her teammates will be taking on the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières in their next game, on Sept. 16 at 8:30 p.m.

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(1) Laura Lamontagne scored four goals with the Stingers last year. Photo by Nicholas Di Giovanni.

(2) Lamontagne dribbling the ball in a game against the Carabins. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

The town of Fort McMurray is receiving a donation of $500,000 worth of sports gear, according to the CBC. Back in May, the town was subject to a barrage of wildfires that destroyed houses and forced many people to abandon their homes.

The donation will allow young athletes to begin playing sports again, while limiting the cost for their parents. The CBC reported that Sport Central, a charity in Edmonton that gives sports equipment to children in need, is behind the donation. Local organizations such as Fort McMurray’s minor hockey, baseball and football associations will benefit from the donation. The equipment includes baseball bats, goalie pads and football helmets.

LA CRITICIZED JOHN TORTOREL ANCE FOR ANTHEM ST

Team USA’s World Cup of Hockey coach, John Tortorella has come under fire for his comments about players sitting down during the national anthem, according to Yahoo Sports. When asked about football player Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem, Tortorella said that if any of his own players did the same, they would be benched for the rest of the game. According to Yahoo Sports, Tortorella received backlash for his comments, including strong words from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith who said that Tortorella should be stripped of his job as head coach of the national team.

Tortorella has not backed down from his comments, saying that his players are at the World Cup to represent the country, and should therefore respect the flag and the anthem. Team USA’s first game is on Sept. 17 against team Europe.

opinions

OPINIONS EDITOR /// opinions@theconcordian.com DAVID EASEY

EDITORIAL

Calling for transparency during a cyber crisis Technology can often be a double-edged sword. It can give us to have access to vast amounts of information at our the edge of our fingertips, but also, at times, it can leave us vulnerable to cyber crimes.

The Concordian is not immune to this—our Twitter account got hacked two weeks ago, sending our masthead into a frenzied state of panic. We survived the virtual ambush like true journalistic warriors, and our account was eventually restored. But it made us think twice about our own cyber security.

Then, this past weekend, both La Presse and the Montreal Gazette released articles detailing how the police are looking for two suspects (pictured) who stole sensitive data from thousands of Concordia students in March 2016.

The two suspects—men aged 20 to 35—reportedly put physical devices known as keyloggers into computers in both the Webster and Vanier libraries, and gained access to an “information technology centre,” according to the Montreal Gazette. The same article details how these two individuals accessed thousands of personal student profiles, with eight victims having already filed reports with the Montreal Police.

When these keyloggers were found back in March, the university sent out a

Photo of the two suspects who planted the keyloggers in the library. Photo from the SPVM.

mass email advising students and staff to change their passwords and to be vigilant—especially if they used one of the express stations.

“The danger here is that, if somebody here was to access personal information, accessing their Concordia personal files or their bank account, that the information could be captured on a keylogger,” said university spokesperson Chris Mota, in an article we published back in the spring.

While we applaud the administration’s

transparency back in the spring, we can’t help but feel a bit bitter right about now.

Why did we have to read about these new developments in the local media regarding the same cyber breach that happened months ago—why didn’t the university send out a memo immediately? This type of information is of concern to the entire student body.

There have been no follow-up emails from the university since March 29, nor any details on how the university plans

to protect our information in the future.

Instead of sending us redundant emails about “informal get-togethers” with the President of Concordia, why not tell us about the possible dangers going on in our very own school, especially since we—the students—are most likely to be the ones in a compromising position.

It’s embarrassing to see our campus affairs aired out in the media, and to learn about them through news outlets rather than from the university itself.

FREE SPEECH

Safe spaces hurt our campus and students Exploring the contentious topic of having safer spaces at our beloved university

BY KATERINA GANG COPY EDITOR  @katerina4264 Recently, the University of Chicago sent a letter to incoming freshmen informing them that safe spaces and trigger warnings would not be tolerated on campus. The university also said they wouldn’t cancel controversial speakers simply because they were deemed offensive.

“Members of our community must have the freedom to espouse and explore a wide range of ideas,” the letter stated.

The letter, which was shared online, provoked a social media frenzy —many praising and decrying the decision alike.

Decriers, however, are gaining traction.

Pew Research Center, a Washington D.C.based “think tank,” found 40 per cent of millennials support limiting free speech to avoid offending minority groups.

Safe spaces have overtaken college campuses. According to The New York Times , when Brown University invited libertarian Wendy McElroy to debate the existence of “rape culture” on college campuses, student volunteers set up a safe space next door for “triggered” students.

In an incredibly infantilizing move, the space offered cookies, colouring books, Play-Doh and videos of frolicking puppies to adult students.

Here at Concordia, we have started to embrace safe space culture. Campus clubs

such as Queer Concordia, sell themselves as letter. “This may challenge you and even “safe spaces,” while official campus events cause discomfort.” like ASFA Frosh tout new “safe spaces” Uncomfortable ideas shouldn’t be feared. as a major “Bad” ideas can’t progressive sur vive in the change and free marketplace selling point. of ideas. Like an This hurts Adam Smithstudents. esque free Exposure market, the best to new ideas ideas—namely is the basis “true” or “moral” of higher ideas—will win education. out in a fair and Assuming transparent students competition can close against inferior themselves off, ideas. The best as if they ’re way to fight “bad sure their ideas ideas” is to let are inherently everyone hear correct, is them. limiting.

At a talk Confronting given at the new ideas, Graphic by Florence Yee. Uni ver sit y of exploring other Massachusetts, options and understanding others allows provocateur and journalist, Milo Yiannopoulos, us to expand or update our worldviews. explained that, after its first real media Open dialogue also helps us strengthen exposure on the BBC’s Question Time, our beliefs, as hearing thoughtful critique the far-right, racist British National Party allows us to explore why we hold these lost mainstream support and the few local ideas, and defend them more succinctly. seats it had won in the previous election.

“We expect members of our community The party is virtually non-existent today. to be engaged in rigorous debate, discussion, “This is why it isn’t just important to and even disagreement,” said the UChicago give platforms to ordinary speech,” said

Yiannopoulos, who was banned by social justice groups at several colleges. “It’s important to give platforms to all speech— because sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

University should prepare students for adult life – which doesn’t care or cater to feelings. It’s a hard adjustment, but the corporate world doesn’t offer cookies and Play-Doh. Students need to discern between disagreement and harassment, and learn how to act independently in each situation.

Forcing students to confront their issues head-on teaches them to speak up for themselves, which is beneficial. To assume students can’t or shouldn’t be fiercely independent in the defense of their beliefs and needs is infantilizing and insulting.

Critics of UChicago’s policy fear that students with mental illnesses, like PTSD, will be negatively impacted. Yet students with diagnosed disorders have a responsibility to inform peers and professors. Most, if not all, would be sympathetic. But this should be dealt with on an individual basis, not as university-wide mandate. You can’t limit education to cater to the minority.

Safe space culture stifles individuality, creativity and independence, which are good qualities to foster in our future leaders.

As John F. Kennedy said, “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

theconcordian

17

REPRESENTATION

Let’s talk Paralympics, for once

Why in the world is it so hard to find coverage of the Paralympics these days?

BY ALEX HUTCHINS PHOTO ASSISTANT I’m not the Olympics’ number one fan, nor do I know much about the athletes— but I could tell you Michael Phelps probably won a medal at the Rio 2016 Games. What I couldn’t tell you before writing this article was a single name—let alone sport—of a Canadian Paralympian.

And I know that it's not just me who can (unfortunately) say this. So let’s talk about the Paralympics, because you can be damn sure no one else is.

If you try Googling articles about the Rio 2016 Games, anything related to the Paralympics will either be at the bottom of the page, or on the uncharted second page. Have you ever actually seen any TV ads specifically for the Paralympics (or any YouTube skip-ads)? Probably not.

T h i s p a s t m o n t h , Vo g u e B r a z i l photoshopped the limbs of two celebrity models in order to make them appear disabled, in a bid to promote the upcoming Paralympic Games, according to Vox. To make matters worse, the same report described how the publication had two Paralympians present at the photo-shoot to guide the models with their poses.

Completely messed up, right?

These athletes have trained for years, heard “you can’t” more often than any Olympian, yet their accomplishments take a backseat because our society is ableist

and places a higher value on able bodied Olympians. Take this for example, Brazilian powerlifter Marcia Menezes competed on home soil, earning gold during a trial event. The stadium she was competing in a relatively empty stadium and wasn’t even open to the public, according to The Sun. How is that okay?

I spoke with two Canadian Paralympic athletes: Brad Bowden, an ice sledge hockey player, and swimmer JeanMichel Lavallière. Both were thrilled to talk about the games.

“I used to get nervous [playing] in front of large crowds,” said Bowden. “Once you hear people cheer, you feel like you have thousands of friends cheering you on.”

To think there are some athletes competing in empty stadiums, devoid of cheering— it’s almost as heartbreaking as the fact that no one is talking about it.

Lavallière is currently competing in Rio, but wasn’t able to give a full in depth interview. He was still grateful for the media coverage, however, revealing that “the Canadian Paralympic swim team is currently

in a media blackout.” Lavallière didn’t elaborate on this statement, leaving it open to interpretation.

The fact I received answers from these athletes demonstrates that it isn’t overly difficult to get in touch with them—there’s simply no excuse not to have

more coverage of the amazing work they do. Simply put, there is not enough coverage of the Paralympics in mainstream media. Why is this so difficult to talk about, let alone change?

I don’t think the public gives these athletes the same level of at tention and respect as their able bodied counterparts—and there’s definitely not the same kind of memorable buildup to the Paralympics.

Don’t you think it’s time we give these athletes the recognition and praise they’ve sweat and bled for?

I certainly do.

Graphic by Florence Yee.

PETS

Where’s Slytherin when you need them?

Tackling the issue of Montrealers owning potentially dangerous and exotic pets

BY BARBARA MADIMENOS STAFF WRITER Forget about the police—Verdun needs to call Parseltongue experts from Slytherin, or we will never find the snake that’s on the loose. On Aug. 30, a pet python went missing in the borough of Verdun, and it has yet to be found.

Residents in the area are in a state of alarm, afraid of what the snake is capable of doing.

Thankfully, Miss Lady—the python—is not venomous. Pythons are known to only prey on small rodents, and typically are less active during the day, according to National Geographic. They usually wait until nighttime before actively searching for prey, according to the same source.

Such party animals.

Unfortunately, many are debating regulations concerning ownership of these exotic snakes. According to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada

(PIJAC), snakes can legally be considered pets as long as they do not exceed three meters in length and are not venomous.

However, one must question if exotic animals, particularly snakes, should ever be considered as pets. Technically speaking, the Verdun owner was not keeping any illegal species. They were in fact following regulations.

Miss Lady, measuring in at around one meter, falls within the accepted length according to PIJAC Canada’s Exotic Species Policy.

Owning exotic pets shouldn’t be frowned upon, especially if there are responsible owners out there willing to take the proper steps to ensure public safety. A very similar conversation is happening in our own city, with the possibility of banning pit bulls.

After a woman was tragically mauled by a pit bull, Mayor Denis Coderre said this September he’d try to instate a pit bull ban across the city’s 19 boroughs, according to the CBC. Many have protested the idea, noting that not all pit bulls are dangerous, and prohibiting ownership of one type of dog will only create problems for future dog owners. It will hinder proper education on how new owners they should train and treat their pets.

Banning one type of animal or species provokes a conversation about education and diversity. In looking at it this issue

through an educative lens, people must understand that any pet owner, whether they have a cat, dog, bird, fox, or in this instance, a snake, should be properly educated and prepared before purchasing any animal. Not having substantial knowledge on how to care for a pet poses a risk to both the owner and the animal, and, in Miss Lady’s situation, for the locals.

Nevertheless, accidents do happen— even to the most educated and loving pet owners. A dog may get scared and run away, a child may pull on a cat’s ear and receive a lash, or a snake may break loose because its cage has worn out.

Despite the hundreds of avoidable mistakes, people have to understand that life happens—and mistakes will occur.

This shouldn’t be a reason to enforce new regulations that place constraints on living harmoniously with the animal kingdom. Enforcing proper training and education on the owners of such exotic species should be imposed on those purchasing the animal.

Graphic by Thom Bell.

etc

Do you have bookkeeping experience?

Your Responsibilities:

We are looking for someone with kn owl e d g e of Q u i c kB o o ks o r comparable small business accounting software. The business manager is our day-to-day office administrator

Handling payroll, paying suppliers, banking, invoicing advertisers, paying taxes, accounting & various other duties

Anyone interested should contact the board of directors, directors@theconcordian.com with an attached CV.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

theconcordian

19

Concordia Artists featuring Florence Yee

Florence Yee is a Montrealbased visual artist focused on hyperrealism and cultural studies. She is currently studying at Concordia University in Painting and Drawing for a BFA. Most of this body of work was completed during a residency in Ottawa during the summer.

Hyperrealism can reveal the pressing issues in the mundane, bringing attention to what we ignore in daily life. However, reality does not always equate a perfect vision of tangible objects. The reality of our times often melds into its reproduction, digital photography and Internet connection. For better or for worse, our experience of contemprary art has shifted from eyes to screens.

Texts courtesy of the artist.

The Concordian’s team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CRISTINA SANZA editor@theconcordian.com

ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR MINA MAZUMDER

MANAGING EDITOR GREGORY TODARO managing@theconcordian.com

ARTS EDITORS JESSICA KINNARI TIFFANY LAFLEUR arts@theconcordian.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER PAULINE SOUMET production@theconcordian.com

MUSIC EDITOR SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ music@theconcordian.com

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT PARISA FOROUTAN NEWS EDITORS SAVANNA CRAIG NELLY SERANDOUR-AMAR news@theconcordian.com NEWS ASSISTANT OPEN LIFE EDITOR DANIELLE GASHER life@theconcordian.com

SPORTS EDITOR ALEXANDER COLE sports@theconcordian.com ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR JAMES KIERANS

OPINIONS EDITOR DAVID EASEY opinions@theconcordian.com

PHOTO EDITOR ANA HERNANDEZ photo@theconcordian.com

Graphic by Pauline Soumet.

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

PHOTO ASSISTANT ALEX HUTCHINS

VOL. 34, ISSUE 3 SEPT. 13, 2016 OUR COVER THIS WEEK

GRAPHICS EDITOR FLORENCE YEE graphics@theconcordian.com GRAPHIC ASSISTANT THOM BELL HEAD COPY EDITOR KATYA TEAGUE COPY EDITORS KATERINA GANG REBECCA LUGER VALERIA CORI-MANNOCHIO copy@theconcordian.com CONTRIBUTORS Chloe Ranaldi, Catherine Dubé, Joshua de Costa, Nicolas Di Giovanni, Elijah Burkreev, Ally Turner, Barbara Madimenos.

“Bookstore”

by Florence Yee. BUSINESS MANAGER JAYA GAUTAM business@theconcordian.com ADVERTISING MANAGER ORENZO PORPORINO FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES advertising@theconcordian.com BOARD OF DIRECTORS NATHALIE LAFLAMME JACOB SEREBIN MILOS KOVACEVIC directors@theconcordian.com

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