The Concordian - October 25th, 2016

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

theconcordian

VOLUME 34, ISSUE 9 | TUESDAY, OCT. 25, 2016

theconcordian.com  /theconcordian  @theconcordian

theconcordian

Battling cancer Montreal researcher finds link to reduce cancer cells within the body

News p. 3 also in this issue

life

How to read efficiently

arts

p. 7

music

sports

Something beauti- A new brand, a Virtual reality to new eyes p. 10 ful to listen to p. 12 new philosophy

opinions

p.14

Social profiling at Concordia p. 17

news

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

CITY IN BRIEF ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR

Bixi adding more stations in Montreal Bixi, the bike sharing service, will be adding more bikes and docking stations to Montreal in 2017, as ridership is at an all time high, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Bixi president Marie Elaine Farley said 15 to 20 per cent of bikes or docks are not available during rush hour.

In order to fix the problem, Bixi will add 1,000 new bikes and 80 docking stations, which will cost $3.9 million, according to the Montreal Gazette. In 2016, an average of 21,000 trips a day were taken on Bixi bikes.

Police look for suspects in Garda truck attack Police in Montreal are looking for two suspects in connection to an incident on Oct. 21 where an armoured truck was broken into with a frontend loader, according to CBC Montreal. The two guards in charge of the truck left it to go inside of a Home Depot.

The suspects locked the guards in the building and stole from the truck. According to CBC Montreal, police are unsure of how much money was stolen before the suspects fled in a white truck.

No one was injured.

Man injured in knife attack After bars closed on the morning of Oct. 23, a man was sent to hospital with knife wounds to his upper body after getting into a f ight, according to the Montreal Gazette. The fight started inside a dépanneur on the corner of Sherbrooke St. and St-Laurent Blvd.

The owner kicked them out, and that’s when the 24 -ye a r- o l d m a n w a s stabbed, said the Montreal Gazette. A total of six men were involved in the altercation, according to police.

Police do not believe that the victim’s life is in danger.

CAMPUS

CUPFA launches Campus Equity Week

Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association raises awareness to their cause NELLY SÉRANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR The Concordia University Parttime Faculty Association (CUPFA) launched this year’s Campus Equity Week, which will be going on from Oct. 24 to 27, to shed light on the unequal treatment of the university’s part-time faculty.

Lorraine Oades, the association’s vice president of professional development, said this week is about acknowledging part-time faculty members and the value they bring to the university. CUPFA is asking the university to allow parttime faculty to be paid for doing supervisory and administrative work at Concordia, in addition to their teaching duties.

“We want to create a system that

is fair for this part of the faculty,” said Oades. “We are not asking for a huge amount of money, we just want to fill in some gaps.”

Oades, a part-time studio arts professor, is deeply concerned with the work of part-time faculty members that goes unacknowledged and unpaid for. “For example, students will ask us if we can supervise independent studies,” she explained. “We will say most of the time no because this is a full-time faculty job which is a reason [full-time professors] get a higher pay.” She added, however, that there are some part-time professors who agree to offer to help students but are not rewarded for it.

In past years, their campaign was a low-key, one-day event. This year, however, CUPFA is setting up

a kiosk for four days, rotating in different buildings on the Sir George Williams campus. To promote the event, the association released a few video profiles created by part-time faculty member Monique Monbleau to showcase the hard work of these teachers. “This is the first year that everything falls into place,” said Oades.

Another issue CUPFA will be picking during this eventful week is their concern with limited-term appointments (LTAs). Professors with LTAs are limited to teaching only 18 to 21 credits per semester—or five to seven classes. “The LTAs replace the full-time faculty but they don’t know the students as well,” said Oades. “It is very difficult for them, for example, to write a quality letter of reference if they know very little of the students.”

CUPFA’s voice is gaining strength, and members will continue negotiating with the university for their demands even after Campus Equity Week. According to Oades, many full-time teachers already support the cause, and some deans are also very enthusiastic about it.

“It’s the upper administration that needs to be convinced, and that’s what we’re trying to do with this campaign,” Oades said.

CUPFA’s kiosk was set up on Monday in the EV building, but you can pass by on Tuesday in the Hall building, Wednesday in the MB building and Thursday in the VA building, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Students and staff can speak with members of the association, get a free coffee card and pick up a flyer for more information on CUPFA.

The CUPFA kiosk will be set up in a different building on the SGW campus over the four days. Photo by Nelly Sérandour-Amar.

CAMPUS

Celebrating 100 years of Loyola

The present west-end campus in NDG was established in 1916 NELLY SÉRANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR Concordia University celebrated the end of the harvest season and Loyola campus’ 100th anniversary on Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The day was filled with family-friendly activities, including fitness classes, games and a concert, as well as food and drinks provided by the Hive Café and Seasons Catering, Concordia’s in-house catering services.

Despite the heavy rain, people of all ages joined the festivities inside the lobby of the Vanier Library, as well as in the Hive Café Solidarity Cooperative. People were able to buy produce from the Farmers’ Market, see the football game where the Concordia Stingers played against the McGill Redmen, and finally a concert

in the Loyola Chapel featuring The Zara Strings performing music of Edwin Orion Brownell.

André Roy, the dean of Concordia’s faculty of arts and science, spoke on behalf of the Loyola campus and said the school was very proud to be celebrating 100 years. “From its Jesuit roots to the many local outreach projects we’re involved in today, Loyola has always played an important [role] in our community,” Roy said.

The official date of the anniversary was Sept. 23, but last Saturday was an occasion to celebrate the fall season and the 100-year milestone.

Loyola College was originally a Jesuit college before being consolidated with Sir George Williams University and becoming Concordia University in 1974. The college was first established at the corner of Bleury and

Loyola is celebrating 100 years. Photo

by Savanna Craig.

Ste-Catherine Street in 1896, but moved to the present west-end campus on Sherbrooke Street West in Notre-Dame-de-Grace in 1916.

This is why 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment.

“This fall, as we mark the milestone anniversary, we are pleased to invite

community members to celebrate with us,” said Roy. “Here’s to 100 more years of Loyola in NDG.” The Loyola campus includes the Communications and Journalism building, the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex, the Vanier Library, and others.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

COVER STORY

Game-changing cancer research

Researcher discovers cancer may not be forming the way we thought

The SP building is home to a student cancer research lab. Photo by Savanna Craig.

SAVANNA CRAIG CO-NEWS EDITOR A development in cancer research has been made by researchers from Montreal and London, England. They identified some cancer cells which have the ability to co-opt cells—meaning they can obtain nutrients and oxygenation from pre-existing blood vessels— rather than needing to create their own blood vessels for fuel and growth.

Thirty-two researchers from both the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and the Institute of Cancer Research in London made the discovery, and published their findings in a report titled "Vessel co–option mediates resistance to anti–angiogenic therapy in liver metastases" in the scientific journal Nature Medicine.

“It’s well accepted that when cancer grows, it requires more nutrients and oxygen—which means they require more blood vessels,” said Dr. Peter Metrakos liver surgeon, a member of RI-MUHC, lead author of the study and director of both the Multi-Organ Transplant Program and of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery. He said, it was previously believed in order for cancer to grow, new blood vessels have to grow into the tumour. Therefore, he said in order for tumours to grow, cancer cells had to produce their own blood cells. He said the new vessel growth in the tumour is called angiogenesis, treatable with antiangiogenic therapies.

Metrakos said for the last 30 to 40 years, antiangiogenic drugs have been under development to

target some of these factors. “But the problem has been that the [treatment] results are mixed—it’s not as good as we thought it was going to be.”

He said he believes that if he and

his team can stop the new blood vessels from growing into the tumour, the tumour will not continue to gain proper nutrition and lose the ability to sustain itself. Metrakos said while some tumours do produce new blood vessels, not all of them do. He said he and the team discovered some kinds of tumours obtain nutrients and oxygen by co-opting existing blood vessels in the body.

“So rather than producing new blood vessels, [the cancer cells] kind of sneak their way around a tumour or around a blood vessel and co-opt it and then get their nutrients and oxygenation from blood vessels that’s existing,” said Metrakos. He said this explains why therapies that target new blood vessel development have had mixed results—co-opting cancer cells don't produce new blood vessels, so there is nothing for the

treatment to target.

In Metrakos’ research on how cancer evolves in the liver, he said he has found that approximately 40 to 45 per cent of tumours acquire their blood supplies through new blood vessels, while an additional 40 to 45 per cent obtain their blood supply by converting existing blood vessels from the liver. He said this clarifies why current treatments that aim for new blood vessels are not as successful as it was thought.

According to Metrakos, this is reflected in the survival rate following tumour-removal surgery, also known as resection. When patients were treated with antiangiogenic therapy and then had a resection, they had a less than 20 per cent survival rate if their cancer had been co-opting, compared to the 50 per cent survival rate of patients with a cancer that

produced its own blood vessels.

Metrakos said he can determine whether the tumour is creating new cells or co-opting cells by staining an organ’s blood vessels. He said he has preliminary data that will be able to identify these different types of tumours using imaging with an MRI and a CT scan—but the research is in its beginning stages.

What the researchers have found through the use of an animal model, is by decreasing the motility of an animal via genetically manipulating cancer cells, they find the cancer cannot co-opt blood vessels. This forces the cancer to develop new blood vessels, which can then be targeted with the traditional method of antiangiogenics.

“That’s an experimental model, and it could pan out in human beings,

but it could take a little time,” said Metrakos. For now, this theory has only been tested on animals.

“While we assume that any solid tumour over a certain size needs anti-angiogenesis to stimulate these vessels, their group has found there are a lot of tumours that aren’t doing this,” said Alisa Piekny, an associate professor for Concordia’s biology department.

“What would be really important to do is that each patient would have to be treated as a different case and you would have to get that information about their tumour before you start treating them with angiogenic drugs so that you could tailor the treatment more specifically to them,” said Piekny.

Piekny’s cancer research involves understanding the basic mechanism underlying cell division, and testing compounds that may target cell division and could be used in cancer treatment.

Piekny said this new development in cancer treatment reflects an overall change in the way researchers understand cancer. “You can’t treat [all cancer] the exact same way,” she said. She said insights like Metrakos’ helps improve our understanding of these different types of cancers,.However, finding the cure for cancer will not be an overnight discovery.

“Now we have a way to attack maybe a subset of cancers that do what they found where they can use the healthy vessel instead,” she said. “We’re going to treat those ones a little bit differently and we can improve the success rate, maybe.”

Piekny has a team of Concordia students that conduct research on cancer at the Loyola campus—which includes three PhD students, a masters student, multiple undergraduate students and visiting scientists. The undergrads switch out every couple of terms, the masters student work for usually two years at a time, while PhD’s work for approximately four years.

When asked how long he had been working on this research, Metrakos chuckled. “I’ve been preparing my whole life for this,” he said. He said he’s been working on this for four and a half years. “Obviously it’s going to be another ten years of work to get this to where we want it to go.”

Graphic by Florence Yee.

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NATION IN BRIEF KATYA TEAGUE HEAD COPY EDITOR

Protesting Muskrat Falls project

Protesters in central Labrador broke into the Muskrat Falls work site on Saturday night to voice their concerns about the Nalcor hydroelectric project, reported CBC News.

Protesters told CBC News they are worried flooding of the reservoir will increase the likelihood of mercury contamination in fish and seal in Lake Melville—the traditional food source for people in the area. “I want to keep my culture safe,” said protester Toby Williams, who grew up living off the land, according to CBC News.

About 50 protesters were still on site Sunday, according to a statement released by Nalcor.

Tori Stafford’s murderer seeks appeal Eight-year-old Victoria Stafford’s convicted murderer requested a new trial from the Court of Appeal in Ontario on Monday, according to The Montreal Gazette. Michael Rafferty was sentenced to life in prison in 2012.

According to his lawyer, Rafferty’s appeal is based on the fact that his sexual assault conviction was entirely based on the testimony of his accomplice, Terri-Lynne McClintic, who has a serious history of violence and lying, reported T h e Montreal Gazette .

McClintic pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2010.

Cape Breton deluged again Cape Breton, N.S. was hit by a second bout of strong winds and heavy rain in less than two weeks on Saturday, reported CTV News. The recent storm caused major concerns for residents in areas like Sydney, who are still dealing with flood damage caused by more than 200 millimetres of rain that fell over Thanksgiving weekend. Substantial flooding and damaged power lines made Glace Bay one of the hardest hit towns on Saturday, reported CTV News. “It was a race against the clock to make sure the waterways were clear,” a Cape Breton Regional Municipality spokesperson told CTV News.

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WORLD IN BRIEF KATERINA GANG COPY EDITOR France resettles 6,000 migrants from its Calais “Jungle” Hundreds of buses poured into the Calais migrant camp on Monday, with the goal of resettling approximately 6,000 migrants. According to the Toronto Star, 1,200 police officers supervised the relocation, which will happen over the course of this week. Migrants will be brought to relocation centers across France, where they will be able to apply for asylum. According to the Toronto Star, estimates about how many live in the camp vary, with authorities saying there are 6,500 residents, but aid groups citing a larger figure of 8,300. The unsanctioned camp sprang up 18 months ago, and has since devolved into a slum.

ISIL massacres hundreds and rounds up children ISIL executed 284 boys and men this Monday in the wake of fears that the jihadist group was using civilians as human shields. According to the Montreal Gazette, the boys and men were lined up, shot, and then buried in a mass grave in northern Mosul. This massacre came after 550 families were recently removed from their homes—a move the United Nations believes might be related to the use of human shields against Iraqi forces.

According to the Montreal Gazette, ISIL also set a sulphur plant near Mosul aflame this week, causing thousands of people to be hospitalized for breathing problems. Mosul is ISIL’s last stronghold, apart from its capital in Raqqa.

Denial of service attack shuts down several websites Last Friday, a denial of service attack (DDos) on Domain Name Server provider, Dyn, knocked out prominent websites, like Twitter, Netflix, and Amazon.

DDos attacks flood servers with too many requests until they ultimately crash. According to Global News, hackers were able to use several devices to carry out the attack, such as webcams, DVRs, or even certain kitchen appliances. The hacker group calls themselves “NewWorldHackers.”According to Global News, the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are currently investigating the attack.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

CAMPUS

Students seek end to high fees

JMSB student creates petition in protest of costs for mandatory BTM 200 course

Human resource management student Samuel Miriello created the petition to remove the $200 cost of the BTM 200 course. Photo by Savanna Craig.

SAVANNA CRAIG CO-NEWS EDITOR In light of discovering a required fee of over $200 for the mandatory John Molson School of Business (JMSB) course, “Business Technology Management,” BTM 200, some first-year JMSB students are signing a petition to protest against what they consider costly fees.

Samuel Miriello, creator of the petition and first-year human resource management student, said he was not aware of these fees until he received an email from his professor mid-September prompting him to pay more than $200 for the class.

“Online classes are amazing and they give us access to tools that make learning easier, but it doesn't warrant the school making us pay tuition and not giving us class sessions,” said Miriello. He said, with his other online classes, there is a virtual classroom and the class meets once a week. However, this is not the case in BTM 200.“The professor never hosts sessions that we can attend where he does any live teaching,” he said.

Miriello said the different components of BTM 200 are distributed across three websites, each with their own fees—$90 to access the eConcordia website, $20.70 for LearningLab—a software providing grades and due dates and $104.95 for Skills Assessment Manager Cengage (SAM)—a website which teaches students how to use Excel and Access.

On eConcordia, only three per cent of the student’s grade is evaluated, said Miriello. In comparison, LearningLab accounts for 77 per cent of the BTM grade.

“Every website has it’s own quizzes, it’s own material, it’s own modules and you kind of have to

jump between them,” Miriello said.

Raafat George Saadé, an associate professor of supply chain and business technology management, and the creator and coordinator of BTM 200, said LearningLab has a low cost and helps to guide students through the 12 activities within the course.

Saadé said LearningLab allowed him to consolidate all of their performances into one location and to sequence their activities. He said the LearningLab provides reminders of the due dates for students and provides a report for Saadé on how much students achieved on each of their learning goals.

“When we take BTM, no one ever tells you that you’re going

to pay the BTM 200 fees, not all students have this privilege. “There are people [who] are on their own in university—they don’t have the money to pay that,” said Zangeneh.

“More than for me, I want this for people who really can’t afford stuff like this.”

Saadé said after paying the required fee for SAM, it can be accessed until graduation and is officially used in two to three courses within JMSB. He said he is trying to make these fees valuable for students by implementing more courses where Excel and Access can be used, requiring students to use SAM. “This is not new,” said Saadé towards students complaining of Graphic by Florence Yee.

to have to pay so much money,” said international business student Saloné Prigent. “At least I’d like a warning that we’d have to pay this to take BTM, especially because BTM is a mandatory course.” She added with three websites to keep up with, it’s hard to keep track of when assignments are due.

Sepideh Zangeneh, a international student from Mexico studying international business, said Miriello’s idea of making a petition was great, and though she may have financial support

the high fees required when taking BTM 200. Saadé said he has tried switching website hosts various times, but this is the lowest price he can get. “When I started, I looked at all the different softwares and at companies like Microsoft and other publishers,” said Saadé. He said all publishers range in price from $60 to $180. “Over the years I’ve experienced each one—one by one,” said Saadé.

Miriello said the website is still not up to par with his expectations considering the cost. ”It's just ironic

that our intro to business technology management is taught in such an uninspired, expensive and cluttered way. The complete opposite of what BTM should be,” he said.

Saadé said he has 1,500 students and asks them at the end of every class if the book was good, if they learned anything from the quiz, if there should be any improvements and what their opinions are on using SAM. “Over 90 per cent of the students, they say they see the value,” he said.

Saadé said in certain circumstances he has waived students either from taking the course or paying the cost of it. He said, in the past, he has contacted the program provider and they suspended the cost for SAM or LearningLab. Alternatively, if a student can demonstrate they know the material, they do not have to take BTM 200, he said. “If they really have financial problems, I can personally try to figure out ways to help” said Saadé. He said some semesters he is not approached, however others he may receive up to five students requesting financial help.

Saadé said many students in co-op, who gain job experience through paid work-terms, have told him that they felt they had not learned enough in Excel and Access.

“They come back and say, ‘We need to learn more—we took BTM 200 and it’s not enough. Can we learn more advanced stuff?’” said Saadé.

The winter semester version of the course will have a brand new website, feature more activities and be more interactive, said Saadé. “Because of the nature of the course also, every two years I have to update the content,” he said, adding that SAM updates itself as well. Saadé is also in the process of creating a follow-up course to BTM 200 that will hopefully be released this year.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

theconcordian

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CAMPUS

CRARR calls for review of harassment policy

The civil rights organization is advising students to suspend ongoing internal complaints GREGORY TODARO MANAGING EDITOR A non-profit civil rights organization is urging Concordia University to fix what it considers to be inconsistent sexual harassment policies.

In a written statement issued on Friday, the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) also advised students currently filing a complaint internally at Concordia to immediately suspend their complaint.

Citing its work on multiple cases of discrimination against the university to the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission—including Mei Ling’s case in 2015 and Felicia’s case this year—CRARR said Concordia needs to improve the consistency of sexual harassment policies across the university to better protect victims of gender-based discrimination and other forms of harassment.

“We strongly encourage the university to immediately work with different stakeholders to harmonize these different policies and ensure that a single definition of sexual harassment that corresponds to the standard of the law is available to students and staff in Concordia's complaints process,” said CRARR executive director Fo Niemi, in a written statement.

CRARR said the university's Sexual Assault Working Group (SAWG) did not address what they consider inconsistencies with several definitions of sexual harassment in different policies.

“The fact that there are different definitions at Concordia, all of which can be deemed to fall below established legal standards of sexual

harassment, may give rise to the possibility that victims of sexual harassment have been inadequately treated in all human resource practices and student support services at Concordia,” said Katrina Sole-Kähler, a member of the CRARR Working Group reviewing Concordia's harassment policies.

Specifically, CRARR is criticizing differences in Concordia’s 2016 policy regarding sexual violence—which covers all members of the Concordia community—and three other policy agreements: the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association collective agreement which covers all part time faculty; the university’s policy on harassment as outlined in 2011, which covers all staff, faculty members and

university administration; and the 2010 update of the Code of Rights and Responsibilities which encompasses all members of the university.

However, Concordia senior advisor of external communications, Cléa Desjardins, said all of the university’s collective agreements are meant to be read together with all the university policies.

“The definition of sexual harassment in CUPFA collective agreement is not intended to limit the scope of what constitutes sexual harassment,” she added.

Desjardins also said that the recommendations from the university’s SAWG, which was established in 2015, included making a standalone policy on sexual violence

update and “harmonize” the Code of Rights and Responsibilities with the new sexual violence policy.

“Currently, a revision of the Code of Rights is underway and any appropriate modifications of the Code will be made during this process,” she said.

In response to CRARR’s call for students to suspend ongoing internal complaints at Concordia, Desjardins said the university still encourages any member of the community who feels that they have been the victim of violence or harassment to seek support either with Sexual Assault Resource Centre, the Office of Rights and Responsibilities or the Campus Wellness and Support Services.

Fo Niemi (left), director of CRARR, with Mei Ling (right) in 2015. Ling’s case went to the Quebec human rights commission . Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

COMMUNITY

Seventh annual police brutality vigil in Montreal

The event honoured all killed by police, but drew on nine specific police deaths in Quebec MEGAN HUNT ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

members condemned the organization as “police investigating police.” According to the coalition, eight out of those nine killed were “in crisis,” and instead of being helped by the police, they were killed. In a group statement, the coalition claimed that, “half of the BEI is made up of ex-cops as well as

2002 over what she described as a “mild parking dispute” with an off-duty officer.

Although the dispute was resolved before police arrived, Ben was chased into an alley by armed officers, beaten and held in prone position—a dangerous position that left him unable to move his body and

leading the investigation was the brother of the officer responsible for Gladys’ death, Tolley said.

On Saturday, Oct. 22, the Justice for “The case was closed three months Victims of Police Killings Coalition held after the accident,” Tolley said. “Nobody its seventh annual vigil to commemorate was notified [about the case closing] until victims of police brutality. The coalition— a reporter told me thirteen months later … which consists of friends This is big time conflict and family members of of interest. I don’t know eight Canadians who what else to say.” have died as the result After the vigil, Tolley of police altercations— discussed the financial and a group of supporters barriers for families met outside the Fraternité seeking justice. “We des policiers et policières don’t have millions of de Montréal, Montreal’s dollars for lawyers. It police union office in cost $1000 just to file a the police report,” she said.

Plateau-Mont-Royal.

“Families don’t all have the T h e v ig il , w hic h resources [for a lawsuit].” purposely coincided Those affected by police killings gathered outside Montreal’s police union office in the Plateau. Photo by Megan Hunt.

According to t h e with the National Day group’s official statement of Protest in the United States, honoured civilians employed by police forces. Almost struggling to breathe, which led to his death regarding the event on Facebook, the goal all victims of police violence, but focused all the members are white men.” by asphyxiation. of the coalition and their annual vigil is to on nine deaths that have occurred in Speakers at the vigil shared their Tolley also shared her experience with commemorate those lost, support the families Quebec since the implementation of the personal experiences—including Bridget police violence and injustice. In 2001, her of victims and call for truly independent, Bureau of Independent Investigations Tolley and Julie Matson, both of whom mother, Gladys, was killed by a police unbiased investigations of police killings.

(BEI) in June 2016. The BEI was created have lost a parent to police violence. cruiser. Tolley claims that the investigative “All we are asking for is the truth, for with the intention of providing objective Matson shared harrowing details about the officers did not arrive on scene until eight the wrongdoings to be fixed, so that we investigations after shootings and other death of her father, Ben Matson. According hours after the accident, and that a coroner can all live together,” Tolley said. “We’re violent police interventions, but coalition to Matson, her father was killed by police in never saw her mother’s body. The officer all human here.”

life

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

SOCIETY

The media: broad term, broader impacts

The Multi-faith and Spirituality Centre hosted a discussion on media's role in people's lives

The event was hosted by Concordia’s MultiFaith and Spirituality Centre. Photos by Alex Hutchins.

DOMINICK LUCYK STAFF WRITER Rev. Paul Anyidoho, a member of Concordia's Multi-Faith Chaplaincy, hosted a seminar to explore the benefits and disadvantages of social media in our lives on Oct. 20.

The event welcomed 12 guests and was held in a small and cozy meditation room at the Multi-faith and Spirituality Centre. The event was structured as an open discussion, where speakers and guests could express their thoughts on social media, media usage, and how it is perceived and used in people’s daily lives.

Throughout the afternoon discussion, guests shared personal experiences regarding their relationship with media.

Some of the guests, mostly young adults, said they used and consumed technology and media so much in their daily lives that they couldn't imagine living without it.

Other guests said they either used social media sparingly, or not at all.

The crowd presented a variet y of opinions and experiences in a discussion about the core issues of privacy, informational integrity, and a balance of positive thoughts and negative thoughts concerning this technology-driven world.

Anyidoho defined media as any "virtual space." This includes social media networks, television stations, large-scale news outlets and even something as simple as a phone call. Media is important to most people, said Anyidoho, and so it is a topic worth knowing and exploring as much about as possible.

Anyidoho placed emphasis on the “uses and gratifications theory” of media interaction, which explores how and why people actively consume media to satisfy certain needs.

"People don't sit in front of the TV, read the newspaper or go on the Internet just to retrieve information,” Anyidoho said.

“They are actually engaging the media in a way that will be useful and satisfy

their expectations, to get gratification."

He believes that this theory is important in the modern age in order to get the best out of what he calls the "two sides of the coin" of the media. "[The media] has a very beneficiary, useful effect on people…now, you can just access information from anywhere in the world."

Anyidoho said he believes social media's strengths lie in its abilit y to increase global connectivity, strengthen personal relationships and ease learning.

However, the media also has a flipside, Anyidoho said, adding that he believes most forms of media can have bias when it comes to reporting on news, which leads to less focus on the truth, or even a blur of what is the truth. He said people need to be more careful and critical in the way they intake information by not being so quick to believe everything they hear or read.

Anyidoho also expressed concern over how much time younger generations commit to modern technology and social media. Studies vary, but on average, according to a 2015 Common Sense Media report, millennials spend anywhere from nine to 18 hours a day consuming media.

Anyidoho also described how incorrect or misunderstood information on social media “spreads like a spiral, a breeze,” and can cause stress in people’s lives.

Anyidoho concluded by saying using media responsibly is important, especially now that it's a much bigger part of our lives. "We used to bring our life over to our religious places, to our doctors, to psychologists, now we bring it to the media," he said.

As media plays a major role in entertainment, news gathering and personal connections, Anyidoho said education and discussion are important in order to make the best possible use of this innovation.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

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CAMPUS

Learning how to read, the university way Concordia holds workshop aimed to help students retain the information they read

Graphic by Florence Yee.

CATHERINE DUBÉ STAFF WRITER Concordia’s Student Success Centre hosted a workshop on Oct. 18 to help students make the most of their assigned readings.

Juliet Dunphy, the manager of Concordia’s Student Learning Services, said retention and proper understanding are common problems for students when it comes to class readings. She explored tips on how to read and retain textbook material.

“I think students get overwhelmed with the amount of reading they have to do and get discouraged when they don't remember what they read,” Dunphy told The Concordian. “Reading then becomes a chore, and they equate reading with the time they spent on reading something rather than with how much they actually learned from it.”

The Student Success Centre, located on the fourth floor of the Hall building, has the tools to keep students on track.

“Get the big picture, read actively and

selectively, review after by talking [aloud] through [the chapter] or by making notes in your own words,” said Dunphy.

“These steps will help the reader move that information into long-term memory rather than losing it from short-term memory.”

According to Dunphy, an important part of reading and remembering is getting the big picture before you start reading. “[Students] need to get a preview of the whole thing before [they] start to read,” she said. To get

a preview, Dunphy said students can flip through the chapter beforehand to get a gist of the content from titles and subtitles. Drawing a map of the chapter this way can be a useful way of getting the big picture.

“Studies show that if you do this preview and then you read the chapter, you actually retain more than if you read the chapter in-depth twice,” Dunphy said, adding that this is “because of our brain’s affinity to seeing the big picture.”

Dunphy stressed the importance of talking to oneself while going through the readings. “We need to get into a routine of questioning what we’re going to read,” she said. She suggested students quiz themselves as they read, in other words, read actively. This way, students can keep themselves in check, and test whether or not they are actually understanding the concepts. “As you’re reading, you’re going to be talking to yourself in your head, in terms of answering the question you’ve come up with.”

Finally, students need to review what they read—right after and later on. This will help students retain the information longer, said Dunphy.

Concordia’s Student Learning Services host more than 200 workshops every year, according to Concordia’s website.

“The workshops are important because they give students another way of looking at a skill they might have been using for a while, yet updating that skill in a new way in order to make it a more effective way to study,” Dunphy said.

CITY

Making city living responsible living

University of the Streets Café hosted a talk on urban health, environment and social problems LÉANDRE LAROUCHE STAFF WRITER University of the Streets Café held a discussion on the impacts of city living for Montrealers, and invited attendees to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas about how to improve all aspects of city living.

"We tend to forget that we live in the city at the cost of someone else," said Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay, a guest speaker for the bilingual conversation, which took place at Montreal’s downtown YMCA on Oct. 10. Mukhopadhyay is a family doctor in Northern Ontario, a volunteer physician with Médecins du Monde Montreal and the co-coordinator of the Canadian chapter of the People's Health.

Mukhopadhyay said that people tend to believe that cities like Montreal are self-sustainable urban organisms. However, he said most resources come from outside the city, and cities may not actually be the healthiest places to live. "Cities are not the centre of our society,” he said.

For example, he explained that a lot of food travels a long way to get to cities, and as a result, it is often more processed than the food that gets shipped to rural or suburban areas.

Other factors, such as housing and public transit infrastructure in cities, can be damaging to physical health and have major influence on people’s well-being, said Mukhopadhyay. These factors can result in sickness, such as asthma in kids.

Robyn Maynard, a Montreal-based activist, educator and writer, addressed the social and economic inequalities suffered by communities within Montreal every day. Maynard’s research focuses on gender and race issues, and her fieldwork experience includes street work within the disadvantaged communities of Montreal.

She said the city can be a discriminating place for minorities, and the at-risk population, which includes homeless people, drug addicts and sex workers.

She noted that part of the population is often denied security.

She and Mukhopadhyay agreed what people think makes a city healthy may actually make it unhealthy.

Attendees discussed who is responsible for addressing these problems, and brainstormed solutions for making the city a better, healthier and safer place to live.

One of the proposed solutions was for people to attend their neighbourhood and city council meetings. Attendees

discussed this solution as a good starting point for getting involved in the conversation of city health and security, and opposing elitist urban planning.

Abby Lippman, the event moderator, discussed violence and its toxic effects on Montreal and other cities. Lippman is an associate researcher at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute and a long-time feminist activist.

“I think about violence as what the system is doing to people. I think the system is being violent by taking money,

by taking health away, by putting up lousy housing,” she said. She suggested that if society and authorities worked on bettering people’s health, then violence control would naturally occur.

The next University of the Streets Café conversation will take place on Oct. 27 at Aux Deux Marie, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Aux Deux Maries is located at 4329 St-Denis St. The conversation will explore the topic of rebuilding communities.

Graphic by Thom Bell.

arts

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

ART EXHIBITION

ASTÉRISMES: complexity in interpretation A mind bending art exhibit is now on at Division Gallery Montreal

Vanite is one of the many cosmic-inspired works of Nicolas Baier on display at the ASTÉRISMES exhibition.

Photo by Richard Max Tremblay.

JESSICA KINNARI CO-ARTS EDITOR Sometimes ar t isn’t meant to be straightforward, and that is definitely the case for Montreal artist Nicolas Baier’s ASTÉRISMES. As you walk into the exhibition, you are met by a variety of art pieces that could have been inspired by outer space—some are swirled with colour, others solely grey and dreary. Each piece has a different texture and exudes a different aura. The entire exhibition is quite puzzling and requires some serious interpretation.

ASTÉRISMES is a complex and mind-bending art exhibition on display at the Division Gallery Montreal until Nov. 5.

Baier is inspired by the complexity of the mind. “Mostly, my interest was the perpetual ongoing, growing and deploying network made or utilized by human knowledge,“

said Baier. “Our point of view on reality, as a group, is not only altered by our position, but also by our tools and our previous knowledge.”

This exhibition, with its extraterrestrial-looking shapes and images in the works, kept me wondering what the pieces were about and what one is meant to take away from them. Their meanings are meant to be complex, according to Baier. He wants viewers to take away from the exhibition that “reality is a very complex subject.”

“Reality, nature, cosmos are three synonyms, in my opinion, three words that are totally inclusive,” he said. “We think of the cosmos as something so far, while it’s the air that we breath, it’s our flesh, our thoughts.

We are the cosmos—we are the nature. The machines that we are building are also a part of nature. We are the way the universe

is succeeding, having dreams about itself, or understanding itself.”

The exhibition is certainly as mind-bending as its definition, and provides a space to sit and contemplate the universe and one’s existence.

This exhibition is not Baier’s first, and growing up in Montreal, he has wanted to be an artist for as long as he can remember.

He said it may have had to do with the fact that both of his parents were art teachers.

Baier is a successful artist with many solo and group exhibitions under his belt. His work has been displayed at many galleries across Canada, including the Division Gallery in Toronto and St Mary’s Art Gallery in Halifax.

WW Check out his website at www.nicolasbaier.com.

FILM

Making more with less since 2002

SPASM film festival comes back with another selection of eclectic movies FREDERIC MUCKLE VIDEO EDITOR Looking for something to better suit your short attention span than the two hour-long shameful and nonessential rehash of The Magnificent Seven? SPASM can probably help you.

SPASM is a predominantly-French short film festival. Each day of the festival presents a selection of short films focusing on a specific theme—ranging from sex to horror to science fiction to Montreal’s iconic Café Cléopatre drag queens. The Oct. 27 event—appropriately titled Total Crap—will present the best-of-the-worst Quebec films that will make you cringe, laugh and wonder how such horrendous content was produced.

SPASM will also feature more conventional, though still noteworthy films, some of which have been screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

Jarrett Mann, one of SPASM’s founders, described the festival as the place where directors once came to present their first films, but it now only shows la crème de la crème. According to Mann, he and the rest

of the jurors watched over 400 short films from various countries, including Canada, the U.S., Spain and Mexico.

This doesn’t mean all the films presented are all pure nuggets of cinematographic triumph, however. Anime, one of the eight films presented at the festival’s opening night, is as beautiful as it was boring. Giving us the silent treatment, the protagonists served

only as pale impressions of what George Miller’s Mad Max movies do best. The film also served as a reminder that not writing any dialogue doesn’t necessarily make your movie an intellectual and profound piece of art. Just like a bimbo Anime looked good, but tried a bit too hard and had no substance to fall back on.

Great short films usually use a rather

From horror to sex, nothing is out of bounds for SPASM filmmakers.

simple but efficient formula: find a good idea, concept or topic and bring it somewhere unusual and inspiring. Films such as Thunder Road, the latest winner of Sundance’s short films contest, use limited time and resources as tools. It’s the story of a man just trying to get through his mother’s funeral with a little help from Bruce Springsteen.

Grimaces, another one of the films presented on opening night, also employs the concept of simplicity perfectly. It addresses the childhood myth that your face could get stuck in a grimace. The result is utterly awkward, ridiculous and tremendously funny—at least for the audience. The film was simple and modest, but everything was well-thought-out and put together in a humble and marvelous way. The cast was great, especially when you realize they were forced to maintain their professionalism and seriousness while being asked to literally not keep a straight-face.

Sometimes, it’s not size or length that matters, but the way you use it. The SPASM film festival knows exactly what it’s doing, despite being only 15 years old. cc F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t www.spasm.ca.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

theconcordian

9

THEATRE

More than just glass slippers

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella offers a fresh take on a beloved story easy: hand over the signet ring and he’ll take care of the boring, dreary paperwork.

The prince’s naïve trust for his advisor, Sebastian (Ryan M. Hunt), leads to political corruption—unbeknownst to the prince.

After a lifetime of being molded by the people around him, he is eager to try and find himself.

The cast included a multitude of zany characters, including the passionate political activist Jean-Michel (Chris Woods) and Marie, a sometimes crazy and eclectic friend who ends up being Cinderella’s fairy godmother (Leslie Jackson). The characters’ witty dialogue and funny interactions all added to the comedic element of the show.

The strong cast, relatable characters and fantastic quips and dialogue were all brought together by the incredible

Cinderella brought magical comedy to Place des arts for four showings.

TIFFANY LAFLEUR CO-ARTS EDITOR When you think of a knight in shining armour, it typically doesn’t mean an actual knight in sparkly armour—but that’s exactly what Prince Topher (Hayden Stanes) wore as he strutted on stage. Not long after his entrance, he began to fight a gigantic monster while simultaneously looking rather dashing.

Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, the 2013 Tony award-winning Broadway musical, was at Place des Arts last week for a limited showing. Fe aturing a talented cast of singers and dancers, the magical show had a hopeful lightheartedness about it—while also featur ing ver y real, self-reflective moments of social

commentary.

The show recounted the fabled and beloved stor y of Cinderella (Tatyana Lubov)—a handmaid-turned-princess who wins the heart of the dashing prince with the help of her fairy godmother, a pumpkin carriage and a handful of white mice-turned-horses.

Although the plot focused on the prince’s search for his princess, Cinderella was so much more than just a love story about two characters destined to find each other. While keeping the classic essence and framework of the fairy tale, the Broadway musical brought a witty and comedic twist to it and delved into the characters’ hopes, dreams and fears.

Beneath the traditional romance lies the story of a lost prince who must rule

his kingdom while keeping his parent’s legacy alive; of a bureaucrat trying to ensure the prince’s way of life at the expense of the citizens; of a mother who wants the best for her daughters; and of a hopelessly unromantic guy who just wants to take the girl of his dreams out on a date to serve soup at the soup kitchen.

Cinderella is hopeful, despite being used and abused by her stepmother and stepsisters. She is a young woman trying to find herself in a world that keeps putting her down, and she maintains an overt optimism and kind spirit despite her plight.

Prince Topher has just returned from university and wants to rule his kingdom as his parents did before him—in a just and fair manner. His associate makes it

set design. Without missing a beat, the stage transformed from a forest to a town square to the interior of a palace. These switches were so well executed that they were almost invisible—as if by magic.

Be sure to check out Place des Arts’ website for updates and information about other upcoming shows.

POEM

Love in the First and Third Quarters C ver, BERE U Z ncou ia, Y R a L I V O T M m rd E U onco l s f ro TR I B c hai h year at C CON e r e fourt y Zu b nce.

Emil e is in her al scie elp c i h t i l S . o BC n nd p er with h r i ng i ting a majo eative wri put togeth r s both c lumn wa en Bloom o ur c a s i L Th nahn A from

I Walk around.

In our favour.

How does a wasp choose where it will sting?

Almonds can be a reliable sources of protein.

Sinkholes may cause discomfort, but no one looks this way anymore.

There is no way to contain geothermal energy, so use it while you can!

Two barn swifts braid into something, avoid collision with a choke cherry that grows on a slant.

“Someone who really cares for you must have taken this picture, look at how your smile runs!”

I don’t need any of these coupons, I’m set!

That was the year brown egg sales spiked.

Blue is the widest.

Do you take card?

Graphic by Florence Yee

III There is no way to know.

Space can change owners.

We suffered a loss when the market was flooded; too many options were presented.

All milk has been causing deep burps, but it feels good to finally release something.

I once heard about a global movement to end our consumption.

The seeds of some trees only begin to grow after there’s a fire.

Hearing plaster tumble down behind a flimsy wall. Maybe I shouldn’t put up this shelf.

I trained myself to take scalding baths and showers from a young age; I guess you didn’t.

Think of the sound fish make against wet rock.

Our return policies are seen as discouraging.

Does a spider ever give up hope when trapped under a cup?

The company is looking for a new way to invigorate its staff.

10 theconcordian

OCTOBER 25, 2016

VIRTUAL REALITY

Björk Digital debuts in Montreal

Take a virtual reality tour through Iceland with Björk’s newest album, Vulicura

Virtual reality is a main component of the exhibition, which is making its North American debut at the Phi Centre in Montreal.

SARAH BOUMEDDA STAFF WRITER From a dark cave to the vast, rock-covered beaches of Iceland—and all through the realm of music and digital space—that’s exactly what Björk Digital is all about. It is an exhibition that takes the term “audiovisual” to a whole other level.

Björk Digital allows the audience to experience Björk’s music in a unique, singular way. The highlight of the show resides in the virtual reality (VR) installations that make up the biggest part of the exhibition. The Montreal exhibition is the North American premiere of the project, which previously toured Sydney, Tokyo and London.

Each of the five VR installations feature a song taken from the Icelandic singer’s latest album, Vulnicura. They are more than simple music videos: each work offers a new perspective on the artist’s music that is

simply impossible to experience anywhere else. For the most part, the installations are each about nine minutes long and can welcome 25 visitors at once.

“Black Lake” opens the exhibition. Using the Oculus Rift, a head-mounted VR display apparatus, and headphones, this installation takes the audience through the depths of a dark cave, where two screens are mounted against opposite walls of the cave. Each screen displays a different angle from which we can see Björk singing and dancing with disheartening emotion—at first sharing the same cave space, then moving to the outside world. “Black Lake” is a good piece to start with: it familiarizes the audience with Björk’s music, without it being overwhelming or too unsettling. The piece is almost peaceful, setting the mood for what is yet to come.

The following installation, “Stonemilker,” consists of a total 360-degree VR experience. In other words, we are immersed in

the video. We can see the beach in which the video is set in no matter what direction we turn. That aspect is explored heavily in the music video—as the song progresses, Björk keeps moving around the viewers, sometimes even duplicating herself and appearing at two, three or four places at once.

Each of these representations of the singer are singular and do not imitate each other in movement—it becomes almost confusing at times, as you don’t know where to look and are afraid to miss something.

The last piece, “Family,” directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, is premiering in Montreal and distinguishes itself from the rest of the VR pieces in the project. The experience is different from the previous four, as “Family” is experienced in pairs rather than groups, and requires the viewer to be standing rather than sitting. “Family” is an interactive VR experience. Viewers are invited to walk around the space and grab

things as they come to them, all while the landscape changes and the music progresses.

This final piece is, without a doubt, the best of the five.

Björk Digital doesn’t limit itself to VR installations, though. The exhibition also presents Biophilia, a project which involves an app on which Björk’s album of the same name is featured along with educational activities relating each of the 10 songs to a scientific concept. Finally, the exhibition closes on Björk Cinema, a room where visitors are invited to sit on the floor and watch a continuous series of Björk’s previous music videos.

The exhibition, Björk Digital, is one of the various events being held in the city by the Red Bull Music Academy from Sept. 24 until Oct. 24.

The exhibition is will be held at the DHC/ ART Foundation for Contemporary Art until Nov. 12.

FILM

Gambling, smoking, and seeing clarity in blindness Borealis, which had its premiere in Montreal last year, returns for a limited screening TIFFANY LAFLEUR CO-ARTS EDITOR Things aren’t exactly peachy. Jonah (Jonas Chernick) owes Tubby (Kevin Pollack) close to $100,000 in gambling money. His house is in shambles. His daughter Aurora (Joey King) is slowly losing her vision to a rare illness and wants nothing to do with her father who just never seems to be able to keep a promise.

Yet, despite his daughter’s resentment towards him, all Jonah wants is for Aurora to see the Northern Lights once before completely losing her sight.

Borealis, written by and starring Jonas Chernick, is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Chernick based his idea for Borealis on Blind, a short film by Borealis’ director, Shawn Garrity. The film has garnered recognition at a few festivals, with Joey King winning Best Actress at both the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, where Garrity also won Best Director.

“For me, the genesis of the feature film came from when I started to imagine who the characters would be in my version of the story.

I immediately saw a father and a daughter who each had a crutch or an addiction,” said

Chernick. In the film, Jonah’s love of playing cards creates tension and resentment between him and Aurora, ultimately fraying an already fragile relationship.

the choices he was making since he had orchestrated them in the writing.

The strength of the film comes from the strength of the characters and the wide

Borealis is the story of a father trying desperately to reconnect with his daughter, Aurora, who is slowly becoming blind.

Having written the script, produced the movie and played the main character, Chernick was intimately involved in nearly every aspect of the film—from conception to post-production. According to Chernick, writing the script made it easier to portray Jonah, as he understood the psychology of the character and the motivations behind

spectrum of emotion they display. However, there were also challenges associated with Chernick’s role, as he had to go to some dark places while portraying the lying, gambling-addicted father. According to Chernick, “playing a shitty dad” was one of the toughest challenges of portraying Jonah.

Chernick, who has two daughters himself,

described Jonah as a reckless father who has no idea how to connect with his daughter.

“He's a mess. And he makes terrible choices for most of the movie. It was difficult to tap into that, as someone who takes great pride in the choices he makes as a father,” Chernick said.

The film is not only beautifully scripted and portrayed, but it is also visually strong, with well-composed and interesting shots throughout the film. A recurring visual cue is that of smudged or dirty glass or reflections. Since the movie deals with the issue of blindness, Garrity wanted to use this concept of skewed sight in the visual composition.

“Shawn really liked the idea of blindness as a metaphor,” Chernick explained. “Not just visual blindness, but blindness to yourself, to your emotions, to what is right in front of you.”

As the film progresses, we slowly begin to see the characters through dirty glass or reflections less, as these characters finally see each other more clearly than they have ever before, according to Chernick.

Borealis returns to theaters in Montreal for a week, starting Oct. 28. in English at the Cineplex Forum, and dubbed in French at the Quartier Latin Cineplex.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

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11

HALLOWEEN

Ge t i n t o t h e Ha l lo w e e n s p ir i t w i t h t h es e f l i c ks Cut the time browsing movie streaming sites for the best spooky show with these picks ALEXANDRA COLATOSTI SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR With the popularity of Netflix and other movie-streaming services, it’s never been easier (or harder, depending on how you look at it) to select a movie to watch. For movie lovers especially, assembling a movie-marathon list can happen with just a few clicks on your remote control.

Halloween is just around the corner. For those who appreciate spending the spooky holiday indoors, curled up on the couch with popcorn and a few Halloween-themed movies,

it can be a little intimidating to choose from all that Netflix has to offer— especially whe n you’re tempted to rewatch the same classics every year like The Exorcist and Friday the 13th (or Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown for the faint of heart).

But have no fear (or do, ‘cause it is Halloween, after all), we have you covered with some of the best, albeit less familiar, Halloween movies currently streaming on Netflix and other streaming devices like Shomi.

The Silenced (2015) If you’re not into gory horror, then the atmospheric Korean thriller The Silenced

is for you. Detailing a young girl’s stay at a boarding school in 1938, the film follows a similar storyline to the 1977 horror classic Suspiria, and manages to stay away from the cheap scares the Korean horror sub-genre has become known for. Instead, it produces a consistent narrative with an unexpected and shocking ending. You can watch The Silenced on Netflix.

Let the Right One In (2008) Perhaps you’ve seen the American adaptation of this film—which was decent, but not as good as the original Swedish version, directed by Tomas Alfredson—but

don’t trick yourself into thinking you already know the story. While the remake draws heavily from Alfredson’s original vampire coming-of-age tale, nothing compares to his slow-burning tactics and chilling visuals that erupt into an ending sure to haunt you until next Halloween. You can watch Let the Right One In on Shomi.

Extraordinary Tales (2015) If you'd rather steer clear of live-action films, Extraordinary Tales is an animated account of some of Edgar Allen Poe's darkest stories, including "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." In addition to the spooky animation, the film uses archive voice footage of legendary horror film actor Bela Lugosi for part of its narration. You can watch Extraordinary Tales on Netflix.

Rear Window (1954) We couldn’t make this list without including at least one film from the suspense horror master Alfred Hitchcock. If you like classic films, you’ve probably seen Hitchcock’s Psycho or The Birds. However, Rear Window is a classic in its own right, and is often overlooked. This thriller, which inspired 2007’s Disturbia, sees James Stewart as a man who, while on bed rest with a broken leg, fixates on one of his neighbours who he thinks has committed murder. He discovers the truth about this murder mystery with the help of his girlfriend, Lisa Carol Fremont, played by Grace Kelly. You can watch Rear Window on Netflix.

Rear Window is one of the classic horror films to watch this October.

HALLOWEEN

W h y w e a r e n' t s c a r e d a n y m o r e A look at how the jump scare affects the quality of modern horror releases

ROMINA FLORENCIA ARRIETA STAFF WRITER If you 've seen any horror films released within the last decade, it’s likely you have experienced a jump scare. The term “jump scare” is used to describe the introduction of a sudden image on the screen, usually accompanied by a loud noise, with the purpose of scaring the audience. This gimmick can be observed in the majority of current cinema, particularly the horror genre, according to YouTube movie critic Jack Nugent.

Movies like Paranormal Activity are notorious for their overuse of this technique—to the point of annoying the viewer. However, the film still managed to gross over $100 million on a $15 million budget, according to IMDB. Its success sparked a handful of other lowbudget copycats like the 2011 Canadian horror film, Grave Encounters trying to capitalize on the jump scare technique. Despite saturating the market with this tactic, horror movies like The Conjuring and Sinister, that rely on cheap thrills are still performing rather well, according to moviepilot.com. The introduction of the jump scare generated a revival of the horror genre.

Scary movies tend to bring in a bigger audience—usually teenagers seeking thrills. According to Livescience, the typical

hor ror v iewer is a male bet ween the ages of 15-45.

Films like The Purge Anarchy are destined to be experienced in a packed theater anyway, since part of the fun is hearing the audience react to the on-screen action, according to Forbes writer Scott Jump scares have become Mendelson. an overused technique in T h e t h r i l l o f horror films hoping to watching a scar y cause a fright without m o v i e i s t h e actually terrifying anyone. experience itself— which surpasses the act of merely seeing a film, said Dr. Mark Mohamad Hassan Bassal, a member of Griffiths in Psychology Today. As horror movie the Concordia Film Union, argued that jump watchers tend to be rather young, an R-rated scares are an easy and cheap way to scare horror movie will lose any potential spectators the faintest of heart. It is an inconsequential who are not old enough to buy a ticket. For technique which will not leave the viewer instance, Forbes writer Scott Mendelson terrified after watching the film. It is a quick pointed out that Eli Roth's cannibal thriller, The and inoffensive rush. The omnipresence of Green Inferno, was an abysmal box-office flop the jump scare does not allow for the quality because the studio did not want to embark of scare classic horror movies to be delivered. on an expensive marketing campaign for an The reason why films like The Shining or The R-rated horror movie, decreasing the chances Exorcist are truly scary is their use of atmosphere of making a profit from the film. and suspense. Despite these movies being

beloved by critics, "there isn't a lot of interest in the more suspense-driven horror style," according to Bassal. Movie producers seem to be more focused on creating franchises like Paranormal Activity.

Aside from superhero movies—which are breaking box-office records one after the other—PG-13 horror films are the biggest money-makers right now, according to entertainment outlet The Wrap. Don't be surprised if there is another onslaught of jump scares in this year's horror releases.

music

Quickspins

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

1 COLBIE CAILLAT

PROFILE

The Malibu Sessions

Give Me Something Beautiful

(Reprise Records, 2016)

Getting to know singer-songwriter and guitarist, Matthew Hills EMILY VIDAL ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR Music isn’t only a life-long career for Matthew Hills: it has changed his entire life. The singer, guitar player, song-writer and sound engineer of the Montreal-based band, Give Me Something Beautiful, has always been heavily involved in music. He has been involved with many different bands over the past 20 years.

“I started doing music because music saved my life through some rough times,” he said. These difficult times for Hills began at a young age. “I was a big loner in high school.

I find it difficult to relate to people—I just get nervous around people. So my best friend was music. I just felt like I could talk to it or it talked to me.”

While Hills turned to music as a refuge, he has always suffered from severe performance anxiety, which makes playing shows a huge obstacle for him. He said it has gotten progressively worse over the past couple of years—to the point that he sometimes dreads being on a stage. The performance anxiety, he said, may stem from a lot of different factors.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, that’s probably mostly it,” he said. “I think, when I was younger, I was more confident because I was certain that success was around the corner. But now I’m more aware that success is really an illusion and that it’s something that you create for yourself.”

It was Concordia vocal professor, Irene Feher, who made a very big impact on Hills’ life and musical career. While Hills was studying electroacoustics a few years ago, Feher was there for him—not M at th ew H ill s , only to improve his vocal skills, but Étienne Dextrazeto mentor him as well.

Monast, and Raphaël “[Feher] very much focuses on Pellerin of Show Me trying to get to that place where you’re Something Beautiful. about certain things in my life not in your own way,” Hills said. “She’s Photo by Adrian that happened that I don’t think, spent [so] much of her time with me Villagomez. as an outside listener, you could trying to dissolve that sort of egotism actually reconstruct.” that sort of drives that [performance anxiety].”

He admires the talent of his bandmates, Hills said that Feher is a really fantastic bass guitar player and back-up singer, Étienne human being, and really opened his eyes on Dextrase-Monast and drummer and back-up how to improve himself, not only musically but singer, Raphaël Pellerin. “I would say that, as an individual. While that anxiety on stage really, what makes the sound of our band hasn’t completely dissolved, Hills’ passion is our rhythm section. I think it’s the drums, for music propels him forward. He strives to and particularly the drums, because Raph reach people in a way that will change their is a really unique, imaginative and sensitive lives as much as it has changed his. player,” he said. “But really, I think it’s [Étienne “I think that great music expresses something and Raphaël] together than make the sound that hasn’t been expressed before,” he said. of our band so much more.”

“The really interesting part is when you get The band’s music is not easily definable, really articulate sentiments from emotional, as they take their influences from almost honest artists, and it really describes something everywhere—from folk music and electronic about your life that maybe you didn’t really music, to hip-hop and rock. “I guess it’s think about before.” mostly rock and roll. I would say there’s a lot Hills continuously strives to reach people of straight-up influences [in our music] that on a deep and emotional level, yet he feels maybe get obscured by the fact that we tend like he keeps failing to do so. He claims that, to go in a lot of different directions.” for the past 10 years, he has struggled with He said there are some jazz undercurrents writing relatable lyrics. in the music, world influences can be heard “I just think that I’m a cryptic, and that the in the percussions, and there is a folk and meaning is obscured a lot of the time. The rock vibe. “I don’t think we can say this is a lyrics are sort of coded, I guess,” he said. folk band, or this is a rock band, but I think “There are songs that I wrote specifically we have moments of all of those things from

Colbie Caillat’s sixth studio album is her first release under her new, independent label, PlummyLou Records.

The album is a collection of beachy, breezy, catchy tunes about love and letting go. It opens with the sound of ocean waves and subtle echoey vocals.

Caillat’s warm and friendly voice shines through the entire record—it feels as though she is personally telling you her stories. “Good Thing” is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, with its expressive vocal harmonies and drumbeat. “Cruisin’” has the island vibe and relaxing feel fans have come to love and expect from Caillat—she doesn’t shy away from her roots in the slightest. The album comes full circle, concluding with the sound of ocean waves. The Malibu Sessions is emotionally honest, but also oozes with cheerfulness. It’s the perfect way to warm up as the winter months approach us. cc Trial track: “Cruisin”

7/10

—Cristina Sanza, Editor-in-Chief

2 NORAH JONES

Day Breaks (Blue Note Records, 2016)

song to song.”

While their sound is rather complex, the band maintains that, no matter what, they are being genuine and honest through their music. “[Our goal is] to continuously find new ways of expressing ourselves, and to try and be more honest about it every time. I think sincerity is the only reason anybody should be making music. If it’s not sincere, then you shouldn’t be recording it,” Hills said. “I don’t have a choice—I don’t think I could sing it if I didn’t mean it.”

The songs on their latest album, Ghost on a Throne, released in January 2016, reflect this completely. The themes stem from genuine experiences the band has gone through. “The songs are about relationships, the self, in the Buddhist sense… addiction, our need for religion, safety, and the constant destruction of all our constructs in favour of the ego.”

The band is currently working on their next EP, but the release date has yet to be determined. Give Me Something Beautiful’s upcoming Montreal show is on Nov. 26 at Le Cagibi. They will also be performing in Quebec City at Pantoum on Dec. 2. “We’re ready to play new stuff. We should very well have half a set of new music at Cagibi,” said Hills.

Day breaks is Jones’s sixth solo album.

After 15 years in the industry and five albums under her belt, she’s got her sound down and she’s sticking to it.

With her alto, muted jazz voice, armed with her piano and smooth bass lines, Jones is unstoppable. Over the years, she has consistently produced albums that are critically acclaimed and grow musically a little each time. Day Breaks is a slow-paced, no-frills jazz album.

Unfortunately, a few of the songs in the middle of the album muddle together, as they sound too alike. While the songs are individually pleasing, there isn’t an apparent musical story throughout the record. Like a lot of Jones’s albums, the sound is nostalgic, with an added twinge of melancholy.

The piano takes up a lot of room in the album, gracing us with its beautiful solos, song after song. “Fine lines, moments pass by, and I cry / Rewind, step behind, it’s hard to find the flipside,” she sings in her jazz-rock tune, “Flipside.” cc Trial track: “Day Breaks”

8/10 — Danielle Gasher, Life Editor

OCTOBER 25, 2016

theconcordian

13

RECOMMENDATIONS

An introduction to 90s R&B

3 KINGS OF LEON

The rhythm and blues records that bring nostalgia to our eardrums

WALLS

SANDRA HERCEGOVÁ MUSIC EDITOR DANIELLE GASHER LIFE EDITOR

(RCA Records, 2016)

For their seventh full-length release, rock band Kings of Leon brings forward an interesting album that incorporates both their signature alternative sound and a certain refreshing indie-pop touch.

WALLS, an acronym for “We Are Like Love Songs,” is a lot like your typical Kings of Leon album. You’ll find many rock tunes that flow well together, with prominent guitars and a catchy beat, but this time, you’ll also hear many songs that have more of an ambient, intricate sound. “Muchacho” is a perfect example of that—the ballad is slow and possesses an arrangement that is not often heard from Kings of Leon, and yet it works incredibly well for them. Although I would have liked to hear more of these new, versatile tracks, WALLS remains a good piece of music overall, and will leave you curious about what more can come out of this band’s music.

R&B, the acronym for rhythm and blues, is a genre that sometimes gets lost in the shadows of hip-hop nowadays. In the 90s, just like hip-hop, R&B prospered, changed and grew. The move into experimental R&B set the scene for talented contemporary artists. In case you aren’t familiar with the smooth, cool, funky sound of 90s R&B, here are some picks for best artists and albums of the era.

cc Trial Track: “Around the World”

Aaliyah – One In a Million (Blackground Records & Atlantic Records, 1996) Aaliyah Dana Haughton was “more than a woman,” and she remains an R&B legend to this day. Her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, was released in 1994 when she was only 15 years old.

The album sold three million copies in the U.S according to Billboard Magazine.

Two years later, she worked alongside producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott to release an essential album of the 90s, One in a Million . It sold another three million copies in the U.S and over eight million worldwide according to Billboard Magazine. Aaliyah was known for her smooth seductive voice. You can hear the maturity in her vocals and lyrics—she inspired class, professionalism and dedication. Her song, “One in a Million,” is one of Aaliyah’s classic hits, it is a romantic tune that will definitely make you fall in love with her. “If Your Girl Only Knew,” “4 Page Letter,” and “Hot Like Fire” were her top hits from that album. She had the voice of an angel and was taken from us much too soon at the age of 22 years old.

A week after her death, her self-titled album, Aaliyah, was released. She truly was “one in a million,” and her musical influence lives on and on and on.

Trial Track: “One In a Million”

7/10

— Sarah Boumedda, Staff writer

4 REGINA SPEKTOR

Remember Us to Life (Sire Records, 2016) Regina Spektor’s seventh studio album, Remember Us to Life, is arguably one of the singer’s strongest to date. The album is full of slow, melodic tunes that tell stories reminiscent of Spektor’s previous albums, including Far and What We Saw From the Cheap Seats. However, this new album also has a maturity and sadness that her previous albums lacked. While Spektor takes risks with more electronic sounding, fast-paced tracks, like “Bleeding Heart” and “Smalls Bill$,” the album’s strongest songs feature mainly piano and orchestral strings. Songs like “Sellers of Flowers” and “Grand Hotel” really use these instruments to create a stunning dream-like vibe, while telling stories of an old winter marketplace and a hotel haunted by indolent demons. The album tackles themes such as aging and death, leaving loved ones and disillusionment.

Spektor’s masterful storytelling, poetry and timing are what really make this album a masterpiece. cc Trial Track: “Grand Hotel”

9/10

Copy editor

— Katerina Gang,

part of an important shift in R&B. D’Angelo and Voodoo’s influence are still tangible in today’s R&B, in artists like Solange Knowles and Frank Ocean.

Trial track: “Untitled (How Does it Feel)”

Mar y J. Blige – What’s the 411?

(Uptown/MCA Records, 1992) If you’re searching for some “Real Love,” Mary J. Blige gave it to you on her debut album, What’s the 411?, back in 1992.

The album was produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs (now known as P. Diddy). It peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and sold 3.4 million copies in the U.S according to Billboard Magazine. She is known for her soulful voice. Mary J. Blige was praised for mixing her powerful vocals with hiphop—she was one of the first R&B artists to do so. This blend of genres can be found in “You Remind Me,” featuring Greg Nice, which peaked at number one on the R&B singles chart in the summer of 1992. Critics view her album, What’s the 411?, as one of the most important records of the 90s. Her second album, My Life, spoke about her dealing with an abusive relationship, drugs, alcohol and depression. She expressed feelings that every woman has felt at one time. “How can I love somebody else/If I can’t love myself enough to know when it’s time to let go?” are the lyrics from her top hit, “Be Happy.” She expressed how happy she truly wanted to be, yet she admitted “I don't know why, but every day I wanna cry.”

Her strong voice, along with her powerful emotional messages, touched fans across the globe.

Trial Track: “Real Love”

D’Angelo - Voodoo (Virgin Records, 2000) Few artists do R&B with as much soul and funk as D’Angelo. Fusing jazz, soul and R&B, D’Angelo is one of the most important figures in the neo-soul movement that emerged in the 90s. The artist’s second album, released in 2000, captures D’Angelo’s emphasis on complex musicality with original use of instrumentation and rhythm. The artist’s first album, Brown Sugar, released in 1995, abided more to the traditional R&B and hip-hop conventions of the time.

Voodoo was, in a sense, revolutionary to 90s R&B. It reflected the jams and flows of the artist’s music collective, Soulquarians.

The sound of D’Angelo’s second album moved in a more contemporary direction—a direction in which the artist continued and strove for in his latest album, the 2014 jazzy neo-soul masterpiece, Black Messiah. The sexual, sensual and personal album was

Erykah Badu- Mama’s Gun (Motown/ Universal Records, 2000) Another prominent figure in the neo-soul movement, Erykah Badu was part of the Soulquarians music collective alongside D’Angelo. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the drummer for The Roots, produced Badu’s second studio album, Mama’s Gun, which was released in 2000. The album beautifully showcases Badu’s unique, identifiable voice and experimental R&B sounds. She conveys raw, powerful emotion so naturally through her lyrics and vocals. The album is vulnerable—a painful but beautiful heartbreak album. What is particularly interesting about Mama’s Gun is how vulnerable the confident, sassy Badu lets herself be, in a musical genre that doesn’t necessarily encourage heartbreak or vulnerability in the same way pop and folk do. “I can't imagine why I feel so weak, say, say/That's when he took my heart in his hands, and kissed it gently,” she sings in “In Love With You.” Trial Track: “Didn’t Cha Know”

Anthony Hamilton- XTC (MCA Records, 1996) Hamilton’s debut album, XTC, released in 1996, is so pleasingly 90s. The sound is less experimental than Badu’s and D’Angelo’s, and has more of a classic, early 90s R&B vibe.

Hamilton’s voice was made for R&B—both smooth and nasally, his vocals match his jazzy guitar and bluesy, slow drumline.

Next time you’re chilling with friends or hosting a dinner party, switch this gem on for a groovy soundtrack. “And she said ‘baby baby, I know it might sound crazy, but I just want to spend some time to relax your mind/Spend some time with you is what I really wanna do,’” he sings in his smooth, sax-backed ballad, “Spend Some Time.” The lyrics and music are simple, but that is part of what makes the album work. In R&B, simplicity often translates to smoothness.

Trial Track: “Fallin”

sports

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

VARSITY

A new brand for university sports in Canada The Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) has rebranded and changed its name to U Sports

ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR The Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) announced at a press conference in Montreal on Oct. 20 that the organization has undergone a rebranding and will now go by the name U Sports.

The rebrand includes a new logo and a new philosophy that, according to U Sports, hopes to draw more attention to and increase the viewership of university sports across Canada.

“I think U Sports will take some adjusting to, just like anything else,” Concordia Stingers athletic director Patrick Boivin said at the event. “[U Sports] has the fundamentals to be a good rallying cry for university sports across Canada. The CIS, I don’t know if that name inspired much.”

U Sports held two separate conferences on Oct. 20 to unveil the new brand. The first was held in Toronto at 11 a.m., while the other was held in Montreal at 2 p.m. At the Montreal conference, student athletes from the city’s three major universities, Concordia University, McGill University and the Université de Montréal attended.

Representing the Stingers were women’s rugby star Frédérique Rajotte, men’s hockey captain Olivier Hinse and men’s hockey forward Philippe Hudon.

“When I learned about the rebrand, I thought it was a great idea,” Hinse said.

“It’s nice that I can live it for my last year.”

Hinse also explained how he believes the new name could help legitimize university sports in Canada, particularly hockey.

“Now everyone is going to know what U Sports is, and young kids in junior will think to themselves that they can come to U Sports and have a great career in the league,” Hinse said. “More people are going to get attached to it, and when you say U Sports, everyone is going to Concordia Stingers athletic director Patrick Boivin talks about the rebrand. Photo by Alexander Cole. know what it means.” simple and bilingual, in order to resonate “We and Carleton University were T he new with the entire country. kind of precursors in terms of the way logo was cre“Being a French Canadian, I can we structured our programs,” Boivin said. ated by Hulse appreciate the way that it’s bilingual,” “Being a modern school like Concordia, it & Durrell, a firm that specializes in helping organizations Rajotte said. “I think that the U Sports wasn’t that much of a hard sell when they brand themselves. According to U Sports, logo with the Canadian flag in the middle told us that [the U Sports rebrand] could the firm has helped create logos for other is easy to put together. It’s way easier to be valuable for us. It is in line with what sports organizations such as the Canadian say than the CIS and trying to figure out we’ve done and will help us grow.”

The rebrand is the organization's second Olympic Committee, Equestrian Canada, the whole meaning of it.”

Boivin said the new direction of U Sports in 15 years. The first rebrand occurred in Swimming Canada and Curling Canada.

In the promotional video for the new can be compared to the Concordia Stingers 2001 when the Canadian Interuniversity brand, Hulse & Durrell said they wanted to rebranding, adding that the new image is a Athletic Union changed its name to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport. help create a logo and a name that was both necessary part of staying relevant.

STINGERS

Taking Concordia athletics by swarm Antoine Marchand explains the initiative behind the Stingers multi-sport association

The Swarm hopes to get more fans out to games. Photo courtesy of Katherine Purchase.

ALEXANDER COLE SPORTS EDITOR If you went to the Concordia Stingers football team’s home-opener on Sept.

10 at Concordia Stadium, you may have noticed some fully-clothed hockey players falling victim to the horrors of a dunk tank. No, it wasn’t part of some bet the team lost—it was the doing of the Swarm.

The Swarm is an organization created by Concordia students in 2011 which hopes to

bring a community bond to Stingers games.

They hold events during games to bring fans and Concordia athletes from different sports together to help create a sense of family and Stingers pride.

“If I were to describe the Swarm on paper, it would probably be about family over everything,” said Swarm president and men’s hockey goalie Antoine Marchand.

“Over the past four years, I have been a part of this family and the Swarm has been able to support that family.”

Marchand inherited the position of president this season from former men’s hockey player Youssef Kabbaj. The Swarm is run by six people, including men’s rugby player Ryan Townes as head of Stingers relations and football player Yamil Slim as head of marketing.

To start the year off, the Swarm’s main event was the football home-opener at Concordia Stadium. The group set up a dunk tank and inflatable slides, where students could get together and have a good time. Since the football home-opener, the group has helped put together pre-game events for rugby doubleheaders and men’s hockey games.

“A fan can expect to come to one of our events and always have a smile on their face, while having a few drinks and getting a lot of free stuff from us,” Marchand said. “It sounds cheesy but when people are getting involved they generally have more fun.”

Marchand said, aside from organizing events, a major part of the Swarm is that athletes from other sports will come out to games in support of their Stingers family.

While teams aren’t always available to do so, Marchand said it’s always a fun time when they come.

Last year, the men’s hockey team stopped by Victoria, B.C. on their way to a game against Western University to watch the women’s rugby team play at Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Nationals. For Marchand, gestures like that help create bonds throughout the athletics department and make the Swarm a success.

“One of my favourite moments as a Stinger was [watching] the women’s rugby Nationals,” Marchand said. “Our teams got to bond together in a time when a lot was on the line for the rugby team.”

A big part of Marchand’s approach to the Swarm is to treat all sports equally, and plan events for all of them so all teams get equal exposure.

“My goal this year is to essentially make events for every single sports team to make sure they all get the same attention because that’s the most fair,” Marchand said. “I believe that’s the most fun way to do things, and our events have gotten more attention since we’ve branched out.”

With the basketball regular season starting soon and other sports like soccer, rugby and football winding down, the Swarm’s attention will shift to basketball and hockey until the end of the athletic season in March.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

S

Exploring the world of quidditch The fictional sport from Harry Potter—re-imagined for muggles

Quidditch is growing in Canada and programs have popped up to teach people the game.

Photos by Grace Kudlack.

MATTHEW COYTE CONTRIBUTOR Thomas Rayment, a student at the University of British Colombia, goes to practice five times a week, some of which last three hours. Each practice begins with a warm up, where the team does conditioning similar to that of a track team. Then, they split up into position-specific group coaching. The team ends their practice with a scrimmage.

The practices were described by Rayment as “intense” and “super aggressive.”

No, this isn’t the life of a varsity rugby or football player. Rayment is one of many participating in an up-and-coming sport in Canada: quidditch.

That’s right, the magical sport from the Harry Potter franchise has been brought to life and is gathering momentum all over the world with thousands of players participating, according to Quidditch Canada.

To Harry Potter fans, this may seem like a cute activity, but don’t knock the athleticism of its players. Quidditch is a sport that requires a great deal of stamina, strength and skill. Those familiar with the sport, either from the Harry Potter books, movies or the organized leagues, know how difficult it is to play. Players don’t wear any equipment, yet it’s a full-contact game.

During his time with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds quidditch team, Rayment said that scrapes and bruises were a regular part of the game.

Founded two years ago, Quidditch Canada

hosts tournaments all over the country. The sport has especially taken off on university campuses. There are school teams emerging from coast to coast, including at McGill University and the University of British Columbia. The level of competition varies, but like any sport, everyone wants to win. However, according to Rayment, the athletes aren’t taking themselves too seriously.

Montreal is a particular hotspot for Canadian quidditch. The first team in Canada was started at McGill back in 2008. Université de Montréal has since followed suit, becoming the second competitive team in the city. The city’s Centre Père Sablon even offers quidditch camps for younger kids who are looking to try the sport.

The game’s transition from book to real life has been smoother than one would think.

The rules, positions and scoring scheme have managed to stay consistent in their voyage from Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, us muggles have yet to discover the spell for flying brooms or for speedy golf ball snitches. However, these don’t seem to be a problem.

Players are required to keep their brooms between their legs at all times. This makes running a challenge, and it doesn’t help that players also have to pass the ball—the quaffle, which is used for scoring—and dodge the bludgers—which are used to send a player back to their hoops, dodgeball style. Players who are knocked off their brooms by a tackle have to return to their hoops before they can rejoin the game. As for the elusive snitch, the sport got creative.

In muggle quidditch, the snitch is a person with a “tail” attached to the back of their pants. The snitch is either the fastest or the biggest player on the field. An important rule is that the “seekers,” the only players allowed to catch the snitch, cannot actually touch the snitch. However, the snitches can push, shove, tackle—basically do anything and everything necessary to not get caught.

To catch the snitch, the seeker must pull the flag attached to the snitch’s shorts.

“The funniest thing I’ve ever seen involving a snitch was one time where they picked up a seeker by both ends of their broom like a spit roast pig, and used them as a shield from other players,” Rayment said.

In accordance with the original rules, quidditch is a sport for both men and women, and teams must have both genders on the field at all times. This makes it one of the few sports to have a co-ed rule built into the game.

Quidditch is an intriguing sport for several reasons. It began as a fictional game—not many sports can claim that. Secondly, it’s such a new phenomenon. When was the last time anyone got to watch a sport emerge and gain popularity all over the world? Many sports are hundreds of years old, so it’s fascinating to watch quidditch evolve so quickly from the big screen to fields all over Canada.

While Concordia does not have a team or any intramural options for the sport, it’s only a matter of time before the “Potterheads” of Loyola and Sir George Williams hop on their brooms to follow the lead of other Canadian universities.

15

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QUIDDITCH

theconcordian

in the news

BY ALEXANDER COLE DERRICK ROSE CASE AGAINST EDIBLE FOUND NOT CR

A federal jury in Los Angeles ruled on Oct. 19 that the rape claims made against NBA star Derrick Rose and his two friends were not credible, reported the Los Angeles Times.

The ruling means the three men will not be charged.

Rose and his two friends, Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen, were accused of breaking into a woman’s apartment and having sex with her while she was inebriated.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the jury, comprised of six women and two men, rejected the original claims made by the woman after three hours of deliberation.

The jury found that the evidence suggested the sexual encounter between Rose and the woman was consensual.

JAYS TORONTO BLUE AYOFFS PL OM FR ED ELIMINAT

The Toronto Blue Jays were eliminated from the MLB playoffs on Oct. 19 after a 3-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians in game five of their American League Championship Series (ALCS) match-up. According to the Globe and Mail, the Blue Jays were down 3-0 in the series but were able to get themselves a win in game four to bring the series to 3-1. However, in game five, the Blue Jays were unable to score any runs, and were stifled by the pitching of Ryan Merritt. According to the Globe and Mail, this is the second time in the last two years the Blue Jays have been eliminated in the ALCS. With the win, the Indians will now go to the World Series to contend for a championship.

GAME AGAINST LAINE SHINES IN TORONTO

After being down 4-0 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 19, the Winnipeg Jets mounted a comeback to win the game 5-4 in overtime, according to NHL. com. The key to that comeback was Jets rookie sensation Patrik Laine, who scored his first career NHL hat trick in the match, and scored the overtime winning goal. Laine, who was drafted second overall by the Jets in the off-season, was playing against the first overall pick, Auston Matthews, who scored four goals in his Toronto debut. According to NHL .com, his three-goal night means Laine is tied with Matthews for first place in the league when it comes to scoring.

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

EDITORIAL

The sneaky cheaters of Concordia University

A hallway in the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

Don’t think for one second this whole cheating scandal is an anomaly. Our university is plagued with cheating—whether the administration knows it or not.

Last week, La Presse reported that a Concordia student and his tutor were embroiled in a cheating scandal. The publication reported that Abdullaziz Almuhaidib, a 24-year-old student, paid his tutor, John Karras, to impersonate him and write his final exam.

This deception was discovered, and both individuals now face an array of criminal charges, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Almuhaidib faces charges of “personation at an examination,” along with conspiracy.

Karras faces charges of impersonating at

an exam, identity fraud, using a forged document and conspiracy, according to the same report.

There were 387 students charged with cheating at Concordia, according to the Office of Student Tribunals, which reports these figures annually to the Senate. This figure represents less than one per cent of the student population, according to Cléa Desjardins, senior advisor of external communications for the university.

While this percentage appears to be fairly low, we should also consider there are many cheaters who probably don't get caught. There are various ways students can cheat and get away with it.

Think about the numerous tests banks getting released just in time for final exams on student groups, crash-course tutors doing assignments for their students in exchange for cash, or students who group together and take online tests at the same time—many of us have surely heard of students engaging in such activities.

Many students are willing to pay a hefty price for a perfect grade. Attend any of these crash course tutoring sessions, which are heavily advertised around campus, and we guarantee you’ll find someone there willing to do your schoolwork in exchange for money.

If these allegations against Karras are true, then how long has he been doing this for?

How many students aced a course because of his nefarious services, or those at Montreal Tutoring? How are these services monitored?

Karras is well known in the JMSB community, and released a statement via his company Montreal Tutoring, saying he will continue to provide tutorials in the wake of these allegations. He also added that his utmost importance is his student’s success.

This merger between capitalism and academia demonstrates the importance placed solely on grades, instead of actually learning the material for educational purposes. It also reflects how cutthroat many programs can be, forcing students to make poor decisions and engage in immoral behaviour.

To the university’s administration, we urge you to wake up and smell the coffee.

It’s time to introduce new measures that’ll make it harder for students to cheat, whilst also being aware of possible leaks from those in authoritative positions.

To our fellow students, we remind you that university is not a game. This is not just about getting a degree, it's about acquiring the knowledge that will allow us to serve a purpose in our field and in society. There’s no room for cheating in the equation, and if you’re feeling tempted, just ask Almuhaidib if it was worth it.

POLITICS

The left cannot prevent freedom of speech How many conservatives are being silenced by leftist radicals in North America

Are conservatives silenced by leftists? Photo by Yuzvir from Flickr Creative Commons.

BEN FRASER CONTRIBUTOR Divisions between the left and right often open the floor to dialogue. These dialogues are crucial, as they allow both sides to express their beliefs and opinions in a civilized manner.

However, I feel that rather than challenging the opposition with their own ideological views, the left supporters are simply silencing any discussion that doesn't conform to their beliefs.

Look at conservative speakers, like political commentator Ben Shapiro and

Milo Yiannopoulos, the technology editor for Breitbart News, a conservative news and opinion website. They are currently on separate tours across the United States, delivering speeches and holding events at major universities.

At these talk s, both Shapiro and Yiannopoulos speak openly of their beliefs and values. They both answer questions from the audiences afterwards, and many events go by peacefully as students hear out their opinions.

However, in many instances, leftists protest their university’s choice to give these speakers a platform. Some left-

wing individuals even purchase tickets to these events and disrupt the speakers by screaming and shouting, according to multiple news outlets, including the Washington Post.

For example, at DePaul University in Chicago, Yiannopoulos was scheduled to give a talk as a part his “Dangerous Fa***t” tour (Yiannopoulos identifies as homosexual), when protesters stormed the stage and shut down the event.

Videos on YouTube show protesters rushing the stage and threatening to punch Yiannopoulos in the face and disrupting the entire event. Eventually

the police eventually showed up in order to tame the chaos.

Similar instances have taken place in Canada as well. Back in 2010, conservative media personality Ann Coulter was due to speak at the University of Ottawa until nearly 2000 protesters gathered at the venue and created a security issue, according to CBC News. Coulter is quite controversial and has been known to say openly xenophobic and islamophobic comments. She has stated that all Muslims should be barred from airlines, and instead use “magic carpets,” according to the same report. No matter the content of her rhetoric, doesn’t she have the right to express herself?

Leftists claim to believe in free speech—so long as it reflects their side of the argument. Yet conservatives, and others, have just as much of a right to express themselves. Is that not what’s so great about living in a democratic society? What is the point of having free speech if it only applies to a select few?

I understand that not all liberals and leftists are trying to silence the right, but I believe liberalism must be challenged.

Just because you are offended by an open discussion of ideas that challenges your beliefs, doesn’t mean a dialogue should be shut down. After all, if we keep silencing individuals who speak their mind, are we truly living in a democracy?

OCTOBER 25, 2016

theconcordian

17

SOCIETY

Concordia is rife with instances of social profiling

Campus security has allegedly prof iled a few mature Concordia students

JESSICA KINNARI CO-ARTS EDITOR As a 20-year-old Caucasian woman, I've never personally experienced racial profiling. But when it happened to one of my friends, it prompted me to do some research. Profiling on university campuses by campus security and law enforcement is a reality for minority students, and it needs to end. Students need to stop feeling unsafe in their place of learning out of fear of being profiled by campus security.

Profiling may seem like a broad and scary topic, so let’s go back to the basics and define it. According to the MerriamWebster dictionary, profiling is, “the act or practice of regarding particular people as more likely to commit crimes because of their appearance, social class, race, etcetera.”

It all began a few week s ago, on Oct. 14, when Concordia student Nigel Ramasawmy contacted me after he felt he had been the victim of profiling by Concordia’s campus security. He had been standing in the Hall building, waiting for a friend, when a campus security guard approached him and began questioning him about why he was standing there.

When Ramasawmy asked the guard why he was being questioned, the security guard claimed that another student had made complaint about Ramasawmy but wouldn’t disclose the nature of the complaint.

Eventually, the security guard just walked away, never having asked Ramasawmy to see his student ID. While this may seem like a normal interaction where the guard was just doing his job, it is necessary to point out that Ramasawmy, as mature student of minority descent, felt targeted and unsafe.

This appears to be a case of profiling, but according to Fo Niemi, executive director and co-director from the Center for Research Action on Race Relations’ (CRARR), this is not the only time an older student was profiled.

Photoby MarieCRARR is currently Pierre Savard invest ig at ing a c a s e (top) and involving Concordia's Steven Depolo security intercepting, (right). photographing and banning a black woman from accessing the EV building. This case “also involves social profiling because the woman was treated as a homeless person, as she walked in with many bags and she is overweight, in her 40s,” said Niemi in an email. “[The case] is still before the [Quebec] Human Rights Commission” he added.

According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), profiling is considered a violation of a person’s human rights, and the OHRC has reported that profiling, specifically racial profiling, is not an effective way to stop or prevent crime. Yet, this violation is regularly committed by law enforcement and other authoritative figures.

Why should a student ever feel victimized by their own campus security?

It may be security’s job to keep us safe, but profiling students and jeopardizing their personal safety is definitely not the way to go. If universities want to become the safe and accepting places they claim to be, any and all forms of profiling need to end.

In both cases of profiling at Concordia discussed, the form of profiling has been social. Sadly, race is often an underlying factor in on-campus profiling cases, like the York University sexual assault case.

The Toronto Star reported in 2012 that after multiple cases of sexual assault at York University, police on campus began to stop and question students who met only one part of the perpetrator’s description—that he was black.

In the article, Alexandra Williams, the president of the York United Black Student Alliance said, “they’re going up to young, black men who are no taller than five-foot-three or five-foot-four, and asking them to empty their pockets and

show them their identification, under the pretext that they look too young to be on campus.” The perpetrator was described as being between five-foot-seven and five-foot-ten.

While this may just seem like an overzealous officers, it could be they were just stopping every black York University student because in their subconscious minds, all black people, specifically black men, are from the same social and racial group as the rapists, and therefore are all suspects.

I don’t blame the campus security guards—this mindset is a modern reality that has been formed over time. Minority groups are deemed criminals because of societal racism that continues to endure today. In a repor t published by the Canadian Federal Corrections System, visible minorities are overrepresented in Canada’s prison system. The report said that while Aboriginal people in Canada make up approximately three per cent of Canada’s total population, they make up 18 per cent of Canada’s prison population.

While I want to believe Concordia’s campus security is not purposely profiling older students—the profiling on all levels— whether social, racial, or other, needs to stop. A Caucasian woman like myself should have the same possibility of being stopped as any other person who attends this university.

Not only does profiling have a detrimental effect on our prison system, it interferes with students who are simply trying to learn.

Campus security needs to turn towards alternative methods to ensure our security, rather than singling out minority groups and suspecting them of crimes.

While I have never felt victimized by any form of law enforcement, some people are often unjustifiably persecuted.

No one has control over where they are from or what they look like, and it should not be something that they are singled out for. I can’t imagine being singled out as I walked to class simply because of my race, how I dress or my age. This is a reality in our multicultural society should cease to exist.

etc

Artists from Concordia featuring Colas Eko

"My work always seems to be a search for self-identity. As a child of African diaspora and first settlers, the work I do is influenced by my African roots. Black, strong and mystic, would be suited words for the body of work I have at the moment. I use a variety of raw black pigments that I mix with different sorts of acrylic medium. In my gestural abstraction work, I am using the thickness of the paint to create body, conceiving textures with sand or emulsifier. My work is interactive due to how black has the ability to attract and absorb rays of light; the viewer will witness drastic transformation as he moves. Through this I try to break preconceptions of black. This world connote black as negative, in this work, black is strong and beautiful."

"Djine Mory (above) represents a fictional spirit that could commonly be seen in West African animist ceremonies and rituals, it’s trying to create a bridge between the old and new African way of life, where people were more connected to nature with a give and take attitude towards it to now, a society of consumer who struggles to keep a clean environment." The piece is currently exhibited at the VAV gallery at Concordia University.

OCTOBER 25, 2016

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