The Concordian - November 29th, 2016

Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper

theconcordian

VOLUME 34, ISSUE 14 | TUESDAY, NOV. 29, 2016

theconcordian.com  /theconcordian  @theconcordian

theconcordian

Shining a light on Palestine Montrealers come together for the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine

News p. 3

also in this issue

life

arts

Going back to our Virtual reality at childhood days p.6 the Phi Centre p.9

music

sports

Wrapping up Analyzing Stingers' 2016 in music p. 13 hockey so far p.14

opinions

The death of Fidel Castro

p. 16

news

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

CITY IN BRIEF VALERIA CORI-MANOCCHIO COPY EDITOR Baie D’Urfé restaurant fire

CAMPUS

Tensions in the GSA turn into a complaint Former GSA president files case against GSA for discrimination and harassment

Baie D’Urfé restaurant, Linguini caught fire around 2:15 a.m.

Saturday night. The popular West Island spot was totally destroyed, according to CBC News. Dozens of firefighters were called in to subside the flames. CBC News reports there were no injuries or deaths at the scene. Due to the extensive damage to the restaurant, the remains of the two-storey building were demolished Sunday. Constable and police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said "the cause of the fire is unknown." The same article reports the arson squad will preside over the investigation.

Three stabbed at McGill metro station Three people were stabbed at McGill metro station this past Friday. Police said the stabbings were related to a dispute consisting of a group of people, reports CJAD News. The injuries of the victims, two men and a woman, all in their 20s, were non-life-threatening. Two areas, one of which is located in the metro station, are closed off while police investigate the incident, according to the same article. Constable and police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said investigators are meeting with witnesses, and plan to me et w it h t he victims.

Suspect arsonist

Stéphane Major, 42 years old, has been arrested and charged in connection with the firebombing of a local Haitian radio station, located in St. Michel this past September. According to CTV News, Major was present in court earlier this month. He faces charges of arson, endanger ing human life and possession of incendiary materials. Although the radio station has been the victim of three arson attacks in the last few years, police cannot connect the previous incidents to Major, reports CTV News. Security footage from September 2016 shows an individual throwing a bottle filled with flammable liquid at the building.

GREGORY TODARO MANAGING EDITOR A former president of Concordia’s Graduate Student’s Association (GSA) is filing a civil rights complaint against the organization and some of its directors for harassment and discrimination.

During his year-long term as the organization’s president, Alex Ocheoha said he was subjected to hostile treatment from GSA directors starting from the organization’s first council meeting in June 2015.

“They were addressing me in a disrespectful manner, they were shouting at me, they were… trying to cause trouble at the meetings,” he said.

The GSA is made up of a five-person executive team and 20 directors who vote in the organization’s council.

After the first council meeting, Ocheoha said he thought the hostility might have stemmed from a small misunderstanding of how the GSA is supposed to function. “I thought it was something we could talk over and clear it up,” he said. “We tried to have a meeting, but [the directors] didn’t agree to come… They were not interested in coming.”

Ocheoha said the directors continually found ways to prevent him from fulfilling his mandate as GSA president and that their email communications felt like racial and cyber harassment.

“It was a terrible period for me,” he said. “I had never experienced anything like that before in my life.”

In emails obtained by The

Concordian, GSA directors responded to Ocheoha’s complaints of harassment in emails shared with everyone in the organization. On Oct 29, Ocheoha received a response to an email from then-GSA director Rahul Kumar—the whole GSA organization was cc’d on said email. It read, "What do you want to prove from this, Alex?

That you are full of shit?"

When Ocheoha pointed out that this was an example of ongoing harassment, another former director, Mathilde Ngo Mbom, responded: “Aaaaw the grown-up man feels harassed! Take your balls out of the pockets, put them where (i.e: between your legs) they should be and stop being a crying baby.”

“The next time you show some sense of mental disorder, I’ll send these emails to the police and they will request that you meet a psychiatrist (by force) because you need one,” she wrote.

In an inter view with The Concordian on Nov. 27, Ngo Mbom expressed regret for the tone of the email. “We were passionate,” she said. “We wanted what’s best for students. I was too forceful, but I’m glad I fought for the students, not for the executives.”

“I’m not saying we had the right to say what we did,” she added.

Ngo Mbom said the tone in those emails resulted from workplace tension caused by Ocheoha. She said even before the Oct. 29 exchange, Ocheoha would take any criticisms of his role as harassment and threaten to sue the GSA directors.

Those threats, Ngo Mbom said, caused fear in many of the GSA’s

directors. Many of them were international students and she said international students actively avoid getting into legal trouble which could affect their study visa. This inhibited directors from working with him, she said.

“At a certain point, you don’t want to push because of the complaint of harassment,” said Ngo Mbom. “If [Ocheoha] says no, you back off.”

Kumar said the tension had been building up, “and I snapped. It wasn’t mature and I regret that.”

Both Kumar and Ngo Mbom said they apologized to Ocheoha for the comments they made, but that he didn’t seem willing to work with them afterwards. Instead, they said it felt like Ocheoha spent the rest of the year trying to build a legal case against them.

However, Ocheoha said there were never formal apologies for the emails sent on Oct. 29.

Ocheoha said the harassment also manifested itself through the organization’s newly-created oversight committee. The committee’s role was to review work reports from executives and recommend to the GSA council whether or not executives were fulfilling their work responsibilities and deserved their full bursary. Both Kumar and Ngo Mbom were members of that committee.

Both former directors said Ocheoha inadequately answered questions they had about his reports.

“He took asking him why he couldn’t do a task as harassment,” said Kumar.

Rupinder Kaur, who served as the GSA’s vice president of academic

and advocacy until December 2015, said several directors would fight Ocheoha at every turn. “Whatever he said, they had to disagree,” she said. “He wasn’t getting any kind of cooperation.”

Kaur found the whole environment too stressful for her, which is why she left before the end of her term. “The environment was very unhealthy,” she said.

Ocheoha sought help from the university’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities as well as Concordia’s dean of students. While Ocheoha said the ORR wouldn’t help because the GSA is it’s own independent organization, he said the dean of students helped arrange a reconciliatory meeting—which saw little turnout.

The GSA itself has no internal body or organization to handle complaints like this, said Ngo Mbom.

“There’s no system,” she said, adding that, in 2014, the GSA directors made a list of recommendations to deal with this type of tension. “Even if there was, I’m not sure it would have been enforced.”

“There were internal difficulties, internal infighting even before Alex was elected,” said Fo Niemi, the director of the Centre for ResearchAction on Race Relations, which is representing Ocheoha in the complaint. “When Alex was president of the GSA, he experienced harassment by some directors of the GSA. Even if there was an advocacy person there, conflict of interests could’ve arisen because it’s so internal. It’s an internal mess.”

Graphic by Florence Yee.

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

COVER STORY

InternationalDayofSolidaritywithPalestine Montreal Palestinians celebrate and share their culture with many

CHLOË RANALDI ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

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The International Day of Solidarity with Palestine was organized by the Diversity, Social, Tolerance, and Transparency (DSTT) Culture to commemorate Palestinian heritage.

Hundreds of people marched from outside of Concordia’s JMSB building to Phillips Square to raise awareness about the ongoing social injustices in Israel.

DSTT Culture is a non-profit organization based in Montreal that promotes the integration the of Palestinians in Quebec and Canada.

“Our event celebrated the diversity of Palestinian heritage,” said Tarek Taha, a DSTT member and the one of the organizers of the event. “We [want to] promote the integration of Palestinians with Quebec and Canadian culture.”

The event featured various types of entertainment at Phillips Square,

such as face painting, henna body painting and Palestine Dabke heritage dance performances, following the march.

The event showcased the world’s largest Palestinian-Quebec-Canadian flag, which was 128 meters long.

“One thing that’s important to the Green Party is to defend human rights, even when it's sometimes difficult. There are a lot of human rights violations in Canada that are supported by all parties, but unfortunately the rights of the Palestinian people are not one of them,” said Alex Tyrrell, Leader of the Green party of Quebec.

“It is very important for Canadians to take a stand and really make sure that Palestinian human rights are respected around the world.” Tyrrell added.

Another event was held by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at Concordia on Nov. 25. SPHR hosted a Christmas party on the seventh floor of the Hall building, where students were invited to taste traditional Palestinian cuisine.

SPHR is a cultural and political club at Concordia that campaigns for equal human rights for Palestinians in Israel, said Aouatif Zebiri, SPHR’s general coordinator.

The end of semester Christmas event offered falafel, hummus and crackers to the dozens of students who came by.

“We wanted to bring more diversity to the club and other students,” said Zebiri. “Our association raises awareness for human rights violations and [highlights] the biased

legal systems in Israel towards Palestinians.”

She described instances of Israeli police detaining Palestinian children and refusing them their right to a trial as an example of a human rights violation experienced

by Palestinians.

“Palestinians are suffering from modern day colonialism,” said Rami Yahia, the internal affairs coordinator for the Concordia Student Union (CSU), and former president of SPHR. “We hope that Palestine will one day be recognized as a state,” he told The Concordian.

“There are strong economic restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza,” he explained.

“There are military checkpoints that last for hours and settlements are built dividing both areas from one another.”

Yahia discussed the importance of recognizing the current apartheid policies in West Bank.

“Many Arab schools in Israel are under-funded,” said Yahia. “Villages in the Negev desert have been demolished to build new Jewish settlements, now recognized as Israeli land,” he said.

“In 1948, many Palestinians, who were forced to leave their homes, thought that they would return,” Yahia said.

Yahia discussed the various civil liberty violations faced by Palestinians and how hundreds of thousands have been forced into refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

“Conditions in the refugee camps are [inhumane],” Yahia said.

“We see people being born, raised and dying (1, 2, 3) A few Montrealers enjoyed some within them.”

Palestinian recipes during the Christmas The International party. Photos by Ana Hernandez.

Day of Solidarity (5,6)SupporterswereseenattheInternational takes place every Day of Solidarity with Palestine. Photos by year on Nov. 29.

Alex Hutchins.

theconcordian

NATION IN BRIEF KATYA TEAGUE HEAD COPY EDITOR

Trudeau skips Castro’s funeral Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office announced on Monday he would not be attending Fidel Castro’s funeral, reported Montreal Gazette. The decision was in response to the backlash sparked by Trudeau’s eulogy, in which he described Castro as a “remarkable leader” and praised his “accomplishments,” without acknowledging the dictator as a fascist or the leader of a brutal, repressive regime.

In a statement on Sunday, Trudeau admitted Castro had a concerning human rights record. Governor General David Johnston will be attending a commemoration on Tuesday in honour of Castro at Trudeau’s request, according to Montreal Gazette.

Military sexual assault findings “sobering” Twenty-seven per cent of women in the Canadian military have been sexually assaulted during their career, with some 960 members having reported being sexually assaulted in the last year, according to a Statistic Canada survey released on Monday. The survey, which was commissioned by the military, found that the rate of sexual assaults on military personnel in the last year was almost twice the rate of sexual assaults among working Canadians, reported Reuters.

The chief of defence staff general, Jonathan Vance, described the survey results as both expected and sobering, according to Reuters.

Fighter jet crashes in Alberta

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A CF-18 fighter jet pilot died in a crash near Cold Lake, Alta. just after 11 a.m. on Monday, according to CBC News. The jet crashed on the Saskatchewan side of the Cold Lake air weapons range which straddles the Saskatchewan-Alberta border. A flight safety investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the crash, reported CBC News. Former fighter pilot and Conservative MP Laurie Hawn told CBC News that “you should read absolutely nothing into this,” in terms of the safety of the CF-18 which she described as “extremely safe.”

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theconcordian

WORLD IN BRIEF NELLY SÉRANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR Earthquake causes deadly avalanche A Sherpa mountain guide died after being hit by an avalanche trigger by an earthquake Monday in a mountainous area of Nepal.

A british climber injured also due to the avalanche, but was rescued by helicopter, said the expedition organizers. According to C T V News, the magnitude-5.4 earthquake sent people fleeing from their houses and caused snow and ice to roll down the slopes of Mount Ama Dablam, which is located south of Mount Everest. The guide and the climber were hit by falling chunks of ice at an altitude of about 6,000 metre on the mountain.

Amusement Park sparks outrage on social media Space World, an amusement park in western Japan caused an outrage after it displayed about 5,000 dead fish in the ice of the park’s skating rink, forcing the park to close the attraction.

According to CTV News, the park received a flood of criticism on social media after opening the rink on Nov. 12. Approximately 25 different kinds of fish were seen under the 250-meter skating rink. Space World said the fish were already dead when purchased from a fish market. They will hold a memorial service for the fish once they are taken out of the ice.

Trump Tower renamed on Google Maps An unknown person briefly renamed Donald Trump’s midtown Manhattan building on Google Maps “Dump Tower”. Local media reported that users of the mapping service noticed the new name on S aturday and shared it on social media.

T he Republic an president-elect, hasn’t commented on the change yet. According to CJAD, a Google spokeswoman says that the company has changed the name back to its original.

The same person said that user contributions help to provide an update of the map, but also sometimes lead to inaccuracies.

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

CAMPUS

TRAC moves to suspend former president

The recommended suspension comes after a long chain of complaints and accusations MEGAN HUNT ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Teaching and Research Assistants of Concordia University (TRAC) has voted to recommend the suspension of Robert Sonin, a current TRAC member and the former president of the labour union local from the executive committee for the next five years. The recommendation follows a complaint Sonin filed regarding unaccounted funds, among other accusations.

Since TRAC is a Directly Chartered Local of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), a national union representing public service workers, the organization is unable to suspend Sonin without approval from PSAC. However, they made the decision in early November to send their recommendation to the union’s national board, where the final decision regarding the suspension will be made. The decision date has yet to be determined.

The recommended suspension comes af ter a long chain of complaints about the actions of TRAC’s executive committee. In 2014, an investigation was conducted in response to complaints filed against TRAC president Nader Nodoushan by Sonin and two then-executive members, Isabelle Johnston and Daria Saryan. The investigation was conducted by two presidents of other PSAC locals at the time—Amber Gross from the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) and Kevin Whitaker from the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA).

The investigation concluded that “it was clear that Mr. Nodoushan did knowingly and willingly violate Article 12.4 of the TRAC bylaws,” a rule prohibiting him from making purchasing decisions of over $3,000 without committee approval. The investigation also determined some of his behaviour towards Sonin, Saryan and Johnston “constituted intimidation and harassment,” however, it was not found that Nodoushan had ill intentions or “realized how problematic his actions were becoming.”

The investigation also looked into counter-complaints made by Nodoushan. Sonin was investigated in the report for accusations of harassment, submitting unjustified timesheets, fabricating rumours about executive members, not holding the legal credentials to be an executive member and being delayed in paying back a $450 loan from TRAC during a period where there was a delay in liberation payments—payments made to TRAC executives who need to miss work in order to fulfill their duties as an executive member from Concordia University.

TRAC offices are located on the second floor of their building located at 2130 Bishop street. Photo by Savanna Craig.

The investigation dismissed every complaint against Sonin except the delay in paying back the loan. It reported that, while the delay seemed reasonable as “Mr. Nodoushan was occasionally withholding Mr. Sonin’s pay,” the report recommended that Sonin should have settled what was owed immediately.

The report’s recommended corrective action included the removal of Nodoushan from the position of president with a one-year suspension from any elected TRAC position, and the removal of Sonin, Saryan and Johnston from their executive positions with no suspension.

However, the TRAC executive committee voted to dismiss these recommendations.

The conflict between executive members continued in March of 2016 when, as The Concordian previously reported, Sonin filed a Tribunal administratif du travail complaint. He had noticed that, in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, there was an unexplained discrepancy between what TRAC reported as the difference between their income and expenses and the actual difference, leaving $16,348.93 unaccounted for. The basis of the complaint was that TRAC was allegedly denying Sonin access to financial records and Sonin alleged that TRAC had violated the duty of fair representation under section 47.2 of the Code du travail. Nodoushan denied this in an interview with The Concordian on Nov. 25, claiming Sonin was given access to the records he requested.

According to Sonin, the recent recommendation for his suspension

is based on a number of social media posts he made—including sharing the aforementioned The Concordian article—which TRAC has allegedly characterized said posts as “spreading false information.”

Sonin called this characterization "complete nonsense," as the issues he brought up were already available to the public.

“Generally, [these posts] are questions,” said Sonin. “You have this $1,000 cheque and there are no receipts—what happened? If they show the receipts, then I’ll shut up.”

The 2014 investigation report was read in its entirety at the meeting where the executive committee voted on whether to dismiss the recommendations, said Sonin. However, at the 2016 meeting on whether to dismiss the recommendations to suspend Sonin, the report was not read, according to Sonin.

Sonin said he felt the executive committee voted to approve the recommendation of his suspension without full information, as the committee was unable to read the 2016 investigative report surrounding his actions.

“My sense, usually, is if you ask people for information and they refuse to give it to you, it’s because there’s something in there that they don’t want you to see,” Sonin said, questioning whether the 2016 report was being withheld from voters so they would be unable to decide for themselves whether Sonin’s actions constituted spreading false information.

Although the date has yet to be determined, Sonin predicted the PSAC's national board will release

their decision regarding Sonin's suspension in early 2017.

Nodoushan declined to comment on both the recommendation of Sonin’s suspension, as it is still an ongoing process and the 2014 report, claiming he was unable, as president, to comment on confidential investigations.

However, he noted that every part of the process regarding Sonin’s recommended suspension has complied with regulation 19 of PSAC’s constitution, a regulation which outlines how to deal with membership discipline.

Nodoushan also shared the Tribunal administratif du travail’s decision on Sonin’s complaint regarding access to financial records. The Tribunal rejected his complaint, calling it “dilatory,” a word often used to describe motions that cause a delay.

Regardless, Sonin still claims there is validity to his complaint and the rejection was due to a technical error on his part. “[Dilatory] is a legal term that can mean I did something the wrong way. It could mean it was frivolous, but it could mean I went to the wrong court,” Sonin said.

Nodoushan also added TRAC represents thousands of teaching assistants and research assistants at Concordia University and speaking out against the union as Sonin did could damage the reputation of TRAC and affect their ability to negotiate better pay and working conditions.

“What we say affects people.

This is more important than one person—this is about the workers and students that TRAC represents,” Nodoushan said.

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

theconcordian

5

MARCH

Women denounce war

Protesters march down Ste-Catherine Street in solidarity with women who face militarization and war SAVANNA CRAIG CO-NEWS EDITOR “One, two, three, four, we don’t want your fucking war,” chanted a crowd of approximately 150 people along Ste-Catherine Street on Nov. 26, denouncing violence against women—specifically regarding the oppression and violence faced by female minorities. “Five, six, seven, eight, organize and demonstrate,” the group continued to sing as they marched towards Dorchester Square.

“I am an immigrant woman of colour, and we come in all shapes

of anger,” said Maya Acosta to the crowd of 60 people in Norman Bethune Square, where the group initially met at 1 p.m. The march was organized by Tout Le Hood En Parle, a group aiming to showcase the testimonies, culture and stories of marginalized women.

“I’m here because the biggest form of violence is war and militarization,” said Jennie-Laure Sully, a participant at the event who works for Mouvement contre le viol et l'inceste, which mainly mobilizes for Haitian issues. “We need to start fighting back against that if we’re really serious about ending violence against women.”

She said there are many things the population can do to stop violence against women. “But if we don’t address the issues of war, militarization and occupation, then we’re missing a big part of what we need to do,” said Sully.

“We support peace, democracy and social justice,” said Nancy Brown, a member of the Raging Grannies, to the group of people assembled in Square Dorchester after the march along Ste-Catherine Street. Four members of the Raging Grannies, an activist group of older women who mock the stereotypical image of grandmothers, began to sing an anti-war tune to the group.

“It’s time to say no,” they shouted following their tune, as the crowd clapped and cheered.

“As we stand here, women are being raped and killed,” Ellen Moore, a member of the Raging Grannies, told The Concordian. “We’d like it to change—we grannies have the time and we have the rage.”

“Women are not put into the spotlight often,” said Moore, adding that women of minority groups face great oppression in war.

She said we are very lucky not to live in places deeply affected or conflicted by war. “That’s why I’m [at the demonstration]—because I can be,” said Moore.

Participants of all genders and races united to oppose the impacts of war, militarization and occupation. Photos by Savanna Craig and Ana Hernandez (up).

CAMPUS

CSU on the lookout for a new finance coordinator Councillors discuss future finance councillors and Sanctuary Campus

NELLY SÉRANDOUR-AMAR CO-NEWS EDITOR The Concordia Student Union (CSU) discussed the resignation of their finance coordinator at a meeting on Nov. 23 in the Hall building of the university's downtown campus.

Due to the recent resignation of the CSU’s finance coordinator, Adrian Longinotti, the student council is currently looking for a replacement. Lucy MarshallKiparissis, the CSU’s general coordinator, told The Concordian that the council will be holding a special meeting on Nov. 30 to meet with potential candidates.

“We are looking for someone who has a passion for the task and is comfortable with making big decisions,” she said. “This person must be ready to put a lot of time and effort in the work.”

Longinotti’s resignation was made official on Nov. 21 after the CSU’s executive body announced he was unfit to act as a representative of the union. Lana Elinor Galbraith, the CSU’s sustainability

coordinator, told The Concordian he had instigated a lot of issues surrounding queerphobia, misogyny and other oppressive politics.

For legal reasons, the CSU meeting went into closed session to speak about Longeniotti’s situation.

It was also announced at the meeting that the CSU will publicly suppor t Sanctuar y Campus, which is an initiative that was implemented in the United States following the elections. According to Marshall-Kiparissis, it involves an institution guaranteeing a degree of safety and protection for students or immigrants who are undocumented. An undocumented individual refers to either a person with expired paperwork, in deportation proceedings or who entered a country illegally.

“We want to publicly show solidarity with the vulnerable members of the society,” said Marshall-Kiparissis.

She also mentioned that, a few days ago, an agent from the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) was seen on Concordia’s

CSU councillors met for their monthly meeting on Nov. 23. Photo by Nelly Sérandour-Amar.

premises. “To see this agent coming to Concordia around that time is a concern to us that they might be getting information about some members of the university,” she said. Marshall-Kiparissis said seeing a CBSA agent on campus is worrisome, as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump promised to deport millions of

undocumented immigrants and end the Obama administration’s program, which let some students without the necessary papers into the U.S. to study temporarily.

According to MarshallKiparissis, the CSU openly supports the right for people to move freely, unrestricted by borders.

They also announced that they

will be endorsing and supporting the demands of Solidarity Across Borders, a migrant justice network based in Montreal. Their demands include that the CBSA not have the right to access or make arrests in hospitals, shelters, schools or any other spaces that provide essential services.

life

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

READING

Laughing at myself with strangers

One Concordian’s experience participating in Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids

KATERINA GANG COPY EDITOR Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids (GRTTWaK) hosted their fifth Montreal show on Nov. 20 at La Sala Rossa.

On an elevated stage, with bright lights making it virtually impossible to see the audience before me, I shared childhood writings, from elementar y school assignments to angsty teenage diary entries, for a night of comedy and emotion.

GRTTWaK is a travelling, open-mic show hosted by Dan Misener. Misener and his wife, Jenna Misener, have traveled across Canada since 2007, bringing the show to Canadian communities big and small, where locals sign up to read their childhood writing. Misener hosts about 30 shows per year.

The Miseners came up with the concept in 2006, after returning home for the holidays. “We rummaged through a bunch of old boxes that my wife had stored at her parents house. In one of those boxes was her diary from when she was 13 years old,” said Misener.

“We spent a lot of that Christmas reading this thing out loud to each other and laughing and crying, and it was just this lovely perspective that I had never seen before in my wife,” said Misener.

“It struck us that lots of people probably have this kind of material.”

Misener records each reading for the show’s eponymous podcast, which is available online. A few readings from each show make it onto the podcast, which is released every second Monday.

The podcast started in 2008, and has evolved as more voices participate—it is downloaded about 250,000 times a month. “Quite frequently, I get notes from listeners who heard a reading on the

podcast that really resonated with them and really spoke to their experience,” said Misener. “And that’s really gratifying.”

Each show opens with Misener reading his own childhood writings. “Nobody wants to go first, so I always go first,” said Misener, who shared an elementary school journal entry about “root bear flats” during the latest show.

As a long-time fan of the podcast and the concept, I decided to share my own writing at the latest event on Nov. 20.

After attending a GRTTWaK event in January 2016, I went home and searched through my old writing. I spent hours reading and laughing at old poems, assignments and diary entries. I put some pieces aside in anticipation of GRTTWaK’s next event.

Selecting writings really allowed me to reflect on how I’ve changed since my pre-teen years. Some of the stuff I found was funny and light-hearted, but some of it was downright embarrassing.

I knew I wanted to share it, but I initially felt very unsure.

“I think some people are apprehensive about the idea of sharing personal or private stuff that they’re maybe not super proud of—the parts of themselves that they like to keep hidden or the parts of themselves that aren’t on public display,” said Misener. “But I think there’s a lot of power in that.”

I shared one poem I wrote when I was 10, which featured lines like “I worry what the world will become with racism and terrorism” and “I cry at the knowledge of death.” I found it quite dramatic and funny for a 10-year-old. I also shared a diary entry I wrote when I was 12 about lost love, being “emo” and President George W. Bush.

“It can be really kind of scary,” said Misener. “We’re asking people to get up on stage and be open and honest and

vulnerable in front of a crowd full of Participants read people that they passages from don’t know.” things they wrote Getting up on when they were that stage was an kids. Photos by amazing feeling in Jenna Misener. that, once I started re a d i ng , I w a s n’ t nervous at all. I was shocked at how easy it was to open up to a group of strangers. With each line or phrase, I could feel the warmth emanating from the crowd. It was really refreshing, and almost therapeutic, to laugh at myself with strangers.

Another participant, Kristen Witczak, read s ever al jour nal ent r ie s ab out Shakespeare and the 1994 referendum from her elementar y school journal.

“When I stumbled on my grade five English journals, I just couldn't stop laughing and I thought, ‘This is kind of unique,’” said Witczak.

“Reading to the audience was a blast.

It was a hugely supportive crowd and, as soon as they started laughing, I felt completely relaxed and just enjoyed the moment,” said Witczak. “I've been to a GRTTWaK event before and I think they're a fantastic evening spent with a

warm, kind community of strangers.”

“Our show is a show where the audience is already on your side,” said Misener. “When people get up on stage and they see the warmth in the room and they see the authenticity of the readers who share their writing, they warm up to the idea a little bit.”

Going for ward, Misener hopes to incorporate a visual element to the show and create a web series to accompany the podcast. There’s no end in sight for the show, as Misener said he’s going to keep doing it so long as people are willing to share.

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

theconcordian

7

GAMING

Get your gaming on over the holidays A few video game suggestions to wind down over winter break this year Final Fantasy Tactics Release date: Feb. 14, 2003

Dishonored 2 Release date: Nov. 11 2016

The Final Fantasy series is one of the most critically-acclaimed role-play game franchises ever. Hugely popular installments like Final Fantasy 7 grant the series mainstream recognition for its strong narrative skills, innovative gameplay, and iconic music.

However, one of the finest games in the franchise, in my opinion, is the Playstation tactical RPG spinoff, Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics combines the epic storytelling and iconic music expected from the Final Fantasy games with an incredibly addictive combat and character upgrade system. The game plays similarly to many tactical RPGs: turn-based combat on a square grid. The game’s combat is enriched by the “job system,” which allows insane levels of character customization. The player controls up to 24 different characters, all of which can be assigned any of the multiple “jobs,” such as a wizard, ninja, knight, etc. In battle, a character earns “job points,” which can be used to purchase abilities specific to their job.

What makes this system so addictive is a character can change “job” at any time, while still retaining abilities they’ve already learned. This, along with many other factors, makes it one of the most compelling and fun RPGs in Playstation’s catalog.

- Dominick Lucyk (Staff Writer)

Pokémon Sun and Moon Release date: Nov. 18 2016 Nintendo has hit yet another home run with the newest addition to the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Pokémon is an iconic series and the newest installments do the name justice.

Pokémon Sun and Moon’s greatest asset is how it experiments to experiment with the standard Pokémon formula. For 20 years, the games have strictly followed the same formula: you start off in a small town, pick one of three starter Pokémon, beat eight gyms, defeat an evil team, then beat the Elite 4 and the league Champion.

However, that doesn’t mean individual games in the franchise haven’t had unique elements, like new Pokémon. Regardless, Sun and Moon completely rejects the old format. There are no gyms, the region is made up of four different islands instead of one big landmass, and a multitude of small details, such as the strength of many attacks, have been changed.

The changes make the experience feel fresh and new. Playing Sun and Moon over the Christmas break is the perfect way to celebrate Pokémon’s 20th anniversary.

Just like the first edition of the game, Dishonored 2 definitely doesn’t lack in action and intensity.

The game features a very similar gameplay to the first version—a gameplay that wants the player to create their own rules.The game begins with the choice to play as either Emily Kaldwin, the new empress, or her father, Corvo Attano.

The plot focuses on finding the Crown Killer—a character who tries to frame Emily and Corvo for multiple murders—and retaking the throne.

The new edition of Dishonored has more realistic graphics than the first version. The graphics in Dishonored 2 create a larger-than-life 3D feel, with detailed cityscape views and scenery.

While I wouldn’t say the music is badly composed, I don’t think it brings anything to the game. It doesn’t add any suspense or motivation. The voice acting is also one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. Poor scripting for the characters makes the dialogue unrelatable and too predictable. This problem was also present in the first version of the game.

The game still presents breathtaking graphics. Although the plot is similar and the game presents the same beautiful Victorian-crossed-with-steampunk style as the first edition, Dishonored 2 pays attention to details that are specific to the Dishonored franchise.

- Elisa Barbier (Staff Writer)

- Dominick Lucyk (Staff Writer)

TECHNOLOGY

Some handheld help for school

Three apps to help you keep organized during that final end-of-semester push MONICA LAU CONTRIBUTOR It’s that time of the semester when you feel like you just might be drowning. As university students are forced to juggle adult responsibilities, end-of-semester deadlines and exams, time management becomes more important than ever.

For us students, it can sometimes feels like there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to tick off every item on our to-do lists. Luckily, the app store is never short on useful apps to help guide us through our studies, and help us survive the end of our semester.

deem a ‘priority.’

Get Revising also allows you to block off time slots when you are not available to study.

These blocks of time can include hours during which you have class, work or other important commitments, and the app essentially helps you work around those commitments.

Deadlines and exam dates can also be added to the schedule.

Students can then choose the time they want to begin their study sesh, and set a target for the number of hours they want to dedicate to that session. The site then combines the student’s priorities, deadlines and available study time to create coherent and realistic weekly study schedule.

Get Revising This app and website allow you to quickly create a schedule tailored to your individual study needs. The app lets you fill in information about the classes you’re taking, your target grade and the classes and assignments you

Headspace It can be difficult to set aside time for breaks during your study sessions without feeling guilty.

Sometimes, a spontaneous, 10-minute break is all you need to power through the rest of an essay that’s due tomorrow.

Here’s where the Headspace app comes in handy. You can have access to 10 free meditation exercises, and each session is 10 minutes long and guided by the soothing British accent of former Buddhist monk,

Andy Puddicombe.

The sessions guide students through the process of deconstructing, decluttering and, eventually, reorganizing their mind in a more orderly manner. This app is perfect for when students need to take a step back from homework.

The sessions a re o r g a n i ze d by levels, allowing you to work your way up to more independent meditation sessions with less guidance. It also creates a sense of achievement as users move up through the levels. Headspace allows listeners to reap the benefits of meditating without possessing the intellectual discipline of a Buddhist monk. myNoise Even when you’re sitting at a desk with every intention of getting work done, it can be difficult to actually focus. Some people study most efficiently in complete

silence. Others need a little white noise.

The myNoise app and website offer a plethora of realistic soundscapes and noise generators to fill the silence in a way that won’t distract you.

Among countless others, these include natural noises, such as rain on a tent, streams or the sounds of a rainforest. You can also choose the calming sounds of a winter walk, an exam hall or a coffee shop, or synthetic noises, such as the classic white noise generator.

Additionally, each noise is highly customizable, allowing users to manually adjust which particular sounds they want to enhance.

With a strategic schedule, a clear head and a stimulating environment, the final weeks of the semester are sure to be more bearable thanks to these helpful study apps. * These free apps are available on itunes for both android and apple phones.

arts

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

FILM

Going beyond the classic cartoons

The 15th Sommets du cinéma d’animation festival featured works by Concordia students

The Clyde Henry Productions’ exhibition at the Cinémathèque québécoise. Photo by Katherine Delorme.

AMBRE SACHET STAFF WRITER If you roll your eyes every time your friend tells you animations are a sophisticated version of Disney films, you should take them to the 15th edition of the Sommets du cinéma d’animation.

The festival that put Montreal animation on the map is back with a dazzling program.

The festival ran until Nov. 27 and hosted a total of 148 short films, two feature films and three exhibits. It also featured an international film selection and conferences on the future of animation.

This year, the festival’s competitive programs focused on 29 shorts and included work from three Concordia graduates, whose

work was selected from 400 submissions: Le clitoris by Lori Malépart-Traversy; Nutag, Homeland by Alisi Telengut and Daniel Sterlin-Altman’s stop-motion Hi it’s your mother.

Telengut painted each frame of the film by hand for her pictorial and aesthetically delightful short Nutag, Homeland. It is based on the forceful relocation to Siberia of the Kalmyk people of the Soviet Union during WWII. “The camera was on top and I always painted on the same surface, unlike traditional animation which is made by changing papers.

For each image, I would take off the oil pastel and start again,” said Telengut.

Daniel Sterlin-Altman’s Hi it’s your mother is a hilarious and refreshing look at filial love.

“I want this film to contribute to the still very small roster of queer animated films,” SterlinAltman said. “In this film the queerness is meant to just be a part of the film, definitely contributing to shock value, but the focus is not on a tragedy or conflict

Concordia graduate Daniel Sterlin-Altman positions the characters of his short film. Photo courtesy of Daniel Sterlin-Altman.

with queer identity. I think this film can help show that queerness can be a part of animated narratives and not such an emotional trauma.”

Sterlin-Altman, who graduated from Concordia with a BFA in animation and a minor in human environment, said he is obsessed with small things, like puppets.

“I worked with a ridiculously long list of materials that are mostly found from anywhere around my house. I really love how stop motion filmmaking is all about repurposing things from the big world to do something different in the mini world,” said Sterlin-Altman. “I made the characters out of a material called foam latex, which takes the form of a mold I sculpted and allows me to squish it and manipulate it without ruining the shape.”

What Marco de Blois, , the festival’s organizer and former Concordia professor loves most about Sterlin-Altman Hi it’s your mother is that it made de Blois laugh at a time where he was exhausted from binge-watching short films. “The film is a comical masterpiece which allows the public to breathe,” de Blois said.

TThe winner of the student competition was not one of the Concordia grads, but In other Words, by Tal Kantor a student from Israël. The awards were announced on Sunday, Nov. 27 during the closing ceremony of the festival at the

Cinémathèque québécoise.

According to de Blois, the event featured three prevailing themes. It didn’t take long before the Clyde Henry Productions’ impressively detailed and nightmarish puppets came to life in the halls of the Cinémathèque and set the tone for the first theme: monsters and creatures.

The opening night of the festival also gave us a taste of the second theme—the significant presence of female directors. The Sommets kicked off with Noémie Marsily and Carl Roosens’ short film, I don’t feel anything anymore, and Ann Marie Fleming’s long feature, Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming, a touching tale about a young Canadian poet who reconnects with her roots by attending a poetry festival in Iran.

For its third main theme, the festival joined forces with the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) for the first time to present the animated reality section.

Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre’s Oscar, a short about jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, visually bridged documentary and animation together.

“The mission of the festival goes beyond the notion of animation as something cute, funny and made for children—which it is—but not only,” said de Blois. “Animation can also be surprising, innovative, social and political.”

As creative as it is zany, the 15th edition of the Sommets du cinéma d’animation overflowed with events dedicated to the student community, such as the Money and Eyeballs panel discussion on films funding and a meeting with Framestore studio where speakers which talked about job opportunities in the visual effects industry.

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

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CINEMA

MAJOR! A documentary about transgender power Cinema Politica continues its legacy of screening truth to power through the lens of a trans-woman activist

KYANNA TERLIER CONTRIBUTOR Cinema Politica’s upcoming screening, MAJOR!, directed by Annalise Ophelian, aims to depict the struggles and abuse faced by trans* women of colour on a daily basis, particularly in prison. It won Best Documentary at the New Jersey LGBTQ Film Festival, the Queer Hippo International LGBTQ Film festival and the Boston LGBTQ Film Festival. The Kickstarter campaign associated with the film raised over $25,000, which provided the funds necessary to complete the project.

The film, set in San Francisco, tells the story of Miss Major, a trans-woman activist who has dedicated 40 years of her life to fighting for the rights of the trans

community. Miss Major is a very animated person who never fails to make you laugh throughout the documentary. She brings light to very dark stories and gives hope to the hopeless. The film intertwines Miss Major’s personal story of becoming a trans* woman and an activist with the stories of people who have experienced violence and punishment for being trans*. MAJOR! showcases the courage of those who fight against the hate crimes and discrimination aimed at the trans* community.

The film separates the themes if the story into several “chapters” in an interesting way. From the first chapter to the last, the story teaches us about trans* rights and the everyday struggles trans* people face, while also exuding the love this community has for one another. Miss

Major, also referred to as “Mama Major,” is the mother hen who brings all of this love together. She is the go-to person for advice, she helps strengthen those who need it, she cares about people’s experiences and she listens to those who come to her for advice or council. The chapters in the film provide valuable information about the The Transgender, Gender Variant & Intersex Justice Project—an organization run by members of the trans* community and previously directed by Miss Major—as well as other statistics about the criminal justice system and street economics, the term used to describe the methods which some trans* women have to turn to prostitution or drugs in order to make a living.

This film is a definite eye-opener. Even if you are well-aware of the discrimination

trans* people constantly battle, you will certainly learn something new. Each and every one of the stories recounted in this film is unique and should be heard. Some of the interview subjects include Major’s previous romantic partners, her son and many of the people she has helped throughout the years.

The trans* community has countless stories to be told and MAJOR! allows for a few of these stories to be heard, including Miss Major’s. The film recognizes her for all the hard work she has done in her community. It shows us that she is a legendary advocate for trans* rights, and that never giving up is the true foundation of change.

Be sure to check out MAJOR! at this year’s Cinema Politica. It will be screened on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Concordia in H-110.

10 theconcordian

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

THEATRE

The Watershed sheds light on political issues Politics, water and the Experimental Lakes Area take centre stage at the Centaur Theatre

The Watershed follows playwrites Annabel Soutars family as they journey across Canada to find answers about the ELA. Photo Courtesy of Porte Parole Productions.

JESSICA KINNARI CO-ARTS EDITOR Have you ever heard of the Experimental Lakes Area(ELA) near Kenora, Ont.? Have you ever thought about how much clean water is worth? Are you willing to find the answers by driving across the country in a Winnebago crammed with three children, a husband and a bacon-loving dog? Maybe not, but thanks to Montreal playwright Annabel Soutar, you can experience that journey from the comfort of the Centaur Theatre.

The Watershed is Porte Parole and Crow Theatre’s newest venture in documentary and political theatre. According to the Porte Parole website, documentary theatre is a creative process whereby artists record current event stories from many different perspectives, such as TV segments,

in person interviews, radio and online sources.

They then sort and mediate those perspectives for an audience in the form of a play. All of the dialogue in The Watershed came from recorded interviews and family conversations about water and the ELA. The Watershed explores Soutar’s journey to find answers about why the Canadian ELA, the world’s only freshwater research site, was shut down by the Harper government in 2013, after a scientist who worked there published an unflattering review of the Oil Sands.

Commissioned for the 2015 Panamania Festival, the play begins with Soutar speaking to a local plumber about how water comes into the home. It then grows to become a cross-country journey to find out why the Harper government cut funding to the ELA, which had an annual budget of about $2 million.

The greatest part about this play is its doc-

umentary style, specifically the dialogue and characters. The play’s characters range from Soutar’s hilarious children to former Prime Minister Harper and scientist Diane Orihel, who put aside her research to fight for the ELA. The documentary style gives the characters depth, reliability and reasoning since they are real people speaking their own words, rather than ones made up by a playwright to go along with a story.

Soutar’s children, Ella and Beatrice (the third child on the trip, Hazel, is director Chris Abraham’s daughter), played by Amelia Sargisson, and Ngozi Paul, are almost like average audience members within the play. They begin the journey with little knowledge about water, watersheds or where freshwater comes from. As the play continues, the girls become more and more knowledgeable as they sit in on many of the interviews—which the audience also witnesses

as they are reenacted on stage.

By the end of the play, the children are conducting their own interviews and learning more about how different people view the oil sands—for example, as a vice president of sustainability for a Montreal oil company said in her interview with Soutar, “People who are for it call it the 'oil sands'. People who hate it call it the 'tar sands.'”

Both The Watershed and Soutar’s previous documentary play, Seeds, have definitely solidified documentary theatre as my favourite style of

theatre. While traditional playwriting definitely has its place, this new documentary style feels much more sincere and appeals to modern-day audiences. The Watershed runs until Dec. 4 at the Centaur Theatre.

Tickets are available online, at centaurtheatre.com.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EXAMS! I wish you all the best on your upcoming exams and final projects.

After the term ends – enjoy the break!

Alan Shepard President alan.shepard@concordia.ca

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

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VIRTUAL REALITY

A whole new virtual reality world

Five new VR works at the Phi Centre offer viewers a window into another world

Eagle Flight, created by Montreal-based video game company Ubisoft, lets participants soar over the city of Paris.

TIFFANY LAFLEUR CO-ARTS EDITOR Virtual reality takes on a whole new dimension at the Phi Centre’s Virtual Reality Garden. From now until March 2017, five works bring a whole new perspective to virtual reality by exploring a new way of storytelling: animation.

The Phi Centre, which has presented several award-winning immersive works in its Virtual Reality (VR) Garden,is presenting another round of short films and immersive works to captivate audiences and pull them into the story.

While past virtual reality works at the Phi Centre mainly featured actual filmed footage taken with 360-degree cameras, the works currently on display were built from the ground up, featuring animated works and fully composed soundtracks and scores.

One of the most captivating of these works is Eagle Flight, a video game demo created by the Montreal-based video game company Ubisoft. In the game, you are an eagle soaring high above Paris, completing basic quests, such as catching fish and fending off vultures from your nest. While wearing the headset, you can use your body's

movements as well as commands on an Xbox controller to navigate and control your flight path. The eagle will bank either left or right depending on how you tilt your body.

As if the wonder of flight weren’t enough, the graphics and layout of the game are also well thought out, making it interesting to navigate around the city. The version of Paris in the game is not the one we are familiar with. This Paris is one reclaimed by nature, with trees, moss and animals having retaken the city.

The game is fun, and you really do feel as if you are soaring through clear skies.

However, for those who easily succumb to motion sickness, be warned. Playing the game can make you feel ill, with the motion and movement. Still, it is worth trying the demo, which can be stopped at any time.

While Eagle Flight is the most interactive of the works presented in the VR Garden, the other four are much more story-oriented.

Henry, an animated short created by Oculus Story Studio, tells the tale of Henry the Hedgehog. Henry likes to give hugs, but bec ause of

his spikes, everyone he tries to become friends with runs away. On his birthday, he makes a wish to have at least one friend.

The aftermath of his wish will make you feel everything from sadness to joy.

In The Rose and I by Penrose Studios, the viewer is transported to another solar system, where are suspended around you and zoom by. On one particular planet, the sole inhabitant discovers a lonely, sick rose. The short film tells the story of what happens after this rose is discovered and is inspired by The Little Prince.

Inspired by The Iron Giant (1999) and produced by Oculus Story Studio, Lost uses the VR medium exceptionally well by situating the viewer in the middle of a forest at night, surrounded by towering trees. This short uses sound in an interesting way to guide the viewer into looking in a specific direction. Somewhere in the dense undergrowth, a large creature roams in the bushes. The film allows the viewer’s attention to wander and observe their surroundings for a short amount of time before using sound to direct the viewer’s

attention to the creature—a giant mechanic hand scuttling around.

Minotaur can best be described as an experimental work. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Minotaur is a visual and auditory journey through seven stages, including birth, childhood and death/rebirth. Don’t expect anything ordinary. This is the kind of work where each viewer takes away their own meaning from the film. The beautiful score will guide you through the story, easing you from one stage to the next.

Admission to the Phi Centre’s VR Garden is free, and the exhibits are open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. For those who wear glasses, perhaps opt for contact lenses for the day. If contact lenses aren't your thing, make sure to adjust the headset so you can wear it comfortably, as being able to see the image properly does make a difference to the experience of the piece.

music

Quickspins

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

1 JACUZZI BOYS

PROFILE

Meet The Feedbackers

Former Concordia music students are jamming their way to success

Alternative rock group The Feedbackers will be launching their new album at the Piranha bar on Dec 3. Photos by Carolina Aguirre.

EMILY VIDAL ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR The life of an artist may not be easy, but Concordia’s music program makes this process a lot smoother. At least that is the case for The Feedbackers, a Montreal alternative rock band founded in 2013.

The group consists of Mike Gerbasi, the lead singer and guitar player; George Flores, the bassist, keyboard player and vocalist; Chris Renaud, the drummer and percussion-player; and Antoine Bensoussan, the guitarist and vocalist, who joined the group in February this year.

Bensoussan joined the group after meeting Flores at Concordia, where they were both studying in the music program. Bensoussan told Flores he really wanted to be in a rock group. Flores, Gerbasi and Renaud were already performing together as The Feedbackers at the time. Gerbasi had been looking for another guitar player for a while.

“So I’m just piecing the pieces of the puzzle together, there is a very talented guitar player that wants to play in a rock band, and here’s this band that needs another guitar player, so might as well merge them,” said Flores.

That’s when it went from the terrific trio to the fantastic foursome. Bensoussan fit in with the rock trio like a glove, and they

continued creating music from there. “It’s as if he was part of the band for the past five years. We didn’t really know what we needed until [Bensoussan] came in and showed us what we were missing,’” said Renaud.

Flores said Concordia gave them the opportunity to meet and work with a multitude of talented musicians. “It’s definitely one of the best decisions I’ve taken in my life to study here,” he said. “You meet so many people—the music department has such a fantastic environment.

People are very welcoming, very friendly and there’s always this need to collaborate and create together. So it’s very communal.”

According to Gerbasi, the University gave them opportunities to showcase their talents on stage during local shows. “The reason we had all the gigs we did for the most part is, when Concordia organized events, they asked us to play because we had a good standing with them. Or there were these things going on at a bar that the [music department] had a hand in,” said Gerbasi.

An example is when The Feedbackers got a gig at the Corina Club lounge, where they performed again the year after. They also performed at the Concordia Shuffle for two consecutive years.

While they’ve come a long way musically, the band said that the [music department] of Concordia definitely gave them the jump-start they needed.

“We’ve changed since then, we’ve gone [in] a different direction,” said Renaud. This change not only refers to their sound, which went from pop to alternative rock, but also to the change from a female lead singer to Gerbasi. “[We’re] specifically making our own music original, in the way that we like and enjoy listening and playing it as musicians and as lovers of music,” said Gerbasi.

Their new self-titled EP will be released on Dec. 3. According to Renaud, all three songs on the EP define the band really well. “It’s really to show the progression of our band up to this point, and where

Ping Pong (Mag Mag Records, 2016)

Ping Pong is a great blend of fun, sun and rock ’n’ roll. The Jacuzzi Boys will have you jumping and dancing around with songs like “Boys like Blood” blasting through your speakers. It’s the kind of jam you would play while getting ready for a beach party. The upbeat guitar riffs will lighten even the worst of moods. “Refrigeration” is another happy-go-lucky alternative rock tune, the kind you would hear on a teenage TV show or at a frat party. It will make you want to party like a rockstar. “Easy Motion” has a more relaxed and lower tempo sound, yet it remains light and playful nonetheless. This group’s typical alternative rock band melodies are nostalgic and will remind you of your favourite indie band of the early 2000s.

The Jacuzzi Boys sound like an upbeat version of Death Cab for Cutie. If you’re searching for a playlist to jam along to on a road trip, Ping Pong has got you covered. This album will be the perfect soundtrack for all your fun.

11 Trial Track: “Boys like Blood”

7/10

—Sandra Hercegova, Music Editor

2 we’ve come,” he said.

According to Gerbasi, the third song on the EP, “Unholy Ghost,” brought the band closer to finding their sound. “If songs could move mountains, that’s what “Unholy Ghost” would sound like,” said Gerbasi.

Gerbasi said the themes on the EP are about letting life happen, opening your eyes to the world and being willing to grow. “Not letting yourself be carried out by life but actually pushing through it,” he said. “Not being the leaf on top of the river, but being a particle of water in the river pushing through with everything else.”

This is something the lead singer said he’s learned a lot over the past year. “I like to see things in order but, when there’s disorder, I let it go. I’m working on letting things go and letting opportunity take its course and letting things happen,” he said.

The group’s main goal is to influence people through their music. “We would love our music to be that influence on people.

If you’re stressed, you take out your iPod and you listen to The Feedbackers. That’s the ultimate goal—we want to influence people’s lives,” said Renaud.

For Bensoussan, it’s about making people the best version of themselves. “Basically, inspire them to live at their own full potential the way we live as artists at our full potential, as our full expressiveness,” said Bensoussan.

“We want to inspire people to do that for themselves, and to push their limits and to get out of their comfort zones.”

The Feedbackers will be at Piranha Bar on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. for their EP launch.

JUSTICE

Woman (Ed Banger, 2016) It’s been awhile since the Parisian duo Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, from the electronic band Justice, were active on the music scene. After releasing Audio, Video, Disco in 2011, the French musicians vanished. Now, five years later, they re-emerged with the release of Woman, an album that has funky vibes and a rhythmic dance feel. As soon as the first song, “Safe and Sound,” hits your eardrums, you will surely want to crank up the volume. The high-pitched harmonies and contagious melody of the song are reminiscent of 70s disco music, but with a modern flare. “Chorus” will leave you waiting in anticipation of its peak moment as its everlasting intro with strong electro beats goes on and on. Overall, the songs will captivate you with their catchy vocals and groovy feel. Though the composition of each song is well executed, when melded together to create a full album, the f i n i s h e d p ro d u c t s o u n d s q u i te repetitious.

11 Trial Track: “Safe and Sound”

7/10

—Abegail Ranaudo, Staff Writer

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

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RECOMMENDATIONS

BRUNO MARS

3

24k Magic (Atlantic Records, 2016)

The best albums of 2016

It's been an influential year in music with many great records MATTHEW COYTE CONTRIBUTOR With many hit albums released in 2016, here is my list of the must-listen-to records from this year.

24k Magic brings back the kind of funky 80s rhythms that are just right for popping and locking on the dance floor. Mars’ tune “24k Magic” starts off with an auto-tuned voice that almost sounds like T-Pain. The song has a retro pop-electro sound along with his rapping and shouting. This jam almost sounds like it was made for an 80s commercial or a live TV show’s theme song. Bruno Mars switched styles on this album. He brings forth a prominent R&B street vibe as opposed to pop classics. His lyrics are corny and simplistic: “She gotta have her own money” and “If you’re not here to party, take your ass back home, slide with your boy to the bar.” 24k Magic is just as cheesy as Valentine’s day. With corny and ‘wanna be’ street lyrics, not much stands out here.

11 Trial track: “24k Magic”

3/10

—Sandra Hercegova, Music Editor

4 THE WEEKND

Starboy

David Bowie - Blackstar The year star ted with the loss of music legend, David Bowie. Blackstar is a deeply personal look at death and only becomes more powerful with the passing of the singer himself. Bowie brings us right to the edge and forces us to peer into the abyss with this album.

It is his most beautifully morose work to date. The blend of experimental jazz alongside his classic elastic voice and pop sensibility reminds us why he is one of the most iconic pop stars of all time. His knack for ballads isn’t lost either, with “Dollar Days” providing a beautifully nihilist view on life. Every song latches onto the soul, as the lingering strings and horns glide through the album. David Bowie transcends death, and Blackstar is the most haunting album of the year.

The Darcys - Centerfold Retro 80s pop and funk mixed with a sense of cool swagger is rarely heard, not only from Canadian groups, but from any group. This project is such a dramatic departure from The Darcys’ usual heavy, tone-focused albums. It features suave instrumentals from Jason Couse and Wes Marskell, combined with old-school funk guitar and electronic-oriented production.

These melodies bring us straight to the beaches of Miami at spring break. At the end of the day, there’s nothing better than an album that’s just plain old fun. The groovy, retro guitar licks, laid back drum lines and Couse’s silky voice provides us with a neon-laced dance pop record that holds nothing back.

Gord Downie - Secret Path For those who don’t know, Gord Downie is the lead singer of one of the most respected rock bands of all time, The Tragically Hip. Secret Path is an obvious passion project for the terminally ill songwriter. Downie tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a First Nations boy who died while escaping from a residential school 50 years ago. “This is Canada’s story,” Downie has told us in multiple interviews as well as on his website and in the foreword of the graphic novel that accompanies it. It is a dark corner of our past we rarely acknowledge, but is essential to our identities. The singer brings it all to life with haunting acoustic guitar riffs and ghostly vocals overlapped with subtle piano riffs. It brings Wenjack’s suffering out from the basement of Canadian history and into the spotlight. Pounding, unrelenting drums propel each song forward into the next, making the album a journey. The top-notch production is something to be expected at this point from Downie. With Downie, however, it is never just about the chords and beats. The story is what makes the album one of Canada’s most quintessential albums in years.

(XO, 2016) He’s a starboy and this is a star album.

The Weeknd’s hit single “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, is addictive and its catchy beat matches perfectly with his pleasantly soft and melodious voice. In “True Colors,” we get to hear his more romantic and emotional side.

It’s a beautiful song in which he asks that his lover be nothing but real with him. In “Die For You,” you can hear the emotion in his voice, making the song a deep and soulful listen. Lana Del Rey sings along blissfully on “Stargirl Interlude.” Her sad voice dives into a higher pitch and blends in harmoniously with The Weeknd’s verse. With high pitch electric guitar riffs in the background,“Sidewalks,” featuring Kendrick Lamar and Sam Smith is the highlight of the album.

The Weeknd voices how the streets made him who he is. I must “say say say,” Kendrick and The Weeknd make a killer duo on this one. Starboy is exactly what you would expect and hope from The Weeknd.

11 Trial track: “Sidewalks” featuring Kendrick Lamar & Sam Smith

8.5/10

—Sandra Hercegova, Music Editor

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker The Canadian poet sadly passed away earlier this month, but like Bowie, he left us with a reminder of his greatness.

His 14th full-length LP may be his most somber project yet. A deep, church choral background accompanies him on the title track. The unmistakable sound of Cohen’s grisly voice sends shivers down spines whenever he sings. Much like Blackstar, You Want It Darker marks the end of a legend’s journey. The rich and tight production serve as the per fect backdrop for Cohen and his uncanny ability to tell beautiful, concise stories. With each song, Cohen accepts his fate and inherently resigns himself to death. The description of the album on iTunes says it best: “At 35, he sounded like an old man—at 82, he sounds eternal.”

Kanye West - The Life of Pablo Kanye out-dueling Kendrick Lamar on "No More Parties In L.A." is reason enough for The Life of Pablo to appear on this list.

However, there are many other reasons to love this project. Kanye’s classic egotistical and insecure persona shines, but is also accompanied by a new sense of accomplishment. On his previous records, Kanye seemed troubled and burdened by fame.

On The Life of Pablo, he seems to have finally begun to enjoy himself a little, and as a result, we get the best production and beats to ever grace a Kanye West album. His lyricism hasn’t taken a hit either. “No More Parties In L.A.” and “30 Hours” showcase his rhyming prowess. Multiple listens to The Life of Pablo only make it better, with new details emerging every time.

Florida Georgia Line - Dig Your Roots I’m from Calgary, so I had to put at least one country album on this list. Florida Georgia Line has been at the forefront of the “bro country” movement. With Dig Your Roots, they tone down that frat boy mentality and deliver their most intimate material yet—all of this while still putting out some fun, light and classic tunes like “Life Is A Honeymoon” and “Summerland.” Musically, this album is not terribly original—it doesn’t need to be. Its familiarity is part of the charm, kind of like visiting your old favourite hangout spots. This is the kind of sunny country music that makes you want to kick back, shotgun some beers and tailgate with friends. No country album this year made me want to get up and dance more than Dig Your Roots.

Graphic by Thom Bell.

sports

SPORTS EDITOR /// sports@theconcordian.com ALEXANDER COLE ( @AlexCole_80)

HOCKEY

Concordia Stingers hockey by the numbers A mid-year look at how the men’s and women’s teams are doing from a statistical standpoint JAMES KIERANS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

MEN'S TEAM Defensive Stats (1)

With Concordia's hockey teams set to take some time off for the winter break, it's a perfect chance to take a statistical peak into how the school's two teams have been performing this year.

The men's team posted a 9-4-0 record through 13 games this season, while the women's team has had a rougher time so far, playing to a 2-5-0 record in seven games. All statistics are up to date as of Nov. 24.

Last year, the Stingers had no trouble putting the puck in the net. What the team lacked was consistent defense—the 2015-16 squad allowed almost four goals-against per game.

However, the Stingers have tightened up their game, improving in virtually every defensive category. In just 13 games, the Stingers have almost matched their win total from last season, thanks in part to solid team defence.

2

1

Rookies (2) The Stingers were busy this summer, recruiting three high profile players to their roster, adding to their depth at the forward positions and addressing their defensive weaknesses.

Forward Philippe Sanche played four years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), scoring 200 points in 210 games before joining the Stingers, according to hockeydb.com. He was voted the hardest working player in the league in 2015 and has already had an offensive impact with the team.

For ward Anthony Deluca bring s

even more experience, having played professional hockey last year in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Not only does Deluca lead the Stingers in scoring, but he ranks second in all of U Sports in goal scoring.

Still, it's goaltender Philippe Cadorette who has had the greatest impact on the team's success. Cadorette, has 209 games of experience in the QMJHL and has been able to provide the Stingers with the type of consistent goaltending the team lacked last year. He has stopped 322 out of 352 shots this year.

WOMEN'S TEAM Possession and Shots on Goal (3) At first glance, it would be safe to assume that the Stingers women's hockey team has been struggling this season. However, a deeper look into their play reveals that there is room for optimism.

Shots-For-Percentage (SF%) is a statistic that measures how much a team controls the flow of play. The Stingers may have trouble elsewhere, but with coach Julie Chu at the helm, they have been outshooting their opponents more effectively than they have in years.

3

Stingers Goaltending Struggles (4) Despite her struggles, Purchase is poised to bounce back from her weak start.

Including this season, she's posted a 91.6 per cent save percentage in her three years in U Sports. She was also named Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) rookie of the year in 2014-15.

If Purchase is able to return to form and the team maintains their strong defensive play, the Stingers could become one of the toughest teams to score against in the league.

Where things have gone wrong for the women's team is in net. The Stingers are dead last in save percentage in the entire country, and not by a small margin.

Starting goaltender Katherine Purchase and backup Briar Bache have combined for an 84.6 per cent save percentage this season, meaning the team has allowed 3.28 goals-against per game. For reference, the average save percentage in U Sports this year has been 91.2 per cent.

Graphics by Florence Yee. 4

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

S

Grinding it out on the court

15

PORT

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PROFILE

theconcordian

Rant of the Week

BY ALEXANDER COLE

Stingers basketball rookie Olivier Simon talks about his career

RE SUPER TEAMS A BA RUINING THE N The concept of a basketball “super team” is not new. In 1992, when NBA players went to the Olympics for the first time, the U.S. basketball team was called the “Dream Team.”

The team included players like Michael Jordan, “Magic” Johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird. Considering Olympic teams are made up of the best players from each country, something like the “Dream Team” was inevitable.

JEFFREY MUNTU STAFF WRITER Michael Jordan. That is who Stingers men’s basketball rookie Olivier Simon was quick to name when asked who he models his game after.

“I first saw him in [the movie] Space Jam. I started reading all of his books,” Simon said. “He was the greatest player to ever play in the NBA. He was the model to follow… playing hard, working hard. It’s the only way you can get to this point.”

Standing at six-foot-seven and tipping the scale at about 220 lbs, it would be easy to assume that basketball was something the Terrebonne native was always good at. However, as a youngster, Simon played hockey until he was introduced to basketball at the age of 10.

“The basketball coach [at the time] was a really good guy,” Simon said. “He was there in the gym at six o’clock in the morning before class to help kids [play] because, at that age, we have a lot of energy.”

Simon added that participating in those extracurricular activities led him to embrace the game of basketball. He developed a passion for the game which lead him to CEGEP Édouard-Montpetit, despite it being about an hour away from his hometown. “[Édouard-Montpetit] was the only one that recruited me,” Simon said. “If it wasn’t for that school, I would have probably stopped basketball.”

After three years of relative success in CEGEP, Simon had plenty of offers to play at the collegiate level.

The five Quebec university teams— McGill, Bishop’s, Laval, UQAM and Concordia, all wanted to recruit Simon.

Simon said he chose Concordia because of the atmosphere and head coach Rastko Popovic set the school apart from the others.. For Simon, everything just seemed to fall into place.

“The team is young—we’re going to build together. I have five years, so that was a big point,” Simon said. “When I talk with coach Popovic, it’s easy. We have the same mentality when it comes to basketball.”

“Saying that he trusted me was the biggest thing you can say to prove to a guy you want him,” Simon added.

When he is not on the court, the rookie for ward describes himself as an easygoing person who likes to hangout with friends and family.

He particularly likes movies, claiming he watches “lots of Netflix” when he has time.

Besides training on and off the court and juggling his social life, Simon is enrolled in the leisure science program.

“It’s nice. I have a communication and psychology class that I like,” Simon said.

“It’s not like math or science with all the numbers. It’s really concrete. We get to know more about us—how we think, how we interact.”

Simon said he wants no part in sitting at a desk with a computer for the rest of his life. He wants to work primarily with kids and be able to give back to the community. He said ideally he would like to stay involved in basketball and even become a part of the program at Concordia.

Simon has already helped make an impact with the Stingers this year, aided by a strong work ethic which he feels came to him early in his career. “[My work ethic] came from my high school. The CEGEP I went to was the only

Olivier Simon played hockey until getting introduced to basketball at the age of 10.

Photos by Brianna Thicke.

Today, however, individual NBA teams are constructing their own “super teams” in order to get a leg up in winning a championship. The problem means the league's superstars are not evenly dispersed throughout the league. For example, in 2010, when LeBron James was in free-agency, he decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat, who had their own s u p e r s t a r, D w y a n e Wa d e .

Furthermore, Chris Bosh left the Toronto Raptors in the same off-season and joined the Heat as well, thus creating one of the most powerful teams in league history.

The Heat went on to win two NBA championships and made the finals four years in a row, before James went back to Cleveland. During that time, the Heat was almost unbeatable. They had three franchise players on their team and beating them was almost a write-off, especially for non-playoff teams. This season, the league has a new super team in the Golden State Warriors.

Having made the finals the last two years, the addition of Kevin Durant has made them almost unstoppable.

one that recruited me because, in high school, I wasn’t that good of a player. I always worked hard to get what I want,” Simon said. “It wasn’t always easy to go on the court and do what I have to. I had to overwork. It’s always been like that.”

The Terrebonne native said he knows what his role on the Stingers team is. While he may not play 40 minutes a night, he wants to continue to improve on the little things, each and every game.

Looking towards the future, Simon said he would love to go pro at some point.

“That would be a huge experience,” Simon said.

For now though, Simon is more focused on the Stingers and his university career.

He hopes that, while he’s at Concordia, the team can win a championship. Simonw would also like to be a leader.

“In my fourth and fifth year, I want to set an example for the new recruits. Like, when they’ll come in the gym, I want them to see me and do the same things because I want everybody to work as hard,” said Simon.

That’s the problem here. There is almost no parity in the NBA. According to nba.com, only six different teams have appeared in the finals since 2011. In the NHL, however, nine different teams have made it to the finals since 2011. Of course it’s okay to have dominant teams, but smaller markets are losing out on big-time players who would help make the league more competitive.

Teams like the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves have no chance of contending for a championship. When you have teams struggling to have an even record, and teams like the 2015 Warriors are going 73-9, it makes the league less fun. At the beginning of this year, I predicted that the Warriors would play the Cavaliers in the finals. Those teams have played each other for the last two championships and are the two best teams in the league right now. It just goes to show that in a league of 30 teams, only about four or five really matter.

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

EDITORIAL

Fidel Castro ain't no saint We were at the office when our phones buzzed with a series of notifications, as news of Fidel Castro’s death spread across the world on Friday. The media reacted and suddenly CBC and CTV News had correspondents on the ground in Havana interviewing Cubans in mourning, while also producing segments recounting the dictator’s long, politicized life.

Back home, several social media users—including Concordia students—were sharing their sadness and grief online, reacting as if the Dalai Lama or Mother Teresa had just died.

There’s only one problem though—Fidel Castro was no saint. He was a cruel dictator who oppressed and terrorized the Cuban people for nearly 50 years. Anybody who remembers him fondly is ignoring his trail of human rights violations, while openly supporting a communist regime.

In case you have no idea who we’re talking about, Fidel Castro was the communist leader of Cuba, the island nation just 90 kilometres south of the Floridian peninsula. Yes, the same island where you go on vacation every winter with your family and complain about the ‘gross’ food afterwards.

Cuba has always been the underdog fighting the almighty imperial and capitalist superpower, and at a first glance, one might think Cubans a sweet deal. After all, the literacy rate is almost at 100 per cent. The country has free universal health care, with an average of 6.72 doctors for every 100 people, compared to the United States’ 2.45 doctors for every 100 people, according to CBS News Sunday Morning.

Despite these positive aspects, we cannot forget Cuba’s past and present human rights violations. Over the last 50 years, more than 3,100 known executions by firing squad have taken place, usually targeting political dissidents, according to

the nonprofit organization Cuba Archives.

There were also 6,200 arbitrary detentions between January and August 2015 alone, meaning political dissidents are continuously persecuted for speaking out against the communist state, according to the Human Rights Watch.

The total number of political prisoners over the last 50 years is unknown, but likely very high.

Don’t even get us started on Cuba’s policy regarding homosexuals. In the years following his takeover, the police began rounding up gay men and placing them in work camps called Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP) according to The Daily Beast. Although these camps closed in the late 60s, homosexuals were still persecuted by the regime afterwards and

were fired from their jobs and weren’t allowed to join the Communist Party, according to the same source.

During the 80s when the first cases of HIV were discovered on the island, the government responded by establishing sanitariums, which were quarantine centers that kept patients away from the rest of society, according to the New York Times. These sanitariums were referred to as “pretty prisons,” by Jonathan Mann, the first AIDS director at the World Health Organization, and were seen as a direct threat against the LGBT minority within the country.

Let’s not overlook the number of Cubans living in America either. According to CBS News, there are around 1.1 million Cuban Americans in the U.S., meaning one tenth of the Cuban population has fled the island nation to seek refuge in America.

This exodus proves that life isn’t great for everyone on the island. So next time you like a Facebook status or reminisce about Castro’s glorious achievements, think twice and remember he’s no angel in a revolutionary uniform.

Photo by Wiki Images.

HEALTH

Why discontinuing male birth control wasn’t sexist Examining the prospect of a male contraceptive in a female-dominated market

KATERINA GANG COPY EDITOR News broke recently that the first male birth control study—published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism—was being canceled due to too many adverse side effects.

When it was revealed the male participants complained about side effects similar to those of female birth control methods and menstruation in general, many started assuming the medical community had devious sexist motives behind canceling the study.

The new method of birth control involved injecting a concoction of hormones near a man’s genitalia. The concoction, if successful, would reduce the man’s spermatozoa to one million per milliliter.

Looking into the incidence rate of side effects helps dispel rumours of sexism.

Participants reported over 900 cases of side effects related to the contraceptive. Nearly half (45.9 per cent) of men experienced acne, 38.1 per cent experienced increased libido and 16.3 per cent experienced emotional disorders.

According to a report by Vox, Dr. Jen Gunther said the side effects in this study occurred at a much higher rate than in comparative studies for women. The Mirena IUD—a device inserted into the uterus and serves as a form of contraceptive—only saw 6.8 per cent of participants report acne.

Other reported side effects in the male birth control study included eight men being

rendered infertile for over a year, including one man who is still infertile today.

Women have a plethora of birth control options, including the oral pill, the NuvaRing, IUDs, the shot and more, which offer benefits apart from pregnancy prevention. More regulated periods, less painful periods and acne reduction are just a few of the benefits

for exclusively non-contraceptive reasons.

On the flipside, men are limited to two methods: condoms or vasectomy. Neither method provide them with extra benefits, nor does the newly proposed injection method.

Many articles have painted men as weak due to the discontinuation of this study.

However, the data collected revealed that,

women experience when using hormonal birth control.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, which specializes in sexual and reproductive health, saw 58 per cent of all contraceptive pill users—the most common birth control method for women—use it for noncontraceptive reasons. In fact, 14 per cent use it

at their final visit, 82.3 per cent of men were willing to continue using this method. Women, on the other hand, were less keen, with only 76 per cent willing to continue. Male weakness is therefore not the issue.

The study suggests the method was 96 per cent effective. However, this success rate was calculated using data only from

“continuing users,” meaning couples who completed the study, and only assessed the method’s success within 24 weeks.

A closer look at the study shows only 274 of the 320 men who received at least one dose of the contraceptive method had their sperm counts lowered to the acceptable level.

That is an 85.6 per cent success rate—far lower than other contraceptive methods on the market. So low, in fact, I would not trust it as my sole method of birth control.

Medical standards have improved throughout history. According to an article by the FDA, the first contraceptive pill was approved prior to the FDA’s knowledge of the dangers of thalidomide or the passage of the 1962 Drug Amendments. This, they claim, would have made the pill much harder to approve.

In the 1950s, according to the FDA, pregnancy and childbirth were much more dangerous, and so more risks were worth it to prevent pregnancy. Furthermore, one of the riskiest side effects of the pill—blood clots—was not linked to the pill until more than a decade after it was approved.

Women do indeed take on a disproportionate amount of risks and responsibilities when it comes to birth control, and I strongly hope one day we can find better options for both men and women. But we shouldn’t lower our current medical standards to 1950s-levels in the name of equality and fairness. That will only harm more people.

Graphic by Florence Yee.

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

theconcordian

17

PUBLIC SPACES

Don’t just stand there, do something about it!

Understanding the bystander effect and the impact it has on our society man to reassure him and calm him down as he regained full consciousness. At this point, the student nurse told me I could go.

I asked a few times if she was sure and, after she reassured me it was fine, I left.

I wasn’t scared during the whole ordeal.

I remember feeling very calm. After I left the scene, my heart was racing as I knew I was on some sort of adrenaline high.

I definitely felt frustrated at the very beginning, simply because I was the furthest from the situation, yet, I was the one who rushed back to help. Even though there were plenty of people closer who could have called 9-1-1, no one bothered. I was impressed with myself because I know I could have easily been another bystander who did nothing.

This brings me back to the bystander effect. We all seem to have this mentality

of “someone else will do it.” We think, since there are plenty of other people around, someone else is bound to react first. But that won’t always be the case. Frankly, it’s scary to see how delayed of a reaction people have, or the blatant hesitation that results in a person doing nothing.

The young man is fine. I even saw him again the other day on the bus. However, this doesn’t excuse those who just stood around and watched the situation unfold.

We all need to be more aware of what’s going on and be willing to help.

Getting engaged in a potentially urgent situation can be scary and it takes courage to do so. However, we’ve all got it in us and just think, wouldn’t you want someone to come to your aid if you needed it? The fact that there are incidents where more people stand around watching rather than helping

People are often scared to react to emergencies. Photo by Mystic Art Design.

REBECCA LUGER COPY EDITOR I like to think in a situation of urgency I won’t just stand around and watch, but rather, get involved and try to help. I hope everyone has the same mentality, so that if, god forbid, I’m in trouble and out in public, someone will have the decency to help me.

Unfortunately, this is often not the case.

According to a report by CBC News, a homeless man staggered into an oncoming train and lay bleeding on the edge of the station platform tracks for 16 minutes before help arrived. It occurred at Langelier metro station in Montreal. The article references the bystander effect as the reason why no one called for help sooner.

According to the article, the “bystander effect” refers to when a crowd of people don’t react or don’t get involved in a situation where someone’s life is in jeopardy—there is this notion that we think someone else will act instead. As a result, no one acts at all because everyone thinks someone else will.

A lot of people might be familiar with the famous murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964.

She was a young woman who, on her way home in the early hours of the morning, was attacked by a man in an alley. As she was being stabbed repeatedly by her assailant, she screamed and cried for help.

The investigation reported that, out of the 38 neighbours who heard her screams and who basically bore witness to the situation, no one called the police. According to Psychology Today, their excuses were all the same—they figured someone else would do it.

Which brings me to my story. Last week, I was heading to my afternoon class at the Loyola campus and, just as I was about to get off the bus, I heard shouting from the back of the crowded bus. Although my earphones were blasting music, I was able to hear the sound of people yelling for help.

Distinctly, one of the voices shouted, “Someone call 9-1-1.” This prompted me to remove my ear buds, run to the back of the bus and dial 9-1-1. Ten years of lifeguard experience have given me the instinct to engage and the training to deal with an emergency situation.

As I was on the phone with a 9-1-1 operator, I looked around and saw at least a dozen people just standing around watching.

The bus was absolutely full of people but they were all just standing around, trying to see what the commotion was about and get a peek at the action.

In an age when virtually everyone has a cell phone, I was astounded that no one closer to the situation chose to respond and call emergency services. I was about to step out of the bus, yet I managed to run to the back of the bus and act before anyone else did.

As I was on the phone with emergency services, I stood in front of two women who were kneeled beside the young man lying on his back on the floor. They were the ones who had been yelling for help.

Although the man’s eyes were open, they were unfocused and he wasn’t moving. One of the women, who announced that she was a student nurse, was taking his vitals. She told me he had been seizing and was now coming down from his seizures.

I was patched through to the paramedic on route to our location. He asked me a few questions about the young man’s condition, so I told him about the seizure.

The ambulance driver asked me to follow the man’s breathing patterns. Every time I saw him take a breath in, I was to say “yes” so that the ambulance driver would know what condition he was in and whether he was breathing okay.

By this time, the bus had emptied, so myself, the student nurse, the man and the bus driver were the only ones left.

As we waited for the ambulance to arrive, I sat with the student nurse beside the young

The article describes an incident on an STM bus. Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

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theconcordian

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

EDUCATION

There’s no humour in being stereotypical Why having a sexist sense of humour is dangerous if you are a university professor

Professors can greatly impact your learning experience in university. Photo by Steve PB from Creative Commons.

ALEX HUTCHINS PHOTO ASSISTANT The one thing most students can agree on is that your professor will either make or break your overall experience in a class. Genuinely interesting content can be ruined by a monotonous, non-engaging professor, or a tedious, boring subject can be brought to life by an engaging teacher.

But what do you do when your overall experience in a class with a prof was treacherous, flabbergasting and just downright insulting, yet some of your classmates enjoyed the course for the very same reasons you despised it? Well, for starters, you write an article about it.

Last winter, during my first year at

Concordia, I took MARK 201: Introduction to Marketing Strategies as an elective, thinking I’d enjoy it. From an objective standpoint, I did enjoy the content of the class, the projects and all the different types of networking that came from it. It was all extremely interesting, however, attending lectures became not only a chore I grew to despise, but listening to some of the things the prof would say were both shocking and saddening.

A male professor who has been part of the department for many years ended up being my professor for those long, cold, dreary winter months. In a nutshell, he had an ostentatious sense of humour that was almost solely comprised of sexist jokes.

As a disclaimer, I should mention I don’t have any recordings or documentation

of my experiences in this class—this is a personal recount. However, if I did possess any I’d likely have enough content to fill an entire book with the number of times this professor degraded his wife and their marriage, and even mocked his own children in front of our class of more than 150 students.

The professor would joke about how, once you’re married, your wife never touches you, and about how a man needs to keep his wife happy—or be prepared for the worst—to which he’d allude to that the only way to satisfy a wife is by buying expensive baubles. Literally, every class, multiple times per class, jokes of this nature and worse were made with zero regard for how his students felt about them.

The worst part about these jokes wasn't how stereotypical they were about women, but how much the class actually laughed along with them. Sometimes it was a mixture of males guffawing and women giggling, although it is safe to say women, generally, weren’t the ones to laugh.

The professor’s jokes also went far beyond his wife and his marriage—any class discussion about cosmetics, accessories or even cookware was partnered with a slew of one-liners and anecdotal stories about women and their follies. He even made blonde jokes. Yes, a professor working at a progressive, liberal and an otherwise amazing educational institution in 2016 truly thought blonde jokes appropriate during a lecture.

One particular instance stands out in my mind as the moment when any of my remaining respect for this professor was catapulted out the window. The class was having a discussion about the

marketing strategies of CAA, the roadside assistance service. The professor started pitching CAA’s services to the class by describing a scenario in which a person has to call for help because their car has broken down. He said women benefitted most from these services, indicating that at some point, every woman would find themselves stranded on the side of the road with a broken car they essentially knew nothing about, without a man at-the-ready to save us.

To my absolute shock, this comment was met by either giggling or absentminded head nodding by a good number of my classmates, both male and female.

I remember feeling two things: first off, I was really disappointed a professor would make such an ignorant, blanket statement so casually, particularly because I worked at an auto repair shop. The second thing I remember thinking was I was probably taking this too harshly, and I shouldn’t speak up, even though I had a personal experience that would disprove what he said.

Thankfully, a girl sitting ahead of me raised her hand and said, with applaudable sass, that women are just as capable of fixing cars as men. Hats off to you, girl. This reaffirmed that others likely felt offended or fed up with the jokes this professor was making, that this wasn’t simply me needing to learn how to take a joke.

There’s a time and a place for certain types of jokes. I mean, I think we can all admit to smiling at a properly-executed or well-timed “...in the kitchen” or “my wife...” joke at some point in our lives. However, for a professor to employ that sense of humour in every one of his classes with absolutely no consideration for how it will affect the overall educational experience of his students is completely unacceptable.

Graphic by Charlotte Bracho.

etc

Artists from Concordia featuring Paméla Simard

En-Serre moi (2016) Paméla Simard is a fourth year student majoring in art history and studio arts. She creates large-scale intricate sculptures.

"Looking back at my work, I recognize two important concerns: the study of form as morphogenesis and the relationship between the form and the function of an object. It is a process of constant observation that involves not only the contemplation of form as such, but the investigation of its development into something more complex. Once I understand the design of an object and its formalization process, I can create new possibilities of representation and materialization and more importantly, I can produce new prototypes of objects where the relationship between form and function is reworked. What informs my work is our relationship to objects and how the process of changing their essence (materiality, scale, design,) changes the way they are experienced and understood. My sculptures need to be activated."

Entêtement (2016)

Morphologie (2016)

20 theconcordian

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

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Concordia University’s weekly, independent student newspaper VOL. 34, ISSUE 14 NOV. 29, 2016

PHOTO ASSISTANT ALEX HUTCHINS

OUR COVER THIS WEEK GRAPHICS EDITOR FLORENCE YEE graphics@theconcordian.com GRAPHIC ASSISTANT THOM BELL HEAD COPY EDITOR KATYA TEAGUE COPY EDITORS KATERINA GANG REBECCA LUGER VALERIA CORI-MANNOCHIO copy@theconcordian.com CONTRIBUTORS Monica Lau, Dominick Lucyk, Elisa Barbier, Ambre Sachet, Kyanna Terlier, Romina Florencia Arrieta, Matthew Coyte, Abegail Ranaudo, Jeffrey Muntu.

“Palestinian Day” Photo by Alex Hutchins.

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