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Stingers win second in a row P. 17

Thomas Mulcair plays coy P. 2

Homegrown talent shines at orientation concert

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

life Fat freshmen are a thing of the past P. 6

arts Hold on to your panties: fall classes at Montreal’s horror institute P. 9

opinions Students in blackface spark controversy P. 22

Volume 29 Issue 4

Story P. 3 and photo essay P. 14

Photo by Shannon Heather

Two student union Student to file complaint councillors resign with Quebec Human Rights Commission over Schoolwork main reason for quitting frosh blackface incident Jacques Gallant Editor-in-chief

The resignations of two Concordia Student Union councillors were made public last Friday, just days before council’s first meeting of the year.

In an email sent out on Sept.

16, council chair Nick Cuillerier confirmed that independent student councillor John Bellingham and JMSB councillor Gregory Synanidis had both resigned.

The email read that Bellingham’s resignation was linked to “his plans towards his commitment to academics at Concordia University,” while the email indicated that Synanidis resigned for “personal and academic reasons.”

Cuillerier later indicated during a phone conversation that Bellingham’s official letter of resignation was received on Aug. 16, while Synanidis gave notice on Sept. 14. Cuillerier said he had notified the chief electoral officer

of the resignations, but has yet to receive a response. The CEO did not return requests for comment from the Concordian yesterday.

Cuillerier said that the power to call a by-election ultimately lies with council.

Bellingham wrote in an email that his resignation was due to his decision this summer to no longer pursue his studies as an independent student at Concordia.

“I have decided to devote my time and energy this academic year to completing a Graduate degree at McGill before moving out of province for a position that suddenly opened up in my field following the election,” he wrote.

“I sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused.”

Reached by phone, Synanidis said that because of his involvement with JMSB’s academic case competition team and its case class on Wednesday evenings, he realized he would not be able to attend council meetings.

“I was really going to try to balance both, because I did get voted in so I didn’t want to just drop it,” he said. “But I realized

See “Council...” on P. 5

HEC wants to turn incident into a ‘learning opportunity’

Sarah Deshaies CUP Quebec bureau chief (CUP) — A McGill law student will be filing a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission after witnessing and recording the use of blackface at a frosh activity on Sept.

15.

Anthony Morgan explained he was walking by the Université de Montréal campus when he passed a group of students dressed in Jamaican colours and rasta style hats who were waving the Jamaican flag, chanting, “More weed, ya mon, ya mon!”

Morgan returned to film the incident and posted it on YouTube. He said that when he returned, someone pointed to him, saying, “We’ve got a

real black person here.”

“I was just stunned. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Morgan, who is of Jamaican descent. “It was very offensive.”

Blackface originated as a form of theatrical makeup in vaudeville to depict black characters, often propagating negative stereotypes.

The students were a group from HEC Montréal, the elite business school affiliated with Université de Montréal. According to a student representative, they were paying tribute to Jamaican sprinter and Olympian Usain Bolt.

HEC spokesman Michael Lartigau forwarded an email written by Frank Sciortino, a second-year student and a frosh organizer, to Canadian University Press. Sciortino explained that students had to choose an “ambassador” for an Olympics-themed activity.

The group depicted in Morgan’s video selected Bolt and “decided to costume themselves” as the sprinter. Sciortino

See “Students...” on P. 5

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

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City in brief Jacques Gallant

Beware of phone scam

The university has posted a message on the MyConcordia portal warning of an apparent phone scam that has targeted several members of the campus community. According to the message, these members have been called at random by people pretending to be from computer software companies saying they are phoning to fix a computer problem. Most of the calls stem from the phone number 1-253-802-0308, although other numbers have been used. The MyConcordia message indicates that by asking the person for information about their computer, the caller tries to trick people into installing malicious software on their computer, or even taking remote control of it.

Dogs in need

Following the seizure of 525 dogs in what is being called the largest animal-cruelty case in Quebec’s history, humane officials in the Montreal area are now appealing to residents to help care for the animals. The dogs were seized last Friday night at a kennel in Clarendon, 90 km northwest of Ottawa. It took over a day to transport the dogs to an emergency shelter set up outside of Montreal, where they were treated by veterinarians for a variety of ailments, including breathing problems. The owner of the kennel, Charlene Labombard, said that the loss of the dogs means the loss of her livelihood.

Home schools > public schools

A new study published by Concordia and Mount Allison researchers in the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science has found that children who are home schooled fare better academically than those who attend public schools. A total of 74 students, aged five to 10, participated in the study, which was conducted in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The study found that the home schooled students scored about a half grade more in math than their public school counterparts, and two grades higher in reading.

politics

Waiting game: Mulcair to announce leadership decision “in a few weeks” Orange Crush leads to growth of NDP campus clubs at ConU, McGill Sarah Deshaies Chief copy editor Don’t expect a definitive statement anytime soon on Thomas Mulcair’s future in the NDP leadership race.

“It’s a question of weeks, and not days,” said the party’s deputy leader to a group of about 60 supporters and Concordia University students at a speaking event in Montreal on Sept. 16.

He made the comments the day after a three-day caucus meeting finished in Quebec City. The question about his leadership and potential backing from the other MPs was a frequent topic at the conference.

Mulcair relayed a few reasons why his declaring or denying of a leadership bid is not forthcoming.

“It’s simply because, first of all, a lot us who were close to [Jack Layton] are still in a state of shock,” he said. “And I still have a lot of other responsibilities as the parliamentary house leader.”

Mulcair then quipped about the low membership level in Quebec, his home base: “You’ll hear from us in the next few weeks, but in the meantime it doesn’t stop us from selling membership cards.”

But as Mulcair mulls over his decision, a second candidate in the race has tossed his hat in the ring, potentially dividing Mulcair’s support at home. Former Cree leader and northern Quebec MP Romeo Saganash made his announcement

Friday, dashing the belief that he would back the only other candidate at the time, party president Brian Topp.

Topp, who is not an elected MP, has begun campaigning across the country, while receiving high-profile endorsements from former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and MP Françoise Boivin.

On Monday, Mulcair downplayed his chances because the math involved might not play in his favour.

He told reporters that he is not sure about a bid because statistically, a Quebec candidate might not pull a lot of support. Only about 2,000 out of 85,000 to 95,000 NDP members nationwide are from Quebec, as the party has no party wing in the province.

Regardless, a handful of Quebec MPs stated last week that they would support a leadership bid by Mulcair, including Jamie Nicholls, François Lapointe, Claude Patry, Marc-André Morin, Robert Aubin and Pierre Nantel.

After the talk at Concordia, Mulcair predicted that one of the biggest challenges for the NDP as official opposition this parliamentary session would be battling the omnibus crime bill being proposed by the Conservatives.

“It’s going to be a Conservative party up to its usual tricks,” he said, saying the Tories would “take apart” the environment department and the civil service. “It’s going to be up to us to be a strong opposition to stand up to them.”

But the first day of Parliament, on Sept. 19, was a subdued affair as parliamentarians took to commemorating Jack Layton, the NDP’s former leader who passed away Aug. 22.

During his 30-minute long

Thomas Mulcair told students that a leadership decision would be announced in weeks, not days. Photo by Ginga Takeshima speech, Mulcair shared his thoughts on the two biggest challenges facing Canada: sustainability and youth apathy.

One student questioned Mulcair about a potential merger with the Liberal party, and whether it would make sense to “unite the left.” Mulcair received a round of applause when he replied: “We did unite the left.”He criticized both the Conservative and Liberal parties, joking the latter often “flashes left and then turns right” prior to elections.

The event was organized by Concordia’s Political Science Students Association.

According to the group’s president, Pier-Luc Therrien Peloquin, Mulcair’s appearance was booked around the date of the last federal election in May, and not after Layton’s passing in late August.

Though the event was organized by the PSSA, student club NDP Con-

cordia had two booths at the event.

Hannah McCormick, who was elected as club president the previous day, said the group has seen a resurgence of interest from students since the Orange Crush, which swept several NDP candidates from Quebec into national office in the May 2011 federal elections, four of them students themselves.

Whereas the group did not have official club status last year, four people joined last May, and the group has a long list of interested students.

According to Concordia student Catherine Hamé, co-president of the NDP’s provincial youth wing, the same renewed interest is happening at the NDP club at McGill University.

While Hamé said that NDP Concordia and its individual members are allowed to endorse candidates, the club has yet to lend its support to any one leadership hopeful.

campus

Mercier decay confirmed

The provincial government released a long-awaited report on Monday confirming the reason for the Mercier Bridge’s closure this past summer was rapidly accelerating decay. The report, dated June 11, found that 10 gusset plates holding beams in place were severely eroded. The Mercier Bridge partially reopened on Sept. 6, with plans to fully reopen the bridge

by December if all the repairs are completed. On Monday, Transport Minister Pierre Moreau defended the government by saying that longterm repairs had already begun on the bridge when it was temporarily shut down.

Participants were blessed with sunny weather as they made the trek between the two campuses on Friday as part of the 22nd Concordia Shuffle. This year’s edition of the fundraising initiative raised $48,000. This year, the program reached the one million dollar mark since its inception in 1990. The 6.5 km walk from the Sir George Williams campus to Loyola attracted an estimated 700 shufflers. Last year’s Shuffle raised an approximate $40,000.

Photos by Alex Menjivar

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian orientation

It’s warmest in the crowd

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Nation in brief Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Tests reveal high lead levels in UNB water pipes

Water pipes that service the University of New Brunswick have lead content that exceed health guidelines, the Brunswickan reported. The university’s facilities management department, concerned with the aging water system and having received queries from concerned campus members, tested all the water fountains and kitchen sinks on campus on Sept.

13. Tests are ongoing. Three fountains have been replaced, while 20 new fountains with built-in filtration systems are being ordered. For now, fountains which tested higher than acceptable lead content are closed with “Out of Service” signs.

Bedbugs in residence at two Ottawa universities

Photo by Alex Menjivar

Cold weather mars concert turnout, but student reaction far from chilly Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor Hands raised and fingers frozen, Concordia students welcomed the lineup of Thursday’s orientation concert at the Loyola Quad with open arms.

Concordia Student Union VP student life Laura Glover estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 students turned up for the free show to see Nomadic Massive, Mother Mother, Stars and Lunice, despite the rain earlier in the day and chilly evening.

“It’s hard to say [what the turnout was], because I did notice, given the artists that we had were very diverse, we did have a number of students come and go for specific artists,” Glover said. “I can say that we distributed ballpark 2,000 bracelets.” Final turnout will be tallied by the end of the week. Over 2,500 students showed up to see K’naan perform last year at the Quad despite similar inclement weather.

A noticeable portion of the students present left after Montreal five-piece Stars finished their set.

“We definitely didn’t expect a huge crowd of people to leave after

Stars,” Glover admitted, “And I think there were a number of Lunice fans that came out specifically to see him. Our objective in putting Lunice at the end was so that there would be a lot of dancing and a lot of excitement towards the end. It was not expected that students would leave.”

The concert budget estimated total expenses to be around $270,000, with the CSU contributing $150,000.

Petty sales at the show (burgers, beer, and so on) were expecting to make up the $32,000 deficit the budget was projecting. The figures for petty sales for concert and expenses had yet to be finalized, according to the VP. She said the only unexpected expense was for the rental of a barrier between the stage and the crowd.

Students were also sipping on metal CSU coffee mugs filled to the brim with Sleeman or Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, a result of Molson Canada 2005 exercising its right of first refusal for its contract to supply beer to CUSACorp, the corporate entity that owns Reggie’s Pub. “We will be with [Molson] for the next semester but we’ve placed conditions on [the agreement,]” said VP finance Jordan Lindsay. “Fifty per cent of our bottles [at Reggie’s] will be from other companies as well so we are still going to get some sweet craft beers and some other things in there that will spice up the inventory this year.”

CUSACorp has not signed a contract for beer supply yet, although they are in talks with another

Bedbugs have infected the residence apartments at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, according to the CBC. One four-bedroom unit in residence at the University of Ottawa, which houses around 3,000 students, was affected. UofO spokesman Pierre Laroche said the university was inspecting the belongings of students moving from an infected unit into another residence. One UofO student said she wishes the university would provide more information about the bedbug problem. Carleton University said one double room had been infected.

Selling eye space

Photo by Shannon Heather

Between 1,500 and 2,000 students turned up for the free show company to do so. The two-year contract with Molson Canada and CUSACorp, which was exclusive

with the exception of two competing microbeers that were sold at the university pub, ended on July 31.

Photo by Shannon Heather

Montreal hip-hop collective Nomadic Massive was one of four bands at last Thursday’s orientation concert.

A British Columbia cancer patient hoping to raise money to pay his medical bills is selling ad space on his prosthetic eye, the Kamloops Daily News is reporting. Kamloops, B.C. resident Robert Lee lost his left eye to a tumour this past summer. In an effort to pay off the costs associated with treating his ocular cancer, he is selling the space on eBay. The winner will be allotted space for a logo of no more than 12 mm oval on the eye for 30 days. The starting bid is $5,000 US. As of Sunday, Lee had not received any bids.

He also wants to raise awareness about ocular melanoma, a rare cancer that is potentially fatal.

The Rolling Stones would feel right at home

Urinals shaped like a pair of red lips generated complains in an Edmonton, Alta. restaurant, but the owner says they’re not going anywhere. The west end location of 02’s Taphouse and Grill has come under fire after installing the urinals, according to the Edmonton Sun. A woman named Lily Le sent co-owner Neal Seifeddine a letter in which she called the shape ‘‘demeaning,’’ then filed an official complaint with the city. Seifeddine said he got the idea from a pub in Jasper, and explained that most women see the lips as funny.

Alberta women everywhere are probably peeing with laughter at this very moment.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

World in brief Ken Dryden visits Concordia politics

Chris Hanna

Gender: ‘M,’ ‘F,’ or ‘X’

Australians are now able to state their official gender on their passports as ‘x,’ male, or female. This third gender category will not require people to have undergone gender reassignment surgery. According to Australia’s AttorneyGeneral Robert McClelland, this option would be available to transgendered or intersex Australians who could get a doctor’s note of support to that effect. Australia’s transgender and intersex community hopes that similar legislation will be introduced for birth certificates, which still require Australians to undergo surgery to change their documented genders.

Weekend at Bernie’s III?

Jeffrey Jarrett had the worst friends ever. The 43-year-old Denver man’s dead body was found in his home by his friend Robert Young who, instead of calling the authorities, went to see his buddy Mark Rubinson at the restaurant where he works. The pair went back to Jarrett’s house, stuffed his dead body in the trunk of a Lincoln Navigator, and painted the town red on their deceased friend’s dime. Young and Rubinson went to two bars and withdrew hundreds of dollars from Jarrett’s ATM card at a strip club.

At 4 a.m., when no more fun was to be had, they told a police officer that Jarrett might be dead. Young and Rubinson are being charged with abusing a corpse, identity theft and criminal impersonation.

Redheads’ sperm in low demand at bank

Cryos, the world’s largest sperm bank, has started to turn away redheaded donors because the demand for their sperm is too low.

The organization’s director Ole Schou told Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet that an increase in donations has allowed Cryos to become much more selective. According to the Danish sperm bank’s records, the biggest importer of sperm from redheaded donors is Ireland, where Schou says they sell “like hot cakes.” Sperm from brownhaired and brown-eyed donors was most in demand by Cryos, which has a large Spanish, Italian and Greek customer base.

Hockey legend, former MP, lawyer, and best-selling author reflects on multifaceted career Cameron Ahmad Contributor

There are not too many retired hockey players who can say they have held office. There are even fewer politicians who can say they have been loved by the public. Yet, Ken Dryden can safely say both and, according to him, the two are not as different as they may seem.

“The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most important teams in the NHL because they have history, they set tones and emotions, and they shape public sentiment,” he said, arguing that politics play a similar role in society.

Having lived a “dream life,” Ken Dryden’s story of self-discovery was well suited for this year’s AbitibiBowater homecoming lecture, entitled A Canadie/an Life and moderated

by Concordia alumna and CTV news anchor Mutsumi Takahashi.

“We must allow our experiences to be our own. Our goals and drives must be personal,” he told the audience at Concordia University’s D.B. Clarke Theatre on Sept. 15. “The lesson of sports is that situations, contests, and important circumstances provide us with inspiration.”

These challenges show us “that there is a way, there is an answer.”

The tall and slightly heavyset Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender is revered by fans of the Montreal Canadiens, having led the team to six Stanley Cups.

In a ten minute bilingual speech to the audience, Dryden described his years at Cornell University as a period of discovery and when his aspirations to become a lawyer were completely reversed. For one, living in Montreal and playing for the Canadiens was largely the result of “good luck.”

“When you set out towards

Dryden spoke about his successive careers in hockey as the goaltender that led the Montreal Canadiens to six Stanley Cups, then as a Liberal MP for York Centre. Photo by Camille Nerant something, chances are you’ll find something more interesting on the way,” he said, emphasizing that a predetermined direction to his life was far less instrumental to his success than his consistent willingness to explore.

During the question-and-answer portion of the event, the conversation turned to the relationship between Dryden’s hockey career and his many other professions.

Takahashi drew a parallel between a successful team and a successful government, asking if

“the Liberals and the Habs have lost their way in the same sense?”

“Demise begins with the seeds of losing,” Dryden said. “Constant opposition chips away at your pride and excitement, slowly wearing you down. That’s when a team and a government begin to lose.”

According to Dryden, the Liberals progressively established a sense of entitlement after holding power for over a decade.

A Liberal MP elected in 2004, Dryden lost his seat on May 2, when his party was reduced to its worst

standing in history. He remains confident and optimistic, however, in his vision of recovery and revitalization. “We need to find our way back by drawing on old ideas, and we must rediscover our legacy.”

Dryden emphasized that Canada’s role in the 21st century is no longer reflected by a few narrow stereotypes. “Canada acts as an agent of change for newcomers,” he said. “Together, we are creating a ‘multiculture.’ This is the most compelling aspect of what we can offer to the world.”

campus

Little Gordon Ramsay

Chef Gordon Ramsay’s dwarf lookalike Percy Foster was found dead in a badger’s den in Wales.

The three-foot-six man also starred in adult films which, Foster has said, pay celebrity lookalikes really, really well. According to Foster, “dwarf lookalikes are as rare as hen’s teeth and can command top dollar.” Foster, 35, was able to afford a new BMW and a diamond-encrusted Soda Stream, an at-home soda maker. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of Foster’s death, and have not ruled out suicide.

The Human Library came to Concordia’s Loyola campus on Saturday. Participants in the Vanier Library event could “borrow” a person and have a conversation with them for up to 30 minutes. The idea originated in Denmark in 2000 and has been held in over 25 countries to date. At Concordia, 25 human “books,” some in French as well as English, were available to “lend out,” with titles like “lemonAIDS,” “Mommy, Can You Play With Me? (Being a Young Student Parent),” and “Brazilian Christian Converts to Islam.” Photo by Navneet Pall

Continued from cover

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

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Council chair says power to call a by-election ultimately lies with council it wasn’t physically possible for me to be in both places the same night. It was basically a time conflict. My first priority remains academia.”

The loss of Synanidis reduces the number of councillors from the Action slate to six, five of whom are from JMSB. The councillors, as well as all members of their slate, had originally been disqualified last

April along with opposing slate Your Concordia by former CEO Oliver Cohen, mainly for allegedly violating rules during last March’s general election.

In an April 27 decision, the CSU’s judicial board decided to overturn Cohen’s decision with regards to Your Concordia, but upheld the disqualification of Action. The slate’s councillors were ultimately reinstated by a vote at

tuition

Continued from cover

Students dressed up as Usain Bolt wrote it was not a racist act.

Morgan does not agree. “That is the part of it that is the most violently racist,” he said in response. “[Being black] is not a costume that you put on.

“Regardless of what the students intended, that is the problem right there,” Morgan continued. “It is wrong, it is a symbol of hatred and denigration. It should not be used in the way that it was used.”

Meanwhile, HEC is looking to turn the incident into a “learning experience.”

“The [student association] and HEC Montréal have jointly decided to offer the organizers of the different student activities a chance to participate in a training program on intercultural issues, as a way of ensuring that future student activities respect the different values of our increasingly multicultural world,” stated a release issued by the school, without explain-

CSU council in early May. In an email sent on Monday, former Action leader and unsuccessful CSU presidential candidate Khalil Haddad called Synanidis an “extremely dedicated student leader.”

“Additionally, the historic agreement between both slates had the primary purpose of truly creating an environment of cooperation, diversity, and respect,” he

ing any further details.

“I don’t put the students themselves at fault,” said Morgan.

He thinks that education is key to preventing incidents like this from occurring, and he hopes that a dialogue can be begin on what he considers “a greater problem about what we think about, how we value, how we understand, how we discuss — if we discuss — black history, culture and contribution.”

In fall 2010, a management students association at McGill put a halt to a frosh activity when accusations of cultural insensitivity were raised around its tribal theme. A promotional video showed students in costume and face paint, representing four different tribes: the Zulu, Maasai, Inca and Maori.

The incident at HEC has since been covered by news services around the world, including the UK’s Daily Mail.

I was really going to try to balance both, because I

did get voted in so I didn’t want to just drop it

Gregory Synanidis, former CSU councillor

wrote.

“Consequently, it is no longer a question of categorizing councillors as part of the ‘opposing slate’; as an elected councillor, your sole duty and loyalty is to the students you represent.”

CSU council chair Cuillerier is scheduled to make an official announcement regarding the resignations in his report at CSU council this Wednesday.

Average Canadian tuition rose by eight per cent in two years: StatsCan Tannara Yelland CUP Prairies & Northern bureau chief

SASKATOON (CUP) — As universities try to balance their budgets in the face of a sluggish economy, Canadian university students have seen their tuition go up by eight per cent in the last two years.

A four per cent increase for the 2010–11 year was followed by another 4.3 per cent hike this year, according to recent Statistics Canada study. The Canadian average for undergraduate tuition is now $5,366. Ontario students, who pay $6,640 on average, pay the highest tuition in the country while Quebec undergrads enjoy the lowest, paying an average of $2,519.

Students in Newfoundland and Labrador, where tuition fees have been frozen since 2003–04, are paying an average of $2,649.

In Alberta, tuition is nominally capped to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), meaning it increased by about two per cent for the 2011–12 year.

Average fees for full-time undergrads in that province sit at $5,662.

“However, that number is misleading,” said University of Alberta Students’ Union vice-president external Farid Iskandar. “Alberta has the highest mandatory non-instructional fees levied on students in the country at $1,399.”

While Alberta has the highest non-tuition fees, students in New Brunswick will have the largest increase over last year’s non-instructional fees for both graduates and undergraduates. Compulsory nontuition fees went up for undergradu-

$2,519

ates by 21.5 per cent over last year, rising to $430. For graduate students, non-instructional fees went up by 17.6 per cent.

The national average for compulsory fees went up 5.5 per cent for undergrads. Graduate students in Nova Scotia were the only students in the nation to see a decline in compulsory fees; they went down by 7.5 per cent.

While Canadian undergrads are paying more each year, they are still significantly better off than either their international student counterparts or graduate students. International students, who represent a rapidly growing portion of the student population, pay an average of $17,571 in tuition — up 9.5 per cent from two years ago.

Average Quebec tuition in 2011-2012, a Canadian low

life 6

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com health

Banning the freshman 15 Four simple steps to stop the pounds in their tracks Marissa Miller Interim life editor

C

ongratulations. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably made it to university, the land of due dates, fast-speaking professors, minimal parental control and laptops with short battery lives. And because all of these things are so overwhelming to cope with on a constant basis, we end up relying on our fun, lazy habits to keep us sane. While this lifestyle may have the intoxicating taste of takeout, get us sufficiently inebriated on a Tuesday night, and causes us to sleep halfway through our philosophy class, they contribute to the famous “fifteen pounds” we never thought we’d find on our hips come freshman year.

The Freshman 15 is a North American term used to describe college students’ weight gain associated with erratic sleep schedules, stress, affinity for fast and unhealthy food, and being away from mom and dad who are usually there to set our ways straight. However, studies show that Canadians are gaining weight at a less significant rate compared to previous years. So whether you’re in the freshman 10and-a-half or the 5 3/4 category, you can beat the bulge.

If you look down—no, not at your newly pedicured toes or your fresh Reebok kicks — at your waist, and it’s gotten bigger ever since you’ve enrolled into this fine learning institution, you’re not alone.

Shayna Mestel never thought she would be looking forward to hitting the gym after class to reserve the elliptical machine. She also never considered herself to be the type of student to set her alarm clock back seven minutes earlier to pack herself a heart-healthy lunch. But here is a Concordia student who has taken the textbook approach to fighting the Freshman Fifteen phenomenon and won.

“After high school, I stopped playing basketball and being in dance shows,” said Mestel, an exercise science student. “I also started snacking a lot more and didn’t care what I ate.”

After enrolling in an exercise prescription class where she learned about all of the shortand long-term effects of eating poorly and not exercising, the truth began to emerge. “I realized I had to change my ways or I’d have lots of issues as I get older,” Mestel said. “I got my friend who is a certified trainer to help me get started because I finally found my motivation.”

Mestel wasn’t always a keener when it came to meticulous weight loss. Like 85 per cent of students, she got 5 1/2 hours of sleep a night and never had the energy to workout due to a heavy frame and an even heavier workload.

“Skimping out on the recommended eight hours raises the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin,” said Richard Tardif, a kinesiologist who earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science at Concordia. “And this lethargy and hunger are both a recipe for weight gain.”

You think you’re doing your body and mind good by studying, and then you mindlessly find your fingers in the cookie jar yet again.

“I started snacking a lot more when I was studying and didn’t really care what I ate,” Mestel confessed. “So I ended up putting on weight and didn’t really have the motivation to do anything about it.”

If you’re in the same sinking boat, here’s what you can do about it.

Make your own Meals

Save money and your waistline from expand-

ing by skipping the long line at McDonald’s, where ingredients are unpronounceable, let alone actual food. Bringing a lunchbox to school is no longer one of the nerdiest things you could possibly do, unless of course it’s Batman- or Ninja Turtles-themed. Packing your Ziploc bags with unprocessed, fresh ingredients such as whole wheat bread with baby spinach, low-fat feta and turkey will keep your insulin levels steady, thus preventing future cravings for crappy food. Here’s a general rule of thumb: If it comes in a box, it’s bad for you. If it can perish, it’s usually good for you.

sneak in soMe exercise

Not to put the lovely and ever-so-convenient Concordia shuttle bus out of business or anything, but walking to school will do long-term wonders for your bod. Aaron Borek, a YMYWHA personal trainer certificate recipient, said that everyone needs at least 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per day. “You really have to fit in some cardio. Anything is better than what you’re probably getting now.” Anything is a pretty vague term, and that’s what is so great about it. If you have $60 to spare for the semester, signing up for a membership at Concordia’s Le Gym isn’t such a bad idea. Intramural sports are also offered, like badminton and ultimate frisbee. But who needs a team sport when Concordia is located right next to a year-round scenic bike path that stretches 3.4 km across downtown Montreal? Hop on a Bixi and wear a helmet.

Hit tHe snooze button

Don’t go forging doctor’s notes as a get-out-ofjail (I mean class) free card. Instead, develop a regular sleep schedule that your brain could adjust to. Don’t use your bedroom for anything other than sleeping (alone or with friends, I don’t judge), so that you associate your bed only with sleep and don’t experience the burden of insomnia. According to Tardif, being tired impairs your judgment, causing you to make poor food choices. Similarly, Borek said that “by not giving your body significant rest, you are liable to having a weak immune system, causing you to feel sick and lazy, and therefore sedentary.” Think of eight as the magic number for health: eight glasses of water a day, eight servings of fruits and veggies, and bingo, eight hours of sleep.

Get drunk on life

It’s not hard to stay sober when you discover all the calories in beer. (It tastes like crap anyways, but maybe that’s just the woman in me talking.) Alcohol plays an obviously huge social lubricant role in campus life, as it is readily available in large, cheap quantities at cultural and program-related events. Be wary of the brew though, because alcohol is a poison. “When the body senses poison, it stops everything it’s doing and tries to get rid of the poison,” Borek explains. “By consuming too much alcohol you are not letting your liver deal with toxic substances produced by your own body, so it can’t metabolize your food.” And no, puking at the end of the night does not negate the calories.

The endorphins produced by attaining success will become addictive, and soon enough, second nature. “I am so motivated and in such a good spot right now with how I feel towards exercise and nutrition that I won’t ever repeat my old ways,” Mestel vowed. “I make time in my schedule to go to the gym no matter what.”

Defy the fat brand and re-dub it the “Freshman Zero,” or even “Negative Five.”

“I can personally tell you that all of this works because during my first year of university, I tried to lose weight and used a lot of these suggestions and I have lost 36 pounds since October 2010,” Mestel proudly said.

The Freshman Negative 36 works, too.

skinny tips

Mix it up: Don’t spend months on the same activity. You WILL get bored, and so will your muscles. Challenge and confuse them by spending a week on hot yoga and the next on salsa dance classes.

Don’t starve yourself: Eating less is only effective if you feel satiated. Afterwards, robbing your body of energy it needs and craves will only ruin your workout performance and cause you to binge later.

Don’t try too hard: Getting obsessed with fitness and weight loss backfires when you start to neglect your passions and hobbies. Live life, be happy, and keep it simple by balancing work and play. This stability will end up normalizing your eating and exercise patterns.

Phone a friend: Drag your buddies to try out new classes. Establish a non-judgmental relationship with them to force you to go to bed at a normal hour and go for tea instead of cupcakes.

Surf the net: Websites like Tuango.ca, Livingsocial.com and Groupon.ca offer daily deals on things like workout classes and healthy gourmet food. Sign up, and purchase the deals that fit your newfound healthy freshman lifestyle.

Graphic by Phil Waheed

fitness

Be your own personal trainer A DIY workout is the ultimate answer for lazy students Dominique Daoust Staff writer Do you feel like Tom Davis? In your downtime, do you only want to slump down on the couch and watch a Mythbusters marathon? If you are like Tom Davis, an electrical trade student, your only form of exercise is getting up during commercials to get more cookies.

It is normal for busy students to feel intimidated by the gym. Either it is out of the way, too pricey, or the other members make you feel out of place. “People at the gym seem to know I don’t want to be there,” explains Davis. “I end up feeling worse about myself, like I had stayed home and watched television instead.”

So how can someone possibly exercise without any concerns? Not to worry! Do-ityourself workouts will solve this dilemma.

From creative equipment made out of household items to routines that only require your body as a tool, at-home workouts have never been easier.

First of all, it is important to take all the other factors of exercising into account. Dominic Pilon, a personal trainer at Physical Park in Vaudreuil, says to “never underestimate the benefits of stretching.” Apart from preventing various injuries, he explains, stretching prepares the body for any sort of effort and also helps keep muscles supple. Another element that should not be underestimated is

breathing. During an exercise, it is necessary to inhale while tensing up your body and then to exhale while releasing the tension. A complete breath (inhaling and exhaling) should be completed for each repetition.

Sets and repetitions are also important to consider for a beneficial workout. Michelle St-Onge from Énergie Cardio in Valleyfield suggests that beginners start with 1 or 2 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions.

“Someone who is more advanced could do 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions,” she says.

“These are necessary points to keep in mind while working out at home since no one is there to watch over you.”

As for the exercises, the ones that do not require any equipment are the easiest to incorporate into a routine. Both Dominic and Michelle are adamant about cardio as a prime factor in staying healthy.

The most convenient and fast idea is to go for a jog around your neighbourhood, increasing your speed or time according to your comfort level. Popular exercises to perform after your heart is pumping are crunches, push-ups, squats and lunges. Other effective ones are the plank, the bridge and leg rotations off the ledge of a couch. To add some creativity, Pilon suggests using canned goods as weights. To add difficulty, you could also wear a school bag filled with books while squatting. If you think you might get bored, invite a friend to join in and blast some upbeat music to help you stay focused and energized.

Seeing people spend hours on end at the gym might lead you to believe that long workouts reap better results. Luckily, the same

Continued on p. 7

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @ConcordianLife results can be achieved in twenty-minutes. As an example, here is a workout Pilon suggested.

Begin by warming up with 15 repetitions of squats, split squats, 15 for each side, push-ups, burpees followed by a 30-second deep squat and another 30 seconds of running in place.

Then continue with 20 repetitions of push-ups, crunches, single leg hip extensions (pushing off the wall to raise your hips while lying flat on the ground), 30 side to side lunges with weights of your choice, 15 single arm bent over rows (lifting weights one arm at a time while leaning over a bench), 15 single arm front raises with weights, a one minute front plank and 30 supermans (while lying face down, lift your arms and legs up at the same time).

Post-workout stretches are crucial to wind down.

Hopefully, these guidelines will help some people view their couches not as a place to pass out but to work out. “Creating my own workout helped me a lot,” Davis said. “I can focus on my exercises instead of everyone around me.” At the end of the day, you are the one that understands your needs the most.

Besides, this alternative beats the smell of gym lockers any day.

Graphic by Sean Kershaw

etiQUette

Patience has its limits How bringing food to the library is a surefire way to lose friends Dominique Daoust Staff writer It happened last winter at Loyola’s Vanier Library. It was finals week, and I was swamped with assignments and readings. Knowing that student lounges and coffee shops can get pretty noisy, I made my way to the library.

For the ones who don’t know, or should probably be reminded, a library is a quiet place where people go to read and study. One of this establishment’s sacred rules is not to bring any food inside. Most of the time, people go along with such rules. As I made my way to a seat on that fateful day, I realized how naive I was.

While I was trying my best to do my homework, this abominable sound echoes in the background. It started off with what I assume was someone opening a container, followed by the most horrendous chewing sounds I have ever heard in my entire life. It could only be described as a starving cow shoving its face into a creamy bowl of noodles. To make the whole situation worse, there was a very strong smell that accompanied the sounds. So it was both a treat for your ears and nose.

Even though this is one of my top pet peeves, I’m normally pretty patient when it comes to someone’s lack of classy eating habits in public. Since eateries are already noisy to begin with, I can try my best to talk as loudly as possible in order to muffle the smacking.

But in a library? Seriously? Did you honestly think no one was going to hear that? I’m happy for the students who can actually do any type of school work while listening to their iPods.

Unfortunately, for the rest of us, there’s no hope.

It’s understandable if you’re nibbling

on a granola bar because, let’s face it - you could be sitting in there doing work for hours.

But I can’t guarantee you’re not going to get punched in the throat if you’re smacking your lips and fingers over a Lean Cuisine plate.

You’re only asking for it at that point. The fact that you thought it was appropriate to bring that in a library as a nice light snack in the first place raises some serious questions.

So please, if you don’t want to face the wrath of the other overloaded students around you, take those questionable meals somewhere else.

neiGhboUrhood

“

“

Continued from p. 6

7

Graphic by Katie Brioux

I can’t guarantee you’re not going to get punched in the throat if you’re smacking your lips and fingers over a Lean Cuisine plate.

“The Main” is your main destination Where vintage shops and great nightlife collide Kalina Laframboise Contributor St-Laurent Boulevard, or The Main, as affectionately coined by Montrealers, is a quintessential artery that spans over 11 kilometres through six different boroughs. It’s a hot spot for various cultures and languages, and one of the trendiest streets you will find in our city. Treat yourself to a day in the heart and soul of Montreal by hitting up these low-key places on the weekend.

Café Olé 4433 St-Laurent Blvd.

Located in Little Portugal, Olé is one of the most underrated cafes on The Main. If you’re racing to finish a paper or cram for an exam, this place is heaven sent for you. It’s cute and quaint, and the bright yellow walls are so warm it’s like having the entire sun captured in the smallest space. With a variety of delicious coffees, teas, salads, soups, sandwiches and desserts, you can’t go wrong by stopping at this little café. Not only is everything under $10, but everything that they serve is completely fresh. It’s friendly and quiet, and certainly inviting. Essentially, this is a procrastinator’s haven.

Café Olé is your one-stop shop for good food and great study vibes.

Friperie St-Laurent 3976 St-Laurent Blvd.

This is the kind of vintage store that makes shopping exciting even for those who loathe it. Spanning over two floors, this enchanting second-hand store has things dating as far back as the 1940s. It can be hard to find what you need, but if you ask one of the super-friendly owners, they will help you find juuust what you are looking for. Part-owner Daniel Aubain gave me a tour of the store with a passionate and in-depth explanation of his favorite pieces.

I have to admit, it made me want to blow my savings right then and there. “It’s not the cheapest Friperie but that’s because you can’t find these items anywhere else,” Aubain explained.

Friperie offers everything from silky mink coats to old-school blazers to poodle skirts. The Marine jackets are worth checking out, because they are truly one-of-a-kind. For those of you who need to spice up your wardrobe but are on a tight budget, venture up to the second floor where it’s all under $20. This cute store won’t leave you disappointed, but it will make you late for wherever you have to be.

B-Side 3616 St-Laurent Blvd.

Break into your piggy bank for rare vintage finds. Photos by Navneet Pall

This bar sets itself apart from the rest on The Main. It’s not huge, but its ambiance is something else. It’s an anomaly of sorts because it’s cozy but loud, and plays everything from Journey to The Jackson Five to hits you hear on your drive home. It’s usually packed on the weekend, which makes it hard to shuffle, but it’s hands down one of the best nights you’ll ever have. The atmosphere is lively and the deep red walls and decorations will instantly put you in the party mood. B-Side even has a rooftop terrace for those who prefer to dance under the moon, with two bars for when it’s crowded. The terrace isn’t just a summer treat because with heaters lining the walls, this rooftop continues the party far into the fall. Drinks fall into the normal price range, so while not entirely frugal, you won’t break the bank either.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011 food

theconcordian

Eat like a rockstar at Casa Del Popolo Getting your money’s worth at this vegetarian hot spot Renee Morrison Contributor Vegetarians, rejoice! Frustrated and hungry when you hang out at bars that only serve greasy, meaty options? Head to the Plateau and try Casa Del Popolo (which means “house of the people” in Italian), best described as a shabby-chic home for the artsy and music-loving. La Sala Rossa, a small concert venue where local bands play almost every night, is their attached neighbour. The scene is vintage meets rock star; sitting at the bar, I could not help but notice a Ringo Starr doppelgänger being served by a bartender who could have been Dita Von Teese’s twin.

Despite its vegetarian specialities, do not be worried if you are more of a carnivore because you will not even notice the lack of meat. The Tex-Mex inspired menu is anything but rabbit food. Share a plate of nachos piled high with tangy guacamole, cheese, sour cream and black beans, or opt for one of their three different vegetarian burritos. Just as I was wondering where they find room for all this in their kitchen, I noticed one of the bartenders expertly folding a burrito and using a microwave behind the bar to heat things up. Talk about energy conservation.

If you are not craving a taste of the South, try one of their sandwiches with goat cheese, bocconcini, veggies or tofu, all offered on different breads. The Boccolicious lives up to its name, but be sure to order it on baguette because the pumpernickel was soggy after some quality time with the nachos.

If you are drinking, try one of the six local beers on draft. Yes, tuition is due at the end of the month, but the prices beat most other

At Casa Del Popolo’s grungy restobar/concert venue, you’ll never sacrifice health for taste. Photo by Tiffany Blaise drinkeries in town and perfectly cater to the mix of starving students and musicians.

Just before leaving, a band came in and one of the members was an acquaintance of mine, getting ready to play his first show next door at La Sala Rossa. That is just the vibe at Casa Del Popolo: a cozy place where you will find a familiar face.

Casa Del Popolo is located at 4873 St-Laurent Blvd.

Must-try: The heaping mountain of toppings that Casa Del Popolo refers to as nachos.

Think twice if: You are in the mood for a fancy restaurant that will require you to shower.

Bonus: Some great indie tracks playing in the dining room in between bites.

Price: $10 per person for food; drinks are $5 - $7.

bar

Bucket drinks compensate for Chez Serge’s tiny venue Stripper poles, surrealist decor and a mechanical bull all under one roof Mark Della Posta Contributor As you head down the Saint-Laurent, it is nearly impossible to miss Chez Serge. The first thing you will notice is the diamond shaped “Welcome to Las Vegas”style sign flashing red bulbs included - hanging above the fire engine red front door. Once passed the entrance way, you will quickly notice the belle époque crystal chandeliers, giving off a dark pink glow, suspended above table tops dedicated to the pop icons of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

To the right, there is floor to ceiling field turf covering an entire wall. To the left, a bar equipped with stripper poles, being watched over by a mounted moose head whose antlers are ornate with brassieres supposedly donated by some of the establishment’s more liberal patrons.

The bar’s large flat screen TVs feature the likes of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne on a nightly basis, demonstrating a rather strange fascination with Westerns.

Finally, the pièce de résistance is a fully functional mechanical bull at the back of the bar, which for some reason tends to move a little slower for those who are easy on the eyes.

There’s never a dull moment at the elegantly posh and extremely crowded Chez Serge. Photo by Navneet Pall The scene at Chez Serge resembles something more fitting of a surrealist painting than a watering hole on the Main. Despite looking like it came from the warped mind of a designer on hallucinogenics, something about the decor just works. It is one of those places that looks interesting enough to make you feel like you are somewhere trendy but not so cool that it makes you feel uncomfortable.

The decor itself is well worth a visit. Luckily, this place is plenty more than simply aesthetics and should keep you coming back.

The crowd is young, but not enough to be considered jailbait. The DJs play a variety

of 80s and 90s rock, while the bartenders inexplicably get up on the bar throughout the night and throw down Coyote Ugly style.

It should also be mentioned that this place serves their booze by the bucket. This means that for under $20, you can get a plastic beach pail filled with your favorite cocktail or one of the house specialties. Each bucket has roughly five to six ounces of liquor and is usually enough to put you in your happy place. The Mr. Freeze is especially worth a try if you are in need of a sugar rush. The beer is served in chilled glasses, the bar is well stocked and the prices are fairly reasonable.

If you are the type to get the munchies, fear not since Chez Serge has free popcorn.

And when the waitress gets annoyed with bringing you refills, Fairmount Bagel is just a couple of blocks away and is open all night.

Of course, like most of the best bars in the city, the secret has gotten out and this once hidden gem has become a hot spot. The place is jam packed on Fridays, Saturdays and game nights.

Chez Serge is located in the Mile End at 5301 St-Laurent Blvd. at the corner of Maguire.

arts

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

9

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com

film fest

Film for thought Montreal International Black Film Festival aims to open people’s eyes to the injustices of slavery Despina Doukas Contributor When most think of slavery, they take their minds back to colonial times, between the 16th and 19th centuries. Perhaps resulting from a lack of dialogue, people often tend to overlook the fact that slavery is still a big issue in many countries around the world today.

The seventh annual Montreal International Black Film Festival is coming with the promise to open our eyes to these issues and provoke thought and dialogue, all with the use of groundbreaking and moving cinematography.

This year, Montrealers can look forward to a selection of 125 films from 35 countries worldwide, as well as many thought provoking exhibitions, public debates, and many other activities aimed towards audiences of all ages.

“Movies are one of the best ways in the world to tell a story and to change things,” said the festival’s spokesperson, Felix Awardwinning actor and singer-songwriter Charles Biddle Jr. “They’re very subtle but they act on the subconscious mind [and] will have a way of creating a strong dialogue between people.”

Over the last few years, the festival has developed tremendously in both audience participation and the quality and variety of films.

This year, with a larger selection of films,

A still from Case Départ, the opening film for this year’s International Black Film Festival. ranging in genres from action and comedy to documentary, organizers promise it will be anything but dull.

“Often people tend to stereotype the types of movies which will be shown at a festival like this, thinking it will be a bunch of documentaries on a certain subject,” said Biddle Jr. “But this festival is anything but that. These are dramatic stories and action films which are shot with professional actors and high production values. The quality of cinematography has gone up tremendously over the years and Montreal should be proud to have a festival of that calibre.”

From the opening film Case Départ, a comedic look at two young black men sent back to colonial times to experience slavery, to its

closing film, I am Slave, which tells the very real story of Mende Nazer, who was abducted from her home is Sudan and forced into a life of servitude in the 21st century, there is a large subtext of slavery featured throughout the entire festival.

“What I’d like people to understand is that we’re progressing slowly, but we’re not really making those significant steps required to make a change in our society if slavery still goes on today,” explained Biddle Jr. “If I can do my part by creating visibility for that issue then I am honoured to be the spokesperson for such an event. Things can only change when there is a collective thought and consciousness of change. I’d like people to open their hearts to other people and realize we’re all the

same.”

This year, the festival will honour Souleymane Cissé, who will receive the lifetimeachievement award on Sept. 27. The award will be presented by author Dany Laferriere.

Cissé was the first African filmmaker to receive an award at the Cannes Film Festival. He will be honoured for helping to foster through his films a better understanding of the reality of black people.

The Montreal International Black Film Festival is taking place from Sept. 22 to Oct. 2.

For more information and the full schedule, go to www.montrealblackfilm.com.

film

Viewer discretion is advised School of horror studies begins its fall semester with a bone-chilling list of courses Amanda Dafniotis Contributor Its Montreal doors have only been open for a little over a year, yet the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is creating quite the stir.

Here is the thing: if you have not heard about it, it is probably because you are not a member of the city’s many horror circles. But fear not! You do not need to be a horror film junkie in order to get a kick out of this one.

“It’s a weekly school of horror, history, and theory courses for youth aged 14 to 29,” said Kier-La Janisse, the school’s founder. “Kids can come and learn to be critical thinkers and get to see some obscure films with like-minded fans at the same time.”

The courses are not specifically targeted at film studies students, so anyone interested need not be spooked away if they feel like they do not know anything about the genre.

Janisse’s fascination for horror movies started at the age of three, when she saw a film called Horror Express. “It was pretty much the first thing I remember,” recalled Janisse.

It was through years of dedication that Janisse was able to meet fellow horror fanatics and gain a reputation within the horror community. Many of the school’s instructors

are people whom she knows through those circles and who happen to be teachers at local Montreal schools.

“They also happen to be experts in horror and maybe don’t get to utilize that expertise in their normal classes as much as they’d like to,” she explained. “This is a chance for them to really delve into some of the specificities of their interests.”

In each class, students view an entire film, which allows those who know nothing about the genre to slowly immerse themselves into the horror universe. Through films and lectures, students learn all about the horror films that typically don’t make it on the big screen and are nothing like what you get with Saw. Horror films are not always violent and can be intellectually challenging, and therein lies the misconception. While many people may assume that all horror films are the same, Janisse points out that “they’re limited in terms of what they see and which horror films have marketing budgets behind them.”

Even though some of the films’ content may be scary, it does not mean that they are not worth seeing. But to avoid any angry parents banging on their doors, Janisse makes sure minors get their parents’ permission.

“Unless they enjoy the genre themselves, a lot of them feel that it’s irresponsible parenting to let their kid watch those kinds of films,” said Janisse. “A lot of them are against it without really knowing that much about the genre itself.”

On top of meeting new people and possibly collaborating on future projects, Janisse and her team of horror experts are essentially teaching their students about history through film.

Students get their horror fix in a class called “Adapting H.P. Lovecraft for the Screen.”

“A lot of the times that’s how people learn; they learn through pop culture about history.

They get a well-rounded view, and end up coming out with a thirst for more.”

Classes begin Sept. 28 at the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, 3660 St-Laurent Blvd. To find out more, check out their website at www.big-smash.com/miskatonic

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theconcordian

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

graphic novel

In a world of pure imagination Two authors explore dark and mystical themes through graphic novels David Adelman Contributor If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a 600-page graphic novel is comparable to a Russian epic.

For a reader unfamiliar with this genre of writing, Craig Thompson’s Habibi and Anders Nilsen’s Big Questions may seem like overwhelming reads. In this case, the reader should not judge a book by its volume, and instead judge it by its depth of meaning.

These two books take the reader on a journey of discovery as questions are raised probing the origins of the universe, a belief in a higher power and whether to place blind faith in humanity. Philosophical in nature, these stories convey an existential outlook.

Habibi tells the story of a tangled journey between Dodola and Zam, two emotionally damaged characters who struggle to survive hardship after hardship with only their faith in God and love for each other to push them through.

Meanwhile, Big Questions is a graphic fable using a flock of birds as the “characters” searching for answers to life and its mysteries.

The birds’ predictable and boring existence is thrown into disarray after a series of unfortunate events fall upon them. Their reaction to these events has consequences on others as the story unfolds.

According to Nilsen, who spent 15 years working on Big Questions, “I should have added to my title ‘small answer’ because the message I wanted to get across was to look at the bigger picture of existence and appreciate the day to day gifts in life.”

Thompson believes that graphic novelists break down barriers through their work. While working on Habibi, he befriended Muslims and through extensive dialogues came to realize how similar the Christian and Islamic faiths are.

“I believe that separations between peoples are imagined and there would be far less loneliness

Thompson and Nilsen will make readers think deeper with their new graphic novels. Pictured: images from Habibi. in the world when people start to accept that,” said Thompson.

Thompson is breaking down the walls of ethnocentrism; Nilsen’s art breaks down the walls of separation between life and death as the characters accept the outcome from every situation that they endure.

Coming from a Christian background, Thompson was fascinated by the aesthetic beauty of Arab calligraphy. “As a cartoonist, when I flip open the page of a comic book the text and images turn into ideas,” he said.

“That’s why Arab calligraphy was so appealing to me because every word has its own artistic beauty that represents an idea.”

The Arabic word “Bismallah” translates to the following phrase in English: “In the name of God, the Merciful, The Compassionate.” Such words are introduced right away into the story, setting the importance for language and the need to have faith.

Inspired by mysticism, Habibi is full of spiritual anecdotes and biblical stories seen from various religious perspectives. “I am obsessed with the esoteric perception of divinity and uni-

versality. This novel brought me along a path of knowledge as I researched Judaism, Sufism and other eastern religions,” said Thompson.

When it comes to attention to detail, both authors have different perspectives.

Nilsen is known for his simplistic and straightforward style of drawing. “I care about the story and what’s going on in every scene I draw, rather than the emphasis on dazzling the reader with too many drawings,” he explained.

The two novels also play with the theme of esoterism. “It’s funny,” chuckled Nilsen, “My book divulges in exploring the meaning behind life and death and my readers expect to find big answers at the end, but things aren’t black and white, just the pages are.”

In comparison to Habibi, Big Questions’ simple, newspaper cartoon style works with the characters in the story, just as the intricate mandalas of spiritual art in Habibi enhance the hardships the characters endure and how they seek faith to provide answers and support.

When Nilsen compiled his novel, he did so with the intention for his readers to not get too caught up in the details. “Big Questions is my

hope to people to see the world for what it is and accept it,” he said.

Thompson agrees that we have to breathe more and fear less. “People are where they are in life and the only direction to go is forward,” he said. “That’s where faith and spirituality come in.”

Nilsen believes that there is a special beauty connecting words to images. “A reader has a certain type of intimacy with a graphic novel that doesn’t exist in other artistic mediums,” he explained.

Both authors are optimistic about the future of graphic novels. “There is that personal quality in the element of graphic novels,” said Thompson. “I always feel that when I read or write a comic that I am looking at a handwritten letter.”

Nilsen will launch Big Questions on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. Thompson is launching Habibi on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Both book launches will take place at Drawn & Quarterly, 211 Bernard St. W.

book fair

Pure bibliophile bliss The 28th Montreal Antiquarian Book Fair comes to Concordia Rebecca Ugolini Contributor People don’t shop like they used to. Take, for example, the sorry state of used bookstores in Montreal.

“In the last few years, five second-hand bookshops in the downtown area here have closed,” said Adrian King-Edwards, owner of The Word bookstore on Milton St. “It’s a general trend in North America because a lot of people are doing their book shopping online.”

But King-Edwards has faith that a book fair might remind people of the joy of shopping offline. The 28th Montreal Antiquarian Book Fair is coming to the McConnell Library Building this Saturday and Sunday, bringing together 26 used bookstores and individual dealers passionate about antique, special edition and fine-binding books.

He explained that the Antiquarian Book Fair offers people the chance to reclaim book shopping as an experience that includes browsing, chance, and discovering new interests.

“When you search on the Internet, you’re looking for a specific book but you can’t come into a store, wander around, and say ‘Ah! This is neat’, because you didn’t know about that book before,” said King-Edwards. “I’d like to break the stereotype that many people have that we’ve only got very expensive books.”

With books in every genre, prices beginning

at $20 or $30 and topping off at $15,000, and a paltry $1 entry fee for Concordia students, the Antiquarian Book Fair attracts collectors and book lovers of all interest groups, budgets, and professions.

Dealers at the fair carefully curate their collections, and are highly knowledgeable about their merchandise, specializing in categories as diverse as Helen Khan’s array of 17th century travel books and Wilfrid M. de Freitas’s autographed collection of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill, all of which, as King-Edwards explained, are handpicked.

The Antiquarian Book Fair offers visitors the chance to handle rare editions and printings.

Displaying some of his stock for the fair, KingEdwards produced one book—T.S. Eliot’s Ash Wednesday.

“It’s one of only 600 copies,” he said, revealing the title page. “And the nice thing about it is that it’s signed by T.S Eliot. This is a real gem and it’s the kind of thing that will turn up at the fair. You’ll only ever see this once in your lifetime.”

King-Edwards related the anecdote of his best book scout, who visited an estate sale, where he found a damaged copy of poetry by Gregory Corso for $1. He bought it, intending to fix the book.

Once home, the scout opened the book and a small paper fell out. It was a postcard written in 1959 by famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

Overhearing King-Edwards’ story, Dr. P.J. Walls wanted to relate his own story.

“I was in a little bookstore opposite the National Picture Gallery in London,” said the Irish doctor, returning to The Word nearly 20 years after his last visit. “I asked the owner,

Graphic by Katie Brioux

‘Say, there’s a little underlining in this book, how much of a reduction can I get?’” “‘I’ve got to tell you this story,’ said the owner. ‘A friend of mine recently had this very underlined book and as he was reading, he was rubbing out all the underlining.’”

Walls smiled as he delivered the punch line, serendipitous as it is terrible: “But when he got to the end, he found it was a personal copy of T.S. Eliot’s.”

Hearing the stories behind the acquisition of books and ephemera, it is evident that the Antiquarian Book Fair will fascinate visitors because of the spirit and humour that permeates in the

book trade.

“The reduced entrance fee for students is our way of repaying Concordia’s support,” said King-Edwards. “And if the young students get a sense of the wider range of books, it’s good for the future: they may be interested in becoming booksellers themselves later on.”

The Montreal Antiquarian Book Fair is taking place Sept. 24 from noon to 6 p.m. and Sept. 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the McConnell Library Building’s groundfloor lobby.

Entrance for Concordia students is $1 and regular admission is $6.

Follow us on Twitter: @ConcordianArts

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

11

visual arts

Let’s talk about X Student-run gallery is gearing up to swivel heads at Concordia Sofia Gay Arts editor Walking towards the VA building on one of the first cold days of the season, the building’s dark grey exterior does not betray the fact that this is a place where people come to learn and create art.

Once inside, the nondescript hallways, so unknown to the massive student body outside the fine arts faculty, keep up this demure facade.

That is, until you get to the second floor, where the smell of coffee leads you to a bright and colourful space. Before you know it, you are at Gallery X, one of Concordia’s more intimate galleries, located in Cafe X. With its large windows that allow for unlimited sunlight to stream through, mismatched furniture scattered about the space, and of course, the art hanging on the wall, it is easy to see how one can spend an entire day studying and relaxing in the gallery’s atmosphere.

So the question is, how is it that people stumble into the gallery every day, not knowing it was there before?

“I think that it is under the radar a lot,” offered gallery curator Clinton Glenn. The marriage of art exhibitions with a café setting also plays a role not only in the way people discover the gallery, but also in the experience they have when they are there.

“It actually gives a little bit more exposure, because people come into the space to buy food and relax and actually study,” said Glenn. “And I don’t know how many people go into, say, VAV gallery, study and look at the art.”

With past exhibitions that have included themes such as monsters, all sorts of mediums, from painting and drawing, to sculpture, have been exhibited in the space. And of course, there is always room to experiment with the actual installation of the works.

“Because this is a non-traditional environment, we can use this space in really interesting and unique ways,” Glenn explained.

Although it nearly goes without being said, the art exhibited in the gallery also veers away from safe or predictable routes.

The submission guidelines for art include a plead for provocative works.

“I like art that’s really provocative, and gets people either loving it or hating it,” said Glenn. “I tend to go for things that get people really, really pissed off or people being like, ‘this is amazing.’”

Toying with the ideas of possible themes of death and deconstruction for this upcoming year, it is safe to say that some provocation should be in order for the gallery.

Showcasing the work of undergraduate fine arts students of all different disciplines, not just studio arts, the gallery offers itself as a manageable bridge for students who want to show their work in a fuss-free setting, without having to succumb to overly stuffy or nerve-pinching guidelines.

“In terms of exhibiting at Gallery X, my most important point to get across is if you’re thinking of submitting something, just go ahead and do it, because we’re openminded, we’re willing to work with people who are really interested in showing,” stressed Glenn.

“My title is curator, but I see myself more as a facilitator,” he continued. “So if people want to show, I will help them. I will help with the setup, do the logistics, that sort of thing, get the word out there, and then help them curate the show [...] I’m here to help people in any way I can.”

“It’s more open, everything is a little bit less rigid in terms of what can happen here,” co-curator Emma Carey echoed later.

“So I really hope that it becomes an alternative place for people to do whatever they want and that we can foster that and help them exhibit and have publicity.”

For all the room to experiment and shake

things up, they are sticking to the gallery’s tradition of exhibiting the work of Cafe X staff for the first show.

Titled Self-Portraits: Introducing the Staff of Cafe X, the show will feature work by 10 artists who work at the café, allowing them to step over the counter and giving viewers a glimpse into the talents of the people who brew their coffee every time they come in.

And, of course, it will include everything but your typical self-portrait. From paintings to sculpture, and even a zine, the artists did not just step out of the box, they completely walked away from it when creating works of art to represent themselves.

“It’s all sorts of different creative output and I really didn’t have any rigid structures around what they could submit,” said Carey.

“They’re taking it to places where it’s not specifically your standard or stereotypical self-portrait,” added Glenn. “It’s more, ‘how do I want to represent myself in a way that is unique and isn’t just a headshot.’” “[The] work that I’m gonna show here is a self-portrait [...] a small canvas that I made with emotion and you can see three primary colours, so it’s very filling for the eye,” said contributing artist Félix-Antonin Noël of his submission, “Hooles.”

“It shows some craziness and aggressivity at the same time, so I don’t know how people are gonna react seeing this.”

From hearing the artists talk, it is apparent that they are passionate about their workplace and the creative opportunities Gallery X lends them.

Artist Tony Wilson submitted a sculpture titled “I Have Something to Show You” (a figure standing covered in gelatinous-looking pink plasticine and silicone). He called the gallery “comfortable and welcoming.”

“I’ve always taken pride in being able to contribute. I hope that people who see the show will feel that they can identify with the staff and get to know all of us a little better.”

Artist Nicola Krantz submitted a self-portrait taken with a homemade camera.

With more shows planned for the coming school year and the proverbial sky as the limit to where the artists and curators will take the gallery this year, Gallery X may just make its way into the collective consciousness of the Concordia art landscape.

And like any endeavour, artistic or otherwise, it will have to start somewhere.

“Right now,” said Glenn, “I think I’d like people to refer to it as not just being the gallery that’s in a café, but as being a gallery

space as well. We’re trying to bring something that’s a little more outside the box and a little more laidback to the gallery scene at Concordia.”

Self-Portraits: Introducing the Staff of Cafe X is running from Sept. 20 to 30 at Gallery X (VA Building, room 229.)

The vernissage is on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.

For more information, you can check out their website at www.gallery-x.com.

WASTEPAPERMAGAZINE.CO.UK

12

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

comic con

theconcordian

Days of the nerds

Montreal. Sept. 17 and 18. Place Bonaventure. Batman, Captain America, Spider-Man and multiple Wonder Women are all under one roof, perusing row upon row of comic books,

movie memorabilia, T-shirts and anime body pillows.

With all those superheroes at Montreal’s sixth Comic Con, who was keeping our streets safe? If comics have taught us anything, it’s that most crimes happen at night. Phew.

Comic Con’s guest of honour was comic book godfather Stan Lee, co-creator of the Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Avengers series, among many others. Patient fans lined up, some for hours, to catch a peek of a Batmobile replica (above), as well as a DeLorean replica from the Back to the Future films and Star Wars’ Landspeeder.

Everyone from Chewbacca to Darth Vader from George Lucas’ films were also at Comic Con. Dedicated costumed fans stayed in character for much of the day. Outside, people on the sidewalk used chalk to sketch cartoon faces of anime characters. Photos and text by Chris Hanna

music

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

13

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

feStiVal

POP wants to celebrate its 10th anniversary with you!

Over 300 bands and more than 50,000 of your closest musicloving friends will flood Montreal Katelyn Spidle Interim music editor

W

hen Peter Rowan and Daniel Seligman serendipitously met on a train back in 2002, the idea of starting up one of Montreal’s most prominent music festivals had yet to pop into their heads. But after yanking Noelle Barbara on board, POP Montreal materialized and has been growing every year. Not only is POP a music festival that attracted over 300 bands and 50,000 showgoers in 2010, but it also hosted another 50-plus events in fashion, film and art.

This year, POP Montreal will run from Sept. 2125, and with both daytime and nighttime events happening simultaneously throughout the city’s diverse music and artistic venues, it is highly suggested that you plan your itinerary ahead of time. To help you avoid decisions-overload syndrome, the Concordian has put together a little overview of shows that we suggest you make a point of checking out.

Day One: Wednesday, Sept. 21 Catch dream pop quartet Asobi Seksu at Club Lambi (4465 St-Laurent Blvd.) at midnight.

Also worthy of your time is Toronto indie sweethearts Hooded Fang, who will wrap up a five-set show at Les 3 Minots (3812 St-Laurent

Blvd.) at 1 a.m. Looking for something notso-mainstream? Check out local experimental artist Cop Car Bonfire at Casa Del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent Blvd.) at 10 p.m. or Brooklyn deathmetal group Liturgy, who play at 11 p.m. at Il Motore (179 Jean-Talon St. W.).

Day Two: Thursday, Sept. 22 Got the afternoon off? Head over to Divan Orange (4234 St-Laurent Blvd.) for their Free Daytime Show, which will be taking place from 1-6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The lineup is a surprise, but what the hell, it’s free! Now, assuming that there is at least one person who will not be attending the free Arcade Fire show (happening at Place des Festivals in Quartier des spectacles at 9 p.m.), see Sean Nicholas Savage at Mission Santa Cruz (60 Rachel St. W.) at 9:30 p.m. Or, if indie isn’t your thing, head to CFC (6388 St-Hubert St.) for Masala Djs at 10 p.m.

Day Three: Friday, Sept. 23 Ever hear Taiwanese hip hop? If you’re curious, head over to Club Lambi at 10 p.m. for Kou Chou Chang. Alternatively, see how Ninjaspy fuse ska and metal at Katacombes (1635 StLaurent Blvd.) at 9:50 p.m. If you’re feeling a dance party, which is perfectly reasonable on a Friday night, check out HUMANS at Les 3 Minots at 11 p.m. But if you’re thinking of hitting up something low-key, Ohbijou will play some soft indie tunes at 12:30 a.m. at O Patro Vys (356 Mont-Royal Ave. E.)

Day Four: Saturday, Sept. 24 If you were planning on buying a POP Hopper day pass, today would be the day to do

POP Montreal staff pose for a group photo. Photo by Inmaculata Salcado Gonzalez. it. Check out Charlotte Cornfield at 3 p.m. at Maison Notman (5100 Sherbrooke St. W.) and then head over to Place du Pasteur (Université du Québec à Montréal campus) for a free daytime show featuring The Balconies (4 p.m.), among others. Instead of chowing down on some real food, which there will obviously be no time for today, swallow some Plants and Animals at 6 p.m. at Breakglass Studios (7250 Clark St.) For the evening, options will include fuzzy-psych-pop quartet The Vandelles, who will play at Cabaret du Mile-End (5240 du Parc Ave.) at 10:30 p.m., or indie veterans By Divine Right at 11 p.m. and theatrical pop-princess Allie Hughes at 12 a.m., both at O Patro Vys. If you’re into grunge music, catch Parlovr at 12:30 a.m. at L’Escogriffe (4467A St-Denis St.) and Metz at Barfly (4062A Saint-Laurent Blvd.) at 1 a.m. But let’s also not forget Andrew W.K., who will play at 11 p.m. at Maison des arts de Laval (1395 de la Concorde Blvd. W.) and Chromeo,

playing at 11:30 p.m. at Metropolis (59 SteCatherine St. E.)

Day Five: Sunday, Sept. 25 POP will gently deflate on Sunday night with only 12 scheduled shows. If you like musicals, SOCALLED will be presenting The Season at Theatre Outremont (1240 Bernard Ave.) at 8:30 p.m. After, head to Divan Orange for Elfin Saddle (the band, not the mushroom) at 11:40 p.m. Finally, if you don’t have anything to do too early the next day, hit up POP’s closing party at Église St-Édouard (425 Beaubien St. E) where Think About Life will play at 11 p.m.

For a complete schedule of POP events go to popmontreal.com/en/schedule/acts

profile

Onto the next level of experience Katelyn Spidle Interim music editor Most people who have attended a summer camp have probably performed in the camp talent show (think Wet Hot American Summer.)

Cheesy and cliché as it may seem, singer/ chief songwriter and guitarist Ryan Boldt and guitarist Burke Barlow of Saskatoon quintet The Deep Dark Woods found their early musical beginnings by “rock[ing] out incredible versions of Stairway to Heaven” at camp.

Those early days are a part of The Deep Dark Woods’ history of collaboration and connectivity. Drummer Lucas Goetz and Boldt’s grandparents used to play music together back in the day, so by the time the band solidified in 2005, the guys had already been acquainted since childhood.

“I’ve been with the band for a couple years

now so I’m really the new guy in and amongst people who have known each other or each others’ families for generations and at least a lifetime,” organist and pianist Geoff Hilhorst explained.

Having known each other for as long as they have has influenced their musical compatibility. “There’s a steady constant with music that we all enjoy, but then there’s also stuff that each of us will say we like and the other one may not like as much,” said Hilhorst. “So each of us brings in a little bit of their own flavour to the band, which lends itself to the sound of the band as a whole.”

The Deep Dark Woods have been described as alternative country rock, roots and folk.

“That’s kind of what’s really neat about The Deep Dark Woods as far as music goes,” said Hillhorst. “Some of the songs and ideas that we’re playing, the ideas have been around for a couple hundred years, we just happen to be playing them with electric instruments, which puts a new kind of twist on things.”

While The Deep Dark Woods’ music is often interpreted as being heavily influenced by their hometown, Hilhorst countered that perception.

“Saskatoon probably doesn’t have a major influence on the music,” he explained. “I would say that [Boldt’s]’s musical influences in general have the biggest influences on [his] songwriting.”

He continued: “The murder ballads, you can liken that to the rough winters of the Saskatchewan plains, but really, murder ballads have been around for a couple hundred years.”

Their fourth studio album, “The Place I Left Behind,” was released via Six Shooter Records earlier this year. This time, the band decided to take the reins and produce the record themselves, having collaborated with producer Steve Dawson on the previous three albums.

“That whole idea of having the five of us basically steering the ship really lends itself to the dynamic of the record,” Hilhorst asserted.

“That’s why it sounds different than the other ones, sonically as well as musically [...] The whole element of producing the record ourselves, I think, moved us to the next level of experience in the studio.”

Catch The Deep Dark Woods at Petit Campus (57 Prince-Arthur St. E.) at 11 p.m. on Sept. 23 as part of POP Montreal.

“

“

The Deep Dark Woods steer their own way on fourth studio album

That’s kind of what’s really neat about [TDDW]. Some of the songs and ideas that we’re playing, the ideas have been around for a couple hundred years, we just happen to be playing them with electric instruments, which puts a new kind of twist on things.

Geoff Hillhorst, the Deep Dark Woods organist and pianist

14

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 concert

theconcordian

Orientation concert covered all the bases with varied selection of artists

T

Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

he CSU’s orientation concert has boasted some solid names over the years, and this year was no exception. The new CSU is running like a well-oiled machine right out of the gates, which is evident from the efficiency of their organization down to the smaller details, like serving the alcohol in mugs that actually insulate and seal, unlike last year’s model.

It’s sex, drugs and rock & roll, minus the sex and rock

Interscope Records, responsible for such acts as Lady Gaga, Eminem and U2, has been dealing out more than just record contracts. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company “was used by a drug-trafficking ring as a waystation for cases stuffed with cocaine and vacuum-packed $20 bills.” These allegations stem from a letter listing evidence against music industry manager James “Henchman” Rosemond, who has been in custody since his indictment on drug trafficking charges in June.

Members of Rosemond’s organization allegedly used musical equipment ‘’road cases’’ to send cocaine from Los Angeles to New York. Those same cases would then be sent back with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to Interscope’s California headquarters. Rosemond is facing 18 felony charges and could spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted. Interscope has since denied in a company statement that any employees had any involvement in the ring, and that the company had no “knowledge of the contents of any of the packages that were purportedly shipped to its offices.”

Express yourself, just not to me

Volunteers at the Toronto International Film Festival got a special treat last week when they were lucky enough to be made to stare at a wall as Madonna walked past them.

According to The Globe and Mail, eight volunteers working backstage “were asked to turn their faces to a wall so that they would not look at the pop-star-turned-movie-director as she made her way to her press conference about the film.” Her spokesperson Liz Rosenberg flatly denied the allegations: “She has never and would never ask anyone to do that ever.”

Stars leave their signature on every stage with rose petals strewn about, but the confetti was a welcome addition.

Lunice closed the night to a thinner but rowdier core of audience members that heartily subjected themselves to the unexpected September chill.

Nomadic Massive balance out their performance with a rotation of their talented vocalists. It’s clear why they were Jazz Fest favourites this summer.

Turning the other cheek may be a bad idea here

Christian musician Jose Principe has sued the companies responsible for his latest album, claiming they put “odious” and “extremely offensive” titles on his songs, “depicting, among other things, homosexual rape.” Principe claims that he paid the defendants, Tabernáculo Internacional and Luis Aviles of Blessing Recording Studios, $5,500 to record, produce and make the master copy of his songs, only to find out after their release that someone had changed the titles of his songs. The new song titles include “Me Rescaron Las Bolas” [sic: recte, Rascaron] (“They Scratched My Balls”), “Por Que Tenía El Bicho Pelu” (“Because I Had a Hairy Cock”), “Pero Lo Tengo Chiquito” (“But It’s a Small One”), “En El Piso Me Clavaron” (“They Nailed Me to the Floor”), and “Dolía Pero Me Gustó” (“It Hurt But I Liked It”).

Most literal rock concert ever!

Seven concertgoers at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver were injured after rocks and debris fell onto the crowd at the outdoor venue last week. The incident occurred at 1 a.m. just as Sound Tribe Sector 9, a psychedelic-electronica group, were finishing their set. The venue itself, which is surrounded by high walls of rock on three sides that routinely undergo maintenance, has not had a reported incident of this kind for 23 years.

By far the rowdiest act of the night, Mother Mother had the crowd enchanted. The girls in the front row couldn’t help but gush about how hot Mother Mother’s vocalist and keyboardist Jasmin Parkin is. It seems as though brunette was a good choice for this former blond. Photos by Shannon Heather

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @ConcordianMusic

15

mixtape

Montreal may be known for its eventful summers, but the fact that the chill of northern winds are hitting the streets doesn’t mean that the city is quite ready to throw in the towel. For 10 years now, POP Montreal has been warming up our autumn nights with indie music of every genre. From rock to rap, this local festival takes over venues across the city to bring you a slew of international and local acts. This year they’ve even upped the ante with a massive outdoor Arcade Fire show in the downtown core. Even without these Grammy Award-winning giants, the festival still has a lot to offer over its five jam-packed days. Side A focuses on the big names like Grimes and Chromeo, while Side B brings you some of the lesser known but no-less-worthy artists that will be appearing on this year’s lineup. www.8tracks.com/the_concordian/pop-montreal-2011

POP Montreal 2011 Compiled by Cora Ballou Contributor

Quick Spins

SIDE A: Spotlight

SIDE B: Rising stars

1. “Vanessa” – Grimes – Darkbloom EP (Sept. 22; Mission Santa Cruz) 2. “Hot Mess” – Chromeo – Business Casual (Sept. 24; Metropolis) 3. “Bizness” – tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l (Sept 23; Ukrainian Federation) 4. “The Base of A Dream is Empty” – Yuck – Yuck (Sept 24; Cabaret du Mile-End) 5. “Diamond Way” – JEFF the Brotherhood – We Are The Champions (Sept 23; Club Soda) 6. “Shipwreck” – Random Recipe – Fold It! Mold It! (Sept. 24; Ubisoft Rooftop 7. “Ruby D.” – Les Sexareenos – 14 Frenzied Shakers (Sept 24; Little Burgundy POP Loft) 8. “Miscalculations” – Miracle Fortress – Was I the Wave? (Sept 23; Mission Santa Cruz) 9. “Gucci Rag Top” – Kid Sister feat.

Gucci Mane – Kiss Kiss Kiss (Sept 23; Le Belmont) 10. “Emergency Room” – Ford & Lopatin – Channel Pressure (Sept 24; SAT)

11. “Summer Fling” – The Vandelles – Summer Fling (Sept 24; Cabaret du Mile-End) 12. “Hawaii” – No Joy – Ghost Blonde (Sept 22; Little Burgundy POP Loft) 13. “High School Roaches” – Bass Drum of Death – GB City (Sept 21; Divan Orange) 14. “Serious Bedtime” – The Balconies – Kill Count EP (Sept 21; Café Campus) 15. “Black Hand” – Cotton Mouth – Tour EP (Sept 23; Mission Santa Cruz) 16. “Filthy Love” – We Are Enfant Terrible – Single (Sept 24; Metropolis) 17. “Blind Spots” – She’s Got A Habit – Single (Sept 24; Belmont) 18. “On The Plains” – Alessi’s Ark – Time Travel (Sept 24; Corona Theatre) 19. “Holding On To Something” – Parlovr – Koolsoul (Sept 24; l’Escogriffe) 20. “Single Status” – Mozart’s Sister – Dear Fear (Sept 23; Mission Santa Cruz)

Retro review

Chuck Ragan - Covering Ground (Side One Dummy; 2011)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical (Cooperative; 2011)

Primus – Green Naugahyde (ATO Records; 2011)

Paul Simon – Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia; 1975)

Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan charges onto the sound systems of the world once again with his fourth studio album, Covering Ground.

His passion and power of delivery can still be described as punk rock, but the album is undeniably a raw and focused effort of folk, gospel and bluegrass. Ragan’s steady diet of napalm and gasoline vocals come off as soothing and genuine like a mother’s hymns, punctuating the lyrics that are whittled into every line.

The only repetition on the album is the beauty of the arrangements, which are aided

by Jon Gaunt and Joe Ginsberg on fiddle and upright bass, respectively, as well as backing vocals by Frank Turner and The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon. Chuck Ragan is one of the most respected cross-genre artists and Covering Ground is a good example of why that is.

CYHSY pulled what MGMT did in 2010, but they did it much more gradually. When MGMT released Congratulations, they were hailed and booed across the board. They had grown up, come into their own, and released an album that shocked everybody that had ever listened to “Kids” by having evolved as artists.

CYHSY have sold that same illusion: they have pretended to leave their comfort zone and move forward. The result is an intricate ‘60s model of psychedelia and lush guitar with the occasional ‘80s beat. However, where Congratulations carves itself a describable new path from old utensils, Hysterical sounds consistently familiar, taking some vocal iterations from Arcade Fire and Phoenix. To hate music because it’s catchy or popular is not in the interest of anyone but an elitist. CYHSY made an album with a lot of lovely, albeit familliar sounds, and made it accessible to a lot of people despite it not being particularly groundbreaking.

It’s been 12 long years since Primus’ last album, Antipop, was released in 1999. Certain questions inevitably crop up after such a break.

How has the band changed over the years?

How will it affect their music? And have they still got it in them?

Primus’ answer to these questions comes in the form of Green Naugahyde, an overall rejuvenation of their classic sound and a shout out to their earlier albums like Frizzle Fry. With every track, Les Claypool proves himself time and again to be a true bass virtuoso, and Larry Lalonde continues to live in his shadow, despite being an incredibly underrated guitarist. But perhaps the band’s most important element on this album is the return of former Primus drummer Jay Lane, who Claypool credits for having breathed life back into the band.

One thing’s for certain—Green Naugahyde is a true gift for the Primus fans of old who stuck by them over all these years.

Simon’s Grammy-winning fourth studio effort was by no means a departure from his previous albums’ style, but it still holds a place in his catalogue as an outstanding album. It spawned four top 40 hits, including “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” which was the biggest hit of his solo career. Lyrically, Simon is wonderfully emotional; mulling over married life’s little inconveniences in “I Do It for Your Love” and recalling small town hopes in “My Little Town,” which was his first collaboration with Art Garfunkel since their split five years prior.

The themes in songs like “Still Crazy After All These Years” and “You’re Kind” are universally personal, recalling small, fleeting thoughts and everyday emotions, which makes for a very reflective, if at times fondly tongue in cheek, look at the mundane little events that make up a life.

Musically, the softer mood songs like “Silent Eyes” and “Night Game” are balanced by happier fare like “Have A Good Time” and the gospel revival inspired “Gone At Last.” An album for earlymorning thoughts and late-night reminiscing.

Trial track: “Wish on the Moon”

Trial track: “Into Your Alien Arms”

Trial track: “Tragedy’s a’ Coming”

Trial track: “Still Crazy After All These Years”

8.0/10

8.0/10

10/10

- Mat Barrot

- Jamie Klinger

- Robert Flis

- Andrew Guilbert

16

theconcordian

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

profile

Laureate seeks more mature sound as lineup finally solidifies Frequent show opener will release EP by end of 2011 Mat Barrot Contributor Montreal-based alt rock/pop-punk quartet Laureate first graced the Montreal music scene two years ago, and has since been prepping crowds for an onslaught of epic acts at numerous locales.

“We play music we want to listen to,” said guitarist and lead vocalist Giancarlo Talarico. “It ends up sounding like Laureate.”

The band has been through several shakeups during its three years together.

“We’ve had a lot of lineup changes, mainly drummers,” said bass player and backing vocalist Erin Power. “After all of those lineup changes it’s nice to have four dedicated people who are into this style of music. We’ve been a lot more productive in the last eight months since drummer Mikey “Lunchbox” Thomassin has been in the band than [in] the two years prior.”

Power met Talarico eight years ago through mutual friends and collaborated with him in a short-lived straight-edge hardcore group before it disbanded. “The nice thing about hardcore is that you can play really sloppy but if you’re loud enough no one will notice,” said Talarico. When he finally made the move from Boston to Montreal, they decided to musically meld once again, this time dropping the hardcore for a more ‘90s-influenced punk sound.

“We’re getting a bit older and don’t listen to much of the heavy stuff these days,” said Power. “The influence is still

Laureate’s new sound tones down volume, favours ‘90s musical influences. there, sure, you can hear it in parts of our songs. Since we were young, we’ve always been fans of pop-punk and alternative rock of the ‘90s. That stuff has always been on constant rotation. It was a natural progression.”

Laureate’s sound is helped by Quebec City lead guitarist Jeremie Hamel, who joined the band through the most legitimate artist acquisition possible, as Power pointed out: “He was a Craigslist find!”

Laureate has garnered the attention of fans while playing Warped Tour with bands

like Paramore and Less Than Jake, as well as played shows with Shook Ones, The Decay and Make Do And Mend—to name a few. The band has also had the distinction of being showcased as “Download of the week” through Saskatoon-based independent arts e-zine Ominocity.

Laureate’s demo album is available for free through their Bandcamp site. The band is currently in the process of recording new material and Power quipped that they “have written a ton of new songs that we meant to record a month ago. You can

expect to hear those in the next 12 years or so.”

Talarico promises that Laureate will be releasing an EP by the end of the year.

“The new songs are all over the map but I think they are all very distinctly ours. It’s really cool that not everyone has the same favourite song.”

You can catch Laureate when they open up for Samiam with The Sober Dawn and oRCondor on Sept. 22 at Katacombes, 1635 St-Laurent Blvd.

Did you know… …that you can apply NOW for the 2011-2012

Undergraduate In-Course Bursary Program!

The online In-Course Bursary application is now available on the MyConcordia Portal.

The Concordia University Foundation, along with various corporations, private individuals, and alumni, contribute funding to the In-Course Bursary program, which is restricted to Undergraduate students in Bachelor’s programs in their second year of studies or higher. All candidates must be in acceptable academic standing with a Last Annual GPA of at least 2.00.

For further information, consult the online In-Course Bursary application which is available through the MyConcordia Portal, or visit the Financial Aid and Awards Office website at http://financialaid.concordia.ca To apply for the Undergraduate In-Course Bursary Program, log on to your MyConcordia Portal account, then follow the Financial > Financial Aid links to the web applications section.

Students already receiving an Entrance Scholarship, Entrance Bursary, In-Course Scholarship, or In-Course Bursary at Concordia University for the 2011-2012 school year are not eligible to apply for the In-Course Bursary program.

Applications will be considered in late November 2011 and candidates will be notified in December by letter.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday October 16 2011 at midnight Apply today! Don’t delay!

sports

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

17

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com football

Stingers blow out X-Men at Homecoming

Nathan Taylor (bottom) runs a missed FG 120-yards for a touchdown

(Above) Edem Nyamadi ran wild against St. FX. (Top right) Cory Wensley (7) under pressure. Photos by Navneet Pall

Concordia caps big day with 55-9 victory Joey Alfieri Contributor The first half of Concordia’s Homecoming game against St. Francis Xavier might as well have been called The Kris Robertson Show.

The Stingers’ defensive back returned the opening kickoff 72 yards, setting up a 32-yard field goal by Keegan Treloar. Robertson followed the return with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Robertson definitely had some help from

his teammates, though, in the Stingers’ 55-9 shellacking of the X-Men. Running back Raul Thompson broke the game open with two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. Thompson completed the touchdown hat trick on a 40-yard run in the third quarter and finished the game with 76 yards on nine carries to go with his three touchdowns.

“We came together as a unit today,” said Thompson “We fixed the small mistakes we made in the past and we executed all the plays today. The o-line played a fabulous game and I’m proud of how they played.”

The young tailback from Mississauga, Ont. was awarded the Homecoming Cup as the game’s most valuable player.

The Stingers’ running game had been struggling mightily coming into this match, but they exploded for 222 total yards on the ground against the X-Men. Their passing game, meanwhile, which has also struggled at times this season, was hot and cold on Saturday. Terrance Morsink, who started the game at quarterback for the Stingers, was only two of nine for 53 yards.

But fortunately for Concordia, backup Reid Quest had a hot hand in the afternoon.

Stingers’ coach Gerry McGrath made the decision to alternate the two quarterbacks and it paid off as Quest finished the game 11 of 18 for a respectable 172 yards and two touchdown passes.

The decision to platoon the QBs may raise

some questions as to who will be starting next week’s game against Sherbrooke.

The Concordia defence continued where it left off last week against Bishop’s, holding St. FX to 240 total yards and only 132 passing yards. The Stingers secondary continued to hunt down footballs like hawks, finishing with three interceptions on the day.

“We watched film and had a hard week of practice,” said Robertson. “We worked real hard and we’re in good shape now.”

Defensive back Marc-Antoine Bedard and linebacker Christian Walcott had the other interceptions for the Stingers.

The game also featured a number of exciting special teams’ plays for both sides. The X-Men’s only touchdown came in the first quarter when wide receiver Damone Williams returned a kickoff 99 yards for a major.

Stingers’ defensive back Nathan Taylor answered Williams’ score with a 120-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

The Stingers (2-1) will look to extend their winning streak to three games, as they take on the Université de Sherbooke on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. on the Loyola campus. Sherbooke is currently ranked fifth in the CIS.

hockey

Penalties cost Stingers in chippy preseason affair

Concordia downed 4-3 by UQTR in first exhibition game Julian Mei Sports editor

Lots of penalties, lots of rookies and a fight: it was definitely a preseason game on Wednesday at Ed Meagher Arena.

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team faced off in their first exhibition contest of the year against the Université du Québec à TroisRivières Patriotes, and came up just short in a 4-3 losing effort.

The game featured 23 penalties, 14 of which were called against the Stingers. However, despite the amount of infractions, neither team’s coaches were concerned with the officiating.

“It was a preseason game for everybody,”

said Stingers’ coach Kevin Figsby. “[Referee Dominick Bedard] was setting the tone for the season and was making sure players knew what he was going to allow and what he wasn’t going to allow.” “[Bedard] officiated at the Memorial Cup (the CHL national championship) and is a very good referee,” said Patriotes’ coach Jacques Laporte.

The game did not start well for the Stingers who found themselves down 1-0 only 1:49 into the game.

A UQTR dump-in took an unfortunate bounce off the backboards and came back out in front of the net, right on to the stick of Patriotes’ forward Olivier Donovan. Donovan easily buried a shot past goalie Nick Champion, who was disoriented as to where the puck was.

The boards were playing tricks on the goalies all game. “The boards and behind the net are very live,” said Champion, who is going to be the Stingers’ starting goalie. “The puck comes off

them almost as fast as it goes in. Every rink has its own unique aspects like that, that you have to get used to. It’s just something I’ll have to work on in practice.”

Charles-Antoine Messier would answer for the Stingers just over a minute later, though, one timing a cross-ice pass from Alex Monahan. Concordia would go up 2-1 at the 11-minute mark of the first on a shot from the point by Etienne St. Germain, but the lead was short-lived.

UQTR answered back only a minute later on a powerplay goal by Gabriel Lemieux and would go ahead late in the period on a beautiful individual play by Pierre-Alexandre Joncas.

Joncas knocked a Concordia clearing attempt out of midair and down onto his stick just inside the blue line. He then made a dazzling move with the puck to get around a Concordia defenceman to come in on a partial breakaway and rip a shot past the glove of Champion.

After a powerplay goal by Felix Lefrancois doubled the Patriotes’ lead in the second period,

tempers boiled over shortly after when a fight broke out between Kyle Kelly of the Stingers and Jean-Laurence Beauchemin from UQTR. “It was a dead play after the whistle and he punched me in the face,” said Kelly. “I just stood my ground and he punched me again, and you can’t just let guys walk all over you and your teammates. I set an example early in the season that we’re not going to let anyone push us around in our own barn.”

The Stingers would pull within one midway through the third period on a goal by Francois Lanctot, but were unable to generate any sustainable pressure afterwards.

Despite the loss, Figsby was satisfied with his team. “I saw what I thought I would see,” he said. “We’re still in tryouts so 50 per cent of our lineup was rookies going against their full roster, and we lost by a goal. The first goal was a bad bounce and two others were scored on the powerplay without our normal penalty killers on the ice.”

18

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

soccer

theconcordian

Concordia women grab first win of the season Stingers defeat UQAM Citadins 1-0 Daniel J. Rowe Staff writer The Concordia women’s soccer team came into the weekend after losing two matches they very much could have at least tied if not won.

This weekend saw them facing two Montreal teams from McGill and Université du Québec à Montréal, and for the first time this season, the Stingers came away with a win.

“It feels good,” said captain Shannon Travers. “Now we’ve got out of the slump, so we can start getting a positive spirit on the team.”

The first half of the Sunday game against UQAM saw a settled and confident side of Concordia that controlled the majority of the play but failed to get any real chances on the UQAM net.

In the second half, coach Jorge Sanchez used speedy substitutes Gabriela Padvaiskas and Marie-Lou Hamel who immediately changed the pace of the game.

Jennifer Duff put Concordia up eight minutes into the second half, when she pounced on a bouncing ball that she popped over UQAM keeper Constance Laroche-Lefebvre with a header.

UQAM came surging back, but defender Lindsey Brooks stopped striker Sabrina Addona from being alone on net with a perfectly timed challenge.

“We wanted to dictate the pace of the game,” said Sanchez praising the speed and effectiveness of his team. “Above everything else the goal was three points.”

The back four showed poise and control in Sunday’s game, as they did not want a repeat of the previous three games where

they gave up second half goals that cost them the win.

“We kept our composure,” said Travers.

“Once we got the lead we made sure we kept it.”

The match at McGill on Friday showed promise.

Down 1-0, Stingers’ substitute Gabriela Padvaiskas made an instant impact assisting

on Jennifer Duff’s goal to draw the game even.

A couple of mistakes in the back cost the Stingers dearly as they conceded two goals in the second half, losing 3-1.

Though inexperienced, the slew of firstyear players on the team, such as Padvaiskas and Hamel, add a new image and a spark that the Stingers needed.

“I think it’s a positive thing that we have a new bunch of players,” said Travers.

“There’s a new attitude on the team, a winning attitude.”

The win against UQAM move the Stingers to 1-3-0, with their next game at Université de Montréal on Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Lindsey Brooks (5) pursues a loose ball in Concordia’s first victory of the season on Sunday. Photo by Navneet Pall

soccer

Men’s soccer team frustrated again with a late collapse

Concordia let a late lead slip away against UQAM on Sunday. (Photo on right) Jose Nerio (24) delivers a powerful strike from midfield. Photos by Navneet Pall

Stingers winless in two weekend matches Daniel J. Rowe Staff writer Concordia’s men’s soccer team lost and tied against cross city opponents Université du Québec à Montréal and McGill in matches where late lack of focus cost the team.

As it went, Concordia let both teams score twice in the second half to drop the Stingers to a loss and a tie on the weekend, and leav-

ing them 1-2-1 in the season.

“We didn’t play the full 90,” said captain Gonzalo Paredes. “You got to fight to the end, you got to play with heart. You can’t lose focus.”

On Friday night at McGill, Concordia played well, going into the first half tied at one and were playing the focused, controlled game that they have played in all of their matches so far this year.

In the second half, however, a similar story appeared. McGill came back to score twice, and Concordia was left staring at a 3-1 scoreline.

Sunday’s game against a weaker UQAM team was one that Concordia controlled

much better.

After goals from Karim Haroun in the 48th minute and Alfred Moody in the 57th, the Stingers looked set to move their record to .500.

A costly foul in the box gifted the Citadins a penalty kick in the 65th minute. UQAM’s Sallim Dahman converted the penalty and brought the Citadins to within one.

The tying goal came off a long-range free kick in the 86th by Montassar Chebbi that keeper Nicholas Giannone bobbled, and failed to keep out, bringing the final score to 2-2.

It was a goal that should not have went in, but the lack of focus that Paredes and the

team feared betrayed them, and they wound up with a tie instead of a win.

“We had them at the end,” said Paredes.

“Just a miscommunication at the end got the second goal for them.”

It was a crushing goal to concede so late in a match that players and coaches knew should have been a win.

Concordia suffered a further setback Sunday, as defender Thomas Muir was injured and left on crutches. It remains to be seen how long he will be out for.

Concordia’s next match will be against Université de Montréal on Sept. 25 at 8:30 p.m.

Follow us on Twitter: @ConcordianSports

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

19

baseball

Baseball facing a tough road to the CIS

Photo by Navneet Pall

Baseball remains in difficult position at university level Julian Mei Sports editor You will not find many baseball fans in Montreal who recall the mid-‘90s with anything but anger, despair or resentment.

This period of time is often associated with the beginning of the end for Quebec’s only Major League Baseball team, the Montreal Expos.

The 1994 season. 74-40. The labour dispute. The strike.

These words and numbers are enough explanation to Expos fans of what would become of their beloved team. For a small faction, though, the mid-‘90s represented not a time of contraction but instead of growth.

It was in 1995 that, for the first time, an organized baseball league was created at a Canadian university level. Given the climate of the sport in Canada at the time, the league was hardly grandeur. The league was obscure, low budget and still working out certain kinks. For example, aluminum bats were used for the first few seasons. The Laval Rouge et Or would win the first ever championship.

Despite the hardships, this was the blossoming of Canadian university’s first organized baseball league, the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association.

The CIBA has managed to stay afloat while navigating through some choppy waters, but the landscape of the league has changed very much in the last 10 years. The league’s relationship with both universities and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport still remains a precarious one.

While the league has established itself over the past decade, funding, promotion and quality of play are still concerns.

Howard Schwartz, manager of the Concordia Stingers baseball team since 1995, has been involved in the league since its inaugural season.

“It’s day and night since 1995,” he said. “The quality of the game has gone up and I would say the integrity of the league has gone up too. I think you could almost compare (the CIBA) to watching the NHL 20 years ago. Some guys who were stars then might not even make the league now because the quality of play is so much better and things have changed so much.”

However, if the league wants to continue its growth it seems that at some point baseball will need to become a member of the CIS. If baseball is serious about becoming a CIS sport, though, many hurdles will have to be overcome.

For starters, many of the schools in the CIBA are colleges, such as John Abbott College among others, and the CIS is strictly designated to only include universities.

Also, for a sport to enter into the CIS it needs to be played coast-to-coast. Right now, due to travel expenses, there is no baseball league in western Canada as established or developed as the OUA or CIBA. Additionally, after the Laval program folded, no French schools have participated in the sport.

“It’s a fairly sophisticated process,” explained Katie Sheahan, the athletic director at Concordia. “The CIS puts out a call to national sport organizations approximately every six years and asks those organizations to respond to a questionnaire to see if there is a national interest in those sports.”

“The last time (the selections were made) Baseball Canada did submit an application but was not selected,” said Marg McGregor, the CEO of the CIS. “We use eight to 10 different criteria to see which sports would be included. Those include things like number of participants across the country, the marketing potential, the number of officials, the number of coaches, the facility requirements and the gender equity of the sport.”

For now, those like Schwartz must focus on the tasks at hand, but it is difficult to improve the league under the present conditions.

“A team like Ottawa University gets very

little financial support from their school,” said Schwartz. “They have to have run baseball camps for kids and sell products to raise money. Some schools can barely afford to buy bats.”

Neither Schwartz nor Sheahan would disclose the exact financials, but both confirmed that Concordia is the best funded school in the CIBA. Schwartz also believed that a school such as Ottawa receives about 20 per cent of what Concordia gets in funding.

“The money adds up too,” said Schwartz.

“For us to go to the National Championship for four days (this year) would cost about $20,000. Factor in hotels, a charter bus, a per diem for the players, it adds up.”

For Schwartz, the biggest benefit of being welcomed into the CIS would be the exposure and quality of play in his league.

“If there is any player who is interested or talented enough to play professionally and has an opportunity to play in the NCAA, I tell them to go play down there,” he said.

With more Canadians presently playing in the Majors there is hope around the sport that the interest in baseball will grow at the grassroots level leading to more interest at a university level. But for now, like an overmatched batter facing a tough pitcher, the CIBA will have to keep fouling off financial curve balls and bureaucratic change-ups in hopes that eventually they will hit one out of the park.

rugby

Women win big while men salvage a draw ConU women’s rugby team scores most points in a game since 1997 Paolo Mingarelli Contributor The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team didn’t start their pursuit of the national championship off on the right foot last week after being defeated at home by Laval.

This week was a different story.

The women annihilated an overmatched Bishop’s University, winning the game 94-0.

The margin of victory was the largest for the Concordia women in the regular season and playoffs since a 1997 thrashing of UQTR by an identical score.

“Last week’s loss was a blip,” said Latoya Blackwood, the Stingers’ outside centre.

“We’re hungry and we want to prove to the conference and the nation that we came in

second last year for a reason, and we’re coming for first place.”

Opening up numerous gaps in the Bishop’s defence with great passing, phenomenal running and outstanding support for the ball carrier was all part of the game plan heading into Friday evening.

“We talked about it all week,” said Stingers’ coach Graeme McGravie. “We did that tonight. We did a fantastic job supporting the main ball carrier, so we’re really happy with that.”

An offence that finished with eight different women scoring tries showed just how much skill and talent Concordia can tap from its current roster. Many of the tries were off of wonderfully executed set plays from the backs and great line crashing from the forward pack.

Though the offence deserves notice for the 94 points, it was also defensive play that contributed to the lopsided victory. For every instance the ball was in Bishop’s hands there was enormous pressure put on by Concordia leading to a lot of errors and caused multiple turnovers by the Gaiters.

“The defence was good, they were knock-

ing on the door near the end a little bit but we sent them back,” said McGravie The men’s game, also against Bishop’s, was a much more even affair ending in a 1414 tie. The game featured late dramatics in a come-from-behind effort from Concordia.

When it looked like the game was going to end in a losing effort, the Stingers side forced a late rally. It began with winger Adriano D’Angelo taking the ball up the wing and kicking a ball that took a fortunate bounce off a Bishop’s defender. This allowed Concordia forwards to win the ball back and continue their offensive possession.

Concordia would play the ball to winger Frederic Kacou who, for the second game in a row, used his blazing speed to leave all Bishop’s players behind and score the tying try.

“Coming back like that feels great,” said Kacou. “I just got the ball and ran (on the tying score).” “(Kacou) was awesome,” said D’Angelo.

“If the ball got out to him I knew he was going to score. I don’t know what to call him.

Lightning?”

After the tying try it was up to the Sting-

ers’ defence to preserve the draw. The end of the game came down to a goal-line stand by the forwards that truly demonstrated the character of Concordia’s defence.

Bishop’s attempted numerous times to crash the ball through the defence, believing their size advantage would eventually break the Concordia line. This message was clearly not received by the Stingers, who took on every wave with no signs of fatigue. Eventually Bishop’s would take a penalty, turning possession back over to the Stingers. Concordia would just kick the ball out of bounds to end the game.

Despite the late game heroics, it was clear that a tie was not the desired outcome of the home side. “I feel terrible about the tie,” said Stingers coach Clive Gibson. “The biggest problem all day was penalties. The count was ridiculous.”

“Not to take away from Bishop’s, but I do believe we are the better team,” said Stingers 8-man Jimmy Bang.

The men play at McGill Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.

The women travel to Ottawa for a 3:30 p.m match the same day.

opinions 20

theconcordian

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com eDItoRIAl

On the topic of more cuts and more tuition The Quebec government would be wise to rethink its decision to slash funding to the education sector, particularly in light of rising tuition fees

According to a recent report from Statistics Canada, there was an average 4.3 per cent increase in tuition this year throughout the country, which followed a similar increase of four per cent in 2010-2011.

According to the Quebec government, almost $800 million must be slashed from the public sector before the end of March 2012, including $180 in education. Next year will also see the gradual increase in tuition by $325 a year until 2017 for Quebec students.

More tuition and more cuts. Something clearly does not add up, even though the provincial government seems to think so.

This of course is the same government that now has Line Beauchamp as deputy premier, a politician whose track record as education minister is not exactly one worth bragging about.

The Statistics Canada study found that the average for Canadian undergraduate tuition is now $5,366, with Ontario students paying the highest in the country, at $6,640 on average. Quebec undergrads are of course looked at with envy by all other Canadian students due to the fact that they pay the lowest tuition in the country, currently sitting at an average of $2,519 per year.

But with tuition on the rise in the province and budget cuts imminent, Quebec students will slowly but surely approach the same exceedingly high debt level their counterparts are already experiencing in the rest of the country. And in the process, the quality of the services they receive may very well suffer. The provincial government has assured Quebecers that won’t be happening, but major unions including the Centrale des syndicats du Québec and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux have said otherwise.

In fact, the CSQ has complained that services in the education sector have already been diminished due to $110 million made in budget cuts earlier this year, and the union is now worried that further reductions will compromise services to students and the public.

Treasury board president and former education minister Michelle Courchesne has said the cuts are necessary to keep the province on track to balancing its books by 2013-2014. The treasury board has said that the reductions will only target “admin-

coMMUnIty

istrative costs,” with a board spokesperson telling media last week that “in no way are we aiming at services.”

That may be, but why demand taking back so much from the two provincial departments - education and health - that service the population the most?

It is rather difficult to imagine just how deep administrative cuts can go before services start to become affected, or even

“

Students have a right to their education.

Perhaps someday, hopefully in the near future, the government will fully realize that.

to imagine what these “administrative cuts” may be. Cuts to the salaries of university presidents and vice-presidents, perhaps?

Concordia’s interim president Frederick

Lowy alone earns $350,000 a year to run a university of 45,000 students. That’s even more than what Jean Charest makes to be premier of a province of seven million.

It is therefore fortunate to see that students, in light of these tuition increases and spending cuts, are not going to idle on the sidelines as the Charest government plows forward with these controversial budgetary measures. One important example is the $1,625 Ça ne passe pas campaign of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec and the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec. The FEUQ, of which the Concordia Student Union is a member, is gearing up for a massive Nov. 10 demonstration in Montreal with other student groups to denounce the provincial government for the injustices it has inflicted on the education sector.

Although relatively deaf to the demands of students thus far, the Charest government would be wise to listen this time. After all, this is the same government whose level of public approval is in serious decline, notably because of the damning reports confirming widespread corruption in the construction industry.

The provincial government must come to the obvious conclusion that higher tuition, yet less spending in education, is not going to win over Quebecers, but rather push them further away. Students have a right to their education. Perhaps someday, hopefully in the near future, the government will fully realize that.

Co-operation graffiti is a smart solution Providing more space to artists reduces rogue graffiti Lindsay Briscoe Production assistant If you’ve been hanging out on St-Laurent Boulevard lately you’ve probably noticed the giant black-and-white murals in the “quasi garage space” right across from Casa Del Popolo. You probably stumbled upon them like I did, in complete incredulity.

This is how graffiti should be. It’s like stepping inside a dream where gigantic floating eyeballs, mad muffin-spewing ovens, dragons and other mythical creatures come to life.

Sound weird? It is!

But even if this art isn’t for everyone, at least the artists responsible, collectively known as Mu, had permission to paint there. Their positive message is smart and inspiring. They say graffiti, in engaging the community, “provides leverage to local development, to the improvement of quality of life, to the revitalization of neighbourhoods, to civic education and to help residents in reclaiming their community.”

The best part is, these kinds of projects might start to make all the amateur sprayers realize that if they want to be taken seriously, if they’re really as sick as they claim to be of buffers covering up their work, they should drop the us-against-them attitude. It’s time to start working with the police, the community, business owners and city officials to create more space where they can wield their talents legally.

They’ll get better at it in the meantime.

Because let’s face it, while Montreal is home to some fine graffiti, a lot of it sucks.

Writing “penis” or drawing one on a family

Photo Navneet Pall

Photo by Damiano Raveenthiran

“Graffiti should be about positive change and freedom of expression.” business without permission is not art, it’s mean. Especially when the business owner could be slapped with the cost of cleaning up

the mess or a fine for not cleaning it up quickly enough.

So, in taking a break from picking on ama-

teur taggers, I’ll address the Montreal borough officials who came up with that idea.

Graffiti artists don’t give up. A whitewashed wall is an open invitation for new tags.

Just visit any Montreal collective art blog like www.laparia.ca and you’ll see comments like: “Gotta get back out there and bomb it, man.

Send em a message that writers will never give up.”

Local businesses and graffiti artists should work on an agreement for art that pleases both parties. More legal graffiti around town means more people talking about it and ultimately expressing an interest in what they’d like to see painted.

And what’s with the idea that banning the sale of spray paint to minors is going to discourage them from spraying? Other cities like London, Ont. and New York have already tried it, but there’s little indication that their cities’ youngsters have stopped spraying.

Besides, we’ve already tried the ban-tominors method with cigarettes and alcohol and we all know how effective that was. It’s just the city’s way of saying “look, we’ve cracked down on the problem!” when they must know that any kid can and will acquire a can of paint from his parents’ basement or by paying the neighbourhood weirdo for a hookup.

I do agree with bloggers at www.revleft. com: graffiti should be about positive change and freedom of expression. I do agree with lawyer Julius Grey that “there’s a (new) tendency in our society to repress and control everything.”

I do agree with the alleged Banksy message in Melbourne, Australia: “Bare walls are criminal.”

I just wish more graffiti artists would smarten up and have more opportunities to follow the example set by Mu and paint in a way that’s legal, respectful and easy on the eyes, too.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

21

technology

As technology improves at a startlingly quick pace, we enter a generation where automation is becoming more and more prevalent. While driver-less cars were once a dream, they are now being planned for production, and it leads us to analyze the bigger question: do we want to live in a world where automation is the norm? Two writers expose the pros and cons of a future where technology does most of the work for you.

A.J. Cordeiro Contributor Bradley Martin Contributor It seems that wherever you look, technology has pervaded our lives often times to an extent that is downright unhealthy. The rapid automation of everyday appliances, which we in the Western world take for granted, has made it so that on the surface it seems unnecessary to be as physically active as we once were. More people use cars, which are in turn reaching a point where they can literally navigate and drive themselves.

Cellular phones and social networking sites like Facebook even make it that the concept of friends spending time together can become an effortless task where direct contact does not even seem necessary. If left unchecked, this sedentary lifestyle could very well lead many of us and our future generations to terrible consequences associated with severe inactivity.

With this in mind, it is often hard to remember how humankind has reached this point. It all began with an idea to bring humanity out of mere subsistence and in turn, differentiate us from other animals.

Advancements in technology from irrigation to modern refrigeration, and much more, have made it so that we have become a species that no longer needs to spend every available moment occupied with the act of staying alive. Cars, automated transport, mobile phones and other technological advances which make direct human supervision no longer necessary have broadened our horizons and given us a rather coveted resource known as time. Rather than barely surviving the elements, we now have a greater ability to embrace life to the fullest and improve ourselves as we see fit, either mentally through education or physically through athleticism, for example. In short, an automated world has given us the ability to consider a wider variety of choices and act on subjects that were previously unavailable due to the circumstances of simply not having the time to pursue these matters.

The ability to choose is not easy. Hence, awareness of choice comes with a price. It may well be used to our benefit or detriment, since technology in and of itself is neutral.

Nevertheless, I fail to see the virtue in a voluntary return to a lifestyle tantamount to serfdom. Not to mention show adoration to that mythical figure known as “the noble savage� who supposedly lives blissfully ignorant of technology while in tune with raw nature. We must realize that automation can and must be used to our benefit while not succumbing to the easy temptation of labelling everything associated with technology as negative. This makes the positive effects of automation stand out, while any negative effects that come about are to be more accurately associated with unfortunate unawareness.

Fifty years ago, there were no self-checkouts. You knew the name of your local grocer, and the names of the people who pumped your gas. Today, from online shopping to a host of other industries, automation is key. It has allowed us to enter into a period of unparalleled growth, economically and socially.

While I appreciate the technological advancement that automation has provided, I somehow find myself nostalgic for a simpler time and questioning our motivations. Have we lost our ability to connect with the people who provided the services and goods in our lives? How will we remain active in a world where automation is the norm?

It seems the whole world has pushed for a culture where we optimize every product and service we use and that, in turn, has forced us to optimize every facet of our lives. We want x number of hours of sleep. We want an intake of x calories per day. We want to walk x number of miles. The purpose of this statistical cataloging is wanting to gain more freedom, more time, more money, more health, more life back from our daily fares.

Have we? Has the world of automation actually allowed us to be freer?

While having a cell phone with email access has many benefits, it definitely chains us to the desks of our classes and workplaces.

When someone used to be late, we gave him or her a small grace period before trying to figure out where they were. Now, we text and phone instantly, asking if they need help, why they are delayed, etc. We have added an element of immediacy in our relationships, despite life’s obstacles and turns. We want what we want and we want it now, and it does not matter if it is clothes, games or even people.

As to the question of remaining healthy and active, the consequences of the past few decades are already rearing their head. There is an epidemic of diabetes, affecting over 350 million people worldwide. How did this suddenly come about? We traded the playground for the virtual playground. We traded walking to school for the bus. We traded home cooked meals for the drive-thru.

While I do enjoy a good burger, playing games and having the luxury of a cellphone, it seems shortsighted to look purely at the positive outcomes of this innovation, instead of looking at the larger picture. Maybe we need to rethink our motivation for automation. Does it make me healthier and better? Does this really help my life?

theconcordian

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011.

Vol. 29 issue 4.

Jacques Gallant Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com Kamila Hinkson Managing editor managing@theconcordian. com Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor news@theconcordian.com Marissa Miller Interim Life editor life@theconcordian.com Sofia Gay Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com Katelyn Spidle Interim Music editor music@theconcordian.com Julian Mei Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com Myles Dolphin Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian. com Ephram Schofeld Webmaster webmaster@ theconcordian.com Navneet Pall Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com Katie Brioux Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian. com Sarah Deshaies Chief Copy editor copy@theconcordian.com Elizabeth Tomaras Copy editor Chris Hanna Production manager production@theconcordian. com Emily White Lindsay Briscoe Kerry MacKinnon Production assistants Brennan Neill Emily White Cindy Lopez Ruben Bastien Board of directors directors@theconcordian. com

theconcordian

RAcISM

Weʼve come a long way, but not far enough HEC blackface incident shows a total lack of education about other cultures Myles Dolphin Opinions editor The provincial government has planned to cut more than $180 million from the education sector by March, in order to keep the province on track for its zero-deficit target for 2013-14. That is on top of the $110 million already cut from education earlier this year.

Clearly Michelle Courchesne, president of the provincial treasury board, has not seen the news lately and fails to understand the correlation between education and racial harmony.

When Anthony Morgan, a McGill law student, witnessed approximately 15 HEC students decked in blackface last Wednesday, dancing and chanting without a care in the world, he ran straight into a situation emblematic of a bigger problem plaguing our society: a serious lack of education about other cultures.

Gil Troy, who teaches U.S. history at McGill, believes education is the key to moving forward.

“I am an educator, so I prefer to turn such fiascoes into teachable moments rather than legal actions,” he said. “What is intriguing about this incident is what seems to be the lack of intention to insult and the unthinking bigotry it reflects.”

Lack of intention aside, it is one thing to pay tribute to the world’s greatest sprinter, Usain Bolt, but it is another to mock people while stereotyping an entire country. Was the verbal typecasting (chanting “smoke more weed, mon”) and stuffed monkey necessary?

I will tell you what; I was in Jamaica last Christmas and although the smell of marijuana was semi-pervasive, I never once heard anyone speak like that nor was it implied that the entire Jamaican population smokes

marijuana. And it turns out that associating monkeys with black people has also been severely disparaged in Europe, where entire soccer teams have been reprimanded for their fans’ behaviours.

Unfortunately Jamaicans abroad are being heavily stigmatized based on these foolish misconceptions. I do not know what is more upsetting between the fact that the students thought they were not offending anyone or that the administration claims this was done “in the spirit of the Olympic Games.”

Sure, the Olympics. Remember in 1976 when Nadia Comaneci got her perfect 10

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Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.

I think the bigger issue is how little we know about the history and historical contributions of Jamaicans.

Anthony Morgan, Mcgill law student

on the uneven bars, then quickly ran to the bathroom to wash her blackface off? Or at the Sydney 2000 games when Simon Whitfield won the triathlon disguised as an aboriginal.

These HEC students were just celebrating a longstanding tradition, right?

Wrong. There was nothing noble about this positively asinine idea. Organizers had been planning this for weeks, it was revealed, yet how come no one raised a hand and said “Hey, guys, this might be a little offensive to EVERYONE.” Morgan was entirely right when he said “I

think the bigger issue is how little we know about the history and historical contributions of Jamaicans.” These students should not be labelled as racists because they did not know they were offending anyone and it was not intended to provoke racial hatred.

Ignorant fools, however, would be a label I could comfortably use. They should have known that blackface is taboo in North America, similarly to the buck toothed caricatures of Japanese people or hook nosed portrayals of Jewish people. We live in a society that should be well aware of these standardizations. These are well-educated students, who go to a school where “established and future managers come to acquire much sought-after skills.” How is it that none of them knew about the ramifications of wearing blackface?

Racism in Quebec is not a new phenomenon. Last May, the Quebec Human Rights Commission released a report revealing that ethnic minorities in Quebec are subject to “police surveillance that is targeted and disproportionate.”

In all fairness, these students probably did not want to offend anyone but that does not absolve them because they chose to ridicule a stereotype based on race.

University students during frosh week tend to engage in moronic activities, as we all know. A human rights complaint may be warranted but would probably not remedy anything. The key is education and an apology from the students themselves, who we have not heard from yet.

Was it in poor taste? Sure. Hopefully these immature students will be emotionally scarred for the duration of their academic careers and the university can make an example out of them by educating their students about xenophobia.

“Rather than prosecuting these individuals and going legal, I would rather try to facilitate a conversation between the offended student, the offending students and the broader student community,” explained Troy.

What if Anthony Morgan, who is of Jamaican descent, had not been at Université de Montreal that day? Would anyone have complained? Think about it.

Editorial 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. CC.431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514.848.2424 x7458 (Newsroom) 514.848.2424 x7499 (Editor-in-Chief) 514.848.2424 x7404 (Production) Mélissa Kate Gagnon Business manager business@theconcordian.com Marshall Johnston Advertising manager advertising@theconcordian. com Business and Advertising: 1455 de Maisonneuve W. H.733-4 Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 514.848.2424 x7420 (Office) 514.848.7427 (Fax)

STAFF WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS: Cameron Hamad, Dominique Daoust, Kalina Laframboise, Mark Della Posta, Renee Morrison, Rebecca Ugolini, David Adelman, Despina Doukas, Amanda Dafniotis, Shannon Heather, Andrew Guilbert, Mat Barrot, Cora Ballou, Kalina Laframboise, David MacIntyre, Daniel J. Rowe, Joey Alfieri, Bradley Martin, Rebecca Solomon, Sean Kershaw, Phil Waheed, Tiffany Blaise, Camille Nerant, Shannon Heather, Alejandro Menjivar, Ginga Takeshima and Damiano Raveenthiran

Photo by abdallahh (Flickr)

The blackface stunt was done “in the spirit of the Olympic Games,” according to the HEC administration.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

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The Etcetera Page

The Emmys have come and gone and as usual, too many people decided that tweeting a live show was more productive than, say, buying groceries or volunteering. My faith in humanity has dropped down a notch – again. @Butters646: If you know anyone who

voted for #madmen or even really likes the show, slap them in the face and shiv them. Yes, stab them. #emmys

@melaniedsouza: Katie Holmes looks

gross #emmys

@kate_o_toole: Someone should really tell

gwyneth to put it away #Emmys

@Angelhairmom: Thought Gwyneth Paltrow learned not to wear those SEE-THRU lacy goth type dresses last time she flashed on red carpet. #Emmys #sueyourstylist

Beers sold at this year’s CSU orientation concert were served in reusable mugs to cut down on trash. Photo by Alex Menjivar

@shurooqamin: Only in #Hollywood would u hear “I’d like to thank my dogsitter” for a thank you speech! #emmys

9 8 Aries - March 21 to April 20

Your foray into mutual fund trading ends the same day it started, after you realize you are a Fine Arts student with no money and no knowledge of the financial world. Put the experience on your resume anyway because hey, trying is half the battle right?

Taurus – April 21 to May 21

This week you make the most of your free time by attending as many concerts as possible.

While none of them are technically free, you convince yourself they are by evading security and pushing your way through the crowd of metalheads. Doc Martens and brass knuckles quickly dissuade you from ever enjoying your free time again.

Gemini – May 22 to June 21

Waking up to breakfast in bed is the highlight of your week, complete with a romantic note, flowers and a mountain of pancakes. When you see the GHB pills strewn all over your bed, the food suddenly does not taste as good. Your roommate Steve is so silly!

Cancer – June 22 to July 23

The escalators at the Hall building have a surprise for you this week as they decide to stop whenever you are on them. Use this opportunity to look cool by kneeling down and punching them until your knuckles bleed. The cute girl behind you will almost certainly beg to give you her number. Almost.

Libra – September 24 to October 23

Problems are afoot this week when your podiatrist informs you that the funny green stuff coming out of your toes is not that funny anymore.

Wearing socks for the rest of your life is not that bad, you think, except on your wedding night.

Scorpio – October 24 to November 23

Your haircut this week turns into a full blown musical when the old hairdresser grabs a broom and does his best Bruce Springsteen impersonation. When he falls and breaks his hip, start applauding like a maniac, then kind of point towards your unfinished haircut.

Sagittarius – November 24 to December 21

The shallowness of man is brought to light this week but so is the depth of a puddle, which ends up ruining your brand new extra tight skinny jeans. The problem is exacerbated when you realize you cannot even take them off. You decide to pass it off as a new trend and it works, as these things usually do at Concordia. Sigh.

Capricorn – December 22 to January 20

The supermarket is a place where money is exchanged for goods such as food and diapers.

Attempting to make purchases using bottle caps and broken pieces of glass only increase your chances of having management take a picture of you and post it everywhere, with “for the love of God, please do not sell to this man” written in huge capital letters.

Aquarius – January 21 to February 19

Be aware of people offering free samples at the mall this week. They still have not found that escaped mental patient who ran his own cooking school a decade ago.

I have got good news and bad news for you.

Which one do you want first? They actually go hand in hand, which is more than I can say about you. Stay away from lawnmowers and propellers this week.

Virgo – August 24 to September 23

Pisces – February 20 to March 20

Leo – July 24 to August 23

Your feelings are plagiarized over and over this week by other students. The university does not understand your complaint and vows never to allow you back on campus. Thank them politely and with a mysterious wave of your cape exit extravagantly.

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Skip a few rocks on a lake this week and marvel at the parallels it reveals about life. Cannot find a lake? Go to your local library and take out a few books about rock skipping. It is the same thing really, I was just trying to get you out of the house.

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EVENTS AT A GLANCE

TUES 20

+MUSIC

RUCKUS FO’TET (every Tuesday!)

WED 21

+MUSIC +MUSIC +MUSIC +SPORTS

Brusque Twins + Institutional Prostitution + Natale + Cop Car Bonfire Monogrenade + The Paint Movement Liturgy + CAVE Men's baseball @ McGill

THURS 22

+MUSIC +MUSIC +MUSIC +MUSIC

Arcade Fire (FREE SHOW) Saimaim + Laureate Grand Trine + Babysitter Rich Aucoin + Rome Romeo

FRI 23

+MUSIC +MUSIC +MUSIC +SPORTS

Slaves on Dope + The Catalyst Dirty Beaches + Frankie Rose

SAT 24 SUN 25

Jello Martini Lounge (Rue Ontario)

22h00

Casa Del Popolo La Sala Rossa il Motore Trudeau Park

20h00 20h00 20h00 19h30

Place des Festivals in Quartier des spectacles Katacombes Casa Del Popolo La Sala Rossa

21h00 20h00 20h00 20h00

Katacombes il Motore Casa Del Popolo

20h00 20h00 20h00 19h00 18h30 20h30 18h00

+SPORTS +SPORTS +SPORTS

Snailhouse + One Hundred Dollars Men's football vs. Sherbrooke Women's soccer @ Montréal Men's soccer @ Montréal Women's hockey @ Moncton

+MUSIC +MUSIC +SPORTS

Bishop Morocco + The Darcy's Joe Bataan + San Juan Hill Men's baseball @ Ottawa

Casa Del Popolo La Sala Rossa

+SPORTS

Women's hockey @ Moncton

Louis J. Lévesque

20h00 20h00 12h00 & 14h30 18h00

+MUSIC +SPORTS +SPORTS +SPORTS +SPORTS

Royal Palms Men's rugby @ McGill

Casa Del Popolo Molson Field Loyola Field Loyola Field Matt Anthony Field

20h00 13h00 13h00 15h00 15h30

Women's soccer vs. Sherbrooke Men's soccer vs. Sherbrooke Women's rugby @ Ottawa

Loyola Field CEPSUM CEPSUM Louis J. Lévesque Arena

Lynx Field

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MEET & GREET!

This Friday, September 23 at Reggie’s, 8 p.m.