November 20, 2018

theconcordian

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY’S WEEKLY, INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

 /theconcordian  @theconcordian  @theconcordian  theconcordian.com

VOLUME 36, ISSUE 13 | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2018

Education in the face of epidemic Independently run naloxone workshops pave the way forward Life p.6

also in this issue...

news

CSU considers online voting p. 4

arts

music

sports

opinions

Up-and-comer The pressure Identity in art Revisiting the education p. 9 Zach Zoya p. 13 1998 season p. 14 to graduate p. 19

news

CITY IN BRIEF

NEWS EDITORS /// news@theconcordian.com IAN DOWN & MIA ANHOURY ( @IanDown1996 @mia_anhoury)

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Channeling trauma through words One student’s blog aims to help sexual assault survivors MINA MAZUMDER ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Caroline Bühler, a first-year creative writing student, was sexually assaulted by another Concordia student at a Frosh Week event in August.

The day after the assault, Bühler went to Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre to file a complaint about the incident. “When I filed the complaint, I said I didn’t want him on campus,” she said. “I want him out of the university because I kept seeing him and it triggered me.”

Before the hearing in October, Bühler and an advocate from the Concordia Student Union’s (CSU) Advocacy Centre gathered evidence such as text messages sent to her, friends and acquaintances, which she said contained threats and lies. Two weeks after the hearing, the assaulter was expelled from student residence.

On Sept. 13, Bühler attended the CSU’s Sexual Violence Campaign Launch at the Hive Café. There, she met Camille Thompson, the CSU’s external affairs and mobilization coordinator, to whom she disclosed her story and her idea to create a blog to support sexual assault victims.

Thompson put Bühler in contact with Grace Evenson, the campaign assistant, who helped Bühler further develop her project. Evenson invited two students, Gaby Nova and Jennifer Lauren, to help with editing and content management. Bühler, Nova, Lauren, and Evenson are currently the admins of the blog.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

MIA ANHOURY NEWS EDITOR The 68th annual Santa Claus Parade gathered tens of thousands of Montrealers on Saturday. Over 20 floats participated in the parade, and the Christmas mood was set with a fresh layer of snow.

The Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport has launched a Pet Squad—made up of 30 dogs and handlers—to walk through the terminal as a form of pet therapy for travellers, according to the Montreal Gazette. It is the airport’s solution to help fight travel stress.

Bühler had the idea to name the blog #takingbackourvoices after a class assignment that required her to take excerpts from a text to create an original poem.

As Bühler was writing the assignment, she received a first draft of her assaulter’s statement from a mutual friend.

“I took a couple words from the statement and I wrote a poem out of it,” Bühler said. “In the poem, I re-wrote the story and made it seem like he had listened to me when I told him ‘no’ the first time and he stopped. I called the poem taking back my voice.”

I looked at her Without any hesitation; She told me no And I stoppedShe kept talking for a while, I didn’t say anything

In October, the admins posted two callouts for submissions via social media and put up posters around campus advertising the upcoming blog.

Bühler said there have been a few submissions including poetry, art, and personal essays.

Bühler plans to have multiple sections on the blog, including pieces, articles, resources, and discussions.

Bühler hopes the blog will be a place for sexual assault survivors to share their stories, be relieved of the repercussions of sexual assault, and communicate with their abusers through their writing. “There’s a lot of self-blame that goes with being assaulted and I hope this blog helps people get rid of this,” she told The Concordian. “People know what consent is, but they don’t know what are the grey lines and when no means no.”

The blog is expected to be launched in January. A wine and cheese event will be organized to promote it.

A 42-year-old woman was injured on Sherbrooke St. E on Saturday morning by an SPVM cruiser during a car chase, according to TVA. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes has opened an investigation into the incident. The chase began on the Jacques Cartier Bridge when a driver refused to pull over.

The trials for Montreal priest Brian Boucher have begun following allegations of him sexually assaulting teenagers. While a witness was testifying against Boucher, CTV reported the judge reprimanded the priest for making faces. The witness, a 23-year-old man, had filed a complaint in 2013 against the priest.

Boucher has worked at more than a dozen Catholic churches in Montreal.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

HEALTH

Changing ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality Committee releases review with recommendations to improve health and wellbeing

MIA ANHOURY NEWS EDITOR Concordia’s Student Health and Wellbeing Review Committee released its assessment on Nov. 8. The committee’s action plan includes the development of a comprehensive mental health services plan and a mid-semester break in the fall.

The review was requested by President Alan Shepard to ensure the university is supporting these practices on campus.

According to Lisa Ostiguy, the special advisor to the provost on campus life, Concordia is looking into the logistics of a fall break, although it will not be implemented in the upcoming academic year.

The assessment was largely based on interviews with 30 “subject matter experts,” which included specialists from the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities, the Department of Creative Art Therapies, and Concordia’s Counselling and Psychological Services. The committee also spoke with an elder from the Aboriginal Student Resource Centre, the Multi-Faith and Spirituality Centre, and the International Student Office, among others.

The primary takeaway from these interviews

was the need to promote health and wellbeing over the “survival of the fittest” mentality often present in classrooms. According to Ostiguy, the university can implement this change with simple steps, such as requiring that students be made aware of on-campus and off-campus services during their first class of the semester.

The focus is on changing the classroom environment and introducing wellness-based practices. “It can be a number of things,” Ostiguy said. “It could involve health breaks and things like that infused in what we do.”

The ability to foster conversations about health and wellbeing in the classroom depends on “the design of the course material,” Ostiguy said. “We heard a lot in the review about students becoming anxious around midterms.” Giving students the opportunity to talk about the resources around the campus is key, she said.

Next year, the committee intends to expand their review to include an analysis of health and wellness practices in other universities, in the form of partnerships with the city, peer-to-peer offerings and group sessions. Although improving wait times for appointments with counsellors is one way to go about it, Ostiguy said “there are a lot of ways that we could address supporting students.”

The review recommended the creation of non-credit courses for anyone in the university to improve their knowledge of health.

In 2013, Concordia was among the 32 Canadian post-secondary institutions surveyed in the National College Health Assessment.

According to the survey’s results quoted in the review, 33 per cent of Concordia students reported that stress had the largest impact on their academic performance in the last year.

Additionally, 41.6 per cent of students felt their level of stress was above average.

Additionally, the committee’s review recommended centralizing all health and wellness information to ensure the university community is aware of all the available resources.

“If [students] are not in a program that ad dre s s e s h e alt h directly, like exercise

science, they may not have access in their whole degree to a course on health-related things, such as nutrition or stress,” Ostiguy said.

“We do need to look at mental health strategies,” Ostiguy said. “Even though we didn't look at individual services as part of this review, there is a need for us to take a look at mental health [issues] because [they’re] on the rise in terms of North American universities.”

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

theconcordian

NATION Lifting the lid on the Hall bathrooms IN BRIEF Lack of maintenance and renovations, according to students FACILITIES

MIA ANHOURY NEWS EDITOR The new Canadian $10 bill is now in circulation in Winnipeg. One side of the bill features civil rights activist Viola Desmond and the other features the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Desmond is the first Canadian woman to be featured on a banknote that will stay in circulation, according to CBC. On Wednesday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Pierre-C. Gagnon approved a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s Canada for marketing its Happy Meal to children, according to Global News. This is due to the fact that the Happy Meals in stores are placed at children’s eye level, and toys that come with the meal are advertised at McDonald’s. This allegedly violates a Quebec law that doesn’t allow merchants to advertise their products to children under 13-years-old.

Red tape and warning signs forbid students from entering this Hall building bathroom. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

EITHNE LYNCH ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Students have been voicing strong opinions on the state of the bathrooms in the Hall building, both online and around campus.

“They’re nasty,” said English literature student Marco Buttice. “I constantly see urinals with out-of-order signs. I think they just haven’t been renovated in a really long time, and it shows.”

“The washroom facilities were renovated within the last 10 years and the ground level men’s washroom was refreshed and had new stall dividers installed this past summer,” said University Spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr. She added that the women’s bathrooms on the main floor will also be renovated this coming summer and that new stall dividers were installed this past summer.

Barr said renovations are often done during the summer months when there are fewer people using the building, “to limit the impact on the community.”

The problems are not isolated to the main floor. Just last week, the women’s bathroom on the 10th floor was out of order, forcing students go to a different floor. A sink in a 9th-floor women’s bathroom makes a loud screeching sound when it’s on, but no water comes out of the tap. Many sink handles are rusted to the point that they can no longer be turned.

Four out of nine stalls and three out of nine urinals in the 4th-floor men’s bathroom are marked as out of order. Two floors up, a row of four stalls is blocked off to “repair [a] faulty main shut-off valve,” according to a sign posted between two of the stalls.

Two other urinals in the building, despite not being marked as “out of order,” do not drain properly, and are beginning to overflow with water and urine. Even the

urinals that do work often have very poor water flow.

Some toilets are clog ged, others don’t flush, and some flood or leak when flushed. Water from flooded toilets spreads into neighbouring stalls, rendering those useless as well.

These issues limit the number of stalls that can be used. Third-year political science and human rights student, Olivia Salembier, said “because of the reduced amount of stalls available, very large lines develop, so you have to wait a decent amount of time, especially in between classes.”

“Overall, the cleanliness is absolutely awful,” said Salembier. Business student Bronte Williams agreed, and said “I think the Hall bathrooms are of such low standards compared to other buildings at Concordia.”

Barr said the bathrooms are cleaned on a daily basis, though some students don’t feel that’s enough. “I understand

some people vandalize the bathrooms and this is hard to control, but more janitorial ser vices for the bathrooms could eliminate the poor standards in terms of smell, dirt, and general filth,” said Williams.

“No major significant complaints or issues related to the Hall building washrooms have been made via the appropriate comments or complaints forms,” Barr said. Katherina Boucher, an anthropology and journalism major said, “I actually don't think I go one day without complaining about it and honestly, I just do the detour to the John Molson School of Business building if I have the time.”

To m ake an of f icial co m p laint regarding bathroom facilities, Barr said students should contact Facilities Management at Call2400@concordia. ca or call 514-848-2424 ext. 2400.

With materials from Ian Down

Ottawa is investing up to $153 million into ocean superclusters as part of Ottawa’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative, according to the National Post . These superclusters involve businesses, non-profit groups, and post-secondary institutions working towards innovative and economic growth in Canada’s oceans.

On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford’s government announced the closing of the Ontario Child Advocate’s office, handing over its duties to the ombudsman’s office, according to The Huffington Post. This government cut means that children in Ontario who are injured or die in the foster care system will not have an advocate investigate their case.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

“The Hall bathrooms are of such low standards compared to other buildings at Concordia,” said student Olivia Salembier. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

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theconcordian

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

FINANCES

CASA’s frosh savings re-allocated

Association invests in new website, conference and application

A combination of savings and profits from this year’s frosh events allowed the Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASA) to re-allocate its funds. The money was invested in a new website, the development of a student-life app, and a trip to the National Business School Conference for almost all CASA executives in Winnipeg, which happened this past weekend.

According to Tristan Lessard, CASA’s vice president of finance, budgeting and spending at frosh in September “has been the best financial performance in years.”

The five day Shrek-themed events cost CASA $161,000, falling under their budgeted $170,000.

Lessard credited “shaking things up” in making this year’s frosh events popular, as the attendance was significantly higher than last year’s three day frosh event. “We had to plan the money better because we had to plan events that had never been done before,” said Lessard.

The net revenue from CASA's frosh was $125,000 instead of their projected $100,000 revenue. Lessard said the $35,000 profit is from their budget savings and higher-than-expected revenue. With that money, CASA’s website got a $6,000 renovation, according to Lessard; CASA also spent $500 on the frosh events’s website.

The idea of creating a student-life app

Graphic by@spooky_soda

MIA ANHOURY NEWS EDITOR

was brought up before frosh, but was not seriously considered due to its cost, said Lessard. However, CASA’s savings allowed them to invest in the app. “ T he goal is to increa se st udent engagement, [...] to give people an easier way to access all the information they need from CASA and from the school,” said Lessard.

The cost of the application is $23,000, which is being paid in installments, according to Lessard and this year, CASA will pay $10,000.

Lessard consulted with HEC Montréal as they have a similar app, and decided it’s a lucrative investment, since the association will make money from the sponsors of the app, which may include banks.

The rest of the money from frosh’s revenue allowed for all CASA executives to attend a business conference, which cost $11,000, according to Lessard.

“The goal of the Shrek ears was really

to hype up the event,” said Lessard. CASA spent $917 on 950 pairs of Shrek ears, in accordance to the Shrek theme. The association also spent close to $1,400 on a giant inflatable Shrek, almost 20 feet tall.

Although CASA President Karina Bosca thought it was a silly expense, Lessard convinced her it was for marketing purposes and would bring many people to their event.

“As surprising as it sounds, McGill is renting it for one of their events in January,” said Lessard. “So we’ll be getting back money at the end of the day; it ended up being a super good expense.”

As for the foam at CASA’s beach day during frosh, the machine and the staff members running it cost roughly $1,300.

“The foam was something new this year,” said Lessard. “But it wasn't as cool as we thought [...] sometimes you win some you lose some.”

STUDENT POLITICS

CSU referendum on online voting Committee re-evaluating the pros and cons of electronic voting JAD ABUKASM CONTRIBUTOR The CSU will be asking its students whether the union should change its voting method from polling stations to online electronic voting in its upcoming referendum.

Electronic voting is an online platform for students to vote from their computers.

Many universities across Canada have switched to electronic voting in the past two decades, a change they qualified as inevitable, according to Tre Mansdoerfer, president of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU).

“Currently, the most up-to-date research that the CSU relies on is from 2014 and recommends that online voting not be implemented,” wrote Michele Sandiford, CSU student life coordinator, in an email to The Concordian. “The evaluation raises concerns such as election fraud, technical difficulties, and confidentiality, and presents evidence that shows that voter turnout is most significantly impacted by the investment of voters in electoral issues and high-profile candidates/referendum questions.”

For many years, the CSU refused to implement electronic voting, but recently, the student union formed an elections and participation committee to re-evaluate the pros and cons of the method.

“We recently inquired into the security

of online voting to our IT Director, who explained online voting is almost impossible to secure and presents significant risk s of impersonation,” said Sandiford. This is a risk the CSU is not willing to take.

Mansdoerfer thinks otherwise.

McGill has been using online voting for the past two decades. “Ever y Graphic by @spooky_soda student has an assigned code that is authenticated, so that institution or your student body, you should it’s secure enough regarding personal info,” be using online as much as you can,” said said Mansdoerfer. “People can’t double vote Mansdoerfer. “If you are gonna have people since you have to log in with your personal come in person to vote, you are taking away information. It’s different from your [student] from anybody that isn’t from Montreal, or ID so that there’s nothing affiliated with far away so that they have to commute, and anything else.” limiting their ability to participate.”

Since 2003, the overall lowest voting McGill’s transition from conventional to rate at McGill was at 17.5 per cent, electronic voting was made step-by-step, according to Mansdoerfer. Concordia, first by using both polling stations as well however, had a voter turnout of about as online voting. This resulted in a 1 per cent 4 per cent during the last general elecparticipation rate for polling stations and tions, a drastically lower rate than its about 20 per cent for online voting. neighbouring university.

“I think this really speaks for itself in “If you are really trying to represent your terms of advantage,” said Mansdoerfer. “It’s

WORLD IN BRIEF MIA ANHOURY NEWS EDITOR One person was killed and a dozen were injured at a protest in France on Saturday, when a driver accelerated into the crowd out of panic, according to BBC. Roughly 250,000 people were protesting the increasing price of diesel, the most commonly used fuel in France. Diesel is at its all time high of the century—the price increased by 23 per cent in the last year.

Two ex-presidents in Madagascar are set to fight for votes in a run-off on Dec. 19, as neither candidate received the 50 per cent of votes required to win the first round of elections, according to France 24. The voter turnout was at 54.3 per cent and the current president only secured 8.84 per cent of the votes in the first round.

On Friday, a boat carrying 106 suspected Rohingya people in the south of Myanmar, was stopped. Everyone on board was arrested by immigration authorities, according to Al Jazeera. The Myanmar army has been accused by the UN of “genocidal intent” and ethnic cleansing.

On Thursday, Édouard Fritch, the French-Polynesian president, admitted in front of his national assembly that he and other leaders lied to their people. Fritch revealed previously hidden impacts on the environment and people’s health due to the nuclear tests carried out from 1960 to 1996, according to The Washington Post.

Two of Tanzania’s biggest donors are withholding aid money after the country made questioning official statistics a crime, and also passed a policy that bans pregnant girls from attending school, according to NBC News.

The World Bank withdrew $300 million and Denmark is threatening to withhold $10 million due to Tanzania’s human rights abuse and homophobic comments made by a government official.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

the modern 21st century voting method, and we should try to help people vote as much as we can. Polling stations would have made sense pre-Internet without having all the other abilities to vote, but not anymore.”

Yesterday, the CSU started an official referendum campaign where the voting method will be thoroughly discussed. “It’s surprising to me this is still a conversation at some schools, but I hope the conversation right now is to [adopt] online voting and not to remain the same,” said Mansdoerfer. “If it is, then I’m happy with that. If it’s not, I have major concerns with what’s going on.”

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

STUDENT HOUSING

Woodnote secures funding Construction delays, rent increases to come despite $18 million in investments

theconcordian

Funds approved for Reggies and daycare renovations IAN DOWN NEWS EDITOR

Council approved the project’s revised term sheet at a meeting on Nov. 14. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

IAN DOWN NEWS EDITOR After undergoing some financial turbulence earlier this year, the Concordia Student Union’s (CSU) Woodnote Housing Project has secured all of its funding.

In a Nov. 13 press release, the CSU announced that new investments—including an additional $1.1 million from the City of Montreal last month—allowed the project to meet its $18 million budget.

The organization spearheading the project, Unité de travail pour l'implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE), has also reached a deal with a private construction contractor, although the release did not provide a name.

“I can officially say that the project survived a 30 per cent budget increase over the summer,” said Laurent Levesque, UTILE’s general coordinator, at the CSU’s regular council meeting on Nov. 14.

The Concordian previously reported that,

Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

over the past year, UTILE had to increase the project’s budget from $14 million to $18 million due to the rising cost of construction in the city, among other factors.

“Ever since the beginning, when we sat down with the CSU execs to discuss about strategies moving forward, our objective was to find a way to resolve this without adding any CSU money to the project, which is something we accomplished,” said Levesque.

The CSU has contributed $1.85 million to the project. This funding comes from the union’s Student Space, Accessible Education and Legal Contingency (SSAELC) fund.

Leves que told t he C SU t he new investments are “a mix of extra grants and extra loans,” from UTILE’s investors.

This includes additional grants of $1 million each from the Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins and the Fond d’investissement pour logement étudiant.

Despite these investments, the project will not meet its projected deadline. “We are in November now and it’s too cold,

so it’s not possible to do the foundations right away,” said Levesque. Because of this, construction will not be completed by July 2019 as originally planned. The press release states that the residence, located on Papineau Ave. across from Parc Lafontaine, will open sometime in 2020.

Levesque said that rent for the residence will also have to be increased to accommodate the new investments. He said this 10 per cent net increase will mostly be absorbed by the studio apartments, which are already the least expensive. According to the revised term sheet for the project, which was prepared for the council meeting, 62 of the residence’s 90 units are studio apartments, representing nearly half of the building’s 144 bedrooms.

In a referendum in November 2014, 89 per cent of Concordia students voted in favor of the housing project, according to the CSU’s website. A 2014 market study by UTILE found that 4,200 beds were needed for students in Montreal.

At the Nov. 14 Concordia Student Union (CSU) council meeting, council also approved funding for two renovation projects.

A total of $8,500 will be allocated to ongoing renovations at Reggies Bar. The motion was introduced by finance coordinator John Hutton, who said the campus bar was in need of new upholstery for seating and new light fixtures, among other things.

“Because this is a place that students really enjoy and use a lot, I think it’s a good use of student space funds,” Hutton said. Renovation costs for student spaces are covered by the Student Space, Accessible Education and Legal Contingency (SSAELC) fund. The scope and timeline of these projects was not mentioned, and it was not specified what kind of disruption the renovations would cause for patrons. The campus bar previously underwent extensive renovations in the summer and fall of 2015.

Council also approved renovations for the new CSU daycare on Bishop St. The centre is in need of a more child-friendly outdoor area, according to CSU general coordinator Sophie Hough-Martin. The union will take about $216,000 from the SSAELC fund to build the new outdoor play centre.

“Right now, the outdoor play area is just a very not child-safe porch,” said Hough-Martin, who introduced the motion. She said new features will include plants, a play area with water jets, a security gate for the front entrance, and a larger fence between the daycare, t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g l i b r a r y, a n d McKibbins Irish Pub. According to the motion, a contract with a private construction firm was approved by the nursery’s board of directors on Oct. 23. The contract then needed to be approved by council.

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life

LIFE EDITOR /// life@theconcordian.com ALEX HUTCHINS ( @alexhutchinns96)

COVER STORY

Naloxone 101: Frontlines of the opioid crisis Saving lives and breaking down stigmas with public education

MACKENZIE LAD PHOTO EDITOR

of practical education that could equip community members “I’m here today because there isn’t a with the skills and very effective public education pro- confidence required gram,” said Richard Davy, a first-year to capitalize on these social work student at McGill, after resources. A 2017 wrapping up the first in a series of opioid awareness naloxone training sessions he's holding survey by Statistics in November. To Davy’s delight, his first Canada found that presentation on Nov. 7, which amassed only seven per cent of an assorted crowd of students, com- Canadians know how munity members and TV news crews, to both obtain and was a success. “People aren’t aware of administer naloxone. this, even though we’ve known about Less than 30 per naloxone for what seems like forever,” cent of respondents he added. agreed that they Naloxone, also known by its brand name would be able to Narcan, is the substance used to reverse an recognize the signs of opioid overdose. Once administered, either an opioid overdose. nasally or through muscular injection, the Grassroots comnaloxone blocks opioid receptors in the munity organizations brain and temporarily alleviates some of have long been doing Depending on the severity of the overdose multiple doses of naloxone may need to be administered to have its the life-threatening effects of opioids. In the harm-reduction life-saving effects. Photo by Mackenzie Lad. cases of accidental overdose, it is often work the provincial family, friends or bystanders who are government has only recently began to education. That begins with the gov- when I see it in other people.” tasked to recognize and treat an overdose, adopt in principle and practice. In 2013, ernment getting behind it, with schools “The absence of public education so the naloxone kits are designed to be Méta d’ me, a Montreal-based “self-help getting behind it, so we can start to raise encourages more stigma and discrimeasy-to-use for non-medical professionals. organization ‘by and for’ people who awareness.” ination, which discourages treatment Naloxone is also fairly easy to access; depend on opioids,” created Prévenir et Those aged 15 to 24 are within the and access to treatment,” said Yamin in 2017, the Quebec government began Réduire les Overdoses Former et Accéder demographic with the fastest growing Weiss, a fellow McGill social work offering free naloxone kits in Quebec à la Naloxone (PROFAN), a project focused rate of hospitalization for opioid poisoning student invited by Davy to share his pharmacies to anyone 14 or older. The on reducing opioid-related deaths through according to the Canadian Institute for lived experience with drug addiction decision was made in reaction to the rising harm-reduction tactics, mainly the use of Health Information (CIHI). Yet youth and and recovery. “Public opinion is huge opioid-related hospitalization rates across and access to naloxone. young adults are not formally presented to people internalizing a problem of Canada over the past decade. According PROFAN is among many longstanding with this information in an educational addiction. A lot of people don’t seek to former Quebec Health Minister Gaétan independent initiatives offering informal setting, nor are they given any collective help because they’re so stigmatized.”

Barrette, this was also part of a compre- overdose 101 education and, despite incentive to seek it out. “If youth are going Naloxone may be the antidote to opioid hensive strategy to address the public consistent action on a community level, to [use substances/drugs], and they are, we overdose, but, according to Weiss, it will take health emergency in the province that there has yet to be a government-sub- need to at least give them harm-reduction much more to solve the underlying structural was declared after a spike in fentanyl sidized education program that offers tools,” said Davy. Seeing both the need issues. “Drug addiction and recovery is something overdoses in the summer of 2017. the same hands-on experience. for and lack of practical education at his for the public to be concerned about and to care Despite removing significant barriers “[Naloxone training] should be part of university, Davy stepped in. about,” said Weiss. “And public acceptance can to harm-reduction tools, the provincial our repertoire of first aid. We should have The training session not only includes only happen through public awareness, which government’s comprehensive strategy an epipen in our first aid kit; we should step-by-step instructions of how to detect is why we have Naloxone training like today.” seems to be missing a key piece: public have a naloxone kit in our first aid kit,” signs of an opioid overdose and how to In its federal opioid awareness campaign, the education. There remains a widespread lack said Davy. “And again, that begins with respond using naloxone, Davy deliberately Canadian government has broadly recognized contextualized the social and structural stigma as being a pervasive issue to present force impacting the quality of and access to care a more compre- for people with problematic drug use. Under hensive, human the bolded “How You Can Help” heading of view of drug use the government website, it is suggested that a n d a d d i c t i o n . we, as Canadians, “can learn about substance “As social work- use disorder and educate ourselves about the ers, we’re really medical condition.” An auspicious idea, yet e n c o u r a g e d t o rendered ineffective without corresponding l o o k a t t h i n g s educational opportunities provided on a through a holistic broad scale. lens, including Each participant left Davy’s training session the more invisi- with a fully-stocked naloxone kit, a new set of ble stigmas and practical skills, and a more nuanced view of an oppressions, and issue that may have seemed insurmountable I think it makes it from the outset. “One of my intentions with this m u c h e a s i e r to today was to take away a little bit of the fear. h ave t h at d e e p Take away some of that fear and now we’re sense of compas- progressing” said Davy. sion for people,” Davy will hold a Naloxone 101 worksaid Davy. “I see shop at Concordia (CSU Offices H-711) the pain. I have on Thursday, Nov. 22. Admission is free, my own history but due to overwhelming demand, of trauma, and I participants are encouraged to register Richard Davy, a first year social work student at McGill, held a series of naloxone training sessions throughout connect with that beforehand via Facebook to secure a spot.

November. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

theconcordian

FILM REVIEW

Do more with less

“Love people and use things, because the opposite never works”

Overexpectations What happened to stopping to smell the roses?

ALEX HUTCHINS LIFE EDITOR

Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things is a film that followed two men who embarked on a journey to minimize their lifestyles so that everything in their lives has value.

JACOB CAREY STAFF WRITER

Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things is a film following two men, who have titled themselves “The Minimalists,” on a 10-month tour across America promoting their book Everything that Remains.

Released in 2016, this documentary directed by Matt D’Avella captures the lives of Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Friends for over 20 years, they considered themselves, and were considered by others to be successful. Despite having both endured rough childhoods scattered with drug abuse, physical abuse and alcoholism, the two found themselves with good jobs, great salaries, food on the table and a full closet. Despite all this, they questioned why they were unhappy with how their lives turned out.

After hearing about minimalism, Millburn and Nicodemus dropped everything and adopted the principles of minimalism.

“Imagine a life with less. Less stuff, less clutter, less stress, and debt, and discontent. A life with fewer distractions,” said Millburn. “Now, imagine

a life with more. More time, more meaningful relationships, more growth and contribution and contentment.”

The concept of minimalism is simple: every possession serves a purpose. As human beings in a society obsessed with consumerism, our options for nearly everything in life are limited.

Yet, these nearly infinite options force us to make more decisions, thus causing more stress. Minimalism is about minimizing one’s life so that everything in it has value.

“Every choice that I make, every relationship, every item, every dollar I spend,” said Nicodemus. “I’m not perfect, but I do constantly ask the question: is this adding value?”

A key dimension of minimalism, while not actively discussed in the documentary, is purchasing power, and ultimately accessibility. Those who can hardly afford a bus pass or the next meal for their families likely won't be concerned with hybrid vehicles or buying organic food because it isn't within their purchasing power to do so.

Minimalism and to what degree people are able to minimize their consumption, if at all, will invariably differ from family to family based on what means they do, or don't, have access to.

The pair noticed how minimalism drastically improved their way of life and allowed them to be more genuine.

Having previously worked in the sales industry, they thought every interaction should get something out of someone.

After quitting their jobs, they were able to have genuine conversations with people and no longer see them as a means to make money.

Stories of individuals across the country who have adopted a minimalist lifestyle, and preach a better quality of life because of it, are portrayed in the documentar y. One woman spoke about Project 333, a goal to live three months with only 33 articles of clothing and accessories to her name.

Others live in minimalist homes about the size of a typical bedroom. All these interviews occur while clips of America’s mass-consumption lifestyle are juxtaposed in the background.

Videos of Black Friday frenzies and physical violence for retail goods open the audience’s eyes to our society’s obsession with material things.

The Minimalists conclude their story by leaving viewers with one message of hope: “Love people and use things, because the opposite never works.”

Higher education is a privilege not everyone has access to, and we’re all extremely fortunate for the learning opportunities at Concordia, but crap is it ever tiring.

After three full years spent in Montreal either working my butt off at school, or working my butt off to pay for school, I’m just about done (realistically I still have a year or so left, though—whoopdee-doo). But it’s not the prospect of hard work that leaves me feeling discouraged; it’s the feeling that I’m not doing enough. The feeling that being in school full-time, working for The Concordian part-time (read: full-time), and trying to pick up whatever photography gigs I can still isn’t enough.

Just the other week, I was talking with my roommate about how I want to spend this summer.

Working outdoors is something I fell in love with in 2015, before moving to Montreal, when I worked as a canoe trip counselor in Algonquin Park, a provincial park in southeastern Ontario.

Getting outside and into nature is something I’ve been itching to do every summer since then, for my own sanity. Yet, when having this conversation with my roommate, I found myself bringing up my degree, the benefit of staying in Montreal for another summer to take extra classes, maybe pick up an internship; all to get ahead. But of what? Of who?

I’m not sure what makes me more upset: the fact that I have this competitive desire to finish my degree quickly and move on, or the fact that I’m probably going to end up taking classes and whatever internship I think will boost my CV the most. There was one semester, one blissful (yes, blissful) few months in fall 2017, when I thoroughly enjoyed all of my classes. Not only that, but I was proud of the work I was accomplishing, both in and outside the lecture hall. But toward the end of post-secondary education, professors start encouraging students to envision how their degrees fit into their career paths. While this isn’t inherently negative, the insane pressure many of us feel to find that career path early on and pursue every available opportunity within that field, to differentiate ourselves and come out on top is kind of negative (cheers, capitalism), no?

What happened to stopping and smelling the roses? Enjoying the journey, and not the destination? I’ve had one-too-many conversations with students already working full-time in their final years of university who only show up to classes on mandatory attendance days or to hand in assignments because they’re simply done with school. Or students who are in school full-time, pursuing a full-time internship, and also trying to work part-time who have absolutely no time for themselves.

The constant pressure to go above and beyond comes from the overexpectations we all feel, and it really friggin’ sucks. It translates to us constantly focusing on the next stage of our lives, as opposed to drawing value from our current place in life and really growing as individuals.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

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theconcordian

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

CAMPUS LIFE

Filmmaking meets anti-colonial education

Le Frigo Vert's Anti-Colonial Feast expands into a week-long series of panels, workshops and screenings

Starting Tuesday, Nov. 20 through to Monday Nov. 26, Le Frigo Vert, QPIRG Concordia, Cinema Politica and Midnight Kitchen will be hosting a series of events from film screenings to feasts for this year’s Anti-Colonial Week.

FATIMA DIA ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR Le Frigo Vert returns this year with its Anti-Colonial Feast. This time, they’re partnering with Cinema Politica to include the art of filmmaking in anti-colonial education. The events are also presented with QPIRG Concordia, People’s Potato and Midnight Kitchen.

“Because we’re a health-food store with a focus on environmental issues, we really try to make it clear that we feel that social justice and environmental organizing should be rooted in Indigenous solidarity,” said Hunter CubittCooke, an employee and organizer at Le Frigo Vert. “It’s often never mentioned when we talk about the environment or social issues.

For us, that’s what we’re trying to get people to think about, and be involved in.” “[The feast] is co-organized with QPIRG, Cinema Politica and Midnight Kitchen, and they all have different networks,” CubittCooke said. He praised the broader audience t hey will hopef ull y be reaching this year, thanks to the diverse networks from each organization involved. “The main goal is education for students and people who might not be involved in Indigenous solidarity.”

Le Frigo Vert hopes to expand their outreach in order to spread the impor tance of Indigenous solidarity and history. This year, instead of a one-night event, a series of events revolving around Indigenous solidarity and education will take place from Nov. 20 to 26.

T U E S D AY

On Nov. 20, Michelle Wouters will give an Introduction to Indigenous Solidarity & History workshop at QPIRG Concordia on 2100 Guy St., Suite 205, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wouters is a Sixties Scoop and breast cancer survivor who was adopted by white Europeans and came to Montreal in 1990. She studied humanistic studies at McGill University, and graduated the day after the Quebec referendum of 1995.

W E D N E S D AY

A three-hour panel on Indigenous People and Criminalization will take place in Le Frigo Vert on 1440 Mackay St. on Nov. 21, and will begin at 5:30 p.m. Speakers will include Sheri Planteau, an Indigenous mother from Winnipeg residing in Montreal, who was incarcerated for 15 years, and Vicki Chartrand, a Bishops University professor whose focus is on incarceration, criminalization and imprisonment as a colonial institution.

T H U R S D AY

On Nov. 22, the Native Friendship Centre will open its doors for the Anti-Colonial Feast.

Before digging into the food, there will be a screening of RECLAMATION by Thirza Cuthand. This collaboration is part of The Next 150: Documentary Futurism, a project started by Cinema Politica aimed to share radical and independent documentaries.

Although the food is free, the event itself is a fundraiser for the Native Friendship Centre and the Kanehsatà:ke Longhouse land defense fund.

M O N D AY

On Nov. 26, Cinema Politica Concordia will conclude the Anti-Colonial Week events with the Canadian premiere of First Daughter and the Black Snake. Following the film, protagonist Winona LaDuke and director Keri Pickett will join the audience for a Q&A.

arts

ARTS EDITOR /// arts@theconcordian.com CHLOË LALONDE

EXHIBITION

Searching for balance in Constellat(i)ons Concordia's community ar t education students are at a crossroads

CHLOË LALONDE ARTS EDITOR Teaching is everywhere. Whether cultural, from one generation to the next, or through academic pathways, teaching is present in all aspects of life and in every field.

Following a curriculum of practicum-based lecture and studio classes, Concordia art education students learn how to teach, how to be taught, and where art fits into all this. These student artists are interested not only in teaching art, but in using art to teach any school subject and about all aspects of life. Two years into their degree, each student must decide whether to specialize or major in the field, a choice that determines whether or not they will work as a teacher in primary and secondary schools or in the community.

Students who choose the community pathway must take ARTE 432: Theory and Practice in Community Art Education. This semester, the course was taught by grad student Arianna Garcia Fialdini, a former teaching assistant and first-time professor at Concordia. Fialdini’s goal with this course was to bridge her students’ personal art practice and their teaching practices with an exhibition.

Constellat(i)ons, curated by the entire class, served to define who the students

EXHIBITION

are as artists as well as teachers. The work exhibited was a result of the students reflecting on their sense of identity and emotions regarding their position in and concerns about belonging in the art world.

Avery Walker, Emily Sirota and Sylvia Erlichman-Gross are three of the 18 exhibiting student-teachers. Sirota is an independent student and a working performance artist interested in the idea of teaching and learning as a performative act. During the vernissage on Nov. 16, she performed Incommensurate Things, a piece exploring the anatomy of a breakup using controlled projections of dispersed vignettes.

A b s t r a c t p a i nte r s Wa l ke r a n d Erlichman-Gross have similar yet distinct perceptions of themselves as artists and student-teachers. Erlichman-Gross aspires to be an art therapist and is interested in the intersection of art and psychology. Whereas Walker is interested in collaborative learning in community settings and merging her artistic practice with the teaching practice.

Erlichman-Gross' painting, A gift to my mother, explores the intersection between art and psychology, in conjunction with aspects of home and identity. The piece is a work in progress throughout the artist's bachelor's degree and documents her journey as a student.

Walker's Serendipity was made with leftover paint from one of her painting-with-

Constellat(i)ons bridges art education students’ identities as teachers and artists.

Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

out-brushes lessons taught as a part of her practicum.

Other pieces in the exhibition included fibre work as a form of therapy, beading and using recycled materials as a form of cultural education and social resistance, as well as a series of audio-visual and print installations exploring aspects of the individual students’s identities.

According to the students, teaching is many things, and teaching about art or using art as a means of teaching expands upon even more. It can transform fears, anxieties and vulnerabilities into love and

encouragement. It requires awareness of one’s identity and the ability to be flexible and open to other perceptions of art and ways of sharing skills. It is a continuous battle, learning from and finding meaning within all realms of experience and connecting them with single threads.

“We are part of a series of networks, just like stars are parts of constellations,” Walker wrote in her artist statement. The class exhibition meant something different to each student but really focused on giving them practical experience not only as teachers but as professional artists.

A call to arms turned into art

MFA students Janina Anderson and Rebecca Munce sew their way to revolution YOUMNA EL HALABI STAF WRITER All over the FOFA Gallery’s window-display are newspapers, however their headlines and photos are blocked off.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the headlines are interrupted by sewing thread, leaving the images only partially concealed. The newspapers each feature articles about the 2016 United States presidential inauguration, and the imagery features none other than Donald Trump.

Displayed in the Ste-Catherine St. vitrine, Objects of Resistance showcases the work of Janina Anderson and Rebecca Munce. “This work was executed the day of the Women’s March in 2017,” said Anderson, a Concordia MFA student in fibres and material practices. “The idea came to me really fast. I don’t even remember how, it just came to me the day before the march.”

Anderson chose to use newspapers, of all material options, to make her statement. She stitched the newspapers in a public space, as a collective event to encourage people to participate on this revolutionary day.

“Newspapers have always been kind of interesting to me because they’re tangible objects you can hold in your hands, and it’s basically history,” she said. Rather than work on these art pieces alone, Anderson sought help from Munce, a close friend and classmate, because of their shared opinions concerning feminist and political ideals.

“Rebecc a's medium is dr awing ,” Anderson explained. “She has a sophisticated knowledge of line work, and she’s really talented in that area. And I always thought of the sewing machine as a way to draw.”Traditionally deemed a delicate feminine craft, sewing is seldom associated with revolution.

“When you have the sewing machine,

Displayed in the Ste-Catherine St. vitrine, Objects of Resistance showcases the work of Janina Anderson and Rebecca Munce. Photo by Chloë Lalonde.

and you really put the pedal all the way to the ground, it shakes,” Anderson said.

“It sounds like a rifle. It was nice to use something the day of the Women’s March that’s considered soft and feminine for something so aggressive.”

Anderson made sure the headlines and Trump weren’t completely covered.

Wanting it to be fairly obvious who the subject of her protest was, her intention was to have the viewer face the unpleasant reality: Trump isn’t going anywhere, at least, not yet.

Despite being crafted a year prior to the exhibition, Anderson said the piece has been dubbed "still relevant" on many occasions. The artist has already been approached by people saying her work has encouraged and inspired them to join her call to arms.

“Protest art changed the way I think about my audience,” Anderson said. “It sort of renewed my belief in art and its powers to change the way a person feels.

Some of the best works I have seen fill my heart and make me clench my fist at the same time."

Objects of Resistance will be on view in the Ste-Catherine St. vitrine of the FOFA Gallery until Dec. 14.

10 theconcordian

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

ART HISTORY

What makes an art critic?

Saelen Twerdy talks internet, archives and dematerialization

Happening in and around the White Cube this week…

CHLOË LALONDE | ARTS EDITOR

VINCENT MEESSEN. BLUES KLAIR Tackling issues of history, colonialism and the imaginary, Vincent Meessen seeks to test the present by “proposing rich transcultural and political rereadings and rewritings,” according to Art & Education. Artworks are exhibited under a blue light filter and accompanied by video documentation of a performance by African-American poet Gylan Kain. Following the same themes of black radical tradition and archiving, poet and choreographer Harmony Holiday will perform Exilic Hope / We Don’t Disappear on Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery (1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W.) When: Now until Feb. 23

Graphic by @spooky_soda

LORENZA MEZZAPELLE STAFF WRITER “I grew up in a cultural vacuum,” recalled Saelen Twerdy, a Montreal-based writer, editor, art critic and PhD candidate in art history at McGill University. His increasing desire for culture was fueled by this notion. Growing up in a small, exurban town in British Columbia, his initial exposure to critical literature was through video game magazines like Gamefan.

Twerdy considered himself a “video game snob,” because he preferred to read about video games rather than play them. Although these magazines sparked Twerdy’s interest in criticism, he said the internet is what truly served as a “gateway to experience the outerworld.” It allowed him to develop an interest in music and, ultimately, spend a decade as a music journalist writing for publications such as Color Magazine and Discorder Magazine.

On Nov. 9, Twerdy was featured in Conversations in Contemporary Art’s fifth lecture series held by Concordia’s studio art MFA program. The series provides the opportunity to hear a variety of artists, writers, critics and curators discuss their practices.

Twerdy’s talk, “How I Became an Art Critic,” discussed the internet’s role in developing his curiosity of the digital world and his understanding how culture is consumed. His current fascination is the dematerialization of art since the 1960s, which refers to how art has become increasingly computerized, leading to the

replacement of its physical form.

During his studies in art history and film at the University of British Columbia, Twerdy retained an interest in art and technology. His curiosity of how people determine the definition and value of art led him to write about it.

“I did not understand how to appreciate this work of art,” Twerdy said, referring to Rodney Graham’s Millennial Time Machine (2003). This was the first piece he remembers coming across in a gallery and not grasping. Attracted to works that demonstrate some sort of analysis or reaction to society, he became frustrated and confused; he wanted to understand what he was looking at. What Twerdy learned from Graham’s piece was that he really needed to push his critical thinking.

The ability to observe art critically changes the way a person experiences and engages with it, he said.

By studying how critics and artists research and analyze the way ideology circulates in a culture, Twerdy realized that in order to fully grasp art, he needed to study this particular phenomena. Thus, his desire to learn about the status of art and how conceptualism relates to dematerialization developed—conceptualism being an idea of an abstract object, and dematerialization meaning how an object becomes immaterial.

“What is art and where [does it] belong?”

Twerdy asked. “Coming to art through criticism, as opposed to criticism through art, had an influence on my work.”

Steven Shearer, a contemporary artist from Vancouver who uses archives as a point of departure in his work, is a key

figure in Twerdy’s research. Archiving and the inescapability of the internet piqued Twerdy’s curiosity. “If you want to talk about archive, you have to talk about the internet,” he said.

The internet was certainly a recurring topic in Twerdy’s talk. He recalled creating his Tumblr account in 2008, which filtered the way he experienced and engaged with art. It allowed him to witness the emergence of online art through viewing and being a part of its changes, which he said changed his perception of conceptual art and its relationship to the past. “‘[I am] attracted to artists who work like critics,” Twerdy said, and laughed as he explained that he has always loved reading books about books and observing artworks about art, because it allowed him to think about creative works differently.

This essentially described his curiosity about theory, specifically theories surrounding the notion of art as influenced by technology and its place in our world today.

According to Twerdy, critiquing art is less about the artwork itself and more about its place in society. Simply writing about art does not make someone an art critic. Stemming from general intrigue, criticism requires analysis, evaluation and thorough knowledge of the matter at hand, rather than a simple explanation of why a piece is of interest. Twerdy's talk made the difference rather simple: art critics dive deep and take no shortcuts, while arts writers are all about generalization and promoting simplified, easy-to-read versions of complex artistic ideas.

HYPER REAL: BLACK HISTORY SCREENING In collaboration with Art Matters and Cinema Politica, the VAV Gallery will be hosting an evening of short and feature films that explore several issues. Among the short films, Black Men Loving and Yellow Fever tackle beauty culture and fatherhood, while the feature film Ninth Floor documents the 1969 anti-racist protest at Concordia.

Where: VA Amphitheatre, VA-323 (1395 René-Lévesque Blvd. W.) When: Nov. 22 from 6 p.m to 8:30 p.m.

Admission is free, donations accepted.

DHC/ART BOOK LAUNCH Celebrating their 10th anniversary, the DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art is releasing a major publication on Nov. 21, documenting their work to date. Accompanying the book launch, their current exhibition, Everything That You Desire and Nothing That You Fear, in which artist Jasmina Cibic explores state-sanctioned spaces and archival research through diverse media, will be open until 9 p.m.

Where: DHC/ART (451 & 465 St-Jean St.) When: Nov. 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Admission is free.

COMPARED TO WHAT? VERNISSAGE For its second exhibition, Le pop up Galerie + is showcasing work by current and past undergraduate fine arts students, including Jose Guillermo Garcia Sierra, Carlo Polidoro Lopez and Alexia McKindsey. Compared to What? was named after a song by jazz singer Roberta Flack, which repeats, “trying to make it real, compared to what?” The song is concerned with highlighting differences and struggling though the human experience, a theme which is portrayed throughout the exhibition in a variety of the artists’s styles.

Where: Le pop up Galerie + (3915 St-Denis St.) When: Nov 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Admission is free.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

etc

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

theconcordian

FEATURED CONCORDIA ARTIST

NOAH BARET

Honeybee Series (2018) My name is Noah Baret. I’m a first year photography student. My formal work is mostly rooted in portrait—this can be seen in my most recent series. The aim of Honeybee was to depict masculine beauty without the use of traditionally masculine framing.

I was inspired by the recent popularity of discourse on the relation between masculinity and beauty. I aspired to frame the models in a way that embraces both masculinity and beauty, proving that these two qualities can coalesce in a harmonious way. Honeybee celebrates men’s beauty without depicting it as feminine or masculine, but rather simply depicting it as an intrinsically human characteristic.

I also took inspiration from the work of Anthony Goicolea and modern high-fashion editorials. Like Goicolea, I wanted to keep my subjects in neutral colours and uniform-esque outfits. This technique directs the focus to body position and facial expression rather than branding. I framed the boys as models in high-fashion editorials are framed because I believe that the camera work used in high-fashion amplifies models and creates an image that is both intimidating and empowering. These inspirations helped me create striking images with a predominant focus on male beauty.

You can also check out my socials

@NOAHBARET | NOAHBARET.COM

Etc is a space dedicated to showcasing Concordia artists!

Submissions can be sent to production@theconcordian.com

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music

MUSIC EDITOR /// music@theconcordian.com SIMON NEW

INTERVIEW

Zoya lights up Soda

Believe me or not: Zach Zoya will put Montreal on the map JACOB CAREY STAFF WRITER Although my official interview with hip hop artist Zach Zoya was scheduled for hours before his M for Montreal show at Club Soda, our real conversation began a week earlier.

Having attended the Lou Phelps show at Le Belmont the week prior, I had the pleasure of bumping into Zoya while he attended the show not as an artist, but as a supportive fan.

After introducing myself and telling him that I was looking forward to his performance the following week, Zoya’s true character showed itself within minutes of us meeting. He was humble, he was happy and he was supportive. We struck up another conversation hours later in a drunken blur—one that revolved around music, writing, inspiration and a possible interview between the two of us the following week.

Fast forward six days, I walk through the doors of Club Soda, where Zoya is performing “Stake,” his favourite song off his newest EP, Misstape . Despite this only being a sound check, Zoya is bopping around and nailing every note as if he were singing to a full audience, not just six workers and myself. Decked in an all-white Helas tracksuit, Zoya’s choice of comfortable wardrobe reflects the comfort he has on stage. Beside him stands Maky Lavender, his friend and hype man for the rest of the night. The natural chemistry these two have bleeds into their stage presence both during the sound check and the show, when their introduction to Zoya’s “Who Dat?” initiates a mosh pit in the crowd.

To my fortune, Zoya plays his whole set, tweaking audio levels and trying out different pitches where he sees fit.

He is doing this not only because he is a perfectionist, but because he recognizes the importance of quality at an M for Montreal show, as an artist who will peak any minute now, with all eyes on him.

Important eyes, at that.

Zoya wraps up his set and jumps off stage to greet me and thank me for coming, though I should have been the one doing the thanking. He brings the two of us to a yellow-lit green room underneath the stage.

Sitting on a black and white checkered couch, we crack open a bottle of Jameson, pour ourselves a drink, and Zoya takes me back to the beginning. “I started freestyling at parties,” he said. “It wasn’t really a freestyle. I’d spit a verse, like a Kendrick verse and nobody knew how to do that shit. But I was open about it. I wasn’t

Zach Zoya puts his heart on his sleeve as he sings High Klassified produced track "1919." Photo by Jacob Carey.

claiming it was mine but if they asked I’d tell them. So yeah, I started freestyling, people fucked with it and I was like ‘Oh, maybe I should write a song.’ So I did, then I sat down and I came up with my first shit. Posted up with my laptop and pillows and posted that on SoundCloud.”

At the time, Zoya was living in his hometown of Rouyn-Noranda in AbitibiTémiscamingue, Que. Having come from such a small city, he began to create a local hype. “A local hype back home is like, maybe 40 people saying, ‘I fucks [sic] with your shit!’ So still, to me it was like ‘Oh shit, I’m good enough to do that.’

I think I did maybe three songs before I left to Montreal.”

Zoya was introduced to his manager, Remington Bien-Aimé, through a friend who also rapped. Zoya was told that he was talented, but in order to get his foot in the door, he would first have to step into a studio. After taking this advice and investing both time and money in his craft, Bien-Aimé became Zoya’s official manager and began planning small moves to put the rapper on Montreal’s hip hop radar.

But first, he needed the stamp of approval from his mother.

“As soon as I hit 18, I kind of had a conversation with my mom,” Zoya said.

“She was down for me to do music, but I had to convince her to some extent. My mom’s a doc. My sisters are doctors too.

I have a very educated family, so for me to drop out, I need a reason. But she had heard a couple of my songs, so it was not out of nowhere. I told her, ‘Mom, I’m trying to make this. I’m trying to make

this happen. I’m giving myself a year to make this happen.’”

Admittedly, Zoya’s year did not start out with much success. He paid for his own studio sessions and nothing really happened. “Then, 7ième Ciel hollered at me,” he said. “His name is Steve, he’s from Rouyn too. He created the biggest label in Quebec. They got the biggest artists. I can confidently say it’s the biggest RapQuéb label. So he hollered at me, we had a meeting and he was down to work with me so from that point on, it was like, well, I’m kind of signed now.”

Zoya’s signing allowe d him to steadily work on perfecting his art.

He recorded his first music video for “Superficial,” which was produced and financed entirely by 7ième Ciel. Yet, it was not until the release of his single “Who Dat” that Zoya got the exposure he needed.

When Zoya recalled the time Montreal producer High Klassified reached out to him on social media, you could hear the excitement in his voice. “He hit me in my DMs and said ‘Yo.’ Then he sent me beats straight away,” Zoya said. “Straight up, he sent me '1919.' He was like ‘Yo, you wanna lay on that?’ I’m like ‘Okay, sure!’ The next day I was in the studio and I laid the chorus for ‘1919.’”

The release of High Klassified’s (HK) Kanvaz EP and its single “1919” put Zach Zoya on the radar for many people. The producer went on to produce Misstape, a collaborative project featuring solely Zoya and HK. “I have to thank HK for that. He really

put me on the map for some people,” said Zoya. “He certified me in a certain way.

That’s a big co-sign. In Québec, apart from Kaytranada, I couldn’t have asked for a better co-sign.”

“It’s never a real competition because unless you’re at the very top and competing for #1, there’s space for everybody. There’s enough people in the world for both of us to have an audience and never clash.”

The audience that Zoya brought to Club Soda was an energetic one. Performing in between Rowjay and Fouki’s sets, Zoya played a mix of old and new songs. He debuted unreleased tracks such as “Queso," “Xandra” and “Slurpee” that were so catchy he had the audience singing the lyrics by the time the second chorus came around.

His stage presence, contagious energy and dreads flopping in the air couldn’t help but remind one of a younger Travis Scott in his Owl Pharaoh days. And to anyone who knows what that entails, well, that’s kind of huge.

In typical interviews, once the microphone stops recording, the interview is done. But, the night was far from over.

Zoya invited me to dinner with him and his management, but he didn’t have to. Zoya made sure I received a backstage access bracelet, but he didn’t have to. Zoya let me see him rehearse, sit in on his team’s pregame pep talk, take front row pictures and party for hours afterwards. But…he didn’t have to. Zoya proved that not only is he an incredible artist, but a very genuine human being. And Zoya, whether you know it now or not, will be going places. The only question is: when?

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

Quickspins ANDERSON .PA

theconcordian

13

SHOW REVIEW

Jordan Solomon loves Montreal

AK

Toronto rapper shows his affinity for the 514

Oxnard (Aftermath) — SIMON NEW MUSIC EDITOR

Dr. Dre protege and neo-soul-rap alchemist Anderson .Paak is at his most ambitious and vigorous on this vibrant portrait of southern California. His hyper-masculine energy bursts through Dr. Dre’s massive drums and synths to create a tape that trades the smooth, meditated crooning of his previous Malibu for wild, boisterous charisma. Weaving sometimes thin, political musings and Los Angeles colour commentary into his tight braggadocio, .Paak’s character is solidified. His formidable confidence makes his message convincing, even if it can be superficial at times. It is easy to get lost in his world, and accompanied by a trophy case of features from Pusha T to Snoop Dogg, .Paak is on fire.

 TRIAL TRACK: 6 SUMMERS

8/10

 STAR BAR:

“Trump's got a love child and I hope that bitch is buckwild I hope she sip Mezcal, I hope she kiss senoritas and black gals" - .Paak on “6 Summers”

88GL AM 88GLAM2 (XO Records) — IMMANUEL MATTHEWS ASSISTANT MUSIC EDITOR

88GLAM’s eponymous 88GLAM2 reminds the world of the Toronto hip hop duo’s role in solidifying Canada as a superpower in the hip hop world, alongside fellow Canadian artists such as Jazz Cartier, Killy, Nav and Drake.

The project comes one year after their successful debut mixtape 88GLAM, which unveiled the newly formed duo to the music scene.

88GLAM is the journey, and 88GLAM2 is the fame.

In 14 tracks, the project dives into the recent life events and success of 88 Camino and Derek Wise. “I can get used to the treatment, designer got bought every stop on the tour,” raps Wise on the opening track, “Blue Faces.”

While the tracks shift between moody and uplifting vibes, each song demonstrates the duo’s vocal capabilities—an aspect of their sound highlighted by the limited guests on the mixtape.

“Wet Dreams,” produced by superstar producer and fellow Canadian Sevn Thomas, demonstrates the duo’s uncertainty with their newfound fame. “Who did I become? I’m spending 80K on my wrist and that’s for fun,” sings Wise.

With only two features, Toronto rapper Nav and Atlanta rising star Gunna, 88GLAM2 is assertively carried by the project’s hosts. The two guests, with their melodic, slightly autotuned and often melancholy mood can be compared to the similar, silky singing style of rap displayed by 88GLAM, as well as by many of today’s most popular hip hop artists. Their performances on “It’s a Flex” and “Racks,” respectively, add a spark to the project, while allowing 88GLAM’s talent to shine through.

88GLAM co-signed with one of Canada’s biggest superstars, The Weeknd, after he signed them to his record label, but it’s clear that they’re not stopping there.

 TRIAL TRACK: LIL BOAT

8/10

 STAR BAR:

“Rather be out on the road makin' figures, ask me how; All the years I scraped the plate, can't afford to fuck around" - Wise on “Lil Boat”

Jordan Solomon showed love to Bar le Ritz on Friday night. Photo by Spencer Nafekh-Blanchette.

SPENCER NAFEKH-BLANCHETTE CONTRIBUTOR Last week, rapper Jordan Solomon (also known as J Solo) uploaded a video to Youtube titled, in all caps, “PERFORMING IN MONTREAL.” In the two-minute clip of him driving in his car, Solomon said, “I’m letting any subscribers I have in Montreal know that I’m doing a show there, so I just wanted to put it on all platforms in case you wanted to come see me live.” The crowd responded, and on Friday night, rap fans across the city poured into Bar le Ritz, excited for the performance-packed night ahead of them.

Solomon’s career began when he posted his first song, “Lie For Me,” on Soundcloud in 2015, although it wasn’t until the release of his single, “Lil Lil,” in 2016 that his catalogue made its debut on streaming platforms. Today, his music is available on iTunes and Spotify with over 100,000 listeners on each platform. He is half-Trinidadian, and his background is reflected in the unique tropical-sounding instrumentals featured on his tracks, all of which are produced by his good friend and producer, Phantum. These two, along with his senior agent and creative director form a musical movement known as Karma Club.

The event was organized by young Montreal videographer Olly Evergreen, who discovered Solomon’s music online and loved it so much that he arranged for him to come to the city. At 9:30 p.m., Solomon and the rest of Karma Club took the stage to headline for a crowd that was

already heated up after special guest DJ Savi J, as well as opening sets by local up-and-coming rappers Dev, Gxlden Child, Seven LC and Rome.

Halfway through his performance, Solomon showed that he loves getting the crowd hyped-up just as much as he loves performing. “Stop it for a sec,” he told Phantum before the next track was about to begin. “I just wanted to say that I love Montreal. It might even be the best city in Canada, but I’ll need proof.” After the words left his mouth, Phantum blared hits “SICKO MODE” and “Mo Bamba,” while Solomon turned up with the bobbing crowd. “It’s official,” he said afterwards. “Montreal is the best city in Canada.”

To end the night, Solomon brought his entire crew on stage while he sang the lyrics to one of his more recent popular tracks, “Oh Me Oh My.” “I need everyone bumping for this one,” he said.

The moment that followed was a perfect encapsulation of the energy that fuelled the evening: a stage packed with people danced along to the lyrics, overlooking a crowd of fans jumping to the beat with their hands high in the air.

Before heading backstage, Solomon thanked the crowd, told those who were interested to meet up at Apt. 200 for an afterparty, and promised to meet and chat with any fans who stuck around afterward. The 17-year-old rapper's music is fun and catchy, but proving his dedication to his listeners and ability to put on a great show exemplifies what looks like a promising career ahead of him, while also leaving his fan base wanting more.

sports

SPORTS EDITOR /// sports@theconcordian.com NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI ( @n_digiovanni)

FEATURE

Remembering the 1998 Concordia Stingers Twenty years later, football players recall the journey to the Vanier Cup NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI SPORTS EDITOR The 1998 Concordia Stingers football team made history, being the only team from Concordia to play in the Vanier Cup, the national championship game in Canadian university football. They ended up losing that game 24-17 against the Saskatchewan Huskies, at the Skydome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

Twenty years later, the entire team was inducted into the Concordia Sports Hall of Fame this past September. Still, they remain the last Stingers football team to win the provincial championship, the Dunsmore Cup.

UNITING A DIVIDED TEAM

Pat Sheahan, the current head coach of the Queen’s Gaels, became head coach of the Stingers in 1989, winning the Dunsmore Cup with them in 1993. After that title, he had a whole new recruiting class by 1998.

Out of 66 total players on the team, 33 were from Ontario, 32 from Quebec, and one from British Columbia. But for Montrealer cornerback Sean Gordon, who was playing his second season with the team in 1998, this many cross-national players created a divide in the locker room.

“The years before, there were a lot of factions in the locker room, basically we had two locker rooms: offence and defence,” Gordon said. “But the 1998 team broke down the locker room. There weren’t any factions, no little groups and everyone was together.”

Sheahan said most of those players came together in 1995, and suffered through a 2-6 season in 1996, but developed well as a unit. “A terrific group [of players]; they really came together, bonded together and became a team,” Sheahan said. “It was so gratifying to see.”

By 1997, the Stingers improved to a 5-3 record, losing the semi-final in the dying moments against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. But Sheahan said he really started to notice how good the team became by the end of that year. “I think what the guys learned in 1997 is that they were pretty good,” said Sheahan.

“In 1998, it just all came together; they were a year older and a year wiser, and they really played well.”

ROCKY START

The 1998 Concordia Stingers didn’t start the season how they would have liked. Before their first game against Queen’s, and on the way from their motel to the Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ont., their bus broke down.

“As people were driving by, our guys were sitting on the side of the highway on their equipment bags waiting for another bus to pick us up,” Sheahan said.

The Stingers had a rushed warm-up and started the game nearly an hour late, eventually losing 32-11, but Gordon said it was a season-defining moment, bringing the players together.

Concordia beat the Carleton Ravens 19-7 in the home-opener a week later, but lost 9-4 to crosstown rivals the McGill Redmen after that.

“I gathered the team after the McGill game and I hauled them in and said: ‘Look guys, there are going to be some good things happening to us this year,’” Sheahan said. “The reason why is because we were getting great defence and great special teams. It was only a matter of time before the offence started clicking.”

Wide receiver Sylvain Girard, who was in his fourth and final year, doesn’t remember the exact turning point for the team. “At one point, we just decided that’s it. [If we] keep going the way we’re going, obviously something isn’t working,” Girard said. “At one point we just started playing together, and the offence started clicking.”

SETTING RECORDS

The Stingers had a bye week after their game against Laval, although they did play the State University of New York Canton Kangaroos in a non-conference game, and lost 23-6. But on Oct. 3, 1998, in a home game against the Université de Laval Rouge et Or, the Stingers’s offence exploded for a 45-32 win. Girard caught six passes that day, five of them touchdowns, which remains tied as a U Sports record for most touchdown catches in a game. It also happened Coverage of the two-day Dunsmore C to be his 23rd birthday. up in The Con cordian on N ov. 18, 1998.

Defensive coordinator Paul Chesser said that win gave them confidence moving for ward, as they won their next four games to finish the regular season.

“A little success goes a long way and people start to believe,” Chesser said. “The leadership of the team really dictated the camaraderie in the locker room.”

Girard went on to set many Concordia records that season. In 1998, he set the school record for most touchdowns in a season, with nine. His 22 career TDs in maroon-and-gold is the second-most in the on was in 1998 when they played gers's most successful football seas Stin The

by Pascale Dion.

Réseau du sport étudiant in the Vanier Cup. Archive photo du Québec (RSEQ) history.

The Montreal Alouettes drafted Girard fifth overall in the 1999 CFL draft, and he played with them until 2006, winning a Grey Cup in 2002.

“The defences we were playing against were so worried about our running game, they had to put extra attention to it,” said Girard, crediting his Stingers teammates for his success. The team’s running backs, Evan Davis Jr., Scott Ashworth, and Richard Gaboton, along with quarterback Sean Hoas, all had over 250 yards of rushing that season. “They had to put extra attention to [the running game] so whenever we decided to pass, it made so much more room for me and the other receivers,” he added.

RING OF FIRE

After every win in 1998, Girard remembers the whole team singing along to “The Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash in the locker room. “Every time I hear that song, it brings me back to the 1998 season,” Girard said. “With experience now, I’ve come to realize every good team has something to bond over, and for us part of it was that stupid song.”

“It was a really diverse group coming from

Players from the 1998 squ ad remember how they came together as a team throughout the season.

Archive photo courtesy of Concordia Athletics.

NOVEMBER 20, 2018 wn passes on his 23rd birthday.

The Concordian’s sports section after Sylvain Girard caught five touchdo

all sorts of backgrounds,” Chesser said. “[Ring of Fire] was the one song that could take this whole diverse group and unite them.”

For Girard, this tradition added to his fun experience at Concordia. “They’re the reason why I played football for so long, because they made it fun ,” Girard said.

“They’re the reason why I’m still coaching today.”

“I came here in 1995. I didn’t speak a word of English, didn’t know anybody, and didn’t know what I was doing,” Girard added. “But then they made me appreciate everything here, and the coaches made a football player out of me.”

Gordon said that, because Defensive coordinator Paul Chesser believes if they played the Vanier Cup again, they would win it. of the team’s camaraderie, they wanted to play for each other.

“We had good communication, so if somebody got out of place, you backed him up,” Gordon said. “We were all on the same page.”

THE DARK BOWL

the Dominik Goulet in 1997, who went to Quarterback Sean Hoas took over from .

Cup re smo Dun 1998 the in ers beat Goulet Laval Rouge et Or. Hoas and the Sting

The Stingers ended up finishing first in the division and beat the Bishop’s Gaiters 27-17 in the semi-final. On Nov. 14, 1998, they hosted the Dunsmore Cup against the Laval Rouge et Or. The game kicked off at 2 p.m. at the Concordia Stadium, where lights had not yet been installed.

Ashworth scored a one-yard rushing touchdown less than three minutes into the game to give the Stingers a 7-0 lead. On the other side, Rouge et Or quarterback Dominik Goulet had left Concordia to go to Laval, so Chesser knew how to play defence against him.

“We knew he wasn’t particularly mobile but he was a precision passer, so we played the whole game with six defensive backs [as opposed to five],” Chesser said. “They weren’t going to beat us running; they had to beat us throwing the ball, so we put an extra person in coverage and it made a huge difference.”

theconcordian

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Gordon said this meant, as a defensive back, he had to play man-to-man coverage, and couldn’t let his wide receiver get away from him. “They had confidence in our defence, so we just blitzed all game,” he said.

The Rouge et Or slowly climbed back into the game with three-straight field goals and a punt single, to hold a 10-7 advantage in the third quarter.

“They gave us all we could handle that day, there was no question about that,” Sheahan said.

Girard said his memory of the game isn’t the best, and didn’t realize how close the game actually was. He made a catch late in the fourth quarter to set Dave Miller-Johnston up for a field goal, which tied the game and sent it into a scoreless overtime. According to historical data, civil twilight ended just before 5 p.m., but the game continued in the darkness.

“At the end of the overtime period, it was dangerously dark,” Chesser said. “We had turned on the practice-field lights, so we got a little bit of light, but I was standing on the sideline and could not see the other side of the field.”

That’s when Sheahan met with Laval head coach Jacques Chapdelaine, late Stingers athletic director Harry Zarins, and officials to discuss what to do next. The officials didn’t want to play on the practice field, because it didn’t have football lines, and they had to decide quickly, because the winning team had to play in Halifax the following Saturday.

“We just came to the agreement that we would have to play [the next day],” Sheahan said. “We played two 10-minute halves and determined the winner that way.”

The players had to recover in time to play 20 minutes of football, and Concordia had the advantage of being at home and using their facilities. “The game finished and it was a numb feeling,” Gordon said. “When I got home, my mom said, ‘They didn’t beat you that day, they’re not going to beat you tomorrow.’”

That night, Chesser invited the defensive coaches over for pizza to discuss strategy for day two. They weren’t allowed to review game film, but watched the highlights on TV, as the game was nationally-televised. During the game, Chesser sent a defensive back blitzing on the quarterback’s weak side, but by the end of the game, the Rouge et Or adjusted and gave more protection.

“So a light bulb went on in my head and I thought if they were going to slide protection to the weak side the following day, we’ll blitz on the strong side,” Chesser said. On the game-winning play, defensive tackle Jeff Anderson sacked Goulet, forcing a fumble, which linebacker Jason Casey scooped up to score a touchdown. “Those adjustments that we made over pizza at my house were pivotal,” Chesser said.

JUST SHORT

The Stingers beat the Acadia Axemen 25-24 a week later in the Atlantic Bowl. They went to Toronto for the Vanier Cup, carrying the school’s colours with pride. “ To see the Concordia f lag waved at the Skydome, to see all the Concordia fans there and how the city was behind us, it was a golden moment in my footballing scrapbook,” Sheahan said.

“I don’t have any regrets from that year, none, zero,” Girard said. “Except, of course, we should have won that last game.”

With the current edition of the Stingers football team not doing well, Gordon would like to see a team eventually do better than that 1998 team.

“It’s nice be up there, and we’re the bar, but I would like to see a team jump over the bar and bring a championship to Concordia.”

Chesser jokingly said that, when the team got together for the Hall of Fame induction, they still weren’t over the Vanier Cup loss.

“Georges Vanier was the valedictorian for the class in 1906 at Loyola College, and the Vanier Cup is named after him,” Chesser said.

“Sometime, we have to bring his trophy home.”

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theconcordian

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

RUGBY

Different mindset for Stingers Men’s team looks to impress at nationals after winning championship

The Stingers will play the opening game of nationals against the UBC Thunderbirds. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

ALEC BRIDEAU ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team successfully defended their Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) title against the Bishop’s University Gaiters on Nov. 10 at the Concordia Stadium.

When a team goes undefeated for twostraight years, it might seem like things couldn’t be better, but don’t be fooled—the Stingers’s face a demanding schedule.

“The main challenge of playing loaded rugby seasons is that there is no room for error,” said fifth-year player Jonathan Banks. “Rugby is such a competitive sport with heavy amounts of contact.

Injuries occur and it’s important that we have the appropriate players to fill in these gaps in the lineup, which we did.”

Third-year player Lucas Hotton said time management and good nutrition are musts in extended seasons.

“Really keeping the body in good condition would be the most important challenge,” Hotton said. “Diet, training, and rest are all factors that have to be considered in such a long year. It’s so imperative to [take care of] your body if you want to make it through.”

Coming off the 2017 championship season, the Stingers knew they were going to be the ones to beat.

“Our confidence was high, yet we knew that every other team had their game against us circled on their schedule and would give us everything they got,” Banks said. “We had to keep pushing ourselves to get better and give our all every game.”

Head coach Craig Beemer described the Stingers’s second-straight undefe a t e d s e a s o n a s a l o n g p ro c e s s requiring the involvement of many people. He said he had a good coaching staff supporting him, as well as 50 hard-working players on and off the field.

“Players were really committed to the team,” Beemer said. “It also takes a lot of video sessions and practices to get there, and I think everybody d i d a f a n t a s t i c j o b o n t h a t p o i n t.”

Hotton, who was with the Stingers during the 2016 season when they went 1-6, said the team's current success is due to their mental strength.

He was part of a core group of players, including Moritz Wittmann and Charles Debove that turned the team around to go undefeated in RSEQ play.

“Having come from the depths of a season where we finished last, and still having a lot of those players around, really propelled the guys last season, which really showed in our record,” Hotton said. “Then, to go to nationals and to have that same feeling we had when we finished last really pushed the guys once again to go back into that grind mode.”

The Stingers are headed to the 2018 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship, in Victoria, B.C. from Nov. 21 to 25. Beemer said each individual on the team will have to play a key role if they want to win the tournament.

“We'll need the best from all of our guys there,” Beemer said. “It's not just about one or two individuals. We need everyone to step up and bring their A-game. The defence will need to be strong, and I think

that was one of our assets this season.”

Third-year prop Stephen Martinez said having success at nationals has been the team’s goal since the start of the season.

“We all knew what was up for grabs with nationals, and that right away was our goal,” Martinez said. “Getting a RSEQ championship is a great accomplishment, but we wanted to try to take it to the next level and get a national championship.”

Hotton said the team’s participation at nationals last year in Guelph helped the players better prepare this season.

The Stingers lost their two games in last year’s tournament against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 46-0, and the McMaster Marauders, 38-11.

“That left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths coming back from Guelph,” Hotton said. “We really understood what work needed to be put in to get to a level were we could compete at the national stage. We sort of switched to a one-game-at-a-time mentality and progressed our defensive systems much more than before. To have so many returners really helped that new mentality, as they all understood what our goal was, and the work needed to get there.”

Banks credits the trust level between the coaches and players as a reason for their successful season. It allows t h e co a c h e s to co m e u p w i t h t h e b e s t g a m e p l a n s i n o rd e r to w i n .

“When we stepped on the field game after game this season, we knew exactly what to do play after play,” Banks said.

“Our coaches trusted in us because we trusted in them, and that's what I believe makes this team so special.”

After winning the RSEQ championship, the men’s rugby team prepare for nationals in Victoria, B.C. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

COLOUR COMMENTARY WITH NICHOLAS DI GIOVANNI On Nov. 13, the citizens of Calgary voted 56 per cent in favour of not bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics in a vote. On Nov. 19, the city council unanimously voted in favour of ending its push to host the Games.

Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, and citizens simply did not want to go through the ordeal again. And good for them. It’s time people start to realize just how expensive it is to host the Olympics, all for some athletes, fans, and media to raid a city for two weeks and forget about it after.

According to Forbes , the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, originally had an estimated cost of USD $12.9 billion. The 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, had a total cost of USD $51 billion, according to The Guardian.

It’s a good thing Calgarians don’t want that kind of debt.

What is really disappointing is how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) reacted to the results. A spokesperson for the IOC said: “It is disappointing that the arguments about the sporting, social and long-term benefits of hosting the Olympics did not sway the vote.”

Tricia Smith, president of the COC also said this: “Sport in a positive sense really brings a country together.”

Did the IOC and COC seriously just play the “but the Olympics bring people together” card?

What’s ridiculous is how they don’t even seem to realize how much they cripple an economy for a sporting event. According to the CBC, after Montreal hosted the Games in 1976, they had a debt of $1.5 billion, which they paid off in 2006—40 years after hosting. That doesn’t seem like the long-term benefit the IOC was talking about. If hosting the Olympics didn’t come with so much debt, sure it would have been great to see Calgary host, but—newsflash—it does.

My favourite headline from this comes from S por t snet : “Calgary’s ‘No’ vote a squandered opportunity for a city in need.”

I didn’t realize Calgary needed billions of dollars of debt.

People who were for hosting the games used the argument that it would have allowed facilities to be built. Many athletic complexes were built in 1988 and need renovating, so they think the only way to do so is by hosting the Olympics.

You can upgrade athletic facilities without hosting the Olympics.

More people and cities around the world should realize that hosting the Olympics isn’t all fun and games.

opinions

OPINIONS EDITOR /// opinions@theconcordian.com SANIA MALIK

EDITORIAL

Vicious victim-blaming rhetoric needs to end This past year, we’ve heard a lot of conversations about racism, sexism, equality and sexual assault. It’s safe to say that something has changed. Perhaps it’s the fact that some voices are now louder than others, and these ‘uncomfortable’ conversations are happening more often.

Regardless of the reason, when we reflect on this past year from an optimistic perspective, we can see many instances of positive change.

But while movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp successfully dominate the news cycle, we still have a lot of work to do within our local communities. This is particularly apparent in the recent actions of our city’s police. According to Le Devoir, Montreal police faced backlash for launching a sexual assault prevention campaign that implied women make themselves more vulnerable to sexual assault when they drink too much.

The campaign was called “Je sors avec ma gang, je repars avec ma gang,” and was initially launched in 2012. Montreal police recently decided to reactivate the campaign by distributing some leftover flyers in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. However, they received a lot of backlash from social media users due to the victim-blaming nature of the campaign, and decided to retract it.

This isn’t the first time Montreal police have been involved in victim-blaming. In 2016, local

police told girls at Villa Maria High School that they were “asking for harassment” because of their short skirts, reported CBC News.

We at The Concordian are appalled by the lack of social awareness in the Montreal police’s decision to re-launch this campaign. In a social climate bursting with conversations about sexual assault and victim-blaming, it’s inexcusable to promote the idea that victims are responsible for the horrible actions of perpetrators. While we’re glad they retracted the campaign and realized their mistake, the fact that they re-launched

it in the first place shows we have a long way to go.

This isn’t an ongoing issue exclusive to Canada either. On Nov. 14, protests took place in Ireland against the use of a victim’s underwear as evidence in a rape trial. A 17-year-old girl accused a 27-year-old man of rape, and the man was found not guilty of the crime, according to Global News. The defendant’s lawyer argued that the jury should consider that the girl was wearing lacy underwear at the time. “You have to look at the way she was dressed,” the lawyer said. “She was wearing a

thong with a lace front.” This sparked protests all over Ireland, and people posted pictures of their underwear on social media with the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent.

Sexual assault is not the victim’s fault.

It is the fault of the perpetrator—the one who chooses to violate and hurt an innocent person.

We need to end the victim-blaming narrative, and we must continue to call out those who perpetuate it. Not only does this narrative place the blame on people who need to be listened to and believed, it also promotes lies.

If sexual assault was related to how much someone drinks, then sober people wouldn’t get sexually assaulted—yet, they do. If sexual assault was related to how revealing an outfit is, then people wouldn’t get assaulted in the winter—yet, they do. If going to a club or bar makes people vulnerable to sexual assault, people wouldn’t get assaulted in their own homes—yet, they do.

We at The Concordian hope this upcoming year continues to see a huge shift in the narrative surrounding sexual assault.

We hope survivors feel they are listened to, validated and respected, rather than blamed and condemned. The only people we must condemn are those who commit these acts—and those who continue to push this vicious, victim-blaming rhetoric.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

SCHOOL

It really is easier said than done

One student’s realization that the balancing act is harder than she thought KAYLA-MARIE TURRICIANO COPY EDITOR Back in April, I wrote a piece in The Concordian about balancing life and school. I emphasized the importance of remembering that you can’t do better than your absolute best. What I was trying to convey could be summed up as the following: 1) make time for your friends and family; 2) don’t forget about hobbies and fitness; 3) don’t forget to work on yourself—take a break when you’re tired, sleep when you need to, take a bath or whatever else. An important final point I made was this: “It’s so utterly important to take a break and give your mind time to recuperate from the constant stress and thinking it does.”

Maybe I was naive or maybe it was because I was in my first year, when everything is arguably much easier than in second year.

What I’ve come to realize is this: I’ve since become a hypocrite. I no longer stand by the idea that you can balance your school, work, and social life easily.

This semester, I somehow managed to balance five courses and three jobs, one of which was in retail, which I quit because I got a job as a journalist. Despite this, I’m still extremely worn out; I don’t have an off-button. My work day starts when I wake up, the moment I open my

laptop, and it doesn’t end until I go to sleep.

One of my jobs is as a research journalist, where I thoroughly research a subject about entertainment and write 3,000 words on it.

My other job is a copy editor for this paper, as one of four people who makes sure there are no mistakes and everything follows our writing style. Four of my five classes require extensive writing. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, I freelance. I offer to edit my friends’s assignments, and I contribute as a writer to this paper—as I’m doing now, which I really shouldn’t be doing because I have an essay due in a few days that I haven’t started. Yet, here I am.

Some of you may think I’m crazy for taking on all these projects, but I feel like it’s part of millennial journalism culture. Last year, first year journalism students attended conferences where professionals spoke about their careers and the paths leading to where they are now. It seemed like everyone was balancing multiple projects at the same time, be it school and a job, or school and an internship, or all three. I quickly understood that, to succeed in this industry, you have to hop on the train and go full speed ahead.

At the same time, there’s also a feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out). I’ve been putting myself out there and trying to make connections in order to advance my career, but at what cost? I may be over working and overwhelming myself, with my sanity and

personal life taking a considerable hit, but I don’t want to look back on my time and see missed opportunities.

By thinking so much about my future— which, in reality, isn’t so far away—I’ve neglected my own advice. I haven’t had much time for friends or family; I haven’t been active in months; and I’ve been overworking myself to hell. My mom is worried I’m on the edge of a burnout or mental breakdown, but

I keep assuring her I’m not—I know it’ll be worth it in the end. While I may be suffering temporarily and am beyond exhausted all the time, I’ve made new friends, written content I’m proud of, managed to stay on top of my classes, and, all in all, I’m living my best life. But I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t acknowledge the sacrifice I now realize it takes to make all this happen.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

18

theconcordian

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

MARIJUANA

Cannabis consumption at Concordia The Quebec CRA makes it difficult for people to smoke cannabis on university grounds

SIMONA ROSENFIELD CONTRIBUTOR I believe the Quebec government’s repressive laws introduce an outdated form of prohibition targeting students who are disabled, part of a visible minority or self-medicating, among other vulnerable demographics.

In the email sent to the student body on Oct. 10, Concordia addressed cannabis legalization and introduced policies regarding campus smoking and drugson-campus regulations. The message confirmed that while smoking tobacco and vaping are permitted on campus, “as long as it occurs at least nine metres from building entrances, windows and air intakes,” the school will maintain a ban on cannabis smoking “at all times, even beyond the nine-metre perimeter.”

In the FAQ section of the university’s website, Concordia’s response to whether students can smoke cannabis in their residence is, “No. According to the Cannabis Regulation Act, the smoking/ vaping of cannabis is prohibited on all university grounds.” To the dedicated cannabis consumers, I’d just like to say: don’t be so quick to brush off these new rules. This “zero tolerance” policy comes with steep consequences for a first offense.

The email specified that the consequences for breaching the ban include a fine of up to $2,250 issued by Montreal police, or disciplinary action enforced by the university. These stern regulations are based on the provincial Cannabis Regulation Act (CRA), which prohibits smoking, vaping or otherwise ingesting cannabis on university grounds.

The CRA’s regulations on cannabis far surpass the limitations imposed on alcohol and tobacco use on campus, since there are bars and designated smoking areas on university grounds.

These same regulations apply to medical cannabis, according to the CRA. Ultimately, the CRA leaves medicinal cannabis users vulnerable to discrimination.

I believe all students are entitled to consume their medication. It is completely inappropriate that our provincial government doesn’t protect disabled students who rely on cannabis to maintain their health. By banning all cannabis use on campus, medicinal users are forced to resort to smoking in public. Cannabis still carries heavy social stigma, so this option leaves medicinal users vulnerable to public opinion. And what about people who use cannabis for medical purposes but who don’t have a prescription? Don’t these individuals have a right to take

their medicine as needed? The answer to these questions is simple: the school should be allowed to provide a designated cannabis consumption area.

I am w r it ing t his a s an inquir y into the logic behind Quebec’s laws.

The restrictions outlined by the CRA completely abandon logical guidelines conducive to a safe and healthy learning environment, as outlined by the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy in their evidence-based literature on drug education and policy reform, called the Cannabis Toolkit. By prohibiting smoking and vaping, the Quebec government is contributing to a misinformation campaign, where the harm-reduction alternative, vaping, is used alongside smoking cannabis.

We need designated smoking areas on campus so recreational cannabis consumers can safely ingest without the threat of social consequences, and so medicinal cannabis consumers can take their medication discreetly.

We need proper cannabis education at Concordia. We need a commitment from Concordia to offer workshops, lectures, and other information sessions to help educate the student body on the pros and cons of cannabis, as well as practical harm-reduction and safety measures. We also need disinformation

campaigns from the Quebec government, such as the hand-in-hand use of the terms smoking and vaping, to end. We need evidence-based policy reform to Quebec’s failed CRA. Studies show that prohibition doesn’t limit cannabis consumption, it only increases risks associated with it.

Finally, we need Good Samaritan policy reform to protect students who struggle with drug addiction or who have drug-induced health issues that require medical attention on campus.

Through my own research, I couldn’t find a policy that protects students who experience health emergencies for drug-related illnesses at school. If this is the case, students need access to health services for all health-related emergencies, and to do this, they need to know that receiving help will not cost them their degree or steep fines, which a Good Samaritan policy would ensure.

I’m not alone in feeling disappointed with Quebec’s handling of cannabis legalization. With that said, it’s quite likely many fellow students disagree with me.

If you feel you’ve been affected, either positively or negatively, by Quebec’s controversial cannabis policy, please do not hesitate to reach out—I would love to talk more.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

theconcordian

19

GRADUATION

Your undergrad is a marathon, not a sprint Learning how to find your own pace in completing your degree and enjoying the ride

ANTONIA MACRIS STAFF WRITER Every semester, around the time of fall and spring graduation, I get uncontrollably excited. It brings me back to June 2017 when I crossed the Concordia convocation stage for the first time. It was definitely a b i t t e r s we e t m o m e n t .

Bitter, because as you near the end of your degree, you still may be unsure about what to do next. Having already graduated once and looking forward to my next graduation in June, I can assure you that the feeling is normal.

But that ’s a topic for a different article. I am here to talk to you about the sweet feeling of achievement. Of accomplishment. The satisfying feeling of completing something you’ve given so much of your time to, that has taken the last four years of your life.

What makes it so sweet though? In the memories you’ll look back on from those four years, what will come to mind? Will you think of the tears you shed and the all-nighters you pulled? Maybe.

Will you think of how much of a coffee addict you’ve become? Definitely. But then comes everything else. Trust me when I say all those non-academic memories will put the biggest smile on your face.

Keep in mind that everything outside the classroom is just as important as what goes on inside. But while you’re an undergrad, it’s easy to get lost in your books, and the pressure to finish your degree as quickly as possible can be strong. It’s important to recognize that sometimes life gets in the way, and that’s OK. I’d like to share with you some insight as to why it’s absolutely crucial to take your time and finish your degree at your own pace.

Remember, university is not a race.

There seems to be this preconceived notion that if you don’t finish your degree in the minimum allotted time, you won’t succeed as a student or in life.

Wrong. There is no time limit. Although you may feel pressure to graduate as soon as possible, remember the only person working for your degree is you.

Find a pace that suits you.

Remember, you’re here to learn.

You’re attending university because you want to be here, so there shouldn’t be a timer. Rushing through your degree too quickly will leave you more confused than when you started. Take the time you need to retain all you’re learning and ensure your experience is not one big blur.

Remember, the path isn’t linear.

Part of the pressure to watch the clock while completing your degree comes

from the outside. External expectations to pick a field early on and jump into the workforce immediately are bogus. Now is the time to explore different subjects and find your passion. Just because you chose one field doesn’t mean you’re not meant to do another, and it surely doesn’t mean you can’t do another. If you don’t like your program, change it. If you’re adventurous, take a page from my book: do a double major and master two fields you’re interested in at once. The options are endless, and they’re all yours for the taking.

Remember to find your balance.

Make sure to take advantage of the undergraduate experience. When life gets in the way of your studies, take it as a blessing. Find the silver lining.

These four years are an opportunity

for you to grow both intellectually and socially. You will learn so much about yourself as a student and from other students, so enjoy everything Concordia has to offer. Get involved, join a sports team or student association, meet other interesting people. Step outside of your discipline and your comfort zone.

Now, as you approach the milestone achievement of graduation, and when you walk across that convocation stage, I hope you look back on some of the memories that put a smile on your face. When you do look back on your three or four years as an undergrad student, your experience will leave the biggest impression. So take all the time you need. Don’t rush the journey, and enjoy the ride.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

20 theconcordian

NOVEMBER 20, 2018 Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.

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VOL. 36, ISSUE 13 NOV. 20, 2018.

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