The Concordian

theconcordian Volume 30 Issue 23

Independent student newspaper at Concordia University. Since 1983.

March 5, 2013

Seeing red on the horizon

>> See our protest coverage P. 2 >>

Bureau-Blouin backlash P. 3

Premier Pauline Marois announced that social unrest in Quebec was over before 10, 000 students took to the streets last Tuesday afternoon against indexation. Photo by madelayne hajek

Last week’s provincial summit on higher education leaves many questions unanswered rage of Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec President Martine Desjardins.

The indexation, compared to former Premier Jean Charest’s proposal of $325 per year over a five-year period, hit a sore point for both university rectors and student leaders. Those governing universities feel it will only

delve Quebec post-secondary education deeper into financial despair, while Desjardins cried foul on not providing accessible education.

“I’m telling you there will be an impact,” said Desjardins, who called the proposal “disappointing.”

However, Premier Pauline Marois simply stated that her hands are tied

and that “a decision had to be made.”

In this issue // life arts

music

sports

opinions

A tale of two tea rooms: part II P. 6

Ra Ra Riot brings the party P. 12

Olympic medalist as coach P. 15

Bill 14 & language issues P. 17

Kalina Laframboise News editor

Quebec’s long-awaited summit on higher education came to a largely inconclusive end last Tuesday as students returned to flooding the streets.

The two-day conference, intended to address unresolved and lingering issues from the student movement last spring, left a bitter taste in many student leaders’ mouths.

The Parti Québécois proposed an indexation of tuition fees by roughly three per cent annually for an indefinite amount of years much to the out-

Student drama is centre stage P. 8

We tell your stories. Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

A new council The summit, while still contentious in its final outcome, did shed some light on other issues concerning university governance and financing.

Continued on P. 4

theconcordian.com

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Tuesday, march 5, 2013

Write to the editor: news@theconcordian.com

CITY KALInA LAfRAmBOISe news editor

>> Et ça continuE Restaurant Caffè in Gamba is another Montreal business that chose to speak out about the Office Québécois de la langue française, the agency that administers the provisions of the provincial language law. Owner Jean-François Leduc received two fines totalling over $1,800 because of the word “caffè”, the Italian word for coffee, which has two Fs and not one as with the French version.

Leduc, a francophone, says he has done everything else that was asked of him but that this went too far, infringing upon the brand and trademark food he offers.

>> ‘Don’t bE

afraiD of your DrEams’ Former Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau took to the stage of the Option Nationale conference in Montreal this weekend, telling those in attendance that Quebec sovereignty is still attainable.

Parizeau, who led the 1995 Quebec referendum to a narrow loss, slammed the current provincial government headed by the Parti Québécois for not working toward national independence. Similarly, leader Jean-Martin Aussant said that the proposed Bill 14, an all-encompassing revision to the French Charter, did not go far enough. However, Aussant also reached out to anglophones saying that sovereignty was for all.

>> a fatal

stanDoff

An officer in northern Quebec was fatally shot dead while responding to a domestic disturbance call on Saturday night. The two Kativik Regional Police officers reached the home in Kuujjuaq where they were shot as they left their vehicle.

Steve Dery, 27, was pronounced dead shortly after he was brought to the hospital. The other officer, who has yet to be identified, is in stable condition. While the woman fled to safety, the suspect barricaded himself inside his home.

Sûreté du Québec officers from Montreal flew to the community to provide their assistance and the suspect was found dead after a 17hour standoff.

city// neWS

People take to the streets again Thousands demonstrate against indexation mATTheW GuITé Assistant news editor

Following the end of the education summit, over 10,000 protesters led the way through downtown Montreal last Tuesday in the largest protest since last summer.

The protest was organized by the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante in response to the exclusion of any discussion about free education at the education summit and the provincial government’s subsequent proposal to index university tuition fees. While it was largely peaceful, the protest was eventually broken up by police following incidents of snow, rocks, eggs and glass being thrown at police and their horses.

Premier Pauline Marois declared at the end of the two-day conference that the civil unrest of last spring was over but nonetheless thousands marched through downtown Montreal for hours shortly afterwards.

The demonstration officially began at 2 p.m. at Victoria Square, the former location of Occupy Montreal, opening with speeches and rallying cries before proceeding slowly but peacefully through the downtown core.

The protest was deemed illegal almost

immediately because an itinerary was not provided, violating a Montreal bylaw. Some protesters repeatedly pelted Service de police de la Ville de Montréal officers with snowballs whenever they approached, in some cases causing them to retreat.

By the time protesters reached Berri St. police had formed barriers and fired stun grenades to break up the protest. After charging the crowd, police followed protesters down Berri where they divided the demonstrators and attempted to disperse the crowd.Tear gas and stun grenades were used at certain points against protesters, as was a weapon the SPVM identified as a 40mm gun which fired green paint. The SPVM declined to elaborate on the purpose of the green paint saying that they cannot discuss strategies.

After being divided repeatedly by police lines and charges, the protest finally came to an end not far from the Berri-UQAM metro station around 5 p.m., with individuals still lingering and small contingents roaming nearby streets.

The SPVM confirmed 13 arrests once the protest was over for reasons including damaging police cars, attack-

Photo by Leonardo Nieto-Montenegro

Photo by Gabriel Ellison-Scowcroft ing police officers and illegal assembly.

According to the SPVM two individuals were also found to be carrying molotov cocktails.

Benjamin Prunty, a councillor for the Concordia Student Union who attended the protest, explained he was pleased with the turnout and with the message they sent, but was critical of the actions of the police.

“I am a peaceful person, and I felt very much provoked. There were way too many riot police and they were way too close to us,” he said. “[The police] represent the use of force and the protesters represent discontentment. Discontentment should be allowed to express itself freely and loudly without the looming threat of being beaten back by batons or

burning chemicals.”

Prunty also said that he hoped the goal of free education continued to be a part of the conversation going forward.

“Having free education, combined with a responsible free press, is one of the surest methods of equalizing all segments of our society,” he said. “We need to worry far less about the people on the top and far more about the people on the bottom, all the while bringing each side closer to the other within a framework of healthy, diverse, and inclusive dialogue.”

Another protest is planned for Tuesday night at 8 p.m. from Place Émilie-Gamelin, where more than 3,000 individuals have already confirmed their attendance.

campus // neWS

CUFA holding a vote to strike Organization fed up with administration’s negotiation progress ROBIn DeLLA CORTe Assistant news editor

After more than 15 months of contract negotiations, Concordia University Faculty Association has been voting throughout the week on an unlimited strike mandate.

Due to their constitution the vote began on Feb. 28 and will continue online for five days, with results likely to be available by March 7 or the morning of March 8, according to Lucie Lequin, president of CUFA. “The administration team, most of the time, came to the table not prepared and used some of the time set aside for negotiations to prepare while the CUFA team had to wait and waste time and money,”

Lequin said.

If the motion is approved members of CUFA will begin actions that could include a full strike, but for a strike vote to pass it requires 60 per cent in favour.

“We are still in negotiations,” university spokesperson Chris Mota said.

“We don’t want to reveal any information but there are meetings set up to meet with representatives from both CUPFA and CUFA.” Lequin stated that negotiations should not last more than six months approximately.

“That is never the case at Concordia,” Lequin said. “This Concordia style of negotiations is very costly financially and does not create a climate of respect.”

CUFA negotiations began on Dec. 15, 2011, and the teams have met on

more than 35 occasions. In December 2012, the university requested the assistance of a conciliator from the Ministry of Labour. The parties met in January and February and further meetings are scheduled for March 1, 18, 21 and 27.

“It is really a pity that negotiations have dragged for so long without reaching an agreement acceptable to both parties,” said full-time mathematics and statistics professor at Concordia University, Jose Garrido. “ The university needs negotiations carried out in good faith, between parties acting in a responsible collegial way. We seem to be very far from that right now.”

In November, the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association voted 95 per cent in favour of an unlimited strike mandate should collective bargaining negotiations fail, but

have not yet taken any strike action.

The most recent contract of CUPFA expired Aug. 31 and part-time faculty members were not satisfied with the proposal offered by the university.

They took action by holding a special General Assembly pressuring the administration to further amendments to the collective agreement. Similarly, CUFA called a special meeting in early December where councillors unanimously voted for the executive to hold a strike vote.

Lequin said normally the relationships of the CUFA office and the administration dealing with CUFA affairs are respectful and collaborative.

“Why is it so different when both sides reach the negotiations table is a mystery; we think it is a question of style that we called old-fashioned negotiations,” said Lequin.

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Student leaders slam Léo Bureau-Blouin ‘no surprise but a lot of deception’: Desjardins

DElusional

L

Photo by Gabriel Ellison-Scowcroft the increase, Bureau-Blouin’s Facebook page became a place for students and protesters to vent their frustrations over his decision to support the indexation. One poster called Bureau-Blouin a traitor and demanded he resign, while another accused him of letting down a generation of students. Conversely, others voiced their support for Bureau-Blouin and congratulated him for his work.

The day after the education summit, Bureau-Blouin wrote that he had received threats and attacks but would still attend a monthly event to meet with his constituents on March 16.

When reached for comment, Bureau-Blouin’s office said that he would not comment on the threats on Facebook but did, however, call the situation “deplorable.”

On Facebook, Bureau-Blouin defended the increase by stating that by the 2015-2016 academic year students would be receiving an average of $1,140 in additional bursaries.

However, Desjardins called into question the suggestion that additional money for financial aid programs would help offset the increase claiming that not all students are eligible for bursaries.

“We know that there are a lot of problems with the financial aid program,” she said. “Actually it’s only 40 per cent of the students that have access to the financial aid program, so what are we doing with the other 60 per cent?”

On the Facebook page for the monthly meeting, critics promised to attend in order to face Bureau-Blouin and demand answers. Spokesperson Camille Robert for the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiantes, the student group in favour of free tuition, asked if he would be using his salary to help cover the cost of the indexation.

Simon-Pierre Lauzon, VP external for the Concordia Student Union, said he was not surprised that Bureau-Bl-

ouin’s interests had shifted from those of a student to those of a politician. He hoped, however, that the former student leader would push for student’s interests from within the PQ. “He cares about his position within his new political context, and at the same time we should stop looking up to him as a peer,” Lauzon said. “He no longer is a FECQ representative, and we should treat him as such,” he said.

Lauzon believes students are now divided between those who see indexation as a realistic compromise and those who are in the streets again because they reject any increase.

“We went in the streets in significant part because we had no seat at the table, and our voices fell on deaf ears,” he said. “With the PQ, although we might not have every single thing we ask, we still have a measurable influence. Our leverage is still very potent, and while the printemps érable is in the PQ’s short term memory we will act to get as much as we can.”

campus // neWS

A resolution in the works Judicial Board to issue decision over Concordia Student union presidency KALInA LAfRAmBOISe news editor

The Judicial Board is expected to render a decision on the issue of electing a new president for the Concordia Student Union, where an impasse is preventing council from moving forward.

Following the unexpected resignation of Schubert Laforest in early February, councillors and executive remain divided over who is best to lead the organization for the last months of the mandate. In a contentious council meeting on Feb. 13, the executive’s recommendation of VP internal Nadine Atallah to fill the

mATTheW GuITé Assistant news editor

>> somEonE is

mATTheW GuITé Assistant news editor

éo Bureau-Blouin, former student leader and current Member of the National Assembly for the Parti Québécois, has come under fire following the provincial government’s announcement of an increase tuition by three per cent in line with the cost of living next year.

Bureau-Blouin, who first came to prominence as the president of the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec during the student protests last year, has stood by the decision of his party to index tuition by roughly $70 a year, a stance that has not pleased his former colleagues.

Martine Desjardins, president for the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, told The Concordian that she was disappointed when BureauBlouin chose to support the indexation proposal, but that she was not surprised.

“Personally, when he decided to go up front and support the inflation proposed by the government, it was a shock,” said Desjardins. “But at the same time it’s easy to understand why because he’s like, you know, a deputy and he needs to follow the line of the party,” she said.

Desjardins explained that students felt deceived when Bureau-Blouin went against his initial position for a tuition freeze, something he advocated for as a student.

“There’s no surprise but there’s a lot of deception,” said Desjardins.

Following the announcement of

NATION

empty position fell flat with the councillors.

Not a single councillor voted for Atallah, who the executive felt was best for president. A compromise was not reached as both sides adamantly refused to reconsider their choices — including Atallah who did not want to rescind her candidacy.

Councillors Gonzo Nieto and James Vaccaro filed a complaint to the JB, where the three members will rule Wednesday on the issue of presidency and provide clarity on the CSU’s bylaw 7.4.

Bylaw 7.4 states that should there be a vacancy in the presidency, council shall appoint a president from the vice-presidents; should no vice-presidents be will-

ing then a councillor may be appointed with two-thirds majority of votes.

However, the bylaw does not state what to do if only one vicepresident is willing but council does not agree.

To end the complaint, Nieto wrote that he hoped the JB could remedy the situation and provide clarity on the bylaw.

“It is our belief that this situation should be handled the same way as if there were no vice-presidents willing to fill the vacancy of the presidency — namely, that a member of the council of representatives would be appointed to fill the vacancy of the presidency, as per bylaw 7.4,” the complaint read.

Vaccaro said that he hopes the issue will be resolved quickly so that the CSU can move forward.

“I’m hoping the JB can clarify the bylaw because as written, it is unclear and does not state how we should proceed if the only willing executive is not appointed by the council,” said Vaccaro. “I would be happy to see another executive state they are willing as I’m sure their team dynamic would be best with a leader they’ve been working with throughout the year.”

Conversely, Atallah hopes that other than volunteering herself for the position of presidency, she hopes that JB will offer different interpretations of the bylaw.

With files from Robin Della Corte.

A former senior advisor for Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized after a video surfaced in which he expresses “grave doubts” about jailing individuals who view child pornography. Tom Flanagan was giving a lecture in Alberta on the Indian Act when he made the comments, which were recorded and posted online by someone in attendance. In the video Flanagan says that while he “has no sympathy for child molesters”, he was less certain about jailing people for “their taste in pictures.” Flanagan also called it a “real issue of personal liberty” before proceeding to say it does “not harm another person.” He was then jeered by the crowd for his remarks.

>> orangE to

bluE

A Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party has made the decision to leave and join the ranks of the Bloc Québécois after the NDP’s position on Quebec sovereignty made him uncomfortable. Claude Patry, the MP for Jonquière-Alma in Quebec, said that after voting for independence in both referendums he could not stay with a party that put Canada’s interests ahead of Quebec’s. “Some things in life are non-negotiable,” he said when announcing his decision. Patry will become the Bloc’s fifth member to hold a seat in the House of Commons after it was decimated in the last federal election.

>> last EvEr roll of pEnniEs fEtchEs big monEy A Toronto resident’s decision to purchase a commemorative roll of pennies may prove to be a profitable one after he discovered it was the last roll ever printed. The roll, one of a series of 20,000, carries a serial number identifying it as the very last roll printed. The owner, who purchased it for $10 from the Royal Canadian Mint, put the roll up for auction on eBay where it was bought for $6,600. The owner, a coin collector himself, told CTV that he chose to sell the roll because he thought someone else might appreciate it more. “I might just put it in a safe somewhere, whereas someone else might put it on display,” he said.

>> gEt a grip A hockey association in Prince Edward Island released a statement warning players about aggressive behaviour during the post-game handshakes following a trio of incidents in which players displayed inappropriate behaviour while shaking hands. Rob Newson of Hockey P.E.I. told CTV that the issue wasn’t a major one but that a warning was considered necessary after the incidents in January.

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Tuesday, march 5, 2013

WORLD ROBIn DeLLA CORTe Assistant news editor

>> QuEEn out

of hospital

Queen Elizabeth left the hospital Monday morning from London after being hospitalized overnight with a stomach infection. The palace stated that 86year-old British monarch had experienced symptoms of gastroenteritis and was being examined at London’s King Edward VII Hospital. The illness was first announced Friday, when she had first canceled her visit to Swansea, Wales. “She’s going to spend the next few days resting, we’re told, and then she hopes to resume some of her normal engagements next week,” CBC reported.

>> guns for protEction School police officers will now have access to 14 AR-15 assault rifles, in case of a mass shooting or a threat of an attack in Fontana, California. Last fall, before the Sandy Hook elementary massacre in December, the rifles were purchased for Fontana school police. “It scares me, it frightens me. It’s not the way I was brought up. It’s just the fact they’re dealing with violence with more violence.” Virginia Nuño, a mother of three school-age daughters in Fontana, Calif. told CBC. The Fontana school board voted in favor of keeping rifles in the school’s safes on Wednesday.

>> romnEy

stylE

Mitt Romney believed he was going to win the presidential election, until early results came in on election night.

According to the National Post, Romney knew that he was in trouble when results revealed a close race in Florida.

Romney said his campaign didn’t succeed in connecting with minority voters, in appealing to African-Americans and Hispanics while President Barack Obama did. The interview with Fox News, which aired Sunday, was one of the first major public appearances by the Romneys since the Nov. 6 election.

>> mEga QuakE

Concordia president discusses education summit continued from cover A formal council will be created to supervise and review the governance and financial management of universities. Minister of Higher Education Pierre Duchesne promised the Conseil national des universitiés would improve the efficiency of the universities while remaining independent and largely for consultation. However, details remain under wraps for now.

INVESTMENTS AND CUTS The provincial government also announced several investments including additional positions for staff. Additional employment will involve an extra 1,000 support staff,

2,000 teaching assistants and 1,000 professors.

Starting in 2014, Marois also promised that the provincial government would pump $1.7 billion into universities over seven years.

The PQ stated that approximately $15 million would be invested into special projects between universities and CÉGEPs. However, universities will still suffer a loss of $250 million in funding cuts for the next two years — a decision that has become a source of stress for rectors who say Quebec’s institutions are already underfunded, overwhelmed and strapped for the future.

WHAT’S NExT FOR CONCORDIA?

summit led him to a “complex reaction” because it was so intense.

While Shepard said he was happy with some aspects of the summit, he added that two days doesn’t provide enough time to discuss the policy of higher education in Quebec.

“You can’t expect to get to the heart of the matter,” said Shepard.

“No one walked away feeling like they won the lottery.”

Shepard added that while he believed the summit was well organized, there is still a much larger discussion to be had and that a plethora of issues were not addressed including e-learning and attracting older students who want to reshape their skills.

The Concordian is hiring!

All positions for the 2013-2014 academic year are open!

Send a CV, a cover letter, and three samples to applications@theconcordan.com by march 15, 2013. eDITOR-In-ChIef Like the leader of a small army, the editor-in-chief is responsible for every member of his or her team and

SPORTS eDITOR Otherwise known as the Stingers’ greatest fan, this editor is responsible for covering all campus, all the

the goals they must reach.As the last line of defence against typos, errors and bad ideas, this person keeps things moving forward week after week.

time. When it comes to Concordia’s athletic teams, this person’s love for sports is unrivaled.

OPInIOnS eDITOR

PRODuCTIOn mAnAGeR The production manager is responsible for the layout and design of the paper.This creative genius will devote their time to making sure everything is properly in place and looking great on the page. neWS eDITOR The news editor is responsible for keeping an ear to the ground and an eye on the sky. If it’s happening at Concordia, this person will be pounding the pavement for the story come rain or shine.

LIfe eDITOR This editor is responsible for reporting on all things food, fashion and fitness! Whether it’s a restaurant review, a designer spread or a recipe, this section

This editor has the loudest mouth and biggest opinions on staff. Whatever the issue, this person has something to say about it, and knows how to cite sources like no other.

COPy eDITOR (3 POSITIOnS) This position was created for one purpose and one purpose only: to keep mistakes out. With fast-typing fingers and lightning speed fact-checking skills, these three people can be counted on.

GRAPhICS eDITOR much like a wizard, this editor makes something out of nothing. With a flick of the wrist and a flash of light, this editor creates all the graphics which help illustrate and illuminate the paper.

would not be possible without the life editor.

hits china

An earthquake in southwest China caused hundreds of homes to collapse and injured at least 30 people on Sunday. The earthquake reportedly damaged 2,500 houses and destroyed 700 homes in total. The earthquake bureau in Yunnan province says three injured individuals are in serious condition and the U.S. Geological Survey stated that the magnitude-5.5 quake struck 51 kilometres from the city of Dali at a depth of 33 kilometres. Approximately 34 aftershocks were recorded after the quake. With 55,000 people affected, suppliers were sent to the site of the earthquake with 6,000 tents.

According to a statement released by university president Alan Shepard, a main concern for Concordia is the slash to university funding over the next year including a shortfall of $26.4 million. Shepard emphasized that the cut put the university in a tight spot and forced administration to “make some difficult decisions.”

In an interview with The Concordian, Shepard said that what concerns him the most is ensuring that Concordia remains competitive and does not become a second-tier university despite the budget cuts.

“We want to provide a nationally competitive education,” said Shepard. “This can’t be done on the cheap.”

Shepard said that a two-day

ARTS eDITOR The arts editor helps highlight the best and brightest that artists in the Concordia community have to offer while keeping pace with festivities and events in the city. Be it film, theatre, art exhibits, or literature: this section has it all, thanks to the arts editor. muSIC eDITOR The music editor should have a finger on the pulse of montreal’s diverse music scene. With an impressive knowledge of musical styles and artists, this editor is responsible for making sure the section rocks.

PhOTO eDITOR The photo editor is responsible for being the man, or woman on the scene. Snapping photos and documenting events day-in and day-out, this editor knows how to take a great photo.

OnLIne eDITOR This editor is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of The Concordian’s website and social media.This behind the scenes work is invaluable to the paper and takes a tech-savvy person who knows their way around a WordPress site.

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ASFA elections: Meet the candidates Arts and Science federation of Associations elections will take place march 6 to 8 KALInA LAfRAmBOISe news editor Photos by marilla Steuter-martin

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations is holding a vote for positions in the 2013-14 academic year this week from March 6 to 8. There are only seven candidates vying for the seven positions available as ASFA executives — not a single candidate is running opposed. Here is our guide to ASFA’s candidates for the upcoming year.

PAUL JERIJIAN - PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE experience -Former VP external and sustainability of ASFA, 2011-12 -President of the mathematics and statistics students’ association -John Molson School of Business councillor for the Concordia Student Union -CSU events committee, Loyola committee, Sustainability Action Fund Goals “A lot of my presidential goals for ASFA include structural and procedural changes. A lot of ASFA’s operations are not clear and not recorded. Reports, FAQs and templates should be implemented as transition, and institutional memory have always been a big concern for associations in general at Concordia. There needs to be a focus on initiatives geared towards new demographics as the student population is very diverse and multicultural.”

Strengths and weaknesses “My strengths include my experience, my determination and hard work. I will do whatever I can in my power to ensure the association thrives and continues to thrive for years future years. My biggest weakness is my stubbornness, though I have made it clear to myself and my future executive that ASFA is going to function as a team.”

JUSTIN OCCHIONERO - VP ExTERNAL AND SUSTAINABILITY CANDIDATE experience -Independent councillor for ASFA, 2012-13 Goals “I believe primarily, ASFA needs some structural changes. In regards to my position, this would mean reworking ASFA’s sustainability annex in order to improve ASFA’s commitment to organizing events that promote a culture of sustainability. Externally, ASFA should strive for open communication between itself and external student unions such as the CSU and the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec. It is important that ASFA and its members communicate with these entities and collaborate on initia-

tives together. The rights of Arts and Science students need to be properly represented at higher levels of student governance and this can only be achieved if ASFA, its members and the above mentioned entities communicate with each other efficiently.”

Strengths and weaknesses “My biggest strength is probably my enthusiasm. I always tackle new challenges with the highest of hopes and I think this attitude is what has made it possible for me to achieve some of my greatest goals. As for weaknesses, I think that sometimes I can harp on one idea for too long, even if it has proven to be weak or unnecessary. Having said that, I think my year working within ASFA has taught me that this is not always the best approach.”

SEAN NOLAN - VP SOCIAL CANDIDATE experience -Independent councillor for ASFA, 12-2013 -Organized, promoted and DJed for hometown events Goals “My ultimate goal for ASFA is to make the social experience more beneficial for our students. I plan to do so by improving our orientation week, increasing the amount of social outings hosted by the association, hosting ASFA sports tournaments to engage students in fun and stimulating activities, and establish a better connection with the rest of Concordia. I plan on having MA booths available to students on the first day [of orientation] in order to help them become better acquainted with their new school as a whole.”

Strengths and weaknesses “In terms of my strengths, I am organized, prompt as well as extremely committed to anything I put my mind to. I also feel that I am very personable and easily approachable by anyone and therefore very easy to work with. My biggest weakness, however, would be my determination when it comes to completing projects.”

TINGLI LUCIA LORIGIANO - VP ACADEMIC AND LOYOLA CANDIDATE experience -Various initiatives at Vanier College including projects to renovate the library, tutor and organizing student study groups in math, biology and chemistry - Active member in student governance during high school and CÉGEP Goals “I would like to be given the opportunity to equip Arts and Sciences students with the knowledge, skills, and tools to sculpt more defined career paths. As a student who has courses are at both campuses, I myself

am a frequent shuttle bus rider and am aware of the discrepancy of student services and resources available at both campuses. I want to ensure the equalization of student services and resources, as well as working towards satisfying the student body. Lastly, as the only science student in this year’s elections, I would like to introduce more extensive science career shadowing opportunities.”

Goals “My first goal in general is to bring student involvement up. There’s been a lot of crap with the CSU and everyone’s been disheartened. I want to clean up finances because some things just don’t get enough money. A lot of money is spent recklessly when it should be spent more toward individual student projects and academic initiatives and not just parties.”

Strengths and weaknesses “Well, I’ve always benefited from being able to help others, like tutoring, or being able help foster an environment to help motivate, or inspire, students academically. The cold hard truth is that I am an optimist: my biggest strength being my ability to fuel, to drive, to motivate, myself and others to reaching peak potential. As for my weakness, I sometimes forget to schedule time in for myself. I get so caught-up with getting things done that I forget to relax.”

Strengths and weaknesses “My weakness is sometimes I come off a little too forceful and I work hard and get it done but sometimes I have to calm down. I think despite being forceful, I am very patient and understanding. I’ve worked in a lot of different environments like math and arts, that I know how to deal with different personalities.”

FRANCIS BOYER - VP INTERNAL CANDIDATE experience - VP internal of students of history at Concordia 2012-13 - Active member of the ASFA academic committee, internal committee, departmental relations committee and ASFA talks committee.

Goals “I intend to strengthen the bonds between Member Associations as well as the bond between said associations and ASFA. Also, as the executive responsible for all annexes and bylaws, it is my intention to accurately and efficiently inform the MAs of any questions they might have pertaining to said legal aspects. I also intend to review the annexes and bylaws to ensure that they are correct and do not require correction. It is also the responsibility of all ASFA executives to best represent my peers and I will do so regardless of my personal opinions of the topic at hand.”

Strengths and weaknesses “As far as my strengths and weaknesses are concerned, I am a very organized and committed individual.

Once I begin a task, it will receive my entire attention until it is finished and, while I have never missed a deadline, I sometimes dwell too long on the task at hand before moving onto the next to ensure that it is done properly.

I also need to work on knowing my own limitations as I have taken on too many tasks at once and, while it always gets done, causes strain in my personal life.”

ANNE-SOPHIE GRENIER - VP FINANCE CANDIDATE experience -VP finance of Communications guild, 2012-13 -Former treasurer of The Word -Pursued commerce in CÉGEP

STÉPHANIE GAGNON - VP COMMUNICATIONS CANDIDATE experience -VP communications of the mathematics and statistics students’ association, 2012-13 -VP social of the mathematics and statistics students’ association, 201112 Goals “My goal for ASFA is making sure we use every resource available to reach out to students whether through newspapers, social media and more.

We need to promote student events, student initiatives. We want every student in ASFA to feel there’s something for them. [I also] want to improve online services, so everything is documented, everything is organized and available online.”

Strengths and weaknesses “I’m very organized, and I’m a person that will stay calm in any circumstances, and I may not always have the answer, but I always know where to look for it. I’m a little bit of a lunatic and sometimes I have my bubbles where I’m thinking of a million things at the same time.”

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

life

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com tea // life

A tale of two tea rooms: part II Totem Tea and Spice will add a kick to your day Sara Baron-Goodman assistant life editor

It was a blustery winter afternoon when a handwritten chalkboard sign beckoned me into Totem Tea and Spice, promising hot apple caramel tea lattes. It’s been a beautiful love affair ever since.

The shop is located just a few blocks away from Concordia’s Loyola campus. Radiating warmth, the homey café is an instant mood lifter.

At the end of February, owner Julie Pederson moved the small walk-up, one-room shop to its new location at street level. The vibe is like a modern English tea room — white paint with grey and exposed brick accents, eclectic frames scattered on the walls and teacups hanging from the light fixtures that Pederson made herself. A handful of tables provide sit down room for a good number of customers, but the space is usually quiet, inviting easy conversation or a good atmosphere to get some work done.

The shop is an expansion of Pederson’s online business of the same variety.

“I wanted a space to be able to grow a local clientele and interact with customers,” she said.

Pederson keeps everything in the shop close to home: all the teas are organic and everything is from local Canadian suppliers.

“That’s something that’s very important to me,” she said. “My customers look for healthy options.”

The new space is bigger, brighter and offers up an improved menu. In addition to tea and tarts, customers can now enjoy fresh sandwiches, soups, cookies and cakes. To boot, the menu is vegetarian friendly; I chowed down on a fresh vegetable and avocado sandwich with a red pep-

Photos courtesy of Julie Pederson

per spread and was wholly satisfied.

Lunch specials are served up daily, and revolve around a hearty vegetarian soup and savory scone, accompanied of course by your choice of tea.

Most important, is the seemingly endless selection of 65 loose leaf teas to choose from, each with a cute quirky name. My favourite would have to be the Karma Sutra, a floral and chai blend that warms you up from the inside out.

For my fellow chocoholics, I recommend the red velvet, a tea that channels the flavours of the classic cake. There’s also the Cocoa Chanel and the Caramel Latte, which are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

For the health conscious, sip on one of the more holistic organic teas, which boast properties from helping digestion to curing a cold.

As far as snacks go, the Melting Moment cookies are sure to live up to their name. The orange blossom butter dough pairs decadently with a creamy lemon zest filling that makes my mouth water just thinking of it.

Totem also offers a selection of 100 spices to take home. Packaged neatly in gift sets with or without the loose leaf teas, there are salts for barbeque, baking and everything in between. The Java Love Rub, made with coffee beans, is a customer favourite that pairs well with red meats.

All the teas and treats are available to enjoy in house or to take home. For the latter option, infuser mugs and teapots come in a variety of shapes and sizes so you can steep your favorite tea wherever you are.

To top it off, Totem is very student friendly; a full meal of a sandwich and tea latte is only $7.

A tea alone is $2.50, while a latte goes for $3.50.

Everyone from the Royal West Academy boys to the older women who frequent the yoga studio upstairs seem to love this place. Honestly, there’s very little not to love.

Totem Tea and Spice is located on 51 Westminster Ave. N.

These teas and scones will warm the cold soul SaTurn de loS anGeleS Staff writer

are recommended picks.

A tea pot will cost you $3.99 and will give you four to five cups. You can get an extra refill of hot water for a $1.

The macarons and cupcakes are also a popular staple. Macarons go for $1.75 each and there are 21 flavours to choose from such as pistachio and salty caramel. There’s also the option of purchasing a box of six for almost $10 or 10 for $15.

Each cupcake will cost you $3.49, while you can get a box of six at nearly $20. But don’t let the prices fool you: they’re absolutely filling.

They even have locally made scones from a baker in the West Island. What goes better with tea than freshly made scones? Red Velvet cupcakes also grab a lot of attention. There are also S’More and Oreo flavoured variants as well.

Philibert is preparing a new menu for the summer by creating concoctions with naturally flavoured bubble tea (iced cold tea with tapioca bubbles) and tea soda (steeped tea with sparkling water).

Philibert explained that it is important to him that CHAÏ T’ Lounge stand out. “There are four coffee shops on the same corner . . . but we wanted something different. Tea [shops] are getting interesting and getting more popular. We thought at the beginning to make it [as such], but we wanted to be a place to relax and study.”

His passion for tea is something that grabs people’s attention, and it is something that he’ll continue to do as CHAÏ T’ Lounge reaches its first year of operation in September.

CHAÏ T’ Lounge is located on 3506 Park Ave.

As I walked up Park Ave. on a mild and foggy Friday night, I saw nightclub warriors revelling in their little bubble on the left and students hanging out on the street enjoying each others’ company on the right.

Desperate for a hot drink, I soon discovered this cozy little lounge right at the corner. I walked inside already drenched from the flakey snow melting on my scalp. A young lady greeted me, enthusiastically offering a pot of delicious Kyoto Cherry flavoured tea to warm my soul.

I couldn’t resist. I gave in and poured myself a cup. At the moment I took that first sip, I was in heaven.

“We’re a tea shop, and a tea [accessory] shop, and a lounge.” said François Philibert, manager of CHAÏ T’ Lounge.

CHAÏ T’ has been in business since the beginning of last fall and operates as an extension of its more bistro-oriented café called El Mundo.

Both establishments have the same owner.

The lounge is full during evenings and weekends with the majority of customers coming from McGill University. There’s also a good blend of tourists, local folks and tea aficionados.

“French people are more used to classic teas than the English people, “ said Philibert. “I see [the French] ask for green tea, but the English order more flavoured ones.”

There is a huge selection of tea available ranging from traditional to flavoured. Popular choices include the chocolate mint flavour and the Monas blend of black tea, vanilla and grenadine. Genmaicha, a green tea with roasted rice, is a staff favourite. Kyoto cherry and Long Island strawberry

Photos by Natalia Lara Diaz-Berrio

Tuesday, march 5, 2013

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cafe // life

A salute to the city of blinding lights La Croissanterie Figaro will charm you into a Parisian stupor, one delicious buttery croissant at a time George Menexis Opinions editor

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If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris, as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

None other than the infamous Ernest Hemingway spoke those words about Paris, where he spent many years alongside the likes of Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald, roaming the streets and writing what we know today as works of artistic genius.

Hemingway held Paris on a pedestal and immersed himself in its charm.

There isn’t a place quite like Paris.

Whether your reason to visit is the cafés, the art or the history, it’s the Parisian charm that seduces you to stay. Sadly, most of us don’t have the funds or the time to grab a quick six hour flight. Fortunately for us, we live in a city that has been described as very European and is filled with numerous quaint cafés and bistros that can satisfy your cultural needs.

La Croissanterie Figaro has encompassed the Parisian charm and established it into a miniature café in the Mile End of Montreal.

Upon entry, you’re immediately enthralled by the smell of fresh croissants au beurre, a stereotypical parisian tune resembling the one from Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, antique furniture and Renaissance-style statuettes.

I felt like I was transported to Paris in

Photo by Madelayne Hajek

the 1920s. Surprisingly, to my immediate displeasure, there was no Hemingway or Fitzgerald glaring at me from the dark corners of the room.

Figaro describes itself as “un petit coin perdu de Paris,” which translates to “a little lost corner of Paris,” summing up the place perfectly.

La Croissanterie Figaro has quite a long history. It was initially a house before it was transformed into a boutique in the early ‘20s, and then a candy store. It went through many changes as it was passed from one owner to another over the years,

from a bakery to a type of fast-food joint.

It was only in 1991, when Al Charmant took over the business, that it became the elegant and charming bistro that it is today.

Interestingly enough, the ancient oven that was installed when it was known as a hippy bakery in the ‘80s is still visible in the bistro today, adding to its compelling glamour.

To complete the look, every waitress and waiter speaks in a thick Parisian accent, a nice prerequisite to working in this bistro and something I did not expect. The menu is kept small and simple; the desserts and the petit déjeuner, as well as their dynamite

coffees, are the heart of it. In the summer, a terrace is set up along the sidewalk, where one can enjoy the sights of one of Montreal’s oldest neighbourhoods.

French writer Honoré de Balzac once said that “whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant.” So to add a bit of charm to your day, a venture to this little slice of Paris they call La Croissanterie Figaro, is something we can do to get closer to the elegance we so desperately desire.

La Croissanterie Figaro is located on 5200 Hutchison St. in Outremont.

food // life

Cook up something tasty with Montreal’s top talents A hidden treasure in the Mile-End offers tips, tricks and tools for foodies and wannabe chefs Nicole Yeba Staff writer

The phenomenon of the foodie is growing in big cities, especially in Montreal. There are so many food festivals in the city and food trucks are also making a comeback. The term ‘foodie’ is used to refer to people who are aficionados in the field of food and drinks.

Located in the trendy Mile-End neighbourhood that is filled to the brim with cute restaurants, Les Touilleurs offers a range of kitchen appliances. With white walls and bright lighting, the cool atmosphere makes you feel welcome.

The kitchenware is strategically placed, with the colourful KitchenAid appliances and accessories attracting the eyes. It began as a partnership between Sylvain Côté and François Longpré. The former attended the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec and the latter was a comedian with a love for kitchen tools. They have been partners

in business since 1998. The store opened in 2002 and a kitchen was added in 2005 when the local next door was free for rent.

Cooking workshops are offered with renowned Montreal chefs such as Stéphanie Labelle, who owns Pâtisserie Rhubarbe, Taverne Square Dominion’s chef Éric Dupuis and many others. The lessons are on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They last three hours; starting at 6:30 p.m.. Prices for the current winter lessons are between $95 and $110.

“It is an intimate and exceptional night.

You get a chef who gives you tips and shares laughs with you, which you would not get in a big class of 40 people,” said Côté. The maximum per class is 12 people and you can bring a bottle of wine to sip on while cooking the three to four recipes Les Touilleurs have prepared for you.

Schedules are posted two months before the season and you can sign up to receive them on their website through their mailing list. Côté makes it clear that early sign-up is a must — classes usually fill up seven to 10

Les Touilleurs gives you all the tools you need to be a top chef. photo by writer days after the calendar is released.

The pair also launched a book for their 10-year anniversary in October called Les Touilleurs - Techniques gourmands.

They co-host a television show as well, airing on ARTV every Friday at 8 p.m. They

discuss different aspects of gastronomy and have a chef who offers a culinary workshop.

Les Touilleurs is located at 152 Laurier Ave. W. For more information, check out their website http://www.lestouilleurs.com

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Tuesday, march 5, 2013

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com profile // arts

The Yellow Wallpaper’s Jane comes off the page three women assist Charlotte Gilman Perkin’s Victorian character out from the confines of her text amanda L. shore arts editor

Jane enters the room and sits on the folding chair that’s been placed beside the bed they’ve created out of a stained folding table.

She clasps her hands in her lap and crosses her ankles.

“What is your relationship with the wallpaper?” director Jen Cressey asks from across the room. Jane raises her eyes and answers in a despairing, timid voice that has a distinctive Victorian era intonation.

“I’m not quite sure, it’s obviously there and it’s what I’m looking at and it’s what I can engage with. I guess right now I’m just very, very sad. I’m sad that my husband didn’t listen to me and that I wasn’t important enough to listen to. I’m very sad that as hard as he tries he won’t be able to make me better.”

The year is 1899. Jane has just given birth to her first child, a boy. Unfortunately, she is suffering from postpartum depression.

Her husband, John, a physician, is treating her. He has prescribed bed rest, a diet heavy in meat and absolutely no writing or other artistic activity.

“I tried very hard. I tried very, very hard to follow what he wanted me to do but none of it really worked, it only ever made me more upset and more deceitful,” Jane laments.

She spends her days in her room at the rental house they’ve leased for the summer.

The room looks like it might have previously been a children’s nursery; the windows are barred and there are rings in the wall like one might see in a gymnasium. Furthermore, the floor is scratched and gouged and there is a black “smooch” running around the base of the room. Most notably, however, is the

yellow wallpaper. The paper is peeling in places, it is stripped off in great patches all around the head of the bed, about as far as you can reach while lying on your back and in a great place on the other side of the room near the baseboard.

Natasha Perry-Fagant, who embodies Jane onstage, believes that John loves Jane very much and only wants her to get better.

“He loves her very, very deeply and he just thinks if she just believed in this treatment, if she just actively participated and put these thoughts out of her head, she would get better.” The reality is that Jane is not thriving within John’s confinement treatment, though she tries her best. She finds herself getting more and more depressed.

It’s been a 114 years since Charlotte Perkins Gilman first put Jane onto paper in the form of a short story called “The Yellow Wallpaper.” She put her there as a way to set her free from the confines set upon her by her husband. For a century she’s lived and thrived within the text, opening society’s eyes to her situation and consequently that of many women like her.

Now, three women are trying to bring her out and onto the stage so her story can impress the world in a new fashion. PerryFagant is serving as a conduit through which Jane can speak. Cressey is in charge of facilitating Jane’s emergence. She takes on the role of therapist in order to help Jane connect to her feelings and she directs the portrayal of Jane’s story as it will appear onstage.

Miranda Abraham keeps everything running smoothly. She makes notes on every decision that is made concerning Jane’s staging and sets up the appropriate set pieces.

The women have been working on bringing Jane forth since the winter semester of 2012.

It has been a long process, but their devotion to having Jane come across as accurately as possible speaks to their love for her.

As Perry-Fagant is where Jane resides for the most part, she often finds that Jane takes over outside of rehearsal. Sometimes PerryFagant will realize she’s thinking Jane’s thoughts or seeing things through Jane’s eyes, “Sometimes, I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll turn into Jane,” she said.

In the play, Jane is preoccupied with the wallpaper in her room.

“This wallpaper has a kind of sub-pattern in a different shade, a particularly irritating one, for you can only see it in certain lights, and not clearly then. But in the places where it isn’t faded and where the sun is just so, I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design,” she explains from her text.

Jane finds in the yellow wallpaper an engagement she can’t get from John. Confined as she is in her room, the paper becomes her escape from reality. She’s been spending all her time staring at the paper, peeling away the paper in spots, she thinks, John won’t notice. She sees something in the pattern of the wallpaper, she sees something...

Jane, why are you touching the paper so?

What is it that you see there?

“A woman. A woman trapped within the pattern. She’s out. She’s gotten out!”

Round and round the room she goes, creeping along the baseboard, dragging her body around and around the room.

“What is the matter? For God’s sake, what are you doing!”

Jane smiles, “Creeping.”

The SIPA Short Works will feature five short shows The Yellow Wallpaper Jane comes out from the pages of Charlotte Gilman Perkins and takes the audience through the exegesis of her postpartum depression.

Idem Eadem Idem is a movement based performance in which the performers walk through aspects of their own lives and their experiences. Using minimal set pieces and props, the production looks into the way human identity is shaped.

Not Suitable For Children is based on a true murder story, with the performers exploring deep into the minds of their characters.

Whirligig is an adaptation of Jean Genet’s play, The Maids. The production will explore the traditional “being” or “not being” in the repetitive scene of two sisters planning to kill their mistress.

Information about Untitled, is to remain undisclosed until the festival’s opening night.

The only way to find out about it is to see the show.

The SIPA Short Works Festival will take place from March 7 - 10 at the Cazalet Theatre on Concordia’s Loyola Campus. Tickets are $2 per show. For more information visit Facebook.com/SipaConcordia.

Tuesday, march 5, 2013

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nuit blanche // arts

Concordia students light up Nuit Blanche

Five Concordia students dance, sing and act the night away Photos & text By madeLayne haJek Photo editor

here we see the lovely Victoria performing both an original piece and a cover. her melodic folky voice inspiring the spectators eagerly awaiting her next note.

Concordia students were featured at an art matters, in collaboration with mainline theatre at nuit Blanche this past saturday. they performed an original contemporary dance piece by Jess alley (Centre) accompanied by an original soundscape piece by mallika Guhan (right) and daniel marquez (Left). the performance was bluesy, romantic and visually stunning.

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Tuesday, march 5, 2013

theconcordian exhibit review // arts

Exploring the identity paradox the FoFa Gallery’s new exhibits make reality and fiction cross paths ariana triGueros-CorBo assistant arts editor

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rt is a dialogue between the artist and the spectator. Artists are storytellers, forever intent on the ritual of showcasing their unique vision, of expressing their understanding of complex themes and issues. At times, a piece will represent a part of an artist’s story, a shard of who they are. Other times, artists will take a step back and delve into their observations of the world and all that surrounds them. Thus, unsurprisingly, artists may often take completely opposite paths to expose their views and spur our imaginations.

The FOFA Gallery’s most recent installments, Snowbirds and Falling Through a Mirror, are both intent on exploring the theme of identity, delving into what provides us with a sense of belonging as individuals. That being said, the artists, Mika Goodfriend, Tammy Salzl and Emily Jan, could not have more diametrically opposed approaches when it comes to exploring this theme in particular.

Snowbirds, the portion of the installments that belongs to Goodfriend, gives the impression of wanting to provoke some sort of reaction amongst its viewers. Unveiling a sort

of stagnant truth about Quebec’s “Snowbird generation,” viewers are left to deal with this photographic instance of truth, often fighting back defensive sentiments in a spot of cultural vulnerability.

Goodfriend was just awarded prizes in the BMO 1st Art! Invitational Student Art Competition, for two of the pieces in his photography series, Benoit et Suzanne and Reynald et Marylda. Snowbirds, he explains, was made to take an anthropological view on the immigration (or rather the export) of Quebec culture.

The photography truly has a “social documentary approach to it,” as the gallery descriptor so eloquently puts it. Shot entirely in an RV trailer park in Breezy Hill, Florida, the snapshots meticulously study the habits of what Goodfriend considers a generation that should be treated as an “endangered species,” underlining the fact that these retirees are the last of Quebec’s residents to immigrate “en masse.”

The second part of the exhibit, put on by the FOFA Gallery, is a joint venture between Jan and Salzl, who have formed a collective for the occasion. Combining their artistic mediums of choice, the artists showcase both painting and sculpture in one given space. The collaboration is titled Falling Through The Mirror and, coincidently, will remind its spectators, one more than one occasion, of a horror-filled version of Alice In Wonderland.

Salzl, the painter portion of the duo, has completed a master’s in Fine Arts at Concordia, specializing in painting and drawing. Her portion of Falling Through a Mirror has a mythological feel to it, combining the role of humans

and animals in a way that is reminiscent of fairy tales. The result is an eerie but captivating series of portraits that will leave the weaker of heart with goosebumps. Much like Goodfriend, Salzl deals with the concept of identity: as she puts it in her artist’s profile, she is illustrating “true parables from a fairy tale book about a society distorted and chaotic.”

As for Jan, her sculptures are breathtakingly horrific, in fascinating sense. Selkie, the main piece she is showcasing, is a seal-like looking carcass that is realistically strewn across the gallery’s main portion of space. With the FOFA Gallery plunged in darkness, lit up only by a few selective spotlights to showcase the work of the collective, Jan’s work takes on a mythic feel. Viewers will easily be reminded of Fairy tales and trips down south inspire the art at FoFa. those dark fairy tales told by creators like the Brothers Grimm, and how close to reality these stories Falling Through The Mirror and Snowbirds always seem to be. Jan’s work is the meeting will be on display at the FOFA Gallery (main place for fiction and reality, a place where floor of the EV building) until April 4. Admiswe find ourselves pushing the limits of our sion is free of charge. For additional information, visit http://fofagallery.concordia.ca comprehensive imagination through art

theatre review // arts

The Irish have come to town a fresh new play about two tired old men roa aBdeL-GaWad Contributor

There’s nothing quite as Irish as a mistrust of the English, a drunk priest and a fiddle.

Ordinarily, a play that centres around a pair of old men, of which the youngest is an impressive 100-years-old, would not see the light of day. That’s what makes the Centaur Theatre’s most recent production, TRAD, such a great feat. Its playwright, Mark Doherty, has managed to bring to life a robust work full of colourful dialogue that tells an expansive and quintessentially Irish story.

TRAD is the story of an Irish centenarian, Thomas and his father, Da. A series of laments on Da’s behalf about the impending end of his family line push Thomas

to reveal that, although he never married, when he was a 29-year-old young lad, he fathered a child during a brief affair with a girl from another town. Without even the child’s name and with only the mother’s first name, Thomas and Da set out to find the youngest member of their family, a now 70-year-old son.

As the duo’s journey takes them across Ireland, a historical journey is also undertaken through a series of Da’s recollections, who is played by actor Patrick Costello. Costello brilliantly captures the physicality of a centenarian: a hunched, restless body, complete with twitchy eyebrows, rounded jittery fingers and a hoarse but proud Irish voice.

In addition, Da is missing a leg and wears a prosthesis during the search for his grandson. One can’t help but think that it’s a true accomplishment on Costello’s part to endure 80 minutes without bending his knee.

On another hand, Thomas, who is played by Graham Cuthbertson, offers a refreshing contrast to the centenarian’s char-

acter, putting forth a great deal of vivaciousness throughout the entire play. Managing to deliver his character’s sweet and docile nature, Cuthbertson’s sincerity was a perfect foil for the embittered and cynical Da. The two characters played off each other, complementing Da’s role as a man trying to move forward after a century of being told to look back.

While the subject and message of the story are certainly laden with depth and acumen, that is in no way the case of the play itself. The third actor in TRAD is the play’s own director, Andrew Shaver, who takes on the roles of two different characters. The more important of the two is Father Rice, a ridiculous Gary Busey-looking priest who helps the pair locate their kin. Shaver is utterly hilarious playing the drunken priest, making the audience roar with laughter as he incorporates both lively story-telling and his physical comedy into his acting.

The physical theatrics that the characters engage in during the play were no doubt

enabled by the deceptively simplistic set design. Each prop on set was well thought out, surprising the audience and giving more dimension to a play that is already rich in content. Old men jumping around, apples thrown towards the audience and booze being spit all over the place was completely energizing and emphasized a sense of involvement for the spectators. As a final touch, the musical score, composed by Doherty’s own father, Jim, completed the play masterfully. Played through a guitar and a fiddle, it transported us to a rural Irish scene and helped intensify both the tragic and comedic moments in the play. Silly and playful from beginning to end, TRAD is as hilarious as it is poignant.

TRAD will be running at the Centaur Theatre (located at 453 Saint-François-Xavier St.) until March 24. Tickets are $36. For additional information on showtimes, visit http://www.centaurtheatre.com or call (514) 288-3161.

Tuesday, march 5, 2013

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fiction serial // arts

Tourne au Rouge Part 7 of an ongoing fictional story from our staff writer andy Fidel

Illustration by Jihane Mossalim, Gallery 203

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nstinctively, Anya threw up her hands to shield her face from the bright light. It reminded her of her stepmother; the way Mary-Anne would always sneak up on her when she least expected it and take a photograph.

One time Anya almost broke Mary-Anne’s camera and she had to do extra chores around the house for an entire week.

Anya blinked, but for a moment everything was out-of-focus and the three old women were blurred together. The stool creaked when a pair of hands held up a roll of red tickets. Anya had to lean over to see what was happening. The woman with the white and matted hair on the left unrolled the roll of tickets, slow and easy, while the woman on the right tapped her foot impatiently — “Stop!” She jabbed her index finger at the sixth ticket. “There.”

With a half-smile, the old woman in the middle ripped off and slipped the tickets through the slot. “I hope you will enjoy your stay,” she said with a toothless smile.

Hesitantly, Anya reached out and took them. “Thank you,” she whispered and turned to leave.

“Don’t forget,” they all chimed at once. “You need a ticket to get back on the train . . . ” But Anya was more interested in the tickets they’d handed her; it puzzled her how warm they felt against her cold hands.

She looked around when she heard her name being called and found Miranda and Billy not too far away. She made her way toward them. Miranda storm-stomped at Billy and shouted: “Go ask them why.” Billy shrugged a little, looking uncomfortable, fixing his eyes on the ground, avoiding Miranda’s glare.

“How many tickets did you get?” Miranda barked at Anya.

“What?” For the first time, Anya noticed a dark look in Miranda’s eyes.

“Miranda only got two tickets,” Billy explained. “I got four —” “What am I supposed to do with two tickets?”

“That’s weird,” Anya muttered. “They gave me six…” Something odd caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She ignored Miranda’s raging rants and peered behind her where she saw a boarded-up carousel ahead. Without saying a word Anya walked past them. The closer she got the more familiar the carousel became — it looked exactly like her music box — there was even a horse missing a front leg.

“What is it?” asked Billy.

Anya stood dumbfounded in front of the carousel and said: “It’s mine.”

Miranda made circles with her finger around her ear. Billy nudged her in the ribs with his elbow and mouthed “stop it.”

He walked up behind her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go find your brother.”

“Who?” “Your brother,” said Billy, “Todd.”

It took Anya several seconds to realize that her brother was lost in the carnival. But for some reason Anya didn’t feel like searching for him anymore. “Oh?” She lingered for another moment, looking up. The first thing she saw was the Ferris wheel which towered far above any of the circus tents.

It must have been at least a hundred feet high.

“How about we look from up there,” said Anya.

The line for the Ferris wheel moved forward swiftly. It was much bigger than Anya had thought, at least a hundred feet high. At the head of the line, an old mime carefully took each of their tickets and frowned heavily each time he ripped them in half. He said nothing, but his face was scrunched up in thought. Miranda climbed into the open carriage and sat down next to Billy, followed by Anya. When she was seated the mime pressed down on the lever with all his weight and the carriage wobbled into motion. Miranda screamed excitedly, wrapping her arms around Billy.

There was nothing to see from horizon to horizon but tree stumps and the carnival. It appeared as though they were in the middle of nowhere. As far as they could tell there were no cities or towns, forests or seas. The carriage suddenly stopped, suspending them high above the crowd that appeared no bigger than a colony of ants. As the carriage descended, Billy was able to scan the crowds in search of Anya’s brother. He spotted a ginger boy beside Jester Thingrim.

“I think I found Todd,” said Billy, “looks like he’s in trouble.”

A surge of anger rose within Anya as soon as the carriage was at ground level. The boy with the ginger curls and crooked tiger mask froze and looked at her oddly as she marched toward him. With an angry bellow, Anya raised her hand in a threatening manner. The little boy cringed and hung his head in shame. As usual, Anya thought to herself, Todd always gets

me in trouble.

“Anya!” said Jester Thingrim as he stretched out his arms wide, palms in the air. “I was just telling your brother how worried you were.”

“Thank you for finding him Mr. Thingrim,” said Anya, and wrapped her hand tightly around his small wrist. “I’m not letting you out of my sight,” she hissed. A shudder went up her spine, Todd’s hand felt weirdly cold and clammy.

“I told you not to worry,” said Jester Thingrim with a grin.

He leaned in so close to Todd that his nose almost touched his.

“Stay with your sister,” he hissed, playfully tapping the boy’s head. Then Jester Thingrim mounted his tricycle and rode away, laughing hysterically whenever someone had to jump out of his way.

Todd immediately tried to pull himself from her gasp the moment Jester Thingrim was out of sight, but she was too strong.

“What is wrong with you?” shouted Anya. She desperately tried to keep a hold on him and get a firmer grip on his wrist, but he was literally slipping past her fingers. His eyelids flickered. Anya caught a glimpse of an unusual pair of black, round eyes. The boy flashed a look of panic and looked right into Anya’s blue eyes, and then bit her.

Anya let him go. “AHH! Fine, go! See if I care.”

The boy ran around and through every ride, circus tent and candy-stand as though he knew the carnival like the back of his hand. It only took him a few minutes to arrive back at the ticket booth. He made a fist of both hands and pounded on the door until the old women opened up. He lifted his mask and let it rest on top of his head.

“Hello, dearie,” chimed the three old women. “What’s the hurry?”

He tapped his long finger against his lip. Then he bent down and grasped a large brass ring, that was partially hidden in the grass. “You were right, I’ve got a new friend,” he laughed. Then he heaved the brass ring upwards, revealing a plank of wood covering a small square hole in the ground.

There was a ladder that led down to a musky chamber. The young boy climbed down and tossed his tiger mask and orange wig onto the bed. He hurried to the back of the room and, with a firm grip, pulled open the heavy drapes that covered a large birdcage. “Hi, Todd,” he grinned.

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Tuesday, march 5, 2013

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

profile // music

A masterpiece of an “accident” Ra Ra Riot grew from fledgling college band to international jetsetters andReW guilbeRt staff writer

JoRdie YeageR staff writer

>> Berettas for Beyoncé //

R

Music manager Michael “Blue” Williams has proposed a new initiative to help clean up New York’s streets, and he’s hoping people are willing to go from NRA to Beyoncé in order to make it work.

The Guns for Greatness program seeks to offer people a chance to trade in their guns for concert tickets in the city’s first private sector gun buyback program. Though it is currently only under consideration, NYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly has said they’re not against the idea: “We want to get as many guns off the streets, and if this works, we’d like to support it.” If the program is given the go-ahead, Williams, who’s managed acts like Outkast and Cee-Lo Green in the past, says he’ll reach out to top stars like Jay-Z and Beyoncé for help. “The Beyoncé show is coming to Brooklyn; the Jay-Z show is coming to Yankee Stadium. Our goal is to reach out to individuals who are in my industry, in my world and who I have an association with and get their support,” Williams said.

>> Pilot: Ejected //

Nineties rockers Stone Temple Pilots have decided that they’re better off without their frontman, as announced in their one-line press release early last week: “Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland.” The termination comes after the rumour mill started a couple of months ago, when Weiland’s ex-Velvet Revolver bandmate Slash said in an interview that STP had given him the boot. This comes as news to the frontman, however, who released a statement to Rolling Stone not long after STP’s announcement: “I learned of my supposed ‘termination’ from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press. Not sure how I can be ‘terminated’ from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that’s something for the lawyers to figure out.”

>> Beautiful dark twisted rantasy //

Rapper-producer Kanye West is known for both his talent and for going a little crazy on a regular basis. It’s the latter part of his infamy that’s put him back in the spotlight, after a series of rants he went on during shows in Paris and London, blasting “corporations” and the music industry, among other things. At one point in his Paris show, Yeezy compares himself to Picasso, Michelangelo, Basquiat, Walt Disney and Steve Jobs, telling the concertgoers he’ll return to the music world in two months, bringing “that real shit” with him. As inexplicable as that is, the real crazy came out during the London show, where West went on for nearly 10 minutes rapping stuff like “Can I sell your drink for you, please? So you can help me put on a better show, please? Corporations? Can you please support me, please? Me, Kanye West? I swear I’m a nice nigga now. I swear I’ll put the pink Polo back on. I swear to you! Please. Just for $3 million. I need it so bad, I need a new pool in my backyard! I’ll tell all my fans that your shit is cool. And if they believe in me, then they should also believe in you.”

a Ra Riot is a kaleidoscope. Their upbeat melodies, catchy instrumentals and signature synths come together to form audible shapes and patterns that their listeners won’t soon forget.

“We formed basically to play house parties around campus,” said bassist Mathieu Santos.

“That was our main reason for existing, and after one semester everyone was going to graduate and go our separate ways.”

For a band that’s now toured the world, including North America, Europe and Asia, they were shockingly close to not existing at all.

“It was sort of an accident,” said Santos, referring to the creation of the band outside its former college-party guise. “We had so much fun that first semester, that when it ended, we decided to book a small tour. … We started getting positive reviews and more people coming to our shows. Once that happened, we just decided to keep going. Here we are, seven years later, still touring.”

Santos, the only member of the band who wasn’t graduating at the time of its formation, left school to pursue music.

“I’m glad the music thing is working out,” he said with a laugh. “I always wonder what I’d be doing otherwise. I was studying painting. I’d probably be living in my parents’ house, painting in my bedroom, trying to be some kind of artist.”

Ra Ra Riot’s third album, Beta Love, has a distinct sound that remains true to the roots of

its predecessors but simultaneously sprouts new branches of its own.

“The biggest change for us was our attitude going into it,” said Santos of this perceptible difference. “In the past, we started to overthink things. This time around we wanted to capture the attitude we had when we first started, which was about being open to whatever was feeling good at the time.”

That attitude is reflected in their live shows as much as it is in their recordings.

“This tour’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

“We tried to up our production for the first time in a long time. Having new songs to play is amazing, and they were written with the live show in mind. The shows have been pretty energetic on the whole: a lot of singing along, a lot of dancing and just having fun.”

University students’ tastes are as diverse as the musical spectrum, so it’s not hard to believe that the preferences of each member of Ra Ra Riot influence their sound. From indie to new wave to pop, Santos describes their band as a “collage.”

“It’s fun being in a band with so many people, because there’s always a huge mix going on,” he said. “Just last night everyone was taking turns DJing and playing all kinds of different music for each other.”

A love for music, of course, is the force uniting the band. It’s also what sends them on tours worldwide, allowing them to discover aspects of the world they wouldn’t otherwise have been exposed to.

“We get to do all this travelling for free, so we try to make the most of it,” said Santos. “That’s one of the best things about this job. If you’re not careful, it can turn into this monotonous grind;

you don’t even know where you are some of the time. It’s good to go out and get the feel of wherever you are, even if it’s just going to a record store or a bookstore nearby.”

Between the shifting scenery flashing by their tour bus windows and their ever-evolving sound, there remains one constant: the band’s loyalty to each other.

“We’ve been together for seven years now, so it’s been a natural evolution,” said Santos. “It’s nice, because it’s the same core people making the music. We’ve changed a lot, but it still feels like us, you know?”

Ra Ra Riot play Il Motore on Thursday, March 7 at 8 p.m.

Quick spins // music Johnny Marr – The Messenger (Warner Bros.; 2013)

Woodpigeon - Thumbtacks + Glue (Boompa! Records; 2013)

PVT - Homosapien (Felte; 2013)

Expectations were sure to be incredibly high for Rolling Stone’s 51st greatest guitarist, Johnny Marr, as he released his first solo album, The Messenger on Feb. 26.

Boasting quite the impressive musical career including big-time groups such as The Smiths, Modest Mouse and The The (and that’s just to name a few), Marr’s newest addition to his highly anticipated musical roster places his signature sound front and centre.

Chock-full of riff-driven, catchier-than-thecommon-cold tunes that certainly don’t fail to invigorate or impress, The Messenger displays Marr’s style in a raw, undistilled form.

Refreshingly, Marr chose to highlight instrumentals, with crystal clear guitar and assertive drums, letting vocals, hazy and unpretentious, take a back seat.The Messenger is a collection of what we’ve come to eagerly expect. Marr is graciously giving his fans what they want to hear, and who can argue with that?

Calgary native Mark Andrew Hamilton of Woodpiegon is one of Canada’s most underappreciated singer-songwriters. With his fifth studio album, Thumbtacks + Glue, Hamilton may finally receive the accolade that he rightly deserves.

Showcasing a bolder side of Woodpiegon’s lofi folk and baroque pop formula, this album introduces a more electronic edge, all while preserving Hamilton’s soft vocals and quirky songwriting.

Songs like “The Saddest Music in the World” and “Sufferin’ Suckatash” highlight an emotional release with instrumental breakdowns and whining synthesizers, while “Edinburgh” emphasizes its catchy melody with the use of vocal layering.

“Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard” is a total rock-out track. Ruggedly complex, while highly personal, Thumbtacks + Glue sometimes feels unstructured, but what it lacks in clarity, it makes up for in emotion and sincerity.

The latest offering by Australia’s PVT, pronounced and previously known as Pivot, is a steady stream of ambient distorted vocal work, a consistent skeleton of rhythmic synth drums, and smooth, fullbodied background hums.

At first listen, the album’s tracks have a tendency to melt into one another, creating an almosttoo-homogeneous musical soup. Upon further inspection, however, it becomes apparent that Homosapien’s non-invasive sounds aren’t just white noise. They’re majoritarily pillow-soft, with the exception of a few rock-heavier tracks like “Love & Defeat” and “Casual Success,” which swap fuzzy vocals for buzzing guitar riffs instead.

Infusions of rock are all well and good, but as far as their sublime sound goes, it seems that the beautiful comes easier to PVT than the terrible.

Notable tracks include “Cold Romance,” and the glitchy title track “Homosapien.”

Trial track: “Upstarts”

Trial track: “Edinburgh”

Trial Track: “Cold Romance”

8.0/10

- Victoria Kendrick

7.0/10

- Paul Traunero

6.5/10

- Stephanie Ullman

Tuesday, march 5, 2013

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top 10 // music 10. Trainspotting (1996) With a film as raw and twisted as Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, it’s necessary to have a matching soundtrack. Boyle combines classic rock tracks from David Bowie and Lou Reed with funky electronic music to create a chaotic score that highlights the harsh reality of drug addiction in Scotland during the ‘80s.

[Non-Musical] Movie Soundtracks Jessica RomeRa staff writer

5. A Night at the Roxbury (1998) It’s hard to tell what the best part of this movie is: the genius comedic combination of Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, or the perfect retro dance soundtrack. Every single song makes us wish we were at the Roxbury circa 1998 in some tacky monochromatic outfit with sky high, matching platform shoes.

9. Wayne’s World (1992) It’s almost impossible to dissociate this Mike Myers comedy with its soundtrack; the film is fueled with monster hits like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”. From the classics to the characters’ own musical creations, we can’t help but sing along every time we watch.

4. Pulp Fiction (1994) Quentin Tarantino is known for having amazing music in his films, but Pulp Fiction definitely takes the cake for soundtracks. Every song blends perfectly with each scene, making it as essential to the film as any dialogue between characters. Try picturing the dance scene with any song other than Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell”, I dare you.

8. RockNRolla (2008) Guy Ritchie’s gangster pic has got one slick, edgy score: with fast-paced head-bangers like The Subways’ “Rock and Roll Queen” and mellow mood-setters like Lou Reed’s “The Gun”, Ritchie handcrafted a perfect soundtrack for his Cockney crime film.

3. Inception (2010) In true Hans Zimmer fashion, the German composer delivers a soundtrack of epic proportions. Each track is designed to send shivers down our spines and succeeds in doing so, propelling us into an eerie dreamlike state of our own.

7. 500 Days of Summer (2009) This summer hit was packed with awesome jams; the film features tracks from the likes of Feist, Regina Spektor, the Temper Trap and The Smiths and not a single song seems out of place in any scene. This smorgasbord of great artists makes for one killer soundtrack.

2. Blow (2001) This amalgamation of musical genres makes Blow’s soundtrack incredibly entertaining.

Disco, rock and mariachi — this soundtrack leaves literally no genre untouched. The film spans several decades, each of which is represented musically, resulting in an extremely well-crafted soundtrack.

6. PS I Love You (2007) This film adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s novel by the same title makes us laugh and sob uncontrollably not only because of the heartbreaking story, but because of the beautiful soundtrack. It combines tearjerkers from James Blunt with folksy Irish tracks to create a completely heart-wrenching yet uplifting soundtrack.

1. Snatch (2000) The genius story and cinematography of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch is rivaled only by its epic soundtrack. Each song enhances its respective scene, even stealing the limelight on some occasions. With tracks covering every musical genre, the soundtrack for Snatch is quirky, captivating and just plain awesome.



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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com

women’s basketball // sports

Concordia falls by three to rivals The Stingers women’s basketball team almost completes fourth quarter comeback Samantha Mileto Assistant sports editor

The Concordia Stingers fell 51-48 in the RSEQ championship game against the McGill Martlets in a heartbreaking loss, despite their late comeback attempt in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon at Love Competition Hall.

The Stingers came out strong early in the first quarter as they took a quick 8-4 lead.

However, when the Martlets tied it up at 6:22, and then took their first lead 11-8 shortly after, McGill never looked back.

Stingers point guard Ashley Clarke’s twopoints on a breakaway with 3:30 left in the first quarter cut the Martlet’s lead to 11-10.

One minute later, McGill forward Anneth Him-Lazarenko picked up a rebound off a missed shot to give them a 13-10 lead. The Martlets lead 19-12 at the end of the first.

Lazarenko gave her team a 23-17 lead when she picked up another rebound for a basket about halfway through the second quarter.

The Stingers replied with two quick baskets by Tamara Pinard-Devos and Tina Mpondani, respectively, making it 23-21 Martlets.

McGill finished the second quarter strong

scoring nine-straight points. They had a 3223 lead at the half.

Stingers point guard Arianne Duchesne three-pointer with 6:37 left in the third quarter, cut McGill’s lead to four points and put Concordia right back in the game. The Martlets finished the frame strong and took a 4234 lead after three quarters.

Less than one minute into the fourth quarter, Stingers guard Kaylah Barrett received her fifth foul of the afternoon and was fouled out for the remainder of the game.

“I think [losing Barrett] hurt her more than it hurt anybody else,” said Concordia head coach Keith Pruden. “She’s such a competitor. It was painful for her; it was painful for the rest of the team. She’s a big chunk of our offence. But, it happens.”

With just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Stingers began their attempt at a comeback. For the first seven minutes of the frame, Concordia went on a 8-2 run, making it a two-possession game.

In the final minute, Concordia’s Marilyse Roy-Viau made it a three-point game. After an intentional foul to stop the clock, RoyViau scored once again to make it two-point deficit with 17 seconds to play.

That’s as close as the Stingers would get.

McGill narrowly won the game 51-48, and the title, in front of their home fans.

Photo by Madelayne Hajek “We had trouble scoring,” Pruden said following the game. “We shot poorly from the three-point line. We didn’t shoot particularly well from the floor. And we were only five-for-11 on the free-throw line. Full credit to McGill for playing good defence.”

“I told my kids I’m very proud of how tough we were at the end,” he continued. “[But] you’ve got to make some shots. We

missed the opportunities that we got. We lost because we couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”

This capped off an impressive season from the Stingers, which saw them break into the CIS top 10 ranking earlier this year. This is the second consecutive season Concordia falls to the Martlets in the RSEQ Championship game.

men’s basketball // sports

Concordia loses RSEQ final for the first time in three years Men’s basketball team fails to defend their twostraight championships Kevin Duarte Sports editor

T

he Stingers men’s basketball team was faced with a tough away playoff game in Sherbrooke last Wednesday, as the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec playoffs got underway.

Concordia missed their chance to secure home-court advantage for this playoff match after failing to beat the last-place Laval Rouge et Or in the final match of the regular season. For finishing third in the conference, the team had to visit the second-place Bishop’s Gaiters in the semi-finals.

The first quarter was a roller-coaster. Af-

ter Concordia’s 8-0 to start the game, Bishop’s scored eight straight points to level the

score. The Gaiters stayed strong and were up 18-11 with 1:45 to play. The Stingers

scored seven straight points to tie the game after the first 10 minutes.

Concordia held a small lead for most of the second quarter. The home Gaiters team kept answering their opponents and pulled ahead with a four-point lead at halftime.

Both teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter. Concordia feverishly tried to pull ahead to no avail. It finally happened when Taylor Garner scored with 44 seconds to go. Bishop’s hit a basket right after to have a marginal one-point lead going into the final frame.

As expected, both teams went backand-forth knowing the RSEQ championship game was on the line. Concordia managed to tie the game, but Bishop’s was able to pull ahead with a couple of baskets. The Stingers were unable to get any closer than that. Bishop’s took the game 70-63.

This ended the Stingers’ tough season.

The team finished the regular season with a 9-7 record. The seven losses account for more defeats in their last two seasons combined.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

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profile// sports

A touch of gold hides behind the bench Caroline ouellette brings her leadership and experience and olympic experience to Concordia DaviD s. lanDsman staff writer

Most hockey fans of all ages remember the triumphs Canada’s hockey teams went through in Vancouver 2010, when both the men and women’s teams took home the gold medal.

Caroline Ouellette, the assistant coach of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, was there, in the thick of the action, playing for national pride, and she recalls the memories fondly.

“It was a pretty unbelievable experience, with the whole journey leading up to it,” said Ouellette. “It was so exhausting mentally and physically, but when we achieved our goal, the journey came to a full circle.”

Thirty-five-year-old Ouellette has had the distinction of playing in the past three Olympic games: in Salt Lake City, Torino and, most recently, in Vancouver. She has helped lead her team to a gold medal in each of them.

Serving as a leader on Team Canada, she was asked last summer if she would consider bringing her leadership skills to help the

Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team and work alongside Les Lawton and his 31 years of experience; Harry Yeramian and his 10 years; and her teammate on the Montreal Stars, Lisa-Marie Breton.

“Breton approached me with a proposition, and it was such a great offer allowing me to coach [part-time],” said Ouellette.

“I’m so very thankful to Les and his organization for allowing me to join their squad.”

Not many people know this unless they’ve really done their homework but, in fact, Ouellette played half a year under Lawton during the 2000-01 season.

“I was in the middle of a transition, I had just finished my police tech course and I figured I knew I’d get good training for Salt Lake,” she said. “Being able to go to school, get practices and for the first time being able to study in English, it really helped me. It was a great environment.”

The Rosemont native credits France St. Louis, a member of the national team since 1999 and her idol, when it comes to her style of play. She remembers attending her hockey school when she was 12, looking up to her and being amazed by her play.

She remembers how in St. Louis’s last world championship they became teammates and roommates.

After Ouellette’s short stint with the Stingers, she traveled south of the border and went on to play three seasons with University of Minnesota-Duluth where she learned some of her coaching tactics.

“My college coach Shannon Photo by Phil Bocchia

Photo by writer

Miller really helped make the best of all her players. She held a leadership half-full stance on winning,” explained Ouellette. “She was very open to give and take, and knew what buttons to push. It was definitely a great fit, some of the best years of my life.”

Not to be outdone, she also credits Melody Davidson, her national coach in Vancouver, whom she says she has “the utmost respect” for her.

When she isn’t playing hockey for Team Canada, she is also playing for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, where she has helped lead her team to the Clarkson Cup in 2009 and 2010.

“When we won the Clarkson Cup, it felt just like winning the Stanley Cup,” said a smiling Ouellette. “Seeing our names engraved on it was really special; we treat it like it’s the Stanley Cup.” Ouellette also serves as ambassador for RBC Olympian Program, and the Right to Play initiative. Both have allowed her help showcase her skills and share her stories.

With Right to Play, in 2010, she got the opportunity to travel to Benin, Africa, a

trip she recalls as a “mind-blowing experience.” She saw things around her that really grounded her, and made her realize how lucky we are.

Ouellette was also bestowed upon her by the mayor of her hometown of Rosemont with an arena in her name, what she describes as “one of the most humbling things that has ever happened to me.”

At Concordia, she is nothing but thrilled to be a part of the organization.

“It’s really a great opportunity, and I’m glad to develop such a great relationship with the girls,” she said. “It really is the best situation. I can show my skills and they can teach me. Knowledge gained and acquired.”

Next up for Ouellette is the women’s national tournament in the beginning of April.

Afterwards she hopes to join Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“Going there and representing my country again would be unbelievable,” said Ouellette. “But for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

athletes of the month // sports

Athletes of the Month: February The Concordian selects some of the Stingers’ most stand-out athletes Kevin Duarte sports editor

MEN’S HOCKEY - ANTONIO MASTROPIETRO The Montreal native finished the season on a high note, cementing his status as the team’s number one goaltender entering the 2013-14 season. Mastropietro played all four games in February, compiling a 2-1-1 record, 2.00 goalsagainst average and a .950 save percentage, and a shutout.

- Anthony Abbondanza, Concordian staff writer WOMEN’S HOCKEY - MALLORY LAWTON Despite going winless in the month in February, Concordia Stingers captain Mallory Lawton led the women’s hockey team with two goals. She netted goals in the final two games of the sea-

son, against Ottawa and McGill respectively.

The tallies were the final two of her five-year career with the organization, one that is synonymous with the name ‘Lawton’. The women’s hockey team failed to make the playoffs this year.

- David S. Landsman, Concordian staff writer MEN’S BASKETBALL - EVENS LAROCHE The men’s basketball team had a busy month, playing six regular season games and one in the playoffs. The Stingers had a losing record of 3-4, and subsequently had their season come to an end with a semi-final loss to Bishop’s.

Forward Evens Laroche made a significant contribution in each game throughout the month. Offensively he led Concordia with an impressive average of 15.1 points a game. He was also the team’s leading scorer in three of the seven encounters. Laroche averaged 25.6 minutes per game.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL - KAYLAH BARRETT The women’s basketball also had a busy month of February. Like the men’s team, they also played seven games total, six regular season and one playoff game. Concordia posted a 5-2 record, including a semi-final victory over UQÀM this past week.

Guard Kaylah Barrett was a major part of the team’s success during the month. She played in all seven games and averaged 14.6 points per game. She led the team in four of these games, most recently in the playoff game where she scored a team-high 17 points. She was named Athlete of the Week, twice by Concordia in February.

MEN’S SOCCER - ANDREW BRYAN The men’s soccer team wrapped up their regular season with four matches this month. The Stingers had a 1-3 record, with the one victory coming against former league-leaders Montréal

Carabins. The team has one playoff match to play this coming Sunday.

Striker Andrew Bryan scored three times in his four appearances. He scored a volley in the team’s 5-3 loss to UQTR and scored a brace in Concordia’s 2-0 clean-sheet victory over the Carabins the following week.

WOMEN’S SOCCER - JENNIFER DUFF The women’s soccer team had a rollercoaster month. They had a 2-2 record in four lopsided matches. Concordia started the month with a 3-1 win over UQTR, followed by a 3-0 loss to Montréal, 4-0 win against UQÀM and a 7-0 defeat to Laval. The team will rematch Laval in the playoffs.

Striker Jennifer Duff continued to lead the team. She had three goals in the four matches, scoring a double against UQÀM. Duff was named MVP in three of the four encounters. She leads the league in this category with four MVP selections.

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

theconcordian women’s hockey // sports

A season with plenty to learn from a review of the women’s hockey season DaviD s. lanDsman staff writer

When you look up the statistics of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team from the 2012-13 season it may look bleak, or disappointing — however it may not be a complete oversight.

Coming into the season, there was a mix of new and old. Head coach Les Lawton returned for his astonishing 31st season behind the bench with his 600-plus victories. Alongside him were returning assistant coaches Harry Yeramian, Lisa-Marie Breton and goaltending coach Dave Pare. A new face, and welcome addition to the Stingers coaching staff, was three-time Olympic-gold medalist Caroline Ouellette, teammate of Breton on the Montreal Stars. She signed a contract in the offseason to work part-time with the Stingers.

When you looked at the roster, it was a lot of inexperience at the varsity level, with a staggering eight rookies.

Up front, you also still had the leadership of recently-named captain Mallory Lawton, assistant captains Emilie Bocchia and Erin Lally,

The ConCordia STingerS women’S hoCkey Team

and the veterans Veronique Laramee-Paquette and Alyssa Sherrard.

On the back end was a mass rebuild with many rookie defenders inserted into the lineup.

You had the leadership and experience from

played a Tough SeaSon and only managed To finiSh iT off wiTh a ToTal of five poinTS.

Laurie Proulx-Duperre, Gabrielle Meilleur and Mary-Jane Roper to help the new crop ease into their new careers.

Between the pipes was also a tandem with only two games experience in Concordia’s maroon and gold colors. Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon was the sophomore goaltender who played two games in the 2011-12 season, both in relief.

Rookie Chelsey Hodges got the nod to serve as the alternate goaltender, meanwhile Caroline Switalski and Michelle Purdie would serve as third and fourth goaltenders respectively.

The team started the year with a tournament in Toronto, where they took one of three games, defeating the York Lions 4-0 in exhibition play.

The first game of the season showed a great example of a young and inexperienced team. Concordia dropped an 8-1 decision at the hands of their cross-town rivals, the number-one nationally ranked McGill Martlets.

They bounced back, however, and continued to play close games all throughout the season, dropping many one-goal games that would inevitably prove crucial to the Stingers not making a trip to the postseason yet again.

They salvaged their first win in their fourth game of the year, defeating the Ottawa GeeGees in a 3-2 shootout at the Minto Sportsplex on Oct. 27, with Lally getting the decisive shootout tally.

Their only other victory came at home at Ed Meagher Arena, Nov. 16, narrowly escaping another shootout and beating the Carleton Ravens 2-1 with Bocchia getting the clincher.

Overall it was a hard year for the Stingers who only finished the season with five points.

They couldn’t get past McGill or the Montréal Carabins despite some close calls. Their goal scoring wasn’t always the factor as they were able to get some production from every player.

At the end of the season, it was also time to say goodbye to four players who had solid careers with the Stingers. Forwards Bocchia, Laramee-Paquette, Lawton and blueliner Proulx-Duperre all hung up their skates. This will open the door for the sophomores to step up and the rookies to take what they’ve learned throughout the year to expand to a more productive 2013-14 campaign.

Upcoming games Sunday, March 10 Women’s Soccer: concordia Stingers @ Laval rouge et Or at 3:30 p.m. (Stade Telus - Playoffs) Men’s Soccer: concordia Stingers @ uQTr Patriotes at 3:30 p.m. (centre alphonse-desjardins - Playoffs)

SCORE BOARD

WedneSday, Feb. 27 Women’s basketball: Concordia Stingers 65-62 UQÀM Citadins (RSEQ Semi-Final Game) Men’s basketball: Bishop’s Gaiters 70-63 Concordia Stingers (RSEQ Semi-

Final Game) SaTurday, March 2 Women’s basketball: McGill Martlets 5148 Concordia Stingers (RSEQ Championship Game)

opinions

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Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com editorial // opinions

Wanted: someone who is not Nadine CsU infighting leaves Concordia students too long without a president at the helm You’d think being president of the Concordia Student Union was the worst job in the world.

That’s how it seems when executives are running scared at the sheer mention of the open position. The CSU has been without a leader since former President Schubert Laforest resigned in February due to health reasons.

The ongoing tug-of-war between CSU council and the executive concerning who to appoint as a new president is, at its core, tiresome and illogical. Clearly, no executive other than VP internal and clubs Nadine Atallah wants to take on the role. It’s a wonder to us that she is willing in the first place.

Taking on “presidential duties,” whatever they may be, seems to be an undertaking which

makes other executives shake in their boots.

If someone is willing to grin and bear it while passing their own portfolio off to someone else, then why create needless obstacles?

Then again, the objections to Atallah’s candidacy are legitimate; primarily that she is not a suitable choice because she cannot sit on the university’s Senate and Board of Governors.

While there is no question that the person representing Concordia’s undergraduate student body should be sitting on its governing bodies, people are too quick to forget that Laforest wasn’t eligible to sit on either for the duration of his time in office.

The fact is, the decision of council not to accept Atallah’s candidacy, whatever the justifica-

tion, should be respected. All year we have seen a systematic approach by the CSU executive to make decision behind closed doors and then try to force council’s stamp of approval.

Clearly more than one councillor has picked up on this trend over time and are now choosing to take a stand. They have been picking their battles all year and this, it seems, will be the final standoff.

After a member of the executive threatened to sue council if they did not approve Atallah’s bid for the top spot, we can understand and even sympathize with council’s frustration.

What we don’t understand is why the executive think even for a second that they will be able to push their candidate of choice through, despite

the objections, by sheer force of will.

Forcing a candidate is unfair to council and unfair to the students the CSU represents. Atallah was shot down, they should accept it. Time for a new plan.

In the meantime, while the CSU wastes weeks on a Judicial Board decision over the interpretation of bylaw 7.4 and procedure for choosing a new president, the title of president and accompanying duties go untouched. This is not remotely the quality of service which students deserve. If a president is needed, then someone has to step up. It may not be the most appealing job but someone has to do it and all things considered, an unpopular president is better than no president at all.

bilingualism // opinions

Quebec’s struggle to embrace bilingualism Why Bill 14 has completely backfired GrÉGory Wilson staff writer

Quebec, for many years, has been a melting pot of various cultures, languages and customs.

There was even a time when francophones were justifiably worried they would lose their language and culture as time went on.

However, Quebec has instead grown to accept herself as a true bilingual state. Although still aware of her need to protect the French culture, she accepts her English side as well.

And yet, there are still political parties set on making language an issue once again.

Apart from tuition fees and ensuing riots, recent news in Quebec revolves around the notorious “pastagate” and the effects Bill 14 will have on our society if the PQ government successfully passes it through the National Assembly.

Colin Standish is a third-year law student at Université de Laval. He is president and Editor-in-chief of the Revue Juridique des étudiants et étudiantes de l’Université de Laval. Last week, Standish was also on the popular Quebec television show Tout le monde en parle to speak out against this bill. ‘‘Bill 14 is an amendment to the Charter of the French Language. But the government is not actually protecting French, it’s taking away the rights of other groups,’’ said Standish to the Concordian.

For example, one of the proposed laws is to strip the bilingual status of those Quebec municipalities and boroughs that are composed of

50 per cent or less anglophones.

The mayors of these municipalities decided they would not go down without a fight.

Last week, Pierrefonds-Roxboro got the majority of the Union of Quebec Municipalities to help defend its bid to remain bilingual. Even francophone mayors supported the decision.

Longueuil is considered a PQ stronghold but it too is backing Pierrefonds-Roxboro. It is also actively supporting its own borough, Greenfield Park, in its quest to remain bilingual.

Ironically enough, the bill also has legislation that would hinder francophones.

The bill proposes to base the CÉGEP application process on the language spoken by the students’ parents. Anglophone CÉGEPS will have to accept all anglophones applying before considering francophone applications. ‘‘The application process will not be on academic merit anymore and so this will reduce the quality of education in Quebec,’’ said Standish.

According to him, another highly contentious aspect of the bill is the right it will give to the Office Québécois de la langue française to search and seize ‘‘anything from your business without warning’’ if they find it objectionable.

After “pastagate” blew up in the OQLF’s face, other businesses came forward to recount their run-ins with them. The general idea was that even ‘‘on/off’’ labels for light switches needed to be changed to French.

Does that mean the proposed seizures would include anything remotely English?

Twitter erupted with both English and French speaking Quebecers mocking the OQLF over the pasta debacle.

This unity of voices alone shows that there is solidarity between Francophones and An-

Graphic by Jennifer Khan

glophones in Quebec, despite what seems to be an effort by the PQ government to create new divisions between them.

The PQ is wrong in thinking that French will die off in the future if we don’t take strong action today and expand Bill 101. According to Statistics Canada, new immigrants seem to be eagerly adopting French as their main language in 2011. It is actually their use of English that is waning.

The PQ government is trying to reinforce their base of francophones for the coming elections, but Bill 14 is not achieving its intended objective. Rather, it will only appeal to those few xenophobic cells that still persist in a largely accepting Quebec.

Francophones in general will not rally behind them as they once would. Instead, they’re rallying behind the anglophones and fighting back.

18

//

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

theconcordian sports // opinions

Unchecked checking will lead to trouble Why we should be keeping violence away from younger players GreGory TodAro Assistant opinions editor

We all love a good hockey hit. One of my favourite parts of the game is seeing a player line up his opponent perfectly and knock him into another time zone (see P.K. Subban’s hit on Brad Marchand), and I know I’m not alone.

While this rough physical play has become ingrained into hockey culture, the quantity of violent plays at the youth level has been increasing too rapidly for comfort. Between 2008 and 2009, the number of penalties for serious hits to the head doubled in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. In 2010, the GTHL added and built on rules in order to better protect the players. Now it’s having parents fill out a survey on more strict body checking rules, trying to figure out where to draw the line.

Having parental involvement is one of the best ways for any league to establish its safety rules, especially determining the appropriate age when checking should be allowed in the game. While officials of any league are involved with the children who play, it’s the parents who see more directly the effects the sport is having on their children. By giving parents a say in the safety issues, it allows for a much safer game.

There’s no question that safety precautions at young ages need to get revamped; when a team of 11-year-olds at the minor peewee AA levels sees seven concussions, obviously something is lacking. With the new

regulations the GTHL is suggesting, such as banning checking in the A division and increasing the checking age to 13 instead of 11, it would more than likely help cut back on the number of young concussions. While this increase in violence isn’t just limited to the youth teams of Toronto, having the world’s largest competitive minor hockey league in the world (which contains over 40,000 young players) take a stand against this violence will help bring about change in the hockey world.

No matter how much you enjoy the checking aspect of the sport, it’s important that leagues limit the amount that younger players are allowed to hit. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that hockey leagues ban body checking for any ages younger than 16.

The AAP also claims that good sportsmanship programs as well as the education of coaches, players and parents, all help reduce the number of injury and penalty rates in youth hockey.

The Canadian Paediatric Society also stresses the importance of educating coaches and trainers about body checking, along with “implementing Hockey Canada’s four-stage skill development program for body checking (body positioning, angling, stick checking and body contact) for all leagues.” The CPS also recommends banning body checking in all recreational/non-competitive men’s hockey leagues.

We have nothing to lose on protecting young players. Keeping the game safe, even if that means eliminating body checking at younger levels and less competitive leagues, is the best way to prevent serious injuries to hockey youth. Most young players will never make it to the NHL, and the last thing we need is for our next generation to be permanently injured in ways that could have easily been prevented.

Photo from Flickr

ottawa // opinions

Potential criminal will continue to make ends meet

Brazeau’s case pulls senate into question AriAnA TriGUeros-CorBo Assistant arts editor

P

olitics is a tricky game when it comes to strategic alliances.

Everyone has dirty secrets, just waiting to be uncovered, the kind that can turn the ideal candidate into a political party’s worst nightmare. Politicians are like time bombs: they are waiting to explode with erratic behaviour, the kind that can either unveil their full potential or destroy it completely.

During the 2008 elections, Patrick Brazeau was Stephen Harper’s secret weapon. The Liberals were in the midst of trying to pass the Kelowna Accord, an attempt at tentatively making peace between the federal government and the aboriginal communities. In an article published in The National Post on Feb. 13, journalist Ira Basen underlined that, in the midst of the 2008 electoral fever, the soon-to-be outgoing Liberal Party had argued that only they could maintain the momentum necessary to push through with the Kelowna Accord.

At the time, by getting Brazeau on his side, Stephen Harper had found a way for the Conservatives to say that they were equally

Photo from Flickr

concerned for their voters, just in a different way. In other words, Brazeau was the key to Harper seeking out the swing vote in aboriginals.

Now, with his golden boy Senator being charged with both assault and sexual assault, our Prime Minister is probably secretly kicking

himself. Upon hearing about the allegations, Senator Brazeau was immediately removed from the Conservative caucus. Brazeau now sits as an independent, at the back of the Senate.

Despite this, Brazeau is not truly being left to fend for himself; although he has been dis-

missed for his actions, the Senator will still be entitled to the $132,000 annual salary that he receives as a member of the Senate. This is exactly the kind of incident that has had the Canadian electorate questioning the pertinence of the political body that is the Senate altogether.

The number of scandals related to fraudulent expense reports for this political body is ever increasing and, to parallel recent political activity in Quebec, the more we dig, the more we uncover ugly truths.

In light of this, it only seems legitimate that taxpayers would want some sort revision made in order to establish whether we actually need a Canadian Senate. After all, if it’s going to cost $90 million to maintain annually, it better be worth every penny.

Brazeau’s case underlines the point that although we are definitely functioning in the confines of a democratic parliamentary system, perhaps we should revisit the idea of our “checks and balances” system. After all, we, responsible Canadian voters, elect the Prime Minister and, in turn, he appoints the Senators as needed. Is that constitutional to begin with? Reworking this procedure to include some sort validation system would require amending the Constitution and, necessarily, some sort of Canadian consensus on behalf of most provinces on an array of “touchy” topics. This can only make voters wonder what kind of major scandal will have to be uncovered for us to consider “updating” the Canadian political machine, once and for all.

From our kitchen: ceviche!

AriAnA TriGUeros -CorBo Assistant arts editor

W

ith seasonal depression hitting even the best of us, this week’s feature recipe is a versatile, creative meal that can be spiced up a night of solo dining or even a much a grander dinner party. Ceviche, for those of you who have never had the chance to try it, is a seafood dish that’s extremely popular in a variety of countries in both Central and South America.

INGREDIENTS 1 lb. of frozen shrimp ½ cup of freshly squeezed lime juice ½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice ½ red or white onion, finely diced 1 cup of diced, seeded tomatoes 1 cup of diced cucumber 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. of salt Tomato juice (ex: Clamato) Tabasco sauce

STEPS BY STEP 1) Ceviche doesn’t actually require you to dice your ingredients particularly finely, a gross chopping job will make it more appealing visually, more colorful.

Toss the diced tomato, cucumber, onions and parsley into a large mixing bowl, preferably made of ceramic or glass, so as to avoid having the ceviche take on any additional flavors while it marinates.

editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com

Sophia loffreda production manager production@theconcordian.com

Kalina lafraMboiSe news editor news@theconcordian.com

2) Proceed to mix in Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice and Tabasco sauce. Quantity of tomato juice required in your recipe will vary based on how ripe your tomatoes are and how much additional liquid is required to create a “marinating base” for your ceviche. As for the Tabasco sauce, that obviously depends on how spicy you like your food. Season with salt.

3) Allow ceviche to marinate in the fridge for an hour. Then remove to stir the mixture. Make sure you mix thoroughly so that all the fish can mari-

Stephanie la leggia

nate in juice. Repeat this process over the span of a few hours: the long the ceviche marinates, the more it will take on the taste of the rest of the ingredients, making it richer.

We recommend serving this plate with crackers or tortilla chips, the same way you would serve a tomato-based salsa. Make sure you provide some sort of starch and, if you can get your hands on some, serve with fresh cilantro.

An ideological divide

@CharmPantiesOff:“Boston Bruins

defenseman Zdeno Chara took a face off in last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens — Alexei Emelin’s.” @Mainely_Hockey: “Ok. Type into

You Tube “Montreal dive” the first vid is hockey. Type in “Boston dive” it takes 8 videos... I’m just saying” @FlipFlopHockey: “Hey Claude

Julien and the Boston Bruins!! Montreal faking?!! Seguin was so hurt that he played over 7 minutes in the third! Miracle?!” @mrbananacheeks: “Last night’s

post game interviews - Montreal gives credit to the other team, Boston whines about diving and what not. Grow up” @the_polemicist: “You know who’s

pissed the most about Boston/Toronto/ Montrealall not sucking simultaneously?

Florida. Enjoy your higher cap floor!”

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 Vol. 30 Issue 23 Marilla Steuter-Martin

Letters to the editor

As always, the Boston Bruins/Montreal Canadiens rivalry rarely fails to impress fans.

Sunday night’s game was particularly intense because both teams were fighting for first in the East. Needless to say, things got ugly fast, and there was no lack of entertainment. Here are the best tweets from last night’s game!

Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.

If you read The Concordian last week, you might have noticed that I stole their front-page headline.

Pasted boldly across a photograph of student protesters marching alongside riot police, ‘An Ideological Divide’ describes the tense feelings in downtown Montreal last week. It also describes the feeling I got when I looked at their photo.

The photo of riot police and protesters marching side-by-side had been manipulated.

Manipulated, edited, altered, changed—call it what you will. The fact remains that the picture was sliced in two using Adobe InDesign: the middle of the picture was edited out, bringing the protesters and police closer together.

Is this kind of photo manipulation unethical? I believe it is. Does it matter what the intentions of the editors were? Linda Kay, chair of the Journalism Department at Concordia University, believes that it does. “It’s not a great decision,” she said. “But it is important that you ask them what their intentions were.”

I sat down with the editor-in-chief of The Concordian, Marilla Steuter-Martin, to talk about why they chose that picture and why they chose to manipulate it.

“We had a lot of options for the front page,” she said. “We had to decide, ‘Which part of the protest do we want to represent?’ The article that we had was about two opposing sides.”

The original photograph has a snow bank right down the middle that divides two lines of marching riot police and student protesters. When you look at it, your eye immediately follows the line of the snow bank until it hits a silver Toyota parked right in the middle of the picture. The edited version places a protester closer to the car and changes the geometry of the picture, thus shifting the focus.

“The change was purely aesthetic,” said Steuter-Martin. “We thought that a really subtle change would take the focus off the car in the middle and put the focus onto the people.”

If you want to compare the two pictures the original is on The Concordian’s website.

“We put the original online because we don’t have anything to hide,” said Steuter-Martin.

The editors at The Concordian used an editing tool to manipulate a photograph for aesthetic reasons. Some will argue that it was their intent that mattered. In the words of their editor-in-chief: “It wasn’t an attempt to make it seem like it was more tense than it was.” They weren’t trying to mislead people.

Still, I disagree.

Yes, this kind of photo manipulation is unethical. No, it does not matter what their intentions were.

As a photojournalist I simply cannot understand editing a photograph like this. Photojournalists strive to take photographs that tell the story of what they see. Sure, news photographs have an aesthetic appeal. But they also provide a window into the reality of a particular moment.

Chopping out a piece of that reality—no matter how small—is unacceptable, regardless of the intent. If there is a car in the middle of the picture and you don’t like it, you should use a different picture.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised. Nowadays I can take a picture with my iPhone in downtown Montreal when it’s -30 degrees, blow out the colours, ramp up the saturation, add a little lens-flare and—hey look!—I’m in the Bahamas.

Aesthetics should never jeopardize the integrity of a news photograph or of a photojournalists, which is why it will never be okay to manipulate a news photograph in such a way.

-Gabriel Ellison-Scowcroft

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george MenexiS opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com

Madelayne hajeK photo editor photo@theconcordian.com

nataSha taggart alySSa treMblay online editors online@theconcordian.com

jennifer Kwan Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com

robin della Corte Matthew guite Assistant news editors news@theconcordian.com

Sara baron-goodMan Assistant life editor

ariana trigueroS-Corbo Assistant arts editor

SaMantha Mileto Assistant sports editor

gregory todaro Assistant opinions editor

ChriStine beaton Sara King-abadi elizabeth toMaraS Copy editors copy@theconcordian.com

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editorial offiCe 7141 sherbrooke st. W. - CC.431 Montreal, QC H4B 1r6 514.848.2424 x7499 (editor-in-Chief) 514.848.2424 x7404 (production)

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Staff writerS and ContributorS saturn de los Angeles, nicole yeba, Victor Barbaros, Andy Fidel, Felicia di palma, roa Gawad, Jordie yeager, Jessica romera, Andrew Guilbert, david s, landsman, Greogry Wilson.

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the etc. page // opinions

Events of the week: March 5 Tuesday +THEATRE - TRAD - 20h - Centaur Theatre Wednesday +THEATRE - Cornered - 20h - Bain St-Michel Friday +THEATRE - The Mahalia Jackson Musical - 20h - Segal Centre +ART- Vincent Bonin lecture - 18h- FOFA Gallery Saturday +CINEMA POLITICA - Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada - 19h - H-100