The Concordian

theconcordian Independent student newspaper at Concordia University. Since 1983.

Volume 30 Issue 9

October 23, 2012

The right to change

This summer ConCordia implimenTed a new poliCy To allow sTudenTs To go by Their preferred names on all non-offiCial universiTy doCumenTs suCh as Class lisTs. phoTo by madelayne hajek

Twelve transgender students make the most of Concordia’s new name policy Kalina Laframboise News editor

After an amendment to Concordia University’s policies, 12 transgender students have benefitted from the opportunity to register their preferred names on non-official documents such as identification cards and class lists.

Ben Boudreau, a third-year undergraduate science student, approached administration about modifying his information during his first year at Concordia. The university told Boudreau that it could not be done unless he legally changed his name.

Since Boudreau simply wished for

professors to address him by his name so that he would not be outed in class, he worked with the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy so that he could go by the name he identified with.

Since the summer, students at Concordia have been able to fill out a form from the registrar’s office that allows them to go by their preferred names

on non-official university documents such as attendance lists, student identification cards, their MyConcordia portal and in online courses offered by eConcordia.

Gabrielle Bouchard, the trans advocacy and peer support co-ordinator at the 2110 Centre, confirmed that the administration’s new policy had al-

ready helped 12 students wanting to go by the name they identify with.

During a transgender issues workshop Thursday, Bouchard emphasized how facing difficulties in class regarding name preference can make “students strategize around these situations.”

opinions

Continued on P. 4

In this issue... life

arts

music

sports

Exploring two tea rooms P. 7

Impressionism at its best P. 10

Ooh La L.A. fest comes to Mtl P. 15

Rugby star Bianca Where are the wild things? P. 20 Farella P. 17

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

theconcordian.com

2

news Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Got a news tip? news@theconcordian.com

City in brief Matthew Guité

>> Construction, collusion and city engineers Gilles Surprenant, a former engineer for the City of Montreal, corroborated testimony by former construction boss Lino Zambito and admitted to accepting upwards of $600,000 in kickbacks throughout an almost 20-year period.

About $130,000 was handed in to the Charbonneau Commission as evidence, and Suprenant admitted that he gambled away more than half the remaining amount during the years out of guilt. Zambito had previously testified that he, alone, had given upwards of $100,000 to Surprenant over the years from construction contracts.

>>Je n’en ai aucune idée Contradictory statements have been made by the Parti Québécois’ cabinet ministers on whether or not Bill 101 is to be extended to cover daycare centres. Family Minister Nicole Léger originally told reporters that Bill 101 was going to change and that the extension would have plenty of support. However, Diane De Courcy, the provincial Minister of Language, Immigration and Cultural Communities rejected the idea the next day. De Courcy said there are currently no plans to extend Bill 101 to daycares as they are viewed as an extension of the home and a person’s mother tongue. According to De Courcy, while it is important that children are exposed to French, they should not be restricted from using their mother tongue.

>>Slapshot to the ego Bell Canada Enterprises Inc.’s $3.4billion deal was rejected by Canada’s federal broadcast regulator on the grounds that it is not beneficial to Canadians. Newly installed Commissioner Jean-Pierre Blais made clear his opinion of the deal, which would have transferred TSN 690, CHOM and other Astral Media radio and television stations into the hands of Bell. Blais also said that had the deal gone forward, BCE would have controlled 45 per cent of English television and 35 per cent of French programming, while becoming the largest radio operator in Canada. .

>>Bylaw bites back The City of Montreal proposed a new bylaw that would grant owners of pets deemed dangerous 72 hours to contest the decision. Currently, pet owners are only allotted 24 hours to contest.

An animal behaviour expert would need to examine and clear the animal within the 72 hours in order to avoid euthanizing the animal. The bylaw is one new measure in an attempt to reduce the number of euthanized animals, which is approximately 14,000 annually in Montreal.

EduCATION

Provincial government suggests controversial reform Changes garner mixed reactions from schools, teachers, and families Matthew Guité Assistant news editor The education of Quebec students may have a stronger focus on the history of the sovereignty movement and fewer early English language classes based on comments recently made by Quebec’s education minister.

In an interview originally published in Le Soleil, the Parti Québécois’ Education Minister Marie Malavoy said that she wants to hold off on the previous Liberal government’s plans to have intensive English language classes for sixth grade students in French elementary schools. Malavoy desires to strengthen the emphasis of Quebec sovereignty in history classes in order to highlight how it has shaped the province.

Shortly after the statements were made, the English Montreal School Board issued a press release in which it stated that “more than adequate attention is already being devoted to this dossier” with regards to the approach to Quebec nationalism used in secondary institutions’ curriculum.

Angela Mancini, the EMSB chairperson, believes that the curriculum sufficiently addresses national unity and Quebec. In a statement, Mancini

said she consulted the school board’s pedagogical services department on the subject, and the material dedicated to Quebec sovereignty is “quite extensive.”

Katie Shea, a second-year McGill University education student majoring in history, says she is unsure of how the provincial government plans to change the curriculum.

“We learn it from the point of view of the French and no one else,” Shea said. “We don’t even learn the history of Canada, we only learn about Quebec.”

Shea went on to explain that all history lessons offer a certain bias and that if the curriculum were to change, secondary education teachers will have to emphasize the PQ’s opinions and ignore other aspects of Canadian history.

“What is the provincial government going to do, not talk about other provinces at all?” asked Shea.

Tina Christensen, a mother of two from the West Island, does not believe that the separatist movement needs any more attention in history class.

“I think it’s fine to make kids aware of it, but to actually teach it in schools?” said Christensen.”I think that political views should be the

Photo from Flickr

parents’ choice.”

Jean-Michel Nahas, spokesperson for the Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, said in a telephone interview that the change of plans for advanced English courses has had little impact on the school board as the previous government was slow to communicate the specific details they required to move forward.

“We decided that for the first year this program would be on a voluntary basis, and we had only one school who said [they] would like to try it,” said Nahas. “Last summer we were waiting for more information on the future of this program, … but we did not receive any other information.”

According to Nahas, the project

proposed by the former Charest government was flawed since it provided few directives for interested schools.

Since the CSMB has elementary schools located in the West Island where many students possess advanced English language skills, the school board was uncertain if they could modify the program to meet the skill levels of the students.

“Can we adjust the program for them as they already speak English and write in English?” said Nahas.

“For that kind of question we had no specific answers.”

Until clear policies are in place and instructions are handed down by the PQ government, the CSMB will not be making any concrete plans.

PROTEsT

Marches take over the downtown core demonstrators address victims of police violence, as well as tuition Kalina Laframboise News editor A small contingent gathered outside the Montreal Police Fraternity for a vigil to commemorate the victims of police brutality and to protest authoritative misconduct, Monday evening.

The Justice for the Victims of Police Killings Coalition organized the event in solidarity with the annual march that takes place in the United States every Oct. 22. The coalition was comprised of the families of the victims of high profile deaths involving municipal, provincial or national police forces.

The speakers emphasized the need to stop racial profiling, excessive force and coercion from police officers while remembering the lives of the victims.

The event also focused on Officer Stefanie Trudeau of the Montreal Police, who has been scrutinized recently for her use of excessive force, a situation that organizer Julie Matson considers to be “the rule, not the exception” in most police forces nationwide.

Matson’s father, Ben, was killed during a confrontation with police in Vancouver, B.C.. According to Matson, her father was beaten following

Photo by Rob Flis

his arrest outside of a bar and a police officer pressed their knee into his neck causing him to die from asphyxiation.

Following a lack of criminal charges, Matson pressed for a public inquest before taking the case to court where she represented herself, and lost. Matson said she believes that wrongful deaths could be avoided by a systemic change in police technology and education.

“There needs to be a different ap-

proach,” said Matson. “There needs to be compassionate training because this kind of violence equals power in police officers’ minds.”

Earlier that day, hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of downtown Montreal for the monthly 22nd demonstration in support of a tuition fee freeze.

The Montreal Police declared the march illegal when protesters left Square Victoria because they did not

provide the itinerary of their demonstration, therefore violating a municipal bylaw. The group headed toward Place Émilie-Gamelin before a small crowd separated and headed west to Ste-Elisabeth St. before police officers intervened.

Approximately 30 to 40 people were arrested for violating the road safety code and received $494 tickets, including student journalists from Concordia University.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

3

CITy

Nation in VCSA drops Playboy Condoms sponsorship brief Magnan explained that the VCSA’s liberty to initiate the deal without the school administration’s permission was based on “miscommunication and inexperience.”

She also went on to say that misunderstandings of a similar nature are rare at the college. According to Magnan, the VCSA and administration are usually in constant communication with one another.

“The idea is also to use this experience to educate student executives about the company they chose and the values it promotes,” she added.

Magnan notably insisted that, unlike some of the other vanier College’s adminisTraTion and sTudenT assoCiaTion Clashed over poTenTial sponsorship. phoTo by madelayne hajek schools that Playboy Condoms will be visiting during their sexual awareness “Playin’ It Safe” tour, Vanier College is a CÉGEP and not a community Joel Ashak last Tuesday, led to the unanimous in order to keep the sponsor. college. staff writer agreement on the ineligibility of the “Now that we have a full council, “CÉGEPS still keep a high school VCSA’s chosen sponsor. Following there’s much more division on the feeling,” she said. “Many of our stuVanier College’s administration re- the meeting, the committee contacted matter and not everybody is in favour dents are 16 or 17 and Vanier College jected the student association’s wish the VCSA to demand the student ex- of [the sponsorship] like it was the cannot be associated with Playboy, for Playboy Condoms to sponsor ecutives cancel any possible deal with case in summer,” said Liberio, who mainly because the company does their upcoming winter festival last Playboy Condoms. insisted he opposed the contract from not share the values we want to disTuesday, thus depriving them of their “Although the VCSA has a certain the beginning. “Given the contro- seminate among our students, even sole sponsor for the event and ending margin of autonomy, they need the versy, I wouldn’t think we would go though we do promote safe sex.” a contentious dispute. school’s permission to have external with Playboy Condoms again for any Anthony Kantara of the Vanier In an article published on Oct. business companies on campus,” said future events.”

Mob Squad, the group behind a peti16, The Concordian revealed that Magnan. “We collectively agreed that According to Liberio, Vanier’s stu- tion launched last summer against the the VCSA established a verbal deal the school could not have a company dents services’ office approved the sponsorship, said he was pleased by with Playboy Condoms, a condom harbouring Playboy’s image on cam- sponsorship when they were first no- the school’s decision to disallow the company that shares the Playboy pus, one related to pornography and tified in September but then decided bunny logo on campus but wished Enterprise’s name and associated exploitation of women for 60 years to vet it through their committee fol- both the VCSA and the school adminwith their trademark bunny logo, to [...] whether the company is directly lowing rising tensions. istration kept the student body more sponsor their end of semester party. related to Playboy Enterprise or not.”

Conversely, Magnan told The informed about their decisions.

In exchange for space on campus to VCSA President Alexander Liberio Concordian she never approved of Playboy Condoms representatives promote their products and safe sex said that in face of the “controversy,” the sponsorship. After Taruna Kaur- have since been contacted by both the practices during the event, the com- the VCSA council will be addressing Singh, VCSA’s special projects officer, VCSA and the school administration, pany promised a financial and mate- the issue during a regular meeting approached her a second time with and the posting of Vanier College as rial contribution to help the student to decide whether they wanted to the idea on Oct. 11, Magnan asked one of the destinations of the “Playin’ association organize the event. continue with the event on campus her to hold off the deal until she con- It Safe” tour was officially taken down According to Monique Magnan, and follow the school’s directives to sulted the executive committee. This from their website on Oct. 20. director of student services at Vanier, sacrifice the sponsorship, to negotiate was something Kaur-Singh ignored, “It is a shame we had to go to a previously planned management with the administration, or to take the according to Magnan, and continued Playboy Condoms’ website to see the executive committee meeting held winter festival to a different location with the deal until Oct.16. cancellation,” added Kantara.

Administration at the college insists they never approved of deal

CAMPus

ConU buys two floors of the Faubourg building Webster library will expand to offer more downtown study space to students Robin della Corte Assistant news editor

C

oncordia University announced the $4.5 million purchase of the fifth and sixth floors of the Faubourg building in order to facilitate the Webster library’s expansion for an increase in available study space for students, last week.

Concordia’s VP services Roger Côté believes that the university needs more room for academic purposes, especially additional space and private rooms for studying.

“The university is constantly short of space because the university is continually growing,” said Chris Mota, the university’s spokesperson. “The Faubourg building’s location and opportunity is excellent for the space the university needs.”

The Faubourg building is currently

leased to tenants therefore the university is unable to immediately occupy the space in the building. Côté confirmed that his office will inform the university community of the proceeding relocation plans.

“I definitely think an extension would be good,” said Erika Métivier, a first-year creative writing student at Concordia. “Couches are always taken, but what is even more annoying is that the individual silent study areas of the library are always full.”

Mota stated that there is still no definite date as to when the building will be available for students, since the university must respect the tenants’ leases.

“It could still be a number of years before progress starts,” Mota said.

In comparison, McGill boasts 16 different libraries for its two campuses while Concordia, with approximately

10,000 more students than McGill, provides one library for each campus. Jennifer Glover-Drolet, a McGill University education student who attended Concordia last year, said she believes that both post-secondary institutions’ libraries lack study rooms and space.

Glover-Drolet said that some libraries at McGill aren’t as crowded with students as others but she does believe that McGill lacks “closed group study rooms” and doesn’t offer enough study space in general. According to GloverDrolet, the shortage of space needs to be addressed at McGill as well.

Concordia also currently rents classroom space in the Faubourg building. In 1997, the university purchased the adjacent Faubourg tower, where the School of Extended Learning, the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and the department of Human Resources are located.

Vicky Desjardins, a first-year English literature student, said she thinks that students studying at the John Molson School of Business are favoured by the university since there are 44 private study rooms available to book.

Desjardins thinks it’s “unfair that the business students have all the rooms to study” while other buildings do not provide similar services to students.

Concordia Student Union President Schubert Laforest stated that his main concern is to ensure that the floors bought by administration are used for academic purposes rather than for bureaucratic use.

“It’s good to see there’s an investment in that,” he said. Laforest went on to say that he wants to ensure that other unfinished projects within the university aren’t being neglected.

“Students should be the number one priority,” said Laforest.

Robin della Corte

>>Heeere’s Stephen!

High school students were shocked to see horror expert Stephen King in their school library last Friday for a pre-Halloween surprise in Sussex, N.B.. King’s visit followed after the students’ year-long campaign to have the novelist visit their school by Halloween 2012.

King, the author of many horror novels such as The Shining and Carrie sat with 18 students in the school’s library and provided words of wisdom to aspiring writers. He later spoke to 80 students in the auditorium about his experience as a high school teacher and the inspirations behind his work.

>>Step up Participants climbed 1,776 steps last Saturday for The 2012 Enbridge CN Tower Climb for United Way. The goal was to raise $2.5 million to improve social conditions and health agencies. In its 35th year, the unconventional fundraiser is the United Way’s biggest annual event. The entire event included 11,000 climbers for a trip that usually takes 58 seconds by elevator.

“The money is all going back into the community,” United Way Toronto vice-president of marketing Louise Bellingham told the Toronto Star. “It funds a vital network of social services and community agencies.”

>>Fat and stupid!?

According to research done by University of California, sugar doesn’t just make you fat, but now may make you stupid. A high-fructose diet disrupts the brain’s cognitive abilities, which evidently leads to poor learning and memory retention. The study, done by Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a neurosurgery professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In an interview with the Toronto Star, Gomez-Pinilla said that “our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think.”

>>Give her a break Hélène Campbell, an Ottawa woman known for her campaigns promoting organ donations now says she is experiencing complications while recovering from her double lung transplant. Campbell wrote in a blog post that although her lungs are working well, her blood “isn’t doing a good job of carrying the oxygen.” Campbell was diagnosed a year ago with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable and degenerative lung disease. She underwent transplant surgery last April and gained publicity with her campaign to raise awareness for the high need for organ donations in Canada. Campbell intends to continue with her organ advocacy work, which aided in the spike in organ donations.

4

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

World in brief Matthew Guité

>>No more bloody Sundays Scotland and England agreed to the terms of a Scottish referendum on independence, including when the vote will be held. British Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond met in Edinburgh to hash out the details of the upcoming vote, which would see Scots heading to the polls in autumn 2014 to answer a simple yes or no question: “Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?” If a majority agree, it would mark the beginnings of independence for Scotland, and though negotiations with the British government would be necessary, it would be difficult for the Cameron to deny the Scottish people their demands for their own country.

>>It’s a sword, it’s a weapon...it’s a cane?

British police have been forced to apologize to a blind man for tasing him after they mistook his white cane for a samurai sword. Colin Farmer was walking around the northern English town of Chorley when he heard voices calling out for him to stop. Farmer continued walking, as he was worried that they may have been hooligans. It was then that police shot him with a 50,000 volt stun gun, held him down and handcuffed his hands behind his back. After doing so, the officers finally realized that Farmer was blind and he was not carrying a samurai sword as had been reported to them. Farmer was taken to hospital for treatment and the incident has been reported to a police watchdog organization for further investigation.

>>A slippery suspect An Atlantic Spanish Mackerel was taken into custody by Florida police after it fell from the sky and hit a teacher on the head. Presumably dropped by a passing bird, the fish apparently hit the woman. The incident also prompted a humorous police report, titled “Fishy incident at Naples High School,” which was posted to Facebook. The report refers to the fish as “Mack” and includes such excerpts as “[Mack] was found lying on the ground possibly attempting to conceal himself out in the open. I took control of the suspect without incident and escorted him to the clinic where he was positively identified by the victim,” and “Suspect “Mack” was escorted back to my office, where I advised him of Miranda warning. He “clammed up” (being from the ocean) and refused to answer any questions or make any statements.” The report mentions that the suspect may be charged with battery on a school employee, and that officers will keep an eye out for flying pigs as well.

campus

Exploring the value of a name Continued from cover Boudreau, who legally changed his name as the policy adjustment was in its final stages, was relieved to know that other transgender students have the option of going by their chosen name. Prior to his legal name change, Boudreau was sometimes ostracized in his courses and had to contact professors before the semester started in order to explain his situation.

“When you’re so afraid to go to class everyday in fear of being outed, it’s scary,” said Boudreau.

“But at least stuff like this at school is great for a number of reasons, and I mean, if my administration will let me identify myself as I want to then maybe it will be easier

down the road.”

What the policy does not apply to, however, is official transcripts or diplomas students receive from Concordia. Official university documents maintain students’ birth names unless they have had it legally changed.

Terry Too, the project director of the Student Information System at the university, explained that this is due to the provincial government’s necessity for the legal name to be on official documents. Furthermore, it’s to ensure that there are no bureaucratic issues with future employers or post-secondary institutions by having a different name than the one currently filed with the government.

Too told The Concordian that

he worried that some students may abuse the system that has already helped a dozen transgender students. The administration wanted to limit access just to transgender students so that other students do not misuse the service but didn’t want to put rules in place either.

“It’s a delicate balancing act to provide good services to transgender students,” said Too. “We’re trying to reach out and help students but we don’t want to put bureaucratic rules.”

Boudreau hopes that the adjustments at Concordia will provide a stepping stone to changes in the provincial system in order to facilitate the process of transgender individuals legally changing their names. For Boudreau, it took ap-

proximately a year to have his application approved after he provided documents from psychologists and doctors to explain the change, and cost him close to $500.

Furthermore, Boudeau hopes that other post-secondary institutions make similar adjustments to their policies so that transgender students feel welcomed.

“I have friends that won’t go to school because for whatever reason they cannot get their names or gender changed,” Boudreau said.

“And it’s just so much humiliation everyday.”

According to Boudreau, the issues that transgender individuals face are far from over though. “The demographic is small but it really counts,” he said.

City

A night dedicated to Montreal’s homeless Annual event addresses the consequences of poverty in 27 municipalities Kalina Laframboise News editor In solidarity with the downtrodden, dozens participated in activities, provided food and stayed out until dawn at a downtown Montreal campout aimed at addressing the ramifications of poverty and undeveloped social programs, Friday night.

The 23rd annual Nuit des sansabris (night for the homeless) took place in 27 different municipalities across the province including Valleyfield, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Laval, to emphasize the issues transients face. Last year, the movement reached 25 cities and it is held every third Friday of the month of October.

Every meeting point provided food, music, lectures and information kiosques regarding the effects of indigence throughout a 12-hour span. The objective of the initiative is not to raise money but to

raise awareness and show support for those unable to support themselves.

The rainy night began at Square Phillips before continuing to Amherst Park, located on the corner of Ste-Catherine St. and Amherst St., where individuals gathered for a few hours of food and entertainment before a contingent moved north to the Comité social CentreSud for the rest of the night.

In the early evening, two individuals known only as Alexandre and Émilie addressed a small crowd with a letter about the struggles they face living life on the street.

“Everyday I have to look for food,” said Alexandre. “Everyday I have to look for a place to sleep.” Émilie emphasized that those without shelter or financial aid who had fallen on hard times, need the help of the city and support of those around them.

“We all have the right to dig-

nity and to be happy,” she said.

In 2006, according to Statistics Canada, approximately 4,170 individuals in Quebec sought comfort in shelters. This includes shelters for abused women and children, for the homeless, and other shelters that offer assistance services.

The street population is also overwhelmingly male. In a survey of more than 4,000 street youth conducted by the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2007, a ratio of approximately two males to about one female was reported for all age demographics.

Paul Kabamakuzth, a student visiting from France, volunteered with the organization for the evening by giving out small grey felt cloths rolled and tied with a red ribbon to symbolize a blanket, and the lack of shelter for the homeless.

“I think it’s important to make people open their eyes about homelessness,” said Kaba-

makuzth. “I think they don’t realize how important it is.”

Organizations like Dans La Rue brought hot meals to supporters and the homeless who settled in for a long, cold night before having breakfast served at 6 a.m. by the centre.

Bernard St-Jacques, media relations co-ordinator for the event, said the expansion of the event strengthens the cause.

“It’s so original to do a night like this,” said St-Jacques. “It’s a good way of showing solidarity because it’s 27 cities.”

Many supporters wore the red square, the symbolic emblem of the student conflict over the tuition fee increase and fiscal management of post-secondary institutions, in solidarity with students.

According to St-Jacques, the notion of mobilization is linked to the student movement and many impoverished individuals identify with students.

campus

Another month, another resignation Laura Glover officially steps down from the Concordia Student Union Robin Della Corte Assistant news editor Fine Arts councillor and last year’s VP student life & sustainability Laura Glover officially resigned from her position at the Concordia Student Union in a letter released this Sunday afternoon.

In her letter, Glover stated that while she is “incredibly grateful” for all of her experiences at the CSU, she is “committed to a number of projects this year” and feels that perhaps another student

would be better suited to fill the position.

Glover is the third councillor to step down from the from the CSU this year.

Following backlash from council regarding her unresolved student status issues, former VP academic and advocacy Lucia Gallardo formally resigned in September.

Former councillor Juliana Ramos quickly followed suit, citing a contentious council as her reason for leaving.

“I realized in September that

my workload was quite heavy and I knew I wouldn’t have my focus on the council, the way a counselor should,” Glover told The Concordian. “It took a lot of responsibility to realize I couldn’t and be honest with myself.”

Schubert Laforest, the president of the CSU, spoke to Glover Monday about her resignation and said that while it came as a surprise to him, he understood her choices.

“She’s involved in a lot of things and she knows what the job requires, and knows that

she can’t do it, and give 110 per cent,” he said.

Laforest went on to say that the seat will remain open until the byelection in November, where any Fine Arts student is eligible to run for the position.

Glover stated that she will continue to remain in contact with the union and give her advice if needed.

“It was challenging to step down from the CSU or, should I say, take some space because I care very deeply for the union,” Glover said.

life

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

5

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com fiTness

On your mark, get set, get colourful

Thousands Took parT in MonTreal’s firsT ever Color run oCTober 13 on Île noTre-daMe. runners geT Covered in a differenT Color for every kiloMeTre of The raCe. phoTos by peTer hosTak

it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s all about the experience Brenda Raftlova Contributor

E

very morning when my alarm clock goes off at 6 a.m. I want to smash it with a sledgehammer and throw it out the window. What makes me agitated is not so much the painful, squeaky sound of the alarm, but rather what I see when I look outside — total darkness.

Rolled up like a mummy in my sheets, I see that my windows are still foggy from the cold and rain. Not exactly the best weather to head out for a run. But there was something special happening on the morning of Oct.13,

which made me want to get up and run like never before: The Color Run. The Color Run, also dubbed as the “Happiest 5k on the Planet,” is a buddy-buddy run for anyone who loves breathing fresh air and getting paint on their face. The way it works is simple: throughout the race, runners get splashed with tons of coloured dust in pink, orange, blue and yellow. At every kilometre the colour is different, so by the finish line you are sure to look like a bag of Skittles.

Whether you’re a professional athlete or just a casual runner, it really does not matter. The Color Run is not about speed or performance; it is about sharing great experiences and celebrating health.

“The purpose of the run is to be active,” said Martin Drolet who is the organizer for The Color Run race in Montreal. “Just turn

off your T.V., get up from the couch and do some physical activity. Another purpose is to have fun. Be there with your family, friends, and co-workers and just have a blast.”

When I found out the Color Run was happening in Montreal for the first time (it is largely an American thing), I knew I had to take part. Since running as a team is cheaper and, of course, more exciting, I decided to gather a group of friends who would be willing to break a sweat with me. Another bonus when registering as a team is picking a cool custom name for you and your running buddies.

On the morning of the run I was overwhelmed by the crowd that gathered on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The weather was cold and windy, but that did not stop thousands of runners from having high spirits and getting the energy flowing.

“People were really, really excited,” said Drolet. “They were excited about dressing up and they were ready to have a good time.

Everyone was so cheerful and positive.”

What I loved about this run was that it didn’t matter if you were walking, sprinting or crawling. Nobody cared if you were the first or the last to get to the finish line. The most memorable moment for me was the giant colour party at the finish line. All the participants had a colour bag which, on the count of three, was tossed high in the air.

The result? A bunch of colourful people.

The Color Run had a great turnout and organizers are already planning for next year.

“We’re coming back to Montreal next year,” said Drolet. “And we will also organize it in Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. So get excited.”

6

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 shOpping

Tour like a local, shop like a stylist Montreal shopping Tours shares the city’s best kept shopping secrets

shopper-in-Chief Janna ZiTTrer aMong raCks of fabulous designer duds. phoTo by MarC Muri stephanie La Leggia Life editor Just a little less than a year ago, Janna Zittrer was walking along Ste-Catherine St. when two young women stopped her and asked for shopping recommendations. As the Montreal correspondent for Flare magazine, it comes as no surprise why Zittrer was chosen to give fashion advice. It is was in that moment, only a mere three steps

later, that Zittrer had an epiphany that led her to the creation of Montreal Shopping Tours.

Zittrer is the founder and shopper-in-chief of Montreal Shopping Tours, the only guided fashion experience of its kind in the city. As someone with fashion credentials and the right contacts, Zittrer knew she had to be the one to do it.

“In Montreal, if you’re looking for something specific, you’ve got a particular style or a particular set of needs, you really do need to know

where to go, and that’s where we come in,” said Zittrer.

The Shopping Tours cater to locals, tourists, trend-setters and fashion-intolerants alike. Zittrer has ripped out the “shop like an editor” page and brought it to life; designing half-day and whole day VIP excursions through Montreal’s fashion scene. Along with helpful styling tips and personalized store recommendations from an editor in the industry, the tours include great swag bags with products from local businesses like David’s Tea, and a personal driver.

One of the most alluring aspects of the tour is the door-to-door transportation. Born and bred in Montreal, Zittrer knows all too well the stress of traffic chaos, street construction and puzzling parking signs. She meets her shopping group (of no more than six) at their hotel or designated meeting spot. Along with a Shopping Tours map Zittrer ensures her clients get a feel of the city’s diverse cultures, stopping along the swanky streets of Westmount and working her way up to the Mile End. As the shopper-in-chief, Zittrer has fashioned six distinctive themes to help her potential clients portray their style, and to communicate what they’re looking for along with what they expect from the tour. She includes a questionnaire for her clients to fill out before their tour date to help customize an itinerary suited for any combination of style: Shop Like an Editor, 9-to-5 and Beyond, Montreal Designer Marathon, Sweat-Worthy Style, Vintage Treasures and Teen Dream.

“I work really hard at making people feel comfortable, letting them know that there’s no pressure,” said Zittrer. “If you come and buy nothing at all, that’s fine. If you just want to look and try stuff on, that’s absolutely okay.”

Through extensive research and personal connections, Zittrer has created a fashion community among local boutiques and designers, offering clients the opportunity to discover Montreal’s unique fashion scene. Before launching Montreal Shopping Tours this past April, Zittrer sat down with designers and managers to pitch a business idea that would benefit them and her clients.

“I knew off the bat that they would have to

be stores that I would recommend,” said Zittrer.

“The other criterion was that they are Montreal boutiques, like either independent boutiques or local-based chains. Stores and brands you can’t find anywhere.”

Aware of how difficult retail could be for independent boutiques in Montreal, Zittrer offers them the opportunity to participate in her tours without a service fee or sales credit. In exchange, however, she does ask for a discount for her clients; a discount that averages to about 15 percent. Not only is this great publicity for local boutiques, but it’s a great way to add value to her tours as well.

Zittrer is a big advocate for functional fashion and takes a pragmatic approach to style. While keeping up with trends is part of her job as a fashion freelance writer and working for Flare, she does evaluate the cost per wear. Your level of style shouldn’t depend on your credit limit; it’s about how a garment makes you feel, how it’s going to serve you, and how functional it will be with your lifestyle.

“I always say that all these best dressed lists drive me insane because it’s always like royalty or A-list stars,” said Zittrer. “If you shop only in designer, of course you’re going be a ‘best dressed’.”

Zittrer goes beyond the tasks of a personal shopper, teaching you how to shop on trend without sacrificing your credit card. She provides that extra nudge we need to push our boundaries and try styles and colours we never imagined we would; she’s definitely that expert shopping buddy you always wish you had to tell you the truth in the changing room. She comes with no preconceived notion, looks at you, grabs something and tells you to try it on.

“The biggest thing for me is, when you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you can accomplish things,” said Zittrer. “It’s really hard to project the image of yourself that you want to portray, and I feel like I can come and help with that.”

Montreal Shopping Tours run Wednesday through Sunday, and range from $160 to $180.

ReCipe

If it’s good enough for the Queen... enjoy this english delicacy the way the locals do Arohie Chopra Contributor

I

n the past year, England has definitely been in the spotlight with the Royal Wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the Summer Olympics. Although I have yet to visit any part of the United Kingdom, the many fish and chips restaurants in Montreal have confirmed my palate is ready for the trip.

So whether you are a fan of Kate Middleton’s flawless fashion, Prince Harry’s questionable billiards apparel (or lack thereof), or are simply in awe of England’s Royal Family, you must try this recipe for Beer Battered Fish and Onion Rings! I warn you this meal is heavy and not for the health conscious, but everyone deserves a day to cheat a little.

Fish and Chips (Serves four) Ingredients: 1 1 / 2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 / 4 tsp cayenne pepper (according to taste) 1 bottle beer (any brand) 1 small red onion cut into 1 / 2 in. thick slices (separate into rings) 1 lb haddock fillets cut into serving-size pieces Tartar sauce Vegetable oil for frying Add enough oil to a pot (approximately 2 inches of depth) and preheat to 350°F. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add beer slowly into the bowl and whisk. When the mixture is smooth, let it stand for fifteen minutes.

Using a fork, dip the onion rings into the batter and drop them in the oil pot gently.

Take about 5 rings at a time and let them cook for about one minute. Make sure to turn them halfway. Once they are golden brown

Photo by writer

transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate.

Sprinkle flour over the fish pieces and then dip them into the batter. Once they are transferred to the oil pot, let them fry for about seven minutes. Flip them once

in between and when golden brown, place them on the paper towel-lined plate. Drain the oil from the fish as well as the onion rings and then serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

7

RevieW

A tale of two tea rooms My Cup of Tea blossoms with health benefits

Smoke, drink, and journey to Morocco

Kenny hui revisits his roots for tea inspiration

Orienthé is a tea room worth remembering

sara Baron-goodman Contributor

Marta Barnes staff writer

M

y Cup of Tea is a quaint shop that houses a wide range of holistic Asian teas, packaged for the modern drinker.

The store welcomes you in off the busy Chinatown street with the sound of soft classical music and the subtle smell of blooming tea steeping on the counter. Decked out with a grass-green carpet and wooden shelves, the one-room shop is packed from wall to wall in teas hailing from across Asia, all neatly stacked in vibrant packages.

Loose-leaf teas are sold in Chinese take-out boxes, featuring graphic drawings of faces enjoying their My Cup of Tea favorites.

Located on St-Laurent Blvd., just upstairs from the owner’s father’s Chinese medicine practice, My Cup of Tea is a family business.

“My parents and grandparents were Chinese doctors,” said owner Kenny Hui. He credits them for his acquired passion in herbal remedies. Medicine, however, wasn’t for him.

“As much as my father wanted me to be a Chinese doctor too, I am a very happy person

[…] I couldn’t deal with a life of seeing sick people every day. I wanted to do something preventative,” he explained.

By opening My Cup of Tea, Hui was able to showcase his knowledge of the natural benefits of flowers and Asian herbs. Right now he’s working with High Mountain Oolong tea from Taiwan, which stimulates digestion and blood circulation. It also acts beautifully as a palate cleanser if you’ve been eating spicy food.

Unlike other popular tea sellers that concentrate on trendy taste combinations, My Cup of Tea aims to sell teas that are beneficial to the health.

“If you go to Hong Kong or Japan or Taiwan you won’t find chocolate tea or wine tea or popcorn tea, the flavors are very basic,” said Hui. “Nobody says their tea is boring because we know that a good tea, once you drink it, will feel very good in your system.”

My Cup of Tea, though traditional in many ways, has a unique array of products. It features a line called “Santhé,” composed of five different tea combinations to aid with some of today’s most pressing day-to-day issues.

There’s the “Workaholic,” made with ginger and lemon peel, that boosts blood circulation and energy while relieving nausea.

Want to trim that waistline? Then “Fashion Icon” is for you. It is a rooibos tea containing lemon verbena, enhancing one’s metabolism.

Others cater to the needs of the “Insomniac,” the “Shopaholic,” the “Meat Lover,” and the “Public Speaker.”

The shop’s signature “Zodiac Blooming” teas come in single packages of what looks like a mini tumble weed, but is in fact a flower that will bloom as it steeps in hot water. Each flower bulb corresponds with a Zodiac sign. Whichever one you’re born under is the tea you should drink, according to Chinese philosophy.

My Cup of Tea products can also be found at David’s Tea outlets, Archambault bookstores and the W Hotel.

My Cup of Tea is located on 1057 St-Laurent Blvd.

I

t can be hard finding a place to escape from the bustle and stress of university life, but luckily there are places like Orienthé for just that.

This Moroccan-style tea and shisha lounge will instantly bring down the midterm blood pressure.

The décor is surely the first thing that will strike newcomers (after the sign saying shoes must be swapped for their pointed slippers, of course). Decorated all in warm reds and golds with Oriental statues and paraphernalia on the walls, it feels like a sunny, exotic escape.

There are cushions and low couches lining the walls and a quaint collection of books leaning on the shelf by the window for clients to peruse. In the back is a luxurious alcove with pillows on the ground and sheer curtains, a space ideal for private gettogethers.

The menu offers a wide range of teas, from black to green to red. It’s perhaps not the best place for someone living on a budget, the average price being $4.50 for a personal pot, or $8 for a large pot for two.

The combos, however, are where the savings kick in. For two friends wanting a nice place to chill for the evening, it’s possible to get a hookah, four pieces of baklava, and either two personal teas or a large pot for two for $24. To contrast, the hookah alone would cost $13. Light meals of homemade quiches, soups, and sandwiches are also offered.

The service was quick, and while maybe not overtly friendly, not notably dismissive either. They do not hover, which adds to the feeling that this is a place to stay and relax rather than be rushed out. That being said, because they aren’t waiting on you, you’ll have to go to the counter if you want to order anything else.

The tea was quite good. Perhaps it’s

not as fancy as a traditional teahouse with pouring rituals, but to an average tea appreciator, it satisfies the need for steeped, comforting goodness.

The baklava was fresh, flakey, crispy and sticky with honey. It’s not the kind of baklava you’d find in plastic grocery store boxes or in take-out restaurants, where it usually has been left to grow stale, chewy, and flavourless.

As for the shisha, it was excellent and perhaps the best part. It turns Orienthé from an average tea lounge into a place worth remembering. Compared to other shisha lounges, the price is quite comparable, and might even be less expensive. Personal mouthpieces are provided to each customer, keeping things germfree.

Over the course of a three-hour afternoon stay, there were only about 10 clients who stopped by. Rather than feeling empt, it felt comfortably quiet; it wouldn’t be nearly so enjoyable if it were hopping with business. As such, it becomes the perfect place to chat with friends, bring homework, catch up on some reading or write an article.

Orienthé is located on 4511 St-Denis St.

Photos by writer

Photos by writer

Photo by Madelayne Hajek

8

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 ResTO

Some like it raw: Crudessence puts a twist on classic foods This vegetarian gem will benefit your body and your mind paula Rivas Managing editor

I

tend to find that many of the vegan restaurants I have attended in the past have had the three ‘Ps’ of dread — pretentious crowds, pitiful proportions, and pricey, bland food. So you must understand my initial disappointment when my dining partner decided to surprise me with a raw vegan restaurant called Crudessence.

I had never heard of this restaurant, a little place that I initially thought was a store selling raw products. Down the small narrow restaurant were some simple wooden tables and chairs. There was a funky flare to the decor such as a matrix-style portrait of a computer chip and another one of multicoloured broken glass.

So what is Crudessence? According to the website, it is a restaurant that serves “food choices based on respect for life and global well-being,” and appeals to “anyone seeking to awaken their bodies and minds.”

As for the menu: don’t worry, this is not your ordinary rabbit food restaurant.

Thankfully, Crudessence offers a witty, healthy, and sophisticated twist on meals such as nachos, pizza, hamburgers, and tacos. The difference is that you won’t leave feeling bloated, reminding yourself that you need to hit the gym as soon as possible.

I ordered the “Exceptional Wrap,” chipotle quinoa wrapped in nori and rice sheets with avocado, lettuce, sprouts, red peppers, carrots and onions. The wrap popped vibrantly with colours—yellow, green, red, and white while the rice sheets gave a nice touch of Asian infusion. The mix of velvety avocado with the bitter taste of sprouts and sweet red peppers made this wrap truly live up to its name. The sauce was the best part.

A zesty ranch taste with a kick of chipotle, complimenting the wrap perfectly. There’s the option of ordering the wrap alone for a jaw-dropping $11, or if you are feeling rebellious, you can order it with the daily

naCho supreMe (above) and CrudessenCe (boTToM)on MaCkay sT. phoTos by fliCkr and Madelayne haJek salad on the side for $14.75.

The person I went with looked enthusiastically through the menu and, grinning, ordered the “Om burger” (obviously amused with the clever name). This burger is a combination of mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, flax seeds, and mixed vegetables, served on chapati bread and garnished with fresh tomatoes, red onions, lettuce, homemade mustard, ketchup, and their famous caper aioli. It tasted tangy from the homemade mustard, rich and smoky from the mushrooms, and salty from the sundried tomatoes. The burger came to about $12.50.

The bathroom is a tiny stall with swinging wooden western style doors. Even though it sounds fun, there is nothing more uncomfortable than having the other diners stare at you through the wide cracks of the doors while you wash your hands.

All in all, I found the idea to be as much of a culinary adventure as I found it hilarious to mock. While I checked out the website, I even realized that they offer delivery...by bicycle. This is to ensure that they remain environmentally friendly, of course. All sarcasm aside, though the prices were sky high, I must tip my hat to Crudessence’s wonderfully tasty vegan treats.

Crudessence is located on 2157 Mackay St. and 105 Rachel St. W.

COLuMn

To donate or not to donate? how pinkwashing products can mislead consumers elizabeth Tomaras Copy editor The little black dress, animal print, black pumps; there are some things that simply never go out of style. However there is a new trend the fashion industry has em-

braced, one that is not necessarily sartorially related.

Throughout the month of October some major industries, be they fashion, sports or automobile, take on the role of leading breast cancer awareness campaigns. Anything that can be made pink or have a pink ribbon printed on it is manufactured and sent out with the company’s logo plastered on it.

“Often these types of campaigns start off with the truest intentions of simply rais-

ing awareness and raising money for the cause,” said George Dassios, marketing faculty member and part-time professor at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business. “Eventually, as the momentum builds, it becomes one of those events where, as a corporation, you have the social and moral obligation to jump on board.”

When a company is highly influential, it seems only natural that they would pursue these causes.

“Certainly, if you are a big organization that is in the spotlight and is part of a community, you have a social obligation to be active in one form or another through funding or sponsoring events or creating events that would, in one way or another, make that community better,” said Dassios.

Buying a shirt from Ralph Lauren’s Pink Pony campaign or that pretty bracelet from Michael Kors may make you feel like you’re doing something good, but it’s important to remain wary of where exactly your money is going once you pay.

“There’s always going to be an element or portion of the proceeds that will go to cover cost and some of the costs include [things not directly related to the cause],” explained Dassios. “To isolate it just in

terms of the corporate community would be ignoring what goes on in every other organization.”

And while it is difficult to find a company which donates all of its proceeds to the fund being advertised, it is more important to watch out for organizations who are notorious for making money under the guise of fundraising.

According to “Think Before You Pink,” a Breast Cancer Action project, it was in 2010 that Dansko, a shoe company, was selling clogs with pink ribbons on them, in an effort to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation. However, it was discovered that Dansko was planning to donate $25,000 regardless of how much money was raised through clog sales, rather than give a portion of the sales.

These harsh realities should not dissuade you from donating money; they should inform us that there are scams out there and it is important to ask where your money is going if you do decide to donate or buy items for breast cancer awareness or research. The only sure fire way to make sure your money is going to help those with breast cancer is to donate directly to hospitals or research societies.

arts

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

9

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com entertainment

Give yourself over to absolute pleasure Dress up, then grab your toast and toilet paper for The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball

Audience members are invited to bring toilet paper, newspaper, toast, and water pistols to The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball.

Marta Barnes Contributor

E

ven without seeing the movie, almost everyone knows how to dance to the Time Warp. If you’re unfamiliar, however, there’s still time to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show, brush up on your dance skills and buy tickets for the much-anticipated annual Halloween Ball.

In honour of this cult classic, hundreds of

people will strut to the Imperial Theatre on Oct. 26, 27 and 31 to flaunt what they’ve got while worshipping pure decadence.

Not to be confused with the stage play, The Rocky Horror Show, the Halloween Ball projects the feature film The Rocky Horror Picture Show onto a screen while actors simultaneously mimic the action in the movie.

Audience participation isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected. That means singing along, shouting out callbacks, and throwing props

around at the appropriate moments. If you forget your props at home, then $5 bags of newspaper, toilet paper, playing cards, and toast are offered in the lineup. This also helps fund the otherwise unpaid cast and crew.

Before the big event, there is a costume contest like no other, where winners are chosen by who has the most catcalls. Appreciation for creative costumes is extended not only to contest participants, but also to all those who dress up.

When asked for advice on what to wear, first-year cast member Robyn Barnes said, “While it’s entirely up to you how to dress, we love to see you all decked out in lingerie – especially the guys. Go all out,” she added, “because we definitely will.”

Indeed, it seems most people follow this advice because never at one time will you see so many people dressed in drag while braving bitter October weather. Keep your eye out for the fire juggler in the thong unitard though, because he’ll warm you up if you start to shiver in your fishnets.

Even if you’ve been before, there’s always something new to see.

“I think we’ve got a really strong cast this year,” said Concordia’s Davina Guttman of the classics department, and second-time cast member. “Every year we try and make it better than the last.”

For those who haven’t experienced the sensual spectacle of unbridled hedonism, it’s an essential part of the Halloween experience.

As Barnes puts it, “It’s more than a show, it’s a party that everyone gets to be a part of.”

So give yourself over to absolute pleasure, as Rocky’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter puts it, and we’ll see you there.

Tickets for both the 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. shows are on sale at Cruella, 63 Mont Royal E. and Boutique le Quizz, 1500 Atwater, for $17.95 in advance or $19.95 at the door. Halloween-dedicated students get a $5 discount on the 31. But be warned they go fast!

theatre

From the newspaper headlines to the stage Infinithéâtre’s Trench Patterns looks at the war in Afghanistan from a soldier’s perspective Isabela Sasaki Contributor In a dramatized fashion, Trench Patterns explores the psychological state of a female soldier after her return from Afghanistan. Winner of Infinithéâtre’s 2011 Write-On-Q! playwriting competition and chosen as one of the six plays from over 400 submissions for the Fall 2012 Festival of Staged Readings at Chicago’s Artemisia Theatre, Trench Patterns premieres on Oct. 25 at Bain St-Michel.

Alyson Grant’s poetic play features Jacqueline, a combat officer who after being wounded in a mission in Afghanistan, returns home, haunted by the violent events she witnessed there. She finds consolation in ghostlike visitations from her great-grandfather, Jacques, a French Montrealer who was executed during World War I. As she dives into his world, she also moves closer to her own.

“I would like [the viewers] to feel they’ve been somewhere unsettling, but that they’ve been given a road out of it,” Grant said.

Grant started writing the play after sensing a “coverage fatigue” towards the topic. “We’re

participating in a war and it’s our responsibility to be aware of what is going on and what we’re engaged [in].” Her research focused on Canada’s role in Afghanistan, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the events of World War I. Grant’s characters, Jacqueline and Jacques, were formed out of her research. “They were just living [in my mind] for a while, not yet knowing where [they] would go play-wise, but just letting them be there was fun,” she said.

After morning hikes and long writing sessions in a remote area of Ireland, she finished her first play, and now that opening night is just a few days away she said she’s “excited, nervous - but in a good way - and thrilled.”

Guy Sprung, Infinithéâtre’s artistic director as well as the director of the play, explains the play as a “moving piece of writing about an issue front and centre in the Canadian psyche.”

According to him, Trench Patterns incites the audience by presenting challenging questions such as, “Is there such thing as a ‘just’ war and a ‘good’ soldier?”

The role of Jacqueline is played by Patricia Summersett. On stage with her are talented Diana Fajrajsl, Zach Fraser and James

Jacqueline, a Canadian solider, is haunted by her grandfather in Trench Patterns.

Soares-Correia, appearing in his first professional role since being a regular performer in Theatre Ste. Catherine’s Sunday Night Improv.

Trench Patterns opens on Oct. 25 at Bain St-Michel. For tickets, showtimes, or more information on the show, visit infinitheatre. com

10

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Cinema pOliTiCa

Commercialized education: the Croatian edition Blokada features the student movement of Croatia and their struggle for free education Tarek akhtar Staff writer

M

ontreal knows a thing or two about student movements. Red squares, large demonstrations, the echoes of pot and pans; it is a scene that we in Montreal have become accustomed to in the past year or so. On Monday Oct. 22, Cinema Politica is premiering Blokada, a film that will resonate with those who opposed, witnessed or took part in the student movement in Quebec.

Directed by Igor Bezinovic, this documentary is about the 2009 student movement in Croatia, where students banded together to demand free education. The film is structured in a way that shows the viewer the chronological set of events from the movement’s creation to its eventual disintegration.

From the very start, the student’s message is very clear: they want free education, and they want the suspected mismanaged government funds to pay for it. With claims that their government excessively spends 41 million euros to fund military projects, the students believe those funds should be reallocated to the education sector which requires approximately 40 million euros a year.

At first, university administrators supported the student movement by suspending

classes in order to maintain a united front. But not their social standing. And without giving because it deals with a lot of the same issues as time passed, the dean and council mem- away the details surrounding the movement’s which our own student movement has dealt bers decided to resume classes in order for the end, I leave you with a quote from one protest- with and is dealing with right now. Seeing it school semester to be saved. er getting ready to rally students in a march: being done halfway across the globe is signifiThe outraged students did not back down “our protest is over, but our struggle isn’t.” cant for all who are for or against the debate in defeat over the loss of support. Instead, they Blokada is a documentary worth watching of free education. fought harder and chanted louder in their requests. Their tactics included mass demonstrations with plenty of signage, interrupting classes, long marches, debates and spontaneous festivals.

Though much of it sounds radical, the tactics shown in the documentary were actually quite inspiring.

Why? Because the group was organized as a collective and decisions were made as a collective.

In their united front, the students of Croatia stated that they are not after a contract of intangible conditions, but a law which gives every student the right to education as long as an entrance exam is passed. They want to abolish fees so that people can study according to their ability and Blokada premieres oct. 29 in room h-110 at 19h. admission to the film screening is by donation.

arT

The happily ever after for impressionism The mBa’s latest exhibit proudly displays works by famous impressionist artists andria Caputo Staff writer Art aficionados and romantics will surely have their breath taken away when they visit Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts’ new exhibit this winter, Once Upon a Time… Impressionism.

The collection of 95 paintings, which belong to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art institute, features well-known impressionist painters like Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Edgar Degas.

The impressionist movement, named after

Monet’s 1872 painting, “Impression, Sunrise,” wasn’t taken very seriously at first; most of the movement’s painters suffered hatred and ridicule from the art critics of the time. Today, they are among the most famous painters to have ever lived and exhibitions of their work never cease to capture the interest of viewers worldwide.

This exhibit is organized as a chronological storyline, starting with the precursors of the infamous art movement which features the works of painters like Jacques Rousseau, Jean-BaptisteCamille Corot and Jean-Francois Millet. Sharing the first room with these paintings is the lovely collection of still-lifes by Alfred Sisley, Renoir, Manet, and female impressionist, Berthe Morisot.

The second room of the exhibit features a vast selection of scenic paintings by Monet, Renoir, Sisley, and Pissarro. Art enthusiasts will recognize some famous paintings like Monet’s “Geese

in the Brooke,” and discover some hidden gems like Sisley’s “Les Bords de la seine a By” and Camille Pissarro “Piette’s House at Montfoucault.”

As you walk from room to room, quotes of the infamous and outspoken Renoir line the walls and offer viewers a glimpse into his great mind. “You’ve got to be a fool to want to stop the march of time” is written over the collection of scenic paintings, a testament to the impressionists’ ability to capture time and its beauty.

The various “pièces de résistance” of the exhibit lie in the third and penultimate room, which features a vast collection of portraits and self portraits by Renoir, Degas, Morisot and yet another female impressionist painter, Mary Cassatt.

Some of this room’s most famous works include Renoir’s “At The Concert,” Degas’s “Dancers in the Classroom”

and Morisot’s “The Bath.” The only sculpture to be featured in the exhibit, Degas’s “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years,” captivates museum goers with its stunning simplicity and beauty. The striking contrast between Renoir’s self-portrait of 1875 and 1899 is a reminder of the painter’s mortality.

The final room introduces the viewer to the rise of the post-impressionist movement and its painters, like Paul Gauguin and Henri ToulouseLautrec, among others. Works like Gauguin’s “Young Christian Girl” and Toulouse-Lautrec’s “Waiting” end the exhibit with a distinct transition into a new era of art.

Once Upon a Time… Impressionism runs until Jan. 20.

“farm in the landes” by theodore rousseau (left) and “a box at the theatre (at the concert)” by pierre-auguste renoir (right) are being exhibited at the montreal museum of fine arts.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian fiCTiOn

Tourne au Rouge part 1of an ongoing fictional story from our staff writer andy fidel

11

Arts in brief amanda l. Shore arts editor

>>MONTREAL Photographic Exhibition

Culture & Language Connections Montreal will be hosting the first MONTREAL Photographic Exhibition.

The exhibit opened Oct. 20 and will run until Jan. 11, 2013.

The exhibit features a look at Montreal through the lens of local photographers; a glimpse of Montreal as you’ve never seen it before.

Featured artists include: Angela Auclair, Laura Arwen Berg, Kristofferson Brice, Edmond Chung, Ron Harris, Christopher McMullen, David Nuff, Kyle Ruggles, Darina Velkova, Nadia Zheng. Culture & Language Connections Montreal is located at 4260 Girouard.

For more information visit: www.montrealphotographicexhibition.weebly.com

>>Beauty and the Breast Cineplex Forum

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. The truly wise person is colorblind. — Albert Schweitzer

M

a used to be a trapeze swinger until the day she fell and became a painter. It was Papa’s idea to bring the circus to the attic. A company of brushes and sponges, fat and skinny rolls of tin foil fooling around the paint rollers, and beads with no fear that slipped across the high wires stretched over a mountain of white canvases.

Papa said: “The show must go on,” and it did. In Ma’s circus it was the mice who tamed the lions. The acrobats juggled with stars and planets over a hundred gaping mouths and elephants rode unicycles in their pale tutus. Ma always had a story. Some nights the sun would set in the west and Ma would fill the water guns with honey-brown for Anya to paint a desert around the lone cowboy or pirates would invade the canvas and they had to fight back with their palette knifes dipped in navy blue. Three years later, Todd was born and a wagon-train came to take Ma’s circus away.

With her fork, Anya poked the strawberries and buried them under the spinach leaves while Todd dipped his pudgy fingers into the balsamic vinegar. Todd crammed a cherry tomato into his mouth, and then stuck his tongue out at Anya. She glanced at Papa and Mary-Anne, and threw a lima bean across the table. It hit Todd’s forehead. As Todd reached into his bowl to throw something back, his elbow knocked his glass, and the water spilled into his lap.

Todd yelped. Mary-Anne rose to her feet.

Anya sniggered and Papa scowled. Mary-Anne asked: “Anya, can you get the paper towels,” and lifted Todd from his chair.

“You go get them.”

“Anya,” said Papa. “Go get your mother—” The fork clattered. Anya said: “She’s not my mother,” and stormed out of the living room. Before Papa could say a word, MaryAnne gave his shoulder a little squeeze. Sighing, he put his hand over hers. “I know,” said Mary-Anne. “She’ll come around.”

Behind the wooden posts of the staircase, Anya drew her knees up to her chest. She fiddled with the hem of her floral skirt, watching Todd and her stepmother. His ginger curls bounced gently against his chubby cheeks as he shook his head. Todd said: “But Ma—” and jumped into Papa’s arms, burying his face into his shirt.

“Go on,” said Mary-Anne. “I’ll be up in a minute to tuck you in.” The fabric crumpled in Anya’s clenched fists at the sound of Todd’s footsteps hurrying up the stairs.

Anya went to the attic and closed the door behind her. She pulled the string and turned on the light from the bare bulb hanging above her head. Papa said: “Mary-Anne’s an artist too,” and suggested they share the attic. Over time the canvases were replaced with Mary-Anne’s photographs. Anya despised them. They were mostly pictures of Todd, of the house, of MaryAnne and Papa, and of Anya’s hand.

An old white sheet was draped over the boxes in the corner where Ma’s trinkets were neatly tucked away. Flecks of dust shook free as she pulled it off. Anya sat in front of a small canvas propped against the stack of boxes. Ma had never finished painting the grand carousel. The sky was an explosion of fireworks, the man dressed in red and gold beside the carousel waved with a bright smile, but the

children’s faces were blank and the balloons slipping from their hands were white. A tear drop fell from her chin and landed on the canvas. Silently, Anya closed her eyes and made a wish as the tear drop slipped into the man’s hand.

In the bathroom, Todd stood on the stepstool in front of the mirror. He brushed his teeth up and down, right to left until a whirring sound caught his attention. It came from the bedroom. He hopped off and padded down the narrow hallway, peeking past the door frame into Anya’s room. The merry-go-round on the bedside table pitter-pattered. Bells jingled and horses whickered as it spun round and round.

The tut-tootle tune accelerated with every step he took. Todd held the music box with both hands and brought it close to his face, watching the brass reins flop loose and clink against the back of the horses’ necks.

The sudden shrill of Anya’s voice made Todd flinch and drop the merry-go-round. One of the horses’ legs broke as it clanked against the hardwood floor.

Photos from Flickr

Beauty and the Breast investigates the devastating reality of living with breast cancer. Winner of the best documentary at last month’s Montreal World Film Festival, Beauty and the Breast opened Oct. 19 at Cineplex Forum.

The film explores and demystifies the diseases through the eyes of nine women, painting a poignant and at times comedic portrait of survival. The film looks at every stage of the disease, beginning with diagnosis, following the women through their physical and mental experiences.

>>Get Animated! at The National Film Office

The sixth edition of Get Animated! — a celebration of the finest and most comedic animation from across the country — arrives in Montreal Oct. 28. The National Film Board of Canada, in collaboration with local partners across Canada, offers free screenings and workshops for audiences of all ages. Highlights include the Genie Awardwinning production Romance by Georges Schwizgebel, Edmond Was a Donkey, winner of the Special Jury Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Oedipus, an NFB short by Oscar Nominee Paul Driessen.

Workshops will be offered in English or French, but you must register in advance by calling 514-283-9000. The National Film Office is located at 3155 de la Côte de Liesse.

For more information visit nfb.ca/getanimated.

>>Stories We Tell at Cineplex Forum

Players of the children’s game ‘telephone’ will know that a story can change the more people who tell it and the relating of events take on different shapes based on who’s relating them. Filmmaker Sarah Polley explores this concept in her film Stories We Tell which opened Oct. 19 at Cineplex Forum and which will be shown with French subtitles beginning Oct. 26 at Excentris.

Polley interviews a family of storytellers, each person tells his or her version of the family’s mythology, sometimes relating contradictory information. A deeply personal film that explores how a person’s narrative shapes them as an individual and as part of a family, the film played to rave reviews at multiple film festivals.

12

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

liTeraTure

The delightful horror of The Passage series continues The Twelve is the second novel of Justin Cronin’s highly seccessful and chilling trilogy of books ariana Trigueros-Corbo Staff Writer

J

ustin Cronin doesn’t particularly fit the bill of your average blockbuster writer.

When he submitted The Passage, the first installment of his Passage trilogy, for publication, he was keen to submit his manuscript under a pseudonym, not anticipating its overwhelming success. The two novels that Cronin had published previously had been well received but were part of a more minimalistic fictional genre. He was therefore not entirely sure what to anticipate in terms of reception for this novel, in light of how different it was from the rest of his work.

Having been published at the same time as the reputable Guillermo Del Torro’s The Strain and the 50th anniversary edition of McCarthy’s The Road, Cronin’s book started a trend, or rather renewed it. The appeal was there and Cronin’s post-apocalyptic, horror-like novel took the New York Times bestseller list by storm, maintaining its popularity for the better part of three months after its publication.

In fact, Cronin was apparently offered millions in exchange for the movie rights to the trilogy, which got scooped up by the Ridley Scott Production team.

The Passage deals with the premise of a military experiment gone wrong. Having discovered a miraculously rejuvenating virus in the rainforest of Bolivia, the United States government covertly funds Project Noah in an attempt to isolate the benefits of the virus and overcome its lethal side effects. The government uses 12 death row inmates with no remaining ties to the world, whose disappearance would go unnoticed. Predictably, the virus is not as easy to modify as anticipated and turns the inmates into mutants with vampirelike characteristics.

Eventually, the inevitable happens and the twelve test subjects who were being held at the military base escape into the real world. Thus,

the beginning of the apocalyptic pandemic leads us into the second part of the novel, where those who survived have regrouped together hundreds of years later to live in a community of barricades and constant protection.

Readers will probably find that, even after having garnered every detail of the voluminous read that was The Passage, the beginning of The Twelve is slightly disorienting. Rather than focusing on the main characters of his previous novels, Cronin starts out by shifting his narrative time period, concentrating instead on a group of survivors in the wake of the more direct aftermath of the pandemic. This makes it hard to grasp, at the very beginning, who the recurring characters will be throughout the book. That being said, Cronin does an excellent job at expanding the precarious universe he had created in his first book, which, needless to say for avid trilogy readers, is a daunting task.

For what it’s worth, The Twelve does this trilogy justice; riveting and suspenseful, Cronin manages to keep us interested in the fairly mundane story of the survivors of this surreal apocalyptic plot. The quality that readers will probably most appreciate in this novel is that it gives us a lot of answers as an audience. Sub-plots that we just assumed would go unanswered in The Passage are revisited with interest and curiosity. Here, Cronin has grasped a universal truth: readers will always want to know as much as humanly possible about a universe that fascinates them. It’s part of the greater picture of a literary legacy.

Having strayed away from the minimalistic and traditional fiction style of his previous novels, Cronin has been labeled as a “sell-out” by more than one literary critic. Because his trilogy novels relate much better to trending literary genres, he’s considered to have taken the easy way out. Ultimately, what these same critics fail to notice is that Cronin didn’t just find his place in the world of science fiction, he helped redefine it.

newly released, The Twelve, is the second book in the passage trilogy by Justin cronin.

liTeraTure

The creative shall inherit the earth Discover law Through art is an incredibly engrossing read that will test both sides of the brain ariana Trigueros-Corbo Staff writer

books and drafts of papers not yet published?

Traditionally, you can only define yourself as one or the other, but what would happen if we Are you the intellectual or the creative person? Do decided to do both? Better yet, what would hapyour school projects involve symbolism, colour pen if we decided to do both at the same time? schemes and artistic vision? Or are you burying Discover Law Through Art, a publication that yourself in endless piles of academic research, launches at the Montreal Contemporary Art Museum next week, discusses our capacity to use art for interpretation and learning purposes, is, in light of this, a book of the utmost appeal.

San Persand, the book’s author, has a complex profile. A McGill alumnus from the faculty of law, he’s a successful lawyer, an artist and now an author. His coffee table book displays many of his original works of art and attempts to explain the basis of the legal world through the medium of art.

“I’ve always been interested in merging ideas, even when I was studying biology.

Throughout my discover law Through arT by mcgill alumnus san persand.

studies, I’ve always been an artist. I was constantly drawing in my notes; you’d find unintelligible scribbles in all of my notes,” said Persand.

The idea for his book stems from dinner parties with friends where he would discuss his view of the artistic world and its link to the legal domain. At his friends’ insistence he finally decided to write a book on the topic, exhibiting some of his artwork while also educating people who had no knowledge of the legal world.

“When I decided, at the time, the coffee table book seemed like a compromise between the artist and the intellectual, a promise about being able to appeal to both. When you think about art books, you think of these larger books with rich, colorful images in them.”

Although it may have been easier to articulate some of his points more extensively through a written work of nonfiction, Persand felt that the concept of intertwining the two worlds of art and law is reinforced by his chosen means of presentation.

The book is formatted so that every page or two displays a particular painting that then ties into the explanation of a legal concept. For example, one of the paintings depicts a mask divided into two halves, which Persand uses to explain the difference between civic and common law.

The book encourages readers to learn extensively

about the legal world in a very particular way; playing on symbolism, analogy and comparison.

It encourages the left and right hemispheres of the brain to interact and allow people to learn in a totally new way. This touches on the realm of neuroaesthetics, a field which deals with the project of studying art using the methods of neuroscience.

“We need both sides of the brain to think creatively just like we need both feet to walk. It’s important to remember that the brain functions as an entity,” said David Pariser, the chair of the art education faculty at Concordia. “I think everyone has the capacity to be creative. Some people will make great creative discoveries; those are people like Ghandi, Darwin, Einstein, Virginia Woolf and Georgia O’Keefe. But the bottom line is that we all creatively solve problems every day. It’s innate in us,” he said. There is no distinction between artists and intellectuals, said Pariser. Intelligence is manifest in the arts just as in science, politics or religion.

Ultimately, we should consider Persand’s book to be a message to generations of people who are still in the process of finding themselves.

Maybe it’s not that we are either intellectuals or artists at heart. Maybe it’s about throwing us off our game and changing the way we see the world.

music

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

13

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com PrOfile

Wintersleep rises to big-stage fame How one Haligonian rock band went from dodgy jam spaces to The Late Show with David Letterman

Wintersleep bring Hello Hum and other eastern Canadian sounds to Montreal’s Corona theatre on saturday, oCt. 27.

Steph Ullman Contributor The year was 2001. Four Nova Scotia natives frequently gathered to jam on the 15th floor of a decrepit and somewhat forbidding high-rise apartment building. “The architect actually jumped off the top,” recalled Loel Campbell, who mans the drums. “He put a pool on top of the building that couldn’t actually hold water. If you put water in it, it would compromise the entire structure.”

It was this underwhelming fixer-upper that was to be the birthplace of, arguably, one of the most successful musical groups to hail from the Maritimes: Wintersleep.

Wintersleep, which also consists of Michael Bigelow, Tim D’Eon, Jon Samuel, and Paul Murphy, is recognized as an indierock band — however, Campbell disagrees with the notion of limiting their musical spectrum to one category.

“I think we definitely drift around in terms of style,” Campbell said, recalling one instance in which the band was pegged as Celtic post-rock. Their Myspace page brands their genre, equally obscurely, as German pop/soul. “I just call us a rock band, simple,” said Campbell.

The group’s name stems from the German translation of ‘hibernation.’ “The band started as a side project, so we thought that it was an apt title, because [Wintersleep] was something that we were doing

on the side,” Campbell said. Originally, the moniker was meant to be a metaphor; however, while their sound has evolved since the band’s inception, Campbell claims “it still feels like a proper image to attach to the music.”

From emotion-heavy slow jams to dynamic up-tempo tunes, Wintersleep has touched on countless areas of the rock scene. The band’s self-titled first record is “very stripped down” and raw, according to Campbell— a reflection of each member’s progressive-rock background and the first step towards finding a collective voice. On Untitled, the band’s second album, the same heavy sound resonates, this time interspersed with “longer, punchier rock songs.”

Welcome to the Night Sky saw the addition of producer Tony Doogan — known for creating rock-heavy material — as well as a resulting sense of balance, power, and consistency in Wintersleep’s sound. Their fourth record, New Inheritors, is “definitely a rock band kind of record,”

“

Campbell said. Written quickly on the road in the confines of a dingy rehearsal space, the limited resources set the tone for the resulting sound.

Hello Hum, released in June 2012, is the most vibrant and energetic album yet, thanks to the hiring on of co-producer Dave Fridmann of MGMT and Flaming Lips fame.

“He was always the one who said, ‘play it faster’,” Campbell recalled. “I’m very happy

edge. “We were making music because we didn’t want to play sports,” Campbell said, compared to groups originating in the big city with “the industry side of music in mind.” Not having grown up in an atmosphere where bright lights and loud sounds are paramount, Wintersleep exudes a bandnext-door feel. You can take Campbell’s word for it — they’ll never have pyrotechnics onstage.

Channeling Wintersleep’s humble nature, he asserts that there is no pivotal moment during which the band felt it safe to declare itself wholly successful.

“It’s always a struggle,” said Campbell.

“Every night that we play a show, I think, ‘This is where I should be.’ But I constantly self-doubt and worry. I don’t think that, in today’s climate, you can make it to some sort of [invincible] place. I don’t even want that.” If anything, the release of Welcome to the Night Sky, the band’s third studio album, marked a monumental time in Wintersleep’s career. Ever since the album came out in 2007, touring has become a full-time commitment, and the performers haven’t looked back.

The 2008 Juno Awards saw a win for the band in the “New Group of the Year” category, placing them among the ranks of past winners likes of Bedouin Soundclash and Alexisonfire. While having a Juno under their belt allowed Wintersleep to gain publicity, “the main thing was that it validated what we were all doing for our parents,” said Campbell. “They were really proud of us.”

Despite its deceiving facade, Wintersleep has since opened for many household names, such as Paul McCartney and Pearl Jam. What does Wintersleep have in mind for its listeners? “I hope people can relate to [the music],” said Campbell. “We try to keep things ambiguous when it comes to explaining meanings behind songs, because it’s always awesome when people take away their own interpretation. It can instantly

We try to keep things ambiguous when it comes to explaining meanings behind songs, because it’s always awesome when people take away their own interpretation [...] And hopefully, they can dance to it sometimes. Dancing is good.

- Loel Campbell, drummer with the result. It’s been this natural progression. We’ve become better musicians over time.”

As a band rooted in Canada’s East coast, Wintersleep effortlessly puts forth a human

change my day, always for the better. I hope that people can have similar experiences with some of our music. And hopefully they can dance to it sometimes,” he said with a laugh. “Dancing is good.”

14

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 PrOfile

The Luyas give life to an old friend in Animator experimental rock band featuring Concordia alumni debut album at CMJ Music Marathon

elizabeth Mackay Music editor Artists struggle to illustrate honest, human emotion in their work— in Animator, it came to The Luyas in a stroke of unfortunate luck.

Close your eyes whilst listening to “Montuno,” the album’s opening track, and it runs like a film on the backs of your eyelids; it is the beautiful and eerily realistic soundtrack that plays in one’s mind while coping with loss.

At first “Montuno” feels upbeat and determined, but a desperately sad violin cuts the optimism and carries the listener towards a horrifying instrumental collision and front-woman Jessie Stein’s dazed monologue. It’s as if the song itself goes through the three stages of grief: disbelief, experiencing the loss and reintegration.

“I would call it a serious record,” said the band’s drummer, Bucky Wheaton. “It’s not overly dramatic, light or playful.”

Stein joined bandmates Pietro Amato, Mathieu Charbonneau, Wheaton and Arcade Fire’s Sarah Neufeld at Montreal’s Treatment Room on a nippy February morning to work lyrics into music. Wheaton was recently hired as The Luyas’ new drummer, and the group expected the day would revolve around blending his beat into their already established chemistry.

A phone call changed everything.

The next day, Stein tweeted, “We started making a record yesterday. It is dedicated 100% to Christopher Reimer, honorary luya, who was our brother.”

Reimer, the guitarist of Calgary rock band Women, died in his sleep at 26 and was a close friend to every Luya, except Wheaton.

“It was difficult to see friends so sad, and frustrating not to be able to share it with them or do anything about it,” said Wheaton. “It took a lot of strength from them, but there was determination in the air.”

Though the shock of Reimer’s death initially came as a distraction, Wheaton claims they were more inspired than anything else to make an honest record. The band worked nonstop,

the luyas’ neW albuM Was reCorded in the Wake of a Close friend’s death. they Will perforM in Montreal on nov. 13. barely to sleep, and after one week of recording Stein tweeted, “First day off since the news. Now I’m fucked.”

The Luyas have a tendency to work efficiently until a project is done, rather than spreading the recording process over several months.

“Our first record was recorded two months after the band was started,” said Luyas brass player and founding member, Amato. “We wrote a bunch of songs and recorded them right away.”

The band’s current lineup is the product of multiple friendships. Stein has been good friends with Amato since he played with Torngat, an indie instrumental trio also featuring Charbon-

neau. Stein dreamt of playing with Torngat and hoped to one day write lyrics to accompany their music. That never materialized and instead Pietro and Stein collaborated on the side, and with the addition of Charbonneau and now ex-drummer Stefan Schneider, The Luyas were born. Schneider left the band this year to pursue a career in yoga, and Amato recruited an old Concordia classmate — Wheaton.

The Luyas debuted Animator in front of a live audience last weekend at New York City’s College Media Journal Music Marathon. Wheaton revealed feelings of excitement and fear before heading south, for he’s used to performing the record in studio.

“Making a record out of music that you don’t normally play live means that when you do play it live it changes more drastically, rather than music that you first performed live and then recorded,” said Wheaton. “We’ll see how strong the material is live and figure out if we need to make changes to it.”

Animator, released Oct. 16, is bound to attract critical acclaim — let’s hope it lives up to the live test.

The Luyas’ Animator album launch show is on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the Mile-End Cabaret (5240 Parc. Ave). Tickets are $15 + service charges.

mixtape

We all know that at least one of us is going to start finding a few stray white hairs this midterm exam season. Friends, this is perfectly normal. While some of us are free and clear for now, we have to remember that it’s not Christmas break anytime soon. With a whole other set of exams between us and that sweet vacation, this is the playlist for you.

The student life is a busy one, but we may as well find some time to rock those stressed tresses out with a mixtape made to help you unwind, focus and get to work!

Mid-semester slump Compiled by Madelayne Hajek Photo editor

SIDE A: Pumped up kids

Side B: Take a break, have a Kit-Kat

1. Biggie Smalls - “Hypnotize” - Life After Death 2. Third Wave (Work Drugs Cover) - “ Summer Heart” - Work Drugs 3. JJ - “Still” - Kills 4. XXXY - “ I Know This (Can’t Be Love)” - Single 5. K-OS - “Sunday Morning” - Atlantis: Hymns for Disco 6. Darius - “Maliblue” - Velour 7. Ween - “The Fucked Jam” Quebec 8. Daft Punk - “Robot Rock” - Human After All 9. Ben Browning - “I Can’t Stay” - I Can’t Stay 10. The Cat Empire - “Two Shoes” - Two Shoes

11. Charles Aznavour - “La Boheme” - Monsieur Carnaval 12. Alex Clare - “Damn Your Eyes” - Single 13. Chet Faker – “I’m Into You” Thinking In Textures 14. Andrew Bird - “Desperation Breeds” - Break It Yourself 15. Blood Orange - “Sutphin Boulevard” - Single 16. Brother Ali - “Tight Rope” - Us 17. Radiohead - “Lotus Flower (Jacques Greene Remix) - Single 18. Clams Casino - “I’m God” Single 19. Left Boy - “I Want To” - Single 20. Trentemøller - “Shades Of Marble” - Into the Great Wide Yonder

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

15

feSTivAl

Ooh La L.A.! formerly los Angeles-based festival hits road for the love of french electronica Gabriel ellison-Scowcroft Contributor & photographer

Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

S

ynthesizer, reverb and electronic pop rocked the Ooh La L.A. festival’s first ever Montreal appearance on Oct. 16. The audience at La Société des arts technologiques was treated to the newest up-and-coming French label pop bands in a fun-filled evening. A unique aspect of Montreal’s first Ooh La L.A. was the relative lack of notoriety amongst the bands. Only Housse de Racket, the closing band, had released an album before October, while Tomorrow’s Child has yet to release their first album. It was certainly an unusual vibe with the audience never quite certain what they might hear next.

French artist LESCOP opened the night with tracks from his newly released debut album Lescop. The best word to describe this young Frenchman would be ‘smooth.’ Everything from his voice to his seamless beats and stage presence set the tone for the evening. That said, he had heads bobbing from the get-go with tracks like “La Forêt” and “Tokyo, La Nuit.”

Following LESCOP was the newly formed band Citizens! Members Tom Burke, Lawrence Diamond, Mike Evans, Martyn Richmond and Thom Rhoades hail from London and were arguably the most fun to watch. Signed to the French label Kitsuné, the five-piece band provided an upbeat, captivating performance. There wasn’t a single person in the room who wasn’t dancing by the end of their set. Formed in 2011, Citizens! released their debut album Here We Are on Oct. 3.

Tomorrow’s Child were third on the line up.

Although the duo haven’t yet released an album, they were easily the most well-renowned band because of member Jean-Benoit Dunckel. Dunckel is also a member of the hit French pop band Air. While he took over the beats, keyboard and backup vocals, a glitter-adorned Lou Hayter took charge of the lead vocals. Hayter’s ethereal voice paired with Dunckel’s synthesizer produced a dark but beautiful sound. Smoke machines and a constantly changing colourful light display aided in developing their trance-like feel.

If Tomorrow’s Child put the audience into a trance, Housse de Racket woke everyone up.

Lead singer Pierre Leroux opened up their set by hailing the Montreal crowd: “We’re very tired because we’ve been on tour for two years but we’re happy to be here!” Drummer Victor Le Manse pounded his drum kit while Leroux hopped around the stage, bringing a new level of energy.

Although each of the bands had their own distinct sound, the predominant vibe of Ooh La L.A. was an electronic one. Each artist brought energy in the form of synth or electronic beats, but tempo and style varied with each band. In between artists a masked DJ laid down house beats as the stage was reset for the next performer.

In essence, the festival devoted a night to French labels. Founded in 2009 by Sylvain Taillet, artistic director of French label Barclay/Universal Music France, the festival aims to bring French bands and bands signed to French labels to North American audiences. Originally, Ooh La L.A. was held exclusively in Los Angeles, but it has since expanded. After a three-day stint in Los Angeles this October, Ooh La L.A. moved to San Francisco, Montreal and finally New York City.

Ooh La L.A.’s coordinator, Marion Chapdelaine, was pleased with the first Montreal version of the festival: “It was a big success given that it is the first time we have come to Montreal,” she said.

“We’re definitely coming back next year!”

To echo Ms. Chapdelaine’s words, Ooh La L.A. was an eventful and well-planned evening.

It is well worth a look when the festival revisits Montreal next year.

>>>The RooTs of The classics

New York University music students are in for a treat this spring as musical Renaissance man and The Roots drummer Questlove is reportedly on board to teach a course entitled Classic Albums. The idea for the course was partly inspired by an NPR intern’s lackluster review of Public Enemy’s seminal It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. The NPR interns were asked to review classic albums they’d never heard before, and after writing that, given the choice, he’d rather “blast Drake’s infectiously triumphant mp3s every time,” Questlove responded saying it was his job to find out why an album is considered a classic. “He’s one of the smartest people in music, besides being a fantastic musician,” said associate professor of Recorded Music Jason King. The two-credit class will reportedly cover such notable albums as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Led Zeppelin’s IV, and Aretha Franklin’s Lady Soul.

>>>GaGa’s la Vie en Toes

Lady Gaga’s long-time interest in French singer Edith Piaf has taken a turn for the bizarre, as she is reportedly in talks to buy a number of items once owned by the star, such as clothes, shoes, perfume bottles, private letters and even her toenail clippings.

Gaga’s people are also looking into buying footage of Piaf’s first filmed performance, as well as licensing some of her songs from EMI. The “Just Dance” singer’s love for the French star has been apparent of late; she’s been playing the icon’s music as an entrance theme at parties and has even requested a party be held at Piaf’s hometown during Paris Fashion week.

>>>DiDn’T GRassi?

he GRaDuaTe fRom

De-

Ontarian rapper Drake announced his latest accomplishment via Twitter last Wednesday; he finally made it through high school.

“97% on my final exam. 88% in the course.

One of the greatest feelings in my entire life.

As of tonight I have graduated high school!”

Drake, 25, dropped out of high school to pursue his acting career on Degrassi: The Next Generation, but says an invite to be a guest coach for the University of Kentucky inspired him to get his diploma. “I never really got like a great school experience. And when [University of Kentucky’s] Coach Cal asked me to come here for the first Midnight Madness it just really gave me a sense of school, a sense of love, a sense of belonging to something,” said the new graduate.

>>>GooDbye my loVeR

froM top to bottoM: Citizens!, housse de raCket, toMorroW’s Child and laurenCe diaMond of Citizens.

Ladies, get your hankies. If you haven’t yet caught this English crooner’s live rendition of “You’re Beautiful,” you may have missed your chance. James Blunt revealed to a reporter at The Daily Mail over the weekend that he is officially calling it quits on the music industry. “I just want to take some time out for myself. I haven’t got any plans to do more songwriting,” said Blunt. “I have been chilling out since I finished my world tour and I’ve spent a lot of time in Ibiza, where I have a villa.” Twitter had a field day with the announcement, even Blunt joined in tweeting “I’m pretty sure Adele and James Blunt were dumped by the same man.”

16

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Column

Streams of the week Three of the latest discoveries to quench our earbuds Elizabeth Mackay Music editor

Aidan Knight - Small Reveal (2012; Outside Music) With the release of his second full-length album, Aidan Knight has honed honest folk far beyond his years. The 25-year-old B.C. native has performed and recorded with Dan Mangan, The Zolas and Hannah Georgas, as well helping establish the record label Adventure Boys Club.

Though Knight is primarily known for upbeat, campfire acoustics, Small Reveal takes a darker turn. Many of the songs detail Knight’s reflection on what it means to be a songwriter. The album trailer, available on Knight’s YouTube page, juxtaposes Small Reveal with footage of a girl spending her a days bouncing between two lives — that of a waitress and a beekeeper. The video illustrates how isolated one can feel balancing practicality with passion, though it’s the path most have to take. CBC Music published a full preview of Small Reveal ahead of its Oct. 23 release date.

Luke Lalonde - “Grand (Rhythmnals)” - Rhythmnals (2012; Paper Bag) His name may not ring a bell, but Luke Lalonde’s got a voice that most with CBC Radio 3 on rotation will recognize. As the frontman of Ontario pop-rock band Born Ruffians, Lalonde has shared the stage with Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand and Peter Bjorn and John.

The Ruffians even appeared on the cult U.K. series Skins playing their hit “Hummingbird.”

The band has been slow to release new material over the years, touring off 2010’s Say It as recently as this year’s Pop Montreal. The band is rumored to have a new album out in 2013, but it is clear that Lalonde has focused efforts on his solo career. Lalonde wrote and recorded Rhythmnals from early 2010 to spring of 2012, perfecting each song on his own from beginning to end. “Grand,” the album’s opening track, is the perfect mixture of acoustic pop and snappy electronica. The full album is out Oct. 30.

Blue Hawaii - “In Two” - Untogether (2013; Arbutus) Almost two years later, frontwoman Raphaelle Standell-Preston is still lapping up the success of Braids’ studio debut, Native Speaker. Though prepping for the 2013 release of the band’s next album, Standell-Preston reunited with her Blue Hawaii partner, Alexander Cowan, to produce Untogether. The Montreal-based label and DIY music community, Arbutus Records, made two of Blue Hawaii’s Untogether tracks available for streaming and free download last week. If “In Two” and “In Two (pt II) serve as an album taster, a few things are certain — the duo is moving farther from pop and closer to chillwave, their studio-crafted sound is now more spacious and dark, and this is young, indie-house that you can’t help but dance to. Blue Hawaii debuted their material last weekend at New York City’s College Media Journal (CMJ) Music Marathon to rave reviews.

Quick spins 20 mixtape

Sky Ferreira - Ghost EP (2012; Capitol)

Black Moth Super Rainbow – Cobra Juicy (2012; Rad Cult)

Martha Wainwright - Come Home to Mama (2012; V2 Records)

Various Artists - REWORK_Philip Glass Remixed (Orange Mountain Music; 2012)

“What does Sky Ferreira even do?” some ask, in mention of the hipster icon’s second EP, Ghost. In short, model-turned-musician Ferreira makes her living by looking pouty and occasionally singing. But she isn’t some auto-tuned, over produced pop fairy, like one may have suggested prior to Ghost.

The opening number, “Sad Dreams,” is an acoustic lullaby, featuring a tambourine, standup bass and ukulele. Ferreira’s alto drips over the bass line like a pro. The EP’s second track, “Lost In My Bedroom,” could make 12-year-olds squeal into their hairbrushes while prancing in front of a mirror, reminiscent of Ferreira’s earlier electronic singles. The title track, “Ghost,” is a soft rock ballad with just enough country to make you sway. Another song channels Courtney Love. The last track features lo-fi pop with an ‘80s drum machine twist. With such variation, you could say Miss Ferreira has a little something for everyone.

From the second the aptly titled “Windshield Smasher” takes you into Black Moth Super Rainbow’s sixth full length album in nine years, it prepares you for the rush. With experimentally eloquent wide bass lines, you can feel your neck pushing your head along to its heavy vibes, slowly coming in layer upon layer. The Cobra Juicy rush calms and then jolts you for a second wind, loud and exalting, followed by a preparation for a crash. Instead of reaching a plateau, the album gets you high once again, breaking all further expectations, before it suddenly comes to an end.

The album follows suit, with highs, lows and atmospherical invitations in “The Healing Power of Nothing” and dance-friendly numbers like “Gangs in the Garden.” If you like a variety of musical stylings, lush vocals and flowing, engaging electronica, you can’t go wrong with Cobra Juicy.

Come Home to Mama confirms that Montreal-born Martha Wainwright still has a voice as incredible as when she used to musically interject her father, Loudon Wainwright, with the feisty “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole.” The record is powerful and deep with hoarse edges, and then suddenly turns airy, almost fragile, when she whispers the lyrics of “Everything Wrong.”

Musical arrangements throughout the record vary in unexpected ways, though the unusual-for-Martha electronic twist lacks unity. With her voice and guitar, Wainwright takes us on a musical journey, discussing what it’s like to settle into “adult life” and navigate from the loss of a mother to the birth of a son. The resulting record is intimate and poetic. Some parts of the album are full of energy, love and hope, but others hint at pain, as life often does.

In celebration of his 75th birthday, Philip Glass approached Beck to create a remix album.

Unlike most tribute albums which predictably create a dance remix of the artist’s ‘’greatest hits’’ catalog, REWORK was conceived to do as its name implies, rework Glass’ pieces into something new. With this in mind, Beck collected an impressive group of collaborators: Tyondai Braxton, Johann Johannsson, Peter Broderick and Beck himself, to name but a few.

Each artist reinterprets the avant-garde composer’s tracks. Not an easy feat, considering Glass’ extensive body of work. Beck’s ‘’NYC: 73-78’’ incorporates over 20 of Glass’ compositions creating a ‘’distillation of the composer’s entire career as a continuum,’’ while Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson constructs a solemn film score with ‘’Protest.’’ iPhone users be on the lookout for the interactive app, created by Scott Snibbe Studio (Bjork’s ‘’Biophilia’’ project), set to be released with REWORK.

Trial track: “Lost in my bedroom”

Trial track: “Windshield Smasher”

Trial track: “Proserpina”

Trial track: “NYC: 73-78”

8.7/10

- Leah Batstone

8.5/10

- Jamie Klinger

7/10

-Flora Hammond

9/10

-Paul Traunero

sports

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

17

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com PrOfile

Concordia’s not-so-secret weapon Stingers rookie makes her case for top Canadian rugby teams Andrew Maggio Staff writer At a glance, Bianca Farella is a regular Concordia student. In reality, though, she’s one of Canada’s rising rugby stars, and is a fierce competitor opponents could do without.

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team found a rookie sensation in Farella; the 20-year-old Côte St-Luc native joins Concordia after spending the last two and a half years honing her skills at Dawson College.

“Other schools like Acadia, St. Francis Xavier, and Laval asked me [to join their programs], but I like to stay close to home,” said Farella. “I’m happy I decided to stay.”

Farella, who is studying behavioural neuroscience, is the farthest thing from a rookie in the figurative sense — she led the entire country in tries with 12 in six games, including five in the Stingers’ home-opener, an 80-0 win ober the Sherbrooke Vert & Or. She’s also made her mark at the provincial and international levels, most notably the Team Canada Sevens squad and the Nations Cup team.

Farella’s rugby career began during her first year of high school at Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s School and she hasn’t looked back since.

“I started in grade seven because I wanted to try something new, and the only spring sports they had at my high school were badminton and tennis,” said Farella. “I’m more of a team sport kind of person, so I chose rugby and I stuck with it.”

It was only later on in her career that Farella started to realize that she was talented enough to compete with the best players locally, nationally and, eventually, internationally.

“I was told by my coaches that I was good enough to play at this level, and when I got there I realized it that I could,” she said.

“I think it was when I went to the Nations Cup two summers ago that I realized that I had the talent for it.”

Farella’s rise up the national rugby ranks

Photo by Judy Teasdale will continue this coming January when she’ll be moving to British Columbia to continue training with the Canada Sevens team.

The country’s top 20 players convene for “centralization” where they will be able to train full-time in good conditions.

For now, Farella’s sights are set on the Stingers next — and most important — game of the season, which will go down on Saturday afternoon in Quebec City. The Stingers will take on the only team that was able to beat them during the regular season, the Laval Rouge et Or, with the Réseau de Sport Étudiant du Québec championship on the line.

“Our goal at the beginning of the season

was to make the finals,” said Farella. “We knew Laval would be our biggest opponent, and we lost to them during the regular season (27-20).”

“We just need to focus, especially at practice. Sometimes not everyone’s in it, not everyone’s head is at practice. We need everything we have to beat them. They’re stronger and a little smarter. We just have to stay on.”

It’s clear she has appreciated by her teammates and coaches, as head coach Graeme McGravie sang the praises of his first-year centre after the team’s 12-3 semi-final win against McGill Friday night.

“She works so hard at training, and she

works on the little things. Good athletes do that,” said McGravie. “There’s a lot of room for her to improve still, but the good thing about it is that she’s very humble and she knows that and she’s prepared to put the time in to work on that.”

Farella has set the bar high for herself going forward; she is gunning for a spot on Canada’s roster for the upcoming 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, as well as the team Canada will be sending to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Suffice to say, if Farella continues to make an impact on every team she lines up for, her name will appear on both those rosters.

But for now, bring on Laval.

CAMPuS

Stingers and Swarm organize blood drive Héma-Québec hosts blood drive at loyola campus David S. landsman Contributor Next Monday, a blood drive will be held at Concordia’s Loyola Campus parking lot at 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. from 9:30

a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m.

“It takes an hour of your time, and you save four lives in the process,” explained event organizer Jayme Shell of the Stingers’ women’s hockey team. “It’s a true win-win situation.”

According to Héma-Québec, three per cent of eligible Quebecers actually give blood.

“We wanted to organize the event as a way to give back to the community and

help give back to those who support us as athletes,” said Shell, about why they decided to plan such an event for a noble cause. “Giving blood is a simple way to help others.”

The requirements are simple: bring an ID card, be at least 18-years-old or older, make sure you have not had any body modifications (piercings or tattoos) within a six month time period and eat and drink well before donating.

18

Tuesday, October 23, 2011

Men’S HOCkey

WOMen’S HOCkey

theconcordian

Concordia’s comeback falls short Concordia handed third loss Ottawa defeats men’s team after a slow start

The team is now 0-3 to start the season

File photo From a previous stingers game against mcgill university. photo by marie-Josee kelly

the team has promise, but is having trouble getting out oF te gate. photo by alyssa tremblay

Tim lazier Staff writer

Samantha Mileto Contributor

In any sport, if a team does not play from the first to the final whistle, odds are that team is going to lose. The Stingers men’s hockey team found out the hard way Friday night, when they hosted the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Despite controlling the last two periods, the Stingers could not overcome a slow start and lost 5-3.

Ottawa scored 32 seconds into the game and the Stingers were down before the home crowd at Ed Meagher Arena had settled into their seats. The Gee-Gees outshot the Stingers 14-5 and went two-for-two on power-play opportunities in the period, however, Concordia did not capitalize on theirs. By the end of the first period the Stingers were down 4-0 and could never come all the way back.

“I don’t think we came out the way we should have come out tonight,” said Concordia’s head coach Kevin Figsby. “For some reason we didn’t have that intensity in the first 20 minutes.”

Stingers starting goaltender Antonio Mastropietro had a short night as he gave up three goals on his first six shots. He was replaced

by Loic Boivin who had a great game off the bench. Boivin saved 26 out of the 28 shots that he faced and gave Concordia a solid chance to come back.

Once the Stingers stepped onto the ice

to start the second period, the momentum changed. Etienne Archambault scored for the Stingers 43 seconds into the second and gave the home crowd life for the first time during the game. From then on, the Stingers took it to the Gee-Gees and out shot them 22-20 in the final two periods. Alexandre Monahan scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period and then Youssef Kabbaj scored three minutes into the third to cut the deficit to two.

“I am proud of the way the guys bounced back, I am proud of the intensity that we showed in the second period,” said Figsby.

“For 40 minutes we were the better team on the ice.”

Although that was as close as it got for Concordia, there was reason for optimism.

Most teams would have given up after falling behind 4-0, but the Stingers fought hard and made a game of it. If it was not for Concordia’s slow start, it would have been an entirely different game.

“It’s young in the season,” Figsby said.

“We got to learn as a young team to play consistently for 60 minutes, we didn’t do it tonight and it hurt us.”

The team has a week to rest before playing a home-and-away double-header with the RMC Paladins. The Stingers will play host first on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Ed Meagher Arena. Both teams will face off again on Saturday at RMC at 7 p.m.

The Concordia Stingers lost 3-1 in a tight game on Saturday afternoon against the Carleton Ravens at Ed Meagher Arena.

The first period saw the Stingers go down after a controversial call by the referee. At 15:18, Ravens defenseman Kelsey Vander Veen shot at a scramble in front of the Stingers net. The puck did not seem to have crossed the line, and the goal light did not go on. However, the referee credited the goal to Vander Veen, which gave the Ravens the 1-0 lead.

“I thought [the call] was a little bit unfair,” Stingers captain Mallory Lawton said.

“We have people who sit [behind the net] to put the goal light on and the goal light never went on.”

Just before the first period ended, Stingers defenseman Margaret Hotte was boarded and injured her ankle. She left the game with the help of a trainer and did not return.

In the second period, Concordia pressured Ravens goalie Tamber Tisdale to try to tie the game. Left winger Veronique Laramee Paquette took a nice cross-pass from right winger Erin Lally with just under six minutes to go in the period, but she couldn’t find the back of the net.

The Ravens doubled their lead when a

weak wrist shot by forward Ainslee Kent from the side of the net managed to go past Carolanne Lavoi-Pilon at 7:12 of the second period.

But with one minute left in the period, Laramee Paquette blasted a shot past Tisdale to cut the Ravens’ lead to 2-1.

The third period was quiet, until 16:36, when defenseman Laurie Proulx-Duperre was sent to the penalty box for roughing.

Frustration ensued for the Stingers and a short scuffle broke out.

Just after play continued, the Stingers found themselves down two players when defenseman Mary-Jane Roper was sent to the box for four minutes for a hit to the head from behind, destroying the Stingers hopes to tie the game.

At 19:17, the Ravens put the game away when Alexandra Yallouz scored into the empty net.

“I thought we worked hard,” said head coach Les Lawton. “Obviously we’re having a hard time putting the puck in the net. It’s a real tough loss for us because [...] we’ve been working hard. Hopefully we could get it together for next weekend.”

Concordia travels to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. before returning home to play McGill at Ed Meagher Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m.

WOMen’S rugby

Concordia defeats McGill and heads to RSEQ finals laval will face off against Stingers for fifth year in a row kevin Duarte Sports editor The Stingers women’s rugby team did not disappoint in getting to the RSEQ playoff finals. Last year, they were defeated by the Laval Rouge et Or 43-27. This year, they had to overcome the McGill Martlets in the semi-finals. The game was played on a rainy Friday night at Concordia Stadium.

Within five minutes of the first half, the Stingers scored an early try and successfully converted the ensuing kick to go up 7-0.

At the midway point, the Martlets took advantage of a Concordia penalty by scoring from a kick. Concordia’s lead was narrowed down to 7-3 as the half came to a close.

After the Stingers missed a kick at 9:30, they were back on the attack two minutes later. They threatened the Martlets by finding gaps in the defense and by cycling the ball around. Concordia’s aggressive play with possession saw the team within a few yards of the try line. McGill recuperate, stopping ConU on the goal line.

The half ended without any more points.

Concordia took a slim four-point lead into the break.

The final 40 minutes were quite similar to the first. Both sides continued to trade possession until Concordia finally found a break with 15 min-

utes to go. The Stingers managed to get the ball down to the McGill five-yard line, but a penalty saw them unable to score any points.

In the final 10 minutes of the game, the visiting Martlets upped the pressure and started to make their way down the Concordia half. McGill were desperate to take the lead and a good passing play saw them on the Stingers’ 20-yard line.

Concordia’s defense once again denied their rivals’ progression and regained possession.

With 4:30 minutes left, Concordia fans were finally able to breathe easier; a mistake in midfield made by McGill left Stinger Frederique Rajotte with space and a clear path to the try line.

The game ended 12-3 for the Stingers.

“You always want to score first and put points up when they give them to you,” said Stingers

head coach Graeme McGravie about the early try.

“I was really happy we executed there, but I was a little upset we took the pedal off after that.”

With Laval’s win on Saturday in the other semi-final, Concordia will have a chance to avenge their slim five-point loss on Oct. 12 to the Rouge et Or. The final has massive implications as Laval defeated the Stingers in last year’s playoffs. Since 2007, Concordia still has an advantage by winning the playoffs three times compared to Laval’s two RSEQ championship wins.

“We thought we should have won last week,” said McGravie. “I feel great going to next week.”

The RSEQ finals will be played Saturday, Oct. 27, 1:00 p.m. at the University of Laval’s Stade Telus. The game will also be online.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

19

Men’S SOCCer

Stingers keep playoff hopes alive important 1-0 victory at home sees the men’s soccer team four points away from playoffs chance come in the 37th minute.

UQÁM played a corner kick to the near post which was met by Imad Agday’s head. The ball deflected off the crossbar and was recovered by the Stingers.

Two minutes later, Concordia answered back by hitting a post of their own. A low cross from the left side found Stinger Gabriel Quinn atop the box and his powerful blast nailed the crossbar.

To end the half, both sides had two big opportuconcordia stinger goes For a breakaway with a citadins player on his heels. photo by madelayne haJek nities to open the scoring.

UQÁM kevin Duarte last Sunday, Concordia was happy to welcome managed to hit another crossbar, while a ConSports editor back Bryan and Fabian Troche to the starting cordia two-on-one resulted in a diving save by lineup. Both players missed that match due to the Citadins goalkeeper. he Stingers got their second victory suspension.

Early in the second half, the maroon and of the season when they played host The action started with Bryan almost put- gold won a free kick from around 25 yards to the UQÁM Citadins on Sunday af- ting the Stingers up by a goal two minutes in. out. Bryan stepped up and curled a shot off ternoon. After a scoreless first half, He controlled a through ball from the midfield the nearside post.

Concordia striker Andrew Bryan found the and set off towards the opponents’ net. A CitaIn the 55th minute, Stingers defender Steback of the net in the 73rd minute to earn his dins defender was able to catch up to Bryan phen Meterissian missed a tap-in to give his side an important three points. and forced him to shoot wide. side the lead. Two minutes later, he would After a big loss to league leaders Montréal The Citadins would see their first major miss another chance, this time from a header.

T

UQÁM had another decent opportunity in the 69th minute. Charles Noël took control of the ball and set off alone towards Concordia keeper Remo Taraschi. Taraschi’s charge resulted in Noël trying to chip the ball into the goal. The effort barely missed the target.

In the 73rd minute, the deadlock was finally broken. After a good combination play by the Stingers in midfield, center back Christopher Mirasyedi sent a perfect long ball to Bryan. Bryan controlled the ball with a good first-touch and blasted home a shot from inside the box.

The Stingers would manage to conserve the slender one-nil lead until the final whistle.

“We played well in the first half. We stuck to a very simple game plan and we got the result,” said Stingers Assistant Coach Francois Bastien. “It’s not too late to get a little bit of momentum going on, so I hope that carries through to the next games.”

The key to Concordia’s victory came from an organized back line and some good attacks. The team was able to keep the ball in UQÁM’s half of the field, thus eliminating the possibility of an attack on their own goal.

“My team played solid at the back,” said Remo Taraschi. “It’s like we’re playing playoff soccer right now and they’re putting their bodies on the line to make things easier for me.”

Concordia will close out the season this coming week with a game on Friday night when they travel to Sherbrooke to play the Vert et Or. The Stingers return home on Sunday afternoon to face the Laval Rouge et Or.

opinions 20

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com ediTORiAl

Put your money where your keyboards are How internet interaction, with the help of social networking, is taking a turn for the worse

A quick word about the Internet.

Recently we have begun to feel pretty disheartened about the way people interact on the Internet. This amazing advancement of technology which can offer us so much has actually brought out the worst in some of us.

There is so much incredible knowledge and tools that didn’t exist 50 years ago.

We have so much to be thankful for in this computer-driven age and yet humanity can’t seem to stem the flow of bad news, tasteless humour and threads upon threads of trolling.

There’s a buzzword to watch out for. Not trolling, that’s not important in the grand scheme of things, the other one: humanity. If you have been following this media

circus that is the Amanda Todd story, then surely you will understand where a lack of faith in the good of humanity is coming from.

Being able to hide your face on an anonymous forum is one thing, but posting mean-spirited things about a 15-year-old girl because she was sexually exploited and killed herself from your Facebook account is truly bewildering and shocking.

Someone is dead. This is a tragedy, and the fact that hundreds of people have so little compassion for her and so little shame about what they are saying, that they have the nerve to post malicious things using their own name, is bizarre. It is inexplicable.

Tell me, how is anyone allowed to get

away with that?

They can’t, that’s the point. One man in Ontario lost his job over a negative post he made concerning Todd’s untimely death.

We don’t mean to get on our high horse about this, but it just doesn’t seem logical or ethical. What kind of person hears about a teenager committing suicide and thinks, ‘I should probably post something degrading on her Facebook memorial page.”

Your co-workers will see that.

Your friends will see that.

Amanda Todd’s family might see that.

We wouldn’t stoop to publish some of the comments made on the multiple memorial pages that have sprung up in the last two weeks but, take our word for it,

we are not overreacting.

This is an overarching problem which ties into how we view the Internet as a society. On one hand, we want to stop cyberbullying and the sharing of child porn, on the other, we want freedom of information and privacy rights.

So where do we draw the line then?

When do things become so bad that people stop and think for a minute before posting some idiotic and offensive opinion online for the world to see? It’s not your personal Internet, it’s a massive network which connects billions of people. What you say and do has an effect, and anyone with a shred of respect for other people must agree that these are not the kind of posts we want popping up on our newsfeeds.

enviROnMenT

Saving Canada’s natural wildlife Why the Species At Risk Act is in desperate need of help Milène Ortenberg Contributor

F

lora and fauna are an undeniable part of Canadian identity. They are a hallmark symbol that appear everywhere, from our coins to our beer bottles, representing our nation worldwide.

But what is being done to protect our native wildlife from the changing landscape of our country? With Ottawa’s recent announcement to give the Species at Risk Act (SARA) a much needed overhaul, many ecologists and environmentalists fear that the strategies proposed by Environment Minister Peter Kent would further disable the act.

Parliament has initiated a mandatory fiveyear review of the act’s effectiveness in which four independent environmental organizations have collaborated to provide feedback and recommendations on its implementation.

Among these are Ecojustice, Environmental Defense, the David Suzuki Foundation and Nature Canada.

In place since 2002, SARA’s purpose is to ensure protection and recovery for species at risk in Canada. They have the official listings and recognitions of plants and animals under their jurisdiction, with the mandate of identifying the habitats to protect fragile ecosystems. Some animals affected by the Act are grizzly bears, timber rattlesnakes, woodland caribou, screech owls and many more.

SARA also receives recommendations from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada but often significantly delays adding recommended species to the list or doesn’t add them at all. According to the David Suzuki Foundation website,

animals can be denied listing because of “economic, social or political impacts.”

For example, the site refers to the fact that scientists have recommended that polar bears be added to the list of endangered species, but the government has continued to postpone the addition.

This is one of the main shortcomings of SARA according to the review board, claiming the delays for inclusion in the listing are too long, going way beyond the official ninemonth deadline. According to Nature Canada, 53 species at risk are facing a faster decline while the government takes 17 to 29 months to determine the listing, some of which are indefinitely pending.

Of the 551 species recommended by the committee, only 449 have been adopted by SARA. Only 35 per cent of the fish assessed to be “at risk” have been added to the list since 2004, and none that are “endangered or threatened.”

A major flaw is the absence of a clear timeline for action planning strategies. With no legal binding agreement to deadlines, projects sometimes remain idle and unfinished for years, going way past their initial due date.

The other problem is that the majority of reports which are done do not identify critical habitat. Habitat loss is the main cause for population declines in a staggering 84 per cent of species at risk in Canada. Identifying these habitats has proven to be a difficult task, since SARA does not cover the country as a whole. Protection of habitat is only mandatory on federally owned land such as national parks, military bases and much of the northern territories.

It seems that the government is focused principally on the cost efficiency of the Species At Risk Act. Recovery strategies and action plans to protect our habitats and our species are not cheap, and in a still fumbling economy, our wildlife has been put on the

Photo from Flickr

back burner. Habitats are not determined by political boundaries and governments should extend the coverage of wildlife regardless of land ownership. Regulated timelines forged by the law should also be more vigorously applied, since the delays in countless projects are paralyzing the recovery of many species.

In the 10 years that have followed SARA’s creation, it seems Canada has not taken bold enough actions to save our precious legacy. Let’s just hope that in the coming months the right decisions concerning aligning priorities are made, for the sake of the animals and us.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

21

bullying

Legislation can only do so much How social networking in the digital age makes bullies that much harder to stop

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

Robin Della Corte Assistant news editor

A

fter 15-year-old Amanda Todd from British Columbia took her life two weeks ago because of the constant cyber bullying she was exposed to over a long period of time, some Canadian provinces have been discussing new legislation that might have to be implemented to stop cyber bullying all together.

According to The Calgary Herald, Alberta Education Minister Jeff Johnson is hoping to make some changes to the Education Act partly in light of the recent tragedy.

The legislation will make it an obligation for school boards “to offer a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe environment.”

In an interview for the Montreal Gazette, Premier of British Columbia Christy Clark said that enforcing more laws and being stricter on cyber bullying will be a strong

statement about where Canada stands as a society.

“I think we should have a national conversation about whether or not we should criminalize cyber-bullying,” said Clark.

The national media focus has been on Todd’s story of cyber-bullying and sexual harassment since she died on Oct. 10, leaving a YouTube video that went viral soon after. Photos of Todd half-naked were posted by a stalker on a false Facebook account which led to much of the harassment from her peers and an alleged assault.

According to CBC, a concerned citizen had contacted cybertip.ca last November to report images of Todd that were online. The report was later passed to law enforcement as well as child welfare.

Here is the problem: if these groups and organizations were contacted, why wasn’t anything done then? Why does everyone start to pay attention only once everything is said and done?

Now that Canadian politicians feel more motivated to do something about it, here’s some things they should do: have support groups in schools where young people can come and talk about how they feel, encourage parents and teachers to get involved, and raise more awareness about the issues with public campaigns.

If a student is being bullied, we need to have services available at schools for people to go and get help. Parents or guardians have a responsibility to get involved with an anti-bullying program or advise a teacher at school if they know their child is a victim of bullying.

Implementing more overarching laws isn’t guaranteed to produce positive results.

We need more change on a local level within schools and communities.

Many teens hide behind the Internet to bully others anonymously and social networks give these bullies the opportunities to do so. I believe social networks, like Fa-

cebook and Twitter, should be a lot more accountable and socially responsible. Why did Facebook allow this blatant attack and breach of privacy on a minor to appear on the site? Better yet, why did no one report the inappropriate images? There is a “report” button for this very purpose at the bottom of each photo and though no information has yet been released from Facebook, it is hard to believe that Todd herself would not have tried that alternative to get the photos taken down.

Even with new legislation, there will never be a concrete end to cyber bullying as long as bystanders and bullies continue. There will always be someone in your ear saying negative things about you. The problem will only end once the Internet is controlled in a way which does not allow these things to happen, and when people stop standing idly by as more and more young people fall victim to this awful trend.

CUP

Is it all work and no play?

Why we should focus less on employment and more on building communities Sophie Isbister The Other Press (Douglas College) NEW WESTMINISTER (CUP) — If there’s anything that we can all agree on, it’s that life is hard. Jobs don’t pay enough, rent’s too high and groceries are getting more expensive every year.

The experience of Canadians definitely seems to be reflecting this trend. In a recent Ipsos-Reid poll it was discovered that one in five Canadian workers experience depression. In a similar vein, a Sept. 10 Macleans article titled “Campus crisis: the broken generation” profiles depression and suicide at U.S. and Canadian campuses.

Both the Macleans article and the CBC’s coverage of the depression poll focus on ways that campuses and workplaces can support people living with mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Sure, employers can offer comprehensive mental health

benefits such as access to counselling and good extended benefits, but does that really solve the root issue of our culture’s epidemic of malaise?

What’s so bad about being depressed anyway? I can see a lot of other things out there to be upset about.

Take for example the pressure to be happy.

A quick perusal of the Craigslist jobs section tells me that employers are looking for a “positive attitude and enthusiastic outlook,” a “fun-loving” employee who can “work well under pressure while keeping a smile.” This is all well and good in service and hospitality (if you hate people, it’s probably in your best interest to steer clear of these industries anyway), but you’re expecting me to have a “get-up-and-go attitude” in my job scraping barnacles off the underside of Rosie O’Donnell?

“Happiness,” that nebulous, hard-tograsp concept seems to be the number one requirement to find employment these days. But I think all our problems could be solved if we focused on attaining happiness through avenues that aren’t tied to our

livelihood.

Think about what you’d do if you didn’t have to work 40 hours a week. I like to think that if I had an extra day off I would read more, spend more time with friends and family or maybe devote more time to my personal writing. If I worked a six-hour day instead of an eight-hour day, I might use that extra two hours to prepare a wholesome lunch for the next day or divide my time between domestic duties and social engagements. I know I’d sleep more, feel less rushed and apply a clearer head to the work that I do.

When your identity is wrapped up in your employment, and that employment is underpaid and loaded with awful I’lltake-all-your-bullshit-andthank-you-for-it expectations, it’s no wonder Canadians, workers and students alike, are depressed.

Perhaps instead of pushing people to work 50-hour weeks with overtime being the norm or instead of subtly

penalizing women in the workplace for taking maternity leave, society should evolve to work less.

Why else have we created all this wealth in the Western world if not to reap the benefits of prosperity?

What would be a better benefit than the freedom to develop an identity separate from your work, to have the time to foster a stronger community?

Maybe I’m an idealist, but I hope that the next generation of Canadian society can open their minds to the idea that the 40-hour workweek is damaging our health, both mentally and physically.

Graphic by Joel McCarthy

22

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

POliTiCS

Obama vs. Romney: Cracking down on the presidential debates With the American election fast-approaching, it’s time for Canada’s neighbours to make a choice

Michael Wrobel Contributor In a democracy, one would hope that an election debate would serve to further enlighten and inform the electorate. Unfortunately, the U.S. presidential debates served more as populist entertainment than as a crash-course for undecided voters.

The second debate between Democratic and Republican presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney took place at Hofstra University in New York. In an interesting twist the debate was modeled on a “town hall” meeting with the audience asking the presidential candidates questions. The questions were all pre-approved by moderator Candy Crowley of CNN, making it a bit more controlled than an actual town hall meeting.

During the debate, promises were made, fingers were pointed and the undecided voters who participated in the event were repeatedly thanked for their “important” and “great” questions.

Both candidates did well in the debate with neither making any particularly damaging mistakes.

Obama, whose lacklustre performance in the first debate shocked many pundits and supporters, was back to his old self in this one. He was more confrontational with Romney, accusing him repeatedly of saying things that were “not true.”

According to USA Today, Obama claimed Romney was lying so many times during the debate, that Taggart Romney (eldest son of the Republican candidate) wanted to “rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him.” If this contemplation of violence doesn’t demonstrate the excessively hyper-partisan nature of American politics, I don’t know what does.

Romney held his own without his son coming to his defense. As in the first debate, the former governor of Massachusetts looked confident and spoke with conviction. He scored political points by attacking Obama’s record on job creation and his management of the economy.

Needless to say, the fiery debate made for good political theatre.

Ultimately the biggest winners in last Tuesday’s debate were the fact-checkers, who were gainfully employed dispelling the many halftruths being spewed out by the presidential candidates. If viewers thought they would be more informed by the end of the night, they were sorely mistaken.

Obama claimed he could spend more on social programs by cutting military expenditures on wars in the Middle East. Unless Obama can multiply $100 bills like magic, there’s no way that cutbacks can save money. The United States has been borrowing money in order to finance the military; ending overseas conflict will not necessarily mean more money to spend on Medicare and public schools.

Romney tried to score points among women voters by saying he led one of the most genderdiverse cabinets in his state’s history. The presidential candidate said he wanted more women in his cabinet and had looked through “whole binders full of women” for female candidates to appoint to various positions. While he was patting himself on the back, The Christian Science Monitor was reporting that it was the nonpartisan Massachusetts Government Appointments Project that instigated this process in order to finally end the underrepresentation of women in government.

Questions also remain about the viability of Romney’s plan to cut taxes, which the Republican candidate touted during the debate. The Washington-based Tax Policy Center essentially said in a study that his numbers don’t add up.

That’s not to say that there weren’t ounces of truth mixed in with the doublespeak, but there was still an incredible amount of untruths and half-truths in the debate.

It’s disappointing that third-party candidates don’t receive nearly any coverage in the mainstream press. The main third party running is the Green Party run by Dr. Jill Stein. As long as mainstream debates do not allow third-party candidates in, voters will have fewer choices and American democracy will suffer for it.

Even though the American electoral process

has its flaws, there is still one thing from the U.S. debates that Canada should strive to emulate in its own leaders’ debates next election. It quickly becomes apparent, after watching the presidential debates, that Canada should have multiple election debates like the United States has.

During the 2011 federal election campaign, we only had two leaders’ debates, and because one was in English and the other was in French, they covered many of the same topics just in different languages. Neither debate managed to get past general questions about governance or the economy to inquire about specific issues.

In Canadian debates, we’d probably never see questions about women’s issues or about how a leader would differentiate himself or herself from another. (Romney was asked, “How do you differentiate yourself from George W. Bush?”)

While there are some things we, as Canadians, can learn from the U.S. presidential debates, we should also count ourselves lucky for the vibrancy of our democracy and for the diversity of voices present in our political landscape.

As for Americans, they need to wake up and realize that there’s a wealth of other options out there beyond the confines of the two major parties.

Poll: After two debates, who do you think showed a stronger performance in the U.S. Presidential debates? obAmA: 89.29% Romney: 10.71%

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Peach Long-Island iced tea Marilla Steuter-Martin editor-in-chief

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 Vol. 30 Issue 9 Marilla Steuter-Martin editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com

Paula rivaS

So... I know it’s getting colder out and I know this is typically a summer drink, but in my opinion, Long Island iced tea never goes out of style. Plus, I bet you’ve never had it with a twist of peach schnapps before. At any rate it is definitely worth a try and super easy to make if you’ve a few half empty bottles lying around. All you have to do is combine, shake it up, and serve!

1 PARt vodkA 1 PARt SPiced RUm 1 PARt PeAch SchnAPPS 1 PARt gin 1 PARt teqUilA

1 PARtS lime 2 PARtS oRAnge jUice 2 PARtS coke lemon to gARniSh

Managing editor managing@theconcordian.com

SoPhia loffreda Production manager production@theconcordian.com

Kalina lafraMboiSe news editor news@theconcordian.com

StePhanie la leggia life editor life@theconcordian.com

aManda l. Shore Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

elizabeth MacKay Music editor music@theconcordian.com

Kevin duarte Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com

george MenexiS Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com

Madelayne hajeK Photo editor

Another sports legend has fallen victim to drugs...and he’s been caught. One of the biggest sports legends of all time, Lance Armstrong, has been officially stripped of all his Tour de France titles this week and hasbeenbannedfromcompetitivecycling because of the illegal use of performing enhancing drugs. Here are the tweets of the week!

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

@SportsCenter: “Lance Armstrong now

Marie-joSee Kelly

has the same number of Tour de France titles as A-Rod.”

Assistant news photographer photo@theconcordian.com

chriStine beaton Sara King-abadi elizabeth toMaraS

@johncrossmirror: “Average Joe’s gym been

stripped of Dodgeball triumph over Globo Gym because Peter La Fleur’s motivational speech featured Lance Armstrong.” @RogerQuimbly: “I don’t understand how

Lance Armstrong did drugs while cycling. I fall off mine after a half of shandy.” @MrMattRobinson: “Haven’t followed sports

in a few yrs. How r my heroes Tiger Woods & Lance Armstrong doing?” Both emptied their ball sacks.” @Johnmoe: “Let Lance Armstrong be a

lesson, kids: if you take drugs you can only be incredibly successful and famous and rich for QUITE A LONG TIME.”

Copy editors copy@theconcordian.com

Corrections: In an article published Oct. 16, “Playboy shakes up Vanier College”, it was incorrectly reported that the Vanier winter festival is an annual event, and that Vanier has the largest student association budget in the province. In “Mayor Tremblay needs to take a hint”, it stated that Suzanne Decarie is city consultant, when she is a city councillor. It was also stated that for every construction contract awarded, Zambito said that three per cent went to the municipal government when it actually went to Union Montreal. Finally, The Charbonneau Commission is chaired by France Charbonneau, and not Francine. The Concordian regrets the errors.

celia Ste-croix bianca david cynthia duPuiS MariSSa Miller Production assistants

editorial office 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. - CC.431 Montreal, QC H4b 1R6 514.848.2424 x7499 (editor-in-Chief)

MeliSSa Kate gagnon

business manager business@theconcordian.com

brennan neill eMily white cindy loPez ruben baStien

board of directors directors@theconcordian.com

Staff writerS and contributorS Joel Ashak, brenda Raftlova, Ariana Trigueros-Corbo, Tarek Akhtar, Marta barnes, isabela Sasaki, Arohie Chopra, gabriel ellison-Scowcroft, Stephanie ullman, Andrew guilbert, Andrew Maggio, leah batstone, Jamie Klinger, Flora Hammond, Paul Traunero, Tim lazier, Samantha Mileto, david S. landman, Milene Ortenberg, Michael Wrobel.

theconcordian

From our kitchen

Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.

Events of the weeK: Oct. 23 Tuesday (23) + THEATRE - Human Cannon - 1930h - Monument National +MUSIC - Dan Magnan - 20h - Theatre Corona +MUSIC - Sic Alps - 20h - Le Divan Orange

Wednesday (24) +THEATRE - Harlem Duet - 20h - Segal Centre Studio Theatre +THEATRE - Trench Patterns - 20h - Bain St-Michel +MUSIC - Felix Kubin - 21h - La Sala Rossa

THURSDAY (25) +DANCE - Kaguyahime: The Moon Princess- 20h - Place des Arts +MUSIC - Departures - 20h - Il Motore

Friday (26) +IMPROV - Smackdown Improv - 20h - Montreal Improv Theatre +MUSIC - Kimbra - 21h - Theatre Corona +MUSIC - Swans - 19h - La Tulipe

SATURDAY (27) +THEATRE- Guys and Dolls - 2030h -Segal Centre Studio Theatre +MUSIC - Wintersleep - 20h - Theatre Corona

SUNDAY (28) +THEATRE - August An Afternoon in the Country - 20h - Centaur Theatre MUSIC - Witch Mountain - 21h - Les Katacombes

Monday(29) + MUSIC - The Weeknd - 20h - Metropolis