Artist and professor Deborah Willis lectured on her book Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present last Friday, inviting students to take a closer look at the work of black photographers over the past two centuries.
The discussion was part of Concordia’s ‘Speaking of Photography’ lecture series and focused on images of African-American beauty since the 1980s.
Willis told the crowd that the idea for the book started in the classroom, where she realized that there were no African-American photographers mentioned in any of her history books. Her professor at the time, Anne Tucker, suggested that she do a term paper on black photographers.
“I didn’t know the rules of how to research, so I went to the library and looked through newspapers and city directories. I had an unusual way of looking for and finding information,” she said.
Five years later, Willis got a call from a publisher asking her to do a book on black photographers. In 2009, the book was published, showcasing more than 250 photographs from different African-American photographers.
Lecture series organizer Martha Langford has known Willis for many years and was pleased to invite her to speak at Concordia.
“She is an outstanding expert in African-American photography and the history of photography in general,” Langford said.
Willis spoke on the subject of black photographers and the process of examining photos featured in her book. She displayed a number of photos of African-Americans from various decades. One in particular was of Sarah Baartman, a South African woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in the 19th century. Willis showed a cartoon depicting Baartman half-naked with exaggerated buttocks and with a cigarette in her mouth.
“The body of the black female was seen as labour, seen as grotesque and also seen as humourous,” explained Willis.
Concordia student Adrienne Johnston attended the lecture for a class and because she is an admirer of Willis’ work.
“I had been aware of Dr. Willis’ work, as she is a really prolific writer,” said Johnston.
Riddled by injuries in the past weeks, the Stingers went from a team drawing attention nationally to a team hovering near .500, battling for a home playoff game.
Concordia thrashed Bishop’s at home. Photo by Navneet Pall
With the third place Bishop’s Gaiters visiting on Friday night, Concordia came out playing quality basketball and turned in its largest margin of victory this season, with a 71-40 win.
The Stingers built up a 13-point lead in the first half, but Concordia watched a halftime lead of the exact same margin dissipate last week in a loss to Laval.
Coach Keith Pruden was determined to keep his team from befalling the same fate against Bishop’s. “I told the team [at half] it’s the same [lead] we had against Laval last week and that we had to maintain the intensity level we had in the first half and we just had to execute a little bit better and we did both those things,” he said. “I’m very happy with [the team’s] effort.”
Concordia held Bishop’s to just 15 points in the final half, including a fourth quarter in which the Stingers outscored their opponents 21-6, sealing the game with an exclamation mark.
Guard Kaylah Barrett, who has been battling thumb and lower-back injuries and struggling mightily lately, broke out of her slump, scoring 19 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
“I’m busted up everywhere but I just try and play through it,” said Barrett, who has not been participating in full-speed drills in practice.
Concordia dominated Bishop’s statistically, outrebounding the Gaiters 53-34 and forcing 26 turnovers, while only turning the ball over 15 times themselves.
“We played with a lot of heart compared with the other games [during the losing streak],” said Concordia guard Magalie Beaulieu, who was second in scoring for the Stingers with 11 points. “Other nights we let teams back in the game, but tonight we played better defence and offence and with much more heart,” she said.
With the win, Concordia remains in sole possession of second place with a record of 7-5, which would give them at least one home playoff game in the first round of RSEQ playoffs, but will be jockeying with Bishop’s (5-7) for the coveted two-seed the rest of the season.
The Stingers will also continue to be without Natasha Raposo, one of the team’s best perimeter shooters, who is out with an injury. The team will be forced to move forward though, as they hope to build momentum going into the playoffs.
Concordia’s next game is a rematch with Bishop’s this Friday night, on the road at 6 p.m.
Arts and Science Federation of Associations President Alex Gordon’s explanation on his involvement in the impeachment petition of Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill was met with mixed reactions from the ASFA council last Thursday.
Gordon began by making a formal apology to any members who were offended by his actions.
“It was not my intent to convey all the sentiments of every member of ASFA,” he said. “I realize it’s tough to disassociate myself from the position I’m in.”
He went on to say that he felt there are still questions to be answered but that, “I don’t expect that everyone in arts and science feels the same way.”
Gordon was one of three students to initiate the impeachment process of Gill last month, along with former CSU councillor Tomer Shavit, and Commerce and Administration Students’ Association President Marianna Luciano, who could not be reached for comment. The group has since agreed to hold off on the petition and instead sit down with the CSU to discuss their concerns at a date yet to be determined.
During last Thursday’s council meeting, women’s studies councillor Hector Martinez openly criticized Gordon for his actions.
“I wonder how ethical it is for the president of ASFA to single out one person,” he said.
He claimed Gordon was creating a “smear campaign” of Gill’s reputation, which he likened to a form of bullying.
“Lex does not work alone. She is part of a group. Lex does not move the CSU. It moves as a collective,” said Martinez.
ASFA presidential candidate and councillor Charlie Brenchley stated during the meeting that he “wasn’t impressed” with the way Gordon handled the situation.
“It is bullying when you’re going after one person when you clearly have grievances against an entire organization,” he said.
Brenchley went on to inquire, “is this an ASFA issue at this point or an Alex Gordon issue?”
When the subject resurfaced in discussion, Gordon was given a chance to explain himself.
”I respect that it can be seen as bullying. It’s the democratic right of students to file this petition if we see fit,” he said.
Some councillors had also taken issue with the section of the website stoplexgill.com which states “ASFA’s comments coming soon.” In response, Gordon promised to have the ASFA brand removed from the site “as soon as possible.”
Vice-president internal Schubert Laforest indicated that the situation was ultimately a learning opportunity.
“Even though executives may have personal quarrels with other individuals in other associations, we’re elected [representatives],” said Laforest. “At the end of the day, we are always going to be regarded as executives of ASFA and in that regard we must be very careful in how we express our discontent.”
The United Nations Security Council decided recently to vote on a resolution to ask Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down due to the escalating violence in his country over the past 11 months. Russia and China vetoed the resolution. If one of the permanent members (United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France) vetoes a resolution, it cannot be carried out.
Therefore, in a country like Syria, where, according to the UN, a little over 7,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the protests, there will be no international action taken because of the veto.
The Security Council is useless. It was built to “maintain international peace”, according to the first clause in the Security Council section of the UN Charter, something that clearly isn’t being done in Syria.
It is considered “illegal” in international law to intrude on another country’s sovereignty unless all five permanent members of the Security Council vote for it. This law has been ignored many times in the past.
“The U.S.A. has done it before, two examples being in Kosovo because they were afraid of a genocide, and the most recent one being in Iraq,” said Kyle Matthews, senior deputy director of the Will to Intervene Project at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, and ex-UN diplomat.
The fact that international law within the UN is so lenient can be advantageous. However, it leads to a certain instability in international law, knowing that the law can be bypassed so easily without any serious consequences.
“It’s a seriously imperfect system,” said Matthews.
China, on the other hand, has vetoed resolutions many times before, notably against Burma, which is in desperate need of international intervention. “China has never been a great supporter of human rights, and didn’t want to get involved in Syria after they did in Libya,” said Matthews.
Other members of the Security Council reacted with disappointment after the decision was made not to intervene in Syria; U.S. ambassador Susan Rice said that she was “absolutely disgusted,” and that “any more bloodshed in Syria was on Russia’s and China’s hands,” according to the Huffington Post.
The reason for this particular Russian veto is fairly obvious when you know the facts concerning the long-standing relationship between Russia and Syria. Russia and Syria have been allies since the 1950s, despite some tense moments along the way. Syrian and Russian governments also share a distaste for the United States, another key reason for their alliance. There are, however, more important reasons.
“People don’t realize that about 98 per cent of weapons in Syria come from Russia,” said Matthews. “They’re Syria’s biggest weapons supplier, and they also have a massive naval base there.”
A veto against such an important weapons customer would mean millions of dollars in lost revenue for Russia.
Following the veto, Canada lodged an official complaint with Russia’s foreign ministry regarding the country’s weapons supply to Syria. People are dying day after day in Syria. They need international help, and because of the way the Security Council works, Syrians won’t be getting any for the time being.
“It is a sad day for this council, a sad day for all Syrians, and a sad day for democracy,” said French ambassador Gérard Araud to the Council.
Many other countries, where basic human rights are threatened, are being ignored because of greedy Security Council members who have important financial interests in those countries.
Members of the Security Council have a responsibility to protect all countries that are being torn by violence, and this isn’t being done.
The Responsibility to Protect, a United Nations initiative established in 2005, focuses on preventing crimes such as genocides and ethnic cleansing. Syrians are in dire need of protection and it’s up to the UNSC to vote responsibly―with their hearts, not with their wallets.
Crossing a black cat? Walking under a ladder? Breaking a mirror? Who knows what the Stingers women’s hockey team did, but the bad luck continued for the team, which lost its eleventh straight game last Sunday.
With the 3-0 shutout to Carleton, Concordia remains last in the RSEQ and the team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
“That was just a disappointing effort,” said Coach Les Lawton. “I thought we went through the motions a little bit, it was very disappointing considering the goaltending that we usually get. The goals they scored, I thought, were goals that could have been stopped and we didn’t capitalize on our chances. I’m not pleased with the way we played.”
The first period started with a lot of back-and-forth play with each team trading chances.
Concordia found some energy at the ten-minute mark, applying pressure on Ravens goaltender Tamber Tisdale. The Stingers created second and third chances around the net, but were unable to get a shot past her. Despite good chances from both teams, both goaltenders stopped the shots directed at them, keeping it 0-0.
Carleton opened the scoring early in the second, only four minutes in as Ravens forward Kristen MacDonald made it 1-0.
Concordia forward Emilie Bocchia had a good chance to even up the score as she was alone to face Tisdale, but Carleton’s goaltender made the save. Inspired by the save their netminder made, the Ravens scored another goal a minute later, as defence Kelsey Vander Veen made it 2-0.
Carleton’s forward Sadie Wegner was the one who made it 3-0 with five minutes to go in the second period after Concordia missed a great chance to pull within a goal.
“It was a two-nothing game and we had a beautiful three-on-one play that we moved the puck properly and we hit the goal post and a few moments later they put it in the back of our net, that was the turning point,” said Lawton.
The Ravens were on a mission in the third as they blocked shots and cleared the rebounds from the crease, protecting their goaltender’s shutout.
Carleton’s defenceman Kelsey Vander Veen was called to the box for hooking, giving a chance for Concordia to come back in the game. Even though the team had some good chances, they couldn’t capitalize on them as Tisdale made sure the back of her net remained untouched.
“I was really happy with the way our team competed today,” said Ravens head coach Shelley Coolidge. “We did a really good job on our forecheck, creating chances early on in the first and that seemed to get the ball rolling for us. Our goaltender played well, our defence did a good job eliminating second chances, I really was happy [with] the way we played in all zones.”
Concordia’s team can’t say the same about its play and will soon be watching the playoffs rather than participating in them.
Concordia’s final home game is at 7:30 p.m. this Friday against the Ottawa Gee Gees, before playing its final game of the season Sunday at 2 p.m. against McGill at McConnell Arena.
Belgium is often associated with praline chocolates, waffles, beer and the unassuming cartoon hero recently rejuvenated in 3D, Tintin, closely followed by the Smurfs. Crazy experimental jazz musicians don’t usually come anywhere near the top of the “Best of Belgium” list.
But that’s all about to change when The Experimental Tropic Blues Band, born in Liège about a decade ago, bring their “best burger” attitude to L’Astral during Montréal en Lumière on Feb. 18.
“We just want people to have fun, express themselves, party with us,” explained guitarist and lead vocalist J.J. Thomsin, who goes by the stage name “Boogie Snake.”
Their most recent album, Liquid Love, is somewhere between a dance party, a mosh pit and a jam session and, while it’s sometimes physically confusing—you won’t know whether to dance, jump or just shake erratically—its high energy, hard rocking, experimental sounds will eradicate those doubts and fears as quickly as they came.
The album, which was largely influenced by the band’s time in the United States during 2010-2011, packs punch after punch of loud, homage-paying bluesy goodness into a mere 34 and a half minutes. Songs like “T.E.T.B.B. Eat Sushi,” written about the first time they ate sushi in New York City, and “The Best Burger” aren’t just about the differences in cuisine the band members experienced during their travels, they’re also about an attitude.
“We wrote [“The Best Burger”] after SXSW [Festival] in Austin, Texas,” said Thomsin, laughing. “It was funny. Everywhere we went people had this energy like, ‘we have the best bugers!’ They’ve got the mojo!”
Jon Spencer, who lives in New York City where he produced and mixed the band’s latest LP at NY Hed studio, helped to incorporate that attitude into Liquid Love, adding “cool instruments and ideas,” like the double bass featured on the album.
“It was the best experience we’ve had in a recording studio,” Thomsin added.
But our neighbours to the south aren’t the only ones with mojo. The gusto of Thomsin and his bandmates, Jeremy Alonzi (Dirty Coq, guitar/vocals) and David Dinverno (Devil D’Inferno, drums), comes through in their music and their nicknames.
“When we were kids—when we were 20—we came up with these stage names when we would play because our real names were not very fun, they were too serious,” said Thomsin. “Plus, in blues everyone has a nickname.”
Despite their leaning toward the “experimental” part of their name, T.E.T.B.B. carry the traditions of classic blues throughout their album. With sharp guitar licks, gruff vocals and hilarious anecdotal voice-overs about boners and partying, there’s more mojo in this album than you ever thought was possible.
And it’s that same mojo that’s fuelling their touring fire. They’re spending the majority of this year headlining dates all over Europe, Canada and parts of the U.S. Between jet-setting across the globe, the trio are writing new music for an upcoming self-produced EP along with creating acoustic sets too.
“People want acoustic songs for showcases, but our songs aren’t really made to be acoustic, so we really have to reinvent them,” Thomsin said, adding that touring is when they have the most fun.
“We just want to have fun and maybe the people who were there last year will come back and we’ll make more friends,” Thomsin said. “We want to meet new people, new bands and make new fans so we can come back. We just want to have fun, that’s all.”
The Experimental Tropic Blues Band play during Montréal en Lumière at L’Astral (305 Ste-Catherine St. W.) on Feb. 18.
Protesters signing the petition against Bill C-11 - Photo by Navneet Pall
Protesters signing the petition against Bill C-11 - Photo by Navneet Pall
Approximately fifty people gathered in Norman Bethune Square on De Maisonneuve Boulevard last Friday to protest anti-piracy legislation currently making its way through the House of Commons.
Many digital activists are up in arms saying that Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, could change the way people interact with the Internet in Canada.
Nadim Kobeissi, a political science student at Concordia, is a digital rights activist and organizer of the protest. He develops cryptography software and says there’s significant cause for concern should Bill C-11 be made into law.
“This sets a terrible precedent for the future,” he said.
Under the Conservative government’s proposed changes, saving a legally-purchased DVD to a computer would be illegal, he explained. He said even making copies of existing files for storage would be considered copyright infringement.
“The Internet is under attack,” said Kobeissi. “Even if you own something digital, you don’t own it anymore.”
Bill C-11 includes sections pertaining to copyright, performers’ rights, encryption research and non-commercial user-generated content, to name a few. Kobeissi said the extensive limitations are not actually protecting anyone.
“It’s not like we’re infringing on other people’s rights by unlocking an iPhone,” he said.
At the protest, volunteers were circulating a petition in association with Open Media’s online petition. So far over 37,600 signatures have been added to the site, which automatically sends a short message of discontent via email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Industry Minister Christian Paradis, among others.
Scott Mc Farlane, a prospective Concordia student, was especially eager to add his name to the petition.
“I came to help support awareness raising,” he said. “The government is trying to take control of the Internet and they don’t care what people think.”
Ryan Marcoux, a Concordia psychology student, said this “SOPA-like” legislation could mean changes that will affect a lot of Internet users.
“Internet service providers will monitor our downloads because they will be held responsible to ensure no copyright material is being downloaded,” he explained. “I’ve done enough research to know [Bill C-11] is dangerous.”
The second reading of Bill C-11 in the House of Commons finished Friday and the bill has now been sent to committee for further hearings and possible amendments.
It seems like the only time people want to see dancing is in the movies, whether it’s Patrick Swayze making knees sway in Dirty Dancing, or one of those many films where kids Step Up to the dance floor against the background of thinly-veiled class issues.
But real-life contemporary dance? No, thanks—after all, you won’t understand it, right?
That’s the sort of scenario dance company Wants&Needs is trying to change. Started by childhood friends Andrew Tay and Sasha Kleinplatz, the company strives to give artists a smaller artistic venue as opposed to Place des Arts-sized spectacles that invites people to break down the barrier of intimidation between themselves and contemporary dance.
Events such as Piss in the Pool—where choreographers take over empty pool Bain St-Michel—and Short&Sweet, where choreographers are given three minutes for their performances (the next instalment of which is taking place Feb. 16), are giving Montrealers less and less of an excuse to miss taking in some dance.
“We wanted to create an atmosphere that was more fun and unintimidating for people to see dance work. That’s why our shows aren’t in traditional venues, they’re usually at bars or unique spaces, like Piss in the Pool is in an empty swimming pool,” explained Tay. “That was one of the goals. And another one is to expose dance to people who don’t normally see dance work, and I think again it goes back to some people are scared of going to see a show that’s gonna be an hour long and they’re gonna hate it, or they’re not gonna feel like they understand it […] We want to expose dance to those people by making it more fun.”
Tay and Kleinplatz invite the choreographers to participate in the events; they encourage artists to send their work along to be considered for the next event. In the first round of Short&Sweet choreographers were allowed five minutes to present their work. The time limit was then changed to three minutes “to challenge the choreographers, to see what they could do in a short amount of time,” explained Tay.
Why do such short shows in the first place?
“[It’s all about] the idea of challenging yourself with what to say in the three minutes, what’s possible to be said in the three minutes and what different approaches you can do in the three minutes,” said Tay. “We thought that was fun for choreographers to think about. And also to create a format where people don’t edit themselves. A lot of the time when you’re choreographing bigger works, you’re like ‘oh, I shouldn’t do that,’ or you start to over-think, but when you have three minutes you can really just do one idea and that can be your three minutes.”
That’s not to say that performers haven’t tried to step out of the limit before, though. Past events have seen people trying things such as bringing their own lights to turn on and keep things going when the lights at the venue turn off to signal the end of the performance.
This year’s theme is collaboration and will present a different dynamic than past shows. “People are collaborating with theatre people, with filmmakers, with visual artists, so there’s gonna be a lot of cross-disciplinary work, and we think that’s gonna be really fun,” said Tay.
Next up for the company is to keep trying new ideas and, of course, continue to put on the events it has become known for. But for now, the dance-curious can—Valentine’s reservations aside—put away the remote and check out something that’s Short&Sweet in real life.
Short&Sweet goes down Feb. 16 at Sala Rossa at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more details, check out www.wantsandneeds.ca.
There are directors, and then there are auteur directors—those whose creative voices resonate
throughout all their work. Among the greatest “auteurs” are Howard Hawks, François Truffaut,
Jean Renoir, and of course, Alfred Hitchcock.
Rightly-credited as “the king of suspense” by critics and audiences alike, the stories “the Hitch” made were not only intricately webbed, but they were also filled with witty dialogue and the so-called “MacGufffins”—details in the story that revealed a larger theme in the film.
Hitchcock’s specialty was stories of humour and suspense where creepy male characters and gorgeous Venus blondes lose their minds and/or their lives. “Hitchcock always said that he likes to get the mystery out of the way so that he could focus on getting the audience emotionally involved with the characters and action, especially through the workings of suspense,” said Concordia film aesthetics professor Peter Rist. Films like Psycho and The Birds have been embedded in the popular vernacular and scenes such as Janet Leigh’s piercing scream, or the birds’ vicious attack on Tippi Hedren while she is stuck in a telephone booth have become iconic. Not to mention that characters like Norman Bates and the bloody birds still provide excellent nightmare material.
Until March 1, Cinema du Parc is presenting a retrospective of Hitchcock’s work. Among the roster are most of his celebrated movies, such as Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), Dial M for Murder (1954), The Birds (1963) and many of his more underrated works, like Suspicion (1941) and Saboteur (1942), which will be presented in 35mm—a rare treat for film connoisseurs that ought not to be missed.
Suspicion is Hitchcock’s first collaboration with leading man par excellence Cary Grant, and second with actress Joan Fontaine who previously starred in his Rebecca (1940). Fontaine’s role as a young scared wife in Suspicion earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the only actor to win an Oscar for a film directed by Hitchcock. The movie tells the story of Lina McLaidlaw (Fontaine), a shy girl who is swept off her feet when she meets a handsome stranger on a train, Johnny Aysgarth (Grant). Soon, the two get married but there is something shady about Johnny’s past, and when his business partner is mysteriously killed, Lina becomes obsessed with the idea that her husband might be a murderer. She soon learns that women’s intuition is not always a lady’s best friend. Rear Window, based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich, stars James Stewart as Jeff, a photographer with a broken leg who has been confined to a wheelchair and whose only amusement comes from looking out the window and into the homes of his neighbours. One morning, Jeff notices the wife of one his neighbours has mysteriously disappeared. Aided by his beautiful girlfriend Lisa (the sweet Grace Kelly), he decides to untangle what appears to be a gritty homicide. The entire film takes place in Jeff’s apartment, and as Rist said, “It is arguably the most brilliant example of point-of-view editing.” North by Northwest is Hitch’s most stylish spy thriller, and probably somewhat propelled the Bond image—a handsome womanizer (Cary Grant) on the run aided by his wit, and of course by a beautiful woman (Eva Marie Saint). Roger Thornhill (Grant) is mistakenly kidnapped by agents of an abstruse organization whose goal is to bootleg a microfilm containing government secrets. The organization’s boss, Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) believes Thornhill to be a spy named George Kaplan who has to be eliminated because his interference will damage Vandamm’s plans. The story gets more complicated when a woman (Saint) is thrown in the mix.
Psycho (1960) is among Hitchcock’s creepiest. Starring Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, a young woman who, on the spur of a moment, steals $40,000 from a client of the firm where she works, the movie follows her run, tragically ended at a motel run by a creepy young man named Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who is tyrannized by the ghost of his mother. Bates is one of Hitch’s most memorable characters, and was later used in three sequels starring Perkins, which have since been long forgotten, but the original movie maintains its legacy as one of the best films ever made.
The Alfred Hitchcock retrospective is running at Cinema du Parc until March 1. For the full schedule, go to www.cinemaduparc.com.
RE: ‘Canadian Federation of Students demanding $1.8 million,’ volume 29, issue 20
I read with disbelief the article about the CFS in the last issue of The Concordian. The CFS is now demanding an additional $800,000 from Concordia students?
This blatant extortion needs to stop! How have we accumulated an extra $800,000 if we already passed a referendum to defederate from the CFS?
Is the CFS arguing that while we are in a legal battle with them and obviously not enjoying the alleged “services” they offer, the meter has still been running?
I don’t understand how a national group that is supposed to protect and serve students can argue that stealing $1.8 million of students’ money is in line with those goals.
What I think is extremely important is that the students who we elect to run our faculty associations and our union show a strong stance against the CFS.
It would be a disaster if our student body unknowingly elected representatives who have ties to the CFS. Such representatives could work to affiliate our school with the CFS once again, an act that would cost us a substantial amount of money and autonomy.
Get informed over who you vote for, and demand that your representatives keep up the good fight.
Camilo Diaz
Independent student
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RE: ‘Concordia sexual assault centre project stalling,’ volume 29, issue 20
The sexual assault centre issue strikes a chord. I’m not a Concordia student, or even a Canadian one, but we have more or less the same issue here in France. Our universities offer medical support and sometimes mental health help (mainly for people dealing with depression), but no mention of sexual assault anywhere. I guess one of the reasons why our universities don’t welcome such centres is simply because this issue is tricky, and most people don’t know how to handle such situations when a victim seeks help or assistance (hence why few people report those crimes). A few organizations in France (such as S.O.S. Femmes) try to raise the issue in public spheres like high schools and universities, but the results are not really encouraging. These services are essential, vital even, to help victims recover from the traumatic experience of an assault. Talking about rape is essential for a survivor. Universities should take this issue seriously and take a firm position against sexual assault. It’s the only way to help people report and heal, and to prevent such crimes.
Vanessa Deroo
British and U.S. literature and civilization
Université Paris 7, Paris Diderot
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There are a number of points made in Alyssa Tremblay’s article which are either incorrect or the result of conjecture which need to be corrected. The resulting editorial, “Sexual assault centre at ConU was needed yesterday,” picks up on many of these points asking: “Is there not already enough glaring proof to demonstrate the necessity of having this service available to all Concordia students?,” yet provides no proof to substantiate its claim.
The university has and will continue to offer several services that support student victims of sexual assault.
Ms. Tremblay’s article says the university’s policies regarding sexual assault are inadequate and that this issue is being “neglected”. The university’s Code of rights and responsibilities is quite clear when it comes to what is deemed unacceptable behaviour and what the consequences of such behaviour will be. The Office of rights and responsibilities has a specific mandate that offers choices to complainants for internal redress. The Office should not be confused or compared to a crisis centre in terms of the types of services offered or numbers reporting. Complainants have a variety of options and recourse, though the Office is only one such option.
The article goes on to claim that our policies “[repeat] victim-blaming rhetoric and [appear] to discourage students from reporting/filing formal complaints.” In reviewing the policy, I see nothing to substantiate this claim. In fact, the Code allows for various options and preserves one’s choice as to how he/she proceeds following an incident.
Of particular concern is the quote from the programming and campaigns coordinator of the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, Bianca Mugyenyi, regarding sexual assault on campus: “It’s under-reported here which means that people aren’t getting the help that they need.”
The university has a number of services which are administered and provided by professionals with the victim’s best interests being paramount. Education and prevention are emphasized and resources are there to assist students in the unfortunate case of sexual assault or any other threatening or violent incident. Health services, counselling and development and campus security are there to assist and support.
This support however is not offered in isolation, but often in concert with resources external to the university. Montreal has several resources within the community for victims of sexual assault (both during and after business hours). These resources and services remain available to Concordia students and we should be cautious to not duplicate services that already exist based on incomplete information and without an appropriate needs assessment.
As for the notion that sexual assault is under-reported at Concordia, our doctors, nurses and counsellors are governed by rules established by their professional orders, and confidentiality is a primary rule. Although the health professionals will encourage the victim to file a police report, they will not forward information related to the case to police.
That being said, the university is always respectful of students’ concerns and is open to discussing possible initiatives. A working group was convened last year. It included two members from the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, and representatives from security, health services, counselling and development and the Offices of dean of students and of rights and responsibilities.
Two meetings have been held to date to discuss what resources are available to Concordia students on campus and the university looks forward to a continued and constructive exchange.
Roger Côté
Vice-president, services
Concordia University
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RE: ‘First gay fraternity in Canada a model to follow,’ volume 29, issue 20
I am not opposed to the idea of a homosexual fraternity, but I believe one to be unnecessary. Homosexuals are constantly fighting to have equal rights and to be treated equally. I agree they should; however, if they persist in their differentiation from the general populace, why expect themselves to be regarded as the general populace? The idea should not be to create separate, exclusive establishments for themselves, but to include themselves into existing ones because if they want homosexuality to be accepted as “normal” behaviour, then they must be the first to treat it as such. I, for one, think there is nothing abnormal about it and that “homosexual” is as fundamental as “blonde” or “brunette.” Additionally, homosexuals must refer to themselves as just that: homosexuals. This is the proper term, regardless of how crude it may seem. Terms like “gays” or “queers” are not helping their position. Women did not gain power by calling themselves derogatory terms such as “bitches” or “hoes” because that just gives others the right to refer to them as such. There are existing fraternities that accept members regardless of sexual orientation and those that do not should not even be considered by homosexuals. In order to be accepted, one must first accept him or herself as they are. As Mahatma Ghandi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains – E Volo Love (Domino; 2012)
The charming complexity of this album is a reflection of the complexity of the circumstances that brought together Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains. Having sworn off music in 2008, Fránçois was planning a life behind his canvases and brushes instead of behind his guitar, but after an intervention by friends, he re-emerged with a new zest for his craft. And thank goodness he did. E Volo Love is a bilingual love story, speckled with melodic guitar, sweet and soft lyrics, delayed vocals and African influences in rhythm and instrumentation. “Muddy Heart” perfectly synthesizes this evolution, mixing catchy pop melodies with romantic—albeit borderline desperate—lyrics. Its rhythm creeps into your bones, leaving you with an overwhelming sense of relaxation spiked with utopia. Their sound is distinctly French pop, with Fránçois’ airy vocals perfectly complementing every note and beat. Think the French version of the Sea and Cake, but with a few more obscure musical instruments.
Trial track: “Edge of Town”
Rating: 8.9/10
– Allie Mason
Nada Surf – The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (Barsuk Records; 2012)
Nada Surf named their seventh offering after a favourite saying of guitarist/vocalist Matthew Caws’ father, a philosophy professor. It refers to the fact that though humans name and study stars, nothing we do truly affects them. But the main theme that emerges on this album is more about maturity than philosophy. The opening track “Clear Eye Clouded Mind” boasts lyrics such as, “All I feel is transition / when do we get home,” and with the next two tracks named “Waiting For Something” and “When I Was Young,” Caws spends a lot of time reminiscing, almost to the point of melancholy. On “Teenage Dreams,” he reassures the listener, and maybe even himself, that “It’s never too late for teenage dreams / It’s never too late.” The songs, however, are mostly upbeat, which prevents Stars from sounding like a 38-minute pity party. All in all, it’s a solid offering by the New York-based band.
Trial track: “Clear Eye Clouded Mind”
Rating: 7.0/10
– Kamila Hinkson
Putumayo Presents – Brazilian Beat (Putumayo World Music; 2012)
Brazilian Beat might inspire a caipirinha cocktail or two, but listeners won’t feel compelled to squeeze their hibernating thighs into Speedos anytime soon. Putumayo World Music released the album in an attempt to expand their brand and introduce modern world music to the web-obsessed, multimedia-absorbing masses. The label has been releasing global music compilations since 1975, but waited until 2011 to issue a digital album. Brazilian Beat, Putumayo’s third digital release, features songs that hold true to the traditional style of bossa nova—the jazz-infused samba dance roots of Rio de Janeiro’s artistic beach and nightclub culture of the 1950s.
The album’s only “modern” twist is a little electronic mixing, synthesizer and some catchy songs that could pass for pop. It’s redundant and hardly innovative, most of the songs featured were released individually by the artists over five years ago. You might find yourself swaying along to it after a few too many.
Trial track: “Feriado Pessoal” – Bruna Caram
Rating: 5/10
– Elizabeth Mackay
Queen – A Night at the Opera (EMI Brigadiers; 1975)
Taking its name from a Marx Brothers’ film from the ‘30s, the album’s stereophonic imagery is lush and rich. A Night at the Opera is just over 43 minutes of groundbreaking operatic rock.
One of the things that makes the album so remarkable is the clever use of layering with vocals and guitars. Tracks are diverse in narration, with one song acting as a hate letter, another a love letter and rock anthems split in between.
This classic rock album rewards listeners with a symphony of instruments, ranging from piano to over-driven guitars—even a harp appears on the song “Love of My Life”—but really, it’s the remarkable voice of Freddie Mercury that speaks to listeners, with an almost Broadway-style theatricality.
The album, produced by the platinum and gold album slinger Roy Thomas Baker (The Cars, Journey, Motley Crüe), boasts one of the most iconic rock songs of all-time, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (à la Wayne’s World).
Find a copy, slip your headphones on, and enjoy the musical adventure that Queen has given to rock fans to enjoy.
Arianna Huffington launched Le Huffington Post Québec on Feb. 8 - Graphic by Katie Brioux
Arianna Huffington launched Le Huffington Post Québec on Feb. 8 – Graphic by Katie Brioux
Media mogul Arianna Huffington added the province of Quebec to her online empire last Wednesday, and the 10 bloggers who defected from her ranks shortly before the launch of Huffington Post Quebec did not make her budge.
Almost a year after starting her first international edition in Canada and less than a month after the creation of Huffington Post France, Arianna Huffington is looking to take La Belle Province by storm with an edition that will offer the same type of Internet news and blog aggregating, with content provided exclusively in French. Huffington hopes to see results as promising as the English-Canadian version that attracts 1.8 millions visitors per month and offers posts from bloggers such as David Suzuki and Conrad Black.
As successful as it is however, the Huffington Post is continuously facing controversy. Despite selling her website to AOL for $315 million in 2011, Huffington’s success is still made out of the work of more than 9,000 bloggers she does not pay. One of them is suing her on their behalf for $105 million.
Huffington addressed the growing concerns surrounding unpaid bloggers during a press conference to mark HuffPost Quebec’s launch at the Gault Hotel in Old Montreal last Wednesday.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding about the Huffington Post’s enterprise,” said Huffington to a dozen Quebec journalists. “We offer a platform that presents an exchange of services. The website offers content through skillful writers and we offer them a platform to express themselves.”
Huffington went on to compare blogging for the Huffington Post to tweeting or posting on Facebook. “The HuffPost provides the same type of distribution service,” she said.
Out of the 135 bloggers who were originally supposed to write for Huffington Post Quebec, 10 have so far retracted their offer. Some of them are prominent Quebec figures like MNA and former Parti Québécois member Pierre Curzi, Montreal city hall opposition leader and councillor Louise Harel, and Québec Solidaire spokesperson Amir Khadir.
Khadir’s press officer told The Concordian that the Québec Solidaire MNA did not want to validate the idea that “it’s okay that a ‘for-profit’ media organization [use] unpaid writers to create value for its site.”
Normand Baillargeon, an education professor at Université du Québec à Montréal who also defected from HuffPost Québec, explained that in his case he was not familiar with the Huffington Post before agreeing to write for them.
“When I learned [about the controversy], I immediately retracted my offer,” Baillargeon said. “It was out of question to encourage a firm that exploited its bloggers in such a shameful way.”
During the press conference, Huffington called the bloggers’ defection “a drop in the ocean,” describing the media’s attention on the issue as “people’s love for controversy.”
“It’s not like we sign a contract with the contributors,” she added. “They can write whenever they feel like it and can also stop whenever they want.”
Khadir’s press officer went on to say that the Huffington Post’s business model had a negative impact on journalism as it would result in less paid jobs for aspiring journalists.
Huffington disagreed with such reasoning as she told The Concordian that she saw new media as “the golden age of journalism.”
“Using social media and blogging is almost like auditioning,” she said. “If journalists are not able to get a job right after graduating, which [was] often the case even before the appearance of new media, they now have the new media to have their work out so people get to see how well they write and discover their work.”
Linda Kay, chair of Concordia’s journalism department, agreed with Huffington’s argument.
“The Huffington Post showed itself to be a viable platform,” Kay said. “I think the Post is a precursor of what future journalism is going to look like.”
Kay added that even if Huffington shared her profits with bloggers, the concept for the website was hers and it was up to her to do what she wished with the financial success that ensued.
Jean-Philippe Warren, research chair for the study of Quebec and the only Concordia professor said to be writing for HuffPost Québec so far, also supported the HuffPost’s media platform.
“Posting a blog on the HuffPost is not fundamentally different from publishing an opinion piece, giving a radio interview, or accepting to speak at a public event,” he said. “Every small step that attempts to make knowledge more relevant and accessible is worth saluting.”
During the press conference, Huffington promised local coverage that would reflect Quebec’s political and cultural uniqueness, and assured total transparency, notably on bloggers’ political inclinations.
She also told the press she was already looking into expanding the Huffington Post furthermore, referring to an agreement being currently negotiated with the Qatar-based Arabic news channel Al Jazeera.
