Author: Megan Hunt

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Concordia Student Union News

CSU handed task force recruitment

Concordia’s decision fulfills only one of the union’s requests for more transparency

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) will take over the process of recruiting undergraduate students for the new university task force on sexual misconduct and sexual violence, announced Graham Carr, the university’s provost and vice-president of academic affairs, on Feb. 2.

This decision comes one day after the student union held a press conference outlining their opposition to multiple procedures regarding the nomination process for the two undergraduate spots available on the task force.

The controversy began on Jan. 26, when Concordia president Alan Shepard released a statement outlining steps the university would be taking in the wake of allegations of sexual violence and misconduct against multiple faculty members in the creative writing program.

One of the steps was the creation of a task force that would review current policies and processes, as well as Bill 151, a piece of Quebec legislation requiring universities to take certain steps to address and prevent sexual violence.

It was later announced that four students (two graduate and two undergraduate) would be appointed to the task force. Despite claiming the university was looking for “a diverse group from across the university,” the call for applications specified that undergraduate applicants must have completed at least 30 credits and be in “good academic standing.”

On Feb. 1, the CSU held a press conference in their office on the seventh floor of the Hall building. During the conference, CSU student life coordinator Leyla Sutherland read from the union’s press release, claiming the task force procedures violated Quebec law by recruiting undergraduate students without the CSU’s involvement. She cited the “Act respecting the accreditation and financing of students’ associations,” a piece of provincial legislation that specifies student associations, such as the CSU, “may, alone, appoint students who […] are called upon to sit or participate as student representatives on various councils, committees or other bodies in the institution.”

“Beyond the cited legal concerns, this indifference in proper student representation shown by the university goes against both the spirit and letter of Bill 151,” said Sutherland. “It is imperative for students, and only students, to have a say as to who represents them.”

The press release also outlined a number of requests, including doubling the number of undergraduate students on the task force and ensuring representation from all faculties. Another request also asked that the requirement of good academic standing be removed.

Sophia Sahrane, the research and education coordinator for the student advocacy organization Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), also spoke out against the task force’s academic requirements at the press conference.

“[The academic requirements] demonstrate a deep lack of both understanding and compassion for the reality of living through the trauma of sexual assault and having to become a survivor,” Sahrane said. “How do you maintain a good academic standing when you have just been sexually assaulted? When you have had your agency taken away from you […] when your abuser is your professor?”

Also present at the press conference was Caitlin Salvino, the chair of the Our Turn committee, a student-led initiative aimed at ending campus sexual violence. Salvino claimed it is not uncommon for universities to exclude student unions and the students they represent when addressing sexual violence.

“Students and student unions across the country have been locked out of task forces, committees and being able to advocate for policies that are actually survivor-centric,” Salvino said.

On Feb. 2, another email related to the task force was circulated to all students. In this email, Carr wrote that the university had decided to allow the CSU to oversee the recruitment process of undergraduate task force members. The same day, university spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr told The Concordian the university would accede to the CSU executive request “because [its] overriding goal is to finalize, as soon as possible, the membership of the task force so it can begin to work.”

Sutherland pointed out that, while the university’s quick response to co-operate is a positive sign, the university has not met the union’s additional demands.

“We are very glad that the university is handing this process over to us as we have been requesting,” Sutherland said. “It is absolutely essential that student representatives be chosen by students and not by the administration, which presents a clear conflict of interest […] We will continue to advocate for four undergraduate students and the removal of the good academic standing criteria.”

 

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President addresses sexual misconduct investigation

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Alan Shepard denies reading 2015 letter detailing allegations, discusses new guidelines

Concordia president Alan Shepard shed light on the current investigation into the highly publicized allegations of sexual misconduct against multiple instructors in the creative writing program and reflected on what steps the university will take to address the issue of sexual violence on campus, in an interview with The Concordian on Jan. 25.

Shepard confirmed that a number of former students submitted a letter to the chair of the English department in 2015 detailing the allegations made by Emma Healey in her essay “Stories Like Passwords,” which was published on the website The Hairpin. The letter also described what the signatories felt was a hostile environment. However, Shepard insisted he didn’t read the letter in 2015 because the dean did not disclose its contents to the president’s office after the signatories requested confidentiality.

“As I understand it, [the English department] immediately referred it to the dean in the Faculty of Arts and Science, and there were meetings and discussions about their experiences,” Shepard said. “We take confidentiality super seriously, so the letter was not transmitted up the line to the provost or to my office.”

Shepard also discussed the university’s conflict of interest policy, and whether the policy will be amended to prohibit faculty-student relationships.

Currently, Concordia’s conflict of interest policy guidelines cover a range of circumstances, such as working alongside immediate relatives and situations that may lead to “real or perceived” preferential treatment, but does not explicitly mention romantic relationships. Shepard said that, while American universities are able to ban faculty-student relationships under a federal law called Title IX, the laws in Canada are different.

In Quebec, a piece of legislation called Bill 151 does require certain steps be taken to address sexual violence on campus, including requiring schools to “include a code of conduct specifying guidelines for […] sexual relationships […] between students and persons having an influence over their academic progress.” However, Concordia’s legal team concluded that “an outright ban would be unlikely to withstand legal challenge,” according to Shepard.

Shepard also claimed the university had been working on a new set of conflict of interest guidelines before the allegations gained national attention in early January. The university’s new guidelines will require employees, but not students, to report any faculty-student relationships to their supervisors, and the couples would be unable to simultaneously engage in a romantic and professional relationship.

Despite the fact that the university will not be prohibiting romantic relationships between faculty and students, Shepard said he personally does not believe such relationships are appropriate.

“In my view, such relationships really can’t be equal relationships because you have a power differential,” he said. “So we’re strongly discouraging it, but we think that is as far as the law will allow us to go.”

As for progress on the investigation, Shepard said it is still in its early stages, and a number of students, graduates and staff members are being interviewed. He added that, for legal reasons, the university would be unable to publicize the conclusions of the investigation or any potential disciplinary action taken against employees. “As much as we might want to, we can’t,” Shepard said.

The university has also announced plans to create a task force on sexual misconduct and sexual violence to review current policies and address the requirements of Bill 151. The university is currently looking for a mix of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as staff and external members to join the task force. This task force will be in addition to the deputy provost’s investigation into the university’s environment.

“It’s not like on courtroom TV where everything is wrapped up in 49 minutes plus commercials,” Shepard said. “It’s actually a serious process, so it’s not super slow, but it’s not super fast.”

Shepard added that one of the university’s priorities is developing strategies, including better training and stricter conditions of employment, to prevent future cases of harassment and misconduct.

“It’s one thing to punish people after it’s happened,” he said. “It’s way better to minimize the opportunities for this kind of conduct. A fair bit of this can be stopped before it gets started.”

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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French department to debut new graduate certificate program

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

Students will learn to teach French as a second language in one-year program

Concordia’s French studies department is introducing a new certificate program for graduate students interested in teaching French as a second language. Department chair Denis Liakin and assistant professor Diane Querrien said they are hopeful the one-year, 15-credit program will be open to students in time for fall 2018.

According to Liakin, the program, called the Microprogramme en didactique et linguistique appliquée à l’enseignement du français langue seconde, will include four newly developed courses and two interactive learning opportunities.

“It is designed to meet both the requirements of quality on an international scale, as well as situate French teaching and learning in Quebec and in Canada,” he said.

During the fall semester, students in the program will gain experience serving as tutors for Concordia’s Centre d’apprentissage et de promotion du français (CAPF). Funded by the French department, CAPF has been offering free conversation groups and one-on-one tutoring sessions to Concordia French language students since 2015.

During the winter term, students will complete a three-credit course requiring them to observe French classes at Concordia, as well as a three-credit course in which they will design French classes and their curricula. Other courses incorporated into this program are focused on technology, linguistics, didactics and how they all relate to French education.

Although courses on French linguistics are already offered at the undergraduate level, Liakin said the department is designing and implementing four new courses specifically tailored to graduate students.

“The entire teaching team is involved in [structuring] the certificate. Each course will be designed by a professor [who specializes] in the field,” Liakin said. “As we work in a spirit of collegiality, an academic committee will approve course outlines and student admissions in collaboration with the graduate program director.”

Despite the proposal for the program only receiving senate approval in December 2017, Liakin said developing the program has been a two-year-long effort. Although the certificate alone will not make students eligible to teach, Querrien said she believes it can help aspiring educators gain a competitive edge in the job market.

“In Quebec, French teachers face a variety of [students], such as immigrants, allophone children integrated into francophone schools or university students [seeking] to expand their linguistic and cultural repertoire,” Querrien said. “In other Canadian provinces, qualified educators with a high-level specialization in French language teaching will distinguish themselves in the labour market.”

According to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), French was the second-most learned language in the world in 2014 and the third-most prominent language in the business world. This is a statistic Querrien claimed shows this program is aligned with an international demand for qualified French teachers.

Since the program is a graduate certificate, interested applicants would need a bachelor’s degree to be eligible. All courses will be taught in French.

Liakin added that, while the French department is already equipped with the resources required for this program, the department is currently in the process of hiring another tenure-track professor. He did not specify what role this new instructor will have in relation to the certificate program.

Although the program’s official start date has not been announced, Liakin and Querrien said they are hopeful the program will offer students the skills and experience necessary to build a successful career in French education.

“We believe that this [graduate certificate] will be a major asset for students who already own their authorization to teach or who want to pursue graduate studies in French language teaching,” Querrien added.

A previous version of this article misspelled Denis Liakin’s name. The Concordian regrets the error.

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

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Concordia English professors accused of sexual misconduct

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Former Concordia student publishes essay denouncing department’s “toxic” climate

Mike Spry, a graduate of Concordia’s creative writing program, published a lengthy essay on Jan. 8 criticizing the university’s English department for fostering a toxic, misogynistic climate.

The essay, titled “No Names, Only Monsters: Toxic Masculinity, Concordia and CanLit,” was published as the sole post on a blog called CanLit Accountable. The author detailed specific allegations of sexual misconduct and corroborates a 2014 essay by writer and Concordia alumna Emma Healey.

In the essay, Spry criticized the Canadian literary industry as a whole, describing it as “a community of misogyny, toxic masculinity and privilege” that perpetuates “cronyism, bullying, abuse, sexual harassment and sexual assault.” He also described specific examples of students being subjected to misogyny and sexual misconduct at the hands of professors within Concordia’s creative writing program.

Spry claimed that, as a student, he witnessed “the normalization of sexualization of students by professors” and that romantic or sexual relationships between students and professors were not “unusual or even prohibited” at Concordia. Although his essay did not name any staff members, Spry alleged that a Concordia professor and “internationally celebrated writer” rented a hotel room during a Montreal literary festival in order to “entertain young writers.”

Spry also described another male Concordia professor who he claimed manipulated students by buying drinks for them “using the pretext of wanting to discuss their craft.” He claimed this professor would promise students mentorship and publishing opportunities if they accepted his advances, and he would “denigrate them and their writing” if they rejected him.

Many of Spry’s accusations support Toronto writer Emma Healey’s October 2014 essay, “Stories Like Passwords,” which was published on The Hairpin, a general-interest website aimed at women. In her essay, Healey alleged she was in a toxic, unhealthy relationship with one of her creative writing professors during her first year as a Concordia student. Healey wrote she was 19 when the relationship began, while the professor was 34. According to Healey, “while the relationship was consensual, much of what happened within its borders was not.”

She claimed many sexual encounters with the professor occurred while she was “blackout drunk.” Healey also described a violent encounter with the man after they had broken up. In his essay, Spry admitted he was a friend of the professor, was aware of the man’s relationship with Healey—as well as with other students—and initially supported him after Healey’s essay was published. According to Spry, this professor is still employed at Concordia.

In addition to being published on a digital platform, Healey’s essay was discussed in a Globe and Mail article four years ago. On Jan. 8, Concordia president Alan Shepard released an official statement in which he claimed he only became aware of the allegations that afternoon. In the statement, Shepard said “the allegations are serious, and will be taken seriously,” but admitted the university’s response to the issue of sexual misconduct is a “work in progress.” The statement did not name any individual staff members or list any specific disciplinary measures or policy changes the university is planning to implement.

The university has yet to release a public statement or implement disciplinary measures in response to Healey’s allegations or similar claims made by other women.

Concordia’s Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) released a statement on Jan. 9 calling on the university to “fully investigate all allegations and put [the] students’ safety first.” The statement also encouraged students to reach out to the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) and the Office of Rights and Responsibilities “if they have ever experienced or witnessed cases of sexual assault and/or harassment.”

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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Concordia welcomes four-legged friends

Concordia students interact with Blue Ribbon therapy dogs. Photo by Kirubel Mehari

Blue Ribbon Canine Centre offers puppy therapy to battle students’ exam stress

Concordia University is working with the Blue Ribbon Canine Centre to offer free, drop-in animal therapy sessions on Nov. 30 and Dec. 6 intended to help students cope with exam period stress and anxiety.

At the Webster Library on the Sir George Williams (SGW) campus and the Vanier Library on the Loyola campus, students will be able to interact with trained, vaccinated therapy dogs from the Dorval-based animal training centre. Since the organization is run exclusively by volunteers, their animal therapy services are free.

While these sessions “are not designed as a formal response to mental health on campus,” according to Concordia spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr, there is significant research to suggest that animal therapy can have positive effects on both mental and physical health.

According to Theresa Bianco, a psychology professor at Concordia, research shows animal therapy can lead to an increased release of hormones, such as serotonin and oxytocin, which are responsible for improving mood.

“Anecdotally, you hear students say they’re having a great time, and they report that [the sessions] ease their stress,” she said. “If you look at the research, studies demonstrate that it’s improving mood, it’s reducing stress and anxiety and increasing positive thoughts.”

Animal therapy can also be beneficial to physical health by lowering blood pressure, diminishing physical pain and improving cardiovascular health, according to UCLA Health.

Harriet Schleifer, the co-founder of Blue Ribbon and one of its trainers, said she has observed the positive effects of university puppy therapy sessions first-hand.

“[Students] come in with all this stressed body language, and the next thing you know everybody’s laughing and relaxing. It’s a huge stress reliever,” she said. “They’ll say even thinking about the puppies will help them feel better. We’ve had the students tell us they were going home for the holidays but delayed it to be able to see the dogs again.”

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

According to Schleifer, therapy animals begin intensive training as puppies that lasts between seven weeks and seven months. In addition to traditional obedience and agility training, puppies receive specific training related to the settings they typically work in. For example, puppies are trained not to touch any objects on the the ground since, in hospital settings, they could encounter dropped medications or medical objects. Additionally, they are trained to move away from people who are walking to avoid becoming a safety hazard when they visit elderly people. However, Schleifer said she believes properly training handlers is as important as training the dogs, if not more.

“They learn to recognize stress in the dog and learn to tell when they should take the dog out of a situation, for whatever reason,” Schleifer said. “I train the handlers and I tell them, ‘You are the dog’s butler and chauffeur. They know what they’re doing, just let the dog work.’”

To ensure safety during the sessions, the dogs are leashed and accompanied by a handler.

When they’re not hosting exam period therapy sessions at Concordia and McGill University, Blue Ribbon dogs visit elementary schools, hospitals and retirement homes. For example, the Blue Ribbon Canine Centre offered animal therapy sessions at shelters and community centres in the West Island following the damaging floods last May.

In addition to helping students manage their anxiety and stress, Bianco said she believes animal therapy can help people adjust to traditional counselling methods and even overcome a fear of animals.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” Bianco said. “But it’s terrific to offer it to students. It provides the opportunity for students to choose how much interaction they feel comfortable with and can definitely improve well-being.”

Feature photo by Kirubel Mehari

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Concordia opens new wellness centre downtown

Graduate Student Association (GSA) president Srinivas Bathini said the association has no recent statistics on graduate student-supervisor relationships. Photo by Alex Hutchins

New centre includes student advocacy, counselling and psychological services

Concordia has introduced a new “wellness centre” on the downtown campus, a move intended to increase accessibility to vital student services.

The centre, which opened to the public on Nov. 13, is on the third floor of the GM building. It houses five offices that offer services related to wellness, health and accessibility, including the International Students Office, Counselling and Psychological Services, the Student Advocacy Office and the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD).

“The new wellness centre provides students with state-of-the-art facilities in a welcoming environment,” said Concordia spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr. “Providing a consolidated space makes the GM building an all-encompassing location for health and wellness at Concordia’s downtown campus.”

The International Students Office is one of the many resources found in the new wellness centre. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Before the wellness centre opened, all of these services were located in the Hall building but on different floors. Each office moved the weekend prior to opening to ensure weekday office hours would not be interrupted.

Unlike each office’s previous location, the wellness centre was specifically created with accessibility in mind. There are four elevators that can be used to access the space, and all washrooms, hallways and doorways are designed to accommodate students with reduced mobility.

Along with the new wellness centre, the GM building also houses a number of important student services, including the downtown Health Services Centre, the Office of Student Tribunals, the Student Academic Services Office and the Financial Services Office.

According to Barr, the project included multiple renovations over an eight-month period. Each office operated during regular hours at their previous locations while construction was underway in the GM building. In total, the renovations cost $3.2 million.

The construction included completely redesigning the third floor of the GM building to accommodate the offices and the students who use them. Along with accessible washrooms, the centre also has automatic doors to assist students with mobility issues.

“The space users were directly involved in the planning of this new space to ensure it meets their needs and the needs of the university community,” Barr said.

The wide range of services available at the wellness centre include mental health workshops from Counselling and Psychological Services, tutoring and academic advising available at the ACSD, and assistance with visas and study permits from the International Students Office. Students who have faced charges under the Concordia Academic Code of Conduct or the Code of Rights and Responsibilities may also receive free and confidential advice from the Student Advocacy Office. Additionally, the wellness centre will be a space for students to take accommodated or rescheduled exams.

While each office operates separately, many of the services provided are related and utilized by the same students. For example, students with disabilities may require both exam accommodations, counselling sessions and assistance from the ACSD, making the wellness centre a convenient location.

Angela Ghadban, the interim manager at the International Students Office, said the new location is a helpful change for the office.

“I see the move to the GM building […] as a positive move,” he said. “The new space is bright, clean and functional, and we have access to amazing seminar rooms that we will use for our student activities, including our social events and our orientations.”

Ghadban added that sharing the space with Health Services, the ACSD and counselling services makes it easy for International Students Office employees to refer new students to these services.

“We can walk them right over to the services they need,” Ghadban said. “The GM location is very central for the SGW campus so, in terms of access for our international students, I think it is a big plus.”

According to Barr, while similar services are offered on Concordia’s Loyola campus, there are no plans to build a similar wellness centre there at this time, as these services are already located in the same building.

Photos by Alex Hutchins

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Thousands gather to protest against racism

Thousands gathered in downtown Montreal for an anti-racism protest on Nov. 12. Photo by Mackenzie Lad

Three-hour demonstration, endorsed by 162 organizations, tackled issues surrounding Palestine and immigration

Several hundred protesters gathered in downtown Montreal on Sunday, Nov. 12 to protest against hatred and systemic racism. The demonstration began with a number of speeches from event organizers at Place Émilie-Gamelin, outside the Berri-UQAM metro station, before protesters took to the streets.

Over the next three hours, protesters travelled through the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and down Sherbrooke Street, towards Concordia’s downtown campus.

“We are here to denounce capitalism and austerity,” cried out one of the event’s organizer using a megaphone. “We are here to show we care about non-status people being deported despite Montreal being declared a sanctuary city.”

According to the Montreal Gazette, a video emerged on social media the night before the demonstration showing an anonymous group vandalizing a statue of Sir John A. MacDonald at Place du Canada.

Although the anonymous group identified themselves as “anti-colonial anti-racists” in the video description, they denied being affiliated with the demonstration organizers.

MacDonald, Canada’s first prime minister, has become a controversial figure in recent years for his role in creating the residential school system. The Assembly of First Nations chief Perry Bellegarde recently supported efforts to have MacDonald’s name removed from schools and monuments, according to the Toronto Star.

Protesters brandished signs with anti-xenophobic and anti-racist slogans. Photo by Mackenzie Lad

As they marched, protesters brandished signs with anti-xenophobic slogans on them, ranging from “Queers Against White Supremacy” and “Racism is Not Welcome Here” to “Racists Suck In Bed.” One protester held a sign reading, “If You Like Bill 62, Then Fuck You,” a reference to the controversial piece of Quebec legislation.

Passed in October, the provincial legislation bans people from giving or receiving public services while their face is covered. The bill, which will take effect sometime before July 2018, according to Global News, would require Muslim women, among others, to remove their face veils to identify themselves when boarding public transportation, and would ban public workers, such as doctors and teachers, from covering their faces at work. During a press conference on Oct. 18, Montreal’s mayor-elect Valérie Plante said that, while she agrees with the principle of the law, she believes the Quebec government should do “crucial homework to make sure that it is applicable to the realities of Montreal.”

Palestinian flags were also popular among protesters, who, throughout the march, chanted “from Montreal to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”

“I can’t believe racism is even something we have to protest,” said Julia Morian, a protestor at the event. “I’m protesting because [anti-racism] should be a very popular belief.”

One hundred and sixty-two organizations, including the Concordia Student Union and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at Concordia, endorsed the march by signing a call to action condemning “the rise of racist hate speech in Quebec.” The call to action asked all groups that signed to denounce capitalism and austerity, oppose racism and participate in the march.

The call to action also cited recent political events, such as the election of President Donald Trump and the January 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting, as evidence of a rise in racism and hate crimes.

One of the groups present at the protest was Fightback Canada, a self-described Marxist journal and advocacy group. Farshad Acadian, an organizer and editor for Fightback, said the group was present at the protest and signed the call to action.

“We’re a journal with socialist analysis, but we’re also an organizing tool,” Acadian explained. “We want to help students understand issues and connect and fight back. This [protest] is fighting back.”

Another organization that signed the call to action was the Réseau des lesbiennes du Québec (RLQ), an advocacy group focused on the rights and equality of lesbians. For RLQ member Jessie Boideleau, the reason to protest was simple.

“We’re here because diversity should be supremacy.”

Photos by Mackenzie Lad

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Concordia First Nations advocacy group goes digital

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

Indigenous Directions Leadership Group to help students develop business initiatives

As one of the newest members of Concordia’s Indigenous Directions Leadership Group (IDLG), Ronald Abraira hopes to bring his knowledge of business management and entrepreneurship to help the group develop initiatives that benefit Indigenous students at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB).

“I’d like to help the group reach out to First Nations institutions and create a bridging program for [Indigenous] CEGEP students and adult education learners,” said Abraira, a JMSB lecturer. “We’re hoping to create a program that’s like Dragon’s Den […] We’re calling it INSTEP: Indigenous Student Experience.”

This program will give Indigenous students the chance to create and pitch original business ideas in a style similar to the successful CBC television series. Abraira said INSTEP will give students enrolled in CEGEP or adult education programs the opportunity to gain experience in entrepreneurship and help ease their transition into university. He added that the IDLG hopes to launch the program at some point in the next year, but there is currently no set date.

Abraira is one of four new members to join the IDLG this year. The other new members include Vicky Boldo, an interim elder at Concordia’s Aboriginal Student Resource Centre (ASRC), ASRC coordinator Orenda Boucher-Curotte and Karl Hele, an associate professor of First Peoples studies at Concordia. Reporting to the provost and vice-president, all IDLG members contribute to the group’s goal of helping Concordia respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Principles for Reconciliation and Calls to Action. A total of 94 calls to action were released by the TRC in 2015, following a seven-year federally funded investigation of the Canadian residential school system. The calls to action include ensuring Indigenous people have equitable access to jobs, training and education. Another call to action recommended requiring certain academic programs, including history, media studies and journalism, to feature curriculums focused on Indigenous history and issues.

The IDLG aims to improve the university’s responsiveness to the TRC principles by preparing a list of current Concordia First Nations initiatives, designing recommendations to increase Indigenous participation in the academic community, and offering input on Concordia’s approach to Indigenous recruitment and admissions strategies.

In addition to welcoming new members, the IDLG launched an online hub that aims to provide First Nations Concordia students with access to resources and information.

The hub, which was launched in October, features a diverse range of information relevant to First Nations students and faculty, including upcoming IDLG events as well as a list of courses and faculty members in the First People Studies program. There is also a page highlighting Indigenous research and community projects at Concordia.

Some of the featured projects include Acting Out!, a program that offers theatre workshops to Indigenous youth; Nipivut, a bi-weekly Inuktitut radio show; and Journey Women, an art project exploring the theme of healing from the perspective of First Nations women.

According to Abraira, there is no formal application or election process to join the IDLG. The group welcomes Indigenous community members from a wide range of backgrounds.

“This is a group that’s here for all Indigenous students, Indigenous faculty and those interested in outreach to the Indigenous community,” Abraira said.

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

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Le Frigo Vert elects new board members

The non-profit health food store Le Frigo Vert sells organic and locally grown food, medicinal herbs and hygienic products. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Non-profit health food store to focus on workshops, affordability in the coming year

Members of Le Frigo Vert elected seven members to its board of directors during the non-profit health food store’s annual general meeting on Oct. 30. The evening was also spent discussing a number of events to be hosted by the store in the upcoming year.

All seven candidates who ran for board positions—Genevieve Bonin-Nadeau, Allison Figuera, Iman Khalit, Fern Marmont, Tiago Muzzi, Alex Pace and Morgan Peniuta—were elected. With the exception of Bonin-Nadeau and Muzzi, the candidates had previously served as board members.

The candidates were elected by approximately 30 members of Le Frigo Vert who attended the meeting. Since the health food store is a Concordia fee levy group, its members include all graduate and undergraduate students who have paid the fee levy. Membership is also open to community members who pay an annual membership fee.

In addition to the election, the meeting focused on the store’s upcoming events and workshops, the largest of which is the annual Anti-Colonial Dinner. Co-hosted with the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia, the dinner’s turnout has increased in recent years and continues to be a primary focus for the store, according to Le Frigo Vert employee Maria Forti.

“It’s been packed for the past couple of years,” she said. “Last year, it was at capacity, which was about 500 people.”

Seven candidates were elected to Le Frigo Vert’s board of directors during its annual general meeting on Oct. 30. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Le Frigo Vert will also be hosting workshops on herbal medicine this year, including “Herbs and Mental Health,” “Medicinal Mushrooms” and “Herbal Medicine for Trans People.” According to Forti, these workshops are in high demand and many have already reached the 20-person sign-up limit.

The store, located on Mackay Street on Concordia’s downtown campus, primarily sells organic and locally grown food. Other available products include medicinal and hygienic products, such as medicinal mushrooms and natural shampoos and soaps.

Forti said Le Frigo Vert is currently trying to lower its prices. “We’ve been working to lower mark-ups on medicinal menstrual products, fruits and veggies,” she said. “For example, the mark-up on menstrual products was 20 to 25 per cent in the past, and now it’s 10 to 15.”

As a fee levy group on campus, Le Frigo Vert receives 33 cents per credit from undergraduate students and $1.50 from graduate students each semester.

Forti said the fee levy helps fund their free workshops and events, including the Anti-Colonial Dinner, all of which are open to Concordia students and the general public. Additionally, students and members receive a 20 per cent discount on all products, which the store tries to provide at an affordable price.

“Food is an important part of my life,” said board member Khaliat during the meeting. “Providing access to it is as well.”

Photos by Alex Hutchins

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The ghosts of Grey Nuns

Ghost stories involving Grey Nuns are nothing new.

An inside look at Concordia’s haunted residence

For many Concordia students, the ghost stories surrounding Grey Nuns—the former convent and current downtown residence—are nothing new.

According to former Grey Nuns resident Gabby Crowley, people have claimed multiple children from the building’s daycare report having the same “imaginary friend,” a man with tattered clothing and burnt flesh.

“It was actually kind of cool,” Crowley said, “but I was never really freaked out [by the stories].”
In 2016, CBC News confirmed 50 orphans died in a fire in 1918.

Concordia professor Daniel O’Leary explained that, among the many stories about Grey Nuns, the Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk is a chilling first-hand account of the convent from the 19th century.

Monk, who O’Leary described as a “non-voluntary inmate” at Grey Nuns, claimed the building hid an oubliette—a secret dungeon—containing the bodies of dead fetuses and infants from nuns who had secretly gotten pregnant.

Monk’s account might be seen as anti-Catholic propaganda, however O’Leary admitted to feeling uncomfortable being inside the building.

“It is an eerie place, and it is a common thing to see shadows and flitting figures” O’Leary said.

While I have never lived in Grey Nuns, both of my roommates have. After hearing our fair share about the supernatural, we decided to investigate.

On Oct. 26, we embarked on a slightly non-conventional investigation: a séance, complete with a talking board and a protective circle (a space that is safe from demonic entities, and cast by reciting a spell).

As we set up our protective circle, we heard eerie, operatic music echoing from a piano down the hall. Neither of my roommates remember this being a normal occurrence, but we decided it was likely nothing more than a coincidence.

For several minutes, my roommates and I waited in silence—our fingers on the board’s pointer—but nothing happened. It wasn’t until we were ready to give up that we felt the pointer glide across the board. In nearly perfect unison, we all insisted it wasn’t us moving it.

The planchette continued moving across the board, spelling out four letters: G-E-M-A. Then it stopped. Over the next 90 minutes, we seemed to have conversations with multiple entities, each one sliding to “yes” to tell us when they arrived, and “good bye” when they left. Few were as talkative as “Gema” seemed to be. When we asked her if she had been affected by the 1918 fire, she indicated no. When asked why she was here, the planchette slid from letter to letter, spelling out N-E-E-D-C-A-R-E.

Towards the end of the session, we noticed the pointer was repeatedly circling over “good-bye.” While this left us with a bad feeling in the pit of our stomachs, we continued, until the pointer began sliding manically across the board. When we asked who was with us, the pointer spelled out “Gema” again. Before we could ask another question, “Gema” began spelling out: G-E-T-A-W-A-.

Before she could finish, I quickly thanked her and told her she was released, as the board’s instructions indicated I should do. My roommates and I were fine not knowing if “Gema” had really intended to send an ominous “get away” warning.

As my roommate Hanna Buchanan explained, it’s interesting that many Grey Nuns residents are first-year students as there is something almost symbolic about spending your first year away from home in an allegedly haunted convent.

“Since Grey Nuns is essentially a place where students go to […] get out of their comfort zones, the fact that there’s this whole mythology around ghosts and the other world feels symbolic,” Buchanan said. “It’s all linked to the unknown.”

Photo by Megan Hunt

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Grey Nuns to receive $851,000 for restoration

Concordia’s Grey Nuns Motherhouse was granted $851,000 in federal funding as part of Parks Canada’s National Cost-Sharing Program.

Downtown residence granted funding under Parks Canada initiative to support National Historic Sites

Concordia’s Grey Nuns Motherhouse was granted $851,000 for preventative and restorative maintenance earlier this month as part of the Parks Canada National Cost-Sharing Program for Heritage Places.

Concordia spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr said the funding will be invested in measures to reduce deterioration to the 146-year-old building. Barr said planned restoration efforts include replacing the building’s masonry and thoroughly cleaning all the surfaces in the Grey Nuns Chapel.

On Oct. 12, Marc Miller, the member of Parliament for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs, made the funding announcement on behalf of Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who oversees the cost-sharing program. The funding was granted after an application process in which the university outlined the need for and costs associated with restorative work. According to Parks Canada records, Grey Nuns is one of 143 National Historic Sites that are receiving funding from the cost-sharing program.

“Our government has taken a leadership role in the protection and promotion of Canada’s invaluable and irreplaceable heritage such as the Motherhouse of the Grey Nuns in Montreal,” Miller said in a public statement. “This new funding will ensure the preservation of one of Montreal’s treasured heritage sites for future generations and help foster a healthy local economy and thriving tourism industry.”

Completed in 1871, the building was originally the Motherhouse for the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns. For decades, the Grey Nuns used the building to serve the poor and take care of community members, including in times of hardship, such as the Great Depression and the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. According to Concordia’s website, the building was officially designated a historical monument under Quebec’s Cultural Property Act in 1976.

In 2007, Concordia University purchased the building. It was renovated and refurbished before being officially opened as a campus building in September 2014. Currently, the building offers a reading room, cafeteria and daycare centre, and serves as the only residence building on the Sir George Williams campus.

According to Barr, the restoration budget and projects will be managed by the university’s facilities management department. While the current project will focus on restoring the building’s chapel, the university is planning on restoring the facade and interior of the building’s other wings in future years.

“As stewards of this historic building, the university’s goal is to ensure that minimal restoration work is required over the next 100 years,” Barr said.

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engAGE-ing in research to reasses aging

The Concordia engAGE research centre is focused on interdisciplinary research to improve the lives of elderly people. Photo courtesy of Shannon Hebblethwaite

Concordia research centre explores music therapy, community programs, technology

As Concordia’s newest research unit, the engAGE centre has one very specific focus: interdisciplinary, innovative research that aims to improve the lives of elderly people.

Funded by the office of the vice-president of research and graduate studies, the engAGE centre features research from all four of Concordia’s faculties.

According to Shannon Hebblethwaite, the director of the engAGE centre and an associate professor in the department of applied human sciences, the centre specializes in diverse and community-focused research that “aspires to change how we think about aging.”

“EngAGE researchers partner with older people and their communities to address challenges and facilitate opportunities in all realms of life—social, physical, cognitive, emotional and political,” Hebblethwaite said.

She also explained that the research conducted at the centre is separated into four groups: culture, creativity and aging; community, care and connectivity; health, well-being and the lifecourse; and politics, policy and the economics of aging.

Culture, creativity and aging is focused on fine arts approaches to elderly care, including art and music therapies in long-term care facilities and research about how cultural factors influence obituaries and the remembrance of the elderly.

The Concordia engAGE research centre is focused on interdisciplinary research to improve the lives of elderly people. Photo courtesy of Shannon Hebblethwaite

Community, care and connectivity focuses on community programs and improving elder care, while the remaining two groups focus on medicine and policy.

Specific research projects include a study on how technology influences the relationship between older people and their family members, coordinating “Art Hives” (free, public art sessions open to all community members), and research on how music therapy can impact elderly people living with dementia.

Despite the centre only receiving Senate approval in June, engAGE researchers have already developed connections with local, national and international partners.

EngAGE is working with community non-profit organizations, including the advocacy group RECAA (Respecting Elders Communities Against Abuse) and Group Harmonie, a Quebec organization focused on assisting elderly people struggling with addiction and substance abuse.

Additionally, Eric Craven, the project coordinator for the Atwater Library’s Digital Literacy Program, serves as the centre’s community representative on the engAGE governing board.

EngAGE has also conducted research in partnership with a number of hospitals, including Sacré-Cœur Hospital and the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, and has worked with residents in long-term retirement homes, including Chartwell Retirement Residences, a company with nearly 180 residences across Canada.

According to Hebblethwaite, the centre’s researchers will be focused on a number of events over the next few months. Several engAGE researchers are preparing to present some of their findings next weekend at the annual Canadian Association of Gerontology conference in Winnipeg.

Additionally, the centre will be co-sponsoring Age 3.0: Aging in the City, a public educational event on Nov. 1 that will feature panels and workshops given by the centre’s researchers. EngAGE’s governing board is also planning a symposium during the winter 2018 semester, although a topic and date have yet to be chosen.

Ultimately, Hebblethwaite’s primary focus is the research the engAGE centre facilitates. She said the centre’s main goal for November is to “explore opportunities for new and innovative collaborations among Concordia researchers and community partners.

Photos courtesy of Shannon Hebblethwaite

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