Overall, 500 gifts were wrapped with the help of volunteers. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.
The Concordia community took the time to wrap up 500 gifts for families in need.
The Commerce and Administration Student Association and the John Molson School of Business (CASAJMSB) teamed up with the organization Christmas 4 A Cause to host the Santa Supply Chain on Nov. 24 at 10 a.m.
Non-perishable foods, books, clothing and money were collected in the lobby of the JMSB building, where volunteers helped wrap up the gifts for families in need. A bake sale was also organized, with all money raised going to different families.
Marketing professor Brent Pearce is the founder of Christmas 4 A Cause and has been organizing gift wrapping events for 17 years. The organization started when his then-students proposed they have a party to celebrate the end of the 2001 fall semester. Pearce decided to make the celebration profitable for those less fortunate. “We also organize Comedy 4 A Cause, where all the profits go to buy gifts for the families,” said Pearce. He also mentioned how Christmas 4 A Cause has helped 650 families and more than 1,700 children since 2001.
Arti Sadhwani, the vice president of marketing for CASAJMSB, said their goal is to reach over 100 families this year. “We got all these gifts sponsored and we are donating them to families across Montreal,” she said. The student association managed to receive over $350 in donations and wrapped 500 gifts.
Many students and teachers stopped by the JMSB Building’s lobby to help out for the cause. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar
Longinotti (centre) gave his letter of resignation on Monday. Photo by Ana Hernandez
Executive body cites problematic behaviour, asks him to step down
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) announced the resignation of their finance coordinator, Adrian Longinotti, after the executive body asked for his resignation.
In their announcement, the executive body said they believe Longinotti is unfit to act as a representative of the union and they cannot associate themselves nor maintain a working relationship with him.
An hour after the CSU sent out the letter announcing Longinotti’s resignation, his official letter of resignation was sent to The Concordian.
The CSU’s sustainability coordinator, Lana Elinor Galbraith, spoke with The Concordian about Longinotti before the CSU released their statement. “The rest of the executives see it more as a pattern of problematic behaviour,” said Galbraith. “The way he dealt with things, but also he has instigated a lot of issues surrounding queerphobia, misogyny and other pretty oppressive politics.”
“It creates a toxic atmosphere when one of the people who is supposed to be a leader is the one being the most problematic in the bunch,” said Galbraith. “One, because they’re supposed to set an example. Two, because it’s their job to leave that toxicity out.”
Longinotti was also acting as president of the board members for the Reggies Co-op and the CSU urged him to resign from this position as well, which he did. “Reggies is a pretty sensitive area when it comes to safer space,” said Galbraith. “I don’t think that was something he believed or felt that was important.” According to Galbraith, Longinotti would prioritize his self-interest and allowed his friends into Reggies despite them being banned from CSU events and spaces due to behavioural issues.
The Concordian tried to contact Longinotti several times for comment, but he did not respond before publication.
Galbraith said the council will be taking on his responsibilities for the next couple of weeks. “I will be the CSU representative on the board of Reggies and will be taking care of some things with the health and dental plan,” she said. Rachel Gauthier, the CSU’s student life coordinator, will also be helping out with more book-keeping tasks. “Hopefully, we’ll have someone appointed in a few weeks,” she said
Galbraith said the issue will be further discussed at the next CSU council meeting which will take place on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m., in room H-763 at the downtown campus.
Divest Concordia poses for a picture after a meeting. Photo courtesy of Divest Concordia
Divest Concordia receives a green light from students to push university away from fossil fuels
Student group Divest Concordia had a positive outcome to their referendum questions to push Concordia to divest its holdings from fossil fuel industries. Both questions received support from the majority of voters. The campaign officially started on Nov. 1, and ended Nov. 14. Students voted between Nov 15 and 17.
The first referendum question focused on the university’s investments currently tied to fossil fuel industries. They asked undergraduate students whether or not they agreed with Divest Concordia’s demand for the university to remove all its investments from these industries, and to reinvest this money in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
The second referendum question focused on the divest campaign itself. It asked undergraduates if they believe the Concordia Student Union should actively support the divest campaign until the university commits to full divestment from fossil fuels and related industries.
Eighty per cent of voters supported the first question and 70 per cent of voters supported the Divest campaign, said Aloyse Muller, CSU’s external affairs and mobilization coordinator. Only Concordia undergraduate students were able to vote on the matter since this was a CSU referendum, Muller said.
Over the last weeks, Divest Concordia held various meetings to organize the campaign. Tabea Vischer, chair of the referendum committee told The Concordian they created a “social media stunt” where the group posted photos on social media where people from the Concordia community depicted why Concordia should support divest.
“It’s important that we keep the momentum that was built up during the campaign going,” said Vischer. Their next event will be a visioning workshop, where next semester’s projects, such as general student outreach and possibilities for collaborations will be discussed.
The Concordia University Foundation (CUF) currently has $10 million in funding to spend in the “energy sector.” On the “Vote YES to Fossil Fuel Divestment” Facebook page set up to promote the referendum, Divest Concordia wrote “the university’s active investment in the fossil fuel industry represents a commitment to a failing system that misrepresents our community’s real intentions and values.”
“Anyone who wants to get involved with Divest is welcome to join our general meetings to get an idea of what we do and how they can get involved,” Vischer said. Information about the meetings can be found on the Divest Facebook page.
Reggies re-opened their doors last year and became a co-op in 2016. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar
Employees and members gather for an annual general meeting to talk about improvements made in the last year
Concordia’s official solidarity bar, Reggies, held its first annual general meeting on Nov. 16, at Reggies, which is located on the second floor of the Hall building. The meeting went over the changes the bar has undergone over the last year and the positives impacts they have had. Approximately 30 staff and co-op members attended the meeting.
Reggies officially became a co-op after CUSACorp, the for-profit sector of the Concordia Student Union (CSU) that was previously in charge of the bar, dissolved in May 2016. Being a co-op has allowed students to give their input and be more involved in the future of the bar.
Melanie Desrosiers, Reggies’ general manager, said the transition has been very positive. “Working with students is really exciting. It’s a student bar and they should make the decisions,” she said.
Desrosiers also discussed the work she’s been doing with Gabrielle Bouchard from the Centre for Gender Advocacy to make the bar more welcoming for all students. “I believe Reggies is one of the only bars that has a safe space policy being as thoroughly followed,” she said.
As part of this safe space policy, Reggies employees went through four types trainings, including consent training, bystander intervention, completing a server intervention program, and a “Trans 101” tutorial given by Bouchard. The tutorial educated staff on the importance of a safe space and how to promote an inclusive environment. Reggies bathrooms are gender-neutral. “Everybody is welcome here,” said Desrosiers.
Reggies’ president, Adrian Longinotti, who is also the finance coordinator for the CSU, discussed the financial status of the bar. “The 2015-16 fiscal year was the first time that Reggies finished with a surplus in the last 15 years,” he read from the annual report. During the meeting, he discussed how the CSU helped Reggies with funding for renovations, which helped the bar to reboot in a positive position. He also told The Concordian the meeting exceeded his expectations, both in terms of the number of people who attended and the fact there was stimulating conversation where everyone exchanged ideas about what they hope to see in Reggies’ future.
Homa Hoodfar has been back since Sept. 26. Photo by Frederic Muckle.
Retired Concordia professor who was incarcerated for 112 days talks feminism, Evin Prison and Concordia’s support
Homa Hoodfar, a retired Concordia University professor and researcher, sat down with The Concordian to discuss her 112-day experience in Evin prison in Iran. The Iranian-Canadian anthropology professor was arrested while on a personal and research visit to Iran. The 65-year-old suffers from a rare neurological disease that causes severe muscle weakness. She spent some time hospitalized before being brought back to her cell where she could barely walk or talk. Hoodfar has been back in Montreal since Sept. 26.
The Concordian: In an interview with CBC, you said the guards arrested you because they thought you were trying to meddle in an Iranian parliamentary election and bring your feminism work and research into politics. Can you expand on that?
Homa Hoodfar: In Iran, there’s less than three per cent women in the Parliament. When I was there, which was during this election, women in Iran were questioning why there were so few of them in the parliament. In an interview I held on an earlier trip there, I said that the question is not that there are too few women but too many men in the parliament. During this trip to Iran, there were women who were organizing to change the face of the parliament and make it more female-oriented. Somehow the guards said I had something to do with that campaign. I knew of the campaign, but I didn’t know a single one of these women. Yet, for the government, feminism is a form of soft revolution which tends to change the Islamic culture. My argument to them was that any culture that doesn’t change is a dead culture. Our culture has changed and women are trying to voice their opinions like any oppressed group, but the guards want to believe that these ideas are coming from outside of Iran. For them, I’m a self-declared feminist and it was enough for them to arrest me.
TC: Can you speak about the research you’ve done related to Middle Eastern countries?
Hoodfar: My academic work has implications into the contemporary situation in the Middle East. I don’t only work on Iran’s situation. I’ve also been working on [research in] Egypt, Pakistan and even Indonesia. Although, the guards weren’t interested in my work elsewhere, they were just interested in my work in Iran. I had been working on family laws, women reproductive rights and refugees. Also, in 2011, with one of my PhD students, we did write a book on the debate of women in the parliament. Yet, this book doesn’t even mention Iran and somehow they believed that I changed my field of research to interfere with the current elections.
TC: What came to your mind when they came to arrest you?
Hoodfar: They actually came to raid my apartment on the night before I was supposed to leave for Canada. They took my computer, my telephone, my iPad and a lot of books and folders with all my research. There were six big bags of everything that they took. They asked me to go to an interrogation the next day and to go to court within the next five days. At the time, there were no charges or files. Although, as a social scientist, we always say that social science is considered to be a criminal activity, because a lot of people who do research are called in by the police to investigate the research. If the government doesn’t like the results, the researcher usually will go to jail for five or six years. So I was not surprised when this happened to me but I wasn’t expecting to be put in jail. Usually they ban you from travelling and call you in for interrogations a few times.
Different student protests happened to pressure the release of Hoodfar. Photo Alex Hutchins
TC: What do you remember from the Evin prison?
Hoodfar: I was in a very tiny cell which was about two meters by a metre and a half. There was nothing except a carpet and three military blankets they give you. One you sleep on, one you use as a pillow and the other one to cover you. I was on my own for a few days, but then they moved me to a room with three other women because of a prison inspection and so I suppose they didn’t want me to be in a solitary cell. After that, they brought me back with another woman to stay in the tiny cell. There were no windows in this room, and lights were on all day and night. With the light, I was not able to sleep so they gave me sleeping pills. I would also receive my medication from my family, which was very important because my health wasn’t very good. I would also demand that they give me newspapers or something to read because there was nothing to do besides going to the interrogations. Until they brought the young woman to stay with me, there was also no one to talk to. Most of them were sex workers who were only 21 or 22 years old. I ended up chatting with them and collecting their life history. Then, I started to write on my wall with my toothbrush, treating it like field research, which made the time there easier. Whenever I would go to the interrogations, I would take mental notes and when I couldn’t sleep at night, I would write on the wall. Young women thoughtI was crazy but just the action of writing helped my mind stay active. I collected the data and hopefully, when the time is right, I will start writing them down. I had at least 45 sessions of interrogations, some of which would last all day. I also would hear when the guards were interrogating other people. They used different methods for the sex workers than they used for me.
TC: Was there a method of interrogation they used which was difficult for you?
Hoodfar: I knew of their methods. They kept on telling me that I was nothing, but I knew it wasn’t true. I also accepted the fact I would stay in the prison for a long time and, because I did, there was nothing that they could do to really bring me down. What angered me the most was when they played the song used at my spouse’s funeral, which they found on my iPad. In contrast, young women were very frightened and cried a lot because they thought when the guards saw them crying, they might be more lenient towards them. Of course, for me, the interrogators were younger than me, which in the Iranian culture, it gave me an upper hand. Initially, they were playing on the fact that I was the old woman, but I took their method and reversed it and used it against them. I was thinking to myself that I lived for 65 years the way that I wanted and reached my goals. Therefore, I told them it didn’t matter if I had to stay in the Evin prison for the rest of my life. I had no regrets at all. I also told them that if the rest of my life has to be there, so be it. With all that being said to them, they didn’t have anything to frighten me with. This is when they played the music and I asked them to stop it. Which they didn’t want to until I asked them if this was part of the Islamic human rights, because yes, our culture has different human rights. They did everything to make me cry and the fact that they couldn’t break me was a victory.
TC: How long were you in contact with your family?
Hoodfar: Before I was taken to Evin, I would go to interrogations but then would go home and I was able to chat, Skype, or go on Facebook. The problem was that they were listening to the conversations I had on my phone, but at least I was in touch with my family. I was also very overwhelmed with the support that came with my release. The support came from a lot of scholars from the left or right wing, from Islamic scholars and also from people from very diverse backgrounds. I received letters of support from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Turkey and many more countries. It was also very heartwarming to see all the support coming from Canada. Iran wanted me to stop my research but now more people know about my research than if they didn’t arrested me.
TC: What was the process for them to release you?
Hoodfar: The day I was released was actually a very interesting one. Two nights before the release, they took me where the interrogation took place and taped me for about five to six hours. They wanted me to say that I regret what I’ve done, to which I told them that I haven’t done anything illegal and therefore I don’t regret anything. Then they told me there were three conditions on which they could release me on diplomatic ground. I had to say that I regret what I’ve done, that I won’t be doing networking in Iran and that I won’t do any research on women in politics anymore. I told them I don’t regret and, if I’m released, I will continue to do the same thing because I’m a researcher. I have never done networking in Iran anyway and doing research on women or women in politics is part of my work. I was very touched when I learned about the student campaign and the demonstration happening. I only got to see the pictures when I got back to Montreal.
Hoodfar reunites with her niece after her time in Evin prison. Photo by Alex Hutchins
TC: After a terrifying and tireful experience, how are you feeling?
Hoodfar: Physically, my lungs are still not very well and I still get tired when I talk for a long time. I am hoping that, in a month or two, I get my energy back and start working more. Mentally, I still get upset about how the academic freedom is curtailed in Iran and how people can’t express themselves. Overall, I think I’m good. It was great to know that so many people went out of their way to support me and secure my release—especially the Canadian government, my colleagues, the academic scholars and my students from many years ago. I try to focus on the positive things rather than thinking negatively. I hope the situation in Iran changes. There is a lot to be done, and I hope social science gets more space to be discussed.
I especially want to thank the students. I don’t know everybody, but I appreciate what everyone did. I was very touched to see the videos and pictures from the demonstrations, which was a very nice surprise for me. Sometimes, when I get a little sad, I go on my computer and watch the Free Homa pictures and signs. Students at Concordia did a lot, and I’m very thankful for them.
CSU councillors meet for their regular council meeting. Photo by Nelly Sérandour-Amar
Councillors meet to discuss the international student hike campaign and look back on Orientation
During the Concordia Student Union (CSU) meeting on Wednesday, it was announced a town hall meeting will be taking place on Nov. 16 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Mezzanine of the Hall building, where students can learn about their new International Tuition Hike campaign.
The newly-created campaign was announced when the CSU posted an open letter on their website, saying that the university was planning a tuition hike affecting students in deregulated programs.
“We want to reach out to everyone—this is a reason why the CSU exists,” said CSU vice president of external affairs and mobilization coordinator, Aloyse Muller. He said he was surprised with the Commerce and Administration Students Association (CASA), as they have not shown any interest in the campaign yet. “CASA has the biggest number of international students in the university,” he said.
Muller said the CSU has hired two international students, Ali Sherra from the faculty of Arts and Science and Aida Sidibé, who studies at JMSB, to help with the campaign. Muller said they will help inform and mobilize students, through general outreach towards student groups, flyering, postering, developing materials and event organizing, to name a few.
“The CSU is and will be campaigning against this hike—it’s our mission,” said Muller. “But the opposition needs to come and be led by the students themselves.” He strongly suggested students follow the example of Samuel Miriello and Sepideh Zangeneh, two students who helped organize the campaign independently a few weeks ago, through creating a Facebook group called “Concordia University Against international Tuition Hike.”
Following the tuition hikes discussion, student life coordinator Rachel Gauthier presented a document which detailed how the orientation events at the beginning of the Fall 2016 semester went. Gauthier said she is grateful for the hard work the CSU coordinators contributed to Orientation.
According to the Orientation budget Gauthier presented, the CSU only spent $117,388.45 of the original $160,000 budget, leaving them with a surplus of $42,611.55.
Gauthier said, overall, most of the Orientation events were a success. The one exception was the OUMF comedy show, which didn’t have a lot of attendees. She said she believes the event was not well advertised, and the fact that the show was on the second day of school didn’t leave the CSU enough time to promote the event. She ended her speech by saying she recommends the next team to take on orientation week only schedule a week of events, as the second week saw a dip in event attendance, since students began to focus on school more during the second week.
A vigil at the Marvid slaughterhouse raises awareness for animal cruelty
A peaceful vigil took place in front of the Montreal’s Marvid slaughterhouse, on the corner of Industriel and Lacordaire Boulevards, on Nov 6, to raise awareness about animal cruelty. More than 20 people stood in the intersection of both streets holding signs with phrases such as “Close down all Slaughterhouses” and a quote from Tolstoy “Tant qu’il y aura des abattoirs, il y aura des champs de batailles” written on them.
The vigil was organized by Montreal’s KARA (Kebek Animal Rights Association) and the Toronto Pig Save activists. They were joined by Anita Krajnc, a renowned Canadian animal rights activist who currently resides in Toronto.
Krajnc, who is founder of the Save Movement, a network of groups raising awareness on animal rights and veganism, has made news headlines because of her deep involvement in animal rights issues. In 2015, after offering water to pigs crammed in a truck headed to a slaughterhouse, Eric van Boekel, from whose farm the pigs were brought, filed a case against Krajnc, with charges such as criminal mischief.
Due to her passion for animal rights, the charges didn’t stop her from continuing her projects. “For three years now, I’ve helped organize three vigils a week,” she said. “Since July 2011, we’ve almost done 1,000 vigils in Toronto.”
Krajnc was pleased with the turnout of the hour-hour vigil in Montreal. “It is very positive and it is great for visibility.” Back in Toronto, she also organizes day-long vigils which usually bring together 300 to 400 people.
One of the activists who attended the vigil was Marion Achoulias, a professor at Concordia University. She said she believes Concordia used to be more active in the fight for animal rights. For example, she said, Le Frigo Vert used to be completely vegan. Nonetheless, she is very proud to see a new generation of activists within the Concordia Animal Rights Association (CARA).
The Concordian spoke with CARA’s president, Lara Mackenzie, about the organization’s upcoming events. Mackenzie said there will be an anti-fur campaign on Nov. 28, where CARA will encourage students to go fur-free.”
Mackenzie also spoke about Krajnc, describing her as a strong and perseverant woman. “Complete strangers go to her trials to defend her voice—she has a lot of support,” she said.
Another vigil will be held in the same location on Nov. 9, at 8 a.m.
Edward Snowden giving a conference via Google Hangout video conference at McGill. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.
Former NSA employee talks surveillance, privacy and US elections
It was crowded at McGill University on Wednesday night, with thousands of people waiting outside the Leacock building to attend the Edward Snowden video conference.
Although the conference was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., it was delayed due to a protest by the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE), whose 1,500 members are on strike for better working conditions, from wage increases to employment stability. They formed a picket line in front of the huge crowd of people waiting outside, which prevented people from entering the building of the university. Eventually, people found their way inside, pushing each other through the picket line while screaming “Let us in!”
Due to the amount of people who turned up to hear Snowden speak, organizers had to set up a second room where people could watch a livestream version of the event. The conference began around 8 p.m.
Gabriella Coleman, an academic and author whose work focuses on hacker culture and online activism, gave the introduction to Snowden’s talk. Snowden, a former NSA contractor, is best known for leaking documents in 2013 about NSA surveillance activities.
Snowden, who’s currently in Moscow, Russia, appeared on a large screen at the front of the auditorium. He received a round of applause from the public as soon as he appeared.
He started the conference by saying he did not want the audience to hold a grudge against the AMUSE protesters, since they were practicing democracy.
Snowden’s main topics of the night were surveillance and privacy.
“We are all being watched, and it doesn’t matter if we do something wrong or right,” he said. With the rise of the Internet, computers and shared networks, he added, security and privacy is at risk. He explained prior to the digital age, surveillance was an expensive tool and it would take a large group of people to catch one individual. Nowadays, however, it is “financially and technologically possible for one person to watch over a full group of people without them knowing,” he said.
Snowden questioned the legitimacy of democracy when a government, which is elected by the public and is accountable to the public, does not need permission from the public to invade their privacy.
Snowden also weighed in on the recent revelation that Montreal police have been spying on journalists, including La Presse’s Patrick Lagacé. La Presse reported Monday, Oct. 31, that at least 24 surveillance warrants were issued for Lagacé’s iPhone this year at the request of the police special investigations unit. These warrants were used to track the journalist’s whereabouts using the GPS chip in his iPhone. The goal was to track his sources.
He described the controversy as a “non-radical attack on freedom.”
“The government has built in so many loops in the law, so if the police don’t like a journalist, it’s great for them because he can go to a justice of the peace and this judge will let them into this guy’s phone.”
Snowden said there is a lack of public understanding about how government organizations operate, which is why, in 2013, he felt it would be of the public’s interest for him to reveal the realities of the NSA’s operations.
After his 15-minute talk, there was a question period. An attendee of the conference asked how we can ensure that security agencies go back to following the law in a reasonable way. Snowden’s answer: we can’t. He said the only way we possibly could get those agencies back on track with the law would be to appoint a judicial body that is mandated to perform a case by case review of these intelligence agencies’ use of powers to ensure that no illegalities occurred.
Snowden was asked to discuss the upcoming elections in the United States. He said if someone has to ask someone else who they’re voting for, they are not appreciating the value of their own opinion. “Don’t look to others to tell you who to vote for, look to you—read, listen to the conversation.” He also expressed his disappointment in the campaign’s focus on the candidates’ personalities rather than on the constitution. “We all need to recognize [and] be extremely cautious about putting all of our hopes in the candidates,” he said. “Well, you may appreciate one candidate above the other… we cannot rely on others to do the things that we must do for ourselves. Ultimately, if you want to build a better country, you’re going to have to build it yourself.”
When asked if mass surveillance is acceptable, Snowden explained that there is a lot of evidence suggesting that it is not very effective when it comes to terrorism. For example, in the wake of Snowden’s release of NSA’s surveillance practices, there was an independent review which concluded that the NSA’s phone data program was illegal and should end.
“We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation,” the report concluded.
“But what if it had made a difference?” Snowden asked. “It still wouldn’t have made it right,” he said. “We have human rights for a reason, and we protect them. Do we want to live in a world without them?”
Snowden was then asked about students and our generation’s role in this complex fight for privacy and freedom of speech. “Your generation is doing what people aren’t doing,” he said, giving the example of the very protest that had delayed the conference. He said he believes the new generation has to fight for privacy. “Privacy is not having something to hide—it’s about something to protect,” he said. “Saying you don’t care because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”
He said our generation has the ability to make a change when it comes to maintaining privacy. “You have the obligation and the rights to change the game, it is the decision of your generation,” he said. “It is not my decision, not the government’s decision but your generation’s decision.”
“Hope to see you all next year in person,” Snowden concluded.
John Molson School of Business is home for many international students who are studying in deregulated programs. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.
The student union opposes the university’s rumoured tuition hike affecting international students
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) revealed the Concordia administration has been planning—supposedly for three years—a perpetual tuition hike that will affect future international students.
A recent open letter posted on the CSU’s website last Friday said this tuition hike would be directed towards students in deregulated programs.
Most universities’ program fees are regulated by the provincial government, but since 2008, according to the open letter from the CSU, the government of Quebec has deregulated six programs of study for international students: business, engineering, computer science, pure sciences, mathematics and law. This means the university can charge international students in these programs any price they want.
The university will propose tuition increases through “cohort pricing,” which is a payment scheme that guarantees tuition fees for international students in deregulated programs won’t increase over the course of their degree, according to the open letter. This means that when an international student begins their program at Concordia, they will be paying the same fee for every year of study. However, their fee will be higher than a student who started in the same program the year before.
The university has yet to confirm how much higher the fees will be, which isn’t a good sign, according to Lucinda Marshall-Kiparissis, general coordinator for the CSU. “If the university is declining to provide some basic information about what they’re planning for cohort pricing, we are led to suspect that it’s going to be significant increases year by year,” she said.
The student union found out about the increase after Chris Mota, university spokesperson mentioned in an email, that the university has been exploring implementing cohort pricing for international students in deregulated programs for three years now. To follow up, the CSU has been directly asking the university about specifics of their plan, but the university has yet to answer their questions. “It’s unfortunate that we are running under assumptions since we are the accredited union for all students at Concordia,” said Marshall-Kiparissis.
Sepideh Zangeneh, an international student from Mexico studying business at the John Molson School of Business, said she can barely afford the current tuition at Concordia. She’s worried if the tuition increases drastically, she will have to drop out. “I love Concordia, but if I can’t stay here because I can’t afford it, I’ll have to change,” she said.
Zangeneh is not the only one worrying about these tuition hikes. Samuel Miriello, who studies Human Resources Management, is concerned about the possible tuition hikes, even though he’s not an international student. “The school environment will change for the worse if the tuition hikes occur,” he said. Miriello said if tuition rises for international students, only the elite of the international students will be represented at Concordia. “This prevents us, the students, from seeing the world from a clear, fair, equality-oriented lens,” he said.
As a response to the supposed tuition hikes, he created a Facebook group, “Concordia University Against International Tuition Hike,” alongside Zangeneh and CSU’s External Affairs and Mobilization Coordinator, Aloyse Muller. The group’s goal is to bring students together who are against the tuition hike the university is imposing without the students’ consent. They are currently working on a petition and are also planning an awareness day once enough students are aware of the situation, Miriello said.
The CSU believes the proposal for the tuition hikes for international students in deregulated programs will be presented to the Board of Governors on Dec. 14. If it is approved, the proposal will be implemented as of the fall 2017 semester.
Québec Contre les Violences Sexuelles is a social movement created to provide a voice for sexual assault survivors
The social movement Québec Contre les Violences Sexuelles was created a few weeks ago, with the goal denouncing rape culture and discussing the lack of funding for organizations addressing sexual assault issues.
Ariane Litalien, who is currently a student at McGill University, helped create the social movement. She shared her experience with sexual assault while she studied at Harvard University with The Concordian.
“I was an undergraduate student and was seeing a student who was also living in my residence house,” she said. “After a party, I went back to his room where he started kissing me super aggressively and biting me. I asked him to stop, and he told me I should wear a scarf to hide the marks.” Litalien ended up feeling pressured to do things she wasn’t comfortable with, and left the room in tears, she said.
Although she told a few friends what had happened that week, she couldn’t admit to herself that it was sexual assault—until she attended an event where he won a community award.
“I started crying and realized something was really wrong,” she said. That’s when she went to discuss the issue with the residence and Harvard administrators, who made her feel like she was doing all of this in vain, she said. “The only sexual assault policy was 20-years-old, and the administration told me that, under that policy, I couldn’t file any complaints for sexual violence,” she said.
Although there was little she could do at that point, Litalien at least knew the assault wasn’t her fault and she decided not to leave the residence. However, later on, her perpetrator was hired to work at the front desk of the residence. “He had access to my mail, and personal information,” she said.
Litalien was eventually diagnosed with depression, and she realized she needed to speak out, so she detailed her experience in an article for her school’s daily student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. “Strangers would share it on social media, which made me feel the validation that the administrators didn’t really give me,” she said.
The article was a turning point in Litalien’s life. She was interviewed for a documentary about sexual assaults called The Hunting Ground. She shared the stage with Lady Gaga and other sexual assault survivors at the 2016 Oscars, where the singer performed “Till It Happens to You.”
Upon returning in Montreal last year to pursue her studies at McGill University in medicine, Litalien said she realized Quebec did not have a law mandating that universities report on sexual violence or have a policy on sexual violence. This is why Litalien created Québec Contre les Violences Sexuelles, with the help of Kimberley Marin and Melanie Lemay who are also sexual assaults survivors.
“It’s really meant to be a social organization for anyone fed up of the way sexual violence is handled in our society, with rape cultures and with universities not answering well to the complaints of sexual assaults,” said Litalien.
Concordia University implemented its policy on sexual violence on May 20, 2016, outlining its commitment to creating and maintaining a sexual violence-free campus.
The Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) coordinator acts as a point of contact for first response in the case of sexual violence, according to Concordia’s website. With the consent of the survivor, the coordinator then provides support and manages the case both internally and externally.
The west-end campus opened its doors a hundred years ago. Photo by Savanna Craig.
The Loyola campus celebrated the establishment’s 100th anniversary and the harvest season
Concordia University celebrated the end of the harvest season and Loyola campus’ 100th anniversary on Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The day was filled with family-friendly activities, including fitness classes, games and a concert, as well as food and drinks provided by the Hive Café and Seasons Catering, Concordia’s in-house catering services.
The west-end campus opened its doors a hundred years ago. Photo by Savanna Craig.
Despite the heavy rain, people of all ages joined the festivities inside the lobby of the Vanier Library, as well as in the Hive Café Solidarity Cooperative. People were able to buy produce from the Farmers’ Market, see the football game where the Concordia Stingers played against the McGill Redmen, and finally a concert in the Loyola Chapel featuring The Zara Strings performing music of Edwin Orion Brownell.
André Roy, the dean of Concordia’s faculty of arts and science, spoke on behalf of the Loyola campus and said the school was very proud to be celebrating 100 years. “From its Jesuit roots to the many local outreach projects we’re involved in today, Loyola has always played an important [role] in our community,” Roy said.
The official date of the anniversary was Sept. 23, but last Saturday was an occasion to celebrate the fall season and the 100-year milestone. Loyola College was originally a Jesuit college before being consolidated with Sir George Williams University and becoming Concordia University in 1974. The college was first established at the corner of Bleury and Ste-Catherine Street in 1896, but moved to the present west-end campus on Sherbrooke Street West in Notre-Dame-de-Grace in 1916. This is why 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment.
“This fall, as we mark the milestone anniversary, we are pleased to invite community members to celebrate with us,” said Roy. “Here’s to 100 more years of Loyola in NDG.”
The Loyola campus includes the Communications and Journalism building, the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex, the Vanier Library, and others.
A kiosk is currently available at the EV building. Part-time professors Scott Chlopan and Lorraine Oades are there to answer the public's questions.
Concordia’s part-time faculty association invites students to learn about their cause
The Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association (CUPFA) just launched this year’s Campus Equity Week, which will be going on from Oct. 24 to 27, to shed some light on the unequal treatment of the university’s part-time faculty.
Lorraine Oades, the association’s vice president of professional development, said this week is about acknowledging part-time faculty members and the value they bring to the university. CUPFA is asking the university to allow part-time faculty to be paid for doing supervisory and administrative work at Concordia, in addition to their teaching duties.
“We want to create a system that is fair for this part of the faculty,” said Oades. “We are not asking for a huge amount of money, we just want to fill in some gaps.”
Oades, a part-time studio arts professor, is deeply concerned with the work of part-time faculty members that goes unacknowledged and unpaid for. “For example, students will ask us if we can supervise independent studies,” she explained. “We will say most of the time no because this is a full-time faculty job which is a reason [full-time professors] get a higher pay.” She added, however, that there are some part-time professors who agree to offer this help to students but are not rewarded for it.
In past years, Campus Equity Week was only a low-key, one-day event. This year, however, CUPFA is setting up a kiosk for four days, rotating in different buildings on the Sir George Williams campus. To promote the event, the association released a few video profiles created by part-time faculty member, Monique Moumblow, to showcase the hard work of these teachers. “This is the first year that everything falls into place,” said Oades.
Another issue CUPFA will be sharing with students during the eventful week is their concern with limited-term appointments (LTAs). Professors with LTAs are limited to teaching 18 to 21 credits per year. “The LTAs replace the full-time faculty but they don’t know the students as well,” said Oades. “It is very difficult for them, for example, to write a quality letter of reference if they know very little of the students.”
CUPFA’s voice is gaining strength, and members will continue negotiating with the university for their demands after Campus Equity Week. According to Oades, many full-time teachers already support the cause, and some deans are also very enthusiastic about it. “It’s the upper administration that needs to be convinced, and that’s what we’re trying to do with this campaign,” Oades said.
CUPFA’s kiosk is currently set up in the EV building. They will also be present on Tuesday in the Hall building, Wednesday in the MB building and Thursday in the VA building, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Students and staff can speak with members of the association, get a free coffee card and pick up a flyer for more information on CUPFA.
Note: Two changes have been made to this article after publication to ensure accuracy of the information. The Concordian regrets the errors.
