Author: The Concordian

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Opinions

Editorial: Cuba

We were at the office when our phones buzzed with a series of notifications, as news of Fidel Castro’s death spread across the world on Friday. The media reacted and suddenly CBC and CTV News had correspondents on the ground in Havana interviewing Cubans in mourning, while also producing segments recounting the dictator’s long, politicized life.

Back home, several social media users—including Concordia students—were sharing their sadness and grief online, reacting as if the Dalai Lama or Mother Teresa had just died.

There’s only one problem though—Fidel Castro was no saint. He was a cruel dictator who oppressed and terrorized the Cuban people for nearly 50 years. Anybody who remembers him fondly is ignoring his trail of human rights violations, while openly supporting a communist regime.

In case you have no idea who we’re talking about, Fidel Castro was the communist leader of Cuba, the island nation just 90 kilometres south of the Floridian peninsula. Yes, the same island where you go on vacation every winter with your family and complain about the ‘gross’ food afterwards.

According to several biographers, Castro was born in 1926 and grew up near Santiago de Cuba on his wealthy father’s sugarcane farm. He reportedly threatened to burn down the farm on several occasions in his adolescence unless his father increased his worker’s wages, demonstrating his dedicated advocacy.

Castro studied law at the University of Havana and was very critical of Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president and dictator in the 1940s and 50s. In 1959, Castro successfully led a socialist revolution, overthrew the Batista regime and began to consolidate power.

The United States—which supported the Batista regime—condemned the revolution and placed economic sanctions on the island, with the CIA failing several times to assassinate Castro. In 1961, a group of about 1,400 Cuban dissidents tried to regain control of the island by landing in the Bay of Pigs. Castro’s revolutionary forces ended up repelling these American-backed invaders, and the world watched this tiny island repel a mighty imperial power.

Relations with the United States reached an ultimate low in 1962, when the CIA discovered the Soviets were sending nuclear warheads to the island. From Oct. 14 to 28, the world teetered on the verge of nuclear war, during what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nikita Khrushchev—the leader of the Soviet Union—eventually agreed to remove the warheads from the island, averting a catastrophe was averted.

Cuba has always been the underdog fighting the almighty imperial and capitalist superpower, and at a first glance, one might think Cubans a sweet deal. After all, the literacy rate is almost at 100 per cent and the country has free universal health care, with an average of 6.72 doctors for every 100 people, compared to the United States’ 2.45 doctors for every 100 people, according to CBS News Sunday Morning.

Despite these positive aspects, we cannot forget Cuba’s past and present human rights violations. Over the last 50 years, more than 3,100 known executions by firing squad have taken place, usually targeting political dissidents, according to the nonprofit organization Cuba Archives.

There were also 6,200 arbitrary detentions between January and August 2015 alone, meaning political dissidents are continuously persecuted for speaking out against the communist state, according to the Human Rights Watch. The total number of political prisoners over the last 50 years is unknown, but likely very high.

Don’t even get us started on Cuba’s policy regarding homosexuals. In the years following his takeover, the police began rounding up gay men and placing them in work camps called Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP) according to The Daily Beast. Although these camps closed in the late 60s, homosexuals were still persecuted by the regime afterwards and were fired from their jobs and weren’t allowed to join the Communist Party, according to the same source.

During the 80s when the first cases of HIV were discovered on the island, the government responded by establishing sanitariums, which were quarantine centers that kept patients away from the rest of society, according to the New York Times. These sanitariums were referred to as “pretty prisons,” by Jonathan Mann, the first AIDS director at the World Health Organization, and were seen as a direct threat against the LGBT minority within the country.

Let’s not overlook the number of Cubans living in America either. According to CBS News, there are around 1.1 million Cuban Americans in the U.S., meaning one tenth of the Cuban population has fled the island nation to seek refuge in America.

This exodus proves that life isn’t great for everyone on the island. So next time you like a Facebook status or reminisce about Castro’s glorious achievements, think twice and remember he’s no angel in a revolutionary uniform.

Categories
Student Life

Gamers Gab: Dishonored 2, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Final Fantasy Tactics

Photo courtesy of press

What games to play and what not to play over the holidays

Dishonored 2
Release date: Nov. 11 2016

Just like the first edition of the game, Dishonored 2 definitely doesn’t lack in action and intensity.

The game features a very similar gameplay to the first version—a gameplay that wants the player to create their own rules.The game begins with the choice to play as either Emily Kaldwin, the new empress, or her father, Corvo Attano. The plot focuses on finding the Crown Killer—a character who tries to frame Emily and Corvo for multiple murders—and retaking the throne.

The new edition of Dishonored has more realistic graphics than the first version. The graphics in Dishonored 2 create a larger-than-life 3D feel, with detailed cityscape views and scenery.

While I wouldn’t say the music is badly composed, I don’t think it brings anything to the game. It doesn’t add any suspense or motivation. The voice acting is also one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. Poor scripting for the characters makes the dialogue unrelatable and too predictable. This problem was also present in the first version of the game.

The game still presents breathtaking graphics.  Although the plot is similar and the game presents the same beautiful Victorian-crossed-with-steampunk style as the first edition, Dishonored 2 pays attention to details that are specific to the Dishonored franchise.

By Elisa Barbier (Staff Writer)

Final Fantasy Tactics        
Release date, June 20, 1997

Courtesy of press

The Final Fantasy series is one of the most critically-acclaimed role-play game franchises ever. Hugely popular installments like Final Fantasy 7 grant the series mainstream recognition for its strong narrative skills, innovative gameplay, and iconic music.

However, one of the finest games in the franchise, in my opinion, is the Playstation tactical RPG spinoff, Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics combines the epic storytelling and iconic music expected from the Final Fantasy games with an incredibly addictive combat and character upgrade system. The game plays similarly to many tactical RPGs: turn-based combat on a square grid. The game’s combat is enriched by the “job system,” which allows insane levels of character customization. The player controls up to 24 different characters, all of which can be assigned any of the multiple “jobs,” such as a wizard, ninja, knight, etc. In battle, a character earns “job points,” which can be used to purchase abilities specific to their job.

What makes this system so addictive is a character can change “job” at any time, while still retaining abilities they’ve already learned. This, along with many other factors, makes it one of the most compelling and fun RPGs in Playstation’s catalog.

By Dominick Lucyk (Staff Writer)

Pokémon Sun and Moon
Release date: Nov. 18 2016

Courtesy of press

Nintendo has hit yet another home run with the newest addition to the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Pokémon is an iconic series and the newest installments do the name justice.

Pokémon Sun and Moon’s greatest asset is how it experiments to experiment with the standard Pokémon formula. For 20 years, the games have strictly followed the same formula: you start off in a small town, pick one of three starter Pokémon, beat eight gyms, defeat an evil team, then beat the Elite 4 and the league Champion.

However, that doesn’t mean individual games in the franchise haven’t had unique elements, like new Pokémon. Regardless, Sun and Moon completely rejects the old format. There are no gyms, the region is made up of four different islands instead of one big landmass, and a multitude of small details, such as the strength of many attacks, have been changed.

The changes make the experience feel fresh and new. Playing Sun and Moon over the Christmas break is the perfect way to celebrate Pokémon’s 20th anniversary.

By Dominick Lucyk (Staff Writer)

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Standing in solidarity with trans communities

Photo courtesy of HNewberry.

Over the last few years, trans issues have gained a lot of traction in this country. This past week, many people from all over the world came together for Transgender Awareness Week, with hopes to address and educate people on the issues the trans communities face. The Canadian population has slowly become more aware of trans people and issues that impact this diverse and ever-expanding communities.

Our own campus is quite inclusive and open, and we have several groups, including the Centre for Gender Advocacy and Queer Concordia, constantly advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within our community. We here at The Concordian applaud them for the amazing work they do.

This aside, the amount of violence and discrimination towards trans individuals across the world is absolutely staggering and disturbing. Every 31 hours, a trans individual is murdered somewhere in the world, according to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project. There have been 137 murders in North America alone between January 2008 and December 2015, according to Transgender Europe (TGEU).

If we look at the data provided by TGEU from a broad perspective, Central and South America have the highest rates of trans murder, with more than 1500 homicides in the last five years. These figures only represent murders that were reported. The number is probably a lot higher due to the fact that many trans murders go unreported, especially in third world countries, according to TGEU.

Furthermore, there were 21 trans deaths so far this year in the United States alone, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The organization reported these deaths were due to gunshots, stabbings and physical attacks, and the rates are higher when looking at trans individuals of colour.

Transphobia is not just some term loosely thrown around in the media—it is a real issue that impacts individuals on a daily basis, and poses a real threat to their very existence in our society.

In a powerful op-ed for The Guardian, Meredith Talusan stated that simply being trans makes individuals a target in our transphobic society. Talusan goes on to say that transphobia is omnipresent and can present itself a variety of forms, even from loved ones. She even stated a trans woman, she’s experienced discrimination from straight men who believe she’s “fooling them” and does not have the right to occupy the same spaces as a cisgendered woman.

Here at The Concordian, we find these transphobic incidents completely unacceptable and upsetting. Just because someone doesn’t understand the basics of trans issues, does not mean they have the right to ostracize and marginalize them from the rest of society. Now is the time when we must work tirelessly to continue to educate the public and prevent any form of transphobia.

Just this past May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced Bill C-16, which would allow individuals to freely express their gender and would protect them from “discrimination and hate,” according to CBC News.

Last week, Bill C-16 was passed in the House of Commons, meaning our government has took a giant stride towards protecting trans individuals in Canada. The Concordian is incredibly proud of this bill, but we urge the entire student population to educate themselves on trans issues and fight transphobia wherever and whenever you come across it.

If we listen to the wise words of Deepak Chopra, “Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.”

Let’s #CUcompost

Only 50 years ago, Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich wrote “the battle to feed all of humanity is over,” in a book titled The Population Bomb. He predicted that millions would starve within a decade despite any emergency program. The Green Revolution proved him wrong with cross-breeding to develop high-yield and disease-resistant wheat—the world population doubled within 40 to 50 years and production per acre quadrupled.

Now, another food security crisis looms. According to the UN, we waste one third of the food we produce, while 0.8 billion people are undernourished. The UN states it would cost $30 billion to address the world’s food crisis, while food waste losses in industrialized countries alone cost $680 billion. Food waste in industrialized countries occurs mainly at the consumer level. This one is in our hands!

Photo by Kim Gagnon

Beyond reducing food waste, diversion is also critical. Landfills are a leading methane emitter. Simply put, reducing and diverting waste would reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically—composting transforms organics into soil.

At Concordia, 43 per cent of waste (255 tonnes) is compostable. Yet, we compost 67 tonnes, and send 188 tonnes to landfills, according to the 2013-2014 Concordia waste audit. We should do better.

The challenge is multi-faceted. Compost bins are rare at Concordia, compostable waste is sent to an out-of-province composting facility, and, ultimately, this social issue requires a culture change.

While Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) at Concordia insists that using closer facilities may not significantly reduce emissions, they also recognize the need for on-site composting. We should strive for a closed, self-sufficient food cycle where we use our own compost to grow our food.

Any on-campus awareness campaign should include two goals: firstly, ensure that compostable waste goes to compost bins, and secondly, minimize the contamination of compost bins with non-compostables. Contamination produces poor quality soil, which is an ongoing problem for Concordia’s City Farm School and Greenhouse, who use compost to grow food on campus.

Last year, Concordia Council on Student Life (CCSL) funded a collaboration called Waste Not, Want Not with a $35,000, two-year grant. The collaboration includes students (Graduate Individualized Student Association), faculty (Loyola Sustainability Research Center) and administration (EH&S). It has three synergistic pillars: more widespread compost bins, a better composting model and an educational campaign.

CCSL funding is to pay only for education, while Concordia’s vice president of services, Roger Coté, stressed his commitment to infrastructure investments. The Sustainable Action Fund (SAF) supported the Waste Not, Want Not campaign with another $1,000.

So far, so good—the number of public compost bins on campus have doubled. Almost all student and university orientation events include compost, and an intensive social media campaign has been launched. 1,500 people engaged per day in a five-day food festival, catered by our very own Hive Café Co-op, to learn how to compost on campus.

More than 62 students, 47 staff and 20 professors signed up to volunteer. Student volunteers, who will be recognized by Concordia’s Co-Curricular Record (CCR), informed the university community about the new compost bins. Staff volunteers, including security, have compost desk signs. Professor volunteers gave class presentations. Concordia’s Creative Reuse Center provided our artistic volunteers with art supplies diverted from landfills to make signs. Concordia’s community is engaged, committed and invested. Like a campfire, though, this spark of community engagement must be maintained with concrete actions.

Concordia is a 50,000-member community, the size of a small town. Much of what we do can be like adding a drop to a bucket of water. To change the culture, that drop must be like ink, changing the colour of the water. Compost must be made present in our minds consistently and persistently.

This year, the Graduate Student Association (GSA) adopted a sustainability policy aiming to reduce and compost food waste. The graduate community must remain vigilant to implement that policy. Concordia Student Union (CSU) already has a sustainability policy, and a campus-wide policy is in the works. Other associations should follow.

All events taking place in the university where food is served should automatically be provided with compost bins as part of the space booking process. Events organized by student associations, faculties, gradpro skills, institutes, research centres and Alumni Relations should be zero waste. While the establishment of policy remains necessary, staff champions who organize those events can make a real and positive difference.

Photo by Kim Gagnon

There are still less than 30 public compost bins. Expansions in public areas and staff kitchenettes are planned but have yet to materialize. Implementing on-site composting remains uncertain, as the Loyola composter remains inoperable. Further infrastructure investments with clear timelines are necessary.

Such infrastructure investments are not unheard of fairy tales for universities. The University of Sherbrooke diverts about 80 per cent of its waste away from landfills, ensures that all common areas, kitchens and lounges are equipped with compost bins, and operates its own composter with a 70 tonnes annual capacity, according to their website. Concordia diverts about 60 per cent of its waste. A total of 363 tonnes of waste from Concordia go to landfills, 188 tonnes of which is compostable—more than 50 per cent—according to Concordia’s 2013-2014 waste audit. Compost should be priority one!

While Concordia’s new strategic directions do not explicitly include sustainability, a separate “outline” integrating it within the new directions was composed by the sustainability governance framework—university committees on sustainability. We must act with a sense of urgency to live up to the sustainability expectations of both Concordia and international communities.

In the meantime, buy only what you need, finish your meals and throw your leftover food and contaminated paper in the compost bins with orange lids! A community consultation hosted by Concordia’s Facilities Management is scheduled for Dec. 2 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in GM 1060-01 to discuss future Concordia investments in on-site composting.

For more information, visit concordia.ca/compost. Whether you are a student, faculty or staff member, join us and share pictures of your sustainable events on our Facebook and Twitter (@CUcompost).

– PhD student Keroles Riad and Professor Peter Stoett

Tuition Hike

In response to Concordia University’s statements to the Concordian regarding the administration’s proposal to increase tuition for incoming international students in deregulated programs through cohort pricing (“Concordia responds to possible tuition hikes,” Tuesday November 18), as an elected representative of the Concordia Student Union I feel obligated to present clarifications of our own.

University spokesperson Chris Mota’s assertion that there would be student input regarding the proposal is very questionable. Yes, “all members of the board, student governors included, will vote on the proposal;” but of 25 members of the board, only two students are eligible to vote, and only one is an undergraduate. A single representative vote at the point of adoption is not the opportunity for proper undergraduate input.

The CSU, like the Concordian, has been told that the cohort pricing proposal is justified by feedback from surveys with prospective international students. We are still waiting, however, on any basic details regarding these surveys, including when and where they were conducted and what exactly were the questions asked. In any case, market surveys are not a substitute for consultation which those who represent the memberships that will be affected.

We are confused by President Alan Shepard’s statement that “historically, [Concordia has] been setting the tuition to be exactly identical to the tuition rise prescribed by the Quebec government for Quebec residents and the rest of canadian [sic] students, which is still regulated by the government,”

We do not know if he referring to one of two different rates of annual tuition increase: for example, in 2015 the increase was 1.5 per cent for Quebec residents, and 3.8 percent for Canadian students out-of-province.

Regardless, we read this statement as false, since Concordia has been setting the tuition increase rate for international students in deregulated programs the same as the rate for regulated programs, with the exception of major tuition hikes for some deregulated programs implemented in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 academic years. This is why international undergraduate students in JMSB currently pay an extra $186.26 per credit ($717.69 instead of $531.43), and undergraduate international ENCS students pay an extra $62.62 per credit ($656.21 instead of $593.59), compared to the regulated programs (refer to http://www.concordia.ca/admissions/tuition-fees/how-fees-are-billed/undergraduate/fees.html).

We agree with Dr. Shepard in that we “regret [this] being played out […] like we’re debating international tuition in the press,” since we at the CSU would prefer that conversations regarding decisions that impact members of our community be open, transparent, and bring representatives of affected stakeholders to the table. We invite direct conversation with the University administration in place of conversation through the proxy of the student press. However, it is better that these ‘debates’ happen at all than have no conversation prior to the Board of Governors’ adoption and its presentation as a fait accompli.

This past Wednesday we heard international students at our public Town Hall talk about their own experiences with financial precarity and disenfranchisement within the institution, and we suggest that Concordia listen to its students as well.

– Lucinda Marshall-Kiparissis, General Coordinator of the CSU

An Open Letter to America

Since when did America, a country founded by immigrants, by freedom fighters, by naysayers oftyranny and monarchy, decide that fear would instill hatred, instead of courage and the offering of help?

Building walls, real or symbolic, has the same effect; distrust. Distrust in country-men who are supposed to stand up in arms for each other, speak up for each other, watch after each other.

This is not the world I want to live in.

More importantly, it is not the world I want my children to live in.

The influence of an individual with so much power is not just strong, but inevitable. He will shape the minds of thousands just by existing and by being given a platform to do so, so publicly. Lest not forget that already half the population thinks the way he does, voting for homophobia and misogyny and racism every time they cheer his name at a rally. And with every mind he influences and heart he hardens, hate propagates, and hate wins. If the consequences of one person pushing such cruelties is catastrophic, imagine the effect thousands will have. It will be devastating. It will be nuclear, like the codes he will hold.

Every act of hatred is a step backwards. This is not the future in which I want to raise my children.

The truth is, I am not sure he is as hateful as he claims to be. He is racist of course, gross in the way he treats women, and disloyal to the bone, but he lacks the conviction of a true hate monger. He is weak, and he is selfish, and combined this might be the most dangerous threat we have yet to face. One who will sell himself, those he loves, and definitely those he is indifferent to, for power. The most consequential job in the world, given to the most inconsequentially oriented man, is a recipe for disaster.

Our country is safe, but still we lead precautious lives. I am afraid to walk alone in the dark, and in the light, because my monsters look just like me. They are colleagues and neighbors, coworkers and fellow students. They have been fueled by an anger they recognize in themselves, and feel entitled to act as they may, following the largest and loudest example.

I am afraid for all those who do not look, worship, or talk like President Trump. I am afraid for the children born in America who will be sent away, expected to reappropriate themselves with a culture that is unfamiliar, and not truly their own. Worse, I am afraid for the children whose parents will have to leave, and who’s American dream will be cut short.

I am afraid for women, and our suffrage. It feels halted, all of a sudden. In my lifetime, I might never see a woman in the White House. It seems inconceivable that we will be respected, considered equal, by an individual who believes women exist for his taking and pleasure. Who can be grabbed, touched, shaped, lengthened, thinned, and rated as he wishes. How will we recover?

I am afraid for love. Legality can and should span the threshold for action and conspiracy, but not for that of emotion. Laws that govern emotions should be illegal, but alas, it is the emotions that will be regulated. I am very afraid for love.

And lastly, I am afraid for America. Your legacy has been one of strength, tolerance, hope, and dreams, please hold on to this. Thomas Jefferson said, “If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” I believe this applies to the governing authority, and I believe your trust in authority is at its most tested and precarious. Do not underestimate the deep rootedness of hate in your country, for it is real, and evidently prominent. Stay strong, acknowledge and celebrate acts of kindness, large or small. Keep fighting for goodness. This is how you will win the election, after the fact.

Good luck.

– Maya Botti, mechanical engineering student at Concordia

Categories
Arts

you are running around in the dark and for my first workshop part 1

Graphic by Florence Yee

In her poetry, Kara Bowers explores themes of womanhood, healing, and coming of age, to name a few. Bowers is in her fourth year at Concordia University, where she studies Creative Writing and Studio Arts. She is from Toronto. This column was put together with the help of Annah-Lauren Bloom.

you are running around in the dark

i am hungry but also not

my therapist says “i know you hate confrontation”

i haven’t really thought about it

the clock on the kitchen stove is seven hours fast

i walk all the way

you are going to sleep to hide from a problem

i am staying awake beside windows

where dark presses in close

like bodies in a room in the middle of the night

i cross the street without looking

i ask if you saw me watching

you say no

inside of you it is me

i have pulled a muscle in my left thigh

walking in the fresh

my therapist says “anxiety is awareness”

i repeat this in the new city

in my urges to ravage my body

and to destroy its natural shape

something made me want to change

you feel like the blue and the green out the window in my parent’s house

i had so much more to say when i walked across that bridge every day

many strangers have been talking to me

we all wake up early when the sun comes in

will you sing me to sleep?

will you still love me even when i go away?

we stayed like that for months before i was swallowed up

i stayed in the mouth with an old woman

she said “i used to look just like you —

you remind me of my friend who died in the war”

for my first workshop part 1

i will not prune myself for you

i can’t sleep when i’m touching you

in the mornings i wake up with you

and i drink two

cups of water

i go right into the center

and i bite the pit

we move

closer together

i run into you

on the way

you shout whisper

my name

when you eat an apple

do you eat the whole thing?

i turn into an eggshell

i press my face into my knees

the message she sends says: i care

about you. i never stopped caring

i wash my hair

it is spilling out

i call the angels. another crisis without your voice

i sleep with the blinds open and i wake up every hour

each day i wear red for the fire power

there is so much more than just

seeing your name. the plants sing a song

to make us fall asleep i tell you about lying

underneath the flower blanket i tell you

about the book i’m reading i put

my face into bowls of salt and water

i will be safe with you

a piece of wire

breaks off my teeth and flies away

Graphic by Florence Yee

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Concordia students need to fight for what they believe in

You probably thought we were going to run an editorial denouncing the results of the U.S. presidential elections. To be frank, though, we are exhausted and sick of talking about it. The dirty campaign feels like it lasted a decade and, at The Concordian, we thought it’d be best to focus on another issue.   

On Thursday afternoon, our news team reported on a demonstration staged by a group of students and faculty in the mezzanine of the Hall building. Their intent was to protest the expanding of the Dakota Access Pipeline (also referred to as DAPL). The group consisted of individuals from a First Peoples elective class, as well as the Indigenous Student Association at Concordia.

If you haven’t heard about DAPL, then you need to get your head out of the sand and head right over to Google search. The situation is currently unfolding in North Dakota, where protesters are trying prevent the construction of a giant oil pipeline that would go straight through several indigenous territories and severely impact the environment in the regions.

This is why you probably saw a ton of people on social media checking in at Standing Rock, a Hunkpapa Lakota and Yanktonai Dakota reservation located in both North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States. The pipeline runs through this indigenous reservation and threatens the region’s only water supply. Protesters from around North America have gathered at Standing Rock, where they continue to challenge authorities as they wage a defiant fight to protect their rights and lands.

Local police units were using Facebook as a means of tracking and arresting protesters. This triggered a social media movement across the world, where individuals checked in to Standing Rock in an attempt to thwart the authorities.

While we applaud social media users for their efforts, checking in to a location with the click of a button is simply not enough. More needs to be done to send a strong message that a major pipeline which can cause severe environmental repercussions is unacceptable and inhumane.

This is why The Concordian fully supports the efforts made by the First Peoples elective class and the Indigenous Student Association during their protest on Thursday at Concordia. We encourage the rest of the student body to emerge from their hibernating states of disillusionment and mobilize towards the cause.

We also applaud the efforts of the Concordia Student Union and Divest Concordia to push for the university’s divestment from fossil fuel investments. If we are to stop pipelines from being built in the future, we need to move towards sustainable energies that won’t pollute our planet.

We know this week has been shocking and tough to say the least. But we cannot give up fighting for our rights, and the rights of others around the world. Even if you aren’t fully behind stopping DAPL or don’t really understand the situation, we encourage you to educate yourself and get behind a cause you believe in.

In the words of author Stephen King, “get busy living or get busy dying.”

Categories
Music

Porter Robinson & Madeon at Metropolis

The electronic dance DJs are in Montreal for their Shelter Live Tour

DJs Porter Robinson and Madeon (Hugo Leclercq) will be in Montreal for their Shelter Live Tour on Nov. 14 at Metropolis. The tour follows the release of their 2016 collaborative song, “Shelter.” “We wanted to be able to celebrate at least 10 years of knowing each other, our discography and this collaborative song, ‘Shelter,’” said Robinson.

Robinson specializes in electro house, dubstep and synthpop sounds, while Leclercq focuses more on electro pop and nu-disco, adding a definite European electro sound to his beats. The Shelter Live Tour is about the two complementing each other’s music and adding new spins to original songs. By switching between songs from each artist, they incorporate remixes and samples of each other’s work. “We both kind of came from the DJ world, and I think we pretty much completely threw that aside in our respective albums,” said Robinson.

The two electronic dance music producers have created a live music experience that is more dynamic than the usual EDM-techno feel. Both DJs will be multi-tasking during their performance by singing and playing various instruments simultaneously. The Shelter Live Tour is more than just an electronic show of their most recent albums, Robinson’s Worlds and Leclercq’s Adventure.

As a companion to the song “Shelter,” Robinson released an animated short film reminiscent of Japanese anime. Robinson has great interest in producing anime, since his love for electronic music started with his early passion for video games. He said the visuals for the live show will be more abstract than his character-based film. There will be flashing, colourful lights following the beats of the music, as both DJs dance energetically along with the rhythm.

The two friends met through an online forum when they were teenagers. Robinson hails from the U.S. and Leclercq is from France. The common interest they shared was music production, a passion they each developed during their teenage years. “We think about music pretty similarly but we don’t have an overlapping taste,” said Leclercq. “I think Porter is more trance music and I’m really into more soulful songwriting.” While their individual sounds differs, the duo said their similar musical mindsets create a space for complementary creation and new musical directions.

“It’s a much larger scale than anything I’ve done before,” said Leclercq, referring to the 38 shows of their North American tour. As a French native, Montreal will be a special stop on the tour trail for Leclercq. “I’m super excited,” he said. “I’m gonna get on the mic and speak in French, and Porter will not understand.”

Montreal is a musical epicenter for young, up-and-coming artists just like Robinson and Leclercq when they first got into music as teenagers. “The tools are very available for making music and for sharing it, and so many more people are making music, which is wonderful,” said Leclercq. “I would encourage people to find what’s unique about their tastes and explore that, and try not to be too influenced by everything they hear around them.”

Porter Robinson and Madeon will be performing at Metropolis on Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. A few tickets are still available online, with prices ranging from $34 to $92.

Categories
Opinions

Support Social Justice, Resist Racism and Sexism, Vote Yes to QPIRG Concordia

For the past two weeks, I’ve had the honor to be the Chairperson of the “Vote Yes to QPIRG Concordia” referendum committee, and it’s been a privilege to meet with so many Concordia students during the campaign, and to realize how many people on campus care so deeply about a better world and building a more caring community.

I would like to take this opportunity, before campaigning ends and voting begins, to share some key messages of our campaign, and to urge students to turn out in large numbers and Vote Yes next week.

QPIRG Concordia, has been an important progressive presence on campus for four decades. QPIRG’s core mission is anti-oppression, and actively organizing to support mobilizing and popular education efforts. In an era with a troubling rise in racism, sexism and homophobia, enabled by far-right politicians like Donald Trump, unapologetic social justice organizations like QPIRG are needed more than ever.

Importantly, QPIRG Concordia provides a welcome and nurturing place for students, and community members, to get acquainted with issues, in a non-judgmental setting. It’s a place for growth, mentorship, and support. QPIRG Concordia has an amazing array of projects, initiatives and publications — School Schmool alternative agenda, Convergence undergraduate research journal, Study In Action undergraduate research conference, the Alternative Library, DisOrientation, more than 30 Working Groups — that in diverse ways support and sustain students who want to be engaged members of their community. All of these benefits are available for students for free, as a result of a fee levy.

It’s been almost a decade since QPIRG has had a fee levy increase, a reasonable time to again ask students for a modest 8 cents per credit increase to allow QPIRG Concordia to be an effective part of the progressive social and environmental justice community at Concordia and Montreal.

Next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, November 15-17, have your student card on hand, visit one of the polling booths on either campus, and be sure to VOTE YES to QPIRG Concordia, your campus-community link for progressive social change.

-Sima Youssef

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Opinions

Editorial: Quebec turns a blind eye to indigenous history

Photo of an Inuit family taken in 1854.

A dark shadow hangs over this province, as many Quebecers overlook the fact that these lands were once inhabited by a thriving indigenous population, prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 15th and 16th centuries.

There are approximately 1.4 million individuals who identified as Indigenous on the 2011 National Household Survey, representing 4.3 per cent of the Canadian population, according to Statistics Canada.

Furthermore, in Quebec, the indigenous population is approximately 104,633, representing two per cent of the provincial population, according to data from the Quebec government.

Yet, education surrounding aboriginal issues is constantly disregarded and evaded—in order to pander to Quebec’s sovereignty debate. Many of us here at The Concordian do not recall ever learning about the atrocities that greatly affected First Nations populations in elementary or high school history classes, such as the implementation of the Indian Act or residential schools.

How could it be that many of us are uneducated about these events and their horrific impacts until we reach adulthood?

Lack of education surrounding First Nations history and culture continues to persist for children growing up and learning today. A new history curriculum for high school students was unveiled earlier this year, after being conceived by the previous Parti Quebecois government under Pauline Marois.This curriculum virtually excludes all minority and aboriginal narratives, according to CBC News.

This curriculum is absolutely unacceptable and insulting, because the indigenous communities played a massive role in both Quebec and Canada’s history, and continue to do so today.

This was also a major aspect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which issued a call to action, and strongly urged governments place a greater emphasis on First Nations history.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, also referred to as the TRC, was created to understand and investigate almost a century of misconduct towards First Nations’ children in the residential school system. The commission was launched in 2008 and a final report was released last December, providing evidence there was indeed a cultural genocide in Canada against the indigenous peoples.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard acknowledged the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and admitted there was indeed a cultural genocide in this nation for more than a century, according to another report by CBC News. In the same report, the premier even stated his government needed to work more closely with indigenous communities across the province.

It’s highly hypocritical, to say the least, to green light an educational pilot project that essentially misinterprets our province’s past and oppresses several minority groups, including First Nations.

If we look within our own university, we can see there is progress being made compared to our own government. Concordia University just announced the creation of Truth and Reconciliation Leadership Group last week, which shall advise the university’s provost regarding a wide range of indigenous affairs. The group will be comprised of Elizabeth Fast, an assistant professor of Applied Human Sciences, and Charmaine Lyn, the senior director of the Office of Community Engagement.

Even though our university is slowly taking initiatives, we cannot let the rest of our society fall behind. Considering our own government cannot provide a proper educational history, The Concordian suggests that every citizen take it upon themselves to learn about First Nations history and culture—be it through books, articles, or the talks and events that take place at Concordia, like the one we covered this week, “Cree Ways of Knowing.” We also have a First Peoples studies program, and some classes are available as electives for those who are not in the program.

We cannot ignore the past, nor can we simply brush off the original inhabitants of these lands in order to address other political agendas.

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Opinions

Editorial: Concordia is going after International Students

Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

The news spread like wildfire on social media after the CSU shared a statement on a variety of Facebook groups and platforms. The statement detailed how the university’s administration has been looking to increase tuition costs for international students for the last three years. The CSU believes a proposal is expected to be approved by the board of governors on Dec. 14, meaning the increase would be implemented starting in the fall 2017 semester.

We were in shock here at The Concordian, as international students already pay way more than Quebec residents. Many of these students rack up a huge amount of debt whilst studying in our bustling metropolis, or are forced to look for some sort of employment to ease the financial burden. However, it can be especially difficult for non-francophone students to get jobs in Montreal.

Here at The Concordian, we think this proposed tuition hike is downright shady. It feels like Concordia is finding new ways to extort money from the student population, like capitalist vampires on a bloodthirsty hunt for fresh meat. According to the CSU’s website, international students currently make up approximately 17 per cent of Concordia’s students body, and they are the source of 25 per cent of the university’s tuition-based revenue—this was revealed during the university’s September 2016 budget meeting. At the meeting, it was also stated that “Concordia is looking to increase the ratio of international students in order to generate additional revenue from tuition,” according to the CSU.

The fact that this proposal has been in the works for the past three years is also quite troublesome, especially given the fact that it’s only being brought to our attention now. How many other secret projects are in the pipeline that’ll impact our student population? We would like to think that Concordia values its international students and what they bring to our university, but the current circumstance seems to suggest they value money more than good education.

As of yet, the university won’t allow CSU representatives to see the proposal, meaning we—the students—won’t be able to get the concrete details.

“[The proposal] has yet to be presented to the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors. That will only open happen late next month. We have to respect our governance process so the proposal won’t be shared with anyone until it goes through the required.” Said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota.

We understand the protocol in this situation, but we believe the university should be more transparent and divulge the true details of this proposal, so the student body can be fully informed before anything is approved.

This isn’t the first time international students have been screwed over either. Rewind to 2012, when the media reported widely on the fact that many Chinese international students were being ripped off. CBC News reported that Concordia hired a third party recruiter to attract chinese students to the university, yet the recruiter overstepped his role and essentially took their money and set them up in housing accommodations. When the students arrived, many of them were crammed into tiny rooms and were not even fed properly, according to the same report. Many students lost a lot of money and were afraid to speak out because they weren’t aware of their rights and feared deportation.

The university’s main focus should be on providing an opportunity for students—both from Quebec and abroad—to get a decent education and acquire the skills and expertise they need to work in an international job market. How can Concordia build its reputation abroad if the administration is constantly trying to suckle every penny out of these poor students?

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