If students are contributing to the formulation of the university’s next academic plan, they aren’t doing it in person. Provost David Graham invited students to three recent Open to Question series held in February and early March to discuss the matter. Sessions were poorly attended by students, but saw high participation from faculty. Graham said at least five students attended the March 4 session, adding that it consisted of a higher proportion of students than in February.
However, he noted students have been giving feedback using several platforms – by letter, email, in the comment section reserved for that purpose on the Provost’s website, and in this month’s faculty council meetings.
“I didn’t hear a lot of expressions of concern” during the sessions, he said. Some concerns were program specific, while others were related to “ways in which students can have input into reshaping academic programs.” Online, some questions were directed towards the financial viability of the objectives proposed in the plan.
Graham also noted students showed interest in learning from direct experience: “[Hassan Abdullahi, the CSU’s VP Loyola and Advocacy] spoke particularly to the inclusion of experiential learning and co-op as an objective in its own right in the academic plan and he said that was something students had told them they were very enthusiastic about seeing.” This inclusion is a departure from the previous academic plan, which made no mention of it. Graham said that is something both he and Vice-Provost of Teaching & Learning Ollivier Dyens have had in mind for years. “It’s really part of [Concordia’s] institutional DNA to engage in that kind of learning,” he explained.
Even if students didn’t attend the Open to Question sessions, they haven’t completely missed the boat on getting their ideas into the plan. “Students will have a major opportunity both [at the committee of the whole] and at the Senate Academic Planning and Priorities Committee to have input into reshaping the plan,” Graham said. The academic planning working group will then rework the plan in order to take into account comments that have been made by students. He added, “My hope is that the student senators will take an active part in discussing the plan when it comes to senate later this month.”
The academic plan will govern the course taken by the university for the next five years with the goal of placing Concordia within the top five Canadian universities. The previous plan expired in 2010.
In honour of International Women’s Day, here are some songs sung by some exceptionally bold women who, combined with being self-aware, feature a mindset typically associated with masculinity. Wherever you are between monogamy/polyamory, homosexual/heterosexual, masculine/feminine, let yourself be open and accepting of others positions and confident in your own unique place, without feeling the need to adhere to any categories.
Passenger arrive in Malta, an island south of Sicily.
“It was the first time I ever heard gunfire. It’s not really a situation you except to be in, even while living in Libya,” Ed told me when he recalled what it was like during the turmoil in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
Eduardo Bezerra has been a good friend of mine for roughly 20 years and currently works for Odebrecht, a Brazilian engineering company responsible for building large scale constructions throughout the world, including some of the stadiums for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Ed had been living in Tripoli since June of last year, and was getting used to being there, despite the many cultural differences, which included a six-day work week, a legal ban on eating pork and, worst of all, a ban on alcohol.
February 20
On the Feb. 20, a rumour went around his office of conflicts going on between rebels and dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s men on the outskirts of the city. His Libyan coworkers were allowed to go to their hometowns, but the foreigners were assured that it would be fine and that they should keep working and continue with their routine. For Ed this included working out, smoking some hookah and watching TV until it was time for bed.
February 21
The next day, when he woke up, his roommates told him that they were not supposed to go to the office, but that everything was alright. Ed went to the local market, surprised to see it open, and bought enough food to last him the week. Soon after, one of his bosses called to tell him that the unrest would soon end and he would be required to show up for work the next day.
Eduardo Bezerra arrives in Malta after being extracted from Libya.
That afternoon, the same boss was due to show up to a job site just outside Tripoli. He was sitting in a car with one of Ed’s roommates waiting at the toll booth. They looked out the windows and saw four men with AK-47s kneeling 20 yards away. Suddenly, three men in the car in front of them got out and began to walk away from the toll. The men with the AKs immediately opened fire and gunned them down. His boss and roommate had to put their heads down to best avoid any stray bullets.
February 22
The incident at the toll booth led Odebrecht to speed up the process of extracting their employees, and on the following day the foreign employees were sent to their office because a plane was being arranged to get them out of the country. After waiting in the office for about three hours, they were informed that no planes were allowed to land anywhere in the country at that time, so they went back home.
Luckily, Ed had gone to the market the day before and there was plenty of food for him and his three roommates. They sat around, mostly in silence, and watched one of the few movies they hadn’t all seen, Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers — not exactly what one would call relaxing.
That night, Ed realized he had left his only black suit at the tailor’s 50 km away – he knew he would never see it again. He had bought it a few months before as a gift to himself when he received a generous bonus from his company. “That hurt a lot, but I just wanted to get out of there, to be honest. It was a nice suit, though,” he said.
A tent city was set up outside the airport. Photos courtesy of Eduardo Bezerra
February 23
He woke up around 8 a.m. to a call from his boss telling him a plane should arrive at 3 p.m. to pick them up. They were told that they were allowed to pack only two bags, but by then, everyone was already packed from the day before. When the bus arrived at 11 a.m., the driver told them that they were allowed to take only one bag, not two. Having both a large suitcase and a small carry-on luggage, everyone figured they would leave the smaller one behind until the driver informed them that their bags were way too big and they could only take the carry-on bags.
“We were a bit shocked because we had our entire lives in those suitcases, but we didn’t really hesitate. Everyone just threw their large bags into the house and got into the bus as fast as we could,” Ed recalled.
The drive to the airport was tense, but they arrived without any encounters with the rebels or Gadhafi’s men. It did however, take roughly four hours to make what was supposed to be only a 30-minute ride. Ed described the airport as “madness.” They stayed at the large tent-camp that had been setup a few kilometers away from the actual airport while they waited for their flight. The plane was supposed to leave Tripoli at 3 p.m. but by 10 p.m., it had yet to even leave Greece.
February 24
At around midnight, three buses departed from the tent-camp to the airport, taking only single men, including Ed, because these passengers would have to wait outdoors for the longest. With an average nightly temperature of 2 to 3 degrees in Tripoli during this time of year, spending all night outdoors is not exactly comfortable.
“It was the longest night of my life, no doubt. I figured I would never leave,” Ed told me, clearly still shaken about the events that happened that night. He explained how all night there was a buzz that the plane was about to arrive, but it never did. Ed didn’t sleep at all that night. At 9 a.m. the plane was finally there. An hour and a half later, they boarded. Ed said that despite what one might think, there was not a sense of relief, everyone was too tired.
The plane left soon after they boarded, and they arrived in Malta, an island just south of Sicily several hours later. They slept and went out for a much deserved celebration, hitting up a local bar.
February 25, 26
The next morning, they went to Lisbon, where many of his former coworkers from his time in Brazil were waiting for him. Finally, 24 hours later, he had landed in Brazil and was free from all of it.
“Hey, want to come with me to buy a new suit?” he called me up and asked after arriving home. “Sure, how come?” I replied. “Long story. Tell you later.” And with that, life slowly seemed to be getting back to normal for Ed.
Techspeak, for those of us who are technically impaired, can be as mind-boggling as HTML formatting. Thankfully, Oxford Dictionaries Online is here to help. The site has recently added 200 new words to spice up our vocabulary, with many of them being associated with the world wide interweb (n. the Internet).
Since 1998, the Oxford University Press has published three editions of an English language dictionary, aptly titled The New Oxford Dictionary of English. The researchers start from scratch with every new edition, as the dictionary is intended to reflect the current state of the English language—not simply an updated one. The latest edition was published in 2010, but Oxford Dictionaries Online frequently updates their website with new entries to keep it contemporary.
The emergence of social networking has taken techspeak to new heights. Ever defriended (v. to remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site) an ex after a bitter breakup? Or arranged a tweetup (n. a meeting or other gathering organized by means of posts on the social networking service Twitter) at Starbucks? Mark Zuckerberg has not only turned procrastination into an art form, it seems he has also infiltrated our verbal communication.
Beyond the confines of your Facebook home page lies a vast and chaotic network of other websites. Perhaps upon the purchase of your latest PC you installed freemium (n. business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for) malware to protect your files. Or maybe you’re a fan of microblogging (n. the posting of very short entries or updates on a blog) and read up on Perez Hilton from time to time.
Although it’s mainly self-proclaimed geeks who label these words, Oxford legitimizes them by slapping on official definitions and putting them into print.
Has techspeak taken over our society to such an extent that grade five students throughout the country are using ‘becuz’ and ‘rofl’ in their book reports? Perhaps — but outside the world of academia, techspeak is widely accepted. It isn’t deteriorating our vocabulary, it’s enhancing it. The English language is constantly evolving. The addition of terms enriches our understanding of new phenomenons encountered on the Internet. And that is nothing to ‘lawlz’ about.
A military dirge plays off in the distance, enlivened by the drums of war to match; the walls of the the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery are adorned with artifacts of Quebec’s colonial past. Revelers, expecting something a bit more contemporary, stand facing a 100-year-old tableau of Montcalm’s last stand, looking at each other, dumbfounded. But continuing through Kent Monkman’s new exhibition My Treaty is With The Crown, the artist’s intentions soon reveal themselves.
Weaving biblical myth and Canadian history with a healthy dose of camp, artist Kent Monkman uses a variety of different media to explore society’s ongoing relationship with the taboo. Monkman casts his own alter ego, the aboriginal Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, across a series of paintings, photographs, etchings and videos that are meant to contrast older works on loan from several archives and national galleries. Recalling biblical ‘fallen women’ Delilah (of Samson fame) and Mary Magdalene, Miss Eagle is seen in one painting cutting locks of hair from a sleeping Montcalm, just on the eve of his battlefield defeat. The new work is painted on a large canvas, its romantic style meant to directly echo the century-older works that sit alongside it.
Monkman’s aim to shock spectators with a figure so alien and anachronistic in the otherwise familiar repeats itself throughout the exhibit. He decided it was time to turn the tables on himself, and become the artist instead of the model.
But that only tells half the story. In this exhibition, artistic meaning is derived entirely from the model’s point of view. The environment that Monkman creates, filled with sounds and visions of a different era, is brought to life in the sporadic, playful appearances of his Miss Eagle persona. It has the effect of both lending his very modern alter-ego a historic weight and making the past feel just a little bit weirder.
One of the more successful pieces is also one of the simplest. Two glass cases sit on the gallery’s floor, both filled with large red footwear. On the left, a pair of traditional Cree leggings, actually worn in the presence of the Prince of Wales upon his 1860 visit to Montreal. On the right, a flashy pair of red vinyl boots, with six-inch heels and shining studs along the side that could only be worn, if ever, at a revival of La Cage aux Folles. The artist offers no more explanation, leaving it to exhibit-goers to consider the various implications and similarities that arise from being non-white, non-male and non-straight in societies that don’t exactly cater to any of those lifestyles.
My Treaty is With the Crown will be at the Leonard & Ellen Bina Gallery until April 16.
Mozart’s Sister performing at Passovah Productions’ three-year anniversary. Photo by Cora Ballou
Mozart’s Sister performing at Passovah Productions’ three-year anniversary. Photo by Cora Ballou
Thursday and Friday were big nights for local promoting company Passovah Productions. Hosting a two-part series of shows, the company celebrated its three years on the Montreal scene.
Founder Noah Bick started Passovah in 2007 and since then, it’s grown from producing small shows at local underground venues to hosting over 70 different gigs around the city. Having cut his teeth with local promoters Pop Montreal and Blue Skies Turn Black, Bick decided to use Passovah “to either help friends or make friends.” As he explains it, “I’ve made it my mantra to only book bands that I’m friends with or that I really respect.”
In that vein, last week Bick assembled an impressive cast of local talent. Beginning at Divan Orange, Thursday featured a three-part rock show, with local favourites Special Noise headlining the set. Following a hypnotizing performance by solo act Royal Palm was Ancient Kids, an all-star band featuring members of other local acts like Sunset Rubdown and Adam & The Amethysts. Speaking to Ancient Kids guitarist/vocalist Jordan Robson-Cramer before the show, he explained how Bick asked him to do a show, but he “was never ready.”
But after three years of offers from Bick, he & his co. finally took the stage to deliver a refreshingly straightforward indie-pop set that featured minimal reverb and synthesizer and Robson-Cramer’s clear, soulful voice, and no synthesizers. Unfortunately this didn’t last long, as Special Noise took the stage to deliver an ear-splitting show that was far too loud for Divan Orange’s limited space. A spectator after the show succinctly described the band as “music that promotes hearing loss rather than actual melody.”
Thankfully, the decibels remained manageable on Friday for the second part of the celebrations, which took place at Il Motore. Featuring an impressive lineup of new and older favourites from Montreal, the show featured seven local bands who came together to play cover sets.
The night demonstrated the communal goodwill between Bick and his artists. Each set was laidback, with musicians who seemed truly pleased to be playing. A welcome sense of lightheartedness filled the room as artists joked in between songs or cracked up at their own cover versions.
Bick, a fan of the Talking Heads, was looking forward to a cover of the ‘80s band by Play Guitar. His status as a full-time student means that Passovah is now producing less gigs. “It’s pretty exciting to be able to work with them,” explained Jeff Simmons of Play Guitar, in light of the scaling back.
In a city full of fledgling promoters, it can be hard to gain a proper foothold. Yet Noah Bick demonstrated that what Montreal needs is a little more fun. With a scene that seems to get increasingly affected by the day, a bit of youthful exuberance was a refreshing change of pace.
Every aspect of Andrew Bird’s latest release Noble Beast is a marvellous contradiction. Recorded partly in Nashville and in Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco Loft in Chicago, Noble Beast is Bird’s second release on Fat Possum Records. Having started out as a one-man act, the Chicago-based classically-trained violinist gained a loyal following over the course of his last dozen or so releases, with his shows eventually selling out to crowds of thousands. With his Zach Condon-esque vocals, acoustic guitar, violin and carefree whistling, Bird carefully carves out each layer of sound on the album, backed by Martin Dosh (percussion, keys, and looping) and members of Loney Dear.
Recalling the spirit of traditional Americana, Noble Beast is a pastoral interplay of influences as varying as West-African poly-rhythms, gypsy, Afro-Cuban, bossa nova, Old World folk and jazz. Still, its essence encompasses the humble, zealous pioneer spirit of early America, recalling the spacious, lonesome farm-life of the American midwest.
Those who are searching for anthemic hooks and blaring obvious messages will instead be met with gentle melodies, catchy, lulling choruses, and multiple layers of sonic and lyrical structure. Bird’s song-writing is subtle, nuanced, and lyrically ambiguous. Abounding with non sequiturs, the seemingly nonsensical sequences of words are quirky and endearing. Singing about “investments of translucent alabaster,” “proto-Sanskrit Minoans” and “calcified arithmetists,” Bird wistfully indulges his fancy for the offbeat, casually whistling through it all, without an air of pretence or intellectual superiority that could characterize lyrics of such verbal idiosyncrasy.
Documenting the creative process behind the development of Noble Beast on the New York Times blog “Measure for Measure,” Bird admits that melodies come to him naturally, while words take time to fit into the composition. “What is becoming more challenging of late is dealing with so many fully formed melodies that are unwilling to change their shape for any word. So writing lyrics becomes like running multiple code-breaking programs in your head until just the right word with just the right number of syllables, tone of vowel and finally some semblance of meaning all snap into place,” Bird writes.
Along with Sufjan Stevens, Cass McCombs, Espers, and Vetiver, Andrew Bird shimmers in the community of New Weird Americana, as his Noble Beast’s cyclical melodies and rhythms drone and giggle, soldiering on through fits and dizzy spells of inspiration.
With his penchant for integrating Old World influences and skilled musicianship with a breezy nonchalance, this diligent wordsmith offers us a charming collection of captivating tracks like the revivalist “Masterswarm,” the twangy “Souverian,” and the plucky “Effigy.” Balancing emotional sincerity with humour and wit, the songs are pleasant and lucid. A noble leap in the evolution of Andrew Bird’s songwriting prowess.
These guys are so raw and so great. Pills is one of the greatest punk rock songs of all time. Listen to the band The Strokes are ripping off.
The Pixies
Bossanova
One of the most influential bands of the 80s, they broke up mere months before they would have been huge. Kurt Cobain’s fave band, and it shows. Rock Music is a perfect heavy song, and the album’s great all around. Pretty impressive, considering everyone agrees it was their worst.
– Ernest Hoffman
Green Day
American Idiot
I hadn’t listened to Green Day much since Nimrod but this album was just awesome. There are some great songs on the album and it deserves the Grammy nomination.
Any Album by Our Lady Peace
These Canadian rockers are just pure musical bliss, and with talk that they’re coming out with another album at some point this year is great news to OLP fans.
– Jared Book
Tegan and Sara
So Jealous
This record has been named one of the top 50 albums of 2004 by Rolling Stone. The young Canadian duo’s sound has grown over the past couple of albums. The band is currently touring the country and will be stopping in Monteral on February 19th.
Straylight Run
Straylight Run
This Long-Island based quartet showcases their songwriting abilities in their debut record. Album highlights include “Existentialism On Prom Night”, “Mistakes We Knew We Were Making” and “Tool Sheds and Hot Tubs”.
-Melissa Hetu
The Garden State Soundtrack
Zach Braff is a genius, not only did he direct the movie, he produced the soundtrack as well. Every song on this album is good. It includes songs from Simon and Garfunkle, Zone 7 and The Shins. If you like the movie you will definitely love the soundtrack.
The Constantines
Shine a Light
The first thing that needs to be said about The Cons is that they put on an amazing live show. However, since they only come to Montreal a few times a year, the next best alternative is to check out their latest cd. It’s loud yet harmonious at the same time.
PJ Harvey
Dry
This album is by far PJ Harvey’s best one. It’s raw, real and filled with angst. Dry is all about great song writing and electric guitars. -Melanie McDonald
Bad Religion
The Empire Strikes FirstI’ve been rockin’ out to this band since I knew what punk rock was. The new album shows a clear evolution in their music but still stays true to the BR sound. Lovin’ it.
Franz Ferdinand
Self Titled Debut
Possibly one of the few perfect albums ever created. Every single track on this album is good. Good for partying, driving, even doing the dishes. Its infectious sound and upbeat songs will get you doing your silliest dances in your living room. If you don’t have it, go buy it.
-Maggie Scott
Dr. Draw
The City
Dr. Draw is a child prodigy turned brilliant electronic club act. Trained in classical violin, he used to busk on the streets of T.O. for money. Now, teamed up with a dj and a band, he performs at the likes of Newtown, getting the crowd jumping and dancing to an electronic version “Ave Maria”. I fully recommend this debut album to anyone who loves electronica, classical violin or both.
-Jennifer Squires
The Streets
A Grand Don’t Come For Free
An interesting mix of Brit-pop and Hip Hop, these tracks come together to tell a narrative about Mike, his girlfriend, and a case of “stolen” cash. I love the mix of sounds, as well as the various British expressions that come up here and there in the lyrics.
– Jean Nicolai
Stay tuned for more wonderful suggestions from your infinitely cool editors here in the production room.
After a long evening class I always find myself looking for a place to go where I can just relax and not think about any of the million things going on in my head.
Last Wednesday I stumbled across this little bar, not to far from the downtown campus. What primarily attracted my attention was the rich sound of jazz pouring out from the doors.
I decided to venture into this place to see what it had to offer When I walked in I felt as though I was walking into an authentic Chicago jazz lounge.
Lights, dimly lit, hang from the ceiling. Smoke lingers over the tables and booths that are filled with onlookers; some who listen to the music and others who converse with friends around them.
When I sat down to take in the atmosphere I was pleased with the new look of Reggie’s. The walls have been repainted and display more of Concordia’s fine talent with fresh, new artwork from various students.
When you approach the bar you feel like you are ordering a drink at a trendy St. Laurent club, except that the prices are affordable. The old, worn tables and chairs have been stylishly replaced to fit the aesthetic of the new interior. The quality of the music is incredible and the play list ranged from styles of Bossanova to Latino to Standard Jazz.
The host band consisted of three members, all of whom were from Concordia’s music department. Marcel was playing the guitar, Jeff was on drums and Jared was on bass. They don’t have a name and describe themselves as the regulars of the music department who play every Wednesday night.
This particular night they had a guest violinist, Jay, who also plays the keys. Similar to last year, every Wednesday night Reggie’s is home to a group of talented Concordia jazz musicians who host an open mic which follows after an hour and a half jazz set.
The host band starts at approximately 9:00 p.m. and continues until around 10:30 p.m. Soon after the mic is open for students of all backgrounds to get up and show off their talent. The great thing about Reggie’s is that it is situated in a convenient location for after class drinks and enjoyment, on the second floor of the Hall Building at the downtown campus.
A Wednesday evening at Reggie’s is time well spent. Why not experience campus life by hanging out with friends and supporting your fellow students in a relaxed atmosphere provided by Reggie’s?
