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Concordia inches forward with the promises of the president’s task force on anti-Black racism

Four months after its announcement, the first recommendations outlined in the task forces final report are starting to reach fruition

On Feb. 6, Concordia’s President and Vice Chancellor Graham Carr unveiled a temporary plaque to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the 1969 Black student protests. The plaque, which will be replaced with a permanent plaque in the coming months, stands as a reminder of the events that lead to the protests and the presence of anti-Black racism at the University. 

Angélique Willkie, former head of the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism, said it was important for the university to commemorate the significance of the 1969 Black student protests ahead of the upcoming anniversary. 

Willkie elaborated on the added importance of marking the site of the Sir George Williams protests with a physical representation of the event.

“And subsequently, it remains the location of the largest student protest for anti-Black racism in Canada,” said Willkie. 

The event was the first of many initiatives that the University intends to implement in hopes to combat anti-Black systemic racism within the institution. In late October, President Carr pledged his support for the 88 recommendations included in the final report of the President’s task force on anti-Black racism. Concordia’s official apology is primarily in relation to the mismanagement of Sir George Williams University’s former administration throughout the 1969 Black student protests. 

In addition to the commemorative plaque, the University also launched a website detailing the experiences of those who lived through the events of 1969. Willkie also stated that the University is pursuing its plans to create a new program for Black and African diaspora studies in the Canadian context, as well as founding a Black Student Centre.

Willkie says that since the anti-Black task force disbanded in the fall of 2022, she is no longer responsible for the implementation of the task force’s recommendations. However, Willkie insisted that the university intends to actively pursue all of the recommendations outlined in their final report. 

“So there are many things ongoing, but of course, not everything has the same timeline, either,” said Willkie. “So certain things can be completed relatively quickly, others less quickly.”

Willkie said that she has experienced no pushback from individuals, but rather from institutions as a whole.

 “Institutions have square wheels, and they’re made to reproduce themselves” said Willkie. “So somehow or another in order for the system to work differently it takes a while for the actual procedures to change. In the meantime I kind of go around them,” she added.

Despite this, Willkies said that the cooperation of the University and actors within it should be a point of celebration. 

“When those 88 recommendations were published, none of them came as a surprise to any of the people who were responsible for their implementation,” said Willkie. “They had all been consulted beforehand, every single one without exception. And that’s huge.”

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Building bridges to reach the job market

D-Trois-Pierres general store, Les Jardins du Cap. Photo by Camila Lewandowski/THE CONCORDIAN

Quebec job integration companies are helping socially isolated individuals to find employment

At the Cap-Saint-Jacques park’s waterfront in the borough of Pierrefonds stands D-Trois-Pierres – a farmland where bridges are built between socially isolated individuals and the job market.

This non-profit organization hosts cohorts of a maximum of 12 participants who learn social and professional skills, allowing them to incorporate what they’ve learned to the job market. “We help participants advance at the pace of their abilities,” said Benoit DeGuire, the general director of D-Trois-Pierres.

Manual labour professionals, like farmers, heavy machine operators, and janitors, also teach hands-on skills to the participants. These competencies are transferable to other professions, giving participants the social and professional tools to find a stable job after completing the program. Participants can thus work in the agricultural area after passing through the D-Trois-Pierres job integration program.

Group courses on citizenship education, employee initiative and proper workplace behaviour are some of the many competencies taught by the psychoeducators at D-Trois-Pierres.

“Our mission is to permit individuals to thrive. We change lives,” said DeGuire, who oversees the operations of the integration company. 

Quebec hosts a total of 44 job integration companies, regulated by Services Quebec under the job integration company experience program. These non-profit organizations are associated with the Collectif des entreprises d’insertion du Québec (CEIQ) — a Quebec-based job integration companies conglomerate.

Acceptance into the company program is restricted to Canadian citizens with no income or permanent residents aged 16 and older. Participants must have modest education and professional experience in addition to a lack of employment insurance or social assistance.

However, D-Trois-Pierres’ integration coordinator Nicolas Dugal said that reaching out to individuals who could benefit from this program is not always easy.

Facing recruiting shortages, D-Trois-Pierres is extending the admittance limit from Vaudreuil-Dorion to Dorval, and is now accepting participants living outside of Montreal.

Both DeGuire and Dugal said that their participants’ average profile has shifted after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is a big difference, people are more far-off from jobs,” said DeGuire. He explained that there has been an increase in the number of individuals who speak neither of Canada’s official languages.

This trend has also been observed in other job integration companies. Although age acceptance has widened, the CEIQ has recorded that six out of ten individuals who partake in employment incorporation programs are 35 years old or younger. 

According to Dugal, another large portion of participants have trouble keeping a stable job, often working during short periods of time because of problems of punctuality and disinterest.

In response, the job integration’s intervention team has adapted its program to accommodate the participants’ respective needs. Each participant’s course is personalized through the job incorporation procedure, which is prepared by social workers who host one-on-one sessions with participants.

Some participants work in the organization’s shop, les Jardins du Cap, where they sell the organic produce harvested on site. DeGuire said the interaction with local customers is essential for D-Trois-Pierres to share their mission and principles with the general public.

Moreover, Dugal said that the non-profit’s social workers are not in it for the money, they want participants to thrive and have a prosperous life. He explained that D-Trois-Pierres’ program’s final aim is to build a strong community between participants and social workers. He added,  “We are in the field of the social economy, it is the social pretext above all.”

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Roméo Dallaire to deliver speech at Loyola Campus

Dallaire will talk about his experience dealing with the Rwandan Genocide and his humanitarian work

Roméo Dallaire is coming to Concordia’s Loyola Campus to give a speech on Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. 

The humanitarian and order of Canada recipient will speak and answer questions from Concordia students about his experiences in Rwanda and his humanitarian work.

Dallaire is best known for his role as the force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) from 1993 to 1994. During this period, Dallaire witnessed the Rwandan genocide, one of the deadliest genocides in history. The inability of the UNAMIR to mitigate the death toll had severe consequences on Dallaire’s mental health, leading him to eventually being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. 

In 2004, he appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to testify in the trial of Théoneste Bagosora, the organizer of the Rwandan genocide. Dallaire’s testimony was critical to obtaining a guilty verdict in that trial. In 2005, he decided to get involved in Canadian politics by becoming a senator.

Since returning from Rwanda, Dallaire has dedicated his time to advocating for military veterans and raising awareness on mental health in his book, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. There is also a documentary version of the book, and it’s available online for all Concordia students.

In 2007, the former lieutenant general founded the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative. The organization works with Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. They try to end the recruitment of children for war. In order to do so, they work with governments by giving them the proper training to prevent the use of a child as a soldier.

Since its inception, the initiative has changed its name to the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace, and Security. 

The conference will be held in the CJ building at Concordia’s Loyola campus on Feb. 22, 2023. Students who want to attend the conference must register with Concordia’s journalism department online.

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Concordia’s Zero-Carbon Future

Increasing Green Spaces. Photo by Ivona Bossert

Concordia researchers attend a panel on decarbonizing the city

As the city of Montreal works to become carbon-neutral in the next three decades, Concordia researchers are on the front lines of this energy-effectiveness initiative.

On Feb. 8, Concordia Public Scholar Mostafa Saad organized and moderated the panel: Decarbonizing Canadian Buildings: Opportunities and Obstacles. The four guest speakers, including both researchers and professional engineers, gathered to share their expertise in designing energy-efficient cities.

Saad is an engineer, and he explained that the panel provided him with the opportunity to learn about the business and policy side of the decarbonization movement. 

“It’s great to see from [the panelists’] experiences, what they encountered in that field,” said Saad. “It’s also guiding for a lot of students. They get to see what is really out there, and if they can make contributions towards that when they graduate or even during their studies.”

The decarbonization of buildings is an important part of Montreal’s 2030–50 Climate Plan, which aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. According to the city’s latest numbers, buildings generate 26 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Montreal. 

The plan aims to make buildings emit zero emissions by 2040. Owners will have to declare gas and fuel oil heating, and buildings that are bigger than 2,000 square meters will have to display their building’s energy consumption and work towards reaching zero emissions.

Sophie Lalonde is the director of the Service de la gestion et de la planification des immeubles for the city of Montreal. She is optimistic about the decarbonization movement despite major challenges it faces, such as a lack of funding, workforce shortages, and Hydro-Québec’s limited capacity. 

“Will we reach our goals? Yes, we will, by working together,” Lalonde said.  “I think that, more and more, there’s a rising awareness. And it’s accelerating. For my part, I’m convinced that it can only lead to small, positive steps, and it’s going to keep getting better.”

In Saad’s eyes, the first step to decarbonizing the city is making the data more available to policy makers and homeowners. Saad hopes to see technology develop that can explain the energy consumption of each building to its owner and how renovations are saving them money in the long run. 

According to Saad, the movement should prioritize renovating existing buildings with new energy-efficient approaches. 

“We have a quote that says: ‘the greenest building is the building that exists,’” he explained. “It’s already there, so if you add anything to it, you’re increasing the carbon, usually.”

Saad’s vision for the future of Montreal focuses on densification by making the city more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, as well as improving public transit. He would like to see Montreal become a “15-minute walk type of city,” in which work, home and services are no more than 15 minutes away from each other.  

One of the panellists featured at the event was Concordia professor Ursula Eicker, Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities and Communities at Concordia University. Professor Eicker’s research focuses on every aspect of a city that creates a carbon footprint.

Eicker’s ideal version of Montreal focuses on replacing cars with public transit and on increasing green spaces, bike lanes and pedestrian streets. She also hopes that empty office buildings downtown may be transformed into apartments. 

“I’m pretty optimistic that we see some major changes in the next few years,” she said, “and really promoting Concordia as a sustainability champion, [which] means zero emission for the building operations, but much more than that: some talked about the solar integration, much more use of green spaces, urban farming…”

“It’s a really good time, just now, to move ahead, because we are all pretty aligned on where we should move towards,” she said. “And now we just need to make it happen.”

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Government of Canada gives Concordia researchers $497,000 for climate research

A Concordia engineering research team will look into ways to reuse CO2 emissions. A first for this field of research, this project aims to help Canada reach its carbon-emission goals by 2050.

A research team from Concordia’s department of chemical and materials engineering, led by Yaser Khojasteh, was awarded $497,000 by the Climate Action and Awareness Fund, a federal government initiative to invest in Canadian projects that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

One of Canada’s goals for ecological transition is to become carbon neutral by 2050, which means that the Canadian economy would no longer emit greenhouse gases or would offset all of its emissions.

Some of the means of achieving carbon neutrality are what are known as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) techniques. CCUS is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) for the purpose of recycling it for future use. The captured CO2 can be converted into hydrocarbons (such as methanol) or plastics and concrete. It could even be utilized for various chemical syntheses.

Khojasteh explained that by 2030, industries will have to pay a tax on CO2 emissions. According to chapter 2 of Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction plan, beginning in 2023, the tax on every ton of carbon emitted will begin to increase by $15 every year until it reaches $170 per ton.

One of the research team’s goals is to find cheaper ways to capture and recycle CO2 to encourage industries to eliminate the carbon they produce. Khojasteh is hopeful that if they can find a way to make the process cheaper than the tax that companies will have to pay, recycling will be an easy decision.

“Eventually we can use renewable energy for, say, our electricity demand, but chemicals, polymer, these kinds of things we are always going to need and these are the [manufacturing] plants that are going to be in operation forever,” said Khojasteh. 

CCUS techniques can often be very energy-consuming and expensive. Khojasteh explained that the carbon dioxide reutilization process often consumes a lot of hydrogen. The research team will therefore aim to find ways to reduce the hydrogen consumption or propose processes that require smaller amounts.

“We’re trying to explore different options, improve our process efficiency for the larger scale,” said Khojasteh. “It is something that hopefully will be ready soon because time is very limited. We know that, according to some projections, it could be a matter of a decade before the window is closed for reversible action.”

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Concordia’s steady path to a positive environment for the Black community

Since the 2020 Black Lives Matter surge, Concordia University’s initiatives to create a welcoming space for Black students and minorities alike have picked up steam

The world is now nearly three years removed from the massive wave of civil unrest sparked all around the globe by George Floyd’s tragic death. The sorrowful event also kicked off Concordia’s long-term commitment to creating a more welcoming and safe environment for minorities on campus. Today, student services like the Black Perspectives Office (BPO) are finally starting to find their footing within Concordia’s environment. 

Designed to connect and advocate for Black communities, the BPO came into effect in October 2020. The service is a way for Black students to find mentorship, support and funding opportunities to accompany them through their academic endeavours. 

Most recently, the office underwent a change with the arrival of its new manager Maurice Riley Case, who was appointed in January. Riley Case has a long history of advocacy for minorities and social work all around the country. 

“I hope to bring an even greater attention to the diversity and intersectionality of Black identities,” said Riley Case. “My colleagues and I look forward to collaborating with various units in order to design and sustain the conditions for Black Concordians to flourish across the University.”

Black students are a minority at Concordia. The BPO aims to help Black students reinforce and recognize their identity while connecting them to other members of the community. Riley Case calls this “Black Flourishing,” the celebration of range of experiences of the Black community. 

The BPO manager explained that the establishment of a “Black-specific student Resource and Success Centre” is essential for Black students, faculty and staff. The reform at the head of the BPO is only one of many signs that the future is bright for Black flourishing. A Black Student Centre is also set to open in the Concordia Hall building in Fall 2023, which will create a space for Black students to connect on campus. 

The President’s Anti-Racism Task Force also aided the creation of a positive environment for the Black community, a group created after Black Concordians demanded the University address systemic racism against Black people. With the task force’s two-year mandate now over, several recommendations have been submitted to the University.

Concordia Professor and former task force member Dr. Jacqueline Peters explained that the problems encountered by the task force were somewhat similar to the struggles for black people at Concordia. 

“Getting information is hard. Getting numbers of how many of us there are here[…] those were some of the things that we were sort of stuck on,” 

Said Peters.

According to Peters, the task force’s work was hindered by the severe unavailability of ethnic statistics, complicating the possibility of locating Black faculty, staff and students to conduct a thorough examination.

Despite the difficulties, the task force had a positive outcome, according to Peters. “We did word of mouth, we put out notifications which also worked well,” she said “One of the most positive aspects of working on the task force was all the Black people that got to know each other. Most of us have been here for many years and have never seen each other.”

While the creation of an inclusive environment is still a work in progress at Concordia, the sense of community among Black Concordians is starting to find a positive rhythm.

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Quebecers unite in solidarity for the fifth annual Muslim Awareness Week

People gathered in Montreal to commemorate those who lost their lives in the mosque shooting. Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman/THE CONCORDIAN

Six years after the mosque shooting in Quebec, the Muslim community is still fighting for change

On Jan. 29, six years after the Quebec City mosque shooting, a vigil to commemorate the victims took place at Parc station in Montreal. During the speeches, a man passed behind the crowd and shouted, “Islamophobia doesn’t exist in Quebec!” But is that true?

Hawraa Dbouk, a Concordia student who majors in biology, shared her own experiences: “I once was told, ‘If you want to work there, you might have to take off your hijab, at least at work.’” 

“I think we all take hijab in the wrong way, because we don’t actually know what Islam is about. Islam is all about loving, caring, sharing and tolerance,” 

said Dbouk.

On the evening of Jan. 29, 2017, gunfire interrupted the prayers in the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City. The shooter killed six people and injured 19, which prompted the public debate on Islamophobia.

With the adoption of Bill 21 on June 16, 2019, the Canadian Muslim community has faced even more challenges. This secularism law prohibits public services and public sector workers from wearing religious symbols like hijabs.

“We can’t neglect how many women are getting fired or not even allowed to get employed because of their hijab,” Dbouk said. “I don’t think any religion should be included in work or should be forbidden. We should raise awareness about Islamophobia and biases. Work with me because I am your co-worker, but not because I am wearing a hijab.”

Ghadir Elsayed, who works as an administrator of Integrated Health and Social Services Centres (CISSS), was one of the volunteers in the Jan. 29 vigil. However, she was one of the only two hijabis in the CISSS healthcare system building. 

“When I observed that, it was heartbreaking,”

said Elsayed. 

She also talked about her friend who works as a teacher: “They have to find a job in a school in another province, or in Ontario, and it’s even hard for the student to be appreciated by their act and representation of their own religion.”

Elsayed pointed out the fact that there are no specific resources for Muslim people who are affected by the secularism legislation. “Because of Bill 21, we should have a system built up, federally or provincially, to help teachers, students and other workers who are affected by this law to find a job,” she said. “And they don’t have social workers or psychologists that are more available to them than to other communities.”

Elsayed was encouraged by her friends to find jobs in locations that do not accept hijabi workers. “I didn’t want to go straight to my salary,” Elsayed continued, “I just want to make sure that I am represented, and my community is represented[…]”

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ConUHacks: winners’ submission sparks outrage online

The team found themselves at the center of controversy after winning first place

The winning team of Concordia’s ConUHacks event came under fire last weekend after accusations of violating competition rules were posted online.

ConUHacks, the event which the project was produced for, is a yearly competition during which teams must conceptualize and code an application in only 24 hours to impress judges and potentially win prizes. This “hackathon” is primarily organized by Concordia’s HackConcordia club.

NearByNow, the winning submission, was accused of being presented to judges under false pretence and omitting key lines of code to prove its authenticity. This led to an investigation into the validity of the winners’ application.

Although the accusations were proven false, the winning coders are now worried of online harassment. 

“I was confused. We all were,” said Samuel Chuang, a fourth-year computer science student at Concordia and one member of the winning team. “Honestly, I had to think to myself, maybe we did do something wrong.”

Chuang said everything went well during the competition, leaving the judges impressed. Their hard work was rewarded with first place. 

Six days later, Chuang found out about the controversy forming around their application.

A post on Concordia’s official Reddit page that called the team’s winning project fraudulent garnered the attention of many who had participated at the event. 

Soon, Chuang said he’d seen a post by an anonymous user on Concordia’s official engineering and computer science Discord server, suggesting users should flood the team’s LinkedIn pages with negative comments. 

“Hate on the project as much as you want but there’s a potential of ruining people’s reputation,”said Chuang.

Chuang and his team contacted Major League Hacking (MLH), who help run weekend-long hackathons like ConUHacks and partly oversee judgment. 

“We found what we would expect to see from a hackathon project built in just 24 hours,” said Ryan Swift, a member of the MLH who reviewed the team’s project.  

According to Swift, Chuang’s team was accused of faking the demonstration of their project. More specifically, by faking results given by the programmed A.I., which ran the application. They were also suspected of omitting the code which the A.I. had been programmed through- what’s known as a “neural network.” 

NearByNow shows users information about a storefront or company in real time once given a logo. This feature relies on multiple application programming interfaces (API), for example one from Google Maps. The A.I. then communicates with the API to produce the desired results. 

The neural network was not made public, which added to the accusers’ suspicions. Swift said his team verified its existence as well as its timestamps to confirm that it was coded during the hackathon. 

The team would also “hard-code” data given by the application. Hard-coding data means that the results given by the program are directly put into the code rather than obtained by prompts. According to Swift, this was done for simplicity’s sake and the team had done nothing to break the competition’s rules.

“Because they are developed in just a single weekend, hackers don’t typically follow industry-best practices,” said Swift. “Their projects are often laden with bugs, and many features aren’t fully completed.” 

Vatsa Shah, co-president of HackConcordia, the club responsible for organizing ConUHacks, said his team did not appreciate the public accusations of malicious intent towards the team. “Our team is always willing to investigate and review issues as they arise, but we prefer to do so in private specifically because of situations like this where public backlash can take over,” he said.


An official comment was written by the MLH under the original accusatory Reddit post stating that the investigation had been completed.

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The Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy hosts a naloxone training

Concordia’s student community looks increasingly supportive of having an open conversation about drug use

In Canada, in the first half of 2021 alone, an average of 19 people died from opioid-related overdoses every day, with a daily hospitalization of 16 people according to the federal special advisory committee on opioid overdoses. 

For the Concordia chapter of the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP) and other harm reduction organizations, these numbers could be greatly attenuated through education, support for substance users, broad access to naloxone as well as safe supplies and safer injection sites. 

The CSSDP hosted a naloxone training on Jan. 26 at Le Frigo Vert at the downtown campus. Students and people in the broader Concordia community were invited to learn how to administer naloxone (also known as Narcan) to counter the effects of opioid overdose.

Harm reduction refers to the set of strategies aimed at limiting health or social risks related to a specific issue.

CSSPD member Assaf Azerrad explained that advocating for a harm reduction approach in the context of drugs meant taking the stance that drug use should not be encompassed in the criminal justice system, but instead should be understood as a public health and human rights issue.

In Oct. 2021, the CSSDP developed an anonymous 15-question survey about the perception and consumption of substances by the Concordia student body. The survey was aimed at gaining a deeper insight into how to deliver substance use education to students. A document sent to The Concordian from the CSSPD highlights that, among the 350 respondents, 60.3 per cent said they considered drug education on campus to be extremely important.

According to CSSDP member Alice Gendron, the data demonstrated a change in students’ perception of drug use and a greater openness to discussing the topic.

“The thing that is changing is maybe how open people are with talking about their substance use,” said Gendron. “There seems to be a progression in how open people are and that’s really something we focus on a lot as an organization because the more people are isolated in their consumption, that’s when issues can arise.”

Concordia student and substance analyst at CACTUS Philippe Lavoie said that opening this conversation is a way for people to start consuming more sensibly and in safer environments. CACTUS is a Montreal-based organization centered around harm reduction and prevention of sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.

“Especially with the rise of opioid overdose, I think people are thinking we should talk about this situation,” said Lavoie. “I think youth are feeling more empowered, and groups like CSSDP really help people feel safe to talk about it and exchange ideas.”

CSSPD member João Barbosa emphasized that naloxone kits are available for free at any pharmacy for everyone in Quebec. 

“The most important thing is to learn how to use it because people might be afraid to administer it,” said Barbosa. “We want to help people to learn to recognize an overdose, and how to act in such a situation.”

The CSSPD also offers a substance analysis service to test substances for potential contamination with opioids such as Fentanyl. For Lavoie, this is an important harm reduction tool as the amount of street drugs that are laced with Fentanyl or Benzodiazepine rises.

“It’s part of consuming sensibly to know what you consume,” said Lavoie. “The fact of knowing what’s in it, you can better assess the risks. Knowing the different cutting agents allow us to give better harm reduction tips as well.”

Individuals that are interested in free, anonymous drug testing are encouraged to go to the CACTUS checkpoint at 1300 rue Sanguinet or to the CSSPD on Fridays from 12 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Le Frigo Vert. 

Harm reduction organizations in Montreal include CACTUS, which offers supervised injection sites throughout the island, Groupe de Recherche et d’Intervention Psychosociale , a mobile drug-checking service, Dopamine in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve as well as Spectre de rue.

On campus, the Recovery and Wellness Community Centre offers resources for Concordia students who have experienced addiction and/or are in recovery.

A previous version of this article stated that the CSSPD partnered with CACTUS for the training. This was incorrect.

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ConUHacks: coding competition at Concordia sponsors protection against cybersecurity

The Communications Security Establishment was looking for top coders last week at ConUHacks, as risks to cybersecurity increase

Coders from all ranges of experience filled the halls of Concordia’s JMSB and Hall buildings to compete in HackConcordia’s annual hackathon, ConUHacks. The event was host to many sponsors who planted respective booths to receive and recruit promising talent or “hackers.” 

The event was established by Terril Fancott, a computer science and software engineering professor at Concordia, who passed away in 2020. HackConcordia continues to host the hackathon in honour of his memory. 

A hackathon has teams of coders programming a project in a set amount of time. At ConUHacks, participants had 24 hours to finish their work and impress the judges to potentially win prizes. 

This year, the event had the most participants since its start in 2014, with over 800 applications.

However, the presence of the Communications Security Establishment of Canada (CSE) at the event was more than just for recruiting top coders. As  people continue to crowd the internet with their personal information, the CSE hoped to raise awareness of  cybersecurity threats.

Vatsa Shah, co-president of HackConcordia, said students interested in working for the CSE were encouraged to complete their sponsored challenge. Teams that could design programs around cybersecurity — for example, apps that could test password security — would be eligible to win extra prizes. Most importantly, they’d catch the attention of the CSE’s recruiters. 

“The experience they might gain here, that translates to real life,” said Shah. “Pushing to the limit, with challenges they can only get here.”

In a recent article by the CBC, head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Sami Khoury advised to be more cautious than ever when posting personal information online. Khoury singled out TikTok as an application that caught the organization’s attention. 

Darren Holden, a software developer for the CSE, said that his team works towards building and maintaining applications that block malicious domains from Canadian networks. Although Holden couldn’t speak to specific threats on TikTok, he advised caution when using social media. 

“There’s always potential for harm due to poor cybersecurity,” Holden said. 

Holden encouraged those who are concerned about cybersecurity threats to visit the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security advisory website, which offers advice to users on safely using the web. 

The hackathon also gave novel coders the chance to gain experience in a setting that offered new challenges.

Nicolas Pop, a second-year computer science student at Concordia, took advantage of ConUHacks to hone his skills in A.I. programming. He recognized the importance of cybersecurity and expressed interest in applying to the CSE. 

“As we move towards a society that practically lives online, we need to protect the vital information being stored,” said Pop. Although his knowledge of coding for cybersecurity was limited, he took the opportunity to speak with recruiters and further immerse himself in a new field.  

Although he didn’t win, Pop aims to practice his skills to program a project of better quality next year. 

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Students are buzzing for the new Hive Café

The Hive's new location at the Loyola campus, which opened on Monday, January 23rd. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

The Hive Café has finally opened its doors on the Loyola campus with a fully affordable vegetarian menu

The new location of the Hive Café finally opened on Jan. 23 on the second floor of the CJ building at Loyola Campus. 

The café, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., mirrors the same menu as the downtown location with a selection of sandwiches, soups, salads and sweets, as well as coffee and cold drinks. 

The Hive Café strives to be as sustainable as possible by offering only vegetarian and vegan options and by prioritizing locally sourced ingredients. 

“We work closely with our local suppliers and producers, so we can maintain affordable food for students while keeping our costs low,” said Calvin Clarke, the café’s manager. “Within the competitive environment of restoration, that can be difficult sometimes, but that is a priority for us.” 

“They also strive to be allergen friendly,” said Clarke. “We have a nut-free kitchen both for the Hive and also the Hive free lunch.”

The Hive Café Co-op offers a membership program for users. Students can purchase a ten-dollar membership card which gives them access to ten per cent off on all products sold at the café for life. 

The café was supposed to open last semester, but did not. According to Clarke, the main reason for the delay was due to lengthy negotiations with the administration for the signing of the lease. 

“It was kind of a difficult situation for us,” he said. “We figured that the best thing was to say we’re going to open up in the winter semester, and we’ll be true to our word for that.” 

The Hive is a cooperative that strives to provide fair labour, according to Clarke. “That’s always a priority for us, and within our board of directors we do have worker member seats, right now five seats available for worker members.”

The Hive invites all of its members to an annual general meeting (AGM), which is usually in October or November. An AGM is a meeting where the status of a company or Co-op is shared with all members and they make decisions on its future.

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Concordia set to launch new Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program

Graphic by Sarah Alouani // @okaruno

This program, the first of its kind in Quebec, will launch in Fall 2023

Next fall, Concordia will launch its new Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program, which will help Indigenous students get into engineering programs. 

The program will be three semesters long and will offer prerequisite courses to Indigenous students who are missing these courses going into their bachelor’s degree. Once they complete the program, students enrolled will be automatically transferred into the engineering program of their choice. 

“Particularly, we started in the STEM [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] field because there are a lot of educational barriers that some Indigenous communities face when it comes to STEM education,” said the program coordinator Saba Din.

The Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program was part of the recommendations made in the Indigenous Direction Action Plan in 2021. This plan has the goal of decolonizing and indigenizing Concordia University. 

“Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke” is a Kanien’kéha word meaning “the Four Winds” or “the Four Directions.” According to Din, these winds represent growth, renewal, and change.

A core tenet of the Indigenous Bridging Program is to provide a sense of community through a support network for students enlisted in the program. Students will be in the same group for three semesters and will have access to resources to help them transition into university life.

The program will also offer a special student-focused seminar class. This class will cover themes including self-advocating, adapting to life in the city, and rental advice. Guest speakers will include tutors, engineers, or elders, with a priority on Indigenous guests. 

“I think that community feeling is really beneficial for long-term success,” said Din. “Especially to ease that transition from wherever they’re coming from, whatever barriers they face.”

Mariah St. Germain, the coordinator of Indigenous Student Success at Concordia’s Otsenhákta Student Centre, is hopeful that the program will help Indigenous students adapt to the post-secondary environment. 

“I know how meaningful these programs are for students to bridge the gap and gain access,” said St. Germain. “We want any prospective Indigenous students, and our current Indigenous students, and our alumni, to know that they have a place in the community here and that they’re seen and heard, and that they can thrive in that space.”

While the Indigenous Bridging Program is currently tailored to engineering degrees, Din said they plan to expand the program gradually in the upcoming academic years. The next majors on the list are business and psychology, followed by science and computer science, and finally expanding to arts and science. 

“We hope that students feel that they have options,” Din said. “This is just another option for them. Hopefully it opens the door to post-secondary education.”

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