Tag: Concordia University

Categories
News

The return of Pass/Fail

The pass/fail option is back with some changes

As the winter semester begins and Concordia students return to classes, the pandemic’s second wave remains in full force. To help students cope through the stress of the pandemic, Concordia University has reintroduced a pass/fail option, which will be available for the fall 2020 and winter 2021 semester.

The option gives students the ability to change one of their grades in an eligible class from a standard letter grade, to a PASS grade. Choosing a pass will allow students to take a grade which does not affect their GPA.

In a statement made to The Concordian the university said, “Concordia has developed a set of compassionate measures to support students … including a pass/fail option for one eligible course for both the fall 2020 and winter 2021, the automatic conversions of eligible F grades to a DISC notation and simplified and flexible final exam deferral requests.”

The University introduced a similar option during the winter 2020 semester with one large difference: students could take advantage of the pass/fail option with as many eligible classes as they liked. But it was only intended as a measure to ease students through the sudden change to virtual classes.

“The unforeseen disruption brought on by the start of the pandemic in March 2020 led to exceptional measures following the unanticipated change from in-person to remote learning and exams in the middle of the winter 2020 term,” said Concordia’s statement.

Students are glad to see pass/fail return, but wish they knew about it at the beginning of the fall term.

“I’m glad that they gave the option but I wish there was more of a comprehensive plan before the end of term,” said Claire Dyment, a second year psychology student.

“I wish they had announced it and seen this was going to happen at the beginning of the term. A lot of people thought they were gonna do bad in certain classes so they dropped them, but they could have just passed.”

The initial removal of the pass/fail option was disappointing to many students, considering classes were still being held online. When a number of referendum questions were posed to students in a Concordia Student Union by-election last November, students were asked if they would like to see the pass/fail option return while classes remained online. With a 17.8 per cent turnout of Concordia’s student population voting to bring back pass/fail, 91.5 per cent of students taking part voted yes.

The change to only allowing one pass per term seems to be a decision that some students think is fair.

“I think one class is pretty good, if we had too much wiggle room kids will start taking advantage of it,” said Dyment.

Some were also worried about how being able to pass/fail all of their classes would affect their future.

“I personally think it’s difficult to say if it’s a good thing or not … we haven’t had the conversation about how pass/fail will impact students in the long term, if having a bachelor’s degree that has a lot of pass/fail courses in it will hinder your chances at employment … or graduate school in the future.” Said Aya Chkirate, a first year finance student at Concordia.

“But at the same time I think it’s a good thing for students. In the short term it lets students focus on courses that might be more difficult.” Chkirate continued.

Students will be able to exercise the pass/fail option for the fall 2020 term as of Jan. 18 on their MyConcordia page. The deadline to request a pass is Jan. 22, 2021 at 5 p.m EST.

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Categories
News

Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) council voted to bar Jordan Peterson from ever being featured at any of their events, indefinitely

Over 60 participants attended the council meeting that voted to bar the controversial Canadian intellectual.

Did you hear that rumour during the winter break that the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) was planning on inviting Jordan Peterson to speak at an event?

It caused quite a stir: hundreds of students spoke out in different ways for, and against, the famed and controversial Canadian clinical psychologist being featured at the university.

But the story of Peterson taking the spotlight at ASFA came to a close at the association’s Dec. 16 regular council meeting, when a majority of the council voted against platforming Peterson, in-person or in any medium, forever.

Minutes of the ASFA executive meeting on Nov. 25 reveal that the initial idea, proposed by Student Life Coordinator Natalie Jabbour, was to invite Peterson as a speaker on mental health during the winter semester.

“One of my ideas was to invite Jordan Peterson as a speaker. I know he’s a controversial speaker but I think he has brilliant ideas on psychology. I messaged his manager yesterday,” stated Jabbour at the meeting.

Curiously, Jabbour later told The Concordian she did not intend on organizing an event that featured Peterson, despite contacting his manager. Her intention was solely to discuss her event ideas during the winter semester, which also included suggesting another enterprise called “The School of Life,” an educational company that gives life advice.

Following the meeting, several executives shared news of Jabbour’s proposal through personal messages, emails to the student media, and posts on social media.  The news spread like wildfire.

Various posts, hundreds of emails and signatures on a petition were shared online to support both opinions.

However, Peterson is not available for any guest speaking engagements at the moment, according to his public speaking and engagements contact.

Since he is unavailable, Jabbour decided to change the event from being about mental health support for students featuring Peterson, to an event solely about Peterson and freedom of speech.

The new event discussed at the council was called “Diversity of Views in Academics at Concordia University.” Organized by ASFA’s Student Life Committee, the event would have been moderated by a Concordia professor, who would help guide the discussion as students watched, and then critiqued, the subject matter.

It would have showcased Peterson in some format, either through a speech, lecture, or written material.

Before the deciding vote to bar Peterson, the council debated for over three hours whether the association should even consider hosting Peterson. ASFA executives and councillors, several students and alumni, participated in the over-attended meeting to speak on the rumoured event.

Opinions were divided between people who thought Peterson’s rhetoric should be protected by freedom of speech ideals and the need to hear different opinions on campus, versus those that thought the responsible course of action is to ban the speaker, citing his rhetoric as harmful and discriminatory.

This reflected the same debate — and backlash — which the University of Toronto professor became internationally known for in the first place. Back in 2016, he refused to use non-gendered pronouns and spoke out against Canada’s Bill C-16, which was only at it’s proposal stage at the time, to add gender identity and expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code.

He feared that refusing to use someone else’s preferred pronouns would be classified as hate speech under the new amendment, and this would infringe on the freedom of Canadians.

Those who spoke in favour of Peterson at the meeting did not address his controversial statements. Instead, they pointed to the importance of having a civil discussion.

According to an ASFA executive who requested to remain anonymous, while these events would feature Peterson, they weren’t about him, they were about freedom of expression on campus.

They told The Concordian they have noticed an increasingly hostile environment at Concordia, particularly in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, with certain groups of students feeling “disenfranchised.” This individual is “concerned over legitimately not being able to say what’s on their mind.”

According to the source, this has become a widespread issue at the university, manifesting as “hostility towards certain ideas … that’s aimed at censoring and blocking people.”

When asked to provide an example of this hostility, or an even example of the types of ideas being ostracized, the source refused.

The purpose of the events, according to the source, would be to encourage ideas, not censoring or suppressing information over people’s feelings – no “cancelling,” with the hope of improving critical thinking and discourse on campus.

The idea of freedom of speech on campus and fighting against the cancelling of other opinions is not new, and Peterson is largely to thank for that.

A large part of Peterson’s platform was about freedom of speech, the end of political correctness, and the attempt to end or discourage Marxist/radical left ideology on campus.

Several gendered-non-conforming people who spoke at the council meeting said their identity was not up for debate.

Many described the harassment they’ve received over their choice of pronouns and lifestyle, and pointed out that rhetoric like Peterson’s had only helped to inflame the discrimination they’ve faced.

In a statement to the The Concordian, ASFA Communications Coordinator Carmen Levy-Milne said showcasing Peterson’s views would contradict the organization’s anti-discrimination regulations.

“It is morally inappropriate to suggest that a speaker who is openly sexist, islamophobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, racist, and transphobic speak at our university … The suggestion to openly platform a speaker contradicts our Policy against Harassment, Discrimination, and Violence,” said Levy-Milne.

The motion to bar Peterson from being featured at the association followed this reasoning.

Proposed by Payton Mitchell, ASFA’s Mobilization Coordinator, the motion outlines that “Allowing Jordan Peterson to have this space would mean ASFA is directly facilitating an environment in which stochastic terrorism may be fostered here at Concordia.”

Peterson may no longer be platformed at ASFA or any of its member associations.

Peterson’s media representative at Penguin Random House Canada told The Concordian they had no comment.

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

 

Categories
Student Life

Concordia is not doing enough: the case for tuition reduction

The University has not been lenient towards students amid a global pandemic

Last May, Concordia’s proposed budget was decided by the Board of Governors and was “long-term oriented to address post COVID-19 structural issues.” The 2020-2021 budget assumes the impacts of COVID-19 will go on for three years into the future. However, recent developments in clinical testing by Pfizer and Moderna have led the government to stockpile available doses. This means a return towards pre-COVID life might come sooner than expected. As such, a crucial reduction in tuition is justified despite the university potentially operating under a larger deficit for the current fiscal year.

Thousands of students have petitioned since the beginning of the fall semester to reduce tuition. Nearly 97 per cent of students who participated in the recent Concordia Student Union (CSU) by-elections of 2020 voted in favour of tuition reduction.

In a town hall meeting  hosted by the CSU on Nov. 19, students considered mass organization and protests against tuition hikes, similar to the 2012 student strike. They stated that, “In the context of the pandemic, we need to do that now as well — enough is enough.”

Many feel as though the school is indifferent towards the plight of its students.

“I’m convinced that the university doesn’t really care. They’d let half of us die if it means that the other half will be filled with students, because what they’re really interested in is keeping us enrolled and keeping us paying,”  said a student who was interviewed by The Link.

While students continue to voice their concerns, Concordia’s current budget leaves little to no room for financial leniency towards them.

According to Fiona Harrison-Roberts, the outgoing finance coordinator of the Journalism Student Association (JSA), “Concordia will be increasing the price of tuition this year as opposed to reducing tuition.”

“COVID-19[‘s] recurrent and structural impact will need to be integrated into the budget model for fiscal years 2021-2022 and thereafter,” as mentioned in the budget’s PDF document.

With a bulk of students shifting from full-time to part-time as well as a decline in first-year students, Concordia experienced an expected loss of revenue as a result of COVID-19.

“The drop is attributable to lost income from on-campus activities such as residence room rentals, parking and conferences, and diminished tuition revenue because of a decline in international student registrations, particularly at the graduate level,” said Concordia’s President and Vice-Chancellor Graham Carr in a public statement .

Currently, Concordia is operating under a deficit of five to eight per cent for the fiscal year.

“It is a large amount; however, the figures are similar to what the Government of Quebec has invested in proportion to its own budget to address the COVID crisis,” Carr added.

While Concordia is using the government’s actions to justify their current expenditures, the question to be asked is whether comparing themselves to a provincial government that has not done enough in the face of COVID-19 is a smart thing to do.

Regardless, as the student body grows more restless and with vaccines available this upcoming year, a “three-year financial plan” to combat the effects of COVID-19 becomes less pertinent. Students continue their uphill battle this year in paying rent and tuition, working, and studying through “Zoom University,” with little to no financial relief from their institution.

Concordia boasts of a “solid financial track record” in reference to their “balanced budget for 2019-20” after public funding cuts forced deficits for many years.

“In 2019-2020, before COVID, we had a balanced budget for the first time in six years,” stated Carr.

While it may be a commendable feat for some, Concordia’s members should ask themselves: at whose cost was this achievement realized, if not the students’?

Operating under a larger deficit to ensure the financial safety and security of nearly 50,000 students during a global pandemic is not an unreasonable demand. Especially when such an operation runs at the detriment of both the financial and mental health of its students.

 

Feature graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
News

Students reflect on a semester of online learning

The benefits and challenges will most likely persist in the winter semester

With the fall 2020 semester coming to an end, the effects of online school are being felt by many. The semester has presented benefits and challenges for all those involved. How did students handle this, and what did they think of the fall 2020 semester?

Kelly Marie, a student in Recreation and Leisure Studies, enrolled in three classes this semester.

Marie stated that she felt “relieved that I didn’t have the added stress of having to go into school everyday and worry about increasing [my] chances of getting the virus,” when she found out that her classes would be remote.

For Marie, one of the biggest challenges of a remote semester is online textbooks. She said, “[my] eyes get tired and I get headaches from it.”

Chloë Lalonde, the creative director of The Concordian and a student in the faculty of Fine Arts and Arts and Science, enrolled in four classes for the fall semester.

When they found out that the term would be going online, they stated that they were “disappointed, but not surprised.”

When asked how the pandemic has affected their work for The Concordian, they stated that, “We typically work remotely so it didn’t change too much.” They also mentioned that there were changes that needed to be made because no print issues were being published this semester.

For Lalonde, the things that they like the least about having a remote semester are “[the] group projects, [the] lack of space to work in fine arts classes, [and] no internships.”

Omnia Gomaa, a student in Software Engineering, who is also a member of the Women in STEM at Concordia group, said that she was “stressed about not being able to study in a team as [she] used to in previous terms.”

For her, the best part about having an online semester was “Not having to go through the struggle of commuting.” The idea of not travelling to work was echoed in Marie’s response as well.

Women in STEM At Concordia is a new student club, and because of COVID-19, the way their group operates is not typical. Gomaa said that the pandemic has impacted the way their activities are run, which is true for all clubs this semester at Concordia.

According to her, “All activities have been done online, resulting in us having late replies from people we reach out to and technical issues. This includes everything from a weak internet connection to people’s busy schedules.”

She also believes that this group is necessary during this time because “It encourages young women to stay motivated and pursue their dreams, even during hard times. Doing this sets a good example for the younger generation, teaching them not to give up easily even when faced with difficulties.”

For Gomaa, the remote delivery of the semester was a bit of a challenge at first. Despite this, she said, “It really helps to always look at the bright side and see how [someone] can benefit from situations like the one we are currently in.”

Each of the students interviewed were asked to rate their semester experience on a scale of one to 10, one being an awful experience and 10 being outstanding. Lalonde rated her experience a six, Gomaa and Marie both rated it a seven. These numbers suggest that while the experience was not perfect, it wasn’t downright awful either.

The choice to go online made by Concordia seemed to be the only real option during the pandemic. This semester, though sometimes enjoyable, also contained challenges that students faced. These benefits and challenges will most likely persist in the winter semester as well. 

 

Graphic by @ariannasiviria

Categories
Student Life

Test our knowledge, not the bounds of privacy ethics

Taking an exam shouldn’t mean giving up your privacy

Concordia University’s OnLine Exam (COLE) system, which uses Proctorio’s technology, has received much backlash online, and rightly so. The platform helps to facilitate evaluations even if students cannot physically be present on campus, an unfortunate reality for many amidst our current COVID-19 pandemic world. However, by using Proctorio’s assets, universities are setting a dangerous precedent. One University of Dallas student journalist put it as “spyware cloaked under the guise of being an educational tool.” From knowing what tabs you have open, direct access to your camera and microphone, the ability to see what devices you have plugged in and eject them, it’s an unprecedented amount of power forced by universities onto already pressured students.

Before I go further, I want to emphasize that academic integrity is essential. Cheaters ruin our world, whether through traffic, shoddy quality goods, relationships, or taxes. Academia has a responsibility to protect itself against this, but not just because it hurts other students and our work. Ultimately, how we conduct ourselves in our schooling is how we approach our workplaces and our communities.

But enough is enough. The line was crossed months ago, and the excuse of COVID-19 simply isn’t good enough. These privacy concerns were already discussed at the start of the pandemic. In an April 7 Medium article, a former Bay Street lawyer (and Concordia alumnus), Fahad Diwan, broke down exactly how the university was violating student rights in a legal context. Shocker — he thinks it’s wrong and maybe even illegal.

“The use of Proctorio needs to be suspended until Proctorio can get manifest, free, and enlightened consent from students,” said Diwan in the post, “and Concordia University can demonstrate that online, closed-book exams are absolutely necessary.”

Well, that didn’t happen. The administration and faculties washed their hands of the controversy with the same excuse everyone is using — it’s COVID.

Let me ask my fellow educators and administrators — would you consent to this? Would you accept Concordia creeping into your computer, your files, your emails? And I’m not talking about your work machines. I’m talking about your personal tech because that’s what Proctorio does to students through their pervasive Chrome extension. Maybe you do because you have “nothing to hide.” And if that’s the case, I encourage you to post your login credentials publicly on your social media so we can all see why you are such a good netizen (please don’t do this — it’s against Concordia security policies, but also super stupid). This attitude is stunningly anachronistic that I feel genuine shame for those who utter it. Your computer, your phone, your tech IS YOUR BUSINESS.

But let’s go further: what if you were required to report your GPS location for every class you taught because the university told you they needed to verify where you were working for tax purposes? After COVID, what if they monitored when and where you were in the building because your phone automatically connects to Concordia’s wireless network? What if they said you needed to record all lectures and submit them to the university, where an independent team including students would assess if you were effective in teaching during your class discourse, as well as scanning for other problematic behaviour? What happens when you are required by Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS) to install software that would monitor your productivity? What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

These are no longer “what ifs.” They are WHENs. Like I said before, school environments dictate how we conduct ourselves in our communities and workplaces. By insisting students use these platforms instead of exploring alternative evaluation methods and being unwilling to show empathy for students, academia will receive the same fate. But what’s worse is that universities are setting up the digital prisons they so often rail against. How come Foucault’s panopticon, widely taught in the humanities, did not at least come up in the conversation when implementing this Orwellian spy apparatus?

I beg this: is it worth protecting against cheats if it makes you lose your soul? We’re not police officers —  we’re educators. We seek to empower our students, not wield power over them. Worse, we tell the world and every employer that these tactics are acceptable and to use them on the next generation of workers.

You might feel powerless in this situation. But students have the agency to resist. So, if you are taking exams this semester with COLE or with any system that uses Proctorio or other invasive technologies, fight back! Put a sign in your room or wear a T-shirt that says #ScrewCole or #ExamsNotProctology. It’s your right to free expression.

Before taking your exams, post photos on your social media and tag local media and journalists — encourage your friends and classmates to do the same. Because having to take a university exam shouldn’t mean your school gets to look through your life, digital or otherwise.

 

 Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Categories
News

Concordians share their experience of participating in the JMoSB fundraiser

JMoSB comes to an end with over $28,000 raised

For JMoSB’s Movember fundraiser, all its members chose their own way to raise money and spread awareness for men’s health, particularly mental health.

Some members of the John Molson School of Business Movember team, a subsidiary of CASA Cares, sold pins, some found sponsors and prizes for raffles and competitions, and others did push-ups. But they all had the same goal: raising funds for the John Molson School of Business Movember fundraiser.

Sally Vu, the co-director of external relations for JMoSB, is majoring in Human Resource Management. Her mental health awareness project consisted of sharing video journals of 22 different men, each talking about their experience with and opinion on men’s mental health.

Jason Lobasso, a third-year finance student at JMSB, contributed to Vu’s video journals. He said that men’s mental health should be a subject that’s more talked about.

“I think it’s great that we, as a society, are collectively engaging in conversation about it more and more as time passes,” he said. “No one should ever be ashamed to open up and speak up on what’s on their minds. We should be prioritizing dialogue as much as we can.”

Vu received many donations with the help of her campaign, but since she wanted to do more, she decided to collaborate with Mary Colombo, the owner of a small Montreal-based online business, @artxfeels. Colombo sells customized accessories through her Instagram account. She graduated from Concordia in 2018 and has previously participated in another fundraising initiative.

“A couple months ago, I decided I wanted to raise money for the MUHC [McGill University Health Centre] foundation,” Colombo said. “So, I designed Ça va bien aller pins, and 100 per cent of the profits went to the foundation.”

Colombo said that when Vu asked her to collaborate, she was more than happy. She made mustache pins and sold each pin for $5, with all profits going to the fundraiser.

Karim Hatem, co-director of external relations, is in charge of media presence, as well as finding sponsors to provide prizes related to mental health care or self-care in general, including spa packages from Bota Bota. Hatem is in his second year at JMSB, doing a double major in Marketing and Human Resource Management. He will be posting a video of him doing push-ups, depending on how much money he raises.

“If I raise $100, then I’ll do 100 push-ups,” he said.

Neil Kafidi, vice president (VP) of external for JMoSB, is majoring in International Business with a minor in Finance. His role also consists of finding sponsors and prizes for different competitions and raffles, similar to Hatem’s role. To do that, Kafidi gets in touch with companies and asks them for monetary or material donations, which would be used for the raffles.

He received a $1,000 donation from Imperial Tobacco, and many products from Pharmaprix, including a laptop, a tablet, and a camera.

Most members joined the Movember team because they wanted to help raise awareness and funds for an important cause, but they also have more personal reasons for why they decided to apply.

“It’s a bit more personal for me,” Hatem said. “A friend of mine has mental health issues, so I wanted to help raise awareness, and that’s why I joined and decided to focus more on the mental health aspect of Movember,” he added, referring to the self-care prizes he acquired for the competitions.

For Kafidi, joining JMoSB was just about giving back.

“I feel like when you’re lucky enough to be in a good situation and when you can help, it’s always important to help because not everyone has the same luck,” he said. “And I believe in good karma too. If you do something good, then something good is always going to come back to you.”

He also explained that he initially applied for the VP internal position, which consists of communicating with the team and organizing their meetings. However, he was offered the VP external position, which allowed him to talk to more people, including possible sponsors. He said he was happy to take on a more challenging position.

“I got to discover a new way to get out of my comfort zone,” Kafidi concluded.

“For me, the most important part is mental health,” Vu said. “The more I reached out to people during the pandemic, the more I realized we’re going through a lot, everyone individually. That’s why I wanted to do this campaign, to share everyone’s stories.”

Colombo loved Vu’s idea of sharing testimonies of men.

“I feel like I’ve never seen that being done,” she said. “And I think that in regards to men’s health, it’s something that’s often overlooked, and because of that, I feel like they were extremely strong for talking about it on social media.”

All the members learned something different from their experience fundraising for men’s mental health.

“I learned a lot about myself, about the cause and about how people really feel,” Vu concluded. “It’s a great initiative and I plan on reapplying next year.”

“I think I’d like to participate next year too, but maybe have another position, to see things from a different angle and learn new things,” Hatem concluded.

 

Logo courtesy of John Molson School of Business Movember team

Behind the open letter: an interview with Juliet Bartlett

The Concordian talks to student Juliet Bartlett about her open letter to Concordia’s administration

This past week, Concordia forums have been abuzz in response to an open letter posted online regarding the university’s approach to online schooling during COVID-19. The letter outlines complaints about a wide array of issues such as the lack of a pass/fail option, tuition breaks and support for international students.

The Concordian sat down with the author, third-year Intermedia student Juliet Bartlett, to discuss the letter and her intentions behind it.

TC: Your letter is extensive and very impassioned; what prompted you to write it?

JB: The letter was quite a few months in the making. It wasn’t just something that I typed overnight. It was inspired by months of talking and listening to students either via the [Concordia] subreddit or reading posts on Facebook or my own friends as to what their experiences were. I didn’t just want to write a letter based on what I was experiencing. I wanted to write it with everyone in mind and kind of capsule [sic] the frustration the student body is feeling at the moment.

TC: Concordia has many formal ways to communicate with administration. Why did you feel an open letter was the best format for your message? 

JB: Open letters are public, they usually embody something bigger than one person. If changes were to be made, they had to be public and they have to pick up traction. Concordia — I think a lot of students feel this way too — doesn’t make changes unless it is something bigger or that’s been on the slow burner for an extensive period of time. It was really important that it was public knowledge and that it was going past the student body and Concordia to make sure that we aren’t just going to sit and be silent and take this.

TC: You’re in Intermedia. How is Concordia’s approach to an online semester affecting you as a BFA student?

JB: I’ll prelude by saying this: I love my program, the people, the professors. But, as a fine arts student, it’s affecting me specifically because for most of my projects, you need a higher-end computer to run the software you need. Fortunately, I do have a good enough computer to run these programs. It is getting outdated though. Whereas, last year, we had the option to use either the Intermedia editing suite or the Centre for Digital Arts (CDA). There’s a lot of students that I have spoken with that aren’t as fortunate as me. They’re on a laptop that’s almost catching fire while they’re trying to run Blender. And especially for students that aren’t located in Montreal, even if [the department] were to open something, there isn’t really a way to get that equipment to them. So we need to consider fees and we need to consider costs, because tuition wasn’t lowered, we got a $17 discount. The CDA fee was waived, but how can you justify the cost of an $800, plus upgrade to your computer to run the software you need for school?

TC: What would you like CU admin to take away from your letter? 

JB: Number one, I hope that they read it in full. I hope it’s not skimmed. I want every word to be considered in my letter. Number two, I want them to know this isn’t out of spite. I wanted them to erase and forget this whole current ideal that’s been spun around by some people saying that students are lazy, students don’t care, they just want a pass and they want to cheat. That is not the point [of] my letter. What we’re trying to say is that it is a rough year. There are more issues than are being assumed going on behind closed doors with students.

The ones who were in university 20, maybe 25 years ago, maybe those employees who just started, remember what it was like when you started university. Remember the stress that you felt. Then, I want you to take away all those memories you had with your friends in first year. Take away all of the social outings you went to. Then, I want you to confine them to one small room with a computer, a webcam, Moodle frequently crashing and a heavier workload. Add a strong tiredness that is 24/7. Then, I want them to imagine that this is what their university tells them is fine.

TC: In the recent CSU by-election, students voted in favour of a pass/fail option, lightening course workload, and turning away from proctored exams, all topics you mention in your letter. Do these results give you hope or do you expect more of the same from the institution?  

JB: It doesn’t give me hope in terms of what the administration’s next plans are going to be. It does give me hope and empowers the idea of the letter, and the fact that the student body does agree with that and does want this. I think it’s pretty evident that we have wanted it since the beginning of fall term. I also don’t understand how the administration wouldn’t want to [implement] a pass/fail option. Everyone seems to be struggling — that I have spoken with. Everybody’s GPA is most likely going to take a hit. So, as a university, why wouldn’t you favour pass/fail, rather than having your overall university GPA drop? Because that is most likely what is going to happen.

TC: What would you say to other Concordians who want to have their voices heard on these issues? 

JB: I would strongly encourage them to write their own letter. Sit down and really think about the things you have felt this term, these specific things that apply to your faculty and school-wide. Be honest, and write a letter. We all need to unite, both the student body and professors, because this is affecting professors as well. We need to understand that we need to work together to make changes happen. The louder we are, and the more vocal and well-versed we can be in this, the better the outcome.

In response to the concerns laid out in the open letter, Concordia University replied in a statement:

“We understand the difficulties and frustrations that students and everyone are facing during the pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, students’ success and well-being have been priorities for us and we have put in place a series of measures to help them through these difficult times. We have hired more teaching assistants, are loaning IT equipment to students, have extended the winter break, safely opened study spaces in the library or sent at-home kits for some courses, among the many measures taken. The university has also made significant technology investments to support the move to remote course delivery and assistance to faculty and staff, direct financial aid to students as well as online learning supports, increased on-campus health and safety measures, and stepped-up cybersecurity in a context where cyberattacks are proliferating. We will continue to further adjust to the situation and remain committed to the success of our students.

On tuition fees generally, please note that for the vast majority of students, tuition fees are set by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur (MES) and are adjusted on a yearly basis. [For Quebec residents and out-of-province Canadian students, the government increased tuition for the 2020-21 academic by 3.1 per cent.]”

 

phoPo by Christine Beaudoin

Categories
Student Life

The teacher’s pet trope, explained

Students prove professors’ unfair biases

The Urban Dictionary defines the teacher’s pet as “An annoying student who kisses up to the teacher and does a bunch of favours for said teacher in hopes of getting a good grade.”

Being the teacher’s pet and befriending them can be beneficial at times. Evidently, good grades aren’t solely based on whether or not a teacher likes a student, but the way that students present themselves can influence a teacher’s perception of them, which can lead to unfair bias.

Research conducted by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov demonstrates that it only takes one-tenth of a second for us to judge someone and make a first impression.

Teachers are humans, and just like everyone, they hold preconceived opinions about students that are unrelated to their work. These opinions can be either conscious or subconscious. Teachers may try to be completely objective when grading, but at times fail to do so.

Among the different areas where teachers can be biased, one is grading. Depending on the subject of the course, professors teaching English, humanities, sociology, creative writing or any classes where there are written pieces, are susceptible to bias when grading. Of course, professors teaching math and science can’t be biased as there are only right and wrong answers.

A study done in 2014 demonstrates the prevalence of a halo bias in Australian university professors.

“A linear-contrast analysis showed that, as hypothesized, the graders assigned significantly higher scores to written work following the better presentation than following the poor oral presentation.” The results suggest that keeping the students anonymous helps prevent bias in grading.

Nadine Lardjane, a Social Science student at John Abbott College, confirmed that some of her teachers show unwarranted biases.

“Last semester I had an English teacher who admitted that she would hide the student’s name when correcting papers because she knew that it will influence her grading,” said Lardjane. “If she was correcting an assignment of a student who never participates in class, she would probably be more strict than when correcting a student who always participates in her class.”

“That’s why it’s super important to be the teacher’s pet and kiss their ass once in a while,” added Lardjane.

From my own experience, I’ve noticed that my professors have shown bias to my own advantage. Perhaps because I constantly spam their emails and chat with them; a true teacher’s pet. In one of my assignments, my professor clearly stated that she would give me the full marks for my assignment and then added “but be careful for next time.” I think this clearly shows somewhat of a bias. When I looked closely at the rubric, I saw that I didn’t deserve those points.

Amanda Lepage also expressed her encounter with an unreasonable, biased teacher who taught creative writing at John Abbott College.

“My teacher was extremely biased when grading. She often had an idea of what she wanted a written assignment to look like, but would not give pointers or explanation,” said Lepage.

Looking back, Lepage described her situation as unprofessional. The class killed her creativity as she was constantly graded based on whether or not her teacher agreed on the content and subject of her prose.

Lepage further stated that when she presented her pieces to other teachers, they said it was good.

Another college student, who asked to remain anonymous, mentioned that her teachers show disfavour towards immigrant students and easily get frustrated with them. For instance, if she makes a mistake, as a white student, her teacher will likely be more patient and lenient. However, if an immigrant makes the same mistake, the teacher will degrade them and criticize them by saying things such as “Why don’t you understand, is it because English isn’t your first language?”

Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that influence a person’s judgment and actions. It is crucial for educators to understand the different biases they possess to ensure that every student is treated equally and fairly. These biases have a powerful impact on the students’ academic achievement. For example, implicit biases may lead to unintentional discrimination like gender or racial biases that will affect the academic performance of students.

The Rosenthal and Jacobsen study done in 1968 suggests that teacher expectations are likely to influence the student’s performance. This phenomenon is known as the Pygmalion Effect: when positive expectations influence performance positively, and negative expectations influence performance negatively.

There are many strategies to address implicit biases in academic institutions. First, to prevent any bias affecting educators’ work ethics, professors are encouraged to recognize their biases by partaking in the Implicit Association Test which will help assess the different biases they may hold. Along with that, grading systems should be reformulated to avoid such encounters. Perhaps professors could begin by hiding students’ names when grading papers. Another solution is for professors to follow a strict rubric to avoid their subjective influence and determine a neutral grade.

 

Feature graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
News

The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights shines light on the Uyghur population in China

Academics, journalists, and survivors speak about the Uyghur genocide at an online panel hosted by Concordia

China is believed to have imprisoned more than two million Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in interment camps, where they face a cultural genocide. The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights, a research institute at Concordia, held an online panel on Nov. 12 discussing the situation and what can be done.

The panel had guest speakers like Mihrigul Tursun, a camp survivor.

Tursun explained that in 2015, while she was returning to China from Egypt with her newborn children to spend time with her family, she was arrested at the Beijing airport. She was separated from her children and put in one of the internment camps, where she was stripped of her clothes, her head was shaved, and she was forced to use a number as her name.

She talked about how she was tortured, given mystery injections, and taught to worship the Chinese government. When she was released for the first time, she was informed that one of her sons had died from mysterious circumstances.

From 2015 to 2018, she was in the camps three separate times for a total of 11 months. Her time outside the camps was spent stuck in her hometown as the Chinese government had blacklisted her, taking away her ID so she couldn’t travel. She was also unable to contact anyone without the government’s permission.

Tursun stated that she was able to escape China with the help of the Egyptian Embassy in Beijing, as her children were Egyptian citizens. She now lives in America with her family, actively speaking out against what is happening to her people.

Tursun explained during the panel that she has not heard from her family since she escaped.

“I lost contact with my father, mother, sister, brother, all my family.” She said that all she has been able to find out is that five of her family members have died already, and she doesn’t know if the rest are alive or not.

“I hope the Chinese [government will] stop and give back our homeland,” Tursun said.

The Uyghurs are mostly Muslim Turkic ethnicity, the majority of them living in the Xinjiang province of China, where they number around 11 million people. Over the years, China has slowly been taking away the rights of the Uyghurs, outlawing their cultural activities and making the region a police state with police checkpoints and cameras that scan individual faces.

Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian politician and one of the guest speaks at the panel, expressed how he sees the Uyghur camps as the most pressing human rights issue of our time, and is the largest mass incarceration since the holocaust.

Very little information is known about the camps, estimates of the population of these camps vary from one million to 3 million people. According to an article in The Guardian, there are more than 380 suspected camps.

“Nobody could say that we didn’t know [about the holocaust], but we did not act,” said Cotler. “Just as in regards to the plight and pain of the Uyghurs, nobody can say that we did not know.”

“The intent is not necessarily to physically exterminate the entirety of the Uyghur people, but to break their collective identity,” said Sean Roberts, the director of the International Development Studies program at the Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and a speaker at the panel.

He explained that what is happening to the Uyghurs, while still a genocide, is drastically diffrent from what happened during the holocaust.

“These actions [of the Chinese government] are not inspired by eugenics, but by profit, development and settlement,” said Roberts.

According to Dr. Kimberly Manning, principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia and speaker at the panel, the idea for said panel came from local Uyghur activists in Montreal. There are over 2,000 Uyghurs living in Canada, with a majority in Toronto and Montreal.

Garnett Genuis, a member of the Conservative Party of Canada and speaker at the panel, said the best way for Canada to make an impact is to boycott and sanction China, yet this will be difficult as Canada heavily relies on China, such as for PPE masks. 

According to a New York Times article, some Chinese companies are using Uyghur labour camps to manufacture single use masks. 

Genuis stated that the best way to influence the Canadian government to make more decisive actions against China is to get in contact with members of parliament and challenge them to act. 

 

Still from Concordia’s online panel

Categories
News

Concordia’s new Marketing Aid Clinic

Born out of the pandemic, the clinic is here to help local businesses

The Concordia Marketing Aid Clinic (CMAC) is a new student group focused on providing marketing advice to student and community-run small businesses and nonprofits.

A group of Concordia Marketing students were inspired to open the clinic after one of their favourite restaurants closed, unable to survive the pandemic’s first shutdown.

“As a business student, there was this moment where I thought: maybe there is something I can do,” said William Boucher, the clinic’s president.

“At Concordia, there is expertise … We all have something to give and we are all future professionals,” said Boucher. “I thought one way I could help these businesses [would be] to help them do a transition into digital.”

Boucher’s idea to help with this transition would eventually evolve into what is now CMAC.

“We can’t contribute to the research, but we can help with the survival,” said Noubar Tufenkjian, the clinic’s vice-president of strategy.

The clinic provides free marketing advice to businesses in a similar way to Concordia’s current legal information clinic.

“The concept already existed with the law clinic,” said Tufenkjian. “Students are able to contribute a lot by offering a fresh pair of eyes to see a business, and give an opinion or another perspective … [Students are] a lot more aware of trends and what is going on in the business world.”

This fall semester, the organization underwent its first round of recruitment, first looking for motivated students to add to their team, then looking for businesses to work with. The clinic is not only working with Concordia students; their goal is to give back to the greater Montreal community.

“We want to help our fellow students, but we also want to help the same community that pays taxes for Concordia to be still alive today … We want to be part of Montreal and give back to that same community,” said Boucher.

In their first recruitment phase, more than 60 businesses reached out. The clinic received applications from as far away as British Columbia.

As the application process continues, the club narrows down the businesses they will work with, focusing on those in the Montreal community.

“We have a diverse [group of businesses] who applied, starting from non-profits to e-commerce stores and start-ups, some of which were born in Concordia … We were very surprised by the diversity of businesses who applied,” said Tufkenjian

At the moment, the club can only help four businesses at a time since it’s run only by student volunteers. Businesses that don’t make the initial round get put onto a waiting list for CMAC.

Once a business is released from CMAC, a spot is opened up and a new business takes its place.

Once the club selects a business to work with, they conduct interviews with owners and employees to see what they think of the business and assess how they can help.

“Our goal is to fix the marketing flaws in their plan … the way we work is we do an analysis of all their marketing channels and all their plans and we will establish a strategy and start working with them … The angle is to help [businesses] learn how to market better, [whether it’s] your business or your product.”

 

Logos courtesy of Concordia Marketing Aid Clinic (CMAC)

Categories
News

Putting Mo back in JMoSB: Taking a quick look at JMoSB’s 2020 Movember campaign

Through the hard work and dedication of the JMoSB team, this year’s Movember campaign is set to be the most successful in recent memory.

The JMoSB team, a subsidiary branch of Casa Cares, kicked off the 2020 Movember campaign on Nov. 1. The Movember campaign is the annual initiative to help raise funds and spread awareness for issues related to men’s prostate cancer and mental health.

While the Movember campaign is just one of the many student-led initiatives that Casa Cares runs throughout the year, the JMoSB team solely operates during the month of November to oversee the Movember campaign.

This year’s initiative comprises both an extensive social media campaign as well as numerous independently-led projects by the individual members of the JMoSB team.

So far, this year’s campaign has helped to raise over $18,717 already surpassing the initial fundraising goal set for the entire month. It’s an impressive accomplishment considering the economic downturn due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re doing really good so far,” said Jessica Doyle, executive vice president of the JMoSB team, when asked about the accomplishments of her team this year. “We’re hoping to pass what [the previous JMoSB team] were able to raise last year and honestly, I think we are on the right track for that.”

All the money raised during the campaign is donated to the Canadian division of the Movember organization. From there, the funds are distributed amongst 1,250 different men’s health associations and scientific studies. A comprehensive list of the projects that the Movember organization funds can be found on the Movember organization’s website.

If the JMoSB team is able to keep fundraising at this current pace, then not only will this year’s campaign achieve its objective of raising more funds than last year, it will become the most successful campaign run in recent memory.

While fundraising still remains one of its core values, The JMoSB team has recently shifted its focus away from raising funds, and towards raising awareness. This year’s campaign has had the unprecedented challenge of conducting the campaign entirely online, as red zone restrictions in Montreal have prevented their traditional fundraising events from taking place.

In light of these circumstances, the JMoSB team has gone with the Movember Mo’ Match-up Cup initiative to spearhead this year’s campaign in place of bake sales in years past. The initiative is styled as a knockout competition, the competitors being the many different student-run associations within JMSB.

Based on a similar structure to the Stanley Cup playoffs, each week teams face off against one another to get the most points with the winning team advancing to the next bracket.

Every week, points are awarded to the remaining teams based on total shares and money each team is able to raise. The teams with the least amount of points at the end of each round are eliminated. The team who makes it to the end of the month is crowned the winner.

The Movember Gala, the main event traditionally held at the end of November, will be replaced this year by a remotely administered Mo’talking panel. The panel will feature mental health experts who will discuss a variety of topics associated with mental health, as well as answer participants’ questions on the matter. The event is open to the general public and will take place on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. EST over Zoom.

In association with its official campaign, many members of the JMoSB team have begun their own personal initiatives to help raise funds and awareness for Movember.

Third-year marketing student and JMoSB team member Angélique Dinh-Vu uses her Instagram account to sell second-hand and donated clothing with the profits going to the Movember campaign.

So far, she has helped raise over $400 in the span of 10 days for the Movember organization and hopes to raise $200 more before the end of the month. She also helps to educate the public on mental health issues by integrating important facts about mental health into her promotional videos and posts.

Students interested in getting involved with the Movember innovative can register for the Mo’talking panel here, or can donate to the Casa Cares Movember campaign on the Movember organization’s official website.

 

Logo courtesy of Casa Cares JMoSB team

Concordia launches its Sustainability Action Plan

Concordia plans to fully divest from greenhouse gasses and go 90 per cent waste free by 2040

On Nov. 3, Concordia held an online panel on the official launch of its Sustainability Action Plan. The plan is a five-year strategy that consists of five groups: food, waste, climate change, research, and curriculum.

“This plan is an ambitious living document with five streams that were developed in tandem, because we recognized that in order to be successful we cannot pursue this work in silos,” said Michael Di Grappa, the new vice president of services and sustainability, and a speaker at the panel.

For the five groups of the Sustainability Action Plan, the goal is to have aspects of them in action by 2025, with the end-goal of them being fully implemented by 2040.

Cassandra Lamontagne, the sustainability coordinator for the project, went into more detail about what the five groups meant during the panel.

She explained that the first group is food, with the goal of creating more sustainable, local food options on campus. Environmental and social sustainability will be considered in every agreement regarding food at Concordia. Another aspect of this group is to provide affordable and healthy food on both campuses.

The next group was the zero waste plan, with the goal of keeping 90 per cent of Concordia’s waste out of landfills by doing such things as recycling and composting. Another aspect of this is to reduce the waste generated by Concordia.

According to an article by the Montreal Gazette, Montreal is going through a recycling crisis, and it is unknown what percentage of waste is actually recycled.

Then, for the climate action plan, Concordia is to transition from gas to electric and stop all greenhouse gas emissions on campus, including transportation. This will be done by improving infrastructure for biking and electric cars. Concordia also promises to completely divest from the coal industry.

The plan for sustainability research aims to create more interdisciplinary research opportunities for students, as well as ensure Concordia is a leader in research on sustainability in Canada.

The final group is sustainability in the curriculum, which would work with faculty and professors on how they can integrate sustainability into their own curriculum, as well as give graduate students the skills and knowledge to implement sustainability in their fields of work after university.

According to the Concordia website, this plan was put into motion in 2017 when Concordia held a community consultation, which started the concept of the five groups. Then, in 2018, committees were created to represent each of the five groups. After another community consultation in 2019, a final draft of the Sustainability Action Plan was finalized.

“Last year the University foundation committed not only [to] divestment from coal in five years,” said Graham Carr, the university’s president and vice-chancellor, at the panel. “We are the first university foundation in the country to commit to a portfolio of 100 per cent sustainability by 2025.”

Carr also explained that Concordia was the first university to launch a sustainability investment practicum in 2020, which is a collaboration between the John Molson School of Business and Manulife Investment Management, a company that facilitates sustainable investment.

Paula Wood-Adams, the vice president of research and graduate studies, explained during the panel that in 2019 Concordia received $9.1 million from the The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The funds were for 49 research projects in natural science and engineering, including research on climate-resilient buildings and biodiverse ecosystems.

Wood-Adams also talked about how in the same year Concordia received $6.3 million in funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for 88 projects, and 1.6 million in a grant from NSERC’s collaborative research and training experience program.

During the Q&A part of the panel, Wood-Adams stated that the best way to get involved with these newly funded projects is to reach out to faculty and professors at Concordia. “Contact them and say that you want to get involved,” she said.

“The Sustainability Action Plans have come from many years of tough conversations, and we’re glad that they are now available to the community,” said Emily Carson-Apstein, the external and campaigns coordinator at Sustainable Concordia. Carson-Apstein

She explained Sustainable Concordia is going to ensure the University keeps their promises and is transparent about the progress and decision making.

“Student leadership and activism have been a driving force behind every positive change at Concordia, and that’s what we want to highlight.”

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Exit mobile version