Tag: concordia

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News

Concordia student starts petition for pass/fail option in the Fall 2020 semester

Concordia University spokesperson says pass/fail option will not be offered

A Concordia student has started a petition urging the university to enact the pass/fail option for the fall semester, while Concordia University told The Concordian the administration does not plan to do so.

Third-year English Literature student Marcia Lobo said she started the petition because this fall semester has been difficult for her and others around her. She says the stress of balancing the restrictions, online course work, and lack of family, friends, and support has been a lot.

“We weren’t expecting this semester,” said Lobo. “The stress didn’t go away, the pandemic is still here, it’s still very real and we are practically in lockdown … nothing has changed really.”

Lobo is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and due to the pandemic she will move back home. Lobo is currently juggling selling and packing her belongings, a part-time job, and studying full-time, and says she feels isolated, stressed, and unsupported.

“I feel like it’s even worse now, because in the beginning we were getting used to it and we didn’t think it would last that long, and now it just seems endless and we don’t know when things will go back to normal.”

“I don’t learn nearly as much,” said Lobo on the stress of online classes. She says some of her teachers have not been accommodating. She feels exceedingly stressed about getting good enough grades to apply for grad school, due to the pressure of trying to excel in a learning format that she struggles with.

“With the pressure I get even more nervous and I really don’t absorb what the professors are saying,” she said.

Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci released a statement to The Concordian saying the pass/fail option will not be offered this semester.

“The pass/fail option was offered to students in the Winter 2020 semester as an exceptional measure, due to the unforeseen disruption created by the pandemic. The option will not be offered this semester as it was announced last May that Fall 2020 would be delivered remotely for teaching and exams, giving time to all to prepare for this delivery format.”

Third-year finance student Jay Bowers told The Concordian, “This semester, everything changed … they just kind of expected us to keep up rigorously with the curriculum that they were demanding at whatever cost.”

Bowers had an online midterm exam where the program stopped working as he submitted his exam to COLE (Concordia OnLine Exams).

“I have a whole screen recording of this. I sent my professor this lengthy email … and [the professor] said [to] contact Proctorio, [but] it was COLE! Proctorio had nothing to do with this.”

According to Bowers, he spoke to a Proctorio representative, who told him this was a COLE issue. After emailing the professor, she told him to direct any more questions about the exams to COLE. Bowers said he feels bounced around between services and has been offered limited solutions.

Bowers said he has tried to reach out to his advisor this semester, but has been offered no concrete help and was not recommended anymore services he could seek.

“I feel that the support that they offered was minimal at best,” said Bowers. “Who’s listening?”

Venn Mauge, a second-year Management student, said this semester has been difficult because of the isolation and lack of support. Mauge is an international student, and cannot return home because her country’s borders are closed.

“I haven’t seen my family for an entire year, so that’s just a mental strain on its own. For me to have to just mask it with school, it’s just super overwhelming. I’m getting emotional talking about it,” said Mauge.

In one of her classes she had a quiz with 40 theory-based questions, each with five multiple choice answers to choose from, and the quiz length was 30 minutes. This leaves less than one minute per question.

“They ask you questions and you have to think of a theory and then apply it … I was on question eight and I looked at my timer and I had 17 minutes left. I’m not even halfway through … this is super unreasonable.”

Third-year Aerospace Engineering student Nico Brouillet said he was also facing issues with professors and online schooling.

He describes how in one of his classes, if a student asks a question during the lecture that is not immediately relevant to the topic the teacher is discussing at that exact moment, the professor has responded with anger and has kicked students out of the Zoom lecture.

“I’ve looked into emailing the program advisor, but it’s just— there’s no one place, there’s no certain spot to … report a teacher.”

All three students describe feeling like, on top of experiencing problems related to online learning and with no clear avenues for help, these issues are exacerbated by the pandemic. They described the burden of isolation from family and friends, and feeling like their home environment has been eclipsed by online school.

“We’ve never done this before, where everything is done online. The mental strain [on] students, they just don’t understand it. We’re stuck inside, we can’t even go see friends, we can’t go out,” said Brouillet. “Combining the two environments has been a catastrophe and much more than the average college student is ready to cope with.”

“It’s just school, school, school. I don’t have enough time for myself to focus on my mental health … I don’t have a life outside of school right now,” said Mauge.

General Coordinator of the CSU Isaiah Joyner said the CSU is working towards resolving issues around Proctario, COLE, and looking into pushing for pass/fail options.

“With more and more problems arising, it’s showing [that] although we are [almost] completely remote … this is still not the remote learning that is conducive to the student community.”

“We need some reassurance that this won’t have a lasting effect on our Masters, our internships, our GPAs,” said Joyner. “For those people that have been drastically affected given all those varying circumstances and needs, we need some type of support.”

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Swept under the rug: An island nation lost in time

North Sentinel Island: home to an uncontacted tribe that kills its visitors

Located in the Bay of Bengal, India, the Sentinelese are some of the last peoples on Earth who remain virtually untouched by modern civilization. This island nation does not know about the existence of electricity, cars, or cellphones, and meets visitors from the outside world with violence.

Between 50 and 400 people are estimated to be living on North Sentinel Island, whose surface area is just 60 square kilometres. While it is officially administered by India, the government does not intervene into the island’s affairs and declared it a tribal reserve in 1956.

The island is not only separated by a distance of 1,200 kilometers from the mainland, but also by an entire era from the rest of the world. The people on the island live in huts, with fire being the only man-made light source.

There is no evidence that the tribe has discovered agriculture or created its own writing system. The main source of food appears to be the sea, where the locals use small outrigger canoes to hunt fish, sea turtles and crabs with spears.

The tribe itself is part of the Andaman Indigenous population. However, its language cannot be understood by any related ethnic group, as it has been separated from all civilizations since at least the 19th century.

In fact, the British Empire, Burma, and Japan have all attempted to occupy the island, but the tribe showed strong resistance and successfully defended their territory from the powerful nations.

Even today, the Sentinelese continue to meet visitors with aggression, as they perceive every foreigner as a threat.

In the past decades, Indian anthropologist Triloknath Pandit was one of the few explorers who successfully interacted with the tribe. In 1991, he attempted to befriend the island nation by offering them coconuts, pots, as well as iron hammers and knives.

Although the Sentinelese accepted the gifts, Pandit recounted in an interview with the BBC that “Warriors faced [his group] with angry and grim faces and were fully armed with their long bows and arrows, all set to defend their land.”

The Sentinelese, however, go far beyond intimidating their visitors.

In 2018, the tribe brutally murdered John Allen Chau, an American missionary who attempted to introduce Christianity to the island nation. In 2006, the tribe also killed two fishermen with a row of arrows, as their boat was approaching the island.

Today, it is a criminal offense to have contact with the islanders, as they are not immune to foreign diseases. Moreover, in 2017, the Indian government ruled that even photographing and filming the Sentinelese people could result in up to three years in prison.

Therefore, as the outside world has an extremely limited access to the Sentinelese, the island nation is likely to continue its traditional way of life. Ever since Pandit made a peaceful entrance in 1991, all attempts of contact have resulted in violence, so the tribe is expected to remain in isolation for many years to come.

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Student Life

Studying 24/7: Examining the effects that time differences have on Concordia’s international students

How time zones amplify the inherent challenges in remote learning

It’s almost the end of your 8:45 a.m. Zoom lecture when the professor goes over the allotted time, again. Luckily, this time she’s only answering a question. She’s done five minutes later and logs off quicker than she can say goodbye.

You check the time on your laptop. It’s nearly midnight here in Hong Kong. If you go to bed now, you can get six hours of sleep before your next class at 6.p.m. EST.

Traditionally, every September, international students would return to Montreal for the start of the fall semester. However, as Concordia continues with remote learning, and with widespread travel restrictions in place, many students have decided to not return to Montreal this school year. For those who have decided to remain home, they face the unprecedented challenge of adapting to a university schedule based outside their respective time zones.

At the time of writing this article, I found surprisingly little on the official International Student Offices (ISO) website for these students. What I did find was mostly limited to the restrictions in place for travel in Canada. However, Concordia states that the university cannot provide any guarantees for students that they will be permitted to enter the country with the information provided. This has left many international students to make decisions about the 2020-2021 school year completely uninformed as to whether or not their decisions are valid, as was the case with Antony Flanagan, a third-year Fine Arts student at Concordia.

“I went onto the Canadian government website and looked through the restrictions,” said Flanagan. “I thought, well I might be able to get away with a few things, like some of them were vague criteria, but I called them and they just said no with what I had.”

Living in London, England, Flanagan finds the five-hour time difference frustrating but manageable. It’s when a student’s life outside of school begins to conflict with their school schedule when these challenges become more serious.

That has been the experience of a friend of mine, another third-year Fine Arts student who wishes to remain anonymous, currently studying in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“I can sum [remote learning] up for you in two words: it’s shit. I’ve been so unmotivated. I have so many classes that I need to catch up on, not to mention I’ve slept through a good amount of my classes … I work until 10 and my job is a 30-minute commute so I don’t get to bed until 11-ish. I just have no energy left,” she said.

As midterms are quickly approaching, she frequently questions her ability to continue like this in the long-term. She admits that deferring next semester has crossed her mind, but considers that to be her last resort. She would rather see Concordia provide more support to students stuck in similar positions.

Except for resources at the Student Success Centre and The Access Centre for Students with Disabilities, international students have to rely on the policies of their professors for support, which has left many students in serious trouble.

“I emailed [the professor] and asked if there is any way he could record the live sessions so that I don’t have to stay up from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. every night,” said Mohamed Almoallim, a fourth-year JMSB student studying from Saudi Arabia. “He told me to go find another section and that they weren’t going to change just for you.”

It’s this apathetic attitude towards students that have left him questioning his faith in post-secondary education in recent months.

“I’m learning online from professors at school. I can look at any search engine, find a reliable source, and find so much information. University is really worthless in a way, at least how it is now.”

It’s a common opinion shared by many students studying outside of Concordia’s local time zone, as time differences serve to amplify the inherent challenges in online learning. Concordia must provide more to students studying abroad, or risk having its international students become disillusioned with higher education completely.

If you are an international student studying abroad, you can find more information here.

 

Feature graphic by Taylor Reddam

Categories
News

West Islanders are ready to ride the rails

The Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light rail will service the West Island in 2023

Montreal’s $6.5 billion public transit project, the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), is set to change the way Montrealers commute to work. But even as the light rail’s construction makes significant progress, West Island residents are concerned about accessibility.

This project broke ground in April 2018 and is expected to begin operation in 2021, extending to Brossard on the South Shore. This driverless light-rail system will consist of 26 stations in the Greater Montreal area, spanning 67 kilometres and directly connecting to the city’s metro system.

In 2023, the REM will start operating on the West Island, whose residents are unsatisfied with the current state of public transportation.

Mayor of Pointe-Claire John Belvedere told The Concordian that “Current service is unreliable, since there’s not enough buses on weekends and at nighttime. The STM is overlooking an entire transportation system here in Pointe-Claire.”

With trains running 20 hours a day, Pointe-Claire residents will be able to reach downtown Montreal in just over 20 minutes. This means commute times for the West Island will be cut at least by half.

However, the entire journey may not be particularly convenient. Belvedere says his municipality is concerned about the accessibility of its future stations: Fairview-Pointe-Claire and Des Sources.

“The roads leading to our REM stations — Saint Jean Boulevard and Sources Boulevard — [are] not pedestrian-friendly, and it’s inconvenient for cyclists to use them,” said the Mayor.

On top of that, residents are worried about the lack of parking spaces at the stations. Nearly 6,000 parking spots have been removed from the initial REM plans, affecting the West Island in particular.

Driving to Kirkland and Pointe-Claire stations could be especially problematic, as the two stations currently have zero planned parking spaces dedicated specifically to future REM commuters. In 2016, however, the two stations were promised to have a 2,000-car capacity combined.

Belvedere said his residents had many more complaints regarding parking than the construction process itself. This weekend, the installation of overground tracks will lead to the closure of Highway 40 westbound near Pointe-Claire. This inconvenience does not seem to significantly disturb the locals, however.

Instead, some have raised concerns over the cost of the entire light-rail project. In fact, Parti Québécois spokesperson Alain Therrien called the REM “a waste of taxpayer money.”

Taxpayers will not be covering the entirety of the project’s $6.5 billion cost. The Caisse de dépôt placement du Québec, Canada’s second-largest pension fund, is contributing $3.2 billion for the light rail’s construction.

The federal and Quebec governments will also be investing $1.283 billion each, thus evenly dividing the funding responsibility.

According to Belvedere, the REM’s potential benefits are worth such a significant financial commitment. He explained that the light rail project would increase the home values in the West Island area and attract more business.

“If you’re a business in Pointe-Claire, you can even have employees living downtown and easily commuting to the West Island. It won’t be a one-way commute anymore, where our residents mostly commute downtown for work.”

The REM is indeed expected to create more jobs for Montrealers, having promised 34,000 employees involved in the construction process as well as 1,000 permanent positions in maintaining the light rail.

West Islanders will have to wait until 2023 for the project to become a reality. The good news is that despite COVID-19, elevated tracks are being actively built along Highway 40, and the project as a whole is progressing according to schedule.

“The REM will be a fabulous system, and it’s something that our people have wanted for years. Now it seems like we’re finally getting it,” said Belvedere.

Photo by Christine Beaudoin

Interview with Pulitzer Prize and Emmy award-winning photojournalist Barbara Davidson

Barbara Davidson is a Concordia alumni, three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Emmy award-winning photojournalist, and a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship. Davidson did an online panel on Wednesday, Oct. 14, where she talked about her life story, how she became a renowned photojournalist, and her time at Concordia.

Davidson was born and raised in Montreal and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Film Studies. While she studied at Concordia, she worked at The Link newspaper as a photographer.

Since graduating from Concordia, Davidson has traveled to over 50 countries, working at newspapers like the Washington Times and the Los Angeles Times. Her most current work before COVID was traveling across the United States taking portraits of gunshot survivors.

“I was the first person in my immediate family to graduate with a university degree,” said Davidson in an interview with The Concordian. She explained that for CEGEP she went to night school, as she had to work during the day, and needed to improve her high school grades for university admission.

When asked if she saw financial standing as a barrier to photography, Davidson said that people go into photojournalism believing it to be an easy profession — similar to modeling. But the steep learning curve and the extraordinary effort that goes into it can turn people off.

“If it is something you are passionate about, you make it work,” said Davidson, who explained that during her university years she would save her money and borrow equipment so she could continue photography. “You make it happen, that is what success is all about, I had to work hard.”

Davidson said what she most enjoyed while she worked at The Link was the sense of comradery; a sense of family and purpose. She was attracted to the feeling of engagement with the community in Montreal.

Davidson said her time at The Link was “an incredibly inspiring learning time in my life.”

“There has to be a hungry curiosity, a hungry curiosity leads to all kinds of opportunity,” she said, emphasizing that curiosity can lead a person in a new direction. “Be mindful and honest with yourself, if you listen to that inner voice about what you are curious about, then that can lead you.”

Davidson said her biggest regret in university was not taking advantage of her professors’ expertise. She explained that professors are not just there to give grades, but also to help guide you on your way. She said that university is a rare time where you have access to these resources.

“There are so many [mistakes], I have fallen flat on my face more times than I care to share,” said Davidson, who continued to elaborate on a particular incident when she was working at the Missouri Photo Workshop, doing an article about two single mothers raising their kids together.

Davidson explained that she got caught up in the sensationalism of reporting on how the mothers were going to parties and living their lives, and failed to report on the good parenting the mothers were also doing.

“I did not show a well-rounded picture, and that failure has guided me my entire career moving forward after that,” Davidson said.

“As a human, as a journalist, I failed to look for the true humanity in them,” she said. “Always look for the humanity in people, regardless of the circumstances that they are currently in.”

Davidson said the best advice she can give to students is not to think of themselves alone, that there are people out there to help guide, shape, and inform students.

“You just have the bravery to reach out, and you will succeed,” said Davidson.

The panel was open to the public, but the majority who attended were Concordia students or alumni. Those reached out too said the panel was informative and inspirational.

“Even if it’s not the path [students] are interested in taking, they can get a sense of what lengths they can go to in their own dreams and with their own goals,” said Kendra Kabasele, a Concordia alumni journalist and photographer who attended Davidson’s panel.

“[Students] may even be triggered to pursue an avenue they hadn’t ever thought of before. That’s what’s important about panels like these; the awakening of what has yet to be awakened,” said Kabasele.

“It gave me hope and perspective as I began my career, hoping to work as a photographer and visual journalist,” said Matilda Cerone, a Journalism student at Concordia who also attended the panel. “I am reassured that it is okay that I am where I am and that things don’t need to happen right away for me to embark on an eventful and exciting experience.”

Cerone explained that while she enjoyed the panel, she felt that Davidson did not properly address the questions on white privilege and the white gaze in photojournalism.

“I too desire to take pictures that have a social impact, but I do not want to engage in white saviourism and I am very aware that when a white person photographs non-white people there is a toxic power dynamic,” Cerone said.

During the panel Davidson stated that she understands the privilege she has and has seen editors bypass photographers of colour. She stated that this needs to stop, as diversity creates more interesting and rich media.

Is celebrating Thanksgiving still relevant in today’s society?

Thanksgiving is a national holiday that highlights colonialism and the mistreatment of Indigenous people

 

Thanksgiving was almost canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was celebrated this Monday, Oct. 12. The federal government has made it clear that gatherings during Thanksgiving weren’t a good idea, and to limit contact.

“This coming weekend for Thanksgiving and for the weeks to come, we need people to do everything they can to prevent transmission of this virus,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in regards to the holiday, asking people to stay home.

But it wasn’t the first time the legitimacy of the holiday was questioned. For several years now there has been a moral debate regarding the celebration of Thanksgiving.

As Gilbert Mercier, a French journalist would illustrate, “In many ways, the … celebration of Thanksgiving is analogous to setting aside a day in Germany to celebrate the Holocaust.”

 

A genocide

Thanksgiving was established by a proclamation of the Canadian Parliament in 1957 as a statutory holiday. It is at first glance a chance to celebrate the good harvest and all the blessings received throughout the year. But beyond feasts and celebrations with family and friends, the holiday’s story is less joyful.

The first colonists had trouble surviving on the new continent, and some Indigenous people offered their knowledge of the territories to help them. It was the case of Martin Frobishor and other navigators who arrived in 1578 to the Baffin Island and to whom the Mi’kmaq men taught ice-fishing techniques.

It wasn’t long before the relations turned disastrous, and the colonists decided to take possession of the lands by violating treaties, and exterminating Indigenous peoples. A war exploded over Halifax because the Mi’kmaq never agreed to give away their territories to the British settlers. In response, Governor Edward Cornwallis, who established the Nova Scotia colony, offered a bonus for every Indigenous person killed.

For many, colonists did significant harm.

The media outlet Cut released a video in 2015 asking Native Americans to associate Christopher Columbus with one word. Their answers were among others, “evil,” “invader,” “ignorant,” “genocide”— words that could also describe Edward Cornwallis.

 

A Day of Mourning for Indigenous people

For many Indigenous people, Thanksgiving marks the starting point of the smothering of their culture  and the theft of their lands, and therefore many are not celebrating the arrival of the European settlers. Being aware of the history of the holiday, some non-indigenous people also choose to not celebrate it in solidarity.

It is a day some use to protest systematic racism and oppression.

Last Sunday, about 20 people met in downtown Montreal in regards to the upcoming holiday for Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage.

Indigenous people are still fighting today to recover their sovereignty and their rights to their lands, which have never been ceded.

 

Categories
News

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) makes it way to Concordia

The first of its kind in Canada, the club will bring a whole new industry to the university

This year, a new club is arriving at Concordia. The first of its kind in Canada, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) will allow the immersive story-telling industry to make ties with our university.

Mitchell Stein, the President and founder of Concordia’s TEA club, has been a passionate member of the TEA for a while now. As the main association relating to the immersive storytelling industry, it was high time we set up a TEA club in Canada.

“Things that you’ll see in Orlando, Florida or in California, at the Disney or Universal parks, a lot of them have been created in Montreal themselves. So we’re hoping to partner with a lot of those companies to bridge the gap between students and the industry,” said Stein.

Themed entertainment touches any subversive and interactive storytelling experience. An example that most will be familiar with is a Disney theme park, where guests — the audience — are transported into an entirely different universe.

Stein goes on to explain that Concordia is the perfect setting for this club to make its debut to Canadian students.

“What we were hoping to do is tap into the creative and technical side at Concordia because there are so many great [creative and technical] programs. [Many] people don’t know about this really incredible industry,” said Stein.

However, Stein is well aware of the challenges that are associated with this year. A pandemic makes it difficult to get the word around.

“We’re still really new, so I’m still learning the ropes of marketing a club, especially digitally … But so far, everybody we’ve told about it has been very passionate.”

The club will expose students to an industry that isn’t well-known to many.

“We had a lot of interest with the creation of the club, and I think that so many programs and clubs are interested in these types of things — understanding technology, creativity and immersive storytelling is always something people are interested in,” said Stein.

Although the themed entertainment industry seems far away, Stein ensures that the creation of this club will open the door for students.

He said, “Something that people always told me was to get involved in the themed entertainment association. Because it is the biggest organization that represents the industry, and everyone who works in the industry.”

The TEA club at Concordia will bridge the gap between companies and students by building relationships. Stein explained that he has already reached out to companies based in Montreal, and is looking forward to working with them.

“A lot of students don’t even know this industry exists, they might know of Disney or Universal, but they don’t know of these jobs that are right in our backyards.”

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
News

What has Space Concordia been up to?

The student-run organization is racing to make it into space

Space Concordia is a student-run organization aiming to foster a professional learning environment in which students can develop their skills via experiential learning.

The association is composed of four official divisions: Spacecraft, Rocketry, Robotics, and Space Health, each one with teams that work year-round to develop projects and research.

“We are a big organization, so each member can decide to join the teams that suit their interest[s] and [schooling],” said Vanesa Gonzales, who is in charge of outreach. “Most of the time a new member joins one team under one division. Then, as they understand the project, they can take on more than one role.”

The organization involves interdisciplinary work that is open to students of all academic backgrounds.

But Space Concordia hasn’t made it into space … yet.

“The Rocketry division is working on a rocket that reaches the limitation of the upper atmosphere and space at 420,000 feet. It is going to be tested in May 2021,” said Gonzales.

The rocket they are developing is part of the Base 11 Space Challenge, a contest to be the first student-run group to hit the Kármán Line. The Kármán Line is situated at an altitude of 100 km and defines the boundary between space and Earth.

“Hopefully by May 2021, we will be the first university to make it into space,” said Melize Ferrus, President of Space Concordia.

Until they make it to the final frontier, what’s next for Space Concordia?

“The Robotics division is working on implementing an autonomy software system in their rover,” said Ferrus.

The software would enable the rover to test samples of matter via spectroscopy, which is used to study the molecular composition of a sample. In this case, the sample would be soil, allowing for them to see if it is feasible to sustain life on other planets.

“We would like to continue developing technologies for remote medicine that can be applied on Earth or [in] space,” said Gonzales.

The Space Health division will continue to do so via Project 1.0, which involves researching the body’s response to force changes by studying the effects of gravity on the heart long-term. The project will be tested on a rocket made by the Rocketry division.

Project 2.0 is to develop a simulated cardiovascular system to study Orthostatic Hypertension, a medical condition characterized by a sudden increase in blood pressure when a person stands up.

But don’t let the words ‘space’ and ‘engineering’ turn you away from Space Concordia. According to Ferrus, not all members are in exclusively STEM fields. Past and current team members have been students enrolled in Communications, the Faculty of Fine Arts, and the John Molson School of Business.

“We want to be an organization that fosters creativity in any way, and creativity rears its head in many different facets,” said Ferrus. “It doesn’t matter what your skill level is. By the time you leave, it won’t be your skill level anymore. We’re happy to foster new talent.”

For more information about Space Concordia visit http://www.spaceconcordia.ca.

Visuals courtesy of Space Concordia.

Categories
Arts

Fine Arts Stories: sharing work and ideas

An online forum to bringing Fine Arts students together

Fine Arts Stories is a space where Fine Arts students can openly share their in-progress work and projects. The initiative was created by installation artist and Fine Arts coordinator Tricia Middleton with the help of Gabriel Castelo, a Computer Science and Electroacoustics student.

The idea of creating a space to share thoughts and ideas was born during summer.

“I realized that something semi-centralized that could encompass all forms of making and doing, thought and conversation – perhaps in the way architecture might function as the support for our peer-to-peer relationships within the institution – would probably be needed,” said Middleton.

While working with Fine Arts’ student-run organizations, Middleton generally attempts to bring all students together through organizations focusing on relationship building within the faculty.

With the pandemic being out of anyone’s control, it seemed like a great opportunity to create a space to foster relationships.

“I wanted to see if I could facilitate a semi-centralized, hybridized outlet that could help people connect in new ways that takes into account [that] many of these people have not yet met one another and will not have the social space of campus to do so this year,” she said.

So far, the initiative has been well received. Fine Arts Stories creates organic engagement through a website, where students can share what they are working on, leaving platforms such as Facebook and other social networks secondary.

“I think people are ready to try something more gentle and fluid in a non-brand dominated format, and the wider internet is still a place to find connection and intrigue,” said Middleton.

There are unlimited spaces for submissions. Submissions are non-juried and are being accepted on a rolling basis. The goal is to facilitate engagement between students. Students send their materials to Castelo, who is also helping shape the project, and uploads the works to the website.

Once physical distancing is no longer an issue, Middleton is looking forward to continuing the initiative. For the moment, Middleton is flexible and open to any good ideas to further develop the project.

“Art and thought is the mediator we usually use to conduct such relationships in our faculty, and this online forum is intended to facilitate this if possible,” said Middleton.

Students can submit their work to Fine Arts Stories here.

Categories
News

Poli Savvy: How did an insect steal part of the spotlight

A fly that landed on Vice President’s Mike Pence’s head during Vice Presidential debates makes headlines

The hurricane of news erupting less than a month ahead of the U.S. presidential elections can leave anyone with a serious case of whiplash.

Some of the news circulating before and after the 2020 United States Vice Presidential debate: President Trump delayed an economic relief bill to help Americans until after the election; new revelations that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested that children be taken away from migrant families at the border in 2018; President Trump refused to participate in a virtual town hall to debate Biden; Trump changed his mind and requests an in-person debate…

But even with the incessant stream of must-read news flooding news feeds and timelines everywhere, this is what everyone seems to be talking about: a fly resting on Mike Pence’s head for two minutes during the Vice Presidential debate.

“The fly” was trending on Twitter before the debate had even finished, with hundreds of thousands of mentions and dozens of Twitter accounts created attempting to impersonate the insect. Etsy shops now sell Pence’s fly apparel, and Biden’s campaign issued a quickly sold-out “Truth over flies” fly swatter.

Why all the focus on such a small matter, compared to all the other much more serious matters that are being published?

During the debate, many more important news-worthy moments happened. For example, Pence discussed the Trump administration’s take on several hot topics, including the Rose Garden ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett.

According to Pence, “It was an outdoor event, which all of our scientists regularly routinely advise.”

This comes after Trump and 22 members of his administration tested positive for the virus following the meeting, described as a “super-spreader” White House event. Attendees did not wear masks nor social distance, and pictures show they also gathered indoors.

In the current climate, a situation like this just becomes a needle in a polluted haystack of controversies. There’s too much to keep up with. To focus on the fly isn’t about getting immune to corruption, or about having a short attention span.

It’s more about being fed up. It is a way to showcase the perfect visual for how some feel about the administration without having to air out all the grievances on a list.

Maybe that’s how the fly got so big.

Categories
News

Former President of ECA on why he was disqualified.

Alex Stojda was disqualified as he ran to be President of the Engineering and Computer Science Association (ECA) for a second year

In March, Alex Stojda, then-President of the Board of Directors for the Engineering and Computer Science Association (ECA) was disqualified from running for reelection because of a bylaw infraction.

ECA’s bylaw B.4.1.3 states that, “Current executives of another society, association or committee that has financial affiliations with ECA, excluding all ECA appointed committees, shall not be eligible to be the President or Vice-President of Finance of the Association.”

Stojda was disqualified because it was his first year as President of the board of the ECA, and he was on the executive board at Reggies Bar, which has financial connections to ECA.

“I disagreed [with the disqualification], but I was willing to rectify the situation and resign [from Reggies] because the ECA is the thing I care the most about,” said Stojda.

He explained that he tried to appeal the decision, and said his bylaw infraction was minimal and easily remedied, but it was not accepted.

He also stated that bylaw B.4.1.3  was added in March 2019, halfway through his term on the executive board at Reggies.

When he became President of the board, he explained, the issue of him also being on the board of Reggies was never brought up.

“In one word, I feel betrayed,” said Stojda. He explained that while he understands that different interpretations of bylaws happen, the issue is that he was never allowed to argue against it, “Or have the three years of my work as an executive on the ECA considered.”

“My offer to resign from Reggies was never addressed and it was never explained to me why that option was unacceptable,” said Stojda.

He admits that he wasn’t surprised by the accusation, as it was election time and it is common for “the dirt to come out,” but he was surprised by the verdict.

A petition created in May to reinstate Stojda garnered just under 150 signatures, but the petition was never acknowledged by the ECA CEO Febrian Francione. Stojda explained that the support for the petition is a significant amount as the average voting turnout for the ECA is around 350 students.

The petition claims that the issue with this verdict is that Reggies does not fit into the bylaws definition of an organization, as it is an independent organization.

It also states that if the bylaw was interpreted correctly it would allow Stojda the opportunity to resign from Reggies and re-run for presidency.

According to Stojda, besides asking CEO Francione to reconsider, there is nothing else he can do, as the ECA doesn’t have a board of appeals.

He believes that if ECA had a similar board, such as the Concordia Student Union’s (CSU) judicial board — an independent judiciary branch of the CSU — he would be able to make it clear that he would resign from Reggies for the new election and have the disqualification overruled.

Stojda also admits that after three years of hard work, this verdict has heavily impacted his mental health; thus, he has decided to stop pursuing the issue and redirect his time to new opportunities.

“Despite all of this, I had a great three years representing the students and I only wish I had a fourth,” said Stojda. “I am worried that the work that I have been doing will be stained by this situation.”

The CEO has not responded or commented on the petition, nor have they responded to any of our communications. The article will be updated if they respond.

 

Photographs courtesy of Alex Stodja

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CSU Legal Information Clinic hosts information session regarding Quebec’s changing immigration laws

New PEQ laws will come into effect Dec. 31 and students are scared

With Quebec updating its PEQ (Programme de l’expérience québécoise) immigration laws in January, the CSU Legal Information Clinic (LIC) hosted an information session to give international students an opportunity to learn more about the new laws.

David Chalk, an immigration lawyer who frequently works with the CSU, was the event’s guest speaker; he detailed a number of the possible ways to immigrate to Canada, but focused primarily on the PEQ. Walter Chi-yan Tom, manager of the Legal Information Clinic, hosted and organized the event.

The current PEQ laws do not require international students to complete any skilled or full-time work before applying for permanent residency; however, after Dec. 31, 2020, that will change.

Students will be required to complete at least one year of full-time skilled work after completing their degree in Quebec to be eligible for Quebec residency.

When the new rules were announced, there was a promise made that students who came to Canada under the old rules would be grandfathered out. That promise is no longer being honoured.

“They did grandfather temporary foreign workers, but they did not grandfather international students,” said Tom.

The changes were supposed to occur in June of this year, but a series of student-led protests pressured the CAQ to push the deadline back to Dec. 31.

The changing rules have made it difficult for many students to plan for their future in Canada. In the Q&A portion of the info session, many students asked if they would be able to apply for the PEQ under the current rules if they graduate this fall.

Students who graduate this year and are able to get the required certifications and documents will be able to take advantage of the old rules.

“But if you’re graduating only after the fall semester, it will be a pretty tight squeeze,” said Tom.

If these students cannot get the required documents from the university before the end of the fall semester and apply prior to the 31st, they won’t be accepted under the new rules.

“Unless the universities are going to make an exceptional effort to get all this out to the students,” said Tom.

At the moment, it is difficult for students to understand whether they meet the current requirements at all.

“The government of Quebec has done very funny things with this because they are only putting out the new form on their website, even though the rules are not yet enforced,” said Chalk.

Tom highlighted how important it is for the CSU to host these events and keep students informed.

“The CSU is all about empowering students, defending the rights of international students because [they] are the most vulnerable in Concordia, anyone who has temporary immigration status that can be taken away in an instant.”

In terms of students’ reactions to the changes, “They are freaking out,” said Tom.

“The reason why [international students] are here is so they can get their permanent residence. They believed they had a chance of getting permanent residency based on the rules when they came in.”

About 50 students attended the event, which was hosted as a livestream on YouTube. For students who wish to view it it can be found on the CSU’s YouTube channel. 

 

 

 

 

Update: Dec. 10: After lengthy discussions with the CSU graphic designer, who requested @the.beta.lab’s original graphic be removed since it included a version of the CSU’s old logo. The Concordian agreed to replace the original graphic with documentation from the live event.

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