Tag: concordia

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News

Graduate students explore the world of artificial intelligence and the early detection of anorexia

The paper focuses on the system’s efficiency in labelling early signs of anorexia.

Concordia graduate students Elham Mohammadi and Hessan Amini developed a research paper explaining an algorithm, using artificial intelligence, to detect signs of anorexia through social media for the Conference and Labs of the Evaluation Forum (CLEF) 2019, this September.

CLEF is a conference that has been running since 2000 in Lugano, Switzerland. It aims to address a wide range of topics, primarily focusing on “the fields of multilingual and multimodal information access evaluation.” Mohammadi and Amini worked under the supervision of Concordia Professor in Computer Science and Software Engineering Leila Kosseim.

Social media platforms are a rich source of information for research studies because people use these outlets to share a large sum of data in relation to their emotions, thoughts and everyday activities.

The research was based on a simulation scenario using past posts from social media. In an interview with The Concordian, Amini explained that there are a few reasons the study was focused on anorexia specifically.

“It wasn’t covered that much in literature,” he said. “Finding out the patterns requires a more complicated source of analyzing information.”

Their focus was on the early detection of the eating disorder.

“We don’t want to detect the risk after it has happened or after it has caused damage to the person,” Amini explained. “We want to detect that the person is showing signs of anorexia.”

The focus of the study was to test the algorithm. Amini clarified that their role is not to diagnose or analyze the data. The study is about the system’s efficiency in labelling these signs. With this, they are able to send this data to an expert to closely evaluate it.

Surfing through over 2,000 social media posts would be tedious and time-consuming, so the researchers used an algorithm called “attention mechanism.” This algorithm systematically filtered through the abundance of posts to detect those that were the most important, using keywords.

They had one data set that was already separated by users that showed signs of anorexia and those that did not, as well as another set of data that was not categorized at all. Mohammadi and Amini analyzed the data to compare the function of the system; however, it must be noted that when dealing with personal data, ethical complications may occur.

Mohammadi explained that when dealing with user’s data, some people might be hesitant to have their personal information analyzed. “People might not be comfortable with it,” he said.

In being able to detect certain patterns of anorexia on social media, more complex research topics arise. Although this is a good start, Amini explains that this research requires many experts sitting together and discussing solutions.

Amini notes that although people think artificial intelligence (AI) systems like this are set up to replace humans, the opposite is true.

“AI is going to be there to help humans,” he said. Amini explains that it will make the lives of psychologists and mental health practitioners easier.

Although this research is not the final solution, it can help bring awareness to those in need of mental attention and create a healthier society.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Think before you opt-out

From Nov. 12-14, Concordia students will be able to cast their vote for or against online opt-outs for fee levies. Let’s break down what that means. 

At its core, a fee levy is a small amount of money charged to students on a per-credit basis, which go back into providing essential student services. According to the Concordia Student Union (CSU), fee levy groups on campus receive either all or part of their annual operating budgets from per-credit fee levies.

Some of these groups include, but aren’t limited to: the Centre for Gender Advocacy, the People’s Potatoes, QPIRG, the Concordia Co-op Bookstore, Cinema Politica, CJLO, The Concordian and The Link, as well as the Concordia Food Coalition, Sustainable Concordia, the Concordia Greenhouse and so, so many more incredible groups on campus.

Students have always had the opportunity to opt-out of these services, but they have had to do so in person. This system affords groups the opportunity to explain their services to these individuals before they move forward with opting out. Online opt-outs would facilitate blind decisions to save a few bucks without understanding how important these services are to students across the university.

Many fee levy groups directly address important aspects of student life, and many groups have developed deep relationships with the student body. Groups like the People’s Potato and the Hive Cafe Solidarity Co-Operative provide hundreds of free lunches to students on both campuses. The Center for Gender Advocacy offer trans health resources and confidential peer support. We like to believe that student media groups such as ourselves help the Concordia community as well by reporting on all aspects of the university and holding the school accountable.

We at The Concordian strongly oppose online opt-outs, and we stand alongside all other fee-levy groups on campus, as many of us use their services on a regular basis. We urge students to vote no to online opt outs, not simply because we would not be able to exist as an organization without fee levies, but because the push for online opt-outs coincides with a significant increase to the athletic fee levy, which students cannot opt out of in any way.

This paints a clear picture of which services are valued by the university. We, on the other hand, believe every one of these groups holds value and deserves to be protected. 

Categories
Sports

Concordia 4 Montreal 0: Stingers dominate Carabins in second straight shutout

When the Concordia Stingers and Université de Montreal Carabins played on Nov. 1, the Stingers and Carabins went off for what is an early candidate for game-of-the-year.

A 4-3, double overtime win, tons of shots, back-and-forth play, it was everything you could have asked from the country’s top two teams. It took the Stingers nearly 70 minutes to edge out the win.

The extra time wasn’t necessary in the rematch.

In a rivalry that has been defined by close, one-goal games over the past couple of years, the Stingers took control of this game and never let their foot off the gas pedal, powering their way to a 4-0 win. The Stingers instead turned in a solid team win, thanks to great play from their star players. Rosalie Bégin-Cyr scored twice, captain Claudia Dubois had two goals and an assist, rookie Emmy Fecteau added two apples and goalie Alice Philbert stopped all 27 Carabins shots. The second shutout in a row for Philbert helped the Stingers improve to 6-0 on the season.

“[Alice] was really good,” said head coach Julie Chu after the game. “I think especially in the second period, when we were up 2-0 and they had their power-plays, and we needed some big plays. She made some big saves that would’ve otherwise changed the momentum of the game. She’s playing great hockey, and the team played a more complete game than we did on Friday.”

The game went back-and-forth to start, with neither team really maintaining pressure. The Carabins started to establish themselves about halfway through the frame, setting up in the Stingers defensive-zone, but the Stingers managed to hold the #2-ranked team in the country to five low-quality chances. Bégin-Cyr broke the tie and got the Stingers on the board first with seven minutes left in the first courtesy of a cross-crease pass from captain Claudia Dubois.

Bégin-Cyr would grab her second of the night in the second period, when she grabbed a rebound, and buried a wraparound. She now leads the RSEQ with five goals.

“The best part of today was a really complete team game,” said Chu. “I think we can look through our entire roster and think that we played really well. There are a lot of good plays that are happening on the defensive side, and on the forecheck side, which is creating a lot of momentum for the team and gives us opportunities to score as well.”

The Stingers kept the pressure coming. Fecteau and Dubois connected for a nice 2-on-1 finish that put the team up by three. The Carabins pulled goalie Aube Racine for the extra attacker, but it was Dubois again who closed out the game with an empty-netter to make it 4-0.

“It was a really nice game,” said Fecteau. “It keeps getting better and better. I try to work hard every shift, and to participate in every game. For sure, I try to get involved physically, but I think the energy I bring can help the team.”

Special teams were a key part of this Stingers win. The penalty-kill looked more like a power-kill, frustrating the Carabins on both of their power-plays, including a 4-minute kill in the second period.

“Montreal’s always had a great power-play,” said Chu. “It’s really about making small adjustments. We did a great job on the first four minutes, on that one we were off on some small adjustments that maybe made things more chaotic than they needed to be.”

Despite going 0/3 on the power-play, the team’s power-play was streets ahead of where it was even Friday. Chu made the necessary adjustments, and it looks like they’ve settled on a system that plays to their strengths, focusing on south-east puck movement, before causing chaos in front.

“It was a good night overall,” said Chu. “We were really happy with the compete level of our team, which was something we were lacking a little bit on the Friday night.”

The Stingers next home game is on Nov. 22 against the Carleton Ravens.

 

Notes:

  • The Stingers are 6-0 and the top-ranked team in the country. This team looks for real. Beating UDEM and McGill twice early in the season can only help the team’s confidence.
  • Chu made great adjustments on the power-play this game by having the play move more east-west than north-south. Even if they didn’t score, the PP looked way better.

 

Feature photo by Cecilia Piga

Categories
News

Having a good friend could reduce mental health problems

“People become anxious because they have trouble tolerating uncertainty. One of the features that seem to minimize this is having a secure friend,” said psychology professor at Concordia University William Bukowski.

In response to an alarming increase of mental health issues in younger generations, the Psychiatrists Association of Quebec launched The Connected Alpha Movement, an initiative that encourages the Quebec government to implement a comprehensive mental health education course in the Quebec school curriculum.

The mental health education will begin in primary school and run to the end of high school. The program will focus on teaching students how to manage their emotions and form healthy relationships with those in their close social circles, as well as their communities. Information about the different types, causes and risks associated with mental illnesses will also be provided.

The Connected Alpha Movement will encourage open dialogue, where teachers and the community can participate in the discussion as to what aspects of the program are working. They will be able to provide advice about what social or educational changes can be implemented to help prevent mental health issues from having long-term detrimental effects on students.

Developmental Psychologist and Psychology Professor at Concordia University William Bukowski studies the effects of children’s friendships. Bukoswki’s study has shown that the most important feature of a friendship – the one that is conducive to mental health – is security.

“What we’ve tried to show is that anxiety derives largely from uncertainty, people become anxious because they have trouble tolerating uncertainty,” said Bukowski. “One of the features that seem to minimize this is having a secure friend.”

“So the purposes of the program that you brought to my attention are very much similar to the results of our study: that having strong stable connections are going to function as the antidote to anxiety,” said Bukowski.

Abigail Stephin, a first year biology student at Concordia University said this resource would have been beneficial growing up.

“I feel like if I had somebody that I could have relied on or a resource, it would have helped me in primary school,” she said.

“Alpha” in the Connected Alpha Movement refers to the new generation, born between 2010-25. The program is geared towards those facing the challenges of adapting to an environment pervaded with fast-paced social, economic and technological changes.

At the current rate that stress is affecting youth, there is a concern that there will not be enough resources in the future to support the growing demand for mental health services.

According to The Connected Alpha Movement’s website, suicide attempts leading to hospitalization for youth ages 10 to 19 have more than doubled between 2007 and 2017. Anxiety levels and ADHD diagnoses have nearly doubled in children from grades one to five between 2010-16, according to a study done by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec.

The Connected Alpha Movement showed that students who have participated in mental health education programs resulted in a 13.5 per cent lower rate of mental disorders,  an 11 per cent improvement in their academic performance, and graduation rates among participants is six per cent higher.

Several organizations support the initiative, such as Psychiatrists Association of Quebec, the Pediatricians Association of Quebec and the Specialists in Preventive Medicine Association of Quebec.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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News

Concordia to be a leader in sustainable investments

The Concordia University Foundation just announced its intention to withdraw all of its investments from the coal, oil and gas sector before 2025.

The Concordia University Foundation plans to be the first Quebec university with 100 per cent sustainable investments within five years. Currently, $14 million of Concordia’s $243 million assets is going into the coal, gas and oil sectors.

“We believe that being socially and environmentally responsible in our investments is the surest way to be Concordia University’s best possible fund management partner,” said Howard Davidson, Chair of the Board of the Concordia University Foundation, in a press release Friday. “Investing in sustainability is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”

While Concordia cancelled classes for the climate strike on Sept. 27, some questioned why the university still invested in fossil fuels, as pointed out by Jacob Robitaille, internal coordinator of Concordia’s La Planète s’invite à l’Université in a previous interview with The Concordian.

“It doesn’t send a straightforward message,” Robitaille said of Concordia’s environmental position.

But now, the university is aiming to double investments that generate social and environmental impact with a financial return. For instance, Concordia partnered earlier this year with Inerjys Ventures, a global investment fund promoting the adoption of clean tech.

“Promoting sustainability and fighting climate change are priorities for the Concordia community,” said Concordia’s interim President Graham Carr in a press release. “Our researchers, students, faculty and staff are all engaged around this issue and want to be part of the solution. The Foundation’s commitments are crucial next steps in our sustainability journey.”

More details to come.

Feature graphic by Jad Abukasm

Categories
Sports

From terrifying to just inaccurate: A look at RSEQ mascots

Stingers mascot Buzz joined the cheerleading team. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Ah, mascots, the unspoken heroes of sporting events.

Nothing completes a sporting event quite like a giant anthropomorphic monstrosity making their way up the nosebleeds while beating a drum. It’s dangerous work! One wrong step and you can go flailing down the stairs, or you can catch the ire of coaches and players. Let us never forget Harvey the Hound having his tongue ripped out by Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish. Gritty has been a bad (good?) hallucination for the better part of a year. In honour of these brave men and women, we took a look at all of the mascots from each Quebec university.

Gaiter – Bishop’s University

Photo courtesy of Bishop’s University

Barney the Dino – I mean, Gaiter, is the giant purple alligator of Bishop’s University. The team name isn’t even named after the animal, but *checks notes* boot coverings? I’m all for taking creative liberties with the mascot, so I guess a purple alligator beats a pair of Timbs hyping the crowd up at games.

No mascot – Université de Montreal

UDEM doesn’t have a mascot, but if they did, it would probably be the personification of the shin splints I get walking up all the stairs on their campus.

Marty the Martlet – McGill University

Photo courtesy of the McGill Athletic Departmen

McGill went the route of basing their mascot off of the bird that graces their university flag instead of the uhhhh… Other name their athletic teams used to go by. The massive red bird wears a vest with the McGill logo on it, which I assume is mandatory for all McGill students and staff. Marty also rocks a fanny pack – unclear yet whether it’s Gucci or Supreme. Instead of pants, Marty goes for a kilt, much to the dismay of anyone looking up. Despite rocking some bold fashion choices, for some reason it’s canon that the mascot’s favourite poutine topping is duck, which I’m still trying to wrap my head around in deciding if that’s badass or terrifying.

Sherlo – Sherbrooke University

I can’t be the only one that only sees Squanch from Rick and Morty right?

Victor – Université de Laval

Laval has been an absolute athletic juggernaut the past 20 years, especially in football, claiming national title after national title. So it makes sense that they’re a little cocky. Victor, the bald eagle mascot of the university, personifies that cockiness to a tee. If I listen carefully, I can hear it telling me “on es les best suce ma bite”.

Buzz – Concordia University

Concordia’s first official mascot, “The Stinger”. Archive photo by Jonas Papaurelis.

Who could forget Buzz. The bug, the myth, the legend. Buzz has been a part of Concordia culture forever. Evolving from nightmare-inducing, to only slightly terrifying, Buzz is a constant at every Stingers game and is pretty reminiscent of that one fever dream you had when you were 7. He’s also the only mascot to not wear anything covering their lower-body like the insect-version of Porky Pig.

I also found this phenomenal Concordia promo video from 2008. And let me tell you, it’s just *chef’s kiss*. Where to even start? The horror-movie-killer-esque first person? The suit and tie? The fact that he’s (still) not wearing any pants? Wherever you tune in, it’s incredible and there are some wholesome moments mixed in there that almost make Buzz not the scariest thing in the world.

 

Feature photo by Hannah Ewen

Categories
News

Concordia’s epic book fair

From Nov. 4-5, the 22nd edition of the annual book fair is taking over Concordia’s EV building

Whoever said that people don’t read anymore might want to stop at Concordia’s epic book fair for a reality check.

The two-day sale has been a successful tradition. For over 20 years, it has attracted students looking for their textbooks to save money, but also staff members and even non-Concordians looking to find a treasure.

Luke Quin, writer and coordinator for the fundraising book fair.

“It seems like for young people, though they utilize technology or listen to audiobooks, there is still an appeal for hard book,” said Luke Quin, writer and coordinator for the fundraising book fair. “Especially when it comes to older books, earlier edition, things that might not be accessible on Amazon.”

Quin explained that the idea behind having thousands of books on display at a low rate is to collect funds for scholarships, but also for the Student Emergency and Food fund. This particular fund is intended for any students in immediate financial need, to provide them with gift cards for groceries.

Books donations are made all year round, often from professors and retirees who are emptying out their offices, Quin said. While people might expect it to contain only academic novels, there are also entire sections dedicated to children’s books, sport, fiction or even good old romance.

“I came last year, so I am coming back to try and find anything interesting,” said Nazim Ben, a Concordia student in the Finance Department. “I am just curious for anything that is cool!”

Indeed, patience is needed to browse through the multiple sections. Susan Hawke, a retiree who has volunteered at the fair since its second edition, remembers how it started simply with two or three tables in the Hall building.

“It was always my fear, for a long time, that people would stop reading or [stop wanting to read in book format], but it always seems to be the reverse,” Hawke said.

If you’re measuring success in terms of money, the event has been prosperous, managing to increase the number of donations over the years. The Advancement and Alumni Relations reported that the 2018 edition raised over $31,000, a record for the event.

But for Quin and the volunteers, it’s also successful as it takes used books that might have ended up in the garbage and offers them to students instead.

“People that go through the cash register, they go with a stranger’s book that is falling apart or some old fiction book that was selling for 25 cents,” Hawke said. “You never know what appeals to people, it’s quite fun, matching people and books.”

 

Feature photo by Jad Abukasm

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News

Physical recognition of the land: A pilgrimage to Montreal

  Students and faculty members of the department of theological studies trekked on Saturday from sunrise to sunset, from the south shore’s Indigenous community of Kahnawake to Montreal.

The event happened two days before the Theology in the City conference and was a way to physically perform the land recognition opening speech for most events at Concordia University.

“We’ve made this walk before with students from old Montreal to Kahnawake,” said Concordia professor Matthew Anderson, organizer of the march and conference. “But we thought, what if we started in Kahnawake and we walk to the conference we would experience in our own bodies what it is to cross this unceded territory.”

Christine Jamieson, a speaker at the conference and theology professor, was present at the march. She is native from an Indigenous community in the Frasier Canyon in British Columbia. Before the march, she performed a smudge; a traditional cleansing ceremony using sage smoke to get rid of any negative energy. In many Indigenous communities, smudges are performed as a way to align what is called the seven grandfather teachings – humility, bravery, honesty, wisdom, truth, respect, and love.

“If you look at those seven teachings, each one is an important component of living, what I would call, an ethical life, but maybe what most Indigenous people might say is living a good life,” said Jamieson. “Anything that we can do, whether it’s a smudge or a sweat lodge, these are really ceremonies that are meant to help us to walk more freely and more ethically in a sense.”

Jamieson said that recognition is a two-way path, and that there is a lot to learn from Indigenous cultures and their relation to land and nature.

“I think that Indigenous people have always felt a deep relationship to the land and into the world around us,” said Jamieson. “Not just to other human beings but to all beings, and that includes the lands and the plants and the animals and the water. I think that when Europeans came to Canada, there was an interruption of that relationship and there was no real acknowledgment of that relationship between people and the land, and how their whole identity was really connected to this relationship.”

Since the first encounters, European settlers have always negotiated in favour of their economic interests rather than in harmony with Indigenous people’s beliefs. Those beliefs have been ignored for centuries, long before the creation of the Canadian Confederation.

“I think when we acknowledge land, it’s really to try to bring us back to that relationship that we have with this land and with everything around us,” said Jamieson. “I really believe that if we can do that more consciously, we will be better able to live those seven sacred teachings which brings about that balanced life.”

She continued that it is primordial to acknowledge this relationship since it is paramount for the survival of humans. “We are so vulnerable, we are the weakest in a sense, and yet we have so much power to destroy what we are utterly dependent on,” Jamieson said.

Along the walk, the small group of seven came across many infrastructures marking centuries of colonial federal jurisdictions. The Mercier bridge, inaugurated in 1934, and the Seaway, in 1959, for example, have forced hundreds to be relocated by the government in the early and mid-1900s and caused the death of many steelworkers. A 10-metre steel cross was raised in memory of the lost men.

Nowadays, the federal government can no longer act as such without legal backlash, something Anderson is grateful for; but this doesn’t mean that all problems are solved. Between 2004 and 2014, 400 out of 618 Indigenous communities were under at least one water advisory, reported the CBC. And that is only the tip of the iceberg.

However, Anderson is optimistic about the upcoming years. Although the previous Liberal government failed to address many promises regarding reconciliation with Indigenous communities, last week’s re-election may bring changes.

Anderson explained that minority governments that work along more progressive parties – in this case, the NDP – tend to propose more changes to social issues such as reconciliation with Indigenous communities. He hopes to see the next government address those issues such as drinking water.

Feature photo by Alex Hutchins, video by Arianna Randjbar

Categories
News

Concordia mobilizes to combat wasting unsold food and clothes

As the city of Montreal announced its new plans last week to tackle food and clothes waste, Concordia is already taking steps to do just that. 

In the city’s proposal, Mayor Valerie Plante and her team aim to ban stores from dumping unsold clothes and food, in an attempt to become zero waste by 2030. A plan released on Oct. 17 lays out their goal to reduce food waste by 50 per cent in five years, and reduce Montreal’s commercial textile waste.

According to Faisal Shennib, an environmental specialist who is managing Zero Waste Concordia (ZWC), they are already taking steps to reduce food waste.

“We’ve always aimed to reduce waste from landfills as much as possible,” said Shennib. “Organics are the top contributors of waste from our institutions, and they release a lot of methane when they go into the landfills, so it’s an easy target for us.”

ZWC plans to make compost bins accessible in each food consumption area at Concordia, and wants to figure out a program to process the organics that are composted in a sustainable way.

“But then what we realized is that we weren’t connecting usable food waste to people who could use it,” said Shennib.

Their pilot project, tentatively named Zero Waste Concordia’s Food Donation Program, was launched this September. It aims to get restaurants and cafes renting space at the university to move toward eliminating their food waste.

The project has three phases. The first is to educate the tenants, such as Subway, Java U and, Jugo Juice, about basic sustainability, like recycling and composting. The second phase is planned to launch next semester and aims to formally give them the opportunity to partner with organizations like La Tablée des Chefs. Their food recovery program redistributes surplus food to community organizations that provide food to the homeless. The third is to encourage tenants to rethink their food packaging and use of plastics in their businesses.

ZWC already informally contacted some tenants for the project, and most either expressed interest or are already involved in another food redistribution charity. Concordia as an institution already has a contract with La Tablée des Chefs. ZWC is also trying to get confirmation from the university to allow their tenants to be covered under their agreement.

“They use our landfill container at the end of the day,” said Shennib. “They actually throw out all that food, potentially, unless they have their own program.”

The project is also working to reduce food waste from university events by working with Hospitality Concordia, who organizes events at the institution. Hospitality Concordia already has a partnership with Tablée des Chefs but was targeting larger events. ZWC wants to target smaller, student-run events that may also be wasting food.

“There’s also a smaller ecosystem we want to build,” continued Shennib. “Say a student club serves food to 10 people, and then they have a lot of cookies leftover and nobody wants to take it from the group- it shouldn’t have to go to waste either. We’re trying to collaborate with health food co-op Frigo Vert to potentially use them as a place where students can bring them their leftovers, and they can offer them to the community.”

School Stores: Unsold Clothes

Melanie Burnett, the general manager for Concordia Stores, said they rarely ever throw away clothes because they almost always sell their apparel. Burnett said they have sales to sell unsold clothes and that they also recently donated their apparel to a charity.

She explained the only time they throw away clothes from their stores is if they are damaged and unsellable.

Concordia Stores also have a partnership with Concordia University’s Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR). Burnett said they have donated some unsold art supplies to CUCCR for creative purposes in the past, and have given them wooden shelves the Stores were no longer using.

“By fixing ambitious targets and giving ourselves the means to attain them, our city will deploy the necessary efforts to make its ecological transition more concrete,” said executive committee member Laurence Lavigne Lalonde. Lalonde is responsible for the ecological transition and resilience of l’Espace pour la vie et de l’agriculture urbaine.

Concordia has several other initiatives aiming to reduce food waste, such as the Dish Project, Waste Not Want Not and the Concordia Food Coalition. 

 

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

Categories
Opinions

The importance of being informed about politics

I remember not really caring about politics when I was younger. I wasn’t fazed by the faces of political candidates plastered on posters all around my area, and didn’t understand why party leaders were shouting at each other during a debate on TV. This was before I was of age to vote, so consequently I wasn’t super involved. My family members seemed pretty passionate about who they were voting for, and I was eager for the day I’d be old enough to understand their interest and partake.

We all know that one person who backs out of a conversation involving politics because they claim “they just aren’t political people.” Well, I’ve got news for you: everything in your life is political whether you care to be aware of it or not. If you aren’t taking part in the decisions being made for your country, someone else will make those choices for you, and it will directly affect your life.

I think I am right to assume that an intelligent, cognizant person would want to know what is going on around them — to understand the events that affect their way of living; from the fluctuating gas prices to healthcare costs for them and their family. When one isn’t aware of their country’s political situation, they are accepting the terms that have been set for them. They are refusing to question, and challenge the institution in place; admitting defeat in a sense. In other words, ignorance isn’t bliss, and if it is then that means you are most likely in a privileged position. Realizing that you are privileged makes it just as important for you to fight for others who are not as fortunate.

Now, however, I would say I am much more involved in politics. Even if I didn’t want to be, it’s kind of hard not to when the media incessantly bombards you with the topic. Though, as I got older I began to realize that political opinions are sensitive things to discuss. People share different views, come from diverse backgrounds and are just as defensive over their beliefs as they are of their children. It can cause arguments, relationships to end or in the extreme, instigate war. When talking about politics with loved ones, convincing them to support your political views can sometimes feel like converting someone to a religion.

However, that shouldn’t mean that people who don’t share your political ideologies need to be cut out of your life, quite the opposite actually. Although you may be tempted to go right ahead and cyber-block that one family member who constantly posts political content you disagree with, hold off. In fact, as a journalism student who needs to practice impartiality, my professors encourage us to read material that is wildly contrary to our beliefs at least once a day. It allows you to break out of your echo chamber and see things from another perspective. It truly makes you realize that not everyone thinks like you.

It isn’t good to shield yourself from opposing views and only allow partisan news organizations to feed your already solid conviction. Personally, I believe social media was intended to open up the world to us, not seal us more firmly inside our own narrow groups.

Politics is about you and your community. It’s as simple as that. Deciding to opt out of the conversation is opting out of your own life, and your own future. It’s signaling that you don’t really care about people who are less fortunate than you. Growing up means taking responsibility for your life, and assuming your role as an educated citizen in society is a part of that.

 

Graphics: Victoria Blair

Categories
Concordia Student Union News

CSU looking to create more food opportunities at the Loyola Campus

The Concordia Student Union is looking into creating more food opportunities at the Loyola Campus, but is facing resistance with Concordia administration.  

Celeste-Melize Ferrus, CSU Loyola coordinator, wants to collaborate with student groups like the Concordia Food Coalition, an organization that focuses on sustainable food on campus, to use unused spaces on campus to give students more of a variety of food at the Loyola campus.

Ferrus explains that the decision to create more food on campus is not up to the CSU, but to Concordia administration and the Dean, who are open to ideas if they see a demand for it.

Arguably, the need is there. Ferrus argues that there is nothing to eat at the Loyola Campus. But, she said that if Concordia does not see a need for more food at Loyola, the only thing CSU would be able to do is a petition.

“I need more variety,” she said. “I wouldn’t eat Tim Hortons. Eating that every semester for your whole undergrad is really frustrating.”

Other students also feel that Loyola does not have adequate food on campus.

“I feel like it’s lacking in food in a way that doesn’t make me want to stay on campus for very long,” said Avery Jane, a Concordia student who is lactose intolerant and celiac. “It’s a real bummer, having to go all the way out there and then not being able to stay for very long unless I’ve planned in advance and brought my own food.”

The Hive Café, a student-run cooperative that provides healthy and affordable food on campus, does have a location at Loyola and offers gluten-free and vegan options.

Yet, Antonia Neatby, an employee at the Hive, admits this is not enough.

“We are the only place that has gluten-free options, and I think the only place that has vegan options,” Neatby said. “But we don’t have that many options, and we can’t guarantee [zero] cross-contamination.”

Neatby said she has heard students saying that they want more variety in food at the Loyola Campus.

“There is definitely a real desire in the student body to have student-owned and student lead food cooperatives that don’t contribute to things like Aramark,” she said.

Aramark is an American food service provider that has been in a five-year contract with Concordia to provide food services. Its contract is supposed to finish in 2020 with a chance of a two-year renewal.

In a 2015 online statement, Concordia said that Aramark would focus on creating new cafes and restaurants on campus, promising more variety for students.

The statement also mentions how Aramark has created a Tim Hortons and a European-style Market in the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex at Loyola, which offers a variety of foods for students.

“The locations will also feature ‘Get the Good Stuff,’ Aramark’s daily prepared healthy-balanced meals and snacks for students on the go,” read the statement.

Ferrus said that these promises from Aramark never panned out, that all the variety Tim Hortons has to offer is bagels and cream cheese, and the rest of the options are very expensive and slim.

Elias Huckel-Fidalgo, another member of the CSU council, confirmed that the CSU committee is not actively looking into creating more food at the Loyola campus at the moment. Huckel-Fidalgo said that Ferrus is the only CSU member advocating for more food on campus.

 

Feature graphic by Victoria Blair

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Furry friends have come to help us through the study blues

Several times a month, Concordia University hosts dog therapy sessions open to all students in different locations across the downtown and Loyola campus.

“I think everybody right now is stressed all the time,” said Synneva Furuli, a computer engineering student at Concordia. “I think basically that’s kind of life right now, and dogs are so good, you just look at them and they’re so happy. Just be near them and they make you happy.”

Indeed, they’re cuddly, soft, friendly, and sweet.

Many of these dogs come from the Blue Ribbon Therapy Dogs, a nonprofit and volunteer organization in Montreal that provides dog and handler (therapy dog owner) evaluations and training.

“Therapy dogs work with their owners to provide services that improve people’s physical, emotional and communication abilities,” reads their website, followed by pictures of some of the organization’s available therapy dogs.

Harriet Schleifer, the founder and owner of Blue Ribbon Therapy Dogs, said she started the foundation because of the experience she had with her mother, who in her last years suffered from dementia and benefited greatly from having Schleifer arrive with her Shetland Sheepdogs.

“The only thing that helped her was my dogs,” said Schleifer. “And [it was] to the point where the people taking care of her would call and say we can’t get your mother to fill in the blank, take her bath, take her pills, eat her lunch, whatever; we need a dog. I’d go over there with the dog and whatever it was that we needed her to do and there was suddenly no problem.”

“We [humankind] kind of selected them for the dogs that relate best to people…now it feels that they can read our minds, because in a sense they can,” said Schleifer. “When I took Brandy there [a hospice], there was a gentleman that hadn’t spoken at a nursing home for eight years and he started to talk to her, like what did she do? Nothing you could see, she just sat down beside him and he petted her and he started talking to her. And after that he kept talking and started talking to the other people at the residence.”

Charles Altman, an advisor at the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities, also believes that there’s no doubt regarding the benefits of animal-assisted therapy in calming people down and centering them.

Altman described how at his previous work in HIV/AIDS services, he began a service called “Therapets,” a program that provided help and training so patients could keep their pets, even when they had to stay at the hospital. “We saw the real benefits, especially with people with immune system problems, it makes a huge difference in people’s morale and sense of wellbeing.”

In the middle of the session, a student stared blankly at her hands and rubbed them together. Lee Ehler, the therapy dog handler, noticing the change in her posture, asked if she needed a wipe for her to clean off any residue from dog kisses.

“No,” she replied, “I just have to go back to real life now.”

 

Feature photo by Cecilia Piga

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