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Concordia master’s student studies the effects of cannabinoids on the immune system

It’s been a year since cannabis has been legalized in Canada, and the drug is being widely used across the country.

In the second quarter of 2019 alone, Statistics Canada reported that almost 5 million Canadians have reported using cannabis. Since it was only recently legalized, there hasn’t been much research on it or the effects it has on users.

“So many people are using it, so how do we not know exactly what it’s doing to our bodies?” Concordia Psychology MA student, Norhan Mehrez asked. She said it was shocking to her that we still don’t fully understand the mechanism behind some of its effects.

Due to this lag in research, Mehrez said she took it upon herself to study the effects of cannabinoids on people, with a focus on the immune system.

Mehrez’s research is an intersection of three fields: the immune system, circadian rhythms and cannabinoids (THC, CDB and synthetic cannabinoids).

With the help of co-supervisors Shimon Amir, from the department of psychology, and Peter Darlington, an associate professor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Mehrez aims to understand how cannabinoids affect timekeeping in the immune system.

“We know it affects the immune system in several ways, we know that it may affect timekeeping in different tissues in the body,” said Mehrez. “I’m expecting that [cannabinoids] play some sort of role in maintaining an optimal balance in immune function. We know that cannabinoids affect the immune system, but the actual mechanisms of how it’s having those effects isn’t fully understood.”

The link between circadian rhythms and immune system

Circadian rhythms are the 24-hour cycles in the body that regulate different organs and functions. An example of this is the sleep-wake cycle, which repeats every 24 hours. Mehrez explained we have circadian rhythms in a lot of functions of the body, including the immune system. We also have genes, called clock genes, that ensure the regulation of the circadian rhythm of certain functions, depending on the body’s perceived time of day. The clock genes “keep time” by rhythmically activating along a 24-hour cycle, which in turn leads to rhythms in many bodily processes.

Mehrez explained your immune system seems to function optimally at certain times of the day, where your immune response to fight a pathogen is the strongest, and where you may be more likely to heal from a wound. This is where the immune system and circadian rhythms are tightly linked.

Mehrez said when a person’s sleep-wake cycle is disrupted by working the night shift for example, this also affects other circadian rhythms in the body. Those workers are more likely to develop disorders of the immune system because their time keeping is thrown off.

“On the other hand, if you compromise the immune system in animals or in people, we see that some of their circadian rhythms get disrupted as well,” Mehrez continued.

The link between circadian rhythms and the immune system has been recently investigated, though research is still being done. Mehrez said she wants to learn how cannabinoids affect the immune system as it keeps time.

Research

Mehrez got funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for her research. She said they recruit healthy participants and screen them to have normal sleep cycles by using different questionnaires. They also have questionnaires to understand their drug habits. The participants’ blood is taken from them once screened and Mehrez then isolates the T cells, a subtype of white blood cells that detects the presence of a foreign invader in the body and creates an immune response to attack it.

Mehrez adds different cannabinoids to the isolated T cells, such as THC, CBD and synthetic cannabinoids, activates the T cells to stimulate an immune response and measures the reaction of the cells every four hours, for 36 hours.

They also look at the expression of the clock genes, which continue to show rhythms for some time even after being removed from the body. Once the researchers activate the T cells and add cannabinoids, they will see whether the cannabinoids affect clock genes and rhythmicity in the T cells.

“Are the cannabinoids going to help cells go back to normal time keeping or are they going to make time keeping worse? We don’t know,” said Mehrez.

Mehrez said, through her research, her team is hoping to uncover whether cannabinoids will help maintain normal time keeping under conditions known to disrupt it or if it will they cause further disruption.

There is a system in the body that has receptors for cannabinoids, generally involved in maintaining balance. For example, maintaining a body temperature of 37º C.

Mehrez said that from past research her team knows that cannabinoids also lowers immune system activity, which could be bad for someone who’s trying to fight off an infection or a cold, because we become more prone to viruses when our immune system is lowered or suppressed. “But it can be a good thing for people who have autoimmune illnesses, because their problem is that their immune system is attacking their own body. Cannabinoids are being shown to be useful in autoimmune illnesses because they are immunosuppressants and because they don’t have many known negative side effects. So, it seems to be very promising as a potential treatment so far.”

“I’m hoping that understanding how [cannabinoids] affects timekeeping [could] give us insight on how it affects the immune system,” said Mehrez.

Mehrez said that understanding how cannabinoids affect T cells will bring her closer to understanding how they affect overall immune function in healthy people. She added she hopes this research can be followed up to understand how cannabinoids might play a role in autoimmune illnesses.

 

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

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Studying the worldwide phenomenon of vaping and its dangers

In a puff of smoke, vaping has become a worldwide phenomenon. As more dimly-lit electronic cigarette stores set up shop across Montreal, Concordia University Health and Exercise Science masters students, Tasfia Tasbih and Florent Larue, aim to demystify the consequences of using e-cigarettes.

“People have the notion that [an e-cigarette] is really safe and that it’s not harmful like a regular cigarette, but it actually is,” Tasbih said. “Any amount of nicotine consumed is harmful. Smokers may not feel the impact today, but what I have found is that these products will gradually drag you toward addiction and different negative physiological responses.”

Some users misguidedly believe that vaping is more effective than conventional treatments to stop smoking altogether. However, there is no evidence of its harmlessness. The World Health Organization has consistently called for a regulation of e-cigarettes because of the lack of literature, and this past June, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes.

According to Tasbih and Larue, e-cigarettes are often promoted as being healthier because companies deceptively claim that they do not contain nicotine.

“More and more people are nowadays choosing electronic cigarettes to reduce their combustible cigarette consumption, unaware of the lack of knowledge we have about this device,” Larue said.

What makes e-cigarettes so appealing is that, unlike a traditional cigarette, as battery-powered vaporizers, they are more easily concealed than their tobacco-rolled counterpart. In 2018, the value of e-cigarettes was estimated at $15 billion worldwide, and their popularity continues to grow. In an attempt to attract more clients, companies have produced vapes in a variety of colours, sizes and designs, allowing users to customize their experience.

E-cigarette companies have also received backlash for developing different fruity flavours for vape juice, also referred to as “e-juice” or “e-liquid.” This juice is the fluid used in vaporizers to create vapour and varies in nicotine levels. Flavours available include peppermint, strawberry and raspberry, which are especially popular among younger clients.

While researchers have shown that using e-cigarettes leads to reduced respiratory function, Tasbih and Larue hope to take their work a step further. Over the course of their three-year project, the two graduate students will study how to approach smoking cessation treatment, as well as the impacts of e-cigarette consumption, according to sex differences.

For Larue, the research project is a way for he and his colleagues to confirm the impact of e-cigarettes on the autonomic nervous system’s stress response.

The research team, supervised by Dr. Simon Bacon, has already begun recruiting participants. Throughout the project, Tasbih and Larue plan to study 120 participants between the ages of 18 and 45 who don’t have chronic diseases. Ninety will be either e-cigarette or traditional cigarette smokers, and the remaining ones will be non-smokers.

Yet, conducting the pioneering study has presented its fair share of challenges. Although there are many ways to measure the autonomic nervous system, they are not easily feasible. Over the course of their work, Larue admits that he and his colleagues sometimes struggled to obtain a good signal to perform impedance cardiography assessments.

“One of the many [challenges] is to screen people with no smoking history and no underlying disease, to make sure that the effects we will see aren’t linked to something other than e-cig smoking,” Larue said. “We also have to be precise in our measurements since physiological changes observed can be small, but when lasting for years, they could still become meaningful or harmful.”

 

Photo by Britanny Clarke

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“He’s not much of a friend, he’s like family.” Jeff de Wit and Ryan Vandervlis reunite as members of the Stingers

When you think of best friends that have played together on a hockey team, Jeff de Wit and Ryan Vandervlis probably wouldn’t be the first duo to come to mind.

“We work together, we spend almost every day in the summer together,” said de Wit. “We know each other really well. He’s not much of a friend, he’s like family.”

The two Red Deer, Alberta natives haven’t played together since they were 14 years old, back in their hometown as members of the Red Deer Rebels Black Bantam AAA. Seven years later, and 3600 km away from home, they are once again reunited as members of the Concordia Stingers.

Both players were looking for a fresh start and wanted to experience life outside of Alberta, figuring a new city and new experience would be good for them.

“If [Vandervlis] wanted to go to another school, it would’ve been something we had to talk about,” de Wit said. “But I knew for a while that moving away from Alberta would be the right decision for me.”

“I think there were five or six different schools that have reached out, but this is where I wanted to be,” said Vandervlis. “It’s so different out here. There’s a lot more European, a lot more culture.”

Head coach Marc-André Élement is excited about what de Wit will bring to the table, giving the rookie a large offensive role right from the get-go.

“He has a really good game,” said Élement. “He’s a big body, he’ll bring a huge netfront presence for us on the power play.”

De Wit played five seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL), mostly for the Red Deer Rebels. He played for three teams in his second-to-last season and struggled to find his game, putting up 20 points in 43 combined games. After moving back to the Rebels and making changes to his off-season regimen, de Wit put up a career high 27 goals and 44 points.

The Concordia Stingers are the only school in Quebec to have players from the province of Alberta. The WHL is by no means an untapped market when it comes to recruiting, with most of their players playing in the Canada-West division. But with only four Alberta teams in the division and a load of talent to choose from in the WHL, spots on rosters are limited, so Élement decided to pounce on the opportunity.

“A lot of the schools say the same things to you, so it’s a feel-out process,” said de Wit. “One thing that made it better was [Élement] took time out of his life to fly out to Alberta to see some alumni but still made time to see me and Ryan. It was super nice of him, really personal and it really aided the process.”

The players are excited to play on the same team again. Vandervlis made his debut last Saturday night versus McGill; it was his first time playing competitive, contact hockey in over a year. In June 2018, Vandervlis was involved in a campfire accident where he ended up having approximately 50 per cent of his body burnt.

After the Stingers lost to the Carleton Ravens 2-0 on opening night, Élement decided it was time for Vandervlis to get into the action.

“It was a lot of fun, it’s been a long time coming,” said Vandervlis. “To finally get back out there was awesome.”

Before his accident, Vandervlis played in the WHL as well as a member of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. After struggling in the 2016/17 regular season, Vandervlis broke out in the playoffs scoring eight goals and putting up 14 points in 17 games. The following season was cut short but he still managed to put up 11 goals and 19 points in 19 games.

Last year, after waking up from a medically-induced coma and spending 11 weeks in the hospital, Vandervlis found himself back on the ice playing in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL) as a member of the Red Deer Vipers. The 6’3, 212 pound centre was clearly one of the bigger talents in the league, putting up 21 points in nine regular season games, and 10 points in seven playoff games.

With stats like that, the Stingers may have very well found themselves a hidden gem. At first glance of his stats, its fairly evident that he is a big playoff performer. In his debut on Saturday night, Vandervlis looked like he did not skip a beat, slotting into the lineup on the second line and logging a good amount of ice-time.

“He’s an offensive guy so for sure he has to play on [a top] line,” said Élement. “He did a lot of the little things right. The game shape is gonna come, but [overall] he did really well.”

The two Albertans were not just brought in for their scoring abilities, though. De Wit said the best aspect of his game is that he’s a 200-foot player who has a nose for the net but can bring a physical presence when needed. Vandervlis says that his “Hockey IQ” is his greatest strength as it sets him up for success on both ends of the ice.

Vandervlis and de Wit were slotted together on the same line against McGill, but it remains unclear if they will be sticking together long term as they are both listed as centres. For now though, the two are enjoying playing together for the first time since their Bantam AAA day.

“In the summer time we talked about playing together [at Concordia] for a long time,” said de Wit. “It was super cool to see that come to life.”

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga

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Concordia 38 ETS 7: Men’s rugby team keeps win streak going against Piranhas

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team notched tonight their 21st consecutive Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) win, defeating the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) Piranhas 38-7 at Concordia Stadium.

The Stingers haven’t lost a game in the league since their RSEQ quarter-final game of 2016 against the Bishop’s University Gaiters. Stingers head coach Craig Beemer said there isn’t really a secret or method that can explain such success.

“We’re not really worrying about the wins or losses,” Beemer said. “It’s not about me [or or any particular player]. It’s about doing things the right way, and having an attitude where there’s no reason to accept anything less than your best.”

Beemer added a lot of it has to do with the team’s culture. He said the team is surrounded by great people who leave things better than they found them.

“I have an amazing coaching staff that offers things I can’t offer,” Beemer said. “We have players, consistently pushing other players to their best. When you’re just worrying about the process on your day-to-day, you end up getting asked why you’re having [such a streak].”

The Piranhas gave the Stingers a rough first half, scoring first and limiting the Stingers to one try at halftime. Beemer said his team knew this would be a tough match, as they didn’t know their opponent that much.

“They played the other teams really hard, and they’re really physical,” Beemer said. “We knew what was coming, but I don’t think our guys were necessarily quite ready for it. We didn’t have that excitement that [we] kind of saw in the last in the last 20 minutes of the game.”

Momentum changed in the second half. Beemer said the conversation at halftime was about getting the right attitude, and make sure things were done the right way.

“There were a lot of physical mistakes [in the first half],” Beemer said. “I think that had more to do with our mental preparation going into the game. There was a lot of negative talk going on the field in the first half.”

Michael Laplaine-Pereira was named MVP of the game with a try and five points. All six tries scored by the Stingers were from different players, and seven players registering points.

The Stingers now have a 4-0 record with two games left to their regular season. They’ll play the Université de Montréal Carabins on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. at the terrain Vincent-d’Indy.

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

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Championship doesn’t change men’s Stingers basketball team’s season approach

For the first time since 2011-12, the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team will start its Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season as league defending champions. Yet, the mindset remains the same for the Stingers.

For head coach Rastko Popovic and his team, expectations that come with being the defending champions are more of a cliché in sports.

“We still try to recruit the best players we can,” Popovic said. “We still spend time in the gym with our players to try to make them better. There’s no guarantee we’ll win again this year. We’ll obviously do our best to do so, but it’s a new season and a new challenge.”

Popovic said that last year’s success is the result of many years of work. He explained that some of the players who won last year are the same who went through the pain of losing a semi-final and a final game before winning the championship. Yet, new players will be at their debuts with the team this season and won’t have lived last year’s success.

“It’s part of the process in sports,” Popovic said. “You hear it a lot now with many professional sports team saying to trust the process. If anybody could just do something by snapping their fingers, it would be that easy to coach in any sport, not just basketball.”

Seven months after their championship and nationals participation, fourth-year player Olivier Simon said he and the team finally had time to reflect on what last year meant to them. Yet, he said the focus was turned to this season in a matter of time.

“We worked hard this summer in order to recreate [our accomplishments of last season this year],” Simon said. “Yes, it’s fun to win a championship, as you celebrate for a week or two, but after that you just want to get more. I knew [last season] it wasn’t my last year, so my mindset was more about winning more championships. Of course we took the time to reflect on our season. To get that win and see our efforts pay off was the best feeling we’ve had for a while.”

Some of those players will have bigger leadership roles in 2019-20, as the Stingers lost important pieces this summer, including team captain Ricardo Monge. In his final year with the Stingers, the point guard was named the MVP in Quebec university men’s basketball conference and received all-Canadian honours.

Simon said that after the experience he and the other returning players acquired, he wanted to be more of a leader for this season. The players might have to earn their next championship, but the experience he acquired is invaluable.

“Now I know what’s needed to [win the RSEQ title and go to nationals],” Simon said. “Guys just need to follow and be on board with us because we know what it takes to win. For me, it’s just to bring that energy and effort every day in the gym.”

For Sami Ghandour, also entering his fourth year, last season served him as a motivation this past off-season. Ghandour said that despite winning the RSEQ championship, the loss at nationals hurt and pushed him to get better.

“In my first year, we didn’t get past semi-finals,” Ghandour said. “In my second year, we reached the final, but lost. In my third year, we won, but lost in the first round [at nationals]. We saw that we were good for the RSEQ, but once on the national court, the level [of play] was different. Even after winning all that, it hurts when you lose like that at nationals.”

With the season set to start next month, Popovic said there’s a long process to follow before thinking about championship goals for 2019-20 campaign. He said it’s a long season, and there are many games to win before those in the RSEQ playoffs.

“Yes, we can talk about [the fact that] our goal is to go to nationals, but we don’t get there by just saying it,” Popovic said. “We still have a lot of things to work on before [coming to this moment]. We’re trying to get better one day at the time. We’re trying to get better this weekend than [we were the previous one]. That’s how we see progress, with small steps to get to where we want to get.”

Ghandour said the team wants to win consecutive championships. However, he explained that with this new season, the Stingers and all teams in the league will start at the same point.

“We are the defending champions, which makes people even more hungry to play us,” Ghandour said. “[We] need to keep working, and keep [our] feet on the ground. [We] want to win the championship every single year.”

 

Photos by Britanny Clark

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Climate crisis: change is coming

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, and representatives from different Indigenous groups led the march against climate change in Montreal last Friday.

Around 500,000 people were gathered at Sir-Georges-Étienne-Cartier monument on Parc Avenue to trek to Bonaventure Parc, where Thunberg addressed the crowd.

“You are a nation that is allegedly a climate leader and Sweden is also a nation that is allegedly a climate leader,” said Thunberg during her speech. “In both cases, it means absolutely nothing because in both cases it’s just empty words. So we are basically the same,” she added, jokingly.

Photo by Laurence B.D.

The Swedish activist sailed  across the Atlantic on a zero-carbon emission sailing boat back in early September to take part in a United Nation climate summit. She spoke in front of the committee, condemning the inaction of world leaders.

“I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean,” she said during her UN speech. “Yet you all come to us, young people, for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams, my childhood with your empty words.”

She continued stressing the consequences of climate change, such as the extinction of complete ecosystems and the loss of individual human lives.

“We are at the beginning of mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth,” she said with an emotional, assertive tone.“How dare you.”

Alongside Montreal, hundreds of cities worldwide joined the march on Sept. 27, in solidarity against climate inaction.

In Montreal, a historical association of 21 organizations, including Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation and the various branches of La Planète s’invite au Parlement, all came together in the creation and promotion of the protest.

“We are climate justice seekers,” said Jacob Robitaille, Concordia Geography student and internal coordinator for La Planete s’invite à l’Université (LPSU). “We want to have a just, equitable and equal transition. We are trying to develop a firmer, anti-colonial stance because we believe that the environmental crisis has everything to do with the abuse of Indigenous people; the constant oppression and taking away of lands. These issues are very much interconnected and we want to bring forward the message to regular people.”

Photo by Alex Hutchins.

It is therefore a question of education, said Robitaille. The LPSU’s fundamental goal is to educate the general public, from the bottom up, and incite policy change from the governmental institutions.

“Being a geography student, I know the climate crisis is driven mainly by diet,” said Robitaille. “People don’t grasp that issue enough. If you stop eating beef one week at a time, it has a significant impact on your CO2 emission, your water use and land use. It is really as simple as that.”

The LPSU, a student climate activist mobilization, started being more active last February, as an answer to Thunberg’s global cry. The movement has been overwhelmingly picked up by youth, as people want to get involved at a younger age. The people who are the most organized in this movement are the high schoolers, Robitaille said.

“They are fed up,” said Robitaille. “They don’t have a voice politically, they don’t have the means, there are so many barriers for them to get their voice heard; people don’t take them seriously. So, our movement is founded on that. We want to push a ground-up change.”

Indeed, according to François Geoffroy, a spokesperson for La Planete s’invite au Parlement, more than 200,000 students were given permission to strike on Friday.

And as Montreal saw 500,000 citizens walk down its streets on Friday, one can only imagine the impact of such a movement on the upcoming Federal election. The potential of leading this energetic youth to vote for a party that offers an environmental platform is undeniably massive.

Photo by Jad Abukasm.

Yet, the LPSU remains an apolitical organization. Instead, Robitaille said they believe in flipping the entire script around and are more than willing to denounce the nonsense and lack of policy from the Conservatives and Liberals.

On Sept. 24, three days prior to the march, 10 Quebec universities, including Concordia, united to declare a climate emergency. CTV News reported that they all recognize the need for social change and have vowed to become carbon-neutral by 2050, to finance more research on climate change, and to increase the number of environmental and sustainability-related academic programs and other resources.

The impact of the Global Week for Future, the series of international protests asking for climate justice, is yet to be seen. But the conversations are changing and there is currently a momentum building, according to Robitaille.

“At the end, we are just a group of students that don’t want to die,” said Robitaille.

 

 

 

WATCH:

The Concordian talks climate change, veganism, and the federal elections with participants of Montreal’s

Jad Abukasm contributed to this report

Feature photo by Alex Hutchins, photos by Jad Abukasm, Laurence B.D., and Alex Hutchins, video by Thomas Quinn

Editorial: Mandatory sexual assault training a step in the right direction

Photo by Alex Hutchins

The deadline of Oct. 4 to complete Concordia University’s mandatory sexual violence and prevention training, “It Takes All of Us”, is only a couple days away at the time of publication.

Concordia partnered with the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) and Knowledge One to create the online training. The training walks students and staff through a series of scenarios, definitions and education on what sexual violence means, especially on campus.

Over the past years, The Concordian has covered several stories regarding sexual violence at Concordia, including the recent sexual assault scandal in the university’s English department. The Concordian believes this training is a positive first step towards improving sexual violence education among students and staff.

But a step in the right direction doesn’t mean that the issue is suddenly solved, or that the university has done enough. It was only two years ago that Concordia ranked last among 15 Canadian universities in terms of sexual assault policies in the “Our Turn: A National, Student-Led Action Plan to End Campus Sexual Violence” report released Oct. 11, 2018.

Based on the reaction we heard from students, most believed that the training would have a positive impact on the Concordia community. Which is good, students should feel as though their university is moving in the right direction. Part of that process includes the university’s “Report of the Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence” that was released its findings two years ago. In it, the task force found that students had very little idea about where and how to actually report sexual violence on campus. This needs to change.

While The Concordian agrees that constructive, well-thought out training and education on the topic of sexual violence is always positive, education is only the beginning of truly affecting change. Definite and effective action from the university is necessary. Enforcing those policies that help reduce sexual violence, making necessary resources readily accessible on campus and reducing the barriers of reporting sexual violence to the university are the next steps towards making the Concordia campuses safer for all students and staff.

At the end of the day, this training is for the Concordia community. Part of this week’s editorial is dedicated to hearing from the community. We asked Concordia students about their thoughts on the training.

“Even as someone who considers myself fairly educated on consent and sexual assault awareness, I found the training super informative,” said fourth-year student Candice Pye. “It was also extremely easy to follow and quick to do. While a lot still needs to be done in terms of properly supporting survivors and preventing sexual violence at Concordia, I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction”

“I think it was a great idea and they did a good job at explaining what you should do in specific situations,” said second-year student Isabela Brandão. “I like the fact that they included what you should do to help someone that went through something like that and that they had slides for multiple types of situations. It was more than I expected. I thought it would be focus on strategies to avoid sexual assault (as it usually is) but they had information like, how to tell if your partner is unable to consent, different types of consent and for the most part the presentation was gender neutral. Overall, I think they did a fantastic job.”

“I think these trainings are always better in person due to their sensitive nature, however due to the size of the university I understand how that’s not possible,” said fourth-year student Becki Seguin. “I think sexual assault is difficult to navigate because there’s so many different components to try and include. That being said I think they did a great job. It was definitely prevention-based, but could have still touched a little more on victim support.”

Concordia implemented its most recent policies on sexual violence in September. Now’s the time to see if the university will deliver on action, as well as education.

 

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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Photo Essay: Stingers women’s rugby defend their Kelly Anne Drummond Cup title

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team defeated McGill University 74-0 Sunday afternoon for the 15th annual Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup at Concordia Stadium, successfully defending their title from last year.

Photo editor Laurence Brisson Dubreuil captured the best moments from the Stingers big win over the Martlets.

 

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Emily Magee comes back to familiar territory

Rugby forward had quite the journey since her first Stingers appearance

Concordia Stingers women’s rugby head coach Jocelyn Barrieau was surprised when her former player Emily Magee of the Dawson College Blues contacted her this summer, saying she wanted to rejoin the team this season.

Barrieau first coached Magee when she was the head coach of the Dawson College women’s rugby program, a position she held from 2007 to 2011. The Stingers’s website statistics might show that Magee’s at her fourth season with the team, but don’t get fooled. The St. Louis, Missouri native hasn’t played those four years consecutively.

“It’s been a bit of a wild journey you could say,” said Magee. “When I first came to Concordia, I was a pretty young athlete, as I was immature, and didn’t know how to train properly. I came to Concordia because I loved their communications program, but also because they had a really good rugby program.”

Yet, obstacles changed the course of Magee’s rugby career and life. She explained she wasn’t ready for what university came with, as she got overwhelmed by assignments and anxiety at times.

“I had a hard time finishing essays and even simple assignments [when I started university],” Magee said. “I even had essays I never handed in. I finished them on time, but never handed them in because they weren’t good enough for [my personal expectations]. I then stopped playing rugby for two years. I just didn’t play at all.”

Those two years off the field, where she spent her time doing things like playing video games, pushed Magee to get her rugby career back on track. She said she didn’t recognize herself, as she’s always been very active in life.

“I hit a rock bottom, especially regarding my mental health,” said Magee. “It pushed [me to change] and fix something because things [weren’t] working for me. I’ve always dreamed of playing for Canada, U.S.A., or just nationally. That was kind of a push to try, because [when I stopped], there was nothing happening with myself. I had nothing to lose, and see what happens.”

Since then, Magee traveled around the world and played rugby for several elite teams, including in the U.S.A. and New Zealand. Now at age 29 and with a lot of rugby experience, Magee said this was the perfect time for her to come back to Concordia to finish what she started.

“I’m not a Canadian citizen, I’m a permanent resident,” said Magee. “Over a five-year period, I have to live two in Canada. I traveled a lot in the last five years, and had to come back in March to start making up some days. When I came back to Canada, I thought it was the perfect time to complete my remaining credits, and put my degree behind me to close that chapter. I then thought of Barrieau [and the rugby team here], who coached me at Dawson College.”

The Stingers forward added that her game has completely changed since her first rugby experience. She explained that her skillsets were very limited at first.

“I could just run fast,” said Magee. “I couldn’t really pass or tackle. I’ve been naturally gifted athletically, but all of my skills I had to develop and work on. By getting older, I had to push myself because at the end of the day, you need to grow your own game.”

Barrieau said the team knew that Magee’s presence and talent would be felt quickly. She explained that the positivity and energy the forward brings to the team is unique.

“Not everybody can bring such things [the way Magee does],” said Barrieau. “The experience she brings to our team is huge as well, as she’s matured by playing, traveling and looking to others [these past years]. She’s learned and matured a lot on the field.”

After missing the Stingers first two games of the 2019-2020 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season, Magee registered five tries, 25 points and one nomination as the most valuable player (MVP) of the game in two matches. She said that if her hard work these past years paid off, one thing she’ll always keep in mind that is that the key to success is to have fun doing what you do. She added that’s exactly how she feels with the Stingers.

“Barrieau’s creating such an awesome team culture,” Magee said. “It creates an [environment] where you can make mistakes. You can fail, and it’s not the end of the world to do so. Having the freedom to make those mistakes, have a bad game and not make great decisions all the time makes it so much easier for me to just play the game. I’m honestly so grateful to have the opportunity to come back. I’m really proud of what I’ve been through and where I am now with rugby. It’s a dream come true.”

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

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“We’re looking to bounce back” Stingers defence prepare for playoff push

Defensive coordinator Ed Philion. Photo by Laurence B.D.

Concordia Stingers linebackers Jersey Henry and Sam Brodrique travelled to Ottawa this summer to take part in the annual U Sports East-West Bowl; a game meant to be a showcase of the top draft-eligible U Sports players in Canada.

“Good players never half-ass, they always run, they always try to make good plays,” said Brodrique. “Even when [those players] are opposite of the play, they’re always on the ball. That’s what good players do and that’s what we need to do on defence.

This isn’t a normal season for the Stingers. They’re in the middle of head coach Brad Collinson’s first true season at the helm after being hired late summer 2018. This year, he cleaned house and hired an entirely new coaching staff.

So far, at 1-4, the season has had its ups and downs. On offence, quarterback Adam Vance has emerged as a top playmaker in U Sports, even claiming offensive player of the week in Week 5. James Tyrrell is currently the most dangerous receiver in the division. On special teams, Kevin Foster has been one of the most dynamic returners in the RSEQ, and the kicking duo of Andrew Stevens and Bradley James Santos has helped put points (and wins) on the board for the team.

The learning curve on defence has been a little different. While players like Brodrique, Henry, Wael Nasri, Khadeem Pierre, former fullback Yassir Laarais, and Zamaad Gambari are enjoying solid individual seasons, the whole defence as a unit has struggled. The Stingers are currently ranked last in the RSEQ in both pass and rush defence.

Enter Stingers defensive coordinator Ed Philion.

The coach’s resume includes playing and coaching experience to the team. He played in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers, and an eight-year stint with the Alouettes of the CFL, where he played with Collinson in 2003.

Philion’s won two Grey Cups, the first in 2002 as a player and the second in 2015 as a coach with the Edmonton Eskimos. After retiring as a player, Philion travelled North to the CFL, coaching with the Toronto Argonauts, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos. His experience is part of the reason the team responds well to him.

“Our coaches do a really good job translating the game plan, and making sure terminology isn’t too choppy,” said Henry. “All of our coaches having experience playing in the NFL, CFL, playing at that level that we all aspire to play at. Any time our coaches have anything to say, we listen.”

Now Philion’s job includes trying to shut down some of the strongest teams in Canada. After starting the season 0-3, Philion was adamant that he was trying to build the foundations of a winning squad.

“We just want to get better each game and build off of [the games],” explained Philion. “The last two games [against Laval and Montreal] we didn’t play well, so we’re looking to bounce back and we’ve focused a lot on teaching technique.”

For Henry and Brodrique, the goal for the rest of the season is to establish the defence’s gameplan, and that includes playing with speed.

“Everyone knows that our game plan is to bring pressure, it’s no secret,” said Henry. “For us it’s just making sure that we’re hitting our gaps and making sure that we’re doing everything that’s going to help our teammates make plays if we’re not the ones making plays.”

“We’re not a big team, we’re a fast team,” explained Brodrique. “We’re not just going out there to give a good game, we’re trying to win.”

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

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Colour Commentary: The line between journalist and fan

We all fell in love with a team and sport for a reason.

From the moment I stepped into Concordia’s journalism program three years ago, I was told that I am to consider myself to be a journalist.

Every print journalist has their own style of writing. For myself, I try to put my voice, personality and identity in every piece I write. All of my friends and family know that my dream is to one day be a broadcaster for the Montreal Canadiens.

Since I was about seven years old, I lived, breathed, and bled Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. That love of the team turned into love of the sport, as I got older. It’s not very often that I get emotional, but I have shed many tears in the Bell Centre because of this team.

I’d be willing to bet that most sports journalists are in the same boat as me. They’ve been following a team for a long time, fell in love with that team and its sport, and wanted to make a living off of that passion.

So why do many journalists pretend to not be fans of a team they are covering when they grew up as one? Or, why do some criticize journalists for being fans of teams?

I can only speak for myself when I say this: I have two hats when it comes to sports. A professional one where I recognize that I have a job to do – just like the players – and the 13-year-old kid that has hockey in his heart.

I understand the criticism that people have that if someone is a fan of a team, they are likely to back the things they do and find justification for questionable decisions. But again, the professional hat has to take over in that case. It is possible to have journalistic integrity while holding on to a team that has meant so much to someone growing up (ahem, James Mirtle).

Yes, being a sports journalist, one must be professional, fair and balanced. Criticize when necessary, praise when necessary. But at the end of the day, we all fell in love with a team and sport for a reason.

Sports are fun. Getting behind a team is fun. As long as it does not get in the way of doing your job, I don’t see why I have to hide the part of my identity that got me in this field in the first place.

 

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Concordia 17 Montreal 20: Stingers push the Carabins to the edge

Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Stingers record stands at 1-4 with three games remaining

The Concordia Stingers football team came close to beating the Université de Montreal Carabins. Again.

The 20-17 loss at UDEM’s Cepsum Field pushes the Stingers record to 1-4 with only three games remaining in the season. In the two team’s first meeting ended in a 10-3 Carabins win.

“We are a good football team that’s why these games are close,” said head coach Brad Collinson after the game. “When we stick together, good things happen.”

Quarterback Adam Vance has really come into his own as the season’s progressed, and Friday night was just another example of that. The American went 24/36 for 343 yards and a TD.

“The joy of playing football has come back for Adam,” said Collinson. “He has bought in 100 per cent and it shows.”

His main target this season, receiver James Tyrrell, also kept busy all game. He hauled in 13 catches 174 yards. Tyrrell is currently the most targeted receiver in the RSEQ.

“James is playing like a 5th year player should be playing,” said Collinson. “When we call his number he is making plays and that’s what we need from him.”

Rookie receiver Jeremy Murphy continued to establish himself as a dangerous option as he collected 6 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.

On defence, linebacker Sam Brodrique continues his consistent play with 6 solo tackles, and Jersey Henry made 5.5 tackles and added a sack.

“Our defence played great and continue to progress,” said Collinson. “I’m very proud of them and the intensity that they are playing with.”

Montreal managed to stay ahead and take the win thanks to a 10-point 4th Quarter. Opposing QB Dimitri Morand went 22/29 for 293 yards and a TD. The Carabins added 127 rushing yards in this game compared to the Stingers 108 yards.

The Stingers will face the Laval Rouge et Or for the second time this season on Oct. 6. The last clash between these two teams ended with the Stingers on the wrong side of a 41-6 loss.

“We need to keep progressing and following the process we have laid out,” said Collinson. ”If we can keep progressing we will be ok.”

Archive feature photo taken by Mackenzie Lad on September 22, 2018

 

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