Tag: editorial

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A ban on one is a ban on all

Graphic by Florence Yee

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) sent shockwaves throughout the Concordia community early last week when they announced they were implementing a ‘ban’ on The Link newspaper.

The letter posted to the association’s Facebook page said the ASFA executive will “abstain from commenting on, or engaging with” the newspaper. The reasons listed were for unethical practices, such as recording individuals without consent, having a biased agenda, misconstruing information and causing harm to certain individuals’ mental and physical health. There were no specific examples of coverage or names of reporters provided.

ASFA says this ‘ban’ will be in place until The Link formally apologizes or until the end of their mandate on May 31, 2017. Here at The Concordian, we feel as though ASFA should instead be apologizing to The Link.

From one student newspaper to another, The Concordian formally stands with The Link. It can be argued that an attack on one media outlet is an attack on us all. We must fight for the freedom of the university press, and this move by ASFA is purely absurd and quite frankly, autocratic.

The Link’s editor-in-chief Jonathan Caragay-Cook told The Concordian they were not approached by ASFA about the letter they published nor did they reach out about any issues the organization was having with the newspaper’s coverage. Fundamentally, if ASFA had issues with recordings and the way stories were reported on in The Link, the ideal protocol would have been for them to complain to The Link’s editor directly. They chose not to and instead made a hasty decision. Bottom line, ASFA did not take the appropriate action to solve this problem from the get-go.

Just because ASFA has been subject to negative coverage by The Link that they may disagree with, it is not reason enough to instill any kind of ‘ban’. If anything, this makes it appear as though ASFA has something to hide that they don’t want The Link to uncover, or that they can’t handle any criticism. It stinks of lack of transparency.

This letter simply paints the ASFA executive team as irrational and unprofessional—it was extremely unclear and we need solid proof in order to believe any of the claims made. We understand if ASFA has issues with particular reporters or methods of reporting, however, there is a way to communicate that to a media outlet. It’s reminiscent of what’s going on in America with Donald Trump and the media.

We would hope that, if any of our own writers here at The Concordian were causing problems or conducting their interviews in shady ways, we would be contacted directly about it before any sort of action takes place. We would hope to be kept in the loop about a reporter who is not doing their job correctly so we could address the issue first-hand. In this case, The Link was left in the dark.

However, we learned that ASFA voted at their meeting on Thursday that they would meet with The Link to discuss their future working relationship. Despite this good news, this should have been the action taken by ASFA from the beginning. We are disappointed that ASFA has not yet formally apologized to The Link for this hasty letter. Instead, they have apologized only to their membership, for the way they chose to release the statement.

The Concordian believes this ‘ban’ should be immediately rescinded, and we hope the two groups can resolve this problem as soon as possible. As media, we must be able to hold our student politicians and student organizations accountable. Without us, how will students be informed about what may be going on behind closed doors?

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Why journalists need to be paid

Graphic by Florence Yee

Journalism—as many of us at The Concordian know—is a competitive field with very few jobs available. Just recently, the Montreal Gazette announced it would be laying off more workers in the near future, according to the Financial Post. So with fewer and fewer jobs available, aspiring journalists will do anything to get ahead and that includes free labour.

It’s a conversation some of our editors here at The Concordian have had with the journalism department. Some professors believe unpaid internships are the way to go to gain experience, while others are adamant that we should all be paid for our work.

On Jan. 27, ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell sparked a lengthy conversation on Twitter after suggesting the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper ask students at Northwestern University to cover college basketball games for free. After numerous tweets telling him he was wrong for suggesting a publication should have students work for free, Rovell replied saying some of the best journalists got their start while doing so.

While this may be true, there is certainly a disconnect between the journalism of today and the journalism of the past. For starters, you just has to attend any journalism seminar in the country to learn that newsrooms are shrinking.

With the pressures of paying rent, food and tuition, finding time for an unpaid internship is close to impossible. If the only way to become successful in the industry is to become an unpaid intern, then only the most privileged people would be able to get ahead.

In Montreal, one of the places that offers unpaid internships is Bell Media. While these internships offer valuable experience that could make good journalists great, for some people, they simply aren’t an option.

Another dilemma young journalists face is the choice between exposure and money when it comes to freelancing. In an article by the International Business Times, Huffington Post U.K. editor-in-chief Steven Hull admitted to not paying writers for work.

“If I was paying someone to write something because I want it to get advertising, that’s not a real authentic way of presenting copy,” Hull said. “When somebody writes something for us, we know it’s real, we know they want to write it. It’s not been forced or paid for. I think that’s something to be proud of.”

Attitudes like the Huffington Post’s are tricking young journalists into writing for free. Asking to be paid is not disrespectful, it’s what you should be doing. If you are a journalist and your article is next to an ad, then in some way, shape or form you are making money for that publication and should be paid for it. Even if the publication you write for doesn’t have a huge budget, you should at least get a little something for your hard work.

Now you must be reading this and thinking “does The Concordian pay their writers?” The answer is no. Call us hypocrites, call us horrible names and compare us to Huffington Post, because we 100 per cent know we’re in the wrong.

As an editorial team, we unfortunately do not have the power to grant monetary bonuses to our contributors—our board of directors is in control of the finances. We’d like to end this editorial by asking our board to start providing financial stipends to our writers who demonstrate hardwork and consistency.

It’s time The Concordian emerges from this deep slumber and start dishing out some of that money buried deep in our swollen coffers.

As young journalists we shouldn’t have to settle for less just because our older contemporaries did. It’s 2017 and media corporations (including your university newspaper), needs to get with the times.

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Salacious scandal for Bell Let’s Talk

Graphic by Thom Bell

The Bell Let’s Talk campaign came roaring through our country last week, raising money and awareness for mental health issues. The campaign—one of the largest in Canadian history—raised $6.5 million through texts, phone calls and social media interactions that mentioned Bell Let’s Talk.

The money goes towards a variety of mental health initiatives in different regions across Canada. According to the Bell Let’s Talk website, the most recent funds were sent to the St. John Ambulance training program—to help integrate mental health training into emergency First Aid courses—and the Embrace Life Council program, a new mental health program by Nunavut’s Embrace Life Council, a non-profit suicide prevention organization, to name a few.

Here at The Concordian, we even made our front cover last week about the campaign, featuring Concordia Stingers hockey player Philippe Hudon, Concordia’s Bell Let’s Talk representative. We were proud of the piece and glad to contribute to this national conversation and help spread awareness on our university campus.

However, on Wednesday morning, several media outlets dropped a massive bomb. A story was published involving a Bell Media employee who was reportedly fired due to her mental health issues.

Maria McLean from Grand Falls, N.B. was working as a radio host for K93 FM when she met with her manager earlier this month. McLean presented her superior with a doctor’s note that stated she needed to take two weeks off to adjust to her new medication for her anxiety and depression. Later that afternoon, she was shocked to discover she had been fired from her post without any warning, according to CBC News. A representative from Bell Media refused to comment on the case, according to the same report.

It’s no surprise the story gained a lot of traction on social media, with many people wanting to abandon the Bell Let’s Talk campaign due to the media company’s hypocrisy. We even toyed with this thought ourselves.

However, it’s important to recognize that this story wouldn’t have gotten this much attention if it wasn’t associated with a giant media company in the midst of a massive mental health awareness campaign. Ideally, any company that deems mental health an illegitimate reason to need time off should be reported on and shared widely as well. It is not new that employers let their employees go for mental health reasons—this is a real issue. We need to start holding our own government accountable when it comes to funding mental health-related services.

We are calling upon Bell to launch a full investigation into Maria McLean’s case and release the report to the public. This is the only way to move forward and for the public to believe in the Bell Let’s Talk campaign in the upcoming years.

Here at The Concordian, we’ve decided to not abandon the campaign, even in the wake of this story. The work that Bell Let’s Talk has achieved is unprecedented, and we must take away the positives even in the wake of a scandal. We acknowledge Bell is a corporation with monetary and advertising interests, but it goes without saying that the campaign has been a huge catalyst in spurring a dialogue and spreading awareness about a complex issue.

Our masthead has never seen so many Facebook posts and Tweets from our social network describing their personal stories regarding mental health. We must recognize that many would not be courageous enough to talk about their experiences if it weren’t for so many others in their circle doing the same—this was initiated thanks to Bell Let’s Talk.

We encourage our readers to support the campaign, but more importantly, to keep supporting and talking about mental health, all year round.

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Trudeau’s language gaffe

Photo by Andrej Ivanov

The sun barely emerges through the grey clouds, as darkness covers the entire city. Pale creatures with chalky skin wander the streets, seeking shelter from the frigid elements.

Let’s face it, January is a tough month and everyone’s morale is usually running low. Luckily, our university offers psychological services to help students get through these troublesome times. Many individuals on our editorial team have utilized these services and the councillors have helped many of us.

We don’t realize how lucky we have it though, considering we have access to all these services in English. The same can’t be said for the rest of Quebec, where many health services are solely offered in French.

This issue came to the forefront at a town hall meeting last week in Sherbrooke. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau descended on the small city located 150 km outside of Montreal to answer questions from the public, in an attempt to boost his public appearance.

During this meeting, a woman named Judy Ross stood up and brought this issue to the forefront and asked Trudeau, in English, why it was so difficult for anglophones to get access to mental health services in their native language, according to CBC News.

Following Ross’ question, Trudeau answered her question in French. He said: “Because we’re in Quebec, I’ll answer in French.” This response infuriated many from the anglophone community in Quebec.

Now we don’t want to ignite a language debate, but considering Concordia is an English university, we have to stand up and say something.

Trudeau, who openly defends bilingualism, made a giant hypocritical misstep at this town hall meeting.

Here at The Concordian, we are upset to say the least. It appears Trudeau is not concerned about the plight of anglophones in Quebec and even had the audacity to insult Judy Ross by responding in French. How can we trust the PM when his missteps create these giant ripples that divide our society?

In Quebec, language has always been at the forefront of debate. Bill 101 and language laws are something that every Quebecer knows all too well. As anglophones, and even as francophones, Quebec can be a very difficult province to navigate.

For example, according to CTV News, in 2012, the parents of a two-year-old girl in Vaudreuil made a complaint against the province’s ambulance service because a paramedic refused to speak English while treating their daughter who had just suffered a seizure. When the ambulance arrived on scene, the paramedic said, “Non, moi je parle français.” It is instances like this that prove how problematic the language issues are in this province.

By not answering that question in English, Trudeau has ultimately contributed to language tensions that have been tearing this province apart since the rise of sovereignty. Anti-Anglo sentiment is very real in Quebec and to see it from our own prime minister, who is supposed to represent all Canadians, is utterly appalling.

So The Concordian demands for the government to offer mental health services in English, because these services are absolutely vital for the English-speaking community and for the Concordia student body, if they seek help outside of our campus.

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Let the river runneth red

Graphic by Florence Yee

Let’s talk about periods

The wind howls as the full moon creeps out from behind the clouds. A dark presence is awoken during this sacred time as the evil brews within the human species. Suddenly, women start to bleed from their uteruses and their minds become enraged with foul, demonic fantasies. They become unstable for about a week and all hell breaks loose.

Menstruation is often regarded in this light, painted as a savage and primitive burden that makes women seem weak and dirty. Here at The Concordian, we hope to combat this medieval narrative. Menstruation is a beautiful and natural process that should be celebrated instead of shunned.

Our university is making great strides regarding access to feminine hygiene products. The Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) recently proposed a plan to provide free feminine hygiene products in all member associations (MA) offices to students. According to our news team, this proposal includes purchasing an estimated $2,000 worth of products available for faculty and staff to access for free. From our understanding, the proposal will be decided upon in February. We see no reason why it shouldn’t be unanimously approved by voting members of ASFA.

Health Services have always provided free feminine hygiene products, but rumour has it that they can sometimes run out—meaning women are forced to make a quick trip to the local pharmacy.

The Concordian believes all women should have access to affordable menstrual products, because women shouldn’t have to shell out the big bucks for something completely natural out of their control. In July 2015, the federal government removed the GST (goods and services tax) and the HST (harmonized sales tax in applicable provinces) on tampons and other feminine hygiene products, according to the National Post.

Across the globe, the situation is more dire, however. For example, women in Iran don’t even have access to tampons because it’s believed they will rupture the hymen and destroy their virginity, according to an article in Women’s Health. This means they have to use pieces of cloth and diapers to absorb the blood considering pads are difficult to come by. The subject is so taboo that women can’t even publically discuss the topic without getting in trouble with the religious police, according to the same article.

In Latin America, specifically in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela, the economic instability—mainly the depreciation of their currencies—has triggered a mass shortage of goods, especially tampons and other feminine hygiene products. This means women must resort to buying these goods on the black market for a highly inflated price, according to The Guardian. If the shops do get a shipment of tampons, women normally have to queue on the street for several hours just to purchase a small box, which is also at a highly inflated price, according to the same article.

And don’t even get us started on the male reaction towards menstruation. How many times have you told a dude you were on your period and suddenly he made a series of judgements and observations about you? Maybe the person said “oh, well that explains why you’ve been so moody lately,” or, “too much information, I don’t need to hear about that.”

Women have been getting their period since the beginning of time—why should this be a subject that makes a lot of men uncomfortable?

We applaud ASFA for working towards making female hygiene products more accessible to all students, and breaking away from the stigma that periods cannot be openly discussed.

Graphic by Florence Yee

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Rising from the ashes of 2016

Graphic by Thom Bell.

As the confetti fell and the alcohol flowed on New Year’s Eve, many were celebrating the end of a tumultuous year marred by celebrity deaths, terror attacks and a shocking presidential campaign.

Many of us are still in shock, but we must begin to move forward, place our faith in 2017 and hope this year spurs change and prosperity. We must also look to the things we can control, namely things happening on our campus.

So this editorial is taking an unorthodox approach, voicing some changes our newspaper wants to see around campus.

1)   No more shady student politics

In 2016, we saw the Concordia Student Union (CSU) go through some turbulent times, especially when their finance coordinator resigned under allegations of transphobic and queerphobic behaviour. It’s frustrating because we—the students—supported ACT Together and voted them into the CSU, only to find out we were supporting a nefarious individual. Moving forward, we need to ensure student politicians are properly vetted and that we are asking the right questions. We cannot afford to elect another individual—or political party for that matter—with toxic skeletons in their closets.

2)   Classes focusing on indigenous issues

Concordia offers a wide variety of courses, but oftentimes it can be hard to find a course that focuses mainly on indigenous issues. Although there are a handful of courses offered by the history department and there is a department of First Peoples Studies, we want to see more. The university needs to integrate more courses and hire more First Nations professors who can synthesize their thoughts and experiences in lectures.

3)   Transparency from the administration

Do you all remember the drama regarding international students and how the university tried to increase their tuition? It seems like the university tried to pull a fast one on us, but we—the students—are savvy and were able to campaign and put pressure to block the vote from going through. All we ask is for the administration to be upfront and honest with us, so we don’t get blindsided and have to write angry op-eds. We want to see more of a dialogue between the upper echelons of the bureaucracy and the students—after all, we are all key players in this symbiotic relationship.

4)   Divestment from fossil fuels

The Concordian has previously reported the university holds investments in the fossil fuel energy sector. Bram Freedman, president of the Concordia Foundation, told the Montreal Gazette in 2014 the university has an endowment—a pool of investments—worth around $130 million, but would not say how much money is invested in the fossil fuel sector. According to Divest Concordia, however, the university invests roughly $11 to 12 million in fossil fuels and related industries. For years, students have been advocating for the university to wash its hands of this toxic tar and invest in environmentally-friendly sectors. We understand it’s hard to liquidate all holdings of fossil fuel investments, but we also understand the plight of the students, for it’s hard to grapple the fact that our institution is directly involved in a polluting energy sector. We think there should be an open dialogue between the administration and the students who push for divestment so we can create a university we are all proud of, not one that has its hands in the tar sands.

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Editorial: Cuba

We were at the office when our phones buzzed with a series of notifications, as news of Fidel Castro’s death spread across the world on Friday. The media reacted and suddenly CBC and CTV News had correspondents on the ground in Havana interviewing Cubans in mourning, while also producing segments recounting the dictator’s long, politicized life.

Back home, several social media users—including Concordia students—were sharing their sadness and grief online, reacting as if the Dalai Lama or Mother Teresa had just died.

There’s only one problem though—Fidel Castro was no saint. He was a cruel dictator who oppressed and terrorized the Cuban people for nearly 50 years. Anybody who remembers him fondly is ignoring his trail of human rights violations, while openly supporting a communist regime.

In case you have no idea who we’re talking about, Fidel Castro was the communist leader of Cuba, the island nation just 90 kilometres south of the Floridian peninsula. Yes, the same island where you go on vacation every winter with your family and complain about the ‘gross’ food afterwards.

According to several biographers, Castro was born in 1926 and grew up near Santiago de Cuba on his wealthy father’s sugarcane farm. He reportedly threatened to burn down the farm on several occasions in his adolescence unless his father increased his worker’s wages, demonstrating his dedicated advocacy.

Castro studied law at the University of Havana and was very critical of Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president and dictator in the 1940s and 50s. In 1959, Castro successfully led a socialist revolution, overthrew the Batista regime and began to consolidate power.

The United States—which supported the Batista regime—condemned the revolution and placed economic sanctions on the island, with the CIA failing several times to assassinate Castro. In 1961, a group of about 1,400 Cuban dissidents tried to regain control of the island by landing in the Bay of Pigs. Castro’s revolutionary forces ended up repelling these American-backed invaders, and the world watched this tiny island repel a mighty imperial power.

Relations with the United States reached an ultimate low in 1962, when the CIA discovered the Soviets were sending nuclear warheads to the island. From Oct. 14 to 28, the world teetered on the verge of nuclear war, during what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nikita Khrushchev—the leader of the Soviet Union—eventually agreed to remove the warheads from the island, averting a catastrophe was averted.

Cuba has always been the underdog fighting the almighty imperial and capitalist superpower, and at a first glance, one might think Cubans a sweet deal. After all, the literacy rate is almost at 100 per cent and the country has free universal health care, with an average of 6.72 doctors for every 100 people, compared to the United States’ 2.45 doctors for every 100 people, according to CBS News Sunday Morning.

Despite these positive aspects, we cannot forget Cuba’s past and present human rights violations. Over the last 50 years, more than 3,100 known executions by firing squad have taken place, usually targeting political dissidents, according to the nonprofit organization Cuba Archives.

There were also 6,200 arbitrary detentions between January and August 2015 alone, meaning political dissidents are continuously persecuted for speaking out against the communist state, according to the Human Rights Watch. The total number of political prisoners over the last 50 years is unknown, but likely very high.

Don’t even get us started on Cuba’s policy regarding homosexuals. In the years following his takeover, the police began rounding up gay men and placing them in work camps called Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP) according to The Daily Beast. Although these camps closed in the late 60s, homosexuals were still persecuted by the regime afterwards and were fired from their jobs and weren’t allowed to join the Communist Party, according to the same source.

During the 80s when the first cases of HIV were discovered on the island, the government responded by establishing sanitariums, which were quarantine centers that kept patients away from the rest of society, according to the New York Times. These sanitariums were referred to as “pretty prisons,” by Jonathan Mann, the first AIDS director at the World Health Organization, and were seen as a direct threat against the LGBT minority within the country.

Let’s not overlook the number of Cubans living in America either. According to CBS News, there are around 1.1 million Cuban Americans in the U.S., meaning one tenth of the Cuban population has fled the island nation to seek refuge in America.

This exodus proves that life isn’t great for everyone on the island. So next time you like a Facebook status or reminisce about Castro’s glorious achievements, think twice and remember he’s no angel in a revolutionary uniform.

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Editorial: Standing in solidarity with trans communities

Photo courtesy of HNewberry.

Over the last few years, trans issues have gained a lot of traction in this country. This past week, many people from all over the world came together for Transgender Awareness Week, with hopes to address and educate people on the issues the trans communities face. The Canadian population has slowly become more aware of trans people and issues that impact this diverse and ever-expanding communities.

Our own campus is quite inclusive and open, and we have several groups, including the Centre for Gender Advocacy and Queer Concordia, constantly advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within our community. We here at The Concordian applaud them for the amazing work they do.

This aside, the amount of violence and discrimination towards trans individuals across the world is absolutely staggering and disturbing. Every 31 hours, a trans individual is murdered somewhere in the world, according to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project. There have been 137 murders in North America alone between January 2008 and December 2015, according to Transgender Europe (TGEU).

If we look at the data provided by TGEU from a broad perspective, Central and South America have the highest rates of trans murder, with more than 1500 homicides in the last five years. These figures only represent murders that were reported. The number is probably a lot higher due to the fact that many trans murders go unreported, especially in third world countries, according to TGEU.

Furthermore, there were 21 trans deaths so far this year in the United States alone, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The organization reported these deaths were due to gunshots, stabbings and physical attacks, and the rates are higher when looking at trans individuals of colour.

Transphobia is not just some term loosely thrown around in the media—it is a real issue that impacts individuals on a daily basis, and poses a real threat to their very existence in our society.

In a powerful op-ed for The Guardian, Meredith Talusan stated that simply being trans makes individuals a target in our transphobic society. Talusan goes on to say that transphobia is omnipresent and can present itself a variety of forms, even from loved ones. She even stated a trans woman, she’s experienced discrimination from straight men who believe she’s “fooling them” and does not have the right to occupy the same spaces as a cisgendered woman.

Here at The Concordian, we find these transphobic incidents completely unacceptable and upsetting. Just because someone doesn’t understand the basics of trans issues, does not mean they have the right to ostracize and marginalize them from the rest of society. Now is the time when we must work tirelessly to continue to educate the public and prevent any form of transphobia.

Just this past May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced Bill C-16, which would allow individuals to freely express their gender and would protect them from “discrimination and hate,” according to CBC News.

Last week, Bill C-16 was passed in the House of Commons, meaning our government has took a giant stride towards protecting trans individuals in Canada. The Concordian is incredibly proud of this bill, but we urge the entire student population to educate themselves on trans issues and fight transphobia wherever and whenever you come across it.

If we listen to the wise words of Deepak Chopra, “Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.”

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Editorial: Concordia students need to fight for what they believe in

You probably thought we were going to run an editorial denouncing the results of the U.S. presidential elections. To be frank, though, we are exhausted and sick of talking about it. The dirty campaign feels like it lasted a decade and, at The Concordian, we thought it’d be best to focus on another issue.   

On Thursday afternoon, our news team reported on a demonstration staged by a group of students and faculty in the mezzanine of the Hall building. Their intent was to protest the expanding of the Dakota Access Pipeline (also referred to as DAPL). The group consisted of individuals from a First Peoples elective class, as well as the Indigenous Student Association at Concordia.

If you haven’t heard about DAPL, then you need to get your head out of the sand and head right over to Google search. The situation is currently unfolding in North Dakota, where protesters are trying prevent the construction of a giant oil pipeline that would go straight through several indigenous territories and severely impact the environment in the regions.

This is why you probably saw a ton of people on social media checking in at Standing Rock, a Hunkpapa Lakota and Yanktonai Dakota reservation located in both North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States. The pipeline runs through this indigenous reservation and threatens the region’s only water supply. Protesters from around North America have gathered at Standing Rock, where they continue to challenge authorities as they wage a defiant fight to protect their rights and lands.

Local police units were using Facebook as a means of tracking and arresting protesters. This triggered a social media movement across the world, where individuals checked in to Standing Rock in an attempt to thwart the authorities.

While we applaud social media users for their efforts, checking in to a location with the click of a button is simply not enough. More needs to be done to send a strong message that a major pipeline which can cause severe environmental repercussions is unacceptable and inhumane.

This is why The Concordian fully supports the efforts made by the First Peoples elective class and the Indigenous Student Association during their protest on Thursday at Concordia. We encourage the rest of the student body to emerge from their hibernating states of disillusionment and mobilize towards the cause.

We also applaud the efforts of the Concordia Student Union and Divest Concordia to push for the university’s divestment from fossil fuel investments. If we are to stop pipelines from being built in the future, we need to move towards sustainable energies that won’t pollute our planet.

We know this week has been shocking and tough to say the least. But we cannot give up fighting for our rights, and the rights of others around the world. Even if you aren’t fully behind stopping DAPL or don’t really understand the situation, we encourage you to educate yourself and get behind a cause you believe in.

In the words of author Stephen King, “get busy living or get busy dying.”

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Editorial: Quebec turns a blind eye to indigenous history

Photo of an Inuit family taken in 1854.

A dark shadow hangs over this province, as many Quebecers overlook the fact that these lands were once inhabited by a thriving indigenous population, prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 15th and 16th centuries.

There are approximately 1.4 million individuals who identified as Indigenous on the 2011 National Household Survey, representing 4.3 per cent of the Canadian population, according to Statistics Canada.

Furthermore, in Quebec, the indigenous population is approximately 104,633, representing two per cent of the provincial population, according to data from the Quebec government.

Yet, education surrounding aboriginal issues is constantly disregarded and evaded—in order to pander to Quebec’s sovereignty debate. Many of us here at The Concordian do not recall ever learning about the atrocities that greatly affected First Nations populations in elementary or high school history classes, such as the implementation of the Indian Act or residential schools.

How could it be that many of us are uneducated about these events and their horrific impacts until we reach adulthood?

Lack of education surrounding First Nations history and culture continues to persist for children growing up and learning today. A new history curriculum for high school students was unveiled earlier this year, after being conceived by the previous Parti Quebecois government under Pauline Marois.This curriculum virtually excludes all minority and aboriginal narratives, according to CBC News.

This curriculum is absolutely unacceptable and insulting, because the indigenous communities played a massive role in both Quebec and Canada’s history, and continue to do so today.

This was also a major aspect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which issued a call to action, and strongly urged governments place a greater emphasis on First Nations history.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, also referred to as the TRC, was created to understand and investigate almost a century of misconduct towards First Nations’ children in the residential school system. The commission was launched in 2008 and a final report was released last December, providing evidence there was indeed a cultural genocide in Canada against the indigenous peoples.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard acknowledged the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and admitted there was indeed a cultural genocide in this nation for more than a century, according to another report by CBC News. In the same report, the premier even stated his government needed to work more closely with indigenous communities across the province.

It’s highly hypocritical, to say the least, to green light an educational pilot project that essentially misinterprets our province’s past and oppresses several minority groups, including First Nations.

If we look within our own university, we can see there is progress being made compared to our own government. Concordia University just announced the creation of Truth and Reconciliation Leadership Group last week, which shall advise the university’s provost regarding a wide range of indigenous affairs. The group will be comprised of Elizabeth Fast, an assistant professor of Applied Human Sciences, and Charmaine Lyn, the senior director of the Office of Community Engagement.

Even though our university is slowly taking initiatives, we cannot let the rest of our society fall behind. Considering our own government cannot provide a proper educational history, The Concordian suggests that every citizen take it upon themselves to learn about First Nations history and culture—be it through books, articles, or the talks and events that take place at Concordia, like the one we covered this week, “Cree Ways of Knowing.” We also have a First Peoples studies program, and some classes are available as electives for those who are not in the program.

We cannot ignore the past, nor can we simply brush off the original inhabitants of these lands in order to address other political agendas.

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Editorial: Concordia is going after International Students

Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

The news spread like wildfire on social media after the CSU shared a statement on a variety of Facebook groups and platforms. The statement detailed how the university’s administration has been looking to increase tuition costs for international students for the last three years. The CSU believes a proposal is expected to be approved by the board of governors on Dec. 14, meaning the increase would be implemented starting in the fall 2017 semester.

We were in shock here at The Concordian, as international students already pay way more than Quebec residents. Many of these students rack up a huge amount of debt whilst studying in our bustling metropolis, or are forced to look for some sort of employment to ease the financial burden. However, it can be especially difficult for non-francophone students to get jobs in Montreal.

Here at The Concordian, we think this proposed tuition hike is downright shady. It feels like Concordia is finding new ways to extort money from the student population, like capitalist vampires on a bloodthirsty hunt for fresh meat. According to the CSU’s website, international students currently make up approximately 17 per cent of Concordia’s students body, and they are the source of 25 per cent of the university’s tuition-based revenue—this was revealed during the university’s September 2016 budget meeting. At the meeting, it was also stated that “Concordia is looking to increase the ratio of international students in order to generate additional revenue from tuition,” according to the CSU.

The fact that this proposal has been in the works for the past three years is also quite troublesome, especially given the fact that it’s only being brought to our attention now. How many other secret projects are in the pipeline that’ll impact our student population? We would like to think that Concordia values its international students and what they bring to our university, but the current circumstance seems to suggest they value money more than good education.

As of yet, the university won’t allow CSU representatives to see the proposal, meaning we—the students—won’t be able to get the concrete details.

“[The proposal] has yet to be presented to the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors. That will only open happen late next month. We have to respect our governance process so the proposal won’t be shared with anyone until it goes through the required.” Said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota.

We understand the protocol in this situation, but we believe the university should be more transparent and divulge the true details of this proposal, so the student body can be fully informed before anything is approved.

This isn’t the first time international students have been screwed over either. Rewind to 2012, when the media reported widely on the fact that many Chinese international students were being ripped off. CBC News reported that Concordia hired a third party recruiter to attract chinese students to the university, yet the recruiter overstepped his role and essentially took their money and set them up in housing accommodations. When the students arrived, many of them were crammed into tiny rooms and were not even fed properly, according to the same report. Many students lost a lot of money and were afraid to speak out because they weren’t aware of their rights and feared deportation.

The university’s main focus should be on providing an opportunity for students—both from Quebec and abroad—to get a decent education and acquire the skills and expertise they need to work in an international job market. How can Concordia build its reputation abroad if the administration is constantly trying to suckle every penny out of these poor students?

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Editorial: It’s time to take climate change seriously

Photo from the Great Barrier Reef courtesy of Mario Sainz Martínez.

Today we wear black, and enter a dark period of mourning.

We struggle to accept this harsh concept of death, and naively pray to the gods for some sort of miracle. We’re not grieving for one particular person, but rather for the loss of an entire coral ecosystem off the coast of Australia. An ecosystem that had previously thrived for 25 million years.

Suddenly, a hand reaches out of the darkness and slaps us in the face in a swift and dramatic motion. “The Great Barrier Reef isn’t dead yet you damn fool,” says the strange mysterious voice, as we struggle to regain our composure.

Earlier this week, a cheeky obituary was released by Outside magazine that sensationally declared the death of the giant reef in Queensland, Australia. The article quickly spread on social media, with The Sun and the New York Times adding fuel to the fire.

While it appears the Great Barrier Reef isn’t dead yet, it is in a critical state according to The Guardian. The same article highlights that almost a quarter of the entire maritime ecosystem contains bleached coral, and the reef is continuing to bleach at an alarming rate.

Corals are living marine organisms and have a symbiotic relationship with tiny algae called zooxanthellae, which gives the coral its vibrant color. According to National Geographic, warming ocean waters stress the coral and cause it to expel the algae, which leads to the bleaching of the reef. Although, in some cases, the coral can recover, many organisms do in fact die, leaving an ominous grey exoskeleton.

This alarming phenomenon is not isolated to the Great Barrier Reef, with evidence proving that all coral species are at risk. Bleaching is thought to be caused by a combination of the warm El Ñino current and climate change, according to The Guardian.

It’s definitely troublesome to see the general public only caring about the reef once it’s been pronounced dead by some travel magazine. We should all be thinking about this ecosystem and our environment as a whole.

Collectively, we humans have contributed to the decimation of the Great Barrier Reef—amongst other natural disasters—by exploiting the planet’s resources and producing unfathomable amounts of waste.  

We’ve screwed up bigtime, and it’s important to realize that all of our actions—even halfway across the world in Montreal—can have a direct impact.

“But what can we do here at Concordia?” You may wonder, and the answer is right before your eyes. The Concordia Student Union (CSU) recently announced by-elections, which will take place from Nov. 15 to 17. There are two referendum questions that address the university’s environmental status.

The first referendum asks whether the student population agrees with the demands of Divest Concordia, in asking the university to remove all of its investments in fossil fuels and “related industries.” The goal here is to reinvest in something more sustainable in regards to the environment.

The second question asks whether the CSU should support the fossil fuel divestment campaign until the university has completely divested from these assets.

Every small action that we take, collectively, adds up to big change. Take public transit instead of driving. Recycle. Compost. Reduce your beef intake and switch to more sustainable sources of protein. We are all to blame for the damage inflicted on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the rise in global temperatures. Wasting time pointing fingers and shifting the blame won’t take away the fault that rests on each of our shoulders.  

Here at The Concordian, we ask that students become more environmentally conscious, and understand that our planet is in a dire state. Now before you call us hippies, we fully support these two referendum questions and urge the entire student body to vote yes in the upcoming by-elections. Also, please recycle our newspaper once you are done reading it.

See what Concordia students on the street had to say about this issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4FebcO-1dM

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