Categories
Opinions

Opinion: Dividing a province, one ban at a time

After more than a year in power, the Parti Québécois government must be commended on their flawless performance in the art of dividing a society. They began the year with language laws, which culminated in the infamous “pastagate.” Now they have moved on to segregating religious minorities.

The PQ’s proposed Charter of Quebec Values is a set of guidelines describing which religious symbols would be considered appropriate for a public servants to wear to work. Public servants would include all city workers, policemen, judges, prosecutors, correctional agents, hospital, school, daycare and municipal workers.

“When you’re serving the state it will have to be clear: The state is neutral […] the people who serve you don’t want to influence or embarrass you by openly and clearly expressing their convictions,” said Quebec Premier Pauline Marois in a press release.

Notably, hijabs, niqabs, turbans, ostentatious crucifixes and kippahs would be considered overt and obvious symbols of religious belief and, as such, would be forbidden. Only small religious symbols would be allowed, yet there are no size limits proposed. Thus, the line between acceptable and conspicuous is both arbitrary and subjective. They have also not established how they would enforce their proposed charter.

Since its official release, the contents of the proposed charter provoked outrage from both the political sphere and the general public. One much discussed aspect of the bill was its inherent discrepancies.

The bill will give hospitals, universities, CÉGÉPs and municipalities the option to opt out of the proposed charter for a five-year period, during which employees would be able to wear religious symbols on the job. Daycare workers, however, will not have that privilege.

Dr. Emmanuelle Richez is a political science professor at Concordia University who specializes in Quebec and Canadian politics. According to her, these five-year exemptions are only a temporary option.

‘‘[Quebec] Minister [of Democratic Institutions] Bernard Drainville does not want these exemptions to be continuously renewed. He wants to eventually reach the PQ’s vision of secularism in time,’’ said Richez.

Even more striking is the fact that elected officials in the National Assembly would be exempt from the proposed charter policies altogether and will thus never have to worry about hiding their religious symbols.

‘‘If we’re really trying to achieve the religious neutrality of the state, what’s more representative of the state than an elected official?’’ said Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce mayor Lionel Perez in an article published in the Gazette. Perez is a practicing Jew who wears a kippah.

The crucifix will also remain in the National Assembly and so will the cross on Mount-Royal, despite both being symbols of Christianity. Drainville says they are now part of Quebec’s religious heritage and will not be removed, according to La Presse.

Other discrepancies include Quebec’s continuous subsidizing of religious private schools and keeping the opening prayer at municipal council meetings.

‘‘The charter is essentially trying to impose the values of the majority of Quebecers on the minority. There is a religious double-standard here evident by the crucifix remaining in the National Assembly,” said Richez. “The majority of the people want to force the minority to make sacrifices the former is itself not ready to do.’’

In essence, the PQ is once again using their divide-and-conquer strategy as a means to gain the upper hand in the next provincial election.

‘‘The Parti Québécois is continuing its policies of division by literally fabricating a crisis to change the subject [from Quebec’s economic situation],’’ provincial Liberal leader Phillippe Couillard said at a caucus meeting last month.

It’s a good thing the PQ renamed the bill from the “charter of secularism” to the “Charter of Quebec Values” because this proves it is anything but secular.

Categories
Music

Steady Hills embraces the highs and the lows

From music videos, to YouTube cat/rap parodies and online games, it seems like Steady Hills are perpetually dominating cyberspace. With the release of their latest music video “Dark Room,” the Halifax duo prepares for their third tour of Eastern Canada.

Steady Hills take the stage. Photo from Flickr.

“Most people found it slightly creepier than we thought,” said Andrew Dahms of the video, the band’s drummer and backup vocalist. The band was able to creatively — and creepily — capture viewers’ attention while filming in a Halifax art gallery, despite their non-existent budget. The video shows the band playing in what appears to be a vacant lot filled only with taxidermied animals and unnerving monkey statues.

“We really lucked out when we got this art gallery,” said Chad Harrington, the duo’s lead vocalist and guitarist. “We kind of like to focus on YouTube in general,” he said, but both agreed some musicians can get too caught up in the whirlwind of social media.

With a  handful of videos readily available on YouTube and a selection of tracks on SoundCloud, Steady Hills has amassed quite a following since the release of their debut 2012  EP Alone in the Marquee. With an altogether eclectic sound, the Halifax two piece have been described as a clash between The Decemberists, The Black Keys and Johnny Cash. Although flattered, they don’t necessarily agree.“It’s something like that but it certainly isn’t either,” said Dahms.

“I feel it’s getting a little folkier, but some people respond by saying ‘No, it’s even more rocky’ […] but I don’t know, everybody interprets it a lot differently,” added Harrington. They admit being a two piece band can be challenging at times, most notably if something were to happen to one of them, “there’s not a whole lot holding it up,” he said.

“More important than the music: the long drives. I just can’t hear the same stories over and over,” joked Dahms.

Any technical challenges are certainly outweighed by the creative rewards. “We’re not trying to impress anybody by just being two people, we’re kinda just trying to make good music,” said Harrington.

Despite personal challenges along the way, the guys remain optimistic. “I think any half-sane musician second guesses being a musician,” said Dahms. “If you love it, it makes it easier.”

“I kind of ignored it for many years because I was just kind of making money and following that path of taking over the family business,” said Harrington. Familial expectations aside, Harrington could not get music off his mind. “I gave up a lot of things to pursue music […] and I started nurturing that creative side again,” he added.

Although optimistic, the folk-rockers’ album Alone in the Marquee displays a strong sense of mature  realism. “The song “Today” really wraps it up […] don’t worry about what was in the past or what you didn’t do; if you want to do something just do it now […] life kind of sucks sometimes but that’s just life so keep truckin’ and while you’re alive get some things done that you wanted to do,” said Harrington. “Most of the songs just spurted out as I was paving a new path.”

This idea of acceptance ties in well with the name of the band itself. “Life is a series of hills to climb and there’s ups and downs,” said Harrington. “And we thought we were pretty steady guys,” he added cleverly.

“It’s kind of like putting all the negative shit on the table and acknowledging it and still figuring out how to put a smile on your face,” added Dahms.

The duo have much to smile about with a slew of upcoming Canadian fall tour dates. Not to mention some  increasingly popular music parodies available on YouTube, the most popular of which boasts over 15,000 views and features Harrington’s cat sporting some bling to the tune of LMFAO’s “Shots”. “It’s actually a sort of almost but not at all viral video on the Internet on my strange channel,” he laughed.

When all is said and done, Steady Hills has come to terms with the fact that life is filled with struggles, but it doesn’t seem to be slowing  them down in the least. “Know that you’ll always be constantly overcoming something and just get comfortable with that,” said Harrington. “You’re better off once you realize that life is always a bit of a struggle and once you accept that, the sky’s the limit I guess.”

Steady Hills play Bar Spectacle l’Escogriffe on Sept. 19.

 

Categories
Opinions

Confessions of a 20-something #1

Everyone is better than me. It is as if a secret handbook to life was handed out in elementary school on a day where I had the flu or the chicken pox. I often find myself looking around and thinking everything is going wrong, all because it’s going differently for others.

A few years back if you would have asked me what I thought being 20 would feel like, I probably would have answered very differently than if you asked me how I feel right now. I’m an adult, right? I shouldn’t care what people think, because that’s the right thing to do. I should be like the nonchalant people who appear to stroll through their days. I’m independent, strong and tenacious.

Thing is, I am a walking contradiction. I doubt myself to the point where it even annoys me. I could probably attribute this mentality to being bullied for a large part of my childhood. Despite that, I’d like to think that everyone feels this way once in awhile. However, no one really talks about it openly. I often have people tell me “Wow, you have everything put together,” or “You’re so confident.” I get this from the very people I envy.

That’s when I almost spit out my pick-me-up pumpkin spice latté in disbelief. So this is how it works? So many of us are thinking the same thing, but no one wants to talk about it. No one wants to run through these weird and afflicting feelings of inadequacy? Does anyone want to open a dialogue that would help rid us of the extra anxieties and complexes we don’t need? I’m not saying we all need to hug it out and sing “Cumbayá” together, but a little more openness wouldn’t hurt.

It’s seen as a weakness. We’re adults now, we aren’t supposed to care about how other people conduct their business. If that is the case, then why are societal norms constantly pushed down our throats? Why is everything so codified — the rules, marking systems, perception of beauty, sex appeal, the list goes on. It seems like the foundation of our society makes it impossible to ignore what and how others are doing. In a transitional time such as your 20s, it is hard to focus on you and being yourself.

I love how people tell me to be myself, but then mock and shun me for doing exactly that. Because I feel like I’ll never be pretty enough. I’ll never be smart enough, clever enough, and funny enough. I’ll never be “normal.” It astonishes me how many people I’ve met who have felt this way. Amazing, intelligent, kind hearted people. It hurts me to see young people struggling with this, and it frightens me as well.

We’re constantly plugged in, making it terribly difficult to shut the world off. Our mistakes are documented now more than ever. I don’t know about you, but no matter how well I am doing in school, work and with my social life, I feel quite lost in the world we are currently marching forwards.

These are the confessions of a 20-something. These are the silly, “trivial,” embarrassing, but rather common feelings, stories and issues that no one wants to talk about. The little thoughts that rumble about inside of our minds and keep us awake at night. I’m opening the dialogue. Let’s do this.

Have something to say? A suggestion, comment, question or your own confession? Email theconcordianconfessions@gmail.com. It’s anonymous. Do it, you’ll feel better.

Categories
Music

Sampling the psychedelic 70s

Don’t let the charming decadence of the name Lilacs & Champagne seduce you into thinking that tuning in will be an easy listening experience – on the contrary, indulging in the sample-heavy duo’s product provides the listener with some of the dankest, impurest stuff on the market today.

Lilacs & Champagne play Il Motore on Sept. 17. Photo by Eliza Sohn.

“The friendliness of the name helped sell us on it, because that’s kind of what its not,” said Emil Amos, partner in crime of Alex Hall, who comprise the duo. “It’s trying to slip a pill into your drink – you’re drinking this saccharine thing, but there’s an insidious drug waiting behind it.”

Sure as shooting, Lilacs & Champagne tries – and succeeds – to crawl under your skin and stay there. Both their self-titled debut album as well as Danish & Blue, which dropped this past April, serve up the unlikely atmospheric mix of the sinister and the playful, which manage to coexist perfectly under the umbrella of influence that is ‘70s rock and psychedelica.

Harking back to the past and paying homage to its vibe, whether it be via their samples dating back decades or the availability of their albums as LP’s, is the group’s joie de vivre.

“You could say it’s almost a device,” said Amos. “Unfortunately, in the end of the ‘70s, when analog equipment was at its very height and records had never sounded as beautiful as they did, digital technology came in and destroyed this incredible language – this totally amazing, intricate, mysterious language that human beings had written and sculpted.”

In order to artfully resurrect what Lilacs & Champagne regard as a period of auditory mastery, Amos and Hall regularly make a sport of digging through record shop stock, looking for “the most embarrassing pieces of music that people have made in the last century, where they accidentally show a piece of their soul that they didn’t even understand they were revealing.”

These hand-picked samples then become both the sculptor and the sculpture itself as they are delicately worked into each and every track. Much like the limitations imposed by preconceived notions of what sounds good on piano, guitar, and drums in a regular recording environment, sample-based records dictate an entirely new cocktail of limitations that an artist must accommodate.

 “A lot of people assume it’s easier working with samples, but it’s that much harder to defy the initial purpose of what the sample was trying to do,” said Amos. “Trying to build smaller clips into a new tapestry and iron them out into a cohesive composition could very well take you more time than writing something on guitar and bashing it out.”

The resulting content is as impure as it is soothing, and as eerie as it is rewarding to figure out for yourself. From the unfamiliar sounds of obscure Scandinavian pornography, underground films from their preferred era, and the twangy, seductive remains of what may have once been a Bollywood track, samples make up the skeletal structure of Lilacs & Champagne.

 “It’s an attempt to recapture the spookiness that music can convey, the particular kinds of experiences that you’ve had in the past,” said Amos. “That music that you heard wafting out of your uncle’s porn den when you were a kid that was so soft and so cheesy, or the music that your neighbour was ODing to next door. We’re trying to reclaim these things you thought were scarring, strange, and slightly insidious. You have to go to the ‘70s for that feeling.”

 Revisiting fuzzy, dreamy memories of yore and throwing them back in everyone’s face decades later is Lilacs & Champagne’s way of gently nudging the modern music world towards a curiously surreal, oddly dreamlike time – and jogging willing listeners’ minds while they’re at it.

“We’re trying to create a discomfort in that little area where darkness and sense of humour meet in the middle,” said Amos, “and make it weirdly fun to listen to so that you want to hear it again and again.”

Lilacs & Champagne play Il Motore on Sept. 17.

 

Categories
News

Sexual assault resource centre to open at Concordia

Photo from JasonParis on Flickr

After nearly two years of students trying to establish a sexual assault resource centre, Concordia will be opening a centre this fall, in the GM building on the Sir George Williams Campus. On March 5, 2012, in an attempt to demonstrate how important and needed a sexual assault centre would be, students took it upon themselves to rally and campaign in and around the school to gain recognition. Students also created a petition in which they managed to receive more than 1,000 signatures. Nearly a year and a half later, students’ efforts have been acknowledged and they are being provided the space and funding to support the centre they’ve been asking for.

Administrative coordinator for the Centre for Gender Advocacy, Julie Michaud, acted alongside the group of students last year, to show her support and to bring as much awareness as possible to the issue of sexual consent.

On Jan. 25, 2012 in a Dragonroot Radio interview, a workshop series at CKUT radio, Michaud spoke about the campaign to open a sexual assault centre at Concordia and why it is so crucial.

“We’re asking them to re-vamp their policies around sexual assault to make them more comprehensive, more accessible and more understandable by everyone in the university community,” said Michaud. “That includes making sure that security staff and counselling and development staff understand those policies really clearly and that they get sensitivity and awareness training around sexual assault.”

Director of the Counselling and Development Department at Concordia, Howard Magonet, was one of six members on the advisory committee that spearheaded the organization and recruitment process of the sexual assault resource centre.

“Andrew Woodall, the dean of students, brought a whole group of people together for us to have a consultation [with], which has been, in my opinion, a great consultative process that’s included representatives from the CSU, centre 2110 [Centre for Gender Advocacy], as well as a variety of internal Concordia departments.”

With a background in social work, Magonet will act as a supervisor for the centre. Interviews for a centre coordinator wrapped up last week.Many candidates applied to fill the position as coordinator for the centre and after thorough background and resume checks by the advisory committee, three applicants were chosen to be interviewed, after which the advisory committee came to a unanimous decision about one candidate, whose name cannot yet be given.

“The candidate [chosen] is very eager, and we’re obviously very eager. I think he or she will be a great asset to the Concordia community,” said Magonet.

In order to further solidify the importance and actuality of opening the centre at Concordia, Magonet took to the streets of Montreal to spread the word.

“I’ve gone out and started initial conversations with external partners, such as the police, the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre, different CLSCs and different shelters, just to try to get the ball going before all this gets launched.”

Services that can be expected at the centre include interventions, education, outreach, as well as appropriate referral resources for survivors of sexual assault. Services will also include crisis intervention and accompaniment for individuals who require it and the development of peer support initiatives.

At the moment, there is no set date for the opening of the centre. However, Magonet has said the centre can be expected to open “sometime at the end of September, [early] October.”

Concordia will be the sixth Canadian university to open a sexual assault centre on campus.

Categories
Student Life

Keep the bank off your buns: Practice safe plastic

New semester, new teachers and new friends often also means new clothes, new cell phone, new computer and plenty of nights out on the town. How do students manage to pay for all these expenses? A credit card is an easy solution and getting approved can be easy as pie. However managing how you spend the money and paying on time is the challenge. According to Maclean’s Magazine, 9 students out of 10 have a credit card but the question is whether students really know how to use one responsibly.

Flickr photo by Michael Swan

It is no wonder that financial institutions seek out students as customers; students need money, especially during back-to-school when tuition and school books are a major expense. While many banks offer student friendly perks, it is important to remember how owning a credit card can be a double-edged sword. It can help balance your budget and build credit but, if used irresponsibly, can put you into trouble for years after you have graduated.

“Students should not be living on money they don’t have. They should calculate their cost of living with incomes if they work and establish a strict limit for the expenses,” said Kylie-Anne Doerner from the Consolidated Credit Counselling Services of Canada.Students should take precautions with their credit cards by setting up a budget.

It is important to consider the reasons why you should get a credit card. Getting a credit card for a shopping spree is a bad idea, as is planning a whole Europe trip and charging it to your credit card. According to Valeria Fargnoli, an account manager at the Royal Bank of Canada, students should only use their credit card in case of emergency.

“Some people use their credit card as current extra cash they can spend,” said Fargnoli, “and results in spending money [they] don’t have.”

Banking has become more electronic which can make it hard to grasp how we dispense our money especially when all it takes is the swipe of a card. For some students it may be better to use cash.

“Using my credit card is so easy,” said JMSB student Nicolas Smith. “It is easier than going to an ATM to withdraw cash.”

However, when the end of the month rolls around Smith is left sitting with a maxed out credit card and a whole lot of regret.

CCCSA recommends that students own credit cards but that they should be used responsibly. One way of doing this is reading the fine print.

The majority of credit cards have a 19.99 per cent interest rate. Credit cards sold and solicited over the counter at stores often have higher interest rates of 25 to 40 per cent. Contact your financial institution and get informed on what benefits there are to being a student credit card holder. Many banks offer reward points like Air Miles, Aeroplan, movie points and student price card discounts.

Paying your credit card balance is the next step. You have 21 days to pay your credit balance after the final day of your bill’s cycle. CCCSA recommends paying the full balance of your account to avoid situations in which that $12 school book triples in price due to monthly interest. Programming automatic transfers to your credit card is an option to ensure timely payments.

Now, how to decide on a limit: Bank of Montreal encourages a $1,000 credit card limit for students. However, you might want to be conservative with your limit. Having a higher one can encourage you to spend more. Fargnoli advises that “expenses or your credit card should not be more than 10% of your biweekly income.”

“When I was a student, payments would go through automatically,” said Concordia graduate Carolina Gonzalez Gonzalez. “It was the best thing because it allowed me to prepare for the next step [of my life] without worrying about my credit card bill.”

Financial stress weighs heavily on students who pay rent, tuition, school books and the occasional round of beers when out with friends. However, being aware of money spent and keeping informed on the amount a credit card is swiped is something that students should start and continue to do if they wish to remain financially stable.

Categories
Opinions

Opinions: Batman versus the evil netizens

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

The fickle nature of Hollywood makes it a dangerous playground. Those lucky enough to make it past the bullies and claim their spot on the swings of fame must deal with harsh criticism.

More often than not, these self-proclaimed critics overreact and are much too quick to judge. It seems that these days all it takes to be an expert is a Twitter account, a computer and a contract with a local Internet service provider.

When big casting decisions and announcements go down in Hollywood, everyone suddenly knows what works – and what doesn’t – in the business. They haven’t seen the script, they haven’t even seen a promotional trailer but they already dismiss the choice of actor.

It’s one thing to disagree with a casting choice and call it a day, it’s another thing to start a petition to get an actor fired. This is exactly what happened with Ben Affleck after it was announced last week that he would be taking on the role of Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel, Batman vs. Superman.

The Internet exploded, and #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck was trending in North America, with people saying that Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s newborn, North West, would have been a better choice to play the masked vigilante.

A Change.org petition was started in order to unmask Affleck and it currently has almost 70,000 signatures. Someone even started a petition and wrote to the White House and the Obama Administration, asking them to make it illegal for the Oscar-winner to play the superhero. The petition was removed, probably because it was asinine.

The casting was a bit of a shock, however it is important to actually give the actor a chance. Affleck played Daredevil back in 2003. The movie as a whole was fairly horrendous, not just his acting. It takes a solid script as well. As Joss Whedon tweeted: “Affleck’ll crush it. He’s got the chops, he’s got the chin – just needs the material. Affleck & Cavill toe to toe — I’m in.”

Affleck has matured and garnered a lot of experience off camera (directing The Town and Argo). Also, those claiming the movie will bomb at the box office because of him are completely unreasonable. First off, it’s a blockbuster superhero movie; it’ll do well money-wise regardless. Also, Ben Affleck’s movies have always done well. In 16 years, the movies in which he has been the lead have made a combined $2.7 billion, according to an article published by Forbes, Aug. 24.

The same backlash occurred when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. People took to the Internet to vent, saying that he was no Jack Nicholson. Ledger went on to give an outstanding performance, for which he garnered a posthumous Academy Award.

Movie executives are damned if they do and dammed if they don’t. Audiences often call for fresh and new ideas in film because they feel like movies are being regurgitated.

However, when these new ideas arrive, fanboys and fangirls come out in angry droves. It’s another way of proving that people are afraid of what they aren’t familiar with.

Social media is just a game of who screams the loudest, it’s a distorted reality of popular opinion. Their slogan should be “Make sure to keep your seething, irrational hate for something you haven’t seen yet under 140 characters.”

With the news of Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston being cast as Lex Luthor, fans have a lot to look forward to. People shouldn’t be too quick to judge. With an interesting cast, and a smart man like Affleck taking on one of the main roles, this project has a lot of potential. Don’t worry, Boston’s got this one.

Categories
Music

Examining Montreal’s electronic scene

Photo by Keith Race

The Concordian sat down with 20-year-old journalism student Joel Abrahams who has, since his first year at Concordia, been regularly involved at the university’s radio station, CJLO, DJing around campus, as well creating his own music and producing albums.

The Concordian: So how did you get started at CJLO?

Abrahams: I started in [the] winter of my first year, in 2011. When I first started out, I was playing more mainstream electronic music and now I have moved into music that is, still electronic, but more closer to what I like to listen to.

C: What’s the atmosphere like there?

It’s a lot of fun. It’s cool ‘cause, for a university radio station, it’s well known and reputable. CJLO is highly regarded, yet it’s also very relaxed. You can more or less play whatever you want, in terms of music.

C: You were the DJ for the CSU’s Orientation BBQ event last year and you have the gig again this week. How did this come about?

The first time, they just put out a message [calling for DJ’s] and I responded to it. They came over and listened to my mix. And that’s it. This time, a person that I was in residence with is involved with them and put my name in, and I got it, since they knew me from last year.

 C: How did you get started in DJing and making music in the first place?

I think people probably underestimate how difficult it is to make electronic music. I have been working on it for three years. It was a good full year before I made an actual song. Not a song you’d wanna listen to but a song nonetheless with all of the parts, sounding proper. I was definitely not enjoying that. But after a year and a half or two, it became really fun. Like, I woke up at 8 a.m. and worked on this song right up until you came here.

 C: Whoa. I arrived at 5 p.m..

I know.

C: What kind of music do you make?

You know house music, right? House is 128 bpms. What I make is like 160 bpms. So it’s like a drum pattern but at a lot faster rhythm. It’s not as fast as drum bass but a little slower. It’s called footwork or juke. It started a long time ago, 20 or 30 years back, and it predates a lot of the electronic music that started to become a lot more popular. Yet it hasn’t hit the point at which people caught on to producing it to the level that it becomes sold and commercialized. What I think happened with dubstep and house music is that people were just so entrenched and focused in the one or two genres and all other ideas just completely got flushed out. For footwork and juke, it was local in its native city, Chicago, up until the ‘90s and then it spread out to other random pockets in the world. It became really popular in Japan and in parts of Eastern Europe and then, especially in the last few years, it started growing again exponentially.

C: What’s the scene for footwork and for juke in Montreal?

If you wanna focus in on that specific niche genre, Montreal is missing out, I guess. But in terms of electronic music, in Montreal or elsewhere, this is not an issue. The music I listen to, and the people listen to, tends to get passed around much more than other genres because it’s such a niche. So the scene right now is made up of people that are into the same kind of music and closely connected with the music they make, sharing it and giving me feedback on music I’ve produced. And I have become more open about giving others feedback on theirs. I think there are avenues that haven’t been tapped as well as they could have. I mean, there is one other person here [Montreal] who I was really inspired by to start focusing on this kind of music. His name is Hesk. But I think he moved to Toronto now. Nobody here really produces it and plays it live anymore.

 C: That’s disheartening. Have you tried reaching out to other students on campus to collaborate?

I haven’t’ found that many people [at Concordia]. I haven’t seen anybody that makes this kind of music. Not even Trap, [which is] hip hop beats made into electronic music, which is closely related to my music but much more popular. I’m sure I am wrong, though. But hopefully [if there is] someone reading this and wants to work together, [they] can reach me.

 C: For the curious, what kind of equipment are you using?

I use a digital DJ controller, right now. It’s a Numark NS6. I also use a Native Instruments Maschine. My keyboard that controls most of this stuff is the Akai Pro MPK49. And this Korg FX Pad is for effects and stuff.

C: And when you are not making your own music, where do you like to go in the city to hear music?

There are not that many places that I would like, really. If there is one place I would go to, it’s the Belmont.

C: So you are essentially saying that the best place for you to hear music, is your own home.

Yeah. I’ve got a pretty good set-up here [laughs].

Be sure to catch Joel Abrahams every Friday at 3 p.m., hosting the Death Metal Disco Show, starting next week on CJLO. You can also watch him DJing live at the CSU BBQ, Sept. 4 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Loyola Campus.

 https://soundcloud.com/emaciatebeats/trill-murray-tilt-emaciate

https://soundcloud.com/emaciatebeats/nicky-lucy

https://soundcloud.com/emaciatebeats/z-trap-shit-v16-emaciate-beats

Categories
Sports

Passing on the knowledge, passing on the passion

The camp took place from June 25 to 29, and it once again proved rewarding for not only the kids but for the coaches as well. Photo by Catherine Grace

This summer, the Concordia Stingers football program once again hosted their annual Football School for kids between the ages of 7 and 16. The camp took place from June 25 to 29, and it once again proved rewarding for not only the kids but for the coaches as well.

The week-long camp gave younger players the chance to lace up their cleats, strap up their pads and receive training from Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) coaches and players. Seen almost as a mini-training camp, Stingers coaches and players tried to teach the kids things they wouldn’t learn anywhere else, said Eric Noivo, the assistant director for the camp and defensive end for the Stingers football team. This summer, there were more than 60 kids who attended the school and, depending on their age, were divided into three groups: Novice (7 to 9-year-olds), Junior (10 to 12-year-olds) or Senior (13 to 16-year-olds).

Bryan Chiu, Concordia’s assistant offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, was the camp director. Other coaches that attended the school included defensive backs coach Nathan Taylor, fullback and tight ends coach Primo Capriolo-Morris and quarterbacks coach Jeff Willett. Other Stingers that led camp activities were Noivo, Kevin Prempeh, Gregory Beaulieu, Fred Landry-Simard, Mike Harrington and Jamal Henry.

Players would begin arriving shortly after 9 a.m. and begin every day with a two-and-a-half-hour practice that ran until noon. Following their lunch break, the campers would head into the gym for an hour session of dodgeball, soccer or basketball. After that, the kids were back on the field for another two-and-a-half-hour practice.

To end the day, the kids were divided up into teams for an air-force football tournament that continued throughout the week. Air-force football is touch football where the coaches lead their teams as the quarterback. Not only was it everyone’s favorite part of the day, but the Stingers coaches and players took it just as seriously as the kids.

“Playing [quarterback] in the touch tournament is as competitive as it gets,” said Noivo. “We take it very seriously because it gives you bragging rights until next year and it’s definitely the kids’ favourite part of the camp.”

As the word “student” in student-athlete comes first, not all the focus was on athletic abilities, according to Noivo. Time was set aside for Stingers coaches and players to talk to the kids about the significance of education, along with the importance of hard work, dedication, respect and teamwork. Campers also received a written evaluation of their football skills, overall attitude and effort.

By the end of the week, everyone was able to take something away from their experience at the Stingers Football School.

“It’s rewarding when you teach the kids a skill and you see them apply it and improve at it over the course of the week,” said Noivo. “In the end, it’s fun for the coaches too because it gives us an opportunity to teach the game we love to future Stingers.”

Categories
News

Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program honoured with top prize

The Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program (CVAP) won financial support and a morale boost from the McConnell Family Foundation, when they were awarded the Community Service Learning Award on June 13. The program plans to use the grant money towards improving sustainability in Montreal and Uganda.

Photo by Wallis Blanchaer

“It really is an honour to be recognized [by the McConnell Family Foundation] because of their stature and the types of organizations they benefit,” said Daniel Lavigueur, executive director of CVAP. Although Lavigueur has been to Uganda four times, this is his first experience there as an executive director.

The organization consists of over 10 full-time employees, 40 international volunteers, and 10 local volunteers. Assigned different projects upon their arrival, volunteers’ varied work includes working alongside nurses to produce health assessments at a local orphanage and helping to construct daycares and other facilities. Short term projects include organizing events where locals have the opportunity to win sustainable prizes such as pigs and goats. While students’ cannot always see the end result of their work before coming back home, objectives are accomplished over the long-term.

“That’s bang on exactly what we do,” said Lavigueur. “The program is about experiential learning. It’s been an unbelievably rewarding learning experience for me.”The Community Service Learning award is given to organizations whose programs are based around “volunteer work designed to achieve community goals and to instill in students a sense of civic engagement,” as it states on the McConnell Family Foundation website.

CVAP will use the prize money to help improve the organization’s environmental sustainability. Last

“One of the areas we have a lot of waste is through our use of fuel,” said Lavigueur. CVAP currently uses three large gas-guzzling vehicles in Uganda: two 14-seater vans and one SUV. These vehicles are needed even for small trips and grocery runs, since there are no other vehicles available. To reduce fuel consumption, they plan on purchasing a small motorbike and bicycles for the volunteers. The program also plans on replacing desktop computers in Montreal with energy efficient laptops.year an environmental impact assessment strategy was drawn up that highlighted areas to improve sustainability.

Additionally, CVAP is continually coming up with opportunities for students interested in cross-cultural research, looking at expanding partnerships within the community and assessing different community-based organizations to find that perfect fit for curious students.

“I would definitely recommend it,” said volunteer Megan Chafe, a recent Concordia graduate who returned from Gulu earlier this month. Chafe will go on to study international development next year and hopes to return to Gulu for an internship next summer.

CVAP’s previous executive director, Jamie Robinson, worked on the grant application for months. Although it was a heavy undertaking, Lavigueur said it was worth the effort as the application was representative of what the organization was about.

The program’s projects are guided through their partners in the city of Gulu. “We try not to come in with our own projects… we try to execute them through partnerships and to address the needs of the community,” said Lavigueur.

CVAP’s partners include the Sports Outreach Ministry, the St-Jude’s Children Home, and the AIDS Support Organization.

“Our mission is being recognized,” said Lavigueur. “It’s validation [means] we’re on the right track.”

 

Categories
Concordia Student Union News

Experience the city and Concordia at CSU orientation

Graphic from Press.

A new school year means, among other things, that the Concordia Student Union has an array of orientation events lined up geared towards first year students. The CSU wants to share their passion for Montreal’s liveliness with the university’s vast student population. This year’s orientation theme, “Experience,” is inspired by Montreal’s Expo 67. Spanning two weeks, orientation events last until Sept. 12.

A concert in Jean Drapeau Park, the site of Expo 67, has been planned by the CSU in collaboration with Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASA) for Sept. 6. While the performers have yet to be announced, the CSU promises “the most memorable concert to date.”

Students will have fuel to get through the first two weeks of school, as free coffee from Café Santropol will be available at both the Loyola and Sir George Williams campuses.

To kick off the string of events, free breakfast including Fairmount bagels will be served just outside the Hall building on the first day of classes. Later in the week, on Sept. 10, there will be an all-you-can-eat breakfast where students can put faces to the names of members and executives from CASA, ASFA, FASA and the ECA, who will be there to meet them.

CSU and überculture, a diverse group of creative-types made up of Concordia students and alumni, will host an art fair on Sept. 4 and 5 where students can discover and pick up unique pieces at a low cost. The group’s campaign to “empower independent art, media and culture” will be supported at the fair.

At the Open Air Pub behind Reggie’s, students can attend different daily activities including henna workshops on Sept. 3 and the CJLO record sale on Sept. 9. The pub will stay open until 2 a.m. on Sept. 5, marking the first of Reggie’s weekly Thirsty Thursdays.

Reggie’s is also the locale for the Sustainable Food Fest on Sept. 11 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., where students can help themselves to locally produced goods and support sustainability. A little later that evening at Reggie’s, students’ talent in poetry and comedy will be highlighted at the Poetry Slam and Open Mic Night.

Before the summer ends, students can relax at least once more on a rooftop terrace. On Sept. 9, a jazz cocktail event with live music will take place downtown on the 11th floor and terrace of the EV building, where students will be given two free drinks.

The Loyola BBQ on Sept. 4 is where students can try their hand at ultimate frisbee then feast on burgers (meat or veggie) and popsicles. The CSU and ASFA along with another club, which has not yet been announced, will host a cultural night at The Hive, also at Loyola Campus, on Sept. 10. The secret club will be serving traditional food.

After eating and lounging, students might be eager to get a little more active. To suit those needs, free pole dancing and kickboxing introductory classes will be held on Sept. 10 in the Hall building. At the Loyola Chapel on Sept. 11, the John Molson Sustainable Business Group is hosting a free yoga class. If students fall in love with an activity, they can register for regular classes at both gyms.

To end the orientation, on Sept. 12, there’s an ’80s dance party in the Hall building as well as a ’90s themed final party at Reggie’s. The CSU invites students to slip back in time and indulge in nostalgia before settling back into what can quickly become a hectic new school year.

For more information and the complete schedule, visit csuorientation.com

Categories
Opinions

Opinions: Egyptian Military vs. Muslim Brotherhood: two sides of the same coin

The world has its eye on Egypt, and many have been quick to choose a side. However, the complexity amidst the turmoil makes it rather hard to point fingers in just one direction.

Anti-SCAF protests. Photo from Gigi Ibrahim on Flickr.

In one corner is the Egyptian army under the leadership of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). After a year of chaos under Prime Minister Mohamed Morsi, the SCAF, in the supposed interest of the people, has deposed the Prime Minister. SCAF outlawed his Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, installed itself as interim protectors of the revolution, and vowed a fresh round of elections.

Prim in their medal-laden and immaculately pressed army uniforms, these chosen few wave a paper. They believe their ‘roadmap’ to peace and stability is the only sure defense for all Egyptians against fanatics, counter-revolutionaries and terrorists.

In reality, the army is a cabal that has run and exploited the Egyptian state for five decades. When the revolution in Tahrir square began and millions of Egyptians across the country took to the streets, united in their opposition to the authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak, where was the army? They were the ones wielding police batons as maces and plowing into the very people they now claim to represent. They were the ones that stood by and even aided sectarian violence against the Copts, Egypt’s Christian minority.

To stave off the revolution, they killed innocent protesters; now, to preserve it, they kill hundreds more. This roadmap of theirs will surely be a path doubling back to feed upon itself, producing more of the same. Can one honestly expect anything different from an organization whose command structure remains virtually unchanged throughout all this upheaval? Anybody who truly believes they’ll give over power, or even agree to share it with whoever they allow to win any future elections, is sadly mistaken.

In the other corner is the equally distasteful Muslim Brotherhood. A blatantly Islamist movement with aims at refashioning Egyptian society to be more sharia-compliant, they eked out a victory at the polls in the first democratic elections Egypt has ever had in its 6,000 years of recorded history. They essentially bribed their way past the finish line by providing supplies and services to the marginalized and poor.

Rather than pragmatically compromising, they proceeded to assume they had a mandate to rule alone. They ignored the constitution, handed Morsi powers above and beyond judiciary oversight, and alienated wide segments of the population to the point where their opponents had nowhere to turn to but the military.

They played and lost the guessing game of how many constitutional abuses it takes to bring down a democratically appointed government. By their numerous steps back, they’ve erased the one forceful stride forward the Egyptian people managed to take for themselves.

This is why it is difficult to pick a side. If this was Frost’s proverbial fork in the road, neither road would make all the difference. Egypt’s people continue to suffer and die. Their hopes of implementing a government that is answerable to its constituents is quite dead.

It might as well be decided by flipping a quarter. No matter the result – heads or tails, Muslim Brotherhood or army – we are dealing with two sides of the same coin.

People have long memories, even if they have short attention spans. This brief taste of empowerment may still give Egypt’s people victory – one day.

Exit mobile version