The Concordia Greenhouse Project is reaching out to students by asking for the approval of a fee levy in hopes of securing a budget in the wake of potential closure.
The Greenhouse is asking that students approve a 12 cents per credit fee levy in a referendum this month to provide funding for a wealth of services and locally grown veggies on the 13th floor of the Hall building and several community gardens.
While the Greenhouse has been around for 50 years after the merge of Sir George Williams University and Loyola, the sciences eventually moved to Loyola Campus and abandoned the initiative. When plans were made to tear it down eight years ago students, faculty and Sustainable Concordia moved in and brought it back to life under an expansive rejuvenation project.
“In a really quick amount of time we started writing grants, we created more positions, we opened up all the rooms,” said Marcus Lobb, a co-ordinator of the City Farm School. “There are all kinds of different community projects that are taking up the different rooms and we do a huge ceiling production each year. There’s a lot to it, it’s really vast.”
The Concordia Greenhouse is now looking for permanent funding. In the last academic year its expenses totaled $90,846. If the fee levy is accepted it would raise approximately $75,000 during the 2013-2014 academic year. The rest of their funding would be found through grants for sustainability programs, private donations and fundraising initiatives.
Fee levies often provide programs and infrastructure to students; many students consider them to be an effective means to provide valuable opportunities, though not every student has a chance to benefit directly from the endeavor.
Those who may not want to pay for services in which they don’t personally have a stake in have options. Every year there is an opt out period providing ample opportunity to those students who may disagree.
“I feel that [the Greenhouse] is kept a little secretive and a lot of people . . . would be thinking ‘why am I paying two dollars towards this when I didn’t even know it existed,’” said Dillon Crosilla, a geography student at Concordia. “So I can see some hesitation from people there.”
During the last two years students across the anthropology, sociology, engineering, geology and economics departments have engaged in the Greenhouse’s offerings. The Concordia Greenhouse also supplies food to Cafe X, Frigo Vert and on-campus markets for healthy and inexpensive produce.
In order to oversee operations and ensure an ethical use of the students’ investment, the Greenhouse will be forming a Board of Directors that will comply with the Concordia Student Union’s standing regulations. An annual general meeting is also held every fall where students have the binding authority to approve or reject the proposed budget.
The vote will be held across March 27, 28 and 29, between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.. A 50 per cent plus one majority of votes is needed to decide on the initiative. If passed, full-time students can expect a $3.24 yearly fee added to their tuition fees.
Similarly, Sustainable Concordia will also be holding a fee levy referendum in hopes of expanding student contribution to 15 cents per credit starting in fall 2013.
A few years ago, watching a Stingers curling team was a possibility. For two straight years, Concordia fielded a women’s curling team that represented the school at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Curling Championships.
It all started in 2009 when four Concordia curlers got together and formed what would be the school’s curling team.
Skip Kristen Richard, second Sasha Beauchamp, third Brittany O’Rourke and lead Erin Ryan made up the foursome that was sent to represent Concordia at the nationals for two years running.
All four players had at least five years of experience when they formed the team back in 2009. Richard, Beauchamp and O’Rourke also each participated in the Canadian Junior Championships between 2007 and 2009.
Curling made its introduction at the CIS level in 2008. Concordia’s first participation in the national championships was in 2009 when Montreal was the host city of the event. The Stingers finished with two wins and three losses.
One year later, the same Concordia team went to Edmonton, Alberta for another shot at winning the tournament. The Stingers finished with the same 2-3 record.
“When we had the curling team, we had a big fundraiser at the Montreal West Curling Club,” said O’Rourke. “We invited a whole bunch of sports teams to come out and try it. It was a good fundraising event that got people involved in curling.”
Concordia has not fielded a team since the 2010 nationals and the prospect of recreating one could be in the works.
O’Rourke and Beauchamp are still avid curlers. Both players recently represented Team Quebec at last month’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Team Quebec finished in ninth place with three wins and eight losses.
“I wouldn’t mind helping them out,” said O’Rourke on the prospect of a new Concordia team. “There are a couple people I know [at Concordia] who are curlers. One of them is looking to put a team together. That’s all it takes, one person to get the ball rolling. For Concordia, why not have a team? You get to go right to nationals because there’s no other school in Quebec that competes.”
The sport itself seems a lot easier on television than it does in real life.
“It’s definitely hard to do at first,” said O’Rourke. “A lot of people think it’s easy, and they try and they feel it’s really awkward. It just takes time and persistence, and eventually you’ll get the technique down.”
Curling, like golf for example, is a sport that requires great mental ability. Once getting the technical skills in order, the rest comes down to strategies on where to place the rocks on the sheet.
“They call it chess on ice,” said O’Rourke. “No strategy can be successful if you don’t make the shots you’re calling. It’s definitely a mixture of both [technical and tactical]. If you have terrible strategy then even if you make the shot, it’s going to suck. If you have good strategy and don’t make the shots, it will still come out to the same thing.”
Whether or not Concordia will see another curling team depends on those interested in the sport. With a small team, minimum of four players, and a guaranteed spot in the nationals, this could be your way of finally becoming a Stingers athlete.
Students took to the streets of downtown Montreal last Tuesday in the first night protest since last spring to denounce a planned indexation of tuition fees by the provincial government.
According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, 72 people were detained during the course of the night. The SPVM ticketed 62 protesters for unlawful assembly while the remaining 10 were arrested during clashes police officers.
Several thousand students were protesting increases that will see tuition rise by three per cent a year. The proposal was brought forth during the summit on higher education hosted by the provincial government in late February. As part of their election platform, the Parti Québécois were adamant on addressing unresolved issues from last year’s tumultuous spring where students condemned former Premier Jean Charest’s tuition increase of $1,625 spread out over five years.
In a statement on Wednesday, Premier Pauline Marois urged people to stay calm.
“I believe what we proposed is reasonable and I hope it will be seen that way,” she said. “In the meantime, I’m inviting everyone to remain calm.”
The protest kicked off from Place Émilie-Gamelin around 8 p.m. and was declared illegal as soon as demonstrators started marching. The SPVM agreed to allow the protest to continue if it remained peaceful but intervened just over two hours later.
Cries of “À qui la rue? À nous la rue!” echoed through downtown alongside the occasional blast of fireworks as protesters followed a banner bearing the words “social peace is behind us,” while helicopters followed overhead.
At around 10:15 p.m., windows of the Sheraton Centre on de Maisonneuve Blvd. and glass at several banks were smashed with pieces of concrete. Protesters ran as police officers split the group in two on Viger St. just outside the Palais des Congrès. Police charged the large crowd and used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters.
Several hundred protesters made their way back to Place Émilie-Gamelin where clashes with police continued. After 45 minutes of a cat-and-mouse game, the SPVM detained the remaining 62 protesters who refused to leave the corner of Beaudry and Ste-Catherine Sts.
One student was hospitalized after being injured by a stun grenade and one officer was also treated for minor injuries to his eye after a firework reportedly hit him in the face.
Some are arguing that Montreal police targeted people indiscriminately.
Frederic Bourgault, 24, was detained by police after he went to retrieve his bicycle on his way home after the protest was over and received a $625 fine.
“What they did was unjustifiable as none of us were dangerous,” said Bourgault. “Everyone I was with was going home.”
Bourgault claims that officers threw his bike on the ground before handcuffing him.
“I didn’t do anything wrong but I was treated terribly.”
A similar protest in Quebec City last Thursday lasted just several minutes and resulted in three arrests. More night demonstrations are planned throughout the month of March in Montreal, including a protest this Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Place Émilie-Gamelin.
Imagine a forest: moss-pillowed logs, a sky of leaves and perhaps the trickle of a river just out of sight. Now imagine this forest as an image painted solely by sound.
Ghost Lights mastermind Noah Cebuliak, a Concordia student, is new to the Montreal music scene but his talent has the potential to take him to the top. His sound is a unique combination of haunting and relaxing that can’t help but make you wistful — not for a person, but for a state.
“I’d say atmosphere is the most important part of music,” said Cebuliak. “My sound is longing; it’s nostalgic. It’s a state of reverence.”
Saltwater, Cebuliak’s EP, is composed of six songs inspired by the world itself. The first track, “Fog Chief,” lays down the foundation for the melancholic vibe that lingers and traces its way throughout the following singles. Cebuliak’s personal favourite is “The Flask,” which is “a bit edgier.”
“With this music, what I’m really trying to do is look at the relationship between humanity and the wilderness, and the places where they meet,” he said. “Especially where they meet in a very thin way. I love the way nature interacts with humanity in small ways: abandoned places that are overgrown and being reclaimed. There’s always been a vibe there for me.”
“For a long time I thought it was corny that I was in love with nature,” he continued. “I felt like it might get attacked. But then I realized that I really love the wilderness and I have something to say about it.”
For someone so invested in the world’s natural beauty, Montreal is quite a change of pace. Cebuliak credits his time here to his love of Montreal’s “music scene,” while pondering whether being so removed from the west coast wilderness he loves influences his music.
“Sometimes I wonder: do I write better when I’m not there?” he asked himself. “Because then that feeling of longing is amplified.”
While Saltwater was released as recently as November, music has been a constant in Cebuliak’s life for as long as he can remember.
“My mom is a singer/songwriter, too, actually,” he said. “When I grew up, she made a couple of albums in our house in Alberta. My dad produced them. It was a pretty low-key affair. She’s been doing it forever, so it’s kind of been the lineage, you know?”
Not everyone is lucky enough to inherit such palpable talent, but that’s unquestionably the case for Cebuliak.
“When I was three, my parents had all these ice cream buckets they gave me, and I would play them with sticks,” said Cebuliak. “The drums were my first ‘thing,’ and now I play the guitar and piano, too. I always knew there wasn’t anything other than music that I could be doing and that I had to throw my life into this.”
Not only does he provide almost all the instrumentals on Saltwater, he also pours his soul into lyrical poetry that often takes months to write and refine.
“I don’t really understand how people write songs in a day,” said Cebuliak. He smiled before pointing to my notebook and continuing, “that’s just not my style. I have a bunch of these with words, attempts and drafts after drafts of finding out what I really want to say. I could write forever.”
Cebuliak credits his ambition partially to advice he received from Stars frontman Torquil Campbell.
“Don’t give up,” he stated simply. “Believe in yourself. Just keep going and persevere, and eventually all the competition will just fall away. It’s really simple and it’s really cliché, but you know it’s true.”
He related this advice to one of Buddha’s teachings from the Dhammapada: those who have not gained treasure in their youth perish like old herons in a lake with no fish.
“Essentially, just go for it now, or else you will never get it,” he said. “I think I’d live by that quote, because this is the golden age, you know?”
Cebuliak has already come a long way. He even confessed that he’d never consider performing the songs he wrote at the start of his musical journey. The songs he is proud of, though, have received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
“I was hoping that people would like it and that they’d get something out of it, because that’s kind of why you put something out there,” he said. “Otherwise you could just listen to it yourself and be happy. But it’s good that people have responded positively, because this is just the scratching of the surface. There’s a lot more to be said and in a much stronger way from me. I’ll be really excited when I put the next couple things out and see what people have to say about it.”
Now, his eyes are fixed firmly on the finish line.
When asked where he could see music taking him, Cebuliak laughed, pumped his fist into the air and exclaimed “to the top, baby!”
Press photo for SIPA Concordia's production The Yellow Wallpaper
Press photo for SIPA Concordia’s production The Yellow Wallpaper
Jane enters the room and sits on the folding chair that’s been placed beside the bed they’ve created out of a stained folding table. She clasps her hands in her lap and crosses her ankles.
“What is your relationship with the wallpaper?” director Jen Cressey asks from across the room. Jane raises her eyes and answers in a despairing, timid voice that has a distinctive Victorian era intonation.
“I’m not quite sure, it’s obviously there and it’s what I’m looking at and it’s what I can engage with. I guess right now I’m just very, very sad. I’m sad that my husband didn’t listen to me and that I wasn’t important enough to listen to. I’m very sad that as hard as he tries he won’t be able to make me better.”
The year is 1899. Jane has just given birth to her first child, a boy. Unfortunately, she is suffering from postpartum depression. Her husband, John, a physician, is treating her. He has prescribed bed rest, a diet heavy in meat and absolutely no writing or other artistic activity.
“I tried very hard. I tried very, very hard to follow what he wanted me to do but none of it really worked, it only ever made me more upset and more deceitful,” Jane laments.
She spends her days in her room at the rental house they’ve leased for the summer. The room looks like it might have previously been a children’s nursery; the windows are barred and there are rings in the wall like one might see in a gymnasium. Furthermore, the floor is scratched and gouged and there is a black “smooch” running around the base of the room. Most notably, however, is the yellow wallpaper. The paper is peeling in places, it is stripped off in great patches all around the head of the bed, about as far as you can reach while lying on your back and in a great place on the other side of the room near the baseboard.
Natasha Perry-Fagant, who embodies Jane onstage, believes that John loves Jane very much and only wants her to get better.
“He loves her very, very deeply and he just thinks if she just believed in this treatment, if she just actively participated and put these thoughts out of her head, she would get better.” The reality is that Jane is not thriving within John’s confinement treatment, though she tries her best. She finds herself getting more and more depressed.
It’s been a 114 years since Charlotte Perkins Gilman first put Jane onto paper in the form of a short story called “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She put her there as a way to set her free from the confines set upon her by her husband. For a century she’s lived and thrived within the text, opening society’s eyes to her situation and consequently that of many women like her.
Now, three women are trying to bring her out and onto the stage so her story can impress the world in a new fashion. Perry-Fagant is serving as a conduit through which Jane can speak. Cressey is in charge of facilitating Jane’s emergence. She takes on the role of therapist in order to help Jane connect to her feelings and she directs the portrayal of Jane’s story as it will appear onstage.
Miranda Abraham keeps everything running smoothly. She makes notes on every decision that is made concerning Jane’s staging and sets up the appropriate set pieces. The women have been working on bringing Jane forth since the winter semester of 2012. It has been a long process, but their devotion to having Jane come across as accurately as possible speaks to their love for her.
As Perry-Fagant is where Jane resides for the most part, she often finds that Jane takes over outside of rehearsal. Sometimes Perry-Fagant will realize she’s thinking Jane’s thoughts or seeing things through Jane’s eyes, “Sometimes, I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll turn into Jane,” she said.
In the play, Jane is preoccupied with the wallpaper in her room.
“This wallpaper has a kind of sub-pattern in a different shade, a particularly irritating one, for you can only see it in certain lights, and not clearly then. But in the places where it isn’t faded and where the sun is just so, I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design,” she explains from her text.
Jane finds in the yellow wallpaper an engagement she can’t get from John. Confined as she is in her room, the paper becomes her escape from reality. She’s been spending all her time staring at the paper, peeling away the paper in spots, she thinks, John won’t notice. She sees something in the pattern of the wallpaper, she sees something…
Jane, why are you touching the paper so? What is it that you see there?
“A woman. A woman trapped within the pattern. She’s out. She’s gotten out!”
Round and round the room she goes, creeping along the baseboard, dragging her body around and around the room.
“What is the matter? For God’s sake, what are you doing!”
Jane smiles, “Creeping.”
The SIPA Short Works Festival will take place from March 7 – 10 at the Cazalet Theatre on Concordia’s Loyola Campus. Tickets are $2 per show for students and $5 general admission. For more information visit Facebook.com/SipaConcordia.
Léo Bureau-Blouin, former student leader and current Member of the National Assembly for the Parti Québécois, has come under fire following the provincial government’s announcement of an increase tuition by three per cent in line with the cost of living next year.
Bureau-Blouin, who first came to prominence as the president of the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec during the student protests last year, has stood by the decision of his party to index tuition by roughly $70 a year, a stance that has not pleased his former colleagues.
Martine Desjardins, president for the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, told The Concordian that she was disappointed when Bureau-Blouin chose to support the indexation proposal, but that she was not surprised.
“Personally, when he decided to go up front and support the inflation proposed by the government, it was a shock,” said Desjardins. “But at the same time it’s easy to understand why because he’s like, you know, a deputy and he needs to follow the line of the party,” she said.
Desjardins explained that students felt deceived when Bureau-Blouin went against his initial position for a tuition freeze, something he advocated for as a student.
“There’s no surprise but there’s a lot of deception,” said Desjardins.
Following the announcement of the increase, Bureau-Blouin’s Facebook page became a place for students and protesters to vent their frustrations over his decision to support the indexation. One poster called Bureau-Blouin a traitor and demanded he resign, while another accused him of letting down a generation of students. Conversely, others voiced their support for Bureau-Blouin and congratulated him for his work.
The day after the education summit, Bureau-Blouin wrote that he had received threats and attacks but would still attend a monthly event to meet with his constituents on March 16.
When reached for comment, Bureau-Blouin’s office said that he would not comment on the threats on Facebook but did, however, call the situation “deplorable.”
On Facebook, Bureau-Blouin defended the increase by stating that by the 2015-2016 academic year students would be receiving an average of $1,140 in additional bursaries.
However, Desjardins called into question the suggestion that additional money for financial aid programs would help offset the increase claiming that not all students are eligible for bursaries.
“We know that there are a lot of problems with the financial aid program,” she said. “Actually it’s only 40 per cent of the students that have access to the financial aid program, so what are we doing with the other 60 per cent?”
On the Facebook page for the monthly meeting, critics promised to attend in order to face Bureau-Blouin and demand answers. Spokesperson Camille Robert for the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiantes, the student group in favour of free tuition, asked if he would be using his salary to help cover the cost of the indexation.
Simon-Pierre Lauzon, VP external for the Concordia Student Union, said he was not surprised that Bureau-Blouin’s interests had shifted from those of a student to those of a politician. He hoped, however, that the former student leader would push for student’s interests from within the PQ.
“He cares about his position within his new political context, and at the same time we should stop looking up to him as a peer,” Lauzon said. “He no longer is a FECQ representative, and we should treat him as such,” he said.
Lauzon believes students are now divided between those who see indexation as a realistic compromise and those who are in the streets again because they reject any increase.
“We went in the streets in significant part because we had no seat at the table, and our voices fell on deaf ears,” he said. “With the PQ, although we might not have every single thing we ask, we still have a measurable influence. Our leverage is still very potent, and while the printemps érable is in the PQ’s short term memory we will act to get as much as we can.”
When you look up the statistics of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team from the 2012-13 season it may look bleak, or disappointing — however it may not be a complete oversight.
Photo Madelayne Hajek
Coming into the season, there was a mix of new and old. Head coach Les Lawton returned for his astonishing 31st season behind the bench with his 600-plus victories. Alongside him were returning assistant coaches Harry Yeramian, Lisa-Marie Breton and goaltending coach Dave Pare. A new face, and welcome addition to the Stingers coaching staff, was three-time Olympic-gold medalist Caroline Ouellette, teammate of Breton on the Montreal Stars. She signed a contract in the offseason to work part-time with the Stingers.
When you looked at the roster, it was a lot of inexperience at the varsity level, with a staggering eight rookies.
Up front, you also still had the leadership of recently-named captain Mallory Lawton, assistant captains Emilie Bocchia and Erin Lally, and the veterans Veronique Laramee-Paquette and Alyssa Sherrard.
On the back end was a mass rebuild with many rookie defenders inserted into the lineup. You had the leadership and experience from Laurie Proulx-Duperre, Gabrielle Meilleur and Mary-Jane Roper to help the new crop ease into their new careers.
Between the pipes was also a tandem with only two games experience in Concordia’s maroon and gold colors. Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon was the sophomore goaltender who played two games in the 2011-12 season, both in relief. Rookie Chelsey Hodges got the nod to serve as the alternate goaltender, meanwhile Caroline Switalski and Michelle Purdie would serve as third and fourth goaltenders respectively.
The team started the year with a tournament in Toronto, where they took one of three games, defeating the York Lions 4-0 in exhibition play.
The first game of the season showed a great example of a young and inexperienced team. Concordia dropped an 8-1 decision at the hands of their cross-town rivals, the number-one nationally ranked McGill Martlets.
They bounced back, however, and continued to play close games all throughout the season, dropping many one-goal games that would inevitably prove crucial to the Stingers not making a trip to the postseason yet again.
They salvaged their first win in their fourth game of the year, defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a 3-2 shootout at the Minto Sportsplex on Oct. 27, with Lally getting the decisive shootout tally.
Their only other victory came at home at Ed Meagher Arena, Nov. 16, narrowly escaping another shootout and beating the Carleton Ravens 2-1 with Bocchia getting the clincher.
Overall it was a hard year for the Stingers who only finished the season with five points. They couldn’t get past McGill or the Montréal Carabins despite some close calls. Their goal scoring wasn’t always the factor as they were able to get some production from every player.
At the end of the season, it was also time to say goodbye to four players who had solid careers with the Stingers. Forwards Bocchia, Laramee-Paquette, Lawton and blueliner Proulx-Duperre all hung up their skates. This will open the door for the sophomores to step up and the rookies to take what they’ve learned throughout the year to expand to a more productive 2013-14 campaign.
Totem Tea and Spice will surely add a kick to your day
Sara Baron-Goodman
It was a blustery winter afternoon when a handwritten chalkboard sign beckoned me into Totem Tea and Spice, promising hot apple caramel tea lattes. It’s been a beautiful love affair ever since.
The shop is located just a few blocks away from Concordia’s Loyola campus. Radiating warmth, the homey café is an instant mood lifter.
At the end of February, owner Julie Pederson moved the small walk-up, one-room shop to its new location at street level. The vibe is like a modern English tea room — white paint with grey and exposed brick accents, eclectic frames scattered on the walls and teacups hanging from the light fixtures that Pederson made herself.
Totem Tea and Spice (Photo Sara Baron-Goodman)
A handful of tables provide sit down room for a good number of customers, but the space is usually quiet, inviting easy conversation or a good atmosphere to get some work done.
The shop is an expansion of Pederson’s online business of the same variety.
“I wanted a space to be able to grow a local clientele and interact with customers,” she said.
Pederson keeps everything in the shop close to home: all the teas are organic and everything is from local Canadian suppliers.
“That’s something that’s very important to me,” she said. “My customers look for healthy options.”
The new space is bigger, brighter and offers up an improved menu. In addition to tea and tarts, customers can now enjoy fresh sandwiches, soups, cookies and cakes. To boot, the menu is vegetarian friendly; I chowed down on a fresh vegetable and avocado sandwich with a red pepper spread and was wholly satisfied.
Lunch specials are served up daily, and revolve around a hearty vegetarian soup and savory scone, accompanied of course by your choice of tea.
Most importantly, of course, is the seemingly endless selection of 65 loose leaf teas to choose from, each with a cute quirky name. My personal favorite would have to be the Karma Sutra, a floral and chai blend that’s delicate and warms you up from the inside out.
For my fellow chocoholics, I recommend the Red Velvet, a tea that channels the flavours of the classic cake. There’s also the Cocoa Chanel and the Caramel Latte, which are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Totem Tea and Spice is located on 51 Westminster Ave. N. (Photo Sara Baron-Goodman)
For the health conscious, sip on one of the more holistic organic teas, which boast properties from helping digestion to curing the common cold.
As far as snacks go, the Melting Moment cookies are sure to live up to their name. The orange blossom butter dough pairs decadently with a creamy lemon zest filling that makes my mouth water just thinking of it.
Totem also offers a selection of 100 spices to take home. Packaged neatly in gift sets with or without the loose leaf teas, there are salts for barbeque, baking and everything in between. The Java Love Rub, made with coffee beans, is a customer favourite that pairs well with red meats and chicken.
All the teas and treats are available to enjoy in house or to take home. For the latter option, infuser mugs and teapots come in a variety of shapes and sizes so you can steep your favorite tea wherever you are.
To top it off, Totem is very student friendly; a full meal of a sandwich and tea latte is only $7. A tea alone is $2.50, while a latte goes for $3.50. Everyone from the Royal West Academy boys to the older women who frequent the yoga studio upstairs seem to love this place. Honestly, there’s very little not to love.
Totem Tea and Spice is located on 51 Westminster Ave. N.
Teas and scones will warm the cold soul
Saturn De Los Angeles
As I walked up Parc Ave. on a mild and foggy Friday night, I saw nightclub warriors revelling in their little bubble on the left and students hanging out on the street enjoying each others’ company on the right.
Desperate for a hot drink, I soon discovered this cozy little lounge right at the corner. I walked inside already drenched from the flakey snow melting on my scalp.
The macarons and cupcakes are also a popular staple. Macarons go for $1.75 each. There’s also the option of purchasing a box of six for almost $10 or 10 for $15. (Photo Natalia Lara Diaz-Berrio)
A young lady greeted me, enthusiastically offering a pot of delicious Kyoto Cherry flavoured tea to warm my soul.
I couldn’t resist. I gave in and poured myself a cup. At the moment I took that first sip, I was in heaven.
“We’re a tea shop, and a tea [accessory] shop, and a lounge.” said François Philibert, manager of CHAÏ T’ Lounge.
CHAÏ T’ has been in business since the beginning of last fall and operates as an extension of its more bistro-oriented café called El Mundo. Both establishments have the same owner.
The lounge is full during evenings and weekends with the majority of customers coming from McGill University. There’s also a good blend of tourists, local folks and tea aficionados.
“French people are more used to classic teas than the English people, “ said Philibert. “I see [the French] ask for green tea, but the English order more flavoured ones.”
There is a huge selection of tea available ranging from traditional to flavoured, such as the chocolate mint and a vanilla and grenadine flavoured black tea called the Monas blend. (Photo Natalia Lara Diaz-Berrio)
There is a huge selection of tea available ranging from traditional to flavoured, such as the chocolate mint and a vanilla and grenadine flavoured black tea called the Monas blend. Genmaicha, a green tea with roasted rice, is a staff favourite. Kyoto Cherry and Long Island Strawberry are recommended picks.
A tea pot will cost you $3.99 and will give you four to five cups. You can get an extra refill of hot water for a $1.
The macarons and cupcakes are also a popular staple. Macarons go for $1.75 each. There’s also the option of purchasing a box of six for almost $10 or 10 for $15. Each cupcake will cost you $3.49, while you can get a box of six at nearly $20. But don’t let the prices fool you. They’re absolutely filling — and addictive.
They even have locally made scones from a baker in the West Island. What goes better with tea than freshly made scones? Red Velvet cupcakes also grab a lot of attention. There are also S’More and Oreo flavoured variants as well.
Philibert is preparing a new menu for the summer by creating concoctions with naturally flavoured bubble tea (iced cold tea with tapioca bubbles) and tea soda (steeped tea with sparking water).
Philibert explained that it is important to him that CHAÏ T’ Lounge stand out. “There are four coffee shops on the same corner . . . but we wanted something different. Tea [shops] are getting interesting and getting more popular. We thought at the beginning to make it [as such], but we wanted to be a place to relax and study.”
His passion for tea is something that grabs people’s attention, and it is something that he’ll continue to do as CHAÏ T’ Lounge reaches its first year of operation in September.
The highly anticipated summit on higher education organized by the provincial government began Monday morning, where Premier Pauline Marois clarified that the two-day conference would “establish an open dialogue” on post-secondary learning but would likely not reach a solution.
Following a whirlwind provincial election, the Parti Québécois announced the summit in September in an effort to appease all sides in the student movement crisis that rocked Quebec for months last spring. The minority provincial government cancelled the tuition fee increase of $325 per year over five years, and later $245 over seven years, imposed by the Charest Liberals upon taking office, effectively freezing tuition for the time being.
The conference was initially pegged to resolve the issues at the core of an ideological impasse over higher education.
Heavily guarded by the Montreal police, guests had to pass through three checkpoints before entering Arsenal gallery on William St. in Griffintown.
Day one
During the first day, Minister of Higher Education Pierre Duchesne offered three proposals in relation to post-secondary education: create a provincial council to oversee universities, a law that would provide a framework for universities and a plan to hold institutions accountable for financing and budgeting.
In a meeting that lasted over 12 hours, multiple issues were discussed: the development of post-secondary funding, research, quality of education and accessibility.
While various concerns were voiced by participants, the most contentious issue of the day was the issue of tuition.
The PQ announced later in the evening that they plan to index university tuition at approximately three per cent annually, meaning that tuition will rise by $70 per year leaving student representatives feeling deceived.
Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, said that indexation would “punish” students and send the wrong message. “I’m telling you there will be an impact,” said Desjardins.
However, Duchesne said that the province can simply no longer afford the same rates and that a freeze would force Quebec into a crisis.
Lowering the expectations
The summit has been the subject of backlash the last few weeks, with university rectors only receiving invitations 10 days before the start of the summit. Principal Heather Munroe-Blum of McGill University blasted the provincial government, citing disorganization and poor planning before calling the conference “a joke.”
Concordia University is waiting on the results of the provincial conference to know when the additional funding promised by the PQ is coming — something that was promised to the university in the wake of the tuition freeze.
Protests throughout the day
Peaceful protests marked the first day of the summit, with a small contingent gathering outside Arsenal gallery in the early morning during guest registration. Approximately 30 protesters passed through the streets of Griffintown calmly without ever accessing the highly guarded building.
Similarly, a gathering of 20 demonstrators including professors, students and civilians congregated on Notre-Dame St. to reiterate their position on accessible education. The protesters did not mobilize, choosing instead to read poetry and sing in support of students in front of the building.
In the afternoon more than 1,000 protesters marched through the streets of downtown Montreal, leaving from Cabot Square. The protest was promoted by the Association pour une solidarité syndicate étudiante, the student association that backed out of the conference since free education would not be part of the discussion.
“We feel sort of betrayed by the Parti Québécois,” said Concordia University student Serge Del Grosso. “They say they support the student movement and are against the hikes and then they say they will index it.”
Del Grosso went on to say that those present didn’t want tuition to rise and genuinely believe free education is a possibility.
Protesters headed south before arriving at the summit, where police officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal and provincial police guarded the building. There was no intervention before demonstrators resumed their march east toward the downtown core.
The protest, though declared as illegal from the start, was largely peaceful. The SPVM reported two arrests. Police claimed that projectiles were launched and flags from some downtown hotels were removed by student protesters.
By 6:30 p.m. protesters had made it to Ste-Catherine St. and McGill College St. but by 7 p.m. most of the protesters left after tear gas was deployed. Several demonstrators met at Parc Émilie-Gamelin heading east but dispersed close to Beaudry Metro station.
Vandalism
Earlier Monday, several buildings were vandalized with red paint including the offices of Duchesne and of former student leader Léo Bureau-Blouin. The Ministry of Education building located on Fullum St. was also covered in red paint.
Vandals wrote in white outside the offices of the minister responsible for Montreal, Jean-François Lisée, and several windows were also broken.
No arrests have been made in relation to those incidents.
With files from Robin Della Corte and Matthew Guité.
In their final two matches of the season, the Concordia Stingers women's basketball team finished with a win and an overtime loss
In their final two matches of the season, the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team finished with a win and an overtime loss. In the first game of the week, the Stingers hosted the Bishop’s Gaiters at Concordia Gym on Thursday night. Two days later, Concordia travelled to Quebec City to face the Laval Rouge et Or.
Against the Gaiters, the maroon and gold got off to a flying start. Guard Ashley Clarke had the hot hand, scoring 10 points straight in a
In their final two matches of the season, the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team finished with a win and an overtime loss
span of five minutes. She finished the game with 21 points, playing a total of 25 minutes. Concordia’s strong quarter gave the team a 22-8 lead going into the second.
Continuing their dominance from the first quarter, the Stingers went on a 15-0 run in the first five minutes of the second. The home team led as much as 24 points. The Gaiters slowly started to hit a few baskets and suddenly scored nine unanswered points to reduce the deficit.
By halftime, Concordia still had a comfortable 15 point lead, 34-19.
As the score suggested, it looked like it was going to be another relatively easy win for the Stingers. In three games against Bishop’s this season, ConU had a perfect 3-0 record and won by an average of 18 points.
In the third quarter, the Stingers kept up their high-tempo offence. Halfway through the frame, their 24 point lead was restored. But much like the end of the second quarter, thanks to some unforced turnovers from the Stingers, the Gaiters managed to cut the deficit to 16 points.
Both teams went back and forth in the final quarter. With just over two minutes to go, Concordia had their largest lead of the game. A seven point run saw them jump up to a 25 point lead. As the final buzzer went, the Stingers won handily 70-51.
After Clarke’s team-leading 21 points, guard Kaylah Barrett added 13 points. Five other ConU players had more than five points each. Center Serginha Estime pulled down eight of the team’s 40 rebounds.
Despite the result, Stingers head coach Keith Pruden still believes his team needs to tighten up on defence and not give up easy turnovers on offence.
“We have to be more consistent at both ends,” he said. “We can’t afford to give people the kind of easy looks we gave up in the fourth quarter for example. We just can’t give up those kinds of transition layups. We certainly can’t turn the ball over as often. We got to hold the turnovers to under a dozen for the game, otherwise we’re giving teams quality opportunities to score.”
On Saturday against the Rouge et Or, an overtime was needed to find a winner. Laval pulled off a 67-62 win. Despite the result, Concordia’s loss had no effect on the standings. The Stingers still finished in second place in the RSEQ conference.
“I’m okay with where we are at right now, but we’re not playing exactly how I want to,” said Pruden. “We’re going to have to tune some stuff for the playoffs.”
Concordia will face the UQÀM Citadins in the first round of the playoffs this Wednesday at Concordia Gym. The Stingers have won all four season meetings against the Citadins this season. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
The Milk Urban Slide is at Place des Arts. Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Multicolored lights, ice, and a red sled: The Milk Urban Slide
Nathalie Laflamme
Staff writer
What: The Milk Urban Slide is definitely worth a stop at Montréal en Lumière. The slide is 110 metres long and filled with sound effects and flashing, multicolored lights. You are given a red sled on which to slide and many of the lights are activated as the sliders pass by, making the experience interactive. Two people slide at a time, so make sure to bring a partner to race with.
The Milk Urban Slide is at Place des Arts. Photo by Madelayne Hajek.The only slight annoyance about this event is the lineup. It takes about half an hour to get to the slide, but with all of the live music and activities going on around you, time flies by. There is also a free photo station where you can stage a photo of you and a friend sliding and have the photo sent to you by email or through Facebook.
This is an amazing event for all ages. The slide is fast enough to be thrilling, but not so fast that it will scare children. There are also walls on both sides of the slide, so it is perfectly safe.
If you decide to go, make sure to bring a hat – and especially gloves – as it can get chilly while waiting in line, and you’re going to want gloves for holding onto the sled.
Where and When: The slide is located in the Esplanade de la Place des Arts. The lineup for the slide, as well as the free photo station, begins outside of the Complexe Desjardins on Ste-Catherine St.
This event is open until March 3, but will be closed on Feb. 26 and 27. The slide is usually open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
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A warm winter down in Cabaret Clandestin
Andy Fidel
Staff writer
What: The subtle difference between just playing and feeling Argentine Tango are perfectly packaged into one show — Cabaret Clandestin. Montréal en Lumière brought together a talented group of emerging artists that will warm the winter nights from Feb 21 to 24.
Written and directed by Julie-Anne Ranger-Beauregard, Cabaret Clandestin takes place in Buenos Aires in 1888. The audience is immediately emerged in the narrative in what appears to be an underground saloon.
The audience sits around the round tables and sips on a free drink while the performers prepare themselves. The limited space creates a warm and inviting atmosphere; small enough that even those seated in the back can see Osvaldo Rabuñal pluck the strings of his guitar, Pablo Seib tap the back of his contrabass, and the dancers lift and hook their legs around each other. But you may want to close your eyes and merely listen to Andrée-Anne Tremblay’s dazzling artistry on the violin.
“Tango is a sad thought that is danced. So we dance,” says comedienne Kim Despatis. Ranger-Beauregard’s text becomes a work of poetry about a world where beauty and the malignant walk hand-in-hand. Despatis blends and interacts with the members of the audience, making us all laugh and ponder.
Anglophones, don’t be discouraged. The musical theatre may be in French, but the dancing and the music in between serve as a translation that is sure to entice and enthral all. This collaborative performance weaves through a wide range of emotions in a matter of moments. From pain to passion, torment to bliss, as one would expect from tango.
Where and When: The ARTV Studio underground in front of the Salon Urbain.
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Images of Buenos Aires: worth a thousand words
Jack Ward
Staff writer
What: Images of Buenos Aires captures the sights, sounds and smells of an incredibly rich and multifaceted city. Taking you on a journey through images, the photographs give an alternate view to what tourists pass by. An informative exhibit, Images of Buenos Aires is an educational compliment to the Montréal en Lumière festival. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of the exhibit was stuffy and pretentious and the turnout for the exhibition paled in comparison to the other events headlining that evening. Precedence was taken by an exceptionally well done live music show that was setting up just outside of building where the Images of Buenos Aires was held. However, what made up for the atmosphere were the amazing examples of traditional Argentinean music and food which tantalized the senses.
Where and When: Corner of De Bleury and Ste-Catherine St. W. Feb. 27, 26 and March 1 starting at 5 p.m. and March 2 and 3 starting at 12 p.m..
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The dark side of passion: Tango Demonstration
Tsoler Tekeyan
Contributor
What: As part of the festival’s spotlight on Buenos Aires, free tango demonstrations are being offered to festival goers.
Manuel Soto from Las Piernas Tango school introduces and demonstrates the concepts of the dance on stage, while his colleagues mingle with and encourage the crowd. You can show up with a partner, a group of friends, or alone. The atmosphere is friendly and it is easy to pair up with other participants or one of the dance teachers.
Instead of teaching techniques or steps, Soto focuses on the feel of the dance. There are elements of longing, passion and sensuality in the music and the movements but there is also melancholy and what Soto calls “the dark side of passion.”
“One moment it’s ‘yes I want you’ and the other it’s ‘no I don’t want you’,” says Soto.
There is an elegant playfulness to the exercise. With the upper body in an intimate embrace, the lower body fluidly glides across the floor.
The movements must start from the body’s centre and be felt at the gut level,” notes Soto.
He explains that the tango is a dialogue between two bodies moving together. In this relationship, “you must be in tune to the other while staying yourself. One partner leads while the other trusts; but it’s not about being a man or a woman, it’s about being who you are.”
While techniques can be mastered by professionals, the spirit of tango is rooted in improvisation and intuition. The style was developed in the streets of Buenos Aires and it has European and African influences. With time, dancers across the world have adopted the style.
“Montreal has one of the biggest tango communities outside Argentina,” says Benoit Dubois, a participant who has been learning the dance for the past two years.
That community might grow bigger with the help of Soto and his colleagues. Their passion for tango is contagious. Their friendly and laid-back attitude makes beginners feel like experts. It’s not about learning technicalities, it’s about feeling a mood.
When and Where: Demonstrations are being held at the RBC stage, Wednesday to Saturday at 5:30 p.m. until March 2.
Her collection features an array of gowns in blues, greens, beiges, and reds in lace, chiffon and brocade.
In a city that houses approximately three million people, few have been given the gift of design; fewer are given the chance to explore it. Born and bred in Montreal, fashion designer Arti Gogna is one of the chosen few.
During her second year in the fashion design program at LaSalle College, Gogna put on a fashion show where one of her teachers attended.
“He really liked one of my skirts. He worked at ELLE Québec at the time and said that it would be perfect to feature in the magazine.
The Arti Gogna collection features an array of gowns in blues, greens, beiges, and reds in lace, chiffon and brocade. (Arti Gogna press photo)
That’s what triggered it,” said Gogna. “I knew that this was my calling, it’s what I’m meant to do for the rest of my life.”
Five years later, on Feb. 22, I found myself at Espaces des Arts waiting for the launch of the Arti Gogna summer 2013 collection to begin.
As people filled the room, wine glasses started to clink and the lights began to dim to signal the start of show. The first model strutted onto the runway in a beautiful lace and chiffon peek-a-boo turquoise and lime dress.
“This is the first time I work with chiffon, I’m really experimenting with it and so far I’ve gotten a good response,” explained Gogna. “I’ll be using it for the next collection as well.”
Her collection features an array of gowns in blues, greens, beiges, and reds in lace, chiffon and brocade. Each dress possesses a unique trait that’ll suit any occasion. My favourite look was a turquoise asymmetrical gown with a chiffon bunched-up skirt and a high-cut lace patterned top.
“My designs are glamorous yet practical. I want women to wear my dresses and feel comfortable but still look sexy. We [women] have curves and my fabrics compliment them. They’re tight and fitted but accentuate the female shape,” she said.
As the show came to a close, the last model rocked the catwalk in a form-fitting crimson red silk sweetheart cocktail dress with a black tiered lace peplum skirt.
Gogna’s collection is currently sold at both 1861 store locations as well as on her website.
“I walked into Razberry [1861’s sister store] one day and just thought that my dresses would look great in the store so I asked to speak to the owner. I showed her my samples and she liked what she saw and that was that, they’ve been carrying my garments ever since,” said the designer. “I was lucky. Most aspiring designers aren’t given that opportunity which is why I always tell people to fall in love with what they believe in. If you do that, you’ll always succeed.”
After a trip to India during the holidays, she admits that her perspective on life changed. “Everyone is so free there. They’re just in a different and better state of mind. It has inspired me to do the same.”
Her upcoming collection will showcase that newfound sense of freedom that was triggered in her native land.
When it comes to the fashion industry, Gogna admires anyone who strives for originality. Her newest obsession is Indian-born, American fashion designer Naeem Khan. With his elaborate patterns and accents, first lady Michelle Obama can’t even help but indulge.
Before expanding her eponymous brand to the United States, Gogna would like to establish herself in Montreal.
“This is my home, I can’t fathom leaving Montreal without really getting my name out there,” she said.
After such a successful show, there’s no denying her potential to expand and succeed across the border.
