The thrilling, realistic, virtual experience of road racing packed into a game
It all started with one word in Netflix’s search engine: Road.
It was late at night and I was surfing Netflix, looking for something exhilarating, dramatic and inspiring. I ended up coming across a documentary my brother had recommended, so I decided to watch it. The film was centered around the story of an Irish family of motorcycle road racers.
The sport of road racing takes place on closed public roads. The racers zip around at speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour on roads lined with trees, garbage cans and driveways.
Press photo
Today, this traditional form of racing is not as common, and really only survives in places like Ireland or on the Isle of Man. The documentary details the rise of two brothers, Joey and Robert Dunlop, who sacrifice everything for their passion of the sport. Completely unafraid of death, the brothers choose to live on the edge doing something they believe in. Both are unanimously worshipped by fans of the sport, and now Robert’s sons, William and Michael, have also become champions.
The documentary left me feeling utterly worthless and craving an opportunity to live my life with such fervour as the Dunlop boys. Although I’m chasing my dreams in real life, I don’t feel like a road racer, I thought to myself. How could I become a road racer? I knew I had to be in class the following morning, so I settled on pursuing the answer in my PlayStation Store—that’s when I found the game Driveclub.
For $16, I got the entire racing game, including hundreds of car choices, and for an additional $16, I got the bike expansion. This is the kind of thrill I needed.
Driveclub Bikes is the perfect concoction of thrill, challenge and, most importantly, fun. The game features 20 bikes from 10 different makers, including BMW, Agusta MV, KTM, Kawasaki and Yamaha.
The motorcycles are astonishingly detailed and come in an array of colours for you to customize exactly how you please. The technical part of the game is to be admired just as much. The racing is challenging and highly realistic. Players have to take corners at the right speeds, brake perfectly, switch gears and avoid colliding with the 10 other racers. The best part of the game is the six camera angles that the player can choose from while racing. Driveclub has improved upon traditional first-person views by adding a camera that sees directly out of the racer’s eyes, as if you are looking out from the helmet.
The game has a dimension of realism, achieved by the changing weather which ultimately makes it hard to see through your helmet.
The game includes six country choices as well: Canada, India, Chile, Norway, Japan and Scotland. The resemblance is amazing.
All in the all, the game matches up to competitors such as Forza, if not surpassing them. With similar games selling easily for up to $80 today, Driveclub is a refreshing addition to the market.
FASA hosts a workshop on the art of grant proposal writing
Many students will have to write a grant proposal at some point during their careers. Since a grant proposal is essentially a money request, writing one must be done with care.
On Feb. 1, the Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) held a grant writing workshop aimed at arts students, but it was relevant and open to students from all faculties.
The workshop focused on tips for writing the perfect grant application for various projects.
Guest speaker and regular grant writer Amber Berson said grant writing is basically an application process where you ask for money for your work. The PhD student said the first and most important thing to focus on is mastering writing skills.
“Grant writing is an important skill, and it is a wonderful way to fund your art practice. But being a successful grant writer does not make you a successful artist,” she said. Berson said the skill is also useful when writing an artist statement, or, a description of the project, in a cover letter for a job, residency or an open call for submissions to galleries.
Berson said it’s important not to feel discouraged when applying for grants. “Even if you keep applying and you do not get positive results, it should not and does not take away your value as an artist,” she said.
Berson advised students to be clear and precise in their proposals—introduce yourself, and explain what your project is, what you need the money for and why would you or an organization needs to fund this project—why the project is worthwhile.
“You should never try to apply for all of the grants just because you need the money. That is very transparent to the grant agent. In certain cases, it even hurts your eligibility for grants in the future,” said Berson. She said students should contact the FASA agent or another grant agent if they have doubts or questions about the process.
As with any application, deadlines are very important with grant writing. “If you absolutely cannot meet a deadline, contact your agent immediately,” Berson said.
She stressed it’s also crucial to follow the instructions and meet the word limit or minute count for video submissions. While it seems obvious, she said, it isn’t always executed.
Asking for money must be handled with delicacy. Being realistic in terms of budget is an important thing to keep in mind.
“When you apply for a grant, you are applying for a not-for-profit project, which means you should not be making money off the project. Asking and getting [money] are completely different, and you should always ask for what you or your project are worth, and it should be realistic.”
For any student interested in applying for a grant to fund a project, Berson highly recommends visiting the Canadian Artists Representation (CARFAC) website. This website is a useful tool for helping students with grants and planning their budget. For students interested in finding out about arts funding, the Regroupement des Centre d’Artistes Autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ) and Artère are also great resources that have helped many artists get grants for their art.
For more information or to apply for grants, visit their website.
How a social media detox might benefit everyone’s health
For many of us, our phones are the first thing we look at when we wake up and the last thing we look at before going to sleep. According to a 2014 report conducted by the Media Technology Monitor, social media is widely used on a daily basis in Canada. In fact, over half of Canadians are signed up to at least one social media platform, and over 79 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 26 are connected to at least one platform.
Social media platforms were engineered with the goal of helping people communicate and connect them together. However, it seems the opposite might be happening. Psychological and sociological research is increasingly linking anxiety and depression to social media.
A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found a direct correlation between heavy social media use and depression in young adults. The effects are also being felt in the halls of schools. Research conducted by sociology and anthropology Concordia professor, Francine Tremblay, found the engagement of students in school has been affected by technology. “Students seem to be detached,” said Tremblay.
In Tremblay’s opinion, students should focus more of their time and energy prioritizing their well-being and their studies. “You are studying to succeed… A bachelor’s degree is extremely demanding. You are the most important thing right now,” said Tremblay.
It’s no wonder some students need a break from technology. Alexa Pepper, a communication studies student at Concordia, decided it was time for a detox when she noticed how much her social media use was feeding her anxiety. She decided cut herself off from social media for a week, and for her, it was a very positive experience. “I needed to focus on me… I was doing fun things and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything,” said Pepper about her experience.
Pepper said the break taught her that she didn’t actually need social media to function and be happy, but she likes the idea of being able to log in when she wants to. “It teaches you self-control,” said Pepper.
For political science student Emma Nablsi, as she embarked on her detox mission, she thought: “If previous generations could do it, why can’t I?” When she felt social media was weighing her mood down and affecting her sleep, Nablsi decided to go on a month-long social media detox. “It was honestly the best time I’ve ever had…because you can live life the way you’re supposed to. I was more social, and I felt that I was in contact with people,” said Nablsi.
Photo by Danielle Gasher
She said she detoxed to challenge herself and to focus more on her real, non-virtual social life. “It’s like a medicine, a treatment, a kind of therapy. It heals you from the inside and the outside,” said Nablsi.
Performance creation major Tiernan Cornford believes she’s never missed out on anything in the ‘real world’ because she limits her social media use. Cornford is only active on Snapchat. She believes this has permitted her to have a controlled relationship with social media.
“I didn’t want to be on it all the time and be on this crutch. I like talking to people in person,” she said. Cornford said, when you don’t have social media, or decide not to go on it for a while, the people who want to get in touch with you, will. This ‘fear of missing out’ is a common source of stress among young adults.
For Nablsi, the social media detox was “an eye-opening experience.” Nablsi and Pepper said they now realize that the virtual world of social media just isn’t that important. It took them taking a break from it to realize it.
Research conducted in 2016 by McMaster University researchers found that most students can’t control themselves when it comes to social media. The survey found 48 per cent of McMaster’s students couldn’t control their social media use, and 29 per cent weren’t able to control their instant messaging.
“[Today], everything is being turned into an urgent matter,” said Tremblay. She said social media has become a compulsion for many young adults, and of course, a health issue. While the students mentioned above have been able to detach themselves from social media, it is becoming increasingly hard for most students to do so.
If keeping up with social media is making you feel anxious, stressed or depressed, know that it’s something you can put a stop to. You can try your own social media detox, or talk to a health specialist at Concordia’s Health Services.
We asked Concordia students what they think about a social media detox. Watch below for their reactions.
Concordia’s Health Services hosts a workshop on women’s common health concerns
Vaginal health, sexually-transmitted infections and breast health were some of the things addressed during Concordia’s Health Services workshop on women’s health. The workshop, which was held in the conference room of the Health Services department on Jan. 25, addressed many common health concerns for women.
Louise Carline, a nurse at Health Services, and Gaby Szabo, a health promotion specialist, led the discussion.
During the workshop, Carline and Szabo focused largely on vaginal health. Carline stressed that Pap tests are crucial. “[Pap tests] are important because they reduce your chances of cervical cancer by 70 per cent,” said Carline.
She described the examination process, where a doctor inserts a speculum—a plastic or metal tool used to dilate body orifices—into the vagina to evaluate the cervix.
Doctors recommend women have their first Pap test when they become sexually active, Carline said. She said the test should be done annually.
“A Pap test should be done mid-cycle, and you should avoid intercourse 24 hours before the test,” Carline said.
She also recommended that women, as well as men, get vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Concordia’s Health Services offers the Gardasil vaccine. The vaccine is covered by Concordia health insurance for Quebec residents. However, the cost is not covered by government insurance for international students.
Szabo also stressed the importance of getting tested for sexually transmitted infections. “70 per cent of women and men will experience a sexually-transmitted infection at some point in their life,” Szabo said. “If you are sexually active, the recommendation is to get tested every six to 12 months.”
Women are also prone to getting yeast infections and urinary tract infections. Carline said it is estimated that women will have at least one yeast infection in their lifetime.
“[A yeast infection] is caused by a fungal infection brought on by antibiotics, stress, hormones or too much sugar in your diet,” said Carline. She added that, if a woman notices any symptoms, including itchiness or any vaginal discharge, she should see a nurse right away.
Urinary tract infections are also common among women, said Carline. They are caused by “bacteria that creeps up into your bladder which causes pain during urination,” she said.
A common symptom of this kind of infection is the presence of blood in urine. One important way of preventing the infection, Carline said, is to urinate after sexual intercourse. “By urination, you are eliminating that bacteria that can creep up during sexual contact,” she said.
As for menstrual cramps, Carline advised women to be active and eat healthy.
Szabo also discussed the importance of taking contraception seriously. In Canada, half of the pregnancies that occur are unplanned, she said. Intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) are popular among young women, Carline said, adding that emergency contraception—Plan B—is also available for women, but is intended for emergencies only. Plan B is most effective within the first 72 hours after unprotected intercourse, Carline said.
The specialists also discussed breast health. Szabo said regular breast self-examinations are no longer recommended because, often, women only detect lumps when they are already fairly large
Concordia students can have their breasts checked at Concordia Health Services when they come in for a Pap test.
For more information, students can drop by Concordia’s the Health Services department on the second floor of the GM Building, or visit their website.
Comme Toi co-founders Shelbie Huard (left) and Riaz Oozeer (right).
Photo by Nicole Proano
Two Montreal students started a fashion project to help the city’s homeless
The fashion industry can be an elitist industry. But 23-year-old Concordia student Riaz Oozeer and 24-year-old McGill student Shelbie Huard are attempting to break that stereotype with their apparel project, Comme Toi.
Comme Toi is a fashion line that sells minimalist T-shirts and toques. For every piece someone buys from Comme Toi, the brand sets another one aside to be given to a homeless person in Montreal.
The fashion-humanitarian project is only a few months old, but the small team of two has already donated over 80 pieces of apparel to the city’s homeless community. Oozeer, a second-year liberal arts student, was inspired to start this project when he began noticing just how many homeless people inhabit the city’s streets. Upon walking the same streets daily, he observed that the streets were home for many.
The project’s name directly translates to “like you,” and encapsulates the heart and mission of Comme Toi—the belief that all people are equal and should therefore be treated as such, according to the co-founders.
Oozeer said he encourages customers to go hand out the second item themselves. Huard believes this exchange is an important part of the process for customers.
“I think that is really meaningful, just having that interaction,” said Huard, who is an anthropology and Hispanic studies student.
According to Oozeer, about half of Comme Toi’s customers have personally handed out the second item. Oozeer and Huard explained that many customers are aware that homelessness is an issue, but many choose not to interact with it.
“I think [the homeless] are painted in a negative [light] a lot,” said Huard. “But that’s not the reality.”
Oozeer said he tells customers who are about to give away a T-shirt, “Don’t be stressed. It’s someone like you.”
The idea behind the brand is that the act of giving away an article of clothing instigates an interaction with someone living on the streets and, according to the co-founders, the reaction on both ends has been positive every time.
According to the co-founders, Comme Toi’s main goal is to unite people through fashion. “Fashion has big authority over people,” said Oozeer. Comme Toi seeks to bridge the emotional and physical gap between the homeless and the general public.
“That’s something I find really interesting [about the project],” said Huard. “Because fashion is usually something that separates people but we use it in a different way.”
The duo said they have big ideas for the brand—they want to see their project reach out to more marginalized groups, such as the city’s refugees.
For Oozeer, Comme Toi is a small step towards fixing one of the world’s biggest issues. “We’re thinking of going to the moon because we’re destroying everything on our planet. What are we going to do there? Destroy it again and keep going? No, you’ve got to fix [things] here,” said Oozeer, with passion and conviction in his voice.
You can become part of the movement by donating to Comme Toi or by buying a product at theirwebsite.
Last semester, Donna Nebenzahl worked alongside her journalism graduate diploma class to create the first edition of the online magazine about journalism, Jour News. Photo by Alex Hutchins
A part-time journalism professor with a full-time commitment to crafting journalists
With nothing but her bachelor’s degree in Canadian history and a few years of copy editing experience at Reader’s Digest, Concordia part-time professor Donna Nebenzahl pushed her way into the journalism world like the big bad wolf.
Photo provided by Donna Nebenzahl
“I huffed and I puffed and I refused to [give up],” she said. Editors didn’t want to talk to her—they claimed she knew nothing about newspapers. “But I just kept trying and trying and finally I got a job at The Montreal Star.”
Although the newspaper was only months away from folding, it was in that newsroom, on the streets of the Old Port, that Nebenzahl found her place.
“In that newsroom, I felt like ‘Oh my god, here I am, this is where I want to be,’” she recalled. “Everything about it, the pace of it—I loved it, I just really loved it.”
Nebenzahl eventually wound up in the newsroom of The Montreal Star’s old competitor: The Montreal Gazette. She spearheaded the newspaper’s Trends magazine, launched the award-winning Woman News section and worked as an editor for various lifestyle and feature sections.
Yet, as newspapers corporatized, the bottom line was the big bad wolf that huffed and puffed and swept Nebenzahl away in one of TheMontreal Gazette’s rounds of buyouts. Six years ago, she joined the many journalists squeezed out of ever-shrinking newsrooms.
Since leaving her full-time job, Nebenzahl said she’s become much more invested in her teaching career. When you have a lot of experience in the field, it’s important to give back, she said. Leaving the newsroom is just one more experience she brings to the table for her students to learn from.
“It became about the shareholder, and the shareholder is really not the reason you should be doing journalism,” she said. “You should be doing journalism because you believe that these stories need to be told, that people need to investigate and understand, that the public has the right to know.”
She said many of her students have caught the journalism bug, and she wants to keep them focused on the value of their work, rather than on how to please their future bosses. She said it’s one of the main reasons she teaches.
“I think that, seeing the challenges in journalism today, it’s important to try to convey this notion of what this business is really about,” Nebenzahl said. “I mean certainly, if I had my way, there would be no media company that is owned for profit.”
Outside of Concordia, Nebenzahl has been developing a series of writing workshops called “Digging.” Her inspiration came from a poem by Nobel Prize-winner Seamus Heaney in which he compares his ancestors’ digging of the land to the digging he does with his pen.
“All the writing exercises are designed to unearth things, to dig up memories or relationships or interactions or inspirations,” Nebenzahl explained. “I think it’s worth it for everybody to find those things. You put them aside, you stick them in a corner in your memory, and this allows you a chance to really look at them. It gives you a sense of understanding about yourself.”
Nebenzahl said she’s enthralled with the idea of “writing your life,” and even with her graduate students last semester, she spent a lot of time exploring their writing skills.
“There are things that you do occasionally where you forget the time, you lose track of time because you’re so immersed in it—well that’s what writing is like for me,” she said.
Stepping out of the newsroom has been liberating for Nebenzahl in a sense, as she said it has allowed her to focus on writing and, as a freelancer, she has more freedom to explore topics that interest her.
“You work at a newspaper for many years before you’re able to make choices about what you want to write. You’re usually told what to do,” she said. When she began working as an editor for The Montreal Gazette, her job involved managing her section—only 15 years later was she able to start writing again, as a columnist for the Woman News section she’d helped create. “As a freelancer, choosing makes life very interesting because it’s much more about what moves you or what you feel passionate about.”
One topic Nebenzahl has been particularly passionate about in the last few years is micro-farming. She has written several articles for The Montreal Gazette about small farming and urban agriculture in Quebec, and the new generation of young farmers leading the movement.
Traditionally, students who studied agriculture at McGill’s Macdonald campus were the sons and daughters of farmers, taking on the family business, Nebenzahl explained. Now, however, many of the students coming out of McGill’s agriculture program are new to farming but are pursuing it because they are passionate about it.
“They’re very well educated, they’re pretty hip, they create networks, they really talk to each other a lot and they’re doing farming in a very interesting way,” she said.
The idea behind micro-farming, Nebenzahl explained, is that farmers use very small acreage and sophisticated hand-held tools rather than try to mass produce on huge fields with tractors. In addition to local markets, many of these organic farmers connect with their customers through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) networks.
“They’re not like the back-to-the-land hippies of my era who didn’t know anything,” she said. “I’m very hopeful that this is a real movement, a movement that’s going to have a lasting effect… To me, this is the future of food.”
It is a subject Nebenzahl said she would love to explore as a documentary. While she hasn’t created a documentary since her 2009 Twice Upon A Garden, which looked at the history of the Reford Gardens in Grand-Métis, Nebenzahl believes the medium would give people a sense of the hard work and value of these farming practices.
Nebenzahl is part of a CSA herself, and spent part of last spring and summer volunteering once a week on an organic farm.
“I’m sitting there in these plastic ‘tunnels’ and there’s all this straw on the ground and you’re planting little basil plants in between the tomatoes and, as you’re doing it all by hand, you realize in the end… this is going to grow into these awesome things and you’re going to be able to harvest it all,” she said. “It’s just beautiful… To me, there’s no downside here, if we can only believe in the importance of good farmland and supporting farmers.”
Getting close to the action when it comes to social movements is not new for Nebenzahl. In 2003, she and photojournalist Nance Ackerman published Womankind: Faces of Change Around the World. The book was the result of months of travelling to dozens of countries across five continents, capturing the stories of activist women, both in writing and in photographs.
“The theme was that women really are the face of activism around the world,” Nebenzahl said. “They are the people who are there on the ground, they see what happens to children, they see what happens to the environment.”
Photo by Katya Teague
Womankind features the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, fighting to bring back the grandchildren who were stolen from them during a government crackdown in Argentina. It sheds light on women in Kenya fighting to give their daughters an education. It showcases mothers in Moscow, working to get supplies to their sons, who were sent to fight in Chechnya without proper clothing or food.
Despite the tragedies experienced by many of these women, Nebenzahl said there was something very inspiring and hopeful about these women.
“When they woke up in the morning, they had a task. They were not sad, morose, unhappy people—they were very active people who really believed that what they were doing meant something,” she said.
While Nebenzahl spends less time out in the field and more time in the classroom than she used to, she believes this “boots-on-the-ground” experience is what makes Concordia’s part-time faculty so valuable.
“A lot of people are doing a lot of very original work,” she said, both in journalism and other fields. “This is what makes part-time faculty interesting in this department, because you need a lot of people who are in the field now.”
Nebenzahl said she is involved with a few of the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association committees because she wants to give the part-time faculty a stronger voice within the university. It’s an issue of inclusion, she said, and recognizing that these professors are an important part of the process. It’s a philosophy Nebenzahl said should come naturally to Concordia, as it is part of the university’s roots.
“It’s interesting to me because Concordia is kind of a university of the streets. It originated in downtown Montreal where people who couldn’t afford to go to McGill or couldn’t afford to go to school during the day started going to school at night,” she said. “It really developed out of that kind of idea of giving opportunities to people who were doing other things.”
From left to right: Behrmann, Palluet, Gendron, Godoy, Testaouni. Photo by Elisa Barbier
Queer Tech MTL hosts a panel on identifying as LGBTQ+ within tech industries
Getting together. Networking. Breaking free from isolation.
This is what Queer Tech MTL is all about. It’s a group that invites people who self-identify as part of the tech and LGBTQ+ communities to gather at monthly events.
The meetings, which started in October 2016, explore elements of the workplace for members of the LGBTQ+ community. They also offer many networking opportunities.
Attendees arrive for the panel. Photo by Elisa Barbier
On Jan. 18, the group gathered at the Keatext office in the Mile-End. Keatext is a text analytics app that helps businesses quickly review customer feedback.
At the meeting, attendees were welcomed with snacks and beverages to hear about “creating the authentic self at work.” Luc Plamondon, who has worked at Keatext for four years now, offered up the space to Queer Tech MTL.
Queer Tech MTL was launched in September 2015 by Naoufel Testaouni, who was soon joined by Jason Behrmann. Testaouni has been working for tech companies on and off over the last five years, and is now a customer experience manager for the data services company, Local Logic. Behrmann completed a PhD at McGill, focusing his research on assessing the social and ethical implications of technologies in healthcare for the LGBTQ+ population. He now works as a communication corporate strategist for FinTech.
Testaouni said the idea for Queer Tech MTL came when he found himself looking for the LGBTQ+ community within tech corporations, but was unable to find anyone. Queer Tech MTL is made up of 400 members who attend events on and off.
“We encourage startups to come, to learn how to promote diversity in their companies,” said Testaouni.
The meeting featured a panel composed of Marie Isabelle Gendron from Pratt and Whitney Canada, Carlos A. Godoy L. from TD Bank and Elodie Palluet from Keyrus Canada. Before starting, Behrmann presented the crowd with statistics on the LGBTQ+ community within the tech world.
“Nearly half of transsexuals do not get promoted, hired or get fired,” said Behrmann. “And, 63 per cent of graduate students go back into the closet when they get a job.”
The panelists discussed their experiences with coming out at work. Gendron said Oct. 7, 2014 was “like a day of resurgence” for her. That was the day she came out as transsexual at her job.
When reminiscing about her experience, she said she remembers it was a shock for her boss, but she was accepting of her nevertheless. It was a big challenge, Gendron said. “Being transsexual is not a choice, but coming out is the choice to live,” she said.
Godoy came out while working for TD Bank. He said TD bank is known for their support of LGBTQ+ clients and employees. “I have it super easy—I am a white French-Canadian, born in Montreal. I am a man mostly interested in men, and I am a banker,” said Godoy. However, he said he has, nonetheless, lived through instances of discrimination in the workplace. He recalled once being called “the drag queen” by one of his former employers.
Testaouni introducing the panelists. Photo by Elisa Barbier
Palluet said she had a more complicated coming-out experience. She has had to resign from two positions because of her boss’ behaviour. Now, however, Palluet said she is at a job where she does not experience discrimination.
The panelists described the tech environment in Montreal as “very friendly” and “young.” However, Katherine Chennel, an aerospace engineer who attended the meeting but is not a member of Queer Tech MTL, told The Concordian she experienced something very different when she came out while working at Bombardier. She said she was coincidentally offered a retirement package soon after coming out as transsexual.
The panelists also discussed measures taken by their corporations to further integrate the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. Gendron said she has seen Pratt and Whitney take measures to help all employees of the community feel safe, and she has received a lot of support. The company has psychologists to educate people in the workplace and implement anti-discrimination policies.
“I want my employees to be happy at work,” said Godoy, quoting William Edmund Clark, the executive chief of TD. Godoy added that TD sent a controversial and revolutionary memo in the early 90s to all its employees. The memo read, “We know that there are gays and lesbians. Some of you may have a same-sex partner, and we want you to know that your partner is entitled to the same things as another employee’s wife or husband.”
Attendees during the panel. Photo by Elisa Barbier.
Gendron talked about Fondation Émergence, an initiative to educate the public on the LGBTQ+ community and the problems they still face today. The initiative will be presenting a documentary showcasing the LGBTQ+ community within three different companies in two months. Palluet added exposing the problems the community still faces is an important part of the education process.
Godoy, Palluet and Gendron concluded by saying that listening to oneself and being one’s authentic self are the keys to living a happy life.
The next Queer Tech MTL event will be held on Feb.16 at 5605 Ave. de Gaspé, second floor.
Jennifer Banton gave students some tips on brainstorming and structuring arguments. Photo by Alex Hutchins
Concordia’s Student Success Centre held a workshop on writing a good research paper
Concordia’s Student Success Centre held the first of five in-depth workshops on writing strategies for research papers and other academic writing on Jan 19.
This particular morning workshop, held in Concordia’s Hall building, focused on how to start academic research papers and gain an understanding of the paper’s topic.
Jennifer Banton, a learning specialist at Concordia, led a small group in an hour-and-a-half-long session on writing academic and research papers. She covered subjects such as the writing process, why universities and professors assign research papers, and multiple tactics to help improve one’s writing ability.
Banton stressed students should be aware of their audience. “The audience is not the professor,” she said. “The target audience of a research paper… is your peers. The professor reads it, but you cannot write a paper at the level of the professor—you are not targeting publication-level writing. Even in a master’s, even at your PhD, you are not at publication level. The educated peers in your class—you are writing to them and only to them.”
Banton also prioritized techniques regarding exploring the topic of a research paper. She encouraged students to try free-writing. “You start writing and let your ideas flow as if you were talking about the topic,” she explained.
Photo by Alex Hutchins
Banton also offered the group a printed list of 20 specific tips for overcoming writer’s block. This included suggestions such as “rehearse what you will write by talking about your ideas before you start—write whole sections of your paper at a time so that ideas flow,” and “stop writing in the middle of a sentence before taking a break to make it easier to get started again.”
Banton said the goal of the workshop was “to get a solid overview of what to expect in writing, to get some new information, some new ideas and strategies that could radically change the way you see your studies, or an affirmation that what you’re doing is correct.” This was, however, only the first of five workshops that will attempt to accomplish this.
Four more academic workshops, paid for using Concordia student fees, will take place over the next four Thursdays from 10:15 a.m. until noon. These workshops will cover how to write a thesis statement, how to do research in a university library, proper citation to avoid plagiarism, and punctuation and grammar. Any Concordia student can head to the fourth floor of the Hall building to attend, but must first sign up online through the MyConcordia portal.
This trendy Rosemont café is the perfect blend of a cozy and classy experience
After visiting café Pista for the first time last week, I finally understood what all the hype was about. Upon entering the café on Beaubien Street in the Rosemont neighbourhood, I was met with a serene feeling I had never felt at any other café.
Sometimes, small neighbourhood cafés can feel a little too noisy, a little too crowded. At Pista, thanks to good acoustics and spaced out tables, the environment is quiet, welcoming and stress-free, even though there are usually many people.
Pista is located on the corner of Beaubien Street and Saint-Vallier Street. Photo by Danielle Gasher
I was served by a kind barista who recommended their most popular drink: the chai tea latté. It was delicious—creamy enough, with well-balanced sweetness. Pista’s service style adds to the laid-back feel. After ordering, the barista brings your hot beverage directly to your table. The coffee has a strong, nutty taste that seems to be quite common among numerous small cafés in the city.
The décor is an important part of the overall experience. While the space isn’t too big—approximately the size of a small Montreal apartment—it is well laid-out, with enough places to sit comfortably and study. The walls are a pale turquoise and covered with abstract artwork and a beautiful black-and-white Asian temple photograph next to the window. The ceiling is impressive, painted gold with church-like detailing. It brings together the modern and minimalistic aesthetic of the café, and the touch of antiqueness gives it added charm. The spot’s music is also a highlight. They play a lot of underground hip-hop and some jazzy tunes.
The spot sells classic café treats such as pastries, but also have a brunch and lunch menu. Photo by Danielle Gasher
The café is appropriate for study sessions, business lunches and coffee with friends. In the fall, the spot introduced a breakfast and lunch menu. The menu includes healthy options such as salads, soups and trendy breakfast classics like granola, poached eggs and avocado on toast, or toast with ricotta, honey, nuts and fruit. While affordable, the prices are not particularly low or student-friendly. The breakfast and lunch menu prices range from $3.50 for toast and jam to $12 for a smoked salmon bagel.
Pista could even be a go-to spot for a first date because of its laid-back vibe combined with its trendy and classy atmosphere and décor. At the same time, the long tables in the back are the perfect place to camp out for a few hours and get those readings done. All in all, I would highly recommend this unique café to all Concordia students seeking a classy and cozy place to study far from campus.
Café Pista
500 Beaubien Street East
Open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Béatrice Media and Imago Theatre organize a panel on women and self-censorship
On the mild and rainy evening of Jan. 11, in Montreal’s Centre-Sud neighbourhood, some two or three dozens of people met to talk about women, self-censorship and change.
The event, titled “Women Talk About Self-Censorship,” was organized in partnership with Béatrice Media, an independent media production company, and Imago Theatre, a theatre company whose mandate is equal representation and feminist storytelling.
The conversation, which took place at Café Sfouf, welcomed three panelists and CJLO radio broadcaster Rebecca Munroe as the host. The event was recorded for Béatrice Media’s podcast, Béacast.
Host Rebecca Munroe (far left) and panelists Dominique Pirolo (left), Tracey Steer (center) and Christina Vroom (right). Photo by Danielle Gasher.
“Helpless.” “Weak.” “Small.” “Unempowered.” The evening’s three strong and successful panelists were asked by the host to remember a time when they felt they censored their words. They had to recount how it made them feel in that moment. Luckily for these women, they now rarely feel helpless, weak, small or unempowered.
“10, 15 years ago, I don’t think you were taught to speak about your opinion, empower yourself,” said one panelist, Dominique Pirolo, about her childhood experiences with speaking up. Today, Pirolo is a talent acquisition specialist for a software company in Montreal. She explained her assertiveness developed over time.
The panelists talked about this self-censorship tendency among women, and where they felt it came from. Panelist Tracey Steer, a self-employed writer whose work has appeared in Today’s Parent and Reader’s Digest, believes a lot of it has to do with women’s need to be people-pleasers. “It’s not always a bad thing. But, it’s not always a good thing,” said Steer. “And it takes a while, I think, to undo—not just being pleasing, and not just trying to keep everyone else around you happy.”
For panelist Christina Vroom, the associate director of university advancement for McGill University’s faculty of dentistry, assertiveness came in her adult life.
“I grew up with two brothers and a mother who was very opinionated,” she said. “She was my hero. I wanted to be like her, but I often felt I couldn’t contribute on the same level. There was a feeling of, ‘I’m going to disappoint.’” Vroom explained she used to feel the need to keep the peace and balance out the big opinions and personalities already present in her household. Today, Vroom says she has “no problem rocking the boat.”
The panelists addressed the double-standard they feel is present when women demonstrate assertiveness.
“When I became much more assertive with myself and not shy, a friend of mine said to me, ‘You’ve become very aggressive.’ I said, ‘I think you mean assertive.’ And he said, ‘No, no, aggressive,’” Vroom recounted, as the crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed in disbelief . “He said to me, ‘I think that’s why you’re single.’ I said, ‘I think that’s why we’re not going to be friends anymore.’”
Steer addressed how people tie the identifier “bitch” to women who are simply demonstrating confidence. “That’s the thing, you know, because you don’t want to be seen as a bitch. Men are assertive and women are bitchy,” said Steer.
Béatrice Media co-founder, Adriana Palanca. Photo by Danielle Gasher.
In the “talk-back” period of the discussion, the period when the podcast stopped recording and the discussion opened to the audience, a larger conversation about action and change took place. Audience members brought into question larger societal problems, such as the patriarchy organization in North America and gender inequality in the workplace. Together, the audience, panelists, host and Béatrice Media co-founder, Adriana Palanca, brainstormed ideas for promoting change and being the change. “It can start with education and really teaching younger people about it. And empowering young girls. And teaching men that it’s okay that women have a voice,” said Munroe.
Pirolo, who hires people as a large part of her job, had some advice for women seeking employment. “I noticed that when I’m hiring and interviewing individuals, and I interview men and I interview women, the women are not selling themselves the way they should,” said Pirolo.
According to a 2012 study conducted by Brigham Young University and Princeton University researchers, men dominate conversations during business meetings. The study found women only spoke 25 per cent of the time in meetings, with men speaking 75 per cent of the time. According to research conducted in 2013 by a data tool called Twee-Q, women make up 62 per cent of Twitter users. However, Twee-Q’s stats found that men are retweeted almost twice as often as women, with almost 63 per cent of all retweets belonging to men.
Palanca said she and Mireille St-Pierre founded Béatrice Media to reinforce feminism in media organizations and to start conversations about women, equality, social progress and empowerment.
“[Béatrice Media’s] version of feminism, at its most basic, is: ‘I want to be able to do what a dude does and not get judged for it.’ That’s it, right? And, for us, we weren’t seeing that reflected in a lot of the media that we saw around us. And we said, ‘This is what we feel, this is what we want to see reflected,’” Palanca told The Concordian.
Palanca said she was happy with how the evening unfolded and looks forward to doing similar events in the future. She described the talk as a test-run. For Palanca, good, progressive conversation is about “cutting through the judgement, cutting through the habitual behaviour, cutting through the bullshit.”
Concordians recommend their favourite winter reads to students
Utopia for Realists– Rutger Bregman
courtesy of press
By following mainstream media on a daily basis, we aren’t given the impression the world is doing too well. In a lot of ways, it isn’t. However, in this book, young European theorist and journalist Rutger Bregman argues the world has also come a long way in many ways. He talks about “two centuries of stupendous progress,” where the world saw a decline in warfare and a spike in technological advancements in the 19th and 20th centuries. He writes: “What would have been miraculous in the Middle Ages is now commonplace.” His book is a well-researched, detailed and refreshing exploration of modern-day society and the new dystopia we face today. He discusses problems within the food industry, advertising and how societies have lost their sense of leisure. He argues that a lot of the world has become pessimistic, and many refuse to believe another utopia could be around the corner. Bregman thinks what is lacking, most of all, is the will to believe in an upcoming utopia, complete with 15-hour work weeks and long, healthy lives. This nonfiction book makes you think and forces you to reflect on the modern world—how things have evolved and how they will continue to evolve.
By Danielle Gasher
The Hidden Life of Trees– Peter Wohlleben
courtesy of press
Spending more time looking at screens than the sky has been normalized in North American culture. This is why Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees is a refreshing, interesting read. Wohlleben spent more than 20 years studying, working and writing about trees. His admiration for trees is obvious in his writing. He writes about them with the same affectionate tone pet owners use towards their animal companions, which helps him direct the reader’s’ attention to the many similarities between animals and trees. Once you enter the intricate world of forests—a world perhaps you didn’t know existed—you won’t want to leave. Wohlleben is adept at translating complicated scientific concepts into an easy-to-understand and engaging story, featuring trees as the main characters. Life tends to be busy and fast-paced, especially for students. This book is a striking reminder there is so much going on in the natural world we are unaware of, and we should pay more attention to these things.
By Aysha White
Born a Crime– Trevor Noah
courtesy of press
A lot of us know Trevor Noah as the funny and smart new face of The Daily Show. But upon reading his compelling, humorous and sometimes heartbreaking memoir, the South-African-born comedian and television host became so much more to me. This maturely-written book has made me care about The Daily Show and Noah’s commentary more than I already did. In his book, Born a Crime, Noah shares extremely personal experiences—bringing us into his childhood of troubled households, poverty and life within a politically unstable country. His memoir recounts unexpected and intimate aspects of his upbringing, such as his trouble-making habits as a boy and his complex relationship with his mother and grandmother. Through humour and poignant storytelling, Noah transports us to Johannesburg in the 90s. This book is an important one—a thought-provoking read recounting the life of an important and admirable public figure.
Three McGill graduates soon to launch a textbook-selling app for Concordia and McGill
As the new semester rolls in, so does a new textbook-exchanging app. Venndor, founded by recent McGill graduates Anthony Heinrich, Julien Marlatt and Tynan Davis, is a classifieds app with the goal of helping students buy and sell textbooks without the need for haggling or negotiating prices.
The beta app, also known as the first version of the app, has been live for two months at McGill. This period permitted the founders to see how people were using the app and make any necessary changes before officially launching it at both McGill and Concordia. In the time of the beta launch, the app helped students sell textbooks, but also household items such as lamps and furniture. The app will officially launch for McGill and Concordia in mid-January.
The idea started over a year ago when co-founders Heinrich and Marlatt were frustrated because they were having trouble getting a good price for textbooks they wanted to sell. “People would just negotiate with you and haggle with you back and forth on Facebook postings. It was frustrating because it would lead to a lot of wasted of time and it wasn’t enjoyable,” said Heinrich. The app started as a business class subject. The teammates thought about a concept where the buyer offers a price without being given a starting price by the seller. They liked the idea of the final selling price being the middle ground between what the buyer offered and the price the seller initially had in mind. Heinrich gave the example of wanting to sell a phone for a minimum of $20. If the buyer offers $40 upfront, then the final selling price would be $30 if they were using the Venndor app.
This idea inspired the app’s name. Venndor comes from the term Venn diagram—a diagram of two circles overlapping to create a smaller ovalish shape in the middle of the two. The selling price of the textbook is therefore the middle ground, or the middle area of the Venn diagram.
Graphic by Florence Yee
The app includes a bookmark page that acts as a kind of ‘buy later’ section for undecided students. There is also an instant messaging page for buyers and sellers to correspond and arrange a meeting time and place. Instant messaging ensures that students don’t necessarily have to give any of their personal information to purchase textbooks.
In the fall of 2015, after Heinrich and his teammates got good feedback from their professor for their app idea in a class project, the students decided to enter the McGill Dobson Cup, McGill’s annual startup competition.
“We made it to the semi-finals. The judges weren’t really into it but we decided to go after the idea anyway,” said Heinrich. Then, the students got accepted into the 2016 McGill Summer X-1 Accelerator program, an intensive 10-week summer program that helps students create their startup ideas through training programs and seminars. “The entire thing was a huge learning experience,” said Heinrich.
Heinrich said this year’s focus will be observing how students use the app, in order to start planning any changes to the version of the app launching soon.
