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News

Jack.org Concordia talks mental health

Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.
Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.

The student organization supports and guides those who need assistance

University can be challenging, and some undergraduates do not know about the free counselling and psychological services offered at the university. However, Jack.org Concordia ensures the student body is aware of the resources available to them.

Jack.org Concordia is a branch of the larger, national Jack.org network. The goal of this network, made up of young leaders, is to change the way people think and talk about mental health.

The organization was founded five years ago after a young man named Jack Windeler died by suicide, Jack.org Concordia’s president, Alexis Lahorra, explained. Windeler was set to begin his first year of university but was struggling with mental health and did not reach out for help. In the wake of his son’s passing, his father, Eric Windeler, created Jack.org with the help of his colleagues and friends. Today, the nation-wide organization is changing the way students think about mental health.

Jack.org Concordia is a registered club with the Concordia Student Union. Ten executive members make up the team, and they work in a non-pyramid way—if someone has an idea, they all support each other and work as a team. “The cool thing about the team is that we are all from different programs,” said Lahorra. “We didn’t know it would be so diverse, but everyone has a story to share.”

Lahorra initially had the idea to start Jack.org Concordia. During her first year of university at Concordia, she found the transition hard, coming from CEGEP. “My friends noticed that I wasn’t attending classes and that my behaviour changed,” said Lahorra. After she learned that free services were offered at school, she realized that recovery was possible. She realized that if this happened to her, it must be happening to other students, too. She decided it was time to end that silence and started the club during her second year at Concordia.

Jack.org is divided into three parts: The Jack Chapters, Jack Summit, and Jack Talks.

The Jack Chapters are where students come together to ensure that the conversation about mental health is open to everyone. The chapters host fun activities, such as open mic nights to raise awareness for mental health. Many Canadian universities have Jack Chapters, including Concordia and McGill.

The Jack Summit, held in Toronto, brings together 200 student leaders to develop strategies for positive impact and to speak about mental health as a group.

Finally, there are Jack Talks, a program which trains young speakers on how to give talks to the students and to the community. Lahorra is part of this program—she was a speaker at a high school in Kingston, Ont., and at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and world health organization joint summit on mental health.

The Jack.org Concordia’s events are designed to open up the conversation about mental health and promote mental health services. Their first event was held last year at Kafein on Bishop Street. The event featured singing, dancing and poem recitals—students were encouraged to openly share their personal stories.

“It was so powerful,” said Lahorra about the open mic night. “By seeing all the performers share their stories, more people decided to do the same and [take] the stage.”

The Concordia chapter also had a movie night where students were served coffee, tea and were provided with colouring tools. “Colouring is a good way to de-stress, we’ve found,” said Lahorra.

This year, Lahorra said the chapter is planning on hosting an event including panelists from the psychology department professors and those who wish to share their personal stories.

For more information about Jack.org Concordia, visit csu.qc.ca/clubs/jackorg or www.jack.org.

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News

Reggies welcomes the new semester in as a solidarity cooperative

Reggies now offers a revamped menu and prompts a safer space policy

Your favourite student bar has opened its doors as a newly-formed solidarity cooperative for the Fall semester as of Aug. 8. Along with becoming a Concordia co-op, Reggies has released a new menu and a membership service.

Adrian Longinotti, the president of Reggies and CSU Finance Coordinator said since opening Reggies last year for the first time following renovations, it was very successful financially and took back its title as the campus bar.

Longinotti said due to Reggies’ success since re-opening last year, he felt that turning it into a co-op would improve the experience for students and customers.

Turning Reggies into a cooperative will allow students the chance to be more involved on the input and future of the student bar, said Longinetti. “We want to keep that non-profit philosophy—we want to give back more and reinvest that into enhancing the Reggies experience.”

By becoming a cooperative Reggies now has a membership system. “We subsidize $5 of the $10 membership,” said Longinotti, which results in customers only having to pay $5 for a membership. “[With a membership] you get a 10 per cent discount on all food items—even on specials.”

Longinotti said the most important thing about obtaining a membership for Reggies is that members are considered part-owners of the co-op—they have a share in the organization. Members are given voting rights, allowing them to be a part of the decision-making process, said Longinotti. He said the first general meeting for Reggies will be held in November, with the exact date yet to be decided. He encourages members to attend so they can be involved and contribute to the future of Concordia’s student bar.

“We have implemented and adopted a safer space policy,” said Longinotti. In order for events to be hosted, he said, those who are booking the event must sign a mandatory document to ensure that those are booking the event acknowledge and maintain Reggies as a safe space.

The Concordian referenced an article to Longinotti published last March. The article discussed accusations of sexual harassment and statements made about some students recognized at the bar who had been known to some people for spiking drinks with GHB, also known as the date rape drug.

“It’s a new year, there’s a lot of potential for this place,” said Justin McLennen the bartender at Reggies. He commented on the safer space policy stating, “it’s a plus, it’s a positive sign. It will help people feel welcome.”

We asked Longinotti how he plans to ensure Reggies will be a safe space outside of hosted events. “We have hired more security,” said Longinotti. “The training for the staff also makes them have the knowledge and foundation of how to intervene and prevent something like this from happening.”

Longinetti said he is confident the training of the employees, more security and the safer space policy will ensure that Reggies does remain a safe space at Concordia.

“There are always going to be these things that might happen in a bar environment,” he said. “The most important thing is that we do everything in our power to try and prevent something like this from happening.”

Reggies is open to students and the public from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays and open from 12:00 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday through Friday.

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News

ASFA tackles the culture of frosh

Photo by Florence Yee.

Arts & Sciences Federation Association (ASFA) will be kicking off Frosh week by hosting consent workshops for the first time on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.

It will be mandatory for anyone who has purchased a ticket to Frosh for the full week to attend the workshop prior to being let into Frosh events. “We decided we would take precautions this year and be careful and [ensure] that everyone was safe,” said ASFA internal affairs and administrative coordinator Julia Sutera Sardo. “Executives, leaders and volunteers have already undergone consent, harm reduction and the safe serve program (SSP) in preparation for frosh week.”

This is part of ASFA’s goal to reduce the typical culture surrounding Frosh, said Sutera Sardo. She said that she had not previously attended Frosh, due to not appreciating the culture of binge drinking and lack of consent surrounding the week.

However, Sutera Sardo said ASFA wanted to change how frosh was organized this year to provide a safer space for everyone attending the events. “I was really happy I got to take part in changing the culture of how things work,” she said.

ASFA social events coordiantor Marc Da Silva said Frosh is really well organized this year as opposed to last year. “I’m definitely really excited about the consent workshops that are being given,” said Da Silva. “I think that’s a necessity in making sure frosh is safer.”

Sutera Sardo said that ASFA’s goal in changing the culture of Frosh has definitely been a group effort. ASFA is working in collaboration with the Dean of Students office to provide the consent workshops.

ASFA VP of community outreach and sustainability coordinator Agunik Mamikonyan said ASFA will be hosting five different sessions for the consent training, each session lasting an hour and a half each.

“We’re going to register [Froshees] when they come in and they are going to get their bracelets by the end of the session.” Mamikonyan said this is in order to ensure all attending the week of events at Frosh will have undergone consent training.

Dean of Students Andrew Woodall said ASFA reached out to the Dean of Students to get information about consent, bystander intervention and how to organize safer events. “We’ve been working with the execs—the outgoing and incoming since January as a group on trying to change the culture of orientation of Frosh,” said Woodall.

Woodall said Froshees will undergo workshops focused on consent training and understanding how alcohol may impact and limit decision making. While executives and Frosh leaders are undergoing workshops focused on not only consent, but risk reduction as well, said Woodall. “Generally what we’re doing with the execs and the Frosh leaders is more about risk reduction—so consent and bystander [intervention], alcohol, what to watch out for and some drugs, too.”

Woodall said that the extensive training for leaders and executives is due to them setting up the event. The training will address how to set up an event in a manner with least risk to the Froshies—such as having longer lineups for alcohol, having water and food available and not having alcohol as the point of a game.

Sutera Sardo also ensured Frosh participants would have a safe space if they needed it. “I made sure that we had a safe room [for beach day], because I feel having experienced panic attacks myself before, sometimes you just don’t feel comfortable in a specific zone with people or you may be dehydrated,” said Sutera Sardo. The safe room will help those attending Frosh by offering a separate space to relax and lay down.

In addition, there will be plenty of water available, first aid certified executives and security will be present. “By implementing some chill stations and safe rooms in all of our events we’re going to be able to have that place there, in case somebody feels uncomfortable and wants to speak to us,” said Sutera Sardo.

Sutera Sardo said that in order to create a more inclusive platform for Frosh week, ASFA is trying to involve not only first years, but undergraduate and graduate students. “Frosh isn’t only about freshmen,” she said. Sutera Sardo explained the first event being the cocktail mixer party is designed to incorporate more mature students. Sardo said her goal is to make more of a connection between new students, experienced undergraduates and graduate students, as well as creating a better network between students at Sir George Williams campus and Loyola Campus.

Sutera Sardo said while planning frosh there were many meetings with other student groups and associations, as well as representatives from Concordia’s security, hospitality, electricity department and facilities management departments to generate a greater communication with one another.

“I feel like a lot of times problems that arise at Frosh all start in the planning of it, so we took about four months to plan everything,” she said.

Last year ASFA changed the title of Frosh week to “launch week” in order to change the bad vibes associate with the events. However, this year the title has been changed back to Frosh. “Students were not familiar with the term “launch” and didn’t realize it pertained to orientation activities,” said Da Silva.

“We’re doing the best we can and I really buy into this team’s desire to do away with the reputation [ASFA] had a couple of years ago,” said Woodall.

“In the end, all we want is to be able to communicate and share our ideas in a really safe manner,” said Sutera Sardo. “[ASFA] council has sometimes been an unsafe place and by having these trainings [for frosh executives] hopefully it will be safer and will be conducive to just better communication.”

This article has been updated for accuracy and clarity since publishing. The Concordian regrets the error.

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News

The Return of the Hive

The Hive comes back with exciting projects for a new school year

It’s not always easy to find healthy food on both campuses of the university, but CSU’s popular cooperative café the Hive is back for a delicious year, as of Sept. 6.

Over the summer, the café has been working to get approved for the Concordia catering list. Finance and administration coordinator Leigh Hoffman said that being added to this list means the Hive will be able to cater at events and further grow its business. With this opportunity, Concordia’s co-op café will be able to provide their food and space for their upcoming Concordia and Hive events.

The co-op café is also revamping its menu. “We will have egg salad sandwich, grilled cheese with caramelized onions, green vegetables sandwiches, and of course our peanut butter cookies will come back,” said Hoffman.

Hoffman also mentioned that customers will now have the option to have a life membership, at the cost of 5$.. This includes a 10 per cent discount on all products, and members can vote during the Hive’s general assembly. According to Hoffman, all their members have an equal vote at the general assemblies, and the co-op wants its members to have a say in the operation of the cafés through their meetings.

It is a fun and engaging initiative that gets the members involved and creating committees. Right now, they have an art committee and a decoration committee—but they are always looking for more ways to encourage membership. These committees proposes how to decorate the Hive’s space, they can put up paintings on the walls, and also bring out plants for decoration.

The Hive has also managed to become sustainable. The cafés compost, recycle and encourage students to bring their own mug for hot beverages. They both operate as non-profit cooperatives, and they are financially self-sustaining, according to Hoffman.

For their upcoming events, the Hive will hold an open mic night, and a board games and trivia night during the CSU’s orientation. They will also continue their poetry nights later this semester. They will be continuing their free lunch program, which offers a free, vegan, nut-free lunch every school day at the Loyola campus between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Since the Hive is a co-op, students are in charge of cooking together to ensure that the meal is healthy and served on time.

All students are welcome to volunteer at the Hive.  Responsibilities include preparing, cooking and serving food, and cleaning at either location. The Hive can provide references for volunteers and they also encourage students to put the experience on their CVs.

Students can visit the Hive at the Loyola Campus (2nd floor of the Student Centre building) and at the downtown campus (in the mezzanine of the Hall building).

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Concordia Student Union News

What’s new with the CSU

The CSU executives preparing for one of their biggest year yet

For the Concordia Student Union, one thing is clear—students’ needs come first. Here is what you can expect from CSU’s coordinators this year.

Orientation Concordia

Orientation is the first big project for the CSU this year, as it will welcome students from all different programs starting next week. Rachel Gauthier, the student life coordinator, is currently organizing the 30 events that will be taking place from Sept. 6 to 16. These 10 days of activities include concerts featuring local bands, club fairs, a hip-hop show and a special night out to the OUMF 2016 festival.

It’s the first year that the CSU will be partnering up with the OUMF “Gala humour de la rentrée,” taking place on Saint-Denis street. “This festival is completely french, which is really cool because it’s something that was never done before, and Montreal is a bilingual city,” Gauthier said.

Another major event during orientation will be “Wellness Day,” which will include workshops focusing on mental, social and physical wellness. Gauthier said she wants students to know what resources are available to them, and to partake in activities that make them feel better.

For more information on the CSU’s orientation week, visit their website: csuorientation.ca.

Divest Concordia

The CSU has also partnered up with Divest Concordia, which aims to divest from the university’s investment in the fossil fuel industry.

“Concordia still has investments in fuel companies that are extremely harmful to our nature,” said Aloyse Muller, the head of the campaign and the CSU’s external affairs and mobilization coordinator. Muller said he wants to create social discussion about the issue through multiple avenues, one of them being from a financial point of view.

He also wants to put an emphasis not only on climate change, but on the communities that are affected by it daily. Open to all, Divest Concordia is looking for people to get involved  in various ways, such as discussion of the issues through art, demonstrations and petitions.

Sustainability at Concordia

Sustainability coordinator Lanna Galbraith said there are different projects in progress aimed to make students feel more comfortable and included at Concordia.

Starting in September, she said she hopes that the number of gender neutral bathrooms for students will increase.

Galbraith said there will also be emphasis on having a CSU that is more representative of the various cultures and ethnic backgrounds present at Concordia. She said the goal is to create workshops on social issues, now that environmental and economical topics have a good framework.

“I think it’s time to start a couple of social projects so that, when we think of sustainability, we don’t only think of it as environmentalism,” Galbraith said. In fact, sustainability is a balancing act that includes environmental protection, social responsibility and good economic practice, she said. Additionally, the CSU is working to make their office space more accessible for all students.

Affordable Housing for Students

Coming to Montreal for the first time to start university can be a bit scary, which is why HOJO, the CSU’s Housing and Job Office, helps students find safe, clean and affordable housing in Montreal. The union will be partnering up with UTILE (Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant), a non-profit organization based in Montreal dedicated to creating affordable student housing. Their goal is to build student housing with below average rent that will be managed by students, said the CSU’s General Coordinator, Lucinda Marshall-Kiparissis. “By building cooperative student housing that is not beholden to commercial interest, we’re able to say that we want affordable housing for students, and we want it so we’re not being a detriment to the neighbourhood,” she said. UTILE already purchased land on the plateau, but the project will take two to three years to really take off, she said.

Daycare

With a daycare already available at Loyola Campus for faculty and staff, CSU is taking the initiative to bring a daycare to the Sir George Williams (SGW) downtown campus for students with children.

Sophia Sahrane, the academic and advocacy coordinator, is currently working on this project. “This project was launched eight years ago when the university conducted a study to see if the undergraduate and graduate students needed a daycare,” she said. “The study yielded positive results and earned municipal approval, however, the initiative faded and nothing happened.”

“Not only do these parents have a job, but they have a kid, classes to attend and homework to do,” the CSU’s general coordinator, Marshall-Kiparissis, added. Sahrane receives emails from parents interested in the daycare on a daily basis. “We need the paperwork from the government, which should arrive soon, and then we will start demolition and open registration,” Sahrane said. She mentioned that the daycare will be located on Bishop street, focusing on undergraduate students’ children, but with some place for graduate students’ children as well.

For more information on these projects, the CSU encourages students to visit their website, csu.qc.ca. They have offices on Sir George Williams campus (H-711) and at the Loyola Campus (CC-426).

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News

Concordia’s Board meeting: SEL changes, copyright renewals

Major revisions to School of Extended Learning coming and major savings to copyright fees already here

In an otherwise quiet open session of the Board of Governor’s meeting on Wednesday, two big announcements were made concerning Concordia’s School of Extended Learning (SEL) and the university’s renewal of its collective copyright agreement.

School of Extended Learning

The board agreed to significantly revise the SEL’s mandate after concerns that it was struggling to meet its obligations to its student body constituency and competing with other faculties. SEL was created several years ago to oversee continuing education students as well as those suffering academically and taking independent studies by offering alternative services and aid.

Observers found however that SEL’s current model clashed with established faculties. This effectively led to an unnecessary reduplication of efforts and expenses that made the program academically and fiscally untenable, especially with regards to continuing education.

“I think there’s a sense in the community that we needed more clarity about the mandate and that the mandate needed to be revised: that we were confusing the Continuing Education function of the university, which have historically been strong and something we’re proud of, with a work with independent students and the students who were in academic distress,” University President Alan Shepard said.

“Under the same umbrella [you had] two things going in two different directions, and one was financially subsidizing the other. We’re basically putting back what we had prior to the last reorganization,” he said, adding the students in SEL could be better helped in other ways.

While transition plans are being arranged, Shepard said the changes coming from the mandate alteration were not something accomplishable overnight. To better aid the three often very different student profiles SEL served — independent students aiming for a certain faculty, continuing education students struggling academically, and a small section of individuals truly pursuing independent, unaffiliated studies — a rewinding of the clock to an earlier, continuing education model may be required, such as by limiting or eliminating credit courses offered and advising students who did not meet prerequisite criteria to gain them at the CEGEP level. Additionally, individual faculties would take on the responsibility with monitoring and advising students in academic distress or wishing to enter their faculties of choice.

Copyright changes

The board also announced the successful renewal, at a significantly lower fee from previous occasions, of Concordia’s agreement with Quebec’s copyright licensing organization, COPIBEC. COPIBEC, our equivalent of Canada’s Access Copyright, collectively negotiates between publishers/creators and organizations for the creation and renewal of licenses allowing for the lawful reproduction of copyrighted work necessary for things like photocopies, document access, and course packs.

Concordia’s fee for the next few years, previously at 90 cents per student per credit, was renegotiated at a 45% savings and reflects the tumultuous changes in collective copyright agreements after recent court cases expanded definitions of research and education fair-dealing —  considered exempt from copyright fees under Canadian law — and caused some universities to consider ceasing their renewals altogether.

Shepard said Concordia chose the safer route because it did not wish to go down the road of schools like York University, which deemed the court offered them enough leeway, did not renew their licenses, and now faces protracted and hefty lawsuits on behalf of Access Copyright’s clients. Shepard said York’s court case, destined to be slugged around for a long time and at great cost, had made it an unenviable test subject stuck in a difficult position.

“It’s been something universities have been really worried about and seized with in the last several years. I’ve dealt with this in the last three places I’ve worked in,” said Shepard, referring to copyright issues in academic settings.

 

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Sports

Sports in the News – Jan. 28, 2014

Anthony Calvillo hangs ‘em up

This past Tuesday, Anthony Calvillo, considered to be one of the all time best quarterbacks announced his retirement after a 20-year career. Calvillo spent 16 years with the Montreal Alouettes. Calvillo had won three most outstanding player awards, along with three Grey Cups with the Alouettes in 2002, 2009 and 2010. He’s broken a lot of records but his biggest achievement was the all-time football record for most passing yards in professional football history with 79,816 yards. During Calvillo’s press conference he expressed interest to one day be a part of the coaching staff for the Alouettes organization. It won’t be this year though because Calvillo expressed a desire to take a year off from football, especially after dealing with concussion issues this season and missing the majority of the year.

 

Eugenie Bouchard turns some heads at Australian open

Canadian tennis player and Westmount native, Eugenie Bouchard, received a lot of media attention this week for becoming the first Canadian woman in 30 years to reach a grand-slam semifinal. The 19-year-old was ranked 30 in the world, but unfortunately lost in the semifinals to China’s Li Na in two sets, 6-2 and 6-4. However, as a result of her performance, Bouchard has moved up in the world rankings from 30 to 19.

 

Hayley Wickenheiser to carry flag

It had been a mystery up to this point as to who would be the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies in Sochi. It was announced this week that it would be Hayley Wickenheiser of Team Canada’s women’s hockey team. She has participated in the last four Olympic games for Canada. She has also been the captain of Team Canada at every major event since 2006 including the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, yet will serve as an assistant captain this time around in Sochi.

 

Sidney leading the way in Sochi

It has been announced that Sidney Crosby will captain Canada’s men’s hockey team. He will be joined by  alternate captains, Chicago Blackhawks forward, Jonathan Toews, and Nashville Predators defenceman, Shea Weber. The tournament starts off for Canada February 13, when they take on Norway.

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Music

Music In The News

Blu-Ray Way

The Beatles’ 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour will be receiving the DVD/Blu ray treatment come Oct. 9, when it will be reissued by the same folks who handled the Yellow Submarine reissue earlier this year. The film includes a wealth of bonus features, including a making-of documentary, interviews with the band, deleted scenes and director commentary by Paul McCartney himself. In celebration of this re-release, the film will receive a limited theatrical release on Sept. 27. If that’s still not enough, consider the Boxed Edition, which includes a 60 page booklet and a 7 inch vinyl as well as the film in both digital formats.

 

More Faith No More?

In an interview with News.com, Mike Patton, the man behind such acts as Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, and Faith No More, said that the band considered writing new material, but ultimately decided against it. “We’re pretty happy with just touring. There was talk, ‘Should we write new stuff?’ and we all looked at each other and said ‘Nahhh, fuck it.’ We did work up one new little thing and that was really energizing.” That “new little thing” is a song called “Matador,” which the band has played in live shows over the last few months, footage of which can be found on YouTube.

 

Do we hear wedding bells?

Canadian pop music has a new couple to contend with, as Avril Lavigne and Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger have announced their engagement after keeping their relationship under wraps for six months. The pair met in February when they collaborated on a song for Lavigne’s upcoming fifth studio album. “A romantic relationship blossomed as they spent time writing together,” a friend of Lavigne’s told People magazine. Kroeger popped the question on Aug. 8 with a 14K diamond ring, and the couple’s families “couldn’t be happier.” Sharing in the joy were the pairs many detractors, who used the opportunity to alight the twittersphere in sarcasm. Said comedian Morgan Murphy on her twitter: “Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger have requested that in lieu of wedding gifts, everyone stop laughing uncontrollably at them.”

 

Bad Iver

Indie darling Bon Iver topped LA Weekly’s Worst Hipster Bands of All Time list, beating out groups like Arcade fire and the Black Keys for the top spot. Said the LA Weekly of the group: “Bon Iver coos the celebratory ballads of hip poseurs who refuse to get their hands dirty, that is, unless that filth is quaint and photogenic.” They were also decried as the “sonic equivalent of an empty canvas tote bag.” I’m sure wherever Justin Vernon is, he is crying all about it over his Grammys.

 

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Opinions

A look at some of the year’s most interesting stories

1) George Menexis
Assistant opinions editor

It was an extremely tough year for Greece. Bankruptcy has been looming on Greek society for quite some time now. As the rest of Europe struggles with Greece’s enormous debt, they’re also considering excluding the country from the eurozone, something that would be detrimental to Greek society. The population has greatly suffered from the austerity measures that are being put in place to keep the Greek economy at bay. Riots have shown the population’s discontent with their government and violence in the streets has made Athens a dangerous place. The lack of jobs and high taxes are making more and more people poor. Recently the country hit its highest unemployment rate yet: 21 per cent. It’s a mess.
“The kids didn’t even have new books at school this year because the school couldn’t afford them,” said Chris Politis, 42-year-old Greek citizen and friend who lives in Athens with his three children.
I am of Greek origin and most of my relatives currently live in Greece. Every day they wake up to a weakened economy, engulfed by the fear of possibly losing their jobs. They struggle with important decisions such as possibly leaving the only home and country they’ve ever known.
To see my second home fall apart like this, and to see my cousins, uncles, aunts and fellow Greeks riot and suffer, was saddening and frustrating.

2) Jacques Gallant
Editor-in-chief

It seems only fitting that one of my last contributions to The Concordian as its editor-in-chief would focus on the tuition debate, but more specifically the mismanagement of public funds in many Quebec universities. The news items that affected me the most this year were Concordia’s announcement that it was hiring external auditors to review the severance packages it handed out between 2009 and 2010, and Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s decision to fine Concordia $2 million for its mismanagement of public dollars, which include tuition fees. Maybe I’m just bitter because my plan to become the principal companion of a wealthy hedge fund manager will never actually happen, and I’ll have to find some other way to pay off my tens of thousands of dollars of student debt, but I became exceedingly outraged this year when it became clear how badly some Quebec universities handled money being given to them by students and the government. Former Concordia president Judith Woodsworth receiving a $703,500 severance package and current president Frederick Lowy scoring a $350,000 salary plus a $1.4 million interest-free loan for his condo are only some of the examples that I could throw out there. Someone please clear this up for me: What the hell do these people do that merits so much money? During my time at The Concordian it’s one of the rare Concordia-related mysteries that I never managed to solve. And don’t give me the usual drivel that their jobs are to “represent the university [at wealthy alumni parties] and be the face of the institution.” I want a little bit more than that. I might even accept Line Beauchamp’s argument that tuition increases are desperately needed to improve the quality of education and research, but I just can’t when I think of all the financial mishaps Concordia went through these past few years. Yes, they’re clearly trying to fix the problem (finally!), but I remain unconvinced. If I ever bank a few extra thousand dollars in my future career (as a journalist, so I suppose I should keep dreaming), I don’t see myself ever donating a penny (or a nickel I should say) to this university.

3) Audrey Folliot
Staff writer

On Feb. 20, 2009, cardiologist Guy Turcotte killed his two children. He stabbed both of them more than a dozen times in a blind rage, shortly after discovering that his ex-wife had been cheating on him with his best friend. This story was being discussed in Quebec even months after it had happened. During his trial last summer, Turcotte admitted that he had killed his children—Olivier, 5, and Anne-Sophie, 3—but said he had not intended to do so. After the trial, he was found not criminally responsible for the deaths of his children. I’m sorry, but what? A lot of people were in disbelief at the announcement of the verdict, and so was I. It totally shocked me. Turcotte was a reputable cardiologist, so I don’t buy the mental illness excuse. There are many signs indicating that he was aware of his actions and that they were premeditated. But what shocks me the most is that he might be released in society soon. He said he wants to start over, build a new family and start to practise cardiology again. How can someone go on after something like that? Unbelievable.

4) Shaimaa El-Ghazaly
Assistant life editor

I was most affected by the introduction in the U.S. House of Representatives of the Stop Online Piracy Act, better known as SOPA. I am an avid Internet user and this bill threatens many of the sites that I find useful. I’m all for protecting the entertainment industry from piracy, but the bill affects the Internet as a whole. The legislation would destroy innovation, threaten free speech and allow law enforcement to block access to entire domains just because of a single blog or post that contains copyright-infringing content. Popular sites such as YouTube, Wikipedia and Facebook would most likely be shut down or at least severely debilitated. I see freedom of speech as quite important in our lives and it is something that differentiates us from countries ruled by dictators. I find it frustrating that a bunch of old men and women implementing laws initially made to punish a small portion of Internet users will end up punishing everyone else in the process. While the main goal is to protect artists, shutting down user-generated sites will not make the artists any richer. The blackout of many sites including Wikipedia and Google in protest against SOPA worked, but the bill is not completely gone. Sure, it is an American law, but Canadian websites would also be affected. This legislation would move us backwards and threaten the progress we’ve made in terms of Internet accessibility.

5) Alyssa Tremblay
Staff writer

Many drivers’ worst fears were confirmed this fall when the Champlain Bridge, the busiest bridge in the country, was reported to be deteriorating and increasingly unsafe to drive on.
Used by thousands of motorists every day, the news about the bridge gave people something else to worry about other than infuriating rush hour traffic.
Now, the classic nightmare of being late for work got a terrifying new twist—sleeping through the alarm was replaced by the very real possibility that on your way into the office, the bridge will finally give out, sending you plummeting through a gaping hole in the middle lane and into the icy depths of the Saint Lawrence, trapped in the sinking metal coffin that is your Honda Accord.
In October, Ottawa announced that they would foot the $25 million bill to replace the bridge with a new structure – a nice gesture if you ignore the fact that they plan on taking 10 years to build it.
To add insult to (literal) injury, the federal government had to be cajoled last summer into releasing the 86-page safety report on the bridge to the general public. Transport Minister Denis Lebel’s comforting explanation: they didn’t want to scare people.
Meanwhile, living on the South Shore got a whole lot edgier and dangerous once we realized that our daily commute was like playing Russian roulette with a 50-year-old hot mess of concrete and metal.

6) A.J. Cordeiro
Staff writer

Joining over 20 other Canadian cities and some 900 jurisdictions worldwide, Occupy Montreal was one of most defining moments in news for our community.
Beginning on Oct. 15 with the Global Action Day, protesters took up residence in tents under the
watchful gaze of Queen Victoria’s statue and the SPVM. Just over a month later, on
Nov. 25, protesters were evicted from the square. Did the protesters actually accomplish anything?
Well, the protest was not about accomplishing a specific set of goals, but rather sending a message of frustration from the 99 per cent movement. As a result, they were heard and cited in every major media outlet across Canada. What began as an effort to make the institutions and authority-company relationships in governments fairer and more just for citizens was stalled by the lack of unity on a specific set of goals. Instead, the main element which characterized the movement was disorganization. Occupy Montreal had a myriad of spokespeople, yet had a complete lack of leadership. One person would spout off about the present government administration, while another condemned the education system and others criticized health and social services. How can you communicate a unified message when everyone is talking at once? In the end, the only images that remain are the ones of city workers restoring the Queen’s image and taking down tents, as police marked protester hands with UV paint.

7) Marilla Steuter-Martin
Co-news editor

Now more than ever, there is a strain on the relationship between university administrators and students. What better example of this could there be than the February 2012 “6party” occupation of McGill’s James administration building. Students felt their voices were not being heard and so in typical Montreal fashion, they made their discontent heard through protest. And how, you may ask, did the university respond? They tried everything to force students out. These young people, who spend thousands of dollars a year to attend this institution, were denied access to food, electricity and washroom facilities. In this day and age? I was appalled and frankly surprised that there wasn’t more of a public outcry. What many are apt to forget is that protesters are just as much human as those who abuse authority in their comfortable upper management offices, and they deserve to be treated with just as much respect. Furthermore, there is certainly no reason to set such a dangerous precedent as McGill security has this past year. The very thought of trained adult guards leaning out of windows trying to cut makeshift pulley systems set up by students in order to transport necessary supplies into their camp, is more pathetic than it is hilarious—if only by a fraction. I mean, is this truly the level we’re at? I say next time students decide to peacefully set up shop, McGill administrators would do well to remember that the world is watching them, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt the university’s image to send an olive branch, or a fruit basket, student protesters’ way.

8) Myles Dolphin
Opinions editor

According to a Verizon study, hacktivists are to blame for 58 per cent of all stolen data in 2011. They’re organized, extremely smart and angry. From the takedown of the FBI website (in protest of SOPA) to the 78 Syrian government email accounts that were hacked into, hacktivists have made serious headlines in the past year. Hacktivism is a movement with zero discrimination: anyone who possesses above-average IT skills and who wants to use digital tools in the pursuit of political goals against a particular government or corporation can participate. Hacktivists have leveled the playing field; governments are suddenly extremely vulnerable to attacks. When it comes to groups like Anonymous and LulzSec, no challenge is out of their reach. They know they have considerable support for their actions, and they’ll keep justifying their mischievousness. Last December, using stolen credit cards, Anonymous hacked servers belonging to security think tank Stratfor and planned on donating around $1 million to various charities. Theft, in most cases, is condemnable, but there’s something romantic and somewhat empowering to know that there are anonymous groups out there, the modern-day Robin Hoods, bringing about chaos and destruction in the name of causes that many of us support. They advocate freedom of speech, truth, transparency and the right to protest: Who can argue with that?

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Student threatens education minister with legal action

A student sent a mise en demeure, or formal notice, to Education Minister Line Beauchamp on March 26, giving her 10 days to negotiate with students on tuition increases. If no negotiations take place after that time period, judicial procedures could be undertaken.

Jean-François Boisvenue, a PhD student in comparative literature at Université du Québec à Montréal, said he sent the notice as more of a symbolic act to draw attention to the fact that Beauchamp did not want to negotiate with students. The minister switched gears last week and said she would be open to talking to students, but said they had to accept that tuition is going up. It’s unclear if her change of heart is related to the mise en demeure.

“I really just wanted to start a debate about democracy in our society, because really, nothing can constrain Beauchamp to negotiate,” he said.

Boisvenue posted his mise en demeure on Facebook and got hundreds of supporters, which is a lot more than he expected.

“I am surprised that people really took it seriously and encouraged me to start judicial procedures against the minister,” said Boisvenue. “I didn’t want to undertake anything at first, but I decided now not to exclude any options.”

Education ministry spokesperson Esther Chouinard confirmed that they had received the formal notice last week, but said the ministry could not comment when legal procedures are involved.

Despite Beauchamp’s refusal to negotiate with students on tuition increases, Boisvenue said he’s hopeful that eventually she will have no choice but to sit down with student groups to hear what they have to say on the issue.

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Students largely left out of federal budget

OTTAWA (CUP) —“The plan’s measures focus on the drivers of growth: innovation, business investment, people’s education and skills that will fuel the new wave of job creation,” Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters in advance of the budget’s unveiling in the House of Commons on March 29.

But apart from a heavy focus on industry-related research and additional funding for one particular youth employment program, Canadian post-secondary students were largely missing from the Conservatives’ 2012 budget.

“This federal budget is bad news for Quebec youth,” said Fédération Universitaire du Québéc President Martine Desjardins. “The reduction in grants for university research, for example, clearly shows the increasing place private corporations are taking in universities. We are also concerned to see that grants for social programs were lower than what the province asked and we worry about the consequences of these reductions on youth.”

Research and innovation
The Conservatives instead placed a clear emphasis on innovation and research funding, namely in the form of partnerships between businesses and universities. Among their plans, they intend to dedicate $14 million over two years to double the Industrial Research and Development Internship Program, which currently supports 1,000 graduate students in conducting research at private-sector firms.

The Conservatives also plan to send $6.5 million over three years to McMaster University for a health care research project, and will dedicate $500 million over five years to support modernization of research infrastructure on campuses through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, starting in 2014–15.

Paul Davidson, president and CEO of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, called the investments “smart and strategic” and was generally supportive of the research funding proposals outlined by the Conservatives.

“I think Canadian universities can be quite proud and quite pleased that the government recognizes the central role universities play,” he said.

The 2012 budget marks the end of the stimulus phase of the government’s economic action plan and thus the end of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, which provided nearly $2 billion over two years for construction projects at university and college campuses across the country. Budget 2012 reported that a total of 515 projects were completed under the program, and while five have yet to be completed, no further federal funding will be provided for those unfinished projects.

Katimavik funding eliminated
There were youth-related cuts in the document, too. Living up to rumours that swirled in the media in the days leading up to the budget, the government cut funding to Katimavik, a popular youth program that supported young Canadians traveling the country to participate in volunteer projects. The government announced its intentions to continue to invest in “affordable, effective programming” and that Canadian Heritage would pledge over $105 million in youth initiatives, though few details were provided.

Employment issues
In the area of job creation specifically for youth, the Conservatives only announced they would add another $50 million over two years to the existing Youth Employment Strategy, which, according to the government, connected nearly 70,000 youth with work experience and skills training last year.

While the government re-affirmed their plan to forgive student loans of up to $40,000 for new doctors and $20,000 for new nurses and nurse practitioners who plan to work in rural and aboriginal communities, starting in 2012–13, this plan had already been announced in last year’s budget.

Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May also said she was “very disappointed” that no greater moves were made to relieve youth unemployment and student debt in the budget.

“The priority is to engage people so that we can put up the kind of cross-country response. We need to mobilize,” she said.

Nevertheless, thanks to their majority government status, it’s expected that the Conservatives will pass their budget plan with ease.

The government also announced its plans to eliminate the penny. Pennies will no longer be produced and distributed to financial institutions starting in fall 2012, though the coins will still be allowed to be used in cash transactions.

Dubois warned that the government was trying to “balance the budget on the backs of students and older citizens,” while May felt there was another clear message for young people among the financial proposals.

“You’re the victims in this,” the Green Party leader told Canadian University Press. “Anybody younger than 50 is the part of the population that gets kicked in the teeth in this budget.”

With Files from Joel Ashak

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CSU council ends in shouting match

Morgan Pudwell reads aloud her resignation letter at council.
Morgan Pudwell reads aloud her resignation letter at council.

The subject of former VP Morgan Pudwell’s resignation quickly polarized about 100 attendees at Wednesday’s Concordia Student Union council meeting. As tensions erupted a stunned chair decided to adjourn the meeting much earlier than expected.

The agenda topic started off relatively calmly as both Pudwell and the CSU were given the opportunity to read their statements, each followed by applause from their select groups of supporters, and Amine Dabchy’s statement was read out by the chair.

But a quick motion to enter closed session made by CSU president Heather Lucas set off the war of words between supporters of both sides in the packed room. While Pudwell said the personal issues at hand were about her and all students were welcome to hear them, VP Hassan Abdullahi countered saying that the HR issues to be discussed also involved personal issues for other executives and could touch on candidacy in upcoming elections, which would be a violation of electoral rules for those involved.

Councillors eventually took part in a vote, with a majority approving the motion for closed session. But this passage in turn set off some of the students at large, including Alex Matak, who said she would not leave unless Heather Lucas picked her up and carried her out.

Many councillors and students at large exchanged heated words over the transparency of the CSU and the commitment to procedure. With students refusing to leave the room for closed session, VP finance and clubs Ramy Khoriaty phoned campus security, he said “in case of an
incident.”

Chair Marc-Antoni Tarondo attempted to mediate and listen to students, but executive members told him he had no right to speak and move forward until they entered close session. After minutes of back and forth yelling, Tarondo was advised to simply adjourn the meeting early, which he did.

The Concordian will have a full story in next week’s issue with commentary from councillors, executives and students in attendance.

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