Tag: students

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News

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) makes it way to Concordia

The first of its kind in Canada, the club will bring a whole new industry to the university

This year, a new club is arriving at Concordia. The first of its kind in Canada, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) will allow the immersive story-telling industry to make ties with our university.

Mitchell Stein, the President and founder of Concordia’s TEA club, has been a passionate member of the TEA for a while now. As the main association relating to the immersive storytelling industry, it was high time we set up a TEA club in Canada.

“Things that you’ll see in Orlando, Florida or in California, at the Disney or Universal parks, a lot of them have been created in Montreal themselves. So we’re hoping to partner with a lot of those companies to bridge the gap between students and the industry,” said Stein.

Themed entertainment touches any subversive and interactive storytelling experience. An example that most will be familiar with is a Disney theme park, where guests — the audience — are transported into an entirely different universe.

Stein goes on to explain that Concordia is the perfect setting for this club to make its debut to Canadian students.

“What we were hoping to do is tap into the creative and technical side at Concordia because there are so many great [creative and technical] programs. [Many] people don’t know about this really incredible industry,” said Stein.

However, Stein is well aware of the challenges that are associated with this year. A pandemic makes it difficult to get the word around.

“We’re still really new, so I’m still learning the ropes of marketing a club, especially digitally … But so far, everybody we’ve told about it has been very passionate.”

The club will expose students to an industry that isn’t well-known to many.

“We had a lot of interest with the creation of the club, and I think that so many programs and clubs are interested in these types of things — understanding technology, creativity and immersive storytelling is always something people are interested in,” said Stein.

Although the themed entertainment industry seems far away, Stein ensures that the creation of this club will open the door for students.

He said, “Something that people always told me was to get involved in the themed entertainment association. Because it is the biggest organization that represents the industry, and everyone who works in the industry.”

The TEA club at Concordia will bridge the gap between companies and students by building relationships. Stein explained that he has already reached out to companies based in Montreal, and is looking forward to working with them.

“A lot of students don’t even know this industry exists, they might know of Disney or Universal, but they don’t know of these jobs that are right in our backyards.”

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
Student Life

What I learned from working at the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities

On Feb. 6, I was reading Jean Vanier’s “Loneliness” from his book Becoming Human as part of the required reading for a graduate course in the department of Theological Studies. In 1964, Vanier founded L’Arche, a community where people with disabilities could share their lives together. His remarks about the “love that grows in and through belonging,” the “discovery of our common humanity” and “working together for the common good” made me reflect upon my own experience of working with students with disabilities and my desire to communicate and share my experiences with my fellow Concordians. 

I thought about contacting The Concordian for some time, but an idea never came into fruition until now; I thought what I had to say would not be interesting enough or worthy of publication. Yet, as I was reading through “Loneliness,” I could not help but be overwhelmed by a deep feeling of sadness, but also hope.

I came across the opportunity to help students with disabilities in 2014, while still an undergraduate student in the process of completing a double major in Honours English literature and theological studies. During this time, I volunteered as a note-taker, still unaware that I could somehow get paid (not that the money should matter for such a great cause, even though when you’re a university student, let’s face it, it kind of does). At the end of every semester, I would receive an acknowledgment of gratitude in the form of a certificate and a $20 gift card to the Concordia Bookstore.

One day, I asked the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD) if there were other opportunities to receive financial compensation for my notes. Having the opportunity to work with all of these wonderfully talented students has fulfilled me in a way that striving for success in our capitalist society can’t. They continue to remind me of what it means to be human every single day.

Disabilities should not define a person—they are merely a part of the person, not their entire story. These students have demonstrated ambition, strength, courage and perseverance despite all the odds, obstacles, stereotypes and judgments thrown their way. I can see drive in each and every one of them to make a name for themselves, to succeed and prove all of those who doubted them wrong. 

I am currently employed with the ACSD as a note-taker, tutor, exam invigilator and most recently, academic coach. I have taken notes for students in courses that span several programs. The way I see it is I’m basically getting paid to learn while making a difference in these students’ lives. I can see the difference I’ve made just by looking at them. Seeing a smile on their faces and just the manner in which they thank me and have continued to request me as their note-taker and tutor for future classes has been so gratifying to me. 

Although my experiences can’t be compared to Vanier’s tremendous output in providing a secure environment for people with disabilities to flourish and grow, working with students with disabilities has taught me a great deal about what it means to be human. Working in retail, I’m exposed to countless people on a daily basis who always seem very rushed. We sometimes forget what it means to be human, to take a step back and be grateful for just being alive on this particular day. We would be so much kinder and more humble towards one another if we took the time to reflect on ourselves and the vulnerability of the human condition. 

Working with students with disabilities is like being in front of a mirror; they mirror your own humanity and vulnerability. Notes are a gift and a sign of hope which remind students with disabilities of their own humanity and their potential to succeed. Rather than simply disregarding invitations to participate as a volunteer note-taker, I encourage students to share their notes with other students in need. It really doesn’t take that much, especially if students are already typing their own notes on a laptop. All you need to do is upload your notes onto the site. Imagine the difference it would make if more students joined; if we all come together, we can make an even greater difference. 

Graphic by Sasha Axenova

Categories
News

Concordia Students’ Nightline set to reopen this week

The Concordia Students’ Nightline is set to resume service this Thursday, Jan. 9, after the winter holidays.

The Concordia-based active listening phone service was founded in 2017 by Concordia alumna Jade Se. The student-run nightline is completely anonymous and is open to anyone who calls.

“We’re very excited to reopen and hear about students’ winter breaks, as well as hear from our non-student callers,” said Camille Zolopa, President of the Nightline. “As an organization, we really aim to promote self-care and consideration for our volunteer corps as much as for our callers, so I think it’s super important to take breaks.”

According to Zolopa, some calls can be emotionally heavy, so it was necessary for volunteers to take some time off.

“Our approach is quite specific, in that we validate and actively listen to callers,” said Zolopa. “We don’t offer our opinions or advice; we think of ourselves more as an auditory journal for people. And perhaps most importantly, we’re open when a lot of services are closed, from 6:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m.”

Callers tend to feel more comfortable disclosing information with the students, said Zolopa, likely because they are considered peers.

“The volunteer active listeners are totally non-judgmental, and will keep any information that’s shared in the call confidential,” said Valentin Garriga, VP external of the non-profit organization. “It creates a space that can feel safe to share anything that you may want to talk about.”

Garriga said having this alternative is important because some students may not benefit from mental health services offered by the university, or may feel uncomfortable with meeting someone in person.

With this extra layer of anonymity, students don’t need to go through triage — a process where they speak with a general mental health practitioner or nurse to discuss the general themes they want to resolve with therapy — like they would need to through Concordia’s Counselling and Psychological Services. Through the Nightline, they can just call and talk.

“They can have the conversation that they want to have, without having to talk about things they don’t want to talk about,” said Garriga.

Although this alternative mental health service does not stand in for professional help, Garriga said the student listeners are thoroughly trained by senior volunteers.

“We will deal with a large variety of possible scenarios, and volunteers are trained on how to handle a number of subjects, especially those you might know as ‘tough’ topics, [like] sexual assault, violence, gender identity, or sexuality,” said Garriga. “Things that people have a really tough time talking about. We want to make sure people are ready to listen and help accordingly.”

According to Garriga, the training happens in person, and is quite a long-time commitment.

“While we are training extensively, we are also providing tons of support for new volunteers, as it could be emotionally draining and physically tiring,” said Garriga.

With the new semester, the Nightline will be training a new cohort of volunteer listeners, which means things will get a bit hectic the first couple of weeks of the semester.

“During the first week of each semester, experienced volunteers will be running training for the new recruits,” said Zolopa. “Therefore, we need returning volunteers who are not involved in training to cover more shifts during the first week back in service.”

With time and more manpower, Zolopa explained that a long-term goal of the Nightline is to increase their support system.

“Our long term goal is to be open every night of the week; once we have the volunteer corps to support that service expansion, we’ll be looking into new projects like offering a text/chat line,” said Zolopa.

Concordia’s Students’ Nightline  will be open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 6:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. at (514) 848-7787.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
News

Canadian Universities urge exchange students in Hong Kong to come home

Protests have been ongoing since June amid Chinese government attempts to amend the extradition law

Canadian universities have been urging their exchange students in Hong Kong to return home as the tension between government officials and protestors continues to escalate.

While Concordia University hasn’t released official statement asking students to return early or to put off their exchange, it has been making sure students are up to date on the current political climate of the area.

“We make sure that the students are properly informed of the situation before they go,” said Christine Archer, manager of Concordia’s Education Abroad Programs. “We go according to the travel bans on the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (CIC) website,”

There are currently no travel bans to Hong Kong on the Canadian Travel website, however, the organization warns any travellers to be extremely cautious.

The protests began in June when the local government attempted to amend extradition laws, allowing criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. This was seen by many as China’s attempt to gain more influence over the semi-autonomous territory, which was interpreted as a risk to Hong Kong’s independence.

Originally a British colony, Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997, when it was decided that while the territory would belong to China and it would have its own legal and political autonomy. They have been functioning under the motto “one country, two systems.”

The protests started off peacefully, but have since become violent. On Nov. 12, protests moved from the streets to many of Hong Kong’s university campuses.

On Nov. 17, protesters and police clashed at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, causing a nine-day siege. Since then, most protestors have escaped, surrendered or have been captured by the police reported the CBC.

Some Canadian students in Hong Kong have been cutting their exchanges short and leaving the territory early.

“We did have one student there this semester,” said Archer. “Her host institution ended classes on Nov. 15 and she came home right after.”

According to Archer, currently all of the Concordia students who had planned to study abroad in Hong Kong have changed their minds and have asked to be placed elsewhere.

“Back in 2015, it was stable and I really enjoyed it there,” said former Concordia exchange student Étienne Crête of his exchange to Hong Kong. “It’s one of my favourite cities in the world, but I wouldn’t go back right now. Not until the situation calms down.”

While the situation has gotten better recently, universities across Canada continue to closely monitor the situation, looking out for the best interest of their students.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Concordia must be more clear

graphic by Ana Bilokin

Concordia’s climate review of the English department has made headlines in every major Canadian news network since its release last week. Last week, one of our News Editors, Mia Anhoury wrote a piece outlining the lead-up to the review, its focus, some recommendations from the review, and comments from several people involved.

Some of the recommendations for professors include: making students more aware of the process for filing complaints, prohibiting classes in bars, clearer definitions and training about power dynamics in relationships, consent and conflicts of interest. Another recommendation is the requirement to disclose a conflict of interest in professors’ relationships with students, and clear consequences for failure to abide by it.

We at The Concordian encourage you to read the report for yourself. Many of the recommendations are focused on clarifying Concordia’s legislation around sexual misconduct and the process of voicing a complaint.

There are many takeaways from the report. Concordia has started many initiatives already, such as updating their sexual violence policy, and indeed they seem willing to comply with many of the recommendations.

One recurring goal was increased clarity; many students are unaware of the process of filing a complaint, and many don’t even know what situations qualify as a breach of university protocol. Clarity among the administration is also key, since many members claimed to be unaware of the toxic climate in the first place. Lisa Ostiguy, the head of Concordia’s standing committee on sexual misconduct and sexual violence, told The Concordian, “I’ve been actively involved in sexual violence and sexual misconduct files and processes, and I was not made aware [of fraternization between students and faculty].” Accountability between faculty members and accessibility to the complaint system will put more checks in place to prevent violent behaviour.

The report claimed “there is no place for any romantic or sexual relationship between an instructor and his or her student.” This is the kind of concrete, definitive language that we need surrounding this issue. Ostiguy acknowledged that “it’s very difficult to prohibit relationships between adults that are consenting.” We at The Concordian believe this is an issue that requires more clear, direct, and precise language. Being vague in the policy or when referring to it will only contribute to the difficulty of prohibiting toxic relationships.

Responses from the university thus far have not included an explicit apology to past or current students who were affected by abuses of power from several members of their institution. This includes Alan Shepherd’s recent response letter to the climate review, titled “Concordia welcomes the recommendations put forth in the Climate Review of the Department of English.”

In his response, Shepard mentions that the “unhealthy” climate that the report describes in the English department gives the university “cause [for] concern.” Immediately after, however, he mentions that many students have had a positive experience, that only a small percentage of faculty members were accused, and that most of the complaints came from alumni rather than current students. What are we supposed to make of these defences? It’s hard not to see this as an effort to save face.

Shepard’s letter goes on to highlight the ways Concordia has been investing in sexual assault resources, independently, he stresses, of the climate review. We do think that the letter is a useful way to discuss or promote resources for sexual assault. It is great that the university is working on developing new strategies, and it certainly needs to provide new resources to students as much as possible. But without the preface of an apology, it is easy to perceive the report in-part as an attempt to preserve the university’s reputation.

We at The Concordian want to see the university take responsibility for its employees by explicitly apologizing to its students, and demonstrate their sincerity by clearly defining their policy around student-professor relationships, the definition of ‘conflicts of interest’ and consequences for when that is breached. The complaint-filing process needs to be clear and accessible, and the university needs to make an active effort to investigate claims and enforce consequences for perpetrators.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin

Categories
Arts

For the sake of painting and photography

ANTES is an artist-based curatorial collective run by third-year painting students and partners, Alexia McKindsey and Jose Guillermo Garcia Sierra. Garcia Sierra, who is also the financial coordinator at the VAV Gallery, revealed that ANTES has been a long time in the making.

After six months of planning, their first exhibition is around the corner and they have already begun plans for their second show, scheduled for later this spring. Contre-Sens is a collaboration with For The Sake of Analog, another student-run artist collective developed by Tyra Maria Trono and Edson Niebla Rogil. Both groups chose to highlight their fascination with traditional methods of painting and analog photography. But Contre-Sens is much more than a process-based collection of work. The exhibition presents work from the collective leaders themselves, as well as four other students with drastically different approaches to their craft.

Katherine Parthimos, currently in pursuit of her BFA in studio arts, has a much more post-modern approach to traditional painting than Garcia Sierra or McKindsey, according to Garcia Sierra. Her brush strokes are much softer and facial expressions quirkier than Garcia Sierra’s ultra-detailed, surreal work and McKindsey’s vibrant colour palette, familiar imagery and multi-dimensional style. She has also curated and exhibited in many exhibitions since 2015, including the Art Souterrain festival in 2017.

Parthimos is interested in portraying people and relationships in motion, questioning the physicality of space between them. “When dealing with the figure, I believe composition to be a key element that every artist is aware of,” explained Parthimos. “In my case, to go along with my thematic, I like over emphasizing the composition and turning the figure into shapes.” For example, in Copy Cat, to add a comedic element, essential to the artist’s playful intentions, Parthimos has lined up all of the heads on the right side of the canvas.

To add a comedic element essential to Katherine Parthimos’s playful intentions, she has lined up all the heads on the right side of the canvas in Copy Cat. Photo courtesy of Katherine Parthimos.

Her environments are active, candid spaces which are thematically similar to the work of figurative portrait artist, Emily Spooner. Much like Parthimos’s, Spooner’s work is also based on photography, a softly spoken link throughout all the pieces in this exhibition.

Painting from old family photographs, Spooner sometimes purchases used albums on eBay to shake things up. Her paintings may merge elements of multiple photographs to create a new image, or zoom in on one particular detail. Her portraits often obscure the figure’s face, leaving their expression entirely up to the viewers’ interpretation. Spooner is captivated by fleeting moments and subtle emotions of the everyday, which converses nicely with Parthimos’ collection in Contre-Sens.

“Working with photographs I have taken as reference, I then focus on altering it for painting with intensity in colour theory, placement of shapes and pattern, to make it interesting,” revealed Parthimos, whereas ANTES Co-Founder Garcia Sierra works “half and half.” “Some elements are based on images, to make sure I get the details right, while others are completely imaginary,” revealed Garcia Sierra. The artist often uses himself as a model, making lots of his paintings self-portraits, even though he doesn’t consider them as such. “They aren’t about me,” he said. “They’re about everyday absurdities, time, mechanics and engineering, chance, history, life cycles….”

Garcia Sierra is engrossed not only with astronomy and science, but also boardgames, which are all recurring elements in his work. His latest painting depicts absurd events taking place on a street corner. A lobster waits on the sidewalk and a man, pondering something that has cracked the cement street, is accompanied by a seal wearing what looks like a large watch, or perhaps this form is the man’s shadow? A plastic family van, from The Game of Life, is parked by the side of the street, and behind it are ice cream sundae mountains, which look entirely like storm clouds, with a cherry on top.

Woven in among these painters are the work of analog-abstract photographer, Irela Sara, large-scale graphic artist, Peniel Benjamin Hong, documentary-purist photographer, Trono and film production student, Rogil. Co-Founders of For The Sake of Analog, Trono and Rogil are selective when making prints of their work, ensuring they are not mass-produced. Trono’s work is surprisingly small compared to that of Hong’s, which drags on the floor of the gallery, bringing the exhibition to life and breaking away from traditional means of exhibiting 2D artwork. This is a theme that both collectives intend to emphasise in their spring show, which will aim to break down painting and photography as strictly 2D concepts.

Contre-Sens will be exhibiting at Atelier Galerie 2112 until Feb. 8. Their vernissage is on Friday, Feb. 1 from 6:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m. Follow @ANTES and @forthesakeofanalog on Facebook and @an.t.e.s and @forthesakeofanalog on Instagram.

For more information visit the artist’s websites:
emilyspooner.com
katherineparthimos.com
alexiamckindsey.com
garciasierrart.com

 

Feature photo courtesy of ANTES.

Categories
Opinions

The ongoing epidemic of stimulant abuse

Graphic by Ana Bilokin

How student addictions are influencing academic successes at universities

In 1929, American doctor, Gordon Alles, changed modern medicine and academia forever. Dr. Alles, a researcher for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, on a mission for an allergy cure, had a colleague inject 50 mg of a chemical compound into the doctor’s arm in an attempt to test his remedy. Within minutes, Alles’s nose had cleared and amphetamine took the world by storm.

Alles noted an increased heart rate and as he wrote, “a feeling of well being“. He described feelings of alertness, euphoria, decreased appetite, and better working memory. Within years, amphetamine use exploded––soldiers in World War II used it, and companies marketed it under the brand Benzedrine for women in a “mild psychogenic depressive state.”

Amphetamine is a stimulant––a class of medications primarily used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Research studies have demonstrated stimulants improve quality of life by increasing underproduced neurotransmitters in the brain of those with the disorder. Modified forms of amphetamine, such as Adderall, Concerta and Vyvanse, can provide relief for those with ADHD and give them a life of normalcy.

Misuse of stimulants is not only detrimental to the user, but also to society––particularly in the academic and professional world. Without the supervision of a doctor, and more importantly the medicinal need; stimulant medications are addictive. Their short-term benefits can entice further abuse: less sleep is required, focus and energy are increased, and working memory improves.

In academia, stimulant abuse is an epidemic. A 2018 Yale University study found that between 25 per cent of students in Rocky Mountain colleges and 40 per cent of students in New England colleges reported stimulant drugs as one of the most commonly abused drug on campus. Research on Canadian abuse is far more limited, but a recent estimate is around six per cent.

And the problem is only getting worse; The Globe and Mail reported prescriptions have increased by over 30 per cent in the last five years. If this trend continues, the advantage between those who abuse stimulants over their au naturale peers will continue to become more pronounced and pose a serious risk to the meritocracy modern day academia is built upon.

Action must be taken or the devastating consequences will continue to grow for students and professionals to come. In order to acquire stimulants illicitly, a pill-seeking student needs two things: money and a drug dealer. As rates of stimulant abuse continue to rise, many students who otherwise would not abuse drugs may feel compelled to do so in order to compete with their pharmaceutically enhanced peers.

It’s no coincidence that amphetamine and methamphetamine vary by a single molecular group. When stimulants are taken incorrectly or in massive quantities, an unexpecting student may suffer anxiety, panic attacks and in extreme cases, heart attacks, psychosis or death. The normalization of recklessly pill popping before exams could seize bright students and enslave them to amphetamine. Those prone to addiction may develop a tolerance and potentially deadly addiction.

There are numerous potential solutions to prevent a grotesque marriage between “study drugs” and academic success. Doctors should screen patients rigorously before diagnosing ADHD and consider prescribing non-abusable alternatives like Wellbutrin. Other proposals are cognitive behavioural therapy and the development of coping mechanisms for less severe cases. When medications are necessary, the lowest effective dose should be prescribed and dispensed sparingly. This allows pharmacists to detect if a patient is potentially abusing their own medication or selling pills.

Education and healthcare are both pillars of an equitable and civilized society. Finding a balance between treating students with conditions like ADHD and protecting others from medications they don’t need is a delicate task. Multiple parties working in tandem can find a solution to this epidemic growing within our universities.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin

 

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Enjoy a guilt-free break!

Graphic by @spooky_soda

It’s finally happening. Soon, we’ll get the break we all deserve. We at The Concordian think it’s safe to assume that this semester has been hectic and exhausting for most of us.

The seemingly infinite weight of deadlines, assignments, projects, essays—we cannot wait until everything is finally submitted and done with. We thought it would be a good idea to dedicate this last editorial of the semester to promoting a radical idea: you can be lazy this upcoming break.

A recent CBC Radio piece highlighted why we should stop being so obsessed with productivity. “We tend to judge other people and their status by the number of hours of work they put in every week,” Brad Aeon, a researcher at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, told the CBC. The piece also featured some of Aeon’s rules about time management, which include prioritizing leisure time over work and being clear about your boundaries. His research emphasizes that it’s OK to set your own limits and disregard other people’s expectations about how much a person should work.

Perhaps taking a step away from a productivity-oriented lifestyle doesn’t have to mean a lesser work output. One of the fundamental pillars of behavioural psychology is that positive reinforcement creates desirable behaviour patterns. It’s important to reward yourself as a means of self-care, but also because this will ultimately lead to a lifestyle that effectively balances responsibilities in healthy ways. Rewards are what make hard work meaningful. If you take the time to let yourself experience them, you will be more driven when it’s time to work again.

Developing a rhythm of hard work mixed with downtime is not encouraged in our super productive, go-go-go society. We often celebrate overworking ourselves to the brink of exhaustion and dismiss the importance of finding a healthy relationship with our work. In fact, in Aeon’s research, he noticed a tendency for people to view productivity as an investment in their happiness. With this mentality, productivity takes on a sort of desperate, addictive quality that consistently leaves people unsatisfied with their performance level. This contributes to an environment in which everyone is constantly working themselves to the extreme and reinforcing an unrealistically high standard for work output. Aeon proposes an important idea that happiness doesn’t lie in overworking yourself, but rather in taking lengthy amounts of time for self-care.

We do realize, however, that this is all easier said than done. Taking time for yourself can be guilt-inducing. As students, most of our free time is overshadowed by impending deadlines for assignments or projects, and so moments of self-care can feel like simple procrastination. There is no easy answer for how to combat this feeling during the semester—sometimes there simply isn’t enough time for self-care, and the boundaries between self-care and procrastination can become blurred. That is precisely why it is so important to let yourself experience the reward of relaxation during the winter break.

Of course, your break will not be void of responsibility or anxiety. You may be working full-time, Christmas shopping or attending stressful family gatherings. But you can still take a break from less urgent pressures in your life. At the end of the semester, the stress of school is replaced by other anxieties—like getting work experience, reading books or making new friends—and while these may be important, remember that it is OK just to chill out for a few weeks after a taxing semester. We at The Concordian celebrate guilt-free self-care and taking an adequate amount of time to focus on yourself. Enjoy your break!

Graphic by @spooky_soda

Categories
Opinions

Editorial: Without access to transportation, you’ll be left behind

Graphic by Ana Bilokin

It’s that time of year again—elections are coming. We’re surrounded by empty promises, eager politicians and platforms that try very hard to appeal to specific people. Yet, there’s one facet of a platform that got our attention. Don’t worry, we won’t be telling you who you should vote for in this editorial (but please do vote). Instead, The Concordian felt the Quebec Liberal Party’s promise to make public transit free for seniors and full-time students is quite compelling—and frankly, it’s about time.

The party’s leader, Philippe Couillard, said, “We want the next generation to develop the habit of using public transit and to turn away, by choice, from driving solo,” according to CBC News. He brought up how some families could save about $2,000 per year, and seniors could save up to $600 annually.

In a utopian world, one where everything was good, public transit would be free. We wouldn’t be forced to sell our souls in order to afford a $110 monthly pass. We wouldn’t have to dig deep into our couches and try to find enough change to pay the $3.25 needed to ride the bus for three minutes. Life would be so much simpler, right?

The truth is, we’re living in a time when free public transportation should be seen as a basic human right. We at The Concordian believe public transit should be free for all—even if you aren’t a senior or a full-time student. There are way more benefits to free public transit than there are disadvantages. For one, we would significantly lessen our carbon footprint. If people used less cars and more public transit, the environment would be less exposed to harsh gasses.

The book Free Public Transit: And Why We Don’t Pay To Ride Elevators tackles this issue in a fundamental way. It describes how we should be looking at public transportation like a public good, similar to garbage services. Co-edited by Jason Prince, an urban planner and part-time professor at Concordia, the book emphasizes how free public transit is a vital way to achieve “greenhouse gas targets in industrialized cities within a reasonable timeframe.” According to an interview with Prince by the Montreal Gazette, approximately 60 to 65 per cent of greenhouse gases in the Montreal region come from the transport sector, with 80 per cent of that being from cars.

Our city is comprised of 1.7 million people; one simply has to stand in downtown Montreal to realize how many of us are constantly moving. From one place to another, we are either on our feet, our bikes, in our cars, on busses or riding the metro. We’re hustling and rushing to get to where we need to be and, at this point, we shouldn’t have to pay for that. The same way Prince’s book questions why we don’t pay to ride elevators—just another way of getting to our destination—we shouldn’t be paying to reach our jobs, homes or daily destinations on time.

Those who can’t afford public transit are often left behind. Not only in terms of being ignored at the bus stop by rude bus drivers, but in life. We’re (unfortunately) living in a capitalistic, dog-eat-dog world, where being on time and showing up to opportunities is often essential to doing well in life. Job interviews, classes, auditions—whatever it is you’re trying to do—is only more difficult when you don’t have a way of getting there in the first place. We all know that unequal distribution of wealth leads to unequal opportunities. That same inequality is mirrored in our public transit system—those who can’t afford those steep monthly passes, or even a $3 bus ticket, can’t reach their full potential.

We should all be pushing for a fairer society. Making public transportation free is just the first pit stop on our long journey toward equality.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin

 

Categories
Opinions

Education, denied

Graphic by Wednesday Laplante

Ah, Twitter. The wonderful app that connects the universe with short bursts of 280-character tweets. Those tweets, which provide us with a way of expressing ourselves, are often funny, insightful, and inspiring. While Twitter is a great app that has been known to start careers and highlight important issues, it has also been known to end careers and relationships. And we’re not talking about relationships between people per say—unfortunately, we mean relationships between countries.

At the beginning of August, Canada’s foreign ministry tweeted: “Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and women’s rights activists in #SaudiArabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists.” This spurred angry tweets by the Saudi foreign ministry.

In a series of tweets, the Saudi foreign ministry said they were expelling the Canadian ambassador from the country and suspended trade and investment transactions between the two nations. Most notably, the Saudi government decided to suspend scholarships for its foreign students studying at Canadian universities and colleges, according to Global News.

All students relying on Saudi-funded scholarships have either already been forced to leave, or are preparing to leave Canada in the coming weeks. Sept. 22 was announced as the final deadline for Saudi trainee doctors to leave the country, according to CBC News. The same source confirmed that 8,310 Saudi students were enrolled in Canadian post-secondary schools from Jan. to May 2018. Of that number, 435 were in Quebec, with 327 at McGill University, and more than 60 at Concordia.

We at The Concordian are frustrated to see innocent students affected by this diplomatic dispute. While we understand that each country has its own customs and political systems, we believe that no student’s education should be affected by international policy disputes—especially ones rooted in a request to respect human rights. In an ideal world, these students would be allowed to stay and strive for a bright future here in Canada.

We cannot imagine what these students are going through. But we know that Canada—our society, our educational system and our workforce—will be deeply affected by the departure of these students. Saudi Arabia was the sixth largest source of international students in Canada in 2015, according to a Global Affairs report. International students add approximately $15.5 billion annually to Canada’s economy, with Saudi students representing five per cent of that group.

Specifically, Saudi students’ impact on the Canadian economy is approximately $400 million per year, according to the same source. Although monetary value should be the last thing we look at when determining someone’s worth, it’s important to stress and recognize how detrimental this loss is for Canada.

In an ideal world, a tweet about human rights would not trigger such a hasty retaliation. In an ideal world, that tweet wouldn’t have been necessary to begin with. The common saying that students are our future is true; students are the force that shapes society’s future. The things we learn and what we choose to do with that knowledge is useful in developing our opinions and overall worldview. It’s a shame that a diplomatic dispute is interrupting something as important as education.

We consider those who finally felt Canada was becoming their home. For those of you who have to say goodbye to a place you only recently said hello to; for those who were almost finished with their degree and were beginning to step toward a bright career here in Canada. We’re disappointed that a nation that celebrates its diversity and inclusivity is losing cherished and valuable members of our society. The Concordian wishes you luck in all your future endeavours, and we hope something as trivial as a tweet is never again the reason for your goodbyes.

Graphic by Wednesday Laplante

Categories
Arts

Reinterpreting the process of learning

Artists Emma Forgues (left) and Sam Bourgault perform in their piece, prox.Dance. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Concordia students explore pedagogy in this year’s Art Matters Festival

The term ‘pedagogy’ is defined as “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.” Chris Mendoza and Jamie Potvin—the curators of pedagogy, an exhibition included in this year’s Art Matters Festival—explained that they wanted to explore this method outside the world of academia. Mendoza and Potvin focused their approach on pedagogy in the art world, inquiring how and why we learn through and with art.

Both studio art students with minors in art education, the curators met while co-teaching together. According to Potvin, “art education has a really structured framework,” which they wanted to expand on. The idea of exploring the intersection of art and education evolved into the concept for an exhibition. Mendoza and Potvin agreed that the Art Matters Festival could act as a platform they could build their idea on, as well as provide access to student work at Concordia.

The exhibition’s curators, Chris Mendoza (left) and Jamie Potvin. Photo by Alex Hutchins

This year, the festival received almost 300 submissions, which each chosen curator sifted through in order to find pieces that fit with their exhibition idea. A jury approved the curators’ choices, and they were given the funds and resources needed to bring their idea to fruition. As Potvin pointed out, the festival takes place in “traditional gallery space[s],” which added another area of exploration and critique to their exhibition. The curators aimed to question how viewers learn from pieces presented in white-wall galleries, how artists learn about their practice by exhibiting in these spaces and how their experiences would differ in unconventional gallery spaces. By presenting the works in a traditional gallery, Mendoza and Potvin call attention to these questions and encourage viewers to question the way they interact with art as well. Mendoza referred to this all-encompassing exploration as “a triad of curator-artist-viewer” experiences of learning.

One of the pieces featured in pedagogy is by Concordia computation arts students Emma Forgues and Sam Bourgault. Mendoza described their piece as the “translation of intimacy into something digital.” The piece, titled prox.Dance, originated in a digital sound class. It involves a performance (done by Forgues and Bourgault), which the artists wanted to share with the art community outside of the classroom. Similar to Mendoza and Potvin, they were drawn to the festival as a way to present their idea to the public. “It helps us to see how it looks in a real context,” Bourgault said.

The performance piece revolves around the artists, who wear proximity sensors. According to Forgues, they begin by moving in the space around them, and proceed to “explore the distance” between each other, always moving in a slow, calculated manner. Bourgault explained that they wanted to “focus on these minimal movements between two bodies,” and allow the audience to do the same. The artists also used frequency modulation (FM) synthesis to incorporate sound into their movements. With every movement Forgues and Bourgault make, the sound changes and adjusts. Through the exploration of movement, the artists learn about each other and the space between and surrounding them. They will perform prox.Dance at the exhibition’s finissage on March 23, but until then, a video of their preparation process is on display at the gallery.

A still from Phil Mercier’s 2-channel video project.
Photo by Alex Hutchins

Phil Mercier, a photography transfer student from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, was chosen to display his piece titled Action. The piece consists of two iMac computers that display old footage of the time Mercier spent at summer camps as a child. The artist, photographer and filmmaker said that as a kid, he enjoyed recording portions of his life. Recently, his parents sent him the old tapes, and Mercier decided to convert them into an art piece. He catalogued the clips by dividing them based on the actions that happen in the recordings. The actions were then pieced together to form a 2-channel video installation that Mercier said was intended to be “almost overwhelming.” It’s up to the viewer to decipher what is happening and how to make sense of it.

The artist said he is happy to participate in the festival, as he believes “it’s super important that there are opportunities for student-[artists], […] and that students are paid and valued for their work.” Art Matters has created a space for student-creators to share their knowledge and ideas while also being recognized for their work. Mendoza, Potvin, Forgues, Bourgault and Mercier all agreed that the environment of the festival encouraged collaboration and a collective respect for student work.

Mercier explained that although what is shared in a classroom has its value, practical experiences like this festival are extremely valuable to student-artists as well. He also encouraged viewers to give exhibited works the time and attention they deserve. Although it’s easy to pass by them without much thought, “when you’re in front of the piece, try to give it an extra 10 seconds and think about it a little bit more critically,” he said.

pedagogy is on display at Espace Projet (353 Villeray St.) until March 24. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The finissage will be held at the gallery on March 23, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Forgue and Bourgault’s performance will be included in the event. For more information about the exhibition, visit the Art Matters Festival’s website. Additional information about the artists and their work can be found on their personal websites.

Emma Forgues: www.emmaforgues.ca
Sam Bourgault: www.sambourgault.com
Phil Mercier: www.philmercier.ca

Photos by Alex Hutchins

Categories
News

Working toward paid internships for students

Representatives of Concordia student associations gathered at the Hive Café to discuss internships. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Concordia student associations gather to discuss the future of internships at the university

Huddled around a rectangular table in the Hive Café downtown, executives from various Concordia student associations discussed the future of internships at the university on Jan. 16. The congress, organized by the Concordia Student Union (CSU), followed through on the union’s campaign promise to end unpaid internships. Although it was geared toward student executives, the congress was open to the public.

The representatives of each association took turns discussing how internships work in their respective programs and how they could be improved. Asma Mushtaq, the CSU’s academic and advocacy coordinator, explained that while internships “might appear more manageable on paper,” they do not properly capture the “real student experience.”

This so-called “real student experience” varies greatly from program to program. According to Mushtaq, during the preliminary awareness campaign regarding unpaid internships, many students were shocked to learn that unpaid internships are required for graduation in some departments, despite other students getting paid up to $20 an hour for internships. “We’re trying to bring more consistency,” Mushtaq said.

Many students have reported that Concordia’s early childhood and elementary education program is notoriously demanding in its internship requirements. Sydney Daoust-Filiatrault, the vice-president of the newly created Early Childhood and Elementary Education Student Association (ECEESA), explained that to graduate from the program, students must complete five unpaid internships over four years.

Toward the end of their degree, students are expected to complete three internships, working 25 hours per week for eight weeks. These internships only count for three credits, and students are also obliged to attend a weekly three-credit seminar. This means that, to be considered full-time, students must take at least six other credits of classwork. Students must also receive at least a B grade to pass their internships, and if the same internship is failed twice, the student will be asked to withdraw from the program.

For Daoust-Filiatrault, this demanding schedule does not take into consideration students who work or have other time commitments. She explained that, on top of 25 hours of weekly work, students must also prepare lesson plans for their internships and do work outside of the classroom. Daoust-Filiatrault added that, while many teachers and administration recommend students study part-time during their internships, this can extend their studies far past four years.

Although it is possible to ask for permission to appear as a full-time student to Concordia while only taking six credits per semester during the internship period, “that doesn’t change how the government sees you,” she said. “So anyone with bursaries loses them, despite working full-time, despite not being able to make money while you’re full-time.”

According to Daoust-Filiatrault, this unfairly targets students who need a job to afford their education. “At this point, I feel like we’re losing everything by doing [internships],” she said.

The CSU campaign for paid internships is still in its early stages. According to Mushtaq, the student union is in the process of collecting preliminary data and statistics to present to the university and senate. Collecting this raw data and information about the variety of internship experiences from students is an essential first step to approaching the university, she explained. “Having something concrete from the ground level helps us create a more concrete action plan,” Mushtaq said.

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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