An unorthodox stress-reliever: Laughing at your fears
It’s that time of year again. As Concordia’s fall semester nears its end, students are no doubt preparing for the incoming deluge of finals and research papers.
A quick look at the Spotted: Concordia Facebook page reveals a hellscape of pre-exam anxiety: pictures of students in a tired stupor using textbooks as makeshift pillows lie sandwiched between close-ups of empty hard liquor bottles tucked discreetly behind toilets. In among these moments of cinéma verité, one can find dozens of memes (or “image macros” if you grew up in the 1940s) whose messages can basically be reduced to a single, common point: “I am stressed, therefore, I want to die.”
The millennial obsession with nihilistic comedy has always been a fascinating subject to me. Popular TV shows like Netflix’s BoJack Horseman and Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty revolve around perennially depressed main characters who live in uncaring, occasionally violent worlds. It goes without saying that this sort of comedy has developed for a good reason. A 2014 study by Statistics Canada indicates 54 per cent of post-secondary students felt hopeless at some point that year. They face stress from balancing part-time jobs, competitive academic fields and a job market that is in poor shape.
Effective stress management skills are essential for excelling, especially in university. Of course this seems obvious, but it always bears repeating that prolonged high stress levels can impair the physical and social health of students. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, this can manifest itself through a litany of unpleasant physical and mental ailments, including moodiness, insomnia and anxiety, among others.
One might assume many of these feelings and symptoms will gradually disappear once exams are over. Yet this is often not the case.
Much like pre-exam stress, post-exam stress can also have a detrimental effect on one’s physical health. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City tracked people who had recently experienced high-stress in the workplace, and found they had a greater likelihood of asthma as well as problems with digestion and skin irritation after they were removed from that environment. Even worse, some of these symptoms can arrive at a time when students are gathering with their friends and family.
While cliché advice—eat well, sleep well, exercise and take time to breathe—still applies, what about taking the time to laugh? Too often, I find, blogs and websites will make top 10 lists that only include the aforementioned unoriginal tips. Lurid neon headlines like “This year’s best ways to BEAT UP stress” always have the same content. On occasion, authors will actually take the time to update their article with the newest dietary trend, a recent variation of yoga or CrossFit or some unholy combination thereof.
Yet, not one website I visited had the fortitude to write about laughing at your own fears. Bleak humour allows students to offload some of their stress and turn it into something less dangerous.
In a sense, one can say that nihilistic comedy represents a sort of crowdsourced therapy. By inviting others to poke fun of their own insecurities, one makes them less tangible and, therefore, weaker.
One student explores the debate surrounding teacher strikes and education
Student protests and professors on strike are not new concepts. Each time they happen, though, questions are raised about the nature of education and the rights and responsibilities of both teachers and students.
On Oct. 16, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union went on strike, according to CBC News. Classes were cancelled as professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians fought for change. Twenty-four universities were affected, including Humber College and George Brown College in Toronto.
Students were tense as they lost precious time and money, not to mention the feeling of uncertainty they had from not knowing when the strike would end. On the other hand, teachers were fighting for more stable contracts and better pay. This was a difficult situation for both students and teachers. It makes me wonder if there is a solution that could improve the situation for both parties.
James Luckow, a professor of educational psychology at Concordia University, said he believes university teachers should have the right to go on strike because the impact on students is minimal. “Usually they do not lose a year,” he said. “In the end, it is not the end of the world. They can make up for the lost time in the summer.”
According to CBC News, it is illegal for transit workers, ambulance drivers and other essential service employees to go on strike in Ontario. Teachers are not included in this law. Luckow said he doesn’t believe teaching is an essential service, arguing “is anybody dying if teachers go on strike?”
When asked if he thinks there is a solution to the teachers’ concerns regarding their salaries, Luckow said, “unless there’s an unbiased mediation where an outsider determines the wages, the problem will persist.”
Mira Facchin, a retired English CEGEP professor, said teachers should be able to go on strike because it can improve the quality of education. “If we value education, we need to value the work of the teachers and pay them accordingly,” she said. “In Ontario, students are paying $5,000 a year on average. With that money coming in, they should be able to secure more permanent jobs for teachers.”
On the side of the students, the frustration is palpable. More than 500,000 students were affected by the strike, according to the Huffington Post. In response to classes being cancelled, upset students created the Twitter hashtag #Wepaytolearn to express their anger over being robbed of their time and money. Additionally, according to an interview with the Toronto Star, NDP Member of Provincial Parliament Peggy Sattler stated that “because of the extended semester, some students wishing to write their paralegal entrance exam with the law society won’t be finished in time for the February exam sitting—putting students behind by at least six months.”
However, there were options available for students during the strikes. According to CBC News, colleges remained open and some support services, such as tutoring, student associations and fitness centres, were available to students even when classes were cancelled. Some students took their education into their own hands. Journalism students met to publish articles and medical students simulated patient-physician interactions amongst themselves to practice what they had learned during the semester, in the hopes of making the transition back to school easier, according to CBC News.
The Ontario strike finally concluded on Nov. 21 and students returned to class. Yet, as a student myself, this whole situation concerns me, because it could easily happen at any school in Canada, including Concordia. I do believe teachers should have the right to go on strike, but there should be measures in place to ensure students are looked after in these cases. We should be striving for solutions that benefit both students and educators. After all, teachers shape students, and students are our future.
Caitlin Stever (left) and Eli Gale, both theatre and development students at Concordia, took part in this year’s One-Act Play Festival. Photo by Maggie Hope.
Concordia theatre students discuss One-Act Play rehearsals and learning experience
Members of Concordia’s theatre program delivered engaging, heart-wrenching, captivating performances as the department’s One-Act Play Festival brought four plays to life from Nov. 3 through 11.
The theatre department’s second edition of the festival featured well-known contemporary Canadian and absurdist work, as well as pieces constructed by the students themselves. Students across the entire program took part in productions of Beckett Shorts, If We Were Birds, The Freddie Stories and Love In Seven Languages. They applied to be in the festival at the end of last year’s winter term, were assigned to one of the four plays and auditioned for specific roles. From there, workshops and rehearsals were held up until opening day. The One-Act Play Festival is a public performance project (known as a PPP in the theatre department). PPPs give students the option to take part in projects to gain experience and academic credits.
Beckett Shorts
Beckett Shorts is comprised of six short plays written by legendary absurdist playwright Samuel Beckett. The cast was divided into groups of two or three, and each group performed one of the pieces. In each short, the stage was mostly dark and very minimally lit, sometimes only for a moment. According to the performance’s pamphlet, “Beckett’s work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human existence.”
The spoken aspects of the performances conveyed raw human emotion while leaving the viewer to puzzle over what exactly they had witnessed. Short, sporadic outbursts paired with prolonged silences created an engaging and at times unsettling experience. This is a key characteristic of Beckett’s work. In the show’s program, director Clea Minaker wrote that “to step inside of any one of these ‘Beckettian’ compositions [is] also to submit oneself to an ‘authored’ body.” In Beckett Shorts, the cast and crew surrendered themselves to expression in absurdity.
If We Were Birds
Like Beckett Shorts, If We Were Birds stuck quite closely to the original play (written by Erin Shields). The piece, however, would definitely be described as more conventional theatre, as Johan DeNora, a third-year theatre performance student pointed out. If We Were Birds deals with extremely brutal and intense subject matter, and viewers were warned about scenes of infanticide, misogyny and sexual violence. When asked if performing such subject matter seemed daunting or intimidating, fifth-year theatre performance student Arianna Markle said she was actually empowered by being able to tell the story. “For me it was, ‘I want to be that voice,’” she said. “There are the experiences of so many women standing behind me, beside me, with me and through me [in this role]. It’s humbling for sure.” Markle added that she finds the play to be especially relevant due to the recent increase in discussion about cases of sexual violence.
Maureen Adelson, a second-year acting student, initially found it hard to approach her role as Bleeding, because she has “never gone through anything as traumatic and as tragic” as what her character endures in the piece. After doing some research on the historic events that the character was based off of, however, Adelson said her mindset changed and she became determined to tell her character’s story.
DeNora added that he is extremely pleased with the work the entire ensemble put into the production, especially given it was such an intense piece. “This is a lot of heavy material for people who are still training, and there’s always a fear of not giving it the respect it deserves,” he said. “I’m so glad that we have managed to get it to a point where I think it really is respectful and important.”
The Freddie Stories
The Freddie Stories was adapted from a graphic novel by Lynda Barry and converted into a theatre piece by the ensemble and crew. Also directed by Minaker, the play follows a young boy named Freddie who struggles with mental disabilities. It takes the audience through the boy’s daily life, revealing that he gets bullied by classmates and abused by his mother. This piece effectively deals with intense themes while presenting a lightheartedness that could only be expressed through young characters.
Emma Corber, a fourth-year theatre major, said that because her group started without a set script, they spent most of their rehearsal time in workshops determining how to convert the novel into a theatre piece. Though at times the process was rushed and stressful, Corber insisted this experience allowed her to grow as a performer in ways she had never been able to in previous productions. The piece incorporates puppetry and mask work, which were new disciplines for most of the cast, she added.
Caitlin Stever, a third-year theatre and development student, was immediately interested in The Freddie Stories and was tasked with the job of stage manager. “Talking about childhood trauma through the lens of childhood is super interesting to me,” she said. Stever found the entire adaptation process extremely challenging, but was also able to exercise her creative abilities to a great degree. “A hundred per cent of my energy, and my whole human force and thought and emotion have been put into this show because of that collaborative process that demanded so much of me, and I’d say a lot of the actors felt that same way,” Stever said.
Love In Seven Languages
Sketches of the costume designs for Love In Seven Languages by Aurora Torok. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.
The ensemble of Love In Seven Languages were also very involved in the creation of the piece, from writing the script to developing its overarching themes. Preliminary workshops were held where the students would brainstorm ideas together and develop their collective vision for the play. “Most of our lines [in the piece], someone said at some point in a writing exercise,” according to third-year theatre and development student Eli Gale. “It’s a little spooky.” Gale said being so involved in the creative process allowed each performer to feel especially connected to the part they play. “When you’re acting in a character that is so close to your own reality, how do you separate what is and what isn’t there?” she asked.
This piece was not advised for viewers under the age of 18 because of mature content and mentions of suicide. The story follows seven royal siblings who are locked in a room of their father’s castle and are never allowed to leave. When they become of-age, the siblings are told they will be married off one by one, which causes them to consider drastic measures in order to escape.
Aurora Torok, the designer of the show, worked closely with literature the play was based off of to construct a minimal but stunning setting. She began designs for the set and costumes in the summer, and worked alongside the cast and crew until the performances began. “There are so many challenges that come with it,” Torok said. “But the fact that the designers were ready to take them all on was fantastic.”
School can only teach you so much. This is what makes internships so valuable. They are an opportunity to get real-world, first-hand experience in your field before entering the job market. But as some posters displayed around campus assert: “Exposure” doesn’t pay the bills.
These posters are part of the 2017-2018 Concordia Student Union (CSU) campaign against unpaid internships. According to their website, unpaid internships became popular after the 2008 economic crash. “Unpaid internships, specifically, download the pressure of getting a good education onto the individual while taking that pressure off of the government and the employer,” the CSU’s campaign pamphlet reads.
While some students may have the financial capability to take on this pressure, many students simply can’t afford to dedicate time to a job that doesn’t pay. According to a 2013 Statistics Canada survey, 52 per cent of students between the ages of 20 and 24 relied on employment to fund their education. Other students may need an income to pay for rent, to buy food or to support their children. For many students, earning money is a necessity while in school, and juggling a full course load, a part-time job and an internship simply isn’t possible.
It might come as surprising to some of you, but unpaid internships are actually illegal in Quebec. However, there are three exceptions listed in Quebec’s Act Respecting Labour Standards. Internships that are either part of a program provided by an approved educational institution, completed at a non-profit organization with community purposes or part of a vocational training program are not required to be paid in Quebec.
That first exception is of particular significance to Concordia students. While internships for credit can be an exciting way to learn outside of the conventional classroom setting, there is debate over whether the value of that experience merits students giving away their labour for free.
Among the CSU’s calls to action for the provincial government is the need to create standardized criteria for internships. We at The Concordian support this initiative. In a perfect world, all internships would be paid. But if students are going to be working for free, the government needs to ensure that the line has clearly been drawn between what constitutes a valuable learning experience and what is simply student exploitation.
The times are changing—and we don’t just mean the literal time change of Sunday’s daylight savings.
Even a quick glance at the news these days shows that more and more celebrities are speaking up about their experiences with sexual assault. The Harvey Weinstein exposé seemingly opened a floodgate, with people now coming forward with allegations against Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Brett Ratner and Ben Affleck, to name a few.
The bravery exhibited by each celebrity who has shared their story is exemplary. Yet we at The Concordian believe more needs to be done to encourage regular people to speak up about their own experiences—be it with sexual assault, racism or any other form of oppression or disrespect that has been swept under the rug.
Following allegations of sexual assault and harassment made against several high-profile Quebecers, Montreal police announced on Twitter on Oct. 19 the creation of a temporary hotline for reporting sexual assault or harassment. Within a week, the police department had received 320 calls, 69 of which resulted in a sexual assault file being opened, according to a press release. This is more than twice the number of sexual assault reports made on average in one week in 2016, according to the Montreal police 2016 annual report.
The creation of this hotline demonstrates the kind of response that can come from making supportive services available in the community. We at The Concordian hope to see more initiatives that encourage people to speak up against intolerable behaviour—particularly here at Concordia.
In September, the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) announced that a Concordia student was considering filing a civil rights complaint against the university “for discrimination and failure to protect and support.” This student reported being sexually harassed online by a peer and claimed the university “offered her very little support.” When asked about this case, university spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr responded that, “when a student brings to our attention a concern for their safety, with or without a police report, we look carefully at how we can support that student.”
Even more recently, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse recommended Concordia and the Montreal division of the Commissionaires security firm pay $33,000 in damages to a woman named Chantal Lapointe. In 2013, Lapointe was stopped by Concordia security guards at the downtown campus. According to Lapointe, the guards asked her for identification, attempted to take her picture without consent, and called the police when she refused to comply.
The Commission’s report stated that Lapointe’s race and social condition—she was mistaken for a homeless person—played a “decisive role” in the security guards’ decision to intercept her. In addition to the damages, the Commission recommended that the university provide security guards with “anti-discrimination training” and remove elements from its policies “that target and stigmatize homeless people.”
Concordia had until Oct. 27, 2017 to comply with the recommendations. Instead, the university responded that it “will be challenging the Human Rights Commission’s proposal” because Concordia “vehemently disagrees with the findings in [the] reports, which does not include all of the relevant facts,” according to Barr.
We at The Concordian are disappointed that the university has more of a tendency to save face than acknowledge its potential shortcomings and implement suggested solutions. While it may be understandable that the university is trying to avoid paying $33,000, why is there any hesitation to improve policies and employee training? Why, when a student claims to feel unsupported by the university’s sexual assault resource services, does Concordia immediately respond with claims that the status quo is adequate?
The times are changing and Concordia is at a crossroads. Our society is finally becoming a place where people feel supported enough to publicly denounce inappropriate behaviour. Members of the Concordia community need to know that when they make their voices heard, their university will be ready to listen and act.
If you would like to share your experience with oppression, assault, discrimination or harassment, we at The Concordian encourage you to email news@theconcordian.com or opinions@theconcordian.com. We are more than willing to listen and share your story.
Since 1966, the Concordia Greenhouse has offered sanctuary and education to students
On the 13th floor of the Hall building lies a hidden rooftop oasis. The peaceful, plant-filled haven is a place of refuge and stillness in the busy city. It’s a space where the community can gather to study, socialize, sip a cup of tea and connect with nature. This student sanctuary is a strong component of Montreal’s urban agriculture scene and one of the university’s best-kept secrets: the Concordia Greenhouse.
Concordia student Shakti Langlois Ortega said she wishes she visited the greenhouse more often, as “it’s such an amazing environment.”
“When it’s cold outside, it’s a nice way to be with nature,” she added. “I love the plants and the care they give them.”
According to their website, the greenhouse’s mission is “to provide a welcoming, organic green space that fosters community by providing experiential learning opportunities within a year-round growing environment.” The non-profit also prides itself on a green space that encourages organic, sustainable horticulture students can enjoy.
Photo by Alex Hutchins
“Everyone loves a sunny, plant-filled space,” said Sheena Swirlz, the greenhouse’s services coordinator.
The greenhouse is largely supported by a fee levy, the annual collection of $0.24 per undergraduate student per credit. For a typical bachelor’s degree of 90 credits, a student contributes a total of $21.60 to the greenhouse through student fees over course of their studies. While students can choose to opt out, the greenhouse uses these funds to complete more projects, organize more events and make changes where they are needed.
Another major source of funding for the greenhouse is plant sales. While large selling days are held several times per year, the greenhouse continuously offers a variety of products to students and the community, such as sprouting kits, terrariums, houseplants, honey and medicinal herbs.
Originally built in 1966, the greenhouse was always intended to be part of the Hall building’s infrastructure. Since then, it has developed into the go-to campus hub for everything environmentally-friendly. It provides a variety of resources that promote education and research on topics of sustainability, such as food security.
The People’s Potato, a collectively-run soup kitchen at Concordia offering vegan meals to students and community members on a pay-what-you-can basis, has long been partnered with the greenhouse, especially when it comes to sourcing sustainable food. According to a testimonial by the People’s Potato on the Concordia Greenhouse website, the greenhouse “fulfills a key role in this community by providing accessible services around environmental sustainability, permaculture, composting and many others.”
In addition to providing Concordia with easy access to ecological, wallet-friendly food on campus, the greenhouse also hosts a number of sustainability-oriented events every week. Workshops, film screenings as well as community projects and gatherings are just some of the ways the greenhouse contributes to a more sustainable Concordia.
“Upcoming events and workshops are posted on our Facebook and website,” Swirlz said. “Macrame hanging planters, terrariums and indoor mushroom cultivation are our most popular recurring workshops.”
This year, the greenhouse is gearing up for a slew of new activities and old favourites. Until Oct. 31, their very own City Farm School market stand will continue to be featured at the Loyola campus urban farm every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Their stand offers fresh, organic produce, such as vegetables, fruits and herbs.
Photo by Alex Hutchins
Until Dec. 4, the greenhouse will also be offering a weekly Microgreen Community-Supported Agriculture Program (CSA). Students interested in the program would pay a discounted amount for a weekly sprout order and receive a 200 gram bag of sprouts—a “great way to save money” and “[guarantee] you receive a supply of [their] super-popular and super-local sprouts each week,” according to the greenhouse’s Facebook page.
For students interested in getting involved in the greenhouse, there are countless opportunities to learn and gain experience through workshops, internships and volunteer sessions. This year, the greenhouse is recruiting new board of directors members at their annual general meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. They are also recruiting candidates for weekly volunteer sessions and longer internships.
The best part about working at the greenhouse “is watching people’s eyes widen in delight,” Swirlz said. “They are so excited to learn about this gem of urban agriculture right in the heart of downtown.”
The Concordia Greenhouse is open to visitors on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
As we enter the third week of the fall semester here at Concordia, many students are beginning to settle into their routines, their workloads and their living spaces. The experiences students have with their living situations vary widely: some are finding themselves in the apartment of their dreams with a landlord who is attentive and sympathetic, while others, unfortunately, are not.
It is not uncommon for landlords to take advantage of the inexperience of their student-tenants. This is why we at The Concordian hope to help educate students about their tenant rights and how to defend them. We’ve heard many horror stories of students being taken advantage of by their landlords. It’s for this reason that we’ve decided to address some of the injustices that are commonly inflicted on student-renters, and encourage students to stand up against them.
Believe it or not, landlords are not allowed to ask for any kind of deposit—for keys, damage or otherwise—when you first move in. This will come as a shock to some students, as we have heard countless stories of landlords asking for these payments. But it’s an important fact to be aware of.
Even some of our own editors at The Concordian have experienced situations where their landlord asked for a deposit of one month’s rent. Not knowing otherwise, they complied. Yet when they moved out, the landlord kept the $200, claiming it was for cleaning fees, even though the tenant cleaned the space before leaving without existing laws requiring them to do so.
One of our editors, Matthew Coyte shared his experience with renting apartments. He had found an apartment that seemed ideal on Kijiji, for $1,600 a month. But when he and his friends got to the apartment, it was the complete opposite of ideal.
“The place was run down, unfurnished,” he said. “The worst part was the landlord, who had demanded that if we were interested in renting the apartment for the coming school year, we would need to put down a security deposit, which would cost us the first two months’ rent.” When Coyte and his friends explained that Quebec renting laws make it illegal for landlords to ask for payment before the beginning of the lease, the landlord cited reasons of “making sure [they] would honour the agreement.”
These are just a few of the many situations students face when trying to find an apartment. As a renter, you sometimes have to use your own discretion when deciding whether what a landlord is asking for is fair. You should be aware of the risk you are taking if you decide to go through with renting an apartment.
Students should also be aware that landlords are, by law, required to clean an apartment before the move-in date, perform necessary repairs in a timely fashion and give 24 hours notice before entering the apartment. Concordia Student Union’s Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO) has a website listing all of the things landlords are and aren’t allowed to do, as well as a list of precautions to take prior to signing a lease.
François Saillant noted in the Montreal Gazette in 2016 that the average rent in Quebec was $712 per month ($744 in Montreal). “To pay such a sum without spending more than the standard of 30 per cent of your revenues,” he wrote, “you must have an annual income of more than $28,500, which is obviously not the case for many tenants.” With rent this steep, students need to make sure they get what they’re paying for. It’s your duty as a tenant to stick up for your rights, not only for your sake, but for the sake of other tenants. It’s much harder to fight injustices when they become the norm.
Landlords have been taking advantage of young people for a long time because, well, first-time renters are often naive. If you’re renting an apartment this year, take the time to learn your rights so that you know when they’re being violated. If you think something about your rental agreement or living situation seems unfair or unclear, the university offers a variety of services, including HOJO, where you can speak to someone about the issue. The important thing though, is to make sure you speak up about it.
Hea Kim's work is influenced by the "colourful and saturated city" of South Korea, where she spent her childhood and adolescence. Photo By Alex Hutchins.
The VAV Gallery teams up with POP Montreal and the Art Matters Festival to showcase Concordia talent
What could be expected of an event that is the result of a collaboration between three well-established forces within Montreal’s art community? A visit to the VAV Gallery between Sept. 11 and 15 will provide the answer.
POP Montreal, the Art Matters Festival and the VAV Gallery have come together to create POP Matters at the VAV, a playful exhibition showcasing the work of seven Concordia artists. Pieces by Ben Compton, Mel Arsenault, Hea Kim, Ayse Gauthier, Paule Gilbert, Sabrina Maisonneuve and Lucas LaRochelle will fill the gallery to collectively create a fun and lively atmosphere.
Ben Compton, pictured here, will be performing his piece at the exhibition’s vernissage on Sept. 14. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
“POP Montreal is a big organization that’s really made a name for itself and has a reputation in the city,” said Mattia Zylak, the exhibitions coordinator of the Art Matters Festival. “It’s great to be able to get students and student work associated with that.”
At the beginning of the summer, the three organizations extended a call to artists who had previously shown their work in either last year’s Art Matters Festival or at the VAV Gallery during the 2016-17 school year. POP Montreal approached Art Matters and the VAV with the themes of DIY, neo-pop and humour, which elicited varying responses from the artists involved.
Compton, one of Concordia’s intermedia students, said he found that the exhibition’s themes were ideas he “worked with a lot in [his] own artistic practice.” By recontextualizing everyday objects and experiences through multimedia performances, Compton said he aims to give the audience a new perspective and bring forth new ideas. He identified the exhibition’s theme of humour as relating to his work quite specifically, because humour is often attached to experiences of everyday life. His live performance piece “explores the theme of waking up.” Compton explained that his piece includes him making live music and performing to the music, while filming his performance and projecting it onto a wall. He will be performing at the exhibition’s vernissage on Sept. 14.
Arsenault and her series of sculptural pieces were also selected by the small jury of the event. Constructed out of papier-mâché, Arsenault’s pieces are made to resemble rocks of different shapes and sizes. The painting and drawing student explained she has always been interested in geology and wanted to create a series that would give life to rocks, which are usually seen as passive, dormant objects. Each papier-mâché piece has been paired with sections of written dialogue, which are placed on the wall behind the sculptures. Arsenault explained that she wanted to convey the idea that the rocks are communicating with each other. “With this project, I’m [tapping] into relationships, social differences,” Arsenault said. “The fact that the protagonists are rocks and not people, I guess it’s easier to get into the dialogue and the story behind it. They’re neutral protagonists, and they can talk about anything.”
Kim, a part-time fibres and material practices student, contributed her whimsical, intricately constructed sculptures to the exhibition. Kim uses a variety of pastel-coloured craft materials, such as plastic drinking straws, to create intriguing and playful displays. The artist, who grew up in South Korea, described her pieces as “friendly and nostalgic.”
Mel Arsenault contributed her series of papier-mâché sculptures which are made to resemble various types of rocks. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
She explained that she wanted to create her own version of a shrine, much like the ones in Buddhist temples she visited as a child. Kim borrows traditional Asian symbols like the Buddha, and constructs them out of unconventional media, thereby presenting them in a new context. The result is a unique juxtaposition that lends itself perfectly to the exhibition’s themes of humour and DIY.
Gauthier, a studio arts student and print media major, interpreted the theme of playfulness and applied it to her work using grids. Gauthier’s piece is a series of printed images, which all together form one expansive grid. The artist explained that she has conducted extensive research on the topic of grids, and chose to explore their versatility by constructing her own, using thread. She found that the finished piece fit quite well with the DIY theme POP Montreal proposed, because her piece is accessible to everyone. “In theory, it’s endless and anyone could repeat it,” Gauthier said. “The grid is a very rigid form, but it’s [also] really flexible. You can be very playful in it.”
POP Matters at the VAV will be on display at the VAV Gallery from Sept. 11 to 15. The vernissage will take place on Sept. 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Entry is free. The gallery is located in the VA building, at 1395 Réné-Lévesque Blvd. W.
Although you may never have experienced mental health issues or suicidal thoughts, research shows that, in 2016, 22 per cent of Canadian teenagers considered suicide.
The Kids Help Phone Line collected data that indicated 46 per cent had even planned out their suicide. In 2012, suicide was ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in Canada, and according to Statistics Canada, over 4,000 people committed suicide in Canada in 2013.
In the spirit of World Suicide Prevention Day, which is on Sept. 10, we at The Concordian are pleased to let students know about the Buddy Project being launched at Concordia in the coming weeks. The project will shed light on mental health issues and give students the option to sign up online to be paired with a buddy.
The Buddy Project is an initiative founded by 19-year-old Gabby Frost in the United States. Frost’s goal to prevent suicide and raise awareness about mental health began when she was 15. She discovered that many of her friends from school and online were experiencing mental illness, and in April 2013, three girls she interacted with online posted on Twitter about contemplating suicide. That’s when Frost decided to create this project.
On their website, the Buddy Project explains the belief that pairing people with an online friend can help prevent suicide by offering people a peer-support system that might be lacking at home or in their community. According to their website, the Buddy Project mostly focuses on children, teens and young adults by “providing positivity, companionship, resources and education in order to reduce the stigma of mental illness, bullying and negativity on social media.” By putting emphasis on these factors, the project hopes to inspire people to become more compassionate, empathetic and educated about mental health.
The Buddy Project launched their “Bring BP to Your Campus” campaign in March 2017, which involves sending representatives to campuses worldwide. Throughout September, National Suicide Prevention Month, the Buddy Project will be hosted at Concordia, spreading awareness of mental health and the services offered on campus. The campaign will include activities such as sharing stories to encourage education and compassion, creating awareness videos, teaming up with other mental health awareness groups like Jack.org, and displaying posters that shed light on mental illness and mental health. The project is meant to allow students at Concordia to expand their education on mental health and to inspire them to speak up.
Although Concordia won’t be directly involved in pairing students together, the campaign encourages students—who feel they need support, who want to offer up their support or anyone who just wants to talk—to sign up on the Buddy Project website so they can be paired up online. According to Melyssa Aragona, a Buddy Project representative at Concordia, the project pairs people up primarily based on common traits, and your buddy might live anywhere around the world.
Suicide is still a big issue in our country and around the world, but there are many more steps being taken to help change that. On Aug. 27, the MTV Video Music Awards emphasized the importance of suicide prevention and mental health by discussing the suicides of singers Chester Bennington from Linkin Park and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. The rapper Logic also performed his song, “1-800-273-8255,” which is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. According to CNN, his song drove people to the lifeline in record numbers—the lifeline saw a 50 per cent increase in callers after the performance aired.
It’s difficult to understand or relate to something you’ve never experienced, but it’s easy to take the time to learn and educate yourself on a relevant social issue. Mental health and mental illness are two prevalent issues that should constantly be discussed. The Buddy Project is just one of the ways people can help others—by listening, understanding and shedding light on suicide and mental health.
The project can allow students at Concordia to step forward and share their own experiences with mental health. It creates connections between people who need support and works towards ending the stigma around mental health issues. We at The Concordian strongly encourage students to get involved with the Buddy Project, whether it’s taking steps to better your own mental health or learning how you can help those around you.
It’s a new year at Concordia, which means new teachers, new assignments and quite possibly new struggles. One of those struggles can simply be a lack of self-care. As university students, we’re taught at an early age to follow a certain routine when it comes to our education. Wake up, attend classes, come home, do homework and catch up on readings, sleep and then repeat.
A negative consequence of constantly following this redundant cycle is “burning out.”
According to an article by Global News, more and more psychiatrists are beginning to use this term to refer to patients who suffer from chronic stress. People can experience burnouts when they’re undergoing stressful situations everyday— it eventually builds up and causes various symptoms. These can include physical exhaustion, weight gain, loss of appetite, anxiety, depression, pessimism, detachment, increased forgetfulness, lack of concentration and a drop in productivity. Sound familiar?
There are also other symptoms that aren’t as apparent. According to the same article, burnouts can result in “shrinkage or enlargement, thinning and premature aging” of various areas of the brain.
Although the article strongly focuses on adults with high-stress careers, we at The Concordian believe university students are equally and sometimes more stressed due to school work, internships, jobs, social lives and planning for the future. Therefore, we felt it was imperative to suggest a few way students can take care of themselves this year.
Lifestyle choices and changes can allow students to relax and prevent burnouts. This can be as simple as finding a hobby unrelated to your work or school, anything from biking to reading comic books. The Global News article put a particular emphasis on choosing a hobby that stimulates your brain in a creative way in order to prevent chronic stress.
Having strong, positive connections with people outside of your family is also extremely important. Of course, we all know the struggle of finding time during the semester to have fun. But doing so can stop students from being unproductive and doing poorly in school, according to the same article, which would actually be more beneficial for your grades in the long run.
Unplugging yourself from social media and cellphones can also help. While social media and technology are great tools for everyday life, they can also be pervasive distractions preventing you not only from getting work done, but also from properly relaxing during those study breaks.
Many free apps exist to help you stay off of your devices or distracting websites. Flipd and Freedom Reduce Distractions, to name a few, block your access to certain apps and websites. An article by the Huffington Post also suggests that, before going to bed, phones and other devices should be kept away in order to get a good night’s rest.
As university students, we rarely have time to eat lunch let alone manage a schedule that includes time for breaks. But by taking care of yourself and forcing hobbies and down time back into your life can actually make you more productive and will certainly boost your mental health. Finding time during the day to walk away from your keyboard and textbook, and instead go for a walk or drink a glass of water can mean the difference between a burnout and achieving your goals—and more importantly, enjoying yourself in the process.
Concordia students recommend some good summer reads
Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada by Will Ferguson
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This book is part humorous travelogue, part personal memoir, part cultural history—and overall, undeniably Canadian. Based on three years of cross-country travel and a lifetime of exploring his native country, author and travel writer Will Ferguson showcases Canada’s deeply-ingrained diversity and uncovers dozens of tales that have slipped through the cracks of Canadian history textbooks. The author’s undeniable passion and respect for history is infused in his historical accounts, which are given colour and intrigue by his witty narrative voice and travel anecdotes. History has never been more entertaining and digestible. Each chapter in this book could be its own short story, which makes this book ideal for stop-and-go readers, and allowed Ferguson to pack a wide variety of content into 332 pages.
Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw is a fitting read heading into the summer of Canada’s 150th anniversary—it is nostalgic, amusing and emanates a feeling of unity. “Canada is more than just a country,” Ferguson writes. “It is a sum of its stories.”
By Katya Teague (head copy editor)
Best in Travel 2017 by Lonely Planet
Yes, you read correctly. I am reviewing a Lonely Planet book. That can only mean one thing—it’s really, really good. I was still trying to overcome a severe case of wanderlust when I stumbled upon this book. Twenty bucks later, it was mine. I devoured it—and not just the food porn and the listicles. The whole, entire thing. With summer fast approaching, this book is perfect if you’re planning on jetting off, but have no clue where to. The book offers up unique ideas for up-and-coming destinations that aren’t (yet) overcome by tourism and over-priced expeditions. The book is divided into sections, going in-depth on 10 countries, 10 regions and finally, 10 cities that are must-sees in 2017. Supported by beautiful photographs, maps, itineraries and snippets of history, the detail and honesty in the guide is impressive.
By Danielle Gasher (life editor)
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
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Set in the 1950s, Tóibín’s novel follows Eilis Lacey’s journey to America from Ireland. With no job or marital prospect for her in her hometown, the young woman accepts an offer to move to Brooklyn, New York. There, a department store job and bookkeeping classes keep her busy. With so many stories about emigrating to America, Tóibín does nothing to sensationalize the experience. Although she does meet a love interest along the way, Eilis has an independence and strong spark to her throughout the novel that is charming and empowering. This is part of what makes her such a realistic and relatable character. Brooklyn gives insight on the reluctance and the struggles of moving away from home. Brooklyn is a slow-paced yet emotional coming-of-age story that explores Eilis’ move into womanhood and simultaneous move to a new country. Tóibín does not waste words—the story is simple, but with profound emotion.
Twenty-eight-year-old Sera Kassab has never let her deafness slow her down. Photo by Sera Kassab
How one Concordia student doesn’t let her disability stop her
While Sera Kassab never doubted her career path, she did doubt how she would fit in among other students at Concordia. As a deaf student at Concordia, her scholastic experience is quite unique.
Born deaf in an entirely hearing Lebanese family, Kassab has been in contact with hearing culture from a very young age.
While Kassab said coming to Concordia changed her life for the better, adjusting to her new surroundings was challenging. “I was extremely nervous. I was going into a hearing environment that I am not used to, and everything felt so weird and scary,” she said. The 28-year-old student communicates using American Sign Language (ASL).
Art, in all its forms, has always been Kassab’s passion—she wasn’t going to let being deaf stop her from pursuing it. Kassab is now in her sixth year in the studio arts undergraduate program, pursuing her dream the only way she knows how–by letting her art speak for itself.
When she started university, Kassab said some students were caught off-guard by her at first, since many had never met a deaf person before. One of the hardest parts for her was breaking down people’s misconceptions. “People think deaf people are feeble-minded because we don’t always understand what hearing people are trying to tell us,” Kassab said. She, however, argues her deafness strengthens her other senses and actually serves as an advantage. Being deaf makes her more visual and attentive to details that hearing people might miss, she said. Kassab also developed a stronger memory, which helps her in school. When she paints,photographs, sculpts or designs, it helps her recreate things she sees and likes more easily.
Concordia’s Access Centre for Students with Disabilities offers Kassab interpreting services, tutoring and note-takers. Just like any regular student, Kassab attends her classes on campus, but she is accompanied by an interpreter. The interpreter translates the teacher’s explanations and comments made by students into ASL.
However, if the interpreter can’t make it, Kassab has to skip the class. Trying to follow the course without hearing anything and trying to communicate on her own would be too demanding. She remembers one time the interpreter didn’t show up, but she felt so uneasy with the situation she stayed in class anyway and just asked her teacher and classmates a lot of questions. Some students were patient with her, but she could tell they felt uncomfortable.
Kassab said feeling disconnected from her surroundings can be scary and difficult to deal with. She constantly worries about missing information, especially when teachers and students speak too quickly, or talk over each other. In moments like these, she relies on note-takers and students who offer their help. Other times, she’ll ask the teacher to go back over certain points. “After class, some students will actually come and thank me because they too can understand better,” Kassab said.
Today, Kassab feels she’s settled in and is “part of a family” at Concordia. She’s become more receptive to interactions with other students—some are even learning sign language to better communicate with her. Alongside fellow Concordia students and close friends, she’s participating in an artistic project called Mtl Seekers. The group was started by and for artists seeking to move up and evolve in their artistic careers. Within the group, they distinguish themselves by their different artistic tastes and influences. They will have their first art exposition next fall.
Kassab has never seen her deafness as a limitation, and she encourages both deaf and hearing people to see it as she does. By pursuing her dreams despite obstacles, Kassab hopes to “inspire deaf children to become artists [and to not] be afraid to show their talent.”
