How a social media detox might benefit everyone’s health
For many of us, our phones are the first thing we look at when we wake up and the last thing we look at before going to sleep. According to a 2014 report conducted by the Media Technology Monitor, social media is widely used on a daily basis in Canada. In fact, over half of Canadians are signed up to at least one social media platform, and over 79 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 26 are connected to at least one platform.
Social media platforms were engineered with the goal of helping people communicate and connect them together. However, it seems the opposite might be happening. Psychological and sociological research is increasingly linking anxiety and depression to social media.
A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found a direct correlation between heavy social media use and depression in young adults. The effects are also being felt in the halls of schools. Research conducted by sociology and anthropology Concordia professor, Francine Tremblay, found the engagement of students in school has been affected by technology. “Students seem to be detached,” said Tremblay.
In Tremblay’s opinion, students should focus more of their time and energy prioritizing their well-being and their studies. “You are studying to succeed… A bachelor’s degree is extremely demanding. You are the most important thing right now,” said Tremblay.
It’s no wonder some students need a break from technology. Alexa Pepper, a communication studies student at Concordia, decided it was time for a detox when she noticed how much her social media use was feeding her anxiety. She decided cut herself off from social media for a week, and for her, it was a very positive experience. “I needed to focus on me… I was doing fun things and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything,” said Pepper about her experience.
Pepper said the break taught her that she didn’t actually need social media to function and be happy, but she likes the idea of being able to log in when she wants to. “It teaches you self-control,” said Pepper.
For political science student Emma Nablsi, as she embarked on her detox mission, she thought: “If previous generations could do it, why can’t I?” When she felt social media was weighing her mood down and affecting her sleep, Nablsi decided to go on a month-long social media detox. “It was honestly the best time I’ve ever had…because you can live life the way you’re supposed to. I was more social, and I felt that I was in contact with people,” said Nablsi.
Photo by Danielle Gasher
She said she detoxed to challenge herself and to focus more on her real, non-virtual social life. “It’s like a medicine, a treatment, a kind of therapy. It heals you from the inside and the outside,” said Nablsi.
Performance creation major Tiernan Cornford believes she’s never missed out on anything in the ‘real world’ because she limits her social media use. Cornford is only active on Snapchat. She believes this has permitted her to have a controlled relationship with social media.
“I didn’t want to be on it all the time and be on this crutch. I like talking to people in person,” she said. Cornford said, when you don’t have social media, or decide not to go on it for a while, the people who want to get in touch with you, will. This ‘fear of missing out’ is a common source of stress among young adults.
For Nablsi, the social media detox was “an eye-opening experience.” Nablsi and Pepper said they now realize that the virtual world of social media just isn’t that important. It took them taking a break from it to realize it.
Research conducted in 2016 by McMaster University researchers found that most students can’t control themselves when it comes to social media. The survey found 48 per cent of McMaster’s students couldn’t control their social media use, and 29 per cent weren’t able to control their instant messaging.
“[Today], everything is being turned into an urgent matter,” said Tremblay. She said social media has become a compulsion for many young adults, and of course, a health issue. While the students mentioned above have been able to detach themselves from social media, it is becoming increasingly hard for most students to do so.
If keeping up with social media is making you feel anxious, stressed or depressed, know that it’s something you can put a stop to. You can try your own social media detox, or talk to a health specialist at Concordia’s Health Services.
We asked Concordia students what they think about a social media detox. Watch below for their reactions.
Comme Toi co-founders Shelbie Huard (left) and Riaz Oozeer (right).
Photo by Nicole Proano
Two Montreal students started a fashion project to help the city’s homeless
The fashion industry can be an elitist industry. But 23-year-old Concordia student Riaz Oozeer and 24-year-old McGill student Shelbie Huard are attempting to break that stereotype with their apparel project, Comme Toi.
Comme Toi is a fashion line that sells minimalist T-shirts and toques. For every piece someone buys from Comme Toi, the brand sets another one aside to be given to a homeless person in Montreal.
The fashion-humanitarian project is only a few months old, but the small team of two has already donated over 80 pieces of apparel to the city’s homeless community. Oozeer, a second-year liberal arts student, was inspired to start this project when he began noticing just how many homeless people inhabit the city’s streets. Upon walking the same streets daily, he observed that the streets were home for many.
The project’s name directly translates to “like you,” and encapsulates the heart and mission of Comme Toi—the belief that all people are equal and should therefore be treated as such, according to the co-founders.
Oozeer said he encourages customers to go hand out the second item themselves. Huard believes this exchange is an important part of the process for customers.
“I think that is really meaningful, just having that interaction,” said Huard, who is an anthropology and Hispanic studies student.
According to Oozeer, about half of Comme Toi’s customers have personally handed out the second item. Oozeer and Huard explained that many customers are aware that homelessness is an issue, but many choose not to interact with it.
“I think [the homeless] are painted in a negative [light] a lot,” said Huard. “But that’s not the reality.”
Oozeer said he tells customers who are about to give away a T-shirt, “Don’t be stressed. It’s someone like you.”
The idea behind the brand is that the act of giving away an article of clothing instigates an interaction with someone living on the streets and, according to the co-founders, the reaction on both ends has been positive every time.
According to the co-founders, Comme Toi’s main goal is to unite people through fashion. “Fashion has big authority over people,” said Oozeer. Comme Toi seeks to bridge the emotional and physical gap between the homeless and the general public.
“That’s something I find really interesting [about the project],” said Huard. “Because fashion is usually something that separates people but we use it in a different way.”
The duo said they have big ideas for the brand—they want to see their project reach out to more marginalized groups, such as the city’s refugees.
For Oozeer, Comme Toi is a small step towards fixing one of the world’s biggest issues. “We’re thinking of going to the moon because we’re destroying everything on our planet. What are we going to do there? Destroy it again and keep going? No, you’ve got to fix [things] here,” said Oozeer, with passion and conviction in his voice.
You can become part of the movement by donating to Comme Toi or by buying a product at theirwebsite.
Several police cars were reported to be seen at Grey Nuns. Photo by Elisa Barbler.
Some Grey Nuns residents reported police at residence on Thursday night
Concordia’s residence Grey Nuns, located on Sir George Williams downtown campus, went on lockdown as several cop cars crowded the residence.
Concordia journalism student and staff writer for The Concordian Elisa Barbier told The Concordian that officers were spotted in the halls of Grey Nuns with assault rifles and riot shields looking for an aggressive suspect.
Barbier said she asked several students around Grey Nuns about the lockdown. They reported they saw officers with dogs, officers posted on each floor and locked exits. Students were not allowed in and students were told to lock their doors for safety.
Barbier said while she was questioning students at Grey Nuns, three girls allegedly stated they were in the study room on the main floor when suddenly, an RA told them to get into the room connected to the study room. Barbier said they turned all lights off and they were told to stay low. “They stayed in there between 30 minutes to an hour,” said Barbier. “This was also confirmed by guys that actually saw the room with all the lights off.”
Concordia Grey Nuns resident Jenny Chand said she saw police with dogs walking in the garden of Grey Nuns, walking around the building. She said they were looking around for something but they left because they couldn’t find anything.
“And as I was entering the building, when they let me in, there’s about 30 cops, fully armed, they had shields,” she said. “I saw witness papers being taken inside.”
Chand said earlier that day a boy from the Grey Nuns residence was taken away in an ambulance at approximately 6 p.m. She said cops were there the rest of the day, but there was not a large quantity until approximately between 8 and 9 p.m.
Seifeldin Roushdy, political science major and Concordia Grey Nuns resident, said he was in the common room heating his food in the microwave when he saw approximately six or seven cops walk by. “One was holding a big rifle and another one was holding a shield bashing on the door of this kids [room] yelling ‘police police,’” said Roushdy. He said, however, no one was inside.
“They walked by, they saw my door was half open, they asked me if anyone came inside my room,” said Roushdy. “I said no and they went inside and searched it.” He said he asked them what was happening and the cops reportedly told them they were looking for someone. “When I asked them why and they told me it wasn’t my business,” said Roushdy.
Charlotte Maher, a Concordia Grey Nuns resident, said she saw approximately 30 police officers on the east side of third floor. She said they did not have any weapons, but they were all wearing protective vests. “They were checking bathrooms and public areas—commons room, laundry rooms,” said Maher.
She said she and some other residents were told the police were looking for someone and he was dangerous. “We were told to stay in our rooms,” said Maher.
Students living in the Grey Nuns residence were seen standing outside while the building was on lockdown. Photo by Elisa Barbier
University spokesperson Chris Mota said the incident involved a student resident. “For reasons of confidentiality we can’t discuss the specifics of the incident,” said Mota. “However, I can confirm that the incident required police intervention.”
She said the incident has since been resolved. “At no time were the residents in any danger,” said Mota.
With files from Elisa Barbier
This article has been updated with more information since publication.
Petition creater Samuel Miriello fights for lowered fees for him and fellow classmates in BTM200 course. Photo by Savanna Craig.
JMSB student creates petition in protest of high fees for mandatory BTM 200 course
In light of discovering a required fee of over $200 for the mandatory John Molson School of Business (JMSB) course, “Business Technology Management,” BTM 200, some first-year JMSB students are signing a petition to protest against what they consider costly fees.
Samuel Miriello, creator of the petition and first-year human resource management student, said he was not aware of these fees until he received an email from his professor mid-September prompting him to pay more than $200 for the class.
“Online classes are amazing and they give us access to tools that make learning easier, but it doesn’t warrant the school making us pay tuition and not giving us class sessions,” said Miriello. He said with his other online classes, there is a virtual classroom and the class meets once a week. However, this is not the case in BTM 200.“The professor never hosts sessions that we can attend where he does any live teaching,” he said.
Miriello said the different components of BTM 200 are distributed across three websites, each with their own fees—$90 to access the eConcordia website, $20.70 for LearningLab—a software providing grades and due dates, and $104.95 for Skills Assessment Manager Cengage (SAM)—a website which teaches students how to use Excel and Access.
“Every website has it’s own quizzes, it’s own material, it’s own modules and you kind of have to jump between them,” Miriello said.
Raafat George Saadé, an associate professor of supply chain and business technology management, and the creator and coordinator of BTM 200, said LearningLab has a low cost and helps to guide students through the 12 activities within the course.
Students express frustration over paying more than $200 for BTM200. Graphic by Florence Yee.
Saadé said LearningLab allowed him to consolidate all of the students performances into one location and to sequence their activities. He said the LearningLab provides reminders of the due dates for students and provides a report for Saadé on how much students achieved on each of their learning goals.
On eConcordia, only three per cent of the student’s grade is evaluated, said Miriello.
However, Saadé explained the three per cent accounts only for the quizzes on eConcordia—however, the final exam, worth 60 per cent, is based on the eBook available through eConcordia. Saadé said SAM makes up 20 per cent of the final grade. The activities on LearningLab are worth 17 per cent.
“When we take BTM, no one ever tells you that you’re going to have to pay so much money,” said international business student Saloné Prigent. “At least I’d like a warning that we’d have to pay this to take BTM, especially because BTM is a mandatory course.” She added, with three websites to keep up with, it’s hard to keep track of when assignments are due.
Sepideh Zangeneh, an international student from Mexico studying international business, said Miriello’s idea of making a petition was great, and though she may have financial support to pay the BTM 200 fees, not all students have this privilege. “There are people [who] are on their own in university—they don’t have the money to pay that,” said Zangeneh. “More than for me, I want this for people who really can’t afford stuff like this.”
Saadé said, after paying the required fee for SAM, it can be accessed until graduation and is officially used in two to three courses within JMSB. He said he is trying to make these fees valuable for students by implementing more courses where Excel and Access can be used, requiring students to use SAM.
“This is not new,” said Saadé, towards students complaining of the high fees required when taking BTM 200. Saadé said he has tried switching website hosts various times, but this is the lowest price he can get. “When I started, I looked at all the different softwares and at companies like Microsoft and other publishers,” said Saadé. He said all publishers range in price from $60 to $180. “Over the years I’ve experienced each one—one by one,” said Saadé.
Miriello said the website is still not up to par with his expectations considering the cost. ”It’s just ironic that our intro to business technology management is taught in such an uninspired, expensive and cluttered way. The complete opposite of what BTM should be,” he said.
Saadé said he has 1,500 students and asks them at the end of every class if the book was good, if they learned anything from the quiz, if there should be any improvements and what their opinions are on using SAM. “Over 90 per cent of the students, they say they see the value,” he said.
Saadé said in certain circumstances he has waived students either from taking the course or paying the cost of it. He said, in the past, he has contacted the program provider and they suspended the cost for SAM or LearningLab. Alternatively, if a student can demonstrate they know the material, they do not have to take BTM 200, he said. “If they really have financial problems, I can personally try to figure out ways to help” said Saadé. He said some semesters he is not approached, however others he may receive up to five students requesting financial help.
Saadé said many students in co-op, who gain job experience through paid work-terms, have told him that they felt they had not learned enough in Excel and Access. “They come back and say, ‘We need to learn more—we took BTM 200 and it’s not enough. Can we learn more advanced stuff?’” said Saadé.
The winter semester version of the course will have a brand new website, feature more activities and be more interactive, said Saadé. “Because of the nature of the course also, every two years I have to update the content,” he said, adding that SAM updates itself as well. Saadé is also in the process of creating a follow-up course to BTM 200 that will hopefully be released this year.
Concordia Greenhouse. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.
A look at the different events that the Greenhouse has in store for students
The Concordia Greenhouse is a relaxing place to get in touch with nature and greenery. Located on the 13th floor of the Hall building, the Greenhouse welcomes volunteers and students are looking for a place to study, a place to socialize or a place to learn about environmental sustainability.
The Greenhouse executives are preparing for a busy year with many different events and special activities. Sheena Swirlz, the Greenhouse services and programming coordinator, said they will be hosting two weekly volunteering sessions, one on Mondays, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the other on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon. At these weekly meetings, volunteers are taught how to grow vegetables and take care of plants. “By coming to these meetings, it’s a great way to learn new skills,” said Swirlz. These sessions are open to anyone at anytime, with no experience required.
Swirlz said there are three plant sales being organized throughout the year—one scheduled for October, one in the winter and one in May. At these plant sales, the Greenhouse will be selling low-light houseplants, which are well-adapted for the environment of a Montreal apartment, she said.
Swirlz said there will be events happening three to four times per week this year at the Greenhouse. “We would like to host events in which people learn how to make a terrarium, grow decorative and edible plants and finally, a series of permaculture projects,” Swirlz said. These projects will introduce the concept of permaculture to the Greenhouse visitors, which is a sustainable way to develop an agricultural ecosystem. “We also have a Halloween dance party coming up in the Greenhouse.” The Greenhouse space can also be booked for presentations and concerts.
The Greenhouse also offers four internship programs: a Four Seasons Growing; House Plants and Atrium Garden; Media and Outreach; and Farmers’ Market Stand. “We just started our first round of interns for this semester and will start looking for new ones in December,” said Swirlz. The applications will be posted on their website. These internships are open to anyone with a passion to growing their own food or plants. With this opportunity, students will be able to gain experience, learn new techniques, improve skills, help with different useful projects and even be able to put their experience time on their co-curricular record, Swirlz said.
You can visit the Concordia Greenhouse on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and try some of their ecologically-grown food available at the Frigo Vert, at 1440 Mackay Street.
Tuition fees have increased, but universities remain underfunded
Tuition fees have been indexed. Tax credits for university students have been slashed by 12 per cent. Universities across the province remain underfunded. And yet, the pots and pans have stayed in kitchen cupboards.
In previous years, any person studying at a postsecondary institution was eligible to get a tax credit equal to 20 per cent of their tuition fees. This rule also applied to any exams that cost money, and the amount could be transferred to parents or even grandparents.
As of this semester, the rate has changed. The government lowered the tax credit to eight per cent.
For a Quebec resident studying at Concordia taking five classes per semester, tuition fees amount to $2,224 per year, according to Concordia’s tuition fee calculator. Twenty per cent of that amount represents a total of $444.80. Eight percent of the tuition fees, on the other hand, amounts to $177.92.
Photo by Nathalie Laflamme
This means that, this year, students who pay income tax will pay $266.88 more when filing their taxes than they did last year. For the students who do not pay taxes, their parents or grandparents will have to face a reduced tax credit.
Over three years, this lowered tax credit rate will cost students a total of $800.64. This new rate will be applied to tuition fees from the semester that started in the winter 2013 semester.
To most students, this represents a lot of money. For the government, it will amount to a ton of money. According to a document published by the CQFF (Centre Québecois de formation en fiscalité), this change should bring $61 million to the government of Quebec between 2014-2015, and $78 million in 2018-2019.
The Parti Quebecois has stated that the money they get from this cut will be reinvested into loans and bursaries.
“The decrease in tax credits associated with tuition fees in and of itself looks like it would be bad for students, but I’ve heard many people involved in student governance argue that, since the money is being rerouted through loans and bursaries, it might actually be beneficial in the long run,” said current Concordia Student Union President Melissa Kate Wheeler. “The CSU is obviously opposed to any funds, be they through tuition itself or tax credits, being taken away from students. However, for this particular issue, it may be a little more complex.”
In 2012, tens of thousands of students lined the streets of Montreal to fight the proposed tuition fee hike. This period in Quebec’s history is known as the Maple Spring. The Quebec Liberal Party’s original plan was to increase fees by $325 per year over five years. After students acted out, the Liberals changed their plan to an increase of $254 over seven years, with an indexation of tuition. Regardless, students continued to march in the streets, banging on pots and pans.
The original plan would have cost a student completing a three-year undergraduate degree $975. This tax credit cut will cost the same student $800.64.
Léo Bureau-Blouin was president of the Fédération étudiante collegial du Québec (FECQ) and one of the leaders of the Maple Spring protests. He is now the PQ candidate for the Laval-des-Rapides riding, and believes this cut in tax credits will be beneficial to students.
“Since financial aid for students constitutes a more effective tool than a non-refundable tax credit when we are trying to facilitate access to education, I believe that this measure will be beneficial for the students who need it most,” Bureau-Blouin said.
Concordia President Alan Shepard believes that this cut is a good change if it means more students will have access to loans and bursaries.
“It’s an interesting public policy decision because, I’m not in the government, but what I assume they are trying to do is … [funnel] additional support to students of more modest means, that’s the ambition. I’m an advocate for people of modest means having an opportunity to go to university,” Shepard said.
This cut will not change the fact that Quebec universities are underfunded.
“Whether or not you agree with the hike or other types of funding, the problem is that our universities are underfunded. We, as students, know that,” Cameron Ahmad, a Concordia student and president of the Young Liberals of Canada in Quebec, said. “The equipment we have, the resources we have, they’re good, but they’re not as good as they could or should be.”
Philippe Ghayad, an economics professor at Dawson College, believes that, economically, the original tuition fee hike plan made more sense.
“The Liberal plan makes more sense to me. It is more progressive than the PQ plan…Low tuition rates are like subsidizing the rich since they can afford to pay more. Adjusting tuition rates with tax credits, loans and bursaries gives an incentive to low-income earners to continue their studies,” Ghayad said.
Ahmad believes that the province’s youth needs to speak up.
“If we look at the facts, if we look at the consequences it has had on people, it’s a tuition increase regardless. I think, just as young people, we need to speak up against this, and we need to make sure that people are aware,” Ahmad said. “This is the most blatant type of hypocrisy in politics right now, and they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this. We, as young people, should remind the population that when a politician says something, we should hold them to account for it. And we shouldn’t let them get away with trying to slip us a fast one.”
Although students have not taken to the streets, many Quebec university rectors have protested in their own way. Fifteen Quebec university rectors, led by Guy Breton, president of l’Université de Montréal, took out full-page ads on March 17 in both The Gazette and La Presse, demanding that the next elected government increase university funding to the Canadian average by 2020.
According to Statistics Canada and the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO), student funding for universities, per student, is currently $10,844 in Quebec. In the rest of Canada, the average is $15,798.
Shepard was one of the rectors who signed the ad. The idea behind it was to bring attention to the funding gap.
“What the rectors want, and what they’re worried about, is how to lead a university network across Quebec that is as competitive as it can be with other institutions outside of Quebec,” Shepard said. “We want, not surprisingly, the best kinds of education we can offer students. When the students arrive here, we want them to have equal opportunity with people in the rest of Canada…and it is difficult to deliver on all of those initiatives, all those ambitions, if the per student funding is substantially lower.”
After last year’s education summit, the government promised that they would reinvest $1.7 billion into universities over the next seven years. A portion of the money would help universities cover increasing costs. For the other portion, the schools would work with the government in order to decide where the money would be invested. The money would go mostly towards academic and student services; not administration.
According to Bureau-Blouin, this money will come from the expansion of economic activity and the control of provincial expenses.
Concordia had been communicating with the government about the funding they would receive, and about what programs would be invested in. All negotiations were put on hold when the general provincial election was called.
“Without that reinvestment … we won’t have the money necessary to become competitive on the North American market and internationally. We’re going to struggle at maintaining our reputation and maintaining the quality of education in Quebec because our competitors will go deeper and deeper compared to us,” said Concordia University’s controller, Daniel Therrien.
As controller, Therrien works with financial services and controls expenditures.
The PQ is the only party to have promised to reinvest this money into education. If they do not win the election, it is unknown whether the new government will pick up where the PQ left off, or invest the money elsewhere.
“A new government coming in could change the direction completely,” Therrien said.
During this academic year, tuition rates were indexed at a rate of 2.6 per cent. It was recently decided that the indexation rate would decrease to a rate of 2.2 per starting in the fall.
Although this will mean a little more money for universities, it will not solve their funding issues. It will essentially mean that they will now be able to afford to keep up with most of their current expenses, something that, when tuition fees were frozen, they could not do, as their costs technically increased every year.
Although the cost of living is currently increasing at a rate of 2.2 per cent, many expenses at Concordia, like salaries, library e-journals, and scientific equipment, increase at much higher rates.
“If the cost of goods, services and labour goes up by at least 2 per cent and the tuition is indexed by 2 per cent you haven’t done anything to fundamentally close the gap with the rest of Canada. You’re maintaining status quo. As a general rule of thumb, inflation in universities has been running across Canada 4 to 5 per cent per year, depending on what jurisdiction you’re in. So lets say that inflation is 4 per cent and you have 2 per cent, you’re already losing ground,” Shepard said.
“Our internal costs, when you look at security, you look at gas, our fixed costs, they grew at about that rate. However, the biggest component of the costs of university is salary…on average [salaries increase at a rate of] 3.2 per cent [per year],” Therrien said. He explained that, since the university is unionized, salaries are based on a 12-step scale of collective agreements. Every step on the scale means a higher salary increase every year, the minimum being a 2 per cent increase.
According to Therrien, the school’s income will increase by around $2 million because of the new indexation plan, but this will not allow the school to improve their services.
“It’s not even enough to cover our increase in costs…if we don’t grow our student population, I won’t even be able to make my costs, and I’m not even talking about reinvesting. So the tuition indexation is only bringing us a certain portion of the money we need to maintain the operation,” Therrien said.
Therrien also explained that increasing the amount of students at the school is not as easy as it seems, as the school needs to maintain its reputation, and can only support so many students without affecting the quality of the education being offered.
“Any money helps the university, that’s for sure. But the indexing is only giving me an opportunity to maintain what were doing. There is no growth with that, there is no reinvestment,” Therrien said.
According to Ghayad, indexing tuition fees makes sense, since, with the inflation rate, costs go up for universities every year. It is also logical to index tuition fees because salaries follow the inflation rate.
He believes that not indexing tuition fees could cause “a large gap between revenue and expenditures for the universities. Deficits need to be paid off by someone in society sooner or later.”
“If it were not indexed, sooner or later tuition rates would increase as they did in the past, like in the early 1990s, and it was a large jump in tuition. I think a transparent and expected increase of about 2 per cent annually, which is the inflation rate more or less, would be better than the possible outcomes mentioned. I think that the tax credit is going to hurt more students overall than the indexation plan,” Ghayad said.
One of the main reason Pauline Marois was voted in as premier back in 2012 was because one of her electoral promises was not to raise tuition fees.And yet, in more ways than one, the cost of superior education has increased. Ahmad believes that this whole situation will have a negative impact on how the province’s youth perceives politics.
“I think that, with this, what the PQ has managed to do is to make a lot of young people cynical about politics, because they’ve gone back on a lot of their election promises in a very short period of time,” Ahmad said. “How can young people be inspired by politics or believe in their politicians when they’re going back on their promises?”
Two years after the Maple Spring, a compromise between students, universities, and the government has not yet been reached. The results of the next provincial election will, no matter who is elected, impact the face of superior education. Only time will tell whether these changes will be positive or negative, and how the population will react.
The Concordia Student Union’s (CSU) Judicial Board announced on March 5 that the John Molson School of Business’s Fee Levy opt out petition question will not be put on the ballot at the upcoming general elections, based on the fact that the total fee presented was inaccurate.
The petition, which was signed by over 500 students, asked “do you agree to allow for all members of the CSU registered in the John Molson School of Business to no longer be assessed and required to pay fees to Arts Matters Festival (8c per credit), Cinema Politica (7c per credit), CUTV (34c per credit), Le Frigo Vert (33c per credit), Concordia Food Coalition (8c per credit), QPIRG Concordia (31c per credit) for a total of $1.50 per credit?”
The total sum of the fees is $1.21, and not $1.50. Standing Regulation 150 states “any referendum question regarding student fees must clearly state the amount of the fee.” Since the total amount petitioned was misrepresented by $0.29, the Judicial Board unanimously found that the question could not go to ballot.
The discrepancy in the totals was one of the issues originally brought up at the Judiciary Board meeting on March 4.
Other issues, mentioned by Christina Xydous, QPIRG Volunteer and Administrative Coordinator, were that it was prejudicial to include five unrelated groups together in the question. The Judicial Board included the following question in their statement: “is it considered prejudicial to group the six involved organizations into one question and therefore in further violation of standing regulation 150?” but did not include their deliberations.
Photo from jasonparis on flickr
Other technical issues, like whether the petition was considered a motion, were also brought up. The Judicial Board’s ruling stated that “the spirit of the regulations do not regard a motion to be a petition.” Because of that, certain issues brought up by Xydous in the meeting did not apply to this particular question. These included the fact that, according to Standing Regulation 155, a 2/3-majority vote of the Council of representatives is needed to put a fee levy to referendum. It also meant the five-day notice to all concerned parties, which is required for any motion being voted on at Council that would affect space or funding of another CSU group outside the CSU umbrella, did not apply.
The petition was originally brought to council on Feb. 12 by three members of the Commerce and Administration Student Association (CASA): President John-Michael Minon, VP Academic Loïc Sanscartier and VP External Michael Richardson.
Richardson, who is also a CSU councilor and CUPA’s president-elect, said that a new opt-out system, or opt-in system, is needed.
“For the few people who want to go to Cinema Politica, or for the students who really have a solid interest in Art Matters, that’s fine, and we want to encourage that,” Richardson said. “But if you really care that much I will go with you to Loyola and I will help you fill out the form to opt in. you shouldn’t have to opt out, you should have to opt in if it’s such an important thing to you.”
Richardson also said that CASA was willing to work with the affected fee levy groups.
“If these fee levy groups really believe in their value we want to give them a chance to show that to JMSB students,” Richardson said.
From Feb. 19 to 23, the 18th edition of the French-Canadian Communication Games will be held at Concordia University.
Photo by Marie Andrée Picard
The Communication (Coms) Games is an annual competition between nine universities of Eastern Canada, in which the participants get to compete for four days in 13 different case competitions related to the communications field. The categories include the production of a television newscast, a radio newscast, print journalism, social media, an advertising pitch, film production, a cultural show, and many more. Each university has its own 32 delegates to represent it during the competition.
From October to February, the delegation, chosen after competitive auditions, meets for a minimum of 10 hours a week to prepare for their challenge.
For his third year in the Games, Jean-Frédéric Daigneault decided to take over an extra challenge and become a chief, one of three responsible for managing the Concordia 2014 delegation.
“I wanted to help the project grow at Concordia. We are just starting to develop an interesting program and I wanted to be part of that progression,” said Daigneault.
“Once you experience the Games, you will want to do it again and again” said Pierre-Luc Miville, former recipient of the gold medal in film production. Miville is participating for his fourth year, and now works as a professional video producer and director.
Having seen four different editions of the Games, Miville said, “The organizing committee this year are pushing the limits of each individual case competition and are bringing new exciting elements to the table. They have also brought many sponsors for each case, which will bring real professional value to the Coms Games.”
Participating for the first time this year, Schubert Laforest explained how he can already see the benefits of partaking in such a competition.
“The networking you do through the Games is beneficial career wise. The sheer amount of people you meet in the communications field is significant, from professionals to students who will work in the field, which in turn opens many doors,” said Laforest.
Concordia is the only English university to take part in the Coms Game for the last nine years. Last year, Concordia ranked third overall in the competition, just below Laval University and UQÀM, and in 2012, Concordia ranked second overall.
“It’s about representing your university and honouring the high calibre of your fellow students by refusing to perform any less than the best of your abilities,” said Laforest.
This year’s Games will be sponsored by Ici Radio-Canada, La Presse +, MAtv, 98,5 FM and Fantasia.
To support Concordia’s delegation Like them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jdlcconcordia or follow them on Twitter @ jdlcconcordia
Audrey Folliot is a member of Concordia’s Communication Games team.
Here we are, mid-January, and the weather has been unbearably cold for the last couple of weeks. It has been too cold to spend a substantial amount of time outside, so students have been spending as much time as they can avoiding leaving their homes. Netflix marathons, anyone?
Photo by Keith Race
The Concordian asked students what kind of music they are listening to this time of year: their go-to songs for the snowy, cold days, or even songs that remind them of sitting by the fire, curled up with some hot chocolate.
Most students did not have a straight answer right away, or answered with “Christmas music,” despite it being January. We suggested to these students that they go through their iPods and look at what they have been playing lately. Many of the songs were acoustic, slow, low-key, and quite somber to a certain degree. Arian Zarrinkoub summed up her choice of “River” by Joni Mitchell as “very wintery and very sad.”
Sadness seemed to be an emotion most students associated with the colder months. One student said he has been listening to Women’s Public Strain album.
“There’s a snowstorm on the album cover, and the album is overall very dark and bleak,” he said. “There is not a happy song on this album.”
The theme of cold and sadness is also on Alison Papazois’ playlist, who chose “Mr. Winter” by The Maine.
“Well first, the title reminds me of winter and in the song it talks about this guy Mr. Winter who leaves the girl for three months,” said Papazois. “He was cold and bitter enough to leave her, just as the winter season is cold and bitter.”
Other students said they listen to acoustic songs by artists like The Lumineers and Ed Sheeran.
Natalie Coffen also chose a song that goes the acoustic route, “The Crane Wife 1&2” by The Decemberists.
“The beginning is exactly how I feel when I’m walking down my street in the winter,” said Coffen. “The song has a really warm feeling despite the lyrics being about the cold.”
Another popular answer was “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood.
“It has a warm feeling when you listen to it and it literally makes me want to curl up in a sweater,” said Laura Canter.
Marco Saveriano said that he has been loving the Frozen soundtrack lately, particularly the song, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”
“Does the Hockey Night In Canada theme song count?” asked Justin Share. “It reminds me of playing the sport, both indoors at an arena, or outside in the cold at an outdoor rink.”
Some students chose songs that were linked to specific winter memories. Alex Bissonnette chose “Les Étoiles Filantes” by Les Cowboys Fringants.
“I always listened to them when I was a kid with my parents by the fire.”
“”Montreal” by Raine Maida or “Albatross” by Big Wreck,” said Andrew Bernstein. “I used to listen to “Albatross” when I would drive home in the dead of winter, so it reminds me of the cold.”
A wide variety of songs were chosen by students, but most were slower, darker, gloomier songs than the loud party songs of summer and the upbeat, spirited songs of Christmas. These songs sum up our post-holiday feelings of bracing the cold, while we are counting down the days until spring break.
Two Concordia University engineering students were featured in a CBC News article earlier this month for helping to solve housing problems in Canada’s North.
Press photo
Daniel Baril, from Quebec’s northern community of Kuujjuaq and Ahmad Kayello, from Saudi Arabia are both second year Master’s students studying building, civil and environmental engineering.
They are working on their thesis project entitled “Field Study of Hygrothermal Performance of Housing in the Canadian North” which consists of monitoring the hygrothermal performance of existing social housing in Nunavik, with a focus on developing new sustainable housing options.
“There is a housing shortage up north, and lots of overcrowding,” said Baril in a feature on Concordia’s website. “There are multiple families living under the same roof […] it’s a high cost of building so it’s a tough place to try and catch up with the housing needs.”
Working under the supervision of Paul Fazio, a professor of building engineering and member of Concordia’s Centre for Zero Energy Building Studies, Baril and Kayello are conducting tests in Concordia’s Environmental Chamber and on site in the North.
“Ahmad and Daniel are going beyond the requirements for their Master’s degree; their passion is to improve the living conditions of the people in the North,” said Fazio.
Over the last month, they have built a test hut in the Environmental Chamber which has been subjected to temperatures of up to -40 C, to simulate real-life conditions.
“It’s basically a big refrigerator, it goes down to -40 C and we have a test hut built in there and we can do different experiments,” Baril told the CBC.
The students told the CBC’s Daybreak they hope their prototypes will offer a practical solution for the North’s unique needs. Due to the short building season, the team has innovated houses that fit together like Lego pieces. With local aid, homes are typically erected on site in only six days.
The walls are made from prefabricated sandwich boards: two layers of wood with Styrofoam inside. It is important that humidity not pass through them because water vapor can condense, freeze, thaw and eventually cause hazardous mold growth.
According to Baril, due to rising fuel costs and an increase in housing needs for remote communities — where many of Canada’s natural resources lie — there has never been a greater need for innovative building designs.
Baril and Kayello have been focusing on the issue of fine powder snow, also referred to as icing sugar snow, which can enter through small cracks in the house’s infrastructure, and subsequently cause structural damage.
In order to prevent leaks, the two students came up with the idea of sealing off the attics, which raised other concerns.
“We’re trying to see if we can completely seal these attics […] and then there’s also a chance of moisture problems because of the moist air getting in and not being able to escape. So there are drawbacks to both venting and unventing,” Kayello told the CBC.
Since much research has already been done regarding housing in hotter climates, the students have ample opportunity to research housing improvements in colder climates. The hope is that their work will benefit the communities of the Arctic for the long term.
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) and seven other Montreal-based student associations are in the midst of requesting price reductions for all full-time students, regardless of their age, when it comes to Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) public transportation fares.
Photo by Keith Race
After joining forces with several student associations around Montreal, the CSU released a collective statement containing its goals.
“The CSU supports equal access to resources for all students. While we have been proud to partner with the STM in encouraging sustainable travel methods, we cannot support the inequality contained within its policy on student pricing. While a reduced rate for full-time students is important, limiting who may be considered full-time based on age does not reflect the reality of university life. Resources for students should be available to all students.”
According to the STM website, in order to obtain student privileges for a monthly pass on one’s Opus card, the individual must be a full-time student at an institution recognized by Quebec’s Ministere de l’Education, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS), and be 25 or less by October 31 of that year.
“We expect the STM to offer the same reduced fee to all full-time students, regardless of their age,” said CSU president Melissa Kate Wheeler. “So far we’ve been [promoting our demand] through social media and by speaking to the press, [but] we intend on increasing our support for this cause in the coming weeks through posters around the school, and by discussing it at our next council meeting.”
With bus and train passes getting more expensive each year, the significance of this demand is pertinent for the students in question.
STM fares have increased nearly $10 in the last five years. In 2008, a student discount monthly bus pass cost $36, whereas now it costs $45.50, an increase of 26.4 per cent. As for a regular bus pass, in 2008 it cost $66.25 and now is $77.75, an increase of 17.4 per cent. For those who take the train, the most expensive mode of transport, fares range between $69 to $121 for students, and regular fares between $87 and $151, depending on the zone.
The CSU’s current demands for reduced student fares are not their first attempt.
Back in February of 2010, the CSU made the same demand and created a petition which received 330 signatures online to allow students regardless of their age or enrollment status to be eligible to receive student fares.
The petition, which was directed at the City Council of Montreal, highlighted several areas concerning the STM student discount requirements and its unfairness to certain students, specifically to fares applying only to those aged 25 or less; not to part-time students but only full-time; STM being the only Canadian public transportation company to place an age restriction on which students qualify for the student discounts; that the average age of Concordia’s student population is 26; that those who continue their studies past the age of 25 often have greater debt; and that the city of Montreal has pledged its commitment to accessibility for both public transportation and higher education on several occasions.
Unfortunately, after approaching the STM with the petition in 2010, the CSU was unable to successfully negotiate an agreement. This time, however, the CSU hopes the STM will recognize the severity of the demand by publicizing more extensively in and around the school.
The Concordia Student Unions’ next council meeting will take place Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. where the situation will be discussed further.
With the goal to improve the Canadian academic industry, on Sept. 9, Ontario university students officially launched Cooplearn, a website designed to help students keep in contact with each other regarding school affairs.
The free website was founded by childhood friends Bassil Eid, studying economics at the University and Ottawa, and Robin Defaye, a student at the University of Waterloo. They came up with the idea in October of last year.
On the website, students can create an account, select their school, then form Studyrooms which are virtual spaces that mimic the classes offered at a given school. This is where students share notes, help one another study or work on assignments.
“We came up with the idea of Cooplearn when myself and a few friends were sitting around thinking of how dependent we are on each other when it comes to completing assignments and studying for exams,” said Eid.
By allowing students to take control of their education, the founders hope to achieve their goal of improving the national school system – a goal they feel should be shared with students around the country.
“We all need to come together,” said Eid. “Cooplearn simply provides the meeting place.”
He feels the collaboration the website allows can help better students’ work, while also making the studying process more fun.
“Going through a tough experience with others who are in the same situation as you always makes the experience a lot easier,” said Eid.
Before officially launching the website this fall, Eid and Defaye tested it out on their friends who were enrolled in summer classes. Eid explained that they’re still testing the website and taking in feedback from users to make improvements.
Cooplearn becomes more beneficial as more students sign up, explained Eid, as it allows for the sharing of knowledge.
He said just under 700 students use Cooplearn, while the amount of users is quickly increasing.
“The students have really been great at getting this website out there,” said Eid.
Cooplearn is now mostly geared towards Canadian colleges and universities. It’s also available in some schools in the U.K. and the U.S., while the founders expect it to continue to grow in the future. So far, there are only a few students at Concordia using Cooplearn.
“[A] cool feature is that we have control over everything we do,” said Concordia economics student Kevin Smith. “We create the Studyroom, we add in the assignments, we invite our friends.”
Smith said seven of his friends collaborated in a Studyroom to complete an assignment but he hopes more people will join the website so that more students can help each other out.
Eid stressed that Cooplearn is different from other websites like Yahoo! Answers, Ask.com and Allexperts.com because of its focus.
“While other [websites] just offer a free-for-all of questions and answers, we offer organized study with friends and classmates in a centralized location,” said Eid.
Cooplearn is for students in any area of study, from economics to drawing. There’s a math toolbar and image uploader on the website for students in technical and arts programs.
“This is a website created by students for students. It is created so that we can have control over our own education,” said Eid.
