Latest News

News

With ad revenue down, the DPS seeks a fee hike

by Lauren Hudak on

More in News:

In response to declining advertising revenue and rising production costs, today marks the first day of campaigning for a referendum question initiated by the independent Daily Publications Society. The society, which publishes the McGill Daily and Le Délit, has put forward a referendum question aiming to increase its current, non-opt-outable fee by $1 per semester.

While members of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society currently pay $3.50 and Students’ Society members pay $5 per semester, this increase would only affect SSMU members. This marks the first potential increase in the DPS fees since the 2002-03 year, when the fee was raised from $2.50 to $5.

The DPS’s bylaws stipulate that if the DPS does not appoint a chief electoral officer, then SSMU’s CEO is automatically appointed to coordinate the election. While normally coinciding with the regular SSMU referendum period, Mike Vallo, Elections McGill CEO, stated that this year’s campaign period is occurring a week later out of fairness to referenda following Elections McGill bylaws.

“They wanted to originally run their referendum at the same time [as SSMU referemda] and follow their own electoral by-laws, but I did not feel that it was appropriate for them to be running on one set of rules while the rest of the referenda were running on a different set of rules. So, I requested that they take two separate dates,” said Vallo.

Max Halparin, chair of the Daily Publications Society, stated that the Board of Directors set both “a legitimate and achievable quorum” at five per cent of the SSMU population.

“We are going to try to come out as strongly as we can,” added Stephen Davis, coordinating editor of the Daily. “We are going to stress that, above all, the Daily Publications Society is not just a student newspaper. The DPS answers to students and gives them something tangible. It gives them three newspapers a week, one of which is in French, the only French newspaper on campus. But above all, we are also a student service.”

Additionally, a No Committee has been formed by a coalition of engineering students who feel that the money could be better spent in other under-funded programs, such as engineering design teams.

“Students aren’t benefiting from what the Daily does. Students don’t read the Daily because it doesn’t speak to them – it speaks to a small group of students,” said Allan Cyril, newly elected EUS vice-president internal and chair of the No Committee. Cyril has called the proposed fee increase “hypocritical.”

“The Daily takes a strong stand on free education. How can they be talking about tuition hikes when they are increasing their own fees by charging students? So, the one thing that they control, they are increasing,” said Cyril.

Patrick Diez, VP communications of EUS, said that the “No” Committee is not affiliated with the EUS, but encouraged students to consider what they are voting for.

“I think that a good analogy is that the Daily is to newspapers as Gert’s is to bars,” Diez said. “Students just kind of dismiss it, don’t bother to take a closer look and realize that they are paying.”

If the referendum does not pass, Davis suggested that the DPS would have to try again in the near future, or be obligated to make changes in terms of the paper’s aesthetic layout.

“If the fee did not pass, it might also mean that we have to think about the way that we do advertisements in the newspaper,” he said. “I think that the sort of freedom that we have means that we can put out a paper that is aesthetically very beautiful.”

Davis also fears that without the additional funding, the DPS may have to answer to advertisers in the future as opposed to students.

“We are a democratically run organization,” Davis said. “We answer to students. We don’t answer to advertisers, and I would hate for that to have to change.”

According to Stéphanie Dufresne, Le Délit’s editor-in-chief, the additional money that the referendum question would provide would also make a significant difference for Le Délit.

“Many people assume that the Le Délit is a French translation of the Daily, which is not the case at all. We are two different teams. We produce different content,” Dufresne said. “It is important that we get these resources so that we can continue to do our job.”

After an intense week of SSMU elections, Vallo is worried about the role of voter fatigue in this election.

“The burden is on the Yes and No Committees to get people energized,” he said.

Correction: In the previous version of this article, the headline incorrectly noted that the McGill Daily is seeking a fee hike. In fact, the Daily Publications Society is seeking a fee hike.

Science & Technology

More young people lack vitamin D than previously thought

by María Flores on

More in Science & Technology:

A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has revealed that many young adults are lacking vitamin D, which is linked to increased body fat. Due to the inverse relationship between muscle fat and strength, the study is being approached as a plausible explanation for weakness symptoms.

“The levels of vitamin D are inversely related to the weight of the subjects, so fatter people have lower levels of vitamin D,” said Dr. Vicente Gilsanz, professor of radiology and pediatrics at USC and co-investigator in the study.

The study, led by McGill researcher Dr. Richard Kremer, was performed on otherwise healthy women in California. However, despite their relative health, a vitamin D deficiency was evident in the majority of the subjects.

“We found that 60 per cent of these young women lacked vitamin D in their system and this was associated with too much fat¬ – mainly in the abdomen and in skeletal muscle tissue,” said Kremer, the study’s principal investigator and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.

Sources of vitamin D include exposure to sunlight and foods such as salmon, broccoli, and enriched foods, like milk. However, Kremer said the deficiency is in large part an unintended consequence of growing efforts to protect ourselves from health problems associated with exposure to too much sunlight.

“[The risk] is very widespread and the reason for this is because we tend to protect ourselves from the sun and the effect of sunshine is a lot less than what it used to be,” said Kremer.

“It is very, very common everywhere, unfortunately, even in sunny California,” added Gilsanz.

Although people lack vitamin D everywhere in the world, countries with reduced sunlight, like Canada, are particularly at risk.

“This is exemplified in Canada because basically from November to March there is no sunshine effect, which inhibits the production of vitamin D,” said Kremer.

Benefits of vitamin D include calcium absorption in the bones, regulation of the immune system, and the combat of infectious diseases.Kremer said that a lack of vitamin D is associated with increased incidences of breast cancer and other conditions such as diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

In addition, Gilsanz speculated that widespread viatmin D deficiencies may play a part in the continent’s growing obesity epidemic.

“It may be associated with the fact that we are becoming a population of fatter people and indeed some studies have shown that vitamin D is trapped by the fat cells,” he said.

John White, a professor in the McGill department of physiology who previously conducted a study on vitamin D, found that the active form of vitamin D directly stimulates the body’s capacity to fight microbial infection. He agreed that the insufficiency is far-reaching.

“It is very widespread in many populations, 50 per cent or more of a given population may be deficient in vitamin D,” he said.

According to Professor White, the consequences of the deficiency differ between children and adults.

“For children, or somebody with a growing skeleton, severe vitamin D deficiency over a relatively short period of time will lead to a condition called Rickets, which develops in children because they have a greater need for calcium during their growth,” he said. “Adult’s overtime can get a condition called osteomalazia, which basically means soft or weakened bones.”

In addition, while new studies on vitamin D are constantly being published, White emphasized that this is not a new issue.

“This is a problem that is widely spread, it probably has been for a number of years, and we are only really beginning to recognize the extent of the problem,” he said.

Sports

MARCH MADNESS: EAST

by Jon Cohen, Kailan Leung, James Macneil & Adam Sadinsky on

More in Sports:

Preview: Top-seeded Kentucky and freshman sensation John Wall cast a long shadow over the East bracket, though they’ll need to play better than they did against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament Final in order to advance. West Virginia, the No. 2 seed, has the most momentum after winning the Big East title in dramatic fashion over the weekend. The East is a top-heavy bracket, with a significant gap in talent between the top two seeds, No. 3 New Mexico and No. 4 Wisconsin.

Indy Bound: Kentucky remains the clear favourite, though West Virginia may be the strongest No. 2 seed in the tournament. If both teams make it to the Elite Eight, an upset is definitely not out of the question.

Dark Horse: Earlier this season, Texas held the top spot in the rankings, but now sit in the No. 8 spot, playing a dangerous No. 9 in Wake Forest. Whichever of these teams survives the first round might be a serious threat to Kentucky in the second round. The No. 5 vs. No. 12 is always prime territory for an upset, and Ivy League champion Cornell might just have the skills needed to surprise Temple’s stingy defense.

Sports

MARCH MADNESS: SOUTH

by Jon Cohen, Kailan Leung, James Macneil & Adam Sadinsky on

More in Sports:

Preview: Mike Krzyzewski’s team finds itself with the top seed in the South after a tremendous team effort propelled Duke to its 18th ACC title this past weekend. The Blue Devils have shown that they can be absolutely dominant at times, but they lack a go-to player in the post. Second-seeded Villanova is coming off agonizing losses to West Virginia and Marquette, but have the depth and athleticism to make a deep run in the tournament. Baylor will advance to the Sweet 16, and may go further if LaceDarius Dunn gets hot. This region might not look the most dramatic on paper, but will be extremely competitive once the second round is in the books.

Indy Bound: Villanova. The biggest thing that the Wildcats have struggled with this season is consistency: if Scottie Reynolds gets off to a good start in the tournament and the two Coreys (Stokes and Fisher) can complement him on the wings, Nova has a legitimate shot at making noise in Indianapolis.

Dark Horse: Baylor. Ekpe Udoh has come into his own, and his versatility at the forward spot makes the Bears hard to match up with. Backcourt mates LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter can light it up, and if Baylor’s defence remains as impressive as its been all season, the Bears could find themselves in an enviable position in the first week of April.

Behind the Bench, Sports

THIRD MAN IN: Capless, not hapless

by on
  • Author

More in Behind the Bench:

It’s official. There will be no salary cap in the NFL next season.

At first glance, it would appear that richer, more successful teams will start spending more money on the players they want to keep, and the league’s average salaries and team payrolls will undoubtedly rise. This was viewed as a worst-case scenario a few years ago when it was thrown into the Collective Bargaining Agreement as a way to put pressure on the NFL to get a new deal done before the 2010-11 season. But this new rule is far from a worst-case scenario. The Byzantine salary structure of the league is about to get a whole lot simpler.

Here’s why the capless year may be a stroke of genius: the NFL – and all of its teams – are rich enough that this is a good idea. The league is pulling in more money than ever, and their revenue-sharing policies are stricter and more inclusive than any other professional sports league. Teams share television deals, and everyone gets an enormous payout from the league office for merchandise, TV rights, and more. There are 1,800 players in the NFL, each making an average of $1.4 million, and teams are still worth an average of $1 billion dollars. That’s insane money.

This is a testament to the NFL’s financial strength: everyone can afford to pay everyone else whatever they want. Also, unlike other leagues, the bad teams are still rich enough to make serious moves. Take the Detroit Lions, for example: they’ve gone 1-31 over the last two seasons, but have made some tremendous acquisitions this offseason. They’ll likely compete for the playoffs.

Predictably, though, there is a darker side to all this money. There is little financial security for most players – as many large contracts are non-guaranteed – and no matter how much money a team has, good players don’t want to play for bad teams.

The NBA, on the other hand, doesn’t have the luxury of large, short-term contracts, and their product is tanking quickly as a result. The NBA will lose almost half a billion dollars this year. How can the owners possibly keep paying both their stars and a luxury tax when each team loses tens of millions of dollars a year? In contrast to the NFL, where bad teams frequently sell out, good clubs in the NBA struggle to reach three-quarter capacity. The Atlanta Hawks are an exciting team on the rise, yet they play every home game with a quarter of their arena empty. One of their best players, Josh Smith, is even from Atlanta, and still nobody shows up.

The NBA has four teams that average a sellout every game. The NFL has eight. Only six teams in the NFL sell less than 90 per cent of tickets every game. The NBA has 15. Just to compare, the NHL has 12 teams that average sellouts and 10 that don’t hit 90 per cent – cities are polarized. We’re about to see the NFL reap the benefits of putting out a great product out week after week. Here’s the lesson: when it’s about the game, people show up. When it’s about the stars, they don’t.

– G.L. Pulver Contributor

Sports

Mixed results: Martlets take silver, Redmen hoist Queen’s Cup

by Adam Sadinsky & John Hui on

More in Sports:

Four years ago, the McGill men’s hockey team travelled to the western shores of Lake Superior and came home empty-handed. On Saturday night, the Redmen reversed history, capturing the OUA Queen’s Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The win marked McGill’s second Queen’s Cup in the last three years, and the team’s 15th since winning the inaugural competition in 1903.

Playing before a sold-out Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario., the Redmen opened the scoring early in the first period with a goal from Andrew Wright, assisted by sophomore linemates Francis Verreault-Paul and Alexandre Picard-Hooper. On the power-play, the Thunderwolves answered back, tying the game just two minutes later. Before the period was out, Wright scored what would turn out to be the game-winning goal, picking up a Verreault-Paul shot off the wing and slipping it into the back of the net.

In the second period, McGill’s penalty kill was the difference, absorbing the pressure of Lakehead’s OUA-leading power-play. Redmen goaltender Hubert Morin was outstanding, robbing Thunderwolves forward Matt Dias on three separate occasions to keep the lead intact. Third-year left-winger Evan Vossen scored his fifth goal of the playoffs towards the end of the frame, giving McGill some added insurance.

The Redmen and Thunderwolves could meet again in two weeks, as the best of the CIS will gather in Thunder Bay for the CIS National Championships. With a victory last week over the Western Ontario Mustangs, fellow OUA East affiliate Trois-Rivières secured the final National Championships’ slot. The Redmen have never won the University Cup, but could enter this year’s tournament as the top seed. The tournament runs from March 25 to March 28.

Meanwhile, the women’s hockey team found itself on the wrong side of the scoreboard for the first time in 86 games, as McGill’s hopes of a third consecutive CIS championship were dashed by the third-ranked Alberta Pandas, who claimed gold with a 2-0 victory over the Martlets on Sunday.

For the fifth consecutive year, McGill captured the Quebec crown, sweeping the Montreal Carabins in their best-of-three series. The Martlets faced Montreal yet again in their first game at Nationals, and this time, the outcome was decidedly closer.

“They definitely stepped up their game,” said forward Victoria Wells. “We traded some good chances with them and they were a good test to warm us up for the tournament.”

Unfortunately, the Martlets couldn’t get warm enough. After winning 2-1 against the Carabins in overtime, McGill moved on to dismantle the St. Mary’s Huskies 7-2 to progress to the gold medal match. McGill played a solid game against Alberta, but couldn’t clear the puck out of the defensive zone. A rebound goal by Pandas forward Melody Howard at the six-minute mark of the first frame held up as the winning tally. McGill Head Coach Amey Doyle, while disappointed with the loss, gave Alberta full credit for the win.

“It was definitely a bit disappointing when you don’t come back with what you had hoped to achieve,” she said. “They had a really quick start, were really pumped, and were in our face the whole game. They didn’t allow us to set up in the offensive zone and they really limited our speed.”

While in the short term the Martlets must cope with disappointment and the loss of seniors Vanessa Davidson, Amy Soberano, and Rebecca Martindale to graduation, the team has plenty to be optimistic about. Quebec player-of-the-year Cathy Chartrand is ready to reprise her role on the team, as is Olympic gold medalist Charline Labonté, who took the year off to train with Team Canada. Expect the Martlets to remain a powerhouse team, and contend for the CIS championship again next season.

Sports

MARCH MADNESS: WEST

by Jon Cohen, Kailan Leung, James Macneil & Adam Sadinsky on

More in Sports:

Preview: The West is potentially the easiest region to predict in the entire tournament, but could just as well prove the most surprising. Kansas State and Syracuse seem locked on a collision course and will likely meet up in the Elite Eight, but the West also features a number of strong upset possibilities. A double-digit seed will almost certainly make it to the second weekend, with the likes of No. 11 Minnesota, No. 12 UTEP or even the Ohio Valley champion No. 13 Murray State Racers as probable candidates. A Cinderella story could be in the making in Salt Lake City.

Indy Bound: Syracuse. Coming into the tournament on a two-game losing streak, the Orange are poised to bounce back just in time. Head Coach Jim Boeheim knows what it takes to get a team to the Final Four, and this could be the best Syracuse group since the 2003 title-team featuring Carmelo Anthony and Hakim Warrick. If Akinze Onuaku is healthy, Syracuse will be there at the end.

Dark Horse: Gonzaga. For years, the Zags have flown under the radar, but no one doubts their legitimacy any more. If they can take down Syracuse in the second round, this talented squad could be cutting down nets en route to the Final Four.

Sports

MARCH MADNESS: MIDWEST

by Jon Cohen, Kailan Leung, James Macneil & Adam Sadinsky on

More in Sports:

Preview: The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks find themselves in the toughest of the four regions and will have to rely on their experience and leadership if they want to make it to the Final Four for the second time in three years. Headlined by Big East finalist Georgetown and second-seeded Ohio State, the Midwest promises to provide some serious excitement in the early rounds. Evan Turner and the Buckeyes are Kansas’s biggest obstacle, and come into the tournament with plenty of momentum after winning the Big 10 tournament last weekend. Arguably the most intriguing first round match-up will come when Houston takes on Maryland – both teams are offensively minded and have players who can score at will. Look for Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez and NCAA leading scorer Aubrey Coleman to put up big numbers in a game that should come down to the wire.

Indy Bound: It’s hard to bet against Bill Self’s Jayhawks to make it to Indianapolis. The talent and veteran presence of guard Sherron Collins and big man Cole Aldrich will be too much to handle for any other team.

Dark Horse: Georgia Tech, a young team led by freshman standout Derrick Favors, was streaky throughout the season and has been living on the bubble since February. However, after barely making it into the Big Dance, the Yellow Jackets could heat up and pull off an upset or two.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

The White Stripes trade stage lights for Northern lights

by Laura Tindal on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Jack White is a busy guy. Playing in three successful bands (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather), taking on small roles in feature films, and running a production company in Tennessee doesn’t seem to be enough. White claims he likes to make things difficult for himself, so within a single year he signed on for two documentary films; It Might Get Loud was released at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008, and Emmett Malloy’s The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights – filmed during the band’s tour across Canada in 2007 – premiered there last year. The latter is being released on DVD on March 16.

Under Great White Northern Lights documents a tour that deserved to be recorded. The band set out to hit every province and territory in Canada – something most Canadian bands haven’t managed – and not just the big cities, either. The White Stripes not only wanted to play towns off the beaten path, but “venues” a big band like themselves wouldn’t normally play. What follows is the ultimate tour doc, mixing band interviews, concert footage, and footage of secret, intimate performances the duo put on for fans in the far reaches of the Canadian North.

Most of the film focusses on the Northern part of the tour, when the band was playing in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit; these remote locations – far more than surprise shows in urban centres – are what make the tour so unique. Malloy skillfully captures the unique Northern Canadian moments, such as Jack and Meg playing for square-dancing Inuit elders in Nunavut, and leaving a late-night show with the sun still out.

Above all, this is a tour video. Unlike It Might Get Loud, which included an outsider’s exploration of Jack White as a musician, this is an insider’s depiction of one of the world’s biggest bands. The interviews are interesting but sparse, and the majority of the film is of the band putting on amazing shows. White Stripes fans will soak in the music and be inclined to clap after performances, but non-fans will feel out of place. While the music is great, the exchanges and encounters amusing, and the footage beautifully shot, Under Great White Northern Lights is for fans who wish they could have been on the bus Jack and Meg played on in Winnipeg, or the bowling alley they surprised in Saskatoon.

Emmett does explore the dynamics of the duo, but he raises more questions than answers. It’s always a treat to listen to the talented enigma that is Jack White speak about his work, but Meg speaks only occasionally in the film, and her quiet words are often subtitled. In a very funny scene, Jack tries to convince the interviewer that Meg is just quiet and it’s not because he speaks over her that she doesn’t talk in interviews. He says this while talking over her, drowning out whatever she wanted to say.

The film ends with an out-of-place scene, with Jack playing “Little Ghost” on piano next to Meg, bringing Meg to tears and Jack close. The scene is touching, but it’s a sharp divide from the rest of the film and leaves the audience unclear as to what the filmmaker is trying to say.

Under Great White Northern Lights is an amazing and entertaining tour documentary, but do not expect an investigative look at the White Stripes. The film upholds the illusion that Jack and Meg White are brother and sister instead of divorced, and as usual, it’s never clear when Mr. White is being sincere on camera, or just adding to the act that is the White Stripes But as the documentary shows, maybe the act is all that matters.

Arts & Entertainment, Books

John le Carré: the spy who loved fiction

by Kyle Carpenter on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

The 2010 International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) in Montreal kicks off on March 18, featuring 230 films from 23 countries. Shortlisted from this group are a competitive selection of 43 films from 14 countries (including eight entries from Quebec). Buzzed films from the competitive group include Je M’Appelle Denis Gagnon, a documentary about the Quebec fashion designer who made quite an impression at Montreal Fashion Week; The Real World of Peter Gabriel, on the Genesis lead singer; and perhaps most intriguing, King of Spies: John le Carré, a documentary about the life’s work of a spy-turned-fiction writer.

John le Carré is one of the most celebrated spy fiction authors, with a career spanning the past 50 years. Our generation would recognize him as the author of The Constant Gardener, which led to an Academy Award-nominated film in 2005. However, le Carré is best known for his Cold War novels from the 1960s, most notably The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

Le Carré is a former agent for MI5 and MI6 (now known as the Secret Intelligence Service), but unfortunately that’s about as much detail as anyone can give you, as le Carré is unwilling to discuss his involvement in the British government. And rightfully so – as he says in the documentary, there are two reasons why he does not reveal his past: he would never allow himself to put anyone he knows in danger, and nobody would believe what he told them anyway. While it’s understandable that we don’t get to learn about le Carré’s experiences as an agent, it’s still disappointing. Instead, the documentary is chiefly about his writing career, which is almost inseparable from the politics of the Cold War. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold marks a trend in le Carré’s work: the jaded, overworked agent who is anything but a James Bond-esque hero. The key difference, as explained by a former KGB agent, is that Ian Fleming’s novels provided readers with a form of escapism, while le Carré’s showed the gritty reality of the Cold War.

The bulk of the documentary is made up of various interviews with le Carré, as well as with former politicians, ex-agents, and academics who discuss both le Carré’s legacy and the politics of the era. Le Carré is an interesting speaker: he is both charming and well-versed in the art of fiction. Some of the film’s most interesting moments are le Carré’s anecdotes about famous figures: when describing his love of subtext in literature, he quotes Alfred Hitchcock, who was once asked how long he could film a kissing scene, to which Hitchcock replied “20 to 25 minutes … but I would put a bomb under the bed first.”

The film incorporates more than just interviews, splicing in footage from films based on le Carré’s novels, and many scenes made up of grainy footage of England with the narrator reading passages from le Carré’s work. These scenes are far too numerous, and it feels as though the directors were trying to lengthen the film rather than strengthen it.

The portrait of le Carré that the documentary paints is a man who has seen it all. The viewer gets the impression that there’s an authenticity to le Carré’s writing, because he seems to have seen the world he represents on paper first-hand. From his youth at a boarding school, where there were “different types of beatings for different imaginary offences,” to his career during the Cold War, the viewer begins to wonder if the hardboiled, cynical secret agents that he creates are really just a reflection of himself.

As the Cold War came to a close, many expected that le Carré’s writing career would end with it. He has gone on to write many subsequent novels, however, after switching his focus from the Cold War to globalization, a concept he is very critical of. However, just because the war has ended does not mean that its effects are not felt today: “When you travel the world a bit, you’ll find that victims have a terribly long memory,” says le Carré, making the viewer once again question just how fictional the king of spies’ fiction really is.

King of Spies: John le Carré is playing as a part of FIFA, which runs from March 18 to 28 at nine theatres: the Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the National Film Board Cinema, the Cinémathèque québécoise, the Goethe-Institut, the Musée d’Art Contemporain, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Place des Arts and Concordia University. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased on-line at www.artfifa.com or at any of the nine theatres on the day of the screening, one hour before the film begins.

1 … 1,337 1,338 1,339 1,340 1,341 … 1,367

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue