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Recipes, Student Life

Tofu vegetable stir-fry at the drop of a hat

by Carolyn Yates on

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Stir-frying random ingredients is a simple way to cook an impressive meal without culinary skill or expertise. I lack all three, but I can still make a passable tofu stir-fry without setting something on fire.

The following recipe takes 10-30 minutes to prepare, depending on how many vegetables you use, and about 10 minutes to actually cook. Remember not to overcook the vegetables: they should be crunchy, not mushy.

Ingredients (choose several of these vegetables):

  • 1 red, green, or yellow bell pepper
  • 1 medium carrot (or a handful of baby carrots)
  • 1 cup of snow peas
  • 6 medium-sized mushrooms
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 1 small onion
  • 5 ears of baby corn (canned)
  • 1 broccoli stalk
  • 1 cup of bean sprouts*

And add these:

  • 1/2 pkg. firm or extra-firm tofu
  • 2 tbsp. sesame oil (preferred), vegetable oil, or olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. orange juice

Directions

  1. Prepare the vegetables by washing them, removing any stems and seeds, and drying them lightly. Cut into approximately 3-centimetre long pieces, leaving the snow peas, baby corn, and bean sprouts whole.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, orange juice, and 1 tbsp. oil. Pat tofu dry and cut into 2-cm cubes. Add to bowl. Ideally, let it marinate for several hours, but realistically, 30 seconds will do.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, remove the tofu from the marinade, and stir-fry for one to five minutes, according to taste. The tofu should feel slightly undercooked. Remove from frying pan and set aside.
  4. Add the onion, bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots. Stir-fry for about two minutes.
  5. Add the celery, mushrooms, and zucchini. Stir-fry for about two minutes.
  6. Add the snow peas, bean sprouts, and baby corn. Stir-fry for about one minute.
  7. Add the leftover soy sauce and orange juice; stir thoroughly.
  8. Add tofu; stir-fry for one minute.
  9. Serve warm.

*Note: Other things I have successfully added to a stir-fry include slivered almonds, pecans, red apples, lemon juice, red cabbage, green cabbage, ginger, and hearts of palm. I don’t suggest trying them all at once, however, and the same goes for these vegetables.

Student Life

For Anglo-Montrealers, Super Sandwich is the place for lunch

by Theo Meyer on

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Though downtown Montreal is filled with dépanneurs, the small establishment in the basement of the Cartier Building on Peel and Sherbrooke Streets is the only one that has several hundred loaves of bread delivered fresh every morning.

That dépanneur, known as Super Sandwich because of the red-and-blue neon sign advertising “Super Sandwiches” mounted in the window, needs the loaves in order to make the hundreds of sandwiches it sells each afternoon. The dépanneur is a popular lunch spot for professionals downtown as well as students and staff at McGill, most of whom order in English.

“I would say maybe 80 per cent are Anglophones and 20 per cent are Francophones,” said Mathis Lo, 31, who runs the dépanneur with his sister.

Lo’s parents, originally from Mauritius, a tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean, immigrated to Canada from Norway, where Lo was born, in the late 1980s. They purchased the basement dépanneur shortly after arriving in Montreal, which Lo estimated sold only about 50 sandwiches per day under the previous owners. As Lo’s parents expanded the menu, however, adding items such as chicken salad, sandwiches became a more important part of the business.

According to Lo, sales increased dramatically when he and his sister began running the dépanneur after his father suffered a stroke four years ago. He now sells 200 to 300 sandwiches per day. Though the dépanneur still stocks the typical assortment of canned goods, batteries and cigarettes, sandwiches now make up about 70 per cent of its sales when school is in session.

A large portion of Super Sandwich’s business comes from the dépanneur’s loyal customers, many of whom buy several sandwiches per week.

“We have a lot of regulars who come three or four times a week,” Lo said. “There’s one McGill student who buys two sandwiches a day and has been coming for the past four or five years.”

One of those regulars is Jonathan Pollack, a third-year mechanical engineering student at McGill who has been coming to the dépanneur for the past two years and usually orders the chicken salad.

“It’s truly a super sandwich,” Pollack said with a laugh.

Because the dépanneur’s prices are fairly low – the most expensive sandwiches cost four dollars, Lo said – business has not been affected by the recession. Raymond, a Francophone regular who declined to give his last name, called the prices cheap enough to be “a joke.” And Lo noted that Super Sandwich’s closest competitors, the three or four Subway restaurants within several blocks of the Cartier building, charge significantly more for their sandwiches.

Despite all the regulars, Super Sandwich doesn’t offer a discount for customers who buy a certain number of sandwiches, which Lo said he couldn’t afford. This has proved frustrating to James Shubin, a staff member at McGill’s School of Computer Science who visits Super Sandwich twice a week and habitually requests receipts with his sandwiches.

“One day I’ll have a thousand Super Sandwich receipts and I’ll get a free sandwich,” joked Shubin, who usually orders brie or egg salad.

Student Life

A weekend in Munich

by Francesca Ferenczi on

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I should know better than to order anything off a German menu when the only German phrase I know is “beer, please.”

Clearly this wasn’t the case after I found myself at the Haufbrauhaus in Munich, staring down at a plate of something that looked more or less like pig ankle (although I imagine it could have been an elbow or knee). Curious, and fearing retribution for wasting, I dug in, but not before a friend reminded me to take the furry skin off. I got through it unscathed, and it wasn’t so bad – it actually tasted like ham.

After this somewhat dramatic start to my weekend in Munich, things did improve. Saturday morning we woke up early and picked up some brezel (soft, salted pretzels), senf (spicy German mustard), and apfelschorle (a sparkling apple cider). These classic treats tided us over during our drive through the Bavarian countryside on our way to Neuschwanstein Castle, the most photographed building in Germany and the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle.

Ludwig II commissioned Neuschwanstien, but he died before he ever got to live there. Although the castle is a little far from Munich, the history and beautiful views make the trek well worth it. Also, although we drove, Neuschwanstein is accessible by public transportation.

After a groggy drive back into Munich, we thankfully found ourselves at the Viktualienmarkt, a beautiful outdoor market filled with family-run stalls selling everything from flowers and honey to cheese and milk. We had our dinner at the market, capping a wonderful day full of architectural delights, spectacular vistas, and a whole lot of food.

On Sunday, we visited central Munich. First we went to the Residenz Museum, which was originally built in 1385 and was used by the Wittelsbach rulers as a residence and seat of government until 1918. Make sure to splurge on audio tours – they were crucial to making sense of this sprawling palace.

After some time indoors, we headed to the Nymphenburg Palace and Park. The Nymphenburg Gardens, which were influenced by French artists and architects, have a distinctly Versailles-like layout. When we arrived, we sat outside and ate Bavarian sausages, spätzle (a German version of gnocchi), and kaiserschmarrn (a large, lightly caramelized pancake that is shredded into strips and topped with powdered sugar). This delicious lunch gave us the energy we needed to explore the sprawling gardens.

We could have wandered aimlessly for hours, but our weekend was drawing to a close. We were sad to leave this friendly town with its stunning architecture, but I have no doubt that I will return to Munich the next chance I get. In the meantime I will just have to brush up on my German. Bier bitte!

Science & Technology

Car-puccino

by Iain Macdonald on

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Many people drink coffee to wake themselves up in the morning or stay focussed throughout their day. But a team of scientists from BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory have taken the term “running on coffee” to another extreme: they have built a car that runs on coffee rather than gasoline.

The modified 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco, aptly named the Car-puccino, functions just like a normal car, but instead of guzzling gas, it chugs coffee. Even though coffee might be cheaper than gasoline, it contains far less chemical energy, so the car is actually 25 times more expensive to drive than a conventional car. On average, the Car-puccino consumes more than 50 espresso’s worth of coffee beans per mile.

In order to make it run on such unconventional fuel, the car had to be heavily modified. It now features a large brown pipe running down the side, and a canister for fuel on the back. When running, the car burns the coffee to break it down to hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which are used to run the engine. The gases are liquefied before being filtered for any solid, or otherwise harmful parts. The resulting fuel is sent to the engine for burning. Unlike for humans, the caffeine in the coffee is not the most important part.

The car will be driven the 210 miles from London to Manchester for presentation at the Big Bang Science Fair. During the journey, it’s expected to use about 70 kilograms of coffee, not counting the drivers.

Arts & Entertainment, Books

Sex, violence, and more violence

by Carolyn Yates on

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Joy Fielding’s The Wild Zone begins when a personal trainer, a dishonourably discharged Afghanistan war veteran, and a Princeton philosophy Ph.D. walk into a bar and make a bet over who can sleep with the pretty, quiet girl alone with her martini. Suzy Bigelow, naturally, has secrets and an agenda of her own, and she leads them all on a wild and deadly ride which, though two-dimensional, is remarkably compelling.

Although the plot is fast-paced, the characters are flatter than a set of popped breast implants.

Jeff is bachelor number one: a moderately well-dressed guy who always gets the girl, or at least gets into her pants. He’s dating Kristin, a hot bartender who lets him sleep around, and whom he treats like crap. While he has a momentary lapse of character development, by the end of the novel he seems to have gone down an all-too-expected path.

Bachelor number two is a quiet, insecure grad student writing a dissertation on Heidegger. Unlike Jeff, his half-brother, Will never gets the girl and is bad at even trying. The most likeable of the trio, Will’s opportunity to shine is nonetheless tarnished by the indecisiveness that plagues him throughout the novel.

Bachelor number three isn’t a bachelor at all – at least, not until his wife’s divorce papers go through. Tom was dishonourably discharged from the Army after raping a young Afghan girl, and falls into an ex-army-guy mould in the worst way. He’s angry, he’s a misogynist, and he works at the Gap. Everything is everyone else’s fault.

And where the male characters are shallow and abusive, the women are too submissive, too stereotyped, and too neurotic to induce reader interest. Every single one is abused – in most cases several times – by page 48. The men have their own troubled childhoods fraught with mommy issues, daddy issues – or both. But the women are exposed to a world of horror that Fielding seems to excuse almost completely until the very end. And even that isn’t enough to make readers care about what happens to them.

Surprisingly, The Wild Zone is listed under the Gay & Lesbian fiction category – a listing that doesn’t become relevant until 98.9 per cent of the way through the book. In an ending that reads more like a sensationalized, ratings-boosting cop-out than a genuinely rewarding conclusion, readers are left wondering what just happened. For a novel filled with stereotypes, this one is the worst – and while the ending is a welcome relief in some ways and a shock in others, it is too little, too late when it comes to saving the rest of the novel.

The Wild Zone presents a world in which people are judged by the colour of their pomegranate martinis. A world where people are described by height and hair colour, not personality. A world where women are merely the punch lines to jokes by slightly drunk, very desperate men. And while Fielding seems all too familiar with this world, it’s time she grew out of it.

 

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

The Bald Soprano has some playgoers scratching their heads

by Alex Hamilton on

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Director Julien Naggar’s production of The Bald Soprano transports the audience into an absurd world that nonetheless seems strangely familiar. Playing this week at the TNC Theatre in Morrice Hall, The Bald Soprano brings TNC’s 2009-2010 season to a climactic finish with its parlour-room madness, reshaping expectations and challenging presumptions. For theatre lovers especially, seeing The Bald Soprano is a necessity – whether or not you like the play.

La Cantatrice Chauve Рtranslated from French as The Bald Soprano Рis an absurdist play written by Romanian-born Eug̬ne Ionesco, first performed in 1950 in Paris, where it continues to enjoy consistent success. The play depicts the interactions of the Smiths, a typical English couple from London; their houseguests the Martins; their maid Marie; and the local fire chief.

While the premise is banal, the play is anything but. Ionesco’s piece explores social norms, revealing their absurdity through the interactions of the characters, as well as the use of repetition and non-sequiturs. Though the play’s message is unclear, the superficiality and contradictions present in the characters’ lives reveal the meaninglessness of their existence.

The historical context of the play cannot be ignored, either. Written in the 1950s, Ionesco’s presentation of modernity can be read as a response to the societal apathy in the wake of World War Two.

The Bald Soprano is an anti-play. It challenges the conventional structure of theatre and lacks a coherent, sequential narrative. The play begins and ends with a scene of English domestic life, but between these two moments is a bizarre and otherworldly descent into an alternate universe carefully crafted by the cast and crew.

When you enter the theatre at Morrice Hall, the walls are covered with clocks all showing different times, highlighting the play’s subjective perception of time. Watching the performance, time seems to speed up and slow down intermittently. The play starts with awkward, stilted dialogue between the Smiths that makes time drag on relentlessly for the audience. But as more characters enter the scene, the lines begin to lose their coherence and the play becomes more fast-paced, even difficult to follow at times. However, it isn’t the dialogue that captures your attention in this production, but rather the physicality of the cast.

Though the character’s lines are often interchangeable, each cast member has a distinct way of speaking and moving about the stage. In a play where the replaceability of the characters is so crucial, the actors are to be commended for finding a way to make their characters distinguishable. In fact, the first few weeks of rehearsal were devoted to “prancing around,” in order to capture the essence of Ionesco’s madcap personas.

Michael Ruderman, playing Mr. Smith, was the actor that made his presence felt most. The sexual chemistry between the fire chief (Danji Buck-Moore) and Marie the maid (Lara Oundjian) was also enjoyable, though it may be a bit too much for some people to handle. Finally, James Thorton’s portrayal of Mrs. Smith is worth noting, as there was some ambiguity as to whether he was playing a gay man or a woman, which made the role more interesting to watch.

Although this production remains faithful to Ionesco’s script, many aspects of the show have been developed or modified. The staging of the play is minimalistic, using modern furniture and props appropriately suited to the piece’s postmodern themes. Modifications aside, The Bald Soprano delivers an incomprehensible yet dedicated performance. Uncontrollable laughter is really the only possible reaction to the absurdity of the cast’s onstage antics. The commitment to Ionesco’s revolutionary vision is indisputable, but the play is sure to polarize viewers into “love it” and “hate it” camps.

The Bald Soprano plays at Morrice Hall, March 17-20.

Arts & Entertainment

POP RHETORIC: Burton’s formula

by Alex Knoll on

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Tim Burton has a distinct, dark, and quirky style that puts him in a cinematic class apart from any other director. The problem is that after creating so many successful films, his new projects are always going to be compared to his earlier “glory days.” The empire he has created is subject to unwarranted, faulty criticism merely because of the expectations that he’s planted in viewers’ minds. It’s no longer a question of how good his new movie will be, but rather how Burton-esque it will be.

I realized this after seeing Alice in Wonderland. My initial reaction was that the film was okay, but it wasn’t Burton-esque enough. Most people I spoke to held similar opinions. But after further consideration, I realized this was an unfair judgement. My critique was not based on the quality of the movie – it was based on my comparison of the movie to Burton’s other work, and this type of reasoning doesn’t make sense. When we see an actor play a certain role in a movie, we shouldn’t base our analysis of their acting on comparisons to other roles that the actor has played. This phenomenon seems to happen all the time with Burton’s work. His remake of Planet of the Apes was criticized at the time for stylistic departure, but in retrospect, the film was a great success.

The question is, what exactly makes a Burton movie a true Burton movie? A hilarious College Humor parody sums it up perfectly. They poke fun at the fact that his “secret formula” – including spirals, an outcast with daddy issues, and a recycled Danny Elfman score – is becoming less secret and more expected in each movie he makes. Furthermore, he decides to take an already odd classic story and make it a whole lot creepier, while incorporating bits and pieces of his own crazy ideas as well as some not-so-original ones. Case in point: the original Alice wasn’t bizarre enough, so he added his own twists and turns, which showed similarities to at least five other fantasy movies (including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, and The Chronicles of Narnia). Next, Burton seems to use the same people in his movies, most notably Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, while musician Danny Elfman composes the scores for all his films, which usually end up sounding the same. Throw in some spiral staircases, striped costumes, white make-up, and mad-scientist-like hair, and we’ve got ourselves a new Burton movie!

The point is this: just because Burton applies the same not-so-secret formula to his movies doesn’t mean we need to compare them in order to criticize or praise them. There’s no question that Burton is clearly a creative genius who makes creative and memorable movies. And following his own formula has never made him boring¬ – because, let’s be honest, who could have done a better job reincarnating Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter?

News, SSMU

Newburgh wins SSMU presidency

by Matt Essert on

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Hillel Montreal President and former EUS and SSMU Speaker of Council Zach Newburgh was elected SSMU president on Thursday evening, narrowly edging out his competitors with 28.6 per cent of the vote. Newburgh’s margin of victory was only 1.5 per cent of the vote over AUS Senator Sarah Woolf.

“It was an extremely close race,” said Newburgh. “All of the candidates ran a tremendous campaign.”

In the other contested elections, Myriam Zaidi earned 46.7 per cent of the vote to win the position of vice-president external. Josh Abaki pulled out a victory in the VP university affairs race with 49.3 per cent of the vote-winning on a platform of a “student-centered university.” Abaki, who claimed that he was the underdog, was overjoyed with his victory.

“It’s pretty amazing,” he said. “I’m really, really glad. I didn’t think it would happen, especially after not getting the endorsements and so many things happening, but I am really glad. I think I was able to get through to students and the hard work that I’ve put in through the year has finally paid off.”

In another contested race, Tom Fabian was elected VP internal with 54.9 per cent of the vote, the highest percentage of all the races for SSMU executive positions. Fabian credited the victory to his platform of promoting athletics and expanding university social affairs, although he felt the race was hotly contested until the last minute.

“I’m speechless,” said Fabian. “Five minutes before this I was stressing out so much, I just had it in my head all day. I’m very relieved.”

In the acclaimed elections, Nicholas Drew and Anushay Kahn were approved for the positions of VP finance and VP clubs and services, with 67.8 per cent and 66.4 per cent of the vote, respectively.

Among the referenda questions, The McGill Tribune won its independence with 49.9 per cent of the vote, ensuring that the Tribune will become an independent organization funded by a non-opt-outable $3 student fee. A referendum to insert the words “bodily sovereignty” into the SSMU Constitution was also approved, with a 64.2 per cent “yes” vote. TVMcGill also secured a 50-cent per semester opt-outable fee with 50 per cent approval.

“At the bottom of our souls, we thought we weren’t going to get it, but we’re so happy we did, and we can’t wait to really make a big impact on campus next year and really make our presence felt,” said Alex Seltzer, features and series producer for TVMcGill.

“We know TVMcGill isn’t a huge organization, but this is the next step,” said Executive Producer Arthur Cormon. “It’s what we want to do to keep going and become more legitimate. This was definitely the year for this to happen, and we’re super excited. We’re not the Daily or the Tribune yet, but we’re getting there.”

In the senatorial elections, Matt Reid was elected management senator, securing 34.9 per cent of the vote in the six-candidate race.

“I feel spectacular,” said Reid. “I’m in first year now, but I’m ready to make changes. It’s a really great opportunity for me.”

Claudette van Zyl, Amara Possian and Tyler Lawson were elected as arts senators, earning 28.5 per cent, 25.3 per cent and 16.2 per cent of the vote respectively. All of the new senators were excited by their victories.

“It still hasn’t hit me yet,” said Lawson. “I’m so excited. … It’s going to be fantastic and I’m pumped. I’m just so taken aback right now.”

Andrew Doyle and Simon Liu were both elected as engineering senators. Hui Long Li and Annie Ma won 25.6 per cent and 33.6 per cent of the vote, and will serve as science senators next year. In the race for law senator, Randall Blom captured 53.6 per cent of the vote. Catherine Ready was also approved as music senator, with an 81.3 per cent approval rate in the uncontested race.

Student Life

Fashion Week Montreal

by Danielle Gannon & Brittany Rappaport on

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The 18th annual Montreal Fashion Week kicked off in style at the Marché Bonsecours last week. The festival was full of innovative fashion shows, glamorous parties, and the fifth edition of Le Showroom, in which leading designers play host to buyers from around the world. MFW also continued its campaign to encourage the use of appropriately aged, healthy models in support of the Quebec Charter for a Healthy and Diverse Body Image, launched in 2009. Meanwhile, the unspoken rules of fashion shows did not seem to apply here; the all-black rule was broken with aplomb by stylish young fashionistas in a variety of berry-coloured tights. In Canada’s unofficial fashion capital, the atmosphere was celebratory, and the breathless enthusiasm of many of the young designers was enough to warm the hearts of even the most jaded industry insider.

So’a & Kyo

After the high-art style of the TÉLIO competition, and the glitz and glamour of Barilà, the So’a & Kyo show presented an elegant practicality with its men’s and women’s outerwear collection. Since its debut in 2004, the brand has risen among the ranks of the fashion outerwear industry, and this collection was no exception. Highlights included down coats with asymmetrically structured collars, belted pea coats in a variety of jewel tones, and black wool motorcycle jackets with oversized buttons. Ever mindful of his clientele, designer Ilan Elfassy provided polished ways to combat the Montreal cold. One standout piece was a playful blue plaid mid-length coat with a high-buttoned collar. Despite the warmth of the room, the bundled-up models bounded down the runway in distressed boyfriend jeans topped with large bow headbands or soft knit berets. The models were also doing something not often seen at fashion shows: smiling. Continuing with the playful atmosphere, attendees at the show were given gift bags containing heart-shaped keychains, So’a & Kyo bike bells, and a shiny mint-green mouse pad.

The Future of Canadian Fashion: Concours TÉLIO 2010

For the second time at Montreal Fashion Week, the TÉLIO Design Competition recognized some of Canada’s best and brightest fashion students in a runway show of their own. The 25 finalists were selected from 20 participating fashion-design schools across Canada. Each finalist showcased one design on the runway in the hope of receiving one of five scholarships totalling $10,000. Sponsored by TÉLIO, one of North America’s leading textile import/export and distribution companies, the Concours TÉLIO offers aspiring Canadian fashion designers a platform to help jumpstart their careers and prepare them for the commercial realities of the fashion industry.

For the 2010 competition, students were asked to design “a uniquely modern, timeless, and authentic creation that would identify their garment as art-à-porter; the new must-have for women at a high-end retail company.” The finalists showcased their creations to the raucous applause of the audience.

In the end, the first prize of a $3,500 scholarship was awarded to Andy Hoan Nguyen of College Lasalle in Montreal. His artfully tailored, broad-shouldered black jacket evoked a Mildred Pierce-meets-Lady Gaga aesthetic. Andre Télio, President of TÉLIO, was impressed by this year’s contenders. “[They] surpassed expectations,” he said.

Dimitri Chris

The Dimitri Chris Fall/Winter 2011 collection, aptly titled “Master of the Foxhounds,” calls itself “the perfect symbiosis between the art of hunting and the art of tailoring.” The collection exuded patrician sophistication with an undeniably modern flair; herringbone hunting caps were paired with sumptuous leather gloves and chunky knit scarves, pointing the Dimitri Chris aesthetic firmly towards the future. The richly varied texture present in the collection continued with tailored wool jackets juxtaposed against knit capes and crisp white shirts worn with patent leather equestrian boots. Bow ties, sixties-inspired sunglasses, and slick, side-parted hair were reminiscent of Tom Ford’s A Single Man. It was the attention to detail that made “Master of the Foxhounds” truly special – hidden buttons, integrated scarves, reversible coats, and an abundance of knitwear married polished old-world elegance with young, urban sophistication in a collection that was truly a feast for the senses.

Denis Gagnon

Fashion Week concluded in a cascade of fringe on Thursday night as Denis Gagnon showcased his highly anticipated new collection. The show opened with a clip from the new documentary film about the designer, Je M’Appelle Denis Gagnon. Gagnon’s brilliance was woven through every piece as crochet, mesh, leather, fur, and fringe came together in his thoughtful and artistic designs. There was a Princess Leia/tribal feel to his collection, joining blacks, browns, slate, and midnight blue in his designs.

In an act of appreciation to his devoted following in this city, Gagnon ran his show twice back-to-back; his second show was the only one open to the public during Montreal Fashion Week. As line-ups of ticket-holders formed outside Marché Bonsecours, the first show concluded with a standing ovation (a rarity at Montreal Fashion Week). Yes, the dresses were at times revealing, but that’s quite alright on the catwalk – especially if your name is Denis Gagnon.

Barilà

Barilà‘s Fall/Winter 2010 collection reworked the recent pleather leggings trend in a variety of ways, including ruching, lacing, and ribbing. It appears that the legging is here to stay, albeit with more attention to design. A standout was a black, busty pleather catsuit which elicited hoots and hollers from a normally quiet audience. In addition to the pleather leggings was a curious faux-leather quilted short that embodied Barilà‘s glam-rock aesthetic.

The rock star vibe continued throughout the collection in the form of fitted blazers, cowl necks, and jumpsuits, returning trends from last year’s collections. As designer Sabrina Barilà explained, the philosophy of this collection came from staying “true to Barilà‘s essence, which encourages us to play with our wardrobe.”

Barilà‘s inspiration for the fun-loving spirit of the collection was drawn mainly from indie rock groups and the video game Rock Band. Models strutted haughtily down the runway to The Hives; one or two carried a set of drumsticks or had a flying-V guitar slung casually across her back. The show concluded in an explosion of silver confetti and lively applause as the clearly elated Barilà sisters took the runway.

Opinion

The Tribune’s 2010 winter referendum endorsements

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Eight referenda and a plebiscite question appear on the Students’ Society winter electoral ballot. After careful deliberation, the Tribune editorial board has endorsed a position on each of the questions. Our candidate endorsements appear on pages 10 & 11. Even if you choose to ignore our reccommendations, make sure you vote between now and Thursday at ovs.ssmu.mcgill.ca.

Tribune Independence

Nebulous Elections’ McGill bylaws prevent the Tribune from endorsing its own referendum question, but you can read letters from former editors on pages 8 & 15. A “yes” vote on this question would establish the Tribune as an independent newspaper, while a “no” vote jeopardizes the future of the newspaper you’re holding.

Policies on matters external to the Society: YES

This is the third consecutive year in which GA reform has been on the referendum ballot. This year’s question seeks to make it harder to consider motions external to SSMU’s normal activities, requiring a 500-person quorum and a two-thirds majority vote before an external issue can be debated at a GA. This is clearly aimed at preventing motions similar to the “Israel motions” introduced at the last two winter GAs.The Tribune feels that this motion is a step in the right direction. GAs are most useful when they set internal policy, rather than when they attempt to pass symbolic motions on divisive external issues. If we’re going to keep the GA, let’s use it for setting achievable policy directives. The Tribune is also in favour of the 500-person quorum, which would help prevent fringe groups from passing motions unrepresentative of the general student body.

Bodily Sovereignty in the SSMU Constitution: NO

While the Tribune is pro-human dignity and bodily sovereignty, we question the need for this change to the preamble. Our reasons for opposing this question are strictly in regards to concerns over vagueness and misinterpretation in the future. While changing the preamble of the Constitution in the short term might seem like a good idea, we are concerned that a ‘yes’ vote could restrict pro-life groups from exercising their right to respectful free speech. Is advocating a pro-life position fundamentally incompatible with bodily sovereignty? If so, then this change would stifle a legitimate viewpoint. SSMU proved that the current model for dealing with pro-life groups works, giving Choose Life the right to form, and then correctly taking away their club status when they acted inappropriately – so why try to fix something that isn’t broken?

Environment Fee Renewal: YES

This question seeks to renew the $1.25 per semester (opt-outable) SSMU Environment Fee, which expires at the end of this year. The Tribune strongly endorses a “yes” vote for renewal, as the funds from this fee go towards a number of student-run green services, including the Plate Club, Gorilla Composting, and a number of sustainability conferences and events. It’s also important to note that the new Sustainability Projects Fund – into which students pay $7.50 per semester – doesn’t make the Environment Fee redundant. The SSMU Green Fund can prioritize student projects that try to make day-to-day SSMU operations more environmentally friendly, while the SPF focusses on large-scale, campus-wide initiatives.

TVMcGill Funding: YES

TVMcGil’s opt-outable 50-cent fee would allow them to continue to provide resources and training for students interested in media and audio-visual production, acquire more much-needed equipment, and to produce additional content. The Tribune would like to see them continue to make strides in their programming quality and scope. We therefore endorse this fee.

QPIRG Bylaw Changes: YES

No matter how you feel about the Quebec Public Interest Research Group’s policies and politics, a “yes” vote is the only sensible choice on this referendum question. QPIRG is asking that they be able to change their bylaws at Annual General Meetings, rather than through campus-wide referendum. This is standard practice for not-for-profit organizations, and eliminates the unfair current system where students who opt-out of QPIRG’s fee can still have a say in the group’s bylaws.

WUSC Scholarship Fund: YES

The World University Service Committee receives 50-cents per semester from undergraduates to provide financial aid to refugees attending McGill. This referendum, if passed, would allow WUSC to provide financial support to students from developing countries if there are no eligible refugee students. While in an ideal world there would be more eligible refugees attending McGill, it makes no sense for this money to sit unused while there are deserving recipients who could use the assistance.

Plebiscite question: Funding the TaCEQ: YESThe Table de Concertation Étudiant du Québec is a lobby group co-founded by SSMU in 2009. While still in its infancy, TaCEQ seems to be preferable to bloated organizations like La Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), of which SSMU used to be a member. The Tribune encourages a “yes” vote so that TaCEQ can lobby to receive the provincial funding it deserves, instead of levying a student fee to finance its operations.

Constitution Section III: Yes

Students’ Society President Ivan Neilson has made restructuring SSMU committees a personal focus throughout the academic year. In keeping with this practice, this referendum would transfer Section III of the SSMU constitution – which describes the role of the Constitutional Review Committee, the Financial Ethics Research Committee, and the Nominating Committee – into the bylaws. Since all the duties of all other committees of council are found in the bylaws – which are easier to alter than the constitution – it is unclear why these committees were included in the constitution. The Tribune, therefore, unanimously urges you to vote yes on this initiative. Student Life: Yes Currently, unspent money from student fees intended for clubs and services, or unspent surpluses from those clubs or services, is automatically placed in a capital expenditures fund – which can only be used to acquire or upgrade physical assets, such as the Shatner building, furniture, or equipment. Should it pass, this referendum would reallocate money earmarked for clubs and services into a fund that can be accessed in future years to finance student projects. There is no reason that these surpluses should not go toward worthy causes including McGill First Aid Service, Drivesafe, the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students’ Society, the Green Fund, and other valued services. The Tribune unanimously supports this referendum.

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