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a, News, SSMU

School of Environment student campaigns to get seat at SSMU Council

by Catherine-Laure Juste on

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Second-year Environment Economics student Benjamin Ger is campaigning for the McGill School of Environment to obtain a seat on the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Council. While the McGill Environment Student Society (MESS) itself is not pushing for a seat, Rachel Gould, third-year Arts & Science student and one of the MESS’s presidents, noted that Ger’s actions were supported by the MESS. 

“We specifically are not [seeking a spot on SSMU Council],” Gould said. “A motivated environment student wanted to get Environment a seat on SSMU and has been taking it on. He does have Council’s full support, though.”

The School of Environment is currently represented under many different faculties, including the Faculty of Science, Arts, and Arts & Science. According to Gould, placing Environment under one banner would give the School of Environment a larger voice.

“Environment actually makes up a large portion of the student body, but not when you separate it out into all those different groups,” explained Gould. “It would be nice to have a united voice for all environment students instead of it trying to trickle down through other facilities.”

MESS’s presence on SSMU’s legislative Council will also offer another perspective on the undergraduate student body, Ger explained.

“The social, economic, and environmental equity policies we study are exactly what is needed on our campus to create a flourishing environment for all students,” he explained. “An extra seat on SSMU [Council] also gives another student a voice to comment on, help shape, and provide constructive criticism for SSMU’s actions.”

Obtaining a seat in the Council requires a fundamental change in the established principles of the undergraduate student body. According to SSMU President, Courtney Akuyuwa, the constitution would need to be amended in order to include an additional seat. 

“[There can be one] councillor appointed by each faculty or school, [if] that school is not already represented by a faculty-level student association, for every 2,000 students or part thereof to a maximum of four councillors in accordance with the procedures set out by that constituency,” Article 8.2 of the SSMU constitution reads.

The student-run initiative will not change the composition of SSMU’s staff or any financial matters. According to Ayukawa, obtaining a seat for the School of Environment would not necessarily entail eliminating another councillor’s seat at SSMU Council.

“[The outcome] depends on how the referendum question is posed and how students on campus vote,” Ayukawa said.

For the referendum question to be presented to the members of SSMU, it will require 500 signatures by January 29 for its creation. The Winter 2015 referendum period will occur in mid-March. 

Ger is in the process of fulfilling the first step in the process of obtaining a seat. 

“I have collected 200 signatures so far and need 300 this week,” Ger said. “People have been so amazing and supportive of the idea so far, so I’m not too worried; but if anybody sees me around campus and wants to sign but hasn’t yet, feel free to stop me.”

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Elections SSMU must approve the question before it is put on the ballot. The CEO’s role is to ensure that the question posed respects the referendum question rules, which are found in the constitution and bylaws. 

In addition to MESS’s support, some members of the SSMU Council have facilitated Ger’s initiative.

“Courtney Ayukawa, Ben Fung, and Claire Stewart-Kanigan [of SSMU Council] have been fantastic to work with,” Ger said. “They were open to the idea and helped me with many steps along the way. MESS is fantastic to work with and [has] been very supportive through everything.”

a, McGill, News

McGill admin endorses international student tuition deregulation at Senate

by Mayaz Alam on

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Four Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Senators moved a question on the McGill’s stance on the deregulation of international tuition fees during the first Senate meeting of 2015 last Wednesday in order to better understand the future of tuition for international students in faculties where tuition is still regulated. The Faculties of Management, Science, Engineering, and Law are currently unregulated, allowing McGill to establish a tuition supplement above required provincial fees.

Provost Anthony Masi stated that McGill is committed to deregulation. He reiterated that the administration has already gone through phases of consultation and deliberation with the broader McGill community with regards to deregulation. 

“There is a question of equity to Quebec taxpayers and a question of equity in terms of cost in education, and we try to balance those things,” Masi said. “We’ve had a position [on deregulation] for a long time. We’re not going back and re-consulting on that position [….] It’s been in all of our other behaviours for at least a decade that deregulation is the right way to go.”

According to Masi, if McGill were to begin pricing deregulated tuition for all faculties, it would have to do so with regards to the price of tuition at other Canadian, U.S., and international universities. 

“Our international students don’t choose just to come to Canada; they choose to come to McGill,” Masi explained. “The price points have to be set in relation to McGill’s [international standing].”

Masi also noted that the university intends to maintain both its socioeconomic and international diversity.

“We are committed to ensuring that people have access to McGill regardless of their financial situation,” Masi said. “We would not want to do anything in setting international rates for students that would prohibit them from coming to McGill.”

Research, innovation, experiential learning

Dr. Sarah Stroud, associate vice-principal (Research and International Relations) delivered the annual report on research and innovation and progress report on Quartier de l’innovation (QI)—an innovation district in Montreal’s Griffintown neighbourhood. Although McGill ranked third in FY2013 in  Canada in terms of gross funding and funding per researcher, Stroud acknowledged that McGill’s researchers have not been as successful at innovation compared to other Canadian universities in recent years. 

“The last three reports on research and innovation submitted to Senate have stressed the need for McGill to work differently with […] researchers, […] community partners, including investors and alumni, and [industries to] deliver knowledge, ideas, and new technologies that meet societal needs,” Stroud said.

According to Stroud, McGill researchers have been struggling to move discoveries to market. As such, McGill is attempting to create a stronger culture of innovation on campus and within the community through the QI.

“Through these initiatives, we, together with many other stakeholders within the community, are trying to create a campus culture that has a very broad understanding of innovation,” Stroud explained. “We’re working hard […] to improve coaching, experiential learning, platforms for industry engagement, and funding for innovative projects. 

a, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Sports

10 Things: Cheats N’ Hacks

by Mayaz Alam on

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  • The Chicago Black Sox

    Gambling and sports have an intricate, interwoven history, and, to this day, game-fixing is severely restricted in many parts of North America. You can fault the 1919 Chicago White Sox for that, as eight members from the team intentionally lost games to the Cincinnati Reds during the 1919 World Series in exchange for money. Cheating attempts are usually associated with trying to win, but arguably the most infamous one was all about losing.

  • SpyGate

    Although DeflateGate was sneaky, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots’ are no strangers to cheating, having videotaped the New York Jets’ defensive signals during a regular season game. The punishment was stiff—Belichick was fined $500,000, the largest possible amount for coaches, and the Patriots were stripped of their first round draft pick the following year. 

  • The hand of God

    Diego Maradona is famous for many reasons—he won two World Cups, was a successful coach, and is widely regarded as one of the best soccer players of all time. His infamy, however, derives mostly from ‘the hand of God’ incident, in which he used his left hand to score the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory against England in the 1986 World Cup semifinal.

  • Marathon faking

    In the 1980 Boston Marathon, Rosie Ruiz was the first female competitor to cross the finish line after emerging as a spectator from the crowd in the last few miles. This was not Ruiz’s first cheating attempt–she finished 23rd in the New York Marathon just months earlier after hopping on the Subway for a portion of the race. 

  • Lance Armstrong

    Despite all the positive work he has done for cancer through Livestrong, Armstrong’s legacy will forever be tarnished after he was retroactively stripped of his seven straight Tour de France titles because of multiple doping offences. Armstrong had repeatedly denied using performance-enhancing drugs before admitting  his indiscretions in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. 

  • The whack heard around the world

    In January of 1994, figure skater Tonya Harding’s ex-husband and another co-conspirator attacked rival Nancy Kerrigan during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Harding and Kerrigan had a spirited rivalry after numerous competitions. Harding was not responsible, but she was punished for conspiring to hinder prosecution of the attackers. 

  • Steroids in baseball

    Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez were all generational talents. They have all also been linked to steroid use to enhance their natural abilities. Steroid use was rampant in baseball during the past two decades, but America’s pastime is finally starting to move past a ‘roided era in its history. 

  • 9.79

    The 100-metre dash during the 1988 Summer Olympics was one of the most enthralling 10 seconds in the history of track and field. Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson stole the show with a world record breaking time of 9.79 seconds. One day later, Johnson tested positive for Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, and was subsequently stripped of his gold medal. 

  • Kid Danny

    Every year, hundreds of 12-year-old baseball players across the world travel to Williamsport, PA to play in the Little League World Series (LLWS). In 2001, Danny Almonte took the tournament by storm. Almonte struck out 62 of the 72 batters he faced and had a fastball that touched 76 miles per hour, an unfathomable number at the LLWS. Almonte also happened to be 14-years-old.

  • Spanish Paralympians

    In the 2000 Paralympic Games, the Spanish basketball team won gold in the ‘intellectual disability’ category. After the Games, however, an undercover journalist unearthed that the players had not undergone the testing needed to prove intellectual disability and 10 of the 12 were fraudulently participating. Needless to say, the Spaniards were stripped of their medals.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Bjork – Vulnicura

by Dan Moczula on

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Björk’s Vulnicura manages to pull off an admirable feat by balancing intricate production with emotive rawness. The album offers a brutally comprehensive forensic analysis of Björk’s failed relationship with famed visual artist Matthew Barney. The tracks thematically capture the slow death of a long-term relationship and gradual acceptance of loss. 

“Stone Milker” captures Björk’s futile yet hopeful attempts to restore her relationship over sweeping strings. In “Lion Song” she conveys her insecurity with a clarity and courage despite heartbreak. “Maybe he will call my name,” Björk sings over and over, trying to convince herself that her relationship is not yet over. “History of Touches” brings the listener to Björk’s bedroom as she looks at her sleeping lover and struggles to feel emotional closeness despite physical proximity.  

The album builds to the 10-minute long “Black Lake,” which combines plaintive strings and exposed vocals to finally capture Barney’s departure from Björk’s life. Björk cycles from depression (“I am one wound”) to anger (“You betrayed your own heart”) and finally to a gradual acceptance (“As I enter the atmosphere/ I burn off layer after layer”).

Sometimes the lyrics can be a little too direct: “I’m tuning my soul to the universal wavelength,” croons Björk in “Atom Dance.” However, the masterful production makes up for it, and “Atom Dance” showcases Björk’s excellent curation of collaborators with Anthony Hegary’s electronically manipulated vocals blending perfectly with Arca’s cataclysmic bass. Arca, who has worked with Kanye West and FKA twigs, makes his presence known throughout the album—the syncopated bass on “Mouth Mantra” is almost as good as Björk’s singing.

The album ends on “Quicksand,” where Björk accepts that the loss of her partner will be part of her forever: “When I’m broken I am whole/ And when I’m whole I’m broken.” This acceptance is no longer tinged with the anger earlier in the album. Björk creates an album out of emotional devastation that is personal, powerful, and highly recommended by this reviewer.

a, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

Record-breaking weekend at McGill Team Challenge

by Nicholas Jasinski on

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McGill Martlets
9th

 

 

 

 

 

 

McGill Redmen
6th

 

 

 

Ten records were broken at the 20th McGill Team Challenge at the Richard Tomlinson Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday. The indoor track meet lasted two days and is the largest indoor meet in Canada with 749 athletes representing the 21 universities in attendance. The York Lions claimed the men’s title for the fourth time since the meet’s inception, while the Toronto Varsity Blues won their first women’s title. Guelph had the highest total combined score, with 16 medals between their men’s and women’s teams.

Overall, McGill collected one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals between the Redmen and Martlets, good enough for sixth- and ninth-place finishes respectively. Third-year Assistant Coach Jim McDannald stated that he was happy with his teams’ performances.

“I thought the McGill women and men had a good showing in front of the home crowd,” he said. “A lot of tough competition from around Canada comes to the McGill Team Challenge, so the meet is a great way to see how we stack up as we head towards the championship portion of our season.”

McGill’s lone gold medal came in the men’s 4x400m relay, with freshman Ryan McClelland running first leg, followed by juniors Steven Murray from Burlington, Ontario; Vincent Parent-Pichette from St. Paul de Joliette, Quebec; and finally Javier Montalvo from Closter, NJ in the anchor leg. The team ran a blistering 3:17.99, the fastest university 4x400m in Canada this year, and just 0.16 seconds away from setting an all-time McGill team record. Parent-Pichette and Montalvo were both members of last year’s silver medal 4x400m squad at the CIS Championship, and are looking for even more this year.

“We are really proud of the men’s 4×400,” McDannald said. “With Steven [Murray] healthy and Ryan [McClelland] making an immediate impact, [the team is] hungry for the top spot on the podium.”

Strong performers from McGill included fourth-year neuroscience major Dylan Golow from Barrie, Ontario, finishing second in the pentathlon with 3,597 points. Fourth-year electrical engineering major Riley van Ryswyk of Surrey, British Columbia cleared 4.83m in the pole vault, setting a personal best and qualifying for the CIS Championships this March. His attempt was good enough for second place overall, and nearly bested the McGill record of 4.85m.

On the Martlets side, geography major Helena Reinfels from Puslinch, Ontario and accounting major Caila Kucheravy from Winnipeg both earned podium finishes. Reinfels took bronze in the pentathlon with 3,146 points in what was only her second ever university pentathlon competition. Kucheravy also came in third in the long jump with a distance of 5.63m, a personal best.

Other records broken over the weekend included six by Laval’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot from Quebec City, three in the 1000m and three in the 1500m. He won the 1000m with a sizzling 2:21.02, good enough to shatter Quebec, McGill Team Challenge, and Tomlinson Fieldhouse records, all by at least a full second. His 3:43.21 in the 1500m was good enough to again set records in the same three categories but by even larger margins. The Western Mustangs women’s 4x200m relay also set a record of 1:40.48, winning the race and qualifying for the CIS Championships.

“It’s always great to see members of the team raising their game and running personal bests,” McDannald said. “This team, the athletes, coaches and support staff work hard to help everyone reach their potential. So whether it’s a podium finish or somebody taking five seconds off their 3k time in 47th place, we are excited.”

McGill’s last home meet is on Feb 14, followed by the championship portion of the season.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Dylan Golow set the McGill team record in the pentathlon, whereas he did not. The Tribune regrets this error. 

a, Out on the Town, Student Life

Out on the Town: Experience the art of tea infusion

by Adrien Hu on

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The seductive scent of jasmine flowers steeped into liquid perfection has enchanted artists, scholars, and travellers for centuries. In East Asia, the art of tea roots itself so deeply into tradition that the simple enjoyment of the drink is incomplete without ritual. Through centuries of cultivation, the custom associated with serving tea refined with it generations of tea houses, some as aged as the traditions themselves. 

For the learned tea-goer, this rich craft is fractured by urban cafés, where often abbreviated techniques dilute the complex art into a rarity. Luckily, in Montreal, an invitation to lose oneself in antiquity has been tucked away neatly among the cobblestones of old port, personified in the form of a small tea house named Ming Tao Xuan.  

Stepping into Ming Tao Xuan is to leave one world for another. Eurocentric affluence, accented by Notre-Dame's regal elegance, blooms into an oriental orchid of cherry wood perfumed with fine silk. To the left, shelves of tea cased in intricately carved jars sit waiting behind a modest counter. On the right, an extravagant museum of tea sets, ranging from Yixing clay to crystalline glass implore one's sight to dance quicky from one display to another. Stationed between the arrangements are artfully carved tables and seats; the latter embellished by tapestry dyed in ruby, garnet, and gold.

The atmosphere offered by this particular tea house is one of reserved tradition tempted by unabashed finery. This fact is underscored by a menu which enlists an impressive repertoire of green teas, oolong, flowering teas, and herbal infusions. In a way, the booklet is a map of Asia—Gyokuro of Japan; Darjeeling, from India, Teguanyin for China. As an accompaniment to the drink, the teahouse also carries petits fours to partake in if one so desires.

In Ming Tao Xuan, the tea service elaborates upon East Asia’s ritual of preparation. First and foremost, each order of tea commands its own unique set of equipment. Some are porcelain, others clay; the list goes on, depending on the steeping time, desired temperature, and aesthetics of the ingredients. Served always on a bamboo filter tray, the waitstaff instructss and demonstrates to each customer the procedure of stepping. To begin, one is directed to examine briefly some tea leaves and aroma. The scent is light and barely noticeable; but after only a brief second’s wash in boiling water, its chaste fragrance blossoms into a luxuriant perfume. The ambrosia from this blanching is used to rinse, or ‘season’ the teacup, and is discarded before a second steeping. After being timed to perfection, the infusion is poured into the teacup, savoured first in aroma before finally swallowed to quench the thirst.

In this way, Ming Tao Xuan endeavours to guide each and every one of its clients through the time-refined art of tea tasting. For the frugal student, this experience charges six to nine dollars, the price of which includes a kettle of water for refill. Another perk unique to the shop’s collection is that every item displayed, from teas to extravagant sets, is available for purchase. When in doubt, the shopkeepers are always on site to answer any questions, no matter what length or complexity.

To some, ostensibly, the idea of linking tea with ritual is perhaps something of a platitude to a simple pleasure. To others, however, this is a bid to understand thousands of years of history and culture in its purest form. To the benefit of the latter, Ming Tao Xuan renders a small peek. It is a kaleidoscope, offering a colourful juxtaposition into the world of the fragrant, flavourful, and truly fascinating treatise on tea.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Still Alice avoids tropes, commits to stark realism

by Morgan Alexander on

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At its most basic level, Still Alice is a film about a woman with a disease. Look deeper and you’ll find a story about a woman not only fighting against a disease, but fighting to find who she really is. Deeper still, and it’s a story about love reframing itself against opposition beyond human forces. All these descriptions, however meaningful and correct, still fail to capture the true essence of Still Alice. This is not a film that resonates because of its plot or because of its take on a genre; this is a film that matters precisely because of what it is not—it is unidentifiable, uncategorical. This is not a comedy—any humour found could be derived only through off-color phrases. Nor is it a romance; any relationships known at the beginning of the movie completely fall apart, left frayed and unclear at the end. But it would be trite and untrue to call it a drama, to muddy the script and poignancy of the directing with evocations of lost lovers who rekindle in the final sunset. 

Still Alice is the ultimate representation of what the art of filmmaking is meant to do—it suspends you in a scenario so far beyond yourself but so painfully real in its emotion and imagery that you cannot help but feel connected to the characters on a level deeper than cinema seemingly allows. Dr. Alice Howland, expertly played by Julianne Moore, is diagnosed with an extremely rare form of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. For a brief 101 minutes, we watch as the vibrant Columbia University professor is overtaken by her disease and we find ourselves grieving along with a family that is not ours for the life of a woman we can never know.

Unsurprisingly, Moore remains central to every scene, with the supporting characters doing just that—supporting Moore’s superb acting and adding little intrigue of their own. Alec Baldwin is lackluster as the ‘grieving husband,’ acting more as a point of irritation for the audience in his constant denial and static reception to his wife’s illness. Kristen Stewart manages to shine as Alice’s rebellious daughter, who serves as the only one of Howland’s children worth acknowledging throughout the entirety of the film. The great irony of Stewart is her ability to evoke such strong emotion without displaying any herself, creating scenes that would leave even the hardest heart on the verge of tears while Stewart as an individual entity does little beyond following the director’s instructions.

The only failure of Still Alice is how it wastes opportunities to show character development, particularly in the eldest daughter, portrayed by Kate Bosworth. Based on the dialogue, Bosworth’s character should have been far more impacted by the discovery of her mother’s disease, yet she remained little more than a plot accessory and a minor foil to Stewart. Yet, even with this glaring flaw, Still Alice soars in its ability to hone in on one aspect—Alice’s disease—without becoming boring or repetitive. Watching Alice become consumed by her losses is heart-wrenching—the film is stark in its portrayal of Alzheimer’s progression and unrelenting in its examination of the toll this disease can have on caretakers and loved ones. The film does possess moments of beauty, but ultimately not enough to provide the movie with even the idea of hope, dedicating itself instead to the dark realism that accompanies the disease. 

Sad from beginning to end and fully lacking in climax or development beyond that of the disease, Still Alice is a film so raw in its execution that to watch it is to become part of it. Co-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland excel in creating universal nuances from minimalist moments. If you are looking to be truly engulfed by a character and an experience in its purest form, look no further than the unidealized tragedy of Still Alice.

Still Alice will be shown at various times every day at Cinema du Parc (3575 Parc). Tickets are $10 for people 13-25.

a, Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Campus Spotlight: Fit for a Cause (FFAC)

by Tiffany Le on

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It is often easy to become de-motivated in working out during the cold, dreary winter semester. Having an incentive to work out is integral to keeping healthy during the school year. Fit For A Cause (FFAC) McGill is a student organization that offers fitness classes run by volunteers. The classes are by donation and the proceeds go towards the Sun Youth Organization’s (SYO) Sports and Recreation program. These affordable programs, with a minimum $2 donation per class, are great for a student on the budget. Moreover, a growing variety of activities are becoming available, including aerobics, circuit, yoga, and more.

“My mission is to share my knowledge and passion for fitness with others, and give back to the community,” said FFAC executive Clark Wiebe. “I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy and active lifestyle, regardless of socioeconomic status and background.”

“The idea honestly came from my mom,” Wiebe continued. “I told her in conversation last year that I loved teaching fitness classes so much that I would do it for free. Then she said ‘Well why don’t you raise money for charity?’”

As of May 2014, the club is specifically committed to the SYO’s After School Nutrition program. Located on St. Urbain, SYO opened the second food bank in Canada in 1981. Today, it is a multi-service centre for the community. They provide highly personalized programs and services through education, awareness, and material assistance. The aim of the After School Nutrition program is to help the disadvantaged youth participate in sports activities. Before practices, SYO provides nutritious foods so that the kids have more energy to participate.

“At McGill, it is admittedly easy to become preoccupied with academics above all, which unfortunately sometimes comes at the expense of personal health,” said FFAC member Nickoo Merati. “Finding a balance […] has proven to be difficult; however, FFAC’s supportive and sympathetic environment has helped me stay motivated.”

Although it is quite new, the club has managed to reach over 600 McGill students and staff. For most, it is difficult to find inexpensive fitness classes close to campus. The health and fitness environment can also appear intimidating, especially without prior experience. Furthermore, the problem of scheduling regular classes is not an easy one to overcome. The FFAC hosts numerous events throughout the year. Usually located at the McGill gym, students have a chance to pick and choose which class they would like to participate in with no pressure. The FFAC likes to attach themes to the sessions—it’s quite hard to turn down a ’90s themed workout that promises to play Justin Timberlake. Often, the workshops are also cleverly timed; the FFAC hosted a welcome Halloween detox to cleanse everyone after a full night of candy-eating.

“It’s difficult for me to motivate myself to go to fitness classes,” said U1 Arts student Anis Farid. “But, if on top of the exercise it is also for a good cause, there is definitely incentive for me to go and check it out.”

The FFAC also partners with other organizations on campus to organize fitness-based charity events. Back in October, they collaborated with McGill Students for Partners in Health (PIH) and Exercise is Medicine McGill to present Strides for Solidarity, a fundraising walkathon fitness circuit. This event promoted the PIH Community Health Workers who walk great distances to serve patients.

“I am so thankful for the opportunities that FFAC has brought me,” said member Courtney Fitzpatrick, a U2 psychology student.  “This club has introduced me to an outlet for my passions of spreading health and fitness, an amazing group of people to share this enthusiasm with, and a wonderful organization to raise money and support for.”

Recently, the FFAC has reached a new milestone. They were able to reach their goal of raising $2000, donating their first cheque to the SYO. At the moment, their next goal is $20,000. The plan is to expand the classes available by introducing spinning, swimming, weight lifting, healthy bake sales, and even a donation tab on their iphone app.

According to Wiebe, his experience in the development of FFAC has taught him many things. 

“My biggest takeaway from this whole experience so far is that the work of improving people’s health and quality of life is extremely rewarding and something I want to be doing for the rest of my life,” he said. “I believe the true purpose of life is to enjoy it, and help others enjoy theirs as much as possible. This is what I am trying to do through FFAC, one event at a time.”

a, Student Life, Student of the Week

Student of the Week: Juan Estalella

by Laura Plamondon on

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To say that Juan Estalella is committed and engaged in McGill’s community is an understatement. Along with being a full-time U1 student in Management, Estalella is on the executive team of four different clubs. He is currently the marketing coordinator for the SLASummit 2015, VP Media for the International Management Association (IMA), VP Sponsorship for the Junior Hong Kong Canada Business Association, and part of the second-year team for Right to Play.

Estalella believes education, social equality, and sustainable development are the key elements to a successful future for the world. According to Estalella, the 2015 SLASummit and Right to Play enables him to combine these elements.

“The SLASummit [2015] is a social conference and case competition that will gather 150 students from South and North America to find sustainable solutions to certain problems in communities in Latin America,” Estalella explained.

Moreover, Estalella said that the hands-on experience offered at SLASummit is what he finds most appealing.

“The cool thing about this project is that the winning team will actually get the funds to go and implement the project in the community,” he said. “This event will help educate the students about the problems in Latin American communities, while creating a social project that will be sustainable in the future.”

Last summer, Estalella spent a month volunteering in India teaching in a hospital with 40 children who were HIV positive. He stated that his trip to India made a strong impact on his perception of our society’s current state and inspired him to work to change its future. 

“[Through my trip to India] I learned to value every single thing that I have,” Estalella said. “A family, good health, food, clean water, a home, and clothes are things that we usually take for granted but are unfortunately not present in everyone’s lives.”

Estalella finds his role models in the late Nelson Mandela and Spanish professional basketball player Pau Gasol.

“Mandela proved to us that we all have the power to change those rules and laws that we are not happy with,” he said. “Anyone can make a significant change in their lives and in this world. All they have to do is believe in themselves.”

“I am also a great basketball fan, and Pau Gasol is a Spanish basketball player that I have always followed and was lucky enough to meet in person,” Estelella continued. “He is a great player and also a world ambassador for UNICEF.”

Estalella’s determination to get involved in alleviating societal problems as well as his drive to create a positive change in the world is largely a result of inspiration from his grandmother, who he credits as having an immense positive change in his life.

“She passed away two years [ago],” he said. “It was the first time that I faced a family tragedy, and it was hard to keep my positive and energetic attitude in inevitable sad times. I am proud of how I managed my anger towards cancer, and how I kept a positive view on things despite this.” 

For the future, Estalella hopes to see a world where there is more collaboration and where people are more conscious of their actions.

“I want people to care more about each other instead of simply satisfying their personal needs,” he said.

What do you think is the best place on earth?

Wherever family is.

Which celebrity would you like to meet?

Bill Gates. He has a different mindset from any other successful businessman, and gives a great amount of his earnings to charities and NPO’s worldwide to improve worldwide education.

What TV series would you like to star in if given the opportunity?

I feel that I could be an interesting character in Modern Family.

Favourite food?

Eggs over easy with rice, tomato sauce, and jamón Serrano (a typical Spanish dish). Every time I have that dish it reminds me of home.

Hidden talent?

I can speak four languages fluently: Spanish, English, French, and German.

a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

Stemple Pass: A discomforting, compelling exposition

by Elizabeth McLellan on

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The VOX gallery, also known as “Centre de L’image Contemporaine,” is known for its self-reflexive art, experimenting with colour, shape, form, and technology to facilitate public discourse on the nature of image in today’s society. As a nonprofit organization,  entrance to the gallery leaves your pockets untouched, making the exhibit accessible to students and contemporary art connoisseurs alike. The subject of James Benning’s Stemple Pass exhibit, however, is somewhat less easily reached in its simplicity and rejection of the traditional narrative style that delights and entertains the modern subject. 

The visually stunning, vibrant, and complex aesthetics of the video are accompanied by little movement, sound, or diversion. While this produces a powerful piece of art, it can alienate its audience—which became visible in the restlessness of my fellow audience members. The piece consists of a single shot of a forested valley, with a lone log cabin billowing smoke in the cold months, and mountains dipped in fog emerging from behind. The cabin, a replica of the self-built cabin of Ted Kaczynski—known as the Unabomber—peaks out from behind the thick cover of foliage, characterizing the aesthetic makeup of the rest of the screen. The voice-over narration of the Unabomber’s private notebooks offer the viewer a peek into the comically disturbing world of the mind of a serial killer. 

Stemple Pass is a game of concentration. The work itself plays against the viewer, challenging us to achieve a meditative state of focus with the screen. Inevitably, it wins, staying still and silent for longer than comfortable and forcing the viewer over the cusp into distraction and fidgeting. Benning is perhaps utilizing this stillness to succinctly reflect upon duration, time, and the very human condition of restlessness. 

The calm of the image is in stark contrast to the pulsating and almost throbbing energy of the disturbing mind of Kaczynski. It is thrilling—by far the best horror film I’ve ever seen. There is comedy in the monotonous, apathetic, and deep voice delivering strange plots to kill people. The resentful anger Kaczynski emanates towards modern society—with its technology, progress, and capitalist culture—is made clear through his simplistic prose. Benning’s fascination with political contrarianism explains in part his choice of the Unabomber’s manifesto for his work, yet to distill the messy and complicated narrative to this would indeed be reductive. 

The audience’s interaction with the screen and its subject is guided by the stools situated centrally in the relatively large black room. Much like in a theatre, viewers sit in suspense, watching the screen, bound by a code of conduct. When the theatre space became empty, I felt myself freed from the laws of viewership and possibilities of interaction with the screen and surrounding space entered my mind. Although I only acted on one: Sprawling out in the vast space between the stools and the screen to get a different angled look at the display. This change, however, only made me realize the true fixed nature of the image, and it devolved from a video into an abstract painting. The image lost any cohesion, and was no longer a valley with mountains and a log cabin, but a series of colours, shapes, and disjointed sounds. 

A good painting can depict the reality of inhabiting a time and space, whether it be abstract or realist, but this video did just the opposite. In a true Italian Neorealist tradition, it captures the very essence of time and place through an unfiltered, unedited, and very real image, while resisting change for so long as to destroy any concept of setting and devolve into an abstract array, like splotches of paint on a canvas. Benning’s Stemple Pass exhibit is a must-see—even if only to view it in passing. 

Stemple Pass will be screened until Saturday, Feb. 21 at various times at VOX Centre de L’image Contemporaine (2 St. Catherine E).

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