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The Bull & Bear

What happened at the Prince Arthur Herald? P2

AN END TO THE STRIKE?

A tentative agreement was reached yesterday be-tween MUNACA and the McGill administra-

tion. In an email sent last night McGill VP Administration and Finance, Michael Di Grappa, wrote that the two parties “have agreed with a conciliator’s report that sets out the terms of a comprehensive five-year contract.”

According to a source from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), who wishes to remain anonymous at this point, the bar-gaining team has been working on this agreement since last Friday. He believes that “this is good news,” although the exact details of the agreement have not yet been re-leased.

MUNACA workers will vote

on this resolution over the next few days.

Students speaking with The Bull & Bear all share similar senti-ments of relief, for different rea-sons. One student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us, “I empathized with the protesters, although I didn’t really under-stand what their cause was, but I am happy for them to be back to work. It may seem kind of selfish, but I am happy to finally be getting my student loans.” He adds that “It is pretty clear that the agreement is going to be lose-lose. Knowing they reached an agreement, the ad-ministration must have given in to at least some of the demands. This means money is going to come out of [students’] pockets, and [there will be] less money for research, professors, and students.”

Visit bullandbear.ca for up-dates on this agreement.

MUNACA and Administration reach tentative agreeementDavid Lin and Chris Conery

Kapil Mehra | The Bull & Bear

News

The Bull & Bear

2

December 2011

Ian Burke Cameron, Lead Editorian@bullandbear.ca

Alex Pajusi Executive Editor

Ian Burke Cameron Lead News Editor

Ivan Di News Editor

David Lin Lead Opinion Editor

Jessica Simmonds Opinion Editor

Kristine Pinedo Lead Lifestyle Editor

Chris Conery Lifestyle Editor

Kunal Shah Photo Editor

Manuella Djuric Advertising Director

Michaela Hirsh Ad Coordinator

Sean Alex Finnell Online Editor

Michael Horowitz Layout Editor

Olivia Siu Marketing Director

Rodion Gusev Special Advisor

Staff WritersElana CipinDann BibasTarun KoshyDan SorekDan NovickAndrea ZhuYina ZhouApril WuSameer RizviMax WaterousAlvira RaoChristian SullivanSiddharth Mishra

Photographers: Amélia CoutureHolly SherlockKapil MehraJordana CohenNicole Himelfarb

The Bull & Bear is an editorially au-tonomous newspaper published by the Management Undergraduate So-ciety of McGill University. Editorial opinions expressed in the Bull & Bear are the sole responsibility of the Bull & Bear’s Editorial Board, and are not nec-essarily those of the University, MUS or their officers. The Bull & Bear is not re-sponsible for the delivery of any goods or services sold or advertised through its sponsors or Business Directory and is not liable for loss or damage of what-ever nature and extent resulting directly or indirectly from any use of the infor-mation made available by the newspa-per and sponsors.

The Bull & BearMass Resignations at Prince Arthur Herald

The Prince Arthur Her-ald, an online Cana-dian student newspa-per founded by two

McGill students, has come under public fire in the past week for two pieces published on No-vember 16 and 18. The backlash from the pieces has seen the res-ignation of a significant portion of the Herald’s staff, including four of seven section heads and many contributors.

The piece that has drawn the most attention has been an article entitled “Same Sex Adop-tion is not a Game.” The article was written by Rick Fitzgibbons, a Pennsylvania-based psycholo-gist and adjunct professor at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. While the opinion expressed in the piece – that the adoption of a child by a same-sex couple is detrimental to that child’s devel-opment – is not that of the edi-torial staff of the Herald, many of those resigning expressed their discomfort with the decision of the managing editor, Rebekah Hebbert, to post the piece.

One former writer, speak-

ing with The Bull & Bear on the condition of anonymity, stated that they were “disappointed and offended by the content of the article,” and went on to question the integrity of the editorial pro-cess that saw the piece published.

The remaining editors, how-ever, defend the publication of

the piece. Prince Arthur Herald co-founder Brendan Steven ex-plained that the Herald was and is intended to “provide a home for all of those viewpoints which otherwise were not being given a full airing on campus.”

The resigned staff members, however, do not agree. A num-ber of former contributors were clear in their distinction between the right to free speech and the

realm of fair comment. One for-mer editor told The Bull & Bear that respecting free speech did not obligate the publication to affiliate itself with pieces of this nature, saying, “Some segments of the Herald had a conception of the Herald as offering a plat-form for alternative viewpoints

that aren’t expressed elsewhere; others thought there should be a limit to that.”

Steven, in response to such comments, stated that, “There is not an insignificant number of people who hold the author’s view…I feel as academics, as university students, we have to give all opinions a fair hearing, to make judgements about their value, and to engage with them

honestly. It’s important that, as students, we absorb it, that we encounter it.”

Fitzgibbon’s piece was pub-lished by the Herald through a syndication agreement with Mer-catornet, a website dedicated to “reframing ethical and policy de-bates in terms of human dignity.” The article has also drawn fierce criticism from readers, register-ing 59 comments on Facebook, all but a few of which condemn the article.

Despite this, the article had registered 698 “likes” by Tues-day night – more than twice the number registered through Mer-catornet. This makes the article one of the most popular pieces in the Herald’s substantial collec-tion.

While the mass resignations have left the Herald with a sig-nificantly smaller staff, they con-tinue to operate as before, and its management has been quick to fill some vacant positions. In the wake of such controversy, the editorial board has put in place a slightly more rigorous vetting process for all articles, though their intention to provide a me-dium through which many opin-ions can be heard remains intact.

Ian Burke CameronLead News Editor

Controversial articles cited as reason for significant staff departure

“As university students, we have to give all

opinions a fair hearing”

Always Online. bullandbear.ca

News

The Bull & Bear

3

December 2011

Ian Burke Cameron, Lead Editorian@bullandbear.ca

Principal Heather Munroe-Blum Addresses McGill Senate

Following the tuition hike demonstrations and the entrance of riot police into the McGill

campus on November 10th, an hour of November 16th Senate session was devoted to discuss-ing the aftermath of these events and the Administration’s plan of action. The session began with Principal Heather Monroe Blum addressing and apologizing to the McGill community regard-ing the events of November 10th, stating, “It is very clear that it was a very troubling day, and we are all dismayed by what transpired on our campus. Help us regain balance as a university and work together as a healthy, safe, and secure community.”The session then proceeded to allow sena-tors to have an open discussion. Senator Tom Acker noted that, “Students no longer feel safe. The fundamental problem is the lack of trust – a severe distrust of the McGill administration. How are students supposed to feel safe on a campus where their voices are not valued or heard?”Issues were also raised concerning the Mc-Gill security. “I was in the James Administration Building (while

the riot police entered to usher both the occupiers and staff out of the building) and nobody was informed. We need set proce-dures to deal with sudden crises, in order to avoid becoming sit-ting ducks in a far more serious

situation,” commented Senator Haley Dinel.

Matthew Crawford, identi-fying himself as one of the fifth floor occupiers, added, “The se-curity play a role that is integral to this university. They cannot at

any point lay hands on students. They must give their names and licenses. They cannot wantonly call the police when a clearly peaceful demonstration is going on. Their interaction with stu-dents must remain a tone that is protective, not cruel.”

However, not all members of the gallery agreed with Sena-tor Crawford’s claim of a “peace-ful demonstration”. Professor Anthony C. Masi, the provost, recounted the situation inside the James Administration Build-ing. “People may turn their backs on the truth, but women in the office were pushed and shoved and filed incident reports. Many people were trapped in the stair-ways and couldn’t get out be-cause of the human chain, not because of the police.” The Pro-vost’s account was met with cries of “Lies!” from the gallery and student gatherers yelling “Shame on McGill!”

Despite this interlude, the gallery unanimously expressed appreciation of the We Are All McGill event on Monday, No-vember 14th. Professor Darin Barney of the Faculty of Arts sug-gested that the administration initiate a process whereby James Square is renamed Community Square and that November 10th

shall be recognized as Freedom Day at McGill, in which we re-member the events of that day and recognize the importance of dissent, freedom of speech, and opposition of violence on cam-pus.

The administration has un-dertaken several processes to of-fer support and allow students to share their experiences. Principal Blum announced a live webcast session, in which she will address any questions regarding Novem-ber 10th submitted to her by the public. She has also asked the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dan-iel Jutras, to conduct an indepen-dent internal investigation re-garding the events in and around the James Administration Build-ing on November 10th. Principal Munroe Blum calls upon all fac-ulty and students to contribute to Dean Jutras’ inquiry, and notes that his report will be made pub-lic and open to discussion.

With regards to the inves-tigation that Dean Jutras has to undertake, several senators expressed reservation that this investigation will be enough to reckon the events of the 10th. “The investigation is a good start but it is certainly not the end,” one Senator concluded.

April WuNews Writer

Hour-long discussion exposes heightened tension between student representatives and McGill Administration

Principal Heather Munroe-Blum addresses the senate.

Photo courtesy of lapresse.ca

“It was a very troubling day, and we are all dismayed

by what transpired on our campus”

McGill Deemed Financially Stable by S&P

Last Monday, Novem-ber 21st, Standard and Poor’s issued a press release reaffirming their

“AA -” rating on McGill Univer-sity’s long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt with an outlook of “stable.” The AA- rat-ing suggests that McGill has a “very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments.” The AA rating is the second highest rating S&P issues to institutions and it differs from the highest rat-ing, AAA, by only a small degree. These ratings reflect the institu-tion’s ability to fulfill its long-term debt obligations, which is an indicator of the institution’s financial health and viability.

According to S&P credit analyst Paul Judson, “The ratings reflect our opinion of the univer-sity’s excellent student demand and research profile, and good and consistent government sup-

port.” The report finds that Mc-Gill has superb selectivity – its first-year acceptance rate (per-centage of applicants accepted to the freshman class) in fall 2010 was 45%, which was con-sistent with previous years and is the lowest among its Canadian peers, except for Queen’s Univer-

sity. S&P also granted McGill a “stable” financial outlook, condi-tional on the credit agency’s ex-pectations that “McGill’s student demand and research profiles will remain strong and that gov-ernment funding will not dimin-ish within the two-year rating ho-rizon,” as well as the expectation

that McGill will recover from the financial crisis and generate a “modest surplus” in the medium term. A failure to satisfy these expectations may cause S&P to downgrade their current ratings.

McGill retains its strong link to the Quebec Government. In the fiscal year of 2011 (the 11

months ending April 30, 2011), about 38% of the university’s revenues came from grants from the Province of Quebec. The province is also responsible for the funding and administration of $566 million of debt that Mc-Gill has issued. In the same fiscal year McGill received more than

$680 million in research grants, a third of which came from the federal government. However, one reason for McGill’s high rat-ings is the university’s “greater tuition-setting autonomy and moderate debt [levels],” indicat-ing that part of the university’s financial viability lies in its abil-ity to flexibly alter its tuition rates to accommodate changes in the economy. The fact that a large portion of McGill’s fund-ing comes from the provincial government is also a potential threat, as a relatively undiversi-fied revenue stream compared to McGill’s rated peers, coupled with a history of operating defi-cits constrain ratings.

S&P gave McGill a similar ranking compared to its Cana-dian peers. Comparable univer-sities include UBC (AA+/stable outlook), Queen’s University (AA+/negative outlook), Uni-versity of Toronto (AA/nega-tive outlook), and University of Western Ontario (AA/negative

outlook).S&P’s credit ratings provide

a relative ranking of an issuer’s creditworthiness, with issuers of a higher credit rating being judged by the agency to be more creditworthy than an issuer of a lower credit rating. S&P defines the term creditworthiness as “the question of whether a bond or other financial instrument will be paid off according to its contrac-tual terms.” The rating methodol-ogy takes into account primary and secondary credit factors. The foremost primary credit factor is the issuer’s likelihood of default, which is defined as the issuer’s capacity and willingness to pay. An issuer of a high credit rating, such as McGill, is unlikely to de-fault on its debt. One secondary credit factor is credit stability; an issuer of high credit stability is less sensitive to macroeconomic shocks that may deteriorate its capacity to meet its financial ob-ligations.

David LinLead Opinion Editor

McGill has a “very strong capacity to meet its

financial commitments”

Monthly Markets

The Bull & Bear

4

December 2011

Ivan Di, Editorivan@bullandbear.ca

The Great Currency Debate: A Reality Check

Chimerica,” a term coined by the famous historian, Niall Fer-guson, in his book

The Ascent of Money, illustrates the incredibly codependent rela-tionship between US and China. China supplies the US with cheap goods, at the same time China supplies the US with the money to buy these goods. Although it may seem smart on China’s part, China actually foregoes a higher domestic standard of living for its own people, since it has to pay higher prices for imported goods due to its undervalued Renmin-bi. China has been consistently devaluing its currency in order to maintain its export advantage, and it does so by buying excess amount of foreign currency and selling the RMB on the foreign exchange market. The result, a huge foreign currency reserve which leads to high domestic inflation in China. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, China became the scapegoat for the high unemployment rate and massive trade deficits. The Re-publican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, basically signaled during the presidential debate that he would lead a trade war with China by “launching a com-bative relationship with Chinese leaders and attack their currency and trade policies.” The inevita-

ble question here is: Who is be-ing unreasonable, US or China?

There are currently two main opposing arguments re-garding China’s devalued cur-rency in the US. One of them emphasize on price competi-tion with cheap Chinese goods, which hurts American producers and destroys jobs. The other one focuses on the benefit of being able to purchase Chinese goods

at a price that is much cheaper than otherwise produced do-mestically. Realistically, neither argument is correct by itself.

The Yuan was pegged to the Dollar at a low exchange rate un-til 2005. On one hand, Chinese goods are cheap for those buying with the Dollar, but on the other hand it is very expensive to buy Dollar-based goods with Yuan. No wonder why Chinese im-ports are low and exports high. But the undervalued RMB is only a small portion of the cause of the US trade deficit and high unemployment. The root of the problem is structurally built into the American economy. A trade deficit with China is mainly at-tributable to the lack of public

and private savings in the US. The current nine percent unem-ployment is caused by the hous-ing market collapse and the lack of investment in productivity for long-term economic growth. If the fundamental structural prob-lems are masquerading as an undervalued RMB causing un-employment and trade deficits, then pressuring China to revalue its currency in order to fix the

problems in the US is basically equivalent to prescribing extra strength Tylenol to treat brain cancer. Unfortunately with the election coming up, and with un-employment as the number one issue, candidates must use what-ever tools at its disposal to appeal to voters. It seems that any argu-ment that proposes solutions for job creation is good politics, whether it be true or not.

China has its own argu-ments are well. Inflation in Chi-na is a major issue and one that could be eased with the apprecia-tion of the RMB. However, Chi-nese officials pointed out that reducing domestic inflationary pressures would require a sharp increase in RMB’s appreciation

in the short term. What this will do is catastrophic. A sharp RMB appreciation will lead to a sharp decline in exports and rise in un-employment. The damage here outweighs the benefit. Therefore, the Chinese government target-ed a tightening policy instead.

The reality is that RMB has appreciated by more than 30 percent through a managed float since it was depegged from

the Dollar. On June 19th 2010, China announced that the RMB would be pegged to a basket of currencies including the Euro, the Yen, and the British Pound. Since then, China has allowed it currency to steadily appreciate by 0.5% a month due to contin-ued pressure coming from the US and its other trading part-ners to ease its currency policies. Since 2009, RMB has appreci-ated against the Dollar by 17 percent in real terms, 4 percent nominal. The market expects a 4.5 to 5.5 percent appreciation in RMB against the Dollar in 2011; RMB has already appreciated 3.35 percent since January.

But wait, let’s back up a bit here. Have we forgotten how

dependent we are on China for economic recovery? It just seems ridiculous for the US to spark a trade war with its largest coun-terparty during a time of global economic slowdown. China’s secretary general, Wei Jianguo, said that rapid appreciation of the RMB would slow exports in 2012, during a time when global economy is already experienc-ing huge decline in output. Also, how much does the RMB appre-ciation really help the US econo-my, other than making its foreign debt burden even heavier? While the US is fixated on its own stance for RMB revaluation, Eu-rope has a different stance. Dur-ing the G-20 meeting, European officials are reluctant to place too much pressure on China’s cur-rency policies as they have been trying to persuade China to in-vest in the rescue fund. Chinese officials, too, have expressed that Europe’s debt crisis is the prior-ity.

The two sides of the great currency debate both have its merits. But the fact of the matter is, China is an important contrib-utor to the current standard of living that we enjoy. Is the blame on China for our trade deficits and unemployment problems justified? This question can only be answered with an unbiased introspective examination of the US economy.

Fei QuiMarkets Writer

Pacific Rim Economies Meet in Hawaii

This past November leaders from the Pacific Rim gathered for the annual Asia-Pacific Econom-ic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hawaii. Given the current pre-carious state of the global econ-omy, the primary issue on the agenda was to seek a free trade deal, with APEC countries hop-ing that by lowering trade barri-ers they would foster growth in the region and thus help counter-act the slow economic situation present in many other parts of the globe. Below are a few high-lights of this year’s summit, but before that, some background knowledge:

Established in 1989 to re-spond to the growing interde-pendence of pacific economies, APEC’s goals are to facilitate sus-tainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region by promoting market liberalization and eco-

nomic cooperation between its members. Since its inception, it has grown to 21 member coun-tries, which, according to the 2010 Kyoto Report on Growth Strategy and Finance, represent 54% of world GDP and 44% of

world trade. With those statistics in mind, it’s apparent that the re-gion can play a significant role in improving the global economic situation; as Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak said, “[the Pacific Rim economies] have an enormous responsibility for supporting the wider world, a responsibility that no one nation

could seek to carry alone...”US president Barak Obama

announced the broad details of his administration`s proposed free trade zone known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with the hope that by lowering

barriers and strengthening intel-lectual property laws the TPP can increase US exports and world trade. So far there have been 8 countries involved in the negotiations, with Japan and Mexico expressing interest to join the discussions.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also expressed

interest in joining the TPP af-ter engaging in side talks with Obama in Honolulu, highlight-ing the importance of Asian economies to Canada. In addi-tion the two leaders discussed the Alberta to Texas Keystone

XL pipeline issue, with Harper expressing disappointment in the US’s delay of the 7 billion dollar project, and further saying that the delay will cause Cana-da to look to the far east to sell their energy products. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty repeated the same warning, say-ing, “We’ve got to go where the

trade is...we have great friends in the Asia-Pacific community and this is a tremendous opportunity in the long-term...” Currently the United States consumes es-sentially all of Canadian energy exports according to Natural Re-sources Minister Joe Oliver.

Not surprisingly, the issue of exchange rates also came into focus during the summit, with Obama telling Chinese President Hu Jintao that many American businesses were growing “in-creasingly impatient and frustrat-ed” with the current situation. Representatives from the 21 member organization said that they will refrain from competi-tive currency devaluations, and APEC finance ministers released a statement showing their intent to “move rapidly” towards mar-ket based exchange rate systems.

Magrid AwadMarkets Writer

China actually forgoes a higher domestic standard of living for its own people.

The primary issue on the agenda was to seek a free trade deal.

Monthly Markets

The Bull & Bear

5

December 2011

Ivan Di, Editorivan@bullandbear.ca

Stock Pitch: Telefonica

About TelefonicaTelefonica is a Spanish di-

versified telecommunications group and it is the largest Span-ish multinational company by market capitalization. Telefonica is present in 25 countries with a significant presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America. Telefonica provides both fixed and mobile telephony services through its telecommunications networks and it is the 5th big-gest telecommunications group in the world. Telefonica has a strong brand name and was se-lected by Fortune magazine as the most admired Telecommuni-cations company world-wide.

Recent DevelopmentsTelefonica recently expand-

ed on its position in the Chinese market through its alliance with China Unicom and acquired a further $500 million dollars’ worth of China Unicom bring-ing its total holdings in China Unicom to 9.7%. Telefonica also strengthened its position in Latin America. It purchased

$760 million dollars’ worth of Vivo, giving it full control Vivo. Vivo is Brazil’s biggest mobile phone company. Besides fortify-ing its position in emerging mar-kets, Telefonica also saw its rev-enue grow by a solid 5.4% y-o-y and free cash flow in the first 9 months also grew by 11.6% y-o-y.

Investment ThesisAs the title of this article

suggests, the rationale for buy-ing Telefonica is that it is suffer-ing from European valuations whilst it can at the same time benefit from growth in emerging markets. The markets have heav-ily punished Telefonica because its main domicile is Spain which is suffering from debt problems and economic instability. Tele-fonica has a Price/Earnings ratio

of 2.19 while the industry average is 11.29. It is also trading close to its 52 week low of $16.89.

However, when we dig deep-er, we realize that Spain only ac-counts for 28% of its sales, with more than two thirds coming from overseas markets. By re-gion, Latin America is actually the biggest contributor to key

financial metrics. For example, Latin America accounts for 46% of Telefonica’s sales and it is the region that is driving growth for Telefonica. The Latin American subsidiary of Telefonica experi-enced a record number of cus-tomer additions, 4.9 million, in the third quarter 2011. This is an improvement of 160% over the same quarter last year. By bolstering its position in China and Latin America, Telefonica is

banking on rapid growth in these emerging markets to counter any possible slowdown in Europe. However cash flows of telecom-munications companies are usu-ally resistant to adverse effects caused by economic difficulties as telco services have low elas-ticity in demand. Hence the risk that Telefonica will face signifi-

cant revenue contraction in Eu-rope is low.

Given its attractive valu-ations and growth prospects there is still one major risk that Telefonica faces: its debt lev-els. It is one of the most heavily leveraged companies in its peer group. It also has the lowest ra-tio of Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) to long term debt. What this means is that it would

take the most time among the major Telco companies to pay off its debt if its operating in-come was devoted solely to that purpose. To illustrate, Vodafone could completely pay its long term debt in just over half a year. However, with the low interest rate environment likely to persist in Europe, Telefonica will benefit from lower debt repayments. It can also roll-over existing debt to take advantage of the lower inter-est rates.

In short, The European debt crisis has presented several ben-efits to Telefonica such as lower interest rates and a weaker cur-rency. With the bulk of its rev-enues coming from overseas markets, even the scenario of a weaker Euro currency is ben-eficial to Telefonica as its profits will be boosted from currency conversions. The Euro crisis has hurt its valuations as Telefonica has tumbled along with the Euro indices. However the market has overreacted and presented us with an attractive opportunity to buy into a stable company with attractive growth prospects in emerging markets.

Siva Shanmugam Thangavelu

European valuations with emerging markets growth

China Reluctant to Participate in the EFSF & Fund the Eurozone Bailout

Following the G20 Sum-mit on Financial Mar-kets and the World Economy that took

place in early November (3rd – 4th), doubts are rising as to whether the Chinese are willing to produce funds and purchase Eurobonds, thus helping with the bailout of the Eurozone.

The European Financial Sta-bility Facility (EFSF), created on 9 May 2010, is a “special purpose vehicle” financed by members of the Eurozone to combat the European sovereign debt crisis. Having already made one of the largest contribution to this fund (€89.7 billion), France and its President, Nicolas Sarkozy, have been urging the Chinese to agree to contribute to this proposed €1 trillion EFSF firewall.

According to Sarkozy, Chi-na has “60 percent of global re-serves” and should invest in the euro rather than the US dollar. Sarkozy, who is standing for a

further term as president next year, has portrayed himself as the best leader to reduce France’s sovereign debt.

Prior to the summit, the Chinese finance minister, Zhu Guan, said: “There are no con-crete plans yet, so it’s too early to talk about further investments in these tools.” With €2.4 tril-

lion in foreign exchange reserves – roughly a quarter of which are believed to be held in euros – China is being asked to con-tribute between €40 billion and €80 billion to the EFSF or a new special purposes vehicle fund set up under its auspices in collabo-ration with the IMF.

The Chinese government,

although a firm believer that this rescue fund, already part of China’s portfolio, is an “impor-tant tool” with which to address the sovereign debt crisis, is vis-ibly skeptical as to the amount it is willing to contribute, if any at all. Vice Finance Minister Zhu said that it is too soon to discuss bond purchases from

the EFSF, as there is not yet any concrete proposal for the future structure of the EFSF. If any-thing, the postponement of the EFSF’s EUR3bn suggests it will be challenging just to convince countries such as China and Ja-pan to continue buying bonds issued by the EFSF as possible increased leverage in EFSF also raises questions about the credit quality of the EFSF.

Evidently, the falling credit ratings of the very many Euro-zone countries, in particular, Greece’s recent drop to CC by Standard & Poor’s, has destroyed any Eurozone optimism that previously existed. As stock in-dices drop across the European board, Chinese investors (and government) find it increasingly feasible to invest in Eurobonds, participate in the EFSF, and fund the Eurozone bailout.

Sameer RizviMarkets Writer

Spain only accounts for 28% of its sales, with more than two thirds coming from

overseas markets

Chinese investors

find it increasingly feasible to invest in

Eurobonds

News

The Bull & Bear

6

December 2011

Ian Burke Cameron, Lead Editorian@bullandbear.ca

Dean Jutras Speaks of his Internal Investigation

Following the events of November 10th, Prin-cipal Heather Mun-roe-Blum sent out an

email to the McGill community announcing that Daniel Jutras, Dean of Law, would undertake an independent investigation with the aim of “review[ing] what happened” and “mak[ing] appropriate recommendations regarding practices, processes and policies within McGill Uni-versity’s control and jurisdic-tion.” The deadline for the final report is December 15th.

Dean Jutras began collect-ing testimonies last week, and will continue to do so as long as necessary within his time con-straints. In an interview with The Bull & Bear, Dean Jutras said that the investigation process was go-ing well so far, and that he has been receiving statements – both oral and written – from “very

diverse” groups. “I’ve received representations from all groups – staff, students, professors, ad-ministrators…and I expect it to continue,” he said.

When asked about the find-ings of his investigation thus far, Jutras responded that the infor-mation was to be kept completely confidential until the publication of the official report. However, based on his investigation hith-erto, he does feel that the report will benefit the McGill commu-nity as a whole. “Knowing the truth and avoiding multiple sto-ries and representations going in divergent directions would help the community,” he said, “[It’s] a statement that I’m hoping will be viewed as impartial and truth-ful… a story [that the commu-nity] can rely on.”

Some, including members of the senate, have questioned Dean Jutras’ leading role in the investigation, as he is integrally linked to the administration. When asked whether he feels

that students’ involvement in the investigation might have helped make it more balanced, Jutras re-sponded that that was not a ques-tion for him to address. “I am not doing this as a member of the administration. I am doing this as a member of the McGill com-munity,” he explained.

At the moment, Jutras’ man-date does not include forming an implementation plan following the publication of the report on December 15th. The objective of his task is to produce a “fact-finding report containing appro-priate recommendations about how we can move forward and avoid the risk of a recurrence,” he stated.

Dean Jutras encourages stu-dents, staff, administration and any other members of the Mc-Gill community to continue con-tributing statements. The more statements he receives, the more holistic a report he will be able to produce.

Alvira RaoNews Writer

Dean of Law urges students and staff to come forward with testimonials

CASCO Raises Thousands for Montreal Children’s Hospital

The annual charity event hosted by Com-merce and Admin-istrations Student

Charity Organization (CASCO) was put on Friday November 18, raising thousands of dollars for the construction of the new Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The event, themed “A Night at the Movies,” was held in the spacious Telus Theatre, with on-stage performances pay-ing tribute to movie scenes and soundtracks. The showcase kicked off with a singing num-ber by Effusion A Cappella, and continued with choreographed dances by McGill’s dance troops and volunteer dancers. Estab-lished groups, such as Urban Groove, Dance Pack and Mosa-ica put on compelling dance rou-tines. Brosaica, a group made up of dedicated Frat Brothers from the Alpha Psi Chapter, brought chanting and shouts of “I’m so excited” for their humorous per-formance to the stage, featuring lip-syncing to some movie fa-vourites such as Lion King and Titanic.

CASCO committee mem-bers welcomed their guests all

dressed in black, with their hair and make-up done by one of the sponsors, Aveda. People were then ushered into the smoky downstairs area where there were opportunities to bid on si-lent auction items donated by sponsors, as well purchase raffle tickets. The MC’s drew many prizes throughout the show. Mc-Gill ghetto restaurant, Lola Rosa, was the biggest silent auction and raffle donor, with a cumula-tive retail price of $750 in give-aways.

The money raised for CAS-CO is to go towards building the new Montreal Children’s Hospi-tal. One of the biggest construc-tion projects in Quebec, its goal is its linkage to the adult hospital. A representative from the Chil-dren’s Hospital explained that this would offer a kid-friendly environment, smooth transition and information sharing across hospitals, which would make it “The most modern and efficient hospital in Montreal.”

In attendance was CASCO founder Tuan Nguyen who told the crowd, “We’ve done over a million for charity.” CASCO was founded in Ottawa 12 years ago by Nguyen as a charity for busi-ness students to apply the skills learned in class to raise money for

a good cause. It has since spread to Montreal, as well as globally to Brazil and Amsterdam.

“Parents help us keep going,” said Nguyen, who continued, “The more parents come out, the more sponsors come.” Although the audience was made up of a majority of students, there were many parents of performers in the crowd. The corporate spon-sors were an important part of the show, with their logos dis-played all around. Each perfor-mance was sponsored by a dif-ferent clothing brand, and the entertainers could be spotted fashioning the trends, with many of the labels still on.

Although the money is still being settled, it can be estimated that around $15,000 was raised. Although they were hoping to make more, they had trouble meeting goals due to receiving less financial support from the MUS Corporate Relations Team.

A few years ago CASCO made a $100,000 pledge over seven years, and in the first two years raised $54,000. This mon-ey will fund exam room in New Children, and because of CAS-CO’s continuing commitment, the room will be named after CASCO McGill.

Elana CipinNews Writer

Daniel Jutras, Dean of Law

Photo courtesy of McGill University

Performers on stage at CASCO: A Night at the Movies.

Photos courtesy of Majd Steitieh

Lifestyle

The Bull & Bear

7

December 2011

Kristine Pinedo, Lead Editorkristine@bullandbear.ca

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BYOB: A Glimpse at l’Academie’s Business Model

George Cagianos, owner and founder of L’Académie, one of Montreal’s most

popular restaurants, shares his success story with The Bull & Bear. Over the years, L’Académie has become firmly embedded in Montreal’s culture, expanding to serve avid diners at eight loca-tions across the city and its out-skirts.

Cagianos’ road to success was paved with double shifts, sweat and hardships. Having emigrated from Greece to Can-ada, he was faced with the deci-sion of continuing his studies in medicine or embarking on a new career path. Due to the lan-guage barrier, he estimated that it would take him close to ten years to complete the program. As he did not have the financial means to pursue his medical de-gree, he took on various jobs as a dishwasher and cook while wait-ing to “see what the future would bring.” Cagianos’ time in the restaurant industry earned him a managerial position at Armanda, a restaurant in Rosemère, and eventually led to his personal high-end Italian venture, Mis-tral, in 1981. In the early 80s, the bring-your-own-wine model for restaurants grew in popular-ity. As Mistral operated as a tra-ditional alcohol serving restau-rant, it could not survive, and so, L’Académie was born, taking full advantage of the BYOW model.

Interestingly enough, Cagianos actually named the restaurant with the help of a police officer.

As is common for business-es, it was difficult to establish a trustworthy, reputable brand im-age, especially since advertising costs were not part of his budget. He could only rely on word-of-mouth advertising, which in his opinion “is the best kind.” To dif-ferentiate L’Académie from tra-ditional higher-end restaurants, Cagianos chose “minimalistic decor, nothing too extravagant.” At the time, this decor matched the novelty of the BYOW model.

Half of the L’Académie res-taurants are managed by operat-ing partners, with the other half being under his direct control. Cagianos considers himself lucky to have found the right people to help supervise his growing em-pire; however, he notes that “this did not happen overnight.” All of his operating partners came from within his establishment; those who “started from scratch as cooks and waiters”, learn[ed] the business” and if they proved themselves capable, were then promoted to a managerial posi-tion.

About a year ago, Cagianos launched the fast-food version of his restaurants, a new project which he calls L’Académie Ex-press. He wanted to try out a sim-pler business model compared to the sit-down version which re-quires substantial overhead and a fleet of around 70 employees. L’Académie Express, located in Carrefour Laval, only serves part

of his menu. Cagianos states that the two groups of target custom-ers are driven by different needs. Those who frequent L’Académie view it as “a dining destination.” They plan ahead because a trip to L’Académie represents an outing. Indeed, during the interview, reservation phone calls rolled in every five minutes. In contrast, those who go to L’Académie Ex-press are driven by hunger, stop-ping for a meal after spending hours at the mall. As a result, the new fast-food version will not tarnish L’Académie’s brand im-age or cannibalize sales.

Due to their consistently delicious food and pleasant ser-vice, L’Académie seems to be do-ing relatively well compared to other fine dining restaurants de-spite the recent recession. Other restaurants with liquor licences typically charge three times the price for a bottle of wine. There-fore, by allowing his customers to bring their own wine, Cagianos argues that it is as if “the meal is free.” With that kind of value of-fered to customers, it is no won-der that L’Académie received the Consumer Choice Award every year from 2006 to 2011.

Cagianos embodies the self-made man; someone who had an idea and was not afraid to try it out despite the sacrifices it would take. Instead of opening a Greek restaurant and remaining in his comfort zone, he decided to ven-ture into the unknown complexi-ties of French and Italian cuisine, a bold leap of faith that has un-doubtedly paid off.

Yina ZhouLifestyle Writer

l’Academie’s Crescent Street Location.

Amelia Couture | The Bull & Bear

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Above, frosh participants at a party at the PKP house. Below, Zeta Psi members participate in CASCO and Right to Play Spinathon.

Photo by Simon Aharonian

Photos courtesy of Zeta Psi fraternity

Lifestyle

The Bull & Bear

9

December 2011

Kristine Pinedo, Lead Editorkristine@bullandbear.ca

Many of us came to McGill at least partly because so-cial life exists here

outside of the structured “Greek” system that is so popular at Amer-ican universities. Much of this is largely due to the legal drinking age of twenty-one which limits American students from partak-ing in the kinds of activities that represent a normal Thursday or Friday night for most of McGill: going out to clubs and bars.

Despite this difference in social cultures, there is still a large Greek presence within our faculty. In fact, present and past fraternity members include a Management Senator, MUS VP Internal, VP Academic, VP Communication, various Board of Directors positions and even the MUS President. What con-tributes to this involvement and what is it that fraternity life is really like for management stu-dents? McGill’s lack of a large Greek tradition renders their purpose and structure unclear. The Bull & Bear sat down with Phi Kappa Pi and Zeta Psi, two fraternities with large followings within the faculty, to get a better insight into this subculture.

Active members of Phi Kap-pa Pi, Aram Aharonian, Luis Ja-vier Aguinaga, and Alex Mallory, and Zeta Psi brothers, Charlie DiGiulian, Adam Fagan, Joseph Feldman, and Chase Potter, ex-plain their draw to the fraternity system as being based on friend-ship. McGill is not known for Greek culture, and in fact, Mal-lory notes, “It’s not something I ever would have thought to do

coming to McGill.” So what is it that attracts so many manage-ment students to the fraternity system? “It may sound cliché, but it really is a brotherhood. It’s tough to describe, but it’s a friendship that is stronger than just that,” said Potter. Although each entered the fraternity sys-tem at a different point, they all cite the close and lasting friend-ships as the main incentive for joining. In such a large environ-ment, it seems that the support system they receive from their brothers is what drives them to be involved.

The Zeta Psi brothers espe-cially highlighted the importance

of guidance from older broth-ers. Going through internship and job recruitment is stress-ful for every Desautels student, and many times we are left to do the research on our own, with minimal assistance from advis-ers who must guide hundreds of students. The lack of personal assistance leaves us feeling anx-ious and uncertain about our fu-tures. To a certain extent, this is mitigated for those involved with fraternities. Alumni networks as well as current brothers are a major resource because they are always willing to help find exten-sive, specific information on dif-

ferent careers. Fagan notes, “I’d be much more nervous about graduating and about my career prospects if I didn’t have that support structure. I have a much clearer picture of what I need to do and where I should look.”

Especially in the 2010 to 2011 academic year, Phi Kappa Pi was heavily involved with the MUS, and overall, had a con-siderable presence among the faculty’s student leaders. This appears to be a conflict of inter-est, and alludes to the fraternity stereotype of the “Old Boys’ Club.” However, Aharonian ex-plains that this is simply part of his fraternity’s culture: “I like to

hang out with people who make big things happen and get things done, and I saw a place where there were a lot of guys like that. That’s why it may seem like we are so successful.” Phi Kappa Pi places substantial importance on being involved and it is “by vir-tue of being driven that we have the opportunity to get more of our brothers involved,” noted Aguinaga.

This sentiment is shared by the Zeta Psi brothers who spoke of their recent philanthropic ef-forts and their commitment to being involved within the fac-ulty. It is encouraged that every-

one participate in fun events like Frosh and Carnival, but they also “go for the all around…we want people to take their academics seriously and get involved to give back to the school,” stated DiGi-ulian.

The benefits of the fraternity system are sometimes shadowed by the negative stereotypes and culture of secrecy that shroud these exclusive clubs in mystery. One example is the top secret pledging process, known to be time consuming and rigorous. Although both fraternities de-clined to share the details of the process, they did explain that secrecy is important to them be-

cause it binds them together in their friendships, and because it is part of a tradition which they desire to uphold.

To the fraternity brothers, the pledging process is meant to solidify commitment and to build strong, enduring bonds with the new pledges. Aharonian noted that “the process is about bringing people together and in-stilling certain values which are fundamental to us.” All agreed that the process was well worth it, and that they would do it again if required.

However, others involved with Phi Kappa Pi did not en-

tirely agree with the sentiments of the PKP brothers. One source mentioned the paradoxical na-ture of pledging stating that “the process is meant to bring us all together to enhance the ‘broth-erhood,’ but in the end it doesn’t always work that way. Instead, there were feelings of resentment from the pledges towards the brothers because of the difficulty of the process which was meant to prove that we were worthy of brotherhood.” Being yelled at and asked to do pushups is not uncommon during the process, and there really is no exit point except quitting. Nevertheless, it was noted that the pledging process is deeply enriching as “it makes the friendships and bonds special because they have to be earned and are difficult to obtain in any other way.”

The fraternity system should not to be taken lightly and is cer-tainly not for everyone. Feld-man shared that he originally went to many recruiting events for a number of McGill fraterni-ties. “I originally wasn’t going to join because it wasn’t appealing, but as soon as I met this group is was kind of automatic.” This ex-emplifies what was explained as a matter of fit. DiGiulian noted that “you really have to find your place because every fraternity is different. Each has its own cul-ture and feel so you need to find the one that you like best be-cause each has its own unique characteristics.”

The spirit of a frat was per-haps best described by Mallory: “At the end of the day, it’s just nice to have two houses to go home to.”

Kristine PinedoLead Lifestyle Editor

Look closely and you’ll find frat influence throughout the MUS and its events

I’d be much more nervous about graduating and about my career prospects

if I didn’t have that support structure.

Lifestyle

The Bull & Bear

10

December 2011

Kristine Pinedo, Lead Editorkristine@bullandbear.ca

Life After Bronfman

Students attend univer-sity to invest in their futures and mitigate uncertainty with hopes

of yielding higher returns from their careers. It is fascinating to hear from McGill alumni who, at one point, experienced the same anxiety as current students; one such alumni is Michael Conrad.

Conrad graduated from Mc-Gill in 2011, completing a Bach-elor of Commerce with a double major in Finance and Market-ing. Currently, Conrad works in Toronto as an investment bank-ing analyst with Credit Suisse. He conducts analysis that drives recommendations for Credit Suisse clients. “The job is time intensive”, but Conrad believes that when, “working with people whom you truly respect and en-joy spending time with, it can be an incredibly fun experience.”

Conrad’s belief in the impor-tance of creating relationships with peers and co-corkers led to his heavy involvement in stu-dent life. His involvement began on the committee for GCC and U2CC, after which he became an ambassador, and eventually a committee member, for the Mc-Gill Management International Case Competition. However, his most valued experience came in his final year in Bronfman as VP Academic of the MUS. The broad nature of the position al-lowed him to take initiative and pursue initiatives that he is pas-sionate about. Given the oppor-tunity to realize your passion,

and supplied the resources and experience to know what to do about it are incredibly valuable for entering your career.

As a past VP Academic, Conrad believes that McGill does a great job teaching theory; however, he says there is always room for improvement at such a competitive institution.

“I would like to see McGill progress towards including a larger practical component in the curriculum. Specific to in-vestment banking, I think the ad-dition of the Applied Investment Banking course is a step in the right direction. But I think this emphasis on a practical educa-tion should encompass the entire faculty. Fortunately enough, I be-lieve we have the student leaders and the faculty commitment to begin moving in this direction.”

The changing direction of Desautels academic structure is enhanced by McGill’s wealth of extracurricular opportunities which further contribute to pre-paring students for their careers. Not only do extracurriculars al-low students to explore their pas-sions, they also work in conjunc-tion with academics to develop practical skills that cannot be taught in the classroom.

Conrad attributes much of his preparation for the work-force to his extra-curricular in-volvement; however, he believes that more can be done to create stronger networks. Obviously, an academic establishment ranked amongst the top twenty universi-ties internationally has the ben-efit of a prestigious network of alumni. Yet more can be done to

connect students to fellow Mc-Gill graduates.

“I think that our students have a lot to learn from past grad-uates, and their education would benefit significantly. I’m encour-aged by the steps the faculty is taking with regards to this initia-tive, by bringing alumni in for discussions, and in beginning to use alumni as career resources. I think this is a much needed step, and will benefit current and fu-ture students if this progression continues.”

With such a renowned name, will a McGill degree help students gain a competitive ad-vantage over other university graduates? Conrad says maybe. Being branded with the McGill seal opens a lot of doors interna-tionally, which leads to a broader set of opportunities relative to other Canadian universities. Career services is committed to doing a great job “working with students to make the necessary changes so that Desautels can compete, and exceed, the recruit-ing performance of other top business schools.”

Conrad expresses high hopes for what is to come, and is excited for the new resources now becoming available to stu-dents. This includes the newly featured Career Resources Por-tal that gives students the tools to work with MyFuture, and extended resources for learning about different career opportu-nities.

Conrad identifies three changes Desautels is moving towards. These changes repre-sent three big steps for student

investments, and a huge leap for increasing their ‘returns-on-careers’.

Conrad provides advice to help students cope with uncer-tainty. “My number one piece of advice is to find a career you’re truly passionate about. Your first job is the springboard of your career, and determines its trajec-

tory. If you don’t find something you’re passionate about, you’re going to have a hard time putting in the time and effort required to be successful. So take your time, and find something that truly ex-cites you. If you do, the rest will take care of itself.”

Chris ConeryLifestyle Editor

Recent grad Mike Conrad shares his story

Factory Bar: High Class with No Pretensions

Factory Bar, a relative newcomer to the St. Laurent bar and club scene, has quickly dis-

tinguished itself as a popular des-tination for students and profes-sionals alike.

Launched in October 2010, the modernly decorated Factory Bar embodies a certain level of class without the level of preten-sion present in other establish-ments. “We need a level of class on this street. I wanted to do a sports bar, but high end with no pretensions. People can come in running shoes, but we need to keep it St. Laurent style too, with a nice decor,” noted co-owner Antonie Bordelau, who was pre-

viously employed by Buananotte resto-bar on St. Laurent and is thus already familiar with the St. Laurent scene.

This is emphasized in the business model of Factory Bar, which is in many ways a three-in-one: a sports bar, a trendy restaurant, and a chic club; each appealing to a different but in-terconnected target market. “Before midnight, I want the corporate crowd for hockey, and after midnight, we just party with everybody. It’s nice, because we have students mixing with every-body,” says Bordelau.

Factory emphasizes a cer-tain type of networking to ad-vertise its establishment most effectively. Bordelau recognizes that when you have a restaurant or bar, you can advertise and

spend money to your heart’s content, but the best promotion is what you do individually, as an owner and a person. He also acknowledges the growing im-pact of social media on advertis-ing. However, “there is no better promotion than you talking to people directly, face-to-face.”

Bordelau admits the grow-ing importance that owners and managers play in the business process. “You need to create something [special] with people here.” He networks on a large scale, meets a lot of people and obtains their contact informa-tion. He then communicates with his large network of busi-ness and personal contacts and invites them to Factory.

Factory utilizes advertising services such as Zoom Media,

and signs contracts to host free staff parties for advertising agen-cies in return for funding. In or-der to minimize costs, Factory recently secured a contract to host a $5,000 Christmas party for Zoom Media staff free of charge, and in exchange, Zoom Media will provide Factory with $15,000 worth of free publicity.

Factory prides itself on its drink specials in order to de-liver value to its customers. For example, on Thursday nights, there are 2-for-1 deals on mixed drinks and on its house beer, and on Friday nights, there is an open bar for ladies from 11pm to 2am. Every night, they sell Fac-tory beer made by Brouemont Brewery for $5 per pint. In order to secure broad market appeal, the dinner menu offers a wide ar-

ray of delicious options at every price range. “The students can still have a pint and eat a poutine, while the other people can eat a steak, say, with a pint of Heinek-en. I did my research in order to bring everyone here.”

After midnight, the lights dim and Factory is transformed into a chic nightclub. It is usu-ally packed on Thursdays and Fridays and serves as a popular and trendy destination for Mon-treal students to socialize and meet new people. While Factory makes more revenue from cor-porate events, they recognize the importance of securing a strong base of student loyalty. Bordelau explains, “Students are not going to be students for all their lives.”

Dan A. NovickLifestyle Writer

2011 BCom graduate Mike Conrad.Soumia Zehri | The Bull & Bear

Lifestyle

The Bull & Bear

11

December 2011

Kristine Pinedo, Lead Editorkristine@bullandbear.ca

Effusion A Cappella in Technicolor

Moving and groov-ing while belting out soulful rendi-tions of Bob Mar-

ley, Alicia Keys, Destiny’s Child, and more, has always been the trademark of McGill’s premiere a cappella group, Effusion A Cap-pella. Their fall 2011 concert, In Technicolor, held at Le National in the heart of The Village, was a two-hour auditory treat com-prised of Effusion classics, as well as many fresh arrangements.

The show’s theme was in-spired by Technicolor, the addi-tive color motion picture process of the same name. “We always have a concert committee and part of the group wanted to do a black and white theme, but the other half wanted a color theme. We compromised by choosing Technicolor as our theme be-cause it involves exposing black and white to colors,” said Rowan Spencer, President of Effusion A Cappella.

Effusion made their en-trance dressed in crisp, contrast-ing black and white, but during the second set of the show, candy colored cocktail dresses, powder blue dinner jackets, and vibrantly colored bowties dominated the stage. Zara Jestadt, VP External of Effusion and member of Ef-fusion’s concert committee said, “Wardrobe was definitely the biggest challenge of the show, but it adds to your confidence and charisma while performing.”

Jestadt’s jazzy solo of Duffy’s “Mercy”- an instant Effusion classic - and Spencer’s heart-wrenching delivery of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” blew the crowd away. The segment show-casing the talents of their basses and beat boxers, cleverly titled “Back to BASSics,” was also a crowd pleaser. The four basses of Effusion - Jordan Benjamin, Kevin Lee, Maxwell McLarty, and Steven Whiteley - per-formed a dubstep cover of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.” One of the most memorable performances of the night was Effusion’s arrangement of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” remixed with Jay-Z’s “Dirt off Your Shoulders” which featured the rapping talents of newcomer Jordan Benjamin.

“We’ve never had a member who’s done that many raps in one show,” noted Spencer.

Effusion recently celebrated their 12th anniversary and, al-though it is not the oldest a cap-pella group on campus, they are certainly the most competitive

and well known. To maintain the quality and legacy of the group, Effusion undergoes a rigorous selection process for their new members. Hundreds of hopefuls audition for Effusion A Cappella, but only a small handful are cho-sen. “We emphasize that people can stay longer than one year. When we choose our newbies, we don’t just look for skill, but also leadership qualities.”

Jestadt confided that “The music is our legacy. We make the new members do a lot of extra homework in extending their repertoire and learning songs we’ve done since Effusion’s in-ception.”

To differentiate itself from the other a cappella groups on campus, Effusion “places more emphasis on movement, and moving and grooving while we sing. Not only do we look at the audience while we perform, but we focus on looking at each other

and communicating with each other,” Spencer pointed out.

“We focus a lot on words. In-corporating the chorus is a large part of our performance and we try to give every part a singing line, even our basses,” Jestadt added.

After the excitement of the successful fall show, what’s next for Effusion? “We want to re-cord some singles next semes-ter in preparation for our fourth album. We will also be prepar-ing for our spring concert. Our music director, Andrew P. Wang, has a million arrangements in his back pocket, so the next concert will have an entirely different feeling than In Technicolor,” said Spencer.

Whatever it is that Effusion is planning for the New Year, they have got us beggin’ them for mercy from their sweet sounds and energetic performances.

April WuNews Writer

Performers on stage at Effusion A Cappella: In Technicolor at Le National theatre.

Photos courtesy of Effusion A Cappella

Opinion

The Bull & Bear

12

December 2011

David Lin, Lead Editordavid@bullandbear.ca

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Women Reporters in the Arab Spring

In light of sensitive and volatile protests occur-ring abroad, it becomes increasingly important to

get first-hand footage of the po-litical change as it happens. For most reporters, it is considered an honour to be assigned cover-age of the uprising in Daraa, or the anti-Gaddafi capture of Trip-oli. However, if the reporter in question is a Western woman, it has come to everyone’s attention that she is likely in more danger than a man would be. On No-vember 25th, 2011, French TV journalist Caroline Sinz stated publically that she had been “subjected to sexual aggression in front of everyone in full day-light” while reporting in Egypt’s Tahrir’s Square – known to be the most active site of protest in Cairo. Following her announce-ment to Agence French Press, in which she detailed how she was molested in a way that “would be considered rape” for “three-quar-ters of an hour”, Reporters Sans Frontieres released a statement urging international news media to halt the dispatch of women to cover the situation in Egypt. The same week, a second woman journalist Mona Eltahawy, stated she was sexually assaulted during her twelve-hour detainment by Egyptian security forces, result-ing in two broken wrists.

Only hours after posting the message, RSF was forced to withdraw it due to public outcry regarding the limitation of wom-en’s freedoms that the statement

implied. RSF later expressed that media organizations should instead “make the security of their reporters and local corre-spondents their priority” due to the fact that it is “more danger-ous for a woman than a man to cover the demonstrations in Tah-rir Square.”

The issue of women report-ing in hazardous environments has been raised since CBS cor-respondent Lara Logan’s brutal assault in February of this year. While most people clearly do not condone these attacks, dialogue surrounding Logan’s incident in particular has been tinged with sexism and racism. Numerous

right-wing bloggers have cited the attack as evidence of embed-ded Islamic misogyny. Popular online persona Sister Toldjah described Logan’s molestation to be “direct result of a religion and a culture that treats women as no better than chattel”. The amount of people in agreement was and still is overwhelming, with user-generated comments purport-ing slurs against Muslims and Arabs booming. While Caroline Sinz’s experience did not ignite the same media frenzy, the same racist threads of discussion again stigmatize Muslims as primitive

racists.The Islam-bashing based

on Logan and Sinz’s horrible assaults is unfounded. It is my opinion that the men involved in these attacks are monsters not because of their religion, but be-cause of their blatant disrespect of others’ bodies. Furthermore, the mob mentality that forms in such a charged atmosphere is something to be feared – not only in terms of how rapidly peo-ple can be hurt, but how it exists in all areas of the world. For ex-ample, in June of 2000, the Na-tional Puerto Rican Day Parade held every year in New York City brought forth the sexual assault

of 47 women. Dozens of men were identified as suspects, each presumably feeding off the ac-tions of the others.

Perhaps what is to be re-minded of by the assaults of Lo-gan, Sinz, and those at the parade is that women are consistently targeted in these attacks, and that they are afterwards pegged as too uptight, as attention seeking, and as stupidly walking into an unsafe situation. To add insult to injury in an intersecting racist-sexist train of thought, there have even been assertions that any Western woman who goes into a crowd of

Muslim men should expect to be raped. That kind of victim blam-ing is, in its entirety, disgust-ing. A less extreme and perhaps more prevalent form of it appears when women are urged to watch what they wear before they at-tend a social gathering. How many times have I been told to avoid short skirts lest men think I’m “asking for it” when some en-titled jerk cops a feel?

A survey conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights found that 98% of foreign women, and 83% of Egyptian women have been sexually ha-rassed in Egypt. According to the Sexual Assault Centre Hamil-

ton Area, 51% of Canadian wom-en report having experienced at least one incident of sexual vio-lence after the age of 16, while 4 out of 5 female undergraduate students at Canadian universi-ties report having experienced violence in a dating relationship. Moreover, according to 2007 Canadian police-reported data, 97% of those accused of sexual offences were male. While sexual violence against women in Egypt is severe to an alarming degree, rape and sexual assault are as embedded in Egyptian culture as they are in Western ones.

This discussion begs the question: would fewer women reporters be assaulted on the job if only men were sent to these dangerous areas? Ultimately, in the context of assigning women to cover high-profile stories in unstable areas, I don’t believe they should be limited. To dis-courage women from doing their jobs perpetuates the ste-reotypes of women as weak and vulnerable. On the other hand, I have no problem with women reporters deciding not to enter areas like Tahrir Square for their own safety. However, what I do have a problem with is the belief that women who do bring vio-lence upon themselves. Logan was frequently described in the press as a blonde bombshell that tempted sexually repressed men by merely reporting in their pres-ence. It is clear that women re-porters have been treated by the media with a level of disrespect reflective of the way women are treated by and large in all soci-eties. Logan and Sinz’s attacks cannot be looked at as singular cases – narrow analysis of what each has been through provides an easy route for anti-Islamic or victim blaming arguments, and perpetuates ignorance regarding women’s issues. What happened to these brave women did not oc-cur because they were attractive Western women who ventured into perilous territory, it hap-pened because sexual violence continues all over the world. Violence against women is not inevitable, and men and women everywhere must work to pre-vent it.

Jessica SimmondsOpinion Editor

We Are Not Sustainable

Lauding acts of corpo-rate social responsibil-ity as “good behaviour” on the part of corpo-

rations ignores more serious problems often perpetrated by these same companies, to which we ought to be focused as con-cerned citizens of the world.

Let us take the world’s larg-est retail chain as an example, Walmart. Evidently, the compa-ny has noble plans of becoming more sustainable, even striving to use clean energy entirely. As a society focused on the long-term health and well-being of our planet and its people, does this validate our support of Walmart’s operations? In degrees

of wrongness, certainly this ac-tion by Walmart makes it less wrong, but it would be an error in moral judgement to conclude that the aggregate social and en-vironmental impact of Walmart is anything but catastrophic—certainly not what we would call “sustainable”.

This is the same company which makes plastic toy-after-toy, chewing up and spitting out the resources upon which our survival depends. It is designed in this way to consume ad infini-tum, with most if not all its prod-ucts destined to rest in a landfill someday. This wastefulness, not to mention the harmful chemi-cal emissions caused by this crazed never-ending production process, is fundamentally unsus-tainable in its relationship to our

natural environment. This is the same company

which outsources the labour re-quired to assemble said toys to the darkest corners of the world in terms of working and living conditions— treating human beings as mere inks of dot in the company’s overall balance sheet. Walmart has built into its supply model a strategy which sources from a wide array of the world’s cruelest factories to work in, in order to keep costs low, in effect exchanging true human suffering and a hopeless future for many of its workers in return for “Every-day low prices” and endless prof-it. Such actions speak to a moral bankruptcy where human com-passion never takes precedence over business or shareholder in-terests, fundamentally unsustain-

able for the welfare of the human species. It hardly gets better back home; this is the same company which undercuts and pushes out of town the local toy store which simply cannot compete with Walmart’s football-field sized stores with rock-bottom prices. Such a result tears apart local communities and perpetuates greater wealth inequality, push-ing society away from thriving.

It is time to hear a more critical voice in the Management faculty from both professors and students towards the effects of business on society and the en-vironment. It is time to be more compassionate to the victims of our society’s corporate misdeeds, to whom “Labour Management” is not a program major but a lived existence, fraught with ex-

ploitation and abuse. Those who suffer to drive Walmart’s profits through the roof have no politi-cal or corporate power to rem-edy their situation, but we do. Corporations have but one re-sponsibility, namely to maximize profits, and have no conscience to sincerely weigh social equality or environmental sustainability as ends in themselves. But we, as human beings, do; we must be more compassionate and staunch in our criticism against corporations such as Walmart, until the suffering ends. We must air these silent voices. Hu-man beings and the health of our planet are not dots on a balance sheet, and are not exchangeable for the limitless pursuit of profit.

Eli FreedmanContributor

Corporate greed cannot be the sole driver of growth

The issue of women reporting in hazardous environments has been raised since CBS

correspondent Lara Logan’s brutal assault in February of this year.

Opinion

The Bull & Bear

13

December 2011

David Lin, Lead Editordavid@bullandbear.ca

Libya’s Arab Spring Will Yield Little Water

It seems the new buzzword nowadays is “democracy” – Arab Spring style. On October 20, 2011, as grainy

videos began depicting a seem-ingly expired Muammar Gaddafi, pundits and politicians around the world began harping on about the bright, rosy, democrat-ic future in store for Libya. In the words of Libyan-American ana-lyst Hafed Al Ghwell, the world views democracy for Libya as some sort of “magic pill” that will instantly cure all of the country’s malaises. Grand visions abound of Libya, like a butterfly emerg-ing out of its cocoon, stepping into the twenty-first century with fair elections, a just legal system, and a Starbucks on every corner. Yet what most people fail to real-ize is that countries are not like bed sheets: everything isn’t bet-ter once you give it a shake. These types of changes take more than one generation.

Let me make it clear that I do not support a forced democ-racy – not even a recommended democracy for that matter. In the case of Libya, a group of Libyan citizens moved to change the government and, with some ex-ternal help, succeeded. NATO involvement was a gracious no-tion of support for freedom, but it is imperative that they now step back and let the Libyan people decide what type of government they want – a constitutional de-mocracy, republic, parliament or monarchy. And with every Curly, Larry and Moe hypothesizing grand reasons why NATO got involved in the first place, any further NATO influence in Libya only fuels the fire of conspiracy theorists. Instead, Libya is a good opportunity to show that powers like the US, Britain and France

can get involved in another coun-try’s government to the right de-gree – without getting too greedy for oil.

All things said, the choice of democracy presents a very rigorous path that may not have been given its due consideration. While it is easy to voice support for promoting democracy in the newly liberated state, there are certain characteristics that make it especially difficult to imple-ment. First, Libya’s history has been characterized by colonial and monarchial rule. From this background, moving to a democ-racy is, by no stretch of imagi-nation, a simple, or even logical step. Take the case of the quint-essential democracy – Britain. While the Magna Carta was her-alded as the birth of British de-mocracy, three civil wars lasting a total of nine years had to be suf-fered before a republican com-monwealth could be established. Given the situation in the Middle East, a civil war in Libya would simply be taking a lit match to the gasoline tank NATO is cur-rently sitting on. Not only would it damage the Arab Spring’s cred-ibility in peacefully creating gov-ernmental change, but would also reinforce the point that Western powers like the US and NATO cannot properly handle involvement in another country.

The second reason is that Libya’s circumstances place too much pressure on rapid develop-ment. In our gloriously modern society, oil is a valuable com-modity and, as many a pundit has made clear, Libya’s reserves place the country in a key posi-tion energy-wise. Furthermore, with poor climactic conditions limiting agricultural develop-ment, the starved state requires imports of food and water. The process of creating a democracy, in Libya’s case, will simply run

too slow to feasibly undertake independently. International support, by way of either funds or humanitarian aid, is unsus-tainable for both sides given the current global economic situa-tion and the strong dependence Libya will have on external sup-port. Add the vying interests for control of oil exports, and no aid will be without strings attached.

The oil trading business is a highly powerful and profitable business. While Libya may not be the most free-market, Adam Smith-esque state in the Middle East, it won’t be long before the

country faces the pressure to increase exports from current wells. Furthermore, the lesson learned from the Saudi oil shocks of the 1970s only shows the Lib-yans how powerful their natural resources are to the world’s econ-omies. At that point, why indulge in the long, bureaucratic inef-ficiencies of democracy when one has the rest of the world by the cojones? Saudi Arabia, being a non-democratic government holding an inordinate amount of oil wealth, is a prime role model for Middle Eastern exporters in this regard. As a result, it is cer-

tainly a strong case for Libya to emulate the House of Saud by allying with Western states yet maintaining iron control of the valuable commodity.

Finally, to assume that Libya is already on the path of democ-racy, and to dismiss the direction of this article as unrealistic would be a mistake. On October 23rd, NTC leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil announced the adoption of Is-lamic Sharia as the main source of law in the country, setting off news that is already raising the hairs on the necks of Western supporters. Rather than bog-ging down discussion by debat-ing the philosophical nuances of the law’s legitimacy, one needs only to consider the potential for clashes against democratic liber-ties to demonstrate the weakness in assuming Libya’s democratic path. Take the issue of gender equality and inheritance, where a woman can only inherit half as much as a man can. While religious tolerance is certainly a good virtue to hold, it is simply appalling to allow if not foster environments that infringe on basic human rights, regardless of gender.

Obviously, it must be said that interpretation and imple-mentation of Sharia can occur in varying degrees at the discre-tion of the Libyan government. Furthermore, it is important not to fall into the trap of equating Islamic rule with negative con-notations of authoritarianism, inequality and rigidity. Nonethe-less, there is no doubt that there is strong potential for counter-productive rules being imple-mented in Libyan society. These decisions, coupled with the pres-sures of development and the influential effect of history and surroundings, represent a very significant fork in road of Libya’s developmental path.

Tarun KoshyOpinion Writer

Examining why democracy will not flourish in a post-Gaddafi Libya

Rebel fighters pray and protest in Libya.

Photos from flickr

Inside the Prince Arthur Herald resignations24 Nov

Follow @MUSBUllANdBeAr on TwITTer For breAkIng news And sTorIes

Opinion

The Bull & Bear

14

December 2011

David Lin, Lead Editordavid@bullandbear.ca

Lessons From a Baby

With her puffy cheeks, price-less smile, and a super-suave new-

born hair-do, Danica Camacho would appear as the up and com-ing poster girl for Ralph Lauren’s new baby collection. Instead, the media is presenting this precious little gem as the go-to symbol for resource scarcity and the daunt-ing challenges of rapid globaliza-tion. As if the world were abso-lutely fine with 6,999,999,999 people, but this single extra baby just totally pushed us over the edge.

While some expect the 7 billion mark to serve as the long-awaited sputnik moment for pol-icy makers to revamp the course of history into a more sustainable direction, I feel urged to remind them that if a melting ice cap hasn’t done so, a couple of extra unrecyclable diapers won’t.

Playing the blame game is never fun but if the world can

point a finger to a cute speech-less baby in the Philippines, I see nothing wrong in searching for the real poster boy for an unsus-tainable world (insert Tony Hay-ward). In fact, it is my moral ob-ligation to this defenseless baby to do so.

At first, it seemed as if my

quest for candidates to alleviate the blame from Danica wouldn’t exactly require head hunting. Corporate leaders placing prof-its before sustainability are the grand norm and not the excep-tion. On the other hand, politi-cians promising to resuscitate economies into bright eras of green revival too often deliver jobless dark realities.

However, using politicians

and industry leaders as the scape-goats is certainly not representa-tive of a more complex truth. The corporation is as powerful as their consumers permit them to be. So are consumers really de-manding change or are cheaper resource intensive products from China too good to turn down?

Most would agree that the latter remains the probably reasoning.

In addition to the stresses imposed on mother nature by a growing population, UN Sec-retary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his greatest concerns for the income disparities appar-ent amongst us: “Our world is one of terrible contradictions,” he said. “Plenty of food but one billion people go hungry. [There

are] lavish lifestyles for a few, but poverty for too many others.

Perhaps what’s even more frightening than the present day environmental despair is the fact that Americans aren’t the only ones looking to play the part. Individuals across the globe are eager to hop into their gas guz-

zling vehicles, purchase loads of red meat, cook on their 5000 watt Viking grills only to then have some fancy dishwasher ful-fill the tedious old fashioned task of cleaning after yourself.

In a time when the Ameri-can dream is no longer reserved for Uncle Sam’s beloved neph-ews but attainable to more peo-ple than history has ever per-mitted, holding a single person

responsible for our deplorable environmental standing seems irresponsible.

So who is to blame for all of this? I don’t need to specify, you know who you are (Yes-that in-cludes myself). The thought of eating less meat crosses our mind occasionally, but we still choose to continue living as careless car-nivores. Some of us demonstrate a genuine intention to volunteer in nature conservation camps or eco-friendly initiatives abroad, only to build our itineraries around Full Moon parties and Summer Festivals.

As baby Danica sobs in the presence of flashing lights and a paparazzi home invasion, I have a feeling her tears are stemming from a much deeper source of anxiety. Perhaps she is crying to all those who have preceded her, frantically begging the million-dollar question: Why are you leaving me with such a big mess but no planet-size dishwasher to clean it?

Touché little kid, touché.

Dann BibasOpinion Writer

What we’re doing to wreck our children’s future

Letter to the Editor: On Tuition Hikes and Protests

Once adjusted for inflation, McGill tuition pai’d by Québec students

declined every year from 1994 until 2010. That $1,700 fee actu-ally buys fewer lecture, mainte-nance, and service hours every year. Annual inflation — or the overall percentage increase in prices over the course of a year — averaged 1.8% per year over the past sixteen years. What-ever goods and services McGill could purchase with $1,700 in 1994 would cost $1,811 in 1998 and $2,357 in 2011. Assuming 1994 tuition covered the cost of educating Québec students, less government subsidies, McGill has incurred a deficit per student ranging from $36.63 for 1995 to $603.66 for 2008. A student who graduates with a three-year degree in 2012 will have cost McGill $1,156 in today’s dollars during his or her tenure. To cover this debt, McGill has several op-tions: spend less, borrow more, or increase fees.

Even after two years of $100 increases, tuition actually re-mains lower in real value terms than in eleven of the past sixteen years. As McGill pulls in $325

more per year per student, the purchasing power of that tuition will remain below 1994 levels until 2013. The $2,550 cash (or in economic terms, nominal fee) paid in 2013 for yearly tuition will buy only as much as $1,750 did in 1994.

What McGill student wants the quality of his education to decline? During my time here, I have seen fewer and larger class sections and increasingly limited access to conferences. Several of my Economics and Political Sci-ence professors have been forced to forgo Teaching Assistant-led conferences due to lack of fund-ing. The world-class education we were promised seems ever more elusive with the endless tightening of McGill’s purse strings. As the economy grows, prices almost invariably go up. For this very reason, most union wage contracts are tied to infla-tion in order to hold constant the actual purchasing power of income. Why should tuition not rise with inflation as well? Whether you believe post-sec-ondary Education is every per-son’s right or a voluntary invest-ment, it has associated costs and benefits to the student and to the university. McGill is a world class institution because its stu-dents and professors are among

the best and brightest of Canada and the rest of the world. How-ever, the goods and services that support McGill have substan-tial costs that must be covered somehow. We must accept these nominal increases as necessary

to help bring McGill back to ear-lier levels of quality.

If you do not trust McGill to spend our tuition dollars pru-dently, there are more productive ways to resolve your grievances than protesting the increases.

Fight instead for accountabil-ity in governance (look into the McGill Governance Reform Project). Or lobby your député to index tuition to inflation, thus fixing its real purchasing power.

Carter P. SmithContributor

Period Year Real Tuition Nominal Tuition

Nominal Change

Inflation Nominal Tuition with Constant Real Value

Real Spending

Gap

Nominal Spending

Gap

Three-year Debt

Four-year Debt

Cumulative Nominal

Debt

Price Level

0 19941 19952 19963 19974 19985 19996 20007 20018 20029 200310 200411 200512 200613 200714 200815 200916 201017 201118 201219 201320 201421 201522 2016

1,700.00 1,700 0 0.1% 1,700 0.00 0.00 0.00 11,663.41 1,700 0 2.2% 1,737 36.59 36.63 36.63 1.001,650.12 1,700 0 1.5% 1,763 49.88 51.02 86.47 87.65 1.021,616.17 1,700 0 1.7% 1,793 83.83 87.05 170.30 170.30 174.70 1.041,633.67 1,700 0 1.0% 1,811 66.33 70.05 200.04 236.64 244.75 1.061,554.93 1,700 0 1.8% 1,844 145.07 154.73 295.24 345.11 399.49 1.071,448.86 1,700 0 2.7% 1,894 251.14 272.68 462.55 546.38 672.17 1.091,430.15 1,700 0 2.5% 1,941 269.85 300.91 666.06 732.40 973.08 1.121,428.37 1,700 0 2.2% 1,984 271.63 310.46 792.62 937.69 1,283.54 1.141,325.90 1,700 0 2.8% 2,039 374.10 436.99 915.58 1,166.72 1,720.53 1.171,422.23 1,700 0 1.8% 2,076 277.77 333.55 923.49 1,193.34 2,054.08 1.201,338.10 1,700 0 2.2% 2,122 361.90 442.40 1,013.76 1,285.39 2,496.48 1.221,340.44 1,700 0 2.0% 2,164 359.56 449.21 999.23 1,373.33 2,945.69 1.251,281.11 1,700 0 2.2% 2,212 418.89 533.80 1,140.35 1,418.11 3,479.48 1.271,236.49 1,700 0 2.3% 2,263 463.51 603.66 1,241.96 1,603.86 4,083.14 1.301,625.31 1,700 0 0.3% 2,269 74.69 99.52 957.09 1,316.66 4,182.66 1.331,353.03 1,800 100 1.8% 2,310 346.97 463.66 885.17 1,304.06 4,646.31 1.341,356.91 1,900 100 2.0% 2,357 343.09 466.73 764.75 1,228.27 5,113.04 1.361,557.85 2,225 325 2.0% 2,404 142.15 197.24 832.20 906.90 5,310.28 1.391,750.40 2,550 325 2.0% 2,452 -50.40 -71.33 434.84 781.81 5,238.95 1.421,934.79 2,875 325 2.0% 2,501 -234.79 -338.95 -143.05 200.05 4,899.99 1.442,111.28 3,200 325 2.0% 2,551 -411.28 -605.61 -696.47 -554.33 4,294.38 1.472,280.11 3,525 325 2.0% 2,602 -580.11 -871.29 -1,226.18 -1,276.58 3,423.09 1.50

0

1,000.00

2,000.00

3,000.00

4,000.00

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Chart 1: Real, Nominal, and (Hypothetical) Inflation-Adjusted Tuitions

Real Tuition Nominal Tuition with Constant Real Value Nominal Tuition

-600.00

-450.00

-300.00

-150.00

0

150.00

300.00

450.00

600.00

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Chart 2: Gap Between 1994 Tuition Value and Real Tuition

Real Spending Gap

-1,500.00

-1,000.00

-500.00

0

500.00

1,000.00

1,500.00

2,000.00

1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015

Chart 3: Debt Accrued by McGill per Student

Three-year Debt Four-year Debt

*Stats Canada Inflation Through 2010: http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/econ46a-eng.htm**Midpoint of Bank of Canada inflation target range from 2011-2016***Québec Tuition Fixed around $1,700 from 1994-2010: http://www.westerngazette.ca/2010/02/25/quebec-tuition-freeze-fini/ By Carter P. Smith, Nov. 14, 2011

Using politicians and industry leaders as the scapegoats is certainly not

representative of a more complex truth

The Last Word

The Bull & Bear

15

December 2011

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QPIRG Is In Need of Reform

Go back one year. There they were, members of Con-servative McGill

tabling in the McConnell lobby. They were quietly seated, hand-ing out “opt-out” pamphlets to passers-by. It was only until members of QPIRG approached and overturned the display that people began to consider that someone had been offended. Yet what was the follow up to such an incident where one club felt it could demonstrate with such gall it was superior to another? Indeed, no one would recall this incident leading up to the refer-endum whose results 1) mandat-ed another five years of operation for QPIRG and 2) exempted QPIRG from the list of services students can opt out of online.

Many ought to find this deeply troubling if not shameful and must ask how a referendum meant to allow students to debate whether or not to continue fund-ing a particular service became a tool for an organization to pur-

sue its agenda and elevate itself above its peers like the SSMU charity fund. A decision like this did not simply fall from the sky; it was borne out of a SSMU as-sembly resolution to modify a process that has since 1971 been first and foremost concerned with validating QPIRG’s work and not aiding it in its opera-tions. Those who read my earlier article A more Natural Cur-riculum would see this as a clear act of positivism, in which far-reaching decisions aren’t based in any ideology that’s meant to guide students over generations. Rather, it’s merely a response to a specific event, namely the loss of funds since McGill made it pos-sible to opt-out of all fees online. There has yet to be an argument that establishes why QPIRG de-serves such special treatment, al-though there have been QPIRG’s noticeable efforts in solidifying its status as a necessary service.

Benefits that QPIRG claims to provide include facilitating alternative student-led research. Such, in fact, was the purpose be-hind QPIRG’s foundation. But a copy of their recent annual re-

port suggests nothing of the sort. By their admission on frequent occasions, QPIRG’s efforts are largely based in “responding to attacks to its existence” and curb-ing the financial losses it had recently experienced. These are exemplified by the hiring of vol-unteer and fundraising coordina-tors as opposed to professionals who perhaps would contribute to research efforts. Furthermore, one can’t help but balk at the lack of explanation behind events like an “anti-oppression session” held for board members. What does such a session entail and how does it facilitate the research that QPIRG claims to support? The same must be asked of other events like Radical Frosh, an al-ternative orientation for fresh-man to discuss “social, political, and environmental issues,” or Social Justice Days, where dif-ferent clubs are brought together to discuss diverse issues as the effects of the Alberta Tar Sands on Native American life or how to mobilize students against tu-ition hikes and austerity mea-sures. In each of these examples, all QPIRG seems to be doing is

funding outlets where students can voice and disseminate their particular views. They are merely encouraging activism that advo-cates their opinions and in no in-stance do they provide notewor-thy or ground-breaking solutions to existing problems as research hopes to do.

These services certainly provide no benefit to anyone who is not affiliated or support-ive of these clubs. Indeed, many students are continuously em-barrassed and disgusted that QPIRG would fund an orga-nization like Tadamon!, which uses “justice in the middle east” as a guise for supporting a ter-rorist organization like Hezbol-lah which is first and foremost concerned with killing Jews. In fact, Tadamon! has frequently argued for Hezbollah’s removal from the Canadian government’s list of terrorist groups. But by now, everyone should know this and people ought to question QPIRG’s existence as a middle-man if they do support the dis-semination of these opinions. Is it too much to ask of students that that they fund narrow activ-

ism without forcing their peers to do so as well?

I don’t think so. QPIRG has not proven itself in any way as being fundamental to student life because it does not produce anything unique and of stand-alone substance. All it does is funnel money towards pre-exist-ing organizations with an agenda to push. And if students wish to support certain politics, they are more than welcome to do so but without my financial support un-til such time as QPIRG can dem-onstrate that it is a true forum for debate, learning, and ca pres-ent real research. Otherwise, the organization meant to provide students of all views with the re-sources to develop solutions to society’s problems will continue to be an outpost for passé fringe views. What a shame for an in-stitution that I consider both a literal and proverbial example of a beacon on a hill. Hopefully in five years students will demand nothing less of its campus clubs and student services.

Daniel SorekOpinion Writer

An on-campus student service should not be so narrow in its focus

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