rteedng their Rising Voioos sirx:e 1962

Jou~nal bilingue deGlendon

http://protem.groQvy.net

2 Pro Tern, Glendon's Bilingual Newspaper, Monday November 4th, 2002

FRIDA KH~ALOA PORTRAIT OF HONESTY AND PASSION

by CATHERINE HANCOCK

Virtually unknown out­side of Mexico until themid 1980's, Frida Khalois now the world's mostcoveted female painter.Starring Salma Hayekand Alfred Molina, anddirected by JulieTaymor, FRIDA exam-

She has an aDairwith ·the~ exiledRussian'leader ,leon TrotskY,whileDiego has an aDairwith Frida's sister

ines the life and inspira­tions of a political, artis­tic and sexual Mexicanrevolutionary.After a bus accidentthat leaves her boundto her bed in a bodycast, the young FridaKhalo finds escape andan outlet for self­expression in painting.Once able to walkagain, she has the

audacity to visit thealready renownedmuralist Diego Riverafor a professional cri­tique of her work. Thismeeting leads to the lifelong artistic andromantic partner­ship betweenFrida andDiegothat,

althoughnot oftenunderstoodby friends,was alwayspassionate, boldand complex.I,n their tumultuous time

together, Frida strug­gles with Diego's infi­delity, sufferes a mis­carriage and begins to

.... establish herself as one.:{I:II:.... , of Mexico's pre:emi-

':~~:" . . .... '. \~~: .j~~~~~);::;:;:::>:}:::::., nent painters.Nt~.(!f+.··:· ..:.,:"., Sheffh~s ~tnh

;~ :.{.....;,.,..... a air WI:":~';:" the exiled

RussianleaderLeon

Trotsky,while

Diego hasan affair with

Frida's sister.Khalo's works are

showcased in Paris and

New York to internation­al acclaim, but as herhealth deteriorates shereturns to the comfort ofher native Mexico.While often intense andcontroversial, FridaKhalo's art, just as herlife, is alwaysexpressed honestly andpassionately.

2275 Bayview AvenueGlendon Hall, Room 117

Toronto, OntarioM4N 3M6

Tel. 416-487-6736protem1 @yahoo.ca

Pro Tem is the bilingual and independantnewspaper of Glendon College, foundedin 1962 as the student pUblication of York

University. En plus d'atre gratuit, ProTem est Ie seul journal bilingue en

Ontario. Les opinions et les faits emispar les signataires n'engagent qu'euxmame, et non I'equipe editoriale. Les

articles sous-entendant des proposdiffamatoires, racistes, antisemites, sex­istes ou homophobes ne seront pas pub­lies. The deadline to submit ads and arti­cles is determined at the first meeting fol-

lowing a new issue.

Chief EditorsJason John O'RourkeJeremy Fortier

Associate EditorsCatherine HancockJulie Sage

Business Manager(open postion)

Photo EditorsJeremy FortierJohn Probyn

Advertising ManagerJake Mitchell

Production ManagerJake Mitchell

Copy EditorChris Spraakman

Layout & DesignJ.J. O'RourkeJake MitchellRob ShawJeremy Fortier

Feature WriterDave Port

Cover PhotoGaellin Ruairc

Pro Tern is a member of theCanadian University Press

ContributorsJohn SwayzeDave PortKSRosalie TaylorHooman RowshanbinChris SpraakmanCorrine Bredin

Pro Tem, Journal b:lingue de Glendon, Ie lundi 4 novembre 2002

ANOTHER STRIKE AT YORK:LETS'S GET SOME RELIABLE INFORMATION FOR ONCE

3

by CHRIS SPRAAKMAN

Canadian Union ofPublic Employees(CUPE) local 3903 hasbeen bargaining sincelate July for a newagreement to replacetheir last collectiveagreement whichexpired on August 31,2002. Local 3903 rep­resents TA's, contractfaculty, and graduateassistants throughoutYork and is one of thelargest unions alongwith YUFA (York Univ.Faculty Assoc.) andYUSA (York Univ. Staff.Ass.) As this could beYork's third strike since1997, it is importantthat honest informationbe relayed to the stu­dents as quickly aspossible.The first thing that stu­dents should know isthat the strike vote thattook place at the end oflast week was not avote that will result inpickets going up andclasses being can­celled.A strike vote is oftenused as a bargainingchip where the labourbelieves that theemployer is withholdinga serious offer. As thisis just one part of thebargaining process, thisvote will not result inthe union. walking outand picketing starting.It merely means thatthe union has gaugedthe potential support ithas to walk off the job.The threat of a strike,through a strong strikevote, will give the unionthe leverage they needto get the administra-

tion to start negotiatingmore seriously. It ispremature to assumethat there will automati­cally be a strike as aresult of this vote.The problem for stu­dents is that right nowboth groups are usingthreats in an attempt toget their side in a betterposition.For example, in a paidadvertisement in theOctober 30th edition ofExcalibur, the adminis­tration claims that if astrike occurs, the"... President will takesuch steps as are nec­essary to sL!~pend allclasses", that theadminsitration will notallow the union to pick­et on campus, and that"... no employee repre­sented by the union willbe invited or allowed tocontinue to work." Thissort of language anduse of threats cannotbe seen as helping anyof the groups involved,nor as being construc­tive in getting the twosides together and talk­ing. The administrationis clearly trying to dividethe union as many ofits' members canremember the 11 weekstrike that they wentthrough in the fall of2000 and obviouslydon't want to gothrough it again.The union, by postingstrike vote advertise­ments without givingdetails on what thisvote really means ishoping that it can scareadministration negotia­tors as well as stu­dents. It cannot behelping current students

or potential· students towalk around campusand see strike voteposters without knowingwhat is really going on.From a student's per­spective, none of thesethreats and misinforma­tion is helpful - and it isactually harmful in thatit does not give us aclear indication of whatis going on. As with theprevious two strikes, it

is the students who suf­fer the most. In manyways the amount ofharm is not measur­able. Decreased moti­vation, breaks in classtime just as you're start­ing to pick up a secondlanguage, lost time withfamily at holidays, etc.

As the universityexists for two main rea­sons; teaching andresearch, all students

should call on bothsides to stop usingthem as pawns in theirgames. CU PE, don'tspread fears throughposters! Administrationdon't give misleadinginformation in your"Negotiation Update"!(or Pro Tem either. see pgs. 11

then 9-ed.)

Stay focused on whatyour two goals are andnegotiate fairly.

4 Pro Tern, Glendon's Bilingual Newspaper, Monday November 4th, 2002

Asklog the Wroog uestloos....

OVER THE RECENT WAY THAT AMERICAN MEDIAIS PORTRAYING .BUSH'S FOREIGN POliCY. . .

SWAYZE'S MADDER THAN AHIJACKER ON ADELAYED FLIGHT

from so high the poorAfghans, Iraqis,\/Ietnamese andLaotians can't even see

. the pianes. Or deplet­ed uranium that castsits genetic legacy overgenerations of our vic­tims and the poor sapswho are sent to "keepthe peace" in Bosnia orKuwait. I supposedemocracy means thatall of us don't have asay in when we go towar, or whether wehouse our homeless, orare allowed smoke ourgiant reefers in peace.I guess patriotismmeans I gotta salute

~.1

·······.···:.·.··.·:·.·::.·.. ·.··:·:··.·.:·.:·.1.·.·.··.·.::···.'.:0·.·.:.···········.········.:·.. ·.. ·•·....••.•~:::.:- ::::: .. : :.. : :.: ':':..... , . .

:' ••.····••:···i:·····••·.······R1....

.:: ·~:.:.:::-::::::\;:~~(~::n;iiI~when my head of statedecides murder isgonna be good for theNASDAQ (if I wasworking for Mcdonald­Douglas right now I'dget a woody just think­ing about my stockoptions!!) Free press isfree so long as it asksthe right questions.Looks like I've beenasking the wrongones....

«{f~~_ •.

to Sept. 1, includingseven children, 15teenagers, and twowomen"? I guess itmeans that bulldozinghomes with the inhabi­tants still inside, extra­judicial murder of so­called "suspectedPalestinian militants",blowing up radio sta­tions and newspapers(as long as they'rePalestinian-run) reallyisn't violence at all - it'sdefense.Now I understand. Dueprocess means dueprocess for Jews livingin Israel and a bullet (orguided missile) if you'rePalestinian, and jailwithout trial if you hap­pen to be brown andAmerican. I guess ter­ror isn't a helicoptershooting missiles intoan apartment complex,or soldiers beating con­fessions out of children.Or American bombersdropping cluster bombsand bunker-busters

reaction to the worst ofthese atrocities in 1989was to increase aid to"our man in Iraq". I donot read editorials won­dering vvhy we're notinvading, Egypt, Turkey,Israel, Saudi Arabia,Indonesia, China,

Russia (didn't they justgas their own people?),Colombia (oh wait aminute, think we areactually!), all of whomhave committed atroci­ties on a large scale,hold human rights incontempt and most ofwhom have weapons ofmass Destruction. Whyare the questions weshould be asking - theones that expose thehypocrisy of our gov­ernments and BarbaraAmiel - not beingasked?Why were the sixweeks leading up to thesuicide bombings inIsrael on Sept 18th and19th called "six weeksof relative calm" (NBCfrontman Tom Brokaw)and a "six-week lull inviolence" (BaltimoreSun) when onSeptember 2nd theIsraeli paper Ha'aretzreported "that at least39 Palestinian civilianswere killed from Aug. 1

the world over only tobe bombed by trigger­happy pilots flying bil­lion dollar deathmachines. Would it beapproptriate if I won­dered if it was that easyfor our guys to be mis­taken for targets mere

kilometres from theirmilitary installation dur­ing a routine excercise,what life would be likefor Afghanis lighting cig­arettes in some far­flung region of thecountry? Will there bea board of inquiry forthose pilots who havedropped their deadlycargo onto a school,orphanage or hospital,causing "collateral dam­age" whose thousandsnow exceed those whodied on 9/11? Is "col­lateral damage" aeuphemism for "worth­less lives"? Does "pre­emptive attack" reallymean "defense"?I do not see thesequestions raised when Ileaf through a paper,when I watch the cheer­leaders at CNN, CBS orFOX news, or click myway to MSNBC.com.When I hear mention ofIraq having gassed hisown people, I do notread how Congress'

by JONATHAN SWAYZE

In recent times we haveborne witness to worldevents that havecaused many to worryfor our future. It is nat­ural in such a state ofaffairs to question whathas brought us to thisplace, and how we canavoid the scourge ofterrorism that now dom­inates the front pagesand headlines of ourmedia. One wouldthink that the coura­geous leaders of ourfree press would bringto the fore seriousquestions that get tothe root of "Why dothey hate us?"(President GeorgeBush in a speech tocongress) such as: whoare "they"? Where didthey come from? Andmove beyond superfi­cial reasoning along thelikes of the following:"They hate our free­doms: our freedom ofreligion, our freedom ofspeech, our freedom tovote and assemble anddisagree with eachother" (Dubya onceagain).Excepting the fringes ofour media and a fewbrave journalists, mostof what we read, seeand hear merely parrotsthe cynical appeals topatriotism thatAmerican politicians(and Canadian Alliance,Tory and most LiberalMPs) invoke in defenseof the Red, White andBlue. Standing "shoul­der to shoulder" (PrimeMinister Crouton) withour American buddies,we send our boys half

Pro Tern, Journal bilingue de Glendon, Ie lundi 4 novembre 2002 5

Un jour d'automne, j'an­nonyais ames amisque j'allais sejourner-quelques temps auCanada, tous s'imag­inerent que je merendais aMontreal.Pour la grande majoritedes franyais, en effet, IeCanada c'est IeQuebec avec un flouartistique entre la BelleProvince et la ville dumeme nom... le touts'appuyant sur I'ideeforce d'un fran<;:aisparle avec un fortaccent sympathique.Lorsque j'avan<;:ais Ienom de Toronto, je IusI'etonnement sur leursvisages.J'expliquais, afind'eviter toute ambiguite,que cette destination nem'etait dictee ni par lapresence des Chutesdu Niagara, ni par celiede la eN Tower!J'ajoutais, enfin, que

York University'sTheatre Glendon isproud to open its2002-2003 seasonwith Cactus Moon, anindependent produc­tion created anddirected by NoemieMaya and SarahRogers.Cactus Moon ques­tions the inevitability ofloneliness and insani­ty. This play exploresthe journeys of sixcharacters as theyreturn home to dis­mantle the void creat­ed by their emotionalisolation.

cette ville anglophonem'attirait par sonenergie tranquille et saqualite de vie, deuxaspects qui m'avaientete vantes par les amisprofesseurs qui meconviaient.Deux premieres ques­tions m'assaillirent:devais-je deja emportermitaines et bonnets?mon anglais serait-ilperformant? je me pre­cipitais alors sur lameteointernationale et jeressortais mes livres delangues afin de reviserles verbes irreguliers...et de verifier que Iemot "autumn" devenait"fall" surce continent. ..Le vol s'effectua sur"Air Canada", j'avais Iesentiment que cettepetite feuille d'erablerouge me guiderait plusefficacement de Roissya Pearson. Lorsque

With its symbolic setand sequences ofsong and dance,Cactus Moon createsdreamscapes and afragmented atmos­phere of remembering.Through the use ofaudience participation,the audience is invitedinto this world ofeccentricity, delusionsand humour.Cactus Moon followsthe illustrious traditionof Theatre Glendon'sindependent produc­tions. A student runproduction, CactusMoon showcases the

Terre-Neuve apparutapres les heures desurvol de I'Atlantique,une grande emotionm'etreignit, je decidaisalors de decouvrir d'ur­gence cette ite, sym­bole de NouveauMonde, si pauvre et siriche a la fois. L'arriveea Toronto me familiarisad'emblee avec Ie gigan­tisme de la ville. Bienentendu, je ne plaisan­tai pas avec les ser­vices de douanes etd'immigration, je con­naissais deja lafameuse "Iigne jaune"des aeroports.La prononciation deI'angalais du chauffeurde taxi pakistanais medecomplexa immediate­ment. .. Ia mienne valaitbien la sienne ! Cettedimension culturelle mefacilita Ie sejour car jene me sentis jamaiscompletementetrangere dans cette

colle'ge's DramaStudies program, andpromises to be anevening of innovativetalent and creativity.Please call 416-487­6822 for ticket infor­mation. Admission ispay-what-you-can.Cactus Moon runsfrom November 27-30.

societe multi-raciale.­Une chambre m'etaitreservee sur un cam­pus universitaire etj'abordais cette etapede mon voyage avecune certaine aisance; Iesoir, je verifiais presquesi Robin Williams nesortait pas avec sesetudiants pour philoso­pher; je me mefiais des"sash-windows" quis'apparentaient verita­blement a, des guil­lotines pour les mains;je circulais avec ungobelet "super-large decoffe-Iatte"; je saluaistoute personne que jecroisais d'un "hello" quej'essayais de rendrelocal; et, par dessustout, je me sentais"relax". Au dela desbuildings du "down­town" et du lac Ontario,Toronto laisse decouvrir

ses quartiers et c'estalors un immense puz­zle qui se constituedont Ie charme ne serevele que petit a petit.Toronto se merite, ellene s'ofre pas spontane­ment. Ici, I'efficite estde mise, I'authenticiteest palpable et la tran­quillite s'impose.Plusles jours passent et .plus je ressens la forced'une societedynamiquerespectueuse de I'indi­vidu; une sensation deliberte m'envahit. Monprochain voyage auCanada est deja pro­gramme, il passera parToronto et je me rejouisde perenniser les con­tacts de qualites nouesdans cette ville.KS

I,iil~LL~

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so it was then determined by the FBI and CIA that 'scripting' had to be usedfor his press interviews. There is a belief that the scripting was done as away to generate false information about the sniper and, in some ways, usedsolely as an instrument to propagate messages about homeland security andterrorism.These ideals and deceptive values seem easier now to implement than everbefore and an artist like Kinkade seems to provide the tools necessary forthese kinds of messages to become further endorsed. When one purchasesa Kinkade print they are buying into the ideals that come with the painting. It

by DAVE PORTThere is definitely nothing subtle when

trying to describe the paintings of ThomasKinkade. Although they depict small towns, citystreets and fictional mountain communities, thepaintings are a rather dangerous explorationbetween the values that one chooses to live byand how the artist believes Americans shouldlive. After all, Kinkade is by far one of the singlehighest grossing artists alive and, proba­bly, for that matter, ever. His work can befound in shopping malls around America,and along with prints of his work, thereis everything from diaries to Christmas

,decorations and books about being agood person. The message behind hiswork is a patriotic smorgasbord betweenChristian values and being a responsibleAmerican: Work hard and the rewardswill follow (a possible example of his riseto Ifame l

).

So what could be so wrong with hiswork? Although his message is simplyoutdated and, more importantly, false, itseems that the cliched style between hiswork and his message is what sells, andsells on a massive scale. Basically,Kinkade is a painter who is trying topaint a way of thinking. His paintingsattempt to create a nostalgic Americanlifestyle that becomes a world where allis good and right. It doesn1t take much toknow that this in itself is wrong andalmost corrupt. Sadly, Kinkade becomesa script writer for his audience aboutwhat can make America better - a so .

~-:::::.'.

called Martyr towards truth and justice :::Itt:~:~::::....

with CNN news updates. At the same time, there is no longer a Christmas Village or a San Francisco nightscape or even awere overwhelming security measures being cottage surrounded by a waterfall. It is a need for safety, for protection and agenerated by this caper. People in and around security that upholds forged colonial values. It almost seems that our livesthe state were comfortable with: having their have become so falsified by 'scripting', that Kinkade's paintings relativelycars checked, roads blocked, the increased become the promisB for a better life.need for more cops, surveillance and everything The easiest argument in justifying Kinkade is by saying that the artist reallyelse that would keep the bad guys away from has no responsibility to his audience. However, given the artist's talent andAmerica's children. As the entire episode began exposure it at least should be argued that the artist has a responsibility toto get out of control, Jeff Bloom, from NBC news educate his audience, to show them other ways of looking at a painting(October 13th, 2002), reported that police Chief rather than under a different ray of track lighting. An artist like Kinkade isCharles Moose had proven to be unreliable and very knowledgeable about his demographic; they, for the most part, have

the ideal American artist- his paintings arecliched, his technique isformulaic and across theUS they can be found insuburban shoppingmalls next to Popeye'srestaurant or Mall securi­ty guard stations. Butmore importantly, thething that separatesKinkade from any otherliving artist is that he is

police chief, and whetherhis art is simply craft ornot, his audience buysinto every bible quoteand American flag wav­ing on the porch.Kinkade has taken itamong himself to sell onpeoples suffering, toexclude them from goodart, meaningful art. Infact, he has, in thelamest terms, become

Americans from the out­side.I recently found myselfon Queen Street at anart opening where twoartists were showingtheir work. The first was

..::: ....::::::::J a young woman who

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.. ~ done on glass andreflected by real light.

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii The sec0 nd was a manadvertised in the who had 8 x 10 blackNational Enquirer. and white pictures ofKinkade's world, much Northern Ontario: bend-like his magazine adver- ing trees, rivers, loonstiser, endorses gated frolicking in front of acommunities where sunset. His picturessecurity is safety and were safe and, in mostfamiliarity is comfort. He ways, meaningless, butdoesn't paint or attempt my friend thought they'dreality, rather a commu- look great in his bath-nity of stone and light room or his hallway andand mountains protect- so he bought three anding mid-western we called it a night.

8 Pro Tern, Glendon's Bilingual Newspaper, Monday November 4th, 2002

Continued on Page 12

despite my feeling thatsome labels truly arelimiting, I take on thelabel of feminism forseveral reasons: I don'tfeel it is one of thelabels that limits myactions, but rather I feelempowered by it. I feelthat it says, "I'm part ofsomething". It takeswomen out of the mar­gins and re-evaluatestheir position(s) withinsociety. It means I canrecreate myself in athousand different waysif I want, or not at all if Iwant. Labelling myselfa feminist and hearingothers label themselvesin the same way showsthat there is strength insolidarity; we are creat­ing power and self­determination through

~ numbers.~~'~IIIIIIfIW~ -... ~.-'~'" By saying I'm being

, exclusionary in my

,i~III~'.terms, are these stu-dents implying that it ismen I'm excluding?

, That was never my

.' "our struggle to go any­

.' '. where, we have to

-91~M'~2f4lmake men a part offeminism, if not to befeminists themselves,,but to be conscious ofprivileges they may be

." exercising over womenthat cause oppressionand discrimination. Butif men feel excluded byme calling myself afeminist, consider theuse of the term 'man' todescribe the entirehuman race.

not having a proper def­inition of what feminismentails. I feel that I can'tto define a movementthat is indefinable.Feminism is a move­ment that attempts tofurther women in orderto be women in whatev­er way we want to be ­but this is only my defi­nition. I believe this tobe true, butfeminists/feminisms

come in all sorts and Idon't want to speak forother feminists whohave different ideas ofwhat their struggle isabout, or even if it's astruggle in the firstplace.As for the critique ofcategorizing people,

.'

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that~' QI.Cr Uk>rttt'14JLn. W#.tart CtrlI4 .~cJn~ ~~

mantle these so-called'norms and myths andconstraints' by provingthat inequalities doexist. Without acknowl­edging their very pres­ence, no forwardprogress in eliminatingdiscriminations can bemade. In fact, I think'humanism' is itself lim­iting since it doesn't.question inequalitiesinherent in a variety of

institutions and govern­ments.The argument madeagainst me callingmyself a feminist, out­side of this 'humanist'context, was that it wasa label, a box that I wasputting people into. Iwas also criticized for

for equality, but to methe humanism thesestudents were talkingabout is of the liberalistsort, which allows peo­ple to hide under theguise of political cor­rectness and safely saythat sexism and racismhas nothing to do withthem. If we all strive forequality, does that notimply that we don'talready have it? Andwho has the power toimplement these typesof "equalities"? Whodefines the implementa­tions as "equal"?A close analysis of soci­etal structures revealsthat there are certainpeople who hold morepower and decision­making capacity withinspecific settings thanothers. Certain institu­tions create systems ofinequality in order forthe privileged to contin­ue to inhabit their'superior' positions;someone wi'll alwayshave to do the dirtywork in order for privi­lege to exist. This ishow capitalist societiesfunction. Yes, I think weshould all strive forequality, but with a termlike humanism, we'reonly going to maintainthe norms and mythsand constraints wealready have.In this light, does itmean that by callingmyself a feminist I amlimiting the scope of myactions? I don't thinkmy feminism is in theleast limiting, because Iam attempting to dis-

by ROSALIE TAYLOR

As a feminist, I don'tfeel that I any longerencounter such sweep­ing stereotypes asbeing a "lesbian","butch", or "bra-burner"(whatever that means).What I do encounter,and frequently, is thequestion of why I'm afeminist at all. I've beentold that feminism isn'treally necessary any­more, that we'veachieved equality andfeminism is a deadmovement. And if I real­ly want to fight forsomething, why can't Ido it by more 'egalitari­an' means, like through'humanism'? I've alsobeen told that the termfeminism is too limitingin scope, making methe one who's beingdiscriminatory. Andbesides, do sexism andracism even exist any­more?I think that by the veryfact of being askedthese questions, it'sevident that feminism isstill a very necessaryand crucial movement.Recently, these veryquestions arose in adiscussion I had withsome classmates. Ithink a dialogue sur­rounding issues likethese is important and Ihope that these stu­dents will respond andchallenge my position.So why can't I be ahumanist? Wouldn'tthat be a more directway for us all to strivefor equality? Yes, Ibelieve it would be if weall were actually striving

Pro Tern, Journal bilingue de Glendon, Ie lundi 4 novernbre 2002

MARSDEN'S SlAPSCHTIKROUTINE FlOPS BIG-TIME!

Barllv BibleNotes on aBeermat: Drinking and Why irs Necessarv

9

Continued from Page 11

Marsden: "Well guesswhat my dear? I maybe given a free Volvoand chauffeur. but all ofus must pay for park­ing, even me! Overhere we're all treatedthe same!"JessIe: "...but rm geT­ting tired of little foOdand a living space th8'has no stove to COO''

on ..Marsden. '~OOOhn("f

would you qUit com­plaining! Instead ofmoaning and cryingpoor all the time whydon't you get off yourass and get a secondjob like me? Did youknow I'm also the direc­tor of ManulifeFinancial, WestcoastEnergy and GoreMutual Insurance?"Jessie: "Actually we'redisgusted by yoursmooching up to all theevil corporations ..."Marsden: "Pffft! Don'tyou understand it takesa great business mindto run this university?My insurance compa­nies helped reduce ourcosts by advertising inProfiles magazine, thiswonderful pamphleteveryone gets to read!Have you taken a lookat it? Notice how mucheveryone loves York?"Jessie: "Actually anewspaper* recentlypublished a nation-widestudent survey. Yorkwas one of the worstCanadian universi-ties..."Marsden: "What?! Yougotta be kidding...wasthat in The TorontoStar'?"

Jessie: "No, I think? .."Marsden: "Phew! Ithought I was going tohave to cancel our multimillion dollar contractwith them! Shame onyou! How could you beso naive? Don't yourealize that all surveysare false unless they'republished in the Star?"Jessie: "That's it, I'mdrinking a DietCoke, nomore of your Pepsi/Starmonopoly!'Marsden: "OK wiseass, I think you've over­stayed your welcome.Time to go. Shoo!Good bye! Au revoir!"Jessie: '"Fine: be thatway!"Marsden: "OK then!I'm not talking to youanymore!"Jessie: "Capitalist pig!"Marsden: "Communistpinko!"Jessie: "Harris Lover!"Marsden: "Nerd!"Jessie: "Oh yeah, I'mstarting a protest!"Marsden: "La la la! Ican't hear you!"Jessie: "LESS WORK!HIGHER WAGES!LORNA MARSDENRESIGN!"Marsden: "SECURITY!Oh, and before youleave, as a token of ourcommitment to resolv­ing our differences in apeaceful and diplomaticmanner, can we shakehands?"Jessie: "Really? OK..."Jessie extends arm andwinces in pain as ittouches Marsden'selectric shocker con­nected to her hand.To Book Marsden For Your Own ComedyNight. EmaU:Hoomanrow@ Hotmail.com

(What do you think about thisarticle appearing in Pro Temafter what you saw on page 3)

by CORRINE BREDIN

Inspiration is apt tostrike many of us aftera pint or six until thewitty, insightfu! observa­tions are flOWing morefreely than tne spilledbeer. At SOIT1E: pointsomeone wI! muse, "I

oughta write a book,",which usually promptssomeone else to cryrapturously, "I wannawrite a book aboutdrinking!"Nicholas Pashley, hasdone just that withNotes on a Beermat(Polar Bear Press),except Pashley is actu­ally witty and insightful.And he has clearlydone a staggeringamount of first-handresearch for this book(no pun intended).Pashley has, after all,been drinking in pubslonger than any threerat boys combined.

The man ought to knowwhereof he speaks.Note I use the word"pub" not bar. This willlikely be terra incognitaor those of us whohink "beer and skittles"

is a euphemism forcolourful vomit. But ifyou've ever thought ofbroadening your drink­ing tastes, perhaps

even - dare I say it ­maturing them a little,Pashley's book wouldbe an excellent place tostart.With selfless dedica­tion, he has delved Intothe best and worst ofToronto's pub scene

over the past thirty-oddyears, bringing to youhis picks for the bestbeers in Canada (oranywhere else) and thebest places to drinkthem. And in time-hon­oured barfly tradition,he has managed to fitin thoughts on justabout everything elseunder the sun as well.ApparentlyTorontonians drink likehicks, not to put too finea point on it. The bookis rife with random fac­toids on the history ofdrinking in the mega­city, the better for youto amuse your compan­ions with of an evening- assuming, of course,you can summon themfrom your drink-addledbrain.It's fantastic stuff, if forno other reason thanthat it will allow you tosniff disdainfully at ourcity's pretensions toworld-class status. Tohelp us cope with this

state of affairs, Pashleyhas included the outlineof a novella in which allthe characters arenamed after lJniversityof Toronto drinkingestablishments (amongthem lusciousVenezuelan circus pe"'-

former Isabella ElMocambo) and anexcellent drinking gameyou can play with aTTC pass.If that still doesn't do itfor you, you can forgoToronto entirely andread about drinkingpractices in far-offlands. Ever thoughtabout how much betterthat Heineken wouldtaste if you could drinkit from a big glass boot?Well, why not?The distillation (sorry,can't resist a pun) of allthis experience is wellworth looking at. It cer­tainly can't hurt to learna little something aboutone of mankind's mostancient and belovedbeverages. When com­bined with Pashley'sacerbic wit, the result isa chronicle of all theabsurd and odd shit youcan sometimes onlysee clearly from behinda tall, frosted glass.

10 Pro Tem, Glendon's Bilingual Newspaper, Monday November 4th, 2002

,'ANINTERVIEIIITHSAINTDIRTElEMENTARY SCHOOL. o. .... "

by JEREMY FORTIER

Jeremy: How long haveyou playing together asa band?Myk: The band startedin May. There was aband before that whichfeatured Kai, Jake,myself and the bassplayer you heardtonight, but he left townfor a bit and the bandkinda fell apart, so westarted this band. So itwas kinda the continua­tion of an earlierthought, but it is prettydifferent than what wedid then. It's really dif­ferent in the construc­tion in the way in whichthe music is construct­ed.Jeremy: So how didyou all meet?Myk: Some of us met inschool and I met Taniaat a gigJeremy: What combina­tion of adjectives andnouns would you use todescribe your music?Jake: It would be easierto come up with nounsand adjectives thatdon't describe ourmusic, like perhaps'jazz' or 'predictable'.Jeremy: How did youcome up with the nameSaint Dirt ElementarySchool?Myk: I was at a showwatching some reallyamazing improvisedmusic and during thebreak I met somefriends and invited themto come watch the nextset. So they did, butone of them said inresponse to the perfor­mance that "This is thelowest form of enter­tainment" and left. It's

interesting because Irealized that improvisedmusic could in fact beconsidered the lowestform of entertainmentbecause the performersaren't exactly playing toentertain. They couldbe playing some saintlymusic, but it might notreach the audience atall. So I thought thename Saint Dirt would

be fitting to describewhat we're trying to asa band.Jeremy: What kind ofgigs were you doingbefore becoming regu­lar performers at theTranzac?Myk: We were just play­ing the dives that mostbands play whenthey're starting out, butthen we were luckyenough to land thisweekly spot at theTranzac, which wasarranged by Jake.Jake: Va, I pretty muchjust told the owner thatwe played Dixielandmusic, and he decidedto try us out.Jeremy: So how wasthat first show? Howdi"d people respond?·Tania: There weresome angry old men.Myk: Va, some of thepeople were expectingto hear authenticDixieland music.

Jeremy: What role doesyour audience play indetermining whetheryou have a good show?Kai: I knovJ that formyself, the audienceplays an important part.Tonight it affected mebecause it felt that attimes people weren'treally listening. But wedraw a large audiencethat seems into what

we're doing, then it hasa positive affect on us.Jeremy: What kind oftechniques do you usein composing yoursongs?Myk: I write all thesongs, but I only com­pose the main melodyand the chords.Everyone else createstheir own parts anddoes what they wantover the main structure.Our weekly gigs at theTranzac have beenreally instrumental indeveloping my songwriting because there'sa constant need andappetite for new materi­al in order to keep theaudience and ourselvesinterested. When wefirst started playinghere we didn't haveenough songs, so I hadto compose some stuffin a hurry. But it's real­ly a blessing becausewe have an opportunity

every week to tryoutnew ideas on our audi­ence, whereas mostbands who only per­form once a month orless.Jeremy: Is there a storybehind the song 'It'syour birthday little boy'?Myk: Va, I had writtenthe song using majorchords, but with a minormelody. When we weretrying it out, our gui­tarist kept playing themelody in a very sadsort of way, but I wasexplaining to him thatthe song was a happyone and that themelody was happy, likea birthday song. So tohelp him understand, Ijust started singing abirthday-type song tothe melody, so we justdecided to include thesinging in the actualpiece.Jeremy: Have you guystoured at all? Are youplanning to at somepoint?Jake: We played in

Perth once.Myk: Well we'd like totour, but it's a prettycomplicated thing toarrange. Also many ofus have jobs and wecouldn't necessarilyafford to leave on a tau runless we could besure that it would beworthwhile. But it's def­initely something thatwe'd like to do at somepoint.Jake: Va, I think for nowanyways we're quitehappy with our currentarrangement at theTranzac.Jeremy: Which of youhas the most sexappeal?Myk: JakeKai: JakeTania: JakeJake: ...

Pro Tern, Journal bilingue de Glendon, Ie lundi 4 novernbre 2002 11

by HOOMAN ROWSHANBIN

At first glance, it mayseem that the relation­ship between theadministration and theworkers is slightly dis­agreeable. With theunion already voting onstriking, and YorkAdministration alreadythreatening to expelstrikers from York prop­erty, things are notlooking good.But behold York stu­dents! No need topanic!After the last fierce 11week long strike, YorkPresident LornaMarsden and her work­ers have become goodfriends. Since all thenegotiations are takingplace behind closeddoors, here's a specialinvesti-fictive report tosee how well they'regetting along:Marsden is sitting onher throne in her office,playing solitaire on theconlputer.<Knock, knock>Marsden: "WHO'STHERE? WHAT DOYOU WANT?"Jessie: "It's Jessie,representing the teach­ing assistants, contractfaculty and graduateassistants at York. Youmust give into ourdemands now!"Marsden: "Go away,I'm busy!"Jessie: "But we'vebeen working without ofa contract sinceAugust!"Marsden checks thedate on her 10 carratdiamond Rolex watchand realizes it's

October. She motionsfor one of her servantsto open the door.Marsden: "<Sighs>Ooohhh aliliright, comeon in then!"Jessie: "Well it's abouttime PresidentMarsden..."Marsden: "Hold it rightthere! What did youjust call me?! I'm notjust President, I am thePresident, ViceChancellor andSupreme Master ofYork University. Fromnow on, you will 3iwaysaddress me in thatmanner!"Jessie: "Sure, whatev­er you say yourmajesty, your excellen­cy, your royal high­ness..."Marsden: "Enough!!!Don't forget to bow!"As Jessie bows downMarsden grabs bothends of Jessie's pantsand gives him a bigwedgie.Jessie: "Owe! Whatwas that for?!"Marsden: "Ha ha halYou teaching assistantswere always nerdy... 1

just couldn't resist!"Jessie: "Excuse me, Iexpect to be treated alittle more seriously."Marsden: "Of course,of course. Pleasemake yourself comfort­able, have a seat!"As Jessie sits down,Marsden pulls a stringattached to the chairand yanks it aside.Jessie lands down hardonto the ground.Marsden: "Ha hahaaaaa! Sometimes Ijust can't help myself!"

Jessie: "I'm not jok­ing...our demands arefair and reasonable,you must give us whatwe're asking for!"Marsden: "OK, OK,now where were we?Ah yes, first I want to

say how I deeplyrespect your demandsand would like to builda good relationship withyour members. I'll evenlook you in the eye justto prove how sincere Iam."As Jessie looks up,Marsden squeezes aflower in her shirt pock­et and water squirts outinto Jessie's face.Marsden: "<chuckles>Oh my, I'm so sorryabout that. Here, whydon't you wipe that offwith this napkin?"Jessie dries his face,but doesn't notice the

dark smear left by thenapkin after he's fin­ished wiping.Jessie: "What's sofunny? Why are youstill laughing?"Marsden: "Oh noth­ing... now what was it

you were fussingabout?"Jessie: "We'redemanding more pro­motions..."Marsden:"Promotions?! My dear,don't be silly! The onlypeople that can pro­mote themselves hereis ourselves. Now whatelse were you whiningabout?"Jessie: "Listen, we'llfight this tooth and nailto the end if we haveto! And we insist thatyou give us a raise..."Marsden: "A raise?!Darling are you out of

.....

your mind???"Jessie: "This is ridicu­lous and unacceptable!With tuition and livingexpenses rising, thingsare getting tough ..."Marsden: "You thinkYOU have it tough?!

What about ME???Even after I left my postas a Canadian Senator,lean barely make endsmeet. Do you realizehow hard it is to keep ahouse in Rosedale andtravel the world whenyou're only making aquarter of a million dol­lars?!"Jessie: "...but the priceof TTC and parking isgoing up..."

Continued on Page 9

12 Pro Tern, Glendon's Bilingual Newspaper, Monday November 4th, 2002

continued from page 8

Regarding the issue ofracism and sexism notexisting anymore (atleast not within aCanadian context), Ican't respond here with­out being critical,because I feel that it issimply ignorance andmisinformation that isshaping this opinion. Tobelieve that neither ofthese systems of dis-

crimination exist simplybecause one has expe­rienced neither is clear­ly a sheltered opinion.One may consider sev­eral facts: being white,being (probably) mid­dle-class, and being awoman at a universitycampus that consistspredominantly of otherwomen. Privileges likethis both restrain onefrom seeing the worldfrom a perspective radi-

cally different thanone's own, as well as toserve to shelter peoplefrom what's uncomfort­able and what forcesthem into the margins.Failure to see thesetypes of differencesarise only out of thelame rAfusal to chal­lenge one's own experi­ences and privileges.One final thing I'd liketo point out to thesestudents, all privileges

aside, is that in renam­ing experiences onecan uncover a lot abouthim or herself. Forexample, the classifica­tion of sexual harass­ment is not alwaysseen with the same def­inition. In asking some­one if they've been sex­ually harassed who'scontinually slapped onthe ass by a co-worRer,they may respond yesor no, depending on

whether they considerbeing slapped on theass as sexual harass­ment. Where is the linedrawn? And on this lineof thinking, how doesone define racism?How does one definesexism? Humanismce-rtainly doesn't ade­quately answer thesequestions, which ispartly why I'm a femi­nist.