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0 N C 0 R D I A,S SDAY ~PORT Proceeds of concerts, bake sales to help needy students Spreading the spirit around group cooking," he said. ers: a decorated tree in the atrium of BY JENNIFER DALES Both the co-op kitchen and food the J.W. McConnell Building. The voucher programme are supported J\ t Campus Ministry, staff and tree's lights were switched on Tues­ by the Ministry's annual Spirit of r-lstudents are revving up for day afternoon, and since then, it's Christmas Drive. Peter Cote, its co­ their busiest season of the year. being decorated with fund-raising ordinator, said the drive raised "Our primary concern is social ribbons. $8,091 last year. action," said Father Bob Nagy in an The Drive's roots date back to 'We have used almost all of the interview at Belmore House, the money," he said. "Well over 200 1914, when a collection was taken up home of Concordia's Campus Min­ students have used our service." at Loyola College to help the some of istry on the Loyola Campus. The the families affected by W odd War I. annual Spirit of Christmas Drive Calls for donations The first drive, organized in 1974, supports a food-voucher pro­ Drive organizers sent letters was known as the Christmas Basket gramme for needy students and a requesting donations to depart­ Drive. It provided food baskets to co-op kitchen. ments throughout the University. needy families in the Montreal_com­ The food voucher programme To supplement the donations, pro­ munity and helped students who helps students who are temporarily jects are organized by Concordia were having short-term financial broke. To help in the longer term, staff. The Loyola staff is organizing problems. the Ministry and Concordia's peer a bake sale on Monday in the In 1990, Campus Ministry chose helpers have organized a co-op Administration Building of the to focus its efforts on needy students. kitchen. Loyola Campus, and the Music Anne Marie Ferrari (Centre for Mature Students) pins a red bow on Con­ Nagy said that the kitchen allows Department is giving a concert on cordia's first holiday tree, now gracing Place Co ncordia, in the J.W. Anyone who would like to contribute young people to help each other. Dec. 17. [See the advertisement on McConnell Building. The placing of the illuminated 19-foot artificial conifer "For example, young single parents The Back Page for details.] to the fond can contact Peter Cote at was organized by William Raso, (Manager, Registrar's Services), with the having a hard time can come This year, there's a newcomer to 848-3586 or Matti Terho at help of Bookstore staff and Campus Ministry. Concordians may trim the tree together with other students for the Drive's repertoire of fund-rais- 848-3590. with bows by making donations. Aftermath of Aug. 24 shootings Abdou, Martin receive bravery medals of the Henry F. Hall Building on Saber and Phoivos father have had coun­ BY !TA KENDALL August 24, 1992, when then-pro­ Ziogas, the selling. fessor Valery Fabrikant went on a attempted mur­ The ceremony echanical Engineering Pro­ shooting rampage. Fabrikant had der of secretary at the National fessor George Abdou and M already shot five people when he Elizabeth Assembly security guard Daniel Martin were took Abdou and Martin hostage . Horwood b u o y e d presented with medals for bravery After about an hour, Fabrikant let and forcible Abdou's last Thursday by the provincial gov­ go of his gun momentarily to make confinement spirits, and ernment. They were among a group a phone call. Abdou kicked the of Abdou he said he of 18 Qyebecers invited to the weapon out of his reach, and Mar­ and Martin. has learned a National Assembly in Q:iebec City tin restrained Fabrikant until the H e is serving lesson from to receive the Midaille du civisme by police arrived to arrest him. Fab­ a life sentence. the tragedy. Justice Minister Gil Remillard. rikant has since been convicted of At first, the "For Fab- Abdou and Martin had the mis­ the murders of Professors Michael Abdous didn't plan rikant, his name fortune of being on the ninth floor Hogben, Matthew Douglass, Jaan to attend the ceremo- and reputation were so ny. "I was really reluctant to PHoTo: MAac LAJOIE important," said the profe s- accept this medal. The real heroes sor, watching his sons, Mark, 8, and Former students and a in all of this are the wives and chil- Matthew, 6, chasing each other Nv9nne Hubert pailtriboietb1:ne dren who have been left behind; but around the ornate Red Room. "But my son Mark wanted me to," said there are more important things Abdou. than your work, your name an_d your reputation." Learned a lesson Daniel Martin, 24, said that the For the ·A bdou family, the period incident tested his ability to deal since the shooting has not been with a life-threatening situation and easy. Mary Wassef Abdou remem­ re-affirmed his decision to one day bers how her husband mourned the become a police officer. death of his friend, Jaan Saber. "It Raymonde Martin, happy to see was the firs t time the children saw her son's bravery recognized, is him crying," she said. 'When Mark obviously relieved he was n't heard him crying, he prayed Uncle harmed. She noted the presence of Saber would come back so his father a woman at the ceremony who could stop crying." Matthew was accepted a medal recognizing her too young to understand what was son's bravery posthumously. Daniel Martin (left) and George Abdou (right) pose with Justice Minister Gil going on, but the shooting incident "I'm just grateful I wasn't in her Remillard. has affected Mark. Both he and his shoes," she said. Distance education can help academic, business sectors A revolution in learning new needs of society." "There are so many people in BY MARLENE BLANSHAY She said Concordia's commit­ Europe and Canada who need ment to distance education dates degrees for advancement or to meet istance education - where the back to the 1970s. "Sir George government qualifications, and student and teacher are in dif­ D Williams University began as a won't be able to do so unless we get ferent locations - could be an eco­ deliverer of courses at the YMCA courses to them," he said. nomic boon to both the academic and for people who were unable to come Many European countries, like business sectors, according to experts to school full-time," she said. Britain, are more advanced in their at a symposium given last week by Correspondence schools are one interactive education systems than Concordia's Education Department of the better-known forms of dis­ we are, but as Baggaley pointed out, and the Mexican government. tance education. Students who are "Here in Qyebec the distances to One of the goals of the Interna­ unable to attend classes on campus cover are greater." tional Symposium on Distance Edu­ can receive courses by mail, with cation was to exchange ideas on how audio cassettes and printed materi­ Computer media academics can develop distance edu­ als . The use of new technologies, Here at Concordia, Education Pro­ cation as an effective means of train­ such as interactive audio, video and fessor Gary Boyd is making use of ing employees. computer links, continues to computer bulletin boards or BBSs. In "The business world recognizes increase at learning institutions a presentation titled "Theory and that it's time for what we call the around the world. Practice of Distance Education," strategic alliance of cross-sectors," Education Department Chair Jon Boyd explained Computer Supported said Associate Vice-Rector Barbara Baggaley, who has been doing Collaborative Learning (COSY), a MacKay (Academic Curriculum research in distance education for system he uses in one of his graduate and Planning) at last Monday's 10 years, said there is no excuse for courses in educational technology. opening session, "and the academic more universities not to use DE and For the past five years, he has been world understands that it must cast interactive education, especially in a using the computer media to confer a wide net to take account of the large province such as Qyebec. with students, and run a bulletin board system where students can leave assignments and comments. "I can masquerade as someone else, using another name, and ask Mark Schofield (Audio-Visual, Concordia) and J. Robin Moss (Britain's questions that other students are Independent Television Commission) took part in a tele-conference with too embarrassed or sensible to ask," John Daniel in Hong Kong. Daniel, who was Vice-Rector Academic at Boyd said. "I can log on as an out­ Concordia in the early '80s, is now Vice-Chancellor of the Open University in side expert, to help them solve the United Kingdom. problems. A whole team of people "Most British schools still focus education competition in Japan, doing a project can log on with one on solitary study, written work, high where 55 countries entered 162 name, sharing their expertise." analytical ability and focus on a sin­ Robin Moss, a leading British education programmes. Most of the authority on distance education, gle subject," he said. "However, suc­ entries lacked both information and said that with the world economy cess now means being able to work technique, he said. changing from an industrial base to with others, dealing with constant "The technology has greatly one concerned with information distraction, having good verbal skills, changed, but I saw very little inter­ and service, learning institutions and having different levels of exper­ active programming," he said.

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