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Balancing Act

In June, when I interviewed Rory Olson, president and CEO of the Montreal Internet company SureFire Commerce, I asked him what he most got out of his hobby, being the lead singer of the local rock band Who Cares. His answer: "Balance." Olson’s music is his outlet. Seeing him rip through a set of rock numbers with every ounce of his formidable energy makes it apparent that this is a sort of primal scream therapy for him from the pressures of running a multi-million-dollar company.

It seems that as most of us age and take on more responsibility, attaining a balance in our lives becomes increasingly important. People find that balance from their work in myriad ways — family life, leisure activities, religion, lending themselves to community and social causes — and with good reason. Balance is the intrinsic way of things, both in nature and our society; we seek balance in everything from our education to our relationships to our diet. Lately even entire populations, especially of established democracies, have been favouring governments with balanced policies. Our world would be a worse place without idealism and idealists, yet Clinton, Chrétien, Blair et al have won wide support by abandoning traditional partisan archetypes for the prosaic but sensible middle ground of economic conservatism and social liberalism. Conversely, the Alliance Party’s one-sided, anachronistic policies will make it difficult for them to form a national government any time soon (thank goodness). 

Finding an appropriate balance is always a goal in deciding upon the articles for this publication, and the subject matter for our stories in this issue certainly engulfs a wide spectrum. Our cover story by Julia Matusky looks at Concordia history professor Frank Chalk and his genocide studies course. When Chalk began the course 20 years ago with sociology professor Kurt Jonassohn, there were only a handful of contemporary cases of genocide, most notably the Holocaust. Distressingly, the number of examples in the ensuing years, from Rwanda to Kosovo, has grown considerably, and the need for serious consideration of the history and societal roots of genocide is more pressing than ever.

Our alumni profile on Rory Olson strikes a significantly less sombre note. Rory is a very successful full-time dotcom entrepreneur and part-time hard rocker; his life, someone recently commented to me, seems "a baby boomer’s dream." That would be hard to argue.

Finally, Rachel Alkallay contributes a piece on Concordia’s Centre for the Arts in Human Development, a program that allows students from the creative arts therapies — art, drama, music and dance/movement therapy — to work with intellectually challenged individuals. Every two years the Centre puts on a musical production, and I had the pleasure of watching these young people enthusiastically perform this year’s presentation, And Alice Dreams . . . , based on Alice in Wonderland. Seeing the participants blossom on stage was a truly moving experience, as I’m sure those who attended the four nearly sold-out shows at Loyola’s F.C. Smith Auditorium in June would concur. The Centre represents Concordia at its best, offering students the chance to get hands-on experience while reaching out to help and involve those from the community. Bravo to director Stephen Snow, clinical coordinator Lenore Vosberg and the many others involved in the wonderful program and production. They need — and deserve — our continuing support.

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