The Bull & Bear | January 2015 – Gender Issue

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The Bull & Bear

MCGILL’S SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY SPECULATIVE BUBBLES & BUSTS FOUR CORNERS: MILITARIZE MCGILL MONTREAL’S BEST SKATING SPOTS

JANUARY 2015

BREAKING DOWN GENDER

A Publication of the

Table of Contents Issue 5, Volume 13

NEWS

4 McGill’s Sexual Assault Policy to Change OnCampus Approach

EDITOR’S NOTE

FEATURE

7 Bridging the Gap Between Gender and Leadership: A Sneak Peek 8 The Myth of the Gender Identity Disorder 10 Inspiring Women to Lean In Towards Leadership

BUSINESS

13 A Chinese Buying Streak 15 Economic Forecasting: Any Better Than Astrology?

17 What Fights Speculative Bubbles and Busts?

19 How to Get Hired By Your Roomates

OPINION

21 Four Corners: Militarize McGill?

24 The Art of Mooting

LIFESTYLE

26 Montreal’s Best Skating Spots 28 Spotlight on Student Start-Ups: Arts Style 30 Stitch 101: The Art of

Knitting 31 New Year, New Me. Attempt #:_ The Bull & Bear is published by the Management Undergraduate Society.

The content of this publication is the responsibility of the Management Undergraduate Society and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University.

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elcome back McGill, to another semester of this splendid journey.

The start of the winter semester is accompanied by the beginning of a brand new year. An opportunity to start fresh, add a new major to your transcript, promise yourself you’ll make it to the 8:30s, and retweet those resolutions from last year you never resolved. As the third week of the year rolls in, let’s stay true to our New Year’s promises. Grab those running shoes, wear some 30-odd layers of clothing, climb up Mount Royal, being mindful of the sheets of ice previously known as the sidewalk, and go to the gym.

The winter holidays have always been a tease; they remind us that life outside university is easy. We go home to family and we are treated like royalty. Our loved ones have missed us so much that they forget how annoying we are, and even cook and clean for us – well, unless you’re from the West Island. This break, even Minerva was sympathetic and didn’t post half of our grades until we came back, graciously releasing us from the vicious claws of stress that grasp at us during the semester.

The winter semester is an exciting and special time for some of our cohort as they look forward to graduation. To those of you who have started the last term of your undergraduate/masters/PhD, we at The Bull & Bear salute you. You have suffered through five, seven or however many semesters of hard work and now it’s time to put on the graduation goggles, sit back in your chair, and grab a cold one. My only advice for you is to enjoy the next 10 weeks of university. Smile when your professor assigns 100 pages of readings for next class, attend that random party on Wednesday even though you have a midterm Thursday, and truly experience the culture here at McGill. Oh, and don’t forget to study! After all, you don’t want to throw all that hard work away…

January is also a time of reflection. As we look back at the last 12 months, the world has changed immensely. It has been a truly global affair; from the Ebola outbreak, to the unrest in Ukraine, to the protests in Ferguson. While 2014 certainly earned a page in world history, closer to home in North America, we have witnessed a theme of gender related incidents. From the Jian Ghomeshi scandal to Nicki Minaj’s booty, to the pressing concerns around consent, it is unfortunate to look back and see that we still stumble to reach equality. The past year was disappointing as we saw members of Parliament, as well as TV and radio personnel, accused of sexual harassment. It is now 2015, and I hope that this year we can lead by example and that next year The Bull & Bear Gender Issue will highlight equality instead of inequality.

Arash Nayerahmadi Business Editor

BRIEFS YOUR GUIDE TO EVENTS AROUND CAMPUS & THE CITY

I-Week C-Night: Calligraphy on your fan, rice balls in your mouth January 9th @ 9 P.M. Presbyterian college Free, homemade chinese food.

Emphasis on the free.

Riff Raff January 30 At New City Gas. Get all the ratchet, tattooed, white boy rap you’ll need for a lifetime.

Editorial Board January 2015 Max Feinsot EXECUTIVE EDITOR Alain Kasparian MANAGING EDITOR Yuliya Gorelkina Sijia Ye CHIEF LAYOUT EDITORS Elizabeth Emerson Suzanne Ma Lucia Mkhitarova Kathryn Wittoesch LAYOUT EDITORS Stella Lee Jenny Liao Elizabeth Wu MEDIA EDITORS Ana Maljkovic Julia Rodriguez Kathleen Tully NEWS EDITORS

Work Your BA January 15-30 For all those arts students desperate to be employable, this is your how-to guide.

Natalya Hibbert Arash Nayerahmadi BUSINESS EDITORS Chukwubwuikem Nnebe Jennifer Yoon OPINION EDITORS Chelsey Ju Jessica Farber LIFESTYLE EDITORS

Chicago the Musical January 22-31 At Moyse Hall. Pretend to be classy and go see a play. A little culture won’t kill you.

Kosa Akra Victoria Paskannaya Ebuka Ufondu WEB EDITORS Paul de Bretteville MARKETING DIRECTOR

NEWS

MCGILL'S SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY TO CHANGE ON-CAmPUS APPROACH POLICY DRAFTED THROUGH STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS TAKES PRO-SURVIVOR METHOD Jessica Lyver, News Writer

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ast February at the Forum of Consent, a panel of McGill students brought forth a proposal outlining a set of policies for McGill’s new sexual assault policy. Several student groups, including representatives from the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), the SSMU VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan, the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE), the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill (QPIRG-McGill), the Feminist Collective of McGill Law (FCML), and Women and the Criminal Law (WCL), are collaborating with McGill’s administration to draft this new policy.

Throughout the drafting process, representatives have consulted with Bianca Tétrault, Harm Reduction Liaison Officer and André Costopoulos, Dean of Students.

The involved parties feel that collaboration with administration is crucial to ensure that the new policy satisfies the university, the student body, SACOMSS, as well as all other student and community groups active on campus.

New policy to fulfill a need at McGill As it currently stands, McGill also does not have any formal protocol in regards to sexual assault. In fact, sexual assault is currently categorized with assault and sexual harassment under “Physical Abuses, Harassment and

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PHOTO VIA THE NATIONAL POST Dangerous Activity” in McGill’s Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. As stated in the student proposal, “it is clear that rape culture and sexual assault on our campus warrant a stronger response [from McGill administration].”

The need for a sexual assault policy at McGill is not a new one, although the high profile case against three McGill football players has placed additional pressure on the university. Jean Murray, External Coordinator for SACOMSS, explains the policy as being related to but not a direct result of the case.

“The new policy is somewhat in response to the case against the three McGill football players but more in response to the fact that McGill didn’t have a sexual assault policy,” Murray explained.

“That case more brought light to the fact that McGill lacked a policy,” Claire Stewart-Kanigan, SSMU VP University Affairs, elaborated. “Having a sexual assault policy acknowledges that sexual assault is an issue that needs resources and attention always, not just around times of public crisis.”

The proposal outlined several key recommendations for the new policy. Firstly, McGill should develop a comprehensive, accessible, pro-survivor policy that is proactive in addressing sexual assault and rape culture on

JANUARY 2015

NEWS campus. Secondly, the proposal recommended that the university hire a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator whose job would include supporting survivors and implementing policy as well as nurturing a safe space for survivors on campus.

The importance of this policy at McGill Murray hopes that adopting a sexual assault policy will begin to change campus culture and promote a feeling of safety and well-being at McGill. “A policy would ensure that [survivors] will be respected and will feel supported most of all,” she expressed. “Creating a clear, distinct channel for survivors of sexual assault to access support and safety measures from the university [will] show the community that McGill takes sexual assault seriously,” agreed Stewart- Kanigan.

The policy doesn’t only aim to change campus culture, but also to provide more paths for survivors to seek recourse for assaults. Murray detailed that as it currently stands, the only option for recourse is for sexual assault survivors to go through the criminal justice system and await a conviction before the university can take actions against an individual.

Having options for survivors on campus is one of the essential steps the policy is taking to create a safer and more supportive environment for these individuals. “If successful, this policy will mean many survivors [will have] access to another set of channels of support and recourse in their immediate community,” explained Stewart-Kanigan.” “Having sensitized, support-heavy channels can mean the difference between coming forward to access support and recourse, and not.”

The ‘Pro-active’ Nature of the Policy As an administration, McGill has been heavily criticized due to its handling of sexual assault, to the point of being labelled “dismissive.” Murray states that “during the case against the McGill football players, there was a general feeling that McGill wasn’t being as proactive as they could be or where we would like to see them be.”

The new policy aims to address the concerns of the purely reactive approach previously taken by the University. The focus and basis of this policy will be “pro-survivor” and “proactive,” in terms of creating a culture of consent on campus through educational measures outlined within the policy. Murray, on behalf of SACOMSS, states that “it is really important to us that this policy is not just solely focused on what to do if and when sexual assault occurs, but in taking steps towards preventing sexual assault.” Stewart-Kanigan comments, “I have already seen marked growth in the campus conversation around consent over the last several years, and I hope to see this policy keep this growth going.”

The policy being drafted is very detailed in its objectives, and aims to ensure that there is no room for gaps that could make it ineffective both to the university and

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in achieving the goals it sets out to accomplish. “We have worked hard to make this a proactive, process-transforming policy, and want to make sure that these new elements don’t end up just being words on paper because of lack of clear responsibilities outlined,” explains Stewart-Kanigan.

As aforementioned, an additional element of the initial policy proposal submitted in February is the creation of the role of the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC). This position will be responsible for increasing campus-wide awareness of sexual assault, and will work towards creating a culture of consent on campus. This new attitude surrounding sexual assault, which the policy ultimately hopes to engender, “contributes to a culture where survivors are supported and respected, and most of all safe,” Murray explains.

“Having a sexual assault policy acknowledges that sexual assault is an issue that needs resources and attention always, not just around times of public crisis.”

-Claire Stewart-Kanigan, SSMU VP University Affairs

McGill’s Policy as a Precedent It is not uncommon for universities in Canada to not have formal policies pertaining to sexual assault. A recent estimate found that only nine of 78 universities in Canada have policies specifically dealing with sexual assault. The need for these policies is not new, but has become significantly more explicit in recent years.

Nevertheless, McGill’s its lack of a policy ranks the university behind others in terms of its efforts towards preventing sexual assault. “I would say that the policy that we are trying to implement with the university currently would put McGill ahead in the sense that [we] have such a survivor focused, pro-survivor, type policy,” Murray emphasized. “We have a chance here to really implement quite a forward looking policy that could act as a precedent for other schools.”

You can access the updated draft of the policy at www. sexualassaultpolicyatmcgill.com

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Feature

THE GENDER FEATURE A LOOK INTO GENDER ACROSS THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM

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JANUARY 2015

Feature

Bridging the Gap Between Gender and Leadership...

A Sneak Peek Female Underrepresentation in Management by the Numbers MUS Student Body 2,344 BCom students (and MUS members) 51.2 percent Female vs. 48.8 percent Male MUS Executive Council President + seven Vice-President (VP) portfolios Events, Conferences and Competitions, Finance, Academic, Internal, Corporate Relations, Communications 0 percent Female vs. 100 percent Male MUS Board of Directors (BoD) Eight Elected, Voting Board Members U0 Rep, U1 Rep (2), U2 Rep, U3 Rep, SSMU Rep (2), Management Senator, 38 percent female vs. 62 percent male MUS Executive Directors 48 Executive Directors positions 46 percent female vs. 54 percent male MUS Club Presidents 16 Club President positions 56 percent female vs. 44 percent male DMCC Case Competitions Commerce Games (JDC) 40% female – 60% male JDC Central (JDCC) 45% female – 55% male Financial Open (FO) 29% female – 71% male *Happening Marketing (HM) The delegation has yet to be confirmed, but there are typically more women than men Important dates 2013-2014 The last year there was a female VP (1) on the MUS Executive Council 2013 Desautels Women in Business was founded 2012-2013 The last year there was more than one female VP (3) on the MUS Executive Council 2010-2011 The last year there was a female MUS President

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Chukwubuikem Nnebe, Opinion Editor Claire Llewellyn, Opinion Contributor Flavie Laliberté, Former MUS VP External

Are Women Holding Themselves Back?

Last November, Desautels’ own OB/HR Network held a workshop addressing the dual issues of diversity and gender in the workplace. The event was organized as a discussion between students, a panel of researchers, and McGill professors. Attendees were asked to reflect on the ever-changing role of women in the work environment by tackling the obstinate realities of the wage gap and sexual discrimination/ harassment in the office. At the same time, they also explored the notion of diversity – or lack thereof – in leadership positions, as well as what needs to be done to overcome the chronic underrepresentation of women in leadership.

In an attempt to uncover the processes that ostensibly inhibit the full participation of women in the modern workforce, Patricia Hewlin, one of the panelists and a professor in the faculty’s Organizational Behaviour department, boldly stated that “young women pull themselves back from opportunities” before their careers have even started. She then went on to clarify that women are socially conditioned to restrict themselves from pursuing certain career opportunities, as they are constantly “thinking about the impact [of their decisions] on their potential family.”

This thought was later echoed by another professor, Brian Rubineau, who pointed out studies which have demonstrated that “women disproportionately self-select” themselves as being ill-suited for work in certain fields solely on the basis of gendered preconceptions. This “self-selection,” according to Rubineau, is principally the result of both implicit and explicit messages in media, as well as in the social circles of many female young professionals.

A cliché, yet incredibly poignant, example of such a message is the classic image of the world of finance being just like a page straight out of the script for The Wolf of Wall Street. Believing they could never “fit in” amid such hostile, testosterone-driven work environments, some women consciously hold themselves back from such career opportunities by simply asking themselves: “Why even bother?”

Read the full article at The Bull & Bear’s official website, www.bullandbearmcgill.com.

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The Myth of the Gender Identity Disorder What takes precedence over an individual’s right to live as they are?

Jennifer Yoon, Opinion Editor

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hree days after Christmas, a seventeen-year old girl stepped into an Ohio highway, determined to end her life.

She left behind a suicide note. In those precious few words, she described feelings of isolation, anxiety, pain, entrapment, and depression. Though everybody experiences these feelings to some degree, for her, these feelings were colossal, unbreakable iron cages that imprisoned her every thought and breath. Molehills were mountains, and recovery impossible. The depression

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chipped away at her until she was certain she hated herself, and that living was no longer worth the pain.

Her name was Leelah, and she was born into the body of a boy.

Her gender was not a mistake – she was not a mistake. Though we, as a society, readily accept that there are natural variations in humans, we are hesitant in acknowledging the transgender identity as one of these variations. Instead, it is considered a defect in the psychological makeup of an individual: a psycho-

JANUARY 2015

Feature logical disorder.

Before 2013, psychiatrists categorized transgendered people – those whose gender identities do not align with their assigned biological sex – through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual stated that transgender individuals suffered from a mental disorder – in short, a medical problem. This disorder, labelled “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID), suggested that the trans-identity was akin to a disease: a pathological problem that needed to be remedied with medical means. This psychiatric evaluation of the root cause of transgenderism legitimized the opinion, providing a professional medical justification for seeing transgendered people as suffering from a mental illness.

widespread, the fact is that, with no categorical proof, the refusal to accept another’s transgender identity is pure and unfounded bigotry. Everyone is entitled to his or her moral judgements based on their own value systems, but it’s crucial to realize that the manifestations of such cruel and baseless opinions have terrible, unmistakable, and sometimes irreversible consequences.

We need to start believing Leelah and the others like her when they say that the often violent judgments they face on a daily basis have shattered their lives.

These were Leelah’s last words: “My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say ‘that’s f **ked up’ and fix it. Fix society. Please.”

Forty-one percent of transgendered people have attempted suicide. Seventy-seven percent of transyouth seriously considered suicide. Forty-five percent of that same youth attempted suicide. In a world that tells transgendered youth that they are immoral, and that they should hate themselves lest they change, it’s no surprise that they are more at risk for depression, anxiety, isolation, and suicide.

Before 2013, psychiatrists categorized transgendered people – those whose gender identities do not align “My death needs to mean with their assigned something. My death biological sex – through needs to be counted in the Diagnostic and the number of transgenStatistical Manual of der people who commit Mental Disorders (DSM) suicide this year. I want The psychiatric community has since clarified that someone to look at that gender variances in and of themselves are not considered mental disorders. Instead, the mental illnesses number and say ‘that’s are the result of the distress and impairment experienced by individuals because of their gender identif **ked up’ and fix it. Fix ties. To eliminate the negative connotation attached to gender deviance, the designation “Gender Identity society. Please.”

Disorder” was modified to “Gender Dysphoria.” However, despite these recent terminology changes, the myth of the gender identity disorder – and the stigma that follows it – nonetheless remains. The damage has already been done.

Regrettably, the prevalence of the condemnation of transgenderism is commonplace. Conversion therapy, for example – which attempts to convince transgender individuals (through unregulated means) that they should identify with the sex and gender they were assigned with at birth – is a still common form of “remedy”.

Though things like conversion therapy are still

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-Leelah Alcorn

Let’s allow the figures to sink in, and admit to ourselves that what’s going on is, in fact, “f **ked up.” Let’s accept that something needs to change. Let’s think hard about what we consider to be more important: our value judgements or others’ lives?

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Bull & Bear.

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INSPIRING WOMEN TO lean in towards leadership McGill’s women’s clubs support students pursuing their ambitions

Katie Tully, News Editor Victoria Eon, News Writer

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he role of women in the workplace is constantly improving, with the number of women employed in Canada having more than doubled since 1976. However, gender gaps still exist in leadership and research, fields where equal representation is needed.

Whereas women constitute 50.4 percent of the Canadian population, women hold only 37 percent of management positions and 25 percent of parliament seats.

Recognizing this trend, a number of groups at McGill have emerged whose primary goal is to encourage young women to pursue career opportunities any profession.

In 2013, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, wrote a book entitled Lean-In, addressing the reasons behind these low statistics. While many societal reasons can explain the low employment of women in leadership positions, Sandberg focuses on the hesitancy women have in pursuing these opportunities due to the lack of available support networks and deeply imbedded inferiority complexes.

“Women do have a fear of ‘leaning-in.’ For me it’s normal and it’s good to have groups that promote the ‘we can do it’ attitude,” explained the president of Promoting Women in Engineering (POWE), Stéphanie Breton.

Providing an Opportunity Where Underrepresented Both at McGill, and in the workforce, gender disparity is most apparent in STEM fields – particularly engineering. Women represent 26.5 percent of the McGill Faculty of Engineering population, and 22.3 percent of Canadians employed in engineering, sciences, and mathematics.

Promoting Opportunities for Women in Engineering

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(POWE) was created at McGill 20 years ago to address this lack of representation by encouraging young girls to consider pursuing a career in engineering by connecting aspiring women engineers at McGill to professional opportunities.

Breton stressed that it is important to strive for equality in engineering because engineers are an integral part of shaping the modern world. “Engineers build most if not everything we use, so if you only get half the population to design stuff that everyone uses, something will be missing there,” expressed Breton.

POWE runs a variety of community outreach programs in Montreal, including a visit day for high school girls aimed at removing the stigmatization surrounding women and engineering. “The reason why there are not

PHOTO VIA POWE

JANUARY 2015

Feature enough women in engineering is mainly because of stereotypes. If you look at the workplace, there are less women than men. To change this, you need to have women at the top who are role models for those who are younger,” Breton elaborated.

Just as POWE members hope to inspire young girls to enter engineering, POWE alumni often return to serve as role models to current McGill students through mentorship and networking programs hosted by the club.

Implications for Women in STEM Groups at McGill such as POWE and McGill Women in Tech hope to address the troubling disparities in the number of women working in STEM fields. The upward trend of women working in science and technology gives reason to be hopeful.

Studies conducted by the National Science Foundation in the United States show that the percentage of women entering STEM fields has increased from 31 percent to 38 percent from 1993 to 2011. Even more compelling data shows that over the past four decades, the percentage of women as first authors or senior physician authors of original papers has significantly increased from 5.9 percent to 29.3 percent.

While there is an upward trend, the statistics on publications still do not represent the proportion of women entering these fields. Experts have questioned whether or not this reflects a bias in who gets accepted for publication. If this bias is based on gender, this means that women occupy proportionally fewer research positions and submit proportionally less original work. If this is true, women are disadvantaged because of the job environment, not because of their qualifications.

Caregivers While women are relatively underrepresented in science and technology they are over represented in “caring” fields such as homemaking, advising, nursing, and counseling. All Faculty of Arts advisors (not counting departmental advisors) at McGill are women.

This perception of women as caring figures is pervasive. In a 2008 Pew Research Survey conducted in the United States, 80 percent of respondents voted women as compassionate, while only 5 percent of respondents said the same of men. This characteristic often fits those typically required for these “caring” fields of employment.

“Emotional labour is what advisors and student support workers do,” shared Claire Michaela, the Departmental Advisor for Sexuality, Gender, and Women’s Studies.

“It’s amazing when I go to meetings - women do almost all the emotional labour.”

Women’s groups on campus use compassion to create comfort and community among their members. “You really get a sense of community here at DWIB. When I went into the club everyone was so close and supportive, we just support our members to do the best they can,”

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PHOTO VIA DWIB explained VP Communications of DWIB Marianne Liu. Breton also had a similar experience when she first joined POWE: “Sure, I need friends to do homework with and go to classes with, but there are certain things that I can talk about with the girls on POWE that I would not always talk about with my other engineering friends.”

Linking Women to the Professional World After reading Lean In two years ago, Economics and Finance student Vasilia Kratsios and classmate Emily Ren decided to bring more professional opportunities to women at McGill. Kratsios and Ren decided to start Desautels Women in Business (DWIB).

“The more you research it, the more you realize it is something we need. A lot of people wouldn’t call themselves a feminist, but I think a lot of people in our generation don’t like the word because they often don’t understand it,” expressed Kratsios.

Bringing feminism to the workplace not only encourages women to achieve but also to receive equal pay for their work. According to Statistics Canada, as of 2011, Canadian women still make only 87 cents for a man’s dollar. This pay gap carries over across fields and exists even at McGill.

In 2014, the Quebec Pay Equity Act was enacted to address gender-wage gaps within the province. In accordance with Quebec law, McGill effectively covered back pay and raised wages for 2,100 employees in an attempt to equalize pay between female-dominated and male-dominated positions. This initiative included present and past employees, and resulted in large checks for underpaid tenured positions.

Work-Life Balance DWIB aims to expose women to professional opportunities in business through their annual conference and other similar speaker events. The speakers, women from top firms such as the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), help convince women students that they can have both a career, and a family.

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Feature “It’s funny when you have a woman speaker, the first question that is asked is how do you achieve a work-life balance. How often do you find a man being asked that question? Almost never. From interacting with the speakers I learned that you don’t have to give one up - you can do both, and I think it is a common misconception that you can’t,” elaborated Kratsios.

The number of working mothers has also increased significantly. From 1976 to 2009, the percentage of women employed with a child less than three-years-old increased from 27.6 percent to 64.4 percent. This can be attributed to many factors, such as improved business practices and increased accessibility of childcare services.

Improved legislation requiring businesses to provide paid maternity leave also eases the pressure on women to leave work once they have a baby.

However, obstacles still do exist for working mothers.

More women than men work part-time, with childcare cited as the number one reason to work shortened days.

Also, men do not receive the same amount of paid leave as women, increasing the pressure on women to be the primary care provider.

Opportunities and Empowerment McGill Women in Leadership (MWIL), unlike other female professional clubs on campus, does not focus on a specific field but aims to guide women towards any field they desire. By providing career advising and mentorship, the club hopes to serve as an umbrella group to connect McGill women to other clubs and opportunities around campus.

“I think at university you feel as if you are in a bubble.

The real world is pretty big. We’re trying to build connections as women and girls have a harder time finding opportunities because there aren’t always role models in the field they are looking at,” explained Co-President Erica Pederson.

Founded in the 2013-2014 school year, MWIL has experienced massive growth due to campaigns such as the McGill Women of the Week photo series, in which women leaders around campus are nominated and then photographed for the page. The club’s VP Communications Victoria Sung explained that initiatives such as this have helped the club reach out to students in all faculties, even in smaller ones such as the Faculty of Architecture.

Both MWIL and DWIB are currently planning their annual conferences for the year to be held on February 20 and March 15, respectively. The events will both hold networking events and speaker panels for delegates to participate in. DWIB will also be launching their mobile application this semester, which is aimed at connecting members to specific job opportunities in business.

their clubs, offering networking events for both genders.

Co-President of DWIB Amandine Roche explained, “We cater our events not only for women, but for men as well.

If they are interested in coming to our events, men are more than welcome to join us.”

POWE also strives to include both men and women in their events by collaborating with co-ed groups such as Engineers Without Borders. DWIB and POWE are currently involved in planning events to support the current #HeforShe campaign to further widen the dialogue of women in professional fields to both genders. #HeforShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality launched by UN Women. The campaign hopes to frame equity as a human rights issue, not just one of gender, by encouraging men to “commit to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls.” As of January 12, 960 Canadian men have signed the pledge, joining over 205,264 signatories around the world.

Breton stressed the importance of encouraging these dialogues, and for reaching equality. “When you have a mixed team, that is when you have the best results. Therefore, it really makes sense that in every field you strive to have half and half.”

#HeforShe Women’s groups on campus are not exclusive to females. Many strive to include both men and women in

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JANUARY 2015

Business

A Chinese Buying Streak

Concerns are rising as China steps up its M&A game around the world Sébastien Grégoire, Business Writer

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n a popular scene of the French comedy “Qu’est-ce que j’ai fait au bon Dieu,” a Chinese man and a Jewish man are having an argument. The Chinese man tells the Jew that China will end up buying all Jewish possessions: their boutiques, their kosher grocery stores, their banks, even Israel! As outrageous as such a statement may be, it still merits a discussion, especially in light of China’s increased activity in the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Essentially, what everyone wants to know is how extensive this buying streak is, and what exactly its economic effects will be.

China’s economic growth has been unrelenting since the turn of the 21st century. Already a bigger economy than the U.S. at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), China’s is expected to be the biggest in absolute terms in the very near future. For many years, it has been common for consumers to find the words “Made in China” on various items, and then proceed to joke about the poor quality that such a country-of-origin label implies. But, now, tides are

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PHOTO VIA THE ECONOMIST changing, as Chinese businesses have extended beyond factory production and are now starting to acquire many of the companies we have come to love and trust. This shift has occurred because the economic growth in China has been coupled with a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) from the country to the rest of the world.

Since 2000, FDI from China to America has soared to $40 billion USD in total. Of that sum, $12 billion has been invested in the energy sector, mainly in renewable energy and natural gas, according to the Rhodium Group.

This huge increase in FDI has been considered inevitable for a few years, as China and its mainly state-owned banks have piled up considerable amounts of savings in order to finance M&A in foreign countries. According to The Economist, since 2009, loans to Chinese companies from state-owned Chinese banks have amounted up to almost $500 billion.

But why are Chinese companies so fond of M&A, and instead of greenfield investments (investments aiming

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Business to start operations in a foreign country from the ground up)? In fact, of the $40 billion of FDI since 2000, 67 percent of deals have been M&A, while only 33 percent have been of the latter category. Joel Backaler, author of China Goes West: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Companies Going Global, offers three reasons to explain this phenomenon. Firstly, Chinese companies want global exposure, but they lack experience in international business. Unlike other countries, China has been profiting from business opportunities without having the time to process their economic benefits. Secondly, they are not familiar with American culture, laws and regulations.

In America, the rule of Law is above any political party, whereas the Chinese equate the Communist Party with the Law itself. Finally, they tend to centralize too much of their decision-making in China. For example, the product marketing strategy, the consumer targeting approach, the level of regional financing as well as the mission statement are all determined at the global headquarters in China, though these decisions may be considered differently by the regional and divisional managers actually on the field.

As a result, this negatively affects how well companies are able adapt to local cultures and markets.

In light of such problems, how desirable are the influx of M&A opportunities by Chinese companies? Even though some consider it as a threat to national sovereignty and identity, American officials encourage Chinese FDI in the U.S. The U.S.-China Business Council suggests that American governors have led 58 trade missions in China since 2009 specifically to encourage FDI towards America. Further, Chinese companies and their affiliates employed 13.2 million workers in the U.S., according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In addition, these jobs are expected to remain in the U.S. during the next few years as an mandatory protection from offshoring, a clause characteristic of most M&A agreements.

Additionally, from an international standpoint, FDI

PHOTO VIA INSTITUTE OF MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND ALLIANCES

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is desirable anywhere. As China buys parts of industries across the world, the country’s interests become more aligned with the countries it does business with. For example, it will greatly increase incentives to lower trade and investment barriers between countries, and may possibly even limit the possibilities of political crises or armed conflict.

However, a dramatic increase of Chinese FDI raises questions of new risks and threats to come. For example, during periods of negotiations in preparation for M&As, some Chinese companies have conducted and hosted such events in bad faith. These companies have encouraged alcohol consumption by their American counterparts prior to negotiation sessions; have hacked into executives’ personal computers; have tipped off interpreters to smooth negotiations their way; and have bugged meeting rooms to eavesdrop on executives of opposing companies bidding for the same acquisition. Furthermore, through its state banks, the Communist Party financed the acquisition of important companies in critical sectors, such as the Canadian PetroKazakhstan. By doing so, the Party garners political leverage over foreign governments, thus enabling it to influence energy prices in target economies, and get companies to supply their products and services exclusively to China.

Experts now believe that China’s M&A activity lowers global market efficiency. First, such negotiations often result in the heavy centralization of decision-making towards China in ways that frustrate executives in foreign countries who are more adapted to their local terrain. This may lead to friction within the firm, and may even lead to a greater number of exits by senior management and gridlocks. Consequently, the acquired company loses market value, along with the expertise of its employees. Second, it also is suspected that such transactions can pose a threat to national security as they can be used to finance the acquisition of cyber-infrastructure used for cyberwarfare.

Last August, Lenovo Group Ltd., a Chinese firm specializing in hardware manufacturing and designing, bought IBM’s x86 low-end server business. Before being sealed, the deal was under investigation for 150 days because the Pentagon claimed that the servers could be used for a cyber attack against US systems.

Because of such obstacles, Chinese companies and their affiliates have had difficulties when facing global competition, especially in the U.S. However, these challenges may be short-lived, or at least alleviated. Over time, these companies will surely gain experience from their foreign operations, benefit from a more globally-aware and bilingual workforce, and leverage a greater number of case studies at their disposal to anticipate potential business mistakes and problems in the market. Although we can surely assume that it won’t go as far as that, the wave of Chinese M&As around the world is merely an introduction. So, get ready world.

JANUARY 2015

Business

Economic Forecasting: Any Better Than Astrology?

He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass

Phillipe Rich, Business Writer Market Predictions and the Crystal Ball n 2015, I forecast stable GDP growth in the U.S., but a difficult year for our Canadian economy; continued turmoil in the Eurozone from the unfaltering threats of deflation and austerity-driven contention with Greece and Spain; further decreases in Chinese growth; and slower but solid expansion in non-commodity producing emerging markets. I see crude oil testing new lows before grinding back up around the $70 levels, and remaining well-below $100 per barrel unless a crisis erupts in the Middle East. I forecast favorable returns for the first half of 2015 for the U.S. stock market with some volatility in the second half due to the Fed’s actions on interest rates, overvalued large-caps and broad-based subpar corporate profits. Finally, I predict Japanese and European stock markets will post surprising returns.

“Why in the world should I listen to you?”

I assume that’s most people’s immediate reaction – and it’s exact same one I would have. Very few people would invest their money solely based on a 100-word paragraph in a student magazine. But, if these exact same predictions were made by the world’s best economists from the top investment firms, hedge funds or banks, would you be more inclined to follow them?

Now is the time of the year when everyone takes out their crystal ball, fortune telling cards and star maps to predict stock market performance, macroeconomic trends and monetary policy changes. With 45,000 sets of economic data released annually by the U.S. government alone, forecasting is a gargantuan, albeit crucial, task. Economic analyses help financial institutions quantify risk and opportunities, assist governments in shap-

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PHOTO VIA SHELLEY WARREN ASTROLOGY ing fiscal policies, steer central banks’ monetary policy and influence investment gurus in the positions of their portfolios.

However, the sad truth is that most of the time forecasts are wrong.

Economic Jinx Economists’ forecasting track record is far from glorious. Since 2000, stock market experts accurately predicted market direction only 48 percent of the time – which means, on average, one would have been better off doing the opposite of what was predicted. Since 1990, economists have forecasted only two of the 60 technical recessions that occurred around the world, and very few foresaw the latest three major recessions in 1990, 2001 and 2007.

Other examples of errors in economic forecasts include the OECD’s admission that its GDP growth predictions were off by an average 2.6 percent between 2007 and 2009. The organization also realized its North American forecasts were wrong 28 times in the past 30 years (see Graph). In November 2007, economists of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve predicted a 1 in 500 chance of American GDP falling by 2 percent in 2008. However, it turns out that the country’s GDP actually fell by 3.3 percent that year. And the list goes on.

Investor predictions for 2014 were also flawed.

Although, the bulls were right about the American stock market, no one expected the meltdown of the BRIC countries. At the start of 2013 and 2014, everyone on the street talked about a shift out of bonds and into equities. However, the 10-year treasury yields grinded down during

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Business the year, and the German 10-year yield plummeted to a record low.

The same track record is true for equity research on stock price targets. Empirical studies, such as one published in the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting in 2011, show that price targets often have large prediction errors as large as 36 percent and consistent over-optimism for firms with positive growth outlooks.

Hindsight Is Twenty-Twenty “Nobody has a clue. It’s hugely difficult to forecast the business cycle. Understanding an organism as complex as the economy is very hard”, admitted Jan Hatzius, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, about economic forecasts.

Prophecies are self-fulfilling, especially in the context of an economy that is always changing, and economic actors who are always adjusting their behavior to the latest news and knowledge. If a large group of economists predict today that a recession will happen next year, businesses and households will adjust their spending now, thus causing the recession to materialize instantly. Additionally, the OECD attributes its bad track record to groupthink (i.e. a lack of diverse thinking): “We all went to the same schools, we’re taught to think about economics in the same way and we’re looking at the same data.” Also, most of predictions are drawn from models based on simplified assumptions where cause and effect are often blurred. All this serves to show that biased data, bad luck, and modeling errors may decrease the accuracy of economic forecasts.

ically see the biggest gains in stock markets (see Graph).

Since 1930, the model was wrong only once – and that was during WWII. 2015: Between Sixes and Sevens Forecasts for 2015 either look remarkably similar to those of 2014 or predict major crashes and turmoil.

The drop in oil prices, the uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, the crumble of the Russian economy, the difficulties in Europe, the geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the above-average stock market returns in the past five years have created a dizzying cocktail for economists and investors.

While the media is constantly saturated by economic forecasts, one should try to be critical. It is worth doing our own homework and acquiring a sound understanding of economic theories. A strong bottom-up firm valuation knowledge, which focuses on individual company growth, rather than on macroeconomic cycles, allows investors to decrease their dependence on experts’ projections. The best strategy is to build an independent mind in order to thwart the herd mentality. Although we must remain critical of forecasts, as Henri Poincare said, “it is far better to foresee, even without certainty, than not to foresee at all.”

La crème de la crème Should all research reports be blatantly disregarded?

Definitely not. Not all predictions are created equal.

Among the thousands of economists and investors, some have shown an outstanding accuracy in their past foresight. Every year, the prestigious Lawrence R. Klein Award, one of the best-known economic awards, is given to the individual or team with the most accurate economic forecast for a four-year period among the participants of the Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey. In 2012, Bloomberg released its own list of the top macroeconomic forecasters in the world based on economic indicator forecasts since 2010.

Some economists are almost considered prophets because of their past prognosis of major market crashes.

Among others, Michael Burry predicted the subprime mortgage crisis, while the Jerome Levy Forecasting Center accurately foresaw both the 1929 crash and the 2008 recession. Finally, in 2005, Robert Shiller wrote about an imminent collapse in the U.S. housing market.

Others are known for developing uncommon, albeit accurate, prediction measures. The Beltrame Group of Scotia McLeod created the Presidential Election Cycle theory. The indicator shows that in the third year of a U.S. presidential term – with 2015 being such a year – we typ-

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JANUARY 2015

Business

What Fights Speculative Bubbles and Busts?

Theories on speculative Bubbles, and testing academic experiments

Natalya Hibbert, Business Editor

D

o you remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? If you’ve been living under a rock, it was the activity of dumping a bucket of ice water over someone else’s (or your own) head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Though, to avoid this dim fate, you could have also donated to the ALS Association, this detail seems to have been forgotten, as the challenge went viral on social media last summer.

Even celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook got involved.

After a couple of months, the oversaturation of these videos in the media, and the gradual movement away from the awareness of the disease led to their decline.

Some major criticisms were that participants were no longer donating to the cause – less people were donating and more people were dumping iced water on themselves.

Additionally, there was increased scrutiny of the fad following an incident in which urine and feces were poured over a boy who thought he was doing the challenge. That said, did the activities fade out due to a viewership that was more critical and socially-aware or did it simply lose its overestimated, speculative value? Economists have asked similar questions over and over again when determining the causes of speculative bubbles.

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PHOTO VIA ELISE AMENDOLA / AP What is a speculative bubble?

Bubbles are made when the price of a commodity is high, but only because investors believe that the selling price will be higher tomorrow. One of the most famous examples is the tulip bulb craze in Holland during the 16th century. People sold their land and jewels just to purchase one tulip bulb in the hopes that the plant’s value would rise – a phenomenon called capital appreciation – and they would become rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Alas, it turns out they were sorely mistaken. When the bulb bubble burst and the flower essentially became worthless, this created a prolonged depression in Holland.

However, bubbles are by no means things of the past: the Dot-Com bubble of the early 2000s, the US Housing bubble of 2008, and there are speculations that there may be another bubble in the US stock market caused by the Fed’s easy monetary policies and lowered interest rates as inflation is below its target.

There are many theories explaining how such bubbles form, with the first being the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). This theory states that market efficiency infers that market prices reflect all publicly available information. This includes information about confidence amongst investors and consumers as well as information regarding

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Business the likelihood of future events. According to the theory, prices react immediately and correctly to new information. Any other changes in share prices will be completely irrelevant unless new information is received and assimilated. Under this theory, speculative bubbles involve persistent deviations from a share’s “correct”’ value, and cannot be deemed random. So, are efficient markets consistent with Wall Street crashes? EMH implies that share prices should not increase on the whim of a crowd, but in reality, this is not always the case.

An alternative to this theory deals with the effects of changing expectations on stock fluctuations. Stocks are a function of two income streams: dividends and capital gains. If investors believe share price P will rise, then this would provide capital gains; therefore, expectations will have changed and P has changed to P*, which represents the optimal price. However, this is only possible under EMH if the expectations are based on rational interpretations of new information suggesting that a favorable future state is more probable than was previously believed.

In that case, such a change in price is correct. But, if a change occurs without any new significant information appearing on the market, the price either was originally incorrect, is now incorrect, or both and under this case the market is acting irrationally.

Another notion that is often alluded to by economics is Rational Pricing (RP). The rational pricing of securities ensures that prices eventually correspond to their longrun (LR) competitive equilibrium. Therefore, speculative bubbles indicate that the pricing of securities is irrational, due to the influence of expectations in the pricing of securities.

How do we explain the speculative bubble phenomenon?

Under RP theory, the idea of rationality disappears in bullish markets. If an investor perceives panic or impending hysteria, he himself will panic. If such behavior occurs during the building or bursting of speculative bubbles, can we have confidence in prices in general? In the case of speculative bubbles – and perhaps in many other cases – rationality breaks down, and economic theory goes out of the window. Or, maybe we can blame it on the “madness of crowds” and the “mob psychology” for bull markets and subsequent crashes? Either way, it is difficult to determine the true causes of bubbles and busts.

Another hypothesis is the Chaos Theory, which is perhaps the most promising explanatory of them all. It states: observations appear random even when subject to sophisticated statistical analysis, and no pattern repeats itself even within infinite data. This shows that the qualitative behavior of a chaotic time series is subject to complete upheaval in response to the smallest changes in the values of the underlying parameters. Thus, the irrational behavior during speculative bubbles appears to be outside the scope of traditional economic explanation.

The main issue here is that there is no way for econo-

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mists to show that the security prices are rational or irrational. The fundamental assumptions of most economic theories is that all economic agents act rationally, so how do we create models that account for this irrationality?

A paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, authored by Sheen S. Levine of Columbia University and five collaborators, describes an experiment conducted in Texas and Singapore to explain these boom-bust cycles. The team trained 180 people who had a background in finance to conduct 30 different runs of the experiment in order to calculate the value of imaginary shares of stock. Prior to the observation, the participants were tested to ensure they all possessed similar analytical abilities. Following the experiment, the traders were instructed to buy and sell the shares among themselves with each trader’s pretend profits in the simulation to be paid out as real cash.

The difference here is that, in some simulations, the traders formed a less diverse group, while, in others, there was a greater number of visible minorities. The results were very interesting. In the markets of the latter group, prices were 21 percent more accurate, relative to the fundamentals of the stocks, as trading proceeded. Within the more homogenous trading groups, pricing accuracy declined by 33 percent over the course of the simulation.

Hence when the less diverse group traded amongst itself, traders were more likely to drive prices to irrational levels than when there was more diversity in the backgrounds of the trading partners. The authors wrote: “This supports the notion that traders in homogenous markets place undue trust in the decisions of others; they are more likely to spread others’ errors by accepting inflated offers, paying prices that are far from true values.” In short, in a market with individuals of more diverse backgrounds, traders are more skeptical, and are thus better at applying logic and analysis to their trading decisions.

However these results are inconclusive due to some major criticisms of the study, and its method of experimentation. The first is that the fundamental value of each stock is extremely subjective. Therefore, in the context of such an experiment, it is difficult to ascertain the accuracy of the stock valuations of different groups. Additionally, it is difficult to extrapolate from lessons gleaned in this experiment to real-life global financial markets where actual trading is done anonymously.

All the same, the main takeaway is that it pays to have people who look at the world through different lenses, and who question each other’s ideas, as opposed to succumbing to groupthink. Without more insight, the vicious cycle of speculative booms and busts will continue, the same way that fads like the Ice Bucket Challenge rise and fall over time.

JANUARY 2015

Business

How to Get Hired by Your Roommates HR policies at McGill Ju Seoung Lee, Business Writer

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he start of a new semester is marked by the abrupt end to a prolonged holiday, and the instant desire to quench the academic and alcoholic thirst. With graduation approaching, we must also start considering our future after graduation: our careers. Finding and securing the dream job – or at least an acceptable one – requires significant time and commitment. Information sessions, networking, and applications, followed by gruelling rounds of interviews. However, there is one aspect of recruitment that we all go through, yet don’t often ask about: how do we get hired by student clubs at McGill?

McGill students have the privilege to choose from more than 300 student clubs representing a vast array of interests from Flintknappers to Quidditch. When it comes to soft skills, you are more likely to learn more from participating in extracurriculars than simply attending class.

It even looks good on your resume! Executive positions, or even club membership, signal strong characteristics of leadership, commitment, and diligence.

Promotion to the executive ranks of these sometimes prestigious extracurriculars groups can be as simple as being the next in line, or as complex as submitting applications enclosed with a CV and cover letter, followed by behavioral interviews. The decision of whom to interview is linked with the need to continue the traditions of the club as senior members graduate. The objectives of most clubs are to promote their values across the student body and encourage participation. Generally speaking, these guidelines should differ from corporate guidelines, whose primary objective is to maximize profit. How do the guidelines between student groups and corporations differ?

How do their recruitment processes reflect their respective values? What are the limitations to these process?

Recruitment Processes The clubs within the MUS are governed by the MUS

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Involvement Package, which is released every winter semester. Applications are accepted through the online package, at which point the individual application processes begin. On the other hand, some clubs hold events where potential candidates are trained before they apply.

One such instance is the McGill Debating Union, which holds the annual “Opening of the House” to display the skills needed to participate. They also hold training sessions for novice candidates to encourage participation.

Similarly, the McGill Quidditch team holds training sessions as well as social activity nights to promote their presence, which has been hugely successful with more than 400 signups this year.

Most clubs accept CVs, and hold formal interviews to recruit their executive and committee members. However, for the selection of their executives, most clubs conduct democratic processes. For instance, the Korean Students Society (KSS) holds annual member meetings where candidates who wish to become the executives may speak about their proposed initiatives for the club. This is followed by a secret ballot by all the registered members of the organization.

How HR shapes extracurricular culture Matthew Hunter and Laura Zhang from Desautels Business Conference on Sustainability (DBCS) state that “by recruiting individuals who have previous experience working on sustainability outside of their school work, and by recruiting individuals who are passionate about enacting change, DBCS is ultimately shaped by the dedication of our team.” By focusing their recruitment on students with previous experience in the field, the club enjoys expertise, as well as a united culture with shared goals among committee members.

Then there are those who strive for something else.

Denizhan Uykur, President of the McGill Debating

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Business Union, and Mimi Scowen, Chair of Publicity, stated that they “recruit from the broadest possible range and never turn people away, so [our] culture is based on diversity and inclusion.”

What do clubs look for?

A genuine interest in the field covered by the club is considered the greatest asset for a candidate. It has often been said that a business major without that 4.0 GPA is doomed to a second-tier career in a second-tier company.

However, it is not the case with the student clubs. Jae Choi, VP Internal of KSS, explained that “the core characteristic that we look for when recruiting is friendliness.

Our executives must be approachable for us to promote engagements for our events.”

All of the positions within the student clubs are nonpaid, and therefore serious commitment and passion is a required asset. Yashvi Shah from myVision McGill, for one, divulged that “our potential executives will be extremely motivated, driven and have a great deal of initiative. They will also demonstrate grit and passion for the philosophy of using business to solve social problems around the Montreal community.” She also added that a “minimum 8-10 hour commitment [is] required.”

However, it’s crucial to point out that commitment goes beyond passive instructions. Tong Niu, the President of Friends of MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres) expressed, “I look for those who want to do more than just go with how things have been done in the past, I want FoMSF to be a club that is constantly improving and reinventing itself, and the executives I select I have the creativity and drive to do that.

Recruitment Issues The field of HR has been ignored for years: it is only in recent years that its role has been emphasized in the field of management. A number of HR consulting firms were recently created to accommodate and provide solutions for the multitude of issues that naturally arise with the increasing complexity of modern firm. Do student clubs face the same issues that these modern firms do? And if so, what are some issues that the student clubs face?

Sonnia K from MTSA disclosed that “it can be hard for both the applicant and our team to know what to expect from each other, especially if they are new to McGill and we haven’t seen them around much”. This concern regarding the lack of information seems to be a common issue. Matthew Hunter and Laura Zhang from DBCS also faced a similar issue: “People tell us that they would have applied to be on the committee had they known about DBCS earlier. It is difficult to convey what the conference is all about through an involvement package containing few lines of description.” They then suggested “an involvement fair would be beneficial for all clubs and conferences within the faculty.”

Many clubs surmount with this issue by improv-

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PHOTO VIA MCGILL QUIDDITCH FB PAGE ing their public relations. An executive of the McGill Quidditch team revealed that “a lot of the attention we get comes from the novelty of the sport, and that doesn’t always translate into committed players,” adding that “we need to develop a strategy to publicize more broadly that Quidditch is not just a game, but a sport with hundreds of highly competitive teams across North America and the world.” Additionally, the executives of the DBCS conveyed that “the ability to promote potential involvement with DBCS to students from other faculties may be particularly beneficial.”

The executives also found the lack of diversity in their clubs problematic. Niu bemoaned that “the organization we’re involved in is generally associated with the medical field, and this deters many non-‘premed’ students from applying because they fear they won’t have anything to offer. The majority of MSF staff are not medical professionals, so there is plenty of opportunities for students from all fields of study”. Ultimately, this accredits the lack of diversity in potential applicants to the narrow-focus of many of these groups, which is combated through efforts to widen their demographic.

Some clubs have opted to expand their clubs to accommodate the large pool of applicants. “Given the large pool of applicants we receive, we are often forced to turn away [applicants]. As a result, we have expanded the team from 18 to 29 this year,” said Shah.

It seems the future is still bright for students wishing to join student clubs, and benefit from the experience they afford all their members.

JANUARY 2015

Opinion

Four Corners:

Militarize McGill?

Military research on campus: a necessity or an atrocity?

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rom the hotly debated motion at the October SSMU GA, to the controversial Remembrance Day protests staged by Demilitarize McGill, the issue of military research at McGill has been the centre of many a maelstrom on campus these past months. According to the activist group Demilitarize McGill, the University has a “history of complicity in colonization and imperialist warfare [through] military collaboration,” which must be disrupted. On the other side of the spectrum, military research is saluted as “an integral part of McGill [which] should be encouraged and expanded.” So, we asked four writers to weigh in on this contentious issue: should McGill, as an academic institution, conduct research benefiting the development of harmful military technology?

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Opinion

1.

Michael Law, Opinion Writer

Whether McGill should conduct research that benefits the development of harmful military technology is a plain and clear “no.” However, that answer largely depends on one’s definition of the term “benefit.”

The most vehement opponent to McGill’s complicity and/or any possible links to the military is the controversial on-campus group, Demilitarize McGill (DM). In 2014, they staged a silent protest on Remembrance Day. Surprisingly, that demonstration, though peaceful, was greeted with a far harsher and more vocal response than that of the similarly-minded Anti-Imperialist Action (AIA). Last November, AIA “snuck into the engineering department of McGill University and jammed the locks of the Aerospace Mechatronics Lab using superglue as a minimum gesture of solidarity with the survivors of the Israeli state’s summer attack on Gaza.”

While the efficacy of the latter protest method is questionable, the burning question remains: just how direct is the link between this particular engineering lab and the Israeli state’s aerial bombardment on Gaza?

After digging through the documents obtained by DM

2.

Chukwubuikem Nnebe, Opinion Editor

When it comes to the conduct of research on campus, a “special responsibility remains with the researchers to keep in mind the potential benefits against the possibility of harmful applications.”

Those words, asserted by Rose Goldstein, Vice-Principal of Research and International Relations, essentially form the gist of McGill’s stance on military research.

Such a policy was formulated in a manner that is intended to ensure that researchers are constantly reminded of the ethics entailed in the work they’re conducting, all the while enabling them to complete their academic tasks largely without obstruction. This peculiar ambiguity was specially clarified at a time when the University claimed student groups, such as the infamous Demilitarize McGill, were attempting to impede the proper completion university operations with their “abusive” access to information requests.

But, then again, those “disruptive” student organizations certainly do have a point, especially when you consider the fact that, in 2009, the University repealed a 22-yearold clause requiring that any professor receiving military research funding from the military indicate “whether [the] research has direct harmful consequences.” This curious detail, as listed in the SSMU motion put forward by DM last semester, certainly does bring to the fore many questions on the motivations behind such an administrative decision.

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regarding the contract between the Mechatronics lab and the Canadian government, it was revealed that the main objectives of this particular project were to “develop algorithms to increase the autonomy of a commercial, off-the-shelf, unmanned, aerial vehicle,” and “allow it to land on stationary and moving targets for surveillance.” The ambiguity of that last intent aside, the fact remains that the lab’s task was to improve the manoeuvrability of these “small-scale UAVs”: tiny, baby-sized, unarmed, unmanned flying contraptions, which are essentially no different than commercial drones available at hobby stores.

While it is rather conspicuous how aerial surveillance technology can be and is used for military purposes, the answer to the question boils down to this: there is no direct link between the Mechatronics Lab’s development and “the Israeli state’s summer attack on Gaza,” as asserted by AIA. McGill’s direct involvement in the development of harmful military technology must not be condoned, but just where we must draw the line on technological development and its potential for violence remains a difficult question.

Does it make it easier for researchers to accept lucrative research grants that, though potentially benefitting harmful military operations, could also benefit our beloved – and beleaguered – institution by providing students with access to greater educational opportunities? On the flip side, does it make it easier for the University to absolve itself of public accountability by placing the burden of ethical decision-making on its researchers who are assumed to be “socially responsible”?

Personally, when it comes to whether or not McGill should be conducting military research with potentially harmful implications, my answer is as vague as the University’s policy stance: it depends. And, honestly, it truly does.

Ambiguity can’t help but rear its ugly head in such cases where the research does in fact present dual-use applications, which can benefit both civilian causes as well as military operations.

Truthfully, I guess now it’s just a matter of how much we can trust that McGill and its researchers are actually able to make the right decisions, as contentious as they may be. We must have faith in the administration, and its ability to judiciously draw the line between academic initiatives that have a “potential” for harmful applications, and military research that unequivocally does nothing more than ruthlessly – and anonymously – kill.

JANUARY 2015

Opinion

3.

Eric Taylor, Opinion Contributer

Ranging from its narrowly-passed SSMU policy motion to its controversial Remembrance Day protest, Demilitarize McGill was a contentious organization during the Fall 2014 semester, and will undoubtedly continue to stir up conversations in this New Year. As an organization, DM seeks to end all military activity on campus, despite the critical role research plays in any academic environment. While their intentions are fair, their policies, if realized, would damage McGill’s reputation for quality instruction, groundbreaking research and a proper use of its state-of-the-art facilities.

The military research that takes place at McGill is diverse: each individual research project has a wide array of applications, both military and civilian. In the past, such military technologies have been key in the advancement of civilian technologies such as telecommunications.

For example, the predecessor of the internet, ARPANET, was a packet switching computer network first developed by the US Department of Defense for its internal network. Even drone research, which has been demonized by Demilitarize McGill due to its negative public perception,

4.

can have an applicability that extends far beyond violent airstrikes. In fact, the drone research being completed at McGill’s Aerospace Mechatronics Lab could uncover civilian and humanitarian applications of aide drones in humanitarian missions and environmental monitoring.

The impact of rejecting military research would be felt mainly within the engineering community. Research opportunities attract professors at the top of their fields; these professors, in turn, provide top-quality education to us, the students. Departments like Mechanical Engineering, some of whose key professors conduct military research, would be severely damaged should the goals of Demilitarize McGill be realized. All research – including that which stems from military sources – ensures research funding. In fact, the financial importance of these initiatives is critical for our access to quality facilities on campus, better professors, teaching assistants and laboratory space. For students in the faculties of Engineering and Science, all of these elements are crucial because much of their technical education is obtained through laboratory use and access to quality instructors.

Jennifer Yoon, Opinion Editor

Fact: some of the research at McGill is done in partnership with, – but more accurately, in service of – military agencies, and arms manufacturers. Fact: these military agencies, in pursuit to kill the criminal, kill a great deal of innocent people. Conclusion: McGill has contributed to the wrongs of these military agencies, and is accordingly accountable.

Yes, this research can be used for beneficial, civilian purposes. But let’s call a spade a spade: the research, though its results may happen to have some civilian applications, remains, at its core, a militaristic project, conducted for military applications.

Yes, McGill is in bad economic shape, but even with austerity cuts and all the economic hardship considered, are we so desperate, and so morally depraved, that we’d take some sum of money at the price of such lives? Are we so hubristic that we would rather raise our prestige, collecting the world’s finest professors, as if they were baseball cards, at the expense of basic human decency?

My knee-jerk reaction is one of disgust and disappointment. I feel like, ethically, there is something clearly wrong with creating harmful military technology that would allow more people to be killed more efficiently.

That being said, I wonder how much of my pacifistic dreams is practical, and how much of it is a utopian fantasy. I don’t know about you, but I value my security, and

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I’m thankful to those who sacrifice a great deal to protect us. This important function of the military – a safeguard and shield – certainly doesn’t give our armed forces a free pass on their wrongdoings; they must be held accountable for their transgressions. But just as its importance does not excuse its wrongs, its wrongs do not dismiss its great significance for our society.

I’m in Arts. Therefore, I realize that, though my (thin) job prospects don’t depend on conducting such research, academic initiatives of the like may be the only thing keeping bread on the table for some families. People have got to make a living, support their families, and it’s hard out there.

My honest answer to the question of whether or not McGill should be conducting research benefitting the development of harmful military technology is: I don’t know. I don’t feel comfortable making a categorical judgement yet; and I think that may be for the better.

On questions as multifaceted as this, perhaps categorical assertions – whether it be “military research is an atrocity” or “military research is a necessity” – ought not to be unconditional answers.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent those of The Bull & Bear.

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Opinion

The Art of Mooting The Underdog Cheerleaders of McGill Aneri Nanavaty, Opinion Writer

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would like to begin with a disclaimer: school pride has never really been important for me. It’s why I fit in at McGill so well; our school pride has always been pretty low key. More recently, however, it’s skyrocketed.

This year, McGill established its very first undergraduate mooting team. No, mooting is not a made up word, but rather an extracurricular activity similar to mock trial.

Essentially, it’s a simulation of arguing a legal issue in court, in front of a judge and opposing counsel. It’s a high intensity sport, during which you will often find adrenaline-charged heart palpitations, harshly critical audiences, and cut-throat competition.

The team braving this demanding sport here at McGill consists of about 30 inter-faculty undergraduates who’ve banded together to – respectfully and formally – kick butt in courtrooms. We fall under the umbrella of the McGill Pre-Law Society, a quiet society full of budding, aspiring lawyers who are stepping it up this year and letting our inner Harvey Specters shine.

Last November, McGill officially made history. A group of 12 individuals, in teams of 6, made the arduous trek to the nation’s capital – by Greyhound, of course – to represent McGill at a competition called the Capital Cup. As the Stanley Cup of mooting, this event is a national mooting tournament between universities across Canada. Hosted at Carleton University, the teams were mostly made up of local Carleton students, but all that changed when us, McGillians, stepped off our luxury coach and made our way into

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the arena – so to speak – for the first time.

As we gathered the first morning of the competition, coffee-deprived yet still crisp in our formals, we were ready to hurl. It’s safe to say we were terrified of the 48 other, experienced teams who stood there wondering what in the hell we were doing there.

Thankfully, the feeling of being petrified soon wore off. Let’s face it: we’re McGill kids, so being kickass awesome comes with the territory. Despite this being our first ever performance as two rookie teams in a sea of 48 seasoned groups, in true McGill fashion, we crushed it. Each team performed extremely well, with one team even breaking through to the quarter finals. In individual performances, two McGill students cracked the top 20 percent in a pool of 120 participants.

Take that, Carleton.

Even if we were only provided with a few miserable meals, had to supply ourselves with our own coffee, and were forced to walk distances that made the trek to McMed in January look relaxing, McGill still prevailed. One judge was overheard saying “Did you know McGill’s here this year?” To say the least, that was quite the much needed ego boost. So, drunk off the thrill of mooting, twelve individuals returned to the motherland from dreadful Carleton, pride and accolades in tow.

Recently, we sat down with Richad Hirani, the McGill Pre-Law Society VP Delegations Affairs, for a small chat about what is most likely to be the first of many new and successful endeavours for the mooting team.

JANUARY 2015

Opinion B&B: So, why mooting? Why not mock trial, or something like the McGill debating union?

RICHAD: Relevancy. McGill doesn’t have a prelaw undergraduate program. Brett [Co-President of MPLS] and I felt that there should be something specifically for students interested in pursuing law as a career. Mooting is a way to unite students from different backgrounds over a common passion: law.

B&B: Do you have an end goal or vision?

RICHAD: We want to project McGill’s prestige abroad.

Mooting is an avenue for that, and we want McGill to be the best at it. This is about McGill pride and having a team that’s like a family. We want to come back to the school in 25 years and still have a strong, running legacy.

B&B: How are you feeling about McGill’s performance at the Capital Cup? RICHAD: I’m ecstatic: the team killed it. With the experience, we’re legitimate contenders to win at upcoming competitions.

Initial Parameters - Each team is given a virtual cash account of $100,000 to build its options portfolio.

- This eight-week Options Trading Simulation is held during the 2015 winter term, from February 2, 2015 to March 27, 2015.

- Each team is strongly encouraged to attend a classroom presentation hosted by their university’s student ambassador on January 28, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. (EST). This education session will focus on the mandatory components of the simulation, the options trading strategies, the trading simulator functionalities as well as the alerts and quotes.

This presentation will be followed by a live question period through webcast.

Mandatory Components - To construct their options portfolio, teams must choose at least five Canadian options classes from the the 50 most active securities.

- Each mandatory strategy must have a minimum notional value of $5,000 or 10 options contracts. There is no minimum holding period required.

- Mandatory strategies must be traded in a single transaction by selecting the “Transaction Type” field of the Trading Simulator, and not by legs. The mandatory strategies will not be recognized if this requirement is not fulfilled except for the long call.

- All positions must be liquidated before market close on March 27, 2015. Teams with open positions after the last trading day will be disqualified.

Mandatory Strategies - Each team must execute the following three predefined options trading strategies: • Long call • Secured puts • Straddles

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B&B: And upcoming competitions are?

RICHAD: Next semester, we’re going to compete at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School, so we’re very excited about that. Next year, we’re aiming higher: Georgetown, University of Chicago, Harvard, and Yale. We want to go and perform well. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s about projecting McGill’s prestige abroad. Although our rankings may have dropped in recent years, the calibre of students has not.

And there you have it folks, McGill has now officially begun its mooting adventure. More than a cool new extracurricular activity or even a team to call family, it’s school pride. Mooting at McGill promises to unite students across faculties by offering them a platform to showcase their skill, intellect and passion for law, home and away. So, stay tuned McGill: here we come, bringing with us legal jargon, courtroom drama and McGill pride.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Bull & Bear.

- Each team must execute two surprise strategies that will be unveiled by email on the 2nd and 6th trading weeks respectively. Each email will include a link to access the videos explaining the strategies starting on February 9, 2015 and March 9, 2015, at 4:00 p.m. (EST/EDT). Two question periods through live chat on Facebook are planned on February 11, 2015 and March 11, 2015, from noon to 1:00 p.m. (EST/EDT).

Winners Three winning teams, having achieved the best returns after eight weeks of trading, while fulfilling the mandatory components, will be awarded a 1st prize of $10,000, a 2nd prize of $5,000 and a 3rd prize of $2,500 respectively from the Montréal Exchange.

The best performing team per university as well as the top 50 teams, having fulfilled the mandatory components, will receive a certificate of excellence.

General Information and Registration Eligibility Conditions Each team must be enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program, specializing in finance (or any other related discipline), in Canada.

Team Composition Teams must be composed of one to four participants. There is no limit to the number of teams by university or faculty.

Free Registration Complete the form available at:

www.m-x.ca/sim Registration Deadline Friday, January 23, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. (EST).

25

Lifestyle

montreal's best skating spots Sadly, Montreal sidewalks didn’t make the cut

Tessa Battistin, Lifestyle Writer

M

ontreal winter is frigid, windy, icy, and wholly unpleasant. However, since McGill University is a wonderful institution that is unfortunately frozen for most of second semester, it is advisable to embrace winter as an inarguable fact of life here. That means diving into winter activities like skating, skiing, sledding, cuddling, and sweater hoarding. Ice skating is an inexpensive way to make the most of a chilly winter day. Here is a comprehensive guide to the four best skating rinks in Montreal, where they are located, their costs, and how they can best serve your wintry needs.

Beaver Lake This classic ice skating spot has close ties to Montreal.

Also called Lac Aux Castors, this rink is located on Mont Royal, and truly is beautiful. The newly renovated Beaver Lake Pavilion houses the skate rental counter, where skate rentals are just $9 for two hours, and skate sharpening is $7. If you bring your own skates, entry is free!

The Pavilion also offers an abundance of hot drinks in the upstairs cafe, as well as lockers to store your shoes and personal items. Additionally, the structure overlooks the large, circuitous skating rink which meanders in several directions, leaving room for beginning skaters and the more experienced. The entire layout of this new addition to Parc Mont Royal is extremely well designed, and perfectly situated for some classic winter fun!

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PHOTO BY TESSA BATTISTIN Parc La Fontaine Ice skating at Parc La Fontaine features meandering and windy skating paths, unlike the usual circular skating found at many other outdoor locations. However, there are two oval skate areas to cater to hockey games and figure skaters. This rink is scenic and conveniently located for Plateau residents. Skate rentals are $8 and locker rentals are $3. If you have your own skates, admission to Parc La Fontaine is free!

Bonsecours Basin Take a short ride on the orange line to the Champ De Mars metro to reach the scenic quays of Montreal’s Old Port. The area overlooks the old-fashioned charm of the port, while showcasing a spectacular view of the waterfront both during the day and at night. As the sky gets dark, the rink is lit up spectacularly, creating a romantic atmosphere for an evening out with your loved one. This rink is pricy, however, with skate rentals coming to $9 plus a mandatory admission price of $6.50 for adults. On the bright side, although admission is higher than other rinks, the atmosphere in Old Port cannot be beat.

Olympic Park Skating Rink This skating rink is in an ideal location for tourists or families that want to see more than just ice on their trip to Montréal. Close to many other attractions, the Olympic

JANUARY 2015

Lifestyle

Skating Rink also has refrigerated ice to ensure appropriate thickness at all times. You must bring your own skates to this location, as rentals are not available on-site. As an added bonus, admission to the rink is free, making it an affordable trip to the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood where the rink and the Olympic Village are located.

Once familiar with popular skating spots, how does a beginner skater locate a pair of cheap, used, skates in Montreal? There are several options to explore. Poubelle Du Ski, located at 8278 Boulevard St-Laurent, has a great selection of used skates, along with used winter gear of all kinds. Play-It-Again Sports has similar fare, although this store usually has higher quality skates, so expect to pay a little bit more for a second-hand pair. Play-It-Again Sports will also honor a skate exchange, so if you prefer a different size or brand than the skates you already own, this is a great shop to check out. Sports Experts, on the other hand, offers brand new, top of the line skates for those beginners who are confident in their abilities. Picking up a pair of ice skates while in Montreal is essential for embracing the bittersweet season stretching from October to April. We Are Winter!

PHOTOS ON PAGE VIA FLICKR

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27

Lifestyle

spotlight on Student Startups: Arts Style How to succeed in business without stepping foot in Bronfman

Jessica Farber, Lifestyle Writer

F

or the average university student, balancing classes, coursework, sports, jobs, clubs, and friends is a rarely perfected art. Finding that balance is a struggle that we overachieving students at McGill know all too well. Daunting as it may seem, it is not unusual to find students who do it all, and still find time to develop and manage their own start-up businesses. This week, to learn more about the ins and outs of running a business, I sat down with two second year Arts students who have succeeded in combining an artistic passion with an entrepreneurial spirit to learn more.

Starting Up with Socks Last winter, Matt Tse, a U1 Sociology major from Toronto, came up with the idea for his custom-made athletic sock company, Vision Wear, when his lacrosse team ordered custom-made socks that ended up being cheaply made and ripped easily. “I was going to buy new ones,” Matt explained, “but they were really expensive and not very nice, so I decided to make my own.”

After designing a logo and finding a manufacturer in Utah, he ordered six hundred pairs of plain Vision Wear

PHOTO BY MATTHEW TSE

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branded socks. With a substance called Sublimation Ink, Matt used transfer paper to imprint various designs he had created onto the socks. Matt then used a template from a site called Shopify as a skeleton for his own website, and did some coding to create special effects.

“My best advice for anyone wanting to start a business is to use crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter,” said Tse. “It’s like a marketing ‘sprint’ because of the time limit and it’s a good test for you as an entrepreneur to see if running a business is something you’re good at. Crowdfunding democratizes business, giving people who don’t have the capital to “start up” the means to start up.” However, crowdfunding wasn’t the only source of capital Matt used. After the success of his Kickstarter campaign, Matt used the legitimacy afforded to him by his campaign to apply for a grant from the Ontario government, which has a special program for student startups. Along with the monetary grant, the program provided Matt with a mentor, access to business lectures, and opportunities to network with other young entrepreneurs.

As for his business team, Matt has delegated accounting duties and “public relations” to a friend, but he takes care of marketing, production, and everything else himself. “I primarily do direct marketing - reaching out to local teams or clubs. In terms of advertising, I’ve worked with some notable figures - bloggers, professional athletes (namely lacrosse players). I’ve sent them samples to do giveaways or write reviews.”

Looking to the future, Matt is thinking of expanding to other types of apparel but he aims to stick to the same niche of personalized sportswear that can also be worn in everyday life, a term Matt has coined “active lifestyle wear.”

One-Woman Designs Fellow second year Arts student, Tessa Battistin, an English Literature major from New York, has similarly transformed a penchant for art and design into a creative business venture. Tessa’s startup, Asset Designs, sells

JANUARY 2015

Lifestyle

PHOTO BY TESSA BATTISTIN unique screen-printed t-shirts featuring her own illustrated work.

Tessa began screen printing in her penultimate year in high school. “I had two really influential art and history teachers who showed me how to screen print and encouraged me to continue experimenting.”

She used her old drawings as inspiration and continued to work on creating illustrations, eventually narrowing it down to a few designs to start. Using start-up capital, which consisted of some pocket money as well as donations from family and friends, she bought all her own materials and now creates all of the merchandise herself.

She has recently started to dabble in making printed tote bags as well.

Tessa began by marketing to her closest friends and family and then started using Instagram and Facebook to advertise her designs to kids from her high school. “Now, I mainly use Facebook, though I am in the midst of making a website in order to better represent my designs and sell on a larger scale,” she explains.

When asked what advice she would give to other students wanting to create businesses of their own, Tessa emphasized the need to be creative and to use your friends as a resource. “When your target market is people your own age, it’s helpful if you’re in touch with the needs and wants of that target market. Most of my prints are marketed towards young people my own age. Start off with what you know, and go from there.”

She also reminds students that, “even though we don’t have an art program at McGill, creativity is still highly valued here. Never be afraid to be creative.”

To learn more about Tessa’s and Matt’s innovative start-up businesses and to check out their designs, visit their websites below: Matt: http://visionwear.ca Tessa: https://www.facebook.com/AssetDesigns

PHOTO BY TESSA BATTISTIN

bullandbearmcgill.com

29

Lifestyle

Stitch 101: the art of knitting an introduction to a calming, procrastination-guaranteed activity

Tessa Battistin, Lifestyle Writer

I

n my opinion, knitting is the perfect winter activity.

It gives you an excuse to cozy up with a blanket and rest, while still making the most of your time. You can create nearly anything once you know the basics. Hats, scarves, and mittens are popular projects because they don’t take long to finish and the results are rewarding – not to mention the satisfying moment when you get to tell people you made the stylish item you’re wearing.

According to Ruby Carter, a seasoned knitter from the West Island, once you commit to a project it is essential to finish it. She notes that, “It may take a while, but every stitch gets you closer to the end, and you can’t give up on it.”

With over 50 years of knitting experience, Ruby is an authority on the craft, and she has offered to share some of her tips with The Bull & Bear. According to Ruby, “once you get used to knitting, it is a great form of relaxation. You can accomplish a lot by just sitting down and knitting!”

Step 1: Buy materials Before you start to knit you need yarn and needles!

These can be purchased at any craft store. DeSerres in the Place Montreal Trust is a good place to start. Needles can be made of plastic, bamboo, or metal. While you’re just learning to knit, the size of the needle is not important – just pick a pair in a size and material that feels good to hold. You may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices of needles. A good rule of thumb is that the thicker the needle, the thicker the yarn needs to be. There are balls of wool for as cheap as $3 each. Only two or three balls of wool are required to make one scarf, making knitting a much cheaper and cozier alternative to store bought items.

Step 2: Learn the Stitches There are two types of stitches: knitting and purling.

Once you have relatively mastered them you will be ready to start a project. Prior to the internet age you would’ve had to find a friend or an amicable old lady to teach you, but thankfully we now have Youtube. There are hundreds of instructional videos to help you learn. If you get stuck and need some help, feel free to visit any of Montreal’s knitting boutiques, such as Espace Tricot or La Maison

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Tricotée.

To begin, you must “cast on,” or put the first row of stitches on one of your needles. From there, follow Youtube and try making some of your first stitches! Once you’ve had your fill of knitting and purling, you have to “bind off ” – that is, remove your stitches from the needle.

Once again, the Internet is your best friend here.

Learning to knit can be challenging, but don’t get discouraged. You might not be ready for a project after your first try, but, once you have a grasp on the stitches, you are unlikely to forget them.

Step 3: Pick your First Project Congratulations! You’ve learned the basic stitches.

Now its time to start your first project. Hats, scarves, and mittens are all great beginner ideas. Sweaters take many balls of yarn and a substantial time commitment, so wait a bit before you choose to tackle a bigger project.

Free knitting patterns are available over the Internet.

Check out Ravelry, KnitPicks, or KnittingHelp.com, for some free beginner patterns. Making your first project can often be discouraging. The language of the patterns may be unfamiliar and you’re bound to make a few mistakes.

Ruby says that it is important to “take out the mistake right away before it makes a big difference in your project.” Don’t lose courage, and keep at it!

The pattern will stipulate the thickness of yarn and needles you need to use. Needles are measured in millimeters while yarn is rated on a scale of one to six, one being the thinnest and six being the thickest. Although it might seem like these are unimportant details, the needle and yarn size determine the final size of the project. If you want the project to fit, it is important to follow these instructions.

Patterns are written in abbreviations and may be hard to read at first. There are a few basic phrases you should be familiar with: K means Knit P means Pearl CO means Cast On BO means Bind Off Dive in! You’re on your way to completing your first hand-knit item!

JANUARY 2015

Lifestyle

New Year, New Me. Attempt #: __

resolutions: how to make them stick (no glue necessary)

Charlie Harkness, Lifestyle Writer

I

t is January 1st, 2015 and, this year, things are going to change.

This year, I will study daily, do my assignments weeks before they are due, exercise regularly, eat healthy (aka stop ordering Chef on Call), become a social butterfly, start practising piano, keep a dream journal, and sleep eight hours every day.

Soon it will be January 31st, and not a lot will have changed. I probably won’t have studied. I will be: scrambling to finish an assignment due the next day, probably pulling an all nighter, and getting Chef on Call for dinner.

The dinner plans I had with all my friends: cancelled. My gym shorts: gathering dust. In my panic, I might reflect back on my initial resolutions, and ask myself what happened. I had such good intentions! But alas, habits and lifestyle are not products of good intentions.

New Year’s resolutions tend to have high failure rates.

By February, most people have forgotten or given up on their idea(s) and this can be caused by various reasons.

For example, some people tend to believe they can change a lot more than they really can, setting unrealistic goals for themselves. This isn’t to say you can’t change the way you are, but it is very unlikely you’ll be able to change the majority of your habits overnight. If your list of New Year’s resolutions is a page long, it’s going to require a lot of discipline to achieve. After a few days of forcing yourself to do a new routine, you’ll be worn out and begin to slip back to the “easier” habit you’re used to – especially if you thought everything would be different in this New Year, and now results aren’t appearing in the first week. With no reward, it’s difficult to continue straining to adjust your lifestyle.

So what can you do to achieve your goal?

The first step is to pick a reasonable goal. If you take on six courses and a part time job this semester but also tell yourself you’ll go to the gym every day, it’s probably just not going to happen. But if you take six courses, have

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a job and say, “I will go to the gym two to three times a week,” then that’s slightly more manageable. Take it easy on yourself; you’re only human, after all.

The next step is to organize how you will carry out your goals. Sticking with the gym idea: if you know your schedule, take some time and write in when you’ll have time to go. You are more likely to do something if you’ve physically planned out when to carry it out. And if you can convince a friend to go with you, that’s even better – people are less likely to quit if they think someone else is counting on them.

Now that you have your goal in mind and you’ve set up how you’re going to carry it out, you just have to do it, right? That may be harder than you think. Unfortunately, the top ten motivational tricks on Buzzfeed, while a nice distraction, probably won’t help you achieve your goal. It takes between twenty and thirty days to change a habit, so the next three to four weeks are what will make or break your New Year’s resolution. This is the time when that buddy will come in handy; someone to help motivate you.

Next, set mini goals for yourself. If you have a tangible goal, then you know what you’re working towards. If you’re trying to lose weight, decide how much you want to lose per week. It’s much more effective to choose to lose half a pound a week than to say that you’d like to “lose weight.” At the same time, don’t beat yourself up. There will be times when you can’t keep up with your goal; don’t give up on it.

It’s going to be difficult, but you can do it. Habits are formed through hard work and sticking to a new routine.

There is no quick fix or easy change to a lifestyle you’ve been building for years. If you want things to be different, then you are going to have to accept a challenge. But, once the semester has passed and you’re enjoying your physique, new skill or pleasant sleep schedule, you can look back at January as a terrible, yet rewarding, month and smile.

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Hot

or

Not

Our guide to your next opinionated conversation

Hot

:)

Ghetto apartments with good heating Get it guys? Literally hot! Guys! Guys?

Igloofest Dance the cold away at your friendly neighborhood rave.

Seeing friends after christmas break Two weeks apart is too much to handle.

New Year’s Resolutions Finally time for a change!

Not New Year’s Resolutions You’ll still be fat in February.

The sidewalks Should have traded my sorels in for ice skates.

:( WellRehearsed Response to “How Was Your Break?”

The necessary interaction no one wants to have.

Fuzzy Carnival Puke Suits They’re supposed to protect you from puke, not absorb it.