The Bull & Bear | Fall 2021 - Testing 1... 2... 3...

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A Rugged Terrain: Seeking Opportunity in a Post-Grad, Post-Covid Job Market

Editor’s NotE

Rose Bostwick (Executive Editor)

10 What Does it all Mean?: Putting Our Analytical Skills to the Test 20 COVID-19 and the Benefits of Experimentation 30 Fending for Ourselves: The Case for Campus Drug Testing 38 The Ethics of Enhancement Drugs in a Complicated Sports World

news 8

A Little Too Close to Home: Montreal’s Rise in Violence

arts & Culture

14 Adapting the Unadaptable Novel 16 Morality and the Rise of the Antihero in Netflix’s You 18 “White Supremacy is Killing Me”: One Mural’s Connection to Truth and Reconciliation

business & tech 24 Four-Day Workweeks: Testing Our Productivity 26 Gabon’s Experiment with the Future of Climate Finance 28 Canada’s Call for a Post-COVID Aviation Industry Reform

opinion 34 Testing Long-Distance Relationships 36 Could You Find Me?: Another Account of Being Saved by Astral Weeks

Sports 42 Which Ballgame are You Taking Me Out to?

44 Reducing the Risk of Concussion in the NFL

After over a year of nights spent huddled over Netflix, Zoom lectures, and weekly myCourses responses, many of us are back in the city for classes. This semester marks a halfway point between the world we once knew and the changed one we have found ourselves in for the past year. For many of us, it is a feeling of limbo. We watch, waiting, to see if mandates will change and adjust day by day to this new, ever-evolving normal.

Whether you’re a weary fourth-year who spent the last year under 8 p.m.

Montreal curfews and who is now continuing courses online, or a brighteyed first-year trying to make friends on the newly opened dance-floors, no one could deny that this is a strange time to be a McGill student.

Indeed, we are all being tested. There is, of course, the figurative test of maintaining a brave face every day under the pandemic’s looming influence. There are the COVID-19 nasal swabs you take when traveling back home to see family, or when you accidentally get exposed to the virus after a positive case is reported at your friend’s Halloween party.

Then, there is the return of the dreaded in-person final exams.

Yet, many of our writers chose to take a view of this theme beyond campus life. Some writers discussed testing the possibilities of a shorter workweek or a long-distance relationship. Others explored industries that are currently testing reforms, such as reducing the risk of concussions in football leagues or adapting international flights under pandemic constraints. Some even tackled the more daunting tests our school community is facing, such as the increase in violence on the streets of Montreal, or the struggles to break into the post-grad job market. To my surprise, our writers took on a hopeful, optimistic tone. Many used this opportunity to discuss personal passions that have gotten them through this past year.

Full disclosure: this has been a difficult semester for our publication, as with many of the clubs on campus. Although we were tested by recruitment struggles and physical distance this semester; our editorial board, business section, writers, operations team, and media units pulled together a truly amazing print issue. I’m so thrilled and impressed by the work in this issue, and I’m proud of everyone who contributed for being up to the test (kindly pardon the many, many puns you’ve read so far).

Reflecting on my four years spent on campus, I’m so grateful that I’ve spent them all with the Bull & Bear, and I hope everyone enjoys the work in this semester’s print issue as much as I do.

CREDITS executive board operations team co-executive Editor

operations director

co-executive Editor

Anna Abramova, Ece Sitki, Maxine Bisera, Lauren Bailet, Oyu Siki

Rose Bostwick

Sam Shepherd

Managing Editor Linnea Vidger

Design Director Erin Sass

Media Director Drake Wong

Web Editor

Usman Hameed Ullah

DESIGN

business unit business director Alice Guo

Anna Marukhnyak

editorial board news editors

Claire Chang & Makenna Crackower

Arts & Culture editors Hannah Wallace & Olivia Whetstone

business & tech editors

Sean Kim & Julia Robinson

opinion editors

Design director

finance officer Rohaim Kain

Sarah Sylvester & Alia Shaukat

Illustration, layout, and creative direction @erin_sass_design | www.erinsass.com

Sales Managers

sports editors

Erin Sass

Media director Drake Wong

Photography @doingthewongthing

Anna Abramova, Yi Y Chen, Josh Holtzman & Ezra Moleko Aditya Makhija, Aryaan Mehra, Hope Zhang, Quais Janbaksh copy editors Maria Hernandez, Leo Holton, Melissa Downey, Sean-Gerald Sales coordinator Udeh Nina Sukhinenko

NEWS

A Rugged Terrain:

Seeking Opportunity

in a Post-Grad,

Post-Covid Job Market

by Makenna Crackower and Claire Chang 4

NEWS

that the pandemic was causing excess anxiety and apprehension about the job options available to them when they graduate. These concerns were based on truth. A recent article in The Atlantic stated that entry-level job and internship postings in the U.S. decreased by about 70 percent on recruitment sites like Ziprecruiter “I think it’s definitely a lot more between the months of March and competitive in the job landscape than May 2020. it was,” said Shaan Ganapathy, a U3 Finance student who is currently “I think students felt ‘The rug has seeking work for next year. “Number been pulled [out from] under my one, there’s a notable increase in feet’,” said Beaudin. “From a student applicants. I feel like a lot of people perspective I think they felt that there who were displaced because of the was no opportunity. That’s not true — pandemic are going back into the recruiters just needed to change how market. All of those factors don’t they would interview and onboard.” really make it easy to find entry-level positions. It’s just more competitive Now, almost two years into the pandemic, Beaudin believes that in general.” companies and students have Marie-José Beaudin, the Executive adjusted to the online job application Director of the Desautels Soutar Career process. Data from the Desautels Center, says she heard from students Faculty of Management, provided Every year, hundreds of thousands of Canadian students graduate from university and enter the workforce.

While that transition is usually marred by uncertainty and stress, the last two years have undoubtedly increased the post-graduate job market’s unpredictability.

by Beaudin, shows that there was actually an increase in job postings for Management students: from 2 394 postings during the 2019-2020 school year to 3 308 postings during 20202021.

It is worth noting that the pandemic transition may be easier for some vocations and majors than others. Lara Franko, career advisor to education and kinesiology students, observed that kinesiology students “have been having a hard time getting hands-on experience due to COVID-19; clinics and fitness centers don’t need all hands on deck and aren’t looking to hire part-timers.”

Franko suggests that for students struggling with finding a job in a specific field, it could be useful to broaden the scope of their search.

“If students come to me with a narrow mindset, it helps to think more 5

NEWS

broadly for some related field to get their foot in the door; [that job] could, a couple years down the line, lead to that job they’re looking for,” Franko said. “There are hundreds of different types of jobs and not all of them are cookie-cutter solutions for someone graduating with a degree in biology.

You have to leverage and use your skillset to apply to a broader range of jobs.”

Ganapathy has been seeking job opportunities in a variety of finance fields and spoke about how some programs offer more postgrad flexibility than others. “I’m just looking for some kind of experience,” he explains. “Finance is an area of study that is very open. There’s not really a niche kind of field you need to get into straight out of graduation.

There are many different avenues to get into it, and then slowly make your way around into what you are truly interested in.”

Ganapathy has observed “everyone kind of goes into the job search with the mindset of ‘I’ve been doing this for four years, so I’ve got to find something in my field’.”

While that strategy might work for those who want to be doctors and lawyers, this straightforward career path is not as accessible for most students in non-vocational programs like the social sciences and humanities. Katherine Hudak, a U3 Art History student, has had to make adjustments in her job search to reflect the limited entry-level openings in certain industries, and she employed the flexible mindset mentioned by Franko and Ganapathy.

“I was definitely looking for jobs related to my program, but I had to keep an open mind and recognize that that’s not something that you can always get right after graduation,” Hudak said. “Even working in a field not related to my program, you’re still going to be learning a lot of the same core skills that are applicable not only to art history, but any career, which will help land an arts-related position in the future.”

students to be open-minded and creative, and they don’t necessarily limit job opportunities.

“Realistically, for most entry-level full-time positions, you learn on the job,” stated Ganapathy. “Most of my graduated friends in full-time positions have gone through a training process of anywhere from three to nine months to get to terms with everything, learn on the job, et cetera.

They really settle into their role a bit later on.”

Even with a flexible mindset, it can be taxing for students to be searching for work while they deal with other responsibilities, like school and parttime work, as well as the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

“It is very challenging to be applying to work at the same time as finishing my degree, because on top of the extra time and stress, it’s mentally taxing,” Hudak said. “The emotional side of job hunting is often overlooked, as it’s difficult to have to see so many rejections with no clear idea of when you’ll land the position you’re looking for, if you ever even will.”

Franko would agree with Ganapathy’s job application strategy, pointing out that it takes students five to ten years to feel established in their career trajectory and advising that students maintain an open mindset about their first job as a university graduate.

A recent BBC article explained that Further, the transformation of the soft skills picked up in these types job market to an increasingly online But this is not as easy in practice: of non-vocational programs gear process can take a toll, which adds to

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pre-existing screen fatigue. Beaudin believes the recent “decrease in student engagement … despite a lot of corporate demand” at the Soutar Career Center “can be attributed to Zoom fatigue.”

Many entry-level positions are posted on sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn, requiring that students dedicate even more time to being hunched over their laptops. While online tools like the “Easy Apply” button on LinkedIn can make applying for jobs quicker and easier, it also leads to increased competition because hundreds will apply to the same position.

The transition of career services and the job application process to an online format has indeed posed major challenges, but it does have a silver lining. Catherine Stace, career advisor to the Max Bell School of Public Policy and the President of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE), says that “nationally, there has been an increase in student engagement, especially in virtual [career] workshops.”

Darlene Hnatchuk is the director of McGill CaPS, which provides career planning services across the university, from undergraduate to postdoctoral students; Hnatchuk

said that CaPS has “seen a 250 per cent increase in attendance in career workshops and events” since March 2020, and, due to the increased accessibility of online career fairs, CaPS online programming has seen over 10 000 students.

mindedness that many companies are adopting in the face of pandemic challenges make room for optimism, says Stace. “I think there are some systemic things that are changing.

There was always an expectation before the pandemic that candidates had to be perfect. It’s certainly much “The forced experiment has prompted more understanding now, which is a and enabled us,” Hnatchuk said. great thing.”

“Now we have the technology to make available asynchronous types of As employers and job-seekers alike career development preparation.” adjust to changing expectations, form new models of connection and The pandemic forced companies and recruiting, and recover from pandemic recruiters to restructure by adopting shocks, Beaudin says the lessons hybrid work models and basing the learned over the pandemic will prove work week on overall productivity to be valuable assets. rather than hours clocked in. Remote work culture has exploded in the last “I feel extremely positively about 20 months as many corporate and this generation. You have to believe office teams realized that they can you’re being equipped with the right work, maybe even more effectively, skillset … This is the building block while at home. A recent analysis of your know-how moving forward. done by the Canadian Government Know to be agile, on the lookout, suggested that approximately 40 make sure you’re connecting with percent of jobs can be performed people,” Beaudin says. “At the end of remotely, which jumps to 85 the day, humans hire humans.” percent when considering financial, professional, scientific, or technical Whether students have just graduated, services, as opposed to 10 percent for are looking for work, or plan to in workers in accommodations and food the near future, they can expect a services. radically different job market than their predecessors. Whether or not This transition to alternative these changes are ultimately for the work arrangements and the open- better, only time will tell.

7

A Little Too Close to Home: Montreal’s Rise in Violence

by Carlie Balcom and Atsushi Ikeda

Content warning: this article discusses femicide and domestic violence.

In 2018, Montreal was ranked the number one safest city in North America for its low homicide rate of 1.11 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants—a statistical sigh of relief compared to the 4.72 average of 19 other large cities in Canada and the United States.

“Two years ago, I didn’t believe that I could be unsafe walking through [Milton-Parc], in an area where I know most of the people who live there,” said Sarah Dempsey, a U2 Science student.

At the time of writing, Montreal’s 28th homicide of the year had just occurred on Halloween in the borough of LaSalle. A 48-year-old man was pronounced dead on the scene in his apartment. The day before, a 23-yearold man had been found in an alley not far from the Atwater metro after a stabbing with an unknown motive.

Violent crime in Montreal has generally increased since 2015, but some of this year’s incidents have 8

been particularly harrowing, and for concerned about their safety. some of us, quite literally too close to “[Milton Parc] doesn’t feel very safe home. nowadays,” said Dempsey. “My On the morning of November 2, a man perspective is much more skeptical was found critically injured on Rue of everyone, and I’m a lot more Hutchison by Avenue des Pins, about cautious,” she added. “I always try a block from the McGill gym. The to walk home with someone else at stabbing of Romane Bonnier was the night, but that’s not always feasible.”

26th homicide of the year. Bonnier, a 24-year-old woman, was murdered Students are taking extra precautions on Rue Aylmer, barely a minute away to ease their nerves while walking at from Milton Gates. night. U3 psychology student Crystal Yang was a witness to the attack on “The Aylmer incident was a couple Aylmer. “I’m just a lot more aware of doors down from my own apartment,” other people, especially men, when Dempsey said. “This definitely I’m walking around. You’re subject heightened mine and others’ safety to the possibility of violence being enacted on you at all times, and we concerns.” can function because we can suppress Almost exactly a month prior, on Rue that anxiety. But when something like Sherbrooke across from the Roddick this happens, you have it in your mind Gates, two men in their early 20s that ‘something like this can happen were stabbed, one of whom being to me.’” fatally wounded. Incidents of violence occurring so close to campus have There have been telling trends in added a layer of anxiety for students, Montreal’s violent crimes over the who are now aware of potential past two years, likely exacerbated dangers of living in a major city and by the conditions of the pandemic. A

NEWS

police sergeant said the “rash” in gun violence over the summer of 2021 could be attributed to how COVID-19 may have “shifted criminality to public spaces.” Bonnier’s death was the 17th femicide this year, close to the already horrific total of 21 femicides in 2020.

Additionally, reports of domestic and conjugal violence rose during the pandemic, particularly in the earlier stages of lockdown.

After the death of Bonnier, Montrealers gathered to march against conjugal violence and commemorate the young women. According to the CBC article, “Montrealers are saying no more” to this violence, and consider the rise of violence in the city to be disastrous.

McGill offers services to increase student safety in the Milton-Parc area. DriveSafe is a SSMU service that runs on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights to drive students home safely. A SSMU DriveSafe representative said, “We were not running at the beginning of the semester due to issues with our phone line and having fewer volunteers due to COVID-19.” DriveSafe resumed

Montreal leader Denis Coderre both campaigned for hiring more police officers in response to the rise in gun violence. Meanwhile, Mouvement Montreal leader Balarama Holness SSMU WalkSafe is also in operation advocated for reallocating the SPVM this semester, resuming normal budget—which has increased steadily operations after inactivity since to $800 million—to social services March 2020. According to SSMU and police reform.

WalkSafe President, Leon Picha, the service aims “to establish an A few weeks after the attack on accompaniment service to escort Aylmer, Yang was asked about her students and Montrealers alike to opinion on the mayoral candidates’ and from their desired destinations.” platforms for policing. “I didn’t WalkSafe operates 9-12 PM from have a good response because Sunday to Thursday, and 9-3 AM on morally, I know there are genuine harms associated with policing,” Fridays and Saturdays via phone. she explained. “I think the natural It is unclear if the demand for tendency is, for some people, to prefer WalkSafe has risen given the increase that option just because it seems like in incidents and caution in Milton- a more immediate solution, whereas Parc. SSMU “doesn’t disclose directing funds to social services is not statistics on our walk frequencies something you can see immediately.” or any notes on the demand of our service” for the purpose of providing Violent crimes happening so close to anonymity to those using the service, campus are both tragic and disturbing for many in the community. Picha according to Picha. remarked that he finds “the event that Addressing violence was a hot topic happened on Aylmer, along with the in this year’s Montreal mayoral other events in the Montreal area, to election as well. Projet Montreal be troubling,” adding, “It is a reminder leader Valérie Plante and Ensemble to stay safe, keep an eye on our peers, around mid-October; but, since the service was not operating for much of the pandemic, they were not able to promote and operate as usual.

Photographs by Alexandra Makri 9

WHAT ARTS & CULTURE

DOES IT ALL

MEAN?

Putting Our Analytical Skills to the Test

By Olivia Whetstone and Hannah Wallace 10

ARTS & CULTURE

As Arts & Culture editors, English majors, and avid readers, it’s safe to say that we are deeply entrenched in media and literary analysis. However, as we make our way through our university career, we have begun to notice the disconnect between the institutional perspectives that have been instilled in us and our personal approaches to analysis. Not everything that we consume is necessarily rich in meaning, but university curricula has promoted the idea that media must be meaningful in order to have value. Academia has changed the way we view and interact with the art we encounter on a daily basis. By analyzing art from this standpoint, we become detached from the media that once brought us joy.

Olivia I am a self-proclaimed literary enthusiast. Lately, however, it has become increasingly difficult to use my favourite pastime as a way to relax.

In my classes, professors emphasize techniques such as close reading to analyze texts, and I often find myself interacting with media only in terms of how I can write a paper on it later on.

Because my engagement with media is tested in a way that is palatable for my professors, it becomes difficult to consume it passively.

Instead of simply enjoying the books I study in my literature classes, or the films I watch in cultural studies classes, I am always in “academic mode” and have theory in the back of my mind.

I have been trained to constantly

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ARTS & CULTURE

search for the deeper meaning in art so that my understanding of it can be evaluated, and as a result, I have lost the ability to simply appreciate art for what it is.

In fact, art doesn’t have to “mean” anything at all to have importance.

Over the holidays, I often watch Hallmark movies with my family. We enjoy keeping a running commentary as we watch, making fun of their irrational plots and general cringeyness. My dad usually ends up mentioning the unrealistically clean cars and my mom likes to laugh at the set designers’ attempts at conveying winter when the movies are so obviously filmed in the summer. I often find myself raising a point about aspects such as gender roles in the films—the implications of women in Hallmark movies constantly being put in a position where they must choose between romance and a career, and ultimately choosing love. I wonder, what are the values and ideologies that Hallmark circulates through its portrayal of the world, which has an alarming lack of diversity? Instead of simply enjoying the moment with my family, I watch these movies through the lens of the theories I’ve learned in class. I engage with whatever it is I’m watching as if I could be tested on it at any moment.

important skill that I’m thankful I’ve had the opportunity to develop—but I miss simply enjoying media without feeling like I’ll have to drop a 1500word analytical essay on it. The lessons I’ve learned in school have been so ingrained in me that I end up trying to break down what I’m watching shot by shot to understand how it generates meaning, even for films that are notoriously “meaningless.”

However, this concept of “meaninglessness” points to a different understanding of the value of art. Every English student is probably familiar with the 19th century concept of “art for art’s sake,” meaning that the value of art shouldn’t be tied to its broader social message. In fact, art doesn’t have to “mean” anything at all to have importance. This concept has slipped away from me in a practical sense, as my classes have taught me that art always has to mean something.

While I spend so much time searching for deeper meaning and social significance, I’ve lost my ability to see the beauty in art as simply art. As my undergraduate career comes to a close, it is time that I test a new way of engaging with media—consuming it just for fun.

Hannah

I’m a Secondary English Education student, which means that, on top of educational pedagogy and theory classes, I have to take literature courses. While I often question the utility of my program as a whole, I think that my literature classes It’s not that there’s anything wrong have been more of a disservice than with thinking critically about the anything. Reading Anna Karenina media we consume—this is an or Lolita might allow you to check

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ARTS & CULTURE

that we discuss comes back to one central question: “How does this make you feel as readers?” This allows them to take their gut feelings about a text and elaborate on them to create an interpretation that is full of depth and layers. I always leave the I’m an avid consumer of media, classroom with a completely different whether that be rewatching New Girl perspective about the text—and life on repeat or speed reading my way as a whole. through an exciting book series. I can appreciate works that are rich in I often feel as though my personal meaning and implications, but I can thoughts about literature have no also deeply enjoy something that has place in the university classroom. little purpose. Many hours have been I sometimes feel alienated in these spent reading Crime and Punishment courses, as everyone around me seems with Glee or Taylor Swift playing in to have developed their own unique the background. I have never felt the interpretation that is rich with nuance. need to justify my tastes, and have Meanwhile, I’m still struggling to always loved seamlessly combining comprehend the story as a whole. the two forms of art. When it comes While the part of me that seeks to my thoughts regarding a work academic validation wants to do the of art, emotions are always at the best that I possibly can and develop forefront of my analysis. My general my own unique interpretations, enjoyment and appreciation of a text another part of me wants no part in determines what textual details I pull this type of analysis. out and choose to interpret.

I like that my appreciation for culture This semester, I’ve been spending is rooted in emotions. I am grateful the majority of my time in a high that I do not measure the value of art school as a student teacher. This in terms of meaning and depth. I like field experience has reignited a love what I like, and I have never felt the for literary analysis that university need to justify my taste. At the end of courses had burnt out of me. The the day, one’s relationship with these first thing that I ask my students after different forms of art is a personal one, reading a short story is, “What did and I’m thankful that I have not let the you think of the story?” and their way university tests our knowledge of responses are always put bluntly as art and literature influence the way I interact with it on a day to day basis. either: “I liked it” or “I hated it.”

I think that this viewpoint will serve I give them the space to process their me well as a teacher, and will help me emotions related to the text and use to foster an appreciation for literature their appreciation or apathy to fuel in my students. It may not serve me in our discussion. The conversations we academia, but I think that living a life have are rich in meaning and cover a guided by emotions and feelings can wide variety of topics, but everything only be beneficial. a book or two off of your “Books To Read Before I Die” list, but the level of analysis that my professors have expected of me will only help me within the university classroom’s walls.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Adapting the

Unadaptable Novel

by Henry Ceffalio

Director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune has hit theatres across North America.

Villeneuve will try to translate one of the greatest literary works of science fiction into a film of equal quality – a feat that history has proven to be impossible. Frank Herbert’s Dune is infamously dense, lengthy, and complex. Two of cinema’s most ambitious and innovative directors, Alejandro Jodorowsky and David Lynch, have tried to adapt Dune in the past, and both have failed. Now, one only needs to buy a cinema ticket to determine if Villeneuve has learned from the missteps of his peers.

Dune is a sprawling and commanding text that challenges both filmmakers and general readers. Herbert’s 1965 magnum opus is an 180,000-word, 700-page science fiction epic set in the distant future in a feudal, interstellar society. The film begins with a young nobleman named Paul as his family’s kingdom moves to the desert planet Arrakis. The film ends with a matured Paul becoming a religious prophet and leading a war against his rival noble house. In between, Herbert guides us through the countless societies and individuals all in competition for Arrakis and the invaluable mindaltering drug, Melange, beneath its sands.

It’s easy to understand why an imaginative filmmaker would be compelled to put Dune on screen.

It’s a grand, complex narrative accompanied by intriguing thematic depths that any artist would enjoy exploring. It’s also easy to see where an eager adapter could potentially stumble. The text contains a seemingly boundless number of places and names accompanied by a story so dense that many critics of the book have called it incomprehensible. If the

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ARTS & CULTURE

story of Dune is hard to tell, its setting is even harder to shoot. The novel’s desert battles, spaceship palaces, and monstrous sandworms require an immense budget and technical team: a daunting challenge for any Hollywood studio.

the audience’s understanding of what film could be, and he thus refused to compromise his artistic vision to conform to the industry norms.

Jodorowsky wouldn’t truncate his fourteen-hour script and Hollywood studios didn’t offer him the necessary funding. Today, Jodorowsky’s Dune Yet, directors still tried to adapt the is the greatest movie never made. film. Less than a decade after the novel’s release, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky set out to make the adaptation he thought could forever change the landscape of cinema. In the early 1970s, Jodorowsky travelled around the world assembling what he called the “spiritual warriors” with whom he’d make the movie.

Jodorowsky wanted Spanish artist Salvador Dalí to act. Dalí demanded to be the highest paid actor in the history of cinema – $100,000 for each hour on set. Jodorowsky was so determined to have Dalí in Dune that he acquiesced and cast him as the galaxy’s Emperor.

To play the conniving and elephantine Baron Harkonnen, Jodorowsky enlisted one of cinema’s greats: Orson Welles. Welles, who was rotund at this time, agreed on the condition that a private chef prepare all his meals. For Dune’s illustrations and special effects, Jodorowsky recruited Dan O’Bannon, H.R. Giger, and Chris Foss, all behind-the-scenes experts who would go on to create the groundbreaking effects on Alien.

He had an agreement in place with Pink Floyd for the soundtrack and his cast included Mick Jagger, Gloria Swanson, and his own son.

The past fortyfive years of literary and cinematic history have brought us to this singular moment in 2021.

We will never know whether Dune would’ve been a spectacular hit, or a total flop. Dune and the peculiar director who attached himself to it became too ambitious, too strange, and too powerful to make the big screen.

Enter David Lynch. Lynch, like Jodorowsky, was an up-and-coming avant-garde filmmaker in the 1970s known for his surreal and disturbing films like The Elephant Man and Eraserhead. In 1983, Lynch received the studio funding to adapt Dune and set out to achieve what Jodorowsky never could. Things went wrong quickly. Shooting exclusively in unforgiving deserts in Mexico proved a bad decision, and the film went tremendously over its planned budget.

Like Jodorowsky, Lynch fought with Jodorowsky was on a mission to studio executives over what the run make Dune. He had assembled an time of the film should be. Warner implausible cohort of the globe’s Brothers wanted the final film to run most acclaimed artists and their for a standard two hours, but Lynch’s larger-than-life personalities. He was cut was three and a half hours. determined to have Dune transform

Lynch’s version of Dune is practically unwatchable. Truncating the entirety of Herbert’s Dune into just above two hours generated a film so scattered and incomprehensible that the studio famously distributed glossaries of the Dune universe to help moviegoers understand the plot. Now, nearly four decades after Lynch’s Dune, there is a new challenger attempting to fulfill the dream none of his peers could.

And, there is reason for optimism that this time, Dune will be done right.

Denis Villeneuve is a FrenchCanadian director whose science fiction films are both chilling mindbenders and mainstream popcorn hits. Like Jodorowsky and Lynch, he recognizes that Dune can never be a simple, two-hour movie like any other. But Villeneuve did what the others couldn’t, and he arranged a deal to direct two Dune movies with Warner Bros. This Dune is only the first half of Herbert’s novel, and it will hit theatres in an era where science fiction epics and sequels are one of the highest-selling genres in cinema.

His cast includes stars like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Oscar Isaac, all with a score from the composer Hans Zimmer.

The past forty-five years of literary and cinematic history have brought us to this singular moment in 2021.

Two of cinema’s most visionary directors have been unable to rise to the challenge of bringing the most exceptional science fiction text ever penned to the big screen. Denis Villeneuve has the chance to change all of this. He can erase the failures his peers endured and make Dune into the film it always deserved to be.

Now, one need only buy a ticket to the cinema to decide for yourself if his plan was successful.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Morality and the Rise of the Antihero

in Netflix's

16

you

by Madeleine O’Brien

ARTS & CULTURE

You is a psychological thriller that revolves around the lives of Joe Goldberg, an obsessive stalker, and Love Quinn, a chef and bakery owner with more secrets than she can count on two hands. On the surface, You may appear as a show about murder, obsession, and intrigue. When you truly delve deep into the contents of the series, however, You is much more than a show about a stalker turned serial killer, as it presents the complexity of Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn as antiheroes. With the recent release of Season 3, You tests the bounds of psychological thrillers by presenting the antihero model in a different light than stories of the past.

that the line between good and evil is blurred, and that Joe and Love don’t conform to the template that typically makes up an antihero’s journey.

Although Joe and Love do horrible things, such as killing people, we so badly want to root for them, even if they may appear to be stereotypical villains. Why is that? Something that differentiates Joe and Love from other TV villains is the way in which they justify their actions to the audience by claiming that their bad actions are done out of good intentions. Whether they are trying to save their marriage or create a good life for their son, Joe and Love rarely do bad things without cause, even if they may act a little When we think of the word impulsively. In this sense, You is a “protagonist,” we tend to envision series that questions society’s typical a hero fighting against evil. Neither understanding of morality.

Joe Goldberg nor Love Quinn fit the stereotypical “good guy” archetype, Society treats the idea of good versus which is what makes each of their evil as black and white. Throughout individual characters so complex. the series, it becomes evident that Many antiheroes, protagonists Joe and Love cannot be placed into that don’t fit the stereotype of categories of either hero or villain, as a conventional “good guy,” are they don’t fit society’s definitions of presented as individuals who switch what it means to be a morally righteous from the bad side to the good side individual. Joe and Love do bad things in order to save the day, such as the to help their family and friends, which way J.K. Rowling represents Severus makes them not only likeable, but also Snape in Harry Potter. Snape’s relatable. As humans, we often tend to loyalty to Lord Voldemort initially look for the good in others. We relate makes him a villain, but after he to antiheroes because we are able to betrays Voldemort to protect Harry, acknowledge their humanity, as well he is seen in a more positive light. as their attempts to do the right thing, Though Snape switches to the side of even if these motivations may be justice for selfish reasons — spoiler questionable. alert for the classic series. He does so because he loved Harry’s mom Throughout the course of the series, — he is an essential component in Joe often narrates his inner thoughts Voldemort’s defeat, which makes him and feelings relating to events a stereotypical example of an antihero. occurring in his life. In hearing these You, on the other hand, is not your narrations, the audience learns about typical fight between a protagonist his inner struggle of wanting to live and an antagonist, as there is no moral as a good person, but being unable to good or bad side to begin with. The watch the people he loves suffer. This uniqueness of the antihero archetype inner dialogue gives Joe’s character an in the show is largely due to the fact added layer that allows the audience

to understand the inner workings of his mind, and to feel the humanity that lives within his conscience. Joe often claims that he only does bad things to people that deserve them, and that getting rid of bad people benefits the greater good of society.

In understanding this viewpoint, we, as the audience, tend to feel more sympathetic towards Joe. No matter how evil his actions, we understand that Joe is performing them because he believes he is doing something good.

Antiheroes have been present in TV, film, and literature for years, but it is often difficult to craft these characters in a way that accentuates the flawed, yet caring aspects of their personalities. While many characters of this nature have existed before You, it’s undeniable that the show presents a new interpretation of the antihero.

Two examples of well-known antiheroes are Klaus Mikaelson from The Originals and Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. Something that both of these characters have in common is that they begin as fullfledged villains, but over time, they acknowledge the need to do good for the benefit of humanity. Joe and Love are antiheroes in a different sense, as they have flawed versions of what it means to do good, and they express “acts of kindness” through the forms of murder and violence.

You tests the limits of our knowledge on the binary between good and bad, and it questions the notion of a societyconstructed morality as a whole. The way in which the show presents good and evil will likely pave the way for future shows by providing directors with more creative leeway to explore characters that push society’s typical understandings of good and bad.

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ARTS & CULTURE

“White Supremacy is Killing Me”:

by Delilah Samson

One thing I love about Montreal is the plethora of street art and murals scattered around the city. As I was walking along Rue St. Henri, I came across a mural of an Indigenous woman holding a sign in front of her face that reads,”White Supremacy is Killing Me.” The message was so direct and poignant that I could not forget it. The artist is Jessica Sabogal, a Colombian artist who contributed this piece for the “Uncede Voices” street art showcases. This mural, although it can be interpreted in many different ways, speaks honestly about violence against Indigenous groups.

Sabogal’s artwork acknowledges the increasing number of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-spirit people (MMIWG2S) who are overlooked by the legal system in Canada. The mural covers the entire side of a building, facing an intersection with a moderate amount of traffic. It is likely seen hundreds of times a day, and acts as a visual reminder of Indigenous missing people’s cases and the rampant ignorance of this issue.

There is controversy surrounding this particular piece, with claims that it is racist toward white people. The counselor of St. Henri has denounced the mural, saying that it has no place being so hateful. The range of reactions from the public is reflective of how Canadian citizens think about Indigneous issues.

In Canada, Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit individuals, face constant neglect. Over 4000 Indigenous women, girls, and Two18

spirit people have gone missing or been murdered in the past three decades, and these cases do not receive the attention they deserve.

Many non-Indigneous people do not understand the severity of this issue, as it does not directly affect them. We often do not discuss the individuals behind the statistics and headlines.

These people had friends and family who loved and cared for them, and to reduce this issue to facts and figures ignores the complex lives that each of these individuals had.

decades, to varying degrees of success.

Several institutions have implemented land acknowledgements to raise awareness about Indigenous land dispossession, and the government has observed new national holidays this year, such as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which honours Indigenous peoples who have been impacted by the traumas of residential schools. Despite these improvements, the work is far from complete. The management of COVID-19 on reserves, the displacement of Indigenous people Our community needs to address in cities, and the lack of reparations Indigenous representation. Sabogal’s regarding residential schools are all mural is an attempt to bring light to the clear examples of what still needs to issue, as it forces passersby to reflect be done to step towards meaningful on their role in perpetuating white Reconciliation. supremacy. The same lessons that this mural provides can be applied to the In hopes of uncovering the truth, we ongoing crisis of MMIWG2S, but must ensure that the effects of these the art itself does not come from an initiatives are made to withstand.

Indigenous perspective— its creator Holding the education system and is Colombian. Though the piece is the government accountable is a created with respect and care, it is necessary condition for reform. Truth still critical that this representation is and Reconciliation is a new concept initiated and showcased by Indigenous to much of Canada, and there will be voices. many obstacles along the way, but we must push forward. Keeping a critical Montreal is a city blessed with eye and understanding the changes diversity, and seeing an accurate that need to be done will prove representation of yourself can be the instrumental to Canada’s quest for difference between feeling like you meaningful Truth and Reconciliation. belong and feeling like a permanent If these ideas are a part of Canada’s outsider. The murals that outline the agenda, we must allow Indigneous experience of Indigenous peoples peoples to have agency in telling offer an alternate perspective than the their own stories. Art pieces like the ones that are commonly perpetuated mural can shape public perceptions, in our society. To own your own voice but authenticity is key. Only when and have it heard through such an Indigneous voices begin to shine expressive art form is truly special. will we be able to begin to make real change within the community.

Canadians have been tackling the idea of Indigenous representation for

One Mural’s Connection to Truth and Reconciliation

ARTS & CULTURE

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BUSINESS & TECH

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BUSINESS & TECH

COVID-19

and the Benefits of Experimentation

by Sean Kim and Julian Robinson

It has been nearly two years since the COVID-19 pandemic upended our everyday lives. With vaccine rollouts now going smoothly in many countries and lockdown restrictions easing, it is time to consider what the world could have done better to prepare for and cope with the effects of the pandemic.

frequency of pandemics similar to COVID-19 in the future. The fear is that, through deforestation and decreasing biodiversity, diseases can spread more easily to humans. While the environmental cost of modern life is an issue in and of itself, it now makes sense to explore new ideas and technologies that could help a postCOVID world cope with what might come next.

Although there is light at the end of the pandemic, scientists are concerned that human activity and globalization The first example of one of these could potentially increase the technologies is not a new one:

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BUSINESS & TECH

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vaccines. While there has been research into potential coronavirus treatments such as Merck’s Molnupiravir, most researchers agree that vaccines are the most effective way to combat diseases. After all, vaccines are the reason that diseases such as polio, influenza, tetanus, and measles have either been eradicated entirely, or at least have become very rare in modern society. Additionally, the vaccines now available to prevent COVID-19 have been proven to be around 90% effective or more. This is an impressive feat given how quickly they were developed.

the company that wins the patent a monopoly on that technology for the patent duration. Governments could test out new policies in certain drug or vaccine classes by streamlining the approval process and significantly lowering patent durations. The effect of this new monopoly would be to stimulate innovation in the pharmaceutical industry by rendering technology non-proprietary. With the floodgates open on innovation, the world may also be able to speed up the production of treatments for existing conditions, such as cancer or HIV/AIDS, in addition to creating a market environment more suited to In preparing for future pandemics, it dealing with the next pandemic. appears that vaccines are the natural place to begin. The main issue with As the pandemic draws vaccines throughout COVID-19 was speed. At the beginning of to a close, the world the pandemic, it was commonly should not return to understood that it would take at least twelve to eighteen months to develop one in which it takes so a vaccine against the coronavirus. In the end, it took ten months, in large long to develop muchpart due to accelerated regulatory needed treatments and approval and massive public-private vaccines. initiatives with funding to rapidly develop a vaccine. Typically, it takes over a decade to have a vaccine On the issue of innovation, also or medication fully developed and noteworthy is that COVID-19 vaccines approved for use, but the pandemic are, in essence, old technologies has shown that this timeline can be being applied to a new virus. In fact, shortened immensely under pressure. the messenger RNA (mRNA) science As the pandemic draws to a close, behind the coronavirus vaccines has the world should not return to one been used for decades. The concept in which it takes so long to develop of mRNA vaccines was alluring much-needed treatments and vaccines because the technology used in their for life-threatening and life-altering creation is much more versatile diseases. than traditional methods. Instead of requiring the use of bacteria or On the regulatory side, organizations yeast to emulate the conditions of like the FDA should be more lenient the virus, the framework for mRNA towards experimental yet much- vaccines is designed on computers needed treatments. Patent policy and then translated to physical should also be revamped to encourage form by machines. This process is competition among pharmaceutical both faster and more economically firms. Typically, drug patents in the feasible than others. However, there U.S. and Canada last for twenty years. was hesitation among members of This time-frame essentially gives the scientific community to employ

mRNA technology in vaccines because the known information surrounding the aftershocks or longterm consequences of mRNA was relatively shallow, and there were concerns of unpredictable reactions that could occur after administration.

With the success of the COVID-19 vaccines so far, those concerns have diminished, which will better prepare pharmaceutical companies for future pandemics. In facilitating a return to “normal life,” academic institutions were one of the top priorities, both to ensure that the large student populations across the world could safely continue their studies, as well as to enable researchers to return to their laboratories. UC San Diego was particularly praised for its innovative approach to the pandemic. Not only has the school ensured that case rates remained below 1% with its “Return to Learn” program, but researchers at UCSD have also been developing new, more efficient means of detecting the coronavirus. Through a study conducted across the departments of molecular genetics, chemistry, and health sciences, Professor Omar Akbari and his team developed a new sensitive enzymatic nucleic acid sequence reporter (SENSR) that will allow for a faster and simpler means of detecting the SARS-CoV-2 protein by identifying specific genetic sequences in DNA and RNA. Rapid testing was something that was sorely lacking at the start of the pandemic. At the beginning, governments used lockdowns and quarantines to control the spread of the virus. Detection technology is crucial to preventing the spread of highly transmissive contagions like COVID-19, and the continuous effort from researchers to create new testing practices are an encouraging sign going forward.

There is also an ongoing study about the use of a Breathalyzer-type test as an alternative to nasal swab tests. According to one of the codevelopers, Pelagia Irene-Gouma, by using nanosensors that identify specific biomarkers in the breath, this experimental test would be less invasive and more sensitive to early infection than the current PCR tests.

Given the high degree of discomfort associated with the nasal swab test, the Breathalyzer-type test would be a welcome change that would hopefully improve public willingness to get tested.

BUSINESS & TECH

Amidst the successes, one must also acknowledge the shortcomings of society in coping with the pandemic. The lack of technological infrastructure in place to account for potential exposures at the beginning of the pandemic propagated the fear and anxiety that people were already feeling. In particular, North America struggled to handle the outbreak, implementing lockdown policies multiple times to contain rising case counts. Therefore, it is all the more important to learn from this experience, and we ought to employ the lessons we have learned in technology and policy to prepare ourselves for whatever possibilities may await.

Altogether, the COVID-19 vaccine is exemplary of how, given the correct regulatory environment and funding, old pharmaceutical technology can be repurposed quickly to combat new diseases. Additionally, promising new research into rapid testing technology is crucial to help control the next pandemic while scientists text, experiment, and invent new vaccines.

With these new innovations, our world may adapt to changing circumstances as new pandemics or diseases hit.

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BUSINESS & TECH

Many workplaces had to completely adapt the way they operate in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, trying out alternative work arrangements such as working remotely and hybrid offices. As the pandemic nears the two-year mark, many employers are continuing to experiment with how they do business by testing what once seemed like a utopian aspiration: the four-day workweek.

Eidos-Montr​​eal—a video game developer located in Montreal— recently made waves by announcing a transition to a four-day workweek.

Around 500 employees in the region will now work 32 hours a week from Monday to Thursday and take Friday off. Despite their company reducing hours spent in the office, employees will keep their salary, working conditions, and benefits.

David Anfossi, the studio manager of Eidos-Montreal, explains how both his company and employees will benefit from this situation: “The idea is not to condense the working hours into four days, but rather to review our ways of doing things and our quality time invested, with the aim of working better. Above all, we want to increase the productivity and wellbeing of our employees. We want to reduce the time at work, but increase the quality of the time invested.”

While Eidos-Montreal may be one of the first companies to do this in North America, European countries have been flirting with the idea of piloting a four-day workweek since 2015. Iceland, for instance, tested this system between 2015 and 2019 with government employees, including

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people from a variety of backgrounds would likely result in a drop in wages. such as medical professionals, Most importantly, they warned that schoolteachers, and office workers. the policy would in effect become null because of “exceptions and Data collected throughout the loopholes,” as did similar legislation experiment shows that productivity in France during the late 1990s. increased considerably when compared to pre-experiment levels Critics also question the feasibility and that employees reported feeling of such a program in sectors such that they had a better work-life as the service industry. In this case, balance, as well as significantly employees are paid for the hours they reduced stress levels. With Fridays spend completing a given task like off, participants shared that they checking people out or making coffee now had the opportunity to devote at a cafe. If these people were to work more time to personal matters. less, the store would likely need to Icelandic employers also benefited reduce its hours or take on additional from the program beyond increased employees, both of which could prove productivity, reporting that employees costly. needed less time for sick days and mental health leaves.

Despite some people’s doubts about the initiative, experts on the matter The four-day workweek is also assert that the Icelandic experiment gradually gaining support within and similar initiatives prove that a Canada’s prominent political parties. four-day workweek is on the horizon, Leading up to October’s general especially for those in the public election, the youth wing of the sector. “This study shows that the Quebec Liberal Party advocated for world’s largest ever trial of a shorter a province-wide program that would working week in the public sector encourage employers to make the was by all measures an overwhelming switch to a four-day work week. success… The public sector is ripe Instead of having the employer bear for being a pioneer of shorter working all of the burden of the program, weeks.” the government would financially subsidize the program by covering In an era where executives emphasize four of the eight hours not worked. productivity, ninety-five hour weeks, and “going the extra mile,” many Despite many companies enjoying people are beginning to demand a high levels of success from the better work-life balance from their program, the four-day work week employers. This could come in many still faces a lot of skepticism. A forms beyond the four-day workweek, report commissioned by the Labour such as a six-hour workday or simply Party in the UK argued that a four- more flexibility in when and where day workweek was not “realistic people work. Regardless of how this or even desirable.” The report and change manifests, it seems as though experts at the Adam Smith Institute the concept of “business as usual” is projected that a four-day workweek about to change for many Canadians.

BUSINESS & TECH

Gabon’s Experiment with the Future of Climate Finance

by Juan de Batiz

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Gabon, a Central African nation whose economy has historically been dependent on oil, is now exploring the frontiers of climate finance. Besides its dwindling oil reserves, Gabon is blessed with another extraordinary natural resource: 13% of the Congo Basin Rainforest. This rainforest, known as the Lungs of Africa, is larger than the entire state of Alaska, making it the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon. This rainforest is the reason why Gabon is one of the world’s few net sequesters of carbon—meaning it absorbs more carbon than it emits. The government is working closely with private organizations to preserve the rainforest in an attempt to capitalize on its value with a revolutionary financial product. This product is a bond whose underlying asset is this forest, not valued on timber, but its ability to absorb carbon.

Now—at a time where climate change has become undeniably apparent— more and more corporations and governments are making pledges to become carbon neutral, net zero, and carbon positive. The African Conservation Development Group (ACDG) is one of the companies working to preserve and commercialize Gabon’s rainforest. With their current 50-year concession of forest, ACDG believes they can generate the stream of carbon credits—permits that offset emissions—that corporations, governments, and foreign investors need to reduce their environmental impact. ACDG has been involved in negotiations to secure contracts with companies which would offset three million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year for over 10 years.

Each tonne would cost a minimum of ten dollars and ACDG would package the income stream in a bond priced at a small premium over Gabon’s sovereign debt.

By securitizing the ecosystemic value of its rainforest, Gabon has created a radically new financial product based on the idea of natural capital. Natural capital refers to a new economic principle that factors in the role of natural resources in the economy by putting a price on “ecosystem services,” such as the carbon absorption and climate regulation done by Gabon’s forest. Naturally in finance, anything that can be priced should be traded, so the next question is how to do so.

lag behind their emissions targets and net zero goals. Even international climate agreements, like the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement have had difficulties reaching their carbon goals which delays the transition to a sustainable future. This presents a potential roadblock for ACDG’s bond, which may not become popular until countries and corporations are more Carbon markets are governed by a serious about climate change. This, system of Cap and Trade, whereby unfortunately, may come too late. governments set a limit, or cap, on the amount of carbon dioxide that can be The question of how to use a country’s emitted by a certain industry and issue natural resources as an engine for a set number of carbon allowances economic development without to companies. If a company cannot destroying them is a familiar one in cover its carbon emissions with its the developing world. Countries such allowances, then it must purchase as Brazil, the DRC, and Indonesia extra ones from a firm with reserves. have shown frightening deforestation Lately carbon prices in the EU have rates over the last 20 years. In Brazil been on the rise, suggesting a growing alone, massive deforestation has urge for companies to find alternatives transformed the Amazon into a net to offset emissions. Natural capital carbon emitter. However, if ACDG’s markets could provide the solution. bond issue is successful, it would set Logically, the price of a financial an important precedent for countries security is tied to the ecosystemic like these and others with large services of a resource and would ecosystems to issue a similar type of increase if the value of the underlying bond and sustainably commercialize services increases as well. The only the value of their natural resources. way to increase natural capital would be to regenerate the ecosystem. This Gabon’s preservation efforts are would result in more carbon offsets, already paying off, too, making benefitting companies that require it an even brighter North Star for them, while also preserving the earth’s developing countries to follow. This year, the country received $17 million biosphere. from the Central African Forest Although natural capital markets Initiative (CAFI), a UN-backed could revolutionize carbon offsetting, similar systems, like the Cap and Trade, have failed in the past. More often than not, countries and corporations

fund, for reducing deforestation and increasing preservation efforts in its rainforests. This was the first payment out of a $150 million deal. Through CAFI, the UN has also validated Gabon’s systems for monitoring deforestation and carbon emissions, which, according to Gabon’s Forest Minister, could open a new source of revenue by charging high carbonemitting countries for managing their resources.

Gabon is also stirring up thoughts of a forward-looking change in the discipline of economics. The fundamental idea in economics— that humans should achieve infinite growth with limited resources— is paradoxical. However, Gabon’s calling on natural capital shows that natural resources have value beyond the materials they produce, which helps anchor the discipline to a more palpable version of reality. Projecting beyond the borders of Gabon, this idea could potentially become the framework for climate change policy across the world in the near future.

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BUSINESS & TECH

pandemic is useful in understanding the opportunity, or even the potential threat, that the Canadian industry faces. According to the Transportation Security Administration, the US has seen an 80 percent recovery in demand for air travel from the start of the pandemic. This kind of recovery is huge, given that demand for air travel in Canada is still only 25 percent of what it was in 2019. Even though the US market has seen a considerable recovery in demand, it has yet to see a recovery in terms of sales revenue.

Full-service carriers in the US like Delta and United have only earned 48 and 56 percent of their 2019 revenues in 2021, respectively. This lag in revenue recovery can be explained by the full-service business model that airlines like Delta and United are using. Although most of their flights are operating at close to full capacity, Examining the way the US aviation the seats that fill up are predominantly market has performed during the economy class seats. While these For years, Canadians have complained about the cost of domestic air travel.

A round trip between Montreal and Toronto would set one back $300 on average. This is in stark contrast to the US, where an even longer flight from Boston to DC would cost around $83.

Having said that, the concept of ultralow-cost travel is not entirely new to Canadian travellers. Numerous carriers, namely Zoom, JetsGo, and Canada 3000, have tried their hands at creating a market for no-frills, low-cost travel, but all of them failed miserably and are now defunct.

While their failures could largely be attributed to external conditions like Canada’s expansive geography and lack of secondary airports, COVID-19 has exposed why this business model continues to fail, specifically in Canada.

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seats can help in the process of recovering costs to some extent, fullservice carriers are heavily dependent on sales in the business and first-class segments to break even.

The Canadian aviation industry is dominated by two full-service carriers, Air Canada and WestJet, both of whom have a combined market share of 80 percent. Considering that the Canadian aviation industry has only seen a 25 per cent recovery in demand since 2019, this duopoly of full-service carriers appears to be a threat to the market. It is highly likely that once travel restrictions ease up, Canada, just like the US, will first see a surge in demand for leisure travel without a corresponding increase in demand for corporate travel. This can be attributed to the pandemic, which has made top corporate travel spenders like KPMG and Microsoft make work from home the norm to save both

BUSINESS & TECH

Canada’s Call for a Post-COVID Aviation

Industry Reform

by Arjun Seth costs and time. Executives from these corporations have a tendency to fly on first and business class cabins of these full-service carriers and book their tickets only a few days in advance for much higher prices. This is in contrast to leisure travellers who typically fly economy class and buy tickets months in advance for prices that are below operating costs. Thus, while there could be a surge in demand driven by leisure-focused travellers, the lack of takers for lucrative first and business class seats would mean that full-service carriers would earn less per seat, subsequently reducing their revenue.

Unfortunately for Canadian travellers, this would only aggravate the issue of unaffordable travel as the airlines would pass on the sunk maintenance costs of first and business class cabins to the economy travellers.

Additionally, airlines like WestJet and Air Canada would be unable to cover the costs of the extensive range of slots they own at hubs like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Slots, which are authorizations that airlines have to take off or land at particular airports during specified time periods, would be underutilised by leisure travellers. These slots, especially the non-peak hour ones,

exist primarily to provide flexibility of travel to corporate travellers. This would waste not only the cost of the slot but also the fuel costs incurred on empty flights. Consequently, Canadian travellers, with a lack of cost-efficient alternatives, would be forced to opt for these full-service carriers once again. Meanwhile, in the US, price elastic travellers would be able to avoid these costs passed onto them by opting for low-cost carriers like Southwest.

cities with all the services included in the base price. However, if the pandemic’s effect on the aviation industry in Canada emulates the one in the US, full-service carriers like Air Canada would lose their corporate travel base and would end up with lower sales revenue and less market power. With these full-service airlines passing on their sunk costs to leisure travellers, airlines like Flair could win over demand by lowering their prices further and penetrating the market.

While Canadian travellers could potentially opt for low-cost airlines like Flair, the airline has simply not been able to operate at a large enough scale. In an attempt to emulate the ultra-low-cost model followed by Southwest, Flair charges customers separately for any services availed in addition to the base fare. For instance, for a round trip between Toronto and Montreal, Flair charges a $120 base fare. If a traveller decides to check a bag, they would have to pay an additional $80. Moreover, if the traveller forgets to check in online, they would have to pay an additional $15 at the airport to cover the airlines’ labour costs. Pre-pandemic, with all the added costs, many travellers would rather purchase Air Canada’s $250 round trip between the same

Overall, compared to before the pandemic, flying is not only unfeasible for travellers but for large airlines as well. A drop in sales revenue, especially for full-service carriers should signal that their product is unable to cater to the needs of the market. As the once-lucrative corporate clients continue to transition to work-from-home policies, premium carriers will be forced to implement a low-cost model to sustain their operations. This leaves the door open for low-cost carriers like Flair, whose main difficulties have come from the high barrier to entry set by the likes of Air Canada and WestJet. With the playing field somewhat leveled, it will be interesting to see how the Canadian airline industry changes as the end of the pandemic nears.

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OPINION

Fending for Ourselves:

The Case for Campus

Drug Testing

by Sarah Sylvester and Alia Shaukat

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OPINION

*UPDATE December 12th, 2021: In a previous version of the Opinion feature: “Fending for ourselves…,” the Bull & Bear incorrectly wrote that MSERT does not carry naloxone and characterized the service as an extension of the McGill administration. In fact, MSERT is a service of the SSMU and its volunteers carry Narcan: a non-invasive spray version of naloxone. The Bull & Bear regrets this error, and we encourage members of the McGill community to reach out to MSERT during times of crisis.

The music is pounding, each beat pressing up against your throat.

It’s frighteningly cold outside but oppressively hot inside this party, so your overly-expensive coat is heaped in a pile in someone’s bedroom.

Already too many sweaty shapes have brushed up against you and left an imprint on your top, and it’s only 11:30 PM. “Body” by Loud Luxury has played for, somehow, the fourth time in the night and Guillaume from Sigma Ligma Epsilon or whatever is trying (and failing) to open a mosh pit on the dancefloor. You spy some Arts kids in the corner with a baggie filled with an unknown substance that Guillaume will try to bum off of them later in the night.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that parties like this are deeply integrated into McGill student culture. In fact, school-affiliated events like Frosh, Science Games, and Carnival are party hubs. McGill’s “work hard play hard” mentality isn’t a new concept, but in recent years, this mantra has been taken too far. The heartbreaking news of a fatal drug overdose that occurred in a McGill residence circulated around campus just two years ago,

and since then, many similar stories have surfaced.

With these stories coming to light, it is abundantly clear that McGill students are using drugs, and that won’t be changing anytime soon. Significant efforts for harm reduction are the answer to the dangers of rampant drug use. Opening a dialogue on drug usage among student populations and increasing accessibility to drug testing kits is crucial for active harm reduction. A study conducted by Frontier Psychiatry in 2021 found that drug checking was a successful strategy for harm reduction in recreational contexts, concluding that if someone is presented with test results that indicate laced drugs, they will choose not to take them.

Therefore, drug checking is an effective and necessary strategy for harm reduction.

Although critics may claim that drug checking and harm reduction enables drug users and addiction, the reality is that people who use drugs will likely continue using drugs. Addiction does not have an on-off switch—people cannot snap their fingers and suddenly be clean. There are other resources to aid in recovery, such as rehabilitation centers, but these are not accessible for all. Some people may have trouble affording rehabilitation, and even if health insurance helps cover the costs, centers don’t have an infinite number of beds. Therefore, harm reduction may be the optimal way to prevent drug-related fatalities. However, the stigma of addiction prevents the implementation of widespread harm reduction education and safety measures, such as drug kits. Do we want to save people, even if they continue to use drugs?

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OPINION

McGill’s administration is guilty of avoiding the stigma rather than addressing it and working handin-hand with harm reducers to ensure that all students are safe. The administration’s blind eye towards drug use in their student population is harmful because it leaves students vulnerable without access to sufficient resources. Students need professional intervention in cases of drug overdose, and it is horrific that McGill refuses to provide these interventions internally.

The McGill administration seems to live within a bubble of denial about their students’ recreational drug use Student organizations such as Making Drugs More Accurate (MDMA) are picking up the McGill administration’s slack and doing the necessary work of protecting our campus. The organization of self-proclaimed “guerilla pharmacologists’’ was founded by a McGill student a few years back, but only became a reality this semester.

Since starting in September, the organization has already handed out over 200 kits to the Montreal community. The kit provides tests for harmful contaminants such as PMA, caffeine, lidocaine, acetaminophen, fentanyl, and levamisole. The process of obtaining these tests is simple, anonymous, efficient, and most importantly, deeply necessary.

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When speaking to a representative of Making Drugs More Accurate, they emphasized their accessibility by stating that “we currently target McGill students just because the organization was started by McGill students, but it’s available to anyone in Montreal.” The organization is funded by private organizations such as Health Canada, Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Student Society (SACOMSS), and Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), yet has no affiliation with McGill University due to their zerotolerance drug policy. The harm done

by McGill’s refusal to acknowledge drug use among students extends to ignoring the organization’s need for funding in order to purchase a fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy machine to provide confirmatory negative test results.

When asked about this disconnect, the representative stated, “it’s unfortunate that McGill refuses to acknowledge their students do drugs, because the lack of dialogue is literally killing people.”

The McGill administration seems to live within a bubble of denial about their students’ recreational drug use.

First-year students in residence often experiment with different substances and may not have proper experience or knowledge about the drugs they are trying. Right now, McGill relies on Floor Fellows and other student residents to monitor the contents of certain drugs and educate people on drug safety. Sarah’s* Floor Fellow from New Residence Hall expressed the importance of knowing exactly what you took; he suggested that people take a small sample, or at least a note stating what substance they believe they took, so hospital workers could test and identify what might be

causing an overdose or bad reaction.

But it is unfair to expect such diligence from residence employees, both because it lies outside their pay grade and because they are not trained to administer emergency care. Narcan is not provided to Floor Fellows, and certainly not to students in residence.

Moreover, how can McGill expect 1819 year old first years to know what to do in a dangerous situation? The lack of dialogue about drug use among McGill students leaves us to fend for ourselves. This is irresponsible because most students don’t have extensive knowledge on the threat of substance abuse.

Thankfully, student groups have taken the initiative to provide drug testing kits and education to fill the absence of university-funded programs. While this is not something other students should be expected to do, these groups understand that protecting the community is crucial to ensuring the safety of students. Without them, overdoses and emergencies would likely be swept under the rug by the administration in order to promote McGill’s clean public image. We can look to past sexual assault cases to prove this avoidant tendency: even with several survivors coming out to offer explicit accounts, McGill consistently fails to acknowledge the problem of sexual assault on campus and take assertive steps to eliminate threats. Rather, the administration sees the actual stories of survivors as the threat, and will do everything in their power to keep them tucked away while denying their students support.

They would rather stow away a victim of substance abuse or assault into a red Toyota RAV4. Sure, it may get them home safe, but what is stopping the cycle?

OPINION

Ultimately, we need a strong call to action. Drug testing needs to be normalized, but it will be difficult to persuade people to partake, especially in an environment of denial. For those who wish to check their substances to avoid horrid consequences, student programs are among the only available resources. But without necessary funding, these resources may dissolve.

It would be in the McGill population’s best interest for drug safety groups to receive university funding.

It is ridiculous that other programs that don’t explicitly state what their purpose is (WalkSafe doesn’t necessarily cater towards people under the influence, but simply people that do not feel safe) can be listed on student fees, but not programs that have been proven to reduce harm.

The administration dances around the idea instead of outwardly stating, “These are for people who are drunk/ under the influence and/or people who feel unsafe walking at night.” It seems to be a long shot, since McGill can’t seem to get it together enough to expand the Student Health Hub or divest from fossil fuels. However, with the right amount of student outrage for the right period of time, we have the chance to force McGill to address student drug use and take effective action.

When speaking about their experience passing out Making Drugs More Accurate business cards at parties, the representative stated “it’s sad to have these conversations with people because every single person I speak to has known someone in their life who has overdosed.” This sentiment extends to all of us. Drug checking saves lives, and it’s time for McGill to open their eyes.

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OPINION

Testingg-Distance Lon s p i h s n o i t Rela by Maxine Bisera

Jake* and Claire* have been connected since before they were born.

Their mothers attended the same yoga class while pregnant and, after finding out they lived in the same neighbourhood, resolved to take their soon-to-be-born children to each other’s cottages.

After an on-and-off relationship spanning elementary to high school, they officially started dating again in September of 2020. For about a year, they were able to see each other every day, taking advantage of the five-minute walk that separated their homes. Then, Jake moved away for university.

up a multitude of faceless lifestyle bloggers who strongly advise you to break up and move on with the next chapter of your life. Even the Huffington Post weighs in and tries to not-so-subtly guide the reader along the breakup process. Since the pandemic, however, it seems that people are more open to the idea of long-distance relationships (OkCupid has seen an 83% increase in new users setting their location preference to ‘anywhere’). Overwhelmingly, it is first-year university students who choose to stay with their significant other from high school. For many of these couples, staying together seems like the obvious choice.

As cheesy as it sounds, I believe the reasoning behind this decision is love.

Although it is hard to be physically apart, every relationship comes with its unique challenges, and distance is just another one to overcome. If it is love, the feeling will persist through any obstacle. This belief also implies that people today are more serious about dating, or at least value different things than our predecessors. Whether it be a shift in preferred love languages (quality time and words of affirmation take the cake) or a deeper emphasis on trust and communication, people have come to desire a deeper level of connection in their relationships, to the point where a future apart is unimaginable. “It wasn’t really a decision as much as we just knew we wanted to stay together,” says Jake about their girlfriend (one and a half years together, 109 kilometers apart).

“Breaking up was never an option.”

It’s a big moment when couples move away and must decide to either break up or endure the infamous long- The same rings true for couples who distance relationship (LDR). A quick haven’t known each other since birth.

Google search for advice will bring If the connection is deep enough, 34

moving forward with a long-distance relationship should feel like a natural progression. Taylor* and her partner (two months, 442 kilometers) decided they’d be doing long-distance the day they started dating, about a year and a half after they first became friends online. “It wasn’t easy because I knew they were going to Waterloo and I’d be at Ottawa,” she says, “And I wasn’t sure about starting off the bat a new relationship six hours from each other. Although after we met, I fell pretty damn hard and so did they, so we decided to just [...] give it a go.”

After taking that leap of faith, the only thing left to do is put in the work.

Commitment is another thing that scares people about long-distance.

How much extra time would you have to devote to a person who’s not physically there? What would you give up to maintain that relationship?

If the relationship is strong, spending time with them online wouldn’t feel like a sacrifice. In fact, it would be a grounding and comforting activity in the face of a new environment.

“It’s hard to be away from the person whose literal presence will make you feel better, especially during the adjustment to university,” says Maya* about moving away from her boyfriend (one and a half years, 161 kilometers). It would be even harder to completely lose that person in a breakup. Rather than going for a completely fresh start, it’s important to have someone who truly knows and cares about you to help you navigate life.

Yet, many would say that online interactions can’t compare to in-person ones. So how can we be expected to maintain the same level of connection

in a relationship? In some ways this claim is valid, and consequently, it is important to make plans to see one another in person. However, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely helped shift people’s minds regarding remote dating and finding new ways to connect.

Since every other aspect of our lives is online now, maintaining a relationship through a virtual sphere doesn’t seem like an extra challenge.

As we have grown more accustomed to forming online connections, we have more reason to continue dating despite the distance. For Naomi* and her boyfriend (two months, 541 kilometers), finding new ways to connect online has been a fun experience: “Before, I’d only thought of talking on FaceTime, but now there are things like Netflix Party […] we can also quietly do homework advice is to hold onto it! Moving away from each other shouldn’t together, and crosswords.” be the sole reason to break up.

When asked about the hardest part After all, distance makes the of long-distance, Jake says it’s that heart grow fonder. “whenever we get into arguments, we can’t talk about it in person.” Like *Names have been every couple, Jake and Claire have changed for privacy. their rough patches. But they have yet to face a challenge they couldn’t overcome, including distance. Despite what some may say, it is worth it to try and make long-distance work. The ups and downs are no different than in any other relationship, and a good partner shouldn’t hold you back from trying new things and growing as an individual. If you’re both committed and fulfilled in your relationship, my

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OPINION

Could You Find Me?: Another Account of Being Saved by Astral Weeks

by Atsushi Ikeda

“My social contacts had dwindled almost to none; the presence of other people made me nervous and paranoid.

I spent endless days and nights sunk in an armchair in my bedroom, reading magazines, watching TV, listening to records, staring into space. I had no idea how to improve the situation, and probably wouldn’t have done anything about it if I had.”

So music critic Lester Bangs describes where his head and heart were during the awful fall of 1968—at home but not ‘at home,’ more catatonic than cozy in his sad arrest. Other than the fact that the litany of the ways he killed time have all merged into one device in our pockets, his deep seasonal depression sounds a lot like the year and a half we spent in the New Normal, in the forced ubiquity of loneliness. The thing about depression, of course, is that time seems impossible to measure, and that it seems pointless to measure it. If you’re lucky and nothing spikes, you just have to wait it out and not say anything too alarming to your friends, even as a joke. One day you’re out of it enough to function. If you’re lonely, at least you’re at a party again.

Unutterable loneliness in a crowd—I think that’s a good metaphor for certain kinds of knowledge, the stuff that tears you away from the people around you and makes you want to 36

embrace them all the more. It’s the kind of knowledge that tells you bluntly that neither is a sustainable way to live, and makes you ask if there even is one, and the longer you go on wondering, the longer you’re susceptible to the ancient telephone game that mystics, mourners, and the mad alike have been playing since time immemorial, waiting on that ring we’re always fated to pick up out of curiosity and desperation, dying to ask how we can go on living now that we know in our bones how thin the membrane is between life and death, grief and gratitude. It’s one thing to know this as an abstract constant, and another to feel bulldozed and defined by it, stuck in an armchair or your bed wishing you would dissolve along with the question.

The answer anyway, I think, is that we don’t. I think the self is most often what just happens to survive, somewhere between an irreducible essence and a million irreversible changes. And I think that the self surviving at all is a fluke of the highest order, a miracle that every season we’ve lived through was involved in.

At best this may sound high-minded and at worst just overwrought and corny, but I am convinced there are few other ways to even begin talking about Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks,

the album that, for Bangs, assumed “the quality of a beacon, a light on the far shores of the murk.” Bangs’ piece was written almost 10 years to the day that the album came out, and he was already saying that many others had “reported variants on my initial encounter with Astral Weeks”—that is, a mystical encounter, something immediate and revelatory, lifechanging. To my mind, his piece is the definitive testimony of what the album does, track by track, to those who find it and get haunted by it, and any attempt to convey it all over again is usually just preaching to the choir.

But it’s too late to stop now. The last week of October I was in, to put it mildly, a pronounced funk, and I listened to this record for the first time in a few years, and reread Lester Bangs’ essay, and stared at the ceiling, and as truly magical as the record still was, I realized that enough time has passed for me since first listening to Astral Weeks as a teenager that everything that was so instrumentally startling and immensely sad about the record seems to have seeped out into the world, and that Van Morrison’s twin obsession with life and death, or “rapture and anguish,” and the nebulous breezeway between them, has become an obsession of my own over the last few years. It’s not a healthy obsession, but as far as human

OPINION

ones go, it’s the one to have. And like most human truths, you kid yourself pretending you don’t know it already, somewhere deep down, a spark of intuition swaddled by fear. Playful as Van Morrison can be at times on the record, he won’t kid you about any of that.

Astral Weeks starts like your presence was a fateful interruption, as if your listening, too, was just an instrument among the many already playing and layering over Van Morrison’s lyrics that, cryptic as they are, are pointedly hopeful just because the first words he utters on the album are “If I ventured in the slipstream,” and in those few seconds alone you feel like the seeker and the sought after at once, and you know how long the distance and how short the lifetime to cross it, then he goes on to paint so many possibilities of always finding each other there, or at least passing each other by.

From the far side of the ocean If I put the wheels in motion And I stand with my arms behind me And I’m pushin’ on the door Could you find me?

Would you kiss-a my eyes?

And all the while he’s banging out just two chords on the guitar, the only constant amidst the gorgeous flux, because even his voice soars wild as hope without a single subject—the most delirious, beautiful kind. You can say that practically about any of the other songs on the record, not because they’re uninspired and thus interchangeable, but because they’re so inspired that it amazes you how tight the band is and how much space they create in each arrangement; how each instrument has its own little orbit that never strays far from the gravity of Morrison’s voice, like a flurry of snow speeding up, slowing down, and whirling around the constant beam of a streetlight, or, I guess, a beacon.

And as all beacons are when their light signals your saving, I get scared—yes, scared—by the thought of listening to Astral Weeks most times it crosses my mind, because the price you pay for all that overwhelming brightness is usually knowing the dark that surrounds it, even if it’s been pushed momentarily to the edge of your vision. A friend of mine once replied to a question along the lines of ‘what is the scariest thing you can say in

two words?’ and she said, “I know.”

And the most awful knowledge is that we have to die so many ways before we get to venture into the slipstream, that we’ll have to be torn apart in one life, become a flurry of snow, to recognize each other in the other. The last few lyrics to “Slim Slow Slider,” the album’s closer, are about as brutal and barren as grief itself in all its manifestations, and I will not write them here, because it’s not about the words but the metamorphic cycle they all happen to be a part of. Trying to untangle the album’s beginning from its ending is like trying to separate Van Morrison’s downcast face from the lush canopy high in the sky on the album cover. At any moment, you might be blissfully waking up in the afterlife, or you might be sleeplessly watching over someone about to die.

At any moment, we take these things hand in hand, and the scales are never steady and level—they tip wildly from one to the other, but they even out in the end, or at least we always hope and have always known, because that’s what living must mean if we are to keep going. That’s how much we weigh to one another, if we are ready to admit it.

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The Ethics of Enhancement Drugs in a Complicated Sports World

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by Ezra Moleko and Josh Holtzman

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Ezra

reasons for using PEDs are generally medalists. Some estimate doping a lot more complicated than snap rates amongst athletes to be as high as 40% of all participants. For many, this It can be easy, from our lofty moral judgment allows for. mistake is unconscionable. The World cushioned couches and recliners, to The body of an athlete is similar to a Anti-Doping Agency, for instance, cast aspersions on any athlete who doesn’t live up to the standards we’ve car—almost anything it is expected describes what they consider to be the imagined for them. The moral failings to do on a daily basis can massively “Spirit of Sport,” which encompasses of athletes are treated with greater reduce its value in the market. In this all that people find inherently valuable scrutiny than that of politicians and market, professionals are asked to about performing a sport. These ethics litigators, especially when they are compete and sell their bodies. Gone include admirable values like fair play, found to be cheating. The average are the days of club camaraderie and determination, health, excellence in observer might have no idea what roster continuity. Like most other gig- performance, and dedication. In order type of considerations go into the economy jobs, if you cannot perform, to gain our admiration, we demand decision to dope, but judging is easier you will be unemployed, even if you our athletes to push themselves to are injured or sick. For many athletes, the very limits of their capabilities in than learning. a major injury, especially one to the order to celebrate the possibilities of Just look at Rocky IV, the king of all lower body like a torn ACL, ruptured the human body. A large part of that films about politically-charged athletic Achilles, torn Meniscus, or even pursuit is the insurmountable walls tropes. While Rocky is working broken bones, can permanently an athlete must scale to reach another level. himself into mental and physical change one’s ability to perform. fitness in the toughest conditions, antagonist Ivan Drago is seen icily PEDs, for some athletes, can offer For many, knowing an athlete has receiving a particularly juicy shot of a boon to recovery times that is used a PED to elevate their level of implied anabolic steroids to the arm invaluable. Human Growth Hormone performance is contrary to this pursuit. in a laboratory-like training room. If (HGH) is one of the most commonly When Ben Johnson sets a 100m World killing Apollo Creed wasn’t enough, used PEDs. The drug stimulates a Record but then is caught having used Drago ingratiates himself further by hormone called IGF-1, which helps stanozolol, sports audiences may feel trying to get ahead, solidifying his your body form cartilage and bone. personally betrayed. Yet, Ben Johnson status as the series’ most unforgivable For a number of injuries, HGH can was already at the highest level of villain. Instead of aiming to prove his drastically shorten recovery time and his sport, and as his coach and many own grit like the admirable Rocky, he minimize side effects. For example, others in the sporting world would HGH can counteract long-term claim, everybody was already doping. cuts corners to win at all costs. strength loss by encouraging muscle When the spirit of the game is already lost and the need to prove oneself We never find out why Drago took growth. has already superseded our romantic that shot, or who provided it to him.

For many, it’s an irrelevant line of Of course, this is not the only usage for ideals of competition, is it the athlete’s questioning. Performance-Enhancing HGH or PEDs. Many athletes choose to responsibility to take one on the chin?

Drugs (PEDs) are too much of a use PEDs merely to gain a competitive When an athlete cannot hope to pocket advantage for the sports they edge, regardless of their standing in recover from an injury within enough affect to feel the same to us. The their field. At the London Olympics time to survive roster cuts, should common tendency to moralize an in 2012, over 143 athletes were we impugn them for not accepting athlete’s behavior is a core cause of caught doping, and 43 of them were the death of their long sought-after career with grace? Sports and its this perception; the need to protect accompanying media, despite all the idea that sports are the last that it has come to represent, bastion of meritocracy. has not caught up to those In truth, the considerations.

Josh Fair play, or the “Spirit of Sport” are tricky, if not impossible terms to define. Yet these ideas are ubiquitous in the world of sports, especially when it comes to opinions about athletes’ use of PEDs. Many use these terms as grounds to prohibit PEDs, claiming that they interfere with what is fair, or what the level of performance should “naturally” be. The problem is that these standards are ambiguous. No one opinion on what is fair or in the spirit of the sport holds more weight than any other, which is why the question of PEDs is difficult to argue.

What’s interesting about these terms is that they are used to argue both sides of the coin. On the one hand, those against PED use argue that banning them ensures a level of fairness across competition and upholds the spirit of play. On the other hand, those in favour of PEDs claim that it is fairer if PEDs were permitted, as that would eliminate the advantage gained by those able to cheat by using when the vast majority of the playing field is not. They also claim that the spirit of the sport is, in a sense, a fallacy, citing luxuries afforded to wealthy kids that give them an advantage over less fortunate kids, such as better diets and specialized expensive training regiments. Surely there is no equity in that, and therefore wouldn’t those that were afforded those opportunities be in violation of the spirit of the sport, gaining an advantage through no skill of their own?

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There are arguments to be made that PEDs, specifically the Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, helps athletes recover from injuries more quickly. There are also compelling arguments that the drug classification, testing, enforcement, and punishing systems used by sports’ most powerful governing bodies, such as the NFL or the IOC, are outdated at best, corrupt and discriminatory at worst. I am all for reforming the system. It should never be the case where an athlete feels the need to dope to level the playing field. There have also been far too many instances of athletes being summoned for testing “at random” after a stand-out performance. The policies must ensure that the main goal is not to catch and punish athletes trying to cheat, but to prevent a culture of one-upmanship of athletic ability purely by altering their own biochemistry.

There is no denying that the system needs reforming, yet recently, a more popular position than reformation has been abolishing the restriction of PED use altogether. While this would certainly increase the level of fairness by eliminating the competitive advantage of cheating and not getting caught, this is a dangerous path that has the potential to corrode the very core of what makes following professional sports so compelling: that intrinsic, unquantifiable combination of talent and determination that every professional athlete possesses to some degree, but that also distinguishes stars from average players, and champions from participants.

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By legalizing the broad use of PEDs in sports, we are encouraging a culture of one-upmanship based on the mindless injection of hormones, not of improvement through training, dieting, or any other means that requires some level of discipline.

What makes professional athletes incredible role models is the necessity of possessing some innate characteristic that drives success. Every athlete, no matter how privileged an upbringing or how expensive a training regimen, possesses this unique ability to persevere through the most difficult of circumstances. While intrinsic talent and a genetically acquired athletic skill set is necessary for the professional success of an athlete, it is by no means sufficient. To be a great athlete requires a fundamental drive for greatness. This is the same drive that would push nearly every athlete into using PEDs if given the opportunity.

Under the current framework of banned PED use, we can admire the determination of athletes who achieve greatness and use that motivation to drive success in our own lives. Under a framework of legalized PED use, this admiration becomes diluted. At the highest level of sport, where the margins are razor-thin, a biological enhancement will undoubtedly become the deciding factor. The winner will be the one with the highest dosage or the best combination of drugs, not the one one who rose above the field through some magical combination of sheer will, skill, and yes, luck.

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SPORTS

Which Ballgame are You Taking Me Out to?

by Max Mickelson

Baseball is a game of tradition. The long history of the sport has given rise to customs so unique, that many of them are questioned for their continued prevalence in the modern game. Managers often yell at the umpire to the point of getting red in the face. In the dugout, players commit many acts, such as spitting and intensive bum-slapping, that can only be described as gross.

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Baseball, despite its cherished traditions, is becoming increasingly less popular amongst a younger audience. Long games with a slow pace, strange rules, a lack of media coverage all contribute to the MLB’s decline in the sporting consumption space in the hearts and minds of North America’s youth. Baseball still has its appeal for some, and there is a reason your dad watches all 162 games of the

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season. Maybe, just as you start to like worrying about the weather, baseball does become a lot more exciting and relaxing as you grow older. But the MLB doesn’t want to settle for its audience becoming a small portion of the population. Back in the day, kids loved baseball, and baseball loved kids. And so, in 2020 and in the spirit of change, and attempting to appeal to a younger audience, the MLB instituted a number of rule changes to try and speed up the game and make it more interesting.

was asked whether the baseball world could expect these rules to be in effect for 2022, to which Manfred openly assured not to be the case. He does not believe the extra inning or double header rules to be in baseball’s “longterm future” and he suggests that these rules were enacted solely as a result of the pandemic. However, it is not entirely up to Manfred, it is the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (the old one ends in December) between the Major League Baseball Players’ Association and the League itself (consisting of the 30 teams’ The most important of these rules owners), that will open up discussion included the implementation of an and voting for new rules for the future automatic runner on second-base to of the sport in North America. start each inning of extra innings, as well as the modification of double- Although the primary topic of header games to be seven innings conversation will be regarding each in length. These decisions, when changes to the way players’ salaries first instituted, completely polarized are financially constructed, the rule baseball fans. For some, those loyal changes will also be a contentious to baseball’s commitment to follow part of negotiations this winter. In traditions, lambasted the introduction order for official MLB rules regarding of a DH spot and ridiculed what they the playing of the game of baseball saw as an attack on extra innings to change, 75% of owners, or 23 baseball. Others, like Phillies’ of the 30, must vote in favour of a manager Joe Girardi, appreciate the rule change for it to pass. The 15 AL new extra innings rule, and fans of NL owners are all likely to support the DH teams enjoyed seeing significantly introduction in the NL, but even fans more offense out of the hitter in the aren’t sure how their NL ballclubs 9-spot. will vote.

manipulate their defensive schemes according to where opposing batters hit the ball most often. The baseball world is divided on this issue – some claim it is ruining the game – while others applaud the shift as a function of analytical baseball strategy.

Whatever your stance may be on the place of the shift in baseball, a movement against it would represent a clear prioritization of emphasizing the history of baseball over changing the gameplay schematics. Manfred himself is evident on this issue: “It makes the game look like what it looked like when I was 12 years old.

It’s not change; it’s kind of restoration, right?”

It is worth noting that these changes were largely made for COVID-specific reasons. The idea was that these rule changes would limit the amount of time players and fans would spend in the ballpark, thus curbing the spread of COVID-19. Whether these decisions were demonstrably effective for their declared purposes cannot really be ascertained, but it is without question that these rule changes offered a tantalizing glimpse into baseball’s future: one that is filled with more home runs and shorter games. In the midst of the 2021 season, Manfred

This idea goes beyond these specific rule changes; the MLB needs to prioritize how it can reach a larger audience base, and if changing rules to make the game more exciting for younger fans is how that can be attained, then the MLB ought to change its rules. Baseball needs to put its lab coats on and figure out how it can make a stronger explosive reaction in a shorter amount of time.

If the reactants need to be modified in the process for this to happen, I am here for it, and you should be too.

Unfortunately for baseball fans, it seems that the MLB is continuing to emphasize tradition in the face of modernity. As opposed to the rules concerning extra-inning games and double headers, when Manfred was asked about possible rule changes, one thing that he continued to point to was the elimination of the shift in baseball. The shift, a defensive scheme for infielders to abandon their usual positions and shift to various spots in the field according to where the batter hits the ball most frequently, is a recent phenomenon in which teams

Major League Baseball currently stands at a crossroads. Should the sport embrace these new modern elements, with gameplay changes being enacted to increase excitement, or should America’s pastime be left untouched? Should only minor, “non-radical” changes that merely retool “broken” branches of the game be pruned to keep baseball on its continuous path through the centuries? These are questions that need to be urgently considered by Manfred, front offices, and baseball fans across North America.

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SPORTS

Reducing the Risk of

Concussion

in the NFL

by James Jarrett

Concussions are one of the NFL’s most pressing concerns, intertwined with other social issues that plague the league such as domestic violence and racism. Under pressure to increase player safety, the NFL has begun testing new rule changes as well as updates to its 50-year-old helmets.

They are experimenting with small tweaks to existing designs as well as soft helmets and Q Collars, which would augment the value of current equipment. Football helmets are an important emblem of the sport. If helmets undergo radical change in the coming years, it will have serious implications for the safety of football as well as its image.

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The gear used in North American football, perhaps more than any sports uniform, conceals the person wearing it. Particularly when you are watching on television, the combination of pre-molded shoulder pads and helmets can give the spectacle of football a mechanical overtone, an impression of people who have been forged. Just look, for example, at Cleatus the Robot, the indomitable metal football player that Fox Sports uses for its NFL mascot.

The sleekness and featurelessness of Cleatus’s helmet portrays a metallic perfection spectators can easily buy into. While helmets are safety equipment, we rarely see them that

way. When something happens during the NFL season that foregrounds the players’ bodies—such as an injury or the sharp noise of a helmet-to-helmet collision—this awareness quickly dissipates.

So how effective are helmets — these symbols of football — at protecting the brains of those inside them? Data suggests, until recently at least, not very. Take one study, for example, which found that 99% of deceased NFL players’ showed signs of a neurodegenerative disease related to repeated head trauma. When a player’s helmet is struck, it absorbs the impact, protecting the skull,

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but inertia continues carrying the brain forward causing it to rattle. In fact, it’s sometimes pointed out that helmets were predominantly designed to reduce skull fractures, and any associations with brain protection are somewhat misplaced. For players as well as spectators, current helmet designs have resulted in a complicity we need to reckon with.

Current helmet designs have resulted in a complicity we need to reckon with.

Some have suggested radical solutions for the NFL’s concussion problem, such as doing away with helmets entirely, as critics point out how present helmets provide a false sense of security. This narrative prompts comparisons to rugby, an equally combative support that includes minimal protective equipment.

Under scrutiny, however, this idea doesn’t hold up. It’s not clear that rugby—which has its fair share of concussions—is actually better for the brain than football. Indeed, if a cultural issue is to blame, then surely the answer lies in changing the culture, not eliminating safety equipment, which prevents other injuries.

To that end, the NFL has been testing solutions for eliminating incautious play. A 2018 rule change made it a foul for a player to initiate contact with their head. As the NFL itself

proudly proclaims, concussions are down 25% since 2018. Of course, proving any causation would be an implausible task, but the NFL does feel different compared to before this change.

contain a lumen—something fleshy turned inside out rather than something metallic. The Guardian Cap would be a strong acknowledgement of human frailty—a disruption of the image of football which is so emphatically conveyed by its current uniforms.

Acknowledging human frailty is something the NFL will fail to live up to. Still, the Guardian Cap may have a significant role to play in non-public applications such as practice.

Still, the future of the NFL will rest, in combination with rule changes like the above, on designing new technologies that can curb brain inertia. After small tweaks over the last several years, significant helmet redesigns and other solutions are being tested.

Far less visually obtrusive but far stranger is the Q Collar. This new The Guardian Cap, a soft-shelled technology—approved for use helmet cover, has been used in games this year in the US —works by at every level below the NFL and, this constricting blood vessels in the year, made its way into NFL practices. neck and increasing “blood volume Actual mathematics aside, the role of in the skull.” Then, when the collar the cap is straightforward:introducing is in place, the brain can’t move another layer between the head and its around as much upon impact. It’s a environment. Specifically, the softness bizarre solution, one that puts me off “reduces the initial severity of the immediately, but it is apparently a impact” and thereby the acceleration solution that works. In one study 50% that is eventually applied to the fewer participants experienced brain brain. Statistics about the helmet’s trauma after playing sports with a Q effectiveness in reducing concussions Collar than participants in the control are not clear, but responses to it have group. It’s already been used by NFL been positive throughout the football players and, assuming no long term world. health effects prove to be associated with repeatedly manipulating the Despite its positive reputation, it’s volume of blood in your head, this doubtful if the Guardian Cap will seems like something that may ever make it to professional football. become common in the sport.

Though its effects and the science behind it seem both minor and positive Helmet technology is improving—if in scope, the helmet would hugely only incrementally — and exceptional alter the football silhouette which new solutions like the Q Collar will is so integral to perceptions of the make football safer while, for better sport. With its softness and its clumsy or worse, preserving the sport’s straps, it looks cellular—like it should archetypal image.

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Thank You To Our Generous Alumni And Friends In The McGill Community For Sponsoring This Print Issue Alex Pajusi (BCom. ‘13) Dan Novick (BA ‘13) Dan Schechner (BCom. ‘18) Kira Smith (BA ‘17 MA ‘20) Megan Abellera (BCom. ‘21) Sean McNally (BCom. ‘21) Sarah Farb (BA’ 21) Rohan Roychoudhury (BCom. ‘21) Sarah Gao (BSc. Candidate ‘22) Nancy Sylvester Lila Vidger