McGill Tribune Vol. 32 Issue 26

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news 3-9 opinion 10-11 student living12-15 photo 16-17 Feature 18-19 science & technology 20-23 Arts & entertainment 24-27 sports 28-31

McGillLeaks hijacks SSMU VP Internal’s e-mail account (3) Suzanne Fortier and research at McGill: what’s next? (3) Final interview with Heather Munroe-Blum (4) What happened when McGill loaned Arthur Porter $500,000?(5) SSMU report cards (6-7) Year in Review (8-9) Editorial: The important things are the things we do together (10) Letter to the editor: Six ways to get involved in sustainability efforts next year (10) Connecting on campus (11) Making a mockery of a beautiful language, province (11) The ultimate guide to finding a summer job: McGill edition (12) Overheard at McGill (12) Ask Tribby (13) Last minute Montreal chores and must-sees (13) Taking advantage of Montreal’s summer season (14) Review of La Maison du Cari des Caraibes (15) Top 8 things we can learn from our Kiwi counterparts (15)

2012-2013 Highlights in photos (16-17) The J-board: Keeping student government in check (18-19) McGill engineers compete to design lunabot (20) Inuit find claims of the declining polar bear population unfounded (21) Sci-Tech summer reads (21) Guide to finding a lab position (22) Health benefits of music (23) Self-directed learning lab in India (23)

Financing McGill theatre (24) Interview with DJ Armin van Buuren (25) McGill’s English department brings Shakespeare to life (26) Bill Stone’s Triumph of the Wall (26) Album reviews (27) The McGill Drama Festival (27)

Top 5 McGill athletics moments 2012-2013 (28) TMI: Taking pride in those who represent us (28) Leslie Oles, Katia Clément-Heydra look back on the season (29) Winter sports report cards (30-31)

Errata: Last week’s cover illustration was drawn by Ben Ko. Photos from last week’s “Skiers skiing in skis” spread were taken by Mike King, not Simon Poitrimolt. The Tribune regrets these errors.

Editor-in-Chief Elisa Muyl editor@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Carolina Millán Ronchetti cmillanronchetti@mcgilltribune.com Adam Sadinsky asadinsky@mcgilltribune.com Production Manager Sam Reynolds sreynolds@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Bea Britneff, Andra Cernavskis, and Emma Windfeld news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editor Ben Carter-Whitney opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Caity Hui scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Jacqui Galbraith studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Sara Espinal Henao feature@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Chris Liu and William Burgess arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Steven Lampert and Jeff Downey sports@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editors Alexandra Allaire and Simon Poitrimolt photo@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Susanne Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Yael Chapman and Heather H. Lee design@mcgilltribune.com Online Editor Victor Temprano online@mcgilltribune.com Social Media Editor Lisa Yang socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Adrien Hu copy@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Manager Myriam Richard cpm@ssmu.mcgill.ca Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors Jacob Hardy (Chair): chair@mcgilltribune.com, Bea Britneff, Elisa Muyl, Jonathan Newburgh, Maria Surilas

Contributors Mayaz Alam, Emilio Assuncao, Rebecca Babcock, Matt Berger, Matt Bobkin, Kevin Caplice, Wendy Chen, Jesse Conterato, Victoria Dillman, Derek Drummond, Jessica Fu, Abishek Gupta, Anna Katycheva, Mike King, Jimmy Lou, Remi Lu, Krishanth Manokahan, Jennifer Moh, Alycia Nöe, Luke Orlando, Cassandra Rogers, Alanna Sokic, Yuqing Song, Kieran Steer, David Stein, Jack Tokarz, Marlee Vinegar, Philippe Wen, Diana Wright, Cece Zhang

Tribune Offices Editorial Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789

Advertising Brown Student Building Suite 1200, 3600 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 1Y2 T: 514.398.6835 F: 514.398.7490 The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

campus

McGillLeaks hijacks SSMU VP Internal’s email account SSMU President Josh Redel cites compromised password rather than a hack as source of breach Andra Cernavskis News Editor Around 9 p.m. on Monday night, a group known as McGillLeaks sent all McGill undergraduate students an email using the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) Internal’s email account.

The email contained a message to the McGill community, incorporating McGillLeaks’ stated purpose, and an attached link to various confidential files “pertaining to McGill’s corporate fundraising efforts” obtained by anonymous sources.

Less than an hour later, SSMU VP Internal Michael Szpejda and SSMU President Josh Redel sent another email to all members of SSMU, apologizing for the previous email sent from the account. According to Redel, Szpejda’s account is the only one registered with internal@ssmu. mcgill.ca, which has the ability to send out listservs to all McGill undergraduates.

“It is our sincere apology that the last email was sent out from the SSMU mass email account hosted by MailChimp,” Szpejda’s email reads. “It was done so without the knowledge or permission of the SSMU VP Internal. We are currently investigating the situation, and have taken steps to prevent further such action.”

Redel told the Tribune that the email was likely sent by someone who had access to the VP Internal’s email password.

“Realistically, for someone to be able to hack that account would require a relatively great skill that I don’t think someone of this project would have casually,” he said. “So, unless they had connections to larger hacking networks, I don’t think that they hacked it; I just think that they somehow had the password. We are taking measures to make sure they can’t get back in.”

Redel also said that both he and Szpejda were in a SSMU Council Steering Committee

meeting in the boardroom of the SSMU office when McGillLeaks sent the email. When asked whether or not he could have left his email logged in and open in his office during the meeting, Szpejda indicated that he did not think that he had. Redel, standing with Szpejda, then said that although Szpejda was not in his office at the time the email was sent, the SSMU executive email accounts automatically log out after a short while.

Both Szpejda and Redel have said that so far, they do not have an explanation as to how this could have happened.

“We’ve sent out an apology email,” Szpejda said. “We’re looking into it, and we’ve also contacted McGill it about it.

We’ll be following up with it.”

Based on initial investigations by the SSMU executive team that occurred within the hour after the email was sent out, Redel did confirm that it appeared as though the email had been scheduled to go out in advance.

In the anonymous email, McGillLeaks mentioned how McGill had taken legal action against the organization last March.

“In March 2012, we released to the public about one third of the documents in our possession,” McGillLeaks’ email read.

“McGill University took legal action that delayed our release of the other documents. These focus on McGill’s fundraising activities in the oil and gas, mining and financial sectors.”

The remaining two-thirds of the documents to which the email refers were released in a link with their Apr. 8 email.

“We have verified the authenticity of the documents, and their content has not been altered in any way, except to redact certain personal information, especially information that the University has collected on the children of fundraising targets,” the email continues.

McGillLeaks also relaunched their website the same night as they sent the email. The

website had been taken down after the legal action by McGill.

Chris Bangs, founder of McGilliLeaked—a website distinct from McGillLeaks that publishes documents obtained from McGill through Access to Information (ATI) requests—confirmed that he has no affiliation with McGillLeaks, and that every document released on his website was obtained and distributed legally. “[The name of the the McGilliLeaked website] was chosen intentionally as a play on the controversy when McGillLeaks came out last year,” Bangs said.

“It has no connection to it. I stand by everything that was published on [McGilliLeaked]. It was all received through ATI requests or the archives. There’s no real connection beyond the fact that they publish documents related to McGill.”

McGillLeaks could not be reached for comment.

—Additional reporting by Carolina Millán Ronchetti

News analysis

Suzanne Fortier and research at McGill: what’s next?

Professsors and students debate concerns about Fortier’s preference for applied research at NSERC Jessica Fu Contributor Since the announcement of Suzanne Fortier, former president of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), as McGill’s next principal, concerns have arisen regarding Fortier’s impact at NSERC and how such an impact could further affect research at McGill.

McGill’s Board of Governors (BoG) announced on Mar. 5 that Fortier, who resigned from her post as president of NSERC on Mar. 4, will be taking the position of principal at McGill beginning in Sept. 2013. Current Principal Heather Munroe-Blum will step down on Jun. 30, and an acting principal will be appointed to serve from then until the beginning of Fortier’s term.

Various media outlets, such as The Montreal Gazette, raised concerns about a decrease in funding for basic research and a significant increase in funding for applied research during Fortier’s time at NSERC. In the world of science, there

exists a distinction between basic research and applied research.

Basic research—also known as ‘pure’ or ‘fundamental’ research—is largely curiosity driven and is not necessarily intended to invent something of monetary value. Applied research, on the other hand, has pre-defined purposes and often strives to solve practical problems by creating or inventing solutions.

“I view basic research as the effort to increase our understanding of nature,” Robert Brandenberger, a professor in the department of physics at McGill, said.

“For example, we are interested in finding a description of the early universe, an understanding of the origin of structure in the universe, and we would like to know what the basic constituents of matter are. Applied research aims to develop new tools for society [and] new devices for society.”

Basic research is much more prevalent at research-intensive universities, such as McGill, with applied research playing a more minor role.

“It’s true that basic, curiosity-driven research remains the lifeblood of any research-inten-

sive university,” Rose Goldstein, vice-principal (research and international relations) said. “In particular, McGill is very committed to the importance of basic research.”

At McGill, the majority of basic and applied research is funded by various external sources, such as federal agencies like NSERC. A small part of funding comes from “special McGill internal grants,” according to Brandenberger, with all other research relying on the external agencies.

“Funding for research is mainly [achieved] through applications from the researchers themselves to government agencies,” Goldstein said. “We apply to other agencies, but mostly to [the] federal government—[for] over 50 per cent [of funding]— and about 20 per cent of [funding comes from the] provincial government. Most of that is [put towards] basic research.”

“When it comes to research that is funded by businesses.… that is the minority of the research—less than 20 per cent [of funding comes from businesses],” she said.

Fortier, in her role as princi-

pal next year, will not have control over which sources provide funding for research at McGill.

“It’s not an internal university decision,” Goldstein said. “It’s the funders externally who decide which projects they’re going to fund.”

According to Adam Bouchard, academic affairs officer for the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS), students are often less concerned about whether their research is considered basic or applied.

“As graduate students, we just see it as the research we’re doing at the time,” Bouchard said. “The research I’m doing can be applied, but we’re not applying it. I know a lot of people who are doing things that are called ‘pure,’ but realistically, we’re not seeing that global picture. We’re working on our individual projects.”

Even if concerns about research funding were to arise among faculty, they would be raised with the external agency that funded the research, not the university.

“Since the funding for our research is mainly external, we

need to raise our concerns externally, maybe as a group of McGill faculty,” Brandenberger said.

According to Goldstein, despite the changes towards applied research at NSERC, Fortier’s imminent arrival should not be a cause for concern, but rather— considering her commitment to research—welcomed.

“She’s a research-intensive graduate, [a] researcher herself, who has worked at excellent research-intensive universities … and has led our premier Natural Science Engineering Research Council,” Goldstein said. “She is a research leader, and so it bodes well for research intensiveness and research excellence at McGill, because that’s also what she represents.”

Goldstein also expressed that having Fortier as principal will reinforce McGill’s traditional values and identity.

“McGill is a top, researchintensive university … that’s what we are, that’s what we have maintained in the last few years, and that’s what we strive to be even better at,” Goldstein continued. “I see [that as] our identity; that’s always been our identity.”

NEWS |

4

Final interview with

Heather Munroe-Blum Edited and condensed by Emma Windfeld Photo by Simon Poitrimolt

Last Wednesday, the Tribune sat down with Principal Heather Munroe-Blum for the last time to discuss her final year as principal of McGill, as well as what lies ahead for both her and the university. This June marks the end of her 10 year tenure as the first female principal of the university. Munroe-Blum spoke about the role of education in Quebec, the nature of McGill’s measures to address the provincial government’s budget cuts, McGill’s drop in the world rankings this year, and what she learned in her time as principal.

McGill Tribune: After attending the PQ’s Higher Education Summit in February, what role do you think education will play in Quebec’s future?

Heather Munroe-Blum: I would say we’ve made some progress in the 10 years I’ve been in Quebec as a professor and as an academic administrator, in developing good public policy in higher education, but we still have a ways to go. So I’m hoping that [this] debate will continue to be engaged, and will be engaged with broader voices of the academics and of the students.

MT: In the Mar. 26 MRO, you wrote that McGill’s cuts to the Principal’s, Provost’s, and Vice-Principals’ (VP) operating budgets are seven to nine per cent, while senior administrators’ salaries are being cut three per cent. Why are the percentages different, and how

were they determined?

HMB: The offices of the administration will take a seven to nine per cent [operational] cut; that’s the whole operation of each of the VP portfolios and my own office.... That’s different from the [3 per cent] compensation [cuts] to the senior administrators.

People have an image that [the] James Administration Building just serves the VP and the Principal, [but] the whole research administration operation is run out of here, the whole graduate student operation is run out of here, [and] these are programs out and across the university. So we’re looking at cuts on those as well....

Having top talent is a really important issue for McGill, given our mission and our emphasis on quality, on full-time studies, and on research and scholarship with high impact. And none of our salaries are at the top of the country.... and we are number one in the country.

MT: Cuts to faculties, departments, and libraries were not mentioned in the Mar. 26 MRO. Will those areas experience budget cuts as well?

HMB: Every program in the university has a VP doing oversight, so when we look at a cut to the Provost budget, that will get expressed in the programs that report in [to the Provost]....We’re looking at how to protect the academic mission as the priority [of the university], and then student support and services around that as a secondary emphasis.... There

was a special effort to not have a freeze for the assistant professors coming in who are at a stage of establishing their careers and getting going.

MT: When will you know if the first phase of cost-cutting measures was successful? What will the second phase involve?

HMB: There are two elements to it. One is that 75 per cent, and a little more, of all our spending is in salaries. So you see the measures we’re taking, and we’re doing that in stages. For example, the window on early retirement for administrative and support staff, that’s a two month [window]—we’ll know more at the end of that about what the uptake has been. The other part is, every VP and every dean, every major program director has been asked to say how they’ll take cuts to the spending in operations— some of which is salary but some of it is other areas.... For example, if you look at the non-salary expenses, spending on energy in this cold climate is a big one – so are there some one-time investments we could make that would make us more efficient in energy usage?

MT: McGill fell from 25th to 31st on the 2013 Times Higher Education World Reputation Ranking. What caused the slip, and how has it impacted the university?

HMB: There’s no question that [it was due to] the Quebec disruptions of the prior year, just

by virtue of the inquiries we’re seeing from our student applicant pool which are all about that....

Nonetheless, the change is a blip, and our overall application pool is very strong.... We’d say that we have the strongest undergraduates in the world because the standards are so high, and you can’t buy your way in, and you can’t inherit your way in as you can in our equivalents—particularly in the U.S., where they have what’s called a ‘legacy system.’

Of course we want our reputation to be strong, but we believe, on the basis of the quality of our academic staff, our students, and the research and scholarship that we’re doing, that it’s not a problem.

MT: How did last year’s tumult change your engagement with students this year, and what advice would you pass on to Dr. Fortier for interacting with students next year?

HMB: I am actually proud of the record of student engagement and interaction over the course of the past 10 years.... I think there was clearly tumult, not just at McGill but in Quebec at large over the past year, and I think it really brought democracy to campus in terms of getting stronger student engagement in representing their own interests.... In terms of things we do differently... of course, [we should] keep our very strong relationships with SSMU [the Students’ Society of McGill University, with PGSS [the Post-Graduate Students’ So-

ciety], with Macdonald students, with the [Continuing Education] students, but reach out into the faculties [as well].... That would be a recommendation to Dr. Fortier. The colleagues on the senior team have embraced [the] meetings with all of the elected leaders at the faculty level as well as the institution-wide associations.

MT: What will you miss most about McGill, and what are you looking forward to postMcGill?

HMB: First, let me say it has been a huge honour to be Principal.... Even on the more challenging days, there are always wonderful things.... I won’t be leaving.... I’ll be going to Stanford on a leave to their Centre for Advanced Studies, then coming back and keeping our home in Montreal and keeping McGill as my university.... I’m a full professor in the Faculty of Medicine.

What do I look forward to?

Well, I am taking a holiday with my husband in the fall.... You know, there isn’t the time when you do a job like this and you’re a professor; you always want more time for reading, for writing, for reflection, for study. We’re all here temporarily and if you think of leadership as a relay race— someone came before you, someone’s coming after you—then you want to do well in the time you’re here so you leave the place better than you found it, and you build on the strengths of what people have contributed before.

NEWS

News analysis

What happened when McGill loaned Arthur Porter $500,000?

Did McGill’s agreement with former MUHC director leave the university in a secure position?

Elisa Muyl Editor-in-Chief On Nov. 2, 2012, McGill University filed a lawsuit against Arthur Porter, the former Director General and CEO of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Porter resigned from his position on Dec. 5, 2011, at which point McGill demanded repayment of a $500,000 loan the university issued to Porter in 2008.

Since the lawsuit was announced, Porter has made national headlines and has been a subject of great controversy.

Details have emerged in the past few months connecting the loan to a real estate deal—$500,000 on Porter’s condo in downtown Montreal. While much research has been directed towards Porter’s background, little has been said about the terms and finer details of this loan agreement.

In 2008, McGill signed a hypothec with Porter. The hypothec—the Quebec equivalent of a mortgage—was intended to secure the repayment of McGill’s loan to Porter. This $500,000 loan was actually the second one that Porter took out against the property, doubling the amount borrowed against it and making McGill a low-priority creditor.

Did McGill protect its financial interests in this transaction?

After an examination of McGill’s housing loan to and subsequent case against Porter, questions remain.

The lawsuit By the time that McGill filed its motion, Porter had already paid back $214,409.60. Specifically, the university’s November lawsuit sought re-payment in the sum of $317,153.89; $285,590.40 of this amount would fully repay Porter’s loan. The remaining

money in the lawsuit was charged for overpaid wages on Porter’s professor’s salary, and any interest accrued on the loan (at one per cent interest annually). On Jan. 25, a judge in the Quebec Superior Court ordered Porter to pay McGill $252,077.16.

McGill bases its suit on a promissory note that Porter signed for the university in 2008.

The note, which serves as an IOU, or evidence of debt, stipulates that Porter must repay McGill the sum of $500,000 on demand.

The promissory note was signed and witnessed by Lynn Panneton, who was reported by La Presse to have been Porter’s assistant at the MUHC at the time.

McGill’s November 2012 lawsuit cites a one per cent interest rate following the passage demanding repayment. However, the note makes no mention of an interest rate on this loan, nor does it outline what the repayment is for. It merely provides a statement of debt.

One condo, two loans However, as details about McGill’s suit have emerged, news outlets across Canada have linked the $500,000 loan to Porter to a real estate deal—considered one of the incentives offered to bring the well-regarded executive north of the border. The loan has been connected to Porter’s condo on boulevard de Maisonneuve, and was not the first loan Porter had taken out against the property.

In 2004, Porter received a $400,000 loan from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) in order to purchase the property from its previous owner. He purchased the Maisonneuve property on Sept.

27, 2004 for $546,368.75.

In 2008, Porter received a second loan, from McGill, for $500,000. This brought the value of the existing claims against the

property to a total of $900,000.

Porter sold the house in April 2012 for $450,000—half of the total value that he’d borrowed against the house. Six months later, McGill filed its motion with the Quebec Superior Court.

Unless the value of the property doubled, and then dramatically dropped back down over the course of ten years, it appears that Porter received loans well in excess of the property’s actual value.

Housing Loan Agreement On Mar. 5, 2008, McGill and Porter signed a Housing Loan Agreement, stipulating the terms of the loan and repayment. The only reference to the Housing Loan Agreement—which is unavailable to the public—that the Tribune could find was in the hypothec that the two parties signed in 2008. The entire hypothec was based on this Housing Loan Agreement, which is referenced as evidence that McGill lent Porter $500,000.

The hypothec was signed

by Porter and McGill on Jun. 9, 2008, three months after the $500,000 was issued. Between March and June 2008, the nature of the arrangement between the two parties remains unclear to the Tribune.

The hypothec As the second lender against the property, McGill was only second in line to reclaim its money from Porter. McGill’s hypothec with Porter acknowledged the Bank of Montreal’s higherpriority claim on the property, meaning that the Bank would have to be paid back before McGill could receive its money. The claim was still registered against the property at the time of the June 2008 document’s signature, and the hypothec shows that Mc-

Gill was aware of the previous lender and that it accepted second-priority status.

Perhaps in order to address this gap, the hypothec also outlines the university’s recourse in order to protect its loan in event of “defaults and effects.”

It states that McGill may “exact the immediate payment of all the amounts then owing to it”—in other words, the university could demand a repayment of its money should Porter claim bankruptcy and dissolve his debts, or if a prior claim on the property—such as BMO’s—took precedence over McGill’s.

This means that, in the event of any significant obstacles to McGill’s claim, the university would be able to demand repayment, rather than seize the property.

The promissory note The $500,000 Housing Loan Agreement was signed on Mar. 5, 2008, one day before Porter signed a promissory note to McGill evidencing his debt to the university for the same amount.

Although the two evidences of debt occurred close in time, the Tribune has found no connection between the loan and the promissory note. In its November lawsuit, McGill refers only to the promissory note to justify its demands for repayment, and it does not refer to the Housing Loan Agreement signed on the previous day. Nowhere in its suit does the university connect the $500,000 loan to a real estate deal.

It is possible to speculate that McGill’s use of the note in the suit—and not the Housing Loan—may be because it only seeks re-payment of the loan. As the second claimant on the property—which had already been sold in April 2012—McGill was

lower on the priority list of creditors to be repaid. The only apparent way for McGill to secure its position would be to stipulate that it would receive repayment, not the property, in any events of default. McGill took this step to safeguard its interests.

Securing its interests?

Was Arthur Porter a secure investment for the university?

An interest-free promissory note would suggest that it thought so.

Although McGill was likely looking to create incentives for Porter to head the MUHC, a secondary claim on a property that was likely worth well under $900,000 seems puzzling.

In fact, in order to protect its interests from its second place position on this seemingly overvalued property, McGill included a clause on the hypothec that stipulates it must receive repayment even in the event of default or a pre-existing loan, as in the case of BMO’s loan to Porter.

Four years later, Porter sold the house; BMO is presumed to have been repaid. A judge in the Quebec Superior Court ruled in favour of McGill on Jan. 25, 2013.

Did the university adequately protect its interests? To date, McGill has not been repaid the remainder of the loan.

All information, except for Porter’s housing loan agreement with McGill, is available to the public at the Registre Foncier and the Montreal Palais de Justice.

The McGill adminstration did not respond to requests for comment.

—Additional reporting by Carolina Millán Ronchetti. Files from Ilia Blinderman.

Photos by Alexandra Allaire and Simon Poitrimolt

SSMU report cards josh redel president Since coming into office, Josh Redel has proven to be a fair and reliable President.

One of Redel’s biggest projects this year was revamping SSMU General Assemblies (GAs). Although there remains room for improvement, Redel made a number of technology-oriented changes to increase the efficiency of GA operations. He introduced clickers as a means of voting, which significantly increased the efficiency and speed of counting votes; he oversaw an upgrade of the video streaming software, added a “mood watcher,” and successfully transferred the ratification of motions online.

While the Tribune is pleased to see so many positive logistical changes, we still believe more could have been done to increase attendance at GAs. SSMU Legislative Council has also been a significant part of Redel’s portfolio. One of Redel’s pilot projects this year was “Roaming Councils,” which sought to engage and educate councillors about different environments on campus. While the Tribune admires the purpose behind

“Roaming Councils,” we are unsure on whether they had the intended impact. Student attendance at SSMU Council meetings was also extremely sparse this year. In an interview with the Tribune, Redel admitted that he wishes he had advertised Council meetings to a greater extent, and worked to make Council more engaging and informative for the average McGill student.

In September, Redel told the Tribune that he had several winter outdoor projects planned, however, apart from the ice rink on lower field, we did not see these materialize. More recently, the Tribune has been particularly intrigued by the Space Campaign, which Redel has been working on with SSMU Vice-President Clubs and Services Allison Cooper. We are pleased to see such proactive consultation with students on SSMU’s part, but we believe a lot more could have been done online, or through social media to promote participation in the campaign.

Overall, the Tribune believes that Redel has been a strong and vocal leader. We were impressed with the

B+

Allison cooper VP CLUBS & SERVICES

Allison Cooper has been a strong presence within the SSMU Building this year, and has been consistent about keeping students and SSMU councillors informed of her initiatives and progress.

Cooper has taken on many projects, including the reorganization and refurnishing of clubs’ and services’ offices, which former VP Clubs and Services Carol Fraser initiated during her term the previous year. Cooper oversaw the successful and efficient re-allocation of the McGill Student Emergency Response Team’s and TVM: Student Television at McGill’s offices; however, the Muslim Student Association and the Flat still await their respective moves. According to several clubs and services’ executives, Cooper has remained receptive to and understanding of their preferences and needs in this process.

The Tribune has also been particularly impressed with one of Coopers’ pilot projects, ClubPedia—a comprehensive

website where club executives can find easily accessible information on how to run a club. We believe this is a notable step simplifying club management, administration, and interaction. However, we are unsure of its true impact on clubs’ experiences so far.

While we would have liked to see the results of Cooper’s new integrative plan for Winter Activities Night, the event was unfortunately disrupted by the flooding on campus. However, we hope Cooper will leave these innovative ideas for her successor to execute.

Other projects have included efforts to increase the efficiency of the SSMU Room Bookings System, the creation of a Clubs Council, and a Clubs portal (Club Hub). Overall, the Tribune commends Cooper for her persistent enthusiasm and commitment to ensuring clubs and services have the resources and support they need to carry out their activities.

A-

leadership he displayed during the afternoon of the flood.

Throughout the year, he has given substantial direction to SSMU councillors, and kept them active and accountable in SSMU affairs. Furthermore, we were impressed by Redel’s presence on Senate, as he often contributed a critical perspective on issues brought to the governing body.

However, the Tribune did find that Redel’s position regarding the Protocol on Protests was unclear, and wishes he had adopted more of a concrete stance, whether it was for or against the document.

Redel believes student advocacy was one of his strengths this year, although he acknowledges that it is difficult for students to see this as many committees on which he sits operate under confidentiality agreements, such as the Board of Governors. While it also difficult for the Tribune to comment on this, we appreciate that Redel has maintained a good relationship with the administration during his efforts to protect students’ interests.

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jean paul briggs VP finance

While the Tribune wishes Jean Paul Briggs had been more of an active presence on campus this year, it has recently come to light that Briggs has done more for his portfolio than meets the eye.

At the Mar. 14 SSMU Council, it was announced that Briggs helped manage SSMU’s budget so that the Society will nearly break even this year. According to Redel, the previous SSMU executive ran a deficit of approximately $220,000.

Throughout the year, Briggs re-budgeted conservatively to make the overall budget more reflective of the actual expenses SSMU incurs. This includes making strategic cuts to various parts of SSMU where students would feel the least impact.

Whereas in the past, SSMU clubs and services received a lump sum for their expenditures, Briggs has helped them break down their expenses so that it is easier to see what aspects of their budget need more funding and what ones can be cut down. The Tribune believes this will set an important precedent in clubs’ budget

management for the years to come.

Briggs also reformatted the process through which SSMU clubs apply for funding, making it more regulated and accessible. Furthermore, in previous years, SSMU audited each club once every Fall; Briggs has now created a second audit in the Winter semester to make the task less daunting for clubs in the Fall.

Briggs told the Tribune that he wishes he could have done more to push the Student-Run Café project along, which was something he highlighted as a priority in his campaign platform last spring.

Given confidentiality agreements, Briggs said he was unaware of how much work remained to be done until he took office.

Despite Briggs’ accomplishments, the Tribune wishes he had been more available to campus media, and more outspoken in SSMU Council meetings, where he often appeared disengaged from campus politics.

Curiosity delivers. |

NEWS

| Wednesday, April 10, 2013

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haley dinel vp university affairs

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The Tribune believes Haley Dinel has done a satisfactory job as Vice-President University Affairs this year.

Dinel has been a vocal representative at both SSMU Council and Senate meetings, and we feel that she has kept a good balance of fighting for students’ interests while maintaining a professional and positive relationship with the McGill administration.

Dinel also oversaw a productive year for the SSMU Equity Commissioners, and has been helpful in promoting equity on campus through workshops and events. The Tribune appreciates Dinel’s progress—albeit slow—in integrating equity into McGill’s mission statement.

The Tribune would also like to commend Dinel for laying the groundwork for an Indigenous Studies minor program. Although Dinel confirmed at SSMU Council on Jan. 10 that research for the program has been completed, we await assurance regarding how and when this project will move forward.

To date, several of Dinel’s pilot projects have stalled. In September, Dinel told the Tribune that she wanted to create an interactive map of McGill (Mapping McGill), and was planning to create a public lecture series titled “McGill 101.” However, these projects still appear to be in preliminary phases.

The Tribune is also disappointed that Dinel stepped down from a leadership role in the organization of Consultation Fairs. Only one SSMU-organized Consultation Fair on Advising occurred this year – in October. Dinel has instead recommended that future Consultation Fairs be organized at the faculty level.

While the Tribune is unable to evaluate progress regarding the SSMU Building Lease Negotiations, the fact that a new contract has not yet been signed may be an indicator that Dinel has not settled for a contract that is not in the best interest of SSMU constituents. It is unfortunate, however, that this issue will be rolling into a fourth year of negotiations.

Michael szpejda vp INTERNAL

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The Tribune has been disappointed with Michael Szpejda’s performance throughout the year.

Apart from his efforts to pull off a successful reorganized and integrated Orientation Week, Szpejda has failed to realize many of his initial goals, and did not demonstrate an interest in building a strong connection with the student body or SSMU councillors.

In September, Szpejda told the Tribune that he was looking to reform the SSMU listserv and make it more “integrative.” Instead, the Tribune has found that the listserv has in fact become more lacklustre and irregular. Furthermore, advertising for important events such as SSMU General Assembles and SSMU Council meetings were extremely last-minute.

Szpejda has also done little to heighten and innovate SSMU social media activity. His use of Facebook and Twitter to relay important information was minimal. At the beginning of the year, Szpejda told the Tribune of his intention to integrate the Facebook and Twitter accounts and have “constant updates”; however, we did not see this materialize.

Furthermore, the Tribune did not witness any innovation with regards to SSMU events, as Szpejda stuck to organizing traditional events such as 4Floors and Faculty Olympics. Although Szpejda had expressed interest in planning new, community-oriented events back in September, the Tribune has been unable to follow any progress in this area, as Szpejda neglected to submit any executive reports to SSMU Council after Nov. 1, 2012.

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robin reid-fraser vp EXTERNAL

This year, Robin Reid-Fraser has been a strong link between McGill and the wider Montreal community. Between the cancellation of the former Liberal government’s tuition increase, the Summit on Higher Education, the subsequent indexation of tuition, and the recent budget cuts, the Tribune believes that Reid-Fraser has kept McGill students well informed and well represented throughout.

Reid-Fraser has taken steps towards getting SSMU more involved in the Table de Concertation Étudiante du Québec (TaCEQ), and both the Tribune and Reid-Fraser hope to see the new SSMU delegates to TaCEQ become an asset to future collaboration and communication between the two associations. Reid-Fraser told the Tribune that she found the entire Education Summit experience challenging and “dissatisfying.” However, we commend her for her efforts and preparation—including the McGill Education Summit she organized—despite the difficult circumstances. The Tribune was also happy to see Reid-Fraser nurture the outreach aspect of her portfolio through the Milton-Parc Community initiative. We look forward to seeing the continuation of Reid-Fraser’s Street Teams, as well as what the new Community Ambassadors will bring to the project.

Aside from her pilot and ongoing projects, the Tribune found Reid-Fraser’s work ethic impressive. She has been a reliable representative, having been one of the few SSMU executives who consistently submitted reports at SSMU Council meetings.

Reid-Fraser did a great job at relaying accessible information to students. She took an active role in encouraging conversations surrounding the political and financial issues facing universities, having planned several open discussions and consultation sessions throughout the year, and was receptive of students’ questions and concerns.

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013 |

NEWS

year

in review

Budget cuts

compiled by Andra Cernavskis and emma windfeld

PQ elected On Sept. 4, 2012, the Parti Québécois (PQ) was elected into a minority government. The elections occurred after months of student protests against the former Liberal government’s proposed tuition increases.

As part of their platform, the PQ promised to cancel the tuition increases. The new premier, Pauline Marois, did so by decree during the provincial government’s first cabinet meeting on Sept. 29, 2012.

On Sept. 28, Deputy Provost

| Curiosity delivers.

(Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson published a statement on the McGill Student Accounts website which confirmed that the university would return the increased tuition fees to students.

However, McGill had created its budget for the 2012-2013 school year with the tuition increases in mind. Provost Anthony Masi predicted that McGill would lose $90 million over the following five years due to the freeze.

In mid-December 2012, the PQ announced that it would impose extensive budget cuts to the operating budgets of all Quebec universities. McGill was told that it would need to cut $19.1 million from its operating budget by April 2013.

In February, the PQ announced that the cuts would continue into the next fiscal year and that McGill would be expected to cut an additional $19.1 million by April 2014.

After contesting this move for several weeks, the McGill

administration released official plans for the cuts in late March 2013. To date, the administration has implemented salary and hiring freezes, introduced a voluntary retirement package to administrative and support staff aged 60 and above, and reduced the operating budgets of senior administrators’ portfolios. A second phase of plans—which, according to the administration, will likely include layoffs—is expected but has not yet been released.

2012 - 2013

september november

december

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AVIS DE DEMANDE DE DISSOLUTION Avis est par les présentes donné que L’Association des Étudiants de Premier Cycle en Science de L’Université McGill constituée en vertu de la Loi sur les compagnies (Québec) et ayant son siège social au 875 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal QC H3A 2K6 demandera au Registraire des entreprises du Québec la permission de se dissoudre.

Signé à, Le 29 Mars, 2013

january

Arthur Porter Arthur Porter, former McGill professor and director general and chief executive officer of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), was involved in a financial scandal that received national attention.

McGill decided to pursue legal action against Porter in November 2012 after he failed to pay back over half of a $500,000 loan from the university and $30,131.63 in salary overpayment following his resignation in December 2011.

Despite receiving a second salary as a professor in the department of oncology on top of his $350,000 salary as head of the MUHC, Porter is alleged not to have taught in that department.

In the midst of this scandal, Porter’s whereabouts were unknown. He finally sur-

faced in the Bahamas, as reported by The Montreal Gazette, where he claims he was treating himself for cancer at his own medical facility.

Quebec’s anti-corruption squad was also looking for Porter in order to question him about the MUHC’s procurement of a $1.3 billion contract for his superhospital project.

The CBC also discovered that Porter had come to Montreal from Detroit—where he served as the CEO of the Detroit Medical Center—to work for the MUHC following the wake of similar scandals at his previous institution.

Curiosity delivers. |

Flood On the afternoon of Jan. 28, a 48-inch water main burst under Doctor Penfield Ave., flooding McGill’s downtown campus. That evening, several buildings were evacuated, and classes and activities were cancelled.

The water main broke just outside the McTavish Reservoir, which was undergoing a second phase of renovations. The City of Montreal started the project in October 2012, and predicts it should be completed in August 2013. The estimated cost of the renovations is $16.4 million. The City concluded that construction crews who were shifting the earth around by the pipe caused the break.

NEWS

| Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The water damage to certain buildings on campus was vast. The hardest hit was the James Annex, which required extensive repairs, according to Director of Internal Communications of McGill’s Media Relations Office Doug Sweet.

Classes in the Wong building were relocated in the following weeks, and classes in Wilson Hall and Birks Hall were cancelled. The James Administration Building and Service Point were also closed. Most buildings reopened that same week. The Students’ Society of McGill University’s [SSMU] Winter Activities Night was rescheduled, having been originally scheduled for the afternoon of Jan. 28.

New SSMU exec elected On Mar. 19, the 2013-2014 SSMU Executive was announced. Katie Larson was elected SSMU President, after defeating Chris Bangs for the position. Tyler Hofmeister was elected Vice-President (VP) Finance and Operations, Joey Shea will take on the position of VP University Affairs, and Brian Farnan will become VP Internal. Samuel Harris and Stefan Fong, the only two candidates who ran uncontested, were elected VP External and VP Clubs and Services, respectively. Nearly 30 per cent of the undergraduate student body voted in the elections—the same voter turnout as last year—even though fewer candidates ran this year.

Tuition indexation On Feb. 25 and 26, the PQ held a two-day Summit on Higher Education, where it announced an annual 3 per cent tuition increase for students—whether they are Quebecois, out-of-province, or international students. The indexation of tuition intends to mirror the increase in the disposable income of Quebecers.

Throughout both days of the event, Montrealers expressed their dissatisfaction with the structure and results of the

Summit through protests in the downtown area. 1,500 people demonstrated on Feb. 25, and 10,000 people took to the street on Feb. 26 in a protest organized by L’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ). On both occasions, the Montreal Police (SPVM) attempted to disperse the demonstrators after declaring the protests illegal.

february March

New Principal Protest protocol documents On Feb. 4, McGill released two documents that detailed its procedure for dealing with protests and demonstrations. The Operating Procedures document stipulates the conditions under which the university will intervene in on-campus protests, including guidelines for when protests are considered peaceful, while the Statement of Values and Principles addresses students’ rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. The Operating Procedures

went into effect immediately, requiring approval from neither the Senate nor the Board of Governors (BoG).

The Statement of Values and Principles will eventually replace the provisional protocol released in Feb. 2012 in response to the five-day student occupation of the sixth floor of the James Administration Building. Senate passed the Statement of Values and Principles on Mar. 20. It will next go to the BoG on Apr. 26 for final approval.

On Mar. 5, McGill’s Board of Governors (BoG) appointed Suzanne Fortier as McGill’s 17th principal. The Board’s Advisory Committee for Nomination of the Principal, consisting of representatives from the BoG, Senate, support staff, the faculty, and the student body, recommended Fortier’s appointment after a months-long search that began last spring.

Fortier, a two-time McGill graduate, will replace current Principal Heather Munroe-Blum and begin her five-year term in September. Fortier’s experience includes several positions in Queen’s University’s senior administration, as well as her most recent position as President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).`

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opinion editorial

The important things are the ones we do together In February, McGill announced that it will be joining the edX Consortium, an initiative founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which has been a pioneer of massive open online courses (MOOCs). Amidst the varied responses to this news, a notable issue that this brings to the fore is the role of a physical campus in moulding our educational experience and fostering a sense of community. As the end of the year approaches, and with the constant financial uncertainty that comes with budget cuts, it is an appropriate time to reflect upon this sense of community, and what it means for McGill.

There has been a variety of responses to McGill’s involvement in edX; its advocates praise it as a move towards accessible education, while critics point to issues ranging from the fear of diluting McGill’s brand, to the

Letter to the editor Six ways to get involved in sustainability efforts next year

With the term winding down, thoughts turn to summer, the fall semester, and all the things that we didn’t get around to this academic year. Having been around McGill for way too long, I get to see a lot of what comes up and fades away from year to year.

Here’s a list of meaningful ways to engage in sustainability around campus, all of which can provide tangible experiences and connections with interesting people around the community. McGill’s students pay me to work full-time for you so I’m 100 per cent willing to collaborate on any of these.

1. Curriculum—The time is ripe for a renewed conversation about sustainability in the content and delivery of undergraduate learning. We can actively challenge what we are learning

A constant challenge when discussing any aspect of education policy or the allocation of funds within the university is that everybody comes here with different expectations of what their experience at McGill will be like—both in terms of what they expect to put into it, and what they are expecting out of it. How-

ever, we strongly believe that the establishment of community is a constant. For some of us, we find it in extra-curricular programs; for others, communities reside within our faculties and departments. Some communities revolve around certain buildings or places, while others are brought together by social events.

As the administration contemplates its options in dealing with budgetary constraints, we insist that these sources of community are just as indispensable as any other component of our education. If you have a source of community that defines this university for you, fight for it. Let the administration know that this is just as much a part of McGill as the lectures or the libraries, and that its continuation is absolutely non-negotiable.

To those who feel that they aren’t getting what they had hoped to out of McGill, or those

who do not identify with what has been said above, go out and seek the communities that you want to find. The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) supports over 250 student groups and services of all kinds—guaranteed, there really is something for everyone. There’s a lot more to university than just school, so make the most of what this experience has to offer.

Our editorials this year have ranged from anger, to disillusionment, even to starry-eyed optimism, but we leave you now with a simple message: take time to think about the communities that you’ve forged at McGill, and protect them however you can.

Regardless of your outlook on your education—whether you are engaged in student politics, or are focused on your 4.0 GPA—it’s the connections you’ve made that will define this time for the rest of your life.

sues from being brought forward as potential priorities.

3. Services—SSMU and other student governments house student-run services that do amazing work. There are too many to list, but getting involved at the Flat Bike Collective, the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), Midnight Kitchen, or a media service can help maintain the foundations of this community.

4. Applied Student Research (ASR)—McGill is an academic institution, so take an academic approach to solving campus issues. It can get you course credit, and produce real changes on our campus. The McGill Food Systems Project (MFSP), a systematic multi-year ASR effort started in 2009 has studied where food on campus comes from, and works with McGill to bring better options to campus. The similarlystyled McGill Energy Project

and McGill Waste Project, both formed in the last year, will tackle these on-campus issues through a combination of internships and coursework, and are a great way to get involved.

5. Investments—Here are five ideas that could be pursued: discussing with the McGill Investments Office about divestment and diversification (they’re really open to student involvement); setting up a McGill-specific carbon tax or cap system; brainstorming with peers and professors about how McGill could effect change through shareholder engagement; looking into a revolving loan fund for money and energy saving at McGill as an investment; and setting up a fund for greenhouse gas reduction research drawn from revenues from McGill’s tar sand investments.

6. Events—We don’t all have enough time to take on massive multi-year projects, but an event

on a pertinent topic can begin a critical conversation around campus. There’s the Sustainability Research Symposium, Desautels Business Conference on Sustainability, the Green Groups Forum for student groups, the Sustainability Fair, workshops exploring equity and sustainability, SUS Green Week, Business Beyond Tomorrow Conference, and lots of other recurring events that need help with direction and organizing.

As you can see, there is a lot to get involved with, you just have to take the initiative. ASR is often the biggest win-win for getting involved as a student; extracurricular activities become core curriculum. I’m around in the summer and fall to help make it happen.

loss of an interactive classroom experience. We certainly see merit in this format of learning, and in furthering educational accessibility. However, we feel that the value of our education here at McGill amounts to more than the hard knowledge that we take away; it is more than the diplomas we receive. There is a value to our education that MOOCs simply cannot replicate.

In addition to a university’s more formal and institutionally recognized assets, this ‘soft’ value arises from our interactions inside and outside the classroom with our fellow students and professors. It comes from our ability to seek out like-minded individuals and share our experiences with them. Education as we know it, entails more than the mere accumulation of knowledge; rather, it reflects a whole spectrum of lessons and experiences. Vital among these is the sense of com-

munity that a campus cultivates, whether on a large, institutionwide scale or, more often, in smaller components.

about, and what skills and values we are acquiring here at McGill.

For example, energy is an area of interest for many undergrad students, but learning opportunities are often scarce. Tweaking course evaluations, evaluating sustainability content in programs, and challenging professors, departments, and faculties to do better are all realistic activities that can be taken on.

2. New Principal —We often hear how the arrival of a new principal is one of the biggest opportunities for organizational change at a university. Students can help sculpt the principal’s entrance strategy. A communitysigned letter to McGill’s incoming Principal, Suzanne Fortier, could be a powerful statement.

Vision 2020, which is setting McGill’s sustainability strategy, has highlighted what many people in the community are saying and could make a decent template, but that doesn’t preclude any other is-

“We feel that the

value of our education here at McGill amounts to more than the hard knowledge that we take away; it is more than the diplomas we receive.

”

David Gray-Donald SSMU Sustainability Coordinator BA&Sc 2010, Environment, Biology dgray-donald@ssmu.mcgill.ca

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columnists Connecting on Campus

Victoria Dillman Commentary Social media is constantly evolving and being used in new ways. It has always been seen as a way to connect, often with friends from different locations.

Most recently, users of Facebook have created pages drawing attention to various aspects of our campus. Overheard at McGill,

Making a mockery of a beautiful language, province

Yuqing Song Commentary Scandal has arisen in Quebec with recently implemented and newly enforced language laws, making the province—as The Globe and Mail put it—an “international laughingstock.”

The incidents were minor but absurd, such as forcing an Ital-

McGill Compliments, Stuff McGill Professors Say, Spotted: McGill Libraries, and more have all drawn attention to different people or events occurring across campus. These feature random acts of kindness, funny overheard conversations, and heart-warming compliments. While other community-building activities have been attempted in the past, these pages have risen organically, and created an experience that connects all sorts of people.

There is often concern that today’s university students are increasingly disconnected from each other. We’re constantly on our phones, we don’t value faceto-face interactions, and we’re wrapped up in our own selfish digital world. Stemming in part from this is the worry that McGill

campus is losing its ‘community,’ and is simply a place to attend class and get a degree. These pages counteract this through the very conduit that is labeled as ‘the problem.’ They draw attention to the kindness of strangers, the funny moments, and the hard work that everyone is putting in.

It is fostering a sense of solidarity that wouldn’t have been possible before Facebook. People in Engineering can relate to Arts students’ lives, and vice versa.

I remember working in the library well past midnight a few weeks ago, incredibly stressed out, and convinced I would never finish my essay for the next day. I went on Facebook quickly, just as a mind-break, and saw a post on Spotted: McGill Libraries about how hard everyone in the library

was working. It was a huge boost to my confidence, and I couldn’t help but smile. I’m positive many students on campus have shared a similar experience as mine. These compliments are valuable, letting letting people know that they’re amazing, or that their hard work is noticed.

I once caught my professor say something ridiculous, and just as I was about to send it to Stuff McGill Professors Say, I noticed three other people already sending it off on the page. We all shared a look of glee when we realized we had the same thought.

These kinds of moments bring together complete strangers, they create moments that make people smile, or laugh, or truly touch them.

McGill is more than a place

to get a degree. It is a place for meeting new people and building close ties with them. It’s a community you can rely on, either to share good news, or to help support you in times of need. All these pages, while simply entertaining upon first examination, actually represent fundamental aspects of McGill. They support, entertain, and band together students across faculties, residences, and extracurricular activities to facilitate sharing across the entire campus. In the form of tiny posts coming together and creating a large community, these Facebook pages are banding together students from all branches of life.

ian restaurant to change “pasta” on its menu to its French equivalent. To someone who is not from Quebec, the government’s enforcement appears radical and perplexing to say the least, as it tenaciously holds onto laws that do more harm than good. However, with Bill 14, the fourth piece of legislation of its kind aimed at restricting the use of non-French languages, the situation is no longer a laughing matter.

Quebec’s long-held obsession with language restrictions stems from its staunch interest in the protection of the French language. This pursuit, however, has come at the cost of other aspects of its culture, and arguably, the province’s own reputa-

tion. So what do outsiders think when they see Quebec portrayed through the “if it bleeds, it leads” apparatus we call mass media?

Unfortunately, it is typically hardline separatist rhetoric, the “language police,” and radical protests.

The province doesn’t seem to understand that while utility is one reason why people learn new languages, interest in that language is also important. What it has been trying to do with Bills 22, 68, 101, and now, 14, is to make French vital for survival, so that people have no choice but to study it. The government can’t seem to grasp that North America is a mobile society. Quebec is a French island—people can leave

in nearly any direction. Montreal, once the top economy in Canada, has long ago ceded that title to Toronto. Quebec has lost, and is still losing, its businesses and top-notch people to the rest of Canada on top of an ongoing brain-drain to the U.S. The current situation in Quebec is, sadly, that little good publicity is coming out, and little talent is flowing in. Culturally too, the province suffers, trapped in a paradox where making its culture more accessible to the rest of the continent, and making any attempt at cultural export would mean relaxing its language regulations, which it considers imperative to protecting its culture.

It seems at times that Quebec

is trying so hard to distinguish itself from the rest of Canada, that its behaviour tends towards the irrational. The new Bill 14 is only making things worse, creating a real “language police” that had existed only in mockery during the time of its predecessor, Bill 101. With this new legislation that would “require the production of any book, account, record, file or other document,” and allow a language inspector access to anything that “may prove the commission of an offence,” these measures aimed at protecting the French language seem to be quickly getting out of control.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS MAKE THIS PAPER POSSIBLE. THANK YOU! Mayaz Alam Rebecca Alter Mido Assran Emilio Assuncao Rebecca Babcock Hrant Bardakjian Max Berger Justin Berot-Burns Anand Bery Priyanka Biljani Ilia Blinderman Matt Bobkin Anna Bock Tara Boghosian Leah Brainerd Naomi Braude Tessa Bryant Kevin Caplice Meghan Chand Kegan Chang Karen Chen Shen Chen Wendy Chen

Jesse Conterato Lucy Cui Chantelle D’Souza Karuna Dhanajau Kadam Natassja Di Battista Victoria Dillman Tom DiNardo Julia Donahue Laura Douglas Trevor Drummond Hilary Dyck Nazim Elnur Hannah Feinberg Ethan Feldman Natasha Fenn Elizabeth Flannery Amy Fogarty Carol Ellen Fraser Claudia Flament Gregory Frank Eliyahu Freedman Joshua Freedman

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Student living

Protips

The ultimate guide to finding a summer job: McGill edition

Still looking for that perfect summer job? The Tribune is here to help Marlee Vinegar Contributor For many students, the task of just updating their resume can be daunting. Here’s some tips, based on advice from friends, CaPS, and an interview with Ron Ben-Joseph, motvational speaker, communication champion and creative rabble rouser.

Start now: It’s too late for you to start early, but it’s not too late to start at all! Some organizations will stop taking applications in January, but positions are constantly opening up, and some have yet to even be posted. Start looking now, before you miss another opportunity.

Know what you want: The first thing you should do is figure out what you hope to get out of the summer. Do you

want experience, money, or both?

Even if you don’t know what you want to do with your life, or after graduation, you probably have some idea of what you want to do in the next two months.

“Create the opportunities for what you want to do next,” advises Ben-Joseph.

Finding a job: Luckily, McGill has a number of resources to set students on the path to securing a job for the summer.

Listservs, albeit long and irrelevant on occasion, can be a fantastic resource for you. They advertise jobs, internships, and research opportunities in your area of study that you may not have heard of otherwise. Make sure to follow up with anything that interests you in a timely manner, because there are many other students who will be inquiring, as well.

Overheard at mcgill

By Jacqui Galbraith

http://desireemahr.files.wordpress.com/

Countless McGill-themed Facebook pages have emerged over the past year; McGill Compliments, Umentioned McGill, McGill Chirps, and Spotted: McGill Library—there are also individual ‘Spotted’ pages for each McGill residence—all make for excellent procrastination material. With over 4700 friends at last count, Overheard at McGill might just be the most entertaining, but it also might just turn our student body into a mass of paranoid whisperers. Then again, that’s one way to keep it quiet in the libraries. One of the co-creators of the Overheard at McGill Facebook profile shared a little bit about what it’s like being the fly on the campus wall.

McGill Tribune: So how many people run Overheard at McGill?

Overheard at McGill: Just two of us. We’re roommates.

MT: How does posting work— how do you guys divide it up?

OaM: We don’t really have any set schedules or anything. I mean, whenever either of us gets a free second, we’ll just go on, and sometimes we’re on at the same time. We don’t really communicate when we go on and check things.

MT: How much time do you typically spend working on the profile in a day?

OaM: That’s kind of hard to answer. We’ll just go on sporadically, maybe for two to 10 minutes each time, depending on how many posts there are to put up and whatnot.

MT: Do you have any idea of how many posts you get in an average day?

OaM: It ranges a lot. Some days we’ll only have four or five, other days we’ll have around 20. Some

CaPS (Career and Planning Services) is a gold mine. You can stop by during drop-in hours, book an advising appointment and find an extensive list of other services. MyFuture is a tool that can help you search for jobs and apply directly online. The CaPS website contains links to job postings, and if you’re seeking an internship, check out the workshop handout “Where to Find Internships.”

Networking: Ben-Joseph explained the importance of networking in this way: in the original Star Wars movie, when Leia uploads a message to R2-D2 saying “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope”—that’s networking. If you don’t understand the reference, suffice it to say that finding a job is often more about who you know than what you know. Making use of LinkedIn means you

can network from your couch.

Professors are conducting research constantly, and always need assistants. They can connect you to experts in the field, or a relevant organization. On campus, wine and cheese events and academic conferences are great places to connect with people and get free food.

CV: The purpose of a CV is to identify what makes you a good candidate; it is not just a list of your experiences. When stating past experiences, your CV should showcase desirable skills that are transferable to other jobs. Tailor your CV to they type of job you want. CaPS offers drop in hours where an advisor will provide feedback on your CV. Hours are posted online, and they ask that you bring a hard copy of your CV. Interviewing: During an interview, em-

ployers judge your personality and skills and determine if you’ll fit well with their team. BenJoseph suggests framing your past experience in a way that indicates, “everything in your history, you’ve done to help this company out.” To do this effectively, research the industry, employer, and position in advance.

Ask a friend, or see an advisor to help you prepare with a mock interview.

Have confidence: Don’t let the fear of failure or picking the wrong jobs get in the way of applying. Who wouldn’t want to hire you? As back up, apply for a couple positions in case the one you want doesn’t work out. Even if you don’t end up with your dream job, any new experience is more than you already have. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new passion.

don’t go up, based on if they were things that were actually overheard, or if people are trying to advertise through us.

MT: What kind of advertisements do you get?

OaM: There were a lot of people trying to submit their platforms when they were running for different positions on different councils…. They would send us their platform for like VP internal for some sort of faculty, and try and get us to post it so everyone would see, you know, try to campaign for themselves over our page.

MT: What kind of screening process do the posts go through? Do you receive any submissions you deem inappropriate to post or that just aren’t that funny?

OaM: We usually let most things through. A lot of the stuff is pretty vulgar, but I mean, everyone’s over 18, so I think the R rated material’s alright. Aside from that, there are things that are obviously made up, [but] you can kind of tell when things are made up. Or, if neither of us find [the post] funny, then we just agree to not post it.

MT: Have you ever had to take a post down after it’s been published due to complaints?

OaM: Yeah, we’ve had a couple of people send us messages saying that their friend got mad at them for posting what they said, even though everything’s anonymous, and we never quote anyone. People have also gotten upset at a few of the more vulgar posts, so we’ve just gone back and taken them down.

MT: Where did the idea for the Facebook profile come from?

Are you guys at all affiliated with the little-used Twitter account of the same name?

OaM: I didn’t know about the Twitter account. I know that there used to be a website called “Overheard at McGill,” and I had seen it last year. At the start of second semester, we just thought it would be a cool idea to get this going, and it looked like a lot of people enjoy it, so we just kept it going, and it’s gotten bigger and bigger.

MT: Do you see yourselves bringing in more help to run the profile?

OaM: We had a third person working on it, but they weren’t really pulling their weight. They would never really go on and check or anything, so we changed the password and just kept it to the two of us.

MT: Have you guys run into

any of the problems McGill Compliments has, in terms of Facebook designating you as spammers?

OaM: Just at the beginning, when we were trying to get the [profile] up and running. We were adding lots of people at the beginning, so we actually got banned from adding friends for about a month.

But at this point we don’t add any more people, and we seem to get about 20 or 25 friend requests per day.

MT: What’s the best part of running Overheard at McGill?

OaM: I was actually telling my friend yesterday that my favourite part of running Overheard is sitting in the library and watching the guy next to me on the computer reading, these posts and kind of chuckling to himself. It’s sort of funny because I was posting that stuff about five minutes prior.

MT: Do you ever worry you’ll get caught posting on Overheard at McGill in public?

OaM: Yeah, there’ve been times where we’ve been at the library posting things, and someone will be walking by, and we’ll switch to a new window just in time.

g

Curiosity delivers. |

student living

| Wednesday, April 10, 2013

advice column

Ask

y b b i Tr

Dear Tribby, Lately, I’ve been really sick of my Facebook, and the feeling of being constantly connected to everything. School and social stress have really been getting to me recently, and I just kind of want to deactivate my account. But, I mean everyone has Facebook. I don’t want to drop off the grid entirely—then I’ll never hear about anything!

I really feel like I could use a break though, you know? What should I do?

Got problems? E-mail us at studentliving@ mcgilltribune.com.

Serves ??

Dear Tribby, I’ve been really homesick lately and unsure if I should transfer back home to UBC in Vancouver.

I really like McGill, but I miss home, maybe too much. What should I do?

Missing the coast

You should definitely try this program called SelfControl! With it, or others like it, you’re able to block multiple websites for a pre-set amount of time. This way you’ll be able to block Facebook and other websites that are distracting when you feel like you need a break. The best thing about these programs is that once you set the time, there’s no way you can access any of the websites you blocked on your computer until the time is up—even if you restart your computer or delete the application.

If you choose to deactivate your Facebook account, be prepared for people to ask you why you did it. But don’t feel pressured to have an account, just because everyone else does. During finals season, it is especially common for people to deactivate their accounts. Actually, people often deactivate their Facebook accounts during this time.

Plus, aside from Facebook, there are so many more ways to communicate with your friends, like texting, emailing, or even—unconventional, I know—just meeting up with them.

I totally understand why you want to block Facebook, because so many of us waste numerous hours on there each day— don’t expect that just because you deactivated your Facebook account everything will be solved. Blocking Facebook is just one of the steps to solving your problem.

Yours truly,

Yours truly,

Dear Plugged in,

Tribby

Last minute

By Kieran Montreal Steer

chores and must-sees

Seven things you need to make sure to do before this semester runs out Philippe Wen Contributor

Dear Missing the coast, You say you’ve been really homesick “lately.” Has this feeling been going on for a while? Or was this caused by something that happened recently? Being homesick is something that all of us experience at some point in our lives, especially in the first year of university. Before you make your decision about transferring, I suggest you stop and think about what your reasons are for wanting to do so. Do you want to transfer only because you miss home? Or is it for academic purposes as well? As someone who went through a serious homesick phase, all I can tell you is that it does get better. At some point, you will realize that Montreal has slowly become your home.

For me, when I went home the first time after coming to university, it felt really weird. It felt great to be home, but it’s not the same anymore. My high school counselor told me: “When you leave the school, it goes on without you; it’s not going to pause when you leave, and start again when you’re back.” It actually really helped put things in perspective for me. You might think you’re homesick, but you might actually be nostalgic instead. All I can tell you is that after you leave home, everything that you experienced a year ago will have changed.

Sometimes, it’s not really homesickness that’s upsetting you. It’s the pain of letting go of the past and moving on. If you do transfer home next year, are you going to miss McGill? Try talking to your parents and friends about it. Reach a conclusion that is based on both academic reasons and personal accounts. If the only reason you want to move home is because you miss home and want to be back, make sure you think about what’s going to happen once you make that choice. My biggest advice is to think it through; not just what’s going to happen the moment you get home, but think about what’s going to happen in the next five years. Your choice now will affect many more choices later on in your life.

Plugged in

13

Tribby

If Montreal is not your hometown, you’re probably leaving in late April or the beginning of May—or maybe for good, if you’re an exchange student like me. Here are seven tasks to take care of—administrative and otherwise—before you go!

Find a solution for your accommodation: If you live off-campus and your lease will extend beyond your departure, you should consider a sublet, or a lease transfer. The Off-Campus Housing office provides information on its website, and plans sessions on Fridays in order to help you in your search for the right sub-tenant. This way, you won’t have to pay rent while you’re not there.

Redirect your emails to another email address: During the summer, you probably don’t check your McGill email account on a daily basis. So, you can change the delivery destination of the emails to another address: the IT Knowledge Base has a tutorial for that purpose. Then, Minerva notifications for course waitlists—and other administrative emails—will be received directly by whichever account you choose.

Return books to the library: Don’t leave Montreal before you make sure that all the items you borrowed have been returned. McGill libraries and the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec will remain open during summer. Thus, library fines will continue to accrue! Since the fine for an overdue book is $5 per day, the total fine can really take its toll. As for the textbooks you bought this year, you can re-sell them next September if you don’t want to hang onto them.

Pack as soon as possible: In order to prevent last-minute madness, prepare the items you will bring on your travels far in advance.

Select what will be taken home and what remains in Montreal. Then you’ll be able to know if you need to consider shipping anything or bringing an extra suitcase with you.

Visit the Redpath Museum: Maybe you’ve experienced a lecture in the Redpath Auditorium, but why don’t you go upstairs? Dinosaurs, stuffed animals, and mummies await you. Unlike most other museums, the Redpath Museum is free, and right here on campus!

Visit the Espace pour la vie: It’s much more pleasant to go to the Botanical Garden when it gets warmer and sunnier. But the Butterflies Go Free exhibition closes on Apr. 28, so if you’re one of the lucky ones whose finals end a little early, try to sneak in a visit. The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium is also located two steps away and opens on Apr. 6. Both are at the Viau metro station. Similarly, going to the Île Sainte-Hélène can be nice, as snow will have melted.

Rent a BIXI: Many students do not have bicycles in Montreal during the winter because black ice and snow make riding more hazardous. But how do you find a bicycle for a few weeks in April or May? You’re in luck; BIXI stations are currently being reinstalled. Get a 24-hour pass (or more, depending on your plans), make sure that there is a BIXI spot at your departure and arrival points, and then enjoy! Your BIXI can serve for casual trips and longer entertainment rides.

14

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 |

student living

| Curiosity delivers.

around the city

Take advantage of Montreal’s vibrant summer season

If you’re sticking around after exams, check out some of the best attractions the city has to offer Emilio Assuncao Contributor Exams are close on the horizon; and before you know it, they’ll merely be a painful memory. With the long-awaited end of Winter semester, some of you might be homesick and itching to get back to your family and friends. Others might be shackled to school for another month (or two), earning some summer credits.

Still others might be hanging around a little longer to finalize living arrangements for next year. Finally, there are some of us who live in this city year round. Whatever your situation, having chosen to attend McGill, you should commit at least one summer to discovering the exciting summer life Montreal has to offer.

Montreal is beautiful in the summer. Needless to say, the weather is categorically different from what you’ve gone through in the past few months.

With humidity, temperatures in Montreal range from 25 to 40 degrees Celsius. Also, the city’s apparent population doubles. By about April—current, unpredictable weather aside—the drudgery of snow and gray skies are replaced by warmth and equally warm people. Montrealers seem to crawl out of hibernation and fill the streets, alongside tourists who come in droves. You’ll see a lot more people than you’re used to while walking along major streets and relaxing in parks.

Montrealers are a friendly bunch, and you’re bound to meet new people if you give it a try.

In addition to the relaxation, there is also a lot to do here. Montreal attracts a considerable amount of tourism around the summer months for a number of reasons, among them: the festivals. This city is home to the largest Jazz festival in the world. Even if you’re not an enthusiast, Place

des Arts is spectacular when JazzFest rolls around, it is not to be missed. In years past, a number of major artists have put on free shows in the Quartier des Spectacles; and based on personal experience, they are a must-see. This summer you can look forward to more than 450 free outdoor performances as part of the JazzFest. Other major festivals include Just For Laughs, the Fantasia Film Festival, Osheaga, and the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, the largest of its kind. Did you know there are fireworks displays in Montreal at least once a week from the middle of June to the beginning of August? Now you do.

Only minutes away from campus, Mount Royal park is a great place to spend any and all of your free time this summer.

Every Sunday a drum circle forms around the GeorgeÉtienne Cartier Monument, a tradition called Tam-Tams that dates back to 1978. If you haven’t seen it already, you should find time to experience this staple of Montreal culture.

On any given day you’ll find thousands of people on either side of Avenue du Parc. It’s a great place to catch some rays, hang out with friends or read a book. Fun fact: in Quebec, alcohol can be consumed in parks if it’s part of a meal. Picnic away, my friends.

If you’re looking to get some exercise, you’ve got your pick of outdoor activities. You can go virtually anywhere in the city by using the city’s extensive bike paths. You can also bike, blade, or walk along the St. Lawrence river by the Old Port. For joggers, Mount Royal is a great place to go for a run, and don’t worry about getting too hot—the trail is covered by a thick layer of trees. Also, the McGill recreational facility remains open all summer, and memberships are offered at a special rate.

You also might want to find a job in Montreal. Uni-

versities offer many work opportunities for students over the summer. If you’re lucky you can find an administrative or research position on campus. McGill also hosts a number of summer camps for children, and they are staffed

by McGill students; if you’re looking for a fun summer job, look no further. Otherwise, a lot of businesses are looking to hire students over the summer, although for jobs outside McGill, French language skills tend to be a requirement. If you’re feeling confident with your French, however, you might want to apply to work at a restaurant, which tend to get really busy when tourists come around.

You’re at McGill, so that must mean you know Montreal’s got a nightlife. Many McGillians leave in May, but the nightlife only gets better from there. Think about it—school’s out, and it’s nice and warm outside; what’s bound to happen?

You’ll find everything from a busy club scene, open-air bars, and parties on the roof when the sun sets over the city.

Finally, for the sports fans, the Montreal Impact hosts games at the Saputo Stadium all summer long. Recently promoted to Major League Soccer (MLS) the Impact is currently near the top of the standings.

Tickets are relatively inexpensive, and the ambiance at the Saputo is great, with or without alcohol. If you prefer football, starting in June, the Montreal Allouettes play in our very own Percival Molson Stadium, though it’ll cost you a little bit more than a Redmen game to get in.

Summer’s almost here, so whether you’re making a plan to fill your schedule with local activities, or find yourself looking for a bit of excitement one dull afternoon, keep these tips in mind for a truly Montreal experience.

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Côte-des-Neiges’ hidden gem serves up treasure trove of Caribbean cuisine La Maison du Cari des Caraibes offers appealing prices, exotic fare, and personal touch Alycia Noë Contributor While Montreal is known for classics like poutine and bagels, there are many unexpected culinary delights to be discovered around the city. The Côtedes-Neiges neighbourhood is brimming with chefs eager to share their creations, making it an ideal location to discover different types of cuisine. Deep within this diverse community, an unassuming Caribbean restaurant, La Maison du Cari des Caraïbes, serves up the finest island cooking I have ever had anywhere, period. Their vibrant and lively flavours are characterized by invigorating spices and

freshly made product.

My favourite dish, the boneless curried chicken roti, offers a satisfying and crave-worthy meal for an incredibly reasonable price (ranging from $4.30 to $8.00, depending on the filling). A roti is a crêpe-like flat top grilled dough, made with various spices and split peas that is filled with curried potatoes, topped with curried chicken, beef, goat, mutton, seafood or chickpeas. Once assembled, it resembles a sandwich that can either be eaten with your hands, or enjoyed with a knife and fork. The roti is the perfect dish for anyone; it can be mild or spicy, and can be stuffed with meat or vegetables.

I always get the chicken

filling—the juicy chicken is perfectly tender, and falls apart at the first bite. I also enjoy extreme spice, so I always ask for extra of their homemade hot sauce, which is made with secret spices and scotch bonnet peppers. This sauce is not for the faint of heart, so dive in at your own risk.

In addition, the restaurant serves up better-known Caribbean dishes, such as rice platters, ox-tail stew, and jerk chicken.

Many regulars often indulge in the jerk chicken that undergoes a long marination process in a pepper sauce. Every one of these meals offers a generous portion of meat, rice, peas, salad, and fried plantains. Another simple option includes Jamaican pat-

8

Top things we One student exchange in New can learn from Zealand lets us in on the university hemisphere our Kiwi counterparts experience in the southernBy Rebecca Babcock I have been in New Zealand on a student exchange for just over a month now. It’s interesting to notice the small things that are different from your home university, but that add up to make a hugely different and amazing environment, which makes being a student, shockingly, quite enjoyable.

They eat in the library without shame: Can you imagine not having to hide your food while you secretly eat it in McLennan? These students pull out food and eat it in the open without fear, and are better nourished, and probably more focused because of it.

Probably.

They live in the moment: We students are under a lot of stress about grades, assignments, careers, family issues, relationships, friends, and everything else. I think it’s high time we get on the same wavelength as the New Zealanders, and start relaxing a little bit. If you are at a party, and have an assignment due soon, enjoy the party for what it is and worry about the assignment tomorrow. Simply put, try being in the moment because you will have time to worry about everything else later.

They walk around in bare feet: Kiwi students walk around

the library, go grocery shopping, and skateboard all with bare feet.

Now, we Montrealers may be limited to the summer months to do this, but nothing is stopping us from wearing comfy wool socks, taking off our shoes in McLennan, and embracing the feeling of not having cold feet from our wet boots.

They embrace the music: I don’t think there has been a time since I’ve been in New Zealand where a party has been broken up by the police due to a noise complaint. People here embrace—perhaps unexpectedly—loud music, instead of fighting it. In fact, the music becomes quite comforting to fall asleep to, eventually.

They aren’t afraid to crash a party: If Kiwis still cannot fall asleep because they are bothered by the music from a particularly loud party, they will just go crash it and meet new people. I cannot tell you how many new and interesting people I have met because their plans fell through, then they heard our music, and came to join the party.

They have BBQs on weekdays: On a whim, friends will be invited over to celebrate the school day being done and told to bring something delicious to

share. The evening will then be enjoyed hanging out with friends over some tasty barbequed goods.

They pack away the headphones and pay attention on the street: I am astounded when I am walking to school in New Zealand and people make eye contact with me and smile. That rarely happens in Montreal because everyone is so often stuck in their own little stressed-out world. But sometimes, all you need is a smile from a stranger to let you know that you just need to relax.

They don’t take where they live for granted: Although I am a visitor and am trying to see as much as I can, I find that New Zealanders also embrace where they live.

They go to the same beach that they’ve been to hundreds of times, yet they also explore the city for new things to do. Having lived in Montreal for three and a half years, I can say that I have never gone to any of the museums or tried to find a cool new bar that might be out of my area. I think sometimes people forget that there can be tons of cool places to explore right in their own backyard.

ties that are essentially piecrusts filled with chicken, beef, or vegetables, and vary in spiciness from mild to extra hot. As a tip, I would order a roti—assuming that’s your favourite dish—at La Maison du Cari, but walk just across the street to Boulangerie Spicee to purchase your patties.

For just 50 cents a patty, you can pick up the superior quality on the other side of the block.

La Maison du Cari des Caraïbes is one of the hidden gems of the city; but be prepared, it is not a fancy restaurant. You will be

surprised by the appearance; but inside, you will find remarkably friendly staff that will remember you after a few visits, and food unlike anything else you have ever tried before. I encourage you to be adventurous, and take the metro to the Plamondon stop, and explore this cultural epicenter of the city of Montréal.

La Maison du Cari des Caraïbes 6892 Avenue Victoria Hours: Monday - Saturday 11 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Tel: 514 733 0828

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16

alexandra allaire, anna katycheva, luke orlando, simon poitrimolt

2012-2013 highlights

Last month’s SSMU electoral campaign brought forth a wave of optimistic agendas and interesting initiatives. Each candidate compellingly presented a plethora of changes that they would bring to the SSMU, should they be elected for the next academic year. Some voters are expectant to see this new VP team at work, some voters have retreated to oblivion after the election period, and some voters remain skeptical of these VPs’ ability to bring about change. Overall, two nagging questions persist in people’s minds: Can they deliver? How will they deliver?

Here’s the breaking news: we don’t know. However, while there is no way to ensure that they will keep their promises, there is a way to make sure that the newly elected follow the SSMU constitution every step of the way: the Judicial Board of Students’s Society of McGill University. Commonly known as the J-Board, this little-known SSMU body provides McGill students with a forum to challenge the unfair practices of SSMU members and committees, and is overseen by five full-time students from the McGill Faculty of Law. This means that whenever SSMU members transgress the constitution, by-laws, or policies, there will be consequences. Campaigning after the deadline? Think again. Manipulating financial policies? nice try.

Bringing forth trivial questions at GAs? Well, that’s unfortunately legal.

j e h t ard ent d o b g stu t in

n n i e p m e e n k ver K C o E g H y C m jim by lou

About the J-Board The existence of the J-Board traces back to the 1970s, and has arbitrated major developments and conflicts involving the SSMU ever since. In 1974, for instance, the J-Board helped define the General Assembly’s exact role through a ruling that ensured that only the SSMU Council could address the budgetary and financial issues of the Society. Although some have questioned its judge-selection and arbitration process over time, the JBoard has remained a central part of SSMU’s decision-making process, as it has determined the integrity of the SSMU’s constitution, and its procedural fairness.

Its creation signifies the Society’s recognition of a need for an unbiased interpretation of the Society’s regulations. As a result, every time the SSMU faces a conflict of interests when it arbitrates over the rules it sets, the JBoard fills the role of neutral observer, facilitating dispute resolution in accordance with the SSMU constitution’s clauses.

According to Josh Redel, current SSMU president, “The main purpose of the J-Board is to provide students with a mechanism of challenging decisions that have gone through official processes at SSMU. If they feel that something was completed in contradiction of one of the democratically created governance documents of the SSMU, the J-Board provides them a way of challenging those decisions.”

To Joel Kwon, the current J-Board Chief Justice, Article 30 of the SSMU constitution explains the scope of the J-Board’s mandate.

“More specifically, this section specifies that the J-Board has an effective power to invalidate acts of the SSMU and its constituents, if they are found to violate the Constitution and bylaws of the SSMU,” he said. “ We can declare invalid any act of council, any act of society, club, or groups.”

Beyond adjudicating SSMU-related cases, the J-Board also assists with other legal projects, such as the creation of a more informative website, and the drafting of SSMU’s constitutional amendments. Currently, the J-Board is seeking to create formal internal operating guidelines, and to raise its public awareness among students; its services are usually never advertised through any public medium, with the exception of the referenced sections of the SSMU Constitution and bylaws.

How can I keep SSMU in check?

Given the lack of information available on this important board, many students may ask, “how can I file a complaint to the J-Board if there is an issue that I want to bring to SSMU’s attention?” Here is the answer:

Become familiar with the rules

Familiarize yourself with the SSMU constitution, by-laws, and policies through their website. http://ssmu.mcgill.ca/about-us/who-we-are/consititution-and-bylaws

File your claim

Complete Form P-1, or “Notice of Petition,” found on SSMU’s website, and submit the petition to Chief Justice Joel Kwon at jboard@ssmu.mcgill. ca. A paper copy of the form must also be submitted to the SSMU office no more than five days after the event, or after learning of the event.

Make your case

Within five days of submitting the P-1, submit a written statement, as well as documents that are relevant to your complaint. These should be sent in an electronic format to the Chief of Justice, and as hard copies to the SSMU office. If the J-Board accepts the petition, it will invite the Respondent to complete the R-1, or “Position of Respondent” addressing your complaint.

Attend the preliminary conference

The parties to the dispute will meet in a preliminary conference to discuss the issue informally, and set up a date for the hearing.

Attend the hearing

During the hearing, both the Petitioner and the Respondent will express their views. The J-Board will submit its written judgment within 15 days of the hearing.

Justice served!

Note: the complaint may end at any point if the Petitioner reaches an understanding through negotiations with the Respondent before judgment.

According to the turnout of recent SSMU Elections, fewer than one out of three students (29.1%) is interested in student politics, and probably even fewer know anything about SSMU’s constitution. However, the SSMU is one of the best forums available for students to vocalize their interests and needs. More importantly, a functioning SSMU depends on a functioning checking body, like the J-Board, as well as on students who care about the issues.

In the spring of 2012, the J-Board was suspended on the basis that, according to the SSMU, the Board of Directors was supposed to be the highest authority of the Society, making its decisions final.

This argument was presented to annul the J-Board’s invalidation of the Fall 2011 referendum results on the continuing existence of QPIRG and CKUT. The J-Board has since been reinstated, but its temporary suspension raises doubts on its stability. This suspension demonstrated the dangers of having a checking body that could easily be bypassed. If this trend were to continue, students could lose a key cornerstone of student democracy, and regret it if it silently disappears.

What did the J-Board do last year?

Bangs vs. Calver and Cheng In April 2012, Christopher Bangs was the chair for “No” Committee on the 2012 AUS referendum. Bangs filed a petition to McGill’s Judicial Board against Jade Calver, the former President of Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), and Victor Cheng, the former Chief Returning Officer of Elections AUS. This case involved the contestation of the legitimacy of two questions passed during the AUS 2012 Winter Referenda.

Bangs based his case on Calver and Cheng’s failure to fully comply with AUS by-laws during the campaign period. The by-law specifies a six-day voting period and Bangs argued that the shortened campaign period of five days undermined the results of the elections. This case was ultimately dismissed by the J-Board, as Bangs failed to establish why the timing of the referendum significantly prevented reasonable voters from adequately participating in the voting process.

Newburgh and Steven vs. Tacoma In January 2012, Zach Newburgh, former SSMU president, and Brendan Steven filed a petition against Rebecca Tacoma, former chief electoral officer of SSMU regarding the referendum period that ran from Nov. 4, 2011 to Nov. 10, 2011. The petitioners contested the Fall 2011 referendum question on the continuation of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group of McGill (QPIRG) on the grounds of constitutional invalidity. This issue was twofold: the petitioners questioned whether the QPIRG question was constitutional, and whether Tacoma exercised sufficient due diligence in her handling of the Fall 2011 referendum. In the end, the J-Board decided to accept the petition in part, invalidating QPIRG’s referendum question on the grounds that “it deals with two issues, instead of one as required by the Constitution.” However, it also upheld the Tacoma’s claim that she was respectful, impartial, and diligent with respect to her supervisory role of the referendum period. Although the J-Board was temporarily suspended

by SSMU during the petition, its decision was later endorsed by SSMU president Maggie Knight, and ratified by SSMU Board of Directors.

science & technology McGill engineers compete to design lunabot Lunar excavator team will participate this May in NASA’s international robotics competition Caity Hui Science & Technology Editor Busy beneath the McConnell cafeteria is McGill’s LunarEx robotics team’s lab, where the team has been working hard for the past year to construct a robot to compete in an international competition sponsored by NASA. Through this ‘lunabotics’ (moon-related robots) mining competition, NASA aims to increase interest in robotics and engineering science, by giving engineers a goal around which they can construct a robot.

The premise of LunarEx is to determine a method for mining substances on the moon, which could then be used as building material through 3D printing.

This concept is futuristic, but it is based on the possibility of scientists building a space station on the moon. In order to create the space station, you need building materials; and this is where lunabotics comes in.

The engineers are responsible for designing a robot that can compete against others in an obstacle course to mine lunar ‘regolith’—a reproduction of the rock that is supposed to be found on the moon. The robots must start in a random position in a lunapit, navigate across obstacles found on the moon, and mine as much lunar regolith as possible on the other side, before dumping it into a bucket. The robots must do all of this within a time limit.

Despite having a team for the past four years, McGill will show by far its strongest—and largest—team this May at the weeklong competition in Orlando, Florida at the Kennedy Space Center, after facing challenges in previous years.

“The first couple years, it was really small, maybe 10 people, and they made it to the competition those years; but one year they shipped the robot and it didn’t make it. Another year they didn’t finish [the robot] in time,” mechanical engineering

The robot’s design is capable of collecting huge volumes of lunar regolith. (LunarEx Robotics)

The parts were first designed on the computer, followed by 3D printing.

(LunarEx Robotics)

With better project management, the team has acquired around 40 highly committed members.

(LunarEx Robotics) student and lead of a LunarEx mechanical subteam Mike King explained. “This year, we tried to turn it around. We did a lot of recruiting to increase interest in [the team]. We have 50 people that officially signed up, and right now, there are about 40 very committed members—that’s pretty big for a team. And so, we have much better organization, as well as a team leader who does project management, organizes meetings, and pushes everyone to do their work.”

The engineers are responsible for designing a robot that meets an extensive list of requirements, many of which are related to the fact that this robot will hypothetically be mining on the moon.

“There is a crazy long list of constraints [in terms of] what you can use,” King said. “[The Kennedy Space Center] is obviously not the moon, but you want to design it as if it were. You can’t use sound, or air, or anything for cooling, for example, because there is no atmosphere.”

Although the robot cannot be designed for zero gravity or temperature changes, there is still a heavy set of restrictions placed on the engineers in terms of the design, such as weight and data transmission limits. The engineers are also responsible for social outreach.

“There is a whole point sys-

tem. If you are overweight, you lose points; if you transmit less data, you get more points. Outside of the design of the robot, there are social media points, and outreach points. So if you go talk to schools about your project, you get points. Having a website, a Facebook, a Twitter ... they want advertising because they are trying to spread interest in robotics,” King explained.

To best handle this point system, McGill’s team is focusing on collecting the most lunar regolith.

It’s robot’s design is essentially a small digging mechanism (like a small screw) on the front with a giant bucket behind it. The bucket is horizontal when it’s digging, but when backed up to the bin where it empties, it dumps its contents more like a dump truck.

The team is currently testing their machine at the Canadian Space Agency in their rover pit, which is where the Curiosity Mars Rover was tested.

For most of the engineers, this competition provides an opportunity to apply their learning in a more practical setting. As most engineering courses at McGill are heavily theory-based, students rarely get the chance to bring a machine to life by designing it on a computer, and then putting it together.

“I realized that McGill’s engineering program is very analytical, so doing something like this

is very important for an engineer who wants to go into the field, and do more hands on stuff,” said King. “It’s basically as good as an internship, where you are actually learning about the team structure, doing everything—from design to ordering materials and assembly. I realized that this was so important, and that I had to do something like this.”

The outreach aspect of the competition has also provided some surprising experiences. The team got in touch with St. Georges School to teach the kids more about their designs and the opportunities in robotics. However, they were astounded at the wealth of knowledge these children had. “[We spoke with] seventh and eighth graders [who] were building their own go-carts from scratch. It was really cool to see how interested they were, and how much they knew. We expected to teach them, but they ended up teaching us,” King said.

LunarEx takes up as much or more than a normal course would for an average student, but King encourages other engineering students to take advantage of this amazing opportunity at McGill.

“Any engineer who hasn’t done an internship yet or even to get just a more hands on experience [should get involved], because your classes wont give you this experience.”

Curiosity delivers. |

science & technology

| Wednesday, April 10, 2013

No longer a poster child for climate change

21

Inuit find claims of the declining polar bear population unfounded Marlee Vinegar Contributor The majestic great white bear of the north is threatened by its inability to adequately acquire food resources, as a result of melting sea ice caused by climate change.

Or is it?

Many now believe that the polar bear, poster child for climate change, is not actually facing the declining populations that popular culture have become familiar with.

The Inuit constantly monitor their environment as part of their daily lives. Through generations of collective observation, they recognize patterns and changes, including those associated with climate change. In the arctic, the sea ice is now noticeably thinner; the ice breaks up earlier and freezes later, and there are fewer icebergs. What has not been observed, however, is an equivalent decline in the number of polar bears. Not all of the 19 polar bear populations are faring as well as others, but Inuit elders living in Nunavut are now encountering polar bears in greater

numbers and in areas they never did while growing up. They insist that the bear is resilient, and, as sea mammals, will survive just fine despite the loss of sea ice.

“Those who put the polar bear on the endangered species list, they don’t understand … bears are part of the sea,” Inuit elder Jamesie Mike said.

The other side of the debate has its own evidence.

“In the last two decades, [the Churchill, Manitoba polar bear] population has gone down 22 per cent, due to the earlier ice melt and later ice freeze,” polar bear programme director for the WWF Global Arctic Programme Geoff York said, in a call to action video.

The WWF is one of many organizations that strongly advertise the detrimental effects of climate change on the polar bear, having recently teamed up with Coca Cola in the Arctic Home initiative.

Biologists attempt to reconcile these differences by attributing the apparent increase in polar bear population to changes in behaviour, and distribution caused by climate change. Others agree

Sci-Tech

Summer Reads

with the Inuit that polar bear populations have increased in the past several decades. One explanation given for the increase is any ban on polar bear hunting. In the early ’70’s, Canada implemented its ban on polar bear hunting with the exception of some native hunting.

Furthermore, regulation of commercial seal hunting has led to seal population explosions, providing ample food for the polar bears.

Polar bear hunting is regulated in an attempt to protect it as an endangered species. The United States proposed a change to the status of polar bears at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but was defeated this past March.

Had this change gone through, polar bears would be banned in cross-border trade. This was a major victory for Inuit. The hunting quota in place regulates Inuit harvesting of wildlife, while allowing continued access to the resources that are integral to their lives. Polar bears provide sustenance as both a source of food and income, and the Inuit seek to protect the wildlife like a future investment. Efforts

to ‘save the polar bears’ would reduce their freedom to hunt, limiting them culturally and economically.

A new face for climate change is needed. The emphasis on polar bears when advocating climate change may cause climate change deniers to use the conflicting data on polar bear population sizes to prove that there is no problem. It would be far more effective to pick one of the many other species of animals that climate change endangers. Warmer beach temperatures cause dramatic imbalances in the sex ratios of leatherback turtle hatchlings, and the clownfish is threatened by both climate

change and oceanic acidification, which affects their senses of smell.

If Marlin loses his olfactory abilities, how will he find Dory in the Finding Nemo sequel?

It comes down to the fact that the common aim is to protect our wildlife and protect our planet.

Observational interpretations of the natural world give a more holistic view of the environment and allow for a deeper understanding of systems at work. Instead of finger pointing and labeling as right or wrong, greater collaboration between conventional science and other forms of knowledge may be better suited to tackle today’s complex problems.

Unlike biologists, the Inuit have not observed a decline in polar bear populations recently (www.furtrimisatrap.com)

As the summer months draw near, visions of sandy beaches and cool breezes take over our minds, filling us with warmth—and promises of lots of free time. Whether looking out at the sea or the back of the seat in front of you on a flight, nothing can transport you to another reality like a good read.

Here’s a list of some popular books in science and technology to pull out during your summer travels.

Compiled by Krishanth Manokaran

Science: Whether new or familiar to science, it’s always interesting to take a look into its history—the failures and achievements of great minds—in the words of accomplished scientists.

Technology: Technology often teaches us to forget the past. Advancements from before this year seem irrelevant when comparing it to today’s technology—remember those things we called floppy discs? There was even a time when there was no such thing as Google or Apple, and, while they grew in the shadow of our childhood, it’s worth taking a look at the lives of the people who changed our world, as well as what future technology has in store for us.

The Demon-Haunted World is a collection of 25 essays by astronomer, astrophysicist, and cosmologist Carl Sagan, including several written with his wife, Ann Druyan. These essays examine and debunk some of the most celebrated scientific myths of the past, such as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. Surprisingly, pseudo-science is still growing strong with stories of astrology, channelling past lives, and homeopathic cures—all of which have grown in interest and support. In light of today’s pseudo-science craze, Sagan praises the virtues of scepticism, controlled studies, and empirical evidence with intelligence and wit. not have the same definition of pitch, to patients with rare disorders that prevent them from making sense of music.

The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture by John Battelle describes how Google rose to new heights as one of the most used search browsers in history.

Through over 350 interviews, Battelle plots the rough road Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, faced, along with the challenges they had to overcome to top the likes of Yahoo, Vista, Lycos, and others.

This is your Brain on Music is written by one of our very own at McGill, Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience Dr. Daniel Levitin. The novel explores various questions such as why music evokes such a powerful mood, and if musical pleasure is different from other kinds of pleasure. These answers are becoming clearer through the lens of neuroscience and psychology.

This is your Brain on Music also explores many different areas of research to investigate the relationship between our brain and music. These include an explanation of why two people may not have the same definition of pitch, to patients with rare disorders that prevent them from making sense of music.

The Physics of the Future: How Science will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 is a flash forward look at the year 2100 through the eyes of physicist and author Michio Kaku. Kaku’s views are built upon interviews with more than 300 of today’s top scientists, many of which are working on future innovations. From regenerative medicine and artificial intelligence to vehicles flying on a cushion of air, Kaku makes and explains his predictions in a logical extension through today’s technology that might even have you convinced.

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Curiosity delivers. |

science & technology | Wednesday, April 10, 2013

LOOKING AHEAD

By Caity Hui

Finding an undergraduate research position One of the most highly sought-after experiences for undergraduate science students is the elusive ‘lab job.’ There is no doubt within McGill’s Science student body that a lab research position is one of the most essential additions to your CV and med school application. Although working in a lab is just one of many factors that could help one receive admittance into graduate school, it is definitely a valuable experience.

The range of research at McGill today covers a broad range of exciting new domains, such as genomics and proteomics, and nanotechnologies, as indicated on McGill’s Research and International Relations webpage.

When someone says “No” There are very few undergraduate students that I have encountered who are working for the first professor that they contacted. Every professor has a different skill set that they are looking for, and there is no guarantee that their lab will even have an opening, or the funding to take on another student. Even if the professor is looking for an addition to his or her lab, it might just not be the right fit.

Researcher and associate professor Dr. Andrew Hendry suggested to contact as many

Despite the multitude of labs and the variety of research conducted at McGill, undergraduate students still find it increasingly difficult to obtain a research position.

This experience is not surprising. Undergraduate students, particularly U0 and U1 students, are competing with upper level undergraduates, as well as graduate and PhD students—many of whom have previous lab experience, and are more specialized in the field. Not to mention, many find the process intimidating, as students must often contact professors who they have never met before, and ask them about job availabilities.

While there is no foolproof formula that will secure a research position—the process varies for every student—there are definitely some critical steps to becoming more involved in a lab.

professors as possible, and most importantly, to be persistent.

What separates the students who are successful in acquiring lab jobs from those who are not is the fact that many of those students working in labs had to email ten, twenty, thirty different professors before they found their positions. While it will be hard to receive many “No’s,” continuing to pursue such a position will pay off in the long run.

Some Last Words of Advice Chisholm acknowledges that finding a lab position is a different experience for every student, so keep in mind there is no universal way to proceed. He adds, “Keep talking! Do not rely solely on lists of specific research opportunities you might find; they represent only the low-hanging fruit, and everyone

else is also chasing after them. Many professors do not advertise; they do not have to, because enough talented students come spontaneously to them.

Soup and Science, held at the start of the Fall and Winter terms, is a great way to learn more about science research at McGill, and to meet cool profs.”

Photo by Cassandra Rogers

Little Known Programs:

In a day or two, U0 students will be required to choose their majors and minors for next year.

Many other students also have the opportunity to change their program, if their current one is not the right fit. The Faculty of Science has a wide range of programs, many of which are not well known by students. With course selection underway, consider if these alternatives to Anatomy & Cell Biology, and Physiology are interesting to you.

in their lab.

Victor Chisholm, undergraduate research officer, acknowledges there are benefits to applying in pereson as well.

“Talk with a professor in person, either after class or during office hours, try to do so; this will be a much richer exchange than by email.”

“Whether you make contact by email or in person, show the professor why he or she should be interested in you,” Chisholm continued. “Show interest in and familiarity with his or her research, and also your relevant skills and courses. Non-academic skills count too; for example, if you had a summer job fixing cars, your mechanical aptitude could be an asset in an experimental physics lab.

Make Contact While some professors prefer students to contact them in person about research opportunities, email is a useful tool in presenting yourself to researchers and inquiring about opportunities. The email is one of the trickiest parts in the process, because you have to juggle showing interest in someone’s research while presenting yourself and your qualities­—all without writing a novel. While every professor has his or her own preference, those I spoke with indicated that showing a genuine interest in someone’s research, as opposed to simply asking about job availability, makes you stand out. This means do your homework, and spend some time looking into someone’s research before you inquire about becoming involved

When to Apply Although there is no designated time to apply for a lab position, certain points in the year have higher hiring rates. According to Chisholm, professors should be contacted about one semester in advance, and a little earlier than that for the Summer.

In the Summer there are research awards, such as NSERC, USRA/ FRSQ, and USRA/SURA, which have deadlines in February and March, so many students begin contacting professors in November and onwards.

Why do it?

Though lab research serves as an asset to your CV, research is not an easy job. It takes patience, diligence, and, perseverance. Professors at McGill are highly dedicated to their work, and want lab members who are also invested.

That being said, working in a lab provides an incredibly unique and worthwhile experience. Tribune contributor and U1 science student Kieran Steer noted that it gives him the opportunity to perform a lot of the procedures he is studying in school, which makes school a lot easier.

“It also gives me career insight

Physiology and Physics The program provides a firm foundation in physics, mathematics, and physiology. It’s designed for students who want to apply methods of physical sciences to problems in physiology. If you have a love for biology and physics, this major may be of interest. Some courses you will be taking include experimental methods (U1), nonlinear dynamics and chaos (U2), blood, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular physiology (U2), and biomedical signals and systems (U3).

Chisholm also mentions that an advantage of starting too early is that if professors say, “it’s too early,” or you speak with a professor that says no, you can follow up with questions like: ‘When is a good time to ask again? What do you look for in a student? Are there specific courses I should take or skills that I should develop?’

“That way, you can turn what seems like a failed inquiry into something useful,” said Chisholm.

about ups and downs for research as a career. The job in the lab really helped shape my career objectives,” added Steer.“Overall, it’s pretty cool to put into practice what we learn in school.

It can get really boring writing about ‘DNA strands separating upon heating and then annealing to a complementary probe.’ With a lab job, mundane notes like that turn into insightful, active learning like, ‘that makes sense, that’s how the machine works when we run PCR!’ I can see the applications of what I’m learning, which makes university fascinating both in the lab and in the lecture hall.”

Quantitative biology This program combines biology with mathematics and computing. It is designed for students with a strong interest in biology, with the opportunity to also gain a strong understanding of the physical sciences and their application to biological questions.

There are two streams: ecology and evolutionary biology (more like biology with mathematics), and physical biology (more like biology with chemistry, and physics). Some courses in the program include an independent research project (U3), a quantitative biology seminar (U3), an introductory computer scence, and one physics course (Dynamics of Simple Systems).

Curiosity delivers. |

science & technology

| Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The health benefits of “taking five”

23

Studies show music has positive effect on health and immune system Kieran Steer Contributor Three weeks ago when I volunteered to play music for patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH), I was given a special request to play in the psychiatric care centre. The managers who made this request noted that researchers recently released evidence that music can counter the ‘sundowning effect,’ an increased anxiety and restlessness in patients with dementia. Although I had seen that my music could entertain people, I was a bit sceptical at this point about its ability to counter the effects of mental illness.

As I entered the psychiatric care centre, I noticed a dementia patient­­­—as I was told by the staff—walking around the hall, while weeping about something nobody could really understand or help her with.

I sat down in the hallway and began to play my guitar; and after half an hour I noticed that her tears had stopped. After

a full hour, she returned to her room in the best mood I’d seen her since I arrived at the hospital. I thought, “Maybe music has an impact on the sundowning effect after all.”

McGill researchers Dr. Daniel Levitin, associate professor of psychology, and Dr. Mona Lisa Chanda, post-doctoral fellow, have recently consolidated quantitative research and experiments showing music’s effect on neurochemical changes on “reward, motivation and pleasure; stress and arousal; immunity; and social affiliation,” according to Chanda’s paper.

“We came up with 400 articles that dealt with music and neurochemistry,” said Chanda, “which was a topic that had never … been covered in a review. It [gave] the question of what we should make of all this and how it can, in turn, guide us in seeing the overall picture and knowing where to go from here in terms of research directions.”

Through consolidating the results of the study, the research

team uncovered numerous conclusions. They saw that “several brain imaging studies found musical pleasure associated with activation of brain regions for the mesolimbic system, [which is] also involved in processing other types of awards, such as food or sex.”

According to Chanda, in addition to uncovering a strong sense of award, music—especially relaxing pieces with slow tempo—reduces stress hormone cortisol. This could explain the soothing effect music has on some patients at the RVH. A further study conducted by the team compared the effects of anti-anxiety medication benzodiazepine, versus musical therapy on reducing post-traumatic stress. Again, the experiment showed a marked stress reduction after musical therapy—even more than prescribed benzodiazepine medication gave.

However, although there is a large amount of research that provides strong evidence of

Music, like drum circles, is suspected to have healing qualities. music’s calming, and even healing effects, Chanda notes that in almost all of the studies the confounding variables were not strongly controlled.

For example, one experiment showed the effects of a drum circle, where people from all musical backgrounds learn and play simple percussive melodies in a group environment, and its ability to increase participants’ immune systems.

Evidence showed the anticipated increase in the immunity of subjects who played in the drum circle; however, the circle was also a social activity involving storytelling, laughter, social gathering, and other features apart from just music.

(gogobot.com)

“The aspects to it, other than just the musical component, could’ve contributed to the effects on the [drum circle] community,” explained Chanda.

People throughout history have witnessed the effects of music on personal and community health, but quantitative evidence is just beginning to emerge that scientifically explains these phenomena.

“Studies of the neurochemistry of music may be the next great frontier, particularly as researchers try to investigate claims about the effects of music on health outcomes… scientific inquiry into the neurochemical effects of music is still in its infancy.”

School in clouds, a new face to education Sugata Mitra plans to build a self-directed learning lab in India to engage children through the web Abhishek Gupta Contributor Albert Einstein once said, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.”

TED 2013 Prize Winner Sugata Mitra’s idea of building a school in the clouds epitomizes the way in which the human imagination can push boundaries to solve global issues.

Mitra, a professor of educational technology at Newcastle University, describes his idea as the future of learning. In a world driven by ideas and imagination, he understands the importance of looking foward in the field of education. Ken Robinson, international advisor on education in the arts, believes that schools are in some ways killing creativity, and he urges everyone to re-imagine what role schools should play in educating the citizens of tomorrow.

Mitra’s project, known as self-organized learning environments (SOLE), encourages students to learn from each other using resources and mentoring from “the cloud.”

The cloud is a relatively new concept that enables easy collaboration between teachers and students across the planet.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology characterizes the cloud as on-demand selfservice, broad network access, and resource pooling.

SOLE was the result of a creative and unusual experiment performed by Mitra. As a professor of technology, Mitra was responsible for teaching people how to write computer programs.

He observed that young children quickly picked up how to use the computer, just by playing around on it. He wondered if children in the slums close to New Delhi, India would also be able to learn in the same manner.

He made a hole in the wall, close to a bank ATM in New Delhi, and stuck a computer through it, which was programmed in English. He then let the children play around with the computer.

Eight hours later, the children had taught themselves how to browse the internet, despite knowing little English and nothing about the world wide web.

Inspired by this discovery,

Mitra decided to carry out this experiment 300 miles away from Delhi in a remote village. By removing his experiment from the city, he eradicated the chances of a software engineer passing by, and teaching the children about the internet while they played with the computer.

Surprisingly, when Mitra returned several months later he found children playing games on the computer. When he pointed out that it only worked in English, Mitra was shocked to hear that the children had taught themselves English in order to use it.

They also mentioned that they wanted a faster processor and a better mouse. Mitra carried out the experiment in several parts of India, and consistently found the same astonishing results.

Intrigued, Mitra conducted further research. He concluded that in a period of just nine months, children left alone with a computer in any language reached the same level of competency as an office clerk in the West.

This finding has enormous implications in the way today’s technology can be used to cre-

ate educational opportunities for people in parts of the world which might not have sufficient infrastructure and human resources to obtain a good education. With the declining costs of computing technology juxtaposed with the increasing permeation of internet accessibility, learning from the cloud has never been easier.

Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the OLPC Project (One Laptop Per Child) posed an important question: “Is knowing obsolete?” In times where the ability to multiply numbers in your head doesn’t account for much, because we have computers everywhere to do that for us, the pertinent skills to have are the

ability to think critically and read discerningly. It is these skills that Mitra hopes the children will acquire by using technology to teach themselves.

Mitra talks about how learning should emerge as product of educational self-organization.

He envisions a future of learning where the teacher sets the process in motion, stands back, and watches in awe as learning emerges. Ultimately, SOLE stands as a pillar of light, illuminating the minds of children who would otherwise have never received the chance to indulge in learning and education.

Mitra was surprised that with encouragement, the children self-taught themselves. (openideo.com)

24

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 |

arts & entertainment Neither a borrower

| Curiosity delivers.

nor a lender be:

Financing McGill theatre

Will Burgess and Chris Liu A&E Editors

M

cGill dramatists are, by necessity and by definition, a passionate group. Unpaid as student artists, unrecognized in a frequently desolate and fine arts-free environment, passion is often all they have. Despite these conditions, they have thrived. Productions that fly under the radar still sell out. Shows rivaling those on professional Montreal stages grace McGill’s spaces. Underneath the academic, adamantine exterior of this university lies lively and talented artistry.

Although they soar high, student theatre companies nevertheless carry earthly burdens. Theatres must plan and manage their finances to ensure their group’s continued success. To create the fictional universes they present on stage, groups such as Players’ Theatre and the Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society (AUTS) endure an annual ritual of beancounting and penny-pinching.

Their experiences may not be wholly representative of every student theatre group on campus, but the challenges that one company endures, and the success enjoyed by the other, exemplify the difficulties—and rewards—that McGill theatre faces.

Shared challenges Each company puts on productions in the hopes of tugging at heartstrings, but also at wallets.

While actors nervously recite lines and rehearse scenes before opening night, the executives in charge of financing shows anxiously cross their fingers in the hopes of a good turnout.

“We depend on ticket sales as our largest and most consistent source of revenue,” says Hannah Wood, AUTS producer. The same holds true for Players’ Theatre.

“Our audiences are mostly students,” says Fiona Penny, executive director of Players’ Theatre. “Maybe 10 or 15 per cent are

... people outside McGill.”

Players’ Theatre makes efforts to expand their reach to the community beyond McGill through radio shows, and cultivating ties with charities and other theatres. But they never forget students as their most important base of support.

“This year, our publicity director got one of the English professors to make it part of the syllabus that their whole Shakespeare class had to come see Macbeth,” says Penny, referencing their last production this year. The arrangement makes the productions by students, for students, even if attendance isn’t exactly voluntary.

“Some of them [attend] willingly, some of them not so willingly,” she laughs.

However, dependence on ticket revenue leaves theatres vulnerable early on.

“Most expenses in theatre are paid up front before the show, and ticket revenue only comes in afterwards,” says Wood. “Students in our production are expected to front money out of their own pocket. It’s unfortunate, but it was absolutely necessary with the state of our funding.”

This leads to what Wood diagnoses as the biggest problem AUTS faced this year.

“It is ludicrous to expect students to throw thousands of dollars of their own money into a production with no set guarantee of being reimbursed,” she says, referencing the unpredictable nature of ticket revenues.

Differing circumstances Players’ Theatre faces the same problem. Because the company is registered as a SSMU student service, its financial situation is significantly more secure than AUTS’.

“It’s kind of a weird system,” Penny admits. “Our budget is outlined at the start of the year.

However [much] we spend, we get reimbursed from SSMU; and all the money we make, we give back to SSMU. So we draw from

the common pot of SSMU, and we put back that money.”

The upside to financial symbiosis with SSMU is peace of mind. Asked whether she is concerned about securing future revenue, Penny responds, “In certain ways, no.”

“In terms of the money we spend, it gets refunded through SSMU,” she continues. “If we don’t do well on a show—obviously you want to keep the books balanced—but it’s not like we only get to spend as much money as we make.”

Players’ financial comfort makes for a stark contrast with AUTS’ uncertainty. For the latter, accounting is a hair-pulling, nerve-shattering experience.

“Every year is a guessing game,” laments Wood. “We always start the year concerned about revenue, as nothing is guaranteed.”

The varying structure of each theatre company’s finances also results in widely different experiences for their directors.

For Players’ Theatre, the directors are expected to fundraise on their own, and front the money for productions out of their own pockets; but they have an extra blanket of security in the form of SSMU reimbursements. They also have a clear line drawn in terms of limits to their financing.

“We have a standard budget for each show, which is $500, with the option of extending that upwards of $100 if [directors] need it,” says Penny.

“What [directors] do is they submit receipts, and then they justify them ... and then what we do is we submit them to SSMU,” adds Samantha Leriger, Players’ finance director.

For AUTS however, directors are left hanging if their production doesn’t succeed.

“The main source of our revenue, ticket sales, only comes after everything has been paid for,” notes Wood. “Having funds to start out our year would certainly help with this problem.”

This concern resulted in a referendum question levying a $1.00 fee for every full-time and $0.50 fee for every part-time student enrolled in a BA program, which passed with 72.1 per cent support on March 22.

According to McGill Enrolment Services, there were a total of 6,993 full- and part-time students enrolled in a BA in Fall 2012.

An indeterminate future Despite AUTS’ success at the ballot box, its finances nevertheless remain under pressure.

“This new source of funding does not guarantee our financial stability,” says Nora Fleury, VP External for AUTS, “The goal of the levy was to eliminate the private donations portion of our budget.” She emphasizes that AUTS will still remain dependent on uncertain and fluctuating revenues from grants and ticket sales.

Furthermore, the money to be generated by the levy pales in comparison to AUTS’ expenditures.

“The cost to rent [Moyse Hall] takes up over half of our budget,” admits Fleury.

Wood estimates this amount to be approximately $20,000.

In aiming to replace, rather than supplement private donations with a student fee, AUTS is trying to secure current levels of funding, rather than to increase revenue. This leaves deeper questions about AUTS’ finances up in the air.

According to Wood, AUTS is able to carry “a few thousand dollars” over from previous years, which, she admits, “is a small amount.”

However, though Fleury mentions “moments where it seemed like we would not make enough money to put on the show,” she concedes that “ticket sales covered all our costs.”

Players’ comparative success and financial security raises perplexities of a different sort.

“As a SSMU service ... we

don’t want to make a profit,” says Leriger. “Players’ Theatre often makes a profit, usually, but SSMU kind of encourages us not to, to be honest.”

“I worry sometimes because I don’t know where our surplus goes in SSMU,” she adds.

SSMU Vice-President Clubs and Services Allison Cooper suggests a somewhat different relationship.

“The main SSMU operating budget would never dip into a service’s own department; any profits they make stay within the Players’ budget, and would not be allocated elsewhere,” she says.

SSMU Vice-President Finance and Operations JP Briggs confirms this, saying, “[Players’ Theatre] operate[s] from their own revenues.... All services keep their money on an annual basis except in the case of a year end deficit.”

Confusions aside, all involved would agree that Players’ Theatre is pulling its own weight in the ecosystem of SSMU clubs.

Players’ profitability may eventually serve to fuel its continued growth—perhaps in either the number or size of their productions—but for now, they seem content to rest on their laurels.

“SSMU asked us this year, recently, if we wanted to apply a student fee directly for our theatre,” says Penny.

“We declined,” interjects Leriger.

“I think right now, the system is working for us,” concludes Penny.

Both companies seem optimistic about their future—Players’ bolstered by a successful season, and AUTS celebrating their recent referendum win. Both are also excited to see what a host of new executives will bring to the stage. Only time will tell if financial drama—whether misgivings about profit allocation, or more serious budget crises—will interfere with their companies’ efforts to put on shows.

(Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune)

arts & entertainment interview armin with

van buuren

Will Burgess A&E Editor What’s it like to be the world’s number one DJ? One could look for the answer in Dutch trance producer Armin van Buuren’s latest single “This Is What It Feels Like,” which was released on his fifth studio album, Intense, on Apr. 3.

The song features Vancouver singer Trevor Guthrie over a steady progression of melodic synths. Although its lyrics speak of a breakup, it’s an upbeat track, and feels celebratory in the wake of van Buuren’s achievements.

These include gaining the no. 1 spot in DJ Mag’s top 100 poll a record five times, including last year; and hosting one of the world’s most widely listened-to radio shows, A State of Trance.

Van Buuren’s specialty is trance music, which is characterized by sweeping melodic layers and emotional buildup, and often mixed into longer sets, hence the popularity of his two-hour radio show.

“I do like my set to have a certain flow, so I’m trying to give my set a feeling that it doesn’t stop, that it’s one continuous thing,” he says, after headlining the Easter weekend’s Bal en Blanc show. The concert is an all-night, all-white celebration of electronic music, and one of this year’s largest so far, attracting 15,000 attendees.

“Bal en Blanc is almost a religious thing for people in Montreal; it’s such an important event,” says van Buuren.

“It’s one of the remainders of the great times here in Montreal when I played a lot here; 2003,

2004, 2005.... Bal en Blanc still proves that Montreal is one of the great cities to play for.”

Just don’t call it a ‘rave.’

“I don’t think the term ‘raves’ even applies anymore to these kinds of events, because ‘rave’ has a bad taste about it,” says van Buuren. “A lot of people associate the word ‘rave’ with drug use and all those kinds of things, and I don’t use any drugs myself. I drink a glass of champagne—that’s what I did last night.”

Even though van Buuren loves playing in Montreal, he was still excited about being the first Dutch performer to play at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where he appeared the night before Bal en Blanc as part of his A State of Trance tour. He is also the second electronic dance music (EDM) act to ever sell out the venue.

Over the years, Buuren has built a wide international audience.

“I’m sort of making it my thing to go to new cities every year,” he says. “Why do I do this? I do this because I believe in the love for music ... and I’m in a position to break new territory with A State of Trance; with the sound.”

With committed fans worldwide, trance as a genre is still going strong 20 years after originating in Germany in the ’90s.

But its surging popularity also dovetails with its umbrella genre of EDM, which has emerged as a major force in mainstream top 40 charts. French DJ David Guetta, who snatched the 2011 no. 1 title in DJ Mag, breaking

van Buuren’s four-year winning streak, has released songs such as “Titanium” and “Turn Me On,” which topped international charts last year. Can trance music, especially poppier tracks such as van Buuren’s “This Is What It Feels Like,” ride the EDM wave to the top?

“I’m not gonna lie, I would be happy if the track does well on the charts, but it wasn’t made for that—that’s a big, big difference,” van Buuren says. “And I want to stress the rest of the album, Intense, is not like that.

The whole album is a pretty varied album with instrumental tracks, a lot of influence from classical music and different kinds of electronic music. But the main sound is trance, for sure.”

There certainly seems to be a hardcore group of trance purists that keep the genre distinct.

At Bal en Blanc, there were two rooms: a main room, and a trance room. Guetta’s remix of “This is What It Feels Like” has a 1:3 ratio of likes to dislikes on YouTube, with van Buuren fans deriding the poppy electro mix in the comments. But perhaps van Buuren’s success lies in balancing the widespread appeal of his music with his loyalty to his favourite genre.

“I know that the trance family’s a pretty tight community, and you’re not really allowed to step beyond those borders— at least that’s how some people view it,” he says. “I don’t like to limit myself to one style, to one genre, to one particular thing. I want to have the creative freedom to do whatever I want to do.”

www.mcgilltribune.com

26

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 |

arts & entertainment

| Curiosity delivers.

theatre

McGill’s English department brings Shakespeare to life Sean Carney’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream invigorates a beloved classic with contemporary flair Diana Wright Contributor With endless exams and essays currently stretching out before us, nothing feels farther away than summer. Fortunately, the McGill English Department’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream provides a glimpse of the warmer months to come.

The show sparkles with youthful enthusiasm, and features a cast comprised of the Acting Lab, a class taught by Sean Carney, associate professor in the English department. The acting is the best part of this production, closely followed by its stunning set design.

Carney switches the genders of three of the four lovers in this production, giving it a refreshingly contemporary flavour: Lysander is Lysandra, Hermea is Hermeus, and Demetrius is Demetria.

As a result, the love affairs cross all boundaries with the introduction of a lesbian relationship between Helena and Demetria. For those who know the play, this gender reversal can be con-

fusing at times; but it also creates an excellent contemporary layer.

Accordingly, the cast also revolves; many of the actors switch roles on alternative performance nights.

The costume team—helmed

by Catherine Bradley and the students of the Costuming II course—should be commended for its use of textures and contrasting colours, which highlight the two worlds of the play: the Athenians and ‘Mechanicals’, and the fairies.

Although the pacing of the production lags a little at the beginning, once the lovers and Puck (vibrantly played by Stevie Pemberton) enter the forest, it picks up.

The set in the forest scenes has multiple levels, allowing the actors to directly interact with the tree onstage, often clambering over and through it. At times, however, these movements can appear clumsy and unrehearsed.

Lighting transitions aid in the deft switches between Athens and the forest. The production’s sound effects also enhance the audience’s understanding that many of the main characters are

spellbound at some point or another.

Jillian Cameron gives an intriguing performance as starcrossed lover Helena. She portrays Helena’s jealousy and confusion skilfully, and gives the character a sassy twist that is relatable for a modern audience.

However, Stephanie Zidel’s hilarious portrayal of Nick Bottom is the standout performance in the show.

She uses a mixture of physical comedy and clever acting to provoke laughter from the audience.

The ‘Mechanicals’ (Elizabeth Brennan, Julien Dinerstein, Hannah Kirby, and Eléonore Buchet-Déak) are also entertaining; and their sur-

prise, deadpan dance at the end of the play lifts the dwindling plot into a redeeming realm.

All in all, this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream injects newfound enthusiasm into a popular

play. Professor Carney, your students all deserve As for their enthusiastic, vibrant performances.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs from Apr. 11 to 13, 7:30 p.m., at Moyse Hall. Tickets $10.

(Remi Lu / McGill Tribune)

Film

Banging one’s head against the wall: a documentary Triumph of the Wall is every bit as dull and monotonous as its name implies Alanna Sokic Contributor While Bill Stone’s directorial debut Triumph of the Wall is a testament to the hard work and passion of its subjects, the documentary ultimately does not translate into a cohesive and thought-provoking film. Stone’s first foray into the world of documentary filmmaking is more of a scatterbrained connection of poetic thoughts than a streamlined and insightful film. While there is a definitely a duality between Stone and the subject of his film—the mysterious Chris Overing—it is unfortunately not enough to save the documentary from serious detractions such as

its monotonous pace and its enigmatic subject.

Triumph of the Wall is the story of two men who each embark on labours of love; for Stone it is his documentary, and for Overing, it is a dry stone wall that is planned to span 1,000 feet over a vast property in rural Quebec. Brought together by pure chance, these two men, both novices in their fields, originally reason that their ventures will take eight months. However, Stone’s documentary takes place over the course of eight years, highlighting moments of utter weakness and insecurity, as well as moments of creative brilliance.

Although the film suffers from a few deficiencies, the passion

evident in the work of Stone and Overing is undeniable.

Right off the bat, the film establishes a slow pace that remains for its duration, effectively taking away from the impassioned work of Stone and Overing. Additionally, this monotony does not help the relatively dull subject matter of constructing a dry stone wall in rural Quebec. Overing, the film’s subject, is correctly described as “a mental explosion,” and his frenetic nature, while amusing at times, ultimately distracts the audience from the bigger picture.

The editing in Stone’s debut documentary appears sloppy at times. There are instances where voiceovers fade out too quickly, or there is an excess amount of

background noise in a shot. However, this may be because it is Stone’s first time in the director’s chair. To be fair, Stone acknowledges his own shortcomings in a scene where he chronicles the first interviews with Overing and his inability to ask the “right” questions.

While the film attempts to appeal to the fervent artist in all of us, its excessive running time, monotonous pace, and overwrought subject disable this intended purpose. Described as a “manifestation of Generation Y,” the film tries to connect Stone and Overing’s indecisive journeys to an entire generation.

Granted, while the film’s purpose is relatable, the execution never-

theless reduces the impact. Upon completion of the documentary, Overing’s wall is not finished, and Stone is left with an aimless film. Where the purpose of a documentary is to shed light on a certain subject and provide significant exposition, Stone fails.

Instead, he provides us with an insight into his adrift mind and evokes feelings of pity rather than awe. Suffice to say, this film is not a triumph.

Triumph of the Wall opens Apr. 12 at Cinèma Excentris (3536 Boul. St-Laurent). Student tickets $9.25.

Album

reviews Theatre

All McGill’s

a stage for Players’ Student festival highlights playwrights and artists of tomorrow Wavves Afraid of Heights

Akron/Family Sub Verses

Warner Music

Secretly Canadian

From their name, to their aesthetic, to their music and lyrics, San Diego-based Wavves exemplifies surf rock. But where can one go, after naming their third album King of the Beach (2010)? Their fourth release Afraid of Heights answers that question with a series of tracks that infuse their typical surf rock style with contemplative lyrics and some experimental instrumentation.

Don’t be fooled by the first minute of album opener “Sail to the Sun,” which starts off sounding like the band decided to trade in their surfboards for cheery glockenspiels. This fake-out introduction quickly gives way to Wavves’ signature surf-rock sound, complete with crashing guitar riffs, thumping drums, and songwriter/vocalist Nathan Williams’ loud, punchy vocals.

While Wavves is a surf rock band, Afraid of Heights is not merely a collection of fast, catchy songs. Like the tide, the album has moments of high-speed intensity interspersed with slower, more textured tracks, including the cellotinged “Dog” and album closer “I Can’t Dream,” which crescendos from a lo-fi guitar ballad into a fullbodied conclusion. The album’s biggest shortcoming is its inclusion of shorter tracks, such as “Mystic” and “Beat Me Up,” which end before they have a chance to go anywhere, and occasionally come off as filler.

Afraid of Heights is a step—or is it a paddle?—in the right direction for Wavves, experimenting with the band’s typical catchy surf rock sound to demonstrate a potential for something more layered and complex.

Ranging from creepy, melancholic songs, to energizing anthems and droning ballads, the experimental rock band Akron/Family’s seventh album Sub Verses intrigues the listener with layers of repetitive sound, rewarding them with each additional listen.

The album starts off alarmingly loud and captivating, surrounding the listener with many sounds that together, become a mesmerizing syrup that captures and directs attention. Each individual track is long and repetitive, yet altogether intriguing, as elements fade in and out. Each track possesses individual energy, which elicits unique responses.

Akron/Family started out as a folk band, but over the years, their sound moved away from this identity when they tried out different genres and searched for what fit them best. This album marks a large step in the rock and electronic direction, but still retains folk elements, such as vocal melodies.

The track “Sometimes I” stands out from the other tracks with its intense eeriness. It emphasizes chilling vocals, a slow, shrill violin, and echoing bass for five minutes, as it slowly transports you to a foggy graveyard at midnight with a full moon. Thankfully, the other songs are not nearly as terrifying, but they still possess a bit of lingering, intangible gloominess that darkens the album in all the right ways. However, the album is in no way depressing; the noisy guitar keeps most tracks upbeat.

With isolating headphones and a calm place to lie down, this album can capture the listener’s entire consciousness, and take them on an entertaining journey.

— Matt Bobkin

— Jack Tokarz

Max Berger Contributor The onset of April is a time where many McGill students find themselves buckling down and pushing through final assignments and exam prep. Those involved with the McGill Drama Festival (MDF), however, are a rare exception—their fun is just getting started.

Organized by the Players’ Theatre, the MDF is a 10 day spectacle that features seven oneact plays—a fitting way to close out another busy year for the theatre company that has put on shows such as Macbeth, Inherit the Wind, and Waiting for Godot.

So what sets MDF apart from the rest of the year’s shows?

“It features student-written plays, and then those plays are directed by other students,” explains Stephen Reimer, director of Risky Business, one of the plays being shown. “Of course the actors are students as well—lighting and design, everything is students.

So it’s a completely student-run performance, and in that way it’s great.”

Every year, students write and submit one-act plays to the company, hoping to have them featured in the festival. The MDF coordinator reads the scripts with a selection team, which then designates the seven that will be performed.

The open submission process results in a diverse collection of plays. I attended two on Friday night that humorously explore some of society’s more unfortunate realities: kidnapping, and dealing with cell phone service providers.

Customer Service tells the story of a man’s plight to overcome the infuriation of dealing with cell phone service employees as he works to receive the free phone upgrade that he was promised, according to one of their ever-changing policies. As the frustration mounts and his level of desperation increases, so,

Players’ MDF runs Apr. 10 to 13. (Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune) too, does his neglect of the people in his own life—friends who are dealing with much more serious issues than he, and who he has rejected in his consuming quest.

A different sort of desperation is at work in Risky Business. An indebted married couple must somehow get their hands on thousands of dollars before midnight to avoid being killed by the man from whom they borrowed money. Posing as a prostitute, the wife lures an unsuspecting businessman into a hotel room, hoping to eventually kidnap and blackmail him in order to pay the debt. Things, however, do not go according to plan for the kidnappers, whose scheme is put in jeopardy when the businessman has an unexpected existential revelation.

If these plays are any indication, the rest of the festival will be well worth the price of admission. Both plays are well crafted and thought-provoking, featuring witty dialogue and outlandish situations that has the audience howling with laughter at times.

Putting on plays is no easy feat, and Reimer speaks glowingly about the support that was available.

“It was a great way to dip my feet into the pool of directing,” says Reimer. “They’re one-act plays, they’re shorter, and there’s also support from Players’ Theatre themselves. I had great help from my stage manager, and the rest of

my cast and crew helped out a lot, too, so you’re definitely not doing it by yourself when you direct for MDF or Players’ Theatre.”

The highlight of MDF is this Saturday’s Round Robin. “[It] features every single play in the McGill Drama Festival, and in between those shows are bits from other bits from McGill theatre that happened this year,” says Reimer. “It’s a great way of representing McGill theatre and what McGill has offered this year.”

“Come out to support your friends, if you have friends in [the plays], and also, just come and see these plays because they’re student written, and you probably know someone who’s written one, or is a friend of a friend who has.... It’s great to support people in the McGill theatre community, and it’s all McGill, it’s all organic,” says Reimer.

If you can spare the time this week, give yourself a break from the final thrust of the year’s schoolwork, and check out the festival. It’s a once a year opportunity to see 100 per cent authentic McGill student drama in full force.

The McGill Drama Festival runs April 10 to 13, Players’ Theatre (third floor SSMU Building.)

Student tickets $5; festival pass $12.

SPORTS

McGill Athletics TOP5 Moments 2012-2013 Compiled by: Jeff Downey

5

Grand’Maison claims three medals in London

McGill swimmer Valérie Grand’Maison participated at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. She won gold in the 200IM visually impaired class in world record time. She also claimed silvers in the 50m and 100m freestyle. Grand’Maison won six medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, including three golds.

2

Basketball heads of the RSEQ

What a year for the hoopsters. McGill basketball dominated all year in a tough RSEQ division to claim the men’s and women’s RSEQ banners and a pair of national championship berths. Martlet Miriam Sylla was particularly strong throughout and her performance earned her a CIS Rookie of the Year award.

At nationals, both teams fought for the respect they deserved around the country. Both dropped exciting first-round matchups to gain the opportunity to fight for a consolation fifth-placed finish and a chance to play on Sunday. Both teams succeeded in this quest, snagging for themselves, and all of McGill, a pair of consolation finals wins.

THIRD MAN IN When you finish something you were heavily invested in, it’s natural to question whether it was all worth the effort; and if you’re a journalist, it’s natural to write a column like this. In my four years at the Tribune, I’ve had the opportunity to do some incredible things. I’ve interviewed professional athletes and coaches, seen the guts of NHL arenas, and rubbed shoulders with well-known sports journalists in both the press box and postgame scrums. Those things are exciting, but there’s something more, something deeper.

When I look back on the experience, those moments may last in the ever-increasing number of quick “I was here” photos on my Blackberry, but they won’t bring back the same kind of feelings as others.

Some are simple ones, like the smell of popcorn, or the “creative” chants of a well-lubricated Carnival Game hockey crowd. Other memories are

4

Baseball national championship run

Baseball shook off a slow start to the season to advance to a semifinal national championship appearance. Struggling at the beginning, and losing their first four of five, McGill peaked at the right time. The team swept their divisional semifinal against Ottawa, and repeated the performance in the finals versus Carleton. Their Cinderella comeback story was finally stalled in the national semifinal, when they met St. Clair College, dropping the game 4-2.

1

Lacrosse breaks through

In unbelievable fashion, the Redmen finally vanquished their national championship disappointments and claimed the very first lacrosse national banner for McGill. The Redmen swept all competition in the tournament, and captain Jishan Sharples scored the game-winning overtime goal in the national championship game. This was a long time coming for McGill, who had made it to the finals before, but had never won. They will now look to avoid complacency and to establish a dynasty.

3

Rugby redemption

Scandal marred the first half of the Redmen’s rugby season. Forced to forfeit their first four matches of the year—all victories—due to an ineligible player, the team needed to piece together wins in all of their remaining matches to qualify for the playoffs. In typical Redmen rugby fashion, they did, sweeping through all of their remaining competition to capture their seventh consecutive RSEQ championship.

Honourable Mentions Steven Bielby’s last lap:

McGill graduates one of their most storied athletes in recent memory, as swimmer Steven Bielby’s career comes to a close. Over his five-year career, Bielby amassed 13 CIS medals—eight golds, one silver and four bronzes.

McCuaig the Rhodes Scholar:

Cross country star and science senior Sarah McCuaig embodied the true spirit of a student athlete when she became the 13th McGill athlete to be anointed the illustrious Rhodes Scholar.

McGill football winless no more:

The streak is over. Redmen football finally snapped their winless streak against both CIS and RSEQ competition. To go along with this, rookie Shaquille Johnson claimed CIS Rookie of the Year honours, and the team advanced to the playoffs, before bowing out after a hard-fought loss to eventual national championship winners Laval Rouge-et-Or.

McGill skiers shred the slopes:

David Apap won McGill’s first individual RSEQ men’s title since 2005, while Allene Kennedy came third in the RSEQ scoring race.

Taking pride in those who represent us

more poignant: the jubilation of a Martlet soccer penalty kick to send the team to the national semifinals on home turf; the unbridled joy of our hockey players winning trophy after trophy; the determination of a written-off basketball team at its first national tournament in decades; and yes, the overwhelming despair as seagulls flew out of Molson Stadium to avoid watching another football blowout at the hands of the Rouge-et-Or. Few McGill students remember these things, aside from those who were involved.

Each of us has our own individual experiences, which together form the stories of our time here. These memories are important, but the ones that are more powerful are those shared with others, when we feel like we’re part of something greater than ourselves.

I have found that belonging in the world of sports. As student journalists, our experience is experiencing and

describing yours. As a sports journalist, mine has been closely woven with those of so many student athletes. Almost none of them know my name, and many of you don’t know theirs; but what links us together is that we feel proud when they succeed; when they win, they feel like they’re doing it for us.

It’s time we were more vocal of our pride in these remarkable men and women, each of them students, but in reality much more. Branded as jocks and slackers, athletes don’t get much sympathy from the McGill community. But think, for a moment, what these athletes—our classmates—are doing. We should not be under an illusion that they are akin to their NCAA counterparts, with lucrative contracts and endorsements awaiting upon graduation. Our athletes devote incredible amounts of time to their respective sports, but even more to their schoolwork.

They, like us, will all need to

find jobs when they graduate.

For all but a miniscule fraction, that job will not be in sports. They devote their time because they love their sport, and they take pride in pulling on the red and white and representing us on fields, courts, and rinks across the province and country.

Over Reading Week I had the privilege to travel to Ottawa to cover the Redmen basketball team’s experience at the National Championship tournament—their first in over 30 years. In their second game, they faced the Cape Breton Capers, a school of just 2,000 students, nearly 10 per cent of whom had travelled two days by bus to support their team for the weekend. McGill’s fans came on Friday, and then left. Cape Breton’s fans took pride in their team and in their school. There may be better talent at the Bell Centre, and more things to do in Montreal than Sydney, Nova Scotia, but we should still ask ourselves:

why isn’t it cool to take pride in our teams?

The first ever hockey player I interviewed as a Tribune reporter was Redmen goalie Hubert Morin. I interviewed him again after his last game at McGill, which consequently was also mine. When I finished my questions I thanked Hubert, and he thanked me. Though we know nothing more about each other than that we each like hockey and go to McGill, our experiences over four years were somehow tied. There was an invisible and unmistakable bond between us.

If I’m back here in 10 years smelling the popcorn and watching another hockey game, I’ll be proud of those players, too. Why? Because we’re part of a community greater than ourselves, of people who applaud when others succeed. Our university could use a little more of that.

— Adam Sadinsky

Curiosity delivers. |

sports

| Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Athletes corner

29

Dynamic duo poised to return to national stage Leslie Oles, Katia Clément-Heydra look back on the season and look forward to the future Jeff Downey Sports Editor Leslie Oles and Katia Clément-Heydra formed a dynamic duo on the McGill Martlets hockey team this past season.

After the team went undefeated in regular season play, ClémentHeydra finished with 45 points, second only to teammate Mélodie Daoust in the country, while Oles tallied 36 points— good for sixth highest in the nation. The Tribune had the opportunity to sit down with these two bright, young talents to discuss hockey, school, and the disappointingly early exit from the RSEQ playoffs.

McGill Tribune: How long have you been playing hockey? Tell us about the state of women’s hockey at a youth level.

Leslie Oles: I’ve played since I was four. I played other sports, but when I got to 15 or 16 years old, hockey just took up too much time, so I needed to make a decision. [As for] women’s hockey, it’s definitely getting bigger. Growing up, I played with the men up to two years after they were allowed to stop hitting, at about 14 or 15. That’s probably why I have the most penalty minutes in the league.

Katia Clément-Heydra: Same for me. Growing up, I was the only girl playing hockey in my city [St. Bruno, Quebec]. I stopped playing with the men when they started hitting. But

today, more [women] are playing, and we are starting to see totally devoted leagues.

MT: Obviously, this season didn’t end the you hoped it would. How did it feel to lose only two games all year— when they were the two most important?

KCH: Worst feeling ever.

Deception, sadness … it was bad. It will always be with us, until next year. But now, we’re even more pumped up for next year. It’s hard being on top for so long.

LO: Yeah, we’re just going to use it to our advantage. We’re not going to sit at home and cry about it all summer. We lost a lot of key players after the past two years—[Cathy] Chartrand, and Charline [Labonte]. We had a really young team, and I don’t think people expected us to have an undefeated season. Looking at that, it is a big accomplishment.

MT: Did the fact that the Montreal Carabins went on to win the National Championships change your outlook?

KCH: It’s bittersweet. Yes, the team we lost to is the best.

Yet, at the same time, we knew that if we had beaten them, we would have won. So it definitely makes it bittersweet.

LO: It’s also good for our league too. I watched a couple of the CIS games, and it just kind of felt that the announcers were saying things that made the [RSEQ] sound weak, and

Clément-Heydra broke out this season with 45 points. (versants.com)

then Montreal went on to win.

MT: Last year, the team won bronze; and two years ago, you won Nationals. Did pressure play a role at all in not getting there this time?

KCH: It was the first time in 12 years that we didn’t make it. The last two games were different from any other in the league. There was a big crowd, and they were all [supporting the Carabins]. In our own rink, Montreal had three times the number of fans. It was a big draw for them.

LO: I think we should have won Game 2 though. We came out and were winning 2-0, and we just started missing empty nets. I don’t know; that was ours to win. Then, they gained momentum and that was it.

MT: Individually, you both dominated this year.

How does that factor in when you look back on the year?

KCH: It was fun, but we’re more focused on the results as a team. The end product wasn’t where we wanted it to be; so when I look back, I don’t think of how many points I had. I just really focus on what I need to do even better next year to get to where we want to be.

LO: Of course you don’t look back and think, ‘I got how many ever points,’ or ‘I won this award,’ because in the end, you’re not going to look back and say, ‘In 2013 I made the allstar team.’ No; you look back and say, ‘We won a national championship.’ You always see where you were at as a team.

MT: Does Head Coach Peter Smith demand a lot from you?

KCH: He’s like a father figure. He can be very strict, but at the same time, he is so nice and generous to us. He expects the best, both as a player and as a person.

LO: He does demand a lot, on the ice, off the ice, and in school. But he really just wants to maximize the potential of all his athletes. Even in school, he cares about everything. You find some coaches that all they care

Oles tallied 36 points this season. (doylehockeydev.com) about is hockey; but he wants to make you a better person.

MT: How do you go about balancing being an athlete, while still maintaining a full course load?

KCH: My first year was tough; being French speaking was tough. But now I find that when hockey is done, I have so much time. When hockey is on, you just have to make time to study.

LO: Sometimes, it’s almost easier during hockey season, because you build a routine and make sacrifices. They’re not true sacrifices because we’re doing something we love. But you really have to manage your time, and do things you don’t necessarily want to do.

MT: I know some of the Martlets after graduation have gone on to play in the professional women’s league, often for the Montreal Stars.

Is that something you see yourself doing after your McGill days are done?

LO: I will definitely be involved in hockey for the rest of my life, and I would love to continue playing. It’s small right now—[the league has] just five teams—but definitely growing.

It will be hard for them next year, because all of the players will be going to the Olympics, but the year after that I don’t see why they wouldn’t expand.

KCH: Same for me.

Whether it is coaching or play-

ing, I will still be around hockey. The women’s league is starting to generate more and more attention now, even within the media. NHL teams are starting to budget them, like Calgary and Edmonton. But we’re still waiting for the Habs to get in with the Stars.

MT: What’s your favourite NHL team? And is there a certain professional player whose playing style you associate with?

LO: The Canadiens. And I like [Brendan] Gallagher. He kind of reminds me of myself.

He goes hard to [the] net, wins his battles and is fearless, never backs down.

KCH: The Habs. I would say Jonathan Toews. Good allaround.

MT: Former Martlets Cathy Chartrand and AnnSophie Bettez made a video to try-out for Amazing Race Canada. Did you see the video? How would they fare?

LO: Yeah, it was awesome.

They should make it; they’d win for sure. They’re the most competitive people I know.

KCH: I really hope they’re chosen. They’d be good on that show. So competitive, and really funny too.

Winter Sports

Report Cards

Compiled By: Mayaz Alam, Remi Lu, David Stein, Steven Lampert, Adam Sadinsky

B Redmen Hockey The Redmen ended their season on a disappointing note with a loss in the rubber match of the OUA quarterfinals to Nipissing. However, this was a rebuilding year, after last year’s national championship squad lost numerous key members upon graduation. This year’s team only loses three players—goalie Hubert Morin, captain Patrick Belzile, and right-wing Marc-Andre Daneau—and is primed to bounce back strong.

Injuries were unfortunately the story this past season. By the final few games, defencemen were forced to play on the forward lines,

as skaters were spending more time on the trainer’s table than on the ice. Ryan McKiernan was a bright spot for the team, finishing with 21 points from the blueline en route to Second Team OUA honours. Patrick Delisle-Houde, a freshman winger, led the team in points and was instrumental in the team’s attacking success; he parlayed this to a spot on the OUA All-Rookie team.

The future looks bright for the Redmen, and they look primed to taste CIS glory sooner rather than later.

B

Jan. 12, and a 72-31 pounding of Bishop’s University on Feb. 16. Sylla also received the CIS Rookie of the Year award, due to her impressive scoring efforts and unmatched rebounding presence during the season.

The team qualified for the CIS Final 8, where they lost to eventual finalist Regina in the quarterfinals, after leading 39-33 late in the third quarter.

The Martlets would go on to trounce Fraser Valley and Ot-

tawa in the consolation games to finish in fifth place overall.

Moving forward, the Martlets have a great mix of experienced and younger players.

While graduating veteran Anneth Him-Lazarenko will be sorely missed, the team has an extremely promising future.

Look for the 2013-2014 season to be a good one.

Athlete to watch Patrick DelisleHoude

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Martlet Basketball In a year that saw the Martlets graze the championship round at the CIS Final 8, the basketball team stood out for their impressive effort on the court, and their united locker room environment.

The Martlets had an outstanding season, with an overall record of 21-12, and finished atop the RSEQ. The year’s highlights included a 29-point scoring explosion by freshman Mariam Sylla against Laval on

MVP Ryan McKiernan

MVP Anneth HimLazrenko Athlete to watch Miriam Sylla

McGill Swimming

Photo courtesy of McGill Athletics

The Redmen and Martlet swimming teams brought back a strong core for the 2012-2013 season, and the results showed.

The teams finished third and second, respectively, at the RSEQ championships, before sending 19 athletes to the CIS National Championship in Calgary. There, both teams claimed eighth place.

A number of impressive individual performances supplemented the teams’ success. Fifth-year veteran Steven Bielby— whose graduation will be an enormous loss to the program—led the Redmen throughout the year. He won two gold medals at Nationals in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, while Marc-Andre Benoit, PierreAlexandre Renaud, and Erik Cheng round

out a strong group of returnees.

On the women’s side, the Martlets compiled another successful season on the back of breakout rookie star Katie Caldwell. The 18-year-old was named RSEQ Rookie of the Year and RSEQ Athlete of the Year in one of the most impressive debut seasons in recent McGill swimming memory. Aside from Caldwell, other notable Martlet seasons came from Jennifer Darling, Rebecca Cheverton, and Taryne Landry.

While the team loses an irreplaceable swimmer in Bielby, the other Redmen should pick up the slack, while the Martlets, led by Caldwell, should challenge for an RSEQ title next season.

MVP Steven Bielby & Katie Caldwell Athlete to watch Pierre-Alexandre Renaud & Taryne Landry

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Curiosity delivers. |

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McGill Track & Field B Although the McGill Track & Field team may not have finished the season as well as they would have liked at Nationals, the 2012-2013 year was still a success by any standard. The Martlets claimed their first RSEQ title in six years, while the Redmen finished third in the division. However, both teams had a number of individual results which highlighted the season.

Toronto native Alana Battison kicked off the year with a strong effort at Tomlinson Fieldhouse. Her gold medal

finish marked the beginning of a career year, as she would go on to claim two more golds, three silvers, and a bronze.

Battison finished the season at Nationals with a team-high fifth-place, recording a personal-best of 3558 points.

The Martlet team had other notable podium finishes as well, with team captain Sarah McCuaig winning two golds, freshman Caroline Tanguay with one gold, and a relay team that finished atop the podium twice.

On the Redmen side, the

relay team, comprised of Vincent Parent-Pichette, Benjamin Raymond, Nathan Goldstein, and Michael Abramson, was also impressive, winning gold at the RSEQ championships.

They finished sixth overall at Nationals.

The graduation of both Battison and long-distance runner McCuaig will be a tough pill to swallow, but the team has a solid core of topathletes for next year.

MVP Alana Battison Athlete to watch Vincent ParentPichette

A Redmen Basketball Before this season, the last time the Redmen qualified for the CIS National Championship tournament was before any member of the current squad was born. The young but growing team under third year head coach David DeAveiro was locked in a see-saw battle with the Bishop’s Gaiters atop the RSEQ standings all season. When all was said and done, the Redmen won their first regular season crown in 12 years. They parlayed the home-court advantage into their first RSEQ title since 1986,

and a ticket to Ottawa for Nationals. After a loss to the third ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees, McGill took down Cape Breton and Victoria for a fifth-place national finish. Seniors Winn Clark and Aleksandar Mitrovic graduate, but the new generation led

by Adrian Hynes-Guery and Vincent Dufort will set out to solidify McGill’s place at the national table for years to come.

Martlet Volleyball C+ After an incredible 2011-2012 season, in which the Martlets came out of nowhere to shock the nation and claim third place at Nationals, the team was looking to ride their momentum to more success this season.

Unfortunately, a number of injuries and a lack of team chemistry prevented them from repeating such a performance.

The Martlets finished a disappointing 8-12 in RSEQ play, and failed to make the conference playoffs.

Despite the disappointing team result, the Martlets featured a number of breakout stars. First-year power hitter Ashley Norfleet was named to the CIS All Rookie team after an extremely impressive debut season. She should continue developing and hold a spot in the lineup for years to come.

Captain Genevieve Plante compiled another impressive season, and will be relied upon even more next season to lead this young Martlets sqaud.

Photos by Alexandra Allaire, Luke Orlando, and Simon Poitrimolt

The most notable departure is Marcela Mansure, who has served as the team’s setter for the past five seasons. Finding a replacement will be key next season, if the Martlets plan to return to national prominence.

MVP Gèneviève Plante Athlete to watch Ashley Norfleet

MVP Adrian HynesGuery Athlete to watch Vincent Dufort

2013 SPRING SESSION On-line registration opens April 23, 2013 Through the spring and summer months, McGill students must purchase a membership in order to gain access to the Sports Centre. Special student rates are in effect for all those who were registered through the 2013 winter semester.

FULL SPRING & SUMMER MEMBERSHIP McGill students $99** MAY SPECIAL FOR STUDENTS $36.75 **Includes free access to PAY-AS-YOU-GO fitness classes through May & June 

Non-members registered in courses my use the facility only during their designated class times.

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Most classes begin the week of May 6 and run through the week of June 10, 2013

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Pay-As-You-Go classes begin May 6 and run until June 16, 2013

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Classes will not be held May 20, 2013

All prices listed do not include GST & QST