The McGill Tribune Vol. 41 Issue 21

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022 | VOL. 41 | ISSUE 21

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Decriminalization would place sex work in the foreground, not the underground

A ticking clock

A potential cure for HIV: Right under our belly buttons?

PGs. 8-9

PG. 14

PG. 5

(Autumn Chu / The McGill Tribune) PG. 2

Law professors continue to push for a union, a first in McGill’s history

Divest McGill occupies Arts building, plans to stay overnight for at least one week Organizers call for divestment from the fossil fuel industry and democratization of university governance Madison Edward-Wright News Editor Divest McGill members and organizers arrived at the

McCall MacBain Arts Building around 1:30 p.m. on March 7. It was the start of their minimum one-week-long occupation in protest of McGill’s continued investments in the fossil fuel industry. According to their manifesto, Divest is call-

ing for a complete overhaul of what they say is a university system built on white supremacy and settler-colonialism, run by a Board of Governors (BoG) that serves capitalist interests.

PG. 3

Know your neighbourhood: Two wins in best-of-three weekend Little Burgundy propel Martlets hockey to RSEQ finals Exploring the historical centre of Montreal’s Anglophone Black community

Dante Ventulieri Staff Writer Little Burgundy, also known as la Petite Bourgogne or St-Antoine, is a small neighbourhood of around 10,000 people in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest district.

Located around two kilometres southwest of McGill campus, Little Burgundy is only a 30-min-

ute walk away. The area borders Shaughnessy Village and the 720 Highway to the north, PointeSaint-Charles and the Lachine Canal to the south, Griffintown and Guy Street to the west, and Saint-Henri and Atwater Street to the east. To reach Little Burgundy by public transit, take the metro to stations Georges-Vanier or LionelGroulx.

PG. 10

Forward Makenzie McCallum scored winning goal in Sunday’s tiebreaker Madison McLauchlan Managing Editor Amid a tumultuous season of COVID-19 stops and starts, the McGill women’s hockey team has proven their resilience, boasting a stellar RSEQ season record of 12–3 and briefly reaching the top of the Canadian rankings. In a best-of-three matchup against the fourth-place Ottawa Gee-Gees

over the weekend, the top-ranked Martlets dominated in game one, took a loss in game two, but ultimately edged out their opponents 1-0 in the tiebreaker game, earning them a spot in both the RSEQ and national championships.

On March 3, Ottawa arrived at McConnell Arena to kick off the best-of-three playoff series.

Until well into the second period, the two competitors matched

each other’s intensity—Ottawa goaltender Aurelie Dubuc had her work cut out for her as McGill managed 37 shots on goal to the Gee-Gees’ 15 overall. While chances accumulated, though, so did unnecessary penalties and feckless turnovers. Both teams fought tooth and nail for possession, but the first period ended with nothing to show for either side.

PG.16

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

Law professors continue to push for a union, a first in McGill’s history The administration has engaged in litigation to oppose the petition Ghazal Azizi Staff Writer

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or the first time at McGill, a group of professors are seeking a union to represent them in their relations with the McGill administration. On Nov. 7, 2021, professors at the Faculty of Law submitted their union membership cards to the Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT), Quebec’s labour relations tribunal, and filed a petition for certification. Since then, the McGill administration has been litigating against the certification and refusing the faculty-specific union that the professors applied for.

Professor Evan Fox-Decent, interim president of the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL), explained that the motivation to unionize emerged out of a collective hope to restore collegial governance and faculty autonomy at McGill, arguing that “the COVID crisis was the bale of hay that broke the camel’s back.”

In Aug. 2021, a number of law professors wrote a letter to the administration demanding that they implement a policy requiring proof of vaccination for those coming to campus for the Fall 2021 semester.

The letter was greeted with a memo

by Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Christopher Manfredi asking faculty deans and department heads to name specific professors who were reluctant to teach in person.

Fox-Decent says the administration’s disciplinarian response to the letter highlights the “climate of fear” in which professors work.

“The history of our governance at McGill has always, pridefully, been based on the notion of collegial governance, and it’s simply impossible to read that memo from August 29th and believe that the authors of it are committed to collegial governance in a meaningful sense,” Fox-Decent said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Our only hope is to work with [the administration] on a slightly more equal and transparent footing on matters of mutual concern with a collective foundation and the labour code to support us.”

According to Quebec’s Labour Code, upon receiving a petition for certification, a labour relations officer must assess whether the bargaining unit applied for is representative of the majority of workers that it would comprise, as well as whether the union has the agreement of the employer. In this instance, the requested bargaining unit would represent professors at the Faculty of Law. However, the McGill administration has opposed the union on the grounds that the bargaining unit should comprise professors across all faculties.

In an email to the Tribune, Frédérique Mazerolle, a McGill media relations officer, reported that none of the current bargaining units or associations at the university cover only a single faculty.

“The university is of the opinion that the unit proposed by the petitioning association is not appropriate,” Mazerolle wrote. “Moreover, the administration feels it does not take into account the converging interests of a broader group of employees and the history of labour relations at McGill University.”

Fox-Decent recalled that unionized service personnel, such as custodial employees under the Service Employees Union (SEU) at McGill, have different bargaining units based on the buildings in which they work. Fox-Decent contends that similar to the SEU, the roles and work of professors are highly specialized and lead to distinct interests that require distinctive bargaining units.

Richard Janda, a McGill law professor and secretary of the AMPL, is unsatisfied with McGill’s proposed bargaining unit, arguing that it dismisses the exact centralized force that the unionization efforts aim to combat. According to both Janda and Fox-Decent, McGill presented documents at the hearings before TAT that revealed yearly faculty agreements between the provost and the deans about budgeting and other matters of governance. Janda believes that the existence of individual agreements with each faculty demonstrates that each has specific interests that the administration’s proposed bargaining unit would counter.

“Our faculty, according to those documents, is given significant autonomy. In that sense, the university is something more akin to a federation [...] and we’d like to keep it that way,” Janda said in an interview with the Tribune. “The fact remains that we have a pretty specific community of interests. It’s not unheard of [to] have specific units unionized within the university.”

There is precedent for this: At York University, for instance, professors of Osgoode Hall Law School are separately unionized under the Osgoode Hall Faculty Association (OHFA), while remaining faculty members are unionized under the York University Faculty Association (YUFA).

Fox-Decent shared Janda’s sentiments about the documents and expressed frustration about the fact that they had not been made known to professors previously.

“We see unionizing and entering into collective bargaining as a sunshine offensive,” Fox-Decent said.

“It’s going to make transparent many

decision-making processes that have been hidden from us until now and give us the opportunity to participate in those.”

Many law students at McGill have been vocal about their disapproval of the administration’s decision to litigate against law professors. In fact, at the law faculty’s town hall with Dean Robert Leckey on Jan. 21, all attending students turned their cameras off to reveal coordinated profile pictures that read out “Let them unionize,” followed by a red heart.

Samuel Helguero, a 3L student who attended the town hall on Jan. 21 was disappointed in the administration’s refusal to accept the union and its decision to hire Corrado De Stefano—a partner lawyer from one of Canada’s biggest law firms, Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) limited liability partnership (LLP).

“The central administration really has no leg to stand on in their legal case at the labour tribunal in resisting the union, which makes [their opposition] all the more incredulous,” Helguero said in an interview with the Tribune. “They are using students’ tuition money and they’re definitely union-busting, plain and simple.”

Helguero, who also helped organize the Law Students Association’s faculty strike in protest of the university’s reopening for the Winter 2022 semester, stressed that the unionization efforts and the student strikes are connected movements against McGill’s administration.

“It’s really about the struggle for self-determination over the spaces that we are working in,” Helguero said. “Students are workers, as are professors—we should both have full decision-making powers. “COVID-19 illustrated external bodies that are unelected making decisions for us, and inevitably the decisions being

made about us, without us, were the decisions we didn’t like and that were putting us in danger.”

Fox-Decent, who expressed solidarity with the law student strike movement in a letter, criticized McGill’s decision to fight the unionization, arguing that the money dedicated to litigation could have been redirected to purchase N-95 masks or to adopt other safety measures.

“To support us, students should write directly to Provost Manfredi and Principle Fortier expressing their dismay that at a time when McGill is saying that it does not have the resources to provide, for instance, universal hybrid education in all of its courses, that it can, nevertheless, find considerable resources to engage in litigation to break a union that its law professors are trying to start,” FoxDecent said.

Additionally, Fox-Decent

encouraged students to attend the upcoming hearings. The AMPL is working to livestream the upcoming hearing to accommodate online attendees.

“McGill just wants to pretend like [the unionization] is not happening, but at the same time they are not proud of [resisting the union],” Fox-Decent said. “It’s still possible for the wider McGill community to encourage our administration to think again about whether ongoing adversarial litigation against a supermajority of its colleagues in the Faculty of Law is the best way to run a university.”

The previous hearing, originally scheduled for Feb. 14, was postponed

by McGill due to a medical emergency with their attorney. The next AMPL v McGill (case number 1251090) hearings will take place on May 2, May 4, and May 13 at 9:30 a.m.

(Autumn Chu / The McGill Tribune)

Law students turned their cameras off to display pro-unionization signs at a faculty town hall on Jan. 21.

(Screenshot captured by a striking law student)

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

NEWS

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Divest McGill occupies Arts building, plans to stay overnight for at least one week

Organizers call for divestment from the fossil fuel industry and for democratization of university governance Madison Edward-Wright News Editor Continued from page 1.

“We could not think of a better place to symbolically show McGill that we want to build a grassroots movement for democratization,” said Jordan,* a member of Divest, in an interview with The McGill Tribune inside the Arts building. “The Arts building is one of McGill’s most iconic buildings, especially from the outside. [We] want to demonstrate to the McGill community and the Montreal community as a whole that we will not stand for McGill to continue doing what they have been doing.”

In order to raise awareness about McGill’s approximately $50 million directly invested in the oil and gas industry, Divest is handing out pamphlets and flyers with information about police brutality, RBC’s investment in the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline, as well as information about past Divest occupations and actions. Among the handouts is Divest’s manifesto, which specifically calls on the university to divest from the CGL pipeline and to democratize their governing bodies.

Members of Divest are planning to stay overnight in tents set up in the main

Divest McGill will hold discussions to decide whether to continue the occupation after the first week.

(Madison Edward-Wright / The McGill Tribune)

entrance of the Arts building. In addition to their 24-hour presence, they have organized several events to engage students in the fight for divestment and the democratization of the BoG and Senate. Movie screenings, community dinners, and open discussions on topics ranging from anarchism to Indigenous rights are slated to take place in the Arts building from March 8 to 11.

According to Zahur Ashrafuzzaman, U2 Cognitive Science and member of Divest, the Arts occupation is also a way for Divest to stand in solidarity with several organizations pushing back against McGill, such as the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) and the Mohawk Mothers. Several banners hung in the main Arts corridor call on McGill to divest from TC Energy, the company currently building pipelines through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

Jordan emphasized that the occupation being conducted by Divest is open to all members of the McGill community.

Ashrafuzzaman added that accessibility was a priority.

“For so many people, McGill just does not feel safe in so many ways: We have the blacklist of Palestinian students, we have floor fellows at the whim of being fired by McGill

and losing housing,” Ashrafuzzaman said in an interview with the Tribune. “So many people are put in a precarious situation because of McGill [....] So, we want to have somewhere that feels radically safe and radically full of care.”

Within the first couple hours of the occupation, Divest caught the attention of many passers-by. Students and McGill staff stopped regularly to ask questions about what was going on and staying longer to learn more about the divestment movement.

Linden MacKenzie, U1 Environment and Development at the Bieler School of Environment, was heading to her class in Leacock when she was handed a pamphlet.

“I feel proud to be a part of the student community here because obviously they care a lot,” MacKenzie said in an interview with the Tribune. “[I’m] not so proud to be a part of McGill as an institution that does not divest from fossil fuels.”

After reading the various handouts and visiting the resources on Divest’s social media, MacKenzie was all the more dismayed

by McGill’s inaction. She plans to attend several upcoming events Divest has organized to show her solidarity with their pursuit.

“How can [McGill] not understand the impact of fossil fuels?” MacKenzie said.

McGill administration speaks to reconciliation initiatives and Mohawk Mothers federal court case

McGill has completed seven of its 52 Calls to Action since 2017 Shani Laskin & Juliet Morrison Staff Writers

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cGill’s Media Relations Office invited student media to a round table interview on Feb. 23 to discuss the progress of the university’s Indigenous Initiatives unit. In attendance was Christopher Manfredi, provost and vice-principal (Academic); Dicki Chhoyang, interim director of Indigenous Initiatives; and Thomasina Phillips, associate director of Indigenous Student Success.

McGill’s Indigenous Initiatives unit was created in 2017 to implement the university’s 52 Calls to Action framework, which outlines the actions the administration has pledged to take to reconcile with McGill’s Indigenous community. As a subset of the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), the hub aims to supports Indigenous students in a variety of ways, including allocating funds for financial aid specifically to Indigenous students, facilitating student mentorship by hosting Visiting Elders at the First Peoples’ House, and implementing wraparound programs.

The unit works alongside the university to implement the 52 Calls

The roundtable also discussed the potential expansion of the Indigenous studies minor program. (mcgill.ca) to Action. One of the calls to action Phillips has been overseeing this year is Indigenous student retention and recruitment to the university.

“There is a need for career shadowing, mentoring, and these kinds of relationships with Indigenous professionals,” said Phillips. “We have been developing, in partnership with university advancement, the creation of an Indigenous Alumni Association. We’re still early in the process.”

The unit also hosts round tables and uses other, more informal outreach channels to glean how to best support Indigenous students.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Aneeka Anderson, U4 Arts, vice-president Communications of the Indigenous Student Alliance, and

communications assistant with the Indigenous Initiatives unit, explained that these initiatives aim to shift the burden away from student activists.

“I have heard from many Indigenous students at McGill that the university was not a place that they could thrive, it was not always safe, it was at times a place of burnout when students would try and create change on their own,” Anderson said.

“What is important about [the 52 Calls to Action] is that it is no longer just students or just faculty [...] pushing for this change in a grassroots way, it is the university taking this on. [Before], students would do this without pay [and] without praise, just unseen labor at the cost of people’s well-being.”

Since its creation in 2017, seven of the 52 Calls to Action have been completed, with the remaining 45 in progress or yet to be started. When students questioned the seemingly slow-moving progress on this front, Manfredi responded that the university is making sure the tasks are completely fulfilled before labelling them as complete.

“Some things may have been completed in one part of the university, but not in another. So we are not going to check it off. It’s done until we’ve got it completed at the

institutional level,” Manfredi said.

When describing the plan’s updates thus far, the administration also pointed to the university’s efforts to increase the visual representation of Indigeneity on campus, like moving the Hochelaga Rock to a prominent position next to the Roddick Gates and raising the Hiawatha belt flag on the Arts building. For Phillips, representation goes beyond symbolic gestures.

“One of the things that we hear from Indigenous students is when they come to a colonial institution like McGill, they want to see themselves reflected in their environment,” Chhoyang said. “For us, what we’re doing with physical representation, it’s not about aesthetics, it’s about meaningful representation.”

Concerns about the Mohawk Mothers’ federal court case against McGill, the City of Montreal, the Quebec government, and Stantec were also raised during the round table. Manfredi said McGill is willing to collaborate with Band Councils during the investigation into Indigenous unmarked graves on the Royal Victoria Hospital site.

“The way in which we’ve approached those allegations that were brought forward, I think actually

demonstrates the seriousness with which McGill takes reconciliation,” Manfredi said. “So I think it’s actually a positive reconciliation story.”

Responding to Manfredi’s comment in a statement to the Tribune, kahentinetha bear, a Mohawk Mother, contended that there are limits to McGill’s attempts at reconciliation, given that the Band Council is an imposed structure of governance for Indigenous peoples.

“Whether they realize it or not, the band council works for the oppressor and sits on the other side of the bar,” kahnetinetha wrote. “They are a department of the army. Their job is to keep the indians in check [....] If they want to reconcile with us then return our children back to their mother, sit with us and discuss the money they pilfered from our Indian Trust Accounts and return all the money. If they truly want to reconcile, sit down with our people and make agreements according to the great peace kaianerekowa.”

For any Indigenous students seeking support or resources at McGill, reach out to Indigenous Initiatives at the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic): 514398-4177 or indigenousinitiatives@ mcgill.ca.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

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Students raise concerns about accessibility and transparency in McGill governance

Democratize McGill believes changes could increase student participation Juliet Morrison Staff Writer

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cGill’s primary governing bodies, the Senate and Board of Governors (BoG), have recently been subject to criticism from students regarding issues of transparency and accessibility, with meetings being difficult to attend, and recordings not being made public, or only staying up for a limited period of time. Students have also raised concerns in the past about the structure, role, and member composition of McGill’s governing bodies.

Under section 4.7 of the Board of Governors’ Rules of Order and Procedure, no recording of the meeting is allowed before or after the fact—students must attend the sessions live.

Moreover, students wanting to attend a Board of Governors meeting must email the Secretariat to secure a spot.

Senate meeting recordings can also be difficult to access as only current McGill students and staff can attend meetings.

In addition, meeting recordings are only made available for a limited period of time before being replaced by the next meeting recording. Some students, such as Bryan Buraga, former Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) president who represented students at the BoG and Senate and member of Democratize McGill, worry that the difficulty of accessing the meetings poses concern for transparency. “[The Senate] has a webcast that is usually recorded, but it is only available for the month in which the meeting was held, and then it gets taken down and you can’t access it anymore,” Buraga said in an interview with the Tribune. “Then, only the meeting minutes are available to the McGill community, [but] the minutes are words on paper. You don’t exactly hear what senators say. The minutes are written up by the Secretariat

who are beholden to the administration, so there are a lot of measures that the administration can use to be untransparent.”

In an email to the Tribune, the Secretariat detailed certain practices it uses to ensure McGill’s governing bodies’ meetings remain available to students and the wider community. The office also noted that both the BoG and Senate meetings are live-streamed—a practice that arose over the pandemic in an attempt to maintain pre-pandemic accessibility—and accessible by members of the McGill community.

“Senate meetings are generally open meetings, meaning that they are open to observation by any member of the university community and accredited press, subject to limitations of space and good conduct,” the Secretariat wrote.

“Exceptionally, an item on the Senate agenda may require confidential treatment, in which case the Senate will meet in

McGill’s governance bodies underwent significant structural reforms in the 1960s and 2000s due to widespread calls to improve their efficacy and performance. (Liam Kirk Patrick / The McGill Tribune)

closed session.”

Unlike the Senate, Board of Governors meetings are not made available online afterward. In their email, the Secretariat disclosed that they would look into the possibility of making BoG meeting recordings available after the meeting had adjourned.

However, concerns about governance extend beyond the question of their accessibility. Last November, a coalition between Divest McGill and Divest for Human Rights formed Democratize McGill, a student organization that calls for more student involvement and representation at the university’s high-level, decision-making bodies. Democratize McGill aims to address the disconnect that it believes exists between the McGill community’s values and the university’s administrative actions.

Democratize McGill is currently looking into potential BoG reforms—ranging from abolishing the governing body entirely to making its membership more inclusive of students, in order to better reflect the views of McGill students.

In contrast to the McGill administration, the SSMU Legislative Council uploads audio-only meeting recordings to their website—a change from last year’s video uploads to YouTube.

“The pandemic has moved the Legislative Council into an incredibly more accessible model for all students,” SSMU Speaker of the Legislative Council Alexandre Ashkir wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Hosting the meetings online allows people who would usually not want to stay late on campus, for security or for comfort, to participate [....] It lifts an important weight and barrier of entry oftentimes neglected. Time is precious and not all are ready, or privileged enough, to be able to spend these hours on campus on a Thursday night.”

Ghania Javed clinches next AUS presidency after tight race

Voter turnout hit an all-time low of 10.2 per cent Elena Lee Staff Writer

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rts students headed to the virtual polls from Feb. 21 to 25 for the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Winter 2022 General Elections, voting on next year’s AUS executive council, as well as the arts representatives to SSMU and the McGill Senate.

A referendum on constitutional amendments and fee renewals was also held over the same period.

The 2022-2023 AUS executive council will comprise of Ghania Javed as president; Charlotte Gurung as vice-president (VP) Finance; Annie Costello as VP Social; Nicklas Rieck as VP Academic; AyeCham Myayh Pan Mort Aung as VP External; Britney Vu as VP Communications; and a VP Internal to be appointed by the outgoing council, per election bylaws. Javed, U2 Arts, won the presidency by a paper-thin margin of 0.6 per cent—the difference of four voters proving decisive amidst 114 (12.9 per cent) abstentions.

President-elect Javed says awareness and transparency will be a core tenet of her tenure.

“Raising awareness of the services and key infrastructures that student leadership positions and student government offers to students is important,” Javed said. “I look forward to increasing transparency and approachability within the AUS and establishing initiatives that will leave a lasting impact on students.”

The voting period began with a technical stumble that nullified ballots cast within the first 15 to 20 minutes. Current AUS president Adin Chan, U3 Arts, explained that the ballot rerun

was because the pen sketches—summaries of candidates’ main campaign promises—were missing from the first ballot.

“This is really important because in an electorate of 8,000 people, the Facebook events and posters can only be seen by so many,” Chan said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

“The decision was made to cancel that ballot within 15 to 20 minutes of the poll being open—a very low number of people had voted—and make sure the pen sketches were incorporated.

This makes it a fairer election, and people are more informed when they vote.”

As a result of the first poll’s annulment, eligible voters received upwards of six emails on Feb. 21, including error messages and new voting reminders, on top of the original communications. Chan explained that while excessive campus listservs and emails can sow irritation among students, they are one of the only channels student government can use to share information and resources about its services.

“We have these two competing things that people are upset about: One is that they don’t know what’s happening, and two is that they get too many emails,” Chan said. “It is sort of a multi-layered problem about student engagement while also being respectful of people’s inboxes.”

Student participation has been in steep decline over the past few years. AUS executive elections in 2017, 2018, and 2019 saw approximately 20 per cent of the electorate participating, a number that dropped to 13 per cent in 2020 and 2021. This year, it hit a record low of 10.2 per cent. Moreover, four out of the seven available executive council seats were

The race for president was tight, coming down to just four votes. (AUS / Facebook)

(Sehrish Ahmed / The McGill Tribune)

uncontested, and there were no candidates for VP Internal. Charlotte Gurung, U2 Arts and incoming VP Finance, said the widespread apathy is of major concern.

“Students have become disillusioned with student government, particularly in light of issues regarding sexism, racism, and toxic work culture in student governments,” Gurung said. “I believe many students are hesitant to get involved.

Having uncontested positions is reflective of much larger issues, [and are also] detrimental to democratic process and genuine representation.”

Chan agreed, adding that he hopes that the incoming AUS representatives will rise to the challenge. Although two years of online school have deprived current AUS executives of an empirical foundation for day-to-day in-person functions, the team was able to bring back offline

elements and accomplish multiple projects. This year’s council renegotiated their Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with McGill, launched an AUS store, redesigned the website, and amended bylaws to make governing documents more legible and accessible.

“There is an impression amongst the student body that faculty associations or student government is a place where people come to bicker and enter scandals,” Chan said. “That stereotype in people’s minds does impact turnout, it does impact people’s association with student government. But I would challenge and say that there’s more to it than that [....] I think this year has shown that a team can overcome challenges and really deliver a strong service.

I’m really happy with the momentum we can pass on.”

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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Sequoia Kim editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Ruobing Chen rchen@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Kennedy McKee-Braide kmckee-braide@mcgilltribune.com Madison Mclauchlan mmclauchlan@mcgilltribune.com Maya Abuali mabuali@mcgilltribune.com

News Editors Lily Cason, Ella Fitzhugh & Madison Edward-Wright news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Sepideh Afshar, Aubrey Quinney & Matthew Molinaro opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editors Shafaq Nami & Adam Matthews-Kott scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Life Editors Holly Wethey & Wendy Zhao studentlife@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Tasmin Chu features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Lowell Wolfe & Michelle Siegel arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Sarah Farnand & Sophia Gorbounov sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Jinny Moon & Xiaotian Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Anoushka Oke photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor Wendy Lin multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Abby de Gala & Sneha Senthil webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Jackie Lee copy@mcgilltribune.com Social Media Editor Taneeshaa Pradhan socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com

Decriminalization would place sex work in the foreground, not the underground The McGill Tribune Editorial Board

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n International Sex Worker Rights Day, March 3, Montreal sex workers and advocates organized to call for the decriminalization of sex work in Canada.

While the current law governing sex work— the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, implemented in 2014—has received praise, it ultimately fails to adequately protect sex workers. Instead, its narrowly focusses on exploitation, contains loose prose on sex workers’ ability to communicate their services in the public sphere, and equates of sex work with human trafficking. The law stigmatizes sex workers as immoral, denies them proper labour conditions, and hinders their right to seek sufficient recourse after violent encounters. Municipal, provincial, and federal organizers are doing critical work in educating governments and the public on the varied lived experiences of sex workers. This must coincide with the decriminalization of sex work and a cultural change that humanizes sex workers and recognizes their work as work.

Regardless of one’s individual belief on sex work, laws must reflect that sex workers are deserving of rights and protection from violence. Industries that fail to offer job security, regulation, transparency, and meaningful labour standards doubly affect sex workers, as they face the addtional burden of miscontrued narratives about their profession. Both inside and outside of their job, sex workers are parents, caregivers, hardworking members of their communities.

OFF THE BOARD Aubrey Quinney Opinion Editor

Business Manager Joseph Abounohra business@mcgilltribune.com

TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sequoia Kim, Reem Abdul Majid, Matthew Molinaro, Shafaq Nami, Joseph Abounohra, Namrata Rana, Shreya Rastogi

STAFF Sehrish Ahmed, Ghazal Azizi, Valentina de la Borbolla, Léa Bourget, Tillie Burlock, El Bush, Elissa Dresdner, Mika Drygas, Sébastien Géroli, Saumya Gogte, Suzanna Graham, Bronte Grimmer, Karthikeya Guatam, Charlotte Hayes, Rose Kaissar, Arian Kamel, Leo Larman Brown, Shani Laskin, Elena Lee, Louis Lussier-Piette, Dima Kiwan, Abby McCormick, Adam Menikefs, Zoe Mineret, Juliet Morrison, Sara Chiarotto O’Brien, Mikaela Shadick, Erin Smith, Courtney Squires, Niamh Stafford, Dante Ventulieri, Corey Zhu

CONTRIBUTORS Chantay Alexander, Cameron Flanagan, Monique Kasonga, Cyril Kazan, Annika Pavlin, Adrienne Roy, Raymond Tu

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rossing Sherbrooke street to pass through McGill’s Roddick Gates tends to offer newly admitted students the chance to explore a new life at university. When I first saw the majestic stone arch, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride.

I was proud of getting myself to the university I knew would set me up well for the future. After giving myself a metaphorical pat on the back, a gush of excitement came over me when I remembered all of my reasons for choosing McGill. Canada had strong queer rights, Quebec would help better my French fluency, and the university embodied liberal attitudes.

As I passed under the gates, my eyes fell upon the impressive 19th-century architecture of the Arts building, and immediately, I felt confident that I

Unspoken barriers to accessing to basic services like health care and community protection due to stigma sends the message that those who engage in sex work are not worth the tax dollars, respect, and effort as those engaged in legal work. Moving toward decriminalization requires serious assessment of counterarguments, however. Beyond superficial value judgements, Indigenous women and leaders raise legitimate concerns about how settler-colonial state violence, surveillance, and control complicates the landscape of sex work. For racialized and undocumented sex workers subject to the violence of borders and policing, this relationship to the state is more fraught.

Arguments that promote criminalization tend to peddle the false belief that it will cause the end of sex work. But this statement removes government responsibility when their criminalization pushes sex workers underground and encourages negative attitudes about people trying to provide for themselves under the thumb of capitalist states. To do sex workers justice is to centre agency in policy debates, rather than victimhood, and to ensure their safety at all levels.

Just as sex workers must have sustained choice and agency, allies of sex workers must reconsider the ways in which they romanticize the job. When media outlets cover rich, white sex workers who are seemingly happy and fulfilled in their work without a critical lens acknowledging that these instances are the often exceptions, they afford audiences simplicity at sex workers’

OPINION

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EDITORIAL

expense. These narratives, and larger ones that play into white feminism, like the missing white woman syndrome, take focus off the most affected, such as racialized and trans sex workers.

To portray sex workers within the binary of either empowered capitalist girlbosses on OnlyFans or helpless victims is a dehumanizing generalization—it eludes discussions about the oft-exploitative systemic conditions sex workers face. Sex work, like most careers, is not perfect, and it is unfair to pick and choose which forms of sex work to glamourize without beginning to engage with what decriminalization can offer.

The challenges ahead of decriminalization are imposing forces, but they do not offer a reason for governments inaction. Policy solutions must go above rhetoric to include sex workers in employment benefits like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which many were unable to access during the pandemic, keeping them in hostile socioeconomic conditions. Debates must focus on the agency and choice of sex workers and should offer them generously increased access to housing, healthcare, mental health services, and protection that, in turn, promote sex worker autonomy. At the university level, McGill can take steps to provide more information about sex work, including through channels like It Takes All of Us. As structural shifts will change people’s assumptions and attitudes, an actionable first step is for community members and policymakers alike to listen carefully to foster empathy, not division or dehumanization, for the multitude of sex workers’ experiences.

The challenges and comforts of transitioning at McGill had found my new home.

However, my optimism in discovering Canadian ways of life dampened when I entered my residence in first year. Though most students were welcoming and just as excited as I was, I found little difference between them and the Europeans from whom I had tried to escape. They had designer, or thrifted, outfits trying to mimic the popular styles, or find their own, and, most of all, they were all very gendered.

Most students were also outwardly heterosexual, and those who casually mentioned that they wanted to explore their sexuality were usually women who were influenced by the male gaze. Women who identify with the gaze, like kissing a girlfriend to attract men, abuse their privelege of engaging in queer actions without facing consequences, which has harmful impacts on queer people.

When I went clubbing, I feared possible violent oppressions from cisgender men. Witnessing cisgender women kiss others then exacerbated my feelings of marginalization. It was only toward the end of the acamedic year that I found comfort in new friends who were outspoken about respecting queerness as more than just a heterosexual experiment.

That same year, my experience with gender transition had positive and negative influences. On the one hand, there were students who

thought I was “male” rather than “female” and were confused upon introductions when they compared my seemingly “feminine” name to my “masculine” apparel. On the other hand, positive influences included the rare gems of students who I met on nights out who voiced discontent with the gender binary and gave me confidence in my choices of clothes and haircut.

In my second year, gender, sexuality and feminist studies (GSFS) courses rejuvenated my comfort in studying at McGill. Conversations that I had with my professors paved the way for me to understand my gender identity as nonbinary rather than fluid. Course content showed me the nonsense of labels, yet also their vital importance in a world of identity politics. The stories of fellow students that I heard in conferences set my heart ablaze. Once again, I felt more attached to McGill than my own home in France.

With new knowledge comes old truths, and those of Canada were clear: The feminist agendas had not yet been achieved. I had to understand that McGill was part of the institutional barrier that slowed progressive change. For example, feminist discussions are essential for queer rights, but McGill fails to provide adequate resources to the GSFS department, like tenured funding, which mutes its impact on

campus. Without a doubt, this reality tarnished the glorious façade of the university that I had set upon my arrival. Yet it sparked a fire within me to fight for something so much more important than an old building made of stone: An equitable society.

As I near the end of my degree, I look across at the Roddick Gates and the Arts building and feel pride for the students who walked in with an opportunity to write a new chapter, and left with a desire to not fit in.

With my McGill experience almost over, I feel grateful for being able to acknowledge that “feeling at home” is no longer attached to a place, but within my own body and identity.

ERRATA An article published in the February 22, 2022 issue (“SSMU President back in the limelight, but questions about absence remain”) stated that Nathaniel Saad said that Yara Coussa, U3 arts representative and BoD member, had reached out to him calling for the motion’s revival. In fact, Coussa never publicly called for the motion’s revival.

An article published in the February 22, 2022 issue (“‘I never went on any leave of absence’: SSMU President Daryanani makes first appearance at Legislative Council since Sept. 23”) stated that the Speaker of Council and a couple non-voting members of the council convened in the breakout room. For clarification, it was the members of the Dias (which includes he Speaker, Speaker On Call, the Parliamentarian, and the Governance Manager) who met in the breakout room to decide on a governance question—whether to sustain the VP internal’s point of order. The Tribune regrets these errors.

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OPINION

LAUGHING MATTERS Tasmin Chu Features Editor

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o you’ve just met an Asian girl. There she is, assigned to your group for the final project in HIST 208, with her Hydro Flask and laptop stickers. She’s kind of cute. This could be your chance. Time to shoot your shot: Where is she from?

Oh, she’s Chinese. Yikes! What does she think of that whole authoritarian government thing? Plus, um—COVID! If you want, you

So you’ve just met an Asian girl can talk about the Economist article you’ve read recently. There was this interesting one about Eileen Gu last week. You know, the skier? Can you believe she’s competing on behalf of China?

There is something weird about this girl’s face, though. Oh, she says she’s halfwhite. Explain to her that you’re practically more Asian than she is! After all, you’ve been using chopsticks since the first time your parents took you to Panda Express. Also, you’ve watched like all of Death Note. Was it her

Mixed couple goals: Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao. (USA Today)

COMMENTARY Valentina de la Borbolla Stuff Writer CW: suicide, self-harm

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ecture recordings obtained

by The McGill Tribune from a Winter 2022 PSYC 302 (Psychology of Pain) class by professor Jeffrey Mogil capture him joking about suicide and self-harm, describing to students the most effective way to shoot themselves. Mogil is a professor in the psychology department who regularly teaches PSYC 302. He has received many awards and research grants, including the Distinguished Career Award of the Canadian Pain Society, and is popular among students, as per his ratings on RateMyProf. And yet, despite his accolades and his research in behavioural neuroscience and pain, Mogil deemed it appropriate to make graphic jokes about suicide in a room full of students.

Although many professors establish more casual and joking relationships with students as part of their teaching methods, some topics should be off-limits. Jokes about suicide are dangerous. With mental health issues on the rise among young people, telling students the most effective ways to end their lives is completely inappropriate. No matter how friendly the

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

mom or dad that was Asian? The dad? Oh. That’s weird.

Make sure to ask her if she speaks the language. This, along with her facial structure, will determine how authentically Asian she really is. Wow, she doesn’t speak the language that well? That’s funny, because you actually took Intro to Mandarin in college.

Konichiwa! Just joking. Proceed to introduce yourself to her in Chinese, following the tones of a 7th-grade oboe recital. You’re probably HSK 7 at this point. In fact, it’s always been your dream to teach English to Chinese children. The one thing you can’t stand, though, is the animal cruelty. No wonder the whole bat thing happened! You’re an ethical vegetarian.

Well, Buddhists are okay, you guess. Speaking of food, you’ve always been exceptionally good at eating really, really spicy food.

Like, really spicy. Make sure to explain to her that you always drain the Sriracha bottle.

Oh, Fujian cuisine is on the milder side?

You don’t even know where that is. That must be some smaller city.

Anyway. Time to open up a new line of conversation. Has she seen the hate crimes in the news recently? Well, you’ve been against that stuff from the beginning. Racism is wrong. It’s important to you to be on the right side of history. When that shooting

in Atlanta happened, you raced to your computer to tweet #StopAsianHate. And things have changed, haven’t they? Or improved, anyway. Not that you’re an authority. Tell her that you’ve been thinking a lot about solidarity with the Asian community. And radical empathy. You’re a big fan of Andrew Yang, actually.

It really seems like you’re clicking! And she is super cute. Maybe she’s the one? Don’t get ahead of yourself, but remember: You could be the Mark Zuckerberg to her Priscilla Chan. Ask her for her WeChat (yeah, you’re culturally versed). If you really want to get the point across, maybe slide in a subtle reference to your dick size in the chat 🍆. Unlike, you know, *wink*— the competition.

Oh. Huh. It looks like she’s talking to the professor. What? She wants to get reassigned? This is unbelievable. What does she mean, you “made her uncomfortable”? As far as you could tell, she’s been enjoying this conversation from the very beginning. I guess some Asian girls aren’t submissive after all.

Uppity bitch.

Anyway, the class is letting out now. You might as well get some sushi. Maybe you can explain to the waitress at the restaurant that Panasonic has actually always made your favourite line of toasters.

Sensitive course content requires careful instruction rapport is in the classroom, professors have a responsibility to convey their material appropriately. Fostering a good relationship with students means promoting mental health resources and help, not joking about self-harm.

The comments by Mogil are particularly disturbing considering the barriers students encounter when accessing mental health resources at McGill. Considering its rigorous academic environment it is unsurprising that the number of students struggling with their mental health is on the rise—and this criss has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. From just a brief scroll through r/mcgill, readers will find countless student posts detailing experiences of burnout, depression, and anxiety, revealing the extent to which mental illness is an issue at McGill. However, the resources available to students consistently fail to meet demand. In order to meet with a psychiatrist, students have to go through a nurse, and then a general practitioner who issues a referral. After that, waiting times to actually meet with a psychiatrist can be as long as 8-10 weeks unless the case is deemed “urgent.” And although psychiatrists are not the only professionals available to students, school counselors fall short of providing the care students need when their mental health issues cannot

Statistics from spring 2021 found that 1 in 4 Canadians aged 18 or older screened positive for symptoms of anxiety, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder. (Cameron Flanagan / The McGill Tribune) be addressed with meditation or better sleep hygiene. On the other hand, students are left to endure a professor’s graphic jokes about suicide.

Instructors, especially those in the psychology department, should be aware of the difficulties students face in receiving appropriate mental health care. Jokes about suicide are not only irresponsible and dangerous, but a complete abuse of the position of authority that professors are granted.

Those teaching these subjects should know that their classes and content

can be triggering to a diverse student body. All students, especially those who are struggling with their mental health, deserve to feel safe in the classroom. Seemingly small actions such as including trigger and content warnings, allowing students to step out of class when needed, or providing access to alternative materials can make a huge difference. Professors should model respect for their students, not contempt for their health.

Mogil’s comments speak to the larger issue of professors and uni-

versities not providing safe learning environments for vulnerable and marginalized students when their classes delve into topics like self-harm, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexual violence. The responsibility of protecting the mental well-being of students rests just as much on the shoulders of the administration as it does on professors. This issue is a matter of accessibility. All students have a right to a safe classroom, regardless of the course and the professor’s teaching methods.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The McGill Tribune is situated on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka; a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst many First Nations, including the Kanien’kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg, among others. The Tribune honours, recognizes and respects these nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters.

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

STUDENT LIFE

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From 1968-2022: Accessing birth control as a student

Fifty-four years later, students still struggle to find comprehensive sexual health resources El Bush Staff Writer

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or many McGill students, university is a time of exploration. And yet, many students struggle to find adequate resources to help them navigate their sexual lives. Unfortunately, barriers to accessing comprehensive resources is nothing new. Since the 1960s, McGill students have been actively working to fill the gaps, creating sexual health resources for their peers.

It all began in 1968 when McGill’s Student Council passed a motion to form a Birth Control Committee in order to address the lack of sexual health resources available to the McGill community. From this committee, Donna Cherniak and Allan Feingold created the Birth Control Handbook—a comprehensive guide to sexual health, contraception, and anatomy for university students.

Its first edition began circulating in 1968, prior to the Omnibus Bill of 1969 which legalized birth control and decriminalized abortion across Canada. Cherniak and Feingold laid the groundwork for activists who came after, with substantial change eventually taking hold not only at

McGill, but at countless universities across North America.

The 1968 birth control handbook and its three subsequent editions were integral to keeping students safe.

However, over 50 years later, adequate sexual health and contraception resources is still lacking. To honour the incredible work of Cherniak and Feingold, the Tribune has compiled some sexual health resources students can use in 2022.

The Wellness Hub For those looking to get started with contraception or even renew a pre-existing birth control prescription, the Wellness Hub can help. The hub is home to a variety of resources, offering wellness programming to all students and consultations with nurses or doctors and referrals to off-campus specialists. However, appointments fill up quickly, so we recommend calling at 8:30 a.m. on Mondays to snag a spot.

Services: Consultations for STD and cervical cancer screening, IUD and Nexplanon insertion and removal, as well as access to sexologists— mental health professionals who offer sexual health support in a safe

offers physical and mental health resources to youth ages 12-25. Their mission is to provide youth with the resources they need to make informed decisions about their bodies.

Services: STI testing for young adults aged 12-25, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or insurance status.

Montreal Sexual Assault Centre With four different locations across the city and no need to book an appointment beforehand, the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre offers resources for survivors over the age of 18. (nytimes.com) and judgement-free space. The hub’s sexologists can offer support for concerns related to coping with an sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis and communicating diagnoses with partners, BDSM practices, sex work, pregnancy, contraception, and abortion.

Dialogue and Maple Both international and out-ofprovince students also have access to several online telehealth resources that connect students to appropriate health-care professionals who can offer medical advice from the

comfort of students’ own homes.

Dialogue is covered by the SSMU Health Plan for in- or out-of-province students, whereas Maple is covered for international students under the International Health Insurance Plan.

Services: Nurse or doctor consultations for contraception, prescriptions, STD screening, access to sexologists, and referral to inperson resources.

Head and Hands Head and Heads is an organization located in the NotreDame-de-Grâce neighbourhood that

The Montreal Sexual Assault Centre is a safe, judgement-free organization that offers services to survivors of sexual violence. Any survivor over 18 years of age can go to one of their four locations across Montreal, even without an appointment.

Services: Medical examination, STI testing, forensic samples, medical treatment and followup, psychosocial support, and information on police and legal procedures.

Whether in 1968 or 2022, sexual health is an important part of wellness. If you’re looking for other resources or somewhere to go offcampus, you can visit www.mcgill. ca/wellness-hub/campus-care for more targeted services and locations.

Stitching together Montreal’s handmade clothing scene A deep dive into the resurgence of handcrafted outfits Abby McCormick Staff Writer

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ince the beginning of the COVD-19 pandemic, the rise of knitting and crocheting has quickly propelled handcrafted clothing to the status of a fashion staple. This ethical alternative to fast fashion allows consumers to express themselves through unique fashion choices while helping to keep garments out of the landfill.

McGillians looking to get in on the new trend this spring are in luck; Montreal is home to a small, but incredibly versatile, community of handmade creators.

1. Left_____overs Inspired by her mother’s knitting practice, Emma Harris launched her own handmade clothing store in early 2021. While opening her own online store was something Harris wanted to do prior to the pandemic, it was the time spent in lockdown that allowed her vision to finally come to fruition.

“My shop definitely wouldn’t be as big if it weren’t for COVID-19,” Harris said. “I think [I was] looking for a side-hustle and a way to take a break from being on screens all the time.”

Harris employs a loose, pattern-free approach in creating her avant-garde looks.

Primarily sourcing her leather and textile scraps from factories, Harris aims to maintain the structural integrity of the materials in her finished product.

“It helps to give the garments a lifeline of history [and] create a closer relationship with

Platforms such as Depop, Pinterest, and Instagram can serve as great inspiration for handmade outfit ideas. (Instagram @left_____overs) the garment,” Harris said.

Harris is encouraged by the recent public interest in handmade clothing, and is confident that this trend will only continue to gain traction.

“I think it will definitely find a strong footing as the climate crisis ramps up,” Harris said. “Eventually, the current fastfashion industry will no longer be able to keep producing as they are today.”

2. Hannah Isolde Coming from a self-described “family of makers,” Nova Scotia native Hannah Goodman has been knitting and sewing for as long as she can remember.

“I taught myself to sew on a 1970s sewing

(hannahisolde.com) machine and just went ‘Wow this is incredible!

I can create my own clothing,’” Goodman said.

After graduating from high school, Goodman realized that she wanted to pursue design. She then moved to Montreal, where she opened her own handmade clothing business, self-titled Hannah Isolde, in 2018.

Goodman’s shop primarily sells clothing that is typically seen as romantic and feminine.

However, she tries not to see clothing as defined by the gender binary. Through her brand, she aims to encapsulate a leisurely, vacation lifestyle.

3. Boutique Lustre— 4068 St. Laurent Boulevard Yasmine Wasfy, owner of Boutique

Lustre, has had a strong passion for ethical and sustainable fashion since her teen years. Her time spent studying costume design at LaSalle College equipped her with the tools to start her own fashion brand post-graduation.

A business that began in Wasfy’s living room and ran out of pop-up shops quickly became a well-known spot for eye-catching designs. Boutique Lustre first opened its doors to the Montreal community in 2006 and has since established an unwavering consumer base.

“The word client feels too transactional to describe what we’ve built,” Wasfy said. “I refer to my clients as my community [....] I’ve grown with them, and their lifestyles help to inspire my designs.”

Wasfy prides herself on her unique creative process. As the boutique’s sole designer, Wasfy begins her pieces with a collection of textiles from Canadian-run companies and creates monthly capsules with various themes and colour palettes. She then organizes the textiles into a mood board of fabrics and begins patterning. The final patterns are handed over to the boutique’s small team of sewers who sew the garments by hand.

Wasfy feels that the widespread move to online shopping has allowed the handmade clothing scene to reach a larger audience, all while opening up the space for important conversations.

“The online marketplace has pushed people further into sustainability and opened the door for greater size acceptance,” Wasfy explained. “I think this conversation was much needed and [is one that] will continue to be had.”

A ticking

clock Coming to terms with the coming of age Jinny Moon, Design Editor

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atching my parents get older is a sombre pastime.

It’s hard getting acquainted with a greyer, achier, more weathered version of them each year. Both my parents and I have become unconsenting spectators, watching their list of health concerns grow longer and bodies get more tired.

Regardless, we know that as cells age, they grow more susceptible to disease, a consequence associated with a build up of DNA damage over time. Mutations in our DNA are typically nothing to worry about: Our cells are constantly replicating, and while the word mutation might have some scary scifi connotations, they pop up all the time during normal cell division. Cells are equipped with a well-oiled repair system that works its magic should mutations happen to arise. But as we age, those repairs seem to get less efficient. As a result, damaged DNA can accumulate, leading to increased cell death, or interestingly, cells that are neither dead or able to replicate.

Senescent cells (also aptly known as “zombie cells”) are one of the eerie forces we think might be driving tissue aging.

Time seems to move at warp speed the older the three of us get. We don’t tiptoe around the fact, either.

Whether we’re digging up old photos of our family taken before my brothers and I knew our times tables, or talking about the dates my parents went on during their own college years, it’s hard not to remark on how fast time flies. Yearning for one’s youth isn’t unique to my parents, I’m sure, but their outlook has brought my own ideas about age and mortality to shore nonetheless.

Aging comes with a slew of changes, responsibilities, hardships, and—if you’re lucky—revelations. Some of these changes begin at the microscopic level of cells and proteins. From a biological standpoint, there is no one theory of aging; in fact, multiple theories of aging are heavily debated. Some scientists believe that our cells are programmed to give out on us eventually. In other words, deterioration is written into our plot from conception. Other theories suggest that aging is simply a result of cellular damage accumulated from being alive—the so-called “wear-and-tear theory.” There’s a lot we still don’t understand, however. None of these hypotheses seem to perfectly explain aging’s unknowns.

There’s something deeply unsettling about aging. But why?

What does it mean to age, past genetic mutations and cells of the undead? Why does any reminder of aging make a pit form in the bottom of my stomach? Such a visceral fear must be bigger than a number you celebrate on the same day each year. I don’t bat an eye at the ever-growing integer when it’s plastered everywhere in the form of candles, party decorations, and well-meaning text messages from friends. Instead, what really panics me is the realization that I’m an adult expected to uphold adult responsibilities, figure out my life after graduation, and deal with life’s mundanities.

It might be the lack of control that comes with aging. As someone whose entire psyche gets shaken at the slightest change of plans, this seems like a plausible explanation. It’s easy to feel completely powerless at the hands of time, which is unrelenting and waits for no one.

Or maybe it’s the pressure to “be someone” by the time you’re 25, a burden that so many young people bear. The shackles of hustle culture leave me feeling like life is a race that I’m laughably and miserably losing. At 21, I can’t help but feel incredibly small. Do I have the accomplishments, esteem, or milestones to show for my time on earth? To prove that I’m even worthy of growing older?

This isn’t even to mention that your desirability as a feminine-presenting person declines rapidly with age.

Rationally, I know that these beauty standards exist to keep the multi-billion dollar anti-aging industry afloat. But a part of my monkey brain can’t help but feel disheartened by the thinning hair on my scalp or panic at the thought of wrinkles making a permanent home on my face. It’s difficult to let go of the notion that youth equals beauty, especially as I’m being thrust into my early 20s. It can feel like at times my youth is running out.

Aging is also an uncomfortable front for the impermanence and fragility of life. Watching my parents’ age slowly catch up to them serves as a blunt reminder that they won’t be here forever—an idea that I couldn’t possibly have recognized as a young child, and was perhaps too blinded by self-absorption and angst to see in my teenage years.

The deeper I pick at my fears of aging, the easier it is to start spiraling out of control. Letting fear take over ends up being counterproductive, but it’s almost impossible to ignore it completely. Much like the competing theories of aging in the scientific community, I can only accept that a single satisfying resolution doesn’t currently exist for me. Maybe regaining control in the face of age and time might be as simple as embracing ambivalence. Watching my loved ones age can induce anxiety and make me hyper-aware of our impermanence. But it also makes me appreciate the time we have together that much more. With each tick of the clock, I am reminded of our finitude, and in turn, our humanity.

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STUDENT LIFE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

Know your neighbourhood: Little Burgundy

Exploring the historical centre of Montreal’s Anglophone Black community Dante Ventulieri Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

Architecturally, the district is similar to other mid-density neighbourhoods in the Sud-Ouest, with multiplexes, red-brick facades, and minimal setbacks from the street. Former industrial buildings, now converted to apartments and condos, dot the canal and its surrounding streets.

In the early 20th century, Little Burgundy became the centre of Montreal’s Anglophone Black community. Nearly 90 per cent of

men in the neighbourhood were employed by the nearby Windsor and Bonaventure rail stations, despite many of them having college degrees, as few other industries were willing to employ Black workers due to pervasive anti-Black racism. During the sleeping car era, most hires were porters; many described it as demeaning work that fixed the image of Black workers to the railroads. The transport companies provided housing in Little Burgundy for the porters, and as the area became more inhabited, Black-run services and facilities that catered to these workers and their families became concentrated in the area. Other businesses typically refused

Before later closing due to financial struggles, The Negro Community Centre was a key gathering spot and space for community formation in Little Burgundy. In recent years, community members have worked to reclaim the space. (concordia.ca)

services to Black customers.

In the 1920s, a decade now considered a golden period of Montreal’s Black history, there were numerous nightclubs and casinos that catered to white tourists looking to gamble and drink. Musical performances were a key part of the nightlife; Black musicians of the neighbourhood helped Montreal become one of the three main jazz hubs on the continent. Jazz clubs such as Rockhead’s Paradise hosted greats like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, and Sammy Davis Jr., while also serving as a launching pad for local talents like Oscar Peterson.

But when the Great Depression spread to Canada, Little Burgundy was hit particularly hard and the neighbourhood was unable to hold onto the success of the 1920s. To make matters worse, in the 1960s, mayor Jean Drapeau launched a series of urban renewal projects on the island of Montreal. The city’s intentions in Little Burgundy were two-fold: First, they wanted to “modernize” the area with a “slum clearance” project, and second, they wanted to build a highway to connect the majority-white suburbs to the downtown core.

The project was immense and irrevocable. The city sent in assessors to photograph the buildings and identify which ones would be expropriated, and pushed the project through without consulting local residents. Little Burgundy’s homes, restaurants, and business were all expropriated. The final result was a gentrified

neighbourhood devoid of the culture and community it had built over the years. Many Black families were displaced: In 1966, the Black population was over 14,000, but by 1973, it had dropped to only 7,000.

The expropriations of the ‘60s had lasting consequences,, including the dispossession of key institutions that served the Black community. The Negro Community Centre, for instance, was a community hive and safe space where neighbourhood members gathered and immersed in art and music, but it closed in 1989 due to financial struggles and was later demolished. Black Montrealers have called for its revival in recent years.

The Black community in Little Burgundy is not as numerous as it had been before the urban renewal programs, but community activists have made local efforts to highlight its past by renaming the streets and parks and installing public art honouring community icons.

Today’s Little Burgundy is quite different from that of the 20th century. In recent decades, the borough has undergone even more gentrification, kickstarted by the creation of a linear park along the Lachine Canal, the revitalization of the Atwater Market, and the redevelopment of former industrial buildings. Members of Little Burgundy today continue to fight the dispossession of Little Burgundy’s workingclass population and the neglect of its history—one that is central to the story of Montreal.

The companionship and versatility of r/McGill throughout the pandemic The McGill subreddit is an all-knowing friend Rosie Kaissar Staff Writer

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hen the pandemic abruptly forced students into quarantine almost exactly two years ago, it brought with it the intangible consequences of physical distancing, such as increased feelings of isolation and loneliness. Unable to connect with peers in person, many turned to the internet to find connection. Though COVID-19 necessarily disconnected the McGill community in some ways, the r/McGill subreddit has offered displaced McGillians a place to find support.

Students use the McGill subreddit in a myriad of ways.

Though the online forum can appear chaotic––frankly reflecting a university student’s brain amid a busy semester––students flock to the page to find practical solutions, solid advice, and a community support system. For example, throughout the pandemic, many students who faced travel restrictions and were not able to physically learn about the housing market in Montreal relied on r/ McGill’s dedicated thread on housing for first-hand experiences

and opinions.

The forum helped students find lost Jimmy Choo wallets, facilitated advice on how to make friends after returning to in-person classes, and assisted international students in navigating Canadian taxes.

“I use the McGill Reddit page to simply get an overall sense of what the McGill community is feeling,” Thomas Houlahan, U2 Arts, said. “Being an anonymous forum website, people tend to feel very comfortable sharing anything regarding McGill, from questions about classes and exams to gaining career advice from alumni. Best coffee places, best food, best study spots, comedy clubs, live music near McGill.”

The pandemic has given r/ McGill an especially meaningful purpose: Mental health support.

“There are a lot of posts about people feeling extremely down recently, mentions of depression, anxiety, failing classes, losing hope, even suicidal thoughts,” Houlahan said. “I would like to say that of any other social media the McGill people are active on, Reddit is the most open-minded, caring, and appreciative.”

It’s no surprise that students

log on to feel less alone. Some have gone to r/McGill to rant about mistakes and seek reassurance that they will be okay. User u/ Majestic_Lifeguard81, who wrote a post titled “Took every wrong turn and crashed into myself,” asked community members at the end, “Anyone else ever make mistakes like this?” Fellow r/McGill community members flooded the comment sections with positive reassurances and pieces of advice.

In other situations, some students have made posts about overcoming personal struggles and then give peers advice themselves.

Students have also taken to the McGill subreddit to express frustrations with experiences in their classes or on campus as a way to hold their peers accountable.

One user, u/WasabiConsistent1485, used the platform to reach out to a stranger they saw crying at McLennan and offered a word of encouragement. There is even good news Monday, which is all about spreading positivity within the community.

“After being subject to online school and going to university with many online classes, I was slightly worried about the community aspect,” Jonny Shoshani, U0 Arts,

Though r/McGill can’t save us, it’s helped many students navigate the uncertainties of the pandemic in various ways—as a place for meme-sharing, community formation, and mental health support. (Sébastien Géroli / The McGill Tribune) said. “But, with r/McGill, I was able to receive tips and advice on how to meet people and clubs to join, so I was able to leave the isolation of online living and embrace the McGill community I was entering.”

The McGill subreddit has been around for years, but, especially in recent pandemic times, it has been

a prominent social hub for students. r/McGill provides a communitygathering spot for the lighthearted, but also for the serious—having a space to share feelings of isolation and receive support, or just recognition, can be crucial in the alienating environment of university.

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

11

‘Why We Dance’ is a masterclass on the science of movement Director Nathalie Bibeau skillfully blends art, culture, and science Adrienne Roy Contributor

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rom McGillian to awardwinning documentarian, Nathalie Bibeau’s career is the answer to a question many Arts students dread: “What are you going to do with an Arts degree?”

Bibeau graduated from McGill in 1998 with a Joint Honours degree in history and sociology, before completing her Master’s degree the following year in history at the University of Toronto.

After an internship with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, she worked odd jobs, travelled, and met artists from around the world. Through those experiences, Bibeau realized that she could make a living as an artist, a career she once thrived in as a trained dancer and returned to as a documentarian. Her latest directorial project, Why We Dance, was produced for The Nature of Things— a documentary series examining the ways humans interact with nature. Why We Dance premiered

on Feb. 25 on the CBC and will be available to stream on CBC Gem for the rest of the year. The documentary explores the intersections between science and art through dance—an activity we all do, whether we realize it or not.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Bibeau described how her research on dance stretched her understanding of the art form.

“It opened the floodgates of what is possible in terms of dance, and what I imagined dance to be,” Bibeau said. “I always felt like I was a born dancer. When I started researching, I realized it’s not an activity we choose to do—we actually are all dancers.”

Bibeau’s team interviewed a compelling cast of choreographers, psychologists, and neuroscientists to understand the science behind dance. The diverse roster includes Bronwyn Tarr, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford, who describes how even before birth, fetuses follow certain movement patterns. Such trends continue into childhood as creatures explore imitation, synchronization, and play as a means of

expression. Why We Dance reveals that these tendencies toward dancing are neither exclusively human nor random. They explain developmental variations in social and physical behaviour, mating habits in animal species, and stories of cultural tradition. Fitting each element into a 44-minute run-time may seem absurd, but Bibeau crafts a fully realized picture.

From flamingo sanctuaries in France to MIT’s Immersion Lab to oceanside choreography, the cinematography in Why We Dance is stunning. Bibeau captures impactful frames by marrying the natural world with the man-made, further pushing the narrative forward. A meticulous storyteller, Bibeau also articulated the importance of the post-production process.

“One of the editing styles I was trying to work in for this film is ‘match cut,’” Bibeau said.“I wanted the film to feel like one long conversation. You can do that through narration and the clips you choose, but visually, I wanted to feel that way too [....] You’ll notice if we leave one scene with

Dance transcends different ages, cultures, and species. (cbc.ca) a turning dancer, we come into the next with someone finishing the turn. It was extremely deliberate.”

Beyond its captivating cinematics, Why We Dance touches on how dancing has served as a survival tool for oppressed communities throughout history. For instance, Bibeau interviewed Sandra Laronde, who is from the Temagami First Nation and serves as the executive and artistic director of Red Sky Performance, a world-renowned company of contemporary Indigenous performance. Through her work, Lar-

onde explores the importance of dance in Indigenous cultures, noting that it was outlawed in Canada from 1884 to 1951.

“We’re supposed to dance for people who cannot,” Laronde explained in the documentary.

Dance is an empowering act, one that strengthens communities, connects us to the spiritual and natural world, and unites different generations to one another. When asked what viewers should take away from the film, Bibeau responded without skipping a beat: “I hope they dance.”

National Theatre School of Canada stuns with production of ‘Cabaret’ Brilliant acting performances, striking costumes, and innovative video projections take centre stage Louis Lussier-Piette Staff Writer Content warning: mentions of fascism, antisemitism, and genocide.

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rom Feb. 22 to 26, the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS)’s graduating class of 2022 put on an outstanding production of the 1966 musical Cabaret. Choreographed by awardwinning director Matjash Mrozewski, the play featured a cast of graduating acting students and a production team composed of students, teachers, and alumni.

Based in Montreal since 1960, the NTS is a theatre training school of international repute. Their annual production, put on by graduating students in the acting program, showcases the skills learned during their school years.

For the graduating class of 2022, Mrozewski chose the musical Cabaret to reflect on the importance of experiencing pleasure during dark historical periods— something he believes is particularly relevant today.

“Life in Weimar Berlin was chaotic, stressful and turbulent, how could we not want to seek out joy, transcendence, euphoria and escape?” Mrozewski wrote in the play’s program.

Cabaret is set during the late 1920s, in the Jazz Age of Berlin. In search of inspiration for his next novel, young American writer Cliff (Henry Beasley) travels to the city, where he befriends German smuggler

Ernst Ludwig (Charles Brien) and British cabaret singer Sally Bowles (Kira Chisholm).

From the fictional Kit Kat Klub cabaret to Cliff’s rented room at a boarding house, the play explores the political tension in Germany following the rise of the Nazi Party, while touching on themes of antisemitism, feminism, and gay rights.

Mrozewski fully embraces Cabaret’s

queerness, unapologetically celebrating the characters’ fluidity in their sexuality and gender. Although Cliff is explicitly bisexual in the original text, some productions of Cabaret have shied away from openly portraying his sexuality. Mrozewski, however, fully dives into this aspect, not only with Cliff, who experiences romance with Bobby (Blake Pyne), but also with the Emcee (Brandon Lee Carabin) and

The cast of ’Cabaret’ features students graduating from the Acting program. (ent-nts.ca)

Herr Schultz (Anaka Sandhu). In the NTS’s production, the song Two Ladies, sung by the Emcee about his polyamorous lifestyle, now features a cabaret boy and a cabaret girl instead of the usual two girls. The character of Herr Schultz also challenges gender norms through a fantastic performance by Sandhu, who is also nonbinary.

Costume designer James Lavoie expertly related the musical’s social issues through its stage visuals . The outfits of the cabaret members remain monochromatic throughout the play, except for Sally’s, whose extravagant wardrobe perfectly highlights her extroverted and diva-like personality. The use of black and white costumes made the eventual revelation of Ernst’s bright-red swastika armband even more striking. In the closing scene, Lavoie dresses the Emcee in a uniform worn by concentration camp prisoners hidden under his coat, a twist that gives the musical a chilling conclusion.

To support a minimalist decor composed of two concrete-like walls, students put on a mesmerizing show of lights and projections, using projectors to showcase archival footage of 1930s Berlin. The parallel between the performance and the stage art adds a touch of realism to the play’s narrative.

Overall, Cabaret was incredibly well done. With the talents involved in the NTS’s student-led production of Cabaret, the Canadian theatre scene will certainly not be short of remarkable performers or producers any time soon.

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

‘When We Lost Our Heads’ explores feminine obsession in 19th-century Montreal

Local novelist Heather O’Neill sets tragic love against a retelling of the French Revolution Madison McLauchlan Managing Editor “For there is no friend like a sister In calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands.”

Two little girls are tempted by sinister goblins in Christina Rossetti’s Victorian-era poem “Goblin Market,” but the power of sisterly love prevails and saves the younger sibling from certain death.

Though the main characters of Montreal author Heather O’Neill’s new novel When We Lost Our Heads, Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, perform contrasting interpretations of the poem at a young ladies’ competition, both capture the adoration and infatuation of late 19th-century Montreal. Their power struggle for notoriety forges a friendship so passionate and inextricable that it threatens to change not only their fates, but that of the entire city when their actions spark an uprising within the working class. Spanning the course of the two girls’ lives, the novel spins a tale of tragic love, vitriolic jealousy, and the romance of violent revolution.

As the daughter of a sugar factory owner

and the belle of upper-class Montreal society, Marie is born into great wealth. In the same privileged neighbourhood of the Golden Square Mile, Sadie lives with her family, whom she detests.

She scribbles in her notebook and looks down on everyone she encounters—except Marie. Born from their obsession with one another and disdain for everyone else, Marie and Sadie’s relationship leads to the shocking murder of a maid, tearing the two apart as Sadie is exiled to a boarding school in England. Sadie begins a career as a writer of erotic tales while Marie accepts her fate as a future business mogul.

When they are reunited, Marie enters into an unhappy engagement to Sadie’s brother. Triggered by this union, amongst other betrayals, Sadie flees to the Squalid Mile, the industrial sector of the city steeped in crime and debauchery. Here is where O’Neill paints a tale of two cities most starkly: Those in the Golden Mile enjoy material luxuries, punctuated by the delights of sugar and tulle, while the unfortunate souls in the Squalid Mile live and die in grime and soot. The most poignant element of this contrast between rich and poor, clean and dirty, is that selfishness and deviance are always lurking in the shadows of both sides of the city.

With When We Lost Our Heads, O’Neill further solidifies her niche expertise of Montreal’s criminal underbelly, as she did with her

Montreal journalist Charlie Lazarus coined the term “Golden Square Mile” to describe the rich sector at the foot of the mountain. (penguinrandomhouse.com) 2007 Canada Reads winner Lullabies for Little Criminals. The setting serves as a backdrop for a retelling of the 1789 French Revolution Marie and Sadie find themselves at odds in a worker’s struggle—complete with allusions to cake and Marie Antoinette—but one set from below Sherbrooke Street to the foot of Mount Royal. Factory workers start organizing against the foremen; The female struggle for safe working conditions and resistance against abuse takes centre stage. Instead of passing judgment, O’Neill lets her characters do the work by contrasting Marie and Sadie’s trivial conflict with the hardships faced by the residents of the Squalid Mile, from bloody factory accidents

to botched abortions to filthy lodgings.

Just like the whip-smart intellect of Marie and Sadie, symbols are cleverly woven into the narrative. Every analogy drives home the notion that this is a fable about the precarity of power and how quickly it can be lost—threats of sexual violence cut across class lines, while class considerations cut across notions of female solidarity. These intersections are presented plainly, with no clear solution or moral reckoning; Sadie works as a prostitute, but by choice, thanks to her upper-class background. What propels the story is thus not moral judgments, but base emotions, like female rage.

But Marie and Sadie’s chaotic relationship remains the focal point; much as the side characters are bewitched by their love, or hatred, of these two women, so too are readers by their unflinching self-importance. We root for Marie and Sadie despite ourselves. A love like that, so obsessive and all-consuming, only breeds destruction. And eventually, their shared passion and outward disdain culminate in the ultimate tragic spectacle, as it should—being adored or reviled is what their entire lives depend on.

As O’Neill writes, “Every decent friendship comes with a drop of hatred. But that hatred is like honey in the tea. It makes it addictive.” With this bittersweet delicacy of a novel, readers will be entranced by every last drop.

What we liked this reading break

Mockumentaries, #BookTok highlights, and other recommendations The Secret History (1992) Chantay Alexander Contributor People actually read during Reading Week? It’s hard to put down a novel as entrancing as Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History, a foray into the ominous, whimsical atmosphere of dark academia. This is the type of book best read by candlelight with a glass of hard liquor. Despite being written three decades ago, its recent rise in popularity on the popular TikTok community #BookTok alerted a new generation to the book. Tartt’s flawed yet captivating characters sink into the depths of exclusive East Coast scholastics, ancient Greek history, and brutal murder—what more could you want? The colle-

giate backdrop and vast Vermont forestry provide a picturesque framing for Richard Papen and his newfound class of five’s gradual descent into ethical corruption, intimate betrayals, and riveting explorations of psychological decay. I found The Secret History an intoxicating page-turner, the quintessential modern Greek tragedy, untangling the harshness in beauty at every turn.

7 Days in Hell (2015) Arian Kamel Staff Writer While I was doing my daily three-hour readings of SSMU emails over the break, as any good McGill student would, I stumbled across 7 Days in Hell. A 2015 HBO mockumentary, 7 Days in Hell fol-

A&E spent the break consuming movies, books, and television.

(Jinny Moon / The McGill Tribune)

lows an epic tennis match between Aaron Williams (Andy Samberg), who rocks a haircut that can only be described as a mix of Snooki and Pikachu, and Charles Pool (Kit Harrington), an English tennis prodigy who gets relentlessly bullied by the Queen. What can I say about this film? I laughed, I grew, I rekindled a relationship with my father who left to pick up milk 14 years ago, all in the span of 50 minutes. This is a story about love and friendship, about a legendary seven-day tennis match that shocked the world, and most importantly, about the Queen calling someone a “fuck nut.”

Scream (2022) Suzanna Graham Staff Writer Alone in the house this reading week? Take advice from the cult classic movie Scream: Don’t answer the landline. That is, if you still have one in 2022. Instead, head to the theatre and watch the newest edition of Scream—a hilariously meta requel of the 1996 original.

Return to Woodsboro, California where a new killer wears the Ghostface mask in pursuit of those connected to the original victims and survivors. Despite the new cast of teen victims and (assumed) villains, the film welcomes back Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell),

who can still kick some Ghostface butt. This is the movie for Screamfanatics, those who can survive a good jump-scare, and everyone rooting for Drew Barrymore in the original film’s opening scene.

Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 14 (2022) Adrienne Roy Contributor Season 14 of Rupaul’s Drag Race premiered on Jan. 7, and the competition is as fierce as ever. The Drag Race franchise has grown exponentially in the past few years, but the American iteration has always been a fan-favourite of viewers around the world. This season is particularly remarkable, diverse, and historic: Maddy Morphosis made headlines and sparked some controversy as the first heterosexual, cisgender man to be cast on the show. However, this season has also been a glass-shattering one for the transgender community, with Bosco, Jasmine Kennedie, and Willow Pill joining Kerri Colby and Kornbread Jeté as the five openly transgender women chasing the title of America’s next drag superstar. Season 14 is igniting important conversations about marginalized communities while serving juicy, drama-filled episodes.

SAT Fest 2022

Celebrate the 10th anniversary or the SAT Satosphere.

Mar. 8–Mar. 12, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Société des arts technologiques [SAT] Tickets Required

MUPSS Workshop: Developing Photo Film at Home (Color)

Learn tips and tricks for developing your own colored film.

Mar. 10, 7 p.m.

Virtual Free, Sign-up required

Articulating the Body: Ekphrasis in the Maude Abbott Medical Museum

A workshop led by poet and physician Dr. Shane Neilson, hosted

by Poetry Matters in collaboration with the Maude Abbott Medical Museum.

Mar. 10, 5-7 p.m.

Maude Abbott Medical Museum Free, sign-up required

Queer Comedy All Stars 3

An all-queer comedy line up of all stars.

Mar. 12, 8-11 p.m.

The Diving Bell Social Club $15

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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Canadian nail salon workers exposed to high levels of hazardous chemicals The dark side of a vibrant industry and the challenges of regulating toxicants Raymond Tu Contributor

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magine a workplace where employees are exposed to toxic chemicals on a regular basis. And imagine that for the majority of these chemicals, there is little, if any, information regarding their effects on human health.

Now imagine that quite a few have been suspected to cause health problems such as cancer and reproductive issues.

This is the reality for employees in the nail care industry. You might have imagined a workplace this hazardous to be a waste collection centre or a chemical manufacturing company, but University of Toronto researchers Miriam Diamond, Victoria Arrandale, and Linh Nguyen found that nail salons have unexpectedly high levels of chemicals such as diethyl phthalate (DEP) and tris(1,3-dichloro2-propyl)phosphate (TDCIPP).

But, what are these substances, and where are they found?

In an interview with the The McGill Tribune, Bernard Robaire, a professor and environmental toxicant researcher in McGill’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, noted that the two main chemical families investigated in the study are phthalates and organophosphate esters. These chemicals appear in many places: Phthalates, for instance, are found in many everyday products and can be added to materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to make them more pliable.

“The thing that makes lipsticks nice and glossy? Those are phthalates. When you walk into a new car, that new car smell is from

phthalates,” Robaire explained.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs), such as TDCIPP, are another class of chemicals found in products ranging from pesticides to flame retardant materials, like furniture.

While these chemicals are ubiquitous, nail salon technicians are exposed to high concentrations for long periods of time. Diamond and co-authors focussed on this group in their study, in collaboration with the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre and Toronto’s Healthy Nail Salons Network. They found that nail salon workers’ exposure in the workplace was up to 30 times higher than exposure in homes.

The vast majority of nail salon workers are immigrant women, particularly of Asian descent. One study from the University of California at Los Angeles found that out of all the nail salon workers surveyed across the U.S., 81 per cent were female and 79 per cent were foreign-born, with nearly three-quarters of all immigrant workers listing Vietnam as their place of birth. The results of this study connect to a broader pattern of environmental racism within the industry, with administrative carelessness leading to inadequate protections and policies that disproportionately expose marginalized people to life-threatening toxicants in the workplace.

“So then comes the question, if we’re exposed to [these chemicals], at what dose would we have to be exposed for them to have a toxic effect?” Robaire said.

The Robaire and Hales team at McGill have published numerous papers that suggest mechanisms by which phthalates, OPEs, and

With over 36,000 nail salons across Canada, the nail care industry employs around 59,820 workers.

(Mika Drygas / The McGill Tribune) other plasticizers may induce toxicity. Their research, along with other correlational studies, provide evidence that exposure to these chemicals at high enough levels could induce toxic effects on one’s nervous, reproductive, or immune systems. These effects are particularly worrisome for nail salon workers who may be pregnant or considering having children.

But nearly all of these studies are done in cell lines and animal models, with very few human epidemiological studies. Health Canada and other regulatory agencies currently require a high burden of proof to demonstrate that each of these individual chemicals are toxic at environmentally relevant levels. According to Robaire, this link is very difficult to prove.

For example, the harmful effects of bisphenol A (BPA) were known for decades before Canada became the first country to

formally declare it a harmful substance. Only then did Health Canada consider that there was sufficient evidence linking exposure to toxic health outcomes. However, Robaire’s team has found that substitutes for BPA may be even more toxic than the chemicals they replaced.

Fortunately, Health Canada is considering changing their approach by regulating families of chemicals rather than one at a time. According to Robaire, change also needs to happen through government officials, scientists, and industry representatives from around the world to reduce human exposure to toxic chemicals.

Nail salon workers want these changes as well: Many have begun forming groups, such as the Nail Salon Workers Project, that call out the negative health impacts of working in nail salons and advocate for better work environments.

Predicting coma outcomes with a high level of accuracy Newly developed test can predict if patients will regain consciousness Cyril Kazan Contributor

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reating unconscious patients is a real challenge for physicians.

For example, when treating patients with brain injuries, doctors and family are often faced with the decision of either pursuing aggressive treatment or switching to an end-of-life care approach. However, because patients are often unable to communicate, making such decisions is extremely challenging.

Being able to accurately predict whether a patient will regain consciousness would therefore be an invaluable tool for clinicians. Dr. Stefanie BlainMoraes, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill, and a member of the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, is developing a test that can predict whether a patient is likely to recover within the following three months.

The test uses propofol, a drug used by anesthesiologists in the operating room to sedate patients. When conscious patients receive propofol before a surgery, their brain networks are reconfigured, marking the transition

between conscious and unconscious states. The reconfiguration can be observed with an electroencephalogram (EEG), a recording of the brain’s elec-

awareness, an often traumatic experience where a patient regains consciousness during a procedure.

Blain-Moraes and her team built

Propofol is commonly known as the “milk of anesthesia” due to its white, oily appearance. (Istockphoto) trical activity which anesthesiologists can then use to monitor their patients’ brain activity after they administer propofol. According to Blain-Moraes, this is done to prevent intra-operative

their test around this phenomenon of brain network reconfiguration in response to propofol. They administered the drug to patients with disorders of consciousness, including coma

patients, and looked at their brain’s responses. They hypothesized that patients who undergo a reconfiguration similar to awake patients, such as those receiving propofol for a surgery, would recover consciousness within three months. Indeed, it would mean that their brain is responding to propofol in the same way that a conscious patient’s brain would—a sign that means that they will likely regain consciousness soon. However, patients who do not undergo this reconfiguration would likely remain unconscious.

Astonishingly, preliminary results have shown that their predictions were correct. They developed an algorithm that calculates the amount of reconfiguration that appears in the EEG after administering propofol, resulting in a number called the Adaptive Reconfiguration Index. There was a linear separation between the indices of the patients who regained consciousness after three months, and those who remained unconscious. In other words, three months after performing this test, patients with an index greater than zero had regained consciousness, and those with an index smaller than zero had not.

This study, however, is only based on a small patient pool. Blain-

Moraes, who has been named among the world’s top scientists under the age of 40 by the World Economic Forum, is currently co-leading a much larger study to confirm these results.

The study’s goal is to recruit 300 participants to confirm the accuracy of the Adaptive Reconfiguration Index in this larger sample. But even if larger studies support their findings, the system still needs to be refined before it can be used in hospitals. The study used advanced, laboratory-grade EEG devices, but many hospitals do not yet have access to this technology. The index should thus be adapted to make sure it is still accurate when using hospitalgrade EEG devices.

“It is still a laboratory technology, not something that can be used in the clinic,” Blain-Moraes said. “The software should be so easy to use that you just drop the EEG into it, and it automatically gives you the index.”

If the Adaptive Reconfiguration Index is adapted for use in a hospital setting, it could greatly improve the care of patients with disorders of consciousness. The index could be an important tool for physicians, and has the potential to help inform better clinical decision-making, and ultimately, better patient outcomes.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

A potential cure for HIV: Right under our belly buttons?

Woman accidentally cured of HIV following umbilical stem cell transplant Niamh Stafford Staff Writer

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t the 2022 Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Yvonne Bryson, an infectious disease researcher and professor at University of California at Los Angeles, announced that a woman of mixed race had been cured of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After undergoing an umbilical cord stem cell transplant to treat her leukemia, the patient exhibited signs of HIV remission.

Scientists are hopeful that this research on umbilical cord stem cells could shed light on a potential cure for HIV. HIV attacks the body’s immune system and, when left untreated, often leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). There is currently no cure for HIV. The available antiretroviral therapy (ART) is, however, very effective at preventing the development of AIDS. This form of treatment stops the virus from multiplying in the body and reduces the viral load to very low amounts, making the virus virtually undetectable and impossible to transmit.

(forbes.com)

“ART does not cure the person, since the virus remains archived in the body and will re-emerge if treatment is discontinued or interrupted or if drug resistance develops,” Dr. Bluma Brenner, an assistant professor in McGill’s Faculty of Surgery and an affiliated member of the McGill AIDS Centre, wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Although effective, ART has its flaws—according to the WHO, 27 per cent of those diagnosed with HIV could not access the treatment in 2020 Ideally, ART would be made more accessible and affordable until there is a surefire cure and roadmap to solving the HIV crisis.

The eye-catching term “cured” has been used extensively in the media coverage of this recent story, garnering widespread attention. In this case, to be cured of HIV meant that the patient stopped ART and remained in remission. Disease remission is characterized by a decrease or disappearance of symptoms.

This woman is the third person reported to be cured of HIV, but remains under the watchful eye of physicians as remission relapse is possible.

“The only [other] cases of HIV cure were the Berlin and London cases, [which] were isolated cases where individuals with cancer received whole body irradiation and who received stem cell transplants,” Brenner wrote.

These two individuals were both recipients of bone marrow transplants containing genetic mutations capable of stopping HIV’s viral entry into the body.

However, this type of treatment is invasive and can have terrible side effects such as graft versus host disease, where the recipient’s body is attacked by donor cells.

Umbilical stem cell transplants, in comparison, are less intrusive and therefore less likely to cause lasting damage. After the collection of donor cells, the recipient receives an intravenous injection containing the stem cells. Umbilical stem cells work similarly to bone marrow ones by blocking HIV’s entry into the host’s cells, which stops the disease from progressing. Why these umbilical stem cells work so well is still unclear.

The patient’s recovery was remarkably smooth after the stem cell transplant, making her a novelty amongst those cured of HIV

and rendering umbilical stem cells that much more of an attractive option to researchers looking for cures. In addition to her health rebound, she is also the only woman and person of mixed race to be cured of HIV with stem cells— two firsts that could be significant for researchers when investigating a cure.

Her biological sex and race are important because there are very few HIV trials that include women at all, let alone women of mixed race. Fifty-three per cent of HIV patients worldwide are women, and of these women, most are non-white. The disease is especially prevalent in developing countries due to systemic factors such as poverty, lack of access to health-care services, and lack of information on the prevention of spread. Many of these HIV patients are also at a much higher risk of developing AIDS because of compromised immune systems from prior infections. To understand how the disease could be treated universally, it is vital that people of diverse backgrounds are included in cure trials.

A cure must work for everyone, regardless of race or biological sex, to bring an end to

the HIV/AIDS crisis. That being said, it is unlikely that umbilical cord stem cells will be the be-all, end-all cure: Several unavoidable factors complicate the cure, such as ethical issues regarding the acquisition of umbilical cord blood, the overall cost of stem cell transplants, and the complex task of finding the right donor.

So, while this case is indeed important scientifically, it is perhaps too specific to a particular set of conditions to inspire a universal umbilical stem-cell cure.

But as always, more research needs to be done.

“One needs to have a cautionary note,” Brenner wrote. “There was a Boston patient and a Minnesota patient who had [a] similar treatment, underwent remission, and experienced viral rebound.”

Although the news of this cured woman is boosting morale amongst the HIV-affected community, a universal cure still seems far out of reach. According to Brenner, it is not possible to use umbilical stem cells to treat all HIV patients.

“The mass media loves the magic bullet, the instant cure,” Brenner wrote. “There is no HIV vaccine in the foreseeable future.”

(cells4life.com)

Only 11 per cent of HIV treatment trials participants are women, even though women make up more than half of HIV patients worldwide. It is believed that HIV develops differently in women than in men, and the continued underrepresentation of women in cure trials hinders efforts to find a cure that is effective for anyone with HIV.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

sports@mcgilltribune.com

SPORTS

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It’s high time for change: Athletics organizations must relax marijuana testing rules NCAA announces implementation of less stringent punishments for cannabis use Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editor

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n Feb. 25, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that it would be relaxing the rules surrounding positive marijuana tests for its athletes. Effective immediately and extending retroactively to drug tests conducted as early as fall 2021, the threshold levels for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of marijuana, are increasing from 35 nanograms to 150 nanograms per millilitre.

Moreover, positive tests will result in less harsh penalties, and student athletes with a single positive test will no longer be immediately banned from future events.

Cannabis has long been legally considered a dangerous recreational drug, falling in the same category as other substances like heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and peyote according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) schedule categories.

But in recent years especially, the validity of this classification has repeatedly been called into question, with countries like Canada, along with several American states, legalizing the drug for medicinal and recreational use.

In the world of professional athletics, cannabis use is permitted in infinitesimally small amounts, and athletes with positive tests are subject to the same penalties for cannabis as for banned performance-enhancing drugs.

The rules are set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and its national agencies like the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Although THC remains on the list of banned substances for professional athletes, the WADA does not prohibit CBD usage, despite the cannabinoid being less researched compared to THC. (@sundaeghost / The Concordian) In 2021, American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson attained the title of sixth fastest woman in the world, and later qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after she ran 100 metres in an electric 10.86 seconds. In July, however, Richardson received a positive marijuana test, forcing her into a one-month suspension and stripping her of her Olympic eligibility.

Despite cannabis being legal in Oregon, where the trials took place, and Richardson coping with the death of her mother just one week prior to her race—news which was relayed to her by a reporter—WADA expressed its intent to stick with the suspension decision.

Yet, just half a year later, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was still permitted to compete

in the 2022 Beijing Olympics despite a positive test for trimetazidine, a banned angina medication.

The placement of cannabis alongside serious performance-enhancing drugs immediately sticks out as a rather silly ascription. The connotations surrounding marijuana usage surely do not paint the picture of a beefy, doped-up athlete ready to annihilate their competition. If anything, the drug could be considered a performance-diminishing drug. A high sprinter would likely have more trouble reaching the finish line, after all, cannabis consumption causes relaxation, confusion, and can slow down reaction time— they might even get a bit giggly and lost.

A 2021 review study compiled a variety of articles investigating the health effects of cannabis and its main cannabinoids (THC and CBD) on athletic health and performance.

Unsurprisingly, their conclusions pointed to cannabis having “null or detrimental” effects on athletic performance. The most “enhancing” effect cannabis might have is relieving feelings of anxiety and helping ease recovery. Several other studies support these findings: Marijuana does not improve one’s physical abilities.

The efforts of WADA and its affiliates in eliminating drug use among athletes focus on fairness and athletic equality in sporting competitions. Why then are anabolic steroids, categorically known for enhancing strength and performance, or cocaine, a powerful stimulant drug frequently criticized for its overdosing potential, in the same list of banned substances as THC and cannabis products?

The list goes on without a single mention of alcohol regulations, in or out of competition.

What makes a violently hungover athlete more eligible than one that got high a week ago?

These discrepancies are exactly why cannabis rules must be reinvestigated and updated according to modern scientific findings.

The NCAA’s decision to increase THC thresholds, along with their recommendation that penalties for positive tests are significantly reduced, is a sizable step in a productive direction. If the science does not support such harsh restrictions, it is time to let go of old conservative perceptions surrounding marijuana and THC.

What on earth is going on with Major League Baseball?

An update on MLB’s self-imposed lockout Tillie Burlock Staff Writer

B

aseball is a game of highs and lows. In a game where a player hits a grandslam and makes an amazing catch in the outfield, they can also spend a significant amount of time wallowing in the dugout. While there was reason to be hopeful for the state of baseball after Elizabeth Benn was hired as the director of Major League operations for the New York Mets the week of Feb. 27, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to cancel the first two series of the regular season snapped optimistic fans back to reality.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Toronto Blue Jays star player and former no. 1 baseball prospect, is one of many players kept in the minor leagues for an extra season in an effort to manipulate his service time. (Dan Hamilton / USA Today Sports)

In what MLB insider Jeff Passan has called “a crisis of its own making,” the MLB and its owners have forced baseball’s first work stoppage since the 1994-1995 season—how did we get here? On Dec. 1, baseball’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the agreement that governs almost every aspect of the working relationship between MLB and its players, expired.

The next day, the league positioned itself as the aggressor, with the 30 team owners voting unanimously to institute what Manfred called a “defensive lockout”—essentially putting all activities on hold before the players could strike.

The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), an incredibly powerful labour union with over one thousand members, has found itself fighting a losing battle against owners worth billions of dollars and a commissioner that just does not seem to care about his players.

Following the embarrassing three-month negotiation period over the shortened 2020 baseball season, animosity between the MLBPA and the league was left to fester. Despite claiming that they wanted to “jumpstart” negotiations, Manfred and the league waited more than six weeks to make their first proposal on Jan. 13, a proposal that only revealed the massive gap between the financial demands of the MLBPA and the propositions of the MLB. Player salaries have decreased for four consecutive years, while industry revenues and franchise values have soared.

Teams have manipulated their players’ service time to prevent them from entering free agency and salary arbitration. Though the MLB implemented the luxury tax to discourage teams’ frivolous spending, it now works as a de facto salary cap, and many teams are nowhere near it. The current draft rules, signing pools, and international signing structures incentivize losing,

forcing players to stand idly by as teams gut their rosters and slash their payrolls.

On Feb. 18, fans were fueled with false hope when Manfred announced that the MLB and MLBPA would meet every day during the week of Feb. 21–25 in hopes of reaching a deal without pushing back opening day. However, as negotiations ramped up, the MLB delayed their self-imposed deadline of Feb. 28 until 5 p.m. March 1.

Dreams of a complete season, propped up by various negotiating tactics on the part of the league, quickly crumbled as Manfred chose to cancel more than 75 games between March 31 and April 5. For Julian Tabbitt, U1 Arts student and avid baseball fan, this lockout has been a long time coming.

“The grievances of the players over minimum pay and minor league living conditions have been an issue for a long time,” Tabbitt said. “MLB owners continue to make billions in profit while they enlist minor leaguers to below minimum wage conditions. Other efforts by Rob Manfred, including expanded playoffs, have been rejected and counteract the whole point of baseball’s 162-game season. We can expect the long and arduous lockout that has been predicted.”

Players across the league have grown increasingly vocal at their disappointment in the league and team owners. Some players have apologized to their young fans, while others have joked about finding new career paths. Even the League’s golden boy Mike Trout took to Twitter, calling the league out for bargaining in bad faith and working toward an unfair deal.

As the snow begins to melt, baseball fans are left to hope and pray that Rob Manfred, a man who called the World Series trophy a “piece of metal,” can turn right a ship he seems so desperate to crash, and salvage the 2022 baseball season.

16

SPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022

sports@mcgilltribune.com

Two wins in best-of-three weekend propel Martlets hockey to RSEQ finals Forward Makenzie McCallum scored winning goal in Sunday’s tiebreaker Madison McLauchlan Managing Editor

MOMENT OF THE GAME

Continued from page 1.

Martlets netminder Tricia Deguire had her hands full, too, saving a string of four shots early in the second period to keep the game scoreless. This was until Alice Fillion of Ottawa snuck a lightning-fast backhand five-hole past Deguire at 13:51. Bolstered by a power play in the dying minutes of the second period, the Martlets tried to even the tally, but couldn’t execute an offensive plan.

But the final period saw the Martlets rejuvenated, making smarter and more threatening plays.

“In the dressing room, we really tried to rally together as a team and remind ourselves why we’re here and what we’re doing this for,” said alternate captain Laura Jardin. “I think that was a great way to build our energy going into the third period.”

When third-year forward Makenzie McCallum scored on a power play, the team was finally off to the races. The next goal was a beauty of a slapshot from leading scorer and captain Jade Downie-Landry on a one-player advantage, and she sank to her knees as her teammates rushed over to embrace her. The score was 2-1, but the Martlets weren’t done yet.

Three more pucks made it past the GeeGees, whose defeat was beginning to show well before the final buzzer sounded. Among

To break the 1-1 tie in the final frame of game one, a quick pass from Labrecque to Downie-Landry set up a perfect slapshot from the point, beating out Ottawa’s goalie to put the Martlets in the lead.

QUOTABLE

McGill goalie Tricia Deguire saved 37 shots and let nothing in during the March 6 game. (McGill Athletics) the scorers were defenceman Elizabeth Mura, capitalizing on yet another power play, and forward Quynn Campbell.

“I think it’s a really big team win,” forward Katie Rankin said of the game.

“Obviously we had a little adversity to overcome there going into the third period, being down 1-0, but it’s such a sweet feeling and it’s even sweeter that it’s a playoff win.”

Ahead of game two in Ottawa on March 5, Jardin was hopeful that they could continue their winning strategy with aggressive play right from the get-go.

“Getting that quick start is what we need, and we can’t just wait until the second or third

period to get going because other teams might capitalize on that,” Jardin said.

But the away game proved to be more challenging than they thought. Due to COVID-19 protocols, both teams donned medical masks for the entirety of the game’s play. The game was scoreless until the last two minutes, when the Gee-Gees slipped one past Deguire off of a turnover, forcing a rubber match the next day, back on McGill ice.

On March 6, the trend of the low-scoring matches continued, but this time, McGill prevailed thanks to McCallum’s lonely, winning goal early in the second period. The Martlets will battle it out against Concordia

“We’ve been building on this ever since three years ago, when we first [had] Nationals cancelled because of [COVID-19], so playing tonight was a huge win. We’re playing for all those players who didn’t get the chance last year and the year before, and I think it really showed on the ice, what we’re capable of doing.” — Fourth-year forward Laura Jardin

STAT CORNER Captain Jade Downie-Landry leads the Martlets with 39 points amassed over 25 games.

next weekend in another best-of-three series to crown the victors of the RSEQ season and will have the chance to compete for the national title in Charlottetown on March 24-27.

Investigating the pandemic’s effect on student athletes’ mental health Athlete wellness stunted by isolation and season stops-and-starts

Zoé Mineret Staff Writer

F

or the past two years, amidst numerous lockdowns, athletics have repeatedly been shut down in accordance with government and university public health regulations. Without access to equipment or athletic facilities, many athletes were unable to practice their sport. What once served as a source of regular exercise and stress relief was now taken away from them.

Athletes were often left in the dark regarding when they could return to training or when the athletic season would resume. Varsity soccer player Victor Henry, U2 Science, was among the many athletes who faced such struggles over the past two years.

“COVID gave me anxiety as to how long I’d go without playing soccer and if I’d lose my level,” Henry said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Especially after recently joining the team, I wanted to have the best performance possible.”

The combination of this drastic change in lifestyle and increased pressure chipped away at the mental wellbeing of many athletes. Dr. Gordon Bloom, a professor from McGill’s Department of Physiology and Physical Education, has conducted studies looking at virtual interventions for athletes struggling with mental health. According to Bloom, there is a lack of empirical data regarding the effect of isolation on athletes.

“I’m not aware of any research that ties in to lack of physical exercise, isolation, and performance, so to speak.

I suspect we’ll start seeing a lot of that research getting published from 2022-2025,” Bloom wrote in an email to the Tribune. “For example, we did a virtual coach mentoring intervention during COVID and we’ve only just submitted the [manuscript] for review. It likely won’t be published for

another year and a half.”

Isolation and confinement have also affected the way athletes approach their sport. For Henry, the prolonged isolation increased his performance anxiety.

“Because of COVID, we’ve had very limited games and practices this semester,” Henry said. “This means we have few chances to prove our worth on the team, making every game we participate in that much more important and stressful.”

Bloom hypothesizes that there is a correlation between performance anxiety and prolonged isolation. Despite being unable to connect in person, many teams engaged in social activities online to alleviate the stressful parts of athletic performance.

“A lot of my interventions with teams at the start of COVID involved ‘connecting’ athletes with their teammates via Zoom or other social media outlets,” Bloom wrote. “A lot of athletes’ identity is tied to their sport, and the people

Perceived social isolation is linked to health consequences such as depression, insomnia, impaired executive function, and cognitive decline. (Madison Ketcham / The New York Times)

who are a part of their inner circle. Most sport psychology professionals worked with the coaches of their teams to encourage ways to keep people connected.”

Many athletes, especially those struggling with their mental wellbeing, will seek the help of a sports psychologist to help improve both their mental health and physical performance.

“The field of sport psychology has accumulated a large amount of empirical research on the psychological aspects of sport, from how psychological characteristics can affect sport performance to how participating in sport can affect psychological characteristics,” Bloom wrote.

According to Bloom, there is mounting empirical evidence pointing to the importance of mind-body wellness in athletic performance. In his capacity as a sports psychology practitioner, Bloom has seen firsthand the impact of psychological interventions on athlete student wellness.

Bloom explained that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his consultants have been working with athletes to map out the impacts of social isolation both inside and outside of their sport.

McGill’s lack of transparency regarding sporting decisions further has exacerbated the negative effects of the pandemic on the mental wellness of student athletes. The cancellation of nine varsity sports at the beginning of the 2021-2022 season left many athletes who were hoping to get back to the grind disheartened.

McGill’s initiative to support varsity athletes through sports psychologists is a great one. Still, the institution needs to recognize the crucial importance college athletics holds for university students—and the effect repeated cancellations have on athletes’ mental health. After two years of isolation, uplifted only by the hope of returning to competition and practice, these athletes deserve more than a quick and sudden send-off.