The McGill Tribune Vol. 41 Issue 23

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022 | VOL. 41 | ISSUE 23

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

STUDENT LIFE

Hear ye, hear ye: Floor fellows’ collective agreement is long overdue

The right to be forgotten

Having fun in Montreal without spending a penny

PG. 5

PGs. 8-9

PG. 11

(Corey Zhu / The McGill Tribune)

PG. 7

AI will train the new generation of expert surgeons

Risann Wright elected as 2022-2023 SSMU president

Incoming SSMU executives cite need for increased accountability and transparency Juliet Morrison Staff Writer The 2022-2023 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive team was

announced on March 18 after a five-day voting period that saw the lowest voter turnout of the past decade. Only 12.9 per cent of the undergraduates cast their ballots this year.

Risann Wright, U3 Arts, clinched the SSMU

presidency with 51.9 per cent of the vote, beating opponents Bryan Buraga, U4 Arts and Science, and Julian Guidote, 1L. With 61.1 per cent of the vote, Hassanatou Koulibaly, U2 Arts and Science, was elected

vice-president (VP) Student Life against Olivia Bornyi, U1 Arts. After five rounds of preferential voting, Catherine Williams, U3 Arts, won the VP Internal position over Jaz Kaur, U2 Arts, and Ananya Seth, U1 Arts.

PG. 3

‘Mother Rock!’ shakes the anthropocentric boat

Redbirds bring Lengvari Cup home in narrow 58-57 win against Stingers

Ella Gomes Contributor

Zoé Mineret Staff Writer

Artist Patrick Bérubé challenges the human-nature divide Montreal art gallery Art Mûr has been home to Québécois artist Patrick Bérubé’s solo immersive installation, Mother Rock!, since March 5. As the clock ticks on our ability to prevent climate change’s most catastrophic consequences, Bérubé invites visi-

tors on a tour of the relationship between humans and the natural world throughout history. In mediums ranging from prints to sculptures to historical and contemporary artifacts, he enlists contrast and nostalgia to convey that, as Trevor Kiernander writes in the exhibit description, “We are past, present, and future in our own timeless trilogy.”

PG. 14

Men’s basketball team remains undefeated with a record of 12 consecutive victories Love Competition Hall was packed for the annual Lengvari Cup as McGill’s Redbirds (12-0) faced off against the Concordia Stingers (6-6) in an enthralling game.

Second-year Haris Elezovic opened up the scoring with a

layup, but the Stingers quickly answered with a three-pointer.

The first quarter featured an intense defensive press on both sides, keeping the score low until the pace quickened and a successful turnover by Sam Jenkins helped Sidney Gauthier land a reverse layup with under a minute left. The first quarter ended with a two-point lead for

Concordia at only 12-10.

The Stingers were the first to strike in the second quarter due to a McGill foul that gave away two free throws. But Elezovic helped to bring the Redbirds’ score up with a quick layup, then daringly blocked an attempt by the Stingers, earning him the cheers of the crowd.

PG. 16

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NEWS

news@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

Over 15 million dollars from McGill Investment Pool tied-up in Uyghur genocide McGill endowment fund invests in companies like Tencent and Alibaba Leo Larman Brown & Samuel Massey Staff Writer & Contributor Content warning: Mentions of violence and discrimination

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ivest McGill’s recent occupation of the McCall MacBain Arts Building has served as a reminder of the controversy surrounding McGill’s investments in fossil fuels. The McGill Tribune’s investigation into other investments within McGill’s $1.9-billion endowment fund reveals the university’s connection to companies aiding or complicit in the Uyghur genocide in China. McGill has invested over $15 million in Chinese government bonds, organizations contributing to mass surveillance, and businesses exploiting Uyghur labour. The university has millions invested in Chinese state-owned enterprises and businesses operating in East Turkestan.

The Uyghurs are an ethnic minority with a population of around 12 million, living mostly in East Turkestan, or the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwestern China. Starting as early as 2009, the Chinese government has been committing acts of violence against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region, eventually escalating to genocide. Approximately one to three million Muslims have been detained in concentration camps—called “political training centres”—where there have been reports of murder, sexual violence, and forced sterilizations. Additionally, the Uyghur’s Turkic language and culture are being actively diminished through campaigns suppressing Uyghur birth rates, cracking down on theUyghur language, and destroying mosques. China has also expanded technological surveillance in East Turkestan by nonconsensually collecting DNA samples, tracing online messages, and installing millions of surveillance cameras—effectively turning East Turkestan into a police state.

An independent investigation by the Tribune has found that McGill’s investments are implicated in the Uyghur genocide. An independently sourced, interactive investment report last updated Nov. 30, 2021 shows several investments into entities complicit in the genocide, including $1,112,523 in China government bonds. Additionally, McGill has invested $8,954,164 into Tencent, a Chinese technology and entertainment giant, which owns WeChat, the most popular messaging service in China. The Chinese government has complete access to WeChat data and has used it to track, oppress, and arrest Uyghur activists and dissidents. McGill also has $3,603,034 invested in Alibaba, a company that taught its clients how to use its software to detect Uyghur faces.

Although it is not confirmed how this technology is being used, it is thought that the Chinese government and corporations use it to surveil Uyghurs in East Turkestan and China. McGill has also invested $511,114 into Li Ning Co., a sportswear company accused of using enslaved Uyghur labour to produce cotton.

Frédérique Mazerolle, a McGill media relations officer, stated in an email to the Tribune that McGill is committed to ethical investments, citing the Board of Governors’ approved changes to their investment policy in 2020 as evidence of this commitment.

“McGill has a long-standing commitment towards sustainability and social responsibility, and as such, our ongoing commitment has already expressed itself in a number of initiatives and measures,” Mazerolle wrote. “Moreover, the Board of Governors has approved in June 2020 changes to the Statement of Investment Policy of the Endowment Fund to include [Environmental, Social, and Governance] (ESG) considerations and a socially responsible

investment concrete action plan.”

The McGill Divest for Human Rights coalition, a student organization on campus, is campaigning to divest from companies complicit in the Uyghur genocide. In their report introducing their 2021 campaign, the coalition called for McGill to divest from four companies that the student group identified as exploiting the Uyghur people for labour: Puma, Kohl’s, Footlocker, and Nordstrom. None of these companies are headquartered in China and the group recognizes that their list is non-exhaustive. Rebecca Parry, U3 Arts and a representative from McGill Students for a Free Tibet, a subsidiary organization of Divest for Human Rights, explained the coalition’s divestment strategy and how it is confined by SSMU’s boundaries.

“The companies listed in our report are based off of a list of companies using Uyghur forced labour in their supply chain published by the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour,” Parry wrote. “We chose to maximize our efficacy by taking part in a targeted boycott as opposed to choosing companies at random

The Tribune’s investigation found that McGill has invested more than $10 million in over a dozen of China’s state-owned enterprises.

(Leo Larman Brown / The McGill Tribune) [....] As to the decision to not call for divestment from specific countries, we are bound by the 2016 Judicial Board Reference re Legality of the BDS Motion and Other Similar Motions which mandates that SSMU cannot take a position against a specific nation.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Jérôme Beaugrand-Champagne, a former McGill law professor and lawyer with over 20 years of experience working in China, argued that divesting from companies with ties to the Chinese government is difficult because the country is so deeply intertwined in global financial markets and supply chains.

“It depends how clean you want to be,” Beaugrand-Champagne said. “We can take a step back and say we won’t invest in companies that are on the international list [of companies exploiting Uyghur labour] [...] but if you invest in a company in Shanghai, which is a state-owned enterprise it will be interconnected [with the genocide] [....] The least

[McGill] can do is not invest in companies that are doing business in Xinjiang.”

McGill invests in approximately 250 companies based in China, some of which are based in Xinjiang.

McGill also invests $1,766, 675 in Zijin Mining Group, which appeared on a list of malign Chinese companies compiled by the US State Department that cooperate with the Chinese military. The company operates a copper mine in East Turkestan that is 32.9 kilometres away from a Uyghur concentration camp.

However, despite his insistence on divestment, Beaugrand-Champagne believes that divesting will not economically hurt the Chinese government enough to discourage their crimes, but that McGill and other institutions must divest anyway.

“They wouldn’t change unfortunately. [China] has sufficient money to run their businesses and the way they structured their stock market makes it very difficult for a foreign company to invest,” BeaugrandChampagne said. “But morality is very important [....]

Unless McGill scraps their code and says we don’t care about freedom of expression then fine, but if you write it down and you hold to those values, you should apply them where you do business.”

Parry, on the other hand, believes that divestment goes beyond a moral duty and that taking money out would put economic pressure on China to stop its human rights abuses.

“Although this may seem like a long shot,” Parry said. “We believe that if the costs of genocide and occupation outweigh the benefits, East Turkestan, Tibet, and all other countries occupied by China will once again be free.”

On top of this, Parry believes that McGill’s endowment fund and investments should reflect the interests of its students.

“The endowment fund is directly comprised of students’ tuition dollars,” Parry said. “McGill has every responsibility to students to invest its money in a way that aligns with student values and priorities [....]

Very few students know that their tuition dollars are being used to fund settler-colonialism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. It’s incredibly disturbing.”

The McGill Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA) is concerned that the Uyghur genocide is not getting the amount of global attention it deserves, considering the scale of the atrocities.

“The global response to the Uyghur genocide is disproportionate given the scale of what is happening,” the MLSA wrote in a statement to the Tribune. “Uyghurs warrant more international attention, more compassion, and more justice.”

Beaugrand-Champagne agreed that the Uyghur genocide is not getting enough attention and that the international response to the genocide has been inadequate. He cited the global sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine as an example of this hypocrisy.

“We are doing [divestment] with Russia,” Beaugrand-Champagne said. “What’s happening in Ukraine is horrible and horrendous, but there are 1.5 million Uyghurs [interned] and nobody cares. People are like: We don’t know them, we haven’t heard of them, whatever.”

According to The McGill Tribune’s estimates, it is likely that millions more dollars above the 15 million already identified from the endowment fund are contributing to the genocide given how embedded China and East Turkestan are in global financial systems and supply chains, but this has yet to be confirmed at the time of reporting.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

NEWS

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Risann Wright elected as 2022-2023 SSMU President

Incoming SSMU executives cite need for increased accountability and transparency Juliet Morrison Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

The rest of the executive team, all of whom ran uncontested, comprises Kerry Yang, U3 Science, as VP University Affairs (UA), Val Mansy, U3 Science, as VP External, and Marco Pizarro, U3 Science, as VP Finance.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Wright affirmed that her priorities as SSMU president are to push for “systemic change” in the society, which would include reforming Human Resources and creating an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee.

“The environment that I hope to create at the SSMU is one that is first and foremost professional, that is collaborative, and one that, should conflicts arise, [has] a very clear process to swiftly and effectively deal with them,” Wright said. “I can’t tell you that no conflict is ever going to happen or there are going to be no disagreements, but I can

tell you that I can make every effort to have a safe environment and a structured process to deal with it so that it does not go to the sizes we have seen or overshadow work.”

Wright plans to work with the rest of the executive team to improve student engagement in the SSMU, emphasizing the importance of getting immediate resources to students, such as stipends for wifi modems and access to COVID-19 rapid tests.

“Students have every reason at this point to be disenchanted with the SSMU,” Wright said. “The way that we can improve engagement and improve voter turnout is by showing students that it is important, that [the SSMU] does impact you [....] We can improve confidence in the SSMU by genuinely and directly helping students, by allowing them to see that there are leaders, there are executive teams that are transparent, that are going to be held accountable, and that will own up to what they say they are going to do, which I have every intention of doing.”

VP Internal Williams referred to her status as a newcomer to the society, and discussed her focus on having better communication with students.

“I understand being a student and feeling left in the dark, you see all these things happening, but no one is telling you anything about it,” Williams said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “I completely get the frustration of a lack of transparency. My aim is to be as transparent as possible.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Yang cited the importance of centring students for a democratic student society.

“This is going to be my fifth year at McGill and I have seen four SSMU exec teams all from varying levels, and I understand what a good SSMU team looks like and what a bad one looks like,” Yang said. “It is being humble and being peoplecentric and student-centric, because at the end of the day [being a SSMU executive] is about making every student’s experience the best it can be.”

Incoming executives also cited a goal to examine existing policies on accountability and explore possible amendments to improve transparency within the SSMU. (Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune) The SSMU Winter 2022 Referendum results were released later on March 21 to account for an extended voting period after the Palestinian Solidarity Policy was removed from the ballot following an order from the SSMU Judicial Board. The Referendum ballot was rerun and the Policy passed with 71.1 per cent of the vote in favour.

Other motions that passed included the creation of Dialogue telemedicine service fee, the creation of the MUSTBUS fee, the creation of the Student Support fee, and the creation of a Black Affairs fee levy. The proposals to increase the SSMU membership fee and to create aFrench Accessibility Fee did not pass.

Sudden removal of Palestinian Solidarity Policy from SSMU Referendum sparks controversy, ultimately passes

SSMU Judicial Board to share its reason for removing the question from the ballot Ghazal Azizi Staff Writer

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he Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Winter 2022 Referendum spurred confusion and outrage among students after the Palestinian Solidarity Policy question did not appear on the ballot. Elections SSMU had previously approved the question, but when the polls opened on March 14, the question was not on there.

After Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill announced that the question had been removed, Elections SSMU published a statement explaining that the removal was due to an interim order from the SSMU Judicial Board. SPHR and other student groups immediately protested the removal of the question, and later in the day, Elections SSMU decided to reinstate it and launch a new ballot, discarding the previous one. Accordingly, the voting period for the referendum, which was initially scheduled to close on March 18, was extended to March 21.

The Palestinian Solidarity Policy directs SSMU to boycott and divest from all organizations that profit from or are complicit in what scholars, international organizations, and human rights activists characterize as a settler colonial apartheid state in the occupied territory of Palestine. It further mandates that SSMU condemns the surveillance and doxxing of Palestinian and pro-Palestine students by organizations such as Canary Mission. Lastly, the policy directs SSMU to demand the same from the McGill administration.

Jaylynn Barth, chief electoral officer (CEO) at Elections SSMU, explained in an email to the Tribune that on March 11, three days before the start of the polling period, a petition against the Palestinian Solidarity Policy and the process through which it was approved for the referendum was filed.

Those who campaigned for the policy believe Elections SSMU’s abrupt decision to remove the question is a reaction to pressures from voices on campus who view the policy to be unconstitutional.

(Madison Edward-Wright / The McGill Tribune)

Barth did not disclose who filed the petition.

Under the SSMU Internal Regulations of Elections and Referenda, all referendum questions must be approved by the CEO, unless a question seeks to alter the SSMU Constitution in which case it must be approved by the SSMU Board of Directors.

Elections SSMU had not deemed the Palestinian Solidarity Question to be seeking a change to the SSMU constitution and had consulted with only the Judicial Board before approving the question.

According to Barth, the petitioner was concerned that the question required approval by the SSMU Board of Directors.

Barth says the Judicial Board had ordered that the question be removed from the ballot until “a legal determination on the merits of compliance can be rendered” by the Board of Directors. Yet, after considering the tight timeline and the “balance of inconvenience and harms” caused by the removal, Barth decided to reinstate the question. She emphasized that the SSMU Board of Directors’ “legal determination,” could potentially invalidate the question after the results of the referendum have been released.

Section 10.3 of the Rules and Regulations of Practice for Judicial Board Procedures mandates that J-Board provide an Executive Summary of the written reasons for an Interim Order. The SSMU Judicial Board has yet to share one.

Malaika,* a member of McGill 4 Palestine, was frustrated by Elections SSMU’s communication of its decision to remove the item from the ballot. They believe the decision may have been

politically motivated.

“We took this as an unfair and arbitrary decision to censor us without any formal explanation,” Malaika said in an interview with the Tribune. “If they do further scrutinize our question, I can’t help but think that this was only to pacify us.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Omar,* a member of SPHR, said that they find Election SSMU’s decision to hastily intervene in the referendum to be disturbing, citing the many violations of SSMU regulations that such an intervention might entail.

“Both [the Judicial Board and Elections SSMU] acted outrageously, and have done tremendous harm to the integrity of the SSMU’s democratic process,” Omar said.

“We have not had a proper justification from Elections SSMU. We have not received any communications from the Judicial Board at all. With the rush of the referendum and the campaign, we haven’t been able to follow up but it’s also their responsibility to be communicating with us and they are not.”

The Tribune reached out to the Judicial Board as well as SSMU vice-president Internal Affairs, Sarah Paulin, for a statement on the decision making processes that led to the question’s removal from the ballot. Both declined to comment.

The results of the referendum were published on March 21, shortly after the polls closed at 5 p.m. The question of Palestianian Solidarity Policy passed with 71.1 per cent in favour. *Malaika’s and Omar’s names have been changed to preserve their anonymity.

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NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

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McGill floor fellows go on strike, demand new Collective Agreement

Floor fellows call for better wages and safer working conditions Noa Crebassa Contributor

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n March 17, by way of a town crier, the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) announced that floor fellows— upper-year students living and working in residences to provide support to firstyear students—will be on strike as of March 18 at noon. The floor fellows’ last Collective Agreement (CA) with McGill expired in July 2020 and is still undergoing negotiations. Though AMUSE chose to go on strike after McGill reduced their wage offer from $13.64 to $13.50, there are other core tenets that they are pushing for, including updating the meal plan amount and implementing retroactive pay. For now,

The cost of the meal plan increased for students in 2020, but stayed stagnant at the 2017 cost for the floor fellows. (facebook.com)

no end to the strike has been announced, with the main goals of the action being getting the McGill Administration to acknowledge AMUSE’s demands, such as $18.00 for the floor fellows’ wage, and ultimately arrive at an agreement on the terms of the new CA. The strike began with a march from Jeanne Mance park to the Roddick Gates on March 18. AMUSE also hosted a cookout on March 19, where, according to Joanna,* a floor fellow in an upper residence, floor fellows gave out free samosas to students outside of the McLennan Library. Since July 2020, floor fellows and AMUSE have pushed for the inclusion of harm reduction and anti-oppression policies, and have also demanded that their wage and meal plans be adjusted to the rising costs of living in Canada. Floor fellows currently follow the terms of the expired CA, which means that their wages have been stagnant at the 2020 rate for 18 months now.

“De facto, we have been operating on the same collective agreement pending the signing of a new one. One consequence of this is that meal plan rates and wages have been frozen since then,” said James Newman, MA ‘20 and president of AMUSE, in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “If we sign a collective agreement that includes the retro[active] pay we insist upon, wage increases will be paid out to employees in a lump sum retroactive to the last collective

agreement.”

Newman told the Tribune that the strike’s primary action was to have floor fellows not enter residences, and perhaps stay in a hotel, from March 18 at noon until March 21—a measure funded by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, AMUSE’s parent union. In doing so, floor fellows did not cross the picket line nor did they perform their regular duties during the strike.

Because floor fellows are bound by an expired CA, they are currently receiving minimum wage for no more than 13 hours a week. According to Newman, floor fellows often work overtime, sometimes up to 30 hours a week, but will still only be paid for 13 hours. Floor fellows are often expected to respond to student crises, build a community within residences, and serve as role models to younger students. It was the lack of compensation for work, according to Newman, that primarily led to the 84 per cent vote in favour of a strike authorization on March 7. “[The McGill administration] have been quite clear about their disdain for the idea that floor fellows deserve anything beyond the upcoming provincial minimum wage,” Newman said. “What they have thus far failed to communicate clearly is why so many floor fellows have received net-zero pay stubs, when we can expect them to

come to us with a fair deal.”

According to Joanna, having an expired CA means that floor fellows face situations that fall beyond the scope of their mandate—like having to mitigate drug use despite receiving no training in harm reduction practices. Hazard pay, too, is a major demand AMUSE is pushing for.

“We really hope that McGill will meet some of our demands,” Joanna said. “We believe what we are asking for is fair. We would like enough meal plan money to cover three meals per day at dining halls [....] We would also like to get hazard pay for 2020-2021 because we were working at the height of COVID.” In an email to the Tribune, McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle stated that McGill is working alongside AMUSE and floor fellows in order to find a solution, and that some agreement has already been reached.

“McGill has been in discussion with the union for several months. Both parties have come to [an] agreement on all nonmonetary elements within the collective agreement,” Mazerolle wrote. “Further meetings are planned with the union in the coming days. It is our hope we will reach a fruitful agreement rapidly.” *Joanna’s name has been changed to preserve their anonymity.

Two years after the administration falsely reported her deceased to her family, Fanta Ly continues to speak about systemic racism at McGill Ly has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission Shani Laskin Staff Writer

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n July 30, 2020, the sister of Fanta Ly received a call from McGill falsely reporting that Fanta had passed away. In the two years since, there has been little explanation from the administration regarding how this mistake occurred.

A Student Affairs case manager had mistakenly called Ly’s sister instead of the family of a student who had indeed passed away. In a statement to The McGill Tribune, McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle wrote that changes have been made to ensure this does not happen again.

“The situation [...] is the result of a most unfortunate human error, by which an employee of the University contacted Ms. Fanta Ly’s sibling, thinking she was reaching out to the family of another student, who had passed away,” Mazerolle wrote. “The employee noticed the mistake early in the call and immediately apologized profusely.

The Principal of the University also sent a written apology to Ms. Ly. We have since carefully reviewed our internal processes to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.”

Principal and Vice-chancellor Suzanne Fortier sent an apology letter to Ly, now a fourth year law student, more than six months after the incident.

Ly, a national director at the Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA) of Canada and a Black Wealth Club fellow, believes her story is more than just a one-off mistake by a confused employee.

“Some people are trying to dismiss this as a mistake from McGill, but this incident really needs to be situated within the long-standing harassment and discrimination of Black students at McGill,” Ly said in an interview with the Tribune. ” Ly went on to describe other incidents of hostility and differential treatment from the administration, particularly regarding academic accommodations. Prior to the phone call, Ly sought medical accommodations and was met with resistance from multiple McGill employees. “[An Associate Dean] told me I can’t get an accommodation for the same medical reason more than once,” Ly said. “Furthermore, for white students, these issues always get resolved because at some point administrators feel the need to respond and ensure equal treatment.

I wish it were the same for Black students. When it comes to Black students, there’s never any response.

And it’s just so much time and energy wasted, just trying to fight with an administration that doesn’t value us and treats us like absolute garbage.”

Ly also described receiving failing grades without explanation, as well as having to contest seemingly targeted changes to the requirements for her minor, such as the removal of certain credits that used to count towards her minor. After addressing

academic standing, having difficulty getting accommodations, and grappling with the phone call, all amid the COVID-19 pandemic, took a toll on her.

“And even after the call to my family, no one ever reached out to me,” Ly said. “They only sent me that apology letter after I sent an email regarding the faulty investigation and stated that I would inform the media if they didn’t respond. This is all just too much anxiety and too much stress. I couldn’t keep up with

Ly was repeatedly denied academic accommodations and given failing grades with little to no warning or explanation. (Cameron Flanagan / The McGill Tribune)

of Ly’s experience have been unique, it nevertheless reflects a larger range of systemic issues. Miclisse-Polat also believes that placing the onus on students not only to report incidents of racism, but to seek justice can create a taxing environment for Black students.

“The fact that the burden falls on the students creates a hostile environment—it a lot of times makes students feel unsafe, and it just sort of perpetuates a system of exclusion at the faculty,” Miclisse-Polat said in an interview with the Tribune.

“This is what we mean when we talk about systemic discrimination. A lot of times it’s done in very insidious ways, but it continues to foster a sense of exclusion.”

Currently, Ly is seeking justice in a variety of ways, including filing a complaint to the Quebec Human Rights Commission, writing to the Minister of Higher Education, and sending documentation of students’ experiences to faculty alumni as well as her local member of Parliament.

these issues with the Student Affairs Office (SAO) and being redirected to multiple sources, Ly felt unsatisfied with the explanations given. Feeling ignored by the administration while handling complications with her

If you are in need of resources or support relating to anti-Black racism, contact the Black Students’ Network, the Black Law Student Association at McGill, or visit this website for more.

my coursework. How am I supposed to do my classes in this type of environment?”

Hülya Miclisse-Polat, 3L and co-president of McGill’s BLSA chapter, believes that while aspects

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

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OPINION

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Sequoia Kim editor@mcgilltribune.com

Hear ye, hear ye: Floor fellows’ collective agreement is long overdue

Creative Director Ruobing Chen rchen@mcgilltribune.com

The McGill Tribune Editorial Board

EDITORIAL BOARD

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 Adam Matthews-Kott & Shafaq Nami 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 Business Manager Joseph Abounohra business@mcgilltribune.com

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n March 18, nearly two years after the expiration of the Collective Agreement (CA) between McGill and the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) expired, a town crier announced that floor fellows would be going on strike to push the administration toward negotiations for better wages and working conditions.

AMUSE comprises two units: Unit A, which represents nonacademic staff, and Unit B, which represents floor fellows. The McGill administration’s failure to compromise on a new CA with AMUSE is reprehensible. The delay and pushback keeps floor fellows in precarity, jeopardizes student experiences, and highlights the administration’s lack of care for floor fellows’ labour.

Because the previous CA expired on July 2, 2020, floor fellows have been working on the basis of a grey interim agreement, meaning that the expired rules and regulations are still in effect.

For the past two years, floor fellows wages have remained fixed at 2020’s $13.50/hour rate for an expected 13 hours of work per week, along with their plan

OFF THE BOARD Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editor

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

STAFF 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 Anna Berglas, Noa Crebassa, Cameron Flanagan, Ella Gomes, Isabelle Lahiri, Henry Olsen, Catherine Plawutsky, Brian Schatteman, Raymond Tu

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5

M

y mother is an assertive woman.

When I was younger, I was often baffled by her abilities to command the attention she deserved whenever she walked in a room. Maybe it was because she spent years working as a manager at an engineering firm, or maybe it was because she was a Taurus, but Mummy demanded respect, and she got it. Of the numerous traits of hers that I picked up, the “respectful assertion” didn’t quite rub off as expected, and I grew up being, among other things, a bit of

allocation of $4,575. AMUSE proposed a wage increase to $18/hour. In response, McGill proposed $13.64.

Recently, however, they lowered their initial offer to $13.50, a move that provoked floor fellows to strike.

With talks over a new CA having dragged on for years, floor fellows have every right to go on strike to pressure McGill to cede to their demands for liveable wages and better working conditions.

The delay in reaching a CA highlights McGill’s exploitative and neglectful attitude toward floor fellows’ labour. On paper, their responsibilities include going on duty, scheduling and attending meetings with the residence life manager (RLM), and planning inclusive activities to help students settle in at university.

However, this list fails to account for the wide-ranging informal duties: For example, floor fellows often expend additional emotional labour by making themselves available to students outside of onduty hours. When negotiating with the union, McGill must bear this context in mind and value floor fellows as much as students do.

During the pandemic and following the resignation of an RLM, floor fellows took on additional management

responsibilities, such as handing out warnings to students who violated safety restrictions in an effort to curb COVID-19 transmission. That floor fellows had to navigate COVID-19 outbreaks, often without proper PPE, on top of their pre-existing duties is all the more reason to support their calls for better wages and working conditions. Especially as inflation and taxes rise in Quebec, McGill’s stubbornness to grant pay increases for liveable wages denigrates floor fellows’ livelihoods and devalues their labour.

On top of the fight over wages, another disadvantage of the interim agreement is the allocated meal plan credit which pays for less than two meals a day. Given that the CA is expired, it cannot keep pace with rising prices: Floor fellows currently receive a fully paid meal plan valued at $4,575, the price of the plan in 2020, which is $1,000 less than the updated 2022 meal plan. Additionally, McGill only allocates $100 a month to floor fellows working in Solin Hall, which makes up a mere third of the estimated monthly groceries expenditure in Quebec. On top of rising food prices in dining halls and paying taxes for their rent,

floor fellows will essentially be working for free if they do not receive a wage increase. Even with free accommodation, their wages remain a challenge to making ends meet.

Most importantly, McGill’s two-year delay to reach an agreement over fair pay and proper working conditions showcases its lack of acknowledgement toward the unique role that floor fellows play in the institution.

Floor fellows are among the first impressions first year students have of the university and they play a pivotal role in their support systems, especially for international students. They go above and beyond to ensure that all first-year students feel safe and welcomed in the university space.

While McGill comes to terms with the floor fellows’ strike and demands for their CA, McGill students can play a crucial part in supporting their initiative.

Students can amplify and support AMUSE’s campaign, especially on social media, by engaging with its events like the floor fellows’ strike. Fundamentally, floor fellows are students taking up extra responsibility to support those around them, and they deserve respect, fair pay, and safe working conditions.

The feminine urge to be a bit of an asshole an asshole.

The ways in which I grappled with this mean streak have changed throughout my life. On March 8, International Women’s Day, Instagram was overflowing with positive posts uplifting women—their sugar, their spice, and their everything nice. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a scrooge; representation through excellence is one of many ways to empower women, and it is of course important to exhibit when women succeed in overcoming systemic barriers. But I started noticing a pattern. Many photo threads, infographics, quotes — they all seemed to unequivocally equate being a woman with being good.

Though I support the uplifting of all women, I also encourage everyone to broaden their circle to include, well, nasty women.

I was often called bossy as a child. My aforementioned assertive mother had coworkers label her intimidating or angry. I didn’t like the labels; they didn’t feel like they fit my mom nor myself. When I got older and grew conscious of my own being, the innate concept of “femininity” was ingrained into my psyche.

This exacerbated my inner clash,

as words like “aggressive” or “intimidating” were incongruent with the girly nature I felt society expected me to have. When I made my first Tumblr account and dipped a toe into the most shallow ends of corporate feminism, once again I found that the discourse about protecting women often revolved around their innate goodness.

Despite what the swathes of online blogging tried to tell me, there was no one way to experience the spectrum of emotion, negative or not. Feelings are not supposed to be associated with gender; our efforts to support others should not orient around what we expect as a correct emotional response. But I didn’t know that at the time.

So I started to tone it down.

I started to express negative emotions in ways I believed reflected some kind of womanly nature, like tearing up instead of shouting out. If I was angry, I wasn’t an asshole anymore, I was the very gendered term of bitch— which meant I didn’t get angry, I let the anger get me. Within the realm of human emotion, I restricted myself out of fear that I might fall into a category of women whom people didn’t want to respect.

The thing is, vileness––or, for lack of a better word, evilness–– continues to permeate our world. It is not hard to think of systemic or individual examples on all scales of activity, from geopolitical conflicts to some goober tripping people on the street. Every day, our fellow humans commit varying levels of “bad” acts. I thoroughly believe it is my human right to be allowed to participate in all the bad so long as it continues to exist. This is by no means my proclamation of being a future war criminal, and I, like other rational people, want peace and prosperity for the world. Nonetheless! While men are spitting in the street I should be allowed the privilege of getting angry without feeling the need to shift it to a more acceptable fury.

When uplifting women, you cannot demand or expect every person to be a shining example of “good” womanhood. While successful, kind, and passionate women exist in multitudes, so do those with little ambition, limited amounts of sweet words, and maybe like, one hobby. I suggest we raise a glass to the liberation of everyone, nice and spice, or dingy and stingy.

6

OPINION

COMMENTARY

The selective humanity in Canada’s refugee policy

Dima Kiwan Staff Writer

C

anada’s open-arms response to the recent Ukrainian refugee crisis is, rightfully, a point of pride for Canadians. Refugees of all backgrounds face unimaginable challenges through no fault of their own, from dangerous sea crossings to lasting mental trauma. Countries that recognize these challenges and contribute their attention and resources to refugee settlement do make a positive impact. However, Canada and Quebec’s hasty policies for Ukrainian refugees are not reflective of their typical refugee policies, which raises doubts about whether these governments are genuinely motivated by humanitarian principles, rather than political and racial bias.

On March 3, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced that Canada will allow an unlimited number of Ukranians to apply for expedited visa stays of up to two years, waiving quo-

Nearly 32,000 Afghan refugee application approvals short of its goal, Canada opens its doors to an unlimited number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing amidst the recent Russian invasion. (DW)

COMMENTARY Valentina de la Borbolla Staff Writer Content warning: Enslavement, medical abuse, racial and colonial violence

M

cGill’s troubled history of abuse and complicity in violence toward Black, Indigenous, and disabled people is nothing new. James McGill enslaved at least three Black people and two Indigenous children, an increasingly recognized and discussed reality within the community, especially following professor Charmaine Nelson’s work, Slavery and McGill University: Bicentenary Recommendations, and the Black Students’ Network and the Indigenous Students’ Alliance’s 2021 video essay on McGill’s history of enslavement.

McGill, as an institution, has also committed atrocities in the Allan Memorial Institute under the MK ULTRA experiments. Dr. Ewen Cameron worked in a team with the CIA at the Allan Memorial Institute in the 1950s and 60s to conduct brainwashing experiments and psychological torture on patients admitted for mental illnesses.

Eyewitness accounts suggest Indigenous children were also subjected

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

tas, the usual application fees, and high barrier requirements such as language or labour market impact assessments. The visa process, which usually takes a year to complete, will be expedited to a matter of weeks for Ukrainians. At the provincial level, Quebec immigration minister Jean Boulet announced $5-million in grants to 14 community organizations related to the support and francization of incoming Ukrainian refugees.

Quebec also has no limit set on the number of Ukrainian refugees it will accept through Canada’s program.

Especially for students and young adults, expedited temporary visas are relatively quick to process and are an effective short-term policy response to global refugee crises. The policy grants refugees thrown into uncertainty time to safely study or work before making difficult long-term decisions about their future. That said, this thoughtful policy is highly uncharacteristic of Canada, a nation that often avoids such openaccess temporary visa programs on the grounds that people will overstay them upon expiry.

For context, Canada has approved 7,885 Afghan refugee applications in seven months, in contrast to the over 6,000 Ukrainian applications approved in the last 10 weeks —many even being accepted before concerns about Russian aggression fully materialized. By contrast, migration opportunities for Syrian refugees fleeing war to Canada have quietly declined ever since the influx in 2016. Their path to Canada has essentially become limited to private sponsorship

cases, which are both rare and come with high financial barriers.

Upon being prompted to acknowledge that the same temporary visa opportunities are not offered to refugees from Africa or the Middle East, Fraser and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted there was no bias involved, stating that each situation is unique. The justification offered is that Ukraine’s western borders are currently open, and over one million Ukrainian refugees have already successfully crossed over to neighbouring countries, from which it is easier to apply to come to Canada. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan for instance, refugees face several barriers crossing into neighbouring Pakistan, including required bribes, police aggression at checkpoints, and heavy travel restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

However, the Canadian government’s justifications are no excuse for abandoning efforts to ensure fairness. Unique situations, such as those in Syria and Afghanistan, warrant especially comprehensive criteria and consultation. There are several reputable international and local refugee organizations, such as Aman Lara, that are ready to coordinate with the Canadian government to offer the same hope to young non-Ukrainian refugees.

Canada’s inequitable refugee policy reflects more than laziness on behalf of the government—it carries the weight of a racist, and unfortunately common, rhetoric circulating mainstream media: That Ukrainian refugees, the majority of them white Christian Europeans, will

better fit into Canadian society. Especially compared to Western media coverage of the Middle East, Ukrainian refugees have been depicted as more civilized and consequently more worthy of the support the Western world has to offer.

This narrative is morally reprehensible.

Canada is home to some of the most proudly multicultural cities in the world, and the modern “Canadian” is no longer defined by a single ethnicity, religion, or cultural practice. Quebec, in particular, must be aware of its racial bias, as it invests millions in the francization of Ukrainian refugees while sitting on a backlog of non-white applications—a situation made worse when considering it cut immigration to the province by 20 per cent in 2019. Premier Legault justified the cut by citing the difficulty of integrating newcomers into society and the labour market—now not the most convincing explanation given Quebec’s immigration policy for Ukrainians.

To truly offer equal opportunity, the government must acknowledge the racist implications of its policy in this current social climate, instead of dismissing criticisms with the logistical and bureaucratic excuses refugees hear too often.

As shown through its policy for Ukrainian refugees, Canada’s stressful and invasive procedures imposed on refugees from other active conflict zones, namely Syria and Afghanistan, were unnecessary. The federal and provincial governments have demonstrated their capacity to help refugees regain agency over their lives, and it is time they extend these opportunities equitably.

Redressing the history of medical injustice at McGill to Cameron’s abuse, and Indigenous groups such as the Mohawk Mothers suspect there may be unmarked graves under the Royal Victoria hospital..

Survivors of these abuses have since filed lawsuits against McGill, the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Canadian government, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Until now, though, the Canadian Supreme Court has refused the government and hospitals’ motions to dismiss the case, forcing McGill to confront its legal and moral liability. Given its involvement in this kind of abuse, McGill must acknowledge its wrongdoing and implement reparative measures for survivors and the larger McGill community, such as providing monetary reparations and committing to addressing current issues of medical abuse.

Cameron’s aim was to “de-pattern” brains to create a blank mind canvas susceptible to ideological influence and malleable to different objectives.

Considering that McGill prides itself as a global leading institution with a history of “expanding minds,” the university should confront its history of psychological torture and forced ideological indoctrination. McGill can no longer ignore the experiences of survivors of the abuse who recall being comatose

for weeks at a time, drugged with LSD, put in sensory deprivation rooms, and forced to listen to the same recordings on endless loops.

During the Korean War, the CIA funnel-funded Canadian researchers like Cameron to lead these psychological experiments at McGill. As the first chair of McGill’s psychiatry department, Cameron had the authority to legitimize his practices to psychiatry students he worked with, who would later become professionals in the health-care system. In this way, his structural and institutional impact would trickle down to harm racialized and disabled people.

Indeed, Quebec’s systemically racist healthcare endangers Black, Indigenous and other racialized individuals—proof of the longstanding effects that colonial violence has on institutions like hospitals, which will need to implement radical measures to enact long-overdue change.

The MK ULTRA experiments are not the first time McGill has come under scrutiny over its harmful past, and it certainly will not be the last.

McGill’s colonial legacies were first forged as part of the university’s founding and this history continues to shape the institution today. In 2020, McGill finally changed the racist name of its

McGill’s unjust medical experimentation dates back to before MK ULTRA. Dr. Hebb studied the effects of prolonged sensory deprivation by experimenting on students, who, affected by the consequences of the studies, were incapable of giving consent. (The Canadian Encyclopedia) sports teams following persistent advocacy by Indigenous students. McGill is also built on the stolen and unceded land that is part of the Treaty Land of The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, of which the Kanien’kéha Nation, the Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples are a part. As Kahentinetha, a member of the Mohawk Mothers, said, “The entire McGill University is a crime scene.”

If the university hopes to show any accountability and work to regain the trust of the community, McGill has a responsibility to publicly acknowledge the numerous atrocities it has been

a part of and apologize to survivors.

At the very least, the university must go forth with legal processes without posing any obstacles to the families of survivors. McGill must be willing to be held accountable, and should develop plans to ensure decolonial and antioppressive approaches are embedded into the university’s own health system. Further, it must take steps to halt all abusive measures within the healthcare system at large. Any effort at reconciliation by McGill is insufficient as long as the university neglects their responsibility in redressing the pattern of medical injustice.

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.

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Student Research: How the tickle of a feather guides bird flight

7

Honours biology student Maggie-Rose Johnston researches the somatosensory mapping of bird flight Niamh Stafford Staff Writer

F

lying is fundamental to the survival of birds. It’s how they migrate, find food, mate, and escape predators. Along with its benefits, flight comes with unique risks as well: One wrong maneuver and a bird could plummet out of control. So, how exactly do birds become the masters of flight as adults? This is the question third-year biology honours student MaggieRose Johnston, a member of the Sarah Woolley lab, is trying to answer. Working with zebra finches, Johnston is seeking to understand how a bird’s brain interprets the physical stimuli sensed by its wings.

“The basic hypothesis is that the activity going on in the feathers should be translated in the brain,” Johnston said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “What I’m doing is just the real basics of understanding a whole lot of avian flight and how they react to pressure differences and airflow.”

Relying on sensory feedback from their feathers to navigate the aerial environment, birds use tiny changes in wind patterns to fine-tune their movements through the air. The sensory information is passed along from the bird’s wings to its brain using its central nervous system, guiding the bird during flight so that it can seamlessly react to ever-changing air currents.

“Whiskers are a good analogy for filoplumes,” said Johnston. “They are these long feathers that have a little tuft at the end of them and are interspersed in avian wings. And what seems to be happening is that these are acting like whiskers, detecting the movement of the larger feathers.”

The main focus of Johnston’s research is to distinguish which areas of the brain are involved in interpreting the movement of feathers. To mimic the motion of flying, Johnston moves one of the zebra finch’s wings up and down, by hand. Once this flight simulation is completed, the bird’s brain activity is measured.

“In future steps, [we] may use tweezers to move a specific feather, but at this point we’re just trying to find the ballpark of what we’re looking at here,” Johnston said.

During flight, certain neurons in the hyperpallium apicalis, an area of the brain involved in interpreting sensory information from the wings, are activated. To identify which neurons are firing, Johnston measures the activity of an early activation gene called RPS6. This gene marker acts as an indicator of neural activity and is used to determine which regions of the hyperpallium apicalis are involved in the interpretation of sensory information.

During the measurement process, the birds are sedated and left to rest in the dark away from any external stimuli before brain activity is measured to try and reduce any data obstruction. Johnston admitted, however, that background noise can interfere with the experiment.

“The problem is that there is a little bit of activity in the [hyperpallium apicalis] but it’s not very striking compared to the background noise,” Johnston said.

This link between sensory information and flight mechanics is still somewhat unclear, but Johnston is using this as a learning opportunity to improve her experimental protocol. She views the ambiguity of her results as a way to learn and is keen to go back to the drawing board. Nevertheless, her results are far from insignificant as they are still furthering the understanding of neural

Zebra finches use a flying technique called flap-bounding to conserve energy during flight. Flap-bounding consists of a quick succession of rapid wing flaps followed by a period of flexed-wings bounds. (thespruce.com) correlates of bird flight.

When it comes to future applications of her research, Johnston believes that the field of avionics has much to learn from the flight of birds.

“Understanding how birds fly can open up a whole new avenue for engineering in general and engineering of flight,” Johnston said. “The energy-saving potential of getting machines to behave like bird wings is incredible.”

The mapping of neuro-mechanics of bird flight could revolutionize aviation, most notably within the sector of drone engineering. How birds compute air flow changes and adapt to their surroundings is a source of interest for self-driving drones research. Johnston hopes to conduct further research on birds and other vertebrates to unlock the design secrets embedded in their anatomy.

AI will train the new generation of expert surgeons Neurosurgery simulator trains medical students more effectively than professors via Zoom Sara Chiarotto O’Brien Staff Writer

H

ow do we quantify the skill of a surgeon? Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, McGill’s William Feindel professor emeritus in neuro-oncology and director of the Neurosurgical Simulation Research Centre at The Neuro, has been asking himself this question for much of his career.

After nearly two decades of research into surgical instruction, Maestro found a way to quantify a surgeon’s competence. With funding and support from the Franco di Giovanni Foundation, Del Maestro’s team has developed a brain surgery simulator powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that allows surgical students to practice removing tumors without any risk to real patients.

The simulator’s Virtual Operative Assistant (VOA) offers real-time feedback to students, relieving the need for an expert to be present. In a recent study conducted by Del Maestro and his team, students taught and guided by the simulator performed surgeries 2.6 times faster and 36 per cent more accurately

Dr. Rolando Del Maestro was inspired to build a neurosurgery training simulator after learning about flight simulators used in the international aerospace industry. (Corey Zhu / The McGill Tribune) than students taught and guided by experts over Zoom.

Training a surgeon is a lengthy process that has traditionally required constant supervision from experienced surgeons while students operate on real patients—and sometimes even intervention when the task becomes too technically challenging. Del Maestro’s surgical simulator is the first of its kind in brain surgery training, and is one of the most complex medical simulators ever built.

Marking a surgeon as “competent” is subjective, as standards vary across countries and institu-

tions. For example, schools may lack the tools to measure critical performance markers, such as a surgeon’s hand pressure when manipulating tools, or quantity of blood loss in a patient.

Del Maestro started recognizing these discrepancies when he visited medical schools in China, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to teach neurosurgery techniques.

According to Del Maestro, even more problematic than the non-standardized training was the lack of objectivity in expert assessments and a focus on “competency training.” Medical schools operating on strict sched-

ules with limited resources aim to train students to be competent at surgeries, but do not require them to meet the same standards as their expert teachers, instead expecting these skills to develop on the job.

“I’ve always had a problem with that, because what is competence?” Del Maestro said in an interview with the Tribune.

“Would you like the airplane pilot to be competent, or would you like the airplane pilot to be expert?”

Del Maestro’s simulator also solves the problem of how to measure student performance.

It analyzes more than 6,000 metrics and distills that information into four key indicators so that students learn to perform surgeries first safely, then efficiently.

The skills measured include hand pressure and acceleration on instruments, movement accuracy, and the ability to control blood loss. Using deep learning, a subtype of machine learning related to predictive analysis, users are classified into categories ranging from novice to expert on a scale of -1 to 1, with 0 being competent.

As for the future of this technology, Del Maestro explained

that this type of simulator can be adapted to any procedure that requires the surgeon to use both hands. He predicts that over the next 20 years, AI will be increasingly integrated into the field of surgery. Indeed, he anticipates a rise in human-machine cooperation, where AI analyzes student performance and instructors use that information to better guide students.

“The effect will be to elevate the standards of surgical skill to something similar to the Olympics,” Del Maestro said, referencing the lengths coaches go to to improve their athlete’s performance. “I think patient safety will be substantially improved.”

For now, Del Maestro is focussed on the next step of this project. He wants to test the performance of the simulator against in-person teaching, which has been largely put on pause due to COVID-19 restrictions. In the long run, he hopes to make virtual reality and artificial intelligence a globally accessible tool for all kinds of medical training.

The ultimate goal, says Maestro, is for new doctors to not just be competent, but be the best that they can possibly be.

The right to be forgotten

How targeted advertising really predicts consumer patterns Madison McLauchlan Managing Editor

L

ast semester, I travelled to Toronto by train to see a concert. My friend and I stayed at a modest Airbnb in someone’s suburban basement to save some cash.

When I arrived, I hopped in the shower to wash off the grime and sweat from the five-hour train ride and was greeted by a plethora of shampoos and conditioners to choose from. There must have been at least 10 different bottles. So I grabbed a bottle of volumizing Pantene, one that I’d never seen before, and lathered up.

Emerging from the shower, I dried my hair and was astounded at how shiny and soft it felt. “Hey, this shampoo is really amazing,” I told my friend. I didn’t mention its brand, its scent, or its colour. All I said was “this shampoo.”

Two days later, back in Montreal, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when an advertisement for the exact shampoo, brand and type, came up. I immediately felt a jolt of fear—the kind of panic that takes hold when you realize that you changed your clothes in front of the window, or when your music starts playing out loud instead of through your headphones. Sure, I’d encountered targeted ads that were scarily accurate, or that seemed to intuit my wants or needs––it’s not unusual to mention a brand name one day only to have it appear as an advertisement the next. But to receive an ad for a shampoo that I’d only ever used once in my life and had never looked up on the internet—it felt like an invasion of not only my privacy, but my mind. If my phone was not listening to my conversations, then how had Instagram’s, and by extension, Facebook’s, insidious algorithm pinpointed the exact product I happened to like out of an array of products displayed to me at the Airbnb?

I still don’t have an explanation as to why.

Though it may have been a coincidence, this chilling experience spurred me onto a research frenzy into just how customized advertisements have become.

By now, most college-aged students like me have been submitting their data, with or without their consent, to big tech companies like Facebook and Google for years.

Much of modern marketing is built upon behavioural advertising. In this model, companies and third-party platforms build a profile of you based on your internet activity. What you like, what websites you visit, what ads you click on, what you watch on Netflix—all of this information is collected and used to recalibrate the content shown to you.

Even more invasive metrics, like cursor movement and how long you linger on a certain page, are considered fair game.

Typically, digital marketing agencies are hired as intermediaries that craft many of the ads that appear on our endless Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok scrolls. One such Montreal-based agency, Turko Advertising, works with clients like Bell, Narcity Media, and Iris. When I spoke to the founder, Remi Turcotte, he told me that marketing techniques play on emotional triggers to encourage sales. In scarcity marketing, for example, companies signal that an item is only available in limited quantities.

Advertisers can also give out special offers or

coupons to encourage customers to reciprocate in kind by making purchases.

“It’s about serving the right ad to the right person at the right time,” Turcotte said. “In a macro mindset, the idea is to create a message that is going to be appealing to the target customer [....] You want an ad experience that is optimal.”

One way to personalize ads is to know where the customer is, and therefore, what products and stores are nearby. Tracking an individual’s location data is what allows apps like Waze, owned by Google, to suggest ads based on what they will encounter while travelling from point A to point B. With location services turned on, we are consenting to our every step being tracked for profit.

According to Renee Sieber, an associate professor in the Department of Geography and president-elect of the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT), prediction becomes more robust when companies amalgamate the data of many individuals in a given location and make decisions based on meta trends.

“It is amazing how many apps demand location information from you whether or not it’s obvious why they would need that information from you, ” Sieber said. In fact, tracking longer-term movement data of a group of users can lead to raking in more profit.

If you’ve ever opened up Instagram in class, chances are that companies have used your geophysical and temporal data to optimize ads accordingly. If you’re a student, they might show you stationery, laptops, or other school supplies.

Tracking doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom.

Companies are already one step ahead of you and will figure out what you want next—fast food deals for lunch, for example. During Reading Week, when hordes of McGill students travel in the same short

period of time, companies will start promoting ads for suitcases, vacation deals, or other relevant travel items.

Personally, I don’t find the idea of sharing my location that disturbing; apps on iOS are typically legally required to notify me when my location is being tracked, with some exceptions. But I’d never understood the extent to which companies fuse that data together, layering individualized data points with the rest of the population in order to piece together the clearest picture of my personality.

Tracking users’ movement is not only restricted to the physical realm. Nowadays, almost all websites use cookie tracking to save users’ log-in info, track their browsing history, and sell info to third-party companies. Cookies, which are small morsels of text data downloaded onto your computer when you access a website, are the main way your behaviour is tracked on the internet for ad personalization. Third-party cookies can even integrate data about your online shopping across multiple websites.

“This is how websites know that you were there and keep you logged in,” Turcotte explained. “This also helps third-party platforms and ad servers follow you because your navigational information is stored in a cookie.”

The myth that our phones are listening to us is a cogent response to the age of surveillance, but it’s ultimately untrue. When companies can access your location and internet activity, they don’t need to listen to know everything about you—they already have everything they need to know. In fact, voice-activated smart devices, like Amazon’s Alexa

or Apple’s Siri, only record audio after detecting the “wake word.” Jonathan Sterne, a professor and James McGill Chair in Culture & Technology, explained that even though our phones aren’t recording us, our voices still make their way into advertising infrastructure. “[T]here are cases where companies actively listen to people,” Sterne wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Every time someone calls in to a customer support line and hears that their call will be ‘recorded for quality assurance,’ their own voice is being recorded by the company, and likely profiled and added to a database.”

Many of these voice profiling technologies are not only inaccurate, but also plagued by biases— speech recognition tools often fail to recognize English spoken with a non-Western accent as well as common dialects like African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Racial and ethnic bias is everywhere in tech, from the Anglo-centric way that keyboard letters are encoded to the mostly white faces that facial recognition software is trained on. Although tech companies have faced increasing scrutiny about their questionable commitments to equity, it remains difficult to tackle systemic problems when their leadership remains overwhelmingly white.

Sieber says that though most people think of artificial intelligence as a neutral tool, this is a misconception—the biases of our society trickle down into our technologies as well. And as digital marketing companies get better at integrating ads into social media feeds, it becomes more difficult to view ads with a critical lens. In fact, we are increasingly exposed to native advertisements, where content creators integrate ads into the middle of YouTube videos or podcasts without disrupting the flow of regular content. The conversational nature of such ads inherently exploits the trust we put into our favourite creators to have their viewers’ best interests in mind. While this kind of deception might be obvious to hyper-online young adults, it’s not necessarily clear to people who are less digitally literate.

“There is a digital native versus digital immigrant problem,” Sieber told me. “There are people who were born to the devices and the platforms and there are people who came to them [....] I think that people are aware of the amount of data that is being shared. The question is whether they care enough to do things like block [tracking].”

“Ultimately, the problem here is corporate secrecy, and the fact that people are able to sign away so many of their digital rights in the name of convenience,” Sterne wrote.

But in this modern age of capitalist conception, convenience is a very powerful thing.

If people believe they benefit from advertisements anticipating their wants and needs, then the question of privacy violation is moot. Convenience is not the only thing companies are trying to sell— modern wellness culture is constantly striving for optimization in all its forms. It wants to sell you the best life possible—just look at the rise of mentalhealth apps, scheduling software, and expensive juicers.

Our current situation may be unprecedented, but it’s not unanticipated. In 1974, sociologist Steven Lukes theorized about three dimensions of power, the last of which feels the most prescient for our age. In this third dimension of power, a group of people are under the control of another group and they acquiesce to this domination. Crucially, in this situation, they even believe that this type of domination improves their lives.

“A lot of companies will say we’re doing this not to spy on you, but to customize your [user experience] and therefore be able to sell you more products,” Sieber said. “Don’t you want products that are specifically targeted to you?”

Intuitively, yes, but the answer will vary depending on who you ask. There are many people who are particularly wary of Big Tech’s surveillance and opt out of social media or using a smartphone at all—but this, too, reflects its own kind of privilege. The livelihood of an UberEats driver, on the other hand, relies on the locational, targeted advertising of our age. A low-income single mother may appreciate targeted ads for diapers on sale—maybe they even serve as a helpful reminder. Who gets to opt out of surveillance capitalism? Rich people have the right to be forgotten, but people working multiple

jobs, older people unfamiliar with technology, and working immigrants may not have the luxury of free time to look into how their data is being shared and how to avoid giving it up. “The right to opt out of these things implies that you were fairly secure in what you’re doing,” Sieber said.

Facebook and Google may not just be exploiting your penchant for high-waisted jeans— they could be exploiting traumatic events in your life.

Anything is fair game to these companies; they can give you ads about next steps to take after having a miscarriage, or how to cope with the death of a loved one. Racial and demographic biases are also built into marketing algorithms, so opportunities for employment or financial advancement may target certain groups and not others. Ads even cater to stereotypes of a certain group’s purported interests—women tend to get less political content on Facebook than men, for example. Political echo chambers of misinformation, as we’ve seen with the COVID-19 anti-vaccine movement, can push those who are teetering on the ideological brink into an abyss of misinformation. In many instances, right-wing lobbies have even funded ads spreading scientific inaccuracies.

As with many other forms of activism, individual actions like buying flip phones and deleting your Instagram account aren’t enough to bring down Big Tech because these companies will still hold the power to track and control everyone else. There must be limits and regulations set at the structural level to protect user privacy for those who want it, and greater transparency for those who are not privileged enough to be internetliterate. The trade-off between greater corporate surveillance and everyday convenience is currently placed on individual users rather than governments. “[I]t’s on us to figure out whether we want to be inconvenienced,” Sieber said.

According to Turcotte, the era of granular behavioural profiling based on browsing data might be coming to an end. Indeed, Google announced that it would be phasing out third-party cookie tracking on its Chrome browser by the end of 2023.

Thanks to consumer protection laws and bolstered data privacy laws, tech companies and advertising agencies like Turko will have less to work with going forward. It seems that mid-sized and small companies will have to pivot toward brand loyalty through email lists and personalized offers.

“We’re going [away] from tracking user actions,” Turcotte said. “If you look further into the future, you won’t know whether a person [...] clicked on that page or went here.”

But with billions of dollars in their coffers, companies like Google and Apple will always be poised to win the battle of digital privacy and can take advantage of all the legal loopholes to get there.

As for my own interaction with websites that exploit my data, I’m not sure where to go from here as a consumer. I went through all of the “interests” that Facebook had collected on me and removed every single one. I turned off tracking on Twitter, I disabled sharing between apps on my iPhone. But I still have trouble explaining why I truly care about companies using my data to sell me products. I don’t think that keeping my data off the grid will improve my life, but it calls into question the idea of free will.

What does it mean to want something when all your wants and needs are fed to you? After all, I did end up buying that shampoo.

What kind of person does that make me? I guess you’ll have to look at my targeted ads.

Design by Jinny Moon, Design Editor

10

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

The gendered accessibility problem with HPV vaccines

Only low- and middle-income countries are forced to choose between vaccinating women or all genders

Raymond Tu Contributor

W

hile COVID-19 vaccination continues to dominate public consciousness, the rate of vaccination for other diseases has decreased.

In Canada, recent estimates show that up-todate routine vaccine coverage was five per cent lower in children compared to the prepandemic rate.

The fear of contracting COVID-19 at the doctor’s office is one likely cause for the decline of routine vaccination rates in Canada. Citizens in high-income countries, and those with universal health care such as Canada, enjoy the privilege of a government that has the means to vaccinate its people. But what happens when countries cannot afford to purchase enough vaccines for everyone?

This is a question commonly asked in the context of human papillomavirus (HPV), the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Eduardo Franco, chair of the Department of Oncology and profes-

sor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McGill, explained that not all types of HPV are equally worrisome.

“Some HPV types are commensal and don’t cause any disease or clinical manifestation,” Franco said. But: “There is a subgenus that includes types that cause cancer.”

He noted that one type, HPV 16, is responsible for almost half of all cervical cancers, while HPV 16 and HPV 18 cause nearly all anal cancers and also contribute to penile, vaginal, and oropharyngeal cancers.

Although all HPV vaccines provide immunity against HPV 16 and HPV 18, some such as Gardasil 9 can help protect against nine types of HPV. However, the vaccine is only effective if the patient has not already contracted HPV. “Once HPV is in the body, it wreaks havoc in the process of cell growth, and in turn causes cancer,” Franco said. “The vaccine will not eliminate [an] existing infection.”

In an effort to reduce the rates of cervical cancer, the World Health Organization called for a halt to gender-neutral vaccina-

In Canada, the HPV vaccine is administered in a two- or three-dose schedule. (Faculty Opinions)

tion in favour of female-only vaccination in 2019. The idea was that if low- and middleincome countries (LMICs) cannot afford to vaccinate all of their citizens against an STI, vaccinating only women should suffice.

But this assumes heterosexual activity. Additionally, women in LMICs have a heavier HPV-associated disease burden compared to men, making them the more persuasive candidates for vaccination.

To better understand the implications of gender-neutral vaccination versus femaleonly vaccination, Franco worked with lead authors Margaret Logel and Cassandra Laurie, as well as other collaborators, to conduct a literature review on the legal and ethical aspects of this debate.

“In general, women in low- and middleincome countries would benefit most from HPV vaccinations,” Laurie, an epidemiologist and alumna of McGill’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology, said. “In these countries, cervical cancer is one of the two most likely causes of death for women, the other being breast cancer.”

Unfortunately, female-only vaccination inherently excludes identities that are still vulnerable to HPV infection, as noted in the review. Men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as some transgender women, do not share any of the benefits of a female-only HPV vaccination policy, yet are still at risk for anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers.

This problem is not exclusive to LMICs either. While data is scarce, some estimates say only 13 per cent of MSM in the United States have received any doses of the HPV

vaccine.

Other benefits of gender-neutral vaccination include the shared social responsibility of HPV prevention among all genders, as well as increased awareness of HPV for everyone at risk. Laurie explains that a lack of awareness could contribute to MSM and transgender women being at higher risk of contracting HPV and developing HPV-associated cancers and lesions.

“I think it’s important to note that whether governments implement female-only or gender-neutral vaccination, both have meritorious arguments,” Logel, a master’s student in McGill’s epidemiology program, said in an interview with the Tribune.

“I want to underscore that we wanted to capture the essence of the debate without capturing our own views on this,” Franco added. “We wanted to be as unbiased as we possibly could.”

One glimmer of hope that could change the conversation entirely is emerging evidence that one dose of Cervarix, a vaccine already on the market, could be as effective as two or three doses, the standard for HPV vaccination. A one-dose schedule would relieve the pressure on LMICs to procure vaccines, as well as relieve policymakers from having to choose between female-only or gender-neutral vaccines.

To get your HPV vaccine, visit your local CLSC, contact your family physician, or book an appointment with McGill’s Student Wellness Hub. Eligibility requirements for free-of-charge HPV vaccinations can be found here.

Tribune Tries: Visiting Montreal’s Biodome Animals to spot in each of the museum’s five ecosystems Kennedy McKee-Braide Managing Editor

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ontreal’s Biodome is part of the Space for Life complex, a network that includes four other museums––the Biosphere, the Botanical Garden, the Insectarium, and the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. The network aims to provide educational and research opportunities that prioritize sustainability and biodiversity protection.

Researchers at the Biodome have access to a living laboratory, which acts as a hub for projects related to ecology, habitat protection, urban wildlife, and animal ethics. With five ecosystems under one roof, the centre boasts a collection of over 130 different animal and plant species. After paying a visit to the centre on a rainy day, The McGill Tribune has compiled a list of our favourite animals found in each ecosystem.

Tropical rainforest - Capybara Often found hanging around

the rainforest’s bodies of water, the capybara spends its days munching on leaves, rolling in the dirt, or cooling off in the water.

Capybaras can grow as large as 1.3 metres long and can weigh up to 68 kilograms, making them the largest rodents alive today. To communicate, these overgrown guinea pigs bark, whistle, and click, and can typically be found in groups of 20 with a large male at their helm.

Fun fact: In the wild, capybara’s backs are prime real estate for birds hoping to hitch a ride or catch some rays.

Laurentian maple forest - Canada lynx One of Canada’s largest felines, the Canada lynx can be identified by its disproportionately large paws and black tufts of hair on its ears. As excellent climbers and jumpers, the lynx is often on the hunt for hares, of which they consume as many as 200 per year. Mostly found in Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States, they tend to spend most of their time alone, roaming

four to 20 kilometres a day.

Fun fact: The Canada lynx can jump as far as seven metres.

Gulf of St. Lawrence - Moon jellyfish Made up of 98 per cent water, moon jellyfish are basically the celery of the sea. Much like anemone and coral, moon jellyfish use their tentacles (all 1,200 of them) to capture their prey. The nematocysts covering each tentacle release a stinger that injects a paralyzing agent into the plankton and larvae that make up their diet.

Fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, peeing on a jellyfish sting will not actually make it feel better.

list, macaroni penguins have experienced a population decline ranging between 30 to 65 per cent over the past 30 years, depending on the study conducted. They only come onto land to moult and reproduce, spending most of their time in the sea, where they find their diet of krill, fish, and cephalopods.

Fun fact: When colonizers first saw these penguins, they called them “macaronis” after the 18th century fashion trend referenced in the song “Yankee Doodle.”

Subantarctic Islands - Macaroni penguin These medium-sized, flightless arctic birds are recognizable by their yellow head tufts, similar to those of the rockhopper penguin, which you can also find at the Biodome. The most ecologically vulnerable species on this

The Biodome houses five main ecosystems found in the Americas including the tropical, Arctic and subAntarctic, marine and Laurentian maple forest.

(Kennedy McKee-Braide / The McGill Tribune)

Labrador coast - Atlantic puffin

Atlantic puffins are easily identified by their matching orange beaks and feet. The small birds tend to nest around cliff sides when they aren’t looking for fish to eat. While they may have the macaroni penguin beat when it comes to their flying abilities, Atlantic puffins are hardly experts––to keep themselves in the air, they must flap their wings 300 to 400 times per minute.

Fun fact: The Atlantic puffin can catch up to 60 fish in one dive.

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

STUDENT LIFE

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Having fun in Montreal without spending a penny The Tribune’s guide to having a banging spring while on a budget 2. Host a potluck picnic

Abby McCormick Staff Writer

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ith spring fast approaching, many McGill students are braving the outdoors for the first time in months, finally getting the chance to explore the city. However, it can sometimes feel impossible to experience all that Montreal has to offer, with the costs of popular student activities like going to restaurants, cafes, and bars adding up before you know it. Luckily, The McGill Tribune’s suggestions will help you forge long-lasting spring memories in Montreal, without taking a hit to your bank account.

1. Check out a local museum Montreal boasts 40 different museums, making it an ideal city for a museum tour. With attractions ranging from historical artifacts to modern art exhibits to scientific demos, there is a venue for all interests. Among these museums is the Musée des beaux-arts, located a mere 10-minute walk from McGill’s downtown campus in the Golden Square Mile. This renowned gallery features Quebec and Canadian art, international contemporary art, and even a sculpture garden. Students wanting to check out this attraction are in luck—the Musée des beaux-arts offers free admission to those 20 and under. If you are 21 or over, don’t worry—you can enjoy free admission on the first Sunday of every month at this artist’s paradise. Alternatively, Musée McCord, conveniently located across the street from McGill’s Royal Victoria College, includes exhibitions in Canada-based fashion, photography, and more. This student-friendly locale offers free admission on Wednesday evenings and on the first Sunday of every month.

For the foodie, planning a picnic is an ideal way to socialize with friends and indulge your taste buds in some new dishes this spring. And luckily, Montreal is the perfect city for a homemade picnic—just invite some friends and choose one of the city’s numerous parks as a destination! Perhaps the most popular picnicking spot in the city is Parc La Fontaine.

This sprawling green space offers prime picnic real estate, with glowing lawns and tall trees that will shade you from the sun. If you’re looking to host your picnic closer to campus, try Parc Jeanne-Mance, or even Parc du Mont-Royal if you’re willing to brave the hike up the hill. To avoid depleting your budget, make your picnic a potluck. With each of your friends bringing a dish, you can each prevent additional trips to the grocery store and still enjoy a hearty meal. It’ll also be a great opportunity to try out a new recipe and impress your friends.

3. Go on a walking tour of the city Though often regarded as mere tourist attractions, walking tours of Montreal can be a great way to explore new parts of the city without spending a cent. Free Montreal Tours offers a walking tour of Old Montreal for people of all ages at absolutely no cost. Beginning at Metro Place d’Armes, this trek takes just over two hours to show participants attractions such as Place Jacques-Cartier, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Chapel, and the Rue Saint-Jacques West, with stories and anecdotes from knowledgeable guides. Alternatively, you can try a free walking tour of Montreal’s Chinatown, starting at the Champ-de-Mars metro station. If you are looking for a more self-guided experience, try picking a new area of the city from a map and simply go explore it. Taking a walk in other

Though often regarded as mere tourist attractions, walking tours of Montreal can be a great way to explore new parts of the city without spending a cent. (Sébastien Géroli / The McGill Tribune) neighbourhoods can help you get out of the student bubble while learning more about Montreal’s rich and diverse history.

4. Visit a public library While McLennan may have us all clasped firmly in its grip, challenge your friends to venture outside of their routines this spring by going to one of Montreal’s public libraries.

The city is home to 45 library branches and holds upwards of four million books. Not only do these branches provide study materials, but they also offer great options for a light spring read, perfect to enjoy on a sunny day. In particular, La Grande Bibliothèque located between Quartier des Spectacles and Gay Village is embellished with glass walls and spiral staircases, making it a stunning backdrop for a quiet spring study session.

The process is the protest

Divest McGill exemplifies the power of community formation in the university El Bush Staff Writer

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etween March 7 and March 18, organizers from Divest McGill occupied the McCall MacBain Arts Building to protest McGill’s multimillion dollar investments in the fossil fuel industry, calling on McGill to confront their complicity in settler-colonialism, white supremacy, and capitalism.

Over the past two weeks, Divest not only called attention to its cause but also welcomed in students and passersby, regardless of their knowledge of the movement. The doors were open for anyone who was open to learning, wanted a bite to eat, or even needed a place to sleep. Through a variety of events such as communal meals, film screenings, reading circles, and conversations, Divest succeeded in transforming the first floor of Arts into a site of learning, protest, and care.

In addition to the various events, members and organizers created a collaborative study zone for students, organized meals with food sourced from the community, and supplied a plethora of books and materials related to decolonization, racial justice, anarchist theory, and climate justice for individuals to browse.

The structure of the occupation itself was of great importance to the movement— creating a lasting community within the exploitative, institutional space is integral to Divest’s mission, explained U2 Divest McGill Member Dakota.* “[The movement is] not just trying to

fight for democracy, but enact it,” Dakota said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

With an emphasis on their nonhierarchical structure, members and organizers hoped to show those who passed by the occupation that the only way forward

Divest members and organizers gather in the McCall MacBain Arts building to exemplify the power of community organization.

(Brian Schatteman / The McGill Tribune)

is together.

For many, the first floor of the MacBain Arts Building during the occupation became a safe haven away from the often isolating feelings that often come with being a student at McGill.

Due to the individualistic nature of academia where each student is responsible for their own learning and competition amongst peers is implicitly encouraged, the importance of community and forming meaningful connections is often overlooked.

Members of Divest promote the idea that this structure is not sustainable, nor is it conducive to dismantling the oppressive systems that exist within academia.

In contrast to the individualistic culture academia often fosters, Divest wanted to create a welcoming space for students, a goal that a U0 student, Jordan*, feels they achieved.

“I felt like regardless of my previous knowledge of the movement I was welcome here,” they said.

Another U1 student agreed, describing the positive and constructive atmosphere in Arts.

“People were always so welcoming and passionate,” they explained. “The organizers and occupants were always inviting and encouraged me to learn more about their cause.”

This attention to community building was palpable among the members of Divest themselves.

“Divest has been a very important part of my time at McGill, and has offered me

a sense of community even when I couldn’t find it anywhere else,” River,* a Divest organizer, said in an interview with the Tribune.

Emerson,* another Divest organizer, noted that the movement is meant to encourage a new way of living that values community care, inclusion, and equity.

“The success of the occupation can be found in the relationships we’ve fostered and the connections we’ve formed,” Emerson told the Tribune. “Divest aims, through this occupation, to not only educate individuals on anti-colonialism, climate justice, and equity but also to encourage identification with one another.”

Organizers and members illustrate that community care itself is a protest.

According to Emerson, this emphasis on non-transactional relations with each other is key in dismantling deep-rooted capitalist ideals that encourage hyperindividualism–– and ultimately in working toward creating equitable spaces for all people.

The occupation came to an end on March 18 due to a positive case of COVID-19. However, Divest asserts that this is nowhere near the end of their work toward a better and more equitable world. In their Instagram post announcing the news, they expressed that although there “may not be tents in the arts building lobby tonight, nothing has ended. The community, energy, and power created in the last twelve days goes on.” *All names have been changed to preserve the organizers’ anonymity.

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STUDENT LIFE

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

The show goes on: The McGill Savoy Society returns to live theatre after a two-year hiatus Despite pandemic stresses, the camaraderie of live performance shines through Isabelle Lahiri Contributor

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s Montreal loosens its restrictions, live theatre has regained its place as an integral part of campus life. In going to see the McGill Savoy Society’s wildly entertaining show, The Pirates of Penzance, I was reminded of what makes going to the theatre such a distinctive experience: The connection between performers and their audience, and the simple sense of camaraderie born from this shared experience.

The McGill Savoy Society was able to cultivate exactly this energy. A Gilbert and Sullivan-focussed theatre troupe, Savoy performs operettas that fall somewhere on the spectrum between operas and musicals. This year’s annual mainstrage operetta, The Pirates of Penzance or, The Slave of Duty, is a comedy about a pirate apprentice, Frederic, who upon being released from indentureship, must navigate his exaggerated sense of duty to the pirate ship and his desire for love.

During a particularly comedic set of hijinks, I took a look around the Vanier College auditorium, where The Pirates of Penzance was staged, and thought about how different theatre looks today. Half the cast, as well as all of the audience, were masked, and the audience was spread out across the auditorium. Facing a crowd again was an especially striking experience for the performers.

“There was a two year hiatus for me, and being back on stage was quite surreal,” Alice Wu, U3 Arts and vicepresident of Savoy, explained. “I had to remind myself to think of how poor your visibility of the audience is, or how it feels to be standing all hushed backstage, waiting for the curtain to part [....] Being back on stage was a gift.”

Even the venue, a CEGEP in the Saint-Laurent borough, was a world away from the troupe’s usual Moyse Hall Theatre on campus.

“We had a week in the venue [...] so that includes all the dress rehearsals and the shows,” Wu said. “We had to figure out spacing on the stage. It was just quite the time crunch, and it made everything more hectic than it probably needed to be most years.”

The important aspects, however, remained—people gathering together to laugh and enjoy the arts together. Lee Federle, U1 Arts, was happy that the venue was outside of her usual sphere.

“It was nice to explore a new part of the city,” Federle said. “Sometimes first-year students, myself included, find it hard to leave the McGill bubble, and this was a fun way to do just that. I never would have thought to come to this neighbourhood, but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.”

With many of McGill’s traditions and activities either cancelled or shifted to an unsatisfying Zoom format, it can be hard to feel connected to the university as a place for more than just academics.

“I didn’t really have a baseline to compare it to,” Federle said. “A lot of club meetings and events are online so it was just fun to experience an in-person show hosted by the school. I really try to look for things I can go to that aren’t virtual, and a hidden benefit to that is finding things that push me out of my comfort zone.”

With the pandemic taking a hit to in-person gatherings, performing arts groups have become more invisible to students. Jacqueline Olechowski, U1 Arts and lover of performing arts, lamented the difficulties of finding shows like The Pirates of Penzance to go see.

“I find it hard to find out about events like these,” Olechowski said. “Now that I know about the McGill Savoy Society I will definitely try to see more of their shows and try to find other theatre groups to go watch. It was a fun way to spend a night!”

The electricity of the performance was palpable not only for the audience, but also for the cast and crew

The Savoy Society was unable to host their performance in the Arts Building’s Moyse Hall, their typical venue, due to rapidly changing public health measures. (Autumn Chu / The McGill Tribune) themselves.

“As for the highlight of the production, I think it’s always got to be the camaraderie,” Wu said. “I love the people, and I love making the production possible and creating a space for us to make magic and memories together and to create something we’re really proud of.”

As the university tiptoes toward normalcy, supporting the performing arts is a great way to feel connected to the McGill community.

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Disney’s support for ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill contradicts their alleged values

$250,000 sent in political donations to homophobic Florida lawmakers

Suzanna Graham Staff Writer

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onsidering that Disney owns a theme park that they call the “happiest place on Earth,” it is disappointing that the company currently supports several legislators who want to silence 2SLGBTQIA+ people and make Florida the most heterosexual place on Earth. Disney made headlines after the Orlando Sentinel and other news outlets exposed the company’s financial donations of over $253,850 USD to Florida legislators who voted to pass the Parental Rights in Education bill, better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Passed by the Florida Senate on March 8, the bill prohibits any discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools. While he has not yet signed it into law, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has spoken in favour of the bill and is expected to approve it soon. The law aims to prevent “exposing” children to 2SLGBTQIA+ culture and topics, effectively censoring queer and gender nonconforming young people growing up in Florida. What these lawmakers don’t realize is that 2SLGBTQIA+ culture goes beyond sex; these children will never be able to see school as a safe place for them, which will negatively impact their mental health and even their livelihoods.

By funding these legislators, Disney goes against their publicly proclaimed company values to create a more inclusive world.

For instance, during Pride month, Disney splurged on rainbow merchandise and virtue-signalled through supportive tweets.

While Disney supposedly aims to spread magic and acceptance, Disney Pride is a rainbow-washed marketing ploy. Following the company’s hypocritical behaviour, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community—which many of Disney’s staff and are a part of—decided

Disney has a history of promoting harmful stereotypes in many of its feature films. (theguardian.com)

to stand up for themselves, sparking walkouts primarily amongst Disney World workers in Florida.

In response to criticism, Disney CEO Bob Chapek paused financial support to the homophobic legislators and pledged to instead donate $5 million USD to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). While this pledge is financially beneficial to the HRC, throwing money at 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations does not erase the harm that Disney’s previous support to Florida legislators has already caused. The fact that Chapek only ceased funding after receiving major backlash shows that his public remorse is a matter of protecting his and the company’s public image. Chapek doesn’t seem to understand that his actions demonstrate a greater commitment to combating cancel culture than to fighting political injustices. The HRC did not trust his intentions either—they publicly refused the donation, stating that Disney needs to focus on getting oppressive bills vetoed rather than performatively speaking out against them.

In a tweet shared on Good Morning America, Chapek wrote, “The biggest impact we can have in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create here and the diverse community organizations we support, including those representing the LGBTQ+ community.”

The problem with this statement is that it absolves Disney of the responsibility to use its power to protect, rather than harm, the communities they claim to support. As a company, Disney’s financial power gives them a huge influence over politics—and in this case, they used that power to actively contribute to a less inclusive world. Stopping payments and pledging allyship means nothing when Disney’s support has already pushed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill closer to becoming policy.

As one of the largest entertainment companies in the world with a massive influence on children, Disney needs to actively stand against harmful legislation. Supporting these bills, let alone staying silent, harms their 2SLGBTQIA+ fans and employees.

While company values can change—former Disney CEO Bob Iger previously threatened to boycott filming in the state of Georgia amid anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2016—it is Chapek’s responsibility to ensure that future value changes are progressive and genuine.

Performative action has no place in a world where the safety of marginalized groups is threatened. Disney thrives on internal and external support from queer people; it is antithetical for them to profit from and harm marginalized communities at the same time.

La gente de mi ciudad | The People of my City [Tango Concert]

Melding traditional Tango, Milonaga & Waltz rhythms, this tantalizing French-Spanish concert is offered for free by the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

Thursday, March 24, starts at 1:30 p.m.

Location: 911 Rue Jean-Talon, Montréal, QC Admission: Free (reservations necessary)

Julie Kim @TheComedyNest

Two-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee Julia Kim is coming to Montréal for a series of sets that will have you balling in laughter & wiping away tears.

March 24, 25, 26, staring at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Location: 2313 St Catherine St West, Montreal, QC Admission: CA$13.97 – CA$19.85

Mediaeval Mythbusting: Archers & Arrowheads

Out with the swords & in with the arrows. Awardwinning archeologist James Wright will be discussing the myths & mysteries surrounding medieval archers, and even some misconceptions.

Wednesday, March 23, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Location: Online Admission: Free (Taking Donations)

WHEN TONY MET MARIA BROADWAY’S BEST (AND WORST) LOVE STORIES. A CABARET.

With COVID mandates toning done, what better way to jump back into live theater than cabaret. Musical director Nick Burgess and 13 local talents are putting on an exciting new show with classic Hollywood love stories & newly-imagined ones alike.

Saturday, March 26, 9:30 - 11 p.m.

Location: 5414 Avenue Gatineau, Montréal, QC Admission: CA$21.51

Soundtracks, Chinese queer culture, and Swedish news algorithms: McGill graduate students present their research The event featured presentations by Art History & Communication Studies students Anna Berglas Contributor

T

he Spring Student Speaker Series wrapped up with its recent March Session on March 17.

Three graduate students in the Department of Art History & Communication Studies (AHCS) presented brief summaries of their research in Arts 260 as well as on Zoom. The hybrid event included a half-hour talk from each researcher, followed by a quick question and answer period after each presentation.

Allyson Rogers, a doctoral candidate in communication studies, kicked off the event with a critical examination of the National Film Board (NFB) soundscapes in the post-WWII period. The NFB’s primary focus is slice-of-life Canadian documentaries, the soundtracks of which have a homogeneous nature that Rogers char-

acterizes as a distinct “NFB Sound.”

Rogers presented clips exemplifying this sonic trend, pointing to several key elements like small ensembles of woodwind instruments, multiple independent melodies, and an overarching tone of optimism. Such distinct sounds also correspond to Canadian political motivations, such as promoting Canadian pride and patriotism. The later half of the postwar period, specifically

The March event was the final Speaker Series event of the Winter 2022 semester. (mcgill.ca)

the 1950s and 1960s, saw a rise in stylistic changes and more adventurous musical interpretations. The different examples of the NFB sound teem with nostalgia for those who watched these documentaries during Canadian history education.

Next up was Reina Yuan, a firstyear master’s student in AHCS. Yuan’s research is centred on the queer counterpublic and the rise of alternative nightclubs in her hometown of Chengdu, China. Yuan aims to create a theoretical city map of queer spaces, focussing on several key locations and their connections through a framework inspired by Di Wang’s The Teahouse, which examines cultural changes throughout the city in 1900-1950 through the lens of teahouses. Yuan’s research seeks to use physical spaces in order to explore the political and youth culture of the city. In her presentation, Yuan discussed the Poly Center,

a skyscraper with different nightclubs at almost every level. Yuan elaborated that she has seen the Poly Center in person in her visits to Chengdu every summer.

“The thesis is a very personal project to me,” said Yuan during the discussion section following her presentation. “It’s part of the microhistory of my hometown.”

Torbjörn Rolandsson closed the event with a dive into the “News Value Project” in Sweden. He completed his PhD at Stockholm University and is now a graduate research trainee in ACHS. Rolandsson’s presentation explored the impacts of the Svergies Radio News Value System, a recent technological addition to the Swedish public service radio that helps categorize different news stories for output.

The project rates stories through a three-tiered algorithm of importance, lifespan, and accordance with jour-

nalistic values, which strive for authentic and personal programming that includes unique voices. To make narration authentic and personal, an effect that can sometimes be aided by incorporating natural soundscapes, radio journalists often go beyond the studio into real environments to capture the unique ambience of the world.

Although elements of theatricality still remain—Rolandsson shares an example of reporters hitting nearby water to record a splash—the radio soundscape attempts to foster a more connected engagement with the real world.

The speakers’ admirable ability to condense months or years of research into a half-hour presentation displayed their serious dedication to their studies.

While each presentation was enlightening, the slideshows they had prepared only scratched the surface of the depths of their knowledge.

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

Albert Camus: A visionary of pandemic-era life?

Camus’ exploration of the absurd mirrors our pandemic experience Henry Olsen Contributor

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lbert Camus’ 1947 novel The Plague masterfully portrays the death and suffering that a fictional bubonic plague brings to the people of Oran, an Algerian city under French colonial rule. The events take place over many months, with protagonist Dr. Rieux working to both physically and psychologically help others suffering from the plague. The novel has undergone a resurgence in popularity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps as it appropriately captures much of the public’s response to the pandemic over the past two years.

Indeed, the novel’s emphasis on human resilience and the value of life are especially relevant in today’s social climate.

Since the pandemic began, the global death toll has surpassed 6 million.

Much in the same way that we have watched the steadily rising figures released by the government, many people in Camus’ novel attach great significance to their government’s weekly release of health statistics. Though many newspapers have struggled

to raise revenue, especially those that still print paper copies, general trust in the news has increased since 2020. Reports and information have clearly taken on a heightened importance, which reflects not only the pertinence of the time period, but also the significance we attach to the subject of the news itself—tragedy.

Outside of exploring the value of life, The Plague also focusses on Dr. Rieux, who grapples with the chaos of his situation. It is the human condition—namely, the desire for meaning in a meaningless world—that drives the oft-ineffectual fight against that which we cannot make sense of.

For example, Rieux works day-in and day-out at quarantine facilities providing care, but most of the time his work is futile. Most people die from the sickness.

Rieux, in sum, finds that “Weariness is a kind of madness. And there are times when the only feeling that I have is one of mad revolt.” Rieux’s exhaustion from fighting against the seemingly inexplicable is apt when reflecting upon both the pandemic’s early days, characterized by confusion and a global lack of knowledge, as well as its tiring, two-years-thismonth perpetuation. As a beacon

of hope, Camus’ plague eventually recedes after mass vaccination campaigns, however.

Recently, Camus’ call to action and firm adherence to moral principles have been observed in contemporary movements.

Though one fifth of health-care workers in the U.S. have left their jobs due to unsafe working conditions, many more stayed and tried to provide care to those who need it. To rectify these conditions, some nurses and workers have gone on strike and demanded more resources and staff necessary to properly handle cases.

Across Europe, including places like France, health-care workers have done the same. The challenges of the pandemic have brought notice and resistance to the seemingly absurd conditions people have been living in, and Camus’ rebel has, in a sense, resembled aspects of those essential workers who, like Rieux, try to do the best they can with what they have been given.

Art often reflects reality, but for Camus’ novel, life almost seems to be imitating the book. In particular, Camus’ concludes that “in time[s] of pestilence [...] there are more things to admire in men than to despise” and that humans

Albert Camus was a French author and philosopher who gained popularity after World War II. (theguardian.com) should “go forward, groping our way through the darkness [...] and try to do what good lay[s] in our power.” Society has responded in a similar way to Camus’s predictions: With the media’s continuous despondency, the resilience of essential workers, and most importantly everyday citizens’ searches for meaning in a hostile world.

Rieux remarks that he shall “refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture,” and it is against the world

that Rieux tries to realize his purpose as a doctor. Likewise, when we have been confronted with the suffering brought on by the pandemic, we have tried to fight against it to preserve the things we love. In Camus’ fiction, the plague slowly ends thanks to the diligence and realism of those who oppose its violence. Perhaps leaning into the same message, in addition to greater support for our health-care system and vaccine outreach, can help get us through COVID-19.

‘Mother Rock!’ shakes the anthropocentric boat Artist Patrick Bérubé challenges the human-nature divide Ella Gomes Contributor Continued from page 1.

Upon entry to the exhibit, visitors are immediately greeted with a reminder of how alienated Westerners are from their natural resources. A faux rabbit pelt rests on the ground, accompanied by a scattering of coffee beans in a nearby corner of the exhibition space, emulating its droppings. Many of us consume animal products in our daily lives, but are typically disconnected from the labour that goes into obtaining these products.

Witnessing a rabbit’s remnants and an imitation of its waste inside a building is a jarring sight—the bright white walls and hardwood flooring form a space for humankind that feels invaded by the marked presence of an animal. A walk-through of the exhibit reveals more rabbit hides, corners sprinkled with coffee-bean “droppings,” and a stray feather— all objects that many might consider “dirty.” By placing animal remains in these offputting locations, Bérubé points out that, for many of us, the natural environment exists

Bérubé wields history to challenge how we should live our future. (artmur.com)

in a separate space, delimited and contained. When nature enters our quotidian experience unexpectedly, it often becomes rubbish, trash, and filth.

Patrick Bérubé continues to draw attention to these anthropocentric values in what is perhaps the most eye-catching part of the exhibit: A partially enclosed room with golden yellow walls and a matching yellow bookcase. As one enters the room, they are greeted by an eclectic display of objects and a Georges Bataille quote tucked away on the bookshelf: “le soleil rayonne et notre soleil est froid” [the sun shines and our sun is cold]. Perhaps the glowing room represents the sun. Just as the sun is the centre of our solar system, Bérubé’s display represents the self-centeredness of Westerners living in the Anthropocene. A branch of cotton evokes the racism and environmental exploitation that characterizes historical and contemporary forms of monocrop agriculture, a business modeled upon profit through exploitation. An image of the Trinity Test alludes to U.S. nuclear tests, many of which occurred near Indigenous reservations, to emphasize the intertwined fields of Western science, military violence, and environmental racism. Meanwhile, an array of pornographic calendars and magazines imbricates patriarchy, the male gaze, and the Western commodification of pleasure within these problematic treatments of both marginalized peoples and the natural environment. Together, these artifacts form an aesthetic timeline, as Bérubé presents a genealogy of our current environmental predicament and emphasizes the need for alternative approaches.

Bérubé’s print and sculptural pieces deplore contemporary environmental practices.

A sculpture containing a fog machine powered by the water from plastic NAYA bottles demonstrates how man-made attempts to replicate nature ultimately harm it instead. Although we can create fog on-demand, single-use plastics pollute our waterways. Similarly, Bérubé juxtaposes a close-up image of elephant skin next to a black-and-white, likely machine-made pattern of jagged shapes layered atop one another. The contrast between the pattern’s formulaic consistency and the organic originality of the skin emphasizes the irreplicable beauty of natural life, beauty that will be lost if textile commodities such as elephant leather continue to promote poaching of elephants.

Throughout Mother Rock!, Patrick Bérubé presents the Anthropocene’s past and present, inviting viewers to look toward the future. Through his aesthetically eclectic yet thematically consistent presentation of the human-nature divide, Bérubé invites us to question how we perceive, and subsequently treat, the world around us.

Mother Rock! continues at Gallery Art Mûr until April 23, with free access from Tuesday to Saturday. Gallery Art Mûr can be found at 5826 Rue St-Hubert.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

sports@mcgilltribune.com

SPORTS

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Know Your Athlete: Clément Secchi The accomplished swimmer discusses weekly routines and his drive to succeed Sarah Farnand & Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editors

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lément Secchi, U4 Management, has spent much of his life in the pool. The fourth-year swimmer was named both McGill and RSEQ Athlete of the Week multiple times this year, and recently won six gold medals at the RSEQ Championships, including ones for the 4x50m relay, the 200m butterfly, and the 50m butterfly—setting team and RSEQ records for all three. Secchi was also named Athlete of the Meet at the Championships as well as RSEQ Athlete of the Year.

While clearly a dominant force in the pool, Secchi explained that dedication and hard work allowed him to reach the level he is at today.

“I am proud of never giving up and I’ve kept training hard and getting faster and faster,” he said in an interview with the Tribune.

“I wasn’t very fast when I was younger, so [...] to be where I am at today, it is nice to see where I [came] from.”

The star swimmer explained that he does not have professional role models, but rather looks up to those who are closer to home.

“My biggest inspiration is probably my parents,” he said.

“My parents [motivate me] with their work ethic. They are really hard workers. And if you work hard, after you can play hard.”

Growing up in France, Secchi tried his hand at multiple sports before zeroing in on swimming as his favourite.

“I was playing soccer and tennis and doing swimming at the same time when I was young, but after a few years, I had to make a choice between the sports and I decided to stick to swimming,” Secchi said. “I liked the teammates I had and the pool was also really close to where I was living so it was really practical. I always loved being in the water. I spend most of my summers in the water.”

He joined his hometown club in Aix-en-Provence, staying

there until his second year at McGill—the year that the COVID-19 pandemic hit. While spending his third year in France during the pandemic, he moved up to the largest swimming club in France, Cercle des Nageurs Marseilles, a professional team that produces Olympic-level swimmers.

Secchi explained that the Marseille facility, starkly different from McGill’s Memorial Pool, is his favourite place to swim.

“The best place to train is definitely in Marseille,” he said.

“The complex is on the beach so when you are done training you can walk 20 stairs and then you’re in the sea. So it’s pretty amazing, different from the McGill pool for sure.”

While Secchi may enjoy the pool in Marseille more, the swimmer explained that he really loves his McGill teammates and appreciates the support they provide each other.

“It’s about having a really good atmosphere and everybody working towards the same goals and everybody working hard,” Secchi said. “I like the work ethic at McGill, everybody works

Secchi describes himself as more of a long-distance swimmer, and his favourite individual event to compete in is the 200m butterfly. (Clément Secchi / instagram.com)

(Carson Sargeant / McGill Athletics) hard and supports each other trying to be the best every day.”

A supportive network is crucial, especially considering how much training they do. Secchi trains two to three times a day most days of the week, and at least once every day, except on Sundays.

McGill swim team training consists of both swimming practices and lifting sessions twice a week.

Secchi emphasized that with such a busy schedule, staying organized and using his time efficiently is crucial. Even with a timetable like his, he makes sure to put aside time to take a nap every day.

“You get better at [the balance] as you get used to it,” he said. “I am so much more on top of schoolwork and swimming in my last year than in my first year. But, it is really about setting priorities and also being efficient.”

As his time at McGill comes to an end, Secchi looks forward to the future and hopes to obtain a master’s degree in the United States while spending his final year of eligibility competing in the NCAA. In the immediate future, however, you can catch Secchi competing in the U Sports Championships on March 23.

Stymied by Stingers, Martlets hockey falls short of RSEQ title

McGill advances to Final 8 national championships in Charlottetown as number seven seed Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editor

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elayed by a week due to COVID-19 protocols, game one for the Martlets hockey team (12-3-0) versus the Concordia Stingers (11-3-1) best-of-three playoff series took place on March 17. Throughout the season, McGill worked hard to earn their spot in the RSEQ finals. Though the team fought tooth and nail, they ultimately fell just short of the championship title, losing their first game 3-0 and their second 4-1.

Though the Martlets couldn’t clinch this series, fifth-year forward Stephanie Desjardins emphasized that this does not hinder the girls’ end goal.

“Obviously it was not the result we wanted,” Desjardins said. “But we still have a

shot at our ultimate goal which is the national championship. The games were good [to] prepare for next week.”

McGill played Thursday night’s home game to a packed arena, with fans from both schools cheering loud and hard. Both Martlets and Stingers glided onto the ice with a powerful demeanour—ready, willing, and able to go to all lengths to secure the win. However, within the first five minutes of the period, Rosalie BeginCyr from the Stingers scored a swift goal to put the Stingers on the board.

The Martlets tried to get past the Stingers’ wicked fast defence, with forward Katie Rankin attempting several shots on goal, but to no avail—the Concordia skaters were just too fast. They frequently intercepted McGill’s long passes, leaving no Martlet unguarded. Yet, goalie Tricia Deguire let no pucks through for

The Martlets were the defending league champions of the 2019-2020 season. (Cameron Flanagan / The McGill Tribune)

the rest of the period, leaving the first frame of the game at 1-0 for Concordia.

During the second period, the Stingers left the Martlets’ defence scrambling. Even as their main tactic became to keep the puck away from the net, the Martlets’ offensive shots often took too long to set up, resulting in an impenetrable fortress forming around the Stingers’ goalie, Alice Philbert, and the shots inevitably being blocked.

Things got bleaker for McGill fans when the Stingers scored another two goals, putting the Martlets at a three-point deficit. The third period saw little change in either teams’ strategies, and the first game closed off with a loss for McGill.

Both teams returned refreshed on Friday, ready for the second game, with McGill hoping to push the series to a tie-breaker. Alas, the Martlets had a disheartening start, with the Stingers up 2-0 in the first period. Though their aggression increased in the second half of the game, McGill needed to step up and throw shots at goal, but their energy could not drive the team all the way to the net. With a goal from team captain Jade Downie-Landry, the score was briefly 2-1 for Concordia. However, with 7.8 seconds left in the second period, the Stingers scored again, followed later by a final open net goal after McGill pulled goalie Deguire off the ice, closing the series with another loss for McGill, 4-1.

Marika Labrecque, a fifth-year centre on the team, shared Desjardins’ sentiments about the national championships, remaining proud of her team while recognizing what held them back.

“Our first game was a bit more difficult and we knew that we would have to do better,

especially shooting more,” Labrecque said.

“We gave everything we got for this game. The intensity was there, but we didn’t capitalize when we had the opportunity.”

Despite this loss, the Martlets advance to the Final 8 tournament in Prince Edward Island, set to begin March 24.

MOMENT OF THE GAME Reignited after a goal from the Stingers, goalie Tricia Deguire did not let in another goal for the rest of the game, saving five shots in a row even as the opponents’ offence continued to push forward.

QUOTABLE “I’m proud of how far we have come this season and still more to come. I feel as though we came together as a team and played a great game. Although we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, it was a hard fought battle. Tricia had two amazing games, which really held us in there.” Third-year forward Makenzie McCallum

STAT CORNER Martlets goalie Tricia Deguire made 39 saves during the first game, and 32 during the second, putting her total number of saves at 11th-best in the USports Association.

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2022

sports@mcgilltribune.com

Know Your Athlete: Madison Mueller

The ins and outs of the callous game of water polo Tillie Burlock Staff Writer

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fter making the decision to study at McGill, Madison Mueller, a U3 student studying anatomy and cell biology, found herself trying out for the school’s water polo team, the Poseidons.

Growing up in Burr, Saskatchewan—a province well known for its flat, dry plains— Mueller never considered playing water polo.

But as a strong athlete who played basketball and swam competitively for 12 years, Mueller transitioned smoothly into the new sport during her first year.

“The way I understood water polo is through basketball,” Mueller said in an interview with //The McGill Tribune//.

“They’re very similar. They have screening, they have cuts, they have zone and man-toman defence, and there are fast breaks and everything. It’s really set up the same way.”

However, there are key differences— the first, and most obvious, being that water polo is in water and players are able to swim with the ball without having to pass it. Each team is allowed six outfield players in the pool at a time, as well as one goalie. Possibly the most important difference is that water polo, for lack of a better word, is ridiculously aggressive.

With referees standing poolside, they

can only make foul calls based on what they see from above. Since players can’t touch the bottom of the pool, they often create leverage by pushing off their opponents and wrestling for a positional advantage below the water’s surface.

The ability to hide under the water allows for players to kick, scratch, and even bite each other to gain the slightest edge over their opponents.

“The reason why we have the super tight bathing suits that zip up in the back is so that players can’t grab it as well,” Mueller said.

“When I first joined the team, I asked what water polo was like, and was told that it was really aggressive. The example I was given is that during the Olympics, there was a girl who reached over behind her back, grabbed a girl’s bathing suit and flung her over her shoulder and her whole bathing suit came off.”

Yet, Mueller was not deterred by the sport’s aggressive nature. She reflected on her first-ever game with the Poseidons at a tournament against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

“I scored a hat trick with two nicely placed lobs and one breakaway,” Mueller said. “It was a pretty memorable experience.”

After finding success with the Poseidons, combined with her experience coaching competitive swimming throughout high school, Mueller felt compelled to start up her own water polo team, the Humboldt Hammerheads, in an effort to grow the sport in her home province

The Poseidon Water Polo team of 2019-2020 is McGill’s most recent team prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. (Poseidon Water Polo / facebook.com) of Saskatchewan. While still focussing on skill development, the squad is looking to start competing against other water polo teams in Regina, Saskatoon, Weyburn, and Estevan.

Although not an officially recognized varsity sport, McGill’s water polo team is funded by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and competes in two leagues. During the Fall semester, the team is broken up into men’s and women’s squads and they compete in tournaments against varsity squads in Eastern Canada such as the University of Toronto, Queen’s University,

and the University of Ottawa. In the winter semester, though, the team is co-ed and split into Poseidon One and Two. Both squads compete at different levels within the Quebec league, which includes McGill, Concordia, Université de Montreal, and UQÀM. Persevering through ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions, struggles to find pool time, and budget cuts, the team is nonetheless looking forward to the Fall 2022 season. With the McGill pool having reopened on March 7, the team has been hosting tryouts with the goal of building up a fresh base of players.

Redbirds bring Lengvari Cup home in narrow 58-57 win against Stingers Men’s basketball team remains undefeated with a record of 12 consecutive victories

Zoé Mineret Staff Writer

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ove Competition Hall was packed for the annual Lengvari Cup as McGill’s Redbirds (12-0) faced off against the Concordia Stingers (6-6) in an enthralling game.

Second-year Haris Elezovic opened up the scoring with a layup, but the Stingers quickly answered with a three-pointer. The first quarter featured an intense defensive press on both sides, keeping the score low until the pace quickened and a successful turnover by Sam Jenkins helped Sidney Gauthier land a reverse layup with under a minute left. The first quarter ended with a two-point lead for Concordia at only 12-10.

The Stingers were the first to strike in the second quarter due to a McGill foul that gave away two free throws. But Elezovic helped to bring the Redbirds’ score up with a quick layup, then daringly blocked an attempt by the Stingers, earning him the cheers of the crowd.

With less than four minutes left in the first half, forward Kevin Li sank a three-pointer, bringing the Redbirds even with the Stingers at 21-21. However, the Stingers quickly responded and by halftime the score was 28-21 for Concordia.

McGill returned from halftime

rejuvenated, ready to face the Stingers and the invigorated crowd.

Jenkins scoring first seemed to be a good omen for McGill, but the third quarter proved to be a tough battle.

The Stingers brought their score up to 35-23 with a series of successful shots. The Redbirds fought back with Elezovic scoring off of a bullet pass from teammate Cameron Elliot, followed by a layup from Jenkins.

However, the Stingers continued to gain headway, leading McGill 48-30 with just under three minutes of the quarter left.

Luckily for the crowd, the Redbirds were not discouraged by this gap as a dunk from Zachary Lavoie-Toure, a three-pointer from Jenkins, and five points from Li

allowed the team to reach the fourth quarter down by only 10 points.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Li recalled how he approached the final quarter.

“We have a group of guys that know how to win so I wasn’t worried about the score even when we were down by like 15 in the fourth quarter,” Li said. “Everyone on the team contributed [to] the win.”

The smooth gameplay of the Stingers in the fourth quarter was no match for the Redbirds’ determination as they slowly but surely closed the gap with points from Jenkins, Quarry Whyne, and a crowd-pleasing three from Jamal Mayali.

With three minutes left and a

score of 56-52, tensions were high on the court—it was still anyone’s game. Following a shot from Whyne that brought the score up to 54 for the Redbirds, he easily scored two free throws with 50 seconds left after a foul from the Stingers. The crowd

MOMENT OF THE GAME With 2.8 seconds remaining, Quarry Whyne made two free throws, securing the cup for the Redbirds and maintaining their undefeated streak of the season.

QUOTABLE “This will help us get ready for the playoff game next week too. We are looking to beat Concordia again at their gym tomorrow to make history.” — Fourth year forward Kevin Li

STAT CORNER Haris Elezovic was the key to McGill’s offence, scoring a game-high 14 points during the game.

Quarry Whyne scored the last seven points for McGill, ultimately helping the Redbirds defeat Concordia by one point. (Matt Garies / McGill Athletics)

erupted as the score was finally even. With 3.9 seconds remaining, a McGill foul gave the Stingers a onepoint advantage. However, with less than 2.8 seconds left, the Stingers received a technical foul and Whyne was given two free throws.

The competition hall was dead silent as the 6’4 shooting guard successfully made his first throw without batting an eye. When Whyne sank the second shot, the crowd erupted into cheers as the Redbirds were victorious, 58-57.

George Lengvari, an alumnus of both McGill and Concordia and longtime benefactor of both universities, handed the Rebirds their trophy for the second year in a row. In a postgame interview, Whyne explained how the Redbirds were able to make such a comeback.

“We felt confident going into the game,” Whyne said. “However [...] we dug ourselves a hole early on. Nonetheless, once again we were able to show how resilient our group is, and with the guidance from our coaches we were able to overcome that deficit and win in the end.”

This impressive comeback from the Redbirds at a critical moment of the game is a sure indicator of the team’s spirit and their willingness to fight. It is also promising for the upcoming RSEQ championships, as the team remains at the top of the rankings this season.