The McGill Tribune Vol. 41, Issue 5

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021 | VOL. 41 | ISSUE 5

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

STUDENT LIFE

Action is due against sexism in SSMU

Subbed or dubbed?

Meal-prepping for hibernation: Student-friendly autumnal recipes

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(Léa Bourget / The McGill Tribune)

Photos: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Montreal

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SSMU executives, former members acknowledge recent statement is not enough The commitment to ‘change the system’ comes after allegations emerge of sexism within SSMU Ella Fitzhugh News Editor The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) vice-president (VP) Internal Affairs Sarah Paulin sent out

a mass email on Sept. 28 containing a written statement entitled “Enacting Change Within SSMU.” The statement comes after an article published by The McGill Daily on Sept. 22 exposed accounts of past and ongoing experiences of gender-based discrimination within SSMU. Paulin’s

10 McGill researchers selected as members of the Royal Society of Canada

Get to know the newest additions to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists Bryana-Alexa Liberta Contributor The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) recently announced that 51 new members would be inducted to The College of

New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, among which are 10 McGill researchers whose hard work and excellence will be recognized at the RSC Celebration of Excellence and Engagement on Nov. 19,

2021. In exclusive interviews with The McGill Tribune, four inductees discussed the inspirations behind their groundbreaking research that afforded them this honour.

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statement claims that SSMU is addressing issues of “toxic behaviour” as alleged by members within the Society, while past and current executives report the statement lacks transparency.

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Where do I begin?: Anthony Fantano and ‘The Needle Drop’ ‘The internet’s busiest music nerd’ has become an unmistakable pillar of online music Luke Schramm Contributor When Sacramentobased hip hop collective Death Grips released their debut studio album The Money Store in 2012, the culture of music consumption began to shift. The aggres-

sive, experimental ethos of Death Grips’ LP was powerful enough to inspire change in tastes among fans and creators alike, but internet music enthusiast and notorious critic Anthony Fantano was a catalyst for the move toward the popularization of such experimental hip hop.

Fantano’s YouTube channel, “theneedledrop,” with its classic jargony, essay-like approach to album reviews, handed Death Grips the elusive 10/10 rating—the first to ever receive the honour in the then-three-year-old channel’s history.

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NEWS

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Photos: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Montreal Léa Bourget & Sabrina Nelson Contributors

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

Current SSMU executives, former members acknowledge recent statement is not enough The commitment to ‘change the system’ comes after allegations emerge of sexism within SSMU Ella Fitzhugh News Editor Continued from page 1.

The accounts from past and present SSMU members included in the Daily article range from a lack of confidentiality and accountability surrounding women’s reports of harassment by other SSMU executives, to male executives taking credit for women’s work. Paulin, who wrote the statement on behalf of SSMU’s Executive Committee, said the executives were aware of faults in the current system for some time.

“The issues outlined in the The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal and the Assembly of First Nations Quebec Labrador (AFNQL) statement have been discussed by organized the “Every Child Matters” march to acknowledge the worth of Indigenous children’s lives and to honour those whose bodies have been discovered on the grounds of former residential schools. executives for a while,” Paulin told The McGill Tribune. “It was a general consensus among the current executives that it was [...] time to address them. We wanted to work on the issues that we have been hearing about and that have been raised, just to ensure that the processes that SSMU enacts are reflective of its values.”

Former internal SSMU member Skylar* said they were frustrated with the statement’s ambiguity in an interview with the Tribune. The former member also felt it ran counter to SSMU’s purported survivor-centric approach to reports of genderbased discrimination and sexual violence.

“I think the more times I have read through it, the more I have started getting upset with how little I think the statement Despite Quebec disregarding the fact that the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is a statutory holiday, actually accomplishes, both Indigenous leaders, along with activists and allies, came together to acknowledge that “Every Child Matters.” in the length and the lack of detail and [...] transparency within it,” Skylar said.

“For an institution that has prided itself [on its] [...] survivor-centric approach in everything it does, I feel like the statement honestly did the opposite of that.”

Before joining the “Every Child Matters” march, students from McGill University gathered at the stairs on McTavish St. to walk to Place du Canada in a show of solidarity with the Indigenous community. The participants then marched towards Place des Arts, where speeches and performances were given.

In an email to the Tribune, SSMU president Darshan Daryanani, acknowledged that more profound changes than the ones alluded to in the statement are necessary.

“Institutions become oppressive spaces without strong training initiatives, conscious and unbiased decision-making, proper consultation and consideration (instead of unilateral decisions), and action-oriented frameworks and plans,” Daryanani wrote.

“As such, a statement does not answer the concerns about the environment and culture that has been fostered, ‘change’ must be intentional, forward thinking and proactive [....] The people who have been part of the system should not have the say on what change is needed, specifically when the issues disproportionately affect marginalized communities.”

In Skylar’s experience, the current sexual violence prevention trainings that SSMU’s members undergo have been unsuccessful in reducing sexual violence and gender-based discrimination within SSMU. “It seems that SSMU’s reactions are always going to very much continue to foster the status quo,” Skylar noted. “And [the reactions] are going to be ultimately things that do not make change. One extra mandatory training is so often the [reaction] of SSMU, but just the idea of confidentiality is really going to put any meaningful change into question and serve to block any real progress.”

The decision to comment about experiences within SSMU anonymously is not a choice Skylar takes lightly. They explain it reflects a real fear those affiliated with the Society have about going public—rather than working within the current system to bring to light gender-based discrimination in SSMU. “The fear [is why] we have chosen anonymity,” Skylar said. “Because ultimately we are more concerned [...] for the individuals who are elected. That it is going to have political repercussions for them if they were actually to say something public, and for us who are employed by the SSMU, that it is going to have impacts on our future employment.” *Skylar’s name has been changed to preserve their anonymity.

SSMU’s Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy was established in 2018.

(Brian Schatteman / The McGill Tribune)

news@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

NEWS

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Personal liberty is second to ‘greater good’ in vaccination effort, argues Dr. Anthony Fauci This year’s Beatty lecture discussed COVID-19 misinformation global vaccination Joseph Pappas and Fanny Sachet Contributors

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r. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Biden, presented McGill’s 67th annual Beatty Lecture on Oct. 1. Titled Covid-19: Lessons Learned and Remaining Challenges, the virtual lecture garnered an audience of over 2,000 viewers. Every year, McGill invites an influential guest to discuss their

When questioned on how to interact with people who are anti-vaccine and anti-mask, Fauci noted the importance of trying to engag e them in the need for these resources through a trusted messenger.

(Ananya Mohanty / The McGill Tribune)

professional experiences and provide insight into their respective field for members of the McGill community.

Previous Beatty lectures were headlined by thinkers like Margret Atwood, Jane Goodall, and Muhammad Yunus.

Ahead of Fauci, Suzanne Fortier, McGill’s principal and vice-chancellor, spoke to the significance of the annual event for the university.

“The Beatty Lecture is an important part of the McGill story,” Fortier said. “As one of Canada’s longest-running endowed lectureships, the Beatty is a testament to our university’s enduring commitment to excellence and to the exchange of ideas.”

Martha Crago, McGill’s vice-principal (Research and Innovation), introduced Fauci, highlighting his contribution and service as one of the world’s leading experts in infectious diseases.

“Driven to shed light on the unknown, scientists of the world have achieved amazing breakthroughs since the outbreak of COVID-19, such as applying mRNA technology for the first time to the development of vaccines,” Crago said. “Those breakthroughs owe an unsung debt to the building blocks of basic research conducted by Dr. Fauci and others well before the outbreak of this pandemic.”

Throughout his lecture, Fauci explained the similarities scientists have observed between the COVID-19 pandemic and other virus outbreaks. He detailed the scientific characteristics of the current coronavirus and its many variants, noting that they pose a particularly demanding public health challenge.Fauci also spoke about how the lessons learned from previous pandemics have helped shape

the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Emerging infections, including what we are going through, is truly a perpetual challenge,” Fauci said.

“History has shown us that in order to meet the perpetual challenge we must be perpetually prepared, which is why I do hope that what we have learned and will learn from this outbreak does not escape our [...] memory as we emerge from the scourge of this outbreak.”

Following the lecture portion of the event, Nahlah Ayed, lecture emcee and host for CBC Radio Ideas, moderated a prepared Q&A session where Fauci took questions from the audience as well as members from the McGill community about the pressing COVID-19 issues. When asked about the right of personal liberty in the context of this public health crisis, Fauci explained that individuals must put aside their perceived personal autonomy in order to promote the collective health of the public.

“I think what people have to appreciate is that indeed, you do have personal liberties for yourself and you should be in control of that,” Fauci said. “But you are a member of society, and as a member of society, reaping all the benefits of being a member of society, you have a responsibility to society [....] Particularly in the context of a pandemic that’s killing millions of people, [there] comes a time when you do have to give up what you consider your individual right [to make] your own decision, for the greater good of society.”

Following the event, McGill presented Fauci with an honorary doctorate of science, McGill’s highest honour.

Student-run contact tracing initiative shut down by McGill administration The initiative aimed to fill gaps in COVID-19 safety measures on campus Juliet Morrison Contributor Concerns over the adequacy and transparency of McGill’s COVID-19 contract tracing system led the Law Students Association (LSA) to organize their own initiative at the beginning of the semester.

The project, which collected entries through a Google form, accumulated only a couple of submissions before it was shut down by the McGill administration over concerns that it would disrupt McGill’s internal COVID-19 contact tracing procedures.

The student-run initiative began as a rumour, circulated on a Facebook group, that students had tested positive in law classrooms. Having not been notified of these cases by McGill’s COVID-19 Case Management Group (CMG) and being frustrated by the lack of concern about the safety of their classrooms, Emma Sitland, 3L explained that the LSA became motivated to start their own initiative.

“It was created as an immediate response to student concerns,” Sitland said.

“The Law Students Association said, ‘okay, if there’s going to be COVID positive cases in class and McGill’s not going to tell you, we’re going to try to let you know.’”

Sitland emphasized that the initiative arose out of student concern for lenient COVID-19 health measures on campus.

“I think it is great that the LSA [organized a contact tracing initiative],” Sitland said. “I think it is an excellent example of student mobilization and

solidarity, but it’s not their job. As a student organization, as a bunch of volunteers, they do not have the capacity to do that, they do not have the expertise to do that [....] It should be McGill [administration] who is actually taking initiative in doing this.”

In an email to The McGill Tribune, McGill’s media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle stressed that, in keeping with McGill’s public health requirements, contact tracing on McGill campus should be done through the university, hence why McGill shut down the LSA’s project.

“McGill continues to work closely with public health officials to adopt policies and put into practice measures to protect students, staff and faculty,” Mazerolle wrote. “Universities in Quebec have been mandated by public health authorities to do contact tracing and follow-up internally, and therefore it is essential that members of our community use our McGill process for reporting cases. Contact tracing is handled

by McGill and can only be done if all cases are reported properly.”

Richard Gold, a professor in the Faculty of Law, wrote in an email to the Tribune that McGill’s lack of transparency in contact tracing runs contrary to its mission as an institution.

“McGill seems to be pursuing a strategy of minimum communication and transparency,” Gold wrote in an email to the Tribune. “This is a cynical position that is not in line with the mission of McGill to serve the public. In the absence of any transparency [...] students [and staff] were

McGill reported 10 cases of COVID-19 on its campuses in the last week. (unsplash.com) driven to do something to protect each other. The mere fact that students were driven to [organize their own contact tracing] is an illustration of the failure of the central administration to be transparent and truthful.”

In an email sent on Sept. 22, Deputy Provost Fabrice Labeau clarified McGill’s procedure for alerting students of COVID-19 cases in classrooms. Its procedure currently details that all students will be notified by email if a person who tested positive for COVID-19 sat in the classroom within 48 of developing symptoms.

In the same email, McGill mentioned that they received reports from professors that students who tested positive contacted them, but those in classes with positive COVID-19 cases had not received notifications. Labeau explained in an email to the Tribune that this may have been because either the student was not in class 48 hours prior to developing symptoms or testing positive, the student may not have reported their case to McGill, or the student may have received a negative test.

To date, McGill remains the single channel for contact tracing on campus.

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Minimal turnout at McGill’s second COVID-19 vaccination clinic

An email was sent reminding students of the clinic two hours into its opening Lily Cason News Editor

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cGill held a second walk-in vaccination clinic in Redpath Hall from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 28 as part of its ongoing effort to make vaccines accessible to the student body. The university currently estimates 10 per cent of students have yet to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to the event announcement, the clinic had the capacity to administer 250 doses—whether a first, second, or a booster shot—of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine during its five opening hours.

This clinic saw a lower student turnout than the university’s first vaccination clinic held on Sept. 14, when students waited in line all day and many were turned away. This time, there was no line for most of the afternoon. An hour and a half in, McGill sent a university-wide email reminding students of the clinic’s reopening. The email stated that five public health service nurses would be accepting walk-ins until 6 p.m.

Carter Nagy, U1 Education, who arrived at the clinic early, told The McGill Tribune he anticipated a long line because of his experience at McGill’s first clinic, but was pleased to discover no line at all.

“I was here the first time they did the clinic, and that’s when I got my first shot,” Nagy said. “I came around this [same] time [for the first clinic]. It’s obviously not the same today, but I saw what it could be like so I made sure to come here early.”

Nagy got his second shot after waiting around 45 minutes, less time than the one and a half hours he waited in line at the first clinic. Nagy said that it was important for him to get vaccinated from a public health standpoint, but also because he does not want to put up with the vaccine passport restrictions in Quebec.

Students were told to come prepared with a photo ID, their RAMQ card, and any prior proof of vaccination for the public health officials.

(Brian Schatteman / The McGill Tribune) “My family is pretty anti-vax,” Nagy said. “But, I am here [at the clinic] because I think it is important and I want to be able to do things that I would not be able to [...] do if I did not get vaccinated.”

Dr. Anne Gatignol, professor in the Department of Medicine and senior investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, believes on-campus vaccination clinics play a vital role given their convenience and potential for spreading knowledge on the vaccine.

“It is certainly beneficial for McGill to hold a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on campus and for students to have another place to get vaccinated,” Gatignol wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Although most Canadian students have had access to a vaccination clinic within the last few months, it may not be the case for international students. This is important for them to have [...] easy access to vaccination. Furthermore, several students might

still have hesitancy to get vaccinated and this is a good place to ask questions and get answers.”

Gatignol believes that McGill should keep holding clinics as long as there is demand for vaccination and suggested the university reduce clinic hours or create a sign-up system as demand wanes.

She also stressed the importance of getting vaccinated amidst the spread of the Delta variant.

“The vaccination is the best way to get protected against the Delta and all variants,” Gatignol wrote. “In young people, the decrease in efficiency against the Delta variant for mRNA vaccines is no more than five per cent and it protects against all severe forms.

The increasing presence of the Delta variant should encourage students and everybody even more to become vaccinated to avoid severe complications.”

Many students have already heeded McGill’s calls to get vaccinated. Ana Maria, U1 Arts, said she knew about the clinic but did not need the service because she was already vaccinated.

Maria speculated the low turnout was because others were in the same position.

“I got [an] email but I did not pay attention to it,” Maria said.

“I think people knew [about the clinic] but, like me, already [...] got their vaccines someplace else.”

In an email to the Tribune, McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle drew attention to the importance of vaccination and emphasized McGill’s ongoing efforts to vaccinate the community.

“COVID-19 cases in the province have been on the rise, but fully vaccinated individuals are still much less likely to get COVID,” Mazerolle wrote. “By having the majority of our students, faculty, and staff vaccinated, along with properly following McGill’s health and safety guidelines, McGill will remain a safe place to learn and work.”

SSMU Legislative Council approves seat for Outaouais campus representative

Representatives also discussed cancellation of WALKSAFE and DriveSafe, and Royal Vic protests Matthew Molinaro Opinion Editor

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he Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held its second Legislative Council meeting of the Fall semester on Sept. 30, where members approved a motion to put forward an amendment to the SSMU constitution that would add an Outaouais campus representative to the Legislative Council. During the question period, members discussed the suspensions of the DriveSafe and WALKSAFE programs in early and mid-September respectively, the protests regarding the lack of consultation on the Royal Victoria project, and SSMU president Darshan Daryanani’s absences at two consecutive Legislative Council meetings.

Campus Outaouais is a

Gatineau-based, Francophone campus belonging to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The motion on Campus Outaouais representation seeks to address the unique linguistic and geographic challenges that students at the Outaouais campus face in accessing SSMU’s health and dental plan, student services, and student life activities such as clubs. Medicine Representative Benson Wan discussed the delays in instituting proper and direct representation of Francophone medical students, noting that they are currently represented by the majority Englishspeaking, Montreal-based Medical Students’ Society (MSS).

The motion had originally been submitted to the Legislative Council in October 2020. In May 2021, the MSS held an election for the Campus Outaouais’ University

Representatives also discussed the potential for social justice work on open committee slots. (mcgill.ca)

Representative position. The seat will not be a voting member of the Legislative Council until the constitution is changed.

SSMU vice-president (VP) Finance Éric Sader raised logistical questions about the challenges of implementing a Campus Outaouais representative at the Legislative Council. In particular, Sader questioned the plan for a flexible transition. Wan responded, stating that a hybrid session would be possible and that students’ full representation is important.

“Students in Gatineau pay for all fees,” Wan argued. “They are being taxed without being properly represented.”

During the question period, Science Representative Andres Perez Tiniacos brought forward two questions, the first regarding the DriveSafe and WALKSAFE programs’ suspension. SSMU VP Student Life Karla Heisele Cubilla explained that COVID-19 public health restrictions were the main reasons that their services ceased their operations.

“Both are planning to operate in October,” Heisele Cubilla said.

“They were not able to start because they are volunteer-based. They are trying to get back on track and are recruiting [....] It is unsafe for them [to operate right now].”

Tiniacos’ second question had

to do with the New Vic project and the recent protests—which were largely centred around the McGill administration’s lack of proper consultation with students—staged against it.

“Student consultation is [being brought up] because the McGill administration has not done proper consultation with many key groups, [...] specifically Indigenous, local, and student communities,” SSMU VP External Affairs Sacha Delouvrier said. “We realized that McGill had no willingness to budge on their plan and listen to student needs [.…] [SSMU’s] consultation with the student body was not

directly made because it was a timesensitive issue.”

Science Representative Asma Khamis raised a question about Daryanani not being present at their Legislative Council meeting. SSMU VP Internal Affairs Sarah Paulin responded on his behalf.

“He is unavailable at the moment,” Paulin said. “That is all I can say at this time.”

Tiniacos noted that it is the president’s duty to attend and that it was the second consecutive absence for Daryanani.

“Will we have the presence of the leading figure of the society at our meetings?” Tiniacos asked.

MOMENT OF THE MEETING Tiniacos motion, seconded by Khamis, to suspend Standing Rules and move to a generative discussion regarding the accountability of executives in light of the allegations launched in The McGill Daily’s article titled “Sexism and Silence in SSMU.” The suspension required a three-quarter majority, and failed with 12 votes yes, 5 votes no, and 8 abstentions.

SOUND BITE “Now, I’d like to please remind you to vote. You represent students, you not voting is against your job. Your job is to represent students.”

— Speaker of the Legislative Council Alexandre Ashkir reminded council members of their duties.

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

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

News Editors Lily Cason, Ella Fitzhugh & Madison Edward-Wright news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jonah Fried, Matthew Molinaro & Sepideh Afshar opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editors Shafaq Nami & Youssef Wahba 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 Adam Burton & Sarah Farnand sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Jinny Moon & Xiaotian Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Kate Addison photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editors Farah Jay & Noah Vaton multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Abby de Gala & Marwan Shiraz Khan webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Jackie Lee copy@mcgilltribune.com

Action is due against sexism in SSMU The McGill Tribune Editorial Board

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n Sept. 22, The McGill Daily published an article shedding light on a long-standing culture of sexism and misogyny rampant within the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). The article featured many accounts of past and present SSMU members who called out a culture of sexism within the Society. In response, SSMU’s vice-president (VP) Internal Affairs, Sarah Paulin, sent out an email that did not cite the article and only made vague reference to its contents.

Although this is not the first time women have spoken out about their treatment within student government at McGill, it would appear that little improvement has occurred over the past several years. The article exposes only a fraction of a larger systemic failure, laying bare the need for urgent change in the immediateterm, and a cultural overhaul over the long-term. Structural change is imperative and while this is ultimately SSMU’s cross to bear, the organization will only take concrete action if students refuse to let these pervasive issues go unresolved. Students must move away from the accepted–– and even expected––culture of

OFF THE BOARD Ella Fitzhugh News Editor

Social Media Editor Taneeshaa Pradhan socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Marilie Pilon business@mcgilltribune.com

TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sequoia Kim, Reem Abdul Majid, Matthew Molinaro, Shafaq Nami, Marilie Pilon, Namrata Rana, Shreya Rastogi, Angelica Voutsinas

CONTRIBUTORS Anna Berglas, Léa Bourget, Defne Gurcay, Avery Haley-Lock, Zoe Karkossa, Taifa Kongolo Yav, Karan Kumar, Lilly Lecanu-Fayet, Saumya Gogte, Bryana-Alexa Liberta, Wendy Lin, Louis LussierPiette, Adam Menikefs, Ananya Mohanty, Juliet Morrison, Sabrina Nelson, Anouska Oke, Joseph Pappas, Annika Pavlin, Rob Pelletier, Dana Prather, Fanny Sachet, Brian Schatteman, Luke Schramm

TRIBUNE OFFICE Shatner University Centre, 3480 McTavish, Suite 110 Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 - T: 519.546.8263 The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@ mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions.

Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff.

I

often wake up and wholeheartedly believe I am still dreaming. The scenes in my slumber world and my reality meet and intertwine, carrying the affect of my dream into the start of my day. Sometimes, I am 50 feet tall and walking for miles down unrecognizable roads; other times, I am my ordinary self but older and... pregnant? Yes, pregnant. I have an uncomfortable amount of recurring dreams like this. It is as if my sticky subconscious latches onto

apathy toward SSMU and reject its normalized toxicity to make substantive change possible.

Upon entering McGill, many first-year students are taught, whether by upper-years or frosh leaders, that SSMU is a deeply flawed organization not worth engaging with. This rhetoric does have some backing to it––historically, SSMU has been both untrustworthy and inaccessible to students. The union’s lack of transparency leaves students disengaged and though candidates almost always run on platforms promising change, this problem continues to manifest. Scandals frequently end with no action or accountability, only empty promises and vague messages to the study body. Executives and other SSMU members have managed to get away with this, as many McGill students have come to accept that their student union is irredeemable. Students must mobilize and demand change, whether by attending the Legislative Council meetings, casting votes in elections, or demanding that SSMU executives give public updates on measures being implemented.

SSMU is supposed to represent the entire McGill community, and it is unacceptable that it is an unsafe space for women and

other gender minorities.

While students at large have a responsibility to hold SSMU accountable, internal structural change is still clearly necessary in the short-term. It is telling that current and former student representatives felt the need to reach out to campus media to have their complaints taken seriously. As reported in the Daily article, SSMU’s human resources (HR) reporting structure is dangerously flawed.

With the SSMU executive team overseeing the HR department, there is no separation of power, meaning that when representatives file complaints, they must accept that their superiors could see it. Furthermore, the mechanism to hold high-up executives accountable is ineffective for the very same reason. The mere presence of students in these roles exacerbates the lack of confidentiality and trust within both SSMU’s HR system and its approach to equity.

Although most students are unaware of the extent to which they shape SSMU, they possess the ability to radically improve its operations. For example, students can rally around proposals to pay SSMU representatives. It is disappointing that a motion to provide financial compensation

OPINION

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EDITORIAL for SSMU representatives failed in 2020, because it could have helped to address some of the union’s structural inequities. Compensation would make SSMU positions more accessible to a wider range of students, moving away from the ‘certain type of student’— particularly, those who have the financial privilege of not having to work during school— that these unpaid roles usually attract. This move would also allow SSMU representatives to unionize, providing an added level of protection and further empowering them to fight exploitation.

Asking students to take a stand for SSMU’s benefit is gruelling, especially when their representatives uphold a toxic sexist culture while refusing to provide transparency about how they plan on addressing it. The women who have been affected

by SSMU’s misogynistic and demeaning culture deserve more than meaningless statements lacking concrete action. Most of all, these individuals deserve to have their experiences valued.

The SSMU executive team says they have made a pact to fearlessly “change the system,” and students must be equally involved in overseeing this necessary cultural shift.

Let your unconscious dance my fleeting thoughts and infiltrates every night, becoming part of my awakening. The impacts of these awakenings are twofold; a blessing because I get to tell everyone around me about my weird dreams, and a curse because I wake up disoriented and dazed. The act of dreaming is far from mundane; it is a conversation between our subconscious and unconscious. There is infinite value in contemplating the worlds our mind conjures.

But, as I continue to speculate the meaning of my own dreams, I have come to recognize that they are filled with an inevitable unknowing. Sleep psychologists and neurologists have formulated many theories about why we have dreams, such as strengthening memories; processing emotions; clearing out unnecessary information; or replaying life events. Some scientists, on the other hand, theorize that dreaming is but a by-product of sleep with no other function at all. If the sleep experts have yet to pin down why we dream at all, then I, a sleep amateur, have little capacity to grapple with the accurate meaning behind my unusually hyper-realistic dreams, most of which are about being suddenly, and immensely, pregnant.

Some scientists find that dreams mostly contain negative affect, meaning that they feel significant because dreamers are biased toward negative information. Those same scientists would probably tell me that discussing my pregnancy dreams with others is far from a good idea.

In their opinion, doing so would likely only serve to bore or dismay my listeners. Nevertheless, I continue to incorporate them in my everyday interactions with others.

Discussing dreams is a fascinating conversation-starter: People inquire all about what one gets up to during the day, so it should only feel natural to ask about where their mind went last night. I personally love explaining my dreams—and, if I am feeling up for it, acting out all the gritty details—to the people around me. I find it is always particularly entrancing to compare the kinds of dreams I have to others.

It is a disappointing cultural norm that the dream realm is often left out of conversation. In fact, discussing one’s dreams with loved ones and the rest of one’s community is considered a vital aspect of Indigenous cultures all over the world. For instance, the Dene people, inhabiting what is now

known as Western Canada, believe that dreams are enmeshed with reality and that they hold prophetic significance. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mythology finds even greater meaning in dreams, viewing ancestral dreams as the origin of Earth’s creation. So, before writing off dreams as a nogo in conversation, consider their social, emotional, and cultural value in the world.

As I near the end of my degree at McGill, I have spent some time reflecting on my dreams—real and metaphorical—and their place in my life. Part of living is striving to make peace with the unknown, and to believe in the present, not the future. I cannot wake up knowing exactly how the rest of my life will play out, just as I cannot lie my head down at night and know what kind of dreamlike dance my unconscious will invite me to join. Letting go of the unknown is never easy; it is anxiety-inducing, and oh boy, am I anxious about it. Yet I learn a lot from the effortlessness of the dream world. Perhaps I should revel in the disorientation of the first eyelid’s blink of a new morning, because the imaginative, carefree spirit of my dreams can bleed into my reality if I let it.

6

OPINION

COMMENTARY

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

SSMU’s failed activities night undermines its integrity

Wendy Lin Contributor

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n Sept. 13, over 1,000 students barricaded the virtual entry doors to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Fall 2021 Activities Night. Internet disconnection alerts flooded the screens of many confused students and club leaders. Although students might have anticipated a mediocre gaming platform with thousands of live participants to spell disaster, the degree to which the event failed was striking.

Activities Night is one of the most important opportunities for student involvement, especially this year, as student life makes a comeback following a year of remote learning. As

The choice to host an in-person party after a failed activities night raises questions about SSMU’s priorities. (SSMU)

COMMENTARY Taifa Kongolo Yav Contributor

O

n Sept. 16, Grévin Montréal, the famous Montreal wax museum, permanently closed its doors. It had been temporarily closed since March 2020 as public health protocols forbade non-essential activities like cultural exhibitions from fully opening.

Numerous Black-owned businesses faced similar circumstances after being deemed “non-essential,” exposing how such arbitrary labelling can be damaging to cultural institutions.

Grévin, a popular tourist attraction, was meant for the general public. It was the closest visitors could get to “seeing” their favourite celebrities or historical personalities; to grazing Marilyn Monroe’s perfect posh hair, or feeling the weight of history while standing next to Nelson Mandela. It was an imaginative world of endless opportunities. Culture is a way of life, shared by a group of people. It is forged by their behaviours, beliefs, and values, passed down from past generations through communication and imitation. Cultural institutions are considered non-essential services, even though they are es-

the highlight of many students’ time in university, it is unfortunate that students were robbed of the chance to explore the broad array of student life at McGill. SSMU hosted the event on Gather.Town, a platform that allows users to walk around a virtual venue and send messages or start calls. However, the blame for the site’s technical failings should not be placed on its developers—it is common knowledge that online programs are prone to overload when flooded with users. Last year’s event was held on a different platform, Eventus, and did not experience mass technical difficulties. SSMU should have either tested the system prior to the event or at least had a backup plan, such as having prepared a list of organized Zoom links for each club or setting up a more reliable platform.

As a result, clubs were forced to find alternate avenues to interact. For example, some clubs posted their own Zoom meetings in the mass chat or on their individual social media accounts. SSMU did not immediately respond following the event, although they did post a blurry apology on a now-expired Instagram story and did dole out leftover Frosh goodies at a measly stand on McTavish. Karla Heisele Cubilla, SSMU vice-president (VP) of student life has since announced that a second Activities Night was on the way.

Although it was logical to hold the event online to prevent the spread of COVID-19, SSMU illogically hosted a party at the Muzique nightclub the following day. SSMU has been pushing for the university to implement a vaccine mandate and other accommodations, writing an open letter critiquing McGill’s Fall 2021 Plans and Accommodations, staging a protest of McGill’s COVID19 policies on Sept. 1, and partnering with WeCanVax to create #2Jabs4McGill to encourage students and staff to get vaccinated. SSMU’s disorganization with their online Activities Night while hosting an in-person party calls their integrity into question.

If SSMU did not allow Activities Night to be held in person, Muzique should not be an exception. While Muzique is an established business that must follow governmental COVID19 protocols such as requiring vaccine passports and mandatory masks for entry, the regulations that make it a safe place to meet at this time could have been easily transferred over to an in-person Activities Night. Some student clubs under SSMU’s umbrella already conduct their own vaccine passport checks and require mask-wearing for participation, but most clubs have limited resources and members. The student union, on the other hand, is a large organization comprised of numerous staff and volunteers; they have all the resources they need to host a grand event.

SSMU could have easily made Activities Night a better experience had they only put in more effort. SSMU’s leaders are not only event hosts, but leaders who represent students and are meant to lead by example. Actions always speak louder than words: As helpful as their COVID-19 safety campaigns have been, the Muzique gathering suggests that SSMU puts their activism to the side when they want to have a night of fun.

When being deemed ‘non-essential’ threatens cultural existence sential vectors for social growth.

Works of art render history into the present, stopping time and breathing colour into everyday life. Such timelessness is hard to put into words.

When the Grévin museum reopened in February 2021, it saw a decrease in attendance due to travel restrictions: prior to the pandemic, 30 per cent of visitors were international and a sizeable amount were Quebecers from outside of Montreal.

Some believe that art and culture is best appreciated by the wealthy elite or those capable of interpreting it through an intellectual lens. But this is not true. Art and culture are what is left to us when everything else is lost; it is an escape.

Similar to cultural institutions, Black-owned businesses have faced exceedingly hard times over the pandemic, as many of their businesses have been deemed nonessential. At the same time, these enterprises have faced increased difficulty receiving loans and have limited access to credit.

Institutionalized racism is still deeply rooted in society. Those who are supposed to help save struggling businesses by giving out loans are

The closing of Grévin Montreal (pictured above) shares similar pandemic struggles with Black-owned businesses.

(Ottawa Citizen) the same people who discriminate, leaving Black entrepreneurs with double the challenge. Meanwhile, the federal government’s programs to support Black business owners, such as “The Black Entrepreneurship Program,” are vague and inaccessible. Many have criticized their unclear terms of repayment, their lack of transparency, their failure to communicate, and most importantly, their intrusive questions

regarding business-owners’ sexuality. Answering invasive questions about one’s intersectional identities should not determine whether or not a Black-owned business is able to remain open.

The closure of Grévin Montréal is only one example of a larger problem. In general, the question of who has the right to determine what should be deemed essential or not must be called into question. While

unprecedented fear and uncertainty continues to impact students, businesses, and artistic spaces, it is culture that offers us peace, inspiration, and hope. Whether by sharing and exchanging our own, or supporting Black-owned initiatives like “Black-Owned Canada,” or “Black North Initiative,” it is our responsibility as McGill students to uphold cultural institutions and believe in their importance.

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

7

Where do I begin?: Anthony Fantano and ‘The Needle Drop’ ‘The internet’s busiest music nerd’ has become an unmistakable pillar of online music culture Luke Schramm Contributor Continued from page 1.

Since that fateful day in 2012, only a handful of records have tasted the glory of a Fantano 10. Fantano himself, now at the helm of a two-channel empire, has become a cornerstone of internet music culture. He reviews albums almost daily, providing unfiltered criticism and, on occasion, enthusiastic praise. His other video segments include his first-time listens and reactions to individual tracks, the interactive “Let’s Argue” and “Reading Your Comments” bits, and a number of weekly and yearly round-ups summarizing and celebrating recent releases in the music world.

Fantano navigates his reviews quickly, bouncing from detail to detail while unpacking the core elements of each record, generat-

The self-proclaimed “internet’s busiest music nerd” is really, really busy.

(Jinny Moon / The McGill Tribune)

ing an atmosphere of controlled mayhem that builds towards a decisive conclusion.

Fantano’s channel has become a breeding ground for some of the most inexplicable interactions on the internet—the “you had to be there...for the last five years” type of stuff. Sarcasm, esoteric references, and callbacks to his channel history litter the comment sections. A casual scroll-through can leave an unfamiliar viewer feeling like they have just opened a forbidden door. Among many other, and occasionally much darker, trends that exist in Fantano’s comment section, there is also a surplus of lighthearted nicknaming and inside jokes: Fans endearingly call Fantano “melon,” referring to his famously bald head, and comment on the subtle but meaningful Easter eggs—including Fantano’s choice of flannel shirt, which he uses to foreshadow his thoughts on a record.

Amidst all the chaos, however, arises genuine, thoughtful discussions focussed on why, and why not, some music deserves a listen.

Fantano’s rise to YouTube stardom places him in a relatively unoccupied echelon of the internet, preserving a space for active and opinionated music enthusiasts within music intellectualism’s brash, reactive, and often self-contradictory zone of the internet.

Few web personalities have acquired such a far-reaching and potent influence over their viewers—even reaching a point where other music fans satirize his most devout supporters, who notoriously defer to “theneedledrop” for the majority of their musical opinions. Fantano is but one part of a sweeping revolution in music consumption whereby internet discussions and the tastes of web strangers make their way into popular discourse. Fantano’s willingness to review a plethora of diverse music has allowed a number of underappreciated and experimental artists to permeate the playlists of the more “mainstream” listener, like Danny Brown, Charli XCX, FKA Twigs, and others.

As the backbone of the online music-loving community, Fantano will inevitably continue to scour the musical landscape, finding underground gems and giving fan-favourite albums a 6/10, but viewers should take no insult. After all, Fantano has never hesitated to remind us that, “Y’all know this is just my opinion, right?”

Tales of Gender Affirmation 3

A comedy storytelling show about gender identity, showcasing trans, non-binary, gender nonconforming and ally comedians and storytellers!

October 6, 8:00 PM The Diving Bell Social Club, 3rd Floor $10

A Conversation with New York Times Bestselling Authors The Eleanor London Library, in association with Librarie Paragraphe Bookstore, presents A Conversation with New York Times Bestselling Authors Kristen Harmel (The Forest of Vanishing Stars) & Natasha Lester (The Riviera House).

October 7, 7:00 PM TBS - call 438-809-7799 then press 500 514 054 # #, or on Zoom Free

Ruth Wisse: “Free as a Jew” – A Personal Memoir of National Self Liberation

The book launch for Ruth Wisse’s new memoir features accounts of her relationships with singersongwriter Leonard Cohen and Nobel Prize winning authors, Saul Bellow and Isaac Bashevis Singer.

October 12, 7:00 PM Streamed on Zoom Free

RETURN OF JAZZ TAROT

Tarot readings presented on a first come, first serve basis, with live jazz music from Zach Frampton and selected guests.

October 7, 7:00 PM Bar Datcha Free

‘Black and Free’ reflects on identity and community in theatre Artists explore the relationship between Blackness and art Dana Prather Contributor

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n what ways can Black theatre advance Black liberation in the 21st century? No doubt a loaded question, and one that the virtual event “Black and Free: Theatre & Conversation’” explored with nuance and care. Co-hosted by McGill’s Department of English and York University’s Department of Theatre, the night began with an acapella performance by Naila Keleta-Mae, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo with expertise in race, gender and theatre performance. Repeating the evocative refrain, “Black and Free. Black and Free. Black and Free,” Keleta-Mae’s simple but concise performance was a powerful reminder of the event’s purpose: To centre the fight for Black liberation in theatre.

Equal parts performance and conversation, the event opened with a stage reading of an excerpt from No Knowledge College.

Written and scored by Keleta-Mae, the play follows four Black women pursuing their graduate degrees who come to face a striking revelation on the eve of their thesis defences. Play readings over Zoom come with inherent challenges, such as communicating character relationships, engaging audience

members, and navigating technical difficulties. Still, the creative team worked the medium to their advantage; one performer manipulated laptop camera angles and lighting for added spectacle, while another played both the student and her condescending teacher in the same scene. Altogether, performers Uche Ama, isi-bhakomen, Kamana Ntibarikure, and Chelsea Russell portrayed the fictional students of No Knowledge College with humour and depth, imbuing their characters with sincerity as they navigated tokenism, affirmative action, and Black identity.

Quincy Armorer, the artistic director of the Black Theatre Workshop; Rawle Gibbons, a Caribbean theatre artist and educa-

Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae was joined by several influential artists to discuss the current realities and future possibilities for Black theatre in Canada. (universityofwaterloo.ca)

tor; and Djanet Sears, an award-winning playwright joined Keleta-Mae for a Q&A session after the reading. Unexpectedly, all but one of the discussion questions that followed did not reference the topic of Blackness.

“This is intentional,” Keleta-Mae said during the panel, expressing that Black theatre artists tend to only receive questions related to race, whereas their non-Black counterparts are asked other questions, such as insights into their artistic process. Instead, Keleta-Mae asked open-ended questions, allowing the night’s panellists to define the relationship between their Blackness and their art on their own terms.

“My hypothesis is that the nuances of Blackness and Black life will inevitably be embedded in our guests’ answers,” KeletaMae said.

Given the passionate discussions that followed, it’s safe to say that Keleta-Mae’s hypothesis was correct—the influence of Black identity on the artists’ responses to broad questions like “why do you make theatre?” and “who is it for?” was distinctly present. The panellists emphasized, in particular, the importance of authentic representation.

“I wanted to see more Black stories in

the theatre,” Djanet Sears said in response to a question about why she makes theatre.

“Because there were not a lot, I began to write. I write in order to add my voice to a chorus of Black voices speaking about their various experiences and adding it to the Canadian arena of theatre.”

Citing his own efforts to make art that represents parts of the Black diaspora, Trinidad and Tobago-born artist Rawle Gibbons’ response to “who is it for?” proved a simple yet powerful statement: “For me, it’s for the Caribbean people.”

Together, the panellists of “Black and Free” discussed their personal performancemaking processes and artistic visions, interspersed with reflections on their experiences as Black theatre artists in Canada. Looking ahead, they expressed optimism toward the future of Black theatre, provided that concrete efforts are made to dismantle deeply rooted systemic racism in the industry.

Keleta-Mae ended the night by leading audience members in a reprise of the opening refrain. Though Zoom left much of the audio crackly and disjointed, watching audience members turn on their cameras to sing “Black and Free” was the perfect encapsulation of an earlier comment by Djanet Sears: “Theatre creates community best.”

Subbed or dubbed?

How anime spread its roots into mainstream culture Ruobing Chen Creative Director Content warning: Mentions of sexual assault and violence.

Until three years ago, I actively avoided watching anime out of fear that I would get sucked into the curious world of this modern-day Japanese art. It turns out I was right: Since I started watching, I’ve devoured anime after anime, from more widespread titles like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to covert ones like Noragami . I find myself immersed in the seasonlong story arcs and in the fluid animation so often that I’ve begun to wonder more about the history of the medium. Anime is staggerly popular: In 2020, Netflix reported that anime titles landed in the top 10 list of most-watched content in nearly 100 countries that year. In Montreal, the anime community has grown in size, sparking convention events such as Otakuthon and inspiring McGillian students to establish their own anime club, the McGill Students’ Anime Association. This surge in popularity is relatively recent, however—and it didn’t come out of nowhere.

For one, forms of media that cross multiple platforms tend to reach a greater audience, since they allow fans to engage in the fandom in multiple ways. Anime has always been closely tied to other genres, explained East Asian studies Professor Edmond Ernest Dit Alban, who specializes in Japanese culture and queer representation in anime.

“If you look at its history, it has always been a sort of hybrid between something and something else,” said Dit Alban. “Anime is so central because it was close to manga, it was close to radio, and then it becomes close to videogames.

And after videogames, it becomes close to the internet and to online platforms.”

Anime drew in obsessives as far back as the 1980s in Japan, through the formation of conventions and clubs, where like-minded fanatics discussed and bonded over the medium. Eventually, a subculture emerged out of their shared interests in anime and computer games. Its young fans were labeled “otakus” by author Nakamori Akio in 1983, who ironically detested the original anime and manga fans. Although the creation of a subculture normalized attending conventions and discussing anime as an interest, the term also accrued negative connotations. Otaku was one description used to brand the serial killer and child rapist Tsutomu Miyazaki, who sexually abused and took the lives of four young children in 1988. Miyazaki’s notorious collection of manga and anime, as well as his attendance at otaku gatherings, triggered a negative perception of those who associated themselves with the subculture at the time.

The definition of otaku has also been criticized for only describing a narrow subset of anime fans. Indeed, academic studies on the subculture seem to normalize a new interpretation of manhood: The initially outcast “nerd.” According to Dit Alban, the subculture is built upon a homogeneous identity that is unrepresentative of the entire fandom. “‘Otaku,’ basically for me, is masculinity studies,” Dit Alban said. “Otaku studies are usually written by male otaku, so I

guess that it’s kind of an expression of what [anime] meant to them at that time [….] The real problem with otaku is that when we go into these definitions, there’s an obvious thing missing: Everyone else but the straight, cis guys.”

Though the anime community may have started in a specific subset of the Japanese population, it has propagated across various cultures, spreading beyond native Japanese speakers.

From the 1980s onward, it was primarily pirated and translated versions of the shows that spread through Western countries, initially passing discreetly among a small viewership. The following grew in size and heterogenized throughout the decades, perhaps due to anime’s futuristic appeal.

Despite this, the increasing diversity of anime fandoms has not necessarily led to an increase in representation on screen.

The majority of anime characters are heterosexual and Japanese or white, a reflection of the backgrounds of those producing and working on the shows. In comparison with media produced in Canada or the U.S., for instance, anime has limited re p re s e n ta t i o n s of race, cultural background, gender, and sexual orientation.

However, some shows have I FIND managed to include representaCOMFORT IN tion of marginalized groups, [ANIME] BECAUSE THEY such as the 1998 classic OFFER ME A WORLD— Cowboy Bebop , which feaTHEY HAVE A WORLD tures people of colour and THAT IS ENTIRELY 2SLGBTQIA+ characters.

DIFFERENT FROM Nonetheless, some of these OURS, AND IT’S portrayals have problemVERY MUCH atic characteristics and are CREATIVE. merely symbolic in representation. Dit Alban, themselves -WAN a member of the queer community, explained that in Japan, “the problem is that most of the representation of queerness is made usually by straight cis people who are not necessarily allies.”

Considering the lack of diversity among both the creators and the characters of anime, clearly anime must have connected with so many different people around the world through other means. One way that anime has obtained this international viewership is by breaking language barriers, offering “subs” and “dubs” of the original dialogue. Subs, which are translated subtitles, and dubs, which replace the Japanese dialogue with one recorded in another language, have allowed anime to be widely distributed.

For example, Shania Wan, a U3 Science student at McGill, was able to connect with anime in her native tongue throughout her childhood.

“In Mauritius, where I was born, anime was pretty popular even among young children because it was broadcast on TV, and it was in French, so everyone could understand it,” Wan reminisced. “So even if people do not understand Japanese, it is a very accessible form of content. And you could tell that Japanese animation is very different from Western or European animation. I was watching Tokyo Mew Mew when I was a kid and I loved it.”

For others, anime’s appeal lies in its complex backstories, thoughtful narratives, and insight into the flawed human mind.

Anime is more than the intense fight scenes that span a few episodes in “shounen” classics––many include narratives that

speak to a wide range of themes, from heartbreak to genocide. Bassem Sandeela, the vice-president internal of McGill Students’ Anime Club, explained the lessons he took away from the anime Monster , which tells the story of Dr. Kenzou Tenma, a neurosurgeon who questions the ethics of human existence and faces severe consequences for his choices. “[ Monster ] is one of the most powerful explorations of morality and humanity that I’ve ever seen,” Sandeela said. “It covers the idea of what it means to be stripped of your humanity and what it means to be human, and just the way it explores [...] is so thought-provoking. I think my main takeaway [...] is that to become a monster is to lose your humanity, is to embrace nihilism.”

An anime that I never suspected would exert a such tight grip on me was the two-season, emotionally charged 2015 series Assassination Classroom . The narrative follows Koro-sensei, a superhuman being that challenges a classroom of students to

assassinate him by the end of the year, or else he’ll follow through with a threat to blow up the moon. It is the combination of the gripping character arcs and the immaculatelywritten ending that made it an anime that I continue to think about regularly.

Like other means of fiction, anime serves a different purpose for each individual, and there’s something to watch for everyone amongst the vast and concurrently growing list of shows. For those reading this who have not watched anime before, perhaps it is time to visit Crunchyroll and indulge yourself in the beautifully crafted artwork and stories of the genre.

WHAT IS QUEER IN ANIMATION? [...] ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE CHARACTERS? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS STORY? OR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE MEANING OF ANIMATION ITSELF? BECAUSE IF YOU START LOOKING AT QUEER THEORY, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT STUDYING […]...

SOME ANIME HAVE TAUGHT ME, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE A MORE FULFILLING LIFE. AND I’VE APPLIED THAT PHILOSOPHY TO MY OWN [LIFE], AND HAVE BECOME A MUCH HAPPIER PERSON THAT WAY. BUT FOR OTHERS, THEY CAN TAKE WHATEVER ELSE OUT OF IT. FICTION IS WHATEVER YOU MAKE OF IT. -SANDEELA

...WOMEN AND QUEER PEOPLE, RIGHT? IT’S LARGER THAN THAT. IT’S THE QUESTION OF HOW YOU START TO CREATE FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE OR PRACTICES THAT WILL DISMANTLE PATRIARCHAL OR HETERONORMATIVE FORMATS. -DIT ALBAN

Epilogue I committed to writing a feature about anime in the hopes that I would learn something novel about the history of this intriguing form of media—and maybe find some recommendations to put on my to-watch list if nothing else. Dit Alban brought up the title Sarazanmai by Ikuhara Kunihiko in our conversations—an anime that I had never heard of. The anime portrays three students who are transformed

into kappa monsters so that they can defeat kappa zombies—townspeople who have turned into giant monsters because of their hidden desires. Balancing both themes on the human need for intimacy and a conglomerate of well-placed innuendos, the anime is an obvious nod to the queer community. Dit Alban ranks it among the best animes offering representation, explaining that Sarazanmai dives into the social taboos and the desires of the population.

“[Kunihiko]’s not queer himself, clearly,” Dit Alban said.

“But what’s interesting about him is that he’s always using queerness in a productive way to represent social struggles. And I guess that he’s probably one of the only ones in Japan who’s getting it—that queerness is not just about representing pseudoLGBTQ+ people on the screen, [but] it’s also about having a discourse about society and its structure.”

Afterwards, I knew I had to do some research into Sarazan-

mai , so I started by watching a few highlight clips. In front of my computer screen, I sat with my mouth agape, stunned by the audacity of this anime’s cheeky, unabashed anal sex jokes, hidden under the disguise of an adorable art style. After doing so much research into the genre’s rise in popularity, watching Sarazanmai reminded me that anime doesn’t just have a past, but a future—one that might explore the confines of the artform and push the boundaries of storytelling.

10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

POP Montreal festival showcases a diverse repertoire from a safe distance This year’s music festival featured performances from all manners of emerging artists Anna Berglas Lussier-Piette Contributors

and

Louis

keeping the audience active and entertained from start to finish. His song “Wide Awake” attracted much excitement from the audience, who sang the refrain alongside the artist. Even with a maximum capacity of 50, the crowd had the energy of hundreds.

P

OP Montreal International Music Festival returned to Montreal on a high note this September, after hosting their 2020 edition via hybrid format. Presenting a series of concerts, exhibitions, and multidisciplinary art events, the festival showcased many burgeoning, unique artists. The McGill Tribune experienced POP Montreal’s colour and vibrancy, with highlights from a few different concerts below.

Laura Niquay – reviewed by Louis Lussier-Piette The air of Théâtre Rialto’s parterre was ecstatic with spectators eager for in-person concerts after an almost two-year hiatus. That same excitement energized the opening acts Claire Morrisson and Kae Sun, as well as main act Laura Niquay, who all gave one hell of a show.

A natural performer, Niquay combined music with storytelling by explaining the meanings behind each song, all sung in Atikamekw.

Among the songs on her set list were “Aski-Terre,” a beautiful homage to our planet and the people who live on it, and “Otakocik - Hier,” an emotional ballad about the unexpected death of her sister’s best friend. Her band was on fire from start to finish,

Backxwash – reviewed by Louis Lussier-Piette

All-female punk ensemble Bad Skin’s concert highlights included dissing Québec premier François Legault and a rock-and-roll cover of “Barbie Girl”. (Anna Berglas / The McGill Tribune) especially percussionist Gotta Lago, who kept the audience on their toes throughout the show.

Bad Skin – reviewed by Anna Berglas Punk as a genre commands energy, but the crowd for Bad Skin was seated, not standing, and applauded rather than danced. Despite the formality of the venue, a joyful indignation radiated from Dope, the lead singer, guitarist, and creator of the group. The strobe lights set the mood for a fast-paced set list, and Bad Skin delivered. Songs included “Fuck You,” dedicated to Quebec

premier François Legault, and a ‘90s cover of “Barbie Girl,” rockand-roll style. The song “Riot Girl” alluded to the Riot Grrrl movement, a subculture that combines feminism, punk music and politics. The four musicians head-banged their way through the performance, keeping smiles on their faces to match the musical intensity. The close relationship between the band was palpable in the way they leaned inwards and communicated musical cues. It was exhilarating to witness the tenacity and camaraderie needed to achieve the success they have in the male-dominated punk genre.

Asuquomo – reviewed by Louis Lussier-Piette Asuquomo, a Nigerian-born, Ottawa-based Afro-Fusion musician and producer, played a sold-out first show in Quebec at the Clubhouse Rialto packed with ecstatic fans.

Asuquomo’s Afro-Fusion music mixes West African spirituals with American hip hop, a combination of energetic beats and jazzy rhythms that makes dancing hard to resist. The moment he and DJ Seiiizi climbed up on stage, the crowd went ballistic. His ingenuous charisma made him a natural MC,

At L’Entrepôt 77, rapper and producer Backxwash delivered a mesmerizing performance full of theatrics, headbanging, and crowd surfing. With touches of experimental hip hop and horrorcore, Backxwash’s music explores themes of faith, queerness, and self-destruction.

Backxwash performed on stage alone, supported solely by the visuals of her eccentric face paint and white dress splattered with fake blood. She delivered a furiously vigorous show, performing one song after the other with almost no breaks or signs of exhaustion. She yelled, jumped, and moshed alongside her fans, turning her metal-inspired beats into something communal.

The venue was packed like it had never been before, with an audience completely bewitched by the power of her performance. Everyone was either neck-deep in the never-ending mosh pit in the front, or headbanging to the point of whiplash.

McGill funk band ‘Stop, Drop & Groove’ performs for a full house Heartfelt throwbacks to classic covers in the McGill band’s return to live performance Anna Berglas Contributor

A

fter nearly 16 months without live performances, McGill funk band Stop, Drop & Groove delighted students and jazz enthusiasts on Sept. 25 with a return to an in-person show. Crammed into the Quai des Brumes bar, listeners were eager to groove to the blues under the light of a disco ball. Founded by Oz McClamrock and Michael Gorlin, both U2 Music, the band played covers of hit funk songs, though they have recently begun writing original music.

While their new album Faraway Places features 34 musicians, 13 performers involved with Stop, Drop & Groove collaborated to usher in a hopeful revival of live music.

The set list included “Get Funky” by Daft Punk, “What is Hip?” by Tower of Power, and the forever iconic “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Different members of Stop, Drop & Grove took turns playing adventurous musical solos while the rest of the band crouched out of the way, grinning and clapping. The singers could have easily stolen the show if not for the equally dazzling instrumentalists. Every performer had their chance to shine in the spotlight.

Modifying pieces originally written for a small group to suit 13 players is no easy task. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, McClamrock detailed his process for arranging music.

“I listen to the song, I’ll jot down what I hear in some scoring software, [and then]

I’ll harmonize appropriately,” McClamrock explained. “The horns are loyal to the originals, which lays a foundation for the more experimental rhythm and vocal section.

People don’t have to play exactly what it is on the records. I think that’s what makes us more interesting, the vocals and the rhythm

McGill music students and graduates perform in community music group, Stop, Drop, and Groove, which is categorized as “a fresh spin on a classic funky sound”. (Anouska Oke / The McGill Tribune)

are really different.”

During the performance, McClamrock occasionally gave visual cues with his hand, leading the band in the right direction. For the most part, however, everyone remained well in sync, perhaps due to band members’ background in music theory—all players are either past or present students in jazz performance at McGill’s Schulich School of Music.

Following the evening of funky covers, fans enamoured with Stop, Drop & Groove can look to the band’s original work for more jazzy tunes. After eight months of recording remotely, they released their first album Faraway Places this past August. The name references the remote production method, since participating musicians were unable to meet in person.

“We started with the drummer. He would play his track alone with a metronome, then he’d send his track off to the bass player, and keyboard, guitar, and build it then send it to the vocals,” Gorlin said. “Everyone was recording in faraway places all around the US, Canada.”

Fans can look forward to Stop, Drop & Groove’s next concert on Oct. 22 at La Petite Marche. Listeners can keep up with the band on Facebook or Instagram.

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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‘Diversifying Entomology’ creates buzz at Queer History Month Dr. Jessica Ware: Every voice counts in the race against extinction Lilly Lecanu-Fayet Contributor

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n Oct. 1, McGill’s Macdonald Campus hosted Jessica Ware as the keynote speaker at the 2021 edition of Queer History Month at McGill. Ware is a professor of entomology at Rutgers University in New Jersey and a curator at the American Museum of Natural History. In her talk “Diversifying Entomology,” Ware brought attention to the lack of queer and BIPOC representation in the study of insects.

“When I was doing my studies and first entering academia, I was actually told not to talk about my Blackness or my queerness because people told me that scientists should not bring their feelings into their work,” Ware said. “That is one of many reasons why I strive to make my lab a safe space for a diverse group of people to work while staying true to themselves.”

Ware grew up visiting her grandparents in Northern Ontario, where she and her siblings enjoyed exploring the forests and flipping over rocks in search of insects. These childhood experiences fostered her curiosity, and eventually led her to earn a BSc in invertebrate zoology from the University of British Columbia (UBC), followed by a PhD in entomology from Rutgers University. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of flight characteristics and behaviours in cockroaches, termites, and Odonata.

“For people who grow up without green space, insects are introduced as pests and are only seen in an urban setting,” Ware said. “I was very fortunate to grow up with access to vast green spaces where I was able to roam freely and experience insects with a sense of wonder and curiosity. When I got to UBC, I was introduced to so many incredible mentors,

Odonata is the classification for flying insects known as dragonflies and damselflies. They are found all over the world and are an integral part of many cultures. (@JessicaLWareLab) many of whom also happened to be queer, and they helped me explore entomology while showing me how to navigate being queer in STEM.” While only 40 per cent of queer individuals in STEM are “out” in their place of work, Ware is part of a group of scientists working to change that statistic. She and her colleagues have created forums and scientific societies for BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ scientists to meet and share their experiences and to open up the STEM fields up to a more socially and culturally diverse future. The largest effort has gone into 500QueerSci-

entists, a collection of over 1,500 scientists working to provide the next generation of STEM students with queer role models.

In the field, Ware has encountered dangers in dealing with venomous insects—but also with being openly queer in spaces where that part of her identity makes her a target.

“I do a lot of work in Guyana, and it is a criminal offense to be queer there,” Ware said. “I realized early on that it is important to make safety plans for queer field workers, and that is something most straight scientists [do] not think about.”

In 2019, Ware was delighted to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) after being nominated by the National Science Foundation.

“I come from a lineage of sharecroppers in the American South who were [denied] access to entomological knowledge by land owners who wanted to keep them in debt,” Ware said.

“To need that information and not have access to it is a frightening prospect, and it is a big [turnaround] to go from that to being recognized by the government for my work.”

Ware’s field research and specimen collection expeditions have taken her all over the world to study the important role insects play in ecosystems and global cultures. The childhood wonder that initially attracted Ware to entomology continues to inspire her work in inviting more young minds into the field.

“There are millions of species of insects on Earth, and there are millions more that have not been discovered yet,” Ware said. “We need more entomologists in order to beat the anthropogenic changes to climate conditions that are leading to extinctions across the globe. We are losing biodiversity every day, and we need a diverse array of people and perspectives to document as many insects as possible.”

Cut, tuck, lift: Tracking the rise of cosmetic surgery

Increased demand for plastic surgeries raises safety concerns Zoe Karkossa Contributor

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lown-up shots of smooth skin, cinched waists, and tight bums are hard to avoid and even harder to look away from. Whether appearing on social media feeds or on seedy pornography websites, idealized bodies are on display on virtually every device with a screen. Bombarded by unrealistic beauty standards, more and more people, particularly women, have sought to modify their bodies via surgical means.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the total number of cosmetic surgical procedures, including breast augmentation and liposuction, remained relatively constant between 2000 and 2018 in the United States. However, minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, such as Botox and chemical peels, have increased 228 per cent in that same time period. Ninety-two percent of all these procedures were performed on women.

In an email to The McGill Tribune, Mario Luc, a plastic surgeon at McGill’s Department of Surgery and also a private practitioner, has been following

the rising demand for cosmetic procedures and anticipates there will be advancements in the field in the near future.

“The demand will keep increasing for several more years,” Luc said. “The field of aesthetic surgery will continue to improve itself to provide reliable results and safety with refined techniques, protocols, and guidelines to increase patient satisfaction and safety.”

Many aspects of the pandemic have spurred an increase in procedures, including widespread weight gain and the abili-

ty to recover from surgery while shielded by a mask or computer screen.

In addition to these factors, social media may also be playing a role in the plastic surgery uptick. A notable example is the high volume of videos promoting plastic surgery to young, impressionable audiences on TikTok: Videos showing off rhinoplasties, the ubiquitous nose job, are particularly common, with over 3.2 billion views under #nosejob.

These 60-second videos often lack nuance, failing to ac-

In the US in 2018, the cosmetic procedure industry generated USD $16.7 billion (harpersbazaar.com)

knowledge the significant cost and risk of cosmetic procedures.

According to the ASPS, average prices can range from $400 for a Botox procedure to $7,600 for a facelift, or rhytidectomy.

More invasive surgical procedures have higher risks. Brazilian butt lifts, whose hashtag #BBL also boasts over 3.2 billion views on TikTok, is the most dangerous cosmetic surgery, having a death rate of 1 in 3,000. As for minimally invasive procedures, even a Botox shot lists symptoms ranging from headaches to permanent muscle paralysis.

Plastic surgeries often aim to emulate and exaggerate a specific body type, though the ideal is prone to changing like any other fashion trend. In addition, surgeries often attempt to recreate white, European features, such as smaller button noses or double eyelids. One notable exception is the Brazilian butt lift, which emulates the hypersexualized stereotypes of Black women, but is only truly attainable through surgical lifting for most.

Many factors are at play in an individual’s decision to undergo a cosmetic procedure. In a survey conducted by realself, a

healthcare marketplace that connects consumers to physicians and research about aesthetic treatments, revealed that the most common motivations for cosmetic procedures included wanting to improve self-esteem and confidence, and to look younger.

In a society where 53 per cent of girls are “unhappy with their bodies” by the age of 13, it is unsurprising that there is a large demand for such procedures. When standards of beauty come to impact all spheres of life—whether in the dating pool, the workplace, or the courtroom—there can be great pressure to conform.

Although cosmetic procedures always come with risks, having realistic expectations and opting for restorative procedures like facelifts instead of nose jobs are linked to greater psychosocial well-being. Consulting with recognized, trustworthy, and qualified surgeons is also crucial.

“We only use known safe and standard techniques and we keep everyone up to date in the latest safety protocols and measures, surgical techniques with constant and regular medical education,” Luc said.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

10 McGill researchers selected as members of the Royal Society of Canada Get to know the newest additions to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists Bryana-Alexa Liberta Contributor Continued from page 1.

Frédéric Charbonneau Department of French Literature

Charbonneau’s eminent passion for literature drove him to pursue a career in academia, publishing dozens of books and holding the William Dawson Research Chair in 18th Century Literature position for ten years. “[People should] choose a subject that they have a strong personal interest in, to the point of necessity, because

a PhD at the University of Ottawa and later conducted postdoctoral research in London, England, where he studied viral genes that cause cancer. However, Matlashewski holds one particular topic dear to his heart: Research on leishmaniasis, a deadly, parasitic disease found in several countries around the world such

lashewski wrote in an email to the Tribune.

we try to do things that are hard!” Barrett wrote.

Rowan Barrett Department of Biology

Anna Weinberg Department of Psychology

Rowan Barrett knew that he loved biology and spending time in nature

Anna Weinberg did not take the conventional route to becoming a psychologist. After studying English and studio arts at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and working as a journalist for several years, Weinberg made the switch to an academic career in her late twenties. Weinberg started taking classes at night and working in psychology labs at Columbia University during the day.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 changed everything for her. Living in New York and witnessing the tragedy with her own eyes, Weinberg was motivated to work on a project with other psychologists to understand why some people struggled with PTSD and other mood disorders after experiencing traumatic events, and others did not.

This proved a pivotal moment for Weinberg as she decided to pursue a career in clinical psychology.

Weinberg then went on to pursue a PhD at Stony Brook University and eventually became a member of the

(Rowan Barrett / mcgill.ca)

(mcgill.ca) Born in Montreal to a family of artists and academics, Frédéric Charbonneau was motivated by family role models to pursue a career in academia.

His parents were both philosophy professors at Collège Ahuntsic and his uncle, also a professor, was once elected to the RSC. As for himself, Charbonneau studied sciences in college, then studied East Asian and Chinese studies at McGill, only later pursuing French literature at Université de Montréal and in Paris. It was not until he started his university studies that Charbonneau realized that he wanted to focus his research on The Old Regime—the political and social system of France prior to the French Revolution—which eventually led him to complete a master’s and doctorate in the field.

Part of Charbonneau’s research links literature and medicine, analyzing how these two seemingly different fields have been historically connected.

“It was in the 19th century that science and language were separated and became the two independent subjects they are today,” Charbonneau wrote in an email to the Tribune.

research is an exploration of the self,” Charbonneau wrote.

Greg Matlashewski Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Greg Matlashewski completed

(mcgill.ca)

as India and Nepal.

He started researching this disease at McGill when he joined the Institute of Parasitology in 1987. In Peru, between 1998-2006, alongside Dr. Alejandro Llanos of Cayetano Heredia University, Matlashewski developed a treatment for a particular type of Leishmaniasis called cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

However, his research didn’t stop at McGill laboratories; Matlashewski led the visceral leishmaniasis elimination program at the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2009 and 2011.

“I realized the major problem in this part of the world was not the lack of effective drugs, but the lack of good surveillance to ensure that people who needed treatment were treated,” Mat-

(mcgill.ca) from a young age. Barrett conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard, eventually becoming an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at McGill.

Barret teaches courses such as BIOL 305 (Animal Diversity) and his research primarily focusses on genetics and evolution. “[My passion lies in the] detective work involved in observing a pattern in nature and then trying to devise ways to test hypotheses about the mechanisms that generated it,” Barrett wrote in an email to the Tribune.

Barret believes that one of the most important characteristics in a researcher is being able to identify and learn from mistakes.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, we often make the most progress when

Department of Psychology at McGill in 2015, where she founded the Translational Research in Affect and Cognition (TRAC) lab. In her lab, she studies neural responses that reflect vulnerability to certain mood disorders, specifically, anxiety and depression.

Experts have always debated whether genetic or societal factors play a larger role in mood disorders, but Weinberg believes that neither should be studied in isolation.

“Our genetics lead us to seek out certain environments,” Weinberg wrote in an email to the Tribune. “[We are] demonstrating that genes and environment are not independent of one another, both are extremely important and we have to consider both.”

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

Fantastic felines of McGill

The stories of student cat owners Holly Wethey Student Life Editor

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s I studied on lower field the other day, something strange happened: I was approached by a small, golden cat. As it turns out, this cat’s name was Keanu—yes, after the famous actor. His owner, a McGill student, frequently walks him to campus, often drawing crowds of admirers.

Cassia Nasralla, U4 Arts, adopted the one year old Augustinian in early January 2021.

She spoke with The McGill Tribune about how having a pet helped her cope during the pandemic.

“I really needed a ‘COVID kitty’ because I was down in the dumps and not feeling too good being locked up and isolated,” Nasralla said.

Though Nasralla is a fulltime student, she doesn’t find that pet ownership interferes with her

academics. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

“It’s very nice to be able to [...] just take him out for walks,” Nasralla said of Keanu. “I get that break between my class time and then bring my cat, so he helps keep the work-life balance.”

Aside from helping Nasralla manage her time, her cat—who once provided much-needed companionship in a time of isolation—now gives her a sense of purpose..

“It’s so nice to just come home to someone who loves you,” Nasralla said. “That’s the best thing and then when you wake up in the morning, you’ve got this other being to look after on top of yourself, and it just keeps you going [...] because they need you and you need them.”

Nasralla isn’t the only student who recently adopted a cat— Eve Cable, U4 Arts, and Chloe

Maclagan, U3 Arts, have been fostering their cat Sundae since the summer. Cable, who had wanted a pet ever since she was little, decided that it was the right time to foster a cat after moving in with Maclagan.

Whereas dogs require a lot of attention, cats are more independent. Researchers at the University of Bristol found that degree-holding adults tend to own cats rather than dogs, because cats better suit those who commute and work late.

“Cats are definitely more manageable in university,” Maclagan said. “They can be left alone [longer].”

The experience of looking after an animal is also something that Maclagan and Cable cite as an important step toward independence.

“I feel like it’s a really rewarding thing to do, especially as students [are] gaining a bit more independence for the first time,” Cable said. “I think having your own cat is really one of the first steps in adulthood.”

STUDENT LIFE

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Researchers at Washington State University have found that petting dogs and cats help college students with a high academic workload relieve pressure.

(Holly Wethey / The McGill Tribune)

Both Maclagan and Cable also appreciated the experience of catownership.

“It’s like having a silly little kid around who makes a lot of the mess,” Cable said. “She loves to play with yarn, which is a very traditional thing, but [...] she has hours of fun with just a piece of string. I bought her some cute, nice toys and her favourite thing is just this piece of yarn with a hair tie.”

Each animal also comes with its own quirks and discovering these traits can be a small pleasure 13 amid the stress of university life.

“She likes to sit at the window and look out [...] which is kind of cute, because you can see little kids sometimes stopping and pointing,” Cable said. “She [also] likes to eat her food when you’re in the room with her. I feel like she really appreciates us.”

Meal-prepping for hibernation: Student-friendly autumnal recipes Fall recipes to warm the soul Jackie Lee and Wendy Zhao Copy Editor and Student Life Editor

the ramen noodles to the broth. Cook the noodles in the boiling broth for about 3 minutes, or until tender.

3. Turn the heat off, add a heaping handful of fresh spinach, and stir until the spinach is blanched (about 30 seconds).

Pour the coconut milk into the pot and stir to combine.

4. Optional: Garnish with green onion or sriracha.

Sweet-and-Spicy Roasted Tofu and Squash (Vegan)

Squash never fails to bring comfort and delight. This recipe is an ode to the vegetable in all its curvaceous glory, which together with baked tofu makes for a protein-rich addition to a bed of rice or spinach.

Ingredients: • 1 block extra-firm tofu • 2 lbs acorn or butternut squash, halved and seeded • 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce, more to taste • 1 tablespoon sriracha or other hot sauce • ¼ cup peanut oil • 2 tablespoons maple syrup • 1 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish Steps: 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Slice tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slabs and cut squash into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons. Cut each slice in half again.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sriracha, and a pinch of salt. Whisk in peanut oil. Spoon three tablespoons of the mixture into a separate bowl and set aside for later.

Whisk maple syrup into the original mixture.

3. Sprinkle squash lightly with salt and pepper and toss well.

Spread slices of squash out on a large baking sheet lined with parchment and pour the maple-soy mixture over it. Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden. Flip the squash and roast until uniformly golden and soft, around 10 minutes more. Transfer squash to a large bowl.

4. Adjust the heat to broil and position a rack just below the heating element. Toss tofu with reserved soy mixture and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet (you can use the same one you used for the squash). Cook until crispy and golden, about two minutes on each side. Toss hot tofu with squash and sesame seeds, adding more soy if desired.

Hot tip: Try adding other seasonal vegetables like sweet potato, beets, or brussel sprouts alongside the squash to make your plate a rainbow.

Hot tip: Toss in any leftover veggies, like carrot or beans, before adding the noodles to clean out your fridge and add more substance to the broth. For non-vegans, try topping your ramen with a fried egg.

Golden Apple Crisp When in doubt, oven-roasted vegetables are easy to make in large quantities and will get in your fix of important nutrients. (recipetineats.com)

Creamy Mushroom Ramen (Vegan)

‘Twas the night before midterms, so it’s crucial to always have a quick meal on hand. Enter: Instant ramen. Ready in under 15 minutes, this recipe is elevated by an unlikely but budgetfriendly ingredient: coconut milk! Be sure to use the full-fat kind to ensure the broth is rich and creamy.

Ingredients: • 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil • 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced • 1.5 cups vegetable broth • 1 handful fresh spinach, or frozen equivalent • 1 package ramen noodles Optional Garnishes: • 1 green onion, sliced • 1 tablespoon sriracha Steps: 1. Add oil and sliced mushrooms to a small sauce pot and sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft and dark, and all the moisture at the bottom of the pot has evaporated.

2. Add the vegetable broth, turn the heat up to mediumhigh, and bring the broth up to a boil. Once boiling, add

Take advantage of the apple harvest season by making this non-finicky apple crisp. An autumnal staple, each spoonful will be a perfect combination of crunchy oats and pillowy apple.

Ingredients: • 6 medium-sized tart apples, peeled and sliced (Pink Gala, Lobo, Spartan, McIntosh, etc.)

• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted • ¾ cup old fashioned oats • ⅓ cup whole wheat flour • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon • ½ teaspoon kosher salt Optional: • ​​One handful each of black and white sesame seeds Steps: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Mix apples, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of butter in a baking dish.

2. Mix oats, sesame seeds if using, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, salt, remaining ¼ cup of brown sugar, and remaining butter in a bowl until no oats are dry. Sprinkle oat mix on top of apples and bake until golden brown on top, around 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 10 min.

3. Enjoy hot from the oven or with ice cream.

Hot tip: If you are far from a microwave, pour some fresh coffee on top of the crisp for added warmth and a subtle bitter note.

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STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

Pandemic on the dance floor: the changing scene of Montreal’s nightlife

Nightclubs are transforming their operations to stay open Rob Pelletier Contributor

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hile the Quebec government designated Montreal a green zone in June and implemented a vaccine passport system in September, all indoor dancing in Montreal nightlife venues is prohibited. Montreal is one

of few cities across Canada with such regulations in place; nearby Toronto and Halifax permit dancing if distanced and masked.

Throughout the pandemic, Legault has avoided mention of nightclubs in public health updates. In response, nightclubs have had to identify their operations as either bars, breweries,

On Oct. 22, MTL 24/24 will gather members of Montreal’s nightlife community to discuss future visions for the city’s nocturnal revival. (Saumya Gogte / The McGill Tribune)

taverns, or casinos in order to remain open. Josh Breton, a part-time employee at TRH bar on St-Laurent Blvd, spoke about how the restrictions have influenced their nightclub in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

“It’s changing us into something we’re not,” Breton said of the adaptations the bar has made.

TRH’s space is designed to accommodate dancing and free movement through the room, and has limited seating.

To re-open, they had to impose seating onto the dancefloor, resulting in a clumsy configuration.

While TRH bar may have been able to re-open—although not in the way they imagined—Cafe Campus, a nightclub on Prince Arthur just off St-Laurent, has remained closed.

“Our typical mode of operation, that of an interior discotheque with a large, open dance floor, cannot be realized under the current regulations,” they wrote in a statement via Facebook in June 2021.

Even under Quebec’s recently integrated vaccine passport system, they remain closed.

Mathieu Grondin, director of MTL 24/24, a non-profit organization advocating for the revival of Montreal’s nightlife, believes that the closure of these venues may be leading to an increase in unsafe, unregulated parties.

“[Students are increasingly turning to] outdoor events in parks, abandoned buildings, [which] rarely enforce sanitary measures,” Grondin said in an interview with the Tribune.

Some students who are sticking to the typical bar scene, such as Sasha Nuttall, U0 Arts and Science, and Lauren Arbuck, U0 Arts, say they are getting bored of their options.

“Boycott Tipsy [Cow]!” Nuttall joked in reference to the bar’s recent popularity among first-year students.

According to Nuttall and Arbuck, first years’ exposure to Tipsy Cow began with the in-person frosh events at the bar. The venue, minutes away from New Residence Hall, has since become a bar that students visit nearly every evening. Other popular destinations include Cafe Frappé and Bar Bifteck. Bar-goers frequently defy restrictions and dance inside the venues anyway, sitting down only when police arrive to check adherence to COVID-19 regulations. Alternatives such as house and frat parties, which consistently flout restrictions and rarely check vaccine passports, have also seemed to increase in popularity.

Nightlife is deeply woven into the fabric of Montreal’s culture and has been for the past century—it remains to be seen how the culture will change over the next few years.

Spots for shut-eye: Where we sleep on campus Student Life’s favourite places to snooze at McGill Shirley Xu Contributor The sun warm on your face, the grass a soft cushion, the faint murmur of students passing by—what more could you ask for in a napping spot? That settles it––my go-to location to nap is Three Bares Park.

During the 30-minute breaks between my classes in first year, this was the perfect location to drift away and, thanks to its proximity to Leacock 132, maximize my nap duration. My favourite sleep position is simple: Head on backpack, hat over face, phone alarm in hand, lying on the incline.

The best part was the warm sunlight, and as we move into chilly October, I can’t help but reminisce about those September naps. Napping during school hours was something I never had never done before university, but it’s a great way to reenergize between long classes and catch up on missed sleep when schoolwork and extracurricular life becomes hectic. In fact, researchers at McGill encourage napping!

Wendy Zhao Student Life Editor During the school year, the sleep I get in my apartment every night never feel like enough. Even with my yearly goal to schedule in the recommended eight hours each night, friends, schoolwork, and odd corners of the internet regularly keep me up into the wee hours. When exhaustion

home. Key to this realization is the fact that no one really cares when you nap in public; everyone is simply too busy with their own day to notice someone curled up in a corner snoozing. This is why I have taken to lying in the lower field, with my head on my tote bag and resting my eyes. In all honesty, I usually go there to try to study, but this proves to be difficult when you’re lying on your stomach in the grass. It’s a dangerous game, and I often give up and close my eyes while people rush busily by on the Y-intersection.

Kennedy McKee-Braide Managing Editor

Popular opinion cites the couches in the Birks building’s study area as a prime napping room.

(Avery Haley-Lock / The McGill Tribune) hits, a library desk and the fold of my arm provide enough comfort to put me to rest for a few minutes. For a longer nap, the couches on the upper floors of the Music Library are a haven. Facing away from the study spaces and instead toward the large glass windows, you are both hidden from other students and warmed by the sunlight.

To assuage the fear of having my things stolen, I hug my backpack while I sleep.

But setting alarms in a quiet atmosphere can be tricky, so I’ve resorted to using my earphones. Sudden blasts of noise streaming into your ears can be a terrible

way to wake up, especially when enjoying a sweet dream, but I’ve decided it’s a price I am willing to pay for a few added minutes of midday rest.

Holly Wethey Student Life Editor I used to find it really hard to nap in public and I definitely would never have been caught dead napping on campus in my first year. However, over time, I’ve gradually come to realize the necessity of rest, even if that has to happen away from

Anyone who has ever travelled with me has likely been filled in on the fact that I struggle to sleep in places I’m not “meant to”––even on red-eye flights, I usually end up staying wide awake. My ideal napping set up involves my bed and a good set of blackout curtains.

However, as I’ve gone through more of my degree, naps have become more necessary, and I’ve had to try and adapt.

In my first year, I found I was able to doze off on the––admittedly disgusting–– couches in the Arts lounge in Leacock basement. Once the iconic spot shut down for renovations, however, I found some other spots, including the Ferrier lounges’ homely couches. While my on-campus naps are still rare, a good couch does wonders when needed.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

sports@mcgilltribune.com

SPORTS

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Redbirds homecoming football game a soggy nightmare McGill falls 55-2 in staggering loss to Laval Rouge et Or Sarah Farnand & Madison McLauchlan Sports Editor & Managing Editor

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ainy weather and grey skies set the mood for the Oct. 2 homecoming game as the Laval Rouge et Or (3–⁠ 2 ) dominated the McGill Redbirds (1– ⁠ 4 ), coming away with a 55-2 win in their second encounter of the season. Despite

first quarter. After Laval jumped to a 9-0 lead, McGill managed three first downs in a row, edging their way up the field with strong rushes by first-year running back Elijah Williams and an impressive pass reception by second-year wide receiver David-Amani Kabwe.

Trouble kept adding up for the Redbirds as quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos made several incomplete passes

The Homecoming game was played in honour of the late Michael Soles, BA ‘89.

(Sarah Farnand / The McGill Tribune) the 2,000 game tickets sold, the crowd was meagre, huddling under the rain cover in the bleachers. The low energy seemed to trickle down onto the field.

The Rouge et Or opened up the scoring with a touchdown by receiver Kevin Mital just over a minute into the

and narrowly avoided a turnover when Laval fumbled a pick. Two overshot snaps by the Redbirds led to turnovers, giving Laval more opportunities to move up the field. Laval forced six McGill safeties throughout the game, as the Redbirds tried to fend off their rivals’ ever-growing

momentum, which eventually turned into an insurmountable lead. Unfortunately, the Rouge et Or outran McGill several times, making few errors and a lot of headway on the scoreboard.

Coming out of the half, Laval led 420, but McGill managed a 13-yard safety in the third quarter that prevented a complete shutout.

Overall, the second half proved to be more of an evenly matched game, with the Rouge et Or only outscoring McGill 13-2 in the final two quarters, a much better showing than the first half.

Laval was never going to be an easy team to beat—this game followed the first two-loss streak the team has had in almost 20 years, and they were desperate to turn things around.

Wide receiver Kabwe was disappointed with the result, but said he is looking forward to the opportunity for redemption.

“It was an embarrassing game for us, because we know that we can compete with any team,” Kabwe wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune. “You have to remember that we played Laval in our first game of the season and we showed up, unlike yesterday.”

Williams shared Kabwe’s sentiments, noting that the poor weather conditions may have dampened their mindsets.

“Things just didn’t go as planned for us,” Williams said. “I felt the weather brought the energy and tone down, [while] the other team was simply there to play. But football is a tough sport and you

have to be prepared for whatever comes your way. Most importantly, we have to execute more on special teams.”

MOMENT OF THE GAME The Redbirds paid tribute to McGill Football alum Michael Soles at a reception before the game. Soles passed away in July at the age of 54 after a 16 year battle with ALS. After playing for McGill, Soles went on to play professionally for the Edmonton Elks and Montreal Alouettes. Many of his teammates and family members were in attendance for the pre-game ceremony.

QUOTABLE “We have a very good team and a great coaching staff, I’m not really worried about the next few games. I’m pretty excited to face this adversity!”

— Second-year wide receiver DavidAmani Kabwe

STAT CORNER Elijah Williams led McGill in yards rushed, carrying the ball 12 times for a total of 60 yards.

McGill Men’s Soccer draws even with Concordia

Redbirds finish 1-1 against rivals before sold-out Friday night crowd Adam Menikefs Contributor

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he McGill Men’s soccer team (2–1–3) squared off against rival Concordia (2–3–0) at Molson Stadium on Oct. 1. Though the sold-out crowd of nearly 460 fans helped bolster McGill’s strong start, the team could not hold on to their lead as the match progressed, ending the game with a score of 1-1.

The match started with strong play from the back line, a trend that has remained consistent throughout the season thus far. Third-year defender Julian Huster, who came in as a substitute in the second half, saw the team feed off the crowd’s energy to start the game aggressively.

“The sell-out crowd was amazing, and I felt as though the team rallied around that to bring an extra element of effort during the first half,” Huster said in an interview with //The McGill Tribune//.

No love was lost between the downtown rivals, with physical play emerging from the opening whistle and leading to three yellow cards in the first half. Despite strong play from McGill’s midfield and defence in the

McGill racked up six shots on goal to Concordia’s three.

(Reese Ladak / The McGill Tribune) first half, fourth-year goalkeeper Chris Cinelli-Faia had to come up clutch, with a fantastic save on a shot from the six-yard box.

Twenty-two minutes into the game, the crowd was sent into a frenzy when first-year defender Bilal Bouchemalla headed in a goal off the post, assisted by a beautiful corner kick

by Reese Carlow.

Thirteen minutes later, McGill was dealt a penalty shot due to a poor challenge in the box by Concordia defender Brandon Phelps.

Unfortunately, the attempt hit the post.

Despite the momentum and the team’s enthusiastic supporters, McGill would not convert again in the half.

Third-year midfielder Bouba Ouane, McGill’s starting left midfielder for the match, felt the team couldn’t capitalize off the momentum of this goal.

“The squad really had great energy after the first goal,” Ouane said. “After the missed penalty opportunity though, I felt that we no longer had the same intensity and this definitely contributed to the fact [that] we could not score again before half.”

Despite several missed chances

before the half, the Redbirds entered the locker room up by a goal, the crowd still buzzing with Friday night fervour.

Unfortunately, 11 minutes into the second half, former Western Mustang and current Concordia midfielder Mohammad Reza Nafar capitalized off a failed clearing by McGill’s defence, tying the game and silencing the McGill crowd.

In a sudden turn, the momentum shifted to the away side. The Redbirds’ frustration was obvious, with four Redbird yellow cards in the second half.

Despite this, the contest ended in a stalemate, with the opposing squads going back and forth without any true

success for the rest of the second half.

Although unable to convert, Huster remained optimistic about the team’s second-half performance.

“The ball movement, as well as the defending from the team in the second half was strong after the goal,” Huster said. “Even though the end result was not what we wanted, the team competed well until the end.”

McGill Men’s soccer hope to finish strong as they enter their last few weeks of the regular season—eyeing a top four playoff spot finish at season’s end.

McGill plays next at Laval on Oct. 8.

MOMENT OF THE GAME Bilal Bouchemalla scored McGill’s first goal of the game off a header from rookie Reese Carlow, sending the sold-out McGill home crowd to their feet.

STAT CORNER The rivalry match was a heated and physical affair, with a combined six yellow cards for both squads.

16

SPORTS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 2021

sports@mcgilltribune.com

Catching up with Noah Eisenberg

Charting a Montrealer’s soccer journey across Europe Karan Kumar Contributor

F

ormer Montrealer turned professional soccer player Noah Eisenberg has moved on to a new stage of his career.

After several stints in Belgium, Northern Ireland, and Wales, the 23-year-old has made it to the first division in Gibraltar, signing for Europa Point FC, who finished 10th in the Gibraltar League 2020-2021 season.

The new season starts on Oct. 17. Eisenberg will be playing for both the Europa Point FC, which competes in the Premier Division of the Gibraltar League, and the U-23 youth team which acts as a feeder for the first team’s roster.

Because the Gibraltar league rules demand that at least five Gibraltar-born players be on the field at any given moment, playing time is limited for international players like Eisenberg. “[The club] has registered [international players] under 23 in both the U-23 and first team, [so that] we get the minutes to play [for the club],” Eisenberg said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

Littered with obstacles created due to the pandemic, such as immigration restrictions and the protection of local leagues from

an influx of international players, Eisenberg’s soccer journey in Europe has not been an easy one.

The Montrealer considers the Welsh league’s move to reduce the number of international players to be an important factor in his move to Gibraltar.

“I left Wales. There was no choice after Brexit [since immigration to Wales] became stricter with COVID-19,” Eisenberg said. “Between [Brexit and COVID-19] it was impossible to get a visa to play in Wales [….]

[There is a push] to make the Wales league only for British players.”

Fortunately, with the help of friends and his agent, Eisenberg’s transition to Europa Point FC was a smooth one.

“I had a friend playing in Gibraltar who put me in touch with the owner [of Europa Point FC],” Eisenberg said. “In August [of 2021], the owner offered me a contract [for the new season]. I have an agent and we work together and when an opportunity comes, he negotiates [the contract] and finalizes the deal with the club.”

Playing in the first division in the Gibraltar league could give Eisenberg the unique opportunity to play in the Champions League, the Europa League, and the UEFA Conference League.

“The first placed team [in

Eisenberg poses with his team jersey at the Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar. (Noah Eisenberg) the Gibraltar league] will qualify for the [preliminary rounds] of the Champions League. The second, third, and fourth will go to the Europa League,” Eisenberg explained. “Lincoln Red Imps [from the Gibraltar League] is currently competing in the UEFA Conference League. [The team] played against PAOK [from the Greek first division] last week, which is one of the best teams in the world.”

Although Eisenberg faces exciting challenges ahead of him in Europe, he hopes to return to North America to play soccer in the future. The newly formed Canadian Premier League is another option Eisenberg is open to exploring.

“I have a list of goals for the near future. CF Montreal is definitely on my bucket list,” Eisenberg said. “Montreal would definitely be a place I would like to play in front of friends and family.”

Eisenberg acknowledged that luck played a big role in a lot of opportunities he was afforded. For Montrealers who aspire to play pro soccer in Europe or North America, he advises hard work and dedication.

“Being good enough is not always enough,” said Eisenberg. “[You have got to be] at the right place at the right time [to] be as ready as you can for when that opportunity comes.”

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