The Tribune Vol. 43 Issue 17

The Tribune TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024 | VOL. 43 | ISSUE 17

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

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EDITORIAL

FEATURE

STUDENT LIFE

Abortion access and trans rights are non-negotiables

Ethically sharing Indigenous stories: More than principles, it’s our journalistic responsibility

Are we well-informed at McGill?

PG. 8-9

PG. 5

PG. 7

(Mason Bramadat / The Tribune)

Students demand McGill divest from companies supporting Israel’s siege on Gaza in national week of action

PG. 4

Black History Month 2024 opens with a performance by the Montreal Steppers and a panel on Black art The panel highlighted the importance of Black joy in art Esther Forbes Contributor

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n Thursday, Feb. 1, McGill held its eighth annual Black History Month Opening Ceremony at the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building, hosting around 130 students, staff, and faculty. Breaking away from the tradition of

hosting lecturers, this year’s ceremony featured a performance by the Montreal Steppers, followed by a talkback panel discussion regarding the importance of celebrating Black joy through art.

Shanice Yarde—McGill’s Senior Advisor for Anti-Racism and Equity Education—was the primary organizer of the event and the first speaker of the evening. The speech was followed

by a performance from the Montreal Steppers—a non-profit organization and dance collective specializing in step. The art of stepping is a Black diasporic dance which uses the body to create a musical beat out of claps, stomps, and chants. The Montreal Steppers are both performers and educators on the history of step—since 2019, they have provided dance workshops to over eleven thousand students across Canada.

PG. 2

Redbirds hockey puts six past Carleton Ravens as they proceed to their final regular season game

McHacks 11 abounds with creativity, camaraderie, and caffeine

Megan Belrose & Madigan McMahon Contributor & Staff Writer

Eliza Lee News Editor

The team extends their 12-game winning streak at home

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n Feb. 3, the Redbirds hockey team (20–5–2) triumphed over the Carleton Ravens (10–11–5) in a 6-2 victory at

McConnell Arena. The arena was filled with excitement as the McGill Fight Band created a lively atmosphere supporting the Redbirds and their firm grasp on first place in the OUA East.

The first period opened with sharp passing and skating from the Redbirds. In the third

minute of play, Redbirds’ forward Mathieu Gagnon scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Zach Gallant and right winger Charles-Antoine Dumont. However, the lead was short-lived. The Ravens scored a tap-in only 14 seconds later after poor coverage around the McGill crease.

PG.15

Annual hackathon draws nearly 500 competitors from McGill and beyond

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here are many ways to get an adrenaline rush. For some, skydiving, horror movie jumpscares, or kickboxing does the trick. For others, it’s McHacks.

McHacks is an annual hackathon that a team of McGill students organizes, where teams of hackers have just 24 hours—from Saturday noon until Sunday noon—to design a project showcasing their coding prowess to the judges. Now in its 11th year, the competi-

tion took place on the weekend of Jan. 26 and 27 in the University Centre and attracted nearly 500 competitors.

The competition’s short time limit often guarantees a nearly sleepless night for participants as they rush to complete their projects. PG.14

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

Black History Month 2024 opens with a performance by the Montreal Steppers and a panel on Black art The panel highlighted the importance of Black joy in art Esther Forbes Contributor Continued from page 1.

They included the audience in sections of their performance, encouraging observers to make music and move in tandem with the dancers.

“As we clap, we remember the hands of our people who cultivated crops for the entire world,” Kayin Queeley, a member of the Montreal Steppers and a Case Manager at the Office of the Dean of Students, told the audience during the performance. “As we stomp, we remember the feet of our people who, through displacement, travelled thousands of miles [....] And stepping is a reimagining of the use of the body that was once only viewed as property to create music that we’ve never seen or heard before.”

Méshama Eyob-Austin, President of the McGill Black Students’ Network, expressed that she found the rousing performance to be joyful and personable in a written statement to The Tribune.

“The Montreal Steppers brought muchneeded energy and fun to the room, but also took a moment to make us all recognize how special it was to be together in that moment,” Eyob-Austin wrote.

The panellists subsequently took the stage, featuring Queeley, Concordia Professor Angélique Willkie, a performer and teacher of contemporary dance, and McGill Professor Alex Blue V, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Art History and Communication whose research examines the intersections of race and sound. Blue applauded the dance performance, sharing his interpretation of the call-and-response aspect of step.

“If you think about a word like ‘echo,’ which we typically would understand just the sound that happens after the sound, what I saw in that performance [...] embodied echoes whether you want to think of ancestry [...] but also the way the sound kind of reverberates around the room,” Blue said.

“So really the main connections I see have to do with the energy that’s created by echo in a way that can be embodied by step and can also be heard and felt in very real ways.”

Wilkie added to the sentiment, expressing her thoughts on the interconnectedness of the performers and the audience.

“What was communicated here for me is a kind of [...] existential camaraderie, you know,

Photos by Mason Bramadat, The Tribune

where the bodies move together, are together, speak together,” Willkie said. “And it’s not learned. It is rehearsed, but it is not learned.”

The panellists were asked about the significance of Black movement, and how the body serves as a tool of connection, change, and power.

“Because Black bodies were objectified as property for so long, and that the labour of Black bodies is what has created the society in which we live, it is extremely important to flip that narrative.

We have the capacity to do it here,” Willkie said.

Queeley followed suit and explained the way that stepping has found its place in the world of contemporary dance by shifting the narrative of what dance should look like.

“In step, you could do a double step on one foot, but other art forms will tell you ‘No! You go here, then here, then here’, so [step] shifts everything. I think that’s power in itself. [....] It’s disruption. That’s the intention. It’s too organic, too creative, too dynamic, too exceptional,” Queeley said.

Eyob-Austin told The Tribune that she greatly valued the Steppers’ emphasis on Black resilience and courage.

“For every harmful, oppressive, and devastating part of Black history, there has always been 100 more moments of Black people finding ways to survive, and this is the legacy that the BSN aims to maintain [....] Creating community and spaces for joy and growth are some of the most powerful acts of resilience, courage, and strength and it is very validating that the Montreal Steppers approach Black History Month with this educational angle,” Eyob-Austin wrote.

In an interview with The Tribune after the panel, Blue expressed the necessity of centring Black joy and excellence through performance, rather than continuously focusing on themes of hardship.

“One of the burdens that Black art often carries is that [...] people think that it’s supposed to be about resistance, always about, you know, hardship, and that sort of thing. Obviously, those things are kind of built into a lot of the art, but there aren’t a lot of spaces for Black joy to be expressed. So that was one of the things that I really

enjoy about this sort of performance, it allows for you to see just different facets of Blackness that are not always public,” Blue said.

Wilkie additionally explained that while Black sorrow should be acknowledged, Black hope and happiness should be portrayed through art as well.

“I think it’s important to recognize the miseries that have existed historically, many of which continue. Unfortunately, you know, I mean, the forms may change [...] but they’re still there. But

it’s also important for us to be able to speak, not only from a deficiency point of view, but also from a place of pleasure, joy, excellence,” Willkie said in an interview with The Tribune after the panel.

McGill will be hosting events for Black History Month every week, with Dr. Melanie J. Newton’s Keynote lecture on Feb. 8. BSN will also be hosting events all month, with a screening of the African Cup of Nations finals on Feb. 11 and a panel of Black musicians on Feb. 12.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

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NEWS

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McGill, Concordia students go on a three-day strike against proposed tuition increases

More than 11,000 McGill and Concordia students participated in the strike Caroline Sun & Helen Griffiths-Barnhart GA just three days before the strike began.

News Editor Reddy noted that this affected the impact Contributor

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rom Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and Concordia Student Union (CSU) led a student strike against the Quebec government’s tuition hikes first proposed in October 2023. On Nov. 29, the provincial government announced that Canadian students from outside of Quebec will have to pay an additional 33 per cent in tuition fees, backing down on their initial plan to raise fees by nearly 50 per cent, and international students will have to pay around $20,000 starting next academic year. In response, the universities’ student unions organized three days worth of activities to inform students about the strike and encourage more to join the collective movement.

McGill departmental students’ associations called General Assemblies (GAs) in the weeks leading up to the strike to vote upon a strike mandate. The Religious Studies Undergraduate Society (RSUS), the McGill Undergraduate Geography Society (MUGS), and the Student Association of Sustainability, Science and Society (SASSS) reached quorum and a consensus concerning a strike mandate during meetings from Jan. 23 to 29.

In an interview with The Tribune, Emily MacDougall, U3 Arts and Vice President (VP) External of the RSUS, stated that the association’s members voted unanimously on the motion to strike against tuition increases at the GA. “Especially for smaller departments like the School of Religious Studies, it leaves us in a very precarious position,” MacDougall explained. “[Members of the McGill administration] haven’t promised any sort of safeguards for the smaller departments [....] In the process of intense financial problems, our school could literally either be closed; it could be absorbed into a different school; we could have intense layoffs; we could lose funding for some of our incredible work that we do here.”

Emma Reddy, U3 Arts and co-president of MUGS, explained that MUGS held their

and reach of the strike within McGill’s student body.

“I think that because a lot of McGill students did not know how big the Concordia strike was [...] it kind of just felt like we were going to be alone,” Reddy explained.

“So I think that it spread some fear. Maybe people had a bit of trepidation.”

Fred Azeredo, U3 Arts and VP Finance of RSUS, expressed his disappointment at McGill students’ reaction to the strike.

“What I think just stuns me is the amount of apathy that we’ve been getting from the student body as a whole,” Azeredo said. “I went to the [...] Blue Fall protest last semester and the turnout was not great. There are a lot more Concordia people, there’s a lot more Concordia people striking. There’s so much apathy from the McGill student body.

So many departments did not vote to strike, and that disappoints me.”

SSMU VP External Liam Gaither noted that although he wished that more of the large student societies at McGill had mobilized for this strike, he was still very pleased with the turnout.

“It was really amazing to be in a room when a general assembly is going down for the first time ever for some of these departmental associations. All three of them had no bylaws about general assemblies and so the executive took it upon themselves to design bylaws that were in line with others,” Gaither stated in an interview with The Tribune.

Gaither believes that McGill students do not have the same educational and institutional resources when it comes to organizing a protest or striking compared to Concordia students. Even as he is working to supply students with a “toolbox” of resources, he noted the importance of making students aware of those resources available to them.

“I think overall, what is lacking at McGill is that sense of political education, or [it] being available somewhere on campus,” Gaither said. “It seems at Concordia, it’s very palpable, it’s in the air. And there are a lot of workshops and things always going

According to Emma Reddy, co-President of the McGill Undergraduate Geography Society, the student society reached a 25 per cent quorum during their general assembly held on Jan. 29.

(Caroline Sun / The Tribune )

down on campus [....] I think that, as we continue to improve larger goals, we can actually expand this [movement].”

According to Global News, approximately 11,000 students at Concordia were on strike from Wednesday to Friday. In total, there were twelve student associations on strike.

In the CSU lounge, a station was created by students who organized a schedule of picketing for different classes across faculties. One of the organizers, Alesia Chyme— a third-year Arts student and president of the UPA—expressed her awe at the number of Concordia students who mobilized for this strike in an interview with The Tribune.

“It’s awesome to see how many students are mobilizing, especially [compared to] our strike last semester, to see the difference,” Chyme said. “The growth and amount of people that are going to be involved with, now, is astonishing. And like we’ve already hit almost 12,000 students that are striking just at Concordia, which is so powerful.”

As groups were heading in and out of the lounge, other Concordia students set up activities such as legal self-defence and Black radicalism workshops.

John*, a third-year student in the School of Community and Public Affairs and Community Outreach Coordinator for the GUSS, spoke about the importance of these activities in the creation of generational knowledge within the alumni, current, and future students.

“There’s a long history of popular education in student movements, sort of like us teaching each other [and] not necessarily having to go to an official institution to get education,” John said. “The idea here is to bring people from different generations of the student movement in Concordia and in Ontario, to be a transmission of knowledge.

So that current students involved in organizing can be inspired by previous generations and not repeat the mistakes that they made.

They can learn from the things that they did well, they can continue to do and really have a space for sharing.”

Posters with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois’s picture, co-spokesperson of Québec Solidaire, were distributed Marion Miller, a 2019 Concordia Fine at the Concordia Student Lounge, asking students if they’ve seen him since the 2012 student strike Arts graduate, led an information session on against tuition hikes in which the ex-student activist played an active role. ( Abby Zhu / The Tribune ) the 2015 student tribunal that deemed some

students to have violated Concordia’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities by picketing and disrupting lectures. During the activity, Miller and the attendees discussed the purpose of picketing, the different types of picketing, and the power of picketing.

In an email to The Tribune, McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle stated that the university “supports the rights of students to exercise their rights in connection with civic engagement in accordance with the Charter of Student rights and applicable laws.”

“The university does not and will not take a position on the cause on which students might decide not to attend classes because of civic engagement from time to time,” Mazerolle added.

According to Gaither, there will be another strike spanning the length of a week in March. He hopes that larger McGill student associations, such as the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) and the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) will join this movement and help to mobilize students.

“We have to recognize that in 2012 everything was disruptive, and we need to bring back some of that disruption to be able to properly get gains because our power lies in a collective effort.”

The following Concordia student associations were on strike: The Geography Undergraduate Student Society (GUSS), The School of Community and Public Affairs Student Association (SCPASA), The Urban Planning Association (UPA), the Science College Student Association (SCSA), The Concordia Undergraduate Biochemistry, Chemistry & Physics Society (CUBCAPS), The Women’s and Sexuality Studies Student Association (WSSSA), The Concordia Association for Students in English (CASE), Students in History at Concordia (SHAC), The Sociology and Anthropology Student Union (SASU), The Political Science Student Association (PSSA), The Communication Studies Student Association (Coms Guild), The Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA), The Geography Planning and Environment Graduate Students Association (GeoGrads). *John’s last name has been left out to preserve his confidentiality.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

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Students demand McGill divest from companies supporting Israel’s siege on Gaza in national week of action Montreal students walk out to protest their schools’ complicity in genocide Fabienne de Cartier Contributor

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ver 100 students gathered outside the McGill Arts Building on Feb. 2 to stand in solidarity with Palestine and demand divestment from corporations complicit in Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza. McGill students joined those from Concordia and walked toward Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), waving Palestinian flags and chanting “free, free Palestine.”

The walkout was organized by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill, SPHR Concordia, Al Raya Dawson, and Solidarité pour les droits humains des Palestiniennes et Palestiniens at Université de Montréal (UdeM) and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). The event was part of a broader national week of action coordinated by National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM).

In a statement to The Tribune, SPHR underlined the tremendous scale of student activism for Palestine.

“Our demands towards McGill administration are not isolated but part of a broader, powerful nationwide call to end Western complicity as a whole,” said a representative of SPHR who wished to remain anonymous.

Chief among SPHR’s demands was a call for McGill to divest from weapons manufacturing companies and corporations profiting from the

Palestinian occupation. In particular, SPHR urged McGill to divest from Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer that continues to sell planes and weapons to Israel.

In an email to The Tribune, McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle did not give a definitive answer as to whether the university would consider divesting from corporations complicit in the genocide in Gaza. Instead, she maintained that “McGill’s approach to investments aligns with its Statement on Investment Policy as overseen by the Investment Committee of the Board of Governors.”

SPHR’s continued demands for divestment come after the Quebec Superior Court ordered the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) to postpone the ratification of the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine until a final verdict is reached at a court hearing in March. The policy, that 78.7 per cent of non-abstaining McGill student voters supported in the fall referendum, would have mandated that SSMU take an official stance in support of Palestinian liberation and lobby McGill to divest from corporations complicit in the Palestinian genocide.

SSMU President Alexandre Ashkir told The Tribune that SSMU remains committed to contesting the injunction and supports SPHR’s activism.

“SSMU supports mobilization for the Palestinian cause and therefore this week of action,” Ashkir wrote by email.

However, at the rally, SPHR and student

protesters criticized SSMU’s response to the court order.

“An injunction such as the one they are facing must be consented to, and the fact that [SSMU] lawyers consented means that the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine has been stalled for months,” said one student protester who wished to remain anonymous.

Another protestor, who also wished to remain anonymous, asserted that “[SSMU] has failed to represent the student body who voted in a historic referendum.”

Despite the ongoing legal challenge to the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine, students at the rally highlighted that student activism has successfully led McGill to divest in the past.

“It was student advocacy that got McGill to divest from fossil fuel companies, and it will be student advocacy which gets McGill to divest from the ongoing genocide,” said one student protester who wished to remain anonymous.

A representative from Independent Jewish Voices echoed the importance of student mobilization.

“Student activism forced McGill to divest from apartheid South Africa in the ‘80s,” the representative, who wished to remain unnamed, said.

“Once again we will leave this administration no choice but to stand on the right side of history.”

SPHR’s representative also emphasized that Friday’s walkout demonstrated solidarity with the broader Palestinian struggle.

“This week of action was another successful effort to be coordinated with all student groups across Turtle Island, including SJPs and SPHRs from the United States and across Canada. We are showing once again the unity, coordination, and strength of the Palestinian student front.”

SPHR McGill also collaborated with McGill’s Collective for Gender Equality to organize a screening of “Little Bird,” a film about anti-colonial feminist struggle, gender-based violence, and anti-Arab racism, as part of their week of action.

(Photos by Mason Bramadat / The Tribune )

SSMU Legislative Council debates fee increase referendum questions Referendum questions concerned SSMU, queer bursaries, and First-Year Council

Ella Paulin Science & Technology Editor

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he Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) convened for its second Legislative Council meeting of the year on Thursday, Feb. 1. The meeting discussed motions regarding fee increase referendum questions in the Winter 2024 referendum cycle.

Deputy Speaker Sierra Fallis began by announcing that a motion regarding approval of the Student Nutrition Accessibility Club (SNAC) funding application and the rules for the 2024 Winter General Assembly—set to occur on Feb. 5— were approved over email. She also shared the Executive Nomination Kit and the SSMU Referendum Nomination Kit for the Winter 2024 SSMU executive elections.

Vice President (VP) Finance Amina Kudrati-Plummer spoke in support of a motion regarding a referendum question to increase the SSMU membership fee by $27.11 per semester for full-time students in the Faculties of Arts, Architecture, Education, Engineering, Music, Management, Nursing, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Science, and Arts and Science and by $29.92 per semester for those in the Faculties of Law, Dentistry, and Medicine. While a referendum question to increase the fee failed to pass last semester, Kudrati-Plummer emphasized that the increase was necessary in order to fund a pay raise

for SSMUnion workers and that SSMU would need to reduce operations if the fee increase was not approved. The motion passed with 70 per cent of the vote.

Following this, Gender and Sexuality Commissioner Gillian Smith discussed the motion regarding a referendum question to increase the Queer Equity Support fee by $1.32 per student per semester. Smith advocated for the motion, highlighting that this bursary gave critical support to students in need.

“Ninety-five per cent of this fee goes to emergency bursary funding for queer students,” Smith said. “This is a response to the reality that queer people on our campus need financial support and experience severe financial barriers to being a student here.”

This motion was passed after a brief question-and-answer period.

First-Year Council Representative Rajan Duncan then spoke in support of a motion regarding a referendum question to create a First Year $0.50 opt-outable fee to support the First-Year Council. While the motion failed to pass last semester, Duncan emphasized the vitality of the council in supporting first-year McGill students.

“We really do need this fee for the FirstYear Council to be able to host events and plan giveaways and to create outreach for the first-year community,” Duncan said.

In response to a question from Kudrati-Plum-

mer regarding an apparent jump of over $1,500 in the planned 2024-2025 First-Year Council budget from the existing budget, the motion was tabled until the council could clarify.

Motions regarding referendum questions on fee increases for WALKSAFE, the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE), and the Black Students’ Network (BSN) were also passed after minimal discussion.

VP External Liam Gaither then gave a report on External Affairs, in which he highlighted action taking place on campus in response to planned tuition hikes from the Quebec government. His report noted that over 10,000 students are striking across McGill and Concordia, pointing out that the majority of those students were from Concordia. He also encouraged department executives to reach out if they were interested in taking action, and he announced a new SSMU Legislative Council working group focused on combating the tuition hikes.

Finally, there were two reports from SSMU subcommittees. For the Gender and Sexuality Advocacy Committee, Smith noted that the committee distributes $3,000 in direct funding to queer students in need at each of their bimonthly meetings. For the First Year Council, First-Year Councillor Rajan Duncan explained that planning was underway for a McGill’s Got Talent first-year talent show, a Power Hour with various engineering student associations, and a continuation of their

popular therapy dog program.

During the question period, VP Student Life Nadia Dakdouki and Kudrati-Plummer requested that members of the Legislative Council reach out to them with any questions or concerns regarding the SSMU General Fee Increase Motion.

“If you have concerns please bring them to me. I really want to make sure with this motion that people feel more comfortable,” said KudratiPlummer. “I know there were a lot of concerns about the last one regarding transparency and I tried to make sure that this motion is as transparent as possible.”

Moment of the Meeting In response to concerns from Gaither regarding low usage of WALKSAFE’s services among students, Arts Councillor Keith Andre Baybayon noted that his experience as a floor fellow taught him the importance of the service for ensuring that students have an option for returning home safely after dark.

Soundbite “Every two weeks when I distribute these funds, I hear about how this fund saves their lives, this fund buys their groceries, this fund paid for their rent when they’re being kicked out by their parents.”

— Smith, explaining the necessity for an increase to the Queer Equity Support fee.

In the Jan. 30 print issue, The Tribune republished the piece “Dozens protest against CAQ’s anti-trans policies” under the title “Trans health clinic strives to address gaps in mainstream health care.” The Tribune apologizes for this layout oversight, to our contributors, and to the members of the queer and trans community who organized these separate events and gave us their time and words in interviews. For the online version of our Jan. 30 paper, we fixed the mistake and included the correct article. As such, our print and online issues look a bit different today: In print, we have republished the corrected article, while online, we are publishing a new article.

opinion@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

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Editor-in-Chief Matthew Molinaro editor@thetribune.ca

Abortion access and trans rights are nonnegotiables

Creative Director Mika Drygas mdrygas@thetribune.ca

The Tribune Editorial Board

EDITORIAL BOARD

Managing Editors Lily Cason lcason@thetribune.ca Arian Kamel akamel@thetribune.ca Tillie Burlock tburlock@thetribune.ca News Editors Eliza Lee, Jasjot Grewal, & Caroline Sun news@thetribune.ca Opinion Editors Chloé Kichenane, Liliana Mason, & Isaiah Albert-Stein opinion@thetribune.ca Science & Technology Editors Ella Paulin & K. Coco Zhang scitech@thetribune.ca Student Life Editors Abby McCormick & Dante Ventulieri studentlife@thetribune.ca Features Editor Fanta Ly features@thetribune.ca Arts & Entertainment Editors Dana Prather & Suzanna Graham arts@thetribune.ca Sports Editors Sara Escallon-Sotomayor & Julie Ferreyra sports@thetribune.ca Design Editors Drea Garcia & Zoe Dubin design@thetribune.ca Photo Editor Mason Bramadat photo@thetribune.ca Multimedia Editor Anna Chudakov & Alyssa Razavi Mastali multimedia@thetribune.ca Web Developer Eleni Lyberopoulos webdev@thetribune.ca Copy Editor Theodore Yohalem Shouse copy@thetribune.ca Social Media Editor Sainka Walia socialmedia@thetribune.ca Business Manager Sophie Smith business@thetribune.ca

TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

fter decades of financial struggles, Clinic 554, the last private practice to provide surgical abortions in Fredericton, New Brunswick, permanently closed on Jan. 31.

With the province refusing to allow Medicare to cover the cost of private clinic procedures, Clinic 554 worked on a pay-what-you-can model that eventually led to its end.

Clinic 554’s services addressed the devastating gap between Canada’s legal provisions for abortion and the reality of limited access for people who need them. Though abortions are legal in Canada, accessibility remains an obstacle for many, especially people outside of urban centres.

With the overcrowding crisis in hospitals, our underfunded health care system creates long wait times for anyone who needs an abortion.

Abortion pills such as Mifegymiso, touted as a solution to the problem of limited access to surgical abortions, are expensive and subject to shortages, leading to long wait times that rival those for surgeries. The obstacles to receive an abortion continue to compound as Canadian politicians carve out reproductive and medical justice.

The most significant

accessibility barriers emerge from systemic mistreatment and inequity across imposed divisions of race, gender, and class. Antiabortion movements have long targeted all women’s reproductive rights, but abortions have still always been most available to wealthy, white, cis women who the health care system prioritizes.

The Canadian medical system reproduces settler-colonial abuse and medical malpractice toward Indigenous peoples and continually underfunds community-based health organizations. Canadians should not have to leave their town or province to receive an abortion, especially not Indigenous and two-spirit people on whose lands these clinics operate. Similarly, due to the long and continuous history of medical racism toward Black people and people of colour, many communities rightly distrust medical institutions built to exclude them.

Clinic 554’s closure and the erosion of reproductive rights throughout North America indicate the rise of intimate policing of women’s, trans people’s, and nonbinary people’s bodies. The Conservative party leads national polls and, though nominally prochoice, leader Pierre Poilievre fails to politically align himself with publicly pro-choice party

OFF THE BOARD

An ode to the hater

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Liliana Mason Opinion Editor

Ghazal Azizi, Ella Gomes, Amalia Mairet, Matthew Molinaro, Jacob Northfield, Ella Paulin & Sophie Smith

STAFF Yusur Al-Sharqi, Roberto Concepcion, Kellie Elrick, Maria Gheorghiu, Ellie Griffiths-Barnhart, Charlotte Hayes, Madigan McMahon, Atticus O’Rourke Rusin, Eliza Wang, Katherine Weaver, Marco Zeppelli, Abby Zhu

CONTRIBUTORS Megan Belrose, Anya Brown, Julia Buckle, Fabienne de Cartier, Claire Dominici, Esther Forbes, Kiran Gill, Helen Griffiths-Barnhart, Mia Helfrich, Annabella Lawlor, Amelia McCluskey, Sophie Naasz, Maïa Salhofer, Leif Walker, Abby Zhu

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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 Tribune, its editors or its staff.

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t the end of sixth grade—a year fraught with the kind of drama only 11-yearold girls can come up with—I made a promise to myself: No more talking shit. I do not think I ever really thought I was going to follow through with it. It was the kind of “new year, new me” resolution that we tend to discard after two weeks.

Somehow I found myself taking on my new mantle of optimism with a serious sense of commitment.

For the next two years, I refused to engage with anything I considered

negative. When my friends got into fights, I put my hands over my ears and proclaimed myself neutral.

When asked to do something I did not like, I sucked it up and put a smile on my face. Sure, I let the odd complaint slip to my best friend if the task was particularly heinous, but all in all, I remained positive.

Much to my surprise, my newfound pledge of positivity did not bring me the freedom or moral privilege that I desired: Instead, all those negative feelings began to build up. Two years of listening to my friends’ complaints about stupid problems, acquiescing to every monotonous school project, and silently dealing with the ever-present anxiety of high school fast approaching gave me a constant pit in the bottom of my stomach.

The solution? Embrace being a hater. Haters get a bad rap. To be fair, this is unsurprising given that identifying yourself with “hate” more likely sparks apprehension or animosity than goodwill, but I think this is a mistake. People tend to associate haters with those who claim to be devil’s advocates.

In reality, we haters stand in a category of our own. Where the devil’s advocate raises nasty,

members. The current threats to abortion access in Canada—and the increased threat of a Conservative government—demand a reckoning with how the state denies bodily autonomy to marginalized people in Canada through its laws and institutions.

On Jan. 31––the last day that the clinic could stay open––Alberta premier Danielle Smith announced new policies preventing trans minors from transitioning and requiring parents to opt their children into education about gender, sex, and sexuality. The Conservative premier spread misinformation about minors transitioning in the name of “protecting” the province’s children. Smith failed to acknowledge that children with transphobic or homophobic parents will be even less safe with legislation in place that harms them.

This regressive movement spreads fear about gender, endangers 2SLGBTQIA+ children, and works in tandem with anti-abortion measures to control who gets full citizenship rights in Canada.

Anti-choice activists and legislators failing to provide adequate access to abortions decreases the potential for safe ones.

“Pro-life” policies consistently go hand in hand with the limiting of social services for children in marginalized communities and at-

spiteful points just for the sake of starting an argument, the hater simply embraces their own personal preferences—refusing to ride the train of toxic positivity.

Adopting this philosophy, my newfound freedom allowed me to expand my interests, explore new passions, and rid myself of the self-imposed constraints that coloured my middle-school years.

This outlook became particularly helpful when I started my first year at McGill.

Starting in September 2020, everyone was particularly desperate for human interaction. The phase at the beginning of the semester when you’re expected to say hello to anyone you end up stuck in the elevator with—the questions of “Where are you from?” and “What’s your major?” seemed endless. It was all too easy to get stuck in the pit of social convention and false niceties, saying yes to every plan that was offered to avoid the terrifying fate of being stuck with no friends. I quickly found myself all too close to reverting to my middle-school self—a horrifying thought.

One night changed all this when, at an event that I never wanted to go to in the first place,

OPINION

EDITORIAL

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risk women, trans people, and queer people. At the institutional level, McGill and other medical schools all but omit abortion education and training from their curriculum.

Students—and Canadian citizens generally—must fight to improve abortion education and services to preserve an essential medical service. Canada’s first abortion clinic, the Morgentaler Clinic, opened in Montreal fifty-five years ago—the struggle for reproductive rights must continue in this city.

This work begins by recognizing that abortions and bodily autonomy are fundamental human rights. When students have open and vocal conversations about abortion access, birth control, and trans rights and health care, this pushes pro-choice and openminded legislators to invest in these services. Students have a responsibility not just to pressure McGill to provide better services to students and better training to doctors, but also to advocate for the current services that oncampus organizations such as the Peer Support Centre, Union for Gender Empowerment, the Trans Patient Union at McGill and the Subcommittee on Queer Equity make possible. We must demand continued support for these essential services in the face of efforts to uproot them.

someone told me that their favourite artist was The Chainsmokers. It sparked an important question in me: Why was I pretending to be into the most repetitive, asinine music I knew, to appeal to someone I clearly had nothing in common with?

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with liking The Chainsmokers, if that’s your vibe. I’m also not saying you should scorn everyone whose interests differ from yours.

Rather, you should allow yourself to feel your hate. You are under no obligation to sit through a movie you find dull and monotonous, nor should you listen to an album by an artist whose voice you think is weak and annoying, nor—perhaps most controversially—do you need to suffer through conversations with people you don’t like.

Being the bigger person is overrated. It doesn’t do anyone any good to feign appreciation, simply for the sake of propriety. So next time someone in your conference begins a sentence with “just to piggyback off of that,” or you hear someone raving about the latest low-budget Netflix drama, allow yourself the simple pleasure of talking shit with a friend.

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OPINION

COMMENTARY Yusur Al-Sharqi Staff Writer

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ripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Award 2024 ranked Montreal 13th on the “Best of the Best” list for sustainable travel, crowning the city the “cultural capital of Canada.” Alongside this, Time Out ranked Montreal in 12th for “World’s Best Cities for Culture.” While this didn’t surprise me, I was shocked to find out that this is a very unpopular opinion among my peers. I recall a friend

McGill students don’t hate Montreal, just the McGill bubble in first year who detested Montreal.

As someone whose dream was to come to the city, I took this as a personal challenge: I made it my goal to make him love the city as much as I did. I realized that he, like many other McGill students, did not really hate Montreal; he hated feeling trapped between St. Laurent and Sherbrooke street. He hated the “McGill bubble.”

We spent weeks exploring the island—walking through Westmount and ranking the extravagant Christmas decorations of the gor-

Montreal earned the 12th position on Time Out’s World Best Cities for Culture list, alongside cities like Paris, Tokyo, and Marrakech. (Maïa Salhofer / The Tribune)

COMMENTARY Kiran Gill & Leif Walker Contributors

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n Jan. 25, the McGill Religious Studies Student Association (RSUS), the Student Association of Sustainability, Science and Society (SASSS), and McGill Undergraduate Geography Society (MUGS) announced that their members would be on strike from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1. The strikes joined Concordia students in responding to the Coalition Avenir Quebec’s (CAQ) tuition increase for out-of-province and international students at Quebec anglophone universities. The hikes triggered dismay throughout the McGill community as a whole, and for good reason––the hikes threaten our right to an affordable education. As such, any effort to reverse them should be applauded.

Despite RSUS and MUGS’s admirable sentiment, history warns that without proper organization their efforts could be in vain. To succeed, student strikes have to understand and react to their material conditions. Student strikes demand effective coordination— to truly propel change, students must break into the public sphere and seize collective consciousness.

Strikes have long been the

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

opinion@thetribune.ca

geous mansions, hiking up Mont Royal and taking pictures of the skyline, and exploring the Plateau’s many diverse restaurants.

As time went on, my friend grew to like the island—even missing it when he went back home. This made it clear to me that in order to resist the trap of becoming bitter students who only see the city as a place to suffer from late night library sessions and failed midterms, McGill students must return to the mindset of newcomers.

It’s easy for students to initially overlook Montreal’s charm, much like my friend did. With academic stress on top of the brutal winters, it’s no surprise that McGillians spend the majority of their time between campus and home, possibly with the occasional visit to Café Campus. It can be hard to truly appreciate the city and discover the hidden gems that lie beyond downtown Montreal.

Through exploration and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, students can discover a world of cultural richness and diversity.

The city’s vibrant arts scene, iconic landmarks, and unique culinary landscape make it so there truly is something for everyone here.

Montreal’s earning these esteemed awards crucially reminds McGill students to branch out of the “McGill bubble” and discover—or rediscover—the magical city that we have the privilege of living in and that so many people have come to love.

For many students, their time at McGill represents a chapter in their lives where they experience a new degree of freedom and independence. While it might seem like a waste of time to cosplay as tourists when there are readings, assignments, and exams to worry about, it’s critical to think of these things as, in a way, part of the McGill education. Not only can students learn about the city and its rich history in over 50 museums and exhibits across the city, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the beautiful Botanical Garden, and Quebec’s sole Holocaust museum, they get the chance to learn about themselves. Whether it’s discovering new music at Piknic Electronik and Igloofest or swapping dining hall food for one of the city’s 5000 restaurants, bursting the bubble can be an exercise of self-growth that shapes the way students view the world for

years to come. And the city makes it easy to explore all these attractions by foot, bike, or metro, with a reduced-fare Opus card. McGillians can create the kinds of memories they will actually want to look back on, that make the often stressful academic experience at McGill worth it.

This is not to say that Montreal is by any means a perfect city.

Everywhere has its problems, and this city is certainly no exception.

This island’s settler colonialism, its racist policing, and its inequalities also reveals something deeply embedded in Montreal culture: A long history of activism and community mobilization, with students often at the forefront. Whether it’s protesting against the province’s proposed tuition hikes for anglophone universities or rallying for McGill to divest from companies arming the Israeli state, students should continue to fight for improvements in the city. Regardless, this does not come at the expense of experiencing the beautiful things that the city has to offer. We owe it to ourselves to make the most out of our time on this island and to treat it with the curiosity and enthusiasm of newcomers.

Is a student strike effective? It’s complicated tool used by unionized workers to make their voices heard; they voice their grievances with employers by refusing to work. For workers, striking is effective because it results in work stopping or slowing and their employer losing out on potential profit.

Strikes work because they hit employers where it hurts—collective action leaves those in power with no choice but to listen. Last December, over half a million public-sector workers went on strike in Quebec in response to austerity measures from the CAQ. Workers in Quebec formed the Front Commun, an amalgamation of employees that collectively ratcheted up pressure on the government. The labour disruption’s climax was the seven-day strike in mid-December. As a result, workers were able to stave off the conservative CAQ cuts.

Quebec has a strong history of students striking to protect their rights. Since the Quiet Revolution of 1968, students have never been afraid to express their discontent with government bureaucracy.

Tradition can be a rallying cry, but it does not do enough to spur change in today’s circumstances.

While current movements carry the sentiments of the past, their tactics are misaligned.

In 2012, hundreds of thou-

sands of Quebec university students went on strike in what is now known as the “Maple Spring.” The movement rallied against Liberal Premier Jean Charest’s tuition increases for in-province students, eventually forcing the province to rescind the tuition hike and taking Charest’s government down with it.

How did the Maple Spring achieve this success? By connecting with the public. The 2012 strikes expanded beyond university campuses, both literally and figuratively. Students blocked the Champlain Bridge, causing gridlock in Montreal, and picketed in front of government offices.

Organizers formed alliances with some of the largest unions in Canada, who lent support in the streets and financially. By the end of the strike in fall 2012, people of all stripes supported the plight of the students. The 2012 student strikes were effective precisely because they were able to rally support and solidarity outside of campus.

Workers’ movements force the government’s hand by halting the economy; students alone unfortunately have not pulled the same weight. Linking the students and workers together in struggle, however, has the potential to secure gains for both

Since 1968, Quebec has had nine student strikes (Mason Bramadat / The Tribune) parties. Greater numbers means greater pressure on the government. Public sector workers prove to be a powerful force time and time again—banding students and workers together would create a formidable force.

A student-worker alliance would further unions’ collective and broad reach. Take Stanley Grizzle, a leader of Toronto’s Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters elected in 1946. Railway porters in Canada were predominantly Black men who faced intense discrimination and exploitation. Grizzle used his unionized position to successfully advocate for fair treatment for all porters. Integrating students into

the labour movement would only further its intersectional scope.

The McGill and Concordia student strikes mark a solid start of a larger movement. Grassroots initiatives can spark political change, but limiting themselves to a small segment of the population restricts their influence. Social movements must rally broadbased support to make a sizable impact. The right to an affordable education resonates universally; to protect student rights, organizers have to treat it as a cause that matters to all. If strikes remain confined to university campuses they will remain a university issue, giving the CAQ no impetus to hear student interests.

studentlife@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

STUDENT LIFE

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Are we well-informed at McGill?

A deep dive into students’ news consumption habits Katherine Weaver Staff Writer

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n recent years, traditional media has continued its harrowing downward trajectory while audiences turn towards social media for news. On a campus like McGill’s, that emphasizes critical thinking and research skills, do students’ newsconsumption habits reflect the digital age of 2024?

Data from Statistics Canada in November 2023 revealed that around 85 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 34 get their news from social media or the internet. Bill C-18, the Canada Online News Act, which came into effect in December, requires tech companies to pay Canadian media for their content. Meta responded by blocking Canadian media links on Instagram and Facebook.

Where are we getting our news?

Nick Belev, U2 Science, answered this question candidly.

“At least once a day I’ll see something newsrelated, usually it’s from a newsletter my mom made me sign up for, or from reels [and] TikTok and I’ll spend about 10 minutes reading it,” he said.

Belev is not alone. In fact, all of the students interviewed said that they receive news through social media, whether indirectly or directly.

Aliya Frendo, U3 Arts, often relies on TikTok for news. She believes TikTok news, when approached mindfully, offers informative and unique perspectives and also serves as an entry point to other media platforms for more in-depth reading.

“Oftentimes, I’ll come across news clips on TikTok and that will prompt me to leave the app and look them up,” Frendo said.

Other students, such as Anwyn Woodyatt, U3 Science, have different feelings towards social media as a news source but admit its pervasiveness in daily news consumption is a force to be reckoned with.

“Indirectly, I end up getting most of my daily news from social media, which isn’t the most reliable source,” she admitted.

Similarly to Frendo, however, Woodyatt says that she will look for sources beyond social media if the news she receives there is overwhelming or seems to be untrue.

University’s Uniqueness Despite the centrality of social media, McGill students interviewed hinted at one specific factor affecting news consumption on a university campus, their area of study.

Toby Li, U4 Engineering, gets her news mostly from social media and conversations with friends. She feels like her friends in different faculties are definitely better-informed than she is.

“It varies between faculties like there are certain faculties [..]where you have to keep up with the news, like if you’re in research or something,” Li said. “For me in civil engineering, it’s always been the same, like there’s not much new.”

Woodyatt agreed, citing conversations with more politically aware students as a preliminary source of current events.

“I feel like it’s pretty hard to not be aware of current events when you’re on a campus with people who study these things and are generally pretty up-to-date on these things,” Woodyatt explained.

How do students feel about their habits?

Habits can change over time; sometimes,

seemingly small changes can have a big impact.

“These days, I’ll be honest, I’m pretty undisciplined about getting the news,” Belev admitted, comparing back to the days when he had to keep updated on current events for his high school political science course.

Becoming a university student has also had an impact on how Li gets her news.

“Way back, when I was young and newspapers were a thing, I’d read the newspaper because it was delivered to our house,” Li said. Her newspaper-reading habits stopped when she started University, and the paper was not delivered to her door daily.

While students such as Li and Belev admit that they wish they were more “disciplined” in their news consumption habits, those who are more up-to-date, like Frendo, sometimes struggle with the burden of the current media landscape, finding it tiring at times.

“I’ve fallen out of love with The Globe and Mail and CBC,” Frendo said. “For example, with the situation in Palestine right now, I just don’t find that I have any major news outlet that covers it in a way that doesn’t make me frustrated.”

Students can access various news outlets through McGill, see the McGill Library for more details.

Despite shifts towards social media, statistics show that the majority of Canadians of all ages tend to trust news more from traditional sources. (Maïa Salhofer / The Tribune)

Spots to snooze on campus

From the University Centre to McLennan, here are five places for your midday nap Mia Helfrich Contributor

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ey, I get it, there’s nothing more needed on an exhausting day than a quick nap. But it’s too bitterly cold and far to hike back home—besides you only have an hour until your next class. Eleven years ago, students took to r/mcgill to discuss this pressing concern, and a decade later, they are still struggling to find places to relax on campus. While McGill doesn’t have a dedicated sleeping space, there are plenty of places to drop in for a 40-minute doze.

quick coffee or bite to eat afterward.

3475 Peel Street Are you one to fall asleep in the cinema? If so, 3475 Peel, with its dim screening and upstairs meeting rooms, is perfect for you. It’s home to Peel Street Cinema, and while the club or other film classes are not in session, the rooms are incredibly private and soundless. However, there aren’t any couches, so it’s best to bring a

pillow or two to make it more comfortable. Even with the breathless climb up to this Victorian-style building, this secret spot on campus can finally allow you to exhale all the stress of school.

Islamic Studies Library Under the wooden stairs of the Islamic Studies Library, there is, as many of you may have noticed, a large red sofa that screams comfort. You sink right into

The SSMU Lounge Located to the left of the main entrance, the student lounge in the University Centre is packed with comfy couches and armchairs to rest up before trekking back to your studies. There are sofas in the corner and along the walls so you can get your recommended feng-shui rest.

Although the room gets crowded during the afternoon and early evening, it’s nothing that some noisecancelling headphones can’t fix. If you also prefer a nap not under the focus of fluorescent lights, you may opt for a thick Montreal-style scarf as a nightshade. Not to mention— it’s above Gerts, so you can grab a According to Johns Hopkins, cat naps improve your memory and cognition! (Mason Bramadat / The Tribune)

that couch like a swimmer in a scarlet wave. The wooden library halls are quiet, but if the creaky stairs are still a bee in your sleeping bonnet, then just pop in your favourite tunes and you can sail into dreamland.

Birks Building The Birks Building is a sanctuary, providing ample napping places for weary students. The leather armchairs in the lobby and common areas are sturdy and comfortable. The building has the added benefit of generally being a bit quieter than others, as it houses a chapel and a silent reading room.

McLennan Library One has to point out the obvious, of course. Each landing of the upper floors of McLennan is lined with couches, often in shadow. On slow hours there are fewer pedestrians walking by, so it is a great place to snatch a quick snooze. There are also other couches and chairs scattered throughout the study spaces, ready to be heartily weighted. On the fifth floor, in particular, there are several couches between the brick walls and bookshelves, and much fewer people after sunset. McLennan is a labyrinth of possible slumber sofas for your interest, you must only gather your strings and explore.

Ethically sharing Indigenous stories: More than principles, it’s our journalistic responsibility Uncovering the shortcomings in mainstream media’s coverage of the Mohawk Mothers Case

Written by Jasjot Grewal, News Editor; Illustrated by Zoe Lee, Contributor; Design by Zoe Dubin, Design Editor

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or the past year and a half, I have reported on the ongoing dispute between the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) and McGill, regarding the university’s New Vic Project site, where concerns have been raised about potential unmarked graves. Beyond simply covering their tireless efforts, I’ve been granted the surreal opportunity to delve into a case embroiled in an information and public relations campaign by McGill. As a non-Indigenous person reporting on Indigenous stories, I grapple with the responsibility that accompanies this role and how mainstream media continues to fall short.

tit-Bunker, U3 Arts, believe McGill has “been falsely implying that there are no unmarked graves” on the site at all through these emails. Additionally, according to Louttit-Bunker, McGill has failed to provide the Mohawk Mothers with the same level of transparent communication.

“McGill has easily communicated email updates to all members frequently, but has been failing to communicate transparently with the Mohawk Mothers,” Louttit-Bunker wrote to The Tri-

to reporters about the case, as every word she says has to be well thought out before it is said. Sometimes, her words will be entirely omitted, as news outlets are unable to “fact-check” the Indigenous protocols and references that she makes.

“In the media, in all actuality, it is up to us to choose wisely what we’re going to say, so that it cannot get manipulated,” she said.

Larger media outlets tend to report on the case based on information provided in press briefings after the hearings. On the

The Case: From Legal Action to Public Relations This case has received extensive coverage from various news outlets throughout the litigation surrounding the New Vic Project site—whether it’s from Indigenous sources such as Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and The Eastern Door, student journalists, or Canadian mainstream media.

As the case has progressed, McGill faces increasing demands to justify its actions, which appeared inconsistent with its commitment to reconciliation and its use of student tuition to fund litigation.

Representatives in the McGill Senate brought forward questions from students, compelling the university to provide answers. In response to criticism surrounding this case, McGill engaged in a public relations campaign. This included roundtable discussions with student media outlets and McGill Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic), Christopher Manfredi, sending 11 emails since July 2023 to all students and faculty to communicate updates. On Dec. 20, 2023, Manfredi emailed students informing them of McGill’s decision to appeal Justice Gregory Moore’s Nov. 20 decision to reinstate the court-appointed archaeological panel and to clarify “salient facts.”

In recent communications, McGill administrators have redirected the conversations from the case itself to the narrative surrounding it. Manfredi even expressed concern over the misrepresentation of the New Vic Project.“For the past nearly two years, the [Project] has been frequently mischaracterized in the media and in various information campaigns. Much of what has been written and said about the [New Vic Project] is incomplete or misleading. The moment is opportune to clarify critical details,” Manfredi wrote.

However, Indigenous students, such as Cree First Nations student Leah Lout-

openly available online that shares the incomprehensible abuse that took place at the former Allan Memorial Institute. The Institute was a research and psychiatric centre that allegedly performed psychological experimentation on unconsenting patients between 1943 and 1964. Karonhia’nó:ron, BA ’23, told The Tribune that it is very clear to him which outlets actively follow and engage in the story.

“It’s really interesting seeing the ways that different publications have reported on the Kahnistensera’s court case and the archaeological work happening at the New Vic. It didn’t take me long to recognize which journalists were consistently showing up to the site or the courtroom to document what’s going [on],” Karonhia’nó:ron wrote.

Canadian Mainstream Media Along with failing to wholly and extensively report on the Mohawk Mothers, major Canadian media outlets have also shown their shortcomings when it comes to reporting on Indigenous stories. Their lack of consultation with diverse Indigenous voices has stained coverage, resulting in overgeneralizing portrayals of Indigenous peoples as one homogenous group, rather than individuals.

“I noticed that the media in general, I would say the bigger media outlets, don’t like to, first of all, make Indigenous people seem personable. It seems like they would rather just be a group of like the last four natives left on Earth,” Kwetiio explained.

“I noticed that we’re never looked at like we are peobune. “It is disrespectful to Indigenous other hand, reporters from smaller outlets sovereignty and counteracts the land ac- have closely followed the story, attend- ple. There’s no inknowledgements the institution gives. I ed every case management hearing, and timacy whatsoevthink that the lack of communication and developed personal connections with the cooperation with the Mohawk Mothers Mohawk Mothers. er on it, and the shows a big ethical concern surrounding Reilley Bishop-Stall, assistant proreporting on Indigenous issues.” fessor of Canadian Art and Visual Culture matter is very intiat McGill, shared in a written statement mate.”

The Mohawk Mothers: The Burden of to The Tribune that she feels that the covMisrepresentation

As the public relations campaign progresses, reporting on the case has varied greatly among different media outlets, imposing a significant burden on the Mohawk Mothers to ensure that their views and experiences are accurately represented.

Furthermore, the Mohawk Mothers have felt the weight of misinformation and mischaracterization. In an interview with The Tribune, Mohawk Mother Kwetiio expressed that she feels that a burden is placed on her when speaking

erage she has seen on the Mothers has been restricted, without significance given to the extent of history at stake.

“Reporting on this situation has, in my mind, been limited and, particularly in Montreal, should be getting more attention than it is,” Bishop-Stall wrote.

“There is so much more information available and such a rich history of the site that more of the public needs to be made aware of.”

When providing case updates, big media outlets have failed to regard the information that the Mothers and assisted researchers have compiled and made

Indigenous reporting is riddled with a lack of proper investigative and empathetic journalism. As Kwetiio says, Indigenous people are “portrayed as something of the past.” Furthermore, the tendency of major outlets to only publish Indigenous stories that focus on Indigenous pain and suffering, without any care given to Indigenous life and joy, actually causes further harm to Indigenous people. Karonhia’nó:ron shared that he has been taking a break from consuming media concerning Indigenous issues as it began to weigh down on him.

“I won’t lie, I’ve been taking a break

from my media consumption for the past couple of months—especially as it concerns Indigenous issues. Of course, I follow the stories concerning the Kahnistensera and my community—but in general, I’ve been scared to seek out any kind of news,” Karonhia’nó:ron wrote. “I’m scared I’ll see reporting on the Winnipeg landfill or ground searches at residential schools. Being exposed to those kinds of stories regularly really affected my mental health in the past.”

Moreover, highlighting the theme of reconciliation in every story is counterproductive. This approach reinforces settler-colonial objectives that allow institutions to falsely project validation, suggesting that they are fulfilling their anti-oppression mission, while their actions contradict that discourse.

Indigenous Papers and Student Reporting These continuous failures from larger media outlets have illustrated the dire need for alternative media sources. The Eastern Door, a newspaper based out of Kahnawake, focuses on Indigenous people and their stories beyond community grief by providing a platform for Indigenous tradition and family stories. In 2022, they started an initiative dubbed Sharing Our Stories to allow Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) elders to recount their anecdotes, aiming to preserve Kanien’kehá:ka histories and culture. The stories—published in both Mohawk and English—are used as a teaching tool for Mohawk heritage and language.

In May 2023, Sharing Our Stories began operating as a non-profit entity, separate from The Eastern Door. Steve Bonspiel, an editor and publisher for The Eastern Door, explained the process behind finding stories in an interview with The Tribune. He emphasized how after sitting down with an Elder, listening to them share their story, and writing up the piece, it’s critical to ensure that the Elder is comfortable with the written story.

“They have to see it and agree with what’s on the paper and sign off on it.

Sometimes they’re not as comfortable, sometimes they want to hold off on certain stories, and then, of course, you have to get images to go with it, old photos and whatever else. So, altogether, it’s a big process,” Bonspiel explained.

Additionally, smaller papers such as The Eastern Door often have much more personal connections to the tight-knit communities that they report on. As Bonspiel shared, journalists report on the people that they see around their community, whether it be at the grocery store or the bank. That personal touch allows reporters to carry empathy and care into their reporting.

Bonspiel also shared that he felt student journalists are in a unique position when it comes to reporting on sensitive stories, as they’re often motivated by a stronger desire to grasp the topics they cover. However, like other non-Indigenous Canadian journalists, they can still

face the challenge of not understanding firsthand the Indigenous issues that they cover.

“Even if you’re a student journalist and try to find as much as possible, not necessarily inherently, not only understanding issues, because that’s a hard thing to do sometimes, but it’s also living the issues,” Bonspiel said. “Living the issues is the hard thing because I can’t impart that on you, that we live with all of these colonial institutions around us, who stole our land, never gave us money, who continue not to give us money, and continue to stonewall things like searching for graves.”

Improving Practices of Reporting on Indigeneity With false depictions, overgeneralizations, a lack of Indigenous individuality, and institutional deceptions, Canadian reporting of Indigenous stories has not met baseline journalistic standards.

So, the big question is: How does one go about reporting on Indigenous stories, especially if the reporter is not Indigenous themselves?

Journalists should start with being well-versed and knowledgeable about the story they’re approaching. That can happen through research, asking for guidance from experts in Indigenous reporting, setting up interviews, and looking beyond mere press releases from the institutions—such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Office of the Correctional Investigator, Independent Ombuds and Oversight of Federal Corrections in Canada—that actively work against Indigenous people’s interests.

“I always say you don’t have to know 500 years of history, but you better make damn sure that you know what you’re talking about, whatever the story is,” Bonspiel said.

Next, journalists must practice empathy, and they must try to grasp and follow Indigenous storytelling.

“Storytelling really varies from family to family and community to community. Personally, storytelling has been a really important aspect in teaching me things I wouldn’t normally learn in most standard classrooms. There is emotion, lived experience, and gratitude when hearing a story; stories are lessons that never leave you. My dad used to say that I’d learn more during a day spent with him than a day at school,” Louttit-Bunker said.

Moreover, journalists should have a keen attraction to the truth. As Karonhia’nó:ron explains, the Mohawk word for “news” is “iorì:wase,” which he interprets to mean “the truth going around.”

Various media outlets promote different truths, presenting varying lines of evidence, which makes it difficult for readers to navigate the truth. Whether or not the truth serves as a satisfying punch-line for readers, sources and outlets must maintain their duty to report honestly. Additionally, Kwetiio hopes that reporters exercise a level of integrity to fact-check what they’re told, even from an Indigenous person, to ensure that they do not falsely depict an Indigenous community.

“When I understand that someone non-Indigenous is reporting, I would hope that a certain essence is understood that yes, we’re native and we’re talking [...] but it also needs to be investigated what we’re saying before it is printed because that influence is very strong,” Kwetiio said. “We’re in a time when many [Indigenous] people are searching for what their own ways are, and this can be a big influence on them. If they heard that another Indigenous person said something, and it’s put out there, they’re taking it at its word that journalistic integrity is used.”

Producing a factual news piece involves talking to a variety of sources. This is especially important when reporting on Indigenous stories, especially when the media frames one Indigenous person’s perspective as being the sole perspective of all Indigenous people across Canada.

“This tokenization is very harmful and creates a very black-and-white portrait of Indigenous politics and identities.

Even though what I’m saying here is what I hold to be true, I can’t say the same of every Mohawk person, or every Indigenous student at McGill. We’re complex, we disagree—just like everyone else,”

Karonhia’nó:ron wrote.

Most importantly, look at Indigenous stories from a lens beyond suffering. While stories about Indigenous grief deserve to be platformed, Indigenous people, especially Indigenous youth, deserve to share stories that go beyond their suffering and instead centre on themes of inspiration and happiness.

“If all you grow up hearing is stories about trauma, violence and death, it makes you wonder what your future is going to look like, or if you’ll even have one,” Karonhia’nó:ron explained.

Kwetiio added to this sentiment, stating that her history goes beyond residential schools. This lens should extend beyond media, and instead, should institutionally expand the Canadian curriculum. Kwetiio has been working alongside various women’s societies across Turtle Island that seek to expand the Canadian education system’s mandate on Indigenous history, with the atrocities of residential schools to be introduced into the curriculum. However, Kwetiio felt that her history was devised from her day-today experiences as well.

“I don’t want residential schools to be my sole history and culture that they learned. I want the land and the people, that these other economic and corporate systems live on, to have to learn what our ways are first. That should be what children are learning,” she said.

Reporters must learn to report on Indigenous stories with empathy and journalistic standards that involve diverse consultations, fact-checking, and expansive views of what constitutes an Indigenous story. Indigenous reporters must be encouraged, supported, and celebrated. Indigenous stories must be heard, pitched, and platformed.

Reporters must not continue to burden the very communities they purport to uplift.

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STUDENT LIFE

studentlife@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

Parlez-vous français ?: Improving your French in the McGill bubble

Tips and tricks to learn and practice French around Montreal Dante Ventulieri & Lily Cason Student Life Editor Managing Editor

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or many McGill students, brushing up on their French is on their never-ending to-do list. Or maybe you’re a prospective McGill student worried about Quebec’s plan to have 80 per cent of non-Francophone students speak an intermediate level of French.

Either way, learning French is a great way to feel more comfortable in the city, improve your resume, and become more connected to the broader Montreal community. Here are some tips for easy and low-cost ways to improve your French listening and speaking skills.

Tip 1: Taking a French class Preserving and increasing the use of the French language in Quebec has been the goal of the provincial government for decades.

While it’s often taken to an almost-laughableif-it-weren’t-so-tragic level, it means that there are plenty of cheap and subsidized ways to learn or improve your French. Both the Quebec government and McGill offer many resources for those looking for courses. For graduate students, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) offers classes for different levels of French proficiency. And apps such as Duolingo and Memrise offer free self-guided lessons.

Tip 2: Taking a class in French Going to yoga, a pottery class, or a museum tour in French is a great way to learn by listening. Even if you don’t catch everything, your ears will get more accustomed to the language, and you’ll soon realize that your vocabulary and comprehension have expanded. The

great thing about taking a class is that you can always ask the instructor to repeat themself or slow down if you’re missing too much. Maybe just don’t take a first aid class or something else where it’s life-or-death if you misunderstand.

Tip 3: Exploring Montreal, and Quebec Practicing your French in the McGill Bubble can be difficult as many workers and residents are bilingual and will often switch to English when they hear your non-francophone accent. Certain parts of Montreal are more French than others. Neighbourhoods like Rosemont la Petite-Patrie, Pointe-auxTrembles, Villeray, and Anjou could be good options to flex your French while seeing some new sights. If you’re feeling more adventurous, day trips to Trois-Rivières, Saint-Sauveur, or Drummondville are an even more immersive option.

up on nitty-gritty details Duo won’t tell you about. An ad on Facebook Marketplace could work (although it might give off a strange vibe), but just finding some Francophones in your classes or wandering over to UQAM will do the trick as well. Let them know that you’re trying to learn French and ask them to speak a bit with you; you’ll be fluent in Franglais in no time.

Tip 6: Watching TV in French There are two ways of going about this: You could either find French-language shows and movies, or you could use the French dubs on your favourite shows. Both methods are valid, it just depends on wheth-

er you prefer being put off by something like Brooklyn-99 dubbed in French or the less inclusive Quebecois version, Escouade-99.

Tip 7: Putting French as a default language Changing the default language of your devices is a great trial-by-fire method of learning French. It’s the equivalent of a bridge troll who will only let you pass if you ask in French. Need to turn off your flashlight after accidentally turning it on in the middle of class? Try looking quickly for the “lampe de poche.” You’re going out for the night but your phone is only at 8 per cent?

You better find the “économiseur de pile.”

Tip 4: Joining conversational groups for practice Both McGill and Montreal are home to many clubs and organizations geared toward helping people improve their French, which is great for those who want to practise speaking in a judgment-free environment.

Conversation groups are often grouped roughly by level so that you are sufficiently challenged. Dedicating an hour or two a week to only speaking French will improve your accent, make practicing less nervewracking, and expand your vocabulary.

Tip 5: Finding French-speaking friends Learning French through natural conversation helps build confidence and pick

According to McGill, one in five students is francophone. (Mason Bramadat / The Tribune)

Igloofest: A must-do for every Montrealer Uncovering the world’s coldest music festival Sophie Naasz Contributor

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brooding night sky hangs above you, and a couple of stars wink lazily in the frigid Montreal air.

In the momentary silence, we all hold our breath—nearly ten thousand of us, from university students to parents, travellers to locals. I can imagine the quiet lap of the icy water against the pier beyond the stage.

We wait, our excitement tangible and our presence heating the air around us by at least ten degrees, until all of a sudden a synthetic bass beat electrifies the crowd.

Immediately, people start to move, jumping to the beat, waving their arms with the strobe lights, letting the erratic sounds and timbre take control.

Since 2007, electronic dance music (EDM) has energized Montreal’s Old Port in the dead of winter, persuading thousands of people to leave their cozy beds and brave the city’s negative temperatures for several hours.

Max Gross, U1 Science, described the festival’s unique ambiance in an interview with The Tribune.

“The atmosphere is really unlike anything there, however, and Igloofest is chilly in line but sweaty as hell when inside the main stage area,” Gross explained. “I went more for the crazy atmosphere than

the music and I think a lot of people can relate to that.”

With two stages—one massive and the other more cozy—several interactive tents, and food and beverage vendors, the festival has more than enough to keep anyone entertained for the night.

Depending on your desires, there are many ways to approach a night at Igloofest.

If you are coming from afar or have a distaste for lines, I suggest going early. Getting to the festival around 7:30 p.m. will have you inside the gates in about 15 minutes when everything is only just starting to fill up. Take your time to visit the beverage stands, where you can get a multitude of drinks that come with a festive reusable cup. Maybe mosey around to the sponsor tents and follow a live choreographer to gain the upper hand on all the dancing that’s bound to come, or grab some free samples (this year it was Cadbury chocolate, yum!).

If you start to get hungry, visit one of the food trucks that promise to supply a variety of spins on poutine. I suggest hurrying to the enclosed room beyond the second stage to keep your food warm and let your fingers defrost before the night’s finale. Being early also gives you the advantage of casually picking your spot for the concert and finding fun neighbours in the crowd.

But if you’re not interested in spending that many hours outside, pregame at home with friends before heading to the festival, and save some money by eating beforehand.

After all, as Gross Igloofest returned in January 2023 after a pandemic hiatus. (Claire Dominici / put it,“The pre The Tribune) is always more fun than the post.” formances.

For Karthikeya Gautam, B.A ‘23, IgAnother lover of Armin Van Buuren’s loofest’s negative temperatures push the performance, Léna Ginesta, U2 Arts, conboundaries of outdoor music festivals. firmed the festival’s allure in an interview “We have a general perception about with The Tribune. the winter—once Christmas is done, that’s “Igloofest was definitely one of the it,” Gautam said. “No enjoyment for the craziest things that I have experienced in next four months. But Igloofest challenges Montreal. It is a must-do for anyone who’s that very idea, that it doesn’t matter if the in the city while it’s taking place,” she said. sun is setting at 4 p.m. every day: You can Whether you’re an EDM fan or not, still get together with a bunch of people, bundle up and get yourself down to Old head outside, and dance to your hearts con- Port. The atmosphere, musicians, and the tent.” beauty of falling snow glowing in neon Spanning four weekends, Igloofest light promise a surely magical night. After showcases countless incredible artists—I all, can you really say you had the Montrecan personally vouch for Diplo and Armin al experience without going to the world’s Van Buuren, who gave unforgettable per- coldest music festival?

arts@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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‘American Fiction’: A movie about movies about books Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut highlights the art of adaptation Amelia McCluskey Contributor Spoilers for American Fiction

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uance doesn’t put asses in theater seats.”

At least, that’s what fictional movie director Wiley Valdespino (Adam Brody) says in the final scene of Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction. In the Cineplex that I trekked out to on a Tuesday after class, the audience let out a collective laugh. I looked around suspiciously. Then why are there so many asses in these seats?

There is no denying that American Fiction is a nuanced movie filled with meta-cinematic moments and witty dialogue. But when protagonist Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) adapts his life into a screenplay, Wiley points out that a story with an ambiguous ending won’t work for a movie. As they cycle through potential endings for the film— letting them play out on screen—the film selfconsciously sheds light on the difficulties of adaptation.

American Fiction is, itself, a literary adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure. When I first read Erasure, I hadn’t met anyone outside of my English class who had even heard of it, but somehow I found myself attending a packed screening of American Fiction almost a month after the film’s theatrical premiere. How has the process of adaptation

given this story new meaning?

Erasure is a book about books. It follows Monk, a professor and writer who is repeatedly told his work isn’t “Black enough.” In response, Monk writes a satirical, intentionally offensive novel called “My Pafology,” giving his publishers what they seem to want.

He publishes it under a pseudonym, only to find that the novel becomes an unironic bestseller. Erasure identifies the limited literary space that publishers give to Black authors, where depictions of poverty and dysfunction are lauded over the multiplicity of Black ex-

periences.

Erasure is sprawling and multifaceted, with digressions that encourage close reading.

By contrast, American Fiction strips away the more ambiguous details, instead emphasizing the plot-driven family drama and comedic moments. The novel chooses to print Monk’s book in its entirety, filling 60 pages with overexaggerated dialect, blatantly offensive stereotypes, and violence. This works as part of the novel’s complex patchwork-like structure, allowing readers to experience exactly the kind of exploitative book Erasure is critiquing. By

‘American Fiction’ is based on Percival Everett’s 2001 Novel ‘Erasure.’ (Mason Bramadat /The Tribune)

contrast, inserting such a huge tonal shift into American Fiction would complicate its genresignaling. Instead, Monk’s novel is depicted in a single short scene, where his characters materialize in front of him as he writes in his office. As Monk dictates their dialogue, American Fiction manages to convey the voice of the novel without engrossing viewers in gratuitous violence or compromising the film’s comedic tone.

The focus of Erasure’s critique is the literary field. Released in the early 2000s, it scrutinizes the critical acclaim of books such as Sapphire’s Push, a novel that excessively depicts Black trauma. While Erasure assumes that its readers are more familiar with the literary landscape, American Fiction can’t assume the same from its audience of moviegoers. Because of this, the film includes a final scene that poses a new critique. The white director of Monk’s screenplay rejects all of the film’s potential endings only to finally show enthusiasm when Monk suggests a violent conclusion involving police brutality. As he leaves the film lot, Monk shares a nod with a young actor dressed in the costume of an Antebellumera enslaved person. Here, American Fiction shows how depictions of Black pain continue to retain cultural capital in the mainstream context. By broadening the scope of its commentary to form a meta-critique about movies, American Fiction manages to convey the essence of Erasure while expanding its reach to a wider audience.

Childhood through the ages

A spotlight on McGill’s Sheila R. Bourke Children’s Book Collection Kellie Elrick Staff Writer

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esop’s Fables (1571) is the oldest book in McGill’s Rare Children’s Book Collection. Written in Latin, with interpretive notes in Greek, it’s now housed in a collection of children’s literature—despite predating the Victorian conception of childhood itself.

But this story also begins later, in the 1930s, with Sheila R. Bourke. As a child, Bourke had polio, which kept her bedridden for three years. She spent her days with children’s books, and she fell in love.

Bourke—who celebrated her 97th birthday last year—went on to graduate from McGill with a BA in 1949. She maintained her love of children’s books and went on to collect thousands of them. In 2011, she donated 2300 works to McGill’s Rare Books and Special Collections (ROAAr).

On the shelves of the fourth floor of McLennan, a world at once lost and intimately familiar materializes: A world where Kate Greenaway’s garden is always in full bloom and lavender is always blue; but also the bloody world of Bluebeard and the sea where The Little Mermaid dissolves into foam.

Bourke’s collection ranges from miniature books, the size of a palm, to majestic volumes, hundreds of pages thick—in English, German, French. Included in the collection are the secret world of fairies, the

Firebird, foolish foxes, Cinderella, Schippeitaro, Snegurochka; authors from Aesop to Pullman; and illustrators and engravers from Edmund Dulac to Edmund Evans.

Some titles have stood the test of time—Puss in Boots, The Three Little Pigs.

Others, such as Valentine and Orson—a publishing plum of the 19th century—were not so lucky.

Children’s literature, often underestimated and challenged, occupies a strange place in literary history. Deceptively playful, it reflects changing social conventions, global politics, the imagined “other,” what childhood is supposed to look like, and what happens when children grow out of it.

A 1916 Edmund Dulac work entitled Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations features a compilation of tales from countries that emerged victorious from the First World War. It’s written in English. The Great War also changed how children’s books were produced: Prior to the war, many children’s books had been printed in Germany. “​​[Germany was] really key in the development of colour [Chromolithography] [...] If something is beautifully colour printed, odds are, before the First World War, it was printed in Germany,” Jacquelyn Sundberg, an Outreach Librarian with ROAAr, told The Tribune. “They were leaders in the field up until politics cut off trade relations between Germany and the rest of Europe.

And then everybody else had to start printing their own things.”

Contemporary debates surrounding banned books have generated frenzy both online and offline.

But these debates return to the same question that children’s literature has been grappling with from the beginning— The Speaking Picture Book (1881) features a mechanical contraption inside: who is children’s Different animal sounds are triggered by pulling strings (the rooster sounds literature for, and like the donkey, but the lamb sound is quite faithful). ( Irina Zhang / The what is its pur- Tribune ) pose? children died as children—many still do “I don’t think that denying access to a today. The stories in the Sheila R. Bourke book is going to stop its ideas from spread- Collection have survived centuries of oral ing,” Sundberg said. “Because for every storytelling, moved across various kinds of book, there’s a person who needs to read it, borders, and undergone translations into and either to be exposed to an opinion that’s not out of numerous languages. their own, and to learn from it, or possibly It can also be said that these books to have their opinion shifted by it.” survived because Sheila R. Bourke surBooks contain ideas. Within their pages vived polio. Many works of children’s litand illustration, between the words, in the erature have been lost. But the stories we ridges of engravings. But they also reflect have—physically, or in memory—allow us ideas back. Reading children’s literature— to glimpse back into not only a beautiful, and indeed literature more broadly—allows messy historical past—but also our own us to know ourselves and our societies bet- personal ones. ter in the figures and ideas we see living inAn exhibition of the Sheila R. Bourke side the work.

Collection is viewable online. Individual The preservation of children’s literature works from the Collection can also be is intimately intertwined with the despon- viewed in person by request through Worlddent truth that for much of human history, cat.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

2024 fashion is both futuristic and nostalgic

Paris Fashion Week’s collections illuminate the industry’s current state Annabella Lawlor Contributor

spring 2024 couture show, which premiered on Jan. 25, are avant-garde and unsettlingly strange.

Creative director John Galliano’s anti-fashion dethreat of danger plagues the foggy un- signs are a retreat into the uncanny, an imagining derside of the stone bridge as a frenetic of physical modernization to the point of bodily figure sprints into the audience’s view. dystopia. With Pat McGrath’s ethereal makeup, The noir-like dimness of the cobbled structure the collection heightens to a level of contradicting conceals the silhouette, lit only by distant beams otherworldliness and familiarity. This uniquely of pale moonlight over the bridge. The shadow 20th-century perspective allows themes of simulstops abruptly, tripping over its feet and assuming taneous technological uncertainty and acceptance a contorted crouch, unnerving and frightening in to find their way into today’s wardrobes. its severity. Lamp posts brighten to reveal model Under rapid technological development, the Leon Dame rising to catch his breath. His tightly visual elements of art tend to mirror innovations corseted waist slithers into the light of the lamps’ to process these radical changes. Creative probloom, which illuminates his unearthly face: cesses—fashion styles in particular—are often Dame’s skin shines like a porcelain doll covered reactionary, drawing from influences of everyday in an organized mess of pigmented pastels. life to physically emulate social attitudes toward The design aspects of Maison Margiela’s topics such as modernization. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence, communication, and augmented realities support a world reliant on technology for everyday interaction, which poses the question of its creation: What are the extents to which technology is an art form in itself?

This is not the first time that fashion has shifted with attitudes towards advancement.

The stylistic futurism of Maison Margiela’s 2024 couture collection is dripping in theatricality the 1980s directly resulted and adoptions of the avant-garde. ( Sylvie Bourque / The Tribune ) from artists’ growing fas-

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cination with technology’s endless possibilities.

Avant-garde fashion styles emerged following the invention of personal computers, cell phones, and digitized music in the form of CDs. Trends of capacious silhouettes altered the form of the body just as computers and cell phones altered life in the public sphere. Iconic ’80s designer Thierry Mugler exemplifies this influence in high fashion with his diverse designs of the exaggerated female form: Sharp shoulder pads, bold colours, and the use of unconventional materials, sometimes combining metals, latex, tulle, and exotic feathers to rebel against stylistic expectation.

His work aims to transcend the expectations of traditional fashion and define the essence of the decade, one reliant on experimentation to obtain bodily modernity in a world of unrelenting transformation.

Maison Margiela’s new collection also contains several distinct influences from the ’80s subculture called New Romanticism. The New Romantics, originating in the British New Wave and glam rock music scene, adorned themselves in pale and pigmented makeup styles, androgynous silhouettes, and a sense of overall theatricality as a way of embracing the frivolity of life.

New Romanticism took much inspiration from the flamboyance of 18th-century French fashion styles of the Romantic Period. The subculture was a revival of both its style and attitude, known for its ability to combine tradition with the futuristic opinions of the decade, which bears a striking resemblance to the current state of fashion.

Maison Margiela’s 23rd look mirrors much of the male silhouettes and styles of the New-Romantic and foundational Romantic period with its slim-

HOT TAKE A podcast about something Charlotte Hayes Staff Writer

It seems like everyone and their mother, or rather father, has a podcast these days. From former child stars to professional athletes, we all think that our stories are too good to keep to ourselves. To avoid falling into the “man with a microphone” podcast genre, your show has to be about something.

You and your friends having a conversation is just not interesting enough to merit broadcasting to the world. By all means, review movies, share a recipe, or tell me a mind-bending historical fact—I’m just begging you to have some sort of topic.

straight plaid breeches and tweed suit jacket tapered at the waist.

By referencing trends of modernism from the past, designers such as Margiela subvert all cyclical expectations. The collection exemplifies the intentions of modern fashion: It embraces the past while carving out its own individuality based on contemporary ideals and attitudes.

The Oscars 2.0

New category suggestions to honour the unsung aspects of movie-making

Anya Brown Contributor The Oscars Remixed Since the Oscar nominations were announced last Tuesday, an enormous amount of articles have been written about the snubs, surprises, and everything in between. And while it may be interesting and worthwhile to debate the artistic merits of films such as Past Lives or The Zone of Interest, both of which deservedly received some love at the nominations, it is equally important to celebrate the aspects of movies that the Academy shamefully neglects.

Best Performance by an Actor on a Press Tour: Ryan Gosling in Barbie It is high time we honour the effort actors put into press tours. They have to spend weeks answering the same questions in two-minute interviews, fighting exhaustion as they play ridiculous games and give the same answers all day. Yet no actor in recent memory has so thoroughly committed to the ridiculousness of this process as Ryan Gosling has for Barbie.

While the Academy recognized him in the Best Supporting Actor category for his masterfully comedic performance in the film itself, they would be remiss to let his star turn on the press junket go unacknowledged. Therefore, the award for Best Performance by an Actor on a Press

Tour should go to Ryan Gosling. Throughout the year, Gosling blessed us with different versions of his hit song “I’m Just Ken,” telling us all the things Ken can’t live without (his horse-patterned fur coat and his rollerblades) and just being generally hilarious. Gosling’s commitment to the bit has made him the perfect honoree for this new category.

Most Aesthetically Pleasing Movie: Saltburn When visual-based social media platforms (Pinterest and TikTok) reign supreme, the aesthetic pleasure of a movie has become increasingly important. This year, Saltburn was the movie that captured the internet’s imagination. How exactly this bizarre movie about obsession and class reached the TikTok audience is unclear. However, I have found myself wanting to spend my summer at my rich friend’s English estate. In these trying times, wouldn’t everything be better if it were done while spending your time blissfully unaware of everything happening in the outside world while traipsing around your well-manicured lawns? Saltburn is the obvious choice for the Most Aesthetically Pleasing Movie.

Best Use of Music in Film: “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 The Oscars have the Best Original

Song category, but the use of wellknown music in film is equally as important.

While original songs can play a very important role in films, sometimes the use of songs we already know and love is what makes a scene even more impactful. Recently, Aftersun turned Saltburn has been one of the top movies on Letterboxd since it came out.

“Under Pressure” The Academy didn’t acknowledge it, but we will. (Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 by Queen and <https:creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons) David Bowie into a song addressing the desperation and characters, and all I want to do is join loneliness many people feel compelled to them in their dance. hide.

On Mar. 10, I’m sure we will all Similarly, in Almost Famous, Elton enjoy watching Oscar-bait movies such John’s “Tiny Dancer” becomes an an- as Oppenheimer and Poor Things receive them of friendship and youth. This year, their flowers from the Academy. But we the honour of Best Use of Music in Film should also recognize aspects of movshould go to Guardians of the Galaxy: ies that award shows do not recognize.

Vol 3, which uses Florence & the Ma- Would Barbie have been as successful chine’s “Dog Days are Over” during the without Ryan Gosling’s incredible press final scene. Since 2015, we have spent tour? Maybe—but he certainly helped and time with the Guardians, and we have also made my summer more entertaining. grown to love them. Ending the series the Wouldn’t our year have been less intersame way it starts, with a dance scene, is esting without movies like Saltburn and the perfect conclusion to this beloved tril- Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3? Almost ogy. While watching the scene, we reflect definitely. It’s time we honour the sillier, on the journey we’ve gone on with these but still important, aspects of filmmaking.

scitech@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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Swimming upstream: The case of U.S.-Canada collaboration in fishery management How trust and regulation can decrease risk and encourage collective action Ella Paulin Science & Technology Editor

retically, each country has complete rights to use resources within 200 nautical miles of its shore. However, hile “transboundary fishfish aren’t always interested in folery governance” may not lowing international human law. immediately evoke im“Fish don’t really abide by politages of glamorous public servants ical boundaries,” Roozee said. “They heroically striving toward healthy can have pretty large geographic ecological practices, it turns out to be ranges. So, oftentimes, they move a critical, yet often overlooked aspect between those economic exclusive of our food supply. Fishery managezones, and that requires states to work ment is the practice of regulating the together to conserve the species.” extent of fishing, specifying permitAs Roozee explained, the practed and restricted areas, and mantice of fishery management within aging environmental conditions in one country is hard enough, let alone order to ensure robust fish populawtrying to collaborate across national borders.

“There’s lots of different groups that are involved.

Fishers oftentimes don’t like managers, because managers are the ones telling them, ‘you can’t go out, you can’t fish this species here,’” Roozee said. “Similarly, scientists can also be seen as in opposition with fishers and managers, because they’re trying to alert everyone on what the science is saying about how the fish stock is doing. And that doesn’t always align with political Salmon management is one of the main fishery management concerns in the Salish Sea goals, or with business and because they spawn in Canadian waters before swimming into U.S.-controlled territory. (Julia trade goals.”

Buckle / The Tribune)

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tions. Without it, we face the risk of depleting fish populations and the ensuing collapse of marine ecosystems.

Evelyn Roozee, a PhD candidate in Natural Resources Management and Policy at McGill, spoke to The Tribune about a recent paper investigating risk, control, and trust in transboundary fishery networks.

Roozee, the first author of the paper, collaborated with researchers from Montreal, Texas, and the Netherlands to perform a quantitative analysis of fisheries in Canada and the U.S. bordering the Salish Sea. Roozee explained that, theo-

These conflicting identities and motivations can create tense situations within a single fishery, but when two fisheries controlled by different governments have to collaborate, relationships get even hairier.

“In the paper, I talk a lot about how to break down those identity issues or those them-versus-us perceptions, mainly through building trust, to come together collaboratively because the key to collective action is collaboration,” Roozee said.

To address this issue, the researchers applied principles from the business world, building on an influential business strategy paper that outlines the relationships between risk, control, and trust in economic alliances. Their research explores how these same concepts can be applied to natural resource management.

“Risk is sort of the key variable that needs to be reduced. Essentially, if the risk is too high, people won’t work together,” Roozee said. “However, fisheries are inherently pretty risky, because of the nature of the resource. It’s really hard to know a lot about fish: They’re underwater, they move a lot, [and] their populations are very erratic.”

Increasing trust and controls are two major ways to combat risk, both in business and fishery management.

“For example, if I’m a fisher, and I don’t know if I will be able to catch enough fish to support my business, I need to trust the information that the scientists are giving me and the managers are telling me about where the fish will be and how much I can take,” Roozee explained.

Control, on the other hand, is more about regulation. This may take the form of banning fishing in a risky area or on risky days.

“However, a lot of our research now is sort of showing that control doesn’t affect risk directly,” Roozee noted. “It affects risk through the building of trust.”

This reflects the general trend of the research, demonstrating that while trust is more difficult to build and maintain, it is ultimately more powerful in reducing risk than control is. Additionally, Roozee emphasized that although her research did point to some general trends, the complexity of each unique fishery area makes it impossible to adopt a one-size-fitsall strategy.

“You can’t just storm into the situation thinking you know best,” Roozee said. “There’s a lot of history you have to learn. There’s a lot of context that’s really important before you start collaborating. You have to do your homework.”

Researcher resisting the mothlike urge to lick the burner

feeling proud for doing basic math... double-checking anyways

teaching my mice opera

shhh... checking the meniscus By: Zoe Dubin, Design Editor

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

scitech@thetribune.ca

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

McHacks 11 abounds with creativity, camaraderie, and caffeine Annual hackathon draws nearly 500 competitors from McGill and beyond Continued from page 1 The organizers even converted the ballroom into a sleeping area for competitors, complete with mattresses sprawled out on the floor.

Co-directors Judy Yun, U4 Science, and Juliette Xu, U3 Science, oversaw the event’s organization. In an interview with The Tribune, Yun explained that there are a variety of features that judges look for when evaluating projects.

“The main thing is functionality, especially for the top five. It’s generally like, ‘how complete [is this] as a project?’”

Yun said. “We also judge on creativity a lot, something super innovative, really different than we’ve ever seen before. And I think design, usability, accessibility, that type of stuff is also a really big category.”

Yun also expressed that the thrill of the busy weekend is one of her favourite aspects of the event each year.

“It’s kind of like a really long adrenaline rush for like, 36 hours,” Yun explained.

“And then it’s over and you’re like, ‘oh my gosh, my life is like, stopped.’ But it’s super rewarding.”

This year, Tessa Davis, U3 Science, Gabrielle Lavoie, U2 Engineering, and Gabrielle MacInnes, U2 Science, won the first place prize with their project, Danstrument.

During the team’s demo of Danstrument during the closing ceremonies, Lavoie explained that the web application allows users “to meet with your friends and to dance, which will generate music.”

Danstrument accomplishes this goal by scanning users’ movements during video calls using computer vision artificial intelligence (AI), which triggers audio cues associated with different sounds depending on the selected musical instrument. For example, on the application’s sine wave setting, the frequency of the continuous sine wave playing over the call increases or decreases as the user raises or lowers their hand, respectively.

One challenge the team encountered was accurately mapping movement to sound using the programming language JavaScript.

“One of the issues that we ran into was that the library that we were using in the JavaScript back end wasn’t necessarily the best at tracking continuous hand movements,” Davis said during the closing ceremonies demo. “We have another version that if we had more time, we would integrate into the back end of the web app that you just saw, which is better able to recognize movements.”

The judges awarded second prize to Gülce Apaydin, U1 Science, Negar Akbarpouran Badr, U1 Engineering, Dany Makhoul, Dawson College, and Ida Su Ozdemir, U1 Engineering, for their project, Melo-N, which uses AI to allow users to change the genre of songs. During their demo at the closing ceremonies, the team explained that the application uses AI and software library FFmpeg to separate the vocals from the instrumentals of the original songs. The

application then uses MusicGen API to change the genre of the instrumentals before recombining them with the original vocals to create the final product.

In a group interview with The Tribune, the creators of Melo-N highlighted their strong collaboration with one another as a key factor in their win, emphasizing how much fun they had working as a team.

“For me, I didn’t know anything about AI or anything about machine learning,”

be difficult,’” Badr said. “But it was so good.

Brainstorming ideas, getting to do different stuff, actually implementing what I knew, it was amazing.”

Mohamad Addasi, Concordia University, Aden Bessam, Champlain College, Garance Danvin, U3 Desautels and Andrew Rowe, Concordia Engineering, claimed third prize with their project FluentFingers. The app is designed to teach users sign language by using AI to analyze photos users upload of

This year’s competition featured activities such as a watermelon eating contest and a Mario Kart tournament as optional breaks for participants during the hacking period. (McHacks) Makhoul said. “And so we were cooperating with each other, collecting information and everything so we could build our project.

So having this final project at the end is something phenomenal.”

Badr and Ozdemir also expressed surprise at how smoothly the competition went, as it was both team members’ first ever hackathon.

“Everyone told me, ‘you’re not going to enjoy your first [hackathon]. Like, it’s gonna

their signs, and indicating whether the user’s sign is correct for the desired word. Disaster struck on Sunday morning when the team lost all their unsaved training on the AI—which was responsible for mapping hand signs— due to a wifi interruption. This setback meant the team was unable to demo their project at judging or during closing ceremonies.

In an interview with The Tribune, Bessam emphasized that although the team was unable to present the functional

McHacks is a part of Major League Hacking, a student hackathon league that facilitates over 300 competitions per year (McHacks)

version of their project, the concept behind FluentFingers was crucial to their success.

“It was really the implementation of the ideas,” Bessam said. “Because we took a lot of time just asking ourselves, what could help the community and not only the hackathon [....] So when we came up with the Duolingo hand sign idea, it was really great.”

In addition to first, second, and third place prizes, hackers compete for a variety of awards from sponsors, as well as superlative prizes such as “Best Useless Hack.” According to Yun, something that makes McHacks unique is that it caters to participants of multiple skill levels, including beginners. Yun explained that superlative prizes play a role in keeping the competition engaging for beginner programmers.

“I think it’s much more encouraging to have all these different prizes, because you don’t necessarily have to have the best product and the most innovative idea,” Yun said. “You can still have lots of fun and get rewarded for the time that you put into all of [your] work.”

Enkai Liu and Jason He won the “Best Design” superlative award for their project Rizzmo, an application that allows users to explore a coral reef to learn more about the ecosystem. For Liu and He, first time McHacks competitors and Grade 11 students from Waterloo, Ontario, a highlight of the event was the opportunity to speak to McHacks mentors—volunteers who circulate and offer assistance to Hackers during the competition.

“I think for us, the mentors were emotional support,” Liu told The Tribune after closing ceremonies.

Team members Annaliese Bissel, U1 ArtSci, and Guan Xi Liu, U1 Science, acknowledged the stressful nature of the competition, but also spoke to a feeling of camaraderie that comes from the experience.

“For me, I think it’s actually just being able to be part of a large community of people trying to work towards the same thing,” Liu said in an interview with The Tribune.

“Yeah, all the RedBull on the table and the chargers everywhere, it’s like the same as an exam season,” Bissel added. “You know, we’re just among all the other people in Redpath at 12 a.m.”

The same sentiment was echoed by the team of Mohammad Shaheer Bilal, U4 Engineering, and Filip Snítil, U2 Science, and Daniel Blackburn, U1 Engineering. Like many teams, at the time of their interview with The Tribune they were encountering issues getting their project up and running.

Despite their setbacks, the team expressed that they enjoyed the event and learned from the experience—encapsulating an attitude that many hackers shared over the course of this long, eventful weekend.

“We’re probably not going to win, because we haven’t figured it out by now,” Snítil said. “And nothing works. But it’s fine.

It’s a good experience. I had way too much caffeine.”

The Tribune is looking for staff writers / creatives News / Opinion / Sports / Student Life / Arts & Entertainment / Science & Technology / Design / Photo / Multimedia / Social Media

Send your CV, cover letter, and two written/creative samples to editor@thetribune.ca The Tribune highly encourages Black peple, Indigenous people, and people of colour to apply and will prioritize these applicants with similar credentials (CV, interview, and experience)

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

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Know Your Athlete: Charlene Robitaille The Tribune reconnects with Martlets’ volleyball star in her final season Madigan McMahon Staff Writer

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harlene Robitaille is renowned for her volleyball prowess. Martlet fans are familiar with her skill on the court as well as her history of awards from the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), which includes best middle blocker two years in a row and most valuable player. But despite her volleyball success, Robitaille’s athletic career did not begin on the court. It began on the soccer field when she was just five years old.

Robitaille tried volleyball in her first year of high school after a friend on the team suggested she switch sports. Her career took off after a coach saw her potential in secondary four. This led her to change schools so that she could be trained by an experienced coach on a competitive team.

From there, she committed to CEGEP ÉdouardMontpetit where she led her team to a fifth place finish in the Canadian championship and carried them to victory at the 2014 Jeux du Québec.

The transition to university volleyball went hand in hand with a welcome shift in coaching style. While just a rookie at McGill, she felt extremely lucky that the graduation of two middle blockers allowed her to secure a place on the court.

Robitaille felt supported by a coach who trusted her and was confident in her team’s ability to succeed.

Amid MVP awards and All-Star team nominations, Robitaille found an unexpected takeaway in her personal growth.

“You’re not always going to agree with your teammates, and you have to deal with

that,” Robitaille explained to The Tribune. “It’s relationships that you have to deal with to continue even if you’re exhausted. You need to go to practice and do your best.”

Robitaille feels the lessons she’s learned in volleyball are preparing her for the rest of her life.

“I think that [volleyball makes you think] outside of yourself. What are your openings, what are your options? Everything like leadership, selfgrowth, not panicking in rough moments—it’s organization.”

Robitaille says developing her game day mindset has taken a lot of work. Her anxiety began as a rookie before the pandemic and continued to manifest after.

“I’m the kind of perfectionist that doesn’t want to make any mistakes,” Robitaille said.

“Volleyball is a sport of mistake[s]. If there’s no mistakes from any person, there’s no points. I hate making mistakes in general. I had to learn to accept them, because they will happen for sure,” she explained.

One of her biggest challenges presented itself the year after the COVID-19 restrictions loosened in 2021-22. Robitaille described moments where mental health struggles took over, causing her to question whether she wanted to continue playing.

“Sometimes I was literally like, can I just quit? Why do I stress like that? Why put that stress on myself? It’s not fun,” Robitaille reflected. “On a game day, I couldn’t do anything else. I was not able to concentrate on work, on anything [....] I was so disconnected.”

She began journaling, meditating, and listening to podcasts to alleviate the pressure she

put on herself. Robitaille also credits her coach, Rachèle Béliveau, as a major part of her support system.

Robitaille recalled a moment two weeks ago where she was unfocused during an important match.

“If [this had happened] two years ago, I would have told myself, ‘Okay, that’s not my day and that’s it,’” Robitaille explained. “But I was able to refocus and play my best. I was really, really proud of myself.”

As she heads into the final three games of the Martlets’ season before playoffs, Robitaille

focuses on her appreciation of the game.

“I really want to enjoy it. I know I have the skills, I know I can bump, I know I can hit, so now it’s just about having fun.”

Regarding achieving her goal of enjoying herself, she believes it is a process, as every game demands different things. When points flow easily, Robitaille thoroughly enjoys herself, but when a tough game occurs it requires a reminder for her to be kinder to herself.

The Martlets will play next on Feb. 9 against the UQTR Rouge et Or (2–15).

The Martlets sit two points back from the Université de Montreal in the RSEQ standings. (Matt Garies / The Tribune)

Redbirds hockey puts six past Carleton Ravens as they proceed to their final regular season game The team extends their 12-game winning streak at home Megan Belrose Contributor Madigan McMahon Staff Writer

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n Feb. 3, the Redbirds hockey team (20–5–2) triumphed over the Carleton Ravens (10–11–5) in a 6-2 victory at McConnell Arena. The arena was filled with excitement as the McGill Fight Band created a lively atmosphere supporting the Redbirds and their firm grasp on first place in the OUA East.

The first period opened with sharp passing and skating from the Redbirds. In the third minute of play, Redbirds’ forward Mathieu Gagnon scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Zach Gallant and right winger Charles-Antoine Dumont.

However, the lead was short-lived.

The Ravens scored a tap-in only 14 seconds later after poor coverage around the McGill crease. A Carleton player pushed McGill goalie Alexis Shank after he saved a shot on goal from the Ravens. Minutes later, tensions rose between the Redbirds and Ravens in front of Carleton’s net, with players on both sides getting in each other’s faces.

Carleton took the lead in seven minutes into the first after securing a rebound off a shot that hit the crossbar.

The Redbirds managed several shots on goal in the ensuing minutes, while Carleton kept up the aggression.

McGill continued to pressure the Carleton defence heading into the last minutes of the period. Gallant picked up his second point of the night, scoring a goal with two minutes left in the first. Carleton picked up two penalties in the last two minutes of the period for high sticking and hooking, giving the Redbirds a five-on-three advantage, which McGill forward Eric Uba capitalized on. He scored the third goal of the period, assisted by centre William Rouleau and defenceman Scott Walford, leaving the Redbirds with a 3-2 lead.

The second period saw no further goals for either team. However, the hostile atmosphere only strengthened.

Both teams got two penalties apiece.

McGill left winger Stephane Huard took a slashing penalty just over eight minutes into the period and was quickly followed up by a penalty on the Ravens—this time for roughing after the whistle.

Two minutes into the third period, following a commotion around

McGill’s net, the Redbirds defence had to clear the puck off the goal-line to prevent Carleton from equalizing the game. Although Carleton started the period strong, McGill scored five minutes in to gain a 4-2 lead after the Ravens goalie failed to cover the puck in the crease. Throughout the period, both teams shot aggressive slap shots that the goalies thwarted. After the Redbirds took a timeout, Dumont secured a breakaway and dished it to Gallant, who scored a beautiful goal that brought the crowd to their feet.

In a last-ditch effort to even the score, Carleton pulled their goalie with four minutes remaining. Redbirds defenceman Maxime Blanchard scored the final goal of the game on an empty net with just three minutes remaining.

As the Redbirds head into their final game of the season against Carleton on Feb. 10, head coach David Urquhart explained what the next few weeks will hold.

“Our main focus is to win that next game because we’ll get [a] bye in the first round [of playoffs],” Urquhart told The Tribune. “In terms of preparation for the playoffs, it’s [what] we’ve been preparing down the stretch […] it’s a style of play

that’s more focused on defensive game that allows us to have offensive creativity.”

Moment of the game: With seven minutes left in the third period, the Redbirds got a two-on-one breakaway, leading to a top-shelf goal scored by centre Zach Gallant and assisted by right-wing CharlesAntoine Dumont.

Quotable: “[This win] means a lot, because we’re still fighting for the first spot in the playoffs [...] every

game is really important [....] We’re not taking anything for granted. And we’ve had a lot of success in the past couple of games, but we’re trying not to sit on our laurels. We’re just trying to treat every game like it’s a playoff game.”

– William Rouleau, on what this result means for the team Stat corner: Two hockey sticks were broken during the flow of the game, one of which by a Carleton player after attempting a slapshot.

McGill is sixth overall in the USPORTS men’s hockey rankings. (Maïa Salhofer / The Tribune)

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2024

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Why my heart is behind South Africa’s ‘Bafana Bafana’ in this Africa Cup of Nations We must invest in all aspects of African football for a more just global football landscape Sara Escallon-Sotomayor Sports Editor

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aturday’s quarterfinal victory over Cape Verde was not the first time that South Africa upended expectations in this Africa Cup of Nations. This was not even their first shock of this tournament; earlier they defeated World Cup semi-finalists Morocco en route to the upcoming semifinal against Nigeria on Feb. 7.

The “Bafana Bafana,” nicknamed after a popular Zulu saying meaning “the lads,” are defying expectations and making a name for themselves along the way.

But, these mesmerizing performances are not what makes them truly unique. The South African national team, along with alreadyeliminated Namibia, is among the few teams whose players are all born in the country they represent. Furthermore, the majority of the squad plays in the South African Premier Division.

While African teams such as Morocco and Algeria have found success by embracing their diasporas, there are concerns that relying on foreign-born players is “fast-tracking” success and undermining efforts to grow the African game on the continent.

Africa has been touted as

an “under-valued” market, where European clubs can find stars at a fraction of the cost due to the strong footballing cultures and lack of formal professional infrastructures compared to the European and South American football landscapes—the historical sources of talent in world football.

However, the growing presence of European club scouts on the continent does not signal the growth of the game: After all, the careers of George Weah, Jay-Jay Okocha, and Didier Drogba show that Africa has always had incredible footballing talent.

For African countries to achieve success on the international stage, the game needs to grow //in// Africa. There is a need for new solutions to propel this growth. Instead, the expansion of the European player markets into Africa reflects a hunger to commodify young talent as soon as possible and extract them from their domestic leagues—if they ever had a chance to play in these leagues at all. These opportunities are often life-changing for the players and their families. But the increased centralization of global football on Europe remains detrimental to the development of the African football landscape as a whole.

Every country that has won one or more (men’s) World Cups

have been supported by a healthy, established domestic league. Players grow familiar with each other in their own distinct footballing cultures. It is not a coincidence that it has become increasingly difficult for South American countries to compete over the last 20 years (until 2022), despite producing arguably the best players of any continent. Over this time, the European leagues have become even more powerful and flooded with cash, and these same neocolonial dynamics reproduce themselves there.

Even Lionel Messi famously joined Barcelona at just 13.

These dynamics are especially troubling when we consider the long history of European extraction from countries in the Global South. Why wouldn’t these patterns replicate themselves in football? Those who have power have not changed all that much since the wave of African independence.

The dream for a global landscape where football development is evenly distributed is both compelling and vitally important. Naturally, some leagues will be stronger than others— greatness attracts greatness. However, for African countries to achieve success, their domestic leagues must be worth staying in beyond the age of

The AFCON semi-finals will take place on Feb. 7 with Nigeria vs. South Africa, and Ivory Coast vs. Democratic Republic of Congo (Patrick de Laive, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons) 18. In South Africa, salaries, player exhibits the kind of chemistry expected conditions, and football infrastructure from players who compete with each are robust enough that players do not other on a daily basis. need to leave for better compensation Nigeria has a compelling squad, in Europe. As billions of fans can attest, with riveting stars who play for elite the football does not need to be the teams in Europe such as Victor Osimhen same quality as the Premier League to and Ademola Lookman. Despite this, be worth watching. on Wednesday, my heart and support Nine starters from the team that will be behind South Africa, a team defeated Cape Verde in penalties play that models the potential of African in the South African Premier Division, football propelled by internal growth with eight playing for top-of-the-table and investment, rather than centred on Mamelodi Sundowns. The squad the needs of Europe’s “Super Leagues.”

Know Your Team: McGill Sailing Team Ranked first in all of Canada, The Tribune gets to know McGill’s sailing team Julie Ferreyra Sports Editor

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urrently ranked first in Canada, the McGill Sailing team continues to make waves as a fully independent student-run team. The team broke away from any status or recognition from McGill a decade ago. This independence is freeing but costly, as the team is entirely student-funded without financial support from McGill. The team thus relies fully on fundraising initiatives to finance practices, coaches, travels and other expenses.

“We pride ourselves on [being entirely student-run and financed] compared to other schools—and we’re not even talking about the U.S., where their sailing programs are completely funded by the schools,” team captain Pierre Offredi told The Tribune. “We do this all on our own and we make it run.”

This year’s achievements were made possible thanks to the support from the sailing community, alumni, and supporters.

Raising more than $32,000, the fundraising efforts exceeded all expectations, allowing the team to acquire a new fleet of boats.

Typically donations, along with team fees, go towards paying fees to yacht clubs in order to compete.

“That was an exception, we typically don’t raise that much money, ” Offredi said The Tribune. “Our dues [team fees

“We’re a team but also a family,” team captain Pierre Offredi told The Tribune.

(McGill Sailing Club) paid by athletes] are fairly high and that’s influences their ability to provide a something that we’d like to lower.” stable framework for recruitment and Recruitment has been a key issue for competition. The executive roles of the the team as well. Offredi explained that team shifts yearly, as different sailors step with the COVID-19–induced pause of the up to become president, vice-president, 2020-21 season, the recruitment cycle for team captain, or treasurer. This yearly new sailors continues to be affected. The turnaround could lead to challenges in recent graduation of most pre-pandemic terms of continuity. sailors highlighted the missed generation “You don’t have the central figure, of sailors, and the subsequent gap between you don’t have a coach, or you know, veterans’ graduation and the newer a team leader that’s there all the time,” recruits.

Offredi explained. “Everything’s moving The structure of the team also around all the time, that makes it hard for

people to fully recruit everyone.”

Nonetheless, the team invests in constant outreach to the broader McGill community in the hopes of garnering more interest into this seemingly niche sport.

“This year, we went to Activities Night and we try to use social media, we try to talk to people, we go to junior yacht clubs, and we try to recruit people,” Offredi offered. “We’re trying to promote sailing for everyone [....] It’s fairly expensive.

It’s not [accessible] to all, that’s—I find— really unfortunate, and something we’re trying to grow on with our learn-to-sail program.”

Nonetheless, the team spirit carries the sailors through high winds and low tides.

The social activities organized helps ease newer recruits into the essence of the team.

“I see the people coming in every year, I see myself coming in, and everyone loves the sport as much as the next person. And everyone wants to put in as much effort as they can,” Offredi concluded. “Because they know if the effort isn’t put in, there’s no one there to pick up the work. And so everyone really pushes themselves to keep this team going. And not only keep it going but to push it to new heights.”

The sailing team will be welcoming Olympic sailor Peter Hall as a guest speaker on Feb. 7 as part of their Match Race Chlalk Talk.