The McGill Tribune Vol. 37 Issue 2

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 | VOL. 37 | ISSUE 2

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

FEATURE

SSMU

ASK AINSLEY

Is McGill Advising failing students?

Meet the Execs A look into the leaders of SSMU

Navigating therapy and its social stigma

PGs. 8-9

PGs. 2-3

PG. 7

Should I go to therapy?

(Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune)

Facebook and McGill connect over AI

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shares his vision for Canada, is met by student protesters

Calvin Trottier-Chi News Editor Facebook announced that it would be basing its first Canadian research laboratory in Montreal at a press conference at McGill’s

Faculty Club on Friday Sept. 15. The city is home to the offices of many tech companies—including Google and Ubisoft—and the city’s burgeoning tech industry has received millions in investments from the government. Various stakeholders—including

chief scientists, Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—met to discuss the creation of a thriving ecosystem for artificial intelligence (AI) research at McGill, Montreal, and in Canada as a whole.

The Facebook AI Research (FAIR) department, which strives to advance all aspects of AI, will lead the endeavor. Yann LeCun, the director of FAIR’s New York location, sees potential for successful AI research in Montreal.

PG. 4

When is the best time to get sick?

The time of day an infection happens has surprising effects on its intensity Selen Ercan Contributor Catching a cold in the morning or at night can make a big difference. A new study from the McGill University and the Douglas Department of Health Institute suggests that the severity of an infection might vary significantly depending on the time of day we contract a pathogen— an agent causing disease or illness to its host.

For the very first time, McGill researchers showed that the body’s circadian clock dictates the magnitude

of the parasitic infection, Leishmaniasis.

According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, circadian clock refers to “[...] physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment.”

The tropical parasite, Leishmania, is transmitted by the female sandfly and kills 20,000 to 30,000 people per year, leaving painful scars on those who survive. When untreated, Leishmania is lethal.

“Leishmania tricks the body by manipulating what the macrophage (white blood cell) does using the host’s immune system against it,” said Associate Professor Nicolas Cermakian from McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and researcher at the Douglas Institute. “By understanding how this process is linked to the circadian rhythm, we might be able to play tricks on it in return.” n the disease was transmitted at night, the infection affected the subjects more than when it was contracted during the day.

PG. 13

2 NEWS

MEET THE EXECS

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

A look into the leaders of the Students’ Society of McGill University

Muna Tojiboeva President

Connor Spencer VP External

What did you work on this summer?

What did you work on this summer?

“Over the summer, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive team worked on the development of a SSMU-specific Sexual Violence policy (SVP). The entire SSMU executive team is committed to making sure that this SVP accurately represents the needs of McGill undergraduates. Because of this, the SSMU executive launched the stakeholder consultation process over the summer. We will continue to hold forums, ask for feedback, and talk to various stakeholder groups on campus throughout the Fall semester.

I have been working on re-establishing a relationship of mutual trust and respect between SSMU and members of the McGill administration. Additionally, I have been actively working on making sure that SSMU gets a seat on various committees on which it stopped sitting last semester. For example, SSMU is now represented at the McGill Sustainability Advisory Committee, the Bicentennial Steering Committee, and the McGill Alumni-Student Engagement Council.”

What are you working on now?

“[I was] organizing for campaigns as well as looking into working with [Comités unitaires sur le travail étudiant] CUTE. I attended [the Association for the Voice of Education in Qubec] AVEQ congresses, built an External Affairs website and listserv, and worked on the strategy and planning for the process of consultation for the SSMU standalone Gendered and Sexualized Violence Policy. [I also] worked with the president to revitalize Francophone Affairs, which included reinstating the Commission des Affaires Francophones. I worked with the Community Affairs Commissioner on designing and overseeing three projects related to Community Affairs, including looking into student co-op housing opportunities with [Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant] UTILE. I organized the Street Teams to patrol the Milton-Parc neighbourhood during Frosh, worked on a strategy for the upcoming municipal elections, and organized the publication of the Our Turn National Strategy Against Sexual Violence.”

“I am currently working with the Vice-President (VP) External on reviving the Affaires Francophones committee. The revitalization of this portfolio is extremely important to me since, as a francophone student myself, I understand how hard it is to not only transition from the French to English system, but also to feel included and welcomed at an anglophone institution.

I have been working on a Judicial Board Reform with the justices. I think it is extremely important to have a well-functioning Judicial Board, not only keep to the executives accountable, but also to ensure that the individual members’ rights have been respected.”

What are you working on now?

What challenges do you foresee this year?

“A lot, honestly. I think this is a critical year. There is a lot of hurt from the events of last year, and we can’t pretend that with a change in executive problems in the SSMU will just vanish. We have our work cut out for us, but I think it is very important for us to recognize that we cannot fix a broken system in a year, and that we need many years of many good people working on the internal workings, external communications, and accountability of SSMU.”

“The challenge that I foresee for this coming year is regaining the trust of McGill undergraduates, the administration, and the surrounding Montreal communities.

I hope that through the executives’ work and dedication, people will see SSMU in a better light. My goal is to make sure that McGill undergraduates feel like SSMU is here to promote their interests, as well as to respect and promote their rights.”

“I will continue to push the conversation around gendered and sexualized violence on campuses forward, especially following the recent release of the provincial strategy. I am running a referendum on affiliation with AVEQ, getting the three SSMU campaigns up and running, consolidating the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner, and coordinating the release of the Our Turn Strategy.”

What challenges do you foresee this year?

NEWS 3

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Arisha Khan VP Finance

Maya Koparkar Jemark Earle Isabelle Oke VP Student Life VP University VP Internal Affairs

What did you work on What did you work on this summer? this summer?

“I have worked on the development of a Socially Responsible Investments Fund (SRIF).

The expected launch date is between November and January, pending approval at Legislative Council and Board of Governors. I helped to introduce EmpowerMe, an unlimited counselling sessions either in person, on the phone, or over the web. All students enrolled in the dental plan are eligible. If students are receptive to this service, we will try to include it in the membership via a referenda.

With regards to McGill Counselling and Psychiatry Services, I have worked on standardizing accounting services and holding consultations to determine best practices for digitizing its processes. I conducted the year-end audit, and conducted in-depth portfolio budget planning with the other execs.”

What are you working on now?

“I am currently working on transitioning all clubs to online banking. I also am creating of a Finance and Audit Committee which will audit SSMU Services to ensure that all expenses are adhering to their mandates and fees. We [currently] do this for clubs, but not services, which does not make sense as there is more direct student money involved with SSMU Services. We are doing a disservice to members if any services are failing to meet their mandates or are misspending money.

The VP Student Life and I have been looking into the centralization of SSMU Services for performance and quality management. I am working with the VP Student Life to launch MyInvolvement next semester as a funding and finance tool and club-management hub. I am building a partnership with the Scholarship and Student Aid Office’s Frugal Scholars Program to create a workshop for club and service executives. I am working with the VP UA on possible campaigns for Open Educational Resources.”

What challenges do you foresee this year?

“I foresee budgetary and HR allocation issues due to the [heating, ventilation and airconditioning upgrade] HVAC project, and a lack of revenue from events and operations. Additionally, transitioning to new tools and softwares could be challenging. Anytime you increase internal controls, performance evaluation, or just adhere to current roles, there will be backlash.”

“Frosh was the event that took up most of my time. One of the challenges this year was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chris Buddle, the Dean of Students, and both faculty as well as non-faculty Froshes.

This MoU protects students who are doing Frosh under the Student Code of Conduct, meaning that students can seek recourse for any incidents that may have occurred in the Frosh context, both on and off-campus. I also oversaw Crash Pad, a program that provides a place in the SSMU building for commuter students to sleep during Frosh.

I have also been working on our website redesign and have updated our communications to include usage of a wide variety of social media channels. Finally, I have worked to overhaul the constitution of the First Year Council to include areas that are normally underrepresented, including Off-Campus Students, Varsity Athletes, and people involved in sustainability.”

What are you working on now?

“One of the biggest things on my radar right now is the Students’ Society Programming Network (SSPN), our event-planning committee.

Within the events portfolio I intend to encourage smaller, more varied events, ensure institutional memory, and impart a recognition of equity and inclusivity within events. I will do so by instituting trainings for my committee members from groups such as OSD and OSVRSE. I am also working on creating a budget structure and events/programming calendar outline for First Year Council in order to provide guidance once the positions have been established around late September to early October.”

What challenges do you foresee this year?

What did you work on this summer?

“This summer, I spent the majority of my time planning Activities Night, which was a huge success. I worked alongside the other executives to establish our goals and figure out how we can work with each other to accomplish them. I also met with executives of various services. The moratorium on starting new clubs was lifted toward the end of last year, and I have been working on getting that application started [and it is] coming soon. I also met with the various directors for all of the McGill services alongside the VP University Affairs (UA) Isabelle Oke to set up good working relationships.

Finally, the VP UA and I have set up monthly check-ins with Counselling Services.”

What are you working on now?

“Now that Activities Night is done, I have some more time to focus on a lot of my other projects. Now that the moratorium is lifted, these include finalizing last-minute things so that [students] can start applying for new clubs, and working on the club workshop and the services summit.

I met with the mental health commissioners a few times over the summer, but now we’re really going to start laying the groundwork for Mental Health Awareness Week. I will continue to meet monthly with Counselling Services as well.”

What challenges do you foresee this year?

“Space is always a big challenge on campus.

We have so many clubs and services and so little space for them to have their meetings, events, and quite frankly, to just hang out. So, a major challenge for my portfolio and probably the rest of the executives will be looking for new space, trying to maximize efficiency with the space we currently have, and coming to the realization that we won’t be able to accommodate everyone at all times.”

What did you work on this summer?

“I’ve been working with Caitlin Mehrotra, the University Affairs Secretary General, to find people to fill some openings on different committees and a couple student senator spots. In addition, although the summer brought many breaks in communication with the McGill administration due to [...people being on vacation], I was able to meet with various administrators, including Student Services directors, to talk about projects coming up this year. I also started working with the Equity Commissioners to plan for the upcoming expiration of the current Equity Committee.

Finally, the Know Your Rights campaign is taking place this September to promote the SSMU student rights website which summarizes McGill academic policy and lists various support services on campus.”

What are you working on now?

“I’m currently working with the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) office and VP Finance Arisha Khan to move forward initiatives to increase pathways for youth in care to postsecondary education, and to create wraparound supports for students currently here.”

What challenges do you foresee this year?

“There are so many projects that [my] predecessors [started], so it can be difficult sometimes to find the time and energy to start your own, so staying focused can sometimes be a challenge.”

“The biggest challenge that we face is the discord between SSMU and the student body.

Given past events, there are still many students who feel at odds, and rightfully so. Outside of that, there is a larger portion of students who feel apathetic towards SSMU. In order to engage these students, we need to earn their trust through more open lines of communication, transparency, and showing them that ultimately we are here to listen. Discord and apathy in student politics is nothing new and we surely can’t solve this problem in a year alone, but we do want to let the student body know that we are committed to *ANSWERS HAVE BEEN EDITED FOR LENGTH, CLARITY, AND FLOW. trying.”

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4 NEWS

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Facebook and McGill Connect over AI

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shares his vision for Canada, is met by student protesters Calvin Trottier-Chi News Editor Continued from page 1.

Specifically, LeCun praised McGill’s ‘Open Science’ policy of making research data publicly available. He emphasized the need for a unified effort between scientists across the globe to further AI innovation.

“Many of us, including me, have [one] foot in industry research and one in academia,” LeCun said in a speech at the press conference. “We publish everything we do, we release all code in open source, and that means we can collaborate with universities without second thoughts to intellectual property.”

McGill Associate Professor of Computer Science Joëlle Pineau will serve as director of FAIR’s Montreal lab while splitting her time at the university. In her talk at the conference, she echoed LeCun’s sentiments about the value of Open Science and anticipated the implications that the partnership will have for her students, many of whom leave Canada after graduation.

“I hope some of the students that are here today will find an opportunity that matches their interests and their talent, and have a reason to stay in Montreal,” Pineau said. “They’re going to contribute to our economy, they’re going to contribute to our communities, they’re such a

fantastic group of young people, and it’s really exciting for me to think that some of them will stay with us in the longer term.”

FAIR’s investment is part of a national trend contributing to AI research, most recently marked with the March announcement of a $125 million investment in a Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The funding will go toward improving computer science education, establishing networks between AI research initiatives, and explaining the implica-

tions of AI for society. Trudeau shared his vision for how the strategy will integrate AI technologies into the daily life of Canadians in his talk at the press conference.

“With a strong research community and well-educated workforce, Canada is the right place to shape the future,” Trudeau said. “A future where things like artificial intelligence and deep learning help create jobs, improve our quality of life, and generate new opportunities for the middle class and those working hard to join it.”

Pictured left to right: Joëlle Pineau, Mike Schroepferr, Suzanne Fiortier, Justin Trudeau, and Yann LeCunn (Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune)

Although the focus of the conference was the future growth of AI, Trudeau reminded audience members that the technology is already used for a variety of purposes.

“As much as AI is about the future, it is already shaping the world we live in today,” Trudeau said. “From funny filters on social media, to systems that can identify the most deadly forms of skin cancer, AI is already part of our lives, even if we don’t realize it. That’s just how broad its applications can be.”

Despite conference speakers’ positive tone, the event sparked criticism among some mebers of the student body. Several hours after Trudeau’s arrival on campus, a group of student activists, including Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President External Connor Spencer, gathered outside the Faculty Club in protest. Chanting ‘[the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] UNDRIP over AI,’ the students condemned Trudeau’s failed promises to Indigenous communities in Canada and his neglect of the presence of the 16th Annual Pow Wow occurring on lower field concurrently with the press conference.

“Literally 100 feet away from where he was meeting today, the 16th annual Pow Wow was happening,” Spencer said.

“We want to make sure […he] understands that the youth priorities are not what he is showing to be youth priorities. It’s not social media, it’s Indigenous rights.”

Student Services announces approach to psychiatric care and fentanyl crisis

Administration hosts press conference on counselling integration and naloxone provision Fionn Adamian Contributor In a press conference on Sept. 14, Hashana Perera, director of Student Health Services, took the floor to present updates on the office’s strategy for addressing the emerging threat of fentanyl in Montreal. The deadly synthetic opioid is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and has been found laced into powdered drugs at growing rates across Canada. Following recent discussion over students’ growing risk

of mistakenly ingesting fentanyl-laced drugs, Perera explained that Student Health Services’ goal was to provide naloxone and drug-testing kits for students, as soon as Quebec legislation permits.

“What we would have wanted to do is have [naloxone] available to you,” Perera said. “Public Health said no. Right now, the only people who can administer it are doctors, nurses, and ambulance [technicians....] We do have it in health services [....] That being said, the best bet is to call 911 right away [in

the case of an overdose].”

McGill Student Services addressed other policy changes, announcing the completion of the integration of Counselling and Mental Health Services into a single unit called Counselling Services—a process which began in Fall 2016. As part of this integration process, all psychiatrists have been moved into the new Psychiatric Services unit at the Brown Student Services Building, Suite 5500. Psychiatric Services is working to resolve confusion regarding the appropriate resources for students facing

psychological challenges, and to reduce wait times.

“Something that students had said is really confusing [was] ‘we don’t know if we’re supposed to go to Mental Health Services,’” Student Services Executive Director Martine Gauthier, who spearheaded the reform, said at the press conference. “I decided […] to do away with what is called a ‘mental health unit,’ but we’re actually expanding mental health services.”

The integration is the latest of many efforts to streamline mental health support at McGill. Before last September, students had to figure out on their own whether to book an appointment at Counselling Services or at Mental Health Services, the latter of which offered both psychiatric care and therapy, while the former offered therapy and advising. Last year, Student Services unified the two departments’ procedures for scheduling and intake. Under that system, known as the Stepped Care model, Client Care Clinicians work as caseworkers for individual students, referring them to the option best suited for them. With the integration of the two departments completed, SSMU VicePresident (VP) University Affairs Isabelle Oke echoed the hopes of Student Services to lessen students’ confusion regarding scheduling and intake.

“It’s hopefully going to prevent any bouncing around between services that do similar things,” Oke said.

“If you’re going to psychiatric services, you’ll still have that support from counselling, but it’ll be for a very specific reason you’ll be going out of counselling. It’ll be harder for people to fall through the cracks if they’re doing different things.”

The final phase of the integration, which has now been completed, was to bring all clinicians together into adjacent offices on the third floor of the Brown Building. As Gauthier explained, Psychiatric Services will only support students who have a note from a family general practitioner or from a McGill counselor indicating that they require medical assistance.

Last March, an open letter by the McGill Students’ Health Working Group criticized the lack of student and staff consultation over mental health policy, the opacity of Student Services’ overhead funding, and the mismatch between many students’ needs and caseworkers’ skillsets.

In response to these criticisms, Student Services aims to integrate feedback from clients in McGill’s counselling system, establishing positions for students on hiring committees, and adding students to advisory committees on mental health. Gauthier noted that the McGill Community Health and Wellness Strategy includes 22 students on its committee. Gauthier’s research indicated that the integration of Counselling Services will reduce wait times.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Jasinski editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Noah Sutton nsutton@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Audrey Carleton acarleton@mcgilltribune.com Emma Avery eavery@mcgilltribune.com Selin Altuntur saltuntur@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Holly Cabrera, Domenic Casciato, Calvin Trottier-Chi news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jackie Houston & Alexandra Harvey opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Izze Siemann scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Grace Bahler studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Marie Labrosse features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Dylan Adamson & Ariella Garmaise arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Stephen Gill & Selwynne Hawkins sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Daniel Freed & Elli Slavitch design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Ava Zwolinski photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor April Barrett multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Daniel Lutes webdev@mcgilltribune.com Parth Khanna online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Ayanna De Graff copy@mcgilltribune.com

Separating criticism from cynicism when evaluating McGill’s student leaders Often, students at McGill regard the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) as an inefficient, incompetent, and divisive organization.

Some of these perceptions are reasonably grounded in SSMU executives’ past mistakes. Last February, campus was rocked by VicePresident (VP) External David Aird’s resignation, following a statement released by the Community Disclosure Network (CDN) alleging that Aird had committed acts of sexual violence against members of the McGill community.

Since then, among other SSMU and faculty counsellor resignations, two more SSMU executives resigned: Last year’s President Ben Ger left his post in March 2017, and VP Operations and Sustainability Anuradha Mallik resigned this past August, leaving the SSMU executive team with a vacancy at the start of the academic year. SSMU executives’ recent history of resigning mid-term is a valid cause for student distrust of their government. Still, as McGill enters a new school year, it is critical that McGill students examine the source of their skepticism toward SSMU, and recognize the value of the work being done by student leaders.

Further, students must be cautious not to hold grudges from past institutional and personal failures against the new set of SSMU executives. Unfounded aversion to SSMU threatens the wellbeing of the organization by creating an atmosphere where overburdened leaders do not feel supported by their

OFF THE BOARD

Business Manager Daniel Minuk business@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Grayson Castell, Noah Cohen, Vincent Li ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Nicholas Jasinski, Daniel Minuk, Katherine Hutter, Julia Métraux

Contributors

Amanda Fiore, Andras Nemeth, Catherine Morrison, Cherry Wu, Christina Stackpole, Clemence Auzias, Daria Kiseleva, David Rankin, Eloise Haliburton, Emma Carr, Emma Hameau, Fionn Adamian, Florence Min, Gabriel Helfant, Jade Prevost-Manuel, Jesse Wu, Jordan Foy, Katherine Lord, Kelly Panichnantakul, Laura Oprescu, Laura Oprescu, Lauren Jelinek, Leo Stillinger, Luca Brown, Luke Sarabia, Margaux Delalex, Mei Nathan, Natalia Savkovic, Natalie Vineberg, Ozanay Bozkaya, Ronny Litvack-Katzman, Samantha Ling, Sam Wendel, Sanchi Bhalla , Sarah Bentivegna, Selen Ercan, Shayan Haqqi, Vanessa Won, Wasif Husain, Winnie Lin

Tribune Office

Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789 The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University.

Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

Ariella Garmaise Arts & Entertainment Editor When I was 13, my mother told me that she would kick me out of the house if I got a tattoo, or if I married non-Jewish. Her first fear never came to fruition, and her second was something I supported—if not ideologically— at least pragmatically. I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood in Toronto, attended Jewish Day School, and during the summer months, went to a Jewish sleepover camp. My mother had no reason to fear me dating non-Jewish boys, for the simple reason that I did not know any.

constituents.

A properly functioning SSMU is essential to the McGill community. It is an independent body completely separate from the McGill administration that operates as a critical advocate and provider for students’ needs and interests. While the relevant personal dramas of SSMU executives tend to dominate campus dialogues, the day-to-day responsibilities of leaders and the index of services provided by the society are much less discussed, and even taken for granted.

Without SSMU and its elected executives, students would lose many services fundamental to the wellbeing of their community. SSMU has ownership over students’ health and dental insurance plans, and runs a daycare for students and faculty in need of childcare. SSMU also provides employment for hundreds of students in a variety of positions throughout the organization. Further, it organizes a diverse range of MiniCourses—ranging from yoga, to languages, to creative writing—for students to inexpensively cultivate hobbies and learn skills that aren’t taught at McGill. SSMU also sponsors, supports, and provides space and services for hundreds of clubs and student organizations at McGill.

Finally, it fully funds and administers 15 services—such as McGill Students’ Emergency Response Team (MSERT), McGill Nightline, the Peer Support Centre, Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Student’s Society (SACOMSS), Walksafe, and the Black

Students’ Network—to name a few.

These roles, diverse in character and makeup, are essential to our community: They make students feel safe, understood, and included, and more often than not, they fulfill needs and provide opportunities that the McGill administration does not.

This is as enormous of a task as it sounds. An hour log released by Kimber Bialik, VP Clubs and Services (now renamed VP Student Life) in 2015-2016, revealed that she often worked up to (and over) 100 hours per week to fulfill the requirements of her portfolio. While SSMU executives are paid a salary, it does not come close to adequate hourly compensation for the job. Furthermore, SSMU acts as an important advocate for student interests to the administration, with members sitting on the Senate, Board of Governors, and working groups in order to establish university policies for students’ benefits. One recent example is SSMU executives’ involvement in the creation of McGill’s Sexual Violence Policy in Fall 2016.

The historically low numbers of candidates for SSMU executive positions are unsurprising when considering the volume of the commitment coupled with the McGill community’s ingrained distaste toward the organization. In the 2017-2018 SSMU executive election, only two out of the seven available positions were contested. A diverse election process is key to effective leadership, and a climate of apathy and disillusionment

OPINION 5

EDITORIAL discourages influential, capable leaders from stepping up. Putting one’s name on a ballot isn’t easy to begin with; faced with a perpetually disapproving constituency, this task becomes even more daunting. Normalizing minimal contestation of executive positions followed by mid-year resignations only further erodes the authenticity and legitimacy of the organization.

One glance at the extensive list of services that SSMU provides is enough for students to realize the necessity of student leaders. SSMU executives champion the interests of McGill students to the McGill administration.

While it is essential for McGill students, media, campus groups, and other prominent actors to hold student representatives accountable and maintain reasonable expectations of them, it is equally important for the McGill community to recognize that SSMU executives are students, not seasoned politicians. Next time they take a dig at SSMU, McGill students should question whether their disenchantment with SSMU is based on legitimate constructive criticism or whether it reflects cynicism of the institution itself, cultivated by the missteps of former leaders. Yes, SSMU has high standards to achieve and a responsibility to students, but students also have a responsibility to SSMU: They must actively engage with student politics, afford leaders a clean slate when they are elected, and promote a positive political culture out of which they can begin their tenure.

In search of a nice Jewish boy While not all students come from backgrounds as culturally homogeneous as I do, university is a time when one gets to leave the confines of one’s upbringing and meet people with entirely different experiences. And while the people I’ve met at McGill may not be as in tune with the particularities of the Toronto Jewish experience, I often find we relate in ways that are much deeper. This is the first time I have truly encountered the issue of dating outside of my culture.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with individuals of different backgrounds’ decisions to intermarry, and it is a choice on which I am presently undecided. However, I am discouraged by the mainstream perception that the decision to marry within one’s culture is outdated and narrow-minded.

The reaction of most of my Caucasian, non-religious peers is that dating based on faith or culture is “dumb” and people should be free to love whomever they choose.

It’s a fair stance, to some degree.

Many of these expectations are suffocating—in some ultra-orthodox Jewish communities, there exists a nefarious tradition to hold a funeral for a child who has married outside of their faith. However, such

broad-sweeping statements also oversimplify the innate value of culture and religion, and frame these traditions as forced upon modern generations. If I resent the hours I spent bored at synagogue as a kid, then I am equally as grateful for the traditions and sense of community that grew out of that sanctuary.

The modern-day narrative is that love conquers all. Especially in pop culture, where intercultural relationships increasingly exist as a subgenre of the star-crossed lover trope. For example, in their summer film The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon tell their love story—and the pressures they felt from Nanjiani’s Pakistani parents— who wanted to arrange his marriage.

In its first season, Aziz Ansari’s Master of None follows protagonist Dev, reluctant to tell his parents about his white girlfriend. Even going back to Woody Allen films like Annie Hall, Allen is hypnotized by the differences between him and his ultra-WASP-y girlfriend.

Each of these stories are easy to root for, but each also buys into Hollywood’s portrayal of love as the only thing that can complete a person. Moreover, they pose love and culture as antithetical: We see Nanjiani, Ansari, and Allen discard

their religious practices as they immerse themselves in their new relationships. Watching Nanjiani go on countless dates set up by his parents, I couldn’t help but think he could probably be equally as happy with each of these Pakistani women as he would be with his blonde wife.

Of course, my experience navigating romantic relationships is very skewed—as all experiences are—in that my Judaism is nonvisible and I am straight. Restraints around dating become much more challenging when considering the implications of race and gender.

Moreover, my mother’s threats are mostly empty, and while it might not always feel like it, I am privileged to have a tremendous amount of autonomy in this decision.

Love is important, but so is culture, and the two need not always be portrayed as a point of conflict.

Mainstream media often depicts religion and nationality as dividing forces, when in fact, these cultural values bring a strong sense of unison and community. If anything, I’d love to see a blockbuster rom-com about a non-white or non-secular couple that falls in love, and the challenges they inevitably face regardless of a huge cultural divide.

6 OPINION

COMMENTARY

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Early financial education is an investment in the future start years before university does.

In a society where at least a Bachelor’s degree is required for most professional careers, one would

“ Samantha Ling Contributor In the months leading up to their first year, undergraduates will hear several not-so-glorious bits about the ‘glorious’ college years that await them. They’ll learn about the clichéd—yet inevitable—‘Freshman 15,’ they’ll be warned of the selfsabotage that is an 8:30 a.m. lecture, and likely, they’ll be introduced to a persona we all know too well: The broke college student. While it is difficult to adjust to a lifestyle of instant foods and early mornings, financial security requires more than just adjustment. Making responsible financial decisions requires longterm fiscal savviness. Educators have suggested implementing mandatory personal finance courses in undergraduate curricula, but in reality, financial education needs to

COMMENTARY

Andras Nemeth Contributor Flashing through countless newsfeeds with bold lettering and eyecatching, often shocking imagery, online news videos have become intrinsic to users’ experience on social media. Painstakingly engineered for maximum impact on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, these brief videos are just one embodiment of social and news media’s increased reliance on one another. As social media’s importance in journalism grows—a study published in 2015 by the Pew Research Centre showed that 63 per cent of Facebook users use the platform as their primary news source—the video formats that

Educators have suggested implementing mandatory personal finance courses in undergraduate curricula, but in reality, financial education needs to start years before university does.

”

think that there would be a greater focus on teaching youth how to manage realities like tuition payment timelines and student loans. Given that the average student debt of a Canadian graduate is over $25,000, and that, according to a 2015 U.S. Bureau and Labor Statistics study, there is a correlation between high student debt and early-adulthood mental illness, it’s time that youth are given resources to take finance into their own hands. Climbing tuition rates paired with a lack of education

on how to pay them mean that students will experience the dreaded effects of this burden long into earning a salary. By gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to make financially responsible decisions sooner rather than later, students develop the essential foundations needed to adapt to the continuous challenges in managing their personal finances.

To develop lifelong literacy in such a complex field, students must begin their financial education well before university. Every single elementary school student in Canada learns basic equations and simple phrases within the first few years of schooling, giving them the ability to build on these concepts in future years. Financial skills that can be applied to almost

every individual’s situation should be treated the same way.

It is not sufficient to teach today’s youth how to add together two paycheques, and then tell them to find a job and start saving. Educators need to use these mathematical foundations to teach children the hard skills of applying their calculations to real-life situations, such as the withdrawal of student loans, along with soft skills such as negotiation and risk-analysis.

Students need more than a piggybank to manage their personal finances. (Vanessa Wong / The McGill Tribune)

Furthermore, a 2011 Statistics Canada study shows that there is a visible correlation between time devoted to financial literacy education and future annual income. The benefits of basic finance education live on for years after the teaching ends.

Even with all the benefits of an early financial education, there remain critics of teaching financial literacy at all. The reason cited most often is that economic policy, rather than the individual, makes the ultimate decision when it comes to a person’s financial state. Though these critics raise the valid point that policy shapes the overall financial health of a population, financial savviness continues to be the ultimate way to gain an edge over those subject to the same policies. Additionally, continuing to teach financial literacy in a world dominated by several financial institutions allows individuals to become engaged in the political economy—recognizing the institutions that work best for them while combating hidden fees.

In a rapidly advancing society, understanding personal finance is more important than ever. A comprehensive financial background will benefit Canadian university students’ fiscal and corresponding mental health, career prospects, and overall well-being.

It’s time that Canada’s school boards begin to embrace and promote longterm financial literacy.

Echo chambers on autoplay: How online news videos hurt political dialogue inhabit it may change the way news is consumed on social media for the worse. The information we see in online news videos may make us feel informed, but if the information comes solely in the form of politically streamlined, easily digestible chunks, we risk shutting out the potential for genuinely new information that challenges our views.

Two media companies, NowThis News and Al Jazeera’s AJ+, founded in 2012 and 2013 respectively, are the primary producers of news videos on Facebook, according to Variety magazine. The videos, covering a wide range of subjects, are short—frequently under three minutes long—directed at a younger audience, and feature recognizable, bold text, all for the purposes of optimization for a mobile platform.

Media companies must strategically adapt to the changes in social network platforms. Such was the case when Twitter and Facebook rolled out an autoplay feature for videos in 2016.

As AJ+ Engagement Leader Jigar Mehta explained in an interview with Nieman Lab, “If you look at our videos when we first launched, they weren’t optimized for autoplay. But then Facebook, and now Twitter, have rolled out autoplay. So you have three to five seconds, as someone is

flipping through a feed, to grab their attention.”

Online media companies invest immensely in those three to five seconds, employing text, visuals and strong subject matter to boost the appeal of their videos. Engagement rate—the number of people who interact with a piece of content per the number who see it—is frequently used as a measure of success in the world of online journalism.

By these standards, online news video producers have certainly been successful. In August 2015, AJ+ reported that six times as many people interacted with their videos as had liked their page, and as of today, NowThis has a Facebook following of over 12 million.

Central to the appeal of these videos is viewers’ belief that they are informative. With information delivered in byte-sized chunks directly to users’ newsfeeds, staying in the loop seems easier than ever. Yet, the informational “echo chambers” that plague social media news content are a well-documented phenomenon. When viewers have total control over what they see, as is the case on platforms with selfreinforcing content algorithms like Facebook’s, it creates an environment of political self-reinforcement. The

advent of autoplay informer videos, more quickly and immediately available than even a listicle headline, only furthers this trend.

Moreover, with the increasing importance of Facebook as a news

“

If the information comes solely in the form of politically streamlined, easily digestible chunks, we risk shutting out the potential for genuinely new information that challenges our views.

”

source, video creators face intense competition with the multitudes of attention-savvy media outlets that populate it, and must work hard to keep up. When news outlets rely on the same attention-grabbing video techniques as entertainment networks or advertising agencies, the political

content of these videos serves as a tool to boost engagement. Both AJ+ and NowThis are openly leftleaning, and often use strong political messages to attract viewership. Their viewers, who often share similar political views, see the things they already agree with. The snappily cut and oft-replayed content further cements existing political feedback loops on social media.

A study published by Yale professor Dan Kahan in 2013 found that the more scientifically literate subjects were, the more politically biased they were likely to be when interpreting data results. The study seems to suggest that more information is not the silver bullet to political disagreement, but that political views remain entrenched no matter how many facts they are hit with.

The 2017 Cision State of the Media report called online video news “nascent,” and suggested that the format may take on an even greater role in future journalism.

Being in-the-know is important, and online video has huge potential to inform. However, when scrolling from soundbite to soundbite, social media users ought to remember that dialogue and disagreement are essential to healthy politics.

Tuesday September 19, 2017

7 STUDENT LIVING

Ask Ainsley: Should I go to therapy?

Navigating counselling and the social stigma behind it Dear Ainsley,

Dear TAT,

Since classes started this year, I have started experiencing a lot of anxiety for the first time in my life. I am considering going to see a therapist, but I’m really nervous about it because I’ve never seen one before, and as far as I know, none of my friends or family have either. I also feel guilty going to one because most of my anxiety is school-related, and hasn’t persisted my whole life. I know a lot of people have diagnosed illnesses, so I don’t feel as though I’ve struggled as much as other people and worry that I don’t have a ‘real’ reason to see a therapist. Is there a way I can work through this on my own, or is it worth trying to see a professional?

You’re super brave for writing in—I know what it is like to feel lost among anxious thoughts, and coming to terms with the idea of seeing a therapist can be difficult.

First of all, know that the only person who can determine what merits going to see a therapist is you. Trust yourself and try to prioritize your needs without worrying about what other people may find valid. If you need a measurable sign that you’d benefit from seeing a therapist, consider whether you feel your anxiety is negatively impacting your daily life and ability to achieve your goals. If so, it’s definitely worth seeking professional help if you can afford it. You don’t have to reach a certain threshold of anxiety or depression before seeing a therapist; they are there to help with any situation.

Sincerely, ThinkingAbout Therapy (TAT)

You don’t have to reach a certain threshold of anxiety before seeing a therapist. (Florence Min / The McGill Tribune)

I know the process of finding the right therapist can be very overwhelming, but I think the first step you can take is to think about what kind of support you would benefit from the most. What type of person would you be most comfortable opening up to? Consider age, gender, and personality while searching for your match. Additionally, there are a few different styles and approaches to therapy, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, a directive approach which focuses on identifying and ending detrimental behaviours, and Humanistic therapy, a more discussion-based approach that focuses on working toward personal growth. I would recommend doing some research on the differences between these methods to choose the one from which you would benefit the most. If you try out a therapy session and don’t feel comfortable with your therapist, they might just not be the right match for you. The good news is, there are plenty of other skilled professionals in Montreal who you can go to instead; please don’t give up on therapy if you don’t like it after just one visit.

With regards to whether you should approach your friends and family about how you’re feeling, know that friends who are worthwhile will not judge you for prioritizing your mental health. While you certainly don’t have to share this part of your life with any of your friends if you don’t want to, it can be really beneficial to have a sturdy support system outside of your therapist, and confiding in your friends will only strengthen these bonds.

However, there are many different types of friendships, and it’s okay to have friends that you don’t feel quite comfortable enough with to have these discussions. In the event

that you do share your feelings with a friend and only receive judgmental comments in return, it may not be because they are a bad friend per se. The reality of our society is that mental illnesses are still relatively stigmatized and often go undiscussed. Your friend has probably just internalized the stigma around going to therapy, and would only benefit from talking about it more with you. Ultimately, no matter what your friends or family say, do what you feel is best for you, even if it is nervewracking.

Though taking the first few steps toward seeing a therapist can be daunting, remember that there is tremendous strength in asking for help. No matter what type of support you choose to seek, know that you will be able to get through this and that there are many resources available to you to help along the way.

In solidarity, Ainsley Psychology Today is a great resource to research different therapists that are available near you. If you’re looking for a therapist on campus, The McGill Mental Health Hub is an excellent way to discover the many different resources available. Please don’t forget that if you feel that you are in immediate danger, make sure to call 9-1-1 or, if you’re on campus, Campus Security at 514-398-3000.

The McGill Nightline is another option in less urgent cases and can be reached at 514398-6246. Outside of McGill, the Quebec Suicide Hotline also offers 24-hour support to those in crisis situations.

Tea Tuesday: A closer look at the timeless drink

More than a cozy drink, tea is tasty and chock full of health benefits

Lauren Jelinek Contributor Over the past few years, out-of-home tea consumption has risen, according to tea company Tetley’s 2016 annual report. Younger generations are turning to tea at growing rates, and the drink has had an increasingly strong presence in cafes and shops on and around McGill’s campus. With the rise of the ‘natural’ and health-conscious trend, this newfound popular preference for tea isn’t all that surprising.

Tea is having its moment, and it’s time to take notice of the cozy drink. Drinking tea not only makes a brisk fall day extra snug, but most teas also have a variety of health benefits, making the drink ideal for students–especially those for whom health takes a backseat to studying once midterms hit.

While adamant coffee drinkers–or any student cramming lastminute–may turn their nose up at tea, many varieties of tea provide comparable amounts of caffeine to coffee, while skipping out on the negative side effects, such as restlessness and irritability. Just two cups of tea can supply the same quantity of caffeine as one cup of coffee, and most teas give the drinker a calmer boost of energy. This is in part due to the presence of the chemical theanine in teas; the anti-stimulant helps with focus and relaxation, unlike coffee’s classic crash-and-burn game.

Many teas also have healing benefits. Ginger teas and peppermint teas can help fight off the flu, while echinacea tea and black teas are valued for their medicinal properties in some parts of the world—though many companies in North America and Europe may overstate this as a marketing tactic. Some teas, however, come with obvious benefits: Green tea has been dubbed ‘‘the healthiest drink in the world,’’ because of its ability to lower the risk of cancer and kill bacteria—the Chinese knew of herbal tea’s benefits as early as 3000

BC.

Historically, tea has served many purposes, including acting as a catalyst for social activity. In the 1800s, elites in England gathered regularly to chat over tea and light bites, a practice they called high tea.

This concept is still popular in current cafe culture around the world, including in Montreal, where third wave cafes are a central part of the local culture and economy. A favourite pastime of many McGill students is meeting up at one of Montreal’s many cafes. Cramming sessions at coffee shops reflect the continuation of the antiquated tradition in which tea is at the centre of a social activity–it’s common to see McGill students get together and nurse a cup of tea as they pour over their notes and absorb complimentary WiFi. To satisfy tea cravings between lectures, McGill offers multiple spots for a fix of tea around campus, with several cafeterias and cafes to choose from, such as those of Royal Victoria College and Bishop Mountain Hall. To explore tea beyond the cafeterias, check out one of the alternative tea vendors on campus; try the mint tea–or even a chai tea latte—at Dispatch Cafe in the McConnell Engineering Building or the Second Cup in Stewart Biology.

In terms of off-campus options, CHAÏ tea lounge on Avenue du Parc is at the top of the list. With over 20 varieties of black tea to choose from, CHAÏ offers almost every type of tea in the book. For a more serene and gadget-free cafe, Camellia Sinesis Tea House in Montreal’s Latin Quarter makes for a great choice. It’s a quiet escape from the laptop life of McGill, and the tea choices are expansive.

To buy tea and take it home, try David’s Tea. The famous tea chain started in Montreal, and the choices are limitless.

Whether students prefer a cafe setting or a comfy blanket and couch, tea provides an experience of familiarity and warmth on those long fall days. As Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, “let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.”

The benefits of drinking tea go far beyond the comfort it provides.

(Sarah Bentivegna / The McGill Tribune)

failing Is McGill advising

its students?

Audrey Carleton Managing Editor On a sticky afternoon in early September, students lined the walls outside their faculty or department’s academic advising offices, clutching their phones, refreshing Minerva spastically, hoping for empty spots in their required courses that they can quickly grab. It’s a scene many students know all too well during the biannual adddrop period, when they are often fraught with anxieties and annoyances over last-minute changes to their schedule and program. On top of this, the first people they’d think to turn to—their academic advisors—are often overburdened and the least available to help.

“I remember going [to advising] a lot first year and not being able to get appointments,” Emily Levine, U3 Arts, said. “I talked to people at the front desk who are students who are hired, who try to be really helpful but [...if they couldn’t answer my question] I’d be sent somewhere else, and of course during drop add period all of the drop-in [slots] fill up within five minutes or so, and especially as a first year, not knowing where things were, not knowing how the system worked, really needing to advocate for myself, but also not really knowing what I [wanted], it was really stressful.”

Levine’s experience navigating the world of advising in first year reflects an alltoo-common narrative among the student body. Unsurprisingly, she is not alone in her frustrations. In a survey of McGill students conducted by The McGill Tribune in August and September 2017, 41 per cent of respondents reported receiving less attention than they wanted from their advising offices upon stopping by in person during normal times of the year. Worse, 51 per cent of respondents claimed to receive insufficient attention during the add-drop period, when the number of students seeking assistance reaches its peak.

In an anonymous feedback field included within the survey, respondents divulged their primary frustrations with their faculty’s advising offices. One anonymous respondent cited their experiences being shuffled between different advising offices upon trying to get their questions answered, while another admitted to never having visited their faculty’s advising office because of the hassle involved. Two students acknowledged that their annoyance with advising lies primarily in the inefficiency of the advising system as a whole, rather than with any individual advisors. (Full quotes featured in graphics.)

The root cause of students’ frustration over receiving inadequate attention is the lack of sufficient funding and resources allocated to each advising office. When several thousand students are divided up among a handful of advisors per faculty, as is the case at McGill, it’s inevitable that the goal to serve as many students in the shortest amount of time possible supersedes the quality of the service provided. The Desautels Faculty of Management operates with an advisor-to-student ratio of one to 510, while the Faculty of Engineering and Science run daily with one advisor for every 784 and 799 students, respectively. The Faculty of Arts scrapes by with a ratio of one advisor for every 1,286 students. Regardless of advisors’ best efforts to give thorough advice in an efficient manner to students, advising offices at McGill become overwrought early into the semester, leaving a large fraction of students with unanswered questions and neglected course requirements.

These jarring institutional inadequacies can also force McGill students to sit through long wait times, regardless of how short or simple their questions may be. Survey respondents reported waiting in line at their faculty’s advising office for an average of 11 minutes on typical school days, and 17 minutes during the add-drop period. But for

Shayan Mantegh, U4 Engineering, visiting his faculty’s advising office—a routine he’s grown used to at the start of each semester—typically requires waiting far longer than reported averages. “[To get advising,] you’re gonna have to sit by the door [to McGill Engineering Student Centre] for four or five hours,” Mantegh said. “Last year for registration I was there from 2 to 7 p.m. just waiting to ask a very simple question [...]. It’s frustrating at a certain level, and I think it’s hard to know that every time you register, you know you’re gonna have to spend at least a full day just sitting in an office waiting to ask a two-minute question.”

McGill’s advising offices are not alone in struggling to serve all of their students.

In a separate survey of advising offices at 39 universities across Canada including major national institutions conducted by The McGill Tribune in August and September 2017, faculty- and department-specific advising offices reported student-to-advisor ratios of one to 443, on average. Though all of McGill’s largest faculties tend to have a larger number of students with fewer advisors than the national average, a large portion of advisors at other universities reported feeling overwhelmed with the number of students for which they are responsible. Among all respondents, 44 per cent of advisors in Canada described the number of students visiting during the add-drop period as “unmanageable” or “very unmanageable”—though it’s worth noting that only 5 per cent of advisors considered this volume of students to be “unmanageable” or “very unmanageable” during other times of the school year.

Many of these inefficiencies are out of the hands of individual advisors, who do their best to remain thoughtful and courteous to all students who walk through their doors.

In fact, when asked to characterize the quality of help they had received from academic advisors, the majority of McGill students classified the assistance they’d received during

the add-drop period positively, with “Very helpful” (13 per cent), “Helpful” (35 per cent), or “Okay” (30 per cent), representing 78 per cent of respondents. Outside the add-drop period, 27 per cent of students found their advising appointments to be “Very helpful,” while 23 per cent characterized their assistance as “Helpful” and an equal proportion considered it “Okay.”

“I’ve never had an advisor who was mean, or cold, or unwelcoming, or specifically trying not to help me, but I think [what overwhelms and frustrates me is] the system,” Levine said. “Everyone that I’ve gone to, I find, is trying really [hard] to be helpful and they’re doing their best, but it’s impossible for one person to have all of that knowledge and all of that access if you need to change things, and so I’m often redirected to someone else and then one question becomes, like, a three-stop kind of thing.”

Many advisors at universities across Canada anonymously echoed students’ discontent toward institutional failures in their survey responses. Two advisors pointed to the failures of online systems to communicate academic information to students, while several advisors highlighted a need for structured peerto-peer advising. The most common suggestion from advisors was to hire more advisors; a solution that seems simple at face value, but may be infeasible without major budgetary considerations.

The consequences of poor academic advising go beyond the sheer day-to-day annoyances of long lines and crowded offices. For many students, having a support system they can turn to when making major academic decisions is key to ensuring their success at McGill. Fiona McRaith, U4 Arts, learned this the hard way in her first year, when she unknowingly registered for a roster of rigorous courses that didn’t suit her interests, coming out on the other side with a bruised GPA and a lack of concern from her advisors.

“First year I would say that I was stumbling around a lot,” McRaith said. “I took classes that [...] there was no reason I should’ve been in [...] they were difficult and they didn’t relate to my interests at all, and I ended up failing one of them [.... No] advisor ever was like, ‘Hey we see that you failed a class is everything okay?’ or like, ‘How are you doing? This was your first semester

at university.’ I wouldn’t have been in those classes if someone had sat down with me and said ‘So what are you hoping to achieve?’ and ‘What are your interests?’ and ‘What are your academic strengths? How can we start you off on a really strong foot at McGill?’”

Many of the consequences of poor advising can follow students through the end of their degree, such that it’s not uncommon for students to find out shortly before their anticipated graduation date that they’re short a few credit requirements. This leaves students with no choice but to take extra time at McGill and to empty their pockets of extra tuition money.

“In the sheer volume of it, like how many classes McGill has and how big the classes are, it’s not a surprise to me that a lot of people get to their last semester and are like ‘I have to take three more classes? I had no idea,’” Levine said. “No one tells you if you’re not doing it right.”

To cover the areas where academic advising falls short, many students at McGill turn to informal peer networks and self-made solutions for giving and receiving academic advice. On faculty- and programspecific Facebook groups, as well as wider groups like “McGill Easy Classes for Electives,” or websites like ratemyprofessors.com, students seek and share insight into the quality and difficulty of well-known courses and professors. Individual students have also taken it into their own hands to build online applications like getaseat.ca and the Visual Schedule Builder—a program initially launched by students at Concordia—to help their classmates plan out and successfully register for all of their courses. If there’s one token of optimism borne out

of this lack of institutional support, it’s the sense of selfsufficiency that figuring out one’s program on their own creates.

“If I had gone to school in the States and paid three times as much, I would’ve had a faculty advisor assigned to me that I met with once a month,” Levine said. “And advising lines wouldn’t be as crazy, but also, learning to deal with this has helped me [...] deal with [real-life problems, like] landlords who are unresponsive or Wi-Fi companies who charge me three times as much. All of this terrible administrative stuff is a reflection of real life.

However, the system [at McGill] is [still] flawed."

Tuesday September 19, 2017

STUDENT LIVING 10

The faults in our stars: Diving into the horoscope debate A look into the recent popularity–and skepticism–of astrology Sanchi Bhalla Contributor The word ‘astrology’ brings to mind images of newage hippies making major life decisions based on whether or not Mercury is in retrograde. Though astrology has gained popularity over the past few years, my experiences with it date back to my childhood. Growing up in India, I witnessed many couples who wanted to get married comparing kundlis—astrological charts that prove prove compatibility by comparing the position of celestial bodies at the time of each partner’s birth. My family members have pundits, or astrological experts, on speed-dial to help them make major life decisions, like figuring out the most auspicious day on which to buy a new stove. But regardless of the beliefs of those around me growing up, I have always been a skeptic of the powers of astrology, and have grown to notice divisions in belief–readers either put their full faith in their horoscopes or they turn to astrology only when they need answers. And for some, the stars have no significance. But whether you’re part of the population that has faith in the powers of celestial divination or not, everyone knows that astrology gets a bad rep.

The most obvious reason for astrology’s less-thanrespected reputation is its status as a pseudoscience.

Much of the population glances over such sources solely to amuse themselves and exercise their eye-rolling muscles. According to a survey conducted by astrologer and historian Nicholas Campion, less than a quarter of the general population believes in astrology as a method of prediction. The same study showed that over 40 per cent of people confessed that they look up potential romantic partners’ sun signs to ensure that it will be a good relationship, and over 90 per cent admitted to knowing their own zodiac sign and feeling that it matches their personality. These results suggest that for many horoscope readers, believing in horoscopes is one thing, but admitting to believing in them is quite another.

Why do so many horoscope readers seem to be stuck between full and part-time believing? Furthermore, why has astrology sustained a following despite the gaps in its believership? For the most part, this is due to an innate

desire to explain past life events or validate one’s hopes for future events to occur. And while finding meaning in the happenings of daily life by looking to the night sky is certainly a romantic idea, the reality of most horoscopes is that they are written to apply to almost any reader.

Astrological predictions are frequently worded in ways that make them applicable to most of the population, yet many still choose to believe that they are tailored to them specifically. This psychological phenomenon is called the Barnum Effect, and it occurs frequently in the ‘vague’ sciences–like astrology, tarot cards, graphology, and fortune telling. Humans want to be able to explain almost everything; a convenient way to understand the happenings of our lives is to look up at the stars–or down at the latest horoscope–especially if they tell us what we want to hear.

“Today, romantic encounters await you,” is an obvious sign from the universe to ask the cute person in your class out for dinner. “Today is a day of relaxation,” totally justifies spending the day in bed, holding a carton of Haagen-Dazs and binge-watching Netflix. Horoscopes act to validate our decisions–good or bad–but because they are ‘based on the facts of nature,’ there’s no reason to question them. Though there’s comfort in knowing that what’s happened was ‘meant to be,’ readers should approach the stars with caution.

With astrology’s growing popularity, the divide between believers and skeptics grows. (Winnie Lin / The McGill Tribune)

How to build, work, and navigate your networks

Career and Planning Services’ Darlene Hnatchuk on how to use your connections Emma Carr Contributor Many students share a common goal of securing a job right out of university—but this task can prove more challenging than many anticipate. There is a crucial underlying factor at play in deciding one’s career fate: Their networks.

New graduates are often cautioned with the age-old saying “it’s who you know, not what you know,” that determines their job prospects.

Though this sounds rather unfair, recent studies indicate that it may not be so far from the truth.

A 2016 LinkedIn survey showed that 85 per cent of all jobs are filled via networking. Additionally, National Public Radio estimates that over 70 per cent of job openings are not advertised to the public, thereby limiting the applicant pool to internal hires and those with close connections.

This reality makes it even more difficult for the poorly-connected to get their foot in the door at hiring organizations.

Fortunately, universities offer the perfect setting to meet experienced professionals and practice networking before graduation.

The McGill Tribune spoke with Darlene

Hnatchuk, director of the Career Planning Service (CaPS) over email to learn more about how students can master the art of networking before graduation, and hopefully, land themselves a job with the help of sound social skills.

The McGill Tribune (MT): Why is it important to begin networking as an undergraduate?

Darlene Hnatchuk (DH): For some people, networking can seem intimidating or [...] only worthwhile if you are already a working professional or are seeking a job. As a student, there are several reasons to network, including to explore various career paths, meet people who are working in your fields of interest, and meet interesting new people who may introduce you to new ideas and opportunities. Know that in general, most people are willing to share some time to speak and help a student [who is looking for career advice].

MT How can McGill students begin to develop a network?

DH Students can start by getting to know their peers, joining clubs and interest groups. [Students should] check out [the CaPS website] to learn about various on-campus opportunities. Other opportunities to network include speaking with your professors, [taking up] part-time jobs or other work [or] internship opportunities, and [engaging in] your personal [network, like family friends].

Additionally, look to organized networking opportunities, such as your department or faculty’s meet-and-greet events, speed networking events, career fairs, [or] company information sessions [....] You can even cold-contact someone you admire [or would like to eventually work with].

MT In what ways can students make a good impression on potential connections?

DH It’s important to be genuinely interested in meeting new people, and in particular [to be] polite. First impressions do count. Make sure that you are respectful and appreciative of people’s time [....] If you ask for 10 minutes don’t keep

asking questions past the 15-minute mark. Thank people for their time, and give them an update if they made efforts to introduce you to someone new. [Also] be prepared to ask specific questions that demonstrate your curiosity and interest in them and their roles. Be prepared to speak about yourself, your interests and what you might like to do.

MT How can students turn connections into potential employment opportunities?

DH Unfortunately, it is not always a linear path from networking to a job. But by making time to get to know others, being interested and curious in others, [and being both] professional and respectful in your approach, you will consistently make a good impression and you will more [than] likely be remembered. Be open to new ideas and opportunities and follow up with people. Use the information you have gathered through your networking and apply that knowledge in your job search.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 11

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

“In Search of Expo 67” offers contemporary perspective on world’s fair

50 years later, MAC looks back on Montreal history Clemence Auzias Contributor

The Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) has opened up its doors for spectators to explore Montreal’s proudest moment on the international stage. In Search of Expo 67 takes us back 50 years to a booming Montreal; a city welcoming the world’s fair during a period of progress and tensions­—which were thematically addressed in the exhibit. Visitors are invited to dive into the universe of Expo 67 through a combination of movies, interactive pieces, music, and photographs. The 19 participating artists created unique pieces to commemorate the occasion,

exploring themes of peace, acceptance, and tolerance.

“Man and His World” is the main theme of the exhibit.

Inspired by the book Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, it immediately captures a visitor’s attention upon entering the first room. A wall-sized screen transports spectators along the path of the iconic minirail that brought millions of visitors to the fair in 1967, with the anachronistic landscapes of 2017 unfolding before them.

Accompanied by a voice reading the aforementioned book

by Saint Exupéry, dating back to 1939, this is the first of many temporal contrasts the exhibit presents.

The journey then continues to different rooms showcasing films, each displaying a new perspective on

The exhibit provides an interesting lens, but not an artistically rich journey. (Cherry Wu / The McGill Tribune)

Expo 67. On one side of the hallway, Geronimo Inutig’s Katimakainnarivugut, and Jean Pierre Aubé’s Kaleidoscope II, present different artistic approaches to the Canadian Pavilion and the Kaleidoscope Pavilion, two of the buildings edified for the occasion by the countries present at Expo 67. On the other side of the corridor, more serious pieces such as Emmanuelle Leonard’s Le Huitième Jour concentrate on the post-war political climate at the time and Cold War tensions persisting between the USSR and the US. This juxtaposition creates yet again an interesting contrast between these tensions and the Expo’s theme: Global unity after a long period of decolonization. Right before the exit, there is a change in the tonal setting—the visitor is transported to a room with flashy colors looking ahead to the Montreal of the 70s. A vinyl player adds to this atmosphere with music from the beginning of the electro era; a genre that is now characteristic of the Montreal musical scene.

Although this last piece brings some variety to the overall exhibit, diversity in the art pieces is what lacks the most as the visitor walks through it. The visitors feel lost among the chaotic audio-visual pieces, distracting from the more traditional static mediums. The haphazard inclusion of historical information can prove chaotic and confusing, although perhaps it can be justified in reminiscence of the atmosphere at the world’s fair itself.

While the exhibit does yield an informative experience about Montreal history, unfortunately, exiting the MAC doors, some may feel like they haven’t really been in a museum of contemporary art, as the variety of artistic items used for the expo was very minimal throughout. In Search of Expo 67 provides an intriguing lens for its historical moment, but not quite an artistically-rich journey through the museum.

First Impressions: Safdie Brothers’ ‘Good Time’ not the best of times Robert Pattinson’s most recent effort eschews poignancy for adrenaline Jordan Foy & Leo Stillinger Contributors Leo Stillinger At the beginning of the Safdie brothers’ (Daddy Longlegs (2009), Heaven Knows What (2014)) new feature-length film Good Time, brothers Connie and Nick (Robert Pattinson and Ben Safdie) have just robbed a bank. One asks the other: “Are you feelin’ this?” Good Time is not a good movie, but perhaps it can be justified in terms of this question.

Jordan Foy “I don’t know what to tell you,” Robert Pattinson’s character Connie says at one point in the film, and I think this encapsulates exactly how I feel about it. I just don’t know. It was all over the place. There were things I appreciated, and things that drove me crazy.

LS I’m feeling that high adrenaline confusion as well.

Thanks to the convulsive soundtrack and claustrophobic cinematography, the unrelenting intensity quickly becomes too much. I spent most of the film feeling more exhausted than entertained. The film’s most memorable scene takes place in a darkly lit funhouse, where Connie finds a Sprite bottle filled with LSD. The scene can be taken as a metaphor for the movie itself—a bad trip.

JF Bad trip indeed—this film significantly heightened my anxiety. For one thing, almost every shot is a close up on somebody’s face. And the soundtrack, produced by electronic artist Oneohtrix Point Never, is jarring and unfitting at times. These two factors—along with the haphazard and almost improvisational feel of the plot— resulted in a seriously unsettling viewing experience.

LS Disorienting as it was, though, the style of the film is distinctive enough to hold it together as a work of art.

Unfortunately, its protagonist is an unsympathetic plank.

As Connie, Robert Pattinson is not much more expressive than he was as Edward in the Twilight series (20082012). Yet the camera remains glued to his face, which often fills the entire screen, perhaps in the futile hope that he will show any emotion. Pattinson himself described the film as a “really hardcore kind of Queens, New York, mentally-damaged psychopath, bank robbery movie.” It would be hard to argue with any of that; it’s just a shame that the mentally damaged psychopath wasn’t made to be more interesting.

JF Not going to disagree with Rob on that one. Connie is a grade A, sociopathic piece of shit. His goal in the film is to free his mentally handicapped brother from police custody, but at various points in the movie he recklessly endangers him, and spends most of the film ruthlessly manipulating people. Perhaps Connie was intended to be a morally grey character, but I had extreme difficulty sympathizing with him. I really didn’t like him.

LS What makes the film more of a shame is that there is an interesting, sympathetic character, in the form of Connie’s brother Nick, whose mental turmoil and relationship with his grandmother seemed to promise a much more emotionally-complicated plot arc. Yet, Nick spends the majority of the film off-screen in a psychiatric hospital, and viewers are left with his soul-dead brother instead. The final scene, which depicts Nick participating in group exercise at the psychiatric hospital, is genuinely bittersweet. Moreover, it gives a glimpse into what

(www.vulture.com) this film could have been if taken in a different, more sensitive direction.

JF The film has its moments though. There were some scenes that made me laugh, and there were times when I felt like maybe I was liking the movie. But ultimately the experience was too intense. There’s an audience for a film such as this, and maybe I would enjoy it a second time through, but I certainly did not have a ‘good time’ on my first watch.

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

ANTISOCIALITES ALVVAYS

ALBUM REVIEW

Alvvays, Toronto indie favourites, first made waves in 2014 with their self-titled debut and its breakout single “Archie, Marry Me,” a brazenly tongue-in-cheek young love song. Their newest album, Antisocialites, lacks a hit as anthemic as “Archie,” yet Alvvays’ pop sensibilities remain razor-sharp throughout. Antisocialites thrives off of apparent contradictions; its saccharine pop hooks and dreamy guitars disguise tales sadness and romantic longing rife with self-deprecating wit.

Each song on the album walks a careful line between the joy and melancholy of urban young adulthood. Longtime live staple, “Your Type,” finally makes an appearance on this record, and is the album’s sweetest and most danceable pop tune. Its lyrics, joyously delivered, are hilariously gloomy: “I die on the inside […]I will never be your type,” belts frontwoman Molly Rankin. Conversely, “Not My Baby” finds Rankin feigning resilience post-breakup—her

heartache betrayed by her downcast delivery and the track’s overpowering moody synths.

“If I saw you in the streets, would I have you in my dreams tonight?” asks album highlight “Dreams Tonight,” with a lyric that would fit right in any of the most wistful Smiths songs. The influence of generations of indie pioneers is evident on Antisocialites. There is a track dedicated to Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain, whose band’s hazy guitars and layered synths act as blueprints for many of Alvvays’ sonic textures.

Though these 10 tracks might be pop-y, this is not to diminish the brilliance of the songwriting. Rankin’s lyrics can be dreamy, silly, poetic, and tragic—usually all at once. There are tracks for dancing and there are tracks for moping, all blended together seamlessly across the album. Antisocialites is Alvvays’ most cohesive release yet, leaving none of the band’s signature ethereal soundscapes or impossibly catchy hooks behind.

- Luke Sarabia (Contributor)

Dreamy, silly, poetic, and tragic all at once (alvvays.bandcamp.com)

“It: Chapter One” tugs at the heartstrings but fails to terrify Andy Muschietti releases his film after years of “development film” Christina Stackpole Contributor It had been in “development hell” since 2009, cycling through a plethora of directors, writers, and stars.

Based on the novel by Stephen King, and originally adapted into a 1990 miniseries, the feature film incarnation was finally released as the sophomore effort of director Andy Muschietti on Sept. 8. It is remarkable, then, that the finished product holds together as well as it does.

Muschietti is undoubtedly a cineliterate director. The bedrooms of the film’s middle schooler protagonists are

plastered with posters of Beetlejuice (1988) and Gremlins (1984). Movie posters on local streets advertise A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 (1989).

The film’s lengthy 135 minute runtime harkens back to the epic horror films of the 70s and 80s, such as The Exorcist (1973) and The Shining (1980)—films that, like It, were grounded in character and story before scares. Unlike the bold colors of the miniseries, the remake is washed in moody sepia tones, with a colour palette akin to Japanese horror classics such as Ringu or Dark Water.

The film experiments with its stunning cinematography, including sweeping wide-shots and expertly-crafted mise-

en-scene that would make Stanley Kubrick proud.

It will particularly resonate with fans of Stranger Things. The two projects share young star Finn Wolfhard (who plays protagonist Richie Tozier), and both make use of snappy dialogue from a central band of small-town misfits, coming-of-age angst, and staple images of riding bikes down suburban streets. In its contribution to the trend of 80s nostalgia, It takes on an almost selfaware quality, its world feeling more like a wistful time capsule than an actual period piece.

It’s strength lies in the movie’s young lead cast, particularly

“The Losers Club” from Andy Mushietti’s It. (slashfilm.com) newcomers Sophia Lillis and Jack In his book Danse Macabre, King Dylan Grazer, who present some of the lists three tactics used in horror: “The best child acting in recent memory. A gross-out,” “the horror”—monsters, witty script provides the backbone for jump-scares—and “the terror,”—the lovable characters, and the actors give bone-chilling, uncanny, and pervasive incredibly convincing portrayals of the dread. It occasionally flirts with the genuine bonds within the motley crew gross-out, but mostly inhabits the of the “Losers Club.” The young cast horror. Only once does it reach the works remarkably well with the film’s upper echelon of terror, in the first dark material, which ranges from sexual 15 minutes, during a flawless recrafting of the classic gutter scene abuse, to racism, to grief.

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, between Pennywise and Georgie. It is the clown terrorizing the children, unfortunate that a director so ambitious reimagines one of the most iconic roles in his filmmaking—and so clearly in horror—portrayed by Tim Curry devoted to the genre—resorts to a in the miniseries. Skarsgard gives a seemingly endless conga line of jumpfantastic performance, albeit radically scares and haunted-house effects.

Moreover, while Muschietti different from his predecessor. While Curry swings between wisecracking manages to craft a darkly gorgeous and vicious, Skarsgard is demonic. phantasmagoria, he is overly reliant on With yellow eyes, a misshapen infant- CGI—much like in his 2013 debut, like head, and a cracking childish lilt Mama. Pennywise’s character depiction of a voice, he ties in nightmare-nursery is most haunting when he simply imagery throughout. He moves and inhabits the frame, instead of flailing dresses like a feral, decaying marionette. around in increasingly ridiculous The inspirations for the costume, from spectacle. The constant barrage of Renaissance to Victorian, highlight the fantastical imagery becomes tiring by idea that Pennywise is from out of space the third act.

Perhaps It is a horror film for and time.

When It focuses on the deeper those who don’t like horror. Similar implications behind what is terrorizing to Spielbergian horror-adventures like the children—namely, facing Poltergeist (1982), it has the characters and coping with their respective and story to keep audiences emotionally traumas—it succeeds. In contrast to engaged, and enough creepy imagery the classic Hollywood monsters used and textbook scares for the less genrein the miniseries, Pennywise’s varying savvy without making them truly manifestations in the remake have a uncomfortable. However, for audiences more timeless and psychoanalytical who want to be haunted by a film long after the credits roll, It is best viewed as quality.

Sadly, it is primarily in its a subversive Stand By Me (1986), rather attempts at horror that It stumbles. than as nightmare fuel.

13 science & technology

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

When is the best time to get sick?

The time of day an infection happens has surprising effects on its intensity Selen Ercan Contributor Continued from page 1.

“There was more inflammatory cell recruitment, [or] more immune cells coming to the site, in the animals’ bodies at night, which is what the parasite wanted,” said Professor Martin Olivier in the McGill Department of Medicine, Microbiology, and Immunology and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center. “It could [therefore] invade more cells at that time.”

Thus, the parasite took advantage of the body’s circadian rhythm in order to acquire the maximum number of host cells.

“Circadian rhythms affect pretty much everything in physiology,” Cermakian said. “[Many] parts of our body [vary] between [...] day and night [as] generated by our intrinsic clocks.”

The team successfully established that these internal clocks regulate the body’s immune response against pathogens. This observation can lead to better prevention strategies against many illnesses—including malaria, zika, and lyme disease—and other

A study from the Douglas Department of Health Institute shows that the time of day an illness is contracted dictates the intensity of said illness. (Amanda Fiore / The McGill Tribune)

insect borne diseases.

In light of this news, there could also be a significant difference between the effectiveness of vaccinations administered in the evening or during the day. Continued research in this area could hinder widespread diseases from doing more damage.

“We now want to know how we can better treat people with drugs and vaccinations, and at which moment we can vaccinate people in order to give better protection,” Olivier said. “Indeed, the variation in immune response due to the circadian rhythm could be true for many infections.”

Furthermore, Cermakian’s research on the health of shift workers shows that people with disturbed circadian rhythms have a higher likelihood of contracting many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular, and metabolic problems. Prolonged exposure to artificial light from electronics, disorganized eating, and irregular sleeping schedules all qualify as disturbances.

Although keeping track of intrinsic clocks won’t protect everyone from contracting diseases such as Leishmania, respecting the natural body cycle can attribute to a healthy lifestyle overall.

Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change speaks at McGill Catherine McKenna calls on students to be proactive and to change climate attitudes Laura Oprescu Contributor On Sept.

15, McGill University hosted a panel at Chancellor Day Hall on the future of clean energy as a means of growing the economy. The Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change and McGill law graduate, Catherine McKenna, hosted the event with the Member of Parliament for LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, David Lametti, marking the beginning of a series of panels the two will host. McKenna previously worked on UN peacekeeping missions and co-founded her charity, Level, to promote equality.

McKenna is touring Canadian universities, aiming to engage students in discussions about the future of clean energy and its impacts on the economy.

The panel also featured Tim Moore, a Professor of Geography at McGill and Director of the Trottier Institute for Science and Public Policy, Steven Guilbeault, Cofounder and Senior Director of environmental consulting company Équiterre, Robert Leckey, Dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill, and Jose Mauricio Gaona, Faculty of Law doctoral student at McGill.

Together, the participants deliberated actions that Canadians can take to contribute

to the growth of the economy in a sustainable fashion.

“I’m doing a college climate tour because people don’t think climate change is real, or they think it’s too hard and too expensive a problem to tackle,” McKenna said.

McKenna aims to reach out to students, who she believes are the future of policy-making. To her, open dialogue among youth regarding Canada’s future in clean energy is crucial to addressing the problem of climate change. Moore praised McKenna’s engaging approach.

“We should be engaging people in dialogue, rather than having a battle between monologues,” Moore said.

McKenna asked students for questions and suggestions regarding strategies to tackle international policy issues. Citing the example of the United States prematurely pulling out of the Paris Agreement, McKenna called for a thorough, rational approach to international cooperation on climate change.

“In diplomacy, it’s easy to yell and scream,” McKenna said.

“We just have to be smart about things, to give [the United States] space to work things out.”

McKenna predicted that the United States will eventually realize that clean energy will be cost-efficient in the long

run. She suggested making the economic argument to anyone who dismisses climate change as a serious issue.

“We can’t detach the environment from the economy,” McKenna said. “If we destroy our environment, we destroy our economy.”

McKenna argued that focusing on the economic impacts of switching to clean energy will draw a wider interest. She believes the two are inseparable issues.

Additionally, McKenna criticized the responses of activists who oppose pipeline developments, arguing that the pipeline itself is not the problem.

“Pipelines are just a vehicle,” McKenna said. “As long as there’s a market for oil, it’s going to happen.”

Instead, McKenna took issue with Canada’s infrastructure for offering poor protection against extreme weather. She questioned why Canada imports building materials instead of manufacturing locally, which would reduce emissions and create jobs for Canadians. Guilbeault agreed.

“Most Canadian buildings wouldn’t pass basic energy tests in other countries, such as Germany,” Guilbeault said.

“This is a problem, because Germany isn’t nearly as cold as Canada.”

Catherine McKenna and panel members called on university students to start communicating climate change in a meaningful way. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune)

However, Guilbeault is optimistic about the changes being made toward clean energy in Canada.

“Since 2013, Canada has been investing more in clean energy than in fossil fuels,” Guilbeault said. “Three years ago in Quebec, there were 15 charging stations for electric cars. By 2020,

there will be 1800.”

McKenna closed the panel with a rallying cry.

“We need to make policy decisions that are going to benefit most people, not the one per cent,” McKenna said. “You guys need to get out there and engage.

We don’t have time to fight, we just have to get on.”

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

science & technology 14

soup

science

McGill’s biannual intersection of research and lunch returns

From mutation to malformation How specific mutated genes lead to developmental syndromes Jade Prévost-Manuel

Contributor

On Sept. 12, Soup and Science featured some of the cutting-edge developmental biology research going on at McGill.

Over an egg salad sandwich and a bowl of chicken soup, The McGill Tribune met Loydie Jerome-Majewska, pediatrics professor and medical scientist, to hear about her research regarding developmental syndromes.

Between two and three per cent of children worldwide are born with congenital malformations.

While substantial evidence exists that environmental factors like tobacco and alcohol are causal agents, genetic

mutations also play an important role in developmental disorders.

The medical scientist has unparalleled enthusiasm for her field.

“I was always excited about development. It really started with the question of how you can get a complex human from just an egg and a sperm.”

Jerome-Majewska’s research aims to identify these mutated genes and observe their onset during development.

She wants to better understand congenital malformations like DiGeorge syndrome—a disorder present from birth causing mouth and heart malformations—to see how significant changes in environment or genetic pathways can reduce the risk of developing these syndromes.

Jerome-Majewska studies these changes in development by using model mice. When the expression of a gene is thought to contribute to a syndrome, the lab can mutate said gene to discover its consequences in an organism. From here they can understand when the first event occurs and what cells are

disrupted.

To do so, the researchers perform forward genetic screens to understand which genes are causing malformations.

They then follow up by employing r e v e r s e genetics: Determining the gene’s function by seeing whether or not it is expressed. From here, the gene can be manipulated and the consequences of its expression observed.

In typical undergraduate fashion, we asked Jerome-Majewska if she had any advice for students pursuing research.

“Above all, you have to love it,” she said. “There are days where nothing happens, and that’s a reality of the job.

But there are also days where you see

Curing cancer with 1’s and 0’s New program allows for expedited production of pharmaceutical drugs Ronny Litvack-Katzman Contributor Rapid chemical analysis that takes days to complete in a lab can now be done with the click of a button.

A self-proclaimed “Beast in Science,” Associate Professor in the McGill Department of Chemistry, Nicolas Moitessier, worked with his team of computer engineers and biochemists at the Moitessier Research Group in Montréal to develop new software. This software allows for the rapid chemical analysis of molecules of all shapes and sizes in

as short as three minutes, when the same process spans days in a lab.

When Moitessier came to McGill 14 years ago, he immediately noticed a problem: Efficient research on pharmaceutical design is impossible when it takes weeks to run drug testing.

“When you don’t have access to something what do you do? You create it,” Moitessier said. “We created a software that predicts drug activities virtually, through running synthetic schemes of molecules.”

The program, known as FORECASTER, has revolutionized the

landscape of molecular pharmacology.

Drug samples that once took months to design can now be virtually produced in a matter of minutes.

“My personal computer, not even one of the larger ones in the lab, can run a molecule in three minutes, maybe less,” Moitessier explained. “By simple math that amounts to 20 molecules an hour, I can leave the programming running overnight and by the next morning, depending on the molecule, I can have tested one thousand copies.”

In traditional lab settings, this procedure takes significantly longer to

conduct.

The hardest part, Moitessier explained, was designing a system that is user-friendly enough to be used by chemists, while maintaining the computational complexity necessary to run an advanced software.

“We allow the virtual to guide the experimental, and the experimental to improve the virtual,” Moitessier said.

Moitessier hopes that his invention will one day provide the vital chemical analysis needed for the production of drugs in the treatment of cancer and other debilitating diseases.”

Building sustainable materials inspired by nature How mussel beards are helping with the plastic problem Katherine Lord Contributor On Sept. 14 at Soup and Science, students were made privy to the exciting field of Sustainable Materials Chemistry, as presented

by Matthew Harrington, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry.

“Since 1950 we’ve accumulated over five billion metric tonnes of plastic in our environment and landfills with a projected

increase to 12 billion by 2050,” said Harrington.

Despite this mass of waste and its associated environmental cost, Harrington and his team are investigating a cause for hope.

The team aims to create new materials that are both high-performance and environmentally sustainable.

“In my group we want to borrow design principles from nature in order to make better materials in better ways,” Harrington said.

“Biological organisms create a huge range of materials which exhibit really impressive

material properties and structures, and these are made from very simple building blocks […] mainly comprised of proteins, sugars, and fats.”

Currently, Harrington’s lab focuses on mussels, specifically their byssus, or ‘beard,’ which they use to attach to solid surfaces like rocks and the seabed. “[The byssus] is a crucial material the mussel makes that allows it to survive […] against crashing waves,” Harrington said. “The material is stiff, it’s tough, it’s self-healing, [and] it has an underwater glue. In my group, we

[…] take out molecular level design principles […] and then transfer these to engineers in order to make things like surgical adhesives and selfhealing materials.”

The lab uses a cross-disciplinary lens combining many scientific fields as a key tool to understand these natural structures.

“Don’t pay too much attention to the typical disciplines of biology, chemistry, and so on,” Harrington suggested.

“Explore [them].”

SPORTS 15

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

McGill Martlets soccer hold UdeM Carabins to O-O draw Both sides unable to capitalize on chances in 90-minute deadlock

pleased by their efforts.

“I thought we played really well today, it was a tougher game but I think we came out on top and mentally we were in it to win it,” Lore said.

The Martlets currently sit in the middle of a competitive RSEQ division and are set to hit the road for a matchup against the Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 17. Students can catch the Martlets in action in their next home game vs UQAM on Thursday, Sept. 21 at Molson Stadium.

Shayan Haqqi Contributor Before meeting the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins at Molson Stadium on Friday, Sept. 15, the McGill Martlets soccer team hoped to continue their momentum from a 4-1 win over Sherbrooke on Sept. 8. The fiercely fought contest ended goalless, with neither side able to get the better of the other, and pushed the Martlets’ record to 1-1-1 on the season.

The close proximity of McGill and UdeM has facilitated a rivalry between the two teams.

Martlet Head Coach Jose-Luis Valdes spoke after the game about the unique threat the Carabins pose.

“It’s a very physical battle against Montreal,” Valdes said. “They play a lot of long balls. We needed to win our 50-50s and I think we did very well about winning those battles. They didn’t push us around too much, and when they did, the referee did a good job about calling fouls.”

From the moment the first whistle blew, it was clear that the two sides were evenly balanced and that it would take something special for the Martlets to win on their home turf. In the first half, clear-cut opportunities on goal were few and far between. UdeM had the first sight on goal when a free kick in the early minutes forced McGill goalkeeper and fifth-year chemical engineering major Sarah Dubois into a dive to defend her near post.

Moment of the game

Centre-back Nathalie Brunelle takes a throw in. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune) McGill’s most threatening moment came in the 15th minute when some good teamwork on the left flank freed up forward Claudia Agozzino, who dribbled past a few defenders before laying the ball off for defender Nathalie Brunelle.

Brunelle’s shot sent the opposing keeper scrambling but sailed just over the bar.

As the game wound down, both sides had last-ditch opportunities to break the tie but couldn’t convert them into points. A clearance from a Carabins defender fell to the feet of Martlet captain and fifth year nursing student Lisa Per-

rett in the 88th minute, but her well-timed effort flew just over. At the other end, a scramble for the ball in the McGill box caused the ball to break free for a Carabins attacker. Her shot smacked the crossbar in what was the closest chance of the game.

Valdes believed that the scoreboard was representative of the way both teams played.

“A draw was probably a fair reflection of the game, but we always want to win at home,” Valdes said.

However, Martlet forward Tia Lore was

Lore was played in behind the defence and found herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only for the offside flag to be raised. The thirdyear sociology student was visibly disappointed with the call.

Quotable

“With the ball we need to be better. We’ve got the qualities, but today we didn’t show as much.

The few times we did move the ball properly, we were in dangerous areas and positions, and we came close and threatened a few times.”

- Head Coach Jose-Luis Valdes.

Stat corner

Dubois saved eight attempts, contributing to a shutout effort from the McGill defence.

ICYMI: NHL summer trades and signings

An offseason full of transactions sets the stage for the upcoming season

Wasif Husain Contributor After the Stanley Cup wraps up every June, fans must endure four months without any on-ice NHL action. Luckily, the summer months are often full of big signings and trades. Though this summer’s transactions were overshadowed by the Las Vegas Knights expansion draft, they did make for some compelling storylines heading into the 2017-2018 season.

The Montreal Canadiens are always under pressure to make moves, and General Manager (GM) Marc Bergevin didn’t disappoint. The transactions started as the Habs finally acquired the young, coveted Jonathan Drouin. In return, they gave up standout rookie Mikhail Sergachev, a small cost to maximize their cup window with goaltender Carey Price. Price signed the richest goaltending contract in NHL history with an eight-year, $84 million deal, keeping him in Montreal for the long haul. Soon after, they added free agent Karl Alzner to their blue line. However, during the shuffle, they lost Russian sniper Alex Radulov to the Dallas Stars.

Along with Radulov, the Stars also signed shutdown centre Martin Hanzal and solved their goaltending issue by trading for goalie Ben Bishop from the Los Angeles Kings. With a high-powered offence, they are now primed for a productive season.

The Edmonton Oilers parted with yet another core player, sending Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders in exchange

for Ryan Strome, a younger forward with a smaller cap hit. Strome is projected to play with generational-talent Connor McDavid. In July, McDavid signed the largest contract in Oilers history, a $100 million, eight-year deal. The 20 year-old could have inked an even more lucrative contract, but took a slight pay cut to ensure the Oilers could sign teammate Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $68 million contract. These moves signify that the Oilers are ready to make consistent runs at the Stanley Cup. A few hours drive south, their Alberta rivals made deals, too. The Calgary Flames added steady defenceman Travis Hamonic and goalies Mike Smith and Eddie Lack, solidifying a position that has been weak in recent years.

The Chicago Blackhawks shook up their core, trading talented winger Artemi Panarin for ex-Hawk Brandon Saad. To manage cap restrictions, they also traded defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy. The Hawks also brought back a familiar face in Patrick Sharp on a one-year deal. Their constant reshuffling is the small price of winning three Stanley Cups in the last eight years.

The New York Rangers also worked to stay atop the standings. They traded top-six centre Derek Stepan and goalie Antti Raanta for a first-round pick and defenceman Anthony DeAngelo. The Rangers also added prized free agent Kevin Shattenkirk, who gave them a hometown discount and signed a $26.6 million, four-year deal.

On July 1, the San Jose Sharks signed

Connor McDavid speaks to the media after announcing his new contract with the Edmonton Oilers. (edmontontjournal.com) Marc-Edouard Vlasic to an eight-year, $56 million extension. Adding goaltender Martin Jones on a six-year, $34.5 million extension, the Sharks locked up two important pieces of their core roster. They also signed star Joe Thornton to a one-year deal worth $8 million. However, San Jose couldn’t keep everyone in town, losing team-legend Patrick Marleau to the rising Toronto Maple Leafs.

In a very busy offseason, there were many other notable re-signings: Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson returned to the Predators, Evgeny Kuznetsov signed on long-term with the Capitals, and Alex Wen-

nberg got a six-year deal with the Blue Jackets. Plenty of GMs locked their young talent in cap-friendly deals, including Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin in Carolina, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat in Tampa Bay, and Bo Horvat in Vancouver.

The 2017 offseason was focused less on blockbuster trades and more on teams retaining their players. Many teams have locked up young stars, indicative of the league’s shift to a younger, faster game. The upcoming season reflects a new age for the NHL, with new teams entering their cup windows as the past decade’s perennial contenders start to cycle out.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

16 SPORTS

Buckets of cash: Comparing wages in the NFL, NBA, and MLB

Season length, roster size, and television viewership are all factors in players’ salaries Sam Wendel Contributor As the NBA continues to raise its wage cap, players’ salaries have exploded. Just last summer, Stephen Curry, arguably the most valuable player in the league, signed a contract promising him US$40 million a year. This gargantuan sum shocked the sports world, and further emphasized the wage gap between NBA players and their peers in other American sports leagues, most notably the NFL and the MLB. But, when evaluating the salary difference between the three, it is important to consider the wide range in revenue, roster size, and season length among the leagues. During the NFL season, each team plays only 16 games. Conversely, the NBA season spans 82, coupled with longer playoffs. It’s no surprise that NBA players make more money, as their longer season allows teams to generate more revenue. The MLB, however, has the longest season of all three with 162 games, which is almost double the length of the NBA season. As a result, the league enjoys the second-highest set of television ratings and revenue—nearly $10 billion per year—of all American major sports leagues.

Given the gaping disparity in volume of games between each sport, it is more informative to examine how much the average player for each league is paid per game. The NFL leads the three leagues with ease, as the average player makes $131,000 per game, easily more than the NBA’s $76,000 and the MLB’s $27,000. It makes sense that NFL players make the most per game, when considering both the number of games on each league’s schedule and the NFL’s stellar television viewership numbers—a fundamental element in a profes-

sional sport’s profitability. This difference helps to explain why the NFL earns a revenue of about $14 billion a year, dwarfing the NBA’s $5.87 billion, and sitting comfortably ahead of the MLB’s $10 billion.

Despite the NFL’s large revenue, team roster size negatively affects individual athletes’ paychecks. After the final cuts, there are 53 players on each NFL roster. In comparison, NBA team have 15 rostered players. With fewer competitors, each NBA player gets a larger share of the salary pie, more than making up for the NBA’s smaller revenue stream. By that logic, one would expect the MLB with its 25-man rosters to pay individual players more than the NFL, so it’s surprising to see the average MLB player earn just $27,200 per game.

Each MLB team plays an astounding 162 games per season— plus the playoffs—which makes it much harder to raise per-game wages. Still, the world’s best baseball players are not hurting for money. The biggest annual contract in baseball is Clayton Kershaw’s $33 million, not much less than Curry’s $40 million in the NBA. Additionally, the average MLB player makes $4.5 million a year, which is only $1.6 million less than the average NBA player, despite the fact that MLB rosters nearly double the size of those in the NBA. The injury risk and physically taxing nature of football keeps the league from being able to increase revenue by adding more than 16 games. Furthermore, this sum must be shared between 53 teammates. Meanwhile, in baseball, drawn-out seasons mean players aren’t getting near as much money for the time they’ve invested. Overall, pro basketball players get the best deal. Their season is neither too long nor too short, their teams are not very big, and they’re third in television views in North America. When it comes to the money-to-work ratio—something everyone tries to maximize—NBA players seem to have it all figured out.

Citius, altius, fortius: The cost of hosting the Olympic games The games can be a burden or benefit depending on the state of the host city salaries

The mayors of Los Angeles and Paris celebrate the accouncement with IOC president Thomas Bach. (abc.net.au)

David Rankin Contributor Hosting the Olympic games can be an expensive, corrupt, and unpredictable business. It is a very highrisk but potentially high-reward proposition: Effective hosts see their cities enjoy substantial economic boosts and an upgraded image, while poor hosts risk wasting just as much money and tarnishing their reputation. The Olympic games should only be assigned to cities that can shoulder the financial burden. The recent announcement of two developed tourist hubs, Paris and Los Angeles, as hosts for the 2024 and 2028 summer games might be indicative of the lessons learned from past host selections.

The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were a disaster for Brazil. An uninhabitable Olympic Village, literal

sewage in the water used for the rowing events, and body parts washing up on the shores next to the beach volleyball court were just some of the issues that plagued the Rio games. The problem was that Rio de Janeiro had too many problems to fix, too many projects to build, and not enough resources or time to do so before the games.

That’s not to say there wasn’t much invested—the costs of Rio 2016 were estimated at a staggering US$4.6 billion, with $1 million still owed to creditors a year after the games. While that figure was lower than those of previous summer games—such as London in 2012, costing $10.4 billion—it does not paint the whole picture. What’s more important is that London has continued to make use of the buildings it developed for the games. The 2012 Olympic stadium is now a soccer stadium inhabited by a Premier League team, and the Olym-

pic village was converted into apartments.

Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, the iconic Maracana Stadium sits in a state of disrepair and ruin after its use in the 2016 games and 2014 FIFA World Cup. The concept of Olympic venues being treated as one-time-use facilities is not a new one for the Olympics: In Beijing, the baseball stadium, kayaking facility, cycling arena, and volleyball courts have all been abandoned. The recent trend is that fully-developed countries tend to host better-organized games than developing countries and make better use of their venues once the games have ended.

The good news is that the hosts of the upcoming summer games look promising, with Tokyo set to host in 2020, followed by recently-announced Paris and Los Angeles in 2024 and 2028, respectively. These three locations present a possible new direction for the future of Olympic city selection. Each host city is fully-developed and looks well-equipped to handle the events. Furthermore, France and the United States are the two most internationally-visited countries in the world, per the World Tourism Organization. The countries already have the infrastructure to handle millions of people descending upon their cities and, if London is any indication, will be able to make good use of new constructions once the games are over.

In fact, representatives from the Olympic committees for both Paris and Los Angeles estimate that around 90 per cent of the required facilities have already been built. This existing infrastructure ensures that the summer games will be hosted by competent and prepared groups for the next 12 years.

Traditionally, host cities are announced one at a time, instead of the double announcement of Paris and Los Angeles last week. The punctual announcement is good for Paris, which will have nearly seven years to prepare. The advantage is greater for Los Angeles, which now has over 10 years to build the necessary infrastructure for the games. It’s easy to be optimistic about these upcoming games. If the games live up to their promise, they could serve as a shining example for the rewards of effective city selection for the International Olympic Committee.