The McGill Tribune Vol. 36 Issue 22

SCI TECH “McGill Defi Ecotech Challenge hosts Women in Cleantech panel” pg. 18

SSMU & PGSS Profiles and Endorsements pg. 7-13

The McGill Tribune

EDITORIAL: WINTER 2017 SSMU & PGSS REFERENDUM ENDORSEMENTS pg. 05

TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017 VOL. 36 ISSUE 22

PUBLISHED BY THE SPT, A STUDENT SOCIETY OF MCGILL UNIVERSITY

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM

SSMU Legislative Council passes motion on constitutional amendments Question period sheds light on Ger’s departure Daniel Lutes Web Developer

The Common Thread makes sewing more accessible to the Montreal community, page 6. (Hannah Taylor / The McGill Tribune)

Bring Your Own Juice: ‘McGill’s best and only sketch comedy troupe’ Ariella Garmaise Staff Writer Entrenched in scandal and slander, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) building has been devoid of laughter for the past two weeks. Amid this chaos and disarray is McGill’s only sketch comedy troupe, Bring

Your Own Juice, performing at SSMU’s Players’ Theatre. Their live show brings some much-needed comic relief to our campus, satirizing everything from college culture to classic literature. This year’s Bring Your Own Juice performance was thrown together by only 10 members over the course of a month. It is refreshing to watch a team that can thrive under

pressure, and moreover, that genuinely seems to love and support one another.

Despite the 30-day turnover, Bring Your Own Juice is a deliberate and carefully crafted production. Director Harry Turner explains that the writing process is extensive, following pitch meetings to multiple drafts, all over the course of two weeks.

PG. 16

At the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council meeting on March 9, a lengthy question period took place due to the sudden resignation of former SSMU President Ben Ger earlier that day. In anticipation of the length of the question period, councillors voted to amend the agenda so that approximately half of the motions were voted on before it began. Council members passed the Motion Regarding SSMU Support For Floor Fellow Bargaining and the Motion Regarding the Endorsement of the McGill Communities Council Letter to the Board of Governors. Councillors then debated the current balance of power between the Judicial Board (J-Board) and the Board of Directors (BoD), with reference to the Motion Regarding the Amendment of Internal Regulations of Governance. The motion was ultimately amended and then passed. After the question period, Council passed all of the remaining motions.

Question Period At the beginning of Council, Vice-President (VP) Student Life Elaine Patterson read an addendum prepared by former president Ger regarding his resignation.

PG. 02

2 news

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Time capsule discovered during renovation of Roddick Gates Identity of individual who placed it before 1925 remains unknown Avleen Mokha Contributor The Roddick Gates are currently under construction for maintenance and for a more welcoming design. On March 1, construction workers discovered a time capsule while lifting stones from the arches of the North-East side of the entrance.

The finding was brought to McGill Archivist Lori Podolsky, who organized the reveal of the capsule on March 9.

Conservator Chantal Emond was tasked with opening the parcel. Emond has previously worked with McGill’s Archives as well as with the Osler Medical Library.

“It’s exciting to be at the centre of it all, but as a conservator [...] I try to stay neutral to do the work,” Emond said.

Most of the contents were too damaged to identify, but Emond was able to uncover newspaper clippings of a French advertisement. The papers, over 90 years old, were clumped together because of mold formations. When assembled, the clippings appeared to be an apartment listing.

“The capsule is dated at the latest to 1925, the year of the Roddick Gates’ commemoration,” Podolsky said.

The capsule itself, composed of lead, measured exactly seven inches by five inches and is three-quarters of an inch deep. It was found beneath one of the stones being moved during the

renovations. “[The capsule] was damaged prior to when it was found,” Podolsky said. “The damage is old, so perhaps someone had gone back to the Eastern Roddick gate and caused it. However, there is no indication that those pieces were ever removed, so we suspect that the capsule was placed there already damaged.”

Although it is unlikely that the identity of the individual who placed the time capsule will be determined from its contents, the fact that the stone in which it was placed was chiseled and scored is significant. Podolsky estimates that the capsule was very likely laid during the original construction.

“There had to have been foresight when they laid the time capsule because it filled the stone perfectly,” she said.

The Roddick Gates were commissioned by Lady Amy Redpath Roddick in 1924 for $50,000.

Lady Roddick was heavily involved in selecting the architect, Grattan D. Thompson, and finalizing design plans. Her correspondences with Thompson and others involved are preserved in the McGill University Archives. However, none of these documents make any mention of time capsules.

“Sometimes time capsules are done formally where the owners place it, sometimes they are done informally by the people building it,” said Gwendolyn Owens, director and senior advisor of the Visual Arts Collection at McGill. “Time capsules have happened in many places. Very often, when

The capsule found on March 1 was significantly damaged and its contents were mostly illegible.

(Photo courtesy of Lauren Goldman) “The newspaper clippings give us some conthings were built, [...] somewhere in the walls, matext,” Podolsky noted, “It’s a French [language] sons would place in a box what was important to newspaper, [the Journal de Montréal], which has them at that point.” importance and significance.”

This artifact is the second time capsule found Podolsky is researching newspaper archives on campus. The first one was discovered in 2003, from the time period for any public announceas reported by The McGill Reporter. ments regarding a time capsule.

“We suspect there are tons of capsules around “Our plans are to look at the [Montreal] Gacampuses, especially around cornerstones and near zette and the [Montreal] Star to see if anything was monuments,” Podolsky said. recorded there,” Podolsky revealed. “For now, it’s Emond and Podolsky will continue invesa really neat mystery.” tigating the origins of the capsule. Emond will A condition report will then be created for the further examine the capsule in her lab, checking time capsule and the piece will be accessioned. for inscriptions, markings, and any indications of “It will go into our archives as an artifact and where it came from. She hopes to uncover a clearer will become a record of McGill,” Podolsky said. time date.

SSMU Legislative Council passes motion on constitutional amendments Question period sheds light on Ger’s departure

Daniel Lutes Web Developer Continued from page 1.

“Based on serious concerns raised by students close to [Ger], the Executive recognized his own inadequacy in handling the David Aird case and has failed his responsibility in upholding the safety of our members,” Patterson said. “In light of this, he was personally and professionally unsuited to continue in his position of authority as president of SSMU.” Clubs Representative Adam Templer asked Patterson why Ger was inadequate for the position. Patterson explained that a person came forward and made allegations that Ger had committed gendered violence in the past.

“The Executive recognizes that somebody that has allegations of gender-based violence against them is not equipped to handle the scenario [...] regarding David Aird,” Patterson said.

During the question period, councillors addressed allegations in-

volving Ger and former VP External David Aird. Questions focused on the Executive Committee, Legislative Council, and BoD members’ knowledge of Ger and Aird’s actions.

Science senator and former BoD member Sean Taylor asked VP University Affairs Erin Sobat when he became aware of Ger’s assault allegations. Sobat answered with reference towards Aird’s allegations.

“A couple of members of the Community Disclosures Network [CDN] reached out to me in early February about how an executive might be removed from a position,” Sobat said. “The specific nature of their concern was not disclosed in detail. I only became aware of those incidents and testimonies when they were reported on by The McGill Daily.”

Motion Regarding the Amendment of Internal Regulations of Governance The Motion Regarding the Amendment of Internal Regulations of Governance proposed a change to the number of votes required for the

BoD to overturn J-Board decisions.

Additionally, the motion proposed that the Legislative Council be able to pass decisions before ratification from the BoD. Council voted to split the motion into two separate sections for voting. Council members voted to accept all sections of the motion except clause 4.c.

Clause 4.c would give the BoD the ability to overturn a decision made by the J-Board with a two-thirds majority if the decision is deemed unreasonable or motivated by prejudice, collusion, bribery, or conflicts of interest. Current regulations, which will remain in place, require a four-fifths majority for such changes to be made.

Faculty of Law Representative Romita Sur expressed her concerns with clause 4.c.

“The Law Students Association voted unanimously [...] against this motion,” Sur said. “[....] In light of everything going on, I think it is important to remember that the [BoD is] involved with very intense political processes and the [J-Board] is a

place that is supposed to be neutral.”

Arts Representative Isabella Anderson responded to Sur’s comments, explaining that the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Council held a straw poll, in favour of the motion, including clause 4.c.

VP Finance Niall Carolan made the case for the BoD’s political neutrality.

“The [BoD] does not discuss any political issues, the only reason the Board is there is to preside over legal and financial responsibilities of the society,” Carolan said.

A motion was proposed to bring clause 4.c to the J-Board Review Committee which was passed.

Motion Regarding Referendum Question on Constitutional Amendments SSMU also discussed its upcoming referendum question, which contained many alterations to the SSMU Constitution, including changing the VP Operations executive title to VP Operations & Sustainability. Additionally, the motion proposed a change to the definition

of quorum for the General Assembly (GA), such that there would be no faculty requirement for quorum.

Currently, there is a requirement that at least four faculties must be represented in order to reach quorum.

The Winter 2017 GA had difficulty reaching quorum on Feb. 20 and has had similar issues in the past.

Sobat explained the impetus for the change and said that without quorum, the GA cannot provide proper representation.

“There were times when we had quorum, and then lost it,” Sobat said. “To me, that is not representation, that is fighting for quorum.”

Senate Caucus Joshua Chin responded to Sobat’s statement regarding representation.

“I am very uncomfortable with the removal of faculty requirements for quorum,” Chin said. “[....] I feel that we are making [GAs] less representative.”

Chin put forth an amendment to the motion that would reinstate faculty requirements for GA quorum.

The amendment failed and Council then voted to pass the motion.

news 3

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

EUS Wellness Survey sheds light on mental health in Faculty of Engineering Dean of Engineering searching for balance between workload and wellness for students

McGill students introduce clubs to Board of Governors Open forum between students and BoG held after three year hiatus

Julia Métraux Staff Writer On Feb. 23, the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) released the results of a wellness survey of its members that was conducted in November 2016. To address the findings, EUS hosted an open forum on March 9.

According to EUS President Jean-Louis Shi, the results signal a need for change in the Faculty of Engineering.

“The results are pretty shocking,” Shi said. “Seventy per cent of our student population feel like they have to maintain poor sleeping and eating habits. And then, we have 74 per cent of students who said the biggest stress is from the workload.”

Dean of Engineering Jim Nicell explained that it will be important to conduct more surveys pertaining to the mental health of McGill Engineering students in order to create a baseline to measure if progress is being made. Nicell stated that even though he found the results alarming, they did not surprise him.

“This is an issue that we need to be more aware of,” Nicell said. “As a faculty and how we assign workloads. Around one-fourth of our students felt like their faculty cares about their mental health. First, we have to admit that we have a problem, and then [we have] to mobilize resources.”

Nicell and Shi both suggested that one problem that the Faculty of Engineering faces is adequately preparing their students in a field that requires a lot of specified training. Another problem, according to Nicell, is not overwhelming students with the required workload.

“I’ve been meeting with all the deans [of engineering] across Canada,” Nicell said. “We’ve had more conversations about mental health in the past few years than ever before. We recognize that our program is challenging. It’s an increasingly complex world, both sociologically and technically. Essentially, what we do is keep on adding curricula without taking things out. Something’s got to give, it might be that we’re expecting too much of our students in a short amount of time.”

An Open Forum on Engineering Undergraduate Wellness was hosted on March 9 to discuss the results of the EUS Wellness Survey. The forum covered three main areas: Academic, support, and awareness. Points taken from discussion during the forum were presented on March 13 to Engineering Chairs and Directors Committee.

EUS Mental Health Commissioner Jiayi Wang said the attendance of the forum was big enough to lead to productive conversations, but small enough that it was not overwhelming. Both students and faculty attended.

“We had two staff from [McGill Engineering Student Centre] MESC attending,” Wang said. “They were able to offer their side from advising students in an advisor-student relationship.”

Even though he finds the statistics to be indicative of a larger issue with work-life balance within the faculty, Shi says that they also show that engineering students are not alone when it comes to being overwhelmed. Shi noted that a lot of students at the forum were interested in what their rights are.

“Students want to know more on their rights, so they can hold their professors accountable,” Shi said. “Whether it is scheduling a test [outside of scheduled class time during Add/Drop or the last 14 calendar days of the semester], unclear guidelines, [or] work loads that aren’t related to what students are learning.”

Through the publication of the wellness survey and events, like the open forum, Shi hopes that engineering students recognize that EUS is trying to implement changes to improve the mental health of students in their faculty.

“We want people to know that we are taking action up front,” Shi said. “We want to have a better reporting system soon where students can express their complaints, like online in Google Form.”

The EUS aims to use results of their mental health and wellness survey to improve mental health support for its members.

(Daniel Freed / The McGill Tribune)

Members of the BoG met with students in the first open forum for this purpose in three years.

(Noah Sutton / The McGill Tribune)

Cherry Ng Staff Writer On March 8, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the PostGraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) hosted the McGill Student and Board of Governors Open Forum. The event consisted of overviews of the Board of Governors (BoG), the highest governing body at McGill, presented by Kip Cobbett, Sam Minsberg, Cynthia Price, and Ram Panda of the McGill administration. Afterward, members from Divest McGill expressed concerns about McGill’s investment in fossil fuels, and the Peer Support Centre discussed the centre’s growth statistics. Nightline and CKUT also introduced ongoing club efforts to launch an online mental health chat function and a podcast on student research, while Brainreach North presented its initiative to create supplementary scientific educational materials for schools in remote and Northern Indigenous communities.

According to former SSMU president Ben Ger, an open forum between student groups and the BoG was last held three years ago. Ger commended these type of meetings for engaging students and creating a better relationship with the BoG. “Having Board members see exactly how much students contribute to the community, I think, will make [...] processes at the Board level more reflective of what’s needed on the ground,” Ger said. “It will make governors more appreciative of the amount of work and money the students put into the administration and the school as a whole, beyond their tuition and taxes.”

Divest McGill Since 2012, Divest McGill has lobbied the university to divest its endowment from fossil-fuel related companies and to reinvest in more environmentally responsible alternatives. According to BoG Chair Kip Cobbett, McGill plans to address climate change by reducing the school’s carbon footprint.

“We have committed $10 million dollars to climate research,” Cobbett said. “[....] Our view is that McGill can address climate change much better by doing things to reduce its own emissions and to conduct research on how to move away from fossil fuels to more sustainable fuels.”

According to Divest McGill Organizer

Julia Bugiel, U3 Arts, McGill is not doing enough, despite Cobbett’s statements.

“On the one hand, McGill parades itself as a sustainability leader,” Bugiel said. “On the other hand, McGill’s [choice to fund] the opposition is betting against people who are part of that fight. Is McGill going to be a sustainability leader or a climate profiteer? We cannot be both.”

Although Cobbett presented alternative sustainability methods alternative from divestment, Ger expressed his support for Divest McGill.

“I am grateful for the amount of energy that Divest continues to put into their advocacy work to push the university in the right direction,” Ger said. “I am still hopeful that the university will move towards a divestment strategy in the near future.”

Peer Support Centre In Fall 2016, the Peer Support Centre (PSC) opened a permanent space in the SSMU building and extended its dropin hours starting Winter 2017. Since its launch in Winter 2014, the PSC has provided free one-on-one and confidential peer support and resource referral to all McGill students.

According to David Benrimoh, PSC program evaluation coordinator, the PSC has expanded considerably by partnering with SSMU. “[The PSC has] come quite a way,” Benrimoh said. “In 2014-2015, we had 25 visits total over the whole year. Then, 30 visits the next year. This year, we’ve jumped 500 per cent to 270 visits over the year, and we’re really on track to seeing over 300 students this year.”

Billy Liu, PSC finance coordinator, explained that the increase in student visits is due to a combination of the recent changes to the structure of mental health support at the McGill Counselling and Mental Health Services (MCMHS), as well as the PSC’s operation. “[At MCMHS, students] could end up waiting months, or even a semester, before they even see that initial psychotherapist,” Liu said. “[....] What we already know is that there is this heavy burden on [MCMHS], but I think what we can owe to the growth and transition of our service over the past year is that we now we have a permanent accessible space and have consistent hours.”

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

4 OPINION

Comm e nt a r y

Jake Cruickshank Contributor Over the last several years, the use of unprescribed “study drugs”—stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse—has been steadily rising on university campuses across North America. These drugs are intended to treat individuals with disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For those students without a prescription, however, these drugs produce hyperactivity, which can be experienced as intense focus and productivity. The misuse of these

c omm e nt a r y

Tara Allen-Flanagan Contributor This winter semester, I have been on exchange at the University of Edinburgh. As a student at McGill, I was heading towards either a breakdown or a new level of being.

Two part-time jobs, two extracurricular activities, a volunteering position, and a full-time course load had me sprinting from place to place and spending any free time I had studying. Despite overloading myself with activities, I still felt like I was underachieving and under-participating in comparison to my peers.

McGill students thrive on stress and sleepless nights: They can often be heard on the 3rd floor of McLennan at midnight on a Wednesday bragging about who got the least sleep while getting the best grades. So when I arrived in Edinburgh, I was surprised to find the student lifestyle was entirely different—

Students should be aware of study drug risks drugs as performance-enhancers in this way is understandably appealing; in a time of everincreasing academic pressure, they seem to offer improved focus and stave off fatigue, to the point where some students can’t imagine finals season without them. Their unprescribed use on campus has become fairly normalized, but as the visibility of study drug use rises, the days of unrestricted, unquestioned access may be numbered.

The Oxford University’s Student Union (OUSU) recently unveiled student workshops on study drug use. As an email sent to students explained, “OUSU are rolling out workshops based on student experience and knowledge, exploring the reasons why people might start using smart drugs, and suggesting safe and sustainable solutions.” Oxford’s workshop is just one example of how organizations at universities are becoming more aware of the growing use of study drugs by their students. If students without diagnosable disorders develop a reliance on these drugs in university, they risk

becoming dependent on them to handle stressful situations later in life, or could find themselves

“

Students who become dependent on study drugs as performance-enhancers are creating serious problems for themsleves in the longrun, as they will eventually have to break the habit .

”

in legal trouble.

University puts students through such a crucible of pressure that they come out

ready to handle whatever the workforce throws at them, for at least the next few years. Students who habitually use these drugs without a prescription do not only risk trouble with the law— they are setting themselves up for a hurdle in future stressful work situations, once they have to adapt to the lack of access outside of the campus bubble. Students who become dependent on study drugs as performance-enhancers are creating serious problems for themselves in the long-run, as they will eventually have to break the habit.

The unprescribed use of these drugs isn’t just problematic because they obfuscate a student’s natural abilities.

Adderall is a Schedule I drug in Canada, meaning it can form a chemical dependence and its possession with a prescription is illegal.

The McGill campus bubble has a way of normalizing fairly bad behaviour, particularly when it comes to substance use—one need only look to McGill’s binge drinking culture for evidence of this. While it may

seem innocuous in the campus context, the misuse and sale of study drugs amounts to prescription drug abuse and trafficking. The law doesn’t know what a “study drug” is.

The law only knows what an illegal stimulant is.

Workshops, like the one organized by the OUSU, can be helpful opportunities to remind students of the potential harms of study drug use. If McGill wants to be proactive in addressing the misuse of these stimulants as study aids for any student—rather than their intended use for students with attention disorders—it should consider following Oxford’s example of harm reduction initiatives specific to study drugs.

SSMU would be well served by joining the ranks of Oxford and shedding light on the misuse of these drugs. A non-judgmental, educational environment—that makes the laws as well as potential consequences of unprescribed study drug, use clear—would be a valuable resource for the McGill student body.

Good grades, good friends, or good money: McGill’s work-life balance lets you pick one and exchange students from other North American universities agreed with me. The amount of work that McGill University expects out of its students, without even taking the recommended CV-boosting extracurricular activities into account, takes up all the time that students abroad spend working and partying.

With more limited contact hours between lecturers and students, the education at the University of Edinburgh is less intense than that of McGill University. Three courses at the University of Edinburgh are equivalent to 15 credits at McGill. These courses are each two hours a week, and only have one paper and an exam to complete as requirements. Whether this is a better educational model is up for debate, but six hours of class per week allows for a more reasonable schedule than fifteen.

In the Scottish educational system, high achievers thrive, whereas students who put in minimal effort get minimal results—yet, due to the infrequent class hours and minimal workload, anyone can keep up with the requirements. The qualifier for good grades is the time and effort put into creating a single piece of quality work for three classes, instead of trying to come up with multiple perfect papers for each of your five. Students have fewer assignments to complete, and more time to complete them.

The situation at McGill is a stark contrast. According to a recent survey conducted by the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) at McGill, 74 per cent of undergraduate

engineering students cite academic workload as the most stressful aspect of their major. Despite students’ awareness of the stress of their programs, they continue to prioritize grades over mental wellness—they say that they have little time to take advantage of the mental health services on campus due to academic demands.

This degree of distress about the high workload at McGill cannot be blamed on poor planning and laziness. If 87 per cent of surveyed students felt physically exhausted by their workload, something in the academic system here is flawed.

While there are students struggling to achieve a work-life balance at universities worldwide, there must be a way to find a balance between the low contact-approach at the University and Edinburgh and the high intensity demands of McGill. Surveys, like one conducted by the EUS, bring attention to the problem of work overload at McGill; however, students need to continue talking about this issue. Further, both McGill and students should be aware that this amount of work is not normal everywhere. If it is committed to the wellbeing of its students as well as their GPAs, the university should accept responsibility for the adverse effects of its intense workload on students and work on finding ways to reduce it.

In the meantime, there are some solutions to the problem of balancing work and life. Students should consider taking fewer credits per semester, to ease the mental burden of a full-time student course load while trying to maintain a

healthy lifestyle. This allows more time for non-academic activities, such as a job or participating in extracurriculars.

McGill fosters a competitive environment where doing less academically is sometimes viewed as a failure—I have heard people say that taking less than a fifteen-credit course load is basically “nothing.” Feel free to remind these people that it is important to care for your mind and body instead of just your grades.

No number of tips can help some students cope with the sheer amount of work McGill expects from their students and the all-or-nothing environment that the university fosters. McGill needs to reconsider its curricula if it wants to see well-functioning alumni who remember their time at McGill fondly instead of with heart palpitations.

Students at McGill struggle with the myth of doing it all. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune)

ERRATUM An article in issue 21 titled “Université Laval first university in Canada to divest from fossil fuels” stated that Université Laval is the first Canadian university to divest its endowment funds from fossil fuel-related companies. In fact, Université Laval has only committed to divestment at this point in time and has not yet divested from fossil-fuel related companies.

An article in issue 21 titled “Concordia Write Nights” incorrectly referred to the source quoted, Liam Lachance, as Liam McKenzie.

The Tribune regrets these errors.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

OPINION 5

e n d o r s e m e nt s Editor-in-Chief Julia Dick editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Natalie Vineberg nvineberg@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors April Barrett abarrett@mcgilltribune.com Nicholas Jasinski njasinski@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Holly Cabrera, Sara Cullen, Calvin Trottier-Chi news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jackie Houston & David Watson opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Lydia Kaprelian scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Audrey Carleton studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Albert Park features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Selin Altuntur & Evelyn Goessling arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Joe Khammar & Aaron Rose sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Domitille Biehlmann & Daniel Freed design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Lauren Benson-Armer photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor Noah Sutton multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Clare Lyle webdev@mcgilltribune.com Daniel Lutes online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Areni Nicoghosian copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Mingye Chen business@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executive Zain Hussain ads@mcgilltribune.com

Winter 2017 SSMU Referendum Endorsements Motion Regarding Referendum Question on Constitutional Amendments: “No”

The sole question of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) referendum consists of a series of proposed changes to the SSMU Constitution, as suggested by the Ad-Hoc Democratic Governance Review Committee. The new constitution would contain changes to dozens of current clauses: Notably, it would change the titles and functions of some executive positions, modify the procedures surrounding General Assemblies (GAs), and update the Land Acknowledgement.

While some of the proposed changes would provide meaningful improvements to certain areas of the constitution, they are outweighed by a series of changes that would make some SSMU procedures less transparent, and less democratic.

The proposed changes include several improvements, such as the rebranding of the VP Operations as Vice-President (VP) Sustainability & Operations, and shifts the management of human resources from the VP Finance to the President’s portfolio, where it was prior to the 2016-2017 academic year. However, these understandable administrative tweaks are overshadowed by a series

Health and Dental Insurance Plan Cost Renewal: “Yes” The proposed changes to the Post Graduate Student Society (PGSS) Health and Dental Insurance Plan (HDIP) include several measures that would benefit those covered by the policy, improving the quality of medical care available to graduate students. In addition to renewing the Health and Dental Fee for the next five years, the plan increases students’ coverage for physiotherapy and psychology treatments, as well as preventative dental work. While this question would increase the amount of the

L a u g h in g M att e r s

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participation at the GA, like pushing for cancelled classes on the day of the GA, or even hosting a GA only once per academic year. But amending the constitution in order to move the goalposts—as this motion would—is not the appropriate solution.

Furthermore, one of the proposed changes would no longer require the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) to inform the student body when it holds a confidential session. The BoD already exhibits a lack of transparency, as minutes of their meetings are difficult to obtain online. Especially given recent scandals involving SSMU, the society should be striving to be more transparent and accountable, not less.

Not all of the proposed changes in this motion are negative, and yet they are all included in one question, which only give students the option to approve or reject them all at once. And given the harmful effect some of these changes will have on representation and transparency in SSMU, the Tribune endorses a “No” vote on this motion. Those changes that are beneficial will hopefully be proposed in a future referendum, without being attached to detrimental ones. In the meantime, this motion simply isn’t worth the potential risks.

Winter 2017 PGSS Referendum Endorsements

Publisher Chad Ronalds

André Morin, Angelina Giordano, Avleen Mokha, Ayanna de Graff, Emma Carr, Jake Cruickshank, Julia Briand Legal Information Clinic at McGill, Marie-Agnes Claverie, Miguel Principe, Myriam Driss, Sophie Brzozowski, Stephen Gill, Tara Allen-Flanagan

of detrimental changes which will make SSMU’s functioning less representative and democratic.

This motion lowers the standards of representation for the bi-annual GAs hosted by SSMU. In a major change, this motion would remove the current requirements surrounding quorum for the GA that help ensure a broad range of McGill students are represented at the session.

Currently, quorum for a GA is 100 members, who must be from four different faculties or schools, and with no single faculty accounting for more than 50 of those members. This guarantees that the students present at the GA are roughly representative of the diverse faculties at McGill. The current proposal would remove this protection, instead setting quorum at 100 members, with no consideration for their faculty of origin. For Special GAs, quorum is further loosened from 100 members down to 50, and provisions about the faculty of members are again waived when it comes to submitting agenda items at GAs. In recent years, the SSMU has often struggled to achieve quorum—but loosening the protections that ensure broad representation is an undemocratic way of addressing this issue. The SSMU can and should explore other options to increase

David Watson Opinion Editor It’s no secret that McGill is currently facing a pretty long list of serious problems. The university’s reputation has taken a hit over the recent scandals plaguing the student society. Budget issues persist, as the university continues to deregulate tuition to compensate for funding cuts. The administration continues to clash with student groups over its investments in fossil fuels. A recent report revealed the need to address discrimination in faculty hiring. Not to

fee, the premiums would be renegotiated on a yearly basis to ensure competitive rates, and will be restricted by a maximum cap of $265 for the Health premium, and $219 for the Dental premium. Given that this renewal provides tangible improvements to the medical coverage of graduate students, and includes measures to limit costs, the Tribune endorses voting “Yes” on this motion.

Thomson House Upkeep Description Change: “Yes”

Fee

(PGSP)

This motion does not change the nature

or the amount of the Thomson House Upkeep Fee, which serves to fund the maintenance and improvement of Thomson House. The purpose of this question is to make a change to the description of the fee by removing the caveat that the fee was “not for the purpose of capital investments or leasehold improvements.” This specification prevented the PGSS from using the funds for the maintenance the building, furniture, and grounds of Thomson House. As this change in the language would allow PGSS to use the money it receives from this fee in a less restrained and more effective manner, the Tribune endorses voting “Yes” on this motion.

Solving McGill’s problems, one building sign at a time mention that our section of Sherbrooke can only be generously described as a “street” while the saga of the Great McTavish Ditch drags on.

With all these pressing issues, students and staff alike should be glad to hear that the McGill administration has launched a groundbreaking initiative. As of last month, McGillians have been treated to a bold new surprise: The university now has new building signs.

As the McGill Reporter revealed on Feb. 21, the administration has replaced the building signs on the Downtown Campus, and plans to do the same for MacDonald Campus soon, all as “part of a larger overhaul of exterior signage on McGill campuses.”

Don’t be confused—the old, decrepit, oafish buildings are still the same, it’s just that fancy new signage that gives a concrete slab like the Leacock Building a whole new feeling.

According to the Reporter, the signs are part of an effort to secure McGill’s status as a world-class institution. The signs reflect a “new font, new materials, new design” philosophy, which is apparently part of “a modern design practice observed at

leading North American universities.”

Here the article specifically mentions Harvard and Yale, who presumably have built their prestigious international reputations on the back of their outstanding building signs.

After all, Harvard couldn’t possibly have produced such notable alumni as Bill Gates, Ban Ki-Moon, and eight American presidents, if its building signs were in a lowly font like Comic Sans MS. Of course, the ambitious signage project doesn’t necessarily mean McGill has let its other— more pressing—problems fall to the wayside. But, if the administration is looking to be more efficient, it could consider incorporating some easy fixes to other issues in its new signage project. For instance, it could save students a lot of trouble by simply adding an asterisk on the sign for any building that does exist in theory, but has in reality been rendered totally inaccessible by construction.

The signage overhaul also foresees the installation of an “interactive terminal” at the Roddick Gates, which will provide visitors with information about McGill and

its downtown campus. Perhaps this terminal can also help McGill address some communications issues, and potentially improve its image. With a dizzying number of controversies on campus this year, it can sometimes be hard to remember where students should be directing their anger. A simple interactive app on the Roddick terminal could help clear this up. Concerned about the unethical investments of your university? Yes, you can take that one to the James Building—though results are not guaranteed. Mad about that thing another student said on Twitter? Take that one to SSMU, that’s not the admin’s problem. And of course, the terminal needs to be able to answer that vital question students ask themselves every day: Where is the current samosa sale?

The signage project does come with a degree of self-awareness: The project manager admits that signs are “small details” when it comes to the university as a whole. Let’s just hope the university’s renewed interest in “small details” isn’t a sign that they’ve given up on addressing the McGill’s larger flaws.

6

STUDENT LIVING

Tuesday March 14, 2017

The Common Thread: Teaching Montreal to sew, stitch by stitch Rosemont sewing co-op provides a space for Montrealers to learn to sew

Emma Carr Contributor A few generations ago, sewing was a required class in American schools. Today, many people no longer know how to sew; however, this is slowly changing—sewing is experiencing a resurgence in popularity among DIY enthusiasts.

Increasingly, many people are recognizing the plethora of benefits to sewing—not only does it reduce stress, but it equips one with the knowledge to produce one-of-a-kind pieces for themselves or for profit. But how does one get started without the knowledge or a sewing machine?

That question has been answered by a cooperative maker-space in Rosemont called The Common Thread/Le Fil Commun. The sewing coop, in which artists share materials and knowledge for $10 an hour, describes itself as “a wearable arts studio” that supplies a workspace, industrial sewing equipment, and materials to its members. Founded in November 2016, the Common Thread offers open studio sessions on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. During this time, for a nominal fee, the studio is open for sewing novices to work alongside experienced tailors or to attend drop-in workshops.

According to co-founder and Montreal-based artisan Kiri Skuce, one of the goals of the Common Thread is to provide an accessible and affordable

space for people to explore the art of sewing. Skuce was inspired to form a sewing collective after noticing a gap in craft-based education between the beginner and professional levels.

“I think that in starting this project I have many different goals,” Skuce said. “I think the short-term is to just make [sewing] more accessible for people who just want to get into it because there is pretty much nothing available between not knowing how to sew at all and going into a full-time three-year degree [….] If you already know how to sew, and you need a place to work [as a professional], there isn’t anywhere [to go].”

With the assistance of mentors, neophytes can realize projects they wouldn’t be able to accomplish at home. Amateur craftspeople can learn everything from making patterns to working with industrial machinery.

“So far, mostly novices I would say [come in to the Common Thread],” Skuce said. “People come in to learn the basics. [Our members often] have a project in mind, but don’t have the space to work on it at home […] and with this collection of machines, you can make pretty much anything [….Sewing] can be easy to get into, you just need all of the right things, so we hope to provide that.”

Crafters at the cooperative often find that making their own clothes gives them a newfound appreciation for the material goods they consume

on a daily basis.

The hard work of making a new item of clothing from scratch can be especially rewarding for patrons. Skuce noted that when people make items themselves, they tend to gain a heightened appreciation for manufacturing that lasts long after the class.

The Common Thread makes sewing more accessible to the Montreal community.

“There is a (Hannah Taylor / The McGill Tribune) really interesting thing when you go through that Common Thread by expanding its studio space and process [of sewing your own clothes] where you services for first-time seamstresses. In the coming realize how much work goes into something,” months, the Common Thread will offer classes Skuce said. “Suddenly, something as meaningless for beginners, including belt and sandal-making. as a shirt […] being involved in [its] creation In the meantime, the Common Thread’s members process readjusts your value systems when it comes continue to support each other as they learn in a to these objects that we take for granted. I think it collective space.

“Work gets easier when you are with is the first step to become more sustainable in the things that we consume, because if you realize how more people,” Skuce said. “[….] When you have a dynamic of sharing and trust, valuable a thing is, you are going to maintain it.”

Looking ahead, Skuce hopes to grow the it is contagious.”

Student of the week: Dexter Storey

Storytelling, inspiration, and applying to the Adobe Creative Residency Project Flaminia Cooper Staff Writer Dexter Storey describes himself as a storyteller. The U0 Engineering student and aspiring Architecture major from Victoria, BC, has been telling tales for most of his life, first by acting, then slowly moving into photography, film, and graphic design throughout high school. His most recent interest is fashion design.

At the end of February, Storey applied for the Adobe Creative Residency, an initiative that provides an opportunity for creative individuals to spend a year working on personal projects and sharing their experiences.

“Basically what they do is they pick two people [...] to represent Adobe as a bit of a youth ambassador as they fund you with a year’s salary to do creative projects,” Storey said. “They would pay for any sort of project you want to do, any travelling you need to do, any equipment you need, it just kind of makes your creative dreams come true.”

Instead of being inspired by the physical aspects of an object or piece, Storey is more interested in the story behind it, and works on making his tales more personal by integrating his own experiences.

“I take a lot of inspiration from a lot of other work I see,” Storey said. “It’s cool to be able to look at something and say, ‘[...] What is the story behind [what] they’re telling and how can I interpret that story, change it, and make it my own?’ or, ‘How can I find an idea that I see [...] and kind of translate it into my own mind and then add parts of my own stories to it to make it happen?’”

Storey recently finished a 52-week project in which he shared a photo a week over the course of a year. Several of them are self-portraits, which allows him to express his stories more personally.

Storey has accumulated artistic skills over the past few years through self-taught experimentation

with photography, videography, and graphic design. Additionally, he acquires knowledge by observing other artists and creatives. Storey will often reach out to peers and artists that inspire him, and ask them to help him improve his understanding of their talents. For instance, Storey found interest in a professional photographer friend

how to make it happen.”

While Storey is used to using multiple mediums, his Adobe residency application video required him to find a way to express everything he wanted to do in one medium. He explained that the form to apply for the Adobe residency had a single ambiguous section in which the applicant could

Dexter Storey strives to tell stories with his multimedia artwork. (flickr.com) he knew in high school, and, after accompanying her on a photoshoot, began actively following his interest in photography.

“I try to find one person who I’m really inspired by and try to get them to mentor me on some specifics on how to do what I’m trying to do,” Storey said. “[....] I think [gaining inspiration is] about finding someone who is really good at what you want to do and just picking their brain about

upload their work.

“Adobe basically [...] just had one link which [said], ‘Link to supporting visuals,’” Storey said. “If you’re a graphic designer, you’d submit something that’s graphic design, if you’re a photographer you’d submit something thats photography, but what I want to do is not something like video, photography, graphic design—I want to do storytelling, so I wanted to create a project that

could show them that I can tell stories in any medium.”

He decided the best way to show his love for storytelling was to tell his own life story, using animation, photography, and graphic design throughout his application video. He attributes much of his success to his family and friends, who strongly support his ambitions.

“I think with the video, I was really lucky to have so many people who shared it and are helping me get to where I want to with these crazy ideas in my head. So I guess a huge thank you to the community who supports me,” Storey said. “I know everyone says this, but it really is true that you can’t do it without them.”

Storey’s passion for storytelling is unfortunately limited by his budget and busy schedule. He often pays for his projects out of his own pocket, and therefore doesn’t always have the money to afford the materials he needs to execute his creative visions. As a full-time student, he also struggles to find the time to work on his art.

“I have all these really cool ideas written down on my phone or in my notebook, and they don’t come to life because I can’t afford to make them happen or I don’t have the time,” Storey said.

“There’s just restrictions or roadblocks in the way.

So, I’m really excited about the potential [of] the Adobe project because it would remove the barriers and allow me to explore without bounds.”

Storey is supposed to hear back from Adobe in a few weeks, and if he is successful, will take a year off from studying at McGill to complete the Creative Residency.

With such a fitting last name, it only seems natural for Dexter Storey to actively pursue his passion. The Adobe Creative Residency gives him the creative freedom he is looking for, and hopefully, in a year’s time, he will find himself travelling and storytelling for the program without limits.

SSMU & PGSS ELECTIONS 2017-2018 Election Statement

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) has had years of tumult in the past–just last year, the building manager and the Vice-President (VP) Internal resigned, the subsequent by-election was marred by online attacks against one of the candidates, and the year ended with all the executives feeling burned out having worked, at times, over 100 hours a week.

But this year stands out. The executive team lacks diversity. Further, two resigned following allegations of assault and gendered violence. Scandal has marred the

Society and harmed many of its members.

Students are alienated and dismayed by such stories–many are even more upset b what appears to be a year defined by inaction and a lack of accountability. Yet this year, the ballot for SSMU elections is diverse–seven women and six people of colour are in the running. In the context of this year, they will all face incredible challenges in rebuilding trust between students and their representative body.

The Society exists to serve student interests. The McGill Tribune works to hold its representatives accountable. Thus, we interviewed each candidate, asking them questions regarding their experience, portfolio, and goals for next year.

Arguably, it is more important this year than in recent memory for students

to inform themselves. Our coverage is a guide; ultimately, students must take responsibility in electing their leaders for next year. The impulse for dissociation is understandable, but change is only possible through engagement.

Process

In order to present the most informed endorsement decisions possible, our editors were mandated to attend the PGSS and SSMU debates in person. Furthermore, we conducted in-person interviews with all of the candidates for both PGSS and SSMU, which all editors were required to attend.

The endorsements are the product of an Editorial Board meeting in which we addressed every position, debated, and voted. In order to earn The McGill Tribune’s

endorsement, a candidate had to receive a two-thirds majority vote, while a simple majority would result in an endorsement with reservations. Reservations could also be appended to any “Yes” endorsement with the approval of a simple majority.

In the spirit of transparency and as a matter of upholding The McGill Tribune’s credibility, we feel it imperative to make the process behind these decisions public.

Should you have questions or concerns about our editorial process—or its outcomes—please send us an email at editor@ mcgilltribune.com.

SSMU CANDIDATES

Helen Ogundeji President

H

elen Ogundeji, U3 Arts, has three years of floor fellow experience, two years on the Black Students’ Network (BSN) executive team, and one year as president of the Sociology Students’Association (SSA) under her belt. Ogundeji also served as Secretary General of the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) in the 2015-16 school year and she currently chairs SSMU’s Equitable Governance Reform Committee.

Ogundeji’s platform is built around rebuilding trust between SSMU and its membership, and ensuring that all students feel included and represented by student governance. Her platform is based on three core goals: Efficiency and collaboration, accountability, and student advocacy. As part of the first pillar, she plans to use the SSMU Projects Fund to create more paid positions that will support the work of SSMU executives in completing previous and implementing new projects.

In keeping with her goal of achieving accountability, Ogundeji plans to create a code of conduct for SSMU executives, whcih she will work on via an ad-hoc committee.

Finally, as part of her plan for student advocacy, Ogundeji aims to make mental health services more accessible to racialized students on campus through the creation of a team of counsellors who are people of colour.

MUNA TOJIBOEVA President

T

ojiboeva has served as the chief justice of the Judicial Board (J-Board) of SSMU for three years and as the president of the Sociology Students Association (SSA), as well as McGill Students for UN Women in the 2015-16 school year.

Tojiboeva’s platform is based on transparency–she is aware that many students currently distrust SSMU, and strives to repair this relationship from within the system. She aims to improve mental health services for students, improve accountability in SSMU’s democratic, financial, and equity systems, and plans to create a sexual violence policy within SSMU. Tojiboeva also plans to reform the J-Board by drafting a constitutional amendment to formally separate it from the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD). She hopes that this will ensure a separation of powers, making SSMU more accountable.

She has direct experience with the intricacies of SSMU governance bodies, and she hopes this will help her characterize her presidency by action, rather than inaction--which she believes has plagued this year’s SSMU executives.

LUKAS SHANNON President

L

ukas Shannon, U2 Science, has experience in comedy–having founded an improv group on campus–and his experience in high school football. Shannon believes that his skills as a natural leader, his dedication to the people he would serve, and his belief in the innate goodness of people would be his greatest assets in this position.

Shannon’s platform is based on accessibility and engagement with SSMU. He hopes to establish daily opendoor hours for SSMU executives, in which students can speak freely and openly to them about their concerns on campus. He also plans to prioritize the establishment of a Sexual Assault Policy. Shannon cites his bilingualism as an asset to his campaign, and hopes to establish a clear outline for students who are interested in learning French to do so.

Endorsement Muna Tojiboeva Following a tumultuous year of scandals, all three candidates recognize the importance of rebuilding trust and engagement with SSMU in their presidency.

While Tojiboeva and Ogundeji are both qualified candidates with strong backgrounds in student government bodies and campus matters, it is Tojiboeva who possesses a stronger action plan for establishing accountability within the executive team. As such, The McGill Tribune endorses Tojiboeva for SSMU president.

Through her experience on the SSMU J-Board, Tojiboeva has gained firsthand knowledge of the power dynamics both within SSMU and on campus as a whole, preparing her for a productive presidency.

Her fluency in French and understanding of the francophone community during her campaign are clear examples of her commitment to serving this group on campus.

Her focus on the Sexual Violence Policy is another impressive point of her

platform. She plans to work with the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) and the Peer Support Network to address allegations of sexual violence by SSMU executives and to call for the immediate suspension of those accused of committing such acts.

Tojiboeva’s approach to retrieving students’ trust in SSMU is realistic and efficient, making her the best candidate for the role.

While her thoroughly educated reform plans for the J-Board are an actionable and–given a recent motion to restricts its oversight–timely aspect of her platform, should she be elected, Tojiboeva should ensure that her past affiliation with the J-Board does not inappropriately influence her position as President, or blur the distinction between the judicial and executive capacities of SSMU.

Connor Spencer VP External

C

onnor Spencer’s experience comes from her work organizing student protests on campus and across Montreal for the past four years, especially protests for McGill Against Austerity, where she worked closely with the two most recent VP Externals. Spencer has also been directly involved in off-campus organizations, including À La Rue Montreal, a student advocacy group that protests in pursuit of free education and against unpaid internships.

One of Spencer’s major platform points is to create a link between McGill and other Montreal campuses for students to be better educated and more unified when lobbying the government for change in education policy. Spencer also hopes to encourage McGill students to vote in favour of joining the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ).

In her platform, she outlines her intentions to support the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) and other campus labour unions and to create a stand-alone Gendered and Sexualized Violence Policy, distinct from the McGill administration’s Sexual Violence Policy.

Spencer is bilingual and has expressed her intentions to address the francophone affairs and indigenous affairs portions of the portfolio, but has no official platform point addressing these groups.

Endorsement- Yes Spencer’s extensive experience in student activism in Montreal gives her an advantage in preparation for the VP External portfolio. Spencer demonstrates knowledge and passion for organizing protests and working with student advocacy groups in both English and French. Still, Spencer exhibits considerable depth of thought and familiarity with provincial lobbying and other essential aspects of the portfolio, such as indigenous affairs and gendered violence. For these reasons, The McGill Tribune endorses her for the VP External position.

Spencer correctly stated that, regardless of personal beliefs, the VP External must support all SSMU-mandated student political campaigns. Yet she also stated that she would continue to support the controversial Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, regardless of the fact that it is not a SSMU campaign as it failed to pass in online ratification following the Winter 2016 General Assembly (GA) and the J-Board’s ruling that the campaign is unconstitutional in May 2016.

While Spencer is entitled to hold her own beliefs, she should be diligent not to cross the line between championing a personal cause and supporting what the portfolio is mandated to advocate.

Spencer expressed strong commitment to joining AVEQ, citing a lack of information as the reason why McGill students voted against affiliation in the Winter 2016 referendum. She did not, however, have a concrete plan for how to educate students on the benefits of joining a student federation. Spencer plans to ensure that her platform–accessibility, and strengthening community–tier is implemented with sustainability in mind.

Aaron Rose, Areni Nicoghosian, David Watson, and Holly Cabrera disagree with the views presented in this endorsement.

Maya Koparkar VP Internal

Jemark Earle VP Student Life

J

emark Earle, U3 Music, has been as a floor fellow for two years and served as the VP Health and Athletics representative for the Music Undergraduate Students Association (MUSA) and the Frugal Scholar for the Schulich School of Music for one year. His platform focuses on Mental Health First Aid, student-led campaigns, and his own personal projects.

Earle is cognizant of how long the transition to the current Counselling and Mental Health service has taken, and hopes to further ease this transition through the training of SSMU executives in Mental Health First Aid and more resources in mental health. He also hopes to bring more student-led advocacy and awareness campaigns to campus, including the “I don’t say” campaign, which raises awareness about language that is offensive to marginalized identities, and the “Pro-Pronouns” campaign, which normalizes the use of correct gender pronouns in daily life.

Further, some of Earle’s own personal projects include the establishment of a Mental Health minor and the reallocation of club space in the SSMU building.

Endorsement- No Though Earle has extensive experience working with students as a floor fellow and member of student government at the Faculty level, and shows passion for their needs, he does not show adequate understanding of the responsibilities of VP Student Life. As such, The McGill Tribune does not endorse him.

While his strong focus on mental health is admirable and mental health was moved under the VP Student Life portfolio this year, his platform ignores the essential day-to-day responsibilities of the position. In addition to a thorough understanding of the functioning and requirements of student clubs and services, tasks include organizing Activities Night, transitioning clubs to Independent Student Groups, and manage the SSMU Services Review Committee. The VP Student Life is tasked with the management of over 150 student groups and has experienced difficulty this year as current executives placed a moratorium on the creation of new clubs that has yet to be lifted.

Because these are the established priorities of the position, all other long-term projects should come second to these.

Neither Earle’s platform nor his interview conveyed adequate knowledge of his mandate. His failure to address these aspects of the portfolio is troubling, and makes him an unfit candidate for the position.

Daniel Freed disagrees with the views presented in this endorsement.

M

aya Koparkar is the only candidate running for VP Internal. In addition to working under this year’s VP internal as Internal Logistics Coordinator, Koparkar has been a member of the Students’ Society Programming Network (SSPN) for two years, and was the VP Internal of the Molson Hall Council in her first year. Through her ongoing involvement in McGill student life, she has gained a thorough understanding of both the VP Internal portfolio and event-planning logistics and processes.

For Koparkar, the VP Internal is not only an event planner, but also the portfolio that humanizes SSMU as an organization.

Accordingly, her platform focuses on three main pillars: Integration and cohesion of the portfolio with other SSMU bodies and resources, diversifying and increasing awareness of events while maintaining their inclusivity and equity, and first-year engagement.

To improve integration and cohesion of the portfolio with other SSMU bodies, she plans to consult directly with various SSMU commissioners on how the outputs of the her portfolio can be improved.

Furthermore, she wants to introduce more diverse and smaller events to the SSMU calendar and implement feedback methods for each event. She also hopes to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the Dean of Students Christopher Buddle to apply the McGill Code of Conduct to Frosh.

She emphasizes first-year engagement as a means of fostering a positive relationship with SSMU across each student’s McGill experience, as the most important part of her platform.

To this end, she plans to work closely with the First Year Council (FYC) through regular check-ins and assistance with budgeting and calendar structuring.

Endorsement- Yes The McGill Tribune endorses Maya Koparkar for the role of VP Internal. In addition to her strong interpersonal skills and clear commitment to the job, her event-planning experience on the SSPN and direct engagement with the VP Internal portfolio as an Internal Logistics Coordinator give her the necessary tools for next year.

Koparkar recognized that the VP Internal is the most visible portfolio on the SSMU executive team. Beyond planning parties, the VP Internal is responsible for effective communication with students and keeping the pulse on student life. However, the most concrete parts of her platform are events-centric. Should she be elected, she should be sure to afford the communication and outreach aspects of her portfolio the same attention and thought that she will give to the SSMU events calendar.

Additionally, while well-intentioned, Koparkar’s promises of diversified, smaller events and increasing first-year engagement do not necessarily bring anything new to the VP Internal portfolio, and her methods to implement these ideas lack specificity. She must for further to complement these intentions with actionable plans.

Anuradha Mallik VP Operationns

AlexanderDow VP University Affairs

A

nuradha Mallik, U2 Science and Music, is running unopposed for the position of VP Operations. Mallik has worked as the head of communications for the Water for Life project in 2013-2014 and has served as the chargée d’affaires of the Secondary Schools’ United Nations Symposium (SSUNS) in 2017. She also served as a floor fellow from 20162017.

Mallik’s platform is heavily focused on sustainability, intending to develop strong cooperation between McGill’s Office of Sustainability and SSMU to ensure further distribution and development of various sustainability projects. She also plans to continue to work on McGill’s Sustainability Policy alongside the VP University Affairs. Mallik emphasizes building on SSMU’s recent ratification of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She states she will continue the Environmental Committee of SSMU– a roundtable discussion on sustainability with representatives from different faculties and SSMU. Mallik believes that the success of Gerts relies heavily on continuing BARmacy and encouraging active bystander culture.

She would also like to continue the current VP Operations’ efforts to advertise Sadie’s and plans to develop an equitable hiring strategy.

Additionally, Mallik intends to advance the “crash pad” project–an area in the SSMU building where students can spend the night on campus–expanding it for Frosh and implementing it on other late-night events, such as exam seasons or Nuit Blanche. She also wishes to increase the SSMU lounge space to the secondfloor cafeteria.

Endorsement- No While Mallik has a fairly robust background working in logistics and operations, her lack of experience directly working with SSMU is a clear weakness. More importantly, she seems to lack adequate understanding of and planning for her portfolio.

Mallik does not propose many original ideas to improve the operation of Gerts and Sadie’s, opting to encourage initiatives that are already in place, such as BARmacy. She also did not seem knowledgeable of the difficulties that arise in operating a studentrun business, and was unaware of the financial difficulties that have faced Sadie’s (formerly the Student-Run Cafeteria) in the past. Similarly, although Mallik’s focus on sustainability is admirable and necessary, she does not bring enough concrete ideas in the context of her portfolio.

Her plans to continue the Environmental Committee of SSMU and bolster SSMU’s relationship with the Office of Sustainability are good preliminary steps, and display a willingness to collaborate with experts on matters of sustainability. However, her explanations were vague and she did not provide sufficient practical plans to actually improve the sustainability of the building’s day-to-day operations.

Overall, Mallik seems to have a weak grasp of how the SSMU building operates and the problems its users and tenants face. Her proposal to expand the SSMU lounge, while idealistic, lacks careful planning. Her idea to introduce equitable hiring at Sadie’s is admirable, but she could not fully elaborate on how she would approach this agenda in relation to the business’s current hiring procedures.

I

Isabelle oke VP University Affairs

sabelle Oke, U3 Arts, focuses her platform for VP University Affairs on three main pillars: Campus outreach, student rights, and accessible services. Oke draws from her experience as the president of McGill’s Black Students’ Network (BSN) and a floor fellow in Carrefour Sherbrooke.

Furthermore, she serves as the floor fellow representative on the executive for AMUSE. With equity as a central tenet of the VP University Affairs portfolio, Oke emphasizes the importance of the VP University Affairs’ role to push forward the accountability process within the SSMU executive.

Oke plans to use campus outreach as a method for rebuilding student trust in SSMU. In order to best advocate for student concerns, Oke recognizes the need for conversation; however, when executives get overwhelmed, Oke cites outreach as the first thing to be neglected in their portfolios. Oke plans to mitigate these effects by hiring students to talk about SSMU in positions dedicated specifically to campus outreach.

In her platform, Oke seeks to address the obstacles and barriers to success for students of specific backgrounds, namely first-generation and foster-care students. She plans to use McGill-specific data and the reports conducted by previous VP University Affairs to enhance the accessibility of campus resources such that McGill achieves a higher retention rate and recruits from a wider range of demographics while ensuring adequate support is in place.

A

lexander Dow, U3 Engineering and current Student Senator for the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS), brings substantial experience to his candidacy for the VP University Affairs position.

Per its slogan–“students first”–Dow’s platform’s goals include representation of the voice of undergraduate students at the McGill Senate while assisting student senators in understanding the priorities of the students they serve. He seeks to hold the university accountable to the documents that they present by ensuring that they provide information as well as the methodology for how they came to conclusions.

His experience on various Administrative Committees, including the Academic Policy Committee, the University Teaching Lab Working Group, the University Health and Safety Committee, informs his platform. He seeks to adjust the Faculty Academic Roundtable–chaired by the VP University Affairs–to become a space to develop solutions for problems that span across faculties at McGill. Furthermore, he would seek to improve the transparency of student funds across campus by developing templates for its governance.

Dow identifies the VP University Affairs’ role as Equity Officer as the portfolio’s most important. As the SSMU Equity Policy is expiring in 2018, he would hold open consultation to ensure that its language is appropriate and up-to-date. He identifies McGill Counselling and Mental Health Services as a space that requires a greater student voice in particular, which he would work toward by communicating with the Executive Director of Student Services, the VP Student Life, and senators. Further, he would seek to improve the Code of Student Conduct, which will be open for revisions in September 2017.

His platform states that he will consult students and stakeholders in this process.

Finally, Dow hopes to improve the communication and outreach of the Library Improvement Fund while holding the university accountable for its plans for the Fiat Lux project.

Endorsement isabelle oke With a strong emphasis in both her interview with The McGill Tribune and her online platform, Oke has demonstrated a thoughtful and clear notion of equity–an essential characteristic for the VP University Affairs position.

Oke has cited specific policies and research projects she hopes to leverage and advance within the VP University Affairs portfolio, including the Sexual Violence Policy and the first-time deferral request initiative.

Oke seeks to broaden the range of groups brought in for consultation. With plans to hire students in campus outreach positions, Oke stressed the importance of flexibility and hearing the concerns of all student groups, rather than

only those involved with governance directly.

While both Oke and Dow hold considerable qualifications for the role, Oke’s experience as the floor fellow representative to AMUSE provides her with a nuanced perspective of negotiating with the university administration. Moreover, through her involvement with the BSN, Oke has experience facilitating meaningful consultation with minority student voices.

If elected, Oke will likely have a steeper learning curve for the position as she has not held a seat on Senate, unlike Dow; however, Oke exemplified a thorough understanding of the needs of students and experience bargaining with the university in advocating for their rights.

A

risha Khan, U2 Arts, is running unopposed for the VP Finance position and is the current SSMU Funding Commissioner. Khan is also a SSMU Representative on the McGill Innovation Steering Committee and is conducting research for SSMU on students from foster care who attend McGill. Additionally, Khan was a finance and operations assistant at SSMU during the 2015-2016 academic year and has experience working for the Government of Ontario. Notably, Khan helped develop a $450 million funding model in her position with Ontario Public Service in 2016.

The main points of Khan’s platform include updating SSMU’s operational systems in order to reduce the current burden on human resources, making SSMU’s financial information more readily accessible via a VP Finance website, creating opportunities for professional finance development that will be accessible to student group executives, and creating a working group to guide SSMU’s socially sustainable short and long-term finance strategies.

Khan said she plans to reach out to other Canadian student societies in order to get a better idea of financial strategies that are working at other universities and see if they can be applied to SSMU. She also believes that SSMU’s Ethical Investment Plan should be more sustainable and would like to formulate it so that the plan is re-examined more frequently to help students understand where their money is going.

Khan plans to create graphic summaries of SSMU finances and share these on the new VP Finance website.

Endorsement- Yes Khan’s extensive experience with finance both in and outside of SSMU makes her an ideal candidate for the VP Finance position. Khan’s concrete ideas for streamlining SSMU’s current financial operating system and support for clubs are promising for SSMU to cut costs in a way that is efficient and non-detrimental to SSMU services and clubs.

Her initiative to communicate with other student executives outside of McGill also shows Khan’s dedication to SSMU’s success and genuine interest in the VP Finance portfolio.

Khan also stated that she considers herself to be more of a public servant than a politician, demonstrating her goal to put students first.

Additionally, through her acknowledgment of SSMU’s current lack of financial transparency and her clear plans to improve dialogue and student interest, such as through the creation of a dedicated VP Finance website, Khan demonstrates that she intends to rectify the issues that she became familiar with in her time as funding commissioner and finance and operations assistant at SSMU. Khan’s comprehensive platform, strategies for positive change, and relevant work experience all indicate that she will easily be able to assume the role of VP Finance and build on the work of this year’s executives with a relatively flat learning curve.

Pgss Candidates

Arisha Khan VP Finance

Steve Beukema Internal Affairs

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teve Beukema is a PhD student in Neuroscience running for the position of Internal Affairs Officer (IAO). While completing his master’s degree, Beukema organized events for the Psychology Graduate Student Association at Western University. At McGill, he has been working as the VP Social for the Graduate Student Association for Neuroscience (GSAN) for the past year. Beukema plans to continue hosting events that are inclusive to international students and minorities, including Equity Week and Love Sex Week, both of which were pioneered by the current IAO, Mina Anadolu.

Beukema is a proponent of fact-based decision making, stressing the importance of communicating with PGSS members after events. In order to facilitate this conversation, he plans to create an online event calendar and use the messaging service Slack as a platform to hear from student representatives directly. He also promises to host more events at the Macdonald Campus.

An amateur magician and pianist, Beukema hopes to organize events that are mentally and physically engaging in order to keep students actively interested in PGSS. His ideas include laser tag, axe throwing, and a charity student art auction to benefit mental health initiatives.

Mansha Imtiyaz Internal Affairs

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ansha Imtiyaz is completing her Master’s in Computer Science with startup experience as a social media manager and operations manager. While completing her undergraduate degree, she was Student President of the McGill branch of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. In her past year at McGill, she has been involved in organizing events with the Internal Affairs Committee and the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Imtiyaz aims to host more culturally inclusive events—celebrating holidays, such as Holi, Hanukkah, and Chinese New Year—in order to accommodate the range of international students attending McGill. In addition, she plans to increase awareness and outreach to students struggling with mental health issues, isolation, or physical trauma by using social media to connect them to other students who have experienced similar ordeals.

Imtiyaz hopes to promote innovation and entrepreneurship by ensuring that students have a multitude of networking opportunities to choose from.

She also plans to aid graduate students in obtaining guidance and investment from mentors in their respective fields.

Endorsement Mansha Imtiyaz The McGill Tribune endorses Mansha Imtiyaz as IAO. While both candidates are thoroughly qualified, Imtiyaz demonstrates greater concern with extending her work as IAO beyond organizing events.

Imtiyaz’s platform highlights the specific goal of providing students with dynamic networking opportunities. Beukema’s platform only cites neuroscience events, such as BrainReach and Neurosymposium, as examples of events where students could advance their career goals.

In addition, Imtiyaz’s experience working with the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship will undoubtedly put her at an advantage when organizing events for graduate students in a multitude of departments.

Furthermore, Imtiyaz’s plan to use social media as a way to increase mental health awareness and outreach is a notably innovative addition to her platform. The work of the Internal Affairs Officer is often perceived as that of a party planner—yet Imtiyaz promises to provide graduate students with more than just opportunities to socialize. As Imtiyaz recognizes, many individuals could greatly benefit from developing connections with other students who have lived through similar struggles and experiences—especially in the context of Graduate Studies, where a heavy workload can often result in stress and social isolation. Provided Imtiyaz follows through with these promises, she will likely make an excellent Internal Affairs Officer.

Jacob Lavigne SecretaryGeneral

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acob Lavigne, PhD student in Experimental Surgery, currently serves as External Affairs Officer of the PGSS. He has experience in Senate, committees, and various clubs, such as the 3D Printing Club. As Secretary General, he aims to advocate for graduate student space, promote a culture of innovation, address international students’ challenges, improve mental health services, and enforce bylaws.

Lavigne will prioritize the lack of space on campus at the Board of Governors (BoG), on which the Secretary-General serves as the only representative of postgraduate students. He supports campus expansion, but in a proximate, sustainable, and socially responsible manner, instead of sprawling across the city. Specifically, he hopes to reach out to Macdonald Campus and develop the Royal Victoria Hospital. In general, he wants expansion to be conducive to carbon neutrality.

As External Affairs Officer, Lavigne believes in the importance of professional events. He hopes to have events similar to hackathons, foster innovative thinking, and better publicize the opportunities on campus.

Lavigne seeks to improve the retention of international students. He claims that crucial topics to address as Secretary General are access to health insurance and culturally-sensitive resources.

Lavigne wants to take a preventive approach to mental health. He intends to alleviate stress through experiential learning opportunities and flexible curriculums. Additionally, he will promote existing health services to students.

Finally, on all action plans, Lavigne wants to ensure increased access to these documents as required by PGSS bylaws. He believes this is bureaucratically the most important part of his platform and hopes that it will improve institutional memory.

Endorsement- yes The McGill Tribune endorses Jacob Lavigne for SecretaryGeneral. His platform and overall organizational approach is self-reflective and pragmatic, highlighted by his idea to scrap events where necessary and his admittance of the issue of bylaws commonly being ignored.

PGSS will benefit from his institutional knowledge, which will ensure continuity, and his past experience working with the society will help him adapt to his new role. Furthermore, his bilingualism will help him engage the francophone community, and his experiences from studying outside of the province will help him bring fresh ideas to the campus.

What Lavigne requires, however, is a clear plan of action.

He recognizes a wide variety of issues to address, but was vague about the actual process of achieving the variety of goals he has set for himself. As the only PGSS student representative on the BoG he has the opportunity to push for policies, but he was less definitive about his relationship with the administration than other parts of his portfolio. However, he showed himself to be capable of effective strategizing. As Secretary-General, Lavigne will address his projects with efficiency, professionalism and attention to detail.

Matthew Satterthwaite Financial affairs

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atthew Satterthwaite is a Neuroscience graduate student with a focus on decision-making and Neuroeconomics. Satterthwaite attended McGill for his undergraduate degree and was an Arts and Sciences representative to SSMU in his last year. Since becoming a graduate student, he has been a member of the Internal Affairs Committee and is currently the Neuroscience Representative to the PGSS. Satterthwaite wants to push for financial transparency to allow PGSS members access to the budgets, fund balances, and financial statements. He would like to see transparency outside of the fiscal portfolio, as well. Satterthwaite is encouraging the entire society to be more open with its proceedings.

In his platform, he also advocates for an Ethical Investment Policy. The policy would be crafted in conjunction with the Policy and Structure Advisory Committee to outline the parameters for companies to invest.

Satterthwaite also wants to expand PGSS sponsorship opportunities. He would like to institute either a Sponsorship Commissioner or a Sponsorship Committee within his portfolio in order to expand revenue.

One of Satterthwaite’s goals is to form a stronger connection with Postgraduate Student Associations (PGSAs) in the form of “Financial Roundtables” to discuss the budget, fees, funds, and any other questions the associations may have.

Endorsement- yes

The McGill Tribune endorses Matthew Satterthwaite as the next PGSS Financial Affairs Officer. He has a wealth of experience in student government through his time as both an undergraduate and graduate student at McGill. These experiences will be valuable as the Financial Affairs Officer.

That being said, his experiences seem to centre around the management of a team rather than managing a budget as large as that of the PGSS. There will be a learning curve as he adjusts to the different needs and conditions of the position.

He seems to have done research into the key issues affecting the PGSS and states the Macdonald Campus graduate students’ potential secession from the society as the biggest challenge for the portfolio. Proactively, he is exploring additional avenues of funding, such as increased advertising, to make up for the potential loss in student fees.

Overall, Satterthwaite’s platform would serve the Financial Affairs Officer portfolio and the PGSS well. He has a solid plan of action and has accounted for potential roadblocks and challenges next year. While he may struggle with the immediate learning curve, he should acclimate well to the demands of the position.

Chris Leeks, who is running for Financial Affairs Officer according to the PGSS website, did not respond to The McGill Tribune for comment.

JennyAnn Pura Member Services

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ennyAnn Pura, a PhD student in Experimental Surgery, is running unopposed for the position she currently occupies: Member Services Officer. From 2012-2013, Pura served as VP External and president of the Post-Graduate Student Association (PGSA) Experimental Surgery from 2013-2016.

The Member Services Officer advocates for PGSS members on matters related to university student services, and campus-wide student organizations. In collaboration with the PGSS staff, the Officer is responsible for managing all member services of the Society, such as the Health and Dental Insurance Plan, the PGSS annual handbook, the Member Legal Defence Fund, and the Grants Program. Issues regarding sustainability are also within the Officer’s purview.

As the present Officer, Pura’s platform consists of carrying on projects she oversaw from the 2016-2017 school year, most notably the Study Saturdays program. Additionally, she seeks to maintain an open door policy to foster an open and safe environment for students.

Endorsement- yes

With her experience as a Member Services Officer, Pura has circumvented the learning curve presented to newly elected PGSS Executives. During her term, Pura coordinated Study Saturdays–a free service allowing student parents to have their children cared for. Pura collaborated with SSMU VP Student Life Elaine Patterson to move the program to the Shatner Building, making the service more accessible than it was in Thomson House’s more limited space.

Moreover, Pura, along with the incumbent Academic Affairs Officer Nicholas Dunn, lobbied for the creation of a Member Services Committee, which PGSS Legislative Council approved in December 2016. While the committee currently only has one member, Pura’s return to the Member Services Officer position will allow her to realize the committee’s potential as an asset to her portfolio.

Her time in office centred on reviewing the PGSS Health and Dental Plan, leading up to the renewal referendum taking place later. Pura has also organized networking trips for postgraduate students by working alongside the McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS) and alumni.

In addition, Pura has secured funding for leisure courses, including meditation hours so that students can de-stress at the start of their week.

In exercising her role, Pura demonstrated her ability to follow through with her plans. Although it took some time for Pura’s projects to be implemented and her absence at the PGSS debate called her commitment to this year’s campaign into question, she clearly has valuable experience and the passion to improve her initiatives.

Shufeng Zhou Academic Affairs

Thomas Colbourne Academic Affairs

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homas Colbourne, PhD student in Philosophy, has experience both with the Academic Policy Committee on Senate and the Council of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. In both, Colbourne was involved in program changes and believes he has applicable insight into the institutional processes.

He intends to promote communication with constituents, professional development, renovating the library, and improving both funding and supervision.

In order to make appropriate decisions in his work with the upper administration of McGIll, Colbourne wants to improve communication with his constituents. To do so, he will make himself available before and after Council sessions. Additionally, he hopes for his policies to reflect the specific needs of various PGSAs. Colbourne intends to work with Career Planning Services (CaPS) and SKILLSETS to make students more competitive on the job market. With the administration, he will push to address the course exclusion issue, which makes it difficult for different departments to allocate teaching opportunities. He believes that career assistance is faculty specific and desires practical advice from supervisors and advising resources.

Colbourne seeks to be involved with library renovations. By working with the Dean of Libraries, he will push for more locker space, private rooms, and presentation spaces for graduate students. He also intends to provide teacher’s assistants with private office space.

Finally, Colbourne believes that sitting on the Steering Committee—which decides the questions asked at senate—is important for enacting policies, and sees Senate as an opportunity to raise questions and hold the university accountable to student concerns.

S

hufeng Zhou, PhD student in Experimental Surgery, has experience as VP of the Medical Students Society, at a medical university in China. Additionally, she feels that she has applicable practical experience managing research programs as a McGill student for eight years. Her platform consists of improving library spaces, increasing opportunities for international students, and improving degree advising and supervision as well as scholarships.

Zhou hopes to work with the Dean of Libraries to renovate the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) into a library and a student academic activity centre, arguing that most other universities have a version of the latter.

Zhou intends to improve the lives of international students. She hopes to implement a “pre-McGill program” to help prepare international students to integrate into the university. This program would teach incoming international students English and skills to assist their applications. She feels that this would benefit McGill as well by yielding the comparative advantages of diversity.

More generally, Zhou seeks to provide better services to all students. She argues that McGill should reduce tuition for PhD students after they have completed a comprehensive exam. She also hopes to allow students over 25 years old to be eligible for student metro passes in Montreal.

Finally, Zhou wants to improve communication both with Macdonald Campus students and with professors. She wants to reform the student feedback system so that students can see each others’ feedback.

Endorsement Thomas Colbourne The McGill Tribune endorses Thomas Colbourne for Academic Affairs Officer. Colbourne has the institutional experience to adapt to the role. In his interview with The McGill Tribune he demonstrated knowledge of what the incumbent Academic Affairs Officer has done and how he will continue his projects.

He also conveyed a firm understanding of his role with the administration and other student associations, and has a beneficial as well as realistic goal of sitting on the steering committee. He applied his own experiences to recognize issues with teacher’s assistant offices and holding supervisors accountable, and appears to be intent on communicating with the student body to represent their ideas as well.

While he admitted he had no knowledge of the Neurological Open Science policy at the PGSS debate, by the time of his subsequent interview, he had already spoken with the organizers of the policy and incorporated the intentions into his platform. This care for and responsiveness to expressed student interests will serve him well as Academic Affairs Officer.

We also take issue with Zhou’s suggestion that to ad-

dress sexual assault on campus, sexual assault survivors need to speak out publicly about their experiences. Colbourne alternatively addressed the importance of improving the PGSS sexual assault violence.

While Zhou has interesting ideas, we believe that she would serve better as one of students that Colbourne represents as he applies his approach of increased communication, pressuring the administration, and working with others.

Hocine Slimani External Affairs

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ocine Slimani, PhD student, is running unopposed for the position of External Affairs Officers. Slimani was involved in various student associations, during his Bachelor studies at Université de Montréal, working in event planning. He completed his graduate studies in Denmark, Belgium, and Italy, which has shaped his views on student rights and representation.

A key piece of Slimani’s platform is addressing the motion to change the status of postdoc students from students to employees. He points out that there are downsides to this change, such as PGSS not being able to represent postdocs under their new status. Overall, he aims to make the provincial government aware of the drawbacks of the change, ultimately hoping to extend his mandate as External Affairs Officer (EAO) to continue this work. He cited the example of Denmark, where PhD students are considered employees and receive salaries that are equivalent to government positions, suggesting that this could be a long-term goal.

Slimani’s platform is strongly focused on student rights, mentioning ideas to introduce universal health care for foreign students. He also contends that education should be free.

Regarding affiliation with student unions, Slimani stated that once he is elected, he will make judgments about affiliations based on how well-suited the federation is to defend PGSS’ interests. He claimed that because a lot of information regarding PGSS affiliations are confidential right now, he does not have concrete plans.

Endorsement- NO The majority of Slimani’s ideas are lofty and beyond the scope of the EAO’s portfolio. While his eagerness to advocate student rights is admirable and the position does entail big-picture ideas, he does not propose any concrete, practical goals to affect change on federal and provincial policies, making it dubious whether he will be able to achieve his vision.

Slimani’s platform lacks focus on issues where he must make timely decisions and incite specific action, such as affiliation with student federations, like AVEQ. When asked to comment on how he would approach this portfolio, he claimed he would rely on his predecessor Jacob Lavigne for guidance.

This is worrisome considering Lavigne is now running for the position of Secretary-General and will have his own obligations should he be elected.

Slimani also displays inadequate appreciation for the intricacies of the political process of student government and the McGill administration— for example, in his interview with the Tribune, he claimed that it was “easy” to introduce the Sexual Violence Policy at McGill.

Overall, while Slimani might bring reach and vision to the position and PGSS as a whole, without concrete planning and a deeper understanding of his portfolio, he will have difficulty filling his role, let alone instigating significant change.

Tuesday March 14, 2017

14 STUDENT LIVING

University vs. Freedom of Speech The case of Pridgen vs. University of Calgary suggests that students have some legal rights against university action Legal Information Clinic at McGill With more than 40,000 students at McGill University, controversial statements can pop up at any moment and cause university administrators to feel the need to perform damage control. Social media exacerbates the problem by amplifying the reach of controversial remarks. However, can a university silence a student or compel an apology?

In other words, do universities have an obligation to respect the free speech rights of students?

The 2012 case Pridgen v University of Calgary reveals two potential avenues of protection for students’ right to freedom of expression. First, universities are treated like ‘government’ for the purposes of actions such as student discipline, and so are directly subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This can mean that they are obligated to respect Charter rights, such as students’ freedom of expression. Second, universities are in general subject to what is called ‘judicial review’ on a standard of reasonableness. This means that judges can intervene and change the decision made by a university if they decide that it is unreasonable, such as if a university censors a

student without compelling grounds to do so.

Further, these avenues of protection apply across Canada, including in Quebec, as ‘persuasive authority.’ While Quebec judges are not required to follow it, they usually will unless they have a very strong reason to do otherwise. In other words, a strong case can be made that universities in Quebec are bound, at least in some situations, to respect freedom of expression.

Consider the case of Pridgen vs. U of C. In 2007, University of Calgary (U of C) students and brothers Steven and Keith Pridgen created a Facebook group titled, “I no longer fear hell, I took a course with Aruna Mitra,” in an act of rebellion against a professor they disliked. In this group, the Pridgen brothers and other group members posted comments criticizing the professor while coordinating a mass appeal of their grades to the university. The professor later learned about this Facebook group, and the students were disciplined by the U of C. In response, the students sued the university.

The case wound up at the Alberta Court of Appeal, who decided in favour of the Pridgens for two reasons. First, one of the three judges held that the university had made a decision which was similar

enough to a government decision to be subject to the Charter. That judge held that university disciplinary measures are a form of statutory compulsion in which an entity, such as a university, is empowered to apply sanctions against a person or group of people. Thus, while universities are not generally subject to the Charter—something that other cases have been quite clear about— there are still limits on certain decisions that they make. This point about universities being subject to the Charter is still hotly contested in the legal world, but it does give some persuasive authority that Quebec universities are subject to the Charter when exercising certain powers.

Second, the two judges who provided written reasons agreed that universities are enough like government that their decisions are reviewable by a court for reasonableness, and that the U of C’s disciplinary decision did not meet this standard. In general, whenever government agencies make decisions of some kind—for example, about whether or not to issue a visa to those wishing to come to Canada—it is possible to ask a court to assess the reasonableness of the decision. In other words, the government agency must render a decision that makes basic rational

sense, and therefore cannot act arbitrarily. In this case, the Court held that the university’s decision was enough like the decision of a government agency to be reviewable by courts. The Court said that the U of C had insufficient evidence upon which to base their decision. The Pridgen brothers were accused of causing ‘injury to a person,’ but the U of C disciplinary committee did not possess evidence that the Pridgens had caused this kind of injury. Not only does this point tell us that universities across Canada are subject to a reasonableness review, it tells us that when student speech is at issue, courts are willing to scrutinize a response by a university.

The Pridgen case suggests that courts will hold university decisions to a certain standard— that is, generally speaking, they must be at least ‘reasonable.’ To a lesser extent, Pridgen vs. U of C also shows that certain university decisions are subject to the Charter, especially when they are exercising a power of compulsion against students. In Quebec, then, there is evidence to suggest that universities have some obligation to respect students’ right to freedom of expression, through both the Charter and the requirement of reasonableness in university decision making.

Salad, what are you?

Three recipes to explore the meaning of the dish Miguel Principe Contributor Since the dawn of mankind, human beings have questioned the world that surrounds us. Is there intelligent life on other planets?

How did this universe begin? Is McTavish stuck in a continuous state of construction? Do we have free will? Yet, one question has never been answered by the great philosophers and scientists, such as Plato and Newton. A question so subtle that even great minds of the likes of Albert Einstein and William Shatner have never bothered to ask: What is a salad?

The McGill Tribune is here to serve as a guide through the world of salads. Though our work is based on thorough research, it is entirely up to the individual to decide how he or she defines a salad. The following three recipes rewrite the definition, if you will, by pushing the boundaries of what we know to be salad.

The Typical Salad: Kale Caesar Salad with Tofu Croutons Serves: 4 According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the earliest salads were wild greens and herbs seasoned with salt. The salt seasoning is actually where salad gets its name, salad being a derivation of salt, sal, in Latin.

These wild greens that were used in antiquity—such as lettuce, spinach, and arugula—are still the main bases we use today. This green vegetable mix is what salad is known for, the

boring healthy food as told by the common idiom, “Alcohol: Because no great story ever started with a salad.”

Nonetheless, while many claim this meal to be healthy and boring, it is undeniably a beloved dish.

FOR THE SALAD You will need: 350 g of ½ inch extra-firm tofu, pressed 1 tbsp of olive 1/8 tsp of salt ½ cup of panko bread crumbs 1 large bunch of kale (destemmed) For the dressing YOU WILL NEED: ½ silken tofu 1/3 cup and 2 tbsp of grated parmesan 2 garlic cloves 4 anchovy fillets 2 tbsp of olive oil 1 tsp of Dijon mustard ½ tsp of Worcestershire sauce 1/8 tsp of salt ½ cup of dried cherries INSTRUCTIONS 1) Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius. While it’s heating up, line a large baking sheet with foil.

2) Toss cubes of extra-firm tofu with oil and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

Then, season the tofu with fresh pepper.

3) Pour panko into another mediumsized bowl. Toss the extra-firm tofu in the panko until it is completely coated.

4) Arrange the extra-firm tofu in a single layer across the baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

5) Wash the kale and remove its stalks.

Slice the leaves into bite-sized pieces, then put them in a large bowl. Use

your hands to crunch the leaves until the kale is tender. Drain any water that is left off the kale.

6) Drain the water off of the silken tofu.

Slice the garlic cloves and anchovy fillets. Add the silken tofu, parmesan, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, and salt into a food processor. Blend the mixture until it’s fully combined in liquid form. Season to taste with fresh pepper.

7) Drizzle the dressing over the kale and mix the salad. Sprinkle the dried cherries, parmesan, and baked tofu “croutons.” You’ve got a classic salad!

(Recipe adapted from chatelaine. com)

You will need: For the salad: 2 cups of elbow macaroni 1/3 cup celery ¼ cup red onion 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley ½ cup vine-ripened tomato

Is This Also Called A Salad?

American Macaroni Salad

INSTRUCTIONS 1) Cook the elbow macaroni in boiling water. Once cooked, rinse the pasta and then drain the water off in a colander.

2) Mince the red onion, then soak in cold water for five minutes. Drain the water.

3) Dice celery and a vine-ripened tomato and mince a tablespoon of flatleaf parsley.

Combine the macaroni, onion, celery, parsley, and tomato in your salad bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the mayo, mustard, sugar, vinegar, sour cream, and salt.

Pour this dressing into your salad bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

And now, you’ve got a salad! This can be kept in the fridge and eaten for up to three days after its preparation date.

(Adapted from foodnetwork.ca)

SERVES: 6 A respite from the non-filling joke of a meal that is the traditional salad, another type of salad is called the “bound salad.” Bound salads are made of hearty ingredients, such as chicken and potatoes, and are held together by a thick, dressing-like mayonnaise. This is where we start to question the boundaries of salad— how is this unusual combination of ingredients placed in the same category as the mighty caesar or the classic mediterranean? The only similarity is that they both contain salad dressing.

This is like calling chicken noodle soup a type of pasta dish, because they both contain spaghetti. But it is up to you, dear reader, to decide if you would classify this as a salad.

For the dressing YOU WILL NEED: ½ cup mayo ¾ dry mustard 1 ½ tsp of sugar 1 ½ tbsp of apple cider vinegar 3 tbsp sour cream ½ tsp kosher salt For seasoning: Kosher salt Black pepper

The Abomination Known as Dessert Salad: Oreo Salad SERVES: 6 In the fringes of the definition of salad comes what might be where both mankind and salad have gone too far.

The dessert salad completely destroys the two possible definitions of salad seen so far, because it is neither a healthy meal, like a green salad, nor an all-American Thanksgiving dish, like the bound salad. Many will decide that this is not a salad—this cannot be a salad. But to say that this is not a salad is to question the status of all salads, even the caesar and the macaroni. This does have a base—even if that base is a cream filled cookie sandwich—and a dressing, so why can it not be a salad?

FOR THE SALAD You will need: 15 Oreos For the “dressing” YOU WILL NEED: 1 container of whipped cream (8 oz) 2 cups of milk 1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz) INSTRUCTIONS 1) Stir the milk and vanilla pudding together until the two are well mixed.

2) Add whipped topping and then cookies into the mix and stir.

3) Cover and refrigerate until thickened and chilled (around an hour or two).

4) You’ve got a salad?

(Adapted from allrecipes.com)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 15

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

“I am Sitting In Stagram,” by artist Pete Ashton. (creators-images.vice.com)

The limitless gallery: A discussion on virtual art in the Internet age Morgan Davis Staff Writer

individual blogs to gain publicity. Additionally, art through the medium of social media lowers the entry barrier one might otherwise face in the global art community. Artists no longer have to rent out a gallery or be selected to have Art is becoming increasingly digitized. As university their work publicized in a show. The competition for students, we are at the threshold of an entirely new era of physical space is transforming into competition for viewers’ art, one without the bounds of physical space or financial attention.—the Internet is a limitless gallery. Nevertheless, limitations. As the Internet has expanded and social media this increased visibility does not ensure exposure. A platforms matured, social networking’s impact has become proliferation of visual art online requires global. To advance into a digital art community, artists to instantaneously grab viewership. the current and future generation of artists must “There’s the paradox there—t­­he right embrace this new environment. to free speech isn’t the right to be heard,” For millennials, social media is challenging said Gutierrez. “So how images circulate to avoid, as the bestselling author of Socialnomics, and the barrier to entry is definitely lower.

Erik Qualman, explained in 2010.

People have better access and ability to “We don’t have a choice whether we do create things, but what gets seen and how social media,” Qualman said. “The question is and why?” how well we do it.”

Gutierrez expanded on how modern The Pew Research Centre posits that over mediums of visual art struggle to conform 90 per cent of young people aged 18-29 have to traditional viewing. accounts on at least one form of social media.

“Institutions and galleries are still With such a large demographic of users, it’s struggling with art that they still can’t understandable that social media has evolved past recognize,” Gutierrez said. “It is hard to sharing photos or chatting with friends. Rather deal with because a GIF is something that is than simply being a new form of communication, largely consumed on a screen, and it moves social media is becoming a vital part of successful and it’s mobile, so by putting it up on a wall branding, helping expose artists and their work seems counter-intuitive—so how do you to the world. present art in that sense? At an institutional “There’s an ethos of young artists that accept level, it proposes this question of, ‘So how this,” Dr. Christopher Gutierrez, a professor do we present this art?’ But as a viewer in the McGill Department of Art History and it presents an interesting opportunity of Communications, explained. “[. . . . ] We are seeing and gathering art.” at a point where these people have been able This is where the actions of university to make names for themselves through online students come into play. We, as both viewers presentation.” and artists, use social media to our artistic When addressing the various forms of social advantage. University students, particularly accounts used for art sharing, Gutierrez argues in North America, have likely used social that Tumblr is the website platform on which media technology since adolescence. The users are most likely to borrow from others. This is done through reblogging, rather than creating Instagram and Tumblr double as social media and a network to share art. (Elli Slavitch / The McGill Tribune) potential of social media to increase the accessibility of art is an opportunity we original content. Importantly, social media must take advantage of. platforms do not claim ownership of the content The loss of the physical quality of an image through published through their website. Both Instagram and Tumblr become discoloured and fuzzy.

“Tiny details show its age, it’s become dated in some its propagation online could be considered a necessary state in their terms and conditions that users retain the right and ownership to their intellectual property. Still, users who way,” Gutierrez explained, in reference to Ashton’s art. He sacrifice in the evolution of virtual art. Yet, through an replicate their own work and repost others, immortalizing it argues that we tend to think of digital files as immaterial, additional collective effort, the proper citation for digital art but they degrade through circulation. Reproduction affects can be produced. The initial purpose of social media may on the Internet, can lead to plagiarism disputes. not have been to distribute art, let alone become a platform “It isn’t just that you’re giving away your own work, the quality of the image, even online.

Despite the degradation of physical quality when art for creating it, but this isn’t the first time that the potential it’s that you’re creating content for Tumblr,” Gutierrez is posted online, the Internet presents a major advantage of cyberspace has surprised us. The future generation added. “And you’re actually making art for corporations.”

This mass online presentation, however, can have for distributing one’s art. Artists create websites to post of prominent artists will consist of those who best adapt deteriorating effects on the art. Gutierrez explained that on their portfolios and use Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, or themselves to this changing technology. the Internet, you have to save and download a photo in order to keep it—and the image degrades slightly from its original state. “[Through replication] you lose a little part of the original piece,” Gutierrez said.

Pete Ashton is an artist who repeatedly re-uploads images to his Instagram account until they degrade into almost nothing. He cycles through these images as they

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘How to Murder Your Life’ paints unapologetic portrait of addiction Sophie Brzozowski Contributor

One can only imagine the relief felt at the Simon and Schuster offices the day Cat Marnell announced she had finished her book. Conspicuously titled How To Murder Your Life, the work in question had cost the company three years and a $500,000 advance—most of which Marnell had reportedly spent before she’d even begun to write. Even so, the publishing company must have known what they were getting into.

In 2012, Marnell quit her job as the contributing beauty editor at the popular website, xoJane—started by media mogul Jane Pratt—where Marnell quickly gained notoriety as the “unhealthy health and beauty writer.” She chronicled her hard partying lifestyle in New York City, occasionally pausing her drug-fueled narrative to mention a beauty product or juice cleanse of some sort. Her pieces became the primary source of traffic to the website—with provocative titles like “I spent two weeks in a mental institution and left with better hair.” It seemed like Marnell was destined for her own brand of T=Internet gonzo greatness until she quit her job to write a book, telling the New York Post that she was simply not cut out for the 9-5 working world.

How to Murder Your Life hit the shelves on Jan. 31. From the opulent, Kennedygrade boarding school where she spent her high school years all the way to the seedy,

squalid streets of Alphabet City, Marnell’s stories read like the diary entries of a girlish ingénue. The hallmark of her writing has always been its brazen, lowbrow quality.

Even the darkest among her stories were told in the same breezy manner.

“They were all nightcrawler vampires who raged until dawn and slept until dusk,” she wrote in her memoir, describing the sinister cast of characters she’d meet in nightclubs. “This is terrible for the soul but great for the skin—no sun damage, you know? So everyone looked good.”

Marnell began her publishing career auspiciously enough, working as a beauty editor for Lucky magazine, one of Conde Nast’s biggest publications. Contrary to her trademark druggy antics and general lack of conscientiousness, Marnell has endless respect for the industry.

“Magazines are what I love,” Marnell confessed in an interview on Feb. 29 2016 with Gavin McInnes, the founder of Vice Media—a publication she’d written for briefly. “I hated books like the Devil Wears Prada, when those Conde Nast bitches crack their whip, you should be honoured to fucking jump! That’s the glamour industry!”

When Marnell was 28, she was forced to resign from her job. Later, she went to work for Pratt—a job she never took quite as seriously.

How to Murder Your Life was added to the New York Times bestseller list not two weeks after it was released—an impressive

feat for a non-celebrity memoir. The book is as tragic as it is trashy, full of heartbreaking anecdotes about a young woman very much alone in the throes of addiction—not exactly easy reading. Perhaps one could attribute its success to the fact that such a sensational downward spiral will inevitably attract a crowd, but her long-time readers insist it’s more than that.

Near the end of her days at xoJane, Marnell published a piece on Whitney Houston’s death in 2012—which was rumoured to be drug related—where she also responded to criticisms about her own use.

“So many of you have expressed your disgust about how much I talk about drugs,” Marnell wrote, “I really tried to stop for a while, but you know what? No one else in women’s magazines or websites is writing about this stuff, so there’s nowhere for a female community to read it... It would be wonderful if we lived in a world free of drugs and drug addiction, but we don’t.”

Most addiction memoirs have one thing in common—in the end, the writer realizes the error of his or her ways and cleans up.

But not Marnell. Instead, she writes that she is conflicted—why, she asks, should an addict have to be recovered in order to tell her stories? After all, Hunter S. Thompson—the pioneer of gonzo journalism and with whom she is often compared—carried on the same way for decades without ever having to publish a sanctimonious book about the evils of substance abuse.

Cat Marnell’s memoir has received praise for its insightful look at the experience of addiction. (simonandschuster.ca) How to Murder Your Life is lauded as an insightful look into the addiction epidemic just as often as it’s accused of being nothing more than a transparent attempt at shock value. Ultimately, it’s neither. It’s a story about a lonely girl who never quite grew up—and it might just be the most honest piece of writing to come out in a long time.

Bring Your Own Juice: ‘McGill’s best and only sketch comedy troupe’ Ariella Garmaise Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

“In the final draft section we all vote in terms of our number one [sketches], and then the coordinators—me, the director, the producer and the head writer—all come together and based on that we pick the show and the show order,” Turner explained.

This democratic process is reflected throughout the show. Turner, Producer Tatyana Olal, and Head Writer Lillian King all take the stage and are equally dispersed throughout the sketches. All 10 performers occupy a dual role as writer.

The myriad of voices makes for an entertaining and zany production.

The sketches are outrageous: In one scene, Nancy Ferranti gives a standout performance as a bro-ish phantom. Ferranti captures “The Ghost of Chad” in both her swagger and Californian drawl.

Yet, Bring Your Own Juice succeeds not only because of talented performances, but also because of a sharply written script. In one sketch about a hypochondriac visiting her doctor, Abbey

Bring Your Own Juice benefits from its minimalist production design. (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune) Hipkin lists her pop-culture inspired diseases, including “Reverse Benjamin Button Syndrome” (Reverse Ben B), “Chronological Memento,” and “Pacifist American Psycho.” In a bizarre, modern-day take on Oedipus Rex, Cole Otto plays Eddie—a teenager ready to fight his dad to take his mom

to the school dance. Bring Your Own Juice is unafraid to push boundaries: Eddie Rex admires his mother’s “voluptuous 5-foot8 body.” “[Our influences are] anything, literally anything,” Turner elaborated. “It’s dumb tweets, or a sitcom, or even Saturday Night Live.”

Shifting scenes from a Chili’s restaurant to a fashion talk show, Bring Your Own Juice finds humour in practically everything.

Bring Your Own Juice has a minimalist production value.

Their only set pieces are a table and some chairs. Refraining from ostentatious costumes,

the Ghosts’ wardrobes are just white garbage bags with holes for a head. Instead of an elaborate set, the cast relies on its talent. In a quick transition from doctor to disgruntled teen, Cole Otto’s main shift in costume is a strategic re-parting of his hair. The comedians also depend heavily on one another: Otto and Liam Carmichael have an especially good rapport in a sketch in which they must play nerdy and cool brothers, respectively. The performers work well together not only on stage, but also between scenes. Approximately every five minutes, the actors must replace sets and props to make way for the new scene. They do so in record time, each aware of their own jobs as well as the teammates around them.

Bring Your Own Juice is a comic feat that delivers on the “humour and charm” it advertises. A pleasant escape from midterms, and even from McGill’s darker news cycle, Bring Your Own Juice is the perfect remedy for winter blues.

Bring Your Own Juice is playing from March 16-18 at 8 p.m. in Players’ Theatre, 3480 McTavish.

Admission is $6 for students and $10 for general admission.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

science & technology 17

Zika: Past, present and future

McGill researchers develop new model for Zika virus experiments

Andy Wang Staff Writer The spread of new and emerging viruses poses a constant threat to public health and presents a concern to developing and developed countries alike. Population growth, climate change, and the increasing ease and speed of travel have exacerbated the transmission of these viruses.

Overpopulation results in the construction of homes in previously unsettled areas, providing zoonotic viruses—viruses that normally infect animals—with the opportunity to transmit to humans. The original case of the most recent Ebola outbreak was a two-year-old boy in a newly-built village in Guinea who came into contact with fruit bats, the natural reservoir for the virus.

Rising global temperatures are giving mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever, chances to infect naïve populations, which were previously protected from these diseases by cold temperatures.

The Zika virus (ZIKV), a previously mild infection endemic to central Africa and Southeast Asia in the late 20th century, spread with the aid of modern travel and mutated to cause fetal microcephaly. Microcephaly is the name of the condition where infants are born with an abnormally small head.

Among recent emerging viruses, ZIKV is especially insidious as pregnant women who become infected exhibit mild and nonspecific symptoms, which often cause the infection to go undetected.

There are currently no drugs or vaccines for ZIKV, and treatments are usually aimed at

alleviating symptoms. Additionally, the first diagnosis of a Zika infection often stems from the tragic realization that a newborn is afflicted with microcephaly, which poses significant

not labelled as a top candidate to secure research funding.

Recent research conducted by Dr. Martin Richer and Dr. Selena Segan, assistant professors in

There is a new focus on developing a vaccine agains the Zika virus, transmitted by mosquitos. (Winnie Lin / The McGill Tribune) developmental and behavioural consequences.

A number of challenges exist to produce an effective ZIKV vaccine, the chief of which is a lack of a suitable model to conduct experiments on the virus. Another difficulty is the virtual absence of any previous scientific knowledge on ZIKV. Before the epidemic in South America, the virus did not cause any severe symptoms and was thus

the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, could be a critical step in producing a suitable mouse model system for ZIKV study. The paper, published Feb. 23 in PLOS Pathogens, outlined a procedure to analyze ZIKV infections in mice with fully functional immune systems.

Previous studies have focused primarily on immunocompromised mice, since researchers

were interested in the mechanism that caused the disease. However, the development of a vaccine against infectious pathogens requires intimate knowledge of how a host responds to infection. Not only did the paper outline an immunocompetent mouse model for ZIKV, it also characterized T cells—a type of white blood cell—as they responded to the virus.

In particular, the group discovered a conserved region of ZIKV’s envelope protein that these T cells respond to, called an epitope. It is conserved in 103 of the 104 published ZIKV gene sequences. The paper states that this finding could be an important step in the development of a vaccine against Zika.

However, virtually all currently approved vaccines use antibodies to generate protection.

Antibodies are produced by B cells—another subtype of white blood cells—and the epitopes they respond to are often not the same as those of T cells.

“It’s very difficult to create a T cell-mediated vaccine, mostly because we don’t yet know that much about them,” Richer said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “We need more basic research into cell types, such as cytotoxic CD8 T cells.”

Cytotoxic CD8 T cells are white blood cells involved in the killing of infected cells and are one of the cell types analyzed in their publication.

There is certainly a long road ahead for the creation of a ZIKV vaccine, but the development of an immunocompetent mouse model is a major step in this process. The analysis of B cell and antibody responses, as well as the discovery of new epitopes in different mouse strains, and whether the same epitopes can be found in humans, remain open and exciting avenues for further investigation.

Why should we care about climate change?

Despite mounting concern of climate change, many still reluctant to take everyday action Myriam Driss Contributor The Pew Research Center found that, in all 40 nations polled, the majority of respondents believed that climate change is a very serious problem, with the most concern found in African and Asian countries.

“There has been a one and a half degree celsius rise in temperature linked to an increase in greenhouse gases, however, consequences are slow and the health issues are indirect,” George McCourt, senior faculty lecturer in the McGill School of Environment, said. “[Ultimately,] people don’t believe in climate change because you’re not going to get cancer [right away, since the effects of climate change like] rising sea levels will not have immediate health effects.”

People need to face an immediate threat to prompt them to change, and small increases in temperature are not going to cut it, especially since these increases take a long time to materialize.

“The major problem with climate change is that it is a longterm process with a lot of fluctuations,” McCourt said.

Modern lifestyles and infrastructure are all centred around convenience, leading people to believe they are detached from potential issues of rising temperatures.

“People in the West are comfortably disconnected from the natural world,” McCourt said. “Those who are directly impacted [by climate change] are the indigenous peoples and farmers. In cities, we don’t notice it. So, we don’t feel these things because these changes are occurring over 200 years so, it’s difficult to make [city folk] realize this.”

Strong dependence on fossil fuels makes societal change difficult to achieve.

“Our transport and electric systems are all interconnected with fossil fuels, since our infrastructure is designed to run on [them],” McCourt said.

Transforming energy systems will cause a huge disturbance

in the status quo, especially since society’s dependence on fossil fuels extends past industry.

“We are addicted to the fossil fuel economy,” McCourt said.

“So making this kind of change is going to be huge.”

Dr. Nicolas Kosoy, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Natural Resource Sciences, pointed out, it is almost impossible to curb all fossil fuel usage—at least right away.

“Fossil fuels are an excellent energy carrier with a large energy density, but this cannot be our only source of energy,” Kosoy explained. “Overall, our energy demand needs to be limited and this limit has to do with our energy supply.”

Therefore, finding alternatives is a complex issue.

“We should rank energy alternatives in terms of their ability to satisfy energy demand, environmental impact, and long term stability of our systems [while] also paying attention to profit,” Kosoy said.

Our lifestyle of convenience coupled with the pessimistic outlook of the environmental movement has harboured a culture of indifference towards climate change.

“The [negativity of the] environmental movement has [created] a fatigue amongst the people,” McCourt explained.

Environmentalism has not always been the flashiest of causes, and many have questioned why they should get involved.

However, as sustainability gains traction as a popular trend, a new shift in values is emerging.

“There has been an increase in sustainability [that] has given people more hope,” McCourt said. “A new hope to sustain themselves and the planet.”

Kosoy urges that it is the collective efforts of a community that will foster necessary efforts to counteract climate change. “[We need to] collectively decide to grow our own food or change land use—these are our actions that are going to change society,” Kosoy said. “Not [just] what is done by one person, but by a society that will change consumption practices.”

Tangible environmental change is only possible with a resilient sustainability movement. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune) Although climate change is a general and man-made concern, we are slowly making progress in the right direction.

There is a new trend of sustainability that will drive many to adopt a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Though progress may be slow, the movement has come a long way.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

18 science & technology

McGill Defi Ecotech Challenge hosts Women in Cleantech panel Female leaders provide insight on the expanding industry Julia Briand Contributor The hosts of the McGill Defi Ecotech Challenge commemorated International Women’s Day on March 8 with a Women in Cleantech panel. Clean technology, coined “cleantech,” reduces environmental impact via innovation in any product, process, or service through increased efficiency and sustainability.

The panelists, Myriam Bélisle, Solenne Brouard, Diane Leboeuf, and Victoria Smaniotto, are entrepreneurs and leaders in the cleantech industry.

Their insight into the expanding sector of cleantech and success in a predominantly male industry was not only informative, but empowering for the audience.

Brouard is the CEO of Polystyvert, a leading company in the waste management industry.

Polystyvert uses innovative technology to recycle polystyrene— the main component in styrofoam— more efficiently, thereby increasing profit and decreasing waste. While working in the industrial business sector, Brouard became aware of excessive polystyrene waste due to

high transportation costs impeding the recycling process. The high cost rendered the current recycling system unprofitable. Brouard saw an opportunity and took it, building Polystyvert into the successful company it is today, but not without first overcoming some challenges.

“It is difficult to explain to investors that they need to invest in something that won’t make money right now,” Brouard explained.

Ultimately, investing in future efficiency pays off. In fact, Polystyvert’s polystyrene is even more marketable than virgin polystyrene because of its low cost, a result of process efficiency.

“Only two per cent of my clients buy the product because it is green,” Brouard said. “This means that 98 per cent of the clients buy my product because it is cheaper.”

Bélisle is Cleantech director at Sherbrooke Innopole, a corporation dedicated to the economic development of the city. She spearheads Sherbrooke’s development with respect to cleantech and its green economy.

With an academic background in biology and forestry, Bélisle was able to observe the resilience and

importance of the cleantech sector first-hand, deciding to support cleantech companies in her current position. “[During] the 2008 economic crisis, what saved my small consulting company was its use of cleantech because […] clean technologies are the way of the future,” Bélisle said. “Where you have scarcity, you have innovation.”

Leboeuf serves as the president at Soaz Inc., a consulting firm.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a large role in her work. She currently develops business strategies and creative commercialization tools for Ecofixe Solutions, a cleantech SME in the water sector. As a woman who has worked in the cleantech industry for some time, Leboeuf understands the dynamics of operating in the sector.

“What’s great about cleantech is you can bring in your own background,” Leboeuf explained.

Smaniotto works as the director of branding and internationalization at Ecotech Quebec.

While Smaniotto’s classmates at HEC Montreal were entering the workforce and selling products for brand-name companies, Smaniotto

Panelists discuss the future of the clean technology industry in Canada.

(Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune) felt it was more important to commercialize a sustainable product.

“I had trouble thinking of myself as a leader of international business and marketing, while helping to sell more shampoo, for example,” Smaniotto said.

Smaniotto’s initial work in the cleantech sector was as a business and development analyst and marketing coordinator at Carnot Refrigeration, a Quebec SME that develops refrigeration systems free of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). She

now coordinates partnerships with the Canada Cleantech Alliance, a newly created alliance of regional cleantech hubs with the goal of providing improved access to market and capital to cleantech companies.

Cleantech is one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the green economy industry today. The panelists agreed that a mental shift towards reuse and reduction of product, accompanied by cleantech, is the inevitable future–and these women are at the forefront.

Gravitational waves and the exploration of the universe Ripples in the fabric of space and time discovered in 2016 Angelina Giordano Contributor On the evening of March 9, Leacock 132 was filled with anticipation and intellectual curiosity as the crowd took their seats to hear Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Rainer Weiss give the Anna I. McPherson Public Lecture, sponsored by the McGill Department of Physics. Weiss’ presentation was titled “Exploring the Universe with Gravitational Waves” and described how gravitational waves were discovered. Weiss spoke on behalf of the Laser Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration.

Founded in 1997, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration consists of approximately 100 institutions and over 1,000 researchers. In 2016, the collaboration observed the existence of gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of space and time—for the first time ever.

Weiss conveyed the significance of LIGO’s discovery by speaking to the history and development of physics. He began his story with the father of physics, Sir Isaac Newton.

“What was wrong with Newton that we needed another theory?” Weiss asked.

Newton’s theory didn’t account for the “speed limit” that Einstein’s studies predicted. According to Einstein, there must be a definitive speed of light.

other. On each end, there was a mirror that reflected laser beams back and forth along the length of the arms. When a gravitational wave passes through, it alters the space-time in the area changing the phase of the light beams and producing a signal.

The gravitational waves were detected

by LIGO after two black holes converged.

When the two black holes combined, the event released a ripple in space-time.This collision caused some of the mass of the black holes to be transformed into energy, which was then released as gravitational waves.

“It lost a phenomenal amount of energy,” Weiss explained. “It lost three solar masses into gravitational waves. That was the [...] very brightest thing in the universe for a moment. By a factor of 50, the brightest thing.”

This event was recorded by LIGO MIT Professor Rainer Weiss presented a talk to a packed lecture hall on the recent discovery of gravitational waves. detectors in Hanford, Washington and (Hannah Taylor / The McGill Tribune) Livingston, Louisiana. Due to the successful When Einstein began his research strain, stretching space in one direction LIGO measurement of gravitational waves, there are plans for more detectors to be in Berlin, his colleagues encouraged and compressing space in the other.

To create a measurement device that built around the world. him to study quantum theory. Despite Over 60 years after Einstein’s their insistence, Einstein chose to study is able to detect gravitational waves, size death, scientists are still confirming and gravity, eventually discovering his theory matters.

“You want to build something pretty exploring his theories. The measurement of special relativity. and verification of gravitational waves “That equation says that the geometry big,” Weiss emphasized.

LIGO finally succeeded in detecting means that LIGO can now fulfill its of space and time is determined by the distribution of matter and energy,” Weiss gravitational waves after constructing a mission as an observatory, rather than only mammoth laser detector, consisting of an experiment. Moreover, with renewed explained in his talk.

Gravitational waves don’t make any two arms spanning more than a kilometre trust in physical paradigms, this is the time noise. They exist in a field of constant orthogonal—at right angles—to each to find the answers to the universe.

SPORTS 19

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

McGill Tribune Sports’ 2017 March Madness Predictions Aaron Rose & Joe Khammar

DUKE

VILLANOVA

KANSAS KANSAS

VILLANOVA VIRGINIA

PURDUE LOUISVILLE

DUKE SMU

CREIGHTON LOUISVILLE

DUKE DUKE

LOUISVILLE DUKE

UCLA

GONZAGA

UNC UNC

GONZAGA NOTREDAME

BUTLER UCLA

GONZAGA MARYLAND

UCLA UCLA

MARYLAND ARIZONA

KENTUCKY

(nba.com)

Player to Watch

Biggest disappointment Baylor Bears

Maryland Terrapins

Duke Blue Devils

The UCLA Bruins will go as far as their freshmen stud point guard Lonzo Ball can take them. Ball leads the NCAA with 7.6 assists per game— a PAC-12 freshman record—and is a dangerous scorer to boot. His ugly-buteffective shot has taken the basketball world by storm. Despite being labelled as “wrong” by many experts, Ball’s eccentric form is paying dividends for the Bruins. His 41 per cent three-point rate is one of the best in the country and his 71.7 per cent two-point conversion rate is mind-boggling. Despite being a first-year, Ball has done more than any other player in the nation to carry his team to March Madness. With him on the court, the Bruins tout the tournament’s most dangerous offence by a significant margin. They have the best effective-field goal percentage of any team in more than a decade and lead the nation in points per game. Despite being the third seed in the South, Ball’s presence makes UCLA one of the trendy picks to win it all.

Led by junior forward Johnathan Motley, the Baylor Bears started the season 20-1, including a blowout victory over the then fourth-ranked Oregon Ducks. Since then, the Bears have gone into hibernation, losing five of their last ten games. Things didn’t get any better in the Big 12 tournament with the Bears falling 70-64 to the Kansas State Wildcats in the first round. The team ranks second in the nation in offensive rebounding, but turnover problems have spelled disaster for Baylor. If they can make it past the New Mexico Lobos in the first round, they’ll find trouble against the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs. Unlike the Bears, the Mustangs enter the tournament riding a 24-1 winning streak and with lights out three-point shooting— meaning Baylor could be in trouble.

After being upset by the Yale Bulldogs last year in the round of 62, the Bears shouldn’t be trusted to go far in this years tournament.

The Maryland Terrapins are possibly the biggest boom-or-bust team in this year’s tournament. With 13 contests this season ending within a two-possession margin, they have experience playing in close games. They have impressive wins against teams like the Purdue Boilermakers, but also some too-close-for-comfort victories against low quality opponents.

As a result, they haven’t been able to solidify status as serious contenders.

Fortunately for the Terps, they have one of the nation’s most clutch guards in Melo Trimble and face a relatively easy path to the Elite Eight. While the loss of power forward Michal Cekovsky hurts the team on defence, the ice in Trimble’s veins and Maryland’s fourth-quarter grittiness makes them a dangerous sleeper candidate in this year’s tournament.

Led by five-time national champion Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke Blue Devils are perennial title contenders. Small forward Jayson Tatum and guards Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen make up Duke’s scary tripleheaded scoring monster. When they’re on the court together, the Blue Devils are almost unstoppable. They clinched the ACC championship with notable victories against the Louisville Cardinals, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If Allen can control his emotions and kick his known tripping habit, the junior guard has the skills to take over any game. Senior forward Amile Jefferson will have to control the paint for Duke, but the team’s lethal three-point scoring makes up for their lack of inside strength. Though the Villanova Wildcats could give Duke trouble in the Elite Eight, Coach Krzyzewski and company have the pieces to come out of the East. The Gonzaga Bulldogs have become a powerhouse, but having played an easy schedule in 2016-17, the Bulldogs might be more bark than bite. The finals are always a toss up, but with an experienced team and the NCAA’s best coach, the Blue Devils should oust the UCLA Bruins and cut down the nets in Phoenix.

Lonzo Ball (UCLA Bruins)

Sleeper

Champions

20 SPORTS

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Know Your Athlete: Mélodie Daoust Holly Cabrera News Editor “I’m going to miss being part of a big family,” McGill Martlet Hockey captain and centre Mélodie Daoust said, looking back on her five years with the team.

Daoust hasn’t always seen McGill this way. She knew she wanted to pursue higher education at a top Canadian school, but coming from Valleyfield, QC, the transition to living in Montreal was tough.

“When I got to university, I knew it was going to be a challenge because I didn’t speak English at the time,” Daoust said. “Learning English was a challenge, and [balancing] hockey and school was another.”

After five years with the Martlets, including her 2013-14 redshirt season, the four-time RSEQ all-star has become a key cog in the team’s machine. Now, as the captain, Daoust has a role to play in maintaining McGill’s ice hockey dominance. “[My role is] to pass on my knowledge of the game and to give [my teammates] confidence,” Daoust said. “I want them to know that everyone can get their job done and understand that they’re good

enough for all of this.”

Daoust’s leadership skills have shined through this season and she leads the squad with 56 points.

However, it’s the team’s overall success that matters most. After clinching her third RSEQ title in a two-game series win over Concordia, in which Daoust registered five points, the Martlets are now getting set for the CIS national tournament beginning on March 16.

While the time on the ice is certainly important, it’s spending time with her teammates that the Martlets centre really enjoys.

“The beauty of being on a team is that all your friends are on the team,” Daoust said. “It’s because you do everything together […] you end up seeing them more than your own family.”

After two years with the Martlets, Daoust took the 2013-14 season off to pursue her dream and play for team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.

“We were 27 players to tryout then they cut us down to 21,” Daoust said. “We had about 60 games to play in seven months. All the games were against the [Midget AAA] boys team so it was pretty intense.”

In Sochi, Daoust helped lead

Daoust waiting in the corner against the Concordia Stingers. (Noah Sutton / The McGill Tribune) Canada to an Olympic gold, scoring her first international goal in a 3-1 semi-finals victory over Switzerland.

Following the win, Daoust was forced to take nearly 18 months off after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament and undergoing surgery in June 2015.

“When I got injured, it was a big let-down,” Daoust said. “2015 was really hard on my part. At the same time, I was working really hard with my physiotherapist for

strength and conditioning and I was able to be back in 2015.”

Driven to return to peak form after her injury, Daoust rarely takes a day off. She has continued to work tirelessly, putting in the effort both on and off the ice to help her team.

“We go to school, [...] workout from 3 to 4, go on the ice from 4:30 to 6, cook dinner, study, and go to bed,” Daoust said. “We have so much passion for the game, it’s because we like [it] that we do it.”

When she does have a break, Daoust has found herself a new hobby: Colouring.

“I always liked drawing and I am an artsy girl,” Daoust said.

She’ll have plenty of time to work on her artwork next weekend on the team’s long bus ride out to Napanee, ON for the CIS tournament. Regardless the outcome, Daoust has cherished all of her time at McGill and knows whatever the future has in store, she will always remain a Martlet.

2016-2017 McGill Athletics season roundup

(mcgillathletics.ca)

(mcgillathletics.ca)

(mcgillathletics.ca)

(mcgillathletics.ca)

Martlets Basketball Stephen Gill

Redmen Basketball Aaron Rose

Martlets Hockey André Morin

Redmen Hockey Patrick Beacham

As the fourth seed in this year’s women’s U Sports basketball tournament, the McGill Martlets defeated the Regina Cougars on March 9, securing the school’s third consecutive trip to the national semi-finals. After a shaky start to the season, the Martlets entered the weekend riding a hot streak, winning nine of their last ten games and undefeated in their last five. Alex Kiss-Rusk has led the way for the team, averaging over 14 points per game to that point. Aside from their star centre, the squad has found its success through expert shooting and dominant rebounding.

McGill trumped the Laval Rouge et Or in the tournament’s final round to earn the school’s first women’s basketball national championship in McGill history. One day before, McGill upset Carleton–the tournament’s highest-seeded team. Their postseason run came after the team won this year’s RSEQ championship. The Martlets finished their historic campaign with a sterling 25-9 record after starting the season 2-5.

McGill Redmen basketball should do nothing but hold their heads high as their 2016-17 season comes to an end. The squad clinched their second consecutive RSEQ title–and third in four years– after a dominating 13-3 regular season and an 82-65 routing of the UQÀM Citadins in the RSEQ final. Missing their starting point guard Kendrick Jolin, who was dealt a season ending injury on Feb. 16, the team headed into the U Sports tournament riding a seven-game winning streak. Looking to rebound after an upsetting 72-69 first round loss to Calgary in last year’s CIS tournament–now called U Sports–the Redmen downed the University of Manitoba Bison 63-53 to advance. Unfortunately for McGill, the team next came face-to-face with the six-time defending champion Carleton Ravens.

Despite a valiant effort from the Redmen, the team fell short, losing 74-58. Unable to recover from the loss, McGill fell again to Dalhousie in a close fought 69-63 bronze medal game.

The fourth-ranked McGill Martlets Hockey team secured the program’s 14th RSEQ conference championship on March 4, with a 3-0 win over the Concordia Stingers. After finishing the regular season 16-4, the Martlets took the number-one seed into the RSEQ tournament. They pushed past the fourth-seeded University of Ottawa in the semi-finals, then rolled past Concordia in the best-of-three final without conceding a goal.

McGill now has a week off to prepare before heading to the U Sports Women’s Hockey National Championship in Napanee, ON starting on March 14. The Martlets last won a national title in 2014.

Fifth-year centre Mélodie Daoust leads the team in scoring with 56 points in 33 games and second-year forward Olivia Atkinson is the leading scorer with 26 goals. Freshman goaltender Tricia Deguire has been solid in goal this season with a 1.62 goals against average and a 0.934 save percentage.

With a 21-4-3 record, Redmen Hockey finished the regular season in first place in the OUA. In the RSEQ quarterfinals, McGill narrowly beat Laurentian in Sudbury, to follow up a home-ice blowout that moved the Redmen into the semifinals. After two subsequent victories against UQTR, the Redmen fell short in the conference finals, losing to Queen’s in a best-of-three series. However, the Redmen managed to clinch the OUA Bronze wild card series against the Windsor Lancers on March 10 to secure their berth in the U Sports Final 8 Championship.

Now the team will travel to New Brunswick to compete in the U Sports tournament where McGill hopes to overcome OUA disappointment and win their first national championship since 2012.