The McGill Tribune Vol. 36 Issue 14

OPINION “Ban on pedestrian cellphone use obscures real danger” pg. 06

NEWS “$20 Million donated to the Montreal Neurological Institute” pg. 04

The McGill Tribune

EDITORIAL: REPORT ON SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION IN MCGILL FACULTY REVEALS NEED FOR ACTION pg. 05 TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 VOL. 36 ISSUE 14 PUBLISHED BY THE SPT, A STUDENT SOCIETY OF MCGILL UNIVERSITY McGILLTRIBUNE.COM

Edible insects: How five McGill grads are changing the future of food Lessons in entrepreneurship with Aspire Food Group Erin Dwyer Contributor

Dumpster diving provides an alternative source of food for students and locals. (Alexandra Gardiner / The McGill Tribune)

From the Cheap Seats: World Juniors game exciting but struggles to fill seats André Morin Contributor Hockey is a religion in Canada.

People here go to ridiculous ends to watch the best game on earth–myself included. So as I headed over to the Bell Centre on Wednesday night to see Canada and Sweden face

off in the semi-finals of the annual World Juniors tournament–contested between U20 national teams from around the world–I expected to be one of the tens of thousands of rambunctious fans filling up the stands. My expectations couldn’t have been further from reality. The arena was shockingly empty. Had

this been a preliminary round game between Latvia and the Czech Republic, the attendance issues would have been understandable, but even Team Canada was unable to fill the seats.

Those who did show were treated to an exciting game with multiple lead changes ending in

an upset 5-2 victory for the home side. Most of the meager crowd was checkered red and white, with blue and yellow polka dots marking pockets of Swedish fans. A giant Canadian flag was unfolded and passed around the rink, but struggled to stay afloat at some points where the crowd got thin.

PG. 16

Drake wins the game of egos

Though rap norms are shifting, personal beefs continue to influence music

Noah Sutton Multimedia Editor In Dr. Dre’s 1993 tripartite diss track called “Fuck Wit Dre Day,” Dre delivered the ethos of rap beef: “you fucked with me, now it’s a must that I fuck with you.”

Diss tracks historically do not get radio play—partially because of

their violent content, and partially because rappers focus on lyrical muscle rather than catchy hooks.

But for Toronto rapper Drake, wit over force, catchy punchlines and memes have been his diss weapons of choice. In the past, Drake has been able to step away from the old norms of beef and only engage when he knows the outcome will be

favorable. Yet, on his latest single, “Two Birds One Stone,” Drake makes a move towards force— becoming uncharacteristically aggressive when launching attacks towards Meek Mill, Pusha T and Kid Cudi.

In “Two Birds One Stone,” Drake finally responds to Pusha T by questioning his well-documented

pg. 11 - 13

drug dealing past. Drake also goes after Kid Cudi, labelling him as “crazy.” Finally, Drake references his past beef with Meek Mill, a longtime adversary. Mill’s accusation in 2015 that Drake used a ghostwriter was a clear invitation to drop the gloves.

We can only guess Meek expected that rap fans would abandon Drake as a fraud, but none of this happened.

PG. 11

“The test was simple,” former McGill MBA student Mohammed Ashour wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Would you be willing to drop out of school to pursue this idea, even if you lost the Hult Prize?”

The Hult Prize brought together Ashour and his classmates Gabe Mott, Shobhita Soor, Jesse Pearlstein, and Zev Thompson to participate in the prestigious international competition in social entrepreneurship. The team would go on to launch Aspire Food Group, with a mission of providing alternate forms of sustainable protein.

“I wanted to form a team where each individual brings a unique point of view and set of skills,” Ashour said. “Not just demographic and cultural diversity, which are critical, but also diversity in thought, experience, and worldview.”

The teams were assigned the daunting tasks of tackling food security and poverty, particularly in urban slums. Around that time, Ashour ran into friend and Montreal physician Dr. Mohamed Slim.

“I struck up the topic about food security and poverty and he narrated a story about insects as food,” Ashour said. “That was the spark.”

Protein is a vital macronutrient; but, animal protein is often extremely expensive and resource intensive. With these limitations, protein deficiency is common worldwide. Dr. Slim recommended the team seek out a creative alternative.

PG. 07

Tuesday, January 10, 2016

2 news

Tribune Explains: Campus security

(May Lim / The McGill Tribune)

Gabriel Rincon Contributor McGill Security Services are an integral role in keeping our campus community safe. The force completes a variety of daily security and patrolling tasks, ensures that oncampus events remain safe, and works with the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) to keep the peace and ensure students’ safety on and near campus.

All security agents are required by law to be licensed by the Quebec Bureau de la Sécurité Privée. According to Director of Campus Public Safety Pierre Barbarie, security agents’ powers differ from those of police in the use of force and their ability to arrest individuals.

“If [...] a criminal act is being committed in front [of an agent], we have the power just

like any other citizen to react to that, versus a police officer [... who] has a right to detain and arrest,” Barbarie said. “Everyone has a right to defend themselves, so that use of force usually comes down to personal safety.”

The daily tasks of these agents include patrols and responding to calls.

“Our patrollers will go around campus and just ensure everyone is in a safe environment,” Barbarie said. “[Agents] show [their] presence [and] verify calls [security] may receive at the control centre [....] The goal has always been to be there for students, faculty, and staff.”

All events on campus are supervised by McGill Security Services, with the exception of events within the Shatner Building, which are monitored by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Security Depart-

ment. The two security services collaborate on large events, such as 4Floors, which takes place in the Fall semester of each year. SSMU President Ben Ger said a good relationship between SSMU and McGill Security Services allow for a better coordination with the university.

“Since the SSMU team [...] has such a large role in organizing and participating in events on campus, a good working relationship with [McGill Security Services] and a solid knowledge base on how they operate allows for us to have a healthy and productive working relationship with the university,” Ger said.

Ger explained how the high number of students attending SSMU events, such as Activities Night, presents challenging security risks for agents.

“Years where there is increased traffic [...] during events [...] often requires more agents [and] security measures to be in place,” Ger said. “When events come close to selling out there is […] an additional security concern that needs to be evaluated if we want to provide a safe and fun environment for students.”

As for other events held on campus, such as Open Air Pub (OAP), security and event organizers coordinate. McGill Security Services have a special events liaison to help event organizers and security work in tandem.

“We work closely with the event organizers,” Barbarie said. “We have a person that is assigned to special events, so he’ll meet with event organizers […] and determine [their] needs. The guidelines then trickle down to the agents.”

Security personnel do not report to the event organizers. Instead, they continue to report to the McGill control centre.

Additional initiatives that McGill Security Services are working on include supporting the student-run Walksafe program as well as providing their own escort service. The Active Shooter Protocol was also created by the Campus Public Safety Office. Barbarie said an active shooter is the most worrying new challenge faced by security personnel.

“When I started in 2000, I wasn’t thinking of armed individuals coming on our campus and now [we must prepare for the possibility of these and] terrorist acts,” Barbarie said. “Not because we expect something to happen, but mostly we want people to be prepared.”

Fortunately, McGill does not commonly face acts of violence. According to Barbarie, the most common report is theft, especially of laptops. To combat the theft of laptops, McGill Security Services retail a STOP plate — a metal sticker designed to prevent the resale of stolen laptops.

If there is ever any sort of incident on campus, Barbarie would urge students to contact 9-1-1 if they feel it is necessary.

When 9-1-1 is called on a McGill landline, the security dispatch centre will monitor the call, respond to it, and assist emergency personnel when they arrive. If an emergency is reported on a cellphone, students should still contact security to inform them of the situation.

Students can also receive emergency notifications from Campus Public Safety through the McGill App and SMS text messages.

news 3

Tuesday, January 10, 2016

McGill launches Summer Academy for high school students

The Algemeiner ranks McGill fourth worst university for Jewish students

Students question ranking in light of their personal experiences on campus

Program aims to recruit first-year students Micaela Wiseman Contributor For the first time, McGill Enrolment Services will run a program for high school students in Grades 10 and 11 called the “McGill Summer Academy.” The program will run for two weeks starting July 9, 2017. The Academy will allow students to stay in McGill residences, take courses with graduate students, and participate in organized extracurricular activities aimed at introducing students to the City of Montreal.

University Registrar and Executive Director of Enrolment Services Kathleen Massey said that the main goals of the program are for it to serve as a student recruitment initiative while offering an enriching academic, social, and cultural summer experience for young students.

“Having a lived experience at McGill will help the students decide whether McGill might be a good fit for them down the road,” Massey said. “We’ll also provide them with admission advising and information about the many academic and student life opportunities at McGill while they are here, giving them solid information they can use to develop longer-term academic plans.”

Massey said that the creation of the Academy was prompted by a high demand from prospective students.

“Our student recruiters have been asked by international students and their parents for many years whether McGill has a summer program […],” Massey said. “Many younger students would love the chance to come to McGill during the summer to experience the academic and cultural life of the university and Montreal.”

Interest in the program are prompted by fears students have provided about the unfamiliar experiences that university life presents.

According to Grade 10 student Alisa Bressler, one of her main worries about entering university is handling the pressure to feel at home in a new environment.

“I think that a program that offers the experiences that will be presented to us in university early on would be very helpful,” Bressler said. “Particularly, I think spending time in residence would help a lot [with transitioning into university life].”

Enrolment Services began plans for the Academy in 2015. According to Massey, Desautels Master of Business Administration (MBA) student consultants performed market research and developed a sustainable revenue model for the program. The $3,565 cost of enrolment for the summer program covers housing, food, academic instruction, extracurricular programming, supervision, and health insurance.

Representatives from the Department of Political Science and the Integrated Program in Neuroscience (IPN) were enlisted to create the program’s two non-credit courses.

Dr. Joseph Rochford, director of the IPN, was contacted by Enrolment Services after research indicated that neuroscience was a primary topic of interest for potential students. Rochford and a team of graduate students began creating a syllabus, incorporating a variety of topics in the field aimed at providing an introduction to McGill academics.

“The objective here is to sort of treat these high school students as if they were in university,” Rochford said. “It’s going to give them access and experience in terms of what to expect at the university level, how and the kind of content that’s being delivered, and give them the experience exactly of what it’s like to be an undergraduate student at McGill.”

Rochford said that McGill’s standing as one of the leading institutes in neuroscience research provides Summer Academy participants with a unique academic opportunity that will improve enrolment.

“If high school students are interested in pursuing a degree in neuroscience, [the Summer Academy] will really give them the idea that if they come and study here at McGill, they will be getting a world-class education,” Rochford said.

The cultural and social activities will be led by the Academy’s Team Leaders–current McGill students who will also provide supervision and mentorship.

The program will launch in July 2017 and registration will open Feb. 2017.

A Chabad at McGill event was protested by BDS supporters on Nov. 8, 2016. (L-A Benoit / The McGill Tribune)

Julia Metraux Staff Writer In late December, The Algemeiner - a Jewish newspaper in the United States - ranked McGill University as the fourth worst university for Jewish students in its first annual list of “The 40 Worst Colleges for Jewish Students” in North America.

The Algemeiner editors reviewed anti-Semitic actions on campuses according to the definition by the U.S. State Department. In the description of why McGill University is considered anti-Semitic, they highlighted a student who was targeted by anti-Israeli groups because of her advocacy, anti-Israel protests on campus, a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on campus, and The McGill Daily censoring pro-Israel content.

Hillel McGill is a Jewish student organization that supports the Jewish student population at McGill. Hillel McGill Vice-President Noah Lew, U1 Arts, said he does not believe that McGill deserves its poor ranking on the list.

“I strongly believe that the experience that many Jews have is excellent,” Lew said. “There are many Jewish organizations on campus: Hillel, Israel on Campus, [and] Shabbat. [However,] many [Jewish students] refer to BDS as negatively affecting their experience.”

Melissa Freed, U1 Arts, who experienced antiSemitic bullying in elementary school, said that she was surprised to see McGill University on this list,

she has witnessed and experienced actions that could be misinterpreted as anti-Semitism.

“There’s very noticeable ‘Free Palestine’ graffiti on a building at the corner of Pine and Park,” Freed said. “Of course there are other factors too, the lack of kosher dining options, for example, that make it harder to be Jewish here than at other schools. However, I do suspect that the ranking was based with the belief that anti-Israel is the same thing as antiSemitism.”

Unlike the beliefs of the article accompanying the ranking, Freed said she disagrees that BDS works against Jewish people. “[BDS] is strictly political,” Freed said. “They oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, and their actions are meant to further that message. It can certainly feel a bit hostile, especially for Jewish students who are more pro-Israeli occupation, but I do not feel physically threatened by the movement.”

According to Jonathan Boretsky, U1 Science, The Algemeiner ranking is misguided as it ignores important factors.

“I think the list is very misfounded,” Boretsky said. “The list should be titled ‘Most Active AntiIsrael Campuses with Sizeable Jewish Populations.’

I think McGill suffers from other problems unique to Montreal, but these problems are not in the spirit of the list and probably were not at all considered. For example, being a commuter school makes Hillel attendance difficult.”

4 news

Tuesday, January 10, 2016

Semester start and end dates in accordance with Senate calendar guidelines

Fall break proposal remains popular among students

The lack of break time in the Academic Calendar can be a source of stress for students. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune)

Brigitte Pawliw-Fry Contributor McGill’s Winter 2017 semester began on Jan. 4, before other Montreal universities including Concordia and Université de Montréal. This start date was initially set by the Committee on Enrolment and Student Affairs (CESA) and sent to the Senate for approval in May 2013. In their proposed calendar for this academic year, CESA made the

winter break one day shorter so that the term could accommodate an exam prep day.

This was done in consideration of the 2011 Senate calendar guidelines, which recommend a break between Fall and Winter terms, a prep day or weekend prior to exams, and a 10-day exam schedule on top of McGill’s 13week term–one of the longest among Canadian universities.

University Registrar and Executive Director Kathleen Massey said

start and end dates are also intended to reduce housing costs for students, to allow students to begin summer jobs or internships at the beginning of May. The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat said that the start date is understandable given the constraints of term guidelines.

“While I think it would definitely be preferable for most students and professors to begin classes next week, McGill’s start date is consistent with

many other universities in Canada,” Sobat wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “In addition, December final exams ended slightly earlier this year to give everyone at least a two-week break. Since it’s the Add/Drop Period until Jan. 17, many students won’t come back until [the weekend of Jan. 7] anyway.”

Sobat said that the university guidelines do not allot a time for a Fall break.

“There’s a clear inconsistency between the Fall and Winter terms when it comes to time off,” Sobat wrote. “Part of this is due to tighter timelines in the Fall with the December holiday break.

However, it’s also a historical difference. Most courses used to operate on a full-year schedule and so assessments were more spread out. Since that’s changed, I think the Fall term has become more intense for many students, particularly first-years, and the midterm and November periods, when the days get shorter, can be particularly challenging.”

In 2015, a working group was established by Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens in response to a SSMU request to adopt a

Fall reading break. In its June 2015 report on its findings, the working group proposed a break of two days that would be added to Canadian Thanksgiving. To incorporate the proposal, the report noted that trade-offs, such as commencing classes before Labour Day, were necessary to maintain the 13week term.

The working group also reasoned that the Fall term is particularly difficult for students, evidenced by McGill Health Services’ reported increase in demand over the last five years in October and November. Further, students have overwhelmingly supported a Fall break. In a 2015 survey conducted by Enrolment Services, 71.5 per cent of respondents supported the initiative. The proposal was also supported by major student associations, such as the SSMU and the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS).

Julia Thome, U2 Arts, said that the start date had interrupted her experience of the holidays.

“The early return wasn’t altogether awful,” Thome said. “But it did complicate my family’s travel plans and the short break made the holiday season more stressful than relaxing.”

$20 million donated to the Montreal Neurological Institute Money to go towards promoting open science research Calvin Trottier-Chi News Editor On Dec. 16, the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) received a donation of $20 million from Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The MNI is the largest specialized neuroscience research centre in Canada and, as part of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, offers students a variety of research opportunities.

The $20 million will sponsor the creation of an affiliated institute: The Tanenbaum Open Science Institute.

This new institute will represent the MNI in pursuing a mandate of ‘open science,’ a recent trend of promoting innovation by making research patent-free and openly available to other researchers. In addition to its world-leading research, the MNI will now be known globally as the first academic open science institute in the world.

Our digital world provides for unprecedented opportunities to leverage advances in technology to the benefit of science,” Tanenbaum said during the Dec. 16 announcement of the donation. “That is what we are celebrating here today: The transformation of research, the removal of barriers, the breaking of silos, and most of all, the courage of researchers to put patients and progress ahead of all other considerations.”

Tanenbaum hopes that research will be undertaken for the sake of overall knowledge rather than profit. Eric Sun, U2 Science, agreed that scientific networks are valuable.

“Sharing research is always good, coordinated efforts between communities are the reason why dangerous diseases like smallpox have been

eradicated,” Sun said. “Discoveries are driven by dedicated scholars [who] spend their lifetimes in the lab.”

The McGill Chapter of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) Motion Regarding Global Access to Medicines Policy recently passed at the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) council meeting on Nov. 17, 2016. The motion called for SSMU to support global access to medicines and lobby McGill to adopt a policy in favour of this. The purpose of the motion was to influence the university to adopt a patent-free policy so that drugs could be accessible in developing areas of the world. UAEM was pleased with how the donation will be used to encourage openness.

“The initiative will allow patents to not need to be made through universities anymore, which will make the process run more smoothly,” UAEM Co-Vice-President Media and Outreach Chloe Hogg said. “It is set up as an experiment to attract resources to McGill and to Montreal, while speeding up [much] needed innovation in basic research.”

UAEM said that there is still progress to be made, as facilitating developments in research does not necessarily mean that the final product will be globally accessible.

“Whether the innovation remains affordable and accessible for the greater public remains unclear,” Hogg said. “This is because [the initiative] only looks at basic research, which doesn’t go all the way to the final product that reaches the patient.”

UAEM also said that profits remain to be an important consideration when creating intellectual policies that mandate access.

$20 million was donated to the Montreal Neurological Institute in order to fund the creation of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute. (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)

Tuesday, Janauray 10, 2017

OPINION 5

e d ito r i a l 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

Report on systemic discrimination in McGill faculty reveals the need for action Last month, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Systemic Discrimination—commissioned by the Joint Board-Senate Committee on Equity—released a comprehensive report based on a survey of tenure-track and tenured faculty at McGill. The report gave a glimpse of the ongoing forms of discrimination, such as racism and sexism, that permeate the workplace of many McGill professors, and provided recommendations to administration for addressing these issues.

While the report doesn’t provide a complete picture of the experience of McGill faculty—only 22 per cent of eligible respondents filled out the survey—it does reveal that many faculty members have experienced discrimination from staff, administrators, and students at McGill. For instance, 22 per cent of respondents claimed that the climate at McGill was not supportive of diversity. Over one third admitted they had experienced or were aware of other faculty experiencing negative treatment as a result of their identity, with gender being the most common reason.

Twenty-four per cent felt that students had challenged their authority more frequently because of their demographic characteristics.

The results of the report serve

Copy Editor Areni Nicoghosian copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Mingye Chen business@mcgilltribune.com

off the board

Advertising Executives Zain Hussain ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Mingye Chen, Julia Dick, Audrey Carleton, Shrinkhala Dawadi, Arman Bery, Clare Fogarty, Arden Li

Staff Writers

Andy Wang, Ariella Garmaise, Arman Bery, Ava Zwolinski, Cherry Ng, Christopher Li, Eric NobleMarks, Flaminia Cooper, Izze Siemann, Julia Métraux, Margaux Delalex, Morgan Davis Nicole Spadotto

Contributors

André Morin, Astha Agarwal, Benji Taubenblatt, Brigitte Pawliw-Fry, Catherine Morrison Charlotte Hings, Chelsea Chen, Emma Carr, Erin Dwyer, Gabriel Rincon, Micaela Wiseman, Patrick Beacham, Jacqueline Casson, Janine Xu

Tribune Office

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

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

Daniel Lutes Web Developer There is an apocryphal story about Henry Ford II and Walter Reuther, the Union Head for the Ford Motor Company, touring a new factory. The two are looking over a balcony at an assembly line of robots when Ford turns to Reuther and says, “Hey Walter, how are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues?”

Walter pauses for a minute and then replies, “Hey Henry, how are you going to get them to buy cars?”

This parable pinpoints the fundamental economic issue caused by phasing out human labour, a problem that is more relevant today than ever. A University of Toronto study released this past November predicts that within the next 15 years, up to 41 per cent of Canadian jobs will be at

as a pressing reminder of the need to promote diversity and inclusiveness among members of the McGill community. This becomes particularly urgent when one considers the findings of last year’s equitable hiring report: As of 2015, visible minorities and ethnic minorities comprise only 24 per cent and 15 per cent of McGill’s faculty, respectively, and hiring practices continue to fall short of the stipulations of the school’s 2007 equity policy. As the Working Group’s report further highlights, the issue of diversity must be considered with regard to the retention as well as the hiring of new faculty—the inclusivity of representation within existing staff impacts how prospective hires perceive McGill.

If the university fails to confront these problems in at the faculty level, it will have serious consequences for its reputation and its relationship with its student body. Professors are not simply educators but also role models for students. Ensuring that a wide range of demographics are represented in the faculty will help visible minorities as well as other disadvantaged groups in McGill’s student body feel accepted and valued.

The McGill administration also has more pragmatic incentives to

promote inclusivity within faculties.

The need for diversity is a growing concern in the public consciousness, and will affect how current and prospective McGill students, parents, and academics see the university. As such, failure to address these issues moving forward will hamper McGill’s ability to attract and maintain an exemplary student body and faculty, as well as to solicit donations from alumni.

The Working Group’s report provides a series of recommendations to address the problem of discrimination. These include mandatory Equity Audits for departments, establishing processes to protect staff reporting discrimination, and requiring participation in existing diversity awareness training programs for all faculty. The report also urges McGill to develop a plan for implementing these recommendations that includes specific dates and benchmarks to measure progress.

Given the importance of this issue, the McGill administration should heed the recommendations of the report, including the suggestion of a timetable for achieving measureable goals. Additional faculty surveys on the issue of discrimination in the future would also be ben-

eficial, as they would help measure any shifts in the attitude of faculty members toward diversity after these solutions are implemented.

However, members of the McGill community must be conscious of several roadblocks that could impede progress on this issue. First, McGill has been impacted by provincial austerity measures which have restricted its budget and many faculty’s ability to hire new faculty. Second, Quebec’s immigration policies require the that new immigrants learn French, which can dissuade foreign candidates from choosing to pursue faculty positions at McGill. Finally, the fact that many of the practices mentioned in the report—such as hiring and promotion—are decided at the faculty level means that the administration must articulate a plan to encourage the various faculties to adopt many of the recommendations in the report.

Despite its methodological shortcomings, this report reveals that the issue of discrimination at the faculty level must be met with a cohesive strategy that extends across the university. Hiring decisions may take place in distinct faculties, but that should not hinder the university from leading a strategy to promote inclusivity.

Humans need not apply: Analog solutions to digital problems risk of being phased out due to automation. Despite these mounting concerns, the Canadian government is doing nothing to prevent an unemployment disaster that could dwarf the likes of the Great Depression. The casualties of this change will be the millions of truck drivers, factory workers, and fast food employees who will be left unemployed. Therefore, the Canadian government has to prepare for a shift away from a service-based economy towards an information-based economy.

2016 saw massive amounts of innovation in the field of artificial intelligence.

Google’s AlphaGo beat Grand Master Lee Sedol at Go—a game 300 times more complex than chess. Uber purchased Otto—a company that manufactures driverless long-haul trucks. Meanwhile Tesla and Google both unveiled their prototypes for autonomous cars. The growth of artificial intelligence in the past decade has made the use robots for jobs viable where it wasn’t before. Fields like transportation, service, and manufacturing have all become susceptible to job automation.

As much as we humans may not want to admit it, computers are better than us in a lot of ways when it comes to our jobs.

They don’t make mistakes, they don’t need sleep, and they don’t want dental plans.

Computers are essentially model employees. So it should come as no surprise that more and more companies are opting to

replace human labour with that of robots.

From an economic standpoint, the issue with job loss to machines isn’t that

“

As much as we humans may not want to admit it, computers are better than us in a lot of ways when it comes to our jobs.

”

labourers don’t have jobs. It is that these newly-unemployed labourers don’t have any money to spend to help grow the economy. Among economists, the widely agreed-upon solution to this is basic income. As the most fundamental form of social security, basic income is an unconditional salary paid out to the population of a country. The idea is that every week, an

individual would receive a paycheck from the government simply for being a Canadian citizen. With this solution, unemployed labourers may not have a job, but they will have money to spend, curbing the negative effects of technological unemployment.

The federal government has yet to tackle the partisan issue of basic income, leaving the fate of millions of Canadians up in the air.

However, basic income is a shortterm band-aid for the structural unemployment caused by automation. A more long-term approach, which has also been neglected by provincial governments, is that of offering more relevant public education. The automation of jobs can only go so far. The reality of the situation is that there are many skills—such as abstract thought, complex problem solving and human interfacing—where robots are still inadequate when compared to humans. In spite of this fact, public schools still continue to teach to standardized tests, championing memorization and regurgitation over the less tangible skills required in the evolving job market.

Unemployment induced by automation will only continue to grow in Canada.

There are solutions to the problem that requires preemptive action at a federal and provincial level, but if the government continues to bury its head in the sand, it may be too late.

6 OPINION

C o m m e nt a r y

Gabriel Rincon Contributor University of Toronto Professor Jordan Peterson has made headlines recently for refusing to use gender-neutral pronouns in the classroom. Students at U of T have been protesting Peterson’s stance ever since late September, when he released several videos on the subjects of political correctness, the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) and Bill C-16. However, the debate over his refusal to use gender-neutral pronouns detracts from the most important part of Peterson’s thesis. Peterson’s point is not just about pronouns, it’s about the impact of political correctness informing legal and university institutions.

While Peterson has identified important issues with Ontario legislative reforms, he is still primarily being

co m m e nt a r y

Tara Allen-Flanagan Contributor A 2016 poll conducted by Insights West revealed that 66 per cent of Canadians support legislation that would crack down on distracted walking by banning pedestrian use of cellphones along sidewalks. The results of this poll demonstrate how out of tune Canadians are with the reality of accidents. Distracted walking is not the reason collisions happen on roads—distracted driving is.

Concerns about pedestrian fatalities are influencing various city officials in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary to consider putting cellphone restricting laws in place. In July 2016, Toronto’s city council even passed a motion asking Ontario to ban texting while crossing the street.

Tuesday, January 10, 2016

Jordan Peterson’s real thesis lost in U of T gender pronoun debate identified for his stance on pronouns.

Unfortunately, this position has created a strawman for activists to use to dismiss him as a bigot. The Queer Caucus of the union representing U of T’s sessional lecturers and TAs denounced Peterson’s arguments as unacademic, and the university administration sent him a letter implying that his refusal to use individuals’ desired pronouns maybe be illegal and warning legal action may be imminent. Focusing the discussion on gender pronouns obscures Peterson’s arguments about how freedom of speech and legislative reforms are being affected by political correctness.

For example, Peterson’s issue with the recent changes to the OHRC are valuable, yet haven’t received the attention they deserve. Peterson has pointed out that the Ontario government has reformed the OHRC to adopt policies to make discrimination based on “gender expression and identity” a human rights violation. While that seems fine, Peterson’s issue is with the broad definition the OHRC now gives discrimination.

According to the OHRC, discrimination on the basis of gender “happens when a person experiences negative treatment or impact, intentional or not, because of their gender identity or gender expression.” Peterson argues that “negative impact” could mean anything

from having one’s feelings hurt during a discussion about gender, to receiving hateful treatment based on gender.

With such a broad definition, individuals may be accused of discrimination for merely discussing gender pronouns,

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new gender pronouns. Further, the lack of consideration for motive is worrying, since it could result in well-meaning individuals getting in trouble for accidental slights. Peterson argues this lack of nuance written into the OHRC is the result of a uncritical political correctness.

Not only has the focus been taken away from Peterson’s legal arguments, his extensive research into the correlation between political correctness and left-wing authoritarianism have also been largely ignored. His research could contribute to a more inSome have vilified Peterson in their selective discussion of formed academic debate, and his ideas. (Madeline Kinney / The McGill Tribune) would be especially important given that political correctness has now been enshrined in the OHRC scheduled a debate, it was accused of providing a platform for hate. This is and is being adopted by universities.

Peterson’s positions on political the wrong approach, as academic freecorrectness are especially important dom and open debate are values social given the current deferral to political justice activists ought to relish if they correctness on U of T campus. The hos- truly want to transform society. Despite tile treatment that Peterson has received being well intentioned, social justice for expressing his view in itself demon- advocates need to remember to respect strates the uncritical institutionalization the freedoms of others. Theodore Levitt of politically correct thinking in univer- crystallized the issue perfectly: “There is sities. Academic discussion at U of T is nothing more corrupting than self-righalready being limited as the university teousness and nothing more intolerant was reluctant to even hold a debate on than an ardent man who is convinced he Peterson’s ideas. When U of T finally is on the side of the angels.”

Peterson’s positions on o ff ff tt hh ee bb oo aa rr dd political ocorrectness are especially important given the current deferral to political correctness on campus.

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as this might cause someone to experience a negative impact. It is noteworthy that the definition in the Canadian Human Rights Act, which emphasizes disparity of treatment, is vastly different from that of the OHRC’s definition.

The crux of Peterson’s thesis is that this reformed definition of discrimination in the OHRC is so broad it becomes poorly defined and curtails everyone’s freedom of speech to by requiring them to use

Ban on pedestrian cellphone use obscures real danger No bans have been put in place yet, but there is insufficient evidence for Canadians and legislators to blame the rise in pedestrian cellphone for motor vehicle accidents.

In Ontario, the number of injuries and fatalities caused by unaware pedestrians has remained relatively stagnant in the past 20 years—since long before the introduction of smartphones into Canadian society—whereas the number of accidents caused by inattentive driving has nearly tripled. Lawmakers have paid attention to the rise of accidents caused by the use of cellphones while driving. Every province in Canada has introduced a fine and demerit point system for drivers caught using their phones at the wheel. Fortunately, fines for the use of cellphones while walking have not yet been introduced.

The recent poll, while intending to highlight the misuse of new technology as a source of public danger, illustrates the misguided attempts of some Canadians and city councillors to shift the blame for vehicular accidents on pedestrians.

In reality, it is drivers who are the most at risk when it comes to roadway fatalities: In 2014, they made up 50.9 per cent of deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, whereas pedestrians accounted for only 15.7 per cent. Being distracted while

A pedestrian walks while distracted by her cellphone. (L-A Benoit / The McGill Tribune) only in control of one’s body is completely different than being distracted while at the wheel of a four-ton vehicle moving at high speed. A distracted walking ban would be more a reflection of misperceptions about pedestrians being as dangerous on roads as vehicles than a genuine measure to ensure public safety.

If legislators were to ban distracted walking—based on the idea that it causes accidents—it would mean that cities would

have to attempt to eliminate every single factor that could possibly distract a pedestrian: Pedestrians would have to stare right ahead and use mirrors to check their blind spots so they never have to turn their heads. No music or headphones could be tolerated. Unless they focus solely on the act of walking, pedestrians would be blamed when they get hit by a distracted driver who is too busy fiddling with the radio and veers onto the sidewalk. Evi-

dently, such measures would be ridiculous, and a waste of public resources.

The very real consequences of distracted driving cannot be ignored in favour of creating useless legislation to fix an irrelevant problem. Instead of blaming cellphone-using pedestrians for vehicle collisions, Canadian legislators must continue to address the issue of distracted driving as a cause of both driver and pedestrian fatalities.

STUDENT LIVING

Tuesday, January 10, 2016

7

All work and no play won’t help your GPA

Managing academic stress in the new year with R&R Emma Carr Contributor The New Year’s confetti has barely been swept away, and yet for some, New Year’s resolutions are already in jeopardy. In the high stress academic environment of McGill, many students may be setting admirable New Year’s resolutions to raise their GPA and build their resumes. However, studies have shown that lofty ideals don’t necessarily lead to self-improvement. Often at the beginning of a new year, people set unrealistic resolutions that leave them feeling overwhelmed, rather than optimistic. Conversely, self-care is likely to decrease stress and improve scholarly performance—but for many students, as assignments begin to mount, leisure time takes a back seat to studying. Focusing on cultivating adequate down time in order to reduce stress and increase academic productivity might actually be better than hibernating in McLennan until April.

Not all stress is bad. When apprehension around schoolwork is controlled, it can be a positive force in a student’s life. Productive academic stress, in which the student views a task as a challenge rather than a threat, can prompt a student to focus and avoid

procrastination. However, high levels of unmediated stress often have a detrimental effect on a student’s ability to cope with his or her workload. When students put too much pressure on themselves, they may suffer from decreased concentration and weaker problem-solving abilities.

Both of these effects make completing school work more difficult.

Several studies have identified the importance of coping mechanisms in mitigating academic stress. Coping mechanisms are the behaviours, thoughts, and emotions that one uses to adjust to stressors. For instance, humour, physical activity, and relaxation can all serve as coping mechanisms to stress. Students who utilize coping mechanisms are more likely to work at a manageable level of stress for productivity. But how can one manage stress? Terri Phillips, director of the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) suggests that above all, students who practice self-care are best equipped to manage stress.

“When coping with any kind of stress, it’s really important to establish and maintain good self-care routines, good sleeping and eating habits, exercise, short but frequent study breaks, mindfulness strategies such as breathing or meditation techniques,” Phillips said.

In addition, psychological literature suggests that one valuable coping mechanism to mediate academic stress is scheduling regular leisure time. When a student takes time out of their day for self-care, they experience leisure satisfaction—the gratifying feeling of meeting one’s own personal needs through leisure activity. According to a study published in the American Journal of Health Studies, leisure activity yielded significant educational benefits as a result of a reduced feeling of academic stress and frustration.

Finding down time can be difficult for the busy student, but even short breaks can be beneficial when used efficiently.

If you have one minute, you can…

take a “One-Minute Vacation.” Think of a place that you have been or you would like to visit. The place you imagine should be peaceful and comfortable. It can be as extravagant as the centre of Paris, or as mundane as your local grocery store. For one minute, close your eyes and focus on the details of this place, including sounds or smells. This is an instant mood booster and a great mechanism for coping with stress anywhere.

If you have 30 minutes, you can…

take a power nap. The McGill campus has several great on-site napping spots where overtired students can recharge. Not only will a nap leave you feeling well-rested, but napping can also increase productivity.

Studies show that a 28-minute nap can improve one’s mood, alertness, and focus.

If you have one hour, you can…

visit the McGill Fitness Centre for a drop-in class. The gym offers many commitment-free wellness classes for $3.48 per session, including zumba, spin, or power yoga. It is commonly known that exercise produces endorphins, which boost one’s mood and relieves stress. As an added benefit, there is an increasing body of literature suggesting that physical exercise enhances academic performance.

Despite a student’s best efforts, they may still feel overwhelmed by academic stress. As Phillips pointed out, students should reach out for help early before they find themselves in a crisis situation. Campus services are available to help students through a difficult period, including the OSD, Counselling and Mental Health Services, and peer-based services such as Nightline and the Peer Support Centre.

Ask Ainsley: Should I break up with my partner for voting for Trump?

Ainsley’s advice for differing political views Dear Ainsley, My boyfriend voted for Trump, and I don’t support this. Should we break up?

Sincerely, Perplexed about Politics (PAP)

Dear PAP, As a pretty fierce liberal, upon reading your question my initial response was “absolutely.” I can’t count the amount of arguments I’ve gotten into with friends and acquaintances over Trump’s ideas. That being said, just because someone voted for Trump doesn’t make them a bad person. This decision is going to be a tough one for you, and you’ll have to decide what to do only after plenty of thought and consideration. To me, it seems like if you’re willing to break up with your boyfriend over who he voted for, there may be some underlying problems. Or, if you feel so strongly about the issue that it’s enough for you to reconsider the entire relationship, you might be better off apart.

If you haven’t already, I think you need to have a straightforward, non-judgmental conversation with him to figure out why exactly he voted for Trump. You also need to consider his response to you when defending his political beliefs. Is he aggressive and dismissive of your concerns? Or is he considerate and open when sharing his

opinions? To me, how he treats you during the discussion can be pretty indicative of the quality of your relationship and how much he cares about making it work. Additionally, when you have this conversation with him, try your best to avoid going on the defensive or getting mad at him. He’s far less likely to respond well if he feels like he’s being attacked for his beliefs. Even though it may seem paramount at the time, being the one who is “right” in a situation is not very important in a relationship in the long run. What is important, though, is open communication and mutual respect, regardless of what your beliefs may be.

Though studies have found that shared values are very important in a relationship, there are many other facets to a healthy relationship.

Since you’ve already started dating, I

imagine you share some interests and some compatible personality

traits, despite having different political views. Politics isn’t everything, and plenty of people spend their entire lives without giving it more than a passing thought. Even if you are politically-inclined, there’s no one to say that you absolutely can’t make it work.

Look at James Carville and Mary Matalin: The married couple are both high-

Ainsley provides advice for partners in differing political parties. (Alissa Zilber / The McGill Tribune)

powered individuals with years of experience in Washington as advisors to numerous presidents, but Carville is a staunch Democrat and Matalin is a steadfast Republican. If they can manage this as well as their 23-year-long marriage, I’d say nothing is truly impossible.

It can be uncomfortable to be around someone who has different beliefs than you. The chasm between your ideas and theirs can sometimes mean you’re always feeling the need to defend your own. Nonetheless, it’s not all negative. If you’re only friends with like-minded individuals, your ideas may be stagnant and you risk being influenced by groupthink. Being exposed to new ways of looking at the world can be eye-opening, even if they don’t change your outlook.

The decision to break up with your boyfriend over differing political views is no doubt a challenging one. It should only come after healthy discussion, and a decision about your priorities. If your political beliefs are so different that the conflict outweighs the interests, traits, and passions you do have in common, parting ways early on in Trump’s presidency may be best for you both. However, if this difference is something you’re both willing to work through, that option is also on the table.

Best of luck, Ainsley

Discarded TREASURES Delving into dumpster diving

(Alexandra Gardiner / The McGill Tribune)

by Audrey Carleton

Simrin Desai, recent McGill graduate and Montreal resident, slowly lifts the flat top of a grey dumpster in a back alleyway in the Plateau. As she opens the lid, peering in, there is a clear sense of excitement in the air: The garbage bags in the dumpster could be filled with bounties of fruit, loaves of bread, or bundles of practically fresh vegetables—or it could contain virtually nothing. Without hesitation, she plunges her hands into the dumpster, reaching for a bag. What would normally be considered an unsanitary activity has become a regular practice for Desai. She is a dumpster diver.

Dumpster diving, the act of sourcing one’s food from dumpsters, is practiced by an increasing number of students, social activists, and environmentalists in Montreal. Taking to alleyways behind stores at all times of day and night, many local dumpster divers manage to sustain themselves on products that are slightly past their expiration date, or deemed unsellable by storekeepers. After a few safety precautions— including washing produce with vinegar and cooking the food—one grocery store’s trash becomes a dumpster diver’s treasure.

First-time divers are often shocked to discover the vast quantity of food that is thrown out by individual food vendors once it passes its expiration date or becomes marked in a way that makes it less appealing to shoppers.

Loïc Freeman-Lavoie, a 2016 Concordia graduate and former dumpster diving workshop leader for Concordia’s annual Anti-Consumerism Week, still recalls the shock he experienced upon first seeing how much food is thrown out by grocery stores at the end of the day.

“For me it was like an a-ha moment, like, ‘Oh my gosh, so much food [is] being wasted, [I] must save and [I] must consume and [I] must distribute,’” Freeman-Lavoie said.

Thirty-one billion dollars worth of food is wasted in Canada every year, according to 2014 estimates from Value Chain Management Centre.

Much of this waste is thrown out from homes—meaning it was purchased, allowed to go bad, and then sent to a landfill. However, the quantity of

food thrown out by grocery stores and food producers, on a larger scale, also remains staggering. Knowing how much food is wasted, it seems counterintuitive that, according to Food Banks Canada, over 850,000 Canadians every month turn to food banks for meals. Juxtaposed against national rates of starvation, the issue of waste in the country highlights the vast inequality in food distribution and access.

By seeking sustenance from foods that grocery stores throw away, divers are cognizant about the amount of food that is wasted on a large scale in the North American food industry. In essence, the practice of dumpster diving and the discussions around it help create a wider conversation about food waste.

“What is radical [about dumpster diving] is changing our perceptions on waste,” said Freeman-Lavoie. “We often see waste as private, when a lot of other societies across the world, and across time, have seen waste as just passing on objects to someone who could profit off it better.”

In addition to the social impact of dumpster diving, there is an environmental side to it as well. Divers lower their carbon footprints— the amount of greenhouse gases an individual produces through daily activity—by diverting food waste from being sent to landfills, which ultimately reduces carbon emissions involved with production and transportation of food. Furthermore, dumpster diving is an economically sound method of sourcing one’s food: Those who dive can save hundreds of dollars on groceries per month.

Yet, because searching through dumpsters is culturally taboo, dumpster diving communities are fairly underground. For example, many divers go at night when they are less visible, and knowledge about the activity and its unofficial etiquettes are largely spread through word-ofmouth.

Even to those who are aware of the presence and possibility of dumpster diving within their communities, it can be a challenge to figure out where to start. Desai, for example, didn’t feel comfortable trying the

activity until her friends introduced her to it first-hand.

“Before [being shown by a friend] it always felt like [it would be] a trek, like we had to go out to a specific dumpster and plan a whole trip around it [...],” she said. “I think what is inaccessible for the average student is the learning process of dumpster diving. That’s how I felt because I didn’t feel like I could do it when I was studying because [I had too many questions] like, ‘Who do I go ask?’ and there were all these internal emotional barriers to get over.”

Apart from learning the process and etiquette of dumpster diving directly from friends, there are a variety of online communities through which those interested in the practice can meet other dumpster divers, share the locations of typically plentiful dumpsters, and learn more about the practice in general. Free Food for Free People, for example, is a Facebook group with 11,000 members of the Montreal dumpster diving community. A map of all the dumpsters in Montreal, with notes on each, is available to all members of this group. It also serves as a forum where divers can post information about dumpsters and relocated food. For new dumpster divers, joining this group can be a good first step to getting into the activity.

In addition to garnering know-how on dumpster diving, developing the confidence to search through dumpsters in public comes with time and practice.

Though Desai has improved in this realm since her first dive in September 2016, she still recognizes the signs of insecurity in other new dumpster divers.

“I’ve seen people who stop in front of a dumpster, and they pretend to tie their shoe until nobody is watching, and then they go into the dumpster,” Desai said. “I used to do that in the beginning, because there is a level of confidence building that I guess you need to do in order to feel ok dumpster diving, because it isn’t talked

said. “It’s being produced [at a] volume [high] enough so that every person could eat, but it’s not accessible [and for businesses,] it wouldn’t be lucrative if the prices were [low enough] so that everybody could eat it.”

Some dumpster divers believe that the social impact of their actions is minimal. In past workshops, Freeman-Lavoie has passed this stance on to his attendees: While dumpster divers often don’t approve of the food industry’s waste, they still benefit from it by consuming its remnants. “[Dumpster diving in] itself is not a radical activity because it [...] is not changing the consumer habits of others,” Freeman-Lavoie said. “It’s changing the consumer habits of ourselves, but not orienting it towards a system that we’d like. By dumpster diving, we’re just living off the waste of a system that we don’t [approve of].”

In critiquing the larger food industry, Freeman-Lavoie stresses that individual grocery store owners are not to blame. He encourages workshop attendees to strive for a relationship of mutual respect with the store from which they are dumpster diving, as it is not to blame for the inequality in the wider food system.

“I don’t think store owners are the audience, [...] store owners and employees are trapped in this right now. They’re in the business that is controlled by capitalism,” Freeman-Lavoie said. “They’re not by a long shot the target of dumpster diving because they’re not the enemies. I think that’s really important: [The enemy] is the system.”

Even if dumpster diving alone may not be a socially impactful activity, there are ways that divers can supplement this activity in order to challenge the food system more directly. Online forums, like the aforementioned Free Food for Free People Facebook group, can serve as spaces to discuss the issues surrounding food waste and mechanisms to challenge it.

about a lot, and it’s tough to find people who will give you information about how to start, and you don’t know if what you’re doing is ok or illegal.”

According to The Trespass to Property Act of Canada, dumpster diving is entirely legal in Montreal, except in situations where a diver returns to the area after being asked to leave by a property owner or the police. Even so, many new dumpster divers are anxious about being approached by store owners or police officers.

Dumpster diving can also be infeasible to those who don’t have the time to regularly search through dumpsters instead of visiting a grocery store. Those living in “food deserts”—typically low-income areas lacking grocery stores and healthy food providers—may require higher travel time to reach the dumpsters of food suppliers. Those working several jobs to make ends meet may lack time to visit dumpsters. These barriers can make dumpster diving inherently inaccessible to the economically disadvantaged groups who would benefit from it the most; many of these people have shared their stories online.

“The Free Food for Free People group is really interesting because there are a lot of people who are like, ‘I’m a single mother and I can’t get out and go dumpster diving,’” Desai said. “‘Or I don’t have a place, there’s a food desert where I live and there’s no place where I can go,’ [is another complaint I’ve seen].”

Therefore, dumpster diving is not a fix-all solution to the inequality of food access in society. Similarly, despite addressing the flaws of the wasteful food industry by diving, many dumpster divers struggle to find ways to directly challenge the system.

“I often wonder whether dumpster diving is not really fixing the heart of the problem, which is that the way in which food is distributed is really stupid,” Desai

“There are a lot of initiatives that are slowly inching closer and closer to the heart of the problem,” Desai said. “There are people on the [online] groups that hold discussions about [...] how to fix the fact that food supply is so poorly done right now.”

Some divers also hold themselves to other standards of compassionate consumption when they do need to purchase food. To Rachelle Rousseau, local dumpster diver, those who dive also have the responsibility to purchase food that is organic and locally-sourced, if and when they are financially able to.

“You use what’s thrown out, but things that you do buy, you should be purchasing from local organic [stores], it has to go hand-in-hand,” Rousseau said. “[I’ve heard the argument that dumpster diving is …] not doing anything because it’s not changing the system and you have to be buying local or you’re just profiting off of capitalism and getting free food, if you are otherwise able to purchase healthy food locally. The compromise is that the things that you aren’t dumpster diving, buy local, buy organic.”

Another prevalent way to address the inequality in access to food is to work to redistribute what’s found in dumpsters. Many divers operate under the principle that they should only take as much food from a dumpster as they need in order to leave food for others; however, many divers will also take food they do not need and leave it in parks and other public areas. They do so in the hopes of redistributing it to those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to purchase it from a grocery store.

In tandem with other forms of compassionate consumption, dumpster diving allows individuals to lower their carbon footprints while enlightening themselves about food waste. As the community grows, so does its potential to shape demand, and in turn, cost and accessibility, for foods that could very well end up in a landfill.

Photogtaphs by Alexandra Gardiner / The McGill Tribune

10

STUDENT LIVING

Tuesday, January 10, 2016

Student of the Week: Alex Goldman

History student’s tales from the Hillary Clinton campaign trail

Alex Goldman , right, took time off from his studies to work on the Hillary Clinton campaign.

(Hillary for America / flickr.com)

Janine Xu Contributor “You don’t have to study politics in order to get involved with politics,” said Alex Goldman, U2 Arts. “It’s all about being diverse and coming from many different backgrounds.”

True to his word, Goldman—a former Management student, now

switching into History—has already dedicated much of his life to politics. He was raised in Vienna, Austria, where his father worked for the State Department and the United Nations (UN).

“Government and policy [were] always around me, and always interested me,” Goldman said. “But it wasn’t until I took an AP Government class in high school [that] I really decided [politics] was something I […] wanted to do.”

Though he had a passion for government, Goldman decided not to study Political Science at McGill, hoping to diversify his knowledge before starting his career.

He has used work and internship opportunities outside of school to delve into the field. Perhaps his most notable political experience to date, Goldman worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, starting in 2014.

Before working with Secretary Clinton, he got his feet wet in American politics by interning for several distinguished politicians, such as Congresswoman

Katherine Clark, Senator Ed Markey, and Congressman John Delaney.

“The person who gave me my start in any type of politics was Congresswoman Katherine Clark [of Massachusetts],” Goldman noted.

“She is, to put it bluntly, my hero. She [taught] me how to be civically engaged and [to govern] with honour.”

Goldman joined the Clinton campaign in August 2014 as an unpaid fellow. Most of his job involved direct voter contact, such as making phone calls and knocking on doors to solicit potential votes. Even though it was unpaid, the experience was extremely enriching.

“I’ve never been happier about any job,” Goldman said. “Being an unpaid intern was great. I literally walked into the office and the governor of Connecticut was just talking to, like, 20 volunteers [….] That was a good start.”

After his three-month stint as an intern, Goldman decided to keep working for the campaign. He moved to

Henderson, Nevada to work as a regional organizer and volunteer recruiter for the caucus. Clinton had won the precinct caucus by one delegate, making her the elected representative for the state.

“After that, I was an organizer in Idaho,” Goldman said. “[Later,] I was a regional organizing director in Minnesota, where I managed a staff of six organizers [and] twenty fellows. I [did] political advocacy, strategy, eventbuilding, stuff [like that]. I worked up until the [actual] election.”

For Goldman, the defining moment of his work was the precinct caucus in Nevada. A caucus, which is a meeting between members of a political party to select candidates or decide policy, requires a lot of volunteers. Many of these volunteers were recruited from off the streets. The complex system involves caucus math, which calculates how many delegates are awarded to either Clinton or Senator Bernie Sanders.

“This [Nevada] job was the single most challenging experience [ever],”

Goldman said. “12-hour days were just normal [….] But caucus day was the greatest day of my life [because] we won by five points.”

Goldman also described the surreal moment during the Nevada caucus in which Hillary Clinton made a surprise showing.

“I had to control the crowd around her, and [dictate] where she’d go,” he explained. “So here I am, […] standing next to Hillary Clinton, dictating ‘No, Secretary, come this way,’ or ‘Secretary, take a picture here.’ It was just so [surreal].”

The campaign was a lot of stress and hard work, but for Goldman, the Nevada caucus victory was worth the struggle.

“The campaign was long and [hard],” Goldman recalled. “And some days, it was awful. There were so many tears, so much stress, many late-night fast food runs, and a lot of loneliness. But it was the most incredible experience of my life. I just have absolutely nothing to compare it to.”

The Tribune Predicts: Jumping into January’s Horoscopes

Astrological predictions in preparation for a new semester Catherine Morrison & Jacqueline Casson Contributors Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) With the sun in your sign this month, get ready to be your confident and ambitious self and watch as you achieve your goals.

Take on your New Year’s resolutions and be determined to make them a reality.

Activity to try this month: Show off your altruistic side by getting involved in volunteering opportunities on Jan. 19 at the SSMU Volunteer Fair.

Aquarius

(Jan. 20 - Feb. 19) As the sun moves through Capricorn, it also moves through your twelfth house, which indicates a time for reflection and forgiveness. Reflect on your time in 2016 as you enter 2017.

Resolutions and ambitious planning can wait. This is cosmic permission to relax so don’t feel guilty over bingewatching your favourite Netflix show all day!

Activity to try this month: Enjoy a relaxing shopping day at the All Gender Clothing Swap on Jan. 17 at the Montreal Diocesan Theological College.

Pisces (Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) With both confident Mars and alluring

Venus in your sign this month, new and old admirers won’t be able to resist your charm and energy. Take a chance on love and put yourself out there by asking that cute pal you’ve spotted in lecture hall out on a date!

Love is in the air this month, Pisces.

Activity to try this month: Enjoy a night of dancing at the Redpath Museum Semi-Formal Gala on Jan. 20.

Aries (Mar. 21 - Apr. 20) As Mercury becomes direct in motion on Jan. 8, you will be full of energy and ready to take on new adventures and challenges this month.

With all this extra energy, allow your ambition to push you forward and find out how you can get involved on campus. This newfound sense of power will kick start your classes and the new year off to a good start—use this time to get out and seek new experiences.

Activity to try this month: Stop by the SSMU Winter Activities Night presented on Jan. 10-11 to find out which nifty clubs you can get involved in this semester.

Taurus (Apr. 21 - May 20) This new year may have you feeling a fresh sense of adventure as the sun blazes through Capricorn and your worldly ninth house. Go forth and seek new excitements! This month is the perfect time for you to take risks and go on a new adventure: A weekend getaway

with some friends to Mont Tremblant would be the perfect way to ski off your energy and have some fun.

Activity to try this month: Have a good laugh at Comedyworks Montreal’s “La Belle Improv #10” on Jan. 17.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) You are starting your winter semester on an introspective note as the sun moves through Capricorn into your eighth house of privacy.

Set personal boundaries for yourself and devote attention into your selfreflection as others scramble to accomplish New Year’s resolutions.

Yes, that means you’re off the hook for the classic “new year, new me” promises. Who really needs the gym when you can work out by having a dance party at home?

Activity to try this month: Treat yourself to a relaxing night at the ASA Film Showcase hosted by the McGill Anthropology Students’ Association on Jan. 20.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) As the full moon is in your sign on Jan. 12, you will feel determined to make changes in your work life. Consider expanding your academic and professional horizons. Take a new and interesting elective or maybe seek out a new job opportunity that interests you.

Activity to try this month: Inspire yourself at the U.S. & Canada Internship Info Session hosted by the McGill Faculty of Arts Internship

Office in Leacock on Jan. 10!

Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22) Stay focused on relationships this month as the sun moving into Aquarius will remind you of your need for interpersonal ties. Luckily, midterms are a ways away, so you can put less pressure on work this month and more on your friends and family. Think about attending something fun with close friends. Within and beyond the McGill bubble, this city always has something to offer!

Activity to try this month: Take a break from studying to check out Igloofest in the Old Port throughout January, or the McGill Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 20-21.

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) With the full moon entering into Cancer on Jan. 12, your eleventh house of activity will urge you to take part in a group outing. Make the most of this determination and energy to participate in a volunteer activity in your community!

Activity to try this month: Bring a group of friends along to the McGill Students’ Cancer Society’s Relay for Life on Jan. 28.

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) As the full moon on Jan. 12 is positioned in a Grand Cross with the sun in your domestic zone, you could experience family drama. Prepare for this

potentially harrowing situation and remember that you have friends by your side upon which to rely.

Activity to try this month: Bundle up and go out for a night of skating at Parc Lafontaine. Don’t forget to wear your snow pants!

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 22) Need to get something off your chest this new year? Now is the time, Scorpio! As the sun moves through Capricorn, it also moves through your third house of communication. This is the prime time to connect with new and old friends and impress your professors with your studious remarks in class or simply enjoy your surrounding McGillians.

Activity to try this month: Let out your wild side and attend the SACH fundraiser at Apartment 200 on Jan. 18.

Sagittarius (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) As Mercury is in retrograde through the beginning of this month, communication with others will be difficult. Take this time to focus on your academic life and get back into your routine if you find your interpersonal relationships lacking.

New year, new focus on yourself!

Activity to try this month: Make sure to take a study break to go see Heathers the Musical presented by AUTS on Jan. 19.

Illustrations by Winnie Lin / The McGill Tribune

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 11

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Visual Arts Society hosts long-awaited conference Speakers share “Visual Voices” on contemporary art and society Astha Agarwal Contributor McGill offers a very limited number of fine arts classes. However, the Visual Arts Society provides students with an opportunity to explore a multitude of artistic domains and connect with other students.

On Nov. 16 2016 the McGill Students’ Visual Arts Society hosted their most anticipated event of the fall semester: “Visual Voices.” The event featured McGill Professor Julia Skelly, Art Historian Emily Robertson, U3 Mcgill Medical Student Anita Raj, and U2 Concordia Fine Arts Student Florence Yee, who spoke about their relationship with art.

Professor Julia Skelly shared a part of her research in feminism and art, as seen in her upcoming 2017 book, “Radical Decadence.”

Skelly discussed the prominent messages in artwork by feminist artists, including Mickalene Thomas and Shary Boyle.

Skelly emphasized artists’ depictions of how women are often seen as excessive and selfdestructive by society. This theme is notable in Boyle’s 2005 work, “Untitled.” The artwork is a lace-draped painted porcelain figurine; the frilly dress the figure wears engulfs her, appearing to restrict her ability to move. Skelly also shared Nava Lubelski’s 2005 sculpture “Clumsy,” a tablecloth hand-embroidered to appear wine-stained, making reference to social perceptions of alcoholism and a lack of self-

control in women.

Florence Yee discussed the power of using art to tackle race and gender politics. Yee shared her struggles with being recognized for her work as an artist rather than for her raical identity. She showcased “Menu of Exoticism” (2016), a satirical work depicting a menu with the racial questions and remarks from viewers that she has received int he past.

Yee has also used her artwork to address issues of femininity and culture that she feels are often sidestepped and neglected.

“Comfort in Discomfort” (2016) features two women wearing vests made of tampons sewn together. One vest features the character of the Chinese red envelope. Yee conveys the strength in women literally wearing their femininity on their sleeves. This work is especially powerful in an age when tampons continue to be stigmatized and seen as taboo in various cultures.

The Visual Arts Society’s Vice-President Events Magdalena Morales felt that Yee’s struggles were relatable for fellow students grappling with their cultural identity.

“I appreciated the ethnocultural aspects she presented through her art,” Morales said.

Drake wins the game of egos

Florence Yee explores the stigma surrounding menstruation. (Image courtesy of Florence Yee) “It really struck me when she said, ‘How do I reconcile the Asian part of me with the other part that cannot be Asian? This is exactly how I feel with my Canadian-Venezuelan identity.”

Art Historian Emily Robertson gave a talk encouraging artists to fight for proper credit for their work. Visual Arts Society Co-President Rohita Ramayanam voiced her own sentiments on making a career as an artist.

“You have to actually be determined to fight for a career or a job, and you’ve got to put yourself out there,” Ramayanam said. “A lot of us [...] struggle with the [feeling of], ‘I’m interested in that, but not really sure what I want to do.’ You might be interested in a lot of things, but you need to have the drive to make success from that, to do something meaningful.”

The final speaker of the night, U3 medical student and childhood cancer survivor Anita Raj, delivered a moving presentation on the therapeutic effects of origami. Raj brought new

meaning to an art-form that is often associated with simple paper cranes.

Having discovered origami at a young age, Raj has introduced it to others in countless ways over the years—facilitating educational summer camps, volunteering at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, and presenting at the Canadian Conference on Medical Education in 2016. She believes that while it is not for everyone, origami can be extremely therapeutic for some.

Ramayanam emphasized that she is grateful for the Visual Arts Society, through which she has connected with individuals who share her interest in art.

“Since McGill doesn’t have a Visual Arts program, I hope people realize that there is a club on campus that specializes in it,” Ramayanam said. “There is a community where you can share that interest with likeminded people.”

P o p R h et o ri c

Though rap norms are shifting, personal beefs continue to influence the genre Noah Sutton Multimedia Editor Continued from page 1.

Instead, Drake’s fans turned Meek’s Twitter rant into mocking memes and by the time he could release a proper diss track—“Wanna Know”—Drake had already released two—“Charged Up” and “Back to Back.” Meek vastly overestimated the sway of ghostwriting allegations against Drake, whose audience is largely unconcerned with the rap rules of the past.

Shortly after the release of Views From the Six, Joe Budden and Drake got into a haphazard squabble after Budden called Views “uninspired” in his podcast, I’ll Name this Podcast Later. After that, Budden launched a series of diss tracks aimed at Drake that went unanswered.

Although many speculated that Drake’s silence stemmed from a tacit recognition of his lyrical inability to outperform Budden, Drake’s silence only prompted fans to act for him. A few OVO fans took it upon themselves to show up at Budden’s house to harass him in support of Drake.

The Twittersphere quickly latched onto video footage of the exchange, and memes featuring an aggravated Budden exploded.

Through memes and snide references to “Pump It Up”—Budden’s most popular and most mocked song—Drake sidestepped Budden’s criticism and won the beef in the court of Twitter opinion.

Drake has survived criticism against his talent as a rapper before.

Directly responding would only serve to bring more attention to his weaknesses. Similarly, as rap becomes more commercial, it has moved away from feuds. “You can’t beef with people because it’ll scare money away. In the streets you can strong arm people and take money but you can’t do that in the industry,” French Montana said in a 2012 interview with Complex. For this reason, “Two Birds One Stone” feels like an anomaly in the contemporary rap world.

With Drake dominating the most commercial spot in rap, why did he bother to release a track responding to his critics? The industry may be moving away from the impulsive and violent spats of the 90s, but Drake’s pride is still at stake. His contemporaries are still people who can tarnish his image and prod at his vulnerabilities. Despite his platinum records, Drake still has something to prove. The norms of rap may be shifting, but rap is still a game of egos.

Drake is uncharacteristically aggressive in his latest diss track. (Madeline Kinney / The McGill Tribune)

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Remembering Carrie Fisher

Metatron distributes in small bookstores in Montreal and Toronto. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune)

Metatron brings emerging writers together The Montreal publishing company provides an outlet for young creatives April Barrett Managing Editor Literature can be much more intimate and private than visual or performance art.

But for Concordia graduate Ashley Opheim, literature is the focal point of community.

Her community is self-built: An independent publishing company called Metatron, established in 2013.

When Opheim was studying creative writing at Concordia in 2012, she wondered why the literature community hadn’t flourished in the same way as music did in Montreal. She began organizing a series of reading events called “This is Happening Whether You Like It Or Not.” After many successful readings, Opheim and a group of other students were awarded a grant from Emploi Quebec that funded youth creative ventures. Opheim then turned her focus to growing Metatron into a company that published small chapbooks— staple bound paperbacks under 48 pages— rather than just event planning.

Over the past 3 years, Metatron has published 23 books, 33 chapbooks, and organized 33 readings. The company distributes in small bookstores in Montreal— such as The Word on rue Milton —and Toronto, as well as selling their works online.

For Opheim, what sets Metatron apart as a publishing company is its focus on nurturing young writers and validating their experiences.

“There are so many talented writers [in Montreal] who are young and not technically qualified enough to have a book out with a bigger press,” Opheim explained.

Opheim reminisced about Alt Lit, a—now defunct—online community that had inspired her around the time she began organizing the reading series.

“When I discovered [Alt Lit], it was kind of just writers who were writing, and they weren’t trying to be like anyone. They weren’t trying to be like Ernest Hemingway,” Opheim said. “They were kind of just like ‘this is my life and I’m gonna write a poem

about toaster strudels,’ [...] it wasn’t taking itself so seriously.”

This kind of writing continues to inspire Opheim. She feels that humour and authenticity of experience are at the heart of the work Metatron publishes.

“I feel like the books that we do are all relatable in a really fun way,” she explained.

“I feel like people can open the books and see themselves in [them]. And I think that’s a really beautiful thing. [In] the world we live in, being able to see yourself in someone else, regardless of gender and race, is so powerful.

And I don’t think there’s many things that exist in the world where that is a possibility.”

Opheim strongly believes that the most powerful writing comes from within, when a writer is true to how they feel. She is devoted to encouraging writers to express those feelings.

“I feel like when people are able to write an emotion that is true, it becomes universal,” Opheim said. “As human beings, as nuanced and different as we are, I still think like there are experiences that are very similar for everyone [....]. Feelings of alienation are very prevalent in contemporary writing by younger writers.”

Inclusivity and shared experience are the founding principles of Metatron. Opheim explains that for many artists, especially ones practicing the often private and introspective art of writing, a community is an essential motivating factor.

“Being part of a community like Metatron [...] gives you an incentive and inspiration to keep on working,” she said. “[...] The people we actually publish, after their book comes out, I just literally see them blossom into these writers who are taking themselves more seriously and performing better.”

Opheim’s goal of creating a literature scene in Montreal was possible largely due to what she calls the palpable “spirit of creativity” in the city.

“I really feel that Montreal is the place to be if you’re a young creative,” Opheim said.

“It’s such a fucking radical place.”

“

Carrie Fisher followed in her mother’s footsteps, working in film from an early age. (eonline.com)

Even in space, there’s a double standard for women.

If my life wasn’t funny, it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.

Evelyn Goessling Arts & Entertainment Editor Carrie Fisher, actress, performer, and writer, died on Dec. 27 of this past year from complications following a heart attack. She was 60 years old.

Fisher’s unique charm touched all aspects of her career. As a writer and performer, she spoke with candour and humour about the peculiarities of growing up within the film industry and getting caught up in what she called “Hollywood inbreeding.” Following in the footsteps of her parents, Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, she appeared in the entertainment world from an early age.

Fisher made her first professional appearance in the 1973 Broadway revival Irene, alongside her mother, Debbie Reynolds. In her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars (1979), Fisher brought a fierce presence and wry humour to the character and the sci-fi world.

Fisher wrote several memoirs

” -Carrie Fisher

about her life, including Postcards from the Edge (1987) and Wishful Drinking (2008), and was outspoken about her bipolar disorder and history with drug addiction. Her accounts of life on remote set locations for Star Wars and dancing with partner Paul Simon at Studio 54 illuminate her unique and exciting life in the context of her addictions. Fisher wrote—and lived—with determination and a pithy sense of humour. Bright Lights, an HBO documentary observing the relationship between Fisher and her mother was released Jan. 7.

Reynolds passed away on Dec 28— one day after her daughter’s death— as a result of a stroke. She was 84 years old.

“No matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra,” Fisher wrote in Wishful Drinking. In those words, and in all her work, Fisher created an inimitable legacy. A private ceremony for Fisher was held on Jan. 7, and Fisher’s ashes were placed in an antique urn in the shape of a giant Prozac pill.

Fisher approached her work with determination and a wry sense of humour. (wernermedia.com)

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

science & technology 13

All policies are health policies The importance of prevention in sustainable health Chelsea Chen Contributor Health is the backbone that supports all work and activities.

The importance of health is even greater under a demanding student life that easily becomes taxing to the mind and body.

Stories for Humanities (SFH)— an international participatory media organization—focused on health for their latest magazine issue.

On Nov. 25, an event held at the McCord Museum celebrated the launch of the new issue of SFH STORIES magazine on the theme of Quebec health care.

Over five months, submissions from individuals, organizations, businesses, and elected officials on their perspectives and experiences in Quebec health care were collected and published in the magazine. The launch event engaged the public as participants in an expert-led panel discussion.

Among the many topics discussed was the subject of prevention and sustainable health. Dr. Alain Poirier, former vice-president at the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ) and a panelist at the event, believes that most solutions to health problems do not lie exclusively within the health care system, but extend

into all other sectors.

“When we think about health, we think about the health [care] system [...,] the doctors, the nurses, the surgeons, the medication, and all that stuff,” Dr. Poirier said. “That’s important.

I’m not saying it’s not, […,] but globally, when you take a step back, and you look at the system, the improvement in the past and those that will come are coming from other sectors [.…] All these things, you can put globally into the term ‘prevention.’”

During the panel discussion, Dr. Poirier gave an example of the increase in Canadian life expectancy from 50 years at the beginning of the 20th century to 80 years by the end. While the 30 year gain in life expectancy over 100 years is significant, only eight years of those 30 years came from improvements in the accessibility or quality of health services. In other words, the increased life expectancy came mainly due to improvements in other environmental factors, such as poverty reduction, better education, and improvements in water and air quality.

“The way we translate this situation is to say that health is in all policies,” Dr. Poirier said. “[…] When you start analyzing health care problems, you [must] go upstream to see what is the cause and what is the solution.”

In Dr. Poirier’s holistic view of health, health care is everyone’s business and responsibility.

“Sustainable health is prevention, not cure,” Dr. Poirier said. “Cure is important […,] but […] most of the solution will come from [other sectors and specialists] who will transform our way of improving our GDP with sustainable jobs [...] and ecological way of thinking about our society, not only […] growth for growth or jobs for jobs.”

Health is closely tied to surrounding environmental factors such that human health is most often a reflection of the lifestyle choices presented by one’s environment.

“Our environment facilitates our choice,” Dr. Poirier said. “[…]

We are asking more of the planet than the planet can deliver. We [must] focus on an ecological viewpoint of health, so [that] the planet is our health system and the doctors are not.”

Stories for Humanities launched its latest issue on Quebec health care at an event held at the McCord Museum.

(Wendy Tran / The McGill Tribune)

F r o m t h e B r a i n STEM

The case for open source software Benji Taubenblatt Contributor Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept you should think of ‘free’ as in ‘free speech,’ not as in ‘free beer,’” leading software freedom activist Richard M. Stallman explained via the Free Software Foundation.

Open source software is computer software published under a copyright license where the copyright holder provides the rights for the study, change, and distribution of the software’s source code for any purpose.

This is important not just for the advancement of technology but for the freedom of expression as an innate human right.

Currently, developers can release software under a few main types of licenses. The General Public License (GPL) demands any modified software from the product—including source code— must be placed under the same type of license. In contrast to traditional

copyright laws, this license—often referred to as ‘copyleft’—allows developers to use and modify other developers’ code.

“The GPL is built on copyright, but disables the restrictions of copyright to allow for modification, distribution, and access,” Dr. Gabriella Coleman, the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill, wrote in an essay published in Cultural Anthropology. “It is also self-perpetuating because it requires others to adopt the same license if they modify copylefted software.”

In Nov., Tom Erickson, CEO and co-founder of Acquia and Drupal, came to McGill to discuss open source software business models. Founded in 2008, Acquia is a service provider for Drupal—a Content Management System (CMS) similar to WordPress and one of the largest open source communities in the world.

Acquia is a notable example of a company that profits from an open source business model.

However, how can companies

“

Cooperation and collaboration are important because it spurs people to participate and advance specific technologies and thus grow and learn together.

”

make money off of open source software if they are providing it for free?

“One of the questions I’ve always hated answering is, ‘how do people make money in open source?’” Linux founder Linus Torvalds said back in 1999.

“There are a number of [...] Linux companies going public [that] basically show that yes, you can actually make money in the opensource area.”

Business models often include charging a fee for service, such as training services for an open source product. Delayed open source is another viable choice, where the company agrees that its software will become open source at some point in the future. In addition, there is support through advertising, where the product remains open source while the company obtains revenue through advertising.

Providing training and other services for users of Drupal open source utilities is Acquia’s primary business model. Acquia’s paid subscription software helps people

if they are experiencing difficulties installing or making money with Drupal. In this way, Acquia creates a cooperative environment and fosters success on both the producer and consumer end. In addition, Acquia fosters collaboration by hosting conferences that promote open source software. Cooperation and collaboration are important because they spur many people to participate and advance specific technologies and thus grow and learn together. In fact, security is often greater for open source products because a significant amount of people are working on the product, instead of just a few people working on a proprietary model. With more eyes on a project, potential security threats are usually discovered more quickly.

Open source software is an important vessel for open participation and innovation. By allowing people to learn from each other’s work and advance different technologies, society can more effectively and quickly benefit from open source software.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

14 science & technology

Edible insects: How five McGill grads are changing the future of food Lessons in entrepreneurship with Aspire Food Group

Erin Dwyer Contributor “The test was simple,” former McGill MBA student Mohammed Ashour wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Would you be willing to drop out of school to pursue this idea, even if you lost the Hult Prize?”

In 2013, Ashour and his classmates Gabe Mott, Shobhita Soor, Jesse Pearlstein, and Zev Thompson came together to compete in the prestigious international Hult Prize in social entrepreneurship. The team would go on to launch Aspire Food Group, with a mission of providing alternate forms of sustainable protein.

“I wanted to form a team where each individual brings a unique point of view and set of skills,” Ashour said. “Not just demographic and cultural diversity, which are critical, but also diversity in thought, experience, and worldview.”

The Hult Prize challenged the teams to the daunting task of tackling food security and poverty, particularly in urban slums.

Around that time, Ashour ran into friend and Montreal physician Dr. Mohamed Slim.

“I struck up the topic about

food security and poverty and he narrated a story about insects as food,” Ashour said. “That was the spark.”

Protein is a vital macronutrient, but, animal protein is often extremely expensive and resource intensive. With these limitations, protein deficiency is common worldwide. Dr. Slim recommended the team to seek out a creative alternative.

“People love bugs,” Dr. Slim said. “If you deal with something really common, people will say ‘ah, clever, but I’m not interested.’ If you tell them something disgusting but plausible, you win.”

And their idea did just that. In March 2013, the team beat Harvard University to progress through the Hult Prize Regional Finals and then went on to win in September of the same year.

Using the $1 million seed capital prize, Aspire Food Group was born.

Ashour advocates for learning entrepreneurial lessons outside the classroom. However, if students haven’t found their “ah-ha!” idea just yet, Ashour suggests searching for start-ups they’re interested in and asking for work.

“I guarantee that the ‘tuition value’ of learning on someone else’s dime will be one of the most

Founded by McGill alumni, Aspire Food Group encourages crickets for breakfast. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune) invaluable experiences you will have,” Ashour said. “If I’m being blunt, it may be more valuable than anything you will learn in the classroom.”

Despite the win, there were still hurdles for the team.

“The biggest obstacle was validation,” Ashour said. “We had this extremely optimistic concept of getting people in Thailand, Kenya, or Ghana to put a basket full

of noisy crickets in their already crowded dwelling!”

After many long nights and trips back to the drawing board, Aspire now utilizes sensor technology and the internet-ofthings to generate live data on the insects throughout their lifespans.

Not only is Aspire fulfilling the original Hult Prize challenge of spearheading urban food poverty, it has branched into normalizing

insect consumption in Western countries.

“While food insecurity is less problematic in Canada and the United States, than, say, Kenya, food sustainability has become a major problem,” Ashour said.

Less than two years after establishing their first U.S. pilot cricket farm, Aspire launched the site aketta.com: An online information and recipe hub and retailer for all things crickets.

“It is estimated that 80 per cent of water resources in the U.S. are consumed by livestock production” Ashour said.

“Insects are objectively an outstanding source of nutrition […] with the added advantage of being incredibly environmentally efficient.”

The now 30-person company doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

“We are currently making significant investments into biological and technology research and development” Ashour said.

“Our goal is to develop modular farms that can be deployed in any country around the world.”

For the aspiring entrepreneurs out there, Ashour advocates starting now.

“If you have an idea you are obsessed with […] don’t fear failure,” he said.

The science behind keeping New Year’s resolutions Tips on following through with promises to kick 2017’s butt discouraged quickly and old habits prevail.

In addition, most people treat the resolution as a personal commitment to achieve a certain outcome, rather than taking the time to set themselves up for success by planning.

In order SciTech offers advice for following through with ambitious promises for the New Year. (lifehack.org) to achieve a specific 23 per cent of people who make resolution, it is more effective Charlotte Hings New Year’s resolutions actually to concentrate on the process Contributor of attaining the goal rather than complete them. focusing on the outcome. The There are a range of Each New Year comes with countless resolutions from people problems that can result in process of achieving goals is hoping to better themselves in failures to realize New Year’s described as a shift in behaviour the coming 12 months; however, resolutions. A common mistake to change bad habits into good most of these resolutions are is that the goal is too general and ones. Habits are triggered by abandoned shortly after they are is treated as a promise to oneself. environmental cues and are made. According to a 2013 survey Without a concrete action plan or formed by repetition. Therefore, by time management training specific timeline on how to form the key to eliminating bad company FranklinCovey, only desired new habits, many are habits is to identify and alter the

environmental cues associated with the bad behaviours in a way that will promote repetition of the good or desired routine.

For example, if the goal is to stop drinking soda, it should not be approached by focusing on never drinking soda. The approach should focus on creating smaller, achievable goals and a timeline for achieving them. For instance, start by only drinking one soda per week for the first month, followed by one soda every two weeks for the second month, and so on. Additionally, if the environmental cues for drinking soda are associated with visiting fast-food restaurants, then set reminders to drink water whenever someone stops at McDonald’s. This way, the act of drinking soda is avoided because it has been gradually replaced with other routines.

For some, it may also be helpful to have an accountability partner. Someone to hold the individual responsible to their promise, who offers encouragement and support, and provides the incentive to stick to the plan to achieve one’s goal.

Despite all of this, it is often still likely that there will be a relapse back to old patterns.

When this happens, most are discouraged instantly and give up entirely, claiming that the plan they created doesn’t work or that the goal they set is unrealistic. But one should remember, reverting back to old habits is extremely normal when trying to form new routines, and should not lead to abandonment of the resolution. To combat the relapse and get back on track, the obstacle that caused the setback must be identified so that the next time the obstacle presents itself, it can be easily handled. So, it is worthwhile to reflect and recount the environment, activities, and feelings associated with the relapse.

From all this, it may seem as though New Year’s resolutions are just as much an art as a science. No one ever said changing for the better was easy, but by following some of these tips, following through on New Year’s resolutions can be made more manageable.

SPORTS 15

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Ronda Rousey and the challenge of getting back up after a fall Rousey’s comeback is not yet complete

Ronda Rousey after technical knockout defeat to Amanda Nunes. (cdn0.vox-cdn.com)

Nicole Spadotto Staff Writer Ronda Rousey’s long-anticipated comeback to UFC fighting came to a rapid halt in a 48-second technical knockout at the hands of defending UFC champion Amanda Nunes. The Dec. 30 fight marked another major setback in Rousey’s tumultuous career. After a meteoric rise to UFC and global stardom, Rousey lost her undefeated record and UFC Women’s Bantamweight title at the hands of Holly Holm in Nov. 2015. Rousey subsequently took 18 months off from UFC competition to recover and train before returning to the octagon last month.

The mental strength to stay at the top of one’s game and rebound from defeat is an essential skill in any successful athlete’s repertoire. Rousey’s fall from UFC Bantamweight favourite and Hollywood darling to consecutive defeats mirrors the tumultuous journey many athletes face over their careers.

These internationally lauded athletes can get overconfident in their matches or neglect to make adjustments and tweak their styles to keep opponents and newcomers off guard. Rousey’s questionable coaching has been widely criticized for both its legitimacy and strike heavy strategy; in particular, it makes her attacks more predictable and easier to prepare for. Additionally, by taking advantage of technology for increased scouting, preparation, and film review of incredible sophistication, other athletes seem to have cracked the code of what made Rousey unbeatable.

For all athletes, the art of the comeback is incredibly tough to master.

Watching Rousey fail in her initial attempt was relatable for athletes across the world. Whether being cut by a team, trying to overcome an injury, or facing mental roadblocks, athletes of all ages must constantly fight to remain competitive in their respective sports. Even for legends Michael Jordan and Muhammed Ali, comebacks can end in unfortunate failure.

Keeping confident with a winning record is much easier. In Rousey’s case, her wins became self-perpetuating–she believed she was incapable of losing. This confidence was only encouraged by the accolades and honours she received both inside and outside of the sports world. However, the true mental fortitude of an athlete is tested when they start losing. Serena Williams in particular has come to dominate women’s tennis because she remains poised even when she falls behind. Her 33 Grand Slam match victories [in which she was trailing by a set] show the importance of mental preparation for world-class athletes.

Whether or not there is a specific psychological formula to a successful comeback is up for debate. Intensity and consistency are two assets athletes must have, but maintaining these skills across matches is no guarantee– especially when faced with athletes perceived to be stronger or weaker in skillset. Some psychologists even believe that falling behind or losing a match can reignite the intensity and competitive spirit essential for a winning record. With this theory, losing can actually be a good thing if it jerks an athlete out of complacency.

With the mentality of a comeback in mind, Rousey is at a crossroads in her career. Perhaps other fighters have unlocked the secret to her style and have temporarily found ways to beat her until she can adapt and dominate them once more. Or, perhaps the “myth” of Rousey’s inability to be defeated has been crushed, giving other fighters confidence when they step into the octagon. Either way, Rousey can either lean into her losses and derive intensity from them or she can let her defeats define her. Many athletes have faced a similar choice, but for Rousey, the stakes are higher because of her celebrity status. Her response will either mark the end of her career or will solidify her as one of the greatest female athletes of all time.

Paris 2014 League of Legends Championship. (game-accessibility.com)

Are eSports “real” sports?

Status of eSports in North America is still in question Patrick Beacham Contributor ESports have experienced a boom in popularity in recent years. Prize money, viewership, and exposure have all grown to previously unimaginable scales.

With competitive gaming becoming commonplace, questions of legitimacy are still raised by its detractors, both by traditional sports fans and analysts alike.

ESports are competitive computer gaming leagues that showcase strategy and teamwork encompassing a variety of genres and game types. The most prominent leagues and circuits are made up of strategy games, such as Dota 2 and League of Legends, and first-person shooters, like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and multiple iterations of Call of Duty.

The debate over the legitimacy of eSports centres in large part around whether the precision and strategy characteristic of competitive gaming is enough to compensate for the lack of physical activity. In response, proponents of eSports tote the necessity of extraordinary hand-eye coordination and refined motor skills. In an opinion piece for Al Jazeera, reporter and neuroscience student Tom Burns reported on the “extremely complex” nature of eSports, claiming the “careful planning, precise timing, and skillful execution” essential to competitive gaming make eSports worthy of recognition. Similar arguments have come up before in support of different sporting events like poker and Formula One racing. However, their respective statuses as real sports remain ambiguous to this day.

Additionally, viewership and industry revenue shows widespread growth.

According to Newzoo–the foremost authority on eSports demographics–total revenue reached nearly $500 million with over 300 million viewers in 2016. Newzoo predicts that by 2019, eSports revenue could

jump to well over $1 billion and viewership could reach 500 million worldwide. While the projected revenue would only make up a fraction of the billions of dollars mainstream sports bring in each year, the high rate of growth in eSports may bring the industry into contention with the revenue figures seen in other sports industries.

Player compensation has also been feeling the effects of the industry’s growth.

The top 100 highest earners in eSports have made from just under $400,000 to over $2.7 million. The majority of these high salaries come from the Dota 2 circuit, where prize pools can generate over $9 million for first place teams and over $20 million in total.

In comparison, the average MLB salary is $3.2 million, making the highest of eSports prizes seem merely average at best and demonstrating once again that eSports does not currently have the numbers to generate the same publicity as other sporting events.

While the figures may still not rival traditional athletics, first-hand testimony suggests eSports players train as hard as any other sport. According to a string of Tweets from Astralis, an eSports team from Denmark competing in the Counter Strike: Global Offensive circuit, each of its players spent almost half of 2016 away from home attending events and competing in 29 tournaments. As each eSports tournament consists of multiple games, an eSports team may have the same time commitment to their events as a baseball or football team does, linking what some claim to be completely different types of competitive events.

With all factors considered, eSports will continue to grow despite its critics.

The traditional notion of a ‘real’ sport may be centred on physical activity, but competitive gaming shows that the intense strategy, planning, and skill required to compete make eSports just as legitimate a sport as football or soccer.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

16 sports

2016 NFL AWARDS

By Joe Khammar, Sports Editor (newsday.com)

(borongaja.com)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers

Damon “Snacks” Harrison - New York Giants

The King in the North has reclaimed his throne atop the NFC North. After a 4-6 start, Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers worked out the kinks and finished undefeated down the stretch. With a hodgepodge of receivers, Rodgers led the league in passing touchdowns and single-handedly saved the Packers’ season.

While not a household name, the New York Giants’ defensive tackle has quietly put together one of the best seasons of all time. He led all interior linemen with 86 tackles and finished the year with league leading 50 run stops, something only J.J. Watt in 2012 and 2013 has ever managed prior to Harrison.

(usatoday.com)

(usatoday.com)

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

COACH OF THE YEAR

Ezekiel Elliott - Dallas Cowboys

Bill Belichick - New England Patriots

The rookie running back amassed 1,994 total combined rushing and receiving yards, leading the Dallas Cowboys into the playoffs with an NFC-best record of 13-3. With shades of all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith, Elliott’s performance has been nothing short of spectacular and should keep the Cowboys in Super Bowl contention for years to come.

Missing the greatest quarterback of all time for a quarter of the season had no effect on Belichick’s New England Patriots. Dropping just one game without their all-star quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots managed to rail off an NFL-best 14-2 record.

There’s no breaking with tradition, Belichick deserves full credit for this incredible season.

World Juniors game exciting but struggles to fill seats

F ro m t h e c h e a p s e a ts

André Morin Contributor Continued from page 1.

It’s difficult to pin down the main cause for such a low turnout. One reason could be the lack of a superstar player on Team Canada. Two years ago, for example, the talented Connor McDavid’s presence helped set records in attendance. But even without an individual standout, the tournament is still filled with future NHL players with all but one member already drafted. A lack of a rivalry between Sweden and Canada, despite both being powerhouses at the international level, could also have impacted interest in the game. While ticket prices started at $35, significantly less than a Canadiens game, some still considered it to be overpriced for U20. The Habs always have crazy fans willing to pay anything to go watch them play, which doesn’t seem to be the case for Team Canada at the

Empty seats at the Bell Centre during Team Canada’s match at the World Juniors (s3.yimg.com) junior level. Tournament organizers had already felt the need to lower their prices in an attempt to increase attendance.

Yet there’s another possible explanation that seems too para-

doxical to be true: Canadians may be growing tired of hockey.

With Canada hosting the World Cup of Hockey last summer and the NHL season in full swing, Canadians may not be looking

for more hockey. A World Junior Championship game on a cold January weeknight could have been one hockey game too many for even the more dedicated fans.

If one thing is for sure, the

fans who showed up to the game truly cared about their teams.

These were some of the most passionate fans I have ever seen and they were certainly more crazed than those in attendance at an average Canadiens game. There were no tourists or fair weather fans there just for the experiencethese were die-hard supporters and rink-rats from around the world.

Thankfully with Canada reaching the tournament final to play the United States the following night, attendance was at its highest for a thrilling 5-4 shootout win by the United States in arguably the best game of the tournament. Watching Team Canada play at any level is exciting, but at a certain point one can simply have too much hockey in his or her life. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) may need to continue lowering its prices in order to convince people to attend World Juniors games or find new marketing strategies to hype non-rival play.