The McGill Tribune Vol. 36 Issue 15

SPORTS “Queen’s Gaels dethrone McGill Redmen in front of rowdy Carnival fans” pg. 16

SCI TECH “McGill Library offers 3-D printing service” pg. 13

The McGill Tribune

EDITORIAL: POLITICAL CONVERSATION MUST BREAK ECHO CHAMBERS AT MCGILL IN 2017 pg. 05 TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017 VOL. 36 ISSUE 15

PUBLISHED BY THE SPT, A STUDENT SOCIETY OF MCGILL UNIVERSITY

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM

Transition period in McGill’s Counselling and Mental Health Services MCMHS adapts to Clinical Director’s suspension and new clinical approach Alexia Martel-Desjardins Contributor

Futuristic Future comments on the digitalization of our world, page 10. (Christopher Li / The McGill Tribune)

Hollywood awards itself Ariella Garmaise Staff Writer When the Golden Globes kickstarted the awards show season on Jan. 8, the normally easy-going ceremony was set with an unusually tense energy.

Award shows are a time for

the entertainment industry to pat itself on the back for its accomplishments in film and television. This year, celebrities went even further to congratulate themselves on their liberal pseudo-activism in the face of the Trump presidency.

“I just think it can be gross

sometimes, the way Hollywood congratulates itself all the time,” actor and comedian Zach Galifinakis told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014.

Since Trump’s election, Hollywood’s ‘liberal elite’ have been forced to face the limits of their power. The entertainment

industry fancies itself the epicentre of American culture, but despite an almost unanimous outcry from Hollywood, Trump still won. Award shows now not only shed light on Hollywood’s successes, but also its failures— and Hollywood is unsure of how to move forward.

PG. 10

Long-distance tutoring connects McGill students to Syrian refugees

Syrian Kids Foundation provides aid to refugee children Emma Carr Contributor Over the Internet, McGill students are preparing Syrian refugees in Turkey to take English language proficiency exams.

The tutoring is facilitated by the Syrian Kids Foundation (SKF), an

organization founded in 2012 to support Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Through its flagship project, the Al Salam School, the SKF provides over 1,800 Syrian refugee children living in Turkey with an education.

The SKF was created in response to the Syrian refugee crisis—the mass displacement of

Syrians following the outbreak of civil war in 2011. Faisal Alazem, co-founder and executive director of the SKF, felt moved to create the program after visiting Turkey in person and witnessing the suffering of Syrian refugee children.

“During a visit to Turkey

pg. 11 - 13

with friends, we realized that there were so many kids that were of school age that were in the streets trying to make a living, sometimes working, sometimes trying to beg for money, for bread,” Alazem said. “And you realize that there is something very aggressive happening to Syrian children.”

PG. 11

In December 2016, Dr. Nancy Low was suspended from her position as Clinical Director of McGill’s Counselling and Mental Health Services (MCMHS).

The exact circumstances of Dr. Low’s suspension cannot be provided as both her office and Douglas Sweet, director of Internal Communications at McGill, said that they are unable to publically comment in any way about personnel matters.

Dr. Low’s suspension follows recent modifications that have been made to MCMHS since the beginning of the Fall 2016 semester, namely the harmonization of the two services into one administrative unit and the new definition of emergency appointments. These changes occurred after feedback and reports including the Student Services’ Cyclical Review, according to the Office of the Executive Director of Student Services.

When asked about the reason for Dr. Low’s suspension, a team from the office of the Executive Director of Student Services stated, “Dr. Nancy Low is on administrative leave. The University cannot comment on HR matters to protect the privacy of all parties concerned.” Calls to Dr. Low’s office were not returned.

PG. 07

2 news

Tuesday, January 17, 2016 tribune explains

The three types of professors you’ll meet at McGill Cherry Ng Staff Writer Think that all professors are the same? Think again. There are three different categories of professors at McGill: Course lecturers, contract academic staff, and tenure/tenure-track staff.

Course Lecturers Minimum Salary: $7,800 per course Course lecturers are professors who instruct at least one undergraduate or graduate course on a contractual course-by-course basis without being required to conduct research. Also referred to as “sessional lecturers”, they are represented by the McGill Course Lecturers and Instructors Union (MCLIU) and act in accordance with the union’s terms and conditions.

According to MCLIU President Raad Jassim, course lecturers teach approximately 35 per cent of all the courses at McGill. “[MCLIU] has about 800-900 course lecturer members per semester and about 1,500 course lecturer members per year,” Jassim says. “[Course lecturers] might vary from one semester to the following. Throughout the year, [some] might teach in more than one

university.”

Jassim feels that course lecturers enhance the university learning environment.

“Course lecturers come in with specific designations to teach a [specific] course [or courses],” Jassim said.

“They enrich the university in experience and academic progress.”

Course lecturer Karen McAllister believes that the position is a great way to experience the joy of teaching even though the pay is not as high as it is for tenured professors. She believes that sessional lecturers may not be able to put as much time into each course as a result of the flat pay rate per course.

“You get a lot back from teaching and you feed off the energy,” McAllister said. “It’s nice to teach when you have a good energetic group of students who are thinking about new ideas. [But] the more hours you put in as a [course lecturer], the less you are getting paid.

You aren’t going to put that amount of work in when you also have to be doing other things to pay the bills.”

Faculty Lecturers Minimum Salary: $50,000 per annum Faculty lecturers are a type of ‘Contract Academic Staff’ and are hired to teach on a yearly contractual basis.

They are not required to do research and are not eligible for consideration of tenure. At McGill, faculty lecturers are represented by the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT). Since MAUT is an association, faculty lecturers are not unionized. Assistant, associate, and full professors can also be contract academic staff on contracts shorter than or equal to three years–too short to be eligible for tenure.

The lack of unions for faculty lecturers can sometimes create non-transparent hiring. According to Jassim, the administration does not always hold open calls for faculty position jobs.

“There rarely are postings for faculty lecturers,” Jassim said.

“At Concordia, [the faculty] will announce [the postings], but at McGill they don’t. They will just choose someone to become a faculty lecturer. The chair of the department assigns that faculty lecturer who gets approved by the dean and then the provost.”

According to McGill’s hiring rules, however, faculty lectureship must be advertised. The exceptions to mandatory advertising are clinical appointments that are primarily

related to clinical teaching of medical and dentistry students, professional appointments that are similar to clinical appointments, and adjunct professors. Adjunct professors are employed by the government, industry, or an institution other than McGill for at least one academic term.

Tenure/Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Minimum Salary: $65,000 per annum Associate Professor Minimum Salary: $77,500 per annum Full Professor Minimum Salary: $90,000 per annum Tenure and tenure-track professors are hired to conduct their own research while teaching at the university. Tenure-track professors usually begin at the assistant professor level and are normally considered for tenure in their sixth year. Once tenure is received, professors are guaranteed their position until retirement age, which is 60 in Quebec, except under dismissal with just cause.

At McGill, associate professors have obtained tenure or will be considered for tenure in their fifth year at McGill and

(May Lim / The McGill Tribune) full professors have been promoted from associate professorship, either already with tenure or automatically considered for it in their fourth year.

According to Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures, and Equity) Angela Campbell, the tenure/tenuretrack positions have a highly vetted screening process.

“We have the call for applications and then people apply and then we have long lists and short lists and interviews so the person comes here and gives a talk,” Campbell said.

Professors applying for the tenure/tenure-track positions must submit a CV, recommendations from their department, three letters of reference from outside of McGill, and an optional personal statement.

McGill community members appointed to Order of Canada Accomplished scholars honoured at annual ceremony

Victoria Kaspi (cbc.ca), Lorne M. Trottier (mcgill.ca), Katherine Carleton (orchestracabada.org), Michael David Dan (tshfoundation.ca), John Parisella (irpp.org), Isaac Schiff (health.harvard.edu)

Helen Wu Contributor The Order of Canada was established in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and it is one of Canada’s highest civilian honours.

The prestigious title recognizes Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to Canadian society and have enriched the lives of those in our country. Governor General and former McGill principal, David Johnston, announced new members and officers of the Order of Canada in the annual New Year’s list of appointments. Among them includes members of the McGill community Victoria Kaspi, Lorne Trottier, Katherine Carleton, Michael David Dan, John Parisella, and Isaac Schiff.

Victoria Kaspi Kaspi is a professor of physics

at McGill University. Her research is focused on observational studies of neutron stars and the use of radio and X-ray telescopes to study pulsars, which are rapidly rotating neutron stars that regularly emit ‘pulses’ of radiation. Her work is globally renown and her insight into the behaviour of neutron stars is widely respected. In 2016, she was one of the youngest recipients of the $1-million Gerhard Hertzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.

Her promotion to Companion of the Order of Canada is recognition for her research preeminence and scientific achievements.

Lorne M. Trottier Trottier is best known as the cofounder of Matrox, a computer corporation that specializes in computer graphics. In addition, he is an engineer, businessman, and philanthropist who has contributed over $20

million to McGill for the funding of science buildings and initiatives. He has been promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada for his generosity as one of Canada’s leading supporters of research and education in the sciences.

Katherine Carleton An adept musician and an admired arts manager, Carleton has worked hard defending, promoting, and advocating for the arts and orchestra all over Canada. This McGill University Management graduate has been the executive director of the Kingston Symphony, the Nova Scotia Symphony, and the KitchenerWaterloo Symphony orchestra. Her appointment to the Order of Canada demonstrates the contributions she has made with her passion for music.

Michael David Dan After resigning from his neu-

rosurgery career, Dr. Dan returned home to Toronto and became a generous donor to charities in the area.

Dan has been appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition for his contributions and work with indigenous people. He created Gemini Power, a hydroelectric venture that works with indigenous communities in Ontario.

John Parisella McGill Faculty of Education alumnus Parisella’s past roles include serving as chief negotiator of a land claim by the Mohawks of Kahnawake and as chief of staff to former Quebec premiers Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson. While teaching at Concordia University, he served as special communications advisor to the university’s president. It was his social, political, and academic engagement, as well as dedication to major governance issues, that earned

him this recognition.

Isaac Schiff After graduating from McGill Medical School, Dr. Schiff went on to serve as the director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He later became chief of the Mass General Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he initiated the obstetrics program, the in-vitro fertility program, and the division of urogynecology. In addition, Dr. Schiff is one of the founding trustees of the North American Menopause Society and was editor-in-chief of its journal Menopause since its inception. He has previously been honoured with the Harvard Medical School’s Dean’s Award for the advancements he has made in women’s health.

news 3

Tuesday, January 17, 2016

Transition period in McGill’s Counselling and Mental Health Services

AMUSE members secure collective agreement with McGill

MCMHS adapts to Clinical Director’s suspension and new clinical approach

Arvaa Balsara & Domenic Casciato Contributors

Students have given feedback on the integration of McGill Counselling and Mental Health Services. (L-A Benoit / The McGill Tribune)

Alexia Martel-Desjardins Contributor Continued from page 1.

Associate Clinical Director Dr. Giuseppe Alfonsi has assumed Dr. Low’s responsibilities for the moment, according to the Office of the Executive Director of Student Services.

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat said he was disappointed after hearing of Dr. Low’s suspension.

“We’re concerned that this seems like not a very healthy management move from higher up,” Sobat said.

Sobat said that SSMU has had a positive experience when collaborating with Dr. Low in the past. According to Sobat, Dr. Low voiced the worries of staff and students regarding the new stepped-care model.

“We have had very positive working relationships with Dr. Low,” Sobat said. “I think that she has been […advocating] for concerns with the transition to the steppedcare model [...] coming from staff within Student Services that were not necessarily being heard or are still not being heard.”

The stepped-care model implemented in Fall 2016 consists in a change of procedure in the way patients are taken in. Instead of students choosing to visit Mental Health Services or Counselling Services, new patients are evaluated at one point of entry and are directed to the correct service. “[The model] is moving away from not just prioritizing one-on-one psychotherapy, and that is a shift that is grounded in research showing there are other really effective tools out there [that are] more preventative and upstream,” Sobat said.

According to Dr. Alfonsi and the Director of the McGill Counselling Service Dr. Vera Romano, students who have used MCMHS feel the new structure is less confusing than the previous.

“Many students who have experienced the old system have expressed relief that there are less hoops to jump through and that they can get access to the resources offered by both units through a single process,” Dr. Alfonsi and Dr. Romano said.

Feedback from MCMHS staff, according to Dr. Alfonsi and Dr. Romano, mainly addresses emergency appointments and the difficulty of providing services while at the same time implementing important structural modifications.

“The major challenge for staff is coping with systemic changes when our units cannot close shop for a semester to ‘renovate processes,’” said Dr. Alfonsi and Dr. Romano.

“The main pain point that continues to be expressed is priority appointments, which we have started to address.”

Sobat said that he believes Dr. Low’s suspension will impede the process of adapting to the new stepped-care model.

“We think it’s really only going to be successful if the staff feel that they are a part of these decisions and a part of these changes that are on board,” Sobat said.

Sobat also said that SSMU would prefer that students and staff be more included in the decision-making process of major changes within the student services system.

“We’d really encourage the administration to adopt a collaborative approach when it goes forward with these big structural changes,” Sobat said. “[The administration’s approach should] not only consult students, but also really involve their staff in those discussions.”

Students have complained about the new system’s lack of clarity, according to Sobat.

“There are […] continued concerns about the communication of the changes in Counselling and Mental Health Services,” Sobat said. “[MCMHS] keep saying they are going to launch a new website, that they’re going to have a communications plan, and that’s been very delayed.”

Also on MCMHS’ agenda for the Winter term is taking into account student feedback and the improvement of their services based on the new approach, according to Senior Director of Student Services Martin Gauthier.

“We are about to launch an application form for students to join our Student User Consultation Group to help inform all our Wellness initiatives, including the harmonization of Counselling and Mental Health Services,” Gauthier said.

Look forward to completing merger with MUNACA

Years of negotiations end in agreement On the night of Jan. 9, members of the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) voted 86 per cent in favour to ratify a new collective agreement with McGill. The union, which represents over 1,500 casual employees on campus ranging from floor fellows to library staff, began negotiations with McGill in May of 2015. The new agreement was drafted in a Nov. 25, 2016 meeting between AMUSE and the university.

These changes will be finalized when a final draft of the agreement is submitted by the administration and signed by AMUSE. In an email to The Tribune, Robert Comeau, director of Labor and Employee Relations and part of the administration’s negotiating team, expects the agreement to be finalized sometime this semester.

“The administration is currently preparing the final English and French versions of the new collective agreement,” Comeau wrote. “It will then be reviewed by the union and we are hopeful that signature will take place in early February.”

AMUSE was unable to secure paid sick days for its members and, due to an open complaint they’ve filed with the Quebec Pay Equity Commission, they were also not able to implement an expanded list of job titles in the new agreement.

Although not all of their demands were met, the ratification of this agreement is a major victory for the union. Claire Michela, president of AMUSE, emphasized that their negotiations are not finished. “[It was] not everything we wanted, but definitely everything was positive,” Michela said. “It’s clear that we had a collective agreement, before that was minimal [...and] we were able to get things without giving anything up [....] It’s not over.”

AMUSE-MUNACA merger progresses On Feb. 23, members of AMUSE and McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), two major labour unions on campus, will meet to approve the conditions of a merger to become one union representing both student and non-student permanent and casual employees.

The first steps towards the merger were approved in February 2015 as a result of pressures that both unions were experiencing in their negotiations with the university, which, according to Claire Michela, the current president of AMUSE, caused tension between the two organizations.

“By pitting us against each other, [the university] is able to reduce the inherent responsibility of management,” Michela said.

On Oct. 13, 2016, members approved proposed merger by-laws and a transition policy. By combining the two unions, both AMUSE and MUNACA hope to facilitate negotiations with the university and minimize any financial loss to the employees as a result of strikes.

Camille Tsalik, U3 Arts, is a work-study student represented by AMUSE and said that the strikes held in November 2016 prevented employees from working and only provided compensation for the time spent picketing.

“As someone [who] depends on my work-study pay for living expenses, the strikes were incredibly frustrating,” Tsalik said.

The current merger conditions propose that there will be three separate agreements, each covering one of the three bargaining units: The floor fellows, the temporary, nonacademic employees which are both currently represented by AMUSE, and the permanent non-academic employees, which are represented by MUNACA. Furthermore, the negotiations between the two unions have resulted in a proposal to consolidate the financial and executive structures of both unions. They will share a budget of approximately $410,000 per year, which will be a combination of their current budgets. Each of the three bargaining units will be represented by a vice-president (VP) and a labour relations officer in the new executive structure and will also share a president, a VP internal, and a communications officer.

“Without merging, the financial and executive structures wouldn’t be able to accomplish as much or be as strong of a union,” Michela said.

The first executive elections for the new combined union will take place in September 2017 provided that the current proposal is approved by both unions and their respective members.

AMUSE members participate in a picket line during a strike that ended on Nov. 2. (Photo courtesy of Claire Michela)

4 news

Tuesday, January 17, 2016

McGill Faculty of Law introduces intensive course on indigenous law First-year students exposed to indigenous legal traditions Cherry Wu Contributor After their holiday break, the FaculAfter its holiday break, the Faculty of Law launched a week-long intensive course on indigenous law as part of its mandatory first-year Integration Workshop. The first of its kind at McGill, the course sets out to introduce first-year law students to indigenous legal tradition.

The 2015 Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) called for Canadian law schools to educate students on the legacy of indigenous culture. Co-Chair of the McGill Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education Angela Campbell weighed in on how McGill is responding to the call of the TRC. “[The Task Force] is making important progress toward its mandate of heeding the TRC’s Calls to Action and exploring initiatives that seek to embed indigeneity into diverse activities at McGill,” Campbell said. “[This includes] student recruitment and support, teaching and learning, research, community-engagement, and capacity building.”

Coordinator of the First People’s House and Co-Chair of the Task Force Paige Isaac expressed her optimism for the course.

“It’s our hope that the Task Force recommendations help build a foundation which will empower the McGill community to [...] enhance relationships between Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal peoples at the university and beyond,” Isaac said.

McGill Professor Hoi Kong co-taught the course with Professors Hadley Friedland from the University of Alberta and Val Napoleon from the University of Victoria.

“The focus was on learning how to learn,” Friedland said.

“My objective […] was to provide all first-year law students with some common theoretical and practical tools for approaching indigenous laws, and about resources and methods for engaging with indigenous laws today.”

The week-long course is designed to alternate between larger classes and smaller group meetings, in which students

have the chance to discuss and apply the concepts they learned Centre SAINT-LOUIS through a se4285, Drolet, 3rd floor ries of exercisMont-Royal es. To respect French as a second language the sensitiv514 596-5800, ity that often Classes start January 10, 2017 and March 7, 2017 ext.: 8533 surrounds the treatment of Schedules: Aboriginal • Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:55 p.m. people’s cul• Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tures, the fac• Monday to Thursday from 5:45 p.m. to 10:10 p.m. ulty took an open approach Registration by appointment to generate discussions.

“I think that the only way for us to teach indigcentre-st-louis.csdm.ca enous law well begin to learn a language, you have to translate every single is to face that word of the language in your brain. Once you truly get to know history square on, and to think about its impact on indigenous the language, you can start to think in the language.” societies and their laws,” Kong said. “This is a historic moment TRIBUNE After the course comes to an end, students will continue and the Faculty of Law at McGill is committed to this project 29 nov. 2016 to explore indigenous culture in an obligatory Criminal Justice of reconciliation.”

Format: 1/4 CARRÉ course. In their second year, they will also be introduced to InInstead of teaching the students indigenous law, which is digenous Property Law. written by the Canadian government to govern relations with Nato recounted that his overall experience was liberating.

Aboriginal peoples, the intensive course focuses on Indigenous He noted that although the course might not be perfectly done, it law, which includes laws made by Indigenous peoples for Indigis an important first step in understanding indigenous law. enous communities.

“Oftentimes, we are stuck as observers of indigenous law The novelty of the course brought uncertainties. First-year in some sort of paralysis between fear of imposing ourselves law student Jan Nato explained a common concern among some and respect,” Nato said. “[The course] gave me hope that we of his colleagues. can bridge divides. It gave me hope and tools to continue the “Some people feared we were viewing it through a Westgood work.” ern lens,” Nato said. “But my analogy is that, when you first

ADULT EDUCATION

SSMU Council passes motion to oppose Bill 62 Council also mandates that Board of Directors provide regular updates Albert Park Features Editor On Jan. 12 the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council voted to pass the Motion Regarding SSMU Opposition to Quebec Bill 62 and the Motion Regarding Interim Provision for Board of Directors Reporting. Furthermore, faculty committees and SSMU executives gave reports outlining key updates and plans for new projects.

Motion Regarding SSMU Opposition to Quebec Bill 62 Council voted to pass the Motion Regarding SSMU Opposition to Quebec Bill 62, which calls for SSMU to publicly denounce the introduction and passage of the Bill. Bill 62, introduced in June 2015 by Minister of Justice Stéphanie Vallée, would ban face-covering religious symbols–such as niqabs–for public servants while they’re at work. The motion was moved by Vice-President (VP) External David Aird and President Ben Ger. “Bill 62 is essentially a watered-down ver-

sion of what we’ve seen previously under the Parti Québécois government with the Quebec Charter of Value, which called for [the removal] of all religious symbols from government officials,” Aird said. “We see it as a human rights issue [….] The Bill is essentially creating a problem that doesn’t exist.”

Councillors present at the meeting expressed support for the motion. Environment Representative Tuviere Okome provided her input on the necessity of the motion.

“Quebec has always had a strange view on the religion of Islam and this is what this Bill is, it’s perpetuating [...] Islamphobia in Canada,” Okome said.

The motion passed with 95 per cent in favour and 5 per cent abstaining.

Motion Regarding Interim Provision for Board of Directors Reporting Council also voted to pass the Motion Regarding Interim Provision for Board of Directors Reporting, which will introduce a new mandate for the interim SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) reports. The BoD will be required to provide

regular and immediate updates to the Legislative Council by submitting a detailed report for each legislative meeting about the matters it has dealt with since the last report.

The Ad-Hoc Democratic Governance Review Committee, which was created in Nov. 2016 to review the BoD and the General Assembly, will still provide a complete report on the BoD by the end of the academic year. Arts Representative Igor Sadikov summarized why the Interim Provision was necessary, despite the role of The Ad-Hoc Democratic Governance Review Committee.

“This is something we thought would be beneficial immediately, [rather than] having to wait for the committee to complete the rest of the report,” Sadikov said. “This interim division would [allow] for [the BoD] to submit a report to council for each council meeting.”

The motion was passed with 95 per cent in favour and 5 per cent abstaining.

Executive Reports VP Operations Sacha Magder gave updates about the SSMU building, including re-

cent successes with Gerts Bar. “For the first time ever, we have Carnival, Science Games, and E-Week hosting events at Gerts, which is something I’ve been working on since last summer,” Magder said. “I’m so happy to see these events held at our student bar again.”

VP University Affairs Erin Sobat reported on progress that is being made with the McGill Policy against Sexual Violence, which was approved was approved by the McGill Senate in November 2016. “[We’ve created] an advisory committee to oversee the implementation of everything in the Policy, [such as] setting up the new office, changing the referral procedures, and looking at educational and training initiatives that are mandated,” Sobat said. “But there is also something we asked for back in May [2016,...] called a Panel for Campus Study, that will specifically look at other policies and procedures that are outside of the scope of the new Policy, particularly disciplinary procedures [...] and regulation of conflict of interest, which addresses things like student-professor relationships.”

Tuesday, Janauray 17, 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 Copy Editor Areni Nicoghosian copy@mcgilltribune.com

Political conversation must break echo chambers at McGill in 2017 On Jan 12, Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Kellie Leitch spoke at a meet-and-greet on Peel St., co-hosted by the Conservative Association at McGill University.

In response, members of the Montreal community, including McGill students, staged a peaceful protest. While divisive, both the event and the protest are essential expressions of political engagement and should be respected.

The interaction between the two exemplifies the varied and continuous dialogue that is vital to productive political conversation. Given the recent political polarization and degeneration of discourse on North American campuses and in American politics, it is increasingly important to create room for political conversation on campus.

Leitch has raised considerable controversy on the campaign trail thus far, most notably for praising Donald Trump and for proposing the mandatory screening of immigrants for “Canadian values.” Protesters claim that Leitch’s platform and ideas are “morally reprehensible” and promote “bigotry, racism, and xenophobia.” Her presence close to campus and the involvement of a group of McGill students raises questions about the purpose of controversial figures on university campuses.

Whether the students in attendance at Leitch’s event and those that protested it ever see eye-to-eye, exposure to different perspectives is critical to meaningful political conversation.

Without it, students won’t be introduced to new ideas, and risk becoming entrenched in a political

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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

Alexia Martel-Desjardins, Alice Shen, Arvaa Balsara, Catherine Morrison, Cherry Wu, Domenic Casciato, Dylan Adamson, Emma Carr, Emma Gillies, Erin Dwyer, Grace Bahler, Gustina Giordano, Hannah Downard, Helen Wu, Jen Wang, Patrick Beacham, Samuel Cordano, Vivek Gidla, Zapaer Alip

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Daniel Freed Design Editor As the add/drop period comes to an end, McLennan gets a little more crowded. School work picks up and routine begins to set in. Yet our McGill spirit remains at a high. At this time last semester, Open Air Pub (OAP) was an overcrowded mess of people, sharing drinks and laughs in the late summer sun. Now, in the winter semester, we instead have a spectacle of onesiedonning Carnival participants, parading through campus bonding in friendly competition. All the while, the lines for student-run bars, like Bar des Arts (BdA) and Blues Pub, extend through McGill’s buildings—the sounds of stress-free conversations echo through their halls.

What’s made most apparent during this period is the real camaraderie that exists on campus.

camp without questioning their political beliefs.

Confining political discourse to conflicting echo chambers has real consequences, as the rhetoric and outcome of this past American election demonstrated. To prevent ideological silos on campus, students must remain informed of opinions different from their own.

Hate speech should never be tolerated. Accusations of racism and xenophobia, like those levelled at Leitch, deserve serious consideration.

The rights of the students who invited Leitch must also be considered: As a student branch of a political party, the Conservative Association at McGill University is well within its rights to host a party leadership candidate to speak to student constituents, especially at an off-campus venue.

Indeed, many student groups bring speakers to campus in order to spark conversations and share ideas outside the classroom. Such actions should not be discouraged.

In many cases, differing views may never be reconciled—as Leitch spoke to her supporters inside the event and protesters voiced their objections outside, two different preachers were arguably addressing two different choirs. Points of fundamental disagreement are an inevitable part of contentious political conversation.

Just as Leitch’s presence is a valid

PSA Cartoon by Elli Slavitch contribution to the campus discourse of ideas, protest is also a valid response. As a means of both verbal and symbolic objection, peaceful protest is a different form of political speech than a formal address, but it is no less legitimate.

It plays an important role in starting and maintaining communication between opposing groups. Importantly, protesters at the Leitch event did not attempt to disrupt the event from proceeding. Doing so would have the same silencing effect as cancelling the event.

Political conversation takes different forms —sometimes it is a protest, sometimes it is a formal meet-and-greet—and it must be continuous. To this end, it is crucial to maintain space for the views of different groups and the potential for dialogue between them.

Controversial figures provoke conversation; observers and commentators must engage rather than entrench.

Student community beyond McGill once, McGill twice Once the stress of McGill’s competitive and demanding academic environment sets in, it may seem that this feeling of connectedness with our peers can only erode. However, while the visible togetherness of these early days withers, the underlying sense of community at McGill does not.

In these early weeks, as we come together in the calm before the semester’s storm, the mood is unmistakably worry-free. On Facebook, we take to groups like “McGill Classes for Easy Electives” to provide words of caution or encouragement for other McGillians about their classes and course schedules. Here, strangers congregate in the thousands, aiming to provide the best advice they can for their peers.

But when student bars empty out and our community Facebook groups grow deserted, the atmosphere and spirit so dear to us will sour. Suddenly, you find yourself arguing with someone over a seat at the library, when you’d been offering that same person semester survival tips on Facebook only a few weeks earlier.

This is partially the fault of our post-secondary education system, one that reinforces a sense of competition between students and their classmates.

With grade quotas—the limit to the number of high marks professors think they can give—it grows more difficult to maintain a sense of camaraderie within

the classroom. Grading structures, like the bell curve implemented in some departments, put students at odds with their classmates, as they know that the fewer classmates who succeed, the greater are their own chances. Even the format of conferences, with marks

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Sharing a one-dollar beer with a new friend at BdA might seem wildly different from keeping an eye on someone’s laptop at the library, but the sentiment behind both is the same.

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given for participation, becomes a matter of putting your hand up before your classmates and displaying a greater understanding of the material than anyone else.

Admittedly, there is little to do about such a structure. Some aspects of the academic journey are solitary, and sometimes you can’t help but feel as though you’re in competition with

those around you. As a result, during harsher times it’s can be easy feel isolated and lonely. Yet, it is important to remember the days like today, and that the solidarity behind them persists throughout the year.

Simply, this camaraderie takes different shapes as time goes on. It lives on as McGillians share notes with classmates under the weather or create Facebook groups to band together in last-minute exam prep during finals.

While we may not congregate together for raucous football games like other schools so famously do, it only means that our school spirit manifests itself in a different way. For McGill has—and likely always will have—a sense of shared experience at its core.

Yes, our system at times breeds tension and animosity between its students. Its demanding and competitive nature can isolate you from your friends at the moments when you might need them most. However, under these circumstances, while our fellowship may be reconfigured, it is not dismantled. Sharing a one-dollar beer with a new friend at BdA might seem wildly different from keeping an eye on someone’s laptop at the library, but the sentiment behind both is the same. Let these early weeks—the ones where our sense of closeness is most felt—serve as an ongoing and prominent reminder that we are not just McGill students, but a McGill community.

6 OPINION

C o m m e nt a r y

Vivek Gidla Contributor Add/drop distress marks the beginning of every semester.

This past fall, students endured 18 dreadful days of waitlist purgatory, and endured 13 days until this semester’s Jan. 17 add/drop deadline. Apps such as Get A Seat, which give email notifications when a spot has opened up, only alleviate stress

co m m e nt a r y

Catherine Morrison Contributor As Canadians take 2017 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the year ahead should be a time for celebration; however, party preparations have recently been hindered by disagreement over the meaning of the anniversary. The Parti Québecois (PQ) recently

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Alleviate add/drop grief by shortening the add/drop period to a certain extent. How do we pragmatically address these add/ drop woes? It’s simple: Shorten the add/drop period.

Every new semester is an opportunity to start fresh, and be on top of your courses from the get-go. Having a long add/ drop period can get in the way of this. For potentially two weeks, students are unsure of what courses they will be taking, and by the time their schedule is finalized, plenty of material has already been covered. While students cannot be penalized for missed assignments or attendance during the add/drop period, they are still expected to catch up on the work that they miss—so much for a fresh start. A shorter add/drop period means a shorter period of uncertainty and a better chance of being on top of coursework from the beginning of the semester.

It may seem that shortening the add/drop period would force students to make decisions

in a hurry. It’s worth noting, however, that too much time can lead to analysis paralysis—overanalyzing a situation so that a decision is never made—and mentally exhaust the undecided student and further frustrate the ones on the waitlist. A shortened add/drop period forces the student to think critically and more efficiently about the qualities they are looking for in their lecturer and course, thus narrowing the difficult decision down to a few concrete questions.

For example, does the professor teach math on the blackboard or (blasphemously) read directly from lecture slides? In such a way, shortening the time to decide could lead to more effective decisionmaking.

Per Parkinson’s law, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” The habit of expanding a task to the provided time boundaries cannot easily be changed. When given the time, students use the full

two weeks or more for course selection. While this time does provide space to try out courses before solidifying a schedule, two weeks is excessive to this end and prolongs stress and anxiety. The obvious solution is to shorten the add/drop period to reduce the time spent in limbo.

Granted, for a shortened add/drop period to work in this way, professors will have to make some administrative and scheduling changes, such as ensuring that course syllabi and grading schemes are accessible well before the start of classes.

Such material should not be discussed in the first lecture, as it is an enormous waste of time.

Students want to know how a professor lectures course material, not repetitive administrivia. The first lecture should be an honest sample of the professor’s teaching style so that students can make an informed decision more quickly.

The long add/drop period provides important time and

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flexibility when choosing courses, but this isn’t essential if students prepare ahead of time.

Many students have an eloquent (if abstract) answer for what their 5-year goals are in a job interview—they should be able to plan what courses to take for the coming year. Students must be encouraged to plan their academic schedule a year in advance. A shortened add/drop period will work best if students are prepared with a tentative list of desired classes and their backups, and use the add/drop week to test the classes they are unsure of.

To correctly address add/ drop frustration, truncate the add/drop period. The currently extended period of uncertainty hinders the chance to start the semester on the right track.

Furthermore, a shorter add/drop time frame could encourage better decisions regarding course selection. Less time frantically checking Minerva, more time paying attention in class.

Canada’s 150th: Reflecting on the past while celebrating the present announced that they have planned “L’autre 150ième,” a Quebecfocused celebration with the goal of promoting what they view as “a non-biased version of 150 years of relations between Quebec and Canada,” by highlighting events that might be left out of the federal narrative. The PQ’s announcement is a reminder of the perennial debate concerning whose history is celebrated by national commemorations. It is important to recognize that the rich history and culture of Quebec is unique and adds diversity to Canada. Yet it is most important for all Canadians to view the country’s many cultures as an asset rather than something to separate its people.

In fairness, the PQ isn’t alone in taking a skeptical view of Canada 150, and questioning the appropriateness of commemorating a Confederation that has not always treated all Canadians fairly. Throughout the

past 150 years, there are many chapters of Canada’s history for which Canadians have no reason to feel proud: The treatment of First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities, the exploitation of Chinese railway workers, and the internment of Japanese and Ukrainians, to mention just a few. Although the PQ is right to remind us that Canada’s history is not always reason to celebrate, they are wrong in concluding that Canada 150 is all about the past. Geneviève Dubois-Richard, liaison and coordination officer at the Department of Canadian Heritage explained in an email to The McGill Tribune that beyond celebratory events, Canada 150 will include events such as “panel discussions on what Canadians desire for the future of the country; youth-led gatherings bringing indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada together to help build relationships and move toward

ERRATA An article published in the Jan. 10 issue, titled “Student of the Week: Alex Goldman,” incorrectly stated that Goldman began working with the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2014, when in fact he began work there in 2015.

An article published in the Jan. 10 issue titled “Remembering Carrie Fisher” incorrectly stated that Star Wars was released in 1979 when in fact the first instalment of the original trilogy was released in 1977. The Tribune regrets these errors.

reconciliation; and, discussions around environmental stewardship.” As Canada 150 should certainly reflect on the country’s history, it should also be an occasion to celebrate who we are today, and inspire us to imagine how Canadians could improve it in the next 150 years.

As a country, Canada must move forward without denying or forgetting the past injustices that have been made or, for that matter, the ones that still must be addressed. At a time when the world is becoming more isolationist in the name of nationalism, Canada remains one of the most welcoming countries in the world. It remains a beacon for those who believe in creating more diverse and inclusive societies—and that’s worth celebrating.

Although Canada’s successes in no way make up for its mistakes, landmarks such as the legalization of

same-sex marriage in 2005, the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2008 and its report in 2015, and its high ranking in terms of the UN human development index’s standards of living, global school rankings, and its response to the Syrian refugee crisis are certainly commendable.

As Canada reflects on its past, it should not forget the present, and envision the country’s future in an increasingly globalized world.

This year, Canadians should take a moment to remember what it is exactly they are celebrating and what their contribution will be to the story that is told at Canada’s next major commemoration. Canada 150 is also something to be proud of.

The anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate Canadian diversity while giving us the occasion to share more of Canada’s stories with the world.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 7

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Emmett McCleary is inspired by pop artists such as The Beatles. (Noah Sutton / The McGill Tribune)

Sun Astronauts and Emmett McCleary perform at Le Cagibi Morgan Davis Staff Writer Far beyond the McGill bubble and deep in the Mile End on Boul. St-Laurent, musicians and fans escaped the bitter January cold this past Saturday at Le Cagibi. Tucked away in the back room, three musical acts—two of which are McGill students—joined together for a night of indie folk, classic rock, and pop.

Playing after Vermont-based band J Bengoy, Sun Astronauts and Emmett McCleary represented McGill’s music community and showcased their diverse repertoires.

Her first performance in almost a year, solo act Sun Astronauts—U4 Sociology and Archaeology student Janice Oglandia—graced the audience with her delicate voice. Sun Astronauts breathlessly sings of relatable everyday

experiences. “Glue of My Sticker” reflects on crushes you see from a distance—that content moment where “it’s just too easy to dream you up,”—before their flaws are observed. An untitled haunting track accompanies lyrics written by the singer’s brother, Adrian Ngiam, whispering of frustrations one experiences when feeling excluded.

The transcendent vocals of Sun Astronauts’ indie folk songs are ideal for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Using loop pedals to construct layers of dreamy vocals lends a whimsical quality to her music. After her single “A Little Little” found success on Hong Kong radio charts in 2011, Sun Astronauts toured throughout China and the U.S. before coming to Montreal to attend McGill.

Boston native and U2 Arts student Emmett McCleary has been playing the drums since the age of four and releasing music since he was twelve. Previously producing tracks under the alias Easter.—a childhood nickname bestowed by his grandfather—the transition to Emmett McCleary was less of an artistic shift and more of an effort for search optimization.

The adoption of his real name, however, shows a growth in confidence. The musician was previously insecure about some of his lyrics, but he’s now proud to put his name behind his produced tracks.

McCleary was raised listening to classic rock, R&B, and Motown. Inspired by artists such as The Beatles, his most recent single, “Dream Lover,” is

reminiscent of their cheerful and timeless pop classics.

“I’m firmly a pop guy,” explains McCleary. “I like a verse, a good chorus.”

Observing the community of McGill musicians, McCleary hopes to see more events where McGill musicians can get together and have more internal support.

“There are a lot of people at McGill that play music and write and I’m always surprised to find a friend,” he said. “So I think there’s a good amount of people producing music, it’s just missing a stronger sense of community and hopefully that will grow in the coming years.”

Suggesting more student concerts at Gerts or simply having McGill-funded student performances could be a means for artists to gravitate towards campus events. McCleary clarified that most of the shows he plays don’t feature student artists, but he’s optimistic about the ability of McGill’s musicians to band together.

Keep an eye out for McCleary’s forthcoming album, set to be released in May. In the meantime, he’ll be touring the States throughout February.

Sun Astronauts’ first performance after a brief absence suggests an upcoming release of new music soon.

Listen to Sun Astronauts at soundcloud. com/sunastronauts; J Bengoy at soundcloud. com/jbengoy; and Emmett McCleary at soundcloud.com/emmettmccleary

Jackie delivers a haunting biopic of an enigmatic icon Dylan Adamson Contributor Pablo Larrain’s Jackie is first and foremost concerned with history. This is not to say that the film’s objective is a mere chronological depiction of historical events. Rather, contrary to more conventional biopics, Jackie is concerned with the conscious role of individuals in creating history—which in the case of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is a highly personal and ambitious enterprise.

Following Onassis after the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, Jackie offers an uncompromisingly intimate glimpse into an American tragedy and an icon left alone in the national spotlight. At times hard to follow, Larrain’s film weaves together a tapestry of memories from Jackie’s shattered psyche. It leaps chronologically from the former First Lady’s famous “Camelot” interview with Life Magazine in 1963 to her pacing feverishly through the White House in her bloodstained pink Chanel suit, to watching tearfully as Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in aboard Air Force One after departing Texas.

Although the flashbacks often feel haphazard, the eclectic chronology is guided by phenomenal direction

and performances—chiefly that of Natalie Portman in the titular role.

Portman’s Jackie Kennedy straddles a fine line between calculating and frantic throughout.

With the First Lady’s Atlantic prep school purr mastered, she

Jackie Kennedy’s character is inherently performative.

As Portman navigates through Jackie’s grief, shock, fear, and pride, we watch her nervously struggle to keep her trademark poise intact. The narrative

Fittingly teeming with contradictions, Jackie’s story is framed by the aforementioned interview after the assassination of her husband. The conversation is tense, as journalist Theodore H. White (Billy Crudup) struggles to

Natalie Portman lives up to the Oscar buzz her perfromance has earned. (wp.com) lives up to all the Oscar buzz her performance has earned. While her character does feel conspicuously practiced, as the film progresses we come to understand the careful attention to detail the First Lady invested in her public image:

experience can be dizzying, but the film’s bold structuring is reflective of Jackie’s volatile grief, attempting to preserve the legacy of her White House’s “Camelot” myth, while coming to grips with the reality of her new situation.

muster the necessary composure to move past the former First Lady’s guarded exterior. Her responses are sporadically candid and occasionally graphic as she describes her husband’s wounds.

Watching Portman’s Jackie

grapple with the way her story is told illustrates the film’s major themes of preserving one’s legacy and public image. However, the interview framing device often muddles her story’s progression, unnecessarily confusing the narrative. The late addition of a second, ambiguously dated postassassination conversation with a priest (John Hurt) only adds to the chronological chaos.

The film’s frantic approach to its subject matter is tied together by Mica Levi’s (Under the Skin) mournful score, one of the year’s best. The discordant strings complement the film’s disorienting effect. It renders scenes—such as the one in which Jackie removes her iconic Chanel suit—all the more haunting.

Jackie possesses a near nightmarish quality that lingers upon exiting the theatre. Like no biopic before it, and likely none to come after it—barring Larrain’s imminent Neruda, that will explore the life of exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda—the film probes the dark underbelly of what it means to be a public icon. Larrain’s vision is singular; however, while the film strives for new ground, it often eschews clarity in the process.

Still, the ensuing chaos is beautifully ambivalent, befitting the enigmatic icon at its centre.

Hannah Beach-Byrnes is a U3 Cultural Studies Major from the Greater Toronto Area. She is an experienced fencer.

Jean-Felix Caron Jean-Felix Caron is a U3 East Asian Studies Major from Quebec City. He enjoys lip-synching to 80s power ballads.

“I am currently in this phase of my life where I’m re-questioning the labels I’ve had in the last few years. I’m definitely now in the moment where I identify as gender nonbinary [or]genderqueer. Sexuality is something I still can’t really put a label on at the moment so I would go with queer because it seems like the best word to label it with.”

“I identify, quite recently, as bisexual, and more recently just under the umbrella term queer, as I’ve become more accustomed to hearing it around campus, especially, and [among] our peers, I would just use that term.”

Many people believe that sexuality is polarized between the fixed identities of lesbian, gay, and bisexual. In the same vein, many cultures see men and women as two distinct genders; the view is that an individual is born within one of the two categories, and remains within that category for their entire lives.

The reality is that, for many, there is no perfect label to convey the nuances of their sexuality, or a perfect gender binary that can encompass all the ways to be a person.

Queer is a term that is familiar to many members of the McGill community. On top of being an identity, queer is an idea that is heard frequently around campus when referring to the culture and community of individuals who identify as a sexual minority. In the past, sexual minorities have been most commonly referred to as LGBT, standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender; more recently, the acronym has expanded to LGBTQIA+, acknowledging queer, intersex, and asexual identities, as well a plethora of others,with the plus sign.

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What does the term “queer” mean to you?

Jean-Felix: “Queer to me means really outside of the social binary. It’s hard to put a label on queerness, because, you know, it just means something strange, something out of the ordinary.”

Josika: “I’d never really heard of [queer], except for as an insult, until I came to McGill. I’d never lived in North America before, and the places I’d lived were not exactly queer friendly. It was either something you didn’t talk about or the only two words you heard were gay and lesbian [....] It feels powerful when I use it, it’s powerful and it connects you to a community.”

Muhan: “I think I discovered [the word] queer and started using it [...] fairly recently. Not until after high school. To me queer has never had bad connotations in [Vancouver.] I’ve never heard it used in a negative kind of way [....] Within queer studies and within the [queer] community itself, there’s more understanding of fluidity of people in general.”

Hannah: “I didn’t like the bisexual term sometimes, I felt that it invited this fetishization by [straight] men. This ‘queer’ term, where you’re kind of vague, you just say it and you sort of move on, you don’t invite any conversation. It’s an easy way to be like, this is my business, this is something I control.”

Josika Gupta is a U4 Psychology Major from Mumbai, India. She loves comics, Netflix, and big dogs.

“I personally [describe myself as] queer. But I’m primarily attracted to women.”

Muhan Zhang

Queer complicates traditional identities of gay, bisexual, lesbian, or transgender by blanketing all these labels with an umbrella term. For many, this is liberating. The term queer hints at the ambiguities of sexuality and gender, offering the idea that there is no “perfect” heterosexual or cisgender model to which one can contrast oneself against.

For others, queer is not a term they feel defines them, as it harkens back to a derogatory slur and brushes over the history and nuance of their distinctive identity. Therefore, many individuals prefer using the term LGBTQIA+.

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How do you feel about the term LGBTQ and it’s variations?

Hannah: I think the way it’s used at McGill is more of a buzzword. It really makes sense when you’re talking about political issues, but when you’re talking about personal identities, it just feels like you’re saying it to sound relevant or knowledgeable. I was watching a video recently about how [....] despite this ever-expanding acronym existing it’s something that white people and cis men still over-take. Despite this acronym, it can still be dominated by certain [identities].

Josika: “I’m a part of multiple random facebook groups, and one of them is for queer folks. I kept using the word queer to describe everybody and not just me, because the way it’s used here is an umbrella term right? So I was like, ‘That’s how everybody says it.’ Someone was like ‘Hey can you maybe not use that when you’re describing people other than yourself, like could you maybe use LGBTQ.’ It kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. I went back and I changed everything.”

is a U2 East Asian Studies and Art History Major from Vancouver. She is currently learning how to play piano.

“I identify as bi. Sometimes I put the sexual on there, but sometimes it’s a bit much. But most of the time I’m just a human being. I think now I say queer more than anything else. If I’m going to throw something out there randomly I’ll say queer.”

Jean-Felix: “LGBTQIA+ definitely represents the community of sexual minorities, but I think ‘queer’ is very different from the community. I know we sometimes use the word queer as an umbrella term for the community, but I think it’s also important to recognize that queer is an actual identity and that it is not encompassing everything.”

being queeR: Unpacking the term and its many meanings

by April Barrett

The ‘Born this Way’ or ‘I can’t change’ narrative is often associated with discovery of sexuality or gender expression. This story portrays its protagonist as someone who grew up knowing which gender they were attracted to, or what their true gender was, and carried this information for years as a ‘secret shame.’ This story is often depicted in media as a way for queer people to explain themselves to heterosexual, cisgender people. Yet, the reality for many queer people is that they undergo a gradual, ongoing, and murky understanding of their sexuality or gender; it is not something they are born knowing. One quality that queer people do tend to share is a deep understanding of their difference and acknowledgment that their desires deviate from common social expectations.

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Do you feel like your identity was something you were born with or knowing, or did it developover

the years?

Jean-Felix: “I’ve definitely always felt like I was something different. I’ve been to an all boys school and they’d be like, ‘Boys do this, boys do that,’ and I’d be like ‘Hmm, not really.’ When people would say ‘Ok boys,’ or in French ‘Ok les gars.’ I would never feel included in this group [....] For me, it’s been a long process, it’s never been a click in my head. I always knew there was something off about me, but it’s definitely been a process and it’s a process that’s still going on to this day.”

Muhan: “I didn’t come out to myself or other people until I graduated. I started dating a girl over that summer. Before then, it wasn’t that I suppressed my feelings for women. I was like ‘Ok, I know there’s something there, I’m just going to keep this in the back of my head, I’m not really going to think about it or really worry about it until I get there.’ [I felt that way] for many, many years.”

Media representations influence individuals, particularly in how they enact their identity in the world. Queer people, who have less obvious role models to look up to in film, television, and literature, oftentimes have to construct their own heroes. Viewed in a different light, many characters and relationships in media that are taken for granted as being straight have strong queer undertones. Through storytelling and performance, queer people have, for years, carved out many different ways of being queer.

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Who is your favourite queer (or queer coded) fictional character or public figure?

Josika: “Mulan, which I watched last night. Lee Shang and Ping fell in love with each other. Mulan is 100 per cent the central character, I’m so happy it’s a woman who saves all of China. But all the positive parts are between men or assumed men. It’s gay. It’s really great and it’s gay. Also, Bend it Like Beckham. It’s really coded, but that coach is just tacked on there. That’s my favourite queer-coded fictional couple.”

Jean-Felix: “Drag queens in general. Drag queens helped to show me gender bending. I think it’s a great way to show the possibilities of expression.”

Hannah: “Ursula from The Little Mermaid. She doesn’t have the right body to be a protagonist and that’s part of the reason why she’s demonized, but she’s also fantastic because she clearly embodies a diva in so many ways.”

Being queer can marginalize an individual. Mainstream society normalizes heterosexual relationships and practically requires one to identify their gender with the sex they are assigned at birth. On an emotional level, coming to terms with a queer identity can be a source of insecurity and anxiety for an individual, considering the complications they may encounter. Belonging to circles of queer and allied friends does not exempt one from homophobic or transphobic aggression. Additionally, the newness or vagueness of the term ‘queer’ often doesn’t sit well with value fixed labels, who believe that one’s identity is something they are born with. In fact, these people can even exist within the LGBTQIA+ community itself.

“

What is difficult about being queer? Or identifying

specifically with queerness over traditional labels?

Hannah: “[My work place] is a space of mostly cis dudes, it was very important to them that people establish their sexual identity, in a different way. That’s been interesting for me. They assume that I’m only interested in women because I definitely have a more masculine gender expression, also my job itself is not [classically feminine]. To some degree, I think these guys wanted me to be lesbian, thinking that that’s why my gender expression is more masculine. It fits together nicely [for them].

Josika: “I think the thing that bothers me the most about ‘queerness’ is that many queer folks and communities don’t acknowledge the racism, sexism, transphobia, etcetera, that can be present in [their own circles]. It’s like they think that being queer somehow absolves them, and that queer folks cannot oppress others. Obviously, that’s totally untrue. The fact is that most queer activities are built around attractive cis white gay men, and erase most other queer folks.”

Being queer, like any identity, exists outside of the political sphere as well, and on a personal level, has beauty and benefits. Identifying oneself as someone on the margins, while potentially lonely, can be very freeing and even allow for the formation of alternative communities.

“

What do you love about being queer?

Josika: “It’s a lot of different people, but we are similar in enough ways that we know how to be there for each other. Like if you have a friend who is [also] queer, there is a lot of empathy, there is a lot fun, it’s great.

I feel like I have intimate access to so many people that other people will just never know because they don’t bother to learn. I love that feeling of being connected to other people.”

Muhan: “I love having so many friends that I hit it off with, not because we’re queer, just because that’s another thing we have in common that we can talk about and are passionate about because of the struggle.

As a byproduct of being queer in a heteronormative society, you’re constantly questioning yourself, getting to know yourself. That’s definitely encapsulating of my experience. Constantly getting to know yourself, and being okay with yourself. Figuring out, what kind of life am I trying to live for myself?”

Hannah: “I really love that [...] this previous idea of viewing women as competition in that very heteronormative way is something that I can completely reject. I still find that really difficult because I’m a fencer and I did a lot of competitive sports as a teenager. And it’s an individual sport. Any female teammates I had were in fact my competitors. So I think it’s really easy for me to still see women as competition, of course, with normative beauty standards. But talking about queerness, talking about women appreciating each other romantically, or otherwise, is a complete rejection of that. It’s so awesome that you can completely encourage someone else and appreciate them and that doesn’t take away from your own worth.”

Jean-Felix: ”I love that I’m free to do whatever the fuck I want. When I first came out as gay to my friends from high school they were like ‘Oh so are you gonna help me shop’ and ‘Are you gonna do my makeup’ and stuff and I was like, ‘Not really….’ For me fashion has never been something I really cared about and I was like, ‘Well now I have to be into fashion! And I tried to make myself be into fashion, but it did not work out [....] But I felt like I had to because that was the image [of a gay man] that was given to me. That was the image that society was giving to me. But that’s the thing I love about being queer is that I take advantage of queerness being something of a vague identity to truly make it my own. I see that being queer to me is different than [what it is for] someone else, but no one can tell me I’m not being queer. Because to me being queer is being who I am.”

10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, January 17, 2017 P o p R h et o ri c

Hollywood awards itself Ariella Garmaise Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

In the first few moments of his opening monologue at the Globes, host Jimmy Fallon strode to centre stage, only to be met with a broken teleprompter. The broken monitor was a perfect metaphor for the entertainment industry’s difficulties in moving forward in the new Trump administration; quite literally, Hollywood is speechless.

The ensuing ceremony was filled with clumsy political messaging.

The Hollywood Foreign Press and its guests are unsure of their role within America’s shifting landscape.

On one hand, awards shows are making concerted efforts to avoid partisan debate. Fallon is infamously apolitical, and received widespread criticism for ruffling Trump’s hair in a bit on his show. Similarly, February’s Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel told Salon, “I do say whatever I want. I just try to keep in mind that mine is not a political show.”

When receiving The Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement

Award, Meryl Streep used her acceptance speech to steer the Golden Globes back into activist territory. Her speech, which condemned Trump’s racist, misogynistic, and ableist rhetoric, predictably ignited a media firestorm. It also begged the question: What is the role of the celebrity in the Trump era? “[The Golden Globes is an] overrated collection of liberals gathered in a room to celebrate themselves,” said Tomi Lahren, host of the conservative talk show Tomi on TheBlaze. Lahren is notorious for inflammatory dialogue, yet this description is surprisingly apt; Hollywood’s insularity is often its biggest weakness. Yes, Streep’s speech was powerful, but it addressed an audience of like-minded entertainers. The Golden Globes was quick to pride itself on the tremendous progress it has made, without recognizing gaping inequalities.

Fallon’s monologue cheekily pointed out that at least this year, “not all the nominees are white;” however, Hidden Figures and Fences, two films with predominantly black casts, were continuously mistaken for one another throughout the

La La Land was criticized for being self-congratulatory and glossing over Hollywood’s history of exclusivity. (Jen Wang / The McGill Tribune) night. Streep described how heartbreaking it was watching Trump mock Serge Kovaleski, a reporter with cerebral palsy. Yet Hollywood has a long history of failing to cast disabled actors: In 2015 Eddie Redmayne, a fully ablebodied actor, won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking, who struggles with ALS, in The Theory of Everything. Disability activist Kody Keplinger told

the Huffington Post, “I couldn’t help rolling my eyes [at Streep’s speech]. The applause in the room felt almost self-congratulatory.”

Self-congratulation is not inherently flawed. There are many movies, television shows, and other creative forces worth celebrating.

It is problematic, however, when Hollywood congratulates itself at the cost of improvement. Awards shows are a good time to look at not only where the entertainment

industry is doing well, but also where it can do better. Streep’s speech was undoubtedly moving, and public figures will always play a role in influencing public affairs. Still, in conducting a Trump post-mortem, Hollywood must recognize that the scope of its outward political effectiveness is limited. Hollywood must work against the structures of inequality within itself to make the most effective difference.

Futuristic Future: Interpreting reality in a digital age Grace Bahler Contributor At Projet Pangée’s small gallery on the edge of Place des Arts, artist Lauren Pelc-McArthur is turning the digital into something palpable. With acrylic textures and neon colours, her pieces feel familiar, as if you have seen them before—if you’re a participant in the current worldwide digital age, it’s likely that you have.

McArthur’s pieces are part of Futuristic Future, an exhibit displaying various paintings and sculptures. Acting as a commentary on the digitalization of our world, the gallery, open now through late February, features works

by Montreal-based McArthur, in addition to artists Amy Brener and Cat Bluemke. Curator Joani Tremblay, who had followed McArthur’s work for two years, connected all the artists’ pieces together as a means of observing rather than living in the digitalized world.

Amidst the sea of luminescent paintings, glass prisms, and textured silicone sculptures is a unique take on humanity’s future technological presence. The physical presence of the artwork acts as an anchor in reality as the world launches into a very digital future.

McArthur’s large, so-bright-theyburn paintings mimic the screens and images that society is inundated with

every day. The artist explained the consistent use of backlit-reminiscent pinks and blues throughout—colours mostly seen on the screens of various devices—to make something material out of our digital lives. “[I’m interested in] what gets lost in translation when you’re taking work from screen space and turning it into tangible reality,” said McArthur, who has a background in both painting and graphic design.

When you observe the way the paintings seemingly change as different angles highlight their multifaceted nature, it seems that turning the digital into something physical adds more than just a third dimension. Walking into the gallery is essentially taking a

step away from society’s techno-future.

The pieces confront how the world is domineered by the digital and how technology is becoming so ingrained into our very nature that the projected outcome itself is not totally concrete— but the art certainly is. Acting as the ultimate interpretation of the digital age, Futuristic Future provides an artistic and somewhat surreal outlook on what our future will look like.

Futuristic Future will remain open to the public at Projet Pangée’s gallery (372 Sainte-Catherine Ouest) until Feb. 18.

Futuristic Future comments on the digitalization of our world. (Christopher Li / The McGill Tribune)

STUDENT LIVING 11

Tuesday, January 17, 2016

Long-distance tutoring connects McGill students to Syrian refugees Syrian Kids Foundation provides aid to refugee children

The Syrian Kids Foundation connects Syrian refugee children with skype tutors from McGill.

(Photos courtesy of the Syrian Kids Foundation)

Emma Carr Contributor Continued from page 1.

While

working

with

the

children, the foundation identified other areas for their intervention.

They extended their services to include free transportation to school and psychological counselling.

“It’s really by interacting

with the kids that we realized the need to expand social programs,” Alazem said. “[We needed] to have a psychologist speak with them because some of the things that they have seen, no human beings should ever be exposed to this, and particularly kids. Seeing a brother lose an arm, lose a leg, seeing your father deceased and returned home in a box with signs of torture, this is the everyday routine.”

At the Al Salam School, the students learn math, physics, chemistry, biology, and Turkish.

The foundation also enlists the help of volunteers from McGill and other Montreal universities, including Concordia University, to teach Syrian students English via Skype. The goal is to help refugees prepare for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS). These examinations are necessary to attend

university in Canada, should the students wish to do so.

Ati Shohoudi Mojdehi, a fourthyear PhD student in Educational Psychology, describes her work preparing Syrian refugee students for English language exams as a fulfilling experience.

“I have been teaching IELTS over eight years because it is sort of my passion,” Shohoudi Mojdehi said. “So this foundation has two things that are my passion: One [is] helping people, the other [is teaching the] IELTS.” Likewise, McGill tutor Brandon Payliss, a Masters student in chemistry, has had a positive experience volunteering for the SKF. More than any other benefit of tutoring, Payliss is inspired by his students’ resilience.

“It is amazing to see the progress they make despite the challenges they face,” Payliss said.

“One of my students reached out to

me and told me personally the things that he had experienced and some of the challenges he has faced, like losing family. It makes you quite speechless.”

Recently, the tutoring program has begun to see the fruit of their labours. In December 2016, two graduates of the Al Salam School began studying at Concordia University on a scholarship founded by the SKF. The organizers at the SKF are gratified by the perseverance and commitment to education that the students have demonstrated.

“I think they realize that education is their passport,” Alazem said. “More and more they realize that if [they] graduate with good grades and [are] able to [attend] a good university, that is going to be [their] passport. Those are going to be [their] credentials in the world.

This is [their] hope. This is what can give [them the] closest to a normal life as possible.”

In the Loop: Lighting up the Place des Festivals

A talk with the artists behind the 2016 Luminothérapie installation

Flaminia Cooper Staff Writer From Dec. 8 to Jan. 27, anyone walking through Quartier des Spectacles in downtown Montreal will be able to experience and interact with 13 large luminescent wheels scattered around the Place des Festivals. These are the product of Montreal’s annual Luminothérapie competition, launched Dec. 10, 2015. The winners of the competition, announced in October 2016, were awarded a $300,000 production budget to publicly display their interactive installation over the winter months.

This year’s winning design, known as Loop, is more than just an art exhibit. Jonathan Villeneuve and Olivier Girouard, the artists behind the installation, describe the wheels as manually-activated ‘machines.’

Each wheel depicts a different fairy tale through a series of images on the inside of a vertical cylinder, akin to a life-sized zoetrope. Visitors are able to sit inside the cylinder and rotate the images by pushing a metal bar back and forth, creating a short stopmotion animation. A musical score accompanies the rotating pictures, as well as a spinning, colour-changing light on the outside of the wheel.

The project itself took almost a year to become reality. The initial proposal was presented in January 2016.

Once Villeneuve and Girouard were chosen as finalists, they had three weeks in March to put together a plan with a budget and deadline. It took them until the end of September to have a working prototype with all the components, and by the time all the parts had been

ordered for the final product in late October, they only had five weeks left to build the thirteen wheels.

“We didn’t sleep a lot [...] I think we spent four to five months working seven days a week,” Villeneuve said.“I think I can count on one hand the days where our planning for the day went exactly according to plan.”

The competition required visual, auditory, and interactive components.

To meet these requirements, the two artists based the final machine around three main technical inspirations.

It began with the zoetrope, which is a device that can best be described as the equivalent of an animated GIF before film had been invented. It works by spinning a series of images

on the inside of a cylinder, creating the illusion of movement. The artists were also inspired by the design of a music box, a metal barrel with strategically placed pins, that when rotated plays a musical score on a loop. Finally, Villeneuve and Girouard drew from the railway handcar, a manually-powered car activated by one or two people pulling levers, as their third source of inspiration.

These three objects all require manual activation for them to work.

The whole project revolved around these three ideas and what they had in common.

“It’s pretty satisfying how we managed to [combine] these three elements that were really far apart into

one single device,” Villeneuve said.

“It’s the idea of [transforming] these three past technologies [...] into really futuristic devices. It often makes people think of a time machine, so there’s really these elements of the future and the past meeting in one device.”

Because operating the machines was can feel complicated for new users, Villeneuve and Girouard initially worried that it would be difficult for the public to understand how to use the installment.

“We really wanted to come up with something that was totally new and invented, but still refer to people’s intuition and make it really obvious [...] how to use it,” Villeneuve commented.

In previous years, some art

‘Loop’ is running in Quartier des Spectacles from Dec. 8 to Jan. 27. (Flaminia Cooper / The McGill Tribune)

installments in the Place des Festivals were much more intuitive to use, such as the seesaws of Impulse, presented for the Luminothérapie 2015-2016 competition, or the swings of 21 Swings, which has returned each spring since 2011. However, the public reaction this year was extremely positive. “[The exhibit] worked really well.

There was no need to explain to people how to use it, they just understood and found their own ways,” Villeneuve said.

The name of the exhibit itself— Loop—reflects the workings of the simple mechanisms behind each individual machine that Villeneuve and Girouard have combined into one. Although, this title wasn’t the artists’ first idea; they initially chose the title Chimera, but after deliberation, ultimately decided against it.

“We both liked Chimera [...] this weird machine with different parts, but then to explain it, it’s already complex.

For a public art installation people need to understand right away. It needs to be fast and easy,” Girouard added.

Both artists agreed that in the end it’s the public that decides on the name of the installation, regardless of its official title. Last year’s exhibit for Luminothérapie was titled Impulse, but most people referred to it by its appearance, as the ‘seesaws.’

Despite their anxiety over its title and user-friendliness, the final version of Loop was deemed a success for the artists.

“Even if you take so many different paths to get to the goal, it’s fun when you reach [it] and you realize, ‘That’s exactly the idea I had at first.’ Nothing really changed,” Girouard said.

12

STUDENT LIVING

Tuesday, January 17, 2016

Instagram embroidery with @thread_counted

Emily Sanders’ experience with needlepoint and the online art community Audrey Carleton Student Living Editor Since its inception in 2010, Instagram has grown to serve a vast range of purposes for different online communities; many lovers of fashion, dogs, and memes have all found their home there. For Emily Sanders, U3 Arts student better known by her 1,200+ followers as @thread_counted, the app has allowed her to develop an online following among fans of hand embroidery and lovers of pretty things.

Sanders started doing hand embroidery in February 2016, after discovering the community of embroidery-focused Instagram accounts, and feeling intrigued to try the practice herself. After purchasing her first embroidery kit, with time and practice, she began to see a positive impact on her mental health.

“I started doing embroidery because I felt like I wasn’t really having a creative outlet with school,” Sanders said. “It’s something that I just do when I watch TV. It relaxes me [....] One time I was having a really bad day at school, and then I just went home, and

embroidered, and it was like the stress was all gone.”

Sanders’ skill with a needle is entirely self-taught, as noted in the description of her Instagram account.

She was able to learn with the help of the Internet, taking to online tutorials and other embroidery Instagram accounts to learn basic stitches. After developing her craft for several months, Sanders began selling her work online in June 2016. While she receives the majority of her commissions via Instagram direct messages, Sanders is also developing her Etsy account, threadcounted. In December 2016, her work was placed on sale at Art Pop, a local art boutique located on Mount Royal Avenue.

Many of Sanders’ designs depict natural elements, including leaves, trees, and animals, and are clearly influenced by her love for the outdoors; she has a particular affinity for whales. She attributes this to her time spent working as a camp counsellor in the Adirondack Mountains, where she was not only exposed to nature, but to a variety of arts and crafts.

“My camp did a lot of arts and crafts stuff,” Sanders said. “So even

though I never really did any embroidery there, we did a ton of knitting. It was very creative and very hands-on in general, which is what I like.”

When designing a new piece, Sanders will often draw out her vision repeatedly until she feels comfortable stitching it. However, like many artists, she often perceives her final product to fall short of her original vision.

“It’s not perfect, [hand embroidery is] one of those arts where it’s never really gonna come out for me the way I draw it,” Sanders said. “Often [my final product] will change from what [my initial design] was.”

Feeling insecure about one’s work is a common part of the creative process, and Sanders’ involvement in the embroidery social media community often worsens this feeling. Constantly seeing the work of others makes it difficult not to feel self-conscious, and Sanders is no stranger to this feeling.

“It was a bit daunting, obviously.

I started and I wanted to be as good as the people that I see [on social media],” Sanders said.

In addition to feeling pressure to perform up to par with other

Emily Sanders shares and sells her hand embroider on her Instagram account, @thread_ counted. (Audrey Carleton / The McGill Tribune) Instagrammers, Sanders often struggles to maintain her creative vision without being influenced by the feedback of her following. On a platform where every double tap is validation of one of her designs, it can be easy to be swayed by mass opinion. As she’s grown as an embroidery artist, Sanders has learned to pay more attention to her own desires and needs in her designs, more so than the comment section of her Instagram account.

“Since I’m doing it so much on social media, it’s hard to get not caughtup in how many likes you get or how many people are following you,” Sanders said. “So now I just try to say,

‘What do I like?’ and ‘What do I think would be cool?’”

Though being a part of the Instagram art community is a rose that has its thorns, Sanders still views this aspect of her work in a largely positive light.

“I really love the Instagram community of [embroidery] too because so often, that social media thing can be really negative,” Sanders said. “So when you do something that’s a craft, or a sort of textile art, [it can feel] so much more positive [....] I recommend following [embroidery accounts] because your Instagram [feed is] just so much prettier!”

Hidden hot chocolate at La Distributrice

The secret behind the smallest cafe with the best menu in Montreal

La Distributrice serves coffee and hot cholocate out of its small window shop. (Christopher Li / The McGill Tribune)

Hannah Downard Contributor Rich chocolate, anchored in bitter notes, is blended with robust, fruity coffee. On the tongue, La Distributrice’s decadent mocha is equivalent to a warm hug: An eco-friendly, locally-sourced hug.

Walking along the busy street of Mount Royal Avenue, one could easily miss the small window shop home to this delicious winter staple.

Its stark white awning peeping out from beneath stairs is the only thing signifying its existence to passers-by.

Comparable in size to the collector’s booth of a subway, La Distributrice is a compact café. With no seating, the café operates as a counter, offering

the ultimate coffee ‘to-go’ ideal for the busy patron.

First starting as a barista under the shop’s previous owners, Max Vezina, the current owner, developed an affection for the miniature café style during his time working there. This ultimately led him to purchase the café. He now aims to serve high-quality drinks as part of the third wave of coffee, in which coffee is viewed as an artisanal foodstuff, rather than just a commodity.

“The vision, as I understood it, was to kind of revolutionize the ‘coffee to-go,’” Vezina said. “To make the most out of the small space and provide a good third-wave coffee from direct trade and eco-roasted. Basically to have a third-wave café with no seating places, and [to] be able to offer the passers-by the best coffee possible for a really

good price.”

While it may be the smallest café in Montreal, La Distributrice is also known among locals for having some of the best hot chocolate in the city. Vezina attributes its high quality to the fine ingredients that go into it. “[Our hot chocolate] is made with an extra bitter chocolate, so it is kind of the same idea as the coffee we have here, locally sourced,” Vezina said. “[…] It’s cocoa [is] so very present in the mouth, and not that sweet.”

The procedure for creating the rich taste involves melting the raw chocolate in steamed milk. The drink’s decadence comes from a mix of both quality and quantity; 37 grams of raw chocolate in each cup.

The heft of the chocolate also blends well with the coffee the café uses, which has cocoa and fruity notes. When mixed, these ingredients make their mocha latte, another top-selling drink at La Distributrice, the crowd pleaser that it is.

The miniature space was not always home to Montreal’s smallest café. The spot has a long history of different stores occupying it, including a pizza shop, a shoe shiner, and a taco stand.

However, none have been quite as successful in staying open for as long as La Distributrice.

“This is probably the only commercial location that is this small in Montreal,” Vezina said. “I think it was first used 15 years ago, by a guy who made all the procedures to have it be a commercial space because he wanted to have a newspaper stand [….] Pretty much each [new store after that] just succeeded one another every year, they never really last for long-except for this place, which has been here for five years.”

Contrary to its external appearance, the

café’s internal operations feel far from confining.

Complete with warm wood panelling and expert organization, the small space maintains a welcoming atmosphere for staff and customers.

“It looks really small from the outside, but I find the inside is very cozy,” Vezina said. “[….]

It must be the one question I hear the most, ‘You must be claustrophobic working here.’ I’m always like, ‘No, I feel great.’”

Vezina’s love for the compact concept is evident in his potential plans to expand.

“It wasn’t in the plans of the previous owners [to expand to new locations], but I find [the window shop concept] so easily exportable,” Vezina said. “[If I were to open a second café], I don’t even know if it would be in Montreal, maybe have some in Quebec, or elsewhere. I would love to open a coffee shop in New Zealand. But it is such a good concept, and it works in the smallest of spaces.”

While La Distributrice lacks seating, there is no absence of conversation or friendly customer relations. The shop has many loyal visitors, and the staff welcomes each customer, both new and returning, with kindness.

“I have regulars where I know everything about their lives,” Vezina said. “They ask about mine, they come everyday, sometimes even two or three times a day. [Customers] get the [time for] interaction [with the staff] definitely, because there is not always a lineup […] You usually get [time] to chat.”

Going on its seventh year running, the quaint café’s steadfast following show no signs of quieting down. Served quickly from the shop’s window, the dark, rich tastes of La Distributrice have the power to ease the chills of the frigid Montreal winter.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

science & technology 13

Building a virtual brain with network neuroscience Brain modelling platform builds on McGill-led open science initiative Jen Wang Contributor “We’ve become quite good at collecting data to take the brain apart into individual pieces [....] The difficulty we have is how to pull it back together,” said Dr. Anthony Randal McIntosh, University of Toronto Psychology Professor and Director of the Baycrest Centre’s Rotman Research Institute.

On Jan. 10, Dr. McIntosh spoke at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at a seminar entitled “Bridging clinical and cognitive neuroscience with large-scale computational modelling.”

Dr. McIntosh has been a vital figure in the rapidly expanding field of network neuroscience, which explores how different brain regions interact with each other over time.

With advancements in active brain imaging technology, it’s possible to see where spots of the brain light up’ during given tasks; however, static images often neglect the ways in which different brain regions are highly interconnected and incredibly dynamic, even at rest.

Along with a group of software developers and other neuroscientists, Dr. McIntosh led the creation of TheVirtualBrain (TVB), a free, opensource modelling platform that allows anyone to create a simulation of a brain.

TVB uses real-life neuroimaging data from methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which

(Jen Wang / The McGill Tribune) maps activity over time by tracking blood flow in the brain. “[The brain] is a very complex system,” Dr. McIntosh said. “Complex systems tend to operate as a network, so in order to understand them, we actually have to really capture the network dynamics.”

Network neuroscience relies on a branch of mathematics called graph theory, where brain regions of interest can be viewed as ‘nodes.’ The connections between pairs of nodes— or the flow of information between brain regions—can be represented by ‘edges.’ It’s an intricate, ever-changing game of connect-the-dots that has been applied to several other fields.

For instance, graph theory has been used to analyze relationships in social networks.

Like many other biological sciences, neuroscience turns to computers to find new ways of looking at empirical data—that is, real-life observations—through a network perspective.

“I use the modelling approach to constrain possibilities, to test hypotheses [...,] and to take it back, then, to empirical approaches to validate that,” Dr. McIntosh said. “It’s

a nice reciprocal loop.”

These models are sets of equations and values that tell the simulated brain, with its nodes and edges, how to behave. From there, the simulated brain can be manipulated and visually represented in different ways.

Without TVB, scientists would need to perform deep brain stimulation (DBS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for controlled activation of certain areas of the brain.

“You can look at what happens to the network dynamics when you start poking [the virtual brain], like you would for DBS [...] or TMS,” Dr. McIntosh said. “Are there certain areas that are more effective in transmitting

the stimulation?”

Each person’s brain connectivity—also known as their connectome—is unique.

Brain simulations can be helpful in clinical settings, where virtual brains can be created for each individual patient.

For example, by programming and analyzing the unique virtual connectome of a patient who suffers from seizures, scientists can study where in the brain the seizure starts and how activity propagates to other brain regions.

The same can be inferred from stroke patients. Relationships can be found between a patient’s behavioural performance during rehabilitation and patterns of certain connections. These models can be used to propose possible interventions before testing them out on real patients.

Dr. McIntosh concluded the seminar with a nod to MNI’s recent effort to make research data as available and collaborative as possible.

Though network neuroscience is still a relatively young field, there is more to come in its cognitive and clinical applications.

“This is work in the spirit of the open science initiative that McGill has embraced,” Dr. McIntosh said.

“The success of things like the modelling platform, the success of neuroinformatics, [and] the success of being able to use this to understand clinical conditions really requires community input.”

McGill Library offers 3-D printing service

3-D printers can be reserved for use by all McGill students

New 3-D printers have been installed in McLennan library. (Christopher Li / The McGill Tribune)

Zapaer Alip and Alice Shen Contributors On Jan. 11, the McLennan Library held this year’s first “Introduction to 3-D Printing” workshop. The workshop taught procedures necessary for students to get access to the library’s newly acquired 3-D printers under the Research Commons initiative launched in September 2016.

3-D printing, sometimes known as additive manufacturing, involves printing successive layers of materials, often plastics, in precise

forms to create an object under computer control.

While McGill University has several 3-D printers of various sizes and types, most are located away from the general student populace in labs and restricted to professors or researchers in certain faculties. The Research Commons is making this new and promising technology more accessible. Currently, three 3-D printers are available to students at the McLennan Library: Two Tinkerine Ditto Pro’s and one AirWolf AxiomE. In addition to the 3-D printers, the Research Commons offers an array of advanced technologies, including a data visualization video wall, virtual reality kits, and

a 3-D scanner.

The 3-D printers were placed in McLennan Library in an effort to make them easily accessible to the majority of students at McGill.

“It’s in a convenient location,” Chantal Petgrave, U2 Industrial Relations and 3-D Printing tutor, said. “A lot of students, no matter what faculty they are in, are going to come to McLennan library so it just gives easier access to 3-D printing. I think it also allows students who won’t normally be interested in 3-D printing an opportunity to discover something new.”

The workshop, hosted by Petgrave, introduced the basics of 3-D printing, including how to use 3DPrinterOS–the cloud-based online platform which the library uses to manage 3-D printers–and the procedure for students to use to start printing their own objects.

After completing the workshop, students can book time on 3-D printers through the Research Commons subpage on the McGill Library website–similarly to booking study rooms. While several colour choices are available in terms of print material, the 3-D printers are restricted to only print in Polylactic Acid (PLA), as other common plastics, such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) produce toxic fumes which require powerful ventilation infrastructure–something which the library space does not currently have.

According to Michael Groenendyk, the Research Commons staff member managing

the 3-D printing service, it took McGill about a year and a half of planning to join the growing list of Canadian universities operating 3-D printing centres dedicated to students and faculty. Groenendyk acknowledged McGill has had a relatively late start compared to other universities, but highlighted the advantages of being a late adopter.

“We are only a few years behind, but [3-D printing] is becoming very popular,” Groenendyk said. “Ours is done better than the other ones, which is kind of the benefit of doing it later, as you can see all the mistakes and different ways people do it and assess everything.”

During a pilot trial run in the Fall 2016 semester, 3-D printing was free of charge to students. Starting this semester, students will be charged one dollar per hour of printing plus the cost of materials. There is a minimum of two dollars per job as the service transitions from a pilot project to a service.

“The rate of one dollar per hour will be applied after the model has been completely successfully,” Groenendyk wrote in an email to The Tribune. “I won’t charge for failed prints.”

So far, Groenendyk estimates 150 students have completed the workshop.

Even with the price increase, the Research Commons 3-D printing service is possibly the cheapest and most accessible 3-D printing option in Montreal for McGill students.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

14 science & technology

In search of a sustainable, nutritious diet

McGill nutrition professors dish on best diet practices

Emma Gillies Contributor What is the perfect human diet in terms of nutrition and environmental impact? According to McGill’s School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition Professor Dr. Timothy Johns, finding the right balance is the key.

Johns, an ethnobotanist and nutritionist, said that humans are omnivores by nature.

“We’re adaptable, but it’s not just ‘anything goes,’” Johns said.

“In terms of nutrition and health, eating less meat and animalsourced food and more unprocessed

plants would be positive.”

The contemporary diet includes a lot of meat, which can have negative health effects, such as increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, key elements of our diet, like Vitamin B12, calcium, and certain protein components, are much easier to acquire with more meat in the diet.

Katherine Gray-Donald, retired associate professor in McGill’s School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, believes that special diets, such as vegan, vegetarian, and Paleo diets, can be adequate, and can possibly

Is a big plate of vegetables the key to saving the planet? (Ceci Steyn / The McGill Tribune)

improve health as people pay more attention to what they eat, if the diet is properly designed.

“It is important to follow scientific information and not fall into groups that abound with fake science,” Gray-Donald cautioned.

Different diets work for different people, though it’s clear that we didn’t evolve with our processed modern diet in mind.

Johns also highlighted that some have cultural, moral, or religious reasons for not eating certain foods, making the issue more complicated. Though there isn’t always a direct relationship, diet choice can also influence causes of climate change.

“Twenty to thirty per cent of the total greenhouse gases [emitted] are related to the production, processing, and transportation of food,” Johns said.

Animal-sourced foods produce more greenhouse gases. To lower emissions from transporting food, local production is typically favourable to global production.

Though most types of produce are now available year round, shipping blueberries from Chilé to Canada is not an environmentally-friendly

option.

The balance between sustainability and diet is also evident in fish consumption. Johns noted that fish provide a lot of health benefits, even though some fisheries are unsustainable.

“Nothing is black and white.

Fish farming can take the pressure off wild fish populations, but even so, there are problems with GMOs and pollution,” Johns said. “You have to look at it case-by-case.”

According to Gray-Donald, another environmental problem is food waste. It is estimated that 30 per cent of food grown is never consumed. She suggested that fresh produce should not always take priority over alternatives.

“Frozen fruits and vegetables can provide local foods all year long, and avoid flying in delicate fruits from distant lands in off seasons,” Gray-Donald said.

“Dried fruits and even canned fruits are fine.”

The question of which diet best preserves biodiversity is also a tough one.

“In terms of habitat destruction, veganism is probably less destructive,” Johns said.

“However, vegans eating these plants and destroying populations is bad for biodiversity and agrobiodiversity. But you need to do this for animal food, too.”

Though it’s not the norm, vegan and vegetarian ‘elitists’ who consume expensive and unsustainable superfoods actually pose a potential threat to biodiversity. Johns puts the blame on industrial-style agriculture as well as demographic pressures as the largest threats to both plants and animals.

Gray-Donald urged people to follow information from reputable sources and avoid forming likeminded groups.

“Many people think they are nutrition experts and seem to pick and choose to believe what they want and not believe the mainstream scientific community,” Gray-Donald said.

Overall, change must begin at an individual level. Changes at the system-level will happen when more people start asking more questions about their eating.

“There must be a change of mindset, attitude, and preferences,” Johns said.

What happened before the Big Bang?

The Big Bang as explained by different theories of universe cosmology Gustina Giordano Contributor McGill Physics Professor Robert Brandenberger spoke at the Cutting Edge lecture series on Jan. 12 hosted by the Redpath Museum.

In the lecture, Brandenberger shed light on the question, “What was before the Big Bang and how might we be able to tell?”

“Who thinks that there was a Big Bang?” Brandenburger asked the crowd, which was almost full of raised hands. “Who knows what the Big Bang was?”

Many of the crowd’s hands were lowered in response to his second question.

“There are a number of you who think there was a Big Bang, but you don’t know what the Big Bang was. This is a slight problem,” Brandenburger said. “I want you […] to walk out of this room this evening knowing what physicists mean when they say there was a Big Bang, […] but also you should walk out from this room knowing that the title of this topic makes sense.”

According to Brandenberger, the paradigms of universe cosmology have shifted over time. The standard Big Bang cosmology, created around 1960, was eventually replaced with the current inflationary universe scenario theorized in the 1980s.

Standard Big Bang cosmology was based on Einstein’s equations

for classical matter, in which he assumed that the Universe was finite, although his equations suggested that the universe was expanding.

“Einstein made a small mistake because he did not know about the expansion of space,” Brandenberger explained. “He realized that [his equations] gave rise to this idea that space expands, but he stuck in a fudge term, such that space would not expand.”

Edwin Hubble, and other famous astronomers and astrophysicists, saw that there was a need for a new theory to explain expanding space, thus, the inflationary universe scenario was created. The inflationary universe scenario accommodates for the expansion of the universe and uses scalar terms. It utilizes scalar terms to account for the fact that the laws that govern classical matter break down at extremely high temperatures.

Brandenberger explained that standard Big Bang cosmology also includes the very hot, homogeneous fireball typically associated with the Big Bang. But, because classical physics breaks down at extreme temperatures, a new cosmological theory was developed to accommodate these conditions. The inflationary model of cosmology solves this problem because quantum mechanics and particle physics offer suitable descriptions of matter at these extremely hot temperatures.

Physics Professor Robert Brandenberger discussed competing theories about the Big Bang at the Redpath Museum’s Cutting Edge Lecture. (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune) Both the standard Big Bang theory and the inflationary universe theory assume that time began with the Big Bang, but new research suggests this might not be the case.

According to Brandenberger, the old and current paradigm both provide valuable information on the Big Bang, but both make predictions, which lead to more questions.

“In both Paradigms one and two there was a ‘Big Bang’ singularity,” Brandenberger said.

A Big Bang singularity is the concept the Big Bang was the beginning of time, but it is hard to provide proof that this event

triggered the start of time.

“We need a new paradigm and this new paradigm could come from string gas cosmology,” Brandenberger said.

Brandenberger suggested that string gas cosmology could be a possible third paradigm that answers the question of what came before the Big Bang. String gas cosmology is based on superstring theory, which is a quantum theory that tries to unify all forces of nature. In other words, the laws that govern the forces of nature would be simplified into basic equations.

“If by Big Bang you mean a hot

fireball of finite size at some early time, string gas cosmology has this hot fireball,” Brandenberger said.

“But, [...] there is no singularity, there is no beginning of time. So, in this sense, it makes sense to say there was something before the Big Bang.”

While string theory is still in development, it offers a new paradigm to answer questions on a cosmological scale. Though extremely complex, Brandenberger succeeded in his initial goal as the audience walked out of the room with the knowledge that there could be something before the Big Bang.

SPORTS 15

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Alleged steroid players exiting hall of fame purgatory Dispelling baseball’s morality fetish Weiyu Dang Contributor Four years after the 1994 MLB lockout hinted at baseball’s impending financial death, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa resuscitated the game with an electrifying race past Roger Maris’ single season homerun record.

The 1998 season marked a rebirth for baseball, but a revival underscored by rampant, unsupervised, and unpunished steroid use.

While Sosa and McGwire, along with pitcher Roger Clemens and the ‘Home Run King’ Barry Bonds, sit at the peaks of baseball’s all-time statistical tables, the smear of their steroid scandals has detained them in Hall of Fame voter purgatory over the course of their eligibility. Yet, steroid users’ transgressions are not singular and their guilt is not unilateral. The Hall of Fame is moving towards inducting steroid users due to a deepened understanding of baseball’s inbuilt contradictions.

Each year, members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) vote on a list of

eligible retired players for inclusion in the Hall of Fame. This year, after four stagnant years, Bonds and Clemens have seen a significant rise in votes.

Though neither is close to approaching the required two-thirds of the vote necessary for enshrinement, the shift in voter mindset suggests that the public punishment for alleged steroid users inches towards a conclusion.

Characterized in the popular imagination as drug-addled monsters, Bonds and Clemens were nonetheless transcendent talents who arguably already had Hall of Fame-calibre careers prior to their alleged steroid use.

While no conclusive evidence has been found that Bonds ever used steroids, his implication in the 2006 BALCO scandal and subsequent perjury and obstruction of justice trials have forever tarnished his name. Similarly, Clemens resolutely denied his steroid use to Congress in 2008, leading to six charges of perjury of which he was later acquitted. However, the popular discourse against their induction argues that their alleged cheating–though fostered by and financially beneficial to the league–irreparably disgraced

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have seen an increase in Hall of Fame votes this year. (media.nbcbayarea.com) baseball’s public esteem.

The coming absolution of these legends could be that BBWAA requires a 10-year membership for voter eligibility. This means that a younger crop of writers who covered the peak steroid years at the turn of the century are finally receiving ballots.

Yet a more compelling reason could be that the recent induction of former commissioner Bud Selig has opened the door for steroid era legends to also enter the Hall of Fame.

Selig—considered by some to be the greatest commissioner ever due to the league’s unprecedented economic

success under his leadership—entered the Hall of Fame last month despite acting as a blind-eye overseer during the steroids era, all but abetting steroid use when it fuelled league prosperity.

Selig insistently deferred blame solely onto the players by feigning ignorance.

His more recent ‘hard on drugs’ stance only arrived a decade after the 1998 home run race with his contracted drug report from former U.S. senator George Mitchell in late 2007. Even then, Selig only did so after negotiating a lucrative contract extension in 2008 that paid him more than any player. Selig’s inclusion should be no less controversial and has

perhaps less merit than the rest of the steroid era greats.

Simply put, if steroids can prevent players from getting in, the structural powers who ignored doping for financial success should face a similar punishment instead of enshrinement with open arms.

Yet, Selig’s induction and changing perceptions of retired legends might signal the end of steroid users’ status in baseball history limbo. As the discussion on steroids becomes more nuanced, perhaps voters will continue to dispel the Hall of Fame’s illusions of morality and self-importance.

China’s love for the beautiful game is official Dedication to youth making Chinese soccer competitive 50-point reform plan on sports that emphasized soccer is fairly difficult, so the government might increasing the popularity of soccer. In the plan, choose to measure it through quantitative factors, the government officially separated the country’s such as the number of soccer fields, stadiums, or soccer association from the government-run players. Local actors will then be incentivised to sports ministry in order for leagues to be more upgrade their soccer infrastructure more than their independent and efficient. Additionally, around playing level. This mismatch could potentially 60,000 new soccer fields are to be built across the destroy China’s ambitions as money is not spent country, a significant increase from the 11,000 on the most efficient investments.

In the long-term, China concentrating its that exist today. With more fields and mandatory soccer for children, the Chinese government aims attention on soccer will redefine the landscape of soccer at the club level. As Chinese soccer to have 50 million people playing by 2020.

At the head of these plans is Chinese clubs start to outbid European teams over salaries President Xi Jinping. His personal interest in and transfer fees, players might start to snub the sport and his desire to see China succeed on European leagues for the Chinese Super League. an international level have led to these reforms; This growing trend was already evident in 2015, his goal is for the national team to win the 2026 with players Sebastian Giovinco leaving Turin FIFA World Cup. As of Jan. 12, China a country for Toronto and Xavi moving from Barcelona to Brazilian soccer star Oscar meeting his new club’s fans in Shanghai. (cdn4.i-scmp.com) of over 1.3 billion people ranks 81st on the FIFA Al-Sadd, Qatar, in addition to 2016’s even higher world rankings, behind St. Kitts and Nevis, a profile moves out of Europe to China. Many wonder how the European leagues will react and country with little more than 50,000 people. per year, more than superstars Cristiano Ronaldo Samuel Cordano adapt. In the short-term, however, soccer fans Despite the rapid pace of recent reforms, and Lionel Messi earn playing in La Liga in Contributor Spain. This sounds extravagant but it pales some analysts doubt that China will come to should make the most of the current concentration While soccer players leaving Europe to in comparison to the US$40.4 Million (C$53 dominate world soccer. According to the LA of talent: Seeing players on par with Messi and play for more lucrative contracts in China is Million) that 31-year-old Carlos Tevez will now Times, many Chinese parents view the sport as an Ronaldo in the same league is a sight we may certainly not a new phenomenon, rarely are these receive annually after signing with Shanghai injury risk and a distraction from academics, strong encounter less often in the near future. players of the ilk and fame of Oscar and at such Greenland Shenhua F.C. on Dec. 29. More cultural barriers an early stage of their careers. At 25 years old, recently, Super League team Tianjin Quanjian c o n t i n u e separate the Brazilian star’s prime years are ahead of him has expressed interest in Oscar’s former Chelsea to from and he was a key player for Chelsea, currently teammate Diego Costa leading to speculation China its objective. atop the English Premier League. His transfer to regarding his future in the Premier League.

The growth of soccer in China can mostly China’s plan is the Chinese Super League team Shanghai SIPG marks a significant step forward for both the be attributed to significant financial and political also likely to popularity of soccer in China and the strength of commitments from the Chinese government be damaged by SSMU MINICOURSES HAS 12 NEW & EXCITING COURSES! aimed at spreading participation in the sport the very nature the league.

Registration: January 9 to 20 Shanghai SIPG’s attraction can largely be and raising the performance and profile of the of its topexplained by the significant sums of money the national team. Soccer became a compulsory part down strategy: SSMU.CA/MINICOURSES team offered: Oscar’s salary almost quintupled of the national school curriculum in November T r a c k i n g (Courses run from the week of Jan 23 to Mar 13) in to more than US$25.5 Million (C$33 Million) 2014 and in March 2015 China released a progress

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

16 sports

Queen’s Gaels dethrone McGill Redmen in front of rowdy Carnival fans

Penalties ruin Redmen’s big night

Late Queen’s rally ruined the night for the 1,200 McGill students in attendance at the sellout Carrnival game. (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)

Patrick Beacham Contributor The McGill Redmen (15-4-2) faced off against the Queen’s Gaels (15-4-1) on Friday, Jan. 13 in front of a roaring crowd of almost 1,200 McGill fans and Carnival participants at McConnell Arena. Despite the home crowd’s fervour, McGill lost both the game and sole possession of the OUA conference lead as Queen’s took the game 2-1 with a winning goal in the final two minutes of play.

“I thought we battled hard,” Redmen defenceman Francis Lambert-Lemay said. “We came in short, but we need to take less penalties because we were [penalty] killing all night and that killed us.”

The Redmen came out aggressively against the Gaels, a break in a long trend of slow starts for the squad. McGill’s urgency in the first period could be attributed to the energizing effect of the masses of McGill students dressed in colourful onesies.

“Those games kind of remind you why you’re playing hockey,” McGill forward Simon Tardif-Richard said. “[With] a lot of people like that, it’s a lot of fun for us players to play in front of a big crowd

[....] I think that’s part of why we started really strong.”

Despite McGill’s hot start, Queen’s managed to open the scoring at the end of the first period. Constant McGill penalties throughout all three periods led to an increased burden on the penalty kill team. The Redmen had to defend against a total of seven man-down situations throughout the game, impeding any offensive momentum needed to take on the Gaels’ strong defence.

“We don’t control the refs, so we’ve gotta be ready to go out there and kill some penalties,” McGill defenceman Etienne Boutet said. “You get to play with one more on their side, so it’s hard, but whatever, that’s part of hockey.”

The Redmen will face the Concordia Stingers on Friday, Jan. 20.

McGill defeated Concordia 6-5 the last time the two teams faced off and with Concordia just behind McGill in the standings, the game is expected to be close and intense.

“Concordia has a lot of speed offensively, so we’ll need to contain that,” Lambert-Lemay said. “And we’ll need to score goals because we scored one tonight [against Queen’s] and we need more to win games.”

STAT CORNER

KEY MOMENT

QUOTABLE

McGILL HAD THREE TIMES AS MANY PENALTY MINUTES AS QUEEN’S ON FRIDAY NIGHT.

GAELS FORWARD ERIC MARGO MADE A REBOUND SHOT FROM THE SLOW IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT HAD DEFLECTED OFF OF THE GOALIE’S PAD, SCORING THE GAME-WINNING GOAL FOR QUEEN’S WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE AND A HALF REMAINING IN THE GAME.

“IF WE WOULD HAVE THAT MANY PEOPLE EVERY GAME, WE WOULD WIN WAY MORE GAMES THAN WE WOULD LOSE.” —McGill defencemen Etienne Boutet on the rambunctious crowd.

In conversation with sports psychologist Dr. Gordon Bloom Hands-on coaching necessary for young athletes Erin Dwyer Contributor “Why Freshmen Should Not Play,” read a New York Times sports section headline in October 1983. University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith wrote the piece based on his perception that first-year athletes tend to fail to cope with the academic intensity, homesickness, and unique social setting university brings while playing a varsity sport.

Associate Professor Dr. Gordon Bloom of the McGill University Sports Psychology Research Laboratory would agree that being a first-year collegiate athlete puts young adults under a lot of pressure. Previous studies by Bloom have revealed that freshmen students have to cope with many sources of stress and disruptions to academic and athletic life.

“Students who come as a first-year university student already go through stress and difficulties,” Bloom said. “When you throw in a sports commitment that involves practicing four to five days a week, games on weekends, and travelling, it’s extensive.”

Where Bloom disagrees, however, is the conclusion that first-years should not participate in varsity sports. Last year, Bloom and his colleagues published a study on how different coaching methods can be a driving force in a first-year athlete’s success. Before his work, there was sparse material focusing on the coach

as a mediator of this stress and disruption.

“We wanted experienced coaches who have been here a long time,” Bloom said.

“When you interview a first-year athlete, they are still spinning their head. We really got coaches that have been [coaching for] a long time and are known in their sports for having a solid program.”

The McGill study conducted interviews with eight Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) head coaches with a minimum of 10 years experience. Coaches were asked to detail their experience of developing collegiate athletes from their first to final year.

“A lot of them said it was a challenge when they first started, they didn’t really know how much guidance first-year athletes would need,” Bloom said.

It soon became clear to the coaches, however, that their engagement with young players would need to be extensive.

“I certainly talk to my first-year kids every day,” one of the CIS coaches told the researchers. “Constantly I ask them, ‘How is everything going? How is school going?’ I don’t have to do that with veterans.”

The extensiveness of coach involvement surprised even the researchers.

“What stood out to me is that coaching really does involve more than teaching sports skills,” Bloom said. “There is a very strong life skills component to helping your athletes

Dr. Gordon Bloom studies the impact of coaching techniques on freshmen athletes. (mcgill.ca) adjust and excel as an athlete, student, and a person.”

Given CIS head coachs’ hectic schedules, the study said they don’t approach developing first-year athletes alone.

“A lot of them said that they guide and help, but they also make sure the peers on the team are helping the athlete,” Bloom said.

Fostering this supportive atmosphere is also the responsibility of the immediate coaching staff.

“We have three captains,” one coach commented in the study. “They are extensions of me, our values, and the team culture. What we try to do is [...] find someone on the team that you respect, you trust, you feel comfortable with. Let them be your anchor.”

Many reported that the process of developing successful student athletes begins before they step foot on campus by recruiting players who fit into a coach’s strategy and have both athletic and academic talent.

“I like to look at how the young [athletes] deals with adversity,” one CIS coach commented. “When things are not going well for them in a game, [I look at] how [he or she] faces and deals with that.”

Bloom and his colleagues hope that the results of their study can have a larger impact on coaching procedures in university athletic programs.

“Hopefully these results will tell junior coaches that their job is more than just wins and losses,” Bloom said.