STUDENT LIVING “The history of Igloofest” pg. 7
FEATURE “An Arrangement: Exploring the nuances of sugaring” pg. 8-9
The McGill Tribune
EDITORIAL: SSMU’S LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND LAGGING SUPPORT LEAVE NEWS ISGs IN LIMBO pg. 05 TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 VOL. 36 ISSUE 17 PUBLISHED BY THE SPT, A STUDENT SOCIETY OF MCGILL UNIVERSITY McGILLTRIBUNE.COM
Safety first: A history of lab mishaps at McGill McGill lab professionals share stories of chemical reactions gone wrong Oceane Marescal Contributor
McGill’s Woodswomen in action during the crosscut saw competition, page 16. (Patrick Beacham / The McGill Tribune)
The Kalmunity Vibe Collective brings improvised jazz to Petit Campus Tristan Sparks Contributor “Chill is explosive,” is the opening line of the weekly Tuesday night showcase of the Kalmunity Vibe Collective. This idea rang true throughout the three hour set. Held at Petit Campus, the lesser known first floor of
Café Campus, Kalmunity’s unique approach to improvised jazz is as captivating as it is relaxing. Kalmunity was founded in 2003 by the current drummer, Jashun. Since then the collective has cultivated a dedicated rotation of accomplished musicians and poets. In the 13 years since their inception, Kalmunity has grown from hosting small jam sessions at the
Sablo Cafe to drawing in weekly crowds at the roomier venue Petit Campus. Throughout the years, Kalmunity has given an opportunity for countless instrumentalists, vocalists, and performing artists to improvise together. Kalmunity has become Canada’s largest collective of musicians ranging from the professional to the amateur.
PG. 11
Defending the 8:35: Why early mornings at McGill aren’t going away Jin Lee Contributor There is a certain meme circulating the depths of the Internet with which, by now, many McGillians should be quite familiar. It depicts a triangular model whose vertices point to certain generalizations about college life. “Good grades. Social life. Enough sleep. Pick two!” Though some may not find that their experiences
required such a trade-off, the joke resonates with students precisely because the lack of sleep is a real problem—for students everywhere. A good night’s sleep is often difficult to come by, made scarce by late nights, piling workloads, and early morning classes. In fact, sleep has become such a concern for students, that McGill-based researchers have recommended a delayed start to classes to allow more time for it. Their findings reaffirm what
had been concluded in prior studies—that later start times improve the academic performance of students. The consensus is this: Later start times for high-school age students would result in an appropriate sleep threshold for growing teenagers—around eight to nine hours.Betterrested students would in turn make for less anxious and better-off students. But would delaying morning starts actually work for older students at McGill?
PG. 06
Any student who has taken a chemistry lab at McGill is familiar with the infamous “Safety Lecture.” For most students, this means an hour of staring off into space as an overlydramatic video shows acids inevitably spilled on unprotected eyes. Yet, such unfortunate accidents have such a low probability of occurrence that many students disregard safety precautions in the lab altogether. Lab accidents can feel like an abstract concept to most, but they have happened at McGill. Wayne Wood is McGill’s director of Environmental Health and Safety. In his over 30 years of working for the university, Wood has done everything from calling a bomb squad to conducting a massive dig-up of the athletic fields in search of illegally buried chemicals. Wood is one of the first people called if an incident in a lab occurs and his team is the first line of defence against potentially hazardous situations.
Acid explosion shielded by hazmat suits
In 2003, when a 20-litre container of acid started heating up in a lab in the Stewart Biology Building, Wood sent two members of his team to respond. Their plan was to pack the container of acid into a secure drum, neutralize it, and then dispose of it. But the team never got that far. Just as they opened the door to the cabinet, the container of acid exploded and the two men were covered with 20 litres of hot concentrated acid. Fortunately, they were fully equipped and covered head-to-toe in $6,000 hazmat suits. For Wood, this was a lesson in the value of precautionary safety measures.
PG. 13